mt p, that's "meet the press daily" with chuck todd starts right now. if it's wednesday, on the trail, it's a front-runner whose strength is destroying the very party he hopes to lead. and in washington, it's a supreme court story that finally has a face, as democrats dare republicans to dig in their heels. this is "mtp daily." we've got a wild one for you, and it starts right now. good evening. i'm chuck todd in washington. welcome to "mtp daily." we're going to dig into today's big supreme court news in a moment. but tonight, does the bell toll for the republican establishment? they've been on life-support for five years, and now it's possible, whatever this establishment is, has simply

died. we are witnessing history, folks. a political revolution basically has torn apart a major political party. last night the republican establishment got crushed, again. trump won four of five contests last night, the only exception was ohio, where john kasich scored his first victory. trump nearly tripled his delegate lead over ted cruz. trump needs just 55% of the remaining delegates to clinch the nomination. a tall task, but not that tall. trump knocked out rubio, who had the weight of the gop establishment behind him, with a landslide win in rubio's home state of florida. trump won despite nearly $16 million in pro-rubio and anti-trump tv ads that flooded the florida airwaves for about ten days. trump is now in the driver's seat. this morning, he said he would. skipping the next republican debate. he said he'd had enough of them. and he had a speaking engagement scheduled that very day, so the

debate was over. kasich's campaign put out a statement saying they wouldn't participate in a debate without trump. by the way, ted cruz was willing to do either, apparently. but let's go down this rabbit hole. folks, for years, the republican establishment has been crumbling, kind of like a statue from the roman empire. the decay first showed is itself during president bush's tenure, when hardliners helped kill the president's push for immigration reform. prompting an oval office address that today reads like a trump prophesy. >> some in this country argue that the solution is to deport every illegal immigrant. and that any proposal short of this amounts to amnesty. i disagree. it is neither wise nor realistic to round up millions of people. many with deep roots in the united states and send them across the border. >> well, that didn't work. then came 2008 when obama trounced the establishment favorite, john mccain. there were signs that many wanted somebody else.

there talk radio, rush limbaugh said mccain's nomination would destroy the republican party. from the hard right, columnist ann coulter threatened to campaign for democrats, saying that the only thing that would change her mind on mccain is if he, quote, put a gun to my head. and then there were evangelicals that year. james dobson said, quote, i'm convinced senator mccain is not a conservative and, in fact, has gone out of his way to stick his thumb in the eyes of those who are. mccain was even booed at that year's cpac gathering of conservatives. >> on the issue of illegal immigration, a position which -- [ booing ] which -- >> you know you instinctively wanted to say, my friends. then came the 2010 midterms. the republican establishment lost control of the primary process. it resulted in some wild candidates like christine o'donnell, who famously proclaimed, i am not a witch, on her way to losing her senate contest, and ken buck, then an

obscure tea party firebrand who also lost, but republicans picked up other seats, so they rode the tiger. and who could forget rick scott? the gop establishment threw everything at this guy. and guess what? he's won two terms as florida governor. and today, scott endorsed, you guessed it, donald trump. you could argue in florida, he was donald trump before donald trump. then we fast forward to romney's loss in 2012, another example of conservative resentment over an establishment pick. we saw that frustration in the voting booth. a whopping 50% of republicans who voted for romney in 2012 said they had reservations about him. and then came 2014 and a primary heard around the world. the republican party's sitting house majority leader eric cantor was soundly defeated in a primary, no less, by a relatively unknown tea party professor named david brat. and just a year later, john boehner called it quits after years of fighting with members of his own parties over government shutdowns, debt

crisis, immigration reform, you name it. we'll tell you what's happening with boehner tease former seat in just a few minutes. point is, folks, there's only so much bending and stress a party can take before something snaps. the republican establishment basically is dead. either they start a new party or they simply start over after this election. there may be an appetite for a clean break. look at this. just 31% of republicans who voted for someone other than trump last night said they'd be satisfied with trump as the nominee against clinton. 61% of those non-trump voters would consider voting for a third party candidate. let me repeat. 61% of non-trump voters. that's more than 50%. in every state, in a primary, was a non-trump voter. then there's house speaker paul ryan. he turned a lot of heads today when he seemed to not rule out a run for president in a contested convention. >> people talk about the prospect of a convention that is

indecisive. you are suspect number one for who could be -- >> let me take a sip of guinness. >> yeah, who could be drafted. have you categorically ruled out accepting that if they asked you to do it? >> it's funny, but i think you should run for president if you want to be president. i'm not going to run for president. people say, what about the contested convention. who knows? >> that's what got him, right? ryan's spokesman later said that ryan would, quote, not accept the nomination at a divided convention. where have we heard denials from paul ryan about new offices before? but, we'll pause that one. folks, my next guest knows a thing or two about this splintering revolt inside the republican party. former louisiana governor bobby jindal ran against trump and dropped out, but not before making his thoughts known about the republican front-runner. >> he's non-serious, he's a carnival act. he's shallow, there's no substance. he has no idea what he's talking

about. he makes it up on the fly. donald trump is a narcissist and an ego maniac. like all narcissists, donald trump is insecure and weak. >> joined by former louisiana governor and former republican presidential candidate, bobby jindal. governor jindal, welcome back to the show, sir. >> chuck, thank you for having me back. >> well, let me ask you this, it's been seven months since you gave those remarks about donald trump. do you feel any differently this afternoon? >> i don't, chuck. but let me say a couple of things. one of the things -- and i agree that the gop establishment is done for. i think this race shows that. i still don't think donald trump is a conservative. i think he has done a brilliant job of tapping into the middle class voters' anxiety. look, they've suffered under the obama economy. they don't like our foreign policy. they see isis on the march. and we've got a weak president. but he's not really a conservative. the reality is, you mentioned paul ryan earlier. paul ryan, one of his signature issues, is entitlement reform. donald trump's not for that. a hallmark of conservative foreign policy is to stand with

israel. donald trump was not for that in one of the most recent debates. a hallmark of conservative policy is to get rid of obamacare. donald trump talks about the government taking over healthcare, negotiating with providers. now, he's walked that back, but he's been for that. chuck, i do give him this credit. he's tapped into middle class voters' anxieties. and i think conservatives -- and i include myself in this -- i think we have a lot of work to do to show middle class voters that our policies are good for them and will lead to growth and we haven't done that very well. >> governor, i'm glad you said that. you endorsed, of course, marco rubio. when he got out last night, i was struck by the fact that his concession speech addressed trump voters. talked to them. didn't just -- i feel like many of you, and you can tell me if this is not true, but i think many of you that were running for president were told by too many advisers, hey, don't worry about those trump voters, they don't show up at primaries, you know, they're not that -- don't worry about them. is that what happened for too long in the fall and in the

early winter? >> well, i'll say a couple of things. one -- and look, i went after trump before anybody else was paying attention to him back in september. you played back those remarks, a lot of people weren't taking him seriously. i tried to go after him very hard, using very, hard language when others were dismissive. i think it's a mistake, and you still hear this in the republican party today. this talk of a contested convention, a third-party candidate, of drafting somebody anew. that's ridiculous when huge chunks of your base of your party's voters are telling you something, you've got to listen to them. >> well, you just answered -- >> yes, they're mad. >> you just answered my next question. you are dismissing any of this stop-trump movement business? >> oh, look, let's let the voters speak. there are still primaries, there are still votes to be counted. but the reality is, you can do the math. he's done very, very well. if he continues to do well, it will be very hard to stop. but i think this idea of ignoring the will of the party, to have party leaders go behind closed doors and come up with new -- it makes for a great

fiction novel, but it's exactly what's wrong with the gop establishment. it ignores what voters are telling them. if this were any other candidate doing this well, we wouldn't be talking about this. but i think conservatives have an obligation to speak directly to those middle class voters that are anxious. it's not enough just to tell them, we're going to shrink government and cut taxes and go after the epa. we need to show them why our policies lead to growth. i don't want to see middle class voters to turn into another set of victims. let the democrats divide us. conservatives and republicans should be saying, our conservative policies are good for everybody. if this is the wake-up call we need to go talk to everyday voters and show how our policies are good for them, maybe that's a good thing in the long run, but we've got to beat hillary clinton in the short-term. >> so let me ask you this. you were with marco rubio, i assume, up until about 8:25 last night, when he got out. are you going to endorse anybody else or wait for this to play

out? >> look, i'm not going to endorse now. i'm going to defer to the will of the voters. i am going to be supporting the republican nominee -- >> even if it's donald trump? >> even if it's donald trump. i hope it's not him. he's still not my favorite, but the reality is, i don't think we can afford four more years of obama's policies under hillary clinton. i worry about record dependence on the government. the next president will appoint the next supreme court justice. this is a court deadlocked on our first amendment and second amendment rights, our religious liberty and our right to bear arms and i think it's incredibly important we have somebody who's a conservative that will apply the constitution on that bench. i'll support the republican nominee. i think for my fellow republicans out there, thinking about these different plots, i think it would be hypocritical. i think we need to listen to the will of the voters. that doesn't mean i've changed my tune since september. i haven't woken up this morning and become a big fan of donald trump. >> i understand that. but you just laid out a case of why donald trump's the not a conservative. and then you seem to think, well, if he gets the nomination,

maybe he will appoint a conservative. do you believe that? >> well, i think there are -- the odds are more likely than hillary clinton appointing a conservative. right now it comes down to two choices. it will be donald trump -- if it comes down to donald trump versus hillary clinton, then given those choices, i would certainly be supporting the republican nominee, being donald trump. that doesn't mean i've woken up this morning saying, i can tell you with certainty he would appoint a conservative. it's more likely than hillary doing so. i think the real wake-up call is to conservatives to say, it's not enough to preach to the choir. it's not enough to talk to elites. it's not enough to say one thing during a campaign and govern a different way. voters are angry and frustrated. and conservatives, in some part, the republican party has ender that frustration. donald trump should serve as a wake-up call. but what i hope doesn't happen. you know, the reality is, i think voters want freedom and opportunity, but i think in absence of that, they're now voting for somebody who says he'll protect them. i think that's part of sanders'

appeal as well. i don't think that's really the solution. look, donald trump's policies, what he says isn't going to work. the things he says aren't going to solve the problems that are causing these middle class anxieties, whether it's outsourcing or automation. but i don't think conservatives have done a good enough job detailing how our policies actually help real, everyday workers. >> this is a guy. i'm just double checking. this is a guy who thinks, essentially, we ought to stay out of the middle east, completely. this is a guy who says, no more global trade agreements. you're comfortable with supporting that? >> and i think he's completely wrong, not only on both of those, i think he's completely wrong on several other issues. look, i was not for giving this president the tpa, but i was, i am for free trade agreements. i think donald trump is wrong on a whole bunch of issues, not just those. i think he's wrong to stay out of israel, i think he's wrong about entitlements, i think he's wrong in his rhetoric, wrong in how he treats a lot of people. don't get me wrong. i'm not coming in front of you as a huge donald trump supporter.

i'm say fg he does earn the nomination of mye party, i thin it would be hypocritical to say we're going to have an election and ignore the results. if he's the nominee and the choice is hillary clinton, i think we cannot afford -- hillary clinton -- her policies are that bad to me that i think it's worth trying to stop her and her policies. but i haven't had a wednesday morning conversion to become a trump support. >> i hear you there. all right. governor bobby jindal, former governor of louisiana, thanks for coming on. appreciate it. >> thank you, chuck. coming up, president obama makes his choice for the supreme court. many republicans have talked the talk on not even considering a nominee. does this particular pick dare them to walk the walk? and later, hillary clinton makes major progress towards the nomination with a big surprising sweep of last night's primaries. clinton campaign manager rooby mook joins me to discuss her new road ahead. ♪

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votes weren't just about the presidential nominations. illinois, north carolina, and ohio also picked candidates for critical races down the ballot, that, of course, could change which party controls the u.s. senate after november. illinois senator mark kirk is the most vulnerable sitting senator in the country and democrats are seriously targeting his seat as one to flip in november. kirk will face off against congresswoman tammy duckworth after he beat his primary challenger and she bested two democratic rivals as well. in north carolina, republican senator richard burr easily held off three primary challengers. and democrats picked former state representative debora ross to take him on in november. ross was an establishment pick after a whole bunch of other people said no. after people like kay hagan, a former senator said no, and anthony foxx, a transportation secretary said no. in ohio, senator rob portman put away his primary challenge with little trouble and he'll face former ohio governor ted strickland in the fall. maybe the most expensive senate race in the country. strickland, who had the backing of president obama and vice president biden had to beat out

a young rising democratic star, city councilmember p.j. sittenfeld for the chance to beat portman. and a crowded primary for retired house speaker john boehner's seat. his name is warren davidson. he was one of 15 large i unknown republicans running in ohio's eighth district. he's expected to win the june special election to finish boehner's term and he will be the front-runner for the seat in november. at safelite, we know how busy your life can be. oh no this mom didn't have time to worry about

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nominees. if you look at the most recent trend, they're nominating people in their 50s, that's not merrick garland, but he's the right kind of ideology. >> welcome back. that was my conversation with pete williams one month ago. literally, the day after the vacancy occurred there. well, today, president obama followed through, nominating merrick garland. chief judge of the d.c. circuit court for the vacant seat on the supreme court. speaking from the rose garden, the president warned of what he believes will be consequences of blocking a vote on his nominee. >> the reputation of the supreme court will, inevitably, suffer. faith in our justice system will inevitably suffer. our democracy will ultimately suffer as well. >> but senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, who's been adamant against holding confirmation hearings since the death of justice antonin scalia did not balk. >> give the people a voice in

filling this vacancy. the american people may well elect a president who decides to nominate judge garland for senate consideration. the next president may also nominate somebody very different. the senate will appropriately revisit the matter when it considers the qualifications of the nominee the next president nominates. >> according to his spokesperson, mcconnell called garland today to let him know, quote, since the senate will not be acting on this nomination, he would not be holding a perfunctory meeting, but he wished judge garland well. but some republican senators like ayotte, collins, flake, portman, and kirk have all said they would be willing to meet merrick garland. those meetings are traditionally the precursor to confirmation hearings. senator collins is one of seven sitting republicans who voted in favor of garland's confirmation to the d.c. circuit court in 197 #. by the way, senator orrin hatch

is also on that list. in 2010, when garland was being considered for a supreme court nomination, senator hatch said he would be, quote, a consensus nominee. but here's what hatch said today. >> what i know about judge garland, he's a good man. but he shouldn't be brought up in toxic environment. i'm tired of the supreme court being used as a battering ball back and forth between both sides. that's why i would put it off until next year. >> all right, we're going to get to both sides of this dispute. first from the white house and then we'll go over to some republicans in the senate. here's josh earnest, white house press secretary. josh, welcome back to the show, sir. >> hey, chuck, how you doing? >> i'm all right. so let's start with some criticism you guys are getting actually from the left. there's a lot of more progressive interest groups who believe the president compromised based on the politics of the senate, compromised some progressive values based on just trying to get somebody confirmed and considered in this political environment. is that a fair critique?

>> well, chuck, if the allegation is that the president did not consider politics in making this decision, then the president is guilty of charged. >> no, he did consider politics, but the politics of the u.s. senate, not progressive ideology. >> chuck, the president put forward chief judge merrick garland because he believes he's the right person for the job. chief judge garland has more experience on the federal bench than any other nominee that's been put forward in our history. he has someone who has demonstrated over his 19 years on the d.c. circuit, as someone who has demented in pursuing the law in the pursuit of justice, and not in pursuit of a political agenda. the president is entirely confident he would serve our country with distinction on the supreme court. and there is no legitimate claim that can be made by anybody on either side, frankly, that he does not have the credentials, that he doesn't have the judgment, that he would not be the kind of supreme court justice that america would be proud of.

>> did -- was his age considered an asset to you guys, because it was a way of the president signaling that he wasn't looking to change the court for a generation? >> well, chuck, the president spent a whole lot of time considering his age. i think what the president considered is actually his long experience on the bench. he's got more experience in the federal judiciary than anyone in history. he's older than recent nominees, but he has a whole lot more experience than recent nominees. if anything, that is what people can examine to determine what kind of supreme court justice he would be. let's take a look at his track record. in fact, that's why we believe we should have a judiciary committee hearing. he should face tough questions. he should have senators, both on the left and on the right, asking him tough questions about ask how he approaches the job. >> mitch mcconnell made it clear. told judge garland himself, he's not going to get a confirmation hearing. how are you going to force this? >> well, we have -- chuck, we have started to see senate republicans indicate a willingness to start meeting with him. and as you pointed out, that is

typically the precursor to hearings. and the one person that was not on your list is actually the chairman of the judiciary committee, chuck grassley, has indicated that he intends to meet with chief judge garland after the two-week easter recess that the senate is prepared to take. so we're just going to steadily chip away and continue to make a strong principled case that senator hatch has made more effectively than anybody else. and that is that chief judge garland a consensus nominee. to make that case to democrats and republicans. >> and if hillary clinton says she will reappoint merrick garland to the opening, if she's elected president, is that something that helps your cause in order to get confirmation hearings now? >> chuck, if there is still a vacancy when the next president takes off, it would be an unprecedented delay. an unprecedented display of destruction on the part of republicans to delay it this long. it's been more than 40 years

since we've had a vacancy -- >> but if she says she will support him now, does that help your case now? >> look, we would welcome support from anybody, frankly, for chief judge garland's nomination. and we would welcome her support. i don't know that she said that. look, i can also understand why she would say, look, if i'm elected president of the united states for that four-year term, i would be the one deciding who should serve on the supreme court. we actually made the case that the voters decided in 2012. that over the course of the next four years, barack obama should be the person with that responsibility. he's fulfilled his constitutional duty and the senate should do the same. >> josh earnest, white house press secretary, i will leave it there. thank you, sir. appreciate you coming on. let me push over to the other side of pennsylvania avenue, senator james inhofe of oklahoma. he supported merrick garland for the d.c. circuit court. and he's already spoken to judge garland today and said he will not consider him. so no confirmation hearings at

all? >> none at all. >> would you be willing to let that happen at all? >> i'll tell you what's funny about this, chuck. josh earnest said all of this with a straight face, and that's kind of comical, because he knows very well, he heard mitch mcconnell after the tragic death of our justice, and he said under no circumstances are we going to do this. if you go back and look in history, the last time this was done would have been 139 years ago. there's been a precedent that has been living since, oh, 1888, i think -- >> well, a lot of people have reinterpreted these precedents. there are certainly some way to say there have been some confirmations that did take place in presidential years. election years. >> no, not in presidential years, but the statement that we made was actually accurate. and i thought it was very clear what mitch mcconnell said, and i was very proud of him for making that statement. we should not become taking the

nomination, considering the nomination of a president who is on his way out. we should let the people speak, and the argument is right. and we're going to do that. by the way, the reason that i got a phone call, i guess, from judge garland, was he has a lot of oklahoma connections. i think perhaps you knew that. >> right. >> and i made it very clear to him. i said, i want to make sure you understand, there's no misunderstanding. i will not vote -- i will not support you or any other nomination of this president, because that would be breaking new ground and i'm not going to do it. and it doesn't matter if obama would nominate george w. bush. i'm still not doing it. >> i guess it's interesting that you say you want to have the people have a voice. does 2012 not count? >> well, 2012 is in the past and not in the future. hopefully this country is going to go in a different direction -- >> no, i understand that. but it was a four-year term. so, why does it not count in this last year? >> well, because the last year

is, is an election year, where we're going to have a new leadership in this country. i hope we're going to have new leadership in this country. and if that's the case, that's -- i want -- we're all committed to that. and i'll tell you the ones that i really appreciate are those that are coming up with tough races, republicans, in this year, 2016. and they also agree, yes, there are going to be people who are going to be listening to josh earnest and others, thinking that this is somehow a horrible thing that we are doing, when we're doing exactly what they did, the last time the same circumstances -- >> wow, you're right about that. there is certainly -- nobody has clean hands -- neither party has clean hands when it comes to judicial nominations in election years. >> and you heard all the statements that were made by -- >> yes. >> okay. >> joe biden, you name it, chuck schumer, there is -- like i said, if hypocrisy were water, everybody would drown, i think, in washington, d.c., sometimes,

when it comes to judges. but let me ask you this. are you willing to risk -- merrick garland is probably as moderate of a pick as our going to get from president obama. are you willing to risk having a more liberal nominee from a president hillary clinton if she happens to win? >> yes, i'm willing to risk that. >> and is there any chance you would want to confirm merrick garland in the lame duck if the country chooses a democrat for the white house? >> no. and i'm hoping nobody else talks about that either, that is not an appropriate thing. we've made a decision that we're not going to confirm any nominee by president obama. >> period. >> that's very clear. >> in fact, when i got the phone call from judge garland, i started it right off, i said, i want you to understand, i'm happy to talk to you, but it has nothing to do with you, it's the process. you know that. he seemed to be understanding, quite frankly. >> i take it though, personally, you're a fan of his? you respect and you like him?

>> i'll put it this way, i don't dislike him. >> okay. senator jim inhofe, thanks for coming on, sir. thanks for sharing your views. >> you bet, chuck. hillary clinton gets a big boost in the delegate race. but still can bernie sanders still make up the ground? the latest numbers, ahead. and later, donald trump's big night means a major setback for the gop's anti-trump movement. we'll look at whether they still think they have a shot at stopping trump ahead of the cleveland convention. stay tuned. dig up clues, create opportunity, and weave messages that lead to sales. these are the hands of pitney bowes, the craftsmen of commerce. these are the hands, the hands that drive commerce, that build business across borders. these are the hands of pitney bowes, the craftsmen of commerce. so come try the largest variety of lobster dishes of the year,

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well, hillary clinton is now looking ahead to a potential general election matchup with donald trump, after a surprising sweep of all five primaries last night, including the old apparent tag in wins in illinois and missouri, and we used the words apparent, when it is so flip on a recount if somebody bothered, she now holds a 700-plus lead over sanders when you include the superdelegates. if you want to take them away, if you're just counting the pledged delegates, her lead is still pretty big, it's nearly

300. sanders' campaign is vowing to stay in the race, arguing they're well positioned for some of the contests ahead, like washington, idaho, and utah, which is probably true. joining me is clinton campaign manager, robby mook. a day after separation tuesday. >> thank you. >> let me start with something that already came from the sanders' campaign this afternoon. they did a press call with reporters, and their argument is, it's only halftime and the calendar gets better for them from here on out. what do you say to that? >> both campaigns are going to win and lose contests moving forward. secretary clinton said at the beginning of this campaign, she's going to work hard to win every single vote and every single delegate and that's what we're doing. but the fact is at this point, she already had a virtually insurmountable lead going into tuesday. she added 40% to her net lead over senator sanders. and that lead is only going to increase as we pick up more

delegates. the senator can talk about a caucus here or there that he might win, but the other way to look at this is the popular vote. and secretary clinton now has 2.5 million more votes than senator sanders in this race. and that is because democrats are coming around her candidacy. they realize she is the candidate in this race that can actually get something done, who is ready to be our commander in chief, and can bring americans together. >> do you -- are you going to start pivoting to running two races now? one against bernie sanders and one against donald trump? >> well, we're focused on the primary right now -- >> still? >> the primary's not done, and we're going to continue to fight for every vote -- >> because you just laid out a case it's over. >> the secretary has a formidable lead, i'll be first one to say that. but i think it's incumbent on all democrats and all progressives in this country to speak out against what donald trump is doing. his rhetoric may work to win 40% of the republican primary electorate, but it is not a

message that can win in this country. and every democrat should be speaking out. >> that means you -- so that's the way you would like to see the next couple of months prosecuted between your campaign and sanders' campaign, where the two of you focus your fire on trump and not on each other? >> i think it's unfortunate -- senator sanders put $8 million into the race in the last five days, went up with negative ads against secretary clinton. it was the first time he went up with a negative ad with her name in it. we thought that was unfortunate. and i think you saw the voters rejected that kind of negative campaigning. so we hope that we can all get back to focusing on the issues and holding donald trump accountable. for what he's saying and the vision he has for the future, which is the wrong one. >> will secretary clinton continue to debate senator sanders regularly? >> we're waiting to hear from the dnc. but there's a lot of states coming up and a lot of campaigning to do. we're focused on talking with the voters in those states. >> you know, there was one other

thing that the sanders' campaign talked about, and that was they think they can pick up delegates as you can finish the caucus process. obviously, the way caucuses work is you determine what your delegate equivalents are at the beginning in many states, and the actually picking of the delegates takes place a couple months later. and sometimes candidates gain or lose, depending on how good a campaign is at keeping their delegates. what's your reaction to that? >> you know, chuck, voters show up on caucus day and primary day to make their voice heard. these delegates are called pledged delegates for a reason. they're supposed to represent the voice of the people. i find it, honestly, very peculiar that senator sanders is now advocating for delegates to be taken away from secretary clinton, towards him. so that the voice of the voters is not represented at the convention. i find that very odd. i'm wondering if there was a mistake there. i'm wondering if maybe staff -- >> you think that was an accident. you think they're not trying to steal delegates or that they

are? >> i'm confused, chuck. i honestly don't understand that senator sanders would really want to take away delegates that voters wanted to represent one candidate for another. i don't think that's in keeping with who he is and what his message is. so i'm going to leave it to his campaign to clarify their position, but i would frankly be shocked if senator sanders were calling for that. and unfortunate. >> well, it sounds like we should go back to the sanders' campaign and ask them. robby mook, campaign manager for hillary clinton, thanks for coming on this morning. or whatever time of day it is right now. anyway, thanks. we'll have a lot more "mtp daily" right after this. it is late afternoon, i promise. every insurance policy has a number. but not every insurance company understands the life behind it. for those who've served and the families that have supported them, we offer our best service in return. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

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mild to moderate nausea and vomiting. anti-flu? go antiviral with tamiflu. just ahead on "mtp daily," big money couldn't stop trump from scoring big wins last night. so what can? tim miller of our principles pac joins me to discuss what's next for the stop trump movement. stay tuned.

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spent in the state, and he emptied his war chest. didn't matter, trump won florida in a landslide. and when the dust settled yesterday, trump won everywhere, really, except for kasich's home state of ohio. so, what now for those anti-trump republicans? this morning, trump warned of potential violence if the republican establishment attempts to deny him the nomination at a contested convention. >> if we're 20 votes short or if we're 100 short and we're at 1,100 and somebody else is at 500 or 400, because we're way ahead of everybody, i don't think you can say that we don't get it automatically. i think you would have riots. i think you would have riots. >> i'm joined now by tim miller, the communications director for our principles pac. by the way, he was the communications director for jeb bush's campaign. mr. miller, welcome back to the show, sir. >> hey, chuck. >> so let me ask you, what do you do now? i think it's fair to say that last night was not a success.

>> well, here are the encouraging signs from last night. if you look at the head-to-head matchups from the exit polls, cruz beat trump in missouri and kasich beat him in ohio and there was no head-to-head in illinois. the other positive sign from the exit polls that in florida, 30% of people who voted said that they would look to a third party if it was trump versus clinton. in missouri, that number was 42%. a huge, massive, unprecedented historic part of the party does not want to support trump. cruz is only two delegates behind. over the next month, there are only three contests, two of which don't look good for trump, wisconsin and utah. so there's plenty of full-time for cruz or kasich to catch up to him, taking advantage of those extremely high negative numbers that are unprecedented in a modern nomination contest. >> if you go on twitter, go on social media, if you can find people to write checks, but here's what i'm not finding.

paul ryan is going to support the nominee of the party, no matter who it is. bobby jindal was on this show earlier, he's going to support the nominee of the party, even if it's donald trump. i think mitch mcconnell has said the same thing. where are the -- way, all the c running against trump have said the same thing. it's hard to have a stop trump movement if a whole bunch of people who claim to be apart of it don't follow-through all the way to the end. >> look, i wish to be honest, chuck, i do wish there were more republican leaders saying they couldn't support donald trump. for starters, he is not a conservative at all. no reason to believe that's the temperament to be president. no reason to believe that he wouldn't abandon republican and conservative principles in a heartbeat. is somebody who has insulted pretty much every ethnic group in the country. so look, for me, i think there is absolutely no sense in supporting donald trump. but look, here is the thing. this comes down to the fact that john kasich or ted cruz, over the course of the next three months will have to go out and

beat him and we're going help them do that by reminding them of donald trump's flaws. >> are you going to work on a third party or no. >> that's not what we're looking at here, but hey, look at this. i was listening no the robby mook interview, that guy has got to be giddy. if donald trump wins the nomination, he can work on his tan in miami. hillary, who is going to sclong. it will be an absolute route. for our purposes, as they learn more and more about it, the importance of stopping him, especially if it gets to a one-on-one matchup, we just have to get there. >> we'll see. with some colorful language that i'm guessing you're going to get some heat from on the twitters but we'll leave it there. >> no way. >> tim miller, thanks very much. here with me now is the lid, political reporter, jennifer

rubin, columnist at the "washington post." maryland science professor, tom shaller. you're on the stop trump movement. are you in a time to start a new party, rally around cruz, kasich? >> i am a pragmatist. whatever works, frankly. if he can be forced into a contested convention, which i think is likely at this point, he needs about 60% i think of the remaining delegates, then your audience is not necessarily the american people, but those delegates in that room, who are party regulars by the way, not necessarily -- >> we don't know who they are. >> individuals haven't been picked, which is a key part. >> trump people are not organized at the state level and at the local level. >> but perry.

>> winning states, he keeps winning. even what tim said, if it was one-on-one, it's not one-on-one. we still have two people in the race and trump got 46% in florida. that's great number. we kept saying he couldn't get to 50. 46s awfully close to 50. he has done well. >> tom, if there is something to hang your hat on, it's he has never gotten 50% yet, not even in a caucus process or even in a island process. >> i think the scenarios where he loses it, but to go back to tim's point and you asked this, where is the institution's response. remember, there is no republican leadership committee. >> there -- >> literally dead. >> it is. >> the mainstream partnership is no place to come together and sheer an alternative voice. that's why it's a series of isolated voices. >> let's take a pause. i have to sneak in one break and we'll wrap up this discussion. more "mtp daily" right after

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or across the globe in under an hour. whole communities are living on mars and solar satellites provide earth with unlimited clean power. in less than a century, boeing took the world from seaplanes to space planes, across the universe and beyond. and if you thought that was amazing, you just wait. ♪ with us, perry, jennifer and tom. tom, i'll start with you, fra frankly, what topic we were going to do. you don't think this will damage any of the republicans' running. >> i'll take the outlier position. the fundamentals matter, maybe a seat or two, but whether the democrats capture or don't, it's

going to be about the rookie class, presidential tea party when all these guys were elected. maybe a seat we were arguing, but whether the senate majority. >> worth a point or two, and that's not enough to swing. >> the party of no would never work for democrats, a badge of honor for the republicans. >> i actually agree with that. they're hopeless, like poor mark kirk, nothing is going to save him, it doesn't matter, or they're running a good independent campaign. portman will power through this, toomey, maybe on the benjamin netanyahu -- toomey, so i think those people will be okay. the court is nowhere near the top list of concerns. more important is what happens with trump, and that's -- >> it's funny, i want to finish here with pat tommy, if merrick garland comes up next year, i'll

confirm him. >> wouldn't they have picked a black woman, hispanic person, my sense is they too view it as we would rather get someone confirmed potentially than the idea of 15 extra votes. i don't think there is a lot more -- the political juice is not that high for blocking. >> it's interesting, you boo i that argument. i think that's a pretty good case. >> obama has to be a little clever, what if they take it up and confirm him and he ends up to be his. >> david. >> and he gets asked for the next 25 years. >> i think they did pick him, particularly because he is not going to get through, so burn the white male, and then they'll come back. >> poor merrick garland, he has been the backup candidate, third time. >> and then he has gotten -- >> he was emotional today. it was touching. it was a great moment. >> the president -- >> and by the way, the supreme

court justices themselves really respect him. >> well, he comes from that court. he is the chief judge of the district court. >> john roberts likes him as we learned. >> to some conservatives might be a negative. >> because john roberts is -- >> perry, jennifer and tom. punch drunk wednesday. we'll be back tomorrow, "with all due respect" starts right now. i'm mark halperin. >> i'm john helemann, with all due respect to fox news, you're in the no debate zone. happen y merrick garland goe search day. court of appeals judge, merrick garland to the supreme court. three quick garland facts. number one, he pr