mark: i'm mark halperin. john: and i'm john heilemann. and with all due respect to pope francis, the world is definitely getting hotter. but you are pretty hot yourself right now. ♪ john: ok, happy national eight -- eat your vegetables day. a handful of new polls in battleground state provide a snapshot for the clinton campaign and that picture looks like it has been taken without instagram filter that is kind of brown and gray. let's go to the big board where ohio governor john kasich lead

to clinton 47-40 in the buckeye state. marco rubio and rand paul each have a one point head should -- a one point edge over hillary. all of these are worse than they were for her not long ago. what is hillary clinton's problem? mark: bernie sanders is doing really well with men when people both -- know both the candidates. as a snapshot of today, she is the most likely to be president. and she cannot take for granted ohio and pennsylvania, choose a that democrats have -- two states that democrats have taken for granted. -- two states that democrats of won consistently.

john: it's hard not to come to the conclusion that all of the bad stories that she has faced all the criticism she's endured, all of the pseudo-or real handles she is mired in are finally starting to take a toll on hillary clinton. with seen the number in the honest and trustworthy never previously, but now i think we are starting to get a little bit in the horserace numbers. it is still a long way away from election day. but there is a drag on her. mark: she will need independents and men. if sanders is going to pull her more to the left, it will mean trouble for her. in some states like ohio and pennsylvania, it is going to be tight. it is also good for john kasich, because no one has that kind of lead in a battleground state. john: the sanders thing is really important, too. you mentioned it quickly. for those who know who been -- who bernie sanders is, he is ahead of her with those democrats.

mark: the pope is claiming climate change and now some are wondering if they should rebuke the coat -- the pope. how to thread the needle, here is jeb bush today. recorded by our man, john mccormick. >> to have my faith nourished. to have my faith challenged. i think pope francis is an extraordinary leader of the church, whose teachings i tried to follow. it doesn't need to be any more complicated than that. that is why i go to mass. i have enough people helping me with policy. mark: there are at least five catholics likely to end up in this republican field. for all of the republican candidates, how big a risk is it for them to say to the pope to stay out of politics? john: i think it's insane to take on pope francis, not just because they might not get into heaven if there is such a thing,

but because he is super popular. and also because he is right. the planet is getting hotter. you can be in denial if you want, but it will be hard for someone to become president in 2016 who is a climate denier. it is not in line with science and it is not in line with the growth of the electorate. mark: that is why taking on the scope could be so damon -- so dangerous. -- that is why the pope taking this position is so dangerous. democrats challenge the pope on issues like abortion. john: those are moral issues not scientific. mark: exactly, but in this case, it could be very dangerous. i think jeb bush and santorum saying they live -- they listen to scientists and not the pope it asked the question of which scientists they are listening to. john: we know where some of these folks on the republican side will be climate deniers. for jeb bush, this will be a real challenge. someone like jon huntsman, who

took a big -- took the position, he paid a huge price for. jeb bush is looking to win a large number of electoral votes. you cannot do that and be in the category of people who try to deny the basic science on this issue. mark: yes. john: to the national press corps and other elites, donald trump's campaign is a vanity exercise, a right mockery, or derision? you can see it in headlines like this "the trump circus comes to iowa" and they demonstrated it quite literally by making trump a clown. but in other states, he is treated differently, like a perfect reclosable, respectable -- perfectly respectable candidate. >> trump made it official today. >> trump said he wanted to make america great again and some of the things he promised to do if

he becomes president is to build up the military, take care of veterans, and repeal obamacare. >> said he will be a tough negotiator, and he has been in his business career. >> effect politicians are what is killing this country, and he said he is not a politician. he said he is a businessman who knows how to create jobs. he said he also has good in's and the ability to -- good instincts and the ability to predict the outcome of a future. he also talked about what he would do now with isis. john: that is what happened after he announced. there is no doubt that the gap in the local and national coverage is greater. how does that matter to donald trump? mark: it matters huge, because his chances of being a real player are not like everyone else. but if he can show traction in iowa and new hampshire, it is a big deal.

but almost every campaign points to the local coverage and says it is usually more positive. but for trump, the gap could not be bigger and for you and i watching a local news, it's a much bigger -- different impression than the daily news. john: we know in places like iowa and new hampshire, the local news, they still -- he still has very high unfavorables with those voters. will it change? ok, after the break, a reality tv interview with the man in question, donald j trump, billionaire. from marijuana to his hair, we did it all. that is next. ♪

mark: the cardinal rule in journalism, get there early and take her seat, and if you are ever invited for interview, say yes. i sat down with mr. donald trump. we talked with -- about his insecurities and his views and postures. we started out with the pope warning on climate change. i want to start out by talking about the pope. there is a big debate within the republican party on what role he should play. should a potential president listen to what the pope says about global warming? donald: i'm not so sure. i think he is a really terrific person. he is very refreshing. but you want to listen to science, maybe to your own gut maybe your own experience. i'm not sure you have to listen to the pope as to the environment. it's a bit of an unusual situation. i wouldn't say so. mark: do you agree that the earth is getting warmer? donald: i'm not a big believer in the whole global warming phenomena. i'm not a person, as you know very well -- my attitude is that, and i feel very strongly about this, clean air is so important. mark: but just on the factual question, you don't think human behavior is interbreeding to a

-- is contributing to a dangerously warmer planet? donald: there could be something having to do with factories and smoke and things, but for the most part, i'm not a believer in that, yes. and i would also say that our country is cleaning up, and then you look at china and other countries and they are not cleaning up. why aren't they doing it? john: there is an important republican interest group that you might be familiar with, the club for growth. they issued a statement this morning saying you should not be taken seriously as a presidential candidate. they cite a number of problems. i will cite two of them. one is that you are a protectionist. they say that you advocate a 25% tariff on chinese imports.

how can you claim to be a free trader and support a tariff of 25% on chinese imports question mark -- imports? paul: the club for growth came up and saw me recently and asked for a significant contribution. i was shocked by the amount. i thought that was interesting. with china, it is not free trade. i love free trade, but it has got to be free trade and fair trade. it has got to be where everything is equal. it is not equal. mark: people are interested in your personality. a lot of people think you're arrogant, or too confident. some say you are hopelessly insecure and that is why you ask the way you do. are you insecure? donnell: everybody is insecure. maybe it is a combination. i don't eat of myself as insecure. maybe insecurity is what makes you successful. mark: but be introspective. what are you insecure about? donald: well, there is my hair. i like it, better than most. mark: what do you care about? donald: my chipping. mark: in gulf question mark

donald -- in golf? donald: i went to one of the hardest schools in the world to get into. i was a good student. i had the number one selling business book of all time, or just about. it is still in schools. and i have this show called the apprentice. in the meantime, i build this tremendous empire with tremendous net worth and very little debt. and i hear some person they, he doesn't deserve -- say that he doesn't deserve to be on the stage with a senator. i'm not saying senators are nothing, but certain people are zeros, and i'm not supposed to be on the stage with these people? give me a break. mark: because you have never run this race before, people are wondering how you will conduct yourself. will you run negative ads against your opponents? donald: i'm not rival run that

many ads. people know who i am. i have been acknowledged. business week did a poll of their readers and they rated me the best negotiator. mark: will you run negative television as against other republicans? donald: i might. i don't know that i will, but i might. mark: what would not be off-limits question mark would ? -- what would be off-limits? would you just run them on policy or finances, or personal? donald: i would not do personal. i would probably run them on policy. i have had a good cap, great success. mark: you have been very critical of jeb bush. could you see yourself running negative ads on him? donald: i could see that. i don't know that i will. mark: people want to know how much of your own personal wealth you will spend on this campaign. donald: it's a great question. it depends.

i'm an intelligent person. i would say that it could be that my campaign doesn't resonate, and i will call you guys and say, john and mark, it's not working. i'm proud, but i'm not so proud. and i'm certainly not too good. -- not stupid. right now, i think it is resonating than i ever thought -- resonating better than anybody ever thought possible. look at facebook and all the things, and they just said over 3 million in twitter. i was just informed of that. mark: there are people less wealthy than you that spend tens of millions of dollars. donald: mitt romney. i will spend millions. it is very expensive. the advantages, i have an automatic air force. i will actually save money because all i have to do is pay for the fuel. it is cheaper than renting planes.

i expect his end -- i expect to spend tens of millions of dollars. i am also instinctively a is -- i am also a business person, instinctively a business person. regardless of what you think, i raised more money than anybody by a factor of many kinds. i'm not going to throw money away. if i think i can't win, i'm going to call you guys and say fellas, i think i did a pretty good job. mark: are you committed to going through our -- through iowa? dime -- donald: i will be totally committed in the cannot win. most of my negativity in politics is because people think i'm not going to run. who is going to vote for 70 -- for somebody when you really don't think i'm going to run? but now i'm actually running. i guess we were in third or fourth place in new hampshire,

and i haven't done anything yet. yes, i am committed to going all of the way. but if for some reason it is not working out, what is the purpose? mark: you heard mr. trump reference the dispute with the club. he gave us after the interview this letter that shows the club for growth attacked trunk -- trump yesterday. there is some dispute about who initiated the meeting. this is an evolving thing, the club for growth versus donald trump. watch bloomberg.com for more. coming up, more interview with donald trump, and his opinion on legalization and a special message for mr. neil young after this. ♪

john: now the exciting, scintillating second half of our interview with mr. donald trump. when we left off, i was just about to ask about legalizing

drugs. in the past when you have expressed the view that the way to deal with the war on drugs is to legalize drugs. are you still in favor of that? donald: i look at the colorado situation and it's very interesting. a lot of bad things are out there with respect to people's health and the effect is having on people. i'm not in favor of the legalization of drugs. john: you have changed your mind. donald: i don't know if i ever was. john: you have said you were in favor of legalizing drugs. why did you change your mind? donald: i have change my mind on many things. i don't know that i have ever said that, but i will take your word for it. generally speaking, they are a terrible thing and i would probably not be in favor of the legalization of drugs. but there are two sides to it. one is, you clean up the whole thing, but it really is -- i

look at the inner-city's and what drugs are doing and it's so bad. i have some very conservative friends who are totally in favor of legalization and some that are totally against it. probably, i'm inclined to go against. mark: you have suggest that senator bush, senator santorum carly fiorina, that they're all losers. you have suggested all of them either should not be running or won't win because of things they done or positions they've had. i just wonder who in the racy -- who in the race do you respect? who do you think has a good chance? donald: i don't want to get too far into that. i have respect for scott walker. he has a lot of problems going on wisconsin. mark: what problems? donald: the debt.

mark: is there any person that you look at and said -- and you say, that person has a great record and are really formidable? donald: you mention carly fiorina. i don't think i have ever met her. she was viciously fired. mark: you are very good at firing people. donald: i really don't like firing people. people don't know that, but i really don't. except on the apprentice. but carly fiorina was fired and walked out and in a landslide. and then you say, that's ok, i will one for president? -- i will run for president. i don't like that. rick has come up to see me in the last couple of months twice. mark: santorum. donald: right, and i say look, you lost by 17 points in the senate. now you say, ok, i'm going to run for president?

mark: what about rick perry and mike huckabee? donald: rick perry, i had dinner with him and he is really a fine person. i like him a lot, but i think he will have a hard time getting over that. and i'm not just talking about -- i'm talking about -- i think he's going to have a really hard time getting over that. i like mike huckabee a lot. i think his show would have continued much longer, unlike the apprentice. john: i was enjoying listening to neil young during your announcement. i found myself thinking, i'm not sure he will like that. he's a very liberal guy. donald: he is a friend. did you know that?

we actually have the rights to the song through whatever mechanism. i spoke to him two days ago. he called me up and it had nothing to do with the song. he called me to say hello. i love nearly young and he loves me. we have a great relationship -- i love neil young and he loves me. we have a great relationship. but our politics are exactly opposite. john: you are saying that you are friends, but he came to you and said, donald, don't use that song. donald: he came to my office and said, i thought you in the audience and i would love to meet you. it was whenever that was, that after carnegie hall. i'm friendly with neil. he calls me today's days ago -- he calls me two days ago nothing to do with the song. and then we put the song out, it was background music. it wasn't neil. his manager called and he said neil really like donald trump,

but would it be possible for him not to use the song, because neil songs are very different. -- because neil's politics are very different. john: he is endorsing bernie sanders. donald: and he's doing very well. mark: what are the odds that you will be president of the united states? donald: i have asked that same question. mark: what do you think? donald: i'm running against political people who have done this all the lives. i've never done this. i would say, between 10% to 20%. mark: so you are an underdog. the first time in a long time you have in an underdog to stop donald -- and underdog. donald: i am probably what i father said a long time ago, don't go into manhattan. before the show went on, the critics said, "donald trump is doing a show?"

many people pretty to the book would not do well. john: you are telling me if i can get 10 to one odds on you i should make that that? donald: one thing i will tell you is i will be trying. i always tell people, i give speeches on success. people come to me and say, can you speak to my son about what he should do? never ever quit. mark: we've reach out to neil young to find out if he really loves the donald and just to talk to him because he is really cool, but he is out of the country. we will be right back. ♪

john: we are always on 24/7 on bloomberg politics.

mark: we are on twice a day at 5:00 and at 8:00 eastern time. see you tomorrow. sayonara. ♪

emily: we have everything you need to know about who is in and who is out. ♪ emily: i'm emily chang and this is "bloomberg west." the uber business model coming under threat in california. nintendo looks back to move forward and partners with activision. we'll get the latest from e3. i sit down with the ceo who gives me new details about how much they are selling. all of that ahead on "bloomberg west."