john: i'm john heilemann. mark: and i'm mark halperin. with all due respect to bernie sanders, you always have a home here. ♪ >> the monster mash. ♪ mark: on the show tonight, the first book in debate will take place in cleveland, ohio along with the smaller minor-league debate for the candidates don't make the foxnews imposed top 10. get out your watches and

synchronize to our countdown. the second-tier debate is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. in two weeks. some pundits say that it would be a humiliating catastrophe not to make the cut for the primetime debate. could you make the argument that the conventional wisdom is wrong? john: you could make this argument. there is some things, but being on prime time is a much bigger audience. you will be up there with the donald and have the chance to take him out. there is a lot of people who are not going to sit through four hours of republican debate. mark: almost nobody will watch the entire debate. the main reason, this view is shared the advisors to one of the candidates, think about the people in that debate.

george the tacky, lindsey graham, bobby jindal, these are people who will engage a civil dignified, measured debate. it will not have donald trump. you know the truck debate is going to be all about tromp. there will be clips and coverage. i think it is at least as good. there is no humiliation. john: no humiliation. i don't think there is humiliation. you can make lemonade out of those lemons. everyone is focused on the fact that trump is going to be a problem. to me this is the moment you have talked about it. they moment you can take out the donald. mark: one debate has five people in it. the other has 10. even though the five person debate a shorter they are barely going to be able to talk. the people in the five person

debate are going to feel like i got to say a lot and make my case. almost no one but tron and maybe -- almost no one but trump and maybe jeb bush is going to come out of the 10 person debate saying i got to say what i wanted. john: chris christie? mark: i don't they will call and him much. you're going to get to say your piece to the five person debate. audience size matters. john: today the donald trump, he visited the old mexican border to talk about the issue he is most excited about, immigration. he covered that hair of his with a white hat and performed his best tromp when he was asked if it was dangerous to travel so close to those criminals and rapists crossing the border. donald trump: i love the country. there is nothing more important. i am the one that brought up the problem of illegal immigration. it is a big problem.

you folks know it better than anybody. you look at the crowds outside. they want the problem fixed. we have to have legal immigration. john: immigration is the horse that donald trump has rode in on. is it time for him to start to shift and i diversify his portfolio when it comes to issues? mark: first, no. in two ways like this. yes, he is riding this emotion and passion that has got him where he is to a large degree. i think his biggest opportunity is to diverse if i his message. as he told me he must the

trump on a range of issues. he's becoming a one horse pony. john: the problem is that on a wide variety of other issues this issue is very hot. there is a segment of the republican base that is very concerned about this and he is soaking those fears. as he talks about of their things it is not as clear he is going to be as resonant with a lot of the republican party. mark: go to his hotel in chicago and tell people how good it is that i can build things. there are plenty of things that would inspire people. when he does this it brings back to an issue where it is mileage. john: his whole thing is a -- his whole thing is emotion. you start having an argument, 25 -- mark: people who say their jobs are going to mexico and china, it is emotional. john: i'm giving up on this because you one that point. mark: emotion around manufacturing, excellence in american business, he has lots of issues to talk about. john: i still think this is the issue for him. as far as he is going to go he

is going to on this issue. maybe he could talk about abortion. mark: he is smart to stay about this sometimes. he is dominating the news cycle with this. it is revving up people who are already wrapped. the publican party is running out of oxygen because it is being sucked up by donald trump. >> q the eye roll. donald trump. >> are you uncomfortable with this republican primary being about donald trump? >> what did you make of what he said to lindsey graham? >> what do you make of him in the republican party? >> as candidate step out from his shadow -- >> it overshadows john kasich announcement.

>> he is eating up the oxygen. >> sucking up the oxygen in the room. >> that is why he is sucking up this oxygen. >> why the heck into weeks of nothing substantive are we talking about donald trump? mark: what would it take for the press to recalibrate their coverage of trump based on of session? john: an actual sharknado could be the only thing. the press is flying itself, it is true online and on television. it is good for business ratings are soaring. i think the better angel is on his shoulder like a devil is working in their ear. mark: there is interest from the general public but i think it is a matter of it is easy. every news organization --

our show is as guilty as anyone. it is hard to ignore how big it has become. every news organization can say can we do something else today? it is going to look back at this time of media coverage and be embarrassed by it. there was a dereliction of our responsibility and a 16 candidate field and a democratic feel to cover donald trump. john: you are speaking about the world as it should be and not the world as it is. it is true that what journalists should do. i am talking but will be required for them to take a step back and they are not going to. mark: when donald trump flirted with running and this happened i urge everybody to take a deep breath and think about does he deserve all this coverage? now, again, he is the front

runner. he can't be ignored. he is provocative. everyone has an obligation to think about every bit of their coverage. is there too much trump? john: they should start asking some questions like where do you stand on abortion, drug legalization. there is a lot of contradictions in his past per they could change the subject a little bit. coming up, the republican establishments freak out over the donald when we come back. ♪

john: our guest tonight is dan, a former mitt romney advisor. dan: i love that title.

john there is a lot of kissing : up in that title. i'm going to ask about donald trump. dan: can't you heed his advice? john: i can't. how much is the party establishment freaking out? dan: i will just tell you the feeling. he is white to dominate the first debate which is looking like a circus. for all the thought the rnc put into how to fix the problems of 2012, there are a whole host of problems, not the least of which is donald dominating it. donald as a third-party candidate is a nightmare. the issues are bigger than immigration. there is a recognition that while donald may sound clownish, the issues he is unearthing are not clownish. the real issues of economic

insecurity, nativism protectionism, it is a real stop. the republicans have to find out how to organize around it. otherwise, people like you are going to fill the vacuum. john: beyond hillary clinton who is he hurting and helping? dan: he's hurting walker, cruz rand huckaby, that crowd. look at the ones who are most reluctant to take shots at him. they know he is probably going to disappear at some point. they want those voters. he is helping jeb bush and marco rubio. mark: you keep calling him donald. do you know him well? dan: no. the donald. john: everybody in the establishment says eventually he is going to disappear. tell me the most likely scenario where he disappears? dan: iowa.

he winds up on the ballot. mark: so he is a national leader until iowa? dan: nothing he is a major player -- mark: where he goes from national poll leader to not. dan: republican primary voters wind up in the end being pretty discerning. it could be when the voting begins. mark: there is a chance -- dan: not the national front runner. there is a chance he will be a major player for the next six to eight months. mark: it is possible he doesn't disappear until the voters vote. dan: correct. there is a scenario where he would have to be rejected by the voters. john: karl rove wrote a column saying there is a clear top-tier candidates, cruise, rubio, and bush. talk about whether you think those will remain in the top tier through the end of the year

and who if anyone has the best chance to break into that who is not in that? dan: what those candidates have is they are all going to be competitive on the fundraising front. john: just the fundraising tier. dan: jeff has raised $5 million, maybe with the exception of cruz, they have majored donors to their super packs that can triple their donations of a think the candidate is in the game. the question to me is whether or not christie and casey car able to do the same. it is not clear. casich, very early days. i don't know off they are going to be able to assemble a team of super pac donors.

they are the most -- i don't think rand will break into that. i don't think arsenal break into it. carly is a wildcard. mark: none of them are in danger of dropping off. dan: correct. and people are going to argue this one has $20 million more. i don't think it is going to matter. mark: let's move to iran. john in the new york post said before i didn't think we could stop it now i think maybe we can. are you with him? you think there is a chance? dan: it is tough but i am with him. based on the polling, fewer than 3-5 democrats support the president on the deal, democrats i have spoken to, members of congress or staffers in the senate and house, they are frozen.

i'm amazed. the president has come out with this campaign, with the exception of durban and pelosi so few willing to commit. when you talk to these congressional democrats they feel exposed. for the longest on the president and secretary of state told them don't worry, any time inspections -- we would never do a deal that didn't have these things. maybe these members have been saying it has to be this, has to be this command those things aren't in their and now they are boxed in. mark: i heard from somebody involved in the fundraising efforts that the number of may get above 100 million on your side? have you heard that number? dan: i have not. 60 plus is the number i haven't hearing. if it looks like it is winnable, money will start coming out of the woodwork. john: when we come back, mitch

landue.

mark: as the ten-year anniversary of hurricane katrina passes, mitch landrieu spoke with us. we start with the causes of the storm that shaped the city for a decade. mitch: this was a man-made disaster. it wasn't a natural disaster. even though the storm came, it was when the levees broke curiously we have a $14 billion levee system. that is built to category three. it is as solid as a category three. mark: if katrina hits today what happens? mitch: we would be saved. the levees are much stronger than they were.

now it is a risk reduction strategy. it is not a guarantee. bigger storms are coming our way. by the way, new orleans is the nation's canary in the coal mine. we are an example to miami and new york. when these, our way, you have to build a more resilient city. when you build back have to build back stronger. the magnificent thing the people of the city has done, they bill to the way it should have always in if they had got it right the first time. you see real building on -- as you see us rebuilding our schools our health care delivery systems, economic development, rebuilding our government. the city has turned itself around and it is moving in the right direction. the challenge now is how to be a part of the knowledge-based economy and not leave anybody behind. that is what we are working on now. mark: tell us the story of circle food. mitch: it was a historic african-american business that provided groceries to folks in

the seventh ward which was one of our oldest african-american neighborhoods. it got beat up by the storm. the owner said i'm not cashing out. i'm staying. i'm not going to borrow money. i'm going to wait. we put together a team of people to help with him. through his work and other financial institutions we were able to help them stand back up. he has really become an anchor of that community again. it is a wonderful story about what he is doing and how well his business is doing. he is helping us in the ninth ward as well. mark: politics big in your state. a lot of legacy talk. you have a clinton and a bush running. how many elections did your dad lose? mitch: i don't know that he has lost any. mark: how many have you lost? mitch: i have lost 2. mark: what is your sense in our current political culture, having a famous name a good thing or a bad thing?

mitch: it is both. generally speaking name recognition goes a long way. the more people you know the better. at the same time you buy the liabilities of people. you are separate entities. it is really a net positive though. it is the experience that matters. the public gets tired. they want something new. advantage of the day it is not -- at the end of the day, it is not going to save you. it gets your foot in the door. you have to perform well and earn your stripes every day. mark: we have to get our viewers with urban to your city -- mitch: look at that picture. spectacular. mark: teach me how to pronounce the name of your city. mitch: n'orleans. louisiana. it depends on what part of the state you are in. just let it roll. easy.

mark: i know you love all your children equally but what is the last great meal in your city? mitch: it doesn't matter. any restaurant is spectacular. i'm never going to answer the question. mark: charlson is like this. how do you have such good food so many good restaurants? mitch: how can the city lose people and have 600 more restaurants than they had before? it is not because we have a joy -- it is because we have a joy of life and a joy of food. mark: it is a tiny little city. our that many people. there aren't that many people. where does it come from? mitch: we know how to eat. mark: that drives them across the border. you get a great pizza there. mitch: how the city of new orleans can take the joy of life and turn into economic development and growth. in our city, arts, music, food

fun, it is a $5 billion industry. it really is about the business of entertaining people, sports entertainment, what have done more entertainment than anybody else. it is important that when you think about the business side of culture, what new orleans means to the rest of the world. that is the reasons the world gas would lose the soul of the nation. new orleans is an important part of this country. we are thankful for the people of american for helping us stand up. the katrina 10 is going to thank people for helping us and to look forward to our 300 anniversary in three years. we were here before the rest of the country. we want to be a model for the rest of america and all of the things we are doing in terms of education, health care, and resilience. how cities learn how to live

through difficult times and stand themselves back up. mark: i love what you are doing on education and health care. pre-katrina you were not a leader. mitch: we were not a leader in much of anything. new orleans is an ascendant city. we still have problems as anybody else. we were at worst and we are going to first grade bloomberg has recognized us brady wall street journal. more people are moving into the city then leaving. gdp is growing faster. our jobs are going faster. our education system has been recalibrated. it is an amazing story of the only surviving but turning yourself around and becoming the city you always should have been. mark: thanks to new orleans mayor mitch landrieu. we will be right that with donald trump's hat. ♪

john: donald trump wore a hat in his campaign. there are better things that could go on the hat. we made some new ones for you can buy these soon at the trump tower souvenir shop.sçkw?c?coó

emily: amazon shares spiking after-hours. the secret behind jeff bezos' surprise -- profits up 17%. i am emily chang. this is "bloomberg west." pandora shares also rallying after-hours. the company optimistic. at&t looking to drive growth. we will ask former fcc chairman bob dow list they should be allowed -- rob mcdowell if they should be able to buy directv.