captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: >> i didn't need to do this. but i'd rather do it much faster. >> woodruff: president trump declares a national emergency to spend more government money on a border wall. democrats vow to fight the extraordinary move "in the congress, in the courts and in the public." it's friday. we examine the legal questions surrounding the move with cafornia's attorney genera and kansas' former secretary of state. plus, mark selds and david brooks analyze the politics at play. and, actress regina king speaks with us about portraying a ther in the film "if beale street could talk." her performance has been nominated for an academy award. >> the hardest thing about

parenting is holdingght and letting go. so i can relate to that, from an experiential place.yi it was just ap all of these experiences into the rformance. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for hhe pbs newsho been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects

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>> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the battle over security at e u.s. southern border is heading to the courts. it began today, when president trump proclaimed a national emergency. he said that clears the way for spending $8 billion on a southern border wall-- much of it taken from military accounts. mr. trump said the government funding measure that he signed today came up short. >> i went through congress. i made a deal. i got almost $1.4 billhen i wasn't supposed to get $1. not $1. "he's not going tollet $1." i got $1.4 billion. but i'm not happy with it. d >> woodruff: tocrats in washington denounced the president's move.r house speancy pelosi and n nate minority leader chuck

schumer called it lawful thdeclaration over a crisi does not exist." the american civil liberties uniosaid that it will file suit, and several states said they are likely ou do the same. white house correspondent, yamiche alcindor, was in the rose garden for e announcement and joins me now. so, yamiche, let's listen, first, to a little bit more of the president's explanation today. >> i could do the waldorf a longer perio'tof time. i didn need to do this, butat i.d.r do it much faster. we had certain funds that are being used at the discretion of generals, at the discretion of the military. some of thehaven't been allocated yet, and some of the generals think that this is more important. i was speaking to a couple of them, they think this is far more important than what they were going to use it for. i said what wernge you go use it for, and i won't go into details, but it didndn't sooo important to me. >> woodruff: so, yamiche,

hearing that,here exactly is the president pulling this from? >> the president is sayingig know know best how to use thmie tary funds to keep americans safe. so i'll walk you through the $8 billion initially used to fund a border wall. $1.375 billion from the congressional deal congress passed this week to avert a government shutdown. $600 million froofthe department reasury forfeiture fund, money from seized and foafortd assets. $2 billion from department of defense counterdrug activiti, $3.6 from miitary construction money, and that's defense money from the department of defense, and all of this is to fund an initialwa 234 miles ofton the southern border. the white house stressed todayst this is he beginning, they could ask for more money. they wanted to make it clear none of this money is coming from disaster relief funds. there was some worry there was

ing to be money taken from hurricane relief funds, that's not happening. >> woodruff: how does he justify this? what is his rationale for doing ithis? >> the president is saying this is something that to happen and that there is a crisis on the southern border and that heit understand more than anyone else. i want to play sound of what he's using as his sourcing for this. >> it's all a big lie. it's a big con game. i get me numbers from a lot of sources like homeland security, primarily, and the numbers that i have frm homeland security are a disaster. you knelow whae is a disaster? the numbers that come out of homeland security, kirstjen, for the cost of money we spend and what we lose bec ause oflegal immigration, billions and billions of dollars a month. >> the president's statistics entradict the prsident's claims.

two things are false.es first, the prent said take a look at our federal prison population. see how many are illegal aliens percentagewise. according to the bureau of prisons 2019, 80% of federal inmates were u.s. s,tiz9% other nationalities, about 12% were mexicans, but doesn't mean they're undocumented. another fact, the president said io're declaring this, of course being the natl emergency, because of a virtual invasion purposes, drugs, traffickers and gangs, the facts no data shows undocumented immigrantsme commit more cr a study by the catthe cato institute, an organization based in washington d.c., found u.s. citizens are conducted at deou the rate of undocumented immigrants texas, a study done in 2015. last government data show the majority of drugs come through legal ports of entry. the president is making claims that simply aren't true. finally, theresident was asked how much he pays attention to

and is influenced by conservative media. what did the president say about that? d> the president said the conservative news ia doesn't dictate white house policy, but he also very much praised t lot of peopt are in the conservative media. listen to what he had to sea. >> sean hannity has been a terrific, terrific supporter of what i do. not of me. if i changed my views, hedn wo be with me. rush limbaugh, i think he's a great guy, and he's got an audience that's ntastic. wait. they don't decide policy. in fact,f i went opposite-- they have somebody, ann coulter. i don't know her.r. i hardly know i haven't spoken to her in way over a year. laura's been great, ingraham. tucker carlson's been great. >> now, ann coulter said the president shouldn't sign this congressional deal to avert a government shutdown. he did do that so he didn't listen completely to what

conservative media said. the president saide's up for challenge in the house judiciarh committe's launching an investigation into this and the house can approve or try to spo a national emergency or file a lawsuit which is what you sid the aclu does, but the president is ready to fight to the supreme court and thinks he will win. >> woodruff: looks like he' getting a fight. yamiche alcindor, thank you. >> thanks.nd >> woodruff:n the day's other news, stocks surged on hopes for an end to the u.s.- chinese trade war. t the rade representative, robert lighthizer, reported making "headway" at talks thatbe wrapped up iing today. the news sent the dow jones industrial average utsnearly 444 poto close at 25,883. the nasdaq rose 45 poind the s&p 500 added almost 30. thmsu.s. immigration and cus enforcemt agency-- or ice-- has stopped force-feeding a group of detainees in el paso, texas. the men, from india, havr been on a hunrike while seeking

asylum. federal judges initial approved the feeding, but on wednesday, one of the judges ordered a ha for two of the men. the top man at the pengon says the u.s. will not abandon the raght against islamic state forces despite witng from syria. acting defense secretary patrick shanahan spoke in germany today. he said the u.s. will keep up its counter-terrorismca bilities, and recruit an even stronger coalition. >> we will continue to support our local partners' ability to stand up to the remnants of isis. there is no one-size-fits-all approach to permanently defeating isis's influence across the globe. our coalition is addressing the threat in each region and what is required from us to meet those threats. >> woodruff: we will have a report on the collapse of the islamic state's caliphate, later in the program. venezuela's president nicolasma ro says his government has

held secret talks with the u.s., even as washingtoneeks his ouster. he made the claim to the o sociated press in caracas, and said he is willinget with president trump. c>> ( translated ): tell you that we have had two meetings already with mr. elott abrams-- the u.s. special envoy to venezuela-- in new york. our chancell has met twice with elliott abrams. i invited elliott rams to come to venezuela, in private, in public, or in secret. or if he wants to meet, let him say when, how, where, and i will be there. >> woodruff: the u.s. has publicly recognized tion leader juan guaido as venezuela's rightful leader. back in this country, the u.s. supreme court will hearab argumentt including a citizenship question on the 2020 census. the court today scheduled the case for late april. s e commerce department wa add the citizenship question for the first time since 1950. opponents say it would cause undercounts of hispanics.

justice ruth bader ginsburg returned to work at the high court today. she had been working from home since having lung cancer surgery in december. ginsburg turns 86 in march. former massachusetts governor william weld is the first republican to move toward challenging president trump in 2020. he announced an exploratory committee today in new hampshire, and accused mr. trump of promoting himself over the good of the nation.we ran for president as a libertarian in 2016. there is a new turn in theca jussie smollet. the black, openly gay actor says he was assaulted in chicago last month bywo men who shouted racial, homophobic slurs and tied a rope on his neck. today, chicago police id that they have arrested two black men from nigeria as suspects. one worked on the "empire"v drama that features smollett. and, the national football

league today settled collusion lawsuits by colin kaepernick and eric reid. they say they were blacklisted for eeling during the nation anthem, to protest police brutality. kaepernick has not played since 2016. reid missed three games lastas . no details of the settlement were released. still to come on the newshour:l the leallenges ahead for president trump's emergency declaration. what happen to members of isis, as its territorial claims erode? i sit down with possible democratic presidential candidate pete buttigieg. and, much more. dr >> wf: as we heard, president trump's declaration of a national emeinency is provconsiderable scrutiny. even withiophis own party, ion is split, and much of the talk now is about the court

battles to come. amna nawaz starts there. >> nawaz: there are expected tog be a number of challenges to the declaration, including from the state of california. e man who lead that suit xavier becerra, is the attorney general of california, and a former member of house democratic leadership. mr. attorney general, thank you and welcome back to the en"newshour". ou gave a press conference earlier, you said you would be challenging the declaration in some way after you reviewed the texts that you haveter states filing with you. now that you've read the texts, what do you plan to do, when do you plan to do it and who's with ru? >> we are stiviewing but we are prepared to move. we do believe the president's actions are not only reckless but unlawful, and, so, we will move but will have other states that are joining with us and working with us throughout this whole process. we will be ready to go because it's important to make sure that whenever americans i whatever state send their tax dollars to the federal government that they know they will be used for the

right purpose and the purpose congress said, not because som president says all of a sudden he's unhappy and wants tode are a national emergency. >> i know you're still reviewing texts, but basedn what the president has laid out, what do you think the legal basis for that challengeill be? >> the president tried and filed failed to get more money out of congress. as he said in his pressce conferhe as not happy, and he said it's a great thing do to declare a national emergency and admitted this is not something he needs to. do those are not the words of as ent who is about to declare national emergency. think 9/11 with president bush, think president jim carter with the iran hostage crisis. in those cases the presidents we're not happy wasn't what they were doing and neither would have said this is something i don't need to do.um president doesn't understand he's limited like any other american in how he tries to comply with the law. i not above the law, and,

so, in this particular plce under the constitution, separation of powers, he doesn't have the authority todirect dollars that congress has allocated to the various states. >> the president's supporters willsay, look, some of what he said is absolutely true. there have been increasing numbers family units taxing our system in variousays,an enormous immigration backlog,a there'isis in some degree and in the absence of congress doing something about it, thisis he president taking drastic measure to do something. what do you say of tcet? >> wainly have challenges on the border and many challenges areanufactured by the president when he treats individuals who are trying to apply for asylum against the law, when he tries to use foce on peaceful individuals who are crossing the us. border, so, there's no doubt there's a challenge but it's not a national emergency, and for him to try to rob money that's beeno allocated food purposes throughout the country is to

deny taxpayers of their constitutional rights to make sure that there's a clear separation of pwers between an executive and the legislative branch, which is the branch that has the power to dire dollars. >> mr. attorney general, briefly bifer let you go, we should poinout in the past you have supported legally executive orders and actions take bin president, for example the daca program created by executive order under president obama and filed a number oflawsuits against this administration, so a lot of people will ask your objection to this legal or political? >> remember that president obama actein executive action sed on his authority as president. he didn't change lawes, didn't try to dismiss laws, he was simply trying toork wihin the framework of our immigration laws in dealing with daca and the dapa program. wore president trump is not simply trying tok within the framework of our existing laws, he's trying to undermine them

and cancel them in order to take money from other purposes that have belen alocated by congress, and, so it's a clear volation not only just of laws and the appropriations done by congress, it's a olation of the separation of powers to have the constitution. >> attorney general mr. xavier becerra of the state of california. k you very much for you time. >> thank you. >> nawaz: now, perspective from someone who advocates forct st policies on immigration and a vocal advocate for expanding the border wall. kris kobach is kansas's former secretary of state. mr. kobach, welcome back to the "newshour". the presidensaid earlier in the rose garden, i don't need to do this, meaning declare a natial emergency, he said he just wanted to get the wall thilt faster, so help us understand, what i emergency here? >> well, you know, listening to attorney general becerra talk, you know, i think he pointed out that reasonable peoplcan disagree as to how urgent any emergencies is and reasonable people can disagree on whether

the national emergencies acte shouldg enough to encompass what's going on today withruresident's declaration, but the law is really clear. basically, the law says thaa national emergency is something that the president deems a national emergency, and that's why it's been use58 times. 31 national emergencies are still in effect. did you kw there is an emergency still in effect bush put in blase place for the belarus objections and for burundi. so it's a broad statute the congress wrote in 1976. i believe what president trump did today clearly fits within the national emergency also act because it's so broad. >> he's legally, of course, allowed to but, by declaring an emergency, there is an insinuation there's an urgent need or crisis in some way. i'm asatng you to explain whhat emergency is, why this needed to be done now >> now.

h, okay. certainly, certainly. well, as t president illustrated with the presence of the angel families with him, you know, we've had multiple thousands of amerans killed in the last decade by illegal aliens who commit homicide or are drunk driving and rican,ntally kill an ame every one of the deaths could have been prevented if the wall had been place, f our border were more secure. in addition, you have the manye deaths from drug smuggling that's occurring and then you also have multiple terrorists coming across the southern border into the united states and that's well documented, there have been prosecutions of those people. >> i've got to push back on this. those criminal numbers you're talking about are statistic insignificant. there's no evidence a wall would have stopped any of them. the drv traffic, thst majority comes through legal ports of entry. th terrorists deemed by the own state department last year was zero at the southern bo>>der. o, the numbers of terrorists

that we have caught -- we actually don't cotch theming across the border, we actually catch them i other contextings and the justice department prosecute them a we find out ey came in that way. because of the majority of drugs pat weprehended in the pass year came in at the ports of entry, thereforofthe majorit drugs do come in at the port of entrip. that's incorrect. the pormt of entry we inspectve evericle coming in, we have drug sniffing dogs, a far greater sum, we don't know what its is, because we only intercept a third in the ports of entry. in 1998, we deployed drones and aerial surveillance along the southern border.re the apnsions of drug smuggling between the ports of entry went up 45%. was that because drug smuggling went you have 45%? no, it's because we caught a larger number. it's a general conresensus t is at least as much as coming in

at the portsf ery than we've apprehended at the portenof y. >> the majority of americans do not want to see a wall built.mo than 60% of americans are opposed to a law in any form. is it worth the presidentve ing billions of taxpayer dollars to pay for a wall that maybe only a third of amricans even want to see? >> i disagree a little bit with your polling, in the sense that i've seen a zillion polls on this questioand it rlly depends on how you frame the questi . you can ge% opposed, you can get 70%-plus favorf you frame it in a way. it's a question that you can frame in a million different way suffice it to say americans do want this. sucsuffice it to say if you ask americans want a border where drugs and illegal aliens can't enter easily, they will saye ys. imagine you have ten boarder

agents and they ha no wall in 30 miles, they will have a hard time patrolling it. but you have 20 miles that stops traffic, the agents only have 10 miles to pursue in ve aggresay. i was in arizona last week,p that's what's ning. the agents are able to use the barrier sections and deploy fewer agthents so can take the majority of agents and put them where there's no wal >> i appreciate your time. former secretary of state kris kobach. thanks for being with us. >> woodruff: nearly five years ago, isis self-declared a caliphate, a historic term for an islamic state that leads the muslim world. that so-called caliphate is nearing destruction, after a

acbrutal war that stretchess iraq and syria, killing tens of thousas. but what nowor those fleeing and those who used to run that state, now detaineby american allies? here's nick schifrin. >> schifrin: they escape with only what they can carry. ( child crying ) and their children carry the weight of war. entire families are winding their way out of isis' final stronghold. syria's been at war longer than these children have been alive. their parents say they've escaped isis, and consider themselves lucky. >> ( translated ): the elderly women couldn't walk or climb the mountain, so wfled, and had to leave them behind. ( gunfire ) >> schifrin: left them behind in baghouz, syria. u.s.-backed kurdish forces are trying to recapture the final square mile of what was once isis' caliphate. ( gunfire ) isis released is propaganda video of fighters' last stand. the fighting has been tough, and made more difficult by all the people fleeing-- many of whom are foreign. this iraqi woman says she is

fleeing with her husband. this ukrainian woman admits in oken arabic her decision to travel to isis-held territory with her husband was "madness." >> we have people from all over the world. q, have brothers from bangladesh, from iambodia, australia, u.k. >>chifrin: those women's husbands were among the 1,gh0 foreign firs who, back in20 , joined isis every month. >> i'm your brother shoaib from south africa! >> schifrin: at its peak, isis prop foreign fighters from 40 countries. they proly ripped up their home countries' passports. many of these men are dead. but many others, like this irishman, have been ptured, and the u.s. is calling on those 40 countries to repatriate them. >> 40,000 foreign fighte showed up in syria and iraq, and those countries have the respsibility to take back their citizens and prosecute them to the full extent of the law. schifrin: seamus hughes is a former intelligence officer who warns, the 1,000 foreignre fighters cly detained are a security risk unless transferred and prosecuted to

their home countries.on >> if they step up right now, it allows to isis to reconstitute themselves. you are going to have individuals who had experience in the islamic state, who are going to have military experience and an ability to be in a terrorist organization, and they're going to spread out ross the world. >> schifrin: for the last month, u.s.-backed kurdish forces have released photos of foreign is fighters. but, repatriating them will not be easy to countries where law enforcement is weak, such as tunisia, or even to western europe. in 2014, thesh15-year-old ima begun was captured on cctv leaving london to join isis. k, she told a "times of london" reporter about life inside the caliphate >> it was like a normal life. the life that they show in the propaganda videos. >> schifrin: those propaganda utdeos depicted the caliphate as family-friendly, bhey also showed isis' brutality. and even today, begun told the "times'" anthony lloyd she didn't regret fleeing to syria, and sn't disturbed by the violence. >> did you ever see executions? >> no, no, i never. but i saw a beheaded head in the

bin. >> in the bins? >> yeah, in the bin. it didn't faze me at all. >> schifrin: tt attitude led british security minister ben wallace to tell sky news today, if she managed to return to london, she would be charged by authorwhies. >> anyongoes out to fight or support organizations such as isis-- dreadful, horrendous terrorist organizations-- should expect to be investigated, should expect to be interviewed, and should at the very least expect to be prosecuted. >> sifrin: but there's no guarantee of that, says hughes. >> in the u.s. context, it's relatively easy to build a legal case against an isis fighter. in great britain, france, you don't have the same strong legal frameworks that you would have, that you'd be able to arrest somebody for joining the islamic state. you need to put it in context of 13the legal frameworks in 2014. it wasn't illegal for a british citizen to go to syria and iraq in 2014. >> schifrin: there's also humanita sending detainees to states with or human rights records, and to states without reintegration programs.er

and is the huge question of what to do with thousands of children born inside the caliphate. >> i don't think the sins of the mother or father should be the sins of the child. and so it will be incumbent on the state to create programs to deal with, let's be fair, p.t.s.d., and other things they witnessed. schifrin: what they witnessed was unspeakable violence committed by fighters now in detention. but it's unclear who will deliver those fighters justice.s for the pbs nehour, i'm nick schifrin. >> woodruff: stay with us. the race for the white house in 2020 is in full swing, and ten democrats soar have declared their candidacy for the party's nomination. with just four mths to go before the first democratic presidential debate in june, pete buttigieg, the mayor of south bend, indiana, recently announced he formed an exploratory committee. if he wins his party's

nomination, he will be the first openly gay candidate of a majorf party to r the white house. mayor buttigieg joins us now to discuss his book, "shortest way home," and why he could be a good president. mayor buttgieg, thanks for being with us.h >> thanks foving me. >.>> woodruff: first obvious question, why would a 37-year-old mayor of a small city in the midwestern part of the u.s. be running for president? >> i believe we're in a moment that calls for something completely new and, among other things, i thinit calls for voices from the industrial y,dwest, a place that, in particular, my pao its detriment, largely ignored in past electiok cycles. i th also calls for somebody from a newer gene, tion. you kn a millennial, i'm just old enough or young enough to qualify as an older millennial. i'm from the generation that, for one thing, grew up experiencing school shootings as the norm. i was in high school when columbine happened. we are the generation that's

going to be on the business end of climate change, that's going to have to pick up the pieces to ave the fiscal mess tht will be made by current tax policy, and econouomically, we be the first generation in american isstory to make less than our parents if nothinone. so i think that those kinds of scroises have been missinbfrom the e and it's time to step forward. i get that it's a non-traditional path compared to, let's say, being in the congress, but, answer executive, ath on the ground experience in government, i wouo argue nat the more congress starts looking or washington starts looking like our best-run cities and towns instead of the other way around, the beter off we'll be. >> woodruff: you mentioned tax policy. that's one othe issues that we're already hearing the early aannounced candidates taout. where do you put yourself on the spectrum of people who have expressed an interest in d. j.mi notion? there is kamala harris,. >> warner:elizabethwarraen, bert

in. what do you think about taxing the wealthy? >> i think it'eas clthere are plenty of people in america that are not paying their fair share, it's almost incompatible with democracy when it steams dollars can outvote people sometimes. i think we need to tax wealth more than work, we need to consider a financial trwesactions tax, and eed to ask whether the top marginal tax rates are really appropriate, given that the effective tax rates path by wealthy are often actually lower than those paid by the rest of us. >> woodff: let's talk about something that's been before the congress just in the last few days. yesterday, the congress, democrats and republicans, came together in support of this spending proposal, including language about border security. speaker nancy pelosi, a democrat, was for it, but the newly-elected congresswoman from new york, alexandria ocasio-cortez, was against i want. what would you have done. >> i don't have a problemwith enhanced border security perhaps to include fencing. i believe tnhe mistake

believing border security is as simple as putting up a wall from ining sea. by the way, i think it's also a mistake to think that security in general in the 21st century is as simple as military and border security matters. in a moment like this whe 21st century threats from cyber security to climate security are demanding action, as many in the majority in the innate don't seem to have any interest in tacthat at all. >> woodruff: the president looked at that and said it's still not enough money. today he declared a national emergency so he can get more money taken from other places in the government to go toward a border wall. should he have don you said you think climate change is a national emergency. could you see yourself declaring an emergency over tat? >> i may be the youngest person innvhe 2020 sation, but i'm old enough to remember when conservatives and lierals alike were skeptical of presidential

power grabs. the idea he can asserton addi pow we based on an emergency that's not a true emergency, to the extent thater is a humanitarian crisis, it's one of his own making because to have the cruel policies implemented at the bored and, in the mean time,li something likete, something that has the destructive power of perhaps a depression or a world war that is a much more real emergency is ention.ng our att does that mean a future democratic president ought to take a page out ofp' president trbook and declare an emergency? i would rather see this resolvel in regulgislative process where congress funds national priorities largely set by the president. it's just it doesn't seem to be a priority by those in leadership who seem to regard change and other issues as somebody e >> woodruff: on healthcare, you said you're for a sing ol' payer system. there's a lot of conversation about medicare for all.er are you on that spectrum?

>> most citizens think we should enjoy healthcare as enjoyed by most citizens of most countries there are questions about the pathway to medicare for all. the flavor i prefer ise medic for all who want it. in other words, take a versionic of mee, make it available as a public option on the exchange, and if people like me are right that this will becom the most proficient and preferred means, this ll be the glide path to a single pair environment. >> woodruf different subject. you said you would be if you ran on the democratic ticket the first openly gay persoto seek the presidency in a major party. do you think that wouldnd up, in 2020, would that ban asset for you or could it be a liability? >> maybe it will be both. it's hard to say. i'm certainly conscious of the historic naturof a candidacy of the first out elected official to ever seek this office. at the same time, when i think of my own life, my marriage is obably the most normal thing in my life. it holds me down to earth. i have a husband who wants to

know if i did the chores as well as how i did television, and relps me to relate the other people, most whostraight and also married. >> woodruff: do you think the time is coming when we won't be asking that question? >> i hope we wll get to aday when it is not newsworthy. i thought about this a lot when ei was gettingdy to come out, and i thought about the fact that straight peopldon't have to come out. so some day i would like somebody in a position i was in, in a election year, that i would show up at a social function that my date would be the same sex, people would look, shrug and go about theirusiness. but we're not in that reality. in many parts to have the u.s.an peopletill be fired for being gay and we know there's basically an assault on the rights and dignity of trans people in this counto. so the journey is in progress, ieve, especially somebody who came out when mike pence was governor of indiana and got reelected with 80% of

the vote, i believe the progress is accelerating. >> woouf mayor pete buttigieg of south bend,he indiana,ook is "shortest way home." thank you for stopping binchts ad to be here. >> woodruff: from a growing 2020 presidential field, to the fight over the president's national emergency declaration, it's time r shields and brooks. that is syndicated columnist mark shields, and "new yorks" tiolumnist david brooks. hello to both of you. we are going to talk about the mayor in just a moment, but i do want to start, david, with thno president's cement today that he didn't enough money to that he can spend up toency. $8 billion on it. >> yeah, well is is awul. you know, i don't think it has anything to do with any inva.on, as he claim i think he lost the government shutdown so he's gi hingimself

a performance trophy to say i'm a winner. i think it's moe about his psyche than anything in the country, and it is a completen violat any constitutional position that any liberal or consertive should believe in. the constitution clearly states that allocations and appropriations are the job of ngress, and congress has been ceding power time and tiagme n, presidents have been grabbing it, and this is by far the most egregio grab. ce you walk down this line, then the constitutional orderor begins to fram and we've seen the fraying of social norms, now we're seeing the fraying of citional norms. >> woodruff: mark, the president says it's entirely within his right to do this and ints out other presidents have done similar things. >> not really similar things in this sense after they have been rejected by the legislative onocess immediately following that rejection. i think, judy, that you have to say a national emergency is the great depression, the polio epidemic, the firing of fort

sumpter, you know,ething that we can agree is an emergency. this is a political emergency. it's a political emergency as onvid described, not just the stinging rebuke ofess, but by actual count 200 times donal trump candidd then president has promised that this wall, this tall, unscalable wall will be built and paid for completely y the mexican government, and he obviouy has not delivered on that. i just point out that, in 2000, bill clinton's last year in the white house, there were 1.6 million illegal entries stopped by the authorities at the border. in 2017, donald trump's first year, there were fewer than 400,000. i mean, it's not an invasion, as david said. i mean, it's not an emergency other than a political ooemergency. >>uff: and it's going to be challenged in the courts. we were hearing some of that earlier in the program. david, what about the fact that

republicans in congress didn't go along, there weren't enough of them to go alng with what the president wanted in terms of money, and now some are sayg what you two are saying, that they don't like the fact he' declaring an emergency. >> this is an interesting thing that within negotiationsn the last week, there were republicans and specifically mitch mcconnell basically said they were writing the white house out of t negotiations and they sidelined them. so they basically -- the dealas mcconnell saide're going to cut them out to have the negotiations, we'lgive them nothing, but i'll support this chance to have an emergency, not as a bad deal. violating the constitution is worse. i think they should have a vote, the congress should assert itself for once in a lifetime for the sake of our country. a few republicans have come out and criticized the president, ben sasse and marco rubio, but a lot have not. some who warned him not to do that are suddenly on board. and, so, youe seeing rank opn

opportunism. a few years ago barack obama did something i thought was egregious and every republican include meg had their hair on fire, and now suddenly they're fine with an even more egregious grab of white house power. >> woodruff: is it at significvision in the republican party? i >> nisn't, judy. the republican party needs a vertebrae transplant. it has no backbone. mitch mcconnell is terrified of a primary challenge in 2020, at's the power donald trump wields. donald trump has always, in his arsenal, the mark sanforde experience, former governor and congressman of mpsouth carolina, donald t said good words about his dpponent and bad words about mark sanford a mark sanford's career came to a crashing end in the republica primary.

and virtually every republican who's up in 2020 is afraid that donald trump -- to get onhe wrong side of donald trump. i don't think there's any questi about it. think susan collins has said some questionable things about -- questioning the president, so has mike lee from it'sall group. utah. lamar alexander has. he's retiring in 2020. so i don't expect aney grat resistance on the g.o.p. side. >> woodruff: let's broaden the talk to 2020. aru both just hea conversation with the mayor of south bendindiana. i struggle with his name but i think pete buttigieg is clo. david, what did you make of him? >> had a dinner wih him a couple of months ago and i found k m very impressive. i also the presidency is a really hard job, and we shouldn't define it to trump-level competence. not saying that about mayorbu igieg. he's mayor of south bend and a

lot of people have gone through south bend and their lives have been transformed by it, and when i met him thought he's a transforming mayor, but it's not preference for the presidenty. we have to realize how difficuo this is. you can't just walk out of nowhere and do it in. my belief, i likoe gvernors. they've run big things and done big things andru not jusn committee hearings. as voters, i think we should reestablish a high standard for what takes to be thought of as a presidential candidate. >> woodruff: mark? i disagree. i think a mayor, a governor is far better testing ground for somebody to be president of the unitedt tates. i doink it's any accident that both roosevelts were governors, and some of our great presidents. the only two presidents to lead with % approval bill clinton and ronald reag were both governors. i point that out because what a senator does is make tough

speeches, issue scalding press etrating, ask pen questions at hearings and has totally shared responsibility,of on00. i'm not responsible for anything the senate does. i voted -- or actually voted ton recommit, and you very much, senator. mayors, governors have to deal with rml life. n, they have to deal with teacher strikes, they have to haal with tax hikes, theve to deal with traffic, they have to deal with trash cold lection, ey have to deal with -- >> woodruff: snow removal. snow removal, all kinds of problems people have in their daily lives. mayor pete has been a very goomd r of south bend, and i can say that. south bend was not an eay place to hold together, put together, and, so, i have a bias in favors of mayors and goverrs. i, too, am a fan of his. i think he's smart and bright d i think he's not afrato say something different, which, in itself, is just encouraging and refreshing.

>> woodruff: he's coming down on the progressive end of the spectrum. i think that's fair to say, david. he talked about the green new deal, he talked a little bit about taxing the rich, which obviously hasme up among the democrats. medicare for all, how to deal with healthcare. where do you see the democratic field sort of shaking out in that way and does it -- i mean is it shaking in a direction that helps the party or not? >> somewhere it's a shakeout, i guess. as donald trump makes it extremely hard to think of supporting someone like that, i think the democrats have done an outstanding job to make it hard for moderates to support anything. the idea that i could ever support a candidate that would support a green new detal, t could never happen. the green new deal concentrates power in the hands of the washington elite in a way nothing has done since worldr . it would have washington planners taking over the eneany

transportation business so no planes are necessary, taking over healthcare. it really is a centralization of power in a way we haven't seent and doesxist in scandinavia. it used to be democrats wanted tohift the tax ce, shift the regulations in order to steer the market in a more humane direction, and i get tha being that kind of democrat, you would be for a carbotax to address global warming. this is not that. this ishevernment taking control of large swaths of the american economy, sometng i don't think the government is capable of doing. >> woodruff: how do you feel. i think david has s up a strong man farce the new green deal is concerned it hasn't been endorsed by the democratic party. it's gotten a lot of attention, publicity and buzz but it is noo the atic platform by any means. i think the democrats, quite bluntly, have made the traditional mistake of a party that wins a mid wterm. s a midterm election because voters thought the party

in power and the president was overreaching, overreacting, and theant party leaves an affirmative mandate to them and for their fondest ilusioniary dreams and i think that the what happened in 1970, in richard nixon's first miterm, he we on to win 49 states. two years later, it happenedm with the drats in 1982 with rothenberg an1982ronald reagan . it happened with barack obama it 2010the republicans. what the democrats have to understand is they won on healthcare because donald trump and the republicans were going to abolish pre-existing condition coverage for people and the democrats were going to protect it, not cause the americans wanted a mandated medicare fo all an the abo legs of all private insurance coverage. >> does it feel like anything will pull that back?

are the hrses out of the barn? >> times the want to win, when asked a question. w thatat they're interested in winning. whether the candidates, you know, will offer that to them, but the democratic rank and file by actual meurement and lling, that's their priority is to win. >> well, it should be, and nancy pelosi ab-- >> nancy pelosi -- but five presidential candidates and peryple booker embraced it. if you come in and say government will give everybody a job. what democrat will go against it? somebody has to say no, we believe in helping people, we do not believe government takeover. >> woodruff: david brooks, mark shields, to be continued. >> woodruff: now let's step bacl and continue ok at the big screen. this week, we are siting downar with oontenders. a veteran of films and tv, regina king is up for best

supporting actress for her work lk "if beale street could ." jeffrey brown met her recently in new york to discuss bringing a renowned novel to life, for part our series on arts and cultur "canvas." >> remember, love is what brought you here and if you've trustelove this far, don't panic now. >> brown: in "if beale street could talk," regina king plays sharon rivers, the mother of two daughters, including tish, wholl in love with her childhood friend fonny. when tish becomes pregnant, her mother shares the news. >> what's going on? >> this is a sacrament, and no, i ain't lost my mind. we are drinking to new life. tish gonna have fonny's baby. drink!

>> brown: set in the 1970s new york city, "beale street" isos r award-winning director barry jenkins' adaptation of the james baldwin novel of the same name. it's a love story, but one almost destroyed by racism and hatred, as police frame fonny with a rape charge. i asked regina king what she saw as the story's essence. ow it is, as a black american, just a reminder of resilient, you know, we are. when y look at our history and that love is a universal thing. loveushing through trauma. while this can be looked at as an urban tragedy. surviving tragedy usually is because of love that has

surrounded you, support, and all of us know what that looks like, no matter what we look like in our exterior. >> brown: even in the face of trauma? >> yeah, yeah. so i feel like, while this is a story with the black family, a black couple, in the center, it's an american story. >> brown: she says she found inspiration from strong women i her fe, and as a single mother raising her son. >> the hardest thing about parenting is holding on tight, and letting go, and knowing when is the right time to do either. so i can relate to that, from an experiential place. so it was just applying all of these experiences into the performance. >> brown: king has enjoyed a rong career on the screen, tv sitcoms and films in the early 1990s:

♪ ♪ >> brown: ...to the ray charles biopic "ray:" ♪ ♪ >> stop talking. >> brown: ...and most recently,o batelevision, winning emmy awards for work on abc's "america "7 seconds."etflix's >> god didn't run my son down in o the street and leave hime. >> brown: "beale street," she says, offers a portrait of american life not often curately captured by hollywood. >> i feel like, even, not just with, black matriarchs. you don't get to see it. we don't reflect, in film and television, how our mothers or our fathers care for us so deeply. we sometimes get caricatures of that. what i hear from people, no amatter what color they a what gender they are, they, yeah, you know, "sharon reminds

me of my mother." >> the child is coming. it's your grandchild. >> brown: in perhaps the film's most powerful sceron >>: in perhaps the film's most powerful scene, king's character defends her daughter to fonny's mother. >> you have an example of two women that are vy, very, very rong, and you have one mother who's... her strength is led and motivated by fear. and then another mother whose strength is motivated by love. it's fire inoth of our eyes when we're looking at each other. we are both fully. our conviction is so strong,ur beliefs are so strong. >> brown: is it fun to do a scenlike that? or hard? >> yes, all of the above. hard, fun, rewarding. because when you have an

exercise like that, you sleep so well that night. >> brown: in recent years, king has begun to direct tv shows, and has her own production company. she's been a prominent voice for gender equity in hollywood. ( applause ) and last month, winning a golden plobe for best supporting actress, she made ge. >> in the next two years, everything that i produce, i am making a vow, and it is going to be tough to make sure that everything that i produce is 50% women. >> brown: is this something youn feel youchieve? >> absolutely. i have to believe it. i mean, i challenge myself to do it. ei've been successful at things that i've challenged myself in the past. you ow, one would have said that, oh, really, you want to be

a director, and you haven't gone to film scol? well, film school has been my life. i've been learning, i've been on the set, you k life, more years than i haven't. so i know that. so, yes, i know that i can do it. it's not going to easy. didn't say that. but i know that i can do it. >> brown: regina king, thank you very much. congratulations. >> woodruff: please in aurora, illinois, say five people were killed and five police officersn red in a shooting in a suburban, chicago business. the gunman who worheked at company was shot and killed by police. and that is 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 proby: n >>cruise with american cruise lines, you can experience

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hello, everyone. welcome to "anpour & co." here's what's coming up. >> we are fighting for our suival as a generation. >> and the fight gains ground. one year after the high school massacre in parkland, florida, we talk with the student survivor turned activist, with e parents and with the journalist who will help us understand where the movement stands. plus -- >> i want you to remg.ber somethin >> giving voice to the victims of another tragedy. people disappeared during ireland's troubles. how personal history led a playwright and actress to tell their story. unabomber uniworld is a

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