president trump again accusing wilson of lying about husband call with the widow of a fallen soldier. >> when general kelly made that statement he did not deny those were the words that the president used. >> it stuns me that a member of congre congress. >> there is a big difference between supporting these families and exploiting them. >> we have seep our discourse by casual cruelty.

>> do you believe the administration has forth coming about what happened there? >> of course not. >> did the advisers know something we did not know. >> it is under investigation. we do not have all the curt information yet. >> this is "new day" with cancers cuomo and alisyn camerota. >> good morning, everybody. welcome to your "new day". we begin with president trump dig anything is and not moving on from this feud. accusing frederica wilson of lying about the content of his condolence call to the widow of sergeant la david johnson. a highly personal speech and a personal attack. congresswoman wilson joins us for an exclusive interview next. the pentagon is briefing members of congress today on the ambush in niger that started all of this. remember, four u.s. soldiers were killed by isis-affiliated

troops. and we heard nothing about it. senator john mccain said he learned about it from news reports. he wants answers. he is threatening to sue to get them. joe johns live at the white house. >> reporter: chris, this morning the administration would very much like to move on from this controversy involving a fallen soldier, his widow and condolence call from the president. overnight, the president revved it up on twitter. president trump refusing to put his war of words with congresswoman frederica wilson to rest. in a late night tweet calling her wacky and insisting yet again she lied about his call to the widow of sergeant la david johnson. this despite the fact that hours earlier the president's chief of staff essentially confirmed the congresswoman's account.

>> he said to the wife, well, i guess he knew what he was getting into. >> in miss way he tried to express that opinion that he is a brave man, a fallen hero. he knew what he was getting himself into because he enlisted. >> reporter: kelly explains the message that the president meant to convey was sum to words used by marine general joseph dunford in 2010 when kelly's son died. >> he said, kel, he was doing exactly what he wanted to do when he was killed. he knew what he was getting into by joining that 1%. he knew what the possibilities were because we're at war. when he died he was surrounded by the best man on this earth, his friends. that's what the president tried to say to four families the other day.

>> reporter: kelly lamenting that the deaths of american soldiers are being politicized while delving into poll texas themselves and ignoring the president's role in the controversy. >> it stuns me that a member of congress would have listened in on that conversation. absolutely stuns me. and i thought at least that was sack red. >> reporter: for wilson, this is personal. the congresswoman was riding with johnson's widow to pick up her husband's casket when the president reached out. the call was on speaker phone so the family could hear. wilson has known the familiar for decade. sergeant johnson and his brothers taking part in her miami mentoring program. kelly also took a shot at the congresswoman over a is 2015 speech at the naming ceremony for a new fbi building in miami dedicated to two fallen agents. >> a long tradition of empty barrels making the most noise stood up there and talked about how instrumental in getting the

funding for that building. even for someone that is that empty a bell, we were stunned. >> reporter: but the "miami herald" reports that kelly got hs facts wron his facts wrong. wilson telling the newspaper, he shouldn't be able to say that, that is terrible. this has become totally personal. this as new video gives rare insight into another condo lens call that president trump made to a gold star widow whose husband was killed in april. >> i am so sorry to hear. what a horrible thing. except that he is an unbelievable hero. and all the people that served with him saying how incredible he was and an amazing guy. >> reporter: a very different conference, a very different call there from the president of the united states received very

differently than it was by sergeant johnson's widow. all of this overshadowing a big win for the administration on capitol hill. the senate just passed the budget resolution paving the way for a vote on tax cuts, which is a high priority for republicans on capitol hill. chris and alisyn. >> thanks so much, jeff. >> all right. lots to discuss. let's bring in cnn john avalon and reporter and edded tore at large chris cillizza. >> i had one take as i was driving home and another as i was reading donald trump's twitter feed. i just captain think he can't leave anything alone. he's not capable of doing so. the tweet last night contained a number of things that are not true, most notably that she -- congresswoman wilson secretly taped a phone call.

this should not be a fight between the congresswoman and president trump. they both bear some level of some responsibility there. this is a president who has shown over and over and over again an unwillingness to not talk the high road. he can nephew just leave well enough alone. he could have very easily solved the situation. haedz and what they heard seemed to be very different. he could have placed another call. he could have said these are difficult times. i did the best that i could. but if my message wasn't received in the way i meant it, i want to make clear that i mourn for you. i celebrate your husband's service and the country stands behind you. the end. instead, tweets about congresswoman wilson, general kelly comes out and attacks

congresswoman wilson. and another tweet about congresswoman wilson. this oned, that oned. now it is a -- i don't doubt that we wind losing in this. >> here's the tweet. the fake news is going crazy with wacky congresswoman wilson democrat who was secretly on a very personal call, and gave a total lie on content. >> concepts like dignity, humility, valor, those are things the presidents in the past aspired to. that was a tradition. that seems like a museum piece in the era of trump. he can't seem to hold himself to a higher standard. he's got to get in the gutter can and make outrageous claims that are frequently not rooted

in fact, he's the president of the united states. if your counter punching at gold star families, that is a sign of a sickness in some place. that is not holding yourself to a presidential standard. that videotape we played of one of the widows was genuine, presidential. it was received as such. something went terribly wrong in this situation. by note being able to let this go, we adopt talk about the real issues going on in the country right now, what happened in tphaoeuplger. we don't even talk about the successes this tool is trying to have on capitol hill, including passing a budget resolution. this overwhelms everything. >> we have to remember how it started, chris. i want to play some sound from general kelly. it seemed to end with him. this started because the president was called out for not

mentioning the ambush talking about a lot of other things. and the fact that he had reached out to the families of the fallen then became an issue. he made it an issue that other presidents never reached out to other people. he exaggerated that, obviously. and then we started going down this road. but it did seem to come to an end with general kelly yesterday. here's some of what he said. >> he said, kel, he was doing exactly what he wanted to do when he was killed. he knew what he was getting into by joining that 1%. he knew what the possibilities were because we're at war. you know, he died, in the four cases we're talking about in niger and my son's case in afghanistan. when he died he was surrounded but the best man on this earth, his friends. that's what the president tried

to say to four families the other day. >> chris cillizza, general kelly got inserted into this because the president mentioned his slain son as proof that the president hadn't done the right thing. he communicated the message that was trying to be delivered by his friend germ dunford. it gives you context. it is never easy. but general to general, not as easy to communicate for the president obviously because the family didn't hear it the way germ john kelly did that day. but even in his own reckoning of this and talking about his own son, he did say that what the president was trying to say is what the congresswoman -- >> in fact, he gave him the suggestion. >> it just wasn't delivered that way. and it seemed to be done with that until the general then turned his sights on the congresswoman. what did you make of that part, cillizza? >> to me, you split the general

kelly press conference. he took two questions. husband remarks, let's say, into two parts. the first part and what you played i would categorizine as moving explanation of how we handle our military dead. how difficult those conversations are. the nitty-gritty details that the average person, like myself, did not know. and then the second part the empty barrel comments about congresswoman wilson and extends through there used to be things sick red in this country. first part, extremely powerful. second part rings false. number one, you're talking about politicizing these things and how terrible it is. but then you're attacking the person, you're taking the congresswoman for saying she politicized it and she shouldn't

have been on the call when the context suggests that's not accurate. number two, the stuff about how women used to be sacred, i found myself by saying is he unaware of all of donald trump's past statements in john mccain, the "access hollywood" tapes, there's a lot of water under that bridge to sell. >> that was a good point. chris, john, stand by if you would. joining us now exclusively is frederica wilson of florida. thanks so much for making time for us this morning. >> good morning. >> so before with get into the specifics of what general kelly said, i just want to get your knots on everything that has transpired the past 48 hours. this very public fight that you seem to be engaged in with president trump and generally kelly. president trump just last night in case you missed it at 11:00 p.m. tweeted about you.

he said the tpabg nefake news i crazy with khaki congresswoman wilson, democrat, who was secretly on the call and gave a total lie on content. >> my emphasis today is on my constituents and helping them lay our hero to rest. that's where my head is today. and i'm also concerned about him and his last moments. i want to know why he was separated from the rest of the soldiers. why did it take 48 hours for them to find him? was he still alive? was he kidnapped? what's going on? i thought you were supposed to put your comrade across your shoulder and get on the helicopter with the dead and the wounded. why did they leave him?

i am distraught and so is the family. there's so many questions that must be answered. and i had written a letter for an investigation. they keep saying to me, we're going to give you a classified briefing. i can hard lu wait for that classified briefing because i am concerned about my constituent today. and i am concerned that he is not able to have an were open casket funeral. and that is very painful to husband family. >> we can only imagine how devastating all of this has been. you're not alone. so many people are calling for an investigation into exactly handicapped so those questions can be answered. congresswoman, did you hear general kelly's remarks in the press briefing room yesterday? >> i heard his remarks and i

heard him say that i am bragged that i secured the money for the building of the fbi building in miramar. and that's a lie. i feel sorry for general kelly. he has my sympathy for the loss of his son. but he can't just go on tv and lie on me. i was not even in congress in 2009 when the money for the building was secured. so that's a lie. how dare he. however, i maimed the building at the behest of director comey with the help of speaker boehner working cross party lines. so he didn't tell the truth, and he needs to stop telling lies on me. >> well, his point was, i think, that -- though, you're right, he didn't get the facts right on that, was that empty barrels make the most noise. and he was using that -- he was

likening that to you. basically that you're -- >> okay. that's a racist term too. i'm thinking about that one. we looked it up in the dictionary because i had never heard of an empty barrel. and i don't like to be dragged into something like that. the only thing i want to be dragged into right now is getting back our girls who are the victims of boka haram in niger nigeria. 276 girls were kidnapped from their dormitory. and now isis. and that multinational task force that was set up by congress with cameroon, chad, niger, nigeria, new con stitch

went was there. the sergeant was there on detail. he was giving advice and was killed and abandoned. this is what i do every wednesday in congress, bring back our girls. we wear red. we're concerned about boca that ram being the most vicious terrorist organization in the world. and we never hear about it. and boka haram and isis combined and they killed my son. >> you mean sergeant la david johnson. >> la david. my role model son. >> i understand. you were his mentor. i understand how long you go back with his familiar. you knew him from childhood. but there are some things that i

just want to get is straight. >> and all of his brothers and all of his cousins. >> you are more than obviously their congresswoman, their representative. and thr more than your constituents i want to get a couple details straight. it sounds like there was a real disconnect in what the president was trying to say to sergeant johnson's wife and what you heard. i just want to go to that point. we know from general kelly and his remarks yesterday that the president came to him and said these calls are hard. what do you think i should say? and general kelly was able to share what the casual officer shared with him. let me just play that moment for you of what general kelly said. >> he said, kel, he was doing

exact exactly what he wanted when he was killed. he knew what he was getting into my joining the 1%. he knew what the possibilities were because we're at war. and when he died, the four case we're talking about in niger and my son's case in afghanistan, when he died he was surrounded by the best men on this earth, his friends. that's what the president tried to say to four tpapls tfamilies other day. >> congresswoman, when you hear general kelly say the words he knew what he was getting into, that sounds an awful lot like what the president said to sergeant johnson's wife. >> that is not a good message to say to anyone who has lost a child at war. you don't sign up because you knew you're going to die. you sign up to serve your

country. and when he says he died surrounded by his friends, he was abandoned. that did not apply to him. he was abandoned for two days, for 48 hours. why? why didn't they pick him up and put him on their shoulders like they did the other fallen comrades. >> yes. i understand. >> and take him to safety. he could have still been alive. so when you say died surrounded by his -- >> just to be clear, general kelly was talking about husband own son. >> we're talking about a specific soldier. every soldier is different. every family is different. and when you have a young mother who is six months pregnant with two small kids, you say, i am so sorry that you have lost your

husba husband. myeshia johnson. you call her by her name and you say your husband. you don't say your guy. they were e married. you have our deepest sympathy. if there is anything this nation can do to ease your pain as your president, please let me know. i am so sorry. that's what i would have said. that's what he needs to practice to say. he doesn't need to talk about what people sign up for. that is unconscionable. >> general kelly said yesterday that he was absolutely stunned by your reaction knowing from where he sits that he was stunned that you had misinterpreted it, according to

him, and that he was stunned. he was stunned that you would have listened in on that call because to him those calls are sacred. can you respond to that? >> i wasn't listen anything. i was in a car where a call was being taken on a speaker tpopb. i wasn't listening in. please don't characterize it as that. and i still go back to what i said from the beginning. call her by her name, myeshia johnson. call him by his name, sergeant la david johnson. he is not her guy. he is her husband. and that is the part that hurt her the most. >> general kelly -- >> that is the part. >> general kelly said that he was so stunned and frankly hurt

by your words and your reaction that in order to gather his thoughts he had to go to arlington national cemetery. he spent an hour and a half walking among the grave stones of the people there, the people who made the biggest sacrifice and are the finest people in our country. because he was hurt in that way, do you have anything you would like to say to germ kelly today? >> to general kelly, i have lost members of the role models project in war before during the urbg war. we know what it is. we feel for you just like we feel for la david's parents and la david's wife. you have my deepest sympathy. but i would never say to you your son knew what he was signing up for. that would not be a part of my

sympathy message to you. >> how is this public fight you're having with the president and now general kelly, who called you out obviously yesterday, how does this end? is it time for you all to get on a phone conversation? is it time for you to speak to the president directly? >> it probably could end with the president reaching out to the members of the 5,000 role models of excellence boys and helping me to make them good men in society instead of trying to degrade their sponsor who is working so hard every day to keep them on the right path, sending them to college and trying to keep them away from the criminal justice system. if he wants to-us, i sent something to him with the congressional black caucus, commission of the social status of black spwbg boys and

establish that commission in the white house. that would help our entire community. >> how about congresswoman, from your end. are you willing to allow today that you misinterpreted what the president's intentions were in that phone call to sergeant johnson's wife? >> there's nothing to misinterpret. he said what he said. i just don't agree with it. i don't agree with that is what you should say to grieving families. >> but in terms of his intention not being callous and maybe he got the tone wrong but that you misinterpreted his intention or miss callousness. >> i think my intentions are not important in this today.

this has to do with the family that is grieving. it is is their intentions. they were hurt. this is not a question to ask me because i can only imagine how she feels. she was distraught that he kept saying my guy. your guy. not your husband, your guy. she said he didn't even nola david's name. so that of the most painful part. the other most painful part is some still doesn't know why her husband was missing for 48 hours. so let's get to the real basis of why everyone is so upset and everyone is so grief stricken. it has absolutely nothing to do with the phone call. it has a lot to do with what we're talking about now.

>> can you tell us how they are today? i think this will be tough day for myeshia and her children. >> this is a very tough day for them. everyone is trying to get through this. everyone is tired of the back and forth of the tv cameras. and the only reason i came on this morning was to say that i do not appreciate someone lying on me. if you lie on me, i'm going to answer because i'm not going to let you get away with it. that he wants the way i you teach my boys and that's the way i live my life. don't look on he mme. and also we're hoping that very soon everything will calm down

and we will watch a new birth, a new baby born to the johnson family. a new baby girl. we're looking forward to that. and we will be there to support our hero's family. the 5,000 role models is comprised of thousands of people all races, creeds and colors who will love those children and love his wife, love his aunt and unc uncle, love his brothers, love all the little nieces and nephews. and we will be there for him. he is our son. he's our hometown boy. and we're going to do everything we can to lift that familiar up. and we call out to america to join us as he we lift up.

sergeant la david johnson. >> i know you are trying to raise money for his children. you have already raised $600,000 for his children. here's the go fund me page for his two children and the one on the way. >> yes. because we want them to be comfortable and to be able to go to college and live a good life. and they won't have a father to provide for them. so the 5,000 role models is making that happen. and we are so proud of our hero. so proud. and before lodng we're going to name a street after him in miami gardens. so when his kid pass down that street, they will say that was named for my daddy. he was a hero in the army. he was a hero. he was a green beret. i can just see his little son la

david jr. now pointing that out to his friends. >> congresswoman frederica wilson, we appreciate you coming on "new day" with your perspective on all of this and helping us to remember la david johnson. thank you very much. >> thank you for having me. i appreciate it. >> all right. let's bring back chris cillizza and john avalon. the family will have the body on display for loved ones to come by and bray at the casket. one of four men lost in an ambush in niger. we still don't understand the circumstances surrounding it. john avalon, that was one of the big points of takeaway. the call was not communicated the way the president intended it to be. fine. put that to the side. she said the familiar is -- has more anxiety, more pain over not

knowing what happened to la david johnson, how he wound up being killed and whether or not he was left behind. >> that's right. and this was an attempt to move the ball forward on that. obviously today is an incredibly sad day for the family. she referred to him as her son in a community sense, a deep personal relationship, with a baby on the way, which is heartbreaking. it is clear the family felt disrespected, presumably unintentionally. the president referred to his widow as your guy rather than your husband or sergeant la david johnson. why was he left behind for 48 hours? this is what we know. this was reported early on. there was a full effort to find it. there was a scramble for 48 hours to find him. it was multi-faceted. but we need to know more. there's 650 americans serving in niger. not a lot is known about their

mission generally. it is appropriate to have an inque inquest. it isn't politicized the way benghazi was. it is fact-finding not fault finding as to why he was left behind. by honor the family, getting closure and learning. we have to elevate this. >> well, i'm going to deelevate it for a moment due to the politics of this. chris, your special take. not exactly striking a conciliatory tone with general kelly or the tone. she feels what she feels. she feels very strongly. she said that she was offended by general kelly's comments about her being an empty barrel. she said she believes that's a racist term. it doesn't feel like this feud is going away unless everybody just drops it after this. unless this is the last word that with hear on this, then obviously it goes away. but it doesn't sound like she was in a mood to reach out and hear their side for what they were saying.

>> yeah. i think we know by now given who is in the white house and his interest in twitter seems unlikely. honestly, i was thinking as she was speaking that donald trump is probably watching or taping that interior view and will watch it a little bit later and we will hear from him again. the references to the empty barrel being a racist term, ask the securing and funding and naming of that fbi building in miami said that there was no room for misinterpretation in regards to president trump's comments. all of those things are likely to trigger donald trump into responding. that's what he does. he doesn't leave fights alone. he doesn't take the high road. he doesn't a pool to our better

angels. john used a good word, elevate this conversation. this is not something the president does on almost anything. go back to charlottesville. it became a well, i was really right. rather than goalie, it's really a terrible -- what does it say about this terrible that a woman lost her life amid white supremacist and neo-nazi violence. what does it say about where we are. what can i do as president? that's not what he does. he fights knife fights politically speaking. he's fighting knife fights every day. close quarters, right? everything is about running the ball one yard forward. it is very little about what does this say about the country. should the president of the united states be engaging in a pworbgt with the congresswoman. and by extension, myeshia johnson, the widow of a fallen soldier, should this be happening at all? should he not place a private

call to the family and say you know what, i'm sore that you mi misinterpreted. i'm sorry whatever i said didn't feel right to you. i'm new at this. it's never easy. that would go a long way. >> look, intentions aside, clearly there was a profound misinterpretation. it is partly a problem of his own making. we are so used to the president being callous, attacking and dismissive. it is easy to read that into an apparent level of disrespect the family felt about not acknowledging it. he has diminished the presidency consistently by being callous. so his intentions can't be obscured. >> you have to remember there is always a new opportunity. there is another chaps to do things the right way. we are hoping that opportunity is taken. today is the day that the johnson family will have la david in the casket on display

for people to pay their respects. the widow wanted to give an open casket. that's not going to happen. that is one of the questions as to why that is not possible. gentlemen, thank you srfp. we will get more voices on what need to get to the bottom of w457d in niger. our next guest former navy s.e.a.l. scott taylor. what kets about this controversy next. when you brush or floss you may have gum problems and could be on the journey to much worse. help stop the journey of gum disease. try parodontax toothpaste. it's clinically proven to remove plaque, the main cause of bleeding gums. for healthy gums, and strong teeth. leave bleeding gums behind. with parodontax toothpaste. ♪

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. all right. let's not lose sight of the big questions surrounding these four service members losing their lives at the hands of isis-affiliated fighters in niger. let's bring in republican congressman scott taylor from virginia. he's also a former navy s.e.a.l., served in the iraq war. as always, congressman, i start by saying thank you for your service to the country and thank you for taking this opportunity. >> good morning, chris.

thank you for letting me be with you. let me give my sympathies to the family. i wish they were protected in their most vulnerable exposed time. i'm very saddened for this family right now. >> we'll get into the dynamic between the white house, florida congresswoman, and the family of la david johnson. but what are your questions about this ambush? i know you know missions like this much more than most americans do and frankly there's not a lot of information about what's going on in niger, what happened to these four service members. what is your take? >> well, obviously, the mission there you're propping up a very ungoverned space and some of these countries in africa of course. giving the governments there the tools that they need to be able to have the stable and to keep out any extremist safe havens.

they are dangerous on. this is something that sergeant johnson was not just the 1% of the military. he was 1% of the 1%. so those missions are very tough. yes, there are some things that aren't out yet. and some things won't be out. there will be an investigation. i know that's probably already started. i think secretary mattis has initiated that. but it's not uncommon for grieving families -- unfortunately, i have been through this many times with friends and their families, it's not -- there are many times when families want answers and need answers and asking for answers and they're grieving. so this is a really tough time for the family right now. as i said, there is an investigation going on. you know, some things will come out of course and some things won't by the nature of them being classified >> what do you make of the concern that there might have been an intelligence breach or gap between what was understood where the service members were

going for this meeting and what the actual security was surrounding the ambush? >> well, i certainly have a few questions myself having done these defense missions before. intelligence is tough. in some of these ungoverned spots in the very remote areas, it is tough. i have heard that the past few days. people talking about intelligence. it is difficult to have good intelligence in some of these areas. sit pwhaoeg investigated. i'm sure i will have a classified briefing on it. >> did. >> some things will come out and some won't by the nature of it. >> we didn't hear about this. it had to leak out. the president had 12 days. he talked about a lot of other things. he never talked about this, even though it is the largest life of american troops on his watch at the hand of an aggressor.

why not? why didn't we hear about it? >> i don't know the answer to that. and i will say of course when this went down and i say that, of course i hear through special forces channels very quickly. >> sure. >> sure, i wanted to hear about it. i'm not privy to some information obviously as america isn't right tphoufpl i don't know what the reason was for that. i just have to trust in our government that there were reasons it came out the way that it did. folks are commenting how sergeant johnson was left behind. look, this is war. those folks were ambushed. the environment is very chaotic with what's going on. and to say he was intentionally left behind or something like that is ridiculous. i take tremendous offense to that. i can tell you everyone on his team, everyone around there, everyone in command stopped what they were doing. and i know this for a fact

actually that there were folks going to the fight to do everything they could to find this person. there's a lot of noise out there and a lot of people that are saying a lot of things without any knowledge at all about how these things happen. i'm very saddened right now for the country quite frankly. >> there is no good news in this situation for sure. but it is is very helpful you reinforce what we know to be the commitment of american fighting men and women to protect their own and no man is left behind. movies have been made about that level of dedication. it is good to hear that you can verify this wasn't about being left behind. there may have been circumstances that made him get separated. we need to know those answers. thank you for that. we get into what we are all embroiled in. you see the president of the united states and the congresswoman. here is what she said in her own defense about what happened here and why just on the show a few

moments ago. >> i heard his remarks and i heard him say that i bragged that i secured the money for the building of the fbi building in miramar. that's a lie. you know, i feel sorry for general kelly. he has my sympathy for the loss of his son. but he can't just go on tv and lie on me. i was not even in congress in 2009 when the money for the building was secured. so that's a lie. how dare he. >> all right. let's start off with the general accepted principle that none of this needs to be happening right now. it certainly can't be of benefit to the whereon son family. what is your take on this back and forth? >> well, like i said, i've dealt with this many times. unphorpbl we buried more friends than i would care or wish on anyone. i have seen president trump i

have been with president trump at dover receiving flag-draped caskets. it is is a difficult situation for anyone. i will tell you that the notion that the president of the united states was calling a family with any intent to be callous or anything like that is ridiculous. that's offensive as well too. this is the commander in chief. you may not like this is the commander in chief. but this is a commander in chief calling a family. i will tell you, and this has been my experience over the years, that, yes, that family members receive information differently. there's no question about that. this is the most vulnerable time ever. so the way that they feel at this moment will be different from six months from now or is six years from now and the way they receive information may be different. but like i said when i first started this segment, i wish that i could protect this family. i wish that they were protected by this congresswoman. i listened to her interview and i'm embarrassed, quite frankly. i'm completely embarrassed by the behavior.

you know, she even said in her interview that the family is tired of the cameras. yeah, i'm sure they are. she was on all of these shows talking about it. you saw one little line in this conversation with the president and the family. one line. no context. nothing like that. i just find this -- i'm disgusted by it, i really am. and i feel horrible for this family. i feel horrible for other folks around america and saddened by the whole episode. as you had, i think we can generally agree this is not helpful for anyone. i know what that family is going through right now and i really wish they were protected. >> the president has done nothing to take the high road. you neglect that in your analysis. what about that aspect? >> look, as you said, i think that -- >> i mean, he is the president. i hear you about the congresswoman. it is fair criticism. you're not the only one to put it out there. let's not forget how this started. we asked about the ambush, okay, and why nobody had been

contacted. and he said, exaggerations about past presidents and how they didn't really always call or often call. he started down this road. they asked, well, have you reached out to the families -- >> let me say this -- >>. >> let me say this. i've been at dover air force base with president trump. i was there when president obama. both of them -- neither of them have a lot of experience in this. they were both uncomfortable when i saw their body language at dover air force base. that uncomfortableness is probably necessary for someone who is to send folks into war. general kelly gave the president great advice. it's probably best that you don't call the family. while we're talking about this, grieving families and sometimes grieving family members receive information very differently the at that time, so i hope that moving forward, the president will take general kelly's advice because he's been through this, he's seen this first hand. he understands it personally.

i would ask the president to lean on general kelly for his advice. i don't think what's happening right now ten the congresswoman and the president is good for anybody. it's certainly not good for the family. >> congressman, thank you for coming on the show. thank you for trying to get answers to what happened in this ambush. let us know what information we can get to the american people about it as you learn. thanks for being on this. >> thank you for having me. firefighters on the front line of a very different crisis. we went to new hampshire. why? it is one of the hardest hit places by the opioid crisis. you have to see what they're dealing with on the ground there every day. we've heard about opioids but you've never seen the reality the way we're going to show it to you. well watch this. i pop that in there. press brew. that's it. so rich. i love it. that's why you should be a keurig man! full-bodied. are you sure you're describing the coffee and not me?

full-bodied. ♪ ♪

you nervous? ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

i'm sure by now you've heard what opioids are doing to this country. i can tell you as a fact. we've never seen anything this complex and lethal in this country before. the state of new hampshire has been hit really hard for a variety of reasons. so we went there to give you a very raw look in this new series that we're doing that will be on our sister network hln called inside. part of what we wanted to show you is what first responders are up against. these men and women who are about fighting fires and rescuing people they're now first responders in a whole new way. >> new hampshire's firefighters were surprised to find themselves on the front lines of the opioid epidemic. these guys get plenty of calls, but they're rarely fires. >> i can tell you this isn't

your father's fire department any more, primarily right now. it's this crisis or epidemic or whatever you want to call it, it's hit us like a ton of bricks in manchester. this really takes up a good solid half my job. >> it's not the job chief dan gunan signed up for. >> back when i started in this business, if you did cpr once a month that was a lot. now it's every single day. there are days that i think that what's next. how many more people can we bring? >> reporter: and you can have a dozen calls like this a night. >> oh, absolutely. last night they had a dozen. >> a dozen calls just overnight. manchester, new hampshire, that's where we were, that's where first responders are, and a couple of them are joining us right now. chief dan guna, this and chris hicky. it's good to see your faces

again. >> thanks, chris. >> how you doing, chris? >> as you told me when we were up there this story needs to be told. people know the headlines but they don't know the depth of the reality. since we've been up there, chief, what's it been like these last few months? >> it's -- sometimes i think we're just treading water and trying to make it through. last month was a big month for us. we had 118 overdoses and 11 deaths so it seems like just when you think you are starting to make some progress, you have a really bad month but since you came up here, it's much the same as it was. we're really trying to battle this -- it's truly an epidemic or crisis and sometimes i feel we're just like that, in crisis management and triage. >> chris, help people understand why these openeds are different than what you've had to battle in terms of street drugs, why there are so many overdoses and

why it's killing so many people? >> it's any combination of things one of the biggest things are fighting now is the synthetic opioids. these aren't people that are naturally occurring, they're engineered in the lab for a specific purpose and that's to feed peoples' addiction. there's a demand for stronger and stronger drugs out on the street and what people are seeing now, what we're seeing as first responders, it's like nothing we've ever seen. it requires more narcan, it requires a quicker action, a quicker reaction by the men and women of the fire department and amr and the police department to really try and get a handle on this. >> not to get too much in the weeds, but what is narcan and why is it uniquely helpful when these people seem dead when you find them? >> narcan is a medication that's created to break the bond the drug has with the brain. we can administer it in a

variety of ways whether it's through the nose, intravenously or through the muscle, and what it does is you have somebody who literally looks blue and dead on the floor, we'll breathe for them artificially, we'll administer this medication as i said through a variety of different ways and when that takes a hold and breaks that bond that the drug was you wake up just like you see them in movies. they wake up like nothing ever happened. they're as conscious and alert as i am talking to you right now. >> and without that narcan the chance that they survive very, very small. chief, what do you ant people to take away from this documentary tonight. what hit home for me is you'd never seen anything that doesn't discriminate the way these opioids do, rich, poor, black, white, creed, whatever it is, you've seen everybody effected the same way? >> right. the population that we serve, these opioids are hitting

everybody, so it could be the kid next door or it could be somebody that's been, quite frankly, living on the streets for five years and couch surfing. it really runs the gambit and it's heartbreaking when you see these stories. nobody wants to be an opioid addict. they don't choose this lifestyle but once it grips you, you're done. >> and it was interesting to hear from so many of the fellows up there that they came in to it saying this is about personal choice, make better choices, get off it, be disciplined, once it grabs you, it's got a hold on you that few are ever able to break. everybody knows that our first responders are angels on earth but i've never seen a group of guys more dedicated up there than you at saving lives. i know you're waiting for more help, from the state and the federal government, grantite hammer is the program you have up there and it's working.

gentlemen, thank you for what you're doing. thank you for the hospitality. >> thank you, chris. >> thank you, chris. i've been covering this stuff for a long time. i'm telling you i've never seen what you're going to see tonight in this hln original series. we call it inside because that's what it is. we're just taking you inside these situations. we start with opioids. there are other big issues that we attack. 9:00 p.m. eastern tonight. i'm telling you it's just worth a watch for you to understand what we're up against. >> there's a lot of news on this friday morning. let's get after it. president trump on the attack again accusing congresswoman wilson of lying. >> he said i guess he knew what he was geing in to. >> the way he tried to express is a braveman. he knew what he was getting himself in to. >> he was trying to do damage repair. >> he called her an empty barrel. >> why are we t