[ gunshot ] u.s. military is investigating whether russia was complicit in the syrian refwim's gruesome chemical weapons attack on civilians. >> the united states took a very measured step. we are prepared to do more. >> i wish we would have obeyed the constitution and done this

the way our founding fathers intended. >> it was the right move. it was legal. >> the president at his mar-a-lago resort have his full command center with him. >> there are tensions within the white house just as there are tensions within president trump himself. >> all the focus is also on russia. the secretary of state will be going there next week. that's where this goes next. >> welcome to our viewers in the u.s. and around the world. i'm victor blackwell live from new york. >> i'm brianna keller in washington for poul poul. the united states is delivering a stark new warning for syria and keeping a suspicious eye on russia this morning. the pentagon is investigating if moscow was involved in the syrian chemical attack. the kremlin is denying any complicity in the attack but

ratcheting up the stakes for rex tillerson when he travels to moscow for his first meetings with russia's foreign minister next week. a russian war ship is on the move to a naval base in syria. the ship is armed with cruise missiles and it's entering the same waters where u.s. ships launched that volley of tomahawk missiles at a syrian airbase. this morning we got our team of correspondents tracking the latest on the aftermath of those strikes on syria. we're going to start with ryan brown. ryan, goo ryan, good morning to you. what are officials telling us about this investigation into russia and potentially their involvement or at least knowing about the chemical attack? >> reporter: good morning. that's right. pentagon officials are telling us one of the things they are looking at is the fact there were russian forces at this airbase when this attack took place and it was an aviation unit. so some officials say it's hard to imagine that they wouldn't be aware of what was going on, for instance, the loading of chemical weapons on to a syrian

warplane. another thing they are looking at, a russian surveillance drone flew over the hospital that was struck five hours after the initial chemical weapons attack. that hospital was treating some of those who suffered injuries from those chemical weapons and thought that attack may have been intended to couch the initial chemical weapons strike. these are some of the things. russia does operate surveillance drones in syria quite often. they are looking whether or not this is connected to that attack. pentagon is definitely taking a look at this to see exactly what happened. it's part of a wider look at where chemical weapons are in syria. >> so, speaking of is in syria we know there about a thousand u.s. troops there in syria. is the military doing anything different? are there any specific or special precautions being taken as i want relates to those thousand troops? >> reporter: that's right. those troops right now are part of the fight against isis but military officials are telling us that they are looking at -- they are taking precautionary

steps, kind of looking, dedicating some surveillance assets to make sure those troops are not facing any threat of retaliation from the regime or forces allied with the regime. these forces have been in syria for some time. the military officials say they are always kind of looking at the wider operating environment, taking precautionary protective steps. we're told that for now they are taking additional measures and actually relaxing some of the fight against isis to ensure that those troops are protected. >> ryan brown for us in washington. thank you. brianna >> let's go to paula newton live for us in moscow. what is the kremlin saying about this allegation that russia may be complicit in the chemical attack? >> reporter: short to the point. their answer this is not true. that was the answer in terms of asking was russia complicit. did they know about this chemical attack. he just says there's no truth to that. having said that all of this is

designed in order to set up that meeting with secretary of state rex tillerson and his russian counterpart here in moscow on wednesday. a much watched meeting that's been scheduled for a while but the dynamic will change and that's being noticed here on the ground as well. influential politician tweeting today that, look, tillerson, u.s. was disappointed by the russian response. what was he expecting? was he expecting anything else? it's a startling statement but with a purpose. it builds leverage before the visit. what does that leverage mean? it means when rex tillerson gets to that table he'll be asking russia some of the questions you just heard from ryan. you guys were responsible back in 2014 to tell us that syria did not have those chemical weapons. why do they still have them. if they do, how can you help in making sure that they get rid of them. >> that's right. they provided that off-ramp, that discussion between vladimir putin and president obama that was supposed to facilitate the

remove swral of weapons. tell us about this russian war ship. it's moving, it's on the move right now in the mediterranean sea. this is where, the area where these tomahawk missiles were launched from, right? >> reporter: yeah. it wasn't supposed to be going back to the mediterranean. mediterranean, the defers minute stray says indeed it is and will thereabout shortly. it is armed with state-of-the-art russian missiles. russia says this will help in order to strengthen its missile defense on the ground in syria. i mean, this is symbolic for now. it still makes everyone nervous. we do have obviously the american war ships in the mediterranean as well but it's symbolic. russia feeling look we had to respond in some way and decided to send the ship back. what's concerning they suspended the air safety hot lun and that is the line, the line of communication that goes between russian and american aircraft to make sure that there are no collisions in the ground. the prime minister here made it very clear that he feels that

the u.s. and russia are this close to a conflict in syria and that is the table as it will be set for mr. tillerson as he comes here next week. >> that suspension may increase the chances of that. paula newton, thank you very much. let's go to athena jones who is near mar-a-lago the president's resort there in florida. he's waking up this morning there. athena, we heard from ambassador haley, ambassador to the u.n. that the u.s. is prepared to do more. but hoping that it does not have to. what is next? do we have an answer to that question? >> reporter: hi, victor. we don't have an answer to that question yet. what the u.s. does next will depend a great deal on what syria does next. it sounds like ambassador haley was communicating that all options remain on table. secretary of state rex tillerson had a briefing with reporters at mar-a-lago yesterday and he said the future will be guided by how we see their reaction the syrian's government reaction. the u.s. is monitoring the

syrian response looking into whether they tried to attack u.s. forces or coalition forces or detect the syrian government is planning to launch another chemical weapon attack. thursday night's strikes were targeted at degrading syria's ability to carry out attacks but didn't completely destroy. in fact, that thursday night strike specifically avoided hitting a storage facility at the airbase where they believe sirin gas, the nerve agent that's been used in some of these recent chemical weapons attacks was being stored. syria is still able to carry out another chemical weapons attack. if they do haley hinting that the u.s. could respond in a similar way because if you talk to senior administration officials they will tell you thursday night strikes were not intended to signal the u.s. was about to embark on a wider campaign against assad. this was a specific retaliation for the use of chemical weapons. the idea is if the syrian

government continue to carry out such attacks the u.s. could have a similar response. >> we've heard from the treasury secretary that there will be some economic consequences for syria as well. what are we hearing about those? >> reporter: that's right. in the same briefing with reporters yesterday treasury secretary said the u.s. government would be announcing additional sanctions against syria. he didn't lay out who would be affected. they are targeting people who do business with syria. steve mnuchin said we view sanctions as being a very important tool and use them to maximum effect. the key question here is to what effect? what effect could any additional sanctions have on the ability of syrian president bashar al assad to wage this war against his own people. will it affect his actions. so far sanctions don't seem to have much of an effect. >> athena jones there for us on the island of palm beach.

thanks. after the missile strike on syria, critics are praising president trump while some supporters are now criticizing him. >> plus a russian frigate moves towards the waters where the strike was launched. how does this the standoff play out through russian eyes. we'll talk to a former kgb agent. kevin, meet your father. kevin kevin kevin kevin kevin kevin kevin kevin kevin kevin trusted advice for life. kevin, how's your mom? life well planned. see what a raymond james financial advisor can do for you.

you know win control? be this guy. check it out! self-appendectomy! oh, that's really attached. that's why i rent from national. where i get the control to choose any car in the aisle i want, not some car they choose for me. which makes me one smooth operator. ah! still a little tender. (vo) go national. go like a pro.

you're not taking these. hey, hey, hey! you're not taking those. whoa, whoa! you're not taking that. come with me. you're not taking that. you're not taking that. you're not taking that. mom, i'm taking the subaru. don't be late. even when we're not there to keep them safe, our subaru outback will be. (vo) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

we got breaking news out of sweden where a deadly attack in the nation's capital could have been really much worse. local media reports a bomb was found in the truck used in yesterday's attack but it did not properly detonate. cnn international correspondent max foster joins us live from stockholm. what's the latest on this new element of explosives in that truck. >> reporter: i just have been speaking to the foreign minister. the police are following that investigation. she left it as a possibility.

if that's the case it does ramp up this type of attack that we've seen across europe. we have an attack in nice and berlin where a vehicle was used to drive into a crowd of people. that's what happened here. i want also had explosives. if you look down the street you got to imagine the truck was -- >> all right. i think we lost max foster's shot there. we got him back? let's go back. we lost him again. we'll try to get back to him later in the hour. the president is being praised for this strike on syria by many of his critics including john mccain and lindsey graham. take a look. >> i want to applaud the president for taking action. it was justified. it was necessary. and i hope it sends the right message not only to assad but other people throughout the world. but it's got be more than just

last night. it has to be a step in what will be a fairly long term. >> he's seen the reverse, some criticism from some previously strong supporters. ann culture terrify tweeting trump campaigned on not getting involved in the mideast. then he saw a picture on tv. those who wanted us to middle in the middle east voted on other candidates. sara westwood is here and we have josh rogan. sara, it is startling when you look at donald trump's position not just as the candidate but for years going back to a somewhat similar conundrum that president obama had to figure out, how did he make good on his threat or in the end not, that being a red line in attacking syria for using chemical weapons. so where does he go from here to

appease those voices who said he was against intervention. >> that was the million dollar question. he criticized basically every element of the obama administration's foreign policy and now he's really at a crossroads with syria. does he get more involved militarily, diplomatically or is this a one off attack? for president trump this missile strike and maybe the joint address to congress in february are the only two times in his presidency that he's received bipartisan praise. so for now i think the administration is riding on a high, soaking in all of these c accolades and come down from that and figure out what to do in syria because it's untenable to leave this missile strike as the only indication of the u.s.'s approach in syria moving forward.

>> josh, he's getting this support. sara outlined that. he's getting disapproval from ann coulter and others. what do the real people supporters who voted him into office. what do they think? are they following suit here? >> he burned all of his supporters in a spectacular fashion, in an effort to sort of being the anti-obama. it's kind of crazy. you can't repair that. now he has to lean on his new found support from the people who opposed him for the last year and a half and that support is dependent on him doing not just this but a lot more, more heavily involve the united states in syria which is not clear he wants to do. he could end up with the worse of both worlds being called a hypocrite by being who voted him and not being called enough of an interventionalist by his new friends. right now he's getting a lot of praise. we'll see what happens in a couple of days when assad

perpetrates another attack or russians escalate on the ground. will donald trump continue escalating u.s. involvement in syria. he doesn't know yet. if he does he'll burn his supporters more. if he doesn't he'll lose the praise of his new friends. he's put himself in a tough spot. >> do you think some of his supporters think hey this is a show of strength, this is actually a good thing the u.s. flexing its muscle, or is the issue that even if some of them think that, josh, he stands to lose some of his supporters and he already had a pretty small slice of the pie when you look at the electorate. >> for people who are advocating for u.s. intervention in syria, flecking your muscle is not a policy. all it does is get him involved. once he's involved, there's no real other option than to get more involved. so, you know, a lot of support from sort of the traditional republican hawk community is more like hey president trump

welcome to the party, now that you're here let us tell you about the seven other things we want to you do in syria. most of which he's going to hate and not want to do in the end. but he's already paid the rice for people in the alt-right. they are not going to forgive him very quickly for betraining everything he ever said about syria and intervention in the middle east for his entire life. that's a sunk cost. so as donald trump goes forward, politically he can think okay should i capitalize on my new friends or, you know, should i play the middle and try to make everybody equally happy or unhappy. none of that has anything to do with what's good for syria and there's no way to please both sides. if you think the best thing is not touch that problem and let them sort it out and not in america's core interest or something that we have to do because it impacts europe, the region, america, terrorism, refugees, and if you think that, then this missile strike is not much. it's just the beginning.

>> sara, a top administration official when briefing senators yesterday on this said, essentially the policy is reaction, military reaction when chemical weapons are used. but to josh's point there's a lot of these quote-unquote new friend, some previous critics of donald trump like john mccain they don't want to see just a response to chemical weapons attacks. they want to see a response to barrel bomb attacks and other attacks on syrians. >> right. the only thing we know about trump's approach to syria is that the administration is not interested in regime change. they are not interested in taking out president assad. they don't want to have to deal with the aftermath of putting together a new government in syria. that's really the only thing we know. that's what the administration has been telegraphing for several weeks now. that is not a line with mccain or graham or even some of these democratic critics who are

praising trump for this missile strike. there's a lot of interest in washington in taking out assad. that was the obama administration's stated policy. so when trump came out and said the trump administration was not interested in doing so, it was a departure that surprised a lot of people. but escalating involvement in syria beyond missile strikes that are reactionary to specific agreements with russia that would open the door to potentially whether we're going to go the full measure and take assad out or whether we're just going try to weaken him. and so that's when escalation becomes an even thornier question. >> great conversation you guys. sara westwood, josh rogan thank you so much. >> u.s. launched this strategic blow to the syrian regime after that chemical attack. the u.s. bass tore to the united nations, nikki haley, is confirming the u.s. is prepared to do more. what's on the table?

i talked to my doctor and found a missing piece in my asthma treatment with breo. once-daily breo prevents asthma symptoms. breo is for adults with asthma not well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. breo won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. breo is specifically designed to open up airways to improve breathing for a full 24 hours. breo contains a type of medicine that increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. breo is not for people whose asthma is well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop breo and prescribe a different asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. do not take breo more than prescribed. see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. ask your doctor if 24-hour breo could be a missing piece for you. learn more about better breathing at mybreo.com. we've done well in life,

with help from our advisor, we made it through many market swings. sure we could travel, take it easy... but we've never been the type to just sit back... not when we've got so much more to give when you have the right financial advisor, life can be brilliant. ameriprise itbut one i think with quesa simple answer. we have this need to peek over our neighbor's fence. and once we do, we see wonder waiting. every step you take, narrows the influence of narrow minds. bridges continents and brings this world one step closer. so, the question you asked me. what is the key? it's you. everything in one place, so you can travel the world better. (flourish spray noise) (flourish spray noise) (flourish spray noise)

(flourish spray noise) the joy of real cream in 15 calories per serving. enough said. reddi-wip. (flourish spray noise) share the joy.

>> good morning. i'm victor blackwell live from new york. >> i'm brianna keilar in washington for christi paul. >> was russia involved in some way in the chemical attack on syria? the pentagon is examining whether russian war planes bombed a hospital five hours after the chemical attack aiming to destroy evidence. the chemical attack tuesday killed we know now at least 80 people, injured dozens more and the images you see them here, the children and their grieving families prompted president trump to launch a missile strike on syrian airbase there. and u.s. lawmakers believe russia may have played a role in that attack.

>> the russians are complicit in these war crimes. they were at that facility and had personnel stationed at the airbase they had to know sirin gas was being loaded on those planes. >> new photos shows the extensive damage left behind after president trump authorized the launch of 59 u.s. missiles to hit a syrian airfield. here's what you can see of what's left of three aircraft hangars. one is destroyed. two others are damaged. in these pictures what's left of five workshops near where the base stores ammunition. cnn international diplomatic editor nic robertson is in london and the world watched as the u.s. dealt this blow to the syrian regime. what is the path ahead and what is the expectation considering we're now into the seventh year of this civil war. >> reporter: there's a belief that the united states and donald trump took the right decision to have this strike. that certain italy view in britain and france and germany

and italy to name just a few of the united states allies in europe. but at the same time there's still concern. president trump just a week ago, you had the french questioning what his policy on syria was, what his policy on assad was. it seemed they were ready to leave him in power. there's concern while trump praises himself for his flexibility the allies are still contorting themselves at the moment to try to figure out what is he going to do next, what's the next move. certainly what you hear from the europeans, you hear it coming from the middle east whether it's egypt. president trump just met with the president of egypt nt so long aago within the past week pup heard it from the jordanians and also some of the sort of more moderate secular opposition in syria. these are people who also deal with russia because they believe russia is a path to the future political stability inside syria. what you're hearing from the

europeans from middle east from some of these syrian moderate groups is they now want to see the administration or the white house get engaged politically in syria. to begin to sort of ramp up their involvement in the geneva peace process. that's the one that the u.n. security council resolution 2254 which said that there should be a transition from power from president assad. they want to see the white house get behind that. but they are concerned because they feel that trump is mercurial and don't have at the moment a high degree of certainty of where he's going next on this. >> u.s., nic, is saying that russia is complicit in this chemical weapons attack. from a more global perspective how are countries including american allies now viewing russia after this? >> reporter: you know i think there would be a certain element of satisfaction or relief, if you will, to a degree, because, again, the concerns run deep

about where the white house goes moving forward. but if you remember, when president trump came to office you had the british prime minister theresa may when she was in washington in late january saying yes by all means deal with putin, but check and verify. this is a man not to be trusted nuclear program has been the view from the european allies. so when they hear nikki haley at the u.n., essentially dismissing the anger that's been portrayed by the russian ambassador to the united nations and overall, you know, president trump, rex tillerson, secretary of state, essentially dismissing russia's claims of this gas attack hasn't been properly investigated, syria couldn't possibly be involved in it, just a completely negate that and wash that away with these air strikes which says we're not listen towing essentially you're wrong you're lying. that is giving a certain amount of relief to the allies in europe who are very concerned

about where trump was going as in relations to putin and therefore the strong european resolve over russia's actions, annexing crimea, getting involved in ukraine, worries about what they see is doing inside europe. europe is getting overrun by refugees coming out of syria. so they are relieved in part. but, again, we have to come back to that point what happens next? everyone is saying it and that's the view from here as well. >> nic robertson in london. thank you so much. victor? >> to this russian war ship on the move to a russian naval space in syria. a military source says the ship is armed with cruise missiles and entering the same waters where u.s. ships launched that volley of tomahawk missiles at a syrian airbase. is it a russian show of strength or a sign ever something worse? let's talk now with jack varsky, a former kgb spy and author of a

book "deep undercover." let's start with the ship moving into the mediterranean. cruise ship missiles are on board. they are helping to beef up forces. what do you make of this. is this just a show of force or does this suggest that something else is coming >> of course it's a show of force. syria has been an ally since i can remember, in my late teens and early 20s has been an ally of the soviet union. one of the good guys, so to speak. and assad -- there was assad's father and now putin is strongly allied with the son. so the concern really is that we're not facing just syria, we're not dealing with just the middle east but we're not sitting across the table with what is currently our main adversaries which is russia but sort of getting close to being

across a firing line and that, i am deeply concerned with. >> i one you told one of our producers that through russians eyes this strike appears to be emotional. talk about that, if you would. >> well, again, i just heard a few commentators say the same thing because donald trump during the campaign pretty much gave a completely different view of the world and i'm still trying to figure out what is going to be the trump doctrine and he's sort of changed on a dime and he said this himself. he was emotionally impacted by what he saw. that's not how we do policy. that's not how we, you know, deal with the world as a whole. i'm concerned with that as well. >> as we look ahead to this meeting we know that secretary of state rex tillerson is headed to moscow next week mean toing

will be, i believe on wednesday. it's difficult for us because it's inconsistencies and contradictions determine how the u.s. will approach this meeting. from your perspective how do you expect the kremlin will approach this meeting with secretary tillerson. >> i hope the kremlin will continue to probe. is there some consistency to our policy. is there really a line in the sand that they can't cross. ultimately, they are not suicidal. neither would the soviet leaders in the past. they want to survive but they also want to win the game. so we they'd to be, have a very consistent approach that isn't just short term but long term and i'm hoping that mr. tillerson is going to pursue that kind of line of thinking. >> so when you say that there is some -- they want to win the game and not suicidal, you believe there is some diplomatic option on the table, that there is some room for, for some deal making? >> there should be.

and i can only remember this is pretty much still very strong in my memory when ronald reagan stepped on the scene, the soviet leaders and that trickled down through the ranks of the kgb were scared out of their mind and they really respected ronald reagan's strong approach to the relationship with the soviet union. but, that did not preclude sitting down and having a conversation as adversaries rather than enemies. >> very quickly before we go i want to you listen to senator marco rubio and what he said about russia and this chemical attack. let's watch. >> the russians are complicit in these war crimes. they were at that facility and had personnel stationed at that airbase. they had to have known there was sirin gas being loaded on to those planes. >> with your knowledge of putin do you think that's plausible the russians knew that this was going to happen or was potentially possible?

>> it's possible, but the russians, if they were complicit, it was with a wink and a nod. it was with having the ability to use plausible deniability. what the senator there has said is speculation. and i wish we should get off of the, you know, speculation and deal with facts. i don't think the facts will ever come out on this one. >> all right. jack bar durable goods sky thank you for being with us. >> when president trump ordered air strikes on syria he join a list of presidents that had used them to send a warning or punish an enemy. ahead we'll look at what those missile attacks accomplished. the prebiotic fiber in benefiber® nourishes them... and what helps them, helps you. clear, taste-free, benefiber®. and what helps them, helps you. briathe customer app willw if be live monday. can we at least analyze customer traffic? can we push the offer online?

brian, i just had a quick question. brian? brian... legacy technology can handcuff any company. but "yes" is here. you're saying the new app will go live monday?! yeah. with help from hpe, we can finally work the way we want to. with the right mix of hybrid it, everything computes. does your makeup remover every kiss-proof,ff? cry-proof, stay-proof look? neutrogena® makeup remover does. it erases 99% of your most stubborn makeup with one towelette. need any more proof than that? neutrogena. with e*trade you see things your way. you have access to the right information at the right moment. and when you filter out the noise, it's easy to turn your vision into action. it's your trade. e*trade. neutrogena® hydro boost hydrating tint. wake up skin. the first water gel foundation with hyaluronic acid it plumps, quenches... delivers a natural, flawless look.

this is what makeup's been missing. neutrogena® >> here's a look at your latest mortgage rates.

fx: rocket] you wto progress.move. to not just accept what you see, but imagine something new. at invisalign®, we use the most advanced teeth straightening technology to help you find the next amazing version of yourself. it's time to unleash your secret weapon. it's there, right under your nose. get to your best smile up to 50% faster. visit invisalign.com to get started today.

the political fallout

remains uncertain this morning after two u.s. war ships launched a total of 59 tom milwaukee missiles in syria. with that decision trump joined a long list of kidnappeder and chief who used missile attacks to punish another country or send a message. here's a look. >> reporter: five years before the 2003 war against u.s.-led coalition, saddam hussein's iraq was punished by bombing tomahawk missile strikes. a punitive four day campaign ordered by president bill clinton, following iraq's refusal to comply with u.n. security council resolutions. much of iraq's military infrastructure destroyed. iraq said hundreds of its civilians and troops were killed. it wasn't the first strike to punish the iraqi regime.

two years before 2,000 missiles were launched into downtown iraq as a warning when a threat was made against president bush. colin powell was the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff at the time. >> should mr. hussein dream of retaliating we have more than enough force. >> reporter: the missiles hit a building believed to house iraq's intelligence service. punitive attacks have been used in retaliation for murders of americans. in 1986 libyan strong man moammar gadhafi was said to be behind the bombing of a disco in west berlin. two u.s. servicemen were killed. the u.s. military reply 60 tons of munitions rained down on moammar gadhafi's compound in tripoli. >> my fellow americans at 7:00 this evening eastern time air and naval forces of the united states launched a series of strikes against the headquarters terrorist facilities and

military assets that support moammar gadhafi's subversive activities. >> reporter: the result? >> back there is the building where his wife and children were staying. two were injured. the smallest child an adopted daughter was killed. >> today we have done what we had to do. if necessary, we shall do it again. >> reporter: moammar gadhafi survived. he wasn't at the site. dozens of libyans died. as did two u.s. air force pilots. another punishment for the murder of civilians came in 1988, operation infinite reach at al qaeda targets after the u.s. embassies in kenya and tunisia were bombed. these punitive strikes have been used by a long line of presidents to punish or warn others when their actions are deemed a threat to american interests. >> i said we would act with others if possible and alone if necessary to ensure that

terrorists have no sanctuary anywhere. tonight we have. >> reporter: gary tuckman, cnn, atlanta. president trump says he has an outstanding relationship with the chinese president, but you'll remember just months ago he accused chain of raping the united states. can the two countries play nice now or are we headed for a showdown?

i realize that ah, that $100k is not exactly a fortune. well, a 103 how long did it take you two to save that? a long time. then it's a fortune. i told you we had a fortune. get closer to your investment goals with a conversation.

after the two-day summit in florida, president trump has really nothing but good things to say about the president of china. watch. >> i think truly progress has been made. we'll be making a lot of additional progress. the relationship developed by president xi and myself i think is outstanding. we look forward to being together many times in the

future. and i believe lots of very potentially bad problems will be going away. >> now, you'll remember it was not really that long ago when the president was trashing china on the campaign trail, accusing the country of robbing and abusing the united states. our next guest says those comments are a preview of what's to docome and the relationship between the u.s. and china could be heading for disaster. good to have you this morning. >> good to be here. >> for people who may not remember, every day seems like a year, let's play a reminder here of what we heard from then candidate trump about china. >> we are going to label china a currency manipulator. we're like the piggy bank that's being robbed. china is taking our money, our base, our manufacturing. the greatest abuser in the

history of this country. it's one of the greatest thefts in the history of the world, what they've taken out of our country. we can't continue to allow china to rape our country, and that's what they're doing. listen you mother [mute], we're going to tax you 25%. >> what do you make -- what's your theory on that transition -- and yeah, i forgot about that last one myself -- from what we heard from then private citizen trump, candidate trump and now president trump. >> china was expecting -- even a week ago trump was saying this was going to be a very difficult meeting over trade in north korea. in fact, now he's saying this is a marvelous meeting and yet it didn't seem that china has given very much. they said there will be a dialogue on these issues. that's the kind of thing they've had with obama. we've seen with syria, for example, that trump is capable of flipping in 24 hours a very long-standing position. in china, we don't really know whether this is a long-standing

change or whether he's going to go back to the more aggressive. but for the most it went surprisingly well. >> you write that this america first strategy from president trump is really going to, from your perspective, lead to the decline of the u.s. as it compares to and competes with asia, namely china. >> it depends how it goes but i think one of the risky things it's done is pull america out of the transpacific partnership. and one can understand given trump's rhetoric on the campaign trail he had to do it and he did do it on day one. for china, it leaves a big gap and they're trying to build a new area of free trade and one of the most interesting developments in asia is that all of america's security allies now have their biggest trading relationship with china and that's really changing the balance of power in the region. >> it's interesting, these two

men have a lot in common. president trump's 2016 make america great again, when -- >> these are both nationalist leaders who both have very similar ideas about make their country great again and to some extent see the other country as the obstacle. so trump on trade, we saw in those clips how he's talked about china raping america and even on security issues rex tillerson said that the u.s. was going to block china's access to these artificial islands they're building in the south china sea. from the chinese side there's no way they can back down because xi's whole rhetoric is how china is never going to be humiliated by the west again. i think there's an underlying tension that even a friendly meeting like this is not going to remove. >> let's talk about the news of the day. we know that while the presidents were having dinner

there, the strikes there were happening on that syrian airfield. what do you think president xi gleaned from president trump's decision to strike syria in the context of the president saying that if china doesn't take care of north korea, we will. this now is not just bluster i guess. >> absolutely. i think the chinese like everybody will be concerned by the potential unpredictability of trump and i think the americans will be pleased that in a sense the military option is put on the table because it's useful to have your adversaries slightly worried. i think we both know that north korea is a very different case. sending cruise missiles to an airfield in syria is one thing. china trying to take out the north korea nuclear program is a completely different deal. i'm sure xi tried to make that point to trump that this is not an easy thing to do or wise thing to do. >> good to have you. >> thanks. >> brianna.

at the top of the hour, looking into whether moscow was involved in the syrian weapons attack. why u.s. air strikes in syria might just be the first step. i joined the army in july of '98.

i did active duty 11 years. and two in the reserves. our 18 year old was in an accident.

when i call usaa it was that voice asking me, "is your daughter ok?" that's where i felt relief. it actually helped to know that somebody else cared and wanted make sure that i was okay. that was really great. we're the rivera family, and we will be with usaa for life. usaa. we know what it means to serve. call today to talk about your insurance needs.

but we've got the get tdigital tools to help. now with xfinity's my account, you can figure things out easily, so you won't even have to call us. change your wifi password to something you can actually remember, instantly. add that premium channel, and watch the show everyone's talking about, tonight. and the bill you need to pay? do it in seconds. because we should fit into your life, not the other way around. go to xfinity.com/myaccount

all umm...ed. you wouldn't want your painter to quit part way, i think you missed a spot. so when it comes to pain relievers, why put up with just part of a day? aleve, live whole not part. you want this color over the whole house? i can't tell you how i feel about somebody in 140 characters. >> walk and talk therapy is exactly what it sounds like. rather than being closed in an office space, the therapy session takes place while we walk. you know this is how i should be approaching it. yet i'm shutting that out right now. for some clients, coming to therapy in an office setting is intimidating. walking side by side, clients

are a little more free to express themselves. >> it makes me just open up a little differently. it makes the conversations seem more natural. >> i maintain their confidentiality. if we're a little too close to others we'll stop for a minute and let people pass. >> i'm an outdoors guy by nature. i like to garden and i like being active and so this is just a natural fit for me. the park itself is really part of the therapy process. when i had therapy in the past and you go into an office, it just feels sterile. >> which we aen we're out walki moving forward and it's the exact same thing we're doing in the therapeutic process, we're moving forward. the u.s. military is investigating whether russia was complicit in the syrian regimes gruesome chemical weapons attack on civilians. >> the united states took a very me