casper has fully recovered from surgery. what a good dog. we love our dogs. thank you for joining us. here's shepard smith. >> shepard: it's noon on the west coast, 3:00 at the white house where we're expecting to hear from the press secretary in about a half hour. they moved it from 3:00 to 3:30 with fresh reaction. the house voting to pass a tax cut bill after a visit from president trump today. it does not include scrapping the obamacare mandate like the senate version does. we'll explain what is in the house plan and how it could affect so many older americans. also, why support for the senate bill may be slipping. democratic senator al franken responding to a woman who said he kissed her without permission and a picture that shows him going to grope her while she

slept. while on the republican side, word of a potential drastic option to keep the senate candidate roy moore from ever getting elected after accusations of sexual misconduct with young teenagers. we expect to hear from roy moore live shortly. let's get to it. good thursday afternoon from the fox news deck. to breaking news. a live look at the white house briefing room. sarah sanders set to take questions in this hour after house republicans passed a bill to make the biggest changes to our nation's tax code in three decades. the vote, 227-205. 13 republicans voted against their own party's plan. not one democrat voted in favor. president trump visited capitol hill earlier today to meet with members. the bill would affect nearly every household and business

owner. the house bill reduces the number of tax brackets from seven to five. also important what is not in this bill, there's no repeal of the individual mandate of the affordable care act. the senate bill would scrap the obamacare requirement that nearly all americans have to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. house republicans got rid of the deduction for state and local taxes or salt despite opposition from lawmakers in high tax states including new york, new jersey and california. the house measure does allow the deduction of up to $10,000 of property taxes. what is the overall effect? what would this bill do if enacted into law as is? well, it would raise taxes on about 37 million americans. according to the joint committee on taxation.

that's a nonpartisan group that analyzes bills before members vote. here's paul ryan celebrating with republicans after today's vote. >> i've got to say, this is nothing short of extraordinary. this country has not rewritten its tax code since 1986. this powers of the status quo in this town are so strong, yet 227 men and women of this congress broke through that today. that is powerful. >> before the vote, the house minority leader, nancy pelosi called the republican house bill a scam and she invited republicans to negotiate with democrats. >> this isn't tax reform. it's not even a tax cut. it's a tax scam. why don't we go to the table, as has been done in the past in a bipartisan way, sit down, listen to testimony as to what works and what doesn't work. >> shepard: as house republicans celebrate a win on taxes, another measure is still making its way through the senate and

is by no means a done deal. just yesterday the senator from wisconsin, ron johnson announced he doesn't support the bill. other senators like susan collins and bob corker have said they're concerned. compared to the house, there's a smaller margin of error in the u.s. senate where republicans have a narrow 52-48 majority. they can lose one more vote and still pass this tax plan. it was the senate, by the way, that killed the republican healthcare effort after the house celebrated passing similarly the obamacare repeal bill. it never became law. chad pergram is live on capitol hill. a drama-free vote today, chad. >> yeah, i talked to some senior aides yesterday. they were amazed how smooth this was going. one aide said they were prepared to throw sand in the gears.

you usually don't have this on votes of this magnitude. they voted on the same bill that came out of the ways and means committee last thursday. no changes. you put the changes in in the rules committee, the individual mandate repeal, maybe something on the state and local tax deduction. they didn't have to. they felt like they had the votes. when you have a vote of this magnitude, it's strange to move it through that quickly and without many changes. they had the votes so didn't have to address those issues. if you compared this experience to what they dealt with in the spring, there were no sweaty palms, shep. >> shepard: how do things like on the senate side? >> that's where the sweaty palms will be. we knew getting up, this bill would probably pass the house. it's very unclear in the senate. mitch mcconnell indicates they'll try to move the bill the week after thanksgiving. you mentioned ron johnson, a no. i would look at someone like john mccain who indicated he was the person that blew up healthcare over the summer.

he says i don't know what that bill is because it's not written yet. probably be out sometime tomorrow. you get down to the nitty gritty. look at lisa murkowski. they're trying to get her vote. they're going to allow drilling in anwar, the wild life refuge. they moved that through committee yesterday. she had a lot of reservations about the healthcare issue. you put that in the bill, i asked mitch mcconnell about this. he thought it adds votes. there's other republican senators that don't think it will at all. and then there's the deficit. you have the budget hawks. people like jeff flake, bob corker that says this will add $1.5 trillion in deficit spending. that's a problem. >> shepard: chad pergram live for us on the hill. thanks very much. the house republican tax plan could raise taxes on more than a million older americans just next year. that's according to aarp. the nation's largest lobbying group for folks over 50.

analysts say that's partly because the bill gets rid of the deduction for high medical expenses. it mainly benefits people with disabilities and older americans. the fox business network's gerri willis is here. i wonder if they're in touch with this change yet. >> no. we talked about americans with college debt, how they will suffer under this build. older americans will, too. 1.2 million americans will see increased taxes in 2018. by 2024, it's worse. 4.9 million americans will see expenses. you may be wondering why. why? so many of these folks use the medical expense deduction. you're familiar with that. you can write off your medical expenses. at the end of the day, 8.8 million americans do that. 3/4 of them are older. there's an additional standard deduction for people 65 and older. $1,250. when you're on a limited income,

you have to be careful how you spend money, a lot of money to you. the lowest tax bracket goes from 10% to 12%. that is more money out of their pocket. i have to tell you, really meaningful if you're counting every dime. >> shepard: how will that play out for lower income americans? >> what is interesting about this and why it's so hard to talk about, it plays out over ten years, 2027. when you look at it by tax bracket, how this plays out, what you find is the -- in early years, lower income americans get a good deal. their taxes go down. the further you get into this tax plan, the more that turns around until by the end of 2027, these folks are paying higher taxes. >> over ten years, the net average is higher taxes? >> the net average. it's so hard to talk about. are you in blue states, older, younger. it's difficult to say. a lot of people will see higher

taxes. even if you don't see higher taxes, you may look at what is coming out of your wallet and say that's where i was before. >> higher taxes for $36 million americans if the house build goes in unchanged. >> doubtful it will. >> shepard: i doubt it, too. the democratic senator al franken is aapologizing after a news anchor posted a photo of him reaching to grope her breasts while she was asleep on a flight during a uso tour in 2006. leanne tweeden is her name. she says senator franken forced her to kiss him. in a statement, the senator wrote that he's ashamed about the photo. he volunteered to undergo an ethics investigation. he said i don't know what was in my head when i took that picture and doesn't matter. there's no excuse. i look at it now and feel disgusted with myself. it's not funny. it's completely inappropriate.

it's obvious how leeann would feel violated. lawmakers from both parties are joining senator franken himself in calling for an ethics investigation. mitch mcconnell and the top democrat in the senate, chuck schumer, said the committee should look into what they called credible accusations. the news anchor, as i mentioned, leeann tweeden said this happened in a tour to the troops in the middle east when al franken was a comedian. tweeden said that franken pestered her to practice a skit. when she agreed, he forced his tongue down. >> i remember i pushed him off with my hands. i remember i almost punched him. every time i see him now, my hands clinch in a fist. i said if you do that to me again, i won't be so nice the second time. >> senator franken says he does not remember rehearsing for the

skit the same way that tweeden does but he acknowledges that we have to listen to and believe women's experiences. mike emanuel is live on capitol hill. mike, if you could, tell us what other senate republicans are saying about these accusations. >> shep, already, a number of senators are being asked if senator al franken should resign. they're not going there yet. nebraska's deb fisher says the allegations must be checked out. >> they're serious allegations. they need to be investigated. >> is it fitting for a u.s. senator? >> no. it's not fitting behavior for anyone. >> then is one of the senate's top republicans had an interesting response be to this question. >> not entirely. >> this revelation about senator franken has really taken off on capitol hill. >> what about fellow democrats?

>> a first response from his minnesota senator saying "i strongly condemn this behavior and an investigation must be started. another example of why we need to change work environments and reporting practices across the nation including in congress." another female senator also took a very firm approach, shep. >> very disappointed. i support an ethics investigation. this kind of conduct shouldn't be tolerated by anyone or any public official. >> should he resign? >> that's something that we'll have to wait to see how it plays out on the ethics investigation. >> a big problem for senator franken has been that photograph that we've been showing. a number of female senators have told me today they just can't get passed that visual, shep. >> shepard: mike emanuel at the rotunda. thanks. two more women are a using the republican senate candidate roy moore of pursuing them when they were working at the mall.

while a third woman says moore groped her at his office. moore has denied accusations of sexual misconduct with teenagers and refusing to quit the senate race in alabama. he's also set to speak at a meeting of religious leaders in a matter of moments. we're live in birmingham for more. we're waiting for the white house briefing to begin on fox news channel on this thursday afternoon. it's ok that everyone ignores me while i drive. it's fine. because i get a safe driving bonus check every six months i'm accident free. and i don't share it with mom! right, mom? righttt. safe driving bonus checks. only from allstate. switching to allstate is worth it. you or joints. something for your heart...

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>> shepard: breaking news. tom ridge, the homeland secretary, is in critical condition after an merge procedure on his heart. tom ridge is 72 years old. he was not only the first homeland security secretary in 2003, he was the former governor of pennsylvania before that. tom ridge was at a conference of republican governors when he called for help from his hotel room this morning. doctors inserted cardiac catheter which is used to diagnose and treat heart conditions. the former secretary has been responding to his doctors. he's now critical. updates as warranted from the hospital. a live look once again at the white house where the briefing is set to start. rescheduled from 3:00 eastern to 3:30. in about 15 minutes from now. a live look. birmingham, alabama where we're expecting at this microphone to

hear from the senate candidate roy moore at any moment. president trump just yesterday ignored a question on whether he would join fellow republican leaders in calling for roy moore to drop out of the race. now given what we've learned about al franken, roy moore is accusing mitch mcconnell of hypocrisy. moore tweeted, al franken admits gift after photographic evidence. mitch, let's investigate. in alabama, no evidence, 100% rejection. mitch, moore would be expelled. earlier this week, mcconnell said roy moore is not fit to be a senator. other lawmakers calling for him to go. in the last 24 hours, three more women, three more, have come forward with accusations against roy moore. one told a.l.come that moore grouped her during a meeting in

his law office in 1981. she was in her late 20s at the time. he was in his 40s and married. separately two other women are telling the "washington post" that roy moore pursued them when they were working at a mall. he was in his 30s. one of those women said she was a high school senior and roy moore called her at school because she was wouldn't give him her home phone number. they went to a movie, she says. she says he gave her a forceful kiss. roy moore has denied all accusations of sexual misconduct. we're not sure he's gotten around to these yet. they're new. jonathan serrie is live with more. jonathan? >> we expect to hear from him at any time. right now we're hearing from various faith leaders that are talking about roy moore's record, his military service, his defense of socially conservative religious issues, the ones they mentioned are his stand to keep the ten

commandments monument in the state supreme court back during the last decade and also his -- what they said was his defense of traditional marriage, his opposition to same sex marriage. they have been talking in general about the allegations against him. no specific denials yet from the campaign about these two most recent news reports that you mentioned. in general, they're saying that all of the allegations about him are untrue that he's a good family man, that he loves his wife, that he's honest and that he has integrity. we're just waiting to see what roy moore himself will say when he takes the podium, shep. >> shepard: it's been quite a fight among republicans during this process. >> it has indeed. in fact, taking a page from the trump playbook. moore has become very active on twitter. he tweeted to the senate majority leader saying dear

mitch mcconnell, bring it on! and then chris hanson, director of the national republican senatorial committee tweeted back, "bring it on" is a movie about high school cheerleaders. it's humorous but shows a rift forming between the national republican leadership and republicans at the state and local level here in alabama. if you talk to the national leaders, they will tell you roy moore's days are numbers and he needs to drop out of the race. if you talk to many republicans in alabama, not all, many of them will say that roy moore is their best hope for cleaning up and shaking up things in washington, shep. >> shepard: jonathan serrie live in birmingham. roy moore is to speak at the microphones in just a matter of minutes. we don't have a particular schedule but we're led to believe he will replace this lady or future speakers shortly. some republicans are thinking up a way, a radical way to keep roy

moore from ever serving in the united states senate under any circumstances. that's according to our next guest who says it would require the currently serving senator from alabama to resign right now. how that would work, plus the fall-out over the harassment over al franken as we await the white house briefing which we'll watch live to see if the white house we a lot of news breaking. stay with us. people would stare. psoriasis does that. it was tough getting out there on stage. i wanted to be clear. i wanted it to last. so i kept on fighting. i found something that worked. and keeps on working. now? they see me. see me. see if cosentyx could make a difference for you- a lot of news breaking. stay with us. to severe plaque psoriasis...

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>> shepard: a live look here, birmingham, alabama. a number of people with roy moore with senate election stickers on them are speaking. roy moore is expected to speak any moment. we'll go live when it happens. the top republican in the senate, the majority leader, mitch mcconnell, has said that he's looking at all of the options to keep roy moore out of the senate. one of the options he's reportedly considering is having the current senator from alabama, luther strange, resign. that would trigger a new special election. politco reports the majority leader, mcconnell and his top advisers are discussing that drastic plan and trying to decide whether it's possible. josh gerstein, a senior reporter

for politico. this isn't one i heard about until today. i know that mitch mcconnell and his aides are talking about it. what would it entail? >> the idea would be to have luther strange, the testimony senator that replaced jeff sessions when he became attorney general in february, have strange resign. the notion, as you say, that would create a new vacancy. the governor of alabama could then declare a new special election. that would give republicans essentially time to get their act together to select a new nominee and perhaps are a chance of righting some of these problems with moore. >> shepard: so if the current senator resigns, this run-off would no longer be necessary? they would begin a new process and pro tend that never happened? >> right. they would do an entirely new

election from the ground up. this faces several challenges. one is legally the 17th amendment to the constitution, there's a vacancy in the alabama senate seat right now. that's the one that strange is temporarily filling. if he were to step aside, pass away, it's not clear that would create a new vacancy. so that's one of the problems with this. another problem with it is who is to say that roy moore wouldn't continue to run and might prevail despite the problems he's facing right now? these are all hurdles. i think the governor of alabama threw some cold water on this thing. her intent is to go forward with this election. i think it's set for december 12. >> shepard: the new and brewing scandal has to do with senator al franken, the democrat of minnesota and accusations against him. where do you see this now? >> you know, he's definitely in hot water amidst all the reports that we've seen.

not just the moore controversy, but the harvey weinstein and a lot of stories coming out about sexual harassment and impropriety. i think he's in a different position than some of those stories in that so far we're not hearing any serial allegations. it's an allegation about his activity on one particular trip sponsored by the uso and some inappropriate conduct against a skit and posing for a photo and so forth. so he's asked for this to be referred to the senate ethics committee. that will presumably happen. i don't think people should look at the senate ethics committee as a way to ventilate or dig in to what happened here. that sort of a black hole. it's a place where complaints about senators go to die or certainly not a way to publicize them in any kind of open fact-finding process. >> shepard: if it's not -- what good is it if it's not for

getting to the bottom of things? >> there sometimes are investigations, but the preference is to do everything behind closed doors. if people are thinking this would address them in a timely or public why, i wouldn't be looking at them to do that. >> shepard: thanks, josh. hang with me a second. we believe roy moore is next. let's listen for this introduction and see if that's the case. >> we just want to say judge moore, thank you. thank you for your stand. thank you for being unwavering. thank you for being the man of character that we -- you're the candidate we dream of. every election, you know how it is. they tell you i believe like you and i stand for your principles. then they get elected and they forget why they're there. that is -- if there was ever a man that wouldn't do that, it's you. we just want to say thank you. we stand with you. if you'd like to say a few words, we'll be honored. [applause]

>> thank you very much, janet. it's indeed an honor, when i look at this group of people behind me, i won't repeat their names, but i've known many of them through the years, some ten years ago, some 20, some 30. some 40. but some 40 are gone. many of them have lost their jobs, lost their positions, suffered imprisonment. jail time. they've been fined, suffered persecution. some are gone like mr. sifery who i dearly loved. they all have one thing in common, which reminds me of a story when i first got into politics. they said in the court system, they said three things you have

to have to be a good candidate. that's honesty, dedication and experience. so i went to a seasoned old judge and told him that. he said roy, that's not really direct. you don't need honesty, dedication and experience. what you need to do is have eye glasses. shows people that you study a lot and read a lot. i've come to where i have to have glasses when close range now. he said the next thing you have to have graying hair or thinning hair. as you can see, mine has been going for a while. he said, you have to have that to show your age. you have to be studied and be of an age proper. then he said you have to have -- one other thing. what's that, judge? he said you have to have hemorrhoids. i said judge, i don't understand that. i don't have hemorrhoids.

he said, well, you have to have hemorrhoids. i said why? he said it gives you a concerned look. [laughter] i think the one thing that drives these people to come from places all across our country, from california, texas, ohio, maryland and pennsylvania, new york, florida, illinois, the one thing that we have in common is a concern for our country. a concern for our future. i wanted to thank every one of them individually. it's been a great honor. it's been a great encouragement to hear them. they know what they're talking about, i think. they know that this country faces rough times ahead if we don't go back to the one upon whom it is founded. i think all of you have come to support me. i appreciate your support and look forward to serving the united states senate. one thing i would like to see happen in our country is unity.

i said i wanted to see unity. i never dreamed that i would succeed even before i got elected. but i have unified the democrats and the republicans in fighting against me because they don't want me there. as you know, the "washington post" has brought some false charges -- not charges, allegations, which i have emphatically denied time and time again. they're not only untrue, but they have no evidence to support them. two of the speakers up here said words that i caught. one said unsubstantiated and another said unproven. another said they were fake. all of that is true. "the washington post" is certainly not evidence. what i want to do in this campaign is very simple. get back to the issues which some are avoiding addressing. i haven't had one question from

press, the media about issues in this case since these allegations have occurred. what is important is how we address the future of this country. by cutting taxes, rebuilding our military, repealing obamacare, putting good judges and justices on the federal and supreme courts of the united states. we've got to stop judicial supremacy or we're losing our form of government. [applause] many of you have recognized that this is an effort by mitch mcconnell and his cronies to steal this election from the people of alabama and they will not stand for it. they overcame $30 million and voted me in the primary. now they're trying a different tactic. they even -- the other day, we got a call from one big magazine that you all recognize. i don't want to say it.

they got a call and asked me to step down. i want to tell you who needs to step down. that's mitch mcconnell. [applause] there's been comments about me taking the stand. yes, i have taken the stand in the past. i'll take a stand in the future and i'll quit standing when they lay me in that box and put me in the ground. i'm proud to stand with people that i see behind me and with the people of alabama to bring forth the truth to washington d.c. not just about what we stand for, but what the people of this country stand for. acknowledgement of god and an acknowledgement of the constitution and an acknowledgement that we need moral value back in our country. without god, we can never succeed. i want to thank you for coming here. i want to close with just

saying, may god bless you, bless the state of alabama and the united states of america. thank you. [applause] >> shepard: judge roy moore speaking in birmingham following a group of supporters. josh gerstein, the politico reporter. the war between this man and mitch mcconnell has been raging and continues. >> yeah. to hear him say that mitch mcconnell and his cronies are trying to steal this election. it was really interesting to see moore talking about not only running clearly against mitch mcconnell but also more trying to position himself as a national figure, talking about people coming from around the country to support his campaign. he seemed like he was trying to transcend really -- we didn't have a lot of discussion there about alabama in that speech. moore fancies himself as a standard bearer for some segment of the population and the republican party. >> shepard: josh, nice to talk to you again.

thanks. >> thanks, shep. >> shepard: john bussey is here, a fox news contributor. this is perilous ground for republicans. >> it is. you have roy moore talking about the need for a return to god, country and moral values. the republicans are looking at this and saying, come again? what -- where are you now? your thinking that this is -- first could be a tough election for him. if it's successful for him, he's does face mitch mcconnell who says the first thing we're going to do is open an ethics investigation on you. >> shepard: this reporting that there's active consideration of the following scenario, the current sitting senator in alabama who is an interim, resigns and they hold a whole new election. >> josh's point on that, that

torturous process, which involves a fair amount of legal gymnastics seems to only complicate this issue. at a certain point, mitch mcconnell will have to step back and let the people of alabama decide. who do they want to have come to washington as their senator. at that stage, the legal process if mitch mcconnell and the republicans wish to pursue it can click into place. but to try to undercut the possibility of an election beforehand is fraught in its own way and i would imagine would elicit a lot of challenges. >> shepard: and the other problems in washington, al franken regarding sexual impropriety and from another, it's really more about an argument than anything else. where does that stand and how do the two fit together in this world where we find ourselves? >> yeah. franken, this happened before he

was a senator. doesn't matter. it was a couple years before he became a senator. he has contrary to roy moore said look, this happened. there's a photograph of me groping or making it looks like i'm groping. i don't remember the scene of the kissing the way she remembers it. if you listen to her recitation, it's compelling. >> shepard: he said she's to be believed. >> yeah, he does say that. it's pretty graphic as well. there's an investigation of franken. he has apologized. it's a difference from the situation with roy moore in that regard. but it's, again, one of the same. the problems within the congress as in business of sexual harassment. senator clobeshar has introduced policies that would cause the senate and the congress to look again at how it behaves.

freckle be subject to that. >> shepard: our friend, bill crystal, the weekly standard on twitter from about 40 minutes ago says this. the al franken story is attention grabbing, but the secret house sexual harassment settlement authorized by whom and using what legal fact finding processes known to whom else have the potential to be more explosive. had there been similar cases in the united states senate. what do we have on reporting on this matter? >> we're at the very beginning of that. congress has had its own sexual scandals of one sort of another for a long time. the public at this stage, the tolerance of these things which has never been high is lower now. that's after harvey weinstein, the other sexual harassment -- >> after roger ailes and many others. >> the tolerance is lowering. this sort of frat house, frat

b boy, al franken behavior, the tolerance is getting to the point where there's a pretty clear line that you simply can't step across. it will open up all sorts of relooks at the behavior of congress as well as behavior within business. >> shepard: while we wait for the white house press briefing to begin today, this tax plan that has come from the house, there is one undeniable. that is the 36 million people have their taxes go up. the two sides are fighting over whether this is better for the very rich. it's very hard to explain. we do know that rich people will get a break. we know that some poor people will pay more. the details are here or there. >> we're at the beginning of this. you'll see in the white house briefing a desire to take a victory lap.

and deservedly so. it's through the house. really just the end of the beginning. as you point out, the senate has a different perspective on a lot of the issues that the house has already decided on. then it's got to come back to a reconciliation between the two. so what happens to salt, state and local tax. what the house has done to state and local taxes, what happens to property tax deductions. it's all in the air. this will be quite some time before we find out here ty bill that we can all sit down and evaluate and congress can vote on. >> shepard: less than a minute to the white house briefing this afternoon. there was a victory lap in the house during obamacare repeal as well that turned out to be a nothingburgner the end. they didn't get anything done. there's those that argue there's a bit of medical in here once we get to the senate side. they want to call it a tax cut but a lot of people on both sides that would argue with that. >> a huge amount of clouds

around that issue. the victory lap that you'll hear huckabee take on the president's visit to asia. there were not a lot of deliverables. not much in the way of trade negotiation that we can see. maybe there were some behind the scenes in terms of deliverables. it was mostly about the president talking about improved relations. >> john, thanks. >> shepard: the white house press briefing, sarah sanders from the lectern. away we go. >> great to be back with everybody. certainly miss seeing most of you that weren't on the road. >> most? >> most of you. i gave myself wiggle room there. the president's historic five-country trip to asia was an incredible success. he rallied the world against the menace of north korea, strengthened our alliances and showed our commitment to a free and open indopacific region and took a stand for fair and reciprocal trade.

american families will be more safer and secure and american companies are one step closer to competing on the level playing field they deserve. speaking of levelling the playing field for workers and businesses, the president applauds the house for passing the tax cut and jobs act. a massive step for fulfilling our promise for delivering historic tax cuts for the american people by the end of the year. we're encouraged the house and senate work together to deliver what the president asked them to do. allow hard-working middle class families to keep more of their hard-earned money and empower companies and workers to dominate their global competition. the senate finance committee is making progress on the companion bill and will soon at vance it to the floor for a vote. a simple, fair and competitive tax code will be our rocket fuel for our economy and it's within our reach. we'll bring back jobs and our wealth and has the president has said, bring back our great american dreams. now is the time to deliver.

we expect the senate to follow. with that, i'll take your questions. cecilia. >> two weeks. does the president believe roy moore's accusers and does he think roy moore should drop out of the race? >> the president believed the allegations are troubling and should be taken seriously. he thinks that the people of alabama should make the decision on who their next senator should be. >> so that's a no, that roy moore should stay in? >> the president said earlier this week that if the allegations are true, roy moore should step aside. he still believes that. >> how would the president like to see that proven? >> look, i'm not going to get into and litigate back and forth. the president has been clear that if any of these allegations are true, allegations that he takes very seriously, finds troubling. if they happen to be true, then he should do the right thing and step aside. >> does the president believe accusations themselves, the women themselves and their own

credibility can be established, outside of them making these allegations, which is the mechanism by in the president would be satisfied the allegations are true? >> i don't think the president has laid out what the mechanisms are. that should be determined possibly by a court of law. that's also something and a decision that the people of alabama need to make, not the president whether or not they want roy moore to support them in the senate. >> sarah, ivanka trump says she has no reason to believe the women have not come forward. does the president disagree? >> the president is not disagreeing with anybody. he's saying he finds the allegations to be extremely troubling. he doesn't know any more than you do on this fact other than these are something that should be taken seriously and the people of alabama should be the ones to make the decisions on whether or not to support roy moore. matthew? >> having to information that we have and the information that the people of alabama have,

would president trump vote for roy moore? >> the president is not a voter in alabama. >> i know he's not. but he endorses candidates all the time. would he vote for roy moore? >> i haven't asked him. >> would you get back to us that? >> john. >> thank you, a number of republican senators have pulled their endorsement for roy moore. they urged him to step aside. senator shelby said he wouldn't even vote for him. senator cruz just pulled his endorsement. the president is not only the president of the united states but the leader of the republican party. why won't he weigh-in on this. why wouldn't he take the same strong position that the other republican senators have taken on roy moore? >> the president supported the decision by the rnc to withdraw resources from this race. he feels it's up to the people of alabama to weigh-in on this.

i don't have anything further the add. >> i don't mean to suggest this is the most important thing facing the country but it's my story assignment for the day. you say that the president finds these allegations against mr. moore, judge moore to be very troubling, extremely troubling, et cetera. as we know, the president faced a number of similar allegations during the course of the campaign and he denied them. i wonder what you would assert to be the difference between the two situations such that on the face of things we should find one set of allegations troubling and on the other we shouldn't pay attention to them at all or totally disbelieve them? >> i believe the president has a lot more insight to what he personally did or didn't to. he spoke out about that directly during the campaign. i don't have anything further to add beyond that. >> i'd like to ask you about two other topics. the tax bill passed by the house

today. one of the things the tax bill does is increase the deficit by 1.5 trillion. i know the white house has argued that that he be paid by growing the economy. if the economy doesn't grow, how do you square that with the republican's view of or general principle of deficits are bad? >> i disagree with the premise of the question. we expect the economy to grow. we've seen it happen the last ten months and we expect it to continue. >> are you confident that economy will grow consistently enough to cover these costs that otherwise would be ballooning deficits? >> yes. that's been part of our process and part of what we have laid out from the beginning. we expect this to be consistent and certainly what we hope for. one of the reasons that the president continues to push for things like deregulation that have helped boost the economy. he continues to help push things

that do that and accomplish that and move forward. >> let me ask you about the tax bill. on the house side, they passed it. the senate side has a ways to go. they're similar but also different bills and plans. at this point does the president have a preference for the house or the senate bill and if so which one? >> right now both bills achieve the president's priorities. that's been his focus. tax cuts for middle class families, simplifying the tax code, slashing tax for businesses of all sizes so they can grow, create jobs, raise wages for workers and compete in the global marketplace. he laid out both of those and the legislation does that. >> you didn't say repealing the obamacare individual mandate. is that a priority for the president as well? >> that's something that the prop would obviously love to see happen. in terms of the big things he laid out on the front end of the principles for the tax reform

package, those things i just laid out. >> i have a question of the trip. does his endorsement of moore still stand? >> as i said, the president believes this is a decision for the people of alabama to make, not one for him to make. >> my question about the trip is, he's made a strong argument that having a good relationship with russia and with vladimir putin is a good things for the united states. does the president believe that putin would lie to his face? >> as the president said many times before, he doesn't think it's helpful for him to get into a back and forth argument with vladimir putin. but he does think there are places that we can work with russia, particularly whether it's on syria, north korea or other big global issues that the world is facing. that's been the president's focus and he will continue to look for ways that we can work with them that help america. >> another question of tax reform. 13 republicans in the house today broke from the president, broke from their party leaders

because they believe this bill will increase taxes for some if not all of their constituents. in california, new jersey and new york. those 13 members represent millions. so what does the president say to those people and how is this whole tax reform endeavor for them? not a bait and switch. >> the president is still incredibly focused. he's laid out his priorities of making sure this tax plan helps those in the middle class and that's what it does. the focus of both pieces of legislation and the house and the senate. jim? >> on roy moore, would the president campaign with him? >> not that i'm aware of. >> do you think he's a creep. >> do i? >> yes. >> i don't know roy moore. i haven't met him in person. >> does the president think that roy moore is qualified to serve in the u.s. senate? >> the president, as i've said seven or eight times now that

this is a decision for the people of alabama to make. >> we've heard from you and we've heard from ivanka on this. when are we going to hear -- >> the president has put a statement out earlier in the week when we were on the trip and he stands by that statement. >> he's ignored the question for two straight days. he's the president of the united states and the leader of the republican -- >> i'm aware of the qualifications of the president. it's my job to come out here and answer questions on his behalf, which i'm doing, which i've done. which he has done repeatedly over the last 12 days while we were on a trip across asia. so to act like he has not answered is silly. >> on the other side of the aisle, does the president have a response to the allegations against senator al franken and the mistrial over senator bob menendez? >> on senator franken, it appears that the senate is looking into that, which they should. we feel like an appropriate

action. i haven't asked him about senator menendez. >> could you talk about the decision-making behind appointing mick mulvaney to lead the consumer financial protection board on an interim basis given the fact that he's been a longstanding critic of the board in the first place and what signals should we take from that for the future of that board? >> i don't have any announcements on that front at this point. we'll follow up with you in the coming days if there's any movement there. franchesca. >> thank you. china has announced they're spending a special envoy to north korea tomorrow. the president was just in beijing. is that something that the president talked to president xi about while he was there? is that something that the president favors? >> the president certainly favors china taking a greater role in putting maximum pressure on north korea. this is one of the things that

he and president xi spoke about over the course of our visit. any effort in order to denuclearize the peninsula there in north korea, then china participating in that, the president supports. >> yesterday in the president's remarks, he said that we can no longer tolerate unfair trading practices and steal american jobs, wealth and intellectual property. the days of the united states being taken advantage of are over. does the president still believe that china is raping the u.s. economy? >> the president knows that there's not been a fair and reciprocal trade with the china. he doesn't think we've had great deals in place with china. he's been very clear and very clear directly with president xi, which he will continue to be, that we want to make sure that americans and american workers are getting the best

deal and the best piece as possible. that is one of the reasons that he worked to security massive deals totalling over $250 billion while he was in china. he will continue to push for those types of efforts. jordan? >> thanks. before the president left for asia, there was a question that north korea might by on the state sponsor terror list. has the president decided to go forward with that move? >> the president will make an announcement on that next week. we'll keep you posted. hunter? >> thank you. the fish and wildlife service is lifting a ban and will now allow elephant trophies imported from zimbabwe. president trump has previously said he disagreed with big game hunting. why has he changed his view? >> there's not been an announcement that is finalized. at that front i refer you to the department of the interior. >> they said they have drafted what's going in the federal register tomorrow.

>> again, there's not been an announcement. until that is done, i wouldn't consider anything final. i would defer you to the department of the interior nor the time being. when we have an announcement, we'll let you know. >> the senate judiciary committee sent a letter to jared kushner alleging that he did not provide all the information that he should have about his e-mails during the campaign, including e-mails regarding wikileaks. do you acknowledge that mr. c b mr. kushner has not been totally forthcoming and that donald trump jr. sent out all of his e-mails. do you think the campaign was in touch with wikileaks and that his son was corr spending with wikileaks? >> on the first question, jared's attorney will be putting out a statement momentarily. that hasn't happened yet. it will probably be in the next

half hour. i'll refer you to that. for the campaign, i'd refer you to the campaign. deborah? >> thank you. after the house passed the gop healthcare law, you had a celebration in the rose garden. i'm assuming there won't be a celebration today about the tax bill. what are you doing differently this time around? >> the president was on the hillerlier today. we're looking forward to seeing the same results come out in the senate when they pass the bill and sign historic tax cuts and tax reform by the end of the year. >> you talked about the tax bill in terms of fulfilling the promise to middle class people that the president made during the campaign and afterwards. why does the president support a bill where the individual tax rates will -- the cuts will expire at the end of 2025 but the corporate rates will never

expire? >> the president laid out his principles. that's what we've said all along. we're counting on the house and senate to put in the details of that legislation that reflect the priorities that the president laid out. we're going to continue let this bill work through the process. we're going to keep pushing forward for progress. >> you think that that is a fair bill, to have the one provision expire and the other not? >> the president has made it clear what his priorities are and we'll take -- jessica? >> one of the other things that happened in china after the president left the announcement about more ownership in the financial sector was announced. it was announced after the president left. i wonder if that came up in the conversation with the president and if that was part of any ongoing conversations ordeals that were reached. >> i'm not sure if that specific thing came up. i'd have to check. >> the chinese industry has taken issued with the

president's statement yesterday that he and president xi agreed that there would be no freeze proposals. what is the president's understanding about what he and xi understand about that? >> both sides made their positions clear. they're different. we agree that there's going to be different positions and it's not going to move forward. >> before the president left for his trip to asia, he called on the justice department to look into the democrats and that situation as he put it. days later, the attorney general asked special prosecutorers to look into the uranium one deal. did the president ask the attorney general to look at the democrats? >> the president has not directed an investigation of resign or appointment