commander-in-chief forum continues now. "way too early" is up next. it was a showdown from the aircraft carrier intrepid. she found herself on the fence and donald trump offered praise for vladimir putin while criticizing president obama's generals. plus, the president is wrapping up a historic trip to laos this morning. we expect a news conference any moment. we'll bring that to you live. reports ryan lochte is about to be suspended after making a splash in rio. sh show. good morning, everybody. it is thursday, september 8th,

i'm betty nguyen alongside alex witt. we will bring you live president obama when it happens. but first -- the sbrept museum, donald trump talked about the top military officers after host matt lauer -- >> i know more about isis than the generals do. believe me. was that the truth? >> the generals under barack obama and hillary clinton have not been successful. >> do you know more about isis than they do? >> i think under the leadership of barack obama and hillary clinton, the generals have been reduced to rubble. they have been reduced to a point where it's embarrassing for our country. >> you said if we had mcarthur today or patten today, we would snot have isis that the rise of these military commanders that we have today, they come up the chain of command. by the time they get to the top,

they're too politically correct. we know that's not a compliment coming from you. >> i have great faith in the military. i have great faith in the commanders but i have no faith in hillary clinton or the leadership. >> when trump talked about how he is preparing to the job, he talked about his preparation with retired high ranking officers. >> what kind of homework are you doing? what kind of things are you reading as you prepare for the day in two months where you might be elected the next president of the united states? >> sure. well, in the front row you have four generals. you have admirals. we have people all throughout the audience i'm dealing with. right here was a list that was printed today of 88 admirals and generals that i meet with and talk to. i've always -- >> how much time are you spending on this? >> a lot. >> he suggested he would bring a cautious approach to the commander in chief last night. suggesting he has the vision that is lacking in other leaders. >> what have you done in your

life that prepares you to send men and women into harm's way? >> i have good judgment. i know what's going on. i've called so many of the shots. >> early in the night, clinton called trump out for denying he supported the envision of iraq which trump again denied. >> my opponent was for the war in iraq. he says he wasn't. you can go back and look at the record. he supported. he told howard stern he supported it. he supported it before it happened. he supported it as it was happening and is on record supporting it after it has happened. i have taken responsibility for my decision. he refuses to take responsibility for his support. >> let me go to another question -- >> that is a judgment issue. >> i happen to hear hillary clinton say that i was not against the war in iraq. i was totally against the war in iraq. look at "esquire" magazine from '04, look at before that.

i was against the war in iraq. i said it would destabilize the middle east. it has been absolutely been a disastrous war. by the way, perhaps almost as bad was the way barack obama got out. >> again, trump said he supported the iraq war before and as the envision began. the critical comments he made to esquire in 2004 came more than 16 months after the envision. >> the contrast was also stark on the fight against isis. trump and clinton differed on the use of ground forces. >> i've always said, shouldn't be there, but if we're going to get out, take the oil. if we would have taken the oil, you wouldn't have isis. >> how are we going to take the oil? >> leave a certain group behind and you would take various sections where they have the oil. they have -- people don't know this about iraq, but they have among the largest oil reserves in the world, in the entire world. we're the only ones we go in and spend 3 trillion dollars, lose thousands and thousands of lives and then what happens is we get nothing.

used to be the victor belong the spoils. now, there was no victor there, believe me, there was no victor. but i always said take the oil. >> they are not going to get ground troops. we are not putting ground troops into iraq ever again and we're not putting ground troops into syria. we're going to defeat isis without committing american ground troops. >> hillary clinton was asked to revisit her 2002 senate vote authorizing the use of force against iraq and whether she can lead america's fighting men and women after later saying going to war was wrong. >> how do you think these people feel when the person running to be their commander in chief says, her vote to go to war in iraq was a mistake? >> look, i think that the decision to go to war in iraq was a mistake. and i have said that my voting to give president bush that

authority was, from my perspective, my mistake. i also believe that it is imperative that we learn from the mistakes, like after action reports are supposed to do. and so we must learn what led us down that path so that it never happens again. i think i'm in the best possible position to be able to understand that and prevent it. >> last night's forrum, donald trump defended his praise for russian president vladimir putin. trump referenced this picture of the obama/putin stairdown. unlike the current commander in chief, he would get along with putin. >> i think i would have a very, very good relationship with putin and i think i would be after a very, very good relationship with russia. >> let me ask you about some of the things you said about vladimir putin. you said i will tell you in

terms of leadership he is getting an "a." our president is not doing so well. when referring to a comment that putin made about you, he called you a brilliant leader, you said it's always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his country and beyond. >> well, he does have an 82% approval rating, according to different pollsters who, by the way, some of them are based right here. >> you think the day you become president of the united states, he is going to change his mind on some of these key issues. >> it's possible. i don't know, matt. it's possible. it's not going to have any impact. if he says great things about me, i'll say great things about him. he is very much a good leader. he has strong control over a country. it's a different system. in that system he's been a leader far more than our president has been a leader. >> after being asked about her praise for vladimir putin, moderator matt lauer pressed donald trump in the hacking of

the dnc. >> he's also a guy who an exed crimea, invaded ukraine, supports assad in syria, supports iran. is trying to undermine our influence in key regions of the world and according to our intelligence community, probably is the main suspect for the hacking of the dnc computers. >> well, nobody knows that for a fact. but do you want me to start naming some of the things that president obama does at the same time? >> do you want to be complimented by that former kgb. >> when he calls me brilliant, i'll take the comment, okay? >> richard engel weighed in on this last night, tweeting, trump says nobody knows russia was responsible for u.s. political hacking. experts we've spoken to don't agree. >> house democrats released the e-mail colin powell to hillary clinton. he described the headaches of using pdas under department rules and he explains the system he used. a personal computer connected to

a private phone line and what he called an ancient version of a pda. but then he warned his successor, however, there's a real danger if it is public that you have a blackberry and it's government, you are using it government or not to do business, it may become official record and subject to the law. it sounds like it won't be as useful as it used to be. be very careful. i got around it all by not using systems that captured the data. powell said he is not commenting on the e-mail exchange. last night during the forrum, hillary clinton was pressed on how well she preserved state secrets while secretary of state. >> classified material is designated. it is marked. there is a header so that there is no dispute at all that what is being communicated to or from someone who has that access is marked classified. and what we have here is the use of an unclassified system by

hundreds of people in our government to send informaon that was not marked, there were no headers, there was no statement, top secret, secret or confidential. i communicated about classified material on a wholly separate system. i took it very seriously. when i traveled, i went into one of those little tents that i'm sure you've seen around the world, because we didn't want there to be any potential for someone to have embedded a camera to try to see whatever it is that i was seeing that was as classified. >> let us move on. >> i did exact fbi director james comey in an internal memo to the bureau defended his decision not to

pursue charges against hillary clinton. at the end of the day, the case itself was not a cliff hanger, despite all the chest beating by people no longer in government, there really wasn't a prosecutable case. he went on, the hard part was whether to offer unprecedented transparency about our thinking. and though the timing has been questioned given out on the friday before labor day weekend, comey said, quote, we don't play games. ordering the material be held until tuesday to avoid that suggestion. we are awaiting a news conference from president obama. ahead of the president's return to the u.s., he met with southeast asian leaders this morning where he raised the highly contentious issue of the on going south china sea land dispute. the president said the u.s. wants to work with regional leaders to lower tensions with china over the matter. he also stressed to leaders that he will keep pushing to secure the transpacific partnership free trade deal after the election. ahead of this morning's meeting,

president obama held an informal conversation following his crude comments earlier in the week. the white house said the two met briefly in a holding room at the summit last night. still ahead, more from last night's first ever commander in chief forrum. plus, apple reveals the latest iphone but nintendo seemed to steal the show. those stories and a check on weather when we come back. the coolest part of the new iphone is it rolls its eyes when ever someone passes by with the old one. if you missed it, here is part of the big announcement this morning from san francisco. >> i would like to invite my colleague phil shiler up to the stage. phil? [ cheers and applause ]. >> hi. how are you? >> this is the new iphone. it's got no headphone jack and you can drop it in a toilet. and that's kind of it.

okay. bye. [ laughter ] be the you who doesn'tover your moderate to seve plaque psoriasis. be the you who shows up in that dress. who hugs a friend. who is done with treatments that don't give you clearer skin. be the you who controls your psoriasis with stelara® just 4 doses a year after 2 starter doses. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. some serious infections require hospitalization. before treatment, get tested for tuberculosis. before starting stelara® tell your doctor if you think you have an infection

or have symptoms such as: always tell your doctor if you have any signs of infection, have had cancer, iyou develop any new skin growths or if anyone in your house needs or has recently received a vaccine. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems, including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. some serious allergic reactions can occur. do not take stelara® if you are allergic to stelara® or any of its ingredients. most people using stelara® saw 75% clearer skin and the majority were rated as cleared or minimal at 12 weeks. be the you who talks to your dermatologist about stelara®. soon, she'llype the best essays in the entire 8th grade. get back to great. all computers on sale like this dell laptop. office depot officemax. gear up for school. gear up for great. incr...think it wouldotection in a pwork, but it does.dn't... it's called always discreet for bladder leaks, the super... ...absorbent core turns liquid to gel. i know i'm wearing it but no one else will.

always discreet for bladder leaks.

welcome back, everybody. as you see there from this life picture, we're awaiting a news conference from president obama live in laos. we'll bring that to you just as it gets under way. in the meantime, though, more on last night's commander in chief forrum on nbc and msnbc. hillary clinton stood by her 2011 decision to intervene in libya's civil war. she stressed america suffered no casualties in that decision. donald trump hammered clinton on that support and how she ultimately handled that decision. >> with respect to libya, again, there's no difference between my opponent and myself. he's on record extensively supporting intervention in libya when gadhafi was threatening to massacre his population. i put together a coalition that included nato, included the arab

league, and we were able to save lives. we did not lose a single american in that action. and i think taking that action was the right decision, not taking it and permitting there to be an on going civil war in libya would have been as dangerous and threatening as what we are now seeing in syria. >> she made a mistake on libya. she made a terrible mistake on libya. the next thing -- not only did she make the mistake, but then they complicated the mistake by having no management once they bombed you know what out of gadhafi. she made a terrible mistake on libya. part of it was the management aftereffect. i would be very, very cautious. i think i would be a lot slower. she has a happy trigger. you look, she votes for the war. she goes into libya -- >> have you thought personally the emotional burden of that

moment. >> i think it's a tremendous burden. there's no greater burden that anybody could have. >> donald trump was asked to explain how he would deal with sexual assault in the military during last night's forrum. he called for a court system within the military to handle it. he also defended a tweet he posted three years ago on the subject. >> it's a massive problem. the numbers are staggering, hard to believe even, but we have to run it very tight. i at the same time want to keep the court system within the military. i don't think it should be outside of the military, but we have to come down very, very hard on that and your daughter is absolutely right, it's a massive problem, but we have to do something about that problem. the best thing we can do is set up a court system within the military. right now the court system practically doesn't exist. >> in 2013, on this subject, you tweeted this -- quote, 26,000 unreported sexual assaults in the military, only 238 convictions. what did these geniuses expect when they put men and women together?

>> well, it is a correct tweet. there's many people that think that's absolutely correct. we need to have a -- >> so sh should have been expected. the only way to fix it is to take women out of the military. >> no, not to kick them out. something has to happen. right now part of the problem is nobody gets prosecuted. you have reported and the gentlemen can tell you, you have the report of rape and nobody gets prosecuted. >> all right. we are still awaiting the president speaking in laos. once he takes the podium, we'll bring that to you live. in the meantime, let's get a check of the weather. bill karins is here with that. what are you looking at today, bill? >> the heavy rain in the middle of the country and oppressive summer heat wave. we had flooding problems around milwaukee yesterday. chicago has thunderstorms greeting you and lot of heavy rain is setting up near kansas city for your morning drive. the next two days, get any flooding out of this, it would

be in areas from kansas to missouri, this two to three-inch rainfall pretty widespread wichita to st. louis. isolated flooding. how about this heat wave? the deep red is from texas to oklahoma right through into areas of the east. we now have heat advisories in effect for philadelphia and for new york city. lot of people in some unusual heat for this time of year and the temperatures themselves will continue to be for the most part anywhere between 90 to 95 degrees out as we go throughout the next couple days. so, again, betty, we're not expecting anything in the tropics to develop this week. we're just dealing with some late summer heat and cool off by the time we get into sunday. overall not bad. all right. we're going to take you live now to laos where the president is speaking. >> wonderful hospitality and for their leadership as hosts of the asean and east asian summits. i especially want to express my

gratitude for the warmth and kindness they have shown me as the first u.s. president to visit this nation. it has been a memorable and at times very moving visit. we're here because as a region with more than 600 million people, several fast-growing economies, some vibrant democracies but also countries transitioning to democracies and given their strategic location along vital trade routes, the ten nations of asean are critical to peace and prosperity not only to asian pacific but to the united states and the world. we're the largest investors in this region and asean is one of our largest markets for u.s. exports. supporting hundreds of thousands of american jobs. our trade and investment fuels jobs and prosperity across our countries. that's why as part of my

rebalance of american foreign policies asia pacific, i've deepened our commitment with asean of the u.s. institution. i've sustained our cooperation throughout my presidency. earlier this year i was proud to host the first u.s. asean summit in the united states in california. our meeting here in laos was our eighth meeting. and this visit marks my ninth to the asean region, more than any u.s. president. together, the united states and asean forged a strategic partnership guided by key principles, including that asean will remain central to peace, prosperity and progress in the asia south pacific. the united states has worked to make that organization the region's leading forrum for dealing with political and security challenges, including

maritime security and guided by the shared vision that we put forward in california. open, dynamic and competitive economies, mutual security and peaceful resolution of disputes and respect for human rights. in short a nation where all nations play by the same rules. that's a vision we advanced here. we're stepping up our efforts to increase trade and investment. u.s. asean connect we're doing more to connect our businesses and investors so that it is easier to start new ventures together. more to connect our entrepreneurs, so we're encouraging innovation. more to connect clean energy projects as we pursue a low carbon future, all of which will re-enforce this region's integration through the asean community. given that four asean nations are also part of the transpacific partnership, i

reiterated i'm determined to do everything i can to encourage the u.s. congress to approve tpp before i leave office. with regard to security, our nations reaffirmed our commitment to a regional order where international rules and norms are upheld and where disagreements are resolved peacefully. there was recognition of the importance of the international arbitration ruling in july, which is legal and binding and which clarified maritime claims by the philippines and china in the south china sea. we discussed the importance of climates adhering to steps they already agreed. respecting international law, not militarizing disputed areas and not occupying uninhabited islands, reeves and shols. the united states will stand with allies and partners in upholding fundamental interests among them the freedom of overflight, lawful commerce that is not impeded and peaceful

resolutions of disputes. the united states and asean continued to deepen our cooperation on trance national challenges. we discussed the importance of continuing to share information to prevent terrorism and the flow of foreign fighters. given the threat of climate change to all our nations, especially countries in this region, we agreed on the importance of bringing the paris agreement into force as soon as possible. we agreed to cooperation in the fight against human trafficking, including sharing more information on smugglers, closer law enforcement cooperation and more support for victims. and 18 nations expressed our great concern about north korea's missile launches, missile and ballistic programs and called to north korea to uphold its international obligations. finally, i'm especially pleased we continue to deepen the connections between the people of asean and america,

particularly the young people like the ones i met at our town hall yesterday. we have 100,000 strong in the committee. the women's leadership academy i announced yesterday will support women leaders in business, government and civil society throughout asean and we'll help increase language skills among students and teachers through your english for all program. and closing, i'm mindful that this is the last day of my last trip to this region as president, when i think back to the time that i spent here as a boy, i can't help but be struck by the extraordinary progress that's been made across so much of the region in the decades since. even as there's still a lot of work to be done. and so it means a great deal to me not only as president but also personally that over the past eight years we've increased cooperation between asean countries and the united states. it is unprecedented the breadth and depth of our relationships and it's one of the most

successful parts of our rebalance policy. we've made it clear that the united states will continue to stand with the people of this region in advancing their security, prosperity and dignity, including universal human rights and i'm very optimistic that the ties of friendship between our people as reflected by that roomful of young people that we saw yesterday will bring us even closer in the years to come. so with that i'm going to take a couple questions and i will start with kathleen hennessy of "ap." >> thanks very much, mr. president. there's been a lot of talk back at home and here about how you were received on this trip, your last to asia. donald trump said you were humiliated. i suspect you think that was overblown. >> yes. >> maybe you could talk a little bit about whether or not you think your reception here was at all limited to some of the -- at

all related to some of the limits and challenges of your asia pivot policy and while we're talking about legacy items, if i could just ask another quick one on guantanamo bay. you have four months left, 60 prisoners left. at this point are you willing to acknowledge that the prison will be open by the time you leave office? >> well, in terms of my reception here, as far as i can tell, it's been terrific. i don't know if you've gone and talked to some people in laos, they seem pretty happy about my visit. everywhere we've gone we've had a great reception. just as earlier when we went to vietnam, we got a great reception. you'll recall there were millions of people lining the streets. so, if this theory about my reception and my rebalance

policy is based on me going down the short stairs in china, yes, i think that is overblown. and i think that any reasonable person, certainly any person in the region, would be puzzled as to how this became somehow indicative of the work that we've done here. if you look at the remarks of leaders, if you look at the remarks of ordinary people, if you look at the concrete work that we've gotten done on everything from economic programs to development programs to legacy of war issues to promoting civil society in young people, the concern that i've heard is not that what we've done hasn't been important and successful, the concern that i've heard is will it continue?

and almost uniformly the question i get from other leaders is we hope that america's interest and presence and engagement is sustained. and my hope and expectation is that my successor will, in fact, sustain this kind of engagement because there is a lot happening here. you've got countries here that are taking off. you've got one of the most dynamic and youngest populations in the world. this is where the action is going to be when it comes to commerce and trade. and ultimately creating u.s. jobs by being able to sell to this market. that's the only feed back that i've received. and that's not just based on what leaders tell me. if you read local newspapers or

you talk to people, that's been the same commentary that we received generally. with respect to guantanamo, i am not ready to concede that it may still remain open because we're still working diligently to continue to shrink the population. i continue to believe that guantanamo is a recruitment tool for terrorist organizations, that it clouds and sours some of the counterterrorism cooperation that we need to engage in and it's not necessary and it's hugely expensive for u.s. taxpayers. is there strong resistance in congress? absolutely. but, as we continue to shrink

the population to the point where we're looking at 40 or 50 people and are maintaining a multimillion dollar operation to house these handsful of individuals, i think the american people should be asking the question why are we spending this kind of money that could be spent on other things when it's not necessary for our safety and security? so, there's no doubt that because of the politics in congress right now it is a tough road to hoe, but, you know, i expect to work really hard over the next four months, five months, four and a half months. mark r margaret brennan? >> thank you, mr. president. can you tell us if last night phillip president duterte oured his apology and if you said the

u.s. would help the philippines push back against china? last night donald trump said vladimir putin has been more of a leader than you and said you have reduced american generals to rubble. do you care to defend your legacy? >> do i care to defend -- okay. respond. got it. i did shake hands with president duterte last night. it was not a long interaction and what i indicated to him is that my team should be meeting with his and determine how we can move forward on a whole range of issues. as i said when i was asked about this in china, i don't take these comments personally because it seems as if this is a phrase he used repeatedly, including directed at the pope and others.

so i think it seems to be just a habit, a way of speaking for him. but as i said in china, we want to partner with the philippines on the particular issue of narco traffickers it's a serious problem in the philippines and the united states and around the world. on that narrow issue, we do want to make sure that the partnership we have is consistent with international norms and rule of law. so we're not going to back off our position if we're working with a country, whether it's on anti-terrorism, whether it's on going after drug traffickers, as

despicable as these networks may be, as much damage as they do it is important from our perspective to make sure that we do it the right way. because the consequences of when you do it the wrong way is innocent people get hurt. and we have a whole bunch of unintended consequences that don't solve the problem. it has no impact on our broader relationship with the philippine people, on the wide range of programs and security cooperation that we have with this treaty ally. and it certainly has no impact in terms of how we interpret our obligations to continue to build on the long standing alliance that we have with the philippines however that may play itself out. my hope and expectation is that

as president duterte and his team get acclimated to his new position that they're able to define and clarify what exactly they want to get done, how that fits in with the work that we're already doing with the philippine government and hopefully it will be on a strong footing by the time the next administration comes in. as far as mr. trump, i think i've already offered my opinion. i don't think the guy is qualified to be president of the united states. and every time he speaks, that opinion is confirmed. and i think the most important thing for the public and the press is to just listen to what he says and follow up and ask

questions about what appear to be either contradictory or uninformed or outright wrong ideas. there is this process that seems to take place over the course of the election season where somehow behavior that in normal times we would consider completely unacceptable and outrageous becomes normalized. and people start thinking that we should be grading on a curve, but i can tell you from the interactions that i've had over the last eight or nine days with foreign leaders that this is serious business and you actually have to know what you're talking about and you actually have to have done your homework and when you speak it

should actually reflect thought out policy that you can implement. and i have confidence that if, in fact, people just listen to what he has to say and look at his track record or lack thereof that they'll make a good decision. elise hu? >> thank you very much, mr. president. north korea there's increasing evidence that china isn't enforcing economic sanctions namely when it comes to coal. so what's the next move there in your remaining four and a half months in office? and second, is it time for a fundamental rethink of north korea policy given that all these years of condemnations and increasing sanctions haven't led to a desired outcome? thank you. >> those are good questions. in my meeting with president xi, we emphasized the importance of full implementation of the u.n. sanctions that have been put

forward. i can tell you that based on not only their presentations but actually intelligence and evidence we've seen, china has done more on sanctions implementation than they have on some of the previous u.n. security council sanctions, but you are absolutely right that there's still places that they need to tighten up and we continue to indicate to them the importance of tightening those up. you may have noted that china continues to object to the f.a.d. deployment in the republic of korea, what i said to president xi directly is that we cannot have a situation where we're unable to defend ourselves or our treaty allies against increasingly provocative behavior and escalating capabilities by the north koreans. i indicated to him that if it bothered him, particularly since

it has no purpose other than defensive and does not change the strategic balance between the united states and china, that they need to work with us more effectively to change pyongyang's behavior. now, when it comes to changing pyongyang's behavior, it is tough. it is true that our approach, my approach since i've been president is to not reward bad behavior and that was based on the fact that before i came into office you had a pattern in which north korea would engage in some provocative action and as a consequence of the equivalent of throwing a tantrum, countries would then try to plicate them by giving

them humanitarian aid or providing other concessions or engaging in dialogue which would relieve some of the pressure and then they would just go right back to the same provocative behavior later. so our view was, that wasn't working. let's try something else. it is entirely fair to say that they have continued to engage in the development of their nuclear program and these ballistic missile tests. and so we are constantly examining other strategies that we can take, close consultations with republic of korea and japan, as well as china and russia and others who are interested parties, and we do believe that if there are any signs at any point that north korea is serious about dialogue around denuclearization in the

korean peninsula that we'll be ready to have those conversations. it's not as if we are looking for a problem or avoiding a willingness to engage diplomatically, but diplomacy requires that pyongyang meet its international obligations and not only is it failing to meet those international obligations, it's not even suggesting that they have any intention to so in the future regardless of the inducements that might be put on the table. so look, we are deeply disturbed by what's happened. we are going to make sure that we put our defensive measures in place so that america is protected. our allies are protected. we will continue to put some of

the toughest pressure that north korea has ever been under as a consequence of this behavior. can i guarantee that it works? no. but it is the best option that we have available to us right now and we will continue to explore with all parties involved, including china, other potential means by which we can bring about a change in behavior. >> thank you, mr. president. first of all, i want to let you know this is more of a personal question for you. we are almost the same exact age, born august 1961 but i'm two weeks younger than you. >> you know, i noticed that when we were in the gym together, you were working out a little harder than me. those two weeks clearly are making a difference. >> i want to ask you about some of your thoughts all those years ago since we were living in those days of the vietnam era. what were your thoughts of vietnam the war at that time and certainly as time went on, but

more importantly about the secret war when you found out about that and also as time went by. given what you learned about that and what you see now and what you witnessed when you're here, do you think you should apologize fully to the country of laos? one other very important thing, too, is for those american veterans who did serve in the secret war, those that are special ops, cia, pilots that dropped the bombs, those are the ones that targeted known enemies in a war they did not create. would you be comfortable in laos calling them heroes as we do those who served in iraq and afghanistan? >> well, because we're the same age, you'll recall that at the peak of the war we were still too young, i think, to fully understand the scope of what was taking place.

it was the tail end of the war where we're entering high school and starting to understand the meaning of it, but at that point it was -- i think the debate had raged those who had been strong supporters of the war, recognized there needed to be some mechanism to bring it to an end. i can't say i was so precocious that i had deep thoughts about it at the time other than the images that we all saw on television. standing here now in retrospect, i think what i can say is that the united states was on the right side of history when it came to the cold war. there may have been moments particularly here in southeast

asia which in our singular focus on defeating an expansionist and very aggressive communism that we didn't think through all the implications of what we did as policymakers. certainly when you see the dropping of cluster bombs, trying to figure out how that was going to be effective, particularly since part of the job was to win over hearts and minds, how that was going to work. i think with the benefit of hindsight, you know, we would have to say that a lot of those consequences were not ones that necessarily served our interests. having said that -- and i've said this before -- regardless

of what happens in the white house and decisions made by policymakers, when our men and women in uniform go into action and put their lives on the line and are carrying out their duty, my attitude is they're always heroes because they are -- they are saying that i am willing to do whatever it takes, what my commander in chief has ordered, in order to keep the american people safe. and by definition, their job is to put their lives on the line and make sacrifices both seen and unseen that have long-standing ramifications. and that act of sacrifice is heroic.

one of the things when i think in terms of legacy and reflect back on my presidency as it comes to an end, is the degree to which i came in respecting and honoring our men and women in uniform, i leave here even more in awe of what they do. and it also is one of the reasons why i take so seriously the decisions i make about war and peace because i know whatever decision i make there are men and women out there who will carry out my decision, even if they think it's wrong, even if they didn't vote for me, even if they have completely different ideas about what's required for our national security. that's heroism, that's service. that's the definition of it.

and that puts a special burden on the occupant of my office to get it right or at least as right as you can. and hopefully when people look back 20, 30 years from now at the decisions i made, they'll be able to say that he did pretty good. all right? thank you very much, everybody. let's go home. >> well, that was quite a profound way to end that news conference, everyone. we brought it to you live from laos, the wrapping up of asean summit there with the president. it's been a long trip. he will now take off on air force one, make a quick refueling stop in japan before heading home to washington, d.c. took four different questions from reporters, covering everything from the perceived snub at the very beginning of the trip, the diplomatic snub in china when the president was forced to exit air force one from the belly of the plane to as you heard talking about veterans. that is the topic that we here at nbc news and msnbc were

talking about last night at the commander's forrum. under his leadership military generals had been reduced to rubble. the president said, well that only confirms what i've said all along that this man is not fit to be president. another take away from this. we'll take a short break here and we'll be right back with more before "morning joe" starts for you in about ten minutes. stay with us. ents to come. well somewhere along the way, emily went right on living. but you see, with the help of her raymond james financial advisor, e had planned for every entuality. ...which mea she continued to have the means to live on... ...even at the ripe old age 187. life well planned. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you. i thought my bladder leakage meant my social life wasver. wearing depend underwear has allowed me to fully engage in my life and i'm meeting people.

unlike the bargain brand, new depend fit-flex underwear is now more flexible to move with you. reconnect with the life you've been missing. get a free sample at depend.com. reconnect with the life yfmale teacher: and then name thelargest planet?t? male teacher: someone we haven't heard from.

female teacher:anyone else? through internet essentials, comcast is on track to connect 3 million people in need to low cost, high speed internet at home, helping to make sure that every hand in the classroom goes up. male teacher: okay, veronica. amphibian. male teacher: excellent. welcome to a brighter future. welcome to it all. comcast. as far as i can tell, it's

been terrific. i don't know if you've gone and talked to some people in laos, they seem pretty happy about my visit. everywhere we've gone we've had a great reception, just as earlier when we went to vietnam, we got a great reception. you'll recall there were millions of people lining the streets. so, if this theory about my reception and my rebalance policy is based on me going down the short stairs in china, yes, i think that is overblown. and i think that any reasonable person, certainly any person in the region, would be puzzled as to how this became somehow indicative of the work that we've done here. >> and that was the president speaking just moments ago there

in laos. nbc's ron allen is traveling with the president and joins us now live from the capital of laos. ron, this was a historic trip for the president, in fact, his last one to the region. >> reporter: it was. but i think what this press conference is going to be remembered for is the question that was a followup on the commander in chief forrum by nbc and msnbc last night about donald trump's comments when a reporter asked the president what he thought about donald trump's assessment that the generals had been reduced to rubble during the obama administration and that vladimir putin was a better leader than president obama. he frankly went off. he said that he's always said that donald trump is not qualified to be president, that he's a guy, i'm para phrasing fwhou has a lot of whacky ideas, interesting turn of phrase there. and he also said that eventually that the american people will

see -- will take a look at his record or lack thereof is i think how the president put it -- they'll make the right choice. that's essentially what the president said. it was very colorful. just more context about this. the president is leaving here now to head home and next week, specifically on tuesday, he is going to philadelphia where he is going to make his first solo campaign appearance on behalf of hillary clinton. so, things are picking up. 2016 is picking up. president obama is going to go to states on his own for the most part, we believe, that are concluding voter registration drives. this is essentially the important part, one very important part, of what president obama is going to bring to the hillary clinton campaign, voters, turnout. that's why he's going to places like philadelphia, which is always so critical in general elections. and today's comments here in laos, although, yes, a lot of discussion about the accomplishments here that mr.

obama says he was able to bring, part of his rebalancing of american foreign policy with asia, the answer to his question as a followup to the commander in chief forrum last night, was vivid. it was colorful. and i think we're going to hear a lot more just like that from the president in the days and weeks ahead. >> it was definitely a talker. another thing that was a talker on the on set of this trip was the little bit of a contention between the president and the philippine president and his remarks. that since has been sured up between the two? >> reporter: well, sured up -- perhaps. the president has tried to down play this incident, this slur, this vulgarity that president duterte used in an interview. so, basically the two men have met informally during the

summit. the president says that what's important here is the relationship between the two countries, that that is going forward. there's a lot of critical issues that have to be dealt with and that was a bit essentially of a distraction what the philippine president said. back to you. >> ron, thank you so much for that. and that's going to do it for us. we're going to take you right now to "morning joe." you live life your way. we can help you retire your way, too. financial guidance while you're mastering life. from chase. so you can.

financial guidance while you're mastering life. be the you who doesn't cover your moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. be the you who shows up in that dress. who hugs a friend. who is done with treatments that don't give you clearer skin. be the you who controls your psoriasis with stelara® just 4 doses a year after 2 starter doses. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. some serious infections require hospitalization. before treatment, get tested for tuberculosis. before starting stelara® tell your doctor if you think you have an infection or have symptoms such as: fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. always tell your doctor if you have any signs of infection, ha had cancer, if you develop any new skin growths or if anyone in your house needs or has rently received a vaccine. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems, including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. some serious allergic reactions can occur. do not take stelara® if you are allergic to stelara® or any of its ingredients. most people using stelara® saw 75% clearer skin and the majority were rated as cleared or minimal at 12 weeks.

be the you who talks to your dermatologist about stelara®.

>> i think under the leadership of barack obama and hillary clinton, the generals have been reduced to rubble. they have been reduced to a point where it's embarrassing for our country. i think i would have a very, very good relationship with p e putin. if he says great things about him, i will say great things about him. >> were some of the e-mails by you referring to our drone program, our drone program? >> yes. in back-to-back appearances on the same stage last night, hillary clinton and donald trump outlined their visions for leading the u.s. military both overseas and here at home. for clinn,