that guy. >> no question. sara murray, thanks very much. don't miss anderson's daily interactive newscast on facebook where you get to pick some of the stories he covers. it's called "full circle" see it week nights at neighbor.com/andersoncooperfull circumstance m. that's it gor me. i'm turning over to chris cuomo. >> thank you. welcome to "prime-time." he got a tremendous response. that's how trump now justifies yank john brennan's security clearance achltd he signalled who is likely next. is this strong man behavior really a good move? anthony scaramucci is well tlugd in to trump's advisors in thinking. let's put identity the test. should we let someone else fight our battle? a private military force sound good to you. the man who's trying to convince

trump to run a afghan war is here. you remember that grand idea to put on a military parade and show off our troops? who came up with it? our commander in chief. now the president wants you to think he's the one saving your taxpayer dollars by canceling it because costs were too high. long week. relax with a glass and let's get after it. >> they call it the graveyard of empires for a reason. afghanistan, now the u.s. involvement, 17 years. trump added trooms and money but the situation is sideways at best. now, if my next guest has his way, he's going to be the one to run it, not the pentagon. the president may be considering his proposal. who is he? eric prince, the founder of black water, the wore of trump's

education secretary betsy devause. he is someone being looked at by bob mul ever. thank you for taking the tunl, mr. prince. >> tlapgs for having me. >> did i get it right? do you believe the president is considering your proposal? >> i've been paying attention for afghanistan for a long time. in 1998 i sponsored a year ago, an after gap peace conference trying to get the king to return to gaechb and make peace, long before 9/11. having been at this for 17 years now as a country, spent billions of dollars, thousands of dead americans and we're still not getting what we want. they gave more money and troops and it hasn't work. you've had this week sue bombing killing 50 distaking entrance exams. four simultaneous attacks across the country, thousands of afghans dead. the u.n. has reported that this is the highest number of

civilian casualties ever in afghanistan. >> why would your way be better? >> look. what worked after 9/11 was a small unconventional approach. a few cia officers, special forces backed by airpower and they decimated the taliban in a matter of weeks. when we switched weeks in to the more traditional approach, we repeated the soviet battle plan and it didn't work. this is not a privatization. you already have 15 thool u.s. troops in 30,000 contractors in country. my plan takes it down to 2,000 active duty forces and about 6,000 contractors. >> mopping other things as well, what we're told about why general mattis, they don't like it. mattis said today he disputes the idea that trump is frustrated by what's going on there, losing his resolve and considering anything else. they say it lacks too much, the way you want to do it.

it lacks planning, accountability, plans. the u.s. flag carries symbolic significance as opposed to a bunch of mercenaries rgets. >> here's the difference. you have continuity, chain of command. if we wanted to afghanize this war we need continuity with afghan forces. you've had troops go there for six months to a year. they spent a few months productive, then pack up and go home. you lift them up and send them home. send a whole new unit back in to start over. we've done that 30 times and the pentagon has never addressed that kind of rotation and continuity. >> at least we know what they're doing. >> sure. >> there's an accountability. there's standards. >> here's the thing. the contractors who will go back in are the same type of people who are there. they're going as a civilian as a

contractor with the same skills and discipline and morality that the u.s. military gave them. >> doesn't always work out that way, right? >> and they can have continuity. you know what? if you want to color them all like that, that's [ bleep ]. it's like coloring your brother -- >> it's actually nothing like that because you had 17 people killed and 14 of them were found to be unjustified -- >> actually -- >> and not political talk and rhetoric. my brother, that's the place for straight talk. >> yeah. and the convictions have been anthony out. >> it's not over yet. what's the biggest idea -- hot talk aside. you want to know who the people are and how to hold them accountable. >> sure. absolutely. >> what was the situation in the -- >> and the problem with your -- >> no, it's not -- >> they're clom yuns coming from other places, pay for play. they're not americans. we're here to talk about

afghanistan and we're sending u.s. forces -- excuse me. former u.s. force ors former nate of forces to be reorganized. you combine that with airpower and government support is. do those things well and it works. it's the same thing that happened with the east india company or other organizations that have been in places for a long time, centuries -- >> east indies company, is that what you just said? >> sure. that's called colonial oppression. that's why i brought up -- >> we're talking about gene, that's funny. you think what you're building in the uaa is a side step? >> what i'm saying is -- >> you help it -- keep -- >> you help -- >> when you look at historically how unconventional forces are built to stabilize areas, that's how you do it. i'm amazed at the amount of defenders there are that they want to keep spending $62

billion just in afghanistan. you're right to complain about the military praild in washington. you're blowing through three and a half military parades a day in afghanistan but -- >> the only alternative is putting in mercenaries, that's what i'm asking. by the way, cheap shots aside, you represented this country with honor as a member of the seal team. you know what i'm talking about -- >> that's right. >> about the integrity we have to keep in place. >> that's why i've never said we pulled not all u.s. forces out. it was the cia that came up with an idea of a few s.f. guys, agency officers with airpower that worked. the pentagon wanted to do a kwenksal invasion of afghanistan south korea pakistan. they didn't want to do it until the following spring. the best thing the military comes up with is a conventional invasion with mechanized unit. 40,000 soldiers up through paep.

it still hasn't worked. >> again, please. >> waiting o the reports from the military -- >> for all the nameless faceless people who want to poo-poo this idea, come out and defend it in name. please come up with a better idea. >> i hear you pushing for better ideas. that's why i have you on the show. just because it's not working one way doesn't mean this alternative is the best. it should be debated. going to the president right now and fronting this situation and saying this is what should happen. it's a political risky move for the president to consider a plan from you or not when you consider muller is -- mueller is someone you're looking at? >> as i said, as has been publicized, i met with one russian two months after the election as an incidental meeting. there was no collusion. i had nothing to do with that -- >> why did you go to the neegt

the seychelles? it a had nothing to do with slump. >> no. >> you're the guy who wants to sell this. people are going to say, the guy who went to the seychelles meeting? >> it doesn't matter as much to the coastal elites -- >> i think that's another cheap shot. i think sending mers nairss in is -- doesn't sound like what america does. >> the way the contracted profession, the u.s. military veterans would be employed is as an adjunct to the forces. that does north make them mercenaries, ok? >> you raised the legality of it. you're not supposed to be training people abroad as an american, as part of foreign conflicts. that's something you'll have to get over also, right? >> this is done under the ucmj. >> but not all americans.

>> feels like clom yangs, the south africans, who knows where you're getting them? >> if you've lady i'm writing, u.s. or nato forces working there can be held accountable through the uniform code of military forces just like the u.s. forces are. higher accountability than any of the 30,000 contractors there. taking i would from 30,000 down to 6,000 is hardly a privatization. we have $21 trillion in debt. let's stop blowing our blood and treasure endlessly. >> i get the motivation behind the debate. that's why i had you on. one last question. have you had any contacted with the probe. have you coordinated with the probe. have you volunteered information to mueller and his men and women? >> as i said two months ago in an interview, yes. i was interviewed by the mueller people, cooperated. haven't heard from them in months. >> i appreciate the candor on that. eric prince, thanks for making the indication.

>> you're welcome. >> trump has the manafort verdict and other issues hanging over his head. you know what? it was a great time to bring up the economy. best ef, he says. this is his popular prophylactic against criticism. i'm going to take you through the numbers under a decide. if trump doth post too much. sharper vision, without limits. days that go from sun up to sun down. a whole world in all its beauty. three innovative technologies for our ultimate in vision, clarity, and protection. together in a single lens. essilor ultimate lens package. purchase the essilor ultimate lens package and get a second pair of qualifying lenses free. essilor. better sight. better life.

but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

. all right. lady start with the suggestion that i don't know that a strong economy makes up for calling a black woman a dog, mitt nating the immorlt itself of white power, the bottom line only justifies so much. it shouldn't be as important as our reputation for decency and freedom. let's deal with this claim about the economy that trump makes so often. let's fact check this prophylactic, this protection he uses every time he says or does

something that makes america wince. >> we have the strongest economy th that. it's kicked us into gleer. black unemployment, the lowest in history. hispanic unemployment, the lowest in history. the economy may be better than it's ever been. the numbers have come out the best they ever have. we're happy about that. for that reason i think in november we're going to do extremely well. >> let's talking about the facts. the economy grew at a 4.1% rate in the second quarter. that is the fastest pace that weave seen in nearly four years. trump says the fastest ever. wrong. not the fastest ever. not better than obama ever did. the national unemployment rate, all right. fell to 3 po.9% in july. take a look at that. it's part of a steady decline since 2010.

don't buy this idea that trump made everything change. and remember this. trump used to mock this rate, the unemployment rate under obama. he said it wasn't an accurate reflection because it doesn't include those who are working. that's all part of underemployment versus unemployment. and you know what? he was right. so why isn't he telling you this number right now? that includes all those folks. 7.5%. almost twice the rate that he's boasting about now. why? because he's looking for an easy score. that's why. here's why it matters. ok. the numbers don't tell what matters most. growth is only as good as the people growing with it. right? is it the working class people who voted for trump? not nearly as much as it is the rich people like trump.

pieces of proof. all right. the gap between the 1% and everybody else growing. see this part? going like a y this way. it's going the wrong way. you want it to go the other way it's getting bigger. big reason for that, wage stagnation for most americans. investigators in the market, killing it. but paycheck people, something different. according to pew research the average wage has purchasing power as it did 23 years ago. now there's this new thing the pat on the back about what works and what doesn't. this is a quick look for you. they pay more but still, is this a middle class tax cut? do they get the majority of the benefit? no. how people of color are treated. this is this new part of let's look at the economy.

the president can't be racist, look how black employment is doing, better under trump than obama. that's their argument. take a listen. y50 when president obama left after eight years in office, he had only created 195,000 jobs for african-americans. president trump in his first year and a half has already tripled what president obama did in eight years. >> all right. now, that's not true. ok. those stats sounded too good, it's because they were. don't be surprised. sarah sanders apologize. . what they don't apologize is exaggerating everything. as i told you, overall unemployment has been dropped. 6.6% for black americans. 3.4% for white americans.

lowest rate ever sounds like something to boast about. not when you consider the disparity. this is the challenge. ok. 48% lower than it is for black americans. black unemployment. the falling tide is helping everybody. but he hasn't done anything specifically. he hasn't done anything for the workers specifically the way he promised that he would. 80 cents of every dollar of that tax cut went to the top 1%. you can say, that's ok. they pay the most. but that's not what he called i. he said it was for the middle class. ok. so blacks are not improving relative to whites. so the lesson is when the white house tries to get away from the latest embarrassment, pulling clearances, let's say, by pointing to the economy, remember what they are not telling you. often that's the most important thing. so the president was all too

happy today to answer questions about john brennan's stripping of his security clearance. everybody talking about it. if this is about distracting, is this something worse than that? is it the kind of strong man tactics, silencing your critics, that trump wants to do more of? that's the basis of the next debate we're having. ♪ hawaii is in the middle of the pacific ocean. we're the most isolated population on the planet. ♪ hawaii is the first state in the u.s. to have 100% renewable energy goal. we're a very small electric utility. but, if we don't make this move we're going to have changes in our environment, and have a negative impact to hawaii's economy. ♪ verizon provided us a solution

using smart sensors on their network that lets us collect near real time data on our power grid. (colton) this technology is helping us integrate rooftop solar, which is a very important element of getting us to our renewable energy goals. ♪ (shelee) if we can create our own energy, we can take care of this beautiful place that i grew up in. ♪ let's do an ad of a man eating free waffles at comfort inn. they taste like victory because he always gets the lowest price on our rooms, guaranteed, when he books direct at choicehotels.com. or just say, badda book. badda boom. book now at choicehotels.com be right back.

with moderate to severe crohn's disease, i was there, just not always where i needed to be. is she alright? i hope so. so i talked to my doctor about humira. i learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of crohn's disease after trying other medications. and the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief and many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. be there for you, and them. ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, remission is possible.

i'm a small business, but i have... big dreams... and big plans. so how do i make the efforts of 8 employees... feel like 50? how can i share new plans virtually? how can i download an e-file? virtual tours? zip-file? really big files? in seconds, not minutes... just like that. like everything... the answer is simple. i'll do what i've always done...

dream more, dream faster, and above all... now, i'll dream gig. now more businesses, in more places, can afford to dream gig. comcast, building america's largest gig-speed network. . the washington post is reporting the white house has drafted documents to revoke more cleerpss of officials who have criticized the president or were part of the russia investigation. why? to change the news cycle. distract from omarosa's tapes. that's what their sources tell them. is this really just about tactics or is there a darker desire in play for trump? let's put it up for debate with catherine and rick santorum. what say you rampell? >> look. this is about going after critics by pursuing their wallets, essentially.

again and again trump has used the weight of his office and the broader forsberg to inflict financial pain upon jury roomist, critics, whistle-blowers, peaceful protesters whose speech he does not like. he has done it with brennan. if he doesn't have a clearance, it limits his job opportunities. it means he can't work for the contractors out there that would require a security clearance. i'm not worried about him so much but instead about all the other potential critics who do need to have their security clearances. it's knot only about former government employees. he's done this with journalists, nfl players, when the washington post, my publication publishes information that trump does not like, he threatens more action against amazon. >> join the club, sister. you're note on an island. >> exactly.

>> let's bray in rick santorum. is this a strong arm tactic? is this how he wants to role? you come at me, you're messing with power. >> no. i don't think so at all. the larger issue is why does he get security clearances anyway. i sat on important committees that got lots of intelligence. as soon as i left the united states senate i lost my security clearance. i don't know why they keep the security clearances in the first place. >> he's not getting -- >> hold on. >> i want to clarify. to my knowledge and correct me if i'm wrong members of congress and senators do not go through the very intensive vetting process that career intelligence officials and career appointees go through. as soon as you got elected, you're invited to view classified information. you have didn't have fbi calling up old girlfriends and asking them questions. you got access to that

information because you were a senator. >> and the answer is that is correct. we do not have to go through the clearance process. by the way, but we don't get access to all of -- all the intelligence. we get -- we have certain classifications we're eligible for. others we're not. we have to be specifically cleared for those. having said all that, look, the idea that a former intelligence person has a right to keep their clearance -- >> nobody says -- >> and they shouldn't. the reality is -- >> why you're talking -- that he's taking it away, why is that right? >> the only reason we keep these clearances, at least from the lau and my understanding in the congress is so these people can be a help to the government. because they were there before and -- >> right. >> -- so they might be a good reference in the past. if the government doesn't feel he helps anymore -- >> he's been contacted by senior members.

he didn't want to name them. now you've taken those resource away from them. you good with that? >> yeah, i am good with that. there's lots of people -- >> lots of people? >> i think there's specific things that someone in the administration wants to talk to jim clapper about -- >> that tells us so much about the integrity of the security plan. >> but we are -- >> hold on, hold on. the president says i care about security clearances very much. you both heard him say that? he didn't care so much about it when it was his son-in-law or rob porter, did he? where was his concern for security clearances then? i don't remember this scrupulous adherence to all these types of questions you're raising now. >> security clearances for former -- for former employees are there to benefit the government. security clearances for people to make sure people who were in government should be eligible to see that sensitive information is two different things.

>> two different things? he's still worried about these guys abusing the cleerps. wasn't worried about his so in law or rob poernt. -- porter. >> they were going through the process. >> excuse me? >> they were going through the process. >> they weren't. it was being sir come vented. he was giving them access completely contrary to what he's saying now. >> and he has the right to do that. >> and he has the right of being a hypocrite which is what he is. >> this is clearly punitive. this is unprecedented. no previous president has taken this action. the reason the mayweather is taking this action is to punish these people. not because, oh, we don't want the clearances floating around to people who shouldn't have them. clearly that's not something they care about. >> again, they're -- >> go ahead, are i can. >> the benefit is not to the individual. i mean, the clearances, the benefit should not be for the individual. >> then why --

>> it's benefit to the government. the president has the right to clear it. you made it sound like he's taking away something that's good. it's not -- >> what about why have a big splashy press conference and why, according to my own newspapers, the washington post are they sitting on something like a dozen other drafted revocations on security clearances that they're planning on doling out when they need to. why go through all that if eegs just about we want to call the rolls and make sure there aren't security clearances floating about. >> that's a good president obama. answer that. >> it's being done for the purposes of waiting and dropping dimes when people do things they don't like, i don't like that. >> that's what it is. >> that's exactly what we know. . >> we don't know what the list will be used for. it may be used to say i'm tired of all -- >> wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

>> if you think it was not politically motivated, the timing of the announcement that brennan was losing his clearance, to what do you attribute the fact that they made this announcement, this announcement this week, just as everybody was wondering about whether there was an omarosa tape, using the n-word or whatever or all these other unflattering news stories that are coming out. clearly they wanted a disstrarks they wanted to silence their critics. they said let's do it now. there's nothing that happened in the last few days -- >> with all due respect. there's always a nasty story ashlgt the president coming out. the idea that he sort of waited for this moment, i think simply was a matter of course in looking at what brennan did. now it's raised this issue up to the president. the president looked at it and says let's get rid of them. >> here's what we'll know. the beautiful thing about this one, which is unlike a lot of things we debate on. we know by what they show.

if they only -- >> if they only go after the critics. if they're not clearing the rooms of everybody who's ever worked in the forsberg who had a security clearance -- >> i think -- >> butt two and two together. >> i don't think they should clear the rolls of everyone. she should keep those in place. those not benefit thing the administration and those who are running it don't need to be kept on the roll. >> let's see who they call and we'll talk about it again. rampell, santorum on a friday night. thank you for including me in your plans. >> always nice to spend a friday be you, chris. >> right. what's going on inside trump's mind right now. why does it make sense for him to exercise power this way? anthony scaramucci thinks he knows. omarosa, there are reports that she could have as many as 200

tapes. we'll have that next. with huge savings, free seminars... plus extra savings during our trade-in sales on optics, bows, and game cameras. bass pro shops and cabela's -- your adventure starts here. ♪now i'm gonna tell my momma ♪that i'm a traveller ♪i'm gonna follow the sun♪ ♪now i'm gonna tell my momma transitions™ light under control™ visit your vision source doctor to ask about transitions™ brand lenses light under control™

plaque psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis, little things can be a big deal. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. and for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. tell your doctor if these occur. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts, or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss.

your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. other side effects include upper respiratory tract infection and headache. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you.

this fight between the president and the intelligence community is escalating.

on the one hand you have former intel folks. they are signing on to a letter supporting brennan. they're saying pull my clearance as well. they're calling trump out for his move to publicly punish people that he wlams for the russia investigation and, more, who criticize him. saying he'll do it again. always double down, that's the key to being strong. let's talk about why he thinks this works for him. former white house communications director, anthony scaramucci. thanks for coming on on short notice, anthony. >> happy friday, chris. >> appreciate it. why does he think this works for him? >> you have want me to tell you why? >> pleaseful. >> i think he thinks its works for him because he's looked at the landscape of things that have happened from the dossier to the investigation to the allegations that director brennan made about him, so i

think he thinks it's helping him by sending a message to these guys that they're not necessary for the further intelligence apparatus of the country, etc. i don't agree with it. i support the president, as you know, and i'm a very loyal person and worked very hard on the campaign, but the reason i don't agree with it is you have to understand the historical context of the national security apparatus post world war ii. that was always off the table and always a bipartisan commitment that we would bring everybody together. if you start splintderring these guys, you want to get nerve the room famt there's a crisis. i just think it's a mistake. president would disagree with me on that. i listen to debate very carefully. i don't think it's related to them leebing things out related to omarosa, though. because she has 200 tapes, apparently, and she'll be talking about this probably for two years. that strategy wouldn't work.

there's very smart people inside the white house, the whoever it is, i don't see that on a theory analysis working for them. >> i don't either. >> they do it. >> but they do it a lot. >> yeah. i don't think -- >> he does its by tweet a lot. >> ok. >> the timing was suspicious, right? >> we know that every politician wants to get the gun off the bird in certain situations. so -- the motion in a he's going to hold back security clearances to punish them is -- >> i think the timing was self serving to distract. we'll see what he does. santorum makes it interesting but dangerous argument in responsive. if he's going to say i've decided this is the vestige of a by gone era and there is no reason for what he's discussing here, i want him to have

nothing, that's one thing. but if it's punitive, that's different and a little dark, i'm afraid. >> who decides that? >> first it was the pardons. he's always looking to exercise absolute power in a punitive way. this is his latest attempt. what's the -- nexts? pulling it from mueller? >> if it's the former, let him come out and articulate why and let him present a new vision where we want to go in america that is going to make americans safe in the united states and safe in afghanistan, service men are safe in iraq, service men and women. for me, it's a very bad strategy. i think you're going down a slippery slope. you don't want to be against mcraven and petraeus. i know general petraeus personally. i've been to iraq and afghanistan, i understand the

issues. lt i don't like the attack on the intelligence agencies. le i didn't like it in helsinki. i don't like it now. what i'd say to the president is you've got to rank and file in the intelligence agency. by and large those people are very supportive of you but there's three or four pin dots at the top that you think weaponized against you. they probably did and have probably wanted to do it for 1350 years. easier to tag it now because of the fish bowl gach of everything that's going on with our social media, etc. i would tell the. that if you really understand the 75-year historical context post world war ii order, i think it's a bad move. i know john brennan personally. he's been to my conference. i want to make sure i fully disclose that. i've sat in on intelligence briefings with him and i have a lot of respect for him. i'm going to tell you something. these guys, chris -- >> you sat in on briefings with him. when? >> we have been -- i know, when

i was at -- i was on the board of the business national security. i was wasn't a deep level intelligence briefing as much as it was a civilian understanding of what was going upon in the cia. gentleman i got you. i got you. but i like the guy. i don't agree with him politically. i don't like his personal attacks on the president. i am a some morer of the president. i want to see the president succeed. your commenting on the economy. you and i could debate,000. i think the economy's very, very strong. >> depends on for who. let me ask you something before i lose you. omarosa, wages are going up and ethan cut the slack in the employment markets. >> yeah, he did. >> he did. >> i think it's endemic to a trend we've been seeing. i don't think it's because of his tax cut. i don't see the economic benefit being derivative of the countries. we'll talk about it another day.

>> there's a lot more capital investment going into the company. i spent 11 days in the white house. for the last 13 years i've run a $11 billion fund. i look at the k34ek data very camely. let's go to omarosa before i let out a girlie cry leer on tv. >> that's what she wrote in the book. you were hurt by what happened, which is understandable. >> yes. >> what do you think she represents to the president in terms of the threat of revealing tloouts? >> i don't really care what she wrote about me and i'm note really going to comment and i wish the president would care less about what she wrote about him and not comment. at the end of the day omarosa did help him. ok. she did rally support in the african-american community. she's articulate on tv. i wouldn't have left her in the situation for two hours before i fired her. you guys wanted to get rid of her. there was probably a classier way of doing that. you're not going to silence somebody like omarosa.

she's going to say whatever she wants, anyway, and i would just ignore the situation, because t at the end offed the day, when somebody turns like that and someone becomes that disloyal to you after 15 years of service over a firing, ok, look. they fired me brutally, chris. i was there for 11 days. i made a mistake. had your buddy come on cnn, played the tape. they fired me brutally. i worked for him on the campaign trail. i'm not going to lose my friendship with him because of o the way they fired me. omarosa's a different beast. >> i understand. >> i think it's a mistake for her but it's an even bigger president for the united states -- >> it always is. >> -- to sit there and tweet about her and say things about him he shouldn't be saying. >> the big man in the room. >> if he doesn't like that, i don't care. i'm not a yes person. >> we see when he figures out how to punish omarosa.

anthony scaramucci -- >> if i am going to have a girlie cry it's when you beat me in a debate. since that's never going to happen -- >> two points. crying is not girlie. tap into this, get a little emotional intelligence. second of all, when you -- >> on cnn -- >> give me a call. i'll tell you what happened. now you're cutting to commercial. >> yes, thank you, goodbye. thank you very much. ever wonder what happened to the gipper, what president reagan would think about president trump. we like to think about these historical retrospectives. if he were alive today, obviously. his daughter says she has a good idea what he would think and she just shared it. gleks.

♪ ♪ our new, hot, fresh breakfast will get you the readiest. (buzzer sound) holiday inn express. be the readiest.

i knew at that exact moment ... i'm beating this. my main focus was to find a team of doctors. it's not just picking a surgeon, it's picking the care team and feeling secure in where you are. visit cancercenter.com/breast but allstate actually helps you drive safely... with drivewise. it lets you know when you go too fast... ...and brake too hard.

with feedback to help you drive safer. giving you the power to actually lower your cost. unfortunately, it can't do anything about that. now that you know the truth... are you in good hands? ♪ ♪ ♪ olly. . president trump loves ronald reagan. what would reagan think of trump, specifically his rhetoric, his attacks on the press. don lemon is here. key interview. what do you have coming up? >> it's his daughter. i was going to ask him -- i was going to ask you, who is the gold standard when it comes to republican presidents? that will be none other than

ronald reagan. pallety davis says her dad would never stand for what's going on. he would never label the press as the enemy of the people. he realized the press had a role to play and they came to an agreement in permanent space wise. the white house and even in -- personal space. beyond and the briefing room, that wasn't personal. that was the press's business. that's what the press did. not the enemy of the people. i can't wait to talk to her. she wrote a really fascinating article, as you know, for the washington post. >> give me one little more taste because i don't want to ruin it for people. >> one little more taste of this or what else we have coming up? what do you want to know? >> you have something better than that? tell me. >> i wanted to talk to you about anthony scaramucci. i agree with almost everything anthony said about omarosa. if you want to really get under trump's skin, then you cut off his oxygen, meaning giving him

so much attention. i think it's the same thing with omarosa. i just disagree with him on one point, where he said that omarosa really helped this president with garnering votes and attention and support from the african-american community. that's not true. she has no credibility when it comes to the african-american community. that did not happen. >> appreciate it, d-lemon. it's good to see you on a friday. >> you as well. i'll see you soon. >> all right. so the military parade is off. trump says he's saving you from paying too much. what is the truth behind the parade? and i have a way that he can boost america for free. the final closing argument of the week. next. ♪ .. (harmonica interrupts) how they could save 15% or more by... (harmonica interrupts) ...by just calling or going online to geico.com. (harmonica interrupts) (sighs and chuckles)

sorry, are you gonna... (harmonica interrupts) everytime. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. ♪ ♪ let your perfect drive come together at the lincoln summer invitation sales event. get 0% apr on select 2018 lincoln models plus $1,000 bonus cash.

sharper vision, without limits. days that go from sun up to sun down. a whole world in all its beauty. three innovative technologies for our ultimate in vision, clarity, and protection. together in a single lens.

essilor ultimate lens package. purchase the essilor ultimate lens package and get a second pair of qualifying lenses free. essilor. better sight. better life.

i'm a small business, but i have... big dreams... and big plans. so how do i make the efforts of 8 employees... feel like 50? how can i share new plans virtually? how can i download an e-file? virtual tours? zip-file? really big files? in seconds, not minutes... just like that. like everything... the answer is simple. i'll do what i've always done... dream more, dream faster, and above all... now, i'll dream gig. now more businesses, in more places, can afford to dream gig. comcast, building america's largest gig-speed network. ♪ ♪ i love a parade

♪ for i love a parade no one loved a parade like joey heatherton when she sang. except maybe president trump. can you see him singing that song? the hair, by the way, wasn't that bad a match for joey and the president. but this isn't about ticker tape and celebration. it's about deception and a despotic lust for power. today president trump canceled his big planned military parade. why? he says he was being cost conscious. first, this is not trump catching the government wasting money on something we don't need. this was his idea. you remember, after him coming home from france. listen. >> one of the greatest parades i've ever seen. to a large extent because of what i witnessed we may do something like that on july 4th

in washington down pennsylvania avenue. i don't know. we'll have to try and top it. >> so the price tag wound up being $92 million. the original pentagon estimate was $12 million. 21 million of that 92 were local costs. city of d.c. had to provide police, transportation, all these other emergency services for parade. so 21 out of 92 is what triggered him? no. covering up for a bad idea by blaming someone else. that was his play. the local politicians, he said, who run washington, d.c. horribly know a windfall when they see it. when asked to give us a price for holding a great celebratory military parade they wanted a number so ridiculously high that i canceled it. maybe we'll do something next year in d.c when the cost comes way down. now we can buy some more fighter jets. first off, an f-35 fighter jet costs around 90 million. so you can only buy one for the cost of this parade. and was he really suggesting he might deny the military what it

needs to blow millions on a vanity fair for himself? i guess so. but this was never about the we. always about the me. proof. a quinnipiac poll from the time found that only 18% of people thought this was a good use of government dollars. and that's back when it was just a fraction of the cost. so here's the real motivation. trump likes the big military parades in places like russia, china, north korea. tactics used by strong men showing might makes right. but remember, they are despots and autocrats, not role models. so two arguments. if you want to celebrate veterans, don't have a parade. stop having your country club pals run the v.a. take reform there seriously. don't privatize what needs to be managed closely for veterans. stop letting essential protections slip like g.i. bill transferability and giving them

cover from predatory payday-type lenders. give them the tax relief you promised. that's what they want. not a parade. second, if you want to rally the country, two ideas. both are free. stop dividing it. stop blowing on the fires of racial animus and political division. stop attacking our fundamental institutions for nonexistent or wrongful reasons. stop trash talk, period, especially as a mode of disagreement. instead, parade our best qualities. not just on pennsylvania avenue but around the world. show our empathy, our openness. celebrate our differences as a projection of freedom and sweet strength, not harshness. be that kind of president and then the people may just throw you a parade instead of just paying for one that you throw for yourself. here's a great hashtag. make the presidency great again. thank you for joining me.

"cnn tonight" with don lemon starts right now. >> maybe the parade has bone spurs. >> ooh. did you burn a lot of calories coming up with that one, d-lemon? >> okay. i'm going to get you now. remember you were asking me about my background? >> yeah. oh, that's strong. what's in that, cuckoo juice? >> let's get after it. wait a minute. >> see you later. >> let's get after it. >> i'm not anything like that. >> i know. >> you don't need glasses, by the way. >> okay. well, these are prescription. >> sure. >> tell my eye doctor that. >> i will. bye. >> thanks, chris. have a great weekend. this is "cnn tonight," don lemon. we have breaking news in the russian investigation. robert mueller is recommending a sentence of up to six months in jail for former trump campaign staffer george papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi.