follow us on twitter. tweet me at wolf blitzer, or at cnn sit room. join us again right here tomorrow in "the situation room." i'm wolf blitzer. erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. "outfront" next, breaking news, donald trump the last man standing. john kasich officially dropping out hours ago. who is the presumptive nominee vetting for vp. and how worried is hillary clinton about a faceoff with him. and the spectacular rise and fall. we have new details breaking this hour about his decision to drop out of the race. let's go "outfront." good evening, i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tront, breaking news. john kasich dropping out of the republican race this evening. donald trump the gop presumptive

nominee for the president of the united states. the billionaire businessman toppling 16 after he was dismissed by every politician and political expert. in fact, the only nominee to have never held elected office since five-star general dwight eisenhower back in 1952. trump declaring the general election starts today, going straight for hillary clinton. >> i thought that i would be going longer, and she would be going shorter. she can't put it away. that's like a football team that can't get the ball over the line. i put it away. she can't put it away. >> some prominent republicans, though, still resisting trump to the death, even threatening to back hillary clinton instead. the clinton campaign today actually releasing a list of conservative republicans who say they will never vote for trump, including some top aides to former nominees john mccain and mitt romney. and a never trump backer tells cnn he is racing against time to field a third-party candidate that could deny trump the white house. and we begin with jim accosta, covering the trump campaign. and jim, today it is official

and really no one expected this would happen today, like it did. donald trump now the last one alive. he is going to be the nominee. how is the campaign adapting its strategy. >> reporter: erin, with ted cruz and john kasich out of the race, the presumptive nominee will have a much bigger staff that will begin to join forces with the rnc. and advisers to trump say names are already beginning to surface as early favorites in his search for a running mate. some names, erin, are also disappearing. donald trump is the last man standing. >> it's a beautiful thing to watch, and a beautiful thing to behold. and we're going to make america great again. >> reporter: after a convincing win in indiana, trump's road to the white house just got a lot less congested. with john kasich dropping out of the race. >> as i suspend my campaign today, i have renewed faith, deeper faith, that the lord will

show me the way forward and fulfill the purpose of my life. >> reporter: the sudden departures of cakasich and ted cruz -- >> we gave it everything we've got. >> reporter: now present a new challenge for trump. to unite a republican party that is deeply divided. a task made more difficult by the presumptive gop nominee, who angered many in the party when he speculated that cruz's father was involved in the kennedy assassination. an outrageous and unsubstanti e unsubstantiated claim ripped out of the "national enquirer" trump still not offering an apology. >> you don't believe that. >> of course i don't believe it. but i said let people read it. >> reporter: saying cruz would likely need space before he speaks with a real estate tycoon. >> certain not going to be today. we've got to move past the primary, and in the heat of battle people say things on all sides. >> reporter: moving on, trump has begun looking for a vice presidential running mate. a trump source tells cnn, ohio

senator, rob partman, new mexico governor, susana martinez and nikki haley are the early favorites inside the campaign. as they would be on anybody's short list. trump's daughter is expected to offer her input on the process, which is in its early stages. but all three potential running mates mentioned, martinez, portman and haley, say they're not interested. but the south carolina governor adding in a statement, my plate is full. still, trump wants to pick a politician, telling cnn's wolf blitzer, kasich is also on his list. >> i would be interested. i like john. i've had a good relationship with john. i've gotten along with him well. >> reporter: trump is boldly predicting he will beat hillary clinton in traditionally democratic strong holds, like new york. but he won't have the support of the anti trump new york daily news, which welcomed his victory with a picture of an elephant in a coffin. rnc chairman reince priebus said trump will help the nominee.

>> i think something different and something new is probably good for our party. >> now trump is still planning to campaign in the states that are holding primaries in the coming weeks to turn his attention to hillary clinton and, erin, i asked one source why would they continue to campaign out there when they have the gop nomination. basically, wrapped up. and the source said, well, they like the free air time and in the words of this source, why would we pay for it? erin? >> all right, thank you very much. and now, let's go to columbus, ohio. phil mattingly at the kasich announcement. and a couple crucial questions for you, phil. first of all s kasich going to get behind trump? you hear trump saying he likes him, fits every checklist that trump has put out for a possible vp candidate. but would kasich support trump? >> it will take a shift, erin. if you have watched over the last three or four weeks, kasich has become sharply critical the campaign donald trump ran and disputed any reports he would ever be considering a vice presidential nod. one thing to note, tonight

during his remarks, he deliberately did not take questions after his speech. the reason why, he didn't want to turn into a q & a about trump. he still has some serious sore feelings about the campaign that trump ran. the campaign that he was not in the end able to win, erin. >> all right. and you're also hearing tonight, i know, phil, about some so-called never trump republicans who are racing against time, trying to put a third party candidate up for consideration, who, of course, would hopefully in their view take just enough from trump to deny him the white house. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, erin. over the course of the last 18 hours, you have seen the never trump movement really split into two camps. republicans willing to say, i'm with her. i will vote for hillary clinton. but more who are trying to figure out another pathway. obviously, john kasich, ted cruz out of the race. but eric erickson, a prominent conservative voice, a member of the never trump movement, confirming that they are trying to figure out a pathway to a third party candidate. what it would mean, the legal ramifications of it, how you could actually get it done, all of these are in discussions

amongst a group of conservatives right now, prominent conservatives, i'm told. that will be a focus going forward. the key issue, though, erin, time is of the essence. and who they would actually get would be a key component of that. it would not be a third party candidate that could necessarily win. it would be somebody who could rob hillary clinton and donald trump of reaching that 270 electoral votes they would need to win the nomination. a lot would go into that, as i noted. legal ramifications, who the person would actually be. so no shortage of issues they have to deal with. but the one thing to keep in mind here is not everybody from the never trump movement is shooting over to hillary clinton. they are still trying to figure out some third option right now, erin. >> right. of course, questions will be -- could that be someone like a ted cruz. thank you very much, phil mattingly. "outfront" now, kevin madden who served as press secretary. kelly ann conway president of a pro cruz super pac. jeffrey lord who served as little director for reagan. and angela rai and mark preston.

kevin, let me start with you. donald trump presumptive nominee. reince priebus is saying his hash tag on twitter is never clinton. do you buy in? is there anything that gets kevin madden on board? >> urging unity is the job of the chairman. i think achieving unity is going to be very difficult right now. i think there are a lot of raw exposed nerves inside the party. and it's -- definitely going to be an uphill climb. i think many committed principled republicans and conservatives believe that donald trump has to earn their vote. and to this point, because of, you know, his departure on many issues or because of how he conducted himself, that he hasn't. so they are going to -- you know, continue to use elements of this -- of the party just not support him and not show up in november. >> but in your phrasing, the question for you, could he earn your vote? is there anything, obviously to this point he has not. is there anything that could get someone like you -- backer of

mitt romney on board? >> i don't think so. i think other republicans would -- we have a test of a potential president of character, that donald trump has failed it so badly, that he could never really earn their support. now here's the thing. i think that if you look at the polls, it's probably around 25% of the heck trat inside the republican party say they won't support donald trump. i expect that is ambitious at this point. and that donald trump may get that number down to a point where he's much more competitive. that's actually very similar to the democratic side. okay. so kelly ann, let me ask you. a lot of people you're talking about, kevin, ted cruz supporters, need to get on board. you were head of the ted cruz super pac. last night, trump had some nice things to say about ted cruz for a change of pace. here he is. >> ted cruz, i don't know if he likes me or if he doesn't like me. but he is one hell of a competitor. he is a tough, smart guy. and he has got an amazing future. >> all right. he said that last night. kelly ann.

and today tweeted a link to a graphic, a poll from west virginia in which he listed how everybody is ranking, though they were already out. donald trump, 61, lyin' ted, 22. as a cruz supporter, are you going to back donald trump? >> i will back trump, because i am part of the stop hillary, never hillary. not because i don't like her, i don't understand her. i don't think she has the vision and the position on issues our country needs now to become more peaceful and more prosperous. and, you know, conservatives for a long time have had to swallow a lot of candidates up and down the ballot that we may not have preferred. mainly because conservative candidates are usually the ones who don't have the high name and deep pockets and usually completely are thwarted by this nonsense of electability. who can't win and who can't win. the two last candidates standing of a field of 17 candidates, rich meaning they were great quality, are the two outsiders. are the ones who defied the

whole nonsense of elect county and replaced it with electricity. but i will support the republican nominee. i do totally agree with kevin madden and others who note that donald trump needs to go and earn. say nice things about ted cruz last night. but on the same day here on your network, on the same day, same morning, mr. trump felt he had to insult rafael cruz, a pastor and father who is not -- >> we're going to talk more about that. >> i don't want to lose to hillary clinton. >> so jeff, i mean, you know, you have a lot of republicans -- look, let's just be honest. a lot. almost all. you were the only guy. you all know, last summer who was the guy you would see on tv defending donald trump. okay? it's this guy. >> it's very wet over there, because there's a that aring between those cruz-trump people right there. you've got -- madden. >> yeah, he's still a little bit of an iceberg. but in all honesty, today, how do you feel? you're a guy who people would look at and go there's that jeffy lord again, defending donald trump. and now you have been proven

right. he's the nominee. >> exactly. quietly exuberant. befitting my new england heritage and pennsylvania modesty. i felt that donald trump was matching what i would hear at home in pennsylvania from regular folks. and this happened a lot. and at some point, you begin to think, you know, if a cultural superstar for decades who is very outspoken, politically connects with this, explosion happens. >> so the next step to get there, of course, is money. and he has said now definitively, he's going to raise money for the general election. he's not going to self fund. you've been talking to donors. are they going to come around and give him money? >> i think that's the fascinating question here. a lot of people i was talking to today said they're going to be a lot more focused on the down ballast races and helping republicans who are having tough races getting -- >> senate, congress. >> right. and really, also trying to help them navigate how to deal with

donald trump. whether they actually go so far as to say they support him, or whether they just say, i don't support hillary clinton. and i think that's the big test coming up. >>, and of course, you have bush 41, bush 43 both saying they will not endorse, not playing any role in this election. they have endorsed before. generally been very quiet and not played big role but have endorsed. that's a statement tonight. thanks to all. you'll be with me through the hour. next, hillary clinton with a new way of describing donald trump. here she is. >> i don't think we can take a risk on a loose cannon like donald trump running our country. >> she said that several times. so is she nervous about facing donald trump? plus, donald trump, wait until you heard what he said today about cruz's father. you heard it brought up and the kennedy assassination. and new details tonight behind the decision to drop out of the race for the first time. you're going to hear this "outfront," exclusive reporting from our sunlen serfaty on the trail with him for a year. we'll be right back.

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m-i-l-k milk wins. ingredients you can spell. it's a whole new presidential race tonight after toppling 16 rivals, donald trump has a republican field all to himself. but for hillary clinton, it is still a two-front war. bernie sanders, with a big win, now taking his campaign to kentucky tonight after that indiana victory. jeff zeleny is "outfront." >> i don't think we can take a risk on a loose cannon like donald trump running our country. >> tonight, hillary clinton is sharpening her battle plan for donald trump and zeroing in on two words to describe him. >> he is a loose cannon and loose cannons tend to misfire. >> reporter: she told anderson cooper she wouldn't be intimidated by trump. >> oh, please. look, this is to me a classic case of a blusterying, bullying

guy who -- who has knocked out of the way all of the republicans, because they were just dumbfounded. >> reporter: the race hasn't officially started. she is still contending with bernie sanders. but the campaign is suddenly making a sharp turn to the general election. ♪ ♪ it's the eye of the tiger >> reporter: she starts with leading trump by 13 points in a new cnn orc poll. she has the edge on a host of issues, including immigration and foreign policy. on the economy, trump has the upper hand. and that's the issue 9 out of 10 voters say is the most important. >> whoa! >> reporter: but for now, she is still keeping one eye on sanders. >> thank you! >> reporter: who is vowing to stay in the race after winning the indiana primary tuesday. >> i understand that secretary clinton thinks that this campaign is over. i've got some bad news for her. >> reporter: but there is bad news for sanders, too. he is short on time, and delegates.

his uphill climb has become an all but impossible task. that doesn't mean his supporters will fall easily into line. >> if hillary clinton wins -- becomes the democratic nominee, can you support her? >> absolutely not. absolutely not. >> reporter: why not? >> i don't trust her. it's everything from benghazi to iraq to who she accepts money from. i would rather four years of trump than four to eight years of clinton, period. >> reporter: sanders says he would not. >> i know that all over this country there is a fear that donald trump will be elected president of the united states. i am here to tell you that won't happen. >> reporter: as long as sanders talks like that about stopping trump, the clinton campaign doesn't mind him staying in the race. it gives her more time to prepare for trump and keep making her case to fire up and hopefully unify those democrats.

but party leaders are watching his tone very carefully. and are far more likely to step in and admonish him if he sharpens his attacks on clinton. that includes, erin, president obama, who is yet to formally weigh in on the democratic race, but i'm told is prepared to if he believes sanders is damaging clinton for the general election. >> all right. jeff, thank you very much. and go right back to our panel now. donald trump mark, says, he is even surprised but how this has turned out. i want to play the sound bite again where he said, you know, i just didn't think it would happen this way. >> i thought i would be going longer and she would be going shorter. she can't put it away. i put it away. she can't put it away. >> nobody expected this. >> put it away. i mean, let's be clear about that. he put it away. you know, it was this epic -- behi hindsight being what it was, let's go back to yesterday where i had this epic emotional melt

down by ted cruz who criticizes donald trump on everything. every word he could use, he threw at trump. ten hours later, out of the race. this is the same guy who has taken on the washington establishment and really has not backed down from anybody. but talk about what the toll has done to ted cruz. that he actually felt that enough was enough and i had to get out. >> it's unbelievable, ten hours later. nobody expected this. we're sitting here talking about the rules committee, the week before cleveland and how it was going to come down to this. i mean, hillary clinton's message on donald trump. you heard her say loose cannon. she said that four times during the interview, right? she is clearly hoping this is going to work. this is going to be her moniker. is this going to be the crooked hillary of the other side? >> i think it really possibly could be. that was a lot of what many republican voters were worried about. was that they couldn't predict which donald trump they were going to see on a certain day. but, you know, it's so interesting in that interview today, she just seems so

comfortable. on this new terrain. where she could sort of fully take on donald trump, you know, he's obviously gone after her on the women's card, and is she's just very comfortable battling with him in that area. >> angela, what do you think? >> a couple things. one is, i don't think that loose cannon is going to stick. why? because donald trump supporters like him because he's a loose cannon. >> well, there is that. >> we can ask jeffrey, but aim pretty sure that's why. she as it to find something that highlights what's going on in his rallies, what is the kind of rhetoric that he's using that is causing people to act violently. what are the types of things that he's done in his different companies that are problematic and would be even more so if he was running the country. those are the things that will stick. she may not have a one-word to describe him. dangerous donald, i don't know. but loose cannon is not going to work. >> so to your point, though, he is trailing badly in the polls. at this point. so jeffrey, you've looked at

these numbers. but, you know, considerable advantage for hillary clinton and almost every poll that we look at. donald trump by 13 points in our most recent one. so we look to see, has this happened before, and someone come from behind. it did. in 19 8, around this time, michael dukakis was leading george h.w. bush by 16 points. that continued all the way through the summer. 17 points post the convention. and obviously, there were a couple specific events but he ended up losing. can trump really come in this modern era from behind 13 points, that's just one poll, and win? >> yes, he can. and one of the things that's important to note about that 1980 -- 1988 campaign is that my late friend, lee atwater, running that campaign, dukakis campaign was expected to be hit on economics and all of these sort of issues. lee atwater sent george h.w. bush to a flag factory somewhere in america to see how flags were made, because flag-burning was -- they made flag-burning an

issue. they took george bush -- dukakis was campaigning as the environmental candidate. they put george bush on a boat and sailed him out into boston harbor which was filthy. so in other words, asymmetric. >> he does -- whatever words -- >> let me agree with jeffrey here. i think he's right. you can very much close a poll. >> so you think he can. >> sure. and kelly ann will tell you, she's one of the best in the business here, polls are essentially just a snapshot in time. and to be able to close it in 13 over the next few months, absolutely. one of the very interesting things here, if you look at the contrast of the due dakkis campaign and to bush, and to this match-up, dukakis was the cautious candidate, very calculating. he also didn't win -- when the -- when it really got tough, he shied away from a lot of the fighting. donald trump plays with a reckless abandon, and that i think helps campaigns that need to be on offense when those -- when those battles really get

tough. >> how concerned is the clinton campaign about this, angela? >> well, i think they would be smart to be very concerned. one thing that i've said all throughout is that i don't know anyone who has predicted any of this right. so the campaign -- >> except for maybe this guy. >> yeah. jeffrey touche, although i don't agree with why. i think they are very smart to drilling down on what are the ballots ground states, where do we need to be what is he doing, how do we fight back against him. it doesn't matter what the polls say right now. we saw her leading in michigan. we saw her leading in indiana. she lost both of those states. and that's not just on hillary. that's polling. so you -- it depends who you ask. i've never been polled. i don't know how many of you have been polled. but that -- i mean -- >> to add 20-point leads before and lost them. >> absolutely. >> 2008, when she did not become the president. you're against -- you've got the wild card donald trump against the nonresilient hillary clinton. she's -- she's got -- >> incredibly resilient in some ways, because she keeps coming back.

>> she has. she should be ahead. >> he's going to fight in these rust belt states, where republicans have struggled. and you know, what's he going to do out west? what's going to happen in nevada and colorado? >> california. >> those are crucial questions. and to your point, that's what we're going to hear next. donald trump today talked about whether his run for president started out as a publicity stunt and also laid out exactly what states he's going to win to get to that crucial 270 electoral votes. and a vice presidential pick coming up later this hour. how he could be key to a trump victory. 80% of women say a healthy lifestyle is a priority. but up to 90% fall short in getting key nutrients from food alone. let's do more. add one a day women's 50+ complete multivitamin. with vitamin d and calcium to help support bone health. one a day. schwarzkopf presents a model's hair is the ultimate test for care. essence ultime omega repair, with rich omega oil. it repairs hair deep inside. 10 times stronger hair. 90 percent less breakage. omega repair, developed with claudia schiffer,

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and new tonight, donald trump's campaign ramping up its search for a running mate. things have changed so dramatically in the last 24 hours, we are learning the early favorites include the south carolina governor, nikki haley, susana martinez and rob portman of ohio. all three put out statements saying they're not interested but that doesn't really mean that all of the time. there are other names also out there, including, of course, the governor of ohio, john kasich, crucial swing state who suspended his campaign and the governor of florida, rick scott who i'll speak to in a moment. trump's campaign was caught off

guard by ted cruz's sudden exist fr exit from the race, but wolf blitzer sat down to talk about his victory and what he's looking for in a vice president. >> be honest with me. did you ever think, almost a year ago, it was june, in this building, you were going down that escalator, that you would be the presumptive republican presidential nominee? >> willing, i hoped. i mean, look -- >> you really hoped? >> yeah. i did. i mean, you had 17 people, very capable people. i heard a lot of the pundits were saying this was the single greatest group of talents ever assembled for either party in terms of a group. it was also the largest group. so i joined somewhat after i heard that statement. and i'm saying what am i doing? >> did you really think you could win? >> i guess. otherwise i don't think i would have done it. >> you thought you were doing it -- for some publicity, a win or whatever? >> no, i don't need publicity. i gave up a lot to do it. i was asked to do the "the

apprentice" for two more years, i said i'm not going to do it. i gave up a tremendous amount. and, you know, got a little bit controversial for a while. and i lost certain licenses which is, you know, not the biggest teal of my life. but it's a -- macy's didn't want to renew, because they thought i was toefrl, which is a big mistake they made. not very loyal. it's a costly thing, not just a cost of a campaign, which is, frankly less, it's the cost of what i do. what's worked out well -- i'm just happy with the way it worked out. >> let's talk a little bit about what happened yesterday. with this "national inquirer" story. i want to clarify. you don't really believe that ted cruz's father had anything to do with the assassination of president kennedy. >> no, i don't. >> because this was the story that was -- >> no. >> in the "national inquirer." here's the question, you're the presumptive presidential nominee. >> no, i wasn't. not at the time. >> last week you thought you were.

>> was not announced until last night. >> don't you think a need a higher standard? >> here's what happened. ted cruz's father, seems like a nice guy, i don't know him, but seems like a nice guy. he made horrible statements about me. praying for bad things to happen to me. okay? essentially. i said, that's horrible. and i was on a show, one of your competitors, and they showed me the clip. i said, wow, that's horrible. this -- it's not just a one-way street. you know, where i do something. it was a horrible statement. i was actually surprised by it. and during that, and when i said how bad it was that a man would say something like that, i said, "well, why don't you read the various magazines, because it's not only there, where he has a picture of himself with lee harvey oswald." >> it was on the internet but the "national inquirer --" >> i'm just saying, it was all over the place. why don't you talk about that? i'm not saying he did it. but i'm saying it was all over

the place. >> now you're the presumptive nominee. you have to have a higher standard than to repeat conspiratorial theories like that. >> first, i wasn't at the time. i didn't know if i was going to win indiana or not. it was a tremendous victory, much bigger than anybody anticipated, including myself. they're incredible people out there. this was in the morning. by the afternoon, it looked like i was going to win and later, it looked like i was going to win big. so i was not a presumptive winner at that time. i was going against them -- >> but bottom line, you don't believe in that conspiracy. >> i don't, i don't. i did say, let people read it. >> give me the qualifications you're looking for for a vice presidential running mate. >> you always have to say the same boring answer that probably everybody has given to you from day one. they have to be a great president, potentially have to be a great president. so that's always the number one -- >> that is the most important fact. you need somebody potentially -- god forbid -- >> that reason primarily. i would want somebody that would help me from a legislative standpoint, getting things

passed through senate, through congress. and to me, that's why i think probably in terms of vice president, i'm going to go the political route. i don't need the business route. i've got that covered. >> somebody who has been a governor or senator? >> well, somebody -- maybe even a senator. i like that, because they are dealing -- look, we want to get legislation passed. we are at total gridlock in washington. we can't take the trillions of dollars we have overseas -- >> i know you're not going to give me a name. but you're going to start vetting people pretty soon? do you think some of your former republican president yam rivals will be on the list? >> could be. >> even people who said nasty things about you? >> you know, i feel differently about that. when someone says nasty, i never like them quite the same. but i will tell you, you look at somebody are -- i'm going to set up a committee and may put ben carson on the committee, may have put chris christie on the committee. they came out early, were very strong. they're very good people.

very good people. >> these are people who would vet. >> for vetting, yeah. we're going to set up a committee in terms of vice president, we're going to set up a committee in terms of other positions also. all right. bring back my panel. you know, pretty interesting here, mark. in terms of how he's looking at this. >> what part of it was interesting? because i think it was all pretty interesting. >> so many parts. on the vice presidential part, they said look, he's going to vet, for example, john kasich as one of his rivals. ordinarily -- people don't vote for the vice president. ordinarily, they do not. but in this case, it could potentially help, bring people over who can't swallow donald trump and say okay, this person is more palatable. does this make that pick that much more important? >> no doubt. susana martinez's name has been floated. she says she's not interested. rob partman portman from ohio. nikki haley from south carolina is not interested. not only does he have to find somebody, but he has to find somebody that's palatable to voters. and specifically, he is smart to

say this. he needs somebody to help legislate in washington. if you look at the field of 16, including him, 17, john kasich is a pretty good pick. >> john kasich certainly fits all of that. although he said on this show i had a greater chance of being the vp than he does. which -- a good sound bite. but these people that all say they're not interested. that doesn't mean they're not interested. >> no, in this case, i don't think it means they're not interested. if you look at some of the names, they are the future of the party. they are seen as highly -- they may have their own presidential prospects one day. and i think many of them would worry and calculate if they were going to be on a ticket with donald trump, that that would end, because he's seen as so toxic by so many of the voters key to winning some presidential elections. in a general election. so -- and i think many of them also have a principled opposition to donald trump. >> martinez spoke out about donald trump's rhetoric, saying that, you know, as a latina, she was offended by what he said about immigrants.

it's very hard to imagine someone like that agreeing to join the ticket, no matter how much wooing happens. >> sometimes you go inside to change it. you don't just bang at the glass and say i wish that weren't so. if you want to improve someone, you go on the inside and lift them up. i think the former speaker, newt gingrich said it best recently. when you're called to serve at that level of government as vice president or chief of staff, it's very difficult to say no. >> right. you're being asked to serve your country, too, as opposed to just working with an individual. all right. all staying with me. next, the governor of a crucial swing state, intriguing name being floated. my interview with rick scott is next. and this moment caught on tape as ted cruz drops out of the race. unless you have allergies. flonase is the first and only nasal spray approved to relieve both itchy, watery eyes and congestion. no other nasal allergy spray can say that. go ahead, embrace those beautiful moments. flonase changes everything.

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tonight, donald trump's campaign for the general election now in high gear. the presumptive nominee and his team plotting to rack up the 270 required electoral votes they must get to win in november. this is our first look at the battleground states in play. we are doing this here. it is may, it is time, because of the nominee, one of the key states trump must win is florida. the biggest prize with 29

electoral votes. florida's governor, rick scott, is "outfront" with me tonight. governor, good to talk to you. you have endorsed donald trump. the latest poll that we have out this morning, though, as you may have seen, shows 54% of registered voters right now back hillary clinton. 41% back donald trump. 13-point gap. your state, obviously, crucial. he's got to win it. what are you doing to help him? >> well, first, i predict donald will have a big win both in florida, and in the united states. here's -- here's why. this election is about one thing. it's about jobs. donald trump is a business person. he is has created jobs, he's going to focus on building jobs. and he's running against a career politician that has never, ever created a job. so that's what this election is going to be about. it's no different than my election in 2010, where i focused on jobs and i won against a sitting attorney general and a sitting cfo. >> so the question then to you, governor, is if donald trump believes that having you as his

vice president would help him win your state, and the presidency, because he's got to win florida, would you turn him down? >> well, i would predict donald is going to have a big win. i like my job. i worked hard to get this job. i'm going to stay in this job. we have added 1 million jobs. i was just in california recruiting companies to come here, because california has these ridiculously high taxes and regulations. but no, i'm going to stay in this job and finish this job. i've got two years and eight months to go. it will be nice to have somebody in the white house who cares about jobs. because under barack obama, i have no help with jobs. >> so you like your job. i know you're saying there's two more years left. but just to be clear, if he comes and calls you and says governor scott, will you do it, you will tell him no? >> i'm going to -- i'm going to pass. i will do everything i can to make sure he wins. both our state and if he wants any help nationwide, i'll do anything i can to make sure he wins. i'm going to stay in this job and finish this job and have a good partner in the white house. >> yesterday donald trump went on television, as you know,

governor. and brought up a report from the ""national enquirer" that claims a man seen standing next to lee harv harvey as wold was his father. obviously, zero proof of this. wolf blitzer asked him about it today. let me play his quick answer. >> you don't really believe that ted cruz -- >> i didn't say. >> -- father had anything to do with the assassination of president kennedy. >> no, i don't. >> because this was a story that was -- in the "national enquirer." >> i said, well, why don't -- >> governor, do you have any reservations about the temperament the of a person who would go on person, talking about a hateful conspiracy theory about a competitor that he says he absolutely knows are not true? >> erin, you know, we're not going to agree on -- i'm not going to agree with any candidate and how they present the issue. here's the way i look at it. we have a choice. if we -- if people like the way washington is going, they should vote for hillary clinton. if you want to change, you get somebody to focus on jobs, then you should vote for donald trump.

>> all right. governor scott, thank you very much. a big defender and early endorser for donald trump. the governor of florida. thank you very much, sir. and next, ted cruz swore he was taking his fight to the convention. and everybody believed him. everybody. but then he did something stunning. and we have new details about exactly why from inside the cruz camp, next. vo: across america, people are taking charge of their type 2 diabetes with non-insulin victoza®. for a while, i took a pill to lower my blood sugar.

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down fall of ted cruz. they say senator cruz made the decision to drop out hours before the announcement. sunlen serfaty has been covering this campaign from the start. interviewing him time and time again and has the inside story. >> reporter: a dramatic fall for ted cruz from his landslide victory in april's wisconsin primary. >> tonight is a turning point. >> reporter: to the end of his run for the presidency. we are suspending our campaign. >> reporter: that decision reached only hours before, after a series of internal debates within the campaign. some aides arguing he should stay in. others saying he should do what's unexpected and get out. cruz made the very personal decision himself with an eye focused on keeping his reputation intact for the future. >> together we left it all on the field in indiana.

we gave it everything we've got. >> reporter: with a zero for six record after wisconsin, cruz searched for a reset button. >> the entire country is depending on the state of indiana. >> reporter: cruz declared indiana his fire wall, went all in, throwing a series of hail mary passes, striking an alliance with john kasich. >> we are focusing our energy on the state of indiana, and governor john kasich is focusing his energies elsewhere. >> reporter: an alliance that quickly dissolved, taking the unusual step of naming a running mate before clinching the nomination, then rolling out the endorsement of indiana governor pence. >> i want to commend trump. >> reporter: was flimsy. >> that basketball ring here in indiana is the same height as it is in new york city. >> reporter: that slip of the

tongue hurting cruz with hoosiers who said it spoke to higgs authenticity. cruz struggled to recapture momentum, facing off with a trump supporter. >> once again, lying ted. >> reporter: sharpening attacks at the gop frontrunner as he confronted his impending fate. >> this man ace pathological liar. a serial philanderer. describes battles with venereal disease as his own personal vietnam. >> reporter: a fall from his vp pick going unnoticed, handing trump easy fodder. >> he fell off the stage the other day. cruz didn't do anything. >> reporter: his wife fielding an accidental elbow to the face, moments after suffering his own fateful blow. in conversations with cruz insiders in the last 24 hours, aides kept constantly going back

to the same message, that senator cruz is only 45 years old. i got the sense his age and political future really was a key factor in deciding to drop out much earlier than expected, erin. the message being crystal clear this is not his last political act. >> sunlen, thank you so much. she talked to him so many times. kelly ann, it speaks to at the end, decided better to be gracious. >> he was gracious in loss, i think that makes you a winner. ronald reagan lost first time he ran for governor in california, lost when he ran for president of the united states. i think winners are people willing to lose. speaking of reagan, if ted puts him in the cast of reagan, many do, he can do what reagan did in '78, '79, go out there, improve your chances. that was one of the best run campaigns in modern political history. even people that say ted cruz

isn't likeable, admit that. i want to see something else. i think right now, tonight nobody has done more to unify the party and avoid a contested convention than ted cruz. give him credit for that. >> which is a major thing. is that something donald trump will give him credit for? >> yeah, i think he will. i go back to the 1980 when gorj hw was pressured to get out. baker said that's not an out. you need to get out if you want to have a future. we know that future was spectacular. ted cruz is young. he absolutely has a future in this party. heavens, he is a freshman senator. he can stick around awhile. there's lots to do. he can become part of this, absolutely. >> he has to go back and work with people that said the nastiest things about him, even with the standards of this election, so nasty. mark preston, i guess the question is what about the vp stakes when it comes to ted

cruz. people will say on the face of it, no way. but -- >> no way. ted cruz is interested in running himself for president, that's why he got out last night. he looks at donald trump as somebody who denied him the nomination. he thinks that he should have gotten it. in fact, if you were to talk about this a year ago and look on paper who was going to win as the outsider, it wasn't going to be donald trump, it would be ted cruz. quite frankly, if you look at who supported donald trump, evangelical voters even. >> and he had served as the character witness for donald trump early in the campaign, then came off the witness stand, served as his toughest prosecutor. i think to go back again, serve as validater as vice presidential potential nominee would be tough. >> someone goes after your wife

like that. >> and the lying ted, but now he's honest. >> i want to go back to the rick scott interview. i think this is interesting. you spent some time talking about jobs and the fact that jeffrey even, donald trump as job creator. i don't know how many times rick scott said jobs, but it was a big thing. that's interesting. i hope he stops being dishonest about the state of the economy. 215,000 jobs last month, 74 months of job growth in private sector is not bad. >> thank you all very much. that's something hillary clinton will be using in the general. we will be right back. and i'm doing just fine. claritin provides 24-hour relief of symptoms that can be triggered by over 200 allergens. yeah, over 200 allergens! with claritin my allergies don't come between me and victory. live claritin clear.

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thank you so much for joining us. anderson is next. good evening, thanks for joining us tonight. two interviews with the two leading candidates for president, here on 360. there's much more to discuss. something that people said would never happen, that day has arrived. donald trump is the presumptive republican nominee for president of the united states. the culmination of hammering, mud slinging. mocking looks, their energy levels, the need to drink water, go to the