ainsley: congratulations on that. steve: tomorrow on this program, kellyanne conway celebrating national waffle day. see you tomorrow. ♪ >> shannon: a defiant president trump taking the stage in phoenix last night pulling no punches saying the media blames republican senators and shutting down the government to get his wall built. good morning, i am shannon bream in "america's newsroom" ." >> good morning. the president unleashed inside turned violent, outside police had to use tear gas to disperse some of the crowd only after the president spoke for more than one hour, and today is being called vintage trump. here's a taste. >> we are fully and totally

committed to fighting for our agenda, and we will not stop until the job is done. we have to close down our government, we are building that wall. we are really vetting. so, i have a message for congress tonight. your job is to represent american families, american people, american workers, it's your job. what happened in charlottesville strikes at the core of america. i spoke out forcefully against hatred, bigotry, and violence, and strongly condemned the neo-nazi, the white supremacist, and the kkk. it's time to expose a crooked media deceptions and to challenge the media for their

role in fermenting divisions. my administration is committed to the idea all americans have the right to live in safety, security, and peace. >> shannon: live in reno, nevada, where the president is talking later this morning. the president had a lot to say about the media last night. >> yes, specifically, shannon, about a good half hour that he spent unloading on the media. specifically the coverage he received and the response he had to the violence in charlottesville. before a crowd of nearly 15,000 supporters, president trump reread some of the statements he made after a white supremacist neo-nazi rally turned deadly more than a week ago in virginia. take a listen. >> so i said, by the way, folks, this is my exact words: "i love

all the people of our country, we are going to make america great again, but we are going to make it great for all of the people of the united states of america." and then they say, is he a racist? is he a racist? >> he left out some of the most widely criticized portions of his response, specifically when he said there were good people on both sides. the president went after arizona g.o.p. senators without naming them, first on senator john mccain for the lack of support, and then on senator jeff flake. >> we were just one vote away from victory after seven years of everybody proclaiming repeal and replace. one vote away. and nobody wants me to talk about your other senator who is weak on borders, weak on crime,

so i won't talk about him. >> and at one point, shannon, during the speech last night, president trump did say he didn't want to be controversial. shannon. >> shannon: we understand the protest outside largely peaceful, not to spurred up until after the rally? >> right. interesting. that is when things got dicey. phoenix police say when the event ended and the thousands of people came into the streets joining the thousands of protesters already there, officers needed to use tear gas and pepper balls to disperse the crowd. the police chief saying it was in response to rocks and bottles being thrown at police. four people were arrested in the president later today will be speaking before the american legion here in reno. >> shannon: live in nevada, thank you. >> eric: for more on this, let's bring in steve hayes, editor in chief of the weekly standard and fox news

contributor. it is kind of outstanding to see the specter of republican president attacking the two incumbent republican senators. not going well with colleagues. >> and that's the divide here. if you look at last night as a piece of performance art as donald trump as an entertainer, it had everything. there was a suspense, was he going to pardon him or not, how directly would he attack john mccain and jeff flake. there were plot twists, the president taking on some issues left out of the campaign trail. all the elements you would want in a good entertaining one hour television show. would it didn't do was advance the president's agenda. he didn't do much at all about the speech the previous night. a pretty good response on afghanistan. he did not develop that much. he took shots at the arizona senators but also the republicans in congress he has to work with to move his agenda forward once he gets back to washington. >> eric: how will that go when

he gets back to washington, the debt ceiling coming up on september 30th. >> not well, i think. politicians don't like to be criticized, we know that. they particularly don't want to be criticized by members of their own party or criticized by the leader of their own party, so when donald trump goes after the congressional republicans with whom he's going to have to work, however good it might feel to him and however justified some criticism is, it's just not going to help the president when he gets back here and has to work with them. >> eric: he's slamming the republicans, two of them, but at the same time repealing to the democrats about trying to get democratic support on tax credits. >> we need the help of congress. we are giving you the biggest tax cut in the history of our country. the democrats are going to find a way to obstruct. if they do remember, they are stopping you from getting a massive tax cut, just remember

that, okay? >> eric: 10 democratic senators are up in states he won, will that appeal sway them? >> i don't think taking a shot at them at a campaign rally will. but if the president wants to pass tax reform, he can pass the case on a substantive way. he needs more substance in his attacks or the pressure on democrats to get them to bend to his will. then just taking a one-off shot at a campaign rally. >> eric: what about the tone? today a lot of critics say it was over the top. >> this is what you expect from donald trump. the people who love donald trump, they will love a rally like this, they will think it is great. i thought his tone was over the top. the media once again saying reporters don't love their country is way over the top. it is a disgraceful thing to say. a lot of reporters are too liberal, more liberal than i am,

i wish they would cover conservative ideas the way they cover liberal ideas. they don't, they deserve to be criticized for that. >> eric: you he said things tht simply weren't true. "new york times" today angry, unbridled, "the huffington post" "huffington post" saying unhinged, deranged, unstable. how does he put that past him, or can he, once he gets back to washington? >> you would expect that from "the huffington post," no doubt about it. the problem for donald trump more broadly. more broadly the tone he had during his speech on presenting the afghanistan plan was a much better tone for donald trump. if his goal is to get things done, to move his agenda forward, that will be much more effective to him then going and ranting and you said the story about charlottesville left out

the actual sources of the controversy as he retold the story there. >> eric: we have another speech today, we will we see what kind of tone he has there. >> shannon: u.s. navy leaving after two deadly collisions in the pacific claimed the lives of 17 sailors in less than three months. the navy citing a loss of confidence in his ability to command. live from the pentagon with more. good morning. the navy appears to be moving very quickly in the wake of this deadly collision. >> good morning, shannon. he is the highest-ranking officer to face discipline following the latest deadly collision from a u.s. navy warship at sea. the commander of the u.s. pacific fleet relieved of the head of the seventh fleet due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command. to give you an idea of how big the seventh fleet is, at any given time there are between 60-70 warships, 200-300

aircraft, 40,000 navy and marine corps personnel assigned to the seventh fleet. an enormous command for a 3-star admiral. the crash of uss john s. mccain comes days after the navy announced it would punish seven sailors from uss fitzgerald after seven sailors were killed in june. now others have been relieved of duty after four mishaps this year. and he was already previously scheduled to retire in the next few weeks. now a stain on his career. >> shannon: what more do we know about the latest recovery efforts trying to find the 10 missing sailors? >> shannon, navy officials tell me more diverse and heavy equipment are needed to gain access and open up the flooded compartments to locate and extract some of the missing bodies of the 10 missing sailors. divers have located some of the bodies but they cannot free them due to the damage inside the ship. they located a body out at sea but it has yet to be identified.

and shannon, today the navy is down two navy destroyers in the pacific capable of shooting down north korean ballistic missiles. shannon. >> shannon: not a good time for that. lucas tomlinson, thank you very much. >> eric: raising the question of if kim jong un on is defying u.s. warnings. developing a new type of ballistic missile. >> shannon: president trump doubles down on the border wall, says he is willing to shut down the government if necessary. that could be the next showdown on capitol hill. we will get the reaction from congressman trent franks. >> eric: and says the media has been distorting his comments. has that been happening? we will debase that question. fair and balanced. coming up. >> i'm condemning the strongest terms. i think you can't do much about it, right? okay, they had it on initially, but one day he talked, he didn't

say it fast enough.

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shoot down. >> i hit them with neo-nazis, i hit them with everything. i got the white supremacist and neo-nazi, i got them all. kkk, we have kkk, i got them all. they are having a hard time, so what do they say? right? "it should have been sooner. he's a racist." >> eric: that is president trump last night going on defensive about his reaction of the deadly protest in virginia. the president again accusing the media of being dishonest about his comments saying he has received critical coverage despite his efforts of calling out the groups behind the chaos in charlottesville. is that true? brad blakeman joins us. richard fowler, radio talk show host and fox news contributor. did he hit this groups strong

enough as he is saying? >> not at all. i think the president thinks this is some sort of joke. i tried to understand where he is coming from and i tried to find the positive here, but once again i am left scratching my head. he would have been fine living off of the afghanistan speech yesterday, but he continues to relive the charlottesville thing over and over again thinking that were not taped and we did not get a chance to see it forgetting the fact he said "on both sides" twice, which he didn't say so yesterday, which caused pause among many individuals including myself and other colleagues. >> eric: last night he again called them out by name. >> i think that is fine. but the problem is this, eric. the reason there was violence in charlottesville is neo-nazi, the kkk, white supremacists decided to have a rally on friday night with tiki torches, 500 of them marching down the streets of the

american city. that created fear, that had led to the violence saturday, point blank, period. the president has understand what that fear means for african-americans and jewish americans all across the country. he keeps missing the mark on this over and over again, and i guess it works for his base but does not speak to all americans. that is what is problematic. >> eric: do you think he is treating it as a joke as richard claims? >> unfortunately i have to agree with richard. his statements last saturday coupled with a written statement monday should have sufficed. he condemned violence and hatred and bigotry. but it was tuesday he had the infrastructure press conference that he took questions and instead of relying on the statements he already made, he made it worse. now when he should be moving onto other things and talking about the fall agenda and taxes and infrastructure and data, we are talking about charlottesville again.

we have to just let it go in the sense of not opening wounds. we should be healing. >> eric: should the nation let it go or a matter of the president keep on defending himself in this? >> there's nothing to defend. with the president should be doing is unifying the country. the president had a great opportunity last night to talk about how we are all in this together. all for one, one for all. the problems affect us all whether you are hurting in chicago or miami or los angeles, we are all americans. >> eric: still trying to internalize this? >> absolutely. i mean let it go in in the senf opening wounds and exacerbating the hatred and bigotry and violence that we've seen in charlottesville. we don't need that. we need our country to come together, we don't need to division. >> eric: last night he said we are a team, all on the same team. as americans.

what should he say now, how does he move forward? go ahead. >> i am remiss for an answer to that. the reason is he continues to tiptoe and if his toe in the water into strange places. what we saw him do yesterday even though sarah huckabee sanders said we will not be pardoning joe. and then the reason he was found in contempt of court was because of massive civil rights violations against people of color. >> eric: and if he does part in the sheriff? >> this will go back to where we started the conversation. i think brad got this, brad worked at the bush administration, and george bush got this. when george bush was elected, he didn't have great support from the african-american vote. in the first term they worked to expand their outreach to african-americans through faith-based initiatives, through the church. in 2004 they saw an increase in the polls of african voters.

if they continue at the trend they are working at. they are saying to black voters we don't care about you, we don't want to talk to you, we don't care about it and we double down on this rhetoric. >> eric: we are up against the clock, what do you think? >> the president said it best from the podium last night, i was told not to say this, i was told not to say that, and he said it. if you would just take the advice he was given and don't appeal to the base. the bases with you know matter what, you have to appeal beyond your base. >> eric: brad and richard, thank you. we will see if that continues or with the language will be later today when he speaks from reno. >> shannon: has pc culture gone to far? espn facing backlash for removing a broadcaster from covering a football game because of his name. we will explain and debate that decision. plus, jared kushner in the middle east today. can he restart peace talks between israel and the palestinians? here is what they would like to

see him accomplish. >> what i would like to see is him announced that the president will not be signing anymore waivers with regard to the embassy, it will be moving to jerusalem and be very assertive but unapologetically pro israel is a way to handle these whoooo.

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>> eric: a governor stop the execution of the convicted murderer after new dna test have raised questions about his guil guilt. marcella's williams was scheduled to be executed last night after being convicted of stabbing a woman to death in 1998. attorneys say new tests show his dna was not on the murder weapon. a board of inquiry will be appointed to the case. >> shannon: the trump administration restarting the middle east talks.

jared kushner in cairo today and heading to israel of restarting a long stalled process for peace. john huddy is live from jerusalem. he was supposed to meet with the prime minister today. did it happen? >> no, it did not, in short. a bit of a rocky start to the egypt trip. the prime minister was supposed to meet with jared kushner and the delegation he was leading, but the meeting was called off. apparently canceling the meeting when kushner and the delegation landed in cairo. in protest of the trump administration's decision to cut $95 million in military and economic aid to egypt while delaying close to 200 million pending human right improvements in egypt. some are basically saying jared kushner and the u.s. delegation were snubbed by egypt's foreign minister, but having said that i

should also add, shannon, some u.s. officials are downplaying the cancel meeting saying it was never set in stone adding kushner is still expecting to meet with egypt's president, abdel fattah el-sisi, at some point this afternoon. we are waiting on more information if that meeting is happening. what has come out of it, presumably the cut in aid will be a main topic of discussion. kushner did meet with the king of jordan and oman who said he was restarting peace talks between israelis and palestinians, and said the only way to bring about peace is through a two-state solution. a difficult undertaking, indeed. to give you an idea, shannon, of kushner's schedule, he is scheduled to fly back here to israel where he will meet with president netanyahu followed by separate meeting tomorrow with palestinian president.

kushner was here with president trump earlier this year when the president took the middle east to her. another effort to restart peace talks in the region after several weeks of violence last month in jerusalem. >> shannon: in the meantime president netanyahu was there. >> he was meeting with russian president vladimir putin. he goes to moscow and in this case it was in sochi, the black sea resort, where they talk about they discuss regional issues, this time the focus on iran and the prime minister and defense minister concerns about iran and syria along the border with israel and iran's increased foothold in the middle east and syria. shannon. >> shannon: john huddy for us to live in, thank you very much. >> eric: meanwhile, the state department issuing a new travel warning telling americans

to stay away from some of mexico's hottest tourist spots. raising the question if your vacation destination is on the list. we will give you a rundown. >> shannon: president trump telling the crowd in phoenix we are building the wall, we will shut down the government if we have two. response from congressman trent franks next. >> the people voted for immigration control, that is one of the reasons i am here. and that is why the american people deserve, and they are going to get it.

♪ >> build that wall. now, the obstructionist democrats would not like us to do it, but believe me, we have to close down our government, we are building that wall. two democrats in congress to oppose a border wall and stand in the way of border security, you are putting all of america's

safety at risk. you are doing that. >> shannon: president trump warning washington leaders last night he will not back down his push to build a border wall with mexico, one of his signature campaign promises. arizona congressman was there last night and joins us now live, good to see you, sir. >> you too. >> shannon: the president said last night he is willing to shut down the government over it. i imagine there are plenty of folks on the g.o.p. side of the aisle who say no, we don't want to do that, because no matter how the government gets shut down, you always get blamed. what do you think? >> i think you articulated it perfectly. there would never be any discussions of shutting down the government if it weren't for the fact that democrats in the senate on a regular basis take this entire process hostage through the filibuster, and that is what causes the shut down. certain appropriation funds run out as a matter of law,

democrats won't let another appropriations bill in the senate except the one that they want, so consequently they take the entire process hostage, and that's what causes the shut dow down. i just have to tell you, shannon, if everybody else could forget everything else i say in this interview, if we are going to drain the swamp in washington, we have to pull the plug on the senate filibuster. it is the only hope for us to get accountable clarity in our appropriations process. >> shannon: something the president called for last night and the senate majority leader said no way they are not going to do, so where does that leave you? >> senator mcconnell said that about the process for appointing justices too. said they would never change the rules, so that debate is over. he saw clearly the american people would not count the notion that after president trump appointed perhaps the most qualified supreme court justice in a century, now somehow he was going to have to come back to tell the american people i'm

sorry, even though the election was about the constitution and the supreme court, we will not be able to give this guy a fair up or down vote. the filibuster was exposed at that point, and they changed it. every person who said they would not change it, did exactly that, so the debate really is over. >> shannon: i want to read you a tweet. >> the democrats are going to do it as soon as they are in power, that is the main thing to keep in mind. not a matter of if, a matter of when. to give them a chance to see american policy. >> shannon: the way things are set up now, there are plenty of checks and balances. a lot of people say not a lot of balances. the president had nice things to say about you last night, he said thank you. he is not a fan of some of the other lawmakers from arizona. here is a tweet we got moments ago, phoenix crowd last night was amazing, packed house, i

love the great state of arizona. not a fan of jeff flake. weak on crime and border." the spat continues to be a public one, what do you make of it? >> the president is frustrated with the lack of progress in the senate. i heard the senate leader the other day, senator mcconnell said the president has unrealistic expectations or something to that effect, and he was new to the process. what is really wrong with the process is a mind-set that thinks the senate can never get anything done or shouldn't get anything done, and perhaps instead of a president not being on the scene long enough, the mind-set has been on for too long. i just hope somehow the senators realize the country is counting on them, this is one of the first opportunities we've had to truly address some of the greatest challenges this nation faces and if not now, when? it is time to tear down the wall the filibuster and give the american people a chance to truly be in consent of what

their government is doing. right now they don't even know, the process makes it impossible for them to see. >> shannon: the folks you had last night at the rally, a lot of excitement there. we talked on the commercial break about how people are responding. people who were very supportive of everything had to say this is the reason they voted for them and want to see these things happen. this is what the editorial board had to say. the speech was not about unity despite the movement was built on love, it was about blaming others, it was about feeding the paranoia of his passionate followers. it was disturbing. your reply? >> i find that disturbing. the reality is they led off with dr. ben carson, with franklin graham, mike pence, some of the greatest leaders in this country. and some of the most inspiring

speakers anyone would ever want to hear, and their message has always been one of human dignity and pulling us together and we are all children of god, and that is the reason we are equal. i found it extremely inspiring and for the republic to say it was disturbing really shows why donald trump goes after the media so much. the only people he went after in a big way last night, he was hard on the senate, but the people he went after last night was the media, and what you just articulated is the reason he did it. because the media simply doesn't get it, and i have to say to you, one of the more dangerous things for the future of this republic is the false reporting and twisted mind-set in the united states left-wing media. >> shannon: there has been a lot of criticism ahead of this trip, the phoenix mayor said don't come here if you're coming here to divide. if you're coming here to pardon the sheriff, very controversial. the president didn't do it last night, but said i think you will be just fine.

people think he was hinting toward a part of him at some point. the sheriff is looking at sentencing probably in october. what do you make of that situation? >> i thought the mayor was posturing in a really tragic way. i thought that was really unfortunate he would send out. judge the president's speech. the president's speech was extremely unifying. yes, he gave us a little hint into his mind-set. i think joe will ultimately be pardoned, and i don't think he should have ever been convicted and needed to have a pardon in the first place. but i will tell you, if people had been there, and i was there, i have been to a lot of gatherings a long time. i am getting up there in the years. this is an incredibly inspiring meeting that if people had heard it, it would have been good for all-america. >> shannon: thank you for getting up early for us. you look youthful and ready to

go, so we appreciate your time, congressman. >> thank you very much, that will get you a long ways. >> shannon: good to see you. >> eric: planning a vacation south of the border this summer, new concern for travelers. the state department showing a travel warning for parts of mexico. saying violent crimes make it unsafe for americans in some part of the country's hottest tourist spots including cabo san lucas and the tourist destination of cancun. now with the details. why did the department issue this helpful warning in the first place? >> hi, good morning, eric. violence in mexico is on the rise and americans could easily get caught up in it. the latest upgraded warning covers many of the most popular destinations as you said including in baja, california, los cabos, ensenada. in the yucatan peninsula,

cancun, playa del carmen, and carmel. it is the hot spot where all the americans usually go. the advisor cites increased criminal activity like kidnapping, carjacking, robbery, and even homicide. various gun battles between rival gangs are spilling over into the streets and public during broad daylight. >> a pretty important line is being crossed. you think about cancun, creeping into places that is surprising to most of us. >> and the advisory ads in some places criminal organizations have created their own fraudulent unauthorized checkpoints and have either abducted or killed those who don't stop and cooperate. >> eric: we will have to stay with florida or down in alabama by the shores. shannon. >> shannon: meanwhile 17 sailors have died in just three months. the navy relieving a top commander of his duty. could any of this have been

avoided? we will talk to a former commander of the seventh fleet. >> eric: president trump saying kim jong un is starting to respect the united states. is that true? and why is north korea keeping its paddle drive? >> north korea better not make any more threats to the united states. they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. i don't miss much... definitely not the traffic. excuse me, doctor... the genomic data came in. thank you. you can do that kind of analysis? yeah, watson. i can quickly analyze millions of clinical and scientific reports to help you tailor treatment options for the patient's genomic profile. you can do that? even way out here? yes. even way out here.

♪ >> and you see what's going on in north korea. all the sudden, i don't know, who knows, but i can tell you what i said, that's not strong enough. some said it was too strong, it's not strong enough. >> eric: that is president trump of course last night saying the comments on north korea did not go far enough. adding kim jong un is finally starting to, he says, respect the united states.

is he focusing on his own re-survival? the four-star admiral and seventh fleet commander robert natter joins us. last year during the south korea exercise is going on, they last for ten days. last year kim jong un responded by firing missiles conducting his fifth nuclear test, now there's nothing. is that an encouraging sign? >> i think it's encouraging in the short term, the question is what is the long-term signals from north korea? look, the administration needs to continue working with china, they need to make sure that the sanctions that are imposed are enforced and consistent, and we just need to keep after this problem because it's not going to go away. >> eric: is china doing enough? they were on board the united nations resolution a couple of weeks ago that were said to be the strongest ever, but that doesn't seem to have any effect at all. >> i think it has an effect.

and it needs to have an even more effect. out of fairness to china, the united states has been inconsistent with the enforcement of the sanctions that we've imposed over the last ten, 15 years. so we can do a much better job, and we can do a much better job working with china, letting them know it's in their best interest and their national security interest to have a nuclear-free korean peninsula. >> eric: you think that will come to pass? china and russia to call off the military exercises going in exchange for a freeze. >> i have been involved in those exercises, and i can assure you the exercise is defensive in nature, in response to a synthetic action on the part of the north, and so these are not egregious exercises by any stretch. we have to convince china of that, so they can impose some

influence over north korea. >> eric: you have to convince north korea of that. >> they say this can amount to an invasion, but they say a lot of things. most of which is not true. >> eric: that is for sure. meanwhile you are the commander of the seventh fleet and we had the tragedy of the uss john s. mccain with the sailors who are missing, some of them who have perished. what is going on? four accidents, two collisions in the seventh fleet, the commander relieved of his duties. what are your thoughts? >> my thoughts are very simply the navy has a strong history and is required to have accountability. not just of the immediate problem, but at a larger level. all commanders are responsible. i don't know the facts with response to the seventh fleet, i don't know the investigation

yet, but i do believe in a strong accountability. >> eric: do you have a gut feeling of this? some say a lack of training, not enough resources, cut back from 3 to 1. any reason why you think this has continued to happen? >> i think there are a number of reasons. this investigation is going to show with respect to the region, but also the cnl appropriately had the fleet forces commander undertake across-the-board look at what some of these reasons are, and more importantly what the fixes are to go after these reasons. they have to stop, there has to be confidence in our ships at sea, and most importantly there has to be confidence on the part of our relatives who are sending their sons and daughters and husbands and wives to see that they are being led by competent

commanders with ships that are fully serviceable and have appropriate repairs done to them. again, and number of reasons here, and we have two attack all those reasons. >> eric: admiral joseph aucoin was relieved of duty. and of course, admiral, our thoughts and prayers are with the families and those who perished in the past few accidents. one of my son's classmates is serving on uss john s. mccain right now. and we think of them and thank them. admiral, thank you. >> thank you. >> shannon: is it going to be an attack of the drones? u.s. military mapping out a playbook from the sky. we take you live with details. was, president trump going after arizona senator jeff flake was a frequent critic of the president. we will talk to dr. kelli ward joining us live in the next hour. >> nobody wants me to talk about him, nobody knows who the hell he is.

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♪ >> shannon: the department of homeland security getting serious about drones, even enlisting a top university to help figure out how best to use a small unmanned aircraft. live from mississippi to tell us more. good morning, jonathan. >> good morning, shannon. camp shelby is going to be one of the major sites of the department of homeland security using to evaluate drones. an ideal location not only because of its the last territory and airspace but the elaborate training grounds. this drone video was shot over a full-sized simulated village. operators are using the drone to follow actors and vehicles posing as high-value targets.

dhs is exploring many other potential drone uses. >> security is a big part of what the drone will be used for, search and rescue is another big area they play a role, and disaster recovery. >> dhs has partnered with mississippi state university to help evaluate different types of drones for different uses. they want to see what works best and what is possible. >> we see huge economic opportunities for our nation and in my home state of mississippi, we've already got major manufacturers manufacturing unmanned air systems in our state. those companies were incubated on our campus. >> of course, for many people the thought of government drones flying overhead raises privacy concerns. dhs officials say they are well aware of this and have pledged to implement their drone program in a way that respects civil rights while also protecting. >> shannon: very interesting, thank you.

>> eric: meanwhile, interviewed by congressional investigators behind closed doors. what did he tell them in secret? we will have the details coming up. >> shannon: plus, after a fiery campaign rally style last night, he is heading to reno, nevada, this afternoon. what do we think you will focus on there?

>> shannon: president trump continuing his trip to the west heading to reno this afternoon after that fiery speech got them all routed up. and in phoenix last night. back in the swamp, a key figure behind the infamous trump dossier appears on capitol hill, and are really under the radar for a while. a new hour for "america's newsroom." were not going to let it slip by. i'm shannon bream. this is our special guest. >> eric: i'm eric shawn and for bill hemmer. a fusion gps, the research firm

that produced the so-called dirty dossier was question for hours in a closed doors reading with congressional investigators. there he is on the right. his name is glenn simpson, and mr. simpson's lawyer is claiming "the investigation into mr. simpson began as a desperate attempt by the trump campaign and its allies to smear fusion gps because of its reported connection to the trump dossier." what did they say? chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge has more on the testimony live from washington. >> the statement from simpson's lawyer did not address the key question raised by fox news after the senate committee confirmed the assistant and his legal team provided thousands worth of documents to congressional investigators. the statement from the senate judiciary committee reads in part "fusion's initial of documents consisted of headlines from publicly available news reports and more than 7500 pages of blank paper." fusion eventually provided a copy of the same unverified dossier that has been publicly available since january, and a

privilege log that raises more questions than answers. last month, the senate committee issued a subpoena for some sin to testify publicly and at the same time, they found simpson at the aspen security conference and his lawyer reportedly said he was on vacation and traveling through early august. there is a full transcript of simpson's testimony with the report claiming it lasted ten hours. the transcript is not public and we are working to confirm whether other committees will get access to it. >> eric: would we know more about congressional investigators have to say? this term privilege law. >> fox news understands and investigators want more information on simpson's sources and who his back paid for the dossier. last month, the committee's revoking chairman pressed another witness about fusion gps and work to undermine the credibility of a russian whistleblower. the russians allegedly tortured and the repeal of u.s. sanctions, punishing russian officials for his murder. >> could you explain exactly how mr. simpson manipulated the

media to smear you and undermine? >> glenn simpson was calling a number of journalists the story that he was pitching was that sergey had not been murdered, that he died of natural causes. it wasn't whistleblower that he was a criminal. >> simpson is 1 of 3 key witnesses that are now on deck to speak with the judiciary committee, but all of them will be behind closed doors. the other two are donald trump junior and the former campaign chairman paul mena for it. we don't have a timetable on their sessions at this point. >> eric: thank you, catherine. >> you're welcome. >> shannon: meanwhile, president trump pumping up and enthusiastic crowd last night, revving up his base in the face of growing political opposition. >> we went to center stage and we never left, right? all of us, we did together. you were there at the start, you've been there every single day since, and i will never forget.

believe me, arizona, i will never forget. >> shannon: trump supporters going wild is a double down on building a border wall, warning that he is willing to shut down the government. if that's what it takes. arizona congressman reacting on "america's newsroom." >> they let off the ct right with doctor ben carson who, with franklin graham, with mike pence, some of the greatest leaders in this country, their message has always been one of human dignity and pulling us together, and that we are all children of god and that's the reason that we are equal. i just found it extremely expiring. >> shannon: chris darla, fox news politics editor. good to see you. a little late night, but there was plenty of energy. there's a lot of talk about and the president laid down a lot of markers there. i've got to start with this idea of shutting down the government because you and i have covered washington for a little while, i'm guessing that there are a lot of g.o.p. members of congress at home like no! don't say that. i don't think he is going to get

a lot of people on board with that idea. but the people that voted for him are ready for that, they hired a gridlock in washington. >> this is probably mostly fake. there is no indication that congress -- that republicans oppose funding for starting a border wall. trump's definition of what a federal amount of funding is seems to be quite fungible. this is political rhetoric written, this is fire up the crowd and told them i don't care if i have to shut down the government to get the thing that i've already got. i think this is a bit of statecraft. >> shannon: he also called for something that he has been told no on as well, this is part of his public spat with mitch mcconnell, senate majority letter. >> we have to get rid of the filibuster rule right now. we need 60 votes, and we have 52 republicans. that means that eight democrats are controlling all of this legislation. we have over 200 bills.

we have to speak to mitch, and have to speak to everybody. >> shannon: i was love watching people. there's so much fun. i love the signs and everything else. this idea, the filibuster, i brought this up with congressman trent franks, the republican from arizona and he said this in, the republicans used to say there is no way we are going to kill the filibuster on his judicial nominees with the supreme court. obviously, they change their mind. he thinks they can be convinced because right now, there is a logjam of what the american people voted for, president trump to do, those who voted for him, they can't get anywhere with it. but mcconnell said they're not getting rid of the filibuster but as trent franks pointed out, he said the same thing about the judicial filibuster. >> trent franks is in the house. he obviously thinks the senate ought to be more like the house or the senate ought to give him what he wants. the president takes the senate ought to give him what he wants.

here's the thing. in the united states, we have an electoral college that makes it so that even a majority of the country doesn't mean that you win the presidency. in the senate, there's a 60 vote threshold. even if you have the majority of votes, that doesn't mean it's good enough. like the electric back electoral college. that protects the rights of the people prayed i don't see the president being anywhere near having 51 votes in the united states senate to change those rules. i do not think that john mccain, i do not think ben sass, i don't think that a bunch of conservatives and a bunch of moderates will go for that. the problem here is, it's good stagecraft. he talked about these eight democrats preventing us from getting on what we want. that's not true. what's stopping him is two or three republicans who keep him under the 50 vote threshold even on budget reconciliation stuff where he already has a 51 vote threshold. >> shannon: that's trooper at his suite just minutes ago tweeting about the filibuster

saying "if the republican senate doesn't get rid of the filibuster rule and go to a ball majority, which the democrats would do, they are just wasting time for it" at the same point that congressman franks made. he said at the democrats have control of of the senate again, they're going to do it. we are wasting times. do you think it's true? >> maybe they will, maybe they want. republicans don't have the vote. until you can show me that they are even 45, if you can show me that there are 45 republicans in the senate that want to go to simple majority in the senate, get rid of the filibuster rule, until you can show me that, this is all hot air. that's the reality. the reality is the votes just aren't there because they prefer as it stands to keep things where the senate go slow, and the senate means broader consensus to pass big legislation. >> shannon: great to see you this morning, chris. thank you. >> eric: after speaking at

last night's phoenix rally, vice president mike spence today is in south florida said to focus on the ongoing crisis, an assault on democracy in venezuela. joe keenan is covering the vice president is morning. >> this afternoon, vice president pence will be here in our lady of guadalupe catholic church just west of miami, very large venezuelan community here. the vice president flew in after midnight in the wee hours after that phoenix rally with the president, so he's already here in miami and his first scheduled stop this afternoon will be at u.s. southern command headquartered here in miami to talk about regional threats in the hemisphere and particularly, venezuela. down in south america in venezuela, socialist president nicholas madero is talking to the trump administration and directly. in a press conference yesterday in caracas, he talked tough saying "nobody is going to submit venezuela or put it on its knees, and we kneel for no one." that's a response to recent sanctions placed on him and other venezuelan leaders out in

a socialist government by the trump administration, all in response to the new venezuelan constituent assembly which replaced the national assembly. the u.s. state department calls at a power grab by an authoritarian committee operating above the law. trump has also said military action in venezuela is an option. it's been four months of daily protests in venezuela, more than 100 opponents of the regime have been killed in the streets. crime and inflation are skyrocketing and they are scare scared. pence will be meeting this afternoon with the venezuelan exiles and migrants, and venezuelan americans living in the miami area listen to their concerns and talking about the continuing devastation in honduras down in venezuela. also this afternoon, rich scott and senator marco rubio and thee wall street journalist saying that the trip administered and is considering regulating and restricting trade deals involving who venezuelan debt specifically anything dealing

with venezuela's state-owned oil company. >> eric: that's a tragedy what's going on with the poor people in venezuela. thank you. >> shannon: president trump calling out the member of its own property. he didn't use their names, but i think everyone knew who he was talking about. >> we have some great senators, but we were one vote away from appealing. >> shannon: drain the swamp of there being chanted as john mccain and jeff flake to their ire, and one person that benefited, state senator kelly ward who is running against senator flake and the primary joins us live after the break. >> eric: some information this morning on the trump administration's strategy in afghanistan. if more soldiers could be heading there. >> shannon: what's in a name can act by espn is taking a lot of heat this morning for pulling a broadcaster of a college football game in the wake of

charlottesville. why they did it and the backlash coming up. rolaids® goes to work instantly neutralizing 44% more acid than tums® for fast, powerful relief of your worst heartburn. i trust my rolaids®. r-o-l-a-i-d-s spells relief.

>> i will not mention any names, very presidential, isn't it? and nobody wants me to talk about your other senator who is weak on borders, weak on crime. so i won't talk about him. nobody wants me to talk about

him. nobody knows who the hill he is. i have not mentioned any names. so now, everybody is happy. >> shannon: he didn't mention names. i don't know if everybody's happy though. president trump blaming arizona senators john mccain at jeff like during that rally in phoenix. the president calling out senator mccain for taking the deciding vote to kill the repealing obamacare effort. last week, president called just like in the middle of a tough primary battle weak on emigration and crime. the president appearing to throw his support behind state senator kelli ward who joins us now. we should also mention we did extend an invitation to senator flake and we are waiting to hear back from his cap on that. doctor ward, things were joining us today. >> great to be with you. >> shannon: i have to ask about this tweet that for many folks out there introduce them to who you are when the president suddenly tweeted out about your name. did you know that was coming connect you have a relationship with him? >> i have a great relationship with people in washington, d.c., but i did not know the tweet was coming.

it was pretty exciting to be woken up at 4:00 arizona time with people telling me that the president had tweeted out positively about me and has brought up many of the things that i've brought up against senator flake. that he's weak on the border, that he is weak on crime and really that he has been an nonentity in the united states senate, ineffectual. time for a change. >> shannon: you when unsuccessfully and that primary contest, so now you're gearing up again for next year and this is really unusual for a lot of people have the sitting president, though not formally endorsing, seeing his throwing his support behind yuan's address and let others do so versus the current sitting senator who seems to have the full support of the leadership including senate majority mitch mcconnell and the pact that does political ads, digital ads in support of reelecting incompetence. we want to play little bit of an ad that they are running against you and give you a chance to respond. >> chemtrail kelly has got her head in the clouds with crazy

ideas. she bizarrely blamed john mccain for isis. >> john mccain is directly responsible for the rise of isi isis. >> the ad goes on. i want to read a little bit of a piece of the "washington examiner" that dovetailed with this. an opinion pace by tom rogan says she doesn't actually seem to be with any principles of beyond subservience to trump. her campaign platform as defined by out of station support for trump and has policies, which is not attacking great patriot john mccain. there's a lot there. give you chance to to respond. >> sound like the classic smear coming from the establishment and many of their allies in the mainstream media. i was a very effective arizona state senator not because i was extreme in any manner, but because i put forth excellent policy that was good for the people of arizona, that i was able to get my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to

buy into, get to the governor's desk, and get signed. in fact, i got 19 bills signed into law in 2015 alone. bills to shrink the size of government, to lower taxes, to lift the heavy hand of government off the heads of small businesses so they can thrive. those kinds of attacks are ridiculous. people are looking for a change in washington, they want someone that is action oriented, and i do want someone who wants to support president trump's america first agenda. that is why so many people are flocking to my campaign. >> shannon: do you think the establishment is threatened by you and the possibility that you would be elected? >> i don't think they'd be throwing out attack ads and spending thousands of dollars to attack me if i were not a threat to their establishment power. >> shannon: i want to ask you if you became a senator, where you stand on this idea of getting rid of the 60 vote threshold for the filibuster the president keeps railing against and says it is gumming things up? he can't get anything done because of a democrat, although there have been republicans including senator john mccain who have not been helpful to his agenda there in congress.

where do you stand on that? the senate majority leader say there's no way. they said they never get on board with that. >> i think some of the problem is the virtual filibuster, where people can just throw out the idea that they won't vote for something and so nothing comes before the senate to even be discussed. the american people don't get to hear what's going on, they don't get to hear the reason why somebody might want to stop something from going through, and it is caused a lot of gumming up of the works. i agree with congressman franks. it's something that we should explore as we move forward. the rules of the senate should not trump the rules or the will of the american people and then need to get things done for our country. things like securing the border and stopping illegal immigration. at the top of my list. and getting of obamacare and just the thing, had i replaced senator mccain, i would've been the deciding yes vote to get rid of obamacare, to start that full repeal. so there was a lot of hard work

that needs to be done in the senate, and right now, it's an instruction every body both on the left and the right. if the democrats are the only ones stopping things. the establishment of publicans are as well. that's one of the reasons why i'm running for the united states senate is to change that and to get things done for the people. >> shannon: doctor kelli ward, g.o.p. candidate in 2018 for senate sea out of arizona, thank you very much for your time and again, our invitation has been extended to senator flake. we love to have them anytime. thank you. >> eric: while it's being called a cold war and what they say this one, president trump admit mcconnell, reportedly not getting along very well at all pray to haven't spoken to each other they say in weeks. will this growing tif threatened the republican agenda? >> shannon: sometimes the cooling off period is good. promising to win in afghanistan, we need to be done to turn the tide of our longest running war. why the white house says pakistan is one of the keys to victory. >> pakistan must adopt a

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>> eric: the pentagon is now planning to send several thousand new troops to afghanistan. we are told the first new forces should be arriving there within the next few weeks. the president outlining his new afghanistan strategy on monday. the secretary of state rex tillerson points out that that includes a plan to try to pressure the taliban to the negotiating table. >> this entire effort is intended to put pressure on the taliban to have the taliban understand you will not win a battlefield victory. we may not win one, but neither will you. >> eric: to understand that,

ralph peters joins us strategic analyst and author of the new book "judgment and appomattox" which comes out next week. >> always good speaking to you. >> eric: speaking of appomattox, the final battle of the civil war, april 9th, 1865, just before robert e lee surrendered to general grant. is there any parallel between that and afghanistan today? what are the chances of the taliban even getting to the negotiating table, let alone surrender? >> i don't see any parallels there. but thanks for mentioning the book. there was an argument about the fate of our nation. for the taliban, it's really about faith, which goes even deeper. in afghanistan, as far as this problem goes, every american writer left has to hope that this works out. that the president's new plan designed by general mattis and the pentagon, that it really brings us forward towards something that looks like peace. but it's hard not to be skeptical. when one that you are the

president saying we are going to fight to win matt, the next day secretary taylors and says that we are going to bring in the taliban to negotiating table, a fundamental problem here is that in this new plan or any other plan no one has really defined the instinct. we need to go, what's the real objective? until you do that, how on earth do you plan? i think we are at sixes and sevens all over the place, but that said, the president made some very good points reinforced by secretary taylors in. pakistan has a was been courted this problem is that some of the pakistani military but i'm not totally ignorant of them. but i will tell you, they are incontestability suckered, harbored, trained, armed. other terrorists who have killed americans in afghanistan. anyone who doesn't believe that pakistani intelligence services harbored bin laden who lives in a dream world. >> eric: they've been riddled with taliban's appetizers. he just mentioned the endgame.

the endgame is to kill the terrorists. will 4,000 new troops help ensure that? 50 set more than now. president obama deployed 100,000 and we weren't successful. >> that's a key point. i'm really concerned that this plan is putting a raccoon tail on the car that doesn't work. i'm dating myself. but seriously, do the math. it's very straightforward. if we had a 3900 or 4,000 troops, that would get us to 12,400 troops approximately afghanistan. how can we logically expect 12,400 troops to do what a total of 140,000 u.s. and allied troops couldn't do when the taliban was weaker. at the end of the day, i think the reality is closer to what secretary tillerson said, that the taliban or limits thereof or splinter groups will have to be brought to the government if you have any hope of peace, but is

that what we fought and vied for? at the problem with no clean, no clear good answers, and then if you bring the taliban in, they really satisfied with one piece of the pie. i think you just get an interlude before you have an attempted total taliban takeover. with that said, i don't have answers. >> eric: quickly, do think that potentially could be the ultimate result? which way to be go? >> the taliban, have a significant constituency among afghanistan's ethnic majority. you can't get around that. that's how they survive for the last 16 years. it's not just support from pakistan. so somehow, that ethnic majority and the factions that support them have to come in the government. i'm just not sure that in a realistic scenario we can have that. i wish i had a good answers there, but i don't. >> eric: us too. they already blew off the peace talks, so we'll see if these

4,000 can bring about more progress. they are winning, that the final word. thank you. >> shannon: president trump taking aim at lawmakers standing in the way of his agenda. >> you need to represent them on the border, on taxes, on health care, one vote, and on every other issue that affects their lives. >> shannon: what will it take to us all the political cold front between the president and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell? >> eric: will see if that happens. meanwhile, democrats are setting their sights on winning a majority in congress. is that possible? will they do that? coming up, how republicans are standing in their way.

>> i have a message for congress tonight. your job is to represent american families, american people, american workers.

it's your job. >> eric: president trump last night taking a sharp aim lawmakers. this is "the new york times" reporting this morning president and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell have not spoken in weeks. describe the situation as a cold war. writing "angry phone calls and private badmouthing have devolved into open conflict" with the president threatening to oppose her public and senators who cross him and mr. mcconnell mobilizing to the defense. column is for "the washington post" following the american enterprise instituted. "the new york times" says mcconnell "doubts if trump can save presidency of." what is the standoff mean? >> it's insane for donald trump to be attacking the one man, mitch mcconnell, who delivered him is only legislative victory of his presidency. mitch mcconnell single-handedly stopped barack obama from billing antonin scalia's the prim court seat.

that's the only victory donald trump has had as president of the united states. he needs mcconnell to give him more legislative victories, not less. it's not just mitch mcconnell. >> eric: that's not how the presidency as it apparently. according to the times report, they've had an expletive deleted phone call among each other. he blames mcconnell for the failure of the health care reform and blames mcconnell for the russian investigations and capitol hill. >> that's insane. he needs mitch mcconnell. if he's going to get any legislation, he's got tax reform, infrastructure, all sorts of priorities that he's got to get through and he needs mcconnell to do those things pretty can't afford to be alienating him and he can't afford to be alienating the rest of the republican conference. think about the people he has attacked. he is attacking jeff flake and dean heller. his pro-trump group ran ads against dean heller when he was waiting on obamacare. he needs a dean heller and jeff like in the united states senate. the only thing we learned from obamacare is at 52 senators is not enough to get the trump

agenda through. we need to build our majority, not reduce it. he's putting at risk that democrats are going to take those two senate seats. he attacked john mccain last night as the one vote against obamacare. that's true. why did john mccain vote against obamacare? maybe had some ended with the fact that donald trump said last year john mccain has no war hero because he got caught. when john mccain was called on to make a vote that he disagreed with out of loyalty to his president, there was no reservoir of loyalty for him to turn tail. he doesn't have to be friends with these people. you have to win them over. >> eric: attacking jeff like as we know at the same time. as lindsay graham says, this is invoking article five in the senate. they are circling the wagons. will anything then get done? how can they potentially get back together in a professional businesslike way, do you think once they reconvene? >> because they need each other. the truth is that if the republicans want to keep their seats and donald trump doesn't want chuck schumer to be in charge of the united states

senate with subpoena power and complete control of his investigations, he needs for the republicans to make some progress just late of late. they don't lose a senate in 2018. >> eric: does the president call mitch mcconnell and say i'm sorry? a lot of people wouldn't see that. >> i don't think anyone's going to apologize. they have to work together. they've got major priorities that they have to get through. if he doesn't pass tax reform, then his presidency is indeed trouble in the senate and the republican controlled the sun is in deep trouble. they need each other to pass their gender. >> eric: your advice right out of the president to do what? >> stop attacking fellow republicans. you don't score goals by shooting on your own net. his job is to get the trump agenda through. he needs every republican, such a narrow majority, he needs every republican on board and he's got to stop attacking his own team and focus on criticizing the other team, the democrats for their obstruction and get things done.

>> eric: we will see if some of that comes to pass if they can put some of this behind him. thanks so much. >> shannon: democrats looking to take back the majority in congress in 2018 say they are ready to go on offense against republicans. but in many cases, they are actually playing defense trying to protect seats that are quickly turning red. one of those seats is in minnesota's eighth district were democratic hungers meant rick nolan is running for reelection, but his district preferred president trump by a 15-point margin in 2016. live there on the ground in duluth. good morning to you. how could president trump help the district make it right? >> just by doing the same thing that he said he was going to do that helped him when this district, that includes the iron range. get read of regulation that make it hard to make money and find jobs mining. this morning here in duluth, we spoke to one of the republicans hoping to get on the ballot next year, pete stopper, whose resume includes time playing in the right wing organization and

worked as an area commander with the duluth police department. he says president trump who could really help his campaign here in northern minnesota. >> he promised that he is going to bring mining and manufacturing back pretty he supports our military pretty he supports law enforcement. this is who we are. you come to the greatest state in this country that i call minnesota, you are going to see family farms, you're going to see manufacturing, small businesses, you're going to see higher end. >> this is one of only 12 districts that president trump won while a democrat also won their congressional seat. >> shannon: how big a factor is the failed obamacare repeal vote in that race there? >> the incumbent democratic congressman rick nolan is talking about health care, but not the failed repeal boat. instead, he is talking about single payer, he is one of the biggest supporters of single-payer health care in

congress. >> single-payer is so fundamentally american. it's essentially what is administered to two or 3% versus 30%. the countries that have single-payer do better for significantly less money. they do better in terms of life expectancy and they pay less, and it's the way that we simply have to go. >> if that sounds similar to what you heard bernie sanders run on last year, that's because bernie sanders is who rick nolan would like to have come here and campaign for him pretty he also said he'd like to see elizabeth warren here in minnesota's eighth district at some point next year too. >> shannon: all right. we will see if it happens. thank you so much. >> eric: meanwhile, federal investigators are looking at the cause of that train crash outside of philadelphia yesterday. people on board while they knew something was wrong. >> something is wrong, either an equipment failure, single

failure, or something with the driver. >> eric: will have the latest on that investigation. >> shannon: plus, what's in a name? apparently a lot if you are calling college football games for espn. why one announcer was called from his spot.

>> eric: later today, federal investigators say they do plan to interview the operator of the commuter train that crashed into a park train near philadelphia overnight. the single car train smashed into the back of an unoccupied car in upper darby, injured 33 people. investigators say they are looking into whether speed was a factor in the collision, also looking at the possible role of any drugs or alcohol but they may have played any role. the final report they say could take up to one week. >> shannon: espn under fire for what some say is taking political correctness too far. the network pulled one of its announcers from calling the university of virginia football game in charlottesville next month. has been assigned elsewhere. the reason is his name is robert

lee. some were taken better at general robert e lee. this is robert lee, the asian-american sports reporter. the network is standing by his decision in a statement that says "we collectively made the decision with robert to switch games as the tragic events in charlottesville were unfolding. was what simple because of the coincidence of his name. in that moment, it felt right to all parties. it's a shame that this is even a topic of conversation and we regret that who called play-by-play for a football game has become an issue." for more on this, joined by former dnc staffer and mollie hemingway, editor for the federalist and a fox news contributor. good morning to you both. espn says it's a shame that this is even a topic of conversation. we regret that it's become an issue. who made an issue? >> the statement from espn are not helping them. this is a story that's almost hard to believe it's real. i didn't believe it was real when i heard it. >> shannon: nor did i. >> saying they don't like it's becoming a situation, they're the ones who made it a

situation. it is sort of the logical dead end of the cultural revolution that we are in right now that begins with toppling statues, goes after markers, and now apparently short of staring at similarity with a name is enough to get you pulled from a broadcast. >> shannon: i don't know your reaction. it felt very the onion to be when i read it. i thought i was getting pumped like we are getting let along here until i saw the official statement from espn. do you think that anyone watching or listening to this uva game, cannot wait for college football, would've said that announcers name is robert lee meche i can't imagine would be one person. maybe i'm wrong. >> it seems like a very strange set of circumstances. i am kind of curious, it seems to me that espn is suffering from what trump administration has been suffering a lot from and that his leaks. it seems to be a situation where a guy who has been named robert lee his whole life kind of saw that maybe he could be turned into a meme, went to his supervisors and said can i switch out for another game? and then it leaked.

that's to me what it sounds like and now everybody is circling the wagons. >> shannon: that's quite a nancy drew theory. >> you know how it is in broadcast. >> shannon: i know what it's like to be made a meme of io. >> espn came out with a statement saying they were the ones that approached robert lee and asked him to pull himself from the broadcast, and they said he eventually agreed to it, which means they put pressure on him. but so ridiculous about it is robert lee is such a common name. i have encountered probably hundreds of robert lee's, and no one associates robert lee with robert e lee. i live in virginia, and hear people talk about robert e lee, i've never heard a single virginian referred to the general has anything other than robert e lee. it boggles the mind how espn management could not know their history and also have such disdain for their viewers that they think that they are going

to be confused about whether confederate general who died in 1870 is somehow related to the guy broadcasting this game. >> shannon: i'm trying not to laugh because this is underlying a serious conversation and subject, but have we gotten so ridiculously fragile that things like this happen? people think it's not unusual. >> i would like to see robert lee announced the game, but i would also like to know robert lee's version of the story because i know i saw the statement from espn, but i also saw some emails that came out unnamed sources that espn that said it was actually mr. lee's decision. i think there's some confusion here. when the facts emerge, i think it's going to be nothing at the end of the day. it's underlying a very serious conversation going on, a political conversation in this country, but overall, i think this is a situation where espn definitely kind of got out in front of itself and could have made better decisions or at least kept these conversations internal. >> shannon: i had some buddy send me a tweet facetiously today of a wikipedia entry of

someone named james brown, a common name, but dating back to this guy in the 1700s 1800s noting that he was a slave owner and asking whether james brown, the well loved broadcaster would somehow be pulled from some sort of broadcast? it sounds ridiculous, but it's actually happening. >> there is actually this level of sensitivity on college campuses, and what is really important is to recognize it as insidious and not bring it to the corporate realm and not let it spread, this idea that you can be triggered by someone sharing a slightly similar name. it's just madness, and it should not be treated as legitimate point of view because it's not. >> shannon: do you agree? >> i agree. football should be about the game, it should be about the pride in your university and so on. i really think that this is distracting from uva, which should be a good team again this year. overall, i do agree with what molly is saying. this strikes me as a corporate nothing in the midst of a

cultural firestorm. >> shannon: it does remind me, we are just days away from kicking off the college football season. cannot wait. molly? >> go university of colorado buffaloes. >> shannon: thank you guys, good to see you. >> eric: i'm not the only one, shannon bream. >> shannon: the rest of the world is two. >> eric: melissa francis is here now to tell us what's coming up on "happening now." >> president trump going off script once again at a big campaign rally, taking on the media, republican foes, and illegal immigration just to name a few. we've got reaction and analysis, plus a bombshell new report on trade relations between the president and majority leader mitch mcconnell. what it might mean for the president's agenda and a fall likely to be full of fireworks.

>> eric: we will see you in about 10 minutes from now. >> see you soon. >> eric: meanwhile, have you heard about the jackpot? 700 million reasons for us to schedule out of the studio real fast, go down to the new stand on the corner and buy a whole bunch of tickets. >> shannon: done.

>> a vacation home somewhere in spain. i would share with my family, pay off some debts. >> probably help some homeless people downtown. >> eric: powerball mania, bigger than the eclipse. as you can see people across the country rushing to get tickets for tonight's big drawing. the jackpot so far has risen to about $700 million, happens to

be the second-largest jackpot in history. molly line joins us now in newton massachusetts where they are snapping up the tickets. >> absolutely. good morning, eric. we are here at the oakley spawn newton massachusetts, where those great winter stores and mom-and-pop shops where it's been very steady. the cashiers tells me that she is in the business of selling greens. the second biggest prize in history here, the powerball winners. the $700 million, 1.6 billion that was won by three people in 2016. certainly enough to stir the excitement, stir hopes and get a steady stream of people out to buy tickets. wait a chance to talk to a few of those folks and what their vision for the would be prize be if they got it. >> i could use the money. >> what would you do with all that money? >> probably have a heart attack and that would be the end of may. i don't know. take care of everybody i know. >> i'd pay off all my nieces college loans for them, and i

also volunteer for a cat risky when we try to raise money for a shelter, big donation will go to that. >> eric: we lost some of molly's audio there sadly. hopefully she will have better luck with the lottery. >> shannon: i know. right after the show, janice dean r nayar going to pool our ones from our purses and go. 700 million. >> eric: split it with everybody here. >> shannon: let me know if anybody wants to get in on it. right after the show, it's done for it lucky numbers? >> eric: i don't want to say that because as bad luck. >> shannon: keep them for you. the trump fans turning out in droves as the president lashes out against his critics, taking fresh aims at the media. d up go. what good is having insurance if you get punished for using it? for drivers with accident forgiveness,

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>> eric: talk about saving the day. a few superheroes bennett

together for the most important mission of the year, to bring smiles to the faces of children. >> it really helps because it's hard with her having pain and stuff, but it was really nice to see her like this today. doesn't make you happy? and made mom happy too. >> eric: all these kids are patients at one hospital in oregon. they got to take pictures with their favorite characters. distraction is really helpful for them. >> shannon: i love that. here's a something you don't see every day, an officer pulling over to share this heartwarming moment. ♪ >> shannon: he danced with an elderly woman peered the minnesota cop said he had to pull over. that video has gone viral nearly 40,000 views and i bet after today, it's going to go even farther. that is adorable. there is good in the world.

the hospital story, this officer going to have a nice dance with the folks, just waiting for someone to come along. >> eric: that's great. we hope you have a great day. >> shannon: we do, "happening now" starts right now. see you tomorrow. >> jon: president trump launching a flurry of attacks at a phoenix rally lashing out at republicans, democrats, and most of all, the media. welcome to "happening now," i'm jon scott. >> melissa: and i'm melissa francis. the president was on full campaign mode last night. accusing the media of misinterpreting his response to the violence in charlottesville. take a look. >> believe me, we have to close down our government and we are building that wall. does anybody want me to be soft? extreme