Age = 47

Rachel Maddow on Joe Biden's South Carolina Primary "Landslide"

00:01
-I want to talk about so much with you.
00:02
We'll get to the coronavirus, too.
00:03
-Yeah. -But I figured, let's just start
00:04
with the debates and the campaigns and what's happening.
00:08
I mean, South Carolina.
00:11
-South Carolina was this weekend.
00:12
-That was a big win for Joe Biden.
00:14
-Yes. So, he won with like 50% of vote,
00:18
which is a big deal in any of these primaries.
00:21
But when there's still a gazillion people running,
00:23
having that much of the vote was, like,
00:24
a real landslide for him.
00:26
And so, he has been running for President for like 33 years.
00:30
-Yes, that's right.
00:31
-He's run a bunch of different times.
00:33
This is actually the first time he's ever won a state.
00:35
So it's got to be sort of a tender moment for Joe Biden.
00:38
[ Laughter ]
00:39
But in this campaign it's -- it is a turning point,
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and so now you've seen, since he won,
00:46
Pete Buttigieg has dropped out, Amy Klobuchar has dropped out.
00:50
They're both endorsing him as of tonight.
00:52
It puts a lot of pressure on Mike Bloomberg,
00:55
in terms what's gonna happen with him
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with Super Tuesday tomorrow.
00:58
Just -- It's like all systems go.
01:00
Everything's in motion after South Carolina.
01:02
-Is this the most wildest thing you've ever seen, or no?
01:04
-Yeah. -It is.
01:05
-Yeah. -Do you like that?
01:07
Or is it too much work for you? -No, it's exciting.
01:10
I mean, because the Trump presidency is what it is...
01:14
-Yep. -...this is probably
01:16
the most important Democratic presidential primary
01:19
since you and I have been alive. -Yep.
01:20
-And for it to be totally unpredictable and chaotic
01:23
and always in constant motion and to have a cast of thousands,
01:27
including some people who aren't playing in some of the contests
01:30
but are nevertheless, spending a half billion dollars,
01:33
I mean, it's insane.
01:34
But it's probably -- it probably ought to be insane.
01:36
It probably ought to be this kinetic,
01:39
because it's so important.
01:40
But I mean, anybody who tells you they know
01:42
what's gonna happen tomorrow for Super Tuesday
01:44
is either lying or trying to sell you something.
01:47
-Yeah. -It is very unpredictable
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at this point. -It is.
01:50
Because what we've heard is that Bernie Sanders
01:53
is gonna be kind of a lock for tomorrow.
1.55 ‫هزت راسهة‬
01:56
-Well, he's -- I mean, there's 14 different states.
01:58
And so Bernie has definitely done better than anybody else
02:01
in the contest thus far. -Yeah.
02:03
-That said, he did very well in the first three contests,
02:06
which were comparatively small.
02:08
Biden's actually obtained more votes just with his big win
02:11
in South Carolina than Bernie had in any of his --
02:13
in the first three states combined.
02:16
So I mean, depending on which way you're looking at it,
02:18
I mean, you can make a case for any potential outcome
02:22
at this point, but it's about a third of the delegates at stake.
02:25
-Wow. -And you need to pile up
02:27
a certain number of delegates in order to win the nomination.
02:29
And so there are no -- there's no bigger day
02:33
in the primary than tomorrow. -Wow.
02:35
-And so, you know, in a lot of places where people are gonna be
02:38
going to vote, there's gonna be all of these people who are
02:40
listed on the ballot who are no longer in the race.
02:42
Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Tom Steyer, Pete Buttigieg,
02:45
Amy Klobuchar -- all these people who have dropped out.
02:47
-Yeah. -The remaining candidates
02:49
are fighting it out among them, and nobody knows if anybody's
02:52
gonna put together enough delegates
02:54
to actually win the thing before the convention happens
02:56
this summer. -Wait. What?
02:58
-I know. -So, wait.
02:59
So we might not know who the nominee is?
03:02
-Right. Right now, it is more likely
03:05
than not that we will go to the convention
03:07
with nobody having a majority of delegates.
03:09
And what happens there is that means that they decide
03:11
at the convention, which is gonna be bananas.
03:14
[ Laughter ] -Oh, my God.
03:15
-Totally bananas. -Wow!
03:17
That really is bananas. -Yeah.
03:19
-Have people sent in early votes?
03:21
-Yes. Millions of them.
03:23
-So they voted for people that are out?
03:24
-Yes. By the millions.
03:27
-Can they revote? -In some cases, you can.
03:29
In some cases, you can get your ballot back
03:31
if the person you voted for is now no longer in the race.
03:34
-Wow. -But don't get me started.
03:35
It's all these different jurisdictions,
03:36
and everybody's got their own rules.
03:38
-Yeah. -So it is -- it's wild.
03:40
I mean, and I think you see in both parties when they have
03:43
really wild primaries, people think,
03:45
"Oh, they'll never get back together.
03:47
They're only helping the other side.
03:48
They're just tearing each other down."
03:50
You know, it always feels that way,
03:51
but it's a normal part of the process.
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They're supposed to fight it out.
03:54
This is the way they're supposed to work.
03:56
The thing you want is for them all to pledge to work together
03:58
at the end for the same goal.
04:00
And there's no reason to think that won't happen.
04:02
-What do you think about Warren or Bloomberg for this?
04:06
-Bloomberg is running a weird campaign.
04:09
[ Laughter ]
04:10
I mean, a half a billion dollars,
04:12
and he's not been on the ballot yet.
04:14
-This is the first time he's on the ballot.
04:16
-Tomorrow will be the first time he's on the ballot.
04:18
Yeah. And he's pledging that
04:20
if he's not the nominee, he'll get out of the race,
04:23
but his money will stay in.
04:25
So, his money will continue to run for president.
04:27
But he will not. [ Laughter ]
04:29
He literally said he's gonna keep open his campaign offices
04:31
and everything all the way until November,
04:34
even if he has dropped out of the race, which is crazy.
04:38
Want to know what's crazier? -Yeah.
04:39
-Bernie says, "I don't want your money."
04:41
Bernie says, "If I'm the nominee,
04:43
I won't take your help." So...
04:45
-What is going on? [ Laughter ]
04:46
This is the most bizarre thing in the entire world.
04:49
-Yes, it is. -Wow.
04:50
-This is why I have the best job in the world.
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My job is literally to try to figure it out and explain it.
04:55
-Yeah. -Which is -- It's like Sisyphus.
04:57
Yeah, it's not working. But it's -- it's fun.
04:59
[ Laughter ] -That is bizarre.
05:00
-It's bizarre, and it's super important.
05:02
And it's totally unpredictable.