>> brennan: welcomeñr6yev#jv1zp "face the nation". we're joined by democratic presidential candidate tom steyer who is also in las vegas this morning. good morning to you. >> how are you doing, margaret? >> brennan: very well. how are you doing in nevada. what will constitute success for you in that caucus? >> i want to come in first or second. i've spent more time in nevada than any candidate. we have a great team on the ground here. i've gone out of my way to see as many people as i can face to face. i believe we're putting together the coalition in nevada and in south carolina that a democrat has to put together to win in november of 2020. >> brennan: nevada is a caucus state.

do you have confidence you won't see a repeat of what happened in iowa? >> yesterday was the first day of early caucusing, margart. 12,000 people showed up. i think it seems in good shape. and we're confident it's going to work here. >> brennan: all right. i want to ask you -- you indicated your focused on what happens in south carolina. you've been investing a tremendous amount of resources with ad dollars and your time, with your campaign there. why are you so focused on south carolina? do you see that as sort of the fial test of your campaign? >> well, let me say this: i'm focused on nevada and south carolina. >> brennan: you have the largest operation of any candidate in south carolina. you're wife just moved there. you seem to be all in. >> look, we are serious about south carolina. we are really serious about nevada felt i want to make a point. both of these states are

diverse states. both of these states reflect of kind of diversity that is america, and that is the democratic party. i think whoever is going to be the candidate has to be able to show that he or she can pull together that diverse democratic party. i think that's what we're trying to do in nevada and i know in south carolina. i think i'm the last person other than michael bloomberg to get in the race, and i spent more time in nevada than any other candidates and more time in south carolina 99 any other candidate. i think it's about grass roots. i'm a grass roots person. i built one of the biggest grass roots organization in united states. i believe on people being in on the ground and seeing people face to face. >> brennan: ou have said because you were a fund manager that you're qualified by experience to have a positive economic impact as president. the federal reserve chair

testified this week that labor force participation based on the share of americans who work as well is happening because, and in a negative place because of the opoid crisis and problems with the education system. is that how you diagnose the problem? >> let me say this. mr. trump is a terrible economic president. >> brennan: this is separate. >> i understand that. i'm going to address the federal reserve statement. mr. trump is runing on the economy, but he's runing on a mara lago economy where he gives benefits to the big corporations. in terms of opoids and education is how you actually develop long term prosparity and justice. and that is by investing in young people through education, specifically including universal pre-kindergarten, and my

dealing with issues around the country including the opoid crisis, including mental health -- what mr. trump is doing is a very superficial juice to the economy through pals at the country club and other rich people. he's avoiding the language term prosperity of americans by making us productive over time, and that means education, health care for every american, a living wage. the wages of americans are outrageously low. it's a completely different way of thinking. >> brennan: when you talk about trying to even the playing people with reparations, something you support, how repair it? do you say the divide is education? or are you talking about financial restitution writing checks? >> what i've said is this -- and you're right i'm the only

candidate running for president that's for reparations. what i've said is this: the way to figure out the solution is i would have a formal commission on race starting the first day of presidency to retell the story of the more than 400 years that afkearn americans were here, and the legalized injustice and cruelty, and also of the contributions that the african-american community made. >> brennan: so you don't have a specific mechanism yet? >> correct. what i'm saying is this: in order to come up with solutions you have to tell the story. out of the narrative comes the policy changes. one thing i have said, margaret, is that i would put $125 billion into the historically black colleges and universities which lost 42% of their federal funding and have done a magnificent

job of being a life line for black kids to go to colleges and universities when the main line schools are closed to them. that's an example. realize you have to come up with a solution together. >> brennan: understood. thank you for your time. we'll be right back with political panel. and they're on the way in as we speak. >> thank you, margaret. verizon keeps business ready for what's next. (man) we weave security into their business... (second man) virtualize their operations... (third man) and could even build ai into their customer experiences. we also keep them ready for the next big opportunity. like 5g. (woman) where machines could talk to each other and expertise could go anywhere. (woman) when it comes to digital transformation, verizon kee♪s business ready.

uh, "fifteen minutes could save you 15%ain? or more on car insurance." i think we're gonna swap over to "over seventy-five years of savings and service." what, we're just gonna swap over? yep. pump the breaks on this, swap it over to that. pump the breaks, and, uh, swap over? that's right. instead of all this that i've already-? yeah. what are we gonna do with these? keep it at your desk, and save it for next time. geico. over 75 years of savings and service. othroughout the country for the past twelve years, mr. michael bloomberg is here. vo: leadership in action. mayor bloomberg and president obama worked together in the fight for gun safety laws, to improve education, and to develop innovative ways to help teens gain the skills needed to find good jobs. obama: at a time when washington is divided in old ideological battles he shows us what can be achieved when we bring people together to seek pragmatic solutions. bloomberg: i'm mike bloomberg and i approve this message.

>> brennan: that's michael bloomberg. and he's taken income based on things he said in the past. we can't wait to see what people say about that one.

we'll turn to the panel. amy walters, host of the take away. eliana johnson editor and chief of washington beacon. and paula reid, and ed o'keefe o the campaign trial. ed, i didn't know they allowed you back in washington. >> i didn't either. >> brennan: that's the first uplifting bloomberg clip. there are a lot of really damaging things that his campaign had to respond to this week. >> there were, and past comments on stop and frisk. and red lineing and of course all the issues that were you know, dealt with at bloomberg news back in the day. they were preparing for this, and i think it's telling, when on a sunday morning. kellyanne conway, and bernie sanders are all in agreement something is wrong with michael bloomberg. the problem is he's spending

mony and climbing in the polls. and opponents are terrified what's coming. he's going to do well enough to accrue delegates in 14 super tuesday states or a foolish investment. but if it was foolish, they wouldn't be worried. >> brennan: and there was a particular piece of audio tape they want to play for our audience here. to hear michael bloomberg saying it himself is another matter. that's listen to stop and frisk. >> the victim -- you can just take the description and xerox it and pass it out. male minorities -- (inaudible) that's where it is. >> brennan: so, mayor bloomberg since apologized for the policy, and some on the campaign said he will have to continue to do so. how do you beat the case,

fight the case, so to speak? >> well, he's got the ads going for him, and as we were sitting here, we watched a number -- at least two of them come on during this broadcast. amy klobuchar said it was unconstitutional. and the judge said it was unconstitutional, which is why they're not doing it anymore democratic voters have been spending the last year telling us we want a candidate to beat donald trump. they keep splitting among the group of candidates who is selling themselves as the most electable. and ultimately voters have to decide. this is what the bloomberg campaign is counting on. there's no perfect candidate, and no candidate who hasn't had to apologize fd things they voted on or said. will you be in the name of electability get past someone's past, or will you set a bar that's shy enough

that many of these candidates won't make it. >> brennan: when i look at michael bloomberg he reminds me of somebody who ach a billionaire, a new yorker who switched parties, and has said many in politics and politically incorrect things that offended women and minorities. he reminds me a lot of donald trump. i think there may be some appeal. i don't think -- i think what you need to see is how bloomberg reckons with the attack on a debate stage. h has ducked that, and i think that will hurt him. >> brennan: paula, the president himself, not only as advisers as indicated on the sunday shows today, hitting out at michael bloomberg, he's been tweeting about the candidate. >> his advisers have been telling him, just focus oned

suburban voters and get black voters back and expand the electoral college. and debate object only taking shots at his height, but stop and risk, which is amazing because for seven years the president has been tweeting support for stop and risk. to now suggest that michael bloomberg is a racist because of what you heard on that tape is remarkable. >> that's part of the difference here. bloomberg apologized and sought to distance himself and convinceed black leaders should the country he doesn't feel that way anymore. and he's putting his money int causes that are prioritys for democrats. whether it's a 10 year investment in virginia to give democrats total control of the state government, and sierra club. >> 2018 congressional race. >> democrats look at that. he has put his money behind this, unlike the other new yorker who barely spends any of his own money.

if people see beyond that, perhaps bloomberg will be fine. >> brennan: and today an interview with univision today with jorge ramos, and pressed joe biden on the obama administration immigration policies. i asked one of our guests earlier about i the 3 as on hiseels in the exchange. les list >> all the uccompanied childr c er, we tried to keep them safe and get them out of the detention centers there were run by homeland security and get them in communities as quickly as we can. >> and people said they were cages. >> look, you know you're not telling the truth here about the comparison of the two things. >> i'm saying that the numbers of the administration were not the same. >> beyond that, look how quickly we got them back to

families. we engaged and sought the relatives here. we sought to get them into safe communities and sought to get them out of the control of homeland security to get them safe, but they came 4+t >> brennan: what you saw was a picture of children in cages. this is something that president trump has defended having -- they're not cages. they're cage-like structures and happened during the obama administration. ramos had a px*gt shows i pictu was the obama administration >> you have a younger based latino voters who felt the policies during the obama and trump years. he's trailing bernie sanders among them. this could create weaknesses. it's telling he now calls it a mistake having been confronted by it by julian castro and

others. now to go to nevada where immigration is a pressing and real issue, i think is proof of how quickly the narrative of these primaries can change depending on the state you're in. he didn't discuss it in iowa and new hampshire. >> i see it differently. i think the problem with the biden administration is the response to it. if he wanted to own that lane, he should defend the obama administration policies on this, saying this is an endemic problem that multiple administrations, democrat and republican have been dealing with. we dealt with it the best we account. trump's strongest supporters are on the issue of immigration. biden needs to win some of those obama trump voters back, and i think explaining and back peddling in a tentative way is a fail for him. >> he has to win a primary first. >> but if you're running as i'm going to return us to a

pre-trump era, it's going to be just like obama. >> this guy vice president, you have to own all of that, and to have a better response is difficult. you have to believe the barack obama 2.0 or not. >> brennan: on this program, senator graham revealed there was a channel to deliver information from ukraine by rudy giuliani on joe biden. and the justice department is investigating rudy giuliani. i feel that story, we've moved on, but that is tremendous, not just for joe biden saying the story isn't going away, but what does it say about the justice department? >> the next day the attorney general took one question before exiting the stage. and he confirmed yes, he tapped say u.s. attorney to review what rudy giuliani

brought back from ukraine and information gathering in ukraine. and even though the roger stone case brought to everyone's attention this week, the justice department, and bill barr's role, the fact is this is one of several reviews who barr has tapped specifically to look into a pet issue. he has an u.s. attorney in connecticut reviewing the origins of the russia probe, and we have a review of politically charged cases in the d.c. including mike flynn. this is why there's a crisis of confidence in the justice department. there are concerns that the president's pet issues are getting a special look, and barr is using stature and authority to help the president. he said i don't need to be bullied. you don't need to be bullied, but if you know the issues are important to the president, you're giving validity, and receiving authority from the cia, and not passing it on --

>> brian: senator kennedy said it's a matter the president shouldn't be tweeting, but you say it goes deeper. >> absolutely. the crisis of confidence is not just about roger stone and the attorney general overriding career prosecutors and putting its opinion into that case, and revising the sentencing recommendation. it's systemic, from the very beginning of tenure. he came out and framed the mueller investigation findings that mx*ul mueller said wasn't accurate. it's helping the president on issues and giving them validity and others little expectation that the reviews will result in criminal charges. the huge concern is why barr did the interview. the president is talking to the public and rank and file. you know the optics. >> brennan: amy, we heard senator klobuchar talk about that.

and also senator warren signed on to something calling for his resignation. you have a letter from a thousand prosecutors saying this -- does this resonate outside of washington. you're in a constitutional crisis here. >> i think voters have been pretty clear since the beginning of the administration what they are expecting from this president, and frafrngtly, it hasn't changed since the day he was sworn in until now. the question is, what happened to the voters who do feel pressured. people who say the economy is good, i think the president is doing a good job on the economy, but not the job as president. those are why they're not giving trump they're vote or the stamp of approval on the presidency, is because of things >> he's not losing hells race base over it, but he's not winning back those voters. >> brennan: we'll be back in a moment with a look at a

humanitarian crisis in searia

>> brennan: of the greatest humanitarian crisis in syria is happening now. more than 800,000 people, more than half of them women and children have been displaced as they try to flee russian airstrikes and an offensive led by forces in searia. some 3 million civilians remain trapped in freezing winter conditions of the surrounding countries and have shut their borders. cbs correspondent, halle williams has been covering the conflict and joins us. halle, why are russia and the regime attacking with such force? >> the ally russia is really a fly in the ointment when it comes to their strategic goals. what are the goals? for the regime regaining control of the country.

for russia it's two fold. one defending their own military bases in syria. themselves as a global power. and for all of those reasons, neither of them is willing to tolerate a rebel strong hold controlled by 3 or 4 million people and sitting in northwestern syria. i think the latest offensive is designed that their patience is running out. they've been bombarding civilian areas for years. but the scale of what we've seen unfolding in the last few weeks is staggering. and te conditions faced by the people forced on flee is staggering as well. this is the middle east, but it's the middle of winter, and at a time it is bitterly cold. many of the people fleeing are poor and carrying just a few possessions. >> brennan: a top official said russia is ignoring the u.s. i asked the president's

national security adviser why the u.s. doesn't intervene. here's what he said. >> the idea that america must do something, i just find that to be -- i've never seen the argument. you have russianst iranians, and syria troops attacking turks and allies, 1n as well. we're supposed to hold up a stop sign and said stop this russia, stop this iran? >> is the rest of the world powerless? >> none of the diplomatic efforts to stop the assaults has had any long term success. if the u.s. were to intervene militarily at this point, it would be extremely dangerous, because the risk would be an all-out confrontation between the u.s. and rush sa. and part of the u.s. calculus

seems to have been from the very beginning the war in syria looked as though it was going to be very bloody and compit caed with a lot of different countrys involved. both of those things turned out to be very true. when you talk to syria, they say they hate the syrian regime and russia, and they're furious with the u.s. for not defending them against the horrors of the war. >> brennan: halle williams in istanbul. we'll be right back. with turning ideas into action. putting your business on the map, connecting with customers, and getting the skills to use new tools. so, in case you're looking, we've put all the ways we can help in one place. free training, tools, and small business resources are now available at google.com/grow

when you humble yourself under the mighty hand of god, in due time he will exalt you. hi, i'm joel osteen. i'm excited about being with you every week. i hope you'll tune in. you'll be inspired, you'll be encouraged. i'm looking forward to seeing you right here. you are fully loaded and completely equipped for the race that's been designed for you.

>> brennan: thank you for watching. tune in to 60 minutes tonight. scott pelley talks with the top former diplomat to ukraine, bill taylor in a fascinating piece about ukraine and the 2016 election. until next week for "face the nation", i'm margaret brennan. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

a raucous welcome. >> gentlemen, start your engines! >> also tonight, heading home. americans are evacuated from a cruise ship in japan. why their nightmare isn't over. state of emergency. mississippi gets swamped by flooding. >> i never dreamed 43 years ago i'd be paddling up my driveway. a woman is charged with plotting to kidnap a baby with a drugged cupcake. he was charged with the care of olympians. so why was he fired? the whistle-blower says says the olympic committee is letting down athletes in crisis.

>> we desperately need action. and winter wings. how a