showdown could produce memorable moments. peter alexander is in simi valley, california. >> fighting to stay in the ring. the gop undercard is now underway. >> our goal is to have a true debate. >> the main event coming up. this time an 11 candidate face-off. donald trump usually jabs his opponents but today hinted at pulling the punches. hard. but i think i could tone it down a little >> his challengers vying for attention. some anteing up. and tonight connecting with a massive viewing audience. >> for trump, can he show that he has we know that he can be bombastic. can he show a more thoughtful side? >> jeb bush has to fight fd candidacy and fight his way into vethe presidency. >> reporter: for some candidates, tonight could be do or die. >> the stakes are very high. people will get a second look over the course o anf a campaign once they have fallen. but they wone get a -- won't get a third look. >> a bad performance dollars. >> the worst thing you can do is strike out multiple times. about that. >> it is about listening for the best opportunity to strike. >> every debate that you ca

seen through a political lense. we begin with peter alexander. quite a welcome today. >> that is right. trip. pope francis is now in for the night. but his arrival has energized so many americans, including 70 million american catholics. his holiness today made history, touching down outside of washington, francis's first visit to the u.s. joined by president obama and the first lady at andrews, so rare a president has only done it once before. and the father showing attention to school children. and he left in a fiat, carrying his secret service detail. aboard a jet dubbed jeb one. he would not bring up the u.s. embargo on cuba saying this is a pastoral trip, not a political one. in cuba, a remarkable reception with the pope calling for a revolution of tenderness. today thousands lined the streets to green francis as he made a surprise visit at the cuba's holy shrine and taking photos with some of the hosts. and even castro was impressed, meeting finally with him today for the third time. carrying his own briefcase as he boarded a flight to the u.s. awaiting in washington, a cit

over. our national correspondent peter alexander reports. >> reporter: no last second win by tom brady ever pleased patriots fans quite like this. >> i jumped out of bed happy. >> reporter: the reigning super bowl quarterback four-game suspension e raced and overturned today by a new york federal court judge. >> this is a big party, tom is free. >> reporter: across new england, vinld vindication and online celebration. tweets from patriot nation including from rob gronkowski, this season to be a heck of a ride and jfk library and even this dunkin donuts weighing in. the delfategate saga began with brady's alleged involvement in the conspiracy to under inflate footballs for the game against the indianapolis colts. humor. >> such an eivoyable off season. [ laughter ] >> reporter: in a 40-page opinion, judge richard burrman wrote there were deficiencies and the league didn't treat him fairly including his failure to inform brady the alleged misconduct could lead to the stiff punishment he >> the judge vacated the suspension because the nfl violated the process, not because they foun

for a come back. peter alexander sets the stage. >> reporter: here at the reagan library the battle tomorrow night to win one like the gipper, with trump dominated and bush failing. ben carson closing in and carly fiorina gaining steam. they now boast a majority of republican support. the early establishment favorite bush falling well behind. the race. >> jeb now hovering at 6%. trump has bashed bush as boring. >> i think he is a low energy person. >> reporter: while trump is packing them in by the thousands. bush's crowds are far smaller. underperformed in the first debate and hampered by his last name. he's tried to connect the conservative legacy to reagan's. and reached out to latinos in spanish. [ speaking in a foreign language ] >> reporter: still, with no traction, a republican insider insists bush needs to fight trump. >> he needs to take the fight to donald and take a page out of the donald trump playbook and point out to voters that donald trump isn't ready to be president. >> reporter: bush said this time he'll be ready. >> someone comes at me, bam, i'll come back at them

by. >> that was peter alexander reporting. >>> and a terrifying look that wild fires ravaging california. and a family's desperate escape with only moments to spare. a woman spotted smoke in the distance. she said they never received the mandatory evacuation order and spent time packing but the danger started to set in when they had to drive through the burning forest to leave. the family's home was destroyed and the fire is now just 15% contained. in just a few hours, volunteers will gather to search for the last missing victim in the deadly flash flooding in the utah-mississippi border. and for the first time, we're getting a tragic look at what happened. we want to warn viewers about the images and the sound. >> reporter: it happened in an instant. >> oh, my goodness. >> reporter: raging flood waters and mud ripping across a road, two vehicles filled with three families, 16 people disappearing. swept away, hundreds of yards. three survived, as did others trapped. and unable to wade away to safety in waist high water. virginia black shot this on her cell phone. the water ros

again how much of the course defied the pundits at every turn. peter alexander has late details. >> i will suspend my campaign immediately. >> this evening's announcement punctuated a dramatic and humiliated fall for scott walker who hoped his departure would stop donald trump. >> but popular wisconsin governor concluding he no longer has a path to the republican nomination. he led the polls in iowa. last week pinning his hopes on the neighboring state. >> we're putting all of our eggs in a basket for iowa. >> but he dropped in the recent national poll. the harally riding 47-year-old has been touted as a strong republican leader made for the national stage. wisoth a personal biography and evangelical roots to hampered by missteps. claring his -- comparing it to islamic militants. >> and a wall near the border. and flip flopping on birth right citizenship. >> people are very, very impresses. >> scott walker is the first victim of donald trump. >> and while walker didn't endorse anyone there is indications who might benefit. marco rubio's campaign announced one of his top staffers

facing jabs, hillary clinton was tennessee to minds on the minds of her rivals. peter alexander is with us again from simi valley. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you. heading into last night, it was clear that a lot of the focus was going to be on the front runner, donald trump. he was the man many wanted to knock down. it turned out there was one thing, despite the tough exchanges we witnessed last night, that all of the candidates had in common. of course, that was hillary clinton, the opposition to the person they believe will be the democratic nominee. >> peter, thank you very much. >>> now to a story that has a lot of people talking. a texas teenager landing an invitation to the white house after he was handcuffed and detained for bringing a homemade clock to school. a teacher mistook that for a bomb, leading to ahmed's arrest and a frenzy on social media. janet, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning. the 9th grader has gone from handcuffs at his high school to hero, with a presidential invite, and even a mention at last night's debates. after

could take in many different ways. >> i want to go to peter alexander now because he's on the capitol grounds and as we can see, pope francis is making his way through the hallway. and he will in a second step out on to the balcony. peter, let me turn to you, you're surrounded by people. take me through what happens as they get their glimpse of this pope. >> well, for the last hour or so, the people here have basically been watching like we have on television, this visit by pope francis. and in matter of moments they're going to bet the moment they have been waiting for. which is the chance to see him walk on to that speaker's balcony. this is historic not only because he was the first pope to speak before the joint meeting of congress, but the first anybody, the first individual to give remarks from the speaker's balcony. 50,000 tickets distributed here. and the moment during those remarks, during the pope's speech to congress that really -- we hear applause again as the cameras show him once again, was when he referred to the golden rule. that was the biggest ovation, the bi

he had some fun with the crowd over it. nbc news national correspondent peter alexander has the story. >> reporter: vice president joe biden in miami today encouraging college students about their future while speculation swirls about his own. >> it's amazing how good this school is. look aat all the press you attracted. they're interest in community has impressed me greatly. >> reporter: hoping biden might hint whether he would jump into the presidential race. >> people who are are scared of failing never risk to succeed. >> reporter: and new interesting including among first time voter, joe biden versus hillary clinton, who is for biden? >> oh that's a really, really hard question. >> tough question. >> reporter: it could be a tough road ahead for biden who hasn't raised any money or hired a single campaign staffer. among the challenges is biden willing to go after clinton and risk fracturing the party. clinton remains better liked than biden among democrats. biden has won twice for president,er in winning a single state, withdrawing after earning less than 1% in iowa. he woul

spirit of the people throughout it as well. >> peter alexander a little less than a mile from us here at the u.n., thank you very much. >> pope francis is staying at the vatican mission to the u.n. and that's on the city's upper east side and nbc's stephanie gosk is here this morning for us. >> reporter: good morning to you. anybody looking at this security and thinking maybe i'll wander down and catch a quick glimpse of the pope sipping his espresso, they are going to be disappointed. this is a security presence like nothing i have ever sean in new york. you have the streets blockaded three blocks north and south and two avenues wide. they have sand trucks. there's a law enforcement presence here and when we arrived here this morning, hundreds of police officers behind our camera position here getting ready for their orders of the day and as we mentioned the pope is staa ng in rhe townhouse here at 19th century townhouse, actually very typical for this very wealthy neighborhood of new york city. it was owned by a 19th century mayor, and we're told that they actually had to update the wi

from stusio 1a in rockefeller plaza. ec>> welcome to "today." i'm erica hill. >> i'm peter alexander alongside dylan dreyer and sheinelle jones. this nfl case is messing up a lo of fantasy football teams. and tom brady said he is ready to play football. >> dylan? >> i said let's he see how it plays out in court. we're good to go. moving on. >> we'll get to the top story. natttionwide about the rule of law versus religious freedom. we reported the county clerk who refuses to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples and won't let her deputies do it either. she remains behind bar. we will get to her attorneysin a 40 moment, but let's go to nbc's sarah dallof. >> reporter: she has been doing bible study in the jail behind me and she is prepared to stay there for as long as it takes. ay defiant kim davis, behind bars. her husband says she will not quit as rowan county clerk. a judge declined to put the co cntempt order on hold while davis's attorney filed an appeal. the couples finally got their

moves? peter alexander. >> it >>> all right. come back to your tv screen. we are back on this saturday morning, september 5th, 2015. nothing cuter than puppies, but when they are playing with the "star wars" toy bb-8, a winning combination. the hottest new toy from the "star wars" line. we have one here. we will tell you about it coming up in the orange room. christmas is done. >> my kids will ask about this. yours will too. >> my husband is asking about this. >> your husband? >> we will all go out. thank you, bb-8. >> dylan said can i take that home. >>> still to come in the half hour, it seems like serena williams cannot be stopped. how amazing? going for glory at the u.s. open. she a few matches way from one of the biggest feats in tennis history. could she get a grand slam this year? we hope so. >> gave up the first set last night. things are interesting. >>> we will take you to alaska for a special group of firefighters. they are called smoke jumpers. they are parachuting down to some of that state's worst wildfires. we will talk to them. >>> we begin this morning with what could

ever address congress. peter alexander is also at the capital, talking about what we can expect. peter, can you hear me? >> reporter: i hear you well. this is a remarkable scene. 50,000 tickets have been handed out for people to have this opportunity. they will be watching on jumbotron jumbotrons. as we said earlier today, speaking to folks, i said, it feels like it's a rock star event, doesn't it? a student said to me, we wouldn't do this for a rock star, only for our pope. we've met so many nice people, including this family from chicago and memphis, most recently. >> tennessee. >> thanks so much for being here. you're brave. you were here yesterday to see the parade. what makes this meaningful? >> we're part of the action. >> you've been snapping photos. i'm sure the kids will remember this. your grandmother is 93 years old, always dreamed of seeing the pope. for you so experience this, what does it mean in a family like yours? >> we're taking a lot of photos for her. she's on the canadian border in northern minnesota. she's always wanted to see a pope. when i said we were go

moment, but first nbc national correspondent peter alexander has more on the republican front-runner. peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, matt, good morning to you. after a ban on fox news that lasted a whole six days, trump returned to the air and got challenged over whether he'll have to adopt a more mature style going forward this. comes as the top republican is actively trying to shore up support by reintroducing himself at donald trump, family man. >> the return of one donald trump. >> reporter: donald trump is very -- has buried the hatchet with fox news after insisting he boy cod fox for the foreseeable future. >> aim fair to say that in order for you to win the republican nomination that you're going to have to change your style and be a bit kinder and more mature, is that a fair question? >> well, i think it's fair. i think the word mature is not appropriate, but i think it's certainly fair. >> reporter: with his support stalling and popularity numbers well below the likes of ben carson, carly fiorina or hillary clinton, the brash billionaire who is already everywh

alexander has that side of the story. hi, peter, good morning. >> reporter: hey, matt, good monday morning to you. if you thought the end of summer would mean the fall of trump, no chance., a new poll this morning shows donald trump holding on to his lead in iowa, ben carson just four points behind, but check out what's going on in new hampshire right now. trump there leads by a huge margin, at 40% luadingecarson by 27828 points. his lead is just about equal to the next five candidates combined. >> trump! trump! trump. >> reporter: with two days to go until the next debate donald trump is riding high atop the gop field and now he's getting traction against hillary clinton. this morning a new poll shows trump in a statistical dead heat in a head-to-head matchup, clinton beating trump by three points, 46% to 43%. >> who wants, it come on. >> reporter: trump keeps rolling and tossing campaign hats to supporters in iowa over weekend and boasting about his first place status. >> winning in iowa, winning in new hampshire and winning every place by a lot. >> reporter: still offering a pos

moment but first let's get to nbc national correspondent peter alexander. peter, good morning. >> reporter: hey, willie, good morning to you. donald trump's momentum seems to be facing and ben carson is facing calls he drop out of the race from a prominent muslim-american group after controversial comments he made about islam and the presidency and us a noted carly fiorina has rocketed up in the polls. this morning two top-tier republicans are on the defensive. ben carson telling nbc's chuck todd he would not support a muslim president. >> i would not advocate that we put a muslim in charge of this nation, i absolutely would not agree with that. >> reporter: later carson's campaign clarified his statement insisting he has great respect for the muslim community but just doesn't people the american people are ready for a muslim president. donald trump till fending off questions about his failure to correct a questioner who wrongly claimed that president obama is a muslim and blamed muslims for being a problem in the u.s. >> i have friends that are muslims. they are great people,

before world leaders at the u.n. that's where we find nbc national correspondent peter alexander. peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, matt, good morning to you. in washington pope francis was really speaking to congress and the american people, but today he will be addressing the world. this is going to be the largest most powerful gathering ever un boder one roof. there isn't a bigger international stage than this. the 70th anniversary of the united nations, 170 world leaders will be here. presidents, prime ministers,

in the second gop debate. nbc national correspondent peter alexander is in simi valley, california, with a look at the peter, good morning. morning to you. donald trump may have a big target on his back as the gang of 11 now is on the main stage tonight. trump, of course, the first time around really was more of a novelty act, but now the novelty has worn off for a lot of his republican opponents as trump now. time around, the moderators saying they will try to pit the candidates against one another and they are describing this as a real dog fight. already rand paul who in the first debate sparred with trump has said his goal tonight is to conservative. donald trump for his part has been unimpressed by the possibility of attacks. he's repeatedly said whatever. it's also a critical night for other candidates like ben carson and challenger carly fiorina who has been steadily gaining steam, but perhaps more important for folks like jeb bush and scott walker whose poll numbers have plummeted. with a fund-raising deadline approaching and only so many dollars from donors available, a ba

correspondent peter alexander is in washington. peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. even more for the vice president to think about this morning. consider this. the latest nbc maris poll, trump would beat hillary clinton but biden would beat trump. with summer in the rear view mirror the race for the white house is heating up. still unanswered will vice president joe biden jump in. rallying union members at a labor day parade in pittsburgh and energized vice president heard a chorus of encouragement from his supporters. when asked about the possibility of a run by an audience member at another event, biden answered -- >> you have to talk to my wife about that. >> reporter: later telling reporters -- biden's decision to be weeks away. with the latest nbc maris poll showing a close race between clinton and bernie sanders and reversal in new hampshire, clinton trailing sanders for the [001:59:57;00]

correspondent peter alexander. he's along what will be today's parade route just south of the white house. peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. this is really going to be a remarkable day as some people here have described it. it feels kind of like a pep real and kind of like a prayer gathering, a unique and historic moment, the first opportunity for so many americans to see this pope in person. this is the only place in washington where you don't need arrives. of course, pope francis has worn the world's affection had his gestures of empathy, of warmth. he has also shown multiple signs of solidarity with the suffering, and in many ways this is both a spiritual and political journey for this pope who will be hitting the centers of u.s. government, of power and of history, of course, finishing his trip in philadelphia later this week. when he arrived yesterday he was greeted at joint base andrews and what was really a remarkable moment by president obama and the first family as well as the bidens. one of only two times that the president has gone there as a show of

. >> let's get a blow by blow of the night from national correspondent peter alexander. good morning. >> reporter: good morning toe you. donald trump called rand paul ugly and called carly fiorina beautiful. this morning, a lot of republicans are thinking that fiorina looks good after a strong showing last night. right out of the gates and true to form, trump broke reag 's 11th commandment, teeing off on a rival. >> rand paul is ne ber 11, he's got 1% in the polls. >> his visceral response to attack people on their appearance, shot, rt, tall, fat, ugly, that happened in junior high. >> i never attacked him on his look, and there's plenty of subject matter right there. >> reporter: for much of the night, trump's challengers struck back. >> we don't need an apprentice in the white house. we have one now. >> why should i trust you? >> repmoter: free rhee iorina responding to trump's comments about her face. >> i think women heard clearly what mr. trump said. [ applause ] >> i think she's got a beautiful face, and i think she's a beautiful woman. >> reporter: jeb bush led the charge, tak

alexander is at the white house. one of the stops on the pope's six-day tour, peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, matt, good morning to you. he'll be here about this time tomorrow morning. americans first see this much lebrated, much admired pope up close and personal. a six-day three-city trip for the head of the catholic church by far the biggest denomination in the country with more than 70 million catholics wordwide. from the moment the pope arrives it will mark a series of firsts, the 78-year-old's first trip to the u.s. to be personally welcomed to andrews air force base by president obama, a gesture so rare this president has only done it once before. on wednesday francis makes an th century missionary a saint, the first canonizion oa american soil. thursday, he becomes the first pope to asdress a jdent meeting of congrcos >> the members of congress been told do not shake the pope's hand when he comes down the aisle. there's a dignity to this occasion because this is someone, you know, who is, again, above politics. >> reporter: for this pope who embraces simplicity

. peter alexander is with the crowds gathering to see the pope on the east side of the capitol. >> reporter: good morning. hours away before they get their chance to see pope francis. we'll spend hour on two hours on capitol hill. he'll speak before the house and senate. he'll visit privately with congressional leaders before he walks out to the speakers balcony. this will be his view, looking at more than 50,000 people who got tickets for today's event. outside for their chance to hear pope francis' second day of his u.s. tour. >> reporter: it's a history-making morning on capitol hill, as francis is the first pope to address congress, in what is expected to be a 30-minute speech delivered in english. he'll be introduced by the house sergeant at arm, as the pope of the holy see. unlike these scenes with lawmakers competing to shake the president's hands, congressional asked members to be in their best behavior, refraining from conversations and handshakes along and down the center aisle. the pontiff spent his first day tackling hot-button issues on the left and right, applaudi

republican party in just a moment, but first nbc's national correspondent peter alexander is there. peter, good morning. >> reporter: hey, savannah, good morning to you. the spotlight will once again shine brightly on donald trump, but not just on him exclusively. also on his challengers like ben carson and carly fiorina on the debate stage for the first time with the top ten, now top 11 this time around. it's also a crucial moment for those folks who have plummeted in the polls, jeb bush and scott walker. with only so many dollars from donors available, a bad performance from a candidate tonight could signal the end of the road. >> would you come over and speak. i'm here for a certain reason. >> reporter: breaking out the big guns ahead of tonight's republican debate front-runner donald trump revved up supporters on the "uss iowa" in los angeles delivering a speech heavy on promises and light on specifics. >> we're going to come out with some plans in a very short time. we're going to be building up our military. >> reporter: earlier predicting a barrage of attacks from his republican ri

alexander. peter, good morning. >> reporter: hey, with his momentum stalling donald trump will unveil his tax plan today including tax hikes for the have wealthy. this morning he and ben carson, as you noted, all locked up at the top, but two of their challengers are picking up steam. they are not backing down with one of them trashing trump's campaign as a freak show. despite the kurt tans collapsing sunday n tht lately it's been anything but light's out for her campaign. the new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll show fiorina and rubio tied for third place and trump and dr. ben carson at the top. trump on "60 minutes." >> i'm on a lot of covers, more than any supermodel. >> reporter: and trying to combat accusations he's light on subs tans trump previewed a new tax plan, including cuts. >> overall a tremendous incentive to grow the economy, and we're going to take in the same or more money, and i think we'll have something that's going to be spectacular. >> reporter: trump may be feeling the heat, most recently teeing off on rubio. >> lightweight. he's a lightweight. you have this

their responsibility to service and elected to take care of. i want to go to peter alexander, he's been listening to the pope's address, and i thought we heard some of those same things. we talked about immigrants, we heard about the environment. i also thought i heard, peter, a gentle prodding of this body, the united nations to say, remember your aaroer,erer, founding documents and live up to those words. no i think that' s exactly right, sa nnah. recognize this is the 70th anniversary of the united nations, that's why there are so many world leaders which now inclouds the pope. he commended the u.n. for all e good work it ha done and encouraged it to keep going saying there's o much more to be done. he talked about the common humanity, he said the right of the environment that man is not authorized to abuse earth. that was a central theme as well. savannah. >> well, we heard him loud and clear, and he has a busy day ahead of him. will meet with families at e 9/11 memorial and museum, later he will have a procession through central park and a mass at madison square garden tonight

presidential topics and so has joe biden whether or not he'll run. peter alexander has all of this. >> reporter: vice president biden said he won't hesitate to run if his family has the emotional energy to do it during pittsburgh's labor day parade biden supporters were the ones doing the lob jig. one woman shouting give it a go, joe. supporters feel he could be competitive. biden has to make a decision by start of october. hillary clinton trying to reset her campaign. to show more humor and heart. latest nbc maris poll showing a tight race with sanders. sanders leading clinton in new hampshire. the iran deal could heat up today with congress back in session. to be clear, democrats have the votes that they need to make sure the deal goes through. back to you. >> a lot to talk about in washington. >>> pope francis is changing the way catholics get marriage annulments. today he reformed the process allowing faster decisions and removing automatic appeals in order to speed up the procedure. he said the new regulations aren't meant to help end marriages but simplify the process. bisho

potential run began. peter alexander has more. good morning. >> reporter: hey, willie, good morning. joe biden is reveling in the extra attention. it feels like a campaign trip, but his aids insist it's not one. his every word and move is being analyzed. including when he told college students that people who aren't willing to risk failing never succeed. was he talking about himself? we wait and see. those hunting for hints will have to keep looking. joe biden offering few clues about whether whether he'll run for president in 2016. while speaking to college students he sidestepped any messages mention of his own plans. >> this school is amazing. look at the coverage. >> famous for one liners offered up another memorable moment when an insect interrupted his speech. >> what is the possible rationale for that butterfly? >> reporter: these days biden's considering his own political transformation speculation first heating up last month after a private meeting with elizabeth warren who criticized hillary clinton. last night warren was asked about that meeting. >> there was any talk with the

to think about for joe biden in the next few weeks. peter alexander, thanks. >> republicans in a bitter war of words between jeb bush and donald trump. it doesn't look like it will end soon. we have hallie jackson with that part of the story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. going after donald trump hasn't always worked for other candidates. this morning there is a fresh push to take down the republican front runner as jeb bush, one of trump's most frequent targets fights back. the gop war of words now escalating with the new intensity from jeb bush delivering one of his hardest hits yet against donald trump in this new video. >> as far as single payer, it works in canada. it works well in scotland. >> this is not a conservative. using his own words is not a mischaracterization. >> reporter: bush in offense on two languages. [ speaking spanish ] >> bush wants to define trump as a democrat. that's the way bush and many in the republican establishment see a way for trump to be taken down. >> reporter: late tuesday, trump brushed it off. >> in new york city, everybody was a

help her or hurt her in the polls? nbc national correspondent peter alexander is at the white house. good morning. >> reporter: sometimes saying i'm sorry isn't so simple this. took months for hillary clinton to get to this point a. clear acknowledgement that the e-mail controversy is dragging down her poll numbers and that even some of her donors have started expressing concern. overnight, this admission from hillary clinton on facebook. i could have and should have done a better job answering questions earlier. adding i'm grateful for your support and i'm not taking anything for granted. the post came just hours after clinton's course correction speaking to abc news about her use of private e-mail for government business while secretary of state. >> that was a mistake. i'm sorry about that. i take responsibility. and i'm trying to be as transparent as i possibly be. >> reporter: the long awaited apology coming just 24 hours after clinton insisted there was no apology needed telling the "associated press," what i did was allowed and last week saying this to no.'s andrea mitchell. >

nbc national coierrespondent peter alexander. library. that is the site of tomorrow's second republican debate. peter, good morning to you. >> hey, matt, good morning to you. this is hallowed ground for republicans, actually this morning it's wet and hallowed ground, but tomorrow night there will be 15 candidates here all trying to outdo one another to claim the mantle of ronald reagan, but will any of them break his 11th commandment? thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow republican. once again donald trump is not holding back. for candidate who does everything huge, a texas-sized welcome. donald trump rallying supporters in dallas predicting a rough and tumble debate. >> i have a little debate coming up on wednesday. i hear they are all going after me. whatever. whatever. >> reporter: trump's harsh criticism of undocumented immigrants resonated with the border state crowd. >> we have to stop illegal immigration. we have to do it. we have to do it. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: but outside tempers flared as trump protesters clashed with supporters over immigration. wi

peter alexander crunched the numbers on the proposal, and we also have a revealing new poll in the presidential race. peter, good morning. the experts do the crunching, but trump is the least popular politician from either party in a brand new poll behind ben carson, carly fiorina and hillary clinton, a quarter of americans have a positive opinion of trump, nearly 6 in 10 a negative one, and this morning those experts are weighing in on that ambitious tax plan that could mean a major tax cut for most americans, especially the rich, but at what cost. donald trump is now defending his tough talk while admitting he could soften his tone. >> probably it is a little childish, but you know what. this is a campaign and usually and i think you know this better than anybody, i'm responding to them. >> reporter: new signs that it may be camping up with trump. a new nbc news/"wall street journal" trump shows the billionaire fares worst that in his top challengers in hypothetical matchups against both hillary clinton and joe biden losing by double digits. jeb bush, carly fiorina and ben carson

first lady and a lot of other dignitaries. peter alexander is with us this morning in washington. i believe he is along the parade route that the pope will take a little later this morning. peter, you with me? >> reporter: yeah, matt, i am. these folks have been streaming in here for five hours now. there were some folks that got here shortly after midnight last night for the opportunity to witness this moment. only a short time from now the pope, if he keeps the schedule, should be here in a matter of hours for a parade route itself after visiting with the president and after that ceremony right behind you there. what rea >>lly is striking is just the enthusiasm, the energy, the yfulness that you see in so many of the people here. many of them young, many of them with ailments, all here saying that whether or not they get touched by the pope physically, they have already felt touched and blessed ou by teis.s visit. i was struck by some e of the things that some of the individuals that i met here, what's unique about it pope and why we want to be here is becae he is accepting of us.