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.

Steve Kornacki

Categorized in : War Southern Wall

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?

talking past years

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.

gone reason running

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.

force differences names

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.

headlines jersey way

To the extent anybody had heard of the [Charles] Kushner name at that point, it was a very tarnished name.

Immigration has been [Donald] Trump`s signature issue throughout his entire presidential campaign, and his supporters love him for it.

presidential signatures issues

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.

wall president interesting

[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.

mexican president past

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.

style different fire

There was a change in tone in terms of the [Donald] Trump who showed up in Mexico City for this press conference.

mexico tone cities

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?

issues immigration speech

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.

support lines perception

Rush Limbaugh is saying he never took Trump seriously in the firs... by Steve Kornacki

Rush Limbaugh is saying he never took Trump seriously in the first place.

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.

party sweet people

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?

lasts rooms years

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?

trying years ideas

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.

fans mean years

Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, sort of the three big hitt... by Steve Kornacki

Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, sort of the three big hitters on the Republican side.

republican three sides

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-

mexican president hands

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.

mexico president men