which is what makes eliminating this disease so important. thanks to all of you for being part of my program this week. i will see you next week. good morning. i'm brian stelter. it's time for "reliable sources. we're coming to you live from washington, d.c. this morning. the location of the so-called nerd prom. i've gone ahead and taken off the tux here. better known as the annual white house correspondents' dinner with media elites and hollywood celebs and white house officials all mingling on that red carpet last night. so we're here to break down the good, the bad, and a little bit of the ugly from this weekend's festivities. also this hour, donald trump's love/hate relationship with the media now extending to his wife melania over this "gq" profile what happened after it was published is downright disturbing, and the author is here to explain.

plus, youtube ceo is talking about the double-edge sword of politicians using web video. but first, the reason why we're in washington this morning. president obama's blunt messages for the media at his eighth and final white house correspondents' dinner. this is how he kicked things off. [ applause ] ♪ you're gonna miss me when i'm gone ♪ >> you can't say it, but you know it's true. >> now, there was nervousness in the room when his speech started. i think it was embraced by the end of it. all the reviews, of course, have been positive for president obama. most, actually, not all. not so much for the other performer, larry wilmore, who had to follow obama last night. let's talk about what the president said and how he said it with an our all-star panel here in washington.

here at the table, tammy hidad, a former executive producer of shows like cnn's "larry king live" and msnbc's "hardball." thank you, all, for being here this morning. >> it's our morning. we had to be here. >> well, you were in the room, tammy. you thought the president received rave reviews from the audience. >> he did, indeed. he had a great time. i don't think this is partisan politics. i think it's the appreciation for the president as a performer. he took his time. he waited. you just showed the pause before he started to get the room together with him. that's what a master performer

does. then he hit it out of the park, according to most people in the room. >> let's watch his comments about donald trump. this was certainly the most anticipated part of the evening. here's what he said. >> they say donald lacks the foreign policy experience to be president. but in fairness, he has spent years meeting with leaders from around the world. miss sweden, miss argentina, miss azerbaijan. and there's one area where donald's experience could be invaluable. that's closing guantanamo. because trump knows a thing or two about running water-front properties into the ground. all right. that's probably enough. i mean, i've got more material. no, no. [ applause ] i don't want to spend too much

time on the donald. following your lead, i want to show some restraint. because i think we can all agree that from the start, he's gotten the appropriate amount of coverage befitting the seriousness of his candidacy. i hope y'all are proud of yourselves. the guy wanted to give his hotel business a boost, and now we're praying that cleveland makes it through july. >> i think the president really looked forward to saying that in particular. we've heard his media critique about trump coverage before, but this was in depth in front of all the people who make the decisions. i wonder if you think there's something here about all the audience members saying more, more, more, encouraging president obama to say more about trump. is that a sign of media bias, a

sign that there are a lot of journalists in that room who do want to see donald trump elected? >> i don't think so. i fell for the head fake in the middle of the speech where he was starting to do the fake close. i thought, we have to get to more trump. i think some of this material writes itself. it's natural. i think he enjoyed the digs at trump. i think he's obviously -- >> but the room did as well. ron, do you agree it's not media bias to hear the folks in that room, including myself, applauding a lot of the jokes? that that's a sign of what the press corps doesn't want to see in november? >> it might be part of it, but i think the press is doing some introspection and realizing the president might have a point. although, i think he's a little off. i don't think the problem is the amount of attention, it's the type of attention. he's the front runner. we have to write a lot about him. but we have to stop writing about just what he says and dig in and say, what is it he's saying and doing and how does that reflect the kind of leader he might be and the president he might be. we're not doing enough

accountability journalism against trump. we're doing a lot of flash in the pan, celebrity, reality tv type coverage. >> betsy, you know about scrutiny. you said that's what's lacking, you think? >> i think so. the hour-log interviews we used to do, you don't see candidates doing those, getting put through the ringer. >> wait a minute. can i defend cable though? can i be the person to defend cable news? this man is running for president. millions of people are following him and are voting for him, and we're not supposed to carry the coverage? we're supposed to step away and show what? i mean, isn't that our responsibility? >> we're supposed to carry him, but we use that time to hold him accountable and give real scrutiny. >> that's your department. the print guys ought to started doing that. >> no, no, no. it's the cable news division. >> there's analysis going on. >> one of the president's points

was we need more fact checking. if we're going to be showing these live events, there needs to be more fact checking. he ended his entire speech on that note. it seemed to me he wanted to get serious. >> the irony there, of course, here's a gentleman who came into office promising to be the most transparent administration ever and he's been one of the least. so there's a lot of hypocrisy. >> that's important. we see this coziness at the dinner. one of the critiques is everyone's cozy. the reality is when you're covering the white house day to day, there's very little access pop you don't get to schmooze with administration officials. has that improved in the eight years? >> it's the worst administration i've covered. each one has gotten worse. i suspect the next one will be even less access and accountability to the public, which is one of the reasons the public is so upset. they can tell their politicians aren't accountable to them anymore, aren't paying attention to them anymore. >> you know this dinner used to be, as reporters, you used to be

able to invite our own sources to the dinner, 20 some odd years ago. the people at the dinner were your sources. maybe cabinet officials, administration officials. it gave reporters the opportunity to sort of have that one on one access. that has now since evolved into more celebrity guests, more advertisers. >> i think betsy means this parenthetically. the importance wasn't sop we got to know them. it was to build a relationship so we could get information out of them that we wouldn't otherwise. >> they're making you defend a dinner now. >> you're co-host of the most popular garden brunch of the weekend. tell us your defense. >> my defense is how could it be bad to be able to sit together with all of these officials from government -- >> it's not bad. >> no, it's not bad. and it's not bad having celebrities hear. it's not bad having executives. at bloomberg, we bring in executives. we bring in tech folks. we bring in all kinds of people

who are doing business with government. what's bad about that? more people get involved in the process of this election. more people are going to vote. can i just say the one political piece, what the president did? how about his restraint in going after trump? what is that about? that is about this election. that's about the general campaign. that's about this president getting on the campaign trail, saving all his good material for that campaign. >> that's an interesting theory. i like that. >> news organizations are putting advertisers in seats that reporters once occupied. i think that's something we need to look at. >> my takeaway, when i'm here this weekend, is that we have to have a little bit of distance the whole time. even when it's exciting to see some celebrities on the red carpet. always have to have a little bit of that distance. let me play one more sound bite from last night. this is an interesting moment. we're talking about the obama administration's access and whether there's enough access to white house officials and whether they're transparent enough. this is what president obama said about the movie "spotlight" which recently won the oscar.

take a look. >> i also would like to acknowledge some of the award-winning reporters we have with us tonight. rachel mcadams, mark ruffalow, maria shriver. thank you, all, for everything you've done. i'm just joking. as you know, "spotlight" is a film, a movie about investigative journalists with the resources and the autonomy to chase down the truth and hold the powerful accountable. best fantasy film since "star wars." >> that cuts pretty deep, i think. that line, i think that resonated widely at the dinner. what i heard the president doing was creating a divide between two types of journalists. i want to know if you agree. one type who prides conflict and controversy and another type that prides investigative reporting and digging deeply. it seemed to me he was trying to

encourage that investigative journalism, even though his administration stymies that kind of work. >> investigative journalism costs money. that's the problem with a lot of news organizations that don't have the resources to devote to that anymore. >> this administration has gone after investigative reporters and even threatened criminal action against them. he should look deeply inside himself when he makes those accusatio accusations. although, he's making a broader point that is true. since the "spotlight" investigation was done, there's a third fewer reporters working in this business. there's far fewer who get up every day that get six months to work on a story. it's expensive. >> this is a dinner. it's a party. but what we should also talk about is the reporters covering the trump campaign who have no access, who are so controlled. >> it's not just the obama administration that limits access. >> no, and they're not taken care of. they have to do everything on their own. the other thing about donald trump calling into shows, he's so smart. he figured it out. you know what, when you call into a show, you control a show.

you're controlling it. if i weren't sitting here and you had to listen to me on the phone, you would have to listen to me finish, otherwise you'd be the rudest host. >> so why do the shows take the calls? >> it's leverage. >> it's leverage. >> the man knows it. >> radio interview, people call in for that. we have seen a recalibration of this role as well. he's doing less phoners than six months ago. real quickly, before we go, i mentioned your book. it's about your son tyler and your relationship with him. also about your relationship introducing the presidents over the years. do you worry about this campaign? do you have him watch television coverage, or do you try to limit it? i've heard a lot of parents say they try to shield their children from coverage of this campaign because of the crude nature. >> i don't have to because he's not interested in politics. but it's not just with trump. although, i think he's a very coarse, vulgar figure. one thing i realize looking

aside myself, when i sat there for an hour with bill clinton talking to my son and george bush, they did it because they're public servants. it reminded me of something i knew a long time ago that i tend to forget. i'm not just covering a title. i'm covering a human being. most of the men and women in this business, it's my job to be cynical and hold them accountable, but they're human beings, who are trying to do the right thing. it's a tough balance. you can see me conflicted on this show with that balance. >> thank you all for being here this morning. coming up next, something you won't see anywhere else this morning. we're going behind the scenes of the president's speech with the man who was his chief joke writer. that's a real title. it's an important title. you'll find out why after this. i have a blog called

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welcome back. peeking at the overnight ratings here, the whois correspondents' dinner was a big hit on tv. it drew a much bigger audience than last year. maybe that's because people wanted to see what president obama would say about presidential candidate donald trump. some said this is the hardest speech the president has to give all year. this was obama's last time. he talked about who he thought might be performing this time next year. >> next year at this time, someone else will be standing here in this very spot, and it's anyone's guess who she will be. [ laughter ] [ applause ] >> now, let's peel back the curtain here.

when i really want to know is who really comes up with this stuff? joining me now is the answer. the actual answer. a former speech writer for president obama, he led the joke writing for the last four of these dinners. he's now the head writer at funny or die d.c. i know a team comes up with these jokes. you were leading the team in recent years. how many jokes are conceived before this performance each year? >> well, i think the key to having the 35 or 40 really funny jokes is to have several hundred less funny jokes that get written. every year i would personally write hundreds of jokes, most of them not at all funny. >> hundreds? >> yeah, you just keep at it. then we would also have, you know, both former staff, some comedians who remain discreet and work pro bono. >> if you have that in submissions, wouldn't anybody be funny? wouldn't i be funny? >> the truth is, no matter the joke, the president really does

make it better. you saw this last night. he's got an incredible sense of comic timing, especially for somebody who has a day job, and it's a very demanding day job. he's really funny. >> it feels like a requirement of the job now, that a president has to be able to perform in these circumstances because he's able to say things through humor he can't say otherwise that he really wants to say. >> one of the things that funny or die did was working on the "between two ferns" video with zach galifianakis and president obama with the health care video. we have seen instances where the white house can use comedy to get a message across. >> let's take a look at an example of his comic timing. this is him talking about prince george. watch. >> it's not just congress. even some foreign leaders, they've been looking ahead, anticipating my departure. last week prince george showed up to our meeting in his bathrobe. that was a slap in the face.

>> so in that case, that joke, that's all about the timing, right? >> it's all about the timing. when the president sort of paused and said that was a slap in the face, as far as i know, that was an ad lib. that's just his sense of audience. okay, here's a way to tag this and make it funnier. one nice thing about working on this dinner in past years is the president always makes his joke writers look good. >> that's a nice feeling. i wanted to show the end of his speech. i thought what he did here -- let's take a look at this. i thought he was creating a gift moment. let's watch. >> with that, i just have two more words to say. obama out. [ cheers and applause ] >> my take on that was he was trying to create something that would be turned into a gif, a dropping of the mike, it will live on forever. do you think he and his aides think that way?

>> what's changed is you have the audience in the room which loved it, but you also have this audience online. whether that's on twitter, sharing the gif of the mike drop, you have these multiple audiences and it makes it a chance for what the president does in that room to go way beyond it. >> right. bottom line though, this is my gut feeling. tell me if i'm right. when the president is making jokes about the press, when he's chastising in a humorous way about overcoverage of trump or something, i think it's because he has real animosity, real hostility toward some of the coverage. what do you think? >> the way i always thought about this, the dinner, the point is to be funny. if it's not funny, it's not working. the president's been very funny. if you get to do a little truth telling, if you get to say something in a tone you wouldn't normally get to say in a speech, that's a side benefit. sometimes you'll see the president, you know, he'll make a point or two. >> i think he did. i think he did last night. david, great to see you. >> great to see you too. >> thanks for being here.

coming up, we've been talking about the best of last night's dinner. my next guest says the gala and the hoopla represents the worst. hear his argument after this break. you know when i first started out, it was all pencil and paper. the surface pro is very intuitive. with the pressure of my hand i can draw lightly, just like i would with a real pencil.

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welcome back to washington. i'll admit, i kind of like watching immediawatch ing media types squirm in their seats while being roasted. larry wilmore's performance last night was very polarizing. a lot of people thought he bombed. others loved it. i heard boos in the room from where i was sitting. i also heard people cheering at various times. i know one thing for sure. some of his very best lines were

directed at us. >> welcome to negro night here in washington. or as fox news will report, two thugs disrupt elegant dinner in d.c. i am a black man who replaced a white man who pretended to be a tv newscaster. in that way, lester holt and i have a lot in common. c-span, of course, is carrying tonight's dinner live. which is ironic because most of their viewers aren't. cnn is here tonight. i've been watching cnn a long time, yep. used to watch it back when it was a news network. i did. is it all cnn here tonight? have you seen -- oh, come on, guys. seriously. "morning joe" has their heads so far up trump's ass they bumped into chris christie. you know that's true.

you know i'm not lying. you know that's true. i should say some of america's finest black journalists are here tonight. don lemon is here too. hey, don. how's it going? alleged journalist don lemon, everybody. >> don lemon then flicked off larry wilmore with his middle finger, which i didn't particularlin lly didn't want tw on sunday morning tv. here's the thing. don and larry are actually friendly. they hung out on friday night before the dinner. they posed for pictures again last night after the dinner. that leads me to the fundamental criticism of this spectacle. it's the coziness. what about the hobnobbing between journalists and their sources, like white house officials? that's what makes some media critics squeequeasy at this so-d

nerd prom. the bottom line, i think, is in an election season fueled by anger at the establishment, this nerd prom is the establishment. so the question is, should more news outlets do what "the new york times" does and skip the dinner? should they boycott it? joining me now is a dinner critic, let's say. bob garfield, the host of wnyc's "on the media." you've been outspoken about this o over the years. you say it's odd an ethically questionable. i was there last night. i went to the parties, tried to take in the whole thing. i mentioned earlier, trying to be removed, be skept kl about it. it is a very odd and intriguing phenomenon, these dinners. why do you think they are troubling for journalists? >> odd and intriguing and repulsive. >> repulsive, i forgot that word. >> where does one begin? let's start with these are supposed to be the watchdogs. watchdogging those in power. they're sitting there passing one another dinner rolls with zero possibility of any journalism breaking out.

we're sitting there honoring a president who has stiffed the media for going on eight years now. it's about 7 1/2 years of the worst access of a modern president. his administration has prosecuted journalists for doing their jobs. the freedom of information act request situation out is of control. never mind asking a question during a photo op. you can barely get a photographer into the president for a photo op. there he is 40 feet away from you, syria is on fire, the russians are buzzing our military in the open seas, and there is zero chance to even ask the president a question. >> what about the argument that when you're at these events, when you're maybe seeing sources, that it will pay off down the line, that those relationships may improve access and improve reporting, not that

night, but weeks or months later? >> oh, because of a social relationship -- >> that's the idea. >> except that presumes that there really is any benefit down the line. i see no evidence that the administration -- this is now its eighth correspondents' dinner. i see no evidence that it's become more accessible, more transparent at all. it's a disgrace. it's a sham. it's a sham of a mockery of a travesty of a mockery of a sham. >> tell me how you really feel. >> and you're part of the problem. >> tell me more. >> well, you were there. cnn was there in force. how is cnn's access to the president? >> i'm sure we would like more interviews and more access. in fact, michelle kosinski said last night she's barely had any access to the president. she's not sure he knows who she is, even though she covers the beat for cnn. one of the biggest news outlets in the world. that does speak to this lack of access. >> one of america's business news-like outlets in the world.

>> you can say that if you wish. but let me try this argument out on you. the idea that this time when it seems like everything is polarized, when republicans and democrats can't get along, that maybe at least for one night it's good to have everybody in the same room to see that kind of mixing, to be reminded that everybody, you know, at the end of the day, they are humans, the administration and everybody there does have something to relate to. >> let's hold hands. >> i'm just trying it out on you. >> but clearly, the proof is in the pudding. the pudding is no access to the president, criminal investigations against reporters, lagging on foia requests, and the president fulfilling george w. bush's dream of doing a total end run around of the press. >> the white house will say they grant lots of access. reporters disagree. how would boycotting the dinner help with that? >> i'm not telling anybody to boycott the dinner. i don't go to the dinner, and there's a very good reason for

that. i'm seldom invited. you know, i'm not going to tell you not to go. i just think the event is -- >> it may be a symbol of what you think is the problem. >> it's everything that's wrong with journalism and government in this city. everybody's too cozy. it's hard for the press to fulfill its watchdog function if you're patting around with people who you can't even ask a journalistic question of. >> we think about what one of the themes this campaign season has been, especially with donald trump's rise. it's that the media has been out of touch, especially d.c., new york media has been out of touch. you do wonder if this is an example of that. on the other hand, i saw some of trump's supporters at the events this weekend as well. maybe you see some of the anti-establishment mixing with the establishment at this point at an event like this. >> well, i guess you do. if democracy is the better for it, i surrender, but i don't see any evidence that's happening. >> that's why i wanted to hear from you this morning.

bob, great to see you. thank you for being here. >> bob, the co-host of "on the media." coming up, a "gq" profile of melania trump, setting off the latest cyber attack on a journalist by some of trump's supporters. at least by his trolls. we're going to explore this phenomenon and why it's so disturbing right after a quick break. because, healthier doesn't happen all by itself. it needs to be earned every day. using wellness to keep away illness. and believing a single life can be made better by millions of others. as a health services and innovation company optum powers modern healthcare by connecting every part of it. so while the world keeps searching for healthier we're here to make healthier happen.

welcome back. we know what donald trump thinks of the media. he says journalists are disgusting, and yet he also praises many of us when he likes stories we write. when i spent time with him earlier this week, he was very kind in person. but let's talk about other members of his family who expressed their disdain for the media. we're talking about melania trump, actually. trump's wife had a big problem with this "gq" magazine article. it's a profile about her she was not happy with. she took to facebook to post this statement. quote, the article published in "gq" today is yet another example of the dishonest media and their disingenuous reporting.

a journalist who is looking to make a name for herself, clearly had an agenda when going after my family. my parents are private citizens, and they should not be subject to the unfair scrutiny. whether you agree or not with her statement, at least she kept it above board for the most part. there were no personal attacks. however, some so-called trump supporters did not keep it to that. we want to show you what happened next. part of it is really troubling to see. she was sent these kind of messages. virulent, sometimes anti-semitic and downright threatening messages. i have to wonder if this type of reaction could be a glimpse at what's in store for other journalist when is covering trump or dealing with a trump presidency. joining me now to discuss this julia. i think we should say off the bat, we see a lot of hate all over the internet.

we see this not just for political reporters and political writers but also for many other kinds of writers. seems all public figures are subjected to thinned koof on join harassment. do you think it's a serious problem for the twitters and the facebooks and senanapchats of t world? >> yeah, and i think the law also has to catch up, right. >> tell me why. >> for example, i and many other people have received direct threats or things implying threats. when you call the police, there's really not much they can do about it. even if they can find the person who sent the threat, like get through the proxy, it's still very hard. they still have to prove this person did it. it's very hard to prove. people feel very brave sitting behind their keyboards. they should feel brave because nobody's ever going to do anything to them for making threats. >> do you think there's something specific about the way that these trump trolls or trump

bots react to negative or even just skeptical coverage of the candidate? is something unique about trump here? >> well, a lot of the trolls who were sending me the most obscene, anti-semitic stuff i've ever seen, a lot of them had somebody in the user pic wearing a make america great again hat or they had trump as their background or they had trump as the, you know, user pic with a kkk rally in the background. so you know, they were putting trump right in the middle of all of this imagery. >> do you think the campaign needs to do more to combat this? i think it's important to say you're not the first writer to face this kind of online harassment. i've counted more than a dozen cases. i think your case has been perhaps a bigger story this week because you wrote about it, you've been public about it, you shared this disgusting material. so you've made sure to highlight

it so people know what happened. >> that's right. i know i'm not the first person this has happened to or the last one this will happen to. i think it's important that people see what happens, you know, that this isn't just trump telling his supporters to boo at the press section at his rallies. >> although that happens too. >> that happens too, but it's all part of this general disdain for the media. it's starting to cross certain thresholds. >> are you saying that melania trump's statement is what triggered this hate online directed toward you? >> i don't think this was her intent. and i don't think she -- you know, i'm hesitant to say she sent these people to my virtual doorstep, but she put out a statement. she said she wasn't happy. she named me, which is fine. i will add, by the way, that she has not submitted any request for correction or anything. >> that is something i was going to ask you about. there haven't been any specific inaccuracies cited. you did go deep into her past. you found a half brother she

didn't know she had. some people say this has limited value. what's the point of digging this deep into a candidate's wife's life? why do you say there is value? >> i think she's a cipher. we don't know much about her. she rarely speaks. she's rarely on the campaign trail, but she could very well be the next first lady of the u.s. who is he? where does she come from? what's her family background like? i think those are all legitimate newsworthy questions that the press should be answering. when it comes to her family, i think women and trump's appeal to women has been a big issue in this campaign. i think people wonder, you know, how is melania trump married to to a man like donald trump. digging into her family past showed me that, well, she really loves donald trump because she grew up with a man who's like donald trump. her father is a lot like donald trump. he behaves like donald trump. he speaks like donald trump. he does business like donald trump. it's just a psychological insight. >> and readers can decide if it

helps them or not. here's what i wonder at the end of the day. when you see this kind of vitriol directed at you, these anti-semitic comments, does it make you less likely to write another story about the trumps or to do a story like this in the future? >> not at all. >> it doesn't intimidate you? >> no. >> that would be the ultimate sort of -- >> yeah, why would you let them win? that's what they want to do. they want to silence criticism. they want to scare reporters from digging further. our job is to dig and to find things that might make people uncomfortable, frankly. you know -- and the criticism and trolling comes with the territory. sometimes it crosses a certain line. >> yeah, i think it crossed a line in this case. i don't want to give it more attention than it deserves, but it's important to see and understand what writers and reporters face sometimes. julia, thank you for being here this morning. >> thanks for having me. >> coming up next, we're taking you to silicon valley. the 2016 candidates all flocking to youtube. why that might not be all good for them to do. i'll explain right after this quick break. cular degeneration, amd

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thank you! thank you! what a week! we sat down, we kicked back, and we watched tv! [ cheering ] this win is just the beginning! it doesn't end here. because your laundry can wait! keep those sweatpants on! order another pizza! and watch on! [ cheering ] don't wait a whole year for xfinity watchathon week to return. upgrade now to add the premium channel of your choice so you can keep watching. call or go online today.

welcome back to "reliable sources." youtube is undergoing a dramatic transformation and giving rise to a new crop of so-called youtube stars, youtube celebrities. but it's not just about entertainment on the sprawling video site. news, sports, politics are also all in play as the company attempts to continue to blur the lines between tv and the internet. in fact, this week the company is holding its annual new front

presentation. that's when it brings in lots of advertisers and tries to persuade those advertisers to spend more money with youtube and maybe a little less for tv in silicon valley actually on google's campus to talk about the future of the company and how presidential candidates are engaging in users. this is our latest in our headliner series. what do the skepticses have wrong today about digit at video and the future of youtube? >> if you look at youtube. it first started with people upholding videos just around them. casual videos, and over time it's really evolved as a medium, where now we have people who are professional youtubers, and "variety" did this study, looked at american teens and who are

the top celebrities among american teens, and eight of the top ten were youtubers. it's not just a one-way conversation. where the fans are participating and communicating. >> do you feel youtube stars are not mainstream enough with the rest of the country, or is that an outstated perception? >> i think they're definitely becoming mainstream. they're mainstream if you look at the teen audience. that's why eight of the top ten celebrities are youtubers, but youtube right now has huge reach and huge set the users in the 18 to 34 and 18 to 49 category, too. i guess i find mimeself wonders if youtube is an alternate or parallel university and if so, are they blurring more? are the lines blurring more?

>> i definitely think the lines are blurring a lot more. traditionally we had youtube creators that would post their content, unique to them, but if you look at all of the traditional kept, they're also putting their content on youtube. sometimes they're promotional clips, so users can see an example or highlight what happened in that you are show, but sometimes they're posting the whole show and it's a way to reach the new audience. like "ellen" is an example of that. they can reach a whole new audience. >> john olive's trump takedowns this that's a great example of reaching a bigger all yen. >> a and john oliver is at example where they'll post the whole show the next day, but it gets a lot of viewing,ible to

yeech user that would just not have access. >> do you sow -- i've seen more and more political ads on the sites. >> we've seen a lot of candidates engage. they've been creating some great and interesting ads. in fact when we look at on you most popular ads run on the platform, we saw that three of them in one month were from political candidates. what we are also seeing is our viewers are engaging and understanding the issues, getting to better understand the candidates. we recently looked how many hours were spent. >> reporter:ing candidates and issues. over the last year. it was over 110 million hours, which is just a huge amount of time for users to be understanding candidates and those issues. >> do you worry about the candidates to avoid being asked

questions by making their videos instead? >> no, i don't think we really worry about that. everybody is making their own issues one of the ads was a super-pac ad actually trying to show a negative light on the candidates. >> but ads usually have misstatements, lies and b.s., at least in a television environment those can be fact checked. if they're running on youtube, they're just spewing b.s. one thing that's happened is it's made the candidates a lot more careful about what this sea. >> that's interesting. >> they know they're always being filmed. >> they're always being filmed. if they make a misstep or say anything that's not appropriate, you know, they're held responsible. now that clip can be uploaded and shown to a billion people. they are very careful about what they say. >> for more of our visit to google check out cmoney.

president obama welcoming home a journalist who spent 18 months behind bars. we'll have that story in just a moment.

for me personally, the best think about this weekend was spending time with jason rezaian, who's adjusting to normal life here in the u.s. after 18 months in a prison in iran. s. >> last time this year we spode of jason's courage, and this year we seeing his courage in, and it's a living testament to free press and a reminder of the level faced by rovers overseas. >> jason also took to the podium. he received a long-standing ovation from the crowd of thousands.

>> thank you, this is a big, intimidating room, but i can say that it beats solitary confinement. >> jason now figuring out his next step starting with a naeemen fellowship this fall. "steve union" starts right now. game on. franchise off his big wince, trump sets his sights on hillary clinton. >> if hillary clinton were a man, i don't think she would get 5% of the vote. >> how will she respond? >> i have a lot of experience dealing with men who sometimes get off the reservation in the way they behave. >> our exclusive interview. plus ted cruz, it is the people of indiana who the country is depending on right now. fighting for attention, with a vp pick. >> tough fights don't worry me a bit. with trump closing in