[Berman:] It has been a constant theme throughout Donald Trump's 11-month campaign. His alleged disdain for the media. We saw it again yesterday Chris' interview with Trump right here on NEW DAY. Trump claims to disdain the same media attention that he constantly seeks. Let's talk about it. We're joined now by Jennifer Rubin. She writes the "Right Turn" blog for "The Washington Post" and has been a recent Trump target. Also with us, Jeffrey Lord, CNN political commentator and a Donald Trump supporter. Jennifer, I want to start with you. Donald Trump doesn't like you and we know that because he said so here yesterday on NEW DAY, completely unprompted. Let's listen.
[Donald Trump , Presidential Candidate:] You have a lightweight a real a real dope.
[Cuomo:] Mr. Trump, they say you have to
[Trump:] You have a lightweight named Jennifer Rubin who spoke about I didn't speak to Rubio. Well, I have spoken to Rubio. And then she said I never spoke to Ryan. Well, I have spoken to Ryan. And either she's living in a time warp or something
[Cuomo:] All right.
[Trump:] if you watch her.
[Berman:] Yes, you know, among the issues that hadn't been discussed in that interview before that moment were either Marco Rubio or Jennifer Rubin, and it came up right there. Your response?
[Jennifer Rubin, Right Turn Blog, Washington Post:] Well, first of all, what I said was absolutely correct and he is lying again. I said that he hadn't spoken to Ryan after the New York primary. Ryan, again, confirmed that that was the case. This conversation that Trump claims happened, didn't. And he also claimed, falsely, that he's been having conversations with Rubio about the vice presidency. Once again, Rubio denied anything like that happening, yesterday. So, the specific issue he was lying about why he brought this up is because, I think, two things. One, he uses the press to deflect substantive questions. Chris, when you began that interview yesterday, you started with a really tough question and he spent about eight minutes complaining that you hadn't complimented him on his recent wins. He uses this as a way because, as you pointed out earlier in the hour, he doesn't have steady, comfortable, substantive answers to policy questions. He deflects and he fends his
[Cuomo:] Well Jennifer, there's one other reason he does it. There's another reason he does it and I'll direct to this Jeffery because he'll echo it immediately. He does it because it works. Jeffrey, when he says hey, you were unfair to me. He said a couple of times, in that interview, things that he has to know aren't true about our reporting here on this show where he was like hey, you misstated my tax thing. He knows I didn't misstate these things. I was giving him the chance to clarify them. But it works for him to say that he is victimized. It works for him to say that whether it's a Rubin or a Cuomo, or whoever it is at the moment, they're against him. Why?
[Jeffrey Lord, Cnn Political Commentator:] Chris, back in if I may 1970, when I was a freshman in college, Spiro Agnew, then vice president of the United States, went to Des Moines, Iowa, gave, unbelievably in the day since there was no cable television, a nationally-televised speech in which he attacked the media. He called them nattering nabobs of negativism.
[Cuomo:] Nattering nabobs of negativism.
[Lord:] A great satire. Exactly, exactly. My point to you is Spiro Agnew's numbers went up. And this has been gospel in the Republican cannon ever since, to this day. You heard Ted Cruz do this the other day when he was about to get out the race and he went after Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch. Newt Gingrich did this on the stage of the debate the other day. This is gospel that the media, writ large, is unfair. In Donald Trump's case, I can tell you. I talked to him two years ago and asked him about the perception Republicans don't fight back. He immediately launched into the media. That particular day the issue was Donald Sterling, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers who made all those racist remarks. And he said he had been on another show on another network. Had talked about this. Had given this sort of routine castigation of Sterling that everybody was giving. And then added, as he was going off, aside from which he's got the girlfriend from hell. And suddenly, this was being played as his defense of Donald Sterling, which he wasn't whom he doesn't know in the first place. He said this is really dishonest. So all I'm saying is that Donald Trump personally thinks this about some of the media
[Camerota:] Yes.
[Lord:] and that he's more than open to, in his words, "exposing them" and
[Camerota:] Yes.
[Lord:] this is Republican gospel.
[Camerota:] Well, Jennifer, I want to get back to the larger issue here about Trump going after journalists because we've all been in his crosshairs. He makes it known when he doesn't like a particular line of questioning and calls you names. And, you know, it is our job to expose hypocrisy where we see it or expose untruths where we see them. Do you think that this has had a chilling effect on journalism?
[Rubin:] Not at all. I think, in fact, you've seen much tougher questioning because I think there's been complaints, rightly so, from some of the Republican losers that he got extraordinary access. He got extraordinary time. That's what's so ironic about this as he has been given billions of free coverage hours on air and yet he still complains. Let me pick up on something that Jeffrey said, though, which I think is important. That strategy works very nicely in a primary because the Republican electorate feels very strongly. It doesn't work, however, in a general election. Frankly
[Berman:] But, Jennifer
[Rubin:] Let me finish please, Jeffrey [sic]. Let me finish. When you do it in a general election people who aren't necessarily Republicans turn in and they see this guy whining about a reporter. They see him saying you didn't compliment me. He comes across as whiny, as immature, and I don't think it has the same effect with non- Republicans whose votes he's going to need.
[Berman:] What do you say about these new polls out today, though, Jennifer, right? Quinnipiac has new polls out of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Florida.
[Rubin:] And I got a new poll for you in the Miami Herald that he's down by 30 points in Florida, so we can play that game all day long, Jeffrey [sic].
[Berman:] OK. So, you don't buy these new polls that show him leading in Ohio, close in Pennsylvania, close in Florida?
[Rubin:] No, I don't buy a poll that has 39 percent and 42 percent, with how many percent in undecided at this point. So I think we learned that lesson with early polls before. Listen, we'll see if it works or not. But, in fact, right now he has unfavorable ratings are sky high with women, with minorities. He's losing categories that Mitt Romney won married women, white women. So he's going to have to do something to ingratiate himself with these groups and right now all he's doing is picking fights with other Republicans. His Republican support is down to about 84 percent, which is unheard of for the leader of a national party. So I think his natural instinct, which is to lash out, which is to fight, which is to make stuff up, which is to throw around all kinds of accusations may work in one context. I'm not sure it works in a national context.
[Berman:] Right. All right guys, from these nabobs over here, thank you both for being us today. Really appreciate it.
[Camerota:] We have to get back to nattering. We have a lot of news to cover. Let's get right to it.
[Trump:] I thought everything was fine and then I got blindsided.
[Rep. Paul Ryan , Speaker Of The House:] He's the nominee. I'll do whatever he wants.
[Hillary Clinton , Presidential Candidate:] His rhetoric is not only reckless, it's dangerous.
[Trump:] She is playing the woman's card to the hilt.
[Clinton:] I'm going to let him run his campaign however he chooses.
[Trump:] You watch the problems she'll have.
[Loretta Lynch, Attorney General:] They created discrimination against transgender individuals.
[Gov. Pat Mccrory:] Fighting discrimination, which I support wholeheartedly.