john: i'm john heilemann. mark: and i am mark halperin. "with all due respect," to those who thought they could come back late from the long weekend and miss donald trump's press conference, buckle up for a crazy summer. mr. trump: are you ready? cleveland, you're a real beauty. carl icahn. gene washington. motorcycles. no. no. no. jeff sessions. crazy bernie. parking lots. gary johnson. lebron. trump university. that adds up to $6 million -- that adds up to $5,600,000. mitt romney. donald trump. here's the story. "the wall street journal." bob dole is a fan of mine. don't tell me about bob dole. the political press. waldorf astoria. bill kristol is a loser. ♪

mark: welcome to this edition to the best of "with all due respect." this week, bernie sanders, hillary clinton, and bill clinton were out in the golden state ahead of a big primary. donald trump cheered veterans and jeered members of the media. mr. trump: sleazy guy right over here from abc. mark: and some news that we broke earlier in the week, a potential independent candidate recruited by premium never trumper bill kristol entered the mix, sort of. mark: we can now report that the man being eyed is a conservative lawyer, writer and iraqi war , veteran named david french. you're probably not heard of him. we hadn't either. the big guessing game that's been going on since kristol tweeted this weekend that he has a candidate in mind who he said would be a strong candidate. john and i both talked to them this afternoon, both declined to comment. here's what we know.

french is a staff writer for the "national review." he lives in tennessee with his wife and three kids. we reached him tonight, he was traveling. he says he declined to comment, but the republican sources we found say that while french has not made a final decision, that is indeed who kristol was talking about. he wrote about french and the current issue of the "weekly standard," hiding him in plain sight. john: you have this piece by kristol, making the case against trump and clinton, and bandying about names like mitt romney who might be conceivably independent candidates. and then he says look at david french, doesn't have to be someone famous. here's a guy who is been a great servant to his country, has an estimable resume, and kristol's argument is as more americans come to know this guy, they will come to realize that he would be a better president than donald trump or hillary clinton. that is a huge if in the middle of that argument.

mark: a lot of people will look at the revealing of this name and say who cares? no one has heard of him. a lot of the search is focused on people -- they're looking for people with one or more of the following traits -- someone who is famous, wealthy, and who had been in public service. john: strike one, strike two, strike three. mark: the guy has never run for anything. he was very pleasant on the phone, but i have to say, he didn't seem like the kind of guy who wants to go head-to-head with donald trump on a daily basis. as you said, his resume is outstanding. just based on reading about him today, he is a guy who has served the country in the military, has been a lawyer -- a constitutional lawyer. he has a lot of attributes that , if you are looking to say what sort of -- someone coming from the center of the country to go up against these two new yorkers, he seems to fit. can he raise money? is he the guy? donald trump, today, before the name of david french was

reported, was asked that his press conference, where he called bill kristol a loser -- said if an independent candidate runs, that hillary clinton will win. mr. trump: if they do an indy, assuming it's decent, which i don't than anyone with a reputation would do it, because they would look like fools. what y are going to do is, you lose the election for the republicans. and therefore, you lose the supreme court. therefore, you will have a group of people put on the supreme court where this country will never, ever recover. it will never, ever be the same. mark: he said, assuming it's decent. now we know what the answer to the question of who bill kristol is tweeting about. we know the answer is david french. is he the answer? is a decent enough to actually be a player? let's say he does the absolute best he can. could he be a player? john: this is a black swan year in a million ways. never wants to say never about anyone. inld he be like kevin kline

"dave," and come forward and capture the imagination of millions of americans? it's not impossible. we all underestimate the degree of skill and stamina and charisma that are required to be a serious national political figure in america. you can say whatever you want to say about donald trump or hillary clinton -- they both are high-level professionals at this game. he will be very hard for a guy for no skill ever running anything before. no skill in front of cameras, no skill ever running a press conference or rallies. mark: he would have to be one in 10 million, not to win, but to do well enough to get into the debate and be a factor. john: i'm just talking about could this guy stand on the same stage? there are a very talented baseball players in single-a maa, but it's a different thing at the major league. mark: he's not even been in the minor league. evil will start googling him,

and if you are someone like mitt romney -- people will start googling him. if you were someone like mitt romney, you want people who are proud to vote for him. you could say this is a true conservative, a guy who served in the military with outstanding resume. but is he someone who donald sayp could meet with and how do we react to david french? no. not yet. john: we don't want to be dismissive of this person is a citizen, in the best possible standing. we were talking about this is someone for never trumpers, who don't like the idea of spinning out the election -- sitting out the election, and want to cast a vote for someone, you can imagine this guy or someone like him. if you can't raise money, you may have to vote for him by writing him in. the state -- the chances of him getting on the ballot, he's going to have to raise money. he has not lined up a

running mates, or financial support. with that is who kristol was talking about. john: gary johnson and bill wells are more likely to be a factor in this election, running on the libertarian line. two guys who have run states, one of them is almost a national figure. those guys are much more likely to have an effect. mark: i don't want to prejudge, but if the guy was undecided, and the sense from our sources was he had not made a full commitment to run, the attention he is about to get many can decide it's maybe not worth doing. john: his life is about to change a lot right around now. as megyn kelly would say, let's talk about us. at trump tower today, donald trump repeatedly insulted the more thanmembers, way usual. he objected to reporters who asked serious questions about how he raised and dispersed money for veterans. his tone was personal, and

occasionally caustic as he waged war on what he calls the political press. mr. trump: the press should be ashamed of themselves. you know my opinion of the media, it's very low. i think the media is frankly, made up of people that, in many cases -- not in all cases, are not good people. and soss is so dishonest unfair. i have watched on television, you are a real beauty. the press is being very dishonest, i don't like that. i like dishonesty, like the sleazy guy right over here from abc. he is a sleaze. >> i think you set a new bar for being contentious with the press corps, calling us losers to our faces. mr. trump: not all of you, just many of you. enough of you. >> is this what going to be like covering u.s. president? -- you as president? mr. trump: i'm going to continue to attack the press. i find the press to be extremely dishonest.

i find the political press to be unbelievably dishonest. john: two things that are true. trump has benefited throughout the republican nomination by making the press is foil. he has mocked and belittled reporters, while at the same time being more solicitous to them by the scene then almost any hair that we ever covered. in private, he loves the press" them constantly. he is like a one-man good cop bad cop routine, being both cops at the same time. do you think that will work in a general election? mark: he is now in a different phase. people are being more aggressive with him. they are not treating them as a curiosity area there are clearly a lot of people on the rest -- on the left and the right that don't like the press. attacks the press almost as much as donald trump does, unless personal terms. it's one of the things that clearly got him this far. but i do think that the clinton folks are hoping it, and the

press should agree with the clinton people on this, that he is held to a normal standard. tough, but, not less normal. some of the things he criticized, he may be right. the coverage of him is not always fair. we all need to cover all of the candidates, tough, fair, relentless, skeptical, and trump -- if he behaves like this, will hurt his credibility with some and continue to help himself with others. mr. trump: i think the way in which he treats the press verbally -- john: i think the way in which he treats the press verbally is outlandish. especially the liberal outlets like the "new york times." it's ridiculous and outrageous, some of the things he does. especially given the fact that he likes the press in private. i think the more important fact is that many people in our business have come to the conclusion that they gave donald trump a free ride for much of the republican nomination fight, they didn't challenge him enough. thathave come to

conclusion, that they gave him too much air time, that they broke away from news coverage too often to cover his rallies. gave him free coverage. the members of the press at highest levels, not just reporters but people who run went to -- they said we far, we need to bring this thing back in line. i do think he will get tougher coverage now and get less of a free ride then he got in the nomination fight. withs almost nothing to do what he says and press coverage is about individual reporters. mark: i agree. we will talk more about david french and the upcoming governor primary with adam the great after this quick break. ♪

john: it is often our pleasure to talk to adam nagourney, the los angeles bureau chief of the new york times. normally we have to do it via satellite, because he is here and he is in new york. this time, we are in the same time zone with him, and we couldn't be more happy and to be in the presence of the great adam nagourney. david french. what do you know? adam: david french. i can't tell you i know a lot about him. i guess he is maybe running for president. john: in all of your years of covering national politics, all the things you know, this is not like a household name. adam: i remember republican's talking about the french, but only they were referring to -- i don't think they were referring to david. mark: based on the expectations that bill kreher still brought up, do you think someone who has never run for office, who is not famous, not a big personality --

do you think that person -- like a perfect storm natural, could he somehow be a player in this race? as close to am: perfect storm as you could ask for. but no. he has enough problems as it is getting on all these ballots. you can argue it's better to have no name recognition than negative name recognition. i heard when bill kristol was coming up with a name, i thought it would be someone that we all knew about. but i can't say that i know him. there was a lot of attention over gary johnson. dear johnson is someone who ran for president before. governor of the state, running with another former governor of the state. why is that not the vehicle to disrupt if you want to disrupt a two-party system? why is that not the more likely vehicle? adam: i agree.

there, they are both people who have repetitions, credibility. this is a sideshow, there is now a third-party candidate that will probably get some support. john: how long have you known donald trump? adam: i covered him when he ran for president before, in 2006. i flew out to california with him, and flew back on his plane. mark: how you think you will react to the looming potential presence of david french in this race? adam: [laughter] a constitutional lawyer from tennessee will not frighten donald trump? adam: he should be worried about the libertarian candidate. that's going to take votes away from him. i believe that were not into play before. whether or not he is going to be like that, i don't think that's

going to bother him very much. mark: tell me where we are in the california democratic primary? poll,it's difficult to because you can't tell how independence will vote, but it's hard to vote if you are independent. support bernie sanders two to one. the best way to judge these kind of campaigns is to watch with the candidates do. bernie sanders will be campaigning full-time between now and tuesday. he struck me as a really heavy campaign day today, with three or four rallies. clinton is coming and wednesday, spending most of her time here. they are putting some money into the state, but you can't judge that because it's an expensive state. it's a close race. the biggest thing is that -- here's hillary clinton, everyone sort of assumes she has won, they are not particularly enthusiastic.

bernie sanders voters are going to come out. mark: you were a long-time student of the governor of the state, today he endorsed hillary clinton. in the game of endorsements, does that one matter? adam: i normally think endorsements don't matter much, i think it does matter. it will bring in undecided voters, and people go to the effort to get out. endorse very often, i think it's fair to say he endorses when he can have a good chance of winning. mark: he has a rich history with the clintons, including 1992, when they clashed. it would seem he is part bernie sanders, part hillary clinton. why do you think he'd decided to get into this contest? adam: i think it's all about -- for him, he disagrees is donald trump on climate change. it's an issue he really cares he denies it exists.

he says climate change doesn't exist, and i think if you had jerry brown talking about this, that more than anything else would convince him to get in. he thinks hillary clinton has already want domination -- won the nomination. john: sanders was asked if he would be willing to be on the ticket with hillary clinton. talk about it from the clinton campaign point of view. they clearly have some issues, for putting the party back together, in terms of drawing the enthusiasm and vote from those who have been enthusiastic backers of bernie sanders. why doesn't sanders make sense to put on the ticket if you are hillary clinton? adam: you get all the jokes about a 150-year-old ticket, you want some thing fresh and unexpected in this kind of contest. i would certainly be considering it, don't think it's a crazy idea. it was my first choice.

theoesn't seem to represent new generation, he has enough of an issue. mark: pulling in new jersey shows trump within four points of hillary clinton. they say it'sd, an unforgettable and trump has changed so much, don't assume anything. and other people say the blue states are going to be lou, there's no chance -- the blue states are going to be blue. there's no chance. do you think that trump could make hillary clinton worked for new jersey and california? adam: i think at the end of the day, he cannot. sanders is going to drop out of , he says he's going to send his supporters over to her, and is no longer theoretical thing. it's a choice between hillary clinton and donald trump. even though a lot of sanders supporters have real problems with hillary clinton on issues like immigration and climate

change, i think you're going to start seeing democrats coalesce behind hillary clinton way you see republicans coalesce -- john: she will have to work harder for california than barack obama did. adam: i do not think so. minorities here, latinos who are not minorities. women, i can't believe for having trouble here in the general election. for new jersey, my historical perspective -- i would be surprised even with that chris christie endorsement that he has, that she would not be strong there. john: i mentioned her consideration, who do you think has more at stake in terms of picking a running mate, politically? adam: probably hillary clinton. she needs to get the party united behind her. not only in terms of personality, but in terms of issues. she needs to reassure progressives that she is going to be there for them. think she is the perfect

choice to carry over the suitable for governing threshold. adam: it's easier for me to figure out what kind of person to be the clintons perfect choice. with trump, he's such an unusual candidate, who was a lot of advantages, but deficiencies. if i were presidential nominee, i would have you on my ticket. mark: coming up, president obama's former speechwriter weighs in on the prisoners race. -- presidential race. we will be right back. ♪

john: joining us now is former chief speechwriter for president obama, columnist for the bill simmons project known as the rare, and the cohost of the "keeping it 1600," podcast, jon favreau. not the director of iron man. you do have a story on the new podcast, that's headlining the front page today. talks about president obama's role in the november election, tell us what you think that's going to be. i know you think it's going to be a good thing. jon: i don't is going to be a bad thing. john: give us the contours of what your argument is. jon: he's out there today in elkhart, and that sort of the start of it. pretty soon, the one thing that hillary hasn't had behind her as -- is a united party. she doesn't have obama and everyone else making the case for her. once california's over in the primary is over, she will have the whole party behind her, and obama will be an asset, because he is right now at a 52%, 53% approval rating. when the incumbent president is

at an approval rating like that, usually helps the candidate of the same party. i also think the case against trump that obama will make is a case that he has made even before trump's candidacy existed. john: although he is extraordinarily good as a campaigner, he did not love the campaign. he liked governing better than campaigning. jon: i think so. with the exception that he really likes making the case. he likes being out on the stop -- stump and telling a story and making the case. john: you think he would be a real asset to her, and enjoy doing this. he has the bit between his teeth to go do this. jon: i think he has been itching to do this, is also acts as a cap on his eight years in office. he's going to give a farewell address at some point, and at that point, there will already be a president and a transition. the next six or seven months between now and november will be his chance to make the case for hillary and his own presidency.

and the vision that he spoke about since he has been on the stage in 2004. john: now is the time on "with all due respect," where i court twitter hate. what is donald trump's campaign slogan? jon: make america great again. john: and hillary? stronger together. if the clintons came out with make america great again, months ago, people would have mocked it. no one thinks donald trump is where he is because of his slogan. all of that stuff is way overrated. mark: there's a debate going on now about whether she should be spending as much time as she started to going after donald trump, whether she should be spending more time building herself up. trump goes and hits

like today, no positive campaign message will go through. i think the campaign knows this. and thehink between now convention -- we did the same thing in 2012 with romney. obama spent those months making the negative case against romney. i think she will probably do that between now and the convention. and the convention will be the time when she becomes positive on herself. mark: this is the democratic strategist view of races, which is they are basically decided before the convention and everything else is falling action. do you think the clinton campaign is geared up with their research, target rich environment to put donald trump away before the convention? jon: i don't think they can put them away, but i think they will unload quite a bit between now and then. mark: the time you got to the convention, gets mitt romney, there wasn't a single person in the obama campaign that thought you would lose. every day, you said we are going to win. do you think the clinton campaign could be in that

position? jon: it depends on what happens after the primaries over. we are in that weird space where the primary ends and she gets 70% or 80% of sanders supporters. john: i know you think speeches matter and that president obama gave a couple really important ones in his rise that defined him. most democrats that i know think the convention speech for hillary clinton will matter a lot. thatas various problems she has to try to remedy in terms of how people see her. she has a chance to introduce yourself, even though she's incredibly well known, it will be the speech of her life in some ways. -- if call the when said she called u.n. said help me approachough how to this speech, what would you tell her? jon: she needs to think about what is your vision for the country, and how you talk about that in a way that is an implicit contrast with donald trump? you can't just make a positive case and say here is my laundry

list of 10 policy, that guy sucks. the actual case you are making is both why you were the one to lead the country, and why he isn't. you have to do both of those things at the same time. you need to have some bio, reproduce yourself to the country. she needs to talk with about the compliments of the last eight --rs, -- the compliments accomplishments of the last eight years. john: do you think she has oratorical greatness in her? jon: i think she gave a speech in the 2008 convention to nominate obama was great. she has had some set pieces. john: she has done some on race, criminal justice that have been quite good. jon: when she gets into a policy topic, she does quite well. mark: from 3000 miles away, the trunk campaign, what are they doing well? -- the trump campaign, what are

they doing well? jon: they had a rough couple of weeks. if donald trump only focuses on -- i represent change, and she doesn't, i think it would be doing ok. mark: there's nothing they are doing on a strategic level you think is good? jon: his lack of discipline is overpowering any other kind of message they have. in theey're a bad things news -- yesterday, the trump university stuff started to come out. he was able to get out of the news by going crazy on a bunch of reporters at a press conference. if you call that a win, i guess that is a win. john: it was the smart as person she could pick is a running mate? jon: good question. john: 10 seconds. jon: elizabeth moran would be great. tom perez, those are great candidates. john: what is the case for elizabeth moran -- elizabeth warren? jon: she can take down donald trump, and makes a case for a

fair economy in a sharp way. i think she is an added value. john: maybe solves the sanders problem. jon: that is part of what she is looking for. mark: jon favreau. jon: thank you. ♪ return, we look at the role silicon valley plays and president of politics. ♪

mark: in advance of tuesday's california primary, we thought we would catch up on silicon valley -- not the hbo program. we knew the real silicon valley.

in the last couple of decades has grown into quite a political force. this year, something seems a bit off. the tech hub around san francisco hasn't reacted to any presidential candidates so far. we need a quick history lesson of silicon valley's role in presidential cycles in the recent past. >> silicon valley, front and center. here's what happened. 1939, hewlett-packard started in a garage. more stuff happens, things get invented, the internet. 1990's, the valley explodes, helps bill clinton, clinton helps the valley. >> he passed nafta. the 1996 telecommunications act. >> 2000, the valley a split, they like to will. -- they like gore. >> al gore invented the internet. >> they also like bush. >> i will have the best technological advice from leaders in your field. >> 2008, silicon valley helps obama, obama helps silicon valley. >> new reports show a top lobbyist from google visited with the obama administration 128 times since the president took office. >> the valley comes to the

swamp. >> palo alto-based facebook is opening a new office. in washington, d.c. >> uber is hiring david left. >> 2016, pumped about the finals, not about the race. >> clinton has had a hard time selling to that crowd. she has not known them as well. >> how many do know who are trump supporters? >> none of them come overly. >> except for this guy. >> peter thiel is now backing donald trump. >> others give up on earth entirely. >> elon musk said he wanted to send humans to mars by 2025. john: it's a huge moment, -- mark: it's a huge moment, because for the first time since silicon valley mattered in national politics, they don't have a candidate. they don't like much about trump or clinton, and neither of them has a fingertip feel for the issues that matter to business leaders in the valley. john: silicon valley -- the politics there have some libertarian elements, some left

of center, some right of center. there's not a lot of far left and not a lot of conventional far right. donald trump's approach to global economics is never going to fly with a lot of the business community, particularly with export oriented tech companies and tech leaders, because they love immigration, they love free trade. mark: he also picks fights with three of the biggest leaders in the valley. john: and then you have hillary clinton and we talk about the , absence of her economic message. they loved bill clinton and the information superhighway and the way he talked about the economy. and they like barack obama. but there is not a lot of love out there for hillary clinton. she attacked the sharing economy, she is on the wrong side of uber. they are wondering what to do. mark: she didn't -- does not have an authentic -- despite the focus on the e-mail, she does not have an authentic connection to relationship with their product. she is not someone who loves the things they do. that's a huge opening.

she is going to be able to raise a town of money without having the fingertip feel, that's a big part of why silicon valley is supported. all caps on had to raise money. now they both need them. -- donald trump did not need to reason -- raise money. now they need them. they are still one of america's leading industries, they still california, technology, it's a huge avatar of the future. there is nothing like it in america. john: one of the craziest things about clinton and trump, neither one of them is running a forward-looking campaign right now. the most attractive thing about marco rubio's entire campaign for the presidency was trying to talk about being an economy of the future, of the high-tech future. mark: yet the catch up with technology. john: both of these candidates, i don't know that they see the value in being able to capture it. mark: quite a change. john: there is more the best of "with all due respect," ahead.

the brand-new super group that wants to make america rage again. stay with us. ♪

john: donald trump says he make a great again, but the very -- make america again, but the very famous people from some very famous bands want to make america rage again. the even have a hat. we want to introduce you to a new supergroup that calls itself prophets of rage. the six members involve some from rage against the machine, some from public enemy, and cypress hill. between them, they have sold more than 20 million albums

worldwide. they are among the most outspoken and provocative political acts in the world of hip-hop and heavy metal. they have been watching this election cycle in dismay, and decided they have to do something to disrupt it. on monday morning in l.a., the group unveiled itself, and made aeir debut at the whiskey go-go. we were given exclusive access, during which they reveal to us the cornerstone of their grand plan for electoral mischief making, staging a concert in cleveland during the republican convention. >> this is the kevin dineen show at 7:00. you have to be down at the whiskey at 10:00 a.m. to get a wristband. >> overwhelmed, this is the best way i could've started my day, best 20 bucks i ever spent. mark: mark halperin. tom, this supergroup is your

idea, basically. >> i made the first call to chuck, but at times demand a band like prophets of rage. >> we want to try to present with prophets of rage. songs are timeless, beyond this as an individual. there is an atmosphere that we want to confront. mark: why now? >> we are on the break of electoral insanity, environmental insanity around the globe. there's no music that speaks to what's going on right now. nothing with substance. mark: what is the state of the union? >> martin luther king said there is no hotter place in hell than for people who remain neutral in times of moral conflicts. this is a time of moral conflicts. ofare escaping the hot pit hell by bringing some rock 'n roll theory. fury. >> ♪

[applause] mark: the last time that rage against machine played in los angeles, you outdrew trump, sanders, and clinton by a margin of three to one. the general electric -- general electorate is ready. you guys have three big catalogs to draw from, you have the rage catalog, and the cypress catalog. you do some original music. >> we have a song that is of the time and for the time called the party is over. co-lyricist ofe that song talk. >> i think the message of the song conveys that we are done

with allies that are told to us. the party is over. we are standing up and making our voices known. >> ♪ the parties over ♪ system shouldty have been over a long time ago. we have to come up with something that looks forward into the 21st century that makes sense to the new generations that have come into the voting marketplace. mark: you see a difference between the democratic and republican party? >> not really. i never have. >> ♪ donald trump, the party is over ♪ sanders,mp, clinton, this is so impressive. are --the things that

how the trump and clinton campaign or raging against the machine. we're going to set the record straight on what it means to rage against the machine. people right, left, and center believe that the system as it currently stands does not serve their needs. what they are being offered up to the tiny funnel of the electoral process is a racist demagogue on one hand, and a great dreamer on the other hand. in the middle is the lesser of three evils. none of those choices are good enough. john: that would be -- mark: that would be hillary clinton. >> there needs to be a voice that stands unapologetically with the people. mark: what are you doing in july? nationalpublican convention is in july, and that will be a perfect place for the prophets of rage to be. mark: you have a venue in cleveland.

we mayave a venue, and have spontaneous venues. it's hard to say. you don't broadcast this to the local authorities prior to arrival. going to beys are there. we will see you in cleveland. >> we will be rocking seriously in and around the rnc. john: any chance in philadelphia? >> anything is possible. the fourthe end of days, if you have raged your most effectively, what will of happened? >> jimmy c will have gone the nomination. mark: let's hear your speech. >> ♪

>> my view is that progressive, radical, or revolutionary change always comes from below, not from above. even if you stake all of your hopes for yourself and your family on hope -- sometimes it doesn't work out. if you stake them on this is the , that'sear-based racism not going to work out either. the underlying problems are systemic. the songs we have for decades attack the system, not the individual candidates, and how people change the world. it starts around kitchen tables, in the classroom, where people gather to talk about making the world better. >> the songs of travel the world. how would you like your country to be looked at from the outside looking in? these songs in this group is going to be worldwide. the rest of the planet is looking inward. something's got to be said, something's got to be done. what better thing than music? >> ♪

[laughter] [applause] ♪

mark: things for wanting this edition of the best of "with all due respect." check out bloombergpolitics.com for more on the election. john: we are on bloomberg radio, and we're back with an all-new episode of "with all due respect," on monday.

♪

♪ >> i am cory johnson in for emily chang and this is the best of bloomberg west. coming up, ridesharing startups are duking it out over cooper announcing a three and a half billion dollar injection from the saudi find, and we will catch up with lyft's chief business officer. we will take you through mary meeker's predictiof