"[man] Seven twenty-four, roger." "Try to maintain 2,000." "[pilot] Set to maintain 2,000." "Seven-two-four." "[man] Coming in final four, try to maintain 3,000." "[pilot] Three-thousand." "[indistinct radio chatter continues]" "[woman] You're looking at Westchester County Airport inWhitePlains,New York." "HillaryClinton coming home to vote." "ThisisElectionDay ." "[crowd cheering] [crowd chanting] Hillary!" "Hillary!" "Hillary!" "Hillary!" "Hillary!" "Hillary!" "[cheers and applause]" "♪softelectronicmusic♪" "♪" "[Heilemann] How's it feel?" " Yeah?" " Yeah." "I've been--this has been a long, tough slog and a hard campaign and a crazy campaign." "It's four o'clock." "There are all these people out here, you know, who have come to see her." "I'm just so proud of her." "I can't--I just can't tell you why, uh--how much that makes me feel like just being a small part of it is so important." "What will it feel like tomorrow night if you lose?" "You know, I think, uh, in some ways, uh, it'll be just-- I-I don't know." "It's sort of hard to even kind of contemplate that." "I think there's a kind of profound responsibility and there'd be such a crushing, uh, sense of loss if somebody with his character was elected president of the United States, so..." "I don't think that's gonna happen." " Yeah." " Yeah." "And I'm standing here tonight, and I really don't think that's gonna happen." "♪broodingelectronicmusic♪" "♪" "[Charlie Rose] A new series on Showtime seeks to capture the2016presidential election's jaw-dropping, head-scratching moments in real time andaimsto expose not just thenitty-gritty of how campaigns work butalsothepeople behind the candidates." "ItiscalledThe Circus." "Six up, TS, quick." "We'llberightback." "The star of The Circus." "Yay!" "It's Charlie Rose!" "Are you an elephant or you--what are you?" "Ah!" "♪playfulmusic♪" "[Heilemann] What's going on?" "[Rose] You're going on." "[Heilemann] What's going on?" "[Rose] You are." "[Rose] Cable TV, you can say anything you want, can't you?" "I said on TV the other night, I said," ""I fucking hate that motherfucker."" "And it just went-- and everybody loved that shit." "OnShowtime--youcan say anything on Showtime." "[drumming desk]" "We'regonnahave a lot of fun doing it." "Imean,it 'sgonnakillus." "[Rose] This is gonna work because you got McKinnon." "That's the only friggin' reason it's gonna work." "He's got that fucking-- where's the-- are you not wearing the hat tonight?" "Hey, Captain, how are ya?" "Heilemann] Are you gonna be on his show and not in the hat?" "[McKinnon] I guess I have to wear the hat." "[Rose] Look at that scarf." "[Heilemann] Got to wear the hat, dude." " [McKinnon] Okay, yeah." " [Rose] Sit down." "[Rose] Is Halperin joining us, or is he..." "[Heilemann] Yeah, he had his BlackBerry fixed." "Nice to see you, sir." "[Heilemann] Can see they're fixing Halperin's BlackBerry." "[Heilemann] Watch this." "Here he comes." "♪playfulorchestration♪" "Howdy, sir." "Oh, don't stand up." "Good to see you." "Of course I do." "♪" "[McKinnon] Can you tell us what guest has been on this show more than any other guest?" "For a while, it was Halperin." "What-what do you mean, "for a while"?" "[Rose] Well, maybe it's still true." " [scoffs] - [Rose] It may still be true." " That's..." " [laughter]" "♪upbeatinstrumentalmusic♪" "[Rose] Hey, guys, you ready back there?" "♪" "[Rose] All right, here we go." "[man] Here we go." "Five, four, three, two, one." "Cue." "[Rose] The 2016 presidential election could be remembered as one of the most bizarre andunpredictable in American history." "Atthismoment, talk a bit about Trump." "[whoosh]" "♪broodingstringmusic♪ [camera shutters clicking]" "[Trump] Ladies and gentlemen... ♪" "I am officially running..." " [scattered cheers] - [applause] ...for president of the United States." "And we are going to make our country great again." "I will build a great, great wall on our southern border and I will have Mexico pay for that wall." " [woman] Yes!" "Yes!" " Mark my words." "WhenMexicosendsits people, they're not sending their best." "They're bringing drugs." "They're bringing crime." "They're rapists." "And some, I assume, are good people." "[woman] How to take Donald Trump?" "Hmm, well, consider the newspapers this morning, at least the tabloids." "The Daily News considers Trump a "clown."" "The New York Post considers, uh, Trump a rich guy who could make it to the White House?" "♪ [man] I got to talk about Donald Trump." "Howdoeshe impactthisrace ?" "[woman] I don't think he does at all." "Look,asidefrombeing incredibly entertaining," "DonaldTrumplacks the seriousness of the kind of candidate that Republicans desperately need right now." "[woman] Once you enter the world of politics, there'sa differentbar, different standard." "[man] To say that that makes him serious is ridiculous." "[woman] We never said-- [man] The guy was talking about how Mexicans are rapists." "[woman] Rapists?" "Peoplelosetheirjobs over words like those." "[woman] Donald Trump touching off a political firestorm byinsultingJohnMcCain." "He's a war hero 'cause he was captured." "I like people that weren't captured, okay?" "I hate to tell ya." "Hats and T-shirts right here, y'all." "[woman] The latest uproar was sparked aftermakingcomments about Megyn Kelly." "[Trump] But you can see there was blood comingoutof hereyes." "Bloodcomingout of her wherever." "[man] But many people perceived that asa reference to Kelly's period." "Honestly,I can'tevenbelieve" "I'mtalkingaboutthis on TV right now." "Buttons, flags, T-shirts." "rump] You got to see this guy." ""Oh, I don't know what I said." "Ah." "I don't know..."" "woman] Trump last night mocked New York Times reporter whosuffersfrom a physical handicap." "[man] A lot of them still want to treat him like a clown, likea realityshowguy ." "The bottom line is, he is the Republican front-runner." "[Trump] Donald J. Trump is calling for atotalandcompleteshutdown of Muslims entering the United States." "[crowd chanting] Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "[woman] Critics argue Trump crossed a line." "Others wonder whether, for him, a line even exists." "♪Enemiesof freedom♪" "♪Facethemusic♪" "♪Comeon ,boys, take 'em down ♪" "Can you imagine Donald Trump standing up one day and delivering a State of the Union address?" "Well, I can imagine it in a Saturday Night skit." "♪militaristicmusic continues ♪" "He's not gonna be president of the United States." "[crowd cheering] [amplifier feedback whines] [man] Go music." "Crank it now." "[Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" playing over speakers] [crowd cheering]" "♪" "[man over speaker] Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the next president of the United States," "Mr.DonaldJ. Trump." "[crowd cheering]" "♪" "[music concludes]" "Oh,thatis amazing." "Wedon'twinanymore, you understand that." "Everycountryin theworld isrippingus off." "Everycountryin theworld." "Welost millionsandmillionsofjobs  tothesepeople." "Fifty-fivethousandfactories and manufacturing plants-- 55,000!" "Whowouldthink that's even possible?" "They'll leave here and they'll move to Europe orthey'llmovetoAsia ." "It'sa realbadscene." "And it's gonna continue if you put any of these other people" "It'snotgonnacontinue with me." "Withme,it 'srealsimple." "I'mgonnado  what's right for you." " [crowd cheering]" " And you." "Andwe'regonnabring those jobs back from China." "IloveChina!" "Butwe'regonna bring them back from China." "Andbytheway , we will build a wall." " We will build a wall!" " [crowd cheering]" "Wewillbuildawall ." "We'regoingto win at every single level." "We'regonnawinsomuch , you're gonna beg me." "You'regonnasay, "Mr. President, we'resotiredofwinning, we can't take it anymore." "Please,don'twinanymore." "Mr.President,please, have one or two losses."" "AndI 'llsay, "No, I won't do that."" "TheAmericandreamisdead , but we're going to make it bigger and better andstrongerthaneverbefore." "And I love you." "Thank you very much, everybody." "Thankyou." "Thank you." "♪softelectronicmusic♪" "[McKinnon] Hold on one second." "Where's the volume on this?" "♪softeeriemusic♪ [woman] Whoo!" "[woman] Trump speaks the truth!" "Mr. Halperin, are you miked?" "[Heilemann] We haven't really seen anything like this in American politics in this millennium." "Make America great again." "[Heilemann] This has got the flavor of" " a music festival, right?" " [McKinnon] Yeah." "eilemann] They're fans as much they are voters, right?" "[McKinnon] There's a movement psychology for sure." " Yeah." " [McKinnon] They feel like they're part of something special and unique and they want to be there to experience it." "[Heilemann] Donald Trump, love him or hate him, he said some things that people think are vile and offensive." "Whatever you think about Trump, though, ideologically, he'ssuchabig figure." "There'sa lot of charisma there." "There'sa lotof just confidence." "Iunderstandwhythatguy's a front-runner." "♪" "Yougotthishuge Republican field." "Yougotchaos in the establishment." "[Fiorina] Mismanaged going into Iraq." "[Hewitt] Dr. Carson, is the Middle East" "[Fiorina] We mismanaged going out." " [Hewitt] Dr. Carson." " [Cruz] The question of" " whether we can..." " Hold on, hold on." " The problem with defeat..." " [Blitzer] Senator." "Senator." "We're gonna get to you." "[Fiorina] Hope at some point, you're gonna ask me my strategy" " for defeating ISIS." " [Blitzer] We will get--we-- we have a lot of time." "Donald is great at the, uh, one-liners." "But he's a chaos candidate." " And he'd be a chaos president." " [applause]" "We need toughness." "Honestly, I think Jeb is a very nice person." "You said in September 30th that ISIS was not a, uh..." " Am I talking..." " ...not a factor." " ...or are you talking, Jeb?" " I'm talking right now." " You can go back." " I'm talking right now." " You can go back." " I'm talking." "You're not talking." "You interrupted me, Jeb." " September 30th, you said it." " Are you gonna apologize, Jeb?" "No." "Am I allowed to finish?" "[Heilemann] There's no establishment front-runner." "And there's no sign that that's gonna change in any way." "Brilliant." "Prompter, thank you." "That was fantastic." " As you wish." " [McKinnon] Okay, we need to run through the-the C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J pages." "[Heilemann] Oh, my God." "Jesus." "Our brand-new Bloomberg Politics Des Moines Register" "Iowa Poll is out today, shows Ted Cruz and Donald Trump leading the pack in the Hawkeye State." "They are basically tied." "We know there are deep cleavages in the party." "And that's why the party is in so much trouble." " This foreshadows" " Deep and passionate." "This foreshadows the fight we will see if Donald Trump wins some combination of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, three of three or two of three." "We will see a titanic fight within the party unlike I can recall seeing in my career." " [church bell tolls on radio] - [man on radio] It's time forIowaChristians to honor God by attending your Iowa caucus on February 1st." "[man on radio] If you are currently in anearlyprimary or a caucus state, youcertainlydon'tneed the likes of me to tell you thatwe'rein theheat of election season." "Thisis crunchtime..." " [crowd cheering] ...sothecandidates are all out there, trying to get their messages to the public." " [Cruz] Two weeks ago..." " [camera shutters clicking] ...just about every candidate in the field was attacking Donald Trump." "Now just about every candidate in the Republican field is attacking me." "I-I guess something has changed." "[camera shutters clicking]" "[Trump] You know, Ted Cruz, you know, the Canadian, he'slikeanervouswreck." "He is dropping like a rock in the ratings." "We're number one in every poll." "It'salmostembarrassing, but let's keep it that way." " [crowd cheering]" " Let's keep it that way." "Allofmy people and all of the experts say," ""Mr.Trump,don'tsay  you want to win." "Justsayyouwanttodo well." "Becausethatway, you can't lose."" "Ican'tdo that." "I want to win, Iowa." "[woman] So the question for him, above all others, is, can you turn these big crowds into big turnouts andintosupport at the ballot box?" "[crowd cheering]" "♪ambientmusic♪" "♪ [indistinct chatter] [man] It's a very good night for Ted Cruz." "HehaswoninIowa , defeating Donald Trump." "[crowd chanting] We want Ted!" "We want Ted!" "We want Ted!" "[Cruz] Tonight Iowa has sent notice thattheRepublicannominee andthenextpresident of the United States willnotbe chosen bytheWashington establishment." "[crowd cheering]" "ToGodbe theglory." "[crowd cheering]" "You ready?" "Just" " Here, hold on, let's flip." " Okay, yup." "[indistinct chatter]" "Good?" "Close that door so-- yeah, so we don't get..." "Just-just walk me through your day." "You woke up and how'd you feel about what's gonna happen?" "You know, last night, as you were watching the TV news, every pundit on every station was saying, "Cruz can't win." "Cruz can't win." "There's no way Cruz can win." "Trump's gonna win."" "I heard it on every station from every political pundit." "And yet what happened today is, the grassroots proved them wrong." "Congratulations." "Off to New Hampshire." "Ah, indeed." "♪ambientmusic♪ [man] But Donald Trump, who many, many people predicted wasgoingto win at the Iowa caucuses..." "It looks like a lot of people did switch their vote, uh,peoplewhowere supporting, uh, Donald Trump." "♪" "Thank you." "♪" "[Halperin] So Iowa ends and it's seven days of hell in New Hampshire." "The stakes are higher than they are in Iowa." "You have a chance to come back." "If you don't do well in Iowa, you can come back in New Hampshire." "If you don't come back in New Hampshire after failing in Iowa, you're done, generally." " [camera shutters clicking] - [indistinct chatter]" " [woman] Mr. Trump?" " [Trump] Yes?" "Uh,I thinkthat we did really well." "Imean,Iendedup coming in second." "Uh,didn'tdevote tremendous time to it." "Didn'tdevote tremendous money to it." "[reporters all talking at once]" "[Trump] Yeah, Tom?" "Mr. Trump..." "[Trump] No, I don't think I feel any pressure." "[reporters all talking at once]" "Mark." "Goahead." "Would you be comfortable, as you seem to be finishing second in Iowa, finishing second here?" "I'dloveto finishfirst." "Uh,youknow,again, it would still not be horriblebecause you're competing against alotof verytalentedpeople thathavebeenpoliticians all their lives." "I'vebeenapolitician for six months." "Okay." "[Halperin] Normally when Trump goes after the press, he'dbevicious." "He'dsay"Youpeople are morons, you're idiots."" "And, you know, I think his tone was a little different, alittlebitmoresubdued." "[camera shutters clicking]" "Okay." "Thank you, everybody." "[indistinct chatter]" "Themedia, the worst people ever!" "[crowd cheering]" "Theworst." "Wefinishednumbertwo ." "Theheadlineswere, "Trump Comes in Second." "He'sHumiliated!"" "[crowd booing]" "Some are smart, but some of these guys are dumb as a rock." " And I mean..." " [laughter]" "♪softsuspensefulmusic♪" "[Halperin] He's doubling down on the same style, thesametypeofspeech, the same applause lines." "As the old saying goes, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." "I'm not saying Trump's insane, but they don't see a lot of nimble changes here, at least in this event." "Um, Trump is-is a little bit stubborn." "Uh, but also, he's a first-time candidate." "So it's possible that he's being strategically firm ina waythat's gonna reward him, but it's also possible he's just not cut out for this." "[bell tolls] [man] And the question here is as simple as it is startling:" "canDonaldTrumpholdalead after a seeing a 20-point lead cut in half?" "This state is famous for, uh, surprising everybody." "Thisiswherethe so-called establishment lane ismostcrowded." "The race is officially up for grabs." "Anyone can still be-- anyone can still win." "[man over speaker] Please welcome thenextpresident of the United States," "JebBush." " [applause] - [scattered cheers] [man over speaker] The honorable Chris Christie." "[man over speaker] The next generation of America," "MarcoRubio." "[man] The crowded field of candidates, including current and former governors and several sitting senators, hailed as the best group of GOP presidential hopefuls ina generationat least." "[woman] So I'd like to introduce John Kasich." "[applause]" "You know, the problems that we have in this country are easy to solve." "You know what it takes?" "People of goodwill." "[Rubio] When I decided to run for president, peoplecameforward and said, "You can't run." "Youhaveto waityourturn ."" "Isaid,"Waitfor what?"" "This is no time to just promote the next person in line, becauseifwe get this election wrong, there may be no turning back for America." "Here we are, six days from the New Hampshire primary." "And if you listen to the media, theonlychoices aretwofirst-term United States senators andthatotherguy  who's only experience is sitting in a fake boardroom in New York City, lookingintoacamera and saying, "You're fired."" "[laughter]" "[Miller] Uh, this is just a big issue for Hugh, uh, whose radio show we're doing, Hugh Hewitt." "He thinks your brother should, um, come out stronger against Trump." "So I-I imagine he's gonna offer that advice" "Hugh Hewitt should come out stronger against Trump." "That's my-- gonna be my response." "Good feedback." "Since I'm the only guy that goes after Trump on the entire planet," "I'm gonna take advice from someone who doesn't?" " That is..." " I think that's a good answer." "[Hewitt] Governor Bush, it's great to have you back." "Great to be with you, Hugh." "Donald Trump will not be the nominee." "Yeah." "Donald Trump's not gonna be the nominee." "So you asked it twice and I answered it twice." "♪tensetone♪ [crowd cheering and whistling]" "[Heilemann] A lot of campaigns have a lot of incentive totalkdownTrump and try to get, you know, the idea out there that, like, he might be falling apart." "Um, it could be completely true." "It could turn out to be completely false." "It'shardto know." "Did you--John, did you get in?" "Did you get in?" "No, they barred me from your event." " Whatever." "You couldn't get in?" " I couldn't get in." "I made my best speech." "You couldn't get in." "Your best speech?" "That-that was a speech that was so good..." "A speech for the ages." "I watched it." "Everybody loved it." "And you couldn't get in." "I couldn't get in." "I-I showed up too late." " It's too bad." " Um, how-how you doing?" " I think we're doing good." " You're doing well?" "I think we're doing really good." "Now, I want to tell you that one of the things that we've observed in the last 24 hours is that basically every Republican candidate, every Republican campaign, is whispering to reporters about a Trump collapse." " What do you think about that?" " I think it doesn't happen." "Have a good time, John." "Thank you." "[man] Donald, you're a fine gentleman." "Seems like--didn't seem that happy with it." "Didn't seem that happy to be asked." "I thought I would give him an opportunity to just knock it down." " [person clapping] - [man] Donald Trump!" "[cheers and applause]" "[Heilemann] Oh, he looks really pissed at me, though." "[woman] All the way." "[dog barking distantly]" " [person clapping] - [man] Thank you." "He remains highly confident, apparently." "♪atmosphericmusic♪" "♪ [crowd cheering]" "[Trump] Oh, wow!" "Wow!" "[Blitzer] CNN projects that Donald Trump will be the winner of the New Hampshire Republican primary." "[man] It's astounding." "Itisagreatnight for Donald Trump anda horriblenightfor  the Republican establishment." "Melania,shesaid right from the beginning," ""You know if you run, you know you're going to win."" "Andshesaidthat from day one." "So, Melania, thank you, honey." "Thank you." "♪" "And,DonandVanessa, thank you so much." "[woman] We love you, Trump!" "AndIvanka,shewas out , she made seven stops today atthepollingareas." "[crowd cheering and whistling]" "♪broodingmusic♪" "♪ man] Seven twenty-four, roger." "Trytomaintain2,000." "[pilot] Set to maintain 2,000." "[Cruz on TV] ...taking on Washington andcorporatewelfare." "[man] All right, one over here." "One, two." "Here we go, big three." "[camera shutter clicks]" " [man] thank you." " [Trump] Let's go and relax." "[Vanessa] Yes." "[tone dings]" "♪" "[Halperin] You've done a lot in your life." "Where does winning the New Hampshire primary rank?" "Well, it's an interesting thing." "I've had one of the most successful television shows." "I've had The Art of the Deal and many other books that have been number one best sellers." "And I've built a great company." "But I would have to say that there's nev" "I've never seen anything like this." "Storiesalloverthe world." "Friends of mine calling me from Paris, from London, from Africa, from all over the world saying that it's the most exciting thing we've ever seen." "[Halperin] There's a show onShowtimenow about this election." "Doesthatsurpriseyou  that there's thatmuchinterest in this election?" "Oh, you're gonna do well off of me." " [Halperin chuckles]" " I wonder, if I weren't around, how much you would've done." "♪pensivemusic♪" "[Halperin] And this is where Trump loves to be." "Lovestobe on theplane, loves watching TV andseeingwhatpeople are saying about him." "You'reseeingDonaldTrump winningineveryone  of these regions." "Donald Trump at--right now, has a 19-point-- percentage point--victory." "[woman on TV] That's how mad voters are, andthat'showmuch they want change." "One thing with me, they know me." "They've known me for a long time." "I sort of grew up with the American people." "And..." "You add up Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, all of the things," "I guess I have 13, 14 million people." "With me, all I have to do is go bing, bing, bing and I get the word out." "Historically, I like running tables." "So we'll see what happens." "Hey, look, it's a long road, but it's a lot shorter than it was two weeks ago." "[indistinct radio chatter]" "♪pensivemusiccontinues♪" "♪" "[elevator beeps]" "♪softpensivemusic♪ [indistinct chatter]" "George, you want us to switch, maybe?" "[Bernie Sanders] What is that?" "I've never seen it before." "[man] Sound recorder." "[Heilemann] You and Donald Trump are very different guys, but you're both-- it seems to me, some number of people who like you and some number of people who like him have a similar kind of disposition," "which is, "The system is fucked up, and I want to see..."" "They allow you to say it on this television network?" "[stammering] Well, if they have to bleep me," " they'll bleep me." " All right." "Are you cognizant of the notion that there are some number of people out there in the world who are actually sitting there saying," ""Either Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump." "I don't know." "One or the other"?" "There are many." "We know that, yes, absolutely." " To me..." " Given how different you are, you would think it would be impossible for that to exist." "But I think, you see, what a lot of the media and the establishment folks who sit around in D.C. and talk to each other don't know-- 'cause they make a lot of money and they-they're hanging around the cocktail parties..." "♪pensivemusic♪" "[Sanders] People in this country are hurting." "People are angry." "Got husbands and wives struggling economically." "They are angry, and they have a reason to be angry." "And what we are trying to do is say," ""All right, if you're angry, let's get angry at the right people." "Don't get angry at your Latino friends or Muslims." "Get angry at the people who caused the problem."" "I consider him to be a very dangerous human being who is doing enormous harm to this country." "And also, as you have heard me say once or twice, um, you know, I think we need a media that allows us to focus on the real issues facing the American people, rather than looking at campaigns as a sport" "or as a soap opera." " [tires screech]" " Whoo!" "♪rousingmusic♪ [cheering]" "♪" "Donald Trump, he's an outsider." "I read his book." "And I just like everything he's got to say." "He-he's smart." "He knows what he's doing." "Youknow,likehesays , we need to win." "When ev--go to Walmart, everything you see, made in China, everything." "Well, that-- how's that helping us?" "How's that helping us?" "It's not." "[man] Whoo!" " Whoo!" " Whoo!" "[man] He's entertaining." "He's fun to watch." "Like,youtalk to most people about watch a rally or anything, and they're just like, "Yeah."" "But you hear Donald Trump's coming to Clemson..." " [woman] Yeah." " ...everybody goes nuts." "[cheering]" "Trump creates an energy around the election that nobody's ever done, like, in the history of the election." "I mean, every day, you see something on-on Twitter about Donald Trump tweeting at somebody." "nd, I mean, e grew up with The Apprentice." "I mean, I remember watching that TV show." "Like, that's when he had me, 'cause, you know, trying to be CEO one day." "So, you know, that's why I have respect for him." "He's awesome." "[crowd cheering] [chanting] [crowd booing]" "[Trump] Ah, get him out." "Ilovetheold days." "You know what they used to do to guys like that?" "They'dbecarriedout  on a stretcher, folks." "I'd like to punch him in the face, I'll tell ya." "[crowd cheering] [man] Donald Trump has crossed the line in a number of places, butitdoesn'tseem to have damaged him." "[woman] You know, I think he's been Teflon so far." "[Trump] You have to brand people a certain way whenthey'reyouropponents." "Like" liddle." L-I-D-D-L-E, liddle." "Liddle,liddleMarco." "I have never, ever met a person thatliesmorethanTedCruz." "Ithinkhe 'sabasketcase ." "CanyouimagineJeb  negotiating with China?" " [tweet chirping]" " Can you imagine?" "[woman] Donald Trump's picking on all these other contenders and hoping to take them down one by one." "[applause]" "♪somberbroodingmusic♪" "[Jeb Bush] ...nation safer and stronger and freer." "Ifirmlybelieve the American people must entrustthisoffice to someone who understands that whoever holds it is a servant, notthemaster." "Someonewhowillcommit to that service withhonoranddecency." "[crowd chanting] Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "[Rose] Try to get to the raw, real stuff." "[Halperin] Interesting characters doing interestingthings with high stakes." "That's what we have every night here at this table." "That'scorrect." " Yeah." "[chuckling]" "One take." "And six take." "We'llberightback." "[man] Um, John, could you scooch to your, uh, left?" "Here, hold this for me." " Here's what makes you happy?" " [man] Yes." "Do you want me further left or is this okay?" "[man] Uh, yeah, further's better." "You guys are actually in the shot back there in the wide." "Patrick?" "[Heilemann] Someone who could destroy the foundation... [man] Can you still get your shot?" "[Halperin] The Republican Party is in full freak-out mode." "You're only seeing two percent of it now." "Ninety-eight percent of it's happening behind the scenes." "Trump sweeps on Super Tuesday, you're gonna see a freak-out unparalleled." "in our careers." "Unparalleled." "And the 98% of what's happening behind the scenes is what?" "Emails, phone calls, meetings, discussions, uh, agonizing at home alone at night about what this will mean for the Republican brand, the Republicans majorities in Congress..." " And the future of the party!" " And the future of the party." "What it means to be a Republican in the 21st century." "[McKinnon] Yeah, they feel like the house has been burned down to its foundation." "Has the establishment simply been too little, too late?" "Did they slowly wake up to Donald Trump and say," ""Oh, my God, he could be our nominee"?" "[wind whooshing]" "♪rousingdramaticmusic♪" "♪ [woman] A huge night for Donald Trump, winningsevenstates." "[man] Big wins from Alabama to Vermont." "[woman] Does this now make him unstoppable?" "[cheers and applause]" "Thank you very much." "Thank you." "♪" "Donald Trump's victory could mean the end of the Republican Party as we know it." "♪ [bird squawking]" "omney] Hi, how you guys doing?" "[woman] Hi." "Good, how are you?" " [Romney] Good." "Hi." " [man] How are you?" "[Romney] Good." "How are you?" "Hi, good to meet you." " Good to meet you." " Hi." "Thanks." "Hey, guys, how you doing?" "Goodtoseeyou ." "Hi, how are you?" " [man] How you doing?" " [Romney] Good." "Goodtoseeyou ." "Hi." "I'm afraid there's probably not gonna be enough room" " for this crew here." " Don't say that." " [groaning] - [Romney] I apologize." "[man over speaker] Will you please join me in welcoming" "GovernorMittRomney." "[cheers and applause]" "[Romney] Thank you." "I'mnotheretoannounce my candidacy for office." "[scattered boos]" "And I'm not going to endorse a candidate today." "Instead I'd like to offer my perspective on the nominating process in my party." " [laughs]" " Back in 19..." "That's Romney-speak for" ""I'm about to beat the living shit out of someone."" "[Romney] And let me put it very plainly." "DonaldTrumpis aphony, a fraud." "Hispromisesareasworthless asa degree from Trump University." "[cheers and applause] eilemann] I've been doing this r, you know, 25 years." "Theideaof anational political party's mostrecentnominee to stand up and give a speech devoted to attacking the front-runner of the current election is off the hook." "He inherited his business." "He didn't create it." "Dishonesty,thebullying, theabsurd third grade theatrics." "He'splayingthemembers oftheAmericanpublic for suckers." "Hegetsafreeride  to the White House, andallwe get is a lousy hat." "♪broodingdramaticmusic♪" "Romney] I understand the anger Americans feel today." "We want to bring America back to the people!" "[Romney] Mr. Trump is directing our anger forlessthannoblepurposes." "Thisistheverybrand of anger that has led other nations into the abyss." "JohnAdamswrotethis:" ""Remember, democracyneverlastslong." "Thereneverwas a democracy yet thatdidnot commit suicide."" "[Heilemann] The Republican establishment and the candidates who represented the establishment, they've looked up and they've said," ""Oh, my God, this is really, actually, potentially happening."" "Nowthey'veallkindof come to the realization that," Oh,shit, we should've tried totakethisguy out  months ago." "It might be too late." "But it might not be too late."" "Giventhecurrent delegate selection process, that means that I vote for Marco Rubio in Florida andforJohnKasichinOhio and for Ted Cruz orwhicheverone of the other two contenders has the best chance of beating Mr. Trump in a given state." "The Stop Trump forces basically have two weeks." "They have from now into-- until Ohio and Florida." "Iftheycan'tstophim between now and then, theycan'tstophim ." "♪ambientmusic♪" "Attheendoftheday, it's getting down tokindof Floridaand Ohio." "[man] Do you support this idea that to stop Trump, the best course of action for voters is pick whichever candidate is strongest in any state, just from a delegate standpoint?" "I mean, that was sort of Mitt Romney's..." "What kind of a question is that?" "A good question." " Tricky question, okay." " [chuckling]" "ButI gaveyouthe answer." "I'm gonna spend a lot of time in Ohio and I'll bet Mr. Rubio's gonna spend a lot of time in Florida." " That's it." " [Rubio] A voter in Ohio thatdoesn'twant Donald Trump to win Ohio mayverywellconclude thatthebestway  to stop him in Ohio istovotefor JohnKasich, and I respect that." "Theonlyone who has a chance to beat" "DonaldTrumpin Florida is me." "Butifyouwanttostop Donald Trump in Florida, anyvotebutavote forme is a vote for Donald Trump." "Allright,guys." "[Cruz] You know, there are a lot of people wholikeMarcoRubio, who like John Kasich." "They're both good, honorable men whom I respect, butneitheroneofthem  has any plausible path tothenomination." "It's becoming abundantly clear, ifyouwanttodefeat Donald Trump, our campaign is the only one who can do it." "All right, thank you, everyone." "[reporters all talking at once]" "♪pensivemusic♪ [police radio chatter] [crowd commotion] eilemann] It's chaos out here." "Ona snowydebatenight in Detroit, madness takes its toll." "♪" "They're trying to stop Trump." "So where will they stop him?" "Will they stop him with TV ads?" "Will they stop him in, uh, some caucuses on Saturday?" "Most likely, they're gonna stop him in the Fox Theatre." "♪" "[Heilemann] And the truth is, there's no other time." "Thisisthetime, this is the moment ifthey'regonnaget itdone ." "♪ [cheers and whistling]" "[Baier] Senator Rubio, three weeks ago, you said," ""Idon'tdo  the personal attacks because I think it's beneath the office that I'm seeking butalsobecauseIdon't want to embarrass my kids."" "Butinthepastweek , you'vemocked Mr. Trump's tan;" "you'vemadefun of his spelling;" "you called him a con artist;" "you suggested he wet himself." " [crowd booing]" " So what happened?" "[Rubio] Yeah, you know, Bret, let me say something." "Ifthere'sanyone who's ever deserved tobeattackedthatway,  it's been Donald Trump for the way he's treated people for the last campaign." " Rubio!" " Whoo!" "[Rubio] But let's be honest, too, about all this." "Themediahasgiven these personal attacks an incredible amount of coverage." "Let's start talking again about the issues thatmatterto thiscountry." "I'm ready to do that starting right here, right now, tonight." "[Baier] Mr. Trump, your response?" "[crowd cheering]" "[Trump] I have to say this." "I have to say this." "Hehitmy hands." "Hereferredto my hands, ifthey'resmall, something else must be small." "Iguaranteeyou, there's no problem." "Iguarantee." "[laughter and commotion]" "[man] Good." "Speed, speed." "[text message whooshes]" "[Heilemann] #DickDebate." "And my guess is, knowing America, they probably like Donald Trump talking about his penis is my guess, given our-- given our country." "[Halperin] If the establishment looked at this debate as, like, one of the last chances to derail Trump, they haven't stopped him yet." "♪broodingmusic♪" "Heilemann] At a campaign rally inFayetteville, North Carolina, one of the Donald supporters in the audience coldcockeda protester." "[crowd commotion]" "[Halperin] These don't happen at other candidates' events." "[Heilemann] The mood in these crowds is-issomething that I have not seen indoingthis for the past 25 years." "Idon'tthink you've ever seen it at a presidential campaign rally." "Andithappensatalmost every Trump event." "It'sdisturbingandweird." "[Halperin] His attitude and the campaign's attitude iswaytoocavalieraboutit." "♪ [woman] ...talked directly to his supporters." "Uh,sowe 'regonnafindout from Dr. Carson why he specifically wanted to endorse Donald Trump." "Wedidaskabout..." "[Carson] Uh, you know, the media, they'reveryskillfulat painting people certain ways." "And it may not be who that person is at all." "They'retwodifferent Donald Trumps." "There'stheone you see on the stage, andthere'stheone  who's very cerebral, sitsthere,andconsiders things very carefully." "Youcanhaveavery good  conversation with him." "Andthat'stheDonaldTrump that you're gonna startseeingmoreand moreof." "[camera shutters clicking]" "[Trump] Okay." "Yes?" "No, it's-it's-it's politics." "And it's fact." "Let-letmejusttellyou." "We'vehadsomeviolent people as protesters." "You know, they're not just people saying, "Oh..."" "Thesearepeoplethatpunch." "And-and the particular one when I said," ""I'dliketo banghim ,"" "hewasswinging;" "he was hitting people;" "andtheaudiencehit back." "Andthat'swhatweneed  a little bit more of." "[camera shutters clicking]" "Allright,acoupleofmore and we'll get out of here." "[reporters all talking at once]" "♪darkmusic♪ [indistinct commotion] [together] It is our duty to fight for our freedom!" "Get' emout." "Troublemakers." "Get' emoutof here." "Young,spoiledkids." "[men chanting] Stop the hate!" "Stop the hate!" "[indistinct commotion]" "♪tensemusic♪ [crowd chanting] We gonna be all right!" "We gonna be all right!" "[man] There are hundreds, maybeeventhousands of protesters on hand." "[crowd chanting] We want Trump!" "We want Trump!" "We want Trump!" "[crowd chanting] We gonna be all right!" "We gonna be all right!" "[man] The security does not have a handle onthesituationhere." "[crowd chanting] We gonna be all right!" "We gonna be all right!" "Tonight's rally will be postponed until another day." "[crowd cheering]" "Thankyouverymuch for your attendance." "Pleasegoin peace." "[crowd chanting] We stopped Trump!" "We stopped Trump!" "♪tensemusicbuilds♪" "♪ man] This is becoming violent." "Thereispushing and shoving going on insidethisarena." "Itistotalchaos." "♪ [helicopter rotors whirring] [man] Donald Trump joins me." "I'm now live on the phone." "Mr.Trump,do youbelieve that you have done anything tocreateatone where this kind of violence wouldbeencouraged?" "[man] Do you re-- you regret saying any of those things about punching protesters, sending them out on stretchers?" "[indistinct commotion]" "♪ambientmusic♪ [crowd cheering]" "♪" "DonaldTrumphascreated a toxic environment." "[crowd chanting]" "[Sanders] Donald Trump has got to be loud and clear andtellhissupporters that violence at rallies is not what America is about and to end it." "[crowd chanting]" "[Cruz] And, you know, as we campaign, we have protesters." "ButunlikeDonaldTrump, I don't ask people in the audience to punch them in the face." "Trump] I will call up Carrier, he president." "'Cause I have to do it myself." "I know it's not-- [crowd commotion]" "[crowd chanting] Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "AndtothinkIhad such an easy life." "What do I need this for, right?" "[crowd chanting] USA!" "USA!" "USA!" "USA!" "[Rubio] Realize that, win or lose, therearepeopleout there that see what I'm doing and follow it as a role model." "And I can't imagine an election moreconsequential than this one." "We're not just choosing what political party wins." "We'rechoosing what it means to be aconservative in the 21st century." "♪sombermusic♪" "♪" "Why wouldn't you dedicate yourself to public service?" "[Trump] Somebody with strong views and somebody with the kind of views that are maybe a little bit unpopular-- which may be right but may be unpopular-- wouldn't necessarily have a chance of getting elected against somebody with" "no great brain but a big smile." "And that's a sad commentary for the political process." "[King] Donald Trump is sounding more like a politician these days than America's most grandiose and controversial builder." "Theycanpresume whatever they want." "Ihaveno intention of running for president, butI 'dlikethepoint to get across thatwehaveagreatcountry, butit'snotgonnabe great for long if we're gonna continue to lose $200 billion a year." "You'regonnaget into the early '90s, 1990,1991,and the whole thing's gonna blow." "[Stone] Here's the fundamental question." "Isthepopculture in this country moreinfluentialnow than its institutions?" "♪broodingmusic♪" "Votersarefedup with both parties." "They'relooking for new choices." "And if the American people are presented aviable,differentchoice, theymayjusttakeit." "[dogs howling]" "[Halperin] Mr. Stone?" "Gentlemen, how are you?" "Good to see you, sir." " Nice to see you." " This is an incredible place." " Come on in." " Let's go in." " [Halperin] And what is this?" " [Stone] This is the bunker." " [Halperin] The bunker." " [Heilemann] The bunker." "[Stone] This is the-- this is the Stone Zone." "Uh..." "oh, my God." "♪livelypensivemusic♪" "♪" "[Halperin] Roger Stone is an American original." "Insomeways, larger than life." "[Heilemann] Larger than life and darker than night." "[Stone] Nixon." "[Heilemann] Seventy-two campaign." "Youwereinvolved in that campaign." "[Stone] Yes, I was the youngest member of The Committee to Re-Elect the President staff." "Right, and-and, famously, you were engaged in various dirty tricks or what people would call dirty tricks" "Allegedly." "Alleg-allegedly." "[Halperin] Roger was, for decades, theequivalentof KarlRove toDonaldTrump." "Trumpbroughtin  Corey Lewandowski." "CoreyandRogerclashed." "And..." "[Heilemann] Roger was exiled." "[Halperin] Roger was exiled." "[Halperin] May I pick this up?" "Is that all right?" "[Stone] Yes, you certainly may." "[Halperin] Um, it says," ""'Try me' feature on back."" "[Heilemann] Probably on the back of the doll." "[doll] I have no choice but to tell you, you're fired." "[Stone] The next president of the United States." "[doll] You're fired." "Is it the case now that you're-- you are not speaking to him?" " No, we speak occasionally." " [Halperin] You do." "[Heilemann] When you say "occasionally," you mean you speak to him, like, with what frequency?" " I'm curious, like daily?" " We're--we're on" " We're on friendly terms." " Hourly?" "From time to time." "♪ambienttone♪" "[Heilemann] You'd ac--accept the notion of politics as basically like a fight for survival, right?" "[Stone] It's a context, but yes." "[Heilemann] Right, right, right." " Kill or be killed." " Yes." "And Trump's a brawler." "I mean, there's nothing off-limits." "There'll be no Marquess de Queensberry rules here." "He had an incredible ability to, at every phase of the race, when someone has seemed to be the threat that he was worried about..." "[Stone] Yes." " To find the one element..." " [Stone] Yes." "[Heilemann] ...of their psyche, distill it to a single thing." ""Jeb Bush is low-energy." "Liddle Marco."" " Whatever it is." " [Stone] Yes." "Yes." "And just pummel, pummel that person." "Yeah, 'cause he's used the same kind-- he's used the exact same, uh-uh-uh, technique in business." "Look, this whole thing's a high-wire act." "That's why it's so interesting." "That's why people are tuning in." "'Cause it's genuine." "It's not predetermined." "Everything he's saying isn't pre-tested." "So, uh, yeah, it's a-- you know, he's like-- it's like, you know, dealing with live ammunition." "[seagulls squawking]" "[man] Passengers ran in panic aftera bombexploded in the departures area ofBrusselsinternational airport Tuesday morning." "[man] Suicide bombers struck that location." "Andauthoritiesaredigging for whatever possible terrorconnections they may have." "[man] These are the men" "Belgianprosecutors say were responsible..." "[Halperin] National security's gonna be a big issue." "YouandHillaryClinton are both wayaheadin delegatesnow , so let's say it'sa generalelection between the two of you." "She was the Secretary of State, nation's chief diplomat." "You're a businessman and-and hosted a TV show." "How do you win that argument at a time of national security crisis?" "I think we'll win it because I think people will see I'm much more competent than she is." "But how do you prove to people" "I think I'm much smarter than she is." "I think I'm much more competent than she is." "[Heilemann] When'd you learn about what happened in Brussels?" "How did--like, just what happened?" " Like, what was that-- - [Trump] I received a call." "And then I turned on the television." " [Halperin] Like, 5 a.m.?" " Uh, pretty early, maybe six." "Your friend--your friend knows to call you that early." " Eh." " That's a good friend." "They know I'm not a big sleeper." " [Halperin] Yeah. [chuckles]" " And I saw what happened." "And I turned on the television, saw what happened." "Said, "Here we go." Here we go." "Trump] Come on, let's walk over." "[Heilemann] Okay." "♪pensivemusic♪" "♪" "[Halperin] You got the call from your friend this morning." "You already were scheduled to do a bunch of morning show interviews by phone." "Did you consult anybody about what to say?" " No." " Did you talk to anybody--no?" "No, I don't have to consult." "Look, I say it from my heart and my brain." " Right." " It's not just heart." "It's heart and brain." "And that's what I do." "So you just say what you want to say?" "I say what I think is appropriate." "[Halperin] Who are you thinking about more these days:" "Cruz and Kasich or Clinton?" " [Trump] Clinton." " [Halperin] Clinton." "You know, I think I'm gonna do very well against, uh," "I call them the leftovers." "[laughs]" "And I think I'm gonna do very well." "And we'll see what happens." "You think she's afraid of you?" "The last person she wants to run against is me." "[Halperin] But do you think she's" "And I know that from her people." "I know that for a fact." "The last person she wants to run against." "What are her people doing talking to you" " about that?" " They tell me" "[Halperin] Do you remember the last time youtalkedto Hillary or Bill Clinton?" "[Trump] A long time ago." "And you got mutual friends?" "Oh, I have people." "You know, I grew up in New York." " Yeah." " And they were in New York." "But it's been a long time." "[Heilemann] Just throw your mind back for a second, all right?" "You invited them to your wedding." " [Heilemann] Right?" "Okay." " [Trump] Mm-hmm." "[Heilemann] Uh, is-is that-- were you guys actually-- did you feel like, at that time, you were actually friends and friendly, or was that just all kind of make-believe?" "[Trump] I have been considered a world-class businessman." " I'm all over the world." " Right." "I will invite important people to my wedding because oftentimes you need those people." "When you're doing deals, when you're doing deals in other countries and you need approvals from this country to do deals in other countries, it's good to have relationships." "So there was no warmth between you then?" " But you" " Even then, you weren't old-- you're not--if you weren't friendly then..." "Eh, friendly." "A little bit friendly." " It was just" " They were nice." "I was nice." " But it's business." " Right." "You know, the old thing, the old story." "It's not personal." "It's just business." "That's a mafia saying, but, you know." " It's all right." " That's all right?" "Yeah, it happens to be true." "You had "low-energy Jeb." You had "liddle Marco."" "You got "lying' Ted." What are you gonna say for Hillary?" "Well, I have a name for her, but I'm not gonna use it yet." " Oh, come on!" "Come on!" " You got--you know what it is?" "You know what it is?" "Give us a hint." "[Trump] We have plenty." "We knocked out plenty." "Is it-is it "something" Hillary?" "At least one." "[bird chirping]" "How long do you think it'll be, Mr. President, before there's a first husband?" "[Bill Clinton] Not long." "Not long." "I think there'll be a-- [clears throat] A woman will be elected president probably in my lifetime." "I certainly--I hope that a woman will have a chance to run." "[Gore] Would you raise your right hand, please?" "[McKinnon] Hillary Clinton's march to the presidency hasbeengoingonfordecades." "Formersenator." "[Biden] Madam Secretary, please raise your right hand." "[McKinnon] She's a former Secretary of State." "♪rousingpensivemusic♪" "[Obama] There has never been anymanor woman morequalified for this office thanHillaryClinton." "[Clinton] The stakes in this election justkeepgetting higher and higher, whiletherhetoric on the other side keepsgettinglowerand lower." "[crowd booing]" "[McKinnon] She's probably weathered more attacks thananycandidatein the history of U.S. politics." "She'sbeenburned by the press a lot." "It'sunderstandable why she and her campaign wouldbeprotective and reluctant toopenup more." "Youknow, I think she's got skin probably as thick as a rhinoceros at this point." "There'snotalot  of new things you can throw at Hillary Clinton that she hasn't seen." "Although Donald Trump might be the first." "[indistinct chatter]" "[Halperin] Today, as we sit here, do you think most likely Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee?" " [Podesta] Yes." " [Mook] Yes." "[Palmieri] Yes." "[Halperin] Tell me, like, an anecdote or a moment where you went from "no" to "maybe."" "[Podesta] When he attacked McCain." "A mere mortal would-- could not have survived that." "Well, that's what I was gonna say, was it the attack" "The attack." "Doubling down on it." " Right." " And..." " And then..." " ...rising." "A week later, when it was not the beginning of the end," "I was like, "Oh." "This is something different."" "Yeah." "[Halperin] Because it showed he had balls?" "It showed that he was not subject to the normal rules?" "[Podesta] Yes." "[Palmieri] Not subject to the normal--yeah." "I think, on the Republican side, he, uh, has been vexing to them in being able to control the debate." "Right." "Do you think he could do that in a general election against you?" " Why?" " [Podesta] That-that will be" "Our job will be to make sure that doesn't happen." "But why would it be harder for him to control it against you?" "Well, I think he now has higher unfavorabilities than virtually any other likely nominee in history." "Statistic-statistically true, but again," "John-John made the argument, which is think is correct, which he has frustrated his rivals..." "[Podesta] Absolutely." "...by getting a lot of coverage." "The Republicans didn't figure that out." "[Heilemann] Is he suitable to be commander in chief?" "What do you think?" "Do you--well, do you guys" "What do you think?" "You're an o-o-observer." "You've watched what a president actually does." "I think I have faith in the American people to make a decision about who's fit to be commander in chief." "[Halperin] Do you think he might be more shrewd than you give him credit for or used to give him credit for?" "This is what is dangerous in politics is when we focus on the process and not on the substance." "You can call it shrewd." "You can call it brilliant." "I don't care what you call it and I don't care how "brilliant" it is." "It's really bad!" "And I think there's a point at which, you know, the-the-the race is gonna come into relief." "You're gonna have two candidates." "And the voters are gonna get serious." "And it won't be a game anymore." "[man chuckles]" "[woman] Ted Cruz suspended his campaign last night after..." "[Cruz] Everything in Donald's world... [woman] ..." "losing to Trump by double digits intheIndianaprimary." "[Cruz] ...is about a narcissist at a level" "Idon'tthink this country's ever seen." "[Kasich] Look, this country has never been great when we fight with one another." "♪sombermusic♪" "♪ [woman] After a contentious primary," "Donald Trump is under pressure to bring his party together." "[woman] The question for Donald Trump iswhetherhe canleave this convention withatleasthaving an energized Republican base." "Ifhecan't,it'llbe much harder for him toreallycompete against Hillary Clinton." "♪suspensefulmusic♪" "♪ [woman] Let us commence the call of the roll of the states." "[Ryan] What do you say that we unify this party atthiscrucialmoment when unity is everything?" "♪ [man] The great state of Alabama is proud to cast 36 votes for the next president," "DonaldJ.Trump!" "[crowd chanting] We want Trump!" "We want Trump!" "We want Trump!" "We want Trump!" "[woman] California, that is 100% rock-solidpro-Trump." "[man] And 11 votes for my friend andthenextpresident of the United States," "DonaldJ.Trump!" "[crowd cheering]" "[Trump Jr.] I have the incredible honor towatchwhat my father has done increatingthismovement-- because it's not acampaignanymore, it's a movement." "Anditis my honor to be able to throw Donald Trump over the top in the delegate count tonight with89delegates." "Congratulations,Dad!" "We love you!" "[crowd chanting] Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "♪upbeatatmosphericmusic♪" "♪" "[Ryan] I formally declare Donald J. Trump andMichaelR. Pence the Republican nominees forpresident and vice president oftheseUnitedStates." "[crowd cheering] [indistinct chatter] [man over speaker] ...and unify South Carolina..." "Great job, man, great!" "Thank you." "Thank you." "It was awesome." " [man] Great job." " [Trump Jr.] Thank you guys." " I am so proud!" " Everything went well?" "Good to see you." "It went well." "I'm so proud of you." " I'll see you tonight." " We'll see you in a little bit." "[Halperin] A bunch of these people who now say they'reneverTrump are gonna be Trump." "They'regonnabe Trump in August or September, maybe October, maybe even some of them in November." "And I'm getting that feeling here tonight." "They're either gonna be for Trump, or they're not gonna be in the Republican Party." "[man] Yeah." "'Cause it's his Republican Party now." "[Heilemann] Oh, come on, that's ridiculous." "There's still dozens of people walking around here saying..." "There are." "There are." "..."I'm not for him."" "But here's the reality that's setting in." "Roll call's happened." "It's done." "There's, like, no more..." "Yeah, I know he's the nominee, Mark, I get that." "I get that, but there-- the fact is, there are still, like, many-- people you've worked for who wouldn't come here" " under any scenario." " [McKinnon] Oh, I know." "There's a reason John McCain's not here." "[McKinnon] We don't disagree with that." "There's a reason George W. Bush is not here." "There's a reason that your friends from the Bush White House are walking around here saying it's the most depressing night of their lives." " Yes." "I don't" " So, like, so-- let's not pretend like everyone's now suddenly like, "Oh, it's all great, it's all good."" "But people are feeling it." "This is our nominee." "♪tensemusic♪" "You guys are all--you guys are higher than I am right now." "[laughs]" "♪" "[Halperin] I believe from-- my one person told me that" "Cru--Ted Cruz is going to surprise-endorse Trump at the convention tonight in his speech." "I asked Kellyanne to confirm it." " And I said I cannot." " She declined." "She declined with her mouth." "Kellyanne, your eyes right now are confirming it." "What are you talking-- what are you" "Like, why-why play these games?" "There's no way for me--I'm not in the position to confirm that." "♪" "[Cruz] If you love our country and love your children as much as I know that you do... [man] Come on!" "Say it!" "Say it, Ted!" "[crowd cheering]" "Standandspeak and vote your conscience." "[crowd booing]" "[Cruz] Vote for candidates up and down the ticket whoyoutrust to defend our freedom andtobe faithful to the Constitution." "Come on, Ted!" "[crowd shouting]" "Come on, Ted!" "[crowd chanting] Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "♪" "Wewillunitethe party." "AndGodbless the United States of America." "[amplifier feedback whines] [man] We are live at the Republican Convention inCleveland,andanother night and another wow!" "[man] We haven't seen anything like this before." "[woman] We have not." "Ladiesandgentlemen, this was, uh-- wow,thatwassomediscord." "[man] Security escorting Cruz's wife, Heidi, outofthearena." "[man] What's your message to Senator Cruz supporters who heard their candidate not endorse Donald Trump?" "No--yeah, what's their campaign message?" "I-I'm sure you already answered this, but... [woman] That's a pretty big smile, sir." "[Heilemann] Wow, that's a pretty big smile there, Paul." " [woman] Big smile." " I'm smiling with him." "[Heilemann] We're reading your body language, though." "[Halperin] I'm smiling, but which is it?" "Did you foster that or not?" "Did that play the way you wanted it to?" "Look, I mean, I think the delegates were very disappointed." "♪ominousmusic♪" "I still don't actually-- don't know what happened." "[indistinct chatter]" "♪ [crowd cheering] [crowd chanting] USA!" "USA!" "USA!" "[crowd cheering]" "[Trump] When I take theoathof office next year," "Iwillrestore lawandorder to our country." "[crowd cheering]" "Iamyourvoice!" "HillaryClinton'smessage isthatthings will never change, neverever." "Mymessageis that thingshaveto change, andtheyhavetochange right now." "[crowd cheering]" "God bless you, and good night." "I love you." "[crowd cheering]" "♪" "[plane engine roars]" "I think the convention was a tremendous success." "There was love in that room, I'll tell you what." "There was tremendous love in the room." "Uh, you look at the unity." "I mean, take a look at Ted Cruz." "He got booed off the stage." "I've never seen anything like it." " To tweak him?" " Yeah." "I would never do a thing like that." " But yes." " [Halperin] Yeah, yeah, so..." " Well, I understand television." " [Halperin] Yeah." "But nobody's a great producer 'cause there's always an element of luck." "[Halperin] Right," "I think this:" "I walk in, and the arena went crazy." "[Halperin] Right." "Because there's great unity in the Republican Party, and people don't know it." "Had I not walked in," "I think that audience would have ripped him off the stage." "You know, this "Never Trump" was-was fiction." "That was in somebody's mind, mostly the media's mind." "It never had a chance." "No, I-I think it's gonna be a very boring convention." "♪ambientmusic♪" "♪ [crowd cheering] [man] In an electric night here at the DNC, the crowd seems more unified..." "[Clinton] ...with the bigotry and the bombast." "Americaisgreat becauseAmericais good." "[woman] Hillary Clinton makes history becoming the first woman U.S. presidential nominee ever, shattering a new glass ceiling." "Butcanshebreakthrough the public's image of her?" "[man] Hillary Clinton has had a difficult relationship withthetruth." "Perhapsnotmorethan conventional politicians, buttherenowis 30 years of baggage." "♪ [woman] Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump hiredStephenBannon of Breitbart News as CEO." "[man] But Bannon has a special zeal for the Clintons." "BreitbartNewshastaken every available shot tocomplicatehercandidacy... [traffic honking] [buzzer sounds]" "The mailbox says," ""Fox News, Stone" right here." "This is it." "[Stone] I have an excellent rapport with Steve Bannon." "[Halperin] Yeah." "[Stone] And Bannon is my kind of guy." "He's a bomb thrower." "He thinks outside the box." "If Donald Trump runs a conventional" "Republican campaign, he will lose." "[Halperin] Right." "What is Steve Bannon doing in the campaign?" " Laying low." " Yeah." "He never worked on a campaign, right?" "No, but, uh, John Mitchell never ran a campaign either, but he elected Richard Nixon president." "I've never seen the voters this angry or this sour" " or this distrustful." " Right." "What's different about this cycle is, they've caught on to the role of the mainstream media, echoing, magnifying, and distorting, uh, facts on behalf of the political establishment." "So just because something's on TV now" "CNN, CBS, whatever-- they don't necessarily believe it." "Bannon, he brings, uh, a much better sense of the new media and the importance of the new media." "Uh, and he knows the ent-- the entire Clinton oeuvre in terms of research." "Right." " You have three, uh, debates." " Right." "He could come at her anywhere." "Will one of her husband's rape victims be in the audience?" "Is that a possibility?" "Are you just throwing that out there, or is that a..." "Just a--well, I mean, I-I" "I don't know that that's going to happen." " Yeah." " But--but it certainly could." "I mean, the worst thing in politics than being wrong is to be worried." "Right." "[helicopter rotors whirring] [man] The stakes could not be any higher for this debate." "Ninetyminutesthat could change the race." "[woman] New poll shows Hillary Clinton andDonaldTrump in a near dead heat." "Clintonisleading by just two percentage points inthelatest... [crowd shouting]" "[woman] Welcome to the media circus!" "I'm a metaphor!" "[instrumental version of "Thriller" playing]" " Ready?" " [man] Yeah, I'm ready." "Okay." "♪ [scanner beeps]" "Thanks." "How are you?" "[Kelly] There's a beer trailer out there." "I don't know-- did you see that?" "It's--I--people are pre-partying at the presidential debate." "Who gets drunk at the presidential debate?" "[McKinnon] Everybody but us, I guess." "It's like a tailgate out there." "What are we, like, a couple of losers?" "It's hard to imagine that nothing's gonna happen in this debate, right, that people are gonna go," ""Oh, that was a dud."" "But it could happen, I guess." "I don't know." "Here's the reason why I question that just a little." "When I asked him that first question at the first presidential debate Fox News hosted about the women." "You'vecalledwomen you don't like" ""fatpigs,""dogs,""slobs"..." "Trump thought he could dismiss it with a laugh about Rosie O'Donnell." " Right." " And I kept pressing." "And that's when he got mad." "Ifyoudon'tlikeit, I'm sorry." "I'vebeenverynicetoyou, although I could probably maybe not be based on the way you have treated me." "And I know he's been told by everybody to keep it together and not let her bait him." "And Trump's not stupid." " You know, I mean..." " Yeah, yeah." "He wants this." "He likes to win." "So that's if it could be..." "So if he--if he's convinced that that's the way to win," "I mean, I think he can keep his powder dry for 90 minutes." "And if he does, it might be boring." " Either way, we're gonna win..." " Yeah." "...'cause boring or electric..." "There's gonna be a lot of people watching." " Everyone's gonna watch." " You're right." "Yes." "He's gonna give us a ton of stuff to talk about." "And if it's electric, so much the better 'cause that'll keep us fueled for weeks." "[Trump] We have so many things that we have to do better, Lester." "Wehaveno leadership." "Andhonestly,thatstarts with Secretary Clinton." "Ihaveafeeling, by the end of this evening," "I'm to be blamed for everything that's ever happened." "Whynot?" "Whynot?" "Yeah." " [laughter] - [Clinton] Why not?" "[Trump] I've been all over the place." "Youdecidedto stayhome, and that's okay." "IthinkDonald just criticized me forpreparingforthisdebate." "Andyouknowwhatelse  I prepared for?" "Ipreparedto be president, andI thinkthat's a good thing." "[applause]" "[Holt] Mr. Trump, this year, Secretary Clinton became the first woman nominated for president by a major party." "Earlier this month, you said she doesn't have" ""a presidential look." What did you mean by that?" "[Trump] Uh, she doesn't have the look." "She doesn't have the stamina." "[Clinton] This is a man who has called women" ""pigs,"" slobs,"and"dogs."" "Oneoftheworstthings he said was about awomanin abeautycontest." "Hecalledthiswoman "Miss Piggy,"" "thenhecalledher  "Miss Housekeeping"" "becauseshewasLatina." "Donald,shehas aname ." " [Trump] Where did you find" " Her name is Alicia Machado." " Where did you find this?" "Wheredidyou findit?" " And she has become aU.S.citizen and you can bet..." " [Trump] Oh, really?" " ...she's going to vote" "thisNovember." " [Trump] Okay, good." "[Holt] All right, well, that is going to do it for us." "Thatconcludesourdebate for this evening." "[applause]" "That debate did not want for electric moments." "That's for sure, Bret." "There's no--no one, I believe, will judge this as having been a loss for Hillary Clinton." "This was clearly Hillary Clinton on the attack, issue after issue after issue." "Shecertainly looked more presidential." "Sheshowedmuchmore of a mastery of issues." "Ithinkeverybody pretty much agrees thatTrumpwasjustawful." "[Halperin] Follow me." "♪pensivemusic♪" "Mr. Trump." "Mr. Trump." "How are you, sir?" "Congratulations on getting through your first presidential debate." " I liked it." " What'd you--what'd you think?" "I thought it was great." "I really enjoyed it." "It's about making America great again." "So I think it came out very good, Mark." "Of the objectives you had going in tonight, which ones did you achieve?" "Which ones did you fail to achieve?" "I think I achieved." "I mean, I'm looking at all the online polls, and we're doing very well." "We're really doing well." "Um, I think I achieved." "Now people are talking about how you did, how she did." "What do you think the proper role for the media is now at this point, and what will the role be?" "All I wish the media would be is fair." "Uh, you know, everyone's saying I won the debate." "But hones-- I just want them to be fair." "That includes you." "[reporters all talking at once]" "Hey, John, throw it back to you." "Uh, Donald Trump continues to walk the line, and we're gonna go chase after him." "[woman] Did he say, "Everyone is saying I won the debate"?" "[man] Well done, brother." "[crowd cheering] an] Let me ask you a question." "WhothinksTrumpwon  the debate last night?" "[crowd cheering]" "♪broodingmusic♪" "♪" "[Trump] Last night was very exciting." "Winning the debate against crooked Hillary Clinton, bigleague." "Bigleague." "[crowd cheering]" "The single weapon that she's got is the media." "Withoutthemainstreammedia, shewouldn'teven be here, folks." "That I can tell you." "She wouldn't even be here." "[crowd cheering]" "♪" "[Tapper] There is some breaking news right now." "David Fahrenthold of The Washington Post got his hands on a tape, uh, from 2005 of Donald Trump." "[Trump] Took her out furniture shopping." "Shewantedto get some furniture." "I said, "I'll show you where they have some nice furniture."" "[man] Whoa." "[man] That's huge news here." "[man laughing]" "[Bush] Whatever you want." "[Bush snickering]" "The Trump campaign was already in free fall." "Ever since the last debate, it's been one self-inflicted wound after another." "But this really takes it to another level." "The worst October surprise that any campaign has ever suffered." "♪pensiverousingmusic♪" "♪ [man] I think there's an acknowledgement insidetheTrumpcampaign that they don't know howtheircandidate can survive this." "[man] They're in DEFCON 2 right now." "I've never said I'm a perfect person nor pretended to be someone that I'm not." "I've said and done things I regret." "And the words released today on this more-than-a-decade-old video are one of them." "Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am." "I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize." "I've said some foolish things, but there's a big difference between the words and actions of other people." "Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed, and intimidated his victims." "Thatwasn'tan apology." "Thatwaslike the Pee-wee Herman defense:" ""Iknowyouare , but what am I?"" "[man] The party right now is "flipping out."" "[woman] A growing list of congressional Republicans withdrawingsupport." "Some are demanding that Trump drop out of the race." "♪darkmusic♪ [woman] He's indicated in the past," ""IftheRepublicanParty is not with me, thenthey'reagainstme. "" "Andhisbaseofsupport is with him on that." "[man] Go ahead!" "[crowd chanting] USA!" "USA!" "USA!" "USA!" "[man] On Twitter, Trump said," ""Iwillnever drop out of the race." "Willneverlet my supporters down."" "[instrument blowing] [woman] Whoo!" "Donald J. Trump!" "[crowd shouting]" "We will discuss this more in the coming days." "See you at the debate on Sunday." "♪ [indistinct chatter]" "[McKinnon] Are we-- are we rolling?" "[Blitzer] Just getting in some videotape." "Uh,lookat this." "These are women who have made very strong accusations againstBillClinton." "There you see in the middle of your screen Donald Trump..." "Mr. Trump may have said some bad words, butBillClintonrapedme." "And Hillary Clinton threatened me." "[camera shutters clicking]" "Donald Trump has just put his finger on the nuclear button and pressed it." "♪broodingstringmusic♪" "♪" "[Cooper] Mr. Trump, you bragged that youhave sexually assaulted women." "Doyouunderstandthat?" "No,I didn'tsaythatatall." "Idon'tthinkyou  understood what was said." "Thiswaslockerroomtalk ." "Uh,I 'mnotproudofit." "Iapologizedto my family." "Ihavetremendousrespect for women." "[Cooper] Have you ever done those things?" "Andwomenhaverespectforme." "And I will tell you-- no, I have not." "♪" "If guys are gonna say they don't talk like that, they're lying." "Did you ever get a group of women ar--together?" "They're worse than the men." "♪ [man] He had the power." "He has the prestige." "Why wouldn't you take a little advantage?" "♪ [woman] I'm not voting for the pope." "I don't care what he said 11 years ago." "♪ [man] Claims that he inappropriately touchedtwowomen in the past... [woman] And his hands started going up my skirt." "[woman] He just came strolling right in." "Somegirlsweretopless." "Other girls were naked." "[woman] A ninth woman is now accusing Donald Trump ofsexualmisconduct." "He gave me another embrace and did touch my vagina through my underwear." "Theseviciousclaims aboutme aretotally and absolutely false." "[crowd cheering]" "They'retaking these unsubstantiated-- no witnesses--putting them on the front pages of newspapers!" "They'reoutrightlies." "[crowd cheering] [woman] She's got the whole media behind her." "Everything's a setup." "[woman] This is about the liberal media trying to keep Trump from becoming president." "Anyonewhochallenges their control isdeemedasexist, aracist,axenophobe." "Things that come out of Donald Trump's mouth are disgusting." "Theywillattackyou ." "Deplorableandawful." "Theywillslanderyou ." "Creepy." " They will lie." "DonaldTrumpis going to lose this election." "Lie." " The race is over." "They'rehorrible, horrible liars." "[crowd cheering]" "It'sa riggedsystem." "It's a rigged election." "It'snotcoincidence that these attacks comeattheexactsame moment asWikiLeaks releases documents exposingthemassive international corruption oftheClintonmachine." "[crowd chanting] Lock her up!" "Lock her up!" "Lock her up!" "Lock her up!" "Lock her up!" "Sotrue." "♪dramaticmusic♪ [woman] The Clinton presidential campaign isfacingmoreproblems over emails today... [woman] A steady stream of leaked emails keepcomingfromWikiLeaks." "U.S. intelligence officials say thehackscamefromRussia." "[Clinton] What's really important about WikiLeaks isthattheRussiangovernment hasengagedin espionage against Americans in an effort to influence our election." "Look,Putin..." "[Chris Wallace] Oh, but-wait" "[Trump] ...from everything I see, has no respect for this person." "Well,that'sbecause he'd rather have a puppet aspresidentof  the United States." "No puppet." "No puppet." "Andit 'sprettyclear" " You're the puppet." "[Clinton] It's pretty clear you won't admit that..." "[Trump] No, you're the puppet." "..the Russians have engaged in cyber attacks against the United States of America becausehehasavery clear favorite in this race." "[Wallace] Mr. Trump, you have been warning atralliesrecently that this election is rigged." "Doyoumakethe commitment that you will absolutely-- sir--thatyouwill absolutely accept theresultof thiselection?" "Iwilllookatitat thetime." " [man groans] - [Wallace] Are you saying you're not prepared now to commit to that principle?" "What I'm saying is that I will tell you at the time." "I'llkeepyouinsuspense." "[Nicole Wallace] It is a disqualifying comment to say you will not accept the results of American democracy, thebeaconof democracy the world over." "Lights-outmomentforhim ." "Thisisverysad night for the country." "Um, you can't polish this turd." "[indistinct chatter]" "There's Kellyanne." "How's it going?" "Oh, great!" "How are you?" "Was that the answer he was supposed to give on that question?" "He had a lot of great answers tonight." "That one that everybody's paying attention to." " When--and he said" " Why-why--how does that happen?" "I'm just curious, 'cause I'm not a reporter." " [sighs]" " How does it happen that everybody hears the same 90-minute debate and everybody obsesses over the one thing he says" "Because we've never had a major party nominee who says, "I may not accept the results."" "Well, sure you did." "You had Al Gore." "That was after the election." "Well, but that's--maybe that's his entire point, Mark." "But earlier today, you, Mike Pence, and Ivanka Trump all said, "Of course he'll accept the results."" "So that's different than the answer he gave." "We all said absent widespread irregularities or evidence of fraud or abuse." "[indistinct chatter]" "And rolling now." "♪pensivemusic♪" "We all agreed he had to do something big tonight." "Does anybody here think he did that?" "No." "I think, if anything, just the opposite." "The WikiLeaks disclosures from the Podesta emails have been going around now for over a week." "And we still don't know-- and there's mixed opinion about this-- the people who are releasing these, trying to win the election for Trump or they're just trying to create chaos." "[Heilemann] Yeah, chaos and discord." "The irony is, if the election is undermined, at this point, the chances are more--are better that it's by Russia than by anybody else." "[laughs]" "♪softsuspensefulmusic♪" "♪" "[Heilemann] So Donald Trump, last night, he-he brought up a number of things that have been revealed by the WikiLeaks, uh, email hacking." "Yes." "Yes." "You, Roger Stone, have said," "I believe, on multiple occasions publicly, that you have back channel to Assange." " Correct?" " Mm-hmm." "We just happen to have a mutual friend who" "You "happen to have" a mutual friend?" "Yes, who supported Assange and has some connection to him." "But how aware of all this is Trump?" "Have you discussed WikiLeaks with him?" " I have not." " Not once?" " Not once." " Never?" "In any of your private conversations, not once?" " Not once." "Not once." " You have no idea." "So the U.S. intelligence community" ""is confident that the Russian government directed the recent compromises of emails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations."" " So I" " Show us the proof." "You don't believe it?" "No, I don't believe it." "Why does Donald Trump suck up to Putin so much?" "Because he favors a period" "Why does he do-- why does he do that?" "Because he favors a period of détente." "If Nixon and Brezhnev can make a deal, then perhaps Trump and Putin can make a deal" "You-your view is that American voters, when Trump sucks up to Putin, they think, "Yeah, we like that." "That's good."" "I think they like peace over war." "So Trump is not only the candidate of the silent majority, the forgotten Americans, the candidate of law and order, but he is also the candidate of peace." "So at this moment, it's October 20th..." "Yes." "What needs to happen for Donald Trump to be president?" "I would concede that, in my belief," "Mrs. Clinton is probably slightly ahead." "But Trump is Trump." "He's good in the clutch, and he could still eke this out under the right sequence of events." "Trump may need some brakes, but to say that he's out of it?" "Over?" "Did you say over?" "Right." "Right." "Nothing's over till we say it is." "Okay." "This has been excellent." "You'll edit out all the good shit." "Come on, dude, you think I'm in charge of that?" "Some other liberal is." "For you, Roger, fuckin' Attila the Hun is liberal." "True." "♪dramaticmusic♪" "[Blitzer] We've got some breaking news" "Iwantto bring to our viewers right now." "A new possible investigation by the FBI intoHillaryClinton'semails." "[man] In a letter to members of Congress," "DirectorComeysaidthe FBI  has learned of the existence of emails that appear tobepertinent to the investigation." "[camera shutters clicking]" "Thedirectorhimselfhas said hedoesn'tknow whether the emails referencedinhisletter aresignificantor not." "[Halperin] He has-- this is not the way theJusticeDepartment is supposed to work." "This is a case of great public interest, I get that." "But you're not supposed to be trying cases in public like this." "So irresponsible." "[Halperin] Eleven days before the election." "[Heilemann] So irresponsible." "[Halperin] The question to me now... [exhales]" "Just this morning, I was saying that it would take some catastrophic external event to change the trajectory of this race." "This could be it." "[man] Republicans are going to bludgeon her with this overthenext11days ." "[Trump] As you know, theFBIhasreopened its investigation intoHillaryClinton." "[crowd cheering] [crowd chanting] [chanting continues]" "♪ambientmusic♪" "[Halperin] This is the last Friday before Election Day." "Andherewe are in the inner sanctum." "ThisittheTrump campaign headquarters inTrumpTower." "Roll on fuckin' everything." "Look, the rooms are named after Trump properties." "♪pensivemusic♪" "This seems more like a quiet Manhattan law firm thanitdoeslike a bustling campaign." "Oh, look at this." "This is awesome." "Thisisaspace I've not been in." "Idon'tthinkverymany  people have been in." "This is the entrance to the residence of Trump Tower sothisis where Mr. Trump comes in his lobby, maybegetsthemail." " Thank you, man." " Hey, thank you very much." " It's awesome." " Hey, good to see you." "Really appreciate it." "Thank you." "Campaigns,they'realways gonna act upbeat." "Thekeyis bodylanguage." "Frankly,everyoneItalkto in the Trump campaign hasa bigsmileontheirface." "Is that 'cause they have momentum and they feel on the upswing?" "Is it because they're bluffing?" "I don't know." "So Robby Mook, your counterpart..." "Yes!" "...says they're gonna win;" "they can't lose." "We can't lose Florida." "We can't lose North Carolina." " You say you're winning..." " We're winning." "..you're gonna win." "What's a boy to think?" "I'm not sure that they saw this coming." "Her not being able to get Barack Obama-like levels in these blue states." "Plus the fact that she is under a cloud of corruption and there's no evidence that Americans who already find her to be dishonest and untrustworthy are going to just look past that." "You, uh, for the last week have had the luxury of mostly giving your candidate good news." " Yes." " Is your job to keep his spirits up or to tell him the truth?" "If you learn bad early vote numbers or you get a bad poll back, is your job to tell him the truth..." " Always." " ...or to keep his spirits up?" " Always." " Always." "Well, both, I mean, all of the above." "Does your-your campaign manager do a good job, objectively?" " She's doing a great job." " Does she give you bad news?" "If something's bad, will she say," ""I got to be honest with you"?" "She only gives me-- only gives me good news." "♪" "[man] Early polling shows that this FBI disclosure hasn't moved the race in any significant way so far." "[woman] Clinton leading Trump in all seven national polls." "[man] Advantage Clinton." "A steep hill for Donald Trump." "[man] Clinton's chances of winning are 84% versusTrump's16 %." "[man] She's got an electoral college lock." "Sheischokinghim out ." "[Clinton] So I got to ask you, are you ready?" "[crowd cheering]" "Howmanyof you've already voted?" "[crowd cheering]" "My final Sunday morning television appearance before Election Day on Face the Nation." "Makesomefinalsense out of this fucked-up,distressing, depressing election." "[indistinct chatter] [man] Are we rolling?" "[man] David, there's a film crew in here." "[Ignatius] I noticed that." " Guys." " [man] It's all very meta." "Two days to go." "[Heilemann] Who's gonna win on Tuesday?" "Clinton or Trump?" "Uh, I..." "Uh, Clinton narrowly." ""Clinton narrowly."" "[Walter] I still think Clinton." "Clinton narrowly." "Clinton modestly." " As opposed to narrowly?" " [chuckling]" "Is modestly--is modestly bigger than narrowly or..." "It's-it's-it's larger." "It's more like" "Did I say "biggerly"?" "Think I said "biggerly."" "Amy, how happy are you this is gonna be over?" "Or are you on the "I wish this campaign would go on forever"?" "[Walter] I never wish a campaign would go on forever." "Two weeks from now, we're gonna be on to something else." " [Ignatius] Yeah, I'm not..." " [Heilemann] Really?" "[Ignatius] Donald Trump isn't gonna be on to something else." "We're likely to have, I'd guess, a-a populist Republican Party for a while." "Okay, I don't think it's just a populist Republican Party." "I think it's a Republican Party specifically focused on, uh, white identity as the organizing-- as the organizing thing." "[Heilemann] Having Barack Obama as president for eight years exposed the degree to which there was submerged racism." "There was a whole bunch of stuff that was seething out there like in a David Lynch movie." "Like, just a-- like, the--like-  like bugs in the grass, right?" " Right, right." "And all of a sudden it's kind of now brought up to the surface." "My expectation is that this is actually just the beginning of a-a-a more seismic change in our politics." "Sort of like "we are not even on to the main course yet."" " Right, exactly." " Fabulous." "Great." "[man] And mic up, cue." "We'rebacknow with our politics panel." "John Heilemann, what's going on in the race right now?" " [laughs]" " What is going on?" "Well, it's almost over, John." "[Dickerson] One of the challenges of this election is that the smart people think that they know what's going on, and then Donald Trump has been extremely successful doing his thing." "So maybe Donald Trump just knows something better." "Um, well, if that's true, um, a lot of us are gonna have to, uh, really check a lot of our preconceptions at the door." "But it's still the case that, uh, Hillary Clinton hasneverbeenbehind in this race." "[crowd cheering]" "♪upbeatetherealmusic♪" "♪" "[Clinton] Years from today, when your kids and grandkids ask what you did in 2016, wheneverything was on the line," "Iwantyou to be able to say youvotedforaninclusive, big-hearted, open-mindedcountry." "BecauseI dobelieve we are stronger together." "[crowd cheering]" "♪pensivemusic♪" "♪" "[crowd booing]" "[crowd cheering] [crowd chanting] Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "Trump!" "[crowd cheering]" "[Trump] It all began for me in New Hampshire, thefirststatewewon." "Wearejustone day away fromthechange you've been waiting for yourentirelife." "[crowd cheering]" "[airplane P.A. system beeping] [indistinct radio chatter]" "♪ambientmusic♪ [woman] You're looking at Westchester County Airport inWhitePlains,New York." "HillaryClinton coming home to vote." "ThisisElectionDay ." "♪broodingmusic♪" "♪ [siren wailing]" "[man on TV] Right now, it is very, very, very early results, Hillary Clinton running up the percentages that she needs in Florida..." "[Halperin] We're in that classic bullshit period whereelectionreturns would suggest to you" "Trump'sdoingevenorwell ." "And the exit poll data shows that Clinton's won it." "Soinsidersknowthat and are basically like," ""All right, who's gonna be in the Clinton cabinet?"" "And, "What time's Clinton gonna give her victory speech?"" "And, "Will Trump concede?"" "And, you know, on the air, it's all just like Kabuki of, "Oh, look, Trump's up 7,800 votes."" "She's right now, according to the exit polls, ahead in every battleground state that she's contesting." " Yeah." " We're headed towards" "If she wins Florida, that's that." " Well, right." " You know?" "Eighteen months of, like, extraordinary buildup ends...[chuckles] with one projection." "Mr. Trump, sayonara." "♪atmosphericmusic♪" "[Heilemann] So welcome to the Jacob Javits Center." "[Halperin] AKA Hillaryland." "[Clinton on TV] Now is our chance tobeatthehistoricalodds  andgivetheAmericanpeople thehealthsecuritytheyneed ." "Weworkedreallyhard." "We weren't successful." "Whichreallydisappointed..." "This is, like, mind-blowing." "[indistinct chatter]" "[Heilemann] Very futuristic." "Literally, it's like nothing I've ever seen on election night." "This is like a show of force." "If she wins, it's gonna be a metaphor for the fact that she and her team outplanned, outworked, outspent Donald J. Trump." "[man] This is the electoral college map." "Thecoloredstates you see now... [crowd commotion]" "No." "Really?" "I guess I never really thought about it." " I just know how hard it is..." " Right." " ...for women to win." " Since you never expected to see one in your lifetime, it's fair to say that you are seeing one sooner than you expected." "Yes." "I hope that's right." "[laughter]" "Stay--don't- don't let him fuck with you." "Stay here and talk to me." "[Fallon] So everybody's paying attention to the glass ceiling and all the symbolic value of that." " [Heilemann] Yeah." " [Fallon] And that's true." "But the other thing that we're pointing to is the stage that is shaped like the map of the United States of America." "And the symbolic purpose of that is-- and this is something you're gonna hear in her remarks-- that she wants to be a president for everybody." "We realize, even if she has a decisive victory tonight, that the country's gonna remain polarized and the big challenge facing her is gonna be how to try to heal the divide." "And so starting tonight, wants to start to reach out to even those Trump supporters that didn't vote for her." "♪pensivemusic♪" "♪ [indistinct chatter]" "So this is kind--I mean, I know he's done events here before, but it's so weird for an election night party for the guy that has huge rallies to end on a note like this, right?" "I know." "Well, I think..." "[McKinnon] This looks more like an annual convention of osteopaths than it does an election night celebration." "[man on TV] North Carolina, Florida, right away." "Firstinthepolls..." "[Blitzer on TV] Key race alert right now." "[dramatic music on TV]" "Key race alerts!" "[Blitzer on TV] All right, let's take a look." "Let'sstartwithFlorida." "Rightnow,DonaldTrump is ahead impressively with91%of thevote." "InOhio,DonaldTrump also has the lead ofmorethan52,000 with 39% of the vote in." "Eighteen-pointthreshold." "It's too close to call." "[Blitzer on TV] In Virginia right now, Donald Trump still has an impressive lead..." "[Heilemann] The suggestion earlier was if she won Florida, it'd be a really early night." "And now it's Trump with 92% of the vote in and Trump ahead by 130,000 votes." "She could still..." "[Blitzer on TV] ...votes outstanding... ♪ambientmusic♪" "♪" "[Schumer on TV] I got to watch my oldest daughter," "Jessica,getmarried to the man of her dreams... ♪" "[Halperin] So I'm over at the Clinton headquarters." "And the atmosphere here in the last 45 minutes has just pancaked." "[Schumer on TV] I guess what I'm saying is this." "Ibelievethatshe willwin." "[Halperin] They're playing Schumer giving some speech, and people are like, "Please, we don't need to hear about how much you love Coney Island." "What the fuck's going on in Broward County?"" "[man on TV] And this is encouraging you, ifyou'retheTrumpcampaign," "IfDonaldTrumpkeepsit that close..." "[Halperin] My sense is that in the last 45 minutes or so, the energy's..." " Air--yeah, absolutely." " Air out of the room, right." "Right." "Have you reached any of the Clinton people about Florida?" "♪rousingpensivemusic♪ [man on TV] A couple things to point out." "First of all we talk about this college, non-college... [crowd cheering] [man] Donald Trump has just won the state of Ohio." "[man] No Republican has won the White House without winning the state of Ohio." "Donald Trump, the GOP nominee has just... [man on TV] Sure, it's only a couple hundred in this county, maybe1,000there, maybe 1,500 there..." "[Halperin] They've got the audio up on John King at CNN because they're starved for information." "Thatissomething if that's 100%." "There's not more votes to be gained by Hillary Clinton..." "If she--if he wins Florida, it's an earthquake." "I would say at this moment that... pretty much every liberal I know is comprehensively freaking out." "[siren wailing]" "Think that's fair to say." "[Blitzer] CNN can now project thatthestateofColorado will go to Hillary Clinton." "Remember,youneed270  to win the White House." "Ikeepsayingthat... ♪" "Yeah, even with Iowa." "She's got-- she's got a chance still." "If she can block him in Michigan, Wisconsin..." "For Trump?" "All right." "Fox is giving North Carolina to Trump, so... really about Michigan, Wisconsin, and New Hampshire right now." "Michigan-Wisconsin thing is key." "'Cause she's behind by-- I mean, it seems like bo-- those are probably gonna go the same direction." "Okay." "Let me know, okay?" "Thank you." "♪ambientmusic♪" "[Colbert] My guests tonight are executive producers and reporters from Showtime's political documentary series The Circus." "Please welcome Mark Halperin and John Heilemann." "[cheers and applause] [man] Yeah, there you go." "[Colbert] Yeah." "Uh, what is happening out there?" "I haven't looked at anything in, like, the last half hour." "What's going on?" "Um, my sense is that this audience will not particularly like this, but he's now the front-runner." "[crowd moans]" "Uh, if Trump wins, how about bursting into tears and screaming "fuck" for the next 45 minutes?" "[laughter and applause]" "What did you want to say?" "What?" " Yeah." " Uhh, Donald Trump has taken the state of Florida." " [crowd groans]" " Okay, so that's been called." "He is--he is now on-- he is now on the doorstep of 270 electoral votes." "Wow." "Wow." "Uh, that's a horrifying prospect." "I can't put-- uh, I cannot put a-a-a" "I can't put a happy face on that." "And-and that's my job." "[soft laughter]" "If you did an MRI of the country," "I think you'd-- terminal grievance and anger and populist ire is the--is the-the-the thing that afflicts both sides--Democrat--on the far left and the far right." "And now we are where we are, which is" "Outside-outside of the Civil War," "World War II, and including 9/11, this may be the most cataclysmic event the country's ever seen." "Um...[chuckles nervously] well... [laughter]" "♪ominousmusic♪" " [woman] Happy to march." " We'll be right back after this message from Calgon." "[indistinct chatter] [traffic honking]" "[Halperin] Here's an update from Clinton aides." "She's still at the hotel, watching results." "She was planning to wait and then at some point go over to the Javits Center and give her victory speech." "[short sigh] I mean, you know, she's in there now." "They're--I'm sure they're telling her the bad news and they're trying to figure out a path." "They're claiming that there's more vote out at some of these places." "Can you imagine if she has to give a concession speech tonight, what she's gonna say?" "You know, she said America is better than this and all that." "I mean, she's gonna have to say this is what America wants." "Literally, there's never been anything that's happened like this." "I, um... you know, often thunk of Trump as like Berlusconi, the prime minister of Italy." "You know, incredibly outrageous, um, c-conduct and personality." "But with all due respect to the Italians, like, being prime minister of Italy is not the same as being president of the United States." "[siren wailing]" "I texted a Trump aide." "[indistinct shouting]" "Said, "Where are you?"" "Her response was, "Alongside the next POTUS."" "[man] That's right!" "That's right!" "[siren wailing] [crowd chanting] Drain the swamp!" "Drain the swamp!" "Drain the swamp!" "Drain the swamp!" "Drain the swamp!" "Yeah, um," "I'm-I'm on 55th and 6th, trying to get towards the hotel." "They've got a credential for me." "They've got it inside." "[crowd commotion] [man] Uh, "impatient," at this point wouldbetheoperative word of the night." "Therehasnotbeen a single person whohasleftthe Trump victory night headquarters, iswhattheythink it now is." "Uh,they'reparticularly interested in whenPennsylvania might get called, uh,becauseafter... ♪sombermusic♪ [man] Two thousand twelve, uh, Barack Obama won quite "handedly."" "Thisissteelcountry;" "this is coal country." "Andlookat DonaldTrump winning..." "[Heilemann] We just got word that" "Pennsylvania has been called for Donald Trump." "♪" "By any rational calculation, it's over for her." "[Cooper on TV] ...lot of different ways." "DavidAxelrod, what did everybody get wrong?" "Imean,thepolls were just wrong." "[Alesci on TV] I know." "I think the Comey letter wasextremelyhurtfultoher." "It's, uh-- it's frankly astounding... [man on TV] Think of what an incredibly nontraditionalcampaign this was." "ItwasDonaldTrump with a microphone, a hat, andanairplane." "Twitteraccount." " And a Twitter account." "[woman on TV] And a lot of media exposure." "man on TV] An extraordinary... [woman on TV] And the media..." "I'm gonna go on TV tomorrow and have to say," ""Hey, man, I was wrong."" "I got to figure out why I was wrong." "We all got to figure it out." "♪" "Thiswastheyearof bipartisan,ecumenical populist rage." "And it was enough that the figure of Donald Trump was able to marshal that populist outrage and... issue a hostile takeover of the Republican Party onthebackofwidespread outrageandanger at Democrats, at Republicans," "at Washington, at Wall Street, at Fortune 500, at the mass media, at every major establishment, institution in the country." "People are fucking pissed off." "Andtheirattitudewas , "You know what?" "Thatguyis risky, butdoingthesamething over and over again for another 20 years that we did for the last 20 years anddidn'tfixanything, that's risky too." "And I'm willing to take these risks and just roll a fucking stick of dynamite into Washington, D.C., and blow the motherfucker up and see where the rubble falls."" "[woman on TV] He gives those voters hope." "They may not believe that he can really change anything, but he is their hope and change candidate." "[King] Shouldn't he be congratulated orsomebodyjustsay what he's done is extraordinary?" "Thefactthatitstarted with 17 candidates." "If you were a supporter of Donald Trump or he wasn't your candidate, what he's accomplished is extraordinary." "[Jones] People have talked about a miracle." "Uh,I 'mhearing about a nightmare." "Uh, it's hard to be a parent tonight for a lot of us." "Uh,youtellyourkids , don't be a bully." "Youtellyourkids, don't be a bigot." "And then you have this outcome and you have people puttingchildrento bed tonight, and they-- they're afraid of breakfast." "Thiswasarebellion against the elites." "True,butit was also something else." "Wehaven'ttalkedaboutrace ." "Thiswasawhitelash." "Thiswasawhitelash against a changing country." "Itwasawhitelashagainst a black president, in part." "Andthat'sthepart where the pain comes." "[siren wailing] [indistinct chatter]" "I have a right to my own body." "Do you have a daughter?" "Do you have a wife?" "[man] The alt-right is here!" "We are here to stay!" "We are opposed to neoconservatism." " Yeah!" " We are opposed to globalism." "Yes." "We want nationalism for all people." "Wow!" "These are the fucking assholes..." " White people have just..." " Exactly." "...as much of a right to exist." " I'm a veteran!" " Yes, what do you" " I'm 50% disabled!" " What do you identify as?" " You identify as American?" "Yes?" " Okay?" "Of course I identify as American!" "And we shouldn't be against each other by you" " telling me all this rhetoric." " If--no--excuse me." "[crowd cheering]" "♪minimalstringmusic♪" "♪" "I mean, is-it's-it's stunning." "And people are gonna be stunned tomorrow and the next day and the next day and for a good long time." "It's-it's, uh-- it was--it was hard to cover 'causethecountry's so bitterly divided." "Itwashardtocover becausesomuch of what happened was against the conventional wisdom." "Tonight and this election will be in the history books." "And it will never be fully explained." "[crowd cheering] [crowd chanting] USA!" "USA!" "USA!" "USA!" "USA!" "USA!" "Thank you very much, everybody." "[scattered cheers]" "Sorry to keep you waiting." "Complicated business." "Complicated." "This was tough." "♪sombermusic♪" "This political stuff is nasty and it's tough." "[crowd cheering]" "♪" " [Halperin] I think we're done." " [Heilemann] Well" "Scott says we're done." " [Heilemann] We wake up today" " Scott says we're done." "[indistinct chatter]" "[Halperin] What are you doing?" " Cleaning" "♪ [camera shutters clicking]" "[Obama] I want to emphasize to you, uh, Mr. President-elect, that, uh, we now are gonna, uh, want to do everything we can to help you succeed, because if you succeed," "then the country succeeds." "Thank you, sir." "[reporters all talking at once]" "♪dramaticorchestration♪" "♪"