are watching that box on the right-hand corner because president trump is getting ready to step up to the lectern in miami, florida, and talk about rolling back the travel and trade and making a better deal for america. have a great weekend, "happening now" now. >> heather: more on that, with this fox news alert president trump has landed in miami for his big speech. >> jon: the president is expected to fulfill up campaign promise and the key state of florida, covering all of that, all the news "happening now." >> the next president to reverse them, that i will do. >> the president set to fulfill a major campaign promise and rollback president obama's cuba policies. plus, president trump claiming that a man overseeing the special counsel investigation was the very one who told him to fire fbi director comey. why he is calling the whole

thing a witch hunt. >> sadly, we do not expect there to be any survivors. >> more victims in the london high-rise fire, investigators working to find out how those flames got so out of control. it's all "happening now." ♪ >> we begin with a dramatic change in america's relationship with cuba. president trump announced he is taking a harder line with havana. welcome to the second hour of it happening now, i am gregg jarrett in for jon scott. >> heather: and i am heather childers. the president expected to lay out a plan for restriction of the communist regime. that will mark a huge reversal from the obama administration, rolling back its historic opening with savannah.

john roberts is live on the north long. what can we expect from the president in a moment? >> the president as he pointed out has been very critical of the policy that he believes is nothing more than an unsuccessful appeasement policy, he plans on tightening the screws in the castro regime, demanding they make democratic reforms. "he will reinstate restrictions on tourism and personal travel to cuba, it's an organization called gaesa. he still wants cruise ships to dock there and aircraft to land there. cuba releases. prisoners, holds free and fair elections, this policy changes during a bone to

the hard-line cuban-americans who supported him in last november's election, such as marco rubio. they are at the forefront of all of this. a lot of people who were involved in the and obama administration policies say that this is a step backwards for the united states. >> heather: the president also making some other news this morning, let's get to that. the investigation of whether his campaign colluded with russia. >> rod rosenstein is the deputy attorney general, he was the one who appointed the deputy special prosecutor, robert mueller in the wake of james comey's firing. now the president suggests that there might be some hypocrisy involved here. rosenstein wrote that memo recommending that the president fire james comey for his handling of the hillary clinton email scandal. rosenstein is leaving the

investigation, mueller reports to him. the president is saying he is possibly being investigated for something that rosenstein had recommended. he tweeted this morning -- the president of course had already decided to fire comey for his handling of the russia investigation, but while they differed on the reasons for terminating comey's tenure with the fbi, both of them are on the same page about the need for new leadership in the department. it now raises questions as to whether the president could seek to replace rosenstein. listen to this. >> could you be terminated without cause? >> yes. >> who would appoint your replacement as your position as the attorney general? >> the president. >> about the possibility? >> yes. anything is possible, senator.

>> the department of justice is pushing back on a report that rosenstein is considering recusing himself on the russia investigation, saying he will consider doing it if the investigation turns attention towards him. "as the deputy attorney general has said numerous times, there comes a point when he needs to recuse he will, however, nothing has changed." president also took aim at the lack of findings in the investigation that has already been going on since he won the election back on november 8th. tweeting this morning -- sources close to jared kushner today pushing back to fox news on a report that the special counsel is examining his business dealings regarding russia. her telling fox news "we do not know what this report refers to, it would be standard practice for the special counsel to examine financial records to look for anything related to russia. he previously volunteered to share with congress what he

knows about russia-related matters, he will do the same if he has contacted in connection with any other inquiry." even though the president tweeted this morning that he is under investigation, his legal team told us a a short time ago the president is not confirming that he's under investigation, he was merely inflecting reflet was said in "the washington post" article that suggested he was under investigation. another nothing day here at the white house. >> heather: that's a problem with twitter, you can't hear the tone. >> we've learned over the months and the years that i have covered the president that when he tweets something, you could interpret it but you might be wrong if you interpret it, always best to check on what he meant before you report on it. >> heather: good advice. john roberts come alive. >> gregg: as we await the president's remarks, there is some breaking news today and the so-called dreamers policy.

immigrants who came here as children from deportation, the president is apparently going to go back on his campaign pledge, what about that? good day to you both. last summer at a huge rally, the president, a man who was going to be president made a huge splash when he said he was going to immediately terminate the program because he claimed president obama was violating federal law and ignoring the constitution. all of a sudden, a complete reversal. is that a betrayal to the people he made the promise to? >> i think the democrats are going to make sure they celebrate this decision, that

they hype it as much as possible and hope that there is backlash from voters, but i don't think there will be much of one. for those who are watching it closely, maybe a small group. they know he has been allowing work permits, the administration has, for these individuals throughout his time in office at the end of january. there were some things that he said that telegraph that he was losing his nerve on doing this. he is a man who makes great promises, obamacare was going to repealed and replaced on day one, an emergency session of congress to do so, perhaps even during the transition, that hasn't happened. a lot of these things are more difficult to do once you get inside. what has happened is the president decided that these cases are too politically perilous for him and he is trying to slice it.

president obama wanted to expand it to their parents and that is not going to go forward. it was clear from several indications he gave that he was going to go this way since he got into office. >> is this another example about how it is easy to run for president but hard to be president. not only will there be political consequences, putting it into effect is almost 1 million people, that is difficult. >> it is an astute move, selling the american people on targeting and departing those people who were brought here illegally as young children when they had no control over those actions, that is a relatively tough sell for most people in america including

a majority of republicans. with the president has done here is extend obama's previous policy, i would prefer to see this codified by congress. the president has made a decision here. also i should point out, two and the previous presidents of gross overreach on the other program that extended amnesty to millions of adult illegal immigrants, that was a massive overreach and obama said he didn't have the authority to do it but he did it anyway. ending that is a no-brainer and the president today announced that he will. >> dreamers may be grudgingly acceptable to his supporters, dapa may be another can of worms. we await the president's remarks. i think that is him right now.

marco rubio, very popular in florida. [applause] >> thank you very much. the sunday after the presidential election, i was in the parking lot of the mall and i called president-elect trump on his cell phone to congratulate him on his victory. one of the first things he said to me is "what are we going to do to help the cuban people?" [applause] a few weeks later i had the honor of flying with him to central florida on air force one and he again in the midst of that conversation asked "what are we going to do to help the cuban people?" my wife and i had the opportunity to dine with him and the first lady in the white house. in the middle of that conversation, he asked what we were going to do to help the

cuban people in the people of venezuela. [applause] six weeks ago in the oval offic oval office, the president of the united states gathers members of his cabinet and made a very clear decision, we are going to do whatever it takes to empower the cuban people so they can be free and live in a democracy and have the economic and political liberties that they deserve. he has not faltered in that commitment. [applause] the cooperation, the hard work, the commitment that this white house and president trump has shown to this because i believe has no precedent. certainly in the modern history of this great country. we have helped with many who have aligned with us and could not be here today.

[speaking spanish] [applause] what i want you to know that is that every single one of those instances in which the president spoke about cuba, he also spoke about brigade at 2506. [applause] a few weeks before the election for the first time in decades, he went to visit and they endorsed him, the first time in decades they had endorsed a presidential candidate. there isn't a single time that i have spoken to the president about cuba that he has not mentioned of the brigade. that strikes me because it reminds us that almost 60 years ago, when they were young men willing to fight and to die for the freedom of their homeland, they made an extraordinary sacrifice.

perhaps some of them felt that the time to make a difference had passed. but i want them to know that almost 60 years later, they have made a difference. their efforts i believe is believe as much as anything else have brought us to this day. [applause] we just landed at the airport and had the honor again of flying on air force one. they have the best m&ms on the planet. you can take red light when you are part of the motorcade that comes in, legally without the crazy cameras. never mind, i don't want to talk about that. get rid of the cameras.

it struck me as the plane landed and we were getting into the car that brought us here, you look at the president coming down the steps. he was greeted by descendants, from freedom fighters, and less than a year and a half ago an american president landed in havana. greeted by a regime. a year and a half ago a president landed in havana to outstretched his hand to a regime. today a new president lands in miami to reach out his hand to the people of cuba. [applause]

i close with this. i close with this. many will characterize this as an effort to punish the cuban regime. and it will punish the cuban military that oppresses its people and helps oppress the people of venezuela. but more than anything else, this change empowers the people of cuba, not the government, not the regime, but the people. so that they can enjoy the freedom and the liberties with a very clear message, america is prepared to outstretched hands and work with the people of cuba. we will not empower their oppressors. [applause]

and you mark my words, you mark my words. whether it's in six months or six years, cuba will be free. and when it is, and when it is, and when it is i believe that the people on the island and history will say that perhaps the key moment in that transition began on this day here in this theater when each of you and with a president that was willing to do what needed to be done so that freedom and liberty returned to the enslaved island of cuba. [applause]

[speaking spanish] >> gregg: marco rubio is appearing and we understand mike pence will speak next, introducing the president of the united states. it's an important moment for the president because in addition to announcing earlier that he will not reverse the so-called dreamers program, he is reversing many of the policies of his predecessor barack obama,

particularly trade and travel. now airlines will be able to travel to cuba, cruise ships will be able to go to cuba, but in terms of american businesses, there will be brand-new reinstituted restrictions and some of the president's critics are saying that this is a betrayal of his america first agenda. he promised that first and foremost, the welfare of american corporations and businesses will be first and foremost. there are great business opportunities there. that may now be restricted by the president. >> heather: one of the issues, the house foreign affairs and minister said this --

so that is a huge concern. speed to a draconian move would be to ban all commercial flight flights, apparently that is not the course that president trump will take. did you before before the president and vice president speak, we will squeeze in a quick commercial break. for the strength and energy to get back to doing... ...what you love. ensure. always be you.

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yogig-speed internet.me? you know what's not awesome? when only certain people can get it. let's fix that. let's give this guy gig- really? and these kids. and these guys. him. ah. oh hello- that lady. these houses! yes, yes and yes. and don't forget about them. uh huh. sure. still yes! you can get it too. welcome to the party. introducing gig-speed internet from xfinity. finally, gig for your neighborhood too. >> heather: as we continue to wait for the president to speak, governor rick scott of florida in miami where he has prepared to talk about his revised cuba policy. let's bring in our panel, a

former dnc staffer and our publican campaign strategist. thank you both for joining us. some of the controversy, let's start there, is that president trump's turnaround doesn't go far enough, what do you think? >> what you are seeing today is the president moving from america first two freedom first. the speech from marco rubio shows the passion that runs through this issue. it still is a red-hot issue. it's red-hot because after 56 years there is still intimidation, evisceration, interrogation of the american people. he is trying to move the needle from the policy not to help america but to help the cuban people who are looking for someone across the sea to show that they stand with them.

i think this will be the first step in this direction. >> heather: the vice president is going to walk into the shot there i believe, he is going to be speaking next. >> cuba is obviously very emotional issue. there is zero evidence that increasing sanctions against cuba is a move toward democracy. we tried that for six decades and we still have this regime in cuba that is obviously not friendly to the united states and not good to its own people. i guess if we are looking at the america first point, which i think greg made a great point earlier, this doesn't help our economy, and i think that is important looking at it as an american. obviously this is a partial roll caught roll, more of a tweak. >> heather: we are going to pause and take a listen to what

the vice president is saying. [applause] vice president vice >> welcome to a historic day, a day where the world will witness america once again standing in solidarity with the people of cuba, thanks to the strong and unwavering leadership of president donald trump. [applause] it is the greatest privilege of my life to serve as vice president to president donald trump. a man of his word, a man of action and our president who stands without apology as leader of the free world.

since the hour of our nation's birth, the united states has stood for the proposition that all are created equal. we were endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. as americans, we believe these rights belong to the entire human family. for 58 years, the people of cuba have labored under an oppressive regime that has stifled their liberty and with that their future. for generations, sons and daughters of cuba have come to our shores searching for the freedom that their friends and family at home were denied. while you came to the land of the free, you never forgot home.

he raised her voice is the generations to demand that cuba be free once more and once again. you have a president who hears you and is with you. [applause] today, president donald trump will make it clear that america is with you, that america stands with the persecuted, the oppressed and the exploited in cuba, that this nation stands not with tyrants but today president donald trump will make it clear that the united states of america stands with the courageous men and women of cuba who seek to reclaim their god-given right to life.

and liberty. [applause] today under the leadership of president donald trump, america will say once again with one voice, -- with gratitude for his

leadership and admiration for his or wavering dedication freedom, it is now my high honor and a distinct privilege to introduce to you, my friend the president of the united states of america, president donald trump.

[cheers and applause] >> president trump: thank you, everybody, thank you very much. thank you to my truly great friend, vice president mike pence. and thank you to miami, we love miami. [applause] let me start by saying that i am glad secretary of state rex tillerson and i along with a very talented team were able to

get otto warmbier back with his parents. what's happened to him is a truly terrible thing. but at least the ones who love him so much can now take care of him and be with him. also my dear friend steve scalise took a bullet for all of us. because of him and the tremendous pain and suffering he is now enduring, he is having a hard time. far worse than anybody thought. our country will perhaps become closer, more unified, so important. we all owe steve a big thank yo thank you. [applause] let's keep the warmbier family

and the scalise family and all of the victims of the congressional shooting in our hearts and prayers. it was quite a day and our police officers were incredible, weren't they? they did a great job. thank you. and let us all pray for future peace, unity, and safety for all of our people. thank you. and for cuba. i am so thrilled to be back here with all of my friends in little havana. i love it, i love this city. thank you, thank you.

this is an amazing community. the cuban-american community has it so much love, i saw that immediately. what you've built here, a vibrant culture, the spirit of adventure is a testament to what our free cuba could be. with god's help, a free cuba is what we will soon achieve. [applause]

>> usa! >> president trump: i don't even mind that it is 110 degrees up here, this room is packed. it wasn't designed for this. i'd like to thank the fire department. we are delighted to be joined by so many friends and leaders of our great community. i want to express our deep gratitude to a man that has really become a friend of mine. senator marco rubio, great guy. he is tough.

he is tough and he is good and he loves you, he loves you. i listen to another friend of mine. i tell you, i love what he said and i appreciate it. i was looking for mario, i wanted to find him. i almost dragged him off the stage to thank him, thank you mario. i also want to thank my good friend, for being with us, governor rick scott.

[applause] great job, he is doing a great job. i hope he runs for senate, i know i am not supposed to say that but i hope he runs for the senate. rick, are you running? marco, let's go, we've got to get him, i hope he runs for the senate. we are deeply honored to be joined by amazing veterans of the bay of pigs. [applause] amazing people. [applause] i have wonderful memories from our visit during the campaign, right before the election.

florida as a whole, this community that supported us by tremendous margins and we appreciate it. including one of the big honors, and that was the honor of getting the bay of pigs award just before the election and it's great to be gathered in a place named for a true hero of the cuban people. you know what that means. i was also looking forward to welcoming to people who are not present. jose danielle ferrera and bertha so berta

soler were not able to leave cuba for this event, and although they could not be with us, we are with them 100%. we are with them. finally i want to recognize everyone in the audience who has their own painful story to tell about the true and brutal nature of the castro regime, brutal. we thank the dissidents and the children of operation peter pan, you know what that means. [applause] and all who gather in the cafes, churches, and the streets of this incredible area and city to speak the truth and to stand for justice. [applause] we want to thank you all for being a voice for the voiceless.

you are making up the difference and we all want to thank you. you are an incredible group of talented, passionate people. thank you. incredible group of people. many of you witness terrible crimes, a depraved ideology. you saw the dreams of generations held captive and you look at what happened, what communism has done. you new faces that disappeared, innocence locked in prisons and believers persecutors for preaching the word of god. you watched the women in white bruised, bloodied, and captured on their way from mass. you have heard the chilling cries of loved ones and the

cracks of a firing squad's piercing through the ocean breeze. not a good sound. among the courageous humana dissidents on stage with us today, imprisoned by the castro regime 15 years ago. [applause] she looks awfully good. >> thank you mr. president,

thank you mr. vice president, thank you marco rubio. thank you to all the cubans who fight no matter what the times can be. on behalf of the cuban people, my homeland, thank you. thank you. [applause] >> president trump: that's pretty good, she didn't know she was going to do that either, i will tell you. thank you very much. imprisoned for 17 years.

[applause] i love that name. imprisoned for over 20 years. thank you, thank you. they have witnessed communism destroy a nation just has communism has destroyed every

single nation way it has ever been tried. [applause] but we will not be silenced in the face of communist, oppression any longer. you have seen the truth, you have spoken the truth and the truth has now called us, this group called us to action. thank you. last year i promised to be a voice against repression. in our region, remember. tremendous repression. voice for the freedom of the cuban people. you heard that pledge, you exercised that right, you voted. and here i am like i promised, like i promised.

[applause] i promise you, i keep my promis promise. sometimes in politics they take a little bit longer but we get there, we get there. you better believe it, we get there. we keep our promise. now that i am your president, america will expose the crimes of the castro regime and stand with the cuban people in their struggle for freedom. we know it is best for america to have freedom in our hemisphere whether in cuba or

venezuela, for a future where the people of each country can live out their own dreams. for nearly six decades, the cuban people have suffered over communist domination. to this day, cuba is ruled by the same people who killed tens of thousands of their own citizens, who sought to spread their repressive and failed ideology throughout our hemisphere and who once tried to host enemy nuclear weapons 90 miles from our shores. the castro regime has shipped arms to north korea and cause

chaos in venezuela. it has harbored cop killers, hijackers, and terrorists. it is supporting human trafficking, forced labor and exploitation all around the globe. this is the simple truth of the castro regime. my administration will not hide from it, excuse it, or glamorize it. and we will never be blind to i it. we know what's going on and we remember what happened. [applause]

on my recent trip overseas, i said that the united states is adopting a principled realism, rooted in our values, shared interests and common sense. i also said countries should take great responsibility for creating stability in their own regions. it's hard to think of a policy that makes less sense than the prior administrations terrible and misguided deal with the castro regime. you have to say, the iran deal was pretty bad also. let's not forget that beauty. they made a deal with the government that spreads violence and instability in the region and nothing they got, they fought for everything and we just didn't fight hard enough,

but now those days are over. now we hold the cards, we now hold the cards. the previous administrations easing of restrictions on travel and trade it does not help the cuban people. they only enrich the cuban regime. [applause] the profits from investment and tourism float directly to the military. the regime takes the money. the outcome of the last administration's executive action has been only more aggression and i moved to crush the peaceful democratic movement.

therefore, effective immediately, i am canceling the last administrations completely one sided deal with cuba. i am announcing today a new policy, just as i promised during the campaign. i will be signing that contract right at that table in just a moment.

our policy will seek a much better deal for the cuban people and for the united states of america. we do not want u.s. dollars to prop up the military monopoly that exploits and uses the citizens of cuba. our new policy begins with strictly enforcing u.s. law. we will not lift sanctions on the cuban regime until all political prisoners are free. freedom of assembly and expression are respected. all political parties are legalized, and free and internationally supervised elections are scheduled.

elections. we will very strongly restrict american dollars flowing to the military, security, and intelligence services that are the core of the castro regime, they will be restricted. we will enforce the ban on tourism. we will enforce the embargo. we will take concrete steps to ensure that investments flow directly to the people so they can open private businesses and began to build their countries great, great future. a country of great potential.

[applause] my action today bypasses the military and the government to help the cuban people themselves pursue much better lives. we will keep in place the safeguards to prevent cubans from risking their lives on unlawful travel to the united states. they are in such danger the way they have to come to this country and we are going to be safeguarding those people. we have two, we have no choice. we have to. [applause] and we will work for the day when a new generation of leaders brings this long reign of suffering to an end. and i do believe that end is in the very new future.

we challenge cuba to come to the table with a new agreement that is in the best interest of both their people and our people and also of cuban-americans. to the cuban government, i say put an end to the abuse of dissidents. release the political prisoners. stop jailing innocent people. open your selves to political and economic freedoms. return the fugitives from american justice, including the return of the cop killer and

hand over military criminals who shot down members of brothers to the rescue who were in unarmed, small, slow civilian planes. those victims included mario and carlos. [applause]

those are great, great parents who love their children so much. what they've done is an incredible thing, what they represent, they did not die in vain. what they represent to everybody and especially to the cuban people. your children did not die in vain, believe me. [applause] so to the castro regime, i repeat. the harboring of criminals and fugitives will end. you have no choice. it will end. any changes to the relationship

between the united states and cuba will depend on real progress toward these and the other goals, many of which i've described. when cuba is ready to take concrete steps to these ends, we will be ready, willing, and able to come to the table to negotiate a much better deal for cubans, for americans, a much better deal. and a deal that is fair, a deal that's fair. a deal that makes sense. our embassy remains open in the hope that our countries can forge a much stronger and better path. america believes that free independent and sovereign nations are the best vehicle for human happiness and health, for education, for safety, for

everything. we all accept that all nations have the right to chart their own paths, i am certainly a very big believer in that. we will respect cuban sovereignty, but we will never turn our backs on the cuban people, that will not happen. over the years, a special sympathy has grown between this land of the free and the beautiful people of that island so close to our shores and so deeply woven into the history of our region. america has rejected the cuban people's oppressors, they are officially rejected it. [applause] to those people, america has become a source of strength and

our flag is a symbol of hope. i know that is exactly what america is to you and what it represents to you. it represents the same to me and to all of us. that is what it was to a little boy, luis, very famous, great talent. it just eight years old when fidel castro seized power. at the time, his father who was the police chief in santiago. just days after castro took control, his father was 1 of 71 cubans executed by firing squad near san juan hill at the hands of the castro regime.

luis buried his grief in his great love of music, he began playing the violin so brilliantly and beautifully. soon the regime saw his incredible gift and wanted to use him for propaganda purposes. when he was 12, they organized a national television special and demanded he play a >> president trump: to fetch louise from his home, but he refused to go, and a few days later, castro barged into his practice area, guns blazing. they told him to play for them,