>> historic indictment. >> we have one set of laws in this country and it applies to everyone. >> donald trump charged for

>> first former president to face criminal prosecution from the federal government. >> this vicious persecution is a travesty of justice. >> set to be arrested tuesday in miami. sparking an unprecedented political battle. >> this judgment is wrong by the doj. >> department of justice has done everything by the book. >> the timing of it is very suspicious. >> what the rule of law means is holding people in power accountable. >> how it'll change the race for the white house. >> deeply troubled about an indictment against the former president of the united states. >> it's a very, very evidence-filled indictment. >> i think there needs to be one standard of justice in this country. >> what we see is a justice system where t weighted

>> good morning and welcome to this week. one year from today, there's a decent chance that donald trump will be sitting in a courtroom as a criminal defendant. decent chance he'll be set to accept the republican nomination of republican of the nuance. there's a nonzero chance he would be both: a criminal defendant and the gop nominee. none of this is normal, but mast the surreal world we're living in today now that trump is the first former president to face criminal charges from the federal government. his second criminal indictment in the last three months. we're going to analyze all the angles of this unprecedented legal and political story this week, chief justice correspondent pierre thomas starts us off. pierre. >> george, good morning. trump quickly went on the attack at news of his indictment and attacking the special prosecution and he had to tell the nation why he had to make a dramatic move. the u.s. justice department taking extraordinary step.

now part of an ongoing presidential campaign and deeply divided nation. sources tell special council jack smith felt he had no choice but to take action against former president trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents. >> our laws that protect national defense investigation are critical for the safety and security of the united states and they must be enforced. violations of those laws put our country at risk. >> in a sweeping 49 page indictment of trump, smith argues that the former president willfully retained documents containing the nation's most sensitive secrets after leaving office. trump is accused of keeping a breathtaking amount of classified documents, some involving the spice, defense and weapons capabilities and u.s. surveillance programs. justice department making the case that trump was cavalier in how he handled the documents. look at them stored at mar-a-lago. boxed in a ballroom, in a

storage room, even in a bathroom next to a toilet. >> this is someone who is spitting in the face of the thousands of men and women that put themselves in harm's way every single day. >> the special council says that trump not only took these critical secrets, he actively tried to thwart efforts when asked by the effort to return them and face with a federal subpoena. allegedly telling his lawyers to falsely represent to the fbi and grand jury that trump did not have documents called for and that his legal team should hide or destroy those very same document trump allegedly saying what happens if we don't respond at all or don't play ball with them? wouldn't it be better if we told them we don't have anything here? and most damaging to the former president is audio recording from a july 2021 meeting with writers working on a book that . audio capturing trump's own

words on tape allegedly admitting he still had a classified document, outlining a potential plan of attack own iran. this is secret information, look, look at that . the indictment alleged trump said see, as president i could have declassified it. now i can't, but this is still a secret .x prosecutors say trump had a coconsp coconspirator in e crimes, long time close aid walt also indicted and accused of obstruction of justice and helped trump hide documents and the special council using trump's own words from before president to point out his hypocrisy. >> in my administration, i'm going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information. n will be above the law

>> thanks, pierre. aaron is on the scene. good morning. >> george, good morning. former president trump has called on his supporters to rally here at the courthouse come tuesday and one of the agents in charge of security told us this morning, george, they are planning for a crowd. extra officers here and available to handle any protests and the feds are monitoring social media now in case there are signs of violence a become the highest political person to be indicted and rapper little wayne that trump later pardopardoned and his case was assigned to a judge he appointed and stirred controversy in this investigation. after the fbi raided trump's west palm beach estate, the judge intervened only to be overruled by a federal appeals

court. the clerk here said the assignment was random and judge cannon is bas based in a part of south florida heavily republican and trump's legal team could try to move them there. on tuesday trump placed under arrest for the second time in two months and fingerprinted and photographed before being brought to the 13th floor and entering a not guilty plea to multiple felonies calling for decades in prison and george, with criminal charges possible in two other investigations, trump could be facing this process again and again bhararad our elizabeth neumann and ourrad

dan, let me begin with you. >> the whole obstruction piece and the line and the concealing and the hiding and he did it on purpose. he knew what he was doing while he was doing it. this is not a case about the illegal retention of classified documents. the 31 counts on those documents are basically saying these were documents that were so sensitive to the national defense regardless of who classified what. those two things together highlight the point of the case. >> walk through what we know about the documents he was holding onto. what's most interesting is not the documents they used for the

indictment to charge but the ones they didn't use. there were 34 top secret documents that were actually collected during the course of this whole saga. there was stuff that was potentially more sensitive that they could not even risk as using as evidence because of disclosures. >> i want get to the implications in a moment. first, preet, let me go into you. talk about the indictment and challenges facing the prosecution. >> yes, excuse me, to what dan said, the indictment is quite strong. as we heard at the top of the program, the most damming piece of the evidence in the entire case and brings it from a strong case is the audio tape. you have powerful evidence in the defendant's own words comes right into trial easily. >> he knew he had them. >> he knew he had them. he says, this is secret information. see as president, i could have

declassified it and now i can't. the main defense we have been told is some version that the president didn't understand and he thought of a standing order. >> they never presented that argument. >> they didn't. this audio tape simultaneously makes out many elements of the crime and debunks his defenses. he could not de pathically -- >> how about the obstruction of the case? >> the language of the indictment is not necessary where donald trump told a particular lie but he caused those things to happen. there are a lot of evidence based on the narrative that donald trump had his code defendant take documents out of the storage room when he knew one of his lawyers were coming to examine the documents for purposes of turning them over to

the fbi after a subpoena was issued. so, that story of donald trump deliberately, knowing a lawyer coming to look at it and having it removed with a subpoena pending is really devastating. >> elizabeth. >> i found the indictment to be a really vivid picture for the american public of what the national community dealt with for four years when he was president. he had a disregard and did not care to follow the rules. not only did he not protect our country's most sensitive secrets. that's not protecting american lives because you have military and intelligence community personnel, that are now put at risk. you have assets, our foreign allies information that's put at risk. all of these things are leading to if, if any of those documents

have been accessed by -- >> how possible would it be down at mar-a-lago? >> the indictment is at 10,000 people that went through tens of thousands, i think it actually said that went through it various times where the boxes were easily assessable. if you are a foreign intelligence agency, you know that mar-a-lago is a great target and you are probably trying to figure out what may be there. so, we don't know, or hopefully, the investigation and there are things not in the public domain. hopefully, we are finding out what may have been leaked. this causes people to die. this is very serious top secret, special access program when they fall into the wrong hand, people die. the united states security is deeply compromised. >> dan, let's talk about how this case is played out. it is assigned to this judge who had jurisdiction over the trump's case earlier. >> cannon, we don't know if

she's going to try the case herself. >> they're going to determine down the road who's the judge is going to be. she's handling the first hearing. i think that's a good thing. it is a good thing because the focus won't be on who the judge is. a lot of these cases you see donald trump saying this judge is biased against me. there is no way he can argue this judge is biased against him. he appointed this judge and over ruled by the appellate court and his initial proceedings, i don't think it is going to make or break the case. it is going to be interesting to see what are the early motions they are going to make. what are they going to try to keep out of evidence. what are they going to say should not have been admitted and etc. >> preet, one thing the judge could control is the timing of the case. the fact that cannon is put in charge and all the guarantees that this case will not be go to trial before the 2024 et

election. >> yes, at one point of what dan said about whether or not it will continue to be on the case. i imagine that the government is making a formal recusal she ruled favorably, arguely in a biased fashion in a way of donald trump and language that's still strong. >> they won't win that? >> don't you think it will be a mistake for them the make that motion in early days to get the judge dismissed? >> i don't know. that early decision was remarkably bad. there was pretty much anonymity of how bad that decision was. they may wait to see how some of these decisions play out. maybe she does not want to preside over this case. maybe she has enough of her time in the spotlight on these kinds

of things. if donald trump himself and his team want the trial to happen quickly in any of these venues and the da's manhattan case or the federal case or the georgia's case. it can happen quickly. ted stevens many years ago fought for and received a quick speedy trial before an election. >> one of the things we heard from the former president trump defender is a double standard justice going on here. address how the case and how it is distinguishable from mike pence and president biden. >> that's the piece that the indictment really spells out. the willful and deliberate. it is quite astonishing, the orders that were given to his body man to move these and conceal these documents from his own lawyers, implying and suggesting and hinting that maybe shae should be destroyed or plucked out. these are all his own words that

he's using. there is audio tape of him knowing this is classified information and there are text messages. the receipts are here. this is conduct that i don't think mike pence or joe biden engaged in any way at all. >> turn back the clock and go back to 221. had the national archives gone at donald trump and he had turned in all the documents. would we be sitting here today? >> absolutely not. that's why it is less important when people talk about well, there were documents in the bathroom or the ballroom. okay, that's important and interesting and etcetera but it is not significant i think to the legal charges here. the legal charge is oh, it is just a mess and etcetera but it is the effort to conceal it and hide it. it was one of the key elements of the crime. number two, the fact that those

documents that he made an effort to hide and conceal were so sensitive. those two things together are what led us to where we are today. in my view, you needed both. you should not have charged if the documents were random or sort of classified documents but not particularly sensitive ones because you are talking about the former president. you have both. >> do you agree with that? >> yes, look, it is not apart of the element of crime. that particular document being classified and much less super sensitive classified information. we talk about a thing where if you try cases a jury appeals and the significance and the dangerousness of the conduct plays how a jury thinks of the case. recite words from donald trump's mouth, not at a criminal nature. in 2016, how seriously he'll take classified information.

>> if donald trump is elected as president of the united states again. what are the national security implications? >> i had a hard time going there. it was a traumatic four years trying to figure out to keep the country safe. he didn't care that was putting people at risk and the idea that we'll do four more years of that and they learned how to use the tools of government now. it will be much more consequential and very serious threat for the safety and the security of the country. >> thank you all very much. >> coming up, senator lindsey graham and chris coons is joining us live. if we want a more viable future for our kids, we need to find more sustainable ways of doing things. america's plastic makers are investing billions of dollars in new technologies and creating plastic products that are more recyclable. durable.

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>> i am going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information. we can't have someone in the oval office who does not understand the meaning of the word confidential or classified. service members here in north carolina have risk their lives to protect their country. >> we are joined by senator lindsey graham who endorsed donald trump for president in 2024. senator graham, thank you for joining us. donald trump said repeatedly that he didn't do anything wrong, do you believe that? >> here is what i believe. we live in america where if you are a democratic candidate for president, hillary clinton.

and when investigation is had about your activity - >> no, senator. >> no, let me finish. it is ridiculous. i am trying to answer the question from a republican's point of view. it may not be acceptable on the show. i don't like joe biden had classified information on the garage. i don't like that mike pence carel carelessly took information. what i don't like is a secretary of the state who's a democratic candidate for president has people take a hammer to social media devices and break them apart and applied bleach bit to a hard drive to erase e-mails and allow classified information to get on a felon's computer, anthony weiner. most republicans believe that we

live in a country where hillary clinton did the same thing and nothing happened to her. president trump will have his day in court, but espionage charges is absolutely ridiculous. he did not provide information for a foreign power or a news organization to damage this country. he's not a spy. he's your own boss committed perjury in a civil lawsuit and obstruct justice in a dozen ways and he didn't get prosecuted. he was impeached. >> he was impeached but was not prosecuted. >> you made your point. you also said something i believe is not true. there is an audio tape in the indictment where he's talking about the information and knows

his secrets and knows it is not declassified. let's talk about that. >> i don't know what happened, i have not heard of the audio. look at who's being charged under espionage, julian and - that did not happen here. donald trump, you may hate his guts but he's not a spy. he didn't submit espionage. what he did is similar in my view to what hillary clinton did. people in the clinton case took a hammer to a blackberry and destroyed it. they wipe cleaned with bleach bit e-mails. it wound up on anthony weiner's computer and not a damn thing happen to her. >> senator, she was fully investigated and the investigation found no intentional holding back. donald trump was president for

four years and justice department in place for tour years. >> give me a break. >> he didn't do it >> there is an audio tape of donald trump saying he knows it is secret information and he knows he's sharing with other people. how is that okay? >> i am not saying it is okay. i am not saying it is okay to take a hammer to a blackberry. i think none of this is okay when chris coons, my good friend will be in a minute, when we view classified information, we have to sign in and go into a room and turn it back over. you got vice president, secretary of states and presidents handling this stuff. you had bill clinton with tapes in his sock drawer. i would like to review the system. here is the point i would like to make. i don't think the espionage chargeses are completely wrong and i think that he paint an impression that does not exist. this is not espionage. i do believe, george, most

people on my side of the isle believes when it comes to donald trump, there are no rules. you can do the exact same thing or something similar to democrats and nothing happens to you. >> hold on a second. >> the leading candidate for president of the united states on the republican side is being prosecuted by his opponent. >> had donald trump turned over the documents as mike pence did and you heard our legal panel addressed that as well. >> i heard that. >> there would be no case at all. >> he believes he has the power to do that. he'll argue the presidential records act. i don't know if he's right or not. there will be a trial about this. i can't stress to you enough where we live in a world where most republicans believe that hunter biden's laptop was real and people knew it was real but they told the public something else to help joe biden. we live in a world where it takes four years to investigate biden and you can go after

donald trump in about 18 months. i know you don't get what i am saying. people on my side believe it. i think donald trump is stronger today politically than ever. the espionage charges are ridiculous. what happened to hillary clinton where he got away is similar to what happen to president trump. we'll have an election and we'll have a trial. most republicans believe that the law is used as a weapon against donald trump. >> i heard that. i heard your attack on president biden. what i have not heard from you is the defense of donald trump behavior and why you think that's the kind of behavior you want to see as president of the united states. >> i am not justifying the behavior. if it were up to me, nobody is taking classified information. >> you are endorsing him for the president of the united states. >> yeah, i think what's happening here is trying to delegitimatize him is what i am

saying. the game is changed for future presidents. bill clinton is under the 2023 standard would be persecuted for perjury. we have changed the game. you impeached him after he was out of office and now you bring in charges in manhattan that's ridiculous. you accused the guy being a spy through espionage. it is not going to change my support for donald trump. the he's innocent until guilty. what i am trying to convey to you and i am not doing a good job, most republicans believe that the law is a political tool. the people in charge had their thumb on the scale and the reason it was not known to be true in october of 2024 before the election is the intelligence community wanted you to believe it was russian disinformation when it was not. this double standard is real in the minds of most republicans.

>> senator, thank you for your time this morning. >> thank you. >> we are joined by senator chris coons. he joins us now. your response to senator graham. >> well, george, thank you for a chance to be on this morning. there is one thing i agree with senator graham. former president trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence. that's where we then diverge. as i think you have stated clearly and has been stated clearly in the indictment. former president trump has no one to blame but himself for being federally, criminally indicted. his alleged misconduct after receiving a federal subpoena to produce classified documents relating to nuclear defense to

our nation's potential response to an attack that he ten spoke about his attorneys about concealing and destroying. he directed his aide, nauta t conceal them. president trump behaved in that's marketablely different for how he responded once he was aware of classified documents. that's the basis of this prosecution. it is a sad day for a former president of the united states to be federally, criminally charged. the basis of the rule of law and our democracy is no man is above the law. although president trump went on the offense of last night of his attack of the department of justice called for the defunding of the fbi, i remained confident that he'll get the due process of law to which he's entitled and in the end, a jury, a jury

of the american citizens and his peers will determine whether or not he was properly charged or violated federal, and criminal law. >> it is pretty clear that central part of the republican campaign for president is the department of justice weaponized against donald trump. your response for that? >> i think there is no evidence that the federal department of justice have been weaponized. let's look at who's leading this investigation. he's someone who's a career federal prosecutor. he led the prosecutions the investigations and prosecutions of high level democrat, of former senator johnn edwards it was jack smith who led those charges. he went after senator silver in framework. this is a man with real record of independence. as i just reviewed with you, the

critical differences in the conduct of the charge individually here from former president trump from the conduct of mike pence and president biden is the basis of this case. although, you know my colleague appointed back to things that allegedly happened years ago under former president clinton or senator clinton, the challenges are for republicans to explain to the american people why they are confident that president trump should be reelected given his casual mishandling of mindful documents. he's been charged for knowingly and willingly of concealing he retained federal documents that were critical to our national defense. as we move forward to the election campaign, president biden is going to keep doing his job as president. he's going to keep showing that he's not distracted by these issues and he's focused on

delivering good or real results for the american people. he'll keep working to deliver lower prescription drug cost, protecting veterans healthcare and investing in infrastructure. all thing he's able to do because of bipartisan legislation he signs into law last year. >> joe biden got it done. that's the focus of the campaign and that's why i support joe biden for reelection next year. >> despite all that, in many polls donald trump is leading president biden. what do you say to democrats who are worried of the prospect of donald trump defeating president biden. >> i think we should be worried given what he says. frankly, the former president responded to this stunning indictment by going on the attack that he and a number of other republican contenders for the presidency focused on

attacking law enforcement on calling for defunding of the fbi on criticizing federal law enforcement rather than having any pause or any moment of reflection about the consequences for our national security. i think the best if i think for joe biden to do and in this campaign is to keep showing that he is an effective and capable president by continuing to solve big problems. george, two weeks ago, he skillfully and successfully negotiated with speaker mccarthy of the resolution to a potential threat of defall and gave us a strong framework in moving forward of budget and appropriations matter the next two years. diets some suggestions by his opponent, his sharp and full and despite distractions of former president trump's legal problems. >> roundtable is coming up and rick klein breaks down our new

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not spreadsheets. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire >> our new poll gives us the first glimpse of the indictment. >> nearly a majority of the country, 48% say donald trump should be facing federal charges it is almost identical number of 47% saying the same time the charges are politically motivated. you got the public dialled into 61% of the country thinking these are serious charges. i am struck by this number, even among republicans, 38% say these

charges are serious among independents, it is an overwhelming number. 63% of independents say these charges are serious. there is a good chunk of vote rs say they are not sure and they don't know where they stand yet. there will be a lot more information that comes out over the period of this case. >> right now at least republican nomination >> the case of new york a couple of months ago may have helped his standing. donald trump was leading desantis by about 20 points. now, fast forward to two months, donald trump is leading desantis by 30 points plus. none of the other candidates' numbers of any movement at all. maybe this case is more serious

and his rivals are making the case and they can sort of get in there a little bit and change the dynamic. for those who were saying donald trump is done politically as a result of facing criminal charges, there is no evidence of that yet. rick klein, thank you very much. roundtable is up next. we'll be right back. much. "roundtable" is up next. we'll be right back. phil: excuse me? hillary: that wasn't me. narrator: said hillary, who's only taken 347 steps today. hillary: i cycled here. narrator: speaking of cycles, mary's period is due to start in three days. mary: how do they know so much about us? narrator: your all sharing health data without realizing it. that's how i know about kevin's rash. who's next? wait... what's that in your hand? no, no, stop! oh you're no fun. [lock clicks shut] (vo) crabfest is back at red lobster. when you can choose your crab, and one of three new flavors like honey sriracha... ...this is not your grandpa's crabfest... ...unless grandpa's got flavor. dayumm! crabfest is here for a limited time. welcome to fun dining.

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donald trump conduct. >> reaction there from our candidates. joining us is donna brazile, lee zeldin and julie pace and our maggie haberman. maggie, let me begin with you and as you read through the 49 pages of the indictment, vintage donald trump. >> that was what i was thinking. it is all aspect of his personality thinking he can talk his way through everything. these are allegations and these are based on his lawyers and audio recording of him and it is him boasting and having disregard of certain rules and talking his way out of anything. >> it is one of the most devastating i'ms i've ever read. >> you addressed in the new york times and one of the bigamist reigns leadings is why donald

trump would want to keep all the documents. >> that's not addressed and doesn't have to be legally in the indictment, but it'll be an enduring question and one that prosecutors try to deal with at trial and a range of questions about this leverage and something to monetize them and prosecutors went down the road and was he trying to use for business deals and none is there. chris christie said on the set seven months ago he believed part was about trump's inability to be president anymore. >> leland, a chance to do what lindsey graham do and what was defend donald trump's behavior here rather than simply attacking the prosecution. >> i don't -- i'm someone that doesn't believe federal criminal charges should have been brought forth. what's interesting about the poll you release second-degree you see 48-35 people believe that charges should be brought and 47-37 saying it's a politically motivated thyme and shows where america is right now. there's people -- i believe as far as process goes, when you

see all of the issues related to classified documents with president trump, president biden, vice president pence, regardless of trying to compare applapples to apples and appleso oranges and there's something on the process and keeps on happening. >> can't put it aside and they're different cases and both mike pence and president biden turned over the documents. they didn't refuse to turn the documents after subpoena came in. i'll ask you a quick question again, based on the indictment, are you comfortable with the idea of president trump being president and can you defend the behavior outlined in that indictment? >> i'll tell you they don't believe federal criminal charges should be brought in this case. >> why not? >> i don't believe that he committed a crime. presidential records act is not a criminal statute. >> that's not what he's being charged on. >> right, but launching a criminal investigation on something not criminal and analyze the presidential records act and gets to retention of documents. was president trump out there

destroyed the documents because that would be different than when you read the context of the presidential records act. >> we don't know that but we brought them over. >> that's not what's being charged and now a case going before the judge and will get appealed on what the legal decisions are that get brought. going through the process, there might be a different interpretation and the presidential records act is silent on a time line. so if the president of the united states out going has a requirement to retain the document, they're not destroying but retaining the document, at what point is that former president required to turn it over -- >> just to be clear and i want to go to gunner, no problem with the president refusing to return the documents after a subpoena. no problem with the president concealing the documents? >> no problem with the president moving the documents, sharing secret information with people not authorized to see that. no problem with any of that? >> none of which i said. i don't believe federal criminal charges should be brought in that case. if you bring federal criminal

charges again and maybe senator graham has a different way of articulating in his interview with you. but there's been -- there are not equal scales of justice. there are americans who are out there who across this country believe that this isn't about saying he's above the law and that's in your poll. [ over lapping talking ]. >> that gets to where the heart of america is right now. there's a part of america that believes president trump should get targeted with a politically motivated indictment and a segment of america that says he should not. as far as supporting him for president ovthe united states next year, americans are deciding who they want as next president of the united states based off the economy and inflation. the border, list of that goes on.

the undecided voter out there in september and october of 2024, they're going to be deciding their vote based on the issues that matter most to them and family in the future of the country and a lot of americans make decisions based on stuff other than that case. >> donna. >> thank you, lindsey graham for putting t tobas the republicans are waging a war on the bedrock of the principles that founded these nations with the government of law and rule of law. the president knew when he commanded or directed his aid to bring the boxes to him or take them away or played a game of hide and seek. you don't have to be a lawyer to understand what the president was trying to do. the former president, he was trying to retain these doc avenue being subpoenaed and he

delayed. where are we now? a game of politics. of course, we're going to talk about hillary clinton and that -- i was chair of the party is and this is part of the reason why this is so beautifully great. comer came after hillary clinton and the secretary of state. a month before the campaign this, is what the clinton campaign had to deal with and we had to deal with and two days later announced that we're not bringing charges. jot best way is runni running ad winning white house again. >> looking at history, there's no surprise and he'll take an approach and let's work for him in the past as recently as rick and the case in new york. i think though that there are some differences in this case

versus the new york case and some comes down to conduct and easier and saw after the charges in new york were released and easier for republicans to both argue that was politically motivated and actually to defend his behavior, they might not have liked it, but it didn't feel as difficult to defend the actions because of how central he is and words and actions are to the charges. >> maggie, donald trump not the only perp indicted on friday. his personal assistant and valet in the white house. who do we know about him and how do you explain why willing to go down the road with him.

>> this is the first time someone has been charged and he was not charged. >> allen win back-to-backs elburg was. >> trump was to the charged but michael cohen was. he became close to trump and you have to remember that somebody that has a military background will view the command fertilizer chief differently. i think that he's been described to me and my colleagues as not political, not having some kind of side game as many trump aids are accused of doing but he felt he was supposed to do what he was told. >> and willing to risk going to jail? >> we'll, we'll see if that happens and prosecutors may try to pressure him to accept a plea deal deal and cooperate and he's a case stud and i and what happens to people who are loyal to tram and seen that over and over. >> lee zeldin, back to the

politics now on all that . you were addressing in your first answer but for republican voters, when they're looking at donald trump versus all the other candidates, what about this idea that they might be the campaign republican rye mare going on and -- primary and donald trump and liked what he did as president and worried to bring too much baggage to the general election. >> at this point, he's going up in the pole and a lot is baked in. if you're going to be cheirod of who president trump is or how he speaks or how he acts, this isn't 2015 or 2016. i thought president trump's candidacy was launched into a different strike that us fear as far as republican primary and it what's going to happen here and in your poll showing across all voter registrations and imagine what that number looks like as

whether or not this is politically motivated and if that was just republicans. republican primary voters and becomes more popular with the primary base but we'll see. >> he's trying to make himself a proxy saying heir coming after he because they want to come after you and that's a powerful message to a lot of republicanss and to the point earlier, one of the questions for americans watching incollation and shaky or uncertain economy, how much do they actually wish they were hearing about some of those issues from republicans? right now the campaign is completely centered around trump and his legal issues. >> donna, concerning a lot of democrats and all this going on, joe biden is not soundly defeating donald trump in the polls. >> well, look, it's early and joe biden's weaknesses in terms of where he's standing right now is among some of the democratic

base, the young voters. on june 17th, he'll launch the official campaign in the great city of philadelphia and in the long run, those voters will come back home. back to the republican field because several people entered the race and donald trump dominates the news psychoand will political field and not get together left or right or down the middle as long as donald trump is in the news. >> thank you all very much. that's all we have time for today. we'll be right back.

>> that's all for us today.

thanks for sharing part of your sunday with us, check out world's news tonight and el see you tomorrow on "gma." ♪ >> reaction to former president donald trump unfazed by the federal indictment he has been issued. drum staying on the campaign trail over the weekend holding rallies in speaking to supporters. what he is telling supporters about his campaign if convicted.

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