Transcripts For WJLA This Week With George Stephanopoulos 20160320

From abc news, its this week. Here now, chief anchor george stephanopoulos. Hello, again. After another wild week in the race for the white house, it began with more big wins for donald trump. At least three states on tuesday. The most delegates by far. Moving him much closer to the republican nomination. As his campaign marches toward cleveland, he draws more protests, too. Check out this scene from arizona yesterday. The road to a trump rally blocked. And new questions overnight about how trump and his supporters are dealing with the protests. In tucson, this protester punched and kicked as he was led away by police. A guy grabbed the sign out of my hand. As i was being escorted out of the building. And suckerpunched me. And in this video from cnn, Trump Campaign manager Cory Lewandowski appears to grab the collar of a protester. Who is also being pulled back by a security team. A lot to talk about this morning with donald trump. He joins us now by phone. Thank you for joining us this morning, mr. Trump. We saw the incidents in tucson. Last night. What more will you be doing to stop your supporters from acting out like this . Well, its not only tucson. We had a great rally next to phoenix. It was an amazing 21,000 people. The protesters blocked the road. You had thousands of people that couldnt get in. Sheriff joe, who did a fantastic job, immediately arrested three people. And the rally totally broke up. It totally broke up. The people that were protesting. And they left. And they went. And there was no more problem. And everybody went in, we had 21,000. There wasnt one word during this massive rally. But what about the violence . Then well, then, a little bit later on, we went to other areas. I mean, we went all over, frankly, we went all over arizona. And we went to tucson. And we had some people that wouldnt allow people for the rally into the door. They were making it almost impossible to get in. We had 6,000 or 7,000 people at least. We had 2,000 people outside. They wouldnt allow them in. These people are very disruptive people. Does that excuse punching and kicking a protester . Well, you know, he was wearing, he, or his partner was wearing a ku klux klan outfit. This was an africanamerican man, a person at the rally, who was very insensitive, the fact that somebody a protester would be wearing a ku klux klan outfit. And he went wild. You appear to be excusing the kicking and punching. Frankly, that was a tough thing to watch. And i watched that. Why would a protester walk into a room with a ku klux klan outfit on . It looked like he was wearing an American Flag right there. But does that justify violence . If you would have seen him just before he went up the stairs, him and his partner, one of them was wearing a ku klux klan outfit. So you wont condemn the protester who that person . We dont condone violence. Angd i say it. And we have very little violence. Very, very little violence at the rallies. We had 21,000 people in phoenix. Nobody stood up and tried to disrupt. The disrupters. Theyre really stopping our First Amendment rights. If you think about it, george. They blocked a road. They put their cars in front of a road. We had thousands and thousands of people wanting to come. They were delayed for an hour because of the protesters. At what point do people blame the protesters . These are people that are professional agitators. So youre blaming the protesters, not the person who punched and kicked the protester . No, im saying this. These are professional agitators. I think somebody should say that when a road is blocked going into the event, so that people have to wait sometimes hours to get in, i think thats very fair and there should be blame there, too. When signs are put up, lifted up with tremendous profanity on them. Over the place and, people see these signs, i think maybe those people have some blame and should suffer blame also. We also see the video of your Campaign Manager, Cory Lewandowski, who does appear to grab the collar of that protester in that video. Also your private security. Why is your Campaign Manager out in the crowd engaging protesters . This is the second incident in about a month. Because security at the arena, the police were lax. They had signs up in that area that were horrendous. I cant say what they said on the sign. But the ultimate word. It was all over the camera. And, frankly, the Television Cameras cant take it. They cant do anything about it. I will give him credit. Spirited. He didnt touch. He wasnt the video shows he touched him. Your private security pulled him. That was somebody else pulling him. I give him credit for having spirit. He wanted them to take down those horrible profanitylaced signs. These are disrupters. They go into a room with 20,000 people or they go into a room with 6,000 or 7,000 people, and they stand up and they start shouting things. I mean, at some point, somebody should say, i will say this. Sheriff joe arpaio, in phoenix, arrested three people. Oons he arrested those thee people, everyone else immediately left. Its the job of the police to arrest protesters who are being disruptive. If that is happening. That happened in the phoenix area. It doesnt happen in tucson. You appear to be much more upset by the protesters than the violent response to the protesters. I am very i wouldnt use the word upset. I think its very unfair that these really in many cases professional and many cases sick protesters can put cars on a road, blocking thousands of great americans from coming to a speech, and nobody says anything about that. But theyll Say Something about whatever. Protester. Let me tell you. Its a very unfair double standard. Why dont you mention the fact that people were delayed for an hour to get into an arena and the only road going there that they were delayed for an hour because people were blocking the road . And why dont you say in tucson, where the people were blocking the main entrance into the arena . We showed the blockade at the top of the broadcast. But let me move on. This comes on the heels of you saying this week there could be riots in cleveland if you entered the Republican Convention with more delegates than anybody else but didnt get the nomination. John kasich called that outrageous. Speaker paul ryan called you out. Did you go too far there . If you dont have the 1237 delegates going into cleveland, why should you be guaranteed the nomination . Well, i think if im a few short, and i have, you know, 1200 or 1100. And somebody else is at 400, 500, which is very likely going to be the case. And if im a little bit short, and one of the reasons was, we had so many candidates. I mean, we started off with 17 candidates. And, it came down to, you know, finally, its down to three, frankly. But there are so many candidates. Its hard to get over that number. Its very unfair in a way. Because of the fact that theres so many candidates, and so many candidates are grabbing delegates. Now, heres what i think. Now theyre out. Now theyre out. I think i will get over that number. I think i may get over that number fairly easily. Arizona was unbelievable yesterday. Utah, frankly, was unbelievable the day before. I think we will get over that number. Tremendous spirit about make America Great again. Thats the whole thing. Were going to make America Great again. If you dont, theres nothing unfair about having a multiballot convention, is there . I think the biggest story in all of politics are the millions of people that are coming out to vote for me, in fairness, for the Republican Party. Theyre up 75 , 72 , 102 different states in the primaries. Its the single biggest Story Worldwide in politics is, whats happening at the millions and millions of people that are going out to vote for me. Now, i will say this. The democrats are down 35 . Whereas the republicans are up over 70 . And some cases, much more than that. So i say this. If youre going to disenfranchise all of those people, some of whom have never voted before. And theyre 50 years old and older. But, if youre going to disenfranchise all of those people, independents, democrats. We have a lot of people coming over. Its okay for them to riot . We do have some people that have never voted before. I dont know what i didnt say all i can say is this. I dont know whats going to happen. But i will say this. Youre going to have a lot of very unhappy people. I think for the republicans to disenfranchise all those people. If that happens, theyre not voting. If the republicans embrace these great people showing up, the republicans are going to have a massive victory. Not going to be a mitt romney slaughter. Because he was such a bad candidate. The republicans will have a massive victory in november. Will you tell your supporters not to riot if you lose the Convention Fair and square . Well, i would certainly tell them that. But, you know, look, these people are fervent. Theyre really they want to see positive things happen for our country. I would certainly say that. I dont want to see riots. I dont want to see problems. You have millions of people were talking about, george. Millions of additional people have gone. Ive gotten more than 2 million votes more than anybody else. 2 million votes more than anybody else. And these are millions and thats why im leading by so much. I have 21 or 22 states. You have conservatives talking about the possibility of a third Party Challenge if you get the nomination in cleveland. Talking about recruiting someone like senator tom coburn. How worried are you about that happening . Have you done anything to try to head that off . If theyre going to do that, theyre going to do that. But if they do, you might as well hand the election to Hillary Clinton, or whoever runs. They wouldnt have 1 chance of winning if thats the case. If theyre going to be stupid and do that, instead of embracing these millions of people coming in to vote, theyll have to do that. Ill tell you what that will mean more than any other thing. Its going to mean four or five justices, superliberal placed on the Supreme Court. Our country will never, ever will be same. Over the weekend, you appeared to question the faith of mitt romney. The third time in the Campaign Something like that has happened. I want to play the statements for our viewers right here. I cant believe, are you sure hes a mormon . Are we sure . Im presbyterian. I mean, seventh day adventist, i dont know about. I just dont know about. Ive never seen anybody that lied as much as ted cruz. And he goes around saying hes a christian. I dont know. Youre going to have to really study that. You know, after the pope spoke out about you, you said no leader should question another persons faith. So why do you keep on doing it . Well, with mitt romney, first of all, with mitt romney, i was saying to the mormons. The mormons are very smart people. I said it in a joking way. They can take it, you can take it any way you want. The mormons are very smart people. I dont think mitt romney is a smart person. I never have. The mormons are very smart people. I said, are you sure hes a mormon . Im not going to change it. I think mitt romney has proven to not be a smart person. As far as ted cruz, hes one of the greatest and biggest liars i have ever known. He lies about so much. He lies about things that dont matter. So i tell people. And i think thats why ted cruz has lost the evangelical vote. Look what he did with ben carson, who has endorsed me. A great guy. Look what he did to ben carson. He said ben carson in iowa has left. Hes out of the campaign, vote for me. Thousands of people voted for him because he convinced people that ben carson had left the campaign. He knew ben carson didnt leave the campaign. Well, it sounds like youre not backing down on that at all. Tomorrow, you have a big speech. A big speech tomorrow. Speaking to the American Israel Public Affairs committee. In that speech, will you stand by your pledge to be neutral between israel and palestine so you can broker a peace deal . Youll hear what im going to say at the speech. Ill save it for that. There is nobody more pro israel than i am. Youll hear that. Well see what happens. What kind of deal would be in israels interest . I think making a deal would be in israels interest. Ill tell you what. I dont know one jewish person that doesnt want to have a good deal, a proper deal, a very good deal. But i would say its probably one of the toughest deals. One of the toughest deals in the world to make. Theres so many decades of hatred between the two sides. Its probably one of the toughest deals to make if youre a person that prides yourself on being able to get people together. What does a good deal look like . Will israel have to give up land . I think its something we should try very hard to get. And i dont know any jewish people that dont want to make they would all love to see a deal made. They want a good deal. Not an obamatype deal made. They want to have a good deal made. Define a good deal. Ill do that tomorrow. Ill be defining it tomorrow. Im not going to define it now. Ill define it tomorrow. We would like to see everybody would like to see a real deal made, not a deal that will be broken. A real deal be made. Something that can be lasting. If i win, ill give that a very good shot. Mr. Trump, thank you for joining us this morning. Okay, thank you very much. Lets get more on this now from the chair of the Republican National committee, reince priebus. Joining us this morning. Good morning. You heard that interview with mr. Trump. Has he does enough to contain the violence at his rallies . Well, look, i mean, i think hes trying to make the point that, we want to talk about both sides, but clearly, both sides need to condemn violence. And violence is never the answer. And i think as far as everyone getting involved in the crowds, leave it to the professionals. The sheriff there was in the crowd. And secret service is there. Thats their job to do it. I think that is the best place to leave it. Violence is never the answer. Condoning violence is never the answer. Its not what were about. And, i think everyone agrees with that. Everyone agrees with that. But what have you told i know you speak with the Trump Campaign and mr. Trump himself, what have you told him about this . This is not the first time this happened. Were seeing it again and again and again. We have talked about it a little bit. Obviously, they agree that violence is not the answer. And that they dont condone it. They tell the crowds that they dont condone it. So look, um, its obviously not completely in my control what happens at these rallies. And what people say and do. But i would leave it to the professionals. I would continue to talk about the fact that we need to have a solutionsbased campaign. Not obviously, something that you know, creates an environment that violence is present. You say leave it to the professionals. When you say leave it to the professionals, does it mean that the Campaign Manager should stop engaging protesters . Look, i you know, i dont know all the circumstances, george. Im just sitting here this morning just like you. I havent talked to them about it. Obviously, my point would be, leave those things to the professionals. Dont get involved in crowds. In those altercations. Lets talk about the possibility of a contested convention. You used to call it an extreme hypothetical. Is that still the case . Uh uh probably not still the case, no. I think its possible. And were preparing for that possibility. I think its my job is to be as open and transparent as i possibly can be. Thats why im trying to get out there on the convention a lot, out in the media, and talk about what the rules are, what theyre not. Take the mystery away from what an open Convention Looks like. Because it really is Pretty Simple stuff. Lets take some of the mystery away right now. You heard mr. Trump, if he got close to the 1237, but didnt get there, his supporters would be very angry. He said he didnt want them to riot but theyre going to be very angry. The Republican Party would lose. Simple yes or no question. Is it fair if he goes in without 1237, but with a plurality, for the convention to deny him the nomination . A plurality is a minority. And a minority doesnt choose for the majority. So you have to have a majority of the delegates in order to be nominee. Theres nothing magical about the number. Its 50 plus one. No one is disenfranchised. Theyre enfranchised by receiving bound delegates. Based on the outcome of the elections. So thats all it is. So you have to have a majority in order to be the nominee of our party. Its its no different than when i became chairman of the party. I won on the seventh ballot, george. Hardly a landslide. But i was never behind. No one called me the winner on the second, third, fourth, fifth ballot. I had to get to a majority. Most state chairmen go through the process on the floor of conventions. It seems natural to us that you would have to have a majority of your party say yes, thats the person i want to be the nominee. Theres nothing wrong with that. Can you guarantee that the nominee would be one of the three candidates in the race right now . Well, i mean, i think it would be highly unlikely if its not. I can tell you that. I think it would be some what very unusual. But i cant 100 guarantee that. I cant imagine right now sitting here, believing it would be anyone but the three remaining candidates. What do you say to the stop Trump Movement talked about in the new york sometimes. Talked about recruiting a third party candidate, like governor rick perry or senator tom coburn. Will that doom your chances, as mr. Trump said . Well, sure it would. Of course it would. But i also think its far too late. I think this is a its some folks find to it be interesting. Thats great. But it isnt likely. Its probably too late. And, there is no definitive answer right now as to who the nominee is going to be of our party. So, i think all of it is far too early. Mr. Priebus, thank you for joining us. You bet, thanks. Powerhouse roundtable is next. And later, president obama has made his bid for the Supreme Court. Is that the end of the process or the beginning . That debate with Denis Mcdonough and Mitch Mcconnell. During its first year, a humpback calf and its mother are almost inseparable. She lifts her calf to its first breath of air, then protects it on the long journey to their feeding grounds. One of the most important things you can do is help the next generation. At pacific life, we offer Financial Solutions to advisor about pacific life. The power to help you succeed. I guethought to the acidity much in any foods. Never thought about the coffee i was drinking having acids. It never dawned on me that it could hurt your teeth. My dentist has told me your enamel is wearing away, and that sounded really scary to me, and i was like well can you fix it, can you paint it back on, and he explained that it was not something that grows back, its kind of a onetime shot and you have to care for it. He told me to use pronamel. Its gonna help protect the enamel in your teeth. It allows me to continue to drink my coffee and to eat healthier, and it was a real easy switch to make. And to help you accelerate,ast. Weve created a new company. One totally focused on whats next for your business. Accelerating innovation. Accelerating next. Hewlett packard enterprise. Our powerhouse roundtable weighs in on trump, the movement to stop him, and what it all means for the contest for the democrats rig after this. Him, and what it all means for the democrats, right after this. They are. Do i look smarter . Yeah, a little. Youre making money now, are you investing . Well, ive been doing some research. Let me introduce you to our broker. How much does he charge . I dont know. Okay. Uh, do you get your fees back if youre not happy . dad laughs wow, youre laughing. Thats not the way the world works. Well, the worlds changing. Are you asking enough questions about the way your wealth is managed . Wealth management, at charles schwab. Which allergyeees. Bees . Eese. Trees . Eese. Xerox helps hospitals use Electronic Health records so doctors provide more personalized care. Cheese patient care can work better. With xerox. Thats it. How was your commute . Good. Yours . Good. Xerox real time analytics make transit systems run more smoothly. And morning chitchat. Less interesting. Transportation can work better. With xerox. Were back with the roundtable. Joined by roland martin. Host and managing editor of news one now. Sara fagen, republican strategist and also with cnbc. Rich lowry, the editor of the National Review, and from the Washington Post e. J. Dionne. And author of a new book, why the right went wrong. We see it right there. Welcome to all of you. Rich lowry, let me begin with you. You were an early leader in the stop Trump Movement. The National Review had the cover story. Is this the end of the stop Trump Movement or are you just Getting Started . Just the beginning. Well be like the last japanese soldier in the jungle resisting this guy. Hes much stronger than the other candidates. But not Strong Enough to unify the party. Every time we hear hes going to turn to be more unifying or president i president ial, theres some con itemable statement or act. Trump a week or so ago saying he might consider paying the legal bills of the goon who suckerpunched the protester or trump playing warnd the ide riots at the convention. He might get to 1237. Its quite possible. Its quite possible hell fall short. Sara fagen, it seems like from talking to mr. Trump this morning, hes calculated it, the way hes talking about this violence, its perfectly fine for him. This seems like a no brainer. You condemn it. Condemn it strongly. Condemn both sides of it. The one thing hes right about, there does appear to be an element of Trump Supporters or other candidates to stir the pot at rallies. Hes right to point that out. He needs to very emphatically condemn all of this violence. He should never speak of riots. But hes not going to condemn it. Its his brand not to backtrack. This is his idea to be thug in chief. Hes not going to criticize them. He attacked john mccain, carly fiorina, when he attacks anyone, in his mind, if i say im sorry, hurt by it. Hes done it throughout the entire campaign. We shouldnt be shocked. Its a poor short term strategy. It may work for cheers at a rally. But americans want a president at the is the best and brightest of the nation. Right now, hes anything but. He didnt condemn his Campaign Manager. You said, he pulled the guys collar. He goes out there because security is not doing their job. Really . Its great point. How is this going to play out over the next weeks and months and in a general election . I think theres a way in which he can keep trying to turn the protests to his advantage within a certain part of the republican base. I think thats his calculation. And other politicians have done this in the past. But i think when you look at the polls about a general election, there is great reason for republicans to be petrified of a trump nomination, particularly among women. In a washington Hillary Clinton had a 21point lead among women voters. So i think all the republicans trying to stop him look at those numbers and say, we could lose everything with this guy. Lets talk more about the stop Trump Movement. Youre saying its just the beginning. What is the path to preventing donald trump from getting 1237 . Well, ted cruz needs to improve. If cruz were to win all of utahs delegates, that would help. It seems quite plausible. If he were to pull an upset and win arizona. That seems unlikely. Wisconsin is the next big battleground. If ted can stop trump there, thats a big deal. The trump wins there, well see a lot of these rats in the form of republican elected officials scurrying on to the ship. As soon as it appears to be sinking in a general, theyll scurry right back off. Let me bring in sara on i think the Cruz Campaign is banking on the fact that if they can win in wisconsin, that will force john kasich to drop out. All the candidates will get delegates in wisconsin. Because of the hodgepodge of rules. Winner take all statewide. Winner take all by congressional districts. Its unlikely any candidate wins all of the delegates. However, you make a valid point. As these contests start to move to the close phase primaries, where all of these various rules, if kasich and cruz together can Work Together to prevent donald trump from getting to 1237, then we get to this open convention and someone has a chance to but thats not happening. Kasich is playing a selfish and delusional role here. Theres no way a contested convention is turning to the guy thats third in the delegates. And its probably unlikely given the rules his name will be put in he doesnt win eight states. That rule will likely change. Crisis of conscience among conservatives is stunning. As you watch this. Have heard republicans say, principle, morals, values, bedrock principles. To see this struggle as, what do we do thats going against it . I think about a german theologian who joined to fight to kill hitler. I think about dr. King who chose to combat lbj on vietnam. It will be fascinating to watch people say, i have principle, and conviction. Im voting for this guy. We saw senator coburn quoted in the New York Times this morning. Rick perry, saying it would be better for republicans to lose than to win with donald trump at the head of the ticket. Its conscience. You know, this everybody is talking about the 1860 convention as the metaphor. I think it looks more like 1912 or 1964. Where a lot of republicans who are on the conservative side preferred to see Teddy Roosevelts Third Party Candidacy fail and get clobbered in the election to live to fight another day. In 1964, what is odd here, the party has moved so far to the right in 64, what you have now is moderate conservatives or actually pretty conservative conservatives, ted cruz is no moderate, saying donald trump is too extreme for the Republican Party. There is principle here. But there are multiple principles at stake. Some dont back trump because hes conservative. Some oppose trump because of the outlandish things he says. If donald trump gets the nomination, can you support him . Were not there yet. Well have to wait and see and take a coldeyed look at it. It would be a big institutional decision for us. There should be a third party candidate. Because some republicans and conservatives will want a place to park their vote in good conscien conscience. But that means republicans lose, doesnt it . The name of the game is stopping him from getting the nomination. Everything after that is jt can i ask you a question . Thats why the smartest thing for ted cruz and john kasich, neither of whom have the likely path to walk into the convention with the reck we zit delegates, should Work Together to stop this guy from getting the delegates. Then they have a chance or someone else has a chance to carry the banner forward. But no one can make them do that. You cant. But this is why were in the situation were in. Theyre all shooting at each other. The highest priority for republicans right now needs to be to stop donald trump. Would you rather lose than to have trump win . I we would surely not like to see the Republican Party lose. I think the difference between ted cruz as our nominee or donald trump . If trump is your nominee the difference between ted cruz as our nominee and donald trump, ted cruz may lose a general election. But the party moves to fight a different day. Donald trump transforms the party. It doesnt exist anymore. The fact that you had to think about it. Its also amazing that wh you started the year, two candidates most of the Republican Leadership didnt want to win the nomination. Donald trump and ted cruz. And now, to paraphrase lindsey graham, theyre picking their poison. I wouldnt go that far. Im afraid thats all we have for now. It will continue for a few more weeks. When we come back, the battle at the Supreme Court. Will Merrick Garland get a hearing . How will that change the campaign . And now, the powerhouse puzzler. Brought to you by voya financial. For his third anniversary this weekend, pope francis joined instagram with this photo. What was the caption on his first post . Re . Oh hey allison. Im val, the orange money retirement squirrel from voya. Val from voya . Yeah, val from voya. Quick question, what are voya retirement squirrels doing in my house . Were putting away acorns. You know, to show the importance of saving for the future. No, im more like a metaphor. Okay, a spokesmetaphor. No, im. Youre a spokesmetaphor. 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You know it now im seeing dollar signs. You should probably get your eyes checked. Good one babe. Optometry humor. Right now get up to 650 in credits to help you switch to at t. There is president obama with his Supreme Court pick, judge Merrick Garland in the rose garden this week. It was an emotional announcement. But Senate Republicans are unmoved, saying theres no way garland will even get a hearing before the election. Well hear from Senate Leader Mitch Mcconnell and Denis Mcdonough after this report from terry moran. Reporter after weeks of waiting, president obama delivered a surprise. Merrick garland. A 63yearold white male judge and a 20year track record. The question occurs to the d. C. Circuit court of appeals. Reporter safe to say thats not what washington was expecting. Harvard law, Corporate Law firm. Federal prosecutor in charge of the Oklahoma City bombing case. It wont get him anywhere with Senate Republicans. The Senate Majority leader instantly saying, its the next president s pick. Lets let the American People decide with npr, obama shot back. Well, in fact, the American People did decide. Back in 2012, when they elected me president of the united states. Reporter and so, let the games begin. Judge garland headed to the hill this week. Here he is meeting with democrats thursday. Some swing state republicans say theyll sit down with him, too. Only a few are open to holding a vote before november. But, could there be a lame duck confirmation . What if Hillary Clinton wins the white house . I would rather have a less liberal nominee like Merrick Garland than a nominee that Hillary Clinton if she were president , would put forward. Reporter a final twist. The president may have Public Opinion on his side. Americans by 63 to 32 said the president s nominee should get a hearing. But in this Election Year climate in washington, dont hold your breath. For this week. Terry moran, abc news, washington. Thank you, terry. Were joined now by the white ho mcdonough. Mr. Mcdonough, thank you for joining us this morning. The president has made his choice for the Supreme Court. Have you seen anything this week that makes you think the senate will give judge garland a hearing and a vote . Were happy to see the resounding support for judge garland. Unbelievably strong, unquestioned excellence as a judge for the last 18 years. On the Second Highest Court in the land. Somebody who has dedicated his life to the law. We have seen good progress. Good forward momentum. We have about 12 republican senators who have indicated that theyll meet with him. As you know, before we announced him, they said they would not meet with him. Were aware that early in the week when Congress Comes back, senator collins, a republican from maine, has agreed to meet with judge garland up in the senate. We think this is a very good progress, good momentum. We think its consistent with a long decadeslong practice and precedent of handling Supreme Court nominations this way. So we feel good about where this is headed. Were seeing the opposition ramp up as well. Including ads by the judicial network. This is in north dakota. The right to bear arms, the future of energy production. Religious freedom. Theyre all at stake. The Supreme Court will preserve or end this way of life. Senator heitkamp and president obama want to take the future of the court out of your hands. Tell senator heitkamp and president obama no. They say the people should choose. Youre response . Well, the people have chosen. The president was elected overwhelmingly, resoundingly, to a fouryear term in 2012. Im not surprised to see that the special interests are pouring a lot of money into this thing. And, what we dont want to see happen is have these unelected special interests determine the fate of someone who is a patriotic man, someone who has dedicated his life to the protection of law in this country. Have them determine the outcome. Theres a way that these things get handled. If people have the questions about the judges positions and the judges remarkable experience, including prosecuting timothy mcveigh, and prosecuting the unibomber, they should have hearings. They should vote in the committee. And then they should vote in the senate to make sure that he can assume his seat on the Supreme Court. The senate does have a right not to act. If the senate fails to act before the election, would president obama like to see judge garland confirmed in a lame duck session . Some republican senators, like jeff flake, have said that confirming garland would be preferable to giving Hillary Clinton the pick if she, indeed, is the democratic nominee and she wins . The average l nomination to confirmation is 67 days. We have more than enough time to get that done. Between now and even the early adjournment that we understand the senate plans this year. They plan to adjourn early in july rather than traditionally in august. We think there is plenty enough time to get that done before the election. We think that the court would benefit from having its full number of justices. We think that frankly would be unprecedented for the senate to do otherwise. Theres a lot of indication that its not going to happen. So my question is, what about a lame duck session . Would you like to see judge garland confirmed in a lame duck session if it comes to that . We would like to see him confirmed pursuant to regular order. Im sure you remember the op ed, in the day after the election in 2014. When senator mcconnell and Speaker Boehner said now we can get Congress Working again. In fact, one of the things the mcconnell committed to, was getting the Senate Working again. Well, getting the Senate Working again would mean giving this person meetings. A hearing. A voting committee. And a vote on the floor. Thats the way its been done. To do otherwise would be absolutely unprecedented. We think its a mistake. It risks politicizing the Supreme Court. Theres enough politicization. Finally, i want to ask you about donald trump. You saw the violence overnight. You heard him. He appears to say the protesters should be bearing much of the blame there, as well. I wonder your response to mr. Trump. And how is the president going to speak out about that over the course of this campaign . I dont have a response to mr. Trump, george. But the president gave very powerful remarks up in the house at the speakers lunch for the st. Patricks day reception with the Prime Minister of ireland. The president called on all side very peaceful, kind of robust debate that has marked this country and has made this country the envy of the world. Thats what we should be doing. Im not seeing a lot of that from the other side at the moment. Thank you for joining us. Thanks, george. Lets bring in the republican leader of the senate, Mitch Mcconnell. Senator mcconnell, thank you for joining us this morning as well. Morning. You just heard Denis Mcdonough quoting you. From your op ed after the preside election. Any chance of a vote on judge garland this year . The senate has been very much work in the last 15 months. Weve passed a lot of legislation that the president has signed. The president s chief of staff knows were very much at work. The way Supreme Court justices have been handled in president ial Election Years is very clear. Its been 80 years since a vacancy in a president ial Election Year was filled. You have to go back to 1888. Grover cleveland was in the white house the last time a vacancy created in a president ial year on the Supreme Court was confirmed by a senate controlled by the party different from the president. We know what the tradition is. Joe biden, 1992, chairman of the Judiciary Committee laid down the biden rule. He said, hen the campaign is under way, no Supreme Court judge would be confirmed. 19 in 2005, harry reid said under the constitution, this senate doesnt have an obligation to give a vote to a nominee. And chuck schumer, who will be the democratic leader next year, said 18 months before the 2008 election the Democratic Senate would not confirm a Supreme Court vacancy. So the tradition has been in a president ial Election Year, that the next president , after the American People have weighed in, gets to make the decision. Many examples. Youre saying clearly, no hearing, no vote for judge garland this year . Thats right. Yes. The principle is, look, george. The American People are in the middle of choosing who the next president is going to be. That next president ought to have this appointment, which will affect the Supreme Court for probably a quarter of a century. But they elected president obama. But the last time the American People voted was in 2014. And they elected a Republican Senate. And under the constitution, we have shared responsibility. This is not something he does alone. He nominates. We confirm. The last time the American People spoke in 2014, they gave us nine additional net seats and we took over the u. S. Senate. One of your republican senators, mark kirk spoke out this week. He said the senate should vote. Listen. Just man up and cast a vote. The tough thing about these senatorial jobs, you get yes or no votes. Yes or not and explain why. Are you confident youll hold republicans together . Well, look. Mark kirk is a great senator. Hes running this year in illinois. Im confident hell get reelected. The schedule in the senate is set by the majority leader. Most of my members are comfortable with letting the American People make the decision by electing the next president who will fill this vacancy next year. Let me move on. On tuesday, you said you told donald trump he should condemn and discourage violent acts. 24 hours later, he made the statement at riots in the convention. You heard him this morning on the violence as well. Are you worried hes not getting your message . Well, regardless of who the candidate is, i think all of the candidates fory president ough to be discouraging that kind of because the people in the audience tend to listen to those who are speaking. I think we ought to condemn this kind of violence. And encourage the American People to engage in this political debate in a respectful way. A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times said you have begun preparing senators for the prospect of a trump nomination. Assuring them if it threatened to harm them in the election, they could run negative ads about mr. Trump to create space between him and the republican senators seeking reelections. Well drop him like a hot rock. According to his colleagues. Is that what you told your colleagues . I can quote myself. I dont know what others have said about conversations that we have had. Let me make the point. We have a number of incumbent republican senators running in competitive states. Each one has done a terrific job and will be appealing to the people in their states based on their own performance. And thats what i think is the key to holding the senate. New hampshire, pennsylvania, ohio, wisconsin, nevada, for our candidates to be able to appeal based on their own records and their own views to the voters who will be participating this fall. Is donald trump helpful or harmful to that cause . Look, were going to be running the senate races no matter who the nominee is. Were not sure who the nominee will be yet. We have great candidates. I think we have an excellent chance to hold the Senate Majority. Senator mcconnell, thanks for joining us this morning. Thank you, george. Lets get more on judge garlands nomination. Dahlia litwick and carrie severino. We have both sides staked out there. Dalia, it doesnt appear that judge garland will get a hearing. Let talk about him on the merits. Would he be a solid fifth vote on the liberal side . What kind of role would you expect him to play . I think that the consensus seems to be, george, that this is a judges judge. This is a pretty moderate court of appeals. Youll find that hes very, very apt to follow precedent. Hes very apt to rule narrowly. Hes on guantanamo on one side and the other on campaign finance, forit, against it. Always, always clearly sticking to the facts of the issues. Likely to vote with the liberal bloc . I think more often than not, youll see him vote with the liberals. The notion that hes a hippie, wildeyed liberal is probably way off. And carricarrie, back in 201 when there was another vacancy, you said judge garland was about the best that the republicans could hope for. They could have done worse. They could have picked eric holder. They would move it from a 44 balance to a very reliable fifth vote. The New York Times said he would vote to the left of justice kagan. Solidly with the bloc of five liberals. He defers to administrative agencies. The epa doing unconstitutional power grabs would be in his camp, i think. A real question he would probably be the fifth vote to abortion. To get rid of limitations on abortions. Thats why planned parenthood is supporting him. That would be the case for anybody the president nominates, right . Absolutely. Probably the most liberal court we would have in the last 50 years. Let me ask you. Some liberal groups disappointed by the pick of judge garland. 63 years old. White. Moderate. Harvard. Right, another harvard. If Hillary Clinton is the nominee, and she wins, would garland be the first pick . I think subject from politics to the court. I think hillary will want to do the same thing. The idea is, lets talk about the Supreme Court. This is not about tantrum opposite the right. Issues on the left. This is putting the best possible judge on the court. The reverse question for you, then, as jeff flake said, if Hillary Clinton is the would be better to approve ins, judge garland in a lame duck session than to gamble on her choice . Do you agree . I think he may be 10 or 20 years older than her ideal candidate. The big principle here as senator mcconnell said is the American People deserve a voice right now on this. They elected a Republican Senate to put a check on this president s expansive overreach. Theyre doing it right now. After november, its anyones guess whats going to happen. Democrats are not going to be able to break senator mcconnell, are they . I think were seeing little cracks. But i think that this looks like a tantrum that is going to go on for a long time. Thank you very much. Well be right back with david muir live with the president in cuba. President in cuba. And were back now with president obama about to make History Today when he becomes the First American president to come to cuba in years. What is the mood there today . What kind of reception can the president expect . I think theres going to be an extraordinary reception here. I have to tell you, though. Cubans are, they want to hold on to their culture, their heritage. They want to embrace this opportunity perhaps for new economic freedoms. As you mentioned, the president arrives here about 4 00 today, a little after. Woo with the first family. Hell go to the embassy thats now been reopened. Hell tour old havana before sitting down with us. As you know, a little more than a year ago, i asked the president , will you visit cuba before the end of your second term . He said, well, lets look, see how things evolve. The president and the white house are aware theyre going to be asked, how has it evolved . And has there been enough change when it comes to liberties here . Human rights . Hes aware of criticism back home that this embargo still exists. Hes found as many ways around him as he can. Well ask him, does he believe he can do anything more . And will this embargo be lifted . Any chance during the end of his presidency . He does not believe thats the case. He thinks it will be the next president. Butky tell you. Here in havana, where families make about 20 a month. Fewer than 5 have internet in their homes. They are prepared. Its hard to predict how sweeping this change will be if the people of cuba are ready for it. It david muir, thank you very much. Were going to cover the president s special trip. Special covera that is all for us today. Thanks for sharing part of your sunday with us. Check out world news tonight. Ill see you tomorrow on gma. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] vago welcome to defense news. I am vago muradian. That makes the director one of the pentagons most influential voices. Sis thathe analy prompted the defense secretary to curtail the program at 40 instead of 52 ships. The decision drew the ire of top navy officials. Analysts saw the move as a positive step, marking a pentagon shift towards systems with greater range, reach,