having a potential iowa caucus winner out of the race is good. people like mike huckabee and ben carson. and people like donald trump. anybody who stood a chance in winning in iowa now has one potential rival out of their way. mark: a lot of walker supporters drizzled when i lumped him him with the established candidates get even know he was running for the to the right i still believed in the end in iowa his past success was with a lot of establishment votes. that vote is totally up for grasping at marco rubio doesn't improve their, if chris christie doesn't improve, i always -- is up for grasp. if marco rubio doesn't improve their, if chris christie doesn't improve their, it is wide open for an established figure. bush is competing there. most of the tension is not on the establishment side, it is on the evangelical side and antiestablishment side. john: who knows what made up ling of belinda supporters out there. some of them were attracted to him for their antiestablishment tough on immigration stance, some of the things they put forward, some

the bottom line is he was still -- having a potential iowa caucus winner out of the race -- is good for the other iowa caucus winners. people like ted cruz and mike huckabee. anybody who stood a chance of winning in iowa now has a potential rival who is out of their way. mark: a lot of walker supporters drizzled when i lumped him him with the established candidates get even know he was running for the to the right i still believed in the end in iowa his past success was with a lot of establishment votes. that vote is totally up for grabs if marco rubio doesn't improve there, if chris christie doesn't improve. i think it helps jeb bush. it leads the vote wide open for an establishment figure, bush is competing there. let's see if anyone can go in and get some of that phot. most of the attention is not on the establishment side, it is on the evangelical side and antiestablishment side. john: who knows what made up walker's dwindling group of supporters out there. some of them were attracted to him for his antiestablishment tough on immigration stance, some of the things they put forward,

they want to win the southern primaries to offset the sting of potentially losing, potentially, in iowand new hampshire. that strategy starts with south carolina, where so far, hillary clinton looks strong. according to a new ppp poll, clinton leads her nearest rival by 30 points, and bernie sanders lags behind biden with seven or 9%. on the republican side, south carolina looks like the rest of the country. donald trump has a big lead there with 37%, followed by ben carson and the rest of the field is in single digits. we'll be right back. >>> in retrospect, certainly as i look back at it now, even though it was allowed, i should have used two accounts, one for personal, one for work related e-mails. that was a mistake, i'm sorry about that, i take responsibility. and i'm trying to be as transparent as i possibly can. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was hillary clinton apologizing last night formally to abc news for using a private e-mail account when she was at the helm of the state department. the e-mail controversy has dogged senator clinton since "the new york times" broke the

iowa. potential flooding there. ahead of the cold front, record temperatures. newark, 94. boston, 93, an all-time record. so, summer heat goes beyond labor day. >> we were talking about grace last night. what's happening in the tropics? >> el nino has kept this year in check. a weak storm, continuing to weaken. an ominous track, but likely to diminish. like so many storms have this season. we'll take it. >> some good news. rob, thank you. >>> and next to the growing humanitarian crisis. hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing violence in the middle east. rushing across european borders. germany opening its doors, welcoming in nearly 20,000 refugees this weekend alone. and tonight, pressure is growing on the united states. alex marquardt has that story. >> reporter: confrontations in hungary between police and refugees. and in greece, the waves of people keep coming. >> the people are coming quicker than we can load them. >> reporter: more than 20,000 arriving in germany in three days. big smiles as they're warmly welcomed. chancellor angela merkel says they're ready to t

they want to win the southern primaries to offset the sting of potentially losing, potentially, in iowand new hampshire. that strategy starts with south carolina, where so far, hillary clinton looks strong. according to a new ppp poll, clinton leads her nearest rival by 30 points, and bernie sanders lags behind biden with seven or 9%. on the republican side, south carolina looks like the rest of the country. dond trump has a big lead there with 37%, followed by ben carson and the rest of the field is in single digits. we'll be right back. in 170 countries. the microsoft cloud allows us to immediately be able to access information, wherever we are. information for an athlete's medical care, or information to track their personal best. with microsoft cloud, we save millions of man hours, and that's time that we can invest in our athletes and changing the world. from bank of america to buy a new gym bag. before earning 1% cash back everywhere, every time and 2% back at the grocery store. even before he got 3% back on gas. kenny used his bankamericard cash rewards credit card to join the we

the -- i thought very interesting statistics deep in the internal side of the poll in iowa, 87% of republican potential republican caucus goers in iowa said they would prefer somebody who had no washington government experience, period. and then it went across the board to different categories, men, women, evangelicals, it was higher than that or in the 90s. that's a pretty amazing statistic. i think that that gives you a pretty good snapshot of the energy out there that's fuelling the trump and to some extent the carson campaign and the fiorina campaign and ted cruz. >> there are other non-washington candidates in the race. ben carson is one of them. i'm just curious, how do mainstream candidates who are tarred with that washington brush, how do they break through, particularly as we have the debate coming up next wednesday? >> sure. if they are a governor, focus on what they did on that state. that's true whether you are talking about jeb bush or scott walker. even jim gilmore for that matter. if they are a senator, rubio and cruz and paul, they haven't been a creature of washington for a long time.

astronomical number about all of those eight candidates, could be in position to really compete and potentially win in iowa, two ifs. one they need the money. around two, they need to put that money into organization that can get between 30 and 35,000 people and persuade them to come out on a cold february night spend a few hours publicly supporting them at the caucuses that's not easy. when the problem, when trump is taking up all the oxygen it is really hard to raise money and some of those candidates including walker have cash problems. rick perry is in particular. there you see it popularity of donald trump at 60%, ranging up to carson at 79, these republicans notwithstanding pretty nazi barbs they are throwing at each other remain popular with iowa caucus-goers and the first test is five months from now. jenna: carl, thank you. jon: vice president joe biden is casting doubt whether he will enter the presidential race. appearing on the late show with stephen colbert, says anyone running for president has to give it all they have got and may not be up to it with the recent death of his son beau. >> repo

a problem for trump in a place like iowa are his religious credentials. you wrote, they are a potential area of vulnerability. 40% say christian conservative is a better label for them than tea party. business or yepted establishment republican or liberty movement. donald trump can't reference a verse in the bible that he likes. doesn't admit to feeling bad about sin and talking about that. this is one area that if other candidates wanted to exploit, they'd probably have a easier time doing itn

that iowa, the caucuses on the republican side, have a disproportionate share of evangelical christian voters, so that combination outsider status plus being a christian conservative is a potentiallyoost for him in iowa in the next few months. >> now a lot of attention being paid to jeb bush. he is in miami today where he held a town hall with high school students, and one of the students had a question about gun control. let's listen to that. >> my question for you is mass shootings have increased over the past several years. do you think there should be stricter gun laws, and would it be beneficial for teachers to carry guns during school hours? >> wow, that's a controversial subject. what do you guys do here? no packing? i don't think that ought to be a national, you know, the federal government shouldn't be involved in gun laws. >> referring to his packing, and knowing these kind of missteps in the past, is this another one that could hurt him? >> i didn't take it that way. i took it as a joke, he was trying to make light of the image of teachers packing heat. but it really does show you the political divide between democrats and republicans on the issue of guns, jeb bush sayi

. >> speaking of republicans, we have another poll, about iowa and what the potential gop caucus goers are thinking. donald trump, bush, carly fiorina, they fall into the single digits. >> that was what i was going to speak to. trump, plus carson is 51%. fiorina, that's 56%. jeb bush is at 6%. i don't want to underscore that for the viewers. 6%. scott walker who was the front runner a couple months ago, 5%. there is a loud message here. something that pat and john have been underscoring. but, the republican electorate is very angry. they want fresh faces. they're voting assertively with people with no experience. they're saying to those who have been governors of states, no, we don't want what you're offering. >> is this the year of the political outsider? >> not only -- this is the year of political revolution. by the way, all the pundits, in washington, who have no clue what's -- they're in a panning. no clue what's going on. they said when donald trump gets down to one opponent. somebody one of the polls here tested bush against trump alone. trump beat him by 19 points. he was beati

according to our latest poll, donald trump beats clinton in iowa in a potential matchup but biden would beat trump. what is the mood among biden supporters? caveat in the poll that joe biden remains so attractive because he hasn't declared. it all changes the minute that he says he's running. >> that's entire true, and obviously hillary clinton has dealt with some of that over the course of the last couple months. one interesting thing that we learned from our poll, biden polls from hillary clinton and from bernie sanders, and so if he decided to get into the race you could see numbers on both of those sides change. at this point he's getting down to the wire of needing to make a decision particularly about staff, about raising money. theren is aelement of time pressure. you saw him talking over the weekend, jogging through crowds, listening to people chant "run, joe, run" very classic joe biden type of moment. it really is about his family and particularly about his wife, jill biden and whether she would be on board for something that is an emotionally exhausting activity for months on

of these places, thousands of people this early, i can tell you, you are a potentially serious threat. now that being said, iowaire, i think he's got real momentum, but once you get past that, i start having question marks. >> i want to ask you, since that clinton camp reboot, we've seen her dancing on ellen. also the sitdown interviews, one-on-one interviews. she's kept up her charm offensive, even last night on "the tonight show." we want to take another look at that. >> you originally said, quote, mr. trump insults and dismisses women. tell me, what would you do to help women in this country? >> donald, i spent my entire career fighting for women's rights. that's what i believe in. that's what i'm fighting for. i'm really furious, donald, what is your stance on women's issues? >> look, i know a lot of women and they all have issues. are you writing all this down? >> hold on, let me grab my pen. [ applause ] >> like her or not, she's funny. she was actually funny in that little skit. you could tell that smile was a genuine smile. is the charm offensive for her works now. >> likability is always an important p

potential voters. his closest competitor is ohio governor john kasich at 12%, polled by ben carson at 11% and jeb bush at 8%. in iowaers followed by carson at 22% and again jeb bush at 6%. meanwhile, there is a major shakeup on the democratic side. bernie sanders beats hillary clinton for the first time in one of the big polls. he has an 11-point lead in new hampshire with nearly 50% of the vote. in iowa, however, clinton maintains her lead with an 11-point advantage over sanders. clinic oh ton is on the campaign trail in iowa today, just a day after acknowledging her family paid a state department aide to maintain her e-mail server. >> with respect to personal services that he provided to me and my family, we obviously paid for those services. and did so because during a period of time, we continued to need his technical assistance, and i think that's in the public record. >> nbc's kristen welker in newton, iowa, for us this afternoon. kristen, mrs. clinton and the e-mail issue, they just can't seem to break apart. >> reporter: no, it's true. and she is trying to hit the restart button, alex. she's going to try to

that she doesn't maintain an absolutely commanding lead over her potential rivals, but we're seeing bernie sanders creeping up on her in iowa. some polls have her ahead in nam -- new hampshire. the real erosion has been in how people regard her, when hey approve of her or consider her trustworthy. these are unforced errors the 9 campaign also realizes that they missed some stunts -- opportunities, back when it was revealed that this private server exitcht -- existed. jeanne: i think also it's the campaign. many of her donors have been shaken by not just what happened but the handling be of the political fawout from it all. we know they're inviting individual donors up to brooklyn to talk with robby mook -- gwen: her campaign manager? jeanne: and it's not just her supporters that have been rattled by this. peter: and why else would vice president biden be thinking about jumping in at this late date talk about we that, i want to roll a bit of joe biden last night. there was a q and a about whether he was going to run. the answer was pretty sober. et's listen. vice president biden: everybody talks about the factors, whether i

iowa is of course the place where we're seeing ted cruz potentially being strong, where trump has donerly well in the polls, as compared to some of the other states where such polling has been done. so between speaking to a very fundamental anger in the electorate and hitting on that particular note, this really is something that potentially drives the conversation in the early voting republican states, frances. >> certainly another part of this that is interesting is to see donald trump and ted cruz kind of partner up. even before this, you know, you kind of have that likelihood, you said ted cruz said, you know what, a lot of the presidential candidates have gone out of their way to stick it to donald trump. i'm not one of them. saying, frankly, wherever media goes or wherever donald trump goes, the media follows. what does he have to gain from that? kind of in essence hanging out with the cool kid in high school, you become one too? or what's the strategy here with that? >> reporter: there's a couple of things going on here, frances. first of all, cruz hasn't been on the end of atta

unlock the potential of every american and when we do that, we will unlock the potential of america itself. >> clinton is in iowa today. a state she needs to focus on. a poll shows most democrats do hot care about her e-mails but her numbers are still falling quickly. she's down ten points to bernie sanders in iowa and down 22 in new hampshire. >> lost 40 points in the polls over the last month and a half. i'd be a little bit more concerned. >> clinton, however, still has a big lead in south carolina. >>> still no word about why two planes clipped wings last night between terminals at l.a.x. one plane arriving from newark, new jersey, hit another leaving for portland. this is on the ground. happened a little before 8:00 p.m. both planes suffered visible damage. each carried more than 160 passengers. all got off safely. those onboard the outgoing flights were rebooked on to other flights. >>> it's 5:25. new guidelines to help pediatricians and parents to catch the signs that a child is dealing with a crisis. many children exposed to a disaster have adjustment issue. kids should see a doctor if they are having tro

so if she does stumble, if she does do badly in those first or two states, in iowa and new hampshire, it potentiallyld set the campaign back on its heel, couldn't it? >> yes. i think there's a strategy here. south carolina is seen as a firewall, but the whole thing turns upside down if joe biden gets into this race. and really we've been talking about that for many weeks, and there was the appearance he made on stephen colbert's show where he was emotional, and a lot of people looked at that and said -- about the loss of his son -- that perhaps he was not ready emotionally to get in this race. i think since then every indication has been that joe biden is going to get in, and the money people are ready to step in behind. you heard dr. jill biden saying that she is supporting him in a possible run. if that happens, it shakes up the whole thing, and south carolina becomes a question heart attack. jon: if joe biden does get into that race, hillary clinton's support falls, as we mentioned in the lead-in. he comes in in this latest poll with 32% against -- 22% against bernie sanders 34%. that suggests th

harbingers, anything that you guys look at as early indications of jindal catching on or potentially catching on in iowa >> sure, you see the, in the polls, you'll see the faves go up. and traditionally, your image questions are leading indicators to ballot movement, and so, you know, we're watching that. as he's traveling around, you can see that we've got over 600, 662 volunteers signed up in iowa, so building out the organization. that's what we're looking a number of volunteers, you know, and our faves and that moves into the ballot, and hopefully it does it right before the election. >> what does he say or do out there that gets the most reaction? it seems to me not having been out on the trail with him, but just hearing what others say and hearing, reading reports that it's the immigration without assimilationism invasion. is that the thing that gets people going the most? >> that has. i tell you, religious liberty is an issue that has a lot of people worried. you know, this idea that year' losing something as a country if, as a christian businessman you can't operate a business according to your

any harbingers, anything you guys look at as early indications of jindal catching on a potentially catching on in iowa speak with well, sure, in the post you will see the favorites go up and traditionally your image questions are leading indicators to ballot movement. and so we are watching that as his traveling around you can see, you know, we've got over 662 volunteers signed up in iowa. so building of the organization. that's overlooking at, number of volunteers and our faves and that moves into ballot and hopefully it does it right before the election. >> what does he say our get out there to get to those reaction but it seems to me that having been on the trail with him but just hearing what others say and hearing, reading reports that it's the immigration without assimilation come innovation, is that the thing that gets people going for most? >> badass. religious liberty is an issue -- that has. this idea that we are losing something as a country, if as a christian businessman, you can't operate a business according to your beliefs and according to your conscience, if we're going to force people

anything you guys look at as early indications of jindal catching or or potentially catching on in iowalls you'll see the faves go up and traditionally your image questions leading indicators. so 662 volunteers signed up in iowa so building out the organization so that's what we're looking at, number of volunteers and our faves and that moves into ballot and hopefully it does it right before the election. >> what does he say or do out there that gets the most reaction? it seems to me not having been on the trail with him but just hearing what others say and reading reports that it's the immigration without assimilation is invasion. is that the thing that gets people going the most? >> that has. i tell you, religious liberty is an issue that has a lot of people worried this idea that we're losing something as a country if as a christian businessman you can't operate a business according to your believes and conscience. if we're going to force people to attend religious ceremonies against their conscience, that's something that strikes a chord. most rekrent cently it's been ha frank conve

harbingers, anything that you guys look at as early indications of jindal catching on or potentially catching on in iowa >> sure, you see the, in the polls, you'll see the faves go up. and traditionally, your image questions are leading indicators to ballot movement, and so, you know, we're watching that. as he's traveling around, you can see that we've got over 600, 662 volunteers signed up in iowa, so building out the organization. that's what we're looking a number of volunteers, you know, and our faves and that moves into the ballot, and hopefully it does it right before the election. >> what does he say or do out there that gets the most reaction? it seems to me not having been out on the trail with him, but just hearing what others say and hearing, reading reports that it's the immigration without assimilationism invasion. is that the thing that gets people going the most? >> that has. i tell you, religious liberty is an issue that has a lot of people worried. you know, this idea that year' losing something as a country if, as a christian businessman you can't operate a business according to your

iowa and new hampshire. clinton still leads nationwide. >>> a potential scramble for power this morning in virginia, a nonprofit filed a new lawsuit challenging the commonwealth 2011 redistricting lines. the group says the boundaries protect incumbents and in doing so violate the constitution. the districts in question include parts of prince william county, manassas, fairfax and arlington county. virginia governor terry mcauliffe's supreme court pick made her first appearance this week. but it could be one of her last. justice jane roush is serving on an interim basis. her appointment expires tomorrow. she served as circuit court judge recently. the governor said he plans to reappoint her. republican lawmakers rejected electing judge roush to the high court. >>> if you're a fantasy football fan, heads up, listen to this. a challenge to the game is now in the works. congressman frank pollone jr. says several websites are illegal. he called for a congressional hearing about the websites. he's from new jersey, a democrat and represents the area that includes atlantaic city. >>> a woman attacked a flight attendant

iowa. while many see national security as a potential weakness, trump says it's a topic he knows a lot about. >> we're really talking about, in my opinion, the military, of which i really know a lot about. i think one of the biggest surprises will be, if i win, how good i'll be at national security. >> trump's speech comes as a "new york times"/cbs news poll out today contains the most dramatic evidence to date that the primary contest is becoming a two-man race between trump and ben carson, this as others, notably jeb bush lag far behind while trump prepares to be center stage at tomorrow night's debate, the attacks aren't just coming from other candidates. today the club for growth is out with a million dollar ad questions trump's conservativism. >> which presidential candidate supports higher taxes, national health care and the wall street bail-out? >> it's donald trump. >> trumpme wants us to think he mr. tell it like it is, but he has a record. he's playing us for chumps. >> joining me now, let's start with today's club for growth ads. is this another indication that trump is finally be

that's fascinating, because i -- and i actually think ben carson has more upset potential especially in a state like iowanald trump has staying power. the way i look at trump and i'm a little more pessimistic about his staying point. he's been on almost every cable news show he's got at least a billion dollars in free advertising for his campaign. when no one else is running campaign ads. that's going to change in the next week. super p.a.c. is going to be going up next week. other candidates will jump in the fray in not too much longer. people have seen the ads on television. that makes a big impact. john kasik spent four or $5 million in new hampshire and he's in second place in the new hampshire polls. money matters. people are going to start to engage in the cam feign, spend money, attack donald trump. i think his numbers are -- he certainly has appeal but i think the numbers will change quite a bit. i think if anyone else has appeal is a true outsider like ben carson who can tap into support and if i was looking at a dark horse, i would say he's the guy to watch, not trump. >> you can see this chart

potential to shake up the race! >> trump, trump! >> reporter: donald trump insisted he is superior to his rivals aboard the u.s.s. iowa tuesday night on the eve of the second republican presidential debate. >> it's an instinct. it's something that special. they don't have it believe me, they don't have it. >> reporter: the real estate mogul will take center stage flanked by 10 other candidates including dr. ben carson, who is closing in on trump's lead. >> if trump ends up overplaying his hand and gets too aggressive and too combative, that could hurt him and provide an opening for carson to move up further. >> reporter: who needs to do the best against trump? >> probably jeb bush. >> reporter: the former florida governor is down to third and has just single-digit support. the prime time debate at the ronald reagan presidential library expected to last at least two hours. most of the candidates say they will take on trump and push him for specifics. trump, who has insulted carly fiorina's appearance, will share the stage with the former hewlett-packard ceo for the first time. >> donald trump is an entertainer. and i t

coming up next, how a potentially very influential group of republicans saw the debate, undecided voters in iowa tell them which candidates impressed them the most or whether anything they heard last night won them over. when a wildfire raged through elkhorn ranch, the sudden loss of pasture became a serious problem for a family business. faced with horses that needed feeding and a texas drought that sent hay prices soaring, the owners had to act fast. thankfully, mary miller banks with chase for business. and with greater financial clarity and a relationship built for the unexpected, she could control her cash flow, and keep the ranch running. chase for business. so you can own it. chase for business. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. t11 intelligent driver-assist systems. it recognizes pedestrians and alerts you. warns you about incoming cross-traffic. cameras and radar detect dangers you don't. and it can even stop by itself. so in this crash test, one thing's missing: a crash. the 2016 e-class. see your authorized dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz finan

iowa? guest 1: five months ago, people said that he has hit a ceiling. his flip on favorability makes me think he has upside potentialknows? we will see. john: thank you. coming up, what is hillary hiding in the e-mails? we will show you after these words from the sponsors. ♪ mike: we mentioned that the state department released 7000 pages of hillary clinton's e-mails. the conventional wisdom is that there are no smoking guns. the opponents are creative. we put a team together to look at the attacks that might soon be coming her way. >> we have waited. >> i want the e-mails out. >> they are here. >> thousands of pages of e-mails are online. >> what about this? >> she was forwarded a story about a masked man that someone in a hillary clinton mask robbed a bank. >> scandalous e-mail after scandalous e-mail. >> she asked a top aid to help her learn an h-pad. >> also, gefiltefish. >> it is nice to know she is a leslie fan. >> is she a fan of hers? >> what else is hillary clinton hiding? john: a controversial jewish delicacy. ♪ john: all right. there has been in of controversy over the cnn debate criteria on how you get o

that's a potential boost to any other candidate really. dropping a million in iowa. we have heard about cruise. and some of the other so-called second tier candidates trying to do some buys. how does that interplay with a debate season that if the last is any indication is dwarfed by these big moments, 208 million plus watching? >> yeah. no. i think we're obviously trump is going to get the bulk of the talk time tonight i would expect and a lot of people are going directly after him. the paid advertising is going to maybe soften trump up a little bit and most of the buys announced is small. a million dollars in iowa goes a ways and not a ton of money and it's interesting to see if there's more money behind the groups if the candidates are going to start taking trump on directly in paid advertising. they have done some of that on web ads so far and a lot to watch. i tweeted after the last debate that i felt better paying more cable television bill in august because it was so entertaining and there was so much going on. i have a feeling we'll good -- >> it's funny, joh

real problem shims to be in those earliest voting states, particularly iowa, and that's where she is today. >> we can unlock the potential of every american, and when we do that, we will unlock the potential of america itself. >> reporter: polls show hillary clinton's falling fast. down ten points in iowa to bernie sanders, according to cbs. down 22 in new hampshire. >> if i'd lost 40 points in the polls over the last month and a half, i'd be a little bit more concerned. >> reporter: clinton still got a big lead in south carolina, but she's in a dead heat with donald trump in abc's latest poll. >> i'll make great deals for this country. >> reporter: trump is now aiming at ben a carson, who's just four pochts behind him in iowa. >> donald trump is an entertainer. so he says things that are entertaining. >> reporter: car'y fiorina is hoping wednesday's debate will be her break-out moment. >> she becomes a real legitimate threat forathe nomination. >> reporter: she's on the main stage this time, a stage republicans expect could soon dwindle. >> there's not enough hard cash to go around to pay campaigns in these states in or

potential of america itself. >> reporter: polls show hillary clinton falling fast, down ten points in iowa, down 20 in new hampshire if i lost 40 points in the polls over the last month and a half i would be concerned. >> reporter: clinton is in a dead heat with donald trump in abc's poll. trump is now aiming at ben carson who is four points behind him. >> donald trump is an entertainer. he says things entertaining. >> reporter: carly fiorina is hoping wednesday's debate is her break-out moment. >> she becomes a legitimate threat for the nomination. >> reporter: she's on the main stage this time. a stage republicans expect to soon dwindle. >> there's not enough hard cash go around to pay campaigns in these states in order to keep 17 candidates alive. >> reporter: in fact, one's already dropped out. rick perry announced he's no longer running. that mean there's are 16 republicans and 5 democrats in this race. tracie potts, nbc news washington. >>> could another billionaire be thinking of joining the race? mark cuban saying that he would crush trump in he ran. he also says he would likely beat hillary clinton if he r

iowa on the democratic side. so, this one poll shows something potentially very interesting. but right now, this is like jazz, right? it's -- what's not important is the note that just played is not important. what's important here is the note that gets played next. then you'll know if the musical makes sense. it was less jazz, more hard core something. >> donald trump is not a serious candidate. he's a narcissist. he's an egomaniac. the only thing he believes in is himself. the reality is, i want to say what everyone is thinking about donald trump but afraid to say. everybody knows this is true. this isn't -- the idea of the donald trump act is great, the reality of donald trump, however, is absurd. he's nonserious he's a carnival act. donald trump is for donald trump. he believes in nothing other than himself. he's not a liberal, not a moderate, not a conservative. he's not a democrat, he's not a republican, he's not an independent. donald trump is for donald trump. he's not for anything. he's not against anything. issues don't mean anything to him. policies, ideals are not

so trump is seeing this in early states like iowa and south carolina as a potentially significant liabilitynd that is why you're seeing him doing events like the ones he did yesterday. >> so let's talk about this comparison between trump's, i guess, nonresponse to the criticism of president obama and muslims in america, and the 2008 exchange between john mccain supporter at a rally. first, let's listen to that exchange and then we will talk about it. >> i can't trust obama. i have read about him and he's not -- he's not -- he's -- he's an arab. >> no. >> he is not? >> no. >> no? >> no, no, ma'am. he is a decent family man, citizen that i just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and that is what this campaign is all about. he is not. thank you. >> this one is if i would have challenged the man, that's the man that made the statement, somewhat maybe negative top president, to put it mildly, the media would have accused me of interfering with that man's right of free speech, a no-win situation. do we agree? if i would have stopped him, and you remember the famous thing wher

potential force? evangelicals who went with santorum won iowa and then in a sense felt that they wasted that leverage because they went back to the romney centrist sellout. unlike a huckabee or santorum, there's increasing fear among republican elites that he could win. >> he could make these things come to fruition, they don't feel that they are wasting their vote on someone that won't be as forceful and get things done and take the nomination. they see him as someone who can one win. there is such a concern about him. i think this is one of the biggest tests. >> you have to consider the fact that it's not just evangelicals or what little box you fit into. we all fit into five or ten different boxes. you might be an evangelical but you might be an angry eve evangelic evangelical. you have two jobs, no benefits and have to pay more money just to have medical care and you're mad. >> it's not a single issue voter. >> he's tapping into the fact that -- think about it. two leading republicans are outsiders. people who have never held political office. what voters are saying in iowa, new hampshire and oth

. >> reporter: also tailgating in iowa, marco rubio, and scott walker, who's struggling to find a foothold. once seen as a potential front-runner walker is plunging in the key state. meanwhile, ben carson rising quickly to second place, wooing voters in south carolina. >> all i have to do is tell the truth and takes the pressure off of you. >> nearby, democratic bernie sanders courted african-american voters whose support he'll need to compete with hillary clinton. >> we need an economy that works for all of us and not just a handle of billionaires. that's what this campaign is about. >> reporter: the vermont senator, still in second, but gaining fast. now, in just three days the republican candidates will face off in their second debate and after 24 million viewers tuned in for the first one, this will likely be a make or break moment. dan. >> it's going to be a big night. mary, thank you. >>> for much more on this, let's bring in martha raddatz who's also in washington who will be hosting "this week" later this morning. martha good morning. what can we expect from trump's opponents? what's their strategy likely t

potential possible candidate. let's start in hampton, illinois, one of the quad-citys across the river from davenport, iowa. with jeff zeleny. her campaign seems to be trying to inhabit this underdog role. when your last name is clinton, though, can you really credibly play the underdog? >> reporter: that's a great question. it is difficult, but a senator named sanders has made that more plausible this summer. she just finished speaking here a few moments ago. people are enthused, but i have to say one of the advantages goes to senator sanders. >> happy labor day! >> reporter: a wake-up call for hillary clinton. the democratic presidential contest is now a real race. the summer of sanders has blossomed into a fall fight for clinton. >> this is a people's campaign. and we will win this campaign -- >> a new poll in new hampshire shows bernie sanders leading by nine points. >> i want your vote. i want to win here in new hampshire. i want to win the democratic nomination, and i want to become president of the united states. >> reporter: it's still a strf to call clinton the underdog. she still carries tremendou

that was the scene outside of donald trump rally on board the "uss iowa" last night, and tonight has the potentiallouder. at least 40 organizations say they will be protesting outside the cnn debate, speaking out against what they call racist and xenophobic language by some of these candidates. now, many of those protesters are upset about trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric, declaring some of those who cross the border are rapists or criminals, saying he wants to build a wall. but for all the rhetoric, there are real people at the center of the immigration crisis. i talked with a man trump wants to see deported. his name is francisco. he is undocumented. he came from mexico 14 years ago. francisco works hard. he pays taxes. he has a wife and four girls, and he says he's proving trump wrong. >> i don't think that he represents americans. we want to prove him and people who think like him, and we are here working hard and facing all the time deportation. >> a few years ago francisco was arrested by immigration officials. he spent time behind bars before catholic charities helped him out. but for his fa

iowa. site of the first caucuses in the race for the white house. trump is under fire for not correcting a potential voter in new hampshire for calling president obama a muslim and not an american. jeb bush pointed out that the president is a christian and american. democratic presidential candidate scalded trump for not rebuking the man's comment. >> he knew or should have known what the man was asking was not only way out of bounds, it was untrue. >> republican presidential hopeful john kasich and chris christie pointed out that mr. obama is christian and american. previously donald trump point out the president was not born in united states, the republican hopeful said he had trouble hearing the comment. >> the help wanted sign has been posted for several companies. details on who is looking for a few good employees for the upcoming holiday season. >> funnel clouds fill the skies in the west. >> reporter: that same storm system will swing into the delaware valley overnight tonight bringing much cooler (plays throughout) ♪ sometimes, at last doesn't happen at first. ♪ ♪ your dad just kissed my mom

iowa. joe biden still undecided is already at 14%. as clinton looks vulnerable, people close to biden tell nbc news he is recalculating the odds. encouraged by fund-raisers and potential staff. and told if he wants to wait he has time. >> i would support joe biden as a candidate for president. >> reporter: aides have checked the november filing deadlines for the big march primaries and caucuses. supporters say people know biden, he has foreign policy experience, the highest favorable ratings of any of the candidates in either party. and he seems authentic although sometimes accident-prone. >> this is a big [ muted ] deal. >> reporter: biden is meeting with top democrats including the head of the afl-cio. >> he would be a good candidate. he would be a good president. >> reporter: biden is still deciding whether he has the heart for a tough contest after losing his son. but he's touching all bases, meeting with jewish leaders on iran, celebrating labor day in pittsburgh with labor leaders and colbert's new show next week. lester? >> andrea mitchell, thank you. >>> a dangerous journey came to an abrupt halt today for hundreds of migrants in europe. the scene erupting int

and yesterday in iowa, a junior varsity football game was canceled when 13 athletes got hurt leading up to the game. >> we ended up with three concussions an a bad back. a good potential acl sprain and another lineman who is probably blown out his knee. >> three high school football players have died this season. the latest new jersey high school quarterback evan murray whose spleen ruptured after being tackled in a game on friday night. though the sport is still popular, the number of players competing at high school level has fallen 2.4% over five years to 1.08 million and has growing concerns that has some calling football out of bounds. ron mott, nbc news, boston. >>> still ahead tonight, do you really need to take the calcium supplements. new studies calling into question whether they might be doing more harm than good. >>> and also an unbelievable roadside what l you drop 40 grand on a new set of wheels, then... wham! a minivan t-bones you. guess what: your insurance company will only give you 37-thousand to replace it. "depreciation" they claim. "how can my car depreciate before it's first oil change?" maybe the better question is, why do you have that insuranc

potentially really high. if you think about scott walker going into this debate, having faded from being the iowa front-runner to being one of the last ones in these polls. this is a debate where he could potentially have a breakout moment but one that could also potentially sink his campaign. if he doesn't perform up to expectations, there could be more donors lost and we could be talking about a more imminent demise of his campaign the day after. >> as we hear from donald trump, we know he believes that everybody's going to be coming after him, almost like it's "survivor" and they all made an alliance. but when you think about this and pull it apart, we look at the benefit of what the non-traditional candidate, carson and trump and fiorina, have to gain as opposed to the insider regulars. is that the big divide, the contrast we will see on that stage? >> i think it is a big divide, and i think it might be one of the reasons why carli fiorina has also been rising in the polls, albeit more slowly than ben carson. even as trump has gone after her, they seem to be a little bit insulated from this idea and i thi

yesterday in iowa, a junior varsity football game was canceled when 13 athletes on one team got hurt leading up to the game. >> we ended up with three concussions an a bad back. a good potential acl sprain and another lineman who is probably blown out his knee. >> three high school football players have died this season. the latest new jersey high school quarterback evan murray whose spleen ruptured after being tackled in a game on friday night. though the sport is still popular, the number of players competing at high school level has fallen 2.4% over five years to 1.08 million and has growing concerns that has some calling football out of bounds. ron mott, nbc news, boston. >>> still ahead tonight, do you really need to take the calcium supplements. new studies calling into question whether they might be doing more harm than good. >>> and also an unbelievable roadside hazard. what led to this hive of activity along a busy interstate. >>> we are back now with important health news that will be of particular interest to the millions of americans that take calcium supplements that they believe will help strengthen bones and protect against fractures as they age. new research s