You can never get enough of it. Change the way you experience tv with xfinity x1. Good morning. Its tuesday, may 10th. Welcome to morning joe. How is everybody . Its a good day. I was talking to my dad yesterday and he goes donald trump, why dont he stop i dont understand his strategy. I couldnt explain it. With us on set legendary columnist mike barnacle, the managing editors of Bloomberg Politics that airs at 6 00 on Msnbc Mark Halperin who would
not like that show . Last night we had jeff daniels on. He was great. He drives an rv. Yes, he does. Maybe you should switch from the truck or the rv. No. Im going with the truck. So mike and i had a bet about donald trump winning the republican nomination. I get a truck if he wins the nomination. And i have chosen forest green, just so you know. We have an update on that . I do. I have an update. Its on order. Really . Seriously . Its on order. December 20th, 2026. No. Talking about a strike but its on delivery. Speakers . Everything. Dice hanging from the mirror. All right. There you go. Im excited. Ill put a broom in the gun rack. Joe is sick. Hopefully hell join us. Well see. A lot of people said oh, please. Yeah, he wrote an incredible piece for the Washington Post. It matches the conversation and the events. Because the stakes are high for donald trump as he faces a series of pivotal meetings in his bid to unite a fractured Republican Party torn between the establishment and the outside forces that overwhelm them. On thursday trump will sit down with Top Republican leaders in the house and the senate including Speaker Paul Ryan and mitch mcconnell. One of the scheduled attendees is senator roy blunt facing reelection in missouri this year. He put out a statement. Mccarthy signed up to be a trump delegate yesterday. But speaker ryan left wiggle room and potentially opened an escape hatch by saying he would step down as chairman of this summers Republican National convention. I want to get to him better. I dont know him. We had one conversation a few months ago, and basically with the kind of conversation im hoping we can have together, not just the two of us, but all of us how we can unify our party. I believe between now and july we will be able to figure out how to unify our party. If he asked you to step down . Ill do whatever. Hes the nominee. Ill do whatever he wants respect to the convention. Still the emergency rooms
have their reservations freshman senator shelly moore of West Virginia told politico i havent met him yet. I want to talk to him about some issues and others like senator kelly ayotte are trying to balance handling trump. This is a tough balance. You kind of cant do the balance. It doesnt work. It kind of comes out hallow. Trump and preserving their seats in the upcoming reelection. Do you support, do you endorse donald trump . I think each person will make their own decision. Ive said that im going to vote for our republican nominee, but i dont intend to endorse anyone in this race. All right. So either youre for him or not. I guess the problem is theyre trying to figure out what is going to happen still. Are people hedging their bet to the bitter end . She is hedging her bet. Shes in tough race against the governor who is also popular. She believes, correctly, that
her fatd of keeping her job or not could depend exclusive or near exclusively how donald trump performs. She wants to be able to win even if he crashes or burns. Or if he does well, she wants to grab his coat tails. Roy blunt, paul ryan, all the people hes going to be meeting with want to be convinced his conservative principles. What could he say in a 15 or 30minute conversation to undo his record of not having conservative principles . I really have no idea. And nothing hes been doing in the last week or so as he shifted around in the various positions. Some of the shifts are in some ways time honored. In which nominees try to position themselves in a more moderate direction. Trump is in a terrible bind. Everything he does to move to the center to look like he would be a more palatable general election nominee upsets conservatives. The ones who liked his tax plan. I thought he didnt care about upsetting people, mike. I dont think he cares. I thought he didnt care well, he better start caring. Hes the nominee of the Republican Party. Kelly ayotte is a perfect example. Were going to go through several months of various candidates statewide candidates for the senate of congress basically acting as if donald trump is he who must not be named. They never mentioned his name. We have just had the election of a muslim mayor in london. And what happens if donald trump ever becomes president . Does he allow the muslim mayor in london . He talked about that yesterday. He said he would, perhaps make an exception for the mayor of london. I think youre right. He cant erase the past. I think they want three things. They want him to show hes going to race money for republicans and build infrastructure, they want him to be consistent. They dont want every day to be
a different storyline. They just want him to seem like hes got a plan between now and november. They want him to be on the offense against Hillary Clinton. They want him to make the election about Hillary Clinton. If he dhau, i think well win over a lot of the party. Theres a piece in the New York Times about fundraising. Donald is selffunded so far. Hes the president ial candidate of the Republican Party. Hes trashed vast expanses of the Republican Party en route to his high fought, and welldeserved win to the nomination. What does he do now . Say give me some money . Its going to be a mutual thing. Theyll join a fundraising agreement. Trump wants the party to raise money for him. He has no real fundraising apparatus. He doesnt have a donor network. He doesnt bring to bear that most of the republican nominees brought to bear. Theyre staring down the barrel according to that story. He has to raise a billion and a half dollars between now and
september, you know, not very many months. And a number of very senior republican strategists said for any republican nominee raising that kind of money would be hard even if you had a full scale fundraising operation. Trump has literally none of that. Look at these, though. Some Top Republican donors did sign on with trump yesterday. Anthony scaramucci, National Finance chair for mitt romney. Thats paypal peter thiel, Stanley Hubbard. He once gave money to a stop trump pack. He has come around. He told politico so, i mean, first of all, wow. If there was a strong independent candidate, this would be the time, it seems. We have to get to hillary
clinton and her responding to trump yesterday. I see a lot of weakness on both sides. Remember, trump is fundraising from a standing start. He didnt have to do this throughout the republican nominating process. Hillary clinton has a network that goes back literal lay generation. He has all the things in motion. And trump is just starting now. But hes definitely aggressive and ferocious and how she responds to that, i think, could make him look strong or terrible. I think, again, my gut is Hillary Clinton needs to be Hillary Clinton, the one you meet one on one. Yesterday she went out and it seemed like a campaignorganized event. It seemed like everybody around her were sort of like positioned and set up almost human shields from the attacks coming to her instead of the issues she was talked about. She was going get asked the
questions about what donald trump said about bill clinton and where donald trump is going on this. Shes going to have to just be herself. Because herself has always been the best thing for her. This is the event yesterday. Well get to it later. I think its an event organized about families. Of course, she was asked all the questions about bill clinton. The press was relentless about it. It was a very awkward place to be answering the questions. And all the people there were set up. It just it just, at some point, has to be hers to own. She will do an amazing job, if they get out of her way. Back to donald trump, though, and what is going on with him . She may have not have to work a that hard. Hes not. Joe has a piece for the Washington Post entitled the art of the deal. He writes
i guess the point hes making there is hes riffing. It works. It has worked for him through the primary. Theres been a lot of red meat you can throw out there. Now its about consistency, as you said, Mark Halperin. Its about the issues. She will she will just clean up on this, Hillary Clinton. People will be scared. And they will ultimately not want to make that decision. So inconsistent. Shes been through tree president ial campaigns, shes been the first lady, shes backed by hundreds secretary of state. Secretary of state. Shes backed by hundreds of people. Shes won elections. Theyve thought this through and hes not going against the weakness most overrated field of candidates of all time. Hes going against a professional operation. A machine. Spot on, improvising, making it up daytoday, thinking you say one thing on monday and a different thing on tuesday, its going to make winning for him really tough. He needs to be uncharacteristically disciplined while still being himself. And not to mention, willie, were not denying that what he has done is nothing short of incredible. Nothing short of historic. Nothing short of just never seen before in the history of
politics. Modern day politics, for sure. And speaker ryan, i dont think any House Speaker before this has done this. So you can argue hes being careful or a little difficult. But donald trump has to look at his responses. He has it going on in his gut and it serves well this far. Now he has to start thinking about moving forward in the general election and being consistent in his positions. We saw this week with the taxes the wealthy. His tax plan came out lower out last fall and lower taxes for everybody. Now he might raise them for the rich. He cant hopscotch on policy issues like that otherwise people will not take him seriously. He was able to do it in the narrow lane of republican primary voters. But he has to open it now. Dont be sarah palin. Were hearing, like, a couple of different theories at minimum over the past few days. Its instructive to look at what happened to the Trump Campaign over the past few days. The idea he takes on Elizabeth Warren in a twitter war. Why he did that is no one knows. The idea hes going after bill clintons behavior a quarter of a century ago. That he thinks this triggers something in voters minds. Clearly he does. You dont hear it from ordinary people. It leads to the theory that the window is still open for some sort of a third party candidacy. An independent candidacy. I dont know about Ballot Access. What do you think . Well, you know, its a very tricky thing to do. Split it up. There are Ballot Access questions. The deadline for texas passed yesterday. You cant be on the ballot in texas. There are states you get on the ballot. Theres a lot of complex legalities around that. And the question of all the huge obstacles to run against a third party or independent candidate
that existed that have kept people like Mike Bloomberg from running on successive elections. You have to be a win per. Its hard to win. Is there a way for an independent candidate to get on the ballot and get the 270 . Not impossible, but not impossible but not the most likely or probably scenario youre going to come across, i dont think. Donald trump spent the weekend branding Hillary Clinton as an enabler of her husbands affairs. At an event in Northern Virginia yesterday, clinton sidestepped a response after holding a discussion with young families. As she turns her focus to swing states. The meeting was closed to the public and attendees were outnumbered by the press who repeatedly asked clinton for her reaction to trump. Im going to let him run his campaign whoever he chooses. Im going run my campaign which is about a positive vision for our country with specific plans that i think will help us solve
problems that were facing. Do you think at some point youll have to respond to these accusations . You saw what happened during the primary when things he said went unanswered. Why not sort of im answering him all the time. No im answering him on what i think voters care about. Im answering him on the differences between our records, our experience, what we want to do for our country, how important it is to try to unify the country, and i have been very clear that a lot of his rhetoric is not only reckless, its dangerous. What is your substance . Im running my campaign. Im not running against him. Hes doing a fine job of doing that himself. Okay. Very, very uncomfortable situation. Shes being put in. Mark halperin, i guess this set up of events because cable news
outlets dip into them all day kbrp still do those . I think i have an aversion that is stronger than others. I think trying to get coverage but she wants to be showing herself in situations showi showing unity, diversity, women, and trying to focus on issues. So that tableau is in keeping with how they like to run against donald trump for the next several months. Right. Theres also, i mean, what does it say about us, the media, that were asking Hillary Clinton about literally something that occurred 25 years ago and has been resolved, at least legally, and i think resolved i dont know anybody who is concerned that one of the top five issues what bill clinton did 25 years ago. I dont. Maybe im living in a different universe. Shes banking on that. You can see shes playing the four corners offense, which is you have to hold the ball and ignore the other guy. In the case of bill clinton
indrei indiscretions and affairs i think her best policy is to ignore it and trust the voters arent interested in it. And we have Political Party in opposition to Hillary Clinton, the Republican Party, of which a large percentage of that party seems focussed on who has the right to go to what bathroom. What is going on here . No answers . Well, look, if donald trump were here. What he would say, i think, is hes trying to make this not just about president clintons personal life and things president clinton did but trying to take to a slightly different place which suggests that Hillary Clinton was an enabler of that activity and shes never been held to account for that. Thats where hes trying to take the argument. Whether it finds purchase with the press. It seems a little bit as that cowe
caught on camera. Will voters believe that . At least the history has been that people found Hillary Clinton sympathetic figure over president clintons indiscretions, you know, in the late 90s. People looked at having been a survivor and supportive of her husband come through with her own identity and made her senator of new york. It worked to her advantage politically then. Is there some weird which it can be used against her now . I dont see it but apparently donald trump does. Yeah. What do you think . I think that in i cant even imagine what it would be like to be in a situation like that, but i just find that when something is being thrown at you, the best thing is to be honest and vulnerable and real. And i think usually the person throwing the mud ends up looking bad. So i dont know if its fair game. I think in some ways i guess it is. But i think she has to sort of
find her own voice with that. She really does. And i bet you if she gets everybody out of her own way and just kind of speaks from the heart, i bet it would be moving. I bet we would have nothing to say. At all. But well see. I agree with you. A little authenticity there. That was the worst time of my life played out in public and it was terrible. It did my best. I cant imagine how bad somebody would look trying to throw that kind of thing at someone when family issues are so deeply personal and unbelievable ly no anybodys business. Its going to get a lot of attention. Whenever donald trump talk abouts it it gets attention. He has to raise money for tv advertising, then he has the debates. Those moments of messaging and his presentation and how he compares himself to Hillary Clinton those will matter more
regarding his chances than this stuff. And huge challenges in the process of going through those events, huge problems to fix, you know, with large swaths of the electorate now that disprove him. Vast numbers of women, vast numbers of hispanics. Again theres not a way to become president of the United States when 70 of women and hispanics are against you. Can he use the opportunities that mark is talking about to fix those problems . I dont know any of these things hes doing if hes going to stay on bill clintons personal life and Hillary Clintons complicity. If thats a running theme of the campaign, again, maybe im blind to it. I dont see how it solves those problems with those huge constituencies he needs to win some big chunk he doesnt have now. All right. And just as a working woman, i will just say when you think about those years and you think what she has done beyond those years, senator of new york, secretary of state, candidate for president , to say the least,
people want someone who is capable. And absolutely nothing threw her off. Nothing even the deepest heartbreak of her life. She could use this. She could use this to her benefit in a very real and vulnerable way without even i just deal with it. Its not that big of a deal. To your point, who could not identify with Hillary Clinton with heartbreak. Talking about what its like to be wounded and humiliated through a crowd called the nation. And go on and raise child and serve and become a grandparent and run for president. I mean, this is this can be done but it cant be handled bay campaign. Speak from the heart. Two conservatives with different takes on donald trump. Bill crystal who is serving for a Third Party Candidate and the man behind c pac who said that
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shoshow me more like this. E. Stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. Show me previously watched. Whats recommended for me. X1 makes it easy to find what you love. Call or go online and switch to x1. Only with xfinity. E. T. Phone home. When you find something you love, you can never get enough of it. Change the way you experience tv with xfinity x1. All right. We have new poll number ofs in the president ial race out this hour. Nationally the nbc News Survey Monkey weekly online tracking poll has Hillary Clinton at 49 . Five points ahead of donald trump at 44 . Bernie sanders has a 13point lead over donald trump in that hypothetical headtohead. 53 to 40. Clinton and trump are close in ohio, pennsylvania, and florida. In florida clinton at 43. Trump at 42. Thats compared to sanders at 44 and trump at 42. Sanders at 43 versus trump at 41 in the headtohead. In pennsylvania clinton at 43 trump at 43. Sanders leads with 4741. Wow. Bottom line, theyre very tight. Very tight. That will make republicans really happy. Thats the kind of thing they need to feel good about coalescing around trump. Because winning or potentially winning will solve a lot of current tension. You know trump could win this. Right . Sure. Too soon to say. But he could. But he could. People have to stop pretending. Im getting a truck. You can just keep your pleas. So right now he has a lot of work to do, but he could win, yes. What are the things in his way . Inconsistency well, the main thing is demographics, as john said. He has to do better with women and hispanics. What does that mean better with women and hispanics. How . Be supported by higher percentages than he is now. He needs a plan to achieve that. He needs to unify republicans, win independents, and hold his
own with hispanic voters. What does he do about his clear lack of discipline . Message discipline. That would seem to be critical. He has debates coming up in the fall. If hes off his message, if he continues to do things like tweeting wars with Elizabeth Warren and others, i mean, come on. I think he has to prepare what he wants to talk about. He figures that out every day. Yeah. A handful of things. Do you think the meeting with paul ryan thursday. What is today . Tuesday. Day after tomorrow. And with the senate. See, i think that could make a difference in terms of how he plays it. Especially got to make some friends, right . The Republican Party has been hugely successful at winning elections for every office except for president. Trump is now a different kind of republican. Hes going to have to convince those other republican leaders
that this is a winning formula. But it starts with female voters. Hispanics is a separate more targeted problem. He must become more acceptable to women. He announced Chris Christie has a leader of his transition movement. Bold move. Chick magnet. What . Chick magnet. What are you talking about . Chris christie. Okay. Tomekias point, how do waive a magic wand suddenly and attract women. Ill tell you how. Its an uphill struggle. The issue of people asked does trump need to unify the party. We talked about the money challenge. Thats a big deal. And on top of that running as a head of a party that lost five out of the six votes. Theres not a republican nominee who would not be the underdog against Hillary Clinton. Theres not one person that would run that would be the
underdog. Republican policies are not that popular in the larger electorate for the policies and the party are not that popular. Trump, in some respects, advocates policies that might be more popular that are adverse to what republicans advocated for the last 20 years. In some ways hes way further in the way of unpopularity with women and hispanics. How do you fix it . Its hard. Theres no waiving of magic wands. This is going to be a grind it out thing. Youre thinking about message comes in, mike. In order do this big huge challenging thing, you got to be on message and on plan every day. Every day. Every day because every single day from now to election day is the day where donald trump has to make up ground. Thats the reality. And some of these nominees, some of these other candidates were the nominee they would have Different Ground to make up. He has a lot of hard work to do. Its not nothing you can do by snapping your fingers. All right. Does he wake up every morning and say what are the 20 things i need to do to get elected. And solve my problems. And solve the current problems i have. The way hes behaving that does not suggest how hes waking up. Its how she wakes up. Yeah. Coming up new reporting from nbc correspondent kasie hunt, Hallie Jackson, and oliva sterns. Plus a tornado outbreak, violent storms across the plains killing two people in oklahoma. The latest on the deadly weather ahead. Keep it on morning joe. My School Reunions coming fast. Could be bad. Could be a blast. Cant find a single thing to wear. Will they be looking at my hair . Wont be the same without you bro. When its go, go to choicehotels. Com. The site with the right room, rewards and savings up to 20 when you book direct. Book now at choicehotels. Com listerine® kills 99 of bad breath germs. This is 100 useful for a 100 fresh mouth. Whats it like to not feel 100 fresh . We dont know. We swish listerine®. As do listerine® users. The very people we studied in the study of bold. People who are statistically more likely to stand up to a bully. Do a yoga handstand. And be in a magicians act. Listerine® kills 99 of bad breath germs so you can feel 100 in life. Bring out the bold™. laughing theres nothing like making their day. Except making sure their tomorrow is taken care of too. Financial guidance while youre mastering life. From chase. So you can. We dont want to think about it. But i had to. Because, you see i was traveling, i was enjoying life, i was working. It was too long since my last pap. When i was finally tested, we thought i might have cervical cancer. After worrying no cancer. I was lucky. Women. Please get a pap test to check for cervical cancer. And get the inside knowledge about gynecologic cancers. For you
and the people who care about you. Let get to other stories making headlines this morning. The clash over transgender bathroom access is escalading with the Justice Department responding to a lawsuit from North Carolina with one of its own. The dulting suits come days after the doj demanded the state back away from the socalled bathroom bill which places limits on transgender access to public restrooms. In announcing the dojs suit, attorney general Loretta Lynch argued that federal civil rights law prohibit discrimination based on sex. This morning dangerous weather being blamed for two deaths in oklahoma. One victim an elderly man who was killed inside home when a fastmoving tornado swept through South Central oklahoma. Just south of there, six people were trapped beneath debris. Look at that. Incredible footage. One person is dead at least three others wounded during a stabbing attack at a Train Station near munich. A 27yearold man has been arrested. Police were investigating witness reports that the suspect shouted god is great in arabic. Also in the news, a kansas city, Kansas Police detective has died after shoot out. The detective has been identified as 39yearold brad lancaster. According to police, after he was shot, the suspect fled the scene in the detectives Unmarked Police car, crashed it, and carjacked another vehicle with a mother and two children inside. They escaped unharmed and the suspect was later apprehended after crossing state lines and trying to carjack another car. And, finally, a judge in arkansas has resigned after being accused of swapping sex for reduced sentences. Its called a plea bargain. Im just umm, judge joseph beckmans resignation came after a state Commission Said it recovered about 4500 photos from his computer. Many of which depicted nude male defendants. According to documents, beckman would often give male defendants in court for minor violations his handwritten phone number to have them serve what he described as Community Service at his home. Beckman denied the allegations saying that the photographs were used to, quote, corroborate participation in Community Service. Mike, what can you tell us about the judge. Please dont. No. Upnext on morning joe bill kristol wanted paul ryan ahead of mitt romney. What happened there . Lets think about the news. Lets think about one less story today. Maybe. Im thinking. Im thinking we could have maybe found a kicker about a squirrel. Ill take it. Ill do anything to avoid that. Now he wants mitt romney instead of donald trump. Is mitt going to jump in like should y somehow on the outside in the third party . It could happen. Mitt . Anything could happen. Does that mean he wants donald trump over somebody else in 2020 . We need someone that can win the election. Mike, would you be his running mate . No. Oh, gosh. Bill chris tot toll is joining next on morning joe. Kristol i on morning joe. Why do some cash back cards keep throwing obstacles at you . First they limit where you earn bonus cash back. Then those places change every few months . I think ill pass. Quicksilver from capital one puts nothing in your way. You simply earn unlimited 1. 5 cash back on every purchase, everywhere. You cant dodge the question. Whats in your wallet . Wrely on the Us Postal Service . Because when they ship with us, their business becomes our business. Thats why we make more ecommerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country. Here, there, everywhere. United states Postal Service priority you
my bladder leakage made me feel like i couldnt be the father that i wanted to be. Now i use depend. I can move the way i really want. Unlike the bargain brand, new depend fitflex underwear is now more flexible to move with you. Reconnect with the life youve been missing. Get a free sample at depend. Com. All right. 41 past the hour. Joining us now editor of the Weekly Standard bill kristol. Were going to read your piece, but, actually, were going to flip things around. Can we do fred hyatt first . Okay. I want to set it up for you and you do your math thing for us. I get it. You have Wishful Thinking here. First, i want to ask you a question. Its a question that fred hyatt is asking. He writes in the Washington Post. When i hear smart people explaining why donald trump cannot win, all i can think is arent you the ones that told us he couldnt top 30 , 40 , then 50 in the republican primaries. Did you predict his nomination . If not. We dont want to hear your certainty about his november defeat. Nor is it assuring to read how the clinton camp is facing a weak opponent. I have faith in the american voter. I do. When twothirds of the country is unhappy a rationstionale out
cant be taked for granted. I agree. I think the odds are against donald trump. There is a chance he could win. That would be a bad thing which is one reason im interested in getting a third choice. Theres a very good chance. Not a very good chance but you can imagine events happening. You were talking about the debate earlier. Trump, hes not disciplined. On the other hand hes a pretty quick study and quick reaction. One can imagine in a debate. One can imagine trump hitting having a clever line or two and dominating and suddenly a lot of americans deciding maybe hes the guy. Especially if the republican establishment legitimizes him and makes it seem like fine. What is the path . For the independent . You can get on almost every ballot. Texas passed this week. North carolina next month. In the 80s it was thrown out or in a pinch in a write in two states. You get on the ballot with
enough money and organization. Anderson got on the ballots. Could you win . It would be an inside strength. The key is an attractive candidate who can get on the debate stage in october. You have to be doing 10, 12 that the time and get a debate. Hillary clinton, donald trump, and ben zasz. What is he 44yearold senator from nebraska who has a real vision of new politics going forward. Could a lot of americans say, well, you know, we can do better than clinton or trump. I think its possible. Obviously the odds are against it. If it were easy, independents would be running every four years. I think its possible. You know, and that is exactly the focus of your column. Sort of looking at these different possibilities and seeing how they can play out. Right now weve got trump and clinton, at least thats what were looking at. You talk about him almost having a zinger. I think its worst than people
think for Hillary Clinton on the debate stage unless they think differently. Because joe has talked about how the worse thing you can run against, you know, your worst opponent is someone who has no idea what theyre doing and doesnt care. Okay. Because that person will go anywhere. And one thing you notice about Hillary Clinton is you get the sense that she prepares for everything. And, by the way, its a woman thing. Were far more prepared than any man in the room. We stay up all night working and getting ready. We are far more organized and far more put together and prepare for any possibility. Right. And guys go in there and ram through and its different approaches and both are valuable. This is a different playing field. Theres no preparation for donald trump at the debate. Shes prepared on the issues. Shell kill him on the issues. Right. Shes got to be ready for that moment when its just her and him. Her and him on deeply personal, difficult things where he just goes after her. And nobody can prepare for her that. Shes got to be able to do
something very different. Dig deep and go back. And if were in a climate where we are today. Donald trump says Amazing Things whether its ted cruzs father is involved in the jfk Conspiracy Theory or maybe lets devalue the default a little bit on the federal debt. You cant prepare for this. We in the media dont hold him accountable. I dont think that is true. We try to but he gets away with it. Thats not us. And everyone is in the narrative of, you know, people frustrated. You cant hold trump accountable. If thats the standard going in, and hes willing to attack Hillary Clinton in a way that others wont have, and this is why the meeting with paul ryan and the Senate Republicans is so important, on thursday, you were saying, if he gets normalized. If an independent voter said donald trump is a little bit of a wild man but serious people
mitch mcdonneconnell, my senatod they can live with them. I fear that trump could win. That quinnipiac poll is stunning today. The problem is trump might win. Would you be is disappointed if someone like paul ryan did come around on donald trump and comprise his own conservative principles. He has a lot of pressures on him. Of course i would be disappointed. Thats is a personal. Do you think donald trump meets the minimum requirement to be president . Can he be commander in chief . I think thats the core for me thats the barrier he doesnt need. The other stuff is irrelevant. What he says about trade and this and that. I have a question. You talked to mitt romney about this. Put aside ben sasse for a
second. You had a conversation about the possibility of running independent Third Party Candidate. Give us the tick to be on the conversation. Ill let him describe tomorrow. He said publicly he doesnt want to vote or wont support hill or donald trump. Im in the same place. We talked about it and talked about the american politics in general. And i think, well, i certainly made the case its not out of the question, and again, if he could succeed its very important in my view for conservativism and for the longer term future of the country that someone hold off a decent banner for conservatives and independents to rally behind. I think thats the case for anyone running. Even if you can thread the needle. Even if the odds are against your threading the needle and running. Its important we not go into the election with Hillary Clinton, with donald trump being the face of the Republican Party and conservativism. For someone like ben sasse its a huge risk. A huge risk. Young senator. Easiest thing to do is sit on the sidelines and wait for 4, 8, 12 years to run for president. He can change the character going forward. Romney open . Interested . Not at all interested . Eager for it . Reading his body language, what he had to say. I think he really does not think that donald trump should be president of the United States and he knows he has one of the few people who has the stature to possibly step up and present an alternative. Youve been talking about Donald Trumps reaction and the medias reaction to trump. Media coverage of trump. Do you agree with the premise, the theory that trump, given the way hes conducted himself during the course of his campaign, given the success hes had. Hes so marginalized the media. Made it irrelevant. We can go after him and his inconsistencies it means nothing. Yeah, i mean, hes shown that so far among the republican primary electorate. You know, hes gotten the minority of the vote l votes so far in the contested primary. Whoever wins gets a week or two where its a wow impressive and it fades away a little bit. I dont think we can say because of that what others shouldnt say. And the Clinton Campaign is not going to say hes gotten away with it so far. Look i guess i hes been held accountable. Hes been asked the questions. He doesnt answer them. Willie weve done it a million times. On the show today if you watch the show any day if you see joe paying up on him or get into screaming matches with him and telling him hes not voting if for someone for a muslim ban. Thats not someone getting caved in on. But i have to say that i think, willie, to an extent donald trump is going to find himself on a different level now in terms of being held accountable by the american people. Because its not the primary voters anymore. Right. As bill said it was a sliver of the country. And a sliver of the republican
party and now its the entire its red meat. The entire country is watching. His positions on the minimum wage, raising taxes on the wealthy. Hes going to be held for account for the positions and why he believed one thing a few months ago and another today. I hope so. The quinnipiac poll has me spooked. I was wrong. I was thinking when the primary gets serious theyll get serious. They didnt in my view. And maybe general election voters will be more serious. I hope they will be. Im little worried, at least starting off, the tolerance for trump i find kind of astounding. Bill kristol, stay with us. Some analyst love making comparisons between donald trump and barry gold water. Donald trump isnt the next goldwater. It would be easier for republicans if he was. Plus, john stewart comes off the sidelines to weigh in on the election. Hear what he said about the republican frontrunner. Morning joe is coming right back. Owen hey kevin. Hey, fancy seeing you here. Uh, i live right over there actually. Youve been to my place. No, i wasnt. Oh look, you dropped something. Its your resume with a 20 dollar bill taped to it. Thats weird. You want to work for ge too. Hahaha, what . Well were always looking for developers who are up for big world changing challenges like making planes, trains and hospitals run better. Why dont you check your new watch and tell me what time i should be there. Oh, i dont hire people. Im a developer. Im gonna need monday off. Again, not my call. Is caringing because covering heals faster. For a bandage that moves with you and stays on all day, cover with a bandaid brand flexible fabric adhesive bandage. Real is touching a ray. Amazing is moving like one. Real is making new friends. Amazing is getting this close. Real is an animal rescue. Amazing is over twentyseven thousand of them. There is only one place where real and amazing live. Seaworld. Real. Amazing no, youre not yogonna watch it tch it we cant let you download on the goooooo youll just have to miss it yeah, youll just have to miss it we cant let you download. Uh, no thanks. I have x1 from xfinity so. Dont fall for directv. Xfinity lets you download your shows from anywhere. I used to like that song. We havent seen a lot of jon stewart since he left his show last year. Sported a new beard. Like david letterman. Its not letterman. He looks like santa claus. Jon is trimmed up a little bit. Proving he hasnt lost his edge. Here is what he told david
axelrod about donald trump. I dont know that donald trump is eligible to be president. Thats not a birther thing. Thats i dont know look, im not a constitutional scholar. So i cant necessarily say, but can you are you eligible to run if you are a man baby . Or a baby man . See, i dont know what look i dont know again, im not here to be be politically incorrect. If theyre referred to as american baby americans. But hes a man baby. He has the physical count innocence of a man. And a babys temperament and hands. Jon stewart has to be sitting on the sidelines of this. A man baby that is so good he looks good, though. He does. A man baby. He looks great. Yeah. Letterman david is great. Dave is great. Im not saying hes not great but stewart has the nice looking beard hes looking sharp. Letterman looks like a mountain man now. Yeah. Okay. Coming up when it comes to the republican convention, house Speaker Paul Ryan said he wont come where hes not wanted. The latest in his riff with donald trump. And who else might be meeting with the presumptive nominee when he heads to capitol hill on thursday. Thats going to be a big day. The Washington Post joins the political round table next. D it. You loved brad. And then you totaled him. You two had been through everything together. Two boyfriends, three jobs. Youre like nothing can replace brad. Then Liberty Mutual calls, and you break into your happy dance. If you sign up for better car replacementâ„¢, well pay for a car thats a model year newer
with 15,000 fewer miles than your old one. See Car Insurance in a whole new light. Liberty mutual insurance. You live life your way. We can help you retire your way, too. Financial guidance while youre mastering life. From chase. So you can. Financial guidance while youre mastering life. man that show. T to record woman now we have to wait forever to see it. jon bon jovi with directv, you dont. You see, weve got the power to turn back time. That show you missed, lets just go back and find. And lets go back and choose spicy instead of mild. And maybe reconsider having that second child. See, thats the power to turn back time. vo watch shows you forgot to record. Call 1800directv. Its a lost cause. It is not a lost cause. [ cheers and applause ] check every Vending Machine change slot. Come on 27. Hey, wait. Arent you going to tell you about the West Virginia primary tomorrow . Sure. But at a certain point wont you say im not going to get the thing i want. Im never going to get my candy. Youve got to believe, stephen. Thank you. You cant give up on that contested confection youve got to rock the system. Got it great we came together we did it. Now how about we share that 100 grand bar . I knew it welcome back to morning
joe. Its tuesday, may 10th. You know what . Hes just he wont back down Bernie Sanders. Hes really its bugging her. Joe, unfortunately, is out sick this morning. With us we have mike barnacle, steve radner, New York Times political reporter alex burns, and msnbc contributor and editor of the fix at the Washington Post chris icillizza. Hillary clinton and donald trump are close in florida, ohio, a and in florida clinton at 43 and donald trump at 42 . Thats compared to sanders at 44 versus trump at 42. Meanwhile in ohio, clinton at 39 . Trump at 43. Sanders at 43 versus trump at 41
in that headtohead. And in pennsylvania clinton at 43, trump at 42. Sanders leads trump 4741 in that state. So theres a lot going on in the president ial election process. The frontrunners seem to be neckandneck in early polls. I think the only other possibility here, steve, is an independent candidate. Whether or not because theres so much high emotion about donald trump and clinton and their unfavorables or both so high in such an unprecedented fashion. I think the discussion about a Third Party Bid is really reasonable. We never got to bill kristols piece in the last hour. Getting an independent candidate on the ballot in all 50 states isless difficult than conventional wisdom has it. The only states whose Ballot Access deadlines before the end of june are texas and North Carolina and those deadlines are susceptible to legal challenges that are being drawn up as i
write. Of course, putting together a serious independent campaign is a formidable task, but plenty of operatives and aids and donors and lawyers stand ready. The fact an articulate, an independentminded conservative could make a real race of it. He or she could build enough momentum over the summer to get in the debate and couldnt the debate be a moment when large numbers of our countrymen might awaken with relief and greet with excitement the possibility of liberation from the nightmare of clinton or donald trump. Bill kristol is against trump. Its a wonderful thing to dream about if you want to have a nice night sleep and imagine a better world for those people like donald trump im happy with Hillary Clinton. I spent a fair amount of time in this because my friend Mike Bloomberg, as he said, looked closely at it. This is why i asked. A couple of facts. Bill is correct about the ballot situation. You have a problem with texas and North Carolina. Maybe overcomeble. Ballot access is not the biggest
problem. The biggest two or three problems is who is going to do it . Ben sasse, everybody says, is a good guy. Can he run a National Campaign . No. Can he win some states. Seems unlikely. You have somebody that needs to do that. You need to raise a billion dollars. You talked in the top of the show about trumps problems of raising a billion dollars. You need an operation, you need a committee, you need people. Its an enormous undertaking. And the third thing is the best i hope for is somebody not get 270 electoral votes for the house of representatives. And the house has to pick. This is one fact people dont know. The house has to pick from the top three finishers. You got a conservative if you send in ben sasse to pick off a couple of states to keep Hillary Clinton from getting 270 and end up in the house of representatives. Are they going to pick ben sasse to be the next president . Even paul ryan said yesterday said it publicly and privately. And independent run will be a disaster for the Republican Party. They think Hillary Clinton has a good chance to win. He thinks if a third candidate runs shell win. I think theres one significant circumstance this year that never apply to the past regarding a third party campaign, which is usually every four years in the interest of both parties establishments. The infrastructure on the republican side and democratic side. The big donors, office holders, do sort of teem up to quash and independent campaign and make sure that the Ballot Access rules are as tough as possible. The debate access rules are tough as possible. For much of the Republican Party establishment which semibodied in the bill kristol argument theyre fine with an independent candidacy. I wonder with paul ryans claim it would be a disaster is a little bit too much protesting there. There are a fair numbers running for reelection that would love to have somebody on the ball lot to draw out voters on the right who might stay home if theyre only options. Who can do that better than its more down ballot in a lot of ways. Acknowledging that the presidency is gone. Wow. The stakes are high for donald trump. He faces a series of pivotal meetings in his bid to unite the fractured Republican Party between the establishment and the outside forces that so far overwhelmed them. On thursday donald trump will sit down with Top Republican leaders in the house and senate including paul ryan and mitch mcconnell. One of the scheduled attendees is senator roy blunt facing reelection in missouri this year. He put out a statement saying, quote, the senator will use the opportunity to remind him what we say and how we say it matter in making it clear our common goal is defeating Hillary Clinton. In a sign of some easing of tensions Kevin Mccarthy signed up to be a trump delegate yesterday. Speaker ryan left wiggle room and potentially opened an escape hatch bying saying he would step down of this summers National Convention if trump asked him to do. I want to get to know and
understand him better. I dont know him. We had one conversation a few months ago, and the conversation im hoping question have together, not just the two of us, but all of us, how we can unify our party. I believe between now and july we will be able to figure out how to unify our party. If he asked you to step down. Ill do whatever. Hes the nominee. Ill do whatever he wants with respect to the convention. The republicans have their vez rations as well. Freshman senate of West Virginia told politico, quote, i havent met him yet and want a chance to talk to him about some issues. Others like kelly ayotte are trying to balance handling trump and their own seats. Do you endorse donald trump . I think each person will make their own decision. Ive said that im going to vote for our republican nominee, but i dont intend to endorse anyone
in this race. So lets go to Chris Cillizza standing by in washington. This is a challenge. A tight rope walk running for reelection. Do you mention Donald Trumps name when youre trying to get reelected in the state of New Hampshire, for example . Well, i mean, that is like sort of a tortured response. She doesnt want to say on camera im voting for donald trump. Shes going to say the republican nominee. I think you see in the split of the leadership between Kevin Mccarthy and Paul Ryan Mccarthy saying ill be for trump. Ryan saying im holding out. I think a lot of it is what do you need to worry about back home and what is your political future. Mccarthy is probably about has high as hes going to be. Ryan has his eye, eventually, on running for president. I think hes mindful of that. Thats why roy blunt puts out a
statement. To missouri its not a state won. It was a swing state in 2000. He has a real race and has concerns about sort of, you know, associating too closely with donald trump. I think people like mark kirk in illinois, ron johnson, the open seat nominee in florida, mccain in arizona. You go down the list. Theres a lot of people who are going to have something similar to that kelly ayotte response, which is trying to thread the needle between im a republican and i support the nominee without embracing, at least what donald trump presented thus far as a candidate. I dont know because im not a political expert, but i just feel like one of the great things donald trump has done is sort of ripped the mask off this political game. So i think everyone should do it. Why wouldnt tell me what would be wrong with her saying,
well, of course i love the Republican Party. I support the party. I plan to support the nominee of the party. I dont know donald trump. He just started running in the past year. Hes new on the scene. I cant wait to get to know him. Then im going to figure out what im going to do. I would love to support him and possibly even endorse the nominee, but i want toeally study what hes about and the issues and see where hes going to land. Because this is such an exciting time. Isnt that an honest answer . No. Why . In a lot of ways if i were a republican i would want to know a lot more. We had nothing but donald trump the past year. Dont you people like you know about donald trump . I know a lot about donald trump and i have higher hopes than im seeing now. I do. I know him pretty well. Kelly ayotte is maybe in the toughest position for any senator. New hampshire is a moderate, swing state. One of the biggest trump states in the early primaries. For her to say im not ready to get on board with him. I need to know more about him. That would anger a lot of people in her own party in a way this pro forma statement ill support him but running my own race getting it out of the way and moving on would be dangerous in ab entirely different way. To meet face to face and gate sense of your gut feeling . Donald Trump Supporters are not known for their willingness to take criticism of their guy or willingness to give people, you know, their own time to make up their mind. Were going to watch tortured responses. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Oh, this is going to be so much fun. Youve seen the last couple of days the fundraisers that come around. Some have been on the stop Trump Movement going to support him. Live interviews say you support trump and theyll say i support the nominee of the party. Do you support . I support the nominee of the party. They cant bring themselves to say it out loud even though theyre giving their money to him. Its amazing. Ah. I do think you will see a little bit, not to put too much into a snapshot in one poll, i think you, the polling you ran through in pennsylvania, ohio, and florida, you know, lets see if theres more of that. Look, breaking news politicians tend to be somewhat craven about being for people who work for them and not for people who dont. If donald trump is competitive, and those numbers suggest hes competitive. Not that he will win but hes competitive including in a state like pennsylvania, which republicans would really like to put into play in a president ial election. I think youll start to see more people come around on him. The fear is this is a guy who is going to lose the raw popular vote by 10 points. If he does that, can you if youre pat tomey. If hes competitive in ohio,
florida, they have Competitive Senate races. Then i think youll see i dont know youre see a bear hug but a more willingness he has a more appeal its not my appeal but hes our republican and ill support him. I think theres a worry within the party that this is a guy that will lose every swing state by ten points if it shows overtime. If its overtime that suggests hes actually competitive in these places. I think youll see more people be willing. I mean, bill kristol is never going to say im for donald trump. Lindsey graham is not going to say that. But i think you might see more people. The ayottes, the richard burrs of the world say they are. If he wins, isnt the party gone, kind of it . Fwlst it the party of trump. The reality situation is all the back and forth of who, you know, its an establishment. Is it the basis. If he wins, in some ways it happened, but if he wins the party will be defined by him. Thats always true in a president ial election. It will be more true now because hes so dominant as a figure in his view. His views and his approach are so different than the way in which the Republican Party is being defined to date. Im looking at your piece in the Washington Post. Trump as a Party Nominee creates any number of problems for the gop but none so consequential as this. No conclusion to the latest iteration of the long running fight for control between the establishment and the base of the party. Trump is a man without a country in his own party. An island all his own. A big, beautiful, luxurious, classy island but just an island that seems fine by donald trump. If he doesnt win and starts the general election as a major underdog, his lack of associations with the two main tribes within the gop seems virtually certain to make the causam between the two sides wider ran narrower post 2016. Well. Look, the key thing there if he doesnt win. If he wins then its his party and the Republican Party will be remade in whatever light donald trump wants it to be. I think the issue is a lot of people in the Republican Party believe that they need not need may have to have another goldwater from 64, which is conservatives nominated conservative. The conservative candidate doesnt come close to winning and therefore the party is more open to a nixonlike figure down the line. Trump is neither a goldwater nor nixon. He doesnt fit into either of those tribes. He just is. He is donald trump. Yes, he has an r after his name in this race but, you know, its hard to fit him into the way in which we have analyzed the ongoing struggle within Republican Party politics. So i dont think youre going to have if he does lose, youre
not going have a clear verdict. We nominated someone to conservative or nominated someone a part of the party establishment. Hes donald trump. Okay. Chris sicillizza, thank you. Still ahead on morning joe the take on the president ial race from the head of the american conservative union. This should be so interesting. I cant wait to hear what matt has to say. Plus, will republican women who voted against trump in the primaries join him to stop Hillary Clinton in the general . Youre watching morning joe. Well be right back. Some cash back cards are, shall we say, unnecessarily complex. Limiting where you can earn bonus cash back. Then those places change every few months. Please. Its time you got the quicksilver card from capital one. Quicksilver earns you unlimited 1. 5 cash back on every purchase, everywhere. Doesnt get much simpler than that. Whats in your wallet . I will change you. Change your goals to get you home earlier every day. Sometimes i will give you superpowers. But sometimes, ill make you feel like the weakest man in the world. I will test your patience to make your heart softer. And your limits to make you tougher. But i promise dad, it will be the greatest journey of your life. The two of Donald Trumps former rivals are pulling away from their partys presumptive nominee in a post on facebook yesterday, marco rubio says count him out of the Vice President ial race. Republican voters chosen donald trump my extended preservations about his campaign and concerns with many of his policies remain unchanged. Hell be best served bay running mate and surrogates who fully
embrace his campaign. As such, i have never sought, will not seek, and do not want to be considered for Vice President. Little marco. So thats important. His withdraw from the scene has been remarkable. You think a year ago and handicapping the race maybe jeb bush but marco rubio was there. Maybe he comes back four years from now, but the fact ha he went away so quickly and doesnt want to be a part. He went away so quickly and so ingloriously. It was rough. A World Without donald trump we may be talking about marco rubio. Maybe. Donald trump did a great job of defining and he defined himself in a way that seems tough to imagine. Ted cruz hachbt gone away. No. Ted cruz is preparing for a fight for conservative issues. Cruz held a Conference Call last night concerned about trumps
concern on social issues. What the trump needs to do to allay the fears. I suggest go with what youve got. Joining us now chairman of the conservative American Union matt schlapp. Is it fair to say that maybe conservatives conservative republicans might need someone
else, another option. Maybe an independent run or somehow to get safe harbor. If they dont feel comfortable with donald trump. No. I dont think they need it i think some are fixing it. Do you think ted kroourz is the person . No. Yeah. I wonder then how you look at the state of the race now with donald trump as the frontrunner and you see someone like kelly ayotte who is senator from New Hampshire really trying to balance a fine line and sort of supporting the nominee but not endorsing. How do republicans get out of this difficult position theyre in . Not the heels of political relationship better than good poll numbers. Yeah. The numbers we saw this morning are really going to get through the blood stream of republicans. Theyre going realize, hey, im very look donald trump is has scared all republicans. He came from nowhere and took over the nominating process and is going to get more votes than any republican who ran for the republican nomination ever in the primary system, and a lot of people dont have personal relationships with him. So its okay these people are a little still trying to figure out what the next steps are. I think your advice on how you answer the questions is spot on. I think kelly ayotte, guess what. She ought to do what is in the best interest of herself political my. Thats what she ought to do. She ought to win the race in New Hampshire and figure out a way to win it. I think shes going to realize in a state like New Hampshire donald trump has the potential to do very, very well and i think that will help. Willie geist, youre the chairman of the american conservative union. Do you believe that is for donald trump as a conservative . You know, the problem, willie, he doesnt a voting record. We listen to what he says. Its clear hes running on conservative themes. Well find out as he puts more policy down and if he were to win who he picks to be on his
team. I think he tends to govern as a conservative. But, you know, once again when you have an outsider it makes everybody a little bit nervous. You its easier with a guy of 10 or 20 years voting. We have ten years of donald trump speaking in public and meet the press and Everything Else. Based on what you see there, do you see a conservative . No. For the last 30 years absolutely not. Do i see over the course of the Obama Presidency somebody who woke up to the fact that these obama policies, these leftist policies are a danger to the economy, a danger to america standing overseas. Do i see that candidate . Absolutely. Do i think obama help prod pell donald trump to run . I do. I think hes helped motivate him and animated him on these issues. As you said, he cares about, like, does america lead overseas . Are islamic terrorists winning or are we winning . What is going on with our economy. Why are wages stagnated for 15 years . Why cant we do better. I think those are the types of issues that animated him. I think conservatives are really attracted to this message. Most republicans who voted on the primaries can conservatives. Hes gotten their votes. And, you know, were going it see what happens. Alex. Im curious you talk about donald trump running on antiobama themes. But specifically for Christian Conservative voters, a lot of whom voted for ted cruz look at Donald Trumps record on abortion, gay rights, and dont see somebody who has sort of lived his life for 30 years as a man of faith. What does he have to reassure those folks hes not just, you know, telling them what they need to hear for a transient moment in the primary season and forget about it once hes in the white house. I think youre right. A a i think a lot are saying i read
about his lifestyle. What does he believe in his heart . Let me tell what i hear from christian voters. They feel like the issues they care about, traditional marriage, protecting life in the womb, these basic questions, public prayer in the public square. They feel like theyve been pushed back on so many of their policy goals. Now they simply want to be able to practice their faith and be protected. I think donald trump has actually done a very good job of stating the fact that, look, if you want to practice your faith as a christian. The government shouldnt make it hard to do that. It should be allowed in america. Its one of the founding principles. I think thats the first thing. The second thing priebus has given him great advice. Put the Supreme Court justice pockets out there. Talk about other people you would surround yourself with in government. I think if he does those things and endorses the platform with maybe a few modifications, thing will help a lot. So donald trump clarified his position on a few issues yesterday. Including his position on the debt. Matt, telling the wall street journal he he would not seek to renegotiate the debt and this is the United States government, the bonds are absolutely sacred. He clarified his position on whether or not the rich should pay more in taxes. Hard to tell, i guess, where hes going to land. Brett stevens writes in the wall street journal this. Hillary, the conservative hope, the best hope for what is left of a serious conservative movement in america is the election in november of a Democratic Party held in check by a Republican Congress. Conservatives can survive a liberal administration especially those whose predictable failures lead us healthy restorations. Think carter and reagan. Conservatives need to accept that most conservative wisdoms sometimes is losing sometimes losing as winning especially when it offers an education in an importance of political hygiene. Wow. Ouch. Brett has been on the show. Hes not a trump fan. I mean, im just saying. Right. What do you make of what hes written . This is very frustrating for me to listen to. Imgs this type of elitism is dris stressing. The fact is conservatives from across the country have given donald trump a million more votes to date than mitt romney got. Hell get more votes in the primary process than anybody who has run for the republican
nomination. Our turn out is up over 60 . You can disagree, and i do, too. We have to call balls and strikes when these out of the zone. I think thats perfectly fair. But here is the second thing. Please, this is a fallacy. The idea that a Republican Congress will check a progressive liberal president is wrong because, look, im a conservative but i have to give president obama his due. On policy after policy after policy hes been able to outmaneuver congress. Hes gone around congress. I think sometimes unconstitutionally. Hes done it. He created a new model. A new progressive president like a Hillary Clinton can implement much of her agenda even if we have vigorous majorities in the congress. In is a huge mistake for conservatives to follow. The fact is that losing stinks and it means you dont get to implement your policies. Advocating losing the white house is really stupid. Wow. Of course, donald trump is not a conservative matt just said. Steve, i like it when you try to tell me what he is or what he
isnt. No, im only repeating what you said. You said donald trump is not a conservative. I didnt say that. Somebody asked me the question whether or not the over course of last 30 years and his reality tv if hes been a conservative and i answered honestly, no. I think during the Obama Presidency his conservative positions and vaums hardened and became more clear. I think thats why hes running for president. I think all of us would agree hes running on conservative themes. And hes getting the support of conservatives. Is he a perfect orthodox conservative in the vain of ted cruz . Absolutely not. Is he running on conservative themes and putting together conservative coalition . Absolutely. I think thursday is really important. People have to meet him and decide if they think they can work with him. And, i mean, donald trump will meet with anybody. I think kelly ayotte ought to try to meet with him. I think my answer was ten times better than any hedging. Im sorry. Get to know him. An interesting point if donald trump wins and becomes his party and then what happens . Got to figure out if you can work with him. Then you have no party in favor of entitlement reform. No Party One Party that is partially in favor of free trade. You have a lot of core issues, for instance, paul ryan spent his career advocating for. Does paul ryan want donald trump to take over the party . Thats a hard one. Matt, thank you very much. Come back. Thanks. Coming up today is election day and for Bernie Sanders all roads lead to california. Hes turned out 15,000 people there last night alone. Look at that. Look at that what other states are in play for him . He tries to hang on. Were back in a moment. [engine revs]
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pain . Advil. Wrely on the Us Postal Service . Because when they ship with us, their business becomes our business. Thats why we make more ecommerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country. Here, there, everywhere. United states postal serce priority you wyou could just forget frthe beach wedding. And the beach booty. You could just book a different resort. Like in alaska. Theyve got igloos. Trolling for a gig with cant blame you. Its a drone you control with your brain, which controls your thumbs, which control this joystick. No, im actually over at the ge booth. Were creating the Operating System for industry. Its called predix. Its gonna change the way the world works. Ok, im telling my brain to tell the drone to get you a copy of my resume. Umm, maybe keep your hands on the controller. Look out ohhhhhhhhhh. You know what, im just gonna email it to you. Yeah thats probably safer. Ok, cool. There are primary elections. West virginia easily against then senator barack obama. Now her campaign is bracing for a possible loss there to senator Bernie Sanders. Clinton grappled with comment the she made in march when she said in part, quote, were going to put a lot of coal miners and Coal Companies out of business in favor of modernizing industry. She later apologized. Bernie sanders looking ahead to future primaries. Last night he spoke to a crowd of 15,000 in sacramento, california. He acknowledged that narrow path he has to the white house but said his campaign is far from over. Nobody can predict the future, but i think we have a good shot to win in West Virginia, in kentucky, and in oregon. It is a steep hill to climb and i acknowledge that. But we have the possibility of walking in to the Democratic Convention with a majority of pledged delegates. There are some signs and pressure for Hillary Clinton in kentucky after two weeks without running commercials, a democratic source tells nbc news that the Clinton Campaign reserved ad time in kentucky for later this week. Hillary clinton in 2008 did the same thing. She ran throw the finish line. Thats Bernie Sanders right. Shes not spending much. Save that little bit in kentucky and if you look at her the way she speaks on the campaign trail you dont hear Bernie Sanders
name. Shes looking at donald trump. Her lead over Bernie Sanders in one delegate, not in super delegated, pledged delegates is larger than obamas lead ever was over her in 2008. Arguably shes in a much stronger position. But secondly, what seems possibly different this time senators may go all the way to the convention. Not just through the primaries like she did and have a fight over the platform to try to make points. Its not ideal from her point of view. I think shes in a very incredibly secure position with respect to getting the nomination. She did, too, in alex take her foot off the gas. She ran through the finish line but didnt attack senator obama. Bernie sanders isnt quite doing that yet. Hes dialled back a little bit but hes going after her record. Yeah. Steve said hes gearing up for a fight around issues. Even wants to acknowledge that the nomination is outside his reach. But for the clinton folks, a lot of people across the democratic
party establishment there is a sense of relief hes no longer 15,000 people in california saying release the transcript. Its a corrupt bargain kind of stuff. So Hillary Clinton made that comment about the coal industry and it is literally it has just followed her everywhere. She has tried to rephrase it. Shes tried to even go to West Virginia and speak to the people there. This is where things are really unfair. Completely. Donald trump has made major backslides on major issues. The debt, abortion, taxing the rich, and he nobody, i mean, we ask him. We hold him accountable its certainly not us. But, i mean, he gives answers and then completely backtracks on his answers or changes them and i just dont see any backlash from it. She will lose the state that she won in a big way. Am i wrong . Oh, no. Well, look, she was honest. She said what happens to be true that coal is not part of our longterm future from an environmental point of view. And shes gotten punished for it. Punished. And donald trump can say what he wants about immigrants and walls and trade barriers and this stuff and never gets punished. I think its going to change. The general election audience where, you know, its all well and good to play into the coal audience in West Virginia in the primary. Sanders is doing, trump is doing. In the general election barack obama got hammered on the coal issue in 2008 and again in 2012. And the reality is there arent that many swing voters in that many swing states who will vote on coal. You had a weird spent kl of romney running ads on the war of coal in Northern Virginia where good luck finding a coal miner. Its become even more of a toxic issue from the standpoint of the democrats. I know. Im just saying. It cisite specific here. A state with a principle source of income for a vast majority of families. I totally understand. Im talking about the fairness of it. Yes. Up next is donald trump at risk of permanently alienating, arguably, the most important voting block this fall . Women. Kasie hunt talks to a group of republican women about trumps comments and Hillary Clinton. In is going to be a good one. Interesting. Well be right back. Safety doesnt come in a box. Its not a banner that goes on a wall. Its not something you do now and then. Or when its convenient. Its using stateoftheart simulators to better prepare for any situation. Its giving offshore teams onshore support. And its empowering anyone to stop a job if something doesnt seem right. At bp, safety is never being satisfied. And always workingo be better. At bp, safety is never being satisfied. two text tones now . text tone excuse me. phone tone again . Be right back. Always running to the bathroom because your bladder is calling the shots . text tone you may have oab. Enough of this. Were going to the doctor. Take charge and ask your doctor about myrbetriq. 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As do listerine® users. The very people we studied in the study of bold. People who are statistically more likely to stand up to a bully. Do a yoga handstand. And be in a magicians act. Listerine® kills 99 of bad breath germs so you can feel 100 in life. Bring out the bold™. As Hillary Clinton looks to pick away support from donald trump, shes focussed on two voting groups in particular. Women and disaffected republicans. Msnbc kasie hunt sat down with five republican women in virginia who had different impressions of the republican race so far. Kasie joins us. Reporter i had an interesting morning with these five women who are all what you would normally consider to be reline republican voters. Theyre registered republicans. In 2012 they were all supportive of mitt romney. This time around talking to them really illustrated the challenge facing donald trump as he tries to move into this general election and change some of the numbers you all were talking about related to how many women have a negative view of him. Here is a piece of our conversation. For me at the end of the day, donald trump is not a republican. He came out this weekend and said that hes willing to raise taxes. Raise minimum wage. Those are things that are not republican response i dont feel beholden to vote for him. Would you vote for Hillary Clinton . If i have to, at the end of the day, i feel its my duty as the end of an american to ensure that donald trump is not the next president. Even if that means, as painful as it is, vote for Hillary Clinton, ill do it. I need to hear that. Ill do anything to not have Hillary Clinton in office. I think shes the worst choice. I think shes dishonest. You know, its too much of a sheen going on with the clintons and we have know that bill clinton will be in there with her. These are new comments over the weekend from donald trump. As we move into this general election he talked about bill clintons legacy with women and he said that Hillary Clinton was in some way s an enabler of thi because of the way she treated the women bill clinton is involved with. Thats ridiculous. Its blaming the women because the husband made a bad choice. I dont think we can comment on their relationship. Absolutely. Hillary clinton and president clinton have a unique relationship. They have a machine. Thats why she would never have left him. Do you think that history or that enabling or however you
want to describe it, does that reflect on the job she would do as president , do you think . I just cannot imagine bill clil ton being in the white house again. Both sides have scandal. It doesnt necessarily impact their ability to be a leader. Exactly. So as you can see, a little bit of divide over this question of the enabling attack that donald trump has been leveling with Hillary Clinton in recent days. We saw break down a little bit by age some of the younger women stepping up to defend Hillary Clinton. I will say from a broader perspective, though, that the comments that donald trump has made specifically about women were not necessarily the primary concern that i heard about from these women i talked to. They more often referenced his comments on minorities, in particular, the border wall with something that was brought up as a potential negative. So immigration was a concern. I think that they also didnt respond well to the idea of
Hillary Clinton talking about her gender as a reason why they should vote for her. They rejected that. I think in some ways this idea that Hillary Clinton is playing the womens card is something that could resonate there. These women certainly didnt want to be told they should vote for hillary because of their gender. But at the same time, some very clear hurdles for donald trump to get over with this group of people. Yeah. Kasie hunt, thank you so much. This is so its dicey because you dont want to you know, as a person covering it or talking about it, you know, churn it even more, especially its dredging up whatever untrue gossip. Fortunately theres some real parts of the story that are going to come up. Its how she handles it and decides to handle it. I remember, willie, i remember us sitting on the set watching her at an event, she was asked a
question, i believe, by a child and she talked about love. She said love is really hard. And i cant remember the context, but i remember it being very real moment that was a kind of step into her soul or very vulnerable. And i dont think theres any other way to deal with this. I dont think theres any campaign strategy. I dont think theres any speech or set up situation or person who can come to her side on this. I agree. I think she almost has to only do it once. If she opened up at some moment or somewhere with somebody. As you see with the first woman who spoke the woman in red. Theres sympathy for her. Why are we blaming the victim for what bill clinton did . Other people like the second woman disagreeing saying the relationship is cynical and they Stay Together for political reasons. There are enough women who look at her as a victim in that that would agree. Look at the result in the late winter of 2008 when she
broke down and cried in New Hampshire. Yeah. And revealed of herself that she is capable of real emotion in public. Real honest emotion in emotion. Next day she upsets barack obama. The generational component is important. You saw trump typically did much better with older people than younger people. A group of young republican women susceptible to Hillary Clintons campaign message. These are not people who remember necessarily firsthand the lewinsky scandal and White House Communications operation going after bill clintons accusers and feeling unsettled about that. These are young women who know Hillary Clinton as a senator, secretary of state and sympathetic figure. Maybe its just me that i found unsettling. Its just a short snippet of a larger conversation they had, but these women are sitting in clearly a very comfortable suburban setting, landscaping
outside, a nice kitchen, kitchen table, warm scene and one young woman, one young woman opposes donald trump because hes for raising the minimum wage . I find it yeah. I mean, come on. I hear you on that. But on this very, very tough issue, bill clintons infidelities and the uncomfortable story were going to be covering when donald trump attacks her, i just think heres the bottom line. You can see it in that focus group. Theres something unanswered and unspoken about over decades about that time. And thats why it is such an incredibly could be a really it will be an incredibly powerful attack on her. And i just think that people need to get out of the way and that she shouldnt underestimate the value of vulnerability and
the value of just really being herself because i have a feeling that thats the only way to deal with it, and it will be incredibly beautiful thing to see. I think we none of us can really understand what happened but there is something unspoken about it. Something that is unanswered to generation of americans. And hes going to go there. Theres no getting around it. Hes going to go there. Hes going to go there. So far her response has been, asked and answered over the last 20 years. Im not talking about this anymore. Lets move forward and shes going to ignore it. I understand. I understand. I wish it wouldnt come up. Still ahead, Facebook Ceo Mark Zuckerberg has been pretty vocal this election, speaking out about some of the policy proposals of donald trump. Now there are accusations the social network itself has been blocking entire conservative news outlets. What former facebook employees are saying coming up on morning joe. At ally bank, no branches equals great rates. Its a fact. Kind of like bill splitting equals nitpicking. But i only had a salad. It was a buffalo chicken salad. Salad. But ive managed. E Crohns Disease is tough, except that managing my symptoms was all i was doing. And when i finally told my doctor, he said humira is for adults like me who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe Crohns Disease. And that in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. And many achieved remission. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, remission is possible. By switching to xfinity x1. Rio Olympic Games show me gymnastics. X1 lets you search by sport, watch nbcs highlights and catch every live event on your tv with nbc sports live extra. Im getting ready. Are you . X1 will change the way you experience nbcuniversals coverage of the rio Olympic Games. Call or go online today to switch to x1. Up next in his book art of the deal, donald trump says he likes to play it very loose pointing out he doesnt carry a briefcase. His style worked in the primary but will he be able to use the same loose strategy against Hillary Clinton and win the white house . Joe this morning has some advice for him now that hes the Presumptive Republican nominee. Buy a briefcase. Morning joe is back in a moment. Woman its been a journey to get where i am. And i didnt get here alone. There were people who listened along the way. People who gave me options. Kept me on track. And through it all, my retirement never got left behind. So today, im prepared for anything we may want tomorrow to be. Eversomeday needs a plan. Lets talk about your old 401 k today. Does your makeup remover every kissproof,ff . Cryproof, stayproof look . Neutrogena® makeup remover does. It erases 99 of your most stubborn makeup with one towelette. Need any more proof than that . Neutrogena. laughing theres nothing like making their day. Except making sure their tomorrow is taken care of too. Financial guidance while youre mastering life. From chase. So you can. Welcome back to morning joe. Its tuesday, may 10th. Almost the middle of may. 8 00 on the east coast. 5 00 out west. Joe is out sick this morning. With us legendary columnist mike barnacle. The managing editors of Bloomberg Politics Mark Halperin and john heilemann. The stakes are high for donald trump as he faces a series of pivotal meetings in his bid to unite a fractured Republican Party torn between the
establishment and the outside forces that overwhelm them. On thursday, trump will sit down with Top Republican leaders in both the house and senate including Speaker Paul Ryan and majority leader mitch mcconnell. One of the schedule attendees, senator roy blunt who is facing reelection in missouri this year. He put out a Statement Last night. The senator will use the opportunity to remind him that we say that what we say and how we say it matter in making it clear that our common goal is defeating Hillary Clinton. In a sign of easing tensions, house whip Kevin Mccarthy signed up to be a trump delegate yesterday. But speaker ryan left wiggle room and potentially opened an escape hatch by saying hed step down as chairman of this summers Republican National convention if asked. I want to get to know him n understand him better because i really dont know him. We had one conversation a few months ago. And basically the kind of
conversation im hoping we all can have together, not just the two of us, but all of us, is how we can unify our party. I believe between now and july we will be able to figure out how to unify our party. If he asked you to step down as chair of the convention, would you . Hes the nominee. Ill do whatever he wants with respect to the convention. Still other republicans have their reservations. Shelly moore of West Virginia told politico, i havent met him yet. I want a chance to talk to him about some issues. And others like senator kelly ayotte are trying to balance handling trump. You kind of cant do this balance because it just doesnt work. It comes out hollow frump and preserving their seats in the upcoming reelection. Do you support, endorse donald trump . I think each person will make their own decision. Ive said that im going to vote
for our republican nominee, but i dont intend to endorse anyone in this race. All right. So either youre for him or youre not. I guess the problem is theyre trying to figure out whats going to happen still. Are people hedging their bets to the bitter end . Shes hedging her bet. Shes in a tough race against the governor who is also popular. And she believes, correctly, that her fate of keeping her job or not could depend exclusively on how donald trump performs over the next few months. She wants to be able to win even if he crashes and burns. Or if he does well, she wants to be able to grab his coat tails. All the people we just discussed hes going to meet with on capitol hill want to be convinced he has conservative principles. What could he possibly say in a 15minute or 30minute conversation to undo his record noft having conservative principles . I really have no idea. And nothing hes been doing in the last week or so as hes shifted around on positions. Some of those shifts are in some ways time honored ways in which nominees try to position themselves in a more moderate direction but trump is in this terrible bind because everything that he does to try to move to the center to look like hed be a more palatable general election nominee upsets conservatives who the ones who liked his tax plan for instance now see dont care about upsetting people. I dont think he cares. I thought that was trump. He better start carryiing. Hes the nominee of the Republican Party. Kelly aiot ayotte is a perfect example. Are they going to act as if donald trump is he who must not be names. Im going to support the republican nominee. They never mentioned his name . Weve just had the election of a muslim mayor in london. And what happens if donald trump ever becomes president. Does he allow the muslim mayor in london he did actually speak about him. He said hed make perhaps an exception for the mayor of london. I think youre right. He cant erase the past. They want three things. Show that hes going to raise money for republicans and build infrastructure. Be consistent. They dont want every day there to be a different story line. They just want him to seem like he has a plan between now and november and on the offense against Hillary Clinton. They want him to make the election about Hillary Clinton. If he does those things, i think hell win over a lot of the party. Theres a piece in the New York Times today about fundraising. Donald selffunded thus far. Hes now the president ial candidate of the Republican Party. Hes trashed vast expans of the Republican Party en route to his hard fought and well deserved win to get the nomination. What does he do now . Forget what i said, give me some money . Thats what hes doing. Its a mutual thing. Theyll sign a joint fundraising agreement. They talk about how they want trump to raise money for the party and trump has no real fundraising apparatus. He doesnt bring to bear any of the things most republican nominees in the modern era have brought to bear and theyre staring down the barrel. Hes got to raise 1. 5 billion between now and september . Not very many months there. And a number of very senior republican strategists who have done this before have said for any republican nominee raising that kind of money would be really hard, even if you had a full scale fundraising operation. Trump has literally none of that. Look at these, though. Some Top Republican donors did sign on with trump. Anthony scaramucci. Thats paypal cofounder and prominent ron paul supporter
peter thiel and billionaire broadcasting mogul Stanley Hubbard who once gave money to a stop trump pac. So hes come around. He told politico, all my favorite candidates dropped out one by one. Were down to my least favorite candidate, and my least favorite candidate is better than Hillary Clinton. So first of all, wow. If there was a strong independen independent candidate, this would be the time. We still have to get to Hillary Clinton and her responding to trump. I see a lot of holes on both sides. A lot of weakness right now. And trump is fundraising from a standing start because he didnt have to do this throughout the republican nominating process. Headquarter has a network that goes back a generation. Its a machine. She has all these things in motion. The clinton machine. Trump is just starting now. But he is definitely aggressive and ferocious and how she responds to that could make him look strong or look terrible. And i think again my gut is
Hillary Clinton needs to be Hillary Clinton the one that you meet one on one. Because yesterday she went out and it seemed like a campaign organized event and it just seemed like everybody around her were sort of like positioned and set up almost human shields from the attacks coming to her instead of the issue she was talking about. She was going to get asked these questions about what donald trump said about bill clinton and where hes going on this. She has to be herself because herself has always been the best thing for her. This was the event yesterday. Well get to it later. Its an event organized about families. She was asked all these questions about bill clinton. The press was relentless about it and it was an awkward place to be answering those questions. And all the people there were set up. It just at some point has to be
hers to own and shell do an amazing job if they get out of her way. Back to donald trump and what is going on with him. She may not have to work that hard because hes not. Joe has a piece for the Washington Post entitled the art of the deal that could seal trumps doom. He writes in part this. On page one of a book written almost 30 years ago, trumps book, trump tells the reader many people are surprised by the way i work. I play it very loose. I dont carry a briefcase. I try not to schedule too many meetings. I leave my door open. You cant be imagine native if you have too much structure. I preforecome to my work every morning and just see what develops. Thats the same approach candidate trump has been using from the day he descended the escalators at trump towers to the day he vanquished the last of his 16 opponents. Maybe trump will once again prove the world wrong. But it is far more likely that
simply showing up and seeing what develops next will lose him the white house and destroy the Republican Party in the process. Buy a briefcase, donald. I guess also the point hes making there is hes riffing and it works it has worked for him through the primary. A lot of red meat you can just throw out there. Now its about consistency, as you said Mark Halperin and john heilemann. Now its about the issues. And she will just clean up on this, Hillary Clinton. People will be scared. And they will ultimately not want to make that decision. So inconsistent. Shes been through three president ial candidates. Shes been the first lady. Backed by secretary of state. Backed by hundreds of people. Shes actually won elections. They thought this through and hes not going against the weakest most overrated field of candidates of all time. Against a professional operation
and again improvising, making it up daytoday, thinking you can say one thing on monday and a department different thing on tuesday is going to make winning for him tough. He needs to be uncharacteristically disciplined at the same time being himself. Were not denying that what he has done is nothing short of incredible. Nothing short of historic. Nothing short of just never seen before in the history of politics. Modern day politics for sure. And speaker ryan, i dont think any House Speaker before this has done this. So you could argue hes being careful or a little difficult. But trumps got to look at his responses. Hes gone on his gut so far. Thats what joe wrote about and it served him really well this far. Now hes got to start thinking about moving forward in the general election and being consistent in his positions. His tax plan came out last fall. Lower tax rates for everybody. Now he says we might tax the rich. Might raise the minimum wage. He cant hopscotch around the board on policy issues like that. Otherwise people will not take him seriously. He was able to do that in that narrow lane of republican primary voters who got him where he is now but hes got to open the tent now. Dont be sarah palin. Were hearing a couple of different theories at a minimum over the last couple of days. Its instructive to look at whats happened to the Trump Campaign. The idea he takes on Elizabeth Warren in a twitter war. Why he did that, no one really knows. The idea that he is going after bill clintons behavior a quarter of a century ago that he thinks this triggers something in voters minds. Clearly he does. You dont hear that from ordinary people. But it leads to the theory that the window is still open for some sort of a third party
candidacy, an independent candidacy. I dont know about Ballot Access. What do you think . Well, its a it is a very tricky thing. Split it up. Its tricky in the sense there are these Ballot Access questions. The deadline for texas passed yesterday. You cant be in the ballot in texas. There are states you can still get on the ballot. Complex legalities around all of that. Then the question of all the huge obstacles to running as a third party or independent candidate that have existed that have kept people like ploomberg from running on successive elections. Its really hard to win. Is there a way for an independent candidate to get on the ballot and keep anybody from getting to 270 and throwing it to the house . You are trying to get the camel through the eye of a needle. Not impossible. Not impossible but not the most likely or probable scenario that youll come across, i dont think. Donald trump spent the weekend branding Hillary Clinton as an enabler of her husbands
affairs. And at an event in Northern Virginia yesterday, clinton sidestepped a response after holding a discussion with young families. She turns her focus to swing states. The meeting was closed to the public and attend ease were outnumbered by the press who repeatedly asked clinton for her reaction to trump. Im going to let him run his campaign however he chooses. Im going to run my campaign which is about a positive vision for our country with specific plans that i think will help us solve problems that were facing. Do you think at some point youll have to respond to these accusations . You saw what happened during the primary when things he said went unanswered. Why not sort of oh, im answering him all the time. No, im answering him on what i think voters care about. Im answering him on the differences between our records, our experience, what we want to do for our country, how important it is to try to unify the country, and ive been very clear that a lot of his a lot
of his rhetoric is not only reckless, its dangerous. Youre responding with substance . Im running my campaign. Im not running against him. Hes doing a fine job of doing that himself. Okay. Very, very uncomfortable situation shes being put in. Mark halperin, i guess the setup events are because Cable News Networks dig into them all day . Why do those . I have an aversion to them stronger than others. Trying to get coverage but also she wants to be showing herself in situations that show unity, diversity, women and trying to focus on issues. So that is very much in keeping with how theyd like to run against donald trump for the next several months. Theres also what does it say about us, the media, that were asking Hillary Clinton
about literally something that happened 25 years ago and has bceen resolved, at least legally. I dont know anybody who is concerned that thats one of their top five issues, what bill clinton did 25 years ago. Maybe im living in a different universe. Shes banking on that. You can see shes playing the four corners offense which is, you got the lead. Hold the ball. Ignore the other guy. In the case of the bill clinton indiscretions, i think thats probably her best policy to ignore it and trust the voters arent interested in it. We have a Political Party in opposition to Hillary Clinton, the Republican Party, of which a large percentage of that party seems focused on who has the right to go to what bathroom. What is going on here . No answers . Well look, if donald trump were here, what hed say is that hes trying to make this not just about president clintons
personal life and things president clinton did that hes trying to take it to a slightly dchbt place which is to suggest that Hillary Clinton was an enabler of that activity and shes never been held to account for that. Thats where hes trying to take this argument. Whether that argument will find purchase with the press, it seems to be maybe a little bit finding purchase with the press as that colloquy that we caught on video there. Will that catch any perches with voters . At least the history of this has been that people found Hillary Clinton a very sympathetic figure over president clintons indiscretions in the late 90s and early 2000s. People looked at her as being a survivor, supportive of her and they made her senator of new york. It worked to her advantage politically then. Is there some weird jiujitsu it could be used against her now . I dont see it, but donald trump does. What do you think . I cant even imagine what it
would be like to be in a situation like that, but i just find when something is really, really being thrown at you, the best thing to do is to be honest and vulnerable and real and i think usually the person throwing the mud ends up looking really bad. So i dont know if its fair game. I think in some ways it is, but i think she has to sort of find her own voice with that. She really does. And i bet if she gets everybody out of her own way and just kind of speaks from the heart, i bet she would be incredibly moving and we all would have nothing to say at all. But well see. I agree. A little authenticity. That was the worst time of my life. It played out in public. And, boy, thats was terrible. It really hurts to have i cant imagine how bad somebody
would look trying to throw that kind of thing at someone when in a family issues are so deeply personal and convolute and so unbelievably not anybodys business. This stuff is going to get a lot of attention. Whenever trump talks about it, it will get attention. Trump has the running mate selection, has to raise money for tv advertising and the debates. Those moments of messaging and presentation and how he compares himself to Hillary Clinton will matter more regarding his chances than this stuff. And huge challenges in the process of going through those events. Huge problems to fix. With large swaths of the electorate that dusisapprove of him. Vast numbers of women, hispanics. Theres not a way to become president if 70 of hispanics and women are against you. Can he use the events to fix those problems . I dont know that hes going to stay on bill clintons personal
life and Hillary Clintons complicity in it. If thats going to be a running theme of the campaign. Maybe im blind to it, but i dont see how it solves those problems with those huge constituencies he needs to win some big chunk of that he doesnt have right now. As a working woman, i will just say when you think about those years and you think what shes done beyond those years, senator from new york, secretary of state, candidate for president , to say the least, you know, people ultimately want someone who is capable. And absolutely nothing through her off. Not even the deepest heartbreak of her life. She could use this. She could use this to her benefit in a very real and vulnerable way without even just deal with it. Its not that big a deal. Be there for yourself. Who could to your point, who could not identify with Hillary Clinton. With heartbreak and what its like to and tragedy. Wounded and humiliated
through a crowd called the nation. And then go on and raise a child and serve and become a grandparent and run for president. I mean, this is this can be done. I just dont think it can be handled by a campaign. Theyll think too much. You just got to speak from the heart. Still ahead on morning joe, new polling shows razor thin margins in some of the most coveted battleground states. Plus, 2020 vision. Marco rubio, cold water on questions about being trumps running mate while ted cruz tries to shape the convention. Are battle lines being drawn already for the next cycle . Covering is caring because covering heals faster. For a bandage that moves with you and stays on all day, cover with a bandaid brand flexible fabric adhesive bandage. But its actually a triumph of predictive analytics. Because of optum. Through Population Health data, they provide insights so doctors and hospitals can identify highrisk patients. Like me. Asthma. Potential hospital visit. So now thanks to optum, this asthma things under control. Gravity not so much. This is healthier, powered by optum. From health plans to providers to employers. We connect all parts of health care. Healthier is here. I built my business with passion. But i keep it growing by making every dollar count. Thats why i have the spark cash card from capital one. I earn unlimited 2 cash back on everything i buy for my studio. And that unlimited 2 cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business. Thats huge for my bottom line. What in your wallet . Weve got some new poll numbers in the president ial race nationally. The nbc news surveymonkey tracking poll has Hillary Clinton at 49 , five points ahead of donald trump at 44 . Senator Bernie Sanders has a 13point lead over trump in that hypothetical headtohead. 53 to 40 . In florida, clinton at 43 , trump at 42 compared to sanders at 44 . In ohio, clinton at 39 . Trump at 43 . Sanders at 43 versus trump at 41 in that headtohead. In pennsylvania, clinlton is at 43 , trump at 42 . Sanders leads 47 to 41 in that state. Very tight in the states that matter. That will make republicans very happy. Thats the kind of thing they need to feel good about coalescing about trump because
winning or potentially winning will solve a lot of the current tension. Donald trump could win this, right . Sure. Absolutely. Too soon to say, but he could. Yeah. But he could. Like people have to stop pretending. I could too if i get a ballot act. Please. So right now he has a lot of work to do, but he could win, yes. And what are the things in his way . Inconsistency well, the main thing himself. Demographics. He has to do better with women and hispanics and van Electoral College what does that mean . How would he do that . Needs to be supported by much higher percentages of them than now and needs a plan to achieve that. He needs to unify republicans, win independents and hold his own with hispanic voters. Coming up on morning joe, election day in West Virginia. Can Bernie Sanders pick off another state after Hillary Clintons costly comments about coal jobs . Youre watching morning joe. Well be right back. Real is touching a ray. Amazing is moving like one. Real is making new friends. Amazing is getting this close. Real is an animal rescue. Amazing is over twentyseven thousand of them. There is only one place where real and amazing live. Seaworld. Real. Amazing nobodys hurt, but there will still be pain. It comes when your Insurance Company says theyll only pay three quarters of what it takes to replace it. What are you supposed to do . Drive three quarters of a car . Now if you had Liberty Mutual new car replacement, youd get your whole car back. I guess they dont want you driving around on three wheels. Smart. With Liberty Mutual new car replacement, well replace the full value of your car. See Car Insurance in a whole new light. Liberty mutual insurance. laughing theres nothing like making their day. Except making sure their tomorrow
is taken care of too. Financial guidance while youre mastering life. From chase. So you can. Shoshow me more like this. E. While youre mastering life. Show me previously watched. Whats recommended for me. X1 makes it easy to find what you love. Call or go online and switch to x1. Only with xfinity. The only way we can build our party to get to more than that number so thats we can win is if you dont ask anyone to leave. You dont subtract people out of the room but you build and add and understand that you know, if we can agree with each, on 80 of the issues, i think were in
pretty good shape. And thats, you know, purity is found in heaven. But its not found here. And i think people just need to be reminded of that. That was Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus emphasizing party unity when talking about the vote from four years ago. We have mike barnacle, former treasury official mark rattner and alex burns and radio host Kurt Anderson and Hallie Jackson live on capitol hill. Hallie, well start with you. Youre staking out Speaker Paul Ryan this morning ahead of thursdays big meeting between donald trump and Congressional Republican leaders. This meeting has taken on really, really major importance in terms of how donald trump moves forward. What are you hearing there . Its still 48 hours away but its capturing everybody in
washington. People are looking to this meeting as a Pivotal Moment for donald trump. Its not just house leadership. Speaker ryan, senator mitch mcconnell, the senator leadership. We heard from senator roy blunt now telling us blunt will be looking at not just what donald trump said but how he says it in relation to Hillary Clinton to make sure blunt is able to support someone like donald trump for the presidency as the republican nominee. So youve got a lot at stake here. A couple of points. Speaker ryan is heading back from wisconsin here to washington today. Hell issue meeting with interestingly ben carson coming in as one of trumps allies. And sources say the idea is to warm the room, to warm paul ryan up so when donald trump does get here theres some kind of a slip and slide to the relationship, you could say. This is a real big moment for not just trump but for a lot of folks near washington looking to see how paul ryan will react to
donald trump. Ryan has said he wants to see more about trumps tone and get to know the guy a little bit. Theyve only interacted a couple ever times. Its still 48 hours away and were already here on capitol hill where well be for the rest of the week. I get it. Hallie jackson, thank you. Mike . What do you think . Doesnt matter what i think. Im interested in the view from outside. I dont live here in manhattan with you guys. How does all this strike you, the trump summit with paul ryan . Paul ryan. We know already politics, president ial politics are theater. This is high theater. This is the kabuki moment where he has to go there and do this. I have to imagine that hes not going to erupt in donald trump craziness in front of the Republican Leadership of congress and that he can manage to control his cartoon character
impulses when hes in that room. But, you know, on the other hand, his natural mode was the mode of the weekend. Youre going to Say Something mean about me . Im going to Say Something mean about you. That is the default donald trump. Will he tweet about the summit . Has he never not tweeted about anything . Im sure hes going to tweet. I dont know if hell live tweet. Look, i think that you never underestimate donald trump. If he wants to do this, he can do this. If he wants to make party unity happen, he can make party unity happen. Hes done everything hes wanted to do so far in this election and should not be underestimated. This is what Eugene Robinson writes about in the Washington Post. How do you nail a blob of mercury to the wall . Thats a problem Hillary Clinton will have to solve running against donald trump. Most of whose positions on major issues are elusive, trump may fig fur he does enough flip flopping and zigzagging and blowing of smoke, voters will become injured, a strategy of portraying inconsistency as a virtue, not a failing. Then again, this may just be the way trump is. He may have few subtle beliefs aside from an abiding faith in his own brilliance. How does a policy wonk such as clinton run against a policy phobe such as trump . Trying to define him as insufficiently studious, overly capricious and fundamentally unserious would be like pangintg a caricature of a cartoon. Maybe clinton should focus on delivering an inspirational message. The job of refuting trump is already being done by trump. A lot of people do not believe that trump is undercutting himself to disqualify him on policy. The argument here that is sort of more pertinent to the way the Clinton Campaign is handling itself now. Trump is all over the map on most of the important issues in the election. But hes stepped over some pretty important conventional lines of political discourse when it comes to subjects like the u. S. Credit, the use of Nuclear Weapons and other matters where the Clinton Campaign is taking his unpredictability as recklessness. You cant have somebody in charge of the Largest Military of the world in charge of safeguarding americas debt and standing with the Global Financial community. You cant have Somebody Just making it up as they go along. I agree with that completely. Thats the overarching attack on trump. In terms of specifics, whats she can do is pick out stuff he said. Doesnt matter whether hes gone back or forth. She can say for example that hes talks about renegotiating part of the u. S. Debt. That he wants to cut taxes for the wealthy. She can ignore the fact he wanders around. I dont think pinning hum do in as a flip flopper will be a successful strategy. Its been interesting, and i dont disagree with anything thats been said here but trump in effect with his behavior, his rhetoric, has neutered the media. Just by basically doing what he did with George Stephanopoulos on sunday. When you raise all of these issues. You said this but he meant that. He said, well, its just a concept. Now because he has proven he can get away with saying one thing, not walking it back, but saying, no, either i didnt say that or, no, no, the debt is sacred, even though i said id give our creditors a hair cut. Among others, that enables his people when he says oh, no, i dont like White Supremacists to say, no, he does. Hes just saying that now. And the people, the republicans
holding their nose and supporting him can say hes not really a nut. Hell really be flexible. So everybody can believe what they wish about him. And thats in his very slipperiness and his very self contradictoriness, he is winning. New this morning, the white house says president obama will make an historic visit to hiroshima later this month. The president is traveling to vietnam and japan from may 21st to the 28th. His last stop in japan will be hiroshima. According to the white house, hell make the trip with japans Prime Minister to highlight a continued commitment to pursue peace without Nuclear Weapons. But according to the ap, while the president is expected to honor the victims of the bombing, he is not expected to apologize. So speaking of the president , mike writes this. Obamas part in the election could be significant. The biggest question could be about barack obama is just who it is he helps the most when it is Hillary Clinton against trump in the fall. Between now and election day, voters will be asked to decide if they think the country is better off today than it was eight years ago when he took office. Especially as it becomes more clear and by the day that Hillary Clinton is running for obamas third term as much as her first. She does this despite the fact that the rise of trump began with a clear hatred of obama that defines Donald Trumps base as much as fear of and anger about muslims and mexican immigrants and the economy and Everything Else that has brought him to this moment. Truly the greatest unknowable in the campaign, even with the president s Approval Rating holding at 51 for the past couple of months is this. Does he help hillary in this fight or not . Steve rattner, what do you
think . I think she has no choice. Her nature is such that shes not going to walk away from the president in Whose Administration she served. Shes not going to do that. Can i just interrupt you . You can be joe. I agree with you. I also think this president has done great things and accomplished things on the economy that people dont remember where we were. So even though they arent where we want to be, he has, including with your help quite frankly, has done some incredible things for this country and when i hear Hillary Clinton talk about president obama and really embrace him in her i feel uncomfortable for her. Its not that i disagree with what shes saying. Its that i dont think thats what i dont think people are that comfortable with things. And i dont feel it works. I think running for anybodys third term if you look back at history, has been tricky. Weve rarely elected a president
of the same party after someone thats served two terms. Its part of her personality to be loyal and Everything Else you just said is also part of the narrative thats his popularity is now above 50 . Hopefully it will stay there. She can talk about his accomplishments and remind people where we were eight years ago. I dont think theres another way to play this game. Its not a bad hand. Put it within the context of Hillary Clintons own relative unpopularity that critics of the president and Hillary Clinton use this third term line and for good reason as something that makes voters uncomfortable. Right now if you look at where they stand with the electorate, obama would probably van easier time winning a third term than Hillary Clinton would winning a first. His Approval Ratings are not just higher than theyve been in a few months. They are higher than theyve been in three years. And again, were talking there about this swing 10 . Sometimes they disprove, sometimes they approve. Thats the very 10 thats going to decide this election. Kurt anderson, stay with us. Is facebooks trending section a sham . Which topics former facebook employees said they were told to keep you from seeing. Were back in a moment. Hmmmmmm. [ dreams by beck ] hmmmmm. Hmmmmm. The turbocharged dream machine. The Volkswagen Golf gti. Part of the awardwinning golf family. Is caringing because covering heals faster. For a bandage that moves with you and stays on all day, cover with a bandaid brand flexible fabric adhesive bandage. And if you have afib an irregular heartbeatls. That may put you at five times greater risk of stroke they can pool together in the heart, forming a clot that can break free, and travel upstream to the brain where it can block blood flow and cause a stroke. But if you have afib thats not caused by a heart valve problem, pradaxa can help stop clots from forming. Pradaxa was better than warfarin at reducing the risk of stroke, in a Clinical Trial without the need for regular blood tests. And, in the rare event of an emergency, pradaxa is the only oral blood thinner other than warfarin with a specific reversal treatment to help your body clot normally again. Pradaxa is not for people who have had a heart valve replacement. Dont stop taking pradaxa without talking to your doctor. Stopping increases your risk of stroke or blood clots. Ask your doctor if you need to stop pradaxa before any planned medical or dental procedure. Pradaxa can cause serious, and sometimes, fatal bleeding. Dont take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding. And seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if youre 75 or older, have kidney problems, stomach ulcers, a bleeding condition, or take certain medicines. Side effects with pradaxa can include indigestion,
stomach pain, upset or burning. Go with pradaxa, the only blood thinner that lowers your stroke risk better than warfarin and has a specific reversal treatment. Eligible patients could pay as little as zero dollars on copay. Ask your doctor about pradaxa today. Time for business before the bell with cnbcs sara eisen. What are you watching today . Wall street is looking like it is heading for an up day, but a lot depends on the price of oil. Were still beholden to that commodity, which direction it goes, the market generally follows. Also a big Earnings Report this afternoon from disney. Well see what that looks like. Were all talking about the facebook story. Facebook fighting back this morning. Vehemently denying claims that its suppressing conservative trends. It gets at this question on the front page of the New York Post and other papers this
morning at whether facebook is censoring politically conservative articles in its trending section of curated news on its side bar. This is sparked by a gizmoto report citing a former Facebook News curator saying popular articles from politically conservative outlets on conservative subjects were deliberately left out of the trending news side bar. We should note that even gizmoto described the former facebook worker himself as, quote, politically conservative and theres no evidence in the article that facebook management was aware of this. They also interviewed other curators who deny consciously suppressing any conservative media. And facebook this morning writs writing in a statement, we take allegations of bias very seriously. Facebook is a platsform for people and perspectives from across the political spectrum. It shows you the popular topics being talked about on facebook. Theres still criticism and its
an important question. 1. 6 billion people around the world are getting their content and are users of facebook. More than 222 million in the u. S. And canada alone, and it does raise this question of who is curating this information and hour are they doing it . Its not great for the optics. A few months ago Mark Zuckerberg warned against, quote, fearful voices building walls, adding to the political conversation. Sara eisen, thank you very much. Up next, Hillary Clinton goes to coal country even though many voters are less than thrilled to see her. Why today she may lose the state she won easily eight years ago. Keep it here on morning joe. Intuitive. With the pressure of my hand i can draw lightly, just like i would with a real pencil. Ive been a forensic artist for over 30 years. I do the composite sketches which are the bad guy sketches. You need good resolution, powerful processor
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ondemand, this hospital can be ready. Giving them the agility to be flexible reliable. Beuse no one knows like at t. Were going to put a lot of coal miners and Coal Companies out of business. Right, tim . And were going to make it clear that we dont want to forget those people. But i dont want to move away from the people who did the best they could to produce the energy that we relied on. I do feel a little sad and sorry that i gave folks the reason or excuse to be so upset with me because that is not what i intended at all. That was Hillary Clinton apologizing for her comments on the coal Mining Industry during a march town hall. Joining us now, business and tech correspondent for nbc news and msnbc, olivia sterns. Shes just back from West Virginia. The mining community. What did you hear when you were
actually speaking one on one with folks about the election . Obviously coal is everything in appalachia. This is the life blood of the entire region. For generations. For nearly 100 years. I sat down with levi holstein. And i sat down with his father who is now disabled. He has black lung after decades working in the mine. Levis father remembers voting for bill clinton back in the 90s. Listen to what he had to say today. This is a democrat state, a democrat county with all the coal miners. And now its going for trump . Simple reason, aint going to vote for hillary. I dont know nothing about her because she stood up here and said she was going to put the Coal Companies out of business. And that just totally turned people off. Turned them against her completely. Did you ever think maybe
shes being honest . Im sure she is being honest. Thats just like our president now, president obama. He said about six years ago in his first term, he said i will bankrupt the coal business. He promised it, and he done it. And a lot of folks down there also said it was very much the way she said it. I didnt meet anyone who had taken the time to watch a clip of Hillary Clinton talking about this on youtube. They just said it hurt to hear that and even though theyre not exactly sure how donald trump thinks hes going to bring back the coal jobs, they just cant get behind hillary. West virginia is such a proud state. Its a state of calluses, cold dust memories, generations of families. Kept the lights on in this country for decades. Its kind of over. Natural gas and oil. The reality of what confronts the coal industry. Are they truly aware of it . Its hard to say. The industry and the region deeply in decline right now. Theres this profound ripple impact. Schools losing teachers. Hospitals having to lay off doctors because it sucks all the air out of the economy. The truth is jobs are just not coming back. I also spoke to a former Obama Administration Energy Policy expert. And he was saying, no, look. This is a multidecade decline of coal in this country. Look at the market forces, the rise of natural gas in the past couple of years thanks to fracking. Then the environmental regulation and everything the Obama Administration is doing. And even if we do actually get clean coal working which is far from certain right now, its still cheaper to get the coal out of the ground in wyoming and a lot more up here than in appalachia. West virginia coal is not coming back. Coal in general is in a very different place than four years ago or eight years ago or 12 years ago. Almost a national consensus
against coal. Four Coal Companies in this country. Theyre all bankrupt. And so i think the one wouldnt call it a mistake. The additional thing hillary should have said is those jobs arent coming back but heres whats i would propose to do for the people affected by it, and theres a lot stuff we can and should be doing which isnt being done because of the gridlock in washington. Kurt . Its an example of a larger problem in our president ial politics that when you tell the truth, not well, too bankruptly and rudely as Hillary Clinton did, it doesnt play. So what you feed instead to voters are fantasies. It can be just the way it used to be. We dont need to reform entitlements and well have manufacturing back the way it was. And you can say Merry Christmas to strangers. Shes been held accountable to this is a bigger conversation. And donald trump exactly right. Olivia, really, really good interview. Interesting conversation. Olivia sterns. That does it for us this morning. Steve kornacki, hes so mean. I cant believe it. Hes still on. Steve kornacki. Hes like wait until you see him. Hes vicious. Mean steve. Thats his new name. He picks up the coverage after a quick break. Quality servic and that in a new house, you probably dont share the same tastes as the previous owner. [ dolphin chatters ] so when you need a little house painting or a complete remodel, well help you get the job done right, guaranteed. Get started today at angies list, because your home is where our heart is. Listerine® kills 99 of bad breath germs. This is 100 useful for a 100 fresh mouth. Whats it like to not feel 100 fresh . We dont know. We swish listerine®. As do listerine® users. The very people we studied in the study of bold. People who are statistically more likely to stand up to a bully. Do a yoga handstand. And be in a magicians act. Listerine® kills 99 of bad breath germs so you can feel 100 in life. Bring out the bold™. In the country have in common . Many of them now call Cancer Treatment centers of america home. Expert medicine works here. Find out why at cancer center. Com. Cancer Treatment Centers of america. You live life your way. We can help you retire your way, too. Financial guidance while youre mastering life. From chase. So you can. And good morning. Im steve kornacki. Topping the agenda, the hostile takeover. What will Donald Trumps Republican Party stand for . Paul ryan says hes ready to skip chairing the convention if he and trump cant get on the same page. If he asked you to step down as chair of the convention. Ill do whatever he wants with respect to the convention. That big trump ryan facetoface meeting set for this thursday. Hints about what ryan may want from trump and what trump may offer ryan. Also news of another Top Republican who is also going to be sitting down with trump this thursday. Thats still ahead this morning. Also on the agenda, Hillary Clinton could be on the verge of another loss today against Bernie Sanders. This one in West Virginia. Even as attention shifts to a clinton trump showdown. Im running my campaign. Im not running against him. Hes doing a fine job of doing that himself. Im running my campaign, what i want to do as
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