Transcripts For MSNBCW The 11th Hour With Brian Williams 20200214

Colonel vindman and the ukraine debacle. We also learned today this familiar face is coming back to the white house as a counselor to the president. Plus, as Mike Bloomberg sizes up super tuesday, donald trump attempts to size down the former mayor who quickly reminds trump they know a lot of the same people and what people are saying about him back home. All of it as the 11th hour gets underway on this thursday night. Well, good evening once again from our nbc news headquarters here in new york, day 1120 of this trump administration, 264 days to go until the 2020 president ial election. And tonight in a new interview, the attorney general bill barr, who has been nothing but supremely loyal to and protective of the man who appointed him to office, seems to be saying two things. Sure, he intervened in lowering the recommended prison sentence for trumps friend roger stone who is a convicted felon, but he went on to say that the tweets from the president , which is how we know how President Trump wanted the sentence lowered, those tweets really make his job impossible. Barr spoke to abc news about his decision to overrule federal prosecutors who had lowered federal guidelines recommending a 7 to 9year prison term for stone. He goes on to seem to complain about the president s social media habits. I had made a decision that i thought was fair and reasonable in this particular case. And, uh, once the tweet occurred, the question is, well, now what do i do . To have public statements and tweets made about the department, about people in the department, our men and women here, about cases pending in the department, and about judges before whom we have cases, uh, make it impossible, uh, for me to do my job. Im not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody. Whether its congress, newspaper, editorial boards, or the president. Did you talk to the president at all about your decision regarding the recommendations . Never. Just as barr was talking, the president was sounding thankful for his attorney general during a radio interview with geraldo rivera. Have you ever wondered what your life would have been like if you had picked william barr instead of Jeff Sessions when you yeah, my life would have been a lot easier. The countrys life. Yep, my life would have been a lot easier. What about i might have been less popular, because they say they like that i fought it. They like that he won. They like that my base is much more energized. New reporting from the New York Times indicates the loyal attorney general may be pursuing another legal area of great interest to his boss. According to the newspaper, trump justice officials investigate being the governments response to russias election interference back in 16, may be searching for reasons to accuse obamaera intelligence officials of hiding evidence or manipulating analysis about the kremlins operation. The times notes that john durham, the connecticutbased u. S. Attorney temporarily assigned by barr to lead this investigation, is scrutinizing the actions of avowed trump enemy john brennan, the former cia director under obama. Tonight brennan was asked about it. Is there a criminal investigation now on analytic judgments and the activities of cia in terms of trying to protect our National Security . Im certainly willing to talk to will durham or anybody else who has any questions about what we did during this period of time in 2016. Clearly it is another indication that donald trump is using the department of justice to go after his enemies in any way that he can. The day started with news of some unexpected comments from trumps former chief of staff john kelly who has decided to speak candidly now about what he saw on the inside, and he did so at a college appearance in new jersey last night. As reported by the atlantic, kelly defended Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindmans decision to speak out about that phone call with the president of ukraine and described trumps request for investigations as an illegal order. Quote, we teach them, meaning soldiers like vindman, dont allow an illegal order. And if youre ever given one, youll raise it to whoever gives it to you that this is an illegal order, and then tell your boss. Kelly criticized trumps efforts to win over north korean dictator kim jongun saying, quote, he will never give his Nuclear Weapons up. I never did think kim would do anything other than play us for a while, and he did that fairly effectively. Kelly also slammed trumps decision to reverse a decision to oust eddie gallagher, the navy s. E. A. L. Convicted last year of posing with the corpse of an Islamic State fighter. Quote, the idea that the commander in chief intervened there, in my opinion, was exactly the wrong thing to do. Had i been there, i think i could have prevented it. It did not take long for the president to respond, and he did so this way. Quote, when i terminated john kelly, which i couldnt do fast enough, he knew full well that he was way over his head. He misses the action and just cant keep his mouth shut. Kelly actually left the administration 3 1 2 weeks or thereabouts after his departure had been announced. And now another official in exile, former National Security advisor john bolton has come to kellys defense. Bolton writes, kelly is, quote, an honorable man. John and i have disagreed at times, but he has always served his country faithfully. As all of this is happening, the president bringing some former white house staffers back. Former Communications Director hope hicks is returning with a new title, counselor to the president. Shell be assigned to work out of Jared Kushners wide ranging west wing operation. John mcentee, President Trumps former body man who was fired by former chief of staff kelly and escorted off the white house grounds over security clearance issues, is also back. Hes expected to lead the president ial personnel office. Axios also reports that trump, quote, has increasingly become furious with what he sees as a federal government full of never trumpers and that trump feels hes surrounded by snakes and wants to clear out all the disloyal people. President also said hes thinking about changing the policy of having National Security officials and staffers listen in on important phone calls. Thats what theyve done over the years. When you call a foreign leader, people listen. I may end the practice entirely. I may have i may end it entirely. And late today, trumps current National Security advisor weighed in on that. The president can have whatever phone calls he wants without other people being on the line. But i think generally the president is happy if, if hes got some of his aides with him. My experience is he actually enjoys having the vicepresident or myself or secretary pompeo with him. On that note, here for our lead off discussion on a thursday night peter baker chief White House Correspondent for the New York Times. Hes among the uh thoerz of the book currently in wide circulation, impeachment, an american history. Also with us nancy cook, White House Reporter for politico. And robert costa, National Political reporter for the Washington Post and moderator of Washington Week on pbs. Good evening and welcome to you all. Robert, id like to begin with you. If you tell people often enough, dont believe what you see, they start to take your word on it. Having established that, can you, please, give a pass at interpreting the attorney generals words for us . The attorney general for months has been frustrated with the president s tweets, but he has not articulated it that publicly. The Washington Post reported deeply on that tonight. You can read it online. Based on my reporting today and conversations with white house officials, the president feels unbound at this moment. Post acquittal, this is a new phase of the presidency. He is someone who is now bringing in not only his loyalist like hope hicks back into the white house. When it comes to active court cases, criminal sentencing, he feels free to speak out. The Republican Party in lockstep with him on capitol hill. The Democratic Party having already gone through impeachment in the house, and he is not listening to advisors telling him to hold back. Peter baker, talk about things like the desire to be on the phone alone when talking to foreign leaders, things like the desire to purge the payroll of all but those known to be loyal. Yeah, look, this is a president who has felt burned from the beginning by what he considers to be the obama holdovers and career employees around him. Remember, two of his early conversations with foreign leaders, one with mexico, one what australia, were leaked to roberts paper and i think he was very, very upset about that. It took at the very beginning the lesson that he cant really trust anybody. I think thats been in his head now three years. What we saw, of course, with this impeachment was a lot of questioning about his conversation with the president of ukraine. Whether, in fact, his asking of president zelensky to investigate vicepresident biden and other democrats constituted improper coercion of a foreign power to advance his domestic political gains. Hes not going to allay suspicions if he, in fact, does follow through on this and cuts people off those phone calls. That will only, in fact, increase the suspicions. Remember, he had a conversation with vladimir putin. He took the notes from the interpreter. People have been wondering ever since what that conversation was like. Youre in a cycle now where he doesnt trust the people around him and hes closing in and pushing out people he considers to be disloyal. All of which then increases the suspicions of the people outside his circle about whats going on there. And, nancy cook, we note some of the cast members from season one are coming back. Talk about that. And talk about generally a white house staff in a postimpeachment and the democrats fear a postoversight era as they see it. Well, i think that what we saw today was that the president brought back aides and elevated aides he felt really close with. Hope hicks is a very key ally to him. She was a Communications Director and press secretary, but really she was someone who had his issues she was very loyal to him. She was someone who could talk him off a ledge. She was well liked in the west wing. Him bringing her back is like bringing back a security blanket. And she will be a very key figure as we head into the campaign. He also elevated his body man who has had his own security clearance issues to lead the office of president ial personnel, which sounds like a fairly wonky job but is a huge one. That office is responsible for filling hundreds of jobs throughout the federal government. And so what weve seen is that he is elevating people who are loyal to him and who are loyal in particular to Jared Kushner. And another way to look the that, this is really Jared Kushner bringing back people who are close to him and it will definitely give him his own power center in the west wing. Robert costa, beyond popular films we dont usually talk about things like retribution in the public sphere. Not in foe light circles and not out loud. Talk about the theme of retribution. Retribution is animating this presidency at this critical moment. Based on my reporting, the president is not only seething publicly about past enemies, current enemies, but its the mueller report, the russia investigation that continues to dominate much of his thinking. You saw him today lashing out about why the department of justice has not prosecuted figures from that investigation, including former fbi director james comey. Hes also growing frustrated with attorney general barr. Much of the narrative among his critics is barr is compliant with the president in their view, but you also see the president becoming more isolated from his attorney general in this sense. He wants that durham report. John durham investigating the cia and others to come out so he can weapon ize whatever the doj finds. That report has not come out promptly. It has frustrated the president and created a bit of tension between a seemingly loyal attorney general in bill barr and President Trump. Nancy cook, weve just been handed, theres more from the abc news interview with the attorney general apparently. It was conducted by their veteran justice correspondent pierre thomas. Well play this. This has to do with the now famous phone call to the president of ukraine. Were you surprised when the president mentioned you when you heard he mentioned you on the july 25th call, and he did so five times and kind of created the impression you were working with giuliani . Yes. Your reaction when you heard it . Um, i was a bit irritated by it, but, uh, you know, the conversation jumped around, so im not sure what he meant by some of what he was saying. Nancy, i dont mean to call for opinion, but ill repeat, when youre told often enough not to believe what you see and then something comes along that challenges that, it makes you hesitate. What do you think is going on here with the attorney general and the president . Well, i think that there has been tension for a while and politico reported tonight that there has been tension between barr and trump. And i think that what barr was trying to do with this interview was speak to the president through his favorite medium, television, and try to tell him, you know, back off. Lets give the Justice Department give the optics of independence. Please dont do this. Please dont tweet. And i know that theyve had those conversations before, but i think that its interesting that barr chose to so publicly break from the president on tv. Its almost like hes trying to send trump a message. Peter baker, talk about the kind of palpable sense of helplessness on the political left. On the subject, we talked about retribution. Lets talk about recourse. What do the vindmans do . What do the four feds on the inside of d. O. J. Who did as much as they could, as our guest reported last night . They cant hold a press conference. What they could do was kind of shout from inside the institution in the form of withdrawal from this case. When structures of the government are under attack from inside the government, who to see about that . Who is going to report stuff in the future . Yeah, thats a great question. And youre right. Theyre not holding press conferences. The four prosecutors who withdrew from the case, one resigned altogether, they made their statements in legal filings. It was literally a onesentence filing with the court saying, this attorney is withdrawing from the case. It felt like a thunder bolt because it was so extraordinary what the implication of that sentence was. And i think youre seeing a career work force in the federal government, whether it be in the Justice Department or the state department or the military very much on edge, very much uncertain where this is heading. They have been told by the president of the United States that they are part of a kabal, they are part of a deep state enemy. There are lots of them frustrated with the professional bureaucrats around them. They never saw him wage huaraz overtly as this one is. He would say its the other way around. Theyre the ones who have been plotting against him. But its caused this extraordinary moment in washington where you have a president and the government he leads at odds in a most, you know, palpable and fraught way. And if this president is going to win reelection and have five years still to go, you can only imagine what that five years is going to be like. Robert costa, what are the chances that the attorney general has been affected by press coverage in this instance . I noted tonight lou dobbs really went after bill barr like he was made of hamburger meat, and very little happens over there by accident. I cant speak to his mindset, but based on the Washington Post reporting today, the attorney general felt compelled to speak up, not just to have a conversation through television with President Trump, but a conversation with his own department, personnel on edge, about how these attorneys were withdrawing from the case, an institution on the brink with its reputation for independence and integrity. And so as much as the attorney general has been friendly, politically supportive of President Trump, he also leads an institution and is to remain the leader of that institution, his allies say he felt the need to Say Something so it didnt seem like he was floating along and doing the president s bidding. Three terrific guests helping in our effort to figure out just what it is thats going on on a night like tonight. To peter bake, nancy cook, robert costa, thanks for helping us out. Coming up, two wealthy new yorkers starting their day trading insults on social media as one does. A closer look at bloomberg versus trump. Which can only get uglier from here. And later, we found out what happens in vegas. That is, when all the democrats decide to focus their attention there. The 11th hour just Getting Started on this thursday night. These folks dont have time to go to the post office they use stamps. Com all the services of the post office only cheaper get a 4week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps. Com tv and never go to the post office again. Somebody said, uh, you know, that hes taller than me. Calls me little mike. And the answer is, donald, where i come from, we measure your height from your neck up. Thats pretty much how it went between trump and bloomberg today. Trump went at bloombergs height, saying mini mike is 54 mass of dead energy. Hes 57. Saying he hates crazy bernie and will with enough money possibly stop him and he further predicted bernies people will go nuts. Now, bloomberg, for his part, said this. We know many of the same people in new york. Behind your back they laugh at you and call you a carnival barking clown. They know you inherited a fortune and squandered it with stupid deals and incompetence. I have the record and the resources to defeat you, and i will. Lets talk about that tonight with Jonathan Lemire of the Associated Press who has the dual distinction of covering the Trump White House and bloombergs city hall back when he was a reporter as a much younger man for the new york daily news. Jonathan, first of all, the bloomberg tweet seemed almost Computer Generated to hit all the emotions and all the words that would get to trump in a way new yorkers know how. So thats thing one. Thing two is trump has, and the democrats dont like discussing this, defined joe biden and the biden family story. Hes taken ownership of it. Does bloomberg have what it takes to be better at that than biden has been . Bloomberg is definitely playing into the idea that new yorkers he said this before about President Trump that those who know him best like him the least. That new yorkers have always suggested he was a creature of the tabloids, that he was, you know, a Real Estate Developer who then cared far more about being on page 6 than it was serious projects. At the time Mike Bloomberg was mayor, they butted heads, they werent particularly friendly. They didnt overlap because of this way. Mike bloomberg had an easy entree to the degree of ultra elites new yorks society that rejected donald trump, looked down on him. He was an out of borough millionaire wasnt a real billionaire. They thought was tacky and gaudy. Was the on the philanthropy circuit bloomberg and others were. That has driven trump sort of crazy, that bloomberg also has significantly more money than donald trump does, by a factor of about 60. So he is a candidate who is, yes, almost like engineered to sort of drive donald trump nuts. And he has this robust data operation help general rate that tweet and has been a thorn in his side since he announced his candidacy. The president has ignored the advice of his advisors to say, leave him alone. If you attack bloomberg all you do is elevate him. Trump cant help himself. And weve seen now particularly hes going after him on his civil rights records. Once in a while we cant help ourselves and we have to air uncomfortable television. I take you back to the decision marco rubio made on the fly during the campaign to try to be as dirty and mucky as the incoming attacks from donald trump. Hes always calling me little marco. Ill admit hes taller than me, 62 which is why i dont understand why his hands are the size of someone 52. Have you seen his hands . Theyre like this. You know what they say about men with small hands. Lets agree that didnt go well. And lets agree, some people are better at the attack dogery than other people. Is bloomberg a good attack dog . Well see. His retail politics skills are pretty rusty. Even when he was mayor, they werent that strong. He is not someone who is particularly comfortable with voters. He can deliver a decent speech, but theres not a lot of sort of emotion and passion. Thats not his game. Hes a technocrat. He exudes competence and of course he has the money to back it up. What were seeing now so far is a campaign totally dominated by television ads. We think we might get our first look at him on the debate stage next week. But to your point earlier about joe biden, the president is very adept at identifying and labeling and nicknaming opponents. We saw it with jeb bush. We saw it with ted cruz. Were certainly seeing it with joe biden and other democrats. Hes going after bloomberg with his height. Its a layup. Nine times down whatever that word would be, he has done. The other issue, whats interesting is hes trying to tack him on his record with minority voters. Stop and frisk. Weve seen where there was an audio resurfaced the last couple days. Bloomberg defending the practice a couple days ago. Since he announced his candidacy he apologized for it, he stuck with it too long. He was mayor 12 years. Yes, the number of stops declined by the end of it, but the vast majority of his mayorality, he defended it since leaving office. The president is trying to score some points. Lets point out, donald trump also believes in stop and frisk so hes attacking bloomberg here on the hypocrisy. Thats what hes trying to do. As his campaign makes an unlikely play for black voters. We saw the Super Bowl Ad about criminal justice reform. They believe people around him particularly Jared Kushner think there is an opportunity here to win over some black voters or at the very least try to minimize the differences between the republic skpanz democrats for black voters. Point to the economy and maybe depress africanamerican turnout, which could be the difference in some of these midwest states where the margins are going to be really slim next november. A by line for our viewers to look for. Jonathan lemire, Associated Press, our thanks as always. Coming up, the nevada caucus is nine days away. The stakes are high as they like to say tout there. Well have a live report from las vegas where a number of the candidates are tonight when we come back. Robinhood believes now is the time to do money. Without the Commission Fees and account minimums. So, you can start investing wherever you are even on the bus. Download now and get your first stock on us. Robinhood. Were back. Were just nine days away from the next president ial primary contest. Its actually a caucus in nevada. Tonight four democratic president ial hopefuls, including the top three finishers in New Hampshire, have been taking part in a town hall in las vegas hosted by the civil rights organization, the league of united latin american citizens. This afternoon that states powerful influential Culinary Workers Union which has been outspoken in its criticism of Bernie Sanders medicare for all plan announced they wont be endorsing any one specific candidate. With us from las vegas tonight, our veteran road warrior garrett haake. And, garrett, lets establish something, and that is that culturally for most of the democrats in the race who skew heavily Student Council president , las vegas might as well be cultural mars. So, having established that, please tell us about the contours of this upcoming caucus and along the way how theyre going to decide this one. Wholly different territory geographically and culturally out here out west, brian. I have to tell you, as we get into the contest, this is as wide open of a state as ive covered. We havent had a poll come out in nevada since last month. We saw the front runner, joe biden, get shelackeds in two early states. Two largely unknown in Pete Buttiegieg and Amy Klobuchar have their momentum moments in other early states, then oh, by the way, theres the Billionaire Tom Steyer who hasnt gotten as much attention in the early states, but has been blanketing the airwaves here. Hes on tv every day, hes heavily invested on the radio here. Hes getting a lot of attention here. And tonight at this event, i met harvey lee who thinks hes going to caucus for tom steyer. What is it about him that makes you think hes the guy to take on trump . Well, as i stated before, tom is the type of guy thats going to bring it. And when youre dealing with someone like mr. Trump, you dont want to bring a knife to a gun fight. Tom is going to come with the a bazooka. Hes going to bring all the energy, the passion, he doesnt need the money. Its the way he presents himself to the public in order to defeat mr. Trump. This is your third caucus in nevada. Are you confident the Democratic Party here can get this done without an iowalike debacle . Absolutely. I dont see why we shouldnt. We have all the ability, we have the talent. Is it going to be close . Be a salutely its going to be close. Goodness gracious, we understand where were at right now. There is no way we can afford to do another four years with mr. Trump. Mr. Donald trump, theres no way you can stand another four years of that. We cant do it. One other question. We were talking about candidates earlier. I asked you about joe biden. He was the front runner in this state. Hes betting Everything Black and brown voters in nevada and shrine can save his candidacy. You dont see it happening. Tell me why. I think about joe biden and the eight years he spent with mr. Obama. I cant recall anything off the top of my head if im illiterate to what he did, shame on me. Right now i have to think about what he did. I cant recall anything unless i google it. Thats the last thing i want to do to find out about a president is to google him. I should know something about him. Something should stand out somewhere down the line and it hasnt with me. Reporter thank you. Harvey lee, thank you very much. Brian, the other x factor is organization. Bernie sanders has been on the ground here for a very long time. Hes a very well known commodity. Came within five points of Hillary Clinton four years ago. Hes got the most staff, the most offices, the most boots on the ground in the state. Frankly a lot of name recognition. He is known here in a way that the other candidates we spend a lot of time talking about, buttigieg, klobuchar, even Elizabeth Warren arent. They have not been on the ground in the same way that Bernie Sanders has been here and that can make a huge difference despite the kerfuffle with the union here which is a very powerful force. Very powerful indeed the folks who make las vegas go. A great heads up on whats coming. Garrett haake, thank you very much for a live report tonight. Coming up for us, nevada is not one of a half dozen states the Bloomberg Campaign is said to be targeting. New reporting on the Unconventional Campaign for office when we come back. S to cr lives to get home to they use stamps. Com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the Amazing Services of the post office only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps. Com tv and never go to the post office again hi, im jonathan, help. A manager here at Colonial Penn Life Insurance company. 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So dont wait, call now. announcer and when you call right now, youll also get this free prescription savings card that can help you save up to 80 on prescription drugs at over 35,000 pharmacies locally and nationwide. Robinwithout the Commission Fees. So, you can start investing today wherever you are even hanging with your dog. So, what are you waiting for . Download now and get your first stock on us. Robinhood. I dont know that you can see very many president ial candidates here in winston, salem. Theyre spending all their time in South Carolina, but i think the vote is voters of North Carolina deserve as much attention. [ applause ] youve heard the slogan mike will get it done. If you havent, ive been spending an awful lot of money to get it out there. Some selfawareness, michael Bloomberg Campaigning, zeroing in on six states. North carolina, texas, they include other delegate states like florida and california. With us to discuss the campaign, two more exhausted journalists. Political reporter for axios covering the 2020 campaign, and Stephanie Ruhle, veteran of the Investment Banking world and host of the 9 00 a. M. Hour here on msnbc. We should also point out she happens to be the nbc news Senior Business correspondent. Good evening and welcome to you both. And lets begin. I was just put this was just put in front of me. This is Mike Bloomberg tonight in houston, texas. I defended it looking back, for too long because i didnt understand then the unintended pain it was causing to young black and brown families and their kids. I should have acted sooner and faster to stop it. I didnt. And for that i apologized. Alexi, is he Getting Better at that . Are the questions about stop and frisk, about real estate inequities, about making too much money, is he going to be able to successfully bat them away . I mean, i guess it remains to be seen. Polling shows hes increasingly rising in the polls in spite of these problems coming up. But the one interesting thing obviously the main push back to his apology about stop and frisk, he did it right before he launched his president ial campaign. That suggests to a lot of folks that ive talked with that that was his motivating factor. He was running for president. He knew that would be a liability, and thats why he apologized. In the clip you just played, he says he didnt realize the effects it was having on black and brown communities. But thats at odds with the fact that he is a selfdescribed data nerd. He is someone who has access to all this data and insight and numbers about so many Different Things that its simply hard to believe he wasnt aware of the effects of that policy and the Lasting Legacy of that policy until just before he launched his president ial campaign. So as he continues to rise in the poll polls, i expect in other campaigns well see this starting will slowly drip out Oppo Research about him to knock away his biggest vulnerability. Or where the rubber will hit the road, mike is all about data. What could be missing here is humanity. And thats what hes going to have to deliver. Its not just about the numbers. The numbers could say, if this number spits out do x, people are going to vote based on how and why they feel a certain way. And thats going to be somewhat of a roadblock. I wouldnt be surprised if an upcoming slogan is Mike Bloomberg, he fails at purity tests. He wins at Everything Else. We are going to see a drip, drip, drip of things mike has said or done that are somewhat offensive, and hes most likely going to say, but by comparison, look at all of the great things that ive done. It wasnt a surprise to me he apologized tonight. That was an event he hosted specifically Mike Bloomberg for black america. If he wasnt going to apologize there, where was he going to . I was going to ask you about the accoutrements of this race and Everything Else money can buy. A web operation that everyone says is state of the art. Just watching the mistakes that have been made thus far in unsuccessful campaigns and trying not to do that again. Ive actually gotten to spend some time at bloomberg headquarters. Ive seen his digital operation, known as hawk fish, in motion. Listen, its a massive operation. His business, the reason he is a billionaire is because he created a data and Analytics Technology company. Fair point. The person in his mind hell be running against or heed like to is President Trump. If youve read todays atlantic ex expose, he has a billion dollar Digital Campaign some republican strategists are calling the death star. While some dont like what bloomberg is doing as far as an onslaught in digital, others say if somebody is going to go up against donald trump, hes the one person who has built the apparatus to do so. You have to meet President Trump where he is, which is increasingly on facebook. A lot of the other democratic president ial campaigns simply do not know how to use facebook in the way the Republican Party at large does. Certainly in the way President Trump and his campaign in 2016 learned how to do and is only scaling that in bigger ways in the 2020 election. Bloomberg has the money, the resources and the Team Stephanie was talking about with hawk fish to compete toe to toe with President Trump online. Thats a big part of this next election. I was also going to ask you, do you think democrats take him at his word that if he washes out, if hes out of this thing, hell go on spending like a drunken sailor on behalf of democratic causes and candidates . The conversations ive had with various democrats campaigns and otherwise suggests that they do believe him. I mean, i have talked with people on his staff who are being paid through the election. So that suggests as much. Skpif know that you have, too. His foundation spent 7 billion last year and his number one goal in life right now is to defeat President Trump. Theres no reason to think he wouldnt. And his message is not even necessarily i am the best person to beat donald trump. Its this infrastructure that im building around me that is best positioned to beat donald trump. Bernie sanders accepts it you guys are too much information. Lightning round when we come back. Both of our guests thankfully have agreed to stay with us. Coming up, what James Carville had to say about being called a political hack by Bernie Sanders. When we come back. sensei when i started cobra kai, the lack of control over my business made me a little intense. But now quickbooks helps me get paid, manage cash flow, and run payroll. And now im back on top. With koala kai. vo save over 40 hours a month with intuit quickbooks. Danafarber Cancer Institute discovered the pdl1 pathway. Pdl1. They changed how the world fights cancer. Blocking the pdl1 protein, lets the immune system attack, attack, attack cancer. Pdl1 transformed, revolutionized, immunotherapy. Pdl1 saved my life. Saved my life. Saved my life. What we do here at danafaber, changes lives everywhere. Everywhere. Everywhere. Everywhere. Everywhere. Some people in this country want a revolution. They want disruption. I dont know, they scream at people. They go and bully people. And i dont know how you win an election at 78 years old screaming in a microphone about the revolution. Look, james, in all due respect, is a political hack who said very terrible things when he was working for clinton against barack obama. So carville was called by peter hamby of vanity fair, and heres what carville had to say about bernie. Quote, bernie called me a political hack. Thats exactly who the f i am. I am a political hack. I am not an ideologue, not a purist. He thinks its a pejorative. Im not a communist. Meow. We dont have 50 state elections. Heres a National Poll coming up. Sanders 29, falls off a cliff to biden. Bloomberg, an amazing 18 third place, buttigieg, warren, klobuchar. Is this about where you put the race right now . Brian, there are no early states for democrats that are winner take all. Even though Bernie Sanders is saying, look, im the guy ahead, if he wins this this way, he could end up not with enough delegates at the end. So he and James Carville might not like one another and i do love the phrase, with all due respect, because its almost always followed by a big old f. U. But James Carville isnt necessarily wrong. And the alarm bells that hes ringing are to democrats, yes, they go against one another during a primary. But if you dont get to a realistic place where the majority of democrats are not the twitter democrats, the majority of democrats and James Carville is breaking down the democrats of those the demographics. You have to Pay Attention and hes not necessarily wrong when you look at the numbers. Bernie sanders has been running for five years. Tony sparano famously complained to his counsel yuri silvio, due respect. Tony had it one day. Id love to know what this means, all due respect. It goes with the jersey reference. Weve established alexi is young and has her whole life ahead of her. We talked about her travel schedule in the break. You mentioned South Carolina. Joe biden has been we use the phrase firewall so often, its become a cliche. What if it isnt, what if biden cant get there in South Carolina . How does the race change by that night . I fully expect that joe biden would drop out of the race if he does not do well in South Carolina, and thats based on various conversations ive had, but also just the fact that you mentioned his team has called South Carolina and black voters in South Carolina his socalled firewall, that hes relying on to propel himself or at least maintain this National Front runner status that hes enjoyed so far. If he doesnt pull off a double digit margin of victory in South Carolina, there is no chance that he will continue farther than South Carolina. And you know that because he is in South Carolina. Hes not in california like Bernie Sanders team has been. Virginia like Elizabeth Warren is today. North carolina, Pete Buttiegieg is there. Super tuesday states, you see other Democratic Candidates in the field focusing past carolina, past nevada in super tuesday states. Joe biden is betting it all on South Carolina and he doesnt do well there, i dont see a path forward for him into super tuesday. He doesnt have the money. Also klobuchar had such a good night in New Hampshire, there was kind of a scramble the next day. Where do we need to be if were going to be playing at this level. I know i heard her Team Announce they are putting out ads in nevada the next day. Ads wont make you finish in the top three in nevada. There were conversations among reporters about the fact that weve all sort of noticed klobuchars campaign hasnt made an explicit pitch to nonwhite voters in a way that other candidates have. Whether thats someone like Pete Buttiegieg who polled between 0 and 4 with black voters or someone like joe biden or Bernie Sanders who enjoyed double digit support from black voters. Klobuchar simply hasnt really made a pitch explicitly or otherwise for black and brown voters. And now shes sort of stuck after performing surprisingly well in a place like New Hampshire where she will go next. Does she have the machine . She raised a bunch of money after to gas up and make their way to the next state. But do they have the machine other campaigns do. Cant thank you enough for hanging out late on a thursday night after the week weve all had. Really appreciate it. Alexi, Stephanie Ruhle here with us. Coming up, heres a hint about how we intend to change the subject just for a moment. Ive been pretty stable with my schizophrenia for a while, and then my kids asked me why my body was rocking back and forth. My doctor said i have tardive dyskinesia, which may be related to important medications i take for my schizophrenia. I also felt my tongue darting and pushing against my cheeks. I was worried what others would think. Td can affect different parts of the body, and it may also affect people who take medications for depression and bipolar disorder. I know i shouldnt change or stop my medication so i was relieved there are Treatment Options for td. If this sounds like you or someone you know, visit talkabouttd. Com to sign up to receive a personalized doctor discussion guide to help start a conversation with you doctor about td. Youll also be able to access videos and a free brochure that show the different movements of td. Visit talkabouttd. Com or call to learn more. I was glad to learn there are treatments for td. Learn more at talkabouttd. Com. Hi, im jonathan, help. A manager here at Colonial Penn Life Insurance company. And with Coverage Options starting at just 9. 95 a month, you can get a whole Life Insurance plan to help close that gap with a benefit check paid directly to your beneficiary. Its cash they can use right away, and generally, its free from federal income tax. If youre between age 50 and 85, Coverage Options start at just 9. 95 a month. And the rate is locked in, so it can never go up. There are no medical questions. You cannot be turned down for any health reason. And it comes with two lifetime guarantees. 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As it was decades ago, they come with a subtle message to adopt a rescue doggy in real life including adoption certificates. And to my fellow dog lovers there is this. You know how no matter if youre gone six minutes or six hours or six days, your dog is so insanely happy to see you walk through the door. Thats in keeping with their Job Description to love you unconditionally. Heres what it looks like when youve just gotten home from being in space for a year. Hi. Oh, hi hi hi hi hi that is astronaut Christina Cook returning home from space. This was her landing in kazakhstan. Her doggy obviously over the moon. And there is the snubbing of daniel the golden retriever at the westminster dog show, which we report without comment, was won by siba, the standard poodle. Now, to daniel. Daniel won his sporting category. Look at those looks. At Madison Square garden, the arena was electric when a golden retriever finally made it into the final round. But, no. I guess daniel wasnt cute enough with his firstplace sporting class ribbon. I guess it wasnt cute enough when daniel hugged his handler. I guess not. Well, enjoy first place, siba. But those footsteps you hear belong to a golden retriever. That is our broadcast for this thursday night. Thank you so much for being here with us. Good night from our nbc news headquarters here in new york. Tonight on all in. The president is again trying to manipulate federal Law Enforcement to serve his political interests. The attorney general complains he cant do the president s bidding while the president keeps publicly asking him to do his bidding. I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary. Tonight, neal katyal on what congress can do to rein in trumps abuse of power and how one states attorney general is standing up to the president