and kristen welker joins me now. to overemphasize how angry and offended president obama was by the birther movement that was basically led by donald trump, the insult, the attempt to discredit the new president of the united states. that is certainly going to heal a lot of fissures within the democratic ranks and get the president out there campaigning really hard. >> reporter: andrea, you're absolutely right. it undoubtedly will. i am told by my white house sources the president is really itching to get out on the campaign trail, to get into this debate. and you've been talking so much about unifying the republican party, andrea, throughout your hour. unifying the democratic party is going to be critical for secretary clinton and president obama is, fangl lfrankly, going key to that. he will not jump in or endorse until the race is over. once he gets in you can anticipate he is going to be a robust presence on the campaign trail. another person who will be key to that, elizabeth warren, the clinton campaign just re

let's start with you, kristen welker in california. so we have the maths here. yes, kristen welker.ook not at bernie sanders but at donald trump. what's the strategy here? >> that's right. just to pick up on that point you made, that's one of the reasons you'll see her here in california in the coming days. what you just mapped out. even though senator sanders' odds are steep, california is the jackpot. the clinton campaign knows it. she'll be spending a lot of time here. her top officials telling me taking on trump is her top priority. one of her supporters saying it's defcon one right now. with each day we're seeing her strategy roll out even more. yesterday she tried to essentially say voters should be afraid of donald trump saying he's a loose cannon and loose cannons tend to misfire. making sure voters remember every single controversial comment he's made about women, about minorities, immigrants. and also she's prepared for the onslaught coming her way. she's vulnerable on issues like e-mails which keep coming up and donald trump has said her husband's past indiscretions are n

kristen welker is in chappaqua, new york, where clinton is spending the weekend. kristen, good evening. >> reporter: thomas, good evening. secretary clinton has been off the campaign trail all weekend as senator sanders has barnstormed in critical california. but clinton surrogates were out in force today. in fact, senator dianne feinstein said today that the race is, quote, all but over, a not so subtle attempt to urge sanders to get out. but today on "meet the press," sanders defiant, saying he's in this race till the very end. and when asked about party unity, he said that's up to one person, hillary clinton. >> so my job is to make sure that trump does not become president, and i will do that. but if secretary clinton is the nominee, it is her job to reach out to millions of people and make the case as to why she is going to defend working families and the middle class, provide health care to all people, take all wall street, deal aggressively with climate change. that is the candidate's job to do. >> reporter: sanders didn't rule out running as clinton's v.p.

let's start with kristen welker in las vegas. so this has been an issue out there for more than a year now. hillary clinton has basically been saying nothing to see here. now we have this report. the inspector general from the state department. what are you hearing from the clinton campaign about this? >> certainly an unwelcome report if you are the clinton campaign. what they spent a lot of yesterday trying to spin the report. they said, look. past secretaries of state used their personal e-mail as you just read in that statement. when i pressed one of her top officials about why she never asked for permission, the response was, look, she doesn't feel as though she needed to because past secretaries of state used their private e-mail. and very similar answer when i asked why she doesn't turn over all of her records once she left office. the reaction was she didn't feel as though she needed to do that and ultimately when it was requested, she turned over thousands upon thousands of e-mails. that's why you hear secretary clinton m

. >>> this is kristen welker on the trail close to clinching the nomination, hillary clinton added a few stops in indiana today. >> i need your help. >> reporter: the latest nbc news wall street journal merit poll shows clinton with a slim lead in the hoosiers state but no matter what happens here, her delegate lead is insurmountable, yet today bernie sanders that showed signs of scaling back renewed his vow to fight her all the way to the convention. >> the convention will be a contested contest. >> reporter: and while sanders is still drawing crowds by the thousands. the burn may be fading. he raised $44,000 in march but brought in a little more than half of that last month. today clinton tried to send a message, game over. >> there comes a time you have to look at the reality. >> reporter: at her indiana rally today, she set her sights on her likely gop rival donald trump. >> this hateful talk about immigrants, about muslims, about women, i mean, enough. >> reporter: meanwhile, the current commander in chief at his final white house correspondence dinner also looking to the future

nbc's kristen welker leads us off tonight. kristen, good evening. >> reporter: lester, good evening. top campaign aides tell me hillary clinton's primary focus right now is donald trump. but she's still battling bernie sanders in a vicious primary. and the biggest state up for grabs is right here, california. hillary clinton ramping up her fight on two fronts, against donald trump and bernie sanders. and today, it's getting nastier. >> the last thing we need is a bully in the pulpit. >> reporter: speaking to union workers in detroit, clinton argued trump's policies are bad for working class voters. >> he could bankrupt america like he's bankrupted his companies. >> reporter: but trump unleashing a scathing new attack of his own in an instagram video, again slamming former president bill clinton's past indiscretions. all this, as our latest nbc news "wall street journal" poll shows the likely fall fight between trump and clinton is already a dead heat. clinton leads the presumptive gop nominee by only three points. and a third o

kristen welker in kentucky following the clinton campaign. a brand-new poll we'll talk to you about in a minute. hallie jackson, let's bring you in first on the dilemma for republican leaders. so paul ryan, it's an interesting comment from bill bennett. that's one of his mentors saying this isn't really about specific policy items. it's about first principles. any idea what he's talking about there? >> it's the idea that donald trump will be not just a republican when he runs for president but a conservative. a true conservative, somebody who believes in the platform of the party. that's where you're seeing some of the discussion and some of the fight headed as we look towards the convention in cleveland. so for ryan, clearly, according to bill bennett, he will be looking at tone and so will others within these leadership meetings happening on thursday. not just on the house side where you'll see speaker ryan and some of his top lieutenants. not all of whom are unanimous in their support for donald trump as the nominee. at least not yet. you'

nbc's kristen welker says that means voters could face a tough choice in november. >> reporter: the likely fall fight is shaping up to be a dead heat between donald trump and hillary clinton. >> there's no evidence he has any ideas about making america great, as he advertises. >> just bad judgment. she suffers from bad judgment. >> reporter: nbc news "wall street journal" poll shows hillary clinton leading trump by 3 points, down from 11 in april. another poll out today shows trump beating clinton by two points. > as we go through this campaign, we're going to be demonstrating the hollowness of his rhetoric. >> hillary is weak. she's a weak person. >> reporter: trump has surged with many republicans now rallying around their presumptive nominee, while clinton is locked in fight. >> bernie sanders said she is not qualified to be president an he meant it. >> reporter: bernie sanders is showing no signs of letting up. campaigning today in california. >> if you want the strongest candidate to make sure that trump does not become president, we are that campaign. >> reporter: while touting he le

kristen welker, nbc news, washington. >> you can look at all of the pictures on our nbc washington app. to see the photoal gallery search bush photo library. >>> a report claims that 22 veterans take their own lives every day. today dozens of veterans came to d.c. and pledged to reach out to a fellow veteran if they fear we're trying to buddy up and have a close friend that understands and has been there either alongside of us or we get to know them as the years go on and to make sure we would make a phone call to them before we would do anything that would harm ourselves. >> reporter: they used a spartan sword to administer the oath that. is made from steel melted down from the fallen world trade center towers. >>> somebody shot and killed a man by the name of don williams jr. this morning. williams was from waldorf and police need help finding his killer. no word on a motive. ♪ >> reporter: the sound of bag pipes at the law enforcement officer's memorial on the mall today marked the pe ginning of national police week. country come to d.c. to remember fallen officers. the event starte

here's kristen welker. >> reporter: these images are seared in our minds. now a new look at that awful day. and the man who led the country through it. all captured by then-white house photographer eric draper. >> i was documenting a nightmare. i used the camera to actually shield my fears. >> reporter: draper documented president bush that morning visiting a florida elementary school. and then those terrifying moments after he learned what happened. sitting at a child-size table, writing remarks he would deliver moments later. >> terrorism against our nation will not stand. >> reporter: the president then whisked away on air force one to louisiana. watching the horror on television. security concerns keeping him away from washington. >> he really wanted to lead from the oval office. he didn't want to be on the run. >> reporter: the phone calls, the candid moments exposing his own feelings. >> you had to go through a range of emotions that day like all of us. >> reporter: finally returning to the white house that evening to once again address a broken natio

kristen welker starts our coverage. >> reporter: the likely fall fight shaping up to be a dead heat between donald trump and hillary clinton. >> there is no evidence he has any ideas about making america great as he advertises. >> just bad judgment. she suffers from bad judgment. >> reporter: nbc news/"wall street journal" poll shows clinton leading trump by only 3 points. down from 11 points in april. while another poll out today shows trump beating clinton by 2 points. >> as we go through this campaign, we are going to be demonstrating the hollowness of his rhetoric. >> hillary is weak. a weak person. >> trump has surged with many republicans now rallying around their presumptive nominee. while clinton is locked in a primary fight. trump invoking her democratic rival today. >> bernie sanders said she is not qualified to be president he meant it. >> bernie sanders showing no signs of letting up campaigning in california. >> if you want the strongest candidate to make sure that trump does not become president, we are that campaign. >> reporter: while touting he leads trump by 15 points in o

nbc's kristen welker has details. >> reporter: tonight the clearest preview yet of the impending battle between donald trump and hillary clinton. >> i will tell you, i have been a counter puncher. >> reporter: aides telling nbc news he'll go even further than previous shots. >> crooked hillary. crooked, crooked politician. >> that crooked hillary. >> reporter: claiming to target character issues, clinton's e-mail controversy and her response to her husband's infidelities. trump said he will unleash it face-to-face at the presidential debate. >> let's just imagine i'm on a debate stage with donald trump. >> reporter: clinton today envisioning that first debate, too. even imitating her likely gop rival. >> so what is your plan to create jobs? his answer is, i'm going to create them. they're going to be great. i know how to do it. but i'm not telling you what it is i'm going to do. >> reporter: her aides say clinton's counterattacks, ignore his personal jabs while trying to capitalize on trump's negatives, including with women voters. but clinton's also preparing to unleash a not so secret

kristen welker, nbc news. >>> now, to a run for the ages in philadelphia. take a look at 100-year-old ida keeling running in a 100-meter dash in a competition of over 100 runners. shuffling down the track at 1:17 and setting a new world record for a woman 100 years or older. the crowd went wild. and afterwards, ida did some push-ups to celebrate. her advice to all of us, love yourself, do what you have to do and what you want to do, eat for nutrition, not for taste, and exercise at least once a day. that's a lady you want to listen to. >>> when we come back, the creative idea cooked up by one dad that's drawing smiles on the faces of so many children. next at 6: former bay area football star dana stubblefield charged with raping a developmetally disabled woman. ===raj/vo=== the evidence that lead to his arrest. ===jess/vo=== plus, the new tactics south bay gang members are using that caught the f-b-i's attention. ===jess/next close=== next. ==raj/take vo== right now at 6. he's bring processed at san >>> finally tonight, a story about what you can achieve wh

kristen welker is covering the clinton campaign in chappaqua for us. ackson will talk about the latest on the republican side and trump's campaign. kristen, let me start with you about hillary clinton remaining at home today before getting back out on the campaign trail, participating in this parade. >> reporter: right. this is an annual tradition for the clintons to participate in this memorial day parade, thomas. she was off the campaign trail this weekend, and senator sanders has been barnstorming california. he called that state the big enchilada. this weekend he is outspending secretary clinton 2-1 on the air waves. he's vowing to bring out more than 200,000 people before voters go to the polls and he says he's not going to leave california until primary day. for her part second clinton also making an aggressive push with polls showing it's a very tight race there. she is leading there but only boy two points. she's opened up nine campaign offices. she spent the better part of last week campaigning there as well. for senator sanders, the reality, t

krist krist kristen welker. you have been following this campaign. they are not responding and they are back and forth with this. they're bringing up a whole issue of what donald trump had to say about the housing collapse. >> reporter: that's right, the clinton campaign says they're not going to get in the gutter with donald trump on these issues. their words, they don't think to do that. they're trying to keep the focus on policy. today releasing a new ad that slams donald trump for his comments during the housing crisis and saying he could benefit from the housing crisis there. taking a page out of the obama's play book when he's trying to pin it on mit romney. it worked in 2012, that's the question if it will work today. >> one of his donors who are also a donor to the clinton initiative. lets play it. >> i read the story yesterday and i got questions about a donor, my team vetted this individual. he's a green card holder since 2007 and we are very confident. >> our thanks to halie jackson and kristen welker as we have to move onto barbara boxer.

kristen welker, nbc news. >>> now, to a run for the ages in philadelphia.e a look at 100-year-old ida keeling running in a 100-meter dash. shuffling down the track at 1:17 and setting a new world record for a woman 100 years or older. the crowd went wild. and afterwards, ida did some push-ups to celebrate. her advice to herself, love yourself, and do what you have to do, and what you want to do, eat for nutrition, not for taste, and exercise at least once a day. that's a lady you want to listen to. >>> when we come back, the creative idea cooked up by one dad that's drawing smiles when my doctor told me i have age-related macular degeneration, amd we came up with a plan to help reduce my risk of progression. and everywhere i look... i'm reminded to stick to my plan. including preservision areds 2. my doctor said preservision areds 2 has the exact nutrient formula that the national eye institute recommends to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd... after 15 years of clinical studies. preservision areds 2. because my eyes are everyt

>> kristen welker, thanks. >>> a powerful u.s. senator is demanding answers from facebook over allegations that the social networking giant is biased against reporting conservative oriented news items. it's a story that has a lot of people talking. the company is now responding. nbc's blake mccoy tells us more. >> reporter: 163 million americans use facebook. many probably turn to the trending feature for their news. a running list of stories selected the website said by popularity. but tonight a top demanding to know how that list is compiled. >> if the news is coming through there, which is represented to be objective and it's not, then i think the people deserve the right to know that. >> reporter: in an article posted monday, one anonymous former employee who helped compile the trending list said stories are picked by editors, not algorithms, and facebook dropped conservative stories, saying it was absolutely biased. we were doing it subjectively. according to the source described as politically conservative, trending topics a

thomas. >> kristen welker in chappaqua, new york, kristen, thank you. >>> overseas, the u.n. high commissioner for refugees says at least 700 migrants died at sea this past week while another 14,000 were rescued in the mediterranean, most trying to cross from libya to italy. keir simmons is following this new surge of migrants making a desperate and deadly journey. >> reporter: crammed with terrified migrants, a fishing boat overturns in the mediterranean sea, in full sight of the italian navy. many trying in vein to stay out of the water, others swimming for their lives. the boat capsized wednesday in just 30 seconds. 100 lives bebelieved to be lost. >> too many people on board that were scared. they were not sitting. they were not listening. they were simply scared for their life. >> reporter: according to aid workers, three of the 45 bodies found were newborn babies, a 9-month-old nigerian girl was saved by this doctor. her future uncertain. her pregnant mother did not survive. it was a deadly week even for these dangerous waters. 700 dead or missing in seven days. bodies

nbc's kristen welker is covering the clinton campaign for us this morning. so when you look at that video, obviously, kristen, we know the passions are very high. bernie sanders supporters committed to him until the very end here. but that level of anger is directed at hillary clinton supporters. barbara boxer on that stage, how is she navigating these waters that will not cool down, even after today, if he wins oregon? >> reporter: well, i just spoke with a clinton campaign official here at her headquarters moments ago, tamron, about this stunning scene that unfolded in nevada. and the thought within the campaign is that ultimately they will be able to unify the democratic party around secretary clinton if she does clinch this nomination. they think that the party is more unified than the republican party, but there's no doubt there is some work to be done. senator sanders is going to be pivotal in that regard, so they will call on him to help rally his supporters around secretary clinton and they're going to make the argument, this is what she did for then

i'm kristen welker. donald trump brushing off comments from president obama that world leaders are, quote, rattled by the candidate. in fact he says that's a good thing. trump, meantime, pressing ahead with a general election strategy that's sure to give hillary clinton a run for her money. the presumptive gop nominee saying he'll focus on 15 states ahead of november. that includes deep blue democratic strongholds republicans haven't contested in decades like right here in california and new york. hillary clinton this morning again on the defensive over her private e-mail server. and bernie sanders holding out hope that he'll get his day on the debate stage with donald trump. also this morning, history is made in japan. >> the world was forever changed here. but today, the children of this city will go through their day in peace. >> president obama becoming the first sitting u.s. president to visit hiroshima. he joined japan's prime munster for a wreath laying at a peace memorial. we'll have much more on

jacob rascon, chris jansing and kristen welker all with me this morning. jacob, let me start with you. you're in san diego where trump has a rally set for later this afternoon. >> reporter: right. he'll be here later this afternoon and he has this election strategy he laid out yesterday which was new, which is very interesting because he talks about 15 states that he believes will be in play that aren't usually in play, including california, which of course hasn't voted republican in a presidential election for nearly 30 years. he talks about new york, he talks about pennsylvania, ohio, michigan. this is where he's going to be spending a lot of time. he said he may come here to california as many as 25 times. of course we'll see how that goes. our reporting suggests that his ground game in those and other states is not very strong right now. we've talked about his senior political director, rick wiley, earlier this week suddenly being let go so it's unclear how he will go about doing that. in other news you mentioned that debate that's been talked about in

kristen welker is following the still ongoing democratic race.sten, eight years ago at this time, it's hard to remember sometimes, hillary clinton was getting the question why don't you drop out of the race, you're hurting the party, you're dividing the party. eight years later now the tables are sort of turned. she's the one trying to declare victory right now. >> she is trying to declare victory, steve. she's also walking a very fine line, you will notice, when you listen to what she is actually saying. she can't actually call for senator sanders to get out race because of that reason that you just cited. she stayed in the race until the very end back in 2008. look, she has almost put this race mathematically out of reach but she hasn't officially clinched this nomination and senator sanders keeps raking up wins. we saw that this week in oregon, for example. still, secretary clinton indicating in her strongest terms yet that the race is just about over. take a listen to what she said yesterday. >> i will be the nominee for my party, chris. that

kristen welker is in chappaqua, new york. that's the clinton's adopted hometown. she's with the clinton campaign there. they are a week away from this final round of big primaries, and in a way, hillary clinton looks as strong as ever to be the democratic nominee. in other way, she's got a dog fight on her hands out there in california. >> she really does, steve. the polls in california show it's shaping up to be a tight race. she's up by about two points. but independents can vote in the california primary. so that could benefit senator sanders. they've both been aggressively campaigning there. senator sanders outspending her 2 to 1, vowing to stay in the state through primary day. also saying he's going to get out more than 200,000 people to rallies before voters go to the polls. for her part, secretary clinton also up with ads there. she's opened nine campaign offices. that's more than senator sanders has. i spent the better part of last week there with her as she barnstormed the state. for secretary clinton, she wants to win california not because of the math

nbc's kristen welker is in brooklyn.od morning to you. >> reporter: hey, jose, good morning to you. well, we are learning today that secretary clinton is upending her campaign schedule adding extra events in california at the end of this week. in fact she cancelled an event in new jersey to get to california sooner than expected. she'll have a five-day campaign swing there. this comes as she is bikipickin a huge endorsement today from governor jerry brown. let me read you about what he had to say about why he's endorsing her. he wrote the stakes couldn't be higher. our country faces an existential threat from climate change and the spread of nuclear weapons. a new cold war is on the horizon. this is no time for the democrats to keep fighting each other. the general election has already begun. hillary clinton with her long experience especially as secretary of state has a firm gingri grasp of the issues will be prepared to lead our country on day one. jerry brown has a long history with the clintons. he was back in the 19

nbc's kristen welker, there she is. kristen, were there any protesters against hillary tonight? >> there were, actually, some protesters at that hillary event, chris, you're right. doesn't seem as though it got as heated as what hallie was just described but not that un usual in this campaign. i think there were emotions on both sides. one of the headlines from the hillary clinton event tonight is that she went after donald trump for comments he made during the housing crisis, essentially saying he wanted to benefit from it. as we've been playing all night he said so what? what's wrong with benefitting from the housing crisis? but we're getting our first glimpse at the unfolds strategy from the clinton campaign to hit it -- one of the core parts of donald trump's message. is. he is a candidate for working class voters, he's going to make sure they realize the progress we have seen in the economy in recent years and the clinton campaign essentially trying to tear that argument down and they're taking a page from president obama's playbook in 2012 when he tried to paint mitt romne

nbc's kristen welker and susan paige and msnbc's alex., kristen welker, you are following this campaign every step of the way and where she's going next, this is the most that i have heard her talk. >> reporter: andrea, congratulations on a great interview. this interview gave us the clearest indication from the mouth of the candidate herself of the general election strategy of what it is going to look like. we want her to aggressively going after him on his foreign policy. the fact that he will be willing to expand his nuclear presence. you asked him if he had the experience to be president, she said, i quote, i think gravity is the key. one of the most interesting moments, andrea, was when you prepped her on releasing her transcripts and he circled back to donald trump and raising the issue of his taxes. i will release my transcripts when other candidates release their transcripts. i will release mine when he releases all of his tax returns. the clinton campaign is going to be aggressively pairing into his business record and trying to

joining me now is nbc kristen welker and katy tour. >> what is the calculus of donald trump of these two unifying the republican party and expanding the republican base, reaching out with women and dealing the gender gap and he's going after hillary clinton for what her husband did. how does that work for him? >> i am not sure of their strategy behind the scene for putting women on board. i know they're trying to throw everything and the kitchen sink at hillary clinton. they're trying to attack her on her position and on benghazi and her husband's support for nafta and her husband's past and infidelity. they're doing everything they can or donald trump is doing everything he can to diminish her in every way possible. the rally we have been too so far during the primaries, those messages are being heard loud and clear and they are being cheered on. we have seen a number of folks including women wearing hillary's shirt that says frankly vulgar thing that we cannot repeat on television demeaning to hillary clinton. this is a massage that's not only heard by his supporters but celebrated

that's where we find nbc's kristen welker. isten, i know you've got reaction from this west virginia primary and i want to start with donald trump not releasing his tax returns. she hit him on several issues of distinction between their campaigns but now you have another bit of information. i'm curious if the clinton strategy is to start hitting that. >> reporter: oh, they are going to hit that hard, tamron, you can expect that. they have already begun to call on him to release his tax returns. she said, look, i'll release the transcripts from my paid speeches once he releases his tax returns. i think you can only expect to hear those types of calls ramp up. the clinton campaign is going to be holding a call in just a few moments from now in which they're going to discuss trump's economic policies, so i wouldn't be surprised if those statements that you just mentioned weren't a part of that phone call as well. in terms of that loss in west virginia, i just got off the phone from a clinton campaign official who said don't expect

nbc's kristen welker is in los angeles where secretary clinton will be later today. great seeing you this morning. >> jose, great to see you. good morning. you're right. secretary clinton waging a battle on two fronts. and we're seeing that play out today, right? because she's here campaigning in california in the los angeles area. of course, this is the next or the last, i should say, big primary state. it carries the largest amount of delegates. at the same time, she's taking on donald trump, quite aggressively. we learned today that she is beefing up her staff at her brooklyn headquarters. that's going to be sort of the center, the think tank for the strategy to take on donald trump. one of her top supporters calling this defcon 1. as we're see her strategy unfold, she's trying to make the point that voters should fear him, saying that he's a loose cannon that could misfire at any time, trying to make sure they don't forget any of the controversial comments that he's made amount women, about minority voters, and interestingly, jose, she's reaching out to independe

. >> let's go to clinton campaign headquarters in brooklyn, new york, where kristen welker is. kristen, good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, jose, good morning. well, we are seeing this general election battle heat up, even though it hasn't officially started yet. secretary clinton and her allies sharpening their attacks against donald trump. you talked about those super pac ads with hallie jackson. we're getting our first look at them. priorities usa releasing $6.5 million in ads in key battleground states and using donald trump's words, particularly about women, against him. take a look at one of the ads. >> if ivanka weren't my daughter, perhaps i'd be dating her. >> a person who is flat chested is very hard to be a 10. >> and you can tell them to go [ bleep ] themselves. >> does donald trump really speak for you? >> donald trump tweeting this morning, slamming that ad and secretary clinton. let me read you a part of his tweet, jose. it says, quote, amazing that crooked hillary can do a hit ad on me concerning women when her husband was the worst abuser of women in politica

joining me now is kristen welker. clinton saying she will be the nominee in the fall. meanwhile bernie sanders doubling down against one of the party's leaders. any surprises here from what we have seen just in the last 48 hours? >> i think some democrats are surprised this fight is still so heated and contentious. senator sanders showing no signs of backing down. in some ways he is ramping up his rhetoric, accusing the dnc chair of rigging the system. this is similar language to what you hear from donald trump. this could make it more difficult to unify the party in the fall. what we're seeing from secretary clinton is this two-pronged fight. she is allocating her resources between states that have yet to vote, but she's very focused in terms of what she's saying on donald trump, the person she will likely be facing off against the fall. she's slamming him for his controversial comments about women and majorities. take a listen at what she had to say today. >> i think in the course of this campaign we are going to demonstrate he has no ideas. there's no evidence he ha

hillary clinton held a rally earlier tonight in riverside, california, and kristen welker, there she is with us now. were there any protesters against hillary tonight? >> there were some protesters at the hillary event, chris, you're right. doesn't seem as though it got as heated as what hallie was just describing, but not unusual at this point in the campaign. i think there are a lot of emotions on both sides. one of the headlines from the hillary clinton event tonight, that she went after donald trump for comments that she made, essentially saying that he wanted to benefit from it. he said, so what, what's wrong with benefitting from the housing crisis? but we're getting our first glimpse at the unfolding strategy from the clinton campaign, to hit at one of the core parts of donald trump's message, which is that he is a candidate for working-class voters, that he is going to help them lift them, make sure they realize the progress that we've seen in the economy, in recent years. and the clinton campaign essentially trying to tear that argument down and they're taking a page from pr

nbc's kristen welker is at clinton headquarters in brooklyn. >> reporter: they are bracing for a potential loss in india indiana. senator sanders feeling optimistic about indiana, and that favors senator sanders but if he pulls out a victory, it would be a moral win. right now hillary clinton has the mass and she's po ee's pivoting in the general direction. saying she's going to hit him hard for his inconsistencies on foreign policy, his controversial comments about women, she's going to try to paint him as someone who has failed the commander in chief test. secretary clinton in new york right now, she wasn't even in indiana today, instead she campaigned in the general election battleground of ohio despite her desire to move on, though senator sanders saying he's going to fight this all the way to the convention, which could complicate secretary clinton's effort to campaign to the general. it is critical that she aggressively campaigns in these primary states including california so she heads into the convention on a strong footing. >>> we want to turn to some breaking news regarding a u.s

. >> let's go straight to kristen welker in washington for us. kristen, much has been said about how sanders' commitment here to stay on the trail hurts hillary clinton. but might it help by solidifying youth registrants, the voters for the democrats that will carry forward because they're there because so far at least, sanders is in the race? >> hi, richard. well, good afternoon. there's no doubt that that is a pocket. senator sanders is bringing new, younger voters into the fold, signing them up, bringing them into the process. the real question right now is what happens if and when secretary clinton does win the nomination. you have the clinton campaign essentially very insistent that senator sanders should stay in this race for as long as he wants to be in this race. at the same time, they are urging him to stale back his attacks and also calling on him to help rally the party once this fight is over and rally those younger voters. secretary clinton pointing to what she did back in 2008. take a listen. >> i do think it's a useful reminder that

. >> kristen welker's interview with bernie sanders, not exactly answering that last question, he isintent on defeating donald trump. he just wrapped up his rally and we played a sound break of him hitting donald trump. steve is there. i know in the last hours, sanders campaign came out saying they want a recanvassing of results in kentucky, this coming about as we're hearing bernie sanders saying he is in this for the long haul, wants to win this in california rally with 200,000 voters within the next two weeks. what is the plan to make that happen? where do things go from here? >> reporter: senator sanders just stepping offstage, really preaching his grand strategy. the plan here is coverage. he really wants to cover the golden state in bernie sanders rallies. he's been saying that emphat emphatically and with much more heat. as you heard from kristen welker, since clinton stepped down from coming to the state and challenging him in a one-on-one discussion or debate, sanders has really been heated. we were in a press briefing shortly before that announcement was made. he was really

and on the democratic side, kristen welker is outside in brooklyn. as we look at this race and the primary happening today, she is locked in this race until the end with bernie sanders, as we know, the math not necessary lin her favor. what she needs is the momentum. hillary clinton is having a tough tyke making connection with younger voters and working class voters. how is the campaign working to turn that around as they lead up in these last three weeks of prima primaries? >> reporter: i think she's been trying to ramp up her outreach to younger working class voters for quite some time now. you hear her directly talk to them for example saying, you might not support me but i support you, i'm for you and working for you. in terms of working class voters, she's targeting swing areas and how she's going to improve the economy. this becomes increasingly important if and when she gets to the general election and i think senator sanders will be critical to helping her rally those voters and unify the party, particularly some younger voters. i think that

. >> joining me from louisville, kentucky, covering the clinton campaign, nbc's kristen welker. my sense is the clinton campaign strategy for west virginia was basically to pretend like it wasn't on the calendar and move right along. >> that's pretty accurate, chris, actually. very good political analysis. that's right, and i just spoke with the clinton campaign official a short time ago who said, they were bracing for this loss in west virginia. but now they're really focusing on kentucky and what's interesting about that is that we'd seen this large pivot by secretary clinton to the general election and what we've seen in recent days is that to some extent she's pivot back to this primary race, acknowledging that she really needs to win a few of these states in may. in particular for the optics so that she heads into the convention on a strong footing and also just for the math to take away that argument from senator sand there's he's really gaining ground on her. we've seen her going up with ads today. and it really, the ads she released today on television at least, could pl

let me bring in nbc's kristen welker who was in los angeles this morning. kristen, good morning.ng about how the former president's past is becoming part of the rival's message? >> hey, jose, good morning to you. well, the clinton campaign is continuing to insist they are not going to engage in these personal attacks with donald trump. they're not going to get down into the mud or the gutter with him, as they would put it. instead they're focused on policy. secretary clinton trying to draw sharp policy distinctions with him. we have seen that play out on the trail as she's talked about issues like immigration, fair pay, that wall that donald trump has proposed building, and of course his muslim ban. and then just today a new line of attack, jose. they are hitting him in a few ad for saying during the housing crisis that actually it could be a good thing, that he could benefit from the housing crisis. they're essentially trying to paint him as a billionaire businessman who doesn't value or care about working class voters. what's interesting about this tactic, jose, it's very simil

kristen welker is at the louisville slugger field, i believe. most polls, as you know, have had the secretary behind for a while. has the clinton camp already conceded west virginia? >> reporter: well, craig, good morning. i i think the way to think about it is they are certainly bracing for a loss in west virginia and they are trying to limit the amount of losses she'll have in may. they're going up with ads in fact right here in kentucky. it's significant because they didn't put up ads in west virginia or in indiana, a state which she did lose. so she's making a real play here for kentucky. i anticipate you're going to see her campaigning aggressively in a delegate-rich state like california and the campaign not ruling out the possibility of going up with ads there as well. her primary focus does remain on the general election, taking on donald trump, and really rallying women voters. we're going to see that on display again today. she's unveiling a plan that would lower the costs of child care, limiting the costs of child care to 10% for all

and kristen welker is with the clinton campaign in los angeles. it's interesting that this unsubstantiated claim by this hacker comes up. it is the kind of claim that donald trump's campaign would seize on, kristen. we saw him do that with ted cruz, down to the father's alleged connection with jfk, and this is perhaps why she is beefing up her staff already. >> undoubtedly, tamron. and donald trump has been very clear that he is going to make an issue of the e-mail scandal, regardless of what happens. as we know, there's also an fbi investigation. donald trump vowing to bring it up, every day of his campaign. so the clinton campaign really bracing for an onslaught of attacks here, not just about her e-mails, but also, trump has said he would bring up the past indiscretions of former president bill clinton. yesterday, she sort of laughed that off. she said, hey, that was a discussion from the '90s. so we'll have to see if that is a tactic that works. but we also know that she's digging in. she's been a lot more aggressive against him on the trail y

kristen welker is covering the clinton campaign and she joins us with the clinton reaction.gh, it does not include donald trump's own words at the time were that bill clinton shouldn't be impeached, he did not see it as this big problem, and now, again, this might count as another flip-flop without hillary clinton ever needing to respond. >> reporter: well, that's a great point. i think what you're going to see from the candidate herself, she's going to try to stay above the fray in these remarks, instead pivoting back to some of donald trump's controversial comments about women, about minorities. you might see her top surrogates, though, more directly address donald trump when he makes these very personal attacks and bring up that flip-flop that you raised, tamron. secretary clinton asked about the broader tone of this campaign and donald trump's personal attacks over the weekend. take a listen how she responded. >> i'm not going to run an ugly race, i am going to run a race based on issues and what my agenda is for the american people. i don't really feel like i'm running

kristen welker, thank you. >>> that trump/clinton showdown is coming into focus. sanders pressing ahead with his campaign. he's favored in that primary in west virginia that's going to take place tomorrow. he's about to hold a rally on the jersey shore in atlantic city. new jersey will be holding its primary june 7th. there's a poll out that has him 28 points behind hillary clinton. we'll monitor that event for any news and bring it to you if we hear anything there. that's coming up in a few minutes. on sunday, sanders was on the rutgers campus in new jersey making the case there's still a path for him. >> as of today, we have won 18 state primaries and caucuses. and with your help, we're going to win a lot more in the next month. from now until the last primary, which will be in washington, d.c., on june 14th, we are going to fight for every single vote. >> in news on that front when it comes to votes and delegates, a democratic contest held over the weekend in guam. hillary clinton won that. she nets a small number of delegates from that. and months after bernie