continue the conversation on twitter@howard kurtz. thank you for spending time with us on this sunday. have a good night. >> what just happened in europe could affect us here in america. france has a new president. he is a pro- european political newcomer. the woman known for promising france first nationalism have lost. this election date drew worldwide attention. would france accept the european union just like britain. would we see a french version of brexit? not today, not for now. a populace and former banker has

one. the euro is up and the u.s. dollar is soaring to a seven week high. mccrone becomes the youngest president france has had. >> faced with extremism, i know we have certain disagreements and i will respect them, but i will also be loyal to that commitment that was made. i will protect the republic, and i will do my utmost during the five years to come to make sure there will be no reason whatsoever to vote with extremists and here is the concession speech. >> the french have chosen a new leader. i called mr. mccrone to congratulate him. i wish him success in the

massive challenges that france is facing. >> kristin fisher is standing by with reaction. >> a lot more was said and done since the victory was declared and the defeat faced from a far right nationalist in a very well-crafted event in front of the louvre museum. most of the verb votes had been counted, 65% for macron, 35% for the pen. he is pro- european union, pro- nato emma promising reform but vague. the first independent party to win the presidency. le pen's nationalist message played wellin many parts of the country that was played and her

hard line on security resounded in a country that has been hit time and time again by terrorist strikes. concerns about her polarizing rhetoric did her in. here is a little bit more about what both had to say tonight. >> i know the divisions of our nations led to some extreme votes. i respect these but i know the anger, the anxiety, the doubt that a large part of you have also expressed. it is my responsibility to hear these. >> i call for all the patriots to join us in participating in the decisive political fight that is starting tonight. more than ever in the coming months, france will be needing you. long live the republic. long live france. >> typical of the two, macron sounded a little bit like concession, le pen sounded like defiant victory. >> you talk about the corporate tax and some of the things that have been mentioned in our own

politics and macron said he wants to drop france from 33% to 28%. immigration was so big and all of this, even bigger, he doesn't have an established party and they have these parliamentary elections coming up. what is he facing at this point? >> he is facing a lot of challenges that you just outlined. first of all, he is facing a fractured country. we were at a polling station and we saw turnout was lower than expected. there were a lot of extensions for that mean people came there, got their ballot and left it blank. remember the candidates from the two main parties were knocked off in the first round of elections leading up to this victory, and many today were unhappy with the outsiders they were left with. then, you have to get those promised reforms through and again, he doesn't have a

political party of any substan substance, it's only been around for about a year. he's never held elected public office. i've been following france for a long time harris and the french love to go riot anytime reform comes up. from the looks of it tonight he has a little bit of a honeymoon period. he will have to face the music very shortly. >> the trump administration is reacting fisher. reporter: even though trump never explicitly endorsed marine le pen, the two are ideologically intertwined. they both share a common opponent. barack obama.

he very publicly endorsed le pen's opponent just three days ago. president trump was gracious in acknowledging the victory. he said congratulations to emmanuel macron. i look forward to working with them. less than two days before the election he claimed he was the target of a massive computer hack. his campaign e-mails were leaked online and cyber intelligence firms say russian fingerprints are all over it. sound familiar? it does to hillary clinton. the media says i can't talk about that. just because le pen was defeated, don't think she is going away anytime soon. mike huckabee explained why earlier today on fox. listen. >> she is kind of like the skunk going to the homecoming dance. she may not be crowned queen but everyone will know she has been there. this is the ultimate middle

finger to the establishment of all of europe and specifically france. this is significant. reporter: in fact, in her concession speech, she said she would continue leading the fight of the patriots against the globalist before in just a few hours things will start to open up in markets and we are seeing some movement in our own currency and other countries. reporter: markets like stability and macron would disrupt the status quo far less than le pen. he is a former business investor and most importantly he wasn't threatening to pull out of the euro. we see it strengthen, in fact it's at its highest level since trump's victory last november. >> to differ just a little bit, the u.s. dollar is also strong.

with the analyst i spoke with, what we like a certainty. but the politics aside, at least we know the outcome. i imagine the politics will work themselves out in a big-league way, in the words of our president. thank you. let's bring in brad blakeman. former deputy assistant to george w. bush. you said it will be a crazy time. why. >> we have a leader who does not have the political experience. he had to put a government together. he's not a party person within his own country. this will be challenging for friends but politics makes strange bedfellows. we now have a president who has a business person to deal with in france. that may be the link that makes us closer to france having this new president before i mentioned

the tax cut for the corporate. they are above 33% going to 28. here in the u.s. he wants to drop it to 15% which would make us incredibly competitive around the world. that is an interesting part to talk about. the bigger issue, the bigger issues of immigration and france first, platform wise with le pen were more in sync with where our current president is. when you talk about why americans care, talk about the intersection. >> we care because france is a close ally and we have nato. i think the challenge will be to deal in reality. their policies have been populous but haven't been good for the country. that's why you see the turmoil in places like france. they have to get tougher instead of being more welcoming because we've seen the problems they've had with immigration before immediately on social media,

some americans were expressing i'm american the only reason you care about this is if you're going to france. as you mentioned the implications with nato, we have syria and north korea to deal with. where does this put france? this is a man who we don't know politically what he will do. >> that may be true, but internationally he will have to accept the treaties and the bonds that we have as a nation. it's not in france's best interest to distance themselves with united states or nato's before i made the comments earlier that i don't know if this doesn't signal the same status quo. he doesn't have a parliamentary apparatus. they have their big parliament elections coming up in 30 or 45

days. without that, not to get too deep into french politics, that just means it doesn't change much for the people of france. >> maybe not in the close time that we have between parliament elections, but there's two challenges. one is to build a government but also to build a government for himself as an executive's. that's the same challenge donald trump had. he's an outsider and building his government and has the same challenge the french leader will have before he is getting some things done though. we will see if the french president can and let's talk on a bigger spectrum and that is the idea of nations first nationalism. fill in the blank. i'm exiting the european union. it was brexit. now french was considering it. is this coming are waning. >> i think it's waning. britain is still finding its way

in its exit strategy, but people have to do what's in the best interest of their country and the people they serve. they have an additional duty like the u.s. to be international partners to make sure were keeping the peace and having good trade relationship. harris: we saw what americans thought about illegal immigration and broader issues in places like germany have an immigration crisis. they let so many people in and the crime has gone up. you've seen the reports. i guess the bigger issue, we are looking for sameness with our own president. what's happening in europe. >> we have learned from their mistakes. we won't follow the pattern of just opening our borders. we've never had secure borders but to maintain sovereignty we have to do that. that's why think donald trump is right. we have to have secure borders and a good immigration policy. europe has open their borders without any expectation as to

who's coming. they think they're doing it for humanitarian purposes but they are hurting their country and not doing a service to the people who have come there. harris: as i look across the pond to britain and they see what we've done in america, it will be interesting brad blakeman, thank you. healthcare reform is about to take center stage on capitol hill. lawmakers may be signaling the house bill that has moved to the senate could be dead on arrival. why? what does that mean for the exit of obamacare? the travel ban is about to get some legal showdown notes in federal courts across the nation. are we witnessing a journey that could end up in the u.s. supreme court? i'm

harris: republican plans to repeal and replace obamacare are

spurring emotional town hall remarks. some angry constituents accuse him of removing coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. he said there's miss information about the bill. >> obviously there is a lot of fear and anxiety and passion out there. having these dialogues, hopefully we can answer the questions and have feedback to bring the voice back to washington d.c. before the gop bill goes to the senate. they will hold the majority in that chamber as well. moderate republicans may stand in the way. one of them is threatening to tear it up and start from scratch. garrett is live with more on t the. >> as we've heard from a number of senators that do not sound quite as confident that this bill will have an easy time going through. it barely passed the house with

a 44 seat advantage. republicans have a much slimmer majority. they can only afford to lose two of their own to pass this bill. as you mentioned we already heard from a number of them with a lot of concerns about the health care plan. at least two senators have said they would have a hard time supporting any health care bill that defines planned parenthood. at the same time, several other republicans have said they won't support any health care bill that fails to defund the group. senator collins said she also disagrees with the president and house speaker paul ryan that the current plan does enough to protect those with pre-existing conditions. >> it's true that under the house bill, states that get some waiver would still have to provide coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, but that coverage might well be unaffordable. if the coverage is unaffordable, that doesn't do any good for a child who has juvenile diabetes and will have to have that her

entire life. >> there are also concerns about the current plan cuts to medicaid, particularly from senators who expanded the plan. there is a lot here for the senate to go through to be able to find some kind of consultan . >> you've got to bring together the members of the freedom caucus, house ideas, they were able to do on the house side. what do they need to do on the senate side? >> that's one of the reason senate leaders said they plan to start on their own in coming up with their own plan separate from the house plan to try to come up with something they can get 50 votes in order to pass. winning over every republican is essential because mitch mcconnell said he is not expecting any help from democrats because many democrats have said they will not support any bill that includes a full on repeal of obamacare. >> i am very worried that in the

rush to judgment, we create a major healthcare problem for people, and we lose a lot of jobs in doing so and we create a whole atmosphere of unpredictability. >> paul ryan and others have said if unpredictability that's a crisis caused by obamacare, another obstacle is that they are limited in what they can do in the bill because they want to pass it with a simple majority using reconciliation which means they cannot make many of the broad changes they would like too. mitch mcconnell said he's in no rush to get this done and wants to take time to make sure they get it right. >> you did a great job of presenting the other side. when the panel comes up i will ask them just how genuine democrats are. in exiting, he said don't help republicans when they tried to do this with his legacy healthcare legislation he left behind. we will talk about it. good to see you.

harris: president trump is headed back to the white house. this was moments ago. brand-new video from new jersey. brand-new video from new jersey. he has been spending time there.

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got attention around the globe, many have been forced to carry out suicide attacks. back here at home, a major legal battle brewing over trump's executive order on some foreigners coming to the united states. two u.s. appeals courts will hear arguments this month and decide if it's constitutional. those hearings are a possible preview of what's to come if it ever goes to the u.s. supreme court. allison barber has more. >> judges in richmond virginia president trump's controversial immigration order that stops travel from six predominantly muslim nations. the fourth circuit u.s. court of appeals will decide if his travel ban violates the constitution, specifically religion clauses of the first amendment and due process clauses of the fifth. the administration argues it does not. they say it doesn't harm anyone because it only applies to foreign nationals, people

outside the country without current visas. in a statement, john kelly defended it like this. >> on regulated, unvented travel is not a privilege especially when national security is at stake. >> they say this is nothing more than a targeted religious band violating the first amendment. all those arguments will play out in court tomorrow afternoon. when the president took office he issued a travel ban almost immediately, but as quickly as he signed the order, protests came from l.a. to chicago and new york. then the courts got involved in the administration issued a revised travel order. the second order is what that issue now. presidents historically have a lot of authority when it comes to immigration. a big reason for that is a law passed in 1952. the immigration and national act. tomorrow's hearing test the power. the fourth circuit is not the

only court looking at the spread the ninth circuit court of appeals in california is looking at similar challenges. their hearing is set to begin next week. the two courts come up with different rulings and it's likely this will head to the supreme court. >> the president might be putting the pressure on over health care reform. he has a message for senate republicans as the gop plan to replace obamacare faces a new next step in its future. we will talk about it.

harris: if you're just joining us at the halfway point, we can catch up on the headlines. emmanuel macron has defeated maureen le pen in the french presidency. the euro is up at this hour. here at home, president trump reacted with his tweet. congratulations to emmanuel on his big win as the president of france. i look forward to working with him. the president also using twitter

to call on senate republicans to keep the ball rolling on healthcare reform. the gop plan to replace obamacare survive the house but faces an uncertain future in the senate, primarily because of the moderate republicans in the party. brian has more from new jersey. the president just left there. >> that's right. he just left here about 20 minutes ago, and right now were talking about the message from the president to the senate which is pretty much find a way, get it done. they expressed optimism and confidence that the president will work with senate majority leader mitch mcconnell who will work in the senate with opposing voices that are republican to get it done just as house speaker paul ryan just did. >> we also believe it's up to the senate if there are improvements to be made to make those improvements, and i spoke with six out of the 12 members of that committee yesterday, the working group in cleburne leader mcconnell and others and everyone is excited and ready to go to work and take the time necessary to look at the bill and make improvements. the bill will be brought back

for a conference. reporter: one of the big concerns as medicaid cuts. $880 billion worth of cuts over the next ten years. that has been a big concern. the issue is the lower income americans, many stand to lose their insurance that they got under obamacare when medicare was expanded in certain states. the health secretary tom price says that's not true, these americans will have choices to choose from through the state double the side what's best. take a listen. >> we believe strongly that the medicaid population will be cared for in a better way under our program because it will be more responsive to them. right now you have washington d.c. dictating to the states and patients exactly what must occ

occur. >> the ultimate question is how much of this health care bill from the house will survive in the senate? >> i want to ask you about one more thing. there are congressional testimony tomorrow that's expected involving michael flynn. what you forecast for that? >> well the u.s. attorney that was under the obama administration justice department who is also the acting attorney general under trump who was fired ten days after he became president will be testifying tomorrow. she is expected to talk about what she knew when she said she warned the white house in january that michael flynn spoke and had conversations with the russian and ambassador, and she said she told the white house she was worried he had been compromised and vulnerable to blackmail. the president tweeted earlier today saying, voicing his frustration that the russia story continues. he tweeted, when will the fake

media ask about the dealings with russia and why the dmc wouldn't allow the fbi to check their server or investigate. the president, on his way to the white house will be arriving later tonight. >> it's a pertinent question because there were so many democrats who met with them as well. we saw him on video at certain events so that is a very valid question. let's bring in evan, republican strategist. democratic strategist and senior director of research at buckle.com. it's good to see you. >> let's start with healthcare and what we anticipate. i would think the american public would embrace this idea that just like what happened in the house senate republicans will go through something to make some changes. >> some changes is an understatement.

this will be a different bill that comes out of the senate if a bill even emerges. we are seeing senators recoil because the bill doesn't go far enough or there are more moderate senators. then you have those who are looking at it saying it's convoluted. they want a bill that does lower costs and addresses several problems that weren't even touched by the house bill. >> you mentioned rand paul. i want to throw in senator ted cruz who is famous for repealing totally. what if they can't get beyond the senate quickly? eventually maybe, maybe not. >> it won't be a matter of weeks. mitch mcconnell made it clear he wants a score on the bill. they are focusing specifically on concerns about pre-existing conditions.

we know that they won't go for anything that defines planned parenthood. >> guest: how much of that is about politics and whose seats are coming up? , just about the midterm election. >> i think it's always a factor, there's a lot of senators up and they will have a lot more to deal with, the republicans in districts that went for hillary clinton like all over californ california. i think there's a lot of posturing but there's a lot of senators who have made it clear throughout the process to go back to susan collins and lisa murkowski mike cassidy, where their concerns are with pre-existing conditions and medicaid. harris: at the pre-existing conditions are long and there's a lot of things that are loud and they will be the by state and it will vary. there's a lot of misinformation out there when you read this

bill. why are republicans doing a better job of messaging. >> because we don't have a very strong messaging structure as a party. we have made unforced errors since the bill passed. every house republican that went on thursday was seen yukking it up and celebrating. that will be used in a campaign ad against them. it's also all white men in our ad and we will see susan collins get added but she should've been added to the panel from the beginning. as senator cassidy alluded to, whatever bill comes out of the senate has to pass the jimmy kimmel test and jimmy camel went out wednesday night and have an emotional impact and we have to combat that and have a bill where we can have a talkshow host making americans angry thinking republicans are trying

to kill them before you can put that in the celebrity box with has to go back to the house which will be more conservative on many issues because they have now worked their way forward and brought those moderates in, and the freedom caucus members have done the hard work that faces the senate. you can evoke the name of jimmy kimmel but you have to do the same kind of work and make it palatable to go back to the house. i hear you, trying to help evan out with how you bring it all together, but when i see diane feinstein and some of the democrats say if you take repeal off the table we'll talk, is that really true? are they really going to jump ship and vote with republicans. >> i don't think so. you may get a couple, joe mansion may come out or heidi heitkamp, someone up for reelection in the red state that made it clear they need far left democrats to stop getting on them every time they say they're willing to meet with republicans

or why it's a problem to have a conversation with neil gorsuch. tracy chuck schumer backing anything there? i don't think so. the messaging from democrats, they're usually good messengers but they been overwhelmingly fantastic. they walked into a few traps, i think the party on the lawn will come back in campaign ads. even if it does get kicked down to the state, people are still worried about that. we know on a state level there are things like when you are federally protected to choose to have an abortion but on the state level, a woman in texas doesn't have the same rights as a woman in new york. people are aware of that and they know it could happen with their healthcare. harris: isn't that an opportunity evan, for the idea of across the state line and being able to buy insurance outside your state? that's where we could hear this in the next phase.

i'm not hearing your party sell that. they were unified on the light beer, but i say that because now they have to be unified in the messaging. fifty out of 52. it's not impossible for republicans. you don't really need the democrats. >> we don't need the democrats, we just need 50 votes and mike pence would break the tie, but we need to have a palpable bill and i think there are republican senators who have very serious concerns from the moderate stand for it or from for the right. you have the senators voicing the concerns. you have to realize we are not going to move as quickly as the house did. the senate is the world's most deliberative body and they pump the brakes on everything and examine it. harris: how important do you think it is, the timing? you know insurance company had

delayed hiking their prices to see what would go on with the process. that is coming down the pike. they could raise their prices and then you have another enrollment for people with obamacare. republicans have put into place a situation where obamacare doesn't go away. harris: maybe that changes under the senate bill. >> they can call it repeal and replace but at the end of the day it will be repealed. they will try to do it right as far as look at the deadline of the new 2018 insurance rates will come out in a couple months but if they try to rush something through that will hurt more americans. i think one more year of having the weight and fix to get it right is more important than trying to do something. harris: president obama told members of his party don't rescue the republicans on this. that doesn't seemed like he's

looking out for the best of the country. >> i'm pretty high on obama right now, but we are talking about healthcare. these are people's rights to have insurance that's affordable and quality. there's no question we need to make changes to obamacare. harris: president obama made 30 of them by executive order. we know it needs fixing. >> absolutely. insurance across state lines is the best place to start. i wish chuck schumer would start talking about that because i think you could get more moderate democrats on board with that. harris: next time we get together we have to talk about north korea but we iran out of time. this is a huge issue. good to see you both. jared kushner's family is facing criticism after his sister used the federal immigration program in a business sales pitch.houses

responding. just days after republicans took a major step toward dismantling obamacare, president obama is returning to the spotlight. jessica, he popped back into view. is this the only faith you have

before the trump administration is facing new accusations of her conflict of interest. jared kushner reported encouraging chinese citizens to invest in apartment complex that would help him get a visa. new developments. jonathan hunt has more.

>> we should point out that nobody is being accused of any legal wrongdoing. this is merely an example of what a tangled web has been woven for the extended trump family. jared kushner has repeatedly said he has stepped away from the running his family's real estate company since he became senior advisor to his father-in-law. his sister is a apparently highlighting her ties to mr. kushner as she seeks investment for housing development in new jersey. nicole meyer spent the weekend in beijing looking to raise $150 million for the development. meyer has reportedly been telling potential investors the project means a lot to her and her entire family. she pointed out her brothers work for kushner real estate and now the white house. critics are also concerned that ms. meyer is quoting investors with a eb five visa programs. it provides investors with a

potential path to citizenship with investments of half a million dollars in development projects. there's been accusations of fraud and misuse of funds running the program. lawmakers have been considering changes to the eb five system which is currently extended until the end of september. the associated press reports a statement from jared kushner's personal attorney reiterating he has no involvement in the operation of kushner company and added, as previously stated he will recuse from particular matters concerning the eb five visa program. the kushner company has refused comment on her pitch to investors in china over the weekend. harris: bottom line, no accusations are allegations of anything illegal and a key attorney has recused himself. >> a key attorney said jared kushner will recuse himself from

questions related to the controversy eb five program. harris: thank you very much jonathan hunt. new signs of socialism is collapsing in venezuela. people there are very hungry. protesters taking to the street amid an economic crisis and food shortage that left children with very little to eat. the trump administration is weighi

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harris: former president barack obama is giving an award tonight for political courage could previous recipients included gerald ford and george h.w. bu bush. it's a dinner at the jfk library and museum. it's named after 1957 pulitzer

prize-winning book president kennedy wrote profiling eight senators who took unpopular stances in politic. socialism is starving people. those souls are in the streets of venezuela. the trump administration is weighing in on the turmoil calling for a quick and peaceful end to the unrest. this is weeks of deadly protest. it shows no sign of slowing. lauren greene is looking into it. reporter: people are back on the street today as most protest continues to escalate, nearing the tipping point in venezuela. thousands marching in the streets, caring signs and shouting at police. oil prices continue to plummet. food and basic medical supplies are scarce creating a

humanitarian crisis. they also stripped power from the national assembly, putting on hold a democratic election. >> he wants to avoid what no politician can avoid, popular vote. the only thing we can avoid is for the people to judge us through their popular vote. the protest will continue until the government understands. >> many fear the instability could spill over into south america and beyond. donald trump spoke with peru's president, assuring him the u.s. will help support democracy and the people of venezuela. government supporters say the violence must stop. clashes between police and protesters have left 37 dead in the past month. >> we marched from here. we keep saying no to violence. we want no more death or aggression or terrorism.

we don't want more death of young people. i say this as a mother who lost her son and lost him from this terrorism. >> this weekend american national security adviser met with venezuelan national assembly president. they agreed the top priority is to bring the crisis

harris: checking now on the out-of-control wildfire in south

georgia. it forced nearly 100 people to pack up and go. the flames spread across thousands of acres. it is about four times the size of disney world. reports of falling ash as far away as northeast florida. now with the new president of france, reports of mass protesters clashing with police, firing tear gas in eastern par paris. they elected a manual macron as the new french president. protesters are dodging police throughout neighborhoods. >> sanctuary cities banned in texas after greg abbott signs controversial bill overnight. >> texas expects them to keep

them safe and that is exactly them safe and that is exactly signing this law. abby: president trump calling on the senate to keep campaign promise as the battle over health care heats up. we are live in washington with what happens next. clayton: pushing the envelope. hollywood getting political at mtv awards. >> thanks for donald j. trump for the comedy. clayton: "fox & friends first" start right now. ♪ ♪ abby: i had no idea.

what channel? good morning, you're waking up at our shot of sixth avenue of our studio, you're watching "fox & friends first" on this monday, i'm jackie ibañez. clayton: she was up watching mtv. obamacare is dead, president trump using twitter to put brand-new pressure on lawmakers to pass the new gop health care bill. jackie: good morning, griff. >> battle over health care moves to the senate and president trump wasted no time with this tweet, republican senators will not let the people down, obamacare premiums