approval rating keeps falling as inflation keeps rising. >> i'm doing everything within my power to bring down the price and address the putin price hike. >> with six months until the midterms, are voters still listening. and the red state rushed to pass the most socially conservative agenda america has seen in decades. >> we want to outlaw abortion in the state of oklahoma. >> we need to protect our young people and the lord makes you a boy when you're born, you're a boy. hello and welcome to "inside politics" on this easter sunday. i'm abby phillip. no place in ukraine is safe. that is the message that russia appears intent on sending this weekend. its forces have intensified their shelling in the east and south of the country as they prepare for a major new assault in the donbas region. there were also strikes in major cities far from the eastern front, including lviv, kyiv and kharkiv. a deadline set by russia for ukrainian forces in mariupol to surrender has come and gone. what is left of that city is on the verge of falling. mariupol has been decimated by weeks of russian attacks. thousands are thought to be dead. >> translator: the situation in mariupol remains as severe as possible. just inhuman. this is what the russian federation did, deliberately did, and deliberately continues to destroy cities. >> cnn's matt rivers joins us now from lviv. matt, at the moment, mariupol is still standing, but this is a tense moment. what is the status now that russia has delivered this ultimatum. >> reporter: abby, that ultimatum from all replaining ukrainian resistance to lay down their arms and surrender, that passed about two hours ago now. what we heard from the ukrainian side is they have no intention to surrender, they'll keep fighting. the russians say anyone who continues to exist in that city will be eliminated. so, what all this means is that the siege that mariupol has been under for weeks now, the fighting that it's seen, will apparently go on. now, what we're hearing from the russians is that they have said that the resistance pocket remains quite small, centered on the steel plant but the ukrainian side trying to push the narrative that the resistance is actually bigger than that. they say there are resistance pockets across the city, including saturday night. they're fighting just five kilometers away from the steel plant. competing messages from both sides. we should not omit the fact there are tens of thousands of civilians, abby, that remain trapped in mariupol this sunday here in ukraine. ukraine announced ukraine and russia were not able to agree on a civilian evacuation route, which means all those civilians after weeks and weeks of being trapped in that city without necessary food and water, this he remain trapped today. >> a horrible situation there. where you are in lviv right now, tell us about what the situation is there, in northwest ukraine. >> reporter: sure. what we're seeing across the country, as we wait for this offensive, that is gearing up in the east we expect to begin in earnest, as we is he shelling, we expect ground troops to start moving in the days and weeks ahead, we continue to see isolated attacks by russian missiles in different parts of the country. kyiv, three straight days of missiles landing in and around the city. yesterday in a southeastern direct in that city. overnight there was a missile that landed in a suburb outside of kyiv. that's what we're seeing in kyiv. in lviv, we've had several straight nights being woken up by air raid sirens and we were told by the ukraine defense ministry yesterday they shot down three cruise missiles headed to an unspecified target in the lviv region. >> stay safe. thank you institute ukrainians are getting extra firepower today. the first shipments of new u.s. weapons began arriving in the country this weekend, officials say. the $800 million package includes heavy weapons and artillery the u.s. was hesitant to send until now. joining me with their reporting and analysis is washington post pentagon reporter karoun demirjian and evelyn farkas. thank you both for being here. we are at what seems to be a major pivot point for the ukrainians. this coming battle could be decisive and the americans are responding by sending weapons. it seems to be a change. a change in willingness to do the next step that, perhaps, they thought was, escalating just a few weeks ago. >> you saw there was this resistance proeviously by the u.s. administration that they thought would be provocations by russian federation. you saw that happen around the warplanes issue, around various other types of munitions. we have made a pivot in a way. you're talking about attack helicopters being provided now, humvees, you're talking about h oco witzers. if you look back six weeks ago, everybody was saying, russians are makingmy tas, ukrainians are fighting hard. we've seen that pivot. people are saying, wait, they could actually win this. they are putting russians on the back foot and they have a chance and opportunity before they get fully reorganized in donbas for ukrainians to strike hard and fast and push them back. >> how do you see this? >> i think the big picture is the biden administration, it feels to me, that they have decided that putin has to be defeated and the only way to defeat him is on the battlefield in ukraine. it's not going to happen through sanctions, it's not going to happen through diplomacy, even though those are important components of all this, but the real way to defeat vladimir putin is on the battlefield. that means we have to give ukrainians longer range air defense systems, all the things karoun just mentioned. those are the ways ukraine can push back the russians. we'll see if they can push them out of the country. >> russia has responded by saying, you all better stop sending these weapons. they sent a diplomatic note -- letter saying, we call on the united states and its allies to stop the irresponsible militarization of ukraine, which implies unpredictable consequences. i imagine in the white house and the pentagon they're like, the point is -- that is the point of sending these weapons. do you think these threats, this threat, but also just the kind of environment of potential nuclear retaliation, chemical weapon retaliation, is it serious? >> on the one hand, abby, you see that the kremlin is constantly launching these kinds of threats. they're waving the nuclear sabre all the time. i feel like sometimes it's a little like crying wolf but we can't dismiss it entirely because they have a lower threshold for nuclear use, especially tactical nuclear weapons. there is a chance but we can't let it deter us. ultimately we have to help the ukrainians win this and to win this war. >> i was going to say, russians cannot win an actual conventional land war against nato forces. they would be decimated very, very quickly. and i think they know that. but it is the element of we might be crazy here. you don't know how far we might be willing to go. >> which is why their threats, sweden and finland are now saying, we want to do this and maybe as soon as summer joining nato after resisting for quite some time. russia is saying, we're going to move our nuclear further west but they know that's not a fight, as you pointed out, that they can win. >> for sweden and finland, this is the moment to do it. russia says, if you're not in nato, it will do potentially what it's doing in ukraine. if you're finland and sweden, you want nato's backing, no questions ask. russia can send nuclear weapons further than across land borders. moving them further west is not everything. >> they have nuclear capable weapons close to finland and sweden. the other reality is, let's face it, we have nuclear deterrents. i hope the white house is speaking to russians, reminding them we also have nuclear weapons. not that we would ever want to get into that situation -- >> the fact they even need to be reminded. yes, the united states has nuclear weapons. one fascinating thing about the last -- actually several weeks. president biden and his rhetoric, his evolution, on how he uses language in this context. take a listen to how he discussed his use of the word genocide when it comes to what russia is doing in ukraine. >> yes, i called it genocide because it's become clearer and clearer that putin is trying to wipe out the idea of ukraine. we'll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies but it seems that way to me. >> the white house has in some cases walked some of his more intense rhetoric back. but has biden changed his view of whether it matters that he calls a spade a spade, for example? >> i mean, my view as a former policy maker who worked with president biden when he was vice president, he's doing what a political leader does, you call it what it is and let the lawyers argue whether it's legal or not. he's leading the international community right now by coming out and saying exactly what vladimir putin is doing. >> biden speaks from the heart and when he says putin has to go, there's a tangible consequence, do the russians see everything we're doing as regime change. genocide is a powerful word. i know personally how much of a powerful word that can be. but it's not a word that has immediate consequences for what you have to do for tangible ones. he can speak from the heart. nobody in the government has to walk it back but it puts it out there. if you look at the genocide convention, it's trying to kill people or move them forcibly because of their nationality or their religion or race. it's kind of in the right wheelhouse. >> there have been other teams, for example, when biden said, putin cannot remain in power. the white house was like, no, no, no, that's not what he meant. in this case, as you pointed out, they didn't walk it back quite as strongly and that's an important sign of the distinction and language. evelyn and karoun, thank you. coming up, the pride of russia's navy fleet is at the bottom of the black sea. how big of a setback is this for rurussia's military mission. 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>> i think the ukrainians are going to continue to fight. and i don't see them surrendering. i know that's what the russians want to play this as. i don't see it happening. they're too tough, to resourceful. they realize it would be a psychological and political victory for vladimir putin if they did surrender. urban warfare is incredibly difficult. it's going to take, i think, more time to root them out there. they've been there for six weeks and they haven't been successful in making them surrender. i don't see it happening to the timeline the russians want us to believe. but it could happen. that would be, of course, a major blow to them. it's not as operationally significant as, perhaps, some would want us to believe. >> meanwhile, the russians are trying to regroup, trying to resupply, reposition themselves in the eastern part of the country for this upcoming battle. walk us through what we can expect and what timeline are we talking about for when this battle for the east, for the donetsk region is going to happen. >> i think we're still a couple of weeks away. they had 130 battalion tactical groups that started this fight. we know 40 to 50 of them are combat ineffective. it's going to take a while. it's not like a light switch we can turn it on and off. this is not a good army. this is a third rate army. they are poorly led, poorly equipped, they don't execute good tactics. they're not suddenly going to jump into a phone booth and jump out as superman how they fight. the problem with their strategy is they continue to violate the principle of mass. they don't concentrate their efforts. they're trying to attack on a 1200-mile front. the greatest likelihood of success would be to pick one spot, probably toward donetsk, attack through already held russian separatist areas, utilize interior lines to keep their supply lines open, and use brute force, mechanized warfare, heavy artillery, to try to push them out. >> you're talking about the city of done hetsk, is adjacent to t separatist-backed area. you say they need to push north. >> i think that's the greatest likelihood of success. people talked about them coming down from the north, even coming up from the south. they have not shown they can execute fire maneuver, they can execute combined arms. they don't know how to integrate aviation, ground assets to successfully synnergize their efforts. >> they have to go through the ukrainians at this point. >> they would have to. they're dug in in those positions. they could -- they have friendly area. the russian separatists are supporting them. they're not going to have the interdiction to the supply lines they've been having thus far. remember, if they want to get 40 battalion tactical groups to move into donetsk, they need 200 trucks a day -- >> the russians. >> the russians will need. that's a huge exposure. that's why they can't attack through the north or south because those flights would be exposed. if they come up through donetsk, they could protect the supply lines. >> let's talk about what the ukrainians have at their disposal. the u.s. is sending a lot more weapons. some are heavy weaponry they have been asking for, including helicopters, switchblade drones, howitzers. what is the most impressive here? >> i like the switch-blade drones. we've been talking about heavy maneuver warfare. you need the q36 radars, the anti-radars. we've got 300 kamikaze drones. i think we need 3,000 drones. i think -- the reason the ukrainians are winning is their willing to fight, and technology. show their resourcefulness. like they took out the movska ship. >> the ukrainians want a package like this every day. they need this on a constant, ongoing basis. what is the logistical challenge to make that happen? >> we have an incredible strategic air force. i used to be a joint lift validater. i can tell you, we have 232 c17s. the c5s, we can fly to poland in a matter of hours. a c-5 can take two m-1 tanks. we can establish and we have established an air bridge into poland. and then poland we need to essentially -- in world war ii we had this effort called the red ball express. 6,000 trucks a day pushing. we can set up another red ball express in warsaw and lviv to push 600 miles using trucks, rail, river barges, everything we can to move as much as we can into donbas. >> this is what is possible in your mind. it has not happened up to this point. >> they are doing a great job thus far because they have great logistics. we can ramp up our support. we can use a lot more of our strategic air fleet, the most capable in the world. there's no reason we're flying eight to ten plane loads right now, we could be flying 50 to 60 a day. >> there's a lot more room for us. >> we need to pick it up, push the attack and take it to the russians. >> brigadier general steven anderson, thank you for being with us. coming up next, president biden wants voters to hear his plans to fight inflation but 15 months into his presidency, they have already tuned him out? frank is a fan of fast. he's a fast talker. a fast walker. thanks, gary. and for unexpected heartburn... frank is a fan of pepcid. it works in minutes. nexium 24 hour and prilosec otc can take one to four days to fully work. pepcid. strong relief for fans of fast. at xfinity, we live and work in the same neighborhood as you. we're always working to keep you connected to what you love. and now, we're working to bring you the next generation of wifi. it's ultra-fast. faster than a gig. supersonic wifi. only from xfinity. it can power hundreds of devices with three times the bandwidth. so your growing wifi needs will be met. supersonic wifi only from us... xfinity. a stubborn pandemic, record high gas prices and a horrific war in eastern europe, which is what is defining president biden's second year in office. the approval rating after he botched the withdrawal from afghanistan and amid a resurgence of covid, it's been dropping ever since. it's 39% in the latest cnn poll of polls. but biden still thinks he can win back the voters rz who have lost faith in him. >> our economy's gone from being on the mend to being on the move. now, i know we still facing challenges of high prices, inflation. i'm doing everything within my power by executive order to bring down the price and address the putin price hike. >> joining me now with their reporting and insights, molly ball of "time" magazine, jordan fabian and mel zi zanona. the biden administration is pivoting. biden wants americans to know he's listening, their paying attention. they're trying to do incremental things on the supply chain and chips. but is this all baked in at this point? are voters moveable? >> abby, i think they are moveable, but they need to see some movement on inflation for voters to be moved. at a certain point, you can't job own inflation. americans are noticing they're paying more for things like gas and food. the sense at the white house is even if inflation starts to go down later this year, they might see voters come back in their direction, but time is running out and they need to see that movement soon. the problem for them is the president himself can't do much to bring down inflation. it will take action from the federal reserve for that to take place. that could take months or even longer for voters to see the effect of that. >> the other issue for biden is some of his efforts to address some of these issues like gas prices have put him in the crosshairs of his own base. like at climate change, this week they announced they'll resume drilling on public lands. you see he's losing support of young voters. he's in a real bind here. >> it's an environment of overall discontent. you've got a poll, a cbs ugov poll showing liberals, democrats are split on whether the economy is good or bad. there are those out there saying, you guys, and the media keep talking about inflation, but even people who probably voted for president biden still think this is potentially -- this is a real problem that they're experiencing in their lives. >> i think the bigger problem for biden is just as jordan was saying, people correctly perceive he's not in control of the situation. i think ever since that afghanistan last summer, people have had -- voters overall have not had a sense of leadership from the white house. have not had a sense that there's a president in control, who is strong and consistent and know what he's doing and can project, you know, a consistent message from one day or the next, even when they agree with what he's doing, like broadly on ukraine where the public generally supports the overall strategy of supporting the ukrainians and rallying the international community while drawing the line at sending troops, you still have the president continually stepping on his own message, the white house continually having to correct things he said. i think, overall, it's harder for him -- it's not any particular policy or particular decision that he's made so much as people just questioning whether -- you know, whether there is strong leadership going on. >> the alarm bells among democrats are ringing and it's not just to sort of say things are bad. they want the party to do something. here's a five-alarm fire from president biden's own pollster. >> they don't feel democrats can get their [ bleep ] together and get things done. so, you know, if we're able to do something, skinny bbb or whatever, on health insurance costs, prescription drug costs, you know, elderly care, child care, that's a big deal and it will cut through the inflation narrative, the ukraine narrative, the afghan narrative, the border narrative, et cetera. >> so, that's a whole -- that's a long list of maybe if you can do something, but can anything get done. >> that's a great question. i think democrats think one of their chances to turn things around is passing a scaled back version of build back better that would address climate change and some other social spending issues. that's a tough task. they tried and failed to do that once already. time is running out. i think the other thing they're hopeful for is, perhaps, there's going to be a ruling on abortion this summer that can energize their base voters. but there's a lot that needs to happen to turn things around. >> i'll just go back to say, though, i think there's a kernel of truth to what john said but ultimately voters don't feel it in their pocketbooks, it's not going to matter. they could get a good headline from passing a bill like that, but if they're still paying high gas and food prices, they'll get punished at the ballot tox. >> this is how tim ryan is addressing this. >> who here is tired of getting hammered by inflation? we have to lower costs and help people. both parties need to stop wasting time on stupid fights. we have to take on china, fix our supply chains by making things in america. >> yes, they need to feel it in their pocketbooks but also not deny it's happening, too. do you see this message working? >> we'll see. it's always tough for candidates to distance themselves from the white house or president of their own party. it's a common thing in midterm when the president is thinking for candidates to do this. as melanie was talking about, you risk losing some of your base and risk not addressing those independent voters. it's always a risky bet. we'll see if it works in this case or other cases. the more you see democratic candidates start to do this, i think the more alarm bells will be ringing in the white house because it is a sign they sense there is nothing to be gained by continuing to be allies of the. the. >> one interesting thing just in the last week, some new poll numbers as you mentioned about young voters, you know, before we go, what do you think is going on here? biden down 21% gen z, 20% with millenials, 14% with all voters. but with young voters he's losing ground and quick. >> biden made a lot of campaign promises about student debt, et cetera, for young voters and he hasn't delivered on a lot of those. those are a tremendous failure. what's interesting to me, the white house keeps doing this incremental move on student debt to postpone it, you know, i think a lot of democrats like to see them make that permanent. >> maybe they're teeing it up for weeks before the midterms. >> that's perhaps true. we'll have to see what happens. >> i don't think many parties are counting on young voters in a midterm but is it a canary in the coal mine, i think something we'll be looking at. red states aren't waiting on the supreme court to overturn roe versus wade, some are already passing laws to ban nearly all abortions. when you really commit to a garden and nurture it, your energy goes into the fruits and the vegetables that you're growing. find more ways to grow at miracle-gro.com if you used shipgo this whole thing wouldn't be a thing. yeah, dad! i don't want to deal with this. oh, you brought your luggage to the airport. that's adorable. with shipgo shipping your luggage before you fly you'll never have to wait around here again. like ever. that can't be comfortable though. shipgo.com the smart, fast, easy way to travel. out here, you're more than just a landowner. you're a gardener. a landscaper. a hunter. because you didn't settle for ordinary. same goes for your equipment. versatile, powerful, durable kubota equipment. more goes into it. so you get more out of it. bipolar depression. it made me feel trapped in a fog. this is art inspired by real stories of bipolar depression. i just couldn't find my way out of it. the lows of bipolar depression can take you to a dark place. latuda could make a real difference in your symptoms. latuda was proven to significantly reduce bipolar depression symptoms and in clinical studies, had no substantial impact on weight. this is where i want to be. call your doctor about sudden behavior changes or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report fever, confusion, stiff or uncontrollable muscle movements, which may be life threatening or permanent. these aren't all the serious side effects. now i'm back where i belong. ask your doctor if latuda is right for you. pay as little as zero dollars for your first prescription. here we go... remember, mom's a kayak denier, so please don't bring it up. bring what up, kayak? 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i don't think anybody thinks oklahoma is going to turn into a blue state over this issue. will that change? no matter what the supreme court does, overturning roe v. wade doesn't make abortion illegal across the country. it will be interesting to see how this plays out. it is, as melanie said, a completely new landscape for something that's always been an important issue. >> it doesn't automatically make abortion illegal but it does allow some state laws to go into effect. the interesting -- one of the interesting things you pointed out, roe v. wade had been viewed as settled. other things like lgbtq rights, gay marriage, now you have republicans taking on the issue of trans athletes in women's sports, the use of, you know, gender-affirming care for minors, making those things major campaign issues. and also actually broadly relitigating lgbt issues in this country. >> it's interesting. if you look at that broadly, especially on abortion, repealing roe v. wade is not a popular position. in the history of the gallup poll, it's never crossed above 40%. if you look at the senate map, a lot of contested rates are happening in purple states like arizona, georgia, pennsylvania, where there's still a lot of pro-life voters, suburban voters who kicked donald trump out of office. this is an animating issue for republicans, clearly, but they might be giving democrats an opening if they, perhaps, overreach here, go too far with some of these laws and you start seeing some of the effects of these laws if they're allowed to take place. >> on the point about abortion, broadly popular, but look at the movement on same-sex marriage. 1996, 27% support. 2021, 70% support. and yet the line now from many conservatives is that, you know, gay teachers talking about being gay in schools is grooming, et cetera, et cetera. but one of the reasons this is happening, of course, is because republicans can do it. in the state legislatures, in this country, republicans have a trifecta. they control the house, the senate and the governorship in 23 states. and in three states where they don't control the governorship, they have super majorities that can override a democratic governor. that is what happened in the state of kentucky. the lesson, perhaps, for democrats is the time to have won these elections was ten years ago? maybe longer? >> well, easier said than done. i feel leak i hear democrats say after every election, oh, why weren't we putting more money into state legislative races? you have to be in the same place as the voters. i think that's the bigger problem for democrats on some of these social issues. republicans aren't relitigating gay marriage in a lot of these cases but they have taken assertive substances on things like trans rights and gender identity where they have staked out unpopular issues. that's a classical wedge issue. that's how you do it. it will be interesting to see where this lines up and how big a factor it is, whether in local elections or national elections because so much is happening on the state level. >> is the strategy politically for democrats one of avoidance or are there democrats talking about how do we address this? >> i'm definitely struggling to figure it out. they haven't coalesced around a message yet. they're on their heels, playing defense in a lot of these cases. we have seeing a broad strategy starting to emerge. they're painting republicans as extreme, saying they're turning back the clock on abortion rights, on gay marriage. whether that's a winning message, we'll see. >> 100%. unfortunately for a lot of people who might be affected by this, you might have to see the negative effects of these laws to see women being denied access to abortion, perhaps a lawsuit involving these lgbt cases for it to take hold in voters' minds that, wow, there are consequences to these laws. we're starting to see the white house talk more about it more. jen psaki has read statements from the podium about abortion which we haven't heard them weigh in on social issues too much in the past. >> i think this is -- we are having a political conversation here at the table about the moving the ball in one direction or another, but at the end of the day, the people affected are actual people in these states. a lot of the laws, especially when it comes to abortion, are not actually in effect. legislatures have passed these laws, they've been stayed. but if the supreme court takes this on and rolls back roe v. wade, we could be looking at a very different scenario in this country. coming up next for us, trump makes two high-profile picks in senate primaries but some in maga world says he's backing the wrong candidates. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ voltaren. the joy of movement. i recommend nature made vitamins, because i trust their quality. they were the first to be verified by usp, an independent organizatn that sets strict quaty and purity standards. natu made. the #1 pharmacist recommended tamin and supplement brand. i ve moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are getting clearer, i feel free ♪ ♪ to bare my skin ♪ ♪ yeah, that's all me ♪ ♪ nothing and me go hand in hand ♪ ♪ nothing on my skin, that's my new plan ♪ ♪ nothing is everything ♪ achieve clearer with skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months. of those, nearly 9 out 10 sustained it through 1 year. and skyrizi is 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. ♪ i see nothing in a different way ♪ ♪ it's my moment so i just gotta say ♪ ♪ nothing is everything ♪ skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms such as fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs, or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. ♪ nothing is everything ♪ talk to your dermatologist about skyrizi. learn how abbvie could help you save. when it comes to a few high-profile recent endorsements, former president donald trump is ignoring advice from allies and aides and going with his gut. his latest choice is j.d. vance in ohio's senate primary. vance is running against three other trump loyalists and hasn't led in any major polls and bashed trump repeatedly in 2016. thumb said, like some others, j.d. vaccine hesitancy may have said some not so great things about me in the past, but he gets it now. molly, vance is a fascination of washington because he was a completely different person four years ago. trump is making this endorsement against the will of a lot of maga supporters inside ohio and out of it. is he setting himself up for failure? >> when i spoke to j.d. vaccine hesitancy a couple months ago, his gamble was essentially what trump had just said, that trump would recognize that he does get it now and he has come around to embrace not what he sees as a consistent set of issues that trump supports, but also trump himself. if there were a sort of maga consensus in this race, the primary would not be so unsettled. it's clear from the fact that it is such a fractured primary field, candidates trying to project to republican voters that they are the maga candidate, that there was no consensus. trump is doing a service by saying here is the one i say is the maga choice. will the republican voters of ohio now coalesce around j.d. vance given that many of the other candidates have credentials, have local support, have different types of appeal in this race? that remains to be seen. but trump clearly is signaling to the republican electorate that out of a field of pretty maga heavy candidates, this is the one he sees as most legitimate. >> trump doesn't have to get involved to be clear. >> that's a very important point. he's doing this by choice. >> it's very unusual to see former presidents this involved in competitive republican primaries. it's a huge gamble. you better believe his 2024 rivals will be looking at this race very closely for any signs of weakness. trump wants to show he's still a dominant force in the party and wants to stay relevant if he runs again. >> you're seeing this happen not just in ohio but in pennsylvania where david mccormick who was bringing on a lot of tomorrow trump people and he went with dr. oz. >> it's going to be a big test for trump. we've got ohio, north carolina, pennsylvania where he endorsed dr. oz, texas, georgia, lots of candidates coming up on the ballot. >> the point i was going to make about dr. oz, trump is endorsing perhaps weaker candidates in the field than stronger candidates who have pro trump credentials. if these candidates end up losing winnable senate races to democratic candidates, that will hurt trump's credibility and could hurt his chances in 204 if he chooses to run again. >> "the washington post" has a story thabt very idea saying in key contests trump's statements have not cleared the field like they once did. some fear he's diluted endorsements by backing hundreds of candidates in low-level positions all because of their willingness to support his false claims of election fraud. a lot of this is about the big lie. >> the other thing he does is ensures his winning percentage stays pretty high. he can always say well, 90, 95 of my endorsed candidates who lost his endorsement, has never been a sure thing in republican politics. there's always candidates with different connections to the republican electorate that trump's endorsement was not big enough to overcome. you almost get a sense from the way that he has embraced the maximum chaos choice in some of these primaries that he almost just enjoys the process. we know he loves holding court at mar-a-lago and having people come and suck up to him. it's possible he's enjoying the process. he does care if the endorsements are successful as we've seen. >> he wants to be the decision maker, and in this case, actually outside of office, he's saying to his advisers, hey, you guys stay over there. i'm the guy making the choice at the end of the day. thank you all for being here and thank you for watching this sunday. that's it for us on "inside politics sunday." you can also listen to our podcast. download "inside politics" wherever you get your podcast. you can also scan the qr code at the bottom of your screen. up next, "state of the union" with jake tapper and dana bash. jake's special guest this sunday is ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy. happy easter and have a great rest of your day. lactaid is 100% real milk, just without the lactose. tastes great in our iced coffees too. which makes waking up at 5 a.m. to milk thcows a little easier. 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