no, but can you see these women wriggling and grimacing? every woman knows what that's like, and go look at how he treated senator heidi heitkamp at her swearing-in on c-span. he said, spread your legs, the next time you're going to be frisked, the day she was sworn in. >> i'm afraid that's all the time we have. fareed zakaria starts right now. >> this is gps the global public square. welcome to those of you in the united states and around the world. i'm fareed zakaria. we'll begin today's show with venezuela. that troubled nation may now be the stage for a great power standoff. two russian plans landed near caracas last weekend, leading donald trump to tell moscow to get out. i'll talk to trump's envoy for venezuela, elliot abrams. >> also, attorney general barr's bombshell letter about the mueller report deepened the

divide in america. >> the collusion delusion is over. >> what is the russian reaction? i'll talk to one of moscow's top foreign policy minds. >> and the legacy of mueller. do we now have new norms for presidential power? will the next president not have to release tax returns, be able to fire people investigating the white house, and more? we'll have a debate. >> but first, here's my take. president trump faces a crucial test of his foreign policy and his resolve over venezuela. his administration has made absolutely clear that the u.s. no longer considers nicolas maduro to be president. a far stronger declaration than the red line barack obama drew around syria's assad. so far, trump's pressure has not worked. maduro has dug in and the venezuelan military has not

abandoned their support for him. venezuela is a complicated, divided country and maduro is the heir to hugo chavez, does have support in foreign rural areas, but far more significant in the regime in caracas is russia's open and substantial support. moscow now admits it has sent military personnel to venezuela. two russian military planes arrived in the country last weekend, carrying about 100 troops. this is just the latest in a series of moves by moscow to shore up maduro. over the last few years, russia has provided wheat, arms, credit, and cash to the flailing caracas government. estimates of russia's total investment in venezuela vary from $20 billion to $25 billion. the venezuelan gambit appears to be personally significant for russia's president, vladimir putin. in recent year as the venezuelan economy has tanked and political instability has grown, even most russian countries have abandoned the country, viewing it as too

risky. as vladimir rabbinsky writes, in a wilson center report, russian state controlled oil giant which has close ties to putin has persisted and ramped up its support for maduro. in other words, putin is all in with his support for maduro. he's doing this in part to prop up an old ally and it adds to russia's clout in global oil markets, but above all, because it furthers putin's foreign policy objective, the formation of a global anti-american formation of countries that can frustrate washington's purpose and usher in a more polar world. putin seems designed to taunt the united states, which announced the monroe doctrine in 1823, warning foreign powers to stay out of the western hemisphere. the big question for washington is will it allow moscow to make a mockery of another red line. the u.s. and russia have taken opposing incompatible stands on

this issue. as with syria, there's a danger if washington does not back its words with deeds, a year from now we will be watching the consolidation of the maduro regime, supported by russian arms and money. the administration has been tough on russian involvement in venezuela. trump himself has even declared russia has to get out, but that is an unusual sentiment from trump who has almost never criticized vladimir putin and often sided with russia on matters big and small. as former ambassador to moscow, michael mcfaul has written, trump has a remarkably consistent pattern of supporting putin's foreign policy goals. trump has threatened to withdraw from nato and announced the removal of american troops from syria. he's publicly disagreed with his own intelligence community's conclusion moscow meddled with the 2016 election. >> president putin said it's not russia. i will say this, i don't see any reason why it would be.

>> i have never alleged collusion or conspiracy between russia and trump. writing merely that we should wait to see whatever evidence robert mueller presented. but the real puzzle remains. why has trump been unwilling to confront putin in any way on any issue? and will venezuela finally be the moment when trump ends his appeasement? for more, go to cnn.com/fareed and read my "washington post" column this week. >> and let's get started. let's keep this conversation going about venezuela. joining me now from the state department is elliott abrams. he's president trump's special envoy for venezuela. welcome. first tell us, what is the situation on the ground in venezuela? a few weeks ago, it seemed things were moving in a direction that the maduro regime was going to collapse.

that has not happened. how do you read the situation? >> well, the situation for the people of venezuela, it just gets worse and worse. last week, we had blackouts. the week before that, more blackouts. the humanitarian situation gets worse. the political situation also gets worse. we saw about a week or ten days ago the arrest of roberto marrero, who is the chief of staff to juan guaido. they wrecked his house while they were arresting him. that's also getting worse. the internal situation is terrible. and every indication is that the people of venezuela want a change, which is what and 53 other countries also want. restoration of democracy in venezuela. >> but so far, it appears as though the sanctions have not been widely joined by other countries. the russian support continues to be strong. is it possible that we will end

up in a situation much like the assad regime where people said this is unviable, untenable, he has to go, but somehow, because of oppression and force and external support, russian support in that case again, he endured. could i be talking to you a year from now and maduro will still be in office? >> i'm extremely doubtful that's going to be the case. you know, i would say one thing we have to worry about in the case of syria, but we don't have to worry about in the case of venezuela is thousands and thousands of foreign fighters. you have thousands of iranian and hezbollah troops on the ground in syria. so that's something you're not going to see in venezuela. you also have, i think, an amazing international and latin coalition against the regime in venezuela. so really, i don't think the situations are comparable, and i very much doubt that you and i

will be having this conversation a year from now. >> so tell me about the russians. why are they doing what they're doing, and what can you do about it? >> i would say the russians have demonstrated their loyalty to the regime, and here i think you could draw a connection to syria, that is symbolically. they're trying to show that they're good allies for dictators all around the world. we have a big options list that is being reviewed by secretary pompeo of ways in which we should respond directly to russia. for their continued support, and now a little bit of military support for the regime. and he will make those decisions soon. >> is it fair to say, though, that given this extraordinary russian intrusion into the western hemisphere, a violation of the monroe doctrine. a doubling down on this regime,

the trump administration has not really taken russia to task, and president trump personally other than one statement about russian troops has never really fully confronted vladimir putin on what is really an act of aggression in the western hemisphere? >> well, i think what the russians are doing, first of all, will have its own impact on russia. in separating them and other supporters of maduro from latin america. but i would not accept what you have said. i think we have made very clear our views. secretary pompeo spoke to foreign minister lavrov almost a week ago, and as i said, there are some things that we are going to be doing. we don't do these things by rushing into them without consideration. so we've drawn out the options and the secretary will review them and the russians will pay a price for this. >> outline for me how you think

this ends, because so far, as i said, there hasn't been much military defection or turn of military support for the regime. the sanctions have only caused the regime to hunker down in a kind of siege mentality. how does this end? >> well, first, i would say you know we applied sanctions about two months ago, and some of them were suspended for 90 days or 180 days. so we are in this at a very early point. and i have been cautioning people both in the diplomatic community and in the press, it was never our view that this was a four-week phenomenon and then maduro would be gone. this is a struggle against a dictator who is a vicious dictator and has outside support from russia and cuba. so we did not think that this would happen quickly. how does it end? it ends when the pressures have mounted to a sufficient degree to convince maduro and his cleek that their time is up, or

convince the venezuelan military that they have got to force maduro out. so it's people power. it's venezuelan military. it's people in the travista movement who recognize maduro is destroying the movement they thought they were a part of. we're not there yet, obviously, in the streets of caracas or in the military barracks, but we'll get there. >> are you confident that maduro's chief external supporter, and one could argue, the reason he's still in power, russia, will pay a price and from the highest levels of the administration, including the president? >> that's my very clear understanding. everyone knows that the russians and the cubans are the main support of this regime. and i see no hesitation on the part of anyone at the top levels in this administration of making them pay a price for it. >> elliott abrams, always a pleasure to have you on. >> thank you. good to be on. next on gps, one of russia's

top foreign policy thinkers will join me to talk about venezuela, yes, but also the russian reaction to what we know so far about the mueller report. don't go away. r. we needed a second opinion. that's when our journey began with cancer treatment centers of america. one of our questions was, how are we going to address my liver? so my doctor said i think we can do both surgeries together. i loved that. now my health is good. these people are saints. ha, they're saints. cancer treatment centers of america. appointments available now. so, recently my son's band was signed by a record label. while we're on the road, i can keep my parents

in the loop with the whole facetime thing. i created a rockstar. (both laughing) (announcer) the best network is even better when you share it. buy the latest iphone and get iphone 10r on us. there are healthy snacks, there are tasty snacks, and then there are kind bars. made with ingredients you know and love. like whole nuts, real fruit and a drizzle of dark chocolate. do your tastebuds and your body a favour. do the kind thing. this is the averys trying the hottest new bistro. this is the averys. do your tastebuds and your body a favour. wait...and the hottest taqueria? and the hottest...what are those? oh, pierogis? and this is the averys wondering if eating out is eating into saving for their first home. this is jc... (team member) welcome to wells fargo, how may i help? (vo) who's here to help with a free financial health conversation, no strings attached. this is the averys with the support they needed to get back on track. well done guys. (team member) this is wells fargo. ♪ behr presents: tough as walls.

that's some great paint. ♪ that's some great paint. ♪ that's some great paint. behr ultra, a top-rated interior and exterior paint. paint, prime, protect - all in one. now that's some great paint! find it exclusively at the home depot. dad! dad!! can you drive me to jessica's house? ♪ at northwestern mutual, this is what our version of financial planning looks like. tomorrow is important, but so is making the most of the house before they're out of the house. spend your life living. find an advisor at northwesternmutual.com. new lysol wipes are crazy strong. don't believe us? we got this workout class to compare them to clorox.

wow! feel the strength of new lysol wipes. dude! are you looking at this? can i take those? no. lysol. what it takes to protect.® ♪ do you ♪ love me? ♪ ♪ i can really move ♪ ♪ do you love me? ♪ i'm in the groove ♪ now do you love me? ♪ do you love me now that i can dance? ♪ applebee's 3 course meal. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood.

the investigation did not establish that members of the trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the russian government in its election interference activities. those 23 words from the mueller report surely brought millions of smiles to donald trump. and his associates and his supporters. the president followed up those words with attacks on the democrats and the media, but what was the reaction in russia? joining me to talk about that and russia's presence in venezuela and other things is

andre, director of the russian international affairs council. pleasure to have you on. what was the reaction in moscow to the mueller report? >> i don't think that russians were really surprised to get the report. because most russians did not believe that there could have been a conspiracy between trump and putin. i think if they were surprised, they were surprised by the fact that the commission dared to come up with the conclusions because the perception in moscow, whether it is right or wrong, it's not up to us to judge, but the perception in moscow is the commission has been working under serious political pressure. it was surprising the commission publicized the outcomes in such a blunt way as it did. >> what do you think, andre, it means for u.s./russian relations? in some ways, they have been a little paralyzed by this issue.

do you thing it provides an opportunity for a new start? >> well, i think that we should not overestimate the impact on the relationship because there are many, many problems in this relationship beyond the so-called russian interference into american elections. however, i think it is important that the russian factor might be moved out of from the political struggle in the united states. it might no longer be one of the major factors in the domestic politics in america. and if it happens, it will definitely open some opportunities for maybe very limited but still collaboration. >> is there a kind of disappointment in russia about the trump administration and trump himself? because while i have always held that donald trump is very reluctant to say anything bad

about putin or russia, his administration has in many ways been about as tough on russia as the obama administration was. the sanctions are still on. you know, the cooperation with the ukrainians and the pols continues. venezuela, the administration is pursuing, pushing back against russia. so we all saw those scenes of russian parliamentarians celebrating when donald trump was elected. have they all been very disappointed? >> well, i think that there is a disappointment because expectations were too high, and to some extent, donald trump when he was running for election, created this expectations. he mentioned that probably the united states could change its position on crimea. that he could agree with putin on many important issues.

and of course, right now, we see that unfortunately for russia, many things turned out to be rhetorical and indeed, we arguably have more problems with the united states today than we had under obama. we have this problems in syria and venezuela. trump supplies lethal weapons to ukraine. definitely, trump is not an easy partner. however, i have to tell you, of course, ordinary russians are intrigued with trump. he's different, he's unorthodox. so i think that there is a kind of if not sympathy, at least interest toward the u.s. president. >> andre, let me ask you about some of the specific issues. look at venezuela. one of the arguments that people have made to me, my russian friends, about putin would often be, you misunderstand putin. he's not aggressive. he's simply trying to shore up and stabilize russia, which has gone through a very difficult period. so he is concerned about places

like georgia or maldova or ukraine, which are historically part of russia's sphere of influence. call it what you will. if that's the case, why this enormous russian effort and investment in venezuela, which is literally as far away from russia as you can get on a map? what explains russia's enormous commitment to venezuela, which is, you know, in the western hemisphere, has been part of the american sphere of influence for 150 years? >> well, of course, you can look for economic explanations of this interest. venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world. and russia cannot miss an opportunity to get a piece of the cake in venezuela. but i can imagine that there are also some geopolitical considerations as well, and basically, the logic might be that if you mess in our backyard, you should keep in mind that we can mess in your

backyard as well. so let's agree on some kind of modus operandi that you will demonstrate certain restrain in dealing with our neighbors and in exchange, we'll demonstrate such restrain in dealing with your neighbors. >> do you think that there is now a kind of hostility between russia and the united states? or do you think that there is a possibility for a kind of breakthrough and a different kind of relationship? because on both sides, it seems as though there is a certain fatalism that russia has become the leader of the kind of anti-american coalition, and my sense is in russia there's a fatalism that says, you know, we are now -- the united states and the west in general are just opposed to russia? >> well, first of all, i would like to draw a line between public attitudes and decisions that are made at the political level. i don't think that russians are anti-american.

i don't think that they hate americans or believe that americans are evil. however, if you take the political level, i think that no matter what we do right now, we are not going to change the situation when this relationship is likely to be adversarial, at least for some time. the name of the game is not to shift it from competitive relationship to cooperative but rather to decide how we can manage this competition in a less risky and less costly way so that the two countries can feel stable and the rest of the world can also sleep at night. >> that's a sobering and realistic prospect to end on. andre, pleasure to have you on. >> thank you. next on "gps" in the wake of the mueller report, are donald trump's actions in office now legitimate presidential behavior? not releasing tax returns,

firing law enforcement officials who are investigating the white house. is this the new normal for future presidents? that's what happens in golf nothiand in life.ily. i'm very fortunate i can lean on people, and that for me is what teamwork is all about. you can't do everything yourself.

you need someone to guide you and help you make those tough decisions, that's morgan stanley. they're industry leaders, but the most important thing is they want to do it the right way. i'm really excited to be part of the morgan stanley team. i'm justin rose. we are morgan stanley. leave no man behind. or child. or other child.

or their new friend. or your giant nephews and their giant dad. or a horse. or a horse's brother, for that matter. the room for eight, 9,000 lb towing ford expedition. ♪ ♪ it's taking over ♪ there's no escape ♪ you better get moving ♪ ready or not ♪ it's about to go down here it comes now ♪ ♪ get ready ♪ oh oh oh oh ♪ oh oh oh oh ♪ get ready ♪ moving ♪ ready or not ♪ get ready ♪ oh oh oh oh oh ♪ hey

"the new york times's" peter baker published a provocative piece this week positing the outcome of the mueller report or what we know about it has rewritten the rules of presidential power. baker writes, after watergate, it was unthinkable that a president would fire an fbi director who was investigating him or his associates. or force out an attorney general for failing to protect him from an investigation. or dangle pardons before potential witnesses against him. but the end of the inquiry by the special counsel robert s. mueller iii made clear president trump had successfully thrown out those unwritten rules. i wanted to chat about this with legal experts. joining me, john yu, a law professor at berkeley.

he was author of the so-called torture memos in the george w. bush administration. and susan raucous, a scholar of constitutional law. susan, how would you answer peter baker's question? is it now -- is it now kind of explicitly clear that the president can in fact fire people who are investigating him, i would add to that not release his tax returns, all these norms that had built up over the last 40 years? has trump by defying them and now being cleared, has he changed the standards? >> i think it's premature to conclude that. i think that barr may believe that, but barr has only summarized what is a fairly extensive report by mueller, and i don't believe mueller meant for barr to even answer the question. this special counsel should be independent and why exactly

mueller left the question open, i don't know. but i don't believe that barr is the proper person to be answering it. it should not be answered by a political appointee. that's the whole point of the special counsel regulation. so i don't put much credence in what barr said and i don't think he should have said it. >> john, the absent party here is congress. the constitution clearly made congress the check on presidential powers. >> yes, in fact i think baker is in part right, but i think it shows the shakiness of the foundations of this system, this experiment. we have been trying for the last 40 years, to try to use prosecutors and criminal law as a constraint on the president. i think actually mueller, in my view, doing a pretty good job going through the evidence, finding no conspiracy, but by living the door open to obstruction, he's bringing it back around to what i think the constitution intended, which is congress is the one who is supposed to constrain a president.

if a president's conduct makes him unfit or shows him unfit for office, that's what the framers wanted impeachment to be for. they thought there would be a much broader impeachment power. they thought you could impeach for things that were not just crimes, and mueller has left the door open for a significant congressional inquiry that could become impeachment proceedings. even if president trump didn't commit obstruction of justice that met a criminal standard, it could still meet a different standard, namely high crimes and misdemeanors. >> you know congress doesn't do this because congress is trying to hide behind the skirts of the special counsel or they want somebody else to do the dirty and controversial work of uncovering all this. >> you're right. congress doesn't want to do the job. they would rather someone else handle the dirty work, but the constitution isn't built that way. so if people want to get rid of a president who they feel is unfit for office and has abused their powers, they have to come home to the constitution and the impeachment clause. if congress won't do it, they

should be held politically responsible for refusing to do their constitutional duty. >> susan, what do you make of that, and to what extent is there actual legal issues in terms of criminal conduct and things like that? is there a role for some kind of legal process here? >> i think it might be a little early to judge. we've had this 40-year experiment. how do we deal with potential wrongdoing by the president. and the special counsel regulations that we're now operating under are still to be judged. but i think that mueller left it open for congress, and i think there's a good chance congress may take the ball and run with it. not so much to impeach, but to just look at whether there was obstruction and how to deal with it if there were. i think it's a little early to give congress a failing grade. >> finally, john, do you look at all this, though, and do you end

up feeling the president has powers that surely the founders did not intend, the vast executive office, the extraordinary power that he has under the commander in chief clause with a huge military? it feels very different from what the founders meant where congress really was meant to be the main branch of government. >> i think this is where you and me and susan might disagree. i know a lot of people think the president has too much power, that goes beyond what the framers intended. i think they left that part more open than most other people would think, that the presidency was allowed to expand because the country grew, our national security and foreign policy needs grew, and that has had the effect, plus the administrative state of aggregating power to the presidency. i think, though, the answer is all the branches must increase their own checks on the president as the presidency grows. i think the mistake that was

made was to try to get part of the executive branch to investigate itself. you can see from all the problems mueller had with trying to investigate trump and trump refusing to sit down for an interview, and people claiming privileges, and people refusing to show up, that it's very difficult to get a branch to check itself. so instead, what you should have, i would think, would be a much broader and enhanced congressional power investigation and more regular use of congressional impeachment because they tried. in a way you can say the independent counsel is like the ultimate version of the administrative state. they tried to create an independent body to handle what is really what you said a political problem. i think it doesn't work. instead, congress should increase its own measures and it own investigative powers against the presidency. >> fascinating conversation. these are, i think, the deeper issues that the mueller report brings out. thank you both very much. >> thanks. next on gps, in the wake of the new zealand massacre, i'll

take you to a country where anti-muslim sentiment is running wild on the internet and making some wonder if the government is looking away or encouraging it. where in the world? find out when we come back. x300 series mower. on e because seasons may change... ♪ ...but true character doesn't. ♪ wow, you've outdone yourself this time. hey, what're neighbors for? it's beautiful. nothing runs like a deere™. run with us. save $200 on x330 and x350 select series lawn tractors. at participating john deere dealers. we want your sandwich to arrive freaky fresh®, so we only deliver within 5 minutes of our stores. and not... farther. ...he's new. order at jimmyjohns.com. because sandwich. how about letting your hair down a little? how about a car for people who don't play golf? hey mercedes! mix it up a little.

how about something for a guy who doesn't want a corner office? hey mercedes, i don't even own a tie. do you think i need a mahogany dashboard? hey mercedes, can you make it a little cooler in here? [ a-class ] i am setting the temperature [ a-class ] to 68 degrees. we hear you. we made a car that does, too. the all-new a-class. all-new thinking starting at $32,500. dealing with your insurance shouldn't be more frustrating than the accident itself. that's why esurance makes it simple. just take some pics. [picture noises] go to sleep. wake up. grab a bite. maybe some racquetball. and boom - your money's on the way so you can get back on the road fast. well, not that fast. the editor had to make it fit in 30 seconds. it's pretty tricky actually trying to ... and ... tagline. when insurance is simple, it's surprisingly painless.

when insurance is simple, how's your cough? i'm good. i took 12-hour mucinex and sent it far away. hey buddy, have you seen a nice woman with a cough? woahhh! mucinex dm releases fast and lasts 12-hours, not 4. send coughs far away all day.

now for a what in the world segment. in the aftermath of the horrific attack on two mosques in new zealand this month, there were expressions of sympathy and support for muslims worldwide, but there was also a spike in anti-muslim hate and vitriol online and from a strange place. i'm not referring to reddit or fourchannel or any of the websites we have come to associate with the western alt-right. i'm talking about two of china's most popular online platforms. as tony lynn reports in the columbia journalism review, chinese social media sites are increasingly home to a virulent islamophobia. right after the new zealand attacks, the people's daily post posted a story about them on

weebo, china's twitter. the top comment on the story at the time liked by hundreds of users called muslims cancer cells. on wechat, an article written by an anonymous user describes the attacks as heroic revenge and it hit 100,000 views. that is the maximum number wechat will display. this isn't a sudden spike in activity either. anti-muslim bigotry has been rising online in china for the past several years. online spaces are distortions and the most controversial views are amplified. but the rise of anti-muslim sentiment online has coincided with an official crackdown on muslim minorities in china. there are more than 20 million muslims in china. many of them are from the ethnic uyghur community in the far western community. by contrast, the overwhelming majority of the country is chinese.

the chinese government has, in the past two years, locked up anywhere from 800,000 to 2 million uyghur muslims in internment camps there. the chinese government denies reports of detention or ill treatment, calling these camps voluntary vocational training centers. a turkish writer has likened the camps to the soviet gulag and called the new official attitude islamophobia as state policy. the widespread presence of bigoted rhetoric online indicates some degree of public approval for these policies. we're witnessing a rise in chinese nationalism and its tacit endorsement by the government party. a history of resistance to beijing's authority has risen in recent years. in 2009, there were riots in the capital between oigas and hahn and 200 people were killed. in 2014, 29 people were killed in a stabbing in a train station in southwest china.

officials say it was perpetrated by separatists. the news agency called it china's 9/11. these attacks have fed into the distress and hostility and all this has fed the online mob. one reason china's overactive sensors are not cracking down on vitriol against muslims online could be that these online attitudes justify official policy, says a chinese journalist and media scholar at the university of pennsylvania. and as foreign policy notes, expressions of nationalism and chauvinism in china remain attractive as one of the few remaining forms of tolerated public, political speech. as palmer notes, nationalism always requires an enemy of some kind. and so an official endorsement of intolerance in china may be emboldening a popular attitude,

all with grim results. up next, president trump gave a gift to prime minister netanyahu when he signed a proclamation recognizing the golan heights as part of israeli territory. we'll have a debate about the legality of that gift and a chat about how much it will help beebe in the upcoming elections when we come back. >> if you miss a show, go to cnn.com/fareed for a link to my itunes podcast. el. while we're on the road, i can keep my parents in the loop with the whole facetime thing. i created a rockstar. (both laughing) (announcer) the best network is even better when you share it. buy the latest iphone and get iphone 10r on us.

is it to carry cargo... greatness of an suv? or to carry on a legacy? its show of strength... or its sign of intelligence? in crossing harsh terrain... or breaking new ground? this is the mercedes-benz suv family. greatness comes in many forms. lease the glc 300 for just $479 a month at the mercedes-benz spring event. going on now. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing. from the very beginning ... it was always our singular focus, to do whatever it takes, use every possible resource, to fight cancer. and never lose sight of the patients we're fighting for. our cancer treatment specialists share the same vision. experts from all over the world, working closely together to deliver truly personalized cancer care. and these are the specialists we're proud to call our own.

expert medicine works here. learn more at cancercenter.com. appointments available now. ♪ now i'm wondering if yourool i loves still strong. ♪tayed too long. ♪ ♪ ooo baby, here i am, signed, sealed, delivered, i'm yours ♪ applebee's 3 course meal now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood.

itreat them all as if, they are hot and energized. stay away from any downed wire, call 911 and call pg&e right after so we can both respond out and keep the public safe. pg&e wants you to plan ahead by mapping out escape routes and preparing a go kit, in case you need to get out quickly.

for more information on how to be prepared and keep your family safe, visit pge.com/safety. somewhere lost in the mueller report hysteria at the beginning of the week was a trump action that overturned many decades of american foreign policy. on monday, donald trump signed a proclamation that recognized the golan heights as part of israel. the area forms a border between israel and syria and was captured by israel some 52 years ago during the six-day war. now, trump may say it is now part of israel.

does it make it so? the u.n. for one says no. let us bring in two folks to discuss. leonard wolf joins us from tel aviv. a former member of the knesset and an author and an intellectual. peter is an intellectual too. he's a professor and a contributor to both cnn and the atlantic. peter, let me start with you. what are the stakes here? why does it matter that trump recognized the golan heights? >> it matters because of the precedent it sets in two ways. look, nobody thinks israel is going to give back the golan heights to syria in a civil war. but there are two dangerous precedents. the first is the notion if you take territory by force, you can keep it, which the russians are already saying is a precedent for what they have done in crimea. the second is the precedent that israel might apply this to the west bank, to annex settlements on the west bank. most of the people in

benjamin netanyahu's party who will be elected next month already support this and the israeli government is already talking about this as a precedent for the annexation that would kill the two-state solution. >> does that strike you as a dangerous precedent or is it fine? >> precisely the opposite. first of all, the only precedent that was set was that syria and other arab actors were allowed to operate for decades with zero consequences for aggression. syria could invade israel, refuse to recognize israel, refuse to set an international border. use the plateau of the golan heights in order to shell down on israeli civilians, host terrorist organizations that were responsible for some of the worst attacks on israeli civilians. it could do all that, lose a war of aggression against israel, and still get in the international arena to say oops,

we get to do a redo. our bet didn't work out, so we're going to bet again and again and again. and every time the international community is going to allow us to do a redo. >> israel responds to every one >> israel responds to every one of those provocations. it retaliates against them. it fights back against hezbollah and whatever organization lobs missiles at it. how does a form alan exation help israel in that sense? >> in the diplomatic arena there was always a sense that syria can continue betting and would always get a redo, that there were no diplomatic consequences to its aggressive actions. now this is saying that the era of no consequences for arab aggression is over. >> peter, what do you make of that? >> this doesn't really make any accepts. no one was suggesting that israel would give back the golan heights while syria was still in a state of belligerencech the negotiations during the 1990s were all about the idea that

israel would give back probably not all but part of the golan heights in return for peace so saying that the principle of sadat and camp david makes this legitimate in fact is exactly the opposite. the entire principle of camp david was land for peace. israel gave back the sinai which it took in '67 in return for peace. i'm not saying that principle can be brought back now with syria in the state of civil war. our now making that impossible. what's also important. there are people who live on e golan heights. the people there have rejected israeli citizenship and would have considered themselves still syrians. we're completely ignoring their perspective in this conversation. >> let me move quickly because i don't have time. i do want to get your perspective on whether this helps or hurts benjamin netanyahu in his quest for the prime ministership and whether you shy generally speaking the corruption charges against him

help or hurt. what in your view does bibi look like he's damaged goods, or could he still be the next prime minister? >> he is both. he is both damaged goods and could be the next prime minister. he's still standing. he's still a formidable opponent. the issue of the golan heights doesn't seem to play or make a big difference either way. i personally am going to vote for the opposition and yet i think this is an important step, one that is also good for the united states. it allows it a low-cost win in syria, but netanyahu continues to be formidable opponent, and we're likely not to know truly whether he can be the next prime minister until the last vote is counted. >> peter, bibi next prime minister? >> we just talked about russia's interference in our elections. this was an american blatant

interference in the israeli re-election. one of netanyahu's main re-election themes is only i can deal with the united states and now trump has given him this huge gift so it seems to me if we want people to stay out of our elections we should stay out of their elections. >> thank you both very much. interesting conversation, and we'll be right back. it. maybe it's the drizzle of dark chocolate. maybe it's because it's tasty and healthy. well, there's only one way to find out. do the kind thing.

♪ cal: we saved our money and now, we get to spend it - our way. valerie: but we worry if we have enough to last. ♪ cal: ellen, our certified financial planner™ professional, helps us manage our cash flow and plan for the unexpected. valerie: her experience and training gave us the courage to go for it. it's our "confident forever plan"... cal: ...and it's all possible with a cfp® professional. find your certified financial planner™ professional at letsmakeaplan.org.

beauty editors have tried everything. in search of a whiter smile. their choice? crest 3d whitestrips. our exclusive whitening formulation safely whitens 25 times better*. for a noticeably whiter, smile. trust america's #1 whitening treatment. crest 3d whitestrips.

this isn't just this is moving day with the best in-home wifi experience and millions of wifi hotspots to help you stay connected. and this is moving day with reliable service appointments in a two hour window so you're up and running in no time. show me decorating shows. this is staying connected with xfinity to make moving simple. easy. awesome. stay connected with the best wifi experience and two-hour appointment windows. click, call or visit a store today. last month an embattled lowered declared a state of emergency. yeah, you've likely heard of one, but he was not alone. it brings me to my question. in which of the following countries did the leader declare a state of emergency in february? sri lanka, argentina, ukraine or sudan? stay tuned, and we'll tell you

the correct answer. my book of the week is "melting pot or civil war." with all the heated talk about the wall, ref jess and immigrants, here is a remarkably calm, sensible and intelligence look at immigration. salam writes from his head and heart which makes for a potent combination. the answer to my gps challenge is d. the in february sudan owes program omar el bashir declared a state of emergency giving the country owes security forces broad latitude to quell the protests. the demonstrators who first pored on the streets in december are calling for the resignation of bashir who has ruled the country since leading a coup in 1989. through a combination of religious populism and the crafting of a security apparatus loyal to him, bashir has weathered crisis after crisis in his 30 years in power. most notably the international

uproar over genocide in the region of darfur were at least 300,000 people were killed and another 3 million displaced between 2003 and 2008. he has even been indicted by the international criminal court for his role in formenting this conflict, though he denies the charges. in addition to extended civil wars, bashir has presided over economic turmoil and sporadic protests. the it your miles were heightened when the oil-rich south deseeded in 2011 cutting off of much of sudan's revenue. despite it all, bashir has held on to power winning election after election, most of course which are rigged. the 75-year-old leader has paused his efforts to run again after this latest state of emergency in a 2020 election. now, some of the slogans demanding freedom call to mind the arab spring which eight years ago saw the ouster of long-standing dictators like tunisia's ben ali and egypt's mubarak and libya's gadhafi.

that memory might be why the government the responded so brutally with tear goose, live paramilitary action. at least 45 activists have been killed according to international rights groups. thanks to all of you for being part of my rom. i'll see you next weekch . >> hello, everyone. thanks so much for joining us this sunday. i'm fredericka whitfield. we begin with chaos at the southern border. president trump directing the u.s. state department to cut off aid to three central american countries, el salvador, guatemala and honduras. around $1.3 billion was allocated to the region. mainly those three countries between last year and this year according to a recent study. president trump says those countries set up migrant care advance for entering into america. president trump also threatening to shut