[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. . sit ncicap.org] >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states, accompanied by the president of the republic of finland, the norway, the er of prime minister of sweden, the prime minister of denmark, and the prime minister of the iceland. of trumpetous music]

>> ladies and gentlemen, cue the color. [music]

pres. obama: good morning, everybody. due to the possibility of thunderstorms, we've decided to arrival ceremony indoors. of course, our nordic friends to tough weather. you should know that here in washington, we have not seen the sun for about three weeks. which you experience for months end, but despite that fact, e want you to know that we are

deeply happy to have all of you here. we are honored to welcome not one nation, but five. our great nordic friends and partners. niinisto and mrs. finland, solberg and lofven,f norway, sweden and denmark rasmussen, and prime minister johansson and ingibjorg of ice land. delegations, r welcome to the united states. i'm going to try this as best as i can. speaking foreign language] . [applause] >> welcome.

[laughter] saying welcome in foreign language] >> those, i'm not sure were delivered perfectly, but i think the spirit was understood. today is an opportunity for michelle and me to return some hospitality and that we've received on our copenhagen and oslo, stockholmg my visit to and to americans who cannot visit themselves, don't worry, i has a and that sweden phone number where you can call a swede and learn about all things swedish. invites to you send your questions to #ask #askbrookmunder. land has a lotce of folks named gundmunder, and they'll answer. but they are extraordinary

countries, and most importantly for our persons here today, they are extraordinary friends. this is a special day, i think, for the millions of americans ho probably traced their ancestry to nordic countries, particularly in the midwest, including my home state of illinois. raiv l remind you that ericsson reached this continent more than a thousand years ago. they honor their parents and grandparents who crossed oceans, lives, helped to build our country. sweaters, their woolly display dolla horses and love gutafisk and letsfe. and heritageistory and the ties of family and friendship that bring us here together today. in the world, america's closest partners are democracies. and we only need to look at our nordic friends to see why.

interests, andame we share the same values. citizens that our have the right to live in freedom and security. free from terrorism and in smaller nations are not bullied by larger nations. and lieve in free markets trade that support jobs and strong protections for workers in the environment and a strong safety net that provides a basic measure of security in life. we believe that we have a moral obligation to this and future confront the reality of climate change, and including our planet, our beautiful arctic. we believe in societies that all e opportunity for people, through education, healthcare, and equal opportunity. including for women. income, in a world of growing economic disparities, nordic countries have some of the least

income inequality in the world. which may explain one of the reasons they're some of the happiest people in the world, much son.t getting [laughter] and we believe in the inherent every human being. we believe in pluralism and tolerance. and espect for free speech freedom of religion. t's why we welcome the refugee ho seeks a better life, it's why we stand up for human rights around the world. leading our nations are contributors of humanitarian and development aid, to spare a side of n on the other the world, a preventable girls even on e the other side of the world the and to t an education, end the outrage of extreme poverty.

in our own region and within the orld, the nordic countries are a model of cooperation, and they consistently punch above their weight in meeting the challenges of our time. our nordic partners are not large countries, but there are deal no issues that we wi with, whether in terms of economics, or umanitarian assistance, where the nordic countries are not ome of our most reliable and effective and important partners. that's why i wanted to invite because today, sometimes we have a tendency to ake our best friends for granted. and it's important that we not do so. they have been extraordinarily in shaping and maintaining an international

order that is rule-based, that is fair, that is just. so i really do believe that the world would be more secure and prosperous if we just had more partners like our nordic countries. there have been times i have said why tonight we just put all these small countries in charge a while, and they could clean things up. [laughter] now, i will admit to our americans, nordic languages and expressions can sometimes be a little confusing. we have a television program thrones." "game of that's what it sounds like sometimes. [laughter] ut the truth is, we are grateful to everything that our nordic friends have contributed terms of just in partnerships and politics, but also our culture. we read our children hans pippy ian anderson and

longstocking. our childrens' imaginations come legos, our homes and lives are infused with furniture and design. some of us dance and sing to abba and avice. out that to point finland has, perhaps, the most heavy metal bands in the world, per capita. and also ranks high on good governance. i don't know there's any coordination there. thanks to nordic innovators, we spotify, stayc on in touch by skype and millions pend what would otherwise be unproductive hours to mine craft, angry birds, and candy crush. [laughter] the poet, henrick gibson once is like a mmunity ship. everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.

as democratic societies, we believe that our ship is stronger when everyone has the opportunity to succeed. as free nations, we believe our all of us fer when contribute to security and peace. to my fellow leaders, this is the work i look forward to advancing today and in that spirit, i welcome you all once again to the united states of america. now, given the unique nature of unusual t, we have arrangement to our program. throughout the day, we are going to hear from all five nordic leaders, but we're not going to consecutively in each occasion. all day., we'd be here so because the nordic countries are famous for their cooperation, there has been an allocation of time, and we're going to begin this morning with niinisto of finland

and president solberg of norway, and they'll provide us some brief remarks and you'll hear inm some other leaders later the day. prime minister. [applause] prime minister: mr. president, and mrs. obama, we the leaders of the five nordic countries and our spouses are grateful to you inviting us and convening summit.cond u.s. nordic thank you for the wonderful welcome. arrival, the flex a pennsylvania avenue gave heartening feeling to us. mr. president, i apologize that

we forgot to take the sun with us. we have had a lot of sunshine this spring. with a ics are a family profound commonality of values and history, and with strong ties of cooperation. president, we feel we have a kindred spirit. gender equality, equal rights ity, and human for all, democracy, they're all of law and respect of international law. these are all marks of our societies and an agenda that we share. together, the nordics are a super power, not militarily, but when it comes to innovation, education, competitiveness, sustainable development, and technologies,ing it, we re the world's 12 largest

economy. fro trade is clearly in our interest. we also claim super power status as far as culture and sports are concerned. champions see, we are in modesty, too. [laughter] mr. president, we are grateful that the adership united states has shown in combatting the most existential threat in the world, that is climate change. nd focusing attention to the rctic where we are practically neighbors. it can be used also as an instrument of confidence-building. the nordic countries give high multilevel corporations, which you have stressed during your tenure. this is vitally important. times are turbulent in many

respects. security threats abound. the situation has become more baltic sea in the region, and northern europe. our neck of the woods. security and and this varies, includes appropriate dialogue with russia to enhance transparency and reduce risks. the nordic countries are, in ways, security providers in our own region and europe. but also globally. we show them our responsibilities. seek solutions instead of problems. willing and able to continue to cooperate with you security and stability. e value highly the u.s. commitment to europe and to our security.

long proud of the standing friendship with the u.s. it is based on common values and interests, contacts between our people and interaction economically and socially. committed to strengthening this partnership even further. today, i am honored to say to of the nordic countries, in us, nordic president, the united states as a solid friend willing g partner, are to work together with the united states. for a better future kind.he whole man [applause] first lady, nordic

colleagues, distinguished dear friends, thank you very much for the very warm welcome you have given to both my husband and me and the other members of our delegation. s you make the most of your final year in the white house, mr. e delighted to know, president, you have clearly stated the best fluff. ago, i had the pressure of welcoming some special american guests to norway. it was our annual nato exercise to code response. provided valuable joint training in warfare. confess one t and of the highlights is watching u.s. marines learning how to cross-country ski. [laughter] mr. president, you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us in just ep parts of norway, as we stood with you two years ago during the exercises.

just as we stood together after 9/11, and just as we now have forces in the fight against isil, this is the nature and our liance partnership. we are bound by the experiences and the history that we share. in the he marines i met nato exercise was called cage, silverberg. as his name illustrates, there norw lions of people of norwegian dissent in the united states. in fact, there are more here than norway. thousands crossed the atlantic to n in the mid- century, carry their dream of a better life in the united states. unitesthe atlantic ocean us more than it separates us. a sea open trade to

our orld and commitd to fish, gas and oil resources in a sustainable manner. the norwegian coast line keeps a coast line on the development to the high north as a key priority for us, preserving stability and predictability is in our own region benefits the entire nato alliance and its close allies, we share common values and that coincide.rse, no in 1814, our founding fathers to america for nspiration in drafting the norwno norwegian constitution. forth, mon values set freedom, democracy, equal, and human rights. nature of protect the our friendship, and the dear.erships that we hold today, u.s.-nordic summit is a strong reminder of what we have

achieved together. but you know there is more to be done. the united states as a great power, and the pride of nordic countries have different roles to play in the international arena. but you can't achieve great things in pursuit of the same good. mr. president, i would like to commend you on your leadership. your commitment to achieving real progress in climate change was essential for the paris agreement. american leadership is key to future of the planet. to hare your dedication disarmament and nuclear security. disarmament and arms control are lelements of international security, and we support you for bold new reductions on the make the basis to world safer. mr. president, in new york last

tional he interna community established a road map for the future by agreeing on the sustainable development costs. if you make the right choices, years, we can 15 and cate extreme poverty, we can are a more peaceful future and we can do this in a way that safe guards the planet. ew partnerships and innovative approaches will be needed to achieve these goals. the united states and the in front.ll be and we know of few that will surverify a better return that -- than education. i appreciate the first lady who has been in this course. women course we share as and as mothers, and as leaders. an important is opportunity to advance the u.s. nordic cooperation and to reiterate the values that we share and the truth that we hold

evident, because we are stronger and more effective together, let us ensure that the bonds between us and our countries remain as powerful as they are today. thank you. . [applause] pres. obama: well, thank you, everybody. we're going to go get to work. for the y grateful presence of our leadership. >> ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the ceremony.

pres. obama: as i said this morning, the united states is grateful for the partnership that we have with all the countries represented around this table. individually not large countries in terms of opulation, but in terms of effectiveness, contributions, ideas, energy, they are nt players on orta the international stage and the act that our values and our interests align, made them one of our most important partners, so we very much want to thank their presence. terrorism, hreats of our nordic partners are making in thecant contributions fight against isil, including

more special operations forces and aircrafts and trainers, more assistants to stabilize areas liberated from isil and more humanitarian assistance to syrians and iraqis. we discussed our counter-terrorism cooperation, and that includes the need to share more information and i want to thank denmark for new commitments to the nato mission in afghanistan. beyond our military campaign, we agreed that we need to work a ether in support of political settlement to end this syrian civil war, and our work ies will continue to together to counter violent xtremists, and to prevent people from being radicalized in the first place. i want to commend the contributions that these countries have made in absorbing we had a nd significant discussion around the issue of migrants and refugees. i think it's useful for the american press to understand

that, although some of the absolute numbers that are going respective countries may not be that large, when you it on a per capita basis, they are making an generous effort to people in great need. but it's important for the world to carry this burden alongside any and not allow individual country to carry those burdens along, which is glad f the reason why i'm we'll get strong cooperation and participation in the summit on refugees that i intend to host margins of and the u.n. general assembly. with regard to warsaw, i'm pleased that denmark and norway will be joining the united states in contributing to an allied forward presence

to boost our collectev presence -- europe and all of our nations agreed to ncrease cooperations between nato and e.u., we agreed on the need to continue to support maintain sanctions against russia until we can get resolution as was outlined in the minsk agreements, and those need to be fully implemented. concern ted in our about russia's growing aggressive military presence and posture in the baltic nordic region. e will be maintaining ongoing dialogue and seek cooperation we also want to make sure that we are prepared and we want to encourage russia to keep its military activities in full compliance with international obligations. denmark,s of the e.u.,

inland and sweden are strong supporters. i reaffirm my intention to get this done before the end of the year and we discussed the importance of europe's energy security, including diversification of supply ers rafts.rces and our nations remain strong change, in climate agreement with the paris agreement. and as arctic nations, we committed to conservation and sustainable development that pryeritize our efforts to combat climate change and we look hosting the first white house arctic clines fall to make is sure we're working together on hat issue and finally, all the leaders here are key partners in global development. the nordic countries for some of the few countries -- and by the way, the united states doesn't

fall in this category of meeting goals that have been set aid and ect to foreign humanitarian assistance and i'd do even more. they're dog a great job, and the terms of global health security, in terms of encouraging women's education, economies, n and developing sustainable pour countries and eradicating extreme poverty, as was outlined in the 2030 agenda. countries have been outstanding leaders in this process and one of the things we can discuss is how we can so we can get er more fact from the common making,tions that we're in that regard. thought this was very

useful, and an important conversation. although, there was probably too make for as anto exciting of a multilateral meeting as i sometimes participate in. with that, what i'd like to do it over to prime lofven who will be sharing for the group the meeting. stefan. >> prime minister lofven: thank you, mr. president. thank you for inviting us to this summit. we know that the united states countries, we hare more than 11 million americans have this heritage, so share many values and examples.st give two

irst, we agree on the need of global response to common challenges, and the ransatlantic link is more important than ever. to preserving key european and global security. nd in times when basic rules and norms of international tandards are contested, we stand side by side to defend them. we will not recognize the annexation of crimia or accept russian aggression in ukraine. we are convinced that a ion tiated two-stage success is needed for security in israel and will require actions and responsibility. we welcome the military progress the coalition against daesh while seeking to

complement these efforts with strong political and civilian support. work e also agreed to together to tackle the rauzs rauzs -- root causes of forced migration. globally we need a handle esponsibility to the migration and we welcome the leaders in september to the leaders will h it and actively confront i will attend that summit and i think it's very important to tive on theal perspec migration issue. the same goes for climate change and i applaud president obama's instrumental role for president and u.s. the agenda and globally and our nordic both ies will gladly cooperate and compete in the emission.educe and i can also say that sweden first be the

hostile-free welfare nation in the world. econdli, the u.s. and the nordic countries share the belief that the best formation for individual freedom are jobs, growth, and social investments. need free obs, we trade, sustainable investment, is a basis of innovation and technology. hat is why i'm a staunch supporter of bringing the u.s. together through a strong transatlantic trade and investment partnership. freedom comes also responsibility. we strive for trade that is both free and fair, enables social better ents, creates working conditions, and protects our environments. we share the belief that women's empowerment and participation in necessary to are achieve real sustainable development.

gender equality is both financial smart and a fundamental matter of human rights. outside countries have developed what has been known as the nordic welfare models to enable to work to increase gender equality and to create socially inclusive societies. -- those ideas are also discussed and developed in the united states with president obama's strong effort for affordable healthcare, social safety nets, and higher education system for all. i believe that seeing the u.s. issues will ese create new ripples of hope for all of us who believe in social justice and individual freedom. and as we have read in the present, obama likes to say, if everyone could be like

the scandinavians, it would all be easy. we don't know about that, but that the scandinavians truly enjoy corporations of the united tates to make life not only easier but better and freer for all. thank you very much. pres. obama: thank you very much, everybody.

>> this sunday night on q&a, historian, adam hochschild, the civil war in the late 1930s. >> this coup attempt happened in all the army officers tried to seize power and in parts of the country succeeded 1936.izing power in it sent a shockwave of alarm world, because here was a major country in europe. quickly wing military backed by hitler and musselini who sent arms, airplanes, pilot t is, tank drives, and usselini sent thousands of ground troops. people thought it ought to be resistant.

if not here, where? otherwise, we're next. >> sunday night on 8 p.m. c-span's q&a. proudly secretary, we give 72 of our delegate votes to of the uniteddent states, states... [cheering] "washington s journal," we talked to republican congressman steve his task force executive overreach and 2016

campaign. and democrat tim ryan who discussed the spending bill that working on uld be next week and his recent trip to the middle east. this is just over an hour. us now is ing congressman steve king, our head ican from iowa, and of the task force for executive overreach. e's the chair of that task force. and he's also the former senator tedhair for cruz's presidential campaign. we're going to talk a little bit about that and his work with the executive overreach task force, congressman, thank you for joining us. me onnks a lot for having this morning, kimberly. talking about n yesterday's visit by donald trump to washington. what's your take about what came out of his remarks? > first of all, when speaker ryan spoke to this issue roughly

a week or a little more ago when he said he wasn't prepared to make an endorsement of donald rump, i think the speaker actually chose just the right tone, because there's a significant wing of the party that still has apprehension about coming together. unify and the meeting was important, not so uch about the topics or issues discussed but about establishing that relationship between peaker ryan and donald trump and the thing i got was a positive thing between the two of them and the statement was to by paul ryan afterwards indicate there's a lot of issues to discuss but in the 45 the es, at least establish working relationship and they both established a very positive tone when they came out. and i say to people that i'm going through a lot of the same cochair s a national for ted cruz for president campaign, there are a lot of issues along the way, they get sliced and tied, there is

tension that comes along with a presidential campaign. we started with 17 candidates, ow we're town to a prospective and likely nominee and the wounds created by that division eed to be healed and it starts very well with donald trump and speaker ryan. it will take some time. e've got to look to the convention in cleveland to get this together and i think donald trump is the one in control of that.ce of i'm glad to see the cooperation is of the speaker. need t do you personally to see from donald trump for him to win your endorsement in. like to see, first, him speak to the conservatives. and one of the things that i think set us back a little bit the statement as objectively, honest as it is, it's named the republican party, party, but servative it is the conservative party and or three generations, that put together a platform that's built on full spectrum constitutional

conservatism. fiscal conservatisms that is built on the guidelines of this great country and we're going to that.at if we stick to and i don't hear donald trump speak to those issues so he's done an excellent putting the votes together of where he is. mitt romney went down to nushz new orleans and gave a speech that was heart felt about his values, n faith, moral about the constitution and about the destiny of america and i hink if donald trump would put together enough to be his speech, of course, not mitt romney's, and probably mitt romney won't come on board, it doesn't sound like, he can speak to a large wing of the party, especially the social conservatives. they need to be reassured that donald trump will work with him

and i don't think they have that confidence yet. king are speaking to steve from iowa. our viewers can join in the conversation. our democrats can call republicans 202-748-8001. 202-748-8002.ts and you said immunity is mentioned mittou romney and mitt romney doesn't just yet, a release his tax returns. are you concerned about that? are you concerned about people like mitt romney or former president bush both saying hey're not going to attend the convention? >> of course, i'm concerned, weight it adds to the that -- an effort out there, and

is, n't know how strong it that has been labeled another trump group and a movement. i'm not encouraging people to join that group. let's figure out how to bond these peopling it. let's not compromise our values together. yes, i am concerned about that more concerned about this large weighing of the constitutional christian conservatives and fiscal conservatives, that here's what they're looking at. a baby born today, one of our just as a baby boy, yesterday morning about 2:30 and first ttle guy draws his free air, breath in america, but has a $60,000 debt to uncle sam. they know that. about half the people are working and half the are not. that baby is going to have to be a producer and will have to pay

ff about $20,000 in national debt. the republicans want to balance the budget and get to the our ss of paying down national debt and they want to have a strong constitutional foundation. they don't want to see a judicial branch of justice calling the shots. they don't want to see an executive branch of government the shots. hey want us to set up the laws and they want to be assured that drawn ivisions will be clearly again and that the balance of powers between the three branches of governments respected. >> do you think that donald rump is or can be a conservative. >> he shows some conservative instichi instinc instincts. stitiarticulated that over and over again, that we can't be a nation if we don't secure our

borders and the most effect of way to do that is, i would say, build a fence, a wall and a fence. way, you have two enforce and i to think that's better to spend our cheaper to hire help to welcome them up to the station.g that's the shorthand version of what i see on the border. that's the piece of conservatism. out of n get government the way and stimulate this kind of economy and promote the growing, that would be conservative too, and i don't believe that donald trump is government.ow the i think he has a shot at growing the private sector. >> we have a lot of calls about congressman steve king. mary calling on our democratic line from anville, pennsylvania. you're on with the congressman.

caller: trump has said that away with ve gotten manager, which i agree with. aires are million trying to pass a legislation to ave the carried interest roop loophole closed to the hedge funds and managers. if you're so worried about the debt, why don't you people get u know, get the job done and stop messing around. billions of ing in the debt. host: let's give the congressman a chance to respond. guest: thanks, and i'm not looking into the numbers and the details on that. don't know how many dollars might be generated by going in and taking a look at the hedge a dotanagers, but we have frank legislation that passed here some years ago, and i'm hearing that there's tremendous amount of burden along the way with loads of regulations that are there, and it put the

federal government into the deciding who's too big to fail and regulating many financial transactions. i thought that was an overreach itself and i think i thought we should have allowed some of those large companies that were out there and were melting down in 2007-2008 period of time, ather than bail them out, if we'd have let some of them fail, those services would have been picked up and rather than seeing what really happened was, they to, especially the investment banks and hedge fund wide that, iliate hey associated the risk and privatized the profit. to that extent, we should not be guaranteeing profit for large investors and at the same time loss. a hit if there's a host: up next is joe from our republican line from west plains, missouri. joe, you're on with congressman

king. caller: good morning, congressman. the subject this morning is executive overreach. do you know obama issued a narrative and directive about bathrooms? he has no right to be issuing directeves about which people okay.o in the bathroom, i want you to stop him on stuff like that and, you better get in line and start backing the nominee. i don't care about romney, paul ryan, i don't want them to try to neutralize trump. i want them to stay just like he is. he's right about the muslims, the mexican wall, all of that. all of you e took politicians out. host: joe, let's give congressman king a chance to respond. guest: thank you, kimberly. first, joe, it didn't take this out, and i have had a

good number of conversations with donald trump. i am committed to the prince telz i have stood for for a life style. clear, so what you're suggesting, yes, i want to see unified party but i don't think it's going to be a constructive thing, if i or any f us that are in leadership positions just say, i'm going to that i've se values set aside and simply embrace all donald trump has to offer. instead, i think it's better we move to the direction of incremental and we immigration. let's get it all patched together issue by issue. we can.as he has to do the outreach. no matter how much others decide he has to get behind donald 5-8 million were that stayed home during romney's election and if anesthesia

anesthesia -- they had gone to mney would be t ro president today. there are more than 5-8 million that would stay home now. i would like to see donald trump and donald trump do the conception. direction to the party and a platform we can meet together an after cleveland before we get to cleveland. >> to the next point about the transgendercy about bathroom in schools. what is your reaction? that.oppose that is an executive overreach up in is a topic to bring the task force i chair. sitting down and drafting the eclaration and ratifying the constitution, we're going to give the attorney general in the who d states, to decide

goes to the bathroom and claim, they didn't even know what the gender was in 17 sf sfik -- 1776. 25 years ago, it was sex. gical a physiola description. gender now is a description of you are other than what you physically might be. extreme as an executive overreach. it, n't know how we stop rather than address it. the president might have a pass, you're going toland lose your let al federal funding to anyone go into a bathroom. of alking with steve king iowa, talking about the executive overreach task force which he chairs. up next on the democratic line, we have grace calling in from indiana.e, you're on. hello, congressman king.

you know, donald trump's ability and an eighth grade mentality. tell me, you know, he already says, if they hit me first. what if he gets mad and nukes or denmark, who's going up.lean this mess i'm 85 years old, and self. i think he pushes hard on some things. read the posture of letting something that pass. i'm hopeful and encouraging. i believe that donald trump can't adjust his persona. i