candidates. and what ben carson says about the focus groups. that is right after this. ♪ ♪ john: last night we showed you part one of our strategy focus groups. tonight it is the real republicans of iowa and new hampshire. first we show you what they said about the two front runner republicans -- ben carson and donald trump, the outsider candidates. mark: let's talk about ben carson. what do you think his qualifications are to be president? >> common sense. >> clearly one of the most intelligent people in the race right now. >> he has everything i am looking for. i think he treats the american people and other candidates with respect. >> he is guided by a very strong faith. >> true to himself. >> deep, thoughtful. >> he seems genuine. mark: i will play one little clip. >> do you believe that islam is consistent with the constitution? dr. carson: no i do not. i would not advocate that we put a muslim in charge of this nation. i absolutely would not agree with that. mark: how many people agree with what ben carson said there? everybody. >> someone who is leading the country who is musli

presidential candidates, including our i will pull leader, ben carson. also on the show, i will poll standings with rooms in ted cruz but first, just bad news. on bloomberg policy this morning we saw that jeb bush is correcting the course, and downsizing staff paid a lot more focused on time in the early voting states. what are the chances that this major change is going to work in reviving his candidacy? john: there is zero chance that this is going to revive his candidacy. this might allow him to continue to stay afloat. we have both seen candidates like john mccain who withdrew these kinds of things and then went on to be the nominee. but they went on to be the nominee because this is a necessity and not a good thing. it is the path to stay alive. mark: and also gives jeb bush in front of voters. not rushing coast-to-coast. he can raise all the money in the world, all the kings horses and all the kings king's men. this gives the campaign a chance to test your theory, which is if voters can talk to jeb bush and hear his message they will win. i think iowa and new hampshire is their

, debate in colorado. donald trump and the new gop front runner, according to one poll, ben carson, they will face off. how will this new dynamic affect the race? >> a decision coming today. will the officer caught on camera here, body slamming a student, will he be fired? >> and then world series drama. a four minute blackout, a 14 inning game. a bonkers game one matchup between the royals and the mets. there is a hint, who came out on top? >> when you woke up? >> the game was still going on, crazy. >> that's a sad schedule. >> good morning, everyone, welcome to "early start." >> it's wednesday, 5:00 a.m. in just hours, republican candidates take the stage for a crucial debate the very first one with ben carson on top in a national pom t. neurosurgeon jumped ahead of donald trump. donald trump in a new poll leads by 4 points. >> that is within the margin of error. that was enough to put donald trump in uncharted territory. campaigning in iowa on the defensive. donald trump on the defensive. cnn's sarah murray was there. she has the latest for us. >> reporter: good morning, donald

trump is on the attack. running second to ben carson in iowa polls. over the weekend, he raised carson's faith and stance on immigration and he barbed carson's super low energy level. we have cnn's ryan nobles with latest from washington. >> reporter: john and christine, good morning. donald trump is in new hampshire after a weekend of tweaking his rival ben carson. during a rally in florida, trump tout his presbyterian faith and told the crowd in florida he did not know what a seventh day adventist is. trump said he is not attacking carson's religion and said he would not apologize. polls show him leading with evangelical voters. however a new poll in iowa shows carson with more support from the key voting block. during an interview on "state of the union", trump recycled an attack he used on jeb bush. >> i think ben carson is a low energy person. i think he is lower energy than jeb bush if you want to know the truth. >> reporter: carson has eclipsed or drawn even with trump in iowa caucus goers. trump sent attacks carson's way, carson avoided engaging the billionaire. >> i rea

showing donald trump behind ben carson in iowa. the monmouth university poll of iowa republican caucus shows trump trailing carson by 14 points. the poll had trump and carson tied in august. senators ted cruz and marco rubio are tied for third place with rubio gaining six points. statewide poll from iowa's own loras college finds carson rising and trump dropping. marco rubio also gained six points in this poll putting him in third place. all together four polls released within four days of each other shows trump losing steam in iowa where the republican caucus is a little more than three months away. >> mark halperin we've been talking about this for a couple of weeks that if the election were held that carson could actually beat trump. now it looks like a pretty massive surge. what's going on >> carson is a better fit than trump is. trump has not done television ads. relied on his national image which got him far in 49 other states. trump has a choice does he come back in iowa or concede it to carson. >> if this happens in iowa done it happen in new hampshire next? >> it could. but ne

: ah, ben carson. for people who like donald trump's ideas but hate his charm and charisma. ( laughter ) ben carson's like the drug-free cocaine for people who don't want to get high but just like snorting white powder. ( laughter ) but it turns out that even the doctor's calm has become too crazy for some. you see, yesterday, ben carc ofns asked how he would respond if a gunman like the one in the oregon shooting confronted him and it didn't go well. >> rising g.o.p. star dr. ben carson is under fire after making controversial comments about gun control. >> i would not just stand there and let him shoot me. i would say, "hey, guys. everybody attack him. he may shoot me, but he can't get us all." >> take action. ( laughter ). >> trevor: i don't get it. you know what i also don't get is that ben carson really thinks that he could rally people against a mass shooter. ( laughter ) i think he's overestimating how inspiring his presence might be. ( laughter ) you're gonna shoot me? hey, guys, listen up. i need you all to rally behind my charismatic presence, and charge with me i

to ben carson in polls in iowa. over the weekend, trump raised questions about carson's faith and criticized his stance on immigration and barbed carson's super low energy level. ben carson spent the weekend ducking the punches. cnn's ryan noble has the latest. >> reporter: donald trump will be in new hampshire after a weekend of tweaking ben carson. trump tout his presbyterian faith. he did not know what a seventh day add convenieventist. trump said polls show him leading with evangelical voters, but a new quinnpiac poll, trump recycled an attack he used against jeb bush to describe carson. >> i think ben carson's a very low energy person. actually, i think ben carson is lower energy than jeb if you want to know the truth. we need strong energy. >> reporter: carson has eclipsed or drawn even with trump in two polls of likely iowa caucus goers. trump sent attacks carson's way, carson avoided engaging the billionaire. >> i really refuse to really get into the mud pit. you know, hillary actually was right when the republicans are there trying to destroy each other. i really think th

to read this tweet. it says ben candy carson, terrific. what about a real black president that can properly address the racial diindividual. >> there have been questions of this president's race and his legitimacy in office. we don't know if that's what murdoch is implying here but it sure sounds like it. i see people flabbergasted by this comment from one of the biggest media moguls in the world. they are confirming this is his twitter account. once in a while he steps into hot water. this is the kind of tweet that's in a whole other league. this is the kind of thing he's going to have to explain and respond to. >> and how old is rupert murdoch? >> 84 years old. and he once of the most powerful men in the media world. >> it seems to be questioning the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the obama administration, especially dealing with race. he said "read new york magazine for minority disappoint us with potus. >> it's an interesting article talking about whether the president has disappointed african-americans, whether the president has done enough for african-americans. you've h

mountain...until now a poll released by quinnipiac university shows that dr. ben carson is in first place with 28-percent.. long time leader donald trump is in second with 20-percent. marco rubio is in third with 13- percent. then ted cruz and rand paul round out the top five.. an urbandale man says he knows first hand why carson is surging in the polls and he has the video to prove it... channel 13's stephanie moore has the story...first on 13 justin luettjohann and his wife won't deny their support for presidential candidate dr. ben carson...'his fate and his overall moral compass is really what attracted us to him.' the two have attended several events with carson and even hosted a meet and greet and their home with him before he decided to run--- but nothing prepared justin for the birthday gift he got this week... "hey justin i'm here in new york city wishing you a very happy birthday and thanks for all your support." 'when i got the video, i didnt expect anything like that and i seriously about fell out of my chair and couldnt stop smiling.' justin says the personal message is

running behind ben carson. >> the doctor is dominating the donald in the latest iowa polls. >> i don't believe i did fall behind. >> the trump campaign is never going to admit that there's anything wrong. >> if they don't give it to you, you got to give it to yourself. does that make sense? >> he also going after ben carson on his religion. >> i mean, seventh day adventist i don't know about. i just don't know about. >> you know, i really refuse to really get into the mud pit. >> i think ben carson's a very low-energy person. >> there was a time when i was, you know, very volatile, when i was 14 and i tried to stab someone. >> i've tried to murder no one, ever. how am i losing to these people? >> actually i think ben carson is lower energy than jeb. >> i've got a lot of other cool things i could dothan be misable listening to people demonize me. >> jeb bush is in houston, texas, trying to reassure donors he's still in it to win it. >> he's meeting today with mommy and daddy and they're working on their campaign. >> the whisper campaign's already started that bush is falling apart. >> b

, specifically benjamin carson. he is now ahead of donald trump in four street iowa polls. today, he bested the donald in an international poll. what happened? john: it was easy in his mind to dismiss carson, but now he has lashed out at person. -- at carson over the last few days. i think this increases the likelihood that trump, even though he might not think that carson is his most threatening foe, he is going to go after carson tomorrow night on stage. mark: it will be interesting to see other national polls on this. he has moved up in some places, but trump still leads in most big surveys. does you go after carson, the -- does trump go after carson? the other big question is does anybody else go after carson? he is harder to attack then -- than trump. john: this entire republican race has been a season of denial. everyone has been in denial. i suspect that people, other candidates in the party, do not take ben carson seriously. they think he is a flash in the pan, they think it is ok for him to win iowa because iowa can be dismissed. and that his rise in the national polls is a phenome

new york times" and cbs news shows dr. ben carson surging ahead of donald trump for the first time and now he's leading trump by four points in this national poll. this comes after four polls in the past four days showing carson ahead of trump in iowa which holds the first in the nation caucus or primary in february. on "morning joe" today, trump made cryptic remarks of issues that could affect carson's rise. >> ben carson is now doing well. and i think ben carson has a lot of problems with his record, if you look at his record, including going back in the past and, you know, those problems are going to start to come out. it's a maizing -- almost like in first place, it is like a cleansing action. some of it is very unfair cleansing but it really is like a cleansing action. a lot of things will come out now and we'll see how he holds up to the scrutiny. >> ben carson, meantime, started a new offensive fighting back with ads in the first four caucus and primary states including this one. >> the political class and their pundit buddies are impossible. he's too outside the box. well,

they love to say that ben carson is insensitive. they need that narrative. that is the only way it can be acceptable because i do not fit into their general description. a black person who is a conservative? they cannot quite deal with that. who talks about self-reliance and that you are not dependent on them? how could you possibly say such heresy? it is necessary to demonize in a business like that and i understand that. i am actually willing to fight with them. i will continue to fight with them. i am fighting for something even greater. and that is, i am fighting for the people of the united states because you see we have very smart and very capable people in our nation who would be extremely good leaders but they say -- why would i get into that cesspool and be attacked and have my family attacked and have people going through every aspect of my life and trying to demonize me. people do not want to do that. i am going to fight that fight for them. if i am successful, i expect that maybe a lot more of the people in our country who are not professional politicians will say -- yo

carson. carson demanding an apologize and donald trump is standing by live to respond. and bernie sanders sparks the sharpest contrast with hillary clinton. echoing the iowa speech that launched barack obama's launched barack obama's campaign eight years ago. good morning, david. >> good morning, george. bernie sanders never mentioned her by name. as he ticked down the issues, the environment, the iraq war, same-sex marriage, he made the case that his views haven't changed with the polls, sharp elbows there just as clinton was beginning to breathe easy. just 99 days until the iowa caucuses and hillary clinton is enjoying a comeback. fans and supporters gathered early, serenaded by pop star katy perry, dressed like a patriotic superhero. hillary clinton is the woman of the hour, but does she have the nomination locked down? got a warm reception last night. >> i'm not running for my husband's third term and i'm not running for barack obama's third term. i'm running for my first term! >> reporter: but don't count your opponents out just yet. everybody saying it's all over d you not g

since july, trump is trailing ben carson by just four points in a new cbs and "new york times" poll. he's speaking at a rally in sioux city, iowa. this morning he started down playing the polls calling them not very scientific. tonight he spoke again about the new numbers. >> and get a little shakeup in iowa, i don't know what's going on. >> keep going, donald! >> somebody said are you going straight to new hampshire? now, i love new hampshire. we've got great numbers. 38%-12%. but we fell a little behind in iowa, and some people are saying, how can it be? in every poll, this isn't just here, that the people that are with trump are with trump. they don't go anywhere. they're staying. it's true. i see it. i see it. you know, a couple times they say, well, that could be the end then they do something. i'm ten points up. it's the craziest thing, right? we'll take it. >> that was donald trump a few moments ago. in a moment we'll run all the new numbers in detail for you. first quickly let's go to cnn's sara murray at the event tonight. it is interesting to see how he's now kind of quest

things to do? >> dr. ben carson is the front-runner in iowa at least. donald trump finds himself in an unusual spot, second place. that's in iowa. what's trump doing about it? he's hitting carson on his religion. getting personal here. >> two days to go to the presidential debate in boulder, colorado. which candidate is under the most pressure? who would be the next dropout? might be bush. >> october surprise. this is "hardball." te when a moment turns romantic why pause to take a pill? or stop to find a bathroom? cialis for daily use is approved to treat both erectile dysfunction and the urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours.

on msnbc live, donald trump targets ben carson and his religion as two new polls show it's carson who has the momentum. plus -- >> i've got a lot of really cool things i can do other than sit around being miserable listening to people demonize me and me feeling compelled to demonize them. >> did we hear jeb bush hinting at his exit strategy as his campaign restructures. >> bernie sanders ramping up his rhetoric against hillary clinton. >> i think bernie sanders seemed to have a course correction in the j.j. dinner which he said he wasn't going to go negative to obviously focusing his fire on her. >> hello, i'm richard wolffe. we start with ben carson. he's the new 2016 front-runner, at least in iowa, where the first votes will be cast in less than 100 days. carson holds a commanding 14 point lead over donald trump in a new monmouth poll among iowa republican caucus goers. another iowa poll shows carson nine points up over trump. even in a best-case scenario for trump, they are now tied in another poll trump once led by four points. at an nbc news town hall this morning, donald trump d

donald trump neck-and-neck with ben carson. we have donald trump surging in new hampshire and south carolina but mr. trump stumbling providing details of his policies. so without those details, can trump be the gop's nominee? yet another uproar at a comment mr. trump just made about women. >> we want it where the women don't have to wear the you know what. and then i said, well, that makes sense. that's nice. then i saw women interviewed. we want to wear them. we've warn them for a thousand years. why would anybody tell us not to. they want to. what the hell are we getting involved for? [laughter]. the fact it is easy. you don't have to put up make up. look how beautiful everyone looks? wouldn't it be easier, right? wouldn't that be easy. if i was a woman i don't want, i'm ready, darling. let's to -- go. liz: comment about women and religion. mr. trump is still making controversial remarks catching political pundits on their back heels. meantime outsiders continue to lead the republican pack. in the latest monmouth university poll, mr. carson surging to number one in iowa at 32%. mr

right now. >>> right now on msnbc, debate night. ben carson takes the stage as the new front runner in at least one poll and it's make or break time for many of the other candidates. >>> a guilty plea from former house speaker dennis haster leaves more questions than answers. why did he withdraw more than a million dollars in cash and who did it go to and why? >> a sheriff's deputy caught on camera body slamming a stupidity in class is fired from the force. >> less tlan two hours from the third republican presidential debate and the field looks a little different. scott walker is out and for the first time ben carson is now leading in a national poll. data back at 22. for the first time trump will not be the undisputed front runner on the debate stage. last night in iowa he showed he is not afraid to beg for votes. >> iowa, will you get your numbers up, please. i mean, i am second. it's not like terrible, but i don't like being second. second is terrible to me. until iowa came along i said every poll. iowa, what the hell are you people doing to me? will you please do me a favor and wor

. >> to ben carson, we'll talk in the next segment about his involvement with the nutritional company. he denied relationship and did so again today, first, we are joined with more from colorado. what did dr. carson have to say last night about the debate? >> reporter: it's very clear, anderson, he's not happy with the debate. he really didn't have a standout night and went long stretches without talking and seems to be playing safe so today he really came out, much more forcefully than he really normally is out on the campaign trail and blasted the debate format. here is what he said earlier today in colorado. >> debates are supposed to be established to help the people get to know the candidates and get to know what's behind them and what their thinking process is, what their philosophy is and what it's turned into is a got ya. that's silly. and that's not really helpful for anybody. >> and carson is trying to capitalize on this unhappiness. he said he reached out to the other campaigns and he is calling for the other candidates to try to push to make changes before the next debate.

information. to begin iowa, two new polls show that dr. ben carson is leading donald trump. dr. carson in an interview yesterday said he is pleased of the showing, but knows his campaign is a marathon. donald trump, at an event yesterday, expressed skepticism about the polls taken. in our first 45 minutes, we want to hear from you, not only about the polls, but the potential of ben carson becoming presidential nominee for president. ben carson supporters, (202) 748-8000. donald trump supporters, (202) 748-8001. if you support other gop .andidates, (202) 745-8002 if you want to send us a tweet on this, you can do so at @cspanwj. you can post on her facebook page, facebook.com/cspan. if you want to send us an e-mail, it is journal@c-span.org . the first polls we will point you to, it shows that among those going to participate in caucus, benan carson moved into a dominant position in iowa. the new paul shows that the retired neurosurgeon -- the new retiredws that the neurosurgeon is backed by 28% of likely republicans, up by 10%. for dr.kely to caucus carson are drawn by history and stat

ben carson who made controversial comments comparing abortion to slavery. we have team coverage beginning with joe johns, he is live in new hampshire for trump's morning event. good morning, joe. >> reporter: good morning, alison. donald trump is getting a very early start in new hampshire. a crowd already gathering to see him this morning. he does have his work cut out for him, quite frankly, trailing dr. ben carson in the state of iowa. over the weekend, trump started leveling attacks as you said. listen to what he had to say about carson on cnns state of the union with jake tapper. >> ben carson is a very low energy person. i think he's lower energy than jeb, if you want to know the truth. we need strong energy. i am talking about ben. i am talking jeb because i thought he was going to be the front-runner. obviously he's not going to be, i'm not going to talk about hitch so much anymore. >> reporter: the interesting thing is ben carson said he will not return fire. not the same from marco rubio. trump was in the state of florida over the weekend. rubio started attacking trump

to be reckon with. >>> latest polls show ben carson taking the lead from donald trump. but trump is still nationwide. >> reporter: for the 3,000 who turned out to hear donald trump message from the brash billionaire. >> i'm number two. in iowa. i said i don't believe it. >> reporter: trumpmp w likes his lead in the polls, now raising questions about them. afr two new polls show him slipping to second place in iowa and trump taking new shots at the man the lead,en carson. >> carson is controlled by his past. carson is lower energy than bush. >> reporter: this comment referencing carson's religion. >> i mean seventh day adventist. i don't know about. >> reporter: has the neurosurgeon calling for an apology. >> couple of months ago i said something that he took as an attack on his faith and i apologized for that. i hope he will have the same grace. >> reporter: the trump/carson showdown one to watch. another, can jeb bush make a coback? the man who just months ago was the front-runner slashshing his campaign's payroll by 40% on friday. >> we made an adjustment in our campaign. that's w

side, the poll leaders, donald trump and ben carson, threatening to boycott the next debate due to how long it may or may not be. speaking of ben carson, we'll dig into the phenomenon, that is him tonight. he's barely campaigning, but he's hauling in more cash than any other republicans. and he's soaring in the polls. chief adviser, armstrong williams, will be here live. >>> first, it's a major change for president obama's plans to pull all but 1,000 u.s. troops out of afghanistan. the big shift brought swift reaction from the 2016 campaign trail because the president has left a big decision for his successor. let's hit the press box. chris jansing at the white house, hallie jackson in san antonio with the clinton campaign, kalani and shaq bruce ter in iowa with the fiorina campaign. the white house, where america's longest war just got longer. president obama making a significant change, of course, on the war in afghanistan, trust me, he did this very, very reluctantly. he plans on keeping more troops even longer than he wanted. instead of a near all-out withdrawal from the countr

chris hayes is up next. >>> carson passes trump in first national poll. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews out in los angeles. well, the republican dance of defiance continues with angry voters, at least for a time changing partners. the people out in the country, the right-wing people, still don't like the established gop, all struggling down in the single digits. well, the vital question is which of the two champions of attack, donald trump or dr. ben carson, has the heart to fight it out when it gets close and nasty down the line? well, right now, many on the right are using carson as a place to rest, watch, and think. they want to say something powerful about change, but are not that sure of trump. what they're not ready to take are the names listed for months, years in the case of jeb bush, on that sad menu of hopefuls in the undercard of the establishment. here's what i think is going on right now. i think donald trump, whatever the wavering in the polls this week, is the one candidate who could promise real success on the economy, if the econom

history. >> here's another question i have. so if you have a bad debate and the you're carson and you have a bad debate and you're trump or have a non-debate debate, but if -- it's okay, but if you're jeb bush and you have a bad debate like tonight or it's not a great debate. you don't seem joyful. you attack rubio t.backfires. it's killer. it's more -- >> it's not killer. >> no, no, no, no, no. >> before we continue this. it's 11:00. welcome to the viewers joining us at top of the hour. if you're joining us you're watching a view in the spin room, donald trump talking to some reporters. we'll see if he comes close to our cameras. dana bash interviewed him a short time ago and we'll shortly play you some of the key moments from the two-hour debate that just occurred, some of the most contentious moments and interesting moments and most important moments from tonight, about five minutes worth and it will really give you a good sense of what occurred over this evening in case you didn't watch the debate or you went out for a smoke or something. i don't know if people do that anymore. >> colo

. this is the first debate since retired neurosurgeon ben carson pulled ahead of business mogul donald trump in the polls. the pair's front-runner status prompted ohio governor john kasich to warn that republicans are on the verge of picking a nominee who "cannot do this job." we'll have more on the debate after headlines with john nichols, jamil smith, john nichols, and david cay johnson. wisconsin republican congressman paul ryan is set to become the 62nd speaker of the house today. ryan replaces ohio congressman john boehner, who stepped down last month after a lengthy dispute with far-right members of his own party. ryan spoke after the republican caucus backed his nomination. >> we believe the country is on the wrong track. we think the country is headed in the wrong direction. and we have an obligation here in the people's house to do the people's business to give this country a better way forward, to give this country and alternative. we're going to respect the people by representing the people. amy: we'll have more on ryan later in the broadcast with nation magazine political w

trump hitting a polling speed bump. three other polls showing carson leading trump in iowa specifically. trump is down playing the polls he once spoke so highly of. >> they are all so different. they are coming from all over the lot. one guy is up here, somebody else is up there. you see swings of 10 and 12 points. immediately even the same day. so right now, it's not very scientific. it's hard when you have this many. >> is donald trump islip in the polls causing any changes in enthusiasm you're seeing among voters there? >> reporter: certainly not among the voters i talked to tonight. they are plenty pumped to see trump. if you look at the crowd behind me, this is the kind of crowd that any other republican in the field would be envious off. it's why donald trump seems stunned to find out he is no longer number one in the polls. dr. ben carson is going toe to toe with the entire republican field. he's winning the latest round. >> this is the right color. if you get blood on it, you can't tell. >> reporter: donald trump is no longer on top nationwide. leaving the businessm

. >>> and is dr. ben carson's rise in the republican race jeopardizing his iconic stature in the african-american community? another prominent black doctor says yes. >>> and what lies ahead? forget the pundits and the pollst pollsters. i've got a foot maker to see who will be the last standing. >>> the gop house and its impact on the presidential race, next. >>> joining me now is the chief strategist for the republican national committee, shawn spicer. okay, shawn, i have the strategy question. how do you protect the gop brand when this civil war is playing itself out amongst gop house members? >> good morning, michael. i'm not sure i would call it a civil war. i think there is a lot of discussion going on over the direction they want their party to go and who is the best person to lead it. you've seen the presidential cycle in terms of the number of candidates we have up there and the competition that's going on, and frankly now you're seeing it in the house. i believe this is a good thing. it's good for the party to go through these discussions, to have different people put the

carson's religion, seventh day adventist, i don't know about that, what were you trying to say? >> well, i don't -- i know nothing about it. i'm a presbyterian. i said i don't know about it. i just really don't know about the seventh day adventist. i just -- you know, and that's what i said. >> why raise it at all? were you trying to send a dog whistle to them because ben carson is beating you among evangelicals in iowa? >> no, not at all. but, no, not at all. i just don't know about that particular religion. >> back to my question, why raise it? >> because i just said, i don't know about it. i said nothing about it. i would never say bad about any religion. i think you just had a quote on, i said exactly, i don't know about it, so, you know. it's not an insult. >> ben carson has asked for an apology, will you give it to him? >> well, i didn't say anything bad about it. i just don't know about it. i would certainly give an apology if i said anything bad about it. >> you're not going to apologize to ben carson. let's talk about some of the policy differences with mr. carson now

. ben carson's breakthrough in the latest polling. brand new fox news polls out tonight show dr. ben carson making huge gains in the republican race for the white house nomination. carson is now virtually tied with front-runner donald trump ter arlyoublg hi pporoverhe pt tw mont. d amg alrepuican primary voters, carson has the largest number who say they would definitely vote for him. we'll have the polls for you tonight, the best political analysis and a full report coming right up, right here. >>> also tonight, democratic presidential candidates ready to square off in their first debate in las vegas. those new fox polls show hillary clinton, despite scandals and investi her commanding lead over socialist senator bernie sanders. but sanders and the other three hopefuls martin o'malley, jim webb and lincoln chafee will all try to steal some of clinton's support tonight in the cnn democratic debate. we'll be discussing all things politics tonight with chris stirewalt, fox news jedidiah bila, town hall political editor guy benson. and we'll be discussing political dirty tricks or was i

unlikely real presidential candidates. >> very quickly, ben carson, can he be the nominee? >> i don't this can so. i think if jeb bush has too much establishment support ben carson has zero. >> i'm going to leave it there. and so it goes. we'll be back monday. if it's sunday it's meet the press. i will have the benghazi pair of gowdy and cummings and ben carson. richard wolffe picks up our coverage. >>> breaking right now tens of thousands are evacuated as kirk patricia, the strongest hurricane ever recorded gets close to making landfall as a category five. >>> the end of a rough week for house republicans as hillary clinton comes up victorious. can paul ryan change things up as house speaker? a growing number of republicans certainly hope so. i'm richard wolffe. in the same 24 hour time span t congressman paul ryan said he is in for the speaker job. two huge events with far reaching impact on what comes next. first benghazi and the reviews are in. hillary clinton was a commanding presence through an 11-hour marathon that back fired. after the hearing wrapped up committee chair

hour, i'm kate snow. sn "mtp daily" starts right now. >> if it's monday, carson's climb has trump stumped and sanders' sniping has clinton griping. under a hundred days until iowa, things are starting to get serious. this is "mtp daily" and it starts right now. ♪ ♪ >>> hello from new york, i'm steve kornacki in for chuck todd. the doctor is dominating the donald in the latest iowa polls, but can trump stop his slump? >>> also tonight, more of chuck's interview with ben carson that you didn't see on sunday. weighing in on how to pay the nation's bills, where he sees bias on college campuses and what to do in syria. much more 2016 news to come as well. plus rumbling that a budget deal could actually happen on capitol hill, possibly as early as tonight. so let's get right to the press box. nbc's katy tur is with the trump campaign in new hampshire. nbc's andrea mitchell has more on the dust-up between clinton and sanders. and julie bike wits of the associated press has details from the closed door meetings in houston where the bush family is hoping to give jeb a jump-start. we st