are walls that welcome you in. within these walls, california's educators create safe places for every student to learn and grow. where teachers open minds to history... unleash creativity... and show our kids the future. some build walls to divide us. but the california teachers association knows these are walls that bring us together. because quality public schools build a better california for all of us.

our breaking news tonight, a potential bombshell. new reporting in the woegs. according to post jared kushner the president son-in-law and senior advisor -- it took place back in december at trum tower in new york city. our justice correspondent pamela brown has late word on all of this. so pamela, what are you learning? >> well, we've learned wolf, "the washington post" kushner asked sergey kislyak about creating the secret back communication to moskow by using russian diplomatic facilities to shield from monitoring from intelligenceagies. we know from reported, wolf, the

fbi is scrutinizing this meeting along with one other one as part of its larger probe into russia's interference in the u.s. election. but the one right now is also on michael flynn, and according to "the washington post," during the december meeting kislyak was reportedly caught off-guard by the unusual request that an american would use russian communications gear in its embassy. it's important to note, though, wolf that russians will sometimes feed false information into communication because they're well aware u.s. intelligence is listening in. but according to "the washington post," officials believe the information he provided was a reliable characterization. the white house has declined to comment tonight, wolf. >> yeah, and jared kushner's attorney has declined to comment as well. very, very thunder s silence i

should say. what you tell us about that the. >> that's right. i'm told by former obama administration officials they were alarmed by the interactions kislyak was having with members of the trump campaign and transition, and they took note of the interactions. one official told me when kislyak came to the white house, it was to be rep manned. squin contrast members of the trump campaign and transition appeared to be meeting with him on a regular basis more so than other officials. it was puzzling, i'm told, because it was not clear to those in the obama administration what the trump transition folks were trying to avoid -- trying to do by avoiding regular channels. officials were also aware, wolf, of phone conversations to kislyak where you would report back to russia about cultivating

relationships to members on the trump campaign and transition and seeing if they could use those members to influence trump. so all of this put together created concern in the obama administration particularly during the transition, wolf. >> pamela brown, thanks very much. i want to bring in our panel. laura coates, professor allen dershowitz, and steve hall. dana, first what do you make of this bombshell report in the "the washington post"? >> look, first it's hard for us to wrap our heads around it. how many times have we said that in the news cycles we're living with these days? but there's a lot of reporting here and a lot of unanswered questions. the biggest question is why would jared kushner make such a

naive request to do something like ask the russians to see if he can use their communications to have a back channel? it doesn't make sense on its face. having said that, this meeting supposedly happened at the beginning of december. this was a campaign that frankly thought it would be disbanded and would go back to their businesses and were suddenly a transition into the presidency of the united states, and they were trying to get their sea legs. is jared kushner wanted to be and became the guy who his father-in-law, slash president-elect will rely on. look, "the post" suggested this. this was brand new and he did something really, really naive if, if this actually happened. >> phil mudd, the only thing i

could imagine they would want to setup this secret line of channel of communication through the transition and flynn and the fired national security advisor were afraid they didn't want obama administration officials to know what they were telling the russians. >> that's right. if you want to me to give you an explanation for this, it's not credible, but i will give you an explanation. we haven't heard kushner's side. that assumed, let's say this is all accurate. we're going into a presidency where the president of the united states said repeatedly that alleged that trump towers was not only wiretapped by federal officials but wiretapped by the president of the united states. so you have antirement where people want to work with putin, that environment was created during the campaign but they don't trust the administration.

i don't trust the american bureaucracy, and remember i think we're being wiretapped thinking by jared kushner. >> because he was still being wiretapped and -- >> david, what do you make of this reporting from your colleagues at the "the washington post"? >> it's amazing. and can't claim any credit for it. jared kushner, he's accompanied by this meeting with michael flynn would understand more than anybody would understand what it means to request to the russians let me come and use your communications gear. >> but remember michael flynn, he was the head of the dia, the defense intelligence agency, president obama for all practical purposes fired him and didn't like his style over there. and a year in 2015, he actually

went to moskow, had a dinner at a financy russian television sponsored dinner and putin was sitting at his table. >> that's what i'm saying. if this was a mistake by michael nin and mike flynn participates in, it's hard to say he doesn't understand how this works. he seems be going along with this not out of naivety but perhaps on purpose. >> was this point to some evidence of collusion? >> well, evidence of collusion is not a crime, even collusion is not a crime. this is another example of a political bombshell that doesn't rise to the level of criminal conduct. and special counsel is supposed to be investigating only criminal conduct. and they're not supposed to be investigating evil doing or bad tall tks or things that would incline you not to vote for trump's re-election. they're supposed to look for evidence of criminal conduct and violation of federal criminal

statutes. the only thing this, i think, suggests is they ought to be looking hard at why kushner and flynn and the others, and sessions, didn't completely disclose their meetings with russian authorities during this interim period. remember there are three periods that are relevant. during the campaign, because that could have been efforts to influence the election by russia. once they're in office, and then there's this interim period, which is the least likely to contain any kind of criminal behavior. because they're still private citizens, they've already been elected. so, again, this is another example of very important information the public has the right to know but not necessarily information that will lead to a criminal investigation, criminal indictment, or criminal prosecution. >> well, let me press you on that professor dershowitz.

you're the expert. you're a harvard law scholar. we don't know this is true by any means, but if in fact during the campaign there were trump associates working with the russians, colluding with the russians on how to interfere with the elections and get bad stories out there in wisconsin or michigan and pennsylvania, and do that, wouldn't that be illegal to work with a foreign country and try to interfere in our democratic process? >> well, i've gone through all the relevant federal criminal statutes, and i can't find a crime in the existing law. it certainly should be a crime, and i would hope congress have hearings are and make that criminal. the only way it could be a crime if the -- the trump administration has noeds of this of course -- gave them information about how to be hacked, told them and who to be hacked. if they have information that the russians on their own hacked

the dnc, that too would not be a crime. i think congress would want to have hearings to make sure in the future this can't ever be allowed to happen. but you always have to point to a specific criminal statute, and i haven't seen it. >> yeah, and i want to be precise. we haven't seen any type of evidence of that formal collusion. laur aero, you're a former prosecutor. was there some potential legal criminal activity here? >> well, there are in the sense there was an initiative on the behalf of the trump administration or campaign to try to facilitate the illegal activity like hacking, actually attached to a criminal statute. but remember any prudent or diligent prosecutor or investigator knows there will be dozens if not hundreds of rabbit holes to pursue. robert mueller is no means a

dead scenario. there will be an investigation to say listen, who did what, why, and to what gain and was there a criminal investigation? and the litany of whys we all have lead us to one conclusion. we need an investigation why? because there's a lot of unserred questions. if it happened in this case that the trump campaign was a recipient of information and just aqueoused to the distribution of it, then you don't have have the type of crime you're talking about. if, however, they're in the driver seat and using russian agents and intelligence or whatever it is to do that to undermine the election, that shifts right back to the halls of the department of justice where t it will remain. but right now we are at a loss. and what we do not have is what

did jared kushner want to say. >> let me get professor dershowitz to respond to that. go ahead. >> well, i think there should be an investigation. i think it's very dangerous to have reports to conduct fishing expeditions or giving them general commissions to see if they can find crimes. this is very appropriately done more by a congress if they want to change the law or by an independent commission at the time it was appointed by congress at the time after 9/11. and that way the public sees everything, we learn the answers, everything is done in public, the witnesses have lawyers. the investigation being conducted now is being conducted in secret, behind closed doors, in front of a grand jury where witnesses don't have lawyers. we'll probably never end up finding out the truth. so i think a public, public investigation is really what's -- so far up to now we've seen political sins but no federal statutory crimes.

>> you're talking like a 9/11 public commission inquiry, right? >> that's right. nonpartisan experts who could get to the bottom of this and find out the truth. and then we would know who to vote for the next election. >> yeah, there's a criminal investigation, several congressional investigations in the house and senate. everybody standby. we have a lot more coming in on the breaking news, much more with our panel. we're also standing by for white house reaction. that's ahead. and so is the latest from another key stop in the president's first over seas trip. we're going to get the very latest on the g7 summit in sicily when 360 continues. daily liquid care. our first liquid moisturizer with aloe water. absorbs instantly, for 72 hours of intense and continuous hydration. not heavy, sticky or oily.

skin's quenched. looks fresh, glowing. new hydra genius daily liquid care with aloe water. by l'oreal paris. because you're worth it. z286oz zwtz y286oy ywty dearthere's no other way to say this. it's over. i've found a permanent escape from monotony. together, we are perfectly balanced, our senses awake, our hearts racing as one. i know this is sudden, but they say: if you love something... set it free. see you around, giulia ♪

what makesheart healthysalad the becalifornia walnuts.r? the best simple veggie dish ever? heart healthy california walnuts. the best simple dinner ever? heart healthy california walnuts. great tasting, heart healthy california walnuts. so simple. get the recipes at walnuts.org. "how to win at business." step one: point decisively with the arm of your glasses. abracadabra. the stage is yours. step two: choose la quinta. the only hotel where you can redeem loyalty points for a free night-instantly and win at business. with my moderate to severe crohn's disease,... ...i kept looking for ways to manage my symptoms. i thought i was doing okay... then it hit me... ...managing was all i was doing. when i told my doctor,... ...i learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease... ...even after trying other medications.

in clinical studies,... the majority of people on humira... saw significant symptom relief... ...and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability... ...to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened;... ...as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where... ...certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb,... ...hepatitis b, are prone to infections,... ...or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. just managing your symptoms? ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, remission is possible.

more now on the breaking news. reporting in the "the washington post" that jared kushner back in early december proposed setting up a secret communications system with the krmlen. according to "the post" it came from intercepts between the kremlin and moskow. what would the russian ambassador to the u.s. have to tell the russians about this presuming, i assume u.s. intelligence officials were listening in especially if russians saw an improved relationship under the trump administration as opposed to the obama administration? >> yes, you have another point

in this story that sort of defies logic. the presumption is one you sort of alluded is presuming he was speaking over open communications. if he was speaking in open communications with mus cow, then i can guarantee what he said cannot be taken at face value. if he was not communicatic vons that's another matter. also kushner is not going to sit down with some russian communication system and report back to moskow. that's ridiculous because kislyak could convey that information securely back to moskow. so there's a whole lot that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

why in this interim period professor dergswits was correct, you've got this interim period. what was so urget that needed to be some sort of secret communication that couldn't wait until the administration was in place, and then they could speak to russians whenever and however they wanted to pretty much. that part i don't understand. >> well, phil mudd the only thing i can imagine is if in fact kushner wanted to have a dialogue with someone, wanted to get on the phone, can i cover over to the russian embassy, you have secure communications, we can dial this individual in moskow, and i can have a private conversation with this person, and kislyak may or may not have thought that was strange but maybe kushner that was a legitimate idea. >> darn right he thought that was strange the russian ambassador.

forget saying i don't trust this going through u.s. communications because the white house is using this, but i want you to transmit this back through your space and the white house won't see it. one thing that has been repeated in the last several months, unmasking. if this story is true and you want to understand the national security advisor under president advisor, that susan rice you want to understand, this story today tells you why. this is the kind of name that would be unmasked to help the white house understand what's going on with secret communications with the russians? the story is starting to clar demystify. >> a lot of people are saying there's a lot of bombing shells over the last few weeks, but this a major bombshell. >> it is. i think it's hard to top the president of the united states in the oval office allegedly telling the russian foreign minister and ambassador that the

fbi director just fired is a nut job or allegedly giving them intelligence and saying it was the israelis that were a source or telling the nsa director or the head of the cia to go public and say that nothing bad happened with flynn and i can or, or, or. and this happened when the president of the united states was already president. having said that with regard to trying to figure out what went on -- not 100% because we don't understand what the motivation was, but what went on in some of these meetings but jared kushner didn't even talk about at first, did want even reveal at first. and now we have more information of what he wanted to do in these meetings. -- >> professor dergswits if he called you and said i need some

legal advice, what would you tell him? >> she's a brilliant liar, my former student and she is giving him the best possible advice. i would be completely up front and frank. i would first write to the special counsel and find out what they're investigating, what statutes they think would have been violated. but it seems like to me he has really nothing to hide and nothing he can hide anyway, because everything is tapped, everything is recorded these days. so he should be completely candid. and what he should say if it's the true is i didn't trust the obama administration, i thought they would leak this information to the disadvantage of the incoming president. i wanted to have a source of contact with russia, we wanted to have better relationships with and i wanted to do it without the obama administration listening in. now, the fact you trust the russians whether you trust over your incombpt president is a

political story. but i don't know the see the criminal law implications of this. to me a much more serious story, and i know you're going to get to it later is the comey saying relying on information that was false. that is really a bombshell, and some of things dana mentioned are much, much more serious. the fact that the president may have asked national security people to tell him something that turned out not to be the case, those are much more sear dwrs. so i think we have to have priorities here and we have to always focus on whether or not silver liberties are being violated in the partisan results. >> but very quickly professor dershowitz, you mentioned the lawyer representing jared kushner he's saa former deputy attorney general during the bill clinton administration. "the washington post" asked her

for comment. we've asked her for comment. we've asked the white house for comment to this bombshell report in the "the washington post." "the washington post" asked for comment, and for hours now they're not commenting. how do you explain that? >> well, i think for very good reason. i wouldn't have commented either if i had been his lawyer until i found out the story is true. first of all, i'd want to check with my client to find out whether or not this meeting actually took place. i'd want to hear his story, his account of it, and then i'd make a decision about whether to make a public this time or to make it public to the special counsel outside of the context of any kind of public disclosure. i'm sure kroul get responses from jamey, but you'll get it at a time when she knows for sure that what's she's saying is credible. she depends on her credibility. as you said, she's a democratic. she worked for the obama

administration, theclipten administration. she's a very prominent democrat,ic but she's here at a lawyer representing a republican. she's probably getting as much flack as i am. any time i speak out and serves as damage to any incumbent president, it serves as damaging. but that's what professors and intellectuals have to do. we have to call it as we see it and in a straight and nonpartisan way. we have some new reporting coming in on additional and previously undisclosed contacts between jared kushner and sergey kislyak. but once a week i let her play sheriff so i can wash it. i use tide to get out those week old stains and downy to get it fresh and soft. you are free to go. tide and downy together. w...that not only made a a big first impression...

...but was designed to withstand sunlight this bright... ...this bright... ...or even this bright. if a paint could protect your door's color against the strongest uv rays... ...it makes you wonder... is it still paint? aura grand entrance from benjamin moore®. only available at independently owned paint and hardware stores. bp developed new, industry-leading software to monitor drilling operations in real-time, so our engineers can solve problems with the most precise data at their fingertips. because safety is never being satisfied. and always working to be better.

peobut they're different.ind it's nice to remove artificial ingredients. kind never had to. we choose real ingredients like almonds, peanuts and a drizzle of dark chocolate. give kind a try. ♪

in addition to "the washington post" reporting that jared kushner back in early december suggested setting up a secret communications system with moskow, there's now new reporting from routers, they're sources telling them that kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with russian ambassador sergei case clack. the that includes two phone calls between april and november of last year. reached for comment by the reuters service, kushner attorney says he has no recollection of any of those calls. it's another case of alleged contact with russian ambassador that seems to be everywhere in this story. he's one of at least four contacts with the ambassador has come under scrutiny. jill, an expert on russia, she's

at the universe of washington right now under woodrow wilson center. i want to get to all of that, but the attorney representing jared kushner has just put out a statement. >> yes, this is text i just received from an official at the white house when i asked for ongoing stories. it was put in the name of a white house official to me. it says, quote, mr. kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. he has no recollection of the calls as describe. we have asked reuters for the dates of calls, but we have not received such information. so that's being attributed to kushner emphasis lawyer coming to meet official, and they have pushed back on this story, that he doesn't have any recollection of the calls that reuters has

described. >> reuters talking about these two previously undisclosed phone calls in april and november of last year. >> it's important to note there's still not a "the washington post" response to this. >> still silence as far as "the washington post" story is concerned. jil, we haven't heard from you yet. does it make sense to you that a high ranking official with incoming administration would propose using secure equipment at the russian embassy in washington to communicate with the kremlin? >> well, i think it's flabbergasting both from the american perspective and from the russian perspective. but in a way i was trying to get my head around this, in a way it does make some sense. i mean i think you could argue we all know that the president disdaped, really disliked and distrusted the intelligence community. so he would definitely try to go around them to do whatever he wanted to do. and general flynn was the same

way perhaps even more so. and then you had his desire to do a deal with the russians. and if you look at the way the president deals with other leaders, etc., a lot of of it personal collection. remember the early phone calls he made, they were direct pick up the phone and do it yourself. it's kind of his businessman approach. so i can see this in some way they would say let's go to them directly, let's communicate with the kremlin directly, let's find our contact there. and then finally the president's desire to do the biggest deal in history, which would be improving relations with russia. so all of those factors, i think, you know, at least give some type of, to me, a little bit of a framework where you could make sense of this even though it is astounding and pretty incredible but not totally implausible.

>> interesting. professor dershowitz let me ask you about a u.s. law called the logan act. never been used successfully prosecute someone. but it essentially prohibits priefbs citizens from having unauthorized dealings with foreign governments. i assume you're going to be skeptple of this, but it could come into play if -- and it's a big if -- if jared kushner or michael flynn or anyone else was discussing making promises of sanctions to russian government officials. >> absolutely not. there's a concept called destitute in the law. a law disappears from practice if it has never been used or not used in a long period of time. the last time this was used in the beginning of the 19th century. jimmy carter did this all the tame. jamey carter advised -- not to accept the deal that president clinton and bu rock put on the

table. president reagan negotiated through his staff with the iranians to make sure that the hosages were released after she was inaugurated not before. jessie jackson has had many, many dealings with foreign leaders. you just have to forget about the logan act. it is not the law of the united states, even though the words still appear on the book, you cannot enforce a law after 200 years of destitute. that is, in fact, the law. >> david, you work at the "the washington post." your colleagues have this major story, this bombshell. you and i are journalists, and it's surprising to me as journalists your paper gave the white house, gave kushner's at or near hours to respond, and there's still silence. >> yes, and it's hard to read anything into that. it could be as the professor said they're preparing records and reviewing responses.

but this is an unusual white house that often responds to many things with radio silence. i don't think we know exactly now what that means. >> but do you think the russian ambassador simply playing around, saying these crizzy things in a phone conversation that he suspected the u.s. was listening in on? >> you know, wolf, for some reason i don't believe that. i mean let's play it out. because if that's what he was trying to do, it puts donald trump in a bad light, i would think. i mean it would explode as it is domestically in the united states. why would they want to kind of damage donald trump by doing that? albite, of course, they want to sew disinformation and shake it up and put a whole lot of chaff out there, but that to me doesn't make sense. i don't think he would want to damage him. we have a lot more coming up including on where the white

house now stands on all of this as well as the president's trip overseas, what he's doing, and the subject he's avoiding. mr. brady, we've been expecting you. will you be needing anything else? no. not a thing.

beautyrest black. get your beautyrest. beautyrest black. hey ron! they're finally taking down that schwab billboard. oh, not so fast, carl. ♪ oh no. schwab, again? index investing for that low? that's three times less than fidelity... ...and four times less than vanguard. what's next, no minimums? ...no minimums. schwab has lowered the cost of investing again. introducing the lowest cost index funds in the industry with no minimums. i bet they're calling about the schwab news. schwab. a modern approach to wealth management. discover card. hooh, you're real?? you know i'm real! at discover, we're always here to talk. good, 'cause i don't have time for machines. some companies just don't appreciate the power of conversation! you know, i like you! i like you too! at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card and talk to a real person.

[ barks ] radio: scorching heat today, staywalter!ut there! stop suffering with hot ac. cool it yourself with a/c pro. in just 3 easy steps, enjoy the comfort of 2 times the cooling boosters from the #1 selling coldest air. nothing cools like a/c pro. some build walls to keep people out. but these are walls that welcome you in. within these walls, california's educators create safe places for every student to learn and grow. where teachers open minds to history... unleash creativity... and show our kids the future. some build walls to divide us. but the california teachers association knows these are walls that bring us together.

because quality public schools build a better california for all of us. in addition to tonight's breaking news on jared kushner and russia's ambassador, there's a lot more happening including the president's day at the g7

summit. jeff, waeng are white house officials saying? >> well, i can tell you the white house is not commenting on any of these reports this evening. a senior administration official telling me earlier they simply are not going to act individually on each one of these stories. but russia is hanging over the president's head. even as he's been here, he's been watching, i'm told every part of the story. european leaders are wondering why he's so silent on vladimir putin and if he'll be able to stand up to him. president trump and members of his new club of world leaders stood watch today as the italian air force put on an impressive show at the summit in sicily. as the president's debut on the world stage draws to a close, one thing has been clear along the way. he's not eager to talk about

russia. >> thank you very much. >> his silence has fueled more questions not only about the russia investigation back in washington but also among european leaders quietly wondering whether he's willing to confront the aggression of russian president vladimir putin. >> we, meaning mr. president and myself, that we have a common position, collin opinion about russia. >> russia is not allowed to attend the summit, thrown out in 2013 after crimea. >> amid crittism the administration backtracked with cohn outlining a new position in a briefing call with reporters. >> we're not lowering our sanctions in russia. if anything, we would probably look to get tougher on russia. so if the president wants to

continue keep the sanctions in place -- >> on a cliffside resort on this sicilian coast, the president took another measure. tonight the president holding a private session with german clansler merkel. one item likely on the agenda is trade after the president said he believes germany is bad on train. cohn rushed to clarify the president's remarks saying he said i don't have a problem with germany. i have a problem with german trade. unlike his new counter parts, mr. trump refused to answer questions from the press. british prime minister theresa may and prime ministers stood before headquarters here. it's one of the best ways to deliver their message like may did on the intelligence sharing controversy. >> yes, i did raise issues of leaks of information being shared by the police with the

fbi with president trump. he has made clear that that was unacceptable. >> but president trump has not held a single question and answer session with reporters, a break in protocol than most u.s. presidents. his lower profile is because of that russia storm cloud still brewing back at home. now, we have not heard from the president directly, wolf, which again is very unusual here. but he is hearing from world leaders specifically on climate change. we are told they're trying to influence him to stay in the paris climate agreement. and we are told by senior administration officials he is learning, leaning, and evolving. and he does not want people to think he doesn't like the environment. so as the trip comes to an end and he returns to washington tomorrow, so many questions hangover him on climate change and that russia investigation.

>> yeah, jeff zeleny in sicily for us. much more on the breaking news. and coming up also how the healthcare and proposed budget cuts are playing in kentucky where donald trump won big. a basketball costs $14. what's team spirit worth? (cheers) what's it worth to talk to your mom? what's the value of a walk in the woods? the value of capital is to create, not just wealth, but things that matter. morgan stanley we can't stay here! why? terrible toilet paper! i'll never get clean! way ahead of you. charmin ultra strong. it cleans better. it's four times stronger... ...and you can use less. enjoy the go with charmin. not to be focusingo finaon my moderatepe.

to severe chronic plaque psoriasis. so i made a decision to talk to my dermatologist about humira. humira works inside my body to target and help block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to my symptoms. in clinical trials, most adults taking humira were clear or almost clear, and many saw 75% and even 90% clearance in just 4 months. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. ask about humira, the #1 prescribed biologic by dermatologists. clearer skin is possible. ...where each drop was formulated to be smarter....

...even smarter than that... ...so if a color didn't go on evenly, it would balance itself out to reveal its truest, richest state. if a paint could realize the fullest potential of any color... ...you have to wonder... is it still paint? aura interior from benjamin moo®e . only available at independently owned paint and hardware stores. dearthere's no other way to say this. it's over. i've found a permanent escape from monotony. together, we are perfectly balanced, our senses awake, our hearts racing as one. i know this is sudden, but they say: if you love something... set it free. see you around, giulia ♪

wise man, i'm nervous about affecting my good credit score. i see you've planted an uncertainty tree. chop that thing down. the clarity you seek... lies within the creditwise app from capital one. creditwise helps you protect your credit. and it's completely free for everyone. it's free for everyone? do hawks use the stars to navigate? i don't know. aw, i thought you did. i don't know either. either way it's free for everyone. cool. what's in your wallet?

with so many stories about president trump and russia, we want to focus now on the president and the country, this country. tonight gary tuckman returns to kentucky to talk to voters who helped put president trump in office. the question is are they losing faith or standing by their man? >> wesley easter lg and his 2-yield daughter live in elliot county, kentucky. >> i voted for donald trump. >> which is note worthy because it's the first republican candidate he has ever voted for. there have been 37 presidential elections since 1869. remarkably in this county the democratic candidate has won every one of those elections until this one. and donald trump won big here, getting 70% of the vote, many people like wesley easterly believing --

>> he had a lot of amazing ideas. he just had this charisma about him, something different. >> the poverty rate is over 34% and has one of the highest percentages of the people in the nation who rely on federal benefit wesley easterling is one of them. he and his family have benefited from medicaid and food stamps. during the presidential campaign, he took candidate trump at his word. >> save medicare, medicaid and social security without cuts. have to do it. >> when he said that he, you know, he wasn't going to cut medicaid or, you know, the benefits, i believed that. >> mr. president. >> reporter: but the proposed new health care plan and the proposed federal budget cut hundreds of millions of dollars a year from medicaid. the budget also makes cuts in programs ranging from food stamps to social security disability insurance. >> i mean, i felt just like i

was -- just like he played me for a fool. i mean, i kind of took it personal. >> reporter: if you could do it over again, if election day were today, would you society for him? >> hillary. without a doubt. >> reporter: inside elliot county's penny mart, we talked with other trump voters. like bluegrass musician sammy atkins. if the election were held today, who would you vote for? >> well, i'd probably have to wait and see a little more into the -- i mean, in his office, you know. i mean, if he does a lot of cutting and stuff, i'm sure i might go the other way, you know. >> reporter: trump voter tim fannin said he would enthusiastically cast his ballot for donald trump again. what do you say to people in the county who are upset about the federal programs possibly being cut? >> tough luck. got to nip it in the bud and have to start somewhere. >> reporter: wesley easterling just graduated from a pipe

welding program at a community college and hopes to get a refinery job soon so he can be off federal assistance. >> donald trump during the campaign said he's going to fight for the little guy. you're the little guy, right? >> i am the little guy. >> reporter: do you feel he's fighting for you? >> no. not at all. little guy's going after it himself. >> reporter: in the meantime, he says he's praying for his family, his country and his president. gary tuchman, cnn, elliot county, kentucky. >> joining us now, scott jennings, former special assistant to president george w. bush. and bakari sellers, cnn political commentator, former south carolina statehouse member. guys, thanks very much. scott, president campaigned on various populist ideals, the rust belt a big part of his winning strategy. so how big of a problem is it if the resident there is feel sort of betrayed by him right now? >> well, i think you can always anecdotally find people who don't like a politician that

they recently voted for but on the whole here, wolf, in kentucky, where i live, donald trump is still overwhelmingly popular and i also think there's some degree of nuance you have to look at in this reporting because while he is proposing to cut some things that some people say they still want, there is a recognition here in kentucky that we cannot necessarily afford everything that's been promised by the previous administration both at the federal level and here at the state level. and so what you have in kentucky is a recognition that at this point, we now have one in three people on medicaid, and there is a discussion going on. is this something we can actual afford and is donald trump been left with making the hard decision to get this program back into a place where we can actually afford it and it can then take care of the people who truly need it? so there's a balance that needs to go on here but i think in kentucky donald trump would overwhelm gi win the electoral votes if it were held again today. >> it is not all naysayerses

across the board, plenty of conservatives we saw just in gary's piece who are, in fact, championing these cuts by the president. go ahead, respond. >> well, i think, wolf, one of the things that we're seeing is that donald trump has come through and he said that he was going to preserve medicare, he was going to preserve medicaid. those just simply aren't things that he's doing. he's cutting medicaid, cutting food stamps, he's cutting these things people spend on especially right there in kentucky. what we're seeing is not anything new. it's not a donald trump phenomenon. we're seeing rural working class white voters who are voting against their own self-interests but even more, i love how "the atlantic," love how "the new york times" and even us at cnn oftentimes go out and go on these missions where we try to find these voters who are economic anxiety voters but that is not what it is, wolf. what it is, it's cultural anxiety. we're seeing individuals who are voting and issues that are coming about whether or not it's gay marriage, transgender

rights, who are voting against that, who are voting against that image, that picture. it's not as much economics as the direction of the country and that's a larger discussion that has to be had. >> let any ask scott to respond to that. go ahead, scott. >> well, i think there's some arrogance and condescension in that viewpoint. look, kentuckians are proud americans and, yes, there is some self-interest in any vote you cast in any election, but there's also national interests. and i do agree, there are some cultural issues at play in this last election. hillary clinton was openly disdainful of appalachia. she said she was going to put coal miners and coal companies out of business and there was a real dises connect between the national democratic party and rural america. not just in kentucky, but in pennsylvania, wisconsin, michigan, all these states that donald trump won. they have one thing in common. they're in this part of the country where the democratic party lacked a message that appealed to the people that they had previously relied upon to win in presidential elections. so until the democrats come up with a message that actually appeals to rural america, they're going to keep losing elections here and, yes, some of

that is cultural, but you have to remember, not every voter goes to the polls and says who can i vote for based solely on who's going to send me the most money? some people like to vote on national security, terrorism, pro-life issues, that was mentioned. that was absolutely true. there are other things at play. >> all right. >> donald trump checked way more boxes than hillary clinton. >> we're going to have plenty of opportunity down the road, guys, to continue this important conversation. scott jennings, bakari sellers, thanks very much. we'll be right back. o win at bu" step one: point decisively with the arm of your glasses. abracadabra. the stage is yours. step two: choose la quinta. the only hotel where you can redeem loyalty points for a free night-instantly and win at business. [ barks ] radio: scorching heat today, staywalter!ut there! stop suffering with hot ac. cool it yourself with a/c pro. in just 3 easy steps, enjoy the comfort of 2 times the cooling boosters from the #1 selling coldest air. nothing cools like a/c pro. bp engineered a fleet of 32 brand new ships with advanced technology, so we can make sure

oil and gas get where they need to go safely. because safety is never being satisfied. and always working to be better. peobut they're different.ind it's nice to remove artificial ingredients. kind never had to. we choose real ingredients like almonds, peanuts and a drizzle of dark chocolate. give kind a try. ♪ we, the device-loving people, want more than just unlimited data. we want unlimited entertainment. so we can stream unlimited action. punch unlimited robots. watch unlimited romance. if you're into that. but we also want more. like unlimited hbo. can i stop dying now? no can do mi amigo. it's unlimited. besides, you're really good at it james! don't settle for any unlimited plan. get at&t unlimited plus. and, now get the amazing iphone 7 on us. and together, you had the kid of your dreams.

now you can put them in the car of your dreams... for a lot less than you might think. with a certified pre-owned mercedes-benz, you can enjoy legendary safety, innovation and performance at a price you can afford. and that's a pretty sweet dream. visit the certified pre-owned sales event, now through may 31st. only at your authorized dealer. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing.

the future isn't silver suits anit's right now.s, think about it. we can push buttons and make cars appear out of thin air. find love anywhere. he's cute. and buy things from, well, everywhere. how? because our phones have evolved. so isn't it time our networks did too? introducing america's largest, most reliable 4g lte combined with the most wifi hotspots. it's a new kind of network. xfinity mobile.

thanks very much for watching "360." i'm wolf blitzer in washington. "united shades of america" starts right now. on this show, we're talking art muslims and arabs. that's how i can tell i'm in the bay area. that's nuts. yeah. that's not the reaction that i tend to get in other parts of this country. we're talking about muslhusbanm arabs. wham. got to be honest, i'm super important about this episode. it's important to me that it's right. i have friends that are muslims and arabs.