>> jon: thanks for joining us. "america's news hq" starts now. >> julie: see you tomorrow. >> melissa: we begin with a fox news alert. what you are looking at right there, that is the president of china landing just moments ago in florida with president trump, set to land in minutes. hello, everyone. i'm melissa francis. he is being greeted by rex tillerson and others, with president trump and the first lady set to arrive within about an hour for high stakes meetings. nuclear armed nuclear and trade both very high on the agenda. we can see there the greeting by rex tillerson now shaking hands, as you can see. lot of expectations set for this. chief white house correspondent john roberts is live in palm beach, florida, for all of this.

lot of anticipation here, john. >> reporter: yes. certainly, this is the highest level meeting the president has engaged in. this will be lucky number 13 in terms of foreign leader. number 12 was king abdullah the other day, yesterday. and now president xi makes number 13. fortunately, they won't be meeting on friday the 13th. as you said, a number of issues. some areas of agreement, some areas of disagreement between these two countries. but let's remember that this is going to be basically an inaugural meeting, kind of a meeting to set the parameters and set the stage for future negotiations. they'll probably have a community communication that talks about the areas of joint mutual interest. there's no question that there is some sharp areas of difference and some very, very prickly issues between the two leaders. most notably over trade, north korea, and chinese military expansion in the south china

see. president trump made no secret of the fact, he talked about this at length, that he believes china is getting away with murder when it comes to the trade relationship between the united states and china. half a trillion dollars in trade between the two countries in 2016. and the united states was in a deficit of $347 billion. the president believes that trade deficit is affecting american jobs, affecting american workers, it is pulling our country down. so he plans on being very direct with president xi when he says we need to level the playing field here. there needs to be a fairer trade policy between the united states and china. then there's north korea. i don't want to tell you how many american presidents have leaned on chinese leaders to say, do something about these people in north korea, and do something in particular about the nuclear program. president trump believes that he can get president xi to wield for influence on kim jung un.

then the issue of chinese military expansion in the south china sea. it's made all the more important by the fact that the president of the philippines has now sent his military to occupy all of the philippine owned islands in that area. and one particular island in what's called the spratly island chain that is claimed by a number of different countries, including china. that's only going to add to the tensions here. one thing i'm told they are not going to talk about in this inaugural meeting is the president's threat of heavy trade tariffs against china. he was talking about 35% being slapped onto chinese goods being imported into the united states. they're not going to talk about that. that's for a future negotiation. melissa? >> melissa: john, i don't know if you know about this, but the china, very popular in china. she is known as the kate middleton. a chinese folk singer and major general in the chinese army. she's hugely popular.

we saw her just briefly there getting into the car. if you look online and elsewhere, she's a big topic of conversation and very, very popular. so just one more thing to watch along the way. >> reporter: well, you know, when you've got the popular first lady of china up against the lovely first lady of the united states, i think you're going to have a couple first ladies that may just shine during this summit, melissa. >> melissa: no doubt. john roberts, thank you very much. for more on all of, this let's bring in rnc chair woman. what are your expectations for this big meeting? >> well, i think it's wonderful that president trump continues to reach out to world leaders. of course this is an important meeting with he and president xi. i suspect he'll talk about trade. the president made that center piece of his campaign to talk about the fact that we need a level playing field when it comes to trade because he's always going to look out for america first and look out for people who are hurlting and who have been impacted by bad trade

deals in the past. >> melissa: is that the top issue, or do you think north korea is really at the forefront of a lot of what they're talking about? he had some very strong words, the president, saying before that they're counting on china to help with this problem. that if they help, that would be good. if they don't, it will be bad for everyone. we've heard recently that the way north korea is moving along, that by the end of president trump's term, that they will have the ability to launch a nuclear weapon to seattle. that's scary stuff. >> i think they're both at the forefront. obviously the president is very concerned about north korea. you've seen that in the comments he's made. i think this will be a very important meeting for he and president xi to talk about the implications of north korea as they continue to be as aggressive as they have been in expanding their nuclear capabilities. >> melissa: moving on to one of the other big topics of the day. i want to get your reaction to the latest developments in that probe to look into russia's

interference in our elections, and also writ has put susan rice in the hot seat, in terms of who unmasked various names and how those got out into the public. what do you think is the next step there? >> well, susan rice has a credibility issue. and we saw it with the u.s. ambassador chris stevens when she went on tv and said that his staff was illicited by video and a spontaneous demonstration. we know that was not the truth. that it was a terrorist attack that was coordinated. now we've seen her reverse positions on the unmasking. and we need to see her go under oath and testify so that we can find the truth as to what she knew, why she unmasked certain individuals, how many were, and if she knows anything about the leaks. >> melissa: yeah. there are so many important issues that are underneath all of the fighting we've been seeing. prominent among them is russia's meddling.

we have to get to the bottom of how that happened and stop it from happening again. at the same time, there are these lingering questions about eves dropping and about, you know, surveillance overstepping. how much of this was really incidental? these are very important separate issues that seem to kind of get lost in the political fighting. how can we make sure that both get answered without politics getting in the way at this point? >> well, i think you've seen the intelligence committees in both the senate and the house take this very very seriously. if we had an obama official potentially unmasking a civilian in intelligence reports, that is a deep problem, if she did it for political purposes. we need to figure out why russia was meddling with the election. all of these things are critical. i have faith in the intelligence committee to investigate this and get to the bottom of that and present that to the american people. >> melissa: all right. thank you for your time today.

we appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. >> melissa: staying on capitol hill for more breaking news on the showdown over judge neil gorsuch. senate republicans voting to invoke the nuclear option after democrats earlier blocked a poll vote. historic move changing senate precedent, wrapping the 60 votes needed for confirmation to the supreme court in favor of just a simple majority. mike emanuel is live on capitol hill. mike, what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, melissa, there were several attempts to see if they could get 60 votes on judge gorsuch's nomination. it was clear the democratic filibuster was holding. there was major drama on the senate floor. mitch mcconnell moved to change the threshold from 60 votes to move it to a simple majority. the senate will vote by tomorrow evening on final confirmation. top republicans say this is a campaign promise being delivered. >> we said we would let the

american people decide who would select the next supreme court nominee. and then we would vote to confirm that nominee. the american people on november 8th selected president trump, president trump nominated judge neil gorsuch. and tomorrow we will confirm that nominee. and deliver on that promise. >> reporter: judge gorsuch is on his way to sit on the supreme court after that final confirmation vote. that is a life time appointment. at some point he will be able to leave the politics behind. many of his supporters say the controversy is not about him, it's about anger over the 2016 presidential campaign and treatment of president obama's last nominee. the question now is the long term impact on the senate. >> the senate has been hailed by many, including our nominee to the supreme court, judge gorsuch, as the world's greatest deliberative body, and yet today i think one more blow has been struck at that title and

reality. >> reporter: republicans suggest this is a returning the senate to a way they did business for hundreds of years. basically not filibustering judicial nominees. but there are people in both parties who are wondering if they'll live to regret this perhaps when they're in the minority party. melissa. >> melissa: mike emanuel, thank you. a changer in syria following the chemical attacks. could u.s. military action now be on the table? what president trump is saying next. plus, how intelligence committee chairman devin nunes announcing he will step aside temporarily from the russia investigation after ethics complaints are filed against him. are these serious or is this just political muscling? but first, here is house speaker paul ryan. >> chairman nunes has offered to step aside as the lead republican on this potential probe. i fully support his decision. you do all this research on a perfect car,

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>> melissa: fox news alert for you now with reports that president trump is considering military action against syria. russia still firmly backing the assad regime. president vladamir putin warning against rushing to blame assad in the attack that killed dozens of civilians, including children. as this latest atrocity sparks outrage around the world, russia could find itself on a collision course with the u.s. after president trump said the attack crossed many lines for him. benjamin roll is live in london with more. what is the response around the world? >> reporter: well, melissa, you're seeing strong denials from the assad regime and their backers, russia and iran. but the rest of the world really

coming together to condemn these actions and point the finger directly at the regime of assad. so the question now, what happens next? today more eyewitness accounts were coming out from the attack itself. one man describing how he had lost his whole family, 25 members, including his wife and twin daughters, who he buried himself. >> translator: i ask them, where is my child, ahmed, maya, the twins, my wife? they brought them to me and they were martyred. >> reporter: the death toll from the attack keeps rising. it's now over 80 including more than 30 children. investigators are hoping to reach the scene but access is impossible. attacks carried out. there is no doubt they died from a chemical weapons attack. that is certain. >> melissa: so many people are asking the question, why would assad do this right now? what's the thinking? >> reporter: the timing is quite

remarkable. it was just a week ago that the trump administration was reaching out and saying that assad was not -- did not have to leave. he wasn't a condition, but maybe they could work with him. now after this attack the u.s. is talking about unilateral action. syrians are saying the deaths are caused when a government air strike hit an al qaeda chemical factory and it was that which released the gas. but the method does mimic previous attacks by the regime. the u.n. drafting a resolution which they hope to vote on again. we expect the russians to veto that again. >> melissa: benjamin, thank you. don rickles has died at the age of 90. we're gonna look at the life and time of the funny man coming up next. and the president traveling to florida today where he is set to welcome china's president to his mar a-lago estate.

who has already arrived in the sunshine state? we are awaiting the arrival of airforce one. we are going to take you live to florida. and devin nunes stepping aside from the russia investigation amid ethics complaints. a look at what this could mean for the trump administration. remember herat ally, nothing stops us from doing right by our customers. who's with me? we're like a basketball team here at ally. if a basketball team had over 7... i'm in. 7,000 players. our plays are a little unorthodox. but to beat the big boys, you need smarter ways to save people money. we know what you want from a financial company and we'll stop at... nothing to make sure you get it. one, two... and we mean nothing. ♪ ♪ t

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hit job calling the charges false. joining us now is chief national correspondent ed henry. who, by the way, has a brand new book out. the hidden hand of god that changed the history of baseball. that's a lot to live up to. we're gonna get to that at the end. let's start with politics first. >> sure. >> melissa: talk about this ethics complaint. is this a cute trick? is it legitimate? >> i think it's dangerous for the white house because it could collapse the argument they've been pushing back on on this whole russia investigation which is it's not just ability the 2016 campaign but about the president's allegations from a few weeks ago that he believes there was some sort of wiretapping, surveillance, whatever you are going to call it by the obama administration looking into what the trump campaign and transition team was up to. devin nunes was right in the center of it because of the visit to the white house to get that intelligence.

now with him stepping aside fro the probe, it puts a cloud over that story that was sort of helping the white house push back. i think what the white house is hoping though is that now with nunes stepping aside from the probe, that distraction may dissipate and the focus can get back to the president who in the last 24 hours has been very aggressive about saying hold on folks, the real story is about susan rice. why not bring her in for questioning, as well as maybe evelyn farkas, the former obama official whof a few weeks back suggested there may have been surveillance but then back pedalled from those comments. >> melissa: there are two important tracks going on here. the investigation they keep saying is about russia. without question, as we said over and over again, 17 agencies think russia meddled. at the same time, there's also this idea and the charges are piling up of people saying wait, did the last administration weaponize the nsa?

were people listening to conversations? and then was susan rice unmasking names? >> these unmasking of names that could have led to, could have been violations of law. that's serious business. by the way, look at where this whole investigation started. yes, you're right. there's evidence that the russians were meddling in the election. we still don't have after all these months of allegations and investigations evidence that it actually influenced the election, that it was actually the tipping point that democrats have been hoping for to say an ha, donald trump didn't win fair and square. >> melissa: or collusion. that's the other thing they were licking their chops for. they wanted to see some evidence of collusion. >> we have records saying the obama white house met with the same russian ambassador. just because you meet with someone doesn't mean collision. >> melissa: still a lot of questions. i have questions about your fabulous book. 42 faith.

how do you get to baseball? >> i'm a baseball fan. i love baseball. baseball season is kicking off. you're going to love all the stories in this book. about 1951 and the shot heard around the world. talk to us from some of his former teammates. here's this hero jackie robinson. it's about civil rights. also about faith. he and the general manager who signed him to that very first contract, one white, one black, one from the midwest, one from pasadena where jackie came of age, and different generations altogether. they had almost nothing in common except this wonderful game of baseball. they both had a strong sense of faith that was instilled in both of them by their mothers at a very early age. that's sort of secret ingredient here that propelled them together in history. >> melissa: i love it. i can't wait to read it. >> here's your copy. >> melissa: thank you.

make sure you sign that before you go. a fox news alert. comedian don rickles has died from kidney failure at the age of 90. anita vogel has a look back at the legacy of laughter that he leaves behind. >> is that your wife? >> reporter: not many comedians can deliver a line like that and get away with it. >> how much you weigh, tiny? how much you weigh? >> reporter: but don rickles was in a class of comedians all his own. his style was insult, but the butt of his jokes only walked away feeling honored. donald j. rickles was born on may 8th, 1926. he grew up in queens, new york. after graduating high school, he went straight into the navy during world war ii. he served 2.5 years in the philippines. he returned home with dreams of being an actor, but jobs were hard to come by so he started appearing in clubs. >> i was like the warm-up guy. i didn't have a performance.

i just talk to the people, made none of them. >> reporter: his lucky break came in 1957 when frank is a natural tra sat in the front row. pretty soon all of hollywood knew rickles was the comedian to see. >> every star in hollywood felt that they had not made it, really made it. could have been in loyola's column, but if they hadn't been insulted by rickles, they weren't with it. >> reporter: two years later had his first gig in vegas, a city that would become his own. >> i went to the desert inn. worked there for awhile. went to tropicana. worked there. worked at the flamingo. in fact, i worked most of the hotels. if i work one more, i'm gonna work the airport. >> reporter: it was "the tonight show" with johnny carson where all of america got to know rickles. >> johnny would introduce him in a way where you knew something dangerous was going to come onto the stage. >> would you welcome this year's poster child for rabe byes, don

rickles. >> reporter: no one could post them like don rickles. >> jack benny, a great star. milton berle. great being here at the home. dean martin roast is where he really got to shine. >> i sometimes wonder what you're doing here on this small time hustle. >> reporter: over the years rickles appeared in a number of films playing opposite some of hollywood's biggest stars. >> i like to scope up as we die. >> as we die sir? >> what's in it for me? >> action. >> what kind of action? >> that's a $50,000 mark. >> give him ten. that's it. ten. >> reporter: a new generation got to know him in the toy story series. >> my little sweet potato. >> oh, you found it. >> reporter: rickles had a happy home life. he was close to his mother etta until she passed in 1984. he and his wife barbara were

together for more than 40 years. they had two children. despite all his success on screen and on stage, it all boiled down to one thing for rickles. make em laugh. no one was ever quite able to pull off the insult the way he did. and probably no one else ever will. in hollywood, anita vogel fox news. >> melissa: don rickles leaving behind a legacy and passing away at 90. president trump set to arrive any moment now in palm beach, florida, for his first meeting with the chinese president, who is right now making his way to the winter white house. north korea, trade and syria all on the agenda. plus house intelligence chairman devin nunes stepping aside from the russia probe amid ethics accusations. so where does the investigation go from here? >> it is in the best interest of the investigation.

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>> melissa: major developments in the wake of the deadly chemical attacks in syria. senator john mccain now confirming that president donald trump has told some members of congress he is considering military action in the war torn

country. national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon. has the pentagon been tasked with coming up with a new plan for syria? >> here's what we know right now, melissa. discussions are taking place at senior levels of the pentagon and white house about the next move from syria. senator john mccain was asked about this just moments ago on the hill. here's what he said. >> president talked to me on the phone and said that he was going to consult with general mcmaster and general mattis and make the decision from there. president publicly has stated that this is appalling and outrageous what has happened. it is my understanding he's consulting with general mcmaster and mattis and i believe they will provide him with excellent recommendation. i do not know what that recommendation will be. >> melissa: secretary mattis and h.r. mcmaster flew down to mar

a-lago. senior defense officials say they will meet the president this afternoon and will likely present military options for syria. i was told, quote, there has been a lot of traffic on this in the last 48 hours. in fact, fox has learned the national security council meeting yesterday at the white house addressed syria's chemical weapons and what to do. earlier senators john mccain and lindsey graham called for military action in a statement. quote, ultimately of assad's air force should be part of a straty to end the conflict in syria. this is a test of the new administration but all for our entire country assad is trying to see what he can get away with. the rest of the region and the world is watching to see how our country will respond. senior defense officials i have spoken with, melissa, do not want to tip their hand about what military options would look like. >> melissa: yeah. although i would imagine they would be quite different from what was considered or on the table back in august of 2013 and

the famous red line incident. >> well, much has changed in syria since 2013. russia has dozens of fighter jets, copters and advanced surface to air radar in western syria to protect the assad regime. russia was not there in 2013. there are now hundreds of u.s. troops in northern syria and forced protection for those american troops is a serious issue should the u.s. strike. then there are the legal issues. without a u.n. security council resolution or any authorization by congress, any military strikes by the u.s. would be deemed an act of war. yesterday president trump indicated a shift in thinking about the assad regime. >> it's very, very possible, and i will tell you it's already happened, that my attitude toward syria and assad has changed very much. and if you look back over the last few weeks, there were other

attacks using gas. you're now talking about a whole different level. >> this is the first real test of the trump presidency. if the president orders a strike on syria, he essentially will be declaring war on the regime of assad. >> melissa: thank you. meanwhile, we are awaiting president trump's arrival at mar a-lago as he prepares for a high stakes meeting with chinese president xi. topping the agenda, trade and north korea's provocative nuclear prove. jillian turner is a former white house national security council staff member under george w. bush and president obama. guy benson is political editor of town hall.com. both are fox news contributors. jillian, let me start with you. what do you think is at the forefront with all of these different issues as they meet today? >> number one and two is most definitely going to be the trade

and economic relationship with china. then also the defense relationship with china. i think that because of what happened in syria this week, that will also feature on the agenda between the two leaders. they're going to be focused on hammering out this strategic frame work for the financial aspects of this relationship. it is not clear which relationship this will go. it's great this is being held at mar a-lago. that's a friendlier environment, a more social environment than camp david where these kinds of foreign policy summits are traditionally held. i give the administration kudos going with mar a-lago. it doesn't mean they will emerge from this best friend. this is not a revisit. this is not the same kind of visit he had with prime minister abe. this is much more different, as the president even tweeted. >> melissa: there are so many balls up in the air now with

what president trump needs to focus on. you look at the report that north korea would be able to reach seattle with a nuclear weapon by the end of his term. china plays a huge role in that. he needs china's help in order to curb them. the syria thing has really come front and center. and then the economy, president trump wouldn't forget, is really what got him elected. this idea people feel disenfranchised and their future wasn't as promising. you can't let that go to the background either. how does he priorit prioritize ? >> watching the campaign the president's rhetoric about china was focused on trade and economic issues, for the most part. of course those will come up in these talks. but world events have a way of interseeding sometimes. jillian is right, of course the slaughter in syria and potential action at the u.n. is going to be a hot topic of conversation. then north korea. this white house has made it clear that they believe that the

regime in north korea is a pressing national security threat to the united states. and they also view the president has said this, he views beijing as a crucial stallwart ally, at least vis a vis pyongyang with a potential opportunity to influence pyongyang. maybe keep the north koreans at bay or reign them in on some level. so it's going to be a very busy agenda at mar a-lago. >> melissa: what's the best stance with this president? should he come in strong? does he want to come in, let's make a deal? what do you think? >> probably let's make a deal or a combination of the two. it's a tall task because, literally, as we speak, china's coast tkpwguard ships are movin deeper into reefs in the south china sea. that's another issue they have to contend with. i think that president xi has

got to be tough. he's got to be ready to cut a deal. but this president, he also is going to have to be ready to make some concessions. >> melissa: interesting. i wish we had more time. thank you. devinnunes announcing his recusal from the russia investigation, at least for now. peter doocy is live from capitol hill where he spoke exclusively with the lawmaker replacing nunes. when did mike conway of texas find out that he was taking over the investigation? >> reporter: melissa, conway tells us that he got a phone call from nunes last night asking him to take over. the texas congressman said even though he doesn't think nunes did anything wrong, he hasn't seen any information that he mishandled classified information, he agreed to do it. nunes -- rather conway said he still has not seen the evidence that nunes said he got from the white house source that made him

think that members of the trump transition team were inappropriately unmasked by intel agencies. >> do you know how much longer it will be until you see the documents that basically are the reason chairman nunes had to step aside? >> again, we're going to conduct the investigation. we're going to pursue every lead and get to the bottom of this and take as long as take its. looking forward to working with my colleagues on this. >> reporter: he also said speaker ryan is giving him discretion to run the investigation. democrats were calling for nunes to recuse himself. now they seem pretty happy about it. >> want to express my appreciation for what the chairman decided to do. i'm sure it was a very difficult decision for him. as you mentioned, it is the best interest of the investigation. >> reporter: it wasn't anything congressman schiff said that made nunes step aside.

he instead is accusing outside href leaning groups of filing groups for mishandling classified information. he said that is the reason why he decided to step aside. of course, we do hope to learn some more about the process and the thought process that nunes had before he decided last night to hang it up, at least for this investigation. we'll bring it to you if we get it. >> melissa: all right peter doocy, thank you. a new precedent on the senate floor. republicans invoking the nuclear option to break through a democratic filibuster on supreme court nominee neil gorsuch. senator corey gardner was there and joins us next.

>> much more ahead on the senate republicans going nuclear to advance president trump's supreme court nominee judge neil gorsuch. we'll speak with a law professor about how the move can change our democracy for decades to

come. plus the latest on the republican head of the house intelligence committee devin nunes temporarily stepping down from the russia investigation. what that means for the fact finding missions on capitol hill. that's coming up on shepard smith reporting. >> melissa: the senate setting a new precedent today with republicans invoking the nuclear option after democrats tried to block a full vote with an filibuster. the move advances the confirmation process of neil gorsuch to the supreme court. my next guest is one of the three people that got to meet gorsuch at the start of the hearing. thank you for joining us. what do you think about all the hyperbolie that it forever changes the senate, that it's eroding democracy? what do you think? >> look, the filibuster still remains in place. just takes less votes to kill off that filibuster. judge gorsuch had bipartisan support. the only partisan element was

the fact that his opposition were all democrat minority members. i think it's a shame that we're here. i'm glad that we will be able to confirm the judge going forward. he will certainly make us proud. he will make colorado proud. >> melissa: even folks on the right aren't thrilled about this. you had senator john mccain saying further damaging it with what it would do to the united states senate. you also had senator lisa murkowski suggesting it was a trying time to be a lawmaker who prides herself as one who believes in the tradition of the senate. really strong language from both sides. >> the tradition of the senate is to confirm the president's supreme court justice nominees. and so if you look at justice thomas, he was confirmed only by 52 vote, justice alito had 58 votes. there was no artificial 60 vote threshold put in place for them. judge gorsuch is a recognized as

a brillian jurorist who has bipartisan support. the only thing threatened to be changing over the past couple of days is 200 years of senate precedent that we have never seen a successful partisan filibuster of a united states supreme court justice. >> melissa: at the same time, the warning from the other side is you may regret this. one day it may turn around and bite you. how do you respond? >> if you look at chuck shumer who started this in 2003 with the first round of filibusters on judges escalating to the 2013 implication of the harry reid rule, it's sad the way this has developed. it's one sided effort to stop an slow down nominees that has consequences. i hope that going forward, we'll get back to work supporting a bipartisan effort behind this justice. that's what we have to focus on. >> melissa: when you look at the language of democrats back in 2013 when harry reid invoked the nuclear option, it could be --

seems like could be attributed to republicans today. diane feinstein said your frustration reaches a point where it just overwell misand things have to change. is that how folks on the right felt this time? >> i think in order to maintain the precedent of 200 years of senate history, the fact that no judge who was nominated for justice, no nominee for justice to the supreme court had ever been held to a 60 vote threshold. you can argue in 1968 abe portis. but that was a bipartisan effort when he was elevated from associate to chief justice. >> melissa: senator, thank you for your time. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> melissa: you are looking at remembering tillerson speaking about syria. let's listen in. >> -- for the next 40 years. we do desire to establish policies that maintain a constructive cooperative and results oriented trajectory. high on the list is economic relationship that is fair on both sides. today will be a time to exchange

candid views on the nature of the u.s./china relationship, and we look forward to additional discussions in the future on topics of mutual importance. as president trump has said, the chief goal of our trade policies is the prosperity of the american worker. to that end, we will pursue economic engagement with china that prioritizes the economic well being of the american people. we're also looking to make progress with china on areas of foreign policy. those that serve our interest as well as the regions. we're hopeful that china will find ways to exercise influence over north korea's actions to dismantle their nuclear weapons and their missile technology programs. whether using their authority on the u.n. security council or utilizing new levers of power, china can be part of a new strategy to end north korea's reckless behavior and ensure security and prosperity in

northeast asia. even as we share desire to work and the united states does recognize the challenges china can present to american interest, we renew our strong commitments to our allies in asia and around the world who have been valuable partners in sprefrbing shared values and security interest. similarly, the united states will protect our citizens and our institutions against cyber attacks. on other areas of disagreement such as human rights and religious freedom, the united states will be firm in representing our core democratic values and advocating for the right of all people to live in freedom. the trump administration remains dedicated to working with china toward mutual goals of respect, security and prosperity as we do so, we will not shy away from frank discussions which are necessary to narrow our differences. i hope presidents xi, the first lady and the entire chinese

delegation enjoy their visit to the united states and we look forward to our discussions with them. thank you. >> sir, do you have a staple on syria? >> melissa: okay. we were listening to secretary of state right there talk about a whole variety of things. he started with syria, but obviously he moved on to this -- let's listen back in here. >> -- and brought to the front pages and to our television screens as well the tragedy that is part of the syrian conflict. there is no doubt in our minds and the information we have supports that syria, the syrian regime under the leader of of president assad are responsible for this attack. and i think further, it is very important that the russian government consider carefully their continued support for the assad regime. >> does assad have to go? >> assad's role in the future is

uncertain, clearly. with the acts that he has taken, it would seem that there would be no role for him to govern the syrian people. >> what steps is the united states prepared to take in order to remove him from power? >> the process by which assad would leave is something that i think requires an international community effort, both to first defeat isis within syria, to stablize the syrian country, to avoid further civil war, and then to work collectively with our partners around the world through a political process that would lead to assad leaving. >> so will you and president trump organize an international coalition to remove assad? >> those steps are under way. >> have you already been talking about that with other leaders? >> do military strikes -- there were reports out there today

saying that. >> we are considering an appropriate response for this chemical weapons at tack which violates all previous u.n. resolutions, violates international norms and long held agreements between parties, including the syrian regime, the russian government and all other members of the u.n. security council. it's a serious matter. it requires a serious response. thank you. >> appreciate your time. >> sir, is that a military response? >> melissa: okay. so we were listening to rex tillerson there, secretary of state. directly addressing the situation in syria, saying that there is no role for assad to govern. that he wants to work with an international community to come up with a solution to replace him, but in lifting out the priorities, he said the international community needs to

come together to number one defeat isis, number two stablize the country and, three, work out the departure of assad. a lot to chew on there. he was very firm. rich edson is live at the state department for the latest on this trip and also you see here, this is president trump arriving at the west palm beach, florida, airport aboard air force one. this is for the meetings with the president of china. so many things going on right now. let's bring in rich. first let me get your reaction to what we just heard there from the secretary of state. >> reporter: well, melissa, it was an expansion on what the secretary of state had to say last week when he was asked directly whether the united states, under the trump administration, believes that the assad regime must leave syria. then he said that it was ultimately up to the syrian people to decide the long term status of president assad in syria. but here he's expanding on it and almost going a different route saying first isis must be

defeated, syria must be stablized and then the international community must lead any type of transition, if it were to come from assad. so he got much deeper and gave further detail on what the united states would support. he said the conversations are already under way as to whether or not the united states would lead that effort to move beyond assad. he was asked whether there's a military response here given what has happened earlier this week with the chemical attack, with the secretary of state blaming the assad regime for it. and he says that he's considering, and that the united states is considering, options. he has, through a number of discussions, been one to repeat that options are on the table, though the specifics of that are still lacking in all of this. there is a russia component, of course torque this, melissa. the united states, over the last couple of days, has said that because russia has continued support for assad and that it is morally responsible for what

is going on there. this is one week ahead of what secretary of state rex tillerson will travel to moscow where a senior state department official said the u.s. and russia will look at ways where perhaps the u.s. and russia can cooperate on specific issues, as long as it benefits the u.s., melissa. >> melissa: and, rich, it's important to note, i mean, he said that they are certain that assad was behind this attack. because that's a lot of the chatter that's going on right now is, it doesn't make a lot of sense that assad took this action in the sense that it seemed like the trump administration was taking sort of a wait and see attitude as far as removing him. and for him to go out and do something that's so devastating, so overwhelming, so horrifying, it totally changed the trump administration's point of view. on one hand people saying it doesn't make sense. so maybe assad wasn't really behind this attack. rex tillerson putting that to rest, right? >> reporter: at least from the

united states perspective, yes. and when you look at what rex tillerson had said last week regarding this issue, really a one sentence ender of a press conference that he held in turkey, where he said it's up to the syrian people to decide the long-term sustainability, long-term prospect of assad there. now he's talking about blaming the assad regime for doing this. and on top of that, talking about a process in which assad would be removed power. >> melissa: and i'm paraphrasing, but there was also this conversation, he said we need to get together with the international community. somebody asked a question about when and he said that's already happening. you got the sense that there are already decisions being made on an international level about this. right? >> reporter: right. you see the british have been forthcoming with their condemnation of syria on this. it was the british, the french and the united states who put forward in the u.n. security council a resolution that

condemned the assad regime for this. and then on top of that, would have tried to create an international inspection and review as to what had happened a couple days ago. that was something that was stymied by the blocking power of russia. this is where the russian angle ties in and makes that trip to moscow all the more important. >> melissa: i want to bring in jillian turner, white house staff member under two presidents. let me ask you about that order. defeat isis, stablize the country, remove assad. what is your reaction? >> to me it sounds like the way to go. the trump administration has a really very big unenviable decision to make which is really, are we responding at a tactical level to the recent chemical attacks in syria? or are we now executing a big broad strategy for syria, but not only syria, the middle east that includes isis? it's not like a puzzle here where you're filling in one

little bit at a time. the big picture has to come first. to my mind that's >> here we are watching president trump and the first lady exit air force one as they come to meet the chinese president. i'll hand it over to shepard smith. >> shepard: it's noon on the west coast. 3:00 on the east coast. we're watching three major breaking news events. first, south florida where president trump has just arrived. moments ago, secretary of state tillerson said the second major signal of an american policy change towards syria. he said the united states is organizing an international coalition to respond to bashar al-assad's chemical attack on his own people. does this mean american military action in syria? it's breaking now. on capitol hill, we just watched history unfold. a move on the senate floor that could forever change congress and also