announcer: from our studios in new york city, this is "charlie rose." syrian president bashar al-assad met with western journalists and think tank people in damascus earlier this week. he insisted his country's soulfu social fabric was better. he ruled out political changes and declared he planned to remain president until his term ends in 2021. it is believed at least 500,000 syrians have been killed and nearly half the country's population have been driven from their homes during the war so

far. dexter filkins was among the journalists who met with assad. i am pleased to have him just back from damascus. how did this happen? exactly who was in the room and what were the ground rules? dexter: the syrian government, president assad, because they are feeling pretty good about themselves -- they are feeling stronger than they had at any point. charlie: that is because of the support of the russians and has ezbollah. dexter: they had a conference in damascus. they invited a bunch of journalists, think tank people to come. from that, they just selected a couple of people to come and meet the president. i didn't know that was going to happen. charlie: you went to the conference and ended up in the meeting with him. who else was in the meeting?

dexter: some think tank people. three to four. and we go into a van into a secure area with lots of checkpoints and blast walls. suddenly, we were at his house. charlie: he welcomed you to his house? you stit down. tell me what is the status on the ground as we speak. dexter: you mentioned at the top of the show what an utterly catastrophic war it is. a half-million dead, whole state is disintegrated. half the country is displaced from their homes. the migration crisis. it is the great catastrophe of our time. i think everyone thought, most of the world, probably assad himself thought he was going to go around 2012, 2013.

when you have seen since them is massive intervention by the iranians, hezbollah and finally by the russians which has been very decisive. charlie: do they simply support hezbollah? dexter: they are people on the ground. they are directing the fight. he's busy in iraq right now. they've really, i think it is fair to say, changed the situation on the ground so probably pretty close to 70% of the population lives in areas controlled by the government. probably something close to three quarters of the people left in syria. so many people have left. charlie: what is happening in aleppo? the russians said that he would have some kind of cease-fire. dexter: all of that is a prelude to what is medieval fight to the death.

eastern aleppo is cut off, under siege by assad's government. they have been bombing it relentlessly, bombing hospitals. it is horrible. essentially in the few days of cease-fire announced by the russians was the view a few days. anyone in the ones to leave, get out. after that, we are going in. charlie: retaking all of it? dexter: yeah, i think we should stand back for a second and look at what happened. the goal for assad and the russians is to capture all of aleppo which was the largest city in syria. essentially you have most of the population under government control. you have this long strip of cities going from aleppo to damascus over to the mediterranean. then, isis is relentlessly being crushed and squeezed in the east. raqqa will probably fall soon.

liver becomes president of the united states is essentially we nowo be faced with control most of the country. government toed a regain control of the country. that is what you think the president of the united states would face. dexter: assad finds himself in a very strong position. i think it is why he had a bunch of journalists there. any americanhad journalists in syria for years. charlie: they have not let any american journalists in? dexter: they have not been granting visas to anyone. in two years, nothing. charlie: just to get into the country? dexter: to get into the government controlled parts of syria. it'snly way to get ain -0- possible.

basically, the only journalists getting in heaven going to the northeast -- have been going to the northeast and a few people are still braving the turkish border which is nuts. it is a dangerous place. charlie: i want to go back to raqqa. dexter: i was just there. charlie: what did assad say? you asked him what he thought about being called a war criminal? dexter: yeah, he -- it is kind of anti-climactic when you go to a meeting like this because you are expecting something more. i think it is sort of the effect. he's not -- he may be a monster but he does not look like it. it is like a clerk or a lawyer or a banker. unexpected.y so, we were sitting together in

a small room. i asked him about being a war criminal. he said i don't take it personally. the west is against me. i've become a headline for them. i'm the bad guy and the rebels are the good guys. he went on to say he painted this kind of worldview very different from anything that you and i would recognize. isis is a creature of the united states. the united states, turkey, saudi arabia are supporting isis. he is holding the line against isis. charlie: what his is argument isis a creation of the united states and saudi arabia? dexter: this is a story they tell themselves. you have the united states, saudi arabia, turkey -- it is true they have been supported rebel groups who are fighting

assad. the united states is not supporting isis. american soldiers are dying. charlie: the al-nusra group? dexter: maybe not primarily, but there are so many groups fighting syria. you have al-nusra, the al qaeda affiliate. charlie: we support supporting them. dexter: we don't support al-nusra, but a lot of the money and arms that have been pumped into syria has gone to them. assad ands president the syrian government to say look, the united states and all of their allies are supporting the evil isis. charlie: they say that because you are fighting me and therefore supporting them because my enemy is them. dexter: basically. charlie: it is really rebel forces trying to overthrow

him. dexter: this is not a civil war. there is no great grievance the syrian people have against this government. this is a war driven by foreigners. charlie: it is in fact true after the arab spring and he engaged in the civil war, that is when al qaeda and isis rushed over there because they thought they could take advantage of the situation. dexter: yes. the war now is 5.5 years long. the war looked very different in 2012 than it does now. we willthe argument, never know -- the argument for western intervention back then was always let's support the moderate groups before the crazies get there. i think that moment has passed. charlie: that was a critical moment? dexter: if there was a window, it was early on, 2012, 2013.

there was that pretty critical moment when hillary clinton, secretary of state, peteeureus and gates all said let's arm the rebels and do a big push -- the moderate rebels. the president basically said no. charlie: does he continue to say no? dexter: the united states is notg some stuff, but it is decisive in any way. i think the saudis and the turks have been doing much more than we have been doing. the fact remains that today, the strongest rebel groups by al-nusra. are isis and but don't like each other, they are groups we would never support ever. so, that is how assad can view himself as sort of

that. charlie: the state department says we don't have any leverage on the ground so there is no leverage. dexter: i think that is where we are. i think assad today is stronger than he has been at any point since this war began. charlie: what is vladimir putin win? dexter: he wins influence. charlie: they owed him. dexter: the goal of the united states was to remove assad. president obama said that many times because the government believes he is the person driving the violence. i don't think assad is going anywhere. he is entrenched. he is stronger than he is ever been. his side. russians on

piece thisere was a week saying the solution was to split it up. broken.it is already the question is will it ever come together? it is like iraq. it is interesting how all of this connects, syria and iraq. you have the big battle that is happening now in mosul where the united states is supporting the iraqi government fighting mosul to expel isis from mosul. i think what is likely to falls, let's say mosul which isis is basically driven out. what happens then? i think a lot of the isis guys will retreat into syria. i think a lot of the iranian-backed shi'a coalitions fighting in iraq against isis

are going into syria. that battlelly, will move into syria. assad actually talked about that. charlie: what did he say? it was going to happen? dexter: again, he was kind of -- it was conspiracy, but he said the whole americans fighting isis is all theater. what they will do is push isis into syria. charlie: the iraqis are leading the fight in mosul? dexter: yeah, they are. the americans are in the sky dropping bombs. what is really problematic about what is happening in mosul is you have this really large number of shi'ite militias fighting on the side of the iraqi government, the united states. trained and directed by the iranians.

the republican guard is on the ground in northern iraq. charlie: will they be on the ground in syria? dexter: they have been, absolutely. i think what is likely to happen, mosul will probably fall. isis will be pushed out and then the iranians have been trying to get an overland route to syria for years. they were pushing on the kurds to give it to them and they said no. charlie: therefore, they would move right into lebanon. dexter: if you look at the map, you basically have lebanon and the mediterranean, syria and assad, and then you have iraq. you eventually have this iranians fighting for many years. it is looking pretty good for them right now. this, we are mixed up in

-- i think that if there is a legitimate criticism to be made about what is happening in mosul right now it is that the united states is fully knowledgeable iranianole of the militias fighting isis. a lot of these guys -- you can name these people -- the leader of an iranian backed coalition. he's iraqi. charlie: iranian militias or are they see shia militias? dexter: he kidnapped and executed seven american soldiers in 2007. these are people we have been trying to kill. charlie: do we have an option? could we have kept them out? dexter: sure. all the options are horrible. charlie: it has always been a

problem with the iraqi prime ministers. dexter: it is a mess. i think if you were sitting in the white house and say we have to get isis out of mosul, how? the iraqi army is a joke. they disintegrated. charlie: the brunt of the fighting is coming from iraqi shia militias? they are doing the brunt of the fighting? dexter: a lot of the fighting. typically what has happened like an fallujah, you have american airstrikes. iraqi special forces who are very good. have a rockirawiqi army and militias. what is really troubling to me is what is going to happen in mosul once they go into the havy city. they will be able to go inside the city and then what will happen?

you will have these very sectarian militias going into beingi city and pushed by a very extremist regime in tehran. the americans will be hard-pressed to control that. that is the problem. isis are evil. ugly made this kind of deal. that is kind of what we have done. charlie: where are the turks? are they fighting? do they want to fight? dexter: they are trying to maintain their influence. they have crossed the border into syria and iraq. charlie: is it possible that mosul go? dexter: i think so. it is a question of how long it will take. i think a long time. charlie: what is a longtime? dexter: weeks, months.

charlie: you think it is possible if they take mosul rather than later, they can then take raqqa? dexter: i think that is the plan. charlie: i've often wondered if that was what the president really wanted to do. we battle against isis and retook mosul and all the land they had. they have no caliphate, they have nothing. they need to send people into of westernreas europe and the united states. dexter: what has extinguished isis all the groups that came before it? they held territory. mosul is the biggest city they have. the second largest city in iraq. raqqa is their capital. es.se are the two pol

what happens then? i think probably what happens is isis retreats and melts away into the desert, do some urban pockets and essentially becomes what al qaeda in iraq qas. was. charlie: telling them to fight to the last person. dexter: yeah, which is interesting because a lot of hdadie thought thabag was dead, but he sounds alive and well. charlie: how did the conversation end with assad? dexter: i think he made it clear to us that he is not going anywhere. electionabout this they had in 2014 where he got something like 90% of the vote. he said i'm the captain of the ship. the captain of the ship does not abandon, does not jump overboard

in the middle of a storm. i'm steering the ship. charlie: is by definition the reality we are looking at mean the obama policy failed? dexter: there are two policies. one is syria and the other is iraq. we've kind of -- charlie: this was about syria. dexter: we are preserving the iraqi state and holding that together. charlie: or was the president right? dexter: i think president obama has made it clear that he thinks if we try to do more in syria, we are just going to make it worse. you get yourself involved down in the weeds in the middle east and you are just going to get tangled up and make it worse, but president obama has been very clear assad must go. that is the overall objective of

american policy and has been. charlie: since the airstrikes again. began. dexter: i think he believes the assad government is the root of the problem. assad has not gone anywhere. clearlyed states has failed in that objective, i think. charlie: the second paragraph of your piece -- in the 5.5 years since the uprising began, it has been the most catastrophic war of our young century and assad is the most vilified national leader in the world. as many as 400,000 syrians are dead and nearly half the country's population has been driven from their homes. hundreds of thousands have gone to europe, hundreds of thousands have drowned in the militar mediterranean. most of the government's in the

west including the united states said diplomatic relations -- president obama has asked him repeatedly to step down. he has stayed in power things in large part to the west's conflict and military intervention on behalf of russia , aleppo. it is largely in ruins. the government did a series of bombings which many people look at as the catastrophe of our time. dexter: i think so. let's say assad stays. what the you have in syria? it is broken, it is completely fragmented. assad may have the population centers but half the country has been driven from their homes. i don't know how he, the

russians, us, i don't know how you put the country back together. charlie: thank you for coming, dexter filkins. back in a moment. stay with us. ♪

charlie: it is the final weekend before the presidential election and the only thing certain is voters will go to the polls on tuesday. where does the race fan going into its final days? talkedn karl of abc news

with his friend mike allen of politico. jonathan: is great to be here on the friday before election day with mike allen. let's look at how this race is right now. we will start with trump tower. tower,f you are in trump you finally feel you have oxygen. the comey letter has left trump off the map. republicans are still very skeptical, but they are quite optimistic. jonathan: how does the trump team think they will win this? had: they have what he has since the beginning which is momentum and excited. going into this crazy weekend, if you have momentum and optimism, suddenly it means less and the national mood means a

lot. i know you are hearing that same thing out of brooklyn, the clinton campaign headquarters. they know they cannot mess this up, but there is a lot of comfort with what is going on. they feel like this is bait. people are not changing their minds and there is four reasons that clinton remains the favorite despite what you see on the web or have in your conversations. one is early voting which has been favoring democrats. second, it is a big theory of haverooklyn team that we democrats coming home to vote for a democrat and republicans voting for republicans. as long as that happens, as long as trump does not have some swing voters, she is fine. shyou have been out traveling te country.

trump does not have the infrastructure and a get out the vote on the ground effort that any republican would want him to have. fourth, there is a strong voters among hillary that they are going to be able they have, thees early votes, and the natural electorate voter advantage she has. te beforeople will vo election day. jonathan: my sense is that the clinton team feels a lot more optimistic about florida than they did a couple of weeks ago. mike: one of the ways we see that is from the republican senate polls. that is the best window in what is happening. they have real operations, real polling. it is state after state, including florida and ohio. we see the republican candidates

like marco rubio in florida are way ahead of trump. that is another reason that trump could win. why do people go to the races? the day after, november 9, who are the republicans who will be standing tall? jonathan: who is the head of the pack? mike: i think you want to be somebody that is not in the middle of this. arkansas,m cotton of senator ben fast, a nikki haley. the one person who was involved in this who is getting good buzz from republicans and could be better off is mike pence. he's the one person that is around washington. he could be in a better place. jonathan: he said he was proud to be donald trump's running mate.

2020, aral election of trump-clinton rematch. he loves being part of a movement and he will form a trump party within the gop. if hillary survives, it will be trump-clinton 2. jonathan: one of the other subplots is chris christie and bridgegate. top aides guilty. what does it mean? mike: less likely to be attorney general. you look at the testimony that came out, the governor has not been accused of anything or admitted to anything, but in the testimony it was all pointing to very widespread contention within his inner circle about the bridge closing. -- theple who have been

critics of the governor have been very much vindicated by this verdict. a new exciting top job for him in washington much more difficult. jonathan: mike allen, thank you for your time. ♪

charlie: jon bon jovi is here.

this year marks the 33rd anniversary of the lead singer's legendary rock band bon jovi. the group sold more than 130 records and played in thousands of shows around the globe. the album this house is not for sale is out this friday. here is a look at the title track from the new album. ♪ >> ♪ i'm coming home i'm coming home i'm coming home. this house is not for sale i'm coming home i'm coming home

i'm coming home ♪is house is not for sale charlie: bon jovi becoming known for his philanthropic work as he is for his rockstar status. his foundation is celebrating its 10th anniversary which aims to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness around the country. i'm pleased to have jon bon jovi back at this table. jon: it is great to be back. charlie: 33 years. 33. jon: i know. i have earned the gray hair. i'm happy to say 33 years, yeah. charlie: what is the secret, the magic potion to staying power? to being as good today? jon: i think there is no magic potion. hard work always comes first.

being true to who you are is very important, so anf audience that grows up with you can remain with the and those that have gotten off the train because life happened, a next generation can come on with certification of those that came before them. charlie: we will get to the album in a moment. you have to remain true to who you are, but you also have to change. jon: within the parameters of who you are. why integrity means so much to me is i have been around long enough that fads and fashion have come and gone. have iteration of boy band come and gone, rap music has come and gone. when i never did was jump on those bandwagons when they were becoming increasingly popular. as i grew up, i would not try to rewrite songs. at 54, you have something else

to say. i will come to you and bs you. charlie: you hate to play it when you were on tour? jon: not because i hate to play it but i know all the words. i don't hate it. it has taken a little out of context, but the truth is every artist is proud of his new record. you are very anxious to play the new one. that is why i did these shows. only a new record, only the new stuff and it was received well. having a blessed number of big hits. yes, living on a prayer is that song. i have it. charlie: sometimes i look at the stage and i see people looking down at the prompter for the words. jon: sure. they are there for me as well. not because i don't know the words.

because my mind, in a perfect show, the last thing i'm ever doing is thinking about what is going on. charlie: where are you? jon: i'm thinking about having a drink with you some were at the bar after. in truth, i'm having such a great time that i'm not in the my neinutia. wrong, thatnote go is when i pay attention. it is fantastic. charlie: you are one with the audience. jon: most impotently. infinitely. it is taking in this energy together. charlie: why is your band into rock 'n roll? jon: the truth is we have met all the prerequisites. if you want to be brutally honest, some of us have friends in the business and some of us that our friends that are not such good friends.

there are people that are envious and jealous. i have had a couple of falling outs with some of those people. statistics speak alone. the music has spoken to generations, but i will not get in while these guys are there. charlie: you can outlive them? jon: rock 'n roll is founded on rebellion and i would rather have the integrity and let them know what finger is pointing in their general direction. charlie: who are these people? musicians, artists, editors? jon: those in charge of voting in the secret little ballot. it is the truth of the matter. none of our memorabilia is there. i had a falling out with a couple of people there. charlie: what did they do to piss you off? jon: just enough to get me to say -- i'm not a reactionary. i don't behave like that.

the pride that i have in our legacy and my body of work was enough that you get under my skin, i have to say what i have to say. charlie: you used to make an album which had a beginning, middle and an end. what is the status? return to is a anything is old is new again. it's never going to return to the heyday. charlie: the heyday was? jon: the late 1980's, early 1990's where you sell 20 million copies of a record. these were the gold-mining years of the record business. i think that going to the well one too many times. asking the consumer to buy the record in different formats that kept coming out. we all needed the realtor real

to give us the cassette to lead to cd's. i'm saying is the art form should have been presented as a whole. if this art form was presented with a beginning, middle and an end, i don't care how you distribute because of technology. it is about quantity. i said no, it is about quality. it is knowing that track seven inspired the kid from the next generation to want to write. that is very important. i was chastised for it. again, i stand on my principles book without a middle chapter does not give you the whole story. charlie: are you a songwriter who happens to perform or a performer who happens to write songs? jon: i think i am a very good performer, but my joy comes from songwriting.

withenjoy the interaction an audience, but not an applause junkie. i know those who are. i don't live for that. writing a song for me is the closest a songwriter will ever know to immortality. if you wrote a song that has been on the charts for a long time, that is going to outlive anything else that i did. charlie: what did you think about dylan and the noble prize? jon: amen. i post a picture with him and i said congratulations to the master. charlie: poetry can be? jon: think of what he did for history. he is a literary genius and able to put it in a manner that young kids and old people can understand. it has spoken to many generations for over 50 years. god bless bob dylan. charlie: was he in influence?

jon: absolutely. on the desire record back in the 1970's, you have to go once a year with your parents to the state's car inspection station which was located near a prison. right beyond that wall was hurricane carter. when i desire and listen to a song about a man named hurricane who was in that place, i had to sit in front of that place for hours after seeing scared straight, that was the magic on top of magic. this was talking about a man, written by a man, and telling me a story. he was a huge influence. charlie: who else? jon:i i'm lucky enough to have been from a place where i love listening to a song writer, but i also love the performer. we are a mixture of everything.

we are a product of our environment whether it was the stones, the beatles. sure. , havee guys of my era the original van halen and journey did not break up, we might not have been as big as we have become. we broke it. charlie: how would you characterize the band when you started? jon: just a rock band. didn't want to hold onto it. but my biggest may be my fourth album was called "new jersey." we got lumped into those hair bands in the 1980's but i kept thinking there is a bigger horizon for us. charlie: is there any part of the world you don't tour? jon: i have been to most places. my first manager said we would

play a toilet and user own change and he was right. charlie: you would rather be on stage than in the studio? jon: the opposite. i would rather write a song. when you write the song, you wanted to come to life and that is when you go out and share it. charlie: it comes to life with an audience. jon: it is a second life, a different life. charlie: when you're on stage after you have recorded and performed it, that is when you take it and say here, it is yours. jon: you determine what the lyrics mean to you. that toit come to life, me is a time where they confirm the notebook was worth something. that is the magic time. charlie: is this a dark album? jon: i don't think so. charlie: this house is not for sale -- where did you get the

photo? jon: i saw it in a magazine innocently. took thatd jerry picture in 1982. this was before the internet and photoshop. that spoke volumes to me. it was really about the band. i saw the picture in here is a n old house with lots of history but it is in disarray. it spoke to me. i saw these walls about a story to tell. charlie: you say you have a lot to say and nothing to prove. jon: i think so. i have certainly earned my place in this business. charlie: where do you think your place is? one of the great rock 'n roll bands? jon: no, no. i would never be that brazen. i don't think that we try to sound like anything else. now when you hear a bon jovi, it

sounds like a bon jovi record. i wanted to sound like a stones record until you get to a place where you want to sound like a bon jovi record. charlie: can you describe what it sounds like? jon: i think it is big oruses that can reach a lot of people from different walks of life. ♪ >> ♪ here comes the knockout until the last round ♪ charlie: is there a center to this? jon: integrity and rebirth. charlie: rebirth? jon: there were a couple of things that happened in the last four years since the release of the last record. a member change in the band.

richie left 20 shows into the last tour. i had a temporary falling out with my label after being the longest tenured and biggest selling artist on the label, but we came to terms and figured out a future. charlie: you stayed with a label? jon: the place i called home for all these years. once again, i was at a crossroads. the answer was in the pen. after three years, i had something to say. charlie: is a different because richie is not part of this? jon: the personality is different, but it certainly was going to go on. charlie: the bon jovi sound is here but the lyrics -- charlie: i will always guide it. jon: we were 50-50 when we wrote a song together. charlie: how do you cowrite a song? jon: coming up with that idea of

a title. you go back and forth. these chords sound better than those. often times, it is the guitar. charlie: how did you do it this time? jon: the same way. i did it myself. charlie: did you have somebody there? jon: several songs i wrote by myself and a couple i wrote with josh. yeah. charlie: mixed by michael brower. jon: a new york got. uy. charlie: is that big? jon: making sure everything you got feels right. charlie: the opening lines of the title track say these four walls have a story to tell. these doors are off the hinges. there is no wishing well. what do these lines mean? charlie: the four walls means the history of the band. jon: everybody will have their

viewpoint of what will happen on this roller coaster. as the song goes on, it is saying this heart, this soul, this house is not for sale. did richie had a fight with you? was this about money? no, no. charlie: what was it about? jon: he had some things to deal with and that is for him to discuss in some time and place of his life. he decided not to do this anymore. it is unfortunate, but i promise you, there was never a fight. he just didn't show up. there was a show that night with 20,000 tickets sold. at 3:00 in the afternoon my phone rang. charlie: saying? jon: oh, no. charlie: did you expect it? jon: it happened many times before. charlie: 20,000 people, four hours before showtime. charlie: the singer had to play

a lot more guitar. jon: we pulled it off. rehab.in i said i need you again. can you come? there is a plane on the runway. he came and has been here since. charlie: and he can fill right in? jon: richie was in rehab. phil came -- you cannot stop a tour. there are people counting on you, families counting on you, record company counting on you. charlie: you do have a sense of business. jon: true. charlie: you really are. you think about owning an nfl team. you count among your friends as one of the most successful business people around. you enjoy their company, you enjoy the light which. their language. you have a sense that people are

paying money for us to show up and we have to show up. that is mostisjon: definitely the truth but there is also a commitment for the people that work with you, the families, the record company, the fans. or your legacy. all of these things matter. 1970 and coming up the way i watched led zeppelin c ome up was fun from afar, but i have to go work. it does not ring true anymore. charlie: it is hard to keep event together. jon: it is. charlie: they develop different ideas. jon: it is very difficult when you have marriages and kids and life goes on. charlie: the story i hear is are alwaysn dkeid keith in conflict or competition. i don't know who it is who most want to go on tour, but they get it together.

jon: i don't have the pleasure of knowing those gentlemen. i would love to sit in a room with mick jagger. charlie: what with the conversation be about? [laughter] what would you want to know? jon: the first question -- when in god's name are you going to quit so at least i know were the end zone is. just give me a day so i know were the end zone is. how does he do it? he has done it for so long. god bless them. they are without question my rock 'n roll band idols. yes, without question. charlie: because of longevity? jon: longevity, catalog and music. how they kept it together. it is a band.

they are not a solo artist. charlie: very distinct personalities. jon: most definitely. god bless them for them because they are the rolling stones. charlie: do you ever look in the mirror and say you are one lucky sob, because you get to do something that is demanding and challenging and requires all of your body and soul an brain and heart and everything about you in order to do it, in order to keep it up, in order to go out there and make sure people say to you, bring it on. jon: yeah, you have to do the same as does tom brady and your producer. you have to be ready to go to work. do what i wanted to do. as a little boy, that is all it wanted to do. this was it. there was no plan b.

i was young enough that the drinking age was low enough that you could do those things and i had no other response abilities. by 20, the sweat was off the brow because my folks didn't say i don't want to support you. charlie: the foundation has built houses for people in significant numbers. you are a very wealthy man. jon: yes. charlie: you want to buy an nfl team. you have been in pursuit of buying an nfl team. is it going to happen? how close? jon: we were on the doorstep. we had the wherewithal to do it. charlie: with your own funds? jon: i had partners. we are talking substantial numbers here, but we really didn't want it very badly to buy the buffalo bills. it didn't work out for me. charlie: do you see another opportunity?

once you get on the nfl's list, i assume you stay on the list. jon: we will find out. when the opportunity arises -- charlie: owners love you. they will bode. jon: most definitely. yes and no. charlie: meaning? jon: they don't have a vote. if a team is for sale, they sell. , but it ise it not true. charlie: whoever gets top dollar? why didn't you get the bills? jon: we were outbid. god bless the guy who got it. good for him. ♪

marco: mark halperin. i john: and i'm john heilemann. am with all due respect to donald trump, that escalated quickly. >> this is going to be brexit plus. this is brexit times five. this is brexit times 10. this is going to be brexit times 50. it's going to be brexit plus plus plus. a lot of brexits. ♪ john: happy election eve sports fans. tomorrow in all 50 of these united states, voters will pick the next leader of the free world.