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tv   New Day Saturday  CNN  April 7, 2018 5:00am-6:00am PDT

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dreaming! definitely dreaming. then again, dreaming is how i got this far. now more businesses in more places can afford to dream gig. comcast, building america's largest gig-speed network. would you be willing to speak under oath to give your version? >> 100%. >> the president has begun preparing for a possible interview with robert mueller. >> should the president ever sit down with the special counsel? >> i think it is very dangerous for the president to do so. >> scott pruitt has been accomplishing the president's agenda and that has some on the opposing political side upset. >> no one other than the president has the authority to hire and fire members of his cabinet. it is a decision that he will
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make. >> the deployments that begun. >> president trump is planning to secure the border with up to 4,000 national guard soldiers. >> people tell me that they are fleeing violence or just trying to find a better life. good morning, everyone. i'm dianne gallagher in for christi paul. >> and i'm victor blackwell. good morning. let's start with live pictures of the white house. president trump is spending the weekend, a lot going on there 37. >> yeah, white house official telling cnn exclusively that the president's lawyers are now prepping him for a potential interview with robert mueller. >> although the president's advisors think this could expose him to perjury charges, the president has said many times that he wants to sit down with the special counsel. >> would you like to testify to robert mueller? >> i had like to. >> would you be willing to speak under oath to give your version
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of -- >> 100%. >> are you going to talk to mueller? >> i'm looking forward to it actually. >> you would do it under oath? >> i would do it under oath. >> dan merica is following the story. and what exactly preparations are under way for this interview? >> reporter: good morning. president trump is preparing for a possible interview with robert mueller according to one white house official and a source familiar with the preparations. now, one person says that the preparations are in their infan infancy. and worth noting that president trump hasn't officially agreed to sit down with mueller, but the fact that the preparations are happening show how the deliberations inside of trump's orbit are intensifying to decide whether or not it is worth to sit down with mueller. it will worry a host of people out side of the white house if he eventually does sit down with
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the special counsel because the president is known as somebody who usesuses hhyperbole. take a listen to what sarah huckabee sanders said this week. >> the president is working in conjunction with his legal team and i'd refer you to them on anything specific regarding that matter. we're continuing to be fully cooperative with the office of the special counsel. and we'll continue driving the same message that we've been driving for over a year that there was no collusion. >> reporter: we're also able to report that while president trump as you showed is telling reporters publicly he would like to sit down with mueller, behind the scenes he is equivocating a little bit more depending on who he is talking to. so while he is telling reporters yes i'd blik to sit down with
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mueller, he is not as certain behind the scenes. so that signals that the president may be aware of how high stakes this sitdown could be. >> dan merica, that you think y. let's talk about this. joining me now, paulcannon, legal analyst. phil mudd, counter terrorist analyst. and also kelly, should president trump sit down with mueller? >> a great question. the fact that even he himself is not sure and that apparently five high poweredturned down th to join his legal team. and that is highly unlegal. so clearly they are worried. i doubt that there was collusion on donald trump's part, but the fact that he is focusing on that
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is silly because that is not what robert mueller's team wants to talk to him about. they want to talk to him about what they did as president in team terms of did he fire people and why. and the fact that he is a little nervous about that says that he is worried about getting in trouble. >> and president trump's long time ally roger stone might agree with kelly jane, he had this to say last night. >> i thought it was perjury trap, that there is every possibility the special counsel is looking at some process related crime that doesn't relate to russia. i obviously believe the special counsel has a political bias as demonstrated by the fbi text messages and e-mails that have surfaced and political nature of this investigation. >> so paul, do you agree with that? the president has said that -- publicly at least he totally would testify under oath. >> you know, i know that that is what he says publicly, but
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frankly, i think it would be a catastrophic move for trump to testify. and all you have to do is look at how trump handles for instance these speeches when he's out talking to the base. he wanders around from subject to subject. he is not specific about anything. now, put that in the context of an interview with a totally prepped prosecutor, he is under oat, he hoe hoet oath, prosecutor pushing him to be specific. he was accused of lying 30 times undeath oth under oath in a deposition. i think it would be a huge error to subject himself for cross exam nation. >> and some of the topics that mueller says they may discuss, the firing of james comey,
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attorney general jeff sessions involvement in that firing and whether or not the president knew about the phone calls that former national security adviser n michael flynn made to the russian ambassador back in late 2016, so could answering any of those questions backfire for the president? it seems likepresident should d interview. >> one thing i've learned is never disagree with that lawyer in new york. he is pretty good. but let me tell you what is going to happen here. yes, any of those could get him in trouble for a couple reasons. first is that the personality reason. you saw it in west virginia this week. the president doesn't do detail and he doesn't do scripts. you will go into a conversation with prosecutors who have now spent nearly a couple years gathering data not only on from interviews, but from financial records, text messages, e-mail. so when they ask the president a question about what he did with michael flynn, what happened during the campaign, what he knew about his son's meeting with that russian lawyer a year and a half ago, they will know a
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ton of detail. and if i were the president's lawyer, i'd be concerned that not only would he not know the detail, but that he will say things that are diametrically opposed to what other witnesses have said. i agree if he walks into the room for let's say a four hour conversation with prosecutors, he will be in trouble. >> so kelly jane, then why does the president put this on publicly that he totally wants to? does he feel like it makes him look as if he is not associated with what is going on, he has nothing to hide? >> he is a businessman and we use argue when whether he is a good one or not, but a good businessman knows that confidence is everything. you want your opponent to think that you are confident and feeling good about things. and that is exactly what donald trump is doing here. but you know, listen, apparently the white house lawyers are trying to get the questions in advance. i have to say even if they did that, everyone if trump knows what they will ask him and if i
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were them i wouldn't give them every detail, remember this past week he threw his notes in the air on tax reform, you know, here i am, these are boring note, i'm throwing them off. you know what this guy will do. so even if he goes in knowing what they will ask, you know, he just can't mhelp himself. he loves drama and he doesn't have a long attention span. he does not read book ars or ev news stories. >> and kelly jane made the point that he only has two lawyers left. other law firms haven't wanted to join the team. so if the president does decide to speak to mueller, does having this lean legal team make a difference? >> it does make a difference. because if you are prepping properly for deposition or grand jury testimony, you have to sit down with lawyers for hours at a
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time, go over lots of documents. that are going to come up in a deposition. and he has to strip down legal staff now. i don't know that they have the manpower do it. and he set up huge public record with tweets and other depositions in civil cases. he's gone so far to say on public record that he believes in truthful hyperbole. that is his phrase. that is how he defines a lie. so he admits in the past he's laid numerous times. but he says when he says it, it is truthful hyperbole. as try that on mueller, he will be impeached and taken away in handcuffs. >> and phil, even if the president doesn't testify under oath, if he uses some of this to borrow the phrase truthful h
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hyperbole, that is still a crime. >> that's right, these are federal officials interviewing him. if you lie to an investigator during an investigation, that is a federal investigation and you've seen them in the mueller investigation already. so whether or not the president is under oath, he is still at risk. >> all right. paul, kelly jane, phil, thank you all for your expertise. some people watching this white house pretty closely speculated that epa head scott pruitt would not make it through the night, but this morning he is still on the job. >> that's right. and this is despite the list of controversies that he has racked up over the last week. the president did meet with pruitt on friday while some white house aides and dozens of democrats have called for pruitt's dismissal. even tony perkins defended the embattled epa head. >> here's what we know about scott pruitt. he has been accomplishing the president's agenda in more probably so than any other
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agency. and that has some on the opposing preliminary side upset, the fact that he worked to get us out of the paris being a covered, the president likes him, it's been good for business. yeah, are the left is upset and they will find everything that can. and if there is anything there, i believe that it will come out. but i don't think there is anything. >> one of the latest controversies involves the room pruitt represented from a lob i aboutist couple in washington. cnn confirmed when the couple could not get him to leave, they were forced to change the locks. >> ouch. all right. over to another political figure in hot water, representative blake farenthold resigning from congress. this happened on friday. farenthold is accused of using taxpayer dollars to settle claims against him. he is asked to still pay back the $84,000 that he paid. the annual trip that brings
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migrants through mexico is moving toward the u.s. border. we will go there to hear why they are coming and what steps the white house is taking to stop them. plus we have exclusive new details about another adviser to president trump trying to expose damaging information about hillary clinton during the presidential campaign. we have more on that just ahead. also he barely made the cut for this weekend, but to know tiger woods is to know not to count him out. can he make a comeback? we'll talk about that. for your heart...take sog or joints. but do you take something for your brain. with an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is the number one selling brain-health supplement in drug stores nationwide. prevagen. the name to remember.
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in their late teens. 14 our others were also injured. in mexico, asylum seekers are making their way across the country as they flee corruption and violence back home. >> and president trump has warned about the group earlier in the week, a so-called caravan that he says poses a threat to the united states. but we wanted to do a reality check on the president's comments. first about 200 or so migrants are expected to continue to the u.s., much smaller than the original group. it was organized by people without borders and they want to raise awareness about the dangers of the journey and this year's event is the largest ever with more than 1100 participants. leyla santiago is traveling with them. >> reporter: this is the caravan at the center of some of trump's tweets. takes ca it started on the southern part of mexico and headed north.
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when they started, they were about 1,000 to 1200 people and now a much smaller crowd. this is about a total of 500 central americans, again, making their way north. now, president trump has said that this is a dangerous caravan. so i want to show you the volunteers here have really sort of welcomed them providing meals for many of them. the priests and catholic churches have provided shelter and some of the shelters have also taken in some of the central americans who are heading north. again, this is an annual event. every year it starts off big and then they break off into smaller groups. president trump has said that the group has dispersed. and while it has gotten smaller, you can see behind me, there are still hundreds. seni senioria -- she is from adequ e
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guatemala. but because of the violence, she left. so she is going to stay here in mexico. she says she is going to 25tijua and she wants to stay there, make money and send in a back to guatemala to help her children that she left behind there. this is not the first time i've heard a story like this, the people here tell me that they are fleeing violence from either guatemala, he wiel salvador or honduras, fleeing a corrupt government or trying to go find a better job. so these central americans say that they will -- some of them -- again stay here in mexico, some will head to the u.s./mexico border.
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from mexico city, the organizers say that many will break off into smaller crowds, again some they say about 200 according to organizers will be making to the i u.s./mexico border, but we'll have to see how many make it there and if they will be able to seek acai luasylum. >> and that migrant group moving on as national guard troops are heading to the border. 250 service men and airmen will be deployed in the next 72 hours. >> and while president trump is touting his work on the issue, we have to point out here this has been done before at least twice. from 2006 to july 2008, president bush september some 6,000 national guardsmen to the border. a few years later, president obama stationed more than 1,000 troops there. >> polo sandoval is joining us.
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texas a mobilizing the national guard quickly, but what are we learning about what their responsibilities will be and what they will not do on the border? >> well, they will be filling those roles that they have during previous kdeployments to be the eyes and ear for the state agencies patrolling the border. meaning that they will be supporting law enforcement because they are unable or really they can't enforce certain laws which means that they won't be taking any immigration actions. yesterday the state of texas announcing that they are sending their first wave about 250 that left austin yesterday heading down to the southwest border. many ever these will be planning logistics, will be figuring out where some of these air and ground assets will be located along the border. and also yesterday in answer to a very important question that many people have been asking, will these troops carry weapons? >> so depending on the mission
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set, a soldier will be armed for self-defense. but again, it will depend on the mission set and what the requirements are through the department of homeland security. >> reporter: and this is just the first of many as we have heard from the white house, up to 4,000 national guard troops are expected to be positioned along the border. reaction has been mixed. we have heard from critics who are concerned that this could potentially send a message to the rest of the country or world that this administration has been militarizing the border although it has been done before. and of course thothere are show this. a rancher says that he welcomes this. so this is clearly something that we have seen before. but just as previous cases, certainly a controversial move on behalf of the administration. >> polo sandoval, thank you.
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all right. still to come, another adviser to president trump trying to get dirt on hillary clinton during the presidential campaign, this time though using information that was found on the dark web. those details just ahead. plus after being poisoned, a former russian spy is making incredible progress. spring travel deal on choicehotels.com like this. earn one free night when you stay just twice this spring. allergies. or, badda book. badda boom. book now at choicehotels.com when did you see the sign? when i needed to create a better visitor experience. improve our workflow. attract new customers. that's when fastsigns recommended fleet graphics. yeah! now business is rolling in. get started at fastsigns.com. yeah! now business is rolling in. whoamike and jen doyle?than i thought. yeah. time for medicare, huh. i have no idea how we're going to get through this. follow me.
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welcome back. i'm dianne gallagher. >> i'm victor blackwell. >> sources telling cnn that another adviser to president trump tried to expose damaging information about hillary clinton during the presidential campaign. >> joseph schmidt, former pentagon inspector general in george w. bush's administration, approached the fbi and other government agencies to remove e-mails from the dark web, he believed that they were hillary clinton's missing e-mails from a private server. jim sciutto has details. >> reporter: cnn has learned that a trurmg cmp campaign advi played a deal role in an effort to find hillary clinton's 30,000 deleted e-mails and reveal any damaging information within them.
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>> not easy being a whistleblow whistleblower. >> reporter: joseph schmidt was a foreign policy adviser to the campaign. seen here with then candidate trump in march 2016. meeting with officials at the fbi, state department and intelligence communities, he told them a source he called patriot mad discovhad discovere believed were the deleted e-mails. so he pushed to review and declassify the material so he and others could review it. all this according to multiple sources with direct knowledge. officials at the state department and inspector general briefly interviewed him, but declined to review or accept the information. the fbi also interviewed him as part of its ongoing investigation. this is the latest example of tru trump advisers mixed up in efforts to find dirt on clinton. steve bannon told the house
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intelligence committee in february that trump campaign staff were repeatedly contacted by outsiders suggesting ways to get the clinton e i will mails. an official says that the campaign does not comment. cybersecurity who also saw the material says it appeared to be fake based on where it was posted. i'm pretty sure that they were posted on the dark web equivalent of reddit. schmidt declined to comment. >> our thanks to jim sciutto for that report. we're joined now by our national security analyst and also our political analyst. ladies, good morning. samantha, of course all this happens with and in some context considering what we know about efforts on behalf of wikileaks
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and others to try to get information and e-mails and dirt to the trump campaign. could it be simply coincidental that these potentially fake e-mails got from the dark web to this gentleman's clients and then potentially to these officials? >> it seems like a little bit too much of a coincidence that all this he will legal material just coincidentally made its way to various members of the trump campaign at different junctures. we know that schmidt somehow had access to this material from the dark web from what we think was a client. we know that don jr. was contacted about the material. and we also know that papadopoulous was contacted by a russian professor purporting to have the material. so i think we're seeing a real pattern emerge and steve bannon alluded to this in his testimony before congress, people knew that members of the trump campaign were looking for and are open to receiving illegal
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content. so it wasn't a secret that they were open to receiving this kind of dirt. and actively pursuing it. so what that makes me wonder is why are these the kind of guys staffing guys on the trump campaign? this was not the "a" team and why would you want these people around you running your policy? >> so does it matter that this was potentially fake? is that what you attribute to the rejection from all of these agencies who wanted nothing to do with it? >> yeah, it matters. and i think what is really interesting here is is that he tried again and again and again through his contacts in government, you know, and then took to the house to see if he could, you know, expose this in some way. and he was relentless. and that was really -- i think that is kind of what is key here. that he really wanted to make this something. he wanted -- thought that this was something. and the fact that he is sort of into conspiracy theories i think
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probably raised some red flags with some people who have dealt with him in the past. so i think that that was also another noteworthy element here. >> but this is not a man without government experience, right, being the inspector general at the pentagon before joining this trump advisory team during the bush administration. so this is a man who in some ways is different than the other members ever this foreign policy team that we know was thrown together during the campaign. >> exactly. and i think that that is why they had to take him seriously that he was -- you know, he did have his pentagon experience and that is why he was able to kind of make these contacts with government officials and they have to sort of take it seriously in the beginning. but i think because that they were tracking it, because they knew that this was sort of the equivalent of what you could find on reddit, they kind of dismissed it because they didn't think that it had, you know, much -- they didn't think that there was much there. so i think that is why they had to. >> so what do you make of his going to the fbi, state
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department, intelligence community, inspector general, house in-spell againtel againli this was an effort to potentially use this as dirt? >> i don't think we really know. my gut is telling me that he went to these authorities because he wanted the material to be declassified so that he wouldn't lose his security clearance, but there is also the possibility and we don't know the details that he went to the appropriate authorities so that he didn't access it in a way that was illegal. so i think that that is still an outstanding request, but based upon what we know about the campaign again my gut is that there was such a desire to get access to this dirt on secretary clinton and to put these e-mails that were potentially an embarrassment out into the public space to further discredit her and to use it as a political strategy for winning the election. >> we know papadopoulous has already pleaded guilty as part of this probe by robert mueller. we expect that joseph schmidt
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will be called into answer some questions. >> i would think so. this is part of the larger bucket of rainwater, another grip in that bucket. and so i think, yes, this leads to a bigger trail of things. and you what is key shear that they all had contact with russian officials allegedly. we saw that with papadopoulous, with the professor. we're seeing that again with this individual. we think that -- we know that his firm obviously represents a russian airline. so there were, you know, ways that russians were trying to contact them allegedly here and i think that is what is clear. >> exclusive reporting. we'll see where it goes. thank you both. still ahead, he is the former russian spy believed to have been poisoned by his own country. and now sergei skripal is making a miraculous recovery. plus russia vows to respond harshly as the u.s. sures new
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former russian spy who along with his daughter was poisoned in a nerve agent attack is no longer in critical condition according to the hospital that is treating sergei skripal. >> the incident turned up the spotlight on russia's activities in the west and caused dozens of diplomats to be expel and now the u.s. is taking aim at members of vladimir putin's inner circle in the form of new sanctions. we want to bring in nic robertson. he is in moscow now. nic, let's talk about the former spy first.
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what can you tell us about the recovery that he is experiencing? >> reporter: what the hospital is saying right now is that he is out of critical condition. of course his daughter yulia was registered by the hospital as coming out of critical condition about a week ago. what does critical condition mean when the hospital says this? we've asked them that question. they say it means that the patient can talk. doesn't necessarily mean to say sergei skripal is sitting up in bed and talking. but it does seem to imply that there is a level of communication going on that wasn't there before. out of critical, improving rapidly, responding well. so all these indications are very positive indications for cripple oig. his daughter h skripergei skripal. we're told his daughter has been talking to the medical star. but i think underlying this, the
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british foreign office makes it clear that both of them are likely to continue to need medical assessments and help for some time to come. so getting better, yes. but clearly not fully recovered maybe a long way from it still. >> at least able to speak. doesn't say that he is conversation conversational. let's talk about the new sanctions on the wealthy russians close to putin. the government there is talking about resources for those facing these sanctions and a response to them. what are you learning? >> reporter: yeah, the foreign ministry here is saying that they will have a harsh response to these sanctions. they haven't outlined what they are yet. it is the easter weekend here. so perhaps we wouldn't get administer clarity on it. and if you look at state media last night, they spent about 30 seconds on this subject. it is a big issue.
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so i think that the very fact that it is not getting sort of a leading role in the news broadcast indicates that the government hasn't figured out pre-slcisely what their positio is. but the trade minister has said yes the government will support those affected, that they will be able to find ways to work around these sanctions. it is not clear what kind of impact they will have. some of the oligarchs involved have criticized them and have complained and said i haven't done anything wrong, why me. one major company, an arms ex-porter here that has been targeted who said that that is manipulation by the united states to stop them being able to sell their russian weapons. in respe so this furthers the united states in an advantageous position.
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>> nick rock bert s robertson, y much. coming in, tiger woods xwarly maxwa barely made the cut at the masters, but how will he fair today? we'll have to see. ters sumatra reserve told in the time it takes to brew your cup. let's go to sumatra. where's sumatra? good question. this is win. and that's win's goat, adi. the coffee here is amazing. because the volcanic soil is amazing. making the coffee erupt with flavor. so we give farmers like win more plants. to grow more delicious coffee. that erupts with even more flavor. which helps provide for win's family. and adi the goat's family too. because his kids eat a lot. all, for a smoother tasting cup of coffee. green mountain coffee roasters. packed with goodness. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient
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one of the most well-known pro golfers of all-time tiger woods barely made the cut as he enters round three of the masters today. >> so tiger has taken hope the green jacket four times before, but this year is different. he recently bounced back from a series of let's call them turbulent years. >> six months ago i didn't know if i'd be able to play in golf. and forget playing at the tour level. i didn't know that i'd be able to play again. but it is incredible to have the opportunity again just to be able to come out here and play this golf course here.
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and now on the weekend, even though i'm a lot mind, if i play a special weekend, two rounds in the mid-60s, you never know. >> joining us now is jeff benedict co-author of the book tiger woods. jeff, good to have you. >> good morning. >> so we know that it is almost i wouldn't say impossible, but unlikely that tiger would go home with his fifth green jacket, but talk about just making in cut now coming in to the third round. how remarkable it is considering the arc of his life and career over the last few years. >> yeah, i think if you put it in perspective a year ago he had spinal fusion. didn't know if he'd ever swing a club again or play even recreationally. ago, he was fou slumped over the wheel in south florida with a lot of pain prescription pills in his system. couldn't pass a simple field sobriety test. if you look at where he was just
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a short sometiminge ing ago and he is now, it is amazing that he is competing the way he is. i think you are seeing an incredible auturnaround and mor of a personal triumph of. he has been through an amazing series of events offer t the co. to battle back from there and playing at the masters is pretty amazing. >> do you think people are taking that into consideration? a lot of people are wondering what is going on? why is he so far behind at this point? that he can't win that fifth green jacket. should they cut him some slack a little? >> dating back to when tiger was two years old, there have always been great expectations put on his back starting with his dad who put these burdens on him that seemed impossible. some were impossible. but tiger has lived with that kind of thing all through
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childhood, all through his amateur years and college and through his pros. there have been these expectations that he will do something that has never been done because he always has. i think some of that is going on now. but probably more important is the expectations that he's played on mts. f position. i think he has sort of taken control of his own narrative and he is more measured right now and more incremental. he is talking about being happy that he is playing, that he is competing and little by little he is getting better and better. >> and i remember when i was working back in florida and the organizer of the players championship when tiger announced that he would be playing that year, almost came to tears being able to say that tiger will be playing this year because he is so good for business for these tournaments. we're seeing ticket prices rise now that tiger is back out there and doing pretty womeell. >> there is no question that he moves the needle more than
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anyone else in golf, i'd say more than anyone else in sports in general. the whole sports wourld got xci playing on the pga tour again for the first time in a long time. athletes were weighing in on twitter. for the networks it is huge because he draws more eyeballs than anyone. for the tournaments it is great because more people buy ticket and come out to see him. the fact is that he is the biggest draw in golf and in sports. he always has been and he still is. >> jeff benedict, good conversation. good to have you this morning. >> thank you. so with all the turmoil in the white house, is the president's wardrobe an issue really? really? >> some are asking. they want to know what is going on with the commander in chief's pants. and instead of us weighing in, i think we'll let jeanne moos explain. >> reporter: he's got a big personality.
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he has big ma hair. and now big pants? vanity fair asked the pressing question what is going on with tum trump's pant legs? the president has been photographed with what the magazine calls enormous pants legs. thecircumference of aed to lir's heli toddler's change. is the president gaining weight or losing height? or just in need of a tailor? trump wrote i wear suits which i buy off the rack. remember the last 234rflap over presidential pants? >> good you are not the mom, you are the -- >> dad jeans. >> reporter: whatever you call them, they are not president trump's problem. >> he has incredibly good genes. >> reporter: but there is one guy with a leg up on president
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trump. forget nuclear button size. look at these babies. one twitter user launched the dear leader with the caption final inflation test for the new kim jong balloon. it inspired a british journalist to create #kim jung-un trouser watch. another likened his limbs to a pair of those inflatable wind dancers. forget the arms race. we're talking a legs race. one president trump would probably rather lose at least when the politifact pants on fire lights up over the president e's latest untrooet. he' truth. he'll have more pants to burn. and if it is money you want to burn, these jogging pants will set you back 50 bucks. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. can find anything on the internet. >> you sure can.
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really. all right. that is it for us. we'll see you back here at 10:00 for an hour of newsroom. >> smerconish starts right after this short break.
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i'm michael smerconish in philadelphia. we welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. president trump has begun informally preparing for a possible interview with robert mueller. though he has been told he is not a target, should he find that

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