tv MSNBC Live MSNBC April 5, 2017 11:00am-12:01pm PDT
11:00 am
be, what the consequences of what is now being blamed on the assad regime going to be. that is probably a very important development as well, that he came out today unequivocally saying the blame is on the assad regime for this attack. the 2:00 eastern time has just arrived at which point we hand off our coverage to nbc's katy tur. just at the top of the hour here on msnbc headquarters, another monumental day at the trump headquarters. right now he is behind closed doors having lunch with king abdullah. we're also reacting to the news that chief strategist steve bannon has been removed from the national security council as one of the president's members. what does that move say about bannon and trump's relationship in the west wing? and president trump moments ago condemned the chemical attack in syria which the president says more than crossed a red line.
11:01 am
>> women, small children and even beautiful little babies, their deaths was an affront to humani humanity. these heinous actions by the assad regime cannot be tolerated. >> this afternoon u.n. ambassador nikki hailey addressed the security council in new york and went much further, saying it is time to act, quote, against the barbaric assad regime. >> this security council thinks of itself as a defender of peace, security and human rights. we will not deserve that description if we do not rise to action today. all of this capped off by north korea launching yet another test for donald trump just hours ahead of his first face-to-face meeting with china's president.
11:02 am
nbc's kristin welker is at the white house and hans nichols joins me from the pentagon. kristin, let's start with you. let's move on to the other big breaking news of the day and that is steve bannon being taken off the national security council. i also noticed he was not in the rose garden during that meeting with king jordan. >> people tell me he was brought initially to the national security council, a move that raised a lot of eyebrows because it was potentially putting a political appointment to the national security council, but i was told he was put in that position to oversee michael flynn to make sure he was carrying out his agenda. what was that agenda? to scale back the bureaucratic machinations of the national security council. that job having been done, mike flynn is now out. the decision was made to bring in a new national security adviser and with that a new
11:03 am
team. general mcmaster was given the latitude to make his own appointments. so important to underscore a couple of points here, katy. steve bannon still going to be at the table in the room for a whole host of very big, very important meetings. he still has the same top security clearance, the same security clearance as general h.r. mcmaster, but he's not going to be one of the principals now making these key decisions particularly when it comes to national security and these key foreign policy tests the president is facing on syria, north korea which you just mapped out. in terms of why he was not actually in the rose garden, i am told he's working on health care, he's in meetings related to that right now, trying to hammer out some type of a deal. as you know, that's emerged at the forefront at the domestic agenda, katy, and that's why we're being told he wasn't at the rose garden. it is a significant development, though, at the white house,
11:04 am
because as you know, steve bannon has been one of the president's closest advisers since the day of the campaign trail. his role has somewhat diminished here, katy. >> let's get to h.r. mcmaster, the national security adviser. with him in control of the national security council, should we expect anything to change? >> you can expect a slightly different process. mcmaster wrote a book about the importance of having strong pentagon advice and having a political process that works. you can expect to some extent a certain kind of harmony between mcmaster and mattis. they have a long history together. and just on this issue of what we heard today on syria. what's remarkable to me, katy, is the consistency throughout the entire trump administration condemning this act. you played that clip from nikki haley of the united nations. you heard from the pentagon
11:05 am
called a heinous act. then we heard rhetoric from president trump himself. whether or not that means, and this is going to translate into military action against the assad regime or some sort of policy shift saying the policy of the united states government is regime change, i think we're a little farah head ahead of t. i think what we have is strong rhetoric. they have military options and we should say assets in the region. but whether or not they decide to pull the trigger and what they decide to do, i suspect we're a long ways from that and a lot of conversations between the pentagon and the nac. kate? >> i know steve bannon will spin this one way, but i also noticed kellyanne conway was not in the front of that rose guard dialogue, either, she was in the back. are folks with more experience taking over and gaining more influence with donald trump and folks that maybe are a little
11:06 am
bit more political, a little more not in the mainstream like steve bannon losing their influence? >> reporter: i think it's too soon to say there is an absolute power shift, katy, but i think what you are commenting on and remarking on and under sscorings the fact this is an administration that is not yet 100 days in and it's finding its footing as it tries to deal with all these different tasks that are being put before it. this week clearly the key test on foreign policy. i want to follow up on one point that hans was just making because i think it's so significant which is what we didn't hear today in the rose garden. the president very insistent that he's not going to say what his strategy is toward syria. as you were just talking about with brian, this is something we heard on the campaign trail. not a big surprise that he took this tactic. however, we did hear these very strong words. so the key questions are, does the president think that bashar
11:07 am
assad needs to go? just several days ago, his own secretary of state said that's up to the syrian people. does the administration still believe that, or do they think they should have a hand in it, that russia needs to step up? its engagement needs to get tougher on assad? these are the critical questions. what about the no-fly zone? is that something the administration is considering? that is something that would require military action as well, kat katy. when he was asked if this chemical attack crossed a red line, he sort of dodged that and said it crosses many lines. a lot of questions on that, katy. >> both of them were saying when you talk about the assad regime, it becomes dangerous when you talk about military communities. when you attack one, you are attacking the other. another piece of news today. the "new york times" was able to sit down with president trump in
11:08 am
the oval ofls afice and he madee news about susan rice as well as his defense of bill o'reilly who is currently under quite a bit of intense scrutiny for a $13 million -- it's revealed $13 million has been paid out over the years to five separate women who have filed complaints against him, most of which were sexual harassment complaints. >> reporter: right, a couple headlines there. to the last point that you raised, katy, the president defending bill o'reilly. let me read the quote that he says so i don't mischaracterize what he said. he said, i think he's a person i know well. he's a good person, referencing bill o'reilly and he doesn't necessarily think he should have settled in some of these sexual harassment suits. those are some comments that may raise some eyebrows, will undoubtedly spark some debate -- >> kristin, he was talking about this in the oval office. that is such a departure from any other president. >> reporter: and the fact this is a cable news host, so it's unusual you would have a president weighing in on that,
11:09 am
but he was asked about it by the "new york times" in the midst of that oval office interview. the other point he was asked about was susan rice. just to give our viewers some context, of course, she was charged with unmasking individuals with the trump transition, the trump campaign unmasking means requesting their identity, learning their identity. yesterday in an exclusive interview with andrea mitchell she said, look, yes, did she request to learn the identity of some individuals who were under surveillance? she acknowledged as much, but said there was no political purpose to that. she made the case that she did that for the sake of defending national security. it was part of a broader probe into russia's meddling of the u.s. election. she said the only way i would have broken a law is if i leaked that information, if i leaked the names of these individuals. and she denied doing that. well, today president trump was asked about all of that, and he
11:10 am
said he believes she did break a law. so we will need to follow up with the president, with the white house about that. what specifically does he think that she did? clearly susan rice and former obama administration officials pushing back very vigorously against that, katy, and some republicans as well saying, look, there is nothing inherently unmasking individuals if you're the security adviser. >> kristin welker, hans nichols at the pentagon, thank you both. as they reach forward into their investigations into russia, the trump administration and its allies are shielding themselves with susan rice. as we mentioned, the president telling the "new york times" he believes the former security adviser may have committed a crime. yesterday rice denied any wrongdoing to andrea mitchell on nbc. the intel committee, though, isn't getting distracted.
11:11 am
he is taking aim at the white house about documents that sparked devin nunes' explosive claims last month. >> i want the full committees to be able to see that, and we're meeting resistance. if these documents are so damning or so vindicating of the president as he suggests, why are they opposing efforts to provide them to the full committee? i think that's a question worthy of the white house answering. >> joining me now from capitol hill, congressman andre carson, a democrat from indiana and a member of the intelligence committee. congressman, you just heard it right there, the president is talking about how he believes susan rice committed a crime. is there any plans for you guys to call susan rice in front of the house for your intelligence investigation? >> well, let me say that susan rice is not only brilliant, she is a woman of deep integrity, she's above rapproach in my
11:12 am
mind. i don't think she would have a problem coming before the committee. she's a woman of deep policy matters, and i think this is another attempt to blame the obama administration for anything that goes wrong around trump or his campaign. >> if she does testify, say she did, and she reveals information about general mike flynn who was a national security adviser speaking to russians, is that the sort of information that this president or this administration wants to get out, or do they believe that her name alone and the attacks on her name alone, everything that's happened with her regarding benghazi is enough to shield them from anything she might say? >> i think her credibility is solid. unlike president trump's and this administration, look, they are trying to deflect in any way that they can from the very real issues, and that is members of his campaign and administration have had inappropriate contact with the russians. so in a very real sense, he
11:13 am
can't tweet his way out of this matter. he can't make additional provocative statements to divert the american people from the real issues at hand, and that is his closeness with russia, his praising of vladimir putin who has made attempts throughout the years to suppress the media or the press, has made attempts, solid attempts, to dismantle any attempts at democracy in his country. so the greater question becomes, why is he so cozy with vladimir putin? and he doesn't want to answer that. >> talk to me about what you heard him say at the rose garden today, that his position towards assad and his position of assad is changing. does that implicitly mean to you his opinion of vladimir putin is changing as well? because you can't change one opinion without changing the other, in syria alone. >> well, i don't think wholly, i think it is clear, that assad is, in fact, a war criminal and
11:14 am
he has committed war crimes. now we have to look at how we're going to deal with this issue. i think that president trump wants to increase our footprint there militarily. i think we have to be very careful as to how we deal with those issues, but i think something has to be done, but we'll need the help from our international partners to get this thing done the right way. >> what do you think should be done, congressman? >> well, i think in a very real sense, the responsibility does not or should not rest on america's shoulders. however, i think we should have a presence there. but, for example, if we initiated airstrikes or any kind of attempts to attack them, then of course because russia is so closely tied to syria, we risk sparking a very dangerous conflict against the russian government given that the tension between america and the u.s. or the u.s. and russia is so intense at this time and the relationship is very frayed because of actions that have happened for the past several
11:15 am
decades. and so i think we have to be very careful because assad and the russian government and vladimir putin are very closely tied. >> what you are seeing on your screen there are images of a moment ago, at least, of children who were affected by that sarin gas, that officials in this country believe was dropped by the assad regime. indiana congressman andre carson, member of the house intel committee, thank you very much. >> a pleasure, thank you. next, much more on the apparent chemical attack on innocent men, women and children as you just saw in syria. what will happen if the uls use decides to intervene and where does russia come into play on all of this? that is next. hey there, starting your search for the right used car?
11:17 am
11:19 am
look at those pictures. we cannot close our eyes to those pictures. we cannot close our minds of the responsibility to act. >> u.s. ambassador to the united nations nikki haley making a powerful plea to the security council this morning. haley condemned russia and syria over the apparent chemical attack over the syrian province, saying if they don't take action, we may. just houan hour ago, president trump was saying this. >> the attack on children had a big impact on me, big impact. my attitude toward syria and
11:20 am
assad has changed very much. >> joining me now is richard engel and steve crebbins. we have nikki haley saying, we may take action. meanwhile president trump at the rose garden said he will not say what he will or will not do, all he will say is he won't tell reporters or the american public, at least for now, what that may be. >> i'm not sure if that's a disconnect. i think we're both seeing in both of those comments, you're seeing a much more interventionist president trump. this is a -- when he was a candidate, he talked about walling off the united states, at least on the mexican border. an america first policy. now he's talking about how a crime against humanity cannot stand and that the united states won't tolerate it and how his position on syria and the assad regime has changed. the question is, what will he do about this? has he just changed his opinion in the long term or does he plan
11:21 am
to take some sort of action, military or otherwise, especially having just criticized president obama for not having done any kind of military response when there was the last alleged chemical attack in 2013. >> how are these comments likely going to be interpreted overseas? >> well, i think a lot of people who are watching the united states and everyone seems to be watching the united states right now, are trying to figure out what president trump's foreign policy is. is he an isolationist? is he an interventionist? he has signalled in the past -- what's important is you have to say he changed his opinion on assad. well, that means up until yesterday, presumably, he was willing to accommodate assad and saw assad as potentially part of the long-term solution in the fight against isis. president trump and those around him have signalled that they like strong men, they like dictators. they see that they can make alliances with them in order to
11:22 am
fight against isis. now he seems to suggest after what happened, the horrible images, the atrocities, the dead children, the dead babies he kept referring to that he sees assad and the assad regime as part of the problem fueling isis. but again, how far is he going to take this? >> he also said russia is helping in syria. they're helping with the assad regime to fight back against isis. richard, while i have you, do you have any more reporting from the ground about what is going on there today? >> we've been in touch with activists all day in this area, and we've been getting images. we're putting together a story for nig"nightly news" tonight. it is truly shocking, it is horrible. we saw dozens of people in hospitals. they are receiving oxygen, sometimes they're just receiving air in hand pump bags. most of them, almost all of the victims we saw were trembling. they were incapacitated in that
11:23 am
they couldn't stand, some were completely incapacitated in that they couldn't move, but almost all of them seemed to be gi quivering, shaking. these are the survivors. there were funerals as well today. some of the survivors were also transferred to turkey, and as they were moved across the border into turkey, an image you don't see very orcften, the medical personnel who came to receive them were dressed in what looked like they were handling radioactive waste. full body chemical suits, wearing protective gas masks to receive the patients. so the international community, at least the people who can get nyack assess to these victims, are taking this extraordinarily seriously as a chemical attack of the worst kind. >> chief foreign correspondent richard engel, thank you for your time. i know those images are very hard to see, but at least us here at msnbc feel like they are
11:24 am
important to see to figure out exactly what is going on. media adviser for national security affairs and former assistant secretary of state. also steve clemons, msnbc contributor at large. what role and responsibility does russia have in this attack? >> well, russia, i doubt, was directly involved in the act itself, but clearly russia has been the primary supporter of the assad regime. they have been enabling assad to stay in power for six years, and i have to say, you know, for donald trump, the president, to be shocked and have his entire view of syria changed overnight based on one chemical attack tells us that he hasn't been paying attention for five, six years, because hundreds of thousands of people have been murdered by this regime. prisoners murdered in prisons,
11:25 am
chemical attacks that happened in 2013 and have been happening at lower levels ever since, and the aerial bombardment, barrel bombs, every type of weapon has been used against the civilians in syria, and this mass murder has been going on for six years. for him to suddenly discover there is mass murder going on is pretty naive, i guess. >> no, but he has been paying attention because he's tweeted multiple times in the past about president obama and syria saying that president obama should not act, should not go in, should not try to remove bashar al-assad. even back in 2013, back when president obama was making those red line comments and the red line being crossed was assad's regime and dropping chemical weapons in damascus and killing 400 children back in 2013. after that, donald trump said don't go in. so he has been paying attention. steve clemons, what has changed,
11:26 am
then? >> i think one of the biggest things that has happened, i don't know if donald trump actually has changed. i don't think that just because he's talked about potentially taking some action either in north korea or in syria today, which he sort of seemed to nudge towards, that doesn't mean he's going to go in as the obama administration and previous administrations did, as jamie knows well, and try to help women get into schools, try to help change the economy, try to sort of help crop up situations that will create this. he wants to clobber someone, and that is very different than being an internationalist. i think on your russia point, there is a more important thing here now, that russia began instantly peddling this fiction that perhaps these chemicals were in an offici's hands and someone had hit a depot and this came out. donald trump's words were a combination of that fiction.
11:27 am
russia is complicit in trying to give a pathway for syria out of these controversies and we're not holding russia to account for that. >> jamie rubin and steve clemons, thank you for your time, guys. >> thank you. next the latest on ivanka trump. what the president's daughter is saying about her influence in the west wing. only invisalign® clear aligners are made with smarttrack® material to precisely move your teeth to your best smile. see how invisalign® treatment can shape your smile
11:28 am
11:29 am
11:31 am
president trump just wrapped up a news conference at the white house with jordan's king abdullah about an hour ago. absent from that conference, notably, chief strategist steve bannon whom president trump removed from the national security council, at least the principals committee of that council, earlier today. bannon was trying to work on getting a deal done for health care reform. keep in mind, steve bannon has been at every other trump news kom conference since he took office. joining me now is charlie sykes and clinton campaign manager, jeffrey. it's interesting, is it not? >> trying to figure out who is in and who is out has that feel
11:32 am
to it. the fact now we're seeing the pictures out of syria and missiles in north korea, maybe this is the moment in which we realize that it's time to move on from the campaign to substance. i think that's probably reading too much into it. >> every time we say that, we have to double back. >> i think to ban the word "pivot" with donald trump. clearly you sort of hope the grown-ups in this administration are starting to assert some of their power. that would be the most positive spin to put on it. >> steve bannon saided so many people should not be on this administration, at the very least should not be in the security council given his past statements on a whole wide range of issues. donald trump used him as a lightning rod in congress saying how dare he have such power and such control. he's not losing his security clearance. he still is going to retain top security clearance, but is this, at least on the face of it,
11:33 am
somewhat of a concession to democrats? >> i think if it is at all a concession, it is one of opopti. you can't separate steve bannon from the donald trump presidency. it's not as if donald trump rose to power, won the nomination, took the white house and then decided to tap this person to come join him. steve bannon was an architect of the donald trump campaign. >> only of the last couple months officially as someone in the campaign. you're right, he did have influence before that as head. >> that was what donald trump needed to rise to power. steve bannon was absolutely at the forefront of that. i think we saw him at the press conference today, even if he wasn't there, as we watched the president blame president obama for what happened in syria, refused to acknowledge russia's right hand in what happened in syria. the president was just as inflammatory as he always is, even without steve bannon as a lightning rod over his shoulder. sdp >> to that point, people are
11:34 am
getting a little tired of him saying it was all president obama's fault. people were tired of obama saying it's bush's fault. even marco rubio is saying he's had enough. >> i disagree with many of the decisions made by the obama administration on foreign policy. but that presidency is over, we have a new presidency. >> so charlie, how long can this blaming game last? or how long will it last? >> it will last as long as donald trump has a problem shifting from the campaign mode to the governing mode. i think there have been a number of surveys out in the last couple days showing the american people are not willing to go along with all of this. clearly what happened in syria is not one of the high points of the obama administration, but what we need to know now is what is donald trump going to do? what are his policies? i thought your analysis was dead on even though some of the diplomats heard some sort of a shift to more internationalists. i actually heard a lot of the word salads we got to hear from
11:35 am
donald trump. he sort of fills up his sentences to fluff them up, so i still don't know where he's going. i still don't know what his policy is going to be. is he going to simply continue doing what barack obama did with more bellicose rhetoric? we just don't know. >> and this penchant for word salad is really quite dangerous. our allies need to be able to take queues from what the president says, and it's clear he doesn't know what he's saying. >> just take a look, i promise you it's going to be bigger and better than before, people are saying this is like nothing you've ever seen, they're fighting like never before. all of these phrases that don't mean anything, but in effect, at least to donald trump, make it seem like he is saying more than he is. his sentences are stronger than they are. this is exactly the way he operated in the campaign, and what was so -- brilliant is the
11:36 am
wrong word -- but what was so brilliant about it was that anyone who watched him could take whatever they wanted to take from that. if you were a donald trump supporter because you believed he was going to bring back jobs, the offensive things he said, you put it aside and didn't worry about it. if you were a donald trump supporter because you were a white nationalist, maybe, you took his subtle queues and severe condemnations as a cue that, you know, he is a supporter of my nation and he can do what he wants. so the foreign leaders, are they just left to take whatever they want to take? >> remember what he said about russia. he said it's a riddle wrapped inside an enigma. >> is that where that comes from? >> i think that applies to the trump foreign policy. >> you're assuming the enigma knows what it's doing there, and i don't think we can assume that the trump administration wrapped in a riddle, wrapped in a
11:37 am
mystery has any idea what they want to do. >> there's also the mad men people tried to assert to donald trump, which is what he's doing is what nixon did, which makes you think he can do anything and puts the fear of god in you to you get in line and behave. is that fair? >> i've heard that before, but at least when richard nixon did it, you had a clean foreign policy. >> jared kushner is his ki kissinger. >> rex tillerson is supposed to be his kissinger, and he put out a statement saying, we've said enough. >> is that enough to scare north korea thinking we may be facing down a nuclear threat? >> if that is his intent to scare north korea into thinking that. did it do what it needed to do? i know it scared a bunch of americans. it could also suggest we're done
11:38 am
dealing with you, we don't even think you're worthy of comment, which could be the opposite of scary. that could be almost a provocation. the truth is we shouldn't be sitting here trying to figure out what the secretary of state meant to say when he reacted to world events. >> what is that little chinese pr proverb, may you not be living in interesting times? >> may you be cursed to live in interesting times. >> we live in interesting times. yay. thank you. that was my favorite discussion of the past, i don't know, two weeks, a month. i'm going to hold onto it. we will be back with much more along these lines. if a basketball team had over 7... i'm in. 7,000 players. our plays are a little unorthodox. but to beat the big boys, you need smarter ways to save people money. we know what you want from a financial company and we'll stop at... nothing to make sure you get it. one, two... and we mean nothing. ♪ ♪
11:39 am
11:41 am
adult 7+ promotes alertness and mental sharpness in dogs 7 and older. (ray) the difference has been incredible. she is much more aware. she wants to learn things. (vo) purina pro plan bright mind. nutrition that performs. i'm lucky to get through a shift without a disaster. heads up! you know what, don't worry about it. my bargain detergent couldn't keep up. it was mostly water. so, i switched to tide pods. they're super concentrated, so i get a better clean. i mean, i give away water for free. i'm not about to pay for it in my detergent. number one trusted. number one awarded.
11:42 am
it's got to be tide i'm katy tur in new york. here are your top five headlines of the day. we begin in the white house where during the past hour, president trump held a joint news conference with king abdullah. the two topics, syria and the fight against isis. moments ago first lady melania trump and mrs. jordan visited a school. it's her first assignment since her husband took office. and ivanka trump, when asked if she and her husband were complicit in what happens at the white house, she had this to say. >> if being complicit is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact, then i'm
11:43 am
complicit. i don't know what it means to be complicit, but i hope time will prove that i have done a good job and much more importantly that my father's administration is the success that i know it will be. in maryland an f-16 military fighter jet went down this morning just two miles south of joint base andrews. the crash shook homes near d.c. and sent thick back smoke into the sky. the pilot luckily survived. a severe weather outbreak continues in the southern states. a tornado swept through missouri last night leaving excessive damage in its path. alabama and georgia are both on high alert as storms head that way next week. some contacts in the white house from steve bannon's absence from the rose garden news conference between president trump and king jordan -- king jordan's king
11:44 am
abdullah, i'm sorry. a source said bannon only does the foreign leader things that are vital, adding that all the other top advisers were at the conference and also health care is vital today. congressman lee zeldin joins me now. so many of your colleagues wanted bannon off the security council. in fact, they want him off the administration. do you believe this is the right concession to make, and was it concession? >> i would love to know all the facts of exactly what the back story was leading to this announcement today. you know, it is important that as a president is setting up their new administration, as you're going through the first few days and weeks and months, that you're making moves that has the right chemistry in all key parts of the government, the people know each other's strengths and weaknesses and that the president is getting his advice on the subject matter from the right people so he can make the best decisions. we would need to know all the
11:45 am
facts as far as what led to this decision that was made today, but if the president believes that it's going to improve the chemistry of his national security council, and that he's going to be able to make better decisions as president, then it's a very good move. >> on that point with steve bannon off the national security council, and at least from the appearance of it, much tougher talk toward the assad regime in syria, do you believe this administration is starting to shift its strategy? >> i think i see in certain ways, as you look around the map of the middle east, different challenges facing our country, facing the region. you're seeing a little bit of an evolution as the president learns more about each of these situations. he gets briefings, he's meeting with leadership, and as a matter of fact, while he's getting all of these briefings and meeting these people for the first time, the situations continue to evolve. so a conversation that he might
11:46 am
have with alibode in iraq as far as what to do to retake mosul and kick isis out of iraq, what that conversation might be today, two weeks from now the whole situation might be different as they attain more area. >> do you believe this president is well informed on matters in the middle east from that appearance in the rose garden just then? do you think he was knowledgeable and steeped in policy and steeped in the intrica i intricacies of what is going on in the middle east and especially in syria? >> as president, he is becoming more and more informed and he's building these relationships. when you sit down with king abdullah, someone who has decades of experience in the military special operations, he
11:47 am
understands his region, the sunni conflicts, iran, regional leaders, those aspiring to be regional leaders, as you sit down and you're able to look king abdullah eye to eye about these issues, you become much more informed and you get a good read about exactly what jordan is able to bring to the table as far as being a very small country but with a whole lot of motivation and desire to be part of a coalition, understanding as king abdullah does, that the solution is not going to be the united states occupying syria. that's not the answer. what the answer is, is for the muslim community and for majority muslim countries and those who are aspiring towards peace, for them to take the leadership role there to stabilize those countries in that region. it can't be us, it has to be them, and to ensure winning because losing is not an option. >> to support them, do you support troops on the ground? >> right now we have special
11:48 am
operations on the ground in syria, in iraq, in afghanistan. as you look at some of those countries, especially iraq and afghanistan, you have a much higher percentage there, not so much in special operations but in advisory roles as they try to set up their local military country, the country's policemen -- >> i'm not asking about now, i'm asking do you support more troops on the ground going forward? >> i'm not aware of a request right now. afghanistan, for example, general nicholson is asking for a few thousand more troops -- >> if there were a request, would you support it? >> so in afghanistan, there is a request, and i do support it. >> i'm talking about syria. >> if it's a request for a very small amount of our best of the best, then you're talking navy s.e.a.l.s, green berets, army rangers, marines, and it is a very important mission that requires a very limited amount of personnel for a high value
11:49 am
target, whether it's personnel, equipment, intelligence, that's something i would be supportive of. if it was a request to have, you know, 30,000 troops going to syria to occupy territory, that's not the right answer, in my opinion. >> congressman lee zeldin, thank you for your time and thank you for coming back to the camera for us. we very much appreciate it. >> thank you. up next, one group is already taking the president to task for standing up for bill o'reil o'reilly. go pro with oral-b. oral-b's rounded brush head surrounds each tooth to... ...gently remove more plaque and... ...oral-b crossaction is clinically proven to... ...remove more plaque than sonicare diamondclean. my mouth feels so clean. i'll only use an oral-b! the #1 brand used by dentists worldwide. oral-b. brush like a pro.
11:51 am
11:52 am
lyrica is believed to lm these nerves. for some, lyrica can significantly relieve fibromyalgia pain and improve function, so i feel better. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with less pain, i can be more active. ask your doctor about lyrica. can make any occasion feel more special.ie so she makes her pie crust from scratch. and sprinkles on brown sugar streusel. so that you can spend more time making special moments with your family. marie callender's it's time to savor
11:53 am
in an interview with "the new york times," president trump came to the defense of fox news host, bill o'reilly. just days after it was revealed that another "new york times" story, o'reilly was involved in five settlements with women who claim he harassed them. o'reilly denies those claims have any merit. trump called him a, quote, good person, saying, personally, i think he shouldn't have settled. the communications organizations responded to trump's comments with this tweet. a man who bragged about committing sexual assault and grabbing them by the p-word is defending bill o'reilly. enough said. eli elise hough joins me now from washington, d.c. so after president trump's past
11:54 am
comments and now his support of bill o'reilly, who paid out $13 million in settlements to five different women, most of whom were accusing him of sexual harassment, do american women in this country, can they know that the president has their back? >> well, absolutely not, katy. this has to be the least surprising story of the week, right? that donald trump would leap to his friend, bill o'reilly's defense, when all evidence is to the contrary. in fact, bill o'reilly himself has admitted some culpability by settling, and at the same time, hurling baseless accusations at susan rice. at last very, very clear pattern here. the one thing that has president has been remarkably consistent on, through the campaign and since the day he's taken office is he has no regard for women and the state of our affairs in this country. >> what do you believe the message is. >> i believe the message is that he doesn't believe women. he thinks women are -- they're
11:55 am
to be thrown under the bus. i think he is putting into place people, including his supreme court nominee, neil gorsuch, who are dedicated to rolling back the rights of women. and that he's not the president of all americans. he is perfectly happy to doubt and cast accusations at women that are completely baseless, while objectifying them in the next breath. >> elise, is this just him defending a friend of his? defending a network that he enjoys, that he watches every day, that he believes is doing a good job covering him? can we make the innocent defense that he doesn't really believe these allegations because he knows bill o'reilly behind the scenes is a good person? >> he is the president of the united states of america and he should have greater concerns and greater responsibilities than having his friends' backs. he should actually be caring about the rights of all americans and women are the majority in this country.
11:56 am
i think advertisers are dropping o'reilly like a hot potato shows the they know what the president that night grasped yet, and that is the future of this country is female. if he's not going to have our back, we'll have our own. ilyse hogue, thank you very much for joining us. on capitol hill, we're getting closer to the vote on neil gorsuch and whether or not mitch mcconnell is going to choose to go nuclear, so-called nuclear option. we'll find out more on that later. stay with us. it's time for the "your business" entrepreneur of the week. danielle will never sell online. the owner of the store fiber space in virginia doesn't want to process web orders, she wants to connect with customers at her store. using social media, he entices people to come in and buy. for more, watch "your business" 7:30 on sunday morning on msnbc. umbrellas!!
11:57 am
you need one of these. you wouldn't put up with an umbrella that covers you part way, so when it comes to pain relievers, why put up with just part of a day? aleve, live whole not part. tell you what, i'll give it to you for half off. actually making your body feel better... that's exactly what tommie copper does for people everywhere. they call it "wearable wellness," and tommie copper has infused it into everything they do. why not experience the difference tommie copper can make in your life? go to tommiecopper.com, enter your e-mail to become part of the tommie copper community, and get 15% off your entire order, plus free shipping. life hurts, feel better. over hereno!ver here! (dog barking) whoever threw it has to go get it. not me! somebody will get it... ♪ (dog barking)
11:58 am
anyone can dream. making it a reality is the hard part. from the b-2 to the upcoming b-21, northrop grumman stealth bombers give america an advantage in a turbulent world. and we're looking for a few dreamers to join us. ♪ everything your family touches sticks with them. make sure the germs they bring home don't stick around. use clorox disinfecting products. because no one kills germs better than clorox.
12:00 pm
a quick reminder to catch "mtp daily" later this afternoon, as we get closer to a possible nuclear showdown over president trump's supreme court pick. republican senator bob corker and democratic senator, jeff merkley, will join chuck at 5:00 p.m. eastern, only on msnbc. merkley, of course, spoke for 15 hours, more than that, on the floor of the senate in opposition to gorsuch. meanwhile, that wraps things up for me this wednesday. i am katy tur. you can follow me both on facebook and on twitter. kate snow picks things up right now. hey, kate. >> hey, katy. we have tatta lot to cover this afternoon. here are our top stories this hour. syria, was this week's horrific chemical attack there a red line for president trump's? jordan's king abdullah is in town. he and the president are meeting in the white house this hour. much of the focus in their press confer
127 Views
1 Favorite
IN COLLECTIONS
MSNBC West Television Archive Television Archive News Search Service The Chin Grimes TV News ArchiveUploaded by TV Archive on