very top, something like the president's tweet recently to the president of iran. to president putin, mentioning in no uncertain terms. >> maybe an all caps tweet. that would be nice. thank you for joining us. "inside politics" with john king starts right now. thank you, dana. welcome to "inside politics." i'm jauohn king. president trump is in missouri this hour for a speech to the veterans of foreign wars. plus, the threat to revoke security clearances. a -- of former top intelligence officials. and don't believe everything you find on the internet. really. this just in, senator orin hatch

to borrow from monty python is not dead yet. >> the reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. >> our thanks to senator hatch for that and a little more fun with that later. but we begin with the president. he speaks to veterans later this hour in kansas city, a most patriotic of settings at a moment of a debate that rings anything but patriotic. maybe it's a serious proposal. maybe it's a trumpian shiny object meant to steer the conversation away from the president's helsinki disaster or something else. whatever the motivation, this is an eye-popping threat. >> not only is the president looking to take away brennan's security clearance, he's also looking into the clearances of comey, clapper, hayden, rice, and mccabe. the president is exploring the mechanisms to remove security clearance because they've politicized and in some cases

monetized their public service and security clearances. >> a bit earlier this morning, the house speaker paul ryan says it's all a stunt, don't listen to the white house. >> i think he's trolling people, honestly. this is something that's in the purview of the executive branch. i think some of these people have already lost their clearances. some people keep their clearances. that's something the executive branch deals with. it's not really in our purview. i think he's just trolling people. >> clever, maybe, but that's also a cop out, which is to say nothing new today from the republican leadership in congress. administration sources don't really know if the president is serious here. but once source tells us the boss, quote, likes this debate. cnn's jeff zeleny is live at the white house. jeff, take us inside this. is it distraction? is it trumpian threat? or is it real? >> reporter: john, i think all of the above or none of the above. it's one of those things we don't know. the reality is you must treat it seriously because it was spoke frighten the white house podium by the white house press secretary saying it is an idea,

a potential policy of this administration, of your government here. that's why this is being taken seriously. notice when you were playing the clip there of sarah sanders at that briefing yesterday, she was asked the question because of course it was first raised by rand paul after meeting with the president, but she was ready for that question and she called out people by name. she was reading from her answer, which means she had a conversation with the president before that briefing, and they want this to be out there. i talked to a senior administration official who's trying to explain this. they said the president is more than comfortable with this debate. he's more than comfortable with how all of this is playing out. he believes it's a new fight, if you will, and lingering feud with old obama officials, all of course who are connected with russian meddling. we see the president in kansas city. he'll be speaking with veterans of foreign wars at that convention, which so many presidents have gone to. but boy, this is a different moment. is he serious about this? we don't know.

we've heard the president talk about so many different threats and moves on to something else. we'll see if he actually goes through with it. but it is a topic of discussion. it came exactly a week after that helsinki summit, so it definitely changed the conversation somewhat. but we'll see if they're serious. we'll see if he talks about it today in kansas city. certainly not the venue for this type of conversation normally, but hey, john, what's normal these days? >> interesting perspective at the end there. jeff zeleny at the white house. appreciate it. with me in studio, maggie haberman of "the new york times." jonathan martin, also of "the new york times." and cnn's abby phillip. four of the best reporters in the business at the table. yet, i'm going to start by asking you to read minds. on the way to this speech, to the veterans of foreign wars in kansas city, the president of the united states tweeted this. i'm very concerned that russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming

election based on the fact that in president has been tougher on russia than me. they'll be pushing very hard for democrats. they definitely don't want trump. at least he's acknowledging russia is attacking our democracy and that's progress. but that would be kind, i think. where do we think this is coming from? >> i think it continues to be opposite day or opposite month at the white house. last week it was there's no reason why he would believe it was putin. then the next day it was no reason why he wouldn't believe it was putin. i think this is the president telling people to believe something other than what they're seeing and hearing with their own eyes and ears. we know that last week vladimir putin was asked specifically about whether or not he wanted trump to win, and he said, yes, i did. so this is not something that the president can erase with a simple tweet, but it wouldn't be the first time he's tried to do something like that. literally just saying the opposite of what people are seeing and hearing and thinking

and believing. >> well, putin himself said it. >> one of the hallmarks of the trump campaign first and certainly the presidency, but the campaign most starkly, was he would say different things, sometimes contradictory things in the same sentence. people would basically have a choose your own adventure of what they wanted to hear. i think that's a part of this. yes, he's sort of acknowledging that russia is trying to interfere until the next time when he doesn't do it. there's no consistency, and there's no guarantee that what he says here has any staying power. >> how about if you're going to -- we're supposed to take this seriously after 18 months. how about a cabinet-level meeting chaired by the president in which he says to everybody, do everything you need, spend every dime. stop it. you're watching the president on the tarmac in kansas city. on his way to the vfw for a big speech. >> but that assumes this is something besides a pr strategy,

which i think is all this is. what's striking about this episode is here we are a week after helsinki, and unlike the past trump eruptions where they tend to fade after a day or at the most two or three days, he's still in the batter's box trying to figure out a way to get past this. he tried the iranian tweet. he tried with sarah huckabee yesterday in the briefing room, taking back the security clearances of the obama-era officials. now he's trying this next gambit. it is striking he's trying to find a way to turn the page still over a week later given his success in the past at creating some kind of fresh chum. >> part of the problem is that this was a big problem for him in helsinki. this is not something you can erase with one tweet or one day of trying to correct the record. so he feels the need to do it over and over because it keeps coming back. >> helsinki is a stain that i don't think is going to wash

out. i think the president's coming to realize that, which is why again we started the conversation with jeff zeleny about this idea that you would take away the security clearance of people who are criticizing you. now, some of these people have been unusually political. we don't normally see former cia directors like john brennan involved in daily political conversations. but we've also never seen a president like this. the white house says they're monetizing their security clearances. how? produce the facts. this white house using the word monetizing is interesting. but is it anything but? we would normally write it up. he attacks the free press all the time. now he's attacking people using their first amendment rights speaking out saying is d disagr with the president. john brennan used the word treasonous. that's a strong word. james clapper said he thought putin played the president. where does this rank in terms of public actions? standing at the white house podium saying you spoke out against the president, you say things he doesn't like, he's going to take away your rights

and privileges. >> i think this ranks pretty high. it's once again another example of this white house taking something for which there is a process, for which people have due process rights, the ability to grant or revoke clearances and saying we're going to put it in an entirely political framing in which it's all about political grievance directed at the president. we're going to revoke your ability to have some sort of -- any sort of, you know, due process rights around that issue. i think this white house doesn't ever mind those kinds of optics. whether or not this is done or not, whether or not he ever carries this out, i think the idea that they don't mind the optics of the president punishing his political enemies because of grievances is problematic, and it really flies in the face of what i think people have taken for granted in this country, which is just the norms of democratic leaders acting in a way that people

understand across party lines is pretty consistent. these are people, some of them, who actually did serve in republican administrations. they're not totally partisan animals. >> it's not like taking away their security clearances is going to take away their tongues. they're still going to be able to talk. some of these people don't have clearances active anymore, number one. number two, even if they did, you had general hayden, who's not just an obama appointee, say i'm still going to keep on talking. i agree with abby totally. this does rise to a different level of -- i mean, it's fine if the house speaker wants to shrug this off as trolling. i'm sure president obama had done it, it would not have been met with that kind of shrug. fox news, which is the president's favorite channel, employed all kinds of people with security clearances. mike flynn had a security clearance when he was chanting "lock her up" at the republican national convention. i don't know why being political -- the elephant in the

room when they're talking about this is the fact this white house has had problems with security clearances over and over and over again, including for two people related to the president, jared kushner and his daughter ivanka trump, both of whom have been accused of monetizing their roles there. >> to invoke the haberman doctrine for a minute, if i could, is trump lives in ten-minute increments. basically, he -- >> on a focus day. >> yes, exactly. >> it's about surviving. >> he's looking for ways to survive the next news cycle. that's everything to him. when rand paul walks into the white house and says, you know, all these guys are out there criticizing you. you know, mr. president, they still have security clearances. we should yank those. trump doesn't run that through an inner agency process. he walks over to his press secretary and say, let's do this. that's going to give the press some new chum. here we are talking about it today. but to me, it's all a pr strategy. what to me is more striking than trump trying to buy ten more minutes of survival is the ryan reaction that you showed.

that is a big reveal as to what something everybody at this table knows it true. a lot of people on capitol hill in both parties don't take the words of this president all that seriously. >> a lot of people around the world, not just on capitol hill. >> for ryan to basically say it, the speaker of the house who's now a free man because he's not running again, but for ryan to say it so directly that, oh, he's just trolling, that's extraordinary to hear that. usually we hear that off the record, the background eye roll. but ryan is saying it with the cameras running. >> he still holds the office of the president of the united states. this threat sounds more like he leads turkey or the philippines, not like he leads the united states of america. we're going to take a break here. sorry, just one man's opinion. as we mentioned, president trump speaking to veterans in kansas city. he's on his way to the speech venue. also just ahead, the message about to be delivered to farmers

here in the united states hurt by the president's tariffs. we're from the government and we're here to help.

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call unitedhealthcare today and ask for your free decision guide. moments away now from a speech the president will give to veterans of foreign wars in kansas city. meanwhile, a major economic and political decision by the white house back here in washington. one that reminds us just how far this president wanders from traditional republican philosophy. the administration today will announce a plan to offer billions in aid to american farmers adversely affected by the president's trade war. just this morning, the president was tweeting, quote, tariffs are the greatest, but the complaints from farm states are off the charts and republicans from those states are worried the anger back home will impact their odds come november. so the administration will use trade relief, the agriculture department. it's smart, short-term politics. it's just fascinating you have a president who pulls the party from its free-market approach

and imposes these tariffs. speaker ryan this morning calling them taxes. now they're essentially going to use deficit spending to bail out these farmers. i can't find that in my republican platform. >> keyword is bailout. we used to hear from small government conversations about how bailouts were terrible. it is interesting that paul ryan has been, as we contrast with his trolling, but tariffs is the one issue that ryan has consistently spoken out against. it's something he clearly does not share a view with the president, as we know. but it is striking. it is another area where republicans in congress who are supportive of the president will go to sort of contortions to not be at odds with him on certain issues. >> i also think it's -- it's such a reflection of trump economics. >> totally. >> which is pick winners and losers, intervene where you feel you want to intervene. if there's a problem, pay for it. >> throw money at the problem.

>> i remember having a conversation with a county chair in eastern iowa last summer right at the point when the chinese threatened on the soybeans. he's a very strong trump supporter. i said, isn't this going to be a problem? he said, you know what, the amount of money that it's going to involve for the farmers, he can write a check for that. the government can pay the farmers, no big deal. that's exactly the way it's been played out. >> i get that. the farmers process that. the republican politicians certainly this is a case where you have the trump white house responding to pressure from republican politicians, which it doesn't always do. but then how do you get it to a different trading system if the chinese or the europeans or the canadians and mexicans, whoever we're talking about, know that i just have to hold fast. they'll spend government money to bail out their people. i don't have to change my policy. how do we get a deal here? >> you don't. it just continues to escalate. this is why people who are economists, which i am not, say that trade wars are bad. because they continue to

escalate over and over and over again. the president doesn't understand that as far as we can tell. he continues to talk about trade deficits as if they are losses on a ledger, which they're not. but the result -- i think the result for republicans is maybe less political peril and more a long-term loss of the foundation of the party. once you've lost this, what is left for the republican party? what do they stand for? >> it's a great -- trump populism is taking the party far away. to maggie's point about taking away security clearances, the speaker tries to crack a joke, they try to move on. say pay no attention to the president's words. if you're paul ryan, from the state of wisconsin, this is the milwaukee journal sentinel headline today. harley-davidson sales slump as u.s. motorcycle business falters. whirlpool first said these tariffs would help us. then the aluminum tariffs came in. now washing machine prices are

up 20%. that's why you have the speaker in this case, not just the speaker but rank and file republicans as well, saying, mr. president, you're wrong. >> the president says tariffs are the greatest. >> in all caps. the goal he's trying to achieve is a good one. a better deal for americans, better trade agreements. i just don't think tariffs are the way to go. our members are making that pretty clear. >> it's farmers this time. what's next? is mitch mcconnell going to ask for help for bourbon makers, followed by automakers. where does this go? >> individual companies. this is a president who literally wants to decide on an individual company basis who wins and who loses. harley-davidson is his friend last year. this year they're his enemy. he wants competitors to succeed over them in this domestic business. this doesn't work from an economic perspective. but again, political expediency still rules this town. if republicans can get through november, i think they're going to continue to be muted in their

criticism of the president. i think paul ryan could be more forceful in the way he condemns this. he says we all want to get to the same result, as long as we get to the same result it's fine. but it's really not fine. i think there are going to be people who are hurting and maybe the farmers get saved today, but maybe not in a year, maybe not in two years when this is probably still going. >> the president says it's a fight worth fighting and he'll get out of it better deals. >> not to get too far ahead, but maybe a fascinating experiment if democrats take back one chamber of commerce. what do they do? some of their members very much want to crack down and tie the president's hands. other members actually kind of like some of this protectionism. it drives their own politics. >> but to your original question, which is how do you get a deal, nafta is exhibit a of the trump trade policy not being able to produce a deal.

they have negotiated and negotiated and negotiated. we have strained or ruptured relations with allies to the north and south. and there is still not an agreement. so the question is, what does this all ultimately add up to? i think at this point, you have to say nothing yet. >> nothing yet. still 18 months in and nothing yet. as we wait. before we go to break here, when google declares you dead and you're clearly not, well, what would you do about it? one option, take to the internet, twitter. that's what senator orin hatch did last night after web searches listed his date of death as september 11th, 2017. the 84-year-old republican tweeted -- that means he's still alive -- hi, google, we might need to talk. we reached out to the senator today just to confirm it all. he sent us this to prove he's well. >> the reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. >> our thanks to senator hatch, helping us with the fact check.

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movement. an even bigger challenge for the special counsel. the president's lawyers have made a new counteroffer in negotiations over whether mr. trump will voluntarily answer questions. don't hold your breath for robert mueller to accept it. presidential lawyer rudy giuliani telling "the wall street journal" mr. trump is willing to answer questions about the campaign and any campaign contacts with russia, but not about possible obstruction of justice once in the white house. quote, mr. giuliani said in an interview monday that the reasons mr. trump has given for firing the former fbi director, james comey, are more than sufficient and that as president he had the power to fire any member of his administration. so there's a new counteroffer, sort of, kind of. this really feels like groundhog day. >> doesn't feel like any new counteroffer to me. this is the exact same thing they've said in a series of meetings and letters with mueller's office for a year. >> is there a strategy in the stall? >> yeah, the strategy in the stall is to get it -- they would

say, no, no, we're not stalling. but the hindrance on this wrapping up is the trump side has declined to give an interview, which mueller's team has said it wants. i think the stall tactic is to get it as close as possible to the election to made it harder for moouler for mueller to put out a report without being accused of playing politics. mueller's team indicated it could be wrapped up in 90 days once there was an interview. we're now three months out from the midterms. i think their bed is you are much less likely to get a report to congress before that. i think they're concerned about what that could mean. >> and if you're on the mueller side, and they do their talking in the courtroom, they don't talk publicly so we're at a loss to explain it, but at some point you have to make a decision. are we ever going to get here? >> or do you subpoena him. >> we're never going to reach an agreement, to it's either we go without it and write a report or give a subpoena.

>> it's also questionable whether you would do a subpoena before the election. >> correct. >> that timing -- your point is exactly right. as we get closer to the election, everything goes into a holding pattern, a frozen situation. >> correct. >> so does that benefit the white house maybe in the short-term? if the whole subpoena question carries over and this whole thing carries over into another year and then we're past the 2018 cycle and into the 2020 cycle, dear lord. >> i think two things. number one, not everybody on trump's legal team agrees there will be a subpoena filed. to be clear, this is tea leaf reading. we're just basing it on what they're saying. mueller has been pretty poker faced about what he might do. but if you are the trump legal team, you are looking at the prospect of a thin margin in either direction in the house. if democrats win, it's going to be a narrow margin, unless there's a massive wave, which there could be. if republicans hold it, it will be by a narrow margin. the prospect of anything getting done next year is fairly small. then you have the trump factor, where you have a president who

continues to sort of toy around with the idea that a divided government is good for him. he likes the idea of running against a democratic congress. if you get into next year and he has a democratic held congress and they're fighting the subpoena fight, i think he doesn't think any of that is necessarily bad for him unless he loses. the precedent, his folks argue, is on his side. >> i think two years is a lifetime for trump to fight something like this. meaning if this gets carried over into the new year, he would then have basically a two-year window between then and when he's adjudicated by the public again in an election. i also think there are a lot of republicans, including some around trump, who do believe that fighting against a runaway special counsel is something that they can use to their political advantage in a presidential run. maybe not so much in a midterm. >> these conversations have been going on for eight months. rudy giuliani has been on the job for three months, treading water. okay. >> or something. >> or something.

okay. excellent point there. we're going to take a quick break. we're awaiting a speech. president trump about to speak to the veterans of foreign wars in kansas city. stay with us. we'll be right back. home insur. 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. liberty mutual insurance. liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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part in a discussion about the effects on babies when their mothers use drugs. this just in, the justice department and fbi officials will meet some republican leaders tomorrow on capitol hill to discuss long-standing demands for documents about the fbi's russia probe. congressman mark meadows and jim jordan all among the names on the list meeting to try to resolve the document's dispute. you might say he started it. a republican congressman running for governor made a rather dismissive comment about a primary candidate in new york. listen to the remarks. >> you look at this girl cortez or whatever she is. she's in a totally different universe. it's basically socialism wrapped in ignorance. you're just repeating these canned left-wing talking points, and you're somehow the savior of the democratic party? good lord.

>> ocasio-cortez firing back, looking at perhaps the general election in florida. she tweeted in part, i'm a puerto rican woman. i'm sure those florida voters appreciate your comments. up next, a republican primary fight in georgia. this is the big question. who can hug the president more closely? we're waiting for the president to speak in kansas city as well. we'll be right back.

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a reminder, we're waiting for the president to speak. you see the room is lit up there in kansas city. we'll take you there when it happens. back to politics now. georgia's republican primary for governor is today. it is a trump fest. the secretary of state has the official trump endorsement. the president retweeting that endorsement today. kempe says the president getting involved is like gasoline on a fire. >> the president and i line up on a lot of things that we believe in, securing our

borders. i have plans to track and deport criminal illegals, stop and dismantle gangs like ms-13 that have become a distribution hub to our state for the mexican drug cartels and other things. putting georgians first. that's been what my whole campaign is about. somebody up there fighting for those georgians out there that are still struggling from the ow obama recession. >> the lieutenant governor of the state says he's more like trump, and he's trying to explain away why his rival got the big endorsement. quote, the president decided to do this because washington insiders who are weaseled their way into his ear convinced them to make a power play. why? so they'll have a governor who answers to them instead of to georgians. okay. >> one of those washington insiders used to be a georgian insider. he's the one that actually sealed the deal with the president after a cabinet meeting last week in the oval office.

now, the larger question of who else helped that cause and sort of pushed the president to endorse kemp is still a matter of some debate. but look, if you're kagel, you're in a bad spot. you have to find something to say here. of course, what typically is said is it wasn't trump but somebody got to trump. he's being misled. how many times have we heard this. instead of taking it out on trump, they say, well, he's just being misguided. it's like reagan. they're in his ears. the swamp types are leading him astray on this one. god forbid it's his fault, you know. he has nothing more to say. the larger issue here is if kemp is the nominee, this is going to be a really fascinating race to watch this fall because if you

look at some of the ads he ran, it's hardline trump stuff. very much divisive politics on immigration, on race and identity. that may play in some parts of the state, but in the background suburbs around atlanta, it's going to be a harder sell. >> first to the point of the primary endorsement, how much it matters. the atlanta journal constitution asked republican voters in georgia, how are you going to vote? 25% say those who have the same values. to your point about the ads, here's a flavor of what mr. kemp is selling to voters. >> two things. if you're going to date one of my daughters -- >> respect. >> and? >> a healthy appreciation for the second amendment, sir. >> we're going to get along just fine. i got a big truck, just in case i need to round up criminal illegals and take them home

myself. yep, i just said that. i'm brian kemp. if you want a politically incorrect conservative, that's me. >> it's not sacha baron cohen. >> break down the nuance for us there, dan. >> forget nuance. we've long since gone past nuance. the other point about this race is the concern among republicans about how difficult this race could be in november, as they are deciding who their nominee is going to be, the republican governor's association lashed out at the democratic nominee with a very tough ad in which they link her to nancy pelosi and hillary clinton and say that she's a dangerous radical. so we can see what the argument is going to be going forward. they're going to be nervous about who they get coming out of this primary today. >> you couldn't end up with a more opposite situation.

i think in some ways if either of the republican candidates go up against someone like stacy adams, an african-american democrat, going into some of these suburbs, it could not be a greater contrast. so it will be one of those tests of what are people actually looking for? what are these moderate voters in the suburbs concerned about? are they concerned about trump's political correctness or lack thereof? are more are foundational issues going to be at play here? like the politics of a southern state. >> as we pay so much attention and we look at the trump effect. to the point earlier, can the democrats take the house back. if so, by how much? will the senate stay republicans? we forget sometimes, and this race is a textbook example, one of the biggest prizes in 2018 are these governor races. one of the big tests, can the democrats start a sustained comeback. not can they just retake the house by a few seats but start a sustained comeback in america. it's these governor's races.

>> and democrats have not won the governorship of georgia in 20 years. ' '98 was the last time. before that, they had basically never lost it. so i think georgia will get a lot of the attention because of the fact that stacy adams would make history as the first black woman. here's the other reason why. georgia at some point is going to be a swing state on the national level. maybe not '20, but certainly '24. >> to that point, there are six counties in the united states that had gone at least four and probably a number more than that for republicans. four in a row in presidential. that flipped to hillary clinton in 2016. three of those are in the atlanta suburbs. three of those six counties across the country. that's an indication of how that's changing. those changing demographics in those areas and the question will be can stacy adams energize that vote in the fall. >> it will strengthen the suburbs that gave republicans

their electoral lock in the post-reagan years. >> one final point on georgia. there's so much talk now about democrats moving to the left and embracing in some cases democratic socialism. here's the irony. if kemp is the nominee in georgia, stacy adams, who has run an unapologetic campaign, he's going to be the quiet favorite of a lot of the business crowd, delta, coke, the big corporations in atlanta may be more comfortable with her than someone like kemp. if you look at those kinds of ads and demeanor, if you're a fortune 500 company in atlanta and you're trying to bring more business and employees to your state and that city, it's going to be a harder sell. so watch for that. the progressive champion, the quiet favorite potentially of the atlanta business crowd. >> great point. another question of trump and trump-like effects. the suburbs are a big place to

watch. we should hear any moment from the president in kansas city. as we go to break, 59 years ago today -- ♪ >> the year 1959 -- >> that's vice president richard nixon in moscow for the american national exhibition, showing the soviet leader around a model home filled with color tvs and other modern american gadgets. that walk soon deteriorated into a heated debate forever known as the kitchen debate. >> every word you have said has been taken down, and i will promise you that every word that you have said here will be reported in the united states, and they will see you say it on television. what?! -welcome. -[ gasps ] a bigger room?! -how many of you use car insurance? -oh. -well, what if i showed you this?

-[ laughing ] ho-ho-ho! -wow. -it's a computer. -we compare rates to help you get the price and coverage that's right for you. -that's amazing! the only thing that would make this better is if my mom were here. what?! an unexpected ending! i couldn't catch my breath. it was the last song of the night. it felt like my heart was skipping beats. they said i had afib. what's afib? i knew that meant i was at a greater risk of stroke. i needed answers. my doctor and i chose xarelto® to help keep me protected from a stroke. once-daily xarelto®, a latest-generation blood thinner significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. warfarin interferes with at least 6 of your body's natural blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective, targeting just one critical factor. for afib patients well managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® compares in reducing the risk of stroke.

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let's get you straight to the president of the united states speaking to the veterans of foreign wars convention in kansas city, missouri. >> i want to personally thank each and every one of you who has served our country in uniform, defended our nation in battle, and protected our great american flag. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] i also want to recognize a great kansas city legend who i met today at the plane, somebody that i've been a fan of for a long time, a member of the baseball hall of fame, george brett of the kansas city royals. where's george? he's around here somewhere. i said, george, how many years?

20. what was your batting average? .305. i said, that's pretty good, .305 for 20 years. special guy. i want to thank a true patriot, your executive director bob wallace, along with your outstanding national auxiliary president dee gilroy. thank you. and congratulations to vfw's incoming leadership b.j. lawrence and sandy. great, congratulations. we're also joined by our new va secretary, robert wilkie, who was just confirmed by the senate last night with an overwhelming vote. the only ones that voted against

him were all of the people, super lefts that are running against me in 2 1/2 years. every one of them. if you want to know who's running, just take a look at wilkie's score. every single one of them -- there'll be probably quite a few more, but in the senate, that was it. what a great vote. he's going to do a fantastic job. there's been nothing more important to me. thank you. thank you. i also want to thank our acting va secretary peter o'rourke for doing such a fantastic job in the meantime, holding down the fort until wilkie got approved. peter is going to be joining the whole team. they are doing numbers, and they are doing a job with choice and with all of the other things we've gotten approved.

they're doing some job for our vets. it was a very important commitment that i made to you during the campaign, and we're fulfilling that commitment. several terrific members of congress are here today as well, great friends of mine. they've helped me so much. we're joined by kevin yoder from kansas. incredible guy. kevin, what an incredible guy. and members of missouri's congressional delegation, vicky hartzler. along with your attorney general, hopefully your new senator to be, josh holly. we need josh badly. josh, thank you. in fact, josh, do me a favor. come up here for a second.

just shake my hand. this guy is a special man. come here, josh. come here. [ cheers and applause ] >> well, it's an incredible honor to be here today. thanks for your service and what you mean to this country. how about the leadership of president donald trump? what do you think? you know, when i think about president trump, there's one word that comes to mind. that word is courage. do you agree? how many people over the years has said that they'll do this or they'll do that, but there's one guy who had the guts to actually fulfill his promises, the guts to move our embassy to jerusalem, the guts to actually stand up against our enemies overseas, the guts to put conservatives on the supreme court of the united states, and

that's donald trump. you know, the president always says we're at a turning point moment as a country. it's a critical time for our country. he's providing the leadership that this country needs as we lead the world into this new century. and now i tell you what, i think he needs reinforcements in washington, d.c. do you agree with that? so let's do this. let's show our appreciation again for president trump and the leadership that he is giving to this country, and let's redouble our efforts and recommit ourselves to standing together, working hard, and making america great again. >> wow. good-bye, folks. that was great. what a great young