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welcome to "inside politics." i'm john king. president trump at any moment to hold a news conference alongside the prime minister of florida, he -- iran. he is putting tough new sanctions on the iranian national bank which he says goes to the top of the iranian regime. and he's also gone to the top of the whistleblower complaint. the president says the complaint is partisan nonsense. >> it's a partisan whistleblower. they shouldn't even have information. i've had conversations with many leaders that are always appropriate. i think scott can tell you that. always appropriate. at the highest level always appropriate. anything i do, i fight for this country. i fight so strongly for this country. it's just another political hack

job. that's all it is. >> you've seen this playbook from the president before. attack the source, make it all partisan. even as the president went on to admit he's not even sure, he says, what the complaint is about. >> i don't know the identity of the whistleblower, i just hear it's a partisan person, meaning it comes out from another party, but i don't have -- which conversation? figure it out. you're supposed to be the media, figure it out. which conversation? >> july 25th. >> i don't know. i really don't know. >> let's get straight to the white house and kaitlan collins live for us. the president shaking his head and saying, i don't know. i don't find that believable given the last 24 hours. >> he goes back and forth on saying this whistleblower is partisan, although he doesn't know who this whistleblower is. he said it was ridiculous, though he hasn't read it, only

his staff has. and he said all of his kr conversations with world leaders have been appropriate. he declined to say he hasn't discussed joe biden with the world leader. the president saying certain things about this whistleblower, things that mirrored what his own attorney rudy giuliani said last night, alleging they're a democrat although it's not clear the identity of this whistleblower, including the president saying he doesn't know who he is. the question going forward is how this is hanging over the second state visit the president is hosting, the first with the french, the second with the prime minister of israel today. these are going to be the questions facing the president. if the this conversation he had, this communication with this whistleblower is filing a complaint and was a abobove boa

and appropriate like the president says it has, that's something they can't answer. >> we're waiting for the prime minister to answer more questions. cnn's dan a bash, former white house chairman, senior analyst carrie cordero and maggie. he says he's had a press conference, then he has a break and has another press conference. the president gets to say whatever he wants or thinks if he wants to repeat it and the reporters say let's ask a sharper question to follow up on that. here's one thing the president said. we're not certain what is at stake here because we don't have the complaint. it is the july phone call with the president of ukraine. the president was asked today if, on that phone call, you raised the idea of, please get me some dirt or please investigate matters that have to

do with joe biden, is that okay? >> it doesn't matter what i discussed, but somebody ought to look into joe biden's statement because it was disgraceful where he talked about billions of dollars that he's not giving to a certain country unless a certain prosecutor is taken off the case. >> it doesn't matter what i discuss. let me start with the lawmakers and the lawyer at the table. if the president of the united states is having a conversation with another leader at a time when the united states is holding up promised military assistance and says, i'd like you to help me out here, on what is inherently a domestic u.s. political issue, does it matter? >> it matters if it's a corrupt purpose. if what he's doing -- if he was having a conversation with a foreign leader about a legitimate -- something that's in u.s. interest, then that's a legitimate exercise of his foreign affairs authority, which is very strong as the executive. but if he is trying to establish some kind of quid pro quo

between -- i'll use an instrument of u.s. foreign policy and national security and defense power, foreign aid or other assistance in exchange for your assistance to me politically, that's corrupt. and that is not a lawful exercise of his executive authority. >> so the president says, and this is a quick answer, but the president was asked at the very end of the oval office meeting, sir, you can clear all of this up. release the transcript of the phone call with the leader of ukraine. >> there is nothing. there's nothing. >> if there's nothing, why not release it? >> well, listen, this is all going to come out. no is just a long and painful way to yes. we've seen this tactic before. it's going to come out, it's going to drip out, there is going to be beading that you can see. every four minutes there is a new speculation on what it might be. i do believe they need to get to the bottom of this soon. i think they should get ahead of it. it is not normally the tactic of

this bhwhite house to get aheadf it, but i think they should do it. i think they should pull the relevant folks in the room. the senate committee is not having press conferences talking about speculative matters of the report. start there. go up there. have the conversation. it should be behind closed doors. i do think the president has the right to exert that i have the right to do this. he does. and maybe the person making the complaint saw one piece of a thousand-piece puzzle, you don't know. so i do think if they could clear it up, it would go a long way to go away. >> to that point, i want to come back to the process and the lack of trust in a minute, but to that point about what we're seeing. the president could clear this up. he could release the transcript. he could send his dni to capitol hill and say, i don't want you to meet with adam schiff because i don't trust with adam schiff, but go ahead and meet with nancy pelosi and chuck schumer and tell them to back off.

he hasn't done that. even though he says he doesn't know who it is, it's a political hack, they're out to get me. we've seen this playbook before when they stall, discredit the source so when it does come out, at least his people are inclined to say, forget about it. >> we've seen something before in this playbook, too, that the act in question may not be a thing. if it is something within the scope of his powers as president, then it will be a that's just how he talks moment. then what the controversy involves around, it's not just that, it's his or his aides' behavior around what the initial incident was. half the mueller report was related to incidents of possible obstruction of justice by the president and his interaction with the mueller investigation into the president. right now you are talking about the administration preventing the i.g. from briefing congress. and then the president on the one hand says, i don't know who this is, but your point is

defining the person in stark political terms. i think at another point said, some of my aides have read this complaint and were laughing about it. so i don't know which it is. >> the issue is we don't know. adam schiff, who is chairman of the house intelligence committee, got ahead of the skis saying there is collusion before there was any evidence of collusion. you get the reason why the trump administration might not trust adam schiff. but there are other ways. there is this thing called the law where if you have an urgent complaint, the i.g. at -- the trump-appointed i.g. for the trump administration went around the dni because he was concerned they weren't following procedure and the law. speaker nancy pelosi moments ago said, turn it over. i'm sorry, speaker pelosi was just talking moments ago. the law says the dni should send the information. shall, not should. shall send the information to congress. the law is the law so we just have to uphold the law. the question is the democrats

are in court on a whole lot of things. is this going to court or, since the dni has agreed to come up next week, will they figure out how to get to a yes? >> that's what the chairman on my right used to do. you figure it out so this whole thing stops or the adults can find a way to get to a room and talk to each other. in normal times that happens. i'm not so sure that -- i wonder what you think -- that the law is as clear as what the speaker says, and that is the big issue here. the law didn't anticipate, the whistleblower law, the problem being the president of the united states. it just didn't. so that is why the inspector general went to congress, why the dni is being told by the executive branch, no, you can't do it, and you are in this very, very slim slice of a gray area legally. politically the one thing i will say, and i'm guessing you have it there, is to your point about

the long road to yes. no is a long road to yes. rudy giuliani came out on chris coup cuomo's show last night which he thinks he's speaking out of turn. he tries to get ahead of something. >> of course this drama also involves rudy giuliani because it just wouldn't be right if it didn't. who has acknowledged he has had a meeting with ukranians, has acknowledged he is trying to get dirt on the biden family. he told chris cuomo, no, i did not discuss hunter biden with ukranians of t ukranians. then he said this. >> you never asked anything about hunter biden, you never asked anything about joe biden with the prosecutor? >> the only thing i asked was how it was that lou sanco, who

was appointed, dismissed the case against -- >> so you did ask ukraine to look into joe biden? >> of course, i did. >> he's crazy like a fox. he knows exactly what he's doing, don't you think, maggie? >> i'm a little uncertain. >> maybe not on that moment. on the notion that it's going to get out. people know i'm in ukraine and this was likely part of the conversation. let's lay the groundwork. >> i think that's exactly right. i think that was his goal. i don't know if he accomplished that, but i think his goal when he won't hannity, to hannity's shock that night, he said, yes, the president did make these payments related to stormy daniels. he did that on purpose and he was vilified that night and it wasn't fair. he knew what he was doing and it turned out to have helped his client. i don't know if this one helped his client in the same way. i've seen it many, many times. but i think there is a world where he actually thought that he was responding to -- i don't

think he was trying to say that he asked about joe biden, i think he also thought he was answering a question about hunter biden and i think he got tangled up on that, just as an on the other hand answer. >> it's difficult when you get all these names -- >> and they were fighting back and forth. >> we're going to continue to follow this again. there is a lot we don't know about the specifics of the km t complaint, where it goes from here, but we'll hear more from the president of the united states and his meeting with the prime minister of israel in just moments. we'll be right back. more towers. more coverage! it's a network that gives you ♪freedom from big cities, to small towns, we're with you. because life can take you almost anywhere, t-mobile is with you. no signal goes farther or is more reliable in keeping you connected.

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we're waiting for the president of the united states, the prime minister of australia. they had a meeting in the oval of ofrs as the president was greeting the prime minister and his wife. we discussed the whistleblower incident, but the president calling this meeting and calling in his treasury secretary for assist. he says they should go to the top of the iranian regime by cutting off iranian national bank to funds. this afternoon he will meet with his national security team to discuss possible military actions. many hawkish republicans in congress has told the president he should put on the table strikes against iranian oil.

the administration blames it on the president saying, everybody calm down waiting. not going into military action is not weakness but strength. >> we want to see if it works out, and if it works out, that's great. if it doesn't work out, that's great. in the end it always works out, whether it's now or in three weeks. it doesn't make any difference. but i think the strong person's approach and the thing that does show strength would be showing a little bit of restraint. much easier to do it the other way. it's much easier. and iran knows if they misbehave, they're on borrowed time. >> the president meanders sometimes in his language which is his way, but that is trump. that is, don't push me. i don't want to start military confrontation. i'm going to meet with my advisers today. everybody calm down. >> i think the problem the president finds himself in on the issue of iran is he tends to

make very declaretive statement and he makes them very bluntly and forcefully, and his incidents related to the middle east is to be not that militaristic. i'm not surprised by what he's saying. it's sometimes at odds of other things he's said. >> and pressure is on his close relationship with the saudis, number two, his commitment to the united states to protect the persian gulf. number three, that there was clear evidence that it's iran's equipment used here, and they haven't put together the pieces to believe that it was iran as well. >> and he didn't do anything after what happened to cha

khashog -- khashoggi, the fact that he is not going in to try to protect saudi right now in a knee jerk way is also telling and speaks to what you both were talking about, that there are a few things donald trump has been consistent on for 30-plus years since he's even talked about things in public life. the issue of not going to war so aggressively and trade and china. and this is so fundamental of who he is. >> here we are now. you saw the president walking into the east room just moments ago. the first lady walked in, vice president pence before that. see them coming down. the white house showing the prime minister coming in. >> we've had a spectacular morning, and it is an honor

being with the prime minister and mrs. morrison. thank you very much. australia is a fantastic country and a brilliant ally. we just spent a lot of time together with our representatives, and they get along very well and we're doing a lot of deals. we talked military, we talked trade, we talked about everything you can talk about. and we came to the same conclusion, i think, in every case. but i just want to say it's an honor having both of you here. thank you very much. you have a truly great country and i don't think we've ever had a better relationship than we have right now. tonight we're going to have something very special in the rose garden, and based on all of that money we spend on all of that weather-predicting equipment, they're saying no chance of rain. let's see if that's right. if it is, we'll run right back into this room. but we're going to have a fantastic evening, and first lady, thank you very much. you worked very hard on this. it's not going to rain, it's

going to be a beautiful evening and great job. really great job, honey. thank you. please. >> thank you, mr. president and mrs. trump. we thank you very much for the incredibly warm and generous welcome that jenny and i and the delegation have had here in washington in this great home of the american presidency, and indeed your home. one of the many things the president and i share in common is a passion for jobs, and the job performance here in the united states, the jobs that are being created in australia, the jobs that change people's lives. you know, when people get a job, they have choices. in australia and the united states we're committed to creating jobs. whether it's in trade or looking at the future and where those jobs are going to come from, we want our people to have those economic opportunities. i commend the president on the great work he's done in creating jobs here in the united states, and we're doing the same thing in australia.

we want to keep creating jobs and this partnership is a big part of that. we share objectives in so many areas. we share common values, we share beliefs. we've shared a wonderful century together, and now we're going to have another great century together. thank you, mr. president, and thank you for the opportunity for the discussions we had today. b we are very much looking forward to the state dinner. mrs. trump, you're doing something special there tonight, perhaps the first ever, and that's another part of this wonderful visit, so thank you very much. >> thank you. it's a great honor. go ahead, please. >> mr. president, you've been negotiating with the chinese and there seems to be a possibility in terms of a china trade deal that they might actually offer some agricultural purchases. is that going to be enough for you, sir, in order to get a deal done? >> no. >> what do you need to see that deal go past the finish line?

>> we need a complete deal. i'm not looking for a partial deal. china has started to buy our agricultural product, if you noticed, over the last week and some very big purchases, but that's not what i'm looking for. we're looking for the big deal. we've taken it to this level. we've taken in billions and billions of dollars of tariffs. china is putting a lot of money into their economy, and they have a very bad economy right now and i don't want them to have a bad economy. it's the worst in, say, 57 years. two weeks ago it was the worst in 22 years, now it's 57 years, and it's only going to get worse. their supply chain is being broken up very badly and companies are leaving because they can't pay the 25, soon to go to 30% tariff. and we have 30% very shortly on 250 billion. we have another tariff at a slightly smaller number, as you know, on other -- on about $300 billion worth of the goods and products.

so they would like to do something. as you know, we're talking a little bit this week, talking a lot next week, and then top people are going to be speaking the week following. but i'm not looking for a partial deal, i'm looking for a complete deal. >> you feel you need that deal before the election, sir? >> no, i don't think i need it before the election. people know we're doing a great job. i've rebuilt the military. scott and i were talking about that. we spent $1.5 trillion. when i came in, our military was depleted. frankly, we didn't have ammunition, okay? our military was in very bad shape. we rebuilt the military. we've got one of the strongest economies. mike pence actually got some -- it's right here. he's a great vice president. he said these numbers are incredible. the retail numbers that came out two days ago that really weren't reported were just incredible numbers. you know that very well, that's your world. and some other numbers. we're doing very well. our economy is very strong.

and china is being affected very badly. wee we're not being affected. in fact, we're taking in billions of dollars. china is eating that. china is eating the tariffs because of the devaluation. that doesn't happen in all countries. china is china and they know what they're doing as well as anybody. my relationship with president xi is a very amazing one, very good one, but we have right now a little spat. but i think we're doing very well. our country is doing well. you look at so many different things. look at all of the regulation cutting that allows us to do what we did. look what happens three days ago we have an attack like that and it takes out a big chunk of oil and the price goes up $4, $5 and now it's heading down rapidly. that would have happened years ago. it would have gone up $50. it would have doubled. this was a blip. so it's been really amazing what we've been able to do. i think the voters understand that. i don't think it has any impact

on the election. now, if something happened, i think that would probably be a positive for the election, but that's okay. i do think signing usmca on a bipartisan basis with nancy pelosi and chuck schumer and everybody else, very bipartisan, i think that's good for our country, and i would be willing to say it's a bipartisan deal. but i think it's important for our manufacturers, for our farmers. even our unions want that deal done. so hopefully that's going to be put up to a vote very soon. there will be very little cajoling of the democrats because most democrats wanted to, but the usmca is ready to be voted on. mexico has taken final votes. china is going to do that any time we want them to, they're all set to go. and we need that for our country. it's a great deal. it's a great deal. thank you. >> for the prime minister, sir, your economy to some degree is caught in the cross-currents of

united states and china. what did you say to the president what your ideal outcome is for a deal with the united states and china? >> obviously we'd like to see the united states and china to be able to come to an agreement. deals have to be fair, deals have to be good deals, deals have to be sustainable deals. i think one of the things we've seen, china has sustained greatly and we have a free trade agreement with china. they've grown and they've become a standard economy in the world. once you get into that level, then you need to be playing to the same rules as those other developed nations. i think this is the new generation of deals i think we'll see china do, which the president has been working on. he's been working on it for some time and we wish him well in that kritcrisis. there is a series of deals that needs to be addressed.

we look forward to them achieving it and that providing a certain stability to the global economy which all nations will benefit from. >> we could do, scott, a very good deal with china and it could go very quickly, as you know. but it wouldn't be the appropriate deal. we have to do it right. it's a complicated deal with integrated property protection, we to we have to do that, and other things. i could do it very quickly but we want to do it right. >> andrew? >> i assume andrew is a nice person? >> thank you, mr. president, the best. thank you very much for hosting us. also on china and tariffs, what do you say to australian businesses and to australian people who say your trade war

with president xi threatens their prosperity? and to the presideime minister, you think the tariffs are going to be a detriment to china? >> i love numbers. i think the numbers with china are doing very well. when we have a deal with china, because they want to make it perhaps more than i want to make it. because i actually love all the billions of dollars that's pouring into our treasury. billions and billions of dollars. we've never seen that before from china. it's always been the other way. and i'm talking care of our farmers out of that. we're helping our farmers. our farmers were targeted and they were targeted for $16 billion. i made that up to them. we paid them the $16 billion and had tens of billions of dollars left over. i will say australia is doing

very well. if we do end up doing a deal, australia will do even better. we were discussing that, but australia will be one of the big beneficiaries of a deal. in the meantime, as you know, i did tariff relief with respect to a certain product in particular coming out of australia, and that's something that we wouldn't do for anybody else. this has been a truly great ally and we work very well together. your numbers are absolutely fantastic, your economy is strong like ours, and i think we're two real examples of two countries doing extremely well. some countries aren't doing so well. europe is not doing well, asia is not -- large parts of asia are not doing well, china is not doing well. please. >> thanks. mr. president, australia is in its 29th year of consecutive economic growth, which is an extraordinary national achievement. and we will continue to grow as our most recent national accounts demonstrated.

australia is also very used to dealing with a complex and changing world. and that's why we've diversified. six years ago when our government came to office, 27% of our trade was covered by agreements around the world. that figure is now 70%. we're going to take that to 90%. and that's important. that's opening up opportunities. so i guess there are ebbs and flows that go in the global economy and australia has built up a resilience through the broad-based nature in which we're taking our economy to the world. australia never got rich selling things to itself, and we've always had an outward-looking perspective when it comes to engaging our economic opportunities. and a big part of what we've been discussing here is some new opportunities with the critical minerals, frontier technologies, space. this is where jobs are going to be in the future as well. we will deal with those ebbs and

flows as they come, but the president is right. the arrangement they will come to, and i'm confident they will with china, will be one that will set a new bar in terms of how china's economy then deals with a lot of these complicated issues in the future with developed economies like australia. so we look on with interest, and i think ultimately when we arrive at that point, it's going to put global trade on a stronger footing. >> and australia has really been so focused on the economy. they do minerals. they have incredible wealth in minerals and coal and other things. and they are really at the leading edge of coal technology. it's clean coal, we call it, clean coal, but it's also great for the workers. and things that would happen, too, because it was very dangerous years ago and very bad for a lot of people, and you've rectified that 100%. it's incredible. i looked at your statistics the other day, and coal miners are

very, very safe in australia. it's incredible what you've done. in fact, we're looking at what you've done. >> we can do a deal on that. >> we'll make a deal. yeah, go ahead, please. >> thank you. in the midst of these escalating tensions with iran, you've now named a new national security adviser, robert o'brien. >> yes. >> what is he recommending to you in terms of dealing with the latest with saudi arabia and the response? secondly, you put new sanctions on iran. secretary mnuchin said this represents the last of the funds for that regime. have we now exhausted sanctions with iran? >> these are the strongest sanctions ever put at a country. we are at a level of sanction that is far greater than ever before with respect to iran. today with did central bank, as you know, and we'll see. we'll see. they're having a lot of problems not only with us. they're having problems within

their own country, and i think they have a lot of self-made problems. we are by far the strongest military in the world. going into iran would be a very easy decision, as i said before. it would be the easiest thing. most people thought i would go in within two seconds, but plenty of time. plenty of time. in the meantime they have a lot of problems within iran. iran could be a great country, could be a rich country, but they are choosing to go a different way. they'll be appointed, which they'll be very sorry for that choice, but i think i'm showing great restraint. a lot of people respect it. some people don't. some people say you should go in immediately. and other people are so thrilled at what i'm doing. and i don't do it for anybody, i do it for what's good for the united states, what's good for our allies. and it's working out really very well. as far as robert is concerned, robert, maybe you could stand up. robert o'brien has done a

fantastic job for us with hostage negotiations. i think we can say that there has never been anybody that's done better than you and i as a combination. we've brought many people home and we brought them home quickly. speed is a very important thing, i find, with hostages. it's really something. i had dinner the other night with the warmbier family, an incredible family. the whole family and some of otto's friends in addition to the family. we had 25 people over on saturday night. we did that dinner in otto's honor, and it was a beautiful thing. it was a beautiful thing. the first lady and i, it was very -- it was very touching and really very beautiful. we talked about otto. and i will tell you that people should have moved faster. and robert and i were talking

about that. should have moved faster. he was there a long time. with hostages, you have to move fast. all of a sudden it gets very hard for the other side to do anything. and sometimes it's just too late. in the case of otto, it was very late. we got him home but he was in horrible, horrible condition. what happened to him was actually incredible, just horrible. but you have to move fast. robert and i have been really successful. the reason i know him so well, i actually work hard on hostages, i think you would say. i think most presidents wouldn't do that, but i do. these are great, in most cases, american lives. we've helped other countries with their hostage situation. we have some strength that they don't. these are great people and we get them home. we got them home from north korea, as you know, and we got them home from a lot of different locations. egypt. we get them home from many

different locations. turkey. president erdogan was very good and we got a hostage home. our great pastor who everyone in this room knows and loves. but we've had tremendous success. what surprised me, i didn't know too many people knew robert. and when it came time to pick somebody for the position, it was a very critical time, i had so many people -- i shouldn't say this in front of robert, he'll be embarrassed, but i had so many people who called me and they recommended robert o'brien. so i think he's going to do a great job, and i can tell you this, he started about 12 minutes after he was chosen. he sat in with us. and he's very much involved now in what we're doing. >> one quick follow-up on that in regards to iran. if sanctions don't work and they continue their maligning activity, are there any other measures outside of a military option that can be taken? >> i don't want to talk about that, but i will say i think the sanctions work and the military

would work, but that's a very severe form of winning. but we win. nobody can beat us militarily. nobody can even come close. what we've done for our military in the last three years is incredible. all made in the usa, by the way. and it's really incredible. our nuclear was getting very tired. they hadn't spent the money on it, and now we have it in, as we would say, tippy-top shape. tippy-top. we have new and we have renovated and it's incredible and we all should pray that we never have to use it. we should never have to use it. our military itself is in phenomenal shape. and we have a great gentleman, as you know, going to be taking over. joint chief of staff joe dunford has been fantastic. a great man and a good friend of

mine. general emilio is going to be taking over and we're going to have a bit of a celebration, both for joe and for everybody. as you know, our secretary of defense has just come in, ma mark esper, and he's been here for a short period of time, but he has tremendous energy. that's what he's been doing for a long period of time, from the day he graduated, or maybe i should say from the day he started at west point where he was a top, top scholar, et cetera. so we have incredible people. steve mnuchin is here. we did the sanctions today and i think they're probably, steve, the strongest that have ever been put on a country. we will certainly never do that to australia, i promise you. >> one for the prime minister, if i may. mr. prime minister, you have been very tough on huawei, even under pressure. you've been very consistent with the ban even though you said you have a good working relationship

with china and they're important for your economy. do you plan to continue to support the united states and the tough stance on china? and can you give any more specifics about what you've told the president you would do to help in his measures to reach a fair trade deal? >> well, first of all, i mean, we have the most perfect of relationships with the united states and it goes back a century and more, as the president was reminding us on the lawn this morning. we have a comprehensive strategic partnership with china. this is a part of the world in which we live. managing that relationship important to australia's interest. one thing i can say, and i think the president can say the same, we will both always live in the national interests of our countries. we will always put our countries first. that means engaging countries in our own region, not just economically, but in a people to people level as well. we have deals we do militarily

and we'll continue to do those. but the focus at the end of the day has to be what's important to our people. that means the united states is a stabilizing force in the region. what does that mean? it means countries can trade with each other. economies can develop. people come out of poverty. the united states has had a positive presence in our region. and that's why we always work together, because we share objectives. it isn't a matter of them saying, we need you to do this, or australia saying to the united states, we need you to do this. it's about having shared objectives and looking through the world in a shared lens. that naturally brings us together to promote prosperity. we love jobs, the president and i. we love jobs. we like jobs here and we like jobs everywhere. when people have jobs, they tend to focus a bit more on things that are going on in their lives

every day and making sure they can live peacefully with each other. >> one of the things that was important, during our meeting i said, what percentage of your military do you buy from us? and the answer was, we work it together, or it's about 100%. it's close to 100%. we make the best equipment, he understands that, but it's a real relationship. they buy 100% of their military, and it's a massive purchase. it's the biggest purchase since world war ii. >> it will be 2% of gdp next year, and that comes up with what was the last level of defense spending as a share of the economy since prior to the second world war. so it's a $200 billion investment. it's being built in australia but also in partnership with the united states and other allies. it's an important part of what we're doing. i think david crow from australia was next. >> thank you very much, david

crow from the city herald. on the questions of iran, mr. president, you've praised the australian commitment today to deal with iran in the persian gulf. in your talks today with mr. morrison, did you discuss further military action in order to keep the pressure on iran? what might those military actions be, and what could australia contribute to that? mr. morrison, on that same issue -- >> hold on one sec, you'll get a shot at your prime minister. i'm sure you're looking forward to it. we didn't discuss too much of iran. we discussed more trade, more china. we discussed afghanistan where australia is helping us. we're slowly reducing in afghanistan, as people know. we've been very effective in afghanistan, and if we wanted to do a certain method of war, we would win that very quickly. but many, many -- really, tens

of millions of people would be killed. and we think it's unnecessary. australia has been a great help to us in afghanistan. we're reducing in afghanistan. we're reducing in syria where we've taken over 100% of the caliphate. we have 100%. when i came in, it was smaller, but it was a mess. it was all over, and now it's in a position -- i won't repeat what i said before with the prisoners, but we have thousands of isis fighters from our work in capturing 100% of the caliphate, and we're asking the countries from where they came, whether it's germany or france or other countries, to take those people back, put them on trial, do what they have to do with them. but the united states will not keep thousands and thousands of people for the next possibly 50 years or whatever it may be. it's going to be up to those

countries. we did them a big favor. we went in, we took them down. the isis fighters in the end weren't very good fighters against the united states. but we have thousands of them and we want them to be taken over by germany, france and all of those countries from where they came. okay? >> thank you. and mr. morrison, on the same issue of iran, are you open to further military action against iran, or is the australian commitment solely contained to a freedom of navigation? >> as the president said, there are no further activities planned or requested for assistance from australia, so the question on that is moot. i want to commend the president, who is demonstrating as he did in the earlier press conference in the oval office, restraint. there are other measures that he and the secretary have announced today, and they're pursuing

those channels. so the calibrated, i think, very measured response that the united states is taking has been a matter for them, ask objend oy at any time when issues arise with us as an ally, we consider their merits at the time and australian interest. i think that's where that's hitting. >> thank you very much. jennifer, thank you very much. first lady, thank you. and i hope you're going to be able to seat tonight to the media, because it's going to be a beautiful evening in honor of australia and the morrisons. thank you. >> the president of the united states shaking hands with the australian prime minister, scott morrison, heading from the east room to the west wing of the white house. the issue that came up earlier in the oval office, the controversy about the so-called whistleblower did not come up at the press conference. but think of where australia is in the world.

a very important trade relationship with china, the prime minister saying how important it was to the australi australian economy. one of the first questions to the president was, would you cut a monetary deal with china as opposed to the large package you have demanded from china, including concessions, or will you before next year's election? >> we're talking a little bit this week, talking a lot next week and then top people are going to be speaking the week following. but i'm not looking for a partial deal, i'm looking for a complete deal. >> do you feel you need that deal before the election, sir? >> no, i don't think i need it before the election. i think people know we're doing a great job. >> that is his position. it's a risky position, frankly, and it's a position which for all the criticism of the president for not being consistent, he is taking a huge political risk here by being consistent. at least up to this point, of saying i'm sorry to the american farmers, i'm sorry to other industries hurt by chinese tariffs, but i'm holding out until we get a real deal.

the negotiations restart in ernest next week. the question is will he continue to hold that position if the american economy slows down and his political team tells him, sir, this could hurt your map. >> i think it will take a lot more from his political team based on what he's seeing right now. he believes there is not going to be longer term pain. he has seen the market eventually come back up. he doesn't generally have strongly held views on a lot of issues, but tariffs is one of them. he's been talking about it for decades, and i think he believes if he moves off of that, he'll lose the supporters that he has. this farmer bailout is quite expensive but i think he thinks it's going to help. they only have to get through four more consecutive quarters of economic growth, and even if there is a slowdown, it will blunt that argument. we'll see if he's right. >> you're absolutely right, because we talked about it before the press conference,

about there being a few things he's been very consistent on his whole adult life, this being one of them. yes, the broad numbers, he might skate by without a recession, but when you're talking about the actual people, the people he relies on, the people that senators and members of the house rely on, voters who are hurting in a very, very deep way, like in iowa, for example, and other areas where they're making agriculture where china is their number one buyer and they're not able to sell there, they're already put in a position of being asked to be what the president is calling patriot farmers, and the question is how long will that last and will they say enough already. >> and the question will be when they try to cut a spending deal, is there more money for farmers. we'll see how that plays out. >> these people will not be making a voice in a vacuum, tlbl a binary.

>> another question that came up, a lot of words were spoken. we didn't learn a lot as the president goes into sensitive meetings. we're not supposed to know a lot. he blames the saudis on the oil attack. australia has been an ally to afghanistan. when you talk about what the president is considering, careful in his words, measured in his words, saying he can be tough if he has to be. very easy, he said. i don't think that was an overstatement. it wouldn't be very easy if you had a war with iran. what do you think you heard? >> i think he's being measured appropriately. i don't agree with the people who say we should strike in iran. there are lots of places that you can herd around. they're playing in yemen, they're playing in iraq, they're playing in afghanistan. they're trying to cause trouble in bahrain. so they have weaknesses built around the region, and a

sensible plan for causing them pain, and i argue they should have some pain to be accountable for what they've done, could be, a, the sanctions, you start out with sanctions, and then second, there are targets for folks who are doing really bad things and getting people killed that the united states could engage that would cause pain to iran without an attack on iranian soil. i would be very, very careful. and the good news here is i think that's where trump's instinct is about going into iran. mainly if that happens, it will be very, very difficult to try to get that thing to stop burning. and that's what i think people are concerned about in the middle east. cause some pain, do it economically, there are some targets. don't go into iran, at least for the time being, on what your options are. >> i want to come back to the story we started with, which is the whistleblower in the intelligence community, who made a report for the intelligence

community suggesting, and we don't know a lot about this so we need to be careful, suggesting that the president in a foreign phone call did something inappropriate, made an inappropriate promise. the president said earlier in the day it's nothing. it's ridiculous, it's partisan. when will congress be told the specifics? the house republican leader kevin mccarthy was just asked about this at length. do you want to get the whistleblower information? do you want to know who it is? kevin mccarthy said they could have come to congress and given it to us. tell me who the whistleblower is. is the person still working there? let me know what the facts arement are. so many times in the media, they get out there. where are we here and is there a process or are we at lagerheads in the process? >> this is total inflicted pain on the president. if they would have followed the

process and let the i.g. report this complaint to the appropriate classified intelligence committees, then the complaint would have been vetted. they would have been able to review it, it would have been done in a bipartisan way, the temperature would be down, we wouldn't have these immediate calls for release of the transcript, which that would be quite unusual and not something we want from an intelligence perspective get in the habit of doing. so fighting the process as laid out in law, they have actually created a crisis that didn't necessarily need to exist. >> this is just the allegation, the complaint. so they weren't going to get a completed investigation at any rate. they were going to get the allegation which would put a lot of pressure -- >> but to your point, if there was actually a bipartisan process on something in this town, that would be breaking news. thanks for joining us on "inside politics." hope to see you as well on monday. brianna keilar picks this up on

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i'm brianna keilar live from cnn's washington headquarters. president trump going on the record today about whistleblower accusations concerning a phone call with a foreign leader. the president attacking the whistleblower as partisan while also admitting he doesn't know who the whistleblower is. also insisting he did not do

anything wrong