captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: president trump keeps up his attack on the news media, as the white house bans cnn, the "new york times," the "los angeles times" and others from a press briefing. then, face to face with voting constituents: republicans in congress hear complaints at packed town hall meetings. >> we never knew that this was in our community. we never knew the passion and the, these caring people, were here. >> woodruff: and, it's friday. mark shields and david brooks analyze the week's news. plus, the story of a man who offers a home to terminally ill foster children. >> i mean, these kids need

somebody. you can't just turn away and say, "okay, it's not my problem." >> woodruff: all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years.

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station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the spotlight was on president trump today, as he took the stage at the annual conservative political action conference outside washington. he touted his agenda and called some news outlets "the enemy of the people," before a crowd of activists who have-- at times-- viewed him with a skeptical eye. john yang reports from the conference. >> our victory was a vicotry for our values. >> reporter: president trump moved today to put his brand on the conservative movement, stressing his populist, nationalist vision of "america first." >> there is no such thing as a global anthem, a global currency, or a global flag. this is the united states of america that i'm representing.

i'm not representing the globe, i'm representing your country. >> reporter: speaking at the conservative political action conference-- or cpac-- in a packed hotel ballroom, the president said he is transforming the republican party. >> the g.o.p. will be, from now on, the party also of the american worker. if you look at how much bigger our party has gotten during this cycle-- millions and millions of people were joining. i won't say it was because of me, but it was, okay? >> reporter: mr. trump told the enthusiastic crowd he would soon sign a new temporary travel ban-- a signature campaign pledge-- replacing an executive order the federal courts put on hold. >> and in a matter of days we will be taking brand new action to protect our people and keep america safe.

you will see the action. i will never, ever apologize for protecting the safety and security of the american people. i won't do it. >> reporter: while some conference attendees said they have reservations about another key trump policy -- opposition to multi-national trade deals-- it doesn't dampen their support for the president. >> everything he said, i agree with, you know? with the exception of maybe some of the trade stuff, so you know, i can't get 100% from him, can't get 100% from anyone, but, but overall, i was very pleased. >> reporter: others said mr. trump's election is redefining the republican party. >> i think there's a lot of people that have the conservative values. i mean, they just haven't come out of the closet. you know, they were kind of keeping low before, but there's a lot of people i've talked to that said they've come out since trump won, you know, since the election. >> reporter: the president also devoted much of today's speech to a favorite topic: lambasting

what he calls the "fake media." >> i'm against the people that make up stories and make up sources. they shouldn't be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody's name. >> reporter: his latest target: a cnn report that f.b.i. officials refused the white house's request to knock down reports of alleged conversations between trump associates and russian intelligence officials during the 2016 campaign. before this morning's speech, the president tweeted: "the f.b.i. is totally unable to stop the national security 'leakers' that have permeated our government for a long time. classified information is being given to media that could have a devastating effect on u.s." this afternoon, the trump administration's relationship with the white house press corps hit another stumbling block: several news outlets, including "the new york times", cnn, and the "los angeles times," were excluded from an informal, off- camera briefing with press

secretary sean spicer. conservative news organizations were allowed in. white house officials offered no immediate explanation. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang, at cpac in oxon hill, maryland. >> woodruff: there's been much reaction late today to the decision to ban some media outlets from the briefing in the press secretary's office, often called a gaggle. two prominent organizations, the associated press and "time" magazine, chose to boycott attending the briefing in solidarity with those news organizations. sally buzbee is the executive editor and senior vice president of the associated press. she joins me now. sally, thank you for being here. why did the a.p. not attend that briefing? >> we think the public deserves as much access to the president and other governing officials as possible. when we find ourselves in a situation where national news organizations seem to be being deliberately excluded with, we k

that's dangerous territory. >> woodruff: are these behaviors, rules different from previous white house rules? >> there is alwayshysical limitations on access. there is always compromises that we make and sort of concessions that are made for physical limitations and other things. i think when you get to the point where there are news organization that seem to be being deliberately excluded, we think that's different. we felt today is different. >> woodruff: that hasn't happened before, to your knowledge? >> i can't speak for all of history. in the access fight we have been engaged in for many decades, this felt very different today. >> woodruff: for those who don't know the news media, what's the problem for the press if the white house says we'll talk the some news organizations and not to others? >> obviously the white house has the right to do what it wants, and in situations where there might be individual reporters

that makes sense to talk to if it's economic news, but this was a general briefing where they are talking about issues that cover a wide range of topics, and i think the thing that the public should think about is, if there start to be exclusions and favorites picked and things like that, essentially all access in the end is probably going to suffer. >> woodruff: sally buzbee, i want to ask you about something the president said in his speech at the conservative conference. he talked about -- was critical of the news media. he said some reporters make up news and they make up sources. he went on to say reporters should not use sources unless they name those sources. i want to ask you about that in context. say for a story that ran late today by the a.p., an internal report done by the department of homeland security, saying there was insufficient evidence to show that citizens from the seven muslim majority countries named in the president's travel ban pose a terror threat to the

u.s. now, your organization ran that story late today. there were no named sources. so is this a story you stand by and how do you explain this to people? >> absolutely we stand by that story, we think it's an important story. reporters attempt at all times to talk to them with their names attached because that obviously is the gold standard. if there is information that you cannot get any other way and you know that it's factual information, not spin, but someone is in a position to know what they're talking about, we think that information is critically important and the public needs to know about it. it's actually very difficult to get the government to tell you what they're doing. we fight for information and facts every day. we have for decades. it's really a struggle to get factual information ability what the government is doing. it really is our mission to find out what the government is doing, the thoughts they're having, the decisions they're mull i didn't think, and express that -- mulleying and impress that to the public and that's

why we use anonymous sources. we don't like it but sometimes that's the only way to get facts to the public. >> woodruff: does the a.p. have a plan of what to do if president trump continues to be as tough as me is on the news media right now, talking about fake news, saying reporters are making up stories and sources? >> i think we think a fight between the government and any government official and the media is unfortunate because we think people should be focused on the the actual factual things that are going on. i will say that we are going to do what we always do, which is we are going to fight like mad to find out what's going on in terms of facts, and we are going to report that to the public and we are going to do that every sinkle day and we are not going to stop. that's our plan. >> woodruff: sally buzbee, executive editor of the associated press. thank you very much. appreciate it. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, at least 68 people are dead, after a pair of islamic state bombings in syria. they happened near the northern

town of al-bab, which turkish and syrian fighters re-took from isis just yesterday. in one attack, a suicide car bomb exploded outside a security checkpoint. most of the dead were civilians, who were lined up for permits to return home. iraq's air force struck islamic state targets in syria for the first time today. warplanes hit two towns, in response to recent isis-claimed bombings in baghdad. iraqi forces are also battling isis back in their own country. troops pushed into the first neighborhood of western mosul, as part of a now-six-day offensive. the u.n. says about 750,000 civilians are trapped in the area. malaysian toxicologists have now determined that a chemical weapon was used to assassinate north korean leader kim jong- un's half-brother. he was attacked at a crowded airport in kuala lumpur. margaret warner has our report. >> reporter: it's the latest stunning twist in a murder case

already brimming with mystery. malaysian police now say kim jong-nam, estranged half brother of north korean leader kim jong- un, was killed by the deadly nerve agent v.x. two female assailants, caught on surveillance cameras, allegedly rubbed the poison on kim's face in an airport, two weeks ago. they're both under arrest, along with several north koreans living in malaysia. >> ( translated ): the chemical is illegal. it is a chemical weapon. we are investigating how it entered the country. >> reporter: the discovery of the nerve agent has deepened speculation that the north korean regime was behind the apparent hit-- a charge pyongyang has denied. according to the centers for disease control, v.x. is among the most potent nerve agents in the world. it is odorless, and tasteless; tiny amounts can kill in minutes. producing it requires

sophisticated equipment. experts say that points to north korea, which has reportedly stockpiled the chemical. jean lee is the former pyongyang bureau chief of the "associated press." she spoke to us via skype from seoul. >> the other thing that it obviously confirms to us, if it indeed is the work of the north koreans, is that they are making chemical weapons and that they are willing to use them-- >> reporter: malaysian authorities said they began to suspect v.x. was used after one of the attackers fell ill. so who was their target? kim jong-nam was the eldest son of former north korean leader kim jong-il, and once considered his heir apparent. but after he was caught trying to enter japan illegally in 2001-- reportedly to visit disneyland-- he fell out of favor. his half-brother kim jong-un ascended to power when their father died in 2011. kim jong-nam had been living in exile. jean lee says the young north korean leader might have seen his half-brother as a threat to

his legitimacy: >> perhaps he was angry that his half-brother had been speaking out against the regime. this of course is illegal under north korean law. and it could have been a strong message that he was sending to north koreans overseas, including his brother, including defectors. >> reporter: the younger kim has purged relatives within north korea in the past. he had his uncle executed in 2013. malaysian officials say they will decontaminate the airport to eliminate any residual trace of the nerve toxin. for the pbs newshour, i'm margaret warner. >> woodruff: so far, there have been no reports of any innocent bystanders in the airport falling ill. back in this country, the f.b.i. is investigating a possible hate crime, following a shooting in kansas this week. 51-year-old adam purinton has been charged with killing an indian american engineer wednesday night. a second indian american man was

wounded. purintan is accused of opening fire at a bar outside kansas city. a bartender said he used "racial slurs." today, the victim's brother called on indian officials to act. >> government should voice out this strongly because our brothers, sisters and our relatives are there. and if you really look into this incident, this is not done by a teenager or a burglar, or something like that. >> woodruff: after the shooting, purinton was found and arrested in missouri. today he was extradited back to kansas. and, stocks edged higher on wall street today. the dow jones industrial average gained 11 points to close at 20,821. the nasdaq rose nearly ten, and the s&p 500 added three. for the week, the dow gained a percent. both the nasdaq and the s&p 500 added a fraction of a percent. still to come on the newshour: a look at the future of the democratic party; grassroots efforts to derail the trump

agenda find inspiration in tea party tactics; mark shields and david brooks take on the week's news, and much more. >> woodruff: november's presidential defeat, along with years of losses in congress, governor's mansions and statehouses have left the democratic party with less power at the federal and state level than it has had in more than 80 years. as the democratic national committee prepares to elect its new leader this weekend, we want to assess the state of the party, with jaime harrison, the chair of the south carolina democratic party and, until yesterday, a contender for the job himself; and symone sanders, she's a political strategist for priorities u.s.a. and former national press secretary for senator bernie sanders' presidential campaign.

and we welcome both of you to the "newshour". i'm going to start with you, jaime harrison. what should the message of the democratic party be right now? >> well, hopefully tomorrow, judy, the message is a unified one. we really need to have a chair right now to help lead the resistance, to push back against donald trump and the rabber rab- rubbing stamping republican congress we have right now. we have seen unprecedented things over the course of the past few weeks. the first time in the history of this country a vice president had to pass a tie-breaking note for a nominee h. for the first time we have someone like jeff sessions in the justice department leading that effort. an anti-semite steve bannon in the white house with the president's ear. time and time again we've had these issues with this administration. the democratic message is enough is enough.

it is time to really put america back on the right track and that means eventually getting rid of donald trump and the republican congress. >> woodruff: that is mostly an anti-trump message. symone, is there a positive message for democrats? >> definitely. i think there is tremendous opportunity for democrats now. you can see in the streets across the country, whether it's the airports, whether the women's march, town halls during this recess, people, democrats, republicans, independents, are standing up and saying they want to hold elected officials accountable and they care about the issues. so democrats need to focus on the overall message of explaining who we are as drnlings what does it mean to be a progressive and now democrats will fight for the american people. i believe we have to beat back donald trump, but we did that during the general. priorities, their role with you to make donald trump unpopular and they succeeded but we know hillary clinton is now not the 45th president of the united states. so folks want to hear more than the other guy is bad, they want

to know what democrats will do for them. that's the challenge the party sees going forward. >> woodruff: looking forward to the results in november, what's more important for democrats, winning back working class white voters or to shore up democratic base among african-americans, labor union members and so forth? >> judy, it's not an either/or thing. we need to work on and fight for working people in this country. the same issues that working class african-americans, working class latinos, working class white people are dealing with, they are the same issues. they are all struggling to make sure they put food on the table, they're all struggling to make sure there is a living wage so they can provide for their family, they're all struggling in schools that are crumbling, driving on roads that are falling apart, and, so, if we can address all those issues, as symone said, if we can come up with what our message is and not only talk about that message but

demonstrate that, i think we can make great inroads with the american people regardless of their ethnicity, their background or religion, and that's what has to be the focus over the course of the next few years. >> woodruff:cy mornings you agree it's not either/or, the democrats have to do both or is it time to turn focus toward more working class americans which some democrats say it is. for democrats who say it's time to turn focus toward the white working class americans, they have to take a hard look at our message. bernie sanders was successful because he talked about the issues, he talked about the fact folks want to know what you're going to do to put more money in my pockets, for more food on the table, keep kids safe and good schools and jobs. folks in mcdowell county, west virginia have the same issues and concerns as white

urban folks in downtown chicago. that is where democrats need to go. this argument about whether we move to the coasts or we come to the middle, look, i'm from ohm harks nebraska, okay, and i don't think many people think about black people when you think of omaha, nebraska. but that's where we need to focus, the message, not necessarily the coast or the white working class. >> woodruff: we expect to know tomorrow who the party will choose as its new chair. yesterday, jaime harrison, awrp candidate yourself, you've thrown yourself to tom perez, quickly tell us why. >> listen, judy, i think the next chair has to -- one of the reasons i dropped out is, in the end of the day, i saw the votes were not there. you know, it would have been great to go on the floor and get a number of votes and, you know, based on our count, i was in third place at the time. but that wasn't for the best interest of this party. we need to have a very unified

message coming out of the vote tomorrow that we're all on the same page. so wrather than drag three and four and five ballots so it looks like the democratic party was divided and didn't know where we were going, there are two people in the race i want to win and i've respected an known both for a while now, but at the end of the day, i know the next chair has to be a builder, organizer, visionary and fighter and i thought tom perez fit that mold and that's why i'm supporting him. >> woodruff: symone sanders, you've not endorsed anyone for chair. do you think any candidate is equally qualified to lead the party going forward? >> absolutely. i think the democrats are in great hands regardless of who wins tomorrow. we're going to have to come together and unify and each candidate for chair will have real work to do if elected

democratic chair of the national committee. i and my peers across the country are poised to hold the next chair accountable fivment you boil down the democratic message to one sentence, jaime harrison, what is it? >> we are the party that believes in opportunity for all. regardless of your background, reling, who you love, we believe you should have the ability to live in american dream. >> woodruff: symone sanders? i co-sign that. we are a party for the people, by the people and all about the people. >> woodruff: we'll leave it there and watch for tomorrow's votes. thanks to both of you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: members of congress have been on recess this week. usually, that would mean a number of constituent town halls in their home districts.

but fewer than 30 republicans are holding those meetings, as protests grow outside some district offices, and constituents rally inside the our team traveled to one of them in northern new jersey, near new york city, to see the dynamics in play. lisa desjardins reports from the garden state. >> reporter: five-term new jersey congressman leonard lance is about to hold his 41st town hall, but tonight, the mood feels different. he walks out to face more than a thousand people ready to let him hear it, and still scores more are protesting outside. >> i'm very concerned with what trump is doing with our country, and what our congressman is allowing him to do. >> we should do something. we should change what's going on, and we should do it now. >> thank you very much for choosing my lucky number. >> reporter: it is polite tension. those at the microphones give their local hometowns and ask

questions that strike deep into national territory. >> again, i can't see the questioner, but that might not be too much of a problem. >> why repeal? why not reform the affordable care act? >> reporter: lance sometimes surprises the crowd by agreeing: >> reporter: but more often, he differs: >> i don't believe the house ways and means committee should look at a private citizen's tax returns. ( audience boos ) >> he's the president! he's a public citizen! >> reporter: this fury has been building since the election, and it exploded across the country in the past week-- congress' first week of recess in the trump presidency. in arkansas, senator tom cotton heard about the affordable care act. >> i can tell you three members of my family, including me, that

would be dead; dead, and homeless, if it was not for affordable care act. >> reporter: in iowa for senator chuck grassley, immigration and religion: >> i am a person from a muslim country, and i am a muslim. who is going to save me here? >> reporter: for senate leader mitch mcconnell, at a luncheon, there was concern about miners. >> the last i heard, these coal jobs are not coming back, and now these people don't have the insurance they need because they're poor! >> reporter: the outcry is in some liberal-leaning areas, but also in places where the clear majority of voters is republican or moderate. here in new jersey's 7th district, congressman lance is particularly on the radar because he's been seen as moderate in the past; and because hillary clinton narrowly won this district in november. national democrats are now targeting lance's seat. and unless he's a check against president trump, voters like these want their republican congressman out, too.

meet westfield 2020: an activist group only a few months old, today writing postcards to lawmakers. most have never done anything like this before. that includes founders marci bandelli and lillian duggan, democrats and working moms who were casual acquaintances, and then, suddenly, allies. >> it was the election. >> after the election, the devastating election, lillian reached out to me. >> it just occurred to me that, you know, even though i was very sad, that we needed to do something. and i thought, "people need to figure out how this happened and start organizing." >> being from the new york and new jersey area, we know donald trump. donald trump is a showman. >> reporter: theirs is one of nearly a dozen new anti-trump groups in the congressional district since the election. this one started on facebook, and is now more than 1,600 members strong.

>> it's important that our representation in congress is-- thinks critically about what donald trump is doing, and is able to stand up to his policies. >> we never knew that this was in our community. we never knew the passion and the, these caring people, were here. it's really rescued us from this pit that we're really in, and, and everybody's motivated. >> reporter: 200 miles away, from his living room in washington d.c., ezra levin is trying to galvanize all that local motivation into a national strategy for the left. >> the theory of change here is that donald trump's agenda doesn't depend on donald trump-- it depends on whether or not individual members of congress choose to rubber stamp that or resist it. >> reporter: he's executive director of "indivisible," a progressive group with growing numbers of chapters and a borrowed game plan. >> the inspiration for the guide strategy and tactics is the

tea party. they understood back in 2009 that they didn't have agenda- setting power. they didn't have the house or the senate or the presidency. they had the power to respond and resist, and they did. through going to town halls, through meeting with their members of congress in person. >> reporter: rutgers political science professor ross baker says the tea party comparison so far is only superficial. >> the real question is: can it be sustained? the tea party managed to, managed to get that going and, and sustain it over a long period of time, because, i think, their focus was much more targeted on the affordable care act and, and subliminally, at least, on, on president obama personally. >> reporter: the longtime representative lance senses a new tone. >> i think there are loud voices at the moment across the country. >> reporter: a lot of folks mention the word "anger." do you think there's anger going on right now? >> i observed some anger, of-- i think that's definitely the

case. and, i try never to be angry. it's much better to try to, to reason with people, listen to their concerns, and to have a constructive dialogue back and forth. >> reporter: on that much, his constituents agree. >> i'm not angry. i'm motivated. >> we're sort of, sort of like we're, we've started a business, right? and at the same time we've started the business, we're offering a product, which is activism, and i think camaraderie as well. >> reporter: this group stresses none of them is paid-- they buy their own stamps-- despite what the white house press secretary has said about organizations like theirs. >> people are clearly upset, but there is a bit of professional protester, manufactured base in there. >> reporter: president trump weighed in, tweeting: "the so-called angry crowds are actually, in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists." back at the new jersey town hall, the volume rises in the final 30 minutes... >> i believe, when the president

misstates the facts-- >> you mean when he lies! boooooo. >> reporter: ...with calls for lance to oppose the president. the congressman holds his own and tries to look ahead. he tells the crowd that to meet demand, he'll hold another town hall saturday. marci, watching quietly, is also making plans: her group will be here, too. for the pbs newshour, i'm lisa desjardins in westfield, new jersey. >> woodruff: and, to the analysis of shields and brooks. that's syndicated columnist mark shields, and "new york times" columnist david brooks. gentlemen, let's talk about this right now. whatdeau see this -- what do you see this energy or emotion and anger, what does it mean coming at these republican town halls? >> first of all a shoutout for congressman lance for doing it

and for a thoughtful interview with lisa having another town meeting because several of his colleagues have tucked tail and run and ducked it. so the energy, judy, is real. there's no doubt about it. but i think ross baker put the point well, political philosopher and teacher, when he said i it isn't as focused. it's quite diffused. there are those who want to impeach donald trump. donald trump, i hate to tell people who are concerned about it, is not going to be impeached. american people believe in giving somebody a fair chance. he's a new president. there have been troubles, there have been problems, and the stock market just set ten days in a row of new records, whether because of him or in spite of him. so that's -- but the energy is real and the question is can it be focused, can it be disciplined, can it be sustained? >> woodruff: how do you answer all those questions?

>> first of all, donald trump is not going to be impeached this month. let's not close our possibilities. i want so say a couple of things. i do think what's happening is great and people are active and involved in the democratic process. the party thing is only apt in some ways. the activism of the town hauls looks something like it. but the tea party went after the republican party as their vehicle and parties is how you change history. it's fine to be an activist but if you're not putting up candidates, not political, not in your party your understand probably won't have long-term change, you will probably dissipate. it's tempting to remember the tea party had a peak and the republican party establishment beat it back down. tapet fed into the philosophy donald trump embodies so they had a different view of how the world should be governed. they had a lot of things we didn't appreciate going forward

for them as time went by. >> woodruff: it led to something. >> it led to republican takeover in 2010. kevin mccarthy was open in going out and recruiting candidates who emerged from that move thive movement and the republicans of the house paid for it ever since because they cannot pass anything comprehensive or real because of the freedom caucus which is the child, the product, the prodigy to have the tea party. >> woodruff: but to both of you quickly, you're hearing some republicans and the white house saying a lot of this is orchestrated. it's been somebody sitting there sort of pulling the strings. >> yeah. >> woodruff: how genuine is this? >> it's genuine. judy, the argument of those who are being criticized anytime, the viects movement forward, the anti-war movement forward, is it's always outside agitators doing it. "the wall street journal" had a good piece this is organic, it's not organized, it's real.

are there people nationally working on it? sure. but people emerging from those districts when tom cotton hears a woman stand up in arkansas and said three members of my family would be dead but for aca include meg, and where do you get your insurance, senator ? they're all going to be asked that. it's genuine. >> nothing wrong with being organized. the changes in history tend to be organized. what the tea party also had was obamacare and the unpopularity of that, at least at the time, and whether there is something equally unpopular and equally galvanizing that is almost self-destructive from the administration that's another factor, we'll wait and see. >> woodruff: meantime, we talked about it a few minutes ago on the show, democrats are about to choose a new party chair. we're talking about the message of the party. do you hear a clear message coming from the democrats? do you think it matters whether nay come together around any message now?

>> sure, it will, judy. but, no, i don't hear any clear, coherent message. when you're a party out of power, it's the time to be a national party chair. when the party holds the white house all political decisions are made in the white house and being a party chair you're just an artifact but off chance to make a difference. what the democrats have to do is recognize and accept the fact they're the lowsest point since 1928 in the house of representatives and since 1925 in states. they have to start winning elections. that involves not just a great idea but recruiting candidates. rahm emanuel, mayor of chicago, who gave obnoxiousness a new definition in his behavior and often in his dealings with the press had a good point, recruit veterans and recruit football players, business people. i think that's what the job of

the new party chair has to be. >> to me, the fundamental thing -- well, i guess i see a lot of people debating this in the wrong way. a lot of the debate is should we go to the coast, the center, the left, the right, but trump is instructive here actually. you figure out what is the crucial issue facing the country right now, and for trump it was that the global economy and the international world order were failing regular people. so he said that's the crucial issue, i'm going to take a clear stand on that issue. he did, it's internally consistent and he won with it. for the democrats, they're trying to avoid having the sanders-clinton debate over again. clinton much more embracing the global economy and the international world over, sanders and warren much less so, and they have to figure out which side the party is on to have a clear message. i think this is one you probably can't straddle. >> woodruff: so when you her as we heard earlier, when they say, well, opportunity for all, you're saying it's got to be more specific. >> you've got to have --

franklin roosevelt set a pretty clear line, ronald reagan had a clear line, people who rescue parties. it subject have to be the same line as in the last 40 years because that clearly isn't working, but you have to have a clear line on capitalism, support it or opposed, international order supported or proposal? republicans have taken a very clear line. democrats can have a different version of the hein or say, no, we are the party of international peace and activism and we're the party who's going to have a civilized capitalism. >> two points, that's way above the job description and definition of a party chair. that will be fought out in the primaries in 2020, before that in 2018 as well. but franklin roosevelt also ran on a balanced budget in 1932, and the greatest president, certainly, of the 20t 20th century.

so, you know, the idea that you lay out a predicate right now, donald trump has re-created the republican party in his image. we saw that at the c-pac convention. that was a total surrender of the reagan era. ronald reagan is gone, nothing but a decent memory. he stood up and said, you finally have a president, i am the future! and what did he get? hosannas and azazs and je jenuflection. a conservative movement has been an annex of the trump campaign. >> i disagree. >> woodruff: do you think the two are one? >> i don't know if forever but at this moment, for sure. steve bannon went to the c-pac this week and said there is a very important historical turning point, getting raid of the t.p.p. the republican party stood for

that for as long as i have been alive. then trump today, you know, buy american, buy american, anti-free trade and got big cheers. they're waving russian flags, partly probably as a joke, but still the party has become an ethnic nationalist partiers and i don't think it's just because they agree with trump on some things and not others, i do think over the last ten years a lot of republicans decided it's not working, what the party believed in, free trade, open borders. they looked at basically the failed wars and said, oh, us being the policeman of the world is not working, so something really serious shifted in the minds of republicans and certainly others. >> woodruff: but aren't there still republicans who say c-pac doesn't represent me, that i'm not part of the conservative movement? i'm a republican but i'm not there? >> absolutely. this is a group that gave its presidential straw balance to

ronde paul and rand paul so they've abandoned the libertarian values and instincts to embrace trump. judy, gone is any mention of american exceptionalism. i happen to believe that twice, three times in the 20t 20th century, the united states saved western democracy, both world wars and the cold war. >> woodruff:ary r we're hearing about american first. >> america is the exception. american model, the american values are something that end at the border, they're something that are just for us, and the american responsibility is -- there is no mention of it. >> we have the clip earlier in the program of trump saying i'm not president of the globe, i'm president of the united states. reagan would have never said that. eisenhower would have never said that because he would have said, yes, i'm president of the united states but it's in our interest to be securing world order. >> a citizen of the world. nd the two are intricately

linked. it's a different mindset. important to c-pac is they have always been an outsider, culture, protest style, a little rude than most republicans, and this goes back all the way to reagan, lee atwater, reagan strad gist, had no use for c-pac because he thought they were wild and mature. so that's been a strain. it's interesting how identity politics and culture style politics blossomed. but they were always there in c-pac. >> woodruff: we are careful about how we talk about president trump and the news media because we think you can quickly get into a situation, mark, where you are looking at yourself and being a little too self-referential. what i want to ask both of you quickly is is this something that's going to begin to define the press, the president's

constantly, daily saying fake news, the press is dishonest, the press makes things up? >> well, judy, he's moved from the enemy being barack obama, now fading is hillary clinton, and is no question he's chosen the enemy. i thought what steve bannon said yesterday was probably more chilling or nor threatening than anything the president says, i mean, because he said it's a constant day. we have to defeat the press. president kennedy after the bay of pigs said of the "new york times," i wish you had written more and investigated mo because it may have saved the country the cataclysm of the bay of pigs. you know, that's the job of the press is to hold the lamp up, to investigate, to hold accountable, and denying access as sean spicer did today is the first step toward a dictatorship. >> it's both strategic to get people's minds off other things, and to pick an internal enemy.

it's part of his psychodynamics to cover his press coverage intensely, he's more interested in that than anything else. will it tend to stick? i tend to think not, the fake media. i'm sure marco and crooked hillary didn't think it would stick, these labels have a certain power and we'll see how it plays out. >> woodruff: we will see. david brooks, mark shields, thank you both. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: now, the story of a good man on a quiet, and heartbreaking, mission, one that many people would never consider undertaking. he worked for years in obscurity, until recent notice brought this remarkable man, and his remarkable story, to light. from los angeles, special correspondent gayle ztemach lemmon brings us this profile.

>> reporter: mohamed bzeek has become something of a local hero here in los angeles recently. >> i am not an angel. i am not a hero. it's just what we are supposed to do, as a human being, you know. >> reporter: in 1978, bzeek, then a former marathon runner, came to the u.s. from libya to study engineering. he met his wife here in the u.s., and became a citizen in 1997. but today, he is a different kind of champion. his distinction: he is the only foster parent in this city of four million, who cares solely for terminally ill children. what happens if you get sick? >> father doesn't get sick day. >> reporter: it is not a glamorous job. >> you have to do it from your heart, really. if you do it for money, you're not going to stay long. >> reporter: over almost three decades, he and his wife cared for scores of children. ten have died in his care. most of the children he's taken recently are born with terminal

illnesses. sometimes they are abandoned, or born to parents with drug addiction. once they enter the foster care system, the county works to connect them with foster parents like mohamed. the memories of the children, he says, still live with him every day. >> this is my kid who died with the cancer. he has a cancer. he died. they operate on him and they find the cancer separated all of his organs, so the doctor said, "let's stitch him back," and said, "there's nothing we can do for him." >> reporter: today, he lives with a six-year-old foster daughter born with microcephaly, a rare disorder in which a baby's brain doesn't fully develop. she cannot see or hear; she responds only to touch. at seven weeks old, the county took her from her biological parents. they called bzeek, and he agreed

to take her in. he also cares for his biological son, adam, who himself was born in 1997 with brittle bones, dwarfism and other physical challenges. taking in critically ill children is a painful process: he knows at the start, their time together will be short. >> i know it's heartbreak. i know it's a lot of work. i know it's going to hurt me sometimes, you know, i feel sad. but in my opinion, we should help each other, you know. >> reporter: much of his dedication, he says, derives from his faith. bzeek is a practicing muslim. and his story gained special notice recently, after president trump issued an executive order seeking to bar immigrants from seven majority-muslim nations, including his own home country of libya. bzeek says he sees the negative stereotypes out there. but he is not deterred.

>> as a muslim, i don't hate nobody. i love everybody. i respect everybody. >> reporter: his faith has continued to guide him through many heartbreaks. his wife passed away in 2015. after your wife died, did you ever think, this is actually too much for one person to do? >> sometimes. but i know somebody who needs help. i will do it as long as i am healthy. >> reporter: now, he has a nurse's aide that helps with care on weekdays from 8:00 to 4:00. but still, it's a full-time job, one he handles by himself every night and every weekend. with his foster daughter's seizures happening more and more often, he usually sleeps near her, on the couch. just in case. he says he hasn't had a day off since 2010. and the challenges have continued to mount. in november, the caregiver became the patient: >> i find out in november i have colon cancer.

and they told me they have to operate on you in december. i said, i talk with the surgeon, you have to give me time, because i have a foster kid who is terminal and i have my son, he is handicapped. there is nobody for them, you know." >> reporter: did anyone go with you to the hospital? >> no. that was the scary part, you know. i felt about the kids who's been sick for the rest of their-- for if i am an adult, 62 years old, and i feel this feeling that i am scared, and nobody tells me "it's okay" and "it will be fine." this experience humbled me.

>> reporter: there's so much heartbreak and yet you keep doing it. >> i mean, these kids need somebody. >> reporter: even if there's that much heartbreak. >> even though my heart is breaking. to me, death is part of life, and i'm glad i help those kids go through this period of time, you know, and i helped him, i be with him, i comfort him, i loved him or her, and until he pass away, i am with him and make him feel he has a family and he has somebody who cares about him and loves him. >> reporter: that they're not alone. >> no. >> reporter: bzeek underwent a successful cancer surgery in december, and treatment is ongoing. his story has received wide attention. that led to an online fundraising drive that has already raised over $200,000, which he says he will use for a

new roof, air conditioning and maybe even a replacement for his 14-year-old van. >> i was reading all of the comments people put on the internet. really, i was crying because of their kindness and the nice words they said. >> reporter: and in the end, he says he has been humbled by just how much his story has brought out others' heart and humanity. >> i can't describe the feeling, you know. i mean, you see how many nice people around us, but we don't see them because of this turmoil and this time, we don't see how many nice and kind people around us. >> reporter: do you think you see more of them now? >> yes. there is always good in this world, you know. more than the bad, always. that's what i believe. >> reporter: for the pbs newshour, i'm gayle tzemach

lemmon, los angeles. >> woodruff: on the newshour online right now, a classic toy goes virtual. we look at the science behind the latest barbie toy: a hologram, part of a new generation of tech-inspired playthings. all that and more is on our website, www.pbs.org/newshour. coming up later on "washington week:" just one month into office, is the trump doctrine redefining what it means to be a republican? get insight from the "washington week" panel, later tonight on your pbs station. on pbs newshour weekend saturday: the brexit effect on northern ireland-- will it challenge two decades of peace? >> nobody wants to return to the borders of the past. >> reporter: british prime minister theresa may has tried to assuage concerns by stating

her preference for a" frictionless border." but gerry adams, a towering figure among catholic republicans, and a key player in the peace process, isn't buying it. for 34 years, adams has led sinn fein, the political party historically tied to the irish republican army, which fought to separate northern ireland from the united kingdom, and from a british government adams contends still doesn't have northern ireland's best interests at heart. >> i don't think they give a fig about people here. i don't think they ever have. >> woodruff: that's tomorrow night, on pbs newshour weekend. and before we go tonight, we want to mark the passing of ward chamberlin. he was a long-time friend of the newshour, and served as president and c.e.o. of our home tv station, weta, from 1975 until 1989. he was a strong voice for the importance of public media. and he will be missed. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff.

have a great weekend. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. >> xq institute. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> and the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

welcome to kqed newsroom. coming up in our program, former u.s. labor secretary robert risch shares his thoughts on job creation. and longtime lgbt activist cleave jones talks about his new memoir when we rise, also the title of a new abc mini series. but first, as part of our coverage of the first 100 days of the trump administration, new rules from the department of homeland security to crack down on illegal immigration, including expedited removal of undocumented people who can't show they've been in the u.s. for at least two years. anyone immigration officers deem a threat to public safety or national security. president trump is calling for 0