presidential campaign. our guests include jonathan allen, and the hills senior correspondent amie parnes on their book, "shattered." ♪ host: reports of this morning the u.s. military has a ground ground forcesnded in baghdad. have --those operations they will remain there, because they might be used in other regions. it is the first day of may and this is the washington journal. in matters of foreign affairs, it was at the white house yesterday that the president spoke about the united states' role in the world and the washington post takes a look at

america first in matters of form policy. we want to get your thoughts on what that concert means, particularly when it comes to foreign policy, whether it be military action, participation in the global economy and trade, and other world affairs. here is how can let us know this morning. for democrats, 202-748-8000. for republicans, 202-748-8001. for independents, 202-748-8002. make your thoughts known on twitter and on our facebook page at facebook.com/cspan. at the white house yesterday, president trump appeared with the president of nigeria. he talked about the idea of what the u.s.'s role in the world should be. here are some of those comments. are nott trump: we wanting to be the policeman of the world. we are spending tremendous amounts of money for decades on policing the world, and that should not be our priority. we want the police ourselves.

we want to rebuild our country. and the president understands that and if they have come a long way. they are doing a great job. we are contributing, but they've done a great job. will he want to do is open nigeria and other countries up to trade, because we have spent over the last decade a number so large you would not even believe it. and i think we will be treated in a reciprocal fashion now, as of today, so i think that will happen. host: the american first philosophy is the subject of a piece in the washington post this morning, recently, taking a look at the idea saying in the past three weeks the president has bonded syria, hosted us first state dinner, signaled dissolving the deal with the iran nuclear program, and he has praised north korea's leader as a horrible for considering

negotiations, and appeared to take credit on friday for the meeting between north and south korea. this nonjudicial president sums up his approach to foreign policy with two words, america first. that philosophy has meant attacks on world leaders, efforts to reduce refugees allowed to the united states, threats of tariffs and cuts to the state department budget. is also made decisions that conflict with that agenda, at the urging of cabinet members and fellow republicans who worry about alliances and upholding its position in the world. more on that later, plus other elements when it comes to the idea of america first in the goal of world affairs. let us know about your thoughts on the philosophy, 202-748-8000 for democrats. 202-748-8001 for republicans. .ndependents, 202-748-8002 social media challenges available as well. we start in california on the republican line. mike, talking about the idea of

america's role in the world. guest: i think we should put america first with domestic policy, i think the elite liberal media hasn't the served the american people at large. they are so biased. and really i think that, i think that president trump, one of his best the compass men's i -- best accomplishments has been illuminating the fact that the elite media is an extension of the democratic party. host: mica, the foreign-policy matters, that is what we are talking about. what do you think about the idea that the president espouse is when it comes to america's role of the world. guest: you are so biased yourself, for crying out loud. you are left of center. host: i am trying to move the conversation. one more chance, would you think about the idea of foreign policy in the world and america's role in it? guest: i think what donald trump

has done, he deserves the peace prize for that. host: ok, let's go to joe. columbia, south carolina. democrats line. good morning. guest: good morning. host: what do you think about america's role in the world? guest: basically i think our role should be for trade and not dominate. we as ay i think that capitalist society need to do trade, because there are so many of us who depend on the market. so yes, i just do not think that we should anticipate -- participate on being a bodyguard for the world. is using our armed forces for their agenda. i think when it comes to

fighting, they should do their own fighting, but if they want to buy arms from us, that is one thing. i really believe we should not be participating and risking our save, ors lives to patrol, the regions. -- their regions. host: when you see the president talking about renegotiating nafta or the idea participating in the transpacific partnership, is that something that you would back as far as what the president does on those fronts? mean, it was breaking up, i could hardly hear. host: when it comes to trade, you support the president on trying to renegotiate efforts of trade? guest: it is my phone. i'm sorry. host: will in las vegas, nevada. go ahead. guest: good morning. i couple of thoughts i have on the principle of america first. first is, the leaders of the country looked, out for our

country and our citizens and our laws first. then we can look out for others. it is similar to your own personal life. you cannot help other people if you are weak and you are poor, and you are ignorant. you cannot help others. so first we look out for ourselves. secondly, it means that we affirm that our constitution, our value system, is a shining example to the world. byhave an incredible country all the standards of all history, because of our constitution and our value system. we should not surrender that to any global forces, united nations forces, or any other country whatsoever, because we can look around and see how screwed up other countries are and why our country is definitely a superior country to live in. that is what it means, my thinking of america first. host: the pure research center

offered a survey last october, taking a look at america's role in the world. it said, when the pope participants, the takeaway was 47% of those that were polled said we should be in world affairs, while an identical percentage said we should pay less attention to things overseas and concentrate at home -- on things here at home. 60% said thaty, the nation should pay less attention to overseas problems. the overall change in opinions since 2014 is almost entirely the result of the shifting views democrats and a democrat leaning independents. today there is currently a wide divide. the poll was taken in october of 2017. you can find it on their website. on the idea of the u.s.'s role

in the world, the america first philosophy when it comes to foreign affairs. let us know your thoughts. john, jacksonville, florida. go ahead. guest: good morning. america first to me, basically on paper first, if you look at it from a definition standpoint, it means that we should take care of americans, people who were born in this country, and our affairs first. in reality it means whatever -- wants. we're getting ready to quite possibly get into another conflict with iran. another quote, unquote conflict with israel. you look at the last administrations, with iraq, i mean we invaded yemen, libya, some of the other countries. so america first means whatever israel wants. host: david in chicago,

independent line. guest: good morning. great question. i believe america first should first of all mean hiring americans first. millionllowing almost 2 foreign workers into the country every year, these are legal workers. if we were serious about america first we would pass the raise act and included in the act, which is not included now, the country quotas. india gets 70% of the h1-b's. there has been a monopolization of green cards. if those quotas were not installed, part of the immigration act. higher americans first, pass the e-verify, pass the raise act with country quotas, then control our borders. this is how we higher americans first and put the people first -- hire americans first and but the people first. host: so that is the idea of

people coming into being as states. what about affairs outside of the united states? global affairs, trade issues, what do you think the philosophy is when it comes to looking at other parts of the world? guest: that is a fair question. i think that our founding fathers wisely advised us, or lay down a principle that we should not get into foreign entanglements. we have spent trillions of dollars on the wars in iraq and in afghanistan. we have very little to show for it. and it is time to maybe bring our troops home and not fight wars on behalf of other countries' interests. i think that getting in nato, getting the nato countries to chip in the 2% of gdp is part of putting america first, so we do not have to carry that burden. part of putting america first is putting greater demands on the u.n. that we greatly fund through our hard earned tax dollars. it means first in trade.

bilateral trade agreements, none of the tpp stuff, which we of been on the losing end of, which president trump ran on immigration and trade reform. host: david in chicago. talk about issues coming into the united states, but when it comes to isis in iraq. out of baghdad, the headline today, ending combat against isis in iraq but will retain a presence. the u.s. central command, which oversees operations, the deactivation of the command in baghdad with a ceremony, the acknowledgment of the changing responsibilities of the coalition, the u.s. assembled nearly four years ago, to destroy the islamic state. the combined force component committee oversaw troops from the u.s. led coalition as they helped iraqi forces roll back the islamic state's caliphate. jim mattis said in testimony

last week that he would support keeping a residual u.s. force in iraq alongside other troops from nato nations, to maintain security, withdrawing over time and based on certain conditions. commanders here said if we withdraw sooner than we should, the iraqi government could prove unable to defend the country from a possible renewed insurgency, emanating from the remnants of the islamic state. this idea of america first, when it comes to foreign affair matters particularly. in pennsylvania, democrats line. bob, hello. guest: this is me. host: you are on. guest: i want to tell you something. i am 80 years old. seen aever in my life president like this. i want him out of office. i want him out of office. host: when it comes to matters of foreign affairs, what do you

think the idea of america first means? guest: what do i think of it? get rid of this president. host: ok, david, california. hi. guest: hello. host: you are on. guest: i want to say that there is no reason -- every country should put their people first. why do people get down on donald trump who says america comes first, or america's workers first? there is no reason for people to get mad at him. everybody in russia thinks russia comes first. people get mad because donald trump says put america first. what is wrong with that? there is nothing wrong with that comment. the democrats and liberals, the liberals are the ones that we need to get rid of it in this country. host: when it comes to the idea foreign policy, what exactly does that mean?

the idea of america first. guest: america first means that we need to keep all of the americans working first, and then -- because i have grandchildren, kids, what i want to see is what their future holds. ok? so, we adopt the program of that saysthe program immigration comes first -- no. american workers come first. host: let's go to shreveport, louisiana. independent line. guest: america first has a twofold policy. arming the other parts of the interest of american imperialism, especially

how they have -- how the foreign policy worked in iraq, iran, panama.l salvador, allave supported dictators around the world, where the wegest arms dealer -- and are the largest arms dealer around the world. and our domestic policy, you are talking about -- host: does that mean the united states should not be involved in foreign policy affairs then? guest: we have been, we have been in foreign policy affairs for the longest. locale it turned out in these itrious countries -- look how turned out in these various countries. we have been supporting dictators. host: if that is the case, should we not be involved in foreign affairs at all? guest: well, we should be

involved in foreign affairs, but perhaps not in the interest of greed. not in the interest of exporting countries, no. but look what happened here at home. tohave from west virginia all over the country, where the schools are deteriorating and money we're spending on arms, when people do not have houses. host: let's go to the republican line from connecticut. tom, hello. since 9/11rillion and we are still in the middle of a bees nest. we have sacrificed people's lives, blood and fortune. and we have not really gotten far. and it is, it is like we cannot

get out. this president is saying we have another way to get out and we should listen to him, because we have been doing the same thing for 70 years and we have not gotten far -- 17 years and we have not gotten far. host: what do you think the balance is between the way that we get into world affairs, to the degree that we should be involved in foreign affairs, what is the balance? guest: we should not have rushed into the war and send people over there so quickly. we should stand back. we should take a look at what is going on for real. it is like a chessboard, especially with iran in the center. it has always been the problem. we should concentrate on the problem, rather than these other ancillary places like iraq -- ancillary places like iraq -- andlary places like iraq,

that other country -- i have brain freeze. the problem is iran. at the same time, we have our military over there, china is building up. russia is building up. we are falling behind with our military. our planes do not have any -- they have an readiness. -- unreadiness. aircraft falling into the sea. s getting bombed. they of problems in the ocean. host: ok, that is, connecticut making that point. north korea the topic of, the subject of a story in the near times, particularly as the president -- new york times, particularly as the president looks for talks with the leader of north korea. talks, couldthose

be the peace house. it tos. bill it -- built hold meetings with officials from the north. for years, play bowl like the secretary -- people like the secretary of state hillary clinton have visited. president trump missed an opportunity to go there. the dmz has other advantages. the secret service is used to securing the site for presidents. security could be an issue in other countries, like mongolia, where there are cautions about mr. kim's ability to travel long distances. singapore is safe, but it is 3000 plus miles from p on yen -- trump floated the peace house in sounded like an exercise in crowdsourcing. james, texas. guest: good morning. thank you for c-span. to make him america first is an

empty political slogan. it is meaningless. if you want to divide it into ways. let's look at domestic. we are the wealthiest country in the world. and our schools are crumbling. our foreign policy is being dominated and operated by the military defense contractors and palestinian genocide taking place. and we have a completely corrupt political system. citizens united open the door, pay to play is the way to go. host: ok. we will leave it there. james in texas. in matters of foreign affairs, last week the french president week thed -- last french president talked to congress and urged them to reject isolationism and nationalism. here is what the french president said last week. >> let me say, we have two possible ways that we can choose

-- isolationism and nationalism. this is an option. it can be tempting to us as a temporary remedy to our fears, but closing the door to the world will not stop the evolution of the world. theill not douse the flames fears of our citizens. we have to keep our eyes wide open to the world right in front of us. decidenvinced that if we to open our eyes wider we will be stronger, we will overcome the dangers, we will not let the work of extreme nationalism shake the walls full of hope. moment.critical

if we do not act with urgency, as a global community, i am convinced that the international institutions, including the nato, will no and longer be able to exist with their stabilizing influence. we will then inevitably and is severely undermine the liberal order that we built after world war ii. host: you can see the on c-span, courtesy of our website, c-span.org. the idea of america first, with foreign policy, our topic until 8:00 a.m. 202-748-8000 for democrats. 202-748-8001 for republicans. 202-748-8002 independents . helen said america first is heating george washington's advice to avoid foreign entanglements. america is a republic, not an

empire. america needs to rebuild its roads and bridges, not just in afghanistan. reid says threatening our allies with tariffs, it is not fair to push them into a green with the bat iranian deal or war. feed, c-span wj. richard, hello. guest: how are you doing? host: i am fine, go ahead. guest: i wanted to first say that that guy saying that you are left of center and you guys are biased, it is totally nonsense. you guys do a great job and you stay very unbiased. i that way, america first think is just a con by the republicans, the tea party. they have gotten together to come up with like a racist point of view to try to con people into believing that they are putting us first. i do not think they are putting

us first. what we have seen from these guys is that they are out for themselves. making the rich richer. they are using this as a smokescreen to be able to do whatever they want and make us feel like somehow they are giving us jobs and money and everything else. host: so, richard. because we are hoping to move this to matters of foreign policy, on that front, how does this philosophy apply to world affairs? guest: like i said, it is like a way that they are -- with world affairs, i do not believe they are really holding to america first. i believe what they are doing, in world affairs, they are trying to push their agenda under the guise of this. host: chris in julian, north carolina. republican line. hi. guest: hello. first of all, i want to say i am proud to be an american and a

disabled american veterans. but i think if you do not take care of foreign affairs, then you would be taking care of those wars here instead of overseas. i would much rather have our soldiers fighting over there than here. remember when george bush first declared the war on terrorism, it was not any particular country. i also agree that nato is not paying their part and is somebody needs to make them do it. host: chris, when it comes to the current troop levels in areas of the world, you are comfortable with that level or do you think they should be reduced? what do you think as far our physical presence in the world when it comes to military affairs? guest: honestly, i am not in the military right now so i do not know what our need is. the generals know that. i am comfortable with what they are doing and if they feel like

they need that need there to keep prices from coming here, i am great with that. host: that is chris giving us his thoughts on the idea of america first, particularly when it comes to foreign affairs. the president spoke about earlier yesterday. that event also on our website at c-span.org, the president appearing with the president of nigeria yesterday. robert in virginia. democrats line. hi . guest: my name is robert. the meaning of the america first is that we need to get rid of donald trump. he is not presidential. he don't have the mindset for this position. host: robert, robert, to the point of foreign affairs, that is where we are steering the conversation. what do you think it means when it comes to how america uses its foreign-policy? guest: get rid of donald trump. host: bob in tyler, texas.

guest: article iv, section iv. host: what do you mean by that? guest: we cannot do anything until we follow the constitution and comply with the guarantees in our constitution. article iv says protect each estate against invasion. until we do our responsibilities at home, we should not be doing anything abroad. host: no application of military troops or anything else worldwide until the matters within the united states are taken care of, that is where you are coming from? guest: i am coming from, if we do not follow the constitution, everything we are doing is because we are not following the constitution. host: i hear what you are saying, but because we are engaged in worldwide affairs already, i want to get your thoughts on how you think that is going, aside from your thoughts on the constitution itself. guest: if congress is not

involved in military decisions outside of our borders, then we should not be doing them. host: for example, the current authorization for the use of military force that the president george w. bush operated under, do you think that should be revamped? is it still good? what should congress's role be in that? guest: if congress did not vote on it, it should not be done. host: hawaii is next. don, republican line. say,: have -- i want to have a good morning. i would like to say what makes question,tter or your doing things to make america better when it comes to free trade on an equal basis. military,mes to

i would like to say that everybody should -- not just the united states doing it all, anrybody should be in -- put apple in the bucket. and i would also like to say about donald trump, you take north korea for the first time years? is it -- 55 north korea stepped over into south korea. and they are talking. and it looks like may be peace. th reason whye north korea did that is donald trump put his foot down and said, you are not going to be pushing us around anymore. hawaii,at was don in giving us his thoughts on the idea of america first, particularly on matters of foreign affairs. you can call the phone lines,

you can post on our twitter feed, and you can also go to our facebook page at facebook.com/cspan. a couple of other things in the topic of foreign affairs. it was yesterday that the israeli prime mr. benjamin netanyahu gave what he said was evidence that was found when it comes to the iranian deal, the nuclear program. when it comes to this event, israel targets the iran accord. you can see it on our website. in the washington times, the context of what was said yesterday, the israeli prime minister saying that iran lied. 100 figure files prove it did -- secret files proved it did, that a continued to expand nuclear weapons knowledge for future use after the plan, citing photos he said where secretive facilities into ron. -- tehran. that it has become clear.

he also asserted that the nuclear project, codenamed amad, had been shelved but filled work had secretly -- field where cad secretly continued -- work had to grilli continued. here is the prime minister elaborating on that. >> we have known for years that iran had a secret nuclear weapons program called amad. we can now prove that project amad was a comprehensive program to design, build and test nuclear weapons. we can also prove that iran is secretly storing project amad material to use at a time of its choice, to develop nuclear weapons. amad's what project explicit goal was, creating nuclear weapons. this is a presentation from

these files. here is the mission statement n, produce and test warheads for integration on a missile. you do not need to read farsi to see 10 kilotons here. this is the specific goal of project amad. that is like five hiroshima bombs to be put on ballistic missiles. host: the follow-up in the washington times, saying it was the foreign relations' bob corker who claimed that this would not have a big impact on donald trump's decision. he said, they did not take the promises seriously, saying "it is nothing new. we have known about this for some time." donald trump decertified the

deal, the certification was mainly rhetorical that set the stage for a full withdrawal. and he faces a may 12 deadline now to approve another round of sanctions for iran and analysts say if he chooses not to renew, he will pull out of the accord that was signed by france, great britain and russia. henry, democrats line. go ahead. guest: thank you for taking my call. two part answer. is ina first means -- it isolation, and this is a protectionist option. nato, theiraluing ability in western europe. and other international communities and organizations. it is definitely a regressive phrase. the historical context, it has to do with the america first

prior to the second world war, set up by the fascist organization in terms of keeping america outside of the european conflict in order to allow germany, fascists germany, inability to gain strength and conquer england. our president seems to have these tendencies when it comes to national socialism. that is coming from his own mouth, his own phrases, his own rhetoric. the last thing is -- what? host: we will leave it there. middle-income a texas. -- midland, texas. guest: you know, not america first, but a lot of people -- you know. ? all countries have something to gain if each country will go toward producing what it is best that. the countryppens, will be doing these things efficiently. and then from that efficiency we

the produce more than -- things which is not good, you know? theiruntries should make own advantage first. forget about the nationalism. each person should do what he is good at. goodsill produce more that people can consume, than this being where you go to war, and invest and weapons, etc. do bad good, -- to things that do evil on people. host: ok. domingo. we will continue until 8:00 a.m. on this topic of america first when it comes to foreign policy. hold for a few minutes, you can

ngntinue controlling -- calli on the phone lines or participate on twitter and on our facebook page. sometimes we take a look at special elections, particularly as election season comes up. one election focuses on activities in minnesota and joining us to talk about a special election there is patricia lopez, with a star tribune out of minnesota. good morning. patricia: good morning. wet: this features a person want you to tell us about. richard painter. first of all, who is he and why will people remember him? patricia: he was the ethics lawyer in the george w. bush white house. and after that time, he went on and he became a professor of corporate law at the university of minnesota and has become one of the very prominent in sharpest critics of the president, really going after him ever since the election. now he has declared his

candidacy. a democrat. host: i was going to say, because the graphic we just talked about was his experience under the george w. bush administration, now running as a democrat, so why that decision? patricia: lifelong republican. and for some time he was contemplating running as an independent and he gave a keynote speech for the independence party, bleeding a lot of people to think he would run as a third-party candidate. he surprised everyone with this conversion, saying he would run as a democrat, challenging senator tina smith for the endorsement in the primary. host: step back a little bit in remind us why we are even at this need for a special election. patricia: that is because al franken got caught up in the whole me to scandal. there were allegations of inappropriate behavior and a dramatic moment, where women of

the senate rallied together and ultimately al franken stepped away. governor dayton appointed tina smith, who is our lieutenant governor, to that seat. now she has to run in a very short order, as a candidate on her own, which she has never done before. she has run with the governor in 2014 as a running mate, but not on her own. host: when it comes to richard painter, what is his platform? what does he say as far as why people should vote for him? patricia: we are still learning that. this is all very new. he has taken a couple of positions on mining, a big issue in the northern part of the state. chiefly what we know about him is he has been a very assertive critic of the president. he says he will focus on jobs, the environment, health care, the very basic bread and butter issues, all of which are important in this state. we have not exactly seem as positions.

it will be a very tough road for him. we have not -- host: go ahead. guest: we have an august primary, so he has basically 14 weeks with no experience, no money. he is not going to take any tax support. that puts them in a difficult position. host: what was the general reaction, not only amongst democrats, but republicans too? guest: you know, the republicans are sort of calling him out as -- they think he is a bit of a phony because they do not believe the conversion. they say that they are eager to run against him, which they probably would be given they will have ample resources. the democrats are a little worried. he is brilliant, he has a very sharp tongue. the ones i have talked to are wondering if you will focus most of his fire on the president, or whether he will turn that on

tina smith, in which case it could be a very brutal run up to the primary. host: talk about tina smith's tenure in the senate, any major yet?iment accomplishments guest: it has been sure, but she has been very active. she picked up on net neutrality. she has gone after issues revolving around health care, criminal justice. there have been a whole host of issues that really line up well with the democratic agenda. and some of the same things she worked on as lieutenant governor. she has a long, long history in the state as a player, both behind-the-scenes -- she was staff before she was lieutenant governor -- she has always been deep into policies. i think that part of it was an easy transition for her.

host: patricia, it sounds like from what you say that she could be pretty secure in this special election. guest: you know, i would not say that. run onid, she has never her own before, so there is that hurdle. and of course she has her own tough road. she is known to a certain extent, she is very well known in democratic circles, but we are not sure how well known she is throughout the state, just the regular rank-and-file voters. so she has to prove herself. she has been working hard at that. it could be having a candidate against her in the primary could kind of sharp in that up. you know, the debates, having to refine your positions. but if she starts getting attacked by him, we do not know how it will play out yet. host: could you see this as a messy special election? guest: it could be.

you know, painter has said he wants to make sure that a democrat runs, which has led a number of democrats to say, why doesn't he just support tina smith? we do not know the answer. obviously, he feels like he brings something to the table that she does not. host: how did the special elections usually go as far as turnout, and who does that favor? guest: august primaries, in my opinion, are dreadful. half the state is at their cabins. they have not really tuned into politics yet, so it is a bit of a crapshoot. you have to work hard at turning out your voters, getting them excited, getting them interested, and literally the middle -- in literally the middle of summer where people are a couple weeks away from sending the kids back to school, getting into the last of the decent weather in the state. it can be difficult. , it is a -- it is just

problem generating kind of the excitement for the big turnout. but all of the candidates will have that issue. host: patricia lopez, writer for the star tribune talking about the special election with richard painter and tina smith. the website is where you can learn more about it. thank you for your time. guest: you are welcome. host: back to the idea of america first and when it comes to matters of foreign policy we go to todd in carson city, nevada. republican mind. -- line. guest: hello? host: you are on. guest: yes. this is todd from nevada. host: what do you think about america first when it comes to foreign policy? guest: what i first think of is the nevada state legislature, excuse me -- host: go ahead and keep talking. do not listen to the television. keep talking with your thought.

guest: my thought is the primaries are going to be very difficult in a lot of states. host: ok, let's go to shawn in louisiana. independent line. good morning. guest: yeah, i do not understand why all these other countries depend on america to help them out and rebuild their cities and stuff like that, but in the obama era, we depleted our army and all of these countries are getting upset that we are tried to rebuild our army to help other countries like we are the world police. host: ok. shawn in louisiana. jonathan from maryland. also on independent line. guest: hello. i had the thought about the idea of self interest properly

understood could apply to our position in the world. specifically, even though we are seeking our best interest it could be in the best interest of the countries where we are there with our troops, and yeah. host: ok. so you are saying, when it comes to the philosophy, how should it be applied? iest: well, as an independent am more or less noninterventionist, because i think that we should take her of what is happening here first, but i have been reading lately and i realize that this actually could be in our best interest to stabilize other countries. he is only talking about in america, if we seek our true best interests, then we actually need to bring about the security of the entire nation, which

involves bettering the situation of others in america. i think that could apply to bettering the situations of unstable countries that we are currently involved in. host: years ago, we devoted a whole series taking a look at alexis de tocqueville, as he was traveling to the united states. not sure if you saw that or not. guest: i heard about it and i am thrilled about getting to it. i am at st. john's. i know you have come to our college as well. host: you should look it up on our c-span website, or other means, if you have a chance after classes. we take a look at his writings, particularly in america, but the given context you can access that on the website. guest: thank you. host: harold on the line for democrats. hi. guest: what i was calling about is the largest standing army that we have, and have had for a

long time. the billions of dollars we have spent every year on the military, as opposed to our domestic needs. and when you have a large standing army, a large number of troops and aircraft, it requires repair and a lot of resources. and i think it is not serve america will to do that. host: we will continue on this topic for 15 minutes or so. the new york times featuring a story with what they are saying are questions, by the special counsel robert mueller, directly to be asked to president trump. some of those questions when it comes to the coordination with russia section, the question, when did you become aware of the trump tower meeting? offer, thisthey relating to the meeting with the russian lawyer who offered political dirt about mrs. clinton. mr. trump's eldest son arranged

the meeting and did not tell his father about it when it happened. another critic, what involvement did you have in the medication strategy, including the release of donald trump, jr.'s emails. when the times found out about the meeting, donald trump omitted the true purpose of the meeting after the times obtained the younger mr. trump's emails and publish them -- a host of other questions when it comes to issues of james comey, michael flynn, other topics there as well. that in the new york times this michael majestic show you some of the questions, including the discussions had it during the campaign. president trump tweeting a response to this story saying, "so disgraceful the questions concerning the russia witchhunt where leaked to the media -- were leaked on the media. collusion that never existed,

and an investigation begun with illegaly leaked information." michael, cleveland, ohio. guest: hi. on the americaea first concept is the basic philosophy of america's policy, international trade policies. you have to keep in mind most of our policies are based upon national security. all of ourons, operations are based upon that national security. havee economic -- we created economic opportunity for democracies throughout the world. we have accomplished that economic development. so the philosophy have to change from national security to being world be anving the

equal partner economically with the united states. and protect our national security and our trade. host: independent line, then his next -- ben is next. good morning. guest: thank you. so the phrase to me, essentially is supposed to give the appearance that america has not always put its interests first. and that there is a solution -- is this illusion that we of been the world police, when really it is for military interests and to protect our own interests there economically. [cough] the phrase is actually more to do with the american people, of course, to say that now you are finally going to be put first. isn really the phrase

actually meant to mean that we will be an even more powerful imperialist power across the globe than we have been, but now it will be for you. when really the question is, who is america? you put america first, is it the corporations in america, the politicians, the average people? obviously, they are trying to make the average people think that things will work for them now, things will change. so really the phrase is meant to give the appearance of change, like all political phrases are supposed to. thank you. from theerpts forthcoming book from the arizona senator john mccain, amongst the topics he takes on in the book, his thoughts on president trump. this washington post writer, writing that in the book, the senator who is battling brain cancer and says he feels more free to speak out, says he has

disagreed with all six of the presidents who have held office during his years on capitol hill. he takes particular aim at mr. trump, a former reality -- theion star, writing appearance of toughness or reality show for simile or toughness seems to matter more than any of our values. senator mccain says, the assessment included in the book. they were published on monday by apple news. the book is cowritten by mark salter, his longtime aide. and slated for publication in may. levi, north carolina. you are next up. guest: good morning, pedro. host: good morning. guest: pedro, you might be a little young to know about this. i know you have heard about it.

lerstwo colors -- two cal sometime back really hit on it. toldict, that is why have everybody and not everybody understands what i am talking about, but that is what we are having today. industrial conflict, that means corporations. they are getting cheaper labor. that is causing most of our problems. like today. because when you say america first, america used to make money. a working man used to make money, but what happened the corporations got rid of the middle class and used foreign workers for cheaper labor. they have disassembled things and it is causing conflict with keeping america black and white, latinos, whatever -- all of them pushed against each other. and while everybody else calls

that war, the corporations are getting them all out. and that is the problem. host: ok. levi. a reporter for cnn has the story this morning about the president 's personal doctor, ronnie jackson, issues concerning him, particularly the perspective the vice president brings to the story, saying it was the vice president's physician that raised alarms within the white house that the doctor may have violated federal privacy protections for key patients. and intimidated the vice president's doctor during confrontations. the previously unreported incident is the first sign serious concerns about ronnie jackson's conduct had reached the highest levels of the white house, as far back as september. that is before way has aids defended his professionalism, saying that he had argued -- saying that the allegations of misconduct were rumors.

the episode detailed in three memos. it is the first augmentation involving a specific allegation of medical misconduct by ronnie jackson, adding to the allegations leveled by unidentified former and current colleagues, including that he dispensed prescription drugs. jackson's defenders said on monday, that the episode was a dispute between two doctors with a strained relationship. more available on the cnn website. this is the independent line, alex's next. guest: hello. can you hear me? host: you are on. guest: i need to say this, and i hope everybody can hear, that i have been listening to all the things you have been saying isut the u.s. government an, it

stretched so thin, helping summit countries in the world, building this, building that, yet i was hoping somebody would mention about the military-industrial empire that has existed in this country for decades. and the democratic action, the far left agenda, involved in so many regime changes. in so many countries in the world. people should not be shocked donald trump is the president. i did vote for donald trump, because when he says crooked hillary, somebody should really start thinking, what is it that he knows that so many of us did not know? host: what do you think president trump has brought matters of foreign policy? guest: he is perfectly doing the right thing. left amazing that the far

takes hold of these regime changes and they leave it obviously for the republicans, for now donald trump, who is not truly a republican, but for him and people to clean up the mess. host: ok, alex in minneapolis. facebook posts, 375 of you posting this morning on facebook.com/cspan. "it isyou are saying, about patriotism and a return to the historical tradition of being a powerhouse on the world stage." marsha says, "it is meaningless when you look at health care and education compared to other countries." it goes on from there. about 375 comments this morning. you can continue making those comments on our facebook page and on our twitter feed. coming up, taking a look and continuing on the topic of

foreign policy with our guest, danielle pletka. we will talk about the iran nuclear deal, follow-ups with that, including other issues. later on, jonathan allen and amie parnes discuss the paperback edition of "shattere " ," with new information about hillary clinton's failed presidential run. "washingtonp on journal." ♪ >> one of the most important issues in idaho for me is public education.

my education system worked well. it has had flaws. if i did not have money, i would not get lunch. those were the days that affected me. the public education needs to be addressed, especially k-12. >> an issue most important to me is public education. we are rate 48 of 49th in the nation. public funding is important for it. increase k-12 funding. we need to look at technical careers as well. not ever needs a four-year college degree. >> washington, d.c., could help by creating and supporting multimedia infrastructure to help people participate in politics and contemporary society. >> what i feel is an important issue is a regard for all. we need to get out there. we need to vote.

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today. >> "washington journal" continues. host: joining us is danielle pletka from american enterprise institute. she served as a foreign and -- good morning. guest: good morning. host: how should president trump proceed on the iran nuclear deal? guest: the president has -- up to now been reasonably cautious. you have to distinguish between what donald trump tweets and what donald trump does. is hollow thene floors of the deal. he has brought our european allies to the notion the deal needs fixing, either additions or amendments. the question is what happens on may 12? point for iran' s sanctions. if the in or out? host: if he decides not to do

anything, does that mean the deal is done when it comes to the united states' perspective? guest: the matter what happens, we are doing something. or dol either do waivers not do the waivers. united states would no longer be in compliance with its obligation. such a thing as leaving the deal. it is not a treaty. it is an executive deal. it has not been ratified by the senate. if we say we are no longer in it, it does not mean it falls apart. russia, over to europe, china, and iran. host: when it comes to revamping or rethinking these ideas, the israeli ambassador to the united nations, his thoughts on what should be done. inspectorsrnational

should be granted access to nuclear sites. second, oversight is needed. third, iran must -- are those good elements or it should there be more? guest: those are good elements. there are probably some additional things we would like. absolutely, inspections are the most important. fail toot of people understand is the inspection system under the jcpoa, iran deal, is not as comprehensive as the name of the deal would indicate. i picked out a quote, which i highlighted in an op-ed i read last year, it cannot there a fight activities -- an organization cannot verify activities. to verify.e iea

you do not want to take their word for it. more snap inspections, our ability to go into certain areas where we know there is international agreement the iranians have been working on military aspects of their program. we have not been in those places. when i say we, i do not mean america. i mean the international community, the iea. host: we are continuing our discussion with danielle pletka. if you have questions,democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. if you want to tweak your thoughts or questions, you can at @cspanwj. for other countries aside from the united states, what is their role? what do you see them serving? guest: the french and british and germans are key. the chinese and russians are not likely to go with too many

changes, given their posture internationally. the chinese, maybe. the russians decided their next great adventure, other than -- is the middle east. they will not be playing ball with us. they are partnering with the iranians in syria. they will not push back on the iranian nuclear program. it means the europeans. they will need to be with us in tightening the standards. they need to be with us in looking at eliminating the -- in the iran deal. host: can you elaborate? lasts for seven ,o eight years, then 10 years it is staggered. at a certain moment, all the fictions are off on iran's nuclear activities. obama, who was a

proponent of the deal, had suggested at that point, we will need to look at what is going on. unfortunately, kicking the can down the road is great in a democracy. it is a problem for the american people and our national security. host: what level of sway did you take away from the israeli prime minister's presentation on this? guest: i wanted to get excited about it. his address in english, going to be great. it feell flat to me. it probably does not contain a treasure trove of information, i'm sure it does. theamin netanyahu said iranians were engaged in developing five nuclear weapons. it was something they did not admit to.

on the other hand, the responsibility of the , jcpoa,ional community this is why we do the deal. a thing that should be concerning for people is the --nians told us they everything. they are not. proponents.ping key they have been keeping it in reserve. it means they had every intention of returning or availing themselves to the option of returning and sells to a robust nuclear weapons program. for us, we walkway, they are right there. host: you can ask our guest questions on @cspanwj. on the phone, democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002.

minnesota is where we will start on the democrat line. this is murray for danielle pletka. go ahead -- is maire for danielle pletka. go ahead. caller: i am interested in what the president said the other day. he said he would be better if we did not have to deal with iran. it would help us with north korea. it seems disturbing to me. the deal has already been made. as far as the deal with north korea, i think china should be getting the credit. china is the one negotiating with north korea. i am sorry, but i cannot give -- everythingthis going with the negotiations. i'm interested in how the president thinks in going away withthe iran deal helping north korea with their negotiations. thank you. and itgood question

shines a problem donald trump has. it is better if we did not have the deal with iran. there are arguments to be made about it. part of the problem is the deal is you can have your cake and eat it, too. it says you do not have to completely abolish your nuclear weapons program. it is not speak to iran's other activities -- terrorism, human rights violations, oppressions of its own people, and it's concerning ballistic missile program. the message it sends to broke state is you can file in the terms of your international obligations under the treaty -- under a treaty and we will give you money, a loosey-goosey deal in which you may or may not abide by. can be out yes, it

from under. then, you can do whatever you want. -- international community it can be a cycle. it is the challenge. that is what the president means when he says that. you can push back reasonably. there are reasonable push back arguments. the issueer hand, with the north koreans is troubling. part of the problem with donald hisp is that he causes adversaries and own party to not be able to see straight. there is not any doubt, as the south koreans said, donald trump deserves credit for getting the north koreans to the table. not because he said he would be willing to meet with kim jong-un when asked, but they view him as an unpredictable character.

it makes it important for them to try to get something out of it. does china deserve some credit? think north korea would have come to the table about the chinese. we could say the chinese are without credit. as much people may dislike or disagreement or object to donald trump, he deserves some credit for it. host: elaine, independent line, hello. caller: hello. i read the agreement when it first came out. if i recall, there was a part that said the united states --ld not issue any sanctions additional sanctions against iran. part was weother cannot put our were shipped in a particular area of ac -- of a sea south of them. -- let's say they

do something horrendous, like bomb israel. if we put any additional sanctions on them, the agreement goes away. is that true? guest: those are words i rarely hear uttered. i read the jcpoa. it is a long agreement. that are very substantial -- confusing to us, even -- confusing to us, even for those of us will lived in washington for a long time. if there are additional support for terrorism, other kinds of proliferation, human rights probablys -- iran is

technically in violation -- technically is an escape word -- probably in violation of its obligations under other un security council resolutions that camera at the same time as the jcpoa relative to their ballistic missile program. it is fine. united states and the -- states is in a good place. if they bought israel, all deal -- israel, the deal is off. they would step into donald trump's hands if they do that. i do not think the iranians are stupid. i do not recall the ships in the deal. we have a robust presence in the persian gulf. host: cori on our independent line -- cory on our independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call. in the weapons are

second amendment for countries. only one nation has used it another, united states. for others, it is an insurance policy against aggression. that is it. guest: i have never heard it put like that. for a lot of nations, they believe it is an insurance policy against an invasion by their neighbors or deterrence -- or a deterrence for bad guys in their neighborhood. i guess it is not a crazy way to put it. i would not have done so. [laughter] that is the problem for us. countries look at nuclear weapons programs and say to theselves, because of message the international committee has sent, it is in our interest to have these. it is in our interest to

fly with international terms. one man gave him up. where is the? he is dead. the iranians kept it and they have a ton of money. for countries like north korea, who look to the international community and past deals for signaling, we have sent a lot of bad mixed messages. what do you think is the proper application for denuclearization for the talks? guest: donald trump has come in -- has come in his mind -- i do not know what is in his mind. the president seems to think when he says denuclearization, what he means is a complete and sotal verified to north korea'

weapons program. it means shutting down the reactors. it means shutting down everything else. it is not need an iran deal for north korea. it does not mean kim jong-un, your totalitarian government in which you starve millions of people to death will be equal as long as you do not have nuclear weapons. i do not think that is what it will look like. i think you need genuine disarmament -- think he means genuine disarmament by the north koreans. koreans can live by it, then there is a deal to be had. host: from the north korean leader's perspective, what is he seeking from the u.s. in this? guest: the united states not to invade north korea. my guess is he wants more. my guess is he wants u.s. troops

out of south korea. my guess is he wants to have peace with south korea that enables him to prop up his dictatorship while being able to cheat on having nuclear weapons, so he has an insurance policy for the future. that is a line donald trump and his administration have to walk. they want to take the opportunity because crazy things have happened in history. they wanted to the opportunity, but have to make sure it is real. host: the discussion between the north and south korean leader, is this for show? -- show or substance? guest: it is for substance, but for north korea. north korea is interested in splitting off south korea from their american friends. it was the tactic with kim jong-un's father. in previous talks, this is their game. a need money. -- they need money.

this is a very poor country. --re economy has stabilized their economy has stabilized. my colic has outstanding commentary -- my colleague has outstanding commentary. they want money. they want to trade with the world. they want to buy stuff. they want to pretend to sell stuff. they want access to international banking. the best way to get them is to pull over to the guys in seoul and said we -- and say we want peace and american are saying no peace. that is their game. it is working out for them. host: edward on the republican line, go ahead. caller: hello. i would like to bring the

conversation away from the hardliners in iran and israel. now, it is going to be let's bomb the iranians because they want to do the same. my question is what about israel developing their nuclear weapons in secret? we seem to have forgotten about it. we have one people, one planet. we need to work together. guest: those are beautiful sentiments, thank you. the mostortant to note serious victims of iranian , perhaps the syrians, but the iranian people who are good people. they are oppressed beneath a system within the islamic

republic they do not deserve, like, or want. iran is a police state. they just banned telegraph the app because they do not want people communicating to each other. why? they are afraid of their people. we have a great relationship with the israeli people. one thing that has happened in this modern era is we sort out who we worry into not worry about. not worry about their nuclear weapons program. we worry less about them attacking their neighbors. we worry less about them using this as a tool to bully others. israel is in the same boat. that is why we do not talk about

israel as much. when we worry about nuclear weapons, it is in the hands of that leaders, that governments. we are talking about north korea, iran, at times, iraq, pakistan. why do not we talk about more about pakistan? that is where we found osama bin laden. we should talk more about it. host: john from virginia on the independent line, go ahead. hello? in florida onith the republican line. caller: hello. i think the credit should not go to china. , theywith kim jong-un on theirttack dog

southern flank. they will never let it go. they will never let it go. they will do everything in the world they can to keep him in place because it protects their southern borders against us and south korea. iran, you will never be able to trust them. they have been killing our troops for the past 10 years with roadside bombs. they are untestable. as soon as they get the nukes, they will do exactly what they said they will do. that is how i feel about it. i do not know how you feel about it, daniel. -- danielle. guest: on the buffer state what keeps us as we cannot trust with xi jinping -- it is something we should worry about. that is right. north korea has been a buffer

state for china. it has been the buffer between the troops i talked about. if the chinese are going to support the north koreans, what would make it worth it? at aei what scholars have written about. they write well on this. scenario ofotential the chinese getting brave, which korea withoutth american troops or an american presence. the chinese could proxy their orbit of influence in asia. it would have to be on terms highly favorable. would washington senate to a deal that looks like that? maybe.

, more than any other conservative president, is likely to do it because he is less interested in the outcome if he gets a deal. hard --an nukes, it is it is hard to trust the regime, the iranian people do not trusted. host: there is an article about united states shutting down its operations against isis in iraq. what does it suggest? guest: a series of things, not good to me. we have been able to work with the iraqi's on the got against isis. we have been able to push them out of the center of iraq. let's remember what isis is. isis is the new name for a group that was called al qaeda. the head of isis is the fourth leader of al qaeda -- is the forced leader of al qaeda.

what does that suggest to any americans strategist -- american strategist? this group will come back unless retreat circumstances on the ground. -- ground that do not enable them to come back. what does it mean? it does not mean declaring victory and pulling out. andck obama do that in 2011 i do not know if anyone notice, but we still have a lot of troops. we need to leave folks on the ground. not to keep fighting, but to ensure the security is there to enable the sunni parts of iraq to rebuild were isis was. happens, we can say goodbye. host: this is from arkansas on independent line, paul, go

ahead. the iran deal is unconstitutional. that is the problem. the u.s. constitution says the president has authority to make treaties. what does that require? two thirds confirmation by the u.s. senate. away from take a vote the constitution. obama should be impeached retroactively. host: thanks. guest: this is an argument that was had. i am smiling because the caller reminds me of someone who has a southern accent. i would love to say, but i am no fan of this deal. i worked in the senate and i am a fan of prerogative deals.

the president gets to choose to submit something as a treaty or not. last 70 years, we have seen this many treaties and as many executive agreements, which is what the iran deal is. the reason for it is ratification is hard. it is is your to do. it goes for republican as well as democratic -- it is harder to do. it goes for republican as well as democratic presidents. what obama loses is the force of law in the united states. the next guy, donald trump, can tara and say, that deal -- can turn around and say, that deal stunk. the president can walk away from treaty obligations as well. it is a much different process.

treaty is a good political decision. it was not going to win. -- what do you think about a concept? great question. the reauthorization of military force. what is related to the iraq war and the other one is related post 9/11. as a lawyer said recently, this has been stretched thin. if you want to think about a striking syria's chemical weapons facilities twice, really hard to shoehorn that operation into the authorization against al qaeda or iraq. the president has wide latitude

to respond to threats against our national security. is it covered? it is a tough call. it will not be easy to pass when barack obama said congress should pass one. for a long time, he refused to send out language. why? getting language that satisfies andybody, democratic right center, republican left and center, is not easy. best itrained to the constrains the president anyway does not want to be constrained. host: the next caller, hello. been nukingel has palestine for years, stealing land from palestinians. israel is not democratic.

israel is the biggest military base outside of the united states. hasmany military bases iran outside of its country? non-. how many really -- none. how many -- how evil are these countries that are not occupying some of countries? host: thank you. guest: we have heard this argument before. the college is not like israel. i understand. groups like, as have put palestinian like -- like hamas have put palestinian lives at risk. not much can be said about the palestinian authority on the west bank. where are the iranians? the iranians are in syria,

saudi arabia, africa -- they almost completely dominate the -- a government. host: our last call, danny, hello. is we have aestion lot of family -- a lot of military family. we are writing the middle of -- are riding the middle of both places. how are we supposed excuse both places? guest: i am not sure what you are asking. will usen style, i that as license to talk about turkey.

this is an issue we do not talk about enough. it is an issue we do not pay enough attention to. over the last decade with the government in turkey, they have asserted more and more power people. it is to remain on the ground in syria, as are we. it is a natoime, ally, an ally restricting us. there is so much trouble in turkey. is -- thefreedom government has the worst record in the world. we are bumping along, hoping we will not have to confront the challenge that is turkey. frankly speaking, i do not think anyone knows what to do. --t: warmer question about

one more question about mike pompeo and what he brings to the team when it comes to foreign policy. personally, what you would like to see from him? guest: i am excited about mike pompeo. i like him a lot. i have a huge amount of respect of a person who will either institution. that is hugely important. we have an enormous foreign service. people do not think of them like the military. they serve their people the same. under rex tillerson, those people were sidelined and ignored. shown the cia he will lead with not just one or two of his special pets. it means all of the business that has not been done in the past year will get done.

people will get appointed. he is a serious guy. i am glad he hopped on a plane to our nato allies to the middle east. it is the right step. i am optimistic. check back with me in a year. host: danielle pletka with american enterprise institute. she is the senior vice president for the foreign and defense studies. thank you for your time. guest: thank you. host: we will do open phones. -- open phones for the remainder of the time. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. we will take those calls only come back. ♪ >> sunday on two and a -- on q&a, robert on his new book, rocket man on the apollo eight mission to the moon. >> i never realized until i talk to the astronauts -- talked to of the role they

played. all three of them believed without their wives, they could not have pulled this off. apollo it was the most daring and courageous space mission nasa ran. death.ed like certain it was done quickly. everything was for the first time. these men who left their wives at home who were supportive and did not reveal to their husbands how much they were suffering and how terrified a really work. >> q and a -- really were. onhealing a on -- q and a c-span. >> connect with c-span to personalize information you get from us. just go to c-span.org/connect and sign up for the email. the program guide is a daily email with the most updated primetime schedule an upcoming live coverage. word for word gives you the most interesting daily video

highlights in their own words with no commentary. the booktv newsletter sent weekly is an insider's look at upcoming authors and books festival's. the american history weekly newsletter gives you the program exploit our nation's past -- program exploring our nation's past. sign up today. >> "washington journal" continues. if you want to post on twitter. our facebook is facebook.com/cspan. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. in terms of foreign policy, the president speaking of a delegation going to china. it should have been fixed years

ago, not now. it will get done, the great potential for the united states. that is the president tweeting about that. follow-up stories reading from correspondents dinner. the comedian was on npr talking about the experience. a question she was asked about seth meyers. i would not change a single word i would -- i said. i am glad i stuck to my guns. after one of your jokes about said you's march, you should have done more research before you asked me to do this. i got the impression you meant that. , i think sometimes you look at a woman and she will be nice.

if you have seen my comedy i am not. i am not afraid to talk about things. they did not expected of me. they thought preconceived notions on how women present themselves and i do not fit in that box. that is from the npr interview. int has a follow-up story the new york times about the futures about dinners. it will not be surprised that might be mailbox is overflowing with advice on how to improve the dinner. couldon to say, it include no entertainer, no comic-con a serious speaker, a seriouso comic, speaker. up ag, this has bumped it couple of notches in terms of the priority list. that is in the new york times this morning.

dana is in california on the republican line. you are first up on open phones. go ahead. caller: it is refreshing that kim jong-un and president moon are having talks, especially in this political climate. president trump has been willing -- has been unwilling to compromise on everything from the iran nuclear deal to the paris climate accord, as the last week when he met with president krohn and -- president macron and angela merkel. wondering which concessions president moon and kim jong-un will make. that is all i wanted to say. thank you. host: do you think president trump had influence on the conversations? caller: yes. not, he would not be weighing in.

and it he is supportive will be a great thing. he has changed his rhetoric from what he said about kim jong-un. i do not know why, but it gives pause. host: are you looking for to talks between the united states and north korea? caller: i do not know. experts have said this has historically been difficult. the united states has tried to speak with north korea in the past on a few occasions and it has not worked. made his waymp has into office by being an unconventional candidate. however, i wonder if his lack of political experience will hinder him instead of helping him. host: let's go to wisconsin

on the democrats line, patty. caller: i watched michelle wolf. she is talented and attractive. we need to clean up our act. michelle obama had the perfect line. low, we need to go higher. they need to stick the comedians. it goes too far out of line. thank you for taking my call. host: if you want to see michelle wolf's performance, you can see on our website, c-span. it is available to you at c-span.org. for minnesota on the independent line, adrian. hello. caller: i have 3.i want to make. oints i want to make. everybody thinks president trump made a good job. kim jong-un took over south korea without a shot of blood.

he is a smart guy. as far as everything else that is going on with michelle wolf, president trump has been criticizing and calling people names are year and have. the republicans had nothing to say about it. a comedian makes a couple comments about sir huckabee and -- about sarah huckabee and it is ridiculous. host: back to north korea, do you think president trump had any influence? do you think he has any part to play in it? caller: talks between the north? no. know the present of south korea is not giving up the country to kim jong-il? of northun has control

and south korea. he is the primary leader. everybody knows that. host: that is adrian in indianapolis. in the wall street journal, --ther talk about the is about the power and position change. saying thomas homan was nominated for the -- nominated to head ice. the homeland security office never submitted his paperwork. he never had a confirmation hearing. -- discarding the priorities of thatbama administration targeted criminals, but left alone law-abiding undocumented immigrants. , herding to three people felt sidelined during negotiations.

in the wallry street journal highlights on what is going on in the south, particularly with the care of a. the wasp -- the caravan. reports street journal it is unclear how long the mexican authorities would allow them to camp. one of the people who helped organize the caravan set a mexican official urged them to move to migrant shelters. when mothers in the group objected, the group waited. someone seemed to have news, migrants rushed over with airbags -- with their bags. more of that reporting from

alicia caldwell in the wall street journal. on the democrats line, hello. caller: i want to comment on the correspondents dinner. what a bunch of hypocrites the republicans are for being so outraged. and conway go, on tv daily and trash everybody. when they get a throwback in their face, they are outraged. news the white house propaganda -- ox news, the white house propaganda channel, -- fox news, the white house propaganda channel -- it is ridiculous. comediansou think should still be part of the correspondents dinner, no matter who is president? caller: of course. that is the way it has always been.

that is the one time people can also down together and not take things so personally. this white house has tried to normalize what we now consider normal. in the past week consider it outrageous -- past, we considered it outrageous. againstned it around anyone who says anything bad or negative about this white house. it is ridiculous. host: where you comfortable with comedians in the past saying sharp things? were you as comfortable? caller: yes, i was. obama laughed it off. that is one of the things about obama and his administration. they had class. this administration has no class. that is the main problem. the correspondents dinner was the one time everybody can sit down and not take things personally and have a good laugh.

that is the difference about other administrations. other administrations had class. this administration is an absolute joke. host: let's go to new hampshire on the independent line. hello. theer: i want to talk about last speaker. host: ok. caller: what is missing is truth in history. america -- truth and history. america said iran is the most democratic country. government.ed our iran has not been in a war for years. america is 200 something years old and has been in so many

wars. we call that democracy? weause the iranian people -- call the iranian people -- host: "the washington post" has a story saying republican ofmakers are in the process drafting impeachment articles against rob rosenstein. saying a document underscores a chasm between -- special counsel robert uhler -- -- robert mueller -- would be support.to garner it calls it a last resort. members of the conservative house freedom caucus finalize

the draft in recent days. disputefter weeks of after a request for documents and behaviorisions of federal law enforcement officials working on the russia investigation. on the democrats line, brenda, hello. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. dinner -- youents know, the young lady did not call her fat. she said facts. then when you burn the paper, you have ash. upsetthey are getting about her calling her names.

sayinge donald trump -- then whatever he wants about women. saying obama is illegal. then, you want to call black men because they express and use what their rights are with the amendment because they get on their knees. he meant what he was saying. she was just joking. people need to relax. -- relax, sit back, and enjoy. or just do not watch it. host: walter on the republican line. caller: hello, i want to comment about the event on saturday night. i watched it on c-span, which i am upset you showed that type of vulgar language. my complaint was that room was full of millionaires and all they came up was a hundred

thousand dollars of donations for young journalists? that is a sad state of affairs. host: she comedians not be a part of the process? caller: no, they should not -- host: should canadians not be part of the process? caller: no, you should not. host: michelle wolf who you are was there on saturday. we have it archived on c-span. you can see how comedians responded. it is not the first time comedians has caught -- comedians have caused a stir. go to c-span.org. all of those events are archived there. let's go to ohio on the independent line. caller: i want to people to know stormy daniels will be appearing in a bar tomorrow night and thursday.

she will be doing two shows. i will tell you, it is a disgrace. that is all have to say. host: the unit -- do you feel comfortable giving every advertising, even though you say it is a disgrace? caller: i am reading it. suit the president for 100,000 -- four $130,000. 000.-- for $130, host: what is your thinking on it? guest: everybody is out to make about -- caller: everybody is out to make a buck. performing and has a child? come on, pedro. host: a story yesterday from nbc

stormy daniels has filed a defamation suit. she claims she had a sexual encounter with the president in 2006 and was warned by an unidentified man to keep quiet. she gave an interview to a magazine. earlier, she worked with a frantic artist to create a sketch of a man who accosted her in a las vegas arcing what. -- las vegas arcing lot -- las v egas parking lot. to our next caller. caller: i am calling about the white house correspondents dinner. to be a comedian, especially coming from women -- i believe in equality in all the ways around. thisof this law gary --

will garrity and nastiness from vulgarity and nastiness from women, i do not know what to say. connie, you are next. caller: we are trying to teach our children not to be a bully. donald trump is the biggest bully i have ever seen or heard of my whole entire life. this is ridiculous. how are we supposed to teach our children not to do what the president of the united states, who is representing us, does? is next on the republican line. caller: i wonder how all these people reacted when he went to

church the next morning -- when they went to church the next morning. s wifeot know how a man' would want to sit through that filth. host: ralph from connecticut, hello. caller: why does president trump get away with something as small -- not to be censured or anything -- as small as accusing president obama of being wired ofccusing president obama being -- president obama wiretapping and he is not censured on it. host: the wall street journal reporting on future cases when it comes to class action lawsuits the court will consider. alphabet,involving lower courts in 2015 approved a settlement after 129 people

alleged privacy violations of google searches. rather than disturbing the money tong people, they agreed award a portion of the settlement to organizations promising to spend money to promote public awareness and education. when hisrate case, -- requirest contract disputes be resolved through private arbitration. a place by both sides when it richard wolf saying the potential requirement of justice anthony kennedy, the deciding vote on controversy all cases, has energized both sides.

strategy sessions have been -- sessions are being held. moderate senators whose votes are critical will have targets on their back. if you want to read more, it is in usa today. on the democrats line, ron, hello. caller: thank you "washington journal." laughable the republicans are getting bent out of shape about the correspondents dinner. i saw the last part of it. there was a lot of courtesy. i enjoyed it. it is for people to say what they feel and no one's feelings gets hurt. the republicans elected a man with no morals or standards. now, they are bent out of shape out of this dinner? it is ridiculous.

republicans are such epocrates on everything -- our such hypocrites on everything. call onn was the last open phones. next, a journalist will join us about hillary clinton's run. book --sion of a paper of a book. we'll have a conversation with the guests up next. ♪

> for nearly 20 years in depth has featured the nation's best known non-fiction writers for their nversations about books. this year as a special project, we're featuring fiction writers the monthly program, in depth fiction edition. sunday noon eastern.

>> "washington journal" continues. host: joining us here in the studio in washington, d.c. is cot-author of , "shattered," inside hillary clinton's doomed campaign. also joining us in new york, amie parnes, a