the communicators monday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span 2. c-span, where history unfolds daily. 4, c-span was created as a public service by america's table --cable television companies. today we bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, supreme court, and events in washington dc and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. now, a discussion on president trump's relationship with the news media from today's washington journal. this is 40 minutes. app for following this program. sean spicer, welcome back to c-span. guest: it is good to be back. i looked around and realized i don't have a new c-span cup.

they change every couple of years. host: let me begin with some news this week. the summit meeting, will that happen between the president and north korean leader? guest: i think it will. but who knows? it is good for our country. it is good for the world. you don't know what kim jong-un's motives are. is he trying to do another so people have a better image of him and give him some economic relief, or does he really wants of the? deal?e exercisesmilitary take place, which the north korean leader knew was going to happen, and they use that as an excuse to stop talks with the south. guest: that is what really gave me pause. they were almost fishing for an excuse. there was this honeymoon that

looked great. they met at the dmz. they were looking to denuclearize and open up economic trade. gotten whatkim has he wants, which is to be recognized on the world stage as a legitimate power, and then he walks away from the deal. we will see if these talks go forward. i think at the end of the day, kim recognizes that in order for his country and for him to go forward, he needs a deal like this. host: how does the president prepare for this type of meeting? guest: the way he prepares for a lot of things, over time he goes back and forth with aides and reads independently and is back and forth with aides. host: what is your biggest fear? guest: my biggest fear is that kim is not serious and he just

wants the recognition of the leader of the free world and then walks away. i think we cannot give him the credibility of being seen as a world leader without getting some concessions. i think the hostages being returned was a good first step. if he wants the economic relief and trade that goes with that, then he needs to denuclearize. with regard to iran and the u.s. pulling out of the iran or guilt, the head of the european council said, with friends like this, who needs enemies? trumpritical of donald pulling out of the iran nuclear deal. how does the president react to something like that? guest: i don't think he cares. he ran on a pretty clear agenda of putting america first, and getting out of bed deals. anyone shocked by this -- bad deals. anyone shocked by this needs to

get out from under a rock. anyone that found this new and surprising, that is interesting. i don't think the president cares what other people outside this country think of him. his administration is dedicated to advancing american interests. host: we are getting a speech tomorrow from mike pompeo, plan b on iran, what can we expect? guest: i think you will see additional sanctions, talking about how to isolate iran, how that the deal was. what iran was going to do ultimately in terms of its nuclear thing, and talk about how the u.s. is going to isolate them and sanction them to achieve a better outcome. host: in terms of domestic issues, how long did you spend on capitol hill working for

house members? to washington in 1993, and i left to work for the u.s. trade representative under george w. bush in 2006. member orin a committee, and in the off year, campaign, or i a worked at all the various federal committees, the national republican congressional committee, and over those 20 years, i think i have 11 years in federal service. host: i ask because of the farm bill that went down on friday. how significant is that? guest: i don't think it looks good because you never want a bill to go down. i have always believed that sometimes that tough love, those discussions that need to happen need to happen. that to gobill like

down that has a lot of reforms in it, that is good for conservatives, trying to maximize the impact of the farm bill trying to put a better deal in place, for the sake of immigration, you have to juxtapose the ultimate goal. sometimes the greater discussion is at hand of what we're trying to achieve needs to happen. while it is not good in the short run, it serves us better because it forces a discussion. host: there are two factions within the gop, and so far there are 20 moderate republicans who want to push together a discharge petition, which would force a more moderate immigration bill. democrats would go on board with this. how likely do you think it is that could happen? guest: i think ultimately you will get a series of votes. i think speaker ryan and mccarthy realize they would

rather play the game on their terms that have a discharge petition. at the end of the day, i don't see the time in the legislative calendar for the senate to act. are you actually, pushing something? -- accomplish and something? accomplishing something? are you forcing out an issue that you don't want to be campaigning on? host: you spent some time at the rnc. looking ahead at the races, what is your prediction? house,we keep the probably lose a few seats, but i feel better every day about where the house is. you are seeing a lot less excitement on the democratic side. they are very captive by the far left of their party. they are seeing more and more

easier to make it campaign against someone that far to the left. president trump's approval rating continues to rise. at the end of the day, elections are always about how people feel. do they feel secure economically? we are seeing the economy tick up, and the fight against isis continues to go well. people will ultimately want to keep us on the field. in the senate, i feel very good. we have a one seat majority. i would not be surprised to see us actually pick up seats. that is mostly because we have a tilted playing field. you have a much greater degree of democrats that are up for reelection this cycle. in july. book is out what is it about? guest: it is about several things. it is my story.

when i came out of the white house, i was not fully committed to writing a book. around lot of speeches the world. people asked the same questions over and over again. i thought to myself, if i am going to set the record straight about who i am and how i felt about certain things, then it was incumbent upon me to write the book and tell people how did i get here. i talk about how i got to washington, my early years, and then my career progression and the experiences of the campaign. host: what did you learn about yourself writing the book? guest: that is a great question. it is cathartic and therapeutic in a lot of ways. he gives you an opportunity to reflect on who you are as a person. why you may certain decisions, differently,e them were you the best person you could be at the time?

i talk a lot about my faith in the book, which is something i don't generally speak about publicly. how i reflected on certain moments and whether i could have been a better person or handle certain things better. host: let me put one moment on the table, jr 21st 2017 -- january 21, 2017. how did that all come out? host: it is in detail in the book. i don't want to give too much away. we had a very historic january 20. the president gave a speech where he laid out his vision for america first. he wakes up on january 21, our first full day in office, and there is much discussion going on about the crowd size and inauguration. i think the president felt, as , that wasny of us really a sad commentary about what happened.

you had this historic election, and the president coming in with a bold agenda to change the trajectory of the country, and yet we're talking about how many people are on the mall or not. long story short, we try to put together a statement and briefing where we talked about how petty that was. host: the one thing you talked about afterwards was the suit you are wearing. guest: i mentioned that. thank you for replying that. i talk about that in the briefing. that one press conference cost me a few thousand dollars on the government salary because you recognize those small things matter in a way they had not in the past. i have been on television multiple times but had never had that level of critique. you realize how all of those things, the level of intensity and interest in every aspect of that job. host: let's get to your phone calls.

republican line, robert from illinois. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you. good morning, shot. i look forward to buying your book. with all due respect to jimmy kimmel, even his writers could not have come up with this terrific kid getting this gun from his dad's gun locker. for seven years, president obama did nothing to prevent the russian hack into the election. they are bombarding our president with blame. he got in there by a fluke, i'm glad for it. every time a liberal asks a conservative about president trump interfering, they should say obama did nothing for seven years and nine months. thank you.

this in the into book, but we were briefed on that. the obama administration's department of homeland security asked me to come in to talk about what they were seeing and made it very clear they had this under control. i agree with robert. the past administration knew what was going on and for whatever reason did not make it a big enough deal. if they had made it a big deal, there would be a lot of people saying they were trying to tilt the election. i'm not saying it was not a tough decision, but robert was right. they knew things were happening. they were confident they had everything under control. i don't see any evidence to this day that there is anything that changed the outcome of the election. i think all of us need to do everything we can to make sure the integrity of our elections is sound.

i think our election officials need to do the same. wilkes-barre, west virginia, democrats line. caller: good morning. give me an opportunity to make my comments. thespicer, you and trump is lyingest people i have ever seen. this administration lies every day to the american people. anotherever vote for republican again. my salary has not increased. nothing has changed since i was working during the obama administration. i pay more in gas prices. nothing has changed in my life, but you, the president, and his family are the biggest criminals ever. guest: i respectfully disagree. i wish you the best. i hope things to get better in your life.

ways thisgue in many country is a better place both economically and security wise. i wish you the best, and i hope you like does get better. host: from north carolina, charles on the republican line. caller: good morning. how the media treated josh earnest and gibbs ence, and thenver i look at your experience and see the hostility with sarah today. we talk about fake news, but at the least it is extremely slanted news. it comes from a viewpoint that seems to be in a herd. like theit seems thestream media may be hire

same type of people that went to the same type of schools with a limited viewpoint. when you have major news anchors like anderson cooper and dominant and rachel maddow -- emon and rachel maddow who live in alternative lifestyle live with a different lens that say my company. host: thank you. guest: i have been very careful l not think the media writ arge with the same brush. there are some very good reporters not just in an agenda. there are some that actually have an agenda and some that don't acknowledge the agenda. as a conservative, i have seen this my entire career on a variety of issues. at the house budget committee, there were people who viewed everything we did in this negative light about cutting and burning.

there were a lot of times when we would reform program because we thought it would serve people better it is without the private sector or charitable organizations did a better job than a bloated bureaucracy. that doesn't mean we care about people less. a lot of journalists talk about cutting and slashing because of where they came from. i think there is a difference. i don't think that people come to congress or public service to hurt people. people. to help you look at it in different ways. liberals believe government is always the solution. i disagree with that. i don't think they are trying to hurt people. i don't think conservatives are trying to hurt people. we believe public service and helped office is a way to our country and the entire world live a better way. nobody is coming at this to hurt

people. spicer,r guest is sean former white house press secretary. we welcome our viewers on the bbc parliament channel as well 124 on siriusel xm. overarching of my fears about the trunmp era is that he will drag the rest of the country including the media down to his level. there's little in love more than to invalidate us, because then he could sell whatever alternative facts and ornate fantasies that he chose to. itst: i agree with part of and disagree with part of it. i think to the extent that journalists need to recognize in

this age of social media that rushing to the first and then undermines their credibility. the same first amendment that gives every journalist the right what theyto write want and publish what they want gives every american the right to criticize that piece. i want strong, robust journalists that pushback, investigate, seek the truth. in some instances, you see that intended, the pun idea of being right. it is better to be right than to be first. what we see on twitter and facebook is that journalists would rather be the first one through the gate that the right one. host: do you miss the job?

guest: no. not a day. it, andn honor to have i would do it all over again, but it was the right time to leave for me and the administration. host: we will go to alan. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for the opportunity to speak to both of you. i disagree with the statement that president trump does not care about what non-americans think about him or his policies. if you would allow me, i have four very quick points to prove that. when it comes to israel and netanyahu, mr. trump apparently care so much about what he says that he said american middle east policy will be whatever mr. netanyahu wants or the israelis want. when it came to the chinese phone company that was sanctioned by the u.s., the chinese are bankrolling a trump

indonesia, he immediately jumped into say that company. when it came to the saudi's and the money, he demonstrated very clearly he cares with the saudis think. he ist comes to putin, very quick to jump in and protect him from sanctions. mr. spicer, with all due respect to you and the president, you are not as big as your rhetoric. guest: i am only five foot six inches. i am not that big. i would respectfully disagree. i think the president has clearly shown his commitment to making a better place for all of our citizens. he ran on a promise of america first. i think he is delivering on it. piece by john dickerson of cbs, how the president became possible.

-- the presidency became impossible. he made ispoints that george washington would not recognize the modern presidency. guest: i think that is true in the sense of how big our government has grown. that makes the case for why we need a smaller central government and get back to the roots of our country, which is pushing a lot more of these decisions on the states. government has grown too big and unwieldy and is not serving the best interests of the american people. host: john dickerson says the buck stops here is not meant to mean theresent -- president is responsible for everything that happens in the executive branch. guest: when you look at the size and scope of what this government is doing now, you literally cannot have one person by virtue of just time know everything that is happening and

all the decisions that are being made at the various agencies and departments. i would argue the government has done way too big. you saw the flow of information that went through the white house. what changes if any need to be made? guest: you see through the gore, mick al mulvaney, we need to have almost a separate group of people that are specifically looking department by department. we don't have any incentives for downsizing government. the incentive is for growing government. when you have a department in this government that cannot pass a clean audit, that says something. that tells you how big we have become. at some point we need to get down to brass tacks and recognize that there needs to be

some look at what government does, where we are serving the american people, and where we are not. the problem is that it is power. there are groups of people in this town that want to make sure every agency and job is filled because that allows them to make money or get a contract. that is part of a bigger problem. host: in terms of the daily briefing, is that still relevant? guest: no. i think the press office should be available as they are to give ,he press responses and updates but i think the daily briefing is worth re-examining. the department of defense and others don't always have a daily briefing on camera. i think the morning gaggle and selected days or you do on camera is worth it. the breathing has become more of a show than an outlet of

information for the media. we should provide daily answers to questions the media has and updates that are ongoing. the time it takes to get everything going and what you get in return is not worth it anymore. host: i suspect that is part of the new book as well. guest: it is. host: let's go back to your phone calls. steve in connecticut. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my phone call. i have to disagree. i think the daily briefing can provide hope to the world. i am calling about social media. facebook just surpassed or is closing in on 2 billion users. followers than people in the muslim religion. i am still trying to wrap my head around the power of social media. host: what about you?

guest: i agree. it is extremely powerful as a tool. it has done a lot to give people a voice who did not have one before. natural disasters, allowing people to stay in touch, reaching out to people in times of need. there is a huge utility for it. the problem is that it allows and people to say and act in a way that they would never do to someone's face. of, it hasis sort pros and cons. at the end of the day, all of these things come back to us as people. how do we act on a social media platform? my hope is that people will re-examine how they behave and think and express themselves. host: when the president would send out a tweet, did he ever

check with you first or did he do it on his own? guest: once in a while he would tell you he was going to do it. i think percentagewise it was 90% him doing what he wanted to you,d 10% of him telling this is what i'm thinking about doing or here is what i crafted. -- privatee credit donald trump different from the public? guest: the only difference i would suggest, there is many instances in which i have seen him be caring, empathetic, and concerned, that i wish would get out more. he cares deeply about people, especially in times of tragedy. i wish people got to see that more. that is the only difference. generally seen, -- generally speaking, what you get in public is what you get in private. host: joining us from california. caller: my question is for

secretary spicer. do you think more people will be charged in the special counsel investigation? do you foresee any changes in the current cabinet that mr. trump might nominate someone else for different cabinet posts later on in his administration? host: we will get a response. guest: those are two good questions. on the first one, i have no idea. obviously, robert mueller tends do not have a lot of leaks coming out of that office and i do not know what they have going on. i would not presuppose to guess. the odds are good that either somebody in the cabinet chooses to step aside or the president as someone new -- adds someone new. last for morenot than a couple years, generally speaking. especially when you have gotten a disruptor as president, he

will not sit back if someone is not performing. host: from collierville, tennessee, vivian, you are next. caller: good morning, mr. spicer. i would like to know -- and please, i am looking directly at you -- the president, when you get out there and have a report, talking in meetings, the president comes back and you said.s what he will be calling you a liar like he does to his other representatives. why don't that man speak the truth? our children are looking up to him. why is he trying to stop this investigation? anybody knows it is just like during the next an era. era.xon he wants to get rid of rosenstein and mueller, everybody knows that as a sign of being guilty. i am not a lawyer and even i know this. guest: i think the president has

made clear he does not believe there was any collusion in the election, and i think the more that there is focused on this after so many people have looked at this over 16, 17 months and said there is nothing there, he feels it is a distraction from the agenda he is setting out, and he has made his position clear. i'm trying to remember the first part. host: she basically said he is bringing down the presidency by the way he lives. -- lies. guest: i respectfully disagree. my job was to give the best information at the time, but you are speaking on behalf of somebody so if they evolved in their thinking or change their mind, you give an update. the job of the press secretary is not to be the arbiter of what they want to think. in lieu of them being able to come out or make themselves available, here is the thinking that exists. host: one that would happen, did you meet with the president in the morning?

guest: i would generally go in and see him or talk to him in some way, either on the phone or in person, before the briefing, and saying these are the issues i am getting asked most about. is there anything you want me to update on? is this consistent with what you wanted to say? the thing that is interesting is the job of the briefing of the press secretary is to provide the best information you can. you try to prepare and say, what are the questions coming in today, what are the issues of today, what have people been asking? more times than not, the idea of trying to figure out, can we trip you up, can we get you? you are trying your best to get the best information you can, but you will not know every single question or position the president may have, especially on a hot topic of the day. host: sarah sanders, how is she doing? guest: she is doing great.

she is a very smart woman, she is dynamic, she is tough, and i think the president appreciates the job she is doing. host: this is a headline from the new york times. let me just read to you what they are reporting this morning, the president accusing the fbi on friday without evidence of sending a spy to secretly infiltrate his campaign for political purposes, even before the bureau had any inkling of the phony russia hoax. informant tont an talk to two campaign advisers only after they received evidence that the pair had suspicious activity linked to russia during the campaign. made contact late in the summer with one campaign advisor george papadopoulos and later carter page. guest: i do not know the entirety of what is going on, but there has been a lot of concern about what has happened. texting back and forth about their personal beliefs and

dislike for the president, and i think the president is concerned when he sees reports of activity that may be inappropriate. i will leave it to the white house to delve further into that. i do not have to do that anymore , but i know there is a lot of concern about what had happened prior to the election. some bad apples displaying their public beliefs and how they were doing their job. from greg is joining us miaon is, pennsylvania -- pronouncing that correctly? caller: yes. host: it is right -- where is that? caller: right in the middle. host: go ahead, sir. caller: i am directing my comment to the funding and exorbitant amounts of money spent on the election, this previous one especially. fcc f via thein --

viafunction and the sec extreme amounts of money spent on advertising and paid to executives, and all of this money coming together at the top , they arer less electing our officials as opposed to the people. i am curious to know if you feel irshough the laxity in the and ftc contributed to the election in 2016. and what your feelings are, thank you. host: you are talking specifically about citizens united in 2010? caller: i am not sure you'd i think -- i am not sure. i think that is the source of some of the information. guest: in 2008, up until 2008,

candidates, when you pay your taxes you could check often have three dollars voted -- given to the presidential funding. the ftc would, if federal candidates agreed to take a lump sum of money, they would then forgo raising money for their particular campaign. president obama, when he was a candidate, flip-flopped and decided not to do that. that was pretty much the end of federal funding for election sent out everybody raises it on both sides. as far as the irs and ftc goes, that is fact. on the citizens united decision, it just codifies what i have always believed, that americans have a right to participate fully in our democracy. labor unions have been doing it for years. the ability for us, for people to fully participate and advertise and collectively raise money and put ads is a healthy

part of our democracy. host: our last call is from williamsburg, virginia, randy, good morning. caller: good morning, and thank god for president trump. talking about small business solving the problems, and with health, education, and safety, 20 years ago i was injured in an industrial accident. that is when i found out how unprepared the american workforce was to recover from injury and return to work. i came up with this idea and built a mobile fitness facility that has now worked for the last 15 years, in and out of school, on the block, wherever children gather, and wherever we want to help an education message. my business is called virginians for education. i'm a presidential fitness partner and i won the 2007 community health leadership award. would you please pass on to president trump that small

businesses like mine have very little access to the public funds, whether it be 21st century or block grants, to improve health of children in public housing, and send a healthy message and change the environment that challenges them every day? guest: will do. thank you for the work you are doing, randy. congratulations on figuring out how to make the best of that situation. it sounds like you are doing a great job and i hope your business continues to prosper. congratulations on the award. it is that kind of ingenuity that american people have that we need to help encourage and support, so whether it is veterans coming back from war or those who were injured, that we find ways for them to participate in the workforce. we also support small businesses like randy, through making sure that regulation does not stifle them and taxes do not kill him. it is great he is figuring out

to run a business and use american ingenuity to do something that serves a great cause. we need to support policies and regulations that do that. as far as access to capital, but more so what the president has really done is taken down the regulatory state and allowed businesses to flourish, do so in a way that protects workers but does not stifle the growth of business. host: two final points. this is a headline from axioms.com. white house leakers leak about leaking. this is white house leak more than past presidents? guest: probably. host: you have got more platforms now delayed to or to get things out to as the media landscape grows. i think part of it is because he is not a politician. when you look at clinton, a , theyor, obama, senator

kind of had these teams to come into the white house with them that are cohesive and worked together before. president trump is a disruptor and was not involved in politics prior to this election, so you are bringing this disparate group of folks into the white house. it is a shame what is happening, it is wrong and disgusting. regardless of which party you are in, to work at the white house is an honor and privilege to serve the american people. to turn around and leak information on another staffer or policy to undermine the president's agenda or his team, or distract from it, is wrong. it is un-american. i hope the team finds out who is doing this and publicly flog them, because this is a disgrace. the people who serve our country by and large go to work every day to serve this country. they are good, hard-working people. those people who leak information on another person, policy, or classified information, should be taken

out. host: is that because there are some in the white house that are not loyal to the president? guest: the motives for leaking have always been interesting to me. some people do it for attention, some people do it for power to curry favor with journalists, some people do it to undermine another person. at the end of the day, it undermines the president's agenda and is a level of disloyalty to him. why they do it and what they believe in is one thing. the results of it is that. host: what is next for you? guest: i have the book coming out, july 24. i have got -- it is available on preorder at amazon and barnes & noble now. i have been traveling the world speaking to organizations. we have a small consulting firm advising ceos, and having a lot of fun. host: sean spicer.

>> on washington journal, former cnn political analyst will schneider talked about his new book on american politics, trump administration, and took questions.

well, it is shaping up as a national crisis. the issues of guns and school shootings have become the number one issue to most americans right now. they want something done. that chose the evidence of becoming a crisis, exactly the way i described it. voters are telling elected officials and everyone who will listen, we have to do something about this. not necessarily gun control, that could be part of it, but they want something a