mark: welcome to cleveland, where the republican party is beginning to gather for the national convention. hundreds of delegates are in town already for the sometimes arcane and sometimes more -- important committee meetings that kicked off earlier today. just behind me is the quicken loans arena, where the delegates are expected to make donald trump their official nominee for president next week. this week, the nation's attention understandably is mostly focused elsewhere. it was a weekend of more conflict between protesters and police officers across the country. on friday, there were calls for unity from hillary clinton and

donald trump in the wake of the shootings in louisiana, minnesota, and dallas. today brought a shift in tone from the presidential republican nominee at a campaign event in virginia beach where he read an extended statement from teleprompter about his candidacy in the wake of these tragedies. donald trump: i am the law and order candidate. [applause] donald trump: every kid in america should be able to securely walk the streets in their own neighborhood without harm. everyone will be protected equally and treated justly without prejudice. we will be tough. we will be smart. we will be fair. and we will protect all americans. mark: those words were barely out of his mouth and people were already comparing what he said to the remarks richard nixon made using comparable rhetoric

when he won the white house in 1968 during his comeback. richard nixon: let us have order in america, not the order that discourages change but the order which guarantees the right to dissent and provides the basis for peaceful change. tonight, it is time for honest talk about the problem of order in the united states. mark: john, as the nation continues to grieve the tragedies of last week, how are both candidates dealing with them and what is the potency of this new message from trump about being the law and order candidate? john: we have to step back to friday. we had not heard hillary clinton's message and have not seen donald trump's video. there was surprising synergy in a lot of ways. trump spoke about the tragedy in dallas and also of the tragedies in louisiana and minnesota with equal weight. you could have expected him to

play the law and order card and just focus on the police officers in dallas. he did not. he and hillary clinton said , you could imagine either one of them saying the same things. today, donald trump is nixonian in what he is doing. this comes on the back of rudy giuliani sticking out an aggressive argument against black lives matter saying they are putting targets on the backs of police officers. that seems to be where the republican party rhetoric is drifting. that is the unmistakable drift of where we are heading if trump keeps going in this direction. mark: trump did mention the victims of the police shootings last week. so he is not going all the way to one side. but this is a big change. it is a change that republicans have used effectively. david axelrod talks about how the public looks for the opposite of what they have in an incumbent president. john: a remedy. mark: critics of president obama

would say he has not done enough to bring the country together. trump will say he is a unifier and tough and strong. it is going to be fascinating. hillary clinton has not commented since friday. it will be fascinating to see if she tries to compete with trump on this notion of being for law and order. john: it is hard to imagine she would, given the politics of where she wants to be and where her base is. mark: except when you think about the clintons in arkansas. you never want to be outflanked on lawn order. john: they have moved to the left in hillary clinton's candidacy. she is no longer a new democrat trying to fend off sanders in this campaign. i really think the 1968 analogies are sometimes overdone. we are still in the middle of the summer. there is a long way to go. we are here in cleveland. there could be demonstrations and worse on the streets below where we are sitting. this could look a lot like 1968 soon. these echoes -- trump has not

gone full george wallace on this there could be demonstrations issue yet. there have been comparisons to wallace and nixon. is hillary clinton the hubert humphrey? as you pointed out at the beginning, richard nixon won that race. the key was he won when there was a scared, white, silent majority, as he called it. not what we have now where demographics have changed a lot. mark: we said is there anything the trump campaign has done that put you on the defensive and made your job harder? the crafting of that speech today puts them in a position where they have to figure out how to respond. they may not be threatened by it. they may figure it out. but trump saying he is the law and order candidate is something they will have to look at and say, how will we respond? we have not heard from hillary clinton yet on that. john: one doesn't want to make these things too schematic or too black and white.

interestingly, the criticism that the remedy trump is providing to obama, you also hear that from those on the left who criticize obama for trying to strike a balance when from their point of view he and hillary clinton should be staking out a strong argument on the opposite side, sympathizing mainly with african americans and not at all with the white officers. mark: these are tough issues for the country and politicians. we are not trying to overly politicize it. but there is no doubt trump has different inference his position today that puts this into play and makes the events and how they handle them key to what is going on in the race. john: yes. i'm going to move on but we will talk about this more. tomorrow, president obama and former president bush are going to speak at a memorial service for the five officers killed in dallas last week. they will be in that city with vice president biden who is also expected to attend funerals for

philando castile, shot on thursday. in any other election year the week before a national convention would be dominated by news of committee meetings and the keynote speaker lineup. we have not gotten much of that yet. how will the focus and coverage of these tragedies impact things donald trump has got to do. picking a running mate. mark: in the last two republican conventions, there were national disasters that caused the campaign to have to react. those were big stories. o.is is a big story, to i don't envy the trump campaign. they need to pick a running mate and announce their schedule. on any given day, a single violent action involving a police officer threatens to put them off the proverbial front pages. they have a challenge because they are running out of time. they have to announce the

keynote speaker and who trump is picking as his running mate. john: the biggest difference, those were natural disasters in 2008 and 2012. they were not what this is, which is now the political climate that envelops all of us. the reason why this is a hot moment is the things that happened that led to the shootings in dallas and in rouge.olis and in baton this has been building. whether we are ready to explode fully, we don't know yet. mark: where might the explosion occur? right here. there is going to be -- and i don't care how many officers ar. here or how well-trained they are, there will be moments of tension. even if everyone is on their best behavior on all sides, it is still going to be problematic. the trump campaign has a lot of choices to make. they have to make them without knowing what the future holds in the next seven days. john: to go back to the 1968

analogy. in 1968, the convention in chicago, the democratic one is the one where there were rights -- riots in the streets with a democratic mayor. we know cleveland was going to try to keep demonstrators far away. that has been overruled. the judge said that is not ok. there is a lot of reporting lately about protesters on both sides saying they are planning to march everywhere and are expecting things to get out of control. and that was before any of the things that happened in the last week. mark: on the trump campaign, i they did not have the schedule ironed out. now people are not expecting it because there is other stuff going on. when we come back, the latest on the stakes on both sides after these words from our sponsors. ♪

john: one of the biggest questions in politics, even with everything else going on, is still who donald trump will pick as his running mate. he has been floating a new potential sidekick. that is retired lieutenant general michael flynn who has been advising on foreign policy. trump has also been appearing on the campaign trail with allegedly-leading contenders on his purported short list, giving them all a chance to audition for the job. today in virginia beach, it was chris christie's turn to describe what kind of president the donald would be. governor christie: we need a president who once again will put law and order at the top of the priority of the presidency in this country.

our police officers, the men and women who stand each day to protect us, need to understand that the president of the united states and his administration will give them the benefit of the doubt. not always believe that what they have done is somehow wrong. i know that he will be the type of president who will put the rule of law first, who will make sure the law is enforced aggressively and appropriately, and that will put people in his administration who understand the rules and laws of this country apply to everyone, not just the least powerful but also the most powerful. we need someone has always demanded the best from everyone who has worked for and with him and who will place the interests of the american people first and foremost. he absolutely gives you the confidence every night when you put your head on the pillow that his number one priority will be the safety and security of your family.

john: tomorrow, trump hits the trail with another top -- perhaps the top contender -- indiana governor mike pence, who is also practicing his audition today, speaking to reporters in indianapolis. : i think we need strong leadership supporting our troops, strong leadership to get this economy moving again, and we need clear minded leadership to make common sense, conservative appointments to the supreme court. i am prepared to make that case anywhere across indiana and this country that donald trump would want me to. john: i generally prefer to ask you questions i have not asked you before, because they yield more interesting answers. where do you think trump's veepstakes stand? mark: here is a combination of my reporting and spidey sense. i'm downgrading the possibility of a surprise pick.

i believe trump wants to pick christie but his head is telling him to pick pence. i believe there are people who think newt gingrich or chris christie have risks associated that are not worth taking on. mike pence is qualified. he will be seen as qualified. there will be some people attacking him for various things, but i think he is headed towards picking pence, but he could change his mind. how is that? john: not bad. i have always thought pence makes a lot of sense on paper. i don't know what the chemistry is like between them. i can't imagine it will not matter to trump. mark: that is why i say he would rather have christie. in his gut. john: i think trump is a gut guy. i don't mean that in a demeaning way, i mean he goes with his instincts. i still think christie has got to be in the race. i do not think newt gingrich will be on the ticket for a million reasons. the general who backtracked and changed his position on abortion in the last 24 hours illustrated

how difficult it is to put somebody on the ticket who has never had a political career. i also continue to think a surprise pick is still conceivable. but this is all head fakery and they are just lying about the numbers on the short list, that there is a fully vetted other ready to pop. mark: mike pence is all upside and the downside is limited and he is qualified. john: you are right. people will attack him for being too conservative. but reporters love attacking. everybody loves attacking trump. trump is such a big target that pence will be small by comparison. mark: at last, bernie sanders is ready to endorse hillary clinton. it is expected to happen tomorrow at a joint rally in new hampshire. while he is not under consideration to be on the ticket, sanders' long anticipated backing might influence who clinton can and should choose. she has bernie sanders in hand. where does that leave her search

for a running mate? john: the big event is thursday when she will be in virginia and suburban washington, d.c., with tim kaine. she may be doing that. we saw her do an audition with elizabeth warren, and now we see tim kaine. i think there's a good reason why tim kaine has been at the front of her list. i think he continues to be at the front of her list. if she believes the only thing standing in her way to the presidency is getting bernie sanders' voters over, that makes the case for warren. but the sanders endorsement will help diminish her worry about that, and leave her more likely to kaine. mark: i don't think there is any chance clinton will pick before trump. if you had dinner with tim kaine and mike pence and were asked to choose which one was more exciting, you might have trouble picking. they are similar in their resumes and backgrounds. john: you could have a bilingual conversation.

that is sort of exciting. mark: there is no reason to worry about picking a guy who is not the most exciting. i thought for a while it would be kaine. most of the clinton people who have an opinion are enthusiastic about kaine or fine with him. i don't think she is getting pushback about picking tim kaine. go with somebody vetted by barack obama, the safe choice. i will say, if trump makes a surprise pick, i could see her making a surprise pick. john: do not count out the person who popped up recently, tom vilsack. also a vanilla pick and someone she likes a lot. delegates have been busy in the rock 'n roll capital of the world. we will check in on what they have been up to after this. ♪

mark: welcome back. we are here in cleveland. republican convention committee meetings are underway. we have been tracking the pregame of the pregame. here is a quick scene setter to get you started. cleveland republican convention, here is what will happen. first, let's go back to 1796. general cleveland founds cleveland. that is not a typo. they dropped the "a." things are invented. the river catches on fire several times. rock 'n roll, movies, tv, and politics. 1924, cleveland holds its first republican convention. 1936, republicans returned to cleveland. they choose this guy.

americans choose the other guy. republicans choose other convention centers for eight years. now they are back. msnbc says expect fireworks. starting with the debate on trade agreements and other stuff. then comes the rules committee. the goal is to unbind delegates and force an open convention. the likelihood of success, low. the backup plan is to make it harder for him to choose his v.p. the backup-backup plan is to make it easier later. mark: joining us to update us on the convention committee debates is a conservative, pro-lifer that has been recruiting delegates to shape the party platform for decades, including this time. what is the worst that could happen from donald trump's point of view in the realm of

possibility? >> it is very easy. if there becomes a fight on the platform, the theme becomes fight amongst yourselves. everybody is talking about what will be outside. you've got about three steps going before you get to the delegates getting here. mark: which fights are most likely to occur? >> there is the gay marriage fight. today they dodged the trade one. there was a question of whether some free-traders would push back on trump's language. that went away. on the rules, there's the unbinding fight. i think the more likely fight is closing the primaries. actually, one to watch is gutting the r.n.c., taking the party power away from the r.n.c. there is a move to do that. i think there is a real sense of a lot of conservatives that they will not unbind. they will want to get their pound of flesh. that may be one way they get it.

john: we saw the reports that some of the people involved in trump's operation were giving hard counts that were lower than a lot of people thought. what is your sense of how strong this is? >> perception was in the last couple of days, the pros that write the platform have been impressed by what trump arrived with. they arrived with a bunch of staffers and started whipping. they solidified the trump people. we had a dinner last night with trump delegates. they were getting more direction. there's nothing worse than being for somebody and not knowing what you are doing. the perception is they are on the ground and making more progress. the perception a lot of people thought is they were not. the reality is these were very uneventful subcommittee meetings. vote onting where you pro-life and marriage, they were 15-3, 16-2. there is a sense they have their ducks lined up. the question is what else is out there. mark: are the trump forces

trying to have peace or do they care about the outcome? >> with romney in 2012, he said i will take the platform as conservative as you want it. i don't want to debate my past on abortion. the trump people are clear. one thing that has been good is brooke said we have had a lot of people venting. we have not put the thumb on the scale. i think you see some of that. i was there for some things they are talking about. they wanted to put in protection for the prairie chicken. there is a sense people are being heard. on the rules committee especially, you're getting a sense that we are listening to what is going on. the party is really behind trump. they are now hand in glove. the guys that were treading,

managing the primary, are working it hard. these guys are working in one direction. john: i don't know what you've got against the prairie chicken. >> i'm not anti-chicken. i don't want that to be the headline coming out of here. john: people are talking about 2020, open-door, closed primaries. what is the state of the debate about the party may change the way it nominates? >> i think that is the one reform almost 100% likely to get far. maybe it does not pass. i advocated then. conservatives want that. i think you will see that. it will probably be in the form of a reward. if you close your primary, he will get extra delegates as opposed to knocking them out. nevada is persona non grata. i don't think nevada stays as a carveout state no matter what they do. mark: be replaced by another western state.

you don't think mike pence will be picked? you refused to say who. >> he is a well-known conservative guy who has succeeded and led. i don't think trump telegraphs that. i talked to some trump guys. he had not decided by friday. he scheduled a meeting in indiana last wednesday. trump has not ruled it out. john: give us a name. >> i want mattis. john: thank you -- john: -- mark: thank you very much. coming up, bernie sanders' campaign manager previews the event with hillary clinton tomorrow in the granite state. we will be right back with him after this. ♪ e

john: with us now from washington to talk about what is going to happen between bernie sanders and hillary clinton tomorrow in new hampshire is

jeff weaver, bernie sanders' esteemed campaign manager. jeff we know there is an event , in new hampshire tomorrow. bernie sanders and hillary clinton are going to be there. everyone assumes this is the endorsement. is that correct? don't want to preview too much, but they will be there together in new hampshire talking about the need to go , forward to win the white house. john: all the reporting suggests an endorsement is forthcoming is incorrect? jeff: i am not confirming an endorsement tomorrow. we will put it that way. john: that's fair. if there was an endorsement tomorrow, just explain what the ark of that has been. what brought bernie sanders to the point that he is at minimum willing to do a unity event and more likely to confer her with his endorsement. what has changed? jeff: i think there has been a tremendous amount of

communication about the primary and caucus system. i think it was largely focused thate substantive issues were the focus of the sanders campaign. i think he's on recently the secretary coming out with a very financing,n college wherein she included in large part the free college tuition at public colleges and universities that the senator was advocating drug campaign. i think he saw saturday the secretary came out with another bold plan to deal with primary health care in this country, to support a public option so that all consumers have the option to buy insurance right from the government and not private health insurers. the platformt process we went through in st. louis and orlando this weekend you saw the inclusion of a $15 , minimum wage, the centerpiece of senator sanders's campaign putting a price on carbon and a , host of issues, ending the death penalty, dealing with the

criminal justice reform, dealing with the need for real comprehensive immigration reform. a host of issues where there has been a coming together of the party around a very progressive platform. mark: i have seen lots of people who run hard as your friend bernie sanders did who come up short and take a while emotionally and psychologically to be ready to say it is over. has bernie sanders come to that point where he has given up the notion he is going to be president? jeff: i think the math in terms of delegates pretty clear. the secretary has the requisite delegates needed to win. but bernie sanders, as he said on the first day, was in this campaign to advance the progressive agenda. he believes that and i believe having him as president would move that agenda forward fastest. the truth of the matter is the secretary has more delegates and the secretary over the past weeks has really made it a

strong point that she is opening to listening to the concerns of the people, the 13 plus million -- 13 million people plus who have concerns and voted for bernie sanders. there is a place at the table for them in her campaign and ultimately in her administration. that is very strong outreach on her part and is to be applauded. i think this is a response to that. mark: you and bernie sanders argued for a long time that bernie sanders was a stronger han donaldndidate t trump. do you believe that? jeff: i have not seen any recent polling on that but that is besides the point. it is going to be hillary clinton and donald trump in the general election and donald trump, let's be clear, would be disastrous for this country. all of the things people who voted for bernie sanders would not only not move forward, they would move backward. hillary clinton will move those issues forward.

john: we spent a little time today talking about the vice presidential sweepstakes. when people talk about who hillary clinton might put on the ticket, almost no one talks about bernie sanders. does that bother him that he is not considered a front-runner, a , someone who might end up a running mate? jeff: bernie sanders is not in this for ego. he's about moving forward on a progressive agenda. as you know, he is a u.s. senator from the state of vermont and he is proud of that position, and he will continue as the senator from vermont where he will work hopefully with a new administration to advance these policy agenda items like free college, free tuition at public colleges and universities reforming , health care, ending the death penalty. he can do that most effectively from his senate seat, i believe. john: you are saying given the choice he thinks he can do more good or the agenda by staying in the senate? if you was asked to be hillary clinton's running mate, he would say no, and they in the senate? jeff: that is a hypothetical no

one has been presented with. i think he would be effective as a senator going forward given his national profile and the millions who have supported him. let us be clear the political , revolution he called for does not end in philadelphia. it does not end in november. we hope to keep these people activated and fighting from the out side while we helped to elect people on the inside to advance this agenda. senator sanders will be one of the people on the inside but still on the outs tied to push -- still leading people on the outside to push this agenda forward. one element of this political revolution was opposition to tpp. you one a lot in terms of the plus about lost on that. are you going to take that fight to the floor of the convention? jeff: we did not get express reference to the tpp, but inside the platform is laid out a list of standards that trade agreements have to meet to pass

muster within the democratic party. the senator believes the tpp does not meet that standard. he will continue to fight the tpp in the senate. the secretary has also said that she is opposed to the tpp and he expects to fight with her to stop it. john: you didn't answer my question. are you guys going to fight over tpp on the floor in philadelphia or not. jeff: i do not anticipate that there will be a floor fight on tpp. john: thank you very much. appreciate it. always happy to see you. we will see what happens up there in new hampshire tomorrow. coming up, we have some reporters here in cleveland with us. they will open their notebooks on debate prep planning and , more. you are watching us in washington dc and listening to us on the radio, bloomberg. we will be right back. ♪

ms. clinton: i have been following the news of the past few days with horror and grief. mr. trump: the deaths in louisiana and minnesota make clear how much more work we have

to do. ms. clinton: they are the latest in a long and painful litany of african-americans killed in police incidents. let's not forget gunfire broke out yesterday night and everyone ran to safety. the police officers ran the other way into the gunfire. mr. trump: they are not just police officers, they are mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters . ms. clinton: we need to try as best we can to walk in one another's shoes. mr. trump: now is the time for prayers, love, unity and leadership. ms. clinton: no one has all the answers. we need to find them together.

mark: we are back in cleveland. that was from "the circus" in conjunction with bloomberg politics. joining us is jennifer jacobs and andrew tobias. they report for the cleveland. thank you both for coming. jennifer you have been reporting , on this. what is the latest there? jennifer: i think it's happening hot and heavy. i truly believe that donald trump had no idea who he is going to choose yet. i know there is a lot of chatter in trump world about indiana governor mike pence and new jersey governor, chris christie. those are the two i hear the most about, but it could be some surprise candidate. knowing trump, he will come out with something amazing and while all of us. wow mark: does your reporting match mind that there is some pushback on christie and people see the downside? i have not had anybody who sees

a downside to pence. jennifer: we had heard people within the inner circle were worried that he had not enough of a filter when he is speaking. maybe seem to be a little bit -- a -- . john: no one has ever said that about chris christie. they are concerned about that in trump world? jennifer: i think donald trump likes chris christie, but i don't hear as much complains about mike pence. mark: you have not just the republicans coming in, but it is a figure that divides. is cleveland excited about hosting donald trump? andrew: i think it's not what people thought they were signing up for on the front and, but it -- front end, but it has made it a lot more interesting than it would have been otherwise. there was a theory the attention it would bring wood increase the money that got spent and it's not clear if that's the case with some of the stuff you been hearing about corporations being , reluctant to invest, but it's a memorable convention.

it's not that bad of a thing. john: it could be. how much are people worried right now? we talked about the potential for protests. we have been talking about that for months. the energy in the country is amped up to a higher degree and a lot of the lands to continue protests it's kind of cap doubt. but do people think is going to happen? andrew: i thought it was telling when the city of cleveland up ped their protest insurance from the $10 million liability they required to get up to $50 million. they said their insurance consultant was telling them there was a risk of something happening. between that and the events in dallas recently, and some of the protests taking place across the country i think people are more , apprehensive than they were maybe even a month ago. john: talk to us about what you have heard about trump's trip to the hamptons. jennifer: that was interesting.

i think within the trump campaign they are trying to make , sure everything is prepared in cleveland. obviously, there is a lot of effort there is a push to allow , the delegates to vote for whomever they want on the first ballot. my coworker who covers the trump campaign has heard that even though reince priebus is a headliner at the hamptons was not at the event on and that was sunday, because trump had asked the rnc chief to come to cleveland and make sure everything was button-down so he is not walking into any sort of mess. that was interesting. a lot of interesting people at that event. trump sent everything ahead to make sure everything was good here. mark: one week out, we do not have the schedule. trump said it was delayed because of news and all of that. you guys have a sense of who is going to be on the schedule besides the trump kids and paul ryan and ted cruz? jennifer: ted cruz, scott walker , the family. andrew: george washington is the

only speaker listed on the rnc app. other than that there have been , no announcements. they have been very tightlipped about that. jennifer: trump was trying to get these sports heroes. he made it very clear that he wanted these winners to come t o this event. mark: how prepared is law enforcement at this point to deal with the crowds outside the hall? andrew: i heard a former secret service agent who is kind of delivering a training session, volunteers for this -- i forget exactly what the words were but he said that things are likely to just fall into place. despite the travails of this thing it's going to happen no , matter what it is they do. i think recently, they have managed to recruit a lot of state troopers and stuff like that. a lot of specific numerical concerns they had very recently have been resolved, but who knows? there's any think chance that newt gingrich is on

the ticket? jennifer: we had heard a little rumbling about the idea of some sort of national security job. whether that is the case or not, obviously, he auditioned with trump in ohio last weekend he very carefully said, "i am not ewtling new anything -- n anything." but he will be part of my government somehow, so that was interpreted as a hint that even if he is not wise president, he would be something in the administration and we are hearing national security related. mark: he would be trump's bad cop if trump wins. andrew tobias, jennifer jacobs thank you both. , when we come back, a preview of president obama's speech tomorrow in dallas at that memorial service, right after this. ♪

mr. trump: not only am i the law and order candidate, but i'm also the candidate of compassion, believe it. the candidate of compassion. but you cannot have true compassion without inviting -- providing safety for the citizens of our country. [applause] without safety, we have nothing. it is the job of the next president to make america safe again for everyone. everyone. [applause] john: that was more from donald trump's remarks today in virginia beach, where he spoke about the horrific attacks that killed five officers in dallas. joining us more to talk about trump, law and order, and more is our friend, al hunt, with a new column out today entitled "oldest and youngest may

determine presidential election." 1968,two years old in stuff that trump was saying sound a lot like nixon to me. does it sound like nixon to you? al: maybe nixon, but also george wallace. he has always been comfortable playing the race card. if racial tensions get inflamed, in this country he will no doubt , do it again and perhaps to his advantage. john: talk about that a little bit, al. the nixon context, the country was very different. i'm talking about the way the country has changed and the way in which that rhetoric may be less potent given a browner america than it was when richard nixon did it. al: it's a more diverse america and in some ways a more tolerant america. it was the vietnam war, too.

if not a perceived breakdown of law and order at home, it was the sense that country was out of control, and in many ways, far more so than is the case today. i think it was a more appealing issue back then and to an extent, nixon split vote. i don't think that vote would be as big this time. mark: last week was a bewildering, upsetting series of events for the country. i'm wondering what you think tomorrow means for president, president bush will be at the service. i wonder what kind of context it is for what needs to happen tomorrow? al: i think it's a terrific thing that they will be there together. this is a time that calls for unity. this is the sort of occasion where barack obama really rises to the occasion. he certainly did in south carolina a year ago, and my guess is he will strike a very delicate but important balance in addressing these tensions today.

i think the fact he's there with the former president bush will send a very good signal. mark: the speculation about trump's running mate, first among equals in my mind, based upon the reporting, is mike pence. what do you think about him not as a choice for trump but as a political figure? al: he's not a heavyweight. he's on a light weight either and does not have a lot of baggage the way kristi or gringa the aggregate -- gringrich would. but compared to mitch daniels, he's a heavyweight and you could say look for a john kasich or marco rubio -- that's not possible. i think compared to the christie or gingrich choices, he's a lot safer. he pleases most. he's not going to win any charisma contests. interestingly, he is in real

trouble in his reelection race this year. so the vice presidential nod might be a nice escape well. -- escape valve. john: in the column of yours that i referenced earlier, you talk about how the old and young may be decisive in this election , obviously a huge change had taken place. it used to be older people were the core of the democratic coalition. now they are the core of the republican. talk about what that means. al: just to look at 2012, barack obama's margin was provided by voters 18 to 29. he got 60% of them with a big turnout. mitt romney 156% of those over to the five -- mitt romney won 65.of those over both trump and clinton have challenges with those groups. for the older people, the challenges trump, they tend to be very risk averse. donald trump does not radiate risk aversion. he has to prove he is steady and reliable.

for hillary clinton, young people are just not turned on by her. she does not have the same magic with them that obama did and , people say they don't like trump, true, but will they vote in the numbers they did last time? i think both candidates have challenges in those groups. al, you think that either of those candidates challenges can be adjusted by vice presidential selections or do they have to do it on their own? al: i think they have to do it on their own. i suppose elizabeth warren would enthuse the bernie people in can be adjusted by vice presidential selections or dot't would translate that much. it would help the teeny bit. i don't think vice presidential choices ever help a whole lot as far as slices of the electorate are concerned. they help with the macro. it was a good thing with dick cheney, that happened with joe biden, maybe it happened with al gore. i think you have to go back to lyndon johnson to find a

candidate that really delivered states or important slices of the electorate. john: all right, al, thank you for doing the show and congratulations on your national playing the all-star break. we will be right back from cleveland after this. ♪

>> with request for oil.

>> [speaking in french] for me, it is very intriguing. astutehes us a very impression about life. mark: next up on bloomberg radio, first word asia. emily speaks with an astrophysicist about the discovery of a new planet. our thanks to lender law for letting us use the office. we will see you tomorrow from cleveland. sayonara. ♪

angie: it is tuesday, the 12th of july. i am angie lau and this is trending business. we are going to be life for you in tokyo and beijing at this hour. first, here is what we are watching this evening. the rally rolls on in asia with docs surging into one-month highs. after the s&p 500 closed at a record. investors increasingly confident that monetary policy will stay reserved for longer. deputies equities are leading the way up more than