Barack obama. Cruz denouncing members of the media as outandout partisan. Theres a reason they dont like the mainstream theyre partisan liberals. Every single journalist . They have an agenda. New york values, the birthers flap and the way theyre covered. National review calls trump a hubs terr. Plus the press says Hillary Clinton is in trouble. Werent the pun debts just telling us she was inevitable . Im howard curtis. And this is mediabuzz. Just back from las vegas where i went to the trump hotel and interviewed donald trump, a 17point lead in New Hampshire and fox news polls just out this morning making him still the republican candidate to beat. After months of attacking the press as dishonest and slimy, you seem mostly to be toning it down a bit. Have you gone from nuclear to lowlevel war fare . You know, i started out of because ofly with zero, and now im up at 42. I think im probably a bit different. You have to change a little bit. I think im a little different. I do very well. Are journalists treating you with new respect, because they think you may win . Not all, but some of them. Wall street journal has changed their views, and ive gained respect. Some of the other have changed their views, and rightfully so. Im not saying it from smile standpoint, but weve done a good job. Time won one of the most beautiful cover stories ive ever had, the one from last week, where im talking to a crowd, but theyre talking about this whole campaign. So, yeah, i think theres been a big change in mode and mood. Yet, after sarah palin endorsed you, this cover im with stupid. Your reaction . First sarah is smart, shes cunning, shes a good person. What about the media attack . Well, they can attack. In the meantime she has one of the best records ted cruz wanted her so badly, hes a nervous wreck. Joe scarborough said you should send her home to deal with her familys problems. Maybe hes not a fan of sarah. Thats okay. I will say this. If you look at the people shes endorsed over the years, including ted cruz, who was like 2 , and then she endorsed him, and you know the feeling. He wanted her desperately more than anybody else. Shes a good woman, a great person. Ive known her for a long time and she said i want to go with you. This is a movement. Its not about me. Its what were saying. Were like led by people who dont have a clue. Were led by incompetent people. The voters are getting it. I just left a rally were in las vegas today, but i left a rally in oklahoma, we had to send away 5,000 people. We had 20,000 people. I just left one in nevada, where we had thousands and thousands. Its a moeismt. As we get closer to iowa and New Hampshire, you ratcheted it up against cruz. I know you say he started it, but he hasnt used that language. He started it, and it sort of started during the debate. I said, whoa, whoa, what do we have here . Hes a good debater, but not a good talker. If hes one on one with a person, he cant relate, he cant talk. Thats not what we need. He was born in canada. He was a citizen of canada until 15 months ago, a lot of people say, and legal scholars have come out im not only talking about the wonderful professor from harvard, im talking about other lawyers have come out very strongly and said he cannot run. So theres a about ig doubt over his whole candidacy and rhoer his didnt file hi loans. He says thats a paperwork error. You said for days you were only raising cruzs issue of birthplace, because the Washington Post asked you. That was true. Other journalists asked you, that was true, but cmon, you know how to deflect a question. You were trying to make a major surety. The Washington Post asked me that question among others. I havent given it very much thought, to be honest. I said there is a problem, because there is a substantial doubt. A lot of people think theres not a doubt. You started out saying you were helping in a way i am helping him, but you know who i really am helping . The republican party. Hes all right got two lawsuits that just got filed. The first thing the democrats will sue him and sue the party, because hes not allowed to run, okay . How can you have a cant that has a cloud sort of in real estate they call it a cloud of title. Hes got a cloud of title. He has a cloud over his head. He probably or possibly is no many lawyers would disagree. Some lawyers dispute it. But youre the one who made an issue, not the press. It hasnt been decided. It depends on the court. Thats a big problem. Do you agree that thats a problem . Its a potential problem. It doesnt seem to be a problem until you brought it up. How do you have a person running for your party that maybe isnt allow to do run for the party. Youre from queens, im from brooklyn, you effectively brought up the response to 9 11 when cruz raised the point in debate. You did an interview in 1999, im a new yorker and very prochoice. Im a new yorker and i hate the whole concept of abortion. I said that strongly. I hate the conaccepts, im prochoice, but that was a long time ago. I will say this. Ronald reagan was a pretty liberal democrat when he was younger, okay, and he switched over to a fairly conservativcon. He was pretty good, and he turned out to be a great president. People change. People change, but if you remember that comment, it says and very strongly, and i give them credit for leaving that part in, i hate that concept of abortion. I said that strongly. You were a businessman in new york, you had to get along with democratic politician in a democratic city, i understand that, but can you understand how some Republican Voters would have doubts because of your past positions that you are a trueblue republican. They said i was a worldclass businessman, and i did, i built a fantastic company. Im going to use that same my kids will do fine, and im going to do the same to do for our country. I feel like i said to be so greedy for the country. I want the money pouring in, were going to save social security. I will tell you as a worldclass businessman, you have to get along with politicians. You have to get along with democrats and republicans. Its standard. You cant have half the people out there as enemies. I was able to get along with klinen, reagan, are. Thats a very good thing. By the way, one of the problems i have with our country, were at gridlock in washington. Everybody hates each other. But on this point senator cruz says youre not becoming the establishment candidate, that the establishment is embracing you, because you may deals that he wont. The problem with cruz is everybody hates him. Think of it. You have all these republican senators. He doesnt have one thats endorsing him. Then senator dole. Hes a maverick. Bob dole is a great person, with an incredible wife. He came out so strongly against cruz and he was very nice to me, which i appreciate, but these are great people. They arent bad people. These are great people. You have to get along a bit. You can be stuff im a deal maker. You dont take that as an insult . No, i think thats a great thing. You knee what im really going to do . You look at china, japan, mexico, they are killing us. A guy like ted is not a deal maker. As you know, mark levine, he questioned whether your Rush Limbaugh was critical, and i know you care about what they think. Last time we talked, you said that influenced you to back away from some earlier criticismic. Rush has not said that. He made a point, but said youve got to do what youve got to do. I like mark a lot the but i think hes for ted. Thats okay. I have a lot of respect for mark levine, but i think hes been for ted. Thats why we have thenus in restaurants, you make different choices, right . But id like to have mark on mice side, but i guess he didnt like this, but if you remember, ted cruz started it. Its a campaign. Its okay, but i have to hit back. If you look like Lindsey Graham and perry, graham hits me all the time and then supports jeb bush, who has no chance. Less chance than you and im not running. Im not running. You would do better. More from our conversation later in the program, along with my sitdown with ted cruz. But when we come back National Review rallies the conservative intellectuals, but can the the rnc has booted National Review from cosponsoring a debate next month as the magazine assembled a group with the goal of stopping donald trump. Its up to conservatives who think that donald trump, whatever his virtues are, doesnt truly understand the ideas and principles that make this country great. Its up to those conserves tiffs to say no, sorry, we oppose. The circulation is way down. Not very many people read it anymore. People dont even think about National Review. So i get they want some publicity. Mercedes schlapp joining me. You saw trump hitting back National Review but its influential. Is this campaign against trump as a menace to the movement a problem for him . I dont think so necessarily. You have to understand the trump supporter. They are getting their cues from Rush Limbaugh, sean hannity, mark levin who have giving a fairly analysis. Or more sympathetic . I would say probably both. They not got on the outright attack we have seen with these very respectful conservative editors, the thinkers that have come out in the magazine. If they represent, for lack of a better phrase, the intellectual wing, and perhaps the talk radio people and some of the web sites or radio is more populist, was almost planned as a campaign. There is a disconnect between these conservative think es, many who live in new york and washington, d. C. And the rest of america. In a bubble . I think to a certain extent they are. Certain thinkers wrote and do appeal to the grassroots activists, but a lot of these thinkers have endorsed a candidate. Glenn beck just came out for senator cruz, who basically said i would prefer to vote for sanders over trump. I think you cant be a conservative in youre thinking about voting for sanders over trump. For me this is the heart of the battle you have crawhammer, george will, steve hays, then tough on trump. And trump wants to dismiss them as unfair to him, criticizing them personally, but you seem to be saying a lot of people hasnt marble review been the leader of the movement on the right . Theyre focus the odd conservative ideology, but then i have filly schaff ly schaffle the National Review is not its a civil war. At the end. If trump is the nominees or cruz, can the conservatives rallies behind one candidate . And that is going to be key. The fact is you have candidates coming owl saying these would support a Hillary Clinton or not vote because of trump as basically giving Hillary Clinton another eight years. Just briefly, do you have any problem with the Republic National committee booting them from the i think it s the right now. As rich lowery said, National Review has made a moral decree said, and i think its a fairness, its okay for the rnc to disinvite them it would have been wiser to have bo sides. A focus group was asked on our behalf what they think of the media coverage. Why havent they been fair . Theyve targeted him, taking his words and pulled it out of context, which the media is very good for. I think steven more than fair. Its the donald trump show all the time every day. 100 fair for the media to abuse you when youre running for the presidency. It gives us a chance to see how youre going to handle it. Its unfair to i think abuse is a strong word. I think tough questions, absolutely, but what donald trump has done, hes used social media to his advance, delivered the narrative. Guess what . The media is asking the questions, hiss accessible, not afraid to answer any of the questions, howie. One of the reasons he gets airtime is hes willing to come on the sunday shows and late night shows, but to finish up on National Review hes not running as a true blue conservative, so he doesnt have to pass that litmus test. To say hes not a real conservative would be harmful. Based on your interview, what is he running as . A deal maker. Theres gridlock in washington, and the fact is senator cruz didnt work friendly with the other senators, trump says he can come in as a deal maker. If i was asked him as a establishment candidate, he didnt deflect it at all. I think hes willing to embrace that hat. His goal is he wants to win the primary. He wants all those different lanes. Can he do . Thats the big question. Ahead my interview with ted cruz. He has strong things to say about media and his chief rival, but first the media knives are out against after sarah palin after her trump endorsement. Is the criticism fair . Ted cruz has emerged as Donald Trumps leading rival after a remarkable surge that has also intensified his media coverage. I sat down with the senator here in washington. Thank you for being here. Thank you. Now as a leading candidate, dont you need to be able to withstand tough media scrutiny . Sure. That goes with the territory, but any republican who is running should not be confused and think that the Mainstream Media are our friends. They are part sans. They wake up every day fighting for liberal political agendas. New york times wants Hillary Clinton to be president. Every day theyre going to push stories advancing that. Thats the reality, the world we live in. The answer is not to whine and complain, but do what reagan did. Go over the head of the media, go straight to the American People. Thats why were running a greatroots campaigns. You accuse New York Times of a hit piece, that you didnt properly disclose a loan for your 2012 senate campaign, but you didnt deny any of the specifics in the article. Look, they breathlessly reported this horrible scandal that, when i was running for office, i was running against someone worth about it 00 million, all of the establishment, all of the lobbyists were against is, and my wife and i we took or life savings, spending and selling stocks and assets and taking out loans against the rye mainer and put all of that into a loan we gave the campaign. The entire basis of the New York Times story, the loans we took we disclosed on one form, but not the other. Both of those forms are public, both before the election both of those were disclosed. And that information was included in the piece. Why a hit piece . Because its a total nothing. Im going to leave aside the fact that im from new york. I know you say that donald trump sort of started it and youre using that against him, and you described new york values as socially liberal, focus around money and the media. Trump, of course, brought up 9 11, but are you using new york city as a sort of caricature to appeal to the characterization didnt come from me. You certainly seized on it. But it was how he explained his values. When he was do an interview, and tim was asking him, all right, what are your views . He said im very prochoice. I support partial birth abortion, and he said im from new york, im from manhattan. Thats what we believe in new york. He says hes open to gay marriage, very prochoice, supports partial birth, and the entire explanation is those are new york values. Hes the one that draws thor distinction. Thats what we believe in new york, so its curious to see him all upset that im repeating his own words explaining why he believes what he believes. I would point out that the media reported on his more liberal views in the 90s doesnt seem to have hurt him. Let me move on toed socalled birther stories. I was surprised. I thought it would about el a twoday flap. You were asked about it every day for a week by reporters everywhere you went. What did you make of that . Look. Thats just the nature of reporters. They like to as i mentioneder theyre democrats at the end of the day. Erser reporters like conflict, and do recall believe he drove the agenda. He drives the reporters agenda. We were in the midst of a bus tour. 26 counties in six days, enormous enthusiasm, but from what you look, looking at the media, it was a great field test. We would do at pretty much every event a press gaggle. By the way, a lot of other candidates dont do press gaggles. I take questions all the time. Half to two thirds of the questions from the reporters would be about donald trump and the latest attack, the latest tweet, and you go into the town hall, one county, 7,000 people in the county, we had 700 people. 10 of the county came out. Another town with 600 people, 150 came you dont like being asked about donald trump, but now youre mixing it up but heres my point, howie. When we do town has and actual voters would ask questions, nobody would ask about the silly birther attack. They ask about the real problems facing this country. How do we defeat isis . How do we stop iran from getting nook lard weapons . How do we protect our Second Amendment or religious liberty . How do we get more jobs . Touch a special focus group. If trump wakes up in the morning andy sends a wild tweet, every reporter asks, did you see the latest tweet . The American People are more substantive. Theyre interested in who is ready to be the next commander in chief. A piece last month said you are not very likable, that you seemed to be taking an almost academic approach. And can seal to be calibrated. What do you make of that line of media analysis of your candidacy . Look, its a perfect example of the kind of hit piece the New York Times does. If i was a democrat, dont look at the store that New York Times wrote about barack obama. You could write the same story about have you seen where 10 of a rural county came to our event . That 25 of a small town came certainly true youre not the most popular guy in the senate. But lets be clear why that is. Its not because of how i treat people. Thats why im asking. My entire time ive treated everyone with civility and respect. What is problematic in the senate from other senators perspectives is speaking the truth, what is going on. We just passed a trillion dollar omnibus bill that funded the entirety of funned executive amnesty, the iran deal, funded obamas indefensible plan to bring Syrian Refugees to america. The unpardonable sin that i committed is i actually speak the truthings why is railroad her by the way,