he needs to lead kelly ayotte to victory and john mccain.ave the courage to put their name on the ballot at republicans. i hope he'll look to have a real team being on the ballot with him in november that will be a great team for america. it's one thing to make america great again but you can't if you don't have a good team. >> it's possible you'll support donald trump? is that fair to say? >> he's got to demonstrate a little respect for the leaders of the republican party that made a difference to the world and helped lead the united states through some phenomenally difficult times. and ronald reagan, george h.w. bush and george w. bush were three presidents i worked for. i was a witness to how hard it is to be president of the united states and the tough decisions that have to be made. i want him to demonstrate some sympathy, find some empathy and have the courage to be a leader that requires you to be the leader of all the people all the time without trying to be the most popular leader all the time. you have to make tough decisions. i wi

kelly ayotte is a perfect example.e're going to go through several months of various candidates statewide candidates for the senate of congress basically acting as if donald trump is he who must not be named. they never mentioned his name. we have just had the election of a muslim mayor in london. and what happens if donald trump ever becomes president? does he allow the muslim mayor in london? >> he talked about that yesterday. he said he would, perhaps make an exception for the mayor of london. >> i think you're right. he can't erase the past. i think they want three things. they want him to show he's going to race money for republicans and build infrastructure, they want him to be consistent. they don't want every day to be a different storyline. they just want him to seem like he's got a plan between now and november. they want him to be on the offense against hillary clinton. they want him to make the election about hillary clinton. if he dhau, i think we'll win over a lot of the party. >> there's a piece in the "

is it he help kelly ayotte in new hampshire? what are you saying to senators, because it will be different state by state by state. >> i think we don't know yet. what i know is senate races are big enough to where you can paint your own picture. and all of our candidates are going to be in a good position to run. one of the things that we're working on right now is trying to draft marco into running. >> do you think marco will get back in? >> we hope so. we're doing everything we can to encourage him to run. >> both my parents from kentucky, and i want to leave you with three words. go big blue. you are a big louisville fan. >> yeah. >> my parents grew up -- i grew up around the deep south. >> kentucky has fans all over the world. all right. >> it is "the long game." you can read an excerpt on joe.msnbc.com. senator mitch mcconnell, thank you. >> this looks great. we really appreciate it. >> congratulations on the book. >>> still ahead, we'll go to hallie jackson live at trump

kelly ayotte has figured out the fight of her life. it's not so bad to have donald trump on your side in new hampshire. >> yeah, mostly the contested senate races are in state where is donald trump can absolutely expand the electorate in ways ted cruz couldn't. what will be interesting over the next 80 days between now and the convention is which donald trump shows up. and what he says on specific policy questions that he's asked. >> yeah, bob costa, that's a question which donald trump shows up. the donald trump we have seen, for the most part, that we did not see yesterday morning when lee harvey oswald's name slipped from his tongue, is a more disciplined donald trump post-wisconsin. any insights into this campaign and the internal struggle within the campaign on which donald trump we see throughout the general? >> speaking of my trump sources last night and this morning, my sense is it will be a two-part war. trump will come to washington in the next week or so and try to repair the relationships with the republican party, try to g

what's the play for somebody like kelly ayotte? what would be the advice strategically? i never understood the support, endorse, the problem is you make everybody mad. you make donald trump supporters mad and anti-donald trump supporters mad. you may as well pick a side. she hasn't done that. look, a lot of candidates are weighing their options. it's hard to predict what's going to happen. donald trump, we know, one thing has negative numbers. he has high negative numbers among women, african-americans, among hispanics, and among young people. unless he can start to turn those around or unless something dramatic happens on the other side, it's going to be difficult to see how he's going to win this election. >> we actually have a bit of news here in last few minutes on this subject of the republican party and whether it will rally around donald trump. house speaker paul ryan, in an interview a few minutes ago on cnn, saying that he cannot support donald trump yet. so susan, that's interesting, leaving open the possibility it is yet to come but he's not there yet. >> that

so this idea you're going to bail out kelly ayotte in new hampshire by putting distance between trump i think is ridiculous. >> right, absolutely right. absolutely right. >> the problem then is to the degree that you're completely interested in the guy, in for a penny, in for a pound, which means everything he says for the next six months you own. >> yeah, yeah. yeah. >> right? don't you guys, all you guys, doesn't the republican party own everything he says the next five months? >> they don't own everything and i think you will find during the course of this campaign, you will find if he says something that's out there on the limb, you'll find some folks who saw off that limb. they will not buy that piece of the tree. so yeah, i think -- and that's actually, to his -- i think a little bit of what ryan was trying to do gets -- how it gets played out. people will have that ability to saw off those limbs that they don't want to be a part of. but your general thesis is the correct one. the tree is still the tree. the republican party and all its roots and branches. kelly ayotte and rob p

you saw kelly ayotte, the senator saying she is going to support trump but not endorse im.hn mccain. he reiterated his plans to support the republican nominee but also said, again, he's not going to show up to the cleveland convention. that illustrates the difficult position they're in. one fight is over garland, the supreme court nominee. you have people arguing that, in fact, republicans on capitol hill should acquiesce to this request say iing garland is not good pick but he could be worse and that letting donald trump be involved in the process would be negative. mitch mcconnell's office, of course, out already saying that they plan to continue as they have been and argue for the next president to take up that supreme court pick. craig? >> as you were talking we got this picture in, the adviser for chris christie's campaign for a while. that's a picture of our 16th president shedding a tear, a sentiment again. >> reporter: the question of whether or not this is the end of the party of lincoln, russ schrefer. >> shawn, we'll get to what the never trump folks are saying i

i think it'll be much more difficult for somebody like kelly ayotte in new hampshire.and somebody asked her, i think it was jake tapper asked her if she had heard donald trump's foreign policy speech. i hadn't heard it. i'm working hard on the issues people of new hampshire are facing. but it is going to be so hard,en how hard it was for people to separate -- >> there are very, very raw nerves right now with those inside the republican party. as you look back to 2008, 2012, when mccain campaigned and the romney campaign moved very quickly to try and consolidate the party behind the nominee. and there was a lot of outreach involved, and there wasn't a lot of battling going on after an presumptive no, ma'am me that had been arrived upon. i think that's very different right now. i think there are a lot of folks inside the trump organization that are perfectly willing to exploit a lot of the animosity inside the campaign. they've thrived off of it for the last few months. >> why do it now? >> well i think that's one of the hard things right now. we have about two and a hal

as jay said some of these candidates for the senate who are facing tough re-elections, like kelly ayotte, like rob portman, like mark kirk in illinois, they'll try to separate their own campaigns from donald trump. democrats are going to essentially tie all of the republican candidates to his candidacy. you've seen the dscc who is working to retake the senate from republican hands unveil what they're calling trump cards where they're trying to line up on policy where a lot of these candidates have matched up to some of what donald trump has said on the campaign trail. so i think you're going to expect down the road to see democrats paint the entire party, republican party as a party of trump. that's going to be one of the key lines that we hear moving forward. certainly in a presidential year, they stand to do better, especially where the map is in their favor. >> all right, jay newton-small and sabrina sidiqi, great conversation. appreciate it. >>> up next, we turn to the democratic race. hillary clinton and bernie sanders making last-minute pitches in kentucky loading into tomorrow's b

and others like kelly ayotte, they're trying to balance handling trump and preserving their seats in upcoming election. >> do you support or endorse donald trump? >> i believe each person will make their own decision. i've said i'll vote for our republican nominee. but i don't intend to endorse anyone in this race. >> as for donald trump he's thinking about the future as the rnc is taking a closer look and some big donors are deciding to get on board. yesterday, trump announced the election of new jersey governor chris christie to head up the transition today. president obama waited until november of 2008 to select his team. this as they met with the core leadership in washington for a briefing on logistics and the schedule ahead. a senior strategist tells rnc that trump needs to understand what the party needs to offer and withhold politics is a business. you may have won the nomination, but doesn't mean we'll support you. top republican donors signed on withrump yesterday. scar mucci, and paypal cofounder peter thooel and stanley hubbard who gave money to a stop trump pac. hubbard

kelly ayotte has made the best decision for kelly ayotte and we shouldn't judge them. >> an important if donald trump loses you need to continue conservative principles in the house and senate. if you if you control the senate this time then that is a check on what hillary clinton might want to do with supreme court just e justices. a lot of the conversation does have to do with nurturing a plan and what part of the republican party comes back to fight. >> we'll see if splitting the difference works. thank you very much. >>> just ahead gearing up for two-pronged general election fight donald trump versus hillary clinton and donald trump versus bill clinton. that is straight ahead on "morning joe." proud of you, son. ge! a manufacturer. well that's why i dug this out for you. it's your grandpappy's hammer and he would have wanted you to have it. it meant a lot to him... yes, ge makes powerful machines. but i'll be writing the code that will allow those machines to share information with each other. i'll be changing the way the world works. (interrupting) you can't pick it up, can you?

a spokesperson for kelly ayotte of new hampshire said she'll support, but isn't planning to endorse anyone this cycle. some of her colleagues shared their reasons for hesitating personally. >> i don't support all of trump's positions. i'm not voting for hillary. >> so you will vote for trump? i presume that's what you're saying? >> i said i'd vote against hillary. >> a ban on muslims, the religious test for those entering the country, i cannot see support for a republican nominee who would do that. he may well back away. i certainly hope he does. for years, he was a birther. still is as far as i know. somebody who believes that the president was not born here. but rather in kenya. that does go to his judgment. if there was a case of hoping that a candidate doesn't keep his campaign promises i guess this is one. >> donald trump has the opportunity to unite the party, but if he's going to build that wall that he keeps talking about, he's going to have to mend a lot offenses. -- of fences. he has to stop with the gratuitous personal insults. he's going to have to go beyond saying he wants to

you had a united states senator from new hampshire, kelly ayotte, who is up for election, saying sheorting trump, but she is not endorsing trump. kind of unusual language. you will see a lot of prominent republicans make this choice. say you are not voting. say you are writing in someone else. orr this new option of " -- this new option of "i support him, but i don't endorse him." ted did is aat very brave thing to do and a great thing to do, because we want to bring unity to the republican party. we have to bring unity. [applause] much easiert's so if we have it. vonnie: that was last night, obviously. the whole ballgame has changed. the campaign changes. do we hear trump's voice still, or do other voices take over? mark h.: particularly if he does not moderate his report -- his rhetoric, you will hear a lot of republicans hoping to be part of shaping the rhetoric of the party. they will take over planning the convention in july in cleveland. his positions on what the party should stand for will be as influential as anyone else. this is an unusual nominee. i think you will see a few

kelly ayotte come a senator from new hampshire who faces a tough reelection battle there. telling the new hampshire union leader that she plans to support trump but isn't endorsing anyone the cycle. another tweeted if indiana changes anything for me, the answer is simple -- no. a lot of people still left to react but what does this say about trump's chances of uniting the republican party as the nominee presumptive? collins andk susan kelly i ought are clowns as far as the wishy-washy talk. if you vote for somebody, you are endorsing them. that today notable has not in a day in which there has been a lot of loud calls to rally around trump rum a lot of establishment years. i think trump has a lot of work to do. he says he's not ever going to unify the whole party. they -- he says there some parts of the party he will not get. mark: bill kristol said late in the day that he was not going to vote or trump or clinton. but most of like talk to, elected officials will be enough on board to not create a problem for him. he is going to have problems with others and some of that c

in might be no way for kelly ayotte to get relocaelected, bu she's better with him than without him. >> there is not just that they have to do it, it's that they want to do to some extent. >> if donald trump goes down a road that is deemed -- he already did the-of. >> another road. >> what road would he have to go down? >> did you ever think 234ianyon would ban a group based on religion? >> but now we've learned that's just a suggestion. so if donald trump because he can turn himself inside out, upside down and sideways, on any given issue, if he goes again on extreme, it gives republicans they can back away from parts of -- >> i agree in this way. they will back for a news cycle worth. or they will say what i think we're seeing here to josh's point is any idea -- you have this sort of early rumblings like maybe there is going to be a weird third way that will get carved out for republican electoral fortunes in november in which it would neither be trump nor somehow like trump adjacent or just like trump agnostic. or strutrump skeptical. no, he is the nominee. >> let's go back to you

. >> reporter: kelly ayotte and john mccain signaled support for donald trump. he wants to pick a d.c. savvy politician as his running mate. 64% negative with women voters. 74% with non-whites. hillary clinton battling poor approval among men suggested trump would be dangerous on cnn. >> i don't think we can take a risk on a loose cannon like donald trump running our country. >> reporter: she is on track for d the general election between clinton and trump is beginning already. >> that brings us to our flash survey. we want to know if you think the republican party will unite to rally behind donald trump. more than 60% of the people who voted said no. >>> what a dramatic scene outside the silver diner in tyson's corner during the lunchtime rush today. an suv bursting into flames after an employee allegedly rammed the vehicle into the front door. pat collins is gathering details about that employee and about what may have triggered this. pat? >> reporter: doreen, a hummer rammed into the silver diner, backs up and rams into it again, backs up and does it a third

. >> republicans like new hampshire senator kelly ayotte say they'll support the nominee but will not him. >> stephen: yes, support but not endorse. she's holding multiple positions at once. she's in some sort of political' quantum state. it's like shrodinger's cat, except she'd rather endorse a dead cat than donald trump. ( applause ). ( cheers ) but the endorsement-- everybody knows people love quantum physics jokes. but the endorsement donald trump really needs is from speaker of the house and man who truly believes that he's smiling, paul ryan. ryan is the highest ranking republican and will be chairman of the g.o.p. convention so, naturally, last week he gave his party's nominee his full "can i get back to you?" >> you have said throughout this process that you will support the republican nominee. now you have a nominee, donald trump. will you support him? >> well, to be perfectly candid with you, jake, i'm just not ready to do that at this point. i am not there right now. and i hope to, though. and i want to. >> step

you have new hampshire, kelly ayotte is the incumbent. you have ohio, rob portman. you have pennsylvania, pat toomey. you have now missouri on the list. that's roy blount. you have potentially a situation in north carolina, okay, that's getting dicier. richard burr has always had a tough time. then you have florida. you have other states that are potentials. i don't think i missed anything. here are the questions -- here are the things we usually look at in a campaign. look at how president did in each of those states. look at where he performed in each of the different districts. look at how the republican candidate in the past has either outperformed or performed behind the democratic president, okay. so if you looked at ohio alone, where rob portman is running against ted strictland, the former governor who has great name i.d., and if hillary clinton were to win the state of ohio by seven points, let's say better than six -- ohio folks here? [ cheers ] hey, guys. >> the rest are home registering to vote. [ laughter ] >> sorry about the -- if you look at the state

people like kelly ayotte. if we lose the senate over this, we'll have a lot more to complain about than donald trump in 2016. harris: would he welcome donald trump campaigning with him? >> i have no idea. i'm focusing on young people and millennials in arizona. he's not a fan of people who were captured. harris: we know exactly how you feel. >> i come on 9 show and always keep it real with you guys. harris: the investigation into hillary clinton's email server is getting hot. her top aide huma abedin is being interviewed by the f.b.i. hillary clinton is set to sit down for her own interview in the coming weeks. a stunning admission about the iran nuclear deal. what a senior white how official is saying about how they use the media to get the american public behind the plan. what we now know and what it says about the obama administration and maybe some of his friendly reporters. i'm terrible at golf. he is. but i'd like to keep being terrible at golf for as long as i can. new patented ensure enlive has hmb plu

a spokeswoman for senator kelly ayotte says she plans to support the nominee, but she isn't planning to endorse him. senator john mccain explained why he is backing trump. >> i support the nominee of the party. i've repeatedly said the things i don't agree with him on. i love campaigning. i love being here. i'm a proud republican. i'm a ronald reagan, teddy roosevelt republican. i support the republican party and the people the republicans have chosen the nominee for the party. i think that makes sense. i have significant differences with donald trump on a lot of national security issues. my job is to steer our party and the nation's policies in the direction to make america safe. that's my obligation. >> what's the pattern now? who's in and who's out? looks like mccain being a regular republican being in, i wonder whether it's the red hot conservatives who are still holding out led by cruz. >> it's the movement type. it's not the business republicans. they're getting in line. they think hillary clinton is the target. they think she can be beaten if there's a shift in the electorate.

meanwhile in new hampshire, republican senator kelly ayotte's campaign says she is going support the nominee, though as a candidate herself she hasn't and isn't planning to endorse anyone this cycle. that drew a, huh? on twitter from their rival in the last week other, democratic challenges in ohio, illinois, pennsylvania, nevada, and arkansas, have tied their republican senate opponents to donald trump. >> what are republicans saying now about their chances of holding on to the two houses of congress? >> they have a 58-seat lead in the house and say they're confident they can hold that. in the senate, democrats need to pick up only four seats and hold the white house to reclaim control. some republicans acknowledge trump makes it difficult for. the to maintain control the senate, they say hillary clinton harms democrats. a recent poll shows 49% find her unfavorable. that's also compared to trump's 56% unfavorability rating. spokesperson for the national republican senator toal committee write there's a reason democrats are not lining up to campaign with hillary clinton. she is a tox

there will be people like kelly ayotte, pat toomey, part of whom will want to run toward trump, part will want to run against him. what you say to those people that will be conflicted? they might benefit in some ways, but also be troubled? mr. ornstein: you are absolutely right. i do think that we are going to find a lot of republicans who will come back into the fold. it may get closer than it would otherwise be. we're not going to see, i think, the kind of blowout of a goldwater losing 45 states or a mondale or a mcgovern losing 49 states. the states are more firmly red and blue now, although some of those red states may be in play. but if you have got lawmakers in states that are still swing and could turn close, they have a huge dilemma on their hands. and how do you embrace trump, where you know in the process, you may end up linked to him for minority voters or others who might turn out in more substantial numbers? but if you get distance from him, you will create a backlash among a lot of others who see you as betraying the cause. so i think there's no easy way out of it. and

new hampshire senator kelly ayotte said she was shocked and outraged by the comparison. missouri senator roy blunt went as far as calling for his resignation. today in an interview with andrew mitan andrea mitchell, he said the following. >> if i was misunderstood, i am glad i have the opportunity to correct it. i am focused on one thing, better caring for veterans. that's my job. that's why i'm here. >> he released a statement at va we take our mission of caring for those who shall have borne the battle very seriously. we have the best and most noble mission in government. if my comments monday led any veterans to believe that i or the dedicated work force i am priftd to lead don't take that noble mission seriously, i deeply regret that, nothing could be further from the truth. thousands of vets were on wait lists and managers were hiding delays, with up to 40 deaths linked to waiting issues. he was confirmed unanimously in attempt to clean up the va. how serious is this for him? talk to one veterans group, john sults, an organization that supports more democrats than r

state of new hampshire, for example, there is competitive race between the sitting senator kelly ayotte and the current democratic governor maggie hassan. so you have them running against each other. portman of course in ohio. he is a very competitive race right now as well. so you know, not surprising to hear john mccain say that. >> okay. i want to read for you something that ben sass just posted. and it's pretty strident stuff talking about the guys at the top of this ticket. it's the open letter to majority america. i'm just going to read a little piece of it. i've ignored my phone most of today but the voice mail is overflowing the me although trump is terrible we have to support him because the only alternate choice is hillary. the open letter aim to ask simply, why is that the only choice? realistically, there are lot of people, it's not just ban sass asking about a third party, another choice, another candidate. but realistically, this late in the game -- we've missed deadlines, could somebody surface at this point, make a difference, and wouldn't it basically destroy donald tru

when you look at kelly ayotte in new hampshire or rob portman in ohio or pat toomey in pennsylvania,trump campaign. we just have to wait to see which one he chooses to run. >> do you have a sense who donald trump respects enough who could deliver the kind of message you're talking about to him and say this is what you can be doing, this is what you can't be doing. who would he listen to that could deliver that message. >> i believe the reporting that newt gingrich is very close to mr. trump and speaker gingrich wins election. he did in 1994 and in the 2012 cycle as well. but as for the most important person? his boys and ivanka. i think ivanka trump and the boys are remarkable personalities and accomplished business people. ivanka is bringing in pt new hotel here in town, on time, under budget, a year in advance. i would like to see her in more strategy meetings because i can't imagine her telling her dad to attack governor martinez in new mexico. that's a head slapper. >> all right, hugh hewitt, thanks as always for the time. >> thank you. >>> and coming up in the next hour, the hea

kelly ayotte out of new hampshire, incumbent republican who's going to be in a tough re-election fightut a statement saying she will support the nominee. trying to be really careful splitting the difference here between saying we're not going to go full, whole hog for trump just yet, but we'll support the republican nominee. and sort of this generic terms because they don't want to alienate his supporters, either. if his supporters start seeing that, they may come out and pull the lever for trump and not go down-ballot and pull a lever for the senate or house candidate. >> i reading in "politico" this morning, other places about ads that are already out against some republicans who are vulnerable and people lamenting it looks like this may have some effect. you wonder how if a nasty top of the ticket race is going to spread its nastiness down-ticket. >> i think that it probably will and you're already seeing the shots from the democrats on all the tape that they have on donald trump from his interviews on howard stern years ago to stuff that he said on "the apprentice." this is going t

last month i joined my colleague, senator coons and ayotte to introduce the bipartisan manufacturing extension partnership improvement act. the manufacturing extension program, or m.e.p., is a federal public-private partnership that helps businesses get their products to market through a variety of consulting services. the m.e.p. improvement act would expand and improve the m.e.p. program to serve small and medium-size manufacturing companies which are critical part of our economy and our national competitiveness. including key components of the m.e.p. improvement act will also be a top priority for me in the new legislation being drafted. science and technology are inseparable from the american competitive ecosystem. we need to focus on the entire ecosystem, however, from stem or steam to basic research to application and commercialization, and the inspiration that drives ambitious endeavors like exploring space and the outer frontiers of science. we in congress must do our part by supporting and investing in our efforts to drive economic growth, unleash increased productivity, enha

kelly ayotte, she says she will support donald trump but not endorse donald trump. what pressures do you think they're feeling right now? >> well, i'm sure they're feeling some political schizophrenia because they're in tight races up for re-election and they're trying to measure to what degree the trump candidacy will be a plus or minus. they're hedging their bets trying to say they're somehow loyal to the nominee but trying to create some space in case in a negative for an anchor around your political ankles. >> not an easy position to be in. the short list for vps for the running mate for donald trump, governor. jim acosta got a short list of them. on all the folks on the short list so far that we have, they basically all came out in the last 24 hours saying no, thank you. you've been on short lists before. do you believe the no thank yous? >> no. i think if donald trump has a plausible chance to win the election and hillary clinton is the front-runner but who knows, he might be able to pull this off, i think people will evolve their thinking if they actually get

kelly ayotte, for example, saying that she will support the nominee, but she won't endorse the nominee. you know, playing a lot of semantic games on sort of how you come around to trump. >> both ways are nice ways to have it. matt visor, national politics reporter for "the boston globe." >>> vice president joe biden weighing in on the democratic race. some support for hillary clinton but there's somebody he says would have been better than hillary clinton. that and more political coverage coming up on the fox news deck on a wednesday afternoon. jusdoes that mean they have toer grow apart from their friends, or from the things they love to do? with right at home, it doesn't. right at home's professional team thoughtfully selects caregivers to help with personal care, housekeeping, meals, and most of all, staying engaged in life. oh, thank you, thank you. you're welcome. are you ready to go? oh, i sure am. we can provide the right care, right at home. and you're talking to your doctor about your medication... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints

to face a strong democratic challenger katie mcbegin the, and in new hampshire where senator kelly ayotterunning state and state with the popular democrat governor maggie hasan. democrats want to win back control of the senate in november and to do that they need to pick up four seats if they win the white house and five seats if the next president is a republican. nbc's kelly o'donnell has been following all the twists and turns on the senate side of the capitol today. two questions when you look at the republican senators. one is the basic question of will they actually endorse and support donald trump for president? the second though is even if they say that, how involved do they want him to be in their races this fall? >> the answer is different based on where they are running and how voters in those home states react to donald trump so it becomes a very advise i'd the race-by-race game and at the same time here's what i'm getting from talking to people who are running campaigns in some of these states that you talked about, some of the vulnerable states and from talking to republican

ayotte: sad's military? -- to assad's military? mr. earnest: we have talked about efforts currently under way to deconflict our military activities with russia in the skies over iraq and in syria. there have been a number of consultations about that. but those consultations have stopped short of any sort of formal military cooperation. i don't anticipate that that will change. reporter: i wanted to ask you about iraq. there's been three car bombings in the last 24 hours or so. over 90 people killed. daiish is claiming responsibility. are you worried that daiish is trying to claim baghdad again for a possible assault as we saw 1 months ago? -- 18 months ago? mr. earnest: the united states strongly condemns the multiple attacks in and around baghdad today. initial estimates project more than 80 iraqi citizens have been killed in those attacks. many more have been injured. these attacks demonstrate that terrorists carry out these abominable attacks without regard to innocent civilian life and in order to stoke tensions between these commu

ayotte: mr. president, you have ten g.a.o. reports that have found this to be duplicative and wasteful. for some reason we need just a special office just for catfish but no other fish species. the usda normally inspects meat and poultry, not fish. and so to waste taxpayer dollars in this way just lacks common sense. and i would say to my friend from mississippi, i know that he's made an argument on the budget committee, but the budget committee's opinion basically says there's no direct spending. we all know that a lot of the domestic spending is discretionary spending. discretionary spending will continue on this program. g.a.o. itself has found that this could cost an additional $14 million a year to run this additional -- this duplicative program. and by the way, the one and a half million that has been cited has not been confirmed by g.a.o. we followed up on it. so to my colleagues, let's not be bottom dwellers. let's get rid of duplicative and wasteful spending. when you have 20 g.a.o. errors stacked up, if we can get ri

. >> think of kelly ayotte in new hampshire, she's a quintessential vulnerable senator.ate, if trump says something, it could be trouble. but who won her state in the primary? donald trump by 2-1 over the nearest competitor. so if you repudiate him for the general election audience, you could lose the base. if you stick with the base, you could lose the general election. >> and one of the things we're going to be seeing here is a reorganizing the senate math, the way we may see different states in play. maybe different for pat toomey in pennsylvania, if working class white voters come out for donald trump, it could be easier for him to embrace him. but think about john mccain in arizona, with this increasing latino vote. it was thought his seat was safe and he's going to have real trouble distancing himself from donald trump, because that base of the gop, they're already angry with him. they've been trying to primary him out of office forever and it hasn't worked, but he can't alienate them and still figure out how to embrace -- >> that has got to drive mccain crazy. the

demp or jeff flake or john mccain, or by in-cycle republicans from ron johnson to mark kirk to kelly ayotte, none of them are making calculations based on the personal force -- >> no, they're trying to minimize the number of people do they alienate. the question, do they alienate the base, or the in the middle who are turned off by donald trump and potentially less turned off by hillary clinton. >> but the problem is, i don't think you can maintain this relationship status that is untenable. you either have to break up or you have to commit to each other? >> dtr, define the relationship. >> i thought you were going to say something else, which is not what happens on the right. >> has to define the relationship with the r. crucial. the point being, you have to make some -- i guess my point is, you cannot maintain, particularly through six months, and particularly just for the next two months, and particularly not for the week of the convention, you cannot maintain the posture of official republican dom towards the party's nominee that you're waiting to see -- >> and you can't do the thing wh

including a security amendment that i cosponsored with commerce committee ranking member nelson, senator ayotte and senator cantwell that would strengthen security at international airports with direct flights into the united states. the amendment added a security title to the f.a.a. bill that included legislation marked up in the commerce committee as well as other initiatives. among other things, the amendment requires t.s.a. to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment of all foreign last point of deep par tour airports. airports, foreign airports with direct flights to the united states. the amendment also requires t.s.a. to develop a security coordination enhancement plan with domestic and foreign partners, including foreign governments and airlines, and conduct a comprehensive assessment of t.s.a.'s workforce abroad. it also authorizes t.s.a. to help foreign partners by donating security screening equipment to foreign last-point-of departure airports and to assist in evaluating foreign country's air kaorg security programs -- cargo security programs. these provisions are similar to those of

i think kelly ayotte said the same thing. they don't say donald trump. throughout the entire interview, anderson cooper pointed this out, he never once said donald trump. >> and the reason is very simple. you had me, i was right with you, my eyes were welling with tears. and then you mentioned lincoln. and that's exactly the point. if you want to build a team rivals and real out to people, you can't be talking about body parts and little marco. so i think that what you are seeing is the necessary inevitable outcome of the way he has conducted himself espn hinss own party. >> i think marco rubio still believes trump will lose. in february he said i'm telling you, if we nominate donald trump, we will lose this election to hillary clinton. he's been loyal to his party, but i think he believes his party will lose. >> david, let me ask you because i quoted the most damning thing that marco rubio said about donald trump during the primaries, not including the thing about the hands, was that you can't -- that he at the present time trust having the nuclear code

but others, like kelly ayotte are trying to balance running for re-election on the republican line with trump. >> i've said that i'm going to vote for our republican nominee, but i don't intend to endorse anyone in this race. >> let's not forget there are republican primaries today in west virginia and nebraska, but donald trump is running now unopposed. there's also a democratic primary that we cannot forget in west virginia where the latest polls show bernie sanders leading hillary clinton. we have our correspondents and analysts all lined up. they're standing by to talk about all of the headlines. we begin with nbc's jacob rascon who joins us live from trump tower. so jacob, the trump campaign now having a big meeting discussing financing for his campaign and also we have the new development that's being reported that corey lewandowski will lead the search for a vice president. >> reporter: right. this is a big week for the trump campaign and a very different week, even after last week he became the presumptive nominee. he kept up his schedule of rallies, but so far this week there's

senator kelly ayotte of new hampshire also not planning to attend. she said she would support donald trump, but not endorse him. so you have a lot of contortions going on, among people who really aren't sure how this will impact their race, especially with women, and you heard john mccain there say, with latino voters, in particular. in states where there are more white working class men, in particular, pennsylvania could be an example, for instance, of a state that will be on the map in a way that it wasn't in previous contests, that could help pat toomey. but for a state with a more diverse electorate, arizona as an example, it could be tougher. now, of course, on the flip side of this, you're also seeing some republicans urge the party to unite behind donald trump, mike huckabee, the former presidential candidate among them. i talked to halley barbour on te phone last night, an establishment republican longtime party elder. he says life is a series of choices and in this case, republicans are likely to choose donald trump over hillary clinton. it

you have kelly ayotte, who is up for re-election. she seems skeptical of wanting any association with donald trump. who would, realistically, at this point, who would be your pick for the vp slot for donald trump? and who do you think is actually interested? >> well, let me answer your second question, first. i think chris christie probably is interested. he was one of the first people, first presidential candidates to endorse donald trump when he dropped out. but he seemed like on the campaign trail to have a pretty good report. they know each other fairly well. obviously, that's very important when you're picking a vice president choice. the question is, who will pick it or who will choose it? and i think donald trump needs to find a bona fide conservative. someone that stands the test of time. someone that conservatives trust. someone who knows what they're doing, if, in fact, they're in the white house. and that's why i would be curious to know whether or not donald trump goes with perhaps a scott walker, the governor of wisconsi

and kelly ayotte being attacked on the air waves.ust for saying not they support trump but support the nominee. luke warm statements like that hurt republicans. >> final word to you in this context. do you really think paul ryan is going to come out with a full-throated endorsement of donald trump? >> it depends what you think is a full-throated endorsement. here's the deal. donald trump is going to be at the top of the ticket. if republicans don't get behind donald trump, he will drag down the ballot races from the senate and house. they need to be united. they don't all have to be kum ba yah, because they have to be united. money has to go towards the party in order for republicans to win the white house. >> thanks to all. good to see you. >>> next, donald trump hammering china. just about as often as he slams hillary clinton and some others. so why does he have so many admirers in the country? we have a report you just don't want to miss. tonight on our show. >>> and bernie sanders, after winning his 19th state says he is still in

speculated might be troublesome especially for republicans that represent blue or purple states, kelly ayotte in new hampshire, some folks speculate john mccain in arizona could have a tough go of it because of the latino turnout against donald trump. he'll have meetings with officials as well as the senate republican leadership. mitch mcconnell comes to mind. he also will have john cornyn and roy blunt. the interesting difference though, tamron, unlike paul ryan who has been slow to warm up and embrace donald trump, mitch mcconnell said after ted cruz dropped out that he was willing to support the nominee and willing to support trump. a little bit more of a unified front on the senate republican side than we know on the house side. we'll hear from paul ryan around 11:30. that's the latest from here. it will be interesting to see for me, what the electoral strategy is with donald trump from the very well paid smart minds in the room that were able to get mitch mcconnell, they have a big -- i would argue herculean task on their hands. >> you mentioned that the meeting with the members of the s

ayotte: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. ms. ayotte: mr. president, i rise today in support of what, frankly, is an egregious example of why folks get very frustrated with washington and what happens here. and that is what has been described as one of washington's most wasteful programs, the duplicative usda catfish inspection program which was slipped in the farm bill in 2008. mr. president, all other fish, all other fish species are inspected not by usda, but are inspected in this country by the f.d.a. yet, added to the 2008 farm bill was a provision to create a special office within the usda for the one species of catfish. we know they are bottom dwellers, but this was really something that was done to protect domestic catfish producers, and it was really something that is wasting taxpayer dollars. in fact, there have been ten g.a.o. reports, ten of them, each finding that this inspection regime set up specially for catfish, but no other fish species, is duplicative and a waste, waste of taxpayer dollars. in fact, the good government gro

>> think of kelly ayotte in new hampshire.'s a vulnerable republican senator and swing state and if trump says something she could be in trouble. donald trump won the primary there 2-1. if you repudiate him for the general election audience you could lose the base. >> and it cuts differently for different -- one of the things we'll see is a reorganizing of the senate map the way we'll see different states in play. the cat clculation may be diffet for pat toomey in pennsylvania, if working class white voters come out for donald trump. it could be easier to embrace him. but you think about john mccain in arizona with the increasing latino vote, it was thought his seat was safe and he'll have a problem distancing himself from donald trump because the base of the gop is already angry with him. they've been trying to primary him out of office forever and, you know, it hasn't worked but he can't alienate them and figure out how to embrace it. >> on a personal level that has got to drive mccain crazy and the guy ridicules him for bei

trump, but if the party is fighting itself in september and october, you'll have people like kelly ayottes will be paramount nor the republican party survival in the short-term this fall. but getting back to the convention, do you think there would be a platform fight over specific issues given trump's stance on some, which is not the normal gop stance on some issues? >> the history of republican conventions is that the people who care about their issues go to the convention to be able to talk about those issues. >> where are those people, though? >> well -- >> i'm saying, where were they in the primary fight? and -- because they used to determine republican nominees. >> yeah, but we've all talked about how jump is expanding the traditional republican electorate and primaries. >> yeah. >> so who those people are are the people who are traditionally becoming delegates. remember, three-quarters of the delegates are chosen without any input from the candidates. they are the local party officials. they are the grassroots activists. they are the people still going to the convention who have ca

kelly ayotte and john mccain being two. >> you say they talked about specifics. i was listening to the interviews, if you did a word cloud, unify, great, positive, great, chemistry. it is very important it seems to ranz prie reince priebus to give the impression it was a great, positive meeting. >> he's trying to unify his party. he's trying to raise money. he's trying to win the election, and if you have a speaker of the house who is at war with the nominee, it's not good for people running down ticket, first of all. you can't -- you can't be successful in keeping the house and keeping the senate if you've got a divided party at the top. so i think here it was mutually cooperative because there is mutual self interest here, and, you know, politicians are motivated to have a self interest. let's be honest. donald trump didn't want to be at this meeting except he felt he got blindsided by the house speaker, so he needed to be there because it is in his self interest to have reince priebus make peace and help -- >> and it needs to be positive though. >> it needs to