tv New Day CNN December 19, 2017 4:00am-5:00am PST
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[ clacking continues ] good questions lead to good answers. our advisors can help you find both. talk to one today and see why we're bullish on the future. yours. derailed amtrak train was traveling almost three times above the speed limit. >> people looking for each other. >> positive train control. life saver and should be on all of those routes. >> not easy but help is on the way. >> i will cast my vote in support. >> the reason it is epically unpopular is because people have seen what's in it. >> america is coming back. and america is coming back strong. >> what i would have liked to
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have heard is recognition of a profound threat that russia poses. >> we face a growing cyber danger. it's not just about one country. >> announcer: this is "new day" with chris cuomo and alisyn camerota. good morning. welcome to your "new day." deadly amtrak derailment in washington. investigators say the train was going 80 miles an hour in a 30-mile-an-hour zone. that crash killed three people, injured more than 100 others. amtrak's president confirming that a system that could have automatically slowed the train down was not activated. >> meanwhile on capitol hill, we could be hours away from the president's first major legislative achievement. the republican tax bill is expected to pass the house today before then heading to the senate and the measure could be on the president's desk by tomorrow. but a new cnn poll shows the plan is extremely unpopular with most americans. let's begin with that train accident. stephanie elam is live from
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dupont, washington, the scene of the derailment. what's the latest? >> reporter: good morning, alisyn. despite the driesk rain that has been nonstop here in washington state, we have just watched over the last hour or so as crews have worked to pull that one train car that was dangling over the side, they've just pulled it up and put it back on the tracks. this, as overnight ntsb giving more clues to what may have gone wrong here. >> preliminary indications are that the train was traveling at 80 miles per hour in a 30-mile-per-hour track. >> reporter: investigators announcing that this mangled amtrak train was traveling almost three times above the speed limit before jumping the tracks and hurdling over an overpass. >> things just started to tip over and as it was going on around and all of a sudden ended up on its side and everything went dark. >> reporter: the train making its first run from seattle to portland after a multimillion dollar track upgrade was not yet
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using safety technology designed to automatically stop a train from speeding when the deadly derailment occurred. >> track 501, emergency, emergency, emergency. we are on the ground. >> is everybody okay? >> i'm still figuring that out. we've got cars everywhere. down on to the highway. >> reporter: authorities say the target date to have the safety technology, the positive train control system working spring of next year. mayor of a nearby town expressing separate concerns about the safety of the track earlier this month. >> come back when there is an accident and try to justify not putting in those safety enhancements or you can go back now and advocate for the money to do it. >> reporter: the investigation unfolding amid terrifying accounts of the derailment. >> start to see the roof kind of peel. you're like is this ever going to stop? >> reporter: robert mccoy was driving along the busy interstate when the train cars came crashing down. >> there were individuals that
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had been ejected from the train on to the pavement. i heard people in there asking for help and stuff. there were people yelling, there's people looking for each other, looking for loved ones. >> reporter: mccoy, taking these photos from inside the train as he pulled passengers to safety. president trump talking politics before sending his condolences to survivors, tweeting shortly after the crash that the derailment, quote, shows more than ever why our soon-to-be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. now that positive train control that everyone is talking about and whether or not it would have stop this had accident from happening, what we understand is that the train tracks, the company that owns the train tracks had installed it on the tracks but they have to be installed inside the trains as well for it to create this mesh for them to work together. that wasn't set to happen until the spring of next year. the feldman date, alisyn, is that this all has to be on all railways in the country by
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december of next year. >> okay. stephanie, thank you very much for all that information. joining us now is deborah herzman, president of the national safety council and former ntsb chairman. thank you very much for being here. a train traveling at 80 miles per hour in a 30-mile-per-hour zone, how does that happen? >> unfortunately, this is something that we've seen before. and whether there's a mechanical issue, an equipment issue or a human factor issue, it's something that doesn't need to happen and something like positive train control can certainly prevent it. >> it is such a no brainer. and the idea that we don't have it on all tracks and we don't have it on all trains is stunning. but first, what does it tell you, that a train was traveling at 80 miles per hour in a 30-mile-per-hour zone, that conductor was distracted, asleep? how does that happen? >> so first you want to rule out any mechanical or equipment failure. once you do that, you turn to the human. you want to make sure they're
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familiar with the track, that they're attentive, they're not fatigued or distracted and they're not incapacitated. certainly the investigators will be looking to interview the engineer and if there was anyone else in that locomotive cab with him on this inaugural run, that's going to be really important to understand what was going on. >> i assume they look at his cell phone, make sure he wasn't texting. we've seen all these things in the past. they check blod alcohol level. is that one of the first places that they go? >> yeah. standard protocol is they're going to be looking at drug and alcohol testing. that's a requirement. they'll also look back at the ntsb typically looks at work/rest history, 72 hours and a minimum to address the fatigue issues. they also will want to make sure he's not distracted. preservation orders will be placed on any electronic devices to subpoena those records. very thorough investigations trying to rule things out as well as identify what did
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happen. >> let's go to positive train control. this is the invention, this is the safety mechanism that would allow the train to automate itself so that it could never be going 80 miles an hour around a 30-mile-per-hour curve. how is it possible that this is not in widespread use in most trains across the country? >> so, this is an incredible disappointment when it comes to safety because the ntsb has recommended technology like positive train control since the 1970s. and it was on their most wanted list back in 1990. so, this technology is not new technology. it just hasn't been implemented. in 2008, congress required that all passenger routes and high hazardous materials routes have positive train control installed by 2015 and congress pushed that deadline back. we have got to get this technology on trains to prevent these events from occurring again and again and again.
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>> we say this every time there is a train accident and a deadly derailment. so whose fault is this? whose feet do we need to hold to the fire to say now is the moment and you've been woefully late in doing this. >> yeah. unfortunately, the tragic situation is that every railroad will say they don't have the ability to put this on, whether it's resources, money, technology. but i will tell you, every time there's a railroad that experiences a fatality that could have been prevented by ptc, one of the first orders of business is to put that technology on. we've got to start putting it on before the fatal crashes happen, not after. >> absolutely. deborah hersman, thank you for your expertise in this field. >> thank you. have a safe day. >> you too. a growing number of americans oppose the republican's tax reform bill, a new poll shows, as the house is set to vote on the measure today. president trump's numbers also
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at an all-time low in our poll. david chalian live in washington with the numbers. what do you see? >> good morning, chris. that's right. only about a third of americans favor this tax bill that the house of representatives are poised to pass today. take a look at our latest numbers in our cnn poll. at the opposition to the plan, 55% of americans, a majority of those polled here, say they are opposed to the tax plan and that opposition grew ten points in the last month. that's quite a big jump. and if you look at it by party, chris, opposition grew among republicans, independents and democrats. you see it there from 7% to 13%, among republicans up 12 points in opposition, among indies. it's not that all republicans are opposed. we see opposition growing across all categories. of course, we asked the question, which is does this plan benefit the wealthy or
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middle class? you know it is the argument of the republicans and the president that it is a middle class cut. it seems to be an argument that the american people aren't buying. 66% say this bill will benefit the wealthy. only 27% say it will help the middle class. we asked about the president's family. how will the trump family fare in it bill? 63% say better off. only 5% say worse off. 25% say the same. you mentioned the president's approval rating as well. you are right. we have a new approval rating number for him. 35% approval. that's a numerical low in all of cnn's polling throughout the year of donald trump's presidency. 59% disapprove and if you stack that up in history, chris, you know that donald trump is at the bottom, at this point in the presidency, compared to all of his modern era predecessors.
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>> this is just a starting point. low number could lead him to easy success because he's starting from such a low point. guys with low numbers got re-elected in the past. it's certainly not over but is a time worth noting. you're so good, stick around. chris cillizza, reporter and editor at large. where do they have it wrong, chris cillizza? this tax plan does overbenefit the rich relative to the middle class. it will benefit the trump family. i'm surprised the numbers aren't higher than that. >> you have a huge perception problem if you're the republican party. what it reminds me of, what these numbers remind me of and what we'll hear from the trump people is exactly what the obama folks said after the affordable care act passed, look, we don't know what's in it. once they start to realize that these scary things that the other side aren't -- other side
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is saying aren't true it will get more popular. 35% is not a good messenger nationally. the hope here is that when these tax benefits start to go -- when people say i get more money back -- that that is enough to change perception about this. look, they knew this. this is not news to them. they are placing a huge gamble that this tax cut plan will be something that they can take to voters. not just the republican base but the republican base and say we did this. we accomplished something. we brought real change. largest overall tax code in history. it's a gamble. they knew it. they believed it was better than the alternative, which was basically having zero major legislative accomplishments in the first year of a republican president and total republican control of congress. >> dafbd, are republicans privately worried about these poll numbers?
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are they expressing concern privately that this gambit, that they're hoping that when people live the tax plan they learn to love it, but there's no guarantee of that before the mid terms? >> republicans privately are most concerned about the president's poll numbers. republicans on capitol hill, rather than these particular numbers on the bill. as chris is saying, they do believe that americans will start to see some benefit and perceptions may change. more importantly, the numbers that have been concerning them for much of the year, in talking to republicans are, are the ones about how their own fellow republicans are judging them. and those numbers were going down. republicans across the country were so angry and disappointed with republican control of congress that they weren't following through on full repeal of obamacare, on the major promises that they had made that republicans were so fearful of that, that's the political imperative chris was just talking about that republicans really felt they had to go back home and say we got something
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whoa said we were going to get done done and we want to get some credit from our own team for that. >> the problem, chris, to set the context, this isn't what the president promised. what the president promised was, hey, little guy, hey you, woman who is struggling, single mom who voted for me even though there was some ugly stuff out there about me, working man, coal miner man, struggling family, i'm your guy. i don't need their money. i know their games. i don't need to play them. i'm for you. this deal is not set up to advantage that group more than other groups. >> that's right. that's fair. >> i'm not saying they don't get tax cuts in those brackets. how much, how long, those are variable. why didn't he do that? >> well, the reality of trying to pass a broad overhaul of the tax code is not easy. that's why. because -- >> why didn't he do a targeted
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middle class tax cut? he would have had democrats on board. >> dafbd's point is the right one on this, chris. you need the republican base, the rank and file of republicans to be the votes for this. i understand, yes, could they have -- look ierk always remind people, ten democratic senators are up for re-election next year in states that donald trump won, five of those in states he won by double digits. in theory you say we want to do a middle class tax plan, can we bring those people in? in theory you can craft something that -- >> joe manchin was spelling it out for us yesterday. >> joe manchin, there are people that would. they did not go that route. you could say it's a narrow cash stretch and it is. i would remind you, what is the thing we saw in both the virginia governor's election and alabama senate election? a less than enthusiastic republican base up against an
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incredibly enthused democratic base. mid term elections are base elections. it's not a presidential election where your casual person votes. this is your base vote. they believe this is the only means to get that. why did donald trump not do it? he wanted to get something passed, chris. he knew he had to do it with primarily republican support. that's the route they take. again, huge gamble, politically speaking. >> sorry, alisyn. i would also add i think there's a philosophical piece to this, too. philosophically, republicans believe if you skew this more toward korpg corporations there be a trickle down effect. skewing it the way that it is, there's a believe, it will help everyone. judge gorsuch. interesting new reporting about what was happening in the white house and in president trump's brain when judge gorsuch went and sat down with senator richard blumenthal, and judge
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gorsuch admitted he found the attacks on the other judge of hispanic origin to be demoralizing. he was quite honest about his feelings about it. president trump was silent at that time. at least in public, about what gorsuch was saying. now if you peel back the curtain we know, david, in fact, he was seething. so much so that he had told colleagues that he was considering rescinding the nomination. >> this is -- i mean this is classic donald trump. we should take this story and clip it and put it in some time capsule if you just want to understand donald trump's psyche. here is his guy that is going to be his biggest win of the year and get conservatives in a really happy place about the trump presidency early on. all of a sudden, he's getting personally offended by the fact that gorsuch is playing his politics and expressing his real opinion to make sure that he
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doesn't royal the waters of confirmation and trump, of course, willing to pull it. the white house says he was never willing to pull it. of course, look at donald trump's behavior over time. it is aall about donald trump. even your supreme court nominee, if he is the one who is saying something that is against the grain and somehow offends you, it doesn't matter. you're more upset about that than you are necessarily in this one moment about getting them on the board. >> it's classic can't see the forest through the trees, right? to david's point, the reason gorsuch was saying and doing those things was because he wanted to make sure that senators didn't think he was just an iron clad, rubber stamp for donald trump. >> independent. >> that every judicial nominee, democrat or republican picked does this. i'm not going to do what barack obama says. i'm not going to do what donald trump says. it is in support of the broader strategy which donald trump
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wanted, which was neil gorsuch on the court. it's just the inability, the misunderstanding of the fact that just because you appointed this person does not mean they are required to express total fieldty to you at all times. gorsuch was trying to help trump's case here. that's what's remarkable. you cut off your nose to spite your face. it's donald trump being annoyed at neil gorsuch. he eventually got what he wanted but -- >> don't plow this with nuance. >> david is right. look up trumpian in the dictionary, this is the anecdote you get told. >> thank you very much. we saw a senator act like a "new day" anchor when he was interviewing a federal judicial candidate. this senator kennedy took on this judicial nominee and really exposed some huge deficiencies
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under testing. we'll talk to senator john kennedy about why he did that, what the fallout has been and what does he think about this tax bill? his state is going to be very sensitive on these issues. i'll tell you why i used that word when we come back. my bladder leakage was making me feel like i couldn't spend time with my grandson. now depend fit-flex has their fastest absorbing material inside, so it keeps me dry and protected. go to depend.com - get a coupon and try them for yourself.
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republicans in the house are set to vote on the final version of their tax plan today. the senate is expected to get the bill to the president's desk by tomorrow. our new cnn poll shows 55% of you oppose this bill. what is that going to mean to senators? joining us now is a republican senator, john kennedy, of louisiana. senator, always a pleasure. >> thank you, chris. thanks for having me. >> so, you know the poll numbers. i don't have to tell you about that. what does that mean to the people in your state? how do you sell this tax plan to them? >> i tell them the truth. the good part and the bad part. i think the poll numbers are a reflection of a couple of things. i think any reasonable person would look at the media coverage. media has done its job.
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most of the media has been negative. i'm not fussing about that. it's just a fact. number two, the bill has changed a lot. i think a lot of folks don't really understand yet what's in it. not because they're not smart but because it's just changed. i mean, i probably spent -- i don't know, 300 hours on this legislation, trying to keep up with the changes. i'll tell you this. the conference committee report made this bill better. senator rubio, senator lee, in my opinion, did the american people a great service by increasing the child tax credit. we cleaned up some of the problems. for example, we're not going to tax tuition labors for graduate students. we're not going to remove teachers' deduction for out-of-pocket spending on classroom materials. we're not going to -- we're going to expand parents' ability to use 529 program. a lot of the stuff that never
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made sense to me, we cleaned up. and once folks learn that, they'll be appreciative. >> senator, i think the fundamental problem here is not one of your making. this was sold as being something that would be designed to advantage the middle class the most. >> uh-huh. >> and it is very difficult to look at this bill's architecture and see it that way. not just because of what you just pointed out that needed to be fixed but the theory here seems to be pretty obvious. we will help the top tier the most because we believe that they, in turn, will help the middle class. that's the sell on this. it's not that we are advantaging the middle class as the president promised and we're going to put it on the backs of the rich, let them pay even more. that's not what was done. >> a couple of points. you make a good one.
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but a couple of points. i don't think you ought to make tax policy on the basis of class war fare. i think you ought to make tax policy on the basis of sound economic principles. number two, this bill does help ordinary people. doubling the standard deduction, doubling the child tax credit, lowering the tax rates. number three, what helps american people the most is giving them access to a quality job. i think this bill will do that. it's going to cut taxes on every single business. and there are two impacts of that that haven't been talked about a lot. number one, it's going to increase foreign direct investment by 50%. a lot of out of this country capital will come into america. number two, when we allow small business people to expense their new buildings and equipment and software rather than depreciate
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them, that's going to help their business grow. what does that mean? that means they're going to add workers, add jobs. >> maybe. >> that means -- well, i believe it will. >> i know. i'm not saying you don't believe it. but they're maybes, senator. they're maybes. >> okay. ic concede that. as you add wages, job also go up. people, workers will become more productive. the real problem with wages, chris, has been that we ought to be -- our productivity are growth ought to be about 2%. for the past eight years it's been 1%. given our demographics, we're all getting older. we're not adding workers. we need to make the current workers more productive before you see a wage increase. and that's a long-winded way of saying that i believe -- i believe -- if i'm wrong i'll come back on your show and say i was wrong and here's why but i believe a rising tide does lift all boats. this isn't a zero to sum game.
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you don't make the middle class better by making the upper middle class poorer or vice versa. we all ought to rise together. >> i hear you. at the end of the day there's a lot of maybes in there. >> i know. >> i'm not going to say you're wrong about them. i don't have any better data about the future than you do. the corporate tax cuts are permanent. the ones for individuals and the families of people who put you in office are temporary. >> you're right. >> and that's because there was a preference given to the corporations that the individuals didn't get. i know there are reasons for that. >> uh-huh. >> that's going to be something they're going to have to swallow. >> two points. number one, i would have liked to have made the personal income tax cuts permanent but, as you know, we had the $1.5 trillion guardrail. president bush's tax cuts were temporary also. they were renewed. i feel confident that these tax cuts, no matter who is in power, for ordinary people will be renewed. i honestly believe that this
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bill is going to add between half a point and a full point to gross domestic product and you're going to see foreign direct involvement go up 50%. if i'm wrong, i'll admit you're right. economic forecasting is more art than science. >> no, i don't -- listen, just to be clear about one thing, senator, i don't want to be right about this. >> i understand. i don't want you to be right either. >> you have to question the priorities and choices that are made. that's my only point. >> fair point. >> while i have you, i do have to point out your questioning of a judge nominee that took place. let me play a little bit for people to remind them of what was happening. >> have you ever tried a jury trial? >> i have not. >> civil? >> no. >> criminal? >> no. >> bench? >> no. >> state or federal court? >> i have not. >> do you know what a motion in lemine is? >> i would probably not be able to give you a good definition. >> do you know what the
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obstension is? you all see that a lot in federal court. okay. >> senator, did you anticipate taking this man down the way you did when you went in there? >> no, sir. look, i had read mr. peterson's fbi background check. he's a very smart guy. he's honest. lots of integrity. but he doesn't have any trial experience. and that's what a trial judge, federal district court judge does. i think the president has made some outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary. nobody is perfect. my job on the judiciary committee is to help catch mistakes that might come through. and i just don't -- i say this respectfully. but i just don't think mr. peterson is ready to be a trial judge. i tried -- i don't think they were gotcha questions. your clip didn't show this but
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one of the questions i asked him about the dober case. some say dober from bu i'm from louisiana. >> that's like marburg versus madison. >> exceptions to when a federal court will review state court decisions and carved out certain things, as did pullman. i get why you were asking the questions. i was just shocked at the answers. >> frankly, i was, too. >> it's something you learn in law school. is it true that the president contacted you? >> he did. >> what did he say? >> he called me friday. he said, look, kennedy, you know, do your job, man. i'm mot upsenot upset. do your job. he said what do you think we ought to do? i said mr. president, i would ask mr. peterson to step down. i don't want to see him suffer any more. and he said i think that's what we'll do. and he said just keep doing your
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job. and i said i really appreciate that, mr. president. and then we -- i said i understand you don't interview these candidates. i brought it up. he didn't. he doesn't. presidents don't interview federal district court judge nominees. they're busy doing other stuff. but i said, look, i appreciate it, mr. president. then we started talking about taxes. we talked about tax reform mostly. >> well, senator, that was really classic, what you did there. i was joking before the segment -- not really joking. you could be a "new day" anchor the way you were interviewing that judge nominee. it was interesting. i liked your line about how watching "my cousin vinnie" doesn't qualify you to be a federal judge. >> it wasn't personal. >> glad you put that controversy to rest. >> it wasn't personal and i think mr. peterson is a very smart guy and very capable but, you know, you're smart, too, chris, but i wouldn't ask you to transplant a kidney in the morning, you know. experience matters. >> you are a wise man, senator kennedy, especially if it was
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your kidney that we were talking about. i wouldn't ask me to do that too. >> amen. >> listen, the best to you and your family for christmas. >> you, too. >> you are an enduring example of how people can disagree, can have different ideas but they can do it with decency. you prove that time and again on this show and you are always welcome here. >> thanks, chris. thanks a lot. >> best to you, sir. >> you, too. >> alisyn? >> tv news. >> translate -- >> no. >> what's it called when you take it out? >> transplant. >> i could take a kidney out. the person wouldn't survive but i could take a kidney out. >> with your bare hands? >> just with my look. kidneys would just fall out of you. >> i was going to describe that feeling. >> i'll teach you how to do it. it's great fun at parties. they say it's not brain surgery or kidney surgery. here we go. more tv news for you. president trump lays out his national security plan, pushing his america first policies.
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what the president said and what he did not say that has one senator's attention. that's next. >> you're smart but i wouldn't ask you to transplant -- when i met my team at ctca, they put together a comprehensive plan, that gave me an opportunity to accomplish my goals, and my dreams. learn more at cancercenter.com this i can do, easily. i try hard to get a great shape. benefiber® healthy shape is a clear, taste-free, 100% natural daily fiber... that's clinically proven to help me feel fuller longer. benefiber® healthy shape. this i can do!
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we will attempt to build a great partnership with those and other countries. but in a manner that always protects our national interests. >> that was president trump, labeling china and russia as threats to the u.s. economy during his national security speech and framing his foreign policy as america first. but he also left out a vital national security issue. let's talk about all of this and more with democratic senator ben cardin, ranking member of the foreign relations committee. good morning, senator. >> alisyn, good to be with you. >> great to have you. >> what jumped out at you about the president's speech? >> well, you're right, he did leave out the climate issue, which was under president obama listed properly as a national security concern. the president talked a lot about what he said during the
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campaign, america first. and when you look at the president's actions, it doesn't line up with everything he said in his speech. america alone -- america first has been america alone, pulling out the paris agreements, pulling his language on north korea. that is out of step with diplomacy. when you look at the president's actions and you try to square that with some of his message, there is an inconsistency here. >> well, there was also another curious discrepancy. and that is that in the papers, the documents that accompanied this speech, the policy paper, if you will, there was a mention of russia's meddling. it was not a long mention but it was in there. i'll read it to everyone. today, actors such as russia are using information tools in an attempt to undermine legitimacy of democracies, targeting media, political processes, american public and private sekers must reng this and work together to defend our way of life.
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there was no mention of it in his speech. how do you explain that? >> alisyn, there is no question that what you just read has happened. we've been able to confirm that, that russia deliberately tried to interfere in our elections that they have a propaganda campaign that is detrimental to our interests. president trump just can't say it. he still embraces mr. putin. he cannot acknowledge what russia did here in the united states and what he's doing, continuing to do in europe. and that's a fundament al problm we have with president trump. the credibility of his statements have become -- or lack of statements speak volumes. >> the fact that it was in the documents, does that tell you that his policy people, his national security people recognize -- they actually use that word. it's time for everyone to recognize that this happened. so, it tells you that somebody in the white house recognizes it and wants that message
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telegraphed. but the president doesn't. >> alisyn, we hear this time and time again when we talk to the president's advisers. we get a sense that they understand the national security threats that we have as a nation, whether it's russia, what's happening in north korea, what's happening in iran. we can take any one of the troubled spots in syria. we listen to the president and hear him say things different than what we heard from the president's national security team. so, it's not surprising to see that the annex contains the facts but the president will not acknowledge that publicly. >> senator, let talk about taxes. the tax plan the senate may be voting on it today, as soon as the house is done with it. you tweeted something interesting, that i want to read to our viewers. you say gop colleagues are asking me for help, fixing serious flaws they know are in the tax bill once it passes. isn't that process backwards?
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tell us about that. are your republican colleagues coming to you and asking for help? >> oh, yes. we've had conversations on how we're going to deal with what's known as the technical corrections bill, bill that would correct mistakes made anyway bill that hasn't even been passed yet. there is an acknowledgement, as they dealt with things such as pass-through income, that there will be need for us to make adjustments going forward. how they've dealt with some of the problems of middle income families. we have temporary tax provisions that will have to be modified. there are going to be issues with this bill. we've heard from a lot of different groups as to whether this will have unintended consequences, state and local governments are concerned about it. we're going to hear from a lot of different groups once they figure out what's in this bill. fundamental flaw. >> hold on one second. in other words, privately, your republican colleagues are more worried about the lack of popularity and the flaws of the
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bill than they're saying publicly? >> my colleagues, republican and democratic colleagues know we're going to have to pay attention to additional legislation after this bill is enacted into law. yes, that is true. >> one last question. there is this feeling amongst some of your colleagues in congress that al franken, your democratic colleague, offered to resign too quickly, prematurely. and, in fact, he should stay in the senate and that he should not resign. where are you on that? >> senator franken made a decision, what he thought was best. did he it for his constituents. he did not want to be distracted with an ethics investigation. he thought the people of minnesota deserve to have a senator devote full time to their issues. he made that decision based on what he thought was best for his own future. i respected the way he went about making that decision and i support his decision. >> okay. senator ben cardin, thank you so
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his teammates that helped him to become a five-time nba champ, and also in attendance were his three daughters and he had a special message for them. listen. >> those times when you get up early and you work hard, and those times when you stay up late and you work hard, and those times when you don't feel like working and you don't want to push yourself but you do any anyway, that is actually the dream. that's the dream. it's not the destination, it's the journey. if you could understand that, i am doing my job as a father. thank you guys so much. i love you. >> great night for kobe bryant. not so great for his former team, as they would lose in overtime than toks to durant
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if you were a snake -- >> they call koeb kwraerbbe thee deadly snake. what would you want to be -- >> i am like a lazy cat. lazy cat o >> lazy cat out, that's what you would say. you have to go with something better than that, koala. we have been following what has happened in puerto rico since the storm. the progress just isn't there. that has been the constant fact. three months since hurricane maria left puerto rico. food, water, power. is it really better today? we have bill weir back on the ground. what he found, next.
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an important update for you there in puerto rico. the governor is ordering a review of the death count. the death toll stands at 64, but that number could be ten times higher. it will be three months tomorrow since that hurricane carved a path of destruction through puerto rico. bill weir has a look at the aftermath. >> reporter: the fight for survival was just beginning. the vietnam vet just had a few doses of insulin spoiling in a powerless fridge. when we went back a month later the transmission tower that nearly crushed them in their home was back up. >> that's a good sign. look at that, they got it back up. folks at the va had seen our
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story and sent help, and i'm going to keep fighting, she said, and then pointed up. they put a flag on top of the tower, but just before thanksgiving her hope turned to grief and she wept over the flag atop miguel's taufin, and the aftermath was just too much for him, but will he be counted as a victim of hurricane. whitefish promised to help fix the grid was fired weeks into the job, and the head of the island's power authority quick amid the scandal, and a third of the island remains in the dark. about 20,000 blue roof tarps have been installed but another
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50,000 are waiting. but puerto rico is just one of dozens of tkedisaster zones, ne million americans filed for federal aid in the last few months, and one of those begging for help is the guy in charge of helping. >> i have not been here six months yet, and what i hope to do is inform americans about how complex this mission is. it might be a time to sit back and ask are we in charge of too much? >> brock long has been there long enough to say that fema is broke, and the system is broken. many of his 19,000 personnel have worked such long hours they hit a pay gap and will have to give back overtime. >> what does that do for morale? are there people working for free? >> we have to fix that problem
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and i have been focal within congress. yeah, it impacts morale. we cannot do this alone. anytime fema is the first responder and the primary responder like we were in puerto rico, it's never an idea situation. i do believe, for example, with puerto rico, we kept that island from complete and total collapse. >> you do? >> i do. >> but stephanie and victoria are among the quarter million puerto ricans that fled so far. they are grateful to miami st. thomas for taking them in but they are worried about the entire future influx. do you feel like americans on that island or second class americans? >> we feel we are not a priority, you know. we aren't being taken the care we deserve to be taken on the island. >> we still need the help.
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we are really needing the help. >> when president trump goes to puerto rico and throws paper towels -- what do you think of that? >> he has been very important. he is highly involved. he calls me directly. he's very engaged. his message to me is help people. and expedite the processes to do so. people are exciting and asking, what about me back here? he picks it up and throws it and the media captured it and they can spin it however they want to, but i was in the room, and he genuinely cares about the americans in puerto rico,
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