♪ right now on "andrea mitchell reports" -- party war. donald trump rallying about the delegate selection process and saying that the head of the republican party should be, quote, ashamed. >> these are dirty tricksters. this is a dirty trick, and i'll tell you why. the rnc, the republican national committee, they should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this kind of crap to happen. and we got to show our republican party you've been disenfranchised, everybody has. you've got to show the republican party that they can't get away with this stuff any longer. party pooper no way, no how, not happening, not going to do it. >> it's going to be a new person, i can tell you that. >> it's not going to be you. >> it's not going to be me. >> it will be very clear you're not running for president. >> yes, that's to be very clear. thank you. and party of one as bernie sanders walks the picket line with verizon workers striking in new york. bernie gets his only endorsement from a sitting senator. >> you are standing on not just for justice but verizon workers, you're standing up for millions of americans. >> senator jeff mercury of oregon for bernie, endorsing sanders today joins us coming up right here on "andrea mitchell reports". good day, everyone, i'm andrea mitchell in new york. donald trump makes the republican party his latest political target. a strategy that could be the first step towards chaos in cleveland. trump is taking the fight directly to republican national committee chairman saying the rnc doesn't want him to get the party's nomination, calling the process a disgrace. the chairman responding by taking the unexpected step of attacking his party's front-runner. tweeting nomination process known for a year and beyond, it's the responsibility of the campaigns to understand it. complaints now give us all a break. joining me now with the latest about this republican race nbc's peter alexander and covering the democrats for us right here in new york, nbc's kristen welker and kasie hunt. first of all, peter, congratulations on your exclusive interview with the speaker. >> thank you. >> and the fascinating tour around the capitol under construction, but just how nasty is this donald trump attack on the rnc, only ten days ago he was at republican headquarters making nice? >> that's exactly right. you gave one of the examples, he now called this delegate process over seen by the rnc a disgrace, a scam, unjust, unfair. he also said that reince himself should be ashamed of the process that he's overseeing right now, but it's unlikely that you see donald trump back away from this line, his party -- his campaign has largely been fueled by keying in on the grievances of so many americans who feel like their party is out of touch with their feelings, that the political establishment in general is out of touch with their frustrations the status quo is out of touch with the lives that they are leading right now. and the challenge, of course, for the rnc, for reince, they are to be the umpires here. the challenge for them is not to appear like they're tipping the scales in any way going forward, but as we understand, there hasn't been any conversation between the trump campaign and the rnc, according to party insiders since the colorado delegates were awarded in full to ted cruz. the campaign says that will likely happen soon. the insiders anticipate it will happen soon as well, but it's unclear when and if they ever make up. >> what about the turmoil within the organization, the trump so-called organization? does the failure in colorado and louisiana before that, do those delegate hunting failures strengthen paul manafort against lieu wen dou ski? >> there's a lot of intrigue in terms of what's going on behind the scenes right now, the sort of infighting, the frustrations as are expected in a lot of campaigns. obviously the ted cruz campaign out thes its discipline right now, but the bottom line is it's donald trump who is leading this effort right now. and so he, at the end of the day, is making up his mind on what he wants to do and say, a conversation he had with the hill newspaper, some people internally were told believe was not his wisest move that he has to sort of get above the fray to some degree right now, but this is only going to continue to churn perhaps with new york as sort of an end date where they can celebrate some good news and try to move that to propel them forward to some of the other northeast states. >> your interview with paul ryan, luke was reporting with us yesterday that paul ryan's calculus is he, if the senate leadership turns to the democrats, he will be mr. republican for the next four years. assuming there's no republican in the white house and that's where the odds are right now. and if that's the case, he would be much better off becoming the spokesman for the republican party as the speaker and then taking his chances given his youth four years from now. >> well, no. in many ways, you know, and i was with him yesterday, he didn't talk about his plans for four years from right now obviously, but he is running sort of parallel campaign to sort of the disarray and the frustrations that you're witnessing and the sort of turmoil of the campaign season. he's trying to present this optimistic, this positive, this future-oriented vision for the party right now. and while he is ruling himself out as he made clear again to us during our exclusive conversation, he also has strong opinions on who convention delegates should choose. take a listen. >> earlier today you talked about how the rules committee you would encourage that -- >> i would. >> make it so nobody who didn't run could be on the ballot. >> that's right. >> could we see someone like scott walker, marco rubio or jeb bush back? >> i'm not going to fore close anybody's option. all i would say is i believe the members of the rules committee who have yet to be selected, it's comprised of delegates, i think, that they should have a rule that you have to run for president to get the nomination. >> the bottom line is the highest ranking official in the house, paul ryan, will be there in cleveland. he'll preside as the chairman of the convention, andrea, means one way or another he'll take the stage this summer. >> thanks so much to you. great reporting. we really appreciate it, peter. and to the democratic side, you've got bernie sanders walking a picket line right now, hillary clinton preparing to go on with reverend al and the national action network, especially difficult and pointed given her recent controversies. kristen welker and kasie hunt with us here. kristen, first to you and the recent difficulties that hillary clinton has had with potentially minority voters, her strong point over bernie sanders, but the misstep over the so-called joke that was told with bill de blasio and more importantly the crime bill, the protest that bill clinton handled inartfully, to say the least, last week. >> reporter: absolutely. some missteps some would argue on the part of the clinton campaign and her stop surrogate, former president bill clinton last week preresponding angry to some protesters in philadelphia when they said they opposed his 1994 crime bill. he essentially defended not only his bill but secretary clinton in a way that some felt was over the top and defensive. he later tried to walk back those remarks to some extent, saying his response wasn't quite appropriate, but that he stands by some parts of that bill. meanwhile, that incident that you mentioned over the weekend, secretary clinton participating in a skit with mayor bill de blasio which they joked about cp time which is a reference to quote unquote colored people time, a reference to the fact that the stereotype that african-americans can be late but in that skit, of course, cp referred to cautious politicians. now, bill de blasio walked that back and said, look, he didn't mean to offend anyone and today secretary clinton speaking about that in the first time in a radio interview she stands by bill de blasio did. but the bottom line is it raises questions, did those incidents offend some of secretary clinton's support among african-americans? could she see that support erode? i've been talking to clinton campaign officials who insist that's not going to happen. there's no doubt, she spent a lot of time trying to sure up their support in the wake of those incidents. she's going to speak here at the national action network, as you referenced. she will be talking about environmental justice and calling for an end to lead poisoning over the next five years. it's a policy initiative that could help harness momentum among the critical voting block here in new york. andrea? >> she did pick up the new york daily news endorsement. kasie hunt, on the eve of their big debate tomorrow, bernie sanders is now not only having walked the picket line today, but he will have what is expected to be an enormous rally tonight near nyu in union square or washington square park and this after enormous crowds that he has had in buffalo and schenectady and the bronx, so his crowds are perhaps far bigger than the support that he has, according to the latest polling in new york. that debate is really critical turning point tomorrow night. >> that's right, andrea. i think they're trying to show strength in light of many of these negative polling numbers they have, these three big rallies planned over the course of the days between now and tuesday, when this critical new york primary comes up, this washington square rally expected to be quite a visual that, of course, will send him into that debate. but then of course, to vatican city for two days, he is, of course, leaving new york. trying to stack up kind of these opportunities and walking that piktd line, the communication workers of america, handful of national union groups that have endorsed him, the others being the postal workers. but for the most part, either these unions have stayed neutral or many of them have backed hillary clinton. now, the verizon ceo coming out this afternoon with an op-ed calling his policies contemptible, so kind of an interesting back and forth going on there, where you can see sanders there with the workers, on the other hand, of course, the ceo pushing back against him. one quick thing to mention, too, andrea, that's new today, senator sanders will be sending out some fund raising e-mails for a handful of democratic candidates for congress. sever teach out among them, lucy flores who is challenging the candidate harry reid's preferred candidate in nevada. so there's been a lot of questions about whether or not bernie sanders was going to turn this massive fund raising apparatus he has to work for democratic candidates. looks like we'll see a little bit of that but for the more progressive candidates not necessarily the establishment ones, andrea. >> thank you to kasie hunt and kristen weller. joining me now is oregon jeff merkley. thank you for being with us. >> you're welcome. >> you stand alone for supporting your fellow senator? >> you bet. bernie sanders has been a very bold and very determined voice on the biggest issues facing america. whether it has been restructuring our financial system, campaign cash, global warming, these issues and certainly living wage jobs. and so on each of those areas he's been consistent long before he ran for the presidency. he's tapped into the deep frustration of americans with a system that has become highly rigged both politically and economically and he is the right voice, i feel, the most effective voice in terms of taking our country in the direction it needs to go. >> are you at all concerned by the questions that have been raised about his difficulties in answering the editorial board of the new york daily news on some of the signature issues. what would he do? how would you break up the banks? what would happen to the jobs that would be lost? what authority does the fed have? >> sure. you have to take each candidate in the entirety of their experience. and what we saw with bernie when he was mayor of burlington, he was incredibly effective in bringing the minor league team and putting them on a great path. he was the king of amendments. he was the most effective member in getting amendments. those were targeted at struggling americans, middle class americans, he came to the senate and he was a bipartisan force for veterans with a fabulous bill. he proceeded to champion the expansion of our health care clinics as part of the affordable care act. issue after issue, he's been in the fight and been clear and willing to take on powerful forces whether it's the coke brothers in the fossil fuel industry or taking and getting the gambling, the wall street gambling shut down. >> do you have any concerns about the democratic party coming together? because he's not been at all clear on what role he will play in unifying the party, if he does lose the nomination to hillary clinton. we all know in 2008 what she did after june 5th, after california, she was full bore in for barak obama. would you expect if he does lose the nomination, he is behind, would you expect him to unify behind the democratic candidate given the republican alternatives? >> yes, andrea. we are blessed with two candidates who have great experience, great expertise, great minds and great hearts. and so the democratic side of the ticket is in a completely different place and the circus on the republican side. once the primary is decided, you'll see both sides reach out together, come together because that's essential for the success of america going forward. so, i do completely expect whoever comes out behind to, one, for the winner to reach out and, second, for the loser to reach out and put us on a track hand in hand together. >> and some people have found it surprising that other progressives, including your fellow senator elizabeth warren, have not endorse ed bernie sanders. do you expect elizabeth warren to endorse or any of the others? >> no. i can't speak for the senators who haven't endorsed. the time of my endorsement is really based on the election in oregon. we vote by mail. the ballots go out on april 28th, so this is certainly the right time for me to weigh in. >> jeff merkley, senator, thank you for being with us today. >> you're welcome. take care. coming up, former presidential marco rubio inching closer to an endorsement. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. ♪ ♪ ♪ only those who dare drive the world forward. introducing the first-ever cadillac ct6. her long day as anne. hair stylist starts with shoulder pain when... hey joanne, want to trade the all day relief of 2 aleve with 6 tylenol? give up my 2 aleve for 6 tylenol? no thanks. for me... it's aleve. what if 30,000 people download the new app? we're good. okay... what if a million people download the new app? we're good. five million? good. we scale on demand. hybrid infrastructure, boom. ok. what if 30 million people download the app? we're not good. we're total heroes. scale on demand with the number one company in cloud infrastructure. trolling for a gig with can't blame you. it's a drone you control with your brain, which controls your thumbs, which control this joystick. no, i'm actually over at the ge booth. we're creating the operating system for industry. it's called predix. it's gonna change the way thworld works. ok, i'm 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, i'm just gonna email it to you. yeah that's probably safer. ok, cool. billions are spent to confuse and, dare i say it, flummox the american public. 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the argument for tea party purity and white lives matter nativism each need discrediting defeat. they seem to be the two available choices, unfortunately. now, paul ryan has really taken himself out of it, who is left? >> well, i think that ted cruz has done something which is pretty extraordinary in contrast to trump, he has gained the support of the republican establishment when he spent his entire career criticizing the republican establishment. it really is an indication of how devicive trump is. that message is really unprecedented in the party. there's plenty of republicans that don't want to even risk the possibility of a trump victory, so they're willing to go with cruz. it's really created an amazing coalition. >> you know, ted cruz as we speak is at the harvard club a few blocks from here. you don't get much more establishment than that. i know he went to harvard law school, but he is hardly identified with either harvard law or princeton, his undergraduate school, in fact, criticized by many of his former classmates. this was ted cruz on a pod cast interview with glen beck and what he had to say about donald trump. >> donald needs to understand he's not michael corleone. i understand that donald has had some very shady business deals with people that are currently in prison mobsters. but the presidency should not be la cosa nostra -- donald needs to stop threatening the voters. he needs to stop threatening the delegates. he is not a mobster. >> he's not a mobster but i'm suggesting he has to stop acting like don. look, where do you go as sort of a moderate, thoughtful republican among many republicans who are sort of tearing their hair out, michael? >> well, i think a lot of them are led to exactly where marco rubio is, that it's better to lose with cruz. cruz's argument has always been the party is not pure enough. if only it were more pure, it would win. i think that's an arkt that will fail. he will lose in december -- or in november because of his fairly narrow appeal. but trump might really break the party, not just cause it to lose. and he can do something that hillary clinton can't. he can change the party in fundamental ways that drive a significant number of republicans away. you know, cruz, i think, is more within the general range of conservative ideology. trump is doing something entirely different. trump had a chance three or four weeks ago to sew this up, to appeal to republicans more broadly, to speak of unity. and he did not. he attacked heidi cruz. he could not handle the abortion question. now he is going after the entire nomination process. i think that he is proving that he can't be the candidate of unity everyday through his statements and cruz is taking advantage of that. >> and briefly, what about john kasich? >> i think kasich is going into this having shown he can't win in any state but one. that's not a very strong position to go into a convention like this. i think cruz has staked his claim that he has a serious organization, he can win primaries. you know, there are a lot of disturbing things in cruz's ideology as well, but i think it has less chance of breaking and undermining the long-term of the republican party. >> michael gersen, as always, thank you so much. >> thank you. be sure to tune in tomorrow night back-to-back town halls right here on msnbc. at 7:00 p.m. eastern, chris matthews talks to john kasich. and at 8:00 p.m. chuck todd sits down with ted cruz. coming up live from new york moments from now, hillary clinton is expected to take the stage in manhattan at reverend al sharpton's national action network convention. can she hold on to her much needed support with african-american voters after missteps by two of her top surrogates. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. at mfs investment management, we believe in the power of active management. by debating our research to find the best investments. by looking at global and local insights to benefit from different points of view. and by consistently breaking apart risk to focus on long-term value. we actively manage with expertise and conviction. so you can invest with more certainty. mfs. that's the power of active management. burning of diabetic nerve pain, these feet were the first in my family to graduate from college and trained as a nurse. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. so i talked to my doctor and he prescribed lyrica. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, musc pain with fever, tired feeling or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. now i have less diabetic nerve pain. ask your doctor about lyrica. jofor their wedding one searching fbooking.com.ct place oh! yurt. yes! earthy... just rustic. 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[gasps] from bank of america to buy a new gym bag. before earning 1% cash back everywhere, every time and 2% back at the grocery store. even before he got 3% back on gas. kenny used his bankamericard cash rewards credit card to join the wednesday night league. because he loves to play hoops. not jump through them. that's the excitement of rewarding connections. apply online or at a bank of america near you. hillary clinton under fire from some groups for racially insensitive comments by bill clinton last week, defending hillary clinton's record from the 1990s, as well as her joke at that se tear kal press dinner over the weekend. will that affect the minority turnout in new york next week? i'm joined by ruben diaz jr., bronx bureau president, a clinton supporter, rode the subway with her. you got through on the metropolitan card on a single swipe. it's so great to meet you. >> pleasure to be here. >> really connected from childhood days to the bronx the yankees and all of the above. hillary clinton, she had enormous success with african-american voters in particular. is there some wiggle room? does she have a problem with younger african-american voters given what's happened in the last two weeks? >> i don't think so. when we were in the bronx the other day, not only african-americans but latino voters, voters in general in the bronx or brooklyn, she was at the apollo theater last week. today she is coming back to the bronx today. we all know her. we've worked with her. when you look at a county like the bronx, we've come back a long way. we are like the national comeback story. and when you speak of issues of immigration, we have 41% of our constituents who were born in another country. when you look at job creation and safety and really getting down to it and having real solutions to the real problems, we want someone who has been with us there and hillary has been that person, so i think next tuesday what you're going to see is a resounding victory here in new york state and then we're going to take that on to seal this out and march into november. >> now, she was on wins radio, 1010 wins new york responding to the question about that cp joke, that poorly thought out joke. let's listen. >> that joke in the inner circle, the cp thing, critics now saying that you threw bill de blasio under the bus because you said it was his joke, did you? >> no. the mayor was the first one who said that, you know, it was his skit and he, you know, he had worked through what he wanted to say and i was thrilled to be there and show up with him. you know, i think that the mayor is perfectly capable of speaking for himself. >> no regrets about the bit? >> you have to ask the mayor. >> i agree with her. this is something that happens every year with the inner circle. the mayor said that he had his writers do this. she was just trying to be part of what's a charity event to raise money for different charities with the press corp. here in the city of new york and the mayor has already said that, you know, he already dealt with this issue. i don't think it will affect her. again, people know who she is. she's been there for the minority community. she's been there on fighting against racial profiling, job reform, so we will be with the person who has been with us in the past, the most experienced, the most qualified, the person who has been a friend to the latino and african-american community and to new york. she has shown that as a u.s. senator. she has the secretary of state she has the best record and the best qualifications to deal international and foreign affairs and that's why she deserves to be the next president of the united states. >> now, let me ask you about the crime bill. "the new york times" editorial today, the crime bill from 1994 and some of her comments from back then when she was first lady but a key adviser to the president on the crime bill at the time wrote the times on the iraq war trade wars some young critics view mrs. clinton's changes in position unprincipled or convenient. the way to reach those voters is to acknowledge their objectives and understand. does she have to explain her pragmatism? >> i think that's what's happening. that's what we've been doing whether it's her or the surrogates and people are starting to realize her record first of all on the crime bill, the former president apologized for the unintended consequences, the secretary has said that she has been mistaken the word that she used back then, remember this is 20 some odd years ago. and she's never used those words again. but let's not forget, especially folks who come from areas like the bronx, what it used to be like in the '80s and early '90s, in the bronx alone in 1990 the homicide rate was 653 and now we are the safest bronx that the world has seen in the last 50 years. and so things had to happen, laws had to be passed and certainly it doesn't mean that we didn't have a backlash or a negative effect on those laws. those are things that we always continue to work on and to address and that's what the secretary has said she would do as president. >> ruben diaz jr., bureau president from the bronx, it's great to meet you. >> good to see you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> see you again. tech billionaire sean parker, original president of the facebook announced today he is donating $250 million to fight cancer. parker's contribution will bring together more than 300 scientists at six of the major cancer research centers in the country, including memorial sloan keterring here in new york. the fund willing go specifically to immu know therapy which enhances the body's fight cancer. it's the largest single contribution ever made in the field. immu know therapy considered the breakthrough treatment, the cutting edge of this fight to beat cancer. coming up here, the secret to donald trump's success just ahead. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc, the place for politics. i'm mary ellen, and i quit smoking with chantix. i always came back to smoking. i was absolutely frustrated, absolutely. i did not think chantix would work as well as it did. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced my urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. some had seizures while taking chantix. if you have any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse or of seizures. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you have these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have heart or blood vessel problems, or develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. use caution when driving or operating machinery. most common side-affect is nausea. i did it. i quit smoking. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. ♪ live pictures here in manhattan at this hour, hillary clinton's expected to speak momentarily at the national action network headquarters during that organization's annual convention with reverend al. joining me now for our daily fix, chris cillizza and founder of the washington post fix blog, and washington post national political reporter, abby fellit. welcome, both. abby, first to you, i was just talking to ruben diaz jr. about how hillary clinton reboots her situation with minority voters and he's arguing that she really doesn't have a problem by inference that bernie sanders has not had his impact with those voters and that those missteps have not really mattered. what are you picking up on the campaign trail? >> i think the campaign generally feels like at this moment they have a pretty good handle on the african-american ter, but they recognize that the continuing emergence of this issue is a problem for her. it is creating a lot of complicated and negative headlines for them and it also reflects a deeper sort of unsettling among -- particularly among younger african-americans about where the clintons really stand on this issue. and i have talked to clinton advisers who said they recognize there's more work to be done on this and they're looking for ways to broach what is a generational divide between the african-americans who worked with her and president clinton in the '90s and the younger ones who are part of the black lives matter movement who are clearly a little bit uncertain about the clintons and how they view some of these issues. >> and chris cillizza, what about the whole issue of the delegate hunt? are the sanders' people getting tough the way some have said the ted cruz people are? there's a new website giving superdelegates names and phone numbers. are the superdelegates the key, really the remaining key to bernie sanders' hope, you know, converting some of them? and how tough is that lobbying effort? >> well, let me start with i think it's very tough and go back a little bit, andrea. i think there's a lot of sort of misunderstanding of what the delegate situation is, because a lot of people say donald trump said it last night, well bernie is only behind because of the superdelegates. it's actually not right. hillary clinton is ahead in pledged delegates, ones won in primaries by about 200, 230. now, if you add her 400 plus superdelegate lead, she is obviously ahead by a lot more, but if you look at that math, pledged delegates is very hard for bernie sanders to catch up. he needs to win with 60% in four big states. he needs to win in new york, pennsylvania, california and new jersey with 60% or more to make up that pledged delegates. that won't happen. what does that mean? he has to turn a bunch of superdelegates. i tend to think it is unlikely. we made a big deal today that we got the endorsement of a single u.s. senator, one of his colleagues. you have to get a lot more of that. i'm not sure there's the rational of the superdelegates to do it. >> let's talk also about donald trump. there was a town hall last night, a cnn town hall ivanka trump talking about the women and the whole question that's been raised about donald trump and his relationship with women. this was her defense of her dad. >> you know, for me, i think, the way he raised me, the way he raised tiffany, it's a testament to the fact that he believes and inspiring women and empowering women. he always taught me that there wasn't anything i couldn't do if i set my mind to it, if i had deep passion, if i really unearth what it is that i wanted to do with my life and worked very hard to achieve it. i don't think that's the message a father would relay to a daughter who he didn't believe had the potential to accomplish exactly what her brothers could. >> ivanka trump, probably the best surrogate for her dad, abby. >> absolutely. i mean, ivanka in a lot of ways always there to kind of counterbalance what donald trump is really in a lot of ways doing to himself. but the problem is, this is donald trump and these are his words, the things that are coming out of his mouth, the things that are happening at his events, in defense of his campaign manager after that incident with the reporter. i mean, these are all things that have become part of his record and the public's fear. and i really don't think that i can va essentially saying he is a good dad is going to change much of that. donald trump's problems with women go deeper than that. we've seen some of these things. they're already in campaign ads. it's hard to take that back and it's hard for one testimony from his daughter to do the trick. >> all right, chris cillizza and abby phillip, thanks so much. we just had to show you this from the houston astros' game, president bush 41 with the first pitch wearing the team uniform, complete with astro orange socks. the former president looking like he was having a loft fun and it's always great fun to see him and of course the crowd just loved it. we'll be back after these short messages. our cosmetics line was a hit. the orders were rushing in. i could feel our deadlines racing towards us. we didn't need a loan. we needed short-term funding fast. building 18 homes in 4 ½ months? 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(applause) there's a fascinating new report out on how the fbi managed to crack into the iphone of one of the san bernardino shooters paying professional hackers to help. joining me now is pete williams with more. pete, what have you learned about how the fbi did it? >> well, bits of this story have been coming out sort of incrementally over the last couple of weeks. what we don't know is who did it and how. that's classified. that doesn't stop people from trying to nibble around the edges. the fbi has been pretty transparent is n saying you're looking at syed farook. it's his phone. it was the one left behind that's been locked. and that's why the fbi was suing apple. the fbi has been pretty transparent about saying that it was the worldwide publicity about this fight with apple that got people interested. it was simply a puzzle that was too tempting to pass up. individuals have riz on the the occasion and what we're told is it wasn't a big corporation, it wasn't a government agency, it was individuals who came forward with the idea and were, in fact, paid for it. and now the method is classified, but it's -- it shines a light, this story shines a light on this world of hackers who do this and get paid for it. there are white hat hackers that help identify problems in software and hardware for companies, and then there are what the hacker community calls gray hats. these are people who help the government to some hackers that's not right because they believe the government is spying on everybody and nobody should help them. but there is a world of hackers and the government agencies use them and as a matter of fact the pent gone is inviting people to hack into the pentagon systems to help identify problems. that's one way these people are used. tell us what's insecure about our system so we can fix it but the other way it's used is like this here is a thing we can't open. you have any ideas? and there's no shortage of them. the fbi director said they tried lots of ideas that people proposed, finally they found one that worked. >> and of course there's been a lot of speculation that israel may have been involved or israeli former intelligence operatives who helped in a joint operation involving iran's nuclear procedures, nuclear facilities, i should say, so there are all sorts of people out there, including a lot of people in israel who are, you know, very adept at this thing. we don't know exactly who was involved, though, correct? >> that's the other side of this. there's no shortage of people who are claiming it was them. several of these claims the fbi has denied. they won't say who it was, but they've in a couple of cases said who it isn't. they've said, for example, it's not the israeli security firm selibrite. it's more individuals not associated with a big company, but they won't be more specific than that. of course there's a couple of decisions that the fish has to make about this. one is, are they going to tell apple? they're actually thinking about it says comey. normally the government does tell companies when it finds problems, but my suspicion here is that the fbi will want to make sure that they can exploit this and get their money's worth before they tell apple what it was so apple can fix it. the other side of it is will fbi now apply this tool to open the thousands of iphones across the country that police have that they say contain evidence? here it turns out, andrea, it will be of limited use. it works only on the specific kind of phone that farook had so it probably won't be much help to the local police. >> pete williams, as always, thank you so much. right now to reverend al's national action network, hillary clinton is speaking, talking about the gun problem and also talking about minority families and minority heroes, jackie robinson. >> if he could see us now. the decades since he put down his glove have brought remarkable progress. the rise of the black middle class, the tremendous leadership of african-americans in all walks of life, from business and law to government, science, the arts, all the professions and, of course, barak and michelle obama in the white house. but as you know so well, the last few years also have laid bearer deep fault lines in america. they've revealed how frayed our bonds of trust and respect have become. despite our best effortins and r highest hopes, americas long struggle with racism is far finished. and we are seeing that in this election. when the front-runner for the republican nomination was asked in a national television interview to disavow david duke and other white supremacists supporting his campaign, he played coy. this is the same donald trump who led the insidious birther movement to delegitimize president obama. he has called mexican immigrants rapists and murders. he wants to ban all muslims from entering the united states. and the list goes on. and not to be outdone by his primary rival, ted cruz would treat muslim americans like criminals and religiously profile their neighborhoods. so, ugly currents that lurk just below the surface of our politics have burst into the open. and everyone sees this bigotry for what it is. therefore, it is up to all of us to repudiate it. here in new york, we don't all look the same, sound the same or worship the same. but we have learned over the years that america's problems won't be solved by building walls and dividing our country between us and them. we know our diversity is a strength, not a weakness. and new york represents the best of american values. despite what some on the other side have said and that we have to constantly challenge ourselves to stand up and face all that we still have to overcome. now, of course the problem goes far deeper than donald trump or ted cruz. more than a half a century after rosa parks sat and dr. king marched and john lewis fled, race still plays a significant role in determining who gets ahead in america and who gets left behind. there's something wrong, my friends, when the median wealth for black families is a tiny fraction of the median wealth for white families. when african-americans are still more likely to be denied in mortgage. something is wrong when black kids get arrested for petty crimes but white kids who do the same things don't. something is wrong when gun violence is by far the leading cause of death for young black men outstripping the next nine causes of death combined. something is wrong when so many black parents are burying their children. imagine if a white baby in parts of our country was twice as likely to die before her first birthday than a black baby. imagine the outcry and the resources that would flood in to save those babies. these are not only problems of economic inequality, they are also problems of racial inequality. and it is time we face up to the reality of systemic racism in all of its forms. >> hillary clinton at the national action network here in manhattan. joining me now, nbc news senior political editor mark murray and bringing back abby phillip. so, mark, first of all, she is way in front in our poll and all the other polls in new york with this primary just next tuesday. tomorrow night's debate could be that pivot moment, the last chance for bernie sanders, but then he is going to roam for two days. a bad bit of scheduling. >> yeah. and you never know on these types of things, andrea. i was just struck hearing hillary clinton and her message to african-americans and such an important constituency for her. she is leading bernie sanders among african-americans by 68% to 28% margin, 40 points. it's even higher in recent maryland poll that our nbc affiliate here in washington, d.c. ended up doing. and so this is really her base support. it explains why she has a very, very big lead and it's so interesting to see her addressing this audience, just an hour ago, bernie sanders was walking a picket line, going to his base, so that kind of campaigning in the final days, of course, right before bernie sanders goes to rome and before tomorrow's debate. >> and does it matter, mark, and then i'll bring you in, abby, that she still generates these enormous crowds, a lot of young people. it's unclear whether they are registered voters. >> the crowds do matter. it is what has been his bread and butter over the past years, andrea, the big crowds have been going on and on and on. the challenge for him, how many of these people are able to vote in new york's closed primary. that will be a big lift for their campaign. >> abby, how concerned are the clinton people concerned about bernie sanders's huge crowds? >> it matters because in the population centers of the new york, that's where most of the votes are. so they have to be very concerned about manhattan, about brooklyn, about the bronx, about these places where there are a lot of people but also about up state and albany, bernie was in albany a few days ago and got massive crowds. these are parts of the state where he can really maybe overperform and force them to overcompensate with their base. that's why hillary clinton is speaking directly to african-americans today. that's why she did it a couple of days ago. they can't really leave anything for granted here. >> not at all. especially with what bernie has been able to do up state and buffalo and schenectady. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." tomorrow we have a big day. we'll be live in brooklyn with clinton supporter u.s. senator kristen jill brand. all that ahead of the msnbc town halls with john kasich and ted cruz starting tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. eastern. remember, follow our show online, on facebook and on twitter @mitchellreports. craig melvin is live next up state new york on msnbc, the place for politics. what a beautiful shot. before i had the shooting, burning of diabetic nerve pain, these feet learned the horn from my dad and played gigs from new york to miami. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. so i talked to my doctor and he preribed lyrica. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. now i have less diabetic nerve pain. ask your doctor about lyrica. weinto a new american century. born with a hunger to fly and a passion to build something better. and what an amazing time it's been, decade after decade of innovation, inspiration and wonder. so, we say thank you america for a century of trust, for the privilege of flying higher and higher, together. ♪ good.how was your commute? yours? good. xerox real time analytics make transit systems run more smoothly... and morning chitchat... less interesting. transportation can work better. with xerox. thank you for calling. we'll be with you shortly. yeah right... xerox predictive analytics help companies provide a better and faster customer experience. hello mr. kent. can i rebook your flight? i'm here! customer care can work better. with xerox. wait i'm here! mr. kent? it's how i try to live... how i stay active. so i need nutrition... that won't weigh me down. for the nutrition you want without the calories you don't... try boost® 100 calories. each delicious snack size drink gives you... 25 vitamins and minerals and 10 grams of protein. and it's available in two new flavors, vanilla caramel and double chocolate fudge. i'm not about to swim in the slow lane. stay strong. stay active with boost®. hi, everyone, i'm craig melvin. we start on this wednesday afternoon with some breaking news as the war of words between donald trump and the rnc nears a boiling point. news now that trump has a grand plan to win over members of congress. we are live on capitol hill. all of this as trump triples down on his disdain for the delegate system as a whole and now all of villainizing the rnc. >> our republican system, our republican system, is absolutely rigged. it's a phony deal. this was a dirty trick. these are dirty tricksters. this is a dirty trick and i'll tell you why, the rnc, the republican national committee, they should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this kind of crap to happen. >> rnc chair firing back on

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