voice remote. welcome to "inside politics." i'm dana bash. john king is off. donald trump is making history six months into his presidency, but not in a good way. he was, has the worst approval rating ever recorded by a cnn poll at this point in a presidential term. his trust workineworthiness nea low despite comparing himself to honest abe. >> with the exception of the late, great abraham lincoln, i can be more president's than any president that's ever held this office.

that, i can do. >> now, we don't have cnn polling from lincoln's day, but we have, to compare president trump's 28% approval rating to other modern day presidents in their first six months, and look at that. it is stunning with the exception of bill clinton, all of them were well above 50%. yet president trump's unpopularity is nothing compared to congress'. and lawmakers are getting an earful from angry voters during this august recess. meanwhile, democrats hoping to capitalize on all the angst, looking ahead to 2018, 2020, spotlighting some big names and big issues. here to share their reporting and insight, cnn's jeff zeleny, julie davis of the "new york times," cnn's m.j. lee and the federalist mary katharine ham. so, 201 days into his presidency, donald trump's job approval has dropped -- again. down six points since his 100 days marked in april.

his disapproval near or above 50% on nearly every issue. with health care at the top of that list at 62% disapproving. these are hardly the only unsettling numbers for the president. just 39% of americans now believe he can effectively manage the government with 59%, nearly six in ten americans, doubting his ability. on that same question, when we just looked at non-kplecollege educated voters, key voting block, still at 50%. significantly down since april, and another serious concern in this poll is credibility. fewer than one in four americans trust most of what they hear coming from the white house. how does the administration address this lack of credibility? listen to u.n. ambassador nikki haley this morning. >> the only way you get trust not by what you say but what you do. this president, look at the

actions, whether the security council, with unemployment, with all the new investment happening, look at the action. this is a time we have to look at the american people and say, are they better today than yesterday? i think they are. >> jeff zeleny, you are our man at the white house. what are you hearing from your sources who work there about the reality of how bad the president's approval rating is, and all of the members inside of it? >> first and foremost, not surprised. despite what the president says on twitter. the white house is doing polls of its own and realize what's happening here. there's also a sense that they're happy about the fact congress is even worse than the president. which is generally is. but i think we're going to start to see, more of a divergence. yes, he needs a diversion. you're going to see more things only a president can do using the power of the bully

bully pulpit and not surprised about the low poll numbers but not that scared by them saying the president's always been underestimated in polls. it's early, of course. the trust number, dana, is something more than significant. that is a real problem here. and i think it's something that, you know, he -- it wasn't caused by one thing. it was a drip, drip, drip of the russia investigation, of no health care. just daily, random situations there of his own making. that is something his advisers would like to get up. >> not always telling the truth. >> right, sure. >> and julie, i want to show another number on the screen, which is pretty telling about this president, and where he is now. can trump be a change engine? bring the needed change? now he is only at 43%. that's down five points from, again, just in april at the 100-day mark. this is who trump is supposed to

be. he's supposed to be the change guy. supposed to be the one who came here and started, you know, kind of breaking all the china in the china shop and, you know, make  washington different. the fact only 43% of americans think he can do that now? >> i think this is the big shift. jit for many months the white house has been resigned to the fact that he is going to be at this sort of 40%, 37%, 38%, 40%. not much up where he was when elected president in terms of strong support, core supporters and felt that was okay. if he doubled down on his message and did what he said he would do he could hold those people and make a convincing case for himself. now this idea that he's not been able to change the game in the way he said he was going to, that he's not been able to deliver health care. couldn't cut the deal and be the master negotiator and drain the swamp, do all of these things is starting to set in, and i actually think this is a much

bigger concern for them than the credibility question. normally a president at this point in tenure, credibility looks that bad in key polls and measures and jeff said, their own measures seeing the same things. that would care a lot about that. this president thinks he can say what he wants to say, exaggerates here, embellishes here, what people expect of him. if he can't be the change agent he promised people won't tolerate that much longer and i think they're aware of that. >> also i say we talk about the polls through such a political lens. obviously, these poll numbers were very important for the president and potentially how these numbers work out for him in 2020, if he decides to run again, but i think it's very important to keep in mind that the credibility issue, it's potentially so, so significant in terms of how trump can potentially lead in a time of crisis. i mean, if you can imagine a situation, god forbid, there is a terrorist attack or there is a situation where things with north korea, or the president needs to ask congress for

approval to put boots on the ground somewhere. this credibility is important and at a time like that you can imagine this hurting him. the credibility issue is not just with the american people. look at the way he interacted with members of congress especially through the health care debate. at the end of the exercise, they felt he didn't have our backs. went out on a limb. he wasn't there to actually support us when we really needed it. at a time he really needs the support, sort of exchange some the -- you don't get the change on the other end. people start getting more upset. right. like i think he faces real challenges in this situation where things get a little bit more heated. the other thing is, i do think it's important in understanding how much the credibility question matters to him to

contextualize it in the fact congress is way lower. in july polling media around the same area. all of these institutions including, by the way, polling, to mess with everyone's mind. sort of he's in the middle of a back pack and so americans view that slightly differently than they would if everyone else was up here and he down here. >> a really good point. i want to talk about a tweet the president sent this morning. actually a retweet. put it up on the screen. retreat from "fox and friends" u.s. spy satellites detect north korea moving anti-ship cruise missiles to patrol boat. after that retweet, nikki haley, his ambassador to the u.n., was on fox, and listen to the way that she dissed the notion of talking about this publicly. >> i can't talk about anything that's classified and if that's in the newspaper, that's a shame. incredibly dangerous when things get out into the press like that. you're nobel just getting a scoop on something, you're

playing with people's lives. >> yeah. >> okay. so i'm not exactly sure if she knew that the president of the united states had retweeted that, her boss, but at the end of the day, that's -- that's the reality here. the reality here is that she is talking about a concern about classified information getting out there, and the president just retweeted to, how many followers? >> 33 million or so. >> 33 million followers? >> very unusual. not the first time it's happened. the president we know now watches television a lot of the time. he likes to watch "fox & friends" in the morning. send out messages, who knows if he's endorsing that view or not. if that's what his -- sort of amplifying that it was. it speaks to the fact he's not following his own rules here. that story was built on anonymous or confidential sources we like to call them now and he was sending it out. very odd for the president, again, to do this. the president can declassify

anything he wants. he wasn't necessarily intentionally doing that, i think, by social media, but sort of had that effect of him, you know, endorsing this viewpoint. >> and not the first time he's done that. >> not the first time. >> i remember in april i was with the vice president in asia, and there was a, he did an interview talking about nuclear submarines heading to the korean peninsula. i asked the vice president about it. i can't talk about that. it's classified. >> also, a "washington post" report several weeks ago that they were, trump's administration would end this program whereby the united states covertly armed syrian rebels. and that's -- a covert program. actually well known, but -- technically speaking was a classified program. the president tweeted then about the story and essentially confirmed the premise of the story sort of pushing back into the notion they shouldn't have ended that program. so what we don't see with this white house certainly not with the president himself is a sort of the carefulness of language when it comes to these things. these are extremely sensitive -- >> carefulness of language and

then downright hypocrisy. this is a president who had his attorney general and his dni go out, do a big press conference last week, we're going to crack down -- okay. when is the leak investigation starting on the fox report that the president of the united states retweeted based on anonymous sources of classified information? your bet? when will it start? >> the thing is with donald trump, and not that i'm endorsing. fact about him. often as simple as when the rules benefit him they are the rules. when they don't, different rules. you see it with polling, with anonymous leakers and some stuff he has a right to be upset about leaking. particularly the country leaders, can i talk to them in the future? but plays by the rules he wants to in the moment he wants to. that can trip up somebody like nikki haley, has a fairly consistent view what should be out and what should not. and seems to be sort of having a foreign minister strategy as opposed to donald trump, sort

of -- >> everybody stand by. up next -- the republican senator who tweeted out a picture of naked ladies. i promise, i am going to explain that. stay with us after the break.

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a united states senator tweeted about naked ladies. that happened. republican senator chuck grassley grabbed twitter's attention with this tweet. delighted to show the beautiful naked ladies in my flower garden at my iowa farm. i know. not exactly what you had in mind. this is family-friendly television, folks. even when senators are home, for august recess, they are just like us tending to their gardens posting on social media. unlike us when lawmakers are home they are supposed to meet with their bosses. the voters who sent them to washington. congressman will herd is kicking off a 20-stop tour dubbing d.c. to dq. hitting up dairy queens in his district to meet with

constituents. >> we're making 20 stops from el paso to san antonio to answer your questions. if you're not able to make the trip, still ask a question. use the filter below and post your snap to our story. >> here's democratic senator jeff merkley meeting with voters monday. but not everybody is getting a warm welcome. just ask republican congressm congressman's lamafa if california. hammered at a town hall. according to the "los angeles times" one voter upset over his support for the house gop repeal and replace of obamacare shouted, "may you die in pain." wow. a little much. and this hour activists are expected to hold a mock empty chair town hall in arkansas for republican senator tom cotton. bring in our senior congressional reporter manu raju who has new reporting on the ramifications, manu, of

republicans failing to repeal and replace obamacare. >> that's right, dana. told by multiple republican officials at least $2 million worth of contributions expected to the national republican senatorial committee will no longer go to the committee because donors are expressing concerns over republicans' failure to move on health care pointing to larger concerns within the party right now that the failure to repeal and replace obamacare could cost them at the polls next november. november 2018, when the house in particular could flip, and when senators, senate republicans may have a more secure map, senator majority leader mitch mcconnell is raising concerns privately that the party cannot take this chamber and their 52-48 majority for granted. this comes, dana, as republicans are getting an earful from constituents and also explaining why they have fought done more in saying they need to do more. here's republican congressman

shawn duffy of wisconsin explaining this earlier today. >> we have to start having some wins. can't say we're going to be great and do great things, but not repeal and replace obamacare. can't not get tax reform done. we have to get the big agenda items across the finish line, and that's less about trump and more about the congress. >> now, senate majority mitch mcconnell last night had rather telling remarks, dana. saying at a rotary club in northern kentucky that our new president has not been in this line of work before. said he has excessive expectations and about how quickly things can be done in the democratic process. may have had too many artificial deadlines thinking he could get things done. on the other side of the capitol, house speaker paul ryan, senate bottling things up. finger-pointing happening in the beginning weeks of this congressional recess. >> so shocking. great reporting, as always, manu. thank you so much. m.j., you walk the halls,

probably wore out i don't know how many pairs of shoes during the health care back and forth. i wonder what your perspective is on what manu just reported in all the time spent with republican lawmakers, worried that, on the one hand, they need to keep their promises. their political promises. on the other hand don't want to mess up the health care system. >> right. no. this was a very, very tough period for these republican lawmakers. they were feeling the tug and pull from both their constituents and also the big promises making for years weighing over them every step of this process. i think this recess is particularly hard for them, and that's not -- that's expected. we knew this was going to be a lot of, a recess filled with town halls, constituents yelling, we've seen it throughout the year and it's important to emphasize this is not only about health care and whether republicans were able to make headway on that one issue.

also these republicans go back to their home towns, home state and having to answer are to the president. whenever the president puts out a tweet that doesn't make sense or is offensive, all of these members of congress have to answer for them, and that makes it tough. having been to these town halls, some of the most spirited moments and spirited is a more flattering word, moments the congress has to answer for the president are the moments that are the most painful. >> and, jeff, this is part of why some republicans, and democrats, but more republicans, saying, i'm not groing to do ton halls. a congressman from virginia, i should say, took out the house majority leader, fellow republican, in part by, really, on the ground swell of activists said it is clear these individuals are more interested in scoring political points with television cameras, running than in having constructive dialogue about issues. i will not spend 90 minutes

shouted at by individuals who demonstrated they have no interest in a constructive dialogue about issues. that's the job you signed up. sometimes you have to sit there and take it. >> one of the biggest conversations in senators' offices and members of congress' office, what will we do during the recess periods? some wish they were here working. you're sort of damned if you do and if you don't. you don't hold town halls, a rival says, not being accessible. if you do, have that video moment that youtube moment that could be used against you as well here. i always think we have to give a hat tip and applause to members of congress who do hold these meetings. the right or wrong, they get a lot of blowback, but -- senator grassley from iowa you mentioned at the beginning a famous for doing all 99 counties in iowa every year. a lot of dairy kweern queens a

way as well. it's something constituents appreciate. about these relationships in congress manu talked about. boy, september will be a huge month for so many issues coming down the pike from the debt ceiling, tax reform, other things. i can't wait to see what the president responds to what the majority leader was saying. that really exposes a big wreck. >> the point you made, m.j., about the fact that the president's, what he does and how people view the president and this is true of any president, not just this president, a trickle over to congress and they're next on the ballot. enthusiasm in our new poll breaks against trump 2-1. among republicans strong approval dropped. republicans, you need to get out in the midterms from 73 to 59% now. so this is a big issue for these members, particularly all house members on the ballot and senators -- >> and in public, figuring out how he reacts to them in public after having negotiations.

i'm in favor of all lawmakers doing a bunch of town halls, and chances of having that one video moment go down by having a lot, a lot, a lot of moments. but i sympathize with the idea, sometimes feel they're not just shouted at but shouted down. when your constituents are saying, "we hope you die in pain" hoping that solidifying the base of the republican congressman as opposed to convincing people to side with you. that's something they face out there. i think the bottom line becomes -- does any of it actually matter? because in the actual congressional elections, democrats as of yet, have not figured out how to turn that tide. >> that's true. >> and the are these districts mismatched to their leadership in the end? it's unclear at this point. >> could be. a few are not. one is in nevada. the senate seat. currently held by dean heller. very vulnerable. he just got himself a republican primary opponent today.

listen to what his new opponent said when he announced. >> i'm very excited to announce i'm going to run for the united states senate here in nevada against dean heller. we're never going to make america great again unless we have senators in office that fully support president trump and his america first agenda. dean heller wasn't just one of the first never trumpers in nevada. he was one of the most influential and actually helped hillary clinton win the state of nevada. >> so this comes from the other side. republicans who go up against the president, and challenge him. you know, get a challenge from the right. now, danny tarkanian is a son of the legendary basketball coach and run many, many times unsuccessfully. so he's kind of a known quantity, probably good for dean heller. >> absolutely. we did see donald trump personalize this with dean heller at the debate. ribbed him, you better do the right thing because your voters are watching.

again, the problem is, members of congress wanted to be able to go home this august and actually talk about accomplishments. talk about accomplishments, talk about they're proud of health care and something they've gotten done, infrastructure to help constituents it's easier to answer for those, tweets, and some other behavior their constituents might not like and like to see from the president. they don't have any of that. they have to calculate now, how far out on a limb do they go when it may be this president turns against them. already saying quite a few things critical of congress. >> that's going to continue, i think. >> and a real fear. he can -- maybe insert pressure on them in that way but it could come back to bite him. if they don't feel they can trust him to be behind them on tough votes, it's a reason that pushing them over to the no vote. >> a lot more to talk about in cnn's new poll. how americans braid the president on issues like the economy, foreign policy and

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doing very well in the fight against isis. you know, the border was a tremendous problem, and now close to 80% stoppage. >> we're unleashing a new era of american prosperity. >> perhaps like we've never seen before. >> president trump gives himself high marks on his handling of some of the big issues. and there is good news. that with the economy still humming along more than half of those surveyed in this new poll say things are going well. well, they are split evanly on his handling of the economy, the president is under water on hot button issues from across the board from health care to foreign affairs to immigration and on health care specifically, check this out -- he is 31% approval on his

handling of health care. and compare that to president obama's record. remember how slammed he got on obamacare? but the lowest he ever dropped was 36%. so that tells you a lot about kind of where things stand for the president. and -- jeff zeleny, you know, the idea having health care is one thing, but also on immigration, supposed to be his calling card, taxes as well. the economy. >> i mean, i think that it's a reality of, again, he hasn't worked 201 days in, haven't been accomplishments. even more than that, he doesn't talk about it a lot. one thing at least his advisers hopefully will change and start talking about things. saw it on immigration. the fact if he talks about it, his supporters and base will feel more reassured he mate ultimately do something about it here, but i think the -- in any

polling we always have to have huge caveats, especially this early, because eventually 2 wit will compared to who? compared to what? julie mentioned earlier that is a mind-set of the white house. some of his advisers believe that staying right below 40%, or at 40%, will be just fine, because -- because a democrat obviously will run against him and independent as well and you can win the presidency against with 39% of the vote or 40% of the vote. they believe keeping the base happy and fired up is very important, but there are worries on those, on -- also we should point out republicans control the entire apparatus of the government here for the first time in a decade. so this was the year to accomplish something. next year's harder, obviously. >> you said, there are some warning signs. go down just to the question of whether the trump administration has been a success, and you break it down by party. republicans are at 76%, which

may look good, but kind of the rule of thumb in politics is, you don't want to go below 80% on anything in your own party. so -- that's -- that's a big sort of red flag. >> yes. it is for sure. i think a lot of this comes from the facts, i'm not discounting it for this reason, but it comes from the fact the republican party probably won the presidency, won't go through divorce. still going through that divorce and trying to figure if they can co-parent america with donald trump in a successful way. that rift is going to remain. these numbers always will be lower than they would have been in a more traditional gop presidency. it doesn't mean they're not trump, and also signals perhaps other roads for donald trump's take that are outside of the republican party. >> and i saw you in my pri peri vision. there is good news. more than half surveyed thinks things are going well and traditionally, again, when pollsters look at these things, right track, wrong track.

how do peel feel about the country? that's not as bad at the other numbers? >> sure. that was one bright spot in this poll that was very extensive, but i thought what was really interesting about the economy question was that not a lot of people are you know necessarily giving president trump credit. even if they do countryjenel generally moving i the right direction. voters are split. handling middle class issues, more think he is not than people who think he is. jeff, you were saying, you don't often see the president staying on mempg a on message and talking about the little successes he's had here and there. this is a problem the administration has and we've talked about throughout the year. >> and talking about the issues later today in new jersey on this working vacation. the president is going to address an epidemic in this country, the opioid crisis.

chris christie, leading the commission for the president told cnn over the weekend that the president has to declare a national emergency, a public health emergency. so this is an area where he needs to take control. this is the ultimate test of leadership and he's going to talk about it today. >> absolutely. i think the white house had hoped that it might be an issue to help them get the health care package across the finish line. in the end, wheeling and dealing. bring people onboard that that legislation by talking about the money in there for opioid abuse. that didn't happen, of course. and now they're taking this opportunity and i add they want to add things to his schedule to keep him busy and engaged on policy during his vacation. this is a good opportunity to do that. i do think that, you know, you look at that number in terms of his support among republicans. it is interestingly dangerously low and the theory of the case of a lot of allies of the white house andadvisors, can be

a little like this with conventional republicans if making progress among people who don't consider themselves republicans but are conservatives. believe in the populist themes brought up during the campaign and hasn't cultivated them. i think that the hope is maybe focusing on opioids, some of the other issues he might be able to activate sort of that level of support. but so far he hasn't really accomplished anything on that. >> all right. everybody stand by. up next, democrats are already eyeing the 2020 presidential race. we'll tell you who's been trying to raise their profile -- next. for your heart...

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it's not something that would normally garner much interest this early in a president's first term, but these times are anything but normal, and buzz is beginning when it comes to which democrats might run for the white house in 2020. there are lots of names in the political either, including

senator harris of california, duvall patrick of massachusetts and the man who might have gotten the nomination last time around had he run. former vice president joe biden. active in politics just this week, as a matter of fact, reporting a robocall for the mayor of detroit. >> this is vice president joe biden. mike duggan is a very good friend of mine. no mayor in america has done a better job for this city than mike has done for detroit. we've all seen what happens in this country when people don't vote. so vote. >> another democrat keeping a high profile is senator elizabeth warren of massachusetts. and last night she highlighted one of her signature moments in washington with these tweets about the stand she took against jeff sessions during the senate debate over his nomination for attorney general. i can already hear bernie sanders, you know, in his living room saying, why are we talking about this already? but you know what?

>> he should talk. he was in iowa recently as well. that is the -- >> exactly. there you go. >> the best example there. the list of maims there y names is incredibly interesting. we won't know in mid-election. see who's the most popular campaigning this fall. senator harris is fascinating to me. arrives in washington the exact same time barack obama arrived, 2005 for him. 2017 for her, first term in the administration. look, the party generally looks to someone new, not old. the future, not the past. we'll see if that's true this time but a huge problem for democrats. there is no bench for the party. they can be laughing all they want about poll numbers for donald trump, but the reality is, democrats are in complete disrepair and disarray in their own party. there's no leader. >> you just gave me an awesome segue. thank you for that. a really good friend.

our old and new. look at the people who everybody knows. household names when it comes to democrats. joe biden. he's 77 years old. bernie sanders, 78 years old. elizabeth warren, 70 years old. then, let's just -- not ages up but tell you most of considerably younger. not all, most. and certainly new faces from pamela harris, talking about, to korey booker, terry mcauliffe, andrew cuomo, seth moulton, congressman from connecticut. so we have this, sort of bench. maybe it's a back, back bench but it's a bench and at least people are sitting on it. what do you make of that? >> listen, if democrats will be able to make a case for themselves for the next presidential election they need a fresh face. one thing we learned from the last election is that voters are hungry for something different. they want to see a turn of the page. something they don't have right now. now, donald trump is also 70 years old. he's no spring chicken.

i think there is a chance here for democrats to have a reset. but in order to do that they need a coherent message. >> yes. >> they need something we haven't seen from them and frankly, donald trump is making it really easy for them this year. the republican leadership in congress is making it easier than it should be for them because they can sit back, watch the disaree, fingers pointing from the senate to the white house and back, they're not under much pressure to come up with that message, and yet really are going to need it, and certainly after the 2018 elections. >> they have to. they have to. and they have to come up with something that they lacked in a big, big way, which is an appeal to voters out there who are looking for a message of change, and how are you going to help me with my pocketbook and somebody who can relate to them. something that jerry brown, governor of california said on "meet the press" this sunday. let's listen. >> the litmus test should be intelligence. caring about the, as we, as

harry truman or roosevelt used to call it the common man. if we want to be a governor party of a very diverse, and i say diverse ideologically as well as ethnically, country, then you have to have a -- a broader, a party that rises above the more particular issues to the generic. the general issue of making american great. if i might take that word. >> we're going to talk about that and continue this discussion in one minute but have some news. i want to get straightaway to our pentagon correspondent barbara starr about some new information about north korea. north korea and what it is doing with its nuclear program. barbara starr, tell us what is going on and bring us up to date, please. >> reporter: hi, dana. i'll bring everyone up to date. the "washington post" has just posted an article and i want to read to you right away what the "washington post" is saying at this hour -- they are reporting that north

korea "has successfully produced a minute ch miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles." key words, north korea has produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead. the "washington post" reporting this according to a u.s. intelligence assessment by the defense intelligence agency. cnn has not yet independently confirmed this. why is this so important? because developing a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside a missile is one of the last key pieces perhaps "the" key piece of what north korea needs to accomplish to be able to carry out its long-standing threat to attack south korea, japan, the united states, in particular. you combine that miniaturized nuclear warhead, you put it on top of one of the intercontinental ballistic missiles they recently tested, and this does become potentially

very, very serious for president trump to have to deal with. it would mean if all of these pieces and parts work, that north korea could at some point sooner rather than later, target the united states. now, let's pull it apart one second, dana. one of the key things that north korea, the u.s. is not sure they have fully accomplished, is something called re-entry. i don't mean -- like i said earlier today, i don't mean to geek out on everyone, but if you want to attack with a long-range missile, you fire that missile up into the atmosphere to a great distance and bring it back down into the atmosphere, and aim it at a target. perhaps thousands of miles away. it is that re-entry into the earth's atmosphere that north korea has to be sure it can do. it has to be able -- that missile, that warhead, has to survive the extreme heat of re-entering the earth the atmosphere.

there are pieces and parts. still, their guidance, their control, their re-entry, the real sophistication of being able to launch a missile and target thousands of miles away. but make no mistake. if at this hour all of this is correct, that they have a miniaturized nuclear warhead that they can put inside a missile, it is hard to see where the trump administration goes from here at this point, because the president has long said, as every president before him, they would not allow north korea to be able to threaten the united states or to threaten u.s. allies in the region. dana? >> and that really is the key, barbara. the key reporting that every american president has dreaded, everybody in congress, every american, is that north korea is going to get to the point where, as you said, there are some things that they apparently still have left to -- to put

into their technology, but the idea that they could get this into the missile, and this missile could potentially hit the united states of america is -- is, again, the thing that everybody has been worried about. >> reporter: that's right. i mean, does anybody want to take the bet they'll be able to accomplish it on any given day. i think it's important to go back to really when president obama met with mr. trump just after the election. there were indications at that point that president obama had briefed mr. trump very seriously on the north korean threat, and we know that president trump continues -- we are told by i believe it's the cia director mike pompeo, that the president asks him nearly every day for the latest information about north korea. we know from multiple sources that the president obviously extremely concerned about it. we have seen his public statements, his public tweets,

his public persona on this subject and it's quite adamant and quite wordy, but we know from people we have talked to behind the scenes that president trump is seriously very, very concerned about this, because this has always been the calculation for the u.s. military and intelligence community. how do you let -- if you let it get to the point where north korea actually has all of those pieces and parts, the missile, the warhead, the re-entry, the nuclear materiel, the targeting, the guidance. what do you do about it? you know? we've talked a lot, could you launch a pre-emptive strike? launch a small strike? north korea has vowed it would turn south korea into a sea of fire. it would retaliate immediately. tens of thousands of south koreans would be killed. the notion of how you deal with north korea militarily has been something that military planners know the options are out there, but they know they are very

grim. it is very difficult to stop this program. they have multiple sites. they have multiple production facilities. much of it is hidden underground. there is a very limited reality here for those who think you can conduct a small strike and send a message to north korea. all military planners we've talked to in recent years have said, a limited strike is not realistic against north korea. it is really a, a catastrophic scenario of all-in. and that is why we have seen such an emphasis on diplomacy. with this "washington post" report now, this would cross an additional vital step putting north korea on the road to being able to credibly, potentially -- potentially, attack the west. >> barbara starr, thank you so much for your insights and reporting.

i go to cnn international correspondent will ripley in beijing. and, will, you've spent probably more time than any if not most american journalists inside the hermit kingdom, inside north korea, the regime there. what do you make of this report, knowing what you know about how the north koreans operate? i mean, i'm guessing that -- the way that they, that they like diplomatically for the world to see them is strong, and have the ability. i'm guessesing they are applauding at the notion that the west and the intelligence services in america are very concerned that they could potentially have this capability? >> well, keep in mind, dana, north korea was claiming i believe it was march of last year when they put out that photo of their supreme leader kim jong-un standing in front of that metallic ore they claimed as a cluker er inuclear warhea

skeptical that north korea was years away from developing that technology. that was last more. now he we are. north korea has launched so many missiles and at a frenzied pace. made such rap it progress exceeding pretty much the expectations of anything. even when i started going into north korea for the first time in late 2014 to where we are now. the tone of the officials in the country who i speak with has never changed. they have always confidently said that they have icbms, are developing nuclear weapons and will use these weapons against the united states if they feel provoked. that was always considered rhetoric, for many years. north korea has long threatened to annihilate the united states. a threat we've heard time and time again. what's new and unprecedented is that they actually now have in their arsenal a weapon that most analysts agree may have a capability to do that. keep in mind, for decades they've had conventional weapons pointed directly at thepro

-- met tra politan area, seoul, south korea. north korea also have chemical weapons in theirs arsenal and could launch a chemical attack at any time against major cities around the world including the united states. they haven't done it. the sense i get from north korean officials they don't want to use the icbm, use nuclear weapons either. the real risk, and that danger is acknowledged on all sides, is that if something were to happen, something to trigger a series of events, and then it became an unstoppable scenario leading to a war that would truly be cat strovg aastrophic is the real danger right now. >> and i reiterate what the "washington post" reports. cnn hasn't independently confirmed this, but it is that the intelligence community says that north korea has produced a

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hello. i'm wolf blitzer. 1:00 p.m. in washington. wherever you're watching from around the world, thank very much for joining us. following breaking news. the stakes in the north korea nuclear crisis just got higher. the "washington post" now reporting, quoting u.s. intelligence officials as having concluded that pyongyang is already making missile-ready