>> welcome to the best of "with all due respect." a decisive week in the republican primary season. donald trump is the last man standing in what was once a field of 16 candidates. his final rivals fell, ted cruz and john kasich called it quits after donald trump dominated the indiana primary. >> bernie sanders scored an upset in the hoosier state. he could possibly soldier on to the convention in philadelphia.

>> we talked to strategists about new political realities. joining us now is mary matalin, influential republican strategist, and dan senor. dan, i will start with you, tell us what is going through the speaker's mind at this moment when donald trump is trying to unify the party and the speaker is not on board? >> he believes is it incumbent upon donald trump to unify the party, not his job, or mitch mcconnell's job, it is the nominee's job. he was struck by these calls for party unity. like everyone should just fall in line. he is not against getting behind a unifying figure but if there is some apprehension about unity

now, that is donald trump's job. >> asked whether he would support donald trump, he is a voter and a citizen, he is not there yet, what is required on donald trump's part? dan: he has serious questions about donald trump's temperament to be commander-in-chief and judgment. >> what does he have to do? dan: he is not providing a checklist but saying over the next couple of months, earn my support. the way donald trump has behaved in the last few months, rhetorically, temperamentally, gives people a lot of pause about whether or not he is worthy of having their support. >> we think this is a big deal, is it? mary: with all due respect, you are overreacting.

i disagree with your analysis that this is some white night effort. >> we said people might speculate about that. forget that, the notion of the speaker of the house withholding support of the presumptive nominee of his party, is that a big deal? mary: indiana was two days ago, it is premature, primaries are emotional, and this one in particular is emotional as mainstream republicans, and regular republicans, and conservative republicans are very angry at the party. my analysis is that paul ryan is speaking to conservatives and saying, we understand that you are not about a party or a person, you are about principles and he would like to hear from donald trump, as many of us would like to, particular we who

re-registered as libertarians, more about his policies. he has to flesh out some principles that comport with why people have supported the republican party in the past. >> when did you re-register as a libertarian and where do you stand on voting for trump? mary: i am a provisional trump because i like his attitude. i like his strategic chutzpah. he put macro messaging over micro-targeting. i just do not know enough. he would win in a landslide if he stopped with women. he could get some african-americans and millennial voters. it would be great if he reigned it in a little bit. >> you re-register as a libertarian when? mary: today. >> why?

mary: because i am a republican in the jeffersonian, madisonian sense, not for a party or a person, the libertarian party represents the constitutional principles that i agree with. >> clearly explained, is there no connection in your view between donald trump being the presumptive nominee and you leaving the republican party? mary: let me make this clear. i am never-hillary, always-liberty. i have said it publicly, after two successive blowout elections for conservatives with a non-response from washington, a lot of conservatives are angry with the party, i can still vote for republicans but i will never vote for hillary. >> you have left the republican party.

nothing to do with donald trump? mary: i do not know enough about donald trump, i know three things about his economic policy. >> if your husband left the democratic party, would you think that was a big story? mary: it would be a juicy story for me and contribute mightily to marital tranquility. [laughter] >> you are never-trump? dan: i will never be for donald trump. >> what separates you from paul ryan? dan: paul thought that the primary would go on for a while, no one expected ted cruz to drop out tuesday night. the notion, on tuesday, it donald trump accuses ted cruz's father of being involved with

the assassination of john f. kennedy and wednesday, people are outraged that paul ryan has not endorsed the person who has done these things is absurd. chris christie needs to know, he will call paul ryan, the idea that chris christie is the bridge to paul ryan is amusing. the idea that people need to find out what the problem is, this guy is a problematic guy, people have concerns. >> so much to talk about. this question of the bushes. dan, the bushes saying they will stay out of it, a big deal? dan: a huge deal. >> george herbert walker bush has been involved in every presidential election since he was president. dan: i get it. this is donald trump's problems, he has fractured the party and his job is to figure out how he will win over these people.

>> mary, have you talked to anyone in donald trump's world, have they ask you for advice? mary: i will not comment on that, if he gets to put together a good ground game, i am confident he will win. can i say something, some things trump politics, that is family. the bushes are famous for their affections for each other, and if someone says of your son or brother, what the donald said about jeb bush, you would have the same reaction. less with politics and this has more to do with their family affections. >> the party is currently divided, the speaker of the house, the governor of massachusetts said he will not vote for donald trump. >> a couple of u.s. senators.

>> if the donald trump campaign calls you for advice and they say we want to win your vote and paul ryan's vote, what would you tell them they should do? mary: stop your high school antics so you can keep suburban women. a guarantee on scotus. mike lee. stand up straight and comb your hair. >> that was actually four unless you count hair as part of the antics. >> you have connection to forces with the never trump movement, they are still out there, is there still a never trump movement, not like i will not vote for him, but to try to stop him from being the nominee? dan: some donors will sit on the

sidelines and stay out of the race. some donors looking for ways to find an independent candidate, center-right candidate to be on the stage with donald trump and hillary clinton. i will not mention names. >> the kinds of people who might want to have -- dan: ben sasse is an interesting guy. we could use someone like him to help make the case for conservatives. to say the down ballot and budgets will he throw this in the house of representatives and win and you make a statement about the future of the conservative movement that it should not be in the hands of this guy who is hijacking it. and does not believe in conservative principles and has

the wrong temperament for the job, republicans can have someone to vote for if they are uncomfortable with donald trump. some donors will go for donald trump, but they will not donate because he is worth $10 billion. >> mary, you worked for a president bush who won 40% of the hispanic vote, donald trump sent out a tweet on cinco de mayo eating a taco bowl saying, "i love hispanics." what do you make of that -- latino outreach? mary: let me challenge and disagree with all of you. the reason donald trump hijacked the republican party is the same reason any hostile takeover is successful, the underlying element is weak, the party was weak, the party has not been for several successive elections responsive to its base.

that is why in walks donald trump. these antics could only be completed by him because he has this capacity to flick off any attacks which he will do with hillary clinton, the more you attack him, the stronger he gets. >> what do you think about donald trump's tweet? mary: i do not tweet. i do not facebook. that is what people love. people like you do not like it. he will appeal to nontraditional republican voters including african-americans and millennials because he has a good jobs message and he is a character. >> i want you to talk amongst yourself, mary thinks donald

trump could win but you think he has no chance. debate that. dan: we are not going to debate that. mary: we love each other. >> what states do you think obama won that donald trump could win? mary: let me repeat something -- you are a no, we have been wrong at every single juncture. people are angry. >> answer the question. mary: i did not say donald trump is ron reagan, people are sick of identity politics, political correctness, he has a highly motivated, low propensity voter base onto which he could add -- >> what states could he win? mary: colorado, new mexico, i do

not think pennsylvania. he has to win florida and ohio and he could possibly win northwestern states that have gone democrat lately. dan: romney got 42% of the latino vote in florida, what percentage do we think donald trump will get, 20%, 10%, 5%? i am not asking donald trump to be reagan, he cannot preserve the romney map and that has you down ballot implications. mary: currently, but we are light years away from the convention and the general election. he has shown the capacity, he can act presidential. he has professionals around him and he will get a greater percentage of nontraditional republican voters.

i am not a pro donald trump person, i am a liberty lover and an anti-hillary clinton person. dan: we have all been somewhat humbled my getting this wrong over and over. although the general election does seem like a stretch. the idea he can look presidential, i find that -- i see that in the press, he is pivoting to looking presidential, like looking presidential is doing one speech. >> mary suggested donald trump is professionalizing, talk about his new finance chair. dan: he is not known in the political fund-raising circles.

if donald trump needs to raise half of $1 billion to $1 billion, most people put these armies together over a time of years, a complex process, the idea you can flip a switch and do it under six months. he has chosen someone to do it not known for being able to do this. he may have other access to small dollar donations. at the end of the day, you need to build the kind of resources, you need a high dollar bundling operation to run a national campaign you need against hillary clinton. >> all super pac and web. not going to bundle. mary: i will disagree with you guys. my proof is bernie sanders, ted cruz, they raised money. donald trump's unique capacity to get plenty of earned media. >> i agree with you. >> let's finish on that because mary agreed with mark.

>> welcome to the libertarian party, congratulations. >> breaking news. >> still ahead, we breakdown the state of the democratic race with the clinton campaign chief strategist. ♪

♪ >> our next guest is joel benenson from hillary clinton's campaign. take donald trump's name, if he can improve his standing with women voters and hispanics, what kind of achievement would that be in the annals of politics? joel: if i had wings i could fly, it is an uphill climb. the definition around him now is

of his own making. it is hard to undo, when you have solidified your image on your own efforts. >> is it possible, could he is standing with women and hispanics enough to win, do you rule that out? >> i do not rule anything out completely. but when you look at how this is built up and has solidified it is, when you look at when he first started talking about running for president and the things he has been saying over the last four or five years. the other thing that will pose a challenge for donald trump is, he has never shown a propensity to work on his own image. he spends most of his time with adjectives, little substance and

most of his time attacking everybody else. >> there are many things that he has said that has alienated subgroups -- change versus more of the same. she is running as the the third term of the obama administration, and he wants to blow up everything when massive numbers of people think the country is on the wrong track, or are frustrated at the establishment. how do you defeat that? joel: the country being on the wrong track, the numbers on wrong track were higher in 2012 when barack obama was reelected president. these things are choices. i do not think it is as simple as change versus more of the same. people feel they have gotten to a certain point. they are not where they want to be. they want to know who can get stuff done who can make a difference in their lives. presidential elections are about the future and not the past, their lives not your your life as a candidate. when you look at the range of

things that affect their lives from creating good jobs, getting their kids educated, bringing out college debt, hillary clinton is winning more votes than anybody else. >> among available voters in america, would you say those voters are pissed off than four years ago? or less? not hard-core democratic or republican partisans, the of for grabs voters that you will be competing for. joel: less pissed off. they are frustrated with different things. the repercussions of citizens united case, and what that has meant in terms of spending and money on the races, troubles them. which is an advantage for us. hillary clinton was the first candidate in this election cycle to call for overturning it and overturning it, appointing

judges who would reverse it, and a constitutional amendment if that did not happen. that has people concerned. economically, people are not where they want to be. they feel they have figured out ways to make it work in their own lives, back a little bit closer to where they want to be, but they know they are not at that level of security they were before the economic crash. so, they are going to want someone to look out for their interest and make a difference in their lives and probably help create a better future for them and their kids. >> your or candidate is ahead of donald trump for months in a general election poll,do you expect that to change? at any point in the next several months before the convention? joel: i do not, when you look at the reality and what is happening in the republican side, even last night, when you talk about an array of tweets and commentary from establishment republicans about their dissatisfaction. including the chief consultant

for john mccain, mitt romney, people like mitt romney, who have run before, lindsey graham. their party will make this very difficult to change the numbers on that side of the equation. i think we have more swing voters, more states will be in play for us. a lot of the swing voters are not just moderates, ideologically, they are modulated in their temperament, they do not like hyper-politics and the hyper-politician is a donald trump character, not hillary clinton. she is a nose to the grindstone, get the work done, make a difference for you. >> 2008 and 2012, the obama campaign always said we wouldrather have our hand in their hand, what does donald trump have that you envy? joel: the media has not treated him like a typical republican, megyn kelly criticized the media

for letting him phone into sunday shows. things that were unprecedented, his unconventional candidacy has had the media offguard. it is game time now and he will face the scrutiny in the questions. that every other presidential -- >> anything besides his ability to be unconventional? joel: not right now. i don't think so. >> what about his support with male voters? joel: i don't think so. hillary is doing well even with male voters. i have mixed views about public polls -- >> you do not. [laughter] >> i am just trying to preempt you. >> when we come back, more democratic party politics, the chair of the democratic national committee debbie wasserman

schultz. ♪

♪ senator sanders: when we talk about a rigged system, it is important to understand how the democratic convention works. we have won 45% of pledged delegates, but we have only earned 7% of superdelegates. [boos] in other words, the way the system works is you have establishment candidates who win virtually all of the superdelegates. it makes it hard for insurgent candidacies like ours to win. >> bernie sanders in evansville, indiana this morning railing against the democratic party's nomination process.

joining us to talk about that is debbie wasserman schultz. chairwoman, nice to see you. why is bernie sanders wrong? rep. wasserman schultz: he is wrong because we have had these rules in place since 1984 and we have had two types of delegates. we have the delegates that are pledged, elected by voters, that represent voters. based on the outcome. then party leaders and other elected officials who have been in the trenches for a long time and have a role in choosing our party's nominee. it is important to note that the unpledged delegates have never played a role in selecting our party's nominee. >> does that explain why he is wrong? i understand the history and the system exists. that he should play by those rules. his critique of the system is that it is stacked so that establishment politicians benefit and insurgent

candidacies are disadvantaged. is that wrong on the substance? rep. wasserman schultz: of course, because our party's nominee has never been selected by superdelegates. >> why do you have them? we will take them. if you decide to get rid of them, we could use them. why do you have them? it seems you give him an excuse to stay in, he is doing her harm. i have watched the interviews, we have all these chaos. he is doing her harm. donald trump is picking up these lines of attack to a much larger audience, why can't you control his desire to stay in past the point? rep. wasserman schultz: this will be decided by voters who will vote because they care about who will help them reach the middle class, the general election will be handled that way. i will not handicap how the primary plays out. it is appropriate and our democratic national committee members have decided it is

appropriate for us to have elected officials and party leaders have a role at our convention. the pledged delegates who are selected by the voters. important and this is also both are important to note, which i have said, it was decided a long time ago in part to have superdelegates because otherwise you would have, at the district level when you have activists and other people who want to go to the convention and become a delegate, the only way to become a delegate was for everyone to run at the district level, how is an activist going to compete against an elected official who is much better known. >> can you play a fantasy game with me? i am an establishment republican. if she loses by a little bit too donald trump, is it fair to say if sanders had not done damage to her by questioning her ethics and honesty and qualifications all spring, it might have turned out different?

rep. wasserman schultz: no, hillary clinton has earned 10 million votes. she has more than one million votes than donald trump coming out of the last five or seven of our primaries. our voters have consistently said they are enthusiastic about either one of our candidate. 58% of pennsylvania republicans said they thought their party was harmed. >> if donald trump wins, no fault of bernie? rep. wasserman schultz: i do not think he will win. >> a fantasy game. rep. wasserman schultz: that is a nightmare, not a fantasy. voters will make a decision based on who will move us forward and build on the progress we have made. >> same-day registration, -- rep. wasserman schultz: there is irony in him criticizing a process that he now wants to use to become the nominee. >> irony alert. is there an argument against

same-day registration for democratic primaries? rep. wasserman schultz: i support that. i support automatic registration, and same day registration. we are the party that believes we should maximize people's opportunity to vote and republicans think we should strip the electorate because the only way they can win elections consistently is by having fewer people vote. >> open primaries versus closed primaries. sanders says democrat should have all open primaries to get in independence. how do you feel about open primaries versus closed primaries? rep. wasserman schultz: that is decided by state law. >> how do you feel? rep. wasserman schultz: i believe a party's nominee should be chosen by a member registered with that party. we should not have independence or republicans playing games -- independents or republicans playing games. >> you are against the open primaries? you would like to get rid of them? rep. wasserman schultz: the

party's nominee should be chosen by members of that party. i would not suggest we start we start trying to change that in states but we certainly should not have any more than exist. ultimately, it is up to the states. >> i want to talk about whether you think it is a problem that bernie sanders was not a democrat for most of his career. rep. wasserman schultz: we decided he should run and we welcomed him with open arms. >> has the stop trump movement run out of options? ♪

♪

♪ >> joining us is kellyanne conway. she ran ted cruz super pacs. ted cruz, a genuine

conservative, outsider, how could he have failed? what is the bottom line why he failed? kellyanne: he succeeded over 15 other candidates. when you have everybody against you, that is successful. being in the senate for even a short time is an insider for an electorate that really want an outsider, somebody not part of, the system, it it means you have raised money, you have been briefed by lobbyist, you have been in hearings, you have cast votes that people do not like. it is amazing to think of people wanting an outsider that wanting, but wanting an outsider with no political experience. that is a remarkable feat.

last summer, ben carson was doing very well as a political outsider with zero experience in washington. a world-renowned neurosurgeon. trump want's to carry the narrative forward in places and with non-college-educated voters and evangelicals that was surprising to me. why? because he said you were not just getting delegates but rigging the system, it part of a system that works against us. donald trump did a smart thing early on, he locked arms with voters who felt that when he was being attacked, they were being attacked, they feel part of a larger cause. >> you have known him for a long time, do you plan to support him? kellyanne: i will support him and i hope others will do, i am part of a never hillary camp, i am disappointed in my republican friends who say they will support hillary. i understand why some say they cannot support donald trump yet that i am a party girl and i

have been a party girl when we had other nominees why did not see has genuine conservatives. >> big picture, what are the building blocks of donald trump's come back with female voters? kellyanne: so much of that show much has been written about the gender gap, if he focus on the issues. in the polling, it shows the economy is number one but what do women talk about when they talk about the economy? they talk about everyday affordability and long-term financial security. they mean the cost of food and fuel, and paying tuition, the mortgage, the rent and long-term financial security. i think donald trump should say about hillary clinton, you have been in public office for 30 years. a typical, conventional politician who has improved her own status and wealth and power, and has done precious little to help women across the country. i think donald trump should force a two way conversation on abortion. that would defang that issue.

who is the extreme? is a you who says abortion for anyone, anytime, anywhere, no restrictions for partial birth abortion. eight months, nine months, exterminating the whole next generation of little girls. taxpayer-funded abortions. if he forces a two way conversation, i think you are dealing with unpredictable donald trump against fairly non-resilient status, hillary clinton. that is a match i think we should all -- >> is she the favorite or he? kellyanne: she is because of the democratic blue wall. but donald trump makes competitive that he makes competitive some of the rust belt states that were lost against president obama, he put some of the voters in play. you look at pennsylvania -- he had thousands of democrats and independents switching their registration to vote for him,

that is not nothing. and that coupled with mrs. clinton not being able to put away bernie sanders, including in these rust belt states, they cleared the field for her, and she still does not have the nomination. donald trump was the 17th out of 17 choices, and here he is with the nomination. >> still ahead, a preview of things to come. handicapping a potential trump/clinton match-up, next. ♪

♪ >> the frontrunners in both parties are trying to shed their primary challengers. to talk about that and what we can expect in the coming days is a man who knows general elections well, al hunt. we both expect -- we talked about this contest to go until june in both parties because neither frontrunner will have a majority. are either better positioned to run out the nomination process

but turn to organizing for the general? al: the primary is over after tonight. it may go on for a while, but we had the general election matchup. clinton is in stronger shape now. trump has a lot of work to do. i do not think losing in indiana tonight, which he might do, will make much difference for her. they both need to get ready, and donald trump has more work to do then clinton. >> what are the ways you think, there is a story that talks about this, in the various ways donald trump is behind, how will it be hardest for him to catch up? al: i do not agree with that story, money matters, organization matters. trump's bigger challenges, his total ignorance about issues, -- ultimately, they matter. you can't go through a general

election not knowing much about national security, taxes, the budget, and so forth. for all of the attacks, most of which have been counterproductive, some issues have not come up. i will give you an important one. racism. you have to go back to george corley wallace to find any presidential candidate who has played the race card the way donald trump has. it may be attractive to some, but it will turn off independents and young voters. >> there is the mechanical issue of money that trump wants the party to help him raise, do you think trump will turn to the kind of fundraiser the republican party has traditionally had at the top of the ticket? al: he has to try. he does not have much experience. i talked to a few of billionaires, not many. it is quite clear that donald trump does not have the liquidity or inclination to fund his own campaign. so he has to try to do that. how well he does that and how

much some of those big donors would like to figure out a way to focus on the congressional races rather than the presidential race will be instructive and important. >> stay with that, today rollins will join a pro trump super pac. is the solution for him to go big on the super pac front. you do not need that many billionaires to write big checks to get up to the billion dollars you need for a general election, -- is that the play for donald trump or does that undercut one of his key messages which has been i am not bought and paid for. i do not owe anything to the special interests. al: donald trump has never been impeded by consistency. he will not be this time. i love ed rollins doing that. i interviewed him for charlie rose two weeks ago. donald would be a disaster in the general election. ronald reagan would be mortified. now, he wants to play. super pacs may be the only way

that trump can go, and there may well be a way. a couple of big sugar daddies that so hate hillary clinton that they will fork over. >> put in perspective what you think about what ted cruz did today in response to what donald trump said about his father? al: it probably was not helpful, but if anyone said that about my dad when he was alive -- as outrageous as his racist comments. it just was. the national enquirer may be the trump house organ, but to go on a radio show and say that? i can understand why ted cruz did what he did. i do not think it helped him. >> do you think, a question we talked about earlier, watching the way ted cruz has performed over the last week in indiana with all the gimmicks and hail marys, do you think he could have won the state if he had

performed better in indiana? al: there is that big mo. those northeastern primary wins were so big, so overwhelming, that i think it is doubtful. it did not work, but he threw a hail mary passes because when you are behind, that is the only pass you can throw. he did not have a lot of choices. >> a theory that was floated to me by a pretty smart republican. the reason donald trump said this outrageous thing today about ted cruz's father is to signal to republicans, get ted cruz out of the race. the more the party will be divided the more he stays in the race. force him out and let me be the nominee and i will say this stuff about the clintons. al: and i think he will. they already have. ted cruz has to make a decision. ted cruz went into the race

thinking i may not win this time, but i will be well-positioned next time. suddenly, you win a couple and you think this could be my year. i am sure he has not given up the future thoughts and i think he will stay in -- to stay in if he loses badly will be bad for him. he will focus on hillary clinton. he will say the same things. people can talk about can trump change? no, he has not changed in 45 years. >> if you are watching us in washington, d.c., you can also listen to us on the radio. bloomberg 99.1 fm. we will be right back. ♪

♪ >> was that an exciting week in the 2016 race. thank you for watching. we will see back here on monday.

until then, sayonara. ♪

♪ he's been dubbed the venture capital. not just for his signature shirt , but for his brash way of doing business. along with early bets on who were in instagram, nine years ago he also wrote a $25,000 check to buy a piece of twitter. that amassed so many shares, he was the biggest outside investor at the time of the ipo. he made news by outlining his view for twitter. with down