>> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. hello, i'm wolf blitzer in washington. wherever you're watching from around the world, thank you very much for joining us. up first -- president trump meeting right now with a key middle eastern ally, outrage grows over the chemical weapons attack in syria. the president and jordan's king abdullah will hold a joint news conference set to begin minutes from now in the white house rose garden. we'll bring it to you live on cnn. the two leaders will discuss the

horrific attack in syria that killed dozens and killed so many children. the president reacted to the attack. this is about an attack. the audio is tough to hear. he said this. these are very troubled times in the middle east and we see what happened. and just recently yesterday in syria. horrible, horrible, horrible thing. unspeakable. meantime, over at the united nations security council today the u.s. ambassador nikki haley displayed photos of some of the victims and called on the united nations and especially russia, a member of the u.n. security council to stop the carnage. >> we awoke to pictures, to children foaming at the mouth, suffering convulsions, being carried in the arms of desperate parents. we saw rows of lifeless bodies, some still in diapers, some with visible scars of a chemical

weapons attack. look at those pictures. if russia has the influence in syria that it claims to have, we need to see them use it. we need to see them put an end to these horrific acts. how many more children have to die before russia cares? >> the trump administration's foreign policy certainly being put to the test this week. he's meeting today with jordan's king abdullah, just the latest in a series of high-profile meetings with world leaders. let's bring in our senior white house correspondent jeff zeleny. jeff, the white house condemned the attacks in syria. but the administration suggested in recent days that the syrian president bashar al assad could remain in power. what does that mean for today's

very important meeting with king abdullah? >> wolf, it is critical in this critical meeting. more importantly, we're waiting on word from the president himself here. what he says about syria. we saw, you know, a quick remark there in the opening. but will he embrace, will he amplify the message that his u.n. ambassador nikki haley delivered at the united nations earlier this morning with tough talk on russia. we have yet not heard the president speak that directly about russia. we know the president will be addressing syria when he meets here in the rose garden in just a few motels, wolf. so, if he is, you know, repeating the line of nikki haley it will be the most significant words he has said yet. if he does not go that far, that will be significant as well here, wolf. because up until now, yes, the administration says this was a

irreprehensible attack but they've not outlined what they're going to do. so the words that the president will say coming up, so important, wolf. >> white house, you know, jeff, has removed chief strategist steve bannon from the national security council. this is an important development. tell us how this decision came about and what it means. >> wolf, this is a very important development in a still growing young add sfragadministn here. you'll remember back to the first week of this administration when steve bannon, the political strategist was maimed to the principles committee of the national security council, sitting alongside the secretary of state, secretary of defense, in making these big foreign policy decisions, well, he has been removed from that seat. wolf, this is the first public diminishing of steve bannon inside west wing. yes, he is still, you know, a very influential adviser on

domestic policy. but by removing him from the national security council principles committee and returning it too a more traditional structure, if you will, is a clear sign that, yes, there is indeed a power struggle going inside this west wing. steve bannon always won those, not this one, wolf. h.r. mcmaster, general mcmaster is the national security adviser who replaced michael flynn is empowered by the white house, i'm told. this is a win for him getting his own people, if you will, back on the national security council. wolf, this is coming from, of course, when so many foreign policies topics and issues are landing on the president's desk here. and steve bannon will be more in the line of a political adviser. i can't think of anything in the first days of the administration that has made steve bannon more

diminished than this has. >> certainly a significant development. wait there is more. "the new york times" has just posted an exclusive interview with the president in the oval office. among other things the head line of this "the new york times" article says trump says susan rice may have committed a crime. the president's national security adviser. you've gone through the article. this is important news as well. >> it is important news, wolf, the president himself saying he believes it was his opinion that the former national security adviser in the obama administration susan rice may have committed a crime. but if you read that, the president wouldn't elaborate on that or what time he met by that. this is a time that the president is still trying to cling to an assertion that he made so many weeks ago now that president obama and the obama administration was indeed -- had his advisers under some type of surveillance.

initially, he described it as wiretapping and then broadened it out to surveillance generally. so he and others in the administration are trying to point the finger to susan rice. she has said, look, may have done some unmasking which is typical for a national security adviser to essentially see the names mentioned in the intelligence report, talking to foreign nationals. but she said i did not leak here. if any crime were committed she would have had to leak that information. she said she didn't do it. the president himself making that claim that he cannot back up or he did not share that evidence with "the new york times" but by throwing a stick ball to susan rice in her role with benghazi in the last administration is already a magnet for controversy here. so, the president by adding to that, knows exactly what he's doing, as perhaps the biggest sign of deflection yet.

the reality here, when you break through all the smoke, look through all the smoke, it's his administration that is still under investigation by the fbi. the house intelligence committee and the committee intelligence committee. so susan rice is a side show at best here. but the president clearly making that explosive charge from the oval office today, wolf. >> he certainly did. let me read a couple quotes from the president of the united states just a little while ago in the oval office, referring to susan rice, president obama's national security adviser suggesting she may have committed a crime. i think it's going to be the biggest story, the president said in the interview. it's such an important story for our country and the world. it is one of the big stories of our time. he then declined to go into specifics to bolster his case. but when asked specifically do you believe she committed a crime, the president said, do i think, yes, i think. the president being very, very specific. although refusing to provide

details. he said at the right time, in his words, those details would eameric emer emerge. very interestingly, in the same "the new york times" interview, the president defended bill o'reilly, the fox news host who has been accused of improper activities, shall we say, with women. i don't think bill did anything wrong. personally i think he shouldn't have settled. because he should have taken it all the way. i don't think bill did anything wrong. jeff zeleny, there's a lot in this "the new york times" interview that people are going to be digesting, not just today, but over the days to come. >> no doubt about it, wolf and this is what president trump has done for a long time. he'll give an interview and he'll, you know, inject his viewpoints out there to, again, try and deflect or what not. the bill o'reilly comments wolf, so fascinating in a sense this is a white house in the middle of a sexual violence awareness

month. they've been marking that and sending out messages of that. for the president to say that of bill o'reilly certainly shocking and interesting. wolf, it reminded me during the complain last year as well about the chief of fox news who had similar complaints lodged against him. in fact, it pushed him out of the network there. so, it is not surprising perhaps the president is coming to bill o'reilly's aid there. but, wolf, such interesting words coming from, someone who in the final weeks of the campaign, we all remember those lewd words that came from the president's mouth, candidate trump at the time there. and now, certainly defending bill o'reilly. very interesting. back on the point of susan rice, if the president is asked at this news conference what evidence he has to back up this charge, it will be interesting to see what he has to say. because he would not tell maggie haberman of "the new york times," what evidence he has to back any of this up, wolf.

>> yes. all right. here's the president of the united states. and king abdullah of jordan. they will begin with opening statements. first from the president. then his majesty, the king of jordan. >> thank you very much. your majesty, thank you for being with us today. very much appreciate it. this is our second meeting since my inauguration, but our first at the white house, very special place, i can tell you that. i've got ton know ten to know i. long hours. very special. it's really an honor to welcome you here today. but before we begin, let me say a few words about recent events. yesterday, chemical attack, a chemical attack that was so horrific in syria against innocent people, including

women, small children, and even beautiful little babies, their deaths was an afront to humanity. these heinous actions by the assad regime cannot be tolerated. the united states stands with our allies, across the globe, to condemn this horrific attack. and all other horrific attacks. for that matter. your majesty, jordanians are known for their legendary hospitality, and we will do our very best to be equally gracious hosts. they're also known, however, i have to say this, for their fighting ability. and you are a great warrior.

and we appreciate it. thank you. the historical ties and close friendship between our two countries dates back three quarters of a century. in that time, the middle east has faced many periods of crisis and unrest. perhaps never like it is today, however. through them all, america has looked to jordan as a valued partner, an advocate for the values of civilization and a source of stability and hope. i am deeply admitted to preserving our strong relationship, which i will, and to strengthening america's longstanding support for jordan. and you do have tremendous support within our country, i can tell you that. as we know. the middle east and the entire world is faced with one of its gravest threats in many, many years. since the earliest days of the

campaign against isis, jordan has been a staunch ally and partner, and we thank you for that. jordanian service members have made tremendous sacrifices in this battle against the enemies of civilization. and i want to thank all of them for their -- really just incredible courage, so many have been lost, and we pay homage. so many. in king abdullah, america is blessed with a thoughtful and determined partner. he's a man who has spent years commanding his country's special forces. he really know what is being a soldier is, that, i can tell you. and he knows how to fight. the king has been a leader in calling for a plan to defeat isis once and for all. and i'm with you on that. we're both leaders on that. believe me. that's what we speak about today. and that is what we are going to

do. and it will be a shorter fight than a lot of people are thinking about, believe me. we've made tremendous strides as we've discussed. as you know, we had a very, very fine delegation come over from egypt and also from iraq, and they said more has been done in the last six weeks than has been done in years with the previous administration. believe me, we're going to keep it that way. we will destroy isis, and we will protect civilization. we have no choice. we will protect civilization. king abdullah and i also discussed measures to combat the evil and ideology that inspires isis and plagues our planet, in addition, we also acknowledge the vital role that jordan has played in hosting refugees from

the conflict in syria. we have just announced that the united states will contribute additional funds to jordan for humanitarian assistance. this aid will help country it's like jordan host refugees until it is safe for them to return home. the refugees want to return home. i know that from so many other instances. they want to return back to their homes. and that's a goal of any responsible refugee policy. finally, as we discussed, to advance the cause of peace in the middle east, including peace between the israelis and the palestinians, and i'm working very, very hard when trying to finally create peace between the palestinians and israel. and i think we'll be successful. i hope to be successful, i can tell you that.

the king has been a really tireless advocate for solution. he's going to help me with that, and help me at the highest level. and we will be consulting with him very closely in the days ahead. king abdullah, i want to take this opportunity to thank you for your partnership, working together, the united states and jordan can help bring peace and stability to the middle east. and in fact, the entire world, and we will do that. thank you very, very much for being with us. mr. president, thank you for such a kind and warm welcome to the white house. i fondly remember the meetings we've had many years ago. and more recently, several months ago. you've always been a generous

host. and i've always looked up, and we're very delighted with the way the discussions have gone thus far. and we're delighted to be here on a wonderful setting and a beautiful day which i think is a tremendous mark of how we're going to move into the future. we've had a very good round of talks today. and i'm looking forward to continuing these discussions later on in our meetings after the press conference. what i do want to say how much we deeply appreciate the close relations we have with the united states. with you, mr. president, or the american people. this is a strategic partnership that we keep very close to our hearts. and it is a partnership of so many levels that we will continue, i think, with the frank discussions we had today to improve as we face the challenges the future. and i'm very delighted for your vision, your holistic approach to all of the challenges in our region. and to the dedication of your team being able to translate policy into action successfully,

hopefully, as we move forward. the challenges we face today are many and not exclusive to my region as i just mentioned. they are global. and particularly, the threats to global security. terrorism has no borders, no nationality, no religion. and therefore, joint action with a holistic approach as i just mentioned, mr. president, is crucial. i am very delighted that you have the vision to be able to move in that direction. and i think that the world will be in a very good place as we move with all of these challenges ahead. no doubt with all of the challenges that we face in the world, the loaw of the u.s. is key to all of the issues we have around the world. but it's not just the fact that we should expect the united states 0 do all of the heavy lifting. the heavy lifting has to be done by all of us in the international community to support the united states to be able to translate that vision into the right direction. so, there's a lot of responsibility for all of us in the international community to support the administration and

the american people to bring better days to all of us. we're very encouraged by the president's determination to support muslim states and arab states in the fight against terrorism. it's not only the fight of terrorism inside of our societies but we as arab and muslim states standing in the midst of the committee to be defeat the international scourge. we need a solution that preserves territoriesial integrity. as the president mentioned the issue we discussed with the israeli-palestinian conflict which is essentially the core conflict in our region. and the president's early engagement is bringing the palestinians and israelis together has been an encouraging sight for all of us. i think, sir, it was that initiative that allowed us at the arab summit last week to extend through the arab peace initiative, the message of peace that we hope will make that come about. all our countries we launch the

arab peace commission as i said last week. it offers an historic consillation between israel and at station. it's the most comprehensive framework for lasting peace and assures statehood for the palestinians, but also security, acceptance and normal ties for israel with all our countries and hopefully all islamic countries. we appreciate your commitment on issue where is others have failed. you'll find a strong ally supporting in all the policies. as i might say on syria and the gas attack, unfortunately, as you and i both agree, this is another testament of the diplomacy to find a solution to this crisis which i believe under your leadership we will be able to unravel this very complicated situation. this has been ongoing for seven years now. has ascended into proxy wars from different parties with dubious agendas.

but at the end of the day, as you pointed out, mr. president, it's the civilians, women and children, paying the heaviest price. this is happening on our watch as well as the global community. and i know the passion and emotion that the president has expressed and how this should not be tolerated whatsoever. and the threshold of immunity that is being crossed every day is something that i know the president will not allow to happen, wherever it may be. and i fully support and endorse the president in this issue. so, i want to thank you, sir, because you have the outlook at looking not just at the syrian challenges but the palestine and libya, any issues, i think your message to all of us is a message of hope. that's what i take away from this conference. and i thank you for all you've done thus far. and wish you well, sir. >> we'll take a few questions. julie.

>> thank you, sir. questions on syria for both leaders. if i could start with you, mr. president. you've condemned the chemical attack in syria, but you also appeared in your statement yesterday to pin some of the blame on the obama administration. you're the president now. do you feel you bear responsibility for responding to the chemical attack? and does the chemical attack cross a red line for you? >> well, i think the obama administration had a responsibility to solve the crisis a long time ago. and when he didn't cross that line in making the threat, i think that set us back a long ways not only in syria, but in many other parts of the world because it was a blank threat. i think it was something that was not one of our better days as a country. i do feel it, julie, i feel it very strongly. >> i now have responsibility and i will have that responsibility

and carry it very proudly, i will tell you that. it is now my responsibility. it was a great opportunity missed. as you know, i'll be meeting with the president of china very soon in florida. that's another responsibility we have. and that's called the country of north korea. we have a big problem. we have somebody that is not doing the right thing. and that's going to be my responsibility. but i'll tell you that responsibility could have been made a lot easier if it was handled years ago. >> king, if i could just quickly ask if the chemical attacks crosses a red line for you? >> it crossed a lot of lines for me. when you kill innocent children, innocent babies, little babies, with a chemical gas that is so lethal, people were shocked to hear what gas it was, that crosses many, many lines, beyond a red line, many, many lines.

thank you. >> your majesty, if i could ask about refugees. your country has borne the brunt of refugees in syria. the president has blocked a ban that would block refugees coming into the u.s. >> i think as the president pointed out, most if not all syrian refugees want go back to syria. we're working with the international community to stabilize in the country given the tools so that as we're working with solutions in syria, we have an ability to be able to send them back as a positive influence in their countries. again, the president and europeans are very leaning in looking after it. tremendous burden on our country but tremendous appreciation from the united states and western countries to be being able to help us.

>> your majesty, how does the outcome of the arab summit help you in a policy to advance palestinian israeli negotiations? >> well, as i said, the arab peace initiative came out with a resounding resolution to offer peace to israelis. to make them feel that they're accepted into the neighborhood. and to be able to support the president, as he brings parties together. again, i have to remind people, very early on there was an early engagement by the president and the team, to the israelis and palestinians to be able to see what he can do to bring them together. it is the core conflict for a lot of us in the region. the president knows this, he has assistance in the right place and working with his team, our job, as i said is to do the heavy lifting. we are prepared to do whatever they can do bring the israelis and palestinians together under

the leadership of the president. >> thank you, mr. president. i'd like to follow up on julie's question and press you a little more on syria. how will you distinguish your policy and your reaction on syria from the inaction you criticized of the previous administration? you say it's now your responsibility. what should we see or what should we look for that would be different? and your majesty, this is now your second meeting with the president, what gives you it's optimism that mr. trump will succeed in the israeli-palestinian conflict where so many others have failed before him to be a broker for peace? >> i like to think of myself as a very flexible person. i don't have to have one specific way, and if the world changes, i go the same way. i don't change -- well, i do

change. and i am flexible. and i'm proud of that flexibility. and i will tell you, that attack on children yesterday, had a big impact on me. big impact. that was a horrible, horrible thing. and i've been watching it and seeing it, and it doesn't get any worse than that. and i have that flexibility. and it's very, very possible, and i will tell you, it's already happened, that my attitude towards syria and assad has changed very much. if you look back over the last few weeks, there were other attacks using gas. you're now talking about a whole different level. so, as you know, i would love to have never been in the middle east. i would love to have never seen that whole big situation start. but once it started, we got out

the wrong way. and isis formed in the vacuum. and lots of bad things happened. i will tell you, what happened yesterday is unacceptable to me. >> can i follow up, sir -- last year, you seemed to be reluctant to get involved -- or to intervene in syria directly. is that one thing that's changed after yesterday? >> well, one of the things i think you've noticed about me is militarily, i don't like to say where i'm going and what i'm doing. and i watched past administrations say we will attack at such and such a day at such and such an hour. and you being a warrior, you would say why are they saying that? i'm sure you sat back in jordan and said why are they saying that? i watched mosul where the past administration was saying we will be attacking in four months. and i said, why are you doing that? then a month goes by. and they say we will be

attacking in three months. and then two months. and then we will be attacking next week. and i'm saying why are they doing that, as you know, mosul turned out to be a much harder fight than anyone thought. and a lot of people have been lost in that fight. i'm not saying i'm doing anything one way or the other. but i'm certainly not going to be telling you as much as i respect you, john, thank you. >> sir, i think on behalf of the president, what i saw was an early engagement by the president and his team with all of us in the region about the challenges between israelis and palestinians. i had the honor of seeing the president and his team again in january. where this was discussed. the president understands the nuances and the challenges. i think he has the courage and dedication to be able to do this. like i said before, all of us have a responsibility to help the president push us over the finish line. so, his team has been in the region. they've been talking to all of

the partners. and it's our job to facilitate the atmosphere between israelis and arabs to move together and given the support of the president to be able to smooth the edges of the israelis and palestinians to achieve this. the president understands if we can't solve this problem, how are we going to win the global fight for terrorism which is the number one priority? so this is a commit that he under stands and has my commitment. >> and i have to just say the world say mess. i inherited a mess. whether it's the middle east, whether it's north korea, whether it's so many other things. whether it's in our country horrible trade deals. i inherited a mess. we're going to fix it. we're going to fix it. >> thank you. your majesty, if i ask you to look forward, how do you see the

future with mosul, officially the road that jordan would take into iraq? and mr. president, you know very well that the iranian minister and hezbollah has been after the regime for a few years now. will you go after them? and will you work with the russians to stop the syrian air force and establish that? thank you. >> the first part is we're seeing very recently tremendous gains on the round in roaqqah ad mosul. it's difficult to put a time line because the battle space is always very fluid. i think the war is being won in the gulf. having said that, terrorists are on the move. they'll be on the move in iraq and outside of syria, so we have to make sure we adapt our plans

accordingly. and beyond our borders. as we and the administration have discussed, it's this holistic approach, how do we find them wherever we are. i think that is the understand. terrorists have no respect for borders and religions and people. so, it's the seriousness of how we do this, as i've mentioned several times. and what i'm really delighted is the understanding by the president and the administration in how to deal with this globally. and i think you're seeing a move in the right direction. because the policy now is being charted out. and my discussions with the defense secretary and the secretary, allows us to be able to decide how we adapt ourselves in a nation to be able to come in line with international policy. >> iran deal made by the previous administration is one of the worst deals i have ever witnessed, and i've witnessed some beauties.

it's one of the worst deals i've ever witnessed. it should never have been made. it was totally one-sided against the united states. and frankly, against much of the middle east. i will do whatever i have to do. they have a deal. it was some people say not done properly, even in the form of its finalization. there was no vote from congress. there was no real radfication. but i will do what i have to do with respect to the iran deal. as far as isis is concerned, the united states will work with whoever it's appropriate to work with, to totally eradicate isis and other terrorists. and by the way, isis is one group. but others have formed. frankly, they're all over the place. we will do what we have to do to

eradicate terrorists. >> the iranian militia in syria, the support of the regime, what message do you have for them? >> you will see. they will have a message. you will see what the message will be, okay? thank you. thank you all very much. thank you. >> the president of the united states and the king of jordan shaking hands following a rose garden white house news conference. very strong words from president trump today with several implicit threats. threats against various targets in the middle east, as well as north korea as well. he said the chemical weapons attack that occurred in syria in recent days was totally unacceptable he said, unacceptable to me. and it has changed his attitude. he didn't want to go details what he would do. he said the world is a mess. i inherited a mess.

it is now my responsibility, he says, to deal with all the issues. lots to assess as the president and king abdullah of jordan go back inside from the rose garden. gloria borger, let me start with you. he didn't get into specifics, but he warned that the u.s. is about to take action on several fronts. >> yeah. he left the presser saying, you will see. and in that was an implicit threat. he made it very clear that he has changed his attitude towards syria and assad. blah i did not hear from the president which we heard from ambassador nikki haley earlier was a word to the russians. nikki haley said earlier if russia has the influence they claim to have some syria, she said, we need to see them use it. we did not hear the president talk about russia's role in all of this. nor did we talk about russia using its influence with assad in all of this. but it is a complete turnaround from rex tillerson who basically

said, well, you know, the people of syria have to decide whether they want to keep assad in power or not. so, the president didn't threaten regime change specifically. but he did do say little bit of saber rattling today without taking russia on this. >> he did take on the previous administration. the obama administration. saying i inherited a mess. the world is a mess. he blamed the obama administration, president obama for drawing that red line back in 2013 against the use of chemical weapons in syria. but not following through. and he said that should not have happened. he said, i'm drawing my own line. >> absolutely. wolf, you know this better than most people because you have covered the white house and so many presidents. that at a certain point, and he actually had almost 100 days for this point to come to him, something happens in the world that stops the white house and stops the president in his tracks. and has to have him shift and

sort of refocus. now, this white house has been embellished in its own chaos and controversy. but this is obviously not a new situation. not a new crisis, unbelievable humanitarian crisis that's been going on. it's been going on for years. but it is the first time that the american people that the citizens around the world, have seen the images that we've seen of these children on donald trump's watch when he is the leader of the free world. and i just think it's very constructive to see the way he reacted. he reacted the way most presidents would, just in terms his rhetoric saying it changed me. i understand this is something that we have to deal with, now, we don't know. okay. but now what? we don't know how he's going to react. we don't know how he is going to make that into a policy or not. but i do think it's sort of

interesting to take a step back and see how he reacts to that. one other point i want to quickly make, the man he's standing next to, the king of jordan, he's been dealing with this for a decade. it's not just syrian refugees. it's refugees from all over the middle east. embassy international lists jordan as the number one taker of refugees, 2.7 million people they've absorbed. how different is that notion? obviously they're it's in region so it's a different dynamic, how different is that than the rhetoric we've heard from the president? >> jordan has taken in hundreds of thousands from syria. also iraq as well. many of those iraqi refugees are still there. sara murray is at the white house. you werely there at the white house conference. you're still in the rose garden.

sara, the president clearly has been moved by the images we've seen over the past 24 hours of those little kids who were gassed in the chemical weapons attack in syria? >> i think you're right, wolf. the president brought this up repeatedly, he may have had one view of assad when he came into the blouse but now that view is changing. now what that will actually mean remains to be seen. the president making it clear he now deems this as his responsibility. he understands that this horrific tragedy playing out on the world stage under his watch, while he's the president of the united states. while he's the one who should be setting the tone here. but he didn't really give any indication of how he might perceive. the other thing that was interesting that was telling was the president made no comment about russia. he had no criticism to offer of russia in this. this is a sharp break than what we heard from nikki haley at the u.n. today that the u.n. is

complicit in this. even if they do not do anything about it. we still have not heard this president make any condemnation or criticism of russia's role. sara, stand by. clarissa ward is with us as well. she spent a lot of time in syria as well. let's not forget, clarissa, over the past years, 300,000, 400,000 syrians have been killed in this war that's been going on. and millions have been made homeless what words did you hear that were encouraging from president trump. >> we have seen this movie many times before. we have heard the condemnations. we have heard the personal and i'm sure authentic accounts of how moved presidents and politicians and people in power have been to see these horrifying images of young

children choking to death at the hands of a poisonous gas disseminated by their own government. but i did not see anything in the way of an indication that there would be a substantial shift on the syria policy. i just want to draw your attention to one thing president trump said. i'm not saying i'm going to be doing anything one way or the other. but i'm certainly not going to tell you. the indication there seems to be, i haven't made any decision yet. i am keeping all my options open. and i'm not going to be consulting the american people or the media to discuss it once i do make a decision. because i know on the subject of syria, there aren't very many good answers. i also thought it was very interesting to hear from king abdullah. he was almost a little bit soft on syria. i expected to hear him come out much more harshly on the subject of this chemical weapons attack. i think what you're seeing here is policy playing out, as

horrified as people are, it's a situation that it's so complex and convoluted in syria that everyone still wants to pass the buck. and to offer these drab attitudes that it's up to the international community to come up with a solution. we all know that's not going to happen unless we see decisive leadership. and i didn't see any indication that president trump is going to provide that, wolf. >> he said this gas attack, this sarin gas attack against the civilians it crossed many lines for me it crossed many lines. i quickly went to go to our diplomatic editor nic robertson for what we heard today. go ahead. >> wolf, a couple things. one interesting thing was to hear how king abdullah on several occasions framed the israeli-palestinian issue as a core issue in the region. and even president trump was talking specifically about assad

and syria and how to tackle that, king abdullah got his line in that the palestinian-israeli is a core issue. and if you don't deal with that core issue, then you will continue to have a problem with isis, though his framing what is in his back yard a huge and impossible issue that getting back to it at the moment and potentially stands or has for a while under the trump administration looked as if tensions might escalate further. and are to some degree, he's framing this to president trump, you must deal with this issue, the palestinian-israeli issue, because if you don't, you'll never get rid of isis. i think to the point that nikki haley was making at the u.n. earlier what we've heard, russia and its willingness, that's what the obama administration and secretary kerry was doing several years with the united nations continually over 2 1/2

years where russia was obliged to put pressure on assad. every time they were going to do that, they seem less likely to do that now. to echo what clarissa was saying there there isn't the language, there was nothing in the proposed resolution of the united nations that says you must cease and desist. we insist that you don't do this again. there was nothing that this language. it was very much a message without heat. and to president trump's point that he is dealt a weaker hand in syria, because of president obama. certainly, we can see the situation that russia took advantage when president obama didn't back up his red line. so president trump has been left with fewer cards to play with. but the pressure will be on him to deal with it far more astutely than perhaps other issues on his plate because he, too, may be judged in international affairs by how

measures what he said today. lines have been crossed, it's his responsibility, he will have to do it because he created his own red line here, wolf. >> yeah, he says, i now have this responsibility. it is now my responsibility. he said, i have -- he said i now have to -- it crossed -- the syrian gas attack, it crossed many lines for me. crossed many lines. mia, the president also made it clear, the change based on what we're seeing, clearly with the gas attack has forced him to change his views about the response to the brutal situation in syria. take a look how dramatically it may have changed. when he was a private citizen, he tweeted this, president obama, he said do not attack syria. there is no upside and tremendous downside. save your powder for another and more important day. that was what he said then.

but now he seems to be moving in a very different direction. >> he does seem to be moving in a different direction. and it's really unclear why. it's not like assad is all of a sudden a war criminal. it's not like all of a sudden this war has broken out. and he's doing tremendous harm to his country and the citizens of that country. so that is, i think, odd. he's acting as if there's new information that has changed his position. but the question is what is the new position, right? he criticized obama for being weak in the statement he put out about syria. he criticized him for being aloof in doing nothing. but what does trump do? what does it mean to be strong for trump in the opposite of obama? what does it mean to be resol e resolute? we don't really know. in a lot of ways he has boxed himself in by saying he's made this tremendous shift in terms of how he sees assad. a couple days ago, he said assad could stay in place. does it now mean the approach to

assad is very different. as gloria mentioned as well, does he push russia which has been an ally of russia -- yeah, does he push russia to move in a different direction and stop giving cover to assad? we don't really know. we do know that this president has a tremendous learning curve. he's not really steeped in this issue. my goodness, he has a huge crisis in his hands. >> he's the president of the united states. from the council on foreign relations, you served in the government as well, what jumped out to you, robert? >> what struck me, what we're seeing the evolution and education of president trump very quickly. he came into power, he even invoked at the beginning of his comments that isis is his focus. that's where his policy is. but what we're seeing is say crisis in syria from a regime, from damascus. so he's having to recalibrate his approach because isis in many way says symptom of a deeper problem in syria and iraq.

he came in to say isis is the problem i need to solve. and now he's seeing the problem is much, much deeper and he's being educated. and he's also seeing that american interests in the region are much more expansive than he thought. he said it in the press conference, he came in wanting to keep the u.s. outside of the middle east. he's finding it's a lot harder than he realized. and it's very hard for him to get out. >> right at the very end, a response from the jordanian journalist. he did say that the iran nuclear deal that was negotiated the final year of the obama administration is the worst deal, the worst deal ever. he said i will do whatever i have to do. he didn't go into specifics. we heard that often from him during the campaign. but since becoming president, we haven't heard him blast his iran nuclear deal that much at all. and it came in response to the question about iranian support for in syria, backing syrian

>> well, up until now, he's continued to criticize the iran nuclear deal but he's yet to come up with an alternative policy. he stood up with prime minister netanyahu and even then did not say anything about the deal. the focus of the administration, since coming to power, has been on challenging iran but not on undoing the deal. today, he gave no indication of what that might be. i see no reason to believe -- >> he might not -- >> that's right. >> this is part of the education of donald trump who told us that nobody would have an idea how complex health care is and now how complex the middle east is. >> i love listening to clarissa ward and nic robertson, the best of the best, who understand foreign policy better than anybody. trying to say, well, wait a minute, we don't know what his policy is. >> right. >> because they weren't covering the campaign that we were covering.

we know that he's not entirely sure what his policy is. and he was the most candid about that, i think, today. and it's not a surprise that he didn't say here's what i'm going to do in the rose garden because he's never done that. >> you know, i've listened to all that you've been discussing in these last few minutes after the press conference and it indicates a change in position on assad. the rest of the word is going to take notice. so when he says that his position on assad has changed in the wake of this horrendous attack, people are going to want to know whether, in fact, something is going to happen to change that. remember, if this is an assad attack, which most people

believe it is, it is a war crime and the president says it changes more than a red line. these are major, important words that the president has announced on live, global television, for the whole world to hear. so this is going to be a very, very pivotal moment because if he steps back, it's going to be a double step back of what he accused president obama of doing. remember, he criticized president obama and most of the allies criticized him for failing to take up that red line back in 2013 but actually at the time, if you remember, donald trump actually said on twitter, president obama, do not attack syria. there's no outside and tremendous down side, save your powder for another more important day. so, you know, we have a lot of conflicting terminology and thoughts and words and policies going out. and this is such a huge, huge

issue that we're all going to be looking very closely and carefully to see whether anything comes out of what he just announced in the white house and in the rose garden there. >> you're right. he certainly signaled a shift in u.s. policy although he said he's not going to tell anyone what that -- the military or diplomatic response might be. he said just wait, you'll see. i want to play a little clip. this is the president the president blaming the chemical attack on predecessor, talking about the failure to react after syria rossed that so-called red line when it used chemical weapons back in 2013. listen to this. >> i thinked it obama administration had a great opportunity to solve this crisis a long time ago when he said the red line in the sand and when he

didn't cross that line in the sand, it set us back a long ways not only in syria but in many parts of the world because it was a blank threat. i think it was something that was not one of our better days as a country. >> at the time, the president was then a private citizen and the red line was dumb and said the u.s. should not attack syria. i want to bring in jen psaki. she worked in the obama state department. what's your reaction, jen, to the criticism that, once again today, we heard president trump level against president obama. >> i think he's easing back into the campaign mode of criticizing his predecessor, of criticizing democrats and this is a criticism that is pretty unsophisticated. it doesn't account for the last 3 1/2 years. this conflict has continued.

after the decision in 2013 when president obama did not move forward with military force because he couldn't get approval from congress. there was an agreement made between the united states and russia to declare chemical weapons. does he not think we should have done that? there's a lot that has happened since then. what was striking to me, he seemed surprised that he inherited an ongoing conflict in syria. we made no secret of that. president obama made no secret of the fact that would not be resolved by the time his successor took office. >> is russia now in violation of that agreement that was worked out during the obama administration, that all chemical weapons, stockpiles in syria under the control of the bashar al assad would be removed? in other words, if a chemical attack was ordered by the sear

yej regime, would russia be cited for potential war crimes? >> it's an interesting question, wolf. it's one that legal experts should explore. russia is the signatory on that agreement and certainly the international community will be looking to them and the facts that this happened on their watch, it's interesting that president trump didn't raise russia either. he seems to have a strong relationship with russian leadership and should he have the ability to put more political pressure on syria. that wasn't something completed by the time obama left office but certainly getting a political deal done will require russia using their relationship with syria. >> you were very close, still are, i assume, with president obama. how did he react to all of the widespread criticism he received when he issued that red line and never followed up once the chemical weapons attack occurred killing a lot of civilians in

syria back in 2013? >> well, it was one of the most difficult decisions he made as president. and i think on reflection of it, and i have the opportunity to talk to him about this a fair amount when he was still in office, he was proud of the fact that he made the decision not to move forward because it allowed the room to have a diplomatic agreement, allowed us to remove the declared chemical weapons in syria. if we had not done that and taken military action, it certainly would have crossed the red line or reacted and it's one of the most challenges that any leader faced and certainly the problem for boarack obama. something he spent a lot of time talking about with his national security team. >> i want to get your reaction to this interview that the

president just gave with "the new york times," the white house correspondent maggie habermann in which he says your former colleague, national security adviser under president obama, susan rice, in the president's words, may have committed a crime. i think it's such an important story of our time. he didn't go into specifics. he was asked specifically, did susan rice, you believe, commit a crime. he said, do i think? yes, i think. we heard yesterday from susan rice defending herself saying she did not leak any sensitive, classified information. but when you hear the president of the united states level an accusation like that against susan rice, what's your reaction? >> boy, it really diminishes the role of the office. what it leads me to believe is that donald trump doesn't know the tools that his own national

security adviser may have at hand. it's a term that sounds mysterious and ominous. it's been around for quite some time. it's something that any national security adviser, they can request additional information about unnamed sources and intel and doing their jobs and former officials have said just that. it's not a legal tool, a political tool. it's actually a national security check in many ways. >> strong words from the president really going after susan rice. jen, stand by. another major development at the white house, steve bannon, the chief strategist, top adviser to the president, he has been removed from the national security council from what's called a principal's group.

he's been removed and comes as a surprise. >> it was a surprise that he was put on that group because he's a political strategist. many people said, myself included, there's no place for a political strategist at the principal's table. now we see that he's gone from the principals' table and the white house is saying maybe he was there to be a check on flynn which the former national security adviser needed a check, why was he appointed national security adviser in the first place? i think the more likely explanation is that jen mcmaster, dina powell who serves under him, are probably saying he shouldn't have been there and i was told by another source that maybe this is also evidence of this power triumbra