john: with all due respect of house speaker, eventually you are going to speak right? ♪ the republican national

convention convenes again and cleveland. donald trump's son eric will speak. vice presidential nominee mike pence will speak. an unexpected appearance by trump himself. night we heard from two of the trump children, tiffany and donald junior. was a strong finish to an otherwise rocky day. consumed by a headlines related to melania trump's monday night speech. the officials began implausibly assisting -- insisting that her speech involved no plagiarism whatsoever, the trump campaign reverse course. meredith mciver accepted responsibility for the address. she said she had offered her resignation but that offer had been rejected by the trumps.

he's notnald himself, shying away from this controversy anymore. the good news is the lobby's speech got more publicity than any other speech and history of politics. especially if you believe that all press is good press. the firstre seeing real signs of tension between protesters and the police here in cleveland. this was the scene in cleveland just a few moments ago. things have calmed down since then. to the milani a melania trump speech, have the trumps successfully turned the page? mark: the press loves to cover negativity and the theme right

now is that the trump campaign is incompetent. the first two nights ended with speakers who did not hold the hall. they need to break that. the first two half days don't really matter. if donald trump and evocative good speeches they will regain some of their reputation for competence. they put so much emphasis on that that they forgot about everything else. reason meredith mciver's statement cannot come in 24 hours ago. they made fools of themselves. they could've shut this thing down. many people worry that the trump incompetence will have a real price. weird this thing with the

last half-hour of the convention nights coming after the highlights. evil streaming out the doors and empty seats and people around the country wondering what is happening. what happens on thursday night is what matters. they are putting a frame around the picture. the picture is going to be donald trump's speech. if the speech is great the convention will be remembered well. the frame is and what you look at. i had indications that he's working harder on this than on other things he's done the campaign. executes, and evocative executes, and i think he leaves here with a head of steam. the democratic vice presidential pick and conventional coming

right up. they can do what they need to do. john: because the party is divided still, there will be people who for the rest of our lives say this was the worst republican convention. if donald trump goes on to win the presidency, he will say this was the beginning of the revolution and all you naysayers were totally wrong. effort is important that we have known others who put in a lot of effort and came up short. the going to require ability to appeal to a broader group of people. mark: you got comes your convention and execute competently. people are looking to be theater critics.

one of the most closely watched theches is going to be speech by texas senator ted cruz. he has refused to endorse the nominee so far so i primetime speaking slot is unprecedented. beenmatt forte: we've talking about what ted cruz is going to say. he still working on the speech. i am comfortable that senator cruz is going to talk about his vision for the campaign. he will talk about hillary clinton and how america cannot afford to have her as president. we'll give a sign of where he is on donald trump at that time. mark: ted cruz has been pretty quiet behind the scenes.

they spent some time thanking his delegates at event earlier this afternoon here in cleveland. he didn't say he would endorse donald trump. he didn't mention donald trump by name. he was talking about the future of his grassroots efforts. but once again donald trump stole the show. ted cruz: our party once again has a nominee. (boos) ere he is!") ted cruz: that was pretty well orchestrated. did you e-mail them to fly the plane just what i said that? question is that

the trump campaign has been pretty aggressive with people who've have not shown support for trump. why are they letting him speak in prime time? john: if this were a genuinely open convention, it would nominate ted cruz. there's a lot of ted cruz support out there on the floor. seriousmatt forte is and understands about unifying the party, to squelch the runner-up for the nomination and say what not giving him a speaking slot is not good. that would be crazy politically. these people. they need his people. mark: he has got his grassroots support and his fundraising capacity. if donald trump loses, ted cruz will be in a great position for 2020.

i see what he is playing the of playing. i don't see why he is getting a speaking slot. i don't understand what they could negotiate something. not negotiate something. i wouldn't be surprised if he endorses them. people should go to our website and read the story about what ted cruz is game is. there's a lot of interesting reporting about this. graciousness.f donald trump is the nominee and he can afford to allow a genuine conservative voice. it will cost him anything to let this happen. mark: nobody really started early and build grassroots in the early states. ted cruz has got a base to build

from. if he starts early, it will be hard to catch him. john: as donald trump's running mate, mike pence, prepares to go on stage, hillary clinton is in the final stages of her own vice president decisions. the washington post reported that their two contenders at the top of the list, former i will governor tom vilsack and former virginia governor tim kaine. hillary clinton emphasizing foreign policy and national security experience. a retired put four-star admiral in the mix as well. there are other names being floated. it is down to tim kaine and tom vilsack, which one is the best choice for her just from the? mark: it doesn't matter.

both will make the base happy. those have some centrist appeal. both are decent fundraisers. hillary clinton is running a paradigmatic search. she wants someone who's qualified and she would like to govern with and someone who will do no harm politically. i don't think there's a dime's worth of difference between these two guys. john: people say the tim kaine has national security experience because he is on the senate foreign relations committee. mark: when tom vilsack was commander-in-chief of the iowa national guard, there was not a single incursion over the border from minnesota. john: neither one is a big hero for the left. sanders supporters might be upset. donald trump gave hillary clinton some latitude here.

if you picked christie or gingrich, he would have two guys who can be pyrotechnic on the debate stage. with mike pence, he is fine but he's not going to be a monster on the debate stage. she could go with solid white bread candidates. mark: do they do it friday? it will be interesting. back, the senator from arkansas tom cotton joins us here. ♪

mark: our next guest to gave a primetime speech on monday night. cotton of arkansas. where you stand on donald trump? how is the convention going? cotton: i think is going well. the first time the republican party of arkansas has ever been a majority party coming into the convention. it has been a great week so far. mark: how has the convention gone from the point of view of uniting the party behind donald trump? tom cotton: i think we are in the right direction. a united party is not enough. republicans don't make up a majority anymore than do democrats. we have to come out of here ready to appeal to moderates and

independents and disaffected democrats. john: you've been a little evasive. so, lack ofbeing clarity on this question? tom cotton: donald trump desired nominee. i've said all along i will support the nominee. a republican president and a republican congress will make for a safer and more prosperous america. with hillary clinton in the white house, not true. that's the choice we have. donaldve again that with trump and mike pence in the white house and republicans in control of the senate, help will be on the way for our troops and for all americans. john: what he's seen that successfully did what you talked about here? cotton: i think his family

has done a good job of introducing donald to a broader audience. the speech of donald trump junior and tiffany last night. mark: what is the clinton campaign doing that is smart? tom cotton: hard for me to say. they may have a technically proficient campaign, they may be able to slice and dice the voters into different segments, they may have a good turnout operation. but if you have a candidate who motivates the voters that's a problem. right now i think it is a tossup. it will be a race unlike anything we've seen in our adult lifetimes. the market people want change. if we make the case as republicans that we can bring

the change they need that we get the economy working and make america safe again, that will put donald trump in the presidency. mark: i'm not sure we'll get to talk to you before thursday. what is art from thursday night? tom cotton: he needs to make the that the republican party is going to speak to the everyday practical anxieties and concerns of the vast middle class and working class in this country. you can get the economy moving again. we get people back into jobs. we can get wages increasing. we can make people safe on the streets in america. and we are also going to help address the chaos around the world. john: you had to walk through protest. paul matt forte said that there is unrest at the convention

donald trump would benefit. you think that's true? tom cotton: there hasn't been much protest. earlier toremarking an arkansas reporter just how minimal the security disruptions have been. john: you think matt forte is right that the unrest helps donald trump politically? tom cotton: as we see the rising crime wave around our country, we see police officers being assassinated by racist cop killers, the republican party is the party that believes in backing the blue. we're the party gets tough on crime. mark: how do you feel about trying to stop a pseudo-arkansan from getting to the white house? tom cotton: she's very much a pseudo-arkansan.

she hasn't done a press conference in months. that's how she treated arkansas when she was first lady there. there is not a warm feeling of for hillary back in arkansas. i was 15 when they went to the white house. that was about the time when it started reading the news as opposed to just the sports pages. i thought it was neat that the governor of arkansas and become president. then i realized what he believed in. i have not seen lou holtz since i got here. senator, thank you. mark: two people who take us deep inside the trunk family. trump advisor and a trump attorney and good friend, right after this break. ♪

john: joining us is the executive vice president of the trump organization and special counsel to the man himself, michael cohen. also kelly and conway, senior adviser. she has a news. mark: i heard the ted cruz is trump.o endorse donald she declined to confirm this. of: andi like the names conway.

john: your eyes right now are confirming it. ae: i'm not in position to confirm it. if ej did, party unity would be the reason. will of theth the people. he is supporting his pledge to support the republican nominee. i saw no footnote in that pledge. just to move forward as a party. you can see that in paul ryan's speech last night. in fact, paul ryan is introducing mike pence tonight. mark: you worked for the ted cruz superf

pacs so your description of why he might endorse could be a window into his thinking. conway: that's a hypothetical. michael: they will raise their hands and promised to support the nominee. they have to honor that pledge. be politicians and they want people to trust them, the least you could do is honor your pledge. conway: ted cruz is standing there at donald trump's convention. he is coming and he is speaking. and teddonald trump cruz do together? they won the gold of the silver. together, they ran against the establishment. that is where the electorate was.

ted cruz helped to buttress and backup the message which is that we have a corrupt system in washington the benefits insiders. ted cruz can also make the case for conservatism and bring conservatives, between ted cruz and mike pence they can bring reluctant conservatives around to the donald trump campaign. michael: if you want a sea , ted cruzwashington could be a lot of help when mr. trump becomes the president. john: given that mr. trump suggested that ted cruz's father was involved in the kennedy assassination, and released an unflattering photograph of ted cruz's wife, how could you bring yourself to endorse donald trump? michael: happy bernie sanders go ahead and endorse hillary

clinton? how could any politician do it? this process is ugly by nature. at the end of the day you have to acknowledge it is ugly by nature. it was ugly between barack obama and hillary clinton. anybody, hecuse retreated an article. he didn't endorse that article. all he did was retweeted. you guys are reading way too much into retweets. senator cruz felt it was coming from donald trump. michael: they were trying to gain momentum for themselves. john: we have a break coming up. we have to go. please stay with us will be right back after this break. ♪

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mark: back in cleveland with donald trump's longtime special

counsel and senior adviser. influential, ao very close family and they vacationed together, but now they are playing key roles and you can't fire your family. has mr. trump himself in a position? guest: that's not true. office when hee is said to his children that no one's job is set in stone except for mine. mark: so if he was not doing a good job, he was say you're fired? fortunately for mr. trump, that situation is not going to happen. his -- mark: i'm not saying they are doing a bad job, but do you believe he would evaluate their performance though way he would of someone was thought related to him? guest: absolutely.

isn as a mother, i know, who tougher on their own kids and their own parents? one thing you heard from don junior last night and will hear from if longer -- anka tomorrow, they know him as a mentor, a colleague and almost a boss. well theylieve how are all doing in their inaugural political outing. it is unbelievable how many billions of dollars are spilled over consultant and messaging and yet they are doing it based on their understanding of the culture and their understanding of donald trump, how that fits with where our nation is and what their wish list is. guest: donald trump is a results oriented individual. at the end of the day, if they are not doing the right job, he will push them to the side and

bring someone in who will bring him the results he wants. trumpyou worked with the organization. she wrote a lovely speech. then the next day, it turned out that a really something had happened. not suggesting there was but itg malicious, consumed a huge number of news cycles and she apologized for and offered her resin nation. guest: and mr. trump graciously did not accept her resignation. she's a good woman and has been with him a long time. makeseveryone in life mistakes, that doesn't mean you ended right there. there are too many years. she's a good person. she cares about mr. trump and the trump organization. everything she puts out has been top notch. she made a mistake and she owned it and mr. trump is a decent human being.

john: so he's a results oriented except in these -- completely's consistent. many in the media tried to crucify melania trump and what happened in the rivers was we got a window into donald trump and the way he handles different situations with grace and fairness. you don't drop in and bowl on someone's head -- john: why couldn't the thing that happened today happen 24 hours a go and save 24 hours of grief? the letter could have been written and released yesterday. why did it take hillary clinton until 5 p.m. to comment on the baton rouge is -- baton rouge ambush? john: that's my question. guest: the voters are going to remember that she stood up and

said the greatest thing is to stand up and be an american. my husband loves this country and is running for the right reason. they are not going to remember who wanted to destroy melania trump. don't think the voters are going to care about that. love to hear what you would have said if the same thing happened at hillary clinton's convention. guest: hillary clinton has been guilty of plagiarism, so has barack obama. guest: her speeches have been pretty flat. i would not have made a big deal because i can't believe we see breaking news, 84 had, breaking news, melania trump's speech. this outside nonsense we place on things that the voters don't say are important. they will remember that this was donald trump's convention, that

the entire family spoke and there's a woman that has great affection for her husband and great affection for the united states of america for top -- of america. mark: we look forward to hearing what you think about the circus that goes on across the street. coming up, what david blood said about -- david lust said about donald trump's chances. if you are watching us in washington dc, you can listen to is on the radio radio at 90.1 fm -- 90.1 fm. ♪

>> he became the nominee unconventionally. i don't think he has a chance to win. was david lust, senior vice president and uber and one of the key figures behind barack obama's election and reelection, talking at a bloomberg lunch panel today. a pro-trump super pac announced its first major advertising push. with us now is the head of that group and former campaign manager for chris christie and our old friend, an adviser to that same pack over here on mark's right. thank you for being here. tell us what you are doing. guest: we are getting ready to run some ads here against the -- against hillary clinton to make sure she's not the next president of the united states. we have a couple of ads in the can and i think we have a more

histive trump piece about vision for america'. he's the only candidate is going to put a america first. next week, more traditionally, start hitting hillary and remind folks who she is. i forget how it is to operate and you're not fully last by the campaign. what's going to be the heart of your advertising? cant: i think if we overcome her warmth and honesty and get to the issues, maybe we can ding her there. i think she's got a credibility problem, and honesty problem. she's big on the nine commandments. the 10th one is a little bit of an issue. we were in a focus group with franklin's a few days ago here in cleveland and when you ask for the one word that describes hillary clinton, a bunch of

people said liar. that's a hard word to say in public about anyone. i have not heard it that big from anywhere in -- and -- about anyone else in my career. mark: can she still went on election day? guest: i think the race is a tossup. either of these candidates can win. but at the end of the group, i asked frank if they said scary change or no change. the group was split and that is how close this is. i think it's much easier for donald trump to come -- to comfort people. disruptive, but we've got to do it as opposed to hillary clinton, she is more of the same. if you thought barack obama eight years was too much, imagine him on the supreme court. she said that is a great idea. if we make the case for 71%inuity in the case where

of the country thinks we are headed in the wrong direction, she's more of that. mark: there was a blessed romney super pac and blessed obama super pac. romney basically said i can't keep track of all the super pacs. you would like all the donors to say you are the one. pac.: we are the super i think the campaign -- not to the extent that it is permissible to shower encouragement, we just had a meeting with a room full of donors. mr.mnifortete -- said he encouraged our efforts. we are the ones who are organized, ready to defeat

hillary clinton. started -- team pokemon go is not lying to you. she started 24 years ago with i didn't inhale and here we are a quarter-century later and it's i didn't e-mail. anyone who says there's something worse than pokemon go is a liar for top guest: i asked if he was calling on any other super pacs and he said no. one of the best ways to help donald trump is to help rebuilding america now. i think he has committed part of his scheduled to attend events. so you think based on those things that you would say donald trump and his campaign no longer oppose being supported by super pacs eschewed mark guest: hillary clinton is going to be

spending a billion bucks on this thing and you have to fight fire with fire. wasn't the most serious super pac, i would not want to be a part of it. i think we can make a difference here. aest: would you consider it blessing to the campaign? guest: i'm glad governor pence is coming to the campaign. the entirety of the nomination saying super pacs were bad and this is why his rivals were corrupt and not that long ago, we had people saying he would never bless a super pac. how's that not a lyrical problem? guest: he's not taking the money. we are corrupt. john: you said he blessed you. what did he say when he

called? guest: you have to play by the rules you are given. rune let hillary clinton unchecked in these swing state, and dumping a ton of negatives on donald trump, this would the a much tougher race. we are not challenging your right to run these ads. challenging the tacit or explicit endorsement of what he is doing. he won the nomination and now we are going to make america great again. mark: what is your goal by november? guest: at least $120 million. we have to get that plus more. we have heard rumors he's going to raise 250. john: would that work in a battleground state? guest: the key battleground states are going to be florida, ohio and pennsylvania.

right now, i would not put it top tier. thosewhen he talks about i'mleground states -- asking for your views. guest: as long as donald trump is close in ohio and pennsylvania, then this is a race. that's our mission. both thanguys are drastic. it is hard for two men that are so evasive to be delightful. up, about last night. we'll be right back. ♪

mark: joining us now is columnist jonathan friedland, 18 observer of american politics. his latest dispatches entitled "the targeting of hillary clinton suggests a vicious campaign." also with us is jennifer jacobs who wrote a piece about donald trump junior's lyrical ambitions. thank you for coming. tell me your impressions of donald trump junior's performance and his role in the campaign. i would say he seemed intoxicated about being on stage. he really ramped up the excitement and you could just tell he is loving it. this morning, he was asked about his political ambitions and he said i've got i've kids, perhaps once my kids

are out of school. but as a patriot, this is something i would like to consider. room nexting in the to people who knew him very well and they said he would love to run. guest: he looked much more like a professional politician and his father. with themfortable teleprompter delivering a conventional speech, that he was actually better than that then -- then some of the professional politicians. i agreed he looked to enjoy it, but he fits the profile. mark: and a conventional conservative. and he talked about policy, which no one else had. he did not go deep into it at there was something there light on. it was structured, it was not just a ramble. jennifer: he talked about how he doesn't like talking points and

most politicians have marbles in their mouth. he was criticizing a former campaign aide and it was unusual to see someone do that. weirdamong the many things at this convention are people who walk around and say things like the reason donald trump can win this is a thing called brexit. in order to explain why the yous seem mysterious, followed exit. do you see parallels? guest: the big parallel is that it has roped in any kind of comfort from data and demographics. all of the smart money of the experts said britain would vote to remain in the european union and we didn't. i could see why that would give heart to trump people because they would say there were shy brexit tears that would not tell pollsters what they felt. hiddenre, we have shy or

trump supporters, so you see why they would eat embolden by that. john: what about the notion of withdrawing from the world stage and being more isolationist? i think there is a rage against elites, a fear globalization is leaving lots of people who are losing out in a are turning on the establishment who they feel has failed to protect them. all of that would point to success for trump. the thing that pushes against it are the demographics. in britain, you could win among white working-class people in here, that it demographics are -- the demographics are different. more 10ere's nothing i lies by what is in your reporter's notebook. what's the most tantalizing fact in there? jennifer: i was asking some people at the ted cruz party if they thought he was going to

endorse donald trump and they said yes. i asked he will how they felt about it and they said we are sad, we love ted cruz, but we are moving on. i said do you think there's inng to be a new -- a boo the room. got aaid we have not t-shirt, but we are on board. guest: i think this legalistic endorsement where he crosses over the formal threshold -- i would guess he would air more on the side of check the box without showing any love. : he was just hoping to give the speech without asking the nominee to acknowledge it. then that jet flew overhead with donald trump's uncanny ability to step on his rivals and steal the show. mark: they have said their main about whatshow more

is multidimensional about donald trump. have you heard anything that would give people a better sense of him? guest: it's interesting -- the speeches from the family members have shown them to be in a good light. melania was quite likable and donald trump junior cut a distinguished figure, but the only telling antidote came from tiffany trump mentioning her father writing notes on the report card and that's what you normally get in spades and we haven't had much of it for the maybe this is the trumpet lesson -- look after number one. i'm not sure they shed much light on humanizing him. if you came in thinking he's and also mail business guy, you still think that in a haven't given us much else to go on. jennifer: i think that's exactly right. donald trump junior's speech was very political and was a stepping stone for his eventual

clinical future. i'm not sure many of the speeches have appealed so much to those independent voters that they need to work on. a regulari was politician who came here, i would be thinking what has happened here? i'm playing second fiddle to this political version of the kardashians. we are looking pallid by comparison. there's no star factor with senator this or attorney general that walk on. i'm guessing they would be thinking i've chosen a political career. did i need to find some other route? mark: welcome to the trump show. thank you both. we will be right back. ♪

mark: head on over to bloomberg politics.com where you can read more about how ted cruz is positioning self for the 2020 election at his speech tonight. next is first word asia on bloomberg radio. on "bloomberg west" intel cfo stacy smith. we will be back to wrap up the preview of donald trump's speech tomorrow. we will see you tomorrow night. sayonara. ♪

mark: i'm mark crumpton. let's begin with a check of your first word news. the turkish president composed a three-month state of emergency following last week's failed

military coup. after meeting with military advisers, he said the measure was being taken to counter threats to turkish democracy and was not intended to curb basic freedoms. texas senator ted cruz and indiana governor mike pence take the spotlight tonight on day three of the republican national convention in cleveland. senator cruz says he has no plans to endorse donald trump who mocked him and his family. trump and hence are in cleveland that will make their first joint appearance at the convention tonight. cleveland police say two officers suffered minor injuries when they were assaulted during a flag burning protest. several arrests were made. the protest made it difficult for convention delegates and reporters to enter the arena. german chancellor angela merkel made it clear there will not be exit fromt the u.k. the european union until official notification. she did offer theresa