things about him again. that's going to do it for this special edition of the "road warriors." thanks, everybody, for joining us and "mtp daily" is coming up now. ♪ >> if it's friday, speaker paul ryan is letting republicans off the hook on trump. while a new effort takes shape to give trump the hook at the convention. it's "mtp daily" and it starts right now. >> good evening, i'm chuck todd here in washington and happy friday. welcome to "mtp daily." gop closes out another week and boy, it was another bad week for the party of lincoln. we're on the verge of it becoming every republican for himself inside the party. paul ryan, the republican speaker of the house, and the

party's convention chairman, is essentially giving the green light to every republican not to support trump if they can't bring themselves to do it. here's what ryan told me in an interview that will air in full on meeting the press this sunday. >> you think it is that members in the house republican conference, follow your conscience, if you don't want to support him, don't do it. >> absolutely. the last thing i would do is tell someone to do anything that's contrary to their conscience. of course i wouldn't do that. believe me, i get it, it's a very strange situation. it's a very unique nominee. but i feel, as a responsibility, institutionally as the speaker of the house, i would not lead a k chasm in the party. i'm not going to tell somebody to go against their conscience. >> will ryan allow convention delegates to vote their conscience or is that up to somebody else? "the washington post" reports

that a new effort is under way among dozens of convention delegates who aren't comfortable with trump. this movement is being started by colorado delegates kendall unra, who told nbc news that she's leading the effort to insert a conscience-clause into the rules allowing bound delegates to vote against trump in the first ballot if they want to. an adviser to the trump campaign said it's unlikely to happen because they believe an overwhelming majority of delegates on the rules committee are supportive of trump. the rnc named who is going to head the convention committee. if there's a revolt, it will start here. these are two names you may need to get to know, enid mickelson of utah and remember, most republicans in utah haven't been big fans of trump. and ron kauffman, a long-time republican hand. yes, he's a trump supporter for now, but he was close to romney, close to bush 41, if anybody knows how to be a deal maker inside the party, it's ron kauffman.

meanwhile, each day brings more republicans distancing themselves from the top of their ticket. fred upton from the michigan joined the ranks of republican not endorsing trump, saying, we're running our own race and don't look for me to endorse anyone in this race probably the rest of the year. it seems to a lot of us that the train is off the track. my apologies, he said that to local detroit radio. and congressman duncan reporter, when asked about trump, quote, i'm not a surrogate. i'm a congressman. i can't speak for anybody else but me. i don't know where donald trump is coming from. time-out, i'm a congressman, i'm done talking about trump. hunter is the co-chair of the trump campaign's house leadership committee. his role, according to the campaign, is literally to explain things trump says, quote, to lead outreach efforts to fellow members of congress in support of mr. trump's message to make america great. sounds like duncan hunter doesn't want to do that job

anymore. it's also becoming every man for himself battle in the senate where former president george w. bush who is not supporting trump has decided to hit the trail in an attempt to help vulnerable senate republicans up for re-election. those folks are trying to distance themselves from trump. headlines like these that are peppering the op-ed pages. time for a trump intervention. trump is holding the gop hostage and the self-immunization of the republican party pap th. that last headline from matthew continetti who wroits, the republican party should receive a darwin award by supporting the least qualified, least knowledgeable -- didn't come from any liberal

wag. the washington free beacon, folks. donald trump is also playing serious defense in the money game. clinton camp is already blitzing battleground airwaves with a 20-plus million ad buy for the next two weeks, while trump is stuck fundraising in deep red states and has yet to go on the air to respond to these clinton ads. that's where we find our own hallie jackson outside houston with the trump campaign. and hallie, there's aer errally with every fundraising stop he makes. >> reporter: it feels like the fund raisers are set and then you tack a rally onto it, because donald trump can get a lot of earned media, which is like money in the bank, from doing rallies like these, the ones here in woodlands, and the one in dallas yesterday too, where sources tell us, he raised just over $6 million. what is the trump campaign saying about this small but

bubbling potential revolt, that some convention delegates are now openly talking about. >> reporter: so i think it's generally a sense of dismissiveness, at least for now. i think there's an acknowledgement in the campaign that they've got to get up to speed, they're got to get the pieces in place and get moving on it rather quickly. trump himself is telling "the new york times" that he's just getting started, that it's still early in the process. and i suppose if you look at where he is in the general election, given that he just became the presumptive nominee a few weeks ago, hillary clinton just game the presumptive nominee of her party. you could maybe argue that it is just the beginning, but clinton has been raising a ton of money ever since she started the joint fundraising committee with the dnc. trump is playing catch-up and getting out-paced by where mitt romney was last cycle. >> he needs to recall what yogi berra said, it's getting late early around here, or getting early late. my yogi-ism, i'm going to get in

trouble with the yogi people. >> reporter: i get it. >> it's getting late quickly. hallie jackson, thank you very much. appreciate it. i'm joined now by a republican campaign veteran who battled trump up close and personal during the primary, mike murphy. he's advised plenty of republican campaigns, dole, mccain, romney. mr. murphy, welcome, sir. >> hello, chuck. >> so last week, republicans were wringing their hands over the federal judge that mr. trump refused to apologize to. and then orlando became a debacle for him. now you and i both know every elected republican is in the field looking to see how bad is the collateral damage for them. what do you hear and is a revolt brewing? >> i think the ingredients -- excuse me. i think the ingredients of a revolt are starting. this is kind of like the

submarine movie where they're sinking and the depth gauge explodes and cracks, because people are seeing these national polls which have a lot to do with political calculations as people start thinking, what does this mean for me, let alone those of us who just can't stand trump period. and they're seeing these numbers nationally, so that's becoming a feed back loop of, do we have to be saddled with this guy and lose the white house in a landslide? i don't think trump has the majority of real support on the floor, but many of these delegates are bound by primary results, and undoing that, while possible, is very, very difficult. but there's no doubt, the energy to do something about trump is there and the frustration and fear level arising quickly. >> if i were donald trump right now and i saw who the rnc named to run the rules committee, i'd be a little nervous. one is from utah, and we know that utah republicans basically unanimous in their dislike of trump. and the other is ron kauffman,

and i know he's a trump person, supposedly. >> yeah. >> but ron's a professional republican. >> you know, i have a fond memory of ron kauffman from massachusetts when i was running the romney for governor election and we had a street politics thing in front of the first debate. and i remember ron on the back of a garbage truck waving a broom. he's a long time republican to the win the election side of the party. so i look at those two chairmen and i've read some of the things the committeeman from utah has said as well. i think they'll be fair. i think they're smart as well. people forget, a primary election is not a government election. it's a party election to pick the strongest candidate for the party. those delegates have a lot of power to reinvent the rules at the convention. so if trump keeps being a sure loser in the polls, and this panic builds as trump keeps screwing up, frankly, and alienating every vote the party needs, i won't rule out the fact

that something can happen. >> and i want to talk to you about -- you're a tv ad guy, i know you're a believer in them. watching hillary clinton here, she is going unresponded to, and it's probably going to be unresponded to through the 4th of july. i can't -- i'm trying to recall, i guess there was a small period where romney was -- but he had super pacs helping bail him out when obama was out-spending him. john kerry had that period against george w. bush that everybody knows was a disaster. that was just three weeks where he couldn't respond. this could cement quickly. >> yeah, no, i think so. a month ago when trump was closer in the polls and some people in d.c. were thinking, maybe there's a way and kind of calming down, hillary had a divided democratic party. it changed since then as the numbers become clear for hillary, she's uniting. in our world, trump is doing everything he can to alienate people. on one track, you have this paid

communications hammering trump, which we know will be effective with swing voters because they have so much to work from. and trump in the media making it worse. so what do we get, a struct structural problem in the polls of about seven points and worse in some wears. the pragmatists knowing that and they're looking at the convention, saying, is there anything we can do? >> and it's georgia, texas, and arizona. obviously it's because fu fundraising is having to drive his schedule now, but you know these donors very well. lock, you had a bunch of important donors of the republican party. how many of them have ponied up to trump? >> damn few. we raise said over 100 million dollars from the super pac because of jeb's hard work in impressing donors and meeting with them. we know them and the vast majority are horrified by trump. time and location are assets. you spend those and you don't go

to where swing voters aren't. the fact that he's campaigning in the woodlands in texas is a huge sign of weakness and failure. my sources are telling me too that these events he's doing are coming way under projections in income. so the trump -- there is no trump national campaign. there's a bad congressional race masquerading as a national presidential campaign and now with this new polling, the reality is, you know, hitting the convention. it will be fascinating to see what happens. >> all right, mike murphy, it's something to watch. i'm sure it's much harder, though, if you care so much about your party right now. >> i'm watching with a crying towel. but we are where we are. >> mike, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> you can see the full exclusive interview i have this week with house speaker paul ryan this sunday on "meet the press." det set your dvr. coming up, bernie sanders isn't quite throwing in the towel, but one prominent supporter has already shifted his support to hillary clinton.

raul gri halfa will join me to talk about his endorsement and why he thinks it's time to unify. that brings us to veepstakes. is elizabeth warren really on the short list? plus, inside the vetting process from someone who's been through it. the agricultural secretary will be here to talk about it. stay tuned. ct. there's an advil specially made for fast relief that goes to work in minutes. the only advil with a rapid release formula for rapid relief of tough pain. look for advil film-coated in the white box! relief doe't get any faster than this. advil.

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clinton campaign is flexing its financial mite. it is upping its ad buy across eight battleground states, it's now up to $21 million. the ad blitz is on the air in ohio, florida, north carolina, nevada, virginia, iowa, colorado and new hampshire. and clinton has the airwaves to herself. north carolina is the only one that president obama did not carry in 2012, and it's where they're spending the third most amount of money, $3.7 million. check out our daily map. north carolina is one of only two states president obama won over john mccain in 2008, but lost to mitt romney in 2012.

the difference in north carolina may just be four counties. take a look at wake, mek len berg, gilford and forsythe counties. they hold the key to the tar heel state. obama swept them all in 2008 and 2012. but look at the percentage changes. 2% is thousands of votes. will clinton perform better or worse than obama did. clinton is matching president obama's performance in urban suburbs. obama lost north carolina by 92,000 votes in 2012. for clinton to flip the state, her work will start in these four counties. back in a minute with bernie sanders' vow to keep his campaign alive even as his supporters jump ship. i drive. ...want my number? and cash back for driving safe. and the power to automatically find your car... i see you car! and i got the power to know who's coming

and when if i break down. ...you must be gerry. hey... in means getting more from your car insurance with the all-powerful drivewise app. it's good to be in, good hands. bernie sanders surprised everyone in this primary race and maybe even himself, but he's not done yet. when he addressed his supporters last night, he didn't drop out, and he didn't endorse clinton. while he had to be what seemed

to be a positive meeting with clinton on tuesday, this morning sanders' campaign manager said he's still in this campaign. >> i want to ask you a question and it's a simple yes or no answer. is bernie sanders still running for president, yes or no? >> yes, he is. yes, he is. yes, he is. he is an active candidate for president. i'm in communication with the clinton campaign on a daily basis. so we are working towards coming to resolution on a number of issues, both process issues, and substantive issues. >> congressman raul grijalva was the first to back bernie sanders for president. now says it's time to unify behind clinton. good to see you, congressman. >> good to see you, chuck. >> why did you decide to back clinton now before bernie sanders got out? >> well, certainly didn't want

to get ahead with bernie. but i'm a committed delegate of bernie sanders from the beginning. when we get to the convention, i will be there to vote with the campaign on issues as important and profound as what we say and do in the platform, which is critical to reinforcing bernie's message and to telling his supporters that this party of ours a ours is now understanding that what bernie did is historic and needs to be part and parcel of the democratic party as it changes. there's a roll call for the nomination, i will be voting for bernie, because i'm committed to it. but when the dust settles in philadelphia, there's a desperate need for our party to unify. there's a desperate need for our party to also integrate the message and the 11 million people that voted, the 22 states, et cetera. it's an historic campaign, and

to unify not only behind the nominee, the presumptive nominee, secretary clinton, because it's not the lesser of two evils issue here, chuck. it's the fact that trump is dangerous here. his fear mongering, bigotry, hate mongering, we need to get behind, and it's implicit by unifying to defeat trump, we are unifying to elect hillary clinton. simple as that. it is not a confusing message. >> do you think bernie sanders is doing enough right now -- should he be doing what you're doing right now? which is saying, okay, yes, i want my roll call, but i am here to help elect hillary clinton. you're making it clear, you're supportive of sanders, yes, he was your preference, but you're voting for hillary clinton. should bernie sanders be saying the same thing as you right now? >> no, bernie's responsibility in this campaign as the leader of the campaign and the movem t

movement, and his sensibility, he did on a very good talk he had last night was to tell his supporters, we have a message, we should celebrate what we did. it is historic. we want to make sure that this party, the democratic party fully integrates and understands that change is not just coming, it has genie is out of the bottle. it's up to the leadership and the presumptive nominee to fully integrate that. that's the next step and bernie is wise to make sure those things occur. >> you represent a district in tucson, arizona, one of the states that has been talked about as maybe a battleground state, maybe it isn't. the key would be whether there's enthusiasm among latinos in arizona, to register to vote and support hillary clinton. do you see it? is it something the clinton

campaign ought to invest in? >> i think as bernie did, bernie made a huge investment in arizona, got 46, 47% of the vote in that primary, and not as open as it should have been with all the problems we had in terms of voters. the fact remains, i think arizona is definitely in play. and i think trump has been the greatest motivator in terms of latino voters. i think it's in play because of young folks and environmentalists and people that -- and working people in the state that care. and i think we have an opportunity here, not only in terms of the senate race, congressional races, but down the ballot, where we can begin to take over a legislature that for now, a couple of decades has been the embarrassment across the country in terms of what they've been doing, particularly around immigration, and education, which have been devastating to the state. we have an opportunity, the right amount of investment, the right integration of bernie's efforts down here and the democratic party and hillary's effort could produce a win.

>> congressman, i'll leave it there. raul grijalva from tucson, arizona, sanders to clinton, but still sticking with stand -- sanders at the convention. thank you, sir. >> thank you. now to choosing a running mate. on the left, senator warren has gone to war for clinton. will we see the rhetorical fireballs exchanged between her and trump hit the big stage all the way through november? warren visited the clinton headquarters from brooklyn today to much fanfare which added to vp speculation. she's not the only one. it includes the following candidates. the last two are cabinet secretary says as well. speculation swirling around senator corer booker. yesterday he said he's not being vetted. although, of course that's what everyone says. but anyone who is being vetted,

will be put through the ringer. here how evan bayh described the process. quote, it's like having a colonoscopy except they use the hubble telescope on you. let's get some perspective from someone who has been through the scrubdown. secretary of agriculture. you chuckled at that. you went through it in 2004 with john kerry. >> right. you learn so much about yourself that you didn't know. >> how invasive, what was the most invasive part of the vetting process? >> collecting every speech, everything that you have said, done, as a mayor, your budgets, as a state senator, your votes. >> you were a small town mayor. i'm guessing that stuff wasn't computerized back then or archived. you weren't googling it. >> not at all. medical records, tax returns, the whole nine yards. and talking to christie about this last night, i learned my draft number.

>> you didn't know your own draft number? >> well, i thought i knew it, but i was wrong, i was mistaken about my draft number. i was about 40 dates off. >> that is a big difference. that's perhaps the difference between drafted or not. >> that's exactly the difference. >> as she's going through this process, you know her well. you're close to hillary clinton. a lot of people are close to bill clinton first, but you have a lot of connections to her. how do you think she'll go about this process? >> well, i think you can see the way she's approaching this right now, from the standpoint of what she's doing. the first step in the process was to unify the party, to reach out to the sanders' supporters in a systematic and thoughtful way. making sure the grassroots organizing is taking place in states that matter, and now as you mention, the advertising that is taking place. that's a reflection of how systematic her thought process is, and i think it should

reassure voters across the united states of what kind of president she would be. contrast to what's happening in the trump campaign. >> when you say that, doesn't it mean she shouldn't be too cute about it? like if you're presenting yourself as i'm the reliable, i have the temperament for the job, you don't throw a hail mary at your running mate, right? >> first and foremost, and she said this, it's about making sure that people look at whoever she picks, he or she, is that person ready to be president if something happens? that's the first criteria. second criteria is whether or not that rn approximately upon reinforce whatever the message of the campaign is. and there has to be a personal connection with those folks. whoever that person is is going to have big shoes to fill. joe biden has done a tremendous job as vice president and he provides a good model for democrats. >> during the vetting process, that is one of the things that the candidate themselves try to get to know you. you end up like going to -- did you and the kerrys go to dinner

to find out? did you have an overnight stay? >> it's a funny story. i was supposed to meet john kerry in san jose, california. but "the new york times" was following me the day i was supposed to fly out. >> us press corps are so awful. >> we made sure they had a very interesting gubernatorial day, full of ribbon cuttings and press conferences. after 3:00, the reporters said to me, is it okay if i go down to your hometown and visit with your neighbor says? -- with your neighbors? >> i said sure, go down to mt. pleasant. 15 minutes later i hopped on a plane and flew to san jose and had a long conversation with john and a good conversation. i was obviously thrilled and flattered to be considered. let's talk about iowa. it's been interesting here. i've talked to a lot of campaign folks, who are a little concerned about iowa right now. that while trump is not doing well overall, in the less diverse states, he is holding up

well. >> right. >> including iowa. are you concerned? >> i'm not. because secretary clinton during her campaign has developed a message that resonates not just in urban and suburban areas, but also in rural areas. i think this is an incredible opportunity for the democratic party with her leadership and speaking to rural voters, you combine that with the strength she has in suburban and urban and at the end of the day, iowa is going to be where it needs to be. i think that same opportunity exists in many of the rust belt states that people talk about. >> you know, it's interesting in this suburban -- you have been on this, whether you're on air or off air with me about the democratic party has lost touch with rural america, whether -- you would say, no, you're not, but the perception it is, and if you look at voting patterns, is really is. the urban-rural divide is as big as it's ever been between d and r. is that something that can be fixed by the democrats? >> absolutely. if you're talking about income inequality, that resonates with rural voters. access to health care, if you're

talking about even the horrific situation in orlando, it's an opportunity to talk to rural voters about the importance of making sure we're protecting innocent people from this horrific gun violence. >> how would you be talking about guns as a democrat in rural america? >> basically explaining to folks that these are potentially your friends and neighbors that are at risk. and we don't necessarily have to infringe on the second amendment or the right to hunt or the right to own a gun. but we certainly can provide more protection for innocent folks who are going to a church or going to a school or going to a dance club. this is an issue i think that eventually is getting to the tipping point in this country. i think we all recognize, these are not just isolated circumstances. these are our friends and neighbors and it's happening far too frequently. >> sounds like you think democrats ought to spend more time in rural america, because they don't. >> i think they should, and they should speak about the contribution rural america makes to the rest of the country. they need to learn to how speak to rural voters. i think we have an economic

message that will resonate and i also think if we do this right, i think there's a tremendous opportunity for hillary clinton and the democratic party to be quite successful in november. >> good to see you, sir. >> and you. still ahead, the state of the district. could d.c. statehood and the movement gain some momentum in time for a november vote? washington's mayor muriel bowser joins me next. ooh... >>psst. hey... where you going? we've got that thing! you know...diarrhea? abdominal pain? but we said we'd be there... woap, who makes the decisions around here? it's me. don't think i'll make it. stomach again...send! if you're living with frequent, don't think i'll make it. sunpredictable diarrhea and abdominal pain, you may have irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea or ibs-d - a condition that can be really frustring. talk to yo doctor about viberzi. a differenway to treat ibs-d. viberzi is a prescription medication you take every day the district. both diarrhea and abminal pain at the same time. so you stay ahead of your symptoms.

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re-election. our friends at the cook report decided to move the district likely democratic to leans democratic. they redrew the district and it's a little more democratic. but they'll keep it at safe d for now because of the redrawing. it likes like the field is making way for rubio on the senate side. the deadline to file say week from today, but i'm guessing we'll know something from rubio world perhaps sunday or monday. washington's -- washington, d.c.'s mayor murrial bowser will join me next on her latest efforts to push for statehood, but first the cnbc market wrap perform. >> stocks ending lower on friday, dow sinking by 58%, the s&p is off 6, down about a percent for the week. the nasdaq falling 44 points, nearly 2% down for the week. housing starts lift in may, but

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in just about 30 minutes, a group of washington, d.c. leaders will reconvene the first constitutional convention of this century. their goal, to draft a state constitution in hopes of getting d.c. admitted as the 51st state in the union. of course statehood has been on the mind of residents ever since the district was incorporated in the early 1800s, but now leaders are hoping to capitalize on

recent momentum. just last week, senator bernie sanders renewed his support for making d.c. the 51 state, right outside the white house. reasons, it includes d.c. has a larger population than wyoming or vermont, and like the license plate said, they pay billions of dollars in taxes without a voting member of congress. if residents approve this, then the district would need to apply to congress to gain admittance. right now, republicans dominate both houses of the legislative branch, so it's hard to imagine them approving a new state that would become an instant democratic party stronghold. but if the democrats return to the majority, could it be time to add another star to the flag, we can find an easy place to put it. here with me now, mariel bowser. my wife did some work on your

campaign a couple of years ago, quick disclosure. good to see you. >> good to see you, chuck. >> so new columbia. >> that's right. >> the push for statehood has gone up and down over the years. you want to do this via a constitutional convention because it avoids having the entire country vote on statehood. explain. >> we were here, cathy lanier and ki henderson and i were here a few days after i was sworn in last year. we talked about statehood then. and i told you we would go a different way. we would set a bold path in a new direction. that's what the people of the district of columbia want. they pay taxes, more than 22 states. we operate in many ways like a state. the major difference being that we don't have a vote in congress. our congresswoman doesn't have a vote, and we don't have any representation in the senate. so what we're doing is what other states have done. we're following the tennessee plan, where we go to our voters first and say, do you want to be

a state? are you willing to commit to a representative form of government? let's get the constitution done and have our vote. that's what we're planning to do. when we do that in november, what we will present to the new president and the new congress is a new vote from the people of the district of columbia, saying that they're willing to take on statehood for washington, d.c. >> and by going this route, this means you submit the constitution, the application to congress -- >> yes. >> -- and it just takes congress to approve this? >> the congress -- >> it doesn't take a -- >> no, it doesn't take changing the u.s. constitution to admit a state. and that's exactly what we're going to do. what the constitution says is that there must be a federal district. so we have drafted boundaries for a federal district that would contain the seat of the u.s. government, and the balance of the territory would become the new state. >> so essentially you'd carve out where all the federal buildings are?

>> yes. >> and that little area of constitution, maybe a couple blocks one way and a couple blocks the other way. >> it would be a very robust federal district. >> fair enough there. one of the things i think you'll have a challenge with, what goes into the constitution that goes on the ballot this november. some people probably want to make a lot of political statements. >> yes. >> you don't. >> well, a constitution should lay out how the government will work, and then by law, like the d.c. council does every single day, it sets out new laws that can include everything from the kitchen sink. but that's not really what a constitution is about. so what we have laid out is very similar to the way district government works and we think our government works pretty well. we have balanced our budget for 21 straight years. we have $2 billion in the bank. we're the fastest improving urban school district in the country. the problem with our form of

government, we don't have any representation in the congress, ask that should what we seek to change. >> what is your argument to republicans who may just look at this and go, especially if democrats win the senate, and they're more supportive of this right now than republicans are. republicans may still control the house and stay why do we want to hand democrats two more seats? what's the conservative argument -- argument to conservatives about giving d.c. statehood? >> the american argument is that people who pay taxes deserve a voice and a vote in congress. and republicans like democrats go all over the world, spreading democracy. and my question to them is how can they do that and have the citizens in their own capital not have a vote in the congress? and so for us, this is not a democrat or republican issue. this is a non-partisan issue. that's our argument that we'll make to the dnc and the argument that we will also make to the rnc, is that people in the district of columbia deserve

statehood. now, there was a time when people said that many things that are the law of the land now, we couldn't think of being approved in state legislatures, by the supreme court, even in the congress. and we think that the time now is for statehood. >> all right, you've carved out a small federal district, right? >> a robust federal district. >> fair enough. i could see a member of congress or two coming to you and saying, that's a great idea. let's put the rest of the residents -- you want statehood, join maryland, join virginia? why is that not the right call? >> well, not only do the people of washington, d.c. not want that, chuck, the people of maryland and virginia don't want that either. we've had hundreds of years of a political identity like they have. and we are a population that's larger than two states. so there's no reason to make the argument that this political entity that raises and spends its own money, should be any

different than any other american state. >> all right. we'll leave it there. and you couldn't change the electoral college? >> yes. >> on that, it's still the same. >> that's correct. people have nothing to fear. there's nothing to lose by giving 700,000 washingtonians the right to vote. >> you think it will get on the ballot? >> we think it will. our residents want to be counted. new columbia. >> some day i may call you governor? >> why not? >> thank you. lots to talk about in "the lid." stay tuned. this is a recordin. really? no, i'm kidding. 100% u.s.-based customer service. here to help, not to sell.

up next in "the lid," general stanley mcchrystal, retired, weighs in on the powerful gun debate. and if it's sunday, loretta lynch will join me on "meet the press," to discuss the renewed debate over guns in the wake of the orlando attack. we'll be right back.

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washington post political reporter, abbey philip and perry bacon, senior political reporter for nbc news and a former washington post person. >> that's right. >> obviously all of you get to cover the trump campaign very closely. [ laughter ] >> actually perry how serious does this feel in trump land and the republicans? have we hit critical mass? >> george w. bush, condi rice said i'm going to work on the senate campaigns. this is a real point where you're seeing republicans do not want to be involved with him. they're trying to figure out how do we save the senate? how do we save the house? feels like they're talking about trump's losing, what's next? >> and it's june. >> it's june. >> it's getting late early. this is a time where you form a lot of opinions that may take

hold for the rest of the summer, but, it's one thing to focus on senate races. when do you say let's cut this guy off? >> for down ballot republicans it's such a high wire act. you have people saying as long as he respects separation of powers, we can live with him. the next day he goes on television and says something that calls all of that into question. i think they will try to do that for as long as they can. there's going to come a time when it's very clear that trump is going to do what trump is going to do. that's not tenable for conservative agenda or republican agenda, especially for the down ballot folks. >> it's remarkable watching. >> i think you saw two weeks after may 3rd, he secures the nomination in indiana and there's there's sort of let's see among the republican party. let's see what happens. there's a bunch of polls that come out that show margin of

error. you start to see the elected officials kind of you know, edge a bit closer. now what do you see? trump is still trump. nothing's going to change him. what do you see? his numbers are starting to -- the democratic party is coale e coalescing and republicans are trumping off trump, voters. wisconsin down eight. nationally down eight or nine. that's when you start seeing, wait a minute. we don't agree with this guy and he's going to be the anchor that drags up down. >> to me it's roy blunt's poll numbers. he's run ng state that a republican presidential candidate should carry if he's losing. if he's looking at his poll numbers and losing this week. blunt's a guy that will tell mitch, do something. >> it is june, to your point, but remember that everything has been moved up here because the convention is, the convention is

less than a month away for republicans. july 15th, we're getting there. once that happens, once he's formally the nominee, there's no going back. >> stanley mccrystal's op-ed was pretty powerful, having a military leader weigh in on the gun debate. these laws will continue to argue that dangerous people will obtain guns no matter what and taking steps to make it harder is fruitless. that is poor logic and leadership. our leaders can keep guns out of the hands of those who cannot be trusted. it does seem for the first time that democrats and the gun control advocates have gotten, guess more bravado. finding military leaders and maybe exploiting the terrorism issue. >> filibuster was a big move

this week. you saw portman. i don't know where he is now. >> he wapnts to vote for something. >> you are seeing a movement of people in the senate like a mccrystal who normally would not have weighed in. this is enough. this is a moment. obama had an idea i can be for. you are seeing a small amount of movement. i'm not saying a bill will pass, but something that changed. >> i wonder if you'll see some leakage in the house among progressives who find this whole idea of using the terror watch list to screen people for their constitutional rights to be a bridge too far. >> it's a little uncomfortable for some. >> you're hearing some of that. this is not a great year for a centrist democratic position. they're feeling quite

emboldened. this is an opportunity to stick up for something important for them. they don't like the existence of a terror watch list. this is an issue that polls well. it works for some republicans. it will work for some democrats but the people on the far left, they'll say, okay, maybe this is too much. >> don't forget civil libertarians make up some of the progressive wing and conser conservative wing. >> that was a function of the exactly the progressive. >> this is on the progressive end. why is the state, it's where rand paul finds some common cause with the left. >> you know, what's interesting is for ever you've heard can there be room for nuance politically speaking, the gray area on guns. it's either obama will take away every gun or they want every weapon to shoot up. guns should be banned.

it feels like things like the mccrystal thing -- >> trump kind of endorsed it. >> you know what, who knows if that's intentional. >> he can mean whatever he wants. >> he may not know necessarily. you do have the presumptive republican nominee sounding in way that says i'm going to talk to the nra about common sense reform. a week from now -- >> who knows. >> last word. >> the nra put out a statement and they were clear. we're willing to do this much and that's not what the democrats want. i think trump is going to use that conversation. >> it's important that the fact that even the nra moved rhetorically. >> they felt compelled to say something, which they don't usually do. >> thank you all. happy friday. more mtp daily right after this break.

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that does it for us tonight. we have to go back into a time machine to be on time. "with all due respect" starts eight seconds late. i'm mark halperin. >> and i'm mark halperin. with "with all due respect" monday through thursday, this is a special freaky friday edition of with "with all due respect." >> mark and i will be hal