i'm thomas roberts and you are looking now live at pictures of president obama at arlington national cemetery on this memorial day. the president will be participating in a wreath-laying ceremony in just a moment to honor the men and women who have died in service for their country. let's watch for a moment. ♪ [ playing the national anthem ] ♪

♪ [ playing "taps" ]

♪

ladies and gentlemen, the wreath ceremony is complete. the memorial day service will begin shortly. please move to your seats. >> so there watching that moment with president obama laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier there under a beautiful may blue sky in washington, d.c., or outside of washington, d.c., in arlington, virginia. a part of arlington known as

section 60 has definitely been a place for most families. military members who have lost their lives in service to our country over the last 15 years, most of whom have now been buried there in arlington. and today a lot of people think about memorial day as being a holiday weekend. probably the beach or time off with family or maybe even a sale. but the real meaning of today deals with our military and those who have served and fought in service to our country. joining me now is retired army colonel jack jacobs who was a recipient of the medal of honor for his heroism in vietnam. steve clemons, and chief pentagon correspondent for nbc news, jim miklaszewski. jim, there is active fighting going on to regain the isis stronghold of fallujah.

that being led by u.s. aircraft, retaking this iraqi city, that's been a major challenge for the security forces there. explain why they haven't been able to get better traction. >> quite frankly, fallujah being a sunni town was not a high priority for the shia-led government there in baghdad and they didn't have the kind of capable, well-trained ground forces to be able to take fallujah. but fallujah got the attention of the government there in baghdad in recent weeks because it became a staging area for some of those suicide bombings, isis-led suicide bombings inside the capital killing hundreds of iraqis there inside baghdad. so at that point it got the attention of the government, of the military, and they in fact with the u.s. air support did launch -- begin to launch this attack to try to retake fallujah. >> mik, how significant is this in the overall prospect of doing that? >> well, it could be significant

in that it gives some kind of confidence to the sunni tribal populations there in iraq, which will be critical to defeating isis in the long run because, after all, the shia-led government has not been paying much attention, as we mentioned a moment ago, to the sunni areas of this fight. as far as the ultimate prize, which is mosul, the second largest city in the north held by the isis -- it's held in the grip of isis fighters, that is the key to any kind of long-term victory there in iraq. and frankly, fallujah doesn't play a role in that overall objective. >> mik, thank you, sir. stand by for me. just so everybody knows about the official birth place of the holiday, it's declared federally as waterloo, new york, because in 1966 president lyndon johnson, his congress approved that site location because of the fact of history books saying

that during the civil war, they were the first to observe the fallen in that town. so they celebrate the 50th anniversary -- >> that was the year i came into the army. >> federal demarcation. and then you served in vietnam and this was done during that time, which was highly unpopular during the johnson administration. people watching on their tv sets nightly what was taking place and images they had never seen before. the realities of war. you came home badly wounded from vietnam. what does this day mean to you? what do you want to remind people about when it comes to memorial day? >> there are two things that come immediately to mind. the first is how few americans actually serve. i grew up in new york city, and in my neighborhood, every household had made a contribution to the war effort, second world war. i had friends who had no fathers, friends whose fathers were missing bits and pieces and so on. but everybody had done something for the war effort.

it's not like that anymore. we have an all volunteer force. most americans do not know anybody in uniform. it's very easy to say that we love the troops without actually contemplating the service and sacrifice of our troops. the second thing is that because we have a tendency to forget, we have an obligation to make sure that succeeding generations are not as forgetful as we are, and we're not doing a particularly good job of reminding children, teaching children about the role of people in uniform ensuring the freedom that we enjoy today. those are the things i think. >> this is a reminder, the price of service. for gen xers like myself, people went on multiple tours. i had a good friend from grade school who was killed in a

chinook helicopter crash in afghanistan. and this day is so emotional for these family members who have people that are buried in arlingt arlington. but the price of freedom we seem to overlook if it comes to a sale or a holiday or the day off. a lot of americans forget why they have this day off. >> that's true and that's why i say it's really important to teach our children how important this day is and the sacrifices that have given us this freedom. the only way we can reach into the future is through education. and if we do a rotten job of teaching the next generation about what it takes to be free, then we're going to be the poorer for it, so we have to do a better job there. >> what do you think about the type of service that our vets are getting when they're coming home? obviously that's been a big topic during this campaign season. >> yes. and it's a very difficult circumstan circumstance. we have a large and unwieldy

bureaucracy in the veterans administration. i think there's a cogent argument that says the va needs to get out of the medical service altogether. somebody that's been in service, hand them a medicare card and get medical service for free. the problem is one of bureaucracy and not of dedication. we have to do a better job of administering medical care and we're going to be better for that if we do it. >> steve, let me talk to you about president obama promised the end of the wars, his predecessors george w. bush to end these wars. now we have obama being at war longer than other american presidents. so how can the administration reconcile this in trying to not be the police of the world, putting our troops in harm's way in constant motion? >> it's very hard to reconcile it is the honest answer, thomas. president obama wanted to bring to a close the iraq war, and yet we have troops fighting there. afghanistan, we did not withdraw fully and we have increased our

commitment to a residual force that will remain. and isis and the war against isis that goes on in essentially under a broad blanket authorization that wasn't recently filed by the congress but under previous authorizations blurs all these wars so that they're technically the longest war of the united states, that look like they could keep going on well beyond this administration because of the inability to bring groups like al nusra, al qaeda, isis, the taliban, under control. and so this continues to go on and i think it's going to be a problem that the president did his best as he saw it but was unable to bring this to a conclusi conclusive end. >> in "the new york times" today it talked about the multiple tours of duty for our military service. more than 90,000 soldiers and marines, veterans that have come home that have been on two to three to four different tours

over the last 15 years. steve, what do you think our country can do better with allied forces to help bear the brunt of what it means to fight the global war on terrorism? >> you know, both the president of the united states, president obama, but also donald trump, others like robert gates and leon panetta have all told the europeans and other allies that they needed to step up their game, they needed to contribute more resources, 2% of gdp, but also needed to train more because there was in essence, whether it was intentional or not, a free riding on the big sprawling military capacity the united states had around the world. and i think we've been using the bully pulpit to tell our allies that they need to do this. we have a big nato summit coming up in warsaw. i've met with many foreign leaders and defense ministers of these nato nations that are allies of the united states that talk a game about this, but they're primarily interested in what the larger leaders like the united states and nato will

deploy in their countries to protect them from russia. so what i think has to happen is there has to be a healthier equation in mutual responsibilities and that hasn't happened to the degree that has satisfied either our current president or at least one of the contenders on one of the tickets coming forward. so it's very hard. and i think what jack just said about the fact that many -- my own father died in active military service. there are people throughout this country that do have those connections with the military, but it's a diminishing lot because we just don't feel the same suffering and pressures and burdens that those people who served in the military and their families have gone through. >> we are waiting for the president's remarks. jack, i wanted to give you the final word. as steve points out you have the military connections. my dad served in vietnam and still keeps in close contact with all of his friends. but he was definite low, and i think he'd admit this, because

of his service interrupted. came home interrupted because of the realities of what he had to do and what he had to see. >> yeah, but when you have a large number, a large percentage of the american population in uniform and everybody has been in the same boat, i think it's much easier to be interrupted. you come back and start all over again, just as if nothing had happened. but with far less than you would have otherwise. i think it's significant. in an environment in which very few people serve, it's not surprising that people have problems. an environment in which everybody serves, you have far fewer problems because everybody has been involved. one thing about something that steve mentioned about our allies that's worth repeating and elaborating on just briefly, we're now not in the business of sending large numbers of troops out to fight in a conventional war. we have small numbers of troops conducting special operations. in those circumstances we have a

better argument than ever to include our allies. our allies need to step up and it's not that difficult for them to do so because they don't need a huge operation in order to serve. >> jack, thank you very much, sir. i appreciate it again. for our audience, we will be watching president obama's remarks live for you coming up. steve clemons, thank you as well. but one moment we wanted to show you right now is happening in chappaqua, new york. that is hillary clinton back home with her husband taking part in the memorial day parade. this hour donald trump kicked off his memorial day in typical trump fashion tweeting a memorial day message, make america great again. kristen welker is covering the clinton campaign in chappaqua for us. hallie jackson will talk about the latest on the republican side and trump's campaign. kristen, let me start with you about hillary clinton remaining at home today before getting back out on the campaign trail, participating in this parade. >> reporter: right. this is an annual tradition for the clintons to participate in

this memorial day parade, thomas. she was off the campaign trail this weekend, and senator sanders has been barnstorming california. he called that state the big enchilada. this weekend he is outspending secretary clinton 2-1 on the air waves. he's vowing to bring out more than 200,000 people before voters go to the polls and he says he's not going to leave california until primary day. for her part second clinton also making an aggressive push with polls showing it's a very tight race there. she is leading there but only boy two points. she's opened up nine campaign offices. she spent the better part of last week campaigning there as well. for senator sanders, the reality, thomas, is in order to catch up to secretary clinton in terms of delegates will be really tough. he would need to win the vast majority of votes in california. he has acknowledged that it is a steep climb and he's defiant in the face of calls from some of secretary clinton's surrogates to get out of the race this weekend. senator dianne feinstein saying

the race is all but over. senator sanders saying he's in this until the very end. interestingly, he did not rule out running as secretary clinton's vp pick but said he's squarely focused on winning the nomination himself. secretary clinton is headed to new jersey later this week, thomas. that's a state that if she wins, she could get enough delegates to clinch the nomination even before all of the votes are counted in california. so that's the strategy and the thinking on the part of the clinton campaign as they work to close out this nomination so that she can official low pivot to the general election and taking on donald trump. >> and we saw some shots there with hillary clinton, the governor of new york, andrew cuomo, walking along with her. kristen welker in chappaqua, new york, thank you very much. hallie jackson is covering the trump campaign. hallie, we had that tweet from donald trump and he is definitely, it seems, on defense when it comes to protecting his territory. not only against who the likely democratic nominee will be but

also now because of the new libertarian candidate that has emerged. >> the new libertarian candidate and also rumblings now of yet another candidate, possibly some sort of an independent candidate coming on board, if you believe some of the whispering that has happened over this weekend, thomas. you talk about the libertarians. gary johnson obviously over the weekend picking up the nomination from the libertarian party along with his vice presidential candidate weld. the two of them will be sort of barn storming. they're hoping to hit that 15% threshold in order to be included in debates. that's really the key here. if the two of them or at least gary johnson can get on that debate stage with presumably hillary clinton if she does lock up the democratic nomination and donald trump. and there's also talk now from some in the never trump circles of the possibility of an independent candidate. i'm told by sources to keep an eye out possibly for something along those lines later in the week, but there's been not a lot of talk about who this might be or when some sort of independent candidate might be announced, not to mention the viability of

that at this point in the race. when it looks as if donald trump is bringing together the big dollar fund-raisers, the big dollar donors, there's a sense that they are coming around to trump. >> hallie jackson, thank you so much. kristen welker, thanks to her as well. we want to take you back to arlington and the service that's taking place there. this is general joseph dunford, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. let's listen in. >> we walk away reminded how important to defend those values. those who were taken away prematurely can look down and know that we remember them. more important, those taken from us prematurely will look down and know that their lives had meaning. on behalf of the joint chiefs of staff, the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, coast guardsmen that we are privileged to lead, thank you for bringing meaning to the sacrifice of the fallen and thank you for remembering. [ applause ]

>> ladies and gentlemen, listen now as master sergeant michael ford of the united states army band performs the last full measure of devotion. ♪ ♪ in the history of america ♪ there are names that shine like beacons in the night ♪ ♪ the patriots whose vision gave us meaning ♪ ♪ who kept the lamp for freedom burning bright ♪ ♪ in the long history of

america ♪ ♪ there were those who paid the last and final prize ♪ ♪ were called upon during desperate circumstance ♪ ♪ to make the ultimate sacrif e sacrifice ♪ ♪ grateful nation bows its head in sorrow ♪ ♪ and in thanks for guaranteeing our tomorrow ♪ ♪ the last full measure of devotion ♪ ♪ that's what they gave to the

cause ♪ ♪ the last full measure of devotion ♪ ♪ and though they cannot hear our applause ♪ ♪ we honor them forever and keep alive their story ♪ ♪ pay tributes to their lives and give them all the glory ♪ ♪ the last full measure of devotion ♪ ♪ beyond the call of duty were their deeds ♪ ♪ the last full measure of devotion ♪ ♪ they gave themselves to serve the greater need ♪ ♪ and for those who did survive ♪ ♪ and came back home alive ♪ they join the praise of comrades who were slain ♪

♪ and whose tiny resolve ♪ that those who are dead shall not have died in vain ♪ ♪ the last full measure of devotion ♪ ♪ beyond the call of duty were their deeds ♪ ♪ the last full measure of devotion ♪ ♪ they gave themselves to serve the greater need ♪ ♪ and for those who did survive ♪ ♪ and came back home alive ♪ they join in praise of comrades who were slain ♪ ♪ and highly resolve, most

highly resolve ♪ ♪ that these dead shall not have died in vain ♪ [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, secretary carter.

>> mr. president, general dunford, warriors, veterans, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us this solemn remembrance today. in each of the more than 400,000 markers here at arlington, we find a dignified memorial to a life dedicated to the noblest of callings, to protect our people, uphold human kind's highest values and make a better world for our children. they say the securities like oxygen. if you have it, you don't think about it, but if you don't have it, it's all you think about. the patriots remembered today across the country provided that security. and so today do the millions of service members, soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, coast guardsmen, active duty, guard, reserve provide that security.

they're part of a long heritage of patriots who fought in places like lexington and concord, gettysburg and midway, chosen and caisson and more recently fallujah and helmand. on memorial day we especially remember those who gave their lives in this noblest of callings. and to our gold star families, you honor us with your presence. we know we lack the words to do justice to what you feel on this day. we can never fully know. but we do know what your sacrifice means to us, to this nation, and to a world that still depends so much on american men and women in uniform for its security. for all, memorial day in america is a line across the times, a line that connects yesterday

with today and tomorrow. that we're here today and that remembrances like this are under way across this shining land isn't lost on the kids who serve today. i hear this all the time. they know what it means, and it means that they too are doing the noblest of things. providing security so that americans can get up in the morning, dress their kids, kiss them off to school, go to work, dream their dreams, live lives that are full. they know it means that for all its variety, america is one in its support for them. and they know that not one of them, not one ever will be left behind. that every effort will be made to bring them home, no matter how long it takes. they can see that too today on memorial day. the line comes to them.

now, those who serve today do so in a world that has its challenges and foes for america. which our strength will counter and defeat. of that we can be certain. but it's also a world of bright opportunities that we'll grab hold of for them and their children. we can be certain of our strength, of our success and of our hope because our troops today make up the finest fighting force the world has ever known. a force of this caliber demands great leaders, and there's no doubt that they have one in the commander in chief. i see firsthand how clearly he understands the challenges we face and the obligations we must meet to keep our nation safe and make a better world. above all, i witness the

unending concern he has for our men and women in uniform and their families, their safety, their dignity, their welfare, and the boundless care with which he makes decisions that put them in harm's way. for this and for much more i'm tremendously proud to serve as his secretary of defense. please welcome the 44th president of the united states, barack obama. [ applause ] >> thank you. good morning. >> good morning. >> secretary carter, general dunford, mr. haleman, major general becker, members of our armed forces, veterans, and most

of all our gold star families, i'm honored to be with you once again as we pay our respects as americans to those who gave their lives for us all. here at arlington the deafening sounds of combat have given way to the silence of these sacred hills. the chaos and confusion of battle has yielded to perfect, precise rows of peace. the americans who rest here and their families, the best of us, those from whom we ask everything, ask of us today only one thing in return, that we remember them.

if you look closely at the white markers that grace these hills, one thing you'll notice is that so many of the years, dates of birth and dates of death are so close together. they belong to young americans, those who never lived to be honored as veterans for their service. men who battled their own brothers in civil war, those who fought as a band of brothers an ocean away, men and women who redefined heroism for a new generation. they are generals buried beside privates they led. americans known as dad or mom, some only known to god. as mr. haleman, a marine who then watched over these grounds has said, everyone here is

someone's hero. those who rest beneath this silence not only here at arlington but at veterans cemeteries across our country and around the world and all who still remain missing, they didn't speak the loudest about their patriotism, they let their actions do that. whether they stood up in times of war, signed up in times of peace or were called up by a draft board they embodied the best of america. as commander in chief, i have no greater responsibility than leading our men and women in uniform. i have no more solemn obligation than sending them into harm's way. i think about this every time i approve an operation as president. every time as a husband and father that i sign a condolence

letter. every time michelle and i sit at the bedside of a wounded warrior or grieve and hug members of a gold star family. less than 1% of our nation wears the uniform, and so few americans see these patriotism with their own eyes or know someone who exemplifies it. but every day there are american families who pray for the sound of a familiar voice when the phone rings, or the sound of a loved one's letter or e-mail arriving. more than one million times in our history, it didn't come, and instead a car pulled up to the house and there was a knock on the front door and the sound of "taps" floated through a cemetery's trees.

for us, the living, those of us who still have a voice, it is our responsibility, our obligation to fill that silence with our love and our support and our gratitude and not just with words but with our actions. for truly remembering and truly honoring these fallen americans means being there for their parents and their spouses and their children. like the boys and girls here today wearing red shirts and bearing photos of the fallen. your moms and dads would be so proud of you, and we are too. truly remembering means that after our fallen heroes gave everything to get their battle buddies home, we have to make sure that our veterans get everything that they have earned, from good health care to a good job, and we have to do better. our work is never done. we have to be there not only when we need them but when they need us.

30 days before he would be laid to rest a short walk from here, president kennedy told us that a nation reveals itself not only by the people it produces but by those it remembers. not everyone will serve. not everyone will visit this national sanctuary. but we remember our best in every corner of our country from which they came. we remember them by teaching our children at schools with fallen heroes' names, like dorie miller elementary in san antonio, or being good neighbors in communities named after great generals like mcpherson, kansas, or when we walk down first sergeant bobby mendez way in brooklyn or drive across the hoover dam on a bridge that bears pat tillman's name. we reveal ourselves in our words and deeds, but also by the simple act of listening. my fellow americans, today and

every day, listen to the stories these gold star families and veterans have to tell. ask about who he or she was, why they volunteered. hear from those who loved them, about what their smile looked like and their laugh sounded like and the dreams they had for their lives. since we gathered here one year ago, more than 20 brave americans have given their lives for the security of our people in afghanistan, and we pray for them all and for their families. in iraq, in our fight against isil, three americans have given their lives in combat on our behalf, and today i ask you to remember their stories as well. charles keating iv, charlie or

chuck or c 4, was born into a family of veterans, all-american athletes, olympians and even a gold medalist. so naturally charlie and the love of his life, brooke, celebrated their anniversary on the fourth of july. she called him the huge goofball everybody wanted to be friends with. the adventurer who surfed and spear fished and planned to sail around the world. when the twin towers fell, he was in high school and he decided to enlist. joined the s.e.a.l.s because he told his friends it was the hardest thing to do. he deployed to afghanistan and three times to iraq earning a bronze star for valor. earlier this month while assisting local forces in iraq who had come under attack, he gave his life. a few days later, one of his platoon mates send charlie's parents a letter from iraq. please tell everyone chuck saved a lot of lives today, it said.

he left us with that big signature smile on his handsome face as always. chuck was full of aloha but was also a ferocious warrior. today we honor charles keating iv. louis carden was the sixth of seven children, a californian with an infectious wit who always had a joke at the ready to help someone get through a tough time. when his siblings ran around the house as kids, his mom, pat, would yell watch that baby safety margin. and today she realizes that what she was really doing was raising a marine. as a teenager he proudly signed up. he graduated high school on a friday. three days later on monday morning, the marines came to pick him up. that was ten years ago. one morning this march, a marine knocked on his mother's door again. on his fifth tour at a base in

iraq, louis gave his life while protecting the marines under his command. putting others before himself was what louis did best. he chose to live in the barracks with his buddies even when he could have taken a house offbase. he volunteered to baby-sit for friends who needed a date night. he just earned a promotion to mentor his fellow marines. when they brought louis home, hundreds of strangers lined freeway overpasses in the streets of california to salute him, and today we salute staff sergeant louis carden. [ applause ] joshua wheeler's sister says he was exactly what was right about this world. he came from nothing and he

really made something of himself. as a kid, josh was the one who made sure his brother and four half-sisters were dressed and fed and off to school. when there wasn't food in the c cupboard, he grabbed his hunteding rifle and came back with a deer for dinner. when his country needed him, he enlisted in the army at age 19. he deployed to iraq and afghanistan 14 times. earned 11 bronze stars, four for valor. last october, as isil terrorists prepared to execute 70 hostages, josh, his fellow special ops went in and rescued them. every single one walked free. we were already dead, one of the hostages said, and then god sent us a force from the sky. that force was the u.s. army,

including josh wheeler. josh was the doting dad who wrote notes to his kids in the stacks of books he read. flying home last summer to be with his wife, ashley, who was about to give birth, he scribbled one note in the novel he was reading, just to tell his unborn son he was on his way. ashley wheeler is with us here today, holding their 10-month-old son, david. [ applause ]

ashley says josh's memory makes her think about how can she be a better citizen, and she hopes it's what other people think about too. today this husband and father rests here in arlington in section 60. and as americans, we resolve to be better, better people, better citize citizens, because of master sergeant josh wheeler. and our nation reveals itself not only by the people it produces but by those it remembers. we do so not just by hoisting a flag, but by lifting up our neighbors. not just by pausing in silence, but by practicing in our own lives the ideals of opportunity and liberty and equality that they fought for.

we can serve others and contribute to the causes they believed in, and above all keep their stories alive so that one day when he grows up and thinks of his dad, an american like david wheeler can tell them as well the stories of the lives that others gave for all of us. we are so proud of them. we are so grateful for their sacrifice. we are so thankful to those families of the fallen. may god bless our fallen and their families. may he bless all of you and may he forever bless these united states of america. [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, please

remain standing for the playing of "taps" and the benediction. ♪ [ playing "taps" ] ♪

eternal rest grant unto our beloved dead, oh lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. may they rest in peace. bless us all, lord. bless us all across this land we call america with strength, wisdom and courage, and may the sacrifice of so many who have died in service to our country and our world inspire us who remain to a renewed commitment to our nation and to our patriotic duty. amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain in place until the president has departed and the colors are retired.

>> so watching there, the president give his remarks and honoring the gold star families as he and other officials mark the official remembrance of memorial day at arlington national cemetery. i want to bring back now retired army colonel jack jacobs who is a recipient of the medal of honor for his heroism in vietnam. also steve clemons, an msnbc contributor. jack, it was really striking there, he gave so many personal stories of service members who have lost their lives and characters -- character definition about who they were. but having the applause at that moment for ashley wheeler, her husband, 39-year-old josh wheeler, killed last october. as the president said, deployed over 14 times. and that is a definition of what it means to be in service today, the fact that there will be multiple deployments. >> i think that emphasizes it more than anything.

we are relying heavily on special operations forces in order to get the job done for a wide variety of reasons, one of them is we're not entirely certain how we can do it otherwise, we don't have the forces to do it otherwise and we don't have the political will to spend the kind of time it takes to do it otherwise. i found it interesting, my reaction was the same as yours. the president frequently will personalize situations and often it sounds terribly gratuitous. today it didn't. this is all about the people and the people who serve, and i think he did a very good job of underlining, underscoring that by bringing up individuals' names, who they were, what they were like and the fact that they are buried right down from where he was standing. yeah, most of the time it sounds gratuitous, but not today. >> also talking about generals being buried next to infantrymen and women and, steve, also making the point that the

majority of those white markers, the gravestones, demonstrate a very short life span because the majority of those buried there were young americans. >> i mean i'm sure you've walked through arlington, and i think that anyone that goes through there sees these 19, 20, 21-year-olds not from just recent wars but from all wars. i think it's amazing to watch the president there giving the kind of words he did and think back when the first service was held at arlington national cemetery, then general james garfield, later president garfield spoke at that service and there were 5,000 people who decorated 20,000 of the graves who had come out of the civil war, both confederate and union soldiers. and i think that it is a place that allows people not just to remember but also to heal, because there was -- there's been so much in which people have given their lives. and like jack, i'm very happy that the president raised ashley wheeler's name and other names and particularly the spouses of

those who have fallen. in my own case, my mother took care of two kids while my dad was on constant what they call tdys, constantly temporary particularly those spouses who's fallen. my mother took care of two kids of kids that's temporary duty assignment here and there. spouses and family supported the report which i am pleased to see the president raised today. >> it was beautiful and the most heartbreaking thing i have been apart of. it was gut wrenching. today we take this moment to reflect and honor all of those who have served and fought for this country. we'll be back in a moment with more on msnbc live right after this. ♪ there is a time, for all my slumbers. ♪ one coat guaranteed marquee interior.

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so donald trump is focusing on this memorial day weekend about the veterans. he had a crowd rallying about

5,000 and they were there for the rolling thunder motorcycle run in washington dc. trump's featured attraction. >> illegal immigrants are taking much better care by this country, taken care of our veterans. that's not going to happen, okay? >> trump did address a mountain questions over the accountant of his january fundraiser which he hosted and participated in a fox news debate. >> our veterans have been treated so badly in this country, you have a secretary that last week says no, the wait time does not matter. forget about wait time. i know people and i gotten to know so many vets and we raised $6 million for the vets because i did not do a television show. we are seeing on tuesday of all the groups that we put up this money and we raise this

tremendous amount of money because we love the vets. >> joining me now is tann tanna gerth. it is good to have you with us. >> many donors need to be reminded about their pledges and he included himself in this because he did not cut the million dollar check. >> well, first off, i would like thank you for having me today and honoring our men and women. >> absolutely. >> i was part of the event where mr. trump raised $6 million for the veterans and i was so proud for him taking time aside pulling his resources and helping the veterans organization. it could take up to six weeks or six months to vet those

organizations that he wanted to give the money to. >> we'll find out tomorrow exactly who's allocated with those funds. trump said the gop should not let it happen. would an independent candidate be a trump spoiler come november? >> absolutely not. i think bill has all the answer, he should run for president. this is not going to hurt mr. trump not so ever and we are very much looking forward to the general election where we get to run against hillary clinton and showing the difference between mr. trump presidency and hillary clinton pi residency. >> he lost the primary caucus to ted cruz and social conservatives were abig pa big f that. >> the support for mr. trump is

great. we had our state convention about a week and a half ago, the support was wonderful. we were excited of the party that's gotten behind him and we are looking forward to cleveland and our convention is over the top great as you know mr. trump does not do anything half way. we are very excited to make it not a boring, usual, convention, it is going to be fun and it is going to be great. i am very much to be thrilled of this team and the convention. >> he says he's going to bring hollywood glamour. >> thank you for having me. >> thank you everyone at home for watching this hour at msnbc live for thomas roberts. i will be filling in for lester holts. my league richard lewis picks up coverage right after this. ke. s. [google:] message. you decide.

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