mark: i am mark halperin. john: with all due respect, secrets are no fun. ♪ >> greetings from the university of wisconsin at madison. there is more fallout from donald trump, where he said abortion should be illegal. and there has to be some sort of punishment. we will spend our entire a block talking about the only question teflon donhas the finally been pierced?

among the controversy is dealing with, the front-runner being pummeled by his erstwhile enablers in the mainstream media. >> a posted an image of heidi cruz next to his wife. >> it is not going to have any impact. but people feel bad for heidi cruz and ted cruz really, because you cannot go after a guy's wife's looks. smearruz: it is a from donald trump and his henchmen. >> what i was asking donald trump to do is at some point, apologize, real men stand up and say i was wrong. this campaign committee decided they will never admit it. and as result, they backed themselves into a corner. >> a day of bad news for donald

trump. clashing with trump supporters, democrats push the ground. >> ultimately, the responsibility is mr. trump's/ >> after corey lwin dow ski was 16 membersgroup of of the conservative media called on trump to fire his campaign manager. >> this is repelling so many people who are not his core supporters. >> poll numbers certainly in wisconsin not good news for donald trump. planned parenthood versus pro-life groups. >> you will look back and see this is where the bottle -- bottom started to drop out. mark: he was nbc with prince

d.c. anyone be back in wisconsin until saturday, two events here. we will go wide and deep on this topic. let us start with the 30,000 foot view. is this a generally different kind of crisis he is facing? john: he may not win the primary here. polling suggests that he will not. but he still has a stronghold. i will say that if you graze at the media buffet both nationally and wisconsin, you will see the media flow has been horrible. most of the things have been negative. not the kind of negative that will rally his supporters, stuff e has needed. a strategy to stop them. strategy and conference. this has given them one of them. john: we have gotten to the

stage where people have started to look in a cold hard way about what would it mean for our prospects in the presidential election down ballot for the party. that is been in the ether for a while. now, people are focused on it. the things that donald trump has had happened in the series of controversies casts significant doubt over whether he can be elected. the notion of violating the nuclear nonproliferation treaty -- all of this has the echo of is this the guy -- mark: why is there a focus on electability now? one suspects, after talking with the wisconsin people -- john: your uber driver brought up electability? john: the people in wisconsin are wise and common sense people. they are thinking about who the nominee might be. mark: i think trump has defied political gravity in so many ways. one of them has been -- no one has become a major party nominee in the modern era without having

the next essential scare. we do not know if this is an exit essential scare. but there are plenty of republicans -- self-interested people -- ted cruz, john kasich, people associate with hillary clinton who say trump is in a fall, not a freefall, but if he loses in wisconsin, he will have two weeks of pain, but with a chance to reassert in new york. and it could all be bobby ewing's dream. if trump gets shellacked here, and comes back and wins new york, it could be the dream. john: i don't think it is an accidental crisis. donald trump could lose this state and, again, bounceback. the calendar is favorable, not just in new york, but jan. there are many states -- but beyond. there are many states he is favorite to win. this can be a bump in the road. if he puts himself in a position where if he were to lose new york, he would have a genuine genuine existential crisis. mark: we always quote haley barbour -- good politics could get better, and bad gets worse.

right now, things are getting worse for donald trump in the perception of media and political elites. and whether this is an actual electoral problem or not, ultimately, trump's opponents in both parties are trying to take advantage. bill and hillary clinton, john kasich, all made their way around new york, campaigning for that state's primary in a couple of weeks. they each took their turn jabbing at the republican front-runner. mrs. clinton: yesterday, donald trump said women should be punished for having an abortion. [booing] he then tried to distance himself once that kind of reaction came out from his outrageous comments, but we all heard them. >> they keep playing around with this issue, taking the right to choose away from women. i suppose that would be the next logical step. these events and people present, he becomes on

unmoored. and i have to tell you, that as a commander-in-chief and leader of the free world, you cannot get do overs. you need to be able to get it right the first time. mark: the pile on donald trump though extends beyond his candidate rivals. in an unusual pairing -- two groups that support hillary clinton, the super pac priorities usa and planned parenthood worked together to come out with a digital ad that is aimed at voters in ohio and washington dc that calls trump dangerous, insulting, and demeaning to women. the abortion comments in particular have set off this joint effort from the left and right, but even before that, you saw the comments from women -- the advertisement being run by the anti-republican super pac is one the democrats could run exactly as it is running now. john: it is a dangerous zone for any candidate -- steve schmidt made this point in 2012 -- when

you are being attacked on the same grounds by your opponents to the left and to the right, you are in dangerous territory. really. you know, it has always struck me -- i am not just claiming 20/20 hindsight here. the one time when donald trump really got trounced on a was the comments about carly fiorina's looks. that could be a potential landmine for them going forward. women are more than 50% of the populace. republican women in the suburbs are essential to winning an election. it is ugly. it is not the kind of thing people will chortle along with, not in our society today. i am not surprised that this -- the series of things related to gender are the things that are getting him into a potentially perilous situation. mark: let's say one thing about the naked emperor regarding polling. donald trump continues to assert that he beats hillary clinton. john: but why? it is a straightforward lie.

mark: he continues to be in denial about what republican women and women overall think about him. whether they approve or disapprove of him. this kind of denial would not exist in a normal campaign. the normal campaign would have a pollster that would say you are in big trouble. you have to start turning these things around. so, trump could say this is not trouble, but those two measures, whether he is electable against hillary clinton right now, and whether women approve of him, those are big problems politically. john: you can make up an electoral strategy that writes off hispanics. it is not a wise thing to do, but you can say i will over-perform with white voters and do horribly with hispanic voters and still imagine a way to win the presidency. you cannot win the presidency if you are losing 70% of the female voters. there is no mass for that works. none, zero. are you done? mark: yeah. john: when we come back, ted cruz's return to late-night tv,

and hillary clinton's return to wisconsin right after this. ♪

mark: last night, ted cruz was not here in wisconsin. oh, no. he was on the left coast, making an appearance on "jimmy kimmel live," showing a different brand than the firebrand persona he shows most of the time. after starting off talking about policy, he talked about his old dream of becoming an actor, his bad boy reputation, and a few shots at donald trump. here are some of the most memorable moments. senator cruz: the salt and never in the beard gives you -- salt and pepper in the beard gives you a distinguished look.

jimmy: you're not going to put me on the muslim watchlist, are you? senator cruz: it is already done. if i am in the car, and i see donald and the backup camera, i am not confident which pedal i push. pink floyd i saw senior year in the astrodome. and you know, there was an image that david gilmour was here last night. jimmy: david, was here last night. senator cruz: that is what i understand. two were three feet down for me was a police officer smoking a joint -- holding a roach clip, smoking a joint, and i have to admit, i was 17 at the time, and he was in uniform. i mean, this was an officer in uniform. i shook my head and said well, it is floyd. jimmy: [laughter] mark: so, the comedy stylings of ted cruz. how is a likability toward going? john: i do not know if this translates to likability, but it was a very good performance. you and i have often talked about the fact that, as trivial you have to go

on shows like fast and come across in a winning way. i have seen them, crossing a winning way like that rarely. last night, he hit it out of the park. mark: i will quote twitter trouble and say that anybody who has spent time with ted cruz knows he is a funny, and i will say, charming guy -- he does not display enough. and all this focus on donald trump, the fighting over their wives, it is clouding out his ability to convince republican votes, hey, do not just for me because i am not trump. there are good reasons to be for me. john: all this focus is obscuring the fact that ted cruz is getting better. all candidates get better over a long campaign. mark: most. mark: most of them do. john: the ones that survive generally get better. he has done better. i think the comment he made suggesting he might have run trot over might have been -- trumpet over --donald trump over might have been on the far side. mark: if trump said that now -- it would cause a controversy. it tells you that despite the

fact ted cruz has not had the best relationship with the media, has a pretty good one. for a conservative campaign based in texas, they have work very hard to be on good terms with the media. john: it also tells you donald trump is so far in the barrel. if he said that about john kasich, he would have gotten more hell for it. running over donald trump -- that is funny. as we mentioned, hillary and bill clinton were in new york campaigning today. when the democratic front runner left this state, wisconsin, a couple of days ago, you and me asked a question -- what was team clinton doing -- what were they up to? but now polls show her trailing bernie sanders, but despite that fact, she and her husband are coming back this weekend for democratic dinner. it raises questions we asked before -- what is up with that? mark: the clintons always think they could win. if it is a state they have one

before, bill clinton won it. she did not against barack obama. they think they can win. they have to keep the march tight, even if she loses. and i believe tomorrow, bill clinton will project the notion when he is here in appleton that they can still somehow steal it, and if she comes back and wins it, i will not say the race is over, but -- john: it will be a huge story. expectations are sanders will win by large amounts. mark: thad has said they must win. john: yes, of course. i think there may be a little razor.e ockham's they left the state when it got there are going to lose and not lose badly, and now it is become clear they are going to lose badly. this is about trying to keep the margin reasonable. mark: whether it is to keep it close or steal it back, it is a testament to their belief that they can come here and make a difference. bill clinton has -- as with almost every state in the union, he has a special relationship with the state. john: he does. he loves the cheese. you know, i think would be crazy

if they stayed out of the state. mark: like winners. john: i do not know why they left. mark: they are trying to shore up new york. i mean, most of the time they have not been here, they have been in new york. she could lose by 20 here. if she wins convincingly in new york, it is not as over, but it is close to over. john: you have pointed out in the past that the clintons, generally the rule is only focus on the election in front of you. so, it was weird when they left, i thought, given that rule. in their household. mark: bill and hillary clinton will be here to greet you when you come. when we come back, we will bring in two reporters living this critical battle for both parties here in wisconsin right after this. ♪

john: we are here with two reporters straight out of wisconsin. joining us, "capital times" political reporter jessie opoien, and "wisconsin times" political reporter, matt defour. did i say that correctly? nailed it. big news this year -- this week -- one of the biggest pieces of news this week with scott walker giving ted cruz an endorsement. how much does it matter, and how has that gone down? ms. opoien: does any endorsement matter -- not that much. scott walker is a great retail politician, great at rounding up support among republicans throughout the

state. do they look to see who is supporting -- maybe not, but if he is holding a rally, he could help people get energized. mark: we saw in the market poll republicans approving of scott walker, and maybe donald trump, maybe not the first time, a guy that takes on fox news, comes in here, bad mouthing scott walker, and as you said, having the crowd boo along. he turned people who used to be for walker against him. mr. defour: there are probably a lot of illinois people. mark: is it possible it is smart politics for trump to come in here and attack walker? mr. defour: he will be looking for fans -- people that are not huge fans of scott walker, but he knows he is not going to win. he does not want to get blown out by ted cruz. i mean, the momentum is on ted cruz's side.

and you know, there is a conservative movement in this state that scott walker is at the top of the pyramid on. so, does his endorsement matter? i mean, i think it is more symbolic of the fact that southeastern wisconsin is dominated by conservative talk radio. they control the legislature. they are working to get a firmer grip on the state supreme court. that is really what is at play. john: you are saying walker is more a lagging indicator than a leading indicator. mr. defour: he gave an indication that he was not going to back ted cruz a week before he did. maybe he did not want to be that lagging indicator. yeah, he is part of the movement. john: i want to ask you guys the same question we have anyone that hasn't -- has encountered this state, why is john kasich hopeless in this state? given all the reasons, on paper at least, he should be competitive. ms. opoien: why is he hopeless -- why is trump doing so well anywhere -- no one knows the answer?

john: kasich is a popular governor of a state that is not that different. why has he not caught fire? what is the reason? ms. opoien: some might see him as a scott walker light. they might have a lot of things in common, but they have that in wisconsin. they are happy at the state level. but scott walker did not get that traction either. why would we support john kasich if we arty have this with walker? mr. defour: still look for kasich to pick up three delegates in the congressional district. he is still looking for every delegate he can get, so that he is some kind of an argument in cleveland. he is not doing well more broadly because -- again, i will hit this point again and again -- movement conservatives getting behind ted cruz. they were behind rubio initially, but now that he is out, are they going to take the more moderate republican? john kasich is not completely moderate -- the more moderate than ted cruz for sure. and i think they think he can

win the nomination. mark: let's talk about the democrats. bernie sanders seems to be doing better here than he did in illinois, neighboring state. better than ohio, more like michigan. that is what it seems. what is it about this state as compared to illinois or ohio, where looks like he is poised to do better? ms. opoien: ask any liberal or progressive, they will go back strongdays of the progressive history wisconsin has, and people hold true to that. we have people actively involved on a yearly basis -- not just one presidential elections, rum. and bernie sanders has been coming to wisconsin for years, long before he was even being talked about as a presidential candidate. so he already has a following here. like any big university town, we have seen him do well in liberal university towns. good for that. mr. defour: he will do well here -- the marquette poll -- he is doing well in milwaukee county. he is beating clinton.

that is a good indicator. expect him to win on tuesday. john: let me be the why guy. why? we went to this hillary clinton event monday night -- not crowded, not very much energy. why she not doing better in part of the state where she should do well? mr. defour: it goes back to the recall, they were organized back then, but maybe not enough to win the recall, but it is a very liberal, you know, young people -- the demographics that are going for bernie sanders. and it is not the same type of milwaukee minority population when you think of the south. it is not as conservative. they are more together with this liberal movement. mark: where is labor in this primary? ms. opoien: split, to be honest. bernie sanders is perceived as more of the labor candidate, but you definitely see labor coming in on the side of clinton. mr. defour: in the milwaukee county executive race, there is a tough battle, and it is

splitting that vote. i think everybody thinks this is going to benefit the supreme court candidate in the state supreme court race. mark: the public poll that came out showed sanders with a small lead. the clinton people think she has a bigger gap to make up. do you guys have a fingertip feel? is it possible sanders could blow this out? ms. opoien: i do not think is going to blow it out. i think he will do reasonably well. there is a very solid chance that he wins. but my guess is by a handful of points. mark: so the clintons are coming in here not to try to close, but win ms. opoien: i do not know about that. mark: it is a small lead. mr. defour: you will be a competitive race. it is for other state democrats. that is not their calculation, just for everybody. john: 30 seconds -- a simple big picture question -- every place we go people say they will be record turnout. do you guys expect there to be

record turnout? mr. defour: we are staying about 40%, which is be the highest since 1980. again, it is not just presidential. there are other things driving it. especially in milwaukee county, supreme court race and others. does not matter to the national audience, but it will make a difference. mark: i think of all the primaries, this is the place with the highest profile down ballot races. ms. opoien: that is absolutely true. it will not flip the balance of the state supreme court, but start to make a huge difference. it is symbolic in that way. yes. john: thank you so much. coming up, we talked to two professional pro-lifers about donald trump's controversial comments yesterday. right after this. ♪

mark: after donald trump's

comments yesterday, the women who received a legal abortion should be punished, it started conversations among the community. here talk about it and the impact is the president and ceo of concerned citizens of america. and we have a ted cruz order in our studio. ladies, thank you both for joining me. we will start with you here in wisconsin. do you have a sense of how donald trump's comments will play with these communities? >> we have a lot of concern. so, this is why we are so excited to support senator cruz. we looked at his record and the polling numbers and saw he is the best pro-life candidate with the best chance of winning the republican nomination, the best chance of winning the presidency, the best candidate for pro-lifers to win and start putting the changes we want into effect. mark: that did not answer my

question of donald trump's comments and whether you think that will have an impact on voters. between now and the primary. >> i think it will have an impact. the entire pro-life community, we know we stand by women who have had abortions. in fact, some of our best advocates have been post abortive women. we advocate for hope and healing after abortion rather than punishment, which is unthinkable. you, whennt to ask you heard what donald trump said matthews,to chris took it all and read it through and then read through his clarifications afterwards -- what was the sum total of your assessment of what was going on with him there, and what troubled you about it? >> well, once i picked my jaw up off the floor and i looked through the rest of it, i concluded that this is indicative of his overall misunderstanding and maybe even lack of care about the abortion issue. he does not understand the people that he's trying to win their votes.

he does not understand. he said abortion was the ultimate exploitation of women. the pro-life community believes that. we believe these are hurting broken women, and as women of faith, we truly believe in redemption and we want to love and help them. he doesn't understand that. and so, it's deeply troubling. he tried to clean it up, but it's really sad to me. i think he's a cynic. i think he was appealing to what he thought we believed, but it didn't this time, because he doesn't understand us at all. mark: penny, let me stay with you and ask you about this. an emotional issue for anybody who thinks about it. this notion of women being a victim -- who are they the victim of? aren't they the ones who got pregnant, perhaps in an irresponsible way, and choose to have an abortion? who's victimizing them? penny: you know, it has been said before. women don't choose an abortion

like they would choose an ice cream cone or they want a porsche. it is like an animal chewing its leg off in a trap. and often these women are preyed on by planned parenthood, by political people that have political reasons, and men who walk away from them. and so, we need to come alongside them, love them, give them opportunities to make other choices, better choices, and help them to understand -- unfortunately when you walk into a government-funded planned parenthood clinic as a pregnant woman, 98% of the time you will leave without a baby because you are told that is your only choice. we are saying, cut planned parenthood's funding, give the money instead to the 13,000 pregnancy care centers and community health centers who can care for the whole woman and give them other options. john: chelsea, how do you evaluate? there are people who change their minds about abortion over the course of their lives. they start out pro-life and end

up pro-choice. or vice versa. and donald trump's case, yes in his mind, having been pro-choice for a long time. how do you evaluate when someone is making a genuine conversion and when someone is doing it for purely political, cynical reasons? chelsea: we always welcome converts to our cause to understand the truth about abortion. when we see the back-and-forth -- when we hear these insensitive comments about women who have had abortions are we here comments saying that planned parenthood does good things -- that gives us hope. even though they still stand by the dismemberment of children. we don't believe that any of the good things they do can overcome the fact that every day unborn children are dismembered in their facilities. hearing comments like that, that worries pro-lifers.

john: you have no doubt in their minds that trump's -- your sense is that trump's posture is made up. chelsea: we want to believe his statements because they want people to come to our side. but we do not know if it is genuine. but we want to stand behind somebody who has that proven record on our issue. mark: do you understand the support of someone like sarah palin, who has been so supportive of the pro-life movement? here in wisconsin, donald trump. penny: everyone has to choose for themselves. only god sees donald trump's heart, clearly. my problems with the fact that even if he is sincere, he has not taken the time to understand the issues at stake. he has said he thinks a great supreme court justice would he his sister, who try to strike down the partial-birth abortion act in new jersey. he has not taken the time to

understand who we are and why we care and why we think what we do. i have all due respect for sarah palin and others who come to different conclusions, but for me, i believe, just like chelsea, that ted cruz is the better candidate and is a pro -- as a pro-lifer, i will be supporting him. mark: i will ask you both for one more answer. we only have 30 more seconds. if donald trump beats ted cruz, would you support him over hillary clinton? penny: always over hillary clinton. anyone is better. chelsea: you know hillary clinton's record. she is 100% against any restrictions on abortion. mark: you would be enthusiastically against donald trump. chelsea: we would definitely be against hillary clinton. mark: thank you for coming. and don't forget, if you are watching us now and in d.c., you can listen to us now on bloomberg 99.1. we will be right back with a

look at how things are playing out here on the ground for ted cruz in wisconsin. ♪

mark: new video we want to show you today. hillary clinton on campus at cu purchase in new york. she was approached by greenpeace activists who asked whether she would decline taking donations from fossil fuel companies going forward. greenpeace hosted the video on youtube. >> will you decline fossil fuel money in the future in your campaign? >> i am sick of standard campaigns lying about this.

i am sick of it. >> i agree with you. mark: that was a little bit tough to hear. what she said was, quote, i have money from people who have worked for fossil fuel companies. i'm so sick of the sanders campaign lying about me. i'm sick of it. we have seen between the two candidates and campaigns frayed tempers and emotions on issues just like this of late. john: yes, and i don't mean to shrug at it, but we have got into that phase of the campaign where things are personal and people are actually annoyed. they want this thing to end. it does not behoove her or anybody to behave that way, especially in front of a camera. turning back to the republican race -- we sent our resident on to her to do some -- on tour to do some damage of his own. he followed ted cruz and his wife. he actually did not badger them, as you will see when you take a look.

sen. cruz: well, it is great to be back in wisconsin. where i can continue to be encouraged and energized. by the passion and energy we see on the ground. thank you for being here. with reagan, grant, lincoln -- holy cow, talk about being in hallowed company. >> it is great that we well have a president who will fight for the constitution. sen. cruz: conservatives are coming together. republicans are coming together. >> give her a warm wisconsin welcome. carly: i want you to go out and do your job on tuesday, talk to everybody you know. sen. cruz: if every person here goes and gets 9 other people to vote, that is how we win. >> joining me live on the line is governor scott walker.

gov. walker: ted cruz is the best position by far too both win the nomination of the republican party and then go on and defeat hillary clinton. >> hi, nice to meet you. >> if nothing else, you can be vice president. sen. cruz: you want me to sign that? that is a strong look. >> is pretty exciting to have a candidate like ted come out. >> if cruz isn't the nominee but it's trump, we will not be able to go to the ballot box and support him. as strongly as if we feel that hillary or bernie would be a disaster for the country, i can't in good conscience support donald trump. [applause]

carly: such a great welcome here in fon du lac? did i pronounce that correctly? i worked on it in the bus. heidi is going to make a fantastic first lady. >> we have had a lot of experiences that have been moments of high stress. the first thing that ted does to me is tell me he loved me. he is not worried about what he believes, he learned what he believes at the dinner table with a bible and the constitution. >> i had to meet heidi. i'm such a huge supporter of heidi and carly. it's been a great opportunity to be a part of the whole process. sen. cruz: this is going to come down to the men and women gathered here. it is going to come down to the grassroots. , wisconsin people

have a strong base of, if nothing else, common sense. sen. cruz: we are eight days away from election. wisconsin is a battleground. >> we've got to run through the tape here. you got to work hard until the very last minute. sen. cruz: it is now or never. thank you, and god bless you! john: thanks again to the wonderful and talented griffin hamilton. up next, we are joined by our pollster in chief. ♪

mark: and now to something completely similar to what we started the show talking about, whether the donald trump brand is in any trouble right now. we thought we would devote our weekly by the number statement,

taking a look at how the republican's primary numbers are faring now in overtime. according to our most recent bloomberg politics national poll, 68% of likely general election voters have an unfavorable view of donald trump. this week's marquette university poll in wisconsin shows truck mp has the same numbers at the state level among general election voters. we did what we always do. we called in our master pollster who joins us not from des moines, but from new york. anne, people are talking about whether trump is hurting himself now among female voters. what is the date of the show? anne: this is where polling is helpful. we can see how things change over time. our numbers are showing when we first started asking about donald trump with women, his numbers weren't very good and his numbers have continued to get worse. i was reminded of bit of haley

barbour. the bad gets worse. he's now 73% among women say they have an unfavorable opinion of him. that is up from 65% only a few months ago. that moment we discussed earlier in the show where electability is probably on everybody's mind -- how does trump stack up versus other rivals in terms of his electability in head to head? ann: let's turn to the candidate doing the best job among women in looking at the general election from the republican side, and that's john kasich. clinton leads to be sure with women, but only in eight-point lead. her lead against ted cruz is higher than that, about double that, 17 points. it jumps to 29 points when you pair hillary clinton about ted cruz among women likely to vote in the general election.

he basically -- she gets 60% of that vote. if women are the majority of voters, you can't lose 60% of the vote and still win the election. there are a lot of constituencies you can lose, but you cannot lose women and win the general election. mark: ann, let's go back four years to mitt romney. ann: well, the exit polls will show that barack obama won the presidency because he won women. he won 55% of women. mitt romney only took 44%. that is a very traditional gender gap that we would call it because women tend to vote more democratic. with the way that trump's numbers are looking now -- he may lose a higher percentage, just making more possibility that there is a blowout if those are the two candidates and if things continue along trend. john: ann, some favorables are

super high. just do a comparison with past nominees, winners and losers in that area. ann: i am asked all the time, what do you have historically that compares to what we are looking at now? and i keep saying we don't have anything historically at what we have now. but we went back to a gallup poll. they are consistent over time, asking the same question in the same way. you can see that they kind of go a range, from a low of 27%, that is john mccain in 2008. that was his unfavorable rating, only 1 in 4. then a high of barack obama at 46%, heading into reelection campaign. well, all of that pales compared to where donald trump is. those polls were all taken in the month of march in the

comparable year. we're at the same point in the cycle. it's really revealing just how dangerously bad trump's numbers are for trump. mark: ann, looking at our poll and other data, if you were a trump voter and wanted to make him feel good about his chance of winning the general, is there anything you could point to to say, well, there's that. ann: the electorate is saying, we don't want the same old kind of person. you can't really judge the mood of the electorate on that. early on he had a very high negative and people thought, you can't even get into the race if you have a negative that high. he not only entered the race, but he basically up-ended his unfavorable rating and made it just as favorable as it had been unfavorable. so, we have seen him move from bad to good. now, we've seen him move from good to bad. there is every possibility that because he is so against

anything you've ever seen before, you find a way to convert back to positive territory with the favorable rating. john: ann, if you would take cruz, you are looking at your own numbers and donald trumps numbers, what would you point to as a most favorable comparison where he says -- here's donald trump's number, here's why i'm the better candidate or the better nominee. ann: ted cruz is getting better as a candidate. and so, his numbers are sort of steadily marching forward. i can't say he's had a huge rise, but we do tend to look at what is the direction and what's the momentum. and it does seem to be that the momentum right now is on ted cruz's side. mark: ann, if you look at john kasich, he's arguing a lot about the polls. does he seemed to have more upside? if he got more momentum, is

there room for him to grow? ann: john kasich does especially well in matchups against hillary clinton. he has said before he's the only candidate beating hillary clinton, and that's true in our polls. john kasich -- he obviously has a huge hill to climb up. but that hill levels out a bit if the people he's competing against are seeing some adversity. so, anything that is happening to cause controversy on the other side and gets people turned of with the negatives, john kasich's tone is very different. he is well positioned, if only people knew more about him. mark: got it. ann, thanks very much as always. go sit at our table at sardi's. up next, we will enroll in a new trump university course. this one is called, "how to apologize, 101." up next, after this. ♪

john: the past few days have seemed bad for donald trump. we started wondering if donald trump might consider apologizing for any of the things he's done or that have happened. as it turns out, trump was asked about that very subject, apologizing, by anderson cooper a couple nights back and thought trump's answer with interesting. anderson: when was the last time you actually apologized for something? mr. trump: oh, wow. i don't know. can i think? look, i do believe in apologizing. if you're not wrong, i don't believe in apologizing. for instance, i could have apologized -- we started this with my campaign manager, will you apologize. i said, apologize for what? apologize for what? i would love to apologize. it would be so much easier.

apologize, you're fired. i apologize to my mother years ago for using foul language. [laughter] [applause] i apologized to my wife for not being presidential on occasion. she's always saying, darling, be more presidential. mark: only different. head to bloombergpolitics.com right now and check out our colleague's story on donald trump. handing democrats a potentially powerful weapon with his latest comments on abortion. tomorrow, we will be here in wisconsin with a big interview. until then, thanks for watching. thanks everybody here on campus. sayonara. ♪

♪ friday, the first of april. this is "trending business". i am rishaad salamat. ♪ we take you to tokyo, .ydni, singapore a new day in the new court, and what a day for stocks, the regional benchmark coming by 8%, a tumultuous quarter for global equities. more evidence of gathering gloom and japan, business sentiment