i want you to thank you profusely dealing with the united dragging incident. ladies and gentlemen, i do not know neil cavuto will repeat the dragging incident. will he lead with that or lead with something less important? i don't know, but neil, it's yours. neil: let me ask you something. when is the last time you flew commercial? stuart: i have in my time. neil: all right. i was just curious. peter, who i greatly respect, he still leaves me hopeful, to your point, that maybe, maybe, they can get a deal going. he has been right every step of the way. this should worry you, i agree with you. i don't like what i'm hearing, goal of a tax cut, keeps getting pushed back more and more. i'm telling you. stuart: i was with you saturday morning neil. we had the same discussion. neil: not happening. stuart: i'm more towards your position than i was two days ago. neil: i love peter.

i'm telling you, it is not happening. i would love to be wrong on this, but the stars are not aligning. he can't hear me, can he? stuart: yes he can. neil: forget i just said. i agree with everything peter said. he is a genius. a look at all of this. this is not sorting out for the dow. as stuart told you, global tensions, tillerson, our secretary of state in russia being ignored. i think the biggest factor weighing on stocks, helping bond prices as the yield comes down, the price goes up, they envisioning less stimulus coming their way and perfect variety for bonds. now all of a sudden we see a scenario where it is possible, possible, tax cuts don't materialize anytime soon if at all this year. this one i would love to be wrong. i'm telling rarely am, america. i'm just telling you. we'll watch it closely, tax cuts get delayed, can't agree on

value-added tax or border tax or all the other measures pay for tax cut if you're in the camp that says you ve to do that. not adding up for stocks for now. i just say for now. but slipping away. we shall see. as i told you the secretary of state in moscow. adam shapiro with the latest on that little pow-wow coming close. what are you hearing, sir? reporter: neil, secretary rex tillerson is meeting with u.s. embassy personnel. he will meet with sergey lavrov, the russian foreign minister tomorrow. the russian foreign minister will is have a three-way discussion with his counterparts in iran and syria at the end of the week. tillerson will not meet with vladmir putin and there is no meeting scheduled to do that. the russian leader issued several statements that the recent u.s. strike on syrian airbase reminds him of claims of weapons of mass destruction in

iraq. they are asking conducting a investigation on gas attack on syrians. he said the u.s. strike was a u.s. response use of chemical weapons by the syrian regime. putin aligned. syrian regime. would it serve the russia's interest to align with the united states than with assad. >> it is clear to us the rein -- reign assad family is coming to an end. we see no further role for the assad regime longer term given they have effectively given up their legitimacy with these types of attacks. porter: neil, seetary tillerson says russia can maintain its alliance with syria or align with forces that wish to relief the suffering of the syrian people and create a future that is stable and secure. back to you.

neil: adam, thank you, very, very much. let's say the assad regime goes. neil: it is over, that's it. be careful what you praise and be careful how you celebrate that. there have been incidents, particularly in libya of late, where a dictator goes, what follows isn't exactly our liking. former u.n. spokesman ric grenell on that. rick what do you think on that? obviously the administration seems to be coalescing behind the idea, get rid of this guy, he does more harm than good. but we know in recent history sometimes the can devil you don't know is worse than the one you do. what do you think? >> let's remember though, shortly after the united states had a credible threat of military action because it came true in afghanistan and iraq, we saw the libyan leader give up his chemical weapons. he decided on his own, voluntarily to call the united states and say, hey, i better give these up, because i watched

what happened. my point is, is that there is a difference between a threat of military action and a credible threat of military action. these strikes were designed to change the calculus of not only assad but change the calculus of russia and iran and so i think that they're looking now at donald tmp and they're saying, this is a credible threat of military action. we got to come back to the table to figure out what is our policy. make no mistake, russia absolutely does not want to be in syria forever. they have been looking for ways to kind of dial this back. of course no moral argument works with them. we will not be able to say you have to do the right thing and follow the international community. we're going to have to be much more muscular in our diplomacy and bring in some economic incentives and other incentives in order to get russia to being back away from assad. the moment russia backs away

from assad, that means donald trump's strikes worked, the calculus has been changed, and we will probably see somebody like assad step down voluntary and begin to move out that assumes the russians will force his hand to do something and they don't want to be embarrassed on the global stage so how do they avoid that? they already promised to do something like we did last week with the tomahawk missiles they would respond. we're not sure what the response would be. the syrian government has done everything but use chemical weapons since last week. certainly horrific attacks that seemed to indicate they're willing to do just everything but, then what? >> well, look i think this is where muscular diplomacy has to take hold. we should be so active in the middle east, not only with the saudis and the turks, but really the egyptians and the jordanians. if we could have a united front

which i saw in italy, the turks participated, they came to pump up if you will, rex tillerson right before he went to russia. i think there is a united front that russia has to dial this back. if we all can begin, not moral arguments with the russians because those moral arguments do not work but if we can pressure them with other kinds of incentives so they can save face, think you're exactly right. they are looking to make sure this is not a pr disaster for them. so if we can help them find that way to, to dial back and, they have already started, remember, that they said their support for assad is not unconditional. so i think that we have an opening with diplomacy here, to begin to pressure russia to back off. this meeting on friday in moscow between the syrians and the iranians and the russians is incredibly important and hopefully what will happen is

that rex tillerson can meet with sergey lavrov tomorrow russian time, right before the meeting with putin and the iranians and the syrians and really dial them back. maybe we'll see some progress from that meeting. that is what we're hoping. neil: what if putin keeps true to his word and doesn't bother seeing tillerson while he is in moscow, what do we read into that? >> it is not great but i don't think it is the end of the world. lavrov is quite important there. neil: rick, thank you very, very much. ric grenell, the former u.n. spokesperson. there is north korea, the other part of this equation here. obviously cognizant what is going on here. maybe wondering there i but by the grace of god go we, go us, go i? whatever. president trump already treat, tweeting the following, i explained to the president of china a trade deal with the u.s. will be far better for them if they solve the north korean problem. former cia operations officer bryan wright. obviously that is the carrot he

held out. will that be enough, what do you think? >> i think so. i think everything trump is doing right now and his national security team is doing is very, very important. what they are basically doing, they are creating almost an element of crisis, right? they're putting the vinson off the coast. you hear reports about assassinations. you're hearing certainly the strike in syria delivered at the exact time president xi was meeting with president trump at mar-a-lago, all these things were designed not just get china's attention but tell them the crisis is brewing. from the chinese perspective they have one goal, one goal only is stability. they need stability on their borders. they need stability internally. the more this becomes a crisis, the more this boils, the more the chinese will finally start taking the kind of action they have not taken for now what 20 years? that is what we need to do. that is exactly what the president and his team are doing right now. neil: what if they can't, bryan? what if the chinese have a pesky child here they can't control? >> i think there is a heck of a

lot more leverage than what the chinese will tell you. north korea gets 90% of what it needs to push forward with its ballistic missile nuclear program every year from china. so they sell the chinese coal and in turn they get a bunch of money to afford all these things, the terrible weapons they purchase, buy, or scientific ingenuity they need. so china absolutely, with that degree of influence, 90%, china has got the leverage. all right, so the question is how hard do they want to push? if they push too hard the kim family might collapse. we might see a degree of regime change. what the united states needs to do tell president xi and chinese, we're willing to negotiate. let's do horse trading. we'll take out troops from south korea. we won't push forward not only with vinson or nuclear weapons or japan and south career, we'll let the peninsula stand on its own. we won't be at your backdoor. but we need this threat of

ballistic weapons and nuclear missiles gone. if you deliver that message to the chinese, you will see a very different attitude out of beijing. neil: do you think that would happen, take troops out or leave south korea on its own if china committed, essentially with north korea. >> what are the options? do we let north korea develop more nuclear missiles with longer range ballistic missiles. neil: i'm thinking about a business nerd, the real pressure is on the trade front, the economy front. that is where we extract or try to get concessions? >> i don't think there is one silver bullet to this. i think it is all arrows in the quiver, you throw everything you've got at it. that is precisely what the president is doing, we've needed to do that for the past eight years and we didn't, unquestionably before that with president bush. this is democratic and republican crisis gone from bad to worse to existential issue. president trump understands that, mcmaster and other folks, they get this.

this is now just a problem they can kick the can down the road. they have to deal with it and deal with it now. neil: all right. bryan wright, former cia operations officer. good to see you again. >> pleasure. neil: stocks are getting rocked maybe combination of these developments, what is going on in china what is going on with north korea, what is going on with russia, all of sudden, a lot of global tensions out of nowhere, right? we have this tax cut looks more and more put off, if not chopped down. the president is still talking very optimistically about it, but are others? after this. ♪ yes?

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♪ neil: all right. shares of united continental continue to swoon a little bit. this is what happens after a video goes around the world and goes viral showing the airline dragging a passenger off the flight. and the public versus private musings of the ceo, public regretting this. privately, not so much. that is weighing on the stock right now, down about 2 1/2%. meanwhile the president is having his 18th confab with

big ceos. a lot are returnee hes to the white house. we heard the president talk a lot more about tax cuts and not talking about details or timeline for them. that is weighing on stocks, taking place at white house february 3rd. much of the same players back on this it day. the president wants to do this fairly often. 16 major ceos past and present. we believe this is number here at this gathering alongside them. a chance to bounce ideas of some of the major players within the administration. there were five different cabinet level secretaries here. among them the office of the management and budget, mick mulvaney, elaine chao, head of transportation. i point those two out, administration officials were

telling us to the lead of up of this, taxes and infrastructure would be two items on the agenda. when you look at mulvaney and chao, they would be in the middle of all of that conversation. as the president was wrapping things up with the ceo's he made brief statements on camera, as you just said, a little bit on taxes, although really didn't outline much. saying that his administration is focused on jobs and he pointed the needle toward dodd-frank. listen to what the president said with dodd-frank and what hopes to do with that legislation. >> for dodd-frank, for the bankers in the room we'll be really happening, we're doing a major streamlining and perhaps elimination and he replacing it with something else but that will be the minimum. but we're doing a major elimination of the horrendous dodd-frankegulations. reporter: neil, the present also spoke about nafta, saying that there would be some

surprises coming as it relates to nafta. ceos spoke as i was micking up to talk to your show, dr. toby cosgrove of cleveland clinic described this afternoon, productive, unscripted and focused on jobs. neil. neil: unupdate on timelines for tax cuts? is it safe to say the august sort of earlier deadline mentioned by the likes of steve mnuchin, that's out? >> well it was interesting because earlier this morning, maria bartiromo on her show interviewed kellyanne conway, a top strategist here at the for the president and maria asked her if tax reform could come this year? conway seemed confident, saying yes. that doesn't quite mesh with what we heard inside of the briefing room yesterday with sean spicer if i asked him americans could expect a tax cut, 2017. he said, quote, i hope. you're getting these mixed

signals, could it be august. maybe not be august, i hope, yes. kind of gives you the impression neil, that everything is up in the air at this point. neil: yeah. it's a little weird the vibes here. reporter: this think, i wouldn't i don't think there is a timeline at this point. they had been talking about august. is there a timeline? is it august? that is still what we're trying to figure out. neil: we shall. maybe maria will get it out of the president himself later on today. >> indeed. neil: thank you very, very much, blake. my next guest is watching all the developments very, very closely,eplican congressman from texas john radcliffe. congressman, is it your sense, is it an understanding among republicans in both the house and senate that tax reform is indeed coming this year, that it will happen this year? >> i don't think we have that understanding, neil. i'm more focused on the if as

opposed to the when. i want to make sure, make certain we get tax reform done. i think we have an incredible opportunity for the first time in several decades to get major tax reform that will help 320 million americans help their lives get better. i want to make sure it happens. i'm less concerned about the timetable. we're off the legislative calendar, the health care issue has taken us off the timetable we hoped to deal with by august. neil: do you regret the timetable is altered or something far greater division within the party than it appears tax cuts are? >> yeah. i mean, neil, i was ready to repeal obamacare two weeks ago, i'm ready today and when we get back from the august recess if we get a chance. i think it is unfortunate we got off the timetable at this point.

all you can do is work hard to get it back on track. we're doing that behind the scenes. i'm optimistic we'll get a vote on a replacement plan for the affordable care act sometime late they are spring. neil: all right. and then it's onward to tax cuts, right? best-case scenario? >> abs absolutely. neil: you mentioned if at the outset, i don't want to put words in your mouth, if you don't get it this year, frustrations built for next year certainly in a midterm election year what do you think? >> i think political momentum is important. that is one of the reasons that i was concerned dee dee lay on the health care would have an impact on tax reform as well. i do think these things are interrelated. i am optimistic we can get tax reform done, in part, neil, unlike the gorsuch nomination, unlike health care, when we're talking about tax reform, we can

expect bipartisanship. democrats agree the corporate tax rate in this country is ridiculously high, and coming up on midterms in the senate, they have to defend 25 of 34 senate seats, so they have just as much incentive as republicans do to reform our tax code. neil: some of them though have been looking at the president's polling numbers and a lot of them are convinced it is republicans who will be up against the wall, not them. what do you say? >> well, i clearly think, you know, on a lot of these issues you can't ignore the fact that the american people have put republicans in charge of the house, the senate and the white house. so ultimately on these issues, it does come down to us. i am optimistic, that on the issue of tax reform we'll see some democrats who have their personal interests at stake in terms of getting reelected play ball with us on an issue important to the american people. neil: congressman, thanks for taking the time. we appreciate it.

>> always good to see you, neil. neil: you hear about congressman have the town hall forums and the like. they get to be raucous. this congressman got an earful. his response after this. [shouting] >> one of the most serious plans has just come to light is the roll of susan rice in the -- now why is it, why is it -- [shouting] how interesting. why is it that what is good for goose isn't also good for the gander?

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[shouting] neil: this is what a republican congressman, in this case tom mcclintock from california, finds out when he has a town hall meeting to discuss, say susan rice, throws it out there, right of course after the whole russian thing blew over and we

realized we were throwing tomahawk missiles at syrians, you would think that would mitigate the whole thing but it didn't. take a look. >> with the house and the senate are conducting extensive investigations into all of those allegations. one thet serious ones is just come to light is th the role of susan rice in -- [booing] now why is it, why is it, want legitimately to look allegations involving russian influence and yet you do not want to look into very serious allegations regarding the american government making our own laws to influence our election? >> this is the radical left. they demonized trump during the campaign. they're still demonizing him. they completely lost touch with the american people, and we're -- neil: did any of them acknowledge apparently that cozy

relationship was at the very least compromised, so if donald trump were bought and paid for, done a favor by the russians, that he had a funny way of showing it and they to he? >> no. they were working down talking points all written and handed out. i didn't sense a lot of spontaneity with many of the moderate call elements in that crowd. neil: with that crowd, radical elements, whatever you want to call it, pre-election ties between donald trump and vladmir putin, no matter, how many misstatements some critics say, lies you get from susan rice, it doesn't change matters any. kristin anderson and red alert, ron meyer. what do you think of that? he is one of many congressman has thee type of forums and this is buzzsaw you run into. what do you think of that? >> it is anywhere across the country.

the big mantra resist movement that trump is in bed with russia and russia pulling strings of trump, only reason why he was elected, he should be removed from office. this is big resist mantra. they have run the things out to protest, that trump bombed ally syria, with russian troops on the base that he bombed. you can't say he is buddy buddy with putin when he is doing that. it removed the biggest reason to exist anymore. that is part of their fundamental problem. they aren't talking about solutions to help the american people to help day-to-day lives of americans. they are out there to resist the person and president, instead of putting out positive policies. neil: kristin, ron mentioned an interesting point, if there was anything cozy with the leader of russia, the president of the united states has a funny way of showing it. you would think that eases a lot of tension and criticism from the left he is bought and paid for by the russians. yet none of that. what do we think of it? >> it depends entirely if your

concern is, do we have a president who is going to enact policies too friendly to the kremlin, or is your main concern did my candidate in the presidential election not win because, and i have now got to find an excuse for it. i think, you should judge president trump -- neil: do you, had it not been for the russian intervention, it is all one thing everyone agrees the russians meddling with the election, had it not been for that changed results? >> folks on the left still cling to this idea, absent wikileaks, absent the kremlin, somehow magically hillary clinton would have been president, there is no evidence to suggest that is true but they're clinging to that. the record donald trump has had since becoming president though, to, has sort of not given his critics i think very much to go on being some puppet of the kremlin. neil: yeah. >> whether it is syria. you have the trump administration actually being much more strong keeping nato strong, welcoming new countries into nato than you would have expected.

you have russia itself saying our relations with the u.s. aren't great right now. there hasn't been a lot in trump's record to suggest he is some puppet of the kremlin. this is really frustration that is still being held over about pre-election stuff on the part of the left. neil: you know, ron, the offset is, that there is no bridging of that gap, no olive branch with the gorsuch thing and "nuclear option" after unprecedented filibuster of his nomination, shows that, the two sides are not going to be working with well with each other whether planned progress or cooperation on the stuff. latest indication democrats are not keen to helping out there. where is all this going? >> or infrastructure. everything is cooled with them. originally some of them, schumer said they would work with trump. they're basically a hard no. the question becomes do you care about policies ha affect the american people or resist trump no mater what? everybody is saying jared kushner is the now the lead

advisor to donald trump. ivanka is playing a bigger role. those people lead more to the center or ivanka center-left. you would think progressives would be happy. we have a president who we work with and looks to work with solutions to get child care and issues left is about. they're making it about last year's election. making it about 2018. that is fundamentally trying to happen at town halls. they're staging protests to build up to 2018. to show the democrat base is active and why they're so well-funded by the way. neil: democrats appear to be taking a cue from republicans saying in response, their obstinance, they parlayed that anger into votes that got donald trump elected and gave them, you know, full sweeping control of the capitol. maybe it will work for us in reverse. do you think that is part of the strategy? >> wealthy about the things that republicans were obstinate about or he opposed. for instance, obama care.

that is one of the big reasons why republicans shut down the government back a few years ago. voter didn't punish them for those actions. so i think democrats are right that in the past republicans were not punished for standing up and opposing obama. the question is, what are they going to stand up and oppose? if you're democrats opposing very popular infrastructure bill, if you're standing up to oppose even giving a vote on someone like now supreme court justice gorsuch who majority of voters sai deserved up-or-down vote, if you're opposing presidt on thingpopular, that is different political calculation, one they kay come to regret. neil: we'll watch. seems so childish to me on both sides. we're doing this because you did this to us. we did this to you before the prompted you to do this to us. i can't keep track of it. guys, thank you very, very much. >> thank you, neil. >> thanks, neil. neil: now tesla appears to be for the time-being the king of all u.s. carmakers. has a market cap north of general motors for for the time-being.

all of this the at same time amazon has twice the market cap of walmart. others say boy, that is a little heady. others say it is a sign of the times. is it? the dow down 29. ♪ my business was built with passion... but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. with it, i earn unlimited 2% cash back on all of my purchasing. and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... which adds fuel to my bottom line. what's in your wallet?

neil: all right. just a little while ago the attorney general, jeff sessions, or is this live, guys? moments ago, which is almost live, at the arizona-mexico border. administration spearheading efforts to get a wall built. that it needn't be a formal wall for all 2,000 plus miles along the border. a lot could be electronic. some could be metal, cement, a good mixture here and the attorney general, along, i believe, homeland security secretary kelly is with him as well. taking a look at what the options are there. some of the local towns along

that border by the way on the american side have had a problem with that, whether it would be ghastly or horrible looking, a lot of reading we've been getting from homeland security and attorney general's office, it won't. it won't and will be safer besides. if if he makes any statements we'll bring at that to you. tesla, meanwhile, is in an enviable position. it is the largest market cap maker in the usa. north of general motors, north of ford. all of this at a time the stock has been soaring close to 45% just since the end of last year while the major automakers like general motors and ford have actually dipped a little bit. so what's going on here? to lauren simonetti why some are looking at this saying, you know, this is a little out of whack with reality but what are you hearing? reporter: that is how it seems,

right, very much out of whack. why is tesla getting this market cap? why are shares up 45% this year? they have a creative ceo. a relatively new company compared to detroit rivals, gm, ford and others, they're the momentum stock. what are they coming out with next, their cars are so cool? if you look at fundamentals, it paint as different story. let me show you revenue last year for tesla versus general motors and ford. you will not believe this, neil. tesla revenue for all of 2016 was $7 billion. compare that to 166 billion at general motors. can you argue tesla can rival detroit? even better, if you look at tesla's entire history, 13, 14 years, tesla only posted a profit two times. they have a cool car, model s, model x, model 3.

it has 100,000 preorders and they haven't even produced it yet. the fact they start to produce it this summer, the fact right there, they deliver 25,000 cars, meeting expectations for the first three months of the year, compared to what, almost 700,000 of general motors. the fact that tesla is delivering, they have the cool factor, this is a stock that many vin toes want to be in. but i have got to leave you with something right now, ceo head of autonation, he says tesla is ponzi scheme or it will pay off big time for investors. those are pretty strong words. neil: it generates enough money for elon musk to lawn of markets so -- launch rockets so he must be doing something right. elon musk with a bunch of of ceos gathered to meet with the president. this is something to consider talkg about eye-popping valuations, amazon worth twice as much as walmart. continue the theme of a lot of high-tech entrants just dwarfing the stock valuations of their

more traditional brethren. what does alan knuckman make of that, market watcher, one of the smartest guys i know? alan, that is crazy reality here i guess owing to the times but what do you make of it? a lot of people worry about the markets how they have run up, today notwithstanding, since the trump election, that is the kind of stuff you worry about. do you? >> i'm not worried. markets are prices on potential often times. now can they meet those expectations? that is the big question but you're talking about old world companies versus new world companies, to steal a line from macy's you have got toe believe. i always believe in elon musk and jeff bezos. anybody trying to fade those guys for years i destitute at this point. the stocks have absolutely nothing but gone straight up. they may not justify the numbers but they keep on moving. that is important momentum

factor. these guys are innovators. they will figure it out. i will never doubt these two, these two innovators in this industry. neil: they are the thomas edisons of our time, no doubt about that but let me ask you a about the markets in general. you long described and you and i chat about this before, the market kind of rides in tandem with the prospect for tax cuts. if the tax cuts don't look as promising, do you worry? >> i'm not as concerned about that. again the market momentum behind everything for the last eight years is essentially straight up. just like two stocks you mentioned. if you have been shorting this market, you don't believe this rally is sustainable, you suffered greatly. so we get these periodic pullbacks. let's remember we made new all-time highs in the ndx last wednesday. it hasn't been a week. neil: let me turn it around, alan. that is a great thesis and you're better on this than i am.

let me ask you, if the tax cuts materialize and not only delayed, they don't happen this year? there is talk they will come to fruition next year. that is a tough climb in a midterm election year. say they don't happen at all this year. then what? >> well you're not going to be happy, but i think that the tax cuts were just a little bit of a cherry on top of this overall market trend. neil: really? >> we're in a bull market, that is it, pure and simple. we were up 100% before the tax cut prospects came out. to try to figure the market -- neil: we had the most appreciable run-up. i love if you're right on that. >> 10% run! we only had a 10% run since the election. so you can't ignore the priest cores sore and build -- precursor to get this to point. neil: you think they don't need those tax cuts to justify these levels? >> i don't think so. i think end of this week, end of next week, we'll get back to normality from a traders standpoint because earnings hit the tape.

that is what drives the market. we're looking 9% earnings growth for this quarter. that will be catalyst for another leg. we talked about this before, do not ignore oil. oil is above $53. we're at two-month highs for oil. that will support the beaten-down energy sector. gives the stock market another leg higher. neil: alan, i see yields coming down, obviously those investing in bonds seem to think that the stimulus won't materialize, it will be steady slow growth. you're quite right to point out that's been the wind at the back for these markets through the obama years and what have you, you see that coning? >> i think what we're seeing in bonds is a ltle bit of a relaxation extremely quick run-up. certainty is much further away once they thought it was once trump got elected. markets were acting like there was certainty. what we've seen the demonstrated last couple weeks there is potential chaos at any given moment. crude is up at multi-month highs

and we see the vix up at 15. the reality is starting to creep in, that we don't know what is happening in near term. neil: vix is telling you angst is building, right? >> but it is still relatively low. 15, it is still a he low level. but i think we'll have to look to see how the vix reacts. every time it pops up, it gets beaten back down. we'll see if it goes back below 13, that would be positive for stocks. neil: i can't give you another lesson. i'm done with the lessons. alan, seriously, very good seeing you, my friend. you're a genius. i hope he is right. he is a smart guy you don't want to panic about the markets. they get any of vows. tax cuts don't happen but, i think i'm right. this guy i think has a lawsuit on his hands. the united ceo is defending his airlines for dragging the man off this flight.

is this guy, the one being dragged off, who i think will do a little better than 1000-dollar ticket for the inconvenience. let's leave it at that. ♪

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[shouting] >> oh, my god. >> oh, my god. >> oh, my god. no! >> kill me. kill me. kill me. neil: i don't know if you have seen this video. it has been playing around the world i think about 100 million times, but it has been, going viral for a reason. it hit a chord with a lot of people who travel, don't like the experience, let alone, seeing them bumped off the flight, sitting there on the flight, by the grace of god could go any traveler. four people got pumped from the flight, including this gentleman who was dragged off the flight. the way this wept down, how it went down, why it went down, united continental ceo said it could have been handled better. i probably think that is a an understatement. i think there are calls for investigations into this. in china, their equivalent of

google it is lighting up social media sites where they think this was actually very prejudicial against chinese flyers. to branding expert laura reis, what happens now, what do you think, laura? >> oh, my god. it is a disaster. this is leading the "world news.." 60 million people in china have read this. 1000, 100,000 people have made comments. neil: they think over there this guy was targeted just for that. that he was chinese. but go ahead. >> well, you know the thing is, really i think why it is so outrage just, why it is so shameful it could have been so easily avoided. this is economics 101. there is, there is a price, there is an amendment for every customer they willingly volunteer to get off the flight and take the $1000, $1500, get their free hotel room. all they had to do, how stingy could they be? they were trying to save money? look what that got them into?

the fact that the ceo comes on, blames the passenger, says, not that they forcibly, threw him off. they were just react accommodating him. adding insult to injury. neil: did they get off before this passenger or after the passenger? >> yes. they did. they got off, they willingly got off. neil: when they were at the gate, before they got on the plane, i always think once you're on the plane you're safe. but apparently - >> no you' not. you are not. neil: apparently not. fo crewmembers going to hook up with a flight in st. louis. they had to get on the plane. >> that's right. neil: can they legally do that? i mean is that right? normally they go through -- >> apparently. neil: they go through the kabuki theater at the gate where they tempt you with all sort of stuff. i always say a cinnabon certificate is good enough for me. i didn't know they were allowed to do that on the plane itself? >> it is very rare situation. it is worst-case scenario, so, and that, for that reason alone

they should have upped the ante, paid the guy whatever they wanted or someone else was willing to take another flight. there always somebody that will be willing. what is more effectively? you've got kids. carrot or stick. entice them with rewards. what happened to delta. they had thousands, disaster -- neil: the way my kids behaved on a plane they would be dragged off. it would be -- >> well, would do it, they would do it for a cinnabon. delta said free pizza. 600 free pizzas. neil: poorly, poorly handled. laura, real quick, real quick. >> it was not the chinese t was a computer problem. they randomly picked that guy, not because he was chinese. don't let computers do it. neil: now we know. more after this. yes?

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do i have to? this is a tough financial choice we could face when we retire. but, if we start saving even just 1% more of our annual income... we could keep doing all the things we love. prudential. bring your challenges. neil: all right, very busy hour ahead. the president meeting with ceos again here is that right, ralph? the 18th time we've had that more than barack obama throughout his entire year. already more than george bush has. this is unprecedented for a presidency that is really not even 90 days then peered we are going to be talking to a treasury secretary what he makes of those developments and whether that will advance tax cut and the business friendly climate is very eager to see.

also, attorney general jeff session alaska to mexico border here detailing the wall. it won't be a wall per se across the whole 2000 miles plus border without a little bit of cement, metal, elect our next step and it will be a nice-looking law, even though residents along the wall itself in these towns have threatened lawsuits. the administration -- of the u.s. got an awful ugly as all these dangerous elements running through your backyard. how would you like that to continue? we'll gauge all about and when you want to talk to reporters, we'll take a dare. also the white house for later this hour sean spicer will be addressing reporters, outlining the administration schools and tax cuts with all that stuff. right now, take a look at what is happening at the corner where stocks are down but not nearly as much as they were at the start of this broadcast. you're welcome, by the way. now down 25 points.

it could be easy concern is rising global tension, maybe not as tense or could be the prospect they are still confident that these tax cuts will come through regardless of my concern to the contrary. in the meantime, the russian powwow going on with their secretary of state in moscow, meeting with his counterpart. we are told not like america. connell mcshane has the latest on that front. reporter: a lot of tough talk whether it is tillerson talking tough about russia, whether it is fundamental in common mr. lavrov serbey putin will meet with. talking tough and frenetic conspiracy theory or two. moraitis north korea getting in the middle of things. let's start by playing some comments from the secretary of state rex tillerson maybe for his much-anticipated minutes in russia about the relationship between russia and syria and the dynamics that were there. let's listen.

>> russia has really aligned of late the sub diver shane come at iranians and hezbollah. is that a long-term alliance that serves russia's interest? or would russia prefer to realign with the united states, with other western countries in middle east countries who are seeking to resolve the serious crisis? reporter: recent certainly some questions there. this man, vladimir putin with his comments later today seem to throw at a conspiracy theory of sorts saying he had this information suggesting the united states is somehow planning to frame assad with a false flag checaattack outside of damascus. not sure where he would get that information from. he also said the strike in syria last week reminds him of the claims of weapons of mass distraction years ago in iraq.

the question so what did russia know about the strike and area brought up yesterday "the associated press" report. new comments in the newsroom attributed to a white house official made elements ago that there is clear evidence that russia tried to quote cover up the attack with disinformation campaign. possibly something the white house press secretary sean spicer will be asked at the bottom of the hour. we'll quickly add north korea into the mix because you can't forget about north korea. tweeting out earlier today on the subject, and north korea is looking for trouble. if china decides to help, that would be great. if not, we will solve the problem without them. u.s.a. come in as the north korean state media that a warning out earlier today say they would need a nuclear attack if there's any signs of aggression with the group heading into the region, something we've been talking about already. a lot of tough talk on all

sides. neil: thank you very much good ronald reagan's former national security adviser buzz mcfarland. a lot of pressure on the united states to deliver on the threat. they did so in syria with a missile strike, now something is in on the north korean front. what do you expect? >> well, i think what we did in syria was entirely appropriate. the russian response really ignores the use of weapons of mass destruction and syria has done has to be countered as we did appropriately. as for north korea, similarly he'll here, we been going through the methodical steps that every civilization has to go through for the past 25 years, and trying to gradually coerce north korea to behave itself. it hasn't worked. currently, the united states has become really an area of bipartisan agreement.

we have people with experience like senator sam nunn, democrat, others, avril mike mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs writing papers that say this has not worked. but we've tried in the past. we have to get a little more firm, perhaps a lot more firm. i expect the president ensuring she is have been addressing what our options are there. you've seen some of them with the missile in south korea. but in short, there's a new government in town here. it's going to be a little bit more firm and discerning our interest in defending that of our allies. neil: we are going to go to jeff sessions is on the border right now in mexico. i mention before we get into him, the idea that this is an administration that will change expectations and tough talk and delivering tough results and that this will translate into everything we do with the mexican, north koreans as you've outlined on countering their

nuclear technology and certainly with the russians and syrians bear. does that up the pressure that wait a minute, the americans are quite serious about this stuff. >> well clearly, if not to. i believe it does. the made in washington a couple weeks of saudi arabia and the president of egypt and the king of jordan. they are setting a new town and a very evident willingness of the trumpet menace duration to engage with allies, to people without president roosevelt going back 72 years made a pledge to secure the region that we are going to go back to upholding commitments we've made. so yes, m sure the plans are being dusted off for what our options are both in nth korea and for the broader menace

looking at us in the middle east and not just in syria. it is the broader, more fundamental threat been waived all across north africa and the middle east by al qaeda, a name that seldom gets in the news nowadays. but has established a more pernicious and serious threat than isis itself. there are a lot of challenges out there, but i think our government is finally awakening to the need to begin to deal with these things. neil: i do want to go to jeff sessions here. maybe you can stick around. jeff sessions at the border into the point about the new u.s. message to anyone who doesn't act on the crises that we deem to be crisis on the border of this administration. and solution may make to build a wall. let's listen. >> we will secure this border and bring the full weight about the immigration courts in the

federal enforcement and prosecutors to combat this attack on our national security and our sovereignty. the president has made this a priority and already we are seeing results. from january to february of this year, illegal crossings drop by 40%, which was an unprecedented drop. then, last month we saw a 72% drop compared to the months before -- a month before the president was inaugurated. that is the lowest monthly figure in 17 years. we are so proud of your work, but this is no accident. this is what happens when you have a president who understands a threat, who is not afraid to publicly identify the threat and

to stand up to it and to makes clear that the leadership of the country finally has their back. and tells the whole world that the illegality. so together we will further drastically reduce the danger posed by criminal aliens commit gang members and cartel henchmen. to that end, the president, secretary kelley and i want to do our best to arm you with the support of our prosecutors and partner with you, with more tools in your fight against criminal aliens. the battle is far from over. we must follow up on the successes we've had so far and you run the border we will do so. so today, i am pleased to stand with you our law enforcement officers and to announce new

guidance regarding our commitment at the department of justice and to criminal enforcement of our immigration law. as we speak, i am issuing a document to all federal prosecutors that mandates the prioritization of the immigration enforcement. starting today, federal prosecutors are now required to consider for prosecution all of the following offenses, often not prosecuted in the past. the transportation and harboring of aliens. as you know too well, this is a booming business. no more. we are going to shut down and jailed those who have been profiting from this lawlessness. smuggling gang members across the border, helping convicted criminals reenter the country and pray you not who don't know how dangerous and costly this journey can be.

further, for an alien has unlawfully entered the country which is a misdemeanor, that alien will now be charged with a felony if they unlawfully enter or attempt to enter a second term and certain aggravating circumstance is. all so aliens that illegally reenter the country after prior removal will be referred for felony prosecution and priority will be given to such offenses, especially where indicators of gang or cartel affiliation or risk to public safety, drug smuggling or criminal history are present. fourth, where possible, prosecutors are directed to charge criminal aliens with document fraud and aggravated deputy theft, the latter carrying a two year minimum mandatory sentence. finally, perhaps most importantly, i have connected

all for united states attorneys make the prosecution of assault on federal officers a priority. assaults on u.s. to go about doing your duties. if someone dares to assault one of our folks in the line of duty, they will do a federal time for it. you are very often away from backups out in dangerous areas and the smugglers and drug dealers need to know that we will not tolerate any attacks on our federal officers. to ensure that these priorities are implemented, starting today, each united states attorneys office whether border or interior will designate an assistant united states attorney as coordinator in the district.

it will be this experienced prosecutor's job to coordinate the criminal investigation and enforcement respond for their specific options. for those that continue to seek improper and illegal entry into this country, be forewarned. this is a new era. this is a trump era. the lawlessness, abdication of duty to force our laws and the catch and release policies of the past are over. i am also pleased to announce a series of reforms regarding immigration judges to reduce the significant backlog in our immigration court. they catch and release policies have undermined the effectiveness of our law officers work. pursuant to the president's executive order, we will now be detaining all adults who are apprehended at the border. they will not be released.

to support this mission, we have already served 25 immigration judges to detention centers along the border. i want to thank personally to many judges have answed our call to support this initiative. in addition, we will put 50 mark immigration judges on the bench this year and 75 next year. we can no longer afford to wait eight team to 24 months to get these judges on the bench. so today i've implemented a new streamlined hiring prey on. it requires just as much betting that the skills and expertise, but reduces the hiring time. the backlogs in our course. with the president's executive order on border security, transnational, criminal organizations and public safety as our guide post, we will execute a strategy that once

again secures our border. apprehend and prosecute those criminal alien that threaten public safety and takes the fight ms-13 and makes dismantlement and distraction of cartels a high priority. we will deploy a multifaceted approach. we are going to enter date your drugs on the way into this country, your money on the way out and investigate and prosecute your trafficking networks to the fullest extent of the law. why are we doing this? because that is what the duly enacted laws of the united states require. i took a nose to protect this country from all enemies foreign and domestic. on behalf of our people, congress has said very generous rules for emigration. the people have pleaded however

with congress and with their leaders to enforce those good rules for many, many years. they've often gotten promises from their leaders, but no action. now is the time for action. now is the time we will have results. how else can we lk at parents and loved ones of kid dynamite and and so many others in the eye and say we are doing everything possible to prevent such tragedies in the future. let me finish where i started. first, by thanking you, the officers who serve our country so effectively. you are on the front lines of this fight. you are doing historic workout this point in our nation's existence. i know we ask a tremendous amount from all of you, but know this. we have your back. we will do what we can to empower and support you and all

your work. we will establish a system of immigration that serves the national interest and one that we can be proud of, one that is lawful. god bless all of you who do this work and we ask god's blessings on the success of this effort to improve the lawlessness and safety of our country. thank you. [inaudible] >> hey, nancy. >> would you say to people who are deeply offended by your policies and say that you're using radical means in search of a solution for a problem that you're overreaching on, especially militarization of orders. they live on this border. people work on this border. the people who actually live and work on the border instead of

just border patrol and cdc? >> the american people have established a lawful procedure for immigration in our country, a lawful procedure at the entrance and exit. we have that right here. things are moving in a good direction here. we've made a lot of progress in recent years over ending the illegality. the people of this coury overwhelmingly for a thoughtful system of immigration serves the national interest, one that we can be proud of, one that when somebody raises their turn, they know they are going to have an opportunity in the future and someone who unlawfully ahead of us. that is what we are about today. what we are going to accomplish and i think it's right and decent and good that we do so. >> to make history for civil rights or human rights people along the border? >> i've met with a number of

civil rights leaders already. we discussed quite a number of issues in these issues have really been out there a long time. what i would say to you is america has the most generous immigration systems. neil: this is some stunning news on the border. or listening to appear the attorney general of united states jeff sessions without ever once mentioning the term, but also those who are typically held at the border and then released back into society, our society here. the attorney general saying that it's not going to happen. they are about up in the next step is going back to where they came from. enforcing back and how you beat that up is really anyone's guess how that's implemented here. it is a crack down at the time the administration has promised it is going to do with the legal growth. and the criminal intent. the border crossings are now is that a 17 year low with a

tougher stance on this resulted in fewer people wanting to come here and risk the wrath in his administration and the point of our new crackdown on those who illegally try to enter thistry. this stops. there are many constitutionalists who would argue as to whether he can implement various states. the act iattorneys in those states are less inclined to do so this attorney general that stops now. i cannot stress enough what a huge deal this good deed because it changes our existing policy of capture and mike go it's been really in place under democratic and republican administrations

alike. but there is a new sheriff in town and the message seems to be from this administration. reaction to office at the former u.s. ambassador to the united nations john bolton. john a little outside of your u.n. purview when you were there. this is an unusual and sweeping measure that jeff sessions without lining. what do you think? >> i'll speak to it from my days at the justice department. i think sessions is right on target. i think all that he is proposing to do is enforce the laws. i think it is letter to the 94 u.s. attorneys, his order about what needs to be prosecuted that really put this on the front burner. i think this is another example, whether you agree with it or disagree with it at the trump administration following through on the campaign promises that donald trump made. i don't think anybody should be surprised by this. i'm sure it will be controversial. but it's hard to say trump is another mandate to do it. that's exactly what this

election shows. neil: i've been thinking of it, all along for the beginninof his remarks here, i am simply enforcing existing law. it is breaking law to protect illegals here or if they are apprehended to release them and not expect that there will be consequences for that. the reality is there haven't been consequences in the past for that. i can imagine a number of attorneys think that the president is going in this regard even prior to this border on the part of jeff sessions. where do you think this will go? >> well, there is a fine irony here because what sessions is saying basically is that many of the proponents have essentially unlimited immigration have tried to strike down state statutes like in arizona that sought to help enforcement against illegal aliens. attorney general sessions the same time, you want to make a to make the branch of argument. and the attorney general of the united states. on the hand of the president and

for filling has caused additional responsibility to take care of the laws be faithfully executed. and here are the policies we are going to pursue. state attorneys general that decide they don't want to follow those policies event has been said in a different context already come in their states could face a cutoff of federal funds. let's see who steps up and ask for that. >> in the meantime, a look at a wall if they still want to build it may not be a physical wall across the entire 2000 plus mile border, but that it would have a combination of all and that he wants to make sure funds are there. not sessions in particular, that the administration, that we would pay for this one way or another. would he think about? >> i think that remains to be sorted. i did this question of border security not simply from the good of illegal immigration, but from the perspective of national

security. the risk that terrorists can get into the country following exact way the same roots and procedures that illegal immigrants use when they come across the border. so do you have the risk of terror, the risk of chemical or biological or even nuclear weapons coming across in pieces and being reassembled in american cities. neil: which is why he was saying just one reporter in the human rights group and i'm paraphrasing here are more interested in the rights of those legally here in our protections. >> yeah, exactly. i think this is such a dramatic contrast. i agree with your characterization to the last administration just flat out ignoring the log and the president saying he's exercising his prosecutorial discretion to not prosecute any way. that just underwent 183 shift i think. neil: thank you of ambassador. i appreciate your patience with this breaking news. i do appreciate that. >> always glad to help. neil: in the meantime, we have

just broken precedent here. we have long been championing this idea we catch you and release you. the administration just said the release part ends. we catch you. your assets and going anywhere. stay with us. yes? please repeat the objective. ♪ thrivent mutual funds. managed by humans, not robots. before investing, carefully read and consider fund objectives, risks, charges and expenses in the prospectus at thriventfunds.com.

neil: president talking tax cuts. for those of you who get a bit chagrined about this, ie, me, something no doubt sean spicer will talk about with reporters if a few minutes, charlie gasparino has developments on this. >> we put it to him point-blank. markets are growing nervous on lack of a trump tax plan, where is it? take it for what it is worth, this is what he told us. trump right now the president, is engaged in quote, unquote listening, said listening tour on tax reform and tax cuts. he is engaging people what he said.

there is an engagement aspect regarding ideas. neil: aren't we past the engagement part though? >> let me say, we'll get to that. i would think so. there is an engagement aspect regarding taxes how much they get cut and what taxes. white house he told us exclusively is not in the position to say what's quote, in or out of any fure tax cut plan. so, so the president did have a tax cut plan on the table during the campaign. it was a 15% corporate tax rate, down from 35% and sort of, less brackets and individual tax cuts. neil: right. >> this seems to suggest that he is open to ideas contrary to that. neil: contrary to, ideas that are less generous? >> he said it. not me. neil: so wouldn't that be a net concern? >> i would think so. and you know, because, listen why did we ask this question now? there has been startingly lack of details. no leaks at all, about what's in

this thing. we hear a lot about infrastructure, trillion dollars, public/private partnership to pay for it. we're not hearing a lot is the corporate tax rate 25% or 15 or somewhere in the middle? we're not hearing will be five brackets which is now four brackets or three as the president said on the campaign trail. so we put the question to him. and what he is saying right now is, basically, it's up in the air. he said in this on the record we should point out. neil: up in the air means forget about even getting it out of the air by august, right? i mean that's out. >> i don't know. they will have to work fast. you know, here is one other thing i think we should point out. there is significant difference between tax cuts and tax reform. tax reform is a lengthy process probably take a lot longer. i think what we see right now is tax cuts. you but we don't know how much, and he's, looks like the white house, at least right now, that is what sean is telling us, you know, sean spicer, i've

known him for a long time. i can't believe, people like my mother-in-law know who he is because of the "saturday night live" stuff. he is a straight-shooter. neil: he is a good guy. >> he is a good guy. neil: tipped his hand saying middle class will get a tax cut. wait a minute, i thought everyone was? >> that's it, sean says it pretty straight. he has pot to do, what he has got to do. if i'm an investor worrying about dow 21,000, this has to give you some worry. basically saying we don't know. neil: want to bring in former treasury secretary john snowe. secretary, i hope we're not interrupted by sean spicer when he comes, if this is true. neil: i never doubt charlie gasparino, because he is never wrong, a tax cut does materielize and not as sweeping or big as envisioned, you could argue, charlie didn't argue i did, markets factor in, would

the markets be discan appointed if they don't get something to the degree they thought they would? >> the picture is clouded as you're saying, neil, but i'm still optimistic we'll see a big tax bill and important tax bill and it will contain a lot of reforms. after all tax reform is the center piece of getting the american economy growing again after eight years of subpar performance. neil: what if it is not that though, secretary? you'll see tax cuts, of some sort, but you will not be able to see the sweeping kind of comprehensive, 1986 ronald reagan type actions that it is not going to be that? >> well then we'll have slower growth. we'll have fewer jobs. we'll have slower wage improvement. we'll have a less successful economy. so it is important to get, to get real tax reform. i wouldn't give up on it. talking to the people -- neil: you would give up on the

notion it is an august event, sir? >> i think the, the timing is less important than getting it right. in that i agree with the white house statements. and the experience with the health care reform, clearly tells us there needs to be a successful effort to educate both the congress and the american people. so that the benefits of tax reform are something that the public sees and demands. neil: all right, senator -- i'm sorry, sir. still have my friend charlie gasparino, because i want to get your sense of the people you talk to in the financial community, if it is to the, the frame that you talked about. >> they're ratcheting back all expectations. now the markets are still pretty strong comparably. neil: right. >> let's be clear, tax reform -- neil: this could be a lot of dodd-frank talk, roll it back. >> that would be a good thing. markets like that. i think you need 60 votes to get tax reform.

you can not do that, i'm not a parliamentarian, but you run into the same issue with health reform. you can't do the whole enchilada on on reconciliation or you have to do it with reconciliation. you need 60 votes. here is the other thing, iwill have one of those 10-year sunsets. neil: like bush's did. >> yes. neil: what do you make of that, secretary? they had to cobble together bush, jr., george w. bush tax cuts because they couldn't, they were working within that framework? if it's that, and there is a 10-year sunset, what do you make of that? >> i think that is probably the way we're going to go. desirable is bipartisan support would be for broad-based tax cut, cuts and reform, i don't think we're going to get it. it doesn't seem to be in the dna of the democrats to support a lower tax rates. so i think the republicans are going to have that do this.

better have to be bipartisan but unlikely. so the white house -- neil: mr. secretary, do you stand, in the camp that says, live with big deficits because you're going to get under dynamic accounting a lot of revenue down the road but you might have to swallow bigger deficits in the near term? or are you in revenue neutral immediately bunch? >> well, neil, we need a fiscal policy framework here that -- neil: good luck getting that. >> yeah, but that is central to this is fiscal policy framework where we get the growth we need from lower tax rates and -- neil: i definitely understand what you're saying. i'm not here to besmirch the administration or congress, anything approaching fiscal discipline is like, me walking a buffet line, that's dicey but i do want to know from your vantage point, one of our more respected treasury secretaries, whether you could live with what some conservatives in your party are espousing tax cuts that will make the different sit worse before they make the deficit >> i think that is deficits

facing. neil: it wouldn't worry you? >> not unless we get real reforms, dynamic basis, real reform will give us higher growth. that will pay for some of it, not all of it but a good part of it. neil: charlie what do you make of that? >> i think he is right. my biases i believe in lower taxes and free markets. i will say this though, we don't know how the administration will approach this we don't know who has the president's ear on this, is it steve bannon be obviously downgraded but who is -- neil: or a liberal. >> gary cohn or jared kushner, two liberals now in ascendency, you could see a lot less of the tax cut, more the infrastructure stuff. gary cohn was number two at goldman sachs. they always preached at goldman sachs keynesian fiscal policy spending, building a way to get economy going as opposed to tax cuts. neil: goldman sachs guys like tax cuts, one way? >> they like corporate tax cuts.

neil: i understand. >> the firm, if you read the firm's literature, they think that keynesian infrastructure stuff is good. all their economists -- neil: you're right, there are no supply-siders as a prominent role in the administration. >> closest you have got is bannon, who is not quite a supply-sider. getting riof adminisative state. there is lot of theory that he gets into. neil: right. >> but i think he is the closest thing right now you have to a supply-sider inside of there. og end of that battle with jared kushner, secretary, that is an interesting argument. i don't remember back in the early days of president bush when they were pushing with tax cuts and dealing with recession that had taken grip. people forget. the president as tax cuts at least alleviated that. but there are no, you know, art laffer types in this administration that i can see. does that make a difference in terms of policy? or if the president troncly believes in something as

george w. bush did then in tax cuts for everybody, he campaigned on it, delivered on it, who decides this? >> well, ultimately the president. neil: right. >> and ultimately this has to be a joint venture, neil, between the white house, meaning the president, and congress. they have to get on the same page. the white house has to speak with one voice and the white house and the republican leaders have to be on the same page. if they do they can get this done. they have the votes to get it done if they all get on the same page. neil: are you worried though give the health care effort they're not, they don't have a good track record? >> i'm concerned about that of course but i think they have learned something from that health care failure and that is that the white house ultimately does have to lead, and the white house has to put the pressure on this dissident group, this freedom caucus group that seems to put their own

ideology ahead of the party and ahead of the country. neil: i don't know, though, secretary, there is such little wiggle room. numbers are such it doesn't take a couple people to change everything. >> right. they have a majority in the house -- moderates, we should point out something about the freedom caucus. these are fiscally conservative folks that are, that represent districts wanted them to do what they did, vote against a plan they thought was obamacare light. i will say one other thing. there is, my reporting, actually my producer, brian schwartz who spoke with spicer -- neil: never give credit to other people. >> i know i shouldn't. neil: you're a wonderful human being. he is very nice. >> i like this kid. if you don't know what is going to be in the tax plan now, that is what sean spicer said, then it gives gary cohn and kushner to put their mark on it, which will be less supply side. idealogically would be less supply side than it would be otherwise. that to me should say something

to the viewers, stockholders. the market likes a 15% corporate tax rate. i think that is the market goes up if that is what they do. who knows. i don't know where these device are coming out. neil: maybe sean spicer will spell it out. there is enough dealing with the stance and border, though trying to cross into this country, keeping them, not letting them go. so much going on with the secretary of state in russia ignored by vladmir putin. i don't know where to begin. let sean spicer do it. >> tragic and heartbreaking events that developed at the san bernanadino school yesterday. i want to make sure i acknowledge our thoughts and prayers go out to the families for the three victims and hope for speedy recovery for those wounded in the events that occurred. moving on to today, the president this morning led a discussion with some of the world's top job creators how private sector thinking can help the government modernize provide better, more efficient services

to the american people. together the companies represented in the room this morning employ nearly four million people worldwide and at least 1.78 million americans here in our nation. starting in small interactive groups the cabinet members shared their strategic vision for their departments and listened as business leaders offered their unique perspectives how they might achieve the goals. the groups came together, shared outcomes with the president. the meeting was hosted by the american office, office of american innovation. it was another opportunity for the administration to engage with the private sector and harness its knowledge to develop innovative solutions to some of our country's biggest problems, crumbling infrastructure and broken system at the veterans administration. also this morning the president completed several procedural steps to ratify protocol for montenegro into the north atlantic treaty association, followed by the senate's overwhelming bipartisan vote advice and consent for this

ratification. the united states looks forward to welcoming montenegro as the 29th member of the nato alliance. the president will have meetings later today with his economic and national security team. later the attorney general is at the southwest border to announce new specific actions the trump administration is taking to secure our borders and keep the country safe. the administration is committed to end the practice of smuggling gangs across the border that flood our country with drugs and violence. strengthening of laws applying to those talk attempting to illegally return to the united states after prior removal. those who profit off smuggling people across the border will once again make it clear to the brave men and women of law enforcement that the trump administration has their back. secretary tillerson finished the g7 foreign ministers meeting today and is now in moscow for meetings with his russian counterpart. the visit is part of our effort to maintain direct lines of

communication with senior russian officials and to insure the united states's views on the situation in syria, counterterrorism efforts, north korea, and other matters are clearly conveyed. we're open to strategic cooperation with russia when we can achieve a shared goal such as defeating isis but we'll stand up for our interests and values when we do not see eye-to-eye. russia must fully honor the commitments it made on syria, ukraine and nuclear forces treaty and other topics of international concern and secretary tiller -- tillerson will make that clear during his visit. tear mattis and the commander of central command will give a full briefing on the strike in syria occurred today at the department of defense at 3:30. at 4:00 i will be back up here for an off-camara briefing with director mulvaney of the office of management and budget and omb senior advisor linda springer regarding the president's

executive order reorganizing the executive branch. that gives us three briefings plus this today. not to get you real excited but we'll have another one tomorrow morn in advance of the nato meeting with the secretary-general. this afternoon's briefing we'll be discussing on reforming the federal government and reducing the size of the federal civilian workforce that omb bass directed to produce by executive order. so we'll be spending a lot of quality time together over the next 48, 24 hours. with that, i would be glad to take a few questions. ken. reporter: sean on russia to start, does the administration believe russia had any advance knowledge of the attack on syria? does the administration believe russia may be complicit in the attack? >> i believe the, there was a background briefing earlier today where that was discussed. at this time there is no consensus in the intelligence mmity thathat's the case. reporter: is there any, is there any thoughts within the intelligence comnity, some strands in the intelligence

community -- >> at this point only thing i will say there is no consensus within the intelligence community there was involvement. ann? reporter: in the background briefing trump officials accused syria helping syria cover up use of chemical weapons. trump called putin very smart and expressing general admiration. does he still think putin is very smart, and does this change the relationship between the two? >> i think a couple of things. number one, i think the president made it clear from the beginning that he entered office thinking if he can get a deal with russia in our national interests which we, i discussed during the opening remarks as part of secretary tillerson's conversation with foreign minister minute lavrov we'll do it. if we can't find interests we won't. in this particular case no question russia is isolated. they aligned themself with north korea, syria, iran.

not exactly a group of countries you're looking to hang out with. with the exception of russia they are all failed states. there is clearly, russia is not an island when it comes to its support of syria or lack of frankly acknowledgement of what happened. the facts are on our side. the actions of syria are reprehensible. and i think that russia has been party to several international agreements that syria is not holding up to. in fact that russia needs to hold themselves up to. i think president is very clear with his stance on russia. in this particular case we're going to be very forceful as will secretary tillerson during his visit to make sure we, make sure we let russia know that they need to live up to the obligations that its made. caitlyn. reporter: the administration said sanctions against syria are forthcoming. what will those look like and what we can expect them? >> great question. you know well at this point

we'll not announce any of that kind of action until it is ready to go. i think the president made it clear additional action with respect to syria in terms of its failure to stop engaging in actions that harm its people will result in action and, and so i'm not going to get ahead of what he is planning to announce or when but as he has made clear on a variety of circumstances he is not one ttelegraph his actions until he is ready to make those announcements. reporter: secondly as the administration identify an opposition party that can come to power in syria if there is regime change? >> i think first and foremost, i stated this yesterday, will state it again our number one goal is to defeat isis. that is the number one thing. secondly, political conditions that exist in syria right now are such that we need russia and others to do, is help create a political environment in which the syrian people can choose a leader that is more suited to them. i think getting into who that should be, i think what we're

trying to do right now is shape the environment to alloy the syrian people to change their outcome. blake. reporter: change the topic. mark meadows he says quote, we're very close as it relates to health care and that two options were given to the house speaker. does the white house believe you're very close on health care and have you signed off on those two options? >> well, two things. one, i think we're getting closer and closer every day. this has been a process that, as you know, the chief of staff, the vice president and others have been extremely engaged in behind the scenes. we clearly are getting closer. more votes are moving in our direction, and these ideas i think are very helpful in the conversations they're getting closer. i don't want to prejudge the outcome at this point but i would say feel very buoyed by the direction this is going and

some of the outcomes. with respect to a couple of proposals that congressman meadows is suggesting, part of those has to be again figuring out whether or not those attract additional votes, gain additional support and don't detract. i know it sounds very simple. that is what this entire process has been about. so he is reviewing a couple of provisions that he wants to make, an amendment to the on going amendment. >> has he signed off? >> not a question of us signing off. we're good with the direction this is going. as long as it continues to grow the vote. a lot of these provisions that are being discussed give states the flexibility to enact certain provisions with i is consistent with our general philosophy giving more competition and more choice to the people in the states. >> -- reporter: video being played across television from united airlines. do you think the government should investigate them, industry as a whole as it relates to passenger treatment?

>> i would just say that i think there have been clearly, law enforcement is reviewing that situation. there is plenty of law enforcement to review a situation like that and i know united airlines has stated that they are currently reviewing their own policies. let's not get ahead of where that review goes. it was an unfortunate incident clearly when you watch the video. it is troubling to see how that was handled but i'm not going to -- they have clearly stated their desire to review the situation. law enforcement is reviewing it. i think for us to start to get in front of what should be a very simple -- a local matter, not necessarily needing a federal response. halle. reporter: two questions. [inaudible]. has the president seen that video? >> i'm sure he has. reporter: what is his reaction? >> i don't think anyone looking

at the video isn't disturbed another human being is treated that way. people have to understand when there is potential law enforcement matter, for the president to weigh in, pro or con would prejudice a potential outcome. so i don't want to get in -- clearly watching another human being dragged down an aisle, watching blood come from their face after hitting an arm rest, whatever, i don't think there is circumstance you can sit back say this probably could have en handled a little bit better when you're talking about another human being but again i don't think it is my place to get in the middle of judging how a company dealt with this i think there is clearly going to be enough review both on the corporate side and an on the law enforcement side how it was handled. from a human-to-human standpoint to watch a human being get dragged down an aisle with their head banging off arm rests, not think it could have been handled better, i assume we can probably all agree on that. john? reporter: clarification. both on foreign policy.

one on syria, this administration is continuing to fight for the travel ban limit refugees coming in from syria. the president spoke very starkly how affected he was by some of the images of the youngest victims. >> yes. reporter: there is images of refugees who have been -- [inaudible]. heartwrenching to people. is the president giving any thought to reconsidering aspect of travel ban. >> in terms of letting them in? you heard a lot of refugees particular talking about the fact they're not looking to he flee. reporter: [inaudible]. >> i think the number one goal of this president to make sure protect our people, our country, keep those people have fromming to flee. we have am faly there. that is number one goal creating safer environment. de-escalating environment. not figure out how many people we can fly out. the u.s. is supremely supportive coming to the financial piece. looking for ways to work in a

diplomatic fashion. the goal isn't to figure out how many people we can import into this country. there is clearly a security concern that -- reporter: they have touched him also? >> they have touched him also. he was very clear with the consent and guidance of his national security team. it was very extreme, moving. going back, i don't mean two examples of this i don't think you can watch the things, not that you should have any human being but when you see in particular young children and babies being gassed it should move any human being that has a heart. so i think, but that partially dealt with why he acted so decisively, to see an individual in assad, in that regime act in a way that reacted to, you know, we can't condemn every act but i think literally see someone use gas, it was pointed out, you think about that. it is in the same category as nuclear weapons for a reason. it is that lethal, it is that

deadly, it is that horrific, when you recognize, use of chemical weapons is put in the same category of weapons of mass destruction as some other things because of what it does to an individual, and nature of an attack like that, that even first-responders, if you saw some of the tape we're getting of grossly affected by this, it moved him tremendously. that is part of the reason he acted the way he did. reporter: north korea, sean, you've seen latest provocations from pyongyang. the president tweeted this morning if china will help the u.s. will solve the problem. >> correct. reporter: what does he mean by solve the problem? >> he is very clear he will not tall rate some action by north korea -- tolerate. i said this before on variety of topics, president is not one who will telegraph his response. i think he keeps all options on the table. he keeps his cards close to the vest. as showed last week with respect to syria, when the president is willing to act it will be

decisive, proportional to make the position. united states is. that is not what i said. as you know when the president is ready to act he makes it very clear. there is no question when the president is ready to make a statement he will do that. but i think he has made it clear with respect to north korea that their behavior and their actions with respect to the missile launches is not tolerable. last thing we want to see is nuclear north korea that threatens the coast of the united states or for that matter, you know, any other country, in any other set of human beings. we need stability in that region and i think he put them clearly on notice. john. reporter: thanks so much, john. the alliance between russia and syria is a strong one. it goes back decades. president putin supplied personnel, military equipment to the assad government. what makes you think at this point he is going to pull back in his support for president assad and for the syrian government right now? >> i think a couple of things. you look, we didn't use chemical weapons in world war ii.

you know you had a, you know, someone as despicable as hitler, who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons. so, you have to, if you're russia, ask yourself, is this a country that you, and regime that you want to align yourself with? you have previously signed on international agreements rightfully acknowledging use of chemical weapons should be out of bounds by every country. not stand up, not your own word should be troubling. russia put their name on the line. so it is not a question of how long that alliance has laste but at what point do they recognize that they are now getting on the wrong side of history in really bad way really quickly. look at countries that are standing with them. iran. syria, north korea, this is not, this is not a team you want to be on. and i think that russia has to recognize that while they may have had an alliance for them, lines have been crossed are ones

no country should want to see another country cross. yeah? reporter: two -- israel related questions. when is the white house planning on releasing president trump's 2016 returns? are there if i concerns about possible conflicts of interests reflecting on the taxes -- [inaudible] second, how many people are you expecting at easter egg roll and -- [inaudible]. when we ask several times. we filed our financial disclosure forms in a way that they are going to understand and for those listening at home the tax return clearly, how much money you make, how much tax you pay, they financial disclosure form, where they are getting money from is a more comprehensive understanding, the

question has been asked over and over i think the american people are frankly, middle-class in particular, companies are trying to grow in the united states are more concerned about tax reform and allowing the economy to grow and the bottom line to grow. with respect to the easter egg roll it is huge topic, i appreciate that. we will have an excellent time. come on! you can't ask the question and not get the answer. we worked really well, we will have a very enjoyable day on monday, tickets have been sent to all the schools in the area. there will be a large military contingent participating as well. there are five waves over a two our period in which children and their families come to the white house, we have done community outreach bringing schoolchildren from the area in and it will be a great day. i don't have the number.