hello. i'm jim sciutto in today for wolf blitzer. 1:00 p.m. here in washington. wherever you're watching from around the world, thank you for joining us. really an extraordinary day of news. first, as the president gets ready to arrive at the nato summit, he calls russia's vladimir putin not an adversary but just a competitor and says that their summit could be easier than the one with u.s. allies. the fight begins over the president's supreme court nominee. why democrats are sounding the alarm that brett kavanaugh and the russia investigation are on a collision course. and triumph in the darkest of places.

crews safely pulling all of the boys and their coach from a cave just before heavy rains move in. hear about how they're doing now. but we begin with battle lines both here in the u.s. and the world stage. senate democrats are gearing up to fight president trump's nominee for the supreme court. brett kavanaugh started making the rounds on capitol hill today, and president trump arrives in brussels soon for what is expected to be a contentious nato summit. the president accusing the alliance of failing to pay its fair share when it comes to defense spending. he sounded off on that and more before leaving for brussels. >> nato has not treated us fairly, but i think we'll work something out. we have a long, beautiful week. i have nato. i have the uk, which is in somewhat turmoil. and i have putin. frankly, putin may be the easiest of them all. who would think? boris johnson's a friend of mine. he's been very, very nice to me,

very supportive. i get along with him very well, have a very good relationship. that's certainly up to the people, not up to me. brett kavanaugh's gotten rave reviews. i think it's going to be a beautiful thing to watch over the next month. i actually do have a little gift for him, but you'll find out what that gift is when i give it. well, i have a solution. tell people not to come to our country illegally. the people that are fighting i.c.e., it's a disgrace. there is nobody under greater danger than the people from i.c.e. democrats want open borders, and they don't mind crime. >> there you go. a long list there. cnn white house correspondent katelyn collins is at the site of the nato summit in brussels. the president says that vladimir putin could be the easiest meeting that he will have this week. a remarkable thing to say when the president is about to meet

with america's closest allies for decades. what exactly is he saying about putin compared to what he's saying about u.s. allies? >> reporter: well, it's a stunning contrast there, jim. you see the president talking so friendly about vladimir putin while saying, foreshadowing that nato could be a very testy summit, which is exactly what these european leaders who are awaiting the president when he arrives in brussels have feared, that the president is going to come here, have a very testy summit with them, and then at the end of the week wrap up with this very friendly one-on-one with the russian president vladimir putin. you can hear it in the president's language when he talks about what the week is going to look like. listen to what he said as he headed for brussels just this morning. >> it's going to be an interesting time in the uk, and it's certainly going to be an interesting time with nato. nato has not treated us fairly, but i think we'll work something out. we pay far too much, and they pay far too little. but we will work it out, and all

countries will be happy. >> reporter: so once again, you can see there, jim, the president being very combative when discussing nato. he seems like he's ready to come here and get into a fight about defense spending. we heard the eu chief donald tusk actually fire back, telling the president he needed to appreciate his allies because according to danonald tusk, he doesn't have that many. >> and it's worth reminding people that the u.s. and its nato allies, they're fighting and dying in places like afghanistan, together on the battlefield. the president was asked about vladimir putin, of course, and whether he considers putin a friend or a foe. here's how he responded to that question. >> as far as i'm concerned, a competitor. he's a competitor. i think that getting along with russia, getting along with china, getting along with others is a good thing, not a bad thing. >> you know, particularly at a time when it is believed it's russia behind possibly another

murder on uk soil with a nerve agent, how is a statement like that, a position like that from the u.s. president likely to go over with nato allies? >> reporter: well, jim, it likely won't go over well. these are european leaders who are ready to call vladimir putin a foe for what he's done. consider the united states, meddling in the election, invading crimea, the poisoning of the former russian spy. there are so many things they could easily rule out that vladimir putin is not a friend, that he is a foe, but the president wouldn't even go as far as that there. once again, we are seeing how the president is praising his adversaries while battling his allies here, and we're expecting more of that in the coming days when the president does finally arrive here in brussels tonight. >> yeah, not seeing many republicans call him out for that either. thanks very much. for democrats back in the states, the battle is on as supreme court nominee brett

kavanaugh made the rounds capitol hill. democrats on the judiciary committee were making their case against him. outside the supreme court, they took aim at kavanaugh's views on presidential power, abortion, and more. senate minority leader chuck schumer issuing a rallying cry. >> for every american who cares about women's health, about protections for people with pre-existing conditions, about civil rights, labor rights, lgbtq rights, environmental rights, now is the time to fight. now. now is the time for american people to make their voices heard loudly, clearly, from one end of this country to the other. >> cnn congressional reporter lauren fox is on capitol hill now. so lauren, do democrats -- well, they don't have the numbers, of course. minorities have to get at least

one republican to come over to their side. what does the math look like right now? >> reporter: well, part of the issue for democrats is the fact that majority leader mitch mcchrystal co mcdonald does not need a single democrat to vote for this nominee to push him forward. this is an issue that mobilizes the democratic base, but the issue for red-state democrats, lawmakers who are facing re-election in a couple of months in states that president trump won easily in 2016, those folks are going to have a hard road ahead. senators like heidi heitkamp of north dakota, senator joe donnelly of indiana, or senator joe manchin of west virginia. watch closely as those members move forward over the next few weeks. they all said they want to look over kavanaugh's record. they want to meet with him. and they want to see where he stands on the issue of health care and what he would do about people with pre-existing conditions. that is a clear issue for red-state democrats, but all

eyes are on them in the next few weeks anticipate months ahead as they move forward with this nomination. >> okay. so that's the democrats. how about on the republican side? who are the republicans to watch there? >> reporter: well, there are a few moderate republicans we have our eye on. one of them, senator lisa murkowski of actiolaska. she's voted on issues like abortion rights and health care with democrats. she told me she has questions about kavanaugh's history and experience. here's what she said specifically about the issue of roe v. wade and whether she's confident kavanaugh would uphold that decision. >> i don't have an impression on judge kavanaugh as to where he may fall on the issue of abortion, as well as the many other issues that i will weigh as we move forward with this process. so again, that's why i think all

of us need to be doing our due diligence. >> reporter: senators on both sides of the aisle here clearly have their work cut out for them as they try to hold their caucuses together. a lot to watch for over the next couple weeks, jim. >> lauren fox on the hill, thanks very much. we're joined now by vermont senator patrick leahy. he's a democrat on the judiciary committee. senator leahy, thanks so much for joining us this morning. kbro you've been around the block on supreme court nominations before. you've been involved in, i believe, every one for a number of years. tell us what brett kavanaugh -- go ahead, senator. >> i was going to say, i've been involved in 17 of them. i'll answer your question in a second, but i was listening to the earlier part and what the president was saying about nato. i wish he would read even one or two history books and realize that nato has been a ball work

against his friends, the russians. he praises putin and criticizes, for example, the prime minister of canada, one of the closest allies we have. that's not good diplomacy. >> i was going to ask you about that, but since you brought up russia, let me ask you this. as you know, some of jyour senae colleagues went to russia last week. in fact, they were in moscow on july 4th, of all times. some came back with conciliatory words about russia, particularly in light of the number of the ways that russia has tried to undermine the u.s. and nato. were you disappointed by their visit and their statements on their return? >> they have a right to go where they want. i was in vermont meeting with constituents on fourth of july. i heard a lot of people, republicans and democrats alike, expressing grave concerns about russia, grave concerns about what russia has done to try to influence our elections.

>> okay. so that's russia. set that aside for a moment, if we can. go back to the supreme court nominee. as you've said, you've been involved with 17 nominees before. tell us what brett kavanaugh on this court would mean, particularly for the issues people back home care about, whether it's a woman's right to choose or on gun control. where do you see him on the ideological spectrum and how he would move this court? >> he's obviously the most political nominee we've seen sent up for the supreme court in decades. what bothers me is the supreme court is supposed to be an independent branch of government. it's not supposed to be there for liberals or conservatives, republicans or democrats, but for all americans. the white house is trying to make it an arm of the white house for a minority of americans. and that's wrong.

it's spoesupposed to be an independent branch of government. certainly he's going to have to answer to a lot of the things he wrote when he was with the republican administration, things he said about the president being exempt from our criminal laws, things he said about guantanamo, torture, and so forth. i think it's unfortunate to politicize the supreme court. i voted for both republican and democratic nominees in the past and voted against some in the past. i voted for those who i thought would keep the supreme court out of politics. >> will you vote against brett kavanaugh? >> i'm going to go through all his writings and then i will decide. but if his writings and if his statements indicate he's going to continue the same very narrow political view and that the white house thinks he's going to carry out a white house agenda,

y i don't know how anybody could vote for him. >> democrats have two head winds. one, if the republicans can keep their caucus together, they get the 50 votes. plus, you have some red-state democrats, as my colleague was explaining, who might feel some political pressure at home to also vote for this nomination. in light of that, do democrats have the numbers to hold this up? >> let's have the hearings. you know, i was a prosecutor. i always believed in having the trial and then see what the jury does rather than the other way around. so let's see what he does. i know the republicans have rubber stamped some judges that they never would have allowed through under other administrations, and that's disappointing. i also see republicans that say the president should have nominated merrick garland back when democrats were in the

majority. well, when president obama did nominate merrick garland, they said, oh, wait a minute, we can't vote for somebody nominated by barack obama. and for the first time in the history of this country, they refused to have a vote. >> final question, just quickly. if you can't reject his nomination, do democrats -- will democrats attempt to delay the vote until after the midterm elections? >> i have no idea. let's -- we need to have time for a thorough hearing as required. he's got thousands of pages of memos he wrote when he was in a republican white house. he certainly has his other writings. we should review that. obviously the lobbying group that's for him has reviewed it because they basically told president trump you've got to nominate this person because among other things, he'll repeal

roe versus wade. >> senator patrick leahy, thanks for taking the time. >> thank you. well, under way right now, some of the immigrant children separated from their parents at the border are being reunited, but the trump administration likely will miss a key deadline, which is just hours away. plus, new pardons from the president. why he's giving passes to the oregon ranchers at the center of a stand-off between the u.s. government and a sometimes violent militia. and take a look at the heroes. these divers here, they were among those who just pulled out all of those trapped boys and their soccer coach from that cave in thailand. hear what happened in the very final moments of that rescue. high protein

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happening right now, the reunions of some of the youngest migrant children separated from the their parents at the u.s. border, a justice apartment attorney said just about half of the nearly 100 children under 5 will rejoin their parents today. these are pictures of some of those kids being transferred from government care, a last-ditch attempt by the trump administration to extend today's deadline, which it looks like it will fail to meet. cnn correspondent scott mclain is following the story in phoenix, arizona, where reunifications are happening. what can you tell us about the reunions happening there and how many do you expect to see today? >> reporter: hey, jim. so we are outside one of those children's shelters here in the phoenix area, where some of those kids separated from their parents have been living for the

last weeks and months. according to a source with knowledge of this situation, these white vans you see behind me here, they are being prepped to move some of these kids to be reunited with their parents. we haven't seen any kids just yet, but we have seen an infant child car seat being loaded into one of those vans. we were here a couple hours ago as well early this morning, where about five kids we saw being loaded into those vans. my colleague saw a similar scene at a separate shelter where about half a dozen kids were loaded into a van along with their backpacks and at least one teddy bear. there may be some older kids involved as well, who are going to be reunited with their parents today. those kids are ones that have younger siblings. so the family can be together as one unit. now, southwest key, they're the operator of these children's shelters. they put out a statement today saying their staff, they were in early this morning to get these kids prepped and ready to go, to pack their backpacks, give them a hug. they said all the staff got a hug back from these kids.

they said the kids were excited to be reunited with their families. of course, the staff, they were excited to see them go as well. now, two of the vans from this morning, from those two separate shelters that i mentioned, jim, they ended up at an i.c.e. facility not far from here, just north of downtown phoenix. it is an i.c.e. enforcement and removal operation center. the big question in all of this, of course, is how many kids will be reunited with their parents and still be detained with their families? how many might be deported out of the country, and how many might be released somewhere into the united states while they await their court day? that's very much an open question at this point, jim. >> do they know where all those kids are? scott mclean, thanks for following that in phoenix. i want to bring in the acting director of the immigrations customs enforcement, better known as i.c.e., during the obama administration. scott, thanks for taking the time -- john, to join us today. as you've heard, the government

is failing to meet a deadline that's been imposed by a court to reunite these youngest children separated, those under the age of 5. does the government know where all these children are? >> well, i think the government knows where all the children are. what i think the government -- what it looks like the government failed to do was adequately keep records matching the children to the parents. so they're doing things like dna testing to try to validate parentage. >> so they lost -- this is one of those details lost in the conversation. the parents did not keep track of which children belonged to which parents? >> yeah, the government didn't, right. look, this is part of the problem, i think, when you execute a very big policy change like this without adequate planning. remember, the children go into the custody of hhs. the parents stay in the custody of dhs. i think that's where the problem was created. there was a failure to kind of capture which children belonged to which parents. so that's part of the scramble here. frankly, the other part of the scramble is this administration seems really intent on finding a way to continue to detain these

parents and then bring the children back into detention facilities, something that the courts have made clear that they're not allowed to do. >> so they don't want to -- this is what has been -- i always feel this is an insensitive phrase for it, but they don't want this catch and release policy after they've been detained at the border, to then release them pending a court hearing. >> that's exactly right. i think the problem with the catch and release term is it implies the people get a free pass into the united states. that's 234not true. they remain in deportation proceedings. more importantly, the united states controls the pace of those hearings. we're three weeks out since the president ordered the families be reunited. two weeks out since the court in san diego followed up with its own order. this all could have been done very quickly had we release td e parents. it could have been done in a way that does not constitute amnesty. >> you heard the president

earlier before he left this morning for nato. he said the solution to the problem is don't come into the country illegally. are you concerned that this president and administration is not really feeling any urgency to reunite these families? >> well, i think that's clear in the fact that it's been three weeks since the president did order that the families be reunited. there's a very simple solution. instead, the administration is going out of its way to find a way to detain these families together. look, it's not just the courts that are blocking them from doing that. the fact is i.c.e. doesn't have the beds available. i.c.e. has 3,000 beds nationwide that are suitable to detain families. those beds have long since been filled. this idea of building very quickly facilities on department of defense bases, that's not going to work because there's no funding. they're not going to get any funding from congress. i just don't know why they're delaying the inevitable here. let's go ahead and get this over with. release the parents, put them on an ankle bracelet. make sure their hearings move quickly. we enforce the law and do it a lot cheaper and more humanely.

>> john, thanks very much. >> thanks. well, in the good news category, all 12 boys who were trapped nearly three miles into that cave in thailand for 18 days, all of those boys have now been rescued. their coach as well. we have new details about how it happened and how those boys are doing. plus, their case inspired a militia stand-off, a violent stand-off with the government. now two oregon ranchers who set fire to federal land just received pardons from president trump. we'll discuss. ♪

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call or go on line today. well, it's being called the apollo 13 of rescues. all members of a thai youth soccer team trapped in a flooded cave for more than two weeks are now safe. divers pulled the last four boys out and their coach earlier today. you can see them there being taken to hospital in ambulances. the last group of rescuers, that is three remaining divers and a doctor, followed them out. the thai navy s.e.a.l.s posted this photo a short time ago, bringing to an end a massive, complicated, really a miraculous operation that's captured headlines and hearts, you might say, around the world. cnn international correspondent matt rivers is outside the hospital in thailand where those boys have been taken for observation and treatment.

listen, matt, you've been there for a number of days. it's the kind of story that must be heartwarming to watch unfold. tell us what we know about the boys' conditions but also have their parents been able to see them and talk to them since they've gotten out? >> reporter: yeah, so what we saw this afternoon -- or late this evening, jim, would be boys 9, 10, 11, and 12 actually go down this road behind me. that's the hospital where they're in right now, followed by their coach. that means the entire team is now inside that hospital. in terms of their conditions, we don't know exactly yet. we know they're getting a number of tests done, blood work. they're going to be testing for dehydration. we do know that they're in an isolated unit inside that hospital. there's a risk that their immune systems have been weakened, and as a result, they're more susceptible to infection. so authorities are saying, look, we want this recovery to go as smoothly as possible. so they are actually quarantining these kids and their coach for about seven days or so. so to your question about

parents, they can't actually come and give their kids a hug, even after all of this. they can come to the hospital, but they have to look at their children through a glass partition. so that's about as close as they can get. but you know, after this horrific ordeal in that cave, i think even though the parents would want to give the kids a hug, i think they're going to take just about anything they can get at this point. >> well, for sure. and when they do get to see them, that's going to be quite a hug. matt riverss, thanks very much. we should remember that despite all that good news, there was one diver that lost his life in this, a former thai navy s.e.a.l. well, the president has fired national security adviser to pled guilty to lying to federal investigators appears in court today with a judge demanding answers on his cooperation with special counsel robert mueller. we'll tell you what happened. plus, we just told you the government originally said about half of those youngest children separated from their parents would be reunited today. well, actually, we've just found out it's fewer than that. just hours before a court-imposed deadline, the

trump administration now says only 38 of those children under 5 years old are now expected to be reunited today as a federal judge ordered. we're going to have more on that breaking news just ahead. almost $800 when we switched our auto and home insurance. with liberty, we could afford a real babysitter instead of your brother. hey! oh, that's my robe. is it? when you switch to liberty mutual, you could save $782 on auto and home insurance. and still get great coverage for you and your family. call for a free quote today. you could save $782 when liberty stands with you. liberty mutual insurance.

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michael flynn, the president's former national security adviser, appeared in court today, the first time we have seen him since he pled guilty in december to lying to federal investigators.

the judge called them in today, wanting to check up on the sentencing proceedings for michael flynn, which has been delayed a number of times by the special counsel. cnn's justice correspondent evan perez is with me now. you were there at the courthouse today. there was some talk going into this the judge might be trying to slap down the special counsel, et cetera, but what happened today? >> none of that happened. the judge -- it was basically just over a ten-minute hearing. his concerns seem to be more focused on the probation office and about some procedural things that were happening behind the scenes. jim, he basically just asked flynn's lawyers to say exactly what was happening behind the scenes. he didn't really ask them to explain anything. and he set august 24th for another update. ser essentially what is going on behind the scenes is continued cooperation. >> we know flynn is cooperating. >> flynn has agreed to cooperate as part of his plea agreement

back in december with special counsel robert mueller. until he gets sentenced, that is the job he has essentially. he did look a little tan today in court, was wearing his red tie. he looked like he's, you know, really having a good time. >> and if the special counsel's delaying his call for sentencing here, do we then presume that he's getting more information from michael flynn or just wanting to keep that option open? >> it's quite possible what is happening behind the scenes is mueller's investigation is still continuing, and so the special counsel doesn't want to say what, if anything, mike flynn has provided to aid that investigation. so he's trying to keep the cards close to the vest until that time is necessary. look, until flynn is sentenced, he has to keep cooperating. he has to abide by that agreement that he's agreed to with the special prosecutor. so look, the judge made it clear that he is not making -- he's not urging the government and

flynn's lawyers to wrap this up any faster than they need to do it. so he made it clear they can take as much time as they need. >> all right. not the best news for the president. evan perez, thanks very much. did president trump pick his supreme court nominee to foil the russia informatiovestigatio? that is what some democrats are claiming as brett kavanaugh's past views on executive power could play a role in the president's fate. plus, new pardons from the president. why he's giving passes to the oregon ranchers at the center of a violent stand-off between the government and a militia. ♪

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the confirmation battle is already in full swing on capitol hill for president trump's new supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh. kavanaugh met today with vice president mike pence and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. if confirmed, kavanaugh would cement a conservative majority on the high court. he has the power to shift the course of history. that's not an overstatement. cnn legal analyst joins us now to break it all down. joan, tell us what influence he's going to have. >> right from the start he's going to have a lot of influence because anthony kennedy was a true swing vote. i'm not sure if we're ever going to have another swing vote on this court like anthony kennedy. jim, you know it came down to justice kennedy's vote on abortion rights, affirmative action, on some death penalty cases. when the senate confirms him, if the senate confirms him, he'll definitely have a gravitational pull to the right for this supreme court. >> so tell us more about his experience then.

>> okay. his experience, he started off right away -- he's been -- he's a classic washington insider. in terms of experience that you're asking about, you know, he came up through the supreme court as a law clerk to justice kennedy. he worked in the solicitor general's office. then he handled some of the most controversial issues over the last two decades. he was right at the center of the clinton impeachment process as an associate counsel to ken starr, who ran the investigation of president bill clinton. he actually wrote some of the more sexually charged questions that prosecutors wanted to ask bill clinton about his affair with monica lewinsky. and then he also helped write the 1998 starr report that went to the hill that led to the impeachment in the house of representatives but an acquittal in the senate of bill clinton. and then you also had -- he was part of elian gonzalez's representation in 2000. you also had up there bush v.

gore, that most people will remember decided the presidency in 2000 after the florida election recount. >> joan, thanks very much for breaking it down for us. >> sure, thank you. well, just in now, we have some news. cnn learning that michael cohen, the president's former lawyer, long-time fixer, feels that there is a strong parallel in himself to john dean, the former white house counsel under president richard nixon, who eventually became the star witness against president nixon in watergate. two sources close to cohen adding that dean eventually stepped up and told the truth, not for his career or fear of going to jail, but because it was the right thing to do. the sources said it's the same for cohen. it's about doing the right thing, serving yourself and your country. to discuss this now, we have cnn political reporter nia malika henderson, jeffrey toobin, and cnn legal analyst carrie cordero.

is this john dean 2.0? >> he could be if he has incriminating information about donald trump that could be corroborated and proved. that's what happened with john dean. john dean became the principle witness establishing there was a watergate cover-up, then his testimony was vindicated when the white house tapes came out. i don't know what michael cohen knows. i don't know if he knows anything incriminating about donald trump. he hasn't said anything incriminating so far. certainly this is a tantalizing suggestion by people close to him, but it doesn't prove anything in and of itself. >> carrie, you've dealt as a prosecutor with a lot of witnesses, i imagine, and people have changes of heart for different reasons. michael cohen has been unabashedly president trump's biggest supporter for years. called him the greatest president in u.s. history. now he's changing his tune. what would cause someone to do that? he's afraid to go to jail? >> well, the motivation for mike

co cohen, jeffrey is exactly right. what information of value does michael cohen have? in the public, we don't know what that is. the motivation for somebody to cooperate is what jeopardy they're facing and whether or not he is facing serious legal jeopardy in terms of time in jail, which would affect his family, affect the rest of his life, obviously, and so we don't even -- michael cohen hasn't been charged with anything. so we don't know what potential whether he really will face face federal charges and if so whether those have anything at all to do with his involvement with the trump organization and donald trump or whether if that's his own financial business issues. >> if you are going to get yourself out of legal jeopardy when you are facing charges, you have to offer something of value, right? you can't nicely say well, i am going to tell the truth now. >> i am continuing to question of this public drawing out of

information how he may have. if you really have information of value and you really want to corroborate with prosecutorpros the way to do that is to do it quietly through your lawyer through the u.s. attorney's office. >> he's just pissed. he wants to strike back at that and people are, you may have noticed this, jim, they are human beings and they get angry and offended and hurt. that's a factor. >> if i can switch gears here. a lot of news today. the president pardon two men today. two ranchers who were the center of really violent conflict with federal authorities. they lit fire to federal land by doing that and threatened the lives of federal officers there and the president here pardoned them. why? >> that's something that his base have been talking about and

it is something that the white house, these two men served their time and they feel like they gotten too much time. it was four years or three years for another one. he has been issuing political pardons, right? sheriff joe arpaio is on that list and he issue pardons to famous people and stallone and jack johnson and alex marie jackson and kim kardashian pleaded with him. >> more broadly and people see this and trump liking to wave his magic wand and exercising that power and whether or not he's signaling something else of all the folks that's involved with the russian investigation. >> as the president involved in the investigation and people

close to him have been charged with crimes, would we not c conclude that the president is signaling some of those folks reminding them that he has the ability to pardon them. >> no other president in recent history have used the pardon in this way. they used to be this orderly process for applying to the justice department for a pardon and you know or lengthy review process. it is not required, it is just how the president have done it. this has been an operation where he pardons his friends or friend of his friend. if you are paul manafort or michael cohen, though they are in strange relationshi right no you may think i am next on the list and i don't have to worry about going to prison and he'll take care of it. >> when you have these comments for cohen and this unusual public airing of all these

issues and questions and so son to imagine that there is some signaling back to hey, how about me for a pardon. >> on one handed that maybe the president have found one narrow area of executive authorities that's unchecked and he has grasp onto that particular authority. it is also interesting to come the day after the kavanaugh nominati nomination. brett cakavanaugh is a mainstre conservative republican who could have been nominated by any republican party. this pardon does seem to tailor to the base of the president. i find it interesting that they took place the next day. >> throw a bone. >> who knows. >> i think it is possible. >> terry and jeffery, as always, thank you very much. president trump is soon landing to brussels for the nato

summit. he says vladimir putin is not a foe and the meeting is easier with him than america's closest allies. the details is next.

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with me. president trump is about to landato brussels. the president took fresh aim at nato members for not meeting target for defend spending. it appears that the president is in a comfortable territory. the president is meeting with theresa may and the queen that seems to be most looking forward to his one-on-one sit down with russia's vladimir putin. >> i think we'll work something out. we pay far too much and they pay far too little wech. we'll work it out. so i have nato, i have the u.k. which is in some what turmoil. i have putin. frankly putin may be the easiest of them all, who would