chest, neck and face cream from roc. methods, not miracles. okay. >> good morning. it is tuesday, march 29th. welcome to "morning joe." with us on set in washington we have washington anchor for bbc world news america katty kay. pulitzer prize winning colu columnist. the president and ceo of politico jim vandehei all with

us this morning. new polls out this morning on the republican and democratic races for president. trump approaching a key number, and things getting very tight for the democrats. and the fight for the republican nomination may soon be out of voters' hands. why the fight may be turning from the ballot box to state conventions. we'll explain that in just a moment. we begin this morning with breaking news. officials say an egyptair jet liner has been hijacked. it's been a fluid situation with changing numbers and scenarios. according to the airline the flight was on route from alexandria to cairo with 55 passengers on board and five crew at the time of the incident. the plane landed at larnaca airport in cyprus where it's sat ever since. the airline says one of the passengers told the pilot he had an explosive belt. a high-level source close to the operation tells nbc news the hijacking seems to be about a personal matter involving a woman, possibly an ex-wife.

according to the ap, the president of cyprus has said the hijacking is not related to terrorism. egyptair is reporting that everyone has been allowed to get off the plane except for four crew members, including the pilot and three passengers. right now we don't know the nationalities of the passengers said to be still on board. joining us live from london. nbc's rehema ellis, who has been covering the story since it broke overnight. what do we know more at this point about the situation? >> what we can tell you right now, mika, is that the ministry of foreign affairs has released information saying the hijacker has been identified but his nationality has not been confirmed at this moment. according to the president of cyprus, he was quoted as saying this is not terrorism. he has ruled that out and said it's all to do with a woman. we are told that it's reported that, once this plane landed in cyprus, these 55 passengers, the

majority of them were allowed to leave the plane with the exception of three and the -- then the hijacker threw a letter, a piece of paper, from the plane onto the tarmac indicating that he wanted to speak with a woman. it's believed to be his ex-wife. it's believe that she is from cyprus. it said -- it's reported that she lives in a village not far from the airport and that there are some efforts made to try and communicate with her. a very fluid situation. we should also tell you that the person claimed to have an explosive device strapped to their waist. there is no indication whether or not they actually do because there are lots of questions as to how that could have gotten on board the plane in the first place. the good news is, the majority of passengers have been released and negotiations are continuing. mika. >> all right. rehema ellis, thank you. let's bring in msnbc correspondent ayman mohyeldin who is in the process of

traveling to cyprus. ayman, you said on "way too early" that when the story broke you couldn't help but think back to the plane bombing over egypt in october. explain why you said that. >> reporter: well, since october when isis militants claimed responsibility for a downing of a russian metro jet plane egypt had beefed up security at all of its airports. so if in fact today this account of this individual did manage to actually bring real explosives onto the plane, this is going to be a major, major setback for egyptian security at its airports. the airport in alexandria is an international airport. by egyptian standards, it is supposed to have very sight securi -- tight security. the egyptians vowed to beef up. it's premature to say because we

don't know whether he had real explosives. from the perspective of what's happened and what egypt is going through with some of the security challenges and the bombing of the russian metro jet there will be a lot of questions as to whether or not this individual did manage to get real explosives. once he's on the plane, and as we understand from the press conference that took place, there was on the egypt air flight a security marshal. so there will be questions as well as to whether or not the security marshal, when the situation unfolded, was in any position to try to prevent it from happening. again, a lot of questions, but also a lot of concerns about the security at some of egypt's airports, mika. >> ayman mohyeldin. thank you very much. we'll be following this story throughout the morning. >> hijacked a plane from alexandria. >> mm-hmm. >> katty, he goes to cyprus, throws a letter on the ground from the plane. to get a message to a woman. wouldn't an email have been a

lot easier? >> i think, if i'm the ex-wife or the ex-girlfriend in question here, this doesn't endear him to me particularly. this may be a grand gesture that he thifrnnks will get her attention. i would walk away and never read that letter. what an absurd thing to do. put all those families at risk. terrify the family members. there will be kids on the plane that will be scarred permanently that they've been hijacked just because he wants a conversation with his ex-wife, in the world that we live in. >> gene, the most outrageous part of it systemically, as you take the outrageousness of this man's actions, but look at the security problem here. >> well that's the question, yeah. >> in this day and age. whether the guy has an explosives belt on or not. i mean, he could be wrapped with hockey gear for all we know. >> we don't know. >> that that one person can

divert an entire plane because of a, you know, love gone wrong? >> one person can do that. in this day and age how does anybody get on the plane with anything that looks like an explosive belt, particularly. obviously there was some breakdown in security. we don't know exactly where it was. >> we'll follow this throughout the morning. we do have a lot of politics to get to. a new poll this morning showing donald trump nearing the 50% mark with republican voters. nbc news survey monkey weekly online tracking poll finds donald trump a majority of support. 48%. 21 points ahead of ted cruz who is at 27%. john kasich as you see at 18%. on the democratic side, national support for hillary clinton now stands at 49%, down from 53% last week as bernie sanders' support is up slightly to 43%, just a six-point race. this just days after a new

bloombebloo bloomberg politics poll shows them tied with the edge to sanders. while both candidates have their eyes on the final primaries and delegate some say trump is not paying proper attention to the election. the "wall street journal" reports that while hillary clinton is maintaining a strong operation in the battle state of iowa trump is moving on. strategists in new hampshire also say there is little left of his operation there. >> it will be fascinating to see what's happened. let's talk to jim about the numbers. donald trump approaching 50%. i think this is a great time for everybody to stop and just churn back over all the predictions that said donald trump would never get to 20, 30, 40. >> do i hear 50? >> let's go to the reel. >> no, no, no.

victory laps make me tired. i say this because the media, especially over the past two weeks, has whipped itself into such a lather and such a frenzy that they're doing toward donald trump's campaign exactly what they did in june and july and august. i had a news director for a major network call me yesterday and said, we're out of control. he said, i walked into our morning meeting, and everybody around the table said, well, he's done it this time. it's over. donald trump is finished. and that's the mindset of everybody in the mainstream media. i was -- david sanger actually -- >> the desire. >> it's the desire. i'm telling you, the coverage -- i'm not saying donald trump is -- >> desire should not get in the way of a story. >> whatever. we've got editorial pages for a reason. we've got newspapers for another reason and broadcast networks

for another reason. the outrageous reporting over the last two weeks on the main pages of the newspapers are repeating the same mistake that everybody is now saying we made back in june and july. just because they find him offensive, racist, et cetera, et cetera. they're missing the story again, jim. i can't believe it's happening again. they're missing the story again because of their hatred of donald trump. >> most of the stuff where he is getting tough scrutiny i would argue deserves scrutiny. he says some insanely crazy things. >> i understand. >> he says insanely offensive things and offensive things. >> are you offended? are the voters offended? >> are we offended? >> the thing is --

>> you're not offended when he's retweeting pictures -- >> it doesn't matter if i'm offended. i would schroll by the tweet. it doesn't matter if i'm offended, and i am, about screening muslims to come into the country. look at what the voters are thinking. i saw a reporter foaming at the mouth about all the things that he doesn't know and all the things he says and all the things he believes and i'm thinking, that's what the voters liked in the polls. that's what the premiimary vote want. they're not matching the words with the voters. >> by the way, whenever we start a conversation like this, people love to say, oh, you're not offended by the bigotry. yes, we are. we've written columns about being offended about that. for instance, trump is an idiot. trump is this, trump is that. >> it's not going to happen. >> donald trump is not an idiot. he knows what he's doing.

there was a great clip of andrea mitchell the other day saying what we'd all say about his foreign policy. we look at each other and say, yeah, everybody in my district would love that, would love making the egyptians pay for this and the japanese pay for that. yeah, think we're suckers. again, we are all saying this guy is an idiot. there is no way he's going to win. while donald trump approaches 50%. >> there's been a boy who cried wolf situation with this concept of what's offensive political speech. i was in florida shortly after the paris attacks hanging out with my parents, some of their friends. i remember the news coming on and saying that governor rick scott will not allow any of the refugees to come into the state on a temporary basis until we figure out what's going on. it seemed like a common sense position to folks. let's press pause. i came back to washington and was taping my podcast. she was saying isn't this going to hurt? i said we need to wait for the

polls to come back. a lot of folks say, well, this seems like common sense. for so long those things have been deemed offensive and outside the bounds. but now when things are way outside of the bounds, people are tired of the media telling them their views are invalid. >> it seems that the more offended we are, the more stories i hear from people that i have known that i would think never in a million years would vote -- never in a million years would vote for donald trump, and i ask them, why are you voting for donald trump? because i know they're not racist. i know they're not bigots. i know they work with muslims. and they go -- it's always -- it always boils down to everybody is a clown. washington has screwed up since, you know, whether it's katrina or whether it was the 2000 recount or the dot-com bust or whether it was 2008. they all have their reasons. none of them have to do with all the dog whistles.

>> the mistake i think we in the media often make is not paying attention to the voters and not hearing what they're saying. polls -- you know, months and months and months ago back when people were saying that trump's ceiling was 25 or 30, but if you add it up, the numbers for the outsider candidates, the candidates who basically gave a middle finger to washington, it was over 50% in the republican party. clearly the voters were saying, we're tired of the political establishment as usual, politicians as usual. there is no establishment. we should have listened. we flatter ourselves to think -- >> we do. we're so offended. let me read from your piece. no, the media didn't create donald trump. the media created trump's story line ignores the fact that the mainstream media are about as popular among the republican base as the zika virus. the one exception, fox news, has been tougher on trump than other

outlets not more accommodating. the news media, it seems to me, are guilty only of reporting the news which is that a candidate who has never held elective office and displays neither the base of knowledge nor the temperament to serve as president is leading all comers for the nomination. commentators should spend less time flattering themselves that the news media have the power to make such a thing happen and more time trying to understand why trump is succeeding, winning, succeeding. winning. >> gene actually put in real pretty words, katty, what i was thinking in my head. which is instead of obsessing over -- i mean, obsess over the offensive policy positions. obsess over that. talk about it, report about it. editorialize about it but then get to the bottom line, which is, why are we as elites in washington and new york so offended and yet this man is connecting by spending less

money than everybody else on the republican side and looks like he's trying to move towards the nomination that they're trying to steal from him. why is that happening? >> the most interesting thing about this election is not us and it's not even actually donald trump. it's what the phenomenon of donald trump tells us about where a group of people are in the country and how they feel disenfranchised and beleaguered and for very many reasons chuck in free trade policies. tax cuts for the wealthiest, a whole group of working class americans feel they've been left behind and donald trump has understood that in a way that no other candidate and certainly not the media have done. i say it again. this is not much of a political race. it's not a race between a republican and a democrat. this is a class race. it's a race about a group of largely men, largely white, in their mid 50s, who feel quite understandably that they have not benefited from the republican party's policies over

the last 20 years and here is somebody who is coming along and saying, i will give you a better deal. for probably four years now i have been quoting jeffrey sachs who wrote in his book a staggering line, average wages for male americans, for men in america, have been declining since 1973. >> particularly in the manufacturing sector. >> since 1973. and i repeated that because i think we all knew something like this was going to be coming. and they're not responding to obama. they're not responding to bush. they're not responding to -- they are responding to what's happened in washington. you see the same thing on the democratic side with bernie. >> absolutely. which we have to get to. >> katty from great britain, is dropping her gs today because of that belt. >> back in europe. it was enough to bring out the texan in me. >> on that note. the justice department has

dropped its high-stakes court fight against apple saying it's found a way to unlock the iphone belonging to one of the san bernardino shooters without apple's help. federal officials' decision comes a week after doj lawyers stopped a court room showdown after a third party came forward with an alternative method for acceleration the phone. what does that mean? >> it means some hacker hacked into the phone. >> exactly. exactly. >> eating cheetos. >> mika. you said at the beginning apple should just quietly help them out. >> i'm not saying they should but i wondered why that didn't happen. >> i had an official tell me three days ago. he said apple is going to rue the say that they didn't quietly go into a back room and say, let's work this out, because they have unleashed the best hackers in america and given them extraordinary economic

incentive to break their code and sell it to the fbi. and he said, so now more people are going to know how to run straight through their encryption than they would have if apple had just quietly -- >> you think they're actually getting money for this? >> oh, yes! >> they're getting well paid, the guys -- >> that's the last thing you want to do is open it up. >> will the government now tell apple how they did it? or not? >> i think not. i read in the "times" yesterday afternoon apple lawyers now are asking that the government lets them -- never going to happen. following the latest news out of cyprus and the hijacked plane. news that it may be a domestic situation and not terrorism. updates as they develop. plus, we have seen the

attacks overseas. does the u.s. have a reason to worry? the secretary of homeland security, jeh johnson, here on set for an exclusive interview. when former cia director michael hayden was asked who is better on national security, trump or cruz, he picked hillary clinton. the retired four-star general, a loyal republican, explains that just ahead. >> that had to heard. up next. jeffrey goldberg joins the conversation. why vladimir putin complained directly to president obama about jeff's reporting. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back.

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i'll tell you, this is -- i probably -- maybe shouldn't do this, but what the heck. i am in my last year. i had -- i had an in-depth conversation with president putin a while back. he had read an article on -- in "the atlantic" that jeff goldberg had done about my foreign policy doctrine, and he said, well, i disagree with some

of the things that you said in there. but i pointed out to him, of course, that unlike you, vladimir, i don't get to edit the piece before it's published. >> that was president obama name-dropping our next guest at a journalism awards dinner in washington last night. joining us now national correspondent for "the atlantic" and recipient of the national magazine award for reporting, jeffrey goldberg. >> i may also say, and we are all humbled to be here this morning. jeffrey knows what i'm going to say. i don't mean to embarrass you. >> this is a choice. >> the fifth-most influential -- sixth most influential jew on twitter. that is massive. >> it's true. >> i'm going for five. >> can i ask you -- i saw you tweet that there were no more mountains to climb. >> that was it. no more worlds left to conquer. i'm going to try to go for five next year. >> who is five? >> i don't remember. i blanked out.

i don't want to even know. >> it doesn't matter. >> i don't want to know. lena dunham or something. i don't want to know. >> maybe you should -- i'll be quiet. listen, so i want to ask you -- you have been writing some extraordinary articles about the president's foreign policy of late. i want to ask you to speak to the part of his foreign policy that flummoxes not only his critics but a lot of democrats as well that voted for him. and that is his ability in the midst of paris and brussels and the beheading of americans to do just the opposite of what many americans want him to do. go golfing after a beheading. do the tango and do the wave after brussels, seem oddly disconnected after paris. >> i don't want to be here to

flak for him necessarily, but -- >> well, this would be a great place -- >> it would be a great moment. >> he's philosophically committed that terrorism will not defeat us. that i as the president will not wait in the white house for bad things to happen and then instill panic or promote xenophobia or excessive worry. that we're going to treat this as terrible criminal gangs and we're going to defeat them deliberately and i'm not going to stop my -- >> and i am not here to deliver republican talking points, but -- but, i found it hard to believe that he was doing the wave with castro while they were still scraping american body parts off of the airport in the place that has been the center of nato for 50 years. and also doing the tango while americans were desperately trying to figure out whether

their relatives were alive or dead. the pictures -- >> i'm not sure the tango was his idea. let's just -- to your point. >> john kennedy wouldn't wear hats. this president can say, you know, probably best not to do the tango tonight. >> there are two separate issues. one is traveling and having bilateral relations with other countries while this stuff is going on. and the other are the optics -- the golf i think even he would admit the golf after foley, that did not look good. first of all, we want our president to be able to compartmentalize a little bit. we don't want them to succom. >> i think this president, when there is an attack by isis. the guy who said isis was a jv team. the guy who said isis could not reach america right before san bernardino, the guy that talked

about isis being not in the death throes but saying something the weekend before paris. there is something that seems almost deliberate about him low-keying the response to every horrific isis attack. >> there is a certain amount of defiance involved, i think. i recall that a hero of many conservatives and many people actually, margaret thatcher, i remember that the i.r.a. tried to blow her up. >> right. >> her hotel during the conservative party conference. >> right. >> people were killed. the wife of a close aide was killed and the aide was disabled for life. and the next day she gave her speech. >> right. >> gave her planned speech. >> she was not doing the tango, though. >> and also -- also she was impacted by the bombing too. >> as you said, one is the keep calm and carry on narrative. and the other is the question of optics. right. so you can argue about optics.

but, you know, he is in argentina. i lived in argentina. if you're in argentina at any given moment somebody could -- >> there are photos of you tangoing. >> exactly. >> why not fly to brussels? >> there is a good answer to that, which is that there are -- there have been eight or ten serious bombings over the last couple weeks in places like bagdad and yemen and istanbul. is the president of the united states supposed to go to each one? if not which ones do you go to? it becomes a slippery slope. >> you actually look like a president that is focused on our strategic partners. our most strategic partners, which have been france, have been brussels because of nato. >> i am not sure, given how stretched brussels security forces were in the days after the attack, having to then deal with the president of the united states flying in was probably one of the last things they wanted. i mean, it was a striking being

in europe last week, the degree to which you hear something in europe that you don't hear here, which is, which shouldn't overplay these attacks, we shouldn't actually be giving them this much air time because that is exactly what the terrorists want us to be doing. in a continent that's lived with terrorism for decades. terrorism happens and you try to downplay it. i think president obama is saying if we give it too much air time, this is what they want us to do. >> your piece is the only piece i've read twice. a fascinating look at a world view that a lot of conservatives -- >> it was. >> but it was actually very clarifying because you have the president taking on, i think, some of his most controversial positions, whether it's don't screw stuff up, lead from behind, the red line in syria. he has a much different world view after eight years than a

lot of people have. what was the most fascinating takeaway that you have had? >> it goes to this, i think. there are a few things, but one of them is that he's given up on the middle east. here is a guy who comes in in 2009 with the cairo speech. i am going to reset relations with the muslim world. by 2014 he's like, you guys are working out some stuff, and i don't -- he is a ruthless pragmatist. and he looks at the agenda and says i can't fix this in my remaining time so i'm going to manage it from afar to the extent that i can. terrorism becomes part of that. managing it, managing it. >> talk about a disconnect, though, from the american people. it does appear as if he has, as you said, quote, given up. >> i don't think the american people want america really deeply engaged in the middle east right now. >> i don't think americans want to send in 50,000 or 60,000 or 70,000 troops but i think most

americans are a held l of a lot more focused on isis than the president appears to be. >> there are parts of the president's day that you don't see. that's when people are coming to him saying, seven guys are in yemen right now. we have to take a shot. he's taken a lot of shots. >> if his mindset is, as you say, giving up on the middle east, he's passing these problems over to the next president. >> that's one way to interpret it. not here to flak. god knows. >> you have been flaking this morning. >> i know. i'm trying. >> is this how you get to number six? >> this is probably how i get to number two. what i would say is that he is simply looking at the situation in a practical way and saying, i am not going to fix this. my successor is not going to fix this. one of the things he has is the understanding of the tragic limitations of the presidency. this is hard for a president to tell the american people but i can't do everything. i cannot change the middle east

culture or politics. i'll deal with it as it comes. >> the president understands the tragic limitations of the american presidency, and yet he is a president that talked about leading from behind and actually -- >> he didn't talk about leading from behind. >> seems to -- seems to apply more limitations to the presidency himself. >> well, but there are limitations that, you know -- you can enumerate them, he could enumerate them. they might not be the same lists. i'm curious as to -- was there disappointment when he talked about essentially giving up on the middle east? and i ask because -- >> those are my words, not his words. >> a high-ranking official in the first term told me, was once told by the president in a private meeting, that that's how he wanted to be remembered, as the president who reset relations between the west and the muslim world. >> i think health care was a big one too. but yeah. i get that. >> but specifically he said that

to someone who dealt with foreign policy. >> right. >> is he disappointed at the way things have turned out? >> again, this is a pragmatic guy. what he said to me clearly is, if i spent all my time dealing with people who essentially want to kill us and all of these problems in yemen and libya and places that i can't fix, i won't be able to pay attention to those huge parts of the world where they like us and want our help. >> jeffrey goldberg, thank you very much. and congratulations. >> it's been an honor. we have a cake outside. star of david number six. that's huge. twitter symbol. >> i'm hoping for better. still ahead, he doesn't talk politics often, but in the wake of a proposed travel ban on muslims the secretary of homeland security did not hold back. >> when a leading candidate for office proposes something that is irresponsible, probably illegal, unconstitutional and contrary to international law, unamerican and will actually hurt our efforts at homeland

security and national security, we have to speak out. >> we're going to talk to secretary jeh johnson about the impact of political rhetoric on the effort to keep the homeland secure. "morning joe" is back in just a moment. statement... make sure it's an intelligent one. the all-new audi a4, with available virtual cockpit.

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all right. joining us now for an exclusive interview is the u.s. secretary of homeland security, jeh johns johnson. secretary, good to have you with us this morning. we're looking at a lot of things. i think americans are, of course, concerned about what's happened in brussels as it pertains to our security here. >> yes. >> how would you gauge how we're responding? obviously there are some major differences in the ability to exchange intelligence here and our handle on it. the president certainly seems to not be too concerned about it coming to our shores. how concerned are you since you're in charge of this? >> well, i would certainly disagree that the president is not concerned. we had an nse meeting just yesterday to go over homeland security. and he is continually updated and briefed on the world situation. while we do not know of a

specific, credible piece of intel about a plot of the belgian type here in the united states, we continue to be very concerned about terrorist-inspired acts that could be carried out here in the homeland. we're continually concerned about foreign terrorist travel, and we continue to focus on those things. >> so how actively involved is isis in trying to launch an attack or a series of attacks on the homeland? >> well, we know from their public calls and from social media and the internet that isil has made efforts and called for attacks here in the homeland. and that's one of the things we're focused on right now. terrorist-inspired attacks are part of the new era that we're in right now. >> and do you have evidence of that on the ground with arrests made or -- or trails that you're following that -- you know, because we always heard about traffic, post 9/11, you know,

the talking, the chatter, the traffic. >> san bernardino, chattanooga, the attempt in texas last year, reflect the new era that we're in. the fbi has made a number of arrests of those who have been inspired by isil's calls and al qaeda's calls. that's what we're focused on right now. >> what's a level of concern? people see what's happening in brussels and they wonder if it's going to be happening in their mall next week. >> well, it's a valid concern that americans should have about the new phase that we're in. the message that i deliver is that the public should continue to go to public events, public gatherings, enjoy holidays, freedom to travel, freedom to associate, celebrate our immigrant heritage but be vigilant and be aware and know that a lot of homeland security and law enforcement officials are working overtime to address the existing threats.

>> so ted cruz has written a response to bill bratton on a topic that you have had to confront. while commissioner bratten admits the jihadists are driven by ideology he maintains our response should have no idealogical component. that's ridiculous. we must understand what their motivation and goals are, where they might plot attacks and which targets they are inclined to strike. their ideology tells us how they might peddle their radical muslimism in our cities and towns and helps us encourage our fellow muslim citizens to choose a different path. the bottom line is that, to defeat radical muslim, we need to focus on our counter-terrorism resources where terrorists are likely to be. that's not profiling or spying. it's common sense. is it common sense? >> well, i certainly agree from my current position and from my

defense department days that understanding your enemy is key. understanding the terrorist enemy, their motivations is key. i agree with that statement in that respect. we've spent a lot of time building bridges to american muslim communities, as you know, because the islamic state is targeting those communities to carry out attacks here in the homeland. so we spend a lot of time working with muslim communities, american-muslim communities. they are not a monolith. there are many of them across the country. to help them help us in our homeland security efforts. i have personally been all around the country to meet with american muslim communities. >> do you think ted cruz's comments were destructive to your efforts? >> i think that, in this phase, it is critical that we build bridges to american-muslim communities, not vilify them, not drive them into the shadows and encourage them to work with

us. >> right. >> it's everybody's homeland. >> do you think ted cruz's comments were destructive to your efforts? >> i believe that inflammatory comments about patrolling and securing muslim neighbors or barring muslims from entering this country, having an immigration policy based on religion, is counter productive to our homeland security and national security interests. >> katty. >> mr. secretary, one of the things europeans have always admired about america with its relations to muslims is that they think of themselves as americans first and foremost. but i have heard concerns recently that there is an uptick in radicalization. particularly in prisons and amongst some members of your muslim population. are you seeing that and what's driving it? >> let me begin by saying i have been to a number of community round-tables, mosques, where we'll begin the session with the pledge of allegiance at one of

the largest mosques in the united states in northern virginia, we begin the session with the boy scouts and girl scouts, with the pledge of allegiance. american muslims that i have encountered are very patriotic people and want to be part of the fabric of our nation. of course, we're concerned about radicalization in prisons and elsewhere. and that's a large reason why, since i have been secretary, we have enhanced our so-called cbe efforts. counter violent extremism here in the homeland. >> is it rising in some places if. >> i think we have to be concerned about the islamic state's active efforts to recruit and inspire people here in the homeland, and so our efforts to build bridges to muslim communities is as important as any other homeland security imperative. >> gene. >> anything you can tell us about the hijacking today in

cyprus? >> we're monitoring the situation very, very closely. >> does it look like a domestic situation? >> when i go back to my office in a few minutes i'll get a full intel brief on what we know. from what we see right now, it does not appear to be terrorism connected. a very good question is whether or not there was in fact an explosive belt and how it got through the screening at that particular airport. >> all right. secretary jeh johnson, thank you so much for being on this morning. >> thank you, secretary. >> appreciate it. how upside down is the race for president right now? there is this from a vowed republican and former cia director michael hayden. he says, after john kasich, he has had to look outside his party when it comes to leadership on national security. >> number two right now, best prepared from day one? secretary clinton. >> gcome on. >> no. >> why? >> because she is well prepared. >> general hayden explains straight ahead on "morning joe." the pursuit of healthier.

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while fairness is the hallmark of good journalism, false equivalency all too often these days can be a fatal flaw. if i say that the world is round and someone else says it's flat, that's worth reporting. but you might also want to report on a bunch of scientific

evidence that seems to support the notion that the world is round. a job well done is about more than just handing someone a microphone. it would be better served if billions of dollars in free media came with certain accountability. especially when politicians issue unworkable plans or make promises they can't keep. and there are reporters here who know they can't keep them. i know that's a shocking concept. [ applause ] >> there is a man lecturing the media on how to do their business, the man who has not sat down for an extended interview with the "washington post" in seven and a half years, and yet gladly submits himself to being interviewed by youtube stars who sit in bathtubs with milk and fruit loops. >> the one with the big hair, yes. okay. that was president obama speaking last night at the toner prize awards dinner in d.c. president obama calling on the media to hold themselves to a

higher standard. >> fruit loops, i say. >> i think it was apple jacks. >> and also another podcast called wtf. with a liberal l.a. comedian. hasn't sat down with the "washington post" in seven and a half years but we really should hold ourselves to a higher standard. >> while taking some responsibility for the divisive culture in american politics he also called on media companies to invest back into the public good and, quote, not dumb down the news. >> hmm. >> some in the press corps were less than impressed. mark tweeted you're supposed to push those in foyer fpower for access even the white house doesn't always provide it. sam stein tweeted after that barn burner from obama on the responsibilities of press coverage i'm looking to see the spike in white house briefings.

obama is right about a vulcanized media problem but he contributed to it. i think you were alluding to that, joe. >> well, yeah. the president -- that column, jim vandehei yesterday accurately talked about the hypocrisy of the president complaining about the vulcanized treatment when he himself went, more times than not, to those who would provide him the easiest, easiest questions and he would be speaking to his audience directly. >> i think it goes to his comment about false equivalency. his definition of that i think would be not giving more weight to his position. therefore i thinks he goes to friendly media outlets and avoids tough scrutiny. one of the critics you'll hear from investigative reporters at politico and other organizations is the lack of transparency. so there is no doubt reporters can always do a better job of scrutinizing and explaining. i'll say that white houses can do a better job of offering

transparency on their end. any reporter who has dealt with this white house would say it's as frustrating or more frustrating than dealing with -- >> it definitely can be. many times it is. you know, this -- i strikes me -- he lectures about how to cover donald trump basically. he's talking about that. in fact, we write the stories about how his numbers don't add up and it doesn't add any sense. the frustration is that the voters keep voting for him and we're supposed to do something about that. >> exactly. jim vandehei. thank you very much this morning. coming up a man hijacks a plane bound for cairo then lets most of the passengers go. latest in the breaking news in a moment. plus, the ceiling on donald trump's national polling keeps going up. >> 25, 28? >> chris cillizza and andrea mitchell join the conversation coming up. >> he'll never get to 30!

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i've got a very simple suggestion. donald, why don't you show up and debate like a man. let me give you an example. if your car is broke down. do you want a guy to come over in your driveway and yell and scream and curse at your car? or do you want someone to lift the hood and actually fix the engine? >> if donald does what we expect him to do, which is to run and hide and siay, no, no, no, the debates are scary to me. then i want to stay the outcome of this state is in your hands. >> all right. welcome back to "morning joe,"

live in washington this morning. it is tuesday, march 29th. we have washington anchor for bbc world news america katty kay. kristen societyis anderson, nbc news chief foreign affairs correspondent and host of andrea mitchell reports, andrea mitchell. msnbc political contributor and editor at the fix, the "washington post," chris cillizza ags well. how was cruz's reading this morning. >> it was good. he's stepping it up. >> you watch him and his dramatic pausing is like no other. >> it's ridiculous. >> i think he's forgotten what he's going to say next. >> i think he thinks we're all hanging an every word. >> very good michael douglas. >> my god. i'm not the only one who sees this. it drives you crazy. >> you're right. it's the theatrical, how long can i keep my audience waiting before i -- >> the hand gestures.

>> he is a former debate kid. i was a high school debate kid. i know a million ted cruzes. i knew them when they were teenagers. this is classic. >> did you find it to be a winning strategy? >> in high school debates sure. >> you say you knew a million ted cruzes in high school. how many do you keep up with today? >> i will say a lot of them grew into themselves very well and we're now very close. >> you're suggesting ted cruz did not grow into it himself. >> ted cruz has found that sticking with what worked in high school -- actually i don't know what he did in high school. in college, he was a college debater. he has continued to ride that train to at least second place in the republican primary. >> i don't get it. i don't get that more than anything. >> i think is a lot of it is that politics is at some level thee theatrics.

i've been in his crowds and it does work in the room. the people there are his supporters. they're there for a reason. but they're sort of hanging on his words. >> reagan said, i don't know how you could have done this job if you hadn't been an actor. >> a real one actually does it well. >> he did it well. you know -- >> what? >> i've got to say it. everybody wonders why donald trump is in first place right now. >> oh, i don't but go ahead. >> donald trump is in first place because -- halperin has been saying this for a year and a half. this field that was supposed to be the greatest field ever. he's been saying it for a year and a half. they're bad. most of them, if you just look at their political skills, they're not good. i love jeb. i wanted to vote for jeb. jeb wasn't good on the campaign trail. i liked scott walker a lot. his politics line up with mine. scott walker wasn't good on the campaign trail. i remember one like 24-hour period where his head almost blew right off his shoulder.

he couldn't answer basic questions. marco rubio. people are like, why are you so mean to marco rubio? i wasn't mean to marco. i didn't know marco. but every time marco talked i heard the echos of a thousand focus groups. it was so planned. it was so calculated. and it was just -- it was phony. ted cruz, i'm sorry, he appears to be phony. they seem phony! so the contrast between donald trump who throws water across the stage, who just says the first thing that comes on his mind. >> sells steaks, on stage. >> and they're not even his own steaks, but they're so -- if people want authenticity this year, if they don't want focus groups, they look at all of these pre-packaged candidates, and then they look at this crazy guy out there that's just saying, like you said, it looks like donald trump is trying to figure out what he's saying next

when he's up on the stage. >> that's what i think is the thing that -- when i see ted cruz speak it doesn't seem like he's the product of a million focus groups but i can almost hear the gears in his head turning as he's putting a sentence together trying to think, what am i saying that's going to get me in potential trouble, how can i spin this statement six months down the road if i'm pivoting for a general. i think that's why it winds up reading a little bit phony. >> if you want authenticity, the only candidate offering that is donald trump. and i must say, bernie sanders. >> the most consistent of them all. >> ted cruz -- i mean ted cruz, his supporters really like him. they do -- he has a level of genuine commitment and ardent support that certainly marco rubio didn't have at his rallies. >> look at where he's gotten to. if you're a conservative, if

you're a conservative's conservative, who are you going to support right now in the republican nomination right now but ted cruz? >> you have no choice. >> there is no choice. >> we talked about this. there is -- donald trump is not fundamentally, principle-wise a conservative. he is just not. >> what do you mean? he's not even a republican. >> immigration is the one issue, right, that we really know his position on and that his position is quite conservative. on everything else ted cruz is five ticks more conservative than maybe ted -- i mean ted cruz is the only conservative. john kasich, you could argue, on the issues -- it's hard with trump because, like, if you go down the issues, i'm not sure where he stands on most of them. you could argue john kasich has a more conservative record than -- john kasich is not a moderate -- than donald trump. >> of course he does. >> authentic is just never the word that i am thinking of when i'm thinking of donald trump's style. when i think authentic i think

the things you're saying are the things you genuinely believe. >> like bernie sanders. >> i think bernie sanders meets the definition well. i think for donald trump because his positions are all over the map on a lot of things it's hard to put the label authentic on him. sometimes it's shooting from the hip of whatever the crowd seems to like at that moment. i don't define that as authentic. >> i know it's shallow but with ted cruz i think it's just -- on a performance level it is painful. it is just painful. but i am -- i might be alone on this. we have got a lot of really interesting new polling to get to in just a moment. first, we want to update our viewers on the breaking news overseas where officials say an egyptair jet liner was hi hacked. the flight was on route from alexandria to cairo with 55 passengers on board and five crew members. the plane landed at larnaca airport in cyprus where it's sat on the tarmac ever since. the airlines says one of the passengers told the pilot he had an explosive belt, a high-level

source close to the operation tells nbc news the hijacking seems to be about a personal matter involving a woman, possibly an ex-wife. according to the ap, the president of cyprus has said the hijacking is not related to terrorism. egyptair is reporting that everyone has been allowed to get off the plane except three passengers, the pilot, co-pilot and three cabin crew members. right now we do not know the nationalities of the passengers said to be still on board. a spokesman at the u.s. embassy in cyprus tells nbc news officials are looking into whether american citizens were involved. we had jeh johnson on earlier who said he was going right back to get an update on this and, if there was an explosive belt involved, that would be a security matter that's very disturbing. >> the fact is -- actually hillary clinton did point this out in her stanford speech -- we

now have manifest agreements -- we have an agreement, tsa demands that anyone coming from europe is on a flight manifest that is previewed by our security. within the 28 countries of the european union, they have not reached that kind of an grael agreement. that's one of the reasons why the whole european is now on the verge of collapse. the open borders -- they don't share any kind of data with each other. they don't share intelligence. >> that's incredible. >> look at the brussels and french failure to get this cell after what happened in paris. >> right. >> and stop it right there. when have we ever seen a cell that has gone this long? and now it's exactly a week after the brussels attacks and they had to release the chief suspect, the only one that had been charged with the attacks. so, for all of our criticism of what homeland and the post 9/11 new coordinations have meant for this country, and all of the inconveniences and the slowdown

in travel and the economic impediments, they have actually, with the exception of the nigeriaen who came on the christian day bomber who got on the plane but they stopped him at this end in detroit, they have a pretty good, knock on wood, track record. we'll follow this story and bring you developments as they come to us. moving back to politics. a new poll shows donald trump nearing the 50% mark with republican voters. the nbc news survey monkey online weekly tracking poll shows 48%, 21 points ahead of ted cruz, who is at 27%. john kasich at 18%. on the democratic side, national support for hillary clinton now stands at 49%. down from 53% last week. as bernie sanders' support is up slightly to 43%, just a six-point race. this just days after a new bloomberg politics poll shows

sanders and clinton tied nationally with the edge to sanders. 49% to 48%. and while both candidates have their eyes on the final primaries and delegate process, there is some suggestion that donald trump is not paying proper attention to the general. the "wall street journal" reporting that, while hillary clinton is maintaining a strong operation in the battle ground state of iowa, trump has moved on. with his state and deputy director no longer working for the campaign, while strategists in new hampshire also say there is little left of his operation there. which, go ahead, andrea. >> i think what he's focusing on is what he needs to focusing on. moving ahead towards trying to get the zombie delegates and the other delegates, picking them off and going against cruz who has a good operation, we're told, going forward towards the convention. he needs to worry about the nomination more than she does. >> right. chris. >> andrea is right, absolutely,

that he has to focus on the in the weeds stuff that he doesn't care about. but this idea i do think is -- if you're a republican it has to be concerning. this is a republican who is your likely nominee. whether washington likes it or not. the fact that he is not staying organized iowa and new hampshire are two swing states in the general election. you cannot solely rely on star power. that has clearly worked for him in the primary. there is no question about that. he gets more attention, draws bigger crowds, but you cannot not have organization in a general election. you have to realize that it's important to have those. >> he has no infrastructure. >> no. none. people say to me, who do you talk to in the trump campaign? you can call hope hicks, she is the spokes woman. >> that's it. >> in any other campaign there are five or six people. with romney stuart stevens or neil newhouse.

donald trump is the candidate, chief strategist, chief planner, and probably up until paul was hired, the chief delegate counter. >> ivanka seems to be the only other person who has a lot of weight in the campaign. in terms of organizing for new hampshire and iowa, unless he's thinking, look, what i have done has worked for me so well so far, why would i start going against my gut when my gut has got us virtually to the nomination. >> that is true. >> so maybe actually that star power will be what propels him the whole way and he'll chuck in organizers and get out the vote machines at the end. let's go to the democratic side. >> who knows. >> not to judge. bernie sanders went on yet another fund raising tear following three wins out west. the sanders campaign announced pulling in more than $4 million in the two days following the wins in hawaii, alaska and

washington state. his top aides held a press call in which they emphasize there is still a path to the nomination. at one point senior adviser tad devine referred to hillary clinton as a weak frontrunner and they called for a debate in new york state ahead of that state's primary on april 19th. here is what clinton's senior strategist, joel benenson had to say yesterday in response to that. >> there is no risk. she has done very well in the debates. the debates have been very good. but senator sanders doesn't decide when we debate, particularly when he's running a very negative campaign against us. let's see if he goes back to the kind of tone he said he would set early on. if he does, we'll talk about debates. >> no chance of a new york debate? >> i didn't say that. i said we'll a talk about it and see what kind of tone he sets. if hes campaign wants to run negative ads like they did in north carolina, in illinois, all over the country on march 15th, um, that's going to be disappointing to a lot of

democrats who feel we have to start focusing on republicans, whether it's donald trump or ted cruz, and about our differences so we win in november. >> those were awfully tepid ads for them to be complaining. >> is he talking about bernie sanders? >> bernie sanders has been a lot tougher and more personal on the stump. >> personal. >> if you look at his speeches he's going after hillary and calling her out more in the last couple of weeks? >> on issues? >> on issues but also calling her out. that said, it's hardly what we'd call negative or attack ads. look, they don't want a debate in new york, and i think they are legitimately worried despite their big polling lead in new york, which she won twice. >> and she looks to win. >> but the fact is that i was on that press call, and they've got a lot of momentum coming out of these caucuses. they know that there are only two more caucuses left. they need to win primaries. he needs to win wisconsin. he has a really good shot in wisconsin. if he does, he can look forward.

i think they've -- he's got appeal across -- you know, he has appeal in pennsylvania. >> chris, $4 million, just coming in over the line, while hillary has to get george clooney to invite lots of people to his house to raise money that way. while bernie is like eating ice cream in his bedroom watching "curb your enthusiasm." >> ben & jerry's. >> he essentially does no events. what's fascinating is this is a replay in terms of the money of the 2008 race. which is that hillary was supposed to be the candidate with all the money, and then obama passes her because of all the small-dollar donations. one thing i'll say about bernie's money. in february, 29 days, $42 million raised. >> what's his website? >> bernie sanders.com. >> here is a fund raiser. he goes like this. i'm having a fund raiser. bernie sanders.com. there. i had a fund raiser. okay. >> and he raises a million

dollars. >> unlike all these other candidates who lose -- lose and have to get out of races because they run out of money. >> yeah. >> he's not -- he can stay -- if he -- probably if he raises zero dollars between now and june ppt 7th, he can stay in the race. he is outspending her in these states. >> i will tell you -- it's the same intel contact that warned me that apple was making a bad mistake by not just quietly cooperating does -- >> it's going to get done one way or the other. >> all they did was have the fbi open it up to all these hackers and say we'll pay you money. so you have a thousand different people trying to hack into the process. he called it right. another thing he said is -- and he said this before we read it in the newspaper yesterday. he said there are 150 fbi agents on hillary clinton's case right now. interviews are coming up. if it were anybody else in

america, they would be getting ready to either have a misdemeanor or a felony filed against them. he said i don't know if that's the case with hillary clinton, but he said the democratic party needs to stand by because, you know, this is not as cut and dry as you guys in the media have been trying to make it over the past several months. >> okay. >> so with bernie, you don't -- you never know what's going to happen. >> i agree. a clinton senior strategist joel benenson said on a conference call yesterday that senator sanders is going to campaign like a brooklynite ahead of the new york primary while clinton will campaign like a senator who represented the state for eight years and has lived here for 16. >> aren't they in brooklyn? >> yes. >> is he dissing? >> yes. >> i like people from brooklyn. >> why is he dissing brooklyn? >> i don't get it. >> what's the point? like that he's -- the only thing i could think of when i read

that quote is he is like a city candidate, whereas she has represented the whole state. but in the democratic primary the vote in the city is huge. >> the guy from brooklyn -- >> please go away, people on the campaign. >> the tone of this race disintegrated on the democratic side, they should keep looking at the republicans, because this is child's play. >> it took twitter to clarify that brooklynite was a compliment, adding that we're all proud new yorkers. yes, we are. let's have a debate in new york. it would be an incredible event. >> it would be exciting. i would love to see it. >> i'd love to hear about the issues. >> why doesn't she want to -- i don't understand. she was resistant to the debate. she is a good -- she is a good debater. >> andrea mitchell, why doesn't she want to debate? >> they want it in pennsylvania, if they have one. >> really. >> that's better turf for her. look, she doesn't want to debate because she -- you know, she doesn't want to deal with bernie

face to face. >> but she is a good debater. >> she's debated like a billion times. >> she should listen to her team. >> the path is a hard one. the idea that the only thing that will help bernie is if something happens that will shake up the race. something catastrophic happening in a race. if i'm hillary, i'm playing defense and trying to get to the nomination. >> i just think running out the clock is not -- i think for her, her biggest problem as a candidate is her remarkable caution. and to me, she has proven -- she has made one debate mistake. and that was a big one, in 2008. buffalo with tim russert about illegal immigrants in new york getting driver's licenses. >> that was in philly. >> exactly right. at the philly hall there. >> drexel university. it was my birthday. >> oh! but she has made one mistake. how many times has she debated?

40 or so? i understand you're right. you guys are right that it strategically makes sense. >> she is in a race with donald trump. she is competing with trump. >> i agree strategically it's a smart move to make. the last thing i'm going to do is have a debate in new york, with all the bright lights there. if bernie wins wisconsin, they move to new york. yes, close to wall street. if they hold it in mid town bernie can go just 30 blocks south of here hillary clinton has raised x amount of money. >> were you working on your bernie sanders? >> no, i haven't. >> it doesn't make a lot of sense. i think you're right. pennsylvania would make more sense than new york. >> chris cillizza, thank you very much. >> you know what, you don't want to debate a guy that's going to debate like he's from brooklyn. >> oh, my gosh. >> street fighting tactics. >> new york. >> brooklyn is awesome.

have you been there? >> yep. >> yeah. the campaign headquarters is there. and they're dissing the -- >> they must not like it there. >> -- the town where it is. andrea, stay with us. still ahead nbc's chuck todd and the "washington post" chuck costa. former cia chief michael hayden. how does he grade belgium's and european officials' response. >> coming up there. >> we can ask more than that. we'll be right back. okay... what if a million people download the new app? we're good. five million? good. we scale on demand. hybrid infrastructure, boom. ok. what if 30 million people download the app? we're not good. we're total heroes. scale on demand with the number one company in cloud infrastructure.

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as the party begins the last leg of its primaries and caucuses another state by state battle for control is shaping up, only this time away from the ballot box. in louisiana donald trump won the primary but ted cruz gained the upper hand with delegates at the state convention. yesterday, trump campaign adviser told msnbc that the campaign would be taking action at the republican national committee, not the courts. accusing the louisiana gop of leaving them out. >> well, the problem we're having here is there was a

secret meeting in louisiana of the convention delegation, and apparently all the invitations for our delegates must have gotten lost in the mail. i have been with our legal team most of the morning now, and we are moving forward with a complaint to de-certify these delegates. >> are you telling us you're going to file a legal complaint. >> it's not something you file with the court. it's something you file inside the party but it's a de-certification so the delegates and the rules committee members and folks don't get seated. >> the louisiana republican party is pushing back, telling the "wall street journal" that donald trump's louisiana co-chairman attended the secret meeting, which was the state's republican convention. executive director jason doer told nbc, quote, we followed party rules and state party rules to a tee. mr. trump got what he earned. we don't have a remedy that we can offer. we are a proportional state. we can't change the rules. let's bring in political

reporter for the "washington post" and msnbc political analyst robert costa and moderator of "meet the press" and host of "mtp daily" chuck "today.. "toda chuck todd. >> i was interviewing dr. ben carson yesterday, he sent two of his former campaign managers, ed brookeover and the gentleman we just heard from, barry bennett to try to get donald trump's organization better, doing well at the state conventions where these delegates are allocated. though trump has spoken about lawsuits what we're seeing from him is a mission to go to the republican national committee and file a complaint. >> so much plays into trump's hands here, but in this case he gets the most votes, ted cruz gets the most delegates. that plays into donald trump's

hands. >> it does. >> it's outrageous. >> rhetorically. it's a reminder. we have been wondering for a long time now, joe, whether -- there is a point where trump has to be able to play the insider game, right, and these delegation contests are part of the insider game. the state conventions, at some states and how it interacts with electing the delegates and who these individuals are, this goes to i think we're seeing exposed the potential way that trump could blow this. i tell you this, the cruz campaign, they're going to know every single delegate on that floor of the convention, not just by their name. they'll know their likes and dislikes, they'll know their favorite tv shows. they're going to know a lot of things about them. i'm not confident yet that the trump campaign, even with the help of these carson guys who have been around this town a long time, will be able to put together a similar operation. >> andrea. >> it's so remarkable that it's the carson guys, the ultimate

outsider, who is helping donald trump. who about hiring paul manifort now and other long-time delegate counters. >> paul versus charlie black. a long-time republican operative, is helping out john kasich on this front. all these folks who used to work together working against each other. paul hasn't been in the game in a long time. this is a new set of delegates. if this gets to the floor of the convention i would rather be ted cruz than donald trump. >> so, bob costa, what are you hearing about the trump organization inside of the trump organization? are they starting to focus more on the inside game? are they -- do they realize that just having trump -- i say "they." does donald trump realize that just going out, giving a speech, getting lots of people into an auditorium and getting them out to vote at this point will not be enough, that they need to

move to the next phase? >> i think, speaking to the trump campaign, they recognize that. but it's a two-front endeavor. you have to do the delegate allocation and also build relationships in washington, d.c. there are some important people like gingrich who have not endorsed but who are trying to guide trump and help him in their words to be more presidential. in his words yesterday, talking to trump trying to help him speak more on policy. >> is he trying to help in that effort? >> he describes his role as trying to help the party. he sees trump as the likely nominee and he wants to make sure trump is in a position to beat clinton. he is keeping in touch with people he met last week in washington. >> any endorsements coming from newt? >> from newt, no. he reminds me a lot of former mayor giuliani. these are people who see in trump a lot of appeal to bring out disengaged and working-class voters. >> he's going to endorse trump,

right? >> a lot of people are willing to help but not formally endorse. >> chuck todd, so much going on on the democratic side. national polls getting tighter by the week. big news yesterday on hillary clinton's email investigation. and bernie sanders, oh, yeah, he coughed and raised $4 million last week. we're headed towards wisconsin and new york state. >> right. >> tell us what you're seeing in that race. >> she has a limping toward the end problem, doesn't she? that's what you sort of envision here. you know, the math is in her favor by a lot. not by a little. she also has sort of other talking points in her favor, the idea that she has, oh, more votes. more actual people have come out to vote for her than to vote for him. you could see where this is going. and yet, at the same time, she may limp to the finish line. she may lose wisconsin. she just has to hope she doesn't

lose by double digits. lose in her home state of new york. more possible than people realize, perception-wise that wouldn't be -- that's a way of limping towards the finish line. i think that's the fear here if you're hillary clinton. look, barring something else that suddenly -- you brought up emails and the fbi investigation, obviously that could change things a lot. but without it, it feels like we're -- sanders is gaining momentum, can be competitive but can't ever find a way to actually surpass her. >> in some ways, gene, sanders is as big a story as trump, even -- >> he's a huge story. if not for trump, we would, a, be talking a lot about bernie sanders. >> yeah. >> and this amazing story. and b, we would be talking about hillary clinton's high negatives. >> yeah. >> and -- which are -- would be historically high if not for donald trump's. >> yeah. >> she would be the most unpopular presidential nominee in history.

it just happens donald trump will also be the most unpopular nominee in history. >> how will the campaign deal with this? how will they deal with that -- that more than inconvenient, that damaging number? >> i think make it a referendum on trump. this has always been in the flaw and why so many republican operatives are so fearful of trump and his ability to beat clinton. the fear is simply this. the best way to beat hillary clinton is to make it a referendum on hillary clinton. barack obama proved that in 2008. that race was more about hillary clinton. the general election with donald trump, is it going to be about trump or clinton? if it's a referendum on trump, that's how she does it. >> she is making it about trump. don't forget, jesse jackson won wisconsin. it could go easily. >> chuck todd, thank you so much. robert costa, stay with us. coming up, former director of the cia. when it comes to national security it's a big deal when general michael hayden says he

would consider a democrat over the two leading republican presidential contenders. the general joins us next. we're also following the plane hijacking out of cyprus. reports came in moments ago that there are people seen leaving the plane. we'll work to confirm that and figure out what's going on there. we're following that breaking story as well. we'll be right back. and i didn't get here alone. there were people who listened along the way. people who gave me options. kept me on track. and through it all, my retirement never got left behind. today, i'm prepared for anything we may want tomorrow to be. every someday needs a plan. let's talk about your old 401(k) today. wrely on the us postal service?

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all right. we want to update you on the

breaking news overseas. officials say an egyptair jet liner was hijacked and is landing in cyprus. everyone has been allowed off the plane except three passengers, the pilot, co-pilot and three crew members. we have new video showing a person crawling out of the cockpit. this happened moments ago. see the person -- wow. oh my goodness. obviously making some sort of an escape there. we don't know yet, but we'll be following this. as we look at these pictures that have just come into us out of cyprus. joining us now former director of the cia and nsa, retired general michael hayden. >> let's begin with the question of how does this happen, somebody coming out of an international airport and one person being able to take over a plane with an explosives belt allegedly around his waist? >> if there is evidence of an

explosive, that it's not a bluff, another serious commentary on egyptair's security. that should make us all very concerned. these airlines are integrated into a national system. what i want to know first is did he have something that should have been detected. >> serious concerns as we watch this escape from the plane. let's move from cyprus to brussels. and most americans are absolutely stunned by the lack of coordination, the lack of focus, the lack of professionalism of what they've seen over the past three to four weeks coming out of belgium. your comments. >> i know you are a sports fan. you like baseball. a rule in baseball is you're never as bad as you look when you're losing and never as good as you look when you're winning but this does look pretty bad. you have one of the weaker services in europe, the belgian service, badly fractured, limited, under-resourced,

serving a government that has its own problems in terms of national unity. and then you have got the larger problem of intra-european cooperation. joe, the fact of the matter is it was easier for each of the european services to talk to us as a general rule, than it was to talk to one another. in fact, in some cases it was clear they were telling us because they wanted other europeans to know. >> general, they held the man who ran logistics obviously. if there is somebody that you want to get a hold of and interrogate to get information. head of logistics is a great place to start. of the paris attacks. arrest him in belgium. hold him for four days. interviewed him for one hour. what should have been done? if this were 2004 what should have been done? >> first of all, what they did reflects an absolute law enforcement approach to the problem. they had this man, and they thought they had time because it

was all forensics. it was all looking backward to the paris attacks. it wasn't, in their view, an intelligence problem. >> they didn't realize the clock was ticking. >> looking forward. frankly, although law enforcement is a very useful tool to fight terrorism, there are other approaches, there are other frameworks. and the europeans -- the europeans default to the law enforcement framework. >> andrea. >> is this so embedded in the problem of the european union, the open borders, the lack of coordination, that they have to seriously consider breaking apart the european union in order to have real security for all of their countries? >> i would not propose that, but you reveal a really serious structural problem, andrea. what you have got are questions of commerce and privacy, all being handled at the euro level in brussels. security remains a national responsibility. but what you have got are the folks in brussels making decisions based upon what's good for commerce, what's good for

privacy, and the national governments then having to live with those rules. and it does penalize them very, very seriously. so it's like schengen. it's like the euro. these are -- reality now is creating torque on the european system. >> general, in june britain will vote on whether to stay in the european union or leave the european union. one of the arguments being made by those who suggest britain should leave, and the polls suggest it will be very tight -- is that britain will be safer from terrorism if we leave the european union. what's your take on that? >> richard dearlove one of my counterpart's on this. i am not quite where he is. there are lots of reasons to vote yes or no on brexit. on balance i think i like the fact that britain is in the union. for american self-interest, all right. but on the very narrowly defined question that sir richard brought up, will brexit hurt

british intelligence, no. it won't. >> really. that's interesting. in terms of -- so belgium doesn't do very well, right? who does? >> the french are very good. they're tough and their law gives them a fair amount of head room. the british are very good. the scandinavians, small services but we've got a lot of time for these guys. they're good at what they do. the rest of europe very, very uneven. let's talk about presidential politics. why -- what concerns do you have about ted cruz and donald trump, the frontrunners on the republican side? >> they prompted me to say that -- after kasich, the one best prepared to handle my narrow line in the road. >> right. >> -- was hillary clinton. with mr. trump it's very clear. i can't create -- gene and i were talking in the green room. i can't create any paralax between the points of light he throws out during his campaign

stuff. all the lines come together, and i can see what is the motivational impulse back here. i don't see it. all i see are stray electrons. that makes someone like me very uncomfortable. >> do you advise candidates if they ask for help? >> i have. >> you have in the past? >> yeah. >> if either of them asked you for advice, would you give it to them? >> right now i would be most comfortable advising governor kasich. i have not made any decision to advise the others. mika, let me be very candid. there is one thing advising someone who is running for president and another question about advising someone who will definitely be president. those are servable choices. >> what about donald trump's advisers? he told mika, it's myself, my bri brain. then he came out with a team of advisers. general mike flynn who you worked closely with.

and a number of other people. some who had not really been heard from. he said in the interview with the "new york times," he said, i haven't -- he hasn't met with them, he suggested, he has talked to them on the phone. >> right. >> what do you think of the way he consults? >> no commentary on the group, right, but that's a fairly small group of folks. the idea is that he has talked with them on the phone. he hasn't hutlddled up. he hasn't thought through positions. i advised governor bush before he left the race. we have gone to coral gables and sat with him for a full day going through things. not just me but others. you have candidates asking him questions and betraying his knowledge. i haven't seen it happening. i don't know if i expect it to happen. >> were you impressed with him -- i'm sorry. >> i was going to say, general, your last line of work you had to confront several worst-case

scenarios, so i'm going to give you a couple. november of this year. you walk into the voting booth, and you see two names. hillary clinton, donald trump. who do you vote for? >> remember the australian secret ballot thing we've all agreed on. i will keep my vote private. simply saying there are a lot of reasons to vote for someone. in the very narrow lane which i have been asked about, in the narrow national security lane, at this moment secretary clinton is better prepared to handle. >> let's talk about ted cruz. what are you concerns about ted cruz? >> i haven't seen enough. i see a powerfully idealogically motivated individual. i've seen that makes me uncomfortable. the carpet bombing thing. >> make the sand glow. >> he wants to toughen up what it is we're doing. i want to toughen up what we're doing. i think our tolerance for

collateral damage is too low. i get that. i just need to see more precision in what it is the senator has to offer. >> we're moving into, especially in europe, a more difficult time. i started to talk about you about enhanced interrogation techniques which people have blurred into torture. >> thank you for making the distinction. >> sleep deprivation for many years not considered torture. doing several other things, short of waterboarding, not considered torture. but in the intellectually lazy world that we have lived in since 2006, everything beyond having a lawyer sitting next to somebody and asking questions politely across the table has been labeled torture. we live in a dangerous world. we have since 2001, obviously. but it seems that the pace may be picking up, not only in paris, in brussels, but san bernardino. if you had the next president's

ear, what recommendation would you have on interrogation? because right now there is no interrogation program. if we pick up somebody that runs logistics on an attack, all we can do is sit them at a table with their lawyer and ask them questions and they can walk away. >> actually, as amazing as it seems, the next commander of central command in his congressional testimony actually pointed out that we have not yet arrived at a policy with regard to detention if we pick up folks from isis. joe, i can tell you what happened in real life. as we're making the transition to the current administration, president obama issued an executive order confining all american interrogation to the 19 techniques in the army field manual. no one believe that exhausts all legitimate techniques. what i suggested to greg craig is can you put a comma in the executive order. we were' limited to the 19

techniques in the army field manual, comma, unless otherwise authorized by the president. if you could stand by. we have breaking news to report. straight to rehema ellis who is live in london with developments hijacked. there may be good news to report? >> absolutely. just moments ago a tweet capes out from the foreign affairs, it's over, the hijacker has been arrested. moments prior to that there were images of people coming down the stairs of the plane, as well as a picture of someone coming out of cockpit window. shortly after that, again, as i mentioned, the minister of foreign affairs sent out a tweet claiming it is over, this after about seven tense hours that began overnight continuing into the early morning hours where some 55 people had been taken

hostage on this egypt air flight from alexandria to cairo was the original schedule, but it had been diverted to cyprus by a man claiming to have an explosive belt on him and forcing the pilot to divert the plane. the authorities then found out they said this person's motive was not terrorism, but it was a personal issue. the man claiming that he wanted to speak to his estrained wife who lives in cyprus. the good story was he released a 55 passengers, and now we understand is all of the passengers have been released and from our understanding, no one has been harmed. >> rehema ellis, thank you. it appears the situation is over and the people have been let go safe

safely. a couple points on torture. >> again, i'm not talking about torture. that's the mistake people have been -- >> we're talking about enhanced interrogation. >> we would not have written many had this el not included waterboarding people. then, you see -- >> but i'm not talking about waterboarding. >> but see then -- >> what -- >> look waterboarding was approved. the they were in cases hundreds of times. that is torture. that's torture. >> have you spoken to liqukhali sheikh mohammed was on the lasting effects? >> no, i have not. >> i can tell you -- >> i can tell you he's just as sharp as he was --

>> the lasting impact is obvious. we don't torture people. >> no, we don't, and it bears repeating that at the time it was happening, three times, that you had -- >> three people. >> three people. >> multiple tines. >> you had the attorney general, the president of the united states, the vice president of the united states, the eight people in the intel committees including nancy pelosi and several other democrats, give their sign-off on it. they were made a ware of it. it was seemed at the time not to be torture. the united states has decided since that time it is not torture, but let's be clear, i should be able to bring up the need for enhanced interrogation without people blurring the lines and calling it torture if i'm not talking about waterboarding. >> but the lines were blurred by the policy. that's what blurred the lines. >> but waterboarding, and then we'll let the general speak on this issue, talking about

waterboarding in 2016 is such a red herring, because you know what? the whole idea -- and i hope i don't let the cat out of the bag. enhanced interrogation is all a scam. you want to put them off-balance. you don't want to torture them. you don't want to hurt them. every interrogator i over talked to said those people in front of us are the most important people in the world, because they have all the information we have to get out. if we torture and abuse them in a way that renders them unable to give us that information we have failed and we have nothing. it's like burning a sack of a million dollars. it is counter-intuitive. so can we talk i'll say again about enhanced interrogation leaving waterboarding to the side and figure out a way how in this dangerous world we live in where isis is going to lose on the battlefield, but bring this war to our streets, an interrogation program that is

not, quote, torture? >> two or three general principles, the most powerful tool you have in interrogating someone is your knowledge. you put them off-balance. number two, you keep them off-balance, because they're uncertain what it is you may or may not be allowed to do to them. the very fact that we have publicly limited ourselves to these things, hence my conversation with greg craig, comma unless otherwise authorized by the president. third, we would need to do this carefully. even when we use enhanced interrogation techniques we weren't questioning people for knowledge during that period. we were trying to move them from this i'm in control of this circumstance, you're not to an admission they were no longer in control of their own fate. then we proceeded with an interrogation that looked more like a debriefing. were they totally compliant? of course not, but we got them into a zone where they told us

more. finally the third principle i would add here, joe, is we need to get out of the law enforcement mind-set. states have a right to interrogate people, even if they don't intend to use that information in a court of law. this isn't -- this is from the american point of view, an armed conflict, and therefore we should not confine ourselves to an interrogation process that begins or quickly inserts mirandizing people from whom we need -- >> is sleep deprivation considered torture at this point in the united states? >> it actually depends on how long you deprive someone of sleep, and i made some very tough decisions. >> and what about stressed positions and extreme cold? >> extreme cold was not extreme. stress positions was, again, getting them out of the zone of defiance into cooperation. it was part -- it was like sleep deprivation, it was fatiguing them, reducing -- >> wearing them down.

>> would you agree with donald trump in going beyond waterboarding? >> god, no. in fact, as joe points out, waterboarding has been explicitly outlawed by the american congress. >> waterboarding would not be effective, because they know what our interrogators would be doing. >> it was always to keep them off-balance. >> thank you. we appreciate you being here. >> thank you. we'll be right back. everhas a number.olicy but not every insurance company

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out. trump approaching a key number and things getting really tight for the democrats. >> really tight. unbelievable. but first we want to bring you up to speed from the latest on the hijacked egypt air frontline. the foreign ministry reports that one person is in custody. moments before that happened, we saw this dramatic video of someone, we don't know yet who, climbing out of the cockpit window scaling down the side of the plane and running off on the tarmac. on the phone is msnbc ayman mohyeldin. what can you tell us? >> reporter: the egypt government officially says the hijack situation is over and the hijacker has been arrested. this again is according to egypt air. egypt air is declaring the release of all hostages and

arrest of the hijacker, they will continue to provide updates on this developing story. as for what happened earlier today and what continues to unfold, we know the egyptian government has been in close contact with the cypriot government, and that the egyptian government has also sent a plane to larnika to bring back all those stranded passengers who were either on their way to cairo before that plane was hijacked. the reporters were now getting is the situation is officially over. we still don't know much about the identity of the hijacker except his name. he was identified as seif eldin mustafa, but as far as the demands, that has not been verified. we do have a lot of politics to get to, a new poll shows that

donald trump is nearing the 50% mark with republican voters. he's approaching a majority of support, 21 points ahead of ted cruz. and on the democratic side, national support for hillary clinton now stands at 49%, down from 53% last week as bernie sanders' support is up slightly, just a six-point race. this just dame after a new blom berg politics poll shows them tied nationally with the edge to sanders. while both candidates have their eyes on the final primaries and delegate process, there is some suggestion that trump is not paying the proper attention to the general election. the "wall street journal" reports that while hillary clinton is maintaining a strong operation in the battleground state of iowa,

trump has moved on with his state and deputy director no longer working for the campaign. strategists also say there's little left of his operation there. >> it's going to be fascinating. let's talk to jim vandehei about the numbers. i think this is a great time for everybody to stop and just churn back over all the predictions that said donald trump would never get to 20. 30. 40. now, why do i say this? >> do i hear 50? >> let's go to the reel. >> no, no, victory lapse make my tired. i say this because the media, especially over the past two weeks, has whipped itself into such a lather, such a frenzy that they're doing toward donald trump's campaign exactly what they did in june and july and august. i had a news director for a

major network call me yesterday and said, we're out of control. i said, i walked into our morning meeting, and everybody around the table said, well, he's done it this time, it's over. donald trump is finished, and that's the mind-set of everybody in the mainstream media. david sand sanger -- it's the desire. >> i'm telling you the coverage -- >> desire should not get in the way of the story. >> we have editorials and newspapers and broadcast sunset works for all for different reasons. the reporting on the major pages of the newspapers are repeating the same mistake that everything is now saying we made back in june and july, because they find him many offensive, racist, but the fact is -- i wrote something

about this in the post -- they're missing the story again. i can't believe it's happening again, jim. they're missing the story again because of their hatred of donald trump. >> what part of the story are they missing? it's not like he's getting insufficient coverage. most of the stuff where he's getting scrutiny is deserving. he says insanely offensive and inconsistent things. >> be careful about offensive. are you offended? or are the voters offended? >> are we offended? >> i think you're offended. >> i think -- >>. >> it doesn't matter what i think, jim vandehei. it doesn't matter if i'm offended about -- and i am about, for example, screening muslims to country into the country. look at what the voice are i thinking. i sought a reporter recently

foaming about the mouth he doesn't know and all the things he says and believes. and i said that's what the voters liked in the exit polls, that is what the people are saying, and it's just they're not matching the words with the voters. >> and by the way, whenever we -- whenever we start a conversation look this, people love to say oh, you're not offended by the bigotry? >> of course we are. >> yes, we are. i've written columns about being offended by that, but for instance trump's an idiot, trump's this, trump's that. >> it's not going to happen. >> no, he's not an idiot. there was a great clip of andrea mitchell saying what all of us would say, about his foreign, and fournier goes, yeah, everybody in my district would love making the egyptians pay for this, making the japanese pay for that, yeah, they think we're suckers, and we are all saying this guy is an idiot,

while donald trump approaches 50%. >> i almost worry there's been a boy who cried wolf situation with this concept of what's offensive political speech. i was down in florida very shortly after the paris attacks hanging out with my parents, some of their friends and the news saying governor rick scott would not eye low some of these refugees into the state until we figure out what's going on. it seemed like a common-sense position to folks, like, sure -- we've seen this anti-refugees. i said, i don't know. i think we need to wait for the polls to come back. this is an offensive position to say, there are a lot of folks that say this seems like common sense and so much of those have been seemed offensive, now when stuff actually is way, way outside the bounds, people are tired of the media telling them their opinions are not -- >> it seems the more offended we

are, the more stories i hear from people that i have known i would think never in a million years -- never in a million years would vote for donald trump. i ask them why are you voting for donald trump? because i know they're not racist. i know they're not bigots. i know they work with muslims, and they go -- it's always boils down to, everybody's a clown, washington has screwed up since, you know -- whether it's katrina or whether it was the 2000 recount on weather it was the do the-com bust or 2008. they all have their reasons. none of it has to do with all the dog whistles. >> the mistake we in the media often make is not paying attention to the voters. >> that's it. >> and not hearing what they're saying. polls months and months ago back when people were saying the trump ceiling was 25 or 30, but if you add it up, the numbers for the outsider candidates, the candidates who basically gave a

middle finger to washington, it was over 50% in the republican party. clearly the voicers were saying we're tired of politics as usual, we're tired of politicians as usual, there is no establishment, and we should have listened. we flatter ourselves -- >> we do, we're so offended. >> let mess read through the piece -- no, the media didn't create donald trump. the immediate contracreated trump's story lines ignores the fact that the mainstream media are about as popular among the republican base as the zika virus. the one exception, fox news, has been tougher on trump not more accommodating. the news media it seems to me are guilty of only reporting the news, that a candidate who has never held an elective knowledge is leading all comers for the republican nomination. commentators should spend less time flattering themselves that the news media have the power to

make such a thing happen >> amen. >> and more time trying to understand why trump is succeeding, winning, succeeding. >> gene actually put in real pretty words what i was thinking in my head, which is, instead of obsessing over -- i mean, obsess -- over policyingses, talk about it, report about it, editorialize about it, but then get to the bottom line, which is why are we as elites in washington and new york so offended, and yet this man is connecting by spending less money than everybody else on the republican side and looks likes he's trying to move toward a nomination. why is that happening? >> the most interesting thing about the election is not us and not even donald trump, but what the phenomenon of donald trump tells us about where a group of people are in the country and how they feel disenfranchised,

beleaguered and for very many reasons chucking globalization, chucking free trade policies, chucking tax cuts for the wealthiest, a whole group of working-class americans feel they have been left behind. donald trump has understood that in a way that no other candidate and certainly not the media have done. i say it again, this is not much of a political race, not a race between a republican and democrat. this is a class race and it's a race about a group of largely men, largely white, in their mid 50s, who feel quite understandably that they have not benefited from the republican party's policies over the last 20 years and here is somebody who's coming along and saying i will give you a better deal. >> for probably four years now i've been quoting jeffrey sacks who wrote a staggering line -- average wages for male americans, for men in america, have been declining since 1973. >> particularly in the manufacturing sector.

>> since 1973, and i repeated that because i think we all knew something like this was going to be coming. and they're not responding to obama. they're not responding to bush. they're not responding to -- they are responding to what's happened. you see the same thing on the democratic sign with bernie. >> absolutely, which we have to get on. >> katty, she's dropping her gs today because of that bell. >> it was enough to bring out the texan in me. >> dropping the gs. >> on that note, the justice department has dropped the high-stake court fight against apple, saying it has found a way to unlock the iphone belonging to one of the san bernardino shooters without apple's help. federal officials' decision to drop the case comes a weej after a stalled showdown after a third party came forward with an alternative method for accessing

the phone. what does that mean? >> it means some hacker. >> yeah. >> a hacker who hacked into the phone. >> in a basement with a -- >> exactly. eats cheatos. cheetos. >> you were saying that apple quietly should help out. >> i had an intel official tell me that apple will rue the day he didn't quietly go into a back room and say let's work this out, because they have unleashed the best hackers in america and given them extraordinary economic incentive to break their code and sell it to the fbi. he said, so now more people are going to know how to run straight through their encryption than they would have if apple had just quietly helped. >> sow -- >> you actually think they're getting money for this? well paid, the guys with the

cheetos? >> yeah. and that's the last thing you want to do. >> will the government now tell apple how they did it? >> absolutely not. >> i think not. >> i read in the times after this -- after this broke yesterday afternoon, apple lawyers now are asking that the government let them know how -- yeah, never. >> exactly. >> it's not going to happen. still ahead on "morning joe." the obama doctrine. we'll talk to jeffrey goldberg of "the atlantic" about the president's policy, and why he's so divisive to his critics. plus is the republican party big enough for paul ryan and donald trump? we asked this question yesterday and we're still searching for the answer. we're going to take another look at the political collision in the making, but first bill karins. >> we just finished up the warmest effort. it doesn't want to go away through areas of colorado back into areas of nevada, even

california. this is reno. reno picked up 6.8 inches of snow, their third biggest snow amount for this late in the season ever recorded. they're melting that morning look with black ice. that's over the top of nevada, bringing heavy snow to southern i had to. it's going to continue. our poor friends in wyoming, casper is expecting 12 to 18 inches of snow out of this, and some areas will be near blizzard conditions, so it's great for late spring skiing, but besides that, everyone wants to get rid of it. today's forecast, it's warm, windy ahead of that storm in the central plains, but you know this time of year when you get the powerful storms in the rockies, that usually means severe weather. that will be the case tomorrow. we're fine did. east coast is fine today, fine tomorrow. florida will get some very heavy rain. soggy day today with thunderstorms, but tomorrow is the dangerous day. we have about 29 million people

that are in this slight risk of severe storms, including portion of ten states from des moines to wichita, oklahoma city, little rock, shreveport, will be to new orleans, and you havely it looks like weed get a few attorneys tomorrow, too. we leave you with a shot of washington, d.c., gorgeous weather out there today. pretty nice through the rest of this week. we'll be right back. e future be. and to help you accelerate, we've created a new company. ♪ one totally focused on what's next for your business. a true partnership where people, technology and ideas push everyone forward. accelerating innovation. accelerating transformation. accelerating next. hewlett packard enterprise. this just got interesting.

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i'll tell you, i probably maybe shouldn't do this, but what the heck. i'm in my last year. [ laughter ] i had an in-depth conversation with president putin a while back.

he had read an article on -- in "the atlantic" that jeff goldberg had done about my foreign policy doctrine, and he said while i disagree with some of the things you said in there, but i pointed out to him, of course, that unlike you, vladimir, i don't get to edit the piece before it's published. that was president obama name-dropping our next guest at a journalism awards dinner in washington last night. joining us now national correspondent for "the atlantic" recipient of the national magazine award for reporting. >> we are all humbled to be here -- >> you don't have to say it. >> this is the choice. >> the fifth most influential -- sixth most influential jew on twitter. >> that is true. >> massive. >> i'm going for five. >> can i ask you -- i saw you

tweet that there were no-no more mountains to climb. >> no, that was it. no more worlds left to conquer, though i'm going to try to go for five next year. >> whos five? >> i don't remember. see, i blanked out. >> it doesn't matter. >> i don't president to know. it seems like leena dunham or something. >> i'll be quiet. >> yeah, don't go there. >> i want to ask you, you've been writing some extraordinary articles about the president's foreign policy of late. i wanted to ask you to speak to the part of his foreign policy that flummoxes not only his critics, but a lot of democrats as well who voted for him. >> in the midst of paris and brussels and the beheading of americans to do just the opposite of what many americans want him to do -- go golfing

after a beheading, do the tango and do the wave after brussels seeming oddly disconnected after paris. >> i don't want to be here to flack for him necessarily -- >> this would be a great place -- >> it would be a great moment. >> i believe he ace philosophically committed to the idea that terrorism will not defeat us, that i, the president, am not going to wait in the white house for bad things to happen. >> right, and then instill panic or promote xenophobia or excessive worry, that we're going to treat these as terrible criminal gangs and we're going to defeat them deliberately. >> and i'm not here to deliver republican talking points, but i found it hard to believe that he was doing the wave with castro while they were still crepe american body parts off of the

airport and the place that's been the center of nato for 50 years, and also doing the tango while americans were desperately trying to figure out whether their relatives were alive off dead. >> i'm not sure the tango was his idea. >> but john kennedy would wear hats, probably best not to do the tango tonight. >> one is traveling and having bilateral relations with other countries, and the optics. the golf i think even he would admit the golf did not look good. >> that was horrific. >> we want our president to compartmentalize a bit. we do. we want them to not succumb the jimmy carter syndrome. >> but there are times that you focus, and maybe instead of doing the tango. >> you think he's not focusing? >> i think there's something almost deliberate, gene, in this

president when there's an attack by isis, the guy that said isis was a jv team, the guy that said isis could not reach america right before san bernardino. the goo i that talked about isis being not in the death throes, but saying something the weekend before paris. there's something that seems almost deliberate about his low-keying the response to every horrific isis attack. >> there's a certainly amount of defiance involved, i think. i recall that a hero of many conservatives and many people, margaret thatcher, i remember that the i.r.a. tried to blow her up. >> right. >> her hotel in bright ton during the conservatee party conference. people were killed, the wife of a close aide was killed, and the aide was disabled to life. the next day she gave her planned speech. >> she's not doing the tango, though.

>> and also. >> i agree there's two separate issues. one is keep calm and carry on, and the other is optics. >> still ahead on "morning joe". donald, why don't you show up and debate like a man. >> ted cruz calls on donald trump d. >> debate like a man. >> you mean like dreyling out the side of your mouth? what? cave man voices? >> yeah, basically. [ grunting ] we'll hear from three reporters who report like women, which means they work all the time. they join us next on "morning joe."

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i recognize that the favorite thing for folks in the media to cover is donald trump's latest tweet late at night, but let me give an answer for the american people. who cares? who cares what donald is tweeting late at night? we need real solutions for real problems in this country. >> ted is a very concerned puppy, because he's losing big. i've got hundreds of delegates more than him, millions of votes more than him. the system is a vang system, some would say it's not very

honest, but the system is the system, and he reacts very badly under pressure. i've watched him choke under pressure. that's what he's doing right now. >> after a week off the campaign trail, donald trump is back at it today in wisconsin. the republican front-runner is holding a rally in house speaker paul ryan's home down ofiansville. governor scott walker says he'll be making his endorsement this morning and trump is not expecting it to come his way. last night he tweeted -- after the way i beat governor walker and jeb, rand, marco and all others in the presidential primaries, no way would he ever endorse me. meanwhile, ted cruz is opt somistic. >> i am a big, big fan of scott walker. he is a terrific governor, a strong conservative. of course i would welcome his support. anyone would. >> of course. >> let's bring in nbc correspondent hallie jackson live in madison, wisconsin.

what kind of impact will scott walker's endorsement have, if anything? >> reporter: well, you look at his super you have rating, it's around 40% or something, however walker is influential, particularly in these republican enclaves where ted cruz is trying to compete. hi union battles wound he a lot of goodwill. he has the tea party backing, too. back summer, the cruz privacamp privately talked about him being a threat. and you have to look at what would walker do. if he stays on the sidelines, i think it would be a blow to the cruz campaign, just because it would show a lot of coalescing, if you would. walker himself has said he wants to endorse, have an impact in the primary, now just one week

away. he likes ted cruz and john kasich, but he does believe, he said publicly, cruz has a better shot of taking down trump if there's a contested convention in july, if there's somebody able to do that. john kasich is nonconceding wisconsin even though it's looking more like a ballots between donald trump and ted cruz, but kasich is campaigning out in the state today. you talked about janeville, ted cruz was there just a few days ago, he's out with carly fiorina, too. she's kind of giving him some backup on some of these issue that is have come up specifically when it comes to donald trump and women. so it is playing out here over the next week really as a badger state battle. guys? >> hallie jackson, thank you very much. let's bring in our political roundtable. "the washington post's" eugene robertson, and without correspondent april ryan and

white house correspondent for associated press, julie pace is back with us. >> so bob, trump going to janeville today, obviously paul ryan's hometown, anything symbolic there or just a great place for these candidates to go? >> a little bit of both. it's a working-class city, an industrial place and part of that suburban milwaukee/madison area where he needs to convince some conservative voters to come out. but like many, he's sending a snell. he's not deterred by speaker ryan's comments about his candidacy. >> meanwhile, you have scott walker apparently we think about to endorse ted cruz. it's unclear. if he does that, it seems a bigger blow to john kasich than to donald trump. >> exactly. >> a walker endorsement might actually help kasich. i'm not sure a walker endorsement of cruz actually hurts trump. >> exactly. so many times we've seen endorsements actually help donald trump, because he can say it's me against the machine.

>> exactly. >> whereas you're exactly right -- >> godzilla. >> please shock me again, but you do have, though, john kasich, who would desperately take the endorsement. >> oh, absolutely julie, your latest piece focuses on donald trump and paul ryan, and their different visions. donald trump wants to win the white house in the fall. paul ryan wants to save his vision of the republican party for years to come. if trump does become the republican nominee, he and the how speaker's ability to work together could be the first test of whether a party in this much turmoil can stake together. people close to ryan say the wisconsin lawmaker is in disbelief, while he's publicly vowed to support whoever his party nominates ryan has privately said he's focused on trying to keep the house gop in the fall, leaving some friends with the impression he would be

less than enthusiastic trump backer. how could he keep the party together if trump wins? >> this is the big question. right now what ryan is focused on behind the scenes is this policy proposal agenda. he has people working on national security policy, health care, economic policy. the original intention may not have necessarily been to give vulnerable house lawmakers or even vulnerable republicans to run on separate from the party's nominee, about you that could be the outcome. this could be something if you are a house member who finds yourself suddenly in a tight race because donald trump is the nominee, you could really around an actual agenda that paul ryan has essentially handed you. >> april, we talked about this yesterday. a battle between donald trump's republican party and paul ryan's rep party, at least among the voters who have already spoken, this really isn't a close call. this is -- >> and where trump is nearing 50% and nbc poll we had this

morning -- >> unheard of. >> this is not paul ryan's party, this is donald trump's party right now. >> paul ryan's party is this party that's trying to bring an inclusive theme, and you're not hearing that in donald trump's party. donald trump says he's about unifying, but he's unifies in his own way. when you talk about the paul ryan party, he's looking at issues of poverty. we're not hearing that from donald trump. he's talking about issues of criminal justice. we are definitely not hear that from donald trump. not only that paul ryan's party is the party of establishment. i talked to reince priebus not long ago. the republican establishment they are having a fit with donald trump, because donald trump is not going their way and the way of the general election. when you talk about the general election. you're talking broad base, more of a kasich. donald trump is a man who grabbed a large number of hispanic voters in nevada, and the republican party is hoping that the capital, the nominee

would need them to be able to come to get the data on race, the data on women, and donald trump seems not to be that person. he doesn't need that at this point. at 50%, he doesn't need the party in the general election. >> i think they both sort of need each other in reality. >> i don't think so. >> if donald trump does become president. >> he's a phenomenon. >> he'll feed an agenda. people around ryan say he would have an agenda ready to go. >> but we talked about in yesterday regarding the agenda. we talked about this yesterday, even if donald trump were pope francis, and was beloved by 90% of americans there would still be a wide gap paul ryan is milton friedman advocate. he is for 100% free trade.

donald trump is talking tariffs, protectionism. you talk about military adventurism, or let's say the united states military footprint across the globe. paul ryan is in the aggressive neocon camp, donald trump said russia can take care of syria. paul ryan supported t.a.r.p. ryan railing again -- there is massive differences between the paul ryan establishment party and donald trump pop ulitch. it's not really just an argument on style. it's about policy. trump is changing the party fundamentally on foreign policy, moving away from the hawkish consensus. he's not pushing entitlement etch. for ryan, trump represents a true threat to the way he and

romney shaped the republican party in 2012. just based on my reporting there's also a split in ryan's orbit. a longtime mentor has urged the speaker not to be so the against trump. this is a split in the establishment, how to handle trump. >> but the irony is, though, the republican party below the presidential level has been so successful, the republican party controlled both parts of the congress, most state houses, it's incredible. >> and so much is -- >> yet -- >> what i said to see today is who is a reagan republican when it comes to labor. he believed in unions. he was in the actors union when he was an actor. he believed in unions. i want to see what happens in wisconsin, what candidates talks about the unions. >> one thing on trump possibly changing the orthodoxy, he sent paul ryan a people from worst

woes that was marked up, trying to make the point that will actually not be the case, so he's following this closely. still ahead, apple stock is will are an early mover this morning. sara eisen has the details next in business before the bell. plus there are a lot of people critical of president obama's trip to cuba last week. add fidel castro to that list. that story is ahead. could be bad. could be a blast. can't find a single thing to wear. will they be looking at my hair? won't be the same without you bro. ♪ when it's go, the new choice privileges gets you there faster. and now, stay two times and you can earn a free night. book now at choicehotels.com you're all set to book a flight using your airline credit card miles. and surprise! those seats sometimes cost a ridiculous number of miles,

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it was always just a hobby. something you did for fun. until the day it became something much more. and that is why you invest. the best returns aren't just measured in dollars. td ameritrade. fidel castro didn't meet with president obama last week, but he apparently had a lot to say about it yesterday. in a scathing letter published in a state-run newspaper, castro wrote about what he described as the history of u.s. aggression against cuba, saying, quote, we don't need the empire to give us anything.

castro described president obama's word as sweetened, saying cubans were at risk of a heart attack from hearing these words. the president met with fidel's younger brother, raul castro, produces this very awkward photo op. yesterday white house press secretary josh earnest tried to explain how that happened. >> i do think that president castro had in mind a rather iconic photo with president obama and his arms raised together. i think president obama believed that would implied foragreement than actually exists. the president was, of course, entirely comfortable appearing on stage with president castro. they had important conversations behind the scenes, but i think there are differences of opinions on some important priorities. >> there was, of course, that iconic moment of the two holding hands and barack obama's hand

going -- >> kind of like that. >> do we have that video? >> he didn't want that -- you know, i was wondering if they even told fidel about the visit until he had come and gone. that's notice fidel's style. he's just like nothing to do with d'etente. >> but the fact that fidel didn't say anything um after he left and essentially he's not been overly critical of the opening. there's a theory among some cubans and some americans that he is tacitly supporting the opening. he knows the political situation in cuba. he knows his brother will not be in power for much longer, and they're really in an economic cris crisis. >> i think he knows his brother is in charge now.

>> by the way, there's a wonderful photo. >> thanks, advance team. >> even if there was -- >> wow. >> even if there was tough talk, i loved how it opened, brother obama, the commonalty of brother obama. he sent a message there in the greeting in the beginning, but at the same time, yeah, this is the first time in 88 years an american president has stepped foot on cuban soil, but you have to remember there are people like harry belafonte, who i've talked to, iconic civil rights leader, activist as well as entertainer who used to travel to cuba to perform as well as travel there with the late great frank sinatra, a day down in florida. they traveled there to have fun. he said when communities are against one another, when there's a lot of fighting, and yes he understand there are human rights violations, there has to be some kind of coming

together so there can be an understanding and move forward. >> you read the brother obama differently than me. >> did you? >> that was brother obama. >> right. that was the cuban equivalent of a nashville tennessee housewife saying, bless her heart. >> my right honorable friend. >> yes. >> i think he wanted to give a bit of honey before he gave the vinegar. >> bless his heart. >> from beginning to end. let's bring in sara eisen live from the new york stock exchange. sara, you're watching apple stock this morning. >> yes, mika, good morning, a surprising twist in the epic battle between apple and the fbi. it turns out the justice department now says that it managed to unlock the san bernardino terrorist iphone without apple's assistance. we don't know how it managed to do that, though we do know it

had help from a private third party. we also don't know if the fbi will share that with apple, and we don't know the evidence that was found, but the big upshot is there will no more be a court battle over whether apple should be forced by the u.s. government and by the courts to help unlock an encrypted iphone for the sake of law enforcement. that whole legal debate over encryption and civil liberties and privacy will have to be saved for another day. both sides in statements after this court ruling have dug in their heels and suggest that this is a fight that's yet to come. here's apple, for instance, quote -- from the beginning we objected to the dema apple build a back door because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. as a result of the dismissal, neither of these occurs. this case should have never been brought. we'll continue to help law enforcement with investigations

as we have done all along and will continue to increase our security of our products. in a statement from the justice department, we heard from a spokesman saying it remains a priority to ensure that law enforcement can obtained crucial information to secure public safety either with cooperation or through the court system when cooperation fails. so clearly even though this case is over, guys, and the battle is over, the issue has not been resolved, and we are going to hear more about this. >> yes, we are. cnbc's sara eisen. thank you very much. and we'll be right back. keep it right here on "morning joe."

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some may be more to blame than others for the current climate, but all of us are response for reversing it. all too often there's enormous pressure on journalists to fill the void and feed the beast with instant com tear and twitter rumors, celebrity gossip, and softer stories. good reporters like the ones in this room all too frequently find yourselves caught between competing forces. i'm aware of that. so i believe the electorate would be better served if your networks and producers would give you the room, the capacity to follow your best instincts, and dig deeper into the things that might not always be flashy, but need attention. >> that's great that the president's endorsing "morning joe" we do it three hours every

day. thank you for noticing. it means a lot. so was president obama for talking last night. there are certainly up here that were glad that were not there to be lectured by a president who has clamped down on press availability more than any president in u.s. history. >> i've covered this white house for 7 1/2 years now, while i fully appreciate the president's sentiment, i would appeal to my colleagues and friends at the white house to maybe take some of those lessons to heart. >> april, you at one point asked brother josh a very tough question. >> i did. sometimes, you know, we don't always get the news, you know, the way we used to get the news. it comes from the website or it comes from the twitter handle, and we're like, what's the difference? you're spinning it your way. what's the difference between you and other countries that you're chastising for crafting media. >> putin you gave that --

>> he said there's a lot of differenceage we don't have time to go into it, but i did ask that. >> the battle for the future of the republican party continues today in janeville, wisconsin. >> i've learned that bob costa and kristin anderson competed as debate team members in high school. >> that's true. we did. and i went to high school with hallie jackson. can't escape high school. >> wow, still high school. >> i learned that bernie sanders just had a fund-raiser. >> raised $100 thousand -- >> just happened. all right. that wraps up our coverage here in washington this morning. steve kornacki picks up the coverage after a quick break.

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