if you cnn "newsroom" is next. for our u.s. viewers, "new day" continues right now. >> hope is one of the people who really, really trusted. >> he's going to feel like he's on an island. >> this looks to me more like a white house in disarray. >> the president berated her for being dishonest. >> she is talking about leaving. i wouldn't blame her. >> he tried to oust jeff sessions. >> i wouldn't stay at all. i wouldn't be anybody's whipping b boy. >> that's what mueller is trying to get at. >> take the guns first. go through due process second. >> due process must be respected. we stressed this to the president. >> background checks work. we want it and we can't do it. >> this is "new day" with chris cuomo and alisyn camerota. >> good morning. welcome to our "new day". chaos unraveling in the west

wing. one of the most trusted, longest serving aides, hope hicks, announcing she's resigning. she knitted to congressional investigators that she tells, quote, white lies on his behalf. also this morning, attorney general jeff sessions is fighting back after an attack by the president. it comes as special counsel bob mueller is investigating whether the president's efforts to push out sessions last summer plays into a pattern that could be construed as obstruction of justice. >> and there's another explosive headline about the president's son-in-law. "new york times" is reporting that kushner received hundreds of millions of dollars in loans for his own family business after meeting with financial executives inside the white house who may have wanted jobs. this raises new concerns about conflicts of interest. and president trump stunning republicans after saying he

supports comprehensive gun control to the dismay of many of the gop and of course the nra. we have all of this covered for you. abby phillip is live at the white house. what's the latest abby? >> reporter: good morning, alisyn.departure of hope hicks is just one of many things happening this week that have left the white house reeling, including this mueller investigation that seems to be closing in on the president's inner circle. increasingly isolated after hope hicks, the fourth in the post, to step down. >> hope was one of the people he really, really trusted. with her leaving, there is only a handful left. he will feel like he's on an island. >> reporter: the white house downplaying the shocking announcement. insisting hicks has been

thinking about leaving for weeks. hicks's departure came one day after she testified before a house committee as part of the russia probe, conceding at times she has told white lies for trump. a source tells erin burnett this admission upset the president, who berated her after her nearly nine hours of testimony. special counsel robert mueller's team has been inquiring about hicks's remarks to the "new york times" shortly after the election, denying any contact between the campaign and russian officials. a statement that has proven to be false. only a handful of president trump's original inner circle are now left in the white house as scrutiny of the president's son-in-law jared kushner continues to grow. the "new york times" reporting that two companies that loaned him more than $500 million after meeting with kushner at the white house. >> you're seeing jared kushner meeting with executives in the white house. and then sometime after those meetings, the companies that those executives work for or run or help to run are given very

sizable mortgages to his company. >> reporter: the "times" reports that kushner still owns the vast majority of interest in his company. but a spokesman for his attorney insists he has taken no part of any business loans or projects with or for the kushner companies. he insists everyone is out to get him. he had his top secret clearance stripped by john kelly. all of this as the mueller probe intensifies. the "washington post" reporting that mueller's team is looking into whether president trump's efforts to oust and intimidate attorney general jeff sessions last summer amounts to obstruction of justice. >> i am disappointed in the attorney general. he should not have recused himself almost immediately after he took office. >> reporter: the "post" adding that he is privately refers to him as mr. magoo, a cartoon

character who is elderly, myopic and bumbling. sessions dining publicly with the other top members of the justice department wednesday night after firing back at the president's latest attack in a rare statement. as long as i am the attorney general, i will continue to discharge my duties with integrity and honor, and this department will continue to do its work in a fair and impartial manner. just a few minutes ago he responded to the nra after his extraordinary meeting with bipartisan lawmakers yesterday. the president wrote many ideas, some good and some not so good, about our bipartisan meeting on school safety yesterday at the white house. background checks a big part of the conversation. gun-free zones are proven targets of killers. after many years, a bill should emerge. respect second amendment. the reason the president is saying this is because last night the nra sent out a statement calling yesterday's meeting in which the president

said take away the guns first and respect rights later, they said it was good tv but bad policy. republicans are also pushing back hard on that proposal. it came from the president's own mouth. we will see where this goes today, alisyn. >> do i look like alisyn to you? abby, thank you very much. appreciate it. let's talk about all the turmoil in the west wing with anthony scaramucci, replaced by hope heuft. sevened for ten days. knows what hope hicks meant to president trump. how big is this? >> it was 11 days. >> seven days. fake news. you were relevant before that period. you are relevant after. you know the man. >> i worked on the campaign a long time. >> right. >> and i was also on the executive transition team. >> absolutely. i remember it well. how big is this? >> well, i think it's a big departure in the sense that this is one of the president's closest friends, aides, loyalists, somebody that understands the heartbeat of the

president, understands his personality and also is -- she's incredibly good at guiding people. and i will tell you this about hope. washington is a rough place. we both know that. there is not a malicious bone in hope's body. she is just a wonderful person, always trying to do the right thing, cares about everybody, not interested in the conflict, in the ego rub and the internet bashing that i experienced and other people have experienced. it's a big loss for the president. >> people close to the president say the untold value of hope hicks wasn't about communications. it was about external communications. it was internal. her ability to say to people, do not come at the president this way on on this. he's angry about this. he doesn't want to be told about that. and that was very valuable for people trying to negotiate his mood around her. >> i think some of that is probably true. here's the other thing. people always felt she was very fair and honest. if you went to her with something and said, okay, what do you think of this, she would give a very honest

interpretation. there was none of that political nonsense or the tea leaves of the situation. i have an enormous amount of respect for her. she will have a phenomenal career. my agent said you have to help me get hope as a client. that sort of thing. >> i'm sure that all of you guys will find avenues to success after being part of this situation. but on the negative side, it's, well, she says that she did tell some lies for the president. she said that there was no communications between anyone from trump and russians. she underplayed the situation with that meeting and the drafting of the response thereto. the rob porter thing was a debacle of epic proportion. >> let's unpack each of those. let's start with white lies. tell me a person that hasn't told a white lie. i will identify that person as the big of liar in the room.

she's in a closed door session. they're asking her stuff. it is under oath. the integrity of every sentence, every syllable. they asked if she told any white lies, and she said yes. i assume. i don't know. then they pick up the phone and drop the dime on her. it is a closed session. it is unfair. it is in strict confidence. now they are trying to color this woman who is an extremely gifted professional, as a liar. tell me somebody who hasn't told a white lie. >> qualifying your critique is the idea that she said nobody on this team met with any russians. we know that's untrue. she should have known it was untrue when she said it. i don't count that as a white lie. >> i don't know the exact facts of that situation, whether she knew it or didn't know it.

i can't address that. what i can address is her integrity. >> it was two days after the election. she knew. >> maggie will be able to call a strike on that. after working with her pore two and a half years and pretty good evaluator of talent. now sometimes i am color of my evaluation of these people. but i have been mostly right about these people. >> and you think she was one of the good ones. good. >> high integrity. >> what about the rob porter situation? she should be involved is. >> i hold the white house chief of staff for that. >> kelly, you hold accountable? >> he had the information related to porter. i don't know why he would allow hope to date porter. >> how can they keep her from dating him? >> he had the information. he tried to cover up the information. tried to get other people inside the boughs to cover it up for him. >> you believe kelly covered up the information? >> i do. >> that's not what the white

house said. he said as soon as he found out, he acted on it. is that another white lie? >> you have to have him sit in the chair is and ask if it's a white lie. you will figure it on out quickly. but the rob porter situation for me, i like rob. i was asked if i had seen any information about rob, and i didn't. there was a dossier on rob. >> how does kelly survive then? why did he get the berate something. >> it will be up to the president to decide. i guess he is an honorable marine. he has to look at himself in the mirror and say what he knew and when he knew it. i talked a little bit of smack about two guys that we were trying to get rid of. he fires me in five seconds. these guys are smacking up their wives and he is trying to keep

them in the white house. >> is it personal grievance motivating you or as an act of honor, kelly needs to go. >> i have sat in this white chair after he fired me and said nothing about good things about him. i have no problem with him firing me. everybody has an opportunity and right to change their staff, particularly when they're chief of staff. but this is a cultural thing. the morale inside the white house, you're a great reporter. you've got great reporters on staff. morale is terrible. the reason why the morale is terrible is that the rule by fear and intimidation does not work in a civilian environment. so here we are. it's messed up. it will be up to the president to figure out if he wants to fix it or not. >> it is whether or not the president is districting to the turmoil. >> i predict more departures. >> you are subscribing to something that is bubbling up here. and i want to hear maggie's take on this as well. there is an ides of march theory.

we all know what that means. that's when caesar got taken on out. it is trouble in the middle of the month. that's what the ides were. do you believe that's what we're looking as here, there is going to be more trouble? >> i don't know. here's what i know, when you're running an organization, particularly a civilian organization, there is a decor different from the military. so to me i look at the morale. i see the departures, of trump loyalists and people close to the president. i see the fact that john has denied access to the white house or the president's strongest loyalists, myself included. i get invited to go to the white house. he has me blocked on the wave system. >> what does that mean, morale? >> i think it's a mistake going into a midterm election, and into the another presidential election, when you have trump loyalists that want to help the president. i could care less i got fired. i'm not moving off my friendship

with the president or the support of his agenda. but you're going to block me -- >> i get it. when you talk about morale, what does that mean? what do you think is going on? >> morale, a fear, culture of fear, culture of intimidation. people are afraid to talk to each other. >> coming from the president? >> no. i think it's chief of staff. there is a culture of fear inside the white house. people are afraid to talk to each other. >> kelly is supposed to bring order, a calming influence. you say no? >> there is a martial order and then there is order where there is like good harmony. there are two different types of harmony. there's lots of different ways you can describe order. sometimes order is not a good word. >> do you think that kushner and kelly can exist in the same white house for long? >> i hope so. because jared is a very valuable contributor to that white house. he had a broad portfolio.

he's a very smart guy. i have an enormous amount of respect for him. here's the other thing. he has worked on this campaign/transition/presidency for a very long period of time. he knows the president very well. obviously he's a family member. we don't have to state that, but i'll state it. but he's a very good guy. so the notion of knocking him down a peg and the way they are treating him in the press, i don't like it. >> kelly is the one who knocked him down a peg and pulled the clearance. do you think they should have pulled his clearance? >> i don't know. buff having talked to people close to jared, he believes he has the ability to get that clearance. there needs to be an example of why he is not getng. >> would you take that meeting? >> i'm going to answer in two ways. i probably wouldn't have taken the meeting, but i understand why jared took the meeting. let me just explain. here's the problem for business

people that go into the white house. the system is set up to block business people. i had to sell my company to get the opl job. $228 million company which has now been tied up for 15 minutes. sittingous. >> i sold it to a large cap global company based in china. so now i have to wait 15 months for regulatory approval or disapproval. never asked for a favor. i just wanted the process to start. as it relates to being a businessperson, jared probably had loans outstanding prior to his arrival in the white house. so now you're in a very tough spot because of the way the rules and ethics are made. they are literally designed for us to block entrepreneurs and business leaders from entering the system. lawyers, academics. it is a very different situation. a military general.

>> there's good reason. there's good reason for that, anthony. 184 -- you know apollo capital very well. that is an unusual bridge loan, $184 billion. the guy wanted to work -- by the reporting on their own portfolio, that's an unusual one. that's a healthy one. the guy had interest in working in the administration. you come and meet in your capacity as a representative of the united states government and then you allow that to happen. ci c at the icorp., same difference. >> when you characterize it the way you just did, i understand. >> semblance of impropriety is the standard. >> i understand the point that you're making. it is way broader that even jared kushner. >> tons of business people work in there. you can divest. you can do different things if you want to serve the public. paulson, when he came in, took us through the entire depression. >> hold on a second.

paulson is in a publicly traded company. >> right. >> very liquid, deep liquidity in that stock. jared and his family. >> goldman sachs. >> mnuchin. trump. >> he's on a different standard. he's the one exception in that whole system. he could literally run the trump administration and oval office and be above the ethical fray. >> no. he wouldn't be above the ethical fray, but the legal fray. >> he wouldn't be above your ethical fray. >> you want the president running a private business? >> the american people have to decide that. they voted him in. >> he said he would have nothing to do with his private business.

come on. he spends most of his times at trump properties. >> he spends most of his time because he owns it. >> to say he has nothing to do with his brand. all of this is an extension of brand for him. you know that. >> you know that because of the way you're insinuating it. i know the kids very well. >> won't show his taxes. won't open his books to any of his transactions. >> the governor showed his taxes. poor mitt romney had a small cayman islands career. built his career, made himself financially independent. and they railed on him for his cayman islands account. then they started these negative campaign advertisements that he gave a woman cancer in the middle of michigan. this is what happens in our society, in our politics. you can dislike the president. he is a very good campaign strategist. the decision not to put out is very complicated tax structure and system was probably a good one because it took off the table all of that negativity.

>> yeah. but what about truth and transparency to people? are we too dumb to figure out his taxes? >> you have his taxes in. >> no. i would have had experts go over it and outline any issues. >> the people voted. >> they didn't have full information. >> warts and all. >> we're steep in investigation largely looking at exactly -- >> they had full information that they didn't have full information. >> they had full information that they didn't have full information? >> that's exactly right. >> i don't think that's the way it works. i don't think people say i don't know the truth about this guy, but i will vote for him. >> this candidate made a decision not to. am i going to vote for him? yes or no? i'm going to vote for him. >> it is not fair to assume. you can't know what you don't know, anthony. >> you're missing my point. they knew that they didn't know that. if that's a red-letter item for

them, they didn't vote for them. >> it is an unfair standard. >> if they are willing to overlook that and take the entire package. the american people want reform. >> he was supposed to drain the swamp, be bring in the best. he sweats talent. >> maybe it's not drained yet. >> ethical problems. >> maybe it is not drainable. but the system the way it is right now, the american people don't like it. the reason why he will win reelection is that he represents a change and a possible disruption to that system. the system can't be disrupted because we evacuated most of the trump loyalists out of the white house. we don't allow access to the trump loyalists coming into the white house. so maybe the system itself is so powerful, maybe the immunological system is it will

disrupt a move to make the system ferrer and more accountable. >> or adding a virus wasn't the appropriate change mechanism. maybe try something else. >> he's doing well. he's done a good job on the economic policies. >> wall street is doing well. >> wages are up, brother. they are. >> there are some indications of it. we will see the reports. >> everybody talks about my 11-day short stint. i was trained in economy. >> i know you were. >> data represents real economic activity for the average american person. >> i want to end on this word. you believe we should be more open to people leaving the administration? >> if the current situation and the current culture inside the administration is stays exactly the way it is, there is literally no change, there will be a lot more departures. morale is at an all time low and trending lower. >> anthony scaramucci, thank you for coming on short notice.

appreciate your perspective. joining us now is "new york times" correspondent maggie haberman. she broke the news of hope hicks's resignation. give us a reality check in terms of what we just heard anthony scaramucci said just. is morale at an all-time low? >> it is really bad there. staffers will say there are things that john kelly made better. but in a lot of other ways things were vastly unimproved. the mood did not improve. they still can't hire a lot of people. kelly forgets what he says to one person and says something different to somebody else. we saw that around rob porter. he very much guards the area around the oval office and views a lot of people with their own relationships with the president as an imperilling factor in his

command and control structure, which he favors. >> is there, as anthony scaramucci just said, a culture of fear and intimidation. >> i don't know that i would use intimidation because i don't know what that is referring to. there is a culture of fear of getting in trouble, be getting on someone's batted side. you have this moment for basically two months after last year where the white house sort of was united for the most part people against steve bannon. they were able to tell themselves that was the problem. prior to that, they were able to say reince priebus, he's the problem. the problem is the person who sets the tone, and that is the president. so i heard again last night from some advisers who departed the white house saying they think without sort of people who can whisper in the president's ear very effectively, that they need to be rowing in the same direction in a new way. that's just never what happens. >> hope hicks, did she jump or was she push said? >> she jumped.

i'm sorry. i know that is not a popular thing to say. twitter seems very upset with that. we go over all the things she is immeshed in. she knows all kinds of things about certain meetings. she attracted attention from congressional investigators and special counsel robert mueller. they want to know what she knew about the firing of james comey, what she knew about drafting a statement aboard air force one is and donald trump jr.'s dirt on hillary clinton. she is constantly having to manage his moods, protect other staffers from his moods. and then her personal life became a spectacle because she was dating rob porter, staff secretary who did resign under pressure over allegations of spousal abuse. when you add all of that up and you think about that, why would somebody want to stay in that job? >> there are 365 days in a year.

why yesterday? >> i don't know that she always intended to leave in 2018 but she had been talking about leaving for a very long time. and she had been planning it ahead of tuesday's hearing. >> yesterday was just coincidental or the the final straw? >> yesterday was coincidental. the fact that it was yesterday -- let me rephrase that. yesterday had nothing to do with the hearing of the day before. >> correlation is not causation. >> thank you, counsel. >> look, that was a tough day for her. it. >> was. >> she had to meet with counsel 20 minutes after she gave the white lies thing. it's one thing when you are talking to us as scrutinizing as you can be. but when i hold the power to punish you for what you say, those are hard moments for someone who is new to this. >> that's right. >> hope hicks had a very elev e elevated position with trump. and her loyalty to him helped garner that. this is not a battle tested person who knows how to weather storms. >> very few people know how to weather this storm.

the only spectacle nature of it with the legal underlay, the clinton white house is the only one i can think of with something this big with proximity to the president. i don't think that was an easy day for her based on everything i have heard. that does not mean that was the reason that it happened yesterday. i realize i am saying you're going to have to trust me on it, but it really is not why it happened. only she can know if there was some final straw, but the final straw was not that hearing. >> is washington a gold-plated hot tub? >> well, i don't know that it is a gold plated or a hot tub. >> i'm referring to jared kushner. >> i don't know if he has a gold plated hot tub either. >> i think he does. he did get a huge loan from a private equity -- two huge loans from a private equity firm that had self meetings in the white house after the president was already in the oval office. >> right. >> who we are told wanted a job.

this seems like a quid pro quo of some kind. what are you hearing about jared kushner's future? >> to answer the questions of the loans first. people who like jared kushner say these are some of the major firms in the country. of course they were coming in for meetings. these are not personal loans. this is his company that he is technically not at anymore. however, to your point about the quid pro quo appearance, we have no way of on knowing what took place in those conversations. but this is why elected officials are always cautioned to avoid the appearance of impropriety. in previous white houses, people made more of an effort to be careful to not look like they are in the middle something. it is best practice not to bring your fidelity into positions like this, especially when there are all of these business entanglemen entanglements. as far as his future, they are

seconding out strong they do not plan on going anywhere. the tension between them and kelly is very, very real. the president is always going to side with family. the president does not want to deal with the security clearance issue. he punted on it clearly to john kelly. kushner's security apparently was downgraded. the question remains what that means. can he sort of hang on and still be effective in his job? will he have to leave the way other junior aides had to leave because they could not get clearance. >> that is the ides of march. you can't have kushner and kelly in the same house if kelly really believes there are legitimate questions about kushner's conflicts and whether or not he's compromised. anthony is part right. it's tough to be someone in private capital and come into public service. divesting isn't simple. but it has been done before. you don't take meetings like that.

you don't do it. >> awe void it. even if there wasn't an issue. because we are now having this conversation. >> it was even more egregious, you could argue, than what trump jr. did with the meeting in trump tower with the russian lawyer. he wasn't working for the government. he was in a campaign. he was trying to get dirt like everybody in campaigns are. he's installed in the white house. he's taking a meeting like this. if john kelly allows that to survive, you know, that is a corrosive dynamic for someone like kelly who is all about the order of the system. >> that's right. i think kelly had to make a ton of concessions on comparing the don jr. meeting to the kushner issue. he has never done this before. did not know what the rules were. kushner has had the ethics rules gone over repeatedly. he has been there 13 months, as long as his father-in-law. you have to be careful in terms of what kelly is willing to tolerate. he said he would only take the

job if he had complete control of the staff. president trump assured him that he did. but president trump does not like giving anyone that much control. it is not just whether john kelly can endure it but what the president will try to force on him. kelly clearly believes he needs to be there for the sake of protecting the constitution. he said that to people. does he decide that is worth the tradeoff. >> maggie haberman, thank you very much. we are following breaking news for you right now. russian president vladimir putin said he developed and tested a new invincible missile. breaking news, next. at a comfort inn with a glow around them, so people watching will be like, "wow, maybe i'll glow too if i book direct at choicehotels.com". who glows? just say, badda book. badda boom. nobody glows. he gets it. always the lowest price, guaranteed.

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we are following breaking news. russian president vladimir putin is touting a new invincible nuclear missile that can reach anywhere in the world. congressman, great to have you. let me put up for everybody. this is what president putin just announced in his annual speech to lawmakers. it is their sort is of state of

the union. they said they developed this new icbm. it can reach almost anywhere in the entire world. russia tested this at the end of 2017. it is testing new underwater drones with nuclear warheads. did the president know about this? >> i don't know. we are pretty good in terms of understanding and knowing what the russians are up to. in terms of is it invincible? it is hard to tell. this idea people think we can, because they see it in movies, can launch f-16. they are shot miles into the air, go into space, there is technology once they reenter. maybe invincible. maybe not. the russians are a gas tank in europe. john mccain called them once and i thought that was an apropos

issue. declining population. declining economy. they are desperate for any kind of attention. and putin is trying to rally his base in order to make sure he wins reelection. that's why they are doing things like messing with our democracy in terms of getting involved on facebook and the internet. that's why we need to push back in the same way. >> is it just bluster? >> it's hard to tell. i'm sure our intelligence knows if he does and if it is or isn't invincible. people think we have this ability to defend against icbms. we have the ability to maybe intercept a rogue north korean missile. there is no way if the russians launch all of our missiles against us we would be able to defend ourselves. >> how worrisome is this? >> well, it's always been worrisome when you think about the issue of nuclear weapons because both sides can destroy each other. sit mutual shared destruction and we know that. we have to continue to invest in missile defense, make sure north korea doesn't get nuclear

weapons in order to prevent a nuclear exchange from happening. i don't like the guy at all, but he is not suicidal. he is not going to try to deny the united states. this is why we have to keep our nuclear systems up as well too. >> is this something intel will confirm? >> i don't know. >> something from home, gun policy. do you know where the president is today? >> where ses on guns? >> yeah. >> i don't know. at one point he said he doesn't want to do anything. other times he wants to do a lot. there are rational things both sides can take care of. the purchase of an ar should be 21. >> just ar or all guns? >> definitely the ar. the government made it 21 to own a pistol. if a kids wants to shoot a shotgun, should he have to be 21? that's debatable.

a guy that carried an m-4 in iraq, i think to carry an ar, you should probably be 21. let's ban bump stocks. that one is easy. if you fix the background checks system, those would have mitigated or prevented the last three mass shootings. >> you just want to see the fix nics. >> i'm okay with expanded background checks. how do you make exceptions if i'm going to buy my dad's gun, for instance? >> paperwork. why is paperwork so onerous to everybody? >> i don't think it is. i think these are 80% issues. here's the point. ive say this to my side. you can't say we can't do anything. and i say it to the other side, to the left, don't say we have to do anything short of banning assault rifles, we're not going to do it. they are 80% issues. say 21, right? a huge number of school shootings happen with someone who is either in the school currently or just out. if you make it 21, you take that

out of their hands. fix the background system. ban bump stocks. that would have mitt tkpaeuigat massive amount of carnage in las vegas. those are moves we can all make. >> here's some of the things the president has said. let me just play those for you and our viewers. >> i'm going to write the bump stock, essentially write it out. it doesn't make sense. i have to wait until i'm 21 to get a handgun but i can get this weapon at 18. i don't know. i like take the guns first, go through due process second. >> is it fair to say if president obama said take the guns first and go through due process second -- >> i would say that's fair to assume. >> is it republicans aren't taking the president literally on this stuff? >> no. i think he is taken literally. we know he is unique in how he says things. i don't think he is overly ideological. he is not someone raised a far

right conservative. he believes in conservative principles. >> so that's a negotiating tactic? >> i think he's saying, and i think rightfully, there are some things on the table. when he says take the guns first, my guess is -- i didn't see the whole thing -- that he was referring to the issue how do you keep someone with mental health issues reported, how do you keep them from getting a gun? that makes total sense in terms of how we write that. it is not the most articulate way to say it, take the guns away and due process second. >> thank you. chris? walmart has new rules on buying guns. who won't be able to get firearms, ammo and what type at their stores anymore. okay. listen to this. our panel of gun owners taking on some of the proposed policies to stop gun violence, including a ban on bump stocks. >> it's not an issue of the gun itself. it is an issue of the individual behind it.

>> which individual would want to use a bump stock? >> a crazed individual going to a mass shooting. >> what about ban them? >> what does that accomplish, though? >> the answer coming up in our next hour. whoooo.

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yeah! now business is rolling in. get started at fastsigns.com. it is time for cnn "money" now. walmart joining dick's sporting goods, taking action on guns and ammunition after the florida massacre. what are they doing? what will it mean? cnn chief business correspondent christine romans "in the money" center. after sandy hook, dick's made a move. walmart did not. >> you have kids and companies making a move on this. walmart will no longer sell guns to anyone under 21. the nation's largest retailer said recent events inspired the change. walmart will remove products, chris, that look like assault

rifles like nonlethal airsoft guns and any toys that are meant to model after a modern sporting rifle. walmart's announcement came hours after dick's raised its raise of sale to 21. dick's will stop selling at any stores that still do. it was not purchased at dick's, though the gunman had purchased other weapons at dick's. it is forcing many brands to take a stand. more than a dozen businesses have cut nra ties. money managers are reexamining. consumers like to buy from companies that tackle social issues, particularly younger. dick's finished higher, alisyn. >> very interesting to see what has happened in all the different arenas in the last two

weeks. thank you very much. a high school baseball player has been turned down by a texas university because he comes from a state where recreational marijuana is legal. andy scholes has more in the "bleacher report". explain how this works, andy. ♪ >> the truth is you don't have to hear him because his teeth and hair alone. >> he's good. reading lips is particularly hard. i think we need to hear what he hasz to say. >> we'll wait. they're yelling at us. >> president trump shocked members in a bipartisan meeting with lawmakers on gun control. what was it like inside that room? we ask one congressman who was there next. >> who is not a mime. we the people... are defined by the things we share.

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president trump once again holding a bipartisan meeting on tv about a controversial issue and saying things that

kind of popeyes on both sides. this time it was about gun control. listen. >> some of you people are petrified of the nra. out can't be petrified. in your bill, what are you doing -- >> we'll change that. >> are you going the leave that? probably because you're afraid of the nra, right? this is not a popular thing to say in terms of the nra. it doesn't make sense i have to wait until i'm 21. take the guns first, go through due process. if you add concealed carry to this, you'll never get it passed. >> one person who attended that white house meeting is florida congressman ted deutch, his district includes parkland, florida, the site of the school massacre, and that's where he is this morning. congressman, thank you for joining us. >> of course. good morning, chris. >> how is the mood where you are this morning? >> i just got back late last

night. i'm going to head over to the school from here. yesterday was the first day back in school. it was really challenging for the kids going back to school and for the families, but i think it was also really helpful for everyone to be together again. >> so where are you in terms of your feelings about what we witnessed yesterday with the president. is this new ground? is this him talking on previously hardened agendas, or do you think it's a televised meeting redux where we'll hear one thing and sea another. >> i think it's pretty clear that the ground is really shifting on this issue. if you look at the poll numbers that show overwhelming support for universal background checks and the other things the president talked about as well as ridding our communities of assault rifles, but if you look at the polling, if you look at the actions taken by major corporations in response to the

pressure put on them, these student leaders have having an impact, and that's what you saw from the president yesterday. i think his focus on universal background checks, the way that every discussion shifted back to manchin-toomey and how do we add the 18 to 21 on it. we'll ban the bump stocks. we talked about school safety issues, mental health issues. the president said he wants something that has overwhelming support. universal background checks would be that bill. it would be an enormous step forward. >> universal background checks. so private sales, gun show sales. do you think that is likely? >> well, i think that there is growing pressure to take meaningful action. that's what we've heard over and over from the student leaders. that's what we've heard around the country. the polling in florida speaks to

that. the overwhelming majority of people want action, and 97% of people think we should pass universal background checks. so when the president looked at his -- at my colleagues from the house and senate and told them essentially don't be afraid of the nra, he's right. this is an issue at this moment about not just school safety. it's about public safety. it's about keeping our kids safe. i think that's the side of this issue people not only need to be on, it's the issue they have to be on. >> have to is a defined term. with all due respect. a lot of washington doesn't get done out of conscience, it gets down out of consequence. the single issue voters on the gun rights side will come out and vote. yes, the president said, you are afraid of the nra. he's the one that came away from the meeting saying they want to do something with us. since when does a lobbying group dictate the policy preference of a president.

that's his side. your side is will the democrats do, fix nix without universal checks. will they do changes that don't include an assault weapons ban? >> chris, with all due respect, you're falling back into the usual discussion that we have after these things. people are talking about fix nix because it's a bill that even the nra supports. that's why everyone looks at that. the president of the united states yesterday talked about doing something comprehensive, something big. he talked about universal background checks. he can provide cover to people uncomfortable doing it. even in that room yesterday, there were a few times where the senators joked, oh, it's hard to get 60 votes. the president is the person who can push. he can lead on this issue if he chooses to. i don't know that he's going to. >> that's the big question. that's why i'm asking you.

i get that things have changed in terms of momentum. it doesn't mean the same people would go out and reward and punish candidates on the basis of their position here. that's a political calculation, we don't know where that is yet. >> i appreciate you bringing that up. we always hear about single issue voters on guns. i'm going to tell you something, chris, there are more and more single-issue voters, democrats and republicans for whom keeping kids safe is their priority, making our communities safer so people don't have to worry, moms don't have to worry when they send their kids off to school in the morning they might not come home. that for so many people now is becoming the single issue. that's why this is such a growing and really potent political force, and that political force is what ultimately is going to cause people, hopefully with the president's support, cause the

republicans in that room yesterday to go along with something significant that includes universal background checks. >> i hear you, congressman, and everybody who respects the democracy should want it to be influenced by the people who come out to the polls to vote to get what they want out of their representative. i'm saying we've been here before. it is different, but let's see what actions are taken and then it will be truly different. congressman, thank you for your perspective. you're always welcome on the show. >> thanks, chris. i appreciate it. a lot of big news. some of it made right here on this show. what do you say? it's thursday. let's get after it. >> he's going to go into a tailspin without her around. >> what we've seen from the very beginning of this administration is nothing but chaos. >> i don't think she was forced out. there's a shelf life working in the west wing. >> you're seeing jared kushner meeting with executives in the white house and the companies are giving very sizable mortgages to his company.

>> whose business is he doing when he's in the white house? >> jared kushner simply cannot continue in his present role. >> some of you people are petrified of the nra. if you add concealed carry to this, you'll never get it passed. >> mr. president, it's going to have to be you to bring the republicans to the table on this. >> we need to act. >> this is "new day" with chris cuomo and alisyn camerota. >> good morning, everyone. welcome to your "new day." it's thursday, march 1st, 8:00 in the east. two days of chaos in the white house. white house communications director hope hicks is resigning. she's still there, but will soon be gone. a source tells cnn that the president berated her for admitting to lawmakers that she tells, quote, white lies, end quote, on his behalf. adding to his turmoil, president trump attacking his own attorney general again for how he's handling allegations of surveillance abuses.