it hurt john mccain's chances. who knows if john mccain could have won that presidential campaign in any circumstances when george w. bush the outgoing republican president had a 22% approval rating, right? but picking sarah palin we now know did not help. it hurt his chances in the end. and john mccain has there ever been asked about that bad decision he made concerning sarah palin. he's been asked about it over and over and over and over again. and john mccain from the very beginning has been united nations flinchingly loyal toler. he has never thrown her under the bus. he has never conceded it was a bad decision to pick her. he has never ever said a bad word against her. >> i have the greatest appreciation for governor palin and her family. there's great joe to know them. she invigorated our campaign. i have great respect and admiration for her and her family. >> that was your choice, you're proud of it. >> i'm very proud. >> think she could be president one day? >> sure, sure. >> after john mccain and sarah pal

and now he can blame it on john mccain, say that i never attacked but mccain is. so it's really a perfect scenario for donald trump who's trying not to alienate cruz supporters and trying to maintain that unofficial detente between him and cruz. he's able to attack him in this way without really attacking him. >> well, you know, listen. i know that some have defined it really really attacking, but once you say there's an electability issue and that if he's elected, this could be tangled up in the legal system for two years, to me, that seems like a direct enough hit. with that said, how is donald trump going to pick this up? you saw when he was accusing the president of the united states, president obama, of not being born in the united states, he wanted to see the birth certificate, what do you see is the next step and putting some heat on ted cruz here, now that the opening is there? >> reporter: yeah, i think that definitely it is a direct attack. and anybody who's looking at it head on is going to say that yes, donald trump is attacking him. but donald trump i

john mccain. we first asked him about a $25,000 national endowment for the arts grant for an art project entitled "something rotten." sen. mccain: it is garbage art. that is what they happened to be paying money for. these are various depictions of garbage in a certain locations and in certain views of it. remarkable. sharyl: the national endowment for the humanities used $600,000 for a two-hour film on walt disney. sen. mccain: in my generation up on walt disney. why you would have to spend $600,000 to further educate the american people of walt disney -- we all love walt disney. sharyl: the national institutes of health awarded $51,000 to study drunk zebra finch birds. first of all, i' m not familiar with the zebra finches. [laughter] sen. mccain: it is h hilarious -- to see if they changed their tone when they are under the influence? well, my tone -- [laughter] anyway. it makes you laugh and it makes you cry. sharyl: sometimes, it is about choices. the national guard is $100 million in debt an

mccain takes that personally.e says he has a cordial relationship with ted cruz, if you look at how this plays out from the mccain point of view, if sarah palin is not going with the traditional establishment candidate and no indication she ever would, then it does make more sense for her to be with donald trump. and part of that endorsement also serves the purpose of denying that endorsement to ted cruz. at a time when he's trying to sort of amass his strengths in iowa and try to deliver on the caucus night. and that could be difficult now because of palin for however narrow her audience may be, she brings that glitz and attention and she speaks very kind of heart felt terms to those most conservative voters, pes herbes conservative women. so that's really where this comes down. and for the mccain relationship, they have always been careful to be respectful of each other. they really run in different circles now, but you will never hear mccain diss sarah palin. she does her part to stand by him, even in sometimes

but since you brought up the mccains... >> senator john mccain introduced a bipartisan measure to address the gun show loophole. >> larry: ohh. looks like your daddy agrees with obama. yeah, it starts getting uncomfortable when potus starts warding off a g.o.p. attack with the g.o.p.'s own words. >> republican president george w. bush once said, "i believe in background checks at gun shows." as ronald reagan once said, if mandatory background checks could save more lives, "it would be well worth making it the law of the land." [applause] >> larry: even saint reagan had a reasonable stance on guns? it sounds like you guys just don't like obama. i mean, what else could it be? oh right, gun lobby money. thanks, set! very good. yup, the joke's on obama for thinking the g.o.p. attacks would be halted by shielding himself behind reagan. jeb exclamation point, what do you think about obama's executive actions? >> well, i haven't seen them, but his first impulse always is to take rights away from law-abiding citizens. >> larry: wait, you haven't seen them? jeb exclamation point, i have some quest

mercedes, i want to talk about john mccain. because john mccain when asked about ted cruz, is he eligible, could have easily said yes and moved on. but he didn't. he said the questions are legitima legitimate. what's going on there? >> well, i think that john mccain has a disdain for ted cruz. it's very clear that that has never been what you would call a loving relationship in any way in the senate. it was john mccain who came out and spoke about the tea partyers and senator ted cruz calling them whacko birds. this goes beyond -- it's more of a personal hit. i think it's the fact that john mccain wants to keep this question of ted cruz's eligibility in the news, in the media. and, again, it's an interesting political battle to watch. it's more of a political issue than legal issue at this point. >> it's not just john mccain or donald trump. rand paul is doing it, too. and hillary, so, too is josh earnest from the podium in the white house briefing room. listen to this. >> it would be quite ironic if after seven or eight years

this isn't surprising to me as somebody who covered the mccain campaign and then mccain/plin's campaign of the years since mccain has been very tight-lipped, very circumspect about choosing sarah palin and about some of the ways that he has differed with her since then. but it is noteworthy, not just because of that, but because one of the earliest and first controversial things that donald trump said on the campaign trail was, of course, questioning whether john mccain is an actual war hero because he was captured, and of course, held as a prisoner of war for many, many years. so, this, i'm sure, has a little bit of a punch in the gut for john mccain, but knowing him like i do, he's not going to say that publicly. >> i want to play that clip. this is donald trump speaking not that long booing john mccain. >> he's not a war hero. >> he's a war hero. 5 1/2 years as a p.o.w. -- >> he's a war hero because he was captured. i like people who weren't captured, okay? i hate to tell you. he's a war hero because he was captured, okay? >> so, how awkward does that statement make potentially sarah

john mccain's single most important issue is foreign policy.'m guessing that until and unless someone impressed him on that front, he won't endorse anyone else now that lindsey is out. but he has never sort of given up his affection and whatever debt of gratitude he feels for the excitement she brought to his campaign. rick reminded me tonight that the day before she was there, crowds were 10,000. the day after they were announced, there was 60,000 people in the arena. john mccain still seems to feel loyal for her. >> he is modeling personal loyalty in a way that is out of this time. nicole wallace, former mccain/palin campaign senior strategist and all around good egg. thank you for being here. stay with us. >>> today, barack obama himself weighed in on the water crisis >>> today, barack obama himself weighed in on the water crisis in flint, michigan. and the governor said he was going to release e-mails. that might be a big new day in toefrps us understanding what happened in this crisis. that was until we saw the first e-mail in that release

mccain rejects hagee backing as not -- that was one bump on the road to john mccain being nominated as the republican party's candidate in 2008. and honestly candidates cannot be held responsible for everything said and done and believed by people who like them and endorse them and vote for them. right? but that's why the hagee debacle was such an unforced error on the part of john mccain. it would be one thing if john hagee had just endorsed john mccain and john mccain had nothing to do with him, then he wouldn't be responsible for vetting pastor john hagee and making sure, for example, that he didn't think that hitler was doing god's work. john mccain's screw-up in 2008 was that he overtly welcomed the endorsement. and appeared with the guy and campaigned on the endorsement. and once you do that, you kind of own it. which somebody should explain sometime very soon to texas senator ted cruz. >> let me tell you, these 20 -- less than 20 million jews worldwide. god is going to bring them all back. the lord says i'm going to offer two strategies to israel, to these 20 million. he says, f

senator mccain is questioning whether legally, if you can become president. do you have a problem? >> oh, listen. it is no surprise, everybody knows that john mccain is going to endorse marco rubio. >> reporter: when he tells his life story, cruz talks about growing up in texas. >> so, i grew up in texas. >> reporter: he moved there when he was 4. but he never says anything about canada. which surprised some supporters. >> i was surprised today, when he went through his bio, he just jumped right over that. i wanted him to speak to that, and he didn't. >> reporter: so, you think he should explain how he was born in canada and why? >> well, at least just mention it. >> reporter: and we did speak with constitutional scholars. the general consensus is cruz is eligible to be president. the supreme court has never ruled on this issue. if cruz were to take this to court, the experts tell us, he would win. tom llamas, webster city, iowa. >> cold and rainy in iowa. >> that issue is gaining traction. >> put it out there and then boom. >> now this story. a seemingly frantic doing in massachus

john mccain was born in a u.s.tory, his father was in the navy and was serving there. >> he was serving in the u.s. panama canal zone. >> but i'm a naturalized citizen, i can tell you i think ted cruz is a natural born citizen because his mother was a citizen. >> nancy pelosi, the democratic leader, donna, in the house of representatives today she also said i don't know. she's leaving this question open. she doesn't know if ted cruz is a natural born citizen according to the constitution's qualifications to become president. >> she also said it's inside baseball in terms of the republicans. if they want to revive the birther debate once again tear the country apart on who's a citizen, who's not a citizen, let the republicans do that. i think it's ironic that john mccain as you know, claire mccaskill and others came to his defense in 2008, put forward a resolution to clear up that craziness. i think we need to put this behind and start talking about real issues that impact the american people. >> let me get scottie

mccain: the zebra finch birds. first of all i'm not familiar with (what) a zebra finch is, but i mean it's hilarious to see if they've changed the tone when they're under the influence. well i, my tone, well it makes you laugh and it makes you cry. sharyl: and about those zebra finches. the study did find that birds loves booze and when they're drunk, they tend to sing off key. shocking. and we paid over $50,000 to find that out. i'm sharyl attkisson for full measure. 3 a historic weekend as some key economic sanctions on iran were lifted.this as several americans detained in iran finally make their way back home.karin caifa reports. 3 (president obama) "the nuclear deal was never intended to resolve all of our differences with iran. but still, engaging directly with the iranian government on a sustained basis for the first time in decades has created a unique opportunity. a window to try to resolve important issues." president obama on sunday hailed the powers of diplomacy in dealing with iran and its nuclear ambi

if you could cut a deal with john mccain, if mccain can bring along some republicans to do with, then you could tyrry to do it. part of the problem is that -- there are two. one, mccain hates of all the -- hates obama because he thinks he is a weakling. and mccain has lost his party within the republican party. people see him as a moderate. i don't think he can deliver enough republicans. karen: he keeps asking for a plan. "show me your plan." i can understand why there is no plan. there seems to be a plan in action of some sort. he has left the door open. >> paul ryan has been trying to get through the use of military force. the present authorization for the use of military force is what keeps these people at guantanamo, right? karen: in theory. at the could also look right under international law. >> you are saying those in guantanamo are not only being held with the use of military force, but something other? >> presidential authority in times of crisis. his article 2 authority? >> this is a very technical area, but yes, i think that argument could be made. karen: you can also make

mccain was born not on u.s. -- >> in the panama canal zone which is u.s. territory. >> i do not know the answer to that. i know it came up in my race because i was born in panama, but i was born in the canal zone which is a territory. barry goldwater was born in arizona when it was a territory when he ran in 1965. it's a u.s. military base. that's different from being born on foreign soil. i think there is a question. i'm not a constitutional scholar on that. i think it is worth looking into. i don't think it is illegitimate to look into it. >> donald trump is right. people are talking about this. >> absolutely. listen, there is no surprise that john mccain is not a huge fan of ted cruz. he is certainly not going to do anything to help ted cruz assuage those concerns. donald trump not exactly bringing it up. it was asked of him in an interview. he is not letting it go. you know, he is doing this game where he ra he raises a questio. he says some people are saying this. it is interesting to watch donald trump where he is trying to needle ted cruz without di

eleanor: i wonder what john mccain is saying because she's now endorsing the man who said mccain wasn't war hero because he was captured. mccain has been very gentlemanly throughout all this but i do fault him for bringing palin into the national conversation in the first place when she was so clearly unqualified to be on that ticket. john: why did he choose her? eleanor: because he was behind in the polls and he was looking for that injection of excitement and she did do that. to this day he said he's grateful that she ginned up the campaign. they had tens of thousands coming to the campaign rallies. she didn't wear well because she didn't have the credentials to step in as an instant president if he had gone on to win. anybody who regrets john mccain didn't win i think looks at sarah palin and says thank goodness. tom: i also think, one interesting thing is my conservative friends working on the hill or whatever, people my age, one of the things they really don't like about sarah palin, for a long time she dominated the discourse with some people on the fanatical left and she's such a

senator mccain is questioning if you can become president. do you have a problem? >> oh, listen. it is no surprise, everybody knows that john mccain is going to endorse marco rubio. >> reporter: when he tells his life story, cruz talks about growing up in texas. >> so, i grew up in texas. >> reporter: he moved there when he was 4. canada. which, today, surprised some supporters. >> i was surprised today, when he went through his bio, he went right over that. i wanted him to speak to that, and he didn't. >> reporter: so, you think he should explain how he was born in canada and why? >> well, at least just mention it. >> reporter: and david, today, we did speak with constitutional scholars, and the general consensus is that cruz is eligible to be president. that said, the supreme court has never ruled on this issue, but if cruz were to take this to court, the experts tell us, he would win. david? >> tom llamas in a rainy iowa tonight. tom, thank you. >>> we turn now to the economy, and the breaking headline from wall street late today. stocks in a free fall today. the worst start t

and as for cruz: sot john mccain audio i think there is a question. i'm not a think it's worth looking into abc news did ask the constitutional legal scholars who say it appears cruz is in the clear but the issue is still unresolved. sot josh earnestwhite house press secretary it would be quite ironic if after seven or eight years of drama around the president's birth certificate, if republican primary voters were to choose senator cruz as their nominee " jack/lam: cruz renounced his canadian citizenship 18 months ago. this morning, donald trump tweeted that was a wise move by cruz. stephanie/1shot: in more news on trump, the gop front runner is hosting a rally in burlington, vermont, and is raising some eye brows. burlington is one of vermont's most liberal cities, and trump is projected to turn out thousands tonight. the venue for the rally is also just feet away from democratic candidate bernie sanders' campaign office. a deli down the street is selling consisting of a bologna sandwich - it's going for 20- dollars-and 16- cents. the first man in li

if lindsey graham, who is a strong friend of john mccain, and john mccain defers to them on this, isto say, yes, this is not working. people have talked to lindsey graham and said, yeah, you're really elevating these people by treating them as war criminals and not warriors, that would change the whole thing. but i'm not sure he will. >> thank you, jeff from the central times. i am wondering if you could talk about why the review boards being ended so slow. trying to get by the end of the, that would be this week. you take the administration would really hustle up on that. is it about resources? is there no reason why this process will not stick? >> they simply have not had the resources into it. the obama administration simply has not managed it. 18 pr -- if they wanted to close the place, you should get the resources into do [rbwant to -- prb is. they sort of go on and do not take charge of it, you know. >> no one has really been overseeing it. he'll be as petitions have been challenged, and nobody is joining. some people see that as part of the conspiracy. i do not think it is, i

mccain gave palin national fame by choosing her as his running mate in 2008.riticized the former presidential candidate's p.o.w. history last year, saying mccain isn't a war hero and that he liked soldiers who don't get captured. >>> it appears mccain is taking the high road, choosing not to take sides while saying he and palin remain close friends. >>> trump may want to ride off into the sunset with a different endorsement he got yesterday at the john wayne birthplace museum in iowa. wayne's daughter aissa gave her -- gave her and the wayne family's support for the donald. but not so fast pilgrim. shortly after the announcement the wayne family and foundation said that the daughter doesn't speak for them and that they don't endorse candidates in john wayne's name. so there's that. >>> with the consensus that bernie sanders won sunday's democratic debate it may come as no surprise that he wants more of them. speaking to our rachel maddow last night, sanders called the democratic debate schedule a, quote, disaster. and said he would do nonsanctioned debates if

ted cruz is no favorite but neither is trump of mccain.e at it even more pointedly in recent months and years than cruz. and yet here is mccain very consciously i think stirring the waters. in the end there does not appear to be a legal issue here. what donald trump is doing is raising a political issue and it is very similar to what he's doing by raising questions about whether cruz's evan gellal face is electorate. and. >> and the washington post wrote an article about this and called trump brilliant. he's just bringing up the question. >> how he did it was smart. not making accusations but he said stay he was concerned. the democrats are going to go after him. it could be in the courts for years and it could hurt a lot of other candidates on the republican ticket for governor and senate if this is a major issue in the fall. everybody in republican circles knew this was a potential issue. and frankly i do wish senator cruz would spend more time addressing it. >> well he did renounce his canadian citizenship. so doesn't that indicate he w

matthew mccain. neglected. return that is the question of multiple and state investigations, including a new probe announced monday by the durham health department. >> he said they're not taking care of me in here. >> reporter: ashley is the mother of his one-year-old daughter born while he was locked up. she said that he suffered from epilepsy and diabetes. his family spoke only to us one week to the day since mccain was found dead in his cell. >> it was a process. but we're taking to take it one day at a time. >> reporter: he had been in jail since last august on assault with a deadly weapon. mccain is not alone. and in the past 16 years, ten inmates have died at the durham county jail. a request to interview sheriff mike andrews was declined citing ongoing investigation. and legal experts said that the taxpayers could be on the hook in a potential wrongful death lawsuit. >> if there was a need that medical care was ignored, then there should be a punishment imposed. >> reporter: i'm told there are several in