mark sanford is no moderate. i remember, i'm old enough to remember, covering mark sanford the first time he was in congress before he went on to be governor, he was the gadfly. he was the one who w tormenting his party leadership because he was so conservative mostly on fiscal issues because they weren't doing enough to lower the deficit and debt and so forth, and now the party is so realigned, as david said, the party of donald trump that it scrambled. >> david, speaking up against trump, though, this is clearly -- this clearly is one of the factors and maybe the factor for mark sanford. you have scott taylor out of virginia and barbara comstock has spoken up when she disagrees. is this thebetween south carolina and virginia. >> in part. they make up the primary electorate, but kate, barbara com stack did not become the republican nominee with outsized proportion of the vote. i think she got 60-something percent of the vote. that's pretty low for an incumbent running and she's in a heavily democratic district a

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they not putting out mark sanford signs and voting for him in part because mark sanford has been out criticizing trump from in front of the ican party. kennedy: mark sanford's political career supposedly died on that appalachian trail hike. but then he was elected to congress. do you think he has a third act up his sleeve? >> when he was elected to congress, he was considered par of the libertarian tea party vanguard. people thought it was the future of the republican party under obama. kennedy: is that badew for some -- some of the tea partyers? >> it's bad news for the 2010era ideals of the t party which were limited governments and free markets. it's not that we haven't seen any flog that direction under donald trump. but donald trump is not really a small government president. he's a president who said i'm not going to cut the big entitlements. that was part of his campaign platform. he's a president who aggressively cut off free trade and up-ended the free trade status quo in a lot of ways that just aren't sort of in the traditional republican free trade mix. so i think donald t

mark sanford was what conservatives claim to want.mall government, fiscal conservative constitutional republican. and so, you know, how many times we say this, though, donald trump is who we thought he was going to be. but the pivot, the transformation, the willingness of the republican party to transform itself to accommodate donald trump continues to be an extraordinary story, but it is becoming an old one. anybody that expects that the republican party is going to break with donald trump any time soon i think is somewhat naive. and i want people to realize if republicans hold control of both houses of congress, it is not going to be a continuation of the status quo because that house and that senateill be dramatically more trumpist than they have right now. imagine a senate without corker, without flake, without john mccain. imagine a house of representatives, a republican majority without all of those moderate reasonable centrists who have been either purged or have decided to retire. it would be a very different political environ

mark sanford losing his primary fight hours after the president attacked him on twitter. ident saying sanford was lpl, nothing but trouble. even brought up the affair the congressman had years ago but does sanford's loss signal something bigger for the party come november. let's talk about it with our contributor bianna golodryga. a.b., mark sanford said, you know, it may cost me my seat, how critical i've been of president trump but i stand by everything i have said. is it a clear warning to other republicans, though, heading into the midterms? >> oh, yes. it's remarkable that mark sanford was the one that cold this a call to personality a year ago and what last night proves and last week was force nood a runoff in alabama. she had to abandon president trump after the "access hollywood" tape and came around to supporting him but that wasn't good if you have for her voters in her district that love president trump. it is no longer a litmus test in the party. it's whether or not you've been critical of the president and mark sanford is someone i always bring up when i'm ask

mark sanford is one vote in a republican conference of 235 votes. he has actually been incredibly loyal when it comes to votes and has voted for all of the president's priorities. this is about, two appear -- i can't get in the president's mind -- two appear this is about the prent not appreciating a member of congress of his own party dumping all over him consistently. and that's a fair thing to not appreciate. but to say that this is somebody who has been standing in the way of his agenda is n true. and we'll see that if another -- likely another republican will come up here and vote almost identical to how sanford voted. >> sanford voted in line with the president 73% of the time. he supported the house health care bill in may 2017. he supported the tax bill in december 2017. has an a-ratingm the nra. this tweet went out, "mark sanford losing in south carolina is pretty much proof positive that the gop is not really a conserve party that cares aboud government. it is now fully a cult of personality." >> that dove tails with the quote i gave about

is taking a victory la tweeting my political repntative didn't want me to get involved in the mark sanford primary thinking that sanford wouldasily win. thin a few hours left, i felt that kie was such a good candidate and sanford was so bad. i had to give it a shot. congrats to katie rington. steve kornacki at the board. >> sanford, of course, we should say before all of this brought his own baggage to this. he's the former governor of south carolina.he's the onet wea few years ago, turns out he was in south america with his paramour and hiking the appalachian trails. >> with his paramour, you're so sweet to say it that way, steve. >> thank you, i appreciate you appreciating that. >> i would have said sidepiece.. we don't know, trump's tweet came less than three hours before polls closing. katie arrington is hitting that magic number of 50% which is means avoid the runoff. the significance here, when you talk about members of congress who irked president trump who op sthings, who stand up to him on some things we see a bitf a pattern here. last week in alabama, another republican candidate

it's time for mark sanford to hike, for real this time. >>ar lt night before the final votcounted mark sanford was feang worst. >> it's fairly unusual for a president to tweet in a congressional race. i'm neither for nor against from. i'm for ideas that i have long stood for over the entirety of my time in politics. it may have cost me an election in this case but i stand by everyone of those decisions. >> martha: 's sean spicer will join us in just a moment on whether he thinks this is a lesson perhaps for other republicans running in the midterms. here exclusively tonight, we are glad to have south carolina congressman mark sanford joining us. congressman, welcome. it's good to have you here. obviously last night was a rough night for you. you had a very strong, long career in politics in south carolina. do you believe that president trump cost you this election? >> i wouldn't say it was the tweet, but it was reduced town it was for trump versus not. i lost that race. >> martha: do you say that as a warning to other candidates out there?

look, i know mark sanford.r me actually and ihink i may have even given to his first campaign, i'm embarssed to say. but whatever. >> no, you know what the funny thing is? you shouldn't be embarrassed to say that because you fight for long-term debt relief. that is what drove mark to congress. i remember the first day i met him, 1994, he was talking about entitlement reform. >> no, he was absolutely right on that. the only thing it says, i think there are some true conservatives in washington. i think they're hiding under their desks. >> yes, they are. it is so embarrassing. >> -- afraid to say anything. they are going along with a lot of these fiscally irresponsible bills that are coming before congress because they are afraid of donald trump and they're afraid of those tweets and they are afraid of what would happen in a primary. >> this is just the latest example, the pointed example, of why nothing has happened on immigration. nothing has happened on a whole range of issues. because of fear. the fear of don

mark sanford, a trump critic, defeated in south carolina. another sign that voters are rejecting lawmakers who break with president trump. cnn political reporter rebecca burg is live with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, erica. the message last night loud and clear is those who oppose president trump do so at their own risk. mark sanford had been a focal critic president trump but a political survivor. he faced a scandal for visiting a mistress in argentina secretly. he came back and won the seat after that scandal. however, he could not survive the trump effect. the president tweeting that sanford was, quote, very unhelpful to his agenda. he tweeted this yesterday afternoon just as the polls were closing and as voters were finishing up casting their ballots in south carolina. it might have had an effect on the race. take a listen to what mark sanford had to say after the results last night. >> it may have cost me the election but i stand by every one of those decisions to disagree with the president. >> reporter: so mark sanfo

mark sanford, a trump critic was defeated in south carolina.another sign that gop voters are rejecting some lawmakers who break with president trump. cnn political reporter rebecca berg is live in washington with more. how do you see all this, rebecca? >> the message loud and clear from last night from the result in the first district of south carolina is that republicans who criticized the president do so at their own political peril. the results very clearly in favor of representative mark sanford's opponent, katie arington. a state lawmaker who criticized his vocal opposition to president trump. mark sanford is extremely conservative which makes this primary so unusual. he wasn't being challenged because he wasn't conservative enough and he's also a political survival. he survived a scandal as governor visiting a mistress in argentina to come back and win this seat for congress but his vocal opposition to trump ended up being his political undoing. the president tweeting yesterday, before the polls closed that sanford had been very unhelpful

so the big question is, what happened to mark sanford? that wasn't close. asn't a few hundred votes. >> yeah, no. look, there was some sense that sanford was in trouble heading into this. he has baggage that predates the trump era. you mentioned former governor, had he that affair, said he was on the appalachian trail. this was his big comba a couple years ago, got back into congress, won an election in 2013. thought he was back in the game and then along comes donald trump and katy arrington. what did sanford do to bring this on himself with republican voters? you mentioned there's criticism of president trump, he called him to release his tax returns. it wasn't the worst criticism, i've seen worse on the republican side. the other element that's fascinating is katy arrington, go back in time two years ago, on the same day that mitt romney gave that highly publicized speech where he called trump a liar and a fraud, she went on facebook and said i'm proud of mitt romney. this says a lot about the republican party. folks who align themselves with p in the las

incumbent congressman mark sanford lost to state legislator katie arrington. ident trump took credit on twitter. his representatives didn't want to get involved but arrington was so good and sanford so bad he had to give it a shot. joining me to break it down, steve kornacki and david joely, former republican congressman at the board, start there. sanford's performance last night in the primary. was it a strong indicator of the path ahead for gop hopefuls who are hoping to buck trump or an anomaly? >> no. i think this gets to the bigger question about trump, his relationship with the republican party and-the-voters. we know mark sanford has baggage pre-seeding the trump era. the affair as governor, resignation all that. he beat stephen colbert's sister.ght he was set for life,d was -- critical of trump in a number ways. the trump tweet yesterday. what's happening, as a candidate, aligned herself strongly with trump gets that majority and gets, avoids the runoff. makes this more than just sanford and anything particular to him is, w saw this last week in another

we've heard the president tweeting about mark sanford in south carolina.erica and his standing right now in the country. >> well the candidate that beat mark sanford, kenny arrington, in her victory rally said we are the party of donald j. trump. i think that sums up better than anything else what this tells you. absolute loyalty to the commander-in-chief. has become the most prized asset in republican primaries. we have a president who is deeply unpopular in terms of the country overall. but among republican voters, is secoy to george w. bush at this stage in his presidency, in recent political memory. you are seeing in virginia, we have a senate candidate cory stewart, who has said some very unsa unsavory things over the years. and republicans are worried that he's going to energize women and democrats in november. >> jonathanswan, live in washington, d.c. thank you very much. reading axios a.m. in a little while will be easy. you can go to axios to sign up for the newsletter. >>> "morning joe" starts right now. >>> i would argue that the president has u

mark sanford in a tight race. president trump today on his way back from singapore slamming sanford, tweeting in part, quote, mark sanford has been very unhelpful to me to make america great again. he is mia and nothing but trouble. better off in argentina. perhaps appalachain. so why is trump slam ago republican who's never lost a race on such a personal level? probably because of this. >> when the president says i wish i could hit you in the face if not why don't you do it and i'll pay your legal fees, that's a problem. >> what theresides talking about going back and renegotiating nafta, i think is, it would be catastrophic. >> ipg ta lot of people would say kay, the guy said something stupid. a lot f people were disappointed with the way he said it. >> david is "outfront." we're awaiting results to come in. the president making a big move going against incumbent on force one on his way back from singapore. says he hasn't slept for 25 hours. this was important enough for him to weigh in on. could he really lose b

whatever the strategy, though, it does not look good for mark sanford tonight. arolina a little over two hours ago with about 50% of the vote in. congressman sanford is currently trailing behind his primary opponent, katie arrington, who is the one trump endorsed in the today. these votes are still coming in. if arrington gets more than 50% of the vote when all the vote is in, she will unseat mark sanford tonight. that would make congressman sanford the second congressman primaried out of offe this year. the first was robert pittenger of north carolina. these results from north carolina are coming in very, very slowly tonight. so we'll brushfire be watching these over the course of the evening. if when all the vote comes in, neither katie arrington nor mark sanford gets 50% of the vote, their race will go to a between the two of them, and that is one that sanford would probably not be expected to survive either. not looking good tonight for congressman and former governor mark sanford. >>> now in virginia, one of the most vulnerable republicans in congress right

the way we operate going forward, based on the construct of the founding fathers. >> congressman mark sanford on "meet the press" tomorrow. sanford who has been openly critical of the president was defeated on tuesday. joining me, former white house director for the white house affairs for obama administration. and former cruz spokesman. why do you think congressman sanford is right about no seeming consequence for the president and his lies. do you think he intends to tell falsehoods or just chock it up to not knowing the facts? >> well, i think politically, what we're seeing for people like mark sanford or anyone else on capitol hill, where you have 85% of republican primary voters strongly behind the president, republican officials expect their elected officials to be supportive of the president. if you fail to do that you cannot win a primary office at this point. you have typically mainstream news media, a critic of the president. the president continues to delegitimize the media. that is working. and we see the consequence of that with the defeat of people such as mark sanford. that's s

joining me now is congressman mark sanford, republican of south carolina. congressman, good to see you again. thanks for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> yesterday president trump mocked you, mocked your loss in front of your peers. he called you a quote, nasty guy. how do you respond to that? >> you don't. i don't quite understand where the president comes from on any number of different things these days. and so you don't. but i do think it's humbling, one, that in this case the president is booed by colleague in the house who basically said we don't go along with what the president is suggesting. and two, i think that there is a bigger message for all of us to take away from what occurred, because well beyond the president's comments, well beyond the election of the first district, and that is the importance and the value of dissent in our political system. and in this case, largely supported the president and his agenda. but because i had spoken up on a number of things that were at odds with stands i had long taken or at odds with people i represented, i

mark sanford lost.in large part, not exclusively, but in large part because he was not a get in line behind donald trump on every issue kind of republican, and the woman who beat him, a state legislator, katie arrington, said he doesn't support donald trump enough, i will. so be gracious in victory is usually what we learn. the other thing we relearned is he's not great at reading a room. the one thing if you know if you have spent time around congress, it's a club, it really is, for better and for worse. and when they lose one of their own, whether they liked him or didn't like him, that's sort of the reality he doesn't get. >> chris, i'm looking down because i'm getting breaking news coming in, looking at my e-mail from a full report. the white house pool was called in to the cabinet room. president trump is meeting with members of congress right now. and coming out, we'll have the tape when it comes, but coming out of it, president trump says he invited -- i'm looking for it. he says that he's going

mark sanford is a personable campaigner.ou mentioned that he survived the affair, he got back into congress, the very seat that he held before he became governor. it was his criticism of the president that came back to haunt him in the campaign. >> to go and bash the president on cnn isn't helpful. we need to go up to washington >> the republican strategists say that this -- the outcome of the south carolina race should be a wake-up call to gop candidates, showing loyalty to the president is key, shep. >> shepard: jonathan, mark sanford says he has no regrets about this. >> no regrets whatsoev he pointed out the fact that 90 of the time or more, he agreed and supported president trump's agenda. but in those rare instances that he disagreed with the president, he felt it was his responsibility not to remain listen. it may have cost me an election but i stands by every one of those decisions to disagree with the president because at the end of the day i didn't think it was concurrent with the promises when fir ran for office o

and of course the mark sanford airing his thoughts for arrington. entering this race at the last moment, chosing to endorse arrington over sanford. it was a big moment in the race, in the final hours. so of course he is supporting her in the general election as well. a very sad bit of news. her campaign noting that she's a very strong woman, a woman of faith, and they expect that those qualities will help her during this time and we'll keep you updated of course on any developments we hear. >> we're all wishing for the speedy recovery of arrington and goff. >>> meantime, attention is still being focused on the chaos and confusion at the border. today, more than two dozen lawmakers are toring immigration facilities in texas. thousands of migrant families have been separated under the white house's zero tolerance policy. but only a few hundred have been successfully reunited. and there's still no clear plan to get the remaining families back together. cnn correspondent palo sandoval is in mcallen, texas. polo, the lawmakers there were very descriptive

>> the lesson clearly if you look at mark sanford not going to be returning to congress. k at jeff flake, another of the president's more chief in his criticism than sanford, these past comments will come back to haunt you come primary time especially as people who were more supportive of the president challenge never trumpers, essentially people who republicans who did not like the president during the 2016 campaign and said bad things about him. >>> yes essentially coming home to roost for those -- that's essentially coming home to roost for those people. if you've been critical of the president, you've got to change that come primary time. as far as who's going to check him going forward, i think everybody's waiting to see what the details of this are going to be. nobody wants to upset it with the temperature cooled, kim and trump at the table. it doesn't make sense to raise alarm bells about something potentially as it's still in motion. >> and mike pompeo during the iran negotiations was a strong voice against the deal but also saying congress should have a role here.

. >> not one bit from mark sanford. a roby gets a big boost from the president this morning. >> yeah, because she started to show contrition after going after trump in the election year. sanford has just been unloading on the president even after he lost, blaming it on his criticism of the president. i talked to him yesterday and he said, do we give a pass to the highest office holder in the land who constantly says things that aren't true? he's calling on his party to call out trump's lies. >> good luck with that. one thing that's remarkable about this, not about sanford but about the president, is that for all of his inattention to policy details, he pays extremely close attention to the things that are covered in the media and on twitter, and if you say something negative about him, there is no chance that he's going to miss it. and so he is acutely aware of any slights against him, and mark sanford will know if you say anything about him, martha roby. so these lawmakers are aware he knows what they're saying. >> mark

carolina siding with kate arrington, the candidate who embraced the trump agenda and challenged mark sanford an establishment never trumper. >> we are the party of president donald j. trump. lou: katie arrington is joining us here tonight. we'll be talking about the trump agenda. the fight also raging on capitol hill where deep state forces determined to subvert president trump also want to take over congress. flagrantly ignoring subpoenas for documents and information and stonewalling congressional oversight investigation and investigations into clinton corruption and obama spygate. the justice department corruption in full display. we'll be talking with charlie hurt of the washington times. he weighs in on why not a single republican leader in congress has so much as raised a finger to fight the blatant effort by the corrupt doj to take over the legislative branch. californians will soon have a chance to further demonstrate their political lunacy. we'll explain a controversial ballot measure that will allow voters to partition the state into three radical fringe enclaves. our top story. th

, a trump croming thre hours before the vote, mark sanford has been very unhe to me. vote katie. >> it is may have cost me the election but i stand by every one of those decisions to disagree with the president. >> thank you, virginia. >> reporter: in virginia -- >> want to stand with president trump, there is only one choice -- >> reporter: cory stew arts took the trump train to victory by addingk on immigra to hisport for confederate memorials, prompting celebration from the white house and sadness from a former lieutenant governor, i'm extremely disappointed, this is clearly not the republican party i once knew. an just a week ago in alabama, another incumbent congress member martha roby was forced into a runoff fullout from her criticism of trump. at the capitol, paul ryan is trying to brush off the trump effect. >> that is what happens in contested primaries. >> reporter: while just over 40% of americans approve the president's performance, among republicans that number is more than twice as high. >> donald trump's popularity with republicans is unprecedented. >>

mark sanford, a real conservative republican from south carolina. >> dana: they are pushing me. ave other stuff. >> greg: why is sanford where he is? you can't be riding in on a high horse on this one. go hiking. >> dana: that would mean other people would've answered to their past things. republican lawmakers and doj having a fht over allegations intimidn. we will exain next. the best simple dishes ever? great tasting, heart-healthy california walnuts. so simple, so good. get the recipes at walnuts.org. ♪ >> jesse: high drama on capitol hill, tomorrow's release of the justice department's ig report on the clinton email investigation. the fallout continues over a stunning fox news report. newly obtained emails claim deputy attorney general rod rosenstein once threatene to subpoena emails, phone records and other documents belonging to house republicans and their staffers. in the russia probe. g.o.p. lawmakers blaing the doj can make using the department of intimidation. attorney general jeff sessions denies the allegations. >> i'm confident that deputy rosenstein, 28 years and th

let's show it to the viewer, mark sanford has been very un helpful to me in my campaign to make america great again he's mia, nothing but trouble better off in argentina, fully endorsed for a state i love, tough on crime continue our fight to lower taxes vote katie. by the way the president referring to sanford's affair in argentina. what was your reaction when you saw that tweet? >> i was blown away. any time that the president of the united states is going to tweet about you, it's one of those moments you'll never forget in your lifetime especially with what he had just come off doing. working on peace and denuclearizing the korean peninsula and to take his time it was phenomenal. liz: do you think it was a factor in your victory? >> so we had done a great deal of hard work on this campaign. its been months and months and thousands and thousands of doors knocked and phone calls made by myself and this team so it's a lot of hard work that went into this. i do think that the tweet helped in the end. it kept us from a run off maybe, but it was definitely well received and grateful for it

mark sanford spoke up. lost his seat. you've got other people, bob corker, jeff flake, who are leaving, who sometimes go after him and call him out for things he says that aren't true. but they're scared, too. because their entire peer group is people whose careers and livelihoods depend on standing behind donald trump. so it's, it's that's why there's no consequence. >> any evidence, erin, that members of the party are going to acknowledge exactly what john is speaking and that would likely join mark sanford in speaking out? or is everyone too afraid of losing their job? >> john made an excellent point. the people we do see speaking out against the president are ones that aren't seeking re-election. that matters, it does dilute their message and it dilutes the power they have going into the next congress. an important line here is how the party is going to cope with this trump effect. as it heads into the mid terms. you have lot of people who are running, especially running in the top states, swing states or swing distri

let's bring in right now still the congressman for south carolina, but a recently liberated man, mark sanfordys great to see you. let me first of all -- let me just ask you to give us your reflections on what happened the past couple days and during the campaign. >> well, short and simple is i got beat, but i think the themes that come from it have implications for a whole lot of other races out there and sort of our belief in institutions in this country and what the republican party is ultimately about so i guess it's a -- in shortest shortest form we swore an allegiance to the constitution and we pledge allegiance to the flag and what was weird about this race that i never experienced before in any race that i've been a part of was an allegiance question where people say are you for or against the president. i would give a nuanced answer. i'm with him most of the time but i've disagreed on a couple of issues when they've been inconsistent with the promises that i've made in running or my belief in terms of conservative philosophy or the very people that i represent. if you look at my ratin

trump tweeting mark sanford has been unsellful to me -- unhelpful to me. he is m.i.a.ut trouble. he is better off in argentina. i fully endorse katie arrington for congress in south carolina, a state i love. she is tough on crime and will continue our fight to lower taxes. vote katie! joining me now is katie arrington. south carolina state representative and g.o.p. congressional candidate. representative, thank you for being here this morning. >> thank you for having me. it's an honor. >> sandra: have you had a chance to let this all sink in, this morning? >> it did for 20 minutes but then, you know, we have a long road to go until november and we are back at work. >> sandra: what did you think that moment yesterday when you learned of the president's endorsement and the tweet went out? >> it was amazing. i'm incredibly grateful for president trump to endorse me. it's not like he wasn't busy yesterday. the fact he took the time, incredibly grateful. we had a good deal of the people going to the polls before that. but i'm sure that tweet did not hurt and pushed us over

some were critical of mark sanford. saying he took a tone and aggressiveness toward the president which they said was not acceptable. they will disagree on policy where appropriate and direct the concerns to the white house and keep it out of public view. they don't feel you cannot criticize policy. it seems to be that some of the folks think the president himself may be off limits. i spoke with mark sanford on capitol hill last night. he was saying he really hopes that his follow republicans are not deterred. he said he appreciated corker's comments. he believes dissent is foundational to democracy above all else. it is an interesting soul searching we are seeing in the republican party and political reality of the situation. lawmakers are trying to figure out what is the balance and where can you criticize policy and not a person? >> to your point, the president is the leader of the party, but the president always represents the party's platform and ideals. is that the case here? bob corker says about president trump

congressman mark sanford, soon to be former congressman, which makes him exhibit a, as republicans debatehallenging the president on trade or crossing him. sanford was tea party before there was a tea party. as a ngressman, then south carolina governor, then congressman again, railing nst fellow republicans who called themselves conservatives buote routinely for budgets. but he also chastises the president's tweets and his tantrums and dares to say aloud that the grand old party is now a cult of personality, no longer the home of conservativey and principles. for that, sanford lost his primary last night. >> it may have cost me an election, but i stand byry one of those decisions to disagree with the president, because i didn't at the end of the day, i didn't think it was concurrent with the promises i made when i ran for office or the voices of the people that i represent in the first district. >> katie arrington is the winner. she campaigned promising loyalty to the president and won an endorsement tweet as air force one was flying back from singapore. >> joe cunningham and the d.c. dem

she's been forced into a runoff, and now mark sanford going down. two incumbent republican members of congress in the last week. it looks like felled or potentialltrump insurgencies. this is a big thing about where the republican party is and where it's going. what else tells us something big about where the republican party is and where it's going? it's another big surprise tonight. maybe a surprise here. the republican primary for the u.s. senate in virginia. this for the right to face t cane, the democratic incumbent there. the result the republica establishment was dreading, and it's a result that could have implications for this november in the battle for control of the house. corey stewart is this gentleman's name. he is going to be the republican nominee for the senate in virginia. he defeated freitas. this is the guy the establishment thought they wanted to win here. it's not so much about defeating tim kaine. tim kaine looks like the favorite in this no matter what. but this is stewart, who has made defending confederate monuments his big i

our breaking news, mark sanford, a trump critic will not finish first in south carolina. not finish first. frank,mong the primaries tonight that we were watching, the one that stands out is mark sanders, because he had been critical -- mark sanford -- he's been critical of president trump. tonight, just three hours before the election the president tweeted, mark sanford has been very unhelpful to me and my campaign. he's mia and nothing but trouble. he's better off in argentina. i fully support katie. she is tough on crime and will continue our fight to lower taxes. vote katie. so, is this what happens when you go up against the president? >> sure. he's done this before with other people. if you are not a loyalist and he has the choice between the two he will throw his support to a loyalist. what's interesting about this, what did he accomplish by doing it several hours in advance. he got something out of his system, he satisfied his own emotions which is always his driving force but i don't think he did anything extremely tactical. he just got something off his chest. >>

mark sanford may have learned that the hard way. losing in the republican primary last night. his challenger won following the last-minute endorsement from president trump, a tweet just three hours before the pollsclo. this morning the preside taking some credit, at least for

as a no and if my opponent, mark sanford, feels he is not trump enough, i don't think he gets it.epublican enough. we are conservative. we want to have our conservative agenda implemented in washington and it is something we are intent on doing. have a tweet from the president came out at 4:00 pm. a good share of voters had already gone to the polls. the president getting involved, coming out that late was positive, sent more people to the polls to remember if we want to change, if we want our voices heard in washington we need to vote and exercise that right. heather: look at that we you are talking about. this is the one that came in last minute, mark sanford has been very unhelpful to me in my campaign to make america great again, his nothing but trouble, better off in argentina, i endorse katie arrington, tough on crime, we will continue our fight to lower taxes, vote katie. and the reference to argentina, a reference to the personal issues sanford had in south carolina. he has a lot of things going on with him but donald trump doubled down on it yesterday, my political repres

he tweeted my political representatives didn't want me to get involved in the mark sanford primary think that sanford would easily win. congratulations to katie arrington. arizona congressm a business, member of the committee the freedom caucus. it's corey stewart won in virginia, you get mark sanford off. clearly it's so interesting. a couple weeks ago boehner was saying this is trump's gop. i think he wasn't saying it as a compliment, but it is trump's gop. >> as you know most of presidential nominees, they are the de facto leader of their party from the time they secure the nomination. president trump has had to fight for 24 months to get that role and can effective. i think what you are seeing now is he's going to be effective, and i think people look and say, he's keeping his promises. as long as he's keeping his promises, i think he'll be able to help republicansin in the mid-term elections. charles: i don't dagree with that. and i also think it's the effort to keep those promises. in 2016 i don't think either side of the establishment believed that message. but they buckled down a

well an interesting primary result in south carolina where congressman mark sanford w-- wh we remembercandal of hiking the appalachian trail and he came back and won theeat in congress but lost to a primary challenger who said he was not supportive of the president who atcked him for being a critic of president trump and sanford lost as a result. the president also tweeted -- in the final hf the race and said he endorsed sanford's opponent and he was unhelpful to the agenda. so we're the results of republicans who go out and criticize the president at their only political peril. >> what is your analysis. >> rebecca is right. this is the donald trump republican party not the pre-trump era it is a reshaped party in his image where issue purity is not what is on the mind of republican primary voters and the purity test applies its about loyalty to donald trump and we've asked around the table many times every tweet and every new development where it looks like the president is crossing a line, is this the thing thaak tn support for him up on capitol hill? this mark sanford loss is a key a

purely because mark sanford said donald trumprelease his taxes. not because of a vote or siding with nancy pelosi. trying to enforce discipline, normal. exacting -- trying to enforce discipline when it's self-destructive and when it's over no matter of genuine policy or political principle, that's abnormal. >> jonathan lanier, reaching out on twitter a few hours before polls close is an air strike. it's tactical and kind of stel thi. is this going to be the midterm election by air strike? >> it is. trump was pleased with the report. whether they already knew sanford was going to lose and therefore he wanted to pile on, to sort of send that message, don't cross with me, a message that was reemtzed by the head of the republican party who tweeted complacency is our enemy. anyone that does not embrace the real donald trump's agenda of making america g again will be making a that is a significant broadside to people in her own party, the party that if they challenge this president, they challenge the incumbent here, they would be deserving of a target

mark sanford's political career survived anital hike thalachian trail. but not criticizing the president. >> i think i'll end up losing this election. >> reporter: he did lose his primary last night, to state senator katie ar arrington. >> i'm run to go get things done, not to go on cnn to bash trump. >> reporter: san said trump has fanned the flames of intolerance. >> it may have cost me the election, but i stand by every one of those decisions. >> reporter: the president tweeting sol closed that sanford has been very tter off in d argentin argentina. >> every cycle, people lose primaries. it happens. >> reporter: for many republicans, the message is critical clear. >> it's usually a good thing not to be at odds with the most important elected official in your party. >> reporter: it helps explain why republican leaders are shying away from confronting president, scrambling to arrived confrontation inhe house and senate. >> it's a good place for any party to end up in a cult-like situation as it relates to a president that happens to be performed of the

she's been forced into a runoff, and now mark sanford going down.bent republican members of congress in the last week. it looks like felled or potentially felled by pro-trump inju insurgen insurgencies. this is a big thing about where the republican party is and where it's going. what else tells us something big is and where it's going?an party it's another big surprise tonight. maybe a surprise here. the republican primary for the u.s. senate in virginia. this for the right to face tim cane, the democratic incumbent there. the result the republican establishment was dreading, and it's a result that could have implications for this november in t battle for control of the house. corey stewart is this gentleman's name. he is going to be the republican nominee for the senate in virginia. he defeated freitas. this is the guy the establishment thought they wanted to win here. it's not so much about defeating tim kaine. tim kaine looks like the favorite in this no matter what. but this is stewart, who has made defending confederate monuments his big issue

on paper, mark sanford would look like perfect candidate.s alluding to these are races to specific areas. but he would be on paper, if he looked at his profile and the way he's voted, mark sanford is tailor made for republicans in that area. he was a member of the class of 1994, the republican revolution. you would think they would want someone like that, and it does seem to be his remarks about president trump and his willingness to put distance between himself and the president made big difference there. >> if the president, david, keeps supporting and republican voters keep electing far-right candidates like corey who is going to be the republican candidate for senate in virginia, roy moore, we remember what happened to him in alabama. rick saccone, we remember what happened to him in pennsylvania. they all lost, both of those guys lost. is this all good news potentially for democrats? >> yes,nd t's already a lot of momentum for democrats in their direction. a lot of energy in the democratic base. the fact that the president himself is un

the other thing is that, you know, you look at a guy like mark sanford. usually the kind of deviations would be of loyalty or ideology. you would see somebody who's supposed to be a member of your party voting with the other party, for instance. mark sanford is a conservative. he's voted with donald trump 87% of the time. this is exact retribution purely because of some personal pique. purely because mark sanford said donald trump should release his taxes. not because of a vote or siding with nancy pelosi. trying to enforce discipline, normal. exacting -- trying to enforce discipline when it's self-destructive and when it's over no matter of genuine policy or political principle, that's abnormal. >> jonathan lanier, reaching out on twitter a few hours before polls close is an air strike. it's tactical and kind of stel thi. is this going to be the midterm election by air strike? >> it is. trump was pleased with the report. whether they already knew sanford was going to lose and therefore he wanted to pile on, to sort of send that message, don't cross with

and mark sanford lost. let us be clear for all our viewers. mark sanford is probably one of the most conservative members of congress. he is extremely conservative. so this isn't a partisan issue when it comes down to flat-out lying. we've seen on it this issue from this white house. we've seen it on other issues from this white house. i suspect we will continue to see it on other issues going forward. >> the president today says, okay, now, because i have zero tolerance, i'm not going to separate the families but no one's allowed in who isn't allowed in. guess what, ted cruz, you're right, i do need a whole lot more judges. he said a very different thing the other day. here is the president detoday, d then. >> we have to hire thousands of judges. no country in the world is hiring judges like that. i don't want judges, i want border security. >> does the president a know what he wants? what zero tolerance means? what it means to get there, alan? >> yeah, zero tolerance is a policy that's more about rhetoric

my conversation with trump critic congressman mark sanford. t his republican primary race. joining me for insight and analysis are, nbc news national political reporter carol lee. "nework times" pentagon correspondent he lean cooper. republican strategist al cardenas. and "new york times" columst brett stevens. welcome to sunday, it's "meet the press." i >> from nbc ne washington, the longest running show in television history, this is "meet the press" with uck todd.d >> g sunday morning. happy father's day. what kind of week has it been for president trump? to president trump's critics the north korea summit was a self-serving spectacle that achieved lit and to the president it moved the world away from nuclear war. to the critics the gh, 7 summit was an unnecessary insult to our closes alleyieallies. to the president, it was a triumph of american strength. mr. trump megyn kellying it clear the u.s. will no longer plsu the role ofer to greedy allies to the critics the inspector general's report vindicated hillary clinton that he t campaign was campaign of james comey's dec

mark sanford has been a long time congressman down there.thered some storms in south carolina politics as well, storms that he's made himself. he been outspoken. he's been willing to call the president out when he believes the presides not correct. are voters unhappy with him for standing by his principles? >> the polling would seem to indication that katie arrington, his challenger, has made a lot of hay out of linking herself to donald trump and saying that rk sanford is a neverer who has been disloyal to the president. of course, we all thought that mark sanford's political career was over with the infamous hiking the appalachian trail incident a number of years ago, and he made a recovery that was quite remarkable. so it's really too close to call down there. it's a statistical dead heat in that race. and the margin of error on the polling down there is 4.5%. they say that two of them are within a single percentage point of each other. >> even coring politics a long time down there, i what ant to your expertise, have you ever seen e you'

hit in that meeting earlier this week on immigration and then he called mark sanford a nasty guy because sanford has been outspoken against the president, our manu raju caught up with him and listen to what mark sanford said about the president lying. >> i think it's a real problem in the way that we will simply give him a pass on something that ultimately is corrosive to our political system. >> molly, final thought on that. i mean, yes, he's outgoing, yes, he can say whatever he wants. but he's a small part of a party now that 87% is still supportive of the president, right? >> well, yeah. that's why mark sanford is on the way out and trump in characteristic style did not restrain himself from gloating and mocking sanford in front of his colleagues in that closed door republican meeting the other night. it was interesting to see a couple of house republicans publicly rebuke the president for his false tweet that they had applauded what he said about sanford. and so, you know, sanford is someone who has spoken out against the president consistently, even when he wasn't on his way out, a