to see if he was the guy in the hood or not. 30 minutes from now we hear from the governor himself. eric and arthel will have all of that coverage and continuing the fallout throughout the day. >> thanks for watching. eric: we start with a fox news alert. the explosive photo prompting ralph northum to make a statement will happen 30 minutes from now. this comes as the virginia lawmaker tells fox news that the governor now says it was not him in the controversialbook photo from decades ago, a reverse from what he said yesterday. hello. welcome to a brand-new hour, fast-moving day of new developments in america's news headquarters. i'm eric shawn. arthel: i'm arthel neville. the democratic governor facing a wave of criticism and growing calls to resign after the photo became public and today protesters gathering at the governor's mansion in richmond, demanding that he step down. this only hours after he issued

an apology. >> i'm deeply sorry. i cannot change the decisions i made nor can i undo the harm my behavior caused then and today, but i accept responsibility for my past actions. arthel: garrett tenney is live in richmond with the very latest. garrett. >> reporter: in that video he doubled down on his previous statement in which he acknowledged that he was in the yearbook picture wearing a costume he described as racist and offensive. he said i'm deeply sorry for the decision i made to appear as i did in the photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now. today, though, he has been trying to walk back those comments, reaching out to virginia democrats, telling them he doesn't think that he was in the picture and that he doesn't want to resign until he knows for sure. the democratic party of virginia has made up its mind. this morning they said in part we stand with democrats across

virginia and the country calling for him to immediately resign. he no longer has our confidence, nor our support. he must end this chapter immediately and step down. this is in addition to a growing wave of calls for him to resign. joe biden, corey booker, kamala harris and kirste kirsten gil s well. arthel: garrett, thank you very much. eric: for more on this, let's bring in lee zeldin of long island, new york. your reaction to the photo and what would you call on the governor to do about half an hour from now? >> the governor needs to resign. it's crazy to think he may be trying to walk this back at this point like he doesn't know

whether or not that's him in the photo. makes you wonder how many other photos are out there that he might be confusing this with. but this has no place in politics and he's had a really bad week. this isn't the only thing this week. it shouldn't be lost that he was advocating for infants to be killed after birth, just before this photo came out. so there are many different reasons why he needs to go away and not be the governor of virginia, the great state of virginia. eric: there's a lot of controversy on that in terms of the status of that but in terms of the photo, it's on his yearbook page. you've got black face, you have a kkk costume. this is 1984, it's not 1954 or 1934. and now he says gee, i don't remember if it was me or not. would you remember, do you remember what was on your yearbook photo, congressman? >> i do. and i also know that there's no way that i would have ever been in a photo like that. so the fact that he's not sure

waking up the next day i think is more about him trying to save his political career. it's racist. it's not funny. it's classless. by the way, i don't know which faculty member in 1984 was responsible for putting the yearbook together but why did that adult allow that to get in there? eric: i was the yearbook editor at my high school. you've got a faculty advisor that looks over this stuff. what does that say about the culture or what was acceptable at some point at that time, no matter how offensive, insulting aninsultingand outrageous it ist something like that could be in a yearbook of medical students. you were talking about the top of the top and yet that' that's allowed to be published and sit there for the last many decades. >> if you're at a party, you're doing it because you think this is funny, that you're showing a certain amount of sense of humor and charm. you're engaging.

you're the cool kid in the crowd. so there is that party and then the fact that this person many years later would be running for governor of virginia, and after the remarks that he made for this to get into that yearbook, again, i don't know how that even made its way into print, but it says a lot about the culture then. you fast forward to 2018, 2019 now that we're in, we don't have a tolerance for that today and it's important to send a message to other people whether they live in virginia or any other part of the country, that this does not represent acceptable leadership in government. and we're going to come down on racism. we'll come down on white supremacy. we'll come down on the kkk. we have a growing amount of anti-semitism in our country. so racism in so many different forms, it's important for us to crush. we can't be tolerant of it. we can't elevate it. we can't accept it.

we can't empower it. we need to crush it. eric: does he make it worse if he does not resign, if he puts up a fight, the black legislative caucus says this is disgusting and offensive, it's time for him to resign. the virginia house democratic caucus says he must resign. does this make it worse if he steps up to that podium you see in the governor's mansion and says he's going to fight this out for some reason and it's not him? would that just exacerbate the issue? >> if the governor doesn't resign he's delaying the inevitable. every once in a while a story that comes out on a friday is actually still a story on monday. this is something he won't be able to just soldier through the weekend and think the rest of us will forget about it on monday. he's done. and ithere was a lot ofpeople ia who probably wanted him to resign as soon as he started

advocating for a policy where you're murdering an infant after it's born. for that to come out a day later, he's losing people on all sides of different issues, so he's not going to survive it. the best thing for his state is for him to step aside and to allow the state to move forward, for the country to move forward and to allow the strong message to be sent to any medical school student who is out there now who understands that a picture taken is one that you post it up on your instagram or snapchat or facebook, it's going to be out there for a while and it's going to impact your future. so this sends a message to kids too. my daughters are 12. they need to learn a lesson of what not to do, what not to post. he made a mistake and he's getting burned for it. he had a really bad week for multiple reasons. he would be delaying the inevitable. eric: sometimes it doesn't seem there's impropriety anymore or boundaries. thank you, congressman. we'll bring you the governor's reaction about 20 minutes from now, see what he says we have

another developing story. arthel: president trump taking a break from washington and spending the weekend at mar-a-lago in palm beach. the political battles of the nation's capital are never far behind. the president and congressional democrats at odds over funding for a border wall. as a bipartisan committee tries to hammer out a deal, president trump implying that declaring a national emergency could be an option. >> it's being built. some of it's already been completed. in san diego, it's been completed. it's beautiful, brand-new. we have other wall that's under construction and we're giving out a lot of contracts. we're building the wall. it's getting built one way or the other. arthel: let's go to allison barber live in west palm beach with the lat latest. >> reporter: president trump finishing up his morning, his afternoon of golfing with jack nicklaus and tiger woods. they golfed at trump national golf club in jupiter, florida, 20 minutes away from where we

are here and where the president typically golfs in the airof arf west palm beach. this is the president's first visit since thanksgiving. he was expected to come here, to spend time here with his family during christmas. he canceled that trip due to the shutdown. president trump talked a lot about this idea of whether or not he will end up h eventually declaring a national emergency when it comes to discussions involving the border wall. he hinted to reporters this week that perhaps that sort of announcement, that decision could be made during his state of the union address. >> are you saying now you expect to declare a national emergency? >> i don't want to say. you'll hear the state of the union and you'll see what happens after the state of the union. i think there's a good chance we'll have to do that. >> reporter: the president has talked about those negotiations that we know have been happening

on capitol hill. the bipartisan conference committee where you have lawmakers on the left and right coming together to try to negotiate a border security package by february 15th. a seen i don't remember administration official who actually briefed reporters on the president's plans for his state of the union yo address wouldn't comment when asked specifically whether the president plans to declare a national emergency during the state of the union address. a senate aide told me they think mr. trump will set the table for a declaration but not pull the trigger until after february 18th. the president says in interviews he feels like the negotiations on capitol hill so far are proving to be a waste of time but right now it seems to be a wait and see on what he will decide in terms of a national declaration but increasingly we've heard the president hint more and more that not only is he prepared to do that, but he's expecting to do it as well. arresarthel. arthel: thank you for the update. eric: if the president declares

a national emergency it could force senate republicans into an awkward vote. david duker wrote about. senate republicans could be forced to choose between congressional power and crossing the white house. the california democrat could put a binding resolution of disapproval on the house floor to counter trump should he claim constitutional powers to build a border wall. congressman, would a resolution of disapproval, if the house passed that, would that stop the president cold or would he then like -- could h he veto it? how would that work? >> i would expect it possibly passing the house. i wouldn't expect it to pass the senate. i do know as far as house democrats go, that many democrats over the course of the last few weeks have said during the shutdown, they said why

don't we sit down and work it out. right before the shutdown ended, you had steny hoyer on and he said he was in favor of increased funding for our physician i physical border or . there are dozens of other house democrats that echoed it. eric: do you think it's moving that way? >> i think that nancy pelosi isn't speaking for a unanimous conference when she says that her party is for not giving more than $1 to president trump. that actually is not what i have heard from many of my colleagues, one on one. but also dozens of them now have stated it publicly. now, if the president was to issue a national emergency, it's not plan a. what plan a is and should be is for congress to do its darn job with its deadline coming up next week. we'll see what he says on tuesday. i really would caution anyone who thinks that nancy pelosi is

speaking for all congressional democrats when she says her party doesn't want it, i've heard from many who are in favor of cutting a deal where there's increased money to strengthen the physician i physical physil border. eric: if they don't agree do you think the president should declare a national emergency to get it done? >> he may not have a choice. the one thing that is certainly everyone's been talking about and should be aware of, that someone's going to file a court challenge right away and it will be tied up in court. just because the president declares a national emergency doesn't mean that that is such a clear path as well. it still remains at that point for option a, for congress to do its job. it's what my constituents want. it's what our country wants. we see the migrant caravans, to stop illegal immigration and all the reasons about things that are crossing that shouldn't. human trafficking, drugs

trafficking, arms trafficking, sex trafficking, we need it for national security. i believe there are a lot of congressional democrats who would agree and would vote for it. hopefully they do the right thing between now and next week. the president is showing he's willing to do what he needs to, to protect our country and national security is job number one, constitutionally, for our federal government. eric: you talk about the democrats. this is the omb letter. i ask naiver on everyone this q. it would fund a total construction of approximately 234 miles of new physical barrier. congressman, can you explain this? back in 2006 the secure america act, secure fence act, the democrats he voted for that and that put 654 miles offense barrier tha that's there now one border. the same democrats in some cases are against putting one-third of that, 234 miles, that not just

the president wants, it's what the border patrol wants, the experts say should be in laredo, yuma and the rio grande. can you explain why so many democrats are against putting a physical barrier right now where the experts say they need to put them when they were so willing to fund even more of a fence back in 2006? >> they don't want it because president trump wants it and whether it's the feelings that they have for president trump or the ill feelings they have towards all the americans that voted for president trump, that is all that changed. but senator schumer voted for it. president obama. senator clinton. a lot of these democrats put that over the top. it was a bipartisan bill. by the way, just last year, last fiscal year, you had democrats, house and senate from all -- coast to coast, all across the country, voting for an appropriations package with money to be used to strengthen

the physical border. part of the project includes a steel fence. so that' all that's changed sint year, we had the shutdown and the president has made it more clearly known that this is something that he wants but as you point out, it's not just him. these are experts saying we need it in order to have operational control of our border. yes, let's have the technology, we need it, the drones, that's how we're identifying tunnels because of the increased technology. let's give border patrol agents all the resources they need and have more immigration judges and humanitarian aid, it's all part of the practice. when the democrats try to reduce it to a sound bite and saying we don't agree with a wall from sea to shining sea, as you point out, that's not what president trump is proposing. s he's proposing a couple hundred plus miles where we have a vulnerability that we need to keep americans safe. it's one they should support,

taking their oath seriously and i hope they do. i don't know if they will because they hate president trump that much. eric: we'll see what happens out of the conference committee, there it is, physical barrier, 234 miles, we'll see what happens over the next two weeks. congressman, good to see you. >> thank you. arthel: we are awaiting a statement from virginia's governor. he will address the media just minutes from now on that controversial photo. we'll bring you those remarks as soon as they begin. echos of the cold war as the u.s. and russia pull out of a decades-old nuclear treaty. is a new arms race in the works? >> you have to have everybody adhere to it and you have a certain side that almost pre tends it doesn't exist. -- pretends it doesn't exist. ♪ introducing the new capital one savor card. earn 4% cash back on dining and 4% on entertainment.

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this is moving day with the best in-home wifi experience and millions of wifi hotspots to help you stay connected. and this is moving day with reliable service appointments in a two-hour window so you're up and running in no time. show me decorating shows. this is staying connected with xfinity to make moving... simple. easy. awesome. stay connected while you move with the best wifi experience and two-hour appointment windows. click, call or visit a store today. unless we're going to having we all agree to, we can't be put at the disadvantage of going by a treaty, limiting what we do, when somebody else doesn't go by that treaty. eric: that's president trump on with drawing from the key nuclear treaty with russia, the president saying it is russia that breached the inf treaty for the last decade. vladimir putin is following suit, saying his country will also pull out of the treaty that

bans intermediate range nuclear weapons, some fearing this could lead to a new arms race. jillian turner has more from washington. >> reporter: the u.s. is officially suspending the intermediate range nuclear forces treaty with russia. it's been in effect for decades. administration officials believe russia has been violating the spirit and text of the terms for over a decade. the secretary of state now saying enough, enough. >> we provided russia an ample window of time to mend its ways for russia to honor its commitment. tomorrow that time runs out. russia refused to take any steps to return real and verifiable compliance. >> reporter: president trump agrees. he's optimistic about the potential for some real deal di blow massey. >> i hope -- diplomacy. >> i hope we're able to get everybody in a big and beautiful room and do a new treaty that would be better. >> reporter: at issue now are new russian cruise missiles. the trump administration says in order to come back into

compliance, russia would have to destroy its arsenal. national security experts say when it comes to russia complying with the treaty now, there's a lot of hope but no chance. vladimir putin is weighing in publicly today. sources tell fox news that he sounds like he's jonessing for an arms race. >> american partners stated they stopped their participation in the inf treaty and we stop. >> reporter: the u.s. warned russia they were in violation of the treaty in 2013. they've alway always insisted te been in compliance. they've never budged. officials are worried about u.s./military relations with china. china has never been a party to the inf treaty though president trump hinted in the past he might be interested in adding countries to any new missile agreement that emerges. if china were brought into the

fold, security forces tell fox news it's got about 1,000 missiles in the arsenal that would be in violation. eric: jil jillian, thanks so . arthel: we bring in retired captain chuck nash. let's walk this step by step, if you would. first of all, this would not happen immediately, this would be in the next six months. would this be the right move by the trump administration to pull out of the treaty and what's the benefit to the u.s.? >> well, the russians were already cheating on the treaty anyway. we're the ones that are living up to the standards of it. so it's kind of silly to do it on a one way thing. so yes, i think it is the right thing to do, which is put the russians on notice. we're giving them six months to get back into compliance. they've been out of compliance for a long time. the obama administration knew that this was happening. they didn't have a plan on how to deal with it. so they kept it actually from the public. it was released later and now

the trump administration like they're doing with the chinese, with trade agreements and intellectual property theft, we're saying enough is enough, we're changing, we're going back to the days when the united states stood up for its interests and those of its allies. arthel: i want to play more sound from president putin. >> okay. >> russia won't deploy short range and intermediate range we pons if it appears neither in europe nor in other regions of the world unless similar american made we pons appea upon those regions. all proposal are on the table as before. doors for the talks are open. at the same time, i'm asking both bodies not to initiate any talks on this issue. let's wait until our partners to have an equitable dialogue with us. arthel: you said putin has been in violation of the inf treaty. you'll remind us for how long. let's talk about president putin's strategy behind pulling

out now. is there more than just reaction to the u.s. withdrawal come six months from now and really as you pointed out other administrations tried this, as you said, that they didn't make it too public because putin didn't comply. what makes you think he will comply now? >> well, because we're going to back out of the treaty if he doesn't which means the united states is rebuilding its nuclear arsenal and we had plans to put ground launched cruise missiles into belgium, the u.k., germany and italy and we stopped and trashed those missiles, stopped the development, and when that happened there were over 2600 missiles between both countries that were destroyed. now the russians have for the last decade been rebuilding their military, getting rid of their old, objects lieutenant stuff and focusing on high leverage weapons. they reintroduced these things. our intelligence and the intelligence of the nato countries has shown that they've not only developed these weapons, they've already

deployed battalions of them. so putin's first point in your last sound is total nonsense. they've already deployed it. the second thing is, talk, talk, talk. everybody's been talking for over a decade. it's not worked. that's it. time for action and president trump has put his foot down and said that's it. we're going to pull out if you don't get back in compliance. arthel: meanwhile, china is not beholden to any treaty to curtail their nuclear arsenal. how might they assess this or take advantage of it? >> well, i think they're going to look at it and there are four laws of thermo dynamics. jokingly, there's a fifth. that is, if the heat's on somebody else, it isn't on me. right now china is probably looking at this, thinking the u.s. and the russians, they're going head to head on this deal. nato's involved. in fact, nato, arthel, came out and made a statement and said they fully hold the russians responsible for this issue.

so the west has agreed, working against what the russians are trying to do and in the meantime the chinese continue to build out islands and expand into the south china sea. arthel: quickly if you could. you know that the president is wanting to revise or come up with a new treaty that would require china, iran, north korea, india, pakistan, to sign up. so it would no longer just be the u.s. and russia. really, what's the likelihood of that happening? >> i don't think the chinese are going to do it. they've already invested in a new generation of weapons. they want to continue to hold taiwan at threat on taiwan and other areas in the region. so they're not likely to do it. it's not in their interest. arthel: okay. we'll be watching this closely over the next six months. captain nash, thank you. >> my pleasure, arthel. eric: thousands of central american migrants are on their last leg of their journey through mexico. and now again just days away

from reaching the u.s. border. we're live on the ground in mexico with the latest on their journey. plus, we're awaitin awaiting ren a few moments from now from ralph northam over the controversy over the racially offensive photo from his college yearbook. we'll see what the governor will say, whether he will step down or not and fight allegations against him. he seems to have reversed himself over the last 24 hours. we'll bring you the latest. not having a good breakfast can make you feel like your day never started. get going with carnation breakfast essentials®. it has protein, plus 21 vitamins and minerals including calcium and vitamin d, to help your family be their best. carnation breakfast essentials®. stimulant laxatives forcefully stimulate i switched to stimulant-free miralax for my constipation. to help your family be their best. the nerves in your colon. miralax is different. it works with the water in your body to unblock your system naturally. and it doesn't cause harsh side effects. that's why i choose miralax. look for the pink cap.

i was tirso to speak.ng money down the rent drain, after watching the admiral and at that point i just made up my mind, i said i'm calling newday usa tomorrow. 70 more dollars over my rent, i'm actually owning my own home now. because newday usa focuses on the va home loan benefit, that's their expertise, i felt like i would definitely get a better shake. the admiral said that my service is, my down payment. for us, that was important not to be able to have to put anything down. i was aviation in the marine corps, 30-something-million-dollar aircraft. if the country and the american people can put that kind of trust and confidence in the equipment that we fix, i'm literally, "$200,000 dollar home, can you help me? can somebody put a little bit of belief in me?" and i felt newday did do that. if you can afford rent, you can afford a home. to maximize that va loan benefit, and not pay anything out of my pocket was tremendous. i had my doubts, but i don't anymore. go to operationhome.com or call 1-844-950-3696

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strategy, a democratic strategist and former senior advisor to hillary clinton and eric beach is the chairman of great america alliance and republican strategist, you are, eric. you know when the governor starts we'll interrupt you. let's start here. antoine, look, at first governor northam wouldn't say which costume he was wearing. now he's saying he dhiengt he wadoanlt thinghe was -- he doese was in the picture. what's your reaction. >> i think it's a distraction from the larger issues going on right now in the country. we are weeks away from a possible another government shutdown. we're weeks away from a big debt ceiling debate, not to mention the president's state of the union address. this is a distraction for us as democrats. it's unfortunate because these things happen on the republican side and we call them out for it. i think we have to hold ourselves as democrats to the same standard and lead by example. arthel: eric, how do you think

this? >> i can't remember a republican member. i remember robert byrd who served in the senate for over 0 years who was in the kkk. i can't remember a republican who allegedly had a picture taken with a white space. >> you had a secretary of state resign in florida. >> this is about a party who continues to take part in race baiting and identity politics. arthel: how is this race baiting? hold on. one second. one at a time, please. so antoine, -- >> the democratic party and the media -- arthel: hang on, guys. eric, continue your thought and then antoine, you react to it. >> again, it's a larger -- i agree with an dan, it' antoine,r than the governor of virginia. it's about party that continueo

practice identity politics. how are they going to respond when a democrat lawmaker who is head of a state is allegedly under attack? i think this is going to highlight some of the inaccuracies of the democrats and many in the media have portrayed to republicans, especially trump and his supporters over the last two years. >> now you sound absolutely ridiculous. you just had the republican secretary of state in florida resign just days ago because of his black face. you had a president of the united states who tweets and on a regular basis -- don't tell me this is a larger problem for democrats because it's not. at the end of the day you see democrats calling out one of our own for his actions unlike what happened in charlottesville where republicans were playing dodge wall and didn't want to call the republican out for this issue. you sound hypocrite call and

talking about of both sides of your mouth. arthel: for those of you listening on radio or satellite, we're waiting for governor ralph northam there in virginia to come out and address the media about those controversial statements, photos that he allegedly took while in medical school in 1984. antoine, back to you. he was the lieutenant governor for four years. he won the primary election in june 2017, then he won the general election in may 2017 in a race with the highest voter turnout in virginia in 20 years. clearly, northam has had the support of majority of virginnans. will he retain that support after this? >> i do not -- you see plain as day, you see groups from national groups to local groups calling for his resignation and i don't know how we prove that it was not him in the photo. if it's not, why would he be on the page with the photo, if it's not him. if you look at -- i think his

nickname in the year book, it was coon-something. this is a larger problem by itself. i'm thankful you see democrats calling this out for what it is and addressing the issue from naacp t elected officials, even the former governor of virginia. i hope the governor steps up to the plate and does what's right for the party and for the country. arthel: you understand it's been very clear that democratic leaders, supporters who used to be supporters of northam, they're saying this is not right, you should step down. so if governor northam does not resign, how can he make this right, eric? >> well, i don't know how he can make it right. look, i think for the betterment of not just his party but the country, should step down. i don't expect him to. when you attain that kind of power, people forget. the democrats who are calling for him to step down now, were

behind his negative campaign. it was identity politics at the finest. >> that's not true. >> take a look at it. he owes ja gilespie an apology. he called him a racist. arthel: one at a time. >> it was a decisive issue, how he won. it's going to be interesting what's going to happen with him. it's not just the democratic party. it's a lot in the media, how they've been covering this president and supporters without concrete proof when you used the word raceism an racism and it'sr by this picture and his past that he at least -- it's not very clear, but he allegedly participated in this. he should step down. more importantly, how will the democrats and many in the media who have been hypocrite call without any proof, how will that respond. arthel: antoine, i'm trying to connect those dots that eric just laid out there and i'm

having trouble. can you help me? >> i'm lost for words. i think eric may be lost in thought. i'm trying to figure out how can he not -- democrats and republicans agree -- arthel: all right, guys, here is governor northam right now. let's listen. >> good afternoon. thank you all for being here. i'm pleased to be joined by my wife, pam. pam, thank you for being here as well. there has been much public discussion about racist and offensive materials that appear on my page of the 1984 eastern virginia medical school yearbook and i believe it's important for virginnans to hear directly from me and for me to answer as many questions as are necessary about these circumstances. with that in mind, i would like to read a statement about these events and then i will be glad to take your questions.

yesterday i took responsibility for content that appeared on my page in the eastern virginia medical school yea yearbook thas clearly racist and offensive. i am not and will not excuse the content of the photo. it was offensive, racist, and spikable. despicable. when my staff showed me the photo in question yesterday, i was seeing it for the first time. i did not purchase the yearbook and i was unaware of what was on my page. when i was confronted with the images yesterday, i was appalled that they appeared on my page but i believed then and now that i a am not either of the peoplen that photo. i stand by my statement of apology to the many virginnans who were hurt by seeing this content on a yearbook page that

belongs to me. it is disgusting. it is offensive. it is racist. and it was my responsibility to recognize and prevent it from being published in the first place. i recognize that many people will find this difficult to believe. the photo appears with others i submitted on a page with my name on it. even in my own statement yesterday, i conceded that, based on the evidence presented to me at the time. the most likely explanation that it was indeed me in the photo in the hour since i made my statement yesterday, i reflected with my family and classmates from the time and affirmed my conclusion that i am not the person in that photo. while i did not appear in the photo, i am not surprised by its appearance in the evms yearbook.

in the place and time where i grew up, many actions that we rightfully recognize as abhour rent today were commonplace. my belief that i did not wear that costume or attend that party stems in part from my clear memory of other mistakes i made in the same period of my life. that same year, i did participate in a dance contest in san antonio in which i darkened my face as part of a michael jackson costume. i look back now and regret that i did not understand the harmful legacy of an action like that. it is because my memory of that episode is so vivid that i truly do not believe i am in the picture in my yearbook. you remember these things. as i began my career and met my wife pam, i also began to develop a stronger understanding of this country's history and

the harm that certain actions and attitudes caused. that does not excuse my behaviors up to that point. but it did offer me an opportunity to change and to grow and i took it. i pursued my career as a soldier, a physician, and as a public servant because i wanted to help people. the experiences i had in each of those chapters and the people i met along the way helped me form a set of values that defined the person i am now and the way i aspire to lead this commonwealth as your governor. in some ways, my personal history mirrors that of this commonwealth. there are actions and behaviors in my past that were hurtful. but like virginia, i have also made significant progress in how i approach these issues. i am far from perfect and i can always strive to do more.

but i have devoted my entire life, my career in the army, as a pediatrician and in public service, to making life better for all people no matter who they are. today, i am not ready to ask virginnans to grant he me their forgiveness for my past actions. i also do not fully expect they will immediately believe my account of these h events. right now, i am simply asking for the opportunity to demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt that the person i was is not the man i am today. i am asking for the opportunity to earn your forgiveness. if i were to listen to the voices calling on me to resign my office today, i could spare myself from the difficult path that lies ahead. i could avoid an honest conversation about harmful actions from my past.

i cannot in good conscience choose the path that would be easier for me in an effort to duck my responsibility to reconcile. i took an oath to uphold this office and serve the people of this commonwealth to the best of my ability, as long as i believe i can effectively fulfill that task, i intend to continue doing the business of virginia. i believe this moment can be the first small step to open a discussion about these difficult issues and how they contribute to the greater racism and discrimination that defines so much of our history. this very house stands as a monument to the dark and complicated history of this commonwealth. these walls are adorned with portraits of men and women who owned slaves, actively on presseactive on pressedpeople on

and women who stood tall add advanced issues of this country in that discussion it will not be my role to speak to virginiaans about these issues. my responsibility is to listen, to learn, and to continue to grow as a man and as a leader. i am ready for an honest conversation about racial injustice and the need for real reconciliation, real justice, and real equality. i believe the agenda this administration is pursuing clearly demonstrates the progress both i and our commonwealth have made since the darkest chapters of our history. i promise to fight for a virginia that works better for all people and our commitment to economic justice, access to health care, criminal justice reform, educational equity, and a clean environment reflect

those priorities. as this conversation moves forward, i want to hear from virginiaans, from every walk of life, about how we can fight even harder to build the virginia that they deserve. before i take questions, i want to take this opportunity to apologize to the many people who have been hurt by this episode and mistakes that i have made in the past. i'm ready to earn your forgiveness and i'm ready to begin today. thank you and i look forward to your questions. yes, sir. >> you're saying that you had no idea that this photo was -- before it surfaced 24 hours ago. the photo in the evms yearbook? >> yes. that's correct. i was in the united states army while i was in mode cal medical. i knew where i was going upon graduation from medical school. i was doing rotations out of the state. i had nothing to do with the preparation of the yearbook, nor did i buy one and so this was

the first time yesterday evening was the first time i saw this photo. it was shocking and it was horrific. >> how do you account for one of your nicknames listed in the yearbook in 1981, coonman. my main nickname in high school and college was goose. when my voice was changing i would change in octave. there were two individuals that i can recollect, they were ayear ahead of me, that called me coonman. i don't know their motives or intent. i know who they are. that was the extent of that. it ended up in the yearbook and i regret that. >> before you spoke, you had almost the entire democratic establishment calling for your resignation, saying -- what's your response to that? i think we've done a great job over the last year. we worked on a lot of the challenges that i just outlined.

this has hurt a lot of people. it's hurt a lot of people in our party. i suspect it's hurt people in the opposing party and it's hurt virginiaans and i want to assure everybody, number one, that that is not my picture. that is not my person on that picture in the yearbook. we will continue to lead. we will continue to talk about the issues that are important. but we also will have a conversation as we move forward about trust and i have been a man of honor as you know, i was the president of the honor cord at vmi. i ask my colleagues, i ask virginiainans to accept my word, to realize i made mistakes in the past and offer forgiveness. >> you talk about some incidents in san antonio that made you realize you may have actually been in black face at some time. yes. >> do you remember what year

that was and what context? i remember exactly. it was in 1984 which was my first year in san antonio, upon graduation from medical school. >> you were in the military at the time. i was. >> had you ever posed in a kkk - absolutely not. >> who are the people in the photo? absolutely not. there is no way that i have ever been in a kkk uniform. i am not the person in that uniform and i am not the person to the right. >> you talk about believing that you were given an opportunity to be an effective leader in the commonwealth. how much time do you think you have to prove that? it's a great question. we'll move forward from today. we'll take one day at a time. obviously we'll have discussions with our caucuses, with the republican caucuses, with the people of virginia. as long as i feel that i can lead, i will continue to do that. if i reach a point where i am not comfortable with that, then objecjustlyobviously we will sid

have that discussion. >> how can you win over the support of your own party at this point? how do you bring them back? a lot of it is communication and it starts today. i've obviously been talking to a lot of my colleagues. but it really starts today i think to correct the record and to let them know that i am not the person in that photo that caused this stir yesterday. i have made mistakes in my past as i admitted, but i'm a person of my word. i will continue to work closely. i have great friends on both sides of the aisle and as i said earlier, this has been hurtful. and that's why i reached out last night and called people and apologized. but i will continue to work as hard as i can to maintain their faith in me, to maintain my ability to lead and we will all hopefully work together and move forward. >> bonnie, over here. >> at your inag inaugeration, yr

minister praised, we have it on the record, that you would always seek wise counsel. that was part of the praise. and that god would guide your thoughts and your steps. absolutely. >> can you tell us who you sought for wise counsel for this incident today? well -- >> and higher power guiding you? there is no question. i am a strong believer in god. i'm a member of first baptist church in kateville, virginia, my pastor reverend jones is here with us today. obviously, one of the ways i have been able to i believe govern successfully is to listen. i have a great cabinet. i have great relationships with people on both sides of the aisle. i am very secure in where i believe we need to take virginia. and so as we have moved through

this last 24 hours, i have spoken and consulted a lot of people. i have prayed about this and i will continue to pray and obviously i couldn't stand here without the support of my wife, pam. >> governor, some democrats have said it's selfish of you to continue in office, to work out your own situation here at their expense during an election year when they have hopes of making gains in the legislature. can you talk about that and what you would say to them? greg, i think the first thing and why i felt so strongly about this statement and being here today is to set the record straight. and this started last night. we're now about 24 hours into this. it started with me being presented a picture from a yearbook that i had never seen before that was horrific. and i reached out and apologized to my colleagues. i released two statements, as you know. and all i can do is what i've always done and that's to be

honest, to really be able to listen, to be open with people. i think to the previous question, greg, i plan to continue to lead. if we get to the point where we feel that we're not effective, that we're not efficient, not only for our caucuses but the commonwealth of virginia, then we will revisit this and make decisions. >> [ indiscernible ] >> the answer to your last question is no, he hasn't. justin and i have a very, very close relationship. he is a wonderful person. he is doing a great job as lieutenant governor. i have spoken to him in person for a good period of time yesterday afternoon, after the story broke, and i believe at least three times by phone have kept him apprised of what is going on. he has been very supportive and

he will continue to be supportive. he is a wonderful person and you know the people of virginia elect the lieutenant govern r nor, put faith in a lieutenant governor in the event they need to take over as governor. he'll be ready to do that. >> you said you would recall -- [ indiscernible ] why do you remember that incident so vividly and not this one? the reason that i so vividly don't remember this one, because it didn't happen. >> why would you take credit or apologize for appearing in the photo? well, that's where i think we need clarification. i take credit for recognizing that this was a horrific photo that was on my page with my name, ralph northam above. i looked at it. my first impression, actually this couldn't be me. but there was so much hurt that i was feeling, people were calling, so i reached out and

apologized to people for this very picture being on my page. and i have continued to discuss that as we have gone forward. and what has happened is that last night i finally had a chance to sit down and look at the photograph in detail. it is definitely not me. i can tell by looking at it. i have had friends also look at it and tell me it's not me. i have also had a classmate who i discussed with this morning, we talked about this situation, and i said is there a possibility you think that someone could have put a photo on the wrong page? she said it happened on numerous pages in this very yearbook. so i don't -- i still don't have a copy of the yearbook. we are in the process of obtaining that. we're going to look through. we're going to continue to gather evidence in the coming days and i think all of you will be reassured to see that i am

not in that photograph. >> governor, you said at the san antonio party you darkened your face. were you in black face? i wasn't. i'll tell you exactly what i did, allen. i dressed up in a -- what's his name? michael jackson. excuse me. that's why i have pam with me. i had the shoes. i had a glove and i used a little bit of shoe polish to put on my cheeks and the reason i used a very little bit is because i don't know if anybody's ever tried that but you can't get shoe polish off. but it was a dance contest. i had always liked michael jackson. i actually won the contest because i had learned how to do the moon walk. but then let me tell you what happened, allen. i have a very close friend who was my assistant during the campaign. i don't think he would mind me

telling you his name. his name is seth. and during some of our long rides around the commonwealth, the issue of black-facing camp up and he really did a good job communicating to me why that's so offensive. and it was actually during that conversation i said you know, seth, i put some polish on my face. i competed in a dance contest, dressed up as michael jackson and i said i assume you probably would think that's offensive. he said i would. i said you know what, seth, i appreciate you being open with me. i apologize for what i've done in the past and i can promise you i'll never do that again in the future. >> we talked to some other students who said they always submitted their photos for the yearbook. there are four pictures on your page. did you choose all four of them? did you choose three of them? and you're saying the last one is not you?

are you saying the last photo -- -- >> there are three photos. i think there are three photos. one of me standing in front of a car i restored. one kneeling like on a farm setting and one a more formal picture. i did submit those. where this other picture came from, i don't know. and i'm not going to sit here and high poo h hypothesize or sw it happened. i can imagine if there are a number of photos laid out on a table and someone is pasting those on page after page, that one could get mistakenly put on the wrong page. and as i said earlier, this has happened numerous times in this particular and i suspect that's what happened in this case. >> yesterday you were accepting responsibility andless than