breaking now on msnbc, donald trump on the defense. we are expecting to hear from trump any minute now. the presidential candidate says he will finally share more details on where he plans to donate money raised for veterans back in january. this as trump faces mounting pressure to account for the $6 million he claimed that he'd raised for vets. plus, hillary clinton is scrambling to avert an upset in california. she just cancelled an event in new jersey to head to california where her lead has shrunk to two points in the latest poll. this as clinton picks up support from the state's top democrat. and with outrage growing over the gorilla shot and killed after a toddler fell into his cage, the boy's mom is now on facebook defending herself, saying, quote, accidents happen. and zoo officials also defending their security measures and refusing to place blame. good morning, everyone. i'm tamron hall live from our msnbc headquarters in new york.

we begin with that breaking news. let me show you some live pictures from trump tower where the candidate is set to hold a news conference. now, trump promised to give a full accounting of the money he said he raised for veterans at a fund-raiser back in january. you'll recall trump held that fund-raiser after deciding to skip a fox news debate. now, he's expected to clear up exactly how much money was raised and which groups received or will receive these funds. this follows weeks of delays and inconsistent statements from trump and his campaign. trump originally claimed that he had raised $6 million at that event held again on that same night of the gop debate that he chose to skip, a claim he continued to repeat while campaigning. >> we started out literally 24 hours ago, maybe less. we had no idea and we went out. we set up the website. i called some friends, and we just cracked, the sign was just

given. we just cracked $6 million, right? $6 million. i raised $6 million for the vets. i had basically a fund-raiser for the vets, and in the period of one hour, we raised $6 million, so i was very happy with that. >> now, before the memorial day holiday, trump said he never said that he raised $6 million. on to sunday and what you're looking at here, trump pledged to support veterans and he addressed the annual rolling thunder motorcycle rally in washington, d.c., but he also sparked controversy there as he expressed disappointment over the size of the crowd, which is estimated at 5,000. he referred to the "i have a dream" speech of dr. martin luther king at the same site saying he expected that size crowd. >> i'll tell you what really amazes me. i thought this would be like dr. martin luther king where the people would be lined up from

here all the way to the washington monument, right? unfortunately, they don't allow them to come in and you have all these people on the roads and they're all waving and going crazy. we've got to do this for next year where rolling thunder allows everybody to be here. >> nbc's hallie jackson joins us live from trump tower where the candidate will speak. let's pick up on that rolling thunder event before he talk about this millions of dollars. by all reporting, reporters there, others there, they said that there were not people lined up or being kept out of the trump rally. you've had eugene robinson and others even say that it was just a lie or an extreme exaggeration from donald trump yet again, he says. >> reporter: but then again, tamron, it's something that we've heard from donald trump at various events, various rallies talking about people waiting to get in the door when sometimes that is simply not the case. what was most interesting about that rally over the weekend were his comments as you noted about this event here today.

trump promising to give that full accounting of where that money has gone, that $6 million he claims was raised for veterans charities when he skipped that debate back at the ending of january and instead held that competing rally just down the street in the same town, in the same city in order to fund raise for vets. the question has been since then how much money was really raised and where did that money go. we saw trump deliver some checks here and there in the spring, back in the primaries, but since then he's been dogged by questions about the details of that donation and we do expect to hear more information about that today when donald trump comes here to trump tower. he's going to take the podium here. he's got people behind him. we expect him to talk a little about national security before taking questions from the media that has assembled here, tamron. one of the other topics he may get asked about, this idea of a potential independent challenger. you know speculation has been building over the weekend after tweets by conservative writer bill kristol who says nothing is

imment. that didn't stop trump from lashing out about what he called a spoiler indie candidate, even months after the primaries. a lot to discuss today here at trump tower. also in attendance. top strategist, sean spicer. we interviewed him live last hour and he issued an interesting warning to anybody considering running as an independent or funding an independent bid or helping to organize that, that that would essentially allow hillary clinton to take the white house come november. so, tamron, we are sort of watching some of the activity here at trump tower, the security and secret service agents gathering as we expect donald trump to walk out any minute now. >> hallie, we also know outside of the trump tower there, an anti-trump rally later this hour. we're expecting some veterans to participate in that rally. let's talk about the sensitivity here. we know that donald trump in the

primary did well with veterans. he knows that he needs a good support from these veterans. and so to have this "washington post" expose say after all of these months of asking where this money went, when he announced this fund-raiser, there was instant criticism that he was using the vets to deflect that he did not want to debate. and now you have the gop front-runner having to get in front of that podium and explain why it's taken all of this time to get this money to the vets and the million dollars he said he was going to donate when the expos came out in "the washington post" that money had not been distributed. >> we see some activity. i'm going to take a seat and you can watch this press conference. >> right now donald trump is entering the room. you see him there off to the side. he's there with his daughter. and this is an interesting way to start off the week after a long holiday weekend. he had this rally in washington, d.c., expressing disappointment

that 5,000 people showed up for that event comparing it to the crowd from the "i have a dream" martin luther king speech, he expected a turnout of that sort. "the washington post" has produced a series of investigative reports on this money that he says he raised for vets and trump says he's clearing everything up. let's listen in. >> thank you very much. this has been a great period of time. it's been really, as george said, amazing. we've gotten the nomination, we're going to have an incredible period in cleveland. we look forward to it. we've started working already on the convention. and lebron, good luck in the series because we're going to have a series, which of course the longer it goes, the less time we have, but that's okay. it's going to be very interesting to see what happens. but as you know, they're playing the basketball championships partially in that arena, so i think it will be very exciting. it will add to the excitement in cleveland and that's good. that's what we want because it's going to be an exciting period

of time. we have -- we've done some awfully good work. i was just informed that we've got more votes than anybody in the history of the republican primaries and we still have, i guess, six or seven locations to go, states to go. in the history, think of it, in the history of this great party, we've gotten substantially more votes than anybody else, by millions. by many millions more than anybody who's ever run so that's a great -- you know, when you think dwight eisenhower and ronald reagan and everybody, we have the most votes by far. so that's something to me that's very exciting. and overall it's just been a very exciting process. i think we're going to do very well. we have no idea what's going to happen on the democrat side but they're certainly having difficulty. i don't like to see people having difficulty, but anybody has to have it, let it be them. and i think it's going to be very interesting, but i'm very proud to say that we've gotten

the most votes. and also if you look at the overall primary, the amount of votes cast, that's also a record. so we've broken a lot of records in terms of the voters. our polling has come out and the polls are doing very well. as you know, we're pretty much even and in some cases ahead of hillary and i think we're going to have a very, very successful number of months and i think it will all cull minimminate in no. does anybody have any questions. >> you've been taking questions about the $6 million that you say you raised for vets. you yourself say you pledged a million dollars. who got that money, when did they get it and why did it take so long to get it to them? >> i'm glad you asked the question because i have to tell you, i have raised a tremendous amount of money for the vets, almost $6 million, and more money is going to come in, i believe, over the next little

while too, but i've raised almost $6 million. all of the money has been paid out. i'm going to give it to you in a second. in fact i brought a list just in case that question was asked. but the money has been paid out. i have been thanked by so many veterans groups throughout the united states. one gentleman called me up recently crying that out of the blue he got a check for $100,000. but i have been thanked by so many groups, great veterans groups. outside you have a few people, they're picketing. they're sent there by hillary clinton and they're picketing that the money wasn't sent. the money has all been sent. i wanted to keep it private. if we could, i wanted to keep it private because i don't think it's anybody's business if i want to send money to the vets. but i have to say this. i raised close to $6 million. it will probably be over that amount when it's all said and done. but as of this moment it's $5.6 million. when it started, this started with a speech in iowa when i said let's raise some money for

the vets. it went up from a million dollars to $2 million to $3 million and now it ends up almost $6 million and i think we can do better than that. but i will say that the press should be ashamed of themselves. on behalf of the vets, the press should be ashamed of themselves. they are calling me and they are furious because i sent people checks of a lot of money. we're going to give you the names right now which is what you want. instead of being like thank you very much, mr. trump, or trump did a good job, everyone says who got it, who got it, who got it and you make me look very bad. i have never received such bad publicity for doing a good job so i will give you the sglaname >> why did it take so long? >> much of this money was paid out very early, but you have to vet all of these different groups because these are many different groups. you have to go through a process. when you send checks for hundreds of thousands of dollars

to people and to companies and to groups that you've never heard of, charitable organizations, you have to vet it. you send people out, you do a lot of work. now, most of the money went out quite a while ago, some of it went out more recently, but all of this has gone out and i'll give you the names. are you ready? do you have your pad? and again, i really think the press -- look, the media -- you know my opinion of the media, it's very low. i think the media is, frankly, made up of people that in many cases, not in all cases, are not good people. but i think this is an example. and i just on behalf of all of the folks that have worked hard on this and all of the people that have made contributions, including myself, i gave $1 million, but i just want to tell you that there are so many people that are so thankful for what we did. one other thing that's important to know, zero dollars have been taken out for administration. you know, when you go to a lot of these different groups, in

this case zero dollars have been taken out for administration. so a lot of these companies that make a lot of money with doing the administration stuff, so no money, it cost zero dollars to accumulate all of this money, okay? so you have 22 and that's $200,000. you can call these people. that was another thing. a lot of the money when it was sent out, different people can call. i'm not going to mention anybody specifically but there were a couple of people that were really disgusting. they'd call and these vet groups, they don't get a lot of calls from the press. and maybe some of them would keep quiet or they didn't know or they didn't want to talk to the press or didn't feel comfortable, so if they didn't say they got the money, which they all did, 100% got the money, all certified checks. if anyone wants to see the certified checks. but rather than say could i see a certified check, they said, well, they didn't say they got the money. they got the money but they're

not people who always talk to the press. many of them do talk to the press. i guess you found $2 million or $2.5. well, the number is $5.6 million and it's going to possibly go above that because i believe some other people are coming in. ready? 22 kill got $200,000. now, these are checks that have been delivered, that have been cashed, that are now being used to help the vets. achilles international, great organization, $200,000. much of this money was paid a long time ago. american hero adventures, $100,000. americans for equal living, $100,000. america's vet dogs, the veteran canine corps inc., $75,000. am vets, $75,000.

just so you understand, when i didn't do the fox debate, the one fox debate because i didn't think they treated me right, but actually they have been extremely fair over the last three or four months. i have to say that about fox. but when i didn't do that one event, the debate, i gave a speech. i didn't have to do this with the money for the vets, but i decided to because i thought it would be a good idea and i had some very generous people. carl icahn gave a half a million dollars, phil ruffin gave a million, ike pearl rudder gave a million. we raised a lot of money. the problem with the press, what they do is they convince people like me not to do it, not to give money to different things because it's a lot easier that way. armed services, ymca of the united states, $75,000. bob woodruff family foundation inc., they do a good job,

$75,000. central iowa shelter and services, these are all vet-related. $100,000. connected warriors inc., $75,000. disabled american veterans charitable service trust, $115,000. fisher house foundation, great people, $115,000. foles of honor foundation, $200,000. foundation for american veterans, $75,000. freedom alliance, $75,000. green beret foundation, $350,000. higher heroes usa, $75,000. homes for our troops, $50,000. and just so you understand, i've

got a long way to go, this money was raised during a little speech that i made rather than doing a debate. the one debate i missed. it was the lowest rated debate, by the way, but i won't say that. honoring america's warriors, $100,000. hope for the warriors, $65,000. intrepid fallen heroes fund, $175,000. canines for warriors, $50,000. liberty house, $100,000. marine corps law enforcement foundation, $1,100,000. i gave a million dollars to them. it's a great group. navy s.e.a.l. foundation, $465,000. navy marine corps relief society, $75,000.

new england wounded veterans, inc., $75,000. operation home front, $65,000. partners for patriots, $100,000. project for patriots, and we're still vetting them, by the way, the check is ready to go but they don't have all of their appropriate -- in fact we have down here will be released to them upon the receipt of the irs determination letter. that's the only one, which we hear they're fantastic, but they have to give us that final document. this is what i mean by vetting. you have to have all the documents, otherwise you can't give them the money. project for patriots, $100,000. puppy jake foundation, $100,000. racing for heroes, inc., $200,000. support suland soldiers,

$100,000. task force dagger foundation, $50,000. the mission continues, $75,000. the national military family association, inc., $75,000. veterans airlift command, $100,000. veterans count, $25,000. veterans in command, inc., $150,000. vietnam veterans workshop, inc., $75,000. warriors for freedom foundation, $50,000. and i believe we're going to have some more coming in, some friends of mine, some more coming in. and that adds up to $6 million -- well, let's see. that adds up to $5,600,000 total and we're going to have some more coming in, so that's it.

[ applause ] now -- thank you. thank you. every one of those checks has been passed other than the one check which is being held subject to their getting a final approval from the government. but every one of those checks has been passed. this is my check for a million dollars. we have many letters from the different groups thanking us very much for the money and they didn't ask -- and i didn't ask people to be here today. i could have asked every one of the groups, unlike hillary who asked people to stand outside. i gave $5,600,000. more is coming in. probably tops the $6 million number. i never thought we were going to raise a million dollars when we started. and we end up doing almost $6 million. so i have to tell you, the press is so dishonest and so unfair. a lot of the people behind me

and some of the people over here helped in vetting the various requests for money, and i just want to thank all of those people. yes. [ inaudible question ] >> how did you prioritize. some of those you mentioned are very well known. how did you work through that? >> i wasn't too involved in picking the organizations other than i gave a million dollars to the law enforcement marine. they are fabulous people. they honored me last year at the waldorf astoastoria. i knew them. i was going to give them to three companies or three groups and we couldn't vet them quickly and so we gave them to the marine. if you look at that number, the marine corps law enforcement foundation is a fabulous group and i didn't have to go through a big vetting process with them because i was going to split the million dollar checkup among three or four different groups. in the end i just didn't want to go through the process of having

to vet all those different groups. >> why do you resent just the verification process that is natural? >> because i wanted to make this out of the goodness of my heart. i didn't want to do this with the press is all involved. then we said who it went to. how much was it. we gave -- look, when this started, i think you were there. i said if we could raise a million dollars, that would be good and we ended up raising almost $6 million. i'm going to have more coming in over a period of time. >> don't you believe you should be accountable to the people? >> i'm totally accountable, but i didn't want to have credit for it. actually what i got was worse than credit because they were questioning me. and this is money -- by the way, most of that money went out very early, just so you understand. but a lot of these groups, getting vetted by, you know, when you pay the money out, they need government documentation, they need a lot of different things. plus we want to find out is it a good group. i had people, teams of people reviewing statistics, reviewing numbers, and also talking to people in the military to find

out whether or not the group was deserving of the money. we have given to groups that are unbelievable groups and honestly i wish you could hear the phone calls and see the letters, they are so happy. and i'm happy to do it. i didn't want the credit for it, but it was very unfair that the press treated us so badly. go ahead. >> to follow up on that, you keep calling us the dishonest press. >> generally speaking that's 100% true, go ahead. >> i disagree with that, sir. if i can ask you this question, it seems as though you're resistant to scrutiny, the kind of scrutiny that comes with running for president of the united states. >> i like scrutiny. but you know what, when i raise money -- excuse me, excuse me. i've watched you on television. you're a real beauty. when i raise money for the veterans and it's a massive amount of money, find out how much hillary clinton has given to the veterans, nothing. then i see a few guys standing out there. they don't even know what they're there for. they're there because hillary clinton's campaign sent them. i think it was you or one of you that found out they were with

hillary clinton's campaign, which was interesting, but i wasn't surprised. i don't want the credit for it. but i shouldn't be lambasted. and remember this, so out of the almost $6 million that was raised, not one penny did i take for administration costs. that's unheard of, okay. >> why do you continue to attack the press, though, mr. trump? >> you did host a very public fund-raiser that was televised -- >> how else am i going to raise the money. >> sorry? >> how else am i going to raise the money. >> when you did this fund-raiser, instead of doing the debate, it received wide attention. some people say it would have helped your campaign. >> just so you understand, until i was criticized, so i took -- i'm the only one in the world that could raise almost $6 million for the veterans, have uniform applause by the veterans groups and end up being criticized by the press. yes, i made a speech. during my speech i said let's raise a little money for the vets. it turned out to be a lot of

money, not a little money. i thought if we could get to a million dollars it would be great. >> since then you touted the fact that you raised millions of dollars for the veterans. is that not touting it? >> mr. trump, writing a million dollar check is very generous. but that night you said you raised $6 million. your critics say you tend to exaggerate, you have a problem with the truth. is this a prime example? >> no. i raised almost $6 million. some of it didn't come through but more is coming through than didn't come through. the number is probably going to be over the $6 million. >> why exaggerate? >> go ahead. >> good to see you, sir. to follow up on what jim was saying, you do realize that when the democrats are out there raising questions about this money, the press is also reflecting what your opposition is saying about you. it's not just us throwing questions at you because it's coming from some of them. >> i don't mind it coming from the opposition, though, carl. what i do mind is when i raise

all of these millions and when we started out, nobody thought it was going to be over $5 million. >> but you're answering the questions now that we had back then. it was just a question. is a question an attack? is a question an attack? >> i think, and i've been dealing with the press a long time. i think the political press is among the most dishonest people that i've ever met, i have to tell you that, okay. of course you're excluded, carl. but i think the political press -- >> wait a few minutes. >> i think the political press -- i see the stories and i see the way they're couched. for instance, i went down this weekend to do rolling thunder. i was invited, i didn't have anything to do with it. we had a tremendous gathering of people. thousands, i don't know how many -- but many thousands of people. i joked. i thought we were going to go from the jefferson memorial to the lincoln -- i was joking. they said donald trump was disappointed. everybody knew i was being sarcastic and joking. some of them. they said donald trump was very disappointed that it didn't go

from jefferson to lincoln. you know millions of people. i was joking. i said, oh, i'm used to watching it -- i was joking. so they put it down as serious. they know i was joking. i'll give you another example. we had a certain -- the same event. it was roped off where you could only get so many people there and there were a lot of people. i don't know, 10,000, 15, maybe 25,000, i don't know, there was a lot of people. plus there were people breaking the seams all the way along. gene washington wrote an article that there was 5,000 people there. there were many times that and you weren't allowed to have any more people. they're waving to me as i go by. but wait a minute, the point is law enforcement, these people, didn't allow you to have any more people. i think the press knew that. i had a tremendous crowd, but it was the biggest crowd you could have had because it was all cordon ed off. they weshtdren't allowed to havy

more than they had. so instead they said trump was disappointed because i didn't have millions of people going from jefferson to washington. i mean give me a break. it's just -- honestly, it's dishonest reporting. yeah, go ahead. >> how are veterans -- [ inaudible ] >> let me tell you the veterans why they believe. one group was here. is al baldazaro here? this is a group i gave money to. he just showed up, i just saw him. but i could have asked all these groups to come here and i didn't want to do that. i'm not looking for credit. but what i don't want is when i raise millions of dollars, have people say, like this sleazy guy right over here from abc, he's a sleaze in my book. you're a sleaze because you know the facts and you know the facts well. go ahead. >> thank you, mr. trump. first of all, for the record,

i'm a state representative from new hampshire, ten year on the veterans affairs committee, 22 years in the marine corps, retired first sergeant. what i want to clarify here, first of all, i would never, ever in a million years put my name on a candidate that did not from his heart look me in the eye and tell me he's concerned about veterans. that's donald trump. i met him over a year ago. i've been involved with many fund-raisers. there are many scam artists out there. he did the right thing by vetting these groups there. if you look at some of the groups giving 20 cents, 40 cents on the dollar and spending the rest for their nice lavish trips. he gave 100%. the liberal media is the only ones that have been calling me on the foundation. i'm the former chairman. i've been dealing with this stuff for years as a veterans activist. stop using veterans as political pawns. you got a guy outside, mccoy, go do a google search on his facebook. he's out there, his picture is with clinton.

they are using veterans as political pawns, it must stop. donald trump is doing this from the heart. you're all focused on the way he's raising money and you're not looking at the 22 veterans that are killing each other every day. you're not concerned about the thousands of veterans that are on wait lists. look at his plan on this trump website. he talks about medical cards, he talks about fixing the va, he talks about competition. i think the liberal media, and i've been dealing with you a long time, need to get your head out of your butt, focus on the real issues. thank you. >> what i did is -- i didn't ask al, i've gotten to know al a little bit primarily through new hampshire where we had great victories, but he showed up this morning because he was upset. many of the other groups are very upset. they received $100,000 in the mail. they didn't even know what it was for. it was from me. other groups received $200,

$250,000. they didn't know what it was for. i have again upstairs, i have received phone calls with people crying. i have received letters, heartfelt letters, and it's -- it really -- the bad part about the dishonesty of the media is that people like me will be inclined not to do it anymore. why should you raise $5.6 million, and i think i'll go over $6 million pretty easily, nobody said that we started this out as a small little project where it was less than a million dollars because it just kept mushrooming and building and building. nobody talks about that. so we raised $5.6 million. we have so many happy groups, so many happy veterans, and then i see these guys, these hillary clinton people outside. now, of course they don't know the extent. they probably figured based on reading the press that trump didn't make -- you know, didn't raise this kind of money. but we raised a lot and i'll be raising more and we'll be

sending it to other people. >> mr. trump -- >> the verification process and how you want to make sure these groups are what they say they are. >> it's a complicated process, yeah. >> does that process involve reviewing those groups' tax returns? >> no, it doesn't. it really -- you know, the government sort of approves different groups for a lot of reasons and so it really does. and more than anything else, it's also speaking to other veterans. we have a circle of veterans and who's good -- i don't want to send a $250,000 check to a group that doesn't do good work. so we vet the vets. >> mr. trump, you seem particularly bothered by criticism on this. why? do you need a thicker skin to run for this office? >> i think it's bothersome because i love the vets and i've worked hard for the vets. as you can see, i've given a lot of money and raised a lot of money for the vets and i think when the press portrays it differently, the press is being very dishonest, so i don't like

that. i don't like dishonesty. not you. go ahead. >> mr. trump, let's change gears here. jeff sessions has -- >> jeff sessions. >> he's expressed an openness to be your running mate. have you had any conversations with him? >> jeff sessions is a fantastic man. jeff sessions is one of the most highly respected people in the united states senate. jeff sessions is a person that i believe that ted cruz just has the most respect for and i think ted thought that he would get an endorsement. you know, jeff sessions has never endorsed a presidential candidate before. as many years as he's been in the senate. so jeff sessions certainly is somebody that i would consider, absolutely. he's a fantastic person. yeah, go ahead. >> mr. trump, one of the things from this weekend was the situation from the cincinnati soovmt animal activists are rou outraged that they killed this gorilla. >> there were moments with the gorilla the way he held that child almost like a mother

holding a baby. it looked so beautiful and calm. and there were moments where it looked pretty dangerous. i don't think they had a choice. i mean probably they didn't have a choice. you have a child, a young child is at stake. you know, it's too bad that there wasn't another way. i thought it was so beautiful to watch that powerful, almost 500-pound gorilla, the way he dealt with that little boy, but it just takes one second. one second, it's not like it takes place over -- well, he's going to do it in 30 seconds from now. it just takes one little flick of his finger and i will tell you, they probably had no choice. >> a policy question, a policy question on veterans. >> go ahead. >> do you favor privatizing va health care? >> i'm in favor of fixing the va health care. the va is one of the great catastrophes in this country. you look at what's happening in phoenix and different places

throughout the country, where they're catching people stealing and they don't fire them. people are waiting five days, six days, seven days in line. they're dying while they're in line. i am in favor of if they can't get to a doctor within a reasonable period of time, they're going to see a doctor and the country will pay for it. they'll go to a private doctor or a public hospital or public doctor but someplace that can take care of them immediately. we're losing thousands of people waiting in line. and the veterans administration is run by obama just as incompetently as he's running our country. you look at the tsa, you look at what's going on at the airports. and you look at that. just take a look at that. that's like the veterans administration. nothing in our country works anymore. it's a mess. and maybe that's why i'm doing so well in the polls. yes. >> is privatization the answer? the veterans can use a card now and get private care. >> what it has to be is when somebody is online and they say

it's a seven-day wait, that person will walk across the street, bow taken care of and we'll pay the bill. and we'll check it out and be careful, but that's going to be a lot less expensive than what's going on. these people are living in hell. and hillary clinton said the veterans administration is working just fine. and the head of it, mcdonnell, said last week that waiting in line is not bad. look at disney world, okay? these are the kind of people we have running things. it's ridiculous. dave. >> there's a rasmussen poll out today that says that half of americans think hillary clinton should stay in the race even if she's charged with a felony. does that suggest that you're continuing to pound her, gee, i don't know if she should even run, are you a little out of sync? >> that's their choice. you have a party called the democrats and they're going to have to make that choice. it's -- you know, i think it's probably going to be her because it's rigged. and i think if you people will say i'm the one that came up

with the term rigged, i used it for myself but i won by such big margins -- the whole system is rigged on both sides. same with the republicans, just less obvious. the democrats with the super -- you know, with the whole superdelegate thing, it's ridiculous. so -- so i think that they're going to have to make that determination. if you're asking me who i prefer running against? >> no, no, no. do you think she committed a felony? >> i think what she did was very bad and i think a lot of people have done a lot less than her and their lives have been destroyed. >> on the possibility of an -- >> the press exposed the va issues so shouldn't the press get some credit for that. >> i think that's fine. go ahead, go ahead. >> can i ask you about trump university, sir, because there have been a lot of questions about that and you also challenged the credibility of the judge handling that case. >> the judge has been very unfair, has not done a good job. he's been a bad judge. and i will win the trump university case. i already have -- >> why antagonize the judge in

that case? >> because i don't care. because i don't care. i have a judge who's very, very unfair. >> why? why is that? >> you'll see it in court documents. but i have a judge who's very, very unfair. he knows he's unfair. and i'll win the trump university case. i could settle that case. i could have settled it. i just choose not to. in fact when i ran they said why didn't you settle that case. >> why mention that the judge is mexican? >> because i'm a man of principle. most of the people who took those courses have letters saying they thought it was great, essentially. it was good, it was great. and you know what, when they're on the stand and you say how come you signed a letter saying that trump university was so good, how come you signed a letter, the woman that was the original plaintiff in the case, they went to the court and the judge allowed her to get out of the case. the case should have been dropped. the whole case should have been dropped. they wanted her dismissed from the case. you know why? because she was deposed. she was such a bad witness that we win the case easily.

she signed a letter and she's on film, she's on tape like these cameras saying unbelievably good things about trump university. so they didn't want her anymore because she's a disaster for them. so they went to the judge and they said, your honor, we'd like to have her not be a participant, not be the plaintiff in the case. and he said, oh, that's okay. she's the one that started the case. now they don't even want her to testify. they don't want her to testify because she's a disaster. she has all sorts of beautiful statements about it and importantly, she's on tape saying how great it is. they don't want her. i wouldn't want her either. now, i could have settled that case. i could settle that case, i can settle that case. i don't want to. i'll go through the process. >> you yourself recently reacted against what you call a spoiler indie candidate in this race, yet earl in the primaries you didn't rule out an independent run. so why are you so worried now about a conservative challenger? >> because we're down the line. we're down the line and the fact that you can't win as an

independent. for the most part you can't even get on texas and various other states now, it's too late. >> could spoil the race for you. >> here's what happens. what happens is you will not have -- and very importantly, you will not have supreme court justices. you're going to lose. you could have as many as four or five. that's over. now, kristol is the last one. don't forget. he said trump will never run. the guy is not a smart person. he said donald trump will never run. remember? do you remember? i actually blame you. why do you put this guy on television? i see him on the different shows. he's got no credibility. he said i won't run. if i run, i won't do well. he looks like such a fool. i saw him on one show and he's practically crying because he can't justify it. now he comes out with a tweet over the weekend, over memorial day weekend. it sounds like he's going to put somebody up. even i thought it. i thought they're going to find in t indie. now he comes out with something saying he was almost kidding. okay?

let me tell you, these people are losers. he's trying to -- trying to make you -- he's trying to drive you guys a little bit nuts. if they do an indie, assuming it's decent, which i don't think anybody with a reputation would do it because they'd look like fools. but what you're going to do is you lose the election for the republicans and, therefore, you lose the supreme court. therefore, you will have a group of people put on the supreme court where this country will never, ever recover. it will never, ever be the same. >> mr. trump, when you talk about conservatives -- >> a follow-up here. >> when you refer to some republicans and conservatives as losers -- >> no, no, i didn't say that. i said bill kristol is a loser. i'll tell you why, carl. he has called every single -- take a look, on me. he's going to lose this state. i win in a land slide. wait a minute, carl, i didn't say everybody. many, but i didn't say everybody. bill kristol is a loser. his magazine is failing, as you know.

it's going to be down -- i don't think it even survives. he's getting some free publicity. but bill kristol, i've been watching this for two years. trump isn't going to run. oh, he's not going to win in new hampshire. win in a landslide. every place he's not going to win but i win in a landslide. do you think maybe he doesn't like me? okay, maybe one or two more. >> there's a question directly related to this, sir. today fred mallick, nixon administration official, long-time financier in republican politics essentially said today that you have to stop beating up on republicans. and he goes on to say that you essentially got some 30% of the republican vote that -- >> it's wrong. it's wrong. >> sir, let me finish the question. let me finish the question. >> my last one was 78%. >> is it going to make it more difficult for you to unite the party when you are criticizing your critics from within it? >> here's the way i look at it.

when i have somebody that's not on my side, okay, you know -- by the way, i've gotten great applause from the press in terms of as an achievement because the republican party is really well unified. we have come up -- people that you would have never thought possible are now saying i support trump. so remember that. we don't talk about that too much, but actually last week the big story is how fast the republican party is healing, because it is a healing process. it was a rough -- that was a rough campaign. i don't know fred mallick. i can say this. the real story is how fast we're getting together. now, if i have a republican that's not on my side, i'm not going to -- why should i be particularly nice to that person. i'm not going to go after them like i would hillary or crazy bernie. but why should i be nice to that person. if i have a person that's not going to support me, i have no obligation. now, politically i may be right, i may be wrong, but that's who i am. i'm a very honest person, carl. if somebody is going to say a little bit negative or a lot negative about me, and if they

happen to be republican, i may choose to hit them back. not always. not always, but i may choose to hit them back. >> in the last week you've said that the former republican nominee walks like a penguin, you've criticized susana martinez -- >> mitt romney lost an election that he should have won. have you read the front page of the "wall street journal" about mitt romney, he looks like a fool. >> why should people believe you when you say you'll bring the party together. >> i made money for mitt romney. he let us down. if you read the front page of "the wall street journal" this weekend, mitt romney looks like a fool. now, why would i say good about mitt romney? >> you said you're committed to party unity? >> what about susana martinez in new mexico. why take that fight on? >> she was not nice and i was just a little bit of a jab. she wasn't nice. you think i'm going to change? >> go ahead, one more. >> how do you unify the party.

>> bob dole -- >> bob dole endorsed me so don't tell me about bob dole. >> what about gary johnson? >> well, look, gary johnson, he got 1% of the vote last time. i watched that whole situation, it was really pretty disgraceful. i think it's a total fringe deal. i think he's a fringe candidate, you want to know the truth. i look at him and watch him and watch his motions and watch what he says. i think that he is a fringe candidate. and your second, weld, is when you do a little research on that, i think it's not going to be a factor, okay? >> one last thing. i think you've set a new bar today for being contentious with the press corps, calling us losers to our faces and all that. >> not all of you, just many of you. >> all right, fine. enough of us. >> not you, david. >> if this what it's going to be like if you're president? >> yeah, it is. >> we're going to have this in the pressroom? >> yeah, it is going to be like this, david. if the press writes false stories like they did with this,

because half of you are amazed that i raised all of this money. if the press writes false stories like they did where i wanted to keep a low profile, i didn't want the credit for raising all this money for the vets. i wasn't looking for the credit. by the way, more money is coming in. i wasn't looking for the credit. but i had no choice but to do this because the press was saying i didn't raise any money for them. not only did i raise it, much of it was given a long time ago and there is a vetting process and i think you understand that. but when i raise almost $6 million and probably in the end will raise more than 6, because more is going to come in and is coming in, but when i raise $5.6 million as of today, more is coming in, and i -- and this is going to phenomenal groups. i have many of these people vetting the people that are getting the money and working hard. then we have to read probably libelous stories or certainly close in the newspapers. and the people know the stories are false. i'm going to continue to attack the press. look, i find the press to be extremely dishonest.

i find the political press to be unbelievably dishonest, i will say that. okay? thank you all very much. thank you. thank you very much. >> mr. trump -- >> a lot to digest in the nine minutes that we have left in this show, but let me start off with a very important guest. we have former marine alexander mccoy. he's the head of the vets versus hate movement. we also have another panel assembled but i want to bring you on, alex, because you are one of the protesters out front of donald trump's tower. you or your organization referenced by representative from new hampshire. donald trump as well alleging that your protest and protesters out front of trump tower right now are plants by the hillary clinton campaign. let me get your response to that. >> well, i think donald trump has a problem with the first amendment. i think this grand conspiracy theory that my looking at

pictures of my facebook that this is somehow some hillary plant is clearly ridiculous. there are republicans, there are independents, there are democrats, there are supporters of hillary clinton and bernie sanders. all of whom came forward to join me in a protest last week. and i think that it's clear from donald trump's statements that he had to very quickly find an organization and didn't have time to vet multiple organizations and very quickly had to find one to give his million dollars to, that he was responding directly to the pressure of veterans like me and the others who joined me last week standing up to hold him accountable. >> in the report request from the daily beast" the headline is hillary clinton's camp set up veterans against trump. you're mentioned in this article as well. were you called by the clinton campaign? were you called by any party or any affiliates of hillary clinton's campaign to protest donald trump? >> no, i was not. and i flatly reject the allegations of that article. the fact is a lot of people,

like myself, came together in response to the reporting of "the washington post" and we brought together all the allies that we could to get our message out. so we did spread the word that we were going to protest. but the idea that this was something set up by the hillary clinton campaign is completely false. >> the article said you went to great lengths to hide the clinton campaign's involvement organizing the demonstrations. again, something you adamantly say is untrue. let me bring in republican strategist and i want you to stand there, alex, if possible george wallet kitkins, david co mark murray from our team. donald trump releases this list of organizations that's the money will go to and one is still being vetted, they need to provide some information. the article from "the washington post" was back from may 21st is when this investigation actually started. it appears to some that donald trump saw that he had wounded

himself exaggerating the dollar amount and also a businessman -- the record that he runs on, and it's clear that without this "post" article some of this a b the record he runs on and it is clear that without this post article, some of the money maybe still be sitting some where if it was ever collected. >> yeah, it is great for the group that they're getting this money but we knew back in january he made the claim he was raising the money of $6 million and he's kicking a million of his own. it went to the trump's foundation and not any veterans groups. donald trump himself given very little money to the foundations. one reason people want to see his tax returns because he claims to have given millions of dollars over the years to charitable institutions and there is no record of that to the trump foundation if he's done it privately then we should

see his tax returns. he got caught by the post not making good on this $1 million pledge. he get to the fact about whether his hat sometimes is bigger than his mouth that he says things he does not follow through on and there is a long history of that. joe, picking up on what david joe has said the one organization that has not received the money because they have not provided irs information. in that 50 minute press conference there, donald trump still has not provided information on his taxes. he says he's been audited or being audited. that audit is not for the duration of his business career. he's holding funds from a veteran organization until they are vetted. is he properly vetted without providing his irs information and tax information. >> well, i think that information is going to be forthcoming at some point and everybody will have a chance to see it and make their own decision on it. i think donald trump was

effective today in making the press conference or referendum on the media by saying that the media is unfair especially when people are trying to do good things and if they bring their bias with them. he made it referendum on the media saying he raised $6 million. it is going to help veterans around the country and the organization themselves are happy that the money been raised. he did an effective job at showing who the groups were that receive the money and who's about to receive the money and perhap perhaps, i thought it was powerful. he spoke from the heart. >> mark, what's our perspective on this, is this effective? >> it is bizarre press conference. what struck me is when he says nobody's business on how much

money he's giving to the veterans or how much money it was disclosed. >> on january 28th, he held an event about how much money he was raising. a big consistency there. republica republican criticized him, donald trump end up saying if you are not on my side, i am going to criticize you. i thought that was striking given our system a government sometimes even your own party do not agree with you. how do you get them on your side of all the check and balances. >> if you are not with me then i am going to drag you, that's his philosop philosophy. here he is throw ing in the media. it is not a new thing how politicians blame the media for his or her problem. donald trump's attitude towards

his own party at this point, what's your take on that? my take is it helps him. this is an electoral right now that does not like the political officials and elected officials. they want somebody like a donald trump who'll shake it up. somebody from the outside who'll tell it like it is and won't be sue swayed of what's correct. it is going to be a tough election. >> i want to correct for something real quick. the actual first article about this money of donald trump raised of march 3rd. it is taken now for this list to be produced. where is hillary clinton's money and what she donated. again, his taxes if he's not been charitable to these organizations would show that. he's using this one off rally as an example of his dedication to the veterans but he won't point to anything else. >> well, he could prove the case

that he's claimed over the year and made charity donations of his taxes. the clinton foundation which clinton gets blasted from being associated with has given away tens or if not hundreds of millions of dollars around the world. it is done a lot of great work, you know, i hate when people like joe, my pal, says donald trump gets points for not sbein political correct. that's called decency. >> he gave a long answer whether the gorilla in philadelphia should be taken down and the answer of what he plan to do to the va. the answer that we hear from him will all work out. he had more details on harambi. >> i think he understands the mood of the voters.

this is why he's done so well. he's not a typical candidate. david cornyn, he makes a great point. but, civility has not won point force any of the candidate. the elector is so angry and the people that speak to that discontent are the ones of moving numbers. bernie sanders speaking from the left and donald trump on the right. >> bernie sanders is losing. you know, on the democratic side, his approach is not carrying the day and donald trump, you can say -- he's spotting the voters and at some point people need to make an evaluation, too. >> it is been an interesting 45 minutes there. thank you very much for hanging out with us. a lot more coverage of what we just heard and the day ahead, including hillary clinton cancelling the event in new jersey and bernie sanders has

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right now on "andrea mitchell reports," the expense report, donald trump waiving a million dollar check delivering his donation to veterans. >> so i gave $5,600,000. more is coming in. i have to tell you, the press is so dishonest and so unfair. the liberal media -- tyou need o get your head out of your butt and focus on the real issues. thank you. [ applause ] >> golden state warriors, hillary clinton camping in new jersey and back to california later this week. >> while bernie sanders is hoping the nba coming back from the