with his standing with the conservative movement. >> some of the criticism on you from conservatives is you're not a real conservative. when you hear that, some of them will argue on social policies that you're not a real conservative. is it just different brands of conservatism that's out there and you just have a different brand or do you think they have a point? >> well, i think they have a point from years ago, but they also have that same point with ronald reagan, who was a democrat absolutely with a liberal bent. and ronald reagan became, you know, not only a republican but a pretty conservative republican. not the most, but a pretty conservative republican and he's somebody that i actually knew and liked and he liked me. i worked with him and helped him. but i think that when you get right down to it, people do evolve on different issues. and i've -- you know, i'm pro-life and i was begrudgingly the other way. but when those questions were asked and that was many, many years ago, i wasn't a politician. >> should some form of abortion always be legal? >> well, to me i have

exceptions, rape, incest, if the mother is going to die, and ronald reagan had those same exceptions and many republicans have those same exceptions. but i say rape, incest -- >> what about health of the mother? >> i said actually if the mother is close to death. i'm talking about death. if -- you know, because then you sort of say, well, maybe she's not -- >> what is the constitutional right between the mother and the unborn child? whose constitutional rights matter more? >> my statement on that happens to be the -- you know, if the mother will die and you're going to know that and the problem with the life, if you say life, what does life mean? you have a cold and you're going to end up having an abortion. so i have the three exceptions and pretty much the standard three exceptions that many republicans have. >> you were pretty -- you were somewhat defending planned parenthood earlier this week. it struck me that there was a time planned parenthood was not seen as a very political organization. do you ever -- were you ever a donor? >> i don't know. i mean i don't know, but it's

possible. i give to so many -- i give to so many organizations over the years. hundreds of millions of dollars. so i don't know. i don't think so, but it's possible somewhere -- >> it wouldn't have surprised you if you had? >> well, look, planned parenthood had to stop with the abortions. a lot of people consider it an abortion clinic. i think those tapes that i saw, the five tapes or six tapes, i thought they were outrageous, i think they were terrible, disgust buying any standpoint, and they have to stop. >> does it bother you that they were edited? >> well, i don't know about them being edited. whatever i saw was terrible. i mean it was terrible. in particular i didn't like the attitude of the people. they talked about it almost like we're making wijdgets or gadget and it was not appropriate. >> you don't think there should be a government showdown, shutdown over planned parenthood? >> i wouldn't fund it if they have the abortion going on the and it's been a big factor. you hear all different numbers. they say it's 3%, other people say it's 85%, that's a big

difference. >> would you shut down the government over this dispute? >> i would not fund if they're doing abortions. >> but as you know there could be a stalemate in congress. is it worth shutting down the government? >> that's something i'd have to think about to be honest with you. i don't want to give a hard and fast answer to that. it bothers me greatly that they're doing the abortions. at the same time, women's health issues are very important to me. >> let's go foreign affairs. you want to knock the hell out of isis, how? >> i want to take away their wealth. for years i've been saying don't go into iraq. they went into iraq, destabilized the middle east and they did that. i said iran will take over iraq, which is happening, as sure as you're sitting there, and isis is taking over a lot of the oil in certain areas of iraq. and i said you take away their wealth. go and knock the hell out of the oil. take back the oil. we take over the oil, which we should have done in the first place. >> you're talking about maybe 25,000? >> we're going to have so much money.

what i would do with the money that we make, which would be tremendous, i would take care of the soldiers that were killed, the families of the soldiers that were killed, the soldiers, the wounded warriors that are -- see, i love them and they're walking all over the streets of new york, all over the streets of every city without arms, without legs and worse than that. and i would take care of them. they paid a big price -- >> so america should take over these oil fields. shouldn't be given to the iraqis? >> we can give them something but definitely take back money for our soldiers. we've had soldiers that were decimated, so badly hurt, the wounded warriors, and killed, of course. but we've had soldiers who were so badly hurt and killed, i want their families to get something because we got nothing out of that war. we spent $2 trillion, chuck. we had thousands of people killed. wounded warriors all over the place, they got nothing. and they can't even say we had a victory. >> who do you talk to for military advice right now? >> well, i watch the shows. i really see a lot of great -- when you watch your show and all of the other shows and you have the generals and you have

certain people that you like -- >> but is there a go-to for you? >> probably there are two or three. probably there are two or three. i like bolton, i think he's a tough cookie, knows what he's talking about. jacobs. >> you mean ambassador boldon. >> colonel jack jacobs is a good guy. >> you wrote this in 2011 about saudi arabia. the world's biggest furnished of terrorism punls our dollars, our very own money, to fund the terrorists. what are u.s./saudi relations going to look like under a trump administration? >> well, the primary reason we're with saudi arabia is because we need the oil. now we don't need the oil so much. if we let our people really go, we wouldn't need the oil at all and let everybody else fight it out. saudi arabia is going to be in big trouble pretty soon and they're going to need help. if you look at yemen and you look at that border, you don't have to be an expert to know that is one long border and they're not going in for yemen,

they're going in for the oil and saudi arabia. so saudi arabia is going to need help. like it or don't like it, people have backed saudi arabia. what i really mind, though, is we back it at tremendous expense. we get nothing for it and they're making a billion dollars a day. >> we do have a running theme here. you believe the u.s. should -- you're okay with the u.s. bowing the world's police. >> we should police and be re reimbursed. >> it turns our military into a mercenary force. >> we are a debtor nation. we owe now $1.9 trillion. i've been saying $1.8. it's soon going to be $2.4 trillion. that's like a point that whether you believe in the great economists or not, that seems to be a point of no return. that's where we're greece on steroids, okay. we're going to be there very soon. why are we doing all of this -- these are wealthy countries. they will give us, if we have the right messenger, they will give us.

it's like this horrible deal with iran. this deal, if you had the right -- you'd have the prisoners back years ago. >> iran will still get money. but let me ask you this. i understand there's a lot of people that are critical of the deal. but could you -- what deal can you come up with that wouldn't give iran money? >> okay. >> wouldn't give them sanction money. >> by the way, we will never give you back your money, never get your $150 billion. you're never getting your money back, number one. number two, before you start negotiations, you have to give us three prisoners, now it's four. you have to give us back without question, you have to give them back. and you know what, you don't want them but we do. it's psychologically good and will help us make a better deal together, that's good for you. i would have told them up front you'll never get your $150 billion back. they are going to be such a wealthy, such a powerful nation, they're going to have nuclear weapons. they are going to take over parts of the world that you wouldn't believe. and i think it's going to lead to nuclear holocaust. i will say this, the people that

negotiated that deal, namely kerry and his friends, are incompetent. >> what do you do on day one, though -- >> i've heard a lot of people say we're going to rip up the deal. it's very tough to do when you say rip the deal. let me tell you. but i will police that deal. i've taken over some bad contracts. i buy contracts where people have screwed up and they have bad contracts. >> but you have to abide by it. >> i'm good at looking at a contract and finding things in a contract even though they're bad. i would police that contract so tough that they don't have a chance. as bad as the contract is, i will be so tough on that contract -- >> so the deal lives in a trump administration. you're just going to be -- >> well, it's very hard to say we're ripping up. the problem is boy the time i got in there, they will have already received the $150 billion. do you know if the deal gets rejected they still get the money, which is something i found out a week ago. i couldn't believe it. if the deal gets rejected, they still get all of this money. iran is going to be unbelievably powerful and unbelievably rich

and israel is in big trouble. israel is in big trouble. obama has really let israel down. >> if you get evidence they're working on a nuclear weapon, you order air strikes immediately? >> i don't want to really say. i would be so tough, you wouldn't believe it but i don't want to really say. if i win and now i'm leading in every single poll. even you will agree to that, right? local, national, iowa, new hampshire, everything. if i win, i don't want to really be talking too much about -- obama talks too much about what he's going to do. we're going to raid here, we're going to do this. general mcarthur, general patton, they didn't talk. they got the job done. >> so that was part one. i've got the panel here. don't worry, more trump interview coming up in the show. jeff greenfield, now contributes to politico and the daily beast, molly ball, politics writer, kimler be strossel and eugene robinson. the trump campaign has contacted me and said on planned parenthood they can't find any

evidence he gave any money for the past 20 years. jeff greenfield, what did you learn? >> first i learned that he has moved to a slightly more subtle level than in the opening rounds. he actually said i have to think about that. that's not a sentence that easily comes to donald trump's mind. not sure about that. the first vague hint of nuance, which is another word i don't associate with him. i must say that the answer to the question you asked him about where he gets his military and defense advice, he watches shows. once again, i think for an ordinary political person, that would have consequences. it's just that i've been so wrong about what was going to hurt donald trump for so long, that maybe his supporters will say that's a good place to figure out your military strategy, i'll watch television. >> here's the thing, a lot of his supporters do watch a lot of television. right, molly? >> they seem to. look, he is capable of seeming to give details while actually being very slippery. he didn't actually answer a lot of your questions there.

he said, well, it's this or it's that or he'll say two contradictory things but he fill busters in a way that it sounds like he's answering the question in a high level of dough taetai because he uses a lot of words. >> kimberly, did he make the case to conservatives that he's a conservative. >> ever since the debate you see that he's decided he's going to be a real candidate. he's putting out some policy details, building up his organization in iowa, he's going to be a candidate. the question is whether or not that doesn't hurt him more in the end with conservatives. you look at the conservative electorate over the last decade, it's gone through this evolution, tea party change. and what they have decided is that they are generally demanding more principled candidate and they also want to win. and when you listen to him, it's very hard when you hear the answers to some of these questions. they don't necessarily fall in line with what the conservative electorate has been asking for from candidates over time. it's not just single payer, but all kinds of things. >> gene, if you could, if you had to sum up what you learned

about his foreign policy philosophy, did you find, is he an interventionist, an isolationist? what is he? what did you get from it? >> well, you know, he's donald trump. he's himself. and the selling point of his candidacy is i'm donald trump. and it's not about his specific policies, and, you know, you're right, that was a very weak answer on where do you get your military advice but it's really not about where he gets his military advice. it's about i can make a better deal. i can go in and take the oil. don't worry about the details, i'll figure it out. i'm not going to talk a lot about exactly how i'm going to do x and y because that would be foolish, i know how to make a deal. that's the donald trump candidacy. and i actually think he's been very consistent and sort of single-minded about that fact. the simple fact of his candidacy. >> jeff, you brought up nuance. i thought the most fascinating answer was his iran answer. that i'm going to accept the

agreement. and i'm going to -- that was a very believable answer to him. i know how to read a contract, i know how to find loopholes. >> and that's two things. one, that's another thing that could set some of those conservatives off because the set line is rip the deal off right after i finish swearing myself in or whatever. and the other part about that is that you're getting the sense that he's torn. i mean one point he knows that it would be useful to be more reasonable. on the other hand, i think this may be the mantra of the whole campaign, he's donald trump. i keep coming back to what mark cuban, his fellow reality guy said very early in the game. it doesn't matter what he's saying, you're missing the point. >> but also what he said was very realistic. you tear up the deal on day one, everybody else is following the deal. iranians already have the money, some very realistic answers. >> but it also shows a lack of understanding. he doesn't get to enforce this deal. international nuclear inspectors

enforce this deal. so -- >> and that does come through the more you talk about foreign policy. let me take a break here. we've got more of the trump entinterview interview, a little more domestic issues coming up, including and revealing [ male announcer ] whether it takes 200,000 parts, ♪ 800,000 hours of supercomputing time, 3 million lines of code, 40,000 sets of eyes, or a million sleepless nights. whether it's building the world's most advanced satellite, the space station, or the next leap in unmanned systems. at boeing, one thing never changes. our passion to make it real. ♪ have you touched the stuff?. our passion to make it real. it's evil. and ladders. sfx: [screams] they have all those warnings on 'em. might as well say... 'you're gonna die, jeff.'

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welcome back. few things donald trump said during the campaign has attracted more attention than negative comments about mexican immigrants. he's light on detail about how he would address illegal immigration. yesterday on his plane he handed me his immigration plan, about an eight-page plan. he wants to end the automatic right of citizenship for anyone born in the country. that's probably the biggest news in the plan. he plans to immediately rescind president obama's order to stop undocumented children. >> the executive order gets rescinded. one good -- >> you'll rescind that one, too? you'll rescind the dream act, daca? >> we have to make a whole new set of standards. and when people come in, they have to -- >> you'll split up families,

deport children? >> no, we'll keep the families together. we have to keep the families together. >> but you're going to kick them out? >> they have to go. >> what if they have no place to go. >> we will work with them. we have to go. chuck, we either have a country or we don't have a country. >> how do you do it? >> the question of look at what we have right now? >> the question of doing it -- >> let me ask you this -- >> but how do you do it? >> do you think there's cost for illegals? >> of course there'sk$s1í;a/r?n >> tremendous. do you think there's tremendous crime being committed by illegals? >> there's definitely evidence it's happened. >> and you see it all over. just last night. all over. we will do it and we will expedite it so people can come back in. >> it's still not clear. >> chuck, chuck, it will work out so well. you'll be so happy. in four years you're going to be interviewing me and say, what a great job you've done, president trump. >> coming up, my lightning round with donald trump including whether he believes president obama is a u.s. citizen. and then there's this little

nugget, i asked him why he felt it was necessary to constantly remind people that he attended the wharton school of finance. his response. >> look fishgs were a liberal democrat people would say i'm a super genius of all time. if you're a conservative republican, have you to fight for your life. it's really amazing. >> announcer: "meet the press" is brought to you by morgan is brought to you by morgan stanley, where capital crea two streetlights. is brought to you by morgan stanley, where capital crea the only difference: that little blue thingy. you see it? that's a sensor. using ge software, the light can react to its environment- getting brighter only when it's needed. in a night, it saves a little energy. but, in a year it saves a lot. and the other street? it's been burning energy all night. for frank. frank's a cat. now, two things that are exactly the same, have never been more different. ge software. get connected. get insights. get optimized. you forgot the milk!

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welcome back. as everyone knows, donald trump has a lot of opinions about a lot of things. i did sort of a lightning round on issues with him, starting with his role in the birther movement, questioning president obama's citizenship four years ago. let me go through some grab bags. what launched our relationship, shall we say, is -- was back four years ago. do you believe president obama is a citizen who was born in the united states? >> well, i don't like talking about it anymore because, honestly, i have my own feelings. i think he should have taken the $5 million. i don't know why he spent $4 million in legal fees to keep his records away. >> i'm talking about the birth certificates. >> maybe the hackers have his records. it will be very -- i mean, his college records. he spent $4 million in legal

fees to make sure nobody -- >> you want him to release his. would you release all his? >> i'm proud of mooi my records. if he does it, i'll do it. >> president obama tried to put a ban on lobbyists working in the administration. would do you that? >> that's a pretty good idea. these guys get out and they almost meetly go to work for a company and they have power they shouldn't have. look, when jeb bush raises $114 million, i know those people that gave him the money. i used to be one of them. i gave to everybody. i know those people. he's like a puppet for those people. he's a puppet. those people will take negative ads on me and other people because they want him in there because they're going to control jeb bush. not only jeb, they're going to control hillary. she raised $16 million plus. they'll control whoever is in. the lobbyists and special interests and donors have -- >> so it will work in the trump administration, a ban? >> yeah. i would have a ban. you can't put a lifetime ban but you can certain make it three, four years. >> what is a fair living wage?

what's fair? >> i want to keep the minimum wage pretty much where it is right now because we have a country that is now competing more than ever before because of airplanes and transportation and internet -- >> we have to -- >> we can't compete with the rest of the world. i want to compete with the rest of the world. what i do want to do is bring in jobs so much so that people don't have to live on minimum wage, but we have to compete with the rest of world. >> facebook question. residents of the direct of columbia currently pay federal taxes but have a nonvoting delegate in the house of representatives. should that policy continue as is? should d.c. become a state? should it not have to pay taxes? should it be treated like puerto rico? >> i have a conflict of interest because i'm building at the old post office what i think will be one of the great hotels of the world. it will open unlike our government, under budget and ahead of schedule. like the wall will be under budget, ahead of schedule and nobody is getting through that wall, believe me.

so i have a little conflict. i would like do-to-do whatever is right for the direct of columbia. it's funny. i've really gotten to know the people, the representatives, mayor there, they are special people and they're great. they have a great feeling. i would say whatever's best for them. i'm for. i have a total conflict of interest. >> your slogan, we'll hear it a lot today at the fair, we're going to make america great again. when was -- when was the last time america was great? >> i would say during the administration of ronald reagan you felt proud to be an american up. felt really proud. i don't think since then to any great extent people were proud. >> let me ask you this, i'm not trying to play a little gotcha here. in 1987 you took out a full-page ad during the reagan administration and you said this, for decades and japan and other nations have been taking advantage of the united states. on message. consistent. the world is laughing at america's politicians as we protect ships we don't own, carrying oil we don't need destined for allies who won't

help. messagewise, very consistent. but -- >> from day one, including during the reagan -- >> let's -- >> nafta -- >> let's not let our great country be laughed at anymore. if that was the last time america was great then, you didn't think america was great then. >> i thought america was excellent. i thought nafta was a huge mistake, a terrible mistake, but i think he set a tone that was an excellent tone for this country. i disagree with some of his -- >> looking back you seemed to like it, but at the time -- >> looking back i liked it more. >> this was a fiery guy. donald trump of 1987. >> it's the same guy. >> i'll give you consistency. >> if you could win as an independent, would you be more -- >> no i want to run. >> i get why you don't want to run as an independent because you probably wouldn't win. it's hard. >> look, somebody was asking me that question the other day times 50. >> i understand. >> i'm hearing it all the time. >> i know. >> i'm running as a republican. i'm leading by double digits for -- >> just say i'm going to stay as

a republican. why is it so hard? >> because i'm not prepared to close that door yet but i wouldn't be surprised if some day in the not too distant future it happens. they're treating me very well. i just want to be treated fairly. i'm a person that believes in leverage. >> i was amused about this excerpt from yourplayboy" interview of 1990. the question asked what does all this mean, the yacht, bronze tower, casino, that what does it mean for you? you replied, props for the show. they said, what show is that? you replied, the show is trump and it has sold out performances everywhere. >> it has been for a long time. >> are we part of a show? >> no. >> you know some of the criticisms, we all feel like -- are we in a reality show? >> no, this isn't a reality -- this is the real deal. >> you did smile when i read the show quote because it resonated with you. >> look, my life has been an interesting life. i've had a lot of fun. i'm leading the polls. i go on your show, it's the high

hess ratings in years. look at fox, look what happened to fox. i mean, it's a whole, crazy thing going on. and all i care about, and this is 100% truthful, i love this country and i want to make it great again. and it's not going to be great if we keep going the way we're going, we're going to be third world. we probably already are. you look at our airports, roads, bridges, schools, our school system. we spend more on individual students than anybody else. we're 25 in the world. we have to fix our country. we have to make our country great again. >> let me bring back the panel. molly ball, one thing i -- and i was going to give him credit for there, which is, there is a consistency to his complaints about government, which is trade. >> there absolutely is. this has been a long-term consistency, as you noted. i think we talk about, is he going to alienate conservatives with this policy and so on. i don't think his real audience is conservative-based voters. i think his voters is broader

set alienated blue-collar people, upset with china, upset about trade, immigration. the continuity between the china complaints and immigration complaints is there is a feeling the reason we're losing blue-collar jobs is because of these two factors. he appeals to a lot of people loosely connected to politics, don't have ideological litmus tests on all these issues we try to trip him up on but someone who is strong, tough and takes charge with the force of personality and that is what he offers. >> jeff, you and i were talking about this historically, he's a nationalist. and he's in line with other infamous and famous businessmen who turned to politics and preached nationalism. >> i would broaden it out a little bit. here's yet another thing i missed. not sure what i'm doing here with all these misses but there is a strain in this country of looking at really wealthy people who are outside of politics and thinking, that's the answer. henry ford was seriously

considered as a president, ross per perot, both romneys. it's in that answer about lobbyists. i can't be bought and i'm too rich to steal. and all these other people, one way or another, are groping for money from people who want influence. that's what he said in that first debate. that and kimberly's -- and molly both, you're exactly right. that's not necessarily a conservative appeal at all. it is populist. when it's linked to his rhetoric on immigration and birtherism of three years ago, that's another long and fairly ignoble tradition. that's an interesting brew. >> but it's not just the money thing. it's the outsider question. look who else did well in that poll? you had carly fiorina, ben carson. the americans out there are just very unhappy in general with washington. they want someone who is outside of that perspective. and go back -- go back, by the way, to 2011 at this time, who was heading in the polls? herman cain.

>> and they say, you should dismiss it. >> no, because he has tapped into things that do matter. the immigration things. the things he proposed is not going to fix the immigration problem up. see real anger out there. other republicans realizing they have to address it and that has had an influence on the race. >> he worked with senator jeff sessions, that's who they used -- who is probably the hardest line immigration activist in the senate. go ahead. >> another trump appeal is people who think all politicians are a bunch of clowns, who are -- who make promises they're not going to keep and who take themselves far too seriously. donald trump is kind of a clown, makes promises he's not going to keep. he doesn't take himself that seriously. like, he pulls back the curtain on -- >> oddly authentic about it. >> right. this is all kind of a game, they're all -- they're telling you this because this is what you want to hear. let me show you how it really works. >> by the way, there's a lot more to the interview.

we talked nato, what would happen if saudi arabia erupted into a civil war. a lot more you want to see. check it out on our website, of course. by the way, we have his plan, his new immigration plan pipts already up on the website as well. a little more details there. when we come back, we're going to change things up, the democrats. hillary clinton's growing trouble has led to the rise of th at ally bank no branches equals great rates. it's a fact. kind of like shopping hungry equals overshopping.

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welcome back. to understand what's going on in the democratic primary, have you to sample the mood on the ground. from my days in iowa, it's clear to me the bernie sanders apool is very real as he attracts huge crowds. senator joins me from iowa. senator, welcome back to "meet the press." >> thank you. >> i have to say i was both in clear lake, watched you there, watched you on the soap box yesterday where you had so many people, the fair stopped. forget trump, forget hillary clinton, i think you might have had the biggest crowd yesterday. why do you think you're resonating at this point and how do you take this from being a movement that seems big in august and how do you keep it from fading five months from now? >> chuck, i think we are resonating all over this country and here in iowa because we're talking about issues that are life and death issues to the american people.

and that is the collapse of the american middle class, the massive and grotesque level of income and wealth and inequality in this country, the fact we are the only major country on earth that doesn't guarantee health care to all people, the fact that millions of working class families are now finding it very, very difficult to send their kids to college. and the basic fact the people are working longer hours for lower wages and meanwhile, all the new income and wealth is going to the top 1%. then you add to that a campaign finance system as a result of citizens united that allows billionaire families like the koch brothers and others to literally buy politicians and corrupt the american political process. >> you know, senator -- >> add all that together and the american people are saying, enough is enough. >> the last time i had you on and i asked you about what do you think of the comparisons between the what's happening with you and whether there were similarities of trump, you were

dismisses ive of it. i can't tell you how many people came up and said positive things about you and trump at same time. using things like the campaign money exampler and the outsider. what do you think you have in common with the trump voter? forget trump, but the trump voter. >> yeah, but here's the difference, you know, i'm not a billionaire. my family doesn't have a whole lot of money. we are raising our campaign contributions from 350,000 people, who are contributing, chuck, on average $31.20 apiece. that's our response, to get out to working class people, to go out to middle class people and gain support. i think that's a little bit different approach than donald trump's. >> buzzfeed has an article out this morning. headlines is sanders' campaign reaches out to black lives matter activists. quote, i apologize it took our campaign so long. tell me more about it. >> well, that was sent out by a staffer, not by me.

look, we are reaching out to all kinds of groups, absolutely. i met with people at black lives matter. we're reaching out to latino groups. we're reaching out to the unions. we're fighting to expand social security and we're reaching out to senior groups. we're reaching out to health care groups because we believe that everybody in america is entitled to health care. we're reaching out to everybody. on this issue of black lives matter, let me be very clear, the issue they are raising is a very, very important issue. there is no candidate for president who will be stronger in fighting against institutional racism and, by the way, reforming a broken criminal justice system. chuck, we have more people in jail in the united states of america than any country on earth. and we need real changes. we need to do away with the militarization of local police departments. we need to do away with minimum sentencing. we needed indication and jobs for our young people rather than jails and incarceration. >> i understand that. you said a staffer put it out but you felt an apology was necessary?

>> no. i don't. i think we're going to be working with all groups. this was sent out without my knowledge. >> fair enough. let me ask you something that martin o'malley said. clearly was a reference to you earlier this week. i don't think it's a problem for the democratic party but it might be a problem long term for senator sanders. i'm a life-long democrat and i believe in the principles of our party, that's why i choose to be a democrat, not just in presidential years but every years of my life. this reference that you have not become a registered member of the democratic party. what do you say in response? >> legally in the state of vermont you can't legally become a member. you vote in the democratic primary. have i done that and supported and helped democratic candidates for governor in my state. i have been a member of the democratic caucus for 25 years, in the house and senate. i'm now the ranking member of the budget committee. but it is true, i'm want longest serving independent in the united states congress. let me tell you this, i think it is an advantage. because when i speak to 28,000 people in portland, oregon,

27,000 people in los angeles, the vast majority of those people, they're not, quote/unquote, registered democrats. they are ordinary people who are sick and tired of politics as usual. and, by the way, one of the real advantages, i think, of me winning the democratic primary is that we can get a lot of young people, a lot of working people, involved in the political process, getting them out to vote in a way that establishment politicians can't. democrats are losing because voter turnout is abysmal. i think we can change that. >> very quickly, during your -- one of your largest applause lines is when you said, when you become president, you're going to focus on creating a health care system that's essentially medicare for all. does that mean you're going to scrap the affordable care act and then try to implement medicare for all if you're president? >> well, what it -- chuck, what it means is we are, as you know, the only major country on earth that doesn't guarantee health care to all people. i live 100 miles away from canada. they do it.

we spend almost twice as much per capita on health care as do the people of any other country. so, what we want to do is expand on medicare. medicare is a popular, good system. it covers people who are old. i want to see medicare cover everybody. a medicare for all single payer program is the way, in my view, you provide universal, quality, cost-effective health care and we draw in the rest of the industrialized world. >> last question, joe biden. do you welcome him into the race? do you want him to run? sdwli have known joe for many, many years. everybody who knows joe likes him and respects him. the decision is his. if he runs, i promise him an issue-oriented campaign. we'll debate the major issue facing americans. >> help your campaign or hurt? >> we'll let the political pundits determine that. >> senator bernie sanders, i look forward to a longer, extended issue-oriented interview at some point where we can do the gambit of issues, including some foreign policy in the near future, sir.

>> love to do it. >> thank you. >> when we come back, we meet the voters in iowa. wait until you see what democrats are saying about hillary clinton's growing troubles. before we go to break, we want to talk about some sad news this morning. julian bond, a key figure in the civil rights movement, died at age of 75 at his home in florida. in an appearance on this program in january 1966, bond, who had been just barred from taking his seat in the georgia house of representatives came on "meet the press" and said this, his case was a clear example of why the u.s. government still had to do more to protect civil rights. >> certainly the right to free speech, the right to dissent, the right to voice an opinion that may be unpopular, but i think a second and equally as important issue is the right of people, in this case my constituents, to be represented constituents, to be represented by someone they chose. pubut to get from theand yoold way to the new,d.

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if it weren't for donald trump, mk mk to maintain control and bernie sanders' rise would be more. as people descend on iowa fair for food on a stick, there are growing concerns among democrats about hillary clinton's campaign. it is producing whispers. vice president biden or even former vice president gore, you pick the big name democrat, should jump into the race. i spent the weekend talking to iowans at iowa state fair and you won't believe what they're

believe. >> in 2008 i supported her because she's a female and seemed to relate to us. now she seems elite and i don't want another clinton or bush. >> at the iowa state fair, among the deep-fried oreos -- >> our best seller. >> -- the butter cow, food on the stick, there are raising concerns about hillary clinton's campaign among democrats. what concerns you about hillary clinton? >> there's always something. >> now it's the drip, drip, drip about state department e-mails and classified information was mishandled on her private server. this weekend clinton attempted to joke about her new account on snapchat. >> i love it. those messages disappear all by themselves. >> then she fiercely defended herself so iowa democrats. >> it's not about e-mails or servers either. it's about politics. i've just provided my server to the justice department. but here's what i won't do.

i won't get down in the mud with them. >> and then shrugged off questions from reporters. >> this is the usual partisanization, which i may have just made up a word, of what goes on. it's nothing people talk to me as i travel around the country. >> some democrats i talked to is worried how the campaign has handled this controversy. >> it does make it seem like she's hiding something. >> like she owes you a better explanation? >> yes, we're smarter than that. >> 61% of iowa voters say they've had enough clintons and bushes, tha includes many democrats. these folks are giving bernie sanders a long look. >> nice to have an outsider. he's been in politics for a long time, it's nice to have someone who is not a clinton or bush. >> we're now down to rumors of gore jumping in. >> do you think it's about her? >> it's got to -- it's got to sting. >> for now biden appears more serious than gore. in fact, one source tells me,

it's more like 60/40 that he will run. meanwhile, clinton sent a not so subtle signal to gore and biden showing is may be too late to get in. she walked side by side with tom harkin who endorsed her. >> hillary is doing everything right. a much better and i think personally involved, if i might say that, campaign this year than it was in 2008. >> and let me bring back the panel. interesting backhanded compliment by tom harkin, gene robinson. how about that? >> it was interesting. the whole thing -- first of all, the joke that hillary clinton made was pretty effective, right? we're talking -- >> to that room. a room full of activist democrats. >> it's hard to claim this is all just a partisan witch hunt when the justice department under a democratic administration is looking into the whole e-mail mess. so, that doesn't ring so true. it is not going to have an impact on people the way she wants it to.

and clearly a lot of the press are worried. >> i was stunned at how many -- how easily it was to find these democrats willing to say these things. that was on camera. molly ball, this morning's washington coast, blind quote central, a lot of people hired by the campaign were new to the clintons. i kind of assumed it would be different but it hasn't changed. another strategist, i don't think there's a big smoking gun but it's hard to explain why you had a private server, why you just now turned it over. shouldn't you have had better judgment? >> and the fact that this story has not gone away has really worried a lot of people in the inner circle. you do have this tension within the campaign. you have this sort of obama veterans who like to take the long view. they believe that this is a long game and that you wait it out and that you don't get caught up in the politics of the moment and in the process. but that's not the clinton people's view and they want to fight on everything. and they get very nervous when there is all of this discussion. and so, you know, then it turns into an organizational mess which is what bogged down her

campaign in 2008. it's going to be the in-fighting, all the people in her ear and those mediating those disputes. >> this was sent to the washington post, the bottom line is, look, this kind of nonsense comes with the materiality of running for president. we know it, hillary knows it and we expect it to continue from now until election day. it's okay. we'll be ready. we have the facts, our principles on our side. is it enough? >> i'm glad you mentioned ms. palmieri. one of her statements about the e-mail issue just brought me up short. she said well, you know what, four other governors running for president, they also had private servers. i'm thinking, did they deal with classified material, with cia matters, with -- no. they were dealing with, how do we fix the off-ramp off exit 70. it's the tinear quality of so much of what the clinton -- mrs. clinton has exhibited this campaign, the 2008 campaign. the distinction between her and

her husband is monumental in terms of a kind of natural ability to deal with this. now, look, every front-runner going back decades has at one point or another faced these kinds of -- >> the near-death experience. >> they can't get off -- >> the campaign near-death experience. >> i think the entire press corps, by the way, should switch to caffeinated. >> kimberly, i want to get your take on this. let me sneak in a commercial. we'll be back in a moment, the end game segment and the question at the end of it, how high can you get your cholesterol count in one day at the iowa state fair? i'll prove it. i also have new polls right after the break. after the break. >> announcer: stay tuned for - good journalism is about telling a story from more than one perspective. embracing diversity can enrich your story by allowing you to see things from more than just one point of view. that's a story worth telling. the more you know.

>> announcer: time now for "meet the press end game" brought to you by boeing. "end game" time and, of course, the panel is back. before i go, i got some new poll numbers i want to show you on the republican race. kimberly, i want to you ask about the hillary e-mail situation, the potential for biden jumping in. is this a good thing for the republican party or do you think actually this is is going to help the democrats get their own enthusiasm in gear? >> look, i think it would be good for the democratic party to have a debate. i mean, hillary clinton has made it sound for years that she is the only thing that they've got. she is invincible. and i think one of the good things about all of this discussion is that maybe it will inspire a little bit of debate. yeah, probably for the republicans, it would be good for the democrats to have a little debate on their side, too. >> it will liven things up.

fox news came up with a poll. we gave you that poll last week, telling you and a lot of people were surprised about carson and cruz moving up in that poll we showed you last week, look here. a new fox news poll out. trump at 25%. carson and cruz at 12% and 10%. jeb bush falling down to 9%. i'm not going to let jeff whine about polling. i'm kidding. there is a pattern, the outsiders moved up in that debate. we all said, rubio and kasich said the best. they didn't make the top. >> there's a pundit here, not necessarily so smart, who said trump did well and who said carson was going to move up. >> there you go. >> it's clear, there is this outsider thing happening this year. now, outsider things sometimes happen and sometimes they fade over time, but i think it's very strong. look, you're getting up into the 40s -- 40%. if you add -- >> add it all up.

>> that's right. you're getting into a huge chunk of the republican party. >> here's my favorite line of the week. ezra cline was writing about bernie sanders. he said, people get more pragmatic the closer they get to an actual vote. this is an issue carson has to deal with, trump, sanders, all those people. >> this is where people try on hats. and it is -- i would like to think i'm not whining, i'm pointing out that we get nuts about this. i suggest that next week, bring some frogs on the platform, cut them open and read their intrails. >> the carson intrail is -- never mind. >> it tells us something about where people are thinking now. >> it's not shut. >> it's not football field at 11:00 in the morning. >> you're looking real. >> 08% of the people said if the election was held today, you'd all be surprised. keep that in mind. >> molly ball, it seems like

silly season. talking about new candidates jumping in, rise of donald trump, kimberly brought it up, at this time bachmann won the straw poll. michele bachmann didn't make it to iowa. >> the line, people are pragmatic, surely that's what consultants say to themselves -- >> stay calm. nothing to see here. >> this is troubling for people who thought they understand the process. the other thing we learned from that poll, donald trump really is the teflon don. nothing can take him down. these controversies that people think will show america, he's not fit to serve, it never affects him. that's how angry people are. i think the possibility that maybe what happens in august doesn't stay in august this time. maybe that anger is so out of control that it actually keeps going through the caucuses. that's what people are afraid of. >> that's my hunch at this point. before we go, i did come back from the iowa state fair and i was on a mission. how much fried food -- fair food could you buy with a budget of 50 bucks. well, here's the answer.

way too much. take a look. ♪ >> pork chop on a stick. >> how you doing? >> really good. of course, in iowa, you have the corndog. >> the apple pie on a stick. >> baken? >> yes. yes to all of it. >> the original, the twinkie. it's really good. >> a mac and cheese and lemonade. we broke the budget. oh, my god. >> that, oh my god, was not a good oh, my god. the new habit, gene, is apparently no matter what it is, put bacon on it. the apple pie on a stick, they put bacon on it. >> talk about taking one for the team. but seriously, the bacon thing is great. >> i know, we're all into savory. this whole foodie nation. bacon on everything. i know we love bacon. that's all for today. we'll be back next week because

if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." it's monday august 17. coming up on "early today" nearly every firefighter in the country is on call. they have gotten so bad that nearly every firefighter in the country is on call while the nation's highest fire alert level five is in play. donald trump is called to end birth right citizenship and the last time he was a proud american. >> when was the last time america was great? >> i would say during the administration of ronald reagan. you felt proud to be an american. >> that and the latest on hillary clinton's troubled campaign. tragedy strikes at the heart of morgan freeman's family and new details surrounding the "star wars" franchise from theme park to new movie gossip. straight out of -- straight