welcome to "inside politics." i'm john king. thank you for sharing your day with us. top democrats in congress demandsing that president trump's labor secretary resign. a new sex trafficking indictment against a prominent new york businessman is stirring new questions about the deal alex acosta cut with jeffrey epstein a decade ago when acosta was a prosecutor in florida. plus a special relationship takes a very sour twist. president trump attacks the british prime minister and the uk ambassador to the united states. he is mad because in leaked cables the ambassador calls mr.

trump incompetent. ross perot is dead at 89. the texas businessman twice ran as a third-party candidate for president, warning that jobs being lost to mexico and the threat of ballooning federal red in ink. >> i'm the only guy that talks numbers. nobody else will talk about it. it's like a crazy aunt in the basement. everybody knows she's there but nobody talks about her. i'm talking about it. >> back to that a bit later. the president meeting with the emir of qatar about rewarding the emir, a serial violator, with an oval office visit. we'll keep an eye on that to see if reporters ask the president about the middle east and about his labor secretary, whose past life as a prosecutor is creating present questions about if he should keep his job. the top two democrats in congress, nancy pelosi and the democratic senate leader chuck schumer say alex acosta must resign. schumer heading to the senate floor to make that demand this morning. >> i am calling on secretary

acosta to resign. it is now impossible for anyone to have confidence in secretary acosta's ability to lead the department of labor. if he refuses to resign, president trump should fire him. instead of prosecuting a predator and serial sex trafficker of children, acosta chose to let him off easy. >> so why now? the new federal charges against finance tycoon jeffrey epstein raise giant questions about why acosta led him off easy a decade ago. he brokered a sweetheart deal in secret and broke the law by not telling epstein's victims. that deal looks ghastly when measured against what new york prosecutors detailed yesterday. epstein, the southern district of new york says, ran a sex trafficking ring, repeatedly forced underage girls to have sex with him and paid his victims to recruit more girls for him to abuse.

epstein is politically connected on both sides. his high profile guarantees his trial will get banner coverage. that means new questions about why acosta chose not to take epstein to trial a decade ago and uncomfortable exchanges like this one on the white house driveway with presidential counselor, kellyanne conway. >> it's classic her and her democratic party to not focus on the perpetrator at hand and instead focus on the member of the trump administration. they're so obsessed with this president that they immediately go to alex acosta rather than jeffrey epstein. why are you talking about alex acosta and not jeffrey epstein? jeffrey epstein is the one raping young girls. >> let's get straight to our white house correspondent, abby philip. abby, we will talk about jeffrey epstein and the trial he's about to face, but it's also a legitimate question to ask about alex acosta, is it not? do white house sources think he can survive this? >> reporter: absolutely, john. it is a question of what the

white house is doing about the role alex acosta played in that previous plea deal with jeffrey epstein. kellyanne conway made sure to note that president trump met alex acosta for the first time two and a half years ago when he was considering him for this labor secretary job. but in the interim, there has been a lot of reporting about this -- about his role in that case and the white house said as recently as march that they were reviewing it, but there have been absolutely no updates whatsoever about the status of that review. but for the first time today we are now hearing from alex acosta himself, who just tweeted a comment on the case that is unfolding in new york. he says the crimes committed by epstein are horrific and i'm pleased that new york prosecutors are moving forward with the case based on new evidence. with the evidence available more than a decade ago, federal prosecutors insisted that epstein go to jail, register as a sex offender and put the world on notice that he was a sexual predator. now with new evidence and additional testimony available, the new york prosecution offers an important opportunity to more

fully bring him to justice. so when he says federal prosecutors there, he's referring to himself. i should be clear about that. he's not putting himself in these tweets, but he was deeply involved in this plea deal that a lot of people believe was inadequate. there are now questions about whether all of this pressure, and frankly the news coverage, will finally get to president trump. our sources say that is probably what is going to determine alex acosta's fate going forward. there is not a whole well of support for acosta in this white house, but the president is the one who will ultimately decide. and he may very well decide based on whether or not he thinks he and his administration can weather this storm, john. >> abby philip live at the white house, appreciate that new reporting. with me in studio to share their insights, julie pace, sun min kim, jeff zeleny and laura. the tweet, smart on his part to try to get out ahead of this because he knows he's in a new

firestorm. he said based on the good evidence, good for you, geoffrey berman, and the southern district of new york. if you were the u.s. attorney in florida at the time, why didn't he pursue that evidence? these are the same victims. >> right. i don't think that tweet goes nearly far enough in trying to answer that question and the others that surround him. i think abby is right, you know, trump will be the one who ultimately decides whether acosta can weather this. trump tends to have this impulse when somebody around him is under -- is facing criticism to try to surround them except when it reaches the point that he thinks it reflects badly on him. >> i just want -- as we continue the conversation, here's the president greeting the emir of qatar who's coming into the white house for a meeting. that is an important meeting, amid tensions with iran, amid questions about why to give another leader whose human rights record is quite deplorable an oval office visit. but it's an important military relationship. they have visited prior presidents as well. there's an oval office spray in

just a few minutes. we'll see if the president gets to talk about how he wants the emir's help with iran, how he views the middle east peace process and more importantly does he take other questions -- more broadly, does he take other questions about other issues. back to alex acosta. this issue came up at his confirmation hearing. he had half a dozen democrats who voted for him. he answered the question then saying at the time i did the best i could. >> the grand jury in palm beach county, the grand jury in palm beach county recommended a single count of solicitation not involving minors, i believe, and that would have resulted in zero jail time. we decided that a sentence or -- how should i put this, that mr. epstein should plead guilty to two years, register as a sex offender and concede liability so the victims could get

restitution. >> that's his take. i did the best i could. the authorities in palm beach county yesterday were quite complimentary of the new york state federal attorney -- the federal u.s. attorney in new york now saying thank you. thank you for doing the job we think the feds should have done a decade ago here. >> exactly. and that explanation at the time was enough for 60 senators to confirm him. the question now is how much of that support goes away, because in addition to the kind of bad headlines that alex acosta is getting, another key thing to watch is how much republican support he loses on capitol hill. if you recall with scott pruitt, there was a point where senate republicans just lost their patience with him and were tired of the headlines and they made it clear that they would not be so sad if he went. now that's not disappearing as of yet, but some key folks to watch is senator lamar alexander, chairman of the committee that just held that confirmation hearing. he has said that all that information was vetted at the time of the confirmation hearing, but we'll see if he changes his tune.

>> so far, none of the republicans are abandoning him just yet and not even the democrats that voted for him. senator cortez masto says she wants to come what comes out of a review at doj before she decides whether or not she regrets voting for him. >> and one of the change dynamics is, number one, even the u.s. attorney in new york complimented the great reporting to led to this, the investigative reporting that led to this. number two you have the victims quoted in that report coming forward, including going on television. when you have these women abused by a billionaire making the case a rich guy got off in a sweetheart deal and we were the victims, this is powerful. >> it brought back the last time i saw him, which was right there at the massage table. it just started making me feel uneasy, nervous. >> we get to look him in the face today and see him, you know, in handcuffs. >> just to hear that they are

standing up for the victims, you know what i mean, is just like so overwhelming ly past due. >> you're seeing these interviews in 2019. this conduct happened in 2002 to 2005. those adult women now were children. >> no question. and i think that changes everything potentially. to hear a voice of the victim, and there are many more out there and there is new evidence here. i think we do not know where this is going, but i would be hard pressed to see if people who voted for him didn't change their mind, republicans as well. of course all of the 2020 presidential candidates or most of them are weighing in. speaker pelosi weighing in as well. i do think it's up to the president. and as abby was mentioning earlier, he was already on slightly thin ice at the white house, so this may be someone that the president is not attached to. we'll see where this goes. but jeffrey epstein had many friends in powerful places, so i do not know where the end of this is. it's something we'll have to watch. >> to kellyanne conway's

legitimate point on the white house lawn, yes, we should focus on the man accused here, and we will. we will cover the trial. but it is a fair question to ask, a, when the president saw this was part of the background, he decided to nominate him anyway. the question now, does alex acosta keep his support? the tweet is evidence that he wants to fight to keep his support. republicans on capitol hill being asked should he stay. >> the department of justice has an ongoing investigation. i think we should find out what happened. >> this is an area of the law where the tie goes to the kids. if we think somebody is out there abusing children, no matter how hard the case may be, you want to bring it forward. >> is it time for him to resign? >> i think there's nothing new that we didn't know before he was confirmed by the senate. >> is there nothing new? >> i think there is quite a bit new. i mean just to your earlier --

the indictment, which is certainly new, and there are the victims who we knew existed but now we're hearing from them, seeing them. that is new, and to your point it is quite powerful. even in senator cornyn's comments of the three republicans you played there, he was probably the most forward-leaning in terms of supporting him. that is not iron clad support that you heard from him there. i think that he and others are certainly leaving themselves a lot of wiggle room in case they feel like this turns a corner and it gets to a point that acosta holding on to this job becomes untenable. >> very legitimate questions to begin with and heading into an election year environment. we'll see if the president speaks to this in a few moments if reporters get to ask questions in the oval office. up next for us, mitch mcconnell has a democratic challenger, and she has an uphill climb. award winning interface. award winning design. award winning engine.

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today the senator majority leader mitch mcconnell officially has democratic competition in his 2020 senate race back only. amy mcgrath, the retired marine fighter pilot announcing she's challenging mcconnell and she blames him for the country's political gridlock. >> it started with this man, who was elected a lifetime ago and who has bit by bit, year by year, turned washington into something we all despise. i'm running for senate because it shouldn't be like this. i learned as a daughter, a mom, a marine and a fighter pilot that the mission can never be forgotten. >> mcgrath's candidacy is a

recruiting win for democrats after disappointment so far in several other big 2020 senate races, but she faces a very steep hill. mcgrath narrowly lost a house race last year. remember, last year was a climate much more favorable to the democrats. winning statewide in kentucky is a different challenge for a democrat, especially in a presidential year. the last time mcconnell had to defend his seat he won by 15 points. president trump carried kentucky by nearly 30 points in 2016. democrats are happy, they think she was their best candidate. >> she had a lot of money in that house race in 2018 but this is going to be really difficult for her. even if mcconnell himself is not particularly personally popular, he will have a lot of support both in fund-raising. it will be a big question of what president trump does. president trump can make that race for mcconnell by going and spending time in kentucky. at the same time, president trump doesn't want to have to

spend time in kentucky because he'll be fighting out his own re-election prospects in states like florida and michigan and wisconsin. but she will, again, have a lot of support institutionally from the party, but the makeup of that state does not lend itself -- >> which is why you look at it. in 2008 obama beats hillary clinton. we live in volatile times. that should be a mcconnell win, maybe tighter than normal but she's a good candidate. but you watch to see if there an anti-incumbent sentiment. >> one thing that's also a challenge for her is that the democratic presidential campaign is unfolding at the very same time and she will be asked about every single issue. do you support medicare for all? do you support the green new deal? so she'll have to run against her party. one thing we have seen about mitch mcconnell again and again. he knows how to win races. he's like harry reid on the republican side, he seldom loses. in fact he hasn't lost.

every election is a new election, a new campaign, but he is prepared for this. so it's an uphill challenge for her no question. >> to your point about how does she fit in a presidential year, again, makes it hard for a democrat in kentucky, in a red state in a presidential year. she said, she was on msnbc this morning, she said she was watching the democratic debates with her husband and said, whoa, a lot of these candidates are too far to the left. >> i'm not for taking away private health insurance as an example. i don't think we should upend our entire system in a medicare for all because there's a lot of people that like their insurance, but we should be fixing the system as an example. i'm not for things like subsidizing health insurance for illegal immigrants. i think many kentuckians feel that we have a problem with getting health insurance for many americans. >> already, very quickly, you mentioned mcconnell, he has a good team around him. whether you like him, whether you don't like him, whether you support him, whether you don't,

he has a very good team around him. team mitch putting out a video saying what about this? >> i am further left. i am more progressive than anybody -- >> this is what we need in this country. they're here, let's bring them in. >> yes, i would support a move towards universal health care. >> the only feeling that i can describe close to it was the feeling after 9/11. >> i am further left. i am more progressive than anybody. >> she's going to need every bit of her marine training. they play tough. >> and team mitch is pointing out that she's spending the first day of her campaign doing national television interviews instead of doing a more kentucky-focused rollout but clearly she has a major uphill challenge. i would also not rule out the

kavanaugh factor in helping mcconnell and helping out some of these other republican senate candidates. mcconnell has talked about how after his fight and pushing brett kavanaugh through, how his numbers skyrocketed. he's been treated like a rock star. other candidates running next year have gone through a similar phenomenon, namely lindsey graham. i would not rule that out as an insignificant factor. >> some of those clips mcconnell used are ones andy barr used against mcgrath last cycle and they proved successful for him. mcgrath is likely going to play heavy on health care because it was a good issue for democrats in 2018, and she sees a weakness there. mcconnell has tried to repeatedly repeal and replace obamacare with no success. so i expect that her campaign will push hard on that, as the administration and as mcconnell maybe tries to go toward immigration. >> which is going complicate for her if the nominee of the democratic party supports medicare for all. so it's all wrapped up. the majority will not hang on that seat but she'll have a lot

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let's get straight to the oval office with the president of the united states with the emir of qatar. >> i'm very honored to be with the emir of qatar, a highly respected man, a real leader in a large part of the world, an important part of the world. we've known each other a long time. we've been friends for a long time. we're doing a lot of work now. they're investing very heavily in our country. they're creating a lot of jobs. they're buying tremendous amounts of military equipment, including planes. commercial planes, very large numbers of commercial planes from boeing. we very much appreciate it.

we're going to be signing a document today, a very large transaction. you're going to be invited to the signing. it's a transaction that will be purchasing a lot of boeing jets and a lot of money spent in our country and that means a lot of jobs. so we just appreciate everything. we have a great operation, military operation right now in qatar. they built one of the great military bases, i would say anywhere in the world. it's just been expanded with runways and everything else. it's been really a great honor to work with my friend. thank you very much for being here. >> thank you, sir. mr. president, i'm very happy and honored to be here. thank you very much for your hospitality. as you mentioned, we enjoy a very great relationship between qatar and the united states of america. we are doing a lot together. as you mentioned, we are signing a few documents today and we are economic partnership has been more than $185 billion and we're

planning to double this number. we have a lot of investments in the u.s. we trust the economy here. we do a lot on the infrastructure and we're planning to do more investments. yes, we host a base and are working very close together. you're invited to come and see qatar and also to visit the base at any time, mr. president. i really enjoy the personal friendship with you. thank you very much. >> thank you very much. and i will say the base is incredible. it's -- what they have done there is absolutely -- and a great place to have it, right in the middle of the middle east. and so it's -- obviously it's a very important location. so thank you all very much. yes. >> mr. president, do you have any reaction to the subpoenas of jared kushner and other members of your administration? >> i don't know anything about it. >> how long are you going to wait before you see the iranian enriched -- >> we're going to see what happens with iran. they better be very careful. >> mr. president --

>> what do you think about secretary acosta now and in the future? >> i met secretary acosta the first time i know when i made the deal to bring him into the administration. i can tell you that for two and a half years he's been just an excellent secretary of labor. he's done a fantastic job. now, part of it is our economy is so good, our unemployment numbers are at record lows. so many good things are happening. but the fact is he's been a very good secretary of labor. what happened 12 or 15 years ago with respect to when he was a u.s. attorney i think in miami. is it miami? >> yes. >> you know, if you go back and look at everybody else's decisions, whether it's a u.s. attorney or an assistant u.s. attorney or a judge, you go back 12 or 15 years ago or 20 years ago and look at their past decisions, i would think you'd probably find that they would wish they maybe did it a different way. i do hear that there were a lot of people involved in that decision, not just him. i can only say this from what i

know, and what i do is he's been a great -- really great secretary of labor. the rest of it we'll have to look at and have to look at very carefully. but you're talking about a long time ago. and again it was a decision made i think not by him but by a lot of people. so we'll look at it very carefully. we'll be looking at that very carefully, okay? okay, anybody else? >> do you think jeffrey epstein is a terrific guy? >> i knew him like everybody in palm beach knew him. everybody in palm beach knew him. he was a fixture in palm beach. i had a falling out a long time ago. i'd say maybe 15 years. i was not a fan of his. that i can tell you. i was not a fan of his. so i feel very badly actually for secretary acosta because i've known him as somebody who works so hard and has done such a good job. i feel very badly about that whole situation. but we're going to be looking at

that and looking at it very closely. we're also going to be signing a big contract in a little while so we're going to see you in a little while in a different part of the white house where we'll be signing up a big deal with boeing. thank you very much. we'll see you in a couple of minutes. >> press, make your way out. we're finished. press, let's go, we're done. press, this way. go, go, go. press, we're finished. we're done. let's go. >> you see reporters there leaving the oval office. the president of the united states with the emir of qatar. taking several questions. the longest question and answer there about the fate of the labor secretary, quite interesting. the president, number one, as to jeffrey epstein, the man now accused of running a sex trafficking ring involving underage women, some of them in their early teens. the president said he had a falling out with him. knew him in palm beach, 15 years or so since he last spoke. of his labor secretary alex

acosta, who was the u.s. attorney in florida at the time who cut a deal that allowed mr. epstein essentially not to go to prison. he was in a home release program. saying he's done a great job, i'll look at it. but the president sometimes backs off. great job, great job, great job. that was an embrace. >> i think it was. he said that he's done a good job. what the president didn't say was any sense of empathy or compassion for the victims of this crime. this is the justice department, the department of justice in the southern district of new york making this case here. so did not talk about the victims, which is something the president often doesn't do there. but he distanced himself from jeffrey epstein. in the reality, he's been -- he said i was never a fan. in fact he was a fan. he was a fan of him in the early 2000s or so. >> he was a terrific guy. >> he was quoted as saying he was a terrific guy. so i'm not sure if they have spoken in the last 15 years. the president says they haven't. i think most notable from that was him not mentioning a word

about these young, young girls. >> the part about him just saying that he's been an excellent secretary of labor is also interesting. it's a far less important kind of undercurrent to the acosta story line but we've been reporting about some agitation elsewhere in the administration over alex acosta and his handling of various issues as labor secretary. mick mulvaney is not a fan. he's been clashing with the domestic policy council over kind of the pace of rolling out deregulatory efforts. obviously not as serious as what's going on right now, but that's another story line to watch as well. >> if acosta stays in the news over the next 72 hours or more, the question is whether or not trump starts to change his tune. we've seen him come out before where he defends some of his former secretaries and then eventually ends up deciding that there's too much pressure and that person -- >> you can never be completely confident when trump says you're a good man, and excellent at your job. you can never be completely confident that he's going to stick there for days to come. >> also because it was so clear

from geoffgeoffrey berman, the attorney in manhattan, he made it very clear he thinks they made a terrible call. so more and more of this could come out, especially as the victims are called in as witnesses and how this was handled before. i think that's the point where you mentioned the president often watches coverage on tv. if he thinks this will damage him, that's when he'll pull the trigger. >> and there's a justice department investigation looking at the handling of that initial plea deal. a lot of key republicans on capitol hill are holding off on saying anything about acosta's fate until that doj is completed, such as rubio and ben sasse. >> and the voices of the victims, i think, is something that the president watches a lot of television and sees a lot of that. that's one unknown we'll be hearing a lot. >> he was asked about new democratic subpoenas. he said i don't know anything about it. the president often then goes off on presidential harassment and decides to speak longer at those moments. he was asked about iran and he said a lot of bad things happening but we'll see, they better be careful.

again, restraint on both of those issues, which in the past the president has sometimes wanted to have more to say. up next, obamacare facing another big test in the courts today. why it could go all the way to the supreme court. the latest charter school scandals are piling up. leaders of one san diego charter network? indicted for conspiracy and grand theft. thankfully, the governor's charter school policy task force just made important recommendations for reform: more accountability on charter school spending. and giving local school districts more control over the authorization of charter schools. reforms we need to pass now. so call your state senator. ask them to support ab 1505 and ab 1507.

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there's a better choice. topping our political radar today, the president will just have to deal with all the haters. the second circuit court of appeals ruling today, president trump because he uses twitter for government business cannot block users on twitter. limiting users access to his account violates the first amendment. pediatrician joan perry is running against a fellow doctor,

greg murphy, for the state's third congressional seat. the seat was held by walter jones who died in february. whoever wins will face a special election in september. president trump taking a swipe at the british prime minister and her ambassador. the fradjectives in response to leaked cables where the ambassador describes trump inept and inkpengt. . an obamacare lawsuit back in court today with the potential to reach the supreme court. this after a texas judge ruled that the affordable care act is unconstitutional. the trump administration agrees with that court ruling and said the entire law should be struck down. an appeals court about to hear arguments from both sides. joan, tell us about what we

should expect today. >> reporter: hello, john. yes, hanging in the balance is health care for millions of americans with this challenge, the third major challenge to the affordable care act. lawyers for texas and for the department of justice are going to argue that in 2017 when congress amended a tax penalty, it effectively invalidated the individual insurance requirement and also invalidated the whole affordable care act, sunk the whole thing. democrats who are coming in from california and other states and from the democratic-led house of representatives are going to counter that that 2017 law did not change the individual insurance requirement and it certainly did not doom the entire affordable care act. this case, john, is going to be heard by a three-judge panel. two republican appointees, one democrat appointee. we're not going to get a ruling today. that won't come for several

months. but when it does, john, it certainly is destined for the u.s. supreme court. i'll just remind you that twice before these justices upheld the affordable care act, so this is a really long shot bid by republicans. >> but in an election year we'll keep watching it. joan, appreciate the live report from new orleans. when we come back, kirsten gillibrand struggling in the polls. she says just wait, she's going to win. your brain changes as you get older. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient

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welcome back. congressman eric swalwell is gone from the 2020 presidential field saying yesterday that since he was unable to move the dial in the first debate, he decided to call it quits. other struggling candidates face

simil struggling pressure, with the next debate just three weeks away. among them kirsten gillibrand. she was asked why she thinks she's yet to break through. >> it is so early, poppy. we've had one debate and there's going to be ten. so it's a long process between now and the first primary in new hampshire and the first caucus in iowa, and those are states i intend to win. >> confidence there. "the washington post" magazine out with a profile examining her struggles called "the ignoring of kirsten gillibrand." at a time when our national cortisol level is tied to the president's twitter feed and candidates are live streaming and clapping back and eating salads with hair equipment, it has become unforgivable to become boring. gillibrand's brand is going to be a tough sell if what we really wanting at some level is for our politicians to entertain us. is that it? is she too boring? or is she in a crowded field with other candidates, other

senators and other women, including elizabeth warren and kamala harris, who have had at least so far, it is early, better luck? >> yeah. i would quibble with that. i don't find gillibrand boring, i find her to be a really interesting figure in the race. she is running unabashedly as a feminist. she has a track record as a senator that she is really leaning into. i think the problem is that the public just isn't responding to that right now. it is a crowded field. you've got five or six candidates at the top who are really turning it on with fund-raising, getting big crowds and there's just not going to be room for everybody. gillibrand is finding herself at the other end of the spectrum. yes, in terms of the calendar it is early, but a lot of these candidates, gillibrand among them, may struggle to get into the debates when we get into the fall. how do you keep going if you're not on the debate stage. >> here's our polling. you go back, democrats in march, 1%, april 1%, may 1%, june post

debate less than 1%. it's hard. it's hard for all of them when you have 23, 24, it's hard to lose count sometimes. here's a risk she's taking. it's hard when your numbers are like that to keep raising money. she's spending some money on a new tv ad trying to break through by saying the president of the united states, if you live in the manufacturing areas of america, has broken his promises. >> if i'm elected, you won't lose one plant. you'll have plants coming into this country. you're going to have jobs again, i promise you. you'll be seeing drug prices falling very substantially, i promise you. >> as president, i will take on the fights that no one else will. >> it's an interesting strategy that she's decided to spend money on a tv ad as opposed to a ground game which some of the other candidates have done. in the first quarter she only raised $3 million. she hasn't released her numbers for the second quarter. if she isn't able to get above 2% in four polls in a really small window, then she's not

going to make it to the fall debates. >> she struggled to get 65,000 unique donors the first time around but that number jumps to 130,000. it's a struggle to see how she gets to that point as well. >> she doesn't necessarily have an ideological home in the race. liberals view her with suspicion because she used to be much more conservative. some moderates aren't paying that much attention to her. some people blame her for al franken being ousted, so she has a lot of different things. but the reality as julie said, it's too crowded. she's not a novel figure in this field so she has time to break out. look for her to do something, perhaps something dramatic or dire at that cnn debate in detroit. boy, that is a time when she needs to make a showing. >> you learn from the first round and see if they grow. that's the big test, can they grow. before we go to break, the passing of a man who made history. the self-made billionaire ross perot died today at the age of 89. back in the '90s he mounted two

unsuccessful third-party presidential campaigns getting nearly 20 million votes in the first. that was 1992. he was a philanthropist known for his support of military causes, especially veterans. on stage, always entertaining. >> i've got a theme song for our campaign and here is comes. just listen to it. ♪ we're crazy ♪ crazy for feeling so lonely ♪ we're crazy don't miss your golden opportunity to experience thrilling performance. now, at the lexus golden opportunity sales event. get 0.9% apr for 60 months on all 2019 models. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. thanks for the ride-along, captain! i've never been in one of these before, even though geico has been- ohhh. ooh ohh here we go, here we go. you got cut off there, what were you saying?

oooo. oh no no. maybe that geico has been proudly serving the military for over 75 years? is that what you wanted to say? mhmmm. i have to say, you seemed a lot chattier on tv. geico. proudly serving the military for over 75 years. you ok back there, buddy?

tom steyersteyer, making hi campaign official. he's now running for president in 2020. it's the first real political run for the billionaire who has spent hundreds of millions supporting other democratic candidates. he's estimated to be worth $1.6 billion which he began amassing after starting a hedge fund in the late '80s. he made it official in a video statement this morning. >> my parents were very uncompromising about doing the right thing. >> steyer and his wife are worth an estimated billion and a half dollars and have pledged to give half of their fortune to charity. >> we have a society that's unequal. it's really important for people to understand that this society is connected. if this is a banana republic with a few very, very rich

people and everybody else living in misery, that's a failure. >> he's not in the first debates because he wasn't in the race. not going to make the second debates but has a billion dollars. people donated to the need to impeach, he has their names. what's the impact? >> i'm not sure what pathway steyer sees for himself. we hear that he talks about society is very up equal. that sounds like sanders, sounds like warren, so i'm not sure what he thinks he's bringing to the race that isn't occupied by a certain candidate. yes, he may have the money but he'll have to reach 2% in four different polls in the matter of two months so that's a really small window. >> with national ads, it's certainly possible. i think we don't know his outcome on the race, particularly on the impeachment factor. this is all happening at the same time when bob mueller will appear before the house committees next week. there is a rising call in the

house to urge the speaker to do this, so it's going to complicate her life, no question. i don't know the effect it's going to have on the race. but he's a fresh face at this point in the race. had he gotten in in january when he was thinking about it, he'd be old news so i think it will be frustrating to the others running. >> i think it will interesting to see how he is leaning into that impeachment message. that's probably the message he's most known for based on his commercials. if he does lean into that, what does that do to these other candidates who have come out for impeachment but don't want to make that the centerpiece of this race. they want to be on the right side of this but want to be talking about health care, about immigration. does he force the conversation in this primary into that direction. >> and so he back in january said he wasn't going to run. he thought it was best to focus on drying to drum up support for impeachment. now he's running and asking people to donate to the cause or sign a petition so he might have the names. david axelrod tweeting now the

two years of impeachment ads make sense. trying to make the case, oh, it was part of the plan all along. raise your profile and get a lot of names on a petition that you reach out to and hopefully they'll support you. >> it is interesting what's driving him to run. you're right, he said earlier this year he would not and now he's saying there are issues not being addressed. he mentioned the issue of climate and corporate influence in politics. but those issues are being brought up in the democratic primary. maybe not as prominent as the news of the day but they are certainly discussed. >> buttigieg, $24.8 million, biden $21.5, here are the top five. the question is does a billionaire reach deep into his pockets and try to change the race by spending more than that? >> he certainly could if he wants to, but the dnc has set up rules for the debates that will make a self-funding candidate not necessarily guaranteed of being on stage. >> and he'll get scrutiny for the first time which he hasn't done. if he starts taking off, look

for others to go after him. let's see what plays out, it's only july, folks. >> it's interesting every day. thanks for joining us today on "inside politics." a lot of news today. brianna keilar starts right now. have a great afternoon. i'm brianna keilar live from cnn's washington headquarters. under way right now, as pressure mounts the president defends his cabinet member who gave a sweetheart deal to jeffrey epstein. the multimillionaire sex offender indicted for a sex trafficking ring. plus the bizarre and disturbing list of items found in his mansion. it's day two of the president's tirade against a diplomat following the leak of secret cables. president trump unable to shake the uk ambassador's criticism that he's insecure. with the fate of obamacare in question, joe biden draws a

line in the san