Ask ourselves, which is a terribly, terribly serious question is who is the best candidate, which campaign is the best campaign to defeat trump [ cheers and applause ] we are better than this president , and so get up, lets take back this country were the United States of america and theres not a single thing we cannot do, and we do it together and then there were two. Not that long ago the field of president ial candidates looked like this. More than 20 contenders vying for the democratic nomination. Today on this super tuesday it looks more like this. Effectively, a twoperson race between joe biden and Bernie Sanders with Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bloomberg still in the mix. Good morning. And welcome to morning joe. Super tuesday, march the 3rd. Along with joe, willie and me we have msnbc contributor Mike Barnicle and msnbc National Affairs cohost of showtimes the circus and editor of the recount John Heilemann joins us. Great to have you this hour. And joining with Steve Kornacki breaking down the number and let us know whats happening with super tuesday tonight. Best Case Scenario for bernie and for joe biden. Things are moving quickly on the ground. A poll or two out yesterday that shows just how quickly things are moving. Also, steve gave such a moving, a moving tribute to our good friend Chris Matthews. Well be talking with him about that as well, and about Chris Matthews next block. Were going to dive into all of yesterdays fastmoving developments surrounding joe bidens numerous highprofile endorsements and also have the very latest on the coronavirus as more testing confirms more new cases in the u. S. The total number of confirmed cases in, is now 110, including the first positive tests in georgia and new hampshire. Experts worn that number will grow as more people are tested revealing just how much the virus was able to spread undetected. Four more deaths have been reported in Washington State bringing the death toll here in the u. S. To six. The number of confirmed cases in china appears to be slowing down, but the virus is still moving fast across the globe. Heres what the director of the National Institute of allergy and infection diseases dr. Anthony fauci told nbc news foreign chief correspondent richard engel. Well dealing with an evolving situation. Were dealing with clearly an emerging infection disease that reached outbreak proportions and likely pandemic proportions. This is multiple, sustained transmissions of a highly infection agent in multiple regions of the globe. Okay. Thats pretty strong. Well have a lot more on that, and the white house response to the virus just ahead. But we begin with super tuesday. Thats today. 14 states hold their primaries from california to maine. Plus, a caucus in american samoa. More than 1,300 dell gets up for grabs. A total in the democratic race for the nomination. 1,191 needed to secure the nomination. California has the largest prize with 415 delegates followed by texas with 228 and North Carolina with 110. Its also a big test for Mike Bloomberg whos on the ballot for the first time today after skipping the first four contests. And a dam break of endorsements for joe biden ahead of todays contests. Three of his former rivals for the democratic nomination all came out in support of the former Vice President yesterday. Pete buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and beto orourke. Just a day after ending his president ial bid, Pete Buttigieg appeared at a Campaign Stop with biden where he announced his endorsement and biden compared buttigieg to his late son beau. You know, when i ran for president , we made it clear that the whole idea was about rallying the country together, to defeat donald trump, and to win the era for the values that we share. And that was always a goal that was much bigger than me becoming president , and it is in the name of that very same goal that im delighted to endorse and support joe biden for president of the United States. And dont think ive ever done this before, but he reminds me of my son beau, and i know that may not mean much to most people but to me its the highest complement i can give any man or woman. I look over at pete during the debates and i think i think, you know, thats a beau, because he has such enormous character. Such intellectual capacity and such a commitment to other people, and, folks, i cant tell you how much it means to me that he would step up and endorse me. I just cant tell you how much i appreciate it, because i promise you, youre going to end up over your lifetime seeing a hell of a lot more of pete than you are of me. Later in the evening, senator Amy Klobuchar, who ended her campaign yesterday and beto orourke both joined biden at a rally where they, too, delivered they are endorsements. It is up to us, all of us, to put our country back together, to heal this country and then to build something even greater. I believe we can do this together, and that is why today i am ending my campaign and endorsing joe biden for president [ cheers and applause ] we need somebody who can bring us together and heal us. We need somebody who can reestablish the moral authority of the United States. We need somebody who will fight for democracy here and abroad, because democracy is under attack here and abroad. We need joe biden [ cheers and applause ] beto will be our guest this morning. Biden also gained several other notable endorsements yesterday including former Senate Majority leader harry reid and former National Security adviser susan rice. A big day for joe, joe. It really was. Willie, incredible day in politics yesterday. And, yes, a big day for joe biden, but lets not forget that frontrunner Bernie Sanders. He is still the frontrunner. But this is effectively theres been a narrowing, a real focus, and in the Democratic Party now it comes down to the question that bernie said in that huge rally, and that is who is the best candidate, what is the best campaign, to take on and beat donald trump . This morning its gain om. Game on. You cant match an better 48 hours for Vice President joe biden winning South Carolina by nearly 30 points. Dominating among africanamerican voters who delivered that victory for him, and then picking up all the endorsements you just laid out and just heard from Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, beto orourke and others. What coalescing looks like. John heilemann, the question today on super tuesday, 1,357 delegates handed out for context only handed out 155 so far in these first four states. The question will be, is this a South Carolina story joe biden or is this now a National Story for joe biden . It is a question, and we know several things. We know that the Biden Campaign was effectively dead going into South Carolina and bidens victory there a combination of his own grit and jim clyburns endorsement. When i say effectively dead, i mean they were broke. The investments werent happening in super tuesday states. They were not on the air in any of those 14, 15, states and territories. They didnt have organizations on the ground in most of those places. That was a matter of necessity, not a matter of choice. Didnt have the resources. Right . So they looked up with this incredible victory on saturday night that exceeded anyones expectations and now they have this narrow window. The schedule, the calendar is what it is. They have a window too small even to take advantage of the money that is pouring across the Biden Campaign. You just cant get on the air. Cant convert millions of dollars into advertising in 48 hours. Cant make that happen. Certainly cant get boots on the ground. So how does that end . In a lot of these states and the big ones california, text, early voting, mean s percentages of votes, in california started voting when the Iowa Caucuses were taking place those were all bad things for joe biden. As much mow mend um coming out of South Carolina, thats real. The wave of earned media, endorsements, everything. All of it is real and limited its effect on this set of races because the window is so narrow. What now happens . You know, well see today. In a normal year with real resources and Real Investments this kind of momentum, youd see biden certainly in the states with demographics that have electorates that look like South Carolinas, the historical pattern, would mean he would win overwhelmingly, decisively in places like alabama, North Carolina and virginia. Whether that will actually happen today, because of the thing i was just talking about, we just dont know the answer to that and the other interesting factor. Middle of which is the bloomberg factor. Right . During a lot of the time this vote has been going on Mike Bloomberg was doing better, before the debate collapse in vegas, and bloomberg was banking vote in a lot of these places when he was on the rise with his pure advertising strategy. So bloomberg is clearly falling. Biden is clearly rising, but the fall and the rise are happening in this period where, again, a lot of those votes were banked and Mike Bloomberg still on the air and all the rest. Well see. I think everybody expects joe biden to have a good day today. How good . Is it good enough . Ski questi key question, good enough to keep Bernie Sanders from bringing in delegates, does he have a delegate lead over joe biden tomorrow . That is insurmountable. What does a good day look like for joe biden . A place where Bernie Sanders is leading and leading big in a long time, in california. Do those voters look what happened in South Carolina and change their minds which way theyre going to go . Maybe. And as John Heilemann said, the bloomberg affecter. Seen him twice underperform at debates. Are they actually going to go in and pull the lever for him and if they dont, what happens to Mike Bloomberg if he doesnt get a payback in all of that investment . A good question and nobody can answer that except for Michael Bloomberg. Everything john said is accurate including the most important aspect of it. The votes already banked by early voting. But interestingly enough, if you buy the theory that ordinary people they sort of follow the iowa caucus results. They sort of follow the early beginning of this campaign in new hampshire, but suddenly, after saturday in South Carolina, it was as if joe biden had made his entry into the president ial race. Massive amounts of free media that he got on saturday, sunday, yesterday and including this morning. Free media. And what happened in that free media . Joe biden looked like an ordinary empathetic, humble, compassionate human being. A striking contrast to the president of the United States, and i think a lot of people paid attention to it. They saw him. They like him. They liked him anyway and they liked him even more after they see him in these settings. So what happens today . Nobody knows whats going to happen today, but i expect he would have a much, much, much better day today than he ever dreamed of having last friday. Yeah. Joe, as you know, a lot of moderate democrats in the parties who are going to vote today on super tuesday and beyond sort of waiting to see who is that candidate . If i dont like Bernie Sanders, who is it . Amy klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, harry reid and others going down the list said yesterday, its joe biden. Yes. As susan rice, barack obama, word out that barack obama had sent the message over the last few days that joe biden was the guy to get behind. They threw cold water on that, once that got out, but that word certainly getting out to other democrats. But you know, todays got to be fascinating. The name Mike Bloomberg came out but we learned in 2016, paid advertising is not moving voters. It didnt in 2016. It certainly didnt for tom steyer who ran a tough, Hard Campaign in South Carolina. Was there all the time working hard. Spent a lot of money there, spent a lot of money in nevada. It did not translate into votes. And i just wonder if were not going to see the same thing in a very big way tonight with Mike Bloomberg. You know, mika, look at the polls that have come out. Only a few polls that have come out completely postSouth Carolina. One a virginia poll where joe biden and Bernie Sanders were deadlocked just a few days agos in a new poll joe biden is up by over 20 points. The impact of that, on delegates coming out of virginia would be massive. Especially if Elizabeth Warren and bloomberg didnt reach the 15 threshold. If we are starting to see that across the deep south, joe biden is going to pull in a hell of a lot more delegates in some of these southern states, especially, than anybody ever anticipated. The question again, though, with california and some other states goes to those banked votes. How many absentee votes, how many early votes are going to be coming in. Things that were locked in. Votes that were locked in when biden was in fourth place, fifth place, second place in nevada . President trump has been following the democrats through their primary states with rallies of his own. Last night continuing on the trend in charlotte, North Carolina. One of the states that votes today. Here is the political analyst in chief. Its being rigged against its sad its being rigged against crazy bernie. Crazy bernies going to go crazy. Crazy. I think crazy bernies going to be more crazy when they see what theyre doing. I called it a long time ago. So, joe, he seems rattled. Just looking at his tweets and hes going after bloomberg. Hes going after biden. Hes going after the press. Hes trying to bring up old videos concocting ways that these candidates look like theyve said something terrible. I mean, there is a allon onslaught to take on the emerging candidate. Yeah. Weve talked about this for some time, mika. Its fastcinating how much donad trump petrified politically of joe biden. He obviously is seeing internal polls that shows that he must be doing badly in a lot of those swing states against joe biden. Because, again, joe biden was a man that donald trump feared so much that he allowed himself to be impeached over joe biden. Trying to dig up dirt from a foreign leader in exchange for military funding. I mean, only the third president in u. S. History to be impeached, and he did it to try to stop joe biden, and now, of course, he goes to these rallies and he just rants endlessly about the democrats trying to steal this process from Bernie Sanders. Hes just, again, obviously really shaken and disturbed by the prospect of facing joe biden. Yeah. Thats the backdrop. He was impeached because of his behavior around joe biden. Lets bring in White House Reporter for the Associated Press jonathan lemire. Besides the rallies and worrying about joe biden, hes also got the coronavirus sort of creeping into his presidency. Has the strategy there, are there any plans to try and focus addressing this virus as well as hes dealing with the super tuesday candidates . Jonathan . Good morning. The president , yes, proceeding on two tracks. Start with the politics first. As you said on a rally last night in North Carolina hitting the same notes hes been on a few weeks. Trying to sow disenchantment on the Bernie Sanders quarters alleging the party is trying to steal this primary away from the vermont senator. Last night he did so much as to suggest simply endorsements of buttigieg and orock and klobuchar, inappropriately railing behind biden nap is nonsensical. No evidence of that whatsoever. From the rally he took shots at all the major candidates. Joe biden in particular, where he suggested that biden was sort of feeble minded, made a number of mistakes lately in terms of places what state he was in and what date suggesting even using, for a clip going around that biden was talking about super thursday rather than super tuesday. Innocent mistake the Vice President quickly cleaned up, butted president the president that joe biden is not up for the job and made fun of Mike Bloomberg. Used pocahontas to describe Elizabeth Warr