them, not so much. we let you keep an eye on your business from anywhere. the others? nope! get internet on our gig-speed network and add voice and tv for $34.90 more per month. call or go on line today. welcome to "inside politics." i'm dana bash. john king has the day off. if you felt a little tremble this morning it was coming from a diplomat earthquake set off by president trump shaking key alliances in a way we haven't seen in almost a century. plus the vice president is visiting the midwest this hour. can he calm trade worries from american farmers? and the president's supreme court pick is meeting with more republican senators this hour. the administration is walking a fine line between campaign

promises for an anti-abortion nominee and the need to get this one confirmed with a razor-thin majority. >> and that was though focus -- >> well, i do, but i haven't been nominated to the supreme court. >> you campaigned so aggressively on finding a nominee who would overturn roe vs. wade. do you feel confident? can you assure the people who voted for you on that notion that this is the man who will do that? >> what i can assure people that voted for susthat this will continue to be a pro-life administration. >> we begin in prubrussels at t nato summit. president trump is stepping onto the world stage by kicking u.s. allies. the president promised to be the disruptor in chief, and he sure is delivering. he's upending diplomatic protocol. he met one on one with german chancellor angela merkel after

publicly scolding germany and nato members on military spending. >> in many countries -- oh, a tremendous amount of money for years back where they're delinquent because the united states has had to pay for them. i have to bring it up because it's very unfair to our country and our taxpayers, and i think that these countries have to step it up, not over a ten-year period. they have to step it up immediately. >> if you think that's jarring, listen to what he said specifically about germany. >> now, if you look at it, germany is a captive of russia because they got rid of their coal plants, their nuclear. they're getting so much of the oil and gas from russia. i think it's something nato has to look at. i think it's very inappropriate. you and i agree that it's inappropriate. i don't know what you can do about it now but it certainly doesn't seem to make sense that they take billions of dollars

from russia and we have to defend them against russia. >> the president's blistering criticism of nato allies comes just days before his meeting with russian president vladimir putin whom he has not criticized in recent days. cnn's jeff zeleny is at the nato summit in brussels. jeff it must just be absolutely wild to be there watching the president be trumpian on steroids. >> no question. what we heard from the president, those words from president trump up ending the world order at least since the second world war going directly and sharply after germany. this is not the first time president trump has done this, but it was that suggestion that germany is a -- essentially a captive to a russia because of energy needs the president is really opening a new line of confrontation here. at the very outset of this meeting. at issue here, vladimir putin is not here at the nato summit in

brussels, of course, but he's looming large over this meeting. it was shortly after the president had those words he was meeting face-to-face with angela merkel. he did not say that directly to the cameras. instead, he had these words. >> we have a very, very good relationship with the chancellor. a tremendous relationship with germany. tremendous success, and i congratulate you. tremendous success. and i believe that our trade will increase and lots of other things will increase. but we'll see what happens over the next period of a few months. >> so the president did say that he actually did bring up the pipeline issue, but he did not say if he brought up any more than that in the meeting. the reality here, there are strong suggestions the president is trying to do some misdirection here. of course, he's been accused of being too friendly to vladimir putin so trying to suggest that germany is beholden to this as

well. but angela merkel had a response to that. she grew up in east germany. she knows what it's like to be captive to the soviet union. she defended germany as very independent and modern so the state of their relationship tonight as these leaders are having dinner and meeting here again certainly in question. >> i think the technical word for that, jeff is projection. we'll talk about that and a whole lot more. thank you, jeff. here with our panel and here to share their reporting and insights, nia-malika henderson, michael bender, molly ball and carl holtz from "the new york times." we knew this was what he promised. we knew that he was going to shake things up. it doesn't make it any less jarring for american -- for the people american and for these leaders to go into a meeting where usually the most earth-shattering word that is used in these diplomatic meetings we had a frank discussion to this.

>> it wasn't sort of probably the most -- supposedly the most pleasant part of this. things hadn't really gotten under way and he comes out with this real attack against angela merkel, against germany, against germans. against german americans. he has telegraphed this. he's been talking about this idea that americans are taking advantage of for decades. at least since the late '80s, early '90s and all throughout his campaign. this idea that americans were suckers. he was going to come ride to the rescue and end everything and make it right. the question is, we see the up ending part. we don't know what the make it right is. we don't know what bull is in the china shop. does he put it back together? he's going to be over there and be with theresa may and putin so we'll see what happens. >> exactly. and there 24 issues that this

morning he was conflating. probably intentionally, but he was conflating. one is the question of military spending, of these nato countries paying their fair share. and this -- that was his big -- one of his big thakeaways. i want to give the reality of what is being paid by these countries. the u.s. is paying more, 3.5%. this is a percentage of the gdp. uk, 2%. the goal is, or the requirement is 2%. france, almost there, 1.8%. germany is 1.24%. not there but not so far away. canada about the same. >> and the other thing that he said that was kind of puzzling was he described these as if they were dues that were paid into a fund when, in fact, it is the percentage of the national budget that's spent on defense with the idea being that in order for this alliance to be a robust pact, mutual defense, all of these countries have to have

a military that's adequate to that task, should push come to shove. you know, i think this is not the first time that trump has said this, and in his view, it is working because a lot of these countries have increased their defense budgets in the wake of his criticisms over the last year and a half and trump's whole philosophy, i think he sees these nato allies like the republicans in congress. there are so-called allies and they are supposed to be on our side and it doesn't matter how much you insult them. they're going to still need you so they can't actually walk out of the relationship and in the end they may have to do what you say. >> that's an interesting analogy. probably right about that. so i mentioned the one is defense spending. the other where he was really harsh was specifically on germany and this was on the idea of energy, which, by the way, is sort of a commercial issue. it's not a military issue. what he said, as you're looking at those numbers. he claimed germany will have

almost 70% of their country controlled by russia with natural gas. the reality is what you're seeing on this. broadly eu imports, 37% of its natural gas from russia. as for germany, 35% of its natural gas from russia. >> trump feels like the -- that the u.s. is bearing too much of a burden when it comes to military endeavors around the world. he also feels like the u.s. has too much of the burden when it comes to pushing back on russia. and this pipeline issue has been stuck in his craw for a very, very long time. and now we're seeing it come out publicly and forcefully and we saw this morning that it doesn't seem like he's going to be convinced no matter what, like what we put on the stats, on the screen here for stats, what he's told inside the oval office. he said that in the breakfast. he asked the nato leader there to explain how that is -- this

is possible and followed that quickly up by saying you can't explain it. it's clear that this is a settled issue and one he's going to come back on again and again. we've reported in "the wall street journal" that it's an issue for him when it comes to trade talks. that he wants germany to walk away from in order to stream 2 which they say they can't before the u.s. even -- >> the pipeline? >> correct. before the u.s. starts new trade talks with the european union. so it's a real issue for him. and then i think that goes back to some of the -- this is -- the nato issue is also just sort of a settled issue in his mind, too. he knows these numbers are not right. he knows what he's dwioing with the language. no one is in arrears but he said this morning, as far as i'm concerned, that they do owe this money to america. so he's acknowledging here that

the point that we're seeing clearly that he's not being totally accurate with his message. >> he's up front about the fact that he's conflating and he's expanding on it. there was a joint statement put out this morning by both democratic leaders in the house and senate. nancy pelosi and chuck schumer. >> president trump's denigration and insults of germany is an embarrassment. it's another disturbing signal that he's more loyal to president putin than to our nato allies. pretty tough. those are democrats. then house speaker ryan went to the cameras and said i don't like to criticize the president while he's abroad and then he criticized the president while he was abroad. >> we should not be criticizing our president abroad while he's overseas but nato is indispensable. it's as important today as it's

ever been. we're reflecting that in a resolution we're bringing to the floor today. >> well, you know, he's going to have to go through congress on this. the president has consistently distorted how nato works. to me, it's a little bit like his attacks on the mueller investigation. he just continues these lines to undermine confidence. i think some of this is actually for his base. so he can prepare them for what he's going to do with nato. but on capitol hill, the senate took a vote on behalf of nato yesterday. nato is a -- something not to be toyed with. >> and he's toying. and as you respond, i just want to tell you all and our viewers that we just got a statement from the white house press secretary to the white house pool. here's what she said. during the president's remarks today at the nato summit, he suggested that countries not only meet their commitment of 2% of their gdp on defense spending but -- listen to this -- they increase it to 4%. the president raised the same

issue when he was at nato last year. so 2% is what the base line is now. he wants to double it. >> and that's the thing. are the goal posts just going to continue to move? if they get 2%, 4%, is it going to be 6%. what would actually make him happy? would anything make him happy or is it just a fight against nato and trying to essentially undermine it. and if you look at the messaging on this, is the apology tour for america is over, right? and donald trump is going to go over. he's going to be strong and he's going to tell it like it is to all of these alies. in many ways, that's what he's doing. >> i want to take a trip in the wednesday way back machine because this is speaking to what you were speaking about and jeff zeleny as well. remember when ted cruz tried to call the president out on what he does with these accusations when it's really about him? watch. >> he doesn't know the difference between truth and lies. he lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth. he accuses everybody on that

debate stage of lying, and it's simply a mindless yell. whatever he does, he accused everyone else of doing. the man cannot tell the truth but he combines it with being a narcissist. a narcissist at a level i don't think this country has ever seen. >> who wants that one? >> he supports him now. >> when it comes to this nato issue, trump was then and is now largely on an island even within his own party. we saw that with the ryan clip you played. even within the white house. they called trump's comments needless and much more incendiary than they needed to be. if trump can't get his own party behind him on this rhetoric on nato, i don't think he's going to be able to get nato members to spend 4% and nato leaders are saying let's goet to 2% before e start talking 4%.

>> this is the discussion we're having on the defense alliance. but the other way the president is up ending the world is on trade. and we're going to talk about the president's threat to ra ratchet up his trade war by sending mike pence to the midwest to assure farmers caught in the crossfire. your paycheck.

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which means it doesn't have any teeth but free traders in congress say its passage will build momentum towards real legislation. this is no joke for a lot of people who listen to all the rhetoric going back and forth. but this really hits their pocketbooks. >> this isn't something you can paper over with assurances and talk. people will see the actual consequences of this in their paychecks. there's talk about jobs being cut at bmw in south carolina. of course, a really big state for trump. but the government officials down there, they don't want these folks to lose their really good jobs. farmers are totally different thing. you can tell them it's going to be okay but at the end of the year, farmers borrow money to plant. they plant. they pay the loan back and what they have left is their income. and they know when their income is up or down. i think this is a real problem

for the administration. and it's kind of getting in the way of their political messaging in some of these states where they have an advantage. let's take north dakota. they have an advantage there. now they have the supreme court fight at the same time heidi heitkamp was traveling the state meet with farmers talking about what's going on with these tariffs. it's a big problem for them and people will see actual decrease in money. >> you mentioned the fact this isn't something you can brush off with rehetoric. look at this tweet the president sent this morning. i am in brussels but always thinking about our farmers. so it's like hi, dear farmers, i'm thinking about you, but, one of the most prominent farmers in the united states senate, chuck grassley, basically isn't having any of this. listen to what he said. >> but he's negotiating, i think, as a businessperson. and if he takes the competitor to the brink and doesn't go over the brink, we're going to get a better deal. if he goes over the brink, it's

catastrophic and right now on soybeans and corn in my state it is catastrophic with the dramatic drops in prices we've had. >> this is a high-stakes game trump is playing. and we've seen the trump tweet this morning and a number of times heess broug's brought up farmers. he's acutely aware of the risk with his base when it comes to farmers. to tie it back to your first point, the trump administration is looking to congress to mitigate some of the issues with farmers when it comes to the pain of dealing with trade. we're seeing them try to rein in trump's actions on trade. so, you know, this is very much on trump's mind for a very good reason. >> it's very similar to the nato issue where jump is up against a bipartisan consensus and an expert consensus, and he simply believes in an alternate theory of the case. and you know, he and the very small percentage of economists who agree with him, which is overwhelmingly they don't, but he really does believe that,

first of all, the economy, because it is roaring right now, has enough of a cushion when it comes to things like jobs that a little temporary pain is something we can get through to achieve a better result in the end. and that this is going to have a good effect. and i think also like the nato issue, you have the experts always saying the sky is falling. something terrible is going to happen. he simply will not believe that until he sees it. so when people are sitting around prognafticating, this is going to be awful and lead tune economic crash, all he sees is an economy still going -- >> such an important counterpoint. this is the story of donald trump. people say what you're doing, it goes -- flies in the face of norms and is going to hurt everyone. sometimes it does. a lot of times it doesn't. >> even when it does, he thinks he can paper over that by creating an alternate perception which is part of what the tweet was about. >> china gets american politics. just look at where they're targeting their tariffs but also look at this new quote that we

have from the chinese assistant commerce minister. they go low. we go high. did you ever think there would be a michelle obama illusion with regard to the china trade war? >> who knows what that even means. if they go high -- i don't know what it means. but it's a great quote. >> yeah, michelle obama. the famous quote from the campaign. if the pain comes, when does it come, and do americans react? do they sort of vote with their feet? do they look at trump and blame him? wilbur ross, for instance, he came out early on when there was all this talk about tariffs. he essentially said doesn't really matter. your can of campbell's soup will go up something like half a cent and that kind of pain is enough for -- americans can take that and absorb that. it's not clear what's going to happen here. >> exactly. we all know that if it really does get bad, it's a lot more

than a can of campbell's soup. brett kavanaugh is getting face time with key senators today. but it's the paper trail of his past remarks that has some lawmakers interested. if you have medicare

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a meeting blitz talking with high-profile senators on the judiciary committee who will vote on his confirmation. on today's docket, senators orrin hatch, john cornyn and his meet with lindsey graham started at the top of this hour. chuck grassley hasn't decided to an exact date for brett kavanaugh's nomination hearing but he already has one fan in the former chairman, orrin hatch. >> handles himself very, very well. he's a judge with a lot of experience. i expect his confirmation to go well. i have every confidence he'll be confirmed as justice on the united states supreme court. i can't tell you how much i applaud the president for picking this really fine man. >> put down hatch as a maybe there. the white house tells me this

morning that kavanaugh's messaging in these meetings is he shouldn't be too tense in any of these meetings. he's going to talk about his background. he wants to get tips from these guys who have about 1,000 years experience doing this on how to get -- >> quite literally. >> in getting through this, you know, this gauntlet of the confirmation process. and it looks like from the clip there that the first step, the first meeting went well. >> if it didn't, he'd be in big trouble. >> look, the dance that goes on with any nominee is how much information can and should senators get? in this case, because we're up against the deadline of the midterms, the republicans want to get it done before hand. democrats not so much. what democrats are asking for is to -- the ability to see the rea reams of e-mails and other documents in the bush library from the time brett kavanaugh

work forwaed for george w. bush. listen to what chuck grassley said about that. >> you mentioned the democrats might want this information. a lot of them have said that they're going to vote no for sure against this nominee. how much more do you need to know to vote no. he's bonn the bench 12 years. a lot of paperwork. a lot of stuff when he worked at the white house. i don't know how much much that we've got to go through but i've got to keep an open mind. >> but, meanwhile, the democrats are saying, sorry, this is what happens when you nominate somebody with a lot of paperwork and a record. here's what senator sheldon whitehouse said. the fact they've chosen somebody with a big paper trail is not our problem. that's their problem and they need to be organized and get it to us. well, look, chuck grassley not exactly considered a swing vote

and senator whitehouse, i don't think is either. >> there are several senators who legitimately have not made up their mind and would like this information. now, you know, in real terms, i would think that having a long paper trail should be not a problem but a plus because it gives you additional potential insight into who this justice is and -- potential justice is and who how he might rule in named to the bench. the senators legitimately on the fence, a few democrats and a few republicans, they want to know there's not something in these reams of files that might change their mind one way or another. >> it's obviously not just the paperwork. it's for these undecided senators or undeclared, a big issue is roe vs. wade. that's a topic i talked about in his capitol office with vice president mike pence. >> does he still want roe vs. wade to be overturned? >> i, do but i haven't been nominated to the supreme court.

>> but your party is the administration that campaigned, you and the president campaigned saying you'll find nominees to overturn roe vs. wade. will you be disappointed if he is given that opportunity and he doesn't? >> well -- >> will you be disappointed? >> i stand for the sanctity of life. this administration, this president are pro-life. but what the american people ought to know is that as the president said today, this is not an issue that he discussed with judge kavanaugh. i didn't discuss it with him either. what we really focused on was the character, the background, the credentials and the judicial philosophy. >> of course he doesn't discuss it because that's part of this dance. you don't discuss it because then you can say we didn't discuss it. but susan collins, somebody on the fence, a republican, lisa murkowski, they say they are going to discuss it with him. >> and we'll see what he says. part of the dance has been

essentially for a nominee to say this is settled law. this is precedent and that's pretty much it. that's essentially what gorsuch said. it will not only be questions to think about roe v. wade but also the affordable care act. there's a court case winding its way through the supreme court about pre-existing conditions. there are some democrats who concerned about that. joe donnelly, joe manchin. but these are so practiced and presentational in terms of how they speak up there that it's unlikely that anybody is going to get up there and say i'm pro-life i'm going to overturn roe v. wade. it's going to be essentially a guessing game for what he'd do on the bench. >> we have to take a break, but carl, i am going to give this to you and i want our viewers to the the headline of your story in the times. who might the fight help, democrats and republicans? it's a great headline. if you want to know what it means, read his piece. in paul ryan comes to the defense of a fellow house republican, one who may run for

his job once he leaves.

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topping our political radar. pfizer is putting its drug on hold after trump slammed them for rising several prices. the company haddy is comed to pressure. pfizer says they'll roll back to prices where they were on july 1st as soon as technically possible. former fbi lawyer lisa page is defying her congressional

subpoena. page's anti-trump text with peter struck are under investigation. her lawyer says she wasn't given enough time to view the materials and prepare. the house judiciary chairman says that's no excuse for her not to appear and page might be held in contempt of congress. paul ryan is vouching for ohio congressman jim jordan's character. he is accused of turning a blind eye to alleged sexual abuse when he was a wrestling coach at ohio state. jordan has repeatedly denied those allegations and the house speaker shot down the idea that the house ethics committee would investigate jordan. he also said this. >> jim jordan is a friend of mine. we haven't always agreed with each other over the years. what i've always known jim jordan to be a man of honesty and integrity. i also want to make sure that ohio state conducts the review of this doctor and what he did. that's important so that campuses are safe. and i'm glad jim is supporting

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their parents yet. despite the reality that border officials apparently have no reliable system for reunification, the kids in custody are being well taken -- well cared for. >> we have nothing to hide about how we operate those facilities. it is one of the great acts of american generosity and charity what we're doing for these unaccompanied kids smuggled into our country or come across illegally. we could put children back with individuals who are murderers, kidnappers, rapists or not their parents but we've worked to with the court to ensure we do our duty which is to protect child welfare. i could release thankful kids by 10:55 p.m., but i don't think you want that. >> just moments ago, the president tweeted from brussels on this issue. a lengthy tweet. in the end he said judges run the system and illegals and traffickers know how it works. they are just using children.

okay. so cutting through all of this rhetoric and the blame game and everything, we still have these children. we have the, you know, more than half a dozen or so -- more than a dozen or so under 5 who don't have their parents or probably won't be because many of their had their parents deported already. and then thousands who have to be reunited with their parents who are older than 5. and that has to be done according to the court order by july 26th. i mean, any chance that's going to happen? >> this is one of the central issues with the trump presidency. it's very easy to blow things up. it's very easy to blow systems up and criticize nato, criticize trade relationships, criticize trade deals, immigration. but it's very hard to put back -- put new systems in place. we're seeing that with the immigration issue here. it's easy to separate families and to make that decision but once -- now faced with a task of

putting -- of reunifying them, they're finding it's more difficult than they bargained for. >> it speaks to the bigger question of why did they go through with this new policy which included separating children from their families without having the obvious plan that you needed to have in play, regard fls what happened to their parents going through the legal system of getting them back together. that's one of the things i discussed also with the vice president in his office on capitol hill. >> i believe we will have reunited 54 of those children. >> but that means that over 50 children under the age of 5. you have children, i have a child. they're not with their parents. is that acceptable? >> it's -- not necessarily the case. >> but should even one child under the age of 5 -- >> what we don't ever want to do is return a vulnerable child age 3 or age 4 to someone who may be a threat to them, who may be a

human trafficker, who is not their parent. and, frankly, the number has winnowed down from 102 to somewhere in the 70s through our vetting process. >> was there a plan? >> of course there's a plan. that, look, we've got a crisis at our southern border. and when people come into this country illegally, as was the case under the obama administration, at times when we prosecute people for entering our country illegally, they're separated from their children for a period of time. those children are dispatched to relatives or to foster care. we know where they are. and there's a plan to reunite them. but we want to do it in a way that's very careful and thoughtful. >> that is a fair point. there are really bad people who are using children for lots of the farious reasons to send them illegally across the border. that doesn't change the fact it really isn't the kids who are missing. it's finding the parents. >> they didn't have a system

there. the administration has obviously spent some time coming up with a line of defense on this because you're hearing this now from several people. we doan want to give them back to felons. but, you know, there may be some cases of that. but i think when the secretary says this represents this act of charity on the part of the united states, i'm not sure that that's going to be a selling point. sure, they're taking in unaccompanied kids but most are looking at this and going, that's terrible that these kids are being separated from their parents and you needed to have a system in place if you were going to do this. you needed a workable system to reunite them. they've just proven they don't. now they're spinning, but the problem is still there. >> in the charity that is going on is these pro bono lawyers and non-profit groups who are doing really hard work of trying to reunite these families because the government doesn't really have a plan. up next, the gop nears a decision on where to host its 2020 convention.

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you're looking at live pictures from brussels. we're waiting for the president and mrs. trump to arrive there for a nato dinner. moments ago, the president sent out a tweet about his visit and continuing to pound on nato. i'm not going to read most of the tweet because it would take too long to give fact checks for the things he's saying that are not correct.

but the last line is key. must pay for 2% of gdp immediately, not by 2025. okay. we're going to put that aside. we had a nice discussion about it and talk briefly about in 2012, charlotte, north carolina. that was where the democratic national convention was. listen to the president beforehand talking about it. >> madam chairwoman, delegates, i accept your nomination for president of the united states. >> president obama there. now that city may play host to another very different president in 2020. michael bender is here with us at the table. he's reporting the republican national committee is nearing a deal with charlotte to be the site of the gop's 2020 convention, even though the president may have had a very different venue in mind for his presumed renomination. here's what the story says. mr. trump has also privately

expressed interest in holding the convention in las vegas, one of six u.s. cities with a trump-branded hotel, people said. but the president's advisers were concerned about nominating the president who has been accused of having affairs with adult film actress and "playboy" model in a town referred to as sin city. >> the sinner and sin city narrative was one the trump allies want to avoid if they can. and to be fair to the president, he also has a property near charlotte. trump national golf club. >> it's not called sin city. >> correct. and charlotte is not quite vegas in the president's mind but there were not that many options for the republicans right now. not a lot of cities are raising their hand trying to host the president's renomination. vegas was one of them but there were some issues there, not just the narrative but there's not -- you're not the only game in town in vegas. 40 million people come to the city every year for good reason.

and really the only venue they thought was appropriate was one owned by mgm which has a bit of a rivalry with the trump folks, so they're in the final stages of putting a contract together. they'll rubber stamp that deal whatever it is at the meeting later this month. the thing to watch for is in charlotte. tentatively scheduled meeting on monday. a liberal bastion in a republican-leaning town. our reporting is some democrats on the city council are getting cold feet about getting primaried if they vote to bring trump and the entourage to their city. >> it's great reporting but here's the reality. conventions, might be a headache, but they bring cold, hard cash. the democratic mayor of charlotte basically said the current political climate which is divisive rhetoric and harmful policy does not represent my values and the values of most of charlotte. if charlotte is the site of the rnc we can show our city is about inclusion and leverage and

she goes on to say that she -- she wants to influence decisions through engagement, which is basically bring our money here. >> bring your money here. >> all right, guys. thank you for that reporting. thank you for the great discussion. thank you for watching. we are waiting for president trump to arrive at the nato dinner. and wolf will bring that to you. he starts right now. ♪ hello. i'm wolf blitzer. 1:00 p.m. in washington. 7:00 p.m. in brussels and 8:00 p.m. in moscow. some early fireworks in brussels where the nato summit kicked off today. any moment now the leaders will be walking out for yet another traditional family photo opportunity and the welcome ceremony. we'll bring that to you live. stand by for that. with plenty on the table for the nato allies to discuss, president trump is pushing collective defense spending to the forefront once again. he's questioning the commitment of other