welcome to this special edition convention edition of inside politics i'm john king live in cleveland. donald trump is on his way here. you won't be surprised to hear he's tweeting his way to cleveland. he's officially the republican nominee for president. the trump takeover of the gop is now complete. >> this is a movement, but we have to go all the way. we're going to win the presidency and bring real change and leadership back to washington. this is going to be a leadership, by the way, that

puts the american people first. >> but this moment of triumph is also a moment of campaign crisis. there's turmoil high in the trump campaign and in the trump family because of the giant day one embarrassment. parts of melania trump's tribute to her husband were plagiarized from michelle obama. one strategist consulted by trump campaign says the campaign is in total melt down. whatever your politics, give the trump children credit, whatever their private frustrations at this moment, on day two they were critical performers as the perform saw a convention reboot. >> he draws out the talent and drive in people, so that they can achieve their full potential. >> i've seen it time and time again, that look in his eyes when someone says it can't be done. i saw that look a little over a

year ago when he was told he couldn't possibly succeed in politics. yes, he did. for my father, impossible point. that's how he approached life. >> with us to share the reporting and insight as we turn to day three, mary catherine hamm jonathan martin and cnn's mj lee. there is so much happening in cleveland we forget to pause and frame the big picture. maybe you consider it a hostile takeover. maybe you think it's an over do outsider revolt. maybe you're a loyal democrat and you think it's a stranger fiction tv reality drama. in any case not too long ago appeared impossible, unthinkable is very real. this isn't donald trump's convention, it's donald trump's republican party.

>> we're going to have strong borders. we're going to get rid of isis. and we're going to restore law and order. >> trump easily won the roll call tuesday afternoon, his children were on the floor to help put him over the top. donald trump jr. who made the case who said if you think he doesn't understand the little guy, think again. >> he spent his career with regular americans. he hung out with the guys on construction sites. pouring sheet rock and hanging -- pouring concrete and hanging sheet rock. he listened to them and he valued their opinions as much and often more than the guys from harvard and wharton locked away in offices away from the real work. >> so donald trump is on his way here. they pl he's going to mike a dramatic entrance here.

trump is being trump. a lot of people in politics say move past the melania story, get away from it. the campaign says there was no plagiarism. donald trump is tweeting on his way to cleveland. he said good news is melania's speech got more publicity than any in the hospital of politics especially if you believe that all press is good press. donald trump hardly ever stops at one trump. he said the media is doing more forensic analysis on melania's speech than hillary clinton's e-mails. this is in some ways the old theory if they're talking about you that's a good thing. we were talking about this before the show. trump subscribes to what newt gingrich subscribes to the political strategist wrote this book called flying upside down. stir it up all the time. get in trouble, make a mess, that's kaokay because they're

talking about you. >> gingrich told me a few months ago that said trump is the only candidate who understands the world of media and social media. his view was every tweet, facebook posting, every instagram whatever is good for him. the more you do with that the better it will be for you even if a lot of it seems to be negative. you know, he was raised on the new york tabloids. he understands the tabloid culture. we're in a tabloid culture but it's different because of social media. he knows how to do that. he's comfortable in it that tweet this morning about the speech is entirely in keeping with his view of how this operates. >> mary catherine, there's a lot of tension. a lot of republicans aren't happy with what happened and not sure where it's going. the political pros would say dear god, why didn't you fire somebody on day one and move on. why in the world on your way back here, would you stir this

back up snu. >> the unconventional does work for donald trump. it's unconventional to not fire anybody immediately. you could wed the pros with donald trump and really win, is like, if he's going to go this far saying there's no plagiarism keep saying it and be done with it. but he's going to bring it up on the night he arrives and make it an issue again if they didn't they would tell the story of tonight. >> the conventional -- unconventional worked for him in the primary where he had a large field and managed to get 35% 40% of the vote. he's the most unpopular major party nominee in modern history. his unfavorable numbers are close to 70%. i'm not sure it's working for him. >> we saw hillary and we're like we can do better than that. that's the great fallacy is that this will work in a general. i think it won't. >> there's a public private thing going on. donald trump just saying you know, melania's speech got more publicity. he doesn't address the plagiarism. listen to paul manafort. he said you guys are lying you

know this was plagiarism. internally in the campaign they went back out to find out what happened here. we know that political professionals hired gave melania trump a speech she didn't like it. she was working with friends in the campaign. paul manafort's public line, even though we know inside the campaign they're doing their own analysis. his public line is you guys in the media are nuts. >> what is true, did a portion of the language come from michelle obama's speech yes or no? >> as far as we're concerned there are similar words that were used. the commonality of those words do not create a situation which we feel we have to agree with you. you want to have the opinion, fine. >> you want to have that opinion fine. paul manafort is saying i'm not holding paper in my hands. this never happened. i don't know what you think but that's not paper in my hands. >> it's the national gas

lighting. >> but their calculation is the media obsessed about what happens inside campaigns, about sometimes the firing squads or tensions within campaigns. the voters don't give a hoot. >> this is not a winning issue for the trump campaign because i think the people who are listening to paul manafort say this, say this is a controversy that is made up by the media and driv bien by the clinton campai. the people who are going to get worked up are people who already suppo support trump. second of all i think if you're on donald trump's campaign, you're watching these tweets come up on your phone and shaking your head, right, over the last 24 hours you speak to anybody on the trump campaign, and they've all been saying to reporters. we're going to move on. this is not a controversial we're focusing on and we're done with it. then donald trump goes out there and sends two tweets. he just can't help himself. >> i think -- you know, this is about plagiarism with the particular passage of the speech. it gives rise to the larger

concern that a lot of people who want republicans to win the white house have about the trump campaign. that is the competence of the campaign. i mean, this is not an isolated example in which they have fallen down over the last five or six days with two events that they should have complete control over. the rollout of a -- selection and rollout of a vice presidential nominee and the choreography of a convention. in all of those cases for the last five or six days they have created stories that have raised doubts about whether they have the infrastructure to really run an effective general election campaign. >> two issues here that dan and mj touch on. and they're both significant. and they're kind of the two dual looming icebergs in the water for the trump ocean liner. it's the campaign's competence, which obviously is in question. has been for months. it's so bare bones. even if you created a top shelf campaign, even if you created a sort of karl rove meets david

axelrod hybrid you would have a candidate who is not disciplined like barack obama and george w. bush who goes out there and tweets, steps on his own convention by calling in for a fox news where he trashes john kasich. what's the strategy? answer. there is no strategy. >> i think actually would have moved beyond melania today had he not tweeted this. he would have made his entrance and done something else that's notable tonight. >> to dan's point about the competence of the campaign. how inside a campaign can you say things that are -- i don't want to call them lies, but their flatly not true. we know inside the campaign they're trying to figure out what happened and we know there was a memo circulated yesterday essentially paul manafort saying shut it down, stop talking to people. inside the campaign some people are still talking. this is a problem in the campaign. in the "new york times" i'll read it to you. cnn also reported that they got

the professional speech writers to write a speech. melania trump didn't like it. they turned to a woman, former ballet dancer, she had her hand on it inside. the question is was it melania trump, ms. mcgiver who did cut and paste and didn't change it or just attribute it. they're doing the forensic analysis internally. why are they telling us we're nuts? >> the thing that has people so perplexed for a speech as important as the speech that is delivered by the nominee's spouse this has to be an operation that is completely flawless. and wrong by one person. someone writes a draft and maybe you bring in multiple people to go through the speech with a fine tooth comb. it appears there were outside people involved in writing the speech as well as multiple people within the campaign who are now doing the finger pointing of it wasn't me, it wasn't me.

i think that lack of organization is really remarkable. >> and i can report, too, that jared kushner, donald trump's son-in-law told the two former bush speech writers he liked the draft that was submitted and that, you know, it was a very positive feedback. those two gentlemen then nerve heard a word again until two nights ago when they watched the speech and said that's not our speech. >> that's not our speech. it's dangerous when there are people inside the campaign blaming the spouse to. whatever happened you get the spouse riled up that can cause turmoil. i was told yesterday that the trump children were upset about this. they wanted to know how did this happen. they wanted to know mr. manafort you brought us in you were the huhidabili adult and give us a smooth campaign. donald trump jr. is trying to get early in the interview, he said we want to find out what happened. exactly what happened. are they mad at paul manafort. publicly he says no. >> there's a reason paul's in the position he is today.

and cory's not. it's not because paul's amateur hour. it has nothing to do with that. that's nonsense. i heard other people say is the family on the outs with paul. total nonsense. we couldn't be more happy with the work he's doing the way he's tackling these things and handling the organization of everything going forward. he's done a phenomenal job. i wish we had him on earlier. >> i wish we had him on earlier he said. i'm told the trump children are asking questions internally and the candidate was mad and his wife was mad. whatever your politics, both from his speech last night and the way they have handled this publicly, this family hasn't been involved in politics before. you got to be impressed with don jr. and the other trump children how they handled it publicly. >> they happen how to be public figures and present themselves well. if you would told me i'd take a treat for one of the trump children in the race, i wouldn't have believed you. donald trump jr. did a great job for our father and seemed like

frankly to me a conservative and a republican who had thought about policy. >> and remember, of course, the children had a big role in ousting corey lewandowski, the former campaign manager. at this point in the election, in the middle of the republican convention, for one of the children to say we have doubts about paul manafort the guy we thought would be able to turn the campaign around. the timing doesn't work and strategy wise it doesn't work either. >> it's the word that donald trump jr. mengtioned about his father. loyalty. we'll continue to follow the breaking news. donald trump is on his way to cleveland. he's been tweeting about his wife's speech. ahead i want to pick something up here if i can find it. never mind. the conventiond delegates have favorite floor chant. >> lock her up lock her up. lock her up. >> if you can come back to me for one second.

this is a pin they're selling outside. hillary for prison. democrats won't like it. but it is firing up the republicans. republicans make crystal clear who they're against. are we learning much about what they're for? (vo) maybe it was here, when you hit 300,000 miles. or here, when you walked away without a scratch. maybe it was the day your baby came home. or maybe the day you realized your baby was not a baby anymore. every subaru is built to earn your trust. because we know what you're trusting us with. subaru. kelley blue book's most trusted brand. and best overall brand. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. i want my blood sugar i to stay in control.ck. so i asked about tresiba®. ♪ tresiba® ready ♪ tresiba® is a once-daily, long-acting insulin that lasts even longer than 24 hours. i want to trim my a1c.

♪ tresiba® ready ♪ tresiba® provides powerful a1c reduction. releases slow and steady. works like your body's insulin. when my schedule changes... i want something that delivers. ♪ tresiba® ready ♪ i can take tresiba® any time of day. so if i miss or delay a dose, i take it when i remember, as long as there's at least 8 hours between doses. once in use, it lasts 8 weeks without refrigeration... twice as long as lantus®, which lasts 4 weeks. tresiba® is used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. don't use tresiba® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. don't share needles or insulin pens. don't reuse needles. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause dizziness, sweating, confusion, and headache. check your blood sugar. low blood sugar can be serious and may be life-threatening. injection site reactions may occur. tell your doctor about all medicines you take and all your medical conditions. taking tzds with insulins, like tresiba®, may cause serious side effects like heart failure. your insulin dose shouldn't be changed

without asking your doctor. get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing... fast heartbeat, extreme drowsiness, swelling of your face, tongue, or throat, dizziness, or confusion. ask your doctor if you're tresiba® ready. ♪ tresiba® ready ♪

live pictures there of our cnn grill outside the q. the convention hall, the house lebron built. the changing of the republican guard is official. it's awkward. donald trump ran against republican establishment, he said was bought by special interests. and he ran against the party

leadership views on issues ranging from trade, russia, immigration, and more. house speaker paul ryan can't call him a big trump fan. because of his role as the speaker and his role as convention chairman it was ryan who declared trump the winner and then try todied to turn the. >> we republicans have made our choice. have we had our arguments this year? sure we have. you and i call those signs of life. signs of a party that's not just going through the motions. not mouthing new words from the same old stuff. >> senate majority leader mitch mcconnell had a role. he said trump should stay on script because he doesn't know about policy. the senate majority leader said that. in his convention speech senator mcconnell chose to frame it differently. >> we put obamacare repeal on the president's desk he vetoed

it. donald trump would sign it. we passed a bill to finally build a keystone pipe line. obama vetoed it, donald trump would sign it. we passed a bill to defund planned parenthood, obama vetoed it, donald trump would sign it. >> it's fascinating being in the hall. i said this last night. i don't mean it as a criticism. at times it appears like the island of misfit toys. you have the trump faction and they say we won fair and square get over it. then you have the establishment figures who don't know trump or don't know if they can trust trump. grade that for me. ryan and mcconnell. they essential are saying this is what we got let's ride with it. it's awkward at times gl definitely awkward. they're saying best wishes we'll see what happens here. i think the idea that this was ever going to be a normal unification process, i mean, if you look at donald trump's

career, his personal life he's a man of constant tension and constant attention. this is who he is. his campaign is going to be run that way. and these differences are not small. and they're not going to be papered over. people are going to do their best. i think you see it and people drifting out of the hall ways while people are speaking at times there are people who are unhappy. >> did trump love the alternative programming, the ufc fighter, and some of the establishment people sit there like this. when the establishment politicians are up there the trump people say it's time to get a hot dog. it's fascinating to watch. >> parallel convention. it's striking to watch it in real time. you have paul ryan talking about the importance of tax reform to fire the engines of free enterprise and american business. then you have ben carson talking about sol olinsky. it's different. it's complex, because to me there's three parties or three factions up there.

the hard line conservatives, the ted cruz folks who don't like trump. the party regulars who come to the conventions every four years who don't like trump for their own reason and the trump faction itself. you've got three moving parts up there. and i can't recall anything like it. >> i was going to say it's fascinating if you listen to the speeches that senator mcconnell and speaker ryan gave last night. paul ryan mentioned donald trump twice but only in the context of mike pence and donald trump. he never separated them out as a candidate. he never made a positive affirmative statement about what donald trump would be like as president or why he would be good. mitch mcconnell mentioned him perhaps five times in the context you described. we will take action and he will ratify what we did. we're going to set the agenda not necessarily true if he's president. >> mcconnell's speech trump will have a black pen, not a red pen. we'll see how it plays out. there is division in the room about donald trump.

again, his people say we won fair and square get over it. help us win in november. one of their main arguments, and this does unify the room. maybe you have reservations about donald trump. chris christie led the prosecution last night. the witness, hillary clinton. >> time after time after time the facts and just the facts. lead you to the same verdict, both around the world and here at home. in libya and nigeria, guilty. in china and syria. >> guilty. >> in iran and russia and cuba. >> guilty. >> and here at home for risking america's secrets to keep her own and lying to cover it all up. >> guilty. >> as head of a foundation you accepted tens of millions of dollars from foreign countries who enslaved women. and who treat them as second class citizens.

>> when i think about hillary clinton's pursuit of an anti-coal agenda. do you know what i think about? i think about that miner who wakes up before dawn every day to go to a ten hour shift. >> aggressive throughout the night, the second night, very aggressive. people probably don't like the language but peeling the skin off hillary clinton. senator jeff flake had a confrontation with trump thinks they're going too far. come on, we can make the case she shouldn't be elected without jumping the shark. but the lock her up has been the refrain that keeps coming up from the floor. >> that's where the base is. i think the best thing that trump has going for him is that the republican voters are determined to stop hillary clinton. i often think about what this election would be like and what the convention would be like if democrats had nominated a sort of barely known, younger

senator. michael bennett or tim cain, could they have summoned that rage, that you saw last night with that chant of lock her up? it would be a striking question. i think that's probably what keeps this race at least relatively close going into the fall john, is the fact she is so polarizing. there are so many conservatives who despite their misgivings about trump will have hard time walking into the booth, closing the curtain and pulling the lever for hillary rodham clinton. >> i want to stop you because we have breaking news. we talked to you at the top of the show about donald trump tweeting on his way here about melania's speech. the trump campaign said there was nothing to see, no plagiarism happened. it turns out the campaign has a different story today. >> so john, the campaign is finally coming out and really taking full charge of this situation, which has been going on for 48 hours. they are identifying the person

who they said helped melania with the speech. and are putting forward -- saying that she offered her resignation this morning. this is meredith mcgiver who helped donald trump write a number of his books. melania turned to her for guidance. we're told that donald trump did not accept her resignation. so all of this is just coming into us now. and this will be a way in which the trump campaign thinks they can move past the controversy take the shift of the spotlight off melania and the chaos in the campaign and move on to the rest of the speakers this week. >> thank you, maeve. let's come back to the panel. we'll see what the statement looks like. we'll see what the statement looks look and see if the word plagiarism is in there. they're acknowledging something wrong happened. somebody in the campaign is offering their resignation. donald trump is saying you don't have to go. how does it change things?

>> this is something that should have happened 24 hours ago. this is coming one day too late. the controversial has blown up. i think obviously said a lot about the disorganization and lack of organization within the trump campaign. i think it's interesting mat maeve used the words move on. the campaign wants to move on from the controversial. that depends on whether donald trump wants to move on. we saw an hour or so ago he put out two tweets extending the controversy. i don't know that he is done talking about this despite what his campaign wants. >> hold on one second. i want to go back to maeve resten. as they disclose this and this ms. mcgiver offered her re resignati resignation. does the campaign say they plagiarized? >> we're literally getting this at the moment. it's actually a statement by meredith mcgiver that i will read to you in full.

she said she's an inhouse staffer at the trump organization, long time friend and admirer. in work ing with melania trump on her recent first lady speech we discussed many people who inspired here and messages she wanted to share with the american people. a person she has always liked is michelle obama. over the phone, she read me some passages from mrs. obama's speech as examples. i wrote them down, and later included some of the phrasing in the drafts that ultimately became the final speech. i did not check mrs. obama's speeches. this was my mistake and i feel terrible for the chaos i have caused melania and the trumps as well as mrs. obama. no harm was meant. yesterday she says i offered my resignation to mr. trump and the trump family but they rejected it. mr. trump told me that people make innocent mistakes and we learn and grow from the experiences. i asked to put the statement out because i did not like seeing the way this was distracting from mr. trump's historic campaign for president and

melania's beautiful message and presentation. i apologize for the confusion and hysteria my mistake has caused. today more than ever i'm honored to work for such great family and i personally admire the way that mr. trump has handled the situation and grateful for his understanding. no, the word plagiarism is not in that statement. what she's saying is melania read the passages from michelle obama's speech over the phone she wrote them down and got incorporated into the speech and they were casting this as an innocent mistake by someone who is going to stay with the trump organization. john? >> maeve reston with the breaking news thanks for going through that in context. fascinating because deliberate or not when you plagiarize. she said she works for the trump organization, that's not the trump campaigncampaign. people in the organization have been with mr. trump for a long time. his loyal aides have helped out.

your head and mine went back at the same point. melania said she want today incorporate the views of people she admires including michelle obama. at a republican convention to have the possible future first lady of the united states saying among the people she admires is michelle obama. some, this is a place where you're not supposed to hug the president if he comes to give you hurricane relief. does that matter? >> the trumps admire the obamas so darn much. it's both implausible and can tick people off. you have the tension between the conventional ways of doing politics and the way donald trump does it. there's a world where you can have the best of both words. the donald trump method was to deny deny and go down this road for 48 hours. i think if he had kept doing that tonight something else would have happened and we would have move on. he's stepping on his own convention again. >> donald trump has insured that three of the four days of his

convention will be engulfed by stories about plagiarism from his wife's speech. that's astonishing what's happened to the convention. secondly. >> let me jump in. he knows that. donald trump's a smart man. he may operate outside of the rules, he happens to be the republican nominee pr presidefo president. six months ago we were saying there's no way he can pull it off. he knows if they stir this up today the third day will be dealt with this and he did it anyway. what if he's right? somehow? >> then democrats are going to have a very tough four years and there's going to be deep and lasting questions about how politics in america has changed. it's striking. that statement really jarred me, too, because i can tell you that the conservative activists across the street in the arena are no fans of barrack or michelle obama. michelle obama is a fairly polarizing figure. and to praise michelle obama the

day before donald trump becomes the nominee, when so much of the energy that has propelled donald trump forward in this nomination stems from conservative contempt for the obamas. is remarkable. if you've been in a different place the last few days and not sure what we're talking about. let's go back to monday night. melania trump was supposed to be the moment of magic. a tribute to the man, a tribute to the marriage. but the convention has been stirred up and the media has been stirred up since because of this. >> barrack and i were raised with so many of the same values. >> from a young age, my parents impressed on me the values. >> you work hard for what you want in life. >> that you work hard for what you want in life. >> that your word is your bond, that you do what you say you're going to do. >> that your word is your bond. and you do what you say and keep

your promise. >> that was monday night. it's clear. there are more passages too. a few more passages. it's crystal clear what happened. now the trump campaign has released a statement. they have a woman who works in the trump organization saying i'm sorry i offered my res ugnazu ugination. does it matter that the trump campaign spent the last two days saying nothing happened. you're crazy in the media. you know, she said she loved their husband and share values now they're saying something did happen and donald trump, this woman offered a resignation and donald trump said it was a mistake, stay with me. >> just what we've seen in the last hour and what we've obviously seen over the last 48 hours, is such an indication of a campaign that's a bifurcated campaign. i mean, it's conventional and unconventional and they're at war with one another. what donald trump tweeted out an hour ago, compared to this long statement, are at odds with one another.

and they -- the problem is, i don't know what the long term effect of this is going to be. i mean, this is campaign with so much going on that this could fade away, obviously. but the issue of every day throwing something into the mix that creates a pursuit of questions that have to be answered, when you have how many media here, john? 5,000, 10,000? all pursuing answers to unanswered questions. just keeps this story roiling and does everything that they don't want in terms of the overall message. which one would have to say has been absent for the most part the first two nights of the campaign. >> that is what they don't want. is this what donald trump wants? i think that's the central question. >> you make a key point. we talked about this for month as he's gone through the primary and establishment first said come on it's a joke. then they realized he's a threat. then they realized we can't take him out. he is the republican nominee for

president. that is a fact. that is not going to change. donald trump will lead the republican ticket in the fall. one of the questions a lot of republicans have is is this -- is he going to be our leader. is he going to make it about the republicans is he going to worry about the governors, house and senate and coordinate on message and talk about cutting taxes or is this about the trumps? that is the key question. >> don't we know the answer to that at this point? every indication is he doesn't care about those things. if there is a real message from the trump campaign about what this campaign -- what this election should be about, we haven't really heard it yet. other than we do not want hillary clinton as president. maybe donald trump doesn't have enough to say about some of those big issues beyond what we've heard which are slogans for the most part. he's more comfortable in an environment of chaos even if it seems like it's bad for him. >> dan put it aptly in a column a few months ago. trump has basically borrowed the

party label. and it's a lease with an option to buyia cou you could say. a lot of folks are going to hope he doesn't buy it. >> to the point we talked earlier, mr. trump operates differently. people are saying that's not where you go. mr. trump says i'm happy there, let's do this. whether it's bill clinton's personal life. attacks on fellow republicans, even as he comes to the convention he's airing old grievances against his primary rivals. tradition is you turn the page and focus on the general election. today on cnn's new day, chris cuomo had a conversation with paul manafort. why do you keep asking me questions nothing happened. donald trump tweeting here on his way here and donald trump knows the statement is in the works. when donald trump gets on the plane, and he's on his way to new york the day after someone offers her resignation and she

said can i put out a statement. he knows the statement is coming. and he gets on the plane and tweets good news is melania's speech got more publicity than any in the history of politics especially if you believe all press is good press. that's the last part. he believes, am i wrong? somebody help me. all press is good press. >> i completely agree with dan. we know the answer to your question of what is the donald trump campaign about, is it more about donald trump or about the republican party? i think yesterday when paul ryan and mitch mcconnell got on that stage, if they knew, if they had a clear message that they were hearing from donald trump, that would have been reflected in their speech. but it wasn't. that's why they rarely mentioned donald trump. as you mentioned, dan. and that's why they all sort of resort to the only thing that they can resort to, which is hillary clinton. >> all right. the his is day three of the convention, this is supposed to be the night mike pence introduces himself to the nation. we all know mike pence. he was a former congressman he's

the governor of indiana. a lot of conservatives in the convention hall have doubts about donald trump are happy with the pick. phil mattingly is inside the hall. on a night when we're going to hear from mike pence and more of the trump children. we're going to hear from three of the men donald trump vanquished in the primaries we're talking again about melania trump and plagiarism. >> on top of all that, the day after a very positive night for the trump campaign where donald trump jr. gave a well-regarded well-received speech. a lot of republicans wondering if he was going to be running for office someday. i think the interesting thing, john, you pointed out donald trump's tweet. i want to tell you having worked on the story, covered the story been talking to official and republicans, kind of across the spectrum over the course of the last 24 hours. you've been hearing from trump advisors move on. you're harping on this for no reason whatsoever. they were campaigning we were wasting too much time on it and donald trump tweets about it. you noted all press is good press was donald trump's message

on this. and then you have the staffer come out and essentially knowledge that not only was this her mistake but it was, in fact plag plagiarism. i was told from surrogates that a memo was sent out yesterday, essentially hammering the point out you're going to give not a single inch when it comes to the story. as you know, that has been a strategy of the campaign throughout the course of donald trump's campaign. this is the first time we've seen them take a step back and maybe acknowledge some wrong doing. it will be interesting to see the fallout of that going forward. the biggest issue remains this is day three, following a fairly successful end of day two, and we're still talking about day one. >> still talking. phil stay with me. i'm wandering into brian skelter's territory. it's a question of trust. should they let donald trump, who has never held political

office should he be commander in chief? some in the campaign would come with him into government. you talked to campaign aides and they say you're nuts. the press is making a mountain out of a mole hill. nothing is here, move on. minutes later, minutes later, the campaign releases a statement that says, actually, it did happen. and the candidates tweeting something contrary to what his aides are saying stop talking about this move on. how do you do your job is my question when somebody tells you something who has a title like campaign chairman or communications director when your experience is the second i report this, share with the american people, who knows what the candidates going to do? >> it's complicated. i think that it has -- there have been a lot of times over the course of the last 11 or 12 months where reporters have felt very burned by the campaign. i would say this, though, john, a lot of times, it's not necessarily a deliberate effort by certain staffers. it's because the campaign as you're laying out isn't operating as kind of a

monolithic organization. there are different pieces inside the campaign. and there is one very large piece inside the campaign, that is generally going to do whatever it is he wants to do. i think that's where we've run into a lot of problems. i think that's where they've run into a lot of problems. when you talk about republicans on the floor, i talked to one press secretary yesterday who was joking around with me. he said this is so great i'm at the republican national convention and my boss gets to be asked by plagiarism all day long. it steps on the message of the campaign and republicans across the country. a lot of whom are running in elections themselves. that's the bigger problem here, john. >> it's a key point you make about it's not deliberate by the campaign staffers, at least in most cases. i understand a lot of staffers who said yes yes and later their governor and bill clinton became president and said no no no. thanks for that. let's come back to this in the sense that does it matter? donald trump comes to this convention, he has two big missions. one is to unify the party.

again, we talked a little bit about it before we got the breaking news. a lot of the people in the hall get it. they have questions is he going to work with us to help in the house and senate. because of his past as a democrat and independent, does he really care about what we care about? movement conservatism state rights lower taxes. he's got that challenge in the hall. he has everybody else watching at home unfavorable ratings off the charts. a deficit with women voters, latino voters, a ditch you might say. african-american voters, questions about because he's never held elected office. people are looking around the world, a coup in turkey and nice, france, is this in donald trump's interest? to essentially encourage us or at least laugh at the fact that we're still talking about this by saying in a tweet, good news, good -- all press is good press. you have business to do when you come to your convention as the nominee. is he getting his business done? >> i think this controversial

doesn't matter for the things that he cares about. the people in the room who love him and the people who voted for him and the media coverage he's getting. the folks who are trump fans who will tell me on twitter all day, suddenly michelle obama is the greatest idol one could have. this is what will happen. it does matter the the public and conservative activists and establishment types to get on board. i'm not sure that's a priority for him. >> john, i would say that lots of americans will think that the media is overplaying this. because they think that about a lot of what we do. they think the priorities of our coverage are way off what they think is important. and you have to respect that. but to the points you raised, one, what has happened this week in terms of unifying the party. everything we're seeing is that this party is not particularly more unified except around the question of hillary clinton than they were when they arrived. and what's been happening this week is giving pause to people

who might have been saying we really have to unify. the second is, what is going out from the stage every night to reach out to a broader audience. on that you would have to say very little. >> very little. we're going to take a quick break and continue to follow the breaking news. the trump campaign after days of saying melania trump did nothing wrong has released a statement acknowledging inside the campaign that passages from michelle obama's speech did make their way. an innocent mistake into melania's speech. donald trump is on his way to cleveland on day three. our breaking news coverage will continue in just a moment.

kellogg's® frosted 8 layers of wheat... and one that's sweet. for the adult and kid in all of us. ♪ kellogg's frosted mini-wheats® feed your inner kidult my son and i used to watch the red carpet shows on tv now, i'm walking them. life is unpredictable being flake free isn't. because i have used head and shoulders for 20 years. used regularly, it removes up to 100% of flakes keeping you protected live flake free for life

perfect driving record. until one of you clips a food truck. then your rates go through the roof. perfect. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. and if you do have an accident, our claims centers are available to assist you twenty-four seven. call

for a free quote today. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. our partnership with habitat for humanity at pg&e, we believe solar should be accessible to everyone. allows us to provide the benefits of solar power

to the types of customers who need it most. pg&e provided all of the homes here with solar panels. the solar savings can mean a lot, especially for low-income families. with the savings that i am getting from the solar panels, it's going to help me to have a better future for my children. to learn how you can save energy and money with solar, go to pge.com/solar. together, we're building a better california. welcome back. our special convention edition of inside politics breaking news as donald trump makes his way here to cleveland. he's officially the republican nominee for president and his

campaign trying to close the door, at least turn the page on a controversy that's dominated the convention. monday night his wife spoke at the convention, the next day it turns out she had plagiarized michelle obama's speech from 2008. a top aide has now offered to resign. maeve reston is with us. explain what happened and inside the campaign what they think finally releasing the statement and acknowledging something did go wrong will -- how will it affect things? >> just as you said, john, clearly they're trying to get past the controversy after it dominated the news cycle for 48 hours. we've been talking to many sources yesterday trying to figure out how these passages got into melania's speech. we knew she had consulted a number of people. no one was stepping forward. a few minutes ago we got a

statement from someone who worked would druonald trump wit his books, meredith mcgiver. apparently melania spoke to her asked for her guidance in helping with the speech this is the way she describes how this went down. as an innocent mistake, i'm going to read the statement to you -- in working with melania trump on her recent first lady speech, we discussed many people who inspired here and messages she wanted to share with the american people. a person she has always liked is michelle obama, over the phone she read me some passages from mrs. obama's speech as examples. i wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech. i did not check mrs. obama's speeches. this was my mistake i feel tear fr -- terrible for the chaos i created. no harm was meant.

yesterday i offered my resignation to mr. trump and the trump family but they rejected it. mr. trump told me we learn from our mistakes and i apologize for the confusion and hysteria my mistake has caused. obviously, this is critically important from the campaign. they want to make it clear this was not melania's error this was the staffer's error. it shows you how loyal donald trump is to the people who have worked for him. and they're looking to move past the controversy now. talk about the big topics that they want the american people to focus on this week and move past what's been a very embarrassing episode for the trump campaign this week. john? >> maeve reston with us with the breaks news as donald trump makes his way here. she mentioned the loyalty part. donald trump made his name in television saying you're fired. this woman who is saying this is all my fault worked on a book before. she said she wrote down the

passages that melania trump read to her and ended up in the speech. that's an inexcusable mistake. but campaign 101. it means nobody at a high level vetted that speech. after -- whether it's, you know, whoever writes it, peggy noonan writes this speech for ronald reagan it gets vetted by somebody at the convention. >> two tracks the campaign would look at it and the convention organizers would look at it. by the way, the folks running the convention across the street, have done these campaigns -- these conventions for decades. they have this thing down minute by minute. and there typically is a very exacting standard for how the speeches are crafted and what goes into them and how it is presented on the stage. and the fact that a trump organization employee sort of jotted down notes, wrote something and then it was beamed to millions of people across the world from the stage the other night is the best illustration yet of just how different the trump campaign is.

>> it's just abject political malpractice and failure in the conventional sense of politics. but it perhaps not as reality tv and drama. but this is a real problem. >> i thought we'd talk about this hour and i thought we would talk about mike pence tonight. we won't have a time for it. chris christie challenging ted cruz get over it endorse. we thought we'd talk about that. we're going to talk more about melania trump. for all the focus on what she said that was borrowed from michelle obama. i want to go back to the speech. she said something in her speech that i think nailed, nailed the trump campaign. >> there would be good times and hard times. and unexpected turns. it would not be a trump contest without excitement and drama.

>> you know, sometimes -- a never have obama's words been so cheered at a republican convention and b that was perfect. >> the next round of this is the spokes people will say i can't believe you guys are still talking about this. you talk about hillary's lies. while they'll have a point the point is moot because you brought it up again. >> if i could share something, this controversy happened because there was not campaign official dedicated to handling melania's speech and maybe there was somebody outside the campaign handling the speech. i was texting with a senior trump official during the break and asking that line in the statement about melania admiring and liking michelle obama, was there any deliberation about that line and including that line this campaign official responded not to my knowledge. the fact the statement apparently wasn't really closely vetted and they decided to keep that line in is remarkable. >> as we close, as this is

discussed now and in the next couple of hours, is it over when the gavel goes down tonight? does this close the door? >> probably not. i think that by doing this today they have given themselves an opportunity to have a clean last night of the convention. as you know, the nominee speech is 80% of how a convention is judged. if they can do that they're fine. we know there will be another episode of something else coming up. >> you say they might get a clean night. whose night is that? >> donald. >> thanks for coming in. that's it for inside politics. thanks for sharing your time today. we'll see you tonight from the convention hall. back here same time tomorrow. our breaking news continues in just a moment with wolf. mary buys a little lamb. one of millions of orders on this company's servers.

accessible by thousands of suppliers and employees globally. but with cyber threats on the rise, mary's data could be under attack. with the help of at&t, and security that senses and mitigates cyber threats, their critical data is safer than ever. giving them the agility to be open & secure. because no one knows & like at&t. tempur-breeze bed is it's cool. you're not too hot, too cold, you're just perfect. you just get in and it naturally adapts to your body and creates the perfect temperature for you. (vo) sleep cooler, wake more refreshed. discover the new temper-breeze. approaching medicare eligibility? you may think you can put off checking out your medicare options until you're sixty-five, but now is a good time to get the ball rolling. keep in mind, medicare only covers about eighty percent of part b medical costs.

the rest is up to you. that's where aarp medicare supplement insurance plans insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company come in. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they could help pay some of what medicare doesn't, saving you in out-of-pocket medical costs. you've learned that taking informed steps along the way really makes a difference later. that's what it means to go long™. call now and request this free decision guide. it's full of information on medicare and the range of aarp medicare supplement plans to choose from based on your needs and budget. all plans like these let you choose any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients, and there are no network restrictions. unitedhealthcare insurance company has over thirty years experience and the commitment to roll along with you, keeping you on course. so call now and discover how an aarp medicare supplement plan could go long™ for you.

these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. plus, nine out of ten plan members surveyed say they would recommend their plan to a friend. remember, medicare doesn't cover everything. the rest is up to you. call now, request your free decision guide and start gathering the information you need to help you keep rolling with confidence. go long™. ♪ [so i use quickbooks and run mye entire business from the cloud. i keep an eye on sales and expenses from anywhere. even down here in the dark i can still see we're having a great month. and celebrate accordingly. i run on quickbooks.that's how i own it.

hello i'm wolf blitzer in 1:00 p.m. in cleveland. where you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. we have breaking news this hour, we're learning new details right now about the speech writer responsible for melania trump's convention speech monday night which appears to have lines directly lifted from michelle obama's 2008 speech. this as we are just moments away from republican presidential nominee donald trump's arrival here in cleveland. looking at live pictures right now. he'll be with his running mate governor mike pence of indiana and his family. we'll bring that to you live. stand by for that. also this hour, senator ted cruz, he's set to speak here in cleveland as well any minute now