In paris and about fears of homegrown terror. And joining me this morning for insight and analysis are veteran journalist and author of a new book about cyber terrorism, ted koppel. Helene cooper of the new york times. Molly ball of the atlantic and jerry seib of the wall street journal. Welcome to sunday, its meet the press. Good sunday morning. 50 days until voters start expressing their opinion. We have two new polls on the republican race for president. According to what may be developing into a threeman race, lets get to these numbers. Donald trump is back on top in our new national nbc news wall street journal poll sitting at 27 . Up four points since late october, the highest number hes had in our poll so far. Ted cruz is surging, now in second, sitting at 22, more than double where he was in october. Marco rubio also on the rise. And look at old ben carson, the onetime leader. Believe it or not, he led in the last nbc news wall street journal poll. Hes dropped dramatically to 11 . Heres the rest of the candidates who picked up at least 1 in our poll. Jeb bush still stuck in Single Digits. Then this bombshell out of iowa. Cruise surging into the lead with 31 , a 21point gain since october. Trump is Holding Steady at 21 followed by carson who, here, too has crashed. Hes down 15 points since october. Then rubio and bush. So what we think were seeing thats emerging here is perhaps a threeway race with trump and cruz representing the insurgents at the republican gate and marco rubio counting on becoming the candidate of the faction he needs but is reluctant to acknowledge, the republican establishment. I caught up with senator rubio in greenville, South Carolina and i asked him if donald trump had been good for the Republican Party and rubios candidacy. Obviously i dont agree with everything he says. Theres a lot we have a difference of opinion on but we cant ignore hes touched on issues people are concerned about. If you look at the statement he is made this week, obviously i think he made them to recapture the limelight after having lost it and i do think we lost some of the focus on the attacks in San Bernardino and focused on a plan that isnt a plan and is never going to happen. But he is reminding us in that process that people are really upset and scared. Theyre worried. And i think the president made things worst with his speech, not better. Thats what hes focused in on. You call the comments offensive and outlandish. Thats different than the tone you took with me right now. Its offensive and outlandish for example that its not going to happen, number one, i violates the things we think about in our country. But also the practical reality. That in order for us to eidentiy homegrown violent extremism, well need the cooperation of muslim communities in this country. They may be the first ones to see it. Theyre the ones that will see radicalization happening at a mosque or in the community or even among their own family members so and the other smart theres a narrative that isis and other jihadists pose that this is a war between muslims and the rest of the world and that sort of victimization narrative is something we shouldnt contribute to. On the other hand we have to acknowledge that there is a radical element in islam, jihadism, that needs to be called by name and needs to be confronted. About three months ago you were asked whether donald trump was qualified to be president and you said so far you hadnt heard anything to make him qualified but give it time. Where have you in heard today. The most important thing for a president is to be commander in chief and that means having an understanding of the complex issue on foreign policy. Foreign policy presents with us hard choice, not black or white choices. Often times choices are down to two less than ideal outcomes but you have to choose which is the best for the country. I personally believe he continues to struggle to articulate that. So that makes him unqualified . Well, obviously i think im the most qualified. Thats why im running. Is he qualified at all . I have very strong reservations about what hes expressed about his understanding on these Critical Issues before our country so he has another month before the iowa caucus. Do you think in a month he can learn . Hes not alone. I think others in the field have confused us as well in terms of where they stand on these issues. You just said that the president s speech made it worse. If you were president in a moment like that, what would you have done . What would you have said . Well, first i would have acknowledged why people are concerned and i would have acknowledged that he acknowledged it. Beyond just acknowledging it in the way he did. I would have said, look, i know people, i personally know people that have told me theyre not taking trip this is new years because of theyre afraid of what theyre reading in the press, people in have always taken a tress. Perhaps its anecdotaanecdotal. We can defeat them. What were doing now is not enough. And i honestly believe we need more air strikes, you cant defeat them from the air. You must do two additional things we are not doing now. Number one is put together a Global Coalition on the ground made up primarily of arab sunnis. Well work with the kurds in the kurdish areas and even with christians but isis needs to be feeted on the ground and rejected ideologically by sunni arab themselves. It will require embedding alongside them special operators from the u. S. And other international partners. And we need to start cross messaging these people, countermessaging, propaganda has played a war in every conflict. I think this is critical. Isis is portraying themselves that has extraordinary caliphate, that life is glorious under isis rule, nothing can be further from the truth. So we need to invest more time, for example, explaining to people what happens to noniraqis that join isis. Theyre treated as cannon fodder. Everything you just outlined, though, the administration would argue theyre thats all part of their strategy. Sounds like you basically agree with the president s strategy, you just might implement some part of it differently. Maybe rhetorically some of it is but most of it is not. They have a Propaganda Program that frankly outsiders have said hasnt worked and maybe government cant be behind it. I dont believe that we have. Do you think government can do i dont think a couple twitter posts from the state department is a true anti would you model after radio well, absolutely but it would require us to work with muslim communities around the world that are not islamists to counter message to young people, to counter message to them about why this is not true islam as these Muslim Leaders argue and, in fact, what life under isis control is like. Much more widespread than what were doing now. On the ground i do not believe the president is doing what im outlining. Your campaign has been critical of one of your rivals, senator ted cruz for his vote on the usa freedom act and senator mike lee, somebody you have a tax plan with, you guys are allies on a lot of things, he has said that your rhetoric has been not based in fact. And that its not true what youve been saying that somehow federal officials cant track use the usa freedom act, use the court to track the phone numbers. Well, on this issue not only is he wrong but others that argue that are wrong. We had a program that allowed us to collect the phone records. Basically the phone bill, not the content of your conversations, your emails, anything like, that just your phone bill. Only 16 people in the u. S. Government could look at it and only if they got a court order from a fisa court to look at those phone records. And they retain them for a significant period of time. Under this new law, we are trusting the phone companies to hold those records and all of these phone companies have different period of times when they hold it. Some will hold it for 18 months, some six months. In is a valuable tool. If you have identified someone as a potential terrorist or someone who carries out a terrorist activity, the ability to look at who theyve been calling and talking to is part of a larger puzzle that you can put together to see what network theyve been working with, who theyve been communicating with. We have lost that capacity in many cases. Is this a commanderinchief test for senator cruz . I believe it is for all the candidates. In the case of senator cruz my argument is it wasnt just the intelligence vote. He talks tough on these issues, for example hes going to carpet bomb isis. But the only budget hes ever voted for in his time in the senate is a budget that cut defense spending by more than barack obama proposes we cut it. He voted against the Defense Authorization act every year it came up. And that is the bill and i assume if he voted against it he would veto it as president thats the bill that funds our troops and the ierm dome for israel. So my point is each time hes had to choose between Strong National defense and some of the isolationist tendencies in american politics he sides with the isolationists. This is an important issue to have a debate over. Its not personal. Theres been some questions on some of your even your supporters and people that are pulling for you that say wheres rubio going to win . Hes not playing to win iowa. Hes not playing to win New Hampshire. At some point, you know, donald trump aside, you have to win if youre going to win the nomination. Look, well all be judged at the end of the race. At the end of the race things dont work out well be subject to criticism. Lets wait and see how the votes are counted. I feel confident in our plan. Are you trying to win iowa . Im trying to do well and win everywhere we campaign. Im not running for second or third place in any state in this country. Youre trying to win iowa . Im trying to win everywhere we can. I always go for first place, it doesnt always work out this way. In many elections strong a strong second place is viewed at first place. You cant campaign to take second or third. You are viewed as the establishment candidate. How do you feel . It is viewed as a slight. Is it an attack . It reflects my history. I wouldnt be here if the establishment didnt want me. I have consistently voted against some people who you would identify as the establishment are for. When i chose to get into this race i had people come forward and tell me i shouldnt run, it wasnt my turn. By the way, if i was the establishment favorite i would have raised more than 6 million in the last quarter. That all being said, the truth is, we ultimately will need to unify the party. The Republican Party cannot be elected unless it is together, working together in the same direction and that alone is not enough. We cant win without unifying our party but we cant just win by unifying our party. We must also attract new people to our cause and we do that not by changing our principles but by applying our principles of limited government, Free Enterprise and Strong National defense to the hopes and dreams of concerns of Everyday Americans some of whom have not heard from republicans in a long time. Are you going to work to overturn samesex marriage . I disagree with it on constitutional zblound are you going to overturn it . If you want to change the definition of marriage, you need to go to state legislatures and get them to change it. States have always defined marriage. Thats why some people get married in las vegas by an elvis impersonator and in florida you have to wait a couple days. Every state has different marriage laws but i do not believe the court system is the right way to do it because i dont believe its done now. Are you going to work to overturn it . You cant work to overturn it. You can do a constitutional amendment. That would be conceding that the current constitution is somehow wrong and needs to be fixed. I dont think the current constitution gives the federal government the power to regulate marriage. That belongs at the state and local level. And thats why if you want to change the definition of marriage, which is what this argue system about, its not about discrimination, its about the definition of a specific traditional and ageold institution, that definitional change, if you want to change it, you have a right to petition your state legislature and your elected representatives to do it. What is wrong is that the Supreme Court has found this hidden constitutional delight 200 years of jurisprudence had not discovered and overturned the will of voters in florida where over 60 passed a constitutional amendment that defined marriage in the state constitution as the union of one man and one woman. So are you accepting the idea of samesex marriage . Well, its current law. I dont believe any case law is settled law. Any future Supreme Court can change it and ultimately i will appoint Supreme Court justices that will interpret the constitution as originally constructed. You can see the cot people are and extented version of my sit down including health care, hes getting credit for from the right from helping to undo a big portion of obamacare. And the question of whether hes putting florida special interests ahead of his conservative principles on the issue of big sugar. Thats on meetthepressnbc. Com. When we come back, fear and loathing on the campaign trail. Why so many in the Republican Party fear [ male announcer ] whether it takes 200,000 parts, 800,000 hours of supercomputing time, 3 million lines of code, 40,000 sets of eyes, or a million sleepless nights. Whether its building the worlds most advanced satellite, the space station, or the next leap in unmanned systems. At boeing, one thing never changes. Our passion to make it real. They are. Do i look smarter . Our passion to make it real. Yeah, a little. Youre making money now, are you investing . Well, ive been doing some research. Let me introduce you to our broker. How much does he charge . I dont know. Okay. Uh, do you get your fees back if youre not happy . dad laughs wow, youre laughing. Thats not the way the world works. Well, the worlds changing. Are you asking enough questions about the way your wealth is managed . Wealth management, at charles schwab. Ashley bryant, you are a teacher of small children. Thats right. I have read it is the hardest job in the world. Thats why im here. Can you. I can offer advice from the accumulated knowledge of other educators. Thats wonderful but. I can tailor a curriculum for each student by crossreferencing aptitude, development, geography. Sorry to interrupt. But i just have one question how do i keep them quiet . pause watson . There is no known solution. Theres a truisim in american Politics Democrats fall in love, republicans fall in line. So we thought. Not this year. The opposite has happened. Democrats are falling in line with their established candidate, Hillary Clinton, while its republicans, like a rebellious teenager, smitten with the bad boy on the motorbike in donald trump. And the parents in this case the republican establishment are taking a dim view of that relationship, terrify add trump nomination would wipe out republicans up and down the ballot. Its no longer a silent majority, it a test noisy majority. As donald trump weathers yet another storm of his own making are you racist . I am the least racist person you have ever met. I am the least racist person. The republican establishment is grappling with how to keep the nomination away from trump without alienating his supporters. The partys leaders in washington rushed to condemn Donald Trumps plan to ban muslim immigration. This is not conservatisconse. What was proposed yesterday is not what this party stands for. That would be completely inconsistent with american values. The root of the panic . That trump at the top of the ticket will mean a wipeout down the ballot, losing the senate for republicans and even putting the house in jeopardy. But while trumps 2016 rivals warned republicans he is unelectable if he continues to do what hes doing hes destroying the party, it will be a generation before we can overcome this. Maybe never. All this helps is Hillary Clinton for sure. Those establishment rivals are mired in Single Digits and trumps latest comments dont appear to have damaged his standing among certain republican primary voters. Whos cutting off peoples heads in whos bombing buildings . Whos bombing airplanes . Not the christians. Not the jewish, not the buddhists, its the muslims. 41 of americans believe Trumps Campaign statements are frequently insulting and have the wrong approach. But thats true of just 16 of republicans. Conservative rival ted cruz is raising questions in private about trumps judgment. Who am i comfortable having their finger on the button . Now thats a question of strength but its also a question of judgment. But in public avoiding a cage match, tweeting sorry to disappoint, real donald trump is terrific. Dealwithit. Behind closed doors, republican officials are preparing for the possibility of a contested convention. On the record, the party chair is treating trump cautiously telling a conservative newspaper he disagrees with trumps muslim ban but turning down requests to make that point on camera. And republican officials worry about angering Trump Supporters. A new coalition of White Working Class voters fighting to remake the gop who themselves may be open to an independent run by trump. If im two votes short, i have a problem because ill have to go into that convention and im dealing with all these blood sucker politicians and theyll make their deals. But if i get the number of delegates, theres not a thing they can do and ill do fine with the establishment. I was a member of the establishment six months ago. Im joined by a panel thats already laughing here. Former nightline hose ted koppel, author of a new book about cyber terrorism called lights out, a cyber attack, a nation unprepared. Then helene cooper, pentagon correspondent for the new york times, molly boll of the atlantic and jerry seib who is the bureau chief. Jerry, let me start with you, trump, trump, trump, trump. But you were talking about fear and loathing. Heres the number in our poll that has