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| Marco Rubio compares election campaigns to American Idol – live | Marco Rubio compares election campaigns to American Idol – live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 3.39pm BST | |
| 15:39 | |
| Sanders: California is the big enchilada | |
| More from Sanders on NBC. | |
| Todd has a good question next, about whether Sanders is contradicting himself by “saying you want [superdelegates] to respect the vote in their state”, but then saying “But oh, by the way, for those of you that are a superdelegate in a state that Clinton won, why don’t you think about the general election?” | |
| Is this a little hypocritical? | |
| No, says Sanders. “All that I am saying is for those superdelegates who came onboard before I was even in the race, you have got the very grave responsibility to make sure that Trump does not become elected president of the United States.” | |
| Is his campaign over if he doesn’t win California? | |
| “No, that’s what you said. I didn’t say. What I said is obviously California is very, very important, 475 superdelegates. Obviously, if we don’t do well in California, it will make our path much much harder. No question about it. But I think we have a good chance to winning California, maybe win big, and maybe win four or five of the other states that are off on 7 June. | |
| Pressed, Sanders adds: “Hey, look, Chuck, California is the big enchilada, so to speak. Obviously it is enormously important, and obviously we want to win it. But … I think by the end of the process, we may win half of the states. So we’re going to fight till the last vote is cast and try to appeal to the last delegate that we can.” | |
| 3.37pm BST | |
| 15:37 | |
| Next up is Meet the Press on NBC. Coming up, former California governor and bodybuilding “brown condom filled with walnuts” (TM Clive James) Arnold Schwarzenegger. But first, we have the man threatening to terminate – oh yes – Clinton’s presidential dream. Bernie Sanders. | |
| In a pre-recorded interview, we’re off with what host Chuck Todd calls a “simple question with maybe a complicated answer”: “How do you win?” | |
| Nicky Woolf had a stab at answering that question for us. Bernie’s stab is thus: | |
| “I think there are three paths to victory. No1, I want to go into the convention with more pledged delegates than Secretary Clinton. And that’s going to be an uphill fight … What I want to do, and I think we can, is win California here, and win under the big vote, do very, very well in the other five states. And I believe going into the convention, if we can do this, with the majority of pledged delegates, is a very symbolic victory. | |
| “Second of all, we’re going to talk to those superdelegates in states where we have won landslide victories, 60%, 70%, 80% of the vote, to say, ‘Do what the people in your state want. They voted for Bernie Sanders, you as the superdelegates should follow their wishes.’ | |
| “Third point and most important point … there are over 400 superdelegates who came on to Secretary Clinton’s campaign eight months before the first ballot was cast. Before anybody else was in the race. Before they could get a sense of what the campaign was about. | |
| “Right now, in every major poll, national poll and statewide poll done in the last month, six weeks, we are defeating Trump often by big numbers, and always at a larger margin than Secretary Clinton is. We’re going to make the case for the superdelegates, ‘Your job is to make sure that Trump is defeated, that Bernie Sanders, in fact, for a variety of reasons, not just polling, is the strongest candidate.’” | |
| 3.35pm BST | |
| 15:35 | |
| What does The Donald want? | |
| The anti-establishment crusader who scorns Washington and mocks Beltway antics wants a running mate who, you guessed it, has “Washington experience”. Manafort said the campaign has drawn a list of potential running mates that includes a list of “people who could work with the Congress”... and don’t get him wrong, this “doesn’t mean that there aren’t women hispanics on the list”. | |
| Manafort said Trump won’t pander, but if there is a woman or minority candidate with the right qualifications than they stand a chance. | |
| Kevin Madden, filling in for George Stephanopoulos, asks Manafort if the potential VP would be required to release their tax returns, something Trump has delayed. Manafort dodged the question. “The exact [vetting] process, we’re not talking about that.” | |
| 3.28pm BST | |
| 15:28 | |
| Lauren Gambino | |
| We’re on ABC News watching This Week right now. Up first is the man charged with electing the most unlikeable candidate in recent history, Donald Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort. | |
| Manafort fielded questions on Trump’s quixotic campaign strategy, his inability to stop going after Republicans even though he’s already clinched the GOP nomination, who The Donald wants as a running mate, how he’ll continue to go after the Clintons, and, yes, whether he really believes the campaigns’s New York headquarters are bugged. (Short answer: No!) | |
| Earlier this week, Trump reprised a conspiracy theory that the Clinton’s were somehow involved in the suicide of their friend, attorney Vince Foster. He also raised decades-old allegations of rape against Bill Clinton , referring to Juanita Broaddrick, who made the allegation in 1999. Clinton denied her claims through a lawyer, David Kendall, who called them “absolutely false.” | |
| Manafort said the line of attack is valid an there’s more where that came from: “Trouble follows the Clintons everywhere. People are frustrated with all the drama that around the Clinton family and the history of the Clinton family. Certainly if they’re going to be back in the political milieu than they’re history is relevant to what the American people can expect. The point is that Hillary Clinton is running for president as a team. She said she doesn’t even want to handle the economic responsibilities of teh job. She wants her husband to do so – the most important job the president has other than defending the country she doesn’t want to participate in. Mr. Trump has said, ok if she’s going to put off the economic portfolio to her husband, than the whole family up for discussion.” | |
| Updated | |
| at 3.30pm BST | |
| 3.14pm BST | |
| 15:14 | |
| Next, Lewandowski attacks Mitt Romney, who is attacking Trump, and equivocates on Paul Ryan, who has not yet endorsed him. Then we’re on to vice-presidential picks, and Lewandowski is not to be drawn. “We’ve begun this process, we’ve begun to shrink down this pool,” he says. | |
| “I can say the list is very small,” he says. | |
| Smallness is a theme today, it turns out. | |
| Wallace asks about reports of the Trump campaign’s organisational chaos. Lewandowski says the Clinton campaign, which is staffed up to the eyeballs around the country, believes “bigger is better”. But the Trump campaign does not think so and is small and efficient – this he says demonstrates the contrast in political philosophies between Clinton and Trump. | |
| That’s quite a spin to put on reports of organisational chaos. | |
| Lewandowski also dismisses reports of infighting between him and Paul Manafort and other Trump operatives. It’s media hype, he says. He touts the move to 1,237 delegates achieved this week as an example of great teamwork – you guessed it, in a “small, lean and efficient” team. | |
| There is no bugging at Trump Tower, he adds. | |
| Related: Delegates, not death threats: how the Trump campaign got real to seal the deal | |
| Updated | |
| at 3.19pm BST | |
| 3.08pm BST | |
| 15:08 | |
| We’re on to Fox News Sunday now, where the concern is about Donald Trump’s continuing attacks on other Republicans, after sealing the nomination. We are promised a preview of his general election tactics from campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. | |
| What was all that about debating Bernie Sanders, Chris Wallace asks Lewandowski. | |
| Trump was joking, he says, when he suggested he would debate Sanders, and Trump is solely focused on Hillary Clinton. “We’re not going to waste time debating Bernie Sanders when he is not going to be the nominee,” he says. | |
| What about attacks on Republicans such as Susana Martinez, governor of New Mexico, which as Wallace points out is a swing state? Lewandowski says Trump lays out the problems of every state he visits, regardless of party, and how he himself will fix them. | |
| Wallace presses the point. “There was no attack on a Latino or woman governor,” Lewandowski says, before returning to his talking points. “Donald Trump is winning with Latinos,” he says, and doing “very well with women”. | |
| Wallace points out this is not true, he is “hugely underwater with both”. | |
| Lewandowski says it is about “doing what’s right for the country … it’s about the economy.” | |
| “You guys want to make this a story about something that doesn’t exist,” he says. | |
| Like Trump’s supposed good poll numbers with Latinos and women? | |
| Lewandowski says the Trump campaign stands by the candidate’s statement about Martinez and New Mexico, “absolutely”. | |
| 2.47pm BST | 2.47pm BST |
| 14:47 | 14:47 |
| Rubio moves on to his Senate seat, which he does not want to contest again. Here’s how Sabrina reported his remarks on Thursday: | Rubio moves on to his Senate seat, which he does not want to contest again. Here’s how Sabrina reported his remarks on Thursday: |
| On Thursday Republican leaders in the Senate openly encouraged him to reverse course, ahead of Florida’s filing deadline on 24 June. | On Thursday Republican leaders in the Senate openly encouraged him to reverse course, ahead of Florida’s filing deadline on 24 June. |
| In a closed-door lunch, the majority leader, Mitch McConnell, conducted a poll in which virtually everyone raised their hands when asked if the 44-year-old should jump back into the race. John Cornyn, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, called on Rubio to do so, as did the foreign relations committee chairman, Bob Corker. | In a closed-door lunch, the majority leader, Mitch McConnell, conducted a poll in which virtually everyone raised their hands when asked if the 44-year-old should jump back into the race. John Cornyn, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, called on Rubio to do so, as did the foreign relations committee chairman, Bob Corker. |
| … Rubio has repeatedly insisted that from January he will be a “private citizen” once again. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the senator said: “For me, I need time to even talk to anybody about it, but my sense of it is nothing has changed in my thinking. | … Rubio has repeatedly insisted that from January he will be a “private citizen” once again. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the senator said: “For me, I need time to even talk to anybody about it, but my sense of it is nothing has changed in my thinking. |
| “I didn’t think it was fair for me to run for president and freeze that seat in a competitive state … I made that decision and I’ve lived by that decision. Nothing’s changed.” | “I didn’t think it was fair for me to run for president and freeze that seat in a competitive state … I made that decision and I’ve lived by that decision. Nothing’s changed.” |
| Republicans have voiced growing concerns over the Florida Senate race, in which a crowded primary has threatened the party’s chances. A long-time friend of Rubio, Florida’s lieutenant governor, Carlos Lopez-Cantera, is among the Republican hopefuls. Rubio has edged closer to endorsing Lopez-Cantera, hosting a fundraiser in Washington earlier this month. | Republicans have voiced growing concerns over the Florida Senate race, in which a crowded primary has threatened the party’s chances. A long-time friend of Rubio, Florida’s lieutenant governor, Carlos Lopez-Cantera, is among the Republican hopefuls. Rubio has edged closer to endorsing Lopez-Cantera, hosting a fundraiser in Washington earlier this month. |
| “I have a very close personal friend in this race and I think he’s a good candidate,” Rubio said. Asked how he would respond if Lopez-Cantera were to bow out, he said: “I don’t do hypotheticals.” | “I have a very close personal friend in this race and I think he’s a good candidate,” Rubio said. Asked how he would respond if Lopez-Cantera were to bow out, he said: “I don’t do hypotheticals.” |
| 2.38pm BST | 2.38pm BST |
| 14:38 | 14:38 |
| Rubio: campaign has become like American Idol | Rubio: campaign has become like American Idol |
| Rubio doesn’t think Trump’s infamous “Little Marco” jibe cost him votes either. “By the time he started doing that we were in a very bad position in the campaign,” he says. | Rubio doesn’t think Trump’s infamous “Little Marco” jibe cost him votes either. “By the time he started doing that we were in a very bad position in the campaign,” he says. |
| Super Tuesday did it, he says – and he should have spent more time and money in Virginia, where he had a chance to win. The campaign he says, was like American Idol, with someone voted off every week. | Super Tuesday did it, he says – and he should have spent more time and money in Virginia, where he had a chance to win. The campaign he says, was like American Idol, with someone voted off every week. |
| He says he doesn’t like his point, that the presidential race has become a reality TV show, but that doesn’t change the point that he’s right. | He says he doesn’t like his point, that the presidential race has become a reality TV show, but that doesn’t change the point that he’s right. |
| And Florida doomed him, he says, which we know because it’s his home state and Trump won it in a landslide. | And Florida doomed him, he says, which we know because it’s his home state and Trump won it in a landslide. |
| 2.29pm BST | 2.29pm BST |
| 14:29 | 14:29 |
| After dismissing notions that running against Jeb Bush, in some ways his mentor in Florida politics, was in some way a naughty thing to do – and discussing his infamous response to Bush criticising his Senate attendance record, Rubio says he can’t remember the last time he spoke to the former governor. He hopes to be friends again, though. | After dismissing notions that running against Jeb Bush, in some ways his mentor in Florida politics, was in some way a naughty thing to do – and discussing his infamous response to Bush criticising his Senate attendance record, Rubio says he can’t remember the last time he spoke to the former governor. He hopes to be friends again, though. |
| Rubio then discusses his infamous “Marcobot” answer at a debate in New Hampshire in February, in which Chris Christie jumped at him over his repeated “soundbite” answers. | Rubio then discusses his infamous “Marcobot” answer at a debate in New Hampshire in February, in which Chris Christie jumped at him over his repeated “soundbite” answers. |
| Jake Tapper says it seemed Chris Christie disliked Rubio. Rubio says he doesn’t know about that but he represented an obstacle to the New Jersey governor’s ambition. | Jake Tapper says it seemed Chris Christie disliked Rubio. Rubio says he doesn’t know about that but he represented an obstacle to the New Jersey governor’s ambition. |
| “I knew he would come at me,” Rubio says. “I didn’t want the story of the debate to be Rubio and Christie slug it out … so I wanted to get it out of the way then pivot to my talking points.” | “I knew he would come at me,” Rubio says. “I didn’t want the story of the debate to be Rubio and Christie slug it out … so I wanted to get it out of the way then pivot to my talking points.” |
| Which of course he did, repeatedly, leading to Christie’s withering attack. | Which of course he did, repeatedly, leading to Christie’s withering attack. |
| It was a mistake, Rubio says, a pivotal moment… “and it was on me”. He doesn’t think he lost votes because of it, but he did finish fifth in New Hampshire because of all the negative media coverage and that damaged his chances. So. | It was a mistake, Rubio says, a pivotal moment… “and it was on me”. He doesn’t think he lost votes because of it, but he did finish fifth in New Hampshire because of all the negative media coverage and that damaged his chances. So. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 2.33pm BST | at 2.33pm BST |
| 2.14pm BST | 2.14pm BST |
| 14:14 | 14:14 |
| Rubio makes an interesting point when he says he understands the nerve hit by Trump among ordinary Americans who feel the government doesn’t work for them, whoever they elect from the mainstream. | Rubio makes an interesting point when he says he understands the nerve hit by Trump among ordinary Americans who feel the government doesn’t work for them, whoever they elect from the mainstream. |
| “That frustration was there,” he says, “I think you saw hints of it in Huckabee in 08, in the Tea Party in 10, and in the Santorum campaign in 2012.” | “That frustration was there,” he says, “I think you saw hints of it in Huckabee in 08, in the Tea Party in 10, and in the Santorum campaign in 2012.” |
| Donald Trump saw this and capitalised upon it, he says. So, many would say, has Bernie Sanders on the left. | Donald Trump saw this and capitalised upon it, he says. So, many would say, has Bernie Sanders on the left. |
| Rubio also regrets Trump’s appeal to fringe groups: white nationalists, for example. Of course – who doesn’t? | Rubio also regrets Trump’s appeal to fringe groups: white nationalists, for example. Of course – who doesn’t? |
| 2.05pm BST | 2.05pm BST |
| 14:05 | 14:05 |
| Marco Rubio is first up with an interview CNN’s State of the Union is selling as a remarkable inside look at the primary, which Rubio has not been part of for quite some time. | Marco Rubio is first up with an interview CNN’s State of the Union is selling as a remarkable inside look at the primary, which Rubio has not been part of for quite some time. |
| The main thrust of the interview was trailed on Thursday, and Sabrina Siddiqui wrote it up for us then. She wrote: | The main thrust of the interview was trailed on Thursday, and Sabrina Siddiqui wrote it up for us then. She wrote: |
| Marco Rubio has signaled a thaw in his attitude to Donald Trump, saying that if asked he will speak on behalf of his former rival at the Republican convention in Cleveland in July. The Florida senator was less willing to come around on the matter of seeking re-election, even as top Republicans mount a campaign to pressure him into doing so. | Marco Rubio has signaled a thaw in his attitude to Donald Trump, saying that if asked he will speak on behalf of his former rival at the Republican convention in Cleveland in July. The Florida senator was less willing to come around on the matter of seeking re-election, even as top Republicans mount a campaign to pressure him into doing so. |
| Rubio, who dropped out of the presidential race in March, after losing his home state to Trump, told CNN he planned to attend the Republican convention and would be willing to help the nominee – despite differences on policy and the brutal echoes of a primary in which, responding to the billionaire’s taunts, Rubio called Trump a “con artist” and said he was too “erratic” to have access to the nuclear codes. | Rubio, who dropped out of the presidential race in March, after losing his home state to Trump, told CNN he planned to attend the Republican convention and would be willing to help the nominee – despite differences on policy and the brutal echoes of a primary in which, responding to the billionaire’s taunts, Rubio called Trump a “con artist” and said he was too “erratic” to have access to the nuclear codes. |
| “Yes – I’d certainly, yes,” Rubio said when asked if he would speak for Trump. “I want to be helpful. I don’t want to be harmful because I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president. | “Yes – I’d certainly, yes,” Rubio said when asked if he would speak for Trump. “I want to be helpful. I don’t want to be harmful because I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president. |
| “Look, my policy differences with Donald Trump – I spent 11 months talking about them,” he added in the interview, which will air in full on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. | “Look, my policy differences with Donald Trump – I spent 11 months talking about them,” he added in the interview, which will air in full on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. |
| “So I think they’re well understood. That said, I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president. If there’s something I can do to help that from happening, and it’s helpful to the cause, I’d most certainly be honored to be considered for that.” | “So I think they’re well understood. That said, I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president. If there’s something I can do to help that from happening, and it’s helpful to the cause, I’d most certainly be honored to be considered for that.” |
| Although Rubio had already committed to backing Trump, his latest comments stood in stark contrast to the impassioned pleas he made when the two were squaring off just months ago. | Although Rubio had already committed to backing Trump, his latest comments stood in stark contrast to the impassioned pleas he made when the two were squaring off just months ago. |
| In the final weeks of his campaign, Rubio embraced the #NeverTrump hashtag. Speaking to the Guardian the day before he left the race, he said Trump was “an embarrassment” for whom the Republican party would “pay a big price in November and beyond”. | In the final weeks of his campaign, Rubio embraced the #NeverTrump hashtag. Speaking to the Guardian the day before he left the race, he said Trump was “an embarrassment” for whom the Republican party would “pay a big price in November and beyond”. |
| “You have all kinds of people that are lifelong conservatives, or at least claim to be, who don’t seem to care that Donald Trump has never been and is not now a conservative on principles,” Rubio said in that interview, on the eve of the 15 March Florida primary. “And they’ve staked their reputation on their support of him.” | “You have all kinds of people that are lifelong conservatives, or at least claim to be, who don’t seem to care that Donald Trump has never been and is not now a conservative on principles,” Rubio said in that interview, on the eve of the 15 March Florida primary. “And they’ve staked their reputation on their support of him.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 2.06pm BST | at 2.06pm BST |
| 1.44pm BST | 1.44pm BST |
| 13:44 | 13:44 |
| Good morning, and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the 2016 presidential primary which, on the Democratic side, is still going on. | Good morning, and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the 2016 presidential primary which, on the Democratic side, is still going on. |
| California votes on 7 June and Bernie Sanders has been eating up the miles there as well as eating into Hillary Clinton’s lead. My colleague Nicky Woolf has been trailing him – some of the time. Nicky – whose fitness, besieged by a whisky and cigarette intake that would have made Christopher Hitchens blench, is not what it was, let alone what Sanders’ obviously is – has filed an intriguing report: | California votes on 7 June and Bernie Sanders has been eating up the miles there as well as eating into Hillary Clinton’s lead. My colleague Nicky Woolf has been trailing him – some of the time. Nicky – whose fitness, besieged by a whisky and cigarette intake that would have made Christopher Hitchens blench, is not what it was, let alone what Sanders’ obviously is – has filed an intriguing report: |
| The Vermont senator has set a punishing pace … [he] has outspent Clinton on advertising and his ground game is strong; he has more than 55,000 volunteers in the state who have made more than two million phone calls … | The Vermont senator has set a punishing pace … [he] has outspent Clinton on advertising and his ground game is strong; he has more than 55,000 volunteers in the state who have made more than two million phone calls … |
| His rallies, attended by tens of thousands, sometimes more, certainly don’t feel like those of a losing candidate. | His rallies, attended by tens of thousands, sometimes more, certainly don’t feel like those of a losing candidate. |
| His audience hang on his every word, joyously finishing his favoured talking-points. They sport hats, T-shirts and even tattoos of Sanders’ unofficial logo: a silhouette of his unkempt hair and glasses which has become almost as recognizable a totem of the 2016 primary as Donald Trump’s red “make America great again” hats. | His audience hang on his every word, joyously finishing his favoured talking-points. They sport hats, T-shirts and even tattoos of Sanders’ unofficial logo: a silhouette of his unkempt hair and glasses which has become almost as recognizable a totem of the 2016 primary as Donald Trump’s red “make America great again” hats. |
| Still, the challenge Sanders faces is steep. | Still, the challenge Sanders faces is steep. |
| So it is. Expect debate today: Sanders is due on CBS and NBC. There’s no scheduled sign of Clinton, which isn’t unusual. | So it is. Expect debate today: Sanders is due on CBS and NBC. There’s no scheduled sign of Clinton, which isn’t unusual. |
| So to the Republicans. Paul Manafort, Trump’s delegate-getter-in-chief, is on ABC – after CNN has devoted a whole show to Marco Rubio, remember him? – at the end of a week in which Trump got enough delegates to seal the deal officially. | So to the Republicans. Paul Manafort, Trump’s delegate-getter-in-chief, is on ABC – after CNN has devoted a whole show to Marco Rubio, remember him? – at the end of a week in which Trump got enough delegates to seal the deal officially. |
| Ben Jacobs has written a fascinating account of how Team Trump gathered its resources to get the North Dakotan delegates it needed to pass 1,237 and officially make the billionaire the Republican nominee: | Ben Jacobs has written a fascinating account of how Team Trump gathered its resources to get the North Dakotan delegates it needed to pass 1,237 and officially make the billionaire the Republican nominee: |
| The decisive moment occurred just after 9am on a bright May morning, when Stephen Ohlemacher, chief delegate counter for the Associated Press, called John Trandem. | The decisive moment occurred just after 9am on a bright May morning, when Stephen Ohlemacher, chief delegate counter for the Associated Press, called John Trandem. |
| The owner of a car accessories shop in Fargo, Trandem was elected as delegate in April … When he took the call, the goateed 41-year-old was speeding down Interstate 94 to Bismarck, where Trump was holding a rally … | The owner of a car accessories shop in Fargo, Trandem was elected as delegate in April … When he took the call, the goateed 41-year-old was speeding down Interstate 94 to Bismarck, where Trump was holding a rally … |
| Trandem insisted on being No 1,237 and said he could easily find another unbound delegate to be 1,236. State representative Ben Koppelman was giving Trandem a lift to Bismarck in his Chevy Yukon SUV, and was also a delegate to the national convention. Trandem handed over his phone. | Trandem insisted on being No 1,237 and said he could easily find another unbound delegate to be 1,236. State representative Ben Koppelman was giving Trandem a lift to Bismarck in his Chevy Yukon SUV, and was also a delegate to the national convention. Trandem handed over his phone. |
| Koppelman said he was supporting Trump, then handed the phone back to Trandem … Shortly thereafter, a newsflash hit the AP wire. | Koppelman said he was supporting Trump, then handed the phone back to Trandem … Shortly thereafter, a newsflash hit the AP wire. |
| So there you have it. You also have the following, while we await the shows: | So there you have it. You also have the following, while we await the shows: |
| And finally… | And finally… |
| More soon. | More soon. |
| 1.22pm BST | 1.22pm BST |
| 13:22 | 13:22 |
| But at the end of the day, whether it’s former secretary of state Clinton of Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump, the way you gain support is through the candidate himself or herself. So my job is to make sure that Trump does not become president. And I will do that. But if Clinton is the nominee, it is her job to reach out to millions of people and make the case as to why she is going to defend working families and the middle, provide healthcare for all people, take on Wall Street, deal aggressively with climate change. That is the candidate’s job to do. | But at the end of the day, whether it’s former secretary of state Clinton of Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump, the way you gain support is through the candidate himself or herself. So my job is to make sure that Trump does not become president. And I will do that. But if Clinton is the nominee, it is her job to reach out to millions of people and make the case as to why she is going to defend working families and the middle, provide healthcare for all people, take on Wall Street, deal aggressively with climate change. That is the candidate’s job to do. |
| CHUCK TODD: | CHUCK TODD: |
| I understand that. But you just said you want to do whatever it takes to stop him. You don’t believe you need to be out there telling your supporters, “You may not be happy with Hillary Clinton, but she’s better than him”? | I understand that. But you just said you want to do whatever it takes to stop him. You don’t believe you need to be out there telling your supporters, “You may not be happy with Hillary Clinton, but she’s better than him”? |
| BERNIE SANDERS: | BERNIE SANDERS: |
| Well, no question about that. No question about that. But where my mind is right now is to do everything that I can in the remaining caucuses and primaries to try to win them and make the case. But if your question is do I think that Secretary Clinton is significantly a better candidate for America than is Donald Trump, that is not a debate. Of course that is true. | Well, no question about that. No question about that. But where my mind is right now is to do everything that I can in the remaining caucuses and primaries to try to win them and make the case. But if your question is do I think that Secretary Clinton is significantly a better candidate for America than is Donald Trump, that is not a debate. Of course that is true. |
| CHUCK TODD: | CHUCK TODD: |
| Do you think Hillary Clinton needs a clean bill of health from the F.B.I. before she accepts the Democrat nomination? | Do you think Hillary Clinton needs a clean bill of health from the F.B.I. before she accepts the Democrat nomination? |
| BERNIE SANDERS: | BERNIE SANDERS: |
| Well, I have said many, many times that I’m trying to run a campaign based on the needs of the American people. And that is raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, paid family and medical leave, making public colleges and universities tuition-free. Those are the issues, by the way, that the American people are deeply concerned about. | Well, I have said many, many times that I’m trying to run a campaign based on the needs of the American people. And that is raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, paid family and medical leave, making public colleges and universities tuition-free. Those are the issues, by the way, that the American people are deeply concerned about. |
| CHUCK TODD: | CHUCK TODD: |
| I understand that. | I understand that. |
| BERNIE SANDERS: | BERNIE SANDERS: |
| But so I have not gotten into the email situation at all. There is a process unfolding. There’s an investigation that is going on. It will play out and we’ll see what happens. | But so I have not gotten into the email situation at all. There is a process unfolding. There’s an investigation that is going on. It will play out and we’ll see what happens. |
| CHUCK TODD: | CHUCK TODD: |
| I understand that. But do you think for the Democratic party and for superdelegates, do you think it’s important for them to find out what the F.B.I.’s going to do before the vote in Philadelphia? | I understand that. But do you think for the Democratic party and for superdelegates, do you think it’s important for them to find out what the F.B.I.’s going to do before the vote in Philadelphia? |
| BERNIE SANDERS: | BERNIE SANDERS: |
| Well, that’s not the decision of superdelegates or anybody else. That’s the decision of the FBI. I have no idea when they are going to make their report public or come up with their conclusions. But do I think that whenever that happens, if it happens, that that will be an issue that Donald Trump and the Republicans will seize on? I think there is little doubt about that. | Well, that’s not the decision of superdelegates or anybody else. That’s the decision of the FBI. I have no idea when they are going to make their report public or come up with their conclusions. But do I think that whenever that happens, if it happens, that that will be an issue that Donald Trump and the Republicans will seize on? I think there is little doubt about that. |
| CHUCK TODD: | CHUCK TODD: |
| You know, you told the Wall Street Journal in November that if Clinton’s email practices foiled public records requests, or compromised classified information, that those were valid questions. Well, the State Department I.G. Report said just that. What was your reaction to that report, and does that trouble you? Does that add to your list of issues that you believe she has a judgment problem then? | You know, you told the Wall Street Journal in November that if Clinton’s email practices foiled public records requests, or compromised classified information, that those were valid questions. Well, the State Department I.G. Report said just that. What was your reaction to that report, and does that trouble you? Does that add to your list of issues that you believe she has a judgment problem then? |
| BERNIE SANDERS: | BERNIE SANDERS: |
| Well, again, you know, these are areas that I have stayed away from. There is a process, people will draw their conclusions from the inspector general report. But again, you know, I think the American people are tired of that type of politics. And I think the media and the candidates have got to talk about why the middle class is in decline and why we have massive levels of income and wealth inequality. | Well, again, you know, these are areas that I have stayed away from. There is a process, people will draw their conclusions from the inspector general report. But again, you know, I think the American people are tired of that type of politics. And I think the media and the candidates have got to talk about why the middle class is in decline and why we have massive levels of income and wealth inequality. |
| Those issues are more important to the American people than some of the issue you have been talking about. And those are the issues that I focus on. I just gave an hour speech right here in Santa Barbara, it wasn’t about emails, it was about the future of the American middle class and how we deal with the fundamental problems that they are facing. | Those issues are more important to the American people than some of the issue you have been talking about. And those are the issues that I focus on. I just gave an hour speech right here in Santa Barbara, it wasn’t about emails, it was about the future of the American middle class and how we deal with the fundamental problems that they are facing. |
| CHUCK TODD: | CHUCK TODD: |
| Do you have a problem when some of your supporters are quoted in The New York Times saying they’re sort of rooting for an F.B.I. indictment when it comes to Clinton? Do you tell your supporters not to talk that way? | Do you have a problem when some of your supporters are quoted in The New York Times saying they’re sort of rooting for an F.B.I. indictment when it comes to Clinton? Do you tell your supporters not to talk that way? |
| (OVERTALK) | (OVERTALK) |
| BERNIE SANDERS: | BERNIE SANDERS: |
| I’ll tell you, I have a real problem with The New York Times, which from day one, has been trying to be dismissive of our campaign and be very negative about our campaign. You can go out and you can talk to millions of people and you get response that you want. Our campaign is about defeating Secretary Clinton on the real issues. | I’ll tell you, I have a real problem with The New York Times, which from day one, has been trying to be dismissive of our campaign and be very negative about our campaign. You can go out and you can talk to millions of people and you get response that you want. Our campaign is about defeating Secretary Clinton on the real issues. |
| I want to break up the Wall Street banks. She doesn’t. I want to raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour. She wants $12 an hour. I voted against the War in Iraq. She voted for the war in Iraq. I believe we should ban fracking. She does not. I believe we should have tax on carbon and deal aggressively with climate change. That is not her position. Those are some of the issues that I am campaigning on that The New York Times goes around, when they talk to a handful of people and do a front-page story, that’s a problem for The New York Times, not for my campaign. | I want to break up the Wall Street banks. She doesn’t. I want to raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour. She wants $12 an hour. I voted against the War in Iraq. She voted for the war in Iraq. I believe we should ban fracking. She does not. I believe we should have tax on carbon and deal aggressively with climate change. That is not her position. Those are some of the issues that I am campaigning on that The New York Times goes around, when they talk to a handful of people and do a front-page story, that’s a problem for The New York Times, not for my campaign. |
| CHUCK TODD: | CHUCK TODD: |
| All right, I want to ask you a little bit about the platform and the Democratic party issues platform that’s coming up. A couple of your appointees, when it comes to the issue of Israel, including Cornell West, he refers to the Palestinians as the plight of an occupied people. Do you agree with his characterization? | All right, I want to ask you a little bit about the platform and the Democratic party issues platform that’s coming up. A couple of your appointees, when it comes to the issue of Israel, including Cornell West, he refers to the Palestinians as the plight of an occupied people. Do you agree with his characterization? |
| BERNIE SANDERS: | BERNIE SANDERS: |
| What I believe is that the United States is going to be playing on a level playing field in dealing with Israel and the Palestinian people. I am 100% pro-Israel in the sense of Israel’s right to exist, I lived in Israel, I have family in Israel, Israel has the right to live not only in peace and security, but to know that their very existence will be protected by the United States government. | What I believe is that the United States is going to be playing on a level playing field in dealing with Israel and the Palestinian people. I am 100% pro-Israel in the sense of Israel’s right to exist, I lived in Israel, I have family in Israel, Israel has the right to live not only in peace and security, but to know that their very existence will be protected by the United States government. |
| On the other hand, I think if we’re looking at lasting peace in the Middle East, the United States has got to respect the needs of the Palestinian people. They cannot be pushed aside. So that is my view. And, you know, other people can say whatever they want. That is my view. | On the other hand, I think if we’re looking at lasting peace in the Middle East, the United States has got to respect the needs of the Palestinian people. They cannot be pushed aside. So that is my view. And, you know, other people can say whatever they want. That is my view. |
| CHUCK TODD: | CHUCK TODD: |
| What do you want the platform to say? Do you want to refer to the Palestinians as an occupied people? Do you want to say that Israel is occupying Gaza? | What do you want the platform to say? Do you want to refer to the Palestinians as an occupied people? Do you want to say that Israel is occupying Gaza? |
| BERNIE SANDERS: | BERNIE SANDERS: |
| Well, we’re a little bit early about worrying about the wording of what the Democratic platform will be. We’ve got some good people on our platform-writing committee. But I think at the end of the day, there will be a general recognition of why the entire Democratic convention, that of course Israel’s right to exist in peace and security is not in debate. | Well, we’re a little bit early about worrying about the wording of what the Democratic platform will be. We’ve got some good people on our platform-writing committee. But I think at the end of the day, there will be a general recognition of why the entire Democratic convention, that of course Israel’s right to exist in peace and security is not in debate. |
| But on the other hand, the Palestinian people’s needs must also be respected. I have the feeling that while the media wants to make this into a great conflict, I think there’s going to be broad consensus within the Democratic convention on that issue. | But on the other hand, the Palestinian people’s needs must also be respected. I have the feeling that while the media wants to make this into a great conflict, I think there’s going to be broad consensus within the Democratic convention on that issue. |
| CHUCK TODD: | CHUCK TODD: |
| Fair enough. Final question, on Friday, you warned Secretary Clinton that if she ends up the nominee, that her running mate essentially better not be a conservative or moderate type of Democrat if she wants to win over your supporters and certainly have your enthusiastic support. Do you consider someone like Tim Kaine falling into that category, the Virginia senator, that he’s too conservative or moderate to be on the Democratic ticket? | Fair enough. Final question, on Friday, you warned Secretary Clinton that if she ends up the nominee, that her running mate essentially better not be a conservative or moderate type of Democrat if she wants to win over your supporters and certainly have your enthusiastic support. Do you consider someone like Tim Kaine falling into that category, the Virginia senator, that he’s too conservative or moderate to be on the Democratic ticket? |
| BERNIE SANDERS: | BERNIE SANDERS: |
| Again, Chuck, I don’t want to shock you, but I think we are once again into a little bit of speculation. I have known Tim Kaine for years. I really like him very much. My point was, and let me repeat it, that for Democrats to win, they’re going to have to address the needs of working people. They’re going to have to address the needs of the middle class. | Again, Chuck, I don’t want to shock you, but I think we are once again into a little bit of speculation. I have known Tim Kaine for years. I really like him very much. My point was, and let me repeat it, that for Democrats to win, they’re going to have to address the needs of working people. They’re going to have to address the needs of the middle class. |
| And that means standing up to Wall Street, standing up to the greed of corporate America. Even now and then, standing up to the media. And that means having a candidate who can excite working families, excite young people, bring them into the political process, create a large voter turnout. | And that means standing up to Wall Street, standing up to the greed of corporate America. Even now and then, standing up to the media. And that means having a candidate who can excite working families, excite young people, bring them into the political process, create a large voter turnout. |
| And when we do that, we’re going to win the election. So I would hope, if I am not the nominee, that the vice presidential candidate will not be from Wall Street, will be somebody who has a history of standing up and fighting for working families, taking on the drug companies whose greed is doing so much harm, taking on Wall Street, taking on corporate America, and fight for a government that works for all of us, not just the 1%. | And when we do that, we’re going to win the election. So I would hope, if I am not the nominee, that the vice presidential candidate will not be from Wall Street, will be somebody who has a history of standing up and fighting for working families, taking on the drug companies whose greed is doing so much harm, taking on Wall Street, taking on corporate America, and fight for a government that works for all of us, not just the 1%. |
| CHUCK TODD: | CHUCK TODD: |
| Would you take the call if Hillary Clinton asked you to be her running mate? | Would you take the call if Hillary Clinton asked you to be her running mate? |
| BERNIE SANDERS: | BERNIE SANDERS: |
| Well, right now, again, here we are in California, I’m knocking my brains out to win the Democratic nomination. | Well, right now, again, here we are in California, I’m knocking my brains out to win the Democratic nomination. |
| CHUCK TODD: | CHUCK TODD: |
| Yes you are. | Yes you are. |
| BERNIE SANDERS: | BERNIE SANDERS: |
| That’s where I am right now. What happens afterwards, we will see. But right now, my focus is on winning the nomination. | That’s where I am right now. What happens afterwards, we will see. But right now, my focus is on winning the nomination. |
| CHUCK TODD: | CHUCK TODD: |
| Well, that was a very political type of answer that says you’re not answering the question. Fair enough, you’re not ruling it out. | Well, that was a very political type of answer that says you’re not answering the question. Fair enough, you’re not ruling it out. |
| BERNIE SANDERS: | BERNIE SANDERS: |
| What I am saying right now is our focus is on winning the Democratic nomination. | What I am saying right now is our focus is on winning the Democratic nomination. |
| CHUCK TODD: | CHUCK TODD: |
| All right. Senator Bernie Sanders from Santa Barbara, California, thanks for coming on. Stay safe on the trail, sir. | All right. Senator Bernie Sanders from Santa Barbara, California, thanks for coming on. Stay safe on the trail, sir. |
| BERNIE SANDERS: | BERNIE SANDERS: |
| Thank you very much. | Thank you very much. |
| 1.20pm BST | 1.20pm BST |
| 13:20 | 13:20 |
| What’s Trump up to today, you ask? Apparently, he is attending Rolling Thunder, a massive gathering of bikers in Washington DC, timed to the Memorial Day weekend. | What’s Trump up to today, you ask? Apparently, he is attending Rolling Thunder, a massive gathering of bikers in Washington DC, timed to the Memorial Day weekend. |
| “I am doing it in honour of the great bikers who have been totally supportive of my campaign and now I want to be supportive of them,” he said in a statement to Bloomberg Politics. “I look forward to it!” | “I am doing it in honour of the great bikers who have been totally supportive of my campaign and now I want to be supportive of them,” he said in a statement to Bloomberg Politics. “I look forward to it!” |
| So there’s that. There’s also this, timed to the Memorial Day weekend: Trump’s reaction to Obama’s visit to Hiroshima while in Japan this week: | So there’s that. There’s also this, timed to the Memorial Day weekend: Trump’s reaction to Obama’s visit to Hiroshima while in Japan this week: |
| Does President Obama ever discuss the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor while he's in Japan? Thousands of American lives lost. #MDW | Does President Obama ever discuss the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor while he's in Japan? Thousands of American lives lost. #MDW |
| Possibly a taste of Trumpian diplomacy to come, there. We had a taste yesterday, meanwhile, of one of the last Republican voices still raised in opposition to The Donald, that of Mitt Romney. | Possibly a taste of Trumpian diplomacy to come, there. We had a taste yesterday, meanwhile, of one of the last Republican voices still raised in opposition to The Donald, that of Mitt Romney. |
| The 2012 candidate told the Wall Street Journal: “I wanted my grandkids to see that I simply couldn’t ignore what Mr Trump was saying and doing, which revealed a character and temperament unfit for the leader of the free world.” | The 2012 candidate told the Wall Street Journal: “I wanted my grandkids to see that I simply couldn’t ignore what Mr Trump was saying and doing, which revealed a character and temperament unfit for the leader of the free world.” |
| Related: 'The last lion': Mitt Romney claims high ground in stand against Donald Trump | Related: 'The last lion': Mitt Romney claims high ground in stand against Donald Trump |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 1.54pm BST | at 1.54pm BST |