tv Inside Politics CNN January 21, 2019 9:00am-10:00am PST
9:00 am
welcome to "inside politics." i'm john king. thank you for sharing your day with us. the partial government shutdown now entering its second month. no end in sight as the second missed pay day for federal workers looms. on this national martin luther king holiday it takes a grant from a foundation to open the park in atlanta. a junior senator enters the politician race, adding a woman to the growing field. joe biden also testing the waters with michael bloomberg. they share a stage at an mlk event here in washington. >> i haven't had a chance yet to talk to the vice president at length yet today, but i did want to get some pointers from him for what it's like to live in washington, d.c. i actually thought that was f
9:01 am
funifu funnier than you did. >> a quiet day for president trump so far, but there is hope for democrats wanting to evict him from the white house. paying a brief visit to the mlk memorial here in washington. >> good morning, everybody. it's a great day. it's a beautiful day. thank you for being here. appreciate it. >> the activity among democrats included a new and important entry into the 2020 white house race. democratic senator kamala harris making her announcement first in a campaign video and on "good morning america." >> i am running for president of the united states. and i'm very excited about it. i'm very excited about it. >> harris joins a crowd of quickly growing democratic field, the third woman from the u.s. senate to take steps toward an official bid joining senators elizabeth warren and kirsten
9:02 am
gillibrand. there are now a total of nine official contenders and many, many, many more flirting with the run th. this day to share my insights, let's start with our california correspondent here. it's a big entry. she's obviously wanted this. she's ready to step in and do it, an african-american woman. what makes her different from the rest? >> well, i think that her team really feels that her experience as a prosecutor, as someone who really drilled these trump nominees from brett kavanaugh to john kelly is someone who would come at the race from a different background, also being of mixed race heritage. she really feels that she can better represent the democratic party and the country in the white house how t, and she's oby hoping here not just to draw african-americans to her campaign but also latinos because she has worked very hard on the immigration issue,
9:03 am
particularly on daca. we've got all of these states early in the calendar, like nevada, for example, her neighboring state, and california, which is actually going to be mailing out ballots on the same day that iowans caucus. so there is a lot of opportunity here. >> proof if you're from a big state, or a bigger state, it's good to have friends back home. those are changes with harris in mind, california moving up. you mentioned the prosecutor role. is it a plus or will it be a minus in the primaries? you can want the police to stop crime in your neighborhood, also want them to stop using excessive force. you can want them to hunt down a killer on your streets and also stop using racial profiling. you can believe in the need for consequence and accountability, especially for serious criminals, and also oppose unjust incarceration. i believed it was essential to weave all these varied strands together. at a time when president trump
9:04 am
just signed criminal reform. can she strike that balance, i guess is the question? >> she's been answering these questions, though, ever since she decided to become a prosecutor and really faced some heat within her family where family members and family friends were saying, how can you possibly be part of a system that disproportionately incarcerates black and brown men? and she tried earlier in her career to really start working on reforms from the inside, and that's the way she answers the question. but as we've seen over the past week with one interruption at her san francisco event where a woman shouted, what about black people, kamala? and also a very pointed op-ed piece in the "new york times." this is going to be a really double-edged sword. >> can a democrat run against her and say she's too tough on crime, too insensitive on crime? >> i think the kind of criticism here are sort of some of the criticisms that came out during hillary clinton and bill clinton
9:05 am
and the crime bill during her 2016 run. kamala harris' record is more recent, but some in the communities do see black marks on her record, punitive policies that she pursued while in that office. but you obviously do want democrats having a certain type of law and order. they want accountability for trump in his administration and that's what's so satisfying for him where she's relentless and takes people down. that's the type of prosecutor democrats may be looking for. the difference is on these policy questions, does she have a better answer for those? because it is somewhat glossed over in the book where she makes it sound like some of those things can effortless get along. >> and we don't know where she'll end up on the wide spectrum of democrats who either have thrown their hats in this ring or are contemplating. she's a little left of center from someone like a kirsten gillibrand who, at the beginning of her career, really was sort
9:06 am
of a moderate voice. now a little bit less so, but she's not all the way left like someone like elizabeth warren who has spent her career going after wall street. we'll have to see where that settles out as she ramps up this rollout. >> it's a great point and we have no idea. we have no idea how many, we have no idea what democratic voters want. one thing clear, though, out of the box, listen to senator harris here, she believes it's critical to portray strength. >> i love my country. i love my country. and this is a moment in time that i feel a sense of responsibility to stand up and fight for the best of who we are. and that fight will always include, as one of the highest priorities, our national security. we must understand the power that we have, the strength that we have. it is about military power, it's about diplomatic power. my entire career has been focused on keeping people safe. it is probably one of the things that motivates me more than anything else.
9:07 am
>> one of the things i always watch early on having been through a few of these is how do they grow? what do they like to talk about? what's the reflex? strength, power, it's presidential. is it the right primary message? >> it may not be the right primary message, but i think it's responsive to what you're hearing from republicans on the right. whoever the democratic nominee is, the republican argument, the trump argument is going to be law and order, that they want to abolish i.c.e., they want to create chaos, a sense of lawlessness in the country and trump wants the opposite of that. she's already being responsive to that message. whether or not the democratic primary will care as much about that compared to other things or whether they will see that for what it is, which is perhaps some smart positioning on her part, anticipating a general election in which -- i could almost bet you money right now it is going to be the central message. this is what trump wants to run on. he started in the 2016 midterm
9:08 am
elections talking about the party of chaos, framing democrats in that way, and kamala harris is basically making the argument that unlike a lot of these other people, i actually have a law and order record, and i can run against trump in that way. >> exactly. it's all about how they take on trump, which i think is the most fascinating thing we're watching right here in these first two opening weeks. do they engage him, do they take the bait, do they fall into the trap that elizabeth warren did with the dna test? and so far what kamala harris has done is speak about him as the president, the no billnobil the office, but go hard against him. >> he was one of the few candidates, i was going through his twitter feed today, and i didn't see any references to her. i don't think he's taken her on twitter yet, which is just -- it's obviously a subset of how the president goes after people.
9:09 am
but we haven't seen how he's going to take her on, and if she emerges as a strong force in this race, he's absolutely going to. >> your first day in you want people to get to know you, you want people to like you, you want people interested so they keep paying attention to you. you mentioned elizabeth warren had -- at least some people perceived a misstep with the dna test. she understands more candidates are getting in, so you need your niche. she's trying to say, especially on this mlk day, i'm with the little guy. >> the act was to support sanitation workers as they fought for economic security and dignity on the job. in this battle dr. king stressed that the struggle for equality and justice is not limited to civil rights, it also includes economic rights. there is so much to be done in the fight for full equality. >> populism works. here is a question.
9:10 am
once barack obama became credible, the african-american vote went his way. if you're kamala harris or you're someone trying to stop kamala harris and you're trying to make this appeal, what's the path? >> she needs name i.d., right. when barack obama first start, he was not known nationally by the african-american community. that will be crucial in california as well. they know her in california. she's not actually that well known within the broader primary electorate. like you say, the first thing will be getting people to know her, to like her. when you go to iowa and you talk to voters, they want to like her. they've heard of her, but they need to see her up close. they need to know what it feels like. democrats want someone they think can beat trump and they want someone who makes them feel something, much more than a checklist of priorities. >> there is a cliche but it's
9:11 am
also true in politics. i like kamala but i've only met her three or four times. jake tapper will monitor a town all with senator harris in des moines next monday at 10:00 p.m. right here on cnn. next, what about all those other 2020 democrats? >> i hope you run for president. >> thank you for saying that. you encouraging me means more to me than you could ever imagine.
9:12 am
with expedia, i saved when i added a hotel to our flight. so even when she grows up, she'll never outgrow the memory of our adventure. unlock savings when you add select hotels to your existing trip. only with expedia. with a $500,000 life insurance policy. how much do you think it cost him? $100 a month? $75? $50? actually, duncan got his $500,000 for under $28 a month. less than a dollar a day. his secret? selectquote. in just minutes, a selectquote agent will comparison shop
9:13 am
9:15 am
t-mobile knows dancing is better when you include a partner. singing is better when you include a friend. and unlimited is better with a phone included. it's true. forty bucks with the other guys, doesn't include a phone. so, start the new year right. join t-mobile and get unlimited with a phone included for just forty dollars per line. . welcome back more on the growing 2020 democratic field now. on this martin luther king holiday, a chance for those in or leaning in to say hello, make a point or two. former vice president joe biden, michael bloomberg, cory booker
9:16 am
to name a few. >> i've been fighting gun violence in the nra for many years, spending hundreds of millions of dollars of my own money and traveling around this country rallying voters of gun safety candidates and causes. >> folks, what the hell are we arguing a $15 minimum wage for? why is it even a question? >> to make sure all people have decent wages. remember where he died, he died in memphis signing with exploited sanitation workers. dr. king is a hero of mine. >> cnn's jeff zeleny and paul cain of the "washington post" join the conversation. you're trying, in a crowded field torques carve out your niche. you heard mayor bloomberg, gun control. he might say if you're an independent or democrat, but to
9:17 am
know me is to love me. fair? >> i think they're trying to carve out their individual lanes with high burdens. mayor bloomberg does have to remind people with, look, i was a progressive. i had to spend millions of dollars to help democrats. we'll see if that works or not. but keep in mind we have a republican president in the white house who used to be a democrat, so we should stay open to that possibility, but still hard to see how he navigates the primary. vice president biden there, all eyes on him, no indication of what he's actually going to do and his record, of course, would come under scrutiny. bernie sanders, keep an eye on him. if he's going to try to make a second act, needs to do better in the south than he did four years ago. >> donald trump is the president of the united states. nobody thought he was an ideal fit for the republicans. i count nothing out in the age of trump. back to the former vice president. everybody knows him. he ran twice and failed. part of his message was to
9:18 am
remember pafrt of the democrati planet was my friend. >> i encourage barack -- i'm sorry, former president barack obama. he's my buddy. he really is my buddy, but he won the former race, not me. >> he's been running that line for about two years now. i genuinely don't think he's decided. i think everybody else has basically made up their mind. i think he and maybe beto are the only two left who are truly trying to decide right now. his numbers are amazing. they're better than everybody else's numbers with just about every subset. >> a blessing and a curse early on. >> yeah. never be a frontrunner. >> what's interesting to me about the biden candidacy is although he is leading by a mile, a lot of these earlier polls that don't tell you what's going to happen but they tell
9:19 am
you where hearts are at the moment, nobody seems to be scared out of the water by him. were he to get in, once voters learn about some of the other candidates, they're not necessarily committed to joe biden, even if they know him and like him and they associate him with obama who they love, in 2016 and in 2008, there isn't a candidate who is scaring people out of the field right now. you see also the upside of this strategy that the woman candidates have of getting in early is trying to brand themselves in the lanes that the men might want to take, right? elizabeth warren you talked about wanting to be the justice candidate. that's bernie's line. if she can get in there and claim she's the younger, fresher alternative, there will still be those people who only belong to bernie, but the idea is to edge him out of his lane. >> and gillibrand, senator out
9:20 am
of new york, says she's more progressive. is this shade or is it the truth? >> we have amazing stars in our party. we have bernie, liz, cory and kamala. i think a lot of bernie's ideas are gracheat. >> if it's a little hard to hear in the wind, she mentions bernie and says he's not actually in our party. you don't consider bernie a democrat? no, he's an independent. that's truth. is that a poke or is that just a fact? >> it's a fact, but i think it's probably both. you know, i also think bernie sanders really has had a lot of trouble explaining this scandal that went on in his last campaign having to do with women who were being sexually harassed and perhaps not being taken seriously. so he really hasn't -- the fact that there is all these women candidates in addition to that,
9:21 am
in addition to also having run before and failed, i think all of that is tough. those are definitely in a maybe don't run for bernie sanders, but also he has a lot of do run. he has a lot of support out there. >> let me add this before we go. beto is on the road. he's in pueblo, colorado right now. you can read it yourself if you want. back home, the corpus christi times says he's dithering when he should be preparing for a candidacy. is he dithering or just doing it differently? >> it used to be how much money you could raise. i think it's how much attention you can command at this point. but i do talk to democrats who ask how long can this go on before you show that you're serious and do something more serious than a selfie or instagram photo. i think paul is right.
9:22 am
he has not decided if he's running or not. he's back in el paso after this road trip. he really didn't come to a conclusion in his writing whether he's running or not. friends i've talked to over the weekend say he's not sure. it's unsure how long this tease can go. >> that's what i hear from bloomberg as well. there are a lot of candidates dithering as well. >> testing. testing. we go to break, senator cory booker a few moments ago in south carolina. >> we are dissatisfied. this is not a time for us to rest in our country. the work is not done. the dream still demands t. the call of our country is still loud, and the question is, are we dissatisfied? man 2: proof of less joint pain... woman 3: ...and clearer skin. man 3: proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis...
9:23 am
woman 4: ...with humira. woman 5: humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further irreversible joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. humira is the number one prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. (avo): humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. 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. woman 6: ask your rheumatologist about humira. woman 7: go to mypsaproof.com to see proof in action. their medicare options... before they're on medicare. come on in. you're turning 65 soon? yep.
9:24 am
and you're retiring at 67? that's the plan! well, you've come to the right place. it's also a great time to learn about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. here's why... medicare part b doesn't pay for everything. only about 80% of your medical costs. this part is up to you... yeah, everyone's a little surprised to learn that one. a medicare supplement plan helps pay for some of what medicare doesn't. that could help cut down on those out-of-your-pocket medical costs. call unitedhealthcare insurance company now or visit aarpmedicaresupplement.com for your free decision guide about the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. selected for meeting their high standards of quality and service. this type of plan lets you say "yes" to any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. there are no networks or referrals to worry about.
9:25 am
do you accept medicare patients? i sure do! see? you're able to stick with him. like to travel? this kind of plan goes with you anywhere you travel in the country. so go ahead, spend winter somewhere warm. if you're turning 65 soon or over 65 and planning to retire, find out more about the plans that live up to their name. thumbs up to that! remember, the time to prepare is before you go on medicare! don't wait. get started today. to learn more about the range of aarp medicare supplement plans and their rates, call or go online today to request your free decision guide. oh, and happy birthday... or retirement... in advance.
9:26 am
9:27 am
simple. easy. awesome. click or visit a retail store today. it is day 31 of the partial government shutdown and this week's agenda on capitol hill suggests the end is not near. senate republicans plan to debate a new proposal from the president. house democrats, meanwhile, already rejecting the president's idea. they plan votes on their own ideas, which does not include a new border wall. the president's offer includes three years of protection for immigrants, including the 700,000 who were brought to the
9:28 am
country illegally as young children. in return, the president wants $5.7 billion for a border wall. democrats not budging. >> if he opens up the government, we'll discuss whatever he offers, but hostage taking should not work. it's very hard to negotiate when a gun is held to your head. >> cnn's phil mattingly live for us up on capitol hill. phil, will the president's plan pass the senate? can it? >> barring some substantial revision or substantial move in a different direction by senate democrats, the short answer here is no. when you look at the entirety of the plan, it's not just what the president laid out on saturday, there are more elements, too. there's border wall, border security elements, but it's seven appropriations bills. the part that's currently unfunded would move through. it's disaster aid, it's the violence against women act. it's a very large package and mitch mcconnell, the senate majority leader, hopes to put all those things together could at least put pressure on
9:29 am
democrats if not pull a few over. but the reality of a policy proposal is that's not what democrats are looking for. democrats have made it very clear, as you heard from senator schumer there, they want the government reopened and then they will start to renegotiate. they want to play the long game and not incentivize the president for doing this ever again by giving in. the idea of reopening the government for short term and continuing negotiations is something that's been tried many times in the past, particularly on the issue of immigration, and it's fallen many times on its face particularly in the past on the idea of immigration. so from mitch mcconnell's perspective right now, he says we have to do something right now. we have to get out of this in the long term or we'll be dealing with this month after month after month. the government won't do anything to reopen, and the democrats want to do something so they can move on. there is no crossing, no bridge that's being made. in other words, we're still
9:30 am
going to be in a shutdown for a long period of time barring some sudden shift that no one i'm talking to right now currently sees, john. >> we're speaking on monday, of course, d course. day number two will be another payless payday. mitch mcconnell promised the president he would bring a plan to a vote. he promised he would do that if the president went out first and described the plan because many republicans don't like it. but bringing a plan to the floor that won't pass is very different than what the majority leader said just last week. >> the only way out of this impasse is a bipartisan agreement, and as the democratic leader and i have both stated here on the floor, only in all corners bipartisan agreement will receive a vote here in the senate. >> never mind. why? >> they have to start doing something. this process of just sitting in their corner and doing nothing is clearly not working.
9:31 am
>> they need to get out of their corner and potentially do nothing. >> even if these are failed votes, just show trump where the votes are. sometimes the president just has to see there is not enough votes here. there's 52 votes for this, they're eight short. they have to start doing something. >> i think that's the key, is that he feels the need to demonstrate to the president who doesn't necessarily understand or at least believe that this plan is going to fall short. the president really thinks you put that in there, my people will support it, we'll get some more. maybe he doesn't know the numbers exactly, but this is not a bipartisan agreement, this is a one-party agreement and that's why we think it will fall short. we don't know for sure until it gets there, and i think they've done this in the past, demonstrating to the president, look, i know this is what you want to do. you'll have to go back to the drawing board. >> is there a risk in the demonstration that if you gave them truth serum, most republicans want a solution to
9:32 am
the d.r.e.a.m.er problem, most republicans want a solution to the temporary status problem, and yes, many of them want security. not everybody wants a wall, but many of them want a wall. mitch mcconnell is going to bring a bill to floor to declare amnesty. he's going to ask democrats to vote yes for amnesty. that bill has no chance of making it to the president's desk. mitch mcconnell, including himself, won't cast that vote. having gone this far, they say in the "washington post," i'm sticking with the president on this and waiting for his strategy to play out. he doesn't say this is great, he essentially says i'm stuck in this box, let's see where we go. >> literally no one knows what is going on here or how to get out of this. that's the truth about this problem, is that mitch mcconnell is letting people vote on this bill that a lot of the president's base believes is
9:33 am
amnesty. partly because there is no other option available to them. i think barring the president simply dropping his demands altogether, it does not seem that they are getting any closer to an agreement. i mean, talking to administration aides over the last several days, they understand that this is going nowhere. they're just throwing -- it's like throwing things at a wall and seeing what sticks. they know that the likelihood it's going to stick is not really there, and in some ways it almost seems like this three years for daca tps things is literally the bare minimum that they would have to offer democrats to get to some kind of deal. >> then it's the bare minimum, it's not enough for democrats. anyone who can count knew that coming in. number one, will the president go farther and how far is he willing to go, and number two, is there a way to at least counter? if the president made a concession -- you don't have to want the wall, you don't have to agree to a proposal, but he made a proposal. he at least stepped forward and said, let's try this. he does propose three years of
9:34 am
protection for the daca recipients, three years of protection for the immigrants whose status will expire. is there no burden on the democrats to respond, or do they think they're in such a good position they can just say no? >> i think there is also acknowledgment from mike pence this weekend that there would be debate on the senate floor about this, and there was a slight willingness to see what is presented change, or the vice president is always different from the president. to your point we're not seeing it yet in terms of democrats being at fault, but let's be honest here, no one looks good right now. neither party looks good when people aren't getting paid. >> it's going to be interesting to watch these two -- the argument now, the key now is can the democrats keep their high ground which they believe they have in the polls or will the votes in the president's proposal begin to shift public debate? we're going to watch that play out this week, and i'm sorry for those of you waiting to get back to work. don't look for it in the days
9:35 am
ahead. some thoughts from republican senator of california. he writes, we stand on the shoulders of great men like dr. king in our pursuit of a more civil and fair america. an america where one's race, gender or zip code does not dictate their opportunity. well written words. we'll be right back. >> tech: at safelite autoglass we know that when you're spending time with the grandkids every minute counts. and you don't have time for a cracked windshield. that's why we show you exactly when we'll be there. saving you time, so you can keep saving the world. >> kids: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace ♪
9:36 am
about the colonial penn program. here to tell you if you're age 50 to 85 and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three p's. what are the three p's? the three p's of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price?
9:37 am
you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i just turned 80. what's my price? $9.95 a month for you, too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the number one most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed, and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock, so your rate can never go up for any reason. and with this plan, you can pick your payment date, so you can time your premium due date to work with your budget. so call now for free information. and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner, and it's yours just for calling. so call now.
9:39 am
9:40 am
in narrowly missing her vote for governor. she is looking at her next move, maybe running as candidate in 2020. british prime minister theresa may looking for a way to break the brexit deadline. parliament has yet to agree on the terms of that departure. may's deal was shot down by a historic margin last week. she's hoping more conversations will lead to a breakthrough. moments ago the prime minister reiterating why she thinks there is no support for a revote by the british people. >> i think another referendum with a different president could change how we handle referendums in this country. but a second referendum could damage social cohesion by undermining faith in our democracy. this just in, a new and
9:41 am
varnished moment from bernie sanders. the senator at an naacp event honoring martin luther king jr. said this. >> today we talk about justice and today we talk about racism. and i must tell you, it gives me no pleasure to tell you that we now have a president of the united states who is a racist. >> some democrats skirt it and say, i don't like what he has said. he's certainly said things that are racially tinged or racially baited. bernie sanders clearly says he's a racist. >> i think democrats have decided this is where they want to be on this question, how to talk about the things trump does that they believe are racist are in the past for democrats. in some ways in 2016, they were still figuring it out. they were not sure what to say
9:42 am
about trump or how to characterize it. i remember the clinton campaign really laboring over this question for a long time trying to decide how they were going to talk about things that they wanted to say were racist but were worried about alienating the middle part of the country. now i think that argument is over. the question is what happens further down the road? you hear from a lot of republicans and there is some disagreement. republicans think if you label a lot of trump supporters racist, it's going to be a problem for you in the midterms. i think the fact that democrats have crossed that bridge tells you that they are less worried about that now than they were in 2016, and they're going a slightly different path to the presidential nomination than perhaps just going straight down the middle and trying to kind of keep both sides happy on this. >> early in 2020, but the rhetoric raw from the get-go. a long year and plus ahead.
9:43 am
9:44 am
means they won't hike your rates over one mistake. see, liberty mutual doesn't hold grudges. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise their rates because of their first accident. switch and you could save $782 on home and auto insurance. call for a free quote today. liberty mutual insurance. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪
9:47 am
the president's lead lawyer again creating more questions with his answers. rudy giuliani appearing on a pair of sunday talk shows yesterday for what should have been t-ball, a ready made public relations win following a friday night gift from the russia's special counsel. robert mueller's office took a rare step of issuing a statement debunking a buzzfeed report saying the special counsel had witnesses and documents saying the president instructed michael cohen to lie to congress. instead of just trashing buzzfeed and thanking mueller, giuliani created a flurry saying it's possible the president did talk to cohen before he testified to congress. >> as far as i know, president trump did not have discussions with him, certainly had no discussions with him in which he told him or counseled him to lie. if he had any discussions with him, they would be about the
9:48 am
version of the events that michael cohen gave then which they all believe was true. >> but you just acknowledged that it's possible that president trump talked to michael cohen about his testimony. >> which would be perfectly normal. which the president believed was true. >> so it's possible that happened, that the president talked to michael cohen -- >> i don't know if it happened or didn't happen. it might be an attorney-client privilege if it happened where i can't acknowledge it. >> remind me never to hire that man. we laugh about this sometimes. he has gone out and told people in advance whether it's wise or unwise as a political legal strategy, oh, yeah, the president did legalize that money as a hush money payment to stormy daniels. oh, yeah, he did talk to michael cohen well after 2016 and the election campaign. this should have been a victory for team trump in the context of this story.
9:49 am
>> saturday night the "snl" weekend update guys were making fun of buzzfeed. they were poking fun at that story. this was a time where they really, like you said, they just had a t-ball setup. they should have knocked it out of the park. but instead he has now taken what was an issue of did he subordinate perjury or not, and turned it into the republican presidential nominee was trying to negotiate with russia up until election day. that's an amazing story line. >> let's listen to more of that, because again, donald trump is a candidate for president. he says i'm a candidate for president now. my kids are running the business, i'm not involved in this anymore. listen. >> the conversations lasted throughout parts of 2016. the president is not sure exactly when they ended. it's our understanding that they went on throughout 2016. not a lot of them, but there were conversations. can't be sure of the exact date
9:50 am
but the president can remember having conversations with him about it. >> throughout 2016. >> yeah, probably up to -- could be up to as far as october or november. it covers until the election. any time during that period they could have talked about it. but the president's recollection of it is the thing had petered out quite a bit. >> that was rudy giuliani yesterday. he just spoke to our pamela brown. he says the president has no recollection of discussions about trump tower, he can't recall. no way of determining the exact date because there is no record of it. why should you be out there muddying the waters on something that is critically important to the credibility of the president? the "new york times" put it in this context. the new timetable means president trump was seeking a deal at the time he was talking sanctions with russia. he was seeking a deal when he gave interviews questioning the legitimacy of nato, a famous talking point of russian
9:51 am
president vladimir putin. and russia hacked e-mails that he was accused of stealing. >> if, in fact, bob mueller does have something, some manner of communication that does prove that the president was discussing these things, that's the only way this makes sense. because otherwise why would -- what would be the purpose? how would this help? >> i think there are two potential objectives in muddying the waters like this. one is rudy himself may not be certain because the president himself may not know, may, in fact, not recall, may not have been able to tell his own lawyer in a consistent way. we've seen some of trump's lawyers or former lawyers in the past go out there, proclaim something to be true that their client told them only to be embarrassed later when the story changes or other evidence emerges and it turns out what
9:52 am
they went out there to say on behalf of the president is countervened by the latest version of the story. he's trying, to seems to me, to insulate himself against more things coming out that could invalidate things he states clearly as fact. and oethe other thing is obviouy moving the goalposts. for those who want to believe his side of the story, to change what would constitute something bad and make it seem normal, like he's saying this is all perfectly normal, that's a debatable statement, to say the least. >> debating rudy giuliani's statements after a sunday show has become perfectly normal. the shutdown has made everything and everyone maybe a little worse? the team? gooo team.... order online pickup in an hour. hurry in and save on tax software. at office depot officemax ensure max protein...
9:53 am
to give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you don't. (straining) i'll take that. (cheers) 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. ensure max protein. in two great flavors. t-mobile knows dancing is better when you include a partner. singing is better when you include a friend. and unlimited is better with a phone included. it's true. forty bucks with the other guys, doesn't include a phone. so, start the new year right. join t-mobile and get unlimited with a phone included for just forty dollars per line.
9:54 am
i am not for just treating my symptoms... (ah-choo) i am for shortening colds when i'm sick. with zicam. zicam is completely different. unlike most other cold medicines... ...zicam is clinically proven to shorten colds. i am a zifan for zicam. oral or nasal. operator, i'd like to make first name "bob,"lease. last name is "wehadababyit'saboy." hello? collect call for, mr. bob wehadababyitsaboy. sorry, wrong number. who was that, dear? bob. they had a baby... it's a boy.
9:55 am
(smiling) ahhh. if you like saving money, call geico. a fifteen minute call could save you 15% or more on car insurance. ...last name is "wehadababyit'saboy 8lbs3ozmother'sdoingfine." ♪ and if you feel, like i feel baby then come on, ♪ ♪ oh come on ♪ let's get it on applebee's. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. 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.
9:56 am
9:57 am
i don't know if we're closer to a deal. this should be the easiest deal i've ever seen. we're talking about border security. who could be against it? >> the date of the state of the union is not a sacred date, it's not constitutionally required, it's not the president's birthday, it's not anything. >> it's the longest in history. it's the dumbest in history. >> there is no room for white supremacy. that's why i took a strong action. >> do you view this as retaliation for your letter? >> i would hope not. i don't think the president would be that petty, do you? >> just a few samples there. name-calling, a public disinvitation, talks of a
9:58 am
censure, downgraded flights. a series of staged events and political theater he asked why 800,000 federal workers went without pay and why the economic impact of the shutdown spread. partis the tension is only going to grow in the coming days, says the "washington post." the no serious negotiations have taken place since trump walked out of a meeting bipartisan congressional leaders after pelosi said she had no intention of funding a border call. it can't get any worse, right? >> these guys on a house floor that was supposed to be a routine vote to try to reopen government, they nearly came to belo horizont blows.
9:59 am
they're new in the minority, they haven't been there in eight years. all of a sudden they're just yelling at one another, pointing fingers. somebody yells, go back to puerto rico. we were on the verge of fi fisticuffs on the house floor. >> that's raw. there is a divide over the border wall. republicans want it, most democrats say no. establish your position, if you will, between the speaker nancy pelosi and the president. if you look at the new congress, republicans are now in the minority. there is only 55 of the 199 republicans, only 55 of them remember what it's like to be in the minority, and it's horrible, especially if you know the power of the majority. >> oh, yeah. they have never dealt with this. they go to worse rooms. when you're in the minority, you have to go meet all the way over in the capitol visitors center which is just about a half mile further walk than the normal meeting room. everything is different. and they want to show how tough
10:00 am
they are, too. they've got new leaders, and so the tension only builds the longer they're here. and this coming week, they're not supposed to be here. they're supposed to be on ree z recess. >> we'll see what happens. hopefully someone finds the circuit breaker. thanks for being here. brianna keilar starts right now. i'm brianna keilar live from cnn's washington headquarters. underway right now, shutdown stalemate. hundreds of thousands of federal workers are set to miss another paycheck on friday as the political posturing in d.c. grinds on. and growing concerns about security as tsa workers jump. kamala harris says she's running for president as she rallies supporters in a fight of what she calls american values. rush to judgment. a video shedding new light on a
150 Views
Uploaded by TV Archive on
![](http://athena.archive.org/0.gif?kind=track_js&track_js_case=control&cache_bust=1693959258)