diehards to questioning him. so many people struggle with addiction and they thought president trump would do something almost instantly. >> results are the thing. what you hear and i thought eloquently from the panel was a wide berth. they are giving him a wide berth to achieve results. they are more sympathetic to the argument people are conspireing against him. >> we want to thank the international viewers for watching. for the u.s. viewers, germany says they cannot rely on the u.s. we have "new day" continuing now. >> we made extraordinary gains. >> angela merkel says european nations cannot rely on the u.s. >> this is what putin is trying to do. separate nato partners and drive a wedge. >> president trump is reviving attacks on the news media.

>> people are not making up these stories. >> if you complain how you are treat treated, you will beside tracked. >> jared kushner attempted to set up a back channel communication with the white house and kremlin. >> i think any channel of communication is a good thing. >> my dashboard warning light was clearingly on. >> that's a real problem in terms of whether he should maintain the security clearance. >> i have never been more suspicious than i am right now. >> this is "new day" with alisyn camerota and chris cuomo. >> chris is off. david gregory is here with me. our nation honoring our fallen heroes. all of the brave men and women who served and gave the ultimate sacrifice n. sacrifice. in an hour, the president will lay a wreath at arlington national cemetery. >> this is the kickoff of sum r

summer. we remember today. we thank all of those who served and gave their lives. angela merkel says europe can no longer rely on the u.s. her comments come hours after president trump returned to washington. >> now he is back in the white house, the president is dealing with the cloud of the russia investigation gripping his administration. the fbi's investigation now looking into the president's son-in-law jared kushner and his contacts with russia. the president is reviving attacks on the news media. you won't be surprised lashing out at all of the leakers. we begin with cnn's athena jones at the white house this morning. good morning, athena. >> reporter: good morning, david. the president is kicking off the week, a week with a lot on the agenda and facing more negative headlines. angela merkel questioning the strength of europe's alliance with the u.s.

tensions from the president's first g7 summit following him home. donald trump's tepid support for nato, harsh words on trade and lack of commitment to the paris climate agreement putting him at odds with the allies. angela merkel questioning the alliance with europe. the times when we could rely on others are over. europeans must take our fate into our own hands. president trump rating the trip a great success and tweeting a tease. he will decide on the landmark paris agreement this week. trump again targeting journalists and leakers inside his own white house. accusing the fake news media of fabricating lies coming out of the white house. the latest from his son-in-law jared kushner. during the december meeting, kushner asking sergei kislyak for help setting up a back

channel for secret communications. a back channel to bypass u.s. surveillance. >> this is off the map, michael. i know of no other experience like this in our history. certainly within my life experience. >> my dashboard warning light was clearly on. i think that was the case with all of the intelligence community. concerned about the nature of these approaches to the russi russians. >> reporter: kislyak surprised by the president. according to intercepted communications with russia officials. ousted official michael flynn reportedly present. the meeting left off kushner's security clearance form before being amended a day ater. kushner cutting the trip short amid the crisis. a source telling cnn he did not want to be beside the president when the story broke.

contradicting white house accounts his early departure was planned. democrats now calling for kushner to have his security clearance revoked. >> if these allegations are true and he had discussions with the russians about a back channel and did not reveal that, that's a real problem. i do think there ought to be review of his security clearance. >> reporter: trump affirming support for kushner. telling "the new york times" jared is doing a great job for the country. i have total confidence in him. and secretary john kelly. >> i don't see any issue here. >> any line to the countries is a good thing. >> reporter: the white house is considering creating a war room to manage fallout. ivanka supported with the private attorney at the white house sunday. now jared kushner says he is willing to testify before congress. meanwhile, the president met with senior advisers on sunday

to discuss a way forward and the other looming question this week is when fired fbi director james comey will testify before congress. this as the special counsel ramps up the russia probe. alisyn and david. >> that is a big question. thank you, athena. let's bring in the panel to discuss. we have cnn political reporter and editor chris cillizza. and undersecretary for political affairs nicholas burns and journalist jackie kucinich. ambassador burns. give us contact here. what does it mean when angela merkel says that european countries cannot rely on the u.s. anymore? >> it is a significant statement. she is a cautious politician. not prone to overstatement. this is a big statement of the deficits of president trump and european leadership. you saw them in brussels last

week. how to handle russia. the europeans perceive president trump weak on russia. differences on trade. the europeans wanted a free trade agreement that president trump proposed. clear differences on climate change. that is the biggest issue for most europeans in government and out. it is the europeans who want to do something about it. they see the united states not stepping up because president trump is ambivalent. they were shocked. united states has led nato since harry truman and president trump has said nothing about reaffi reaffirming article v. it is disturbing we have to an alliance relationship with the europeans. >> i want to stick with you, ambassador. i covered you and president bush

with what they called old europe particularly and german and gerha gerhard schreoder. people forget this this whole post world war ii order was keeping europe united so it would not fight itself again and kill themselves again and stand united against russia. that falls away if allies like germany say we go alone. >> that's right. we had differences in the past. david, you eluded to one in 2003 when i was ambassador to nato. we were still fighting in afghanistan. we were still working on iran. for the united states, we always believed that the europeans share our values. willing to fight with us. they align with us on major issues. in essence, they are the big

power differential. they are worried about the annexation of crimea. the problems of georgia. they need our help. it is in our interests to be working with them. the merkel statement really could be a point of historical change where the united states loses influence in europe. that would be a very sad day for us. >> chris cillizza, what is the upshot of the foreign precipitatitrip for the president? he received praise in saudi arabia. and now this statement with angela merkel. how do we frame how it went? >> look, from his perspective, successful. from everyone else, dicey. i think there was a lot of concern and wonder, alisyn, in terms of domestic policy. what would he do? what is his impact?

rollback obamacare, et cetera, et cetera. i think and i think the ambassador knows this more than i. his impact could be foreign policy. going beyond four or eight years. what we saw was clear. donald trump does not believe or at least rhetorically speaking in the post world war ii u.s./europe alliance. there are many things he is willing to say. nato dues. things on trade. climate change. he is not willing to go along. the whole make america great again slogan was focused internally, domestically. the idea he promulgated during the campaign as it relates to foreign policy could have a lasting impact of what the u.s. means in the world and to the ambassador's point, what we can do in the world well beyond donald trump a first-term or second-term president. this trip, to answer your

question, alisyn, makes clear to people paying attention, donald trump is a different cat. this is not the continuation republican or democrat of the presidents we had in post world war ii era. george w. bush and barack obama did not agree. >> that's the key point. i think it is worth remembering. the president can be criticized over this and it is a huge deal. you go back to the early part of the century. europeans thought george w. bush was a cowboy. there was a lot that made western european countries freak out w. he covered that. i want to switch to jared kushner. jackie, if you are the white house, you have to be legitimately upset there was so much leaking of the investigation and all of the threads where it is leading.

that said, kushner has to be seen as a liability at this point. if nothing else, poor judgment in dealing with a country like russia which had tried to influence our election and trying to set up a back channel according to the washington post. >> there are two factions in the white house. there are the jared kushner loyalists rallying around him. we saw them on the sunday shows. there are more quieter bunch that are worried about jared kushner's continued involvement on his enormous portfolio. i don't think there is a major issue that jared kushner is not involved in. that said, this is one of the problems of having your family be involved this deeply in policy at the white house. they know this is not someone who can be fired and just go away. he is the president's son-in-law.

>> and he has 100% confidence in kushner according to the president. >> usually you can try to read into that. the president has had confidence in people who have fallen by the wayside. this person is married to his daughter. it was very stark. even listening to the lead into the segment when people are working for the white house, like secretary kelly, and when they not working for the white house like michael hayden. a stark difference what you heard between both very accomplished national security officials. >> i would just add quickly on that point, these are the two things, pillars of trumpism. family above all. if donald trump has shown anything, he is loyal to family first. that's really the only people he listens to. at the same time, another pillar of trumpism. he hates when people who are not

him give him bad press. >> that's his job. >> you have -- right. this is what you have. you have two things colliding because you have a guy who you just can't get rid of with a guy who clearly must annoy trump because of bad therepress. unique figure in the white house. >> ambassador burns, back channel to russia. good or bad? we heard both this weekend. john kelly said that is a good thing. anytime you can have a better relationship, that's a good thing. you heard michael hayden that is so off the reservation i cannot remember another time in my lifetime. >> i think the difference is, alisyn, if the trump administration had been in office and looking for a way to communicate with someone close to putin, that is one thing. this is in the transition. the first instinct is reach out

to theallies. not the russians. if the report was true, it was russian communications. thereby avoiding the normal communications with the white house or state department. that is bizarre. i never heard of anything like that. i have do think it is important that jared kushner have a chance to address these. obviously he is innocent until proven guilty. >> why does nobody get mad in the trump world about what russia tried to do to america? that's what i keep waiting for. instead of all of the evidence pointing to coziness? that should be bigger than your sense of legitimacy or people questioning whether you won. that is shocking about all of this. >> we will try to get you answers in the next hour. >> before 9:00. >> you got it. panel, thank you. another big decision that the world is waiting for from president trump. it could come this week.

the decision on the paris climate deal. former energy secretary bill richardson says it is about more than climate change and pulling out to be disastrous for america. there is disan agreemegreement of that as well. we will get to all of that when we come back.

there's nothing more than my vacation.me so when i need to book a hotel room, i want someone that makes it easy to find what i want. booking.com gets it. they offer free cancellation if my plans change. visit booking.com. booking.yeah.

can we at least analyze customer can we push the offer online? legacy technology can handcuff any company. but "yes" is here. you're saying the new app will go live monday? yeah. with help from hpe, we can finally work the way we want to. with the right mix of hybrid it, everything computes.

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.

you heard president trump called his trip to europe a great success for america, but there are discourse views on that. whether the u.s. stands in the world the way it has. how about angela merkel saying europe cannot completely rely on america and reverb rations from that comment. we want to discuss with democratic governor of new mexico bill richardson and pete h hookstra. >> good morning. >> after president trump left, this is what angela merkel said. the times we can rely on others are to an extent over.

i experienced that in the last few days and we europeans must take our fate into our own hands. you said good. you say that this is actually europe standing up for itself making bigger contributions. you can't deny this potentially reflects a breakdown in an international security order that has stood tall since world war ii. >> i don't expect we will see breakdown. i saw the president go to europe. he said what the united states wants in a relationship. a europe to invest more in national or continental defense. it wants a europe to step up and fight isis and the threat from radical islam. he wants a europe to assist in confronting north korea and russia. he laid it on the line. he said you want a strong partnership with the united states. these are the things that we expect from our partners.

he wants a strong europe and he laid it on the line and said this is what i think a strong europe reflects. this is the kind of partner we need in europe if we're going to be successful confronting the threats out there. >> fair point. where is he confronted russia thus far? he has on syria. called them out on syria. where else confronted russia we where europeans care about particularly on the border? >> we have troops continue to have posting of our troops in po poland and other places. that serves as a trip wire and a plea message for russia. for the president's priorities and this administration confronting isis and threat from radical islam and the instability in the middle east is a key priority.

that is why, yes, he has opened up and explored different ways of working with russia in syria and in the middle east. i don't think europe has anything to fear that the united states will not stand with them in europe. >> bill richardson, that's an important point. we cannot deny history. the last time russia was resugee ant, the united states was going to alone, we were in world war ii. >> we did. i think what the president said with with g7, we are changing our foreign policy. we will not endorse article v of nato which is come in self defense. he picks a fight with germany over bmws. it looks like we will renegotiate climate change with

19 195 countries. we are basically saying the big issue is for us. you pay your 2% for nato. we did not say anything about how we are going to be strong with russia in the sense that russia to european countries, eastern europe, western europe, they use leverage with natural gas. they push them in crimea. they push them across eastern europe. what you have now is angela merkel, the leader of germany, basically saying, look with france the new president of france, we will probably have to go it alone on climate change and defense. i think we stay in nato. i think the president did change thankfully was not obsolete. when he sends a message to go to the middle east and go to the arab states and say human rights

is not important, but you are key to fighting isis. i did not hear one statement about the president about how we need europe, especially france, britain and germany, in the fight against isis. that's key. their military assistance as we move into fighting isis. i did not hear that. all i heard was lecturing and negativism. >> he played a role and certainly in saudi arabia a priority about how to confront isis. congress member, let's pick up on the paris climate deal. they know president obama negotiated this. there are more than 100 countries involved. make the case in support of president trump because reportedly he will not stay in. make the case why pulling out is the right idea. >> number one with the president is doing is he has ever right to do. he will go back and reevaluate a climate agreement. the mistake that was made here

is the previous administration negotiated an agreement that worked for the obama administration. there is a process that america uses to make long-term commitments. it is the president working with the u.s. senate making the international agreements and putting them into a forum of a treaty. that puts the policies -- >> what about the substance? what concerns you about the substance? >> i think what this president is looking at is saying does this enable america to be competiti competitive? are the other countries in the world making the same types of sacrifices or the same types of commitments for emissions reductions and those things that are fair to american workers and american taxpayers? his administration is going through that process. this is what he said during the campaign. president obama, if he wanted a

long-term legacy, should have negotiated it and taken it to the u.s. senate so republicans and democrats would all have been agreed this is the direction that america wants to go. >> fair enough. let's have the debate, bill richardson. why should america remain committed to international climate treaty? >> well, several reasons. for our own sake. it's bad energy policy if we pull out. we would rely on fossil fuels and oil and coal instead of renewable energy. the president has loosened standards on vehicles and loosened standards on clean power plants. what we need is an energy policy that does not pollute the earth and environmentally. 3 billion extra tons of carbon dioxide per year if we pull out. plus the international side.

195 countries signed this agreement. main allies in europe. g7 most advanced democracies. china and india. we finally get agreement on their emissions. then we pull out. what will happen? of those 195 countries, when the u.s., biggest emitter of carbon dioxide pulls out, then a lot of other countries will pull out. plus it hurts american agriculture and american industry. what you have is potential food and water shortages. our crops and extreme weather changes. this is an international agreement that is for the environment, but also has national security implications. the biggest polluter on earth pulling out is a drastic signal. even if we renegotiate it. i hope the president stays and does not change it. >> this debate will continue. particularly with regard to the impact on the u.s. economy.

congress member, before i end our conversation. with your back ground on the intelligence, i have to ask you about the reporting from "the washington post" and jared kushner. i want to ask something different. given what we know about russia attempting to interfere with america's election. why do you think it was anything but horrible judgment at the very least to set up a back channel with russia under those circumstance in a transition period? >> i don't have a problem with jared kushner or the trump administration talking with the russians. i expect during the transition process they are talking to the russians and chinese and talking to the brits and talking to the germans. that is what you do in a transition. >> this is not a normal transition process. this is a country that is our adversary that tried to hack and

interfere with our election. you are a republican. i thought the republican party was wary of russian intentions. nobody gets on here and say darn it, i can't believe they would do this and we will push back. >> i think republicans and democrats are very much in agreement. if the russianed hacked into the system and tried to influence our elections and tried to weigh the scales one or or the other, we are furious about that. it is said. now let's move on. let's identify that process is going on. you have two investigations going on in the senate. you have an investigation going on in the justice department. at the same time, we have crucial national security issues that have to be addressed and you go through that process. david, what i'm serious about is the comments michael hayden made saturday where he was talking

about, you know, it would be dereliction of duty if susan rice was not listening to these conversations. if she was not unmasking. i'm concerned about where our intelligence community has gone in terms of what they believe they can listen to in terms of relationship and what they can leak. >> all right. a lot in that topic. a lot more to discuss. we have to leave it here for now. pete hoekstra and bill richardson, thank you. president trump lashing out at leaks. why are so many coming out? are they helpful or harmful? we get the fbi perspective and the media one next. tempur h pted . so i sleep deeply and wake up ready to perform. now through june 11th, save $600 when you buy select tempur-pedic adjustable mattress sets. find your exclusive retailer at tempurpedic.com.

hey dad, come meet the new guy. the new guy? what new guy? i hired some help. he really knows his wine. this is the new guy? hello, my name is watson. you know wine, huh? i know that you should check vineyard block 12. block 12? my analysis of satellite imagery shows it would benefit from decreased irrigation.

i was wondering about that. easy boy. nice doggy. what do you think? not bad.

president trump is back on twitter. >> thank god. >> i know you missed it during the foreign trip. here is one of the tweets. it reads, it is my opinion many of the leaks coming out of the white house are fab ra indicari made up by the news media. that is incorrect.

joining us to discuss is the director of the school and public affairs of george washington university and retired special agent james galiano and frank sesno. frank, you cannot make up sources. you cannot make up stories. if you do, at a real institution at "the washington post" and cnn, you are fired and leave in disgra disgrace. his white house is leaking. >> it is extraordinary. his white house is leaking a lot. last time i can think of when a white house leaked this much and in this way were the warring camps going out was the reagan white house in the early days with the triumverant and they were using the press to level charges and shoot down trial

balloons at one another. in washington, we recognize this. this is the way the media works which is to capture the people who leak for a variety of reasons. it is important for people to understand that. some people leak because they are disgruntled and concerned about what is going on. some people leak because they feel it is the way to put concerns out there because they are minimized by the process or white house or anyone else and being ignored. some have worries about where it is going. this is not about fake media. this is problems within the white house and elsewhere. people are settling scores in some cases through the media. that is the way it works. >> jim, you talk about the justice department leaks. the fbi leaks. numerous reasons why that happens. in this case, there is no question. entrenched law enforcement and bureaucracy striking back at trump for reasons they have of concern for things he is doing.

you have general kelly, homeland security secretary saying this is borderline treasonous. >> david, you have to weigh the public a public's right to know. if you look at this in historical context. the bureau when hoover was 29 years old and took over the bureau of investigate in 1924. up to 1948, the leak was information given to thomas dewey during the campaign. then to watergate. j. edgar hoover passes away in '72. six weeks later, you have the break-in. the purpose was altruistic. >> why is it altruistic now?

>> and he was related with the investigation and how it was que squech theed. i feel the leaks are conducted for the purposes of we want to get back to the president for what happened to director comey. >> the fbi, frank, was leaking in the clinton administration. they were doing interviews with people and her e-mails and leaking the content. the fbi does this on the evidence trail or influence a particular result. they did in the petraeus case. this is conflict with the executive. the key point is it not always classified information. that is legitimate issue. the administration will try to hold on to that information. this is different. this is not all classified information. >> it is not all classified information. it is important to realize that. let's go back to the clinton white house and lewinsky scandal. what was leaked in the scandal

came from the white house because it was trying to influence the court of public opinion. they were leaking selective pieces of information. timing the most damning pieces of information to be lesser impact on friday night was a favorite. >> they were all leaking. >> they use those leaks sometimes for the right reasons to inform the american public. sometimes to send signals to the team. showing who is flexing their muscles. one other thing i want to point out for people to understand. people in the media, responsible editors and producers do not just take whatever comes to them without any thought of what is happening. at this network, after 9/11, the most remarkable and disturbing attack that took place on american soil in our lifetimes. we had a policy in place where we said and we said it to ourselves and people in the administration and we were talking to all the time. we would be sensitive to any

information that could endanger lives or ongoing operations. there were plenty of things that cnn and other networks did not report for that reason. people should not think there is a reflection sense you get information and throw it out without consideration. there is huge thought that goes into that. >> frank, i'm glad you point that out. the president says things and conflates fake media. fringe web sites that fabricate things. it is confusing for people. >> fake news is not news you don't like. leaks may be unfair. they may be a lot of other things. >> we have rules. >> they are fake if they are made up. >> he is not the only president to be mad about leaks. jim and frank, thank you. when we come back, more diplomacy. how about the handshake that shook up the internet? french president emmanuel macron said it wasn't so innocent.

there is something going on there. his eye-opening comments coming up next. ♪ when heartburn hits fight back fast with new tums chewy bites. fast relief in every bite. crunchy outside. chewy inside. tum tum tum tum new tums chewy bites.

safety isn't a list of boxes to check. it's taking the best technologies out there and adapting them to work for you. the ultrasound that can see inside patients, can also detect early signs of corrosion at our refineries. high-tech military cameras that see through walls, can inspect our pipelines to prevent leaks. remote-controlled aircraft, can help us identify potential problems and stop them in their tracks. at bp, safety is never being satisfied. and always working to be better.

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. british police making another arrest as the investigation widens into the deadly terror attack in manchester. 14 men now in custody in connection with the bombing which killed 22 people including

7 children last week. britain's security agency launching an internal investigation focusing on missed warnings that could have prevented the attack. >> given terrorism warnings, the white house may expand the ban on laptops and ereaders to all international flights into and out of the united states. homeland secretary kelly saying n numerous threats against aviation. terrorists are obsess the with taking down an airplane. some flights originating from eight foreign countries are under the ban. and french president emmanuel macron explaining the first intense handshake with president trump. he is acknowledging quote it was not innocent. macron telling the french newspaper it was moment of truth. one must show we will not make little concessions. even symbolic ones. it continued outside of nato

headquarters. you see macron swerving past trump to get to angela merkel and shake hands with the secretary-general before greeting president trump. >> the president is not going to take that lying down. he will pull him into the strong-man handshake on the rope line. nobody shook his hand stronger than than president trump. >> they had a tug-of-war. >> this was epic. >> they are still holding hands. >> handshake or half nelson? >> it will be arm wrestling. all right. meanwhile, we are honoring veterans this memorial day. we talked to former defense secretary and veteran chuck hagel about the event at the veterans memorial that is very close to his heart. that's ahead. isn't this fun, living like the pioneers of olden times? i hate the outside. well, i hate it wherever you are. burn. "burn." is that what the kids are saying now?

i'm so bored, i'm dead. you can always compare rates on progressive.com. oh, that's nice, dear. but could you compare camping trips? because this one would win. all i want to do is enjoy nature and peace and quiet! it's not about winning. it's about helping people find a great rate even if it's not with progressive. -ugh. insurance. -when i said "peace and quiet," did you hear, "talk more and disappoint me"? ♪ do do do do ♪ skiddly do do ♪ camping with the family ♪ [ flame whooshes ] mattress firmness? fortunately there's a bed where you both get what you want every night. enter sleep number and the semi-annual sale going on now. sleepiq technology tells you how well you slept and what adjustments you can make. she likes the bed soft. he's more hardcore. so your sleep goes from good to great to wow! only at a sleep number store. it's the lowest price ever on our temperature balancing i8 bed, save $700 plus 36 month financing. ends monday. go to sleepnumber.com for a store near you.

at crowne plaza we know business travel isn't just business. there's this. 'a bit of this. why not? your hotel should make it easy to do all the things you do. which is what we do. crowne plaza. we're all business, mostly.

in just a few hours president trump will mark memorial day by laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldiers. barbara starr is live at arlington national cemetery this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to both of you. memorial day 2017 we're here at section 60 at arlington national cemetery, very hallowed ground over the years. this is the section of the cemetery where so many who have fallen on the battlefield since

9/11 are buried. the cemetery's opening to the public just at this hour, so we're beginning to see people arrive, and traditionally what we see here every year all day long, people come, they pay their respects, and at many of these final resting places like this one, we want to show you here, sergeant jeremy campbell of the army you see some of the very personal mementos people leave, a cover, a hat, a cigar, the flowers, the american flag, a little further away there are a couple of resting places where we see friends have left beverage cans. this is a place where 890 souls have been laid to rest in the war since 9/11, afghanistan, iraq, and so many other far off places around the world. alisyn, david?

>> barbara, thank you for showing us that beautiful shot from articleton national cemetery. for 35 years the vietnam veterans memorial has stood as a tribute to fallen heroes. today an annual memorial day observance at the wall. two people participating are former secretary of defense chuck hagel himself a vietnam veteran and ken burns, the emmy award winning documentary filmmaker and director of the vietnam war scheduled to premiere this fall on pbs and you're kind enough to bring us a preview. secretary hagel, tell us the significance of today for you, and of course the observance at the vietnam wall. >> well, first, thank you both for giving ken and i some time this morning to recognize what we think is a pretty important day for our country and you do, too. the significance for me is, like any veteran i think who has ever served this country in any way is the day itself, and what it means. the vietnam veteran memorial is

something that means a lot to me, like many vietnam veterans i had the privilege of participating and helping get that started, 35 years ago i was one of the speakers when we broke ground and got involved early on, and have been involved, so to mark this day, this 35th anniversary of a very special memorial in this country that has really i think changed the thinking about vietnam separating the war from the warrior and all the different dimensions that have come from it. i think it is as american as anything we do in the country and i'm proud of this. >> ken, it's interesting, we're thankful to have set rans like secretary hagel who are here and can talk about the war and his experience and pay tribute with those with whom he served. world war ii that generation is getting older and dying and i think as written in the books, probably the next 20 years or so

we get down to a small number of veterans who still survive. what is the importance of living memory of elevating emery of war among those who are still alive and not just those who have died? >> this is hugely important, david, question what we do today is more than anything else, we creme mate and we remember, and we honor it, and we are so privileged in our film to be able to have the firsthand testimony of people from a very, very difficult war expressing for the first time their truths, the lessons of that war and i think as the secretary suggests, if there was one lesson that came out of vietnam that we're never going to forget is that we're going to separate the war from the warrior, that we're never going to blame our soldiers when it as we did for some period during the vietnam conflict and we are very excited to be able to sort of share a more complex and nuanced story of the vietnam war now that we've sort of escaped all of the specific gravity and we're not so identified with the right and

wrong of it. we understand in all wars and all wars teach us this, that there can be more than one truth operating at the same time. >> and ken, as we've mentioned t comes out in a couple of months on pbs, but you're sharing a little preview of the film with us, so let's watch a moment of it. ♪ >> i fear that there's a kind of national amnesia about vietnam that we've erased the horror of the kinds of mistakes that were made. i think this film, this point in history might be a terrific antidote to that. >> to see these kids who had the least to gain, there wasn't anything to look forward to. they weren't going to be rewarded for their service in vietnam, and yet their infinite patience, their loyalty to each other, their courage under fire was just phenomenal. and you would ask yourself, how

does america produce young men like this? >> oh my gosh, even just that clip is so powerful. so secretary hagel, do you see that national amnesia about vietnam? >> well, we are living in a world today and you all understand this better than anyone that is so all-consuming with breaking news, event after event. it's difficult for especially young people to absorb our history, and that means that we are all more challenged to explain these big events in our history. they're really shaped and molded our culture. vietnam, that time, in the '60s i think did as much to shape every institution in this country as any one event in many, many years. wars always shape events and outcomes, and they all have consequences well beyond a battlefield, but the vietnam war was when you think just of '68 what happened in that year, assassinations of martin luther

king, bobby kennedy, tet offensive, all the things that shaped all the institutions that we have are important for our young people to understand, and i think what ken's done here is just spectacularly important, and really will help do that over many years. >> ken, you often say of your work that it explains who we are. and in this case, it's also about who we thought we should be in the world and we still think about what america should be in the world, and i'm thinking this morning about the fact that we get to involved in the war out of fear of communism and in 2017 with the russians manipulated our election and investigations about close ties between an administration and russia, what is it we need to know about vietnam today that shapes who we are today? >> mark twain said history

doesn't repeat itself but it rhymes and i listen to the rhymes we've made for pbs that is coming out in september is an attempt to say the vietnam with a are is the most important event in the united states in the second half of the 20th century, and that so much of what's going on, we sat in the green room and listened to your previous stories about mass demonstrations in the streets, about a white house consumed with leaks and where they come from, big document drops, symmetrical warfare, reaching out to a foreign power at the time of an election, over and over again the themes that sort of blossomed in vietnam are still with us today and more importantly the divisions that are with us today, had their seeds in vietnam and because we have an amnesia about it, because we didn't come back and talk about it, because we didn't honor the warriors, we have allowed this to sort of fester and it becomes our obligation as americans regardless of our political persuasions to work together, to speak to what we

share in common and not to what divide to us say what really happened and there could be many different perspectives on what really happened. >> right. >> and then find a way to have a courageous conversation and not just yell at each other about it, and just perpetuate the same divisions. vietnam offers us an opportunity to escape the specific gravity of that metasthesis and that's what we do today when we remember our veterans and service members whose names are on the wall, when we participate in the commemoration, we remind ourselves that the partisanship that seemingly occupies every moment of our time is meaningless in the face of the kind of sacrifices that secretary hagel and his brother were able to make, and the more than 58,000 people on the wall. >> such great points. ken burns, chuck hagel, thank you so much for being part of our conversation on this memorial day. >> thank you. >> thank you. we're following a lot of news so let's get right to it. german chancellor angela