more comprehensive understanding. i think this question has been asked and answered over and over again. i think the american people are -- frankly, the middle class in particular, companies that are trying to grow here in the united states are much more concerned about tax reform and allowing our economy and bottom line to grow. with respect to the easter egg roll, it is a huge topic. i appreciate that. i think we're going to have an eggs-ellent time. come on! you can't ask the question and not get the answer. we're going to have a very, very enjoyable day on monday. tickets have been sent out to all the schools in the area. there will be a large military contingent that will be participating as well. i think there's five waves over two-hour periods in which children and their families will be able to come to the white house. we've done extensive community outreach to really bring a lot of the school children in from the area and it is going to be a great day.

i don't have the number. i think the east wing could probably get you an answer. i'll make sure i put out that number. they're working on final numbers. they're starting ticket distribution so i should be able to get you a number. >> sean, you said last month that the white house was reviewing the policy on visitor laws. >> right. >> will the white house voluntarily release those visitor logs? >> i think we should have an answer on our policy very shortly on that. >> okay. then a question on syria. secretary tillerson said this morning that it was the united states' hope that bashar al assad would not be part of syria's future, it is up to the people of syria to make that determination. at the same time, the question is now whether the white house's position that assad is a bad actor and it would be ideal if he would go, or whether the white house thinks that the atrocities that he's committed are absolutely unacceptable and he must go, period. >> as i mentioned yesterday, i don't see a peaceful, stable syria in the future that has

assad in charge. >> so he absolutely has to go. >> there's no question that you can't have a peaceful syria with assad in charge. i don't see how that ever works. so, no, i don't see a future syria that has bashar al assad as the leader of that government. >> i want to ask you about the comments -- [ inaudible ] -- ivanka is the mother of her kids. she's listened to in horrible stuff. my father will act. did ivanka trump play a role in the president deciding to strike syria, and if so, with a was that rol >> well, the president -- i think we released last friday a very comprehensive tick-tock of when the president was informed by his national security team and how his thinking evolved. 10:30 last tuesday his national security team was giving him the presidential daily briefing,

they went over what had gone on in syria in detail. he began asking a series of questions. they came back to him later that day. there was a deputy principals meeting on tuesday. it came back and it is evolving -- his decision making process continued aboard air force one on the way to florida. 4:00 when he arrived at mar-a-lago he had a national security team meeting both in mar-a-lago and secure btt back to secure locations. hayes when he gave the order. that being said, there is no question that ivanka and others weighed in to him as -- hallie asked earlier. that when he himself saw imagesr he was very, very moved. i think ivanka and others, frankly -- i don't think there is many humans that came into contact with the president during that window of time that said did you see those images on

television? >> i have not asked her what her -- but i think --u[í again sawñ the report that eric gave. but again, i don't think ivanka stands any different than anyone else when it comes to the response that we got. >> do you know if they discussed the -- >> i don't -- >> -- her personal reaction? >> i don't.y$)=? @&h(lc% [c think it is thatubbcsdissimilar ton>dj any human being. >> if there was anything that &r)d7 ii&c respectfì(lc%wo be

almo >> i don't think -- i mean i don't -- i think that there is -- there's no evidence that

north korea has that capability at this time. so i don't know that that could happen. i don't think that threatening something that you don't have theáñcs capability of isn't rea threat. kevin. >> sean, i want to sort of follow up on that. thed7g8 president in his tweet noticed that china could certainly help on the north korean issue. ÷ thatvw$tgo ensuring that2p;ñ(4]xñpf

obtain the nuclear capabilities to threaten any people, that is something that we should all agree upon and something that he jñ xi, the area of shared national interest. i think that north korea clearly understands where the united states stands on this, and i think he would welcome president xi weighing in on this a little bit more. so i think that is -- obviously wants to make it very clear to them and the rest of the country and the rest of the world what our position is. >> the strike carrier group in the sea of japan or in that region, is that a messaging or is that simply protecting our allies? >> a carrier group is several things. the forward deployment is deterrence, presence. it's prudent. but it does a lot of things. ten sures our it ensures our st capabilities and gives the president options in the region. i think when you see a carrier group steaming into an area like

that, the forward presence of that is clearly through almost every instance a huge deterre e deterrence. think it serves multiple capabilities. >> last one, if i might, on infrastructure and taxes. the ceos obviously very interested in trying to get something done as quickly as possible, a shovel-ready opportunities for people to get to work, and obviously a lowering of the taxes to enhance business expansion and perhaps even lower for middle class amerans. but i'm wondering if there isn't a heal care component that needs to happen before you can move forward on that? >> so there's a few things. obviously getting health care, the repeal and replace done would open the amount of money that we can use through the reconciliation processfo available for tax reform. that's why we made it very clear from the beginning weq-jd thou health care should go first. it gives us a greaterzíd amoun resources to dedicate to tax

reform. that being said, under every circumstances you are talking months of getting tax reform done. that's one area that they discussed today, but one of the more importantkv@x%uátj and whei think you arem president act continuously and decisively is on[oi"x the regul front. that's one of the largest burdens that manufacturers,mn"ñ unions, entrepreneurs:ñ u$e pre that compares to one that was signed in every administration prior to this year. total. i think that that shows the president's commitment to creating not just a better tax climate which is going to take a few months, but an immediate regulatory impact that can help businesses break down the barriers, compete more, bring

more jobs back to the united states. >> "hitler didn't even sink to the level of using chemical weapons." what did you mean by that? >> i think when you come to sarin gas, there was no -- he was not using the gas on his own people the same way that assad is doing. there=# ñintent.zhx >> okay. did the president speak with secretary tillerson before he went on this trip to russia, and this is stern message that the secretary delivered today a direct message from the president to vladimir putin? >> yeah. i mean they spoke -- he was in

florida with him before he left and they met, tillerson and the president, after his meeting i know there's been some evolution of the intelligence that we haven't and)> thank you, sean. two foreign policy related questions. speaking with secretary tillerson's trip, and i'd like to do a s5; question i asked two weeks ago. is he scheduledyg75 toíkxw meew of the civil society

representativesppixf0dm outsid government? >> i'll refer you back to state department the same way i did two weeks ago. i think they are in charge of syria? >> ie6 do believe that someone either the vice president or secretary of defense spoke with i' check. x foreign leader and head of government calls to both foreign ministers and heads of state, but i'd have to check. i thought he was on that list but i -- off the top of my t i cannot recall. major. >> you said that you hoped secretary tillerson would be able to clearly÷%t convey to t russia russians that of the u.s. government. is that enhanced by the meeting with the secretary and president putin, and if there is not a f

snub by the russian president? >> he's going to meet with mr. lavrov. that's his counterpart. that's the job of a foreign minister and secretary of state to meet with each other, they're the counterparts. i think if he didn't meet with president putin, that he can convey his sentiments and thoughts of the united states to the foreign minister. >> the history of putin meeting with kerry and previous secretaries of state influence the president's judgment on that? >> we'll have to see. i mean we're not there yet. i think to prejudge the outcome of the visit -- >> in other words, tillerson to see putin on this visit even though there are -- there is a bit of!mlt irony thax all of these talks!11dq have been perpetuated about back channels and direct+( rlinks, t now it's, well, they won't meet with you, and does that undermine the relationship. i have heard time5d'v and time again -- no, i think it is interesting that we went from all of these direct links to russia to now are we disappointed that we can't even get a meeting with them. there is a bit of irony in the question.

>> i don't even understand your point. i'm asking you at the time that the united states has called out russia for its disinformation campaign in syria, the collusion with the government in regards to carrying out a war crime, meeting with the russian president, is it or is it not a iority for this president to have the secretary of state convey that directly to the president of russia? >> he is conveying that message. but if the head of the russian government won't meet with him, he's conveying it to the russian counterpart. we're not there yet. i think the answer is, meeting with his counterpart. that's the appropriate person for him to convey that with and we'll have to wait and see how the meeting goes. steve. >> the russian president today said that all this talk from the white house about weapons of mass destruction reminds him of what he heard from the white house in 2003. this white house is expressing confidence that sarin gas was used. what do you say to skeptics in moscow and maybe in other countries, perhaps here at home who doubt that level of confidence? >> i think you -- you had a -- there was a 45-minute briefing

with members of the national security team prior to this which they walked through all of that level of confidence that they have. i think that anybody who doubts that in terms of the pictures that were shown and the media that were there wouldn't just be doubting the intelligence but it would be doubting the entire international reporting crew that was there to document all of this. there have been doctors, intelligence communities, media, i mean i don't think it takes mere eyeballs to recognize what's happening and happened throughout there. it is not a question of stabbing us. >> one other historical villain who used chemicals weapons against his people was saddam hussein. why shouldn't it be the same policy? >> i think you're trying to act like -- the premise of the question suggests that we don't want a new leader. i think i've stated now two days in a row that we don't see any -- a peaceful or stable

syria in the future that has assad as the head of it. their number one priority for us right now as a government is to make sure that we stop the threat of isis and bring stability to that region. but make no question about it, there is no peaceful and stable syria in the future that assad is the head of. that's it. point blank. >> sean. >> yes. >> i just want to clarify. is the u.s. position as far as cooperation with russia that russia must admit or agree that syria was behind the chemical atta attack, and that russia must disown assad? like can cooperation happen if russia maintains the position that syria is not behind that chemical attack? >> it is not just "behind it." i think that russia has joined an international agreement regarding the -- not just the use of, but possession of.

it was susan rice who went out and said that syria no longer had access to chemical weapons. we any that's not true. i think the united states, russia and others, signed an international agreement that syria was part of that said that they would not, not only use, but possess chemical weapons. the first thing that we need to do is make sure that we enforce the existing agreement that russia is a partner to. that is first and foremost. i think we need to make sure we do that because it is in the national interest of the united states to make sure that the proliferation of chemical weapons spreads no further. that's something that we've got to be very careful of. not just the deterrence of future use but also the proliferation of them throughout the world. >> but at this point the russia is not even agreeing with the u.s. contention that the syrian government carried out the attack. >> i understand that. and i think that secretary tillerson has just landed a few hours ago and i think will have an opportunity -- we'll have an

opportunity to talk to him. as i just mentioned to steve, it's not going to go -- you r l realize russia is on an island on this. there is not some big little bit as to how this actually happened. the only countries not supporting our position is syria, iran, north korea and russia. this is not a happy cocktail party of people you want to be associated with. they are failed states. when russia is saying that they don't agree with us, they are not siding with other nations of stature. they are agreeing with failed states and a small number of those. i think they are defiant in the world view, that doctors, intelligence agencies, reporters, civilians, international experts have all looked at and come to the same conclusion except for them. i don't think there is any other outcome than that. with that, guys, i'll see you back in a little bit. i know we'll have one more.

>> sean spicer finishing up his daily briefing there at the white house. the majority of those questions centering around what happened insyria the other day when donaldru launched a missile attack on an airbase and whether or not the u.s. plans to do anything similar in the future. also relations with russia, given that secretary of state rex tillerson will be going to the kremlin today. sean spicer in talking about bashar al assad, the president of syria, made a comparison to hitler saying that even hitler didn't use chemical weapons the way that bashar al assad did to his own people. let's take a listen to that entire exchange. >> what makes you think that at this point he's going to pull back in his support for president assad and for the syrian government right now? >> i think a couple things. you look -- we didn't use chemical weapons in world war ii. you had a -- someone as

despicable at hitler who didn't even sink to the -- to using chemical weapons. so you have to, if you're russia, ask yourself, is this a country and regime that you want to align yourself with? you have previously signed on to international agreements, rightfully acknowledging that the use of chemical weapons should be out of bounds by every country. to not stand up to your own word should be troubling. >> give you an opportunity to clarify something, quote, hitler didn't even sink to the level of using chemical weapons." what did you mean by that? >> i think when it comes to using sarin gas, he was not use ugg the gas on his own people the way assad is doing -- there's clearly. i understand your point. thanks. thank you. i appreciate that. there was not -- in the -- he brought them into -- to the holocaust center. i understand that. but i was saying in a way that assad used them where he went in

to towns, dropped them down to innocents in the middle of town. so the use of it, i appreciate the clarification there. that was not the intent. >> he didn't use them to harm his own people in the same way that assad i doing. kristen welker, you are le at the white house press briefing room. what was sean spicer actually trying to convey there? >> well, look, i think he was making a technical point, katy, in trying to say that this use of chemical weapons is unique. certainly a number of people would argue that hitler, by gassing his own people, did effectively the same thing. so you heard him try to walk that back there. what he was trying to do more broadly, katy -- and i think the point -- is that he was making the argument that ultimately assad must go, that he doesn't see the syrian regime, the country of syria be with being able to gain stability with assad still in power. now having said that, there

remains a lot of disagreement behind the scenes about how in fact the u.s. and its allies should go about getting assad out of power and what that timeline should look like. of course, secretary of state rex tillerson continues to insist that ultimately it is up to the people of syria. but what you are seeing here i think is the complicated messaging coming out of this white house as it relates to its syria policy, katy. what are the next steps? we had a background briefing with a number of top officials who essentially accused russia of trying to cover up the chemical weapons attack in syria, essentially through their own messaging, arguing that, look, the syrian government wasn't behind it, when the united states says that all of this intelligence points to the fact that it was behind it. so will the united states calculation change when it comes to russia? sean spicer didn't answer that question but he did say that rex tillerson, secretary of state, is going to draw very hard line with his russian counterpart when they meet in moscow

tomorrow. one more headline, katy, that's worth noting here. north korea also gaining a lot of traction today because of its threat to launch a nuclear attack at the united states. president ump tweeted about that, that he's prepared to take some type of unilateral action. sean spicer wouldn't say specifically what that action looked like, whether it would be military or sanctions, but clearly underscoring they aren't going to tolerate more provocations by north korea. >> back on syria. i want to get this straight. sean spicer was saying that hitler didn't even gas his own people, basically saying that bashar al assad is in some way worse that hitler. still, the united states is not going to put troops on the ground there and they're not going to reconsider. and the trump administration is not going to reconsider its travel ban. worse than hitler, but the united states is going to back off? i'm confused. >> well, i think that's part of the challenge for the white house.

they are trying to figure out what their messaging is specifically. so, as far as i can determine at this point, i think what the administration is trying to say, katy, doesn't sound like the president is going to reconsider his travel ban. however, they do believe bashar al assad needs to go through some type of political process. but, how does that happen? what does that look like? what is the timeline? those are all of the questions that the administration still has yet to answer. and it is also worth noting, katy, we've heard a lot of tough talk from a number of top officials here. the secretary of state. the u.n. ambassador. defense secretary. and yet we still haven't heard from the president on this point. he was asked if the situation has changed when it comes to vladimir putin earlier todaynd a he ignored a shouted question about that. now we do have a press conference here at the white house tomorrow, so undoubtedly he is going to get more of these very tough questions as it results to russia, vladimir putin and bashar al assad. but you are right, katy, all of those questions do remain muddled at this point from this administration. >> no clear, coherent policy,

which makes you wonder what exactly rex tillerson is going to be talking about at the cr e kremlin when he gets there today, the secretary of state. to find out more about that, bill neely is in moscow. bill, things that certainly soured between this white house and russia. >> reporter: well, katy, i think the kremlin will have been listening to that news conference by sean spicer very closely because they do -- and i think they will tear sean spicer apart here for that comparison with hitler. any comparison with hitler -- remember, the russians fought hitler in world war ii -- do not go down well here. just a fact check that i think the russians will bring up, katy, hitler did use chemical weapons of a different kind in world war ii. he us he gassed 6 million jews. think that will be pointed out as a fact check. also when spicer said there is

no consensus in the u.s. intelligence community that russia was involved in the syrian chemical weapons attack. of course, russia will pick up on that because it says it was not involved. spicer said it is clear the russians are covering up, trying to confuse the world about who was to blame. the russians, of course, say that when a bomb was dropped, it landed on rebel stockpiles of chemical weapons. spicer said the facts are on our side. russia is not carrying out its obligations and tillerson will make that clear. so the stage once again is set for a pretty hot and spicy meeting tomorrow. and mr. tillerson, no doubt, will bring that message from the g7 that russia is isolated and that russia should drop bashar al assad as its ally in syria. >> worth noting that we are in the middle of passover, beginning of passover, rather.

robert costa of the "washington post" is also with us. robert generally has been having messaging issues. this comparison to hitler that sean spicer just made is something that is no doubt going to come back to haunt this administration. what is going on there in terms of trying to get a more coherent message out there and get a more -- a message that is more unified, bob? we don't have any audio for bob, unfortunately. ambassador pickering, you are here as well. ambassador, when you heard those comments from this press secretary, what was your reaction? >> well, katy, i shared the same reaction. i thought it was perhaps a little extreme, if one can say that in a diplomatic way. the comparison for the gassing of the jews, as horrible as it is, was not gas warfare in that sense, but there had been gas warfare used by the japanese against the chinese which they

seem to have missed. >> thomas pickering, former u.s. ambassador to russia, secretary of state rex tillerson is going to moscow, he's going to be meeting with officials of the kremlin. it is unclear if he is going to end up meeting plub ining vladi. few years ago in 2013 he was given the highest medal a foreigner can get in russia -- the medal of freedom. now he is secretary of state and issuing ultimatums to russia saying they have to get off the side of syria, saying that syria has crossed the line and that russia needs to withhold their support of ba similshar al assa get on the side of the americans and wanting him to no longer be the lead o that country. what sort of reception is he going to be getting at the kremlin, and are his concerns going to be heard there? >> up to now it looks like a tough reception. putin apparently has told others that he won't see him, which i think is a mistake. i think he'll get a tough

reception from sergey lavrov who is, if anything, a very strong servant 69 state and of president putin, and president putin's ideas and interests. but i think secretary tillerson also has the compassivity of holding his own. that medal doesn't give him a free entry pass into all aspects of the kremlin, but he is going to perhaps be able to make some good remarks. one, he's leveled the playing field in terms of leverage and that's important. secondly, the russians are getting nowhere with assad right now. they have a big liability and hanging that liability on their head is an important process. thirdly, going down the road of escalating on each side, tit for tat is no thet a productive acty and the russians know that. the russians also know there is no military victory in sight. so the political route is still an open possibility, and tillerson will be taxed to see whether he can convince them that there is a possibility that the two of us can put together something that in the long run

can defend the interests of both sides. that seems a little bit like pie in the sky right now, but that's something that i think should be worked on, even if there is a kind of enhanced bad blood between both sides on the issue because the alternatives are not pretty. >> ambassador, is this administration learning what every administration has learned before, which is that saying you want a better relationship with russia is one thing. actually having a better relationship with russia is something completely different. >> katy, that's true. and it takes time and effort and understanding. and to some extent, i think a serious amount of toughness to get there. but when you're tough, you also have to have a road ahead, and that will be a major question for secretary tillerson will have to ask both himself and try to search out wither er iserg v lavrov, the russian foreign minister, as to whether there is a road and whether there is a

path that leads there. i suspect he has a pretty good idea of where to go next and how to do it. lavrov can be very tough, but in the end, what is of common interest is perhaps even more important in these days of heat and extra light than the days when things were ump kaer, when it was easier to talk things over slowly. they have a dwindling relationship that's going down the toilet fast, and stopping it and seeing in fact whether it can lead somewhere is the task of a secretary of state. i think tillerson is very much up to this but we'll have to see at the end of the day whether this is a nothing burger meeting or whether this is a meeting that produces at least some calming of the atmosphere. i would not say it is a meeting that is going to produce leaps ahead. but if he can do that, more power to him. >> it's going to be interesting because he does have a long-standing relationship with officials in russia so it will certainly be an interesting first meeting as the secretary of state. bill, if you're still there, i know you spoke about how the kremlin and how russia is going to react to what sean spicer

just said at the podium about hitler. but what about this other news about donald trump's son, eric trump, who was talking to the british press and saying that the syrian strike was basically proof that there was no trump/russia connection, no campaign connection between trump associates and anybody in the russian government, any russian officials. is that something that's going to get seized on over there as proof that russia and the u.s. are separate and they weren't interfering in this election, or are they going to take it the other way saying that u.s. is bombing syria in order to gain political points at home? >> well, onehing they are saying, katy, is that the u.s. is bombing syria to distract attention from the civilian casualties it's causing in its bombing of mosul. so russia i think is doing

everything it can to, if you like, distract attention from the syrian issue. the mip industnistry of foreign produced a statement today, just to pick up on the ambassador's point, that relations between the u.s. and russia are now worse than at any time in the cold war. and i think they were including the two and a half months of donald trump's presidency in that. russian newspapers over the last few days have been extremely critical of donald trump. the very russian newspapers that were lauding his election not so long ago and believing that two lead to better relations. but again, picking up from it the ambassador's point, i think it is possible that these two men could cool down all the rhetoric. clearly, if they wanted to, i think they could come out with a statement that there was room for cooperation, future cooperation, on terrorism. i think that's possibly the only thing they can agree about at the moment. another thing that russia may well bring up is that nato is

accepting another member from eastern europe. this again is something that irks the russians. but at the very time that america is not bombing syria, it is still expanding nato which russia of course sees as a threat sometimes its very border. so the movement isn't good. the rhetoric has been very, very heated. remember, vladimir putin today came out and said he believes -- or russia believes that another chemical weapons attack was being plotted possibly on damascus in order to discredit assad. he didn't say who was planning that attack. he didn't say where russia was getting its information from. so this is all very, very heated. sergey lavrov, as the ambassador, said, very long-seasoned diplomat. rex tillerson is known here. he wants to be seen as being

tough. but it is quite that this heated rhetoric could all be calmed down if these two men find areas of agreement. as sean spicer said, we'll do a deal if we can find an area of national interest. if we can't, we won't. katy. >> and maybe we will try to refrain from making comparisons between hitler and assad, comparisons that are not quite the same, at least at the moment. ill a he leave it there. bill neely and ambassador thomas pickering, former u.s. ambassador to russia, thank you, guys. up next, that united airlines flight that everyone is talking about. >> no! oh, my god! >> we all now know who that man is. with each passing hour, this is turning into a bigger pr nightmare for united airlines. first we're asking, should airlines stop overbooking flights even if it means you pay more? here's how you're weighing in so far. 82% of you say yes, they should stop doing that. you do still have time to vote.

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[ screaming ] >> oh, my god. oh, my god! >> no doubt, you've seen that video by now. you may, like a whole lot of people, be outraged by it. a paying united airlines who was dragged out of his seat so

airline employees could fly instead. united is standing by their employees but cuomers around the world are not standing by united as for the white house, this is what sean spicer had to say during the daily briefing. >> i don't think that it is my place to get in the middle of judging how a company dealt with this. but i think from a human to human standpoint, to watch a human being get dragged down an aisle with their head banging off arm rests and not think that it would have been handled better? i think we can all agree on that. >> a look at united airlines stock right now, no surprise there. it is down, unfortunately. we're going to get more on earnings news after the bell. it is not just here in america, china is po'd. people there calling for a boycott and that could really hurt considering how many flights united runs out of that country. tom costello follows aviation and joins us from the newsroom. tom, we now know who the passenger is.

>> yeah. dr. david dow, a doctor from louisville, kentucky. by the way, the stock is just up a fraction right now. it had been down as much as 4% for exact lip the reason you cited. that is because of the china effect. this internet video has gone viral in asia exploding in china because people very concerned on the belief that he may have been singled out because he's asian. but there is a lot more to the story that we've learned. first dr. david dow, of louisville kentucky, has had legal trouble in the past, that in no way justifies the way he was treated. but in 2003 and 2004 he was convicted on drug charges for peddling, if you will, narcotics in louisville, kentucky. in addition, those officers you see there, they are not police officers. those are security officers. security guards, if you will. that somehow got called to that airplane and then yanked mr. dow, dr. dow, out of his seat, and in the process he hit his head on the arm rest.

by some accounts he was unconscious at this point when they drug him -- drug him down the aisle, if you will, and his face all bloody. then there was another piece to this whole thing. oscar munoz who is the ceo of united airlines put out tse tweets, then a statement to airline employees which certainly would seem to be to tone-deaf in which he essentially accuses this passenger's behavior of really being behind everything that occurred on that plane. some passengers are now telling us that in fact dr. dow and his wife had agreed to accept $800 each to -- in vouchers to leave, voluntarily leave the plane. but then when they got off the plane they realized they wouldn't be able to get home until the next day. dr. dow said i have to get home, i'm a doctor, i have to see patients. and so he got back on. that's when he said i'm sorry, i'm not leaving. i have to take this plane and things escalated from there and got rather physical. we've seen video which has not yet been released which would suggest that he was certainly

adamant and forceful but he was not in any way physical when he said i'm not leaving, i'm taking this plane. we are expecting another statement of some sort from united airlines. katy, we have talked to an awful lot of people who say that there is a recognition within united airlines they have handled this very badly and that now, in fact with this going viral around the world, you can't put the genie back in the bottle and it is going to be very difficult to contain the public relations fallout and the damage it is doing to the company's image, especially in a critical market of china. back to you. >> tom costello with a little bit of wisdom there. you cannot put the genie back in the bottle. joining us now, aviation attorney and expert andrew maloney. andrew, so how should this have been handled? they needed those four seats for their flight crews going to other flights so other flights were not delayed. but the guy was sitting in his seat. >> yeah. it is very unusual to try to eject somebody involuntarily in

an oversold airline when they've already sat down. typically you see this at the gate. they know that there's going to be a problem in an oversold situation. they should have known -- i assume they did know that they'd have to give four seats -- >> was it an oversell or just need seats for the crew? >> it amounts to the same thing. they needed four seats to get some of their flight crew to another destination. i'm not certain whether or not they had jump seats available to flight crews like you sometimes see in the cockpit or have an extra one for a flight attendant to sit there. or another part of the plane. evidently there were no other seats available so they wanted to involuntarily remove passengers. >> so they should not have let him on the plane in the first place is the point you are making. but this is just the latest bad headline for united. in 2015 they came under fire for removing a girl with autism saying she was disruptive.

a muslim chaplain had an unopened can of soda. and a few weeks ago a couple of girls were being denied for wearing leggings. that could be because they were flying basically on employee family passes and there is a dress code. but given all these past negative headlines wouldn't united be a little more sensitive to it? they did respond defending themselves in each of those situations, but -- >> when you have to explain yourself each time when there is another episode, it looks prty bad. they don't have very good management of a customer service relationship with their passengers. that's their bread and butter. they into ed to do a much better job and live by the adage that the cuss inner is always right. obviously there has to be a balance. the airline has to do certain things to fly and when they have an oversold situation they have to do things to get a passenger to voluntarily give up a seat. but they blew it in this case. >> are the airlines in a higher position the a the moment just

because people need to get to places and ultimately you'll pay for the cheapest ticket you can find? are passengers up against the wall in terms of choices? >> i think when you book your flight, passengers do have choices. i think travel is very stressful. if you didn't have to fly, you wouldn't fly. so you're right. sometimes you have no choice, you got to fly and you typically want to get the cheapest flight available if you're paying for it out of pocket and you want the one that's most convenient for you so there are limitations in terms of where you can go, who you can go with and when you can go. yes, airline has the upper hand when it comes to that. but it is a two-way street. they've done incredible damage to their public relations for the public flying united airlines. >> indeed. andrew maloney, appreciate your time p. we've been asking you should airlines stop overbooking flights even if if it means that you pay more? here is how you are reacting. 84% of you still say yes.

please stop overbooking those flights. i couldn't agree more. add your voice to pulse.msnbc.com. we'll be right back. but first with the new york auto show ramping up, cadillac is revving up to launch its own auto pil system. here's today's "the verge" update. >> cadillac is taking aim at tesla as it readies its new automatic driving technology to be released this fall. super cruise will be a highly automated system allowing drivers to cruise hands-free on the highway. cameras and sensors keep the car in line. if a driver becomes distracted, there will be lights or vibration to get the car back on the road. that's the update, check out more on theverge.com. 7. it's time for the "your business entrepreneur of the week." danielle romanetti will never

sell online. owner of the yarn store fiber space in alexandria, virginia doesn't want to process web orders. she wants to connect with customers at her store. using social media she entices people to come in and buy.

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. >> here in the studio is the former clinton campaign adviser. michael, let's talk about this. a democrat in a close race in ruby red kansas. how concerning is that for republicans right now? >> i think the national party is taking the belt ask suspenders approach making sure. the democratic case feels wronged by the election and they are rearing to go. mobilizing republican voters and getting them and i think this will be a win for the

republicans. >> can you chalk it up to being less motivated? >> certainly not. this is a district trump won by 27 points. you are correct. if democrats declare a victory if it's under 10 or 15 points. republicans need to be sweating. if it's under 10 points, republicans should be freaking out. this is unheard of. that means it's not turning out which is definitely happening. you don't see resistance that is different than any protest in history without having an electoral consequence to that too. they are not just depressed because they won everything, but the guy they fought for got in and tried to take away their health care. he is suffering for a lot of reasons among the republican base. the other close races that are

going on specifically in georgia for the prices. we are seeing a democrat that raised an unprecedented amount of money. it is a very close race and one that presumably if it is close as well. >> special elections are called that for a reason. each is different. in georgia we have one democrat who heavily funded millions and millions from washington democrats facing a crowded field in the teams of republicans. you have a democrat consolidating where as four or five or more republicans are splitting donald trump's support there. the democratic end promised he is going to win by getting over 50% and anything short is a loss for the party. >> all these races we are seeing, the, they are closer

than they are supposed to be. is that going to affect what's going on in washington. what does that do to congress if anything for the white house? >> they are just that. if the people in that district want to repeal and replace obamacare and they want to improve and modernize the tax code. they want a stronger national defense. that's what they are going to get. >> i think it's hard to be ready for republicans. this is the speech that newt gingrich held. this is not a symbolic victory. i if we take it in kansas or georgia, progressives figure out how to handle local and special and possibly mid-term elections. in terms of democrats.

republicans have always been better at turning up in the mid-terms than democrats and if we learned our lesson and get this done now, they should be sweating for 2018. >> a surprise appearance for kate snow in the background. they will get her in a couple of minutes. we appreciate your time. we have one more thing before we leave you this hour. the county drops a whopping $60,000 each day that trump is in town. the county's toll since january is $2 million and counting. they are tired of dolling out the cash and since mar a lago gets a big tax break, they are thinking about levying a tax against the resort if the feds don't reimburse them. they have talked about this with trump and say he does understand

the strain, but it's not stopping him from heading to mar a lago again this weekend. it's just a private club with a $200,000 initiation and annual dues of $14,000. that wraps it up for me this hour with the studio falling apart as we speak. don't worry. it will be fine because kate snow is going to take it away. >> it's one of those days with so much going on. so many moving parts. here's what's going on. in about 30 minutes from now, we expect to hear from the defense secretary james mattis. stay with us for that. his first public briefing with international tensions rising on two different fronts. secretary of state rex tillerson is in moscow with a lot to talk about when it comes to the chaos in syria and while all that is going on, tough language from

the president about tensions in pacific climbing by the day. we will wait for secretary mattis and set the stage for you. an anxietior at yahoo news and finance. let me start with you. we had the briefing from the white house and expecting secretary mattis about a half hour from now. give us what we learned from sean spicer on the two fronts, particularly syria. a lot of talk about that. >> there is a lot of discussion surrounding that coming out of the press secretary's briefing. a lot of headlines walking up to the line of russian awareness of the chemical weapons and not crossing it. there was no consensus about what russia may have known. russia is on an island and using the colorful phrase, app