you will block illegal shipments of cash, weapons, and drugs. you will battle the scourge of human trafficking, something that people haven't been talking about. one of the big, big plagues of the world. not our country only. the world. human trafficking. americans will place their trust in your leadership just as they have trusted in generations of coast guard men and women with respect for your skill, with awe at your courage, and with the knowledge that you will always be ready, you are always ready. not only will our citizens trust in your leadership, your commanders will trust you, as well. the coast guard is the gold standard in delegated decision making down to chain command. so just as your instructors have

at the academy, your coast guard commanders will explain their vision and then they will trust you to get the job done. just like i, as your president, will also trust you to get the job done. it's amazing to think of the adventures that are about to begin for you. across the country this month, millions of other students are graduating high school, college. many others are wondering just what am i going to do. they're saying to themselves, what are they going to do. you know what you're going to do. many, many students are graduating from college right now. they're saying what am i going to do? where am i going to go to work? you know it. you picked a good one, by the way. you picked a beautiful one. a good one. and we're really proud to have you. i can tell you.

years from now, some of them may look back and ask themselves whether they've made the right choice. whether they've made the most of the opportunities they've been given. in the coast guard, you will face many challenges and many threats. but one thing you will never have to face is that question of what will i do. when you look back, you won't doubt, you know exactly how you spent your time saving lives. i look at your admirals. i look at general kelly. i look at some of the great people in service, and i want to tell you, they're excited about life. they love what they do. they love the country. they love protecting our country and they love what they do. is that right. >> good. i didn't think anyone was going to say no. that would have ruined our speech, right?

great people. you always know just what you'll be, the leaders and officers of the united states coast guard. and when they see occur uniform, everyone in the world will know exactly what that means. what standard and really if you think of it, when you talk about the great sailors and the great sailors of the world, we have them. but what stranded sailor doesn't feel relief when those red racing stripes break the horizon? what drifting soul at sea with only a short time left to live doesn't rejoice at the sound of those chopper blades overhead coming back and coming down to rescue them from death?

what poison peddling drug runner, the skourng courage of doesn't cremable with fear when the might of the coast guard comes bearing down on them. in each case, we know the reason, america's life-saving service is on the way. the coast guard is truly vital to the united states armed forces and truly vital to our great country. out of the five branches, of our armed services, it's only the coast guard that has the power to break through 21 feet of rock solid arctic ice. right? you're the only ones. and i'm proud to say that under my administration, as you just heard, we will be building the first new heavy ice breakers,

the united states has seen in over 40 years. we're going to build many of them. we need them. we need them. the coast guard stands watch at our ports, patrols our wateredways and protects our infrastructure. you defend america in a world of massive and very grave threats. soon some of you will be leading boardings of suspicious vessels, searching for the most deadly weapons and detaining criminals to keep our people safe. others of you will work with partners in scores of countries around the globe, bringing in the full power of the united states coast guard right up to those distant shores, and some of those shores are very far away. to secure our borders from drug

cartels, human smugglers and terrorist threats, coast guard cutters patrol more than 1500 miles below our southern border. a lot of people didn't know that. when enormous pride hits your heart, you realize that it's with this great skill and tremendous speed our coast guard men and women interdict dangerous criminals and billions and billions of dollars worth of illegal narcotics every single year. your helicopters launch from the decks of world class national security cutters. and they chase drug smugglers at speeds far in excess of 50 knots in rough seas at high speeds, our incredible coast guard snipers take their aim at the smugglers' engines and time after time, they take out the

motors on the first shot. they don't like wasting the bullets, right? they actually don't. you slice through roaring storms and through pouring rain and crashing waves is a place where few other people will ever venture. exciting, exciting. but you have to have it in your heart. you have to love it. you love it. in the coast guard, you don't run from danger. you chase it. and you are deployed in support of operations in theaters of conflict all around the world, but not only do you defend american security, you also protect american prosperity. it's a mission that goes back to the earliest days of the revenue cutter service. you've read about that and studied that.

today, the coast guard helps keep our waters open for americans to do business. it keeps our rivers flowing with commerce. and it keeps our ports churning with american exports. you help billions and billions of dollars in goods to navigate our country every day. you are the only federal presence on our inland waterways. you police the arteries we need to rebuild this country. and to bring prosperity back to our heartland. and we are becoming very, very prosperous again. you can see that. think of the glorious mission that is awaits. you will secure our harbors, our waterways and our borders. you partner with our allies to advance our security interests at home and abroad. and you will pursue the terrorists.

you will stop the drug smugglers and you will seek to keep out all who would do harm to our country. all who can never ever love our country. together, we have the same mission. and your devotion and dedication makes me truly proud to be your commander in chief. thank you. now i want to take this opportunity to give you some advice. over the course of your life, you will find that thing are not always fair. you will find that thing happen to you that you do not deserve and that are not always warranted. but you have to put your head down and fight, fight, fight. never ever, ever give up.

things will work out just fine. look at the way i've been treated lately. especially by the media. no politician in history, and i say this with great surety, has been treated worse or more unfairly. you can't let them get you down. you can't let the critics and the naysayers get in the way of your dreams. i guess that's why i want to thank you. i guess that's why we won. adversity makes you stronger. don't give in. don't back down, and never stop doing what you know is right. nothing worth doing ever, ever, ever came easy. and the more righteous your

fight, the more opposition that you will face. . i've accomplished a tremendous amount in a very short time as president. jobs are pouring back into our country. . a brand-new supreme court justice who is going to be fantastic for 45 yeears, a historic investment in our military. border crossings, thank you to our general, are down more than 70% in just a short period of time. a total record, by the way, by a lot. we've saved the second amendment, expanded service for our veterans. we are going to take care of our veterans like they've never been taken care of before. i've loosened up the strangling

environmental chains wrapped around our country and our economy. chains so tight that you couldn't do anything. that jobs were going down. we were losing business. we're loosening it up. we've begun plans and preparations for the border wall which is going along very, very well. we're working on major tax cuts for all. we are going to give you the largest tax cut in the history of our country if we get it the way we want it. and we're going to give you major tax reform. and we're also getting closer and closer day by day to great health care for our citizens. and we are setting the stage right now for many, many more

things to come. and the people understand what i'm doing and that's the most important thing. i didn't get elected to serve the washington media or special interests. i got elected to serve the forgotten men and women of our country, and that's what i'm doing. i will never stop fighting for you, and i will never stop fighting for the american people. as you leave this academy to embark on your exciting new voyage, i am heading on a very crucial journey, as well. in a few days, i will make my first trip abroad as president. with the safety, security and interests of the american people as my priority, i will strengthen old friendships and will seek new partners. but partners who also help us, not partners who take and take

and take. partners who help. and partners who help pay for whatever we are doing. and all of the good we're doing for them which is something that a lot of people have not gotten used to and they just can't used to it. i say get used to it, folks. i'll ask them to unite for a future of peace and opposition for our peoples and the peoples of the world. first in saudi arabia where i'll speak with muslim leaders and challenge them to fight hatred and extremism and embrace a peaceful future for their faith. and they're looking very much forward to hearing what we, as your representative we, have to say, we have to stop radical islamic terrorism.

then in israel, i'll reaffirm our unbreakable alliance with the jewish state. in rome, i will talk with pope francis about the contributions of christian teachings to the world. finally, i'll attend the nato summit in brussels and the g-7 in sicily to appropriate security, prosperity, and peace all over the world. i'll meet scores of leaders and honor the holiest sites of these three great religions. and everywhere i go, i will carry the inspiration i take from you each day from your courage and determination to do whatever is required. save and protect american lives. save and protect american lives. we want security. you're going to give us

security. in just one example, we see how priceless that gift of life is to the people you touch every day. a few years ago, a coast guard helicopter and rescue swimmer took off in the direction of three terrified fishermen who clung to their sinking and burning vessel. that day, our coast guard heroes did their jobs well. they flew over the sea despite tremendous danger and extended a helping hand at the moment it was most urgently needed. there was very little time left. but that's not the most remarkable part of that story. as one coast guard swimmer put it, you do that stuff all the time. you do it every hour of the day.

something is happening all the time with the united states coast guard. you do an amazing job. a remarkable thing happened with that rescue, but when you think of it, you do those rescues all the time. there the vee na meese fishing captain grabbed the swimmer's hand, he looked at his coast guard rescuers in the eye and said, i was asking god to please let me live. i need to see my kids. please, god, please. let me live so that i can see my kids. then god sent me you. that's what he said. to every new officer, and to every new coast guard member here today, or out protecting life around the world on some of the roughest waters anywhere, you truly are doing god's work.

what a grateful heart you must all have because it is with my very grateful heart and america's cheers for the coast guard and america cheers for you often, that we wish you good luck. as your commander in chief, i thank you. i salute you, and i once again congratulate the coast guard class of 2017. god bless you. god bless the coast guard. and god bless the united states of america. thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you, everybody. great honor. good luck. enjoy your life. >> welcome to "inside politics." >> i'm john king in washington. let's keep our eyes on the president in new london, connecticut, just wrapping up his first commencement address as president to members of the coast guard academy, the class

of 2017. the president spoke for about 30 minutes. most of it a textbook commencement speech but near the end made no specific reference to the controversy here in washington but turned defiant. with us as we discuss what he just said and the controversy here in washington to share reporting and insights michael share of "the new york times," nia-malika henderson, mary catherine hamill and cnn's sara murray. the president leaving washington to speak at the coast guard academy on the day. last night, the house oversight committee demanded any memos james comey made of his conversations with the president and any records the white house has of such conversations while the president was speaking, the senate intelligence committee did the same thing and said it was inviting director comey to publicly testify. the president has said nothing since word leaked first reported in the "new york times" last night that comey wrote memos suggesting that the president pulled him aside in a private meeting at the white house and asked him to shut down a giant part of the russia election

meddling investigation, the part of the investigation looking into former trump national security adviser michael flynn. the president has said nothing about this, did not directly address it in his speech but listen as near the end he attacked the washington media and offered the cadets what he said was some advice. >> now i want to take this opportunity to give you some advice over the course of your life, you will find that thing are not always fair. you will find that thing happen to you that you do not deserve and that are not always warranted. but you have to put your head down and fight, fight, fight. >> now, a trademark defiant political message there. i want to make the point, he did not specifically say i didn't do this. he has not specifically said i didn't do this. the only thing we have is a white house statement issued by an unnamed official saying the conversation that director comey says happened never happened.

i mentioned that because i want to make the point that washington is very different today. up till yesterday, the investigations were about russia meddling in the election and did associates of then candidate trump do something nefarious, col include or somehow have coordination with the russians during that. today we are talking about conduct of the president of the united states, allegedly pulling his fbi director aside as comey said in the memo "i hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting flynn go. he's a good guy. i hope you can let this go." that would be the president of the united states after asking the attorney general and vice president to leave the room. that is the conduct in question which is why this town is in a very different place today. some people talking about impeachment. that's premature. what is the burden on this president right now. >> the burden on this president and white house is to explain what happened in that meeting. the reason you saw a statement from an unnamed white house

official is because white house officials don't know what happened in the meeting and are used to putting their face and name out there to say no, this never happened only to see the president come out on twitter and say it did, but i'm allowed to do that because i'm president. a number of people are waiting as we saw from the house and senate to actually see these memos from james comey. i do think you're right. it's a very different tenor in washington last night and this morning. it was a very different tenor on the hill last night. our colleagues tell me we know republicans have been frustrated with the president that he keeps getting sidelined by controversies and can't move forward with his agenda. this was the first kind of clear marker that this president may have tried to personally interfere into this investigation into russia. >> and outside friends of the president i have been told are having conversation among themselves whether the president needs private outside counsel. that does not mean they believe he did anything wrong. that's being cautious and safe. clinton days had david kendall in all the time. but the fact that they

understand that thing have changed to the point that this is a very different much more serious business and the president has to be very careful what he says now because the comey memos exist. the president hasn't tweeted in 20 plus hours now. >> that's right. he hasn't tweeted. that's uncharacteristic. for some people probably a relief he hasn't been fuming in front of the television and wanting to tweet in response. it is a very different washington today. there's always a sense among republicans that you know, donald trump sort of had nine lives and he would always land on his feet that they could kind of focus on their agenda whether it's tax reform, infrastructure or obamacare or repeal and replace. now you see something different. we can see on our screen there the dow reacting to some of this, as well. all these hopes and dreams about what donald trump administration would do in terms of jobs in terms of rolling back regulations and that was built into that surge that we saw in the stock market and now today you see something different.

you do hear people talking about impeachment. some of those folks have always been talking about impeachment but something new now is you hear republicans privately talking about obstruction of justice. publicly some of them now talking whether or not there is a need for some sort of independent investigation in this. people like susan collins who again is a krenist and more moderate. those are the people that even democrats are looking to see if they can gain momentum in terms of this independent investigationing. >> i think he does have nine lives. nine lives like an alley cat, not like the him may lan eating out of a crystal ball. it is not helping the agenda. but he continues to sort of maintain these very low numbers. he said something, he said i've been treated so unfairly. what he said earlier in the speech to the cadets was you have to act properly and learn to do that under great pressure. i would suggest he should take that advice because this is not all about outside forces. the guy pitched himself as a great manager. a great manager could see pretty

clearly that comey was a guy who would take notes about what is going on here. if worked for trump, i would take copious notes what was going on because as we've seen with staff, they have a tendency to get sold out on these things. >> if you made the bold decision to pull the director aside and forgetting for a minute that you're the president of the united states, forgetting that you're in the oval office and just saying is there a way 0 make this go away. even if you're doing that, then you fired him. then you fired him after he refused to do that. >> i think it's possible that's his new york guy move. right, hey, man, let's go away. but then you fire the guy who has the goods. >> look, i agree. i think that what crystallize this had week was the sense of things that get set in motion that are out of the president and out of the white house control, right? you begin to see things that add on. you fire the fbi director. that has consequences.

that sets other things in motion. the memo is now likely to spark hearings with the former fbi director. which are going to be amazing hearings where he probably reads from the memos. that could spark -- that could lead to an independent investigation that goes on and on. >> when congress offers the chance for president to offer his side of the story that, opens pandora's box. >> perjury. remember, that's what they got clinton on initially was a perjury and obstruction charge. so that -- it all builds and it all leads and that's the sense, you know, over the week but especially last night. >> and that's when you start to bring in aides and staff, what did they know, when did they know it? do they have notes. >> they need lawyers. >> so this again, it opens up territory that we haven't seen before for this president. >> that commencement address is so telling. it's very clear the president still sees himself as the victim in this. we were talking about learning to act properly. that's not his concern. his concern is who is sharing

this information. not i shouldn't have said this to james comey, not maybe we should have made sure we were going through the proper protocols to share sensitive information with the russians. he doesn't seem to be eager to learn from his mistakes, to realize they are police takes or to try to do this job perhaps in a better less sloppy way that might allow him to move forward with his agenda and give republicans on the hill fewer panic attacks. >> we'll continue the conversation after a quick break. up next, a crisis for the president and a moment of truth for his republican party. hey allergy muddlers are you one sneeze away from being voted out of the carpool? try zyrtec® it's starts working hard at hour one and works twice as hard when you take it again the next day. stick with zyrtec® and muddle no more®.

tech: when your windshield trust safelite autoglass.. our exclusive trueseal technology means a strong, reliable bond. at safelite, we stand behind our work... because the ones you love, sit behind it. (parents whisper jingle) safelite repair, safelite replace. i count on my dell small for tech advice. with one phone call, i get products that suit my needs and i get back to business. ♪ ♪

as after a dvt blood clot,ital i sure had a lot to think about. what about the people i care about? ...including this little girl. and what if this happened again? i was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me? so i asked my doctor. and he recommended eliquis. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. yes, eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots. eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. both made me turn around my thinking. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily ...and it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk

if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots. plus had less major bleeding. both made eliquis the right treatment for me. ask your doctor if switching to eliquis is right for you. we believe in food that's anaturally beautiful,, fresh and nutritious. so there are no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, no artificial preservatives in any of the food we sell. we believe in real food. whole foods market. these make cleaning between myi love easy.sy. gum brand for healthy gums. soft picks, proxabrush cleaners, flossers. gum brand. welcome back as we noted, everything is different in washington today. republican leadership that was firmly as opposed to the idea of

a special prosecutor or independence commission is suddenly discussing whether it might need to reconsider. the house government oversight committee and senate intelligence committee demanding all records detailing conversations between the president and james comey. including white house tapes if there are any. the government committee on the house imposing a one-week deadline. >> i think we've seen this movie before. i think it's reaching the point where it's of watergate size and scale and a couple of other scandals that you and i have seen. it's a centipede. the shoe continues to drop. and every couple of days, there's a new aspect of this really unhappy situation. none of us no matter what our political leanings are, no matter how we feel about trump feel this is not good for america. >> senator john mccain giving his perspective. before we continue the conversation, let's peek live on

capitol hill. mark warner is the ranking member on the senate intelligence committee. listen for a minute. >> we go back to what seems to be eons ago to last friday. six days ago, five days ago. we've still got a very open question of are there -- has this president been secretly recording conversations. we still don't have an answer from the white house which i find outrageous to say whether those secret tapes exist or not. >> reporter: has the white house said if they would -- >> chairman burr and i have talked about that. i don't believe we've had that offer. >> reporter: do you sense this controversy is different for your republican colleagues than some of the other crises that have emanated from the white house? >> i think we're talking about something both now resulting in a cumulation of miscues,

missteps and open questions, and then in terms of last night, if the press reports are true, a whole other level of seriousness that i can't think of a single republican colleague of mine that i've talked to at least privately that hasn't expressed real concern. >> reporter: what do you that i their reluctance is? >> i think this is -- this is -- we first started hearing about secret tapes last thursday or friday. it's not even a week. and every day, there seems to be something else that comes out. so i understand, this has been a whirlwind for somebody like myself who's virtually 100% focused on this subject. and for folks who aren't as focused, this has been -- takes a lot to process all this.

and i think we -- i think personally, you guys got a different job, i think personally, you know, i think we will hear more from my republican colleagues, but i understand they need a little bit of time to process it. >> reporter: movement with the republicans -- >> these conversations that happened before. >> listening to senator mark warner, democrat of virginia, the ranking democrat, the number two on the senate intelligence committee. hard to hear some of the audio because of conditions at the capitol. very significant what he said. we'll continue to listen. number one, he said the white house has still not answered the questions whether there are tapes of conversations at the white house. remember the president threatened comey in a tweet saying he better hope there are not tapes of this conversations. opening the door to is there a white house recording system. he also said this went to a whole other level when james comey believed the president of the united states tried to get him to shut down a key avenue of

the russia investigation. that is significant as president, the president leaning on the fbi director in the former director's view to shut down the investigation. as we listened to this, if reaffirms the different nature of today. this is presidential conduct in question. putting undue pressure on the fbi director in comey's view. he told congress and hinted at this in testimony to congress. his position seemed to be if you talked to associates, he could handle this. he could handle the president as long as nobody messed with the details of the investigation. does the white house get how different the world is today? the president sounded defiant in his speech. he's a politician out in the public sphere. do they get how different this is? >> i think they understand this is a crisis. they know that was the sentiment last night in the white house and they were there very late trying to figure out how you move forward on this and all of this is happening as there is a huge foreign trip looming. part of the reason this is different is you didn't see them

send a bunch of surrogates out there to immediately begin trying to talk about this to immediately begin trying to spin this. we didn't hear from the president earlier today on twitter. we didn't hear from white house press secretary sean spicer on the way to this address. i think a number of aides are kind of waiting to see what comey does and sort of trying to keep the president in line on this. i think they understand that this is a serious matter and i think they are certainly hearing these calls from capitol hill the same way we are and just the level of concern and how much that has shifted from yesterday afternoon into yesterday evening and today. >> as republicans get jitters on capitol hill and debate what to do, we'll get to that in a second, the press has not addressed any of the specificses of this, did you pull director comey aside. we're told there are several memos in which the president said come on, shut this down. general flynn is a good guy. we'll hear from director comey

and likely to see his memos pretty soon. the president understands in the haven't he needs to keep his people, which is why you hear things like this at the coast guard commencement speech. >> no politician in history, and i say this with great surety, has been treated worse or more unfairly. you can't let them get you down. you can't let the critics and the naysayers get in the way of your dreams. >> he went on to say of the righteous what he was doing. again, we're not here to do battle with the president. but the issue in question is these documents beak leaked to the media are about what the president did. at some times they have a legitimate case. there's a damn good conversation that should be had. when the question says the president tried to get the fbi director to shut down an investigation, that's pretty important. >> you have a white house, i

think they are more subdued than they've been over the last 12 hours. reports of kind of real kind of not sadness but sort of soberness and they understand the seriousness. but they're also gun shy because look what's happened this whole week. you know, they've tried to kind of conduct themselves the way normal political operatives conduct themselves and stick to a story line only to have the president of the united states undercut that story line and so you know, you do have a sense of if they were to come out, if the traditional people, sean spicer, sarah huckabee sanders the regular folks would come out, how long would it be before the narrative they're pushing is undermined by the president himself. >> how confident are they what the president is telling them is true. i want to come back to the white house team in a minute. i want to work on chapter hill for a second. i live this had movie covering the white house during the monica lewinsky which turned a special council investigation

into -- republicans have been very reluctant for good reason. they're doing oversight. if the committees are doing their job, the fbi is doing their job, why do we need something else that would have to start over again. democrats are saying now that you have the memo that the president pulled the director aside at least once that to them says let's put this in the hand of something independent. paul ryan saying not yet. he says the government oversight committee is requesting the documents. let's see how it goes. >> we need the facts. it is obviously there are some people who want to harm the president. but we have an obligation to carry out our oversight regardless of which party is in the white house. i'm sure we're going to go on to hear from mr. comey why if this happens as he allegedly describes why he didn't take action at the time. our job to be responsible is, sober and focus only on gathering the facts. >> he's buying himself some time.

internally some republicans say i'm getting hammered back home. we need to separate ourselves from the president. put this in independence hands so we can say it's now in an independent agency. the politicians aren't involved. do something. what the speaker is saying hang on a second. let's see. does the white house give us the documents? does the white house cooperate. when you talk to republicans privately, does this stop? does it go from one day he shared secret intelligence with the russians he shouldn't have to the next day there's a memo saying he tried to quash the investigation. give it a day or two, see if it stops. >> i think also there's something to be said for being calm and sober and looking at facts. the comey memos are easily subpoenaed and we have not seen them yet. i would like to see what's in it. there's another element of this not just how the white house sees it. i think it's good they're subdued and see this as serious. that's sort of heartening. there's another element which is how the public sees it. we'll see what that looks like. but i do think there's a danger politically when paul ryan

mentions some want to harm the president. many trump voters have read they just want to take him out for whatever reason they can find. there are reasons also. i do there there's a part where you lose much of the american public in what right now is a rifs of public trust in many ways. when you start taking more extraordinary measures or stepping beyond the remedies we have which are elections and impeachment and the proces by which that happens. i do think there's a danger there politically and just for the nation if you're sort of overstepping the information that you have. it can be really problematic for those people. that's why he framed it in the speech. he said washington media versus forgotten men and women. those people still exist. >> that's how the president is going to frame this. i thought this was significant for the speaker to say on the one hand, everybody take a breath. let's see the memos and not read about them in the newspaper or see them on television. if you're in a responsible position -- but that's green lighting another committee in congress to get involved.

instead of saying lead us over here, he's green lighting go. >> which is where they were before basically. mitch mcconnell, all the liedership saying we can handle it. there are enough investigations going on including at the fbi. you are seeing a really subtle shift from republicans. and they must be reading the polls too where the american public, there was a poll that says something like 80% favor some sort of independent look at this. and it's. >> maybe because that's because they don't trust anybody in washington. >> i think that's right. this goes to show how important credibility is. this white house from day one talking about crowd size, defending that, talking about illegal votes, talking about obama wiretapping his phones. frittering away. he didn't come in with a lot of credibility and didn't do any work when he was elected president to gain credibility. >> that's a key point. the republicans able to put that over here as trump being trump about crowd size, about 3 to 5 million people voting illegally,

it's very different when the president of the united states allegedly asked the fbi director. that's why things are different today. you could at least find a way politically to marginalize the other conduct. this is something about presidential conduct potential obstruction of justice. they understand the gravity of that. everybody sit tight. shouting matches, shake-up talk and worried presidential trump friends. to say team trump is in turmoil is an epic understatement. ♪

you know how painful heartburn can be. for fast-acting, long-lasting relief, try doctor recommended gaviscon. it quickly neutralizes stomach acid and helps keep acid down for hours. relieve heartburn with fast- acting, long-lasting gaviscon. on a perfect car, then smash it into a tree. your insurance company raises your rates. maybe you should've done more research on them. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. switch and you could save $509 on auto insurance. call for a free quote today. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance.

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 welcome back. a good friend worried about his friend the president describes him as angry and "mad at just about everybody," including senior staff. a great "new york times" account today captures zlar dynamics. his mood has become sour and dark turning against most aides even jared kushner and driving them as incompetent. the wall street editorial board generally sympathetic to republican administrations suggest the president some trashing his staff and look in the mirror. "mr. trump is considering a white house shake-up including cleaning out many of his top

aides." the white house always reflects his governing style. the no jim baker ex-machinea will make much difference. this is the conversation in washington. when you talk to people inside the white house or the outside circle the president phones sometimes usually late at night they describe him as angry, frustrates thinking he's getting a raw deal and according to a friend i've spoken to several times not open to the conversation that a lot of this is self-inflicted. >> every day is festivus for this president. always looking for somebody to blame. always agreed at some outside force, whether it's obama, the deep state, whoever it is. but you know, if you follow sports sports and somebody's thinking of fire a coach, no one is looking at the assistant coaches as the reason why the coach isn't effective. he's the reason why this is a problem. it very much contradicts how he came in. i alone can fix it. i'm the best manager in the world. i hire the best people.

all those stories have trickled out of the white house for months and months. he's mad at this person, now he's not. he's the common denominator in all of this. >> this is a question. it's not about angry tweets anymore. it's whether he did something grossly inappropriate or interpreted as grossly inappropriate. the fbi director who internally is talking to the president to try to get the train back on the track. >> there's nobody in the white house who can go to him and level with him or get him to change his behavior or who would have been in a position for instance to say mr. president, i'm actually going to sit in on this meeting with you and james comey. it's important that i'm here for this. and i think that that is one of sort. >> or an attorney general who said when he said i want them to leave the room, say no. >> and remember, there were moments when jeff sessions was the adult on the plane, when chris christie was the adult, the reality is the president views himself as his best about communicator, the guy in charge who makes amazing decisions. he has viewed his successes

through that prism for decades now. so to convince him he is in fact the problem and that the solution is not to fire everyone around him is a very tough lift. >> i think that's right. i also think and sara probably remembers this more having been on the campaign, there were a couple of moments in the campaign where for brief stretches of time, usually after deep crises had erupted, the campaign would find a way to right itself. he would find a way to be restrained. you do wonder whether this isn't one of those moments. we'll see. there's no evidence of it yet. he's about to go on a foreign trip. is it possible they rally enough to kind of keep things sort of locked down for ten days or two weeks or whatever? >> i mean, obviously, the foreign trip will be huge in trying to press a little bit of the reset button. the problem is the things that happened, the things causing them angst are not just going off on a crazy tear about ben carson mimicking him stabbing

someone that you can make up for by behaving yourself on the campaign trail and giving speeches from a teleprompter for a week. you can't erase the memos and you can't erase an investigation that's now going across even more committees. >> i think the shake-up that would change things is bringing a person who could tell the president you're wrong. we haven't seen a person who could do that for asus attained period of time that's what would make the difference. you have the added problem if you do a staff shake-up, you have to hire other people. the black list for this white house is very long to the point they're not staffing a bunch of things that probably should have been staffed. >> who would want to take that on. >> that's the question. tough thing to go into right now. i know several friends suggested tom barrack, his friend in los angeles. they remember the convention period where tom was around because he was the chairman of the detention. in the trump camp, they call him the trump whisperer, he can go to trump and keep him disciplines. come for a couple weeks, do this, do that. that's one of the things you

hear. some of this, sally yates, the former acting attorney general who went to the white house and told them she thought national security adviser michael flynn was open to blackmail. listen to her talking to anderson cooper last night. she gives the impression yes, there are a lot of questions about the president. she raises serious doubts with the competency of his white house counsel and others on the staff. >> when you call the white house counsel and say, you've got to meet with them that day about something you can't talk about on the phone and you tell them that their national security adviser may be able to be blackmailed by the russians and that you're giving this information so they'll take action, i'm not sure how much more of a siren you have to sound. >> on this front, she's saying i went to them with a flashing red light and they kind of went eh. >> we don't know what don mcgann received, what he took to the white house. or donald trump. we don't know how closely donald trump was paying attention.

we don't know the why donald trump seems to not be able to quit michael flynn in the 18 days and subsequent 18 days. he has this attachment to michael flynn that is the subject of investigations. >> i just want to sneak in in because of delicious irony. yesterday's story was did the president go to a meeting with russian diplomats and share top secret israeli intelligence that the administration had been told don't share with anybody because it's so sensitive did, that happen trying to help the president now, vladimir putin. >> translator: moreover, if the u.s. administration thinks it's possible, we are prepared to provide the transcript of the conversation between trump and lavrov to send it in congress. only if that is the u.s. administration wants it. >> in the with friends like these file -- >> a little grin on his face. >> a little grin on the face there. as he tries to meddle in this. we make a joke about that.

but now to the point that even if the president mitigates his behavior, even if the president performs well on the global stage, while he's away, the lawyers will be looking in files because they want documents. can you prove or disprove a taping system. this is a bad moment. >> it is a bad moment. no amount of spin as you said or new communication staff will wipe that away. that's what the house is essentially trying to do, hanging on clapper and say clapper says there's nothing to see here. but the investigations are going to continue. and i guess it was mccain who said this is a centipede meaning there are many shoes that are yet to drop. and that looks like to be the case. >> the incoming from foreign diplomats have been interesting. they're all asking us questions. i remember going through this. is he going to survive, how big of a deal. will he be impeached. there's just about to meet the president. >> you don't wipe it away. the question is whether you can keep it afloat until midterm elections. that will be a huge deciding

factor i think how donald trump feels and probably how the management goes. >> that's why you have the republicans nervous. they tried to buy time to see which way the ship is turning. thanks for joining us today. see you back here tomorrow. jim sciutto picks up our coverage after a quick break. ready or not, here i come. ♪ anyone can dream. making it a reality is the hard part. northrop grumman command and control systems always let you see the complete picture. and we're looking for a few dreamers to join us.

when you're close to the people you love, does psoriasis ever get in the way of a touching moment? if you have moderate to severe psoriasis, you can embrace the chance of completely clear skin with taltz. taltz is proven to give you a chance at completely clear skin. with taltz, up to 90% of patients had a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques. in fact, 4 out of 10 even achieved completely clear skin. do not use if you are allergic to taltz. before starting you should be checked for tuberculosis. taltz may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you are being treated for an infection or have symptoms. or if you have received a vaccine or plan to.

inflammatory bowel disease can happen with taltz. including worsening of symptoms. serious allergic reactions can occur. now's your chance at completely clear skin. just ask your doctor about taltz.

this is a moment in american history. >> if indeed the president tried to tell the director of the fbi who worked for him that he should drop an investigation, that's a very serious matter. >> a call for the impeachment of the president of the united states. of america. >> we need the actual documents. we need to hear directly from mr. comey himself. >> why didn't he take action at the time? so there are a lot of unanswered questions. >> this is not a time for republicans to hide. >> three words, obstruction of justice. >> as stunning as the