cruz is making life miserable for the establishment and the media. and so i thought trump look, i thought he was going to try to turn him into a phoney or go after the goldman sachs stuff. trump misfired and i bet you he pulls back tonight on cruz because of this. he may try another shot tonight. anyway, thank you. thank you, chuck todd, as always, sir. thank you welcome michael steele. thank you, my friend, sue lowden out here for welcoming us so beautifully. and a reminder, come back to hardball at 11:00 eastern tonight when the debate is over. i think it s going to be hot. i disagree with everybody else. we re staying up late for two hours for reaction and analysis tonight. anyway, coming up right now, the trump phenomenon. he s hitting new highs in the polls and his controversial message is resonating with many on the right. three out of five republicans like what he s saying. we re going to ask michele bachmann and u.s. congressman steve king of iowa why trump is working t