the rnc.nk -- if you were in florida -- lou: feel i should flip my hand over my heart as you say the rnc. >> 168 republican activists and people who toiled in the fields to get candidates elected. >> there is a reciprocal, bilateral relationship here. that is reince priebus, extraordinarily hostile toward donald trump, the man who will be running the convention, speaker ryan, critical and severely so of trump. these are supposed to be neutral people. you can understand why there might be a shared misapprehension on the part of the rnc and the trump campaign? >> with due respect i think those might be trump talking points. lou: the part about trump or the part about reince or ryan? >> that priebus hasn't been fair. lou: is there going to be good blood and sensible coming together here on the part of the rnc? because the rnc is supposed to be the leader here. neutral in the absolute sense, raising money, organizing the party, and going out and winning in november. >> the rnc has been neutral. th

i know that you and rick wiley talked to the rnc members. do you feel you were successful in conveying the messages that you wanted? >> well, donald trump thought it was important because he could not attend this week due to the fact that he's out there campaigning in the primaries that the campaign hav a presence here to answer any questions the rnc members have and to also let them know that as far as donald trump is concerned, you know, as he becomes the presumptive nominee of the party he's looking to work with the rnc and work with the other leaders of the state parties to begin to put together the framework for what will be a united republican effort in the fall. >> and, paul, the -- working with the rnc, so much public what would we say acrimony between the rnc, the man that will be leading the convention, paul ryan, and donald trump of course being extremely critical of the primary -- primary system, at least many of the primaries in this country. is that being smoothed over? is that process under way? is there a coming together, if y

going to shift more traditional mpaign, do fundraisingor the rnc. m, it snded good andaul manafort said they've done the process of coming gether. do you believe it? >> if it is happening it's vy reluctant. it reluctant on everybody' part. if donald trump does bece the nomineehen obviously that's going thave to happen. i don't see it hpening before he becomes t the nomineen earnest anyway. i thk they' going through e motions, it's kind of a first dance. that's fi, that's good news because if he does becomehe nominee then the partys going to have to adapt to thet that he ishe nominee. as for donald trump becing more presidential, i agree wh ebi again, it mig be a little too earar and as you said if it ain't broke don't fix it, but at some poi perhaps aft he becomes t nominf hee does he i think is going to have to change uphe routine a bit and become more aleast in some respects tditionally presesenti. >> and t chris' p poi that's where he has more leverage, nald trump. just finish strong, don't cow tail,inis strgndnd make them take the bitterill of do

i don't think it's a bad strategy to be attacking the rnc. t i think the weird federal system, we let states pick and choose their own ways of dos doing this. lou: you have the rnc chairman saying the majority, that's the american way. 1,237 as he dismissed a million voters in colorado and preside over a convention that's rigged. >> there is a bunch of conventions the parties themselves choose. lou: i understand. but it's hypocrisy to talk about the majority where it comes to 1,237. >> nobody has a majority of votes or delegates. lou: i quite understand. but i would like to see the american people have a voice in this. particularly the american republicans, wouldn't you? >> i'll try and give it to them right now. the point about the state parties, we are seeing with the state parties is this is its own corruption. imagine the new york legislature which we are also familiar with, how corrupt they are. why should we think the state parties anywhere -- they only want democracy when it elects their person. they are happy to one man, one vote, one

trump said the rnc changed the rules to keep him from winning the nomination and, boy, was the rnc quick to respond. >> donald trump making no effort to mend fences with the republican party last night saying in our cnn town hall that he does not think the rnc wants him to win the nomination and he's bashing the nominating process along the way. you to get the nomination? >> no, i don't think so. >> you think they're actively working against you? >> i don't know. i don't see it. it's not like i have 15 miles of proof. but certainly they should want to have a vote of the people of colorado. the people of colorado -- i would have won. i won so many of the votes. i mean, the voting has been phenomenal. that's why i've won so many more states than ted cruz and kasich. >> all of this seemed to be a bridge too far for reince priebus, the rnc chairman, he fired back on twitter last night saying nomination process known for a year and beyond. it's the responsibility of the campaigns to understand it. complaints now? give us all a break. meanwhile this forum was an interesting one for donald trum

is there a com together, if you will, betweenonald trump an the rnc? >> i believe there i is a comin together, yes, and really a lot of the acrimony a as you calll isis really a lot of misundererstanding. donald t trump always understoo as the nominee of thee republicn party h w would be working with republican nationanal committe the s senator y'allll camampaig committee, c congressional commmmittee rga a and other instititutions because as leade of the party his goal is n not only to ee likt himsmself but ensusure a republican majity in the cones and help elect governors and other downstream members as well. >> i want to turn to -- it unded though -- as though that there was a pledge of deeper operation certainly than there s been. at may note a terrific amount, but a pledge of a traditional relatiohip between e nominee and the rnc incling fundraising, organizati, campaigning for caidates. isishat aair -- fr stent? >> donald trp has been talking to the chairman of th party over the cours of the lastew ek and has had verery good phone calls as recently

>> you kn, the rncs in an imssible situation ts year, i don't think there is winning path for the andontinues to appear thatonald trump is at odds with th rnc i agre with eboni that actually helps donald trumpecause they represent of course the establishment and he doe not. so if they are at logger heads, go for him, bad for the rnc. i n't think there is aay out forthem. th should not cnge the rules, they were wise to not art changing the rulesnow, that wouldn' have passed the smell test, that wld have been very bad forfor them. they should ctinue to not change the rules. >> i agree with youf going into the wee before the convenon suddenly they are taking strong look at adjuing rule 40-b or some of the other then you are going to be a compoded effe, youre going to ha a a stench not a smell result. >> you bet. >> is it too early, eboni, for donaldrump he says as we're listening to him i harrisburg tonight he say he's poting to presesential, preparing to. do you think thiis the time? >> i think it's early. i think your tease -- lou, you talk abo notixing someing that's not broken. regar

that's something the rnc will be stressing moving forward. there's the stop trump movement within the republican party. one other thing, though, that the folks in the building behind me really work on. they work long hours trying to preserve their senate and house majorities. i can tell you from conversations with them, there is a fear what a trump nomination could do to those house and senate majorities. it will be interesting to see what role the rnc plays in that if trump is to become the presumptive nominee. we may have to run away from you at some degree, this and that, we can't go all in on everything you say, as you just played the abortion comments. what the rnc does with trump will be the story moving forward. if he cozzadoesn't have enough delegates, they'll have quite a show on their hands, and the person in charge of that, tamron, speaking of the house, paul ryan, the chairman of the convention. when he took the role, he thought it was a celebratory position. it will be very serious in july if it's contested. >> indeed. donald trum

so if they are at logger heads, goodod for him, bad for the rnc. think there is a w wat for them. they should not chahange the rules, they were wise to not startt changing the rules now, that wouldn'tt have passed the smell test, that wouould have bn very bad form m for them. ththey should conontinue to not change the rules. >> i agree with you i if going into the weekk before the conventition suddenly they are taking a a strong look at adjuststing rule 40-b or some o the othersshen you are going to be a comununded effectct, you a going to haveve a steh not a smell result. . >> you bet. >> is it t too early, eboni, fo dona t trump he says as we' listening to him inn harrisbsbu tonight he sayss he's pivivotino presididential, preparing to. do you think this s is the time? >> i think it'searly. i think your tease --lou, you talkeded about notixing someththing thas not oken. regardlessss of his unfavorable regardlelessf the challllenges thatat he faces and he does hav many,, i think he is still theh front runner for a reason.. wee not even in may yet,

plays in the general election and this rnc in particular, reince priebus is the best trained rnc in political history. that being said, candidates are going to say what they have to say on the campaign trail. i know that he believes the system is complicated. it's made up of our grassroots of state and territories around the country but it is the most representative system we have because it is that local grassroots that drives the system in each state and allows a place like iowa to have a caucus and a place like virginia to have a primary. that's the beauty of it. it's not a washington-dictated top-down system. it's not like the democrats have full of super delegates, unelected party bosses that could undermine the will of the people. >> i just asked you a basic question. >> hold on. >> i do want to talk about the rules but do you believe that donald trump wants to work with the rnc? >> i know he does. absolutely. as do all the candidates. yes, i know 100%. they all understand the fabulous job we've done and continue to do. they know we can't win without a great nominee and they

it's not the rnc's place. internalize -- i don't sit here and internalize the charge because there's no there there because there's nothing the rnc can do about it. >> do you think it's for theater and that that's what this is about, or do you think that there's a real -- >> i think you'd have to ask him. >> what do you think? >> i think you'd have to ask him. i mean, you're a reporter. listen, you're a reporter. everyone knows what the rules are. everyone knows that the rnc can't actually change rules between now and the convention. >> but you're the one who just used the word "hyperbole." that's why i asked that. >> listen, i'm not sure what it is. but what i do know is what the truth is. and since i know what the truth is, i don't really worry about it because i know what is right and i know what is wrong. so the delegates at the convention will look at all of this, and they will determine what they want to do on these issues. and each individual state will decide in four years how they're going to allocate

it's the role of rnc. that being said, the role of the rnc is to ensure that every voters in the republican party gets a chance to speak and they have not done a good job at ensuring that. >> we're very loose about talking about the notion that someone is going to take something away from donald trump. that's not going to happen. first of all -- >> let's not talk about perception. >> oh! >> wait a minute. >> you get to 1,237 by yourself and someone took it away from you? why isn't he out there cultivating the delegates now the way the others are? >> my point is put aside perception or argument, the rnc does not giveth, the rnc does not taketh away. we have a system that's set up and there are flaws in the system, kayleigh as you pointed out, and reince will stand up and say we have rules that we're going by. if you cannot get to 50%, if you cannot get to 1,237, there are certain aspects of democracy some people don't like, just like the electoral college. when bush in 2000 didn't have as much of the popular

>> this isn't up to the rnc. o the people who are on the rules committee who go to the convention. donald trump will have a lot of representation on the rule committee given the fact that he has won an awful lot of votes. so, yes, kayleigh, he will have that representation. i agree -- and i understand the people when they say, look, it's only fair if you're winning, heading into the convention that you ought to get it. i think the margins matter, just like it mattered in 1976. there were small margins, they didn't really know going in what was going to happen and they had to have a ground game. now, if donald trump is 50 votes short, he'll be able to get the nomination, there is no doubt about it. i mean, i think he would. >> i think 1,200 looks a lot bigger than 1,199. for some reason. >> but i also believe if he's 200 short and cruz comes in second, that there's going to be a fight. >> and that's the point. that's why the rules are set up the way they're set up. he can still win in what he believes is a rigged s

earlier today had you a surprise meeting with the rnc. t of all, tell us what that was about. >> it was a very good meeting. we met with reince priebus and the staff and they are very good people actually a terrific meeting. we are meeting by a lot. we have far and away the most delegate. millions and millions of votes more than anybody else than ted has or kasich has i think they really wanted to discuss unity and i like discussing unity, too. theoretically and myo life, i mean, people wouldn't sort of understand, this a lot of people. it's been about unity. i get along with people. i get along with them very well. we had a very good -- we had a very good meeting with the rnc. >> who called the donald? did you or did they call it. >> i think it was probably mutually called. we have been talking and we have been dealing a lot. we have been tabulating up, as you know, missouri just came in. tabulation. we actually picked up additional votes and we a great time in >> all right. no, i know, but someone had to pick up the phone or send the ema

it's just never mattered. >> but what else should the rnc -- account rnc do? the only other thing that i feel like is the point to point out, he won 30 something -- it's equally unfair in that way. >> david is absolutely right. it's ridiculous to say the process is rigged but it's rickety. i covered the 2000 recount with al gore and george bush in florida and i remember an official said we have a margin of error that was greater than the margin of victory. and we're sort of hitting that and in a world where that is the condition some of these caucuses and con vejss cannot bear the level of scrutiny. >> donald trump has had some trouble in these state contests. what happens if he starts winning again? because you look here in new york, look at the polls right now, he's up ahead 55% in the quinnipiac and in maryland, 49% to 29%. if he does start winning, how does that change the nature of -- >> depends on how much he is winning by. he needs to win by 60%. if he gets that, i think he's going to have some time to make the system in his own image and he's the outsid

donald trump, wolf, is looking for leverage to hold over the rnc in the coming weeks. have it as he is poised to rack up significant victories in the weeks ahead, wolf. >> see how many of the 95 delegates in new york state he winds up getting tomorrow. he and his supporters would like to get all 95. we'll see if that happens. jim acosta in buffalo, new york. we await the start of donald trump's rally in new york. let's get more on his war with the gop establishment, the leadership of the gop, republican national committee chief strategist, communications director shawn spicer is with us. shawn, thanks for joining us. i want your reaction. trump says he doesn't even know whether he'll keep the rnc chairman, reince priebus on as chairman if he gets the nomination. what's your reaction when you read that in his interview in "the washington post" today? >> first i think he was asked a question, he said i don't know. let's be clear about what he actually said. second of all, put this to rest. reince priebus was elected overwhelmingly by members of the republican national co

. >> donald trump and the rnc in a secret meeting. what went on besides the waving behind closed doors. >>> hillary clinton getting angry calling out bernie sanders for lying. >>> in a few hours, world leaders meeting to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands ever terrorists. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans. >> i'm boris sanchez. 5:00 a.m. on the east coast. donald trump mounting a new defense why he told msnbc why women who get legal abortions should being punished. he later recanted that position. he told fox news later that night that he misspoke. he blames the way the question was asked and edited. >> you have to hear the whole thing. this was a long convoluted question and it was drawn on the. if abortion was outlawed. the doctor that is doing the act is responsible for the act. not the woman. that's the way i've always felt. >> msnbc responded saying interview was not edited and played it in its entirety. trump is doing damage control. he met with the head of the republican party yesterday calling it a

we're going to work with the rnc, when mr. trump is president and beginning now, to reform the process so it's more fair and more representative. so we're not in conflict with the rnc we're saying let's work with the rnc to have a more fair system that people can trust and believe in. that is the difference between our campaign and cruz campaign. because cruz is celebrating back-room dealing. we're saying give the people the choice. deirdre: so do you think at this moment, steven, donald trump has to run his campaign, i would say paying double attention because the system is against him? is that a fair statement? >> i'm saying that the system has been against him from day one. look at all the special interests dollars flooding into this race, flooding in to support his opponents. so of course the odds are, you always had an uphill climb. we have exceeded expectations every step along the way and broken into a huge delegate lead and huge popular vote lead. we'll keep pressing that lead beginning on tuesday. we're going to fight

follow me at -- now head over to liz claman as we wait for paul ryan to speak to the rnc any minute from now. liz? liz: thank you. breaking news, we are just moments away from an announcement that will come in minutes. take a look. this is a live picture of the republican national convention headquarters in washington, d.c. the room is filling up as we speak. why? what is going to happen? speaker of the house paul ryan has called a sudden and formal news conference at the rnc headquarters. the expectation, folks is that ryan will formally rule out a white house run. now while he has, yes, you're not going crazy because you're not saying didn't he already do this? he has mentioned many times before, he's not interested in running for president. what makes this development unusual? again, stressing the formality of it. fact a news release went out saying please assemble to the rnc, the media rush there. filling up. we will take you live to the announcement as soon as it happens. but none of this is freaking out the markets. a sea of green on wall street holding onto gains of 172 points for

the rnc firing back a short time ago. we will have the chief strategist and communications director to the rnc joining us coming up. >>> rounding out our agenda this morning, a controversial and questionable claim from sanders at that debate. >> secretary clinton cleaned our clock in the deep south, no question about it. we got murdered there. that is the most conservative spot of this great country. that's a fact. >> we are going to take a look at what bernie sanders just said there. sanders seeming to diminish the importance of clinton's primary victories in red states in the south, but there is another number sanders may not want to hear, that number is our most important number of the day, we are going to tell you what it is and tell you why it's so important. that's in just a minute. >>> all of that, much more still ahead this hour, but we are going to begin this morning with our top story and i think you can guess what it is, it's that fierce fight in brooklyn last night. just four days to go now until tuesday's make

donald trump versus the rnc. the trump campaign continues to unload on his own party's nominates process. here's trump last night at a rally in new york. >> a republican system is absolutely rigged. it's a phoney deal. these are dirty tricksters. this is a dirty stick. and i'll tell you what. the rnc, the republican national committee, they should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this kind of crap to happen. i can tell you that. they should be ashamed of themselves. >> but he didn't stop there. here's trump a few hours later. >> you called them shenanigans. those are the rules. didn't you know those rules? >> i know the rules very well, but i know that it's stacked against me, by the establishment. i fully understood pit. >> you're saying you don't think the rnc wants you to get the nomination? >> i don't think so, i really don't. >> and here's trump's chief convention manager, paul manafort, just minutes later on fox. >> we're going to be filing several credentials challenges and you know, whether we win on

it took me 7 ballots to become chairman of the rnc. big landslide. the process of writing the rules will be completely aboveboard. having a committee right the rules that govern the body isn't unique to the republican national committee. it is true for the boy scouts of the rotary club or any other group with an organizational structure. it only makes sense that the 2016 convention is governed by rules written by the 2016 delegates. the rules would be presented and voted on by the entire slate of delegates on the floor. everyone is going to have a chance to see and vote on the proposed changes if there are any. fairness and transparency will be the hallmark of our convention. .. [applause] >> and another thing we need to do, we need to stop hillary clinton. the country can't afford a dishonest, career flip-flopper who is jumping at the bid to rubber stamp obama agenda. our party is focused on the future, but she wants to drag us back to the 1990's again. i'm sure certify server probably still uses windows 95. [laughter] >> we don't know where the serv

were decorated with lobsters to indicate they were from maine and they thought the process of are the rnc stunk. since the national republican party in 2012 threw out half the maine delegation for supporting ron paul and replaced them with people that led to mitt romney, that led to colorful and aggressive and tearful screaming confrontations on the floor of the rnc in 2012 and the hallways after the maine delegation got thrown out. this year they're picking delegates right now. this year, ted cruz won the maine caucus when it took place last month. nobody really knows how the delegates are going to be picked today and tomorrow.

people see the rnc as the establishment. the rnc is trying to defend itself, and in a sense is not doing so very effectively because people don't trust the rnc. they could be doing everything exactly right, and people will still have doubt. but look, this is not really about the rnc. this is about donald trump, who's laying the groundwork for a loss. i mean think about it. he's hundreds of delegates ahead. he's way out ahead, and yet he's talking as if he lost. he's trying to lay the groundwork for if he were to lose in an open convention, which is fairly likely, that he can blame the system and he can call the whole process corrupt. >> now, michael, you were chair of the rnc. >> mm-hmm. >> i mean, have you ever seen anything like this, the leading candidate, the front-runner, attacking the party? i mean, how does this not undermine the party in november whether it be trump or whoever the nominee is? >> i have not seen that in my lifetime. it is largely unprecedented. particularly to have it so publ public. there have always

he called a meeting of unity with the rnc. cnn's sunlen serfaty has the latest. >> reporter: donald trump holding a secret meeting in washington, d.c. thursday behind closed doors at the rnc headquarters. sources telling cnn the meeting was about convention rules and delegates. after the meeting, the rnc chairman put out a statement saying it was a productive meeting about the state of the race. and donald trump tweeting about the meeting. saying it was a nice meeting. while in washington, donald trump convened a meeting of the newly formed national security team. this comes after a string of national security and foreign policy statements that some called into question including his rivals like john kasich. >> it appears as they when he does these events and people press him, he becomes unmoored. and has to spend time trying to figure out how to correct all of the mistakes he made. i have to tell you, as commander in chief and leader of the free world, you don't get a do over. you have to get it right the first time. >> report

why is the rnc engaging and coming out and fighting now with the frontrunner? >> reporter: we're seeing a much more aggressive response from reince priebus this time. he felt trump went too far when calling the party corrupt and the process rigged. he felt like he needed to respond to this stuff going on cnn. he also said in that interview that he feels like this is going to blow over. there is good reason for that. donald trump is going to have to play nice with the republican party if he's the nominee. the republican party has a field organization, a data operation. donald trump is going to want access to all of that. >> trump obviously fighting with the rnc, also adding another big name, and a former rnc staffer to his staff tonight. ironic. what can you tell us? >> reporter: it is a little bit ironic. his campaign is going through this transition where they're doing a little bit more d.c. outreach and they're staffing up, which means they're bringing on more experienced political hands. the latest of these is rick wiley, who is going to trump's national dir

lou: than for whatever reason, the rnc. ut the panorama of possibilities for everyone in the country. there is reince priebus, paul ryan and the rnc going we've got rules, damn it! what are we going to do here, ed? >> continue the process here and trump certainly has momentum. a tremendous victory and he'll have a big victory next tuesday. we call the osella caucuses, the marylands, the connecticuts, the delawares, he's going to do well in all of those. two spots, one is indiana, not enough data to really know. lou: in his credit, his in indiana and he's got mike pence, he's got his hand clasped saying i'm donald trump. >> that's important, remember that's the one state that swung back and forth. lou: definitively a battleground state. >> it is a battleground state. an important state. and california is the alamo. at the end of the day, he gets enough votes there to get the nomination or he doesn't, and no one else has a chance, he's the only one who has a chance, everyone else stopped them. lou: the turning point in the cam

i think it's incumbent upon us at the rnc to explain the process. i think what's really important for people to really understand is that the republican party is a party built on members. members who have joined the party and those members, those grassroots voters and activists, they get to decide in each state how that state is going to operate and specifically how it's going to allocate and select its delegate. if you think about it for a second, it makes a lot of sense. if you're the member of a club, people who aren't a member don't get to decide the rules or who becomes the officers. if you're a member of hoa and community votes on zoning particulars, people who don't live in your community don't get to vote. i think what people need to understand is the republican party, each state and territory in the district of columbia has members of that party that create the rules and decide how they're going to operate and then the republican national committee is a states right party. allows those states to tell us how they made their decisions, the ru

the rnc reacts moments from now. >>> so can they stay or should they do? protests under way at the supreme court as justices hear the huge case over the president's controversial presidential action. the future of millions of immigrants could hang in the balance. moments from now we'll hear what happened inside. >>> booted from the plane. a muslim student says an airline kicked him off because he was speaking arabic. we'll speak with him live. >>> hello, everyone. i'm kate bolduan. >> i'm john berman. 14,040 new york minutes until the new york primary. >> 95 republicans and 247 democratic delegates are up for grabs and the democrats are doing everything they possibly can to grab every last one of them. sanders holding a huge rally in brooklyn sunday. hillary clinton continuing her pitch to voters. even showing off some dance moves at a block party in washington heights over the weekend. for the republicans, donald trump is ramping up his attacks against his new chief target it seems, the rnc, after ted cruz swept wyoming over the weekend. trump continues to

at the rnc, he will say under no circumstances will i do it. i'm not putting my name in the nomination. i'm the neutral umpire of this convention. i am going to shepherd the delegates through the process and that is my only role. so he's going to do everything he can. we'll see if that quiets down the talk. some people just won't let it go away, thomas. >> interesting. that party contrast between someone like a speaker ryan, who would be looking toward that more inclusive future against a candidate like a donald trump who's been able to invigorate voters from a certain divisive kind of rhetoric, but also politico had this headline about the fact that the reality is that polling on a national level for a speaker ryan, if he were to be the nominee, would fail against the candidate clinton. >> reporter: yeah, and they're cognizant of that and realize how messy this process has been. you have to project into the future and that's what they do with ryan and ryan is still a young guy and has a career ahead of him if he wants it that any party holding

what do you make of the rnc's response? ? arly the response is inaccurate when you look at colorado's rules were changed in august. after mr. trump was not only in the race but leading the pack as the front runner. obviously when it comes down to the gop chair now and says it was done over a year now it is inaccurate. mr. trump was in the race and these rules were changed to reflect the fact the establishment is worried about mr. trump being the nominee. that doesn't change the fact that as a country, the majority of the people want him as not only the nominee but as a the president. >> hang on. that was the colorado republican party, not the rnc. look, he's saying the rules have been out there. you are supposed to learn up, read the rules and act accordingly. isn't that a fair rebuttal to what trump is saying? >> no. i think the other thing that is interesting is some of these state party a's are not following their own rules. we have heard many stories about colorado kicking trump people out of the room before they vote. if

is using the rnc as a foil. he thinks membership of the committee are aligned against him and he's unhappy with how reince priebus has managed the problem. at the same time with bringing on rick wiley and others who are close to the national party and longtime relationships, you see the trump campaign getting ready to work with the rnc should he be the nominee. so in the big picture he still wanted to be outsider who's fighting the system. but internally and inside the campaign, there ooh's a foundation of relationships between the two camps. >> robert costa, always nice to speak with you. better in person but nice over the airwaves as well. >> thanks, peter. >> as for donald trump's campaign, they're continuing to blast the rnc for its delegate process. take a listen to some of that. >> they changed the rules. after i got in, they changed the rules. i joined. they changed the rules and they took it away from voigters, they saw i did well. look, it's a crooked system. what are you going to do? in the meantime, i'

yesterday was a big day for the rnc. adding new political operatives and they got one piece of good news. corey lewandowski will not be prosecuted for battery with michelle fields. the prosecutor will not move forward with charges in the incident. this is when fields said she was grabbed by corey lewandowski and pulled back and he left bruises. this removes another distraction for the trump campaign. they are trying to bring in new, more seasoned political operatives. so far, none of this extends to a friendlier tone with the rnc. last night in pittsburgh, trump said the process was rigged. >> in colorado, they are picketing and going wild because the bosses and establishment and the people that shouldn't have this power took all of the power away from the voters. think of it. you beat somebody badly with the people because it's a rigged system, folks. the republican system is a rigged system. >> reporter: now we're seeing reince priebus defending the nominating process. >> the rules are there. i know people get frustrate

outreach but so far that does not apply to the rnc. it's war within the gop. >> i know that it's stacked against me by the establishment. i fully understand it. >> reporter: donald trump, the party's front-runner, telling cnn he doesn't believe the republican national committee even wants him on the ticket. >> you're saying you don't think the rnc wants you to get the nomination? >> no, i don't think so, i really don't. >> do you think they're actively working against you? >> i don't see it. it's not like i have 15 miles of proof. >> reporter: it's clear trump, still smarting over his loss to ted cruz in colorado. >> how are they stacked against you? >> because the republican party in colorado wanted cruz. or maybe they wanted somebody other than trump. i don't think anybody really wants cruz. why would they want him? >> reporter: but rnc chair reince priebus appears to have hit his limit saying on twitter nomination process known for a year and beyond. it's the responsibility of the campaigns to understand it. complaints now? give us a

a spokesperson for the rnc will join me in a moments. d cruz campaigning in states that will not vote until weeks from now and what issues are most critical to voters as we approach the primary? we'll look ahead on "sunday morning futures." >>> republican candidates entering the homestretch ahead of the crucial new york primary and the polls have donald trump holding onto a solid lead. ted cruz is working hard behind the scenes picking up 14 delegates last night at the convention in wyoming. still, trump is holding onto a lead of 197 delegates above overall. and now the focus is on the empire state. 95 delegates are up for grabs in new york this coming tuesday. let's talk about what's at stake with rnc communications director. always a pleasure. thank you so much for joining us. >> good morning. thank you. >> i saw a few headlines saying the rnc is doing a shake-up ahead of the convention in july. can you explain the changes that are happening right now? >> actually, it's the opposite. what the chairman has asked members of the rnc as we

for allowing this kind of crap to happen. >> so the rnc pushing back on this. we've got the republican national committee chair reince priebus responding, quote, nomination process known for a year and beyond. give us all a break. correspondent luke russert joins me with the details about this breaking meeting that's going to take place, and luke, it's members of congress who have endorsed trump and they're going to be meeting with staffers in washington. what's the game plan and why is this happening? >> reporter: hey there, thomas. this is a meeting and it's one who these members leading it would like to see happen weekly or whenever congress is in session. it's being held with chris collins in western new york. they are the members who endorsed donald trump for president earlier in the house of representatives. they're having a meeting tomorrow with members who have already backed trump, about eight of them. it's going to be at the capitol hill club, which is a republican club about a block away from the little capitol. and they intend to have a strategy sess

the rnc this week was that donald trump understands that we need to unify the party.hat sometime in mid may his path to 1,237 is going to be very clear. by june 7th when the california and new jersey primaries and the whole primary process ends, it's going to be evident that he's the nominee. as the leader of the republican party, it will be incumbent on the party to come together to do the things that are necessary to prepare for the november election. ted cruz said something which i agree with. he said a fractured convention is the worst thing that could happen to the republican party. i agree with that. in fact, when donald trump by the end of the process is beating ted cruz by 4 million or 5 million votes, when it's at 1,237 or better, it's time for the party to unite. >> do you think with the rhetoric we hear from donald trump as in what he was just saying about the way that the delegates are handled, is that a unifying tone? and is there neg that he can do, that trump can do, that he is willing to do shall i say, to better his relationship with the rnc? >> well,

he is barbing the rnc. ld latch on to a tear the system down message, it is effective to a point. is that something republicans down the ticket are going to want to campaign on? >> to that point i was just talking last hour to former virginia governor jim gilmore, wanted to be president, was part of the current crop of republican candidates and also sat in the seat reince priebus currently is sitting. and i asked him if he had seen anything like this before. he said no. and i'm going to give you an analogy involving bridges and crocodiles. >> bridge to the presidency has been burned down. on the other hand hillary clinton is so bad. and you know, if you talk about a bridge being burn down across the river, there is something down in the river. and that's an alligator and it's called hillary clinton. >> hillary clinton is the alligator in this metaphor? >> yeah, she's the al gator. we have got to figure out how to get across this river even though the bridge has been burned? stop that metaphor. >> aren't the

donald trump has made a habit of bashing and making friends with the rnc, gathered for the final time there in hollywood before the party's convention in july. we know that trump sent reps to the meeting and john kasich and ted cruz appeared there. what else can you tell us about these meetings and what's supposed to happen? >> reporter: good morning, these meetings right now, paul manafort and rick wiley, those top aides to the trump campaign tasked with trying to make sure he wins at this convention are behind closed doors with these critical members of the rnc. all delegates themselves bound in many cases by different sets of rules depending on which state they come from. but manafort and riley have the tough task of convincing these party members that trump is up to beating hillary clinton and that's -- the main concern for most people here is making sure republicans regain the presidential. of course, they've had questions all the way along whether or not trump would be capable of doing that. i talked to some members planning to attend these briefings and they have questions abou

the role of the rnc. being said, the role of the rnc is to ensure that every voter in the republican party gets a chance to speak. they have not done a good job at ensuring that. >> we're loose talking about the notion that someone is going to take something away from donald trump. that is not -- that's not going to happen. first of all -- let's not talk about perception. >> you get to 1237 by yourself and someone takes it away from you? why isn't he cultivating these delegates like the others are? >> he is now. >> the rnc does not giveth and the rnc does not taketh away. we have a system set up, and there are flaws in the system as you pointed out, and reince can stand up and say, there's a time to look at how states organize and if there are holes in it but there are rules we're going by. if you cannot get to 50%, if you cannot get to 1237, there are certain aspects people don't like, just like the electorate college. when bush in 2012 didn't have much of the popular vote, people say, he should campaign

the fight, the at the rnc. that's the fight everyone should have. >> you mean at the convention. >> yeah. >> you have a rules committee member today on tv saying 1,100 delegates, donald trump will be -- >> by the way, i would agree with that. do you know why? if he gets close, there would be a revolt. secondly, he is going to put, say that he has 1101 delegates. they're going to still fight. >> you know what? he can win enough people through persuasion. what was the famous one that ronald reagan, he said, come. on i'm going to get john wayne and jilly stewart to talk to you. >> we didn't have time but charles krauthammer said the person been if itting from all of that this? >> i have an idea for opening a gym in d.c. and calling it house of reps. >> that's as you on. drink your muscle milk. we'll be back. another fastest seven is coming your way. first, they're back. five years after getting evicted from manhattan, occupy wall street is regrouping and hoping to explain the presidential race. you got that, right?

>> no, i'm not saying he doesn't need the rnc. of course he needs the rnc. if we were all on the same playing field and everything was fair game. we don't hate the game. right now i don't like the players. >> donna gertz from the trump campaign in iowa. don narks thank you for your time. >> yeah, have a good one. >> you, too. >>> we would like for you to join the conversation as well. today's microsoft pulse question, here is it, is the republican national committee treating donald trump fairly? the pulse is live. you can weigh in. log on to pulse.msnbc.com to cast your vote. we will share some of the results with you later in the hour. >>> meanwhile, demonstrators in donald trump's home state preparing to take on the gop front-runner today. what they want and the problems they could create for trump. that's next. also, much, much more ahead from beautiful up state new york where primary voters will head to the polls just six days from now. stay with us. msnbc, the place for politics. with my moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, the possibility of a flare w