it is thursday, i am angie in hong kong with a story this new year's eve. china goes into the new year with currency speculation, the free lunch is over. sources say the pcb has suspended banks, and a crackdown in buying the currency at a discount and selling it later in shanghai. it felt to a five-year low, but later recovered. the chairman of china's telecom has quit, after being targeted in investigation. the president and chief operating officer will take over

until a new appointment is made. the government said he was being questioned about severe violations of discipline, seen as code for corruption. joining china and having a mobile phone market, with a billion subscribers. the number of users in india has surged, three times the population of the entire u.s. the biggest carrier has more than 200 million subscribers on its own. shares from profits are local with at least 12 operators fighting for customers. in hong kong, police are investigating what he calls a violent incident in the province. the company says a former director forced his way in, accompanied by what are described as gangsters. reported to both local and police and authorities in hong kong, and shares have been suspended since april. sinking of ato a

cruise ship last summer says freak weather is to blame. 454 people on board died when the oriental star went down on june 1. a report says it was hit by a violent storm, and that poor decisions by the captain and crew and committed to the sinking. series of disasters in china, including chemical disasters and the landslide. trading here in the asia-pacific, with singapore the only market right now of the three to see gains. we are seeing asia headed towards its second loss of the year.

john: from the city of angels, happy new year's eve eve sports fan. cruz wants the believers, and truth once everything, but first the white house wants to eavesdrop. "the wall street journal" made a blockbuster report, saying the obama administration is spying on friendly world leaders, including israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, even after the president said he would end that surveillance program. it should make things even more complicated with israel, especially after the nsa reportedly intercepted during nuclear arms negotiations. also caught on tape, andersation between bibi american legislatures. which brings up the question, was the executive branch spying on congress? a house panel announced they are opening an investigation with senator marco rubio, who told foxnews that "it might be worse than what some people might think."

nicolle, how big is this? on a scale of one to godzilla, what are the implications that might come out? nicolle: i think this is godzilla's daddy. this could have political ramifications intraparty. it would be interesting to see if hillary clinton parts ways, and whether or not ted cruz goes off from the more establishment types running for the nomination. and whether they divide among themselves. obviously, i think this'll will be a huge ramification for foreign policy and diplomatic relations with israel. but also within each party on the presidential campaign. john: i totally agree. this is a huge deal, the obama administration seems to be caught doing something that flies directly in the phase of its statedace of

principles and policy. if it is true, it's not cataclysmic, but it will certainly occupy a lot of airtime. he's going to get it from all sides, people who were critics of spying, people who are friends of israel, people who believe in institutional integrity of the u.s. congress. there is going to be no price not paid for beating up on the administration, and everyone will turn the ministration into a piñata pretty quick. if it is true. nicolle: i think that's right. onto presidential politics. first, there are three lanes to explore in the republican race. first, the trump lane. he has realized three things -- one, he needs to get on the air with tv ads. two, he needs to challenge his supporters to actually get out and vote and caucus for him. three, he needs to take down ted cruz in iowa. has the fragile truce unraveled? he is still figuring out how to number three.

today in south carolina he tried to do it by making cruz look like a copycat. donald trump: ted cruz is a nice guy. but he said, we will build a lot southern border. whoa. where did that come from, right? ted's a good guy -- but i think it was on fox he was being interviewed and he said, we are going to build a wall at the southern border. he did not say mexico would pay. he did not go that far yet, but believe me, that will happen. they're all trying to catch up with me, because when i did this stuff it was very out there. now, i'm the one that everybody wants to aspire to. nicolle: remember these words. ted's a nice guy. john, of these three new elements, which represents the most significant development? john: we will talk more about ted cruz shortly, and there is no doubt that the unraveling of that truce, as you put it, is a huge deal, but there is no question that the biggest deal , if trump makes good on what he is claiming he's going to do

with going on the air with big, with big muscular ad buys. that is the biggest development here. we don't know whether they will be positive. there are some suggestions that they will be mostly on issue, but given his penchant for attacking his rivals, if he starts unloading millions of dollars on negative ads, that is the big story. nicolle: i disagree. how much more negative can he go? i'm not sure you can capture a trumpian insult in an ad. i think that is a terrible strategy. i think you should do a tutorial on how you actually caucus in iowa. i think the breaking of the truce with cruz represents the biggest strategic development from his camp. john: like i said, they are both big developments. i think, you know, there are still amazingly -- there are still a fair number of voters who are not as attuned to some of his insults and attacks as they might be if they watched cable all day long, but look, there is no question the cruz thing could be a big deal.

and it will raise a use question if he is going after cruz -- can he restrain himself and not go after trump? now we will shift to the second lane that we want to discuss tonight, that is the evangelical lane in the state of iowa. a reported "the national review" says the god-fearing supporters of mike huckabee and rick santorum hate ted cruz so much , your friend, that they are willing to do almost anything to stop them from winning in the hawkeye state, even if it means backing marco rubio. on fox news today, santorum, or who you may recall was the winner of the 2012 iowa caucus, was asked why he has been calling ted cruz's conservative revocation and question. rick santorum: there are two issues here. one is a libertarian streak that very much used to be a disqualifier within conservative circles. which is, we can fight these issues at the federal level, they need to be dealt with at the state level. this is the 10th amendment

argument that you hear a lot of. ron paul used that argument for ur years ago, and every social conservative group i know says up at theto stand federal level and fight for these issues, whether it is marriage or life. >> rand paul and others have said we will let other states do this. that means if the states want to adopt the same-sex marriage, fine. if they want to adopt polygamy, i guess that is fine. i don't take that opinion. john: so you have rick santorum going after ted cruz, mike huckabee going after ted cruz, he is already doing that a little bit. so my question to you -- how firm do you think cruz's hold is over the evangelical vote? nicolle: i will give this to ted cruz. i think it is incredibly cynical of santorum and huckabee to try and gain some sort of protest vote against cruz, who has done the legwork. when you treat voters like they are dumb enough to vote with someone else as a protest

against cruz, that usually backfires. i think he will more than when stand this. he is a clever politician. john: i think cruz -- his connection to the evangelical community is deep in iowa and elsewhere. he has been down in texas the last couple days doing meetings with evangelicals. he's very strongly positioned. but i do think it's interesting that a bunch of operatives and some number of huckabee and santorum voters who aren't convinced that cruz is the real deal, that they might look at rubio, who had previously not been seen as an establishment candidate but also had the bona fides with evangelical support, i don't think it will help santorum were it huckabee, but this could be good news for marco rubio if you start to peel away that support. nicolle: another interesting melodramatic wrinkle.

finally, to the poor, beleaguered establishment lane. a quick psa if you live in miami, you are moving. as of this afternoon, the bush campaign is sending all of its miami staff to the early state. also the campaign is canceling its tv ads in iowa and putting them into a ground game. not that there won't be any ads , newg in iowa -- i'm sorry hampshire. right to rise is targeting establishment candidates like john kasich over their records as governors. in response, kasich likened bush to 20th-century relics like the old macarena and betamax. the most sacred forum for political discourse -- twitter -- had one politician asking -- what was he doing in the 1980's? daddy for money, that is for sure. john, which of the establishment

candidates has the upper hand in that mishmash? john: let's first know people who don't have the upper hand. jeb bush does not have it. i have to say, there is some sense to what the bush campaign is doing. they could argue that right to rise was always meant to cover while they did stuff on the ground, but there will be not of torpor but a certain kind of desperation. among these establishment candidates, with all the fighting going on between kasich and bush, chris christie is looking stronger every day. nicolle: i agree, and i think that chris christie is very quietly making more moves in iowa than anyone has detected. we talked about his strength in new hampshire and about how he is tailor-made for that state. i will be watching to see if he is quietly building of some sort of respectable outcome for himself in iowa. john: if chris christie could get a strong fourth, you are right.

there is a chance christie could do better in iowa that people would think in that would set him up well for new hampshire. hillary's left turn, looking to make a difference with the republicans, and the best of 2015, when we come back in 60 seconds. ♪ >> on average, it takes 300

americans a solid year to make as much money as one top ceo. it is called the wage gap, and republicans will make it worse by lowering taxes for those at the top and letting corporations write their own rules. hillary clinton will work to close the wage gap. equal pay for women to raise income for families, a higher minimum wage, lower taxes for the middle class. she will get the job done for us. hillary clinton: i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. nicolle: that was hillary clinton's latest ad going up in iowa and new hampshire about income inequality, which might be familiar to followers of bernie sanders, who has been singing that song much longer than she has. is it fair to co-opt his message? john: i think she is in a pretty good position to do that. think about her lifetime. she is not beating up the oligarchy, that this wage gap argument, the notion that social mobility and wage mobility, more opportunity for people on the

lower rungs, that is the message she can grab onto, and it takes some of the steam out of sanders' argument further down the spectrum in terms of progressivism. she is a pretty good position to halting there. nicolle: it feels like in 2008 that was an easier task for her. it feels this cycle like she was sort of dragged into this spot, not just by bernie sanders but by elizabeth warren. do you think she is making a fail? john: there is no doubt about the fact that the democratic party has moved further left in the wake of the great recession in the financial crisis. she also was in many respects in a better position relative to the democratic electorate. i think she is fine in this area, just because the mainstream of the democratic party is still basically where pretty much hillary is on these issues, and yeah, there are some progressive activists who pine

still for elizabeth warren, but hillary on policy will be the mainstream of her electorate, and she is showing that in this ad. doing it more substantially moving forward. nicolle: more examples of hearing to the left into bernie territory. one obvious area is on wall street. this is what she told stephen colbert in october. president, you are do we let them fail this time? hillary: yes. [laughter] under dodd-frank, that is what will happen. we now have stress tests. i am going to impose risks on the big bank if they engage in risky behaviors. they have to know, their shareholders have to know, that yes, they will fail. and if they are too big to fail, than under my plan and others, they may have to be broken up.

nicolle: strong there, but she did trail bernie sanders for a few months in how to deal with wall street. it is his favorite line of attack. do you think she is prevailing? john: no. [laughter] john: those are strong words on her part, but she is always going to be seen, and not wrongly, as someone who has a lot of friends on wall street, who takes a lot of money from wall street. who has represented their interests, not in the way a lot of republicans have, and not the worst of the corporate democrats have, but she will be able to take on bernie sanders with wall street. no one believes her when she says the things she says. she is saying things she has to say, but if what you care about most is bashing wall street, she will not be a candidate. bernie sanders is your guy. nicolle: we are going to turn to tpp. on october 8, she spoke about her concerns about the trade deal on cbs news hour.

hillary: i have said from the very beginning that we have to have a trade agreement that would create good american jobs, raise wages, and advance the national security, and i still believe that is the high bar we have to meet. i have been trying to learn as much as i can about the agreement, but i am worried. i am worried about currency manipulation not being part of the agreement. we have lost american jobs to manipulation, to countries particularly in asia. i am worried that the pharmaceutical companies may have gotten more benefits and patients and consumers fewer. nicolle: bernie also went after her with fighting words, calling it a copout when she refused to weigh in. as to whether she would support the deal. do think she is making ground here or does bernie still have the upper hand? did he put her in a place that is indefensible in the

general. john: we will talk about the general in a little bit -- this is one of the more naked, politically transparent moves. i don't think she can sell -- she is going to get things forever for making this decision, and rightly so. purer, bernie will be on this issue for people who care about it. nicolle: he looks angry when he kept getting asked about her finally coming out and opposing it. it was the first time i thought he looked agitated by clintonism, the waiting until a moment of political expedience. john: that's amazing. i think he looks agitated most of the time. [laughter] nicolle: maybe he is melded in my mind with larry david. i am sort of amused by everything he says. keystone pipeline -- a big issue for republicans, but it has divided these two. on october 6, this was the position that hillary announced in university of iowa. hillary: i think it is

imperative that we look at the keystone pipeline as what it is. a distraction from the important work we have to do to combat climate change and, unfortunately, from my perspective, one that interferes with our ability to move forward to deal with all the other issues. therefore, i oppose it. nicolle: finally. [laughter] her verdict. nicolle: what did you think about this one? john: again, this is very much like tpp. these are both issues where sanders has a point, where he has been principled and steadfast, and she has followed him in order to not allow him to have more purchase with the democratic electorate. she's not going to lose. if she loses the democratic nomination it will not be over these issues. again, this is the same category for me as tpp. i have a question for you, though. we have talked about this. criminal justice is the other issue where hillary is half to the left to not let bernie have any air. she has done all this stuff, is further to the left than a lot of people thought.

at this point in the campaign, what do you think about all of it taken together, and what it might mean for the general election? nicolle: i think this whole bucket of issues are ones that she can finesse. if you accept her shift to the left to win the nomination of her party and just comfort the concerns, i just don't see those voters abandoning her. i think if she is up against someone like trump, is such -- all the paper cards thrown in the air. i think some of these issues she will be able to defend herself on far better than the statement she made on isis. i really don't think this is where republicans will go to attack her. john: any issue where i find myself listening to nicolle praising hillary clinton -- nicolle: it wasn't praise! i just think there is much more fertile ground in going after her. john: captain of the hillary clinton fan club. back,e: we will be right on that note.

♪ john: we are joined now by our colleague in washington, d.c.. let's talk about your piece on our website that you just came out with, six factors that could make a difference with the republican race next year. let's start with the first one you list, ted cruz loves the campaign trail. sahil: john, i watch to ted cruz in the senate and on the campaign trail. he doesn't like the senate but he loves the cpaign trail. other candidates like rubio and kasich is something that they have to do, but ted cruz loves it. he is soaking up the adoration

in the crowd. especially in early voting states, where people want to see you, i think that matters for him. nicolle: let me get to marco rubio. you wrote rubio's eyes are on the november prize. sahil: i think this is important, because rubio is straddling a fine line, on winning the primary and the general. he is trying to stay between the conservative wing and the establishment wing. he is taking a bunch of conservative positions but also keeping paths to move to the center. if he does win the general election. from a technical standpoint, it is smart. it does them no good to win the primary, lose the election -- especially if he is quitting the senate. on something like immigration, he will talk about border security, but he is open. on abortion, he doesn't want exceptions on abortion but he will support it if he needs to. he is walking a fine line and if he wins the nomination, he will handedly.

john: your third point is a hybrid of your first two points. you say that the difference between cruz and rubio is one of temperament. please explain. sahil: the big difference between these two are not so much in policy. the big conservative purity test groups like the american ofservative union rate both them highly. they both have extremely conservative voting records, and the big differences we've heard is the attitude in temperament. cruz is a scorched earth guy. he has rhetoric about inciting a conservative revolution. in his mind, it is 1979. and he is ronald reagan. rubio is much more gentle in his method. he talks about protecting the american dream. what cruz was trying to do is dominate the conservative wing, rubio wants both.

nicolle: you write that the rest of the islamic state is helping chris christie. sahil: i think it is. his numbers have gone up. i have seen him at rallies in new hampshire, and his message reminds me a lot of the bush cheney message in 2004. it is a dangerous world, i can protect you like nobody else. he doesn't with a unique touch that bush and cheney didn't do. he has the new jersey bravado that tells people he is a tough guy, that he is not going to cower in the face of any threat. but also, he has an empathy there. he tells stories about how people are afraid. he is trying to convey the sense that all politicians try to do, that they understand the voters and they feel their pain and fears. john: your last two points, you turn to the inevitable and omnipresent donald trump. the first point you make have to do with trump's base, alienated voters, and his need to get them to show up. talk about that. sahil: to me, this is the million-dollar question. the single most important

question i will be looking to, whether these deeply alienated, mad as hell, conspiratorial people at trump rallies that led him to dominate national polls, for about six months now, whether they show up. you talk to pollsters who don't have any dog in the fight, they will say that this is not the profile of a likely voter. a lot of these people are disaffected from the political process. if you can get them to vote, you can change not only the republican party but the paradigm of american politics. as we know it. nicolle: if you are watching us in washington, d.c., you can hear us on the radio. 99.1 . we will be right back. ♪ bring your family and friends together

to discover the best shows and movies with xfinity's winter watchlist. later on, we'll conspire ♪ ♪ as we dream by the fire ♪ a beautiful sight, we're happy tonight ♪ ♪ watching in a winter watchlist land, ♪

♪ watching in a winter watchlist land! ♪ xfinity's winter watchlist. watch now with xfinity on demand- your home for the best entertainment this holiday season. when you're on hold, your business is on hold. that's why comcast business doesn't leave you there. when you call, a small business expert will answer you in about 30 seconds. no annoying hold music. just a real person, real fast. whenever you need them. so your business can get back to business. sounds like my ride's ready. don't get stuck on hold. reach an expert fast. comcast business. built for business. ♪ nicolle: no one in america does weird traditions like the proud people of iowa. the steak fry, cows made of

butter, it is super weird. but it makes sense that the new senator joni ernst would want to make her own custom. in june, she hosted an event called the roast and ride. it brought together pork and motorcycles. our man with a camera, griffin hammond, went to boone, iowa to check it out. ♪ griffin: i am in iowa where they have designed a t-shirt for out-of-town media. and where senator joni ernst has designed an event for bikers and republican presidential hopefuls. who are sometimes one in the same. the freshman senator's inaugural summer event is called roast and ride, although i would've called it this -- i would love to mount a camera to one of these motorcycles.

and mike vincent from iowa city was happy to help me out. mike: we got here around 9:30 a.m. there are maybe 400 people now. >> thank you. mike: that will be a first for me, getting a police escort on a motorcycle. ♪ that was a great ride. a good route. that's what makes the ride a lot of times, good curves, pretty scenery. ♪ [laughter] >> i love it. i love it. the camouflage shoes. the camouflage shoes.

senator joni ernst: she is an old iowa girl. griffin: that is darlene bookie, she is a farmer from south of here. darlene: iowans want to see the candidates and ask the questions face to face. >> how are you doing? it is not hunting season, is it? good to see you. >> we will be watching on tv. >> thank you. ♪ >> we just got to shake hands with scott walker and i think he is a godly man and it means a lot to me. >> we are cooking enough food for 2000 people. 1500-2000 people. griffin: the roast and a ride is the conservative replacement of a democratic event that ended last year with senator tom

harkin's retirement. this event is more fun. did not have a bouncy castle. i am having a lot of fun. just in the nick of time, students from the nearby university of iowa. >> it is a no-brainer to make sure that we took the day off from work. i am looking forward to hearing marco rubio and scott walker speak. >> we will make america great again, god bless you. griffin: of the seven headliners, scott walker is the only one who has not declared his presidential run. >> i know a senator who likes to ride a hog. and cut the pork from washington, d.c. griffin: they get a quick minute on the stage. it is like speed dating. >> some of them i do not know enough about, so we can now compare and make an intelligent decision. then, we can vote. ♪

>> i can stand behind any of these candidates. >> agreed. >> whoever can beat hillary, that is what it is about. >> who can beat hillary. griffin: with rain clouds overhead, people got out quickly after huckabee's speech. the iowa straw poll is just two months away. you will be coming up? >> oh, yeah. i would like to see them participate and visit iowa as much as possible. >> we are ready. griffin: senator, before you go, i have to know -- did you at least consider calling this event hogs and hogs? senator joni ernst: no. hondae we want to welcome and yamaha, too. >> i would not put that because

hogs is usually for harley davidson. >> that would've been good too. that would've been good too. thank you. god bless you. drive safe. ♪ nicolle: joni ernst for president, in my humble opinion. if only they knew the iowa straw as well as aed, handful of candidates in that piece. up next, we have david axelrod and the obstacle course. ♪

♪ john: as my esteemed and beloved cohost can corroberate, the revolving door between the press and politics is like a grand

central station terminal. case in point, david axelrod. he started as a reporter at the "chicago tribune." left to become a political consultant and ultimately the message he made for barack obama. now he has returned to the media. to put that in perspective, when he came on the show earlier this year we put together an obstacle course for him. we combined the key elements of his life as an iconic chicagoan, which would be titanic a deli sandwiches. what i hear about axers, david axelrod is here to promote his new book, it is called "believer: my 40 years in politics." it is about the life and times of david axelrod. david, we will put this book on the shelf and say this is truly -- a memoir about the politics

of our time, but it is also about your life. we are combining two great things. this is your life and an obstacle course. two great things. david: which my life has been. what do you call this? mark: this is a typewriter. load up the paper. do you know how to work one of these? i will show you what we will do. mark: this is an obstacle course, so we will have to go fast. i will give you a situation and i want you to write a lead. david ok. : wait a second -- mark: i will read it, too. the cubs are about to play in game seven of the world series. gary woods is a starting pitcher. there are accusations of rigging the game in the white sox clubhouse. what is the leadoff? mark: ok.

david: ok. mark: you are a hunt and pecker. all done? accusations of cheating has once again -- have once again marred the game of baseball. donald trump has bought the willis tower. it is getting renamed, but no one knows what it is. david: i have to say, this is a professional journalist. no hesitation. john: he just starts. mark: you got it? it says the donald trump's willis tower. mark: ok. pretty good. this is a live shot. you stand right here.

here we go. john: this is your life. one of the most important institutions in your life is a deli called manny's. we do not have that here, so we went to kat'sz's. got a sandwich. there is also stuff in your book about being defensive about your reputation and having stuff all over your pants and shirts. the goal is for you to take three bites of this sandwich without getting anything on your clothes. david: i have several stops after this. john: three real bites. mustard on his hands, on his face, not on his clothes. david: i need a tarp.

john: this is your life. mark: we move over to the pectoral part. pictoral part. \ mark: the clock is still moving. john: very impressive. right over here. we will show you a picture and a little dialogue here and you will have to respond. david: this was a meeting i had with john edwards when i was working with him in 2004. there was a great deal of friction within the campaign and i was in new hampshire with a focus group and they got a message that edwards was in town and wanted to meet with me. this was his opening line and all of it was true except for, "you are still our guy."

john: let me ask you this question. you have worked for rod blagojevich. is this the worst client you had? david: personally, he was decent to me. i never thought of him as a bad guy. john: who was the worst client you worked for? david: that is a hard question. you forget the pain and it is hard to remember. so, i do not know how to answer that. john: you have a clear answer for who was the worst candidate's spouse you worked for? mark: yes he does. david: elizabeth edwards, god rest her soul, was a very hard person for me to deal with. mark: let's move on. fast-forward. this is the presidential cycle. [laughter] john: what did you say to that guy? go ahead.

david: what happened is we lost the new hampshire primary. we were up eight in the last track. plus, the press secretary and i went up to senator obama's room. he was up there with his wife. we knocked on the door because we wanted to share the news with him alone. he came into the hallway and we said, i think he said, "it looks like we will be a little short." and he said, "what happened?" john: and you said? david: well there was a lot of movement in the last day. we drifted. but i remember him smiling and he leaned against the wall and he said, "this is going to go on for awhile, isn't it?" of course, we embarked on the longest nominating struggle in american politics. john: he was right about that. here you go. this is a blast from the past. what would you say to this guy?

david: i would say, where did you get that dark mustache? the thing looks like an inch worm on my lip. john: this had the title of "the hatchet man." how did you get the title of "hatchet man?" david: i think it was a poor choice of words. the subtitle was worse, "he looks like an unmade bed," said his mother. john: when we come back, our chat with one of the best comedians ever to host a white house correspondents' dinner, seth meyers. 60 seconds. ♪

♪ nicolle: there are all sorts of

important primaries, including the late-night primary, and one late-night host had a distinct advantage because he happens to be from new hampshire. that would be seth myers. seth: you look great. your hair looks great. i say that because sometimes i picture your hair, sometimes i picture it different. this is how i usually picture it. you ran briefly in 2000. you do find yourself as the joe cola candidate, different from that scene. now it is 15 years later, and the republican party has moved to the right. cola doesn't even exist anymore. what is the adult drink now? you have been critical of the donald trump campaign so far, are you surprised he is doing so well? my initial impression -- a whole class of people was a bad though. lindsey graham: apparently not. >> everything about me, for when i am on your show. >> you are from new hampshire? seth: i am.

martin o'malley: people there take their responsibility seriously. ted cruz: new hampshire is lovely this time of year. and i will tell you, you are a major celebrity there. seth: it is a very small stay. john: the pride of new hampshire. the man from manchester. we have no idea what city you are from, but we know that he went to one of the most important universities, northwestern. mark: and a proud graduate of westside. john: thank you for coming. i want to start with new hampshire trivia. seth: great. john: we will see how well you know your state. state fruit? seth: state fruit, the snowball. john: pumpkin. state insect? seth: black fly. john: the ladybug. what is the state sport? seth: hockey. john: skiing. i have a serious question.

do you think -- new hampshire has an important role in politics, do you think that is fair and proper? seth: i do not. i think it is foolish for every election the same two states. iowa and new hampshire. i would be happy if they rotated it around. with that said, i do think people from new hampshire take it seriously. and one of the benefits of a small state, i think most voters get a chance to meet the candidates in a way you can't in a larger state. i would not be upset if they switched it up. john: i want to be clear, after offering this answer you will not be allowed to come back in that state. seth: that is fine. mark: were you there when muskie cried? seth: i graduated high school in 1992 and every single candidate that year came through. i introduced jerry brown on stage because i was in student council. i got to wear a plaid shirt instead of a coat and tie because it was jerry brown.

i saw clinton speak that year. everybody came through. mark: did you work on campaigns? seth: no, i never worked on campaigns. i was too cool. but that was a nice thing about growing up there, you were aware of politics. john: we showed you doing a bunch of interviews with candidates. what do you do to get ready for an interview with the candidates? seth: you bone up more than you would for somebody in a television show or movie. you want to sound intelligent and you want to project information to the audience, because that is the reason the candidate is on. it is hard, if you ask a candidate a question, they will talk the whole time unless you interrupt them. mark: you have to do the lean in. seth: that is how it went. i was leaning farther forward. mark: let me run through some of the candidates you interviewed. john kasich? seth: he seems like a nice, reasonable man, but i do not

know the word -- i do not know the electoral college, right now, if they are looking for a reasonable man. mark: ted cruz? seth: i found him to be an aggressive debater, he was more interesting because he wanted to go back and forth. i think he is used to that. you can tell he likes conflict and that made him aninteresting guest. mark: carly fiorina? seth: she was sharp, but less charismatic than i expected. mark: how so? seth: as a talk show guest -- mark: you wanted to be wowed. seth: she had less sparkle. mark: lindsey graham? seth: lindsey graham was all sparkle. he was 1% and he was loaded up. you can tell when they preplan the off-the-cuff joke. mark: what about bernie sanders? seth: he was very laid back.

he has a good sense of humor. fun to talk to. john: we have done some reporting and we are told by sources that you would like to interview vladimir putin. seth: i would love to get him on the show. great impressionist. john: i am going to be vladimir putin. mr. seth meyers, am a very good to meet you. before we send you to the labor camp, how should we go about meeting? seth: mr. vladimir putin, i ask you questions. i feel like you, right away, you stole that away for me. i am not a guest on your show. this is not crimea. this is late night with seth meyers, you cannot just take this. john: at this point, i would have a shirt off. and then you would be done. seth: ok. mark: being funny is important to get elected. clinton, obama, bush all had moments of great trial. so, jeb bush, what was the

funniest thing about him? seth: i would say that it is different now than it was before. as far as how important it is to be funny. there are so many talk shows and we all enjoy having these people on as guests. in a way way, it is saturated. i feel like for all their best efforts, i do not know if anybody will have a moment that will elevate them. mark: hillary on snl. seth: that was for her a breakthrough. one of my biggest snl memories was when sarah palin came on and that was one of the highest-rated shows in a decade. we will see if that is the case when donald trump goes on. he did his rap. nicolle: i love that. we will be right back. ♪

john: we are live 24/7 on bloomberg politics.com. but if you live in washington, d.c., you can also catch us on the radio at 99.1 fm. s thate the three word best describe your voyage as a host? nicolle: total man cave. should i be invited back, i am bringing white tulips and frilly pink curtains. be invited back. i look forward to that. until then, sayonara. ♪

the chairman of china telecom has quit after being targeted in an investigation. the chief operating officer will take over until a new appointment is made. chung was being questioned about violations of discipline. seen as code for corruption. from japan