we knew jim clyburn was going to endorse joe biden today. we did not know the depth of emotion he would feel and communicate about that endorsement. he told the story of attending a funeral last friday in a rural part of the state. richland county. he described his conversation with a woman he called an elderly lady in her upper 80s. that was his phrase. you have to be at least in your upper 80 for jim clyburn to consider you elderly because he is 79 years old. here is what that elderly lady said to jim clyburn. >> she beckoned to me. didn't say a word. just beckoned. i went over to her. she said lean down. i need to ask you a question. and i leaned down. and she said, you don't have to say it out loud. would you just whisper into my ear. who are you going to vote for next saturday? i've been waiting to hear from you. i need to hear from you. i need to hear from you. the i decided then and there that i would not stay silent. i've been saying to the media, i've known for a long time who i would vote for. but i had not decided to share it with

is clyburn's decision now to endorse, is it a sign that even long-time allies like jim clyburn are worriedt joe biden couldn't win on saturday? >> well, craig, again, thank you for having me on. as you know, congressman clyburn is well respected in the state of south carolina and throughout the country. there are still a lot of undecided voters in south carolina, and i think congressman clyburn's endorsement is signaling to those folks who haven't decided yet and respect congressman clyburn, now signaling to them who he's getting behind and who they should also get behind in the primary. >> we should also point out that he also endorsed your former boss, one-time boss hillary clinton as well some years ago. jesse, clyburn said this weekend south carolina voters may have been disappointed in joe biden's early debate performances, but we'll see a different biden on stage tomorrow night. do you agree with the analysis that south carolina a must-win for joe biden? >> definitely a must-win for joe biden. it's interesting, obviously they have a long -- vice president biden and congressman clybur

we knew jim clyburn was going to endorse joe biden today. we did not know the depth of emotion he would feel and down into indicate abocommunicate th endorsement. he told about richardland county and described his association with a woman he called an elderly lady in her upper 80s. that was his phrase. now you have to be at least if your upper 80s for jim clyburn to consider you elderly, because he is 79-years-old. here's what that elderly lady said to jim clyburn. >> she beckoned to me, didn't say a word, just beckoned. i went over to her, she says lean down. i need to ask you a question. and i leaned down and she said you don't have to say it out loud. but you just whisper in my ear would have are you financial to vote for next saturday? i have been waiting to hear from you. i need to hear from you p. this community wants to hear from you. i decided then and there that i would not stay silent. and i have been saying to the media. i have known for a long time who i would vote for. but i had not decided the or shared it with the public, but

is an endorsement from jim clyburn or anyone else, is a jim clyburn very important and can it changer another? >> i don't know if it can change the outcome. until recently, joe biden was strong in south carolina. if someone else had gotten it, that would have been an entirely different story. in politics an endorsement only goes so far, it can be an important co-sign, important val days that that person can be trusted on a certain set of issues. in 2016 i remember there were certain influencers or celebrities or criminal justice racial justice advocates that endorsed hillary clinton and then would say we know that bill clinton did the crime bill, joe biden wrote the crime bill, bernie voted for the crime bill but she apologized it and she has laid out a path forward to curb some of the negative impacts of mass incarceration. i think the validateors can be important for a certain segment of the electorate, that doesn't mean it's going to make the difference. you still have to get the people to the polls. to her point i think the critical piece here is going to be the gotv that he gets

first more from congressman jim clyburn who spoke out before we learned he would endorse biden. in fact, clyburn explaining what biden did wrong in the lead up to iowa and new hampshire and why he predicts things will be different when biden takes the debate stage in south carolina tomorrow evening. >> in the first two contests people from south carolina, like around the country, were looking at this and i've heard from a lot of people that they thought that joe biden could have done more to engage during the debates, thought he could have done more to say why he would be deserving, and so i think he suffered from that because he didn't do enough, but i do believe that a lot of that had to do with other candidates. i think that at that time he had, what, 17 or 18 people on the stage, kamala harris i think unnerved him a little bit with her request he. >> right. >> so all of this changes when you only have six people. so the dynamics on tuesday night will be totally different from what they were on those two contestes. >> and as we did mention senator bernie sanders won saturday's

so he has a relationship there. >> governor, as we await jim clyburn's endorsement, how big of a boost would it be very vp biden. >> very big. representative clyburn is the leader of the democratic party here in south carolina but even bo beyond our state where he's important. the signal about the collaborative endorsement is big for the biden campaign. he has traditionally not endorsed here. the fact he feels that strongly about joe biden speaks volumes about the relationship between two of them and sends powerful signals throughout the african-american community. >> how much influence does he have over african-american voters in your state? >> he's a very influential person in south carolina. and it confirms, if anything, the feelings that african-americans have for joe biden. my sense from moving around the state in talking to people is that it's breaking strongly towards joe biden and he's going to have a very good saturday. >> we're going to take you right now to the stage. we see jim clyburn and former vice president joe biden shaking hands. big smiles across the board. and jim c

joe biden needs to send jim clyburn -- i wouldn't say send him flowers, but if you know jim clyburn,niels you can get. joe biden needs to say thank you to jim clyburn because he solidified this vote in south carolina for joe biden in this election. he is an icon in this state, particularly in democratic politics. >> he influenced voters. overall, do you think that the news cycle also was an influencer over voters? i know there's a lot of anxiety, just people i have talked to, people i have been on planes with, getting off flights, very, very nervous about coronavirus, very nervous about being in a country where the president of the united states says that it is a fraud, that it is a fake, that it is made up by the news media and the democrats, and then the contrast with somebody like former vice president biden, someone who has been vice president of the united states. do you think that has helped him stature wise? >> i think so. one thing to know about voters here in south carolina, they are extremely pragmatic. >> yes. >> you look at the voters who came out tonight, these are my gr

biden and jim clyburn embraced very long in front of these democratic voters some you're seeing in jim clyburn trying to help joe biden, who is strug until south carolina even though he's expected to win a state by a nor row margin. >> woodruff: interesting the timing coming the day after the debate and just a few days before the primary. all right. yamiche alcindor reporting for us from charleston, thank you. >> thanks so much, judy. >> woodruff: stay with us, coming up on the newshour: inside venezuela-- a healthcare system in tatters as patients fear to go to the hospital. a day after harvey weinstein's conviction by a new york jury, there's a larger conversation happening about what it could mean for the legal pursuit of other sexual assault charges, and whether it changes how judges, juries and prosecutors approach these cases. amna nawaz spoke with two key figures in the trial about this case and the larger picture. a warning: this segment includes sensitive subject matter. >> nawaz: judy, weinstein was convicted on one count of rape and on a second count of committing a criminal

hoping will change the dynamic is this endorsement that he received this morning from congress jim clyburn. clyburn is known as a political force here in south carolina. he has remained neutral in the race up until this point, but he put his weight behind joe biden in an emotional endorsement press conference earlier in the morning urging the south carolinians to vote for biden. biden aides say this is the springboard and not necessarily a firewall for biden, but he is counting on the african-american voters to put him back in the top tier of candidates. and that is partly because his place as the front-runner this race has been largely taken by bernie sanders. now, the vermont senator was under fire last night in the debate, and he has been defending himself from criticisms coming from virtually all of his fellow candidates. take a listen to some of the back and forth between the candidates. >> the conditions here is mother emmanuel church and nine people shot dead by a white supremist, and bernie voted five times against the brady bill. >> bernie's plan does not explain how to get there.

what's interesting to me is when you talk to those voters is jim clyburn is going to come out today supporting joe biden. does that give him a boost here? or do you see, you know, bernie sanders continue to try to edge out some of his support in south carolina. if it's five points or less and bernie is really up on the heels of joe biden going into super tuesday, it's hard to see whether or not that he's no longer the pragmatic choice. because he's going to have the most delegates. he's going to go in campaigning into that convention very strong. >> all right. we played, mark, the bite of bernie sanders talking about fidel castro. saying he improved literacy when he first came into power in cuba that not all was necessarily bad about him. >> i think about his policies.

jim clyburn will join me to discuss the race.ut whether any of that change it is ptrajectory of the race w have to wait an see. let's dive in. mike memoli, ali vitale with warren. spooking to a representative of the sanders cam pan later in the hour an starting with mike memoli and the biden campaign. so -- the biden campaign has to feel good but i saw they did a big six-figure buy in super tuesday. and the words big and six figure usually don't go together anymore in american politics. >> reporter: yeah. chuck, how much does six figuring buy you in dozen super tuesday states? not a lot. the word to describe it is strategic. >> of course. >> reporter: focusing they say on the viewership where they can maximize viewership of african-american voters in those super tuesday states and what they're hoping to get the bounce out of south carolina for to send the mess and that he is the one with the strongest base of support among the african-american community going forward. it's interesting, chuck, in terms of what we have seen since l

we had jim clyburn on a short time ago.than a one or two-point win to propel you forward. he says you need a big win to propel you to super tuesday and beyond. my question is, how big? >> look, i'll let you guys be the pundits. i'm the candidate. i've been confident about south carolina because i've worked so hard over 30 or more years here in south carolina, not to run for president, but to have the relationship with the community. i start off with not just jim clyburn, but there's -- before that, fritz hollings. and i've been deeply involved in this community, in this state. and i feel very good about it. felt good about it from the beginning. it's been the launching pad for barrack and i believe for me. we'll see how much i have to win by. i don't want to jinx myself along the line here. i feel very good. i've worked hard to earn these votes, and i think i'll do well. >> obviously, south carolina is about 60% of the people who may show up to vote will be african-american. if you look to the super tuesday map, there are a

jim clyburn. >> i know joe. we know joe. but most importantly, joe knows us. >> reporter: elizabeth warren once again emphasizing why she's the better progressive choice on the ballot. >> i think it's becoming really clear that the democratic party is a progressive party and that progressive ideas are popular. we better have somebody who has a proven track record for getting things done. >> reporter: amy klobuchar highlighting why her pragmatic approach is the right way to defeat president trump. >> i think some of my colleagues, i'm not referring to the vice president here, but some of my colleagues up on that debate stage were promising a lot of things that i don't think they can deliver. and i don't want to be that person. >> reporter: pete buttigieg warning a sanders victory in south carolina could give sanders an insurmountable lead. >> for anybody who wants a different vision who made sure some of the ideals he talks about but recognizes that it is imperative that we win up and down the ticket, i'm the candidate best p

david: congressman jim clyburn endorsed vice president biden.ig surprise, but it happen today. it's generally thought that vice president biden is in a good position with the african-american voters. how do you think he stacks up right now in south carolina? >> i think he does very well. south carolina is a pretty moderate state. bernie sanders did very poorly here four years ago. i don't see any evidence that he has expanded his base here. i don't see much evidence that base has been expanded even in the earlier primary states. we don't have a lot of new voters showing up. to winsically been able with it the same percentage she had before. i think it's going to be a really good day for joe biden and moderate candidates in general saturday. david: senator sanders has come on. what would account for whatever popularity he does have in south carolina? >> the pole today has him down 15 points which is certainly a butt kick in anybody's world. i think what you are likely seeing with senator sanders is consolidating what base there is available to vo

but it was jim clyburn. clyburn was every stretch as emotional, heart felt, sincere, and moving when he told voters why he was endorsing biden. and that is a kind of loyalty and connection you can't buy. and that also is something that could be deployed for him in these other states. >> that's the other -- that's my other thought. john mccain got in a truck and drove around with his former folks who knew sort of what he had encured as a pretty mucher of war. maybe jim clyburn can get on a plane with joe biden and get to all of the super tuesday states before tuesday. i think your bigger point and question to me is anything can happen. anything can happen. we will sneak in a break. we'll be right back. blam take prilosec otc and take control of heartburn. so you don't have to stash antacids here... here... or, here. kick your antacid habit with prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. so chantix can help you quit slow turkey. along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. with chantix

the town hall, the endorsement from jim clyburn. they've seen a surge in polling numbers in south carolina and also online fundraising. they're putting that money to work on the air waves in super tuesday states. the real question for joe biden, can he put up a big enough victory in south carolina to make the argument to democrats this is a race of bernie sanders and joe biden. >> thank you so much, mike. ali vitale, senator elizabeth warren, can she translate debate points into votes? >> reporter: that's going to be the question. sometimes location is the message. she's in south carolina today, she was in texas yesterday. she's going there tomorrow. that's a state where super tuesday, a state where they have as many delegates there alone as four early states combined. i think the thing for elizabeth warren, she has ground game. it is about air support. her campaign itself is on the air waves, nowhere near the pac level support. they put a $9 million buy in california, massachusetts, texas, on top of 3 million already placed in 8 su

i know everyone in south carolina understands what an extraordinary leader jim clyburn is. but i don't know whether sometimes you're, you know, not the hero in your own town. i don't know how respected jim is throughout this country. and how many people i would add in both political parties, look to jim. cause jim has a voice of powerful, powerful moral clarity that's heard loud and clear in the nation's capital and he always reminds us, reminds everyone, on both sides of the aisle, that it's about you, family and community. it's about whether or not we can make a difference in people's lives. it's pretty simple. but all too often, all too often, people get to public office and begin to think it's about them. today, we have this debate as my friend, thank you all, every single one of you, thank you, thank you, thank you. today people are talking about a revolution. what the country is looking for are results. what they're looking for is security. what they're looking for is being able to sustain and maintain their dignity. my dad would say how can you ave any dignity when yo

the big jim clyburn endorsement.african-american leader. 24% of primary voters say it was the most important factor in their decision. his endborsment of joe biden. 23% call it an important factor of many. that's huge. 37% of the ooelectorate impacte by the jim clyburn endorsement. >> i want to discuss this with our group of correspondents and analysts here. let's talk about what david just said about first time voters. there's a slight difference from 2016. first time voters, 18%. it's not a huge number but it is up from 13% in 2016. i wonder what you make of this, chris. >> i think it's a little bit of a tough comparison in that hillary clinton was absolutely rolling over bernie sanders in 2016 in south carolina. yes, there was race but i think probably about 76-20. it was not close. this is much more of a contest between a number of candidates. all of whom in differing levels. that number doesn't surprise me all that much. i will say the final stretch, you had elizabeth warren bringing in john legend. you had tom

thank you so much, jim clyburn, majority whip of the u.s. congress and leading figure in south carolina politics. thank you so much for coming on tonight, sir. it's good to see you. >> thank you. >>> still ahead. more on the crucial contest in south carolina, also looking ahead to super tuesday, we have 14 states on the ballot next week. what does it mean to polls that show sanders ahead of warren in her state of massachusetts, in the commonwealth of massachusetts. >>> and is mike bloomberg destined to play spoiler? you're watching "hardball" from charleston, south carolina. there it is. this commute's been pretty rough, huh? it's great actually, i've been listening to audible. it's audiobooks, news, meditations... gotta go! ♪ ♪ hey! you know, i do think it's weird you've started commuting when you work from home. i'll be in my office. download audible and start every day off right. (mom) [thunder] were you planning on mowing the lawn today? (son) no. (burke) seen it. covered it. at farmers insurance, we know a thing or two because we've see

these surrogates, endorsements especially when jim clyburn has not come out and endorsed, position mike to placing, don't take it from me, people who think my record, stop-and-frisk aside, is good for black america. >> and clyburn. >> there was a conversation jim clyburn would endorse joe biden really early and then the fish fry happened and halloween and waiting and waiting, joe biden already kicked off his south carolina tour even though nevada is still a week or so away. we're still waiting for jim clyburn to endorse and wonder if this firewall in south carolina is as strong as biden's camp is saying it is. >> let's talk about the challenges. he's out of iowa and new hampshire. he had so much time to go county to county an put in the work, south carolina is going to be a problem for him, what is the road forward. >> even though his campaign is doubling down in south carolina, he is aware that's his weak spot. he did well in iowa and new hampshire, he has to prove to these voters who feel wronged he can be there. there is a bunch of staff there and be dropping more ads there and bigge

jim clyburn, is he closer to 5% in margin of victory or 10%, jim clyburn known around the state among older african-americans and younger also and he has a huge field operation there. >> back to senator sanders. what was interesting was everybody came after him. more gentle than the others but even elizabeth warren on the debate stage and later in the spin room. >> the plan bernie has put out doesn't explain how we get there, doesn't explain how we will expand the coalition to get it done and doesn't explain how we will pay for it. that's a real problem. >> everybody, even like-minded progressive elizabeth warren understands if sanders gets a second in south carolina and has a very strong super tuesday number one, they're toast. they have no wins. what's their claim to stay in the race and he opens a delegate lead. >> elizabeth warren, they're going hard and those are voters you want to give you another look going after particularly his most loyal supporters. however, the others, the attacks just didn't land, even the gun answer, he doesn't really have a good answer for, that would be

but -- jim clyburn.o follow up questions for you -- you said you do not plan to publicly endorse, but you may do so. what would drive you to do so? if i believe that my constituents need to hear my candidateto what onld be best to vote for february 29, i would do that. network -- i do not have an organization, but i do have a network that i listen to. believe it or not, i have a group of young people all over the state, more than 200 who i interact with all the time. they keep me posted on how they think i conduct myself. john: and if you do endorse, is that a sign that your candidate needs that extra boost in south carolina? bo clyburn it may be. or it may be that i just need -- reppo -- rep. clyburn: it may be. your -- yountioned appear in that ad. are you ok with your picture being in that ad? >> i am ok with helping my grandson that he feels impassioned at to do. that does not mean i will be on the same team he is on, but he is proud of me and i am certainly proud of him. >> i wanted to get your take

you played jim clyburn saying there will be downright carnage. bernie sanders atop the ticket, socialism. >> we went through this in 2016. so it's the disconnect, often, between the establishment and this sdpoun nerk the 77% of all the people planning to vote in the democratic primary, meaning people will support all the other candidates, too. in the end, he'll vote for somebody else u. ask, how does that compare to other democrats snt recall bernie sanders is liked by democratic primary voters. now, that doesn't mean he can win a general election. they're sending the message, this guy is horrible, and the voters are saying, no, we like him. >> this is something the sanders supporters will have to contend with, and they know it. it helps them to say he's an outsider. but you've got a loft democrats, a lot of people were trying themselv themselves, and voters would say, oh, so we can't vote for bernie sanders. there is a lot of down ballot concern. it also might not be, and we just don't know until we get there. >> when we talk about the commandin

so i think that jim clyburn is right. there are voters here to whom his message will appeal. and i don't think that the slurs and the slights that are coming from the right wing of the republican party frankly are even worthy of much conversation and don't deserve the dignity of polite conversation and they need to reconsider the tone they're taking. i am voting for having decency back in the white house, in the primary and the general lengs. >> dalhi myers, thank you for joining us today. >>> where voters stand heading into the critical stage of this race. >> the midwest isn't fly-over country to me. i live there. people that work there, like poker chips since i'm in vegas, one of the president's bankrupt casinos, they're not poker chips to me. they're my friends and neighbors. when it comes to a state like nevada, they have two women senators, majority women legislature. i have a strong argument here that this state, this state has put women in power really like no other state. and then finally, the work that i've done in terms of bringing people with me, not just by runnin

today, biden getting that endorsement from representative jim clyburn. abc's mary bruce in charleston tonight with the latest. >> let's go joe! >> reporter: today in south carolina, joe biden got a big boost. the coveted endorsement of the state's most powerful democrat, congressman jim clyburn. >> i know joe. we know joe. but most importantly, joe know voters a comeback. >> i promise you this -- if you send me out of south carolina with a victory, there will be no stopping us. >> reporter: bernie sanders says that won't happen. >> joe is a friend of mine and a decent guy, but that is not the voting record or the history that is going to excite people, brg em into the political process and beat trump. >> reporter: but on the debate stage, sanders' rivals argued he is the one who won't be able to take on trump. >> vladimir putin thinks that donald trump should be president of the united states, and that's why russia is helping you get elected. >> oh, mr. bloomberg -- >> so that you'll lose to him. >> reporter: sanders fired back. >> hey, mr. putin, if i'm

house majority whip jim clyburn will be speaking shortly. support in this race could give one candidate a major boost ahead of saturday's primary there. and with that contest just days away there is no time to play nice on the debate stage last night. it was messy, to say the least. >> for sure. bernie sanders was finally treated like the front-runner that he is and attacked over and over again. several of his rivals making the case to stop him now or risk what they deem to be an electoral bloodbath in november with a self-proclaimed democratic socialist on the ballot. joining us, senior washington correspondent jeff zeleny. good morning, jeff. >> reporter: good morning. no question what a bruising night. today at least, joe biden is expecting to receive shortly the endorsement from congressman james clyburn. of course, the number three democrat in the house of representatives. the highest ranking african-american elected official. he is counting on that endorsement here to propel him through into the south carolina primary on saturday. but,

how much will jim clyburn's support help joe biden? >>> and secretary of defense mark esper gets a grilling on his decision to divert military funding to pay for the border wall and is the u.s. prepared for a coronavirus outbreak? we'll continue this conversation this afternoon. i can tell you that the acting dhs secretary has been slammed for his response. >> you're supposed to keep us safe, and the american people deserve some straight answers on the coronavirus, and i'm not getting them from you. >> i disagree. frustrated that clean clothes you want to wear always seem to need an iron? next time try bounce wrinkle guard dryer sheets. just toss it in the dryer to bounce out wrinkles. we dried these shorts with bounce wrinkle guard, and a pair without. the bounce wrinkle guard shorts have fewer wrinkles and static, and more softness. it's the world's first mega sheet that does the job of three dryer sheets. it also comes in unscented. if you don't love bounce wrinkle guard, we'll give you your money back. b11 is that? steve harvey? gi

the endorsement from jim clyburn was huge. he's so well respected from people, not just the african-american community. that gave him a shot in the arl f -- arm for sure. i thought he navigated that first question very well when you essentially said to him that bernie sanders was promising everything. he acknowledged when you're having a hard time with your health care or college loans that people are eager to hear something but he was also pointing out that bernie is promising everything, implying of course that he can't deliver on those everythings. >> anton, this notion and we're starting to hear this more and more and we'll probably have a better sense tuesday after the 1,300 delegates up for grabs are spoken for but this idea that perhaps bernie sanders is moving the goalpost a bit when it comes to delegates and what could go down at the convention in milwaukee. what say you to that? >> well, i will say that bernie is moving the goalpost. this is what people need to remember. the democratic party has a party. the party de

he's got jim clyburn talking about a double-digit win there. if his momentum from that in those super tuesday states, is it complicated by michael bloomberg. you look at sanders' polling out there ahead, you look at biden and bloomberg bunched together. if biden gets a bounce here from south carolina, if he can get a big win here, does bloomberg get in the way of biden having a chance to win. if you look at california, there's something more critical for joe biden because the delegate threshold in california, biggest state, 15%. if biden comes in where this poll has him, 13%, he does not get a single statewide delegate in california. if the result in california looks like this poll, that is an absolute blowout from bernie sanders and he could emerge from california alone 150, 200 delegates ahead of his nearest rival. >> do we know what kind of margin joe biden needs coming out of south carolina to turn that state into a springboard for him? is that knowable at this point? >> i don't think it's knowable. you look at the expectations game, if you

our guest this hour is congressman jim clyburn of south carolina.since he endorsed joe biden earlier today. our correspondents and analysts are also standing by. first, directly to the white

you don't do well here, you don't really have a pathway forward and that mes telling that even jim clyburn is saying that on the record in front of cameras. robert: jeff, quickly, you covered mayo buttigieg's campaign. what's his next move? >> well, he needs to show that he can win in a place othera than i. he needed to expand his coalition. earlier at the citadel. n the crowd was very white. so the reality is he's been unable to expand his group. so his path now really depends upon vice president biden's collapse. so look for the buttigieg campaign to reassess after super tuesday. it all hinges on that. but he must know there must be a consolidation of this other than sanders candidates. so i look for him to do that next week if he is not sf succ here and on super tuesday. robert: asma, when you look ahead to super tuesday, no one gets i out, andn less than a minute are these campaigns now planning for a contested convention? >> i don't think we're there sdt. i think super t will offer us some clarity. just because there are so many delegates attake. both between california and texas. abo

get a majority. >> and joining me now is the democratic congressman from south carolina, jim clyburn. he's also the house majority whip. congressman clyburn, welcome back to "meet the press," sir. >> thank you for having me. >> bernie sanders, democratic front-runner at this point. do you accept the fact that he's right now the odds-on favorite to be the democratic nominee? >> well, i would accept the fact that he's the front-runner. i want south carolina to have its say before i talk about who would be the odds-on favorite. >> let's talk about south carolina. i want to throw up an entrance poll graphic of african-american voters in nevada, and just because african-american voters vote one way in nevada doesn't mean they won't vote another way. biden at 39%, warren at 10%. it felt like a reasonable south carolina poll going in with a week to go. is that how you would see the spread right now in south carolina? >> i don't know if i have spent enough time trying to figure out exactly who has how much. but all these candidates will get some african-american votes. no question about that.

my guests this morning jim clyburn where joe biden will be making a do or die stand. >>> are you trying to say i'm dumb? >> fear and loathing in las vegas. >> none of them accused me except they didn't like a joke i told. >> the candidates democrats saw as the answer to sanders flas line flat lines in wednesday's debate. >> i have been nice to some women. >> can michael bloomberg's money buy his way out of that performance. >>> and president trump dismisses as democratic propaganda and intelligence report from his own administration that the russians are again trying to help him win. >> it's disinformation. that's the only thing they are good at. >> as a result he dismisses his intelligence chief. i'll talk to mark short of the white house. joining me are hugh hewitt. kimberly atkins, dan pfeiffer, and betsy swan of the daily beast. welcome to sunday, it's "meet the press." >> from nbc news in washington, the longest running show in television history, this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. >>> goornd morning, if there wa any question about the front runner bernie sanders put that to

and jim clyburn and bennie thompson made agreement with the networks they would not get out in frontthe debate. so, it's given me time to woo and court jim clyburn for joe biden and hopefully in the morning or sometime tomorrow we'll get news we've been waiting for and that is the strongest african-american elected official in south carolina, the strongest democrat in south carolina, hopefully endorsing joe biden. >> and how big of a factor has tom steyer been? i mean, he's obviously spent a lot of money, right? but he has picked up -- he talked about it in the debate in new hampshire, talked about how well he's been doing with african-americans in the polls. how significant a factor has he been or could he be? >> in south carolina he has a great ground game and spent a lot of money advertising what he wants to do and wooing voters. when you spend that much money, in the millions, you're going to see some of a return. he spent over 15, i think $20 million in nevada. and we still came in second, and i think he was in the low single digits. i don't think he's going to be able to stop u

as always great to talk to you congressman jim clyburn. thank you. >> thanks for having me. >> all right. for more on this, let's bring in michael hopskin and reena schultz. reena is a republican strategist and founder of the women's public leadership network. michael, you worked on hillary and president obama's campaigns, we are seeing now the campaign for the 2020 nomination goes south and west. for the first time people of color will have a sizable plot of the electric or the participates in the caucus of nevada and the primary and south carolina. it had not been that in the first two states. something many of us have been concerned about for a while now. i put it aside for this discussion. >> how do you weigh this field of candidates of bernie sanders to biden to klobachar and to elizabeth warren and tom steyer, how do you weigh them in terms of the issues that blacks and browns may be concerned about that may not have been as much of a prioritpriority. maybe a concern but not a priority concern to voters they dealt with iowa caucus. >

congressman jim clyburn. thank you for joining us in this morning.hat's your take on the nevada results and what it means for south carolina? >> first of all, thank you very much for having me, george. i do believe that nevada will have somewhat of an impact on south carolina. all the prior contests do have an impact. i do believe however, though, south carolinians know where they're in this primary window. we got in the window because of the demographics of the state and the demographics of the democratic electorate, and we think we reflect that, and we really believe that now that the west and the midwest and the northeast have had their say, we are going to let people know how we feel about these candidates, and it may not line up with nevada or new hampshire or however. >> you have historically been a king maker in south carolina. you said you're not going to make an endorsement before tuesday night's debate. does that still hold, and will you definitely make an endorsement after the debate? >> yes, it still holds. i'm going to honor this debate.

it is because of jim clyburn. he is the reason, along with nancy pelosi. before that, we didn't have one single republican vote. but when jim talks to people, he does not lecture them. he talks to them, he informs them. he informs them like he informed everybody here this morning. james the apostle he was a man who talked about your deeds, not words. everything jim has done, in his entire career, has been about helping people. so the basic stuff but it is not all of that basic. it's never been about jim. it's been about the other guy or the other woman. and that is the way he has led and why everybody looks to him. not just being nice, because i am standing here and jim is behind me. you all know it. people respect jim. the first thing a man and woman ask about him, is their sense of honor and dignity, respect. the civil respect so when jim talks about, and a touch jim, a system, everything is basically is what you going to do for the person, for the family, which going to do for your community. everything jim does is look through the prism. look at how muc

he just picked up a major endorsement from democratic house majority whip jim clyburn.confident now heading into that primary this weekend. >> i intend to win south carolina and i will win the african-american vote here in south carolina. >> if you don't win in south carolina... >> i will win south carolina. >> juan: his performance did not come without some gas gaffe. >> 150 million people have been killed since 2007 when biden dumbing bernie voted to examine gun manufacturers from liabilit. >> juan: dana, let me come to you on this. maybe he didn't mean 150 million, him and wanted 50,000 or something like that. given what happened at the church in south carolina, it's a powerful point. people are picking on him on the gaffe have something to work with. but i was going to ask you about biden exceeding affectations in the debate. >> dana: i thought he was in a strong position in south carolina. remember, he left new hampshire to go to south carolina because that's as far and he's been there for, what, ten days now, going around the state, he's got a lot of support there

joe biden. >> an emotional jim clyburn endorsing his good friend, joe biden. tone clearly mirrored the high stakes for candidates in south carolina, the last primary before super tuesday next week. campaigns and candidates were on edge. jabs and quips flying from podium to podium, with bernie sanders in the lead now, much of that was directed at him. >> vladamir putin thinks donald trump should be president of the united states. that's why russia is helping you get elected so you will lose to him. >> let me tell you how many nickels and dimes we're talking about, nearly $60 trillion. do you know how much that is for all programs, three times the american economy. >> it adds up to kevin mccarthy as speaker of the house and -- >> getting it to happen will be hard. >> i'm not out of time. he spoke over time and i'm going to talk. here's the deal. >> i am scared, if we cannot pull this party together, if we go to one of those extremes we take a terrible risk of re-electing donald trump. >> i'm hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight. i wonder why. >> anothe

that is in indication where the speaker may very well be. >> the jim clyburn endorsement is huge in southarolina and it looks like he was we get past the debate but it was biden's to lose. there in south carolina there has been his anti-biden add, using a bit of former president obama audio, turns out in reading from his book that is 25 years old and imitating another character portraying someone else in the book. he feels this is totally out of context. he stayed out of this but he had a spokesman said you've got to start using this audio and tremendous be taken down. jennifer rubin at the washington post said fabulous group, trump still deathly afraid of joe biden and wants bernie is apartment and when do dems get off the sideline to make clear this is what is going on. former president obama has stayed out of this. do you think he will sense of duty to support his former vice president? >> as usual he is leading from behind on this one and i'm not sure he will get off the sidelines because he's nervous and cognizant about the same factor in the same phenomenon i mentioned with nancy pe

jim, first your take on the clyburn endorsement, how important? >> it's a big moment.ical of endorsements usually but jim clyburn's is the one endorsement i would wanting in south carolina. he has real organizational skills. he has real field on the ground. and more importantly, he's the person that people look to to say who should i vote for? and with half this field undecided with just a few days left, that's the endorsement i think is a very significant one. >> that's so interesting. so then about last night, everyone going after bernie sanders. do you think anyone left a mark, though? >> it's a good question. some of these people need to start doing it on tv and on digital and with paid communication. i think the one hit that hurt him last night was joe biden going after him on gun control, saying you voted against the brady bill five times. i think that's the hit i think could have some lasting impact. and it was interesting to see how bernie sanders dealt with those attacks, kate. i think for the most part he just tried to stay above it, ducked and went back to h

rebounding in south carolina and rewarded with the important endorsement of jim clyburn before saturday's primary. biden is still well behind front-runner bernie sanders in delegates and money. sanders has been campaigning in super tuesday states that vote next week while the former vice president remains locked down in south carolina to prevent another loss. sanders, despite his popular strength, defending whether a democratic socialist can defeat donald trump. >> if you look at battleground states like michigan, wisconsin and pennsylvania, polling just -- >> the polls aren't the election. >> i beat trump. if you want to beat trump, important but now i'm just not so sure he has the fight left in him to do it. he's not willing to get in the mud with donald trump and that person was worried about the fact that bernie sanders was also going to be the nominee. there are a lot of people who are older african-americans who are established as democrats who are worried about the title of socialists. they don't understand the nuances between a democratic socialist and cuba's communism. african-am

we had the debate in charleston on tuesday and yesterday representative jim clyburn, the third rankingemocrat in the house of representatives endorsed joe biden. as you mentioned, there is a new monmouth university poll that shows joe biden in a commanding lead. if biden can parlay the endorsement and the good debate performance into saturday, he seems like he is the odds on favorite to win the south carolina primary. then the question becomes how does he do in the super tuesday states located largely in the south on march 3? as you say, representative clyburn's endorsement in the past has meant an awful lot to any democrat running. is it still the case that the endorsement means that much, because there is some erosion of party discipline. jordan: one of the things we did in the book is look at endorsements over time, from 1988 to the present. what we find is they do matter. candidates that do well securing endorsements prior to the primary get a noticeable bump in their performance on election day. isn it comes to clyburn, he unique in a lot of ways. there is probably no other politi

politicos reporting house democratic whip jim clyburn will endorse former vice president joe biden on wednesday. mr. biden came in second behind bernie sanders nevada over the weekend. commerce and clyburn is considered very influential and succulent politics. 2020 democratic presidential candidate amy klobuchar spoke to volunteers at an event in her home state of minnesota after the nevada caucuses. senator klobuchar told the group she will do better than expected in many super tuesday states. so i was just told that all of you have been with amy since day one. in are the cream of the crop terms of volunteers and supporters. you have been working like dogs to make sure that we introduce the rest of the country to the amy klobuchar that we all know, isn't that right? [applause] and one of the coolest things is when we get to introduce the rest of the country to our good friend come what they are finding is they -- the rest of the country really digs her a lot. justow that amy is not talk, she's not just rhetoric, she is quite simply someone that gets things done. [applause] you, butt