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The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Transcript 3/14/2016

Guests: April Ryan, Howard Dean, Tom Davis, Katie Parker, Anne Gearan, Howard Dean, Darren Samuelsohn

Show: THE LAST WORD WITH LAWRENCE O`DONNELL Date: March 14, 2016 Guest: April Ryan, Howard Dean, Tom Davis, Katie Parker, Anne Gearan, Howard Dean, Darren Samuelsohn

RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC HOST: How much Romneyville --

JOHN LAPINSKI, NBC NEWS` ELECTION UNIT: You know, a lot of voters --

MADDOW: Right, and that`s why --

LAPINSKI: A lot of early voters --

MADDOW: How much Romneyville looks like Rubioville --

LAPINSKI: Well --

(CROSSTALK)

I mean --

MADDOW: Tomorrow --

LAPINSKI: That`s the big question --

MADDOW: Yes --

LAPINSKI: The big question really is going to be like, you know, this is - - you know, this would be an encouraging sign for Rubio.

But on the other hand, you know, every election is a little different.

MADDOW: Yes, fascinating. John Lapinski, this is our best view yet of what`s going to happen tomorrow. Thank you my friend.

LAPINSKI: Thank you.

MADDOW: Appreciate it, thank you --

LAPINSKI: Great, thanks --

MADDOW: That does it for us tonight, I will not be standing anymore, but we`ll see you again tomorrow at 6:00, now, it`s time for THE LAST WORD with Lawrence O`Donnell.

LAWRENCE O`DONNELL, MSNBC HOST: Well, someone had to do it and "POLITICO" has now done an official count of how many lies Donald Trump tells per speech.

One of "POLITICO`s" counters of Trump lies will join us. And with what might just be 24 hours left before the collapse of the Republican Party.

Guess what Donald Trump says about the violence occurring at his campaign events. Hint -- according to "POLITICO", he tells at least one lie every five minutes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN OLIVER, HOST, "LAST WEEK TONIGHT": We begin with a U.S. election or as you might know it, the holy -- please make it stop trash fire two thousand and -- 15.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How many people have really been hurt during this whole thing?

There`s no violence.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This guy is a pathological liar.

SARAH PALIN, FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: Petty punk-ass little thuggery stuff that`s been going on with these "protesters".

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If Donald Trump is the nominee, he is a disaster.

TRUMP: Lying Ted. Lying Ted.

CRUZ: At what point do we say enough is enough?

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I still intend to support the Republican nominee, but it`s getting harder every day.

TRUMP: I`m not going to say little Marco. I refuse to say little Marco.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Insults and school-yard taunts.

RUBIO: We cannot have a country where everybody hates each other, where everyone is at each other`s throat.

OBAMA: We can have political debates without turning on one another.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You and I know Donald Trump is not who we are.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re a fascist!

TRUMP: Oh, get out of here. These people are crazy. They`re crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know, man, I think it might be you.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: We may now be just 24 hours away from the destruction of a political party as we know it.

Donald Trump`s very hostile takeover of the Republican Party could be complete tomorrow night.

Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee could by this hour tomorrow night be the chairman of nothing.

He will still have his office, he will still have his stationery, he will still have his title, but he may be in charge of nothing.

The Republican Party will stand for nothing as Donald Trump has said everything is negotiable.

And so the Republican presidential candidate`s position will be whatever passes through his mind while his mouth is moving at any given moment.

The Republican Party may now be only hours away from what political parties were invented to prevent -- chaos.

Today, Donald Trump dealt with the chaos and violence that has broken out at his campaign events the way he deals with everything -- by lying about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The press is now calling, they`re saying, oh, but there`s such violence -- no violence.

You know how many people have been hurt at our rallies? I think like basically none, other than I guess maybe somebody got hit once or -- but there`s no violence.

There is no violence. There`s love fest. These are love fests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Whenever Donald Trump is asked about the Trump supporter who got arrested at his rally for punching a peaceful protester, everyone saw that on video.

Donald Trump despite that, despite knowing that everyone has seen it on video, Donald Trump always lies about it like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He starts swinging and hitting people. When the people hit back which was very appropriate -- he was a big strong guy, they sat -- they hit back.

The next day it was Trump`s people are rough. It`s so -- it`s terrible. It`s terrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Donald Trump continues to get away with this kind of lying because the news media has not yet figured out how to deal with a pathological liar who will tell you what you did not see even though you actually did see exactly that on video with your own eyes.

News media has no idea how to deal with a candidate like that. Trump supporter Ben Carson continued that kind of lying today by saying that Trump supporters have absolutely no choice but to fight back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN CARSON, AUTHOR & FORMER NEUROSURGEON: If the protesters continue with their Alinskyite tactics, there is a real possibility of escalation because those who are the victims of them have two choices.

They can submit to them and meekly just do whatever those protesters want them to do or they can fight back.

And if they decide to fight back, there could be an escalation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: In the world of Ben Carson apparently, police do not exist. In that fake scenario that Ben Carson was describing of course the reasonable thing to do is to allow police and security officials to handle the situation.

Just get out of the way, let the pros handle it. But in Ben Carson`s imaginary universe, Trump supporters have absolutely no choice but to fight back against these imaginary assaults on Trump supporters.

"New York Times" has pointed out that Trump`s famous TV show line "you`re fired" has turned into "get them out" on the campaign trail and the crowd loves it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Get them out of here. Get them out of here. Get her out -- thank you. Get her out -- nearest exit, always the nearest exit.

You know, somebody wants to get on television they stand up, they think they`re going to be movie stars.

They`re not going to be movie stars, don`t worry about it. These people are crazy. They`re crazy.

Let me ask you, you know, I don`t want to ruin somebody`s life, but do we prosecute somebody like that or no?

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Donald Trump came close to being prosecuted for that punch that was thrown on his behalf in North Carolina.

Earlier today, the legal counsel for the Cumberland County Sheriff Department in North Carolina said that they were investigating Donald Trump`s possible involvement in that incident.

They said, "we are continuing to look at the totality of these circumstances including any additional charges against Mr. McGraw including the potential of whether there was conduct on the part of Mr. Trump or the Trump campaign which rose to the level of inciting a riot, and including the actions or inactions of our deputies."

Tonight, the sheriff`s department decided not to file charges against Donald Trump.

President Obama`s voice of reason is now competing with the most chaotic presidential campaign of the television age.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: America is pretty darn great right now.

(CHEERS)

America`s making strides right now. America`s better off than it was right now. What the folks who are running for office should be focused on is how we can make it even better.

Not insults and school-yard taunts and manufacturing facts.

(LAUGHTER)

Not divisiveness along the lines of race or faith, certainly not violence against other Americans or excluding them. We`re a better country than that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Joining us now, Howard Dean; former governor of Vermont and former DNC chairman, he`s also an Msnbc political analyst.

Also with us Tom Davis; former congressman from Virginia, where he`s the state chairman for John Kasich`s presidential campaign.

And April Ryan; White House correspondent and Washington Bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks.

April, since we`re all here in the Washington studio and you`re in an undisclosed location, I want you to get a word in right away before we -- and that is to that final point of seeing President Obama out there this weekend.

There he was this weekend trying to be heard amid all that chaos on the Republican side of the campaign.

And there was a little glimpse in there of what this campaign might be like if President Obama was running for re-election in this campaign.

APRIL RYAN, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT & WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, AMERICAN URBAN RADIO NETWORKS: If he were running, but he can`t.

The bottom line is many African-Americans feel that this -- all of this right now that we`re seeing, be it Donald Trump, any other person that`s talking this divisive rhetoric, it`s a backlash because President Obama is president of the United States.

We`re seeing fire being thrown -- well, gasoline being thrown on the fire right now because people are angry.

And when people are angry it`s because their finances aren`t right, they feel marginalized, they feel like they`re disenfranchised.

But when do you say when? How do you change the dynamic of a campaign from trying to forge something new and different and really work to unify the people and when do you say when you go too far.

When you are separating and now, I mean, you know, if President Obama were president, I don`t even know if he -- or not president.

But if he were running for office, I don`t even know if he could try to put the Genie back in the bottle.

We are now divided and we are dividing every day -- every time Donald Trump speaks, there`s more division.

How do you bring that back together? What candidate can bring this country back together after we`re seeing this, what we`re seeing?

O`DONNELL: Let`s listen to more about what the President had to say on Saturday about all this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: And our leaders, those who aspire to be our leaders should be trying to bring us together and not turning us against one another.

And speak out against violence and reject efforts to spread fear or turn us against one another.

(APPLAUSE)

And if they refuse to do that, they don`t deserve our support.

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Howard Dean, he looks like an eager incumbent president. I mean -- I mean, eager by getting out there on the campaign trail for the Democratic nominee.

HOWARD DEAN, FORMER VERMONT GOVERNOR: Yes, he does. He`s found his -- I mean, this is actually what Barack Obama does best.

He has a set of ideals for the country and he`s been a fantastic salesman, that`s how he got his start and that`s how he got elected president twice.

O`DONNELL: Tom Davis, your party tomorrow night on the verge of destruction as I put it at this point.

What -- you`re on the Kasich team, what are you hoping for? How at this point can Trump be stopped?

TOM DAVIS, FORMER CONGRESSMAN: Well, first of all, he`s only got 44 -- 43 percent, 44 percent of the delegates elected so far.

You need to keep him at that level. Tomorrow night, we think Kasich takes Ohio, we`ll know more at this time tomorrow night.

Not so sure about Florida. North Carolina is directly proportional voting, Illinois has a modified proportional.

The key is to keep Trump`s numbers down and get to a convention. You kind of have to gang-tackle him until that point.

For John Kasich as this race moves north, I think you`re going to find more favorability and more delegates.

O`DONNELL: Let`s listen to something Paul Ryan said today about the situation on the rallies.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), SPEAKER, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: I think the candidates need to take responsibility for the environment at their events.

That there`s never an excuse for condoning violence or even a culture that presupposes it.

And I think the candidates have an obligation to do everything they possibly can to prevent this from happening and then -- and to tamp down any temptation to get this out of control.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: April Ryan, there`s Paul Ryan. There`s the speaker of the house who Donald Trump if president is going to have to deal with.

And talking about the frontrunner for his party`s nomination. And once again going right at him and disagreeing.

He went at him over the Muslim ban said that will never happen. And here he is going at him saying he thinks the candidates need to take responsibility for what happens at their rallies.

RYAN: He also went after him with the KKK issue with --

O`DONNELL: Yes --

RYAN: David Duke. And -- but, you know, we have yet to hear from Paul Ryan to say that if he is the nominee he`s not going to support him because at this point he said he`s not endorsing anyone as of yet but he will support the nominee.

And we are thinking that Donald Trump will be the nominee. But here`s a bigger problem and getting more so into the weeds when it comes to the Republican Party.

The Republican Party had hoped that in the general election that the candidate who is the nominee would have to come to them for their data.

For all their information when it`s -- particularly when it comes to race, to grab more people from all communities.

Well, if indeed the nominee is Donald Trump, we see it doesn`t look like he needs to because look at what happened in Nevada.

He got a lot of votes in Nevada from the Hispanic community. So Donald Trump may not need to go to the Republican Party.

And with that at the general election, you have a monster that`s getting worse. I mean, he`s -- I don`t even know the words to describe it.

O`DONNELL: Let`s listen to what John McCain`s biggest mistake Sarah Palin said today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: What we don`t have time for is all that petty, punk-ass little thuggery stuff that`s been going on with these "protesters"!

Who are doing nothing but wasting your time and trying to take away your first amendment rights, your rights to assemble peacefully.

And the media being on the thugs` side, what the heck are you guys thinking, media? It doesn`t make sense.

(BOOING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Tom, we thought that the Republican Party had suffered everything they had coming to them for the choice of Sarah Palin.

Meaning they lost the election, Sarah Palin did not help the McCain ticket.

It turns out Sarah Palin is a haunting figure in this party because there`s Donald Trump, who is a less accomplished politician than Sarah Palin who`s now the frontrunner for this party.

DAVIS: Well, that`s right. But I would -- just remember this, Republicans are at an all-time high in terms of numbers of state legislators, numbers that entered the house since 1929.

Number of governorships --

O`DONNELL: Because not all Republican Governors quit in middle of --

DEAN: Their term --

DAVIS: That`s right --

O`DONNELL: Like Sarah Palin.

DAVIS: Which is --

O`DONNELL: Yes --

DAVIS: Now no longer held by a Republican governor in Alaska.

So the party itself is obviously when you`re a coalition, you have a lot of these elements and Trump has tapped into an element of the party in the country I think that has just been ignored by politicians and Republican leaders.

There`s a huge resentment out there and he`s tapped into it. Now, I don`t think it`s enough to get him a majority, but I don`t think he understands what swing voters are in a presidential election where swing voters really matter.

But he`s certainly tapped into a base out there that finds some resonance of what he`s saying.

O`DONNELL: We`re going to have to break it there. Tom Davis and April Ryan, thank you both for joining us tonight, really appreciate it.

RYAN: Thank you.

O`DONNELL: Coming up, "POLITICO" actually tried to count the Trump lies in Trump speeches.

One of the "POLITICO" reporters who had that enviable assignment will join us. And a stop Trump Super PAC has an ad using Donald Trump`s words about women.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O`DONNELL: At a campaign rally tonight in Peoria, Illinois, Senator Ted Cruz was interrupted by a protester holding a Donald Trump sign.

Here`s how Senator Cruz handled it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: In front of the grassroots, in front of the people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go back to Canada!

CRUZ: Thank you sir, very charming of you. I appreciate you being here and I appreciate. And sir, thank you, thank you for being here.

(BOOING)

We will be respectful. See, sir, one difference between us and Donald Trump rally is I`m not asking anyone to punch you in the face.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Up next, women reading the words of Donald Trump about women.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O`DONNELL: A Republican PAC called Our Principles is desperately trying to prevent Donald Trump from winning the Republican presidential nomination.

The group`s latest ad includes quotes from Donald Trump about women read by women.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bimbo.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dog.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fat pig.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Real quotes from Donald Trump about women.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A person who is very flat-chested is very hard to be a 10.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I look at right in the fat, ugly face of hers, look at that face, would anyone vote for that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She had the height, she had the beauty. She was crazy, but these are minor details.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like kids, I mean, I will do anything to take care of them, I`ll supply funds and she`ll take care of the kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, it really doesn`t matter what they write, as long as you`ve got a young and beautiful piece of --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That must be a pretty picture, you dropping to your knees.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her -- wherever.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Women, you have to treat them like --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is how Donald Trump talks about our mothers --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our sisters --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our daughters.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you believe America deserves better, vote against Donald Trump. Our Principles PAC is responsible for the content of this advertising.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: We`re joined now by Katie Parker, she`s the founder of Our Principles PAC and a Republican strategist.

She served as Deputy Campaign Manager on Mitt Romney`s 2012 presidential campaign. Katie, it`s disgusting.

You just -- it`s just hard -- it`s a horrible thing to watch that ad.

KATIE PARKER, FOUNDER, OUR PRINCIPLES PAC & REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: It seems obvious, doesn`t it?

O`DONNELL: Yes --

(LAUGHTER)

PARKER: Yes, I think it`s important. You know, a lot of people, a lot of voters, this isn`t specifically directed at women, it`s really directed at anybody that knows a woman, has a woman in their life.

And a lot of people don`t know that this is the rhetoric he uses. This isn`t sort of a one-time slip of the tongue.

This is a pattern over years and years and years of demeaning and humiliating and bullying women both professionally and personally.

And I think it`s just another piece of information that voters should have before they head to the polls.

O`DONNELL: You know, I have either read most of those quotes or heard him say some of them anyway.

It`s so much more powerful the way you`ve presented this with real women just reading those words.

PARKER: Well, you know, some of these comments are things that he wrote in a book or he --

O`DONNELL: Yes --

PARKER: Said in a magazine --

O`DONNELL: Yes --

PARKER: And so they were -- you know, the printed word. And I think when you imagine these things actually being said to women and about women by women, it does bring it really close to home.

And it`s unfortunate that somebody with that kind of rhetoric has been elevated to the position he has.

But again, we hope that this changes some minds.

O`DONNELL: Let`s look at one more ad that you`re running. Let`s take a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: The answer is not to cry in your beer about the support Donald has received. And the answer is not to do what the Washington establishment hopes to do in their fever dreams.

Which is they envision a brokered convention where the convention deadlocks and suddenly in from Washington the deal makers parachute in an establishment candidate who is their salvation.

That is not going to happen, and it would spark an absolute revolt quite rightly from the voters.

The way to beat Donald Trump is beat him at the ballot box.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: And that is not your ad, we`ve had --

PARKER: That is not our ad --

(LAUGHTER)

O`DONNELL: A couple of things in the control room ready to go. Your other ad is about the campaign violence.

PARKER: Yes --

O`DONNELL: Tell us about that.

PARKER: Well, you know, we`ve seen over the course of the last several months Donald Trump sort of steadily becoming more and more aggressive as he has protesters, as he has people that disagree with him.

He advises his supporters to punch them in the face, to take them out on a stretcher. Even this most recent one on -- over the weekend where one of his supporters actually punched somebody in the face and then when he got out of jail said maybe next time we should kill him.

And we have yet to hear Donald Trump condemn any of this. To the contrary, he actually suggested he`ll pay their legal fees.

And we find this troubling too. It`s -- you know, we don`t blame him for what happens, you know, when somebody acts inappropriately.

And certainly some of the other protesters shouldn`t be behaving the way they are. But we certainly do blame him when he doesn`t show leadership and he doesn`t condemn this kind of violence.

O`DONNELL: It`s beyond that. He lies about what you saw on video --

PARKER: Absolutely --

O`DONNELL: And says that didn`t happen and he says something else happened.

You know, and also he`s got a campaign manager who assaulted a woman reporter who has now quit her job because she wasn`t supported properly by her organization under those circumstances.

These are things we`ve never seen before in campaigning.

PARKER: Certainly they`re things that -- you know, if that had happened on any other campaign, that campaign manager would have been fired.

Corey Lewandowski should have lost his job if Donald Trump was any kind of man he would have fired Corey --

O`DONNELL: Well --

PARKER: Corey Lewandowski as soon as that occurred.

O`DONNELL: And --

PARKER: But he`s encouraged this over and over --

O`DONNELL: And there`s no other presidential campaign that ever would have hired Cory Lewandowski --

(LAUGHTER)

As a campaign manager.

PARKER: Absolutely --

O`DONNELL: That also has never happened.

PARKER: Sure --

O`DONNELL: Katie Parker, thank you very much for joining --

PARKER: Thank you --

O`DONNELL: Us tonight --

PARKER: Very much --

O`DONNELL: I really appreciate it. Coming up, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton talk about how they plan to stop Donald Trump.

And "POLITICO`s" official count, they`ve done it, an official count of how many lies Donald Trump tells per speech.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: If I win and if I get to go against Hillary, polls are showing that I`d beat her.

And some of the polls have me beating her very easily because when you take advantage -- we will take many people away from the Democrats and we will take many people away that normally go Democrat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: That`s the lie Donald Trump tells in just about every speech, that he beats Hillary Clinton in all of the polls.

In fact, Hillary Clinton matched one-on-one against Donald Trump beats him in almost all of the polls.

And Bernie Sanders does beat Donald Trump in every poll one-on-one usually by a wider margin than Hillary Clinton does.

In match-ups with other Republicans, Hillary Clinton struggles against Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio and John Kasich while Bernie Sanders consistently beats all of them by significant margins.

Bernie Sanders talked about this in his town hall with Chuck Todd today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: We almost always, not always, almost always do better against Trump than she does.

Sometimes by big numbers. What I think objective political scientists would tell you is in a general election, we will of course get, you know, the vast majority of the Democratic votes.

But --

CHUCK TODD, MODERATOR, MEET THE PRESS: Yes --

SANDERS: We will do better with independent voters. We will --

TODD: Yes --

SANDERS: In fact get those voters here in the Midwest who are concerned about trade.

Why would you vote for Hillary Clinton if she supported virtually all of these trade agreements?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: And Hillary Clinton told Chris Matthews today that we shouldn`t trust the polls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: No. Honestly, I do not, Chris. And, in large measure, because I think pollsters are trying to do the best job they can. But it is very difficult to poll now, if you have only online information that has been proven to be often unreliable. If you try to call landlines, you miss everybody with cell phones.

If you call cell phones, you miss people often because they do not answer. So, no, I think it is very difficult now to predict the outcome of elections. And, somehow, we are going to have to get better at it, because people do rely on that information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Joining the discussion now, Anne Gearan, a Political Correspondent for "The Washington Post," who covers the Hillary Clinton Campaign. Howard Dean back at the table with us. And, I am with Hillary. I do not trust the polls. After Michigan, I am afraid of all this stuff.

ANNE GEARAN, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "THE WASHINGTON POST": But, I mean if you -- she was ahead 20 points or 25 points with your poll --

O`DONNELL: Yes. Yes.

GEARAN: -- and she got creamed.

O`DONNELL: Yes.

GEARAN: No. She has every reason to think that the polls are not totally predictive, which is a scary thought for her going into a bunch of states tomorrow that look a lot like Michigan. She is ahead in the polls, right?

O`DONNELL: Yes. Let us listen also to what Hillary Clinton said today answering what Bernie was saying about trade -- about international trade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I think that we have had a number of years of experience now about what trade can and cannot do in our globalized economy. So, last night, in Ohio, I said, "Look, I want to set the record straight." Yes, I did vote against the biggest multinational trade agreement when I was in the senate. It was called CAFTA.

I voted against it. I have learned some things since the 1990s. And, I put that to work. I also said that I hoped I would be able to support TPP. But, I actually waited until I knew what was in it. And, then I stated my opposition to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Howard Dean, it is fascinating to watch these candidates struggling for who supports Barack Obama the most. They both opposed the single biggest thing he wants to accomplish in the remainder of his presidency.

HOWARD DEAN, FORMER VERMONT GOVERNOR: Well, listen, this is a very complicated stuff. And, the truth is that these trade agreements do not cause the kind of job loss that people believe they cause. Most of the job losses, not all -- they do cause some job loss. Most of the job loss is caused by the incredible change in the economy. And the lack of change in our education system fast enough to keep up with the economy. That is first.

Second of all, I can understand why Hillary would be predisposed to some of the trade agreements. Because from an international point of view, this is a really important part of Barack Obama`s strategy to contain China, to align ourselves with Asia. That makes a big difference.

So, these are very complicated things. Easy for Bernie to stand up and say, "I oppose everything." Not so easy for somebody, who actually understands or who has been there like Hillary Clinton.

O`DONNELL: But, here is something I do not understand, what I do not hear from Bernie or Hillary Clinton. Bernie never says, "I want to repeal NAFTA." It is sitting there to be repealed. Why does not he propose repealing it? Why does not Hillary Clinton propose repealing it if they both now oppose it?

GEARAN: It is an amazing question, is not it? And, neither of them have an answer for it. Bernie Sanders does not say what he would do instead. If the trade deals of the last 20 years have done nothing, if they were a terrible idea from the start, if there is something else that you could do, what is that? Then do it.

And, she actually has no other answer. And, to your point about why she supported TPP, you are exactly right. It was not that TPP was some magical trade deal that was going to restore American jobs or make a competitive playing field of some sort of -- like on a purely economic populist American jobs thing. No. It is about what do you do on a geostrategic look at how -- what China is doing and why they are doing it. It is not only economic.

O`DONNELL: Right.

GEARAN: It is political. It is territorial. They are playing on every single field. And, she thinks that something like TPP, where you draw a little ring around them, but with other countries. So, the United States is not the only one opposing them is a great idea.

Except that when you run for president, it is not a great idea. So, she had to backtrack on that. I mean, everyone thinks that if she is actually elected president that there would be some way that you could do some kind of a deal that maybe looks like TPP that she could support, but she could not do it as a candidate.

O`DONNELL: Well, the next president, thanks to President Obama will have fast-track negotiating authority. That authority that they passed extends into the next presidency, whether it would be, you know, Trump or some other --

DEAN: If TPP passes, ultimately, it is going to have to get changed anyway. The Australians have some concerns with it. I mean, there are other people around the world that have some worries about it. Your point about repealing is fascinating. NAFTA is probably more responsible for the emergence of a real democracy in Mexico than anything else that the Americans have done.

Are we going to put them back into the stone age, where the governments are corrupted and they have one party in charge for 70 years? I supported NAFTA. The reason I supported NAFTA was because I thought it would emancipate Mexican women. Because the role of women in a society that is successful economically and politically is directly correlated with the success of the societies as a democracy.

And, in fact, we now have a stable neighbor. The immigration problem is mostly fixed. The biggest problem is Central America now. We have a stable neighbor next to us, and that is largely because of NAFTA.

O`DONNELL: Anne Gearan and Howard Dean, thank you both for joining us tonight, and talking policy for a change, not horse race numbers stuff. Thank you very much.

(LAUGHING)

GEARAN: Thank you.

O`DONNELL: Coming up, Donald Trump was happy to let Vladimir Putin go to battle with ISIS, fight ISIS instead of us. And, now, Vladimir Putin is calling it quits in Syria. He has had enough.

And, in tonight`s "Last Word," we will all someday be asked what we did and what we said about the rise of Donald Trump. Will you be proud of your answer?

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DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have Russia that is now there. Russia is on the side of Assad. And, Russia wants to get rid of isis as much as we do if not more, because they do not want them coming into Russia.

And, I am saying, why are we knocking ISIS and yet at the same time, we are against Assad? Let them fight, take over the remnants. But, more importantly, let Russia fight ISIS, if they want to fight them. Let them fight them.

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O`DONNELL: But, what if Putin just decides to take his marbles and go home? What if he does not want to destroy ISIS as much as we do? Well, Russian President Vladimir Putin surprised the world today by announcing that he is ordering a withdrawal of Russian Military Forces from Syria.

President Putin said, "With the task set before the defense ministry and the military largely fulfilled, I am ordering the defense minister to start the pullout of the main part of our group of forces from Syria beginning tomorrow."

Reuters reports that the White House did not receive advance warning about Putin`s decision. The White House said in a statement this afternoon that President Obama and President Putin spoke by phone today about the withdrawal announced -- about the withdrawal announcement and about the cease-fire agreement that was reached in February.

Coming up, counting Donald Trumps lies. Someone had to do it. And`, someone who did it is going to join us.

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TRUMP: I have never met people like politicians. They are the most dishonest people I have ever met.

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SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I-VT) DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This guy is a pathological liar.

CHUCK TODD, MSNBC HOST: What do you mean by that?

SANDERS: What I mean by that --

TODD: That is almost a clinical --

SANDERS: Well, it is.

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O`DONNELL: Bernie Sanders is right. And, yes, it is clinical. Donald Trump is a pathological liar. And, the news media for the most part has no idea how to deal with him. Television news in particular needs new rules about how to deal with a pathological liar running for president.

For example, last week on election night, every cable news network carried Donald Trumps 40-minute victory speech in its entirety, and it was filled with lies from start to finish. And, the networks then devoted virtually no time to reporting or analyzing those lies for that audience that just heard them.

Donald Trump got away with every one of those lies on live television to that huge audience that night. And, then, the next day some of those lies were taken apart in news articles for a much smaller audiences and on some television shows for a much smaller audience than saw that huge election night coverage of his speech.

Television news has always worked on the assumption that politicians will not try to get away with outright provable lies live on T.V., where everyone can see them. A few cable news shows do not make any attempt to correct those lies, because the shows are basically cheering for Donald Trump anyway.

But, the so-called establishment media where neutrality is prized is failing miserably in dealing with a pathological liar. It is impossible to be neutral in the face of lies. But the establishment media is so calcified in its posture of neutrality that it feels to them like challenging a lie is somehow partisan, like challenging a lie is somehow taking sides. And, so they let the Trump lies fly all over television.

No Trump interviewer on television has ever attempted to correct every lie that Donald Trump has said right to that interviewers face. Donald Trump knows that the faster he talks, the more lies he can tell, and the faster he talks the harder it is for any interviewer to keep up with his lies. How many lies does Donald Trump tell? `

Politico has actually tried to count them. Politico studied 4.6 hours of Trump talk last week, and they found one misstatement every five minutes on average. Essentially, they found that Donald Trump lies about everything he talks about, from our trade deficit with China to our trade deficit with Japan to manufacturing jobs, health care, Christianity, how he is self- funding his campaign, and everything else you have ever heard him talk about.

Joining us now is Darren Samuelsohn, one of the reporters who wrote "Trump`s Week of Errors, Exaggerations, and Flat-Out Falsehoods" for "Politico". He is a Senior Policy Reporter for "Politico". Darren, thank you very much for being here. Thank you for doing that hard work of the 4- 1/2 hours of getting through every word.

I would point out, you know, that the once every five minutes on average means -- I just want some viewers to know, they have experienced him telling five lies within five minutes, and we are talking about averages. So, it is, you know -- and sometimes, you know, he talks about his children and his family and he is not lying much when he does that. So, it happens.

But the other night, he started right away, the first thing, and we have talked about it already tonight, that "I beat Hillary Clinton in all the polls." And, you guys took that apart beautifully. But, I also want to show something he has said about trade with Japan, for example. Let us listen to that.

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TRUMP: You have Japan where the cars come in by the hundreds of thousands, they pour off the boats. We send them like nothing. We send them nothing, and by comparison, nothing.

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O`DONNELL: Now, no one on T.V. has ever questioned that statement.

DARREN SAMUELSOHN, SR. POLICY REPORTER, POLITICO: We do. We do send a lot of things to Japan. I think they are our fourth largest trading partner. Number four in terms of sending things over to Japan, whether it be automobile manufacturing parts, whether it be drug pharmaceuticals, meat, pork.

We are a big exporter to Japan of products. And, so, yes, we found I think it was something like on the magnitude of $600 billion -- million dollars, excuse me, that we send over --

O`DONNELL: And, Japan, by the way -- also Japan automakers also send factories to the United States. There are about 23, I believe, Japanese auto factories providing American jobs, making Toyotas, Nissans in the United States.

So, the Toyota is now an American car made in America. I am not sure how many of them, you know, purchased here are made here versus Japan. But that is why they came here, so they could make them here.

SAMUELSOHN: Yes. No doubt about it. Donald Trump is certainly taking. He has done this with China as well. He has talked about the trade deficit we have had with multiple countries and he is just sort of confounded it. He has talked about it over and over. He has been fact checked before many times over on this topic and it just seems like he just keeps saying it.

O`DONNELL: And, whenever he gives a number like a trade deficit with China or a trade deficit with Japan, he just makes one up. He just exaggerates a number that is way bigger than whatever that number is. And, that is what you found.

SAMUELSOHN: Yes. It is the 500 billion number that he just keeps repeating over and over and over again. And, it has been hit by reporters, by "PolitiFact," by "Politico," by others, but he does continue to repeat it over and over again.

O`DONNELL: Let us listen to what he says about Christianity.

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TRUMP: Christianity is being chipped away at. I mean, really, they have shut Christianity down.

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O`DONNELL: "They have shut Christianity down." When you went out and fact checked that, could you find any Christian churches still open in America?

(LAUGHING)

SAMUELSOHN: Seven in 10 Americans identify themselves as Christians. But, the polls that have been done show that religion is thriving in the United States.

O`DONNELL: But, this is the media`s big failure. If he says things like that and there is no one who challenges him on that, because they want to move down their agenda of questions that they want to talk to him about in those interviews and so those things come pouring out unchallenged all the time.

SAMUELSOHN: He was the liar of the year, I believe, is what PolitiFact gave him in 2015. Luckily, we do have some practice fact checking campaigns, as we have been doing it through 2012 as well. Donald Trump has really just stepped up and given us a lot more to write about, a lot more to check on a given basis.

And, we have been watching every single debate and throughout them all. I mean he keeps us no doubt busy. We have to look, you know, to Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz and others to just try to fill the space, but certainly Donald Trump has the lead.

O`DONNELL: Darren Samuelsohn, great job. I really appreciate it. You, guys at politico who did this, I really appreciate it. Thanks for joining us tonight.

SAMUELSOHN: Thank you.

O`DONNELL: Coming up, in tonight`s "Last Word," Elizabeth Warren said the same thing today about Donald Trump that Edward R. Murrow said about Joe McCarthy over 60 years ago.

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UNIDENTIFIED HAMILTON BROADWAY CAST (1) (singing): Alexander Hamilton. Alexander Hamilton.

UNIDENTIFIED HAMILTON BROADWAY CAST (2) (singing): We are waiting in the wings for you.

UNIDENTIFIED HAMILTON BROADWAY CAST (1) (singing): Waiting in the wings for you.

UNIDENTIFIED HAMILTON BROADWAY CAST (2) (singing): You could never back down.

UNIDENTIFIED HAMILTON BROADWAY CAST (1) (singing): You never learned to take your --

UNIDENTIFIED HAMILTON BROADWAY CAST (2) (singing): -- Time.

UNIDENTIFIED HAMILTON BROADWAY CAST (1) (singing): Oh, Alexander Hamilton --

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O`DONNELL: President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama welcomed the cast of the Broadway Musical "Hamilton" to the White House today. "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast held a Q&A with local high school students followed by a performance of highlights from the show in the east room. Michelle Obama gave "Hamilton" the greatest review it could possibly get, and I agree with it word for word. Here it is.

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MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: It was simply, as I tell everybody, the best piece of art in any form that I have ever seen in my life.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: "Hamilton" is not just for people who can score a ticket to a pricey Broadway show. However, it is a story for all of us and about all of us.

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O`DONNELL: Lin-Manuel Miranda also performed a rose garden freestyle with President Obama.

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LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA, CREATOR OF HAMILTON BROADWAY (rapping): This is the Oval Office, Oh my gosh, I can`t believe I`m there. It`s so much more intimidating than if it was square. Opportunity knocks, and I can`t stop. I`m here with the president and my pops. And, yo, the mic drops."

PRES. OBAMA: How good is that? You think that is going viral?

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O`DONNELL: And, now for tonight`s "Last Word."

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TRUMP: Let us assume somebody else becomes president. Let us assume a very low-energy person -- very, very low energy. So, low energy that every time you watch him, you fall asleep. So, let us say Jeb becomes president. Nothing. Nothing.

(AUDIENCE BOOING)

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O`DONNELL: Donald Trump`s first target when he became the presidential candidate was Jeb Bush. Jeb Bush stayed quiet about Donald Trump for too long. The republicans stayed quiet about Donald Trump for too long. And, tomorrow night at this hour, Donald Trump just might take over and destroy the Republican Party.

Today Elizabeth Warren said, "There is a history of people staying quiet for too long, hoping for the best but watching silently as the threat metastasizes. Donald Trump is a bigger, uglier threat every day that goes by, and it is time for decent people everywhere, republican, democrat, independent, to say no more Donald. There is no virtue in silence."

Donald Trump has been trying to bully protesters into silence by encouraging his supporters to, quote, "Knock the crap out of them." He has also offered to pay the legal bills of any of his supporters, who commit the crime of assault and battery.

Because remember, that is the only way that they would have legal bills, is if they commit an unprovoked, indefensible assault on someone who poses no threat to them, as this Trump supporter did last week in North Carolina.

Donald Trump has not yet paid a penny of that man`s legal bills. And, we have no word yet from Donald Trump on whether he will pay the legal bills if that man decides to kill that protester, and as he has publicly contemplated doing.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER (1): Did you like the event?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER (2): You bet, I liked it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER (1): Yes? What did you like about it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER (2): Knocking the hell out of that big mouth. We do not know who he is, but we know he is not acting like an American.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER (1): So, he deserved it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER (2): Every bit of it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER (1): What was that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER (2): Yes, he deserved it. The next time we see him we might have to kill him.

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O`DONNELL: Might have to kill him. Donald Trump tries to pretend that this sort of thing happens in all campaigns. But in more than half a century of news film and personal video at campaign events not one other voters has been recorded saying he might have to kill a protester.

That is Donald Trump`s unique contribution to campaigning in America. America has much to be ashamed of in the rise of Donald Trump. And, America has much to be proud of in the rise of protesters against Donald Trump. The pictures and videos of those protesters are seen around the world, and it is the most vivid message we can send to the world that this is not Donald Trump`s America. Not yet.

Most Americans will never have the chance to protest a Donald Trump rally. But there are many other ways to take a stand from showing up to vote, to using social media. In this month of March in 1954, Edward R. Murrow took a stand against the rise of the Donald Trump of his day, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy.

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EDWARD R. MURROW, AMERICAN BROADCAST JOURNALIST: This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy`s methods to keep silent or for those who approve. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of a republic to abdicate his responsibilities.

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O`DONNELL: Today, 62 years later, Elizabeth Warren echoed Edward R. Murrow by saying "There is no virtue in silence." Someday we will all be asked by someone, perhaps a child or a grandchild, what we did, what we said when Donald Trump tried to grab power in America. I hope for your sake and for the sake of the country that you will be proud of your answer.

END