“There's a difference between having a challenger whose name appears on the ballot and that`s pretty much it, versus having a challenger who forces you into uncomfortable positions, says some things about you that makes you defend yourself.” NamesForceDifferencesPositionUncomfortableVersusBallots Author:Steve Kornacki
“Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, sort of the three big hitters on the Republican side.” BigsThreeSidesRepublicanRomneyChristie Author:Steve Kornacki
“I don`t know how it would have gone, but I do know this - Mitt Romney was looking at running and the reason he decided not to run was because he decided that someone was unbeatable. That someone was Jeb Bush.” KnowsReasonRunningKnow HowGoneDecidedRomneyUnbeatable Author:Steve Kornacki
“I`m going to say the New England Patriots fans [biggest winner of the year 2015]. I mean - bring it on. Bring it on. You know why? You know why? Because we won the Super Bowl, because we got Brady reinstated because we started 10 and 0. Bring on the heat because you can`t beat us.” KnowsYearsMeanFansBeatsEnglandWinnerHeatBowlsPatriotSuper BowlNew EnglandBradyNew England Patriots Author:Steve Kornacki
“This is a terrible year [2015] in a lot of ways. You have Paris. You have San Bernardino. But there was, if you remember the summer, there was that attempted terror attack on the train in France. There were two U.S. Marines, there`s one other guy. They were three guys who got up and who stopped that attack. Nobody died. They are heroes and they are my people of the year, three of them.” PeopleIfsWayYearsTwoRememberGuyThreeHeroTerribleSummerDiedTrainTerrorFranceParisMarineOther GuysTerror Attacks Author:Steve Kornacki
“We`re seeing point to something that`s happened over the last eight years during the [Barack] Obama presidency, and that is the Democratic electorate over the last eight years has gotten a lot more liberal.” YearsLastsSeeingHappenedDemocraticEightBarackPresidencyElectorate Author:Steve Kornacki
“Hillary Clinton's weakest group, though, is people under 30, the young.” PeopleYoungGroupsClinton Author:Steve Kornacki
“I think three weaknesses have emerged for Hillary Clinton in early states.One is young voters. Another is political independents. He`s winning with independents who show up. But the other one - this is the inverse of what we saw in `08 - working-class white voters. In 2008, they stuck with her all the way.” ThinkingWayStatesShowsYoungPoliticalThreeWinningWhiteClassSawsWeaknessClintonStuckVotersWorking ClassInverse Author:Steve Kornacki
“Bernie Sanders is usually speaking to the converted. He fires them up. It`s a completely different style of campaigning that he`s allergic to.” DifferentFireStyleDifferent StylesAllergicCampaigning Author:Steve Kornacki
“If you look at the Bernie Sanders of today and you look at the Bernie Sanders of a year ago [2015], when this started, he`s come a long way in terms of.This was a guy at the start of the campaign who had contempt for any personal questions.” IfsWayYearsLooksLongTodayGuyTermYears AgoCampaignsContemptLong WayPersonal Question Author:Steve Kornacki
“The specifics of the platform, I don`t think, are necessarily going to be written by Bernie Sanders, but the themes of the platform are going to be written by Bernie Sanders.” ThinkingWrittenThemePlatformsSpecifics Author:Steve Kornacki
“We are waiting for Donald Trump`s big immigration speech. There are lots of unanswered questions that remain about where exactly Trump stands on deportation forces, on what to do with the millions of immigrants who are here illegally now, and where he stands on the question of birthright citizenship.” BigsForceWaitingMillionsTrumpSpeechImmigrationImmigrantsCitizenshipBirthrightUnanswered QuestionsUnansweredDeportation Author:Steve Kornacki
“[Donald] Trump met with Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto, who has in the past compared Trump`s rhetoric to that of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.” PastPresidentTrumpMetsRhetoricMexican Author:Steve Kornacki
“Here`s an interesting twist, though, President Pena Nieto later tweeting that he told [Donald] Trump in their private meeting that Mexico will not pay for the proposed border wall, Trump saying, though, in that press conference that it didn`t come up.” PresidentInterestingPayWallTrumpPressesMeetingsCome UpBordersMexicoTwistsConferencesPress Conferences Author:Steve Kornacki
“Immigration has been [Donald] Trump`s signature issue throughout his entire presidential campaign, and his supporters love him for it.” Has BeensIssuesTrumpCampaignsImmigrationPresidentialSupporterSignaturesPresidential Campaign Author:Steve Kornacki
“When Donald Trump had all of his opponents, when he had critics in his party saying what you`re calling for in terms of deportation of all 11 million is not practical, it`s not plausible, some were saying it is not moral, why wouldn`t he make argument then?” TermPartyMoralMillionsTrumpCallingArgumentCriticsPracticalsOpponentsPlausibleDeportation Author:Steve Kornacki
“Donald Trump`s meeting with the president of Mexico comes after months of bashing that country and its political leadership. Trump has called the Mexican government corrupt and dishonest.” CountryGovernmentPoliticalPresidentMonthsTrumpMeetingsMexicoMexicanPolitical Leadership Author:Steve Kornacki
“On the campaign trail, [Donald] Trump has threatened a trade war and repeatedly said that Mexico will pay for a wall on the Southern border.” SaidWarPayWallTrumpTradeCampaignsBordersSouthernMexicoThreatenedTrails Author:Steve Kornacki
“Probably not a surprise that, among the people of Mexico, just 4 percent say that they have a positive opinion of [Donald] Trump. Seventy-five percent say they have a negative opinion.” PeopleOpinionFiveTrumpPercentNegativeSurpriseMexicoSeventies Author:Steve Kornacki
“Here`s what I`m curious about. For the president of Mexico, this man, Donald Trump, is, it`s probably not an understatement to say, despised by many Mexicans.” MenPresidentTrumpCuriousMexicoDespisedUnderstatement Author:Steve Kornacki
“The Donald Trump who showed up at this press conference, though he did extend his hand to President Pena Nieto, say, I consider you a friend, he said he talked about first-generation, second- generation, third-generation Mexican-American, he said - his words here - he considers them beyond reproach.” FirstsSaidHandsPresidentGenerationsTrumpThirdsPressesConferencesMexicanReproachPress ConferencesMexican American Author:Steve Kornacki
“There was a change in tone in terms of the [Donald] Trump who showed up in Mexico City for this press conference.” TermCitiesTrumpPressesToneMexicoConferencesPress ConferencesMexico City Author:Steve Kornacki
“Looking to Donald Trump`s immigration speech can he hang onto his base if he softens his stance on the issue that got him this far?” IfsIssuesTrumpSpeechImmigrationStance Author:Steve Kornacki
“The perception that Donald Trump has softened on immigration or is about to soften on immigration has some on the right concerned that he could lose support among his most loyal base of supporters, though he`d been drawn to his hard-line positions on immigration early in the campaign.” HardLosesLinesSupportPositionTrumpPerceptionConcernedCampaignsImmigrationLoyalSupporter Author:Steve Kornacki
“Rush Limbaugh is saying he never took Trump seriously in the first place.” FirstsTrump Author:Steve Kornacki
“He [Donald Trump] found that sweet spot in the Republican Party, just politically, where you had the rest of the party saying it`s just impractical. You can`t deport 11 million people. You can`t round them up and deport them, and his position was basically, hey, Republican voters. Don`t listen them, you can and I will.” PeopleFoundPartyMillionsPositionSweetTrumpRepublicanRoundsSpotsHeyVotersRepublican Party Author:Steve Kornacki
“We played all that rhetoric, all of the thing - the provocative inflammatory things [Donald Trump] said over the last year, does that all add up to buying him enough wiggle room with his base that he can get out and change his position like that?” YearsDoeSaidEnoughLastsRoomsPositionTrumpAddBuyingLast YearRhetoricProvocative Author:Steve Kornacki
“Donald Trump, I guess one idea here if he`s flip flopping, has he bought himself cover with his base by all the inflammatory thing he`s said over the last year? But the flip side is, all of those inflammatory things, the voters he`s trying to reach by flip flopping, are they tuned out to him because of that?” IfsTryingYearsSaidIdeasLastsSidesTrumpVotersLast YearFlipFlip FlopsFlopping Author:Steve Kornacki
“Like the kind of voter who has been turned off to [Donald] Trump, who would normally vote Republican in an election like this, that`s who we`re talking about, can they get past - even if he comes to a position that`s more agreeable for them, a tone that`s more agreeable, can they get past the last year?” IfsYearsKindHas BeensLastsPastTalkingPositionTrumpRepublicanVoteElectionToneVotersLast YearTurned Off Author:Steve Kornacki
“Chris Christie's rise in politics in New Jersey, in many ways, was built on his takedown of Charles Kushner. He got national headlines for that prosecution.” WayBuiltJerseyHeadlinesNew JerseyProsecutionChristie Author:Steve Kornacki
“To the extent anybody had heard of the [Charles] Kushner name at that point, it was a very tarnished name.” NamesHeard Author:Steve Kornacki
