as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have heart or blood vessel problems, orevelop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. use caution when driving or operating machinery. most common side-affect is nausea. i can't believe i did it. i quit smoking. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. i'm kate snow live in st. petersburg, florida, live on campus. you might heard noise before us, they are practicing for the indy grand prix. this summer when republicans and democrats decide on their nominees, we might be looking back at this state of florida as the one that really decided it all. both parties hold their parties on tuesday, 90 delegates up for

grabs in republican answers winner take all. and right now it is all about donald trump. he leaves the three most recent major polls by wide margins here in florida and of course this is marco rubio's home state. remember, he is a sitting u.s. senator from here. and then over in ohio, tuesday's other big prize where john kasich serves as governor, trump leads in two of these recent polls. that may be surprising considering a wall street journal poll which shows 25% of voters nationwide have a favorable opinion compared to 64% unfavorable. that the largest our poll has ever seen for a prominent candidate. a safe bet president obama is one of those with an unfavorable opinion. during joint fuse conference with canadian prim minister, he slammed donald trump and two other candidates by name. >> in fact in terms of his

positions on a whole range of issues, they aren't very different from any of the other candidates. it is not as if there is a massive difference between mr. trump's position on immigration and mr. cruz's on immigration. mr. trump may be more provocative in how he says it but the actual positions aren't that different. for that matter, they aren't that different from mr. rubio's decisions on immigration. >> let's start with the donald trump campaign. we have new video in our newsroom from last night at a trump rally in north carolina. and what it shows is a black protester being escorted out of the building on his way out a white man in the crowd jumps up and punches him in the face. according to affiliate wral, that man, 78-year-old john mcgraw has been arrested. assault and battery and disorderly campaign. from the trump campaign, four words, quote, we are not

involved. let's start with nbc's kerry sanders. he is ahead of tonight's gop debate. what more do we know about that altercation last night? >> even before this happened and even before donald trump took the stage, i was there the at gathering, at the rally. and there was a a lot of boisterous activity outside. protesters who gathered outside. it is clear there would be people who would stand up and try to make their points known. of course this rally wound up having more than 10 separate moment where people tried to disrupt what was going on. but it's this video that perhaps is the most disturbing because what you see is the cumberland sheriff's office, deputies, escorting protester out. and bam, hit in the face, sort of sucker punched by someone in the crowd there. now the cumberland sheriff's office says that the police officer in this cased his head down when the person took a shot at him. and then of course there was a little bit more after stufl

afterwards. i guess what makes it so unusual here is that the protester who was hit in the face was the one that the authorities then put into handcuffs and took out. it wasn't until the video of that sucker punch wound up on social media that the sheriff's department began their investigation. it is confusing because there were so many deputies there at the scene and apparently none of them did anything, apparently, saying that they didn't see the sucker punch. it was evenly until it went on social media that the sheriff ordered an investigation and as you noted and i think we have a mug shot here of john franklin mcgraw, taken into custody now. beg held on it 500 bond. now meantime, a lot of the climate taking place around the donald trump campaign is a question that was actually put to president obama about whether donald trump has voiced a climate of anger and whether some of that is a reflection of

those who have been so dissatisfied with president obama. this is what the president had to say. >> the tone of that politics which i have not contributed to. i don't think that i was the one to prompt questionets about my birth certificate for example. what you're seeing, within the republican party, is creating an environment where someone like a donald trump can thrive. so the debate tonight will likely bring up a lot of questions. i think we will hear something about this and of course the discussion of donald trump's comments about muslim's. here in florida, they are a sizeable group. about 500,000. of course many, many more who are not muslim that are registered to vote in the state and of course, this state matters because it's a winner take all. and if dop donald trump can win

here, he walks away with 99 delegates, significant hall. kate? >> kerry, back to the video for a moment. since it is so new here. and it's important to note, as you did, you see this young man walking up the stairs and gets punched. the officers around him continue to walk and then actually take him down. the protester. he spoke to the washington post. his name is rakeem jones. he recently this afternoon say the police jumped on me like i was the one swinging. he added, my eye still hurt, it is just shocking. the shock of it all is starting to set in. it is like this dude just hit me and they let him get away with it. i was in police custody and got hit. this is not the first time we have seen vie leapt outbursts at trump rallies. i was at rally in las vegas where donald trump was the one encouraging his supporters to go

after protesters. ta take a listen to what he said then. >> honestly, i hate to see that. here is a guy throwing punches, nasty as hell, and he is walking out and guards are very gentle with him and he is walking out big high-fives, smiling, laughing, like to punch him in the face. i tell you that. >> kerry, i was in that auditorium. from what i could see, the protester never threw a punch. dehe did this. playing the mugging to the crowd. and trump saying we should punch him in the face. is the trump creating a level of hysteria in the crowd that leads to violence? >> i will tell you this. last night they didn't do something that they have done at other rallies. at other rallies, they play a prerecorded statement to the thousands that are there. they say, this is a private event. we don't want anyone to protest.

but if someone protests, we ask supporters ton touch them but to surround the protesters and start yelling trump, trump, trump. in fact when they play this recording, it generally gets a good sense of laughter. they didn't play that last night. at times i think you can say that it appeared donald trump was in many ways encouraging supporters to show how they felt about the protesters. didn't come right out and say throw a punch and knock somebody down but what you do point out is there were several officers around this young man. as you look at the video and see him taken out, he is being taken out because quote this have a private event and he is disrupting it. as he is taken out in the custody of deputies, he gets sucker punched there. and it's that point that you believe that the officers would now be responding to protect him from somebody elsewhere in turn in this particular case the sheriff's says the deputies didn't see the sucker punch and

it wasn't until it was posted on social media that he fully understood what had happened. i leave it to you to determine whether you see in that video that police officers who were there would have known what was taking place. but as we know, this was man, the protester, then put in handcuffs and he is the one as he said to the washington post, he is escorted out as if he did something wrong here. >> kerry sanders with the trump campaign. we should note that ra keem jones, the one you saw punched in that video, will be a guest tonight. and that at 10:00 eastern. let's go to coral gables. mike lee officially endorsing senator ted cruz. >> a very, very dig degree, remark al degree, in fact. and that's why i'm privileged to call him my friend.

but he is a friend not just to me. but to the american people. he is a friend to the people he represent. in the state of texas. when ted ran for senate in 2012 he made promises to the people of texas. he promised he with stand up for them. promised he would stand up it a growing overbearing federal government. that knows no bounds. he promised he would fight against obama care. he promised he with resist efforts to undermine our second amendment right as americans. promised he would oppose any efforts to undermine religious liberty. ted has kept those promises. and every other promise he made to the state of texas. and he will move forward and unite our party. you see, too many people have

been told by the establishment in washington that we have to settle, settle for economic grej. settle for more of the same. business as usual in washingt. washington. ted doesn't believe you should settle. he doesn't believe you have to settle. there is a big difference between cannot fusionfusion and confidence. there is a difference between plat tudes and a plan. ted is that difference. there is a big difference between slogans and substance. and ted is that difference. so it's time for us to recognize that we don't have to settle any more. don't settle. don't settle for slogans that can fit on a bumper sticker. expect substance. don't settle for a federal government that is overbearing

at home and projects weakness abroad. expect a federal government that will protect you and respect your rights. it's time, my fellow americans, to expect more. time to expect freedom. it's time to elect ted cruz as next president of the united states. >> you know, when we look at this presidential election cycle, one of the many things that comes to mind is the fact that with the recent death of the late justice anthony scalia, a lot of people wonder who is going to fill that vacancy on the supreme court. who is going to fill that role and who will name the person who will fill that role. it's one of the great things about ted cruz. is that americans can proceed with great confidence that ted cruz will pick an absolutely outstanding person to fill anthony scalia's position on the

supreme court of the out. they can also stand with great confidence that this is man who believes in his own family and stood with his own family. i have enjoyed getting to know ted and his wife and their daughters and i have seen ted stand with them and for them. i've seen him stand with and for his father and for and with his mother. and you know, he will stand for you. he will stand for every mother and father son and daughter in america. he will do what he said. >> okay, i think we just lost the signal there. but that is utah senator mike lee endorsing ted cruz. significant because he has in the past supported both marco rubio and ted cruz. had not gotten into this campaign with any kind of endorsement but now as you can see, officially endorsing ted cruz aeb of course that's the first senate endorsement for ted cruz.

after many had commented on that, that he didn't seem to have support from his own fell why senators on cap cap it'll hill. on the rubio campaign, florida or bust. he is leading up to his home state in florida next week. he is trailing in polls here and in desperate need of a win. can he do it? joining me now is nbc's gabe gutierrez with the rubio campaign in coral gables florida. you've probably been listening, dave, as we heard senator lee endorsing ted cruz. that has to be another blow to the rubio campaign. >> yes. it stings a little bit kate. at several campaign events for rubio along with ted cruz endorsing ted cruz. no comment on that from the rubio campaign. they are touting another poll that has come out, washington post univision poll, showing

rubio down 7% points here in florida. that against against the fox news poll. this is whether marco rubio can turn it around in his home state. facing a difficult few days. getting two victories total. in puerto rico and minnesota. now the super pac backing marco rubio, conservative solutions taking out a $1.1 million ad vibe. not even against cruz or trump, but against kasich. let's take a listen. >> here's the basic on john kasich. as ohio governor, kasich proposed increasing spending by $19 billion. to pay for more spending, kasich has higher businesses on cars, laundry, lawns, gym webs internet, phones, repairs and on

and on. even commanding on obama's medicare expansion. >> now for conservative solution says that that ad is meant to show to paint john kasich as a big government tax-increasing governor. but some noted this could be a sign that rubio campaign feeles a growing threat from kasich, even here in florida. over the last few days. and yesterday at a rally in hialeah, a lot has been made about this crowd for marco rubio's rally with several hundred people and stadium held several thousand and some people argue there's an enuse crass em gap. rubio team saying they are guaranteeing victory in florida. after a big debate performance tonight, that can turn the tide on senator rubio. we will have to wait and see. also looming the possibility after jeb bush endorsement either for rubio which he met

with jeb bush yesterday. or with kasich or cruz. >> now to shane, from "politico," let's talk more about marco rubio. i was talking to voters earlier today and i think we have sound we can play. this couple lives on the boat in the bahamas. and their life-long republicans. and they don't know what to do. they think they will support marco rubio but begrudgingly, take a listen. >> i'm not a staunch liberal supporter. >> so it is a protest? >> i wouldn't -- i suppose. >> trump scares me. period. but he just scares me. >> and you know, and going to the other cruz -- when i hear him speak and the way this which he expresses himself and the ideas that he brings forward. it just makes the hair on the

back of my neck stand up. >> but shane they're in the minority in terms of the people we talk to. just randomly around here. we have support for donald trump. and not so many people going for rubio. is there any chance he wins on tuesday? >> he is trying everything he can to win his home state. he has a lot of help on the air waves from the super pac that was just mentioned and spending millions on ads in florida. both hitting donald trump and promoting him. and he is trying to do everything he can. classic florida things. tomorrow holding a press conference to reach out to jewish voters. go up to pensacola and move folks for more southern voters p. good to villages where there are old voters. he is trying to do everything he can in his state. he has a shot but he is behind in every public poll. >> we have been talking about donald trump. and this new video out of north carolina last night. what's your sense for the florida voter here and why donald trump has so much momentum or you know so far

ahead in the polls? >> he is that far ahead in every state so far. i mean, the remarkable thing is that the rube why super pac is ataking john kasich. john kasich hoss won zero of the contest so far and is still getting negative attacks. donald trump is winning everywhere. last week he won in michigan. he won in hawaii. he won in minnesota. these are -- or not minnesota, excuse me, mississippi. those are dramatically different state. now florida as rubio said is a state critically important in the general election. if he wins here, he is really on his way. both delegate wise, toward the nomination. >> all right, shane, senior reporter from "politico." thank you for joining us, shane ps. i'm joined by two mayors. two hillary clinton supporter as it goes. mayor of tampa bob buck horn and

mayor of st. petersburg, rick criesman. i know mr. mayor you have had a long day. you drove up from miami this morning to be with hillary clinton. i don't know if you were there as well. >> i was not. >> you introduced her here in tampa. you are clearly a big hillary supporter. she has a lot of strength, if we believe the poll numbers. though the polls were wrong in michigan. >> she has a 25-year history in this state. we know her. she is no stranger to us. her husband is revered here in the sunshine state. so i think the organization she has is deep. its tentacles reach a long way. senator sanders, for all of the excitement he generated along young people, isn't known here. >> he has been in the state lately. he was here the other day. all day today.

an chance for bernie sanders? >> no, not enough aftof a prese here. as my friend was saying, hillary's organization in the state and tampa bay area is vast and she's been very visible and her surrogates have been very visible. >> she did very well in 2008 adds with well. winning florida over barack obama by about 17 point in 2008. won this county by i believe about 7 points. does that sound right? why do you think florida is clinton country? what the attraction? >> a lot of us have had relationships, back to the early '90s. she continued to come back and support florida issues. this is a swing state. kate where you are sitting is ground zero for american politics. >> registered about 50/50 in pinellas county, right? >> it is. this is where presidents get picked, this i-4 corridor from st. petersburg toward orlando. that's the battle ground region for the entire country. the demographics reflect the

country. if you can win here, you can win anywhere in america. >> sounds like a famous song. i don't know if people can hear it on tv but there is the sound behind us of indy cars practicing on a track. they take over your city here, right, on friday? >> all week we have indy car racing on the street of st. petersburg. the most beautiful track that any race is on. >> i thought i could give you a little plug there for st. petersburg. but this area has seen a the lof growth. i've been to part of tampa that are a little rough, fair to say? but you've got growth downtown. what changed here in the last decade? >> i think part of it is the relationship we relationship between us. we agree on where we want to take our cities. we don't compete. we celebrate with each other. this region created more jobs in the last 3 of 5 years than anywhere in florida. 41,000 jobs last year came out of the tampa bay area.

a different economy. not just construction or agriculture. not just tourism. real jobs that we see young people here to make a great living. >> i work with big brothers big sisters. you've been very good to that organization, inviting them here here as well. >> the mayor who preceded me was a big part of that. >> just a few days to go before voters have their say in ohio. a state that is winner take all as well. and a do or die for john kasich. up next, we look at his chances of becoming the clear alternative to donald trump.

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delegates up for grabs. a state that's crucial for john kasich. governor kasich does have the lead in one of the latest polls but he falls behind donald trump in the latest cnn and quinnipiac polls. both candidate are holding rallies across ohio this weekend and a key message for voters in ohio. jobs. msnbc's jacob soberoff joins us from uk lid, ohio. what are you hearing? >> we are hearing that people who are particularly in the manufacturing sector in euchlid wore working very hard. in ohio, in the manufacturing sector. when you drive through a neighborhood like this and look at houses they used to be around $150,000, $145,000. if they are not an empty lot like we are driving through now, are about $45,000 to $50,000. we talked to andrew jackson

would lives down the block and this is what he told me. >> how many people work here. >> around 200 at one time. >> how many people are losing their jobs? >> about 170. >> so out of the 200, almost everybody. >> almostern will be began. almost everyone will be gone. >> how do you stop this from happening? >> that the million dollar question. we as americans need to get out. and cast a vote. to bring the jobs back to america. but that going to start at our local voting booths. >> jackson told me that probably about 15 homes were for closed. when you look at cleveland range where he works or worked very soon, that company has been in ohio since the late 1800s and now sending those jobs up to canada. some people are looking at it closely during presidential campaign. >> jacob, it's really striking to hear the fallen value of the homes there. jacob, thanks so much for giving

us a tour. still to come, latest bost for ted cruz. carly fiorina will join me live and tell us why she close to endorse him. and drop willingiping off t in the mail, why people mostly vote that way here. >> i can take it home and sit down and think about it. i don't have to sit in the booth or get ticked off because someone is taking too long. i know how it is.

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try cool mint zantac. hey, need fast heartburn relief? it releases a cooling sensation in your mouth and throat. zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. nexium can take 24 hours. try cool mint zantac. no pill relieves heartburn faster. donald trump and hillary clinton are two sides of the same coin. they're not going to reform the system. they are the system. >> that was former presidential candidate carly fiorina, yesterday, slamming donald trump during her endorsement of

senator ted cruz. joining me by phone, carly fiorina herself. thank you for taking a moment out and being with us by phone. >> caller: it is my pleasure, kate, how are you doing? >> i'm well, thank you. i'm in florida, the weather couldn't be better. >> caller: yes, florida beat iowa and new hampshire in february for sure. >> it does. it does. you have had fairly unkind word for ted cruz in the past. in january you said ted cruz is just like any other politician. he says one thing in manhattan. says another thing in iowa. he says whatever he needs to say to get elect end then he's gonna do as he pleases. >> caller: i know this is the game that get paid here when an endorsement happens. look, before i ever had a conversation with ted cruz to discuss an endorsement or anything else. i went into the voting booth in

the virginia primary. i had it think long and hard about who to vote for. would have been tempting to check the box for myself. it is cool it see your name on a presidential ballot but i had to think long and hard about why i ran for president. i ran for president because i think the system has to be reformed. there is only one guy left in the race who actually challenged the status quo. that's ted cruz. he has the enemies to prove it. i think it's important we have a conservative in the white house because conservative principles are about ending the concentration of power. among other things. and we have too much power, too much economic power and too much political power and presiding over that concentration of power. the system that i referred to and that clip you played, the system is personfide by hillary clinton and donald trump and ted

cruz can beat donald trump. he is the only guy who has. and the system needs to be challenged. >> let me ask you, you used to work with john mccain. he famously once called ted cruz a wacko bird. i'm sure you remember that. he questioned cruz's eligibility for president. i guess my question is, if ted cruz is so disliked by so many, why support him and how do you see him going all the way? >> it is interesting, i have challenged the system all my life. that's what leadership is. you challenge the status quo. that what it takes to good from secretary to ceo. and so i know from personal experience that when you challenge a system, when you challenge the status quo, you did more than ruffle feathers. it is part of why most people won't challenge the system. it is why most people won't good along to get along. because it is hard to make enemy possess. ted cruz has maiden mys.

there is no question. but he also stayed true to his principles throughout. and by the way, he is a guy in this race while others have gotten down in the gutter with donald trump and talked about body part and spray tans, ted cruz has stayed on the issues. stayed on the substance. and extremely substantive policy proposals of his own. >> you mentioned donald trump. obviously you're an big fan. i don't know whether or not, ms. fiorina, whether or not you have seen disturbing video that has come to light today. it shows a young black protester that disrupted things. he is being escorted out of a trump rally. as he is being escorted out, he he is punched in the face by an older white gentleman who is later arrested. i wonder why you are worried about the state of, i don't even

know what to call it, the animosity we see and violence lens we see at some of the trump event. >> i'm very worried about the divisive nature of our political dialogue in general. and yes, i worry about that. it's why when donald trump announced his candidacy, i said, and got a lot of criticism for it. i said he doesn't represent me and he doesn't represent my party. this nation is divided. and frankly, democrat have contributed to that as well. i mean, it's not helpful when hillary clinton or for that matter president obama, say it's okay for protesters to talk about, you know, frying pigs like bacon and they don't comment at all when police officers are assassinated in their cars. there's a lot of devisive divise rhetoric. yes, i'm concerned when people

are trafficking in hate and trafficking in fear. ted cruz has always talked about substantive policy proposals and i think that's what this election needs to be about. because there's a really big difference between progressive ideas and con sefbtive ideas. and i think it's only conservative ideas that will really challenge the status quo now. >> carly fiorina, thank you for your time. thank you for joining us by phone today. >> thanks, kate. >> a busy day in florida for democrats as well. bernie sanders holding a rally in florida. one of three rallies she is holding today. she was in tampa earlier today. right next door to where i am. she will hold rally in north carolina later. and then in illinois. kasie hunt is in kissimmee, florida. i think i have it right now.

kissimmee. kissimmee. >> that's right, kate. right outside orlando. many of our viewers may know it as a place where their hotel is when they visit disney world or the disney world as bernie sanders called it a few moments ago. it is interesting because they say they can't win here but they are spending a significant amount of their candidate's time here. second rally of the day. in tampa later tonight before heading it north carolina then to the midwest p. which of course is the area of the country where they think they will have the most luck on super tuesday. or super, super tuesday. coming up on march 15th p. that's ohio, illinois and missouri. a place they think they can do well.

c who b /* /- ohio can be an interesting test. it is a closed primary. only registered democrat can vote. that could change the calculus a little bit. hillary clinton has been talking about about how she want to run in the general election. many of her aides are saying if they continue on they want bernie sanders to stop talking about the transcripts for wall street speeches. approaching it that way is, you can get under bernie sanders skin and he is insistent that he not be written off. that's the thing that frustrates him more than anything and of course his small donors giving him more than $5 million in just over 24 hours. after he won that michigan primary, kate. >> kasie hunt, following dem krts today with bernie sanders. thank you so much. latino vote will be hugely important in tuesday's election here in florida. and heading into the election in november. there is a major new push going under way now to get out the latino vote. new york times reports that billionaire george soros and

others are funding a campaign to mobilize latinos and other immigrants this fall. coming in, a political reporter for the "new york times" who reported on the push. what the record and what the plan? i just said how much money but how do they spend it all? >> the plan is to invest the money in throw states with rising latino and asian and imgrapt populations. nevada, florida and colorado. and what all three states have in common is that they have competitive senate races and will again this year. all state where it is pivotal to democratic victory. what they are trying to do is get big donor money in the hand of small grass roots organizations on the ground that can use it to not just turn out the latino vote but per suede swing latino voters to vote for the democratic candidate. >> is it essentially an anti-trump effort by a different

name? >> well, i think it is partly capitalizing on donald trump. but also about turn out is a problem for the democrats this year. 3 million or more democrats. fewer have voted in this sil cycle and primaries so far. that in 2012 there was real concern among democrats and their allies that the coalition that elected and re-elected barack obama is not going to come out in the same numbers in the fall and keep in mind there are hispanic voters who are angry at president obama and remorseful about the policy of administration. this is an effort to get ahead of that and part of the way to do that is to start early. contact them starting in may. not in october or september. >> last night we are showing pictures from the democratic debit last night and it was something to hear all of the questions asked in spanish. clearly a very engij had electorate. strategists involved so new spending for the largest

democratic effort. with latino and imgrant voters. do you see this as a sea change. do we see huge numbers in terms of turnout thissier that we haven't seen before? >> it is possible, kate. i think they are hoping to turn out 400,000 new latino voters, mostly. what matters kate, is that outside the party structure, outside groups for democrats, abortion groups, labor, always coordinated effort in the key states. until recently a lot of the la toono groups haven't had the money or resources to play fully at the tails as we are called. to be part of the discussion in a robust way. this is an effort to match the rhetoric for democrats and pale to hispanics and put the monbe behind the rhetoric. >> thank you for being with us.

>> of course. >> tomorrow, brian williams will air our coverage as we bid farewell to the former first lady. that's tomorrow at 1:00 eastern time. people continue to pour into the reagan presidential library where the former first lady lies in repose. thousands of people have filed through it pay respects. what if one piece of kale could protect you from diabetes?

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joins me and thanks for being with us. i have to ask you work with the genius everyday, chandra rhymes. you come from a family, fair to say, of hollywood geniuses. what is it like to play a president? is it surreal to play a president during presidential election? >> yeah, absolutely surreal. chandra rhymes created a parallel universe that we're living in in the midst of the rather crazy election cycle we're going through right now. >> yeah. you have been very vocal in social media. you do a lot on social justice issues. you talk about causes that are close to you. tell me about that and why you've chosen to kind of take the platform that you have and do that kind of work. >> well, i've always felt you know, that as an actor or someone in movies or television, i have a profile where i can draw attention to causes.

and issues that i think are important to talk about. but as an american we have the right to use our voice. and i feel it is also a responsibility. you know, with that right comes the obligation, i think, to get out there and engage in the process. so that's why i advocate for extraordinary groups like the innocence project. which has been in the forefront of reforming our criminal justice system. humanitarian aid situations like the americares. >> i mentioned chandra rhymes, she is the creator of "scandal" and graand grays anatomy, whichm also a fan of. what is she lick it work with? >> i was one of the original

directors of "gray's anatomy." that's how we met and have known each other sense. she changed network television. she has a appeals to people who, you know, who want something that's incredibly entertaining and in so doing she manages to raise issues of real social importance and often a controversial and in your face way. >> sorry. go ahead. >> that's it. she's just really an original. she's always challenging us creatively. we have been doing the show five years now and it's always surprising and always, you know, she never -- she's -- she challenges herself every time she gets up to bat. >> since talking about genius today, i wonder, do you think television is where all of genius is now huh so many talk t the golden age of tv as opposed

to film. >> things have transformed over the past ten years starting with "sopranos" and things like "breaking bad" what happened in cable television is thanks to people like shonda and you know, john ridley who created "american crime" on abc or shows like "the good wife," the bar has really been raised and it's where a lot of the really extraordinary writing for adult, you know, drama has migrated from. it's much harder to get those kinds of stories told in the movie theaters if they're not a big action movie, and the great writes have moved to television. i feel really lucky to be working and in that medium right now. it's an exciting place for storytellers. >> tony goldwyn, thank you for making some time for us. >> thanks for having me. in durham, north carolina, hillary clinton, she'll be rallying with voters at hillside high school.

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want to take you back to breaking news we've been talking about this hour. new video that's just coming to light from last night in north carolina. it was a rally in fayetteville. donald trump rally. and we've been showing the video of a young man, rakeem jones, being escorted out. he was protesting and you see another man reach over and punch him. rakeem jones joins us on the phone. if you can hear me, tell us more about what happened right before the video that we've been seeing. we're watching you walk up the stairs and then a man lurches over and punches you. what happened before that moment? >> before that moment, before

that moment, you know, we came and this female friend of ours talking amongst us, she said trump is disgusting, and so a guy -- he -- instead of saying or minding his business you need to go home but he didn't say it as polite as i said it. he said it more so along the lines of go your home, you know? and then we thinking the police coming to get him, they're telling us to go. so we get up and as we're getting up, you see in the video, walking up, surrounded by sheriffs, i got hit, like, just three me off. next thing i'm on the ground. >> yeah, we see that in the video, rakeem. did he land the punch?

it hard to tell. right in the face? >> more so of an elbow. yes, it landed right on ply eye, on my right eye to be exact. >> do you have any injuries today. >> is your eye okay? >> it swollen and bruised. >> yeah. you've said that you -- when you woke up and saw the video online, because people started sharing it, that's when it really hit you? >> yeah. i -- >> tell me about your thoughts. >> i felt it and, yeah, i was there, but it seemed -- it didn't seem -- it's like i got hit and now i'm on the ground getting detained by the police and they're not actually looking at videos. i really got hit. they watched it really. you can see, being escorted by officers, like they're still at their -- i'm hit, they're still leading me up the stairs.

>> yeah. >> they're leading another member of -- >> i should mention -- >> they're leading another member of -- that came with us, leading him, steady leading him up the stairs at the same time. you know, just -- >> crazy. >> it's crazy. >> rakeem, sitting next to you, ronnie rouse, who i understand shot some of the video, he was with you. for clarity, were you there to protest the event. >> are you associated with the black lives matter? >> we were there to spec tate. we like to look at both sides of the aisle and wanted to see the hype. we were going to watch. >> right. >> i don't think trump got his second sentence out before we were getting thrown out. >> there's a report that, it says in "the washington post," that the plan, and i assume talking about the rakeem, extended a middle finger to the

audience. did that happen? >> yes, ma'am what you don't hear is donald trump explaining to the crowd, telling rakeem to go home to his mother. his mother died when he was 18, and he got emotional that it happened. and at the time, he's giving the finger to isn't in the row, isn't the guy that punches him. this is a guy several rows up making our way to the exit. >> thank you for clarifying that. ronnie, the thing that is striking to me -- we've been saying this on msnbc, as we watched the video -- there are a number of officers surrounding you, all around rakeem, and they don't do anything, they don't seem to intervene except to take rakeem down, and i think put you in handcuffs. >> he was not handcuffed. it was pretty appalling, though, because he's the victim here. this is obvious. and this is one of the times people say, you didn't know what

happened before. this is -- this video, there are several different angles of watching us getting escorted out. the guy hits the guy innent from of the police, behind the police, on the side of the police, and they throw rakeem down. they tell the guy sit back down and he finishes eating his popcorn. it crazy you get almost arrested because you got assaulted and it's not -- it's insane. it's insane. when i woke up yesterday, i never thought this was going to happen. like me speaking. we shouldn't be having this conversation. >> are you an insurance analyst, is that right? >> come again? no, i'm inventory associate. >> i was wondering what you do for a living and what your life is. you live in fayetteville? >> yes, ma'am. >> and you work for a living, you're not a student? >> no, i tutor. i tutor. >> okay.

>> did donald trump -- did donald trump say anything after this point when all of this went down last night? did you hear him address it at all? >> we're the first people thrown out, like he just came out. this is the first 60 seconds, two minutes of him being there, and we're the first people thrown out. and at this point, he's telling him, he's like, yeah, go home to your mother, go home to your mother, you know. and the crowd, they just -- they're enamored with it and start chanting it, too. they surround us and crowd us. we're like the police are here, we're safe. it's cool. this is the sheriff's department. this is the cumberland county sheriff's department, we're good, we're going to leave, this is a battle we're not going to try to fight. the guy hits him. we're waiting for the police to grab the guy and he sits back downen it's nuts. it's un cancanny. ronnie, who else was there with you last night? just the two of you? >> we went as a group of five and we actually went for a

social experiment. they had donald trump ribbon cutting for his campaign office in downtown fayetteville ten days ago. we protested. that's what we were protesting. this, we were going to spec tate, see what the type was going on. it was me, him. pretty much three black young men, young white girl who you see here, melanie, and a gay white dude. we went to be diverse, you know. we could all have our different takes on what was going on out there to be observant and we didn't get two plints inminutes speech before he's getting assaulted and man handled by the police. >> the trump campaign today only gave us one statement, it four words, they say we are not involved. what would you say back to the trump campaign? they say they're not involved, this isn't their problem. >> i mean, i'm pretty sure if

they heard him, pretty involved to me, what he was saying, telling me to go home to my mom. if he really knew my mom, that would be considered a death threat, to be honest, if he knew my mom was deceased. sound pretty involved to me. >> i want to read a quote from john mcgraw, the man accused and arrested for hitting you. he said, quote, he said, quote, you bet i liked it, clocking the hell out of that big mouth. this man is now arrested. you want to see him go to jail? >> yeah. >> what justice? >> i mean, reality is, he'll probably be bailed out, somebody probably reward him. the thing is, the disturbing part is it wasn't that he got punched in the face or struck in the face. it's that it happened in front

of multiple law enforcement officers, and it wasn't the fact they detained him, separated him, whatever they call it. it the fact at guy went home that night, you know? and then today they're like, we got the guy. we're like you had him last night, though. you could have had him last night, you know. >> as far as you know, ronnie, did they not go and find this gentleman? >> no, no. he sat back down. there's other videos. he's still there, all night. the entirety of the trump campaign event. >> through the event? through the event? >> the entire event. >> so, do you believe it was when the video emerged, the video came out on social media, perhaps your video, ronnie, do you think that's when the authorities locally said we better find this man? >> this is the south and it's like i don't use a race card, you know, and we're not going to black and white thing. we're going to say this thug came and hit my friend, you know. and maybe the police just -- i don't know what their protocol was for the event.

they had a briefing beforehand of what to do and what not to do. from what i understand, this is obviously something that they just let slide through, you know. a guy's getting assaulted in front of police officers, in front of them, in front of law enforcement. he's actually getting struck in front of them. we're walking by the police. there's police in front of us, behind us, aside of us. he's getting hit in front of the police. guess who gets slammed, taken to the ground and threatened to be tasered. you would think rakeem is the one who threw the punch. >> in fairness, i'm going to quote mr. mcgraw, he did speak to "inside edition" when asked why he punched you. he said, quote, number one, we don't know if he's isis. we don't know who he is. but we know he's acting like an american and cussing me and sticking his face in my head. if he wants it laid out, i laid it out. and he went on to say, yes, he

deserved. next time we see him we might have to kill him. >> kill him. >> he might be with a terrorist organization. i apologize for the words but that's a direct quote from the man accused of punching you, john mcgraw. >> to be honest, the cop -- >> it's crazy. >> it's crazy. crazy. but he's an older guy. he's from a rural area in our county, which is known to have -- >> do you know him? >> not at all. the thing is, talking about us, this guy's about 15 rows back behind us. we could have never interacted had any dialogue or anything of that nature. he couldn't have hurt us if we were yelling. you know. this is on the way up. if you watch the video, we're going up, we're exiting, and we have to go up to the pavilion to exit. whatever this guy's saying, you know, like i said earlier be bless his heart.

>> that's the biggest southern insult there is. >> i don't make the rules. >> thank you so much for sharing your story with us. rakeem jones, on the right side, ronnie rouse, his friend who took the video we've all been talking about. i know you're appearing on msnbc later tonight as well. appreciate your time. thank you for clarifying the story. >> thank you. . have a wonderful afternoon. >> you, too. i'm glad that you're not hurting, that your eye's not hurting you. chris jansing's going to pick up coverage. i'm kate snow. live from st. petersburg, florida. chris jansing in ohio. she'll pick up coverage after a break. hello, i'm chris jansing,

live in grand view heights, ohio, the talk here is whether or not their popular governor can pull off a win and make his case to stay in the republican race beyond tuesday. as you were hearing in the interview with kate snow, once again, donald trump controversies are stealing the spotlight. right now, muslim leaders are holding a news conference to demand an apology for these comments by the republican front runner. >> i think islam hates us. there's something -- there's something there, a tremendous hatred there. there's a tremendous hatred. >> so this press conference by care leading rights for muslims. >> this latest act of bias includes a few specific groups who deserve an apology. trump should apologize to all of the american muslims who have

served honorably our nation's armed forces. he should visit arlington cemetery and pay respect to the fallen soldiers among them, american muslims who have paid the highest price. trump should apologize to all of the american muslims who have honorably served in our nation's law enforcement and first responders, including the family of muhammad who gave his life as first responder at the world trade center on 9/11, 2001. >> so, cair, you heard it there, demanding an apology from donald trump for his comments on muslims. it's not the first time this has happened. just one of what is a new series of controversies surrounding donald trump. nbc's kerry sanders is in coral gables covering the trump campaign in advance of tonight's debate. let's start what we've been

seeing here with this news conference. what is the campaign saying about this? >> reporter: the campaign is not directly responding to what has been said. as you know, donald trump made those statements in an interview with cnn. cair is the council of american islamic relations, a voice in this country for those who are muslims. as you heard, and before we picked it up, they were talking about the fact that donald trump had first proposed banning muslims from entering the country and now they say he's moved the line to outright hatred of muslims. this is a serious concern when you take a global view and look at this. with donald trump's position, currently as leading in the republican party, everything he says is not just for domestic consumption, this is something that people are going to be hearing around the world. so while there is fear from muslims in this country, there is also anger beyond the borders

of the united states. let's listen to a moment here of what cair is saying following donald trump's statements. >> they telling us to go, so we get up. >> reporter: we'll get to that in a moment. let me move on and talk about the sort of the anger and sort of some of the violence that we're beginning to see that's following the donald trump rallies. we have seen, in the past, there have been protesters, sometimes protesters have been pushed around, but it looks like we saw a different turn of the page here in fayetteville, north carolina. i spoke to some girls before the actual event. they were there, muslim girls, and i asked them, are you here to protest or simply here to listen? and they said, look, it's the first time i'm going to be voting, they're american, 18-year-old girls, they wanted to listen.

they were among those who stood up silently and protested. there was a moment last night where some of the protesters, black lives matter, got up and started being escorted out because they were getting pushed around. we look at this video, you can see rakeem jones, he's 26 years old. he has been disrupting the event. so he's being led out. now, as he's being led out by the cumberland deputies from the sheriff's department there, you can see he gets sucker punched and it somebody there standing who is a trump supporter and hits him, boom, takes him down. now, what's interesting is the deputies continue to take rakeem jones out. they eventually take him to the ground and put handcuffs on him. meantime, the person who sucker punched him stays at the event. it not until this clip of video actually winds up on social media and you start looking at it that the sheriff's department

decides they're going to begin an investigation. they begin their investigation. today they arrested john franklin mcgraw and they've charged him with assaulting rakeem jones and disorderly conduct. he's currently held on $2,500 bond. what those who have seen the video are asking themselves is, it's not just the one deputy, there were other deputies watching this unfold. why didn't they go after the person who sucker punched rakeem jones? rakeem jones, who we heard a few minutes ago on nbc news, here on msnbc, talking via skype, talked about how he was being yelled at. at one point he responded. a lot of people were yelling at him, he showed them the finger, they showed him the finger, there was back and forth. listen to what rakeem jones says transpired at him. >> they're telling us to go. we get up, as we're getting up, you see in the video, walking

up, surrounded by sheriffs, i got hit, like, just threw me off and next thing i'm on the ground. >> reporter: so we hear a little bit from rakeem. we asked the campaign and hope hicks the spokesman said in a short statement, we are not involved. as you look at what sort of surrounding what was initially donald trump's sign, silent majority, he has told those in the crowd they're the noisy majority in the country. we're beginning to see people acting out in a way that is sort of, as i said, turning the page. now, this follows an allegation that on tuesday, at a press conference, a reporter, michelle fields, says that the campaign manager, corey leen dow ski grabbed her and man handled her as she was trying to ask donald trump a question. now, the campaign and corey has

responded with a tweet saying that she is an attention getting and trying to do this, that she has put herself in the center of other events like occupy wall street. but michelle fields says, in a tweet, she puts up a picture, you can see her arm. in that picture you can see there are some bruises. so she says, what, did these magically appear? there's clearly a tenor surrounding right now the donald trump campaign. michelle field is not saying any more. i don't think we're going to hear much more about this. nonetheless, it's a tenor of what's developing around the donald trump campaign. all of this as they're getting ready to go into a debate tonight where donald trump had indicated, through his campaign, that this was going to be a little bit quieter, calmer, maybe more presidential approach from the man who is seeking the republican nomination. chris? >> thank you, kerry sanders, on

scene where the debate will be held later today. let me pick up on what he said about that breitbart report who are says she was pushed, shoved by corey lewandowski. she did write about it, that somehow she was grabbed, tightly by the arm, and she was yanked down, quote, i almost fell to the ground but was able to maintain my balance. none thelessing i was shaken. she writes "the washington post" ben terrace remarked it was trump's campaign manager, corey lieu wa lewandowski. i turned around and saw lewandowski and trump exiting the building together ep no apology. no explanation why he did this. you have seen on twitter that the trump campaign is pushing back against her version of these events and saying that she's an attention getter. let me bring in steve kornacki,

he's been watching all of this unfold. back to the fact that now we have a situation in one of these events where somebody has actually been arrested, who has been charged, there has been violence going on, there is concern about violence at future events. here we have another debate, in advance of a critical series of primaries where attention is going to be on something other than issues. >> this was something, it happen today, it's grabbing headlines. it's something you could see this coming from the last few weeks, few months, at these rallies. protesters start speaking up, huge crowds, worked up, they get worked up at rallies. things have been said, could have been picked up before, comments made to protesters from people in the crowd. donald trump has egged them on in a lot of ways to a point that, before today, people were saying this is sort of thing that might happen at some point

and now it has. this is also inside edition, the tv show, caught up with the guy who threw the punch who has been arrested. he said, number one, asked why he did it. he said, number one we don't know if he's isis, we don't know who he is but he's not acting like an american and cussing me and sticking his face in my head. if he wants it laid out, i laid it out. >> you have that side of the story. we've heard from the person via interview with kate snow, who was allegedly assaulted. and now getting reaction from the democratic side. a short time ago rachel maddow had a chance to sit down with hillary clinton and she talked about the incident with the punch. take a listen. >> the man was charged today with assault and battery for attacking a young black protester who was getting thrown out of a touch rally last night. i wondered if you had any advice for people who are thinking about going to donald trump events in order to protest them. do you think that's a worthwhile

political response? he's obviously bothered and upset a lot of people in this country. >> well, me, too. count me among those who are truly distraught and appalled by a lot of what i see going on, what i hear being said. you know you don't make america great by dumping on everything that made america great like freedom of speech and assembly, you know the right of people to protest. clearly, i know that everybody in public life gets protested against and sometimes people do have to be removed. but it should be done in an appropriate manner. other people in the audience should not be joining in. mr. trump should not be urging people on. this is deeply distressing. i think as the campaign goes further, more and more americans are going to be disturbed by the kind of campaign he's running.

>> this is a clear distinction between the democrats and the republicans. many republicans, including joe scarborough talked about this as well, about when you have these incidents and these debates that become more about sort of this cult of personality and about going to the lowest common denominator as opposed to the issues. i want to play -- first, let me get your reaction to what we heard hillary clinton say because i think there is something that is said about this campaign, about this electorate when we see how people react to what just happened. >> look, we've talked so much about what is driving the trump phenomenon? what is he trying to capitalize on, trying to exploit, and his critics would say what is he trying to worsen? senses of anxiety of one group about another group, changing nature of america. a lot of ways if you're a candidate and that's what you're seeking to tap into, seeking to

capitalize on, when you get incidents at your events it almost becomes like a real-time animation to the crowd of exactly what you're talking about and tapping into. it hey, i'm here to protect you, i'm here to stand up to you, here's one of the outsiders who wanted to change your world and they're in your face. so it's the kind of reaction that is almost encouraged by that when that's sort of the message. >> you have a situation where none of this would maybe be happening. we wouldn't be talking about this if not for modern technology, if someone hadn't shot a video, if that had not gone viral. in this case the guy's name who shot the video, ronnie rouse. rakeem jones is the person who took that punch. a short time ago, kate snow talked to them. we'll play you the interview in its entirety.

>> i felt it and, yeah, i was there, but it seemed -- it didn't seem -- it's like i got hit and now i'm on the ground getting detained by the police and they're not actually looking at videos. i really got hit. they watched it, really. you can see, being escorted by officers, like they're still at their -- i'm hit, they're still leading me up the stairs. >> yeah. >> they're leading another member of -- >> i should mention -- >> they're leading another member of -- that came with us, leading him, steady leading him up the stairs at the same time. you know, just -- >> crazy. >> it's crazy. >> rakeem, sitting next to you, i should introduce is ronnie rouse, who i understand shot some of the video, he was with you. for clarity, were you there to protest the event? are you associated with the black lives matter movement? >> we were there to spectate.

we like to look at both sides of the aisle and wanted to see the hype. we were going to watch. >> right. >> i don't think trump got his second sentence out before we were getting thrown out. >> there's a report that, it says in "the washington post," that the man, and i assume talking about the rakeem, extended a middle finger to the audience. did that happen? >> yes, ma'am, what you don't hear is donald trump explaining to the crowd, telling rakeem to go home to his mother. rakeem's mother died when he was 18 years old, and he got a little emotional about that, which happened, that it happened. and at the time, he's giving the finger to isn't in the row, this isn't the guy that punches him. this is a guy several rows up making our way to the exit. >> thank you for clarifying that. ronnie, the thing that is striking to me -- we've been saying this on msnbc, as we watched the video -- there are a number of officers surrounding you, all around rakeem, and they

don't do anything, they don't seem to intervene except to take rakeem down, and i think put you in handcuffs. >> he was not handcuffed. it was pretty appalling, though, because he's the victim here. this is obvious. and this is one of the times people say, you didn't know what happened before. this is -- this video, there are several different angles of watching us getting escorted out. the guy hits the guy in front of the police, behind the police, on the side of the police, and they throw rakeem down. they tell the guy sit back down and he finishes eating his popcorn, you know? it crazy you get almost arrested because you got assaulted and it's not -- it's insane. it's insane. when i woke up yesterday, i never thought this was going to happen. look i didn't think we would be speaking. we shouldn't be having this conversation. >> rakeem, are you an insurance analyst, is that right? >> come again? no, i'm inventory associate.

>> i was wondering what you do for a living and what your life is. you live in fayetteville? >> yes, ma'am. >> and you work for a living, you're not a student? >> no. i tutor. i actually i tutor. so -- >> okay. >> it's crazy watching it. >> did donald trump -- did donald trump say anything after this point when all of this went down last night? did you hear him address it at all? >> we're the first people thrown out, like he just came out. this is the first 60 seconds, two minutes of him being there, and we're the first people thrown out. and, at this point, he's telling him, he's like, yeah, go home to your mother, go home to your mother, you know. and the crowd, they just -- they're enamored with it and start chanting it, too. they surround us and crowd us. we're like the police are here, we're safe. it's cool. this is the sheriff's department. this is the cumberland county sheriff's department, we're good, we're going to leave, this

is a battle we're not going to try to fight. the guy hits him. we're waiting for the police to grab the guy and he sits back down, you know, it's -- it's just nuts. it's uncanny. >> ronnie, who else was there with you last night? was it just the two of you? >> we went as a group of five and we actually went for a social experiment. they had donald trump ribbon cutting for his campaign office in downtown fayetteville ten days ago. we protested. that's what we were protesting. this, we were going to spectate, see what the type was going on. it was me, him. pretty much three black young men, young white girl who you see here, melanie, and a gay white dude. we went to be diverse, you know. we could all have our different takes on what was going on out there to be observant and we didn't get two minutes into the speech before he's getting assaulted and man handled by the

police. >> the trump campaign today only gave us one statement, it four words, they say we are not involved. what would you say back to the trump campaign? they say they're not involved, this isn't their problem. >> i mean, i'm pretty sure if they heard him, sound pretty involved to me, what he was saying, telling me to go home to my mom. if he really knew my mom, that would be considered a death threat, to be honest, if he knew my mom was deceased. sound pretty involved to me. >> i want to read a quote from john mcgraw, the man accused and arrested for hitting you. he said, quote, he said, quote, you bet i liked it, clocking the hell out of that big mouth. this man now has been arrested. do you want to see him go to jail? >> yeah. >> what justice? >> i mean, reality is, he'll

probably be bailed out, somebody probably reward him. the thing is, the disturbing part is it wasn't that he got punched in the face or struck in the face. it's that it happened in front of multiple law enforcement officers, and it wasn't the fact they detained him, separated him, whatever they call it. it's the fact at guy went home that night, you know? and then today they're like, we got the guy. we're like you had him last night, though. you could have had him last night, you know. >> as far as you know, ronnie, did they not go and find this gentleman? >> no, no. he sat back down. there's other videos. he's still there, all night. the entirety of the trump campaign event. >> through the event? through the event? >> the entire event. >> so, do you believe it was when the video emerged, the video came out on social media, perhaps your video, ronnie, do you think that's when the authorities locally said we better find this man?

>> this is the south and it's like i don't use a race card, you know, and we're not going to black and white thing. we're going to say this thug came and hit my friend, you know. and maybe the police just -- i don't know what their protocol was for the event. they had a briefing beforehand of what to do and what not to do. from what i understand, this is obviously something that they just let slide through, you know. a guy's getting assaulted in front of police officers, in front of them, in front of law enforcement. he's actually getting struck in front of them. we're walking by the police. there's police in front of us, behind us, aside of us. he's getting hit in front of the police. guess who gets slammed, taken to the ground and threatened to be tasered. guess who gets told you have to leave or we're charged with trespassing. you would think rakeem is the one who threw the punch. >> in fairness, i'm going to quote mr. mcgraw, he did speak to "inside edition" when asked

why he punched you. he teeld "inside edition," quote, number one, we don't know if he's isis. we don't know who he is. but we know he's acting like an american and cussing me and sticking his face in my head. if he wants it laid out, i laid it out. and he went on to say, yes, he deserved it. next time we see him we might have to kill him. >> kill him. >> he might be with a terrorist organization. i apologize for the words but that's a direct quote from the man accused of punching you, john mcgraw. >> to be honest, the cop -- >> it's crazy. >> it's crazy. crazy. but he's an older guy. he's from a rural area in our county, which is known to have -- >> do you know him? do you know him? >> not at all. the thing is, talking about us, this guy's about 15 rows back behind us.

we could have never interacted, had any dialogue or anything of that nature. he couldn't have heard us if we were yelling. you know. this is on the way up. we're exiting. if you watch the video, we're going up, we're exiting, and we have to go up to the pavilion to exit. whatever this guy's saying, you know, like i said earlier, bless his heart. >> that's the biggest southern insult there is. >> i don't make the rules. >> thank you so much for sharing your story with us. rakeem jones, on the right side, ronnie rouse, his friend who took the video we've all been talking about. i know you're appearing on msnbc later tonight as well. appreciate your time. thank you for clarifying the story. >> thank you. have a wonderful afternoon. >> just a short time ago, kate snow's exclusive interview with those two in the middle of the latest donald trump controversien ali has been to a

number of trump rallies and has seen how things escalate once protesting begins. walk us through what happened. where were you? what did you sigh? what was the crowd reaction. >> reporter: last night was something we've seen frequently in terms of the number of protesters there at the ramally. there were a lot of people interrupting and this is something that we've come to expect, the bedrock of the trump event, so he continuously says he loves the protesters, makes the press show how many people in the crowd he has the reaction of saying, get them out, get them out. it is a range of emotions how mr. trump responds to protesters. last night was interesting, first time we've seen someone punch someone in the face at one of the rallies. and just to set the stage, because protests have become such a focal point in a lot of the rallies they do oftentimes have an announcement beforehand saying this is a nonviolent rally, do not harm protesters.

this is not a sense where they listened to the announcement. but when people protest, a lot of people in the crowd get very upset, feel like they're defending their candidate, donald trump, and there have been times he's almost pushed for this kind of behavior. las vegas, for example, when someone interrupted he say he wanted to punch that person in the face. previously, in iowa, he said that if someone were to knock a protester he'd pay for their legal fees. there is this tension when he's on the stage saying that this is something that the crowd feeds off 0 and he does definitely increase tension in the room, increases excitement, oftentimes a lot of protesters something he'll say, do we have fun at trump rallies, aren't they unlike anything else? it's true. but it's not the way you want to be unlike most political events how your audience is reacting.

this is not the thing we'd like to see. >> somebody gets punched in the face. you see he falls to the ground and drag the person who gets hit out. they leave the person who hit him behind. does the rally just keep going on as normal? what happens then? >> reporter: well, this is the first time that i've seen anything like this happen. generally, what happens when you interrupt at a trump event, law enforcement will come over to you, they will escort you out, which is exactly what happened last night. however, there was a breakdown when it came time to figuring out who punched this man in the face, which is a clear problem and they are doing an internal investigation because north carolina law, the police department couldn't further comment but that's something they're looking into. where the breakdown happened here. i've reached out to the trump campaign to see what their reaction is to this arrest and also of course what happened with one of the protesters being harmed and they said we are not

involved. i pressed them again, they said we are not involved. they are distancing themselves from this particular incident. as they have with prior incidents when protests have broken out. they leave to local law enforcement. and that seems like the way they handle it. of course this is not a normal way to be treating protesters and your law enforcement or people in the crowd. obviously seeing an escalation of tension here, at the trump events, not just protesters but also the way crowds are reacting and obviously reacting violently. >> ali, an inbed with with the campaign, last night witnessed what we saw here. i also want to bring back kerry sanders because, kerry, there is this question being raised about why the person who got punched was removed but the person who threw the punch was not, there were no charges brought until this video came out shot by the

gentleman we saw kate snow interview. i know you've talked to the sheriff's department. what have they told you? >> reporter: it's interesting, as ali mentioned the sheriff's department has launched an internal investigation. but that internal investigation is only prompted by the fact there was this video to begin with. and in the video you don't just see one officer there from the cumberland sheriff's office everybody deputy escorting rakeem jones out, there are other officers in the vicinity. initially the officers are suggesting that they had eyes down and didn't see the punch thrown. one this video was hit on social media, then not only did the sheriff's department launch an investigation to find the person who actually thrown the punch but they continued on with this internal investigation and now the sheriff is saying, sheriff earl butler, no one should be subjected to a cowardly unprovoked act as that committed

by mcgraw, the gentleman who threw the punch. regardless of political affiliation, speech, race, prior act for political demonstration, no other citizen has the right to assault another person or act in such a way as this defendant did. i hope the courts will handle this in this manner with the appropriate severity. so, mcgrew's being held on 2,500 bond. those in the cumberland community are wondering, had there not been this video, would we have heard the statement from the sheriff's department? would there have been an investigation? clearly not because the sheriff says it wasn't until the social media video got out they know who to look for and there was proof that this happened. all of this is fitting into sort of a question, which i think is what you're asking here, chris, why did the sheriff's department handle the protester as they were escorting him out as if he were the one responsible for the

scuffle when he was being escorted out and it was somebody else who sucker punched him. >> now saying that he should be dealt with with appropriate severity, i don't mean to put you on the spot, i know these charges were just filed, how serious are these charges, kerry? >> reporter: you know, in the grand scheme of things, they're not that serious. it's not as if you're going to see this mand spending time in prison and maybe time served. you can't assault somebody. in america you can't go up and punch somebody, as happened here but consequences of a conviction in this case are not that dramatic. i don't know north carolina law. i can't tell you how much time you may get but it may turn out to be a small amount of time in jail and then of course record. it depends whether the prosecutor wants to handle this as misdemeanor charge or felony charge. and it takes a lot to take it up to the level of a felony charge. i would say video will speak dramatically to that if this

ever gets to a courtroom. >> thank you. you see the sign behind kerry's right shoulder, presidential debate. so let's guess what the first question might be to donald trump tonight about what happened there and whether or not his campaign bears any responsibility. i want to bring in the assistant democratic leader in the ohio state senate. she's endorsed hillary clinton. clarence mingo a republican and auditor from franklin, that includes columbus, ohio. clarence, is this the party, the republican party, that you know and love? >> yeah, this is a bad reflection of the republican party. as each day goes by, it's increasingly an embarrassment the gop is taking a step backwards ten years because of donald trump. the this is a dangerous time for our party and the hard work we've done over the last eight years, it's being dismantled

because of donald trump. i'm an african-american, and to watch donald trump fail to quickly disavow the ku klux klan, simply unacceptable. i'm an individual who lives with parkinson's disease. to watch him mimic someone with a disability, unacceptable. to assault the war record of john mccain, unacceptable. we need to ensure he's not a nominee or reflection of the party. >> in addition to that, as a person of color who has seen over the last couple of years how social media, cameras, cell phone video has changed the course of everything from murder investigations to something like this, what's your reaction to the fact that it took this going viral for something to happen? >> yeah, donald trump is masterfully proving all of the stereotypes about the gop to be true. there are a lot of republicans in the nation who know what we believe in, the good we can bring to america but the video

the a trump rally is reflective of a candidate. a man of violent language, inappropriate speech. when that thing happens at a trump rally one comes to expect it because it's a reflection of the candidate and not the gop. we republicans are paying the price of the antics of donald trump. >> we've heard reaction, exclusive, from the democratic front-runner, hillary clinton, who did an interview with rachel maddow. this will play in its entirety tonight at 9:00. her reaction to what happened inside that trump rally last night. >> a map just charged with assault and battery for attacking a young black protester who was getting thrown out of a trump rally last night. i wondered if you have any advice for people who are thinking about going to donald trump events in order to protest them. do you think that's a worthwhile political response? he's obviously bothered and upset a lot of people in this

couldn't interest. >> well, and me, too. count me among those who are truly distraught and appalled by a lot of what i see going on, what i hear being said. you know you don't make america great by dumping on everything that made america great like freedom of speech and assembly, you know the right of people to protest. clearly, i know that everybody in public life gets protested against and sometimes people do have to be removed. but it should be done in an appropriate manner. other people in the audience should not be joining in. mr. trump should not be urging people on. this is deeply distressing. i think as the campaign goes further, more and more americans are going to be disturbed by the kind of campaign he's running. let me ask you, senator, obviously, you're a democrat, a supporter of hillary clinton but

you heard what the trump campaign put out. they said, we are not involved. taking no responsibility for what happened inside that rally. what do you say? your reaction? >> he has to take responsibility because he has set the tone of his campaign. he has a campaign culture that is intolerant, you know, shows signs of disrespect and outright bigotry towards people who don't look like, act like him. i think his tone is reflective of the undertone that has started since president obama became president of the united states. if we think about our congress, and a member of congress, calling the president a liar on the floor of the u.s. congress, that starts to set the tone of what is expected, what is

tolerated, what is allowed in america. and so, it's not -- it's not completely surprising to me that we have gone this low in this campaign. has donald trump taken it to the extreme? absolutely. he has shown his inability to embrace everyone and go to the lowest denominator in order to get the cheers and in order to get those who have problems with people who happen to be different. >> so let me ask you both, because this is a critical question, we all know that the clock is ticking if someone other than donald trump is going to be the republican nominee. you have a governor here, not in your party, but he has talked about the tone. he has said he wants to elevate it, talk about the issues. but in the final analysis, here in ohio, which is so critical to who becomes the republican

nominee, will this make a difference? will this make a difference in the election if donald trump becomes the nominee? >> will it make a difference in the turnout, whether or not he wins ohio? mr. absolutely. i don't believe he's going to win ohio but if he wins ohio, i know that we've got to make sure that he doesn't win the presidency. and there are lots of republicans who are saying the same thing, that he cannot be the representative of their party. and i know that my friend and colleague here, clarence mingo wouldn't want that to be the case. >> we've seen good americans who have voted for donald trump because they are so disgusted with washington that they have said even, they might not like some of the things he says and does but they will overlook them to vote for him. is this going to be any different in ohio? >> a water shed moment for the trump campaign. i hope this turns attention

that's needed to john kasich, the only and best hope for the gop at this moment. and i hope everyone ohioan and every single republican who will vote in the primary takes a good look at our current standard bearer and front-runner and compares that against the record of john kasich. you will see one man is competent, the other unqualified. the other embraces violent and dangerous behavior and fails to disavow it publicly the other has a proven record of competence. my hope is this is a water shed moment, they will see what happened in north carolina and recognize that donald trump is not suited to be the leader of the free world. >> i also want to bring in, from miami, former deputy campaign manager for carly fiorina. sarah, let me get your overall reaction to what we've seen develop, first last night, the incident within that campaign rally, the arrest today of the person who threw allegedly threw

the punch and the disavowel by donald trump's campaign they had anything to do with this. what's your reaction. >> i'm no fan of donald trump and i don't think he represents the republican party and i don't think he represents the conservative movement. i also don't think that this individual trump voter represents all trump voters. my mother's a trump voter and i can assure you he doesn't represent her. i'd hate to paint all voter because one guy committed a felony. and it looks from the video there's no excuse for what he did. that being said, i do think candidates like ted cruz are bringing out supporters better angels and appealing to a future that is more positive and to policies that lift people up. and i don't see that at trump rallies. >> i agree with you. as i was saying to clarence, i met lots of trump voter whose may disavow certain things that

he has said or things that have happened but really want something different in washington. we certainly don't mean to paint anyone unfairly with a broad brush. having said that, if you have a candidate who has said in the past when someone is being taken out of a rally, i'd like to punch him in the face, do you think it's fair for some people to point a finger and say you have created an atmosphere within your rallies that allows for this to happen, or is that a step too far? >> i'll tell you what concerned me more the event with the reporter, michelle fields, where allegedly donald trump's campaign manager grabbed her arm and left bruises on her arm, pushing her to the ground because she asked a question of the candidate and i've heard, his answer was i thought she was a different, aggressive reporter. that and his take on libel laws. i work with reporters a lot, i'm not a fan but i'll defend the

death for your right to do your job. that is very concerning to me. the more i think direct connection to the trump campaign than a single guy who committed a felony. although i take your point, again, donald trump does appeal less to positive future like a ted cruz. >> sarah, formerly worked with carly fiorina's campaign and for those who don't know, carly fiorina has endorsed ted cruz. thank you so much. senator from here in ohio, clarence, to you as well. we'll be right back. >> i felt it, yeah, i was there, but it seemed like -- it didn't seem -- i got -- it's like i got hit and now i'm on the ground getting detained by the police and they're now looking at videos. i really got hit. they watched it really, like. as you can see, i'm being

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eight years ago barack obama beat john mccain and won the state of ohio by over 260,000 votes we know the end of the rest of story. 2008 campaign seen as revolutionary, and genius. as part of msnbc's

collaboration, we're going to explore political and transformative genius of that campaign known as the national press secretary for the obama campaign, ben le bolt. you're smiley wildly. you're called the genius. >> this might be the first time. >> when president obama entered the race back in 2008, there's no question, it revolutionizes the way political campaigns were run in terms of getting out the vote. so talk about this strategy that was laid out, in terms of using tools that we take for granted like the internet. >> well, that's right. for example, twitter had just come out and we only sent a few tweets during 2008 campaign. one of the mainen chales using social media tools to organize, not just organize ourselves but ask supporters to organize their own networks. we were looking for people who never participated in the political process before because we knew the establishment was

with our opponent. if we just turned out democrats who regularly voted we were likely to lose that election. we used nontraditional means of communication. shows presidential candidates never appeared on before because we face increasingly fractured media landscape. now that campaign set the play book for every election cycle we've seen subsequently. >> what do you see in this campaign so far that you kind of shake your head at and say, didn't they learn? >> well, i think some campaigns have learned you've seen the sanders campaign, clinton campaign, republican campaigns build on what we did in terms of building a field organization or using new social media tools like snapchat or periscope to reach supporters. the story of the campaign wasn't about a new tool. it was about the trump campaign saying we reject that politics

can be that organized or professionalized. we're going to go out and flood the media and reach people however we can, not keep track of who's supporting us and hope folks show up on election day and they've had some success with that strategy. >> let me ask you, quickly and finally, ben, do you think that this is an aberration in going forward barack obama will be the standard, or will it be all thrown out the window, everything is changed? >> well, i think that you're making a mistake if you try to run the last presidential campaign in the next cycle. you can get more precise who you're targeting what media they consume and how to motivate them to talk to friends and neighbors about supporting your candidate. i think the candidate who wins will be the candidate who writes the next play book. certainly at lot of lessons they can learn from the 2008 campaign in how to do that. >> ben labolt, thanks so much

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