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>> donald trump responding to a question yesterday about new mexico governor susana martinez. she was not nice? she seems really kind of pretty nice actually. good morning, everyone. it's wednesday june 1st. can you believe it's june 1st? joe, can you believe it's june 1st? what happened. summer is here. >> this is good. this is good. >> it is. we have legendary columnist and msnbc contributor mike barnicle yesterday. >> legendary. >> it was so good. >> also did -- >> where is my truck? >> where is the truck. >> i want to drive it home. i'm excited. >> you'll schedule the presentation. >> the truck, hand me the keys. i want to drive home in it. >> when would you like the presentation. >> when should we do it? >> i could drive home in it. >> a week from friday.

>> a week from friday -- why? >> because i have a son that's getting married this friday. andrew. my main man andrew. >> he's a handsome boy. >> a week from friday i want to be able to drive home in it. >> joe. >> did you pick the final color. >> forest green. >> forest green. you should stipulate new. >> brand-new, real, huge truck. >> used car lot. >> former treasury official "morning joe" economic analyst -- >> here we go. >> should i get a truck? >> i'll pick out your truck for you. >> steve, i don't trust him to get the right truck. >> i know. i'm going to pick out the truck. >> can we practice again.

>> car czar. >> 1986 all over again. >> you help him pay for it, too. in washington senior political editor sam stein. sammy. in los angeles -- >> that's it? >> managing editor of bloomberg politics and co-host of "with all due respect" that airs at 6:00 on msnbc, mark halperin. >> editor bill kristol. never saw this coming. literally. i never saw this coming. >> i think bill needs to take a vacation. no, like a long one. not that there's anything wrong with this -- he hinted over the weekend of the possibility of a third party candidate to rival donald trump. now, remember, it was the possibility of a third party candidate to rival donald trump. >> right. >> that's got to be someone --

>> big. >> -- big and aggressive, has that talent to punch back. now we know who this person might be. >> mark halperin, john heilemann, i love the guy, he's a great guy. he's been on our show. >> no. >> his name is -- he's conservative writer david french. who might you ask is david french. he's an attorney. staff writer for national view, great writer, great guest on this show also. an iraq war veteran awarded a bronze star. he's a man of character. he wrote a piece about libertarian party saying the short case for him is pretty compelling. last week french wrote an article, "mitt romney, run for president, you're the only man that can save us from future

calamity." >> i know for a fact an awful lot of republicans are throwing in with donald trump. that's the key of the mitt romney choice. you give people another option. you hear all the time, if you're not voting for donald trump, vote for hillary clinton. false. what if you're not voting for donald trump, you're voting for someone you actually believe in, actually respect, and will actually do the right things for this country. >> mitt romney tweeted he's not going to run. i know david french to be honorable, pat racket person, i look forward to following what he has to say. when asked about the possibility of third candidate entering the fray, what did he say? donald trump wasn't happy. >> donald trump quickly called out bill kristol. >> kristol, the last one. remember, he said trump will not run. the guy is not a person. i blame you. why do you put the guy on television? he's on different shows. he's got no credibility. sounds like he's going to put somebody up. he's going to find an indy.

these guys are losers. he's trying to drive you nuts. if they do an indy, i don't think anybody with a reputation would do it because they would look like fools. what you're going to do is you lose the election for the republicans, and therefore you lose the supreme court. bill kristol is a loser. his magazine is failing as you know. i don't think it even survives. >> what do you think, mika. >> you know, it sounds like this gentleman is really impressive. >> great guy. >> i think bill kristol has got to stop sort of -- i'm trying to think of an uncrass way to say this. >> how about digging, digging the hole. >> he's been wrong.

he's been wrong about trump. if you're going to get behind someone who can really rival trump, you need to get behind someone who can really rival trump. i'm sorry, i don't mean to be -- is it mitt romney, mika? who is it? >> it's got to be somebody who can handle it. obviously you've seen men of great character who cannot handle this person. >> it's got to be someone the koch brothers would consider seriously funding. >> that, too. the person has to be a draw in a way that's galvanizing. >> ask mark halperin. >> mark halperin, you and john broke this. we all know, love, respect david french but does 99.9% of america know who he is? >> he's got a good name, david will go against two goliaths,

donald trump and hillary clinton. put a finger on what a lot of political pros want at a minimum, tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars. there's obviously an appetite of romney getting a fifth of the vote without getting in the race. there's an appetite. david french is the answer to who was bill kristol tweeting about. is he the answer to the question who can step into the vacuum now and be a real force in this race? he's got good conservative credentials. i spoke to him i believe for the first time yesterday on the phone. is he super charismatic? does he have the capacity to take on trump and clinton in a way that's beyond symbolic? that remains to be seen. first he's got to show he has financial support to get on the ballot in states an these a tall order. >> did french when you spoke to him confirm he's going to get into the race or is he still thinking about it? in other words, is this a bill

kristol idea or something he's been working on. >> french has been part of the discussions citing romney to get in. loose discussion, political operatives, people like governor romney, bill kristol for sure, talking about who will do it. they certainly wanted someone to do it. i won't say it's david french by did he fault but certainly he wasn't the first choice of bill kristol and misses elements. we talked to one person, we're looking for someone famous, super wealth y, so they can self-fund, like ross perot and has public office. david french has zero of that. something a lot of conservatives want. someone on the ballot, they can write-in if they don't want to vote for donald trump they can feel good about. david french has those credentials. he does not have some of the traits clearly you'd want to take on trump and clinton and

gary johnson shaping up to be a four-way race, if french makes the race. he would comment directly. we understand he's pretty seriously thinking about it and certainly the person bill kristol was tweeting about over the weekend. >> here is the thing, we're going to move on. >> i just want to say one thing about this whole third party thing because i listened to what you had to say yesterday. one thing we have to bear in mind, this conversation about french or libertarian is all oriented having a true conservative that don't want trump to vote for. in order to get into the house of representatives, which is the end game here, you don't have to just win a few states. you have to make sure hillary clinton doesn't get 270 electoral votes. it's not obvious putting up a true conservative is going to do anything other than split the conservative vote, taking votes away from her -- >> somebody you have to have the ticket that's going to take states that barack obama won four years ago to keep hillary

clinton under. >> it got to be someone so exciting we would spend 22 minutes of our first plok and have alex yelling at us to go to break and we're not. >> instead, donald trump super charged. >> news conference designed to calm reporters setting the record straight on fundraising for nonprofits. >> those calm reporters? >> yes. that is what the future looks like if donald trump wins president. it's going to look like britain parliament. insults flying left and right. >> right and left. >> trump defended the months it's taken to release the money saying the groups had to be vetted saying he neither wanted to be vetted nor hostility from press reports. >> i've 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. i've been thanked by so many groups, veterans groups. i wanted to keep it private. if we could i wanted to keep it private. i didn't think it was anybody's business if i want to send money to the vets. i'll say this. i raised close to $6 million. it will probably be over that amount when it's all said and done. as of this moment it's $5.6 million. on behalf of the vets, the press should be ashamed of themselves. they are calling me and they are furious. i send people checks of a lot of money. i'm going to give you the names right now, which is what you want. instead of being, thank you very much, mr. trump, or trump did a good job, everyone said, who got it, who got it, who got it and you make me look bad. i've never received such bad publicity for doing a good job. i'm the only one in the world have $6 million for veterans, have uniform applause by veterans group and end up being criticized by the press. by the way, most of that went out very early just so you under. a lot of these groups getting

vetted by when you pay the money out they need government documentation, they need a lot of different things. >> trump read off the names of the group and how much each got. "associated press" first to report many went out may 24th. that's the same day "washington post" ran a critical story questioning how much money trump had actually raised. nbc news now confirms a third of the total, $1.9 million, has only been disbursed in the last week. one, $75,000, a group with an f rating according watchdog group. the group in michigan has been criticized in the past for spending less than half of incoming donations on veterans. no comment from either foundation or the trump campaign. >> before we go on, couple of things. first of all, he raised money

for the vets. took him a while to get it out, according to some of these focus reports but he did raise money from the vets. i can say from our personal experience with donald, known him over a decade, any time we ever asked him to help any charities, americares, can you come? write a check? sure, what do you need. $25,000. boom, $25,000. >> it took many weeks for it to go through. it's a process. >> he said we'll do it. david axelrod was on the air here for the cure, shaved off his mustache. we called donald. donald, can you call in, give dave $100,000? sure. i'll do it. >> that's a fact. >> privately. sometimes do it privately. sometimes took a little while for the check to go through and everything as far as the whole process goes. >> just calm your self down, that's just a fact. >> this is --

>> i know there are groups that would not take his money. >> iva refuses to take his money. other wouldn't take it. it took a while to get there. maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle. hillary clinton attacked him. hillary can raise $6.5 million for vets than attack them. >> as secretary of the state around the world. >> i take your points. whatever the merits of the situation are to conduct a press conference like that. >> i thought the press conference was way out-of-bounds. he was calling reporters sleazy. we haven't gotton that part of it yet. >> fair enough. >> i'm talking about as far as let's talk about the facts if he was upset, i could see saying, hey, i raised $6.5 million, willie, and i'm getting slammed by the press. he did drag his feet.

you wonder why it wasn't more transparent. at the end of the day he raised the money. he got the money out of there. >> it a lot of money, changed the lives of an organization. a small group, upstate new york, a million dollar check that changes everything for them. let's say that. the question is would all that money have gone out had "washington post" and others harassed donald trump. some of the money went out before may 24th. but the day this story was posted, last tuesday, according to the press that money went out. would all that money have gone out? >> the problem is with the trump campaign. not that trump, $6 million, this is the greatest thing ever. it's that anybody that's walked in and seen trump's organization of it's him, a handful of people. >> that's it. >> they are blowing and going a million miles an hour. they have 1,000 things going.

this -- i think this calls out just how disorganized the whole operation is. they are moving so fast, there wasn't anybody going, okay, we need to disburse this. seriously, they have five or six people. it's outrageous. you're having all these events every day and all the other stuff going on. where most organizations at this point have 100, 200, 300 people in them, they have five or sick. >> everything you said is accurate. it points to one of the problems that donald trump now faces with regard to this story, and it is this. when you approach donald trump for cure, or america cures, you're approaching donald trump himself. he makes the decisions, he writes the check. boom, here is the check. this occurred during the context of the presidential campaign. that's how it began. he won't participate in the debate, so he had his own fundraiser for veterans but it

was part of politics and embroiled -- i'm sure there were like a million people involved in putting together the telethon he had for veterans. >> right. >> so here we are and "the washington post" does finally force him to write the checks. >> but i think that -- i think that -- let's assume, as joe said, sometimes it takes him a while. he might have eventually gotten around to writing the checks. i'm not sure writing of the checks, "washington post," sequence of that will ultimately resonate. i think what's going to resonate with the american people is the press conference. >> absolutely. >> sam stein, we're going to get to the press conference next. it showed donald trump at his thin skinned worst yesterday. again, i've been talking for sometime how we need to make the turn being general election candidate. he actually keeps moving further and further away from that point every single day. the last two or three weeks have been horrifying for anybody who

believed that the fall in early spring was donald trump playing a game and then he was going to take that wicked turn he told me he was going to take. it's not happening. he's getting more com p battive, more thin skinned, worse on the trump instead of better. >> for a while there, you got the impression viewers were watching and probably sympathetic to trump. here is a guy who raised $5.6 million, $1 million on his own. no one made him do it. he did it on his own. there were criticisms for it. there were reasons for the criticisms. the vast majority of americans are like what's the big deal. he made the money. then he went on an incredible tirade to the media for holding him basically accountable for his word. the most remarkable thing during the press conference, they asked him, smg how you would act as

president, in a presidential press conference. he said yes. that gives a window into what kind of presidency he would have, one that's very chaotic, combative, bristles at the very tiniest of press accountability. that's a scary thing to see, he can't handle the most limited scrutiny he made. >> let me just say right here, it's not about the press, being whiners, it's about the guy behind the podium. is he going to do that next time he gets upset because somebody in great britain says something to him or france or allies? that's the question. it's not about the press. >> the irony is he has that press conference at trump tower. it's based around charitable cricks. okay? yesterday at that press conference he gave a charitable contribution to hillary clinton and it's called temperament. >> i don't know about that. i disagree. >> in the general election i

completely agree. >> i disagree. >> i remember reading about ronald reagan, mark halperin, ronald reagan back in 1965 had gone out, and it was one of his first public performances and he got angry. all his advisers got around him and said if you do that again, we're going to all walk on you. that might work in primaries. that's not going to get you elected governor of california. reagan was a master at temperame temperament. when you get to a general election running hot, hard to see how anybody will help him. >> particularly this is what the clinton people will go after, he doesn't have the temperament to be president. often things happen on television. people, pundits say things about trump's behavior. this will be disqualifying and it hasn't been. this is one where i think all of us agree, the high degree of likelihood, if trump continue to behave like this, he will turn

voters off that he can get. what's strange is we've all seen trump show different temperament. he could have responded to those questions. he had the facts largely on his side. willie is right, some of the money came in late. he raised a lot of money. he could have turned every one of those questions into a gracious recitation of the facts saying people just calm down, here are the facts, the money, the problems. instead -- >> and laughed about it. >> exactly. >> let me get this straight. you guys are attacking me for raising $6.5 million for vets. show of hands, how many people in this audience have raised $6.5 million for vets. he could have turned it around. it's something he's not doing for some reason, mika. we've seen it. he's become more thin skinned. he's become more angry over the last several weeks. i don't understand why. you may think that's going to help in the fall, i think -- we need to show more of the press conference when we come back. >> okay. still ahead --

>> what were you going to say? you disagree. >> i do. i'm the one hold out at the table. i think this does not hurt him. i think the press takes itself just a little bit too seriously. they are used to this polite verbal jousting with former presidents. >> that's also true. but when you watch that, you watch him lose control. >> we'll do it next block. he calls a reporter at abc a sleaze bag. he attacks a man at cnn you say is a very good man. >> yes. >> we'll talk about that next block. >> okay. still ahead on "morning joe," new polling just in. how are third party candidates shaping the national picture of the presidential race? plus, from political foes a quarter century ago to an endorsement. we'll talk about governor jerry brown backing hillary clinton. it's all but over for bernie sanders. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. soon.

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so i have to tell you, the press is so dishonest and so unfair. the press -- you know my opinion of the media, it's very low. i think the media is frankly made up of people in many cases, not in all cases, are not good people. >> you keep calling us dishonest press, disgusting press. >> in some cases. >> i disagree with that. you disagree with scrutiny that comes with running for president of the united states. >> excuse me. excuse me. i've watched you on television. you're a real -- raised millions of dollars, have people say like this sleazy guy over here for abc. you're a sleaze. you know the facts and you know the facts well. i think, and i've been dealing with the press a long time. i think the political press is among the most dishonest people i've ever met. i have to tell you that. of course you're excluded, carl.

i think the political press. you're in the middle. >> particularly bothered by criticism on this. why? do you need a thicker skin to run for office? >> i think it's bother some because i love the vets, i've worked hard for vetsz. can you see i've given a lot of money and raised a lot of money for the press. i think when the press portrays it differently, the press is being very dishonest, so i don't like that. >> i think you've set a new bar being contentious to the press, calling us losers. >> not all of you, a few. >> enough of us. >> not you, david. >> is this what it's going to be like if we're covering you as president? >> yes. i'm a person. it is going to be like this, david. we have to read libelous stories, certainly close in the newspaper. people know the stories are false. i'm going to continue to attack the press.

>> joining us now columnist for hollywood reporter michael wolff, interviewed the candidate inside his beverly hills home for the new issue. >> let's go back. you're the voice of dissent. you think this is good? >> no, i don't think it's good. i don't think it's going to turn people off. sorry, sam, but the press isn't isn't always that perfect. "huffington post" put donald trump in the comedy section or somethi something. >> you don't want to revisit that. >> since i've been invoked here, let me make one more point. there was a huge bombshell of documents that related to donald trump university. perhaps donald trump went on a tirade as a means of distracting us from those documents. maybe this was more calculating than we're giving him credit for. >> maybe. >> i've got to say he's a very

rich guy that's fed off the he since 1974, talking about how much he hates the press. >> i just spent a piece of time with donald trump in his house in beverly hills, reclining on the couch, eating ice cream. one of the things we spent a lot of time talking about, because it's my wheelhouse, is the media. i'm going to tell you donald trump loves the media. i don't know what he's talking about here. >> he said some of them are dishonest. >> he certainly was not saying anyone was dishonest to me, quite the opposite. he was lavishing praise on everybody. as a matter of fact, he didn't want to talk about politicians, he wanted to talk about the media. as a matter of fact you can kind of say the media is donald trump's party. >> right. >> and he is in many ways totally at one with that party. he went down from the top --

from rupert murdoch. >> what was yesterday about? >> i think it's about performance, donald trump's personality. another interesting thing, may not have met donald trump over the years, they know him, walk into this situation. i found -- i'm thinking i've watched this whole campaign, i'm thinking oh, my god, this is an angry guy. donald trump is not an angry guy. donald trump is not as tile guy. donald trump is the happiest man in america. >> when he's not behind that microphone, he's one of the happiest guys. willie, you're the best looking guy i've ever seen in the world. it turns around from him talking about himself to how great you are. >> always comes back to talking about how great he is. >> we're great. >> willie, you're a great person because you're here with me, so

that makes you even greater. but it's clearly a different kind of thing than we see him on stage. >> it is not the donald trump you see on stage. >> or the donald trump on stage is just -- we just see a personal. i think most people just see a personality. they don't -- i agree with mika, they don't see the issues. they don't see the fight. they see the largeness, the expansion. >> i'm sorry, the more i see this, the more -- again, we know him personally. it's performance art. he's playing the role he thinks he needs to play in this reality tv show. >> for as stunned as people are this morning and have been last night about this press conference, he's been doing this the entire campaign. >> i don't think anyone is stunned. i think some thin skinned reporters are stunned. >> it's not new. mark halperin, you've dealt with donald trump a lot. you watched the performance

yesterday. he's called reporters dishonest before, names before, called them and yucked it up with them. what's your experience, based on what you saw yesterday, do you feel like this is theater or -- >> reporters stepped it up. it's clear reporters have come in for criticism not being tough enough, not in a personal way, gratuitous way but holding him responsible for mistakes he makes. he said he raised $6.5 million, there are questions whether he hadn't. john mccain had a big party at the republican convention, invited the media, he described the gathering as a gathering of his base. donald trump could have the same dinner party. he has relationships not just with working reporters but with the heads of every major news organization and corporatentity that runs news organizations in the country. that is a big advantage over

hillary clinton if he plays it well. >> mika, he works them endlessly. >> sounds like he might be a good politician. >> that's all fine. i think the american people have their own problems with the press. i think that will resonate. they don't get to spend time in his living room. what america will see one press conference after another railing about differ things. a judge, a case before him, called him a loser. >> by the way, he wants you to know it's a hispanic judge just in case you didn't read the tweet. >> mexican. >> did he say mexican? he said he was a mexican judge. >> latino last name, born in indiana. >> i saw that like in all of his tweets. oh, he's french. >> thinks there are some good mexicans. whatever. that's what american people will be seeing, a guy up there

ranting and raving and saying he wants to be president. >> i don't think that a good segment of the american people is not going to be see ingthat. what they are going to be seeing is a guy full of energy. a guy not really talking about policies. this is one of the most interesting things i found about donald trump, he's not interested in policies. you cannot get him one-on-one to talk about policies. that's a bore to him. i think it's a bore to most people in america. we've heard people talk about policies. that doesn't get us anything. let's get some incredible energy,credib incredible, incredible. that's what he's selling here. >> that is true. >> a question of the media and donald trump it's been a game to him, donald trump and the media. >> jousting. >> now that it's serious it's

changed a little bit. instead of thank you very much, mr. trump, you did a good job, everyone asking questions about where the money is. that's not how it happened. media's role is not to say good job, mr. trump, it's to ask where the money is. >> everyone around him said, mr. trump -- i never heard mr. trump so many times. >> i call him donnell. that's not going to change. >> if somebody wants to understand media in 2016, they need to read your book. it's incredible. >> thank you very much. >> we'll be looking for your piece in the hollywood reporter. thank you for being on the show this morning. >> about the man you call mr. trump. >> mr. t. >> the gender divide and presidential race. the split in the american electorate, new poll out this morning. be sure to kleitg on joe.msnbc.com and subscribe to

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41 past the hour. a new quinnipiac university poll out moments ago shows hillary clinton with a small edge over donald trump in the general election. clinton leads trump by just four

points, 45-41%. bernie sanders leads trump by nine points, 48-38 39%. my daughter is flummoxed by this. she doesn't understand. >> why bernie is doing so well. >> if third party candidates added to the mix, clinton gets 40, trump 38, libertarian candidate gary johnson gets 5% and green party candidate jill stein gets 3%. in a clinton-trump matchup. men side with trump 51-35. independent 37 for trump, 37 for clinton. hoofer poll shows clinton up 13 points over sanders ahead of the primary. according to monmouth poll hillary clinton holds a 4 point lead in new jersey over trump, 38 to 44%. 11% of those polled said they

would vote for a third party candidate. >> can you win new jersey? >> i think so. i love new jersey. i am new jersey. it's like a second home. i have property there, a lot of employees there. i love new jersey. >> let's go over to the "morning joe" poll headquarters desk and our own willie geist. across the ticker over the last 24 hours. willie, dig down deep, what do you say? >> new jersey residents. >> exactly. >> expertise. >> many layers. >> so we've got california. >> california, 13-point spread. >> that's big. >> that's a good analysis. >> that's big. >> that's what they pay you for. let's get halperin in. the top of the polls, q polls, pretty consistent, tight general election race between trump and clinton. the question, though, is what happens if bernie sanders gets out of the race in the next few weeks. does that number move for hillary clinton? that's the case her camp has made. the reason that general number

is close with donald trump is because she's fighting a two-front war. once they dispatch with bernie sanders, they believe that number will go way up. >> it will certainly help her numbers. in the quinnipiac poll she has more consolidated support among democrats than he does amongst republicans. you look at the horse race, it's pretty similar what we're seeing, the male female split. trump leading with independents in the pole. you go down with traits and you see inconsistency. interesting to me, who would you rather invite backyard barbecue. >> trump. >> 47 to 39. who would you turn to in a personal crisis, clinton, 47-41. he does better some economic stuff, she does better being prepared. it's going to be difficult for her to be the candidate of change but that continues to be one of his big advantages. if you look at the normal questions of dealing with a lot of crisis, et cetera, she's doing better. but at this point -- >> who gives higher numbers and

who would be more likely to cheat at par cheesy. >> he seems slightly more honest and trustworthy than she is. >> wow. >> last week didn't help. i don't know if this is factored into the poll, the report, mark. on the other side, bernie sanders, the argument he continues to make is the superdelegates should not count. they should be given the opportunity to swing his way. his case is pretty simple. it's what's in that poll, i beat donald trump, the whole point of the exercise by nine points and double digits in some other polls. >> he continues to lead in every poll. the clinton people are right, if they got more scrutiny that wouldn't be the case, favorable, unfavorable continues to be pretty good. that race, that talking point is going to be there. california where i am, less than a week from today, this primary is just shaping up to be huge. if sanders wins that primary, i think the chances of getting out

of the race before the convention go down appreciably. he's going to have that talking point throughout the convention. >> we'll see what happens. we'll talk a little more about bernie sanders down by 13 points in california. also we're going to go to sam stein to see if he's still there. must-read opinion page still ahead. back in a moment. in no hurry to make anything happen. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair works... ...in one week. with the... fastest retinol formula available. it's clinically proven to work on fine lines and... ...even deep wrinkles. "one week? that definitely works!" rapid wrinkle repair. and for dark spots, rapid tone repair. neutrogena®. "see what's possible." ...of fixodent plus adhesives. they help your denture hold strong more like natural teeth. and you can eat even tough food. fixodent. strong more like natural teeth. fixodent and forget it.

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still ahead, the u.s. coalition is pulverizing isis buildings, bridges and roads. of course that infrastructure really belongs to iraqi people. p up next we'll talk to a retired army colonel who is on the ground 10 years ago the last time took ground from terrorist. "morning joe" is coming right back. question, and be honest...

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american marines endured some of the bloodiest fighting in the iraq war in fallujah. once again the city is engulfed in violence as iraqi special forces aided by airstrikes and fighters by iran threatened to retake it from isis. the group continued their push into the city yesterday fending off four-hour counter-attack from isis fighters who used explosives. they have corralled civilians into a single neighborhood for use as human shields. 50,000 civilians believed to be trapped in the city, nearly 20,000 of them children. thety is the last remaining

electronic hold in western iraq still under isis control after the group lost ramadi in december. more than 100 militants reportedly been killed since monday. joining us now, retired army colonel anthony dean. dean was on the ground during the battle for ramadi back in 2006. he's the author of a new book, ramadi declassified, a road map to peace in the most dangerous city in iraq. >> colonel, thank you so much for being can us. it seems with fallujah, with so much of this, it's "back to the future." we've read this before. we read it in 2004. we're reading it in 2016. >> exactly. in part of what i think we need to understand, there's a long-term commitment that's needed otherwise we keep doing it again. >> did we get out too quickly in 2010, made a void that made this all possible. >> the military structures, yes,

the military structures were there and the political weren't. as soon as we left vice president, sunni vice president was run out by maliki and he took the military. now they are with the devil they know. >> an iran-backed government. >> colonel, how do we make a long-term commitment to the eternal split between sunni and chica chicago, why do we insert our self in the situation. >> i wouldn't reinsert our selves in a very big way until there's some sort of political accommodation, until there is a representative government. you say split it up between three countries but where is that line going to be drawn? whose farm is it going to go through? are those people going to be good with it? where does mosul go?

where does baghdad go? pig picture, iraq, three, but looking on the ground, it will never happen. >> what does it say on the role there trying to train, i'm sure you did it when you were there, our role when the finest fighting force on the ground, finest indigenous fighting force on the ground are the kurds. >> the iraqi army, if you look at the end 2011, 2010, they were good. the sunni leadership, if a soldier no matter who is as good as leader, american army, iraqi army. >> from your perspective, colonel, what will success look like in united states population people watching this show right now. when will they know it's time and okay to walk away from iraq? >> i'll be honest with you, that probably won't be in my lifetime, really. if you want it to be good. if you look at germany, japan. italy probably the best example

with 40 governments in the post world war ii. until democratic structures don't come up overnight. we're going to have to be there. it makes no sense to go back in and force until there's political workings in baghdad. >> we'll be there for generations. >> or not, keep pulling out and going back in. we've been bombing iraq my entire adult life, 25, 26 years now. we keep trying to do it on the cheap in two- and three-year commitments. you talk about long-term commitments we've been at this 25 years. >> the book is "ramadi declassified." thank you so much. >> colonel, thank you. >> congratulations. >> still ahead why hillary clinton has a lot more than just delegates riding on california. we'll ask one of her top supporters, senator barbara boxer of california about the objects of a likely nominee struggling at this late stage of the primary. but first former governor howard dean and nbc's chuck todd join

us as we try to make sense of yesterdayed very volatile press conference. we'll be right back. can a toothpaste do everything well?

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>> you call us dishonest. >> generally speaking. >> i disagree with that. seems as though your resistance with scrutiny is the kind of skrut dmi that comes with running for president of the united states. >> you know what. excuse me. sues me. i've watched you on television. you're a real beauty. what i want is to raise millions of dollars and have people say like there sleazy guy right over here from abc. he's a sleaze in my book. you're a sleaze. you know the facts and you know the facts well. i think, and i've been dealing with the press a long time, i think the political press is among the most dishonest people i've ever met. i have to tell you that. of course you're excluded, carl. i think the political press. you're in the middle. >> wow. >> welcome back to "morning joe." it's wednesday june 1st. it's june 1st. can you believe it? >> sounds like one of howard dean's conferences in 2004. >> i was thinking about that. this is not a good formula for success, i assure you.

>> former governor-of- vermont, dan ginsberg, sam stein. in los angeles, managing editor of bloomberg -- >> oh, my lord. >> what are you doing? >> he's that the the in the tank. >> make america -- >> it's a super group we're covering, profits of rage. more on them tomorrow. >> mark halperin joins us. >> all right. so it pains me, willie geist, do you think sam stein might have been onto something in the three minutes last hour we let him talk. >> went on 45 minutes and gobbling up media attention because on the same day there was a dump of testimony ordered by a judge, a u.s. circuit judge, about trump university, some testimony from sales managers, people who worked inside the group saying their

tactics were unscrupulous. perhaps, sam, you believe he was deflecting. >> throwing something out. we'll see, perhaps, i just have an idea. to be honest, it was a pretty damming story if you look at these documents. >> it's the lead story in the "new york times" this morning. >> trump university essentially prayed on poor and vulnerable people, told them they could make a lot of money in a real estate market about to go bust, have them leverage savings and take out credit cards to do it. it's a nasty story and probably would derail any presidential candidate except donald trump. >> it still made the lead story of the "new york times." so if that was the strategy, didn't quite work. >> what everybody is talking about nonstop and "washington post" is why the press conference leads there. >> i keep talking about the framework inside a campaign. inside a campaign, there are lots of people who have specific jobs to do.

the trump campaign is historically lean among staffers. something like this has to distract everyone in the campaign from everything else they were supposed to be doing. >> it's all donald. i mean, everything is all donald. >> it is all donald. when your candidate makes a mistake like that, you know from campaigns that has an impact on everybody in the campaign. >> except for the fact nobody goes up and tells donald he made a mistake. everybody that goes up to him told them what a great job. you told them. way to go, mr. trump. >> you think on his chart, if there is one, there is actually something as a communications director? if there is, she's the lonliest person. >> hope hicks arranges interviews and had a relationship with the press but she doesn't go up to donald trump and say, listen, when you go to the press conference what you really want to be saying -- manafort tried to do that for half a day and was knocked down. so it's all donald trump. i mean, for better or for worse.

nobody is going to go up to him afterwards and say, you should really temper your tone, mr. trump. they don't. >> to that he would say my tone and my donald trumpness has gotten me where i am today. why formal press conference, put teleprompters up. this is what people are buying into. whether that's true remains to be seen. >> that's right. not talking about the hillary clinton e-mails. >> that is another great point. mark halperin we've talked about how this might have distracted from trump university. also hillary clinton e-mails, a massive story. that's something that could have been talking -- i can't talk to you with that hat on, i'm sorry. >> he linebackers it. >> there was a big development in e-mails, release of deposition of cheryl mills among other things expressed extremely cavalier attitude about freedom of information act. that's overshadowed, too. no one is going to tell donald

trump that performance was weak, even to for a lot of people it was. the people interested in telling him that are donors. new donors want him to reign things in and are trying to figure out how to communicate that effectively to trump himself. >> speaking of donors an also people like paul ryan, how do they endorse -- let's say this article in the front page of the "new york times," can we assume it has a grain of truth to it? are we allowed to? i don't know. let's read it. in blunt testimony revealed, former managers of trump university revealed that it had unscrupulous business that relied on high pressure sales tactics, employed unqualified instructors and made deceptive claims and exploited vulnerable students willing to pay tens of thousands for mr. trump's insights. one sales manager for trump university recounted how he was reprimanded for not pushing a financially struggling couple hard enough to sign up for a $35,000 real estate class despite his conclusion that it would endanger their economic

future. he watched in disgust, he said, as a fellow trump university salesman persuaded the couple to purchase the class anyway. so i don't know. maybe his news conference deflected american people from seeing all these details. what about the people who might be his vice presidential pick. what about chris christie, people who back him and follow hmo around the country? what about paul ryan? what about mitch mcconnell yesterday who still supports trump did not tell me what he has done in his campaign ever in his life that would lead him to believe he could take trump's word on anything. what about these people? where do they stand? >> that's a good point. you do not want to have your political career tied to somebody -- >> a lot of people are doing it. >> totally dishonest. the running mate issue. here is my question. there's a lot of people in remote locations, sam and mark, you guys. basically you're journalists.

so tell me how this works as we go down the path in the general election. how do you get away with telling journalists they are sleaze bags and all this other business? we don't linebacker the press, right, politicians, we don't like the scrutiny but it's part of the job. >> it's part of the job. here is the great irony. you have one candidate that is more accessible to the press than anybody else calling them slime bags. then you've got another candidate, sam stein, one of the least accessible in the history of american politics, hasn't held a press conference in 600 days. it's been a long time. come on shows like this. >> she has an argument. she's very accessible. >> she says she's accessible but not a lot of press conferences. there is, you know, an interesting choice for the press. the press usually chooses

access. >> yeah. and i give trump credit. he is giving access to the press. they are there. they can ask questions. i mean, he's not a transparent candidate in one sense. he's not releasing his tax returns, for instance, but he is certainly available to be questioned by the media, whereas hillary clinton has steadily avoided press coverage or press conferences. she does interviews with local reporters and cable news but they do not give -- talk to the media all that much. even rudimentary questions i pose or other journalists pose to the campaign go weeks without answer. i asked a yes or no whether she spores department of justice's decision to go for the death penalty and it's been a week. i can't get an answer from her campaign on a simple yes or no question. trump does get some credit on that point. >> talking about donald trump, trump university, this is what

he had to say. he talked about the judge. seems very interested in the fact the judge is -- did he say mexican, willie? that it's a mexican judge. i think that he lives in indiana. i'm not sure. let's show the clip. >> the judge is very, very unfair. he knows his unfair. 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 don't you settle up that case. i don't want to settle up that case. you know what, because i'm a man of principle. most of the people that took those courses have letters saying they thought it was great. >> willie, how are you? >> doing well. if you read these documents from trump university, there is testimony of people who said it was great, said it was good for them. the question is, was it fraudulent? was it criminal? you did have people exploited by it. is it any different than any sort of scam university. that's what they are looking into.

trump, obviously he's trying to discredit the judge. it's not the first time he's suggested because the man was latino or he thought maybe from mexico that he would be biased against donald trump because of the positions he's taken in this campaign. that's not the case. the guy is from indiana, born in indiana, an american citizen. >> yeah, indiana, mexico, come on. >> mexican part of indiana. >> yes, exactly. >> all right. now to hillary clinton who says she is, indeed, accessible attachment a listen. >> i have done nearly 300 interviews just in 2016. i believe that it's important to continue to, you know, speak to the press as i'm doing right now and to understand that his attacking everybody, fellow republicans, democrats, i mean, the press, you just name it, he

attacks everybody is a recipe for gridlock in washington. >> you know she's been on this show several times regardless of -- despite the fact, mika, we've been very tough on her through the years. >> i think that's fair. i think that there is definitely a big difference, though, in accessibility. like for example, we've been working on interviewing her a few times in the past. one time we had to fly all the way down to south carolina, not that it's a big deal. but other candidates come on the show from wherever they are. we had to go to her. hold on. not done. >> sorry. >> and wait two hours for a tight 20 minutes. and you know -- >> we were very glad to do that. >> no, no, no. hold on on-of- a second. >> you were just talking about the press being self-important.

if she's in the middle of a presidential campaign in south carolina fighting for political life, is she supposed to fly up to new york city and come up to "30 rock." >> she could be on the show from south carolina via satellite. >> i kind of liked being there one-on-one with her. >> i loved it. but my point is that took a long time. this accessibility is not as cut and dried. >> this is a very interesting discussion because this is the classic thing, problem. trump on the complete opposite other side. >> granted the press doesn't like. this is press management. i went through this. the issue is do you want to put your candidate in a position where he or she is going to say something that's going to get through the echo chamber, from the point of view of the candidate misinterpreted, blah, blah, blah. what hillary is doing is pretty much clack strategy for how you manage news the next day, which of course no one can do in the

campaign because donald trump comes out and blows it up saying something. i think it's really interesting, may be press prefers being called a sleaze and ask any question they want than to be managed. that said, though, also, though, if you're in the clinton camp you understand your candidate is held to different standards than donald trump. donald trump can say or do anything. he can say the most outrageous thing. it doesn't stick to him. hillary clinton, she says one thing wrong, the press is going to jump up and down on it for six months. >> i think that's a fair point. i think the clinton people also know she is better in one-on-one interviews than with the messiness of a big press conference where you have no idea what questions you're going to be asked, to howard's point of press management. so for hillary clinton, a candidate who is not quite the same as donald trump in the

performance art of the press conference, it makes sense. >> it is good one-on-one. >> i'm saying she's not as good in press conference as she is in one-on-one interviews. >> there's questions they don't want to deal with. >> don't have press conferences so she can go out and dominate a press conference that's a plus. >> people would ask about e-mails. it's not about performance. >> that's what i'm saying, you can't control what comes in press conferences. >> the fact is, mark halperin, you have some candidates that have certain skill sets where they are better than others. donald trump is great in a big, messy, noisy, loud smash mouth press conference. better than anybody. he just is. hillary clinton is not. she looks stiff and awkward sometimes. but you get hillary clinton one-on-one. >> why? >> because that's how she's been her entire life. >> that's not true. >> this is how she's been -- you're wrong. she's been bad in big press

conferences her entire life. >> she's not. town halls -- >> one-on-one, one-on-one in interviews she has a higher comfort level. you want to get them where they are comfortable. where george w. bush, if you get george w. bush one-on-one, the guy was amazing. you put him in the east room in a press conference, deer in the headlights. it would be like oh, my god, get him off. no, mika, it's just the truth. >> you're not making a clear argument because -- >> i am. you're just not listening. >> you're saying one-on-one she's great but they don't allow her one-on-one more than 18.5 minutes before wrap, wrap, wrap, got to go, get her out of here. >> not always the case. >> someone let me know they have an hour unplugged with hillary clinton. i'd like to hear about that. >> she's had some good press conferences and bad ones. when she listens to donald trump

in public, she agrees with more than trump does, political press core is the sleaziest most dishonest he's seen, that's what she thinks. she doesn't want to answer about e-mails, because the answers are messy. she would like to get through it and hope it goes away. i believe and we've said this before, republicans can be better than democrats, it's hard but can be done. she's on the precipice of entering election with a huge disadvantage because trump is accessible and, let's be frank, more fun to cover than she is. >> bill clinton got elected in 1975. she and bill clinton and maureen dowd would say it's their own fault, they have been chased, battered and abused by the media for years. i'm not really surprised by the fact that hillary clinton may be a little reluctant to throw her self on the mercy of a press corps that's been hand to hand

combat for four decades. >> same with trump. >> trump has revelled in it. >> hand to hand combat. >> no, trump plays the press and they love the show. >> have you seen him on the front page of the "new york post"? >> that's what i meant last hour, for him it's been a game with the press for 30 years, cat and mouse. now that it's real in general election asking serious questions about serious matters like raising money that's when you saw him get his back up. for hillary clinton i understand why she has armor after 40 years dealing with this stuff. if you're going to be president of the united states you have to stand up at a lectern and take the stuff. i know there's a strategy, don't want to talk about e-mails, you have to answer questions about the e-mail. that's part of the deal. >> investigation going on, 50, 60, 70 agenit's a lot tougher tt out there. at the beginning, clinton money questions. this campaign has been hounded.

there have been two clouds that followed them around and made accessibility tougher for her. >> i mean, let me sort of tell you how this feels from the other side. i've had the same emotions that trump has had. but basically you feel like if you say something, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, you're going to get a whole lot of stories that have nothing to do with the truth. i can remember episode after episode where i would say something and it would be in some ways i felt deliberately misconstrued in respectable papers like "washington post" or "new york times." so i mean, it is true that i think modern journalism does put enormous pressure on people to get it first, not necessarily get it right. i think modern journalism puts enormous pressure on people who if they are going to ascend in an industry that's in trouble, they have to be on the by line, on the front page, they have to act accordingly. that's how it feels inside. >> totally agree.

>> i don't know, if i were hillary's people i think i would manage her the same way. i don't think it's dishonest but protecting yourself or clean up a story. i was less disciplined. there was a lot more cleaning up for me because i would say things i shouldn't say. >> the fact is it worked for hillary. she's 3 million votes ahead of bernie. she's going to get the democratic nomination. the media whiners. >> as we put breaking news banners up, like there's a bridge that is cracking in kentucky. come on. joining us from washington, nbc news political director moderator "meet the press" and host of mtp daley, chuck todd. chuck, what do you think? >> my whole thing, it is amazing. trump has no problem talking about his dirty laundry at a press conference of he's a deflector on so many things. that was a press conference on

veterans, the most striking thing he said was about the federal judge and frankly something i think he's going to regret for a very long time doing that to the federal judge. >> what's that, talking about him being hispanic. >> no, calling into question his integrity, publicly doing what he's doing. >> then by the way, tweeting his name after accusing him of the horrible, horrible sin of being a mexican. it's really unbelievable. >> i think it did put the judge in a situation where he said, i've got to release all these things because the interesting rit of this courtroom has been called into question. by the way, if he's president of the united states and do you that to the judiciary branch, that's the type of thing that trigger constitutional crisis. you can't do that. it's called the rule of law. it is just -- to me, i can't believe that isn't the flashing headline of yesterday. hillary clinton, and joe, you'll appreciate this, you see it with football coaches, there's

something about the clinton campaign i keep seeing, they are playing not to lose. they aren't playing to win. >> that's a good way of putting it. >> they are cautious. they are very careful. they do everything so deliberately to the point of it looks like they are molding it in clay to the point of it becomes so inauthentic by the time you see it, you're like why did you even bother? why did you bother coming out with this statement or this interview. just let it loose. i know that's easier said than done. >> football coach wins afc championship and going to the super bowl, does it matter if he's been boring and whether he's been rude to the press? hillary has won. she's got 3 million more votes than bernie. she's going to win the democratic nomination. so has it not worked? why let it loose. has it not worked for her? >> if you look at her ratings, it's worked against a 74-year-old socialist from

vermont. there's different ways of looking at it whether it work. yes, it's worked but at what cost. by the way, there's a bigger issue here. winning isn't everything. are you going to be able to win in a way that you can govern. my great fear of this election is that we're doomed for a totally polarized presidency no matter who wins, and we're not helped by the fact the first 100 days is going to get eaten up by a supreme court fight which, of course, will use up whatever capital the new president has an we're going to be the summer of '17 is going to feel like we're already at the mer of '20. >> chuck, it's going to feel like the summer of 2009. i'm really not being -- >> it would be positive if it were that good. >> i'm not being melodramatic when i say i fear for this country. because regardless of who wins, they are going to have approval ratings in the 30s. >> i disagree. >> they are not going to be able

to get things done. it's going to be a grim, grim election. >> i disagree. hillary will get things done. she has a history of working with people like mitch mcconnell, difficult and unpleasant, hillary worked with all those people in the senate and she knows how to do it. i think she's going to be a great president. i really do. >> undercard of senate and house races are so important no matter what happens in the presidential race. >> chuck todd, howard dean, ben, sam stein, thank you all. >> sam, thank you. he just hit it, figured it out early. >> i nailed it today. i was so good. >> okay. >> old school. >> still ahead on "morning joe," hallie jackson had a front row seat to the sliming of the media. >> you said donald trump was nice to her. >> yeah. she was one of the good ones on the list today. >> she joins us ahead along with reverend al sharpton. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. why do people put milk on cereal? why does your tummy go "grumbily, grumbily, grumbily"? no more questions for you!

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shoshow me more like this.e. show me "previously watched." what's recommended for me. x1 makes it easy to find what you love. call or go online and switch to x1. only with xfinity. just hanging out on fifth avenue. >> just hanging out on fifth

avenue, willie. >> what? >> mika? >> no, halle. >> oh. >> up and down fifth avenue. >> trump tower. >> what's the shattered line? >> up and down. >> too early for me. >> it is. >> for hallie, there's word donald trump will have a new third party challenger. what do we know about david french. >> david french. listen, he may be familiar to viewers on this program. i think a lot of americans went, wait, who? had to go jump on google and figure this out. bloomberg our pals broke the story and multiple sources confirmed french is considering an independent run. he is this person bill kristol has been cryptically tweeting about, referring to over the last couple of weeks. i'm told french has support of some of these never trump groups. not all of them. because there's an acknowledge men th ment that people simply didn't know who he is. a writer, military background,

not a ton of recognition, not a lot of outside money to mount what could be independent run here. french has called on others to try to take on donald trump. most recently sunday mitt romney, here is what he had to say on msnbc. >> i know for a fact an awful lot of republicans are throwing in for donald trump right now because they feel like they have no other option. that's the key of the mitt romney choice. you give all of these people another option. you hear all the time, if you're not voting for donald trump you're voting for hillary clinton. false. what if you're not voting for donald trump you're voting for somebody you actually believe in, actually respect and will actually do the right thing for this country. >> french recently writing an op-ed calling on romney to run, a top aide to the former governor telling us romney is not running. but this morning he is tweeting, ig it was last night calling french an honorable, patriotic, intelligence person, saying he looks forward to hearing what french has to say. we'll see how this plays out over the next few days or weeks.

a long shot this could be successful. the strategy to play spoiler to keep clinton and trump below number they need, send to house of representatives. it's all this sort of long-term strategy that's a real hail mary but we could potentially see another challenger to trump. >> hallie jackson, we appreciate it. go inside and buy your self a trump tie. you know, they are the most beautiful ties ever, the most beautiful. >> joining us politics nation president to the national action network reverend al sharpton. reverend, i'm going to read from your latest piece in the "huffington post" about the presidential election. you write in part this. as we wind down the last primaries, there are all kinds of suggestions and demands as to what democratic presidential candidates hillary clinton and bernie sanders should do to unite the party what we ought to do is look at the larger goal and gauge our strategy on that as opposed to drawing lines of division amongst our selves. at the end of the day, 10 years from now, it will not matter who

got more headlines in newspapers if we regress rather than progress. there is far too much at stake. this presidential election is at a pivotal moment when we cannot allow divide and conquer to push is back further and lose many of our gains. if we don't wake up now, we will look back at this time period and realize this is when we were effectively silenced. >> so reverend, tell us what point you were trying to make there specifically. >> the point i'm making is i think we've been in many ways drowned out by noise that is misdirected. i have no problem with noise. i've been noise all my life. it's toward a goal. we're into this whole era of personality noise, making noise to be seen rather than noise to focus light on a situation. no one really understands why the front-runners are running.

what is your reason to run? >> isn't it surprising how low their approval ratings are right now? >> that is why i disagree with those that say that some alternative candidate or candidates, if they were right, couldn't come in and really be effective in terms of -- >> you think a third party candidate -- again, their approval ratings are in the low 30s. do you think a third party candidate could have an impact? >> a third party candidate if it was the right candidate. let me tell you why i say the right candidate with the right team. if you had someone that was center to right that could deal with the conservative element, that combined with somebody that was center to left that could attract urban voters, let's remember the key to the electoral map for mrs. clinton is if she gets a large african-american and latino turnout. >> right now you've said before the urban voter may not be completely bought in with mrs. clinton. >> because you're not raising

the issues that a lot of the urban voters are concerned about. i do aside from national action network i do daily radio every day black stations all over the country, every day, where are they on my issues? why aren't we hearing more? even bernie sanders is doing very well with issues has not resonated with black voters. washington breakdown of the black vote last week, he's only 5% ahead of her with millennial black voters. he's very hot with young white millennials. it's not translated there. if you don't get the black vote turnout in ohio, pennsylvania, florida, you can't add them to the electoral map against donald trump. on the trump side you have many moderates, many republicans that won't vote there. if you've got someone with a household name that has credibility, and combine that with vice presidential candidate with urban vote, this could go

into the house of representatives only because it would deny somebody their 270. if people discount that, i know we have the deacon of statistics over here, but i've got the pulpit right now. we'll be able to discount that in the campaigns, i think they are whistling. because a what they are not doing talking in echo chamber not talking to people about things people are concerned about. >> i agree with you. rev, you have such an interesting line talking about this in new york times piece, talking bow the way hillary clinton has dealt with donald trump on the public stage. here is a guy donald trump ready for a street fight and she's coming in with gloves like a boxing match. >> she's coming in like this is a boxing match, the gloves and waiting for the round. this is a straight fight. he's got a broken coca-cola bottle. you can't come in with gloves waiting on the referee to fight donald trump. you've got to fight the kind of

fight he's fighting. he showed that yesterday. >> what does that mean for her? how does she approach? >> she's got to toughen up or have tougher surrogates that can resonate with her base. otherwise she looks like she's out of touch only because you're in a ring and the fight is out in the alley. >> twenty years ago politics and he's got the coke bottle. that independent candidate has got to literally cause an earthquake or it's going to get nowhere. >> or he's got to have people -- see, i've always argued, and i've known and dealt with new york press all my life, trump is a bully. you deal with a bully by calling a bully's shot. you don't try to explain. you're in the schoolyard in new york and a bully talks about your family. you don't come back and explain to him, well, let me tell you what parenting class -- you come back and call his bluff. you're lecturing to him about

parenting rather than dealing with i'm calling your bluff. >> now we transition to ratner -- >> now we go to deacon of statistics. >> i've got anger put into numbers. >> i'll give you anger. >> tsa and irs and root causes behind it, steve. >> obviously people are angry at the tsa this summer, angry at the irs all the time but there's some reasons for it. even those of us who are fiscal conservatives who want to see the budget deficit cut, have you to recognize some spending cuts don't have the desired effect and have a negative effect. let's take a look first tsa and see what's happened. the budget has gone from $8.1 billion to $7.4 billion over the last five years adjusting for inflation. that's a cut of about 8.5%. so not surprisingly the number of screeners. >> inflection, is it flat? >> in nominal terms probably be about flat. but real terms because you've

got to pay people. so the consequence of that is that you've had a reduction in the number of screeners by about 5.5%. >> right. >> at the same time we've had an increase in air travel by about 15% so why is it a surprise that the lines are longer? there are other issues. >> i was going to say. you go to the pay cuts. when i read stories, they talk an awful lot about airlines charging for baggage and other inefficiencies in the process adding to this as well. by the way, i don't think tsa should be cut. i'm not justifying that. but this is not just about money. more money won't fix this. >> more money can fix it, can help fix it. they also fired head of tsa security department, trying to bring in new management. there is stuff on the management side. the screeners actually had a test where 95% of the testers got through with stuff they shouldn't have gotten through with. a lot of problems with tsa. if we cut the budget, "morning joe" budget by 10%. >> do it every year.

>> talk about the irs for one second. >> let's talk about the irs. >> irs is sa similar, worse story. what's happening at the irs, they cut their budget 17.6% over the last five years. >> my god. >> 23% fewer enforcement staff. why has it gone down by more? they have given irs responsibilities for things like obama care but still cut their budget. the number of audits down by 22%. to those people who think that the tax system is rigged, the fewer the audits, the more likely tax avoidance, tax evasion. so you need a robust irs. >> yes, you do. >> this is true. reverend al sharpton, thank you very much. >> thank you for coming on. very interesting, provocative. so third party. >> i've been accused of being provocative? >> you do that. >> sometimes you can be. >> i think you're right. i think people are ready for a third choice. >> coming up, how did the wealthy get that way? just wondering, right? aren't you wondering?

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conservative, socially liberal. he nailed it today. thanks, donald. i have no intention, neither of us have any intention of attacking trump or hillary. >> i would agree with gary the donald has our number in what he said today. we've never bought into this anti-choice, anti-gay, let's have your personal liberties republican platform. >> can the libertarian ticket make a dent in donald trump's campaign? ahead one of the top conservative groups in the country reacts to their bid in efforts to recruit writer and lawyer david french for president. and a reminder to catch up on "morning joe" with our podcast. can you subscribe on itunes. more "morning joe" in just a moment. in one trip" kind of woman. when pain tries to stop you, motrin works fast to stop pain. make it happen with motrin® liquid gels. also try motrin pm to relieve pain and help you sleep.

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agrees with me, senior editor and correspondent hot air.com author of the book "going red." 2 million voters elect the next president how conservatives win. columnist from washington examiner, here with latest polling from national committee project looks into which party cares more about a variety of issues. we'll get to that in a moment. first start with you, mika and i predicted trump could win and probably would win republican nomination a long time ago. i'm now saying i think it's going to be really hard to go into the general election because of the way he's acting on the campaign stage. but you wrote the book about the persuadable voters that will elect the next president. from what you've written, does donald trump have a foothold there? are you with me what he's doing is probably pushing away some of them. >> i think there's some elements of that that could be very attractive, sort of this i'm

tired of red/blue divide. this is about joe voter out there. i think some of that is going to be attractive. however, i think what you're looking at here is somebody who is incentivizing the voters he's already gotten more than he's reaching the voters out there that are persuadable. so far at least, i'm out of the donald trump prediction business, i've been out of that business for months now, at least so far there's no evidence we're seeing the needles move in those directions. >> okay. so are you out of the donald trump projection business, matt? >> yeah. i think i always have been. >> so you don't know whether yesterday hurt him or not? >> i think yesterday will not hurt him. i think what happened yesterday -- look, this is what i always say. he does in front of the camera what most do behind the camera. look at the disdain hillary clinton has for the press. i had to do 300 press interviews as if that's like a punishment. it's a democracy. you're supposed to do that

that's part of this. what donald trump does in front of the camera, he belittled the press, which a lot of conservatives love doing at cocktail parties all over this town. so you know -- certainly in washington, d.c. i think what happened yesterday is another one of those moments wreh connects to a lot of people that are disdainful in politics. joe, i agree, you can't run this show like this every day between now and november, i do think that is going to result in loss. i do think there are these moments when he captures people by the fact that he's very candid. >> i don't disagree at all. >> you were saying persuadable voters. what issues would these persuadable voters be lured by? >> it's different in each of these communities, mike. some of these communities the issue is economy. some is education. hamilton county, ohio, for instance, a mass exodus of people out of cincinnati and out of the county. the one county that had that kind of mass exodus i looked at.

so they are restructuring economy, government infrastructure is important there. education is especially important. and so the idea is you have to actually know each of these communities each community and contextualize your message but what i think the commonality was people wanted a pragmatic candidate. what you are seeing with donald trump is perhaps that type of message coming from his campaign which is i'm the guy who can get things done, if he sticks with that he will be pretty competitive. >> you have brand new polling of young people age 18 to 29. what did you find? >> we wanted to ask questions about what do you think about how the economy works. what we found is that 49% of young people think if you get ahead in america nowadays it is mostly because of luck rather

than hard work while 45% say because of hard work. this breaks down. young republicans think pull yourself up by your boot straps but the rest of the millennial generation thinks that promise has been broken. we want to figure out what young people think it takes to fix the economy. young people look for candidates who don't just have happy talk and says we are all equal but acknowledges real systemic barriers to success in america and talks about why conservative values can be the best way to get over those barriers. >> that is depressive for somebody who teaches my kids around the clock. you don't have to be the smartest, the fastest, most gifted but if you work the hardest you level the playing field. looks like a lot of people don't believe that. >> if you take a look at the

economy i think there is evidence that this is not a nonreality based conclusion for these millennials. pretty much all they have seen at the millennial generation has been run up to the great recession, great recession and stagnant recovery afterwards. it reminds me of late 70s or late 1980s when i was coming out of high school. it did look bleak. can you succeed in america? the question is how do you channel that if you are hillary clinton or if you are donald trump? and i think the empathy issue that you saw in that poll will be a big problem for donald trump. >> you looked at which party cares more. >> we did. the college republicans wanted to know what do people think republicans care about? the findings first alarming for the gop that on issues like who cares most about the national debt, keeping america secure republicans only had slight advantages. on things like growing the

economy and creating more equality republicans were at a big disadvantage. do you think washington should focus more on protecting consumers or should washington focus more on opening up the economy and creating conditions for bottom up growth? bottom up growth wins by a two to one margin. there are things conservatives can talk about. i think that's a huge opportunity for republicans if they choose to take it. >> i was just looking at charts as we flash them across on health care and aejz, democrats absolutely pound republicans in these polls. >> you think about presidential politics and themes, fair deal. >> women's issues, 16% for republicans, 78% for democrats.

republicans are being pounded. >> this is a poll that is college republicans. >> a part of the trump phenomenon is the fact that the way the parties have run things and the issues they have stood behind there is a whole realignment going on. i wouldn't be surprised if things looked very different than they do today. i think for the gop and for the leaders they have to say why did they lose their own people? why is our message not working. >> could republican party be breaking up? >> anything is possible. i think that what we saw in the primaries is that you had a party not really listening to voters. i think that is always a dangerous point for a party. >> that's a bad thing. >> and unless that changes voters are going to decamp for something else for people who are listening to him. >> thank you very much.

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up next, bill crystal's mystery candidate revealed. who is david french and is he a big enough name to take on donald trump and hillary clinton? trump lashes out at the media when pressed about money. hillary clinton supporters,

senator barbara boxer has hypothesized that young people like bernie sanders because he reminds them of their grandpa who will, quote, do great things for them. we will ask her about that and the state of the race when she joins the table. "morning joe" is back in a moment. if you're told you have cancer, explore your treatment options with specialists who treat only cancer. every stage... every day.... at cancer treatment centers of america. learn more at cancercenter.com/experts

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welcome back to "morning joe." it's 8:00 on the east coast. >> willie, is this your favorite hour? this is the best because you feel like you tried it twice and this is the third time.

you know what that pitch is going to be like. >> this is what donald trump was talking about. >> this is it. >> with sunset legendary columnist. >> legendary. >> former treasury official and "morning joe" economic analyst steve ratner. >> that is so 1980s. in washington senior political editor for the huffington post. and in los angeles mark hal prn. >> i never saw this coming. >> i think bill needs to take a vacation. like a long one. and not that there is anything wrong -- he handed over the

weekend with the possibility of a third party candidate to rival donald trump. remember, it was the possibility of a third party candidate to rival donald trump. so that's got to be someone big. and aggressive and somehow has that talent that can punch back and lead the country in the right direction, well known. >> got to have immediate -- >> now we know who the person might be. >> i love the guy. he is a great guy, been on our show, but he's exploring presidential run. who might you ask is david french? he is an attorney, great writer and a great guy, iraq war veteran. he wrote a piece about gary

johnson saying the short case for him is pretty compelling. last week french wrote an article called mitt romney, run for president, you are the only one who can save us from future calamity. >> an awful lot of republicans are throwing in for donald trump right now because they feel they have no other option. that is the key of the mitt romney choice. you hear if you are not voting for donald trump you are voting for hillary clinton. what if you are voting for somebody you respect and will actually do the right things for this country? >> mitt romney is insisting he is not going to run as an independent. he tweeted i know david french to be an honorable and intelligent patriotic person. i look forward to following what he has to say. >> what did romney say? >> donald trump called out bill crystal. >> crystal is the last one. he said trump will never run.

not a smart person. why do you put this guy in television? he has no credibility. sounds like he is going to put somebody up. these people are losers. he is trying to make you -- trying to drive you guys a little bit nuts. if they do an indy assuming it is decent which i don't think anybody with a reputation would do it. what you are going to do is you lose the election for the republicans and therefore you lose the supreme court. bill crystal is a loser. his magazine is failing, as you know. i don't think it even survives. >> what do you think? >> it sounds like this gentleman is really impressive. >> great guy. >> i think bill crystal has got to stop sort of -- i'm trying to

think of an uncrass way of saying this. >> how about digging? >> he's been wrong about trump and if you are going to get behind someone who can really rival trump you need to get behind someone who can really rival trump. >> right now -- i don't mean to be -- >> is it mitt romney? >> it's got to be somebody who can handle it. and obviously you have seen great men of great character who cannot handle this person. >> it has to be someone who the koch brothers would consider funding. >> the person has got to be a draw in a way that is galvanizing. >> let's go to mark halpern. we all know, love and respect

david french but does 99.9% of america. >> he has a nice name. david going against two goliaths. mike put his finger on what political pros want to see. does the guy have access of tens of millions of dollars? there is an appetite in the poll about romney getting a fifth of the vote. david french is the answer to the question who can step into the vacuum now and be a real force in the race? he has good conservative credentials. i spoke to him i believe for the first time yesterday on the phone. does he have the capacity to take on trump and clinton in a way that is beyond symbolic? he has to show he has financial support in order to get on the ballot in states.

that is a real tall order. >> did french confirm he is going to get into the race or is he thinking about it? >> he wouldn't address it. he has been part of the discussions. you cited urging romney to get in. some people like governor romney, bill crystal who had been talking about who will do it. they certainly wanted someone to do it. i won't say it is david french by default but he was not in the first choice of bill crystal and certainly misses some elements. we talked to one person involve in discussions saying we are looking for somebody who is famous, super wealthy so they can self fund and with a service in public office. david french has zero of those traits but he meets one requirement that a lot of conservatives want. they want someone on the ballot

who who they can write in. david french has the credentials but he is not -- he does not have some traits that clearly you would want to try to take on trump and clinton and gary johnson in what is shaping up to be a four way race. he would comment directly. we understand he is seriously thinking about it and is certainly the person bill crystal was tweeting about. >> yesterday's news conference was designed to calm reporters. >> that was what the future looks like if donald trump wins president. we are going to look like britain in the parliament. insults flying right and left. >> left and right. >> trump defended the months it has taken to release the money saying the groups had to be vetted. he said he never wanted credit nor what he characterized as hostility from press reports.

>> i have been thanked by so many veterans groups throughout the united states. one gentleman called me up recently crying that he got a check for $100,000. i have been thanked by so many groups. i wanted to keep it private. if we could i wanted to keep it private because i don't think it is anybody's business if i want to send money to the vets. i raised close to $6 million. it will probably be over that amount when it is all said and done. as of this moment it is $5.6 million. on behalf of the vets, the press should be shamed of themselves. they are calling me furious because i send people checks of a lot of money. instead of being like thank you very much mr. trump or trump did a good job, who got it? and you make me look very bad. i have never received such bad publicity for doing such a good

job y. am the only one in the world who can raise almost $6 million in the world for the veterans. most of that money went out early. a lot of the groups getting vetted when you pay the money out they need government documentation and a lot of different things. >> trump then read off the names of the groups and how much each got. the associated press first report that many checks went out on may 24, the same day the washington post ran a critical story questioning how much money trump had raised. nbc news now confirms nearly a third of the total has only been dispersed in the last week. and according to the "washington post" one group that got $75,000, the foundation for american veterans has an f rating from charity watch. according to the paper the group based in michigan has been criticized in the past for

spending less than half on programs that help veterans. no comment was reported from either foundation or trump campaign. >> before we go on, first of all, he raises money for the vets. took him a while to get it out according to some of these reports but he did raise the money for the vets. i can say from our personal experience with donald anytime we ask him to help any charities, can you come and write a check. what do you need? $25,000. boom, right there. >> it took a couple of weeks, many weeks for it all to go through. >> but he said we will do it. david axelrod was on the air here for the cure, shaved off his mustache. donald, can you call in? sure, i'll do it. just privately. sometimes it took a little while

for the check to go through and everything else as far as the process goes. >> just calm yourself down. >> so this is -- >> i know there are groups which will take his money. >> refused to take his money. and there are other groups that wouldn't take his money. i don't know. i do understand it took them a while to get there. maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle. hillary can raise 6.5 million for vets. >> i take your points. fair point. whatever the merits of the situation to conduct a press conference like that -- >> that is part two. i thought the press conference was out of bounds. he was calling reporters sleazy. we haven't gotten that part of it yet.

i am talking as far as let's talk about the facts, if he was upset. i can see saying i raised $6.5 million and i'm getting slammed by the press. he did drag his feet. you wonder why it wasn't more transparent. he raised the money and has the money out there. >> it changed the lives of organizations. a small group, it is a million dollar check that changes everything. the question is would all that money have gone out had "washington post" and others not harassed donald trump into doing it. the day that story was posted is the day according to the the associated press that a lot of those checks did go out. would that have gone out? >> i think this points to a bigger problem with the trump campaign. not that trump is going -- it's anybody that has walked in and

seen trump's organization knows it's him, a handful of people, they are blowing and going. they have 1,000 things going. i think this calls out just how disorganized the whole operation is that they are moving so fast there wasn't anybody going we need to disperse this. they got five or six people. it's outrageous. you are having these events every day and having the other stuff that is going on where most organizations this one had 300 people in them, they have like five or six. everything you said is accurate and points to one of the problems that donald trump now faces with regard to this story and it is this. when you approach donald trump for cure or america cares you are approaching donald trump himself. he makes the decisions. he writes the check and here is

the check. this occurred during the context of a presidential campaign. that is how it began. he wouldn't participate in a debate so he had his own fundraiser for veterans, but it was part of politics and embroiled. i'm sure there were like a million people involved in putting together the telethon he had. the "washington post" does force him to write the checks. still ahead on "morning joe" we dig into donald trump's love/hate relationship with the media and the epic news conference. it was epic. i think everyone is taking themselves a tad bit too seriously. good lord. fault lines in california. jerry brown falls in line with hillary clinton in spite of a colorful 1992 election cycle against her husband. >> that was a tough one. jerry brown. you know he is the first one who brought up white water.

>> falls in line. hillary clinton supporter and senator from california barbara boxer joins us live. first bill karins. >> i am going to show you live pictures out of kxas. water rescues ongoing after heavy rains. this guy got stranded in the middle of the river on top of his vehicle and the fire department had to come in with swift water rescue boat. they got him to safety. that's the scene across the city. you can see him getting rescued. other stories. the water is high all over the state. texas is famous for cattle. these cattle got stranded. some did make their way to safety. look where they ended up. how about this last picture? a dog was rescued. he was chained up to the front porch and the water was rising.

these rescuers got there just in time. that's a lucky dog, happy dog, too. he is doing well. let's get into it. we are watching flooding problems through the weekend. it will probably get worse before it gets better. more thunderstorms this afternoon. flash flood watch for 13 million people from dallas to san antonio. the other story excessive heat warnings and heat out west is going to spread right into the upcoming weekend. all of the heat will be here in the west. portland could hit 101. we have the texas situation with way too much water and now the heat building, dangerous heat in the west. in the east it is the opposite. nice gorgeous weather has arrived in new york city. more "morning joe" will return. the call just came in. she's about to arrive. and with her, a flood of potential patients. a deluge of digital records. x-rays, mris.

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so i have to tell you, the press is so dishonest and so unfair. i really think the press, you know my opinion to the media it is very low. i think the media is frankly made up of people that in many cases are not good people. >> you keep calling us dishonest press. >> generally speaking that is 100% true. >> i disagree with that. it seems as though you are resistant to the kind of scrutiny that comes with running for president of the united states. >> i like scrutiny. i have watched you on television. you are a real beauty. what i don't want is when i raise millions of dollars have people say like this sleazy guy here from abc, he is a sleaze -- you're a sleaze because you know

the facts and you know the facts well. i think and i have been dealing with the press a long time. i think the political press is among the most dishonest people i have ever met. i have to tell you that. i think the political press. you are in the middle. >> joining us now columnist for the hollywood reporter michael wolf. he interviewed the candidate inside his beverly hills home. very good to have you on board this morning. >> you are the voice of dissent. you are thinking this is good. >> i don't think this is good. >> i don't this can it's going to turn people off. i think sorry, sam, but the press isn't always that perfect. huffington post put donald trump in the comedy section. sometimes the press gets it wrong. >> since i have been evoked let

me make one point that we are forgetting here. there was a bombshell of documents released yesterday related to trump university. perhaps donald trump went on this tirade to distract us from the documents. maybe this is more calculated. >> maybe. >> a guy fed off the press since 1974 talking about how much he hates the press. >> i just spent a piece of time with donald trump in his house in beverly hills reclining on the couch. and one of the things we spent a lot of time talking about because it's my wheelhouse is the media. and i'm going to tell you, donald trump loves the media. i don't know what he is talking about here. >> he says some of them are dishonest. >> he certainly wasn't saying anybody was dishonest to me. quite the opposite.

he didn't want to talk about politicians. he wanted to talk about the media. i think you can say the media is donald trump's party. and he is in many ways totally at one with that party. he went down from the top from rupert murdoch. >> what was yesterday about? >> i think it's about performance. i think it's about donald trump's personality. the other interesting thing and i have met donald trump a couple of times over the years. walked into this situation and i found and i've watched this campaign and thinking this is an angry guy. he is not a hostile guy. donald trump is the happiest man in america. >> that's what we have been trying to explain that when he is not behind that microphone he is one of the happiest guys. how are you? you are the best looking guy i

have ever seen. it turns around from him talking about himself to talking about how great you are. >> it comes back to talking about how great he is. >> we are great. >> you are a great person. you are with me so that makes you even greater. it's clearly different kind of thing than we see him on stage. >> it is not the donald trump you see on stage. >> or the donald trump on stage when we see a personality, i think most people just see a personality. i agree with mika. they don't see issues. they don't see the fight. they see the largeness, expansion. >> the more i see this -- we know him personally. it's performance art. he is playing the role he thinks he needs to play in this reality tv show. >> for as stunned as people are this morning and have been last

night about the press conference he has been doing this for the entire campaign. >> i think some thin skinned reporters are a little stunned. >> mark halperin you have dealt with donald trump a lot. he called reporters dishonest before, called them names before and probably called some yesterday afternoon and yucked it up with them. what is your experience based on what you saw yesterday? >> what was new were reporters were more aggressive and rightfully so. i think it is clear the press has come into criticism for not being tough enough on him. holding him accountable. he says he raised 6 million from charity. there were indications that he hadn't. i think john mccain in 2000 had a big party and he invited all the leading figures in media and he described the gathering as a

gathering of his base. donald trump could have the same dinner party. he has relationships not just with working reporters but with the heads of every major news organization and corporate entity in the country. that is a big advantage over hillary clinton. if he plays it well. coming up on "morning joe" -- >> when we began this campaign a little over a year ago the media and the pundits had reached the conclusion that despite my beautiful haircut and my gq clothing that we were not a serious campaign. well, turns out they were very, very wrong. [ cheers and applause ] >> bernie sanders says he is running a serious campaign but is he now just doing serious damage to the eventual nominee? senator barbara boxer joins us live to talk about the battle for california. next. why do some cash back cards keep throwing obstacles at you?

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this is a very loud crowd. [ cheers and applause ] and i'm a little worried that some scientists may think there is an earthquake going on here. >> bernie sanders continues to

turn out thousands at rallies across california. nearly 3,500 people showed up in an event in santa cruz with another 2,000 outside unable to get in. a new poll shows hillary clinton leading bernie sanders in that state. the hoover institution golden state poll shows clinton up 13 points there. yesterday clinton picked up another endorsement. jerry brown says he will vote for clinton despite brown's bitter decades long rivalry with bill clinton. here is how senator sanders responded. >> in every state that we have gone into we have taken on the entire democratic establishment whether they're governors or senators with the exception of mayors. it is not surprising to me that we will have other democratic

establishments. i like jerry brown. people can make their own choices. >> joining us now democratic senator from california barbara boxer who is supporting hillary clinton for president. her new book, the art of tough fearlessly facing politics and life is out now. also joining the table kasie hunt. i love the title. i love the content. i love the message. we are going to get to the book in a second. first watching bernie sanders, frustrated? fair? you think this is part of the process? >> for bernie to say that jerry brown is establishment is kind of the biggest joke of the day. he called me establishment. and you know when people read the book they will see i have fought a lot of the establishment my entire life. just because you are supporting hillary doesn't mean you are, quote, the establishment. it means you are progressive and you want to see her.

she is so qualified for the post. she is just what we need. i love bernie, my friend for a long time. you can't just diseverybody who supports hillary clinton. >> isn't this the art of tough? bernie sanders standing by his message? i completely see the qualifications standpoint that you have with hillary clinton. i would vote for her. she could not get that crowd. >> that's not how you judge who you vote for president. if you go back in history you see a lot of people that drew the big crowds. by the way, she can draw big crowds. it's not something -- i think if we promoted it and got -- what is that? what is important is what are her stands? who do we need right now? all i'm saying about bernie is i do love him and he has touched accord with so many young people which is very important and very

helpful, but talk about tough, hillary clinton is still standing. she has had like 18 republican when they were all running, beating up on her every day. as soon as she left the secretary of state's office she was at the high 50s in terms of approval. you get pounded. i have been there. i have seen what happens. she is tough. she is tough. >> senator boxer opens the book with horrible things. i'm like reading page after page and they are all horrible things people have said about her. that's terrible. that's the art of tough. >> the art of tough is that you have to look at that sort of thing and understand if people like that are coming after you, you are making a difference. what i have found is they are trying to intimidate you. they are trying to shut you up. they are trying to shut you

down. the art of tough is do not take it personally. that is a hard thing. you know that. you are in the public eye and not everybody loves you. a lot of people do. you have to know in your heart what is right and do what is right and the art of tough is not getting angry and lashing out. >> seems like some of it is directed at you because you are a woman in politics. do you think this fight between bernie sanders and hillary clinton is dragging out at all because of gender and because she is potentially the first woman to get this nomination? >> i'm so close to it. i'm not sure, but i do know when a man is very strong he is assertive. when a woman is very strong she is aggressive. and you do see some of it playing out. let me just say and this is the

good news, when i started out it was so hard for a woman. i can't tell you. i write about it in the book. i was running for county supervisor job. i didn't have another job at the time. i had two young kids and my husband. the guy who i was running against had another full time job, two kids and a wife. and they wrote the worst letters to the editor. she is abandoning her family. this was a job that was part time, seven minutes from my house to go to the office. i would do things like my favorite story from that time, i would knock on the door, go door to door. somebody would say who is there. i'm barbara boxer running for supervisor. i didn't think you would be so short because i'm on only 5 feet. they got over that i said i hope you will vote for me. i can't do that. why? you have four kids y. said i

have two kids. she argued with me. you have four kids . i read about it. i knew if i sopped a missile from coming into her house it wouldn't have mattered. i said i hope you will rethink it. >> i am having fun looking at captions of pictures. this is barbara boxer debating carly fiorina. you have a little trump in you. don't worry. >> that is frightening. >> you say during the 2010 battle for my fourth term i had a radio debate with carly fiorina. it was very satisfying to beat her by ten points. i like it, though. >> that's how i feel. >> i don't think she is mean but i understand the satisfaction. >> i said meanest candidate. maybe she is lovely in a

one-on-one. i wouldn't know. we'll take a poll. as a candidate, trust me, she made an ad which had me, my face on a hot air balloon. my face cause distorted and horrible. then it was crashing through the capital. it was shattering the ceiling and then on my way to california where i exploded. maybe that is sweet, but in my mind -- >> with or without -- >> this is a book worth reading. >> the art of tough. what do you tell the 25-year-old woman who works on a factory floor, a law firm, tv network about the difference in perception? guys go he is tough. women are called tough, get her

out of here. what do you tell a young woman of that age working anywhere how to navigate that? >> i'm so glad you asked because what i would tell them is to learn from me and others, one of whom is here, who have gone into these areas where women don't usually go. i have nine rules of the art of tough. they are listed. it's an empowerment book for women and men. because i don't care whether you are a man or a woman there are people who will try to intimidate you from doing what you think is right whether in politics. >> about getting money, a raise. >> getting a raise. arguing that you should be promoted, whatever the circumstances. you have written about this. there are nine rules that go along with it. always do what is right. you have to. if you know it's right do what is right and don't be afraid.

don't act out of anger. if somebody says something to you and you want to explode and i talk about -- i learned these things from my mother who never graduated from high school. i once exploded with a kid, stabbed him with a lead pencil. i thought i killed him. my mother said barbara sue, you don't know violence. you don't do that. you figure out a way. you should have come to me. we would have taken care of it. what i learned is if you do the wrong thing it weighs on you. i was walking home from school and albert had this little house and had a big black banner over it. he is italian catholic and they do that when somebody died. i thought i killed him. she found out that it was his

grand father. and i realized when he came back to school, i hugged him. me hugging albert. >> the beginning of your political career. >> do what you want to do but don't act out. >> it blends perfectly. i would love to have you come talk about the book. the new book is "the art of tough" it's out now. senator barbara boxer, thank you very, very much. we have lots more to come this morning. and by the way you can go behind the scenes of "morning joe" on snap chat. follow us on morning.joe. we'll be right back. 7 i spend long hours with her checking her heart rate, administering her medication, and just making her comfortable. one night britta told me about a tradition in denmark, "when a person dies," she said, "someone must open the window so the soul can depart." i smiled and squeezed her hand.

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. up next, continues to be a deadly year for migrants crossing the mediterranean. what role does the u.s. have in this ongoing humanitarian

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. the migrant crisis is deepening in the mediterranean where another thousand people are presumed dead in the last week ahead. one incident when a wooden boat capsized. the boat did not have an engine and was being towed by another

boat. more than 2,500 have died trying to cross the mediterranean. joining us now thrks secretary of the u.s. navy. >> thank you for being with us. want to talk about a couple of things. what can the united states, what can the international community do to stop this endless tragedy? >> one of the other stories that you are following is that isil is the humanitarian crisis here. until we degrade them and destroy them you will have other humanitarian crisis coming whether in iraq, in syria, at sea. >> what can we do to stop this? >> this in an area that is fairly contained, these boats can be found? these people are just dying. can we do more?

>> it's one of the things we do. we respond to humanitarian disasters. we respond at sea. but the mediterranean is a pretty big area. it's not that easy to find these things. but, again, you have to go to the cause. you have to go to why these people are at sea and why they are fleeing. you can keep reacting to some of these -- i hate to call them side effects, of the crisis that we are facing, the humanitarian disasters that we are facing. >> how is the fight against isis going? >> well, i think if you look at the amount of territory that the iraqis, that some syrian forces that we are supporting have recaptured this year, if you look at some of the leadership that has been taken out of the

battlefield. it's long. it's slow. it will have to be won on the ground by the people on the ground, by the iraqi forces. we can help but they have to win. >> a lot of things that are really important get lost with the coverage of politics in this country and everything. but china is building a series of islands in the south china sea complete with airfields that threaten navigation lanes as well as some would say the security of various countries. is china doing this as a provocation or is china doing this because they were entitled to do it, in your view? >> they is certainly not entitled to do. what we are doing is what we have done for 70 years, that's keeping sea lanes open. we are conducting freedom of navigation. we are going everywhere international law says we can go whether on the sea or the air.

what we don't want is any country to change status quo unilaterally, any country to claim things that they are just not entitled to under international law. >> why are they doing it? >> i don't know. but i know what our response has got to be. china is doing as well as it is economically. the world is doing as well as it is economically because of the united states navy because for 70 years we have kept sea lanes open for everybody and not just folks flying our flag. >> you're in new york talking about some of the great strides the navy has made when it comes to alternative fuels. talk about that and also just found out 50% of all energy on navy bases across the world are fuelled by alternative energies. >> we set out in 2009 when i

took this job, 50% goal alternative energy on shore and afloat. we did it to make us better war fighters. we did it because fuel can be used as a weapon. look at what russia did in crimea. i didn't want that weapons used against us. we were losing marines killed or wounded. we are there five years early on our bases using solar and wind. it is all public/private stuff, all things that the private sector -- >> 50% under contract on our bases today. >> u.s. navy secretary thank you very much. >> and that does it for us this morning here on "morning joe." the rage picks up the coverage after the break. >> steve kornacki next. can you actually love wearing powerful sunscreen?

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160 days until the election. i'm steve kornacki in new york. topping the agenda, sleazy and dishonest. donald trump declares war on the press. >> i really think the press, you know my opinion to the media. it is very low. i think the media is made up of people that in many