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welcome back. this election welcome back. this election isn't the first time someone well-known for being an entertainer found himself in a position of political power. the state of california has brought a few of them to us, including song and dance man,

george murphy. he became a u.s. senator. and, of course, ronald reagan. you may have heard of him. you can say our next guest helped prep this generation for taking an entertainer seriously as a political player. arnold schwarzenegger served as the governor of california from 2003 to 2011 and joins me now. governor schwarzenegger, welcome back to "meet the press." >> thank you, chuck. it's wonderful to be back. >> you know, this has been a year for outsider candidates. it's obviously something you're familiar with. many people have made some comparisons of your candidacy in 2003 and donald trump's today. what similarities do you see, and what are the differences? >> well, i think that, you know, i don't really study that much of, you know, what is the difference between donald trump and my candidacy. i study much more the field polls and schwarzenegger polls that we have just done about what do the people really think, and what is the main interest in the people's minds when they -- when we have our election now on

june 6th. or june 7th, i should say. this is really my interest. and this is why we did the polls, and this is why we really came up with this wonderful study. and they were quite interesting. i think when you look at it, the important thing that comes out of it is that 69% of people want our politicians, want our people to work together. i think this is the message. that democrats and republicans to work together. and this is why people are very upset about washington today. >> you know, i want to play something that you said in 2004 about what made you a about what made you a republican and then find out if that still holds today. here it is. >> then i heard nixon speak. he was talking about free enterprise, getting the government off your back. lowering the taxes and strengthening the military. listening to nixon speak sounded more like a breath of fresh air. i said to my friend, i said, what party is he? my friend said, he's a

republican. i said, then i am a republican. >> can you comfortably say that today, with donald trump as the standard player for the republican party? >> i comfortably can say i'm a republican and i will be a republican, because the republican party is a big tent, there were not always things i agreed with or they didn't agree with me many times. but the fact of the matter, everything you have heard is exactly the same. and i think that -- but what is more important about it is what do i think? and about donald trump. if we talk about the bigger issue, and this is what do the people really feel. and the fascinating thing about the poll was that both democrats and republicans found it most important to really improve the economy. and to create more jobs. when it comes to social security, to save social security. and to really take care of public schools and they are concerned about the public education in general. those are the kind of issues that democrats and republicans are concerned about.

of course, they have different ways of solving those problems and depending on if they're democrat or republican. >> well, let me ask straight forward. are you ready to support donald trump for president? i know you were a john kasich supporter. you went and canal pain -- campaigned for him. are you going to support trump, and will you go to the convention in cleveland? >> chuck, to me the most important thing is to talk about the latest poll numbers and how the people of california feel, and how the people in america basically feel. because i think it is important that we go and bring both of the parties together. the more we go to the left and the more we go to the right, i believe what president eisenhower said. politics is like the road. the left and right represents the gutter and the middle is drivable. and i think this is where the action is, in the middle. i have seen it in the governor of the state of california. i have seen firsthand that only when we brought democrats and republicans together we could really solve very important issues. i remember that's how we really

started rebuilding california, $60 billion in infrastructure. that's when we go and created the commitment to reducing our greenhouse gases for 25% by the year 2020. great stuff happening when both of the parties work together. >> governor, i can't help but notice, though, you're avoiding saying anything about trump. you're not saying you're for him, you're not saying you're against him. you're trying to stay out of it. i get it. but is that what you're trying to do here, but you not saying anything, you're actually making a statement. >> no, not really. because i try to stay focused. remember, there's one thing that i have learned over the years when i promoted body building and fitness and movies and politics, to stay focused. so today i want to talk about our poll numbers and our polls that we have taken, the field polls that the usc schwarzenegger institute released this past week. i want to talk about that. because that is important for the state of california. it's important that the people

know how they feel and in which direction to go. and also it will help the candidates to listen to the people carefully and not to deviate from that and to really talk about those very important issues since we have the primaries coming up in california. i think the presidential candidates, whoever they are, have to address those issues. >> and finally, i want to ask you a question about your native country, austria. what was fascinating is, you could argue they had an election which came down to somebody from the far left, maybe similar to a bernie sanders, and someone from the far right, a nativist of sorts. and nobody was happy with their choices. all of a sudden, this country is experiencing an appeal of a socialist and the appeal of a nativist. what lessons do you think americans should take away from this? >> i think that it is pretty much in many different countries i've seen that. that they're looking for an outsider. and people are dissatisfied with

the status quo and people are dissatisfied with the action that has been created in those capitalists. that politicians are not keeping their promises and politicians don't solve problems. and this is why you see in our poll numbers that 69% of the people say the politicians have to work together. that is the most important thing. and they have to come to a compromise. and in washington, not much is getting done. some of it is getting done. but not much. and i think that to spend billions of dollars on the capital, it is the worst investment, because nothing is getting done. so therefore, the people are looking for something else. and they don't know where to turn to. and so this is what you see in america and this is what you have seen in austria and this is what you see in germany and this is what you see in france. and you see this all over the place. >> all right. i'm going to ask you one last time. do you plan on publicly saying whether you'll be for trump? >> i will make an announcement before the election. you can be sure of that. but i will do it my way. which is always an unusual way.

as you remember, i announced my candidacy for governor on "the tonight show." so that was very unusual. and i will do the exact same thing with the endorsement. and so i will study the very different candidates, what they represent. and, you know, i will then make up my mind and i will make the endorsement. so i will make an endorsement, but it will not be here, because then that would be the headline. >> well, i guess you're saying we're too usual of a place to do this. we're not unusual enough. governor schwarzenegger, it is a pleasure, sir. thank you very much for coming on. >> thank you very much for having me. when we come back, is the clinton/trump race as close as the latest polls indicate? we've got some data that one of the candidates may soon get a very nice bump. that's next. ♪ ♪ enough cash back

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♪ and we are back. it's data download time. so how much is bernie sanders hurting hillary clinton? democrats, of course, still locked in their primary battle. republicans starting to get behind their nominee. and recent polls, of course have shown a tight race. the question is, is this tightness something that's going to last until november, or is this a current sanders

phenomenon, meaning if history is any guide, we think that's what it is. clinton should -- say they're fsh sanders against trump but not ready to vote for clinton. call them the sanders-only voters. we'll show what they could mean. let's start with our latest nbc news "wall street journal" poll. we see a close race. 46-43. mar again -- mar again of error stuff. while sanders double digit lead against trump, 54-39. it's an eight-point gap between clinton and sanders. so what happens if clinton gets about 70% of that difference? if you leave trump's number as-is. well, clinton's lead would jump five points to 51-43. same phenomenon in other polls. cbs "new york times" have clinton starting with a six-point lead over trump. they, of course, had sanders up double digitings as well, 51-38. but if you shift the support from sanders, clinton would pick up another three points and the lead would increase to nine.

50-41. finally, we'll show what happens in the fox news poll where clinton actually trailed trump by three points. 45-42. sanders led trump in their poll, 46-42. you do the same thing. 70% of the sanders only voters, clinton would pull even to 45-45. the point is, sanders is hurting clinton right now. by the way, in 2008, barack obama picked up, you guessed it, three points against john mccain in the first nbc news "wall street journal" poll. the polls are tight right now. that's not a surprise. but this gives you an idea that if democrats do rally around their nominee, what the race may look like just before the conventions begin. we'll see if that actually happens, though. sanders supporters don't seem ready to move just yet. we'll be back in a moment. tired of re-dosing antacids?

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let me bring the panel back. the biggest political story of the month may be taking place right now, the libertarian party convention. don't laugh. i know, because their place on the ballot could be none of the above, if that's possible. and, in fact, we noted --

we put a battleground map together of what would happen if you have a third party can dincy like this libertarians who could get 10%. here's the battleground map here, the states we know will be in play no matter what. those are the purple there, ten states there. if the libertarians can get ten, we think arizona, missouri and indiana suddenly come into play perhaps for clinton. and then two blue states to put in, minnesota and maine, under the same scenario that those are states that suddenly get put into play for trump. gerry, do you think the libertarians will make a splash this year? >> i think they could. as you know, in our polling, "wall street journal" nbc news, we found so many respondents asked about a choice between hillary clinton and donald trump who were responding, i won't vote in that race, we had to create a new answer. if those people find some place else to go, even if only to make a statement, it could be a significant enough number to tip some states. >> kellyanne, are you nervous about the libertarians? >> yes, because i think hillary clinton gets to 43% before she gets out of bed in the morning, but getting her to 51% seems to be roiling her.

so yes, if they grab some votes. this convention, based on the public report, saying bill weld had a hard time. he's confusing libertarian with liberal republicans. >> what's interesting, you gave me a segue. let me first show you, there is a primary of sorts that is taking place. they had a debate last night. first let me give you a little of gary johnson, the 2012 nominee, former new mexico republican governor, who is trying to be the mainstream libertarian nominee this time. here was him yesterday. >> the libertarian party is growing. what i'd like to do so is, i'd like to fill up your current weekly meeting that is occurring in the tree house to an auditorium. here it is. we're in a threshold here, a real threshold to grow this party and to make it better. >> so that's gary johnson's argument. here's a compilation of some of his opponents on that debate stage. >> i believe in a world where gay married couples can protect their marijuana fields with fully automatic machine guns,

baby. >> as a physician, i think it's a very good idea to have two separate bathrooms. one for people who wash their hands, and one for people who don't. >> everything should be as legal as tomatoes. i think people are smart enough to know, not to give heroin to a child unless under the direct supervision of a doctor. >> robert, there actually is a real chance, what kellyanne was bringing up, where gary johnson could get rejected business hi party and then libertarians are not a factor. >> he could. when i was on capitol hill this week, they're inching close to the idea of maybe supporting a libertarian ticket but then they watch these candidates and watch the convention and they realize it's an imperfect vessel. they're considering libertarian, but they don't fit into that culture. >> neera, where do you think this sort of neither -- the none of the above folk goes? does it go to greens and libertarians and sort of split? do they not show up, does it go down and not up?

>> i think actually a lot of the negativity of this race is designed to lower turnout. that's trump's strategy to be so negative about everything that he actually lowers democratic turnout. i think what's going into this race, it's a crazy year. so if it's not johnson and somebody else, i think that still could attract some republicans, even though you would think that some of these statements would disqualify them. >> we shouldn't forget, there is another place, the none of the above vote could go to the green party and that some of the sanders voters could drift there, just again to make a statement. that's a potential problem. >> we have a history with democrats, which is ralph nader, and a lot of people feel ralph nader turned the election -- republicans don't ask. >> if you look at trump as a noninterventionist on foreign policy. some of the rand paul supporters have drifted toward trump, because they see the main republican party as too hawkish. >> actually, kellyanne, trump would be more comfortable in the libertarian party. >> the libertarians are comfortable with trump as their nominee.

and i think they will be. none of the above this year is no more outsiders. who is the change agent. and i don't think there's a single hidden hillary vote in this country. i think there are hidden trump votes. >> i heard that it's a fascinating debate. i've had people swear there is hidden hillary votes on the right. hidden trump votes on the left. we'll find out in november. we'll be back. 45 seconds end game segment with a look at what a trump-sanders debate might have looked like had it happened. and our colleague got access into america's drone warfare operation. and a sitdown with the cia director, john brennan, to talk about our country's drone strategist. you can watch that report on assignment, which airs tonight at 7:00 eastern, 6:00 central on nbc. we'll be right back. coming up, "meet the press" end game. brought to you by boeing. building the future one century at a time.

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building the future one century at a time. end game time. panelists here. you know, there was another player in the trump-clinton campaign this week. and it was president obama overseas in japan. an historic visit to hiroshima. but he was asked about what foreign leaders of the g7 meeting are saying about donald trump. here's what he said. >> it's fair to say they are surprised by the republican nominee. they are not sure how seriously to take some of his pronouncements. but they're rattled by him. and for good reason. >> gerry, there's a couple unusual things about that statement. number one, that he did it overseas. and there was some criticism, was that appropriate or not. at the same time, trump embraced the attack. >> yeah, exactly. well, it was just what donald trump does. a, you do hear that a fair amount from people who go overseas. u.s. officials and business leaders, frankly, do tell me they get the same thing. b, it also suggests that barack

obama is raring to go to campaign for hillary clinton against donald trump. he does not want his legacy to be named donald trump. >> except i thought the most remarkable thing that president obama said later on in there, the quote eventual democratic nominee, leaving open the possibility that it may not be hillary clinton. so i didn't hear him say -- i haven't heard him say that he's campaigning for hillary clinton and he's endorsed her. he said the eventual democratic nominee. why? >> we'll see in a few weeks. i think he went through his own experience, which is we had a long democratic primary years ago. and then hillary was really unified with him. i expect president obama to be campaigning in the fact that his numbers are up now -- >> that's what's -- talk about the bernie sanders bump in the poll. once president obama gets on the campaign trail and you see the republican party, elders in the republican party, are not with trump in a significant way. >> that's been amazing. president obama -- nobody has benefited more from this topsy-turvy primary campaign than barack obama. >> and the clinton campaign people will tell you most of the

trump rise in the polls in the last few weeks has been consolidation of the republican vote. that's the biggest portion of his rise. and she will get her share of that when there is a consolidation on the democratic side. how high that will be we'll find out. >> this might be donald trump's high watermark. 42%, 43%. she has more room to move. but may be the case. >> we do have two conventions. and i think we know where the race will be right before the convention. the question is where will it be after. but we're not going to get trump-sanders debate. but we thought we would put together a facsimile. here it is. >> we're going to run against crazy bernie. >> donald trump is toast. >> this socialist/communist. >> it is not a wild socialist idea. >> he's a crazy man. >> but he claims -- he claims to be a billionaire. >> a lot of the bernie sanders people have said they're voting for trump. >> we defeat donald trump by very large numbers. >> big, big, huge victory. >> a yuge voter turnout. >> huge victories all over the place.

>> yuge. and i mean yuge. >> pay-per-view, would you have paid? >> oh, yes. >> yeah? >> in a minute. >> would that have been worth 25 bucks? >> i think so. and hillary would have been odd man out. but yet it didn't happen. >> i don't understand, robert -- why didn't trump say yes to this? >> trump's explanation, he doesn't want to go against someone he thinks is going to come in second in the democratic race. but trump is a showman. i'm surprised it can't -- didn't happen. >> i was stunned. >> sanders is a gifted debater. maybe he recognized he couldn't handle it. >> a lot of downside for trump, i think. >> i don't know. the only person who would be a loser is hillary clinton. we shall see. oh, well. maybe for another campaign. that's all for today, though. we'll be back next week, because if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

it's memorial day, may 30th. a wicked weather weekend turning deadly in some regions. texas flooding claims five lives and dangerous rip tides move up the east coast. new details vounlding a 400 pound gorilla killed after a 4-year-old boy fell in his enclosure at a cincinnati zoo. libertarians pick their candidate to battle the donald, they reveal a person to take on trum am. police have new leads on a deadly shooting in houston. a rookie running on fumes wins the indy 500 and we hohn yort fallen on this memorial day. "first look" starts right now. >> good morning, everybody. thank you for