that we couldn't use in stories because they were so vague. john mccain always had a direct, clear statement and always said where he stood and it was very key and useful for us as white house reporters. >> well said. thank you all so much. thank you for joining us on "inside politics." "wolf" starts right now. hello, i'm wolf blitzer. it's 1:00 p.m. here in washington. wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. today we are remembering the life and legacy of senator john mccain. the reaction to his death continuing to pour in from all around the globe. this hour i'll speak with several of his very close friends and colleagues. all that coming up. but let's begin right now with some major breaking news here in washington. what could be the end of the north american free trade agreement, nafta. president trump now says negotiators have worked out a separate new trade deal with mexico, a deal that excludes canada. details are scarce, but in a

phone call with the president of mexico, president trump called this a good step for the two countries. >> i like to call this deal the united states/mexico trade agreement. i think it's an elegant name. i think nafta has a lot of bad connotations for the united states because it was a ripoff. it was a deal that was a horrible deal for our country. i think it's got a lot of bad connotations to a lot of people. and so we will probably -- you and i will agree to the name. we will see whether or not we decide to put up canada or just do a separate deal with canada if they want to make the deal. >> let's go to our chief white house correspondent, jim acosta right now. jim, what more do we know about this preliminary non-nafta agreement? >> reporter: well, unlike the questions that were asked of the president about john mccain, the president had nothing to say about the late senator, he did go on to a great deal to talk

about this new trade agreement that he says that he has struck with mexico. now, obviously this is a preliminary agreement. the final details are still being worked out. much of what has been under discussion, wolf, has been the trump administration and frankly president trump's insistence that some car production be brought back to the united states. that has been one of the byproducts of nafta. a lot of the car production that went on in the u.s. went down to mexico. wolf, in the middle of all of this is sort of this glaring fact that you have some pretty rough relations going on right now between the president and the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau. i think it's inescapable that the president reached this trade deal with mexico. its outgoing president and incoming president as a way to try to get canada back to the negotiating table. canada has so far not really been a part of these negotiations, but the president said when talking to reporters just a short while ago that he does invite the canadians to be a part of this.

of course, wolf, this is part of what the president campaigned on throughout the 2016 campaign cycle. he was very tough on the nafta agreement, called it one of the worst trade deals ever negotiated in american history ands this was part of his pitch to a lot of workers in the heartland in places like pennsylvania, michigan, wisconsin, places where those voters ended up being critical when it came down to voting time in 2016. but, wolf, at this point we just have scarce details as to what exactly is in this preliminary agreement between the u.s. and mexico. but it is a rather striking departure from where things have been for the last generation. nafta has been part of the trade lexicon in this country for a long period of this time to the chagrin of a lot of people in those states where they have seen factories close down and go overseas. the president is trying to position this as a big political win for him heading into the midterm campaign cycle.

but you're seeing as a result of this some pretty glaring bad relations between the president, this white house and the canadians as they're apparently not part of this agreement at this point, wolf. >> as you know, his remarks in the oval office just a little while ago, the president made no mention at all of the wall, the wall he wants built along the u.s./mexico border. has the president for all practical purposes given up right now on his campaign pledge that mexico would pay for that wall? >> reporter: wolf, we hear him talk about this out on the campaign trail from time to time, and what he says is that he will in some way get mexico to pay for this wall somewhere down the road. i suspect what you're going to hear from his advisers when this question comes up is they're going to say, well, some of the money that will go towards the wall will be in the form of some of this production that they think will come back to the united states as part of this renegotiated trade agreement. but in terms of how the president positioned this during the campaign where there would be some sort of expenditure on

the part of the mexican government that would help finance the construction of the wall on the mexican border, wolf, we've heard from not a single white house official who has ever explained how that's going to happen so it sounds like for all practical purposes the president has given up on that. but he's not given up on it as a campaign tool. we hear about his vision for a wall at just about every campaign rally. and he claims falsely that what he presented to the voters during the campaign is being built on the u.s./mexico border. of course we know, wolf, there's very little wall construction going on down there. there's fence repairs and that sort of thing, but nothing like what he promised during the campaign, wolf. >> no. during his campaign rallies in recent months he often talks about the wall. he promises the wall will be built. he promises there will be funding for the wall but no longer says mexico will pay for the wall, which always generated a huge amounti of applause at hs rallies. he stopped saying that at least for now. jim acosta at the white house,

thanks very much. meanwhile, tributes to senator john mccain. they are pouring in from around the world. but one voice still notably missing, that would be the president of the united states. we learned the white house did draft a full statement on senator mccain after his death, a statement that would have praised him, his military service, being a real genuine american hero, but president trump for whatever reason chose to go with just a short tweet instead expressing his sympathy to the family. just moments ago the president repeatedly ignored multiple questions from reporters in the oval office during that photo op when they pressed him on questions involving senator mccain. >> mr. president, any thoughts about john mccain? mr. president, any thoughts on john mccain, sir? >> didn't answer any questions. you saw all of his top aides,

including the vice president, his son-in-law, jared kushner, sarah sander, they immediately walked in front of the desk to prevent any further questioning of the president on this issue. we are expecting, by the way, to see the president once again shortly. he's welcoming kenya's president to the united states. we'll see if he weighs in at that time during that photo op. in the meantime joining us to honor the life and legacy of senator mccain, a man who worked closely with him over many years, democratic senator patrick leahy from vermont. senator, thanks so much for joining us. i know you admired senator mccain and worked closely with him. how are you remembering him on this day? >> i am remembering him as a very, very good friend. i am remembering the last time we talked. i think we both knew it would be the last time we'd see each other. i've got to admit it got pretty emotional for both of us saying good-bye and hugging each other good-bye. i've worked with john on a lot

of things. sometimes we agreed, sometimes we disagreed. we were both laughing about the fact that we had sometimes have a towering argument and five minutes later we'd be back in the cloakroom or out in the hall arms around each other just laughing our heads off. but the thing is, you could go to john and say, look, john, we've got to set aside democratic and republican labels. here's something that needs to be done. and we'd work it out. whether it was for the security of the united states, the betterment of our people, we could do it. and i -- i have to admit this morning i got a call from somebody in washington, how angry they were driving by the white house seeing the flag not lowered to half staff. every single flag in washington and vermont has been lowered in

his honor. it is such pettiness, such pettiness in reaction to a real american hero. you know, i realize the president never wanted to serve in the military, but he ought to show some admiration for someone who did and served nobly. >> we do know that yesterday for several hours the white house flag was lowered to half staff but for some reason overnight it was raised once again. the flags are at half staff clearly up on capitol hill. i want to get to that in a moment, but we've heard so many stories about senator mccain's very strong friendships, not necessarily restricted by age or party affiliation. you're clearly a democrat, senator mccain of course was a republican. as you correctly point out, you often didn't see eye to eye on a lot of these substantive issues, but what does that say about

him, that despite differences, partisan differences, he was willing to work with liberal democrats on some of the most sensitive issues? >> i think he and i had the same view of the senate. it should be the conscience of the nation. and that means both of us have had to say, look, we can't follow what our party says, we have to follow what's best for the u.s. and he would do that. i do remember one time after an argument he comes over and he starts apologizing for -- i said, john, you never have to apologize for anything. anyone who has gone through what you have, you never have to apologize. but then he would sit down -- i mean i remember we worked on immigration. we worked on other things. he was always there trying to figure out, okay, how do we bring republicans and democrats together for the good of the nation. i mean he could be -- he could take a republican -- he was a proud republican. but the nation came first.

i think a man who served as he did, who refused to leave the prison in hanoi until the other prisoners were able to leave is a man who shows real character. >> yeah. >> that's why it bothers me somewhat on the flag at the white house because john mccain had so, so much character. it shows a lack of character in not lowering the flag at the white house. >> what does it show to you that there was a draft statement that was submitted to the president praising senator mccain's -- his unique role in american history as a p.o.w., as a war hero, but the president decided for whatever reason he wasn't going to release that. what does that say to you? >> it shows what a strong person john mccain was and it shows that one of the two was strong and not weak. and i think the fact that john

mccain's family has invited barack obama and george bush, both men that he ran against, to come and give a eulogy, that shows what americans should do, not try to divide people but to bring people together. john mccain tried to bring people together. just before we went on the news, you were showing about nafta. excluding canada, nafta won't pass the senate. i mean the only way it passed last time was because canada was part of it. it sort of falls in the same category, we're all waiting for mexico to pay for a wall. i mean president trump promised that, gave his word that they'd pay for it. well, my reaction was open a bank account. when money comes in, we'll spend it on the wall. but you're not -- i mean this kind of thing, canada is our

greatest trading partner. it comes across as petty. it is not what john mccain would do. john mccain tried to rise above petty politics. and that's why you're seeing so much admiration for him from both republicans and democrats. >> yeah. we're going to have a lot more on senator mccain coming up. senator leahy, thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you. and thank you for honoring my good friend. >> yeah, well, he deserves it. this hour, the president has, by the way, another chance to address the passing of senator john mccain. we're going to hear from the president later this hour. we'll see what, if anything, he says. also, why north korea says the u.s. is secretly plotting right now to unleash war. that's what north korea is now saying. we have details. stay with us.

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soon president trump is expected to speak as he greets kenya's president over at the white house. but will he answer any questions from reporters about senator john mccain's death? he ignored repeated questions from reporters earlier today in the oval office. meanwhile, the white house flag returned to full staff after just one day while other federal buildings remain half staff in honor of the u.s. senator. and this, a source now telling cnn white house aides did in fact draft an official statement on senator mccain after his death, but it never went out. the president instead simply sending out a brief tweet expressing his sympathy to the mccain family. joining us now to discuss this and more, white house reporter for bloomberg news, shannon pettypiece and white house reporter for "the new york

times" julie hirshfeld davis. what would have been the big deal if the president had released that statement which his top advisers drafted for him? >> it would have been an easy thing to do. that's what presidents usually do in a situation like this. but we've heard for months that president trump has a real grudge against senator mccain. he did not want to say anything nice about him, either about his death or his life an legacy. he just didn't want to go there. and so he couldn't bring himself to do even the most sort of basic of presidential statements saying john mccain has died, he was a hero, here's his legacy or something along those lines. he didn't want to do that. he didn't feel comfortable given their history together of doing that. i also think, you know, he felt that john mccain represented a brand of politics and the establishment that he wants to hold himself away from and he wants to keep at a distance. i just think he couldn't really see a way clear to do what his advisers were offering him the

chance to do. >> because there is, as a lot of our viewers will remember, shannon, an ugly history going back to 2015 when the president was asked about john mccain being a war hero and he said he wasn't a war hero, he was captured, he was a p.o.w. if you're captured, you're not a hero. in recent months, he out on the campaign trail has repeatedly gone after senator mccain for voting against the affordable care act and for all practical purposes stopping it from being completely repealed. >> this isn't the first time, though, a president has disagreed with someone who died and had to say something while they were in office. that happens. people on different political parties, you know, will die while someone is in office. you say something courteous about them, though. i think that's what shows the difference between this white house and previous white houses is that in the past and maybe the person could have really detested the deceased behind closed doors, but they would

publicly at least come out and show some sort of courtesy, show some sort of support for the family. and this white house is just not going to do that. once this president locks his mind in on something, he does not change it, he does not compromise. there is no grudge too small, too slight, to little that he will look past. >> because even the past year when he was clearly dying from brain cancer, the president would still go out there and speak ill of john mccain on the campaign trail. why is the white house flag now at full staff as opposed to half staff? yesterday it was at half staff. >> well, as pointed out earlier, all the other buildings in washington, they're still at half staff. there is a provision in the law that when a member of congress dies, the flag gets lowered for 24 hours to half staff. but in cases like these when you have a revered senator who's been serving for decades, a war hero, certainly was the case with senator ted kennedy when he died, the president will issue a proclamation extending that

period usually through the funeral or the burial of the deceased. but that would have taken an official act by president trump. the proclamation would have had to say something, presumably something good about senator mccain. as we've seen and been discussing, he's not willing to do that. he still feels that senator mccain was his enemy, worked against him, said bad things about him and he just doesn't -- he just doesn't want to do it so you see the physical manifestation of that with the flag. >> issuing a blockmatiproclamat would have had to sign that and said john mccain war hero, great american, great patriot and he didn't want to say that. >> i saw a statement from mcconnell and schumer asking that the military ensure that flags at government buildings are flown at half staff until mccain is buried. i don't know if that means they're going to send the military in to lower the flag at the white house, if that's how the military coup will unfold, but it certainly shows too that

bipartisan side making whatever efforts they can to make sure that that honor is extended even if it isn't happening at the white house. >> senator schumer wants to rename the russell senate office building the john mccain senate office building. a lot of democrats are on board. i assume a bunch of republicans are as well. what are you hearing from the white house, what are you hearing from capitol hill? is that likely to be renamed? >> it seems like if democrats agree, and obviously richard russell was a democrat, and jeff flake, the other republican from arizona was on board with that, i would not be surprised to see other republicans sign on in that effort. it's not something the president would have to sign is my understanding so i wouldn't be surprised if the white house didn't touch the issue. clearly that would be a symbolic thing and i think folks on capitol hill are looking for as many symbolic ways to honor his legacy. in a time the president is not playing that unifying role, we see congress and certainly former presidents obama and bush

will be eulogizing him. >> that's on saturday morning. we're expecting to hear again from the president, the kenyan president is in town. we'll see if he says anything about senator mccain. much more coming up, including the possible fallout from the abrupt cancelling of secretary of state mike pompeo's trip to north korea. he was supposed to be there this week. why pyongyang is now accusing the united states of, quote, hatching a criminal plot. and later, we'll speak with florida senator bill nelson about his favorite memories of senator john mccain and why he says the president is not acting presidential right now. stay with us, we'll be right back. mom: okay we need to get all your school supplies today... school... grade... done. done. hit the snooze button and get low prices on school supplies all summer long. like this case of paper for only $29.99 at office depot officemax.

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this is staying connected with xfinity to make moving... simple. easy. awesome. stay connected while you move with the best wifi experience and two-hour appointment windows. click, call or visit a store today. north korea state-run newspaper is now accusing the united states of plotting to, quote, unleash a war whole negotiating with, quote, a smile on its face. the newspaper in pyongyang alleges that u.s.-based forces in japan are conducting secret drills involving what it calls man-killing special units with the intention of invading north korea. u.s. forces in japan say it's not aware of any such drills. all this comes just days after president trump cancelled secretary of state mike pompeo's planned visit to pyongyang this week. to discuss this and more i'm

joined by max baucus, a former democratic senator from montana. senator, thanks for joining us. so what do you think -- why do you think that there has been this fiery rhetoric now coming from pyongyang? >> i think it's internal consumption. i think president kim -- every once in a while he does this, stirs up the people in his country with some outrageous charge against the united states. i think that's basically it. he also might be a little bit piqued that president trump withdrew pompeo's visit over to the region, but this is standard north korean operation. >> does it complicate the relationship between the u.s. and north korea? >> no question the relationship is much more complicated, in part, though, because the united states is losing its stature. i think we're in a worse position now compared to where

we were before singapore. that is singapore, nothing has happened. china and russia are starting to amp up a little more of their help to north korea. trump looks even more inconsistent. i think because the united states is perceived as losing a little bit of mojo that that's giving a little more impetus to kim to be a little stronger than he has been in the past. i just -- we've got a real problem ahead of us, the united states does, in dealing with north korea and we're not doing a good job. >> yeah, it's a serious issue. the stakes are clearly enormous. while i have you, senator, i want to switch gears. i know you and senator john mccain were very close friends, former colleagues for many, many years in the u.s. senate. you worked for him for nearly 30 years. give us a thought or two about this extraordinary man. >> john mccain had a very strong

code of conduct, military code of conduct in his dna. that enabled him to stand up to the military, that is say when he thought the military was doing wrong. john mccain had the credibility. second, he's a real patriot. people knew that he was standing up for america, didn't have an ulterior motive. add to that because of his strong code of conduct, he was trusted, no guile, not a deceptive bone in his body. now, he had strong views and sometimes they were not totally accurate and sometimes he's lose his temper and blow up, but he always came back when he realized he made a mistake and wanted to do the right thing. there's nobody like him. it's going to be very hard to find somebody to replace john mccain. an example is what he did on obamacare. he stood up, he did what he thought was right and that was not repeal obamacare because he felt that was the right thing to do. in part maybe because he knew his health was a little bit shaky, but he says what he

thinks and, man, oh man, do we need more of that. >> we certainly do. senator, ambassador, thank you so much. used to be a senator, yoosused e an ambassador. appreciate it very much. >> you bet. thanks, wolf, good luck. rick davis, who served as john mccain's campaign manager and long-time aide is speaking out about funeral arrangements for the senator right now. i briefly wanting to listen in. >> cindy mccain is under consideration to fill the senate seat. can you talk about that at all? >> no, i'm not going to address that at all. yes, ma'am. >> i'm with the local abc station. along with vein, let me ask you this. has the senator talked about what kind of person he hopes comes after him in serving arizona in the u.s. senate? >> you know, i think throughout the years he would -- he would contemplate what a succession would look like. i think he had a different plan in mind in those days.

i think he was looking forward to retiring after this last term of office and enjoying that back porch in sedona. but it's hard to say. you know, he's always been someone who has encouraged participation in politics, especially in the republican party with minorities, women. i think a hispanic woman probably would have been his pick for a successor if he had lived long enough to do the opportunity. but it's just too sad to say what that would have looked like because he never got that far. >> he welcomed joe biden into the family. how did his relationship with senator mccain starred and continue over the years?

>> they have known each other for a very long time. at one point in time he was the naviy liaison to the united states senate and one of the people he befriended was joe biden. long before john had any political ambition, he was exposed to people like senator cohen, senator biden, some of the great luminaries as the chairman of committees that he worked with. so he's always had an incredibly close and personal relationship with joe biden. it has been tested over the years on issue after issue. and yet they remain steadfast in their personal relationship. if there's any better exemplification of what you can accomplish in politics to

debating vociferously and then at the end of the day maintaining a relationship with the people you do battle with is the model of governance that john mccain so much adhered to. and that relationship with joe biden was clearly in that category. i would say bar none, joe biden has been an incredible comfort to the family, a source of wonderful amount of information about the disease when john mccain was first diagnosed with glioblastoma, an i know cindy and meghan and the whole family have been comforted by his prayers and counsel, and for that reason they have asked him to be here at the first stop along the way. yes, ma'am. >> how is the family holding up? >> well, they have been steeled

by fire. this is a family that's been in the public for as long as they can remember. and it's almost as if the senator prepared them for this moment. they are tough. but even talking about it makes you a little weak-kneed. they're doing great. they appreciate so much the reporting that you all are doing about john's life and the prayers and the well wishes that they see every day. on the street, the memorials at the funeral home, there's a memorial at his office. people have just poured out their sympathies to the mccains and they greatly appreciate it. >> do we know if the website is still up? we tried to this morning and weren't able to get tickets. also will mr. mccain's mother

attend any of these ceremonies? >> good question. keep trying on that website. it probably got more traffic than even we had anticipated. so the best i can tell you is just keep pounding away on it. it's getting more information on it updated a lot, so they take it down sometimes or freeze it in order to be able to fill that information in, so you might be just experiencing some of those things. but just keep trying. it's really the best single opportunity to get credentialed and that kind of thing. if at all, you continue to have problems, we have a lot of the team here to help you with what you need. >> rick davis, senator mccain's long-time very close aide, the former campaign manager for his presidential campaign, outlining some of the details of the upcoming funeral arrangements. and here they are. let me put them up on the screen. you can see on wednesday, senator mccain's body will lie in state at the arizona state

capitol. thursday morning there will be a memorial service at the north phoenix baptist church. we understand that former vice president biden will be speaking there. and then senator mccain's casket will be flown to joint base andrews outside of washington, d.c. on friday senator mccain will lie in state at the u.s. capitol rotunda. there will be a formal memorial service at the national cathedral here in washington saturday. former president obama, former president george w. bush, they will both be speaking there along with family members. on sunday senator mccain will be laid to rest at the u.s. naval academy in annapolis, maryland. we'll be right back. alright, i brought in new max protein ...to give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you don't. i'll take that. [cheers] 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. new ensure max protein.

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a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! live pictures coming in from the south lawn of the white house. the president getting ready to receive the visiting president of the republic of kenya, the president will then escort them inside the white house and they will have a meeting in the oval office. we do anticipate a photo opportunity in the oval office. they'll be making statements. we'll see if the president answers reporters' questions on senator mccain. we'll have coverage of all of that coming up. in the meantime, there's other important news we're watching right now. during his visit to ireland, pope francis spoke about his shame over the appalling crimes

of historic child abuse saying the outrage was justified, but he did not specifically address the current scandal raging over a pennsylvania grand jury report documenting at least 1,000 cases of clerical abuse. now another state is taking action. missouri's attorney general announcing that his office will launch a separate investigation into clergy sex abuse allegations in the st. louis area. the attorney general of missouri, joshua hawley is joining us right now. tell us about what your state is about to do, the first state to publicly announce an investigation after pennsylvania. >> thanks for having me, wolf. we're going to investigate all over the state. it will be a statewide investigation. we hope it will be comprehensive. we are sure it will be thorough in scope. we've asked each. four diocese, we have four in

the state of missouri, we've asked each of the four to open all of their books to us. we want to see everything they have related to clerical abuse. we'll interview victims' families, speak to members of the public and do everything it takes to get a full, fair and thorough accounting of the facts. they'll we'll write a electorate, lay that bare to the public, including making recommendations for prosecution if necessary. >> you initially, attorney general gener general, resisted the calls for an investigation saying it was up to local prosecutors. what changed your mind? >> well, we don't have subpoena power, high office doesn't have subpoena power for these kinds of crimes, wolf. the local prosecutors do. but when the archbishop of st. louis indicated that the church would be willing to open its books on a voluntary basis, we leapt at that and challenged the other three diocese in the state to do the same. we understand they have all three agreed to do so now and we'll hold them to their word and we'll ask for everything, every piece of information we would ask for if he did have subpoena power.

we'll conduct a vigorous, thorough investigation, speaking to everybody who's relevant. i want to encourage members of the public, if you have information relevant to the situation in missouri, potential abu abuse, anything that is potentially relevant, please contact my office, the attorney general's office in the state of missouri. >> as you know, the power of attorneys general varies from state to state around the country. your office, as you point out, does not have jurisdiction to prosecute any criminal acts of clergy sex abuse or issue subpoenas to investigate it. so walk us through the inquiry process, how this is all going to unfold in the event you do find some major abuse. >> well, what we will do is we will go to each of the diocese and the process has already begun, wolf. we started last week. i appointed a long-time sex crimes prosecutor who will head up the investigation in my office. we're putting our best prosecutors and investigators on it. we'll go to each of the four diocese and ask for total access to their files for every piece

of information that we think is relevant. we will speak to victims' families. we will speak to potential victims. anybody who has information that is relevant, we want to speak to them. and we will do this, we'll treat this like we would any other full-scale criminal investigation. we'll write a report. at the end of the day that lays bare all of the facts. if there need to be charging recommendations made, wolf, for prosecutions to be brought, we will make those recommendations and we will challenge the prosecutors to follow through. we are going to hold folks accountable here and we're going to give the public confidence that a thorough, fair and comprehensive investigation has been performed and lay all the facts out. >> josh hawley is the attorney general of missouri. attorney general, thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> you just saw live pictures of the president and first lady receiving the visiting president of kenya and the first lady of kenya, president kenyatta just showing up at the white house. they have gone inside and will

head over to the oval office. there will be another photo opportunity there. we'll have coverage of what the president has to say, including the president of kenya. then we'll see if the president answers any reporters' questions at that photo opportunity. there they are standing in front -- on the south lawn of the white house. we'll be right back. got directions to the nightclub here. and if you get lost, just hit me on the old horn. man: tom's my best friend, but ever since he bought a new house... tom: it's a $10 cover? oh, okay. didn't see that on the website. he's been acting more and more like his dad. come on, guys! jump in!

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la makers from both sides of the aisle are paying tribute to senator john mccain for his pay treatism and wartime service. he will be honored throughout this week. among those reflecting on

senator mccain's legacy is democratic senator bill nelson of florida. he tweeted this, john mccain was my friend and one of my heroes. he devoted his life to duty, honor, and country. he shall always be a role model for me. i spoke with senator nelson just a little while ago and i asked him what he admired most about senator mccain. >> john would wake up every day and he would just want to do the right thing. he believed that a public office is a public trust. and he would not break that trust. and that sense of duty, honor, country was what was paramount in john's mind. and that is so admirable. that's the gold standard that all of us in public office ought to try to achieve. >> senator mccain seemed to relish his reputation as a maverick, someone who was not

afraid to go against his own party when necessary. how did that shape his work, from your perspective n the u.s. senate? >> well, because of that, he approached things more from a common sense what's in the best interests of america standpoint instead of what is too much the norm these days, what's in the partisan interest. and that's what the american people are so sick and tired of, wolf. they want us to get back to where we are coming together in bipartisan agreement in order to get things done. if we would remember that we would get a lot more done. >> chuck schumer says he will introduce a resolution to rename the russel senate office building after john mccain. what are your thoughts on that? i wanted to point out senator russel was a segregationist and he fought against the civil rights act.

>> well, it would be my honor to name that office building after john, just like the armed services committee voted unanimously to name the bill that is now law after john. and it is the appropriate thing to do. >> president trump sent out a tweet offering his condolences to senator mccain's family but there has been no official white house statement on senator mccain's record of service. what does that say to you about the state of politics today? and senator mccain's call for a return to civility and respect? >> well, the president ought to be the role model for the country, and particularly at a time like this, losing a hero. you you had at to be appreciative, you ought to be humble. you ought to be trying to bring the nation together instead of dividing us. and i think that it is very

inappropriate that what the president has said and how he continues to act. and he said that a couple of years ago in the middle of the campai campaign, and i'm disappointed in the president and the white house, that they would let that stand. >> let me shift to another important topic, something very close to you right now, down in jacksonville, florida, two people are dead along with a gunman in a shooting at a video gaming tournament down there this weekend. nine others were injured. you are on the scene. what more can you tell us? >> that's why i'm in jacksonville along with senator rubio. and you will notice that it's two senators from the same state of opposite parties that come together like we did in the aftermath of the hurricane. we traveled all over the state

together. we were with the sheriff's department, the fbi, the atf to get a complete rundown. he and i both were on the phone yesterday to make sure that the resources of the federal government, namely through the fbi and the atf, were available to local law enforcement, which is the lead here. and that is being done. and we had that comprehensive meeting with them in the sheriff's office this morning. >> this latest mass shooting in florida comes on the heels of the 17 deaths in the shooting at the marjorie stoneman douglas high school earlier this year, the massacre of 49 people at the pulse night club in orlando in 2016. governor rick scott told reporters, i'm quoting now, we have got to change. what change do you think is

needed? >> well, at a time like this, of the deaths of several people, i'm not going to get into the politics. but i can tell you what i believe that we should do. at the very least, just common sense would tell you that we ought to have a law that is a comprehensive universal background check in the acquisition or purchase of a gun. that would have caught omar mateen, the killer in the pulse nightclub. a comprehensive background check may have caught some of the mental health problems of the killer in the high school and parkland because he had not been adjudicated mentally incompetent. that did not come up on the comprehensive background check. so i'm hopeful that eventually senators are going to come to their senses and that we can get

a comprehensive background check law passed. >> senator nelson, thanks so much for joining us. >> thanks, wolf. a final note on senator mccain. i interviewed him on many occasions over the past 30 years. i can testify that he didn't always like the tough questions, occasionally he would jump on me. but he was very, very generous with his time. and usually very nice. still, as our viewers know he never minced any words with those he totally disagreed with on some substantive national security issues such as the u.s. involvement in iraq and syria for example. senator mccain always appreciated the critical role that a free press plays in a democracy and for that and for so much more i will always be grateful. john mccain was a genuine american hero a great american. my deepest condolences to his loving family and his friends. may he rest in peace.