>> the president has expressed a desire to achieve peace in syria. i think that's the broader mission. and we're looking at all ways in order to achieve that, and we haven't laid out any specifics any further than that at this point. >> the other question, there was a report today that said that there is an effort at the white house to start limiting the number of people in senior staff meetings down from 15 to 8, and i was wondering, first, if there is any truth to that, and who are in these senior staff meetings these days, the 15 people, or the 8, for that matter, that are being left out? >> sometimes you have big groups, sometimes you have small groups. meetings vary from day to day around here. i'm not going to comment on the hundreds of meetings that take place in the white house every day. >> there is no specific effort, though, to keep them down to a smaller group or to keep certain people out of those meetings at this point? >> i think it's ridiculous to think we're trying to keep certain people out of these meetings. i think one of the greatest

assets of the president is his accessibility, and he talksh a number of people on his staff day in and day out, and that's not changing. john gizzi? >> thank you, sara. two-question friday again, but first, congratulations on your first on-camera appearance. >> thanks. we'll see how it goes. let's hold the champagne for a little while. >> now, i know you stated earlier that the president is neutral in the race for president of france. president obama had a very gracious habit of calling the winner and the loser in internationally watched elections, in israel, in france, egypt in its first election and in japan. will the president do the same with the two candidates running in france? >> i would imagine that would be the case. he's made a practice of reaching out to foreign leaders across the globe, and i would imagine that he would do that once this election concludes. but i don't know that for

certain, but i would imagine that takes place. two questions, guys. >> and the other, going back to the president's executive order on the johnson amendment. nearly 20 years ago, walter jones from north carolina introduced the first legislation to repeal the johnson amendment and said at the time that it would take an act of coress. and while the prident's executive order tells the irs agents not to enforce it, the law is still on the books. does the president support a repeal measure for the johnson amendment? >> he's committed, i think, to religious liberty and protecting it, whatever that requires. i think this is the first step in a process, and i don't think we're taking anything off the table when it comes to protecting the rights of all the citizens of this country. >> what happened to the white

house chief usher? >> so i know that question has come up. she is no longer employed here at the white house, but we left on very good terms and wish her the very best, and certainly hope for great things for her in the future. however, it's not uncommon that you might have a transition of staff when a new administration comes in, and it's simply nothing more than that, and we certainly wish her, again, the very best. >> is there a chief usher? >> i believe the deputy usher will be acting as active usher for right now. >> when the white house announced that the colombian president was going to come here, they mentioned venezuela being a major topic. venezuela was a big topic with the president of argentina. what are the prident' administration's major concerns out of venezuela and what does

he hope for colombia to do to help with this situation? >> i think the situation in venezuela, some of the acts there have been deplorable and certainly something that we're monitoring very closely in terms of specific movement or engagement that we have at this point. i can't comment any further on that right now, but something we're certainly aware of, monitoring and keeping a very close eye on. in the back. >> thank you. the president said that it's, quote, not good that susan rice has declined an invitation to testify on the unmasking of u.s. citizens. does the president think that congress should subpoena her? >> i think that's a question for congress, but i do think that it's sad that she has chosen not to be transparent in this process and frankly not to cooperate in this process. we feel very confident that as all this plays out, it will land on the right side of where we are, but i think it's

unfortunate for her and has really no bearing for us. >> he deliver a more formal speech about how he sees the potential process? [ inaudible ] >> i don't know if those plans have been made but i'll keep you guys posted. >> yesterday you had said that the house wasn't waiting on a cbo. you gave the reasons why. you said today you would like to see the senate move in short order, however, they are waiting for the cbo to score this. i'm just trying to figure out the timing of this. is the white house okay for the senate waiting for the cbo even though it was justified yesterday in the house? >> i think that's up to the senate if they want to wait for that. that's not something that's held us back. i think i know the gospel pretty well, and i would say the cbo is not the gospel.

they've been wrong before, they can certainly be wrong again, and, you know, i think, again, we'll let the senate make a decision on whether or not they want to wait for that. but we feel very confident in where the plan is and moving it forward. thanks, guys, very much. see you on monday. >> sean spicer is off today. you're watching sara huckabee sanders, the deputy secretaryho. a different feel to the briefing, but we learned what's going on today. the white house is certainly feeling good about the passing of health care act. we've got a few big topics but let's start with health care. we have kristen welker. kristen, let's start with you. they clearly feel good about this. they had that ceremony yesterday in the rose garden. donald trump had a hand to get this passed in the house. what are they doing to make sure something happens in the senate?

>> reporter: first, let's just pick up on what we heard here today with deputy press seetary sara huckabee sanders. she said they expect them to take this up in short order, and she got a lot of questions on this because a lot of republican leaders in the senate have stressed they are not working on any particular deadline, they want to get this right. so she was asked if the president has his own deadline. she underscored the point, look, the president wants to get this right as well. it sounds as if he's going to give the senate some space, at least initially. it is the more deliberative body. she was asked if the budget office wants to score this as they sort of indicated they would do. in terms of strategy behind the scenes, i can tell you, katy, that the administration plans to be very hands on. i think the broader question is what will we see this president do to try to get this moved through the senate. i anticipate he will be in close

contact with senate leadership, but will he actually start to hit the road? will he go out and try to sell the plan that comes together to the american people? that's what we'll be watching for. one more point i'll make, katy, sanders was pressed on a comment the president made yesterday that really raised some eyebrows when he said that the australian health care system works better than the one that americans have. that raised eyebrows because, of course, australia has universal health care. sanders tried to clean that up a little bit. she said he was merely praising a foreign leader he was meeting with. >> kristen welker, we'll get to that sound in just a couple minutes. until then, let's talk about the politics of this thing and what will happen next in the senate. mike vacarro, the house was certainly open to president trump's finger on the button, if you will. how reseptembceptive will they

the president throwing his weight around on this bill? >> less receptive, i would imagine. the entire state having but two senators. so it's a lot harder to microtarget certain markets, put certain pressure on senators, and a much wider range of health care issues, constituent issues, for those who may have preexisting. many provisions that would be cut back under the house bill. they're going to take a much longer time to do this. they're going to be more deliberative, they're going to pick up their own bill. while many senators want to move this along, it's unclear whether they can get the simple majority. all they need is the simple majority. they do not need 60 usually

required for legislation to break a filister. even so, with 52 republicans, there are many who have waivered already publicly. anything that emerges from the senate, if anything emerges from the senate, may look different than what we saw yesterday. >> if republicans thought that was hard to get the bill through the house, saddle up for the senate. these comments from the president last night followed by reaction from bernie sanders. you heard kristen welker mention a moment ago. take a look at what bernie sanders said a few moments ago and how bernie sanders reacted. >> we have a failing health care bill. >> thank you, mr. president. we'll quote you on the floor of the senate. >> so bernie sanders is obviously quite happy about that. he went on for a couple of minutes talking about how he was going to use that on the senate floor. donald trump saying that australia had better health care th

than. four more on that. let's go to msnbc host and political correspondent steve kornacki standing at the big board. it's only a flesh wound getting it through the house, according to the republicans. talk about how difficult this will be getting this through the senate? >> the process of actuall getting this into law, the republicans still have a long way to go. let's take an overview of the process. here's good news if you're a republican. you did get it through the house. people wrote you off as dead at one point. you did get it through the house, and obviously, it moves onto the senate. what mike vacarro said, if they

get it through the house. let's say they have to moderate it. . let's say it's more money on the high-ff risk bill. you've got two different versions of the house. you have the house version and the senate version. they have something called the conference committee. they'll try to merge the bills. you have to get through the conference committee and then you have a merged bill. let's say the merged bill has more of the senate version than the house version. now you have a new problem, because guess what you have to do? you have to pass the house all over again. the merged bill, which is different than the bill that just passed the house yesterday, has to go through the house again. if it's a more moderate version of what passed the house yesterday, you have a problem in the republicans. remember the trouble they had getting it through the first time? you have to pass a newbill through the house again, and

guess what, you're still not done. you have to go through the senate again. that mged bill would have to pass the senate. only when you get it through there, you have to put it on the president's desk. if you're a republican, yep, you can check this box off. you got it through the house yesterday, you've got five boxes with no check marks in them and all sorts of question marks here before you can say you've actually repealed and replaced obamacare. >> steve, i keep thinking about schoolhouse rock and i'm just a bill sitting on a desk and all the different hurdles you have to go through. does this mean there needs to be bipartisan support for this bill? is there a way to get it through with just republicans? >> sure, the. they have the votes. how much are they willing to swallow, basically? what you just saw in the house was the house freedom caucus sort of made the big change to the bill, and then you saw the moderates. just enough moderates said, you know what, it's just as

important that we get something passed and then we get our way on everything, and they went along. the senate is probably going to be different because the odds are you'll have to cut a more moderate deal to get it through the senate. then the question becomes, can they get something passed versus what they want passed. that might be the ultimate question on this one. >> and republicans counted this out a few days ago. they said this was never going to happen and they did pass it. you just can't predict what's going on inongress or even the white house these days. steve kornki, tnk you very much. we'll see you back here at 4:00 p.m. let's talk to elise jordan, a senator adviser to rand paul's presidential campaign. and steve bass, a talk show host. he was explaining why the

celebration at the rose gorden, she went to the white house and she said, we did that, we've been talking about some of this. >> did you go to the white house rally after the vote? >> i did not. >> why? >> it's kind of like george w. bush going on top of the aircraft carrier and saying, mission accomplished. you have to be careful about these things. people get ahead of their skis and it can come back to bite them. >> sanford did vote yes for this bill but he still did not go to celebrate. the mission accomplished in the moment is certainly not a good one in republican history. what are the risks, and is anyone even really concerned about the risks of celebrating before they even pass this th g thing, through the senate before they sign it into law. >> senator sanders is a policymaker. he cares about the details of what's in a bill and he doesn't

treat this as some casual, theatrical bill in the white house. nobody knows what is in the bill. we do not have basic facts. we do not have a cbo score. many it's really a disaster of a policy-making process, and we'll see how much the senate can clean it up. >> steve, a lot of people were bringing up your state of iowa yesterday when they were talking about this bill, talking about how coverage is being lost in iowa when it comes to obamacare and saying this will reinstate it. members will be going on recess. . leave it to republicans to snatch this.

neither party likes this. you'll hear that about a home state of iowa. 94 out of 95 counties obamacare is in. i think they were saying, we're sick and tired of being in the crosshairs here, we're sick and tired of mitch mcconnell in his spider hole. i think you'll see the senate take months and months to consider this. you only have 52 republicans and you've got. i think that's how ty took their photo op. that's why they took their victory lap yesterday, because i think the senate is very uncertain.theatrics.

is that what you think? >> no, it's not theatricks. they said all those repeal votes were show votes by republicans. it turned out they were exactly correct. >> doug, let's talk about the democrats and how they could use this to their advantage. one democrat running for governor in virginia is just now doing just that. >> republicans are trying to do this to obamacare. in congress i voted for obamacare because it was wrong that 4 million virginians weren't covered. now the administration holds all the power. >> you have to give it to the candidate to get it all right in one take there. i don't know how they were going to rewind and put that ambulance back together if we saw it wrong. are they going to get it all

together in 2018? >> i think so. you're already seeing the congressional campaign. they're out with ads in 26 districts. that scene yesterday at the white house, it seems t me it was doing a touchdown dance whe you're 70 yards from the end zone. but those are valuable images that democrats are going to use, especially because it makes, i think, republicans -- they seem symbolic of washington. you know, as elise mentioned, without doing this vote with the cbo score. and then all the impacts this bill that was passed yesterday would have on 24 million americans who will lose their care, raising premiums on seniors. a lot of things i don't think republicans really thought through well. >> elise, are they going to continue to tout this as a

victory. we have so many on camera saying they didn't read the bill. >> i think it's a huge mess. they're going to read this as obamacare was repealed when it really isn't. they'll say, it's not our problem anymore in the house. we pushed this bill unless. one thing i watched is red state democrats. the markets are just dry enough in their home states. >> remember, steve kornacki reminded us, if it's going to go to the senate it's got to the back to the house. still a long way to go before this bill becomes law, if it does become law. so where sdoes the house's newly passed health plan go with benefits for preexisting

conditions? today we're asking this microsoft pulse question. will the health care vote hurt republicans in the midterm elections? so far here is what you're saying. 96% of you say yes, it will hurt republicans. the post is still open, though. you can keep voting at pulse.msnbc.com. ready or not, here i come.ek.) ♪ anyone can dream. making it a reality is the hard part. northrop grumman command and control systems always let you see the complete picture. and we're looking for a few dreamers to join us. i am benedict arnold, the infamous traitor.

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i think most governors are going to hold on pretty strongly to the notion that we don't want to roll back the number of people thahave been covered, and really by almost any calculus, that's what the house >> that was colorado governor john hickenlooper talking about a key criticism of the gop health care plan, the loss of health care coverage to millions of americans. in connecticut, obama reduced the uninsured rate to 3.8%. 100,000 people obtained insurance through the exchange. 70,000 of those got help to reduce premiums, and 274,000 obtained health insurance through medicaid expansion. under the previous gop proposal, more than 34,000 connecticut residents, a third of those insured by obamacare will lose their health care, according to a state assessment. joining me now from washington, d.c. is democrats' governor,

governor john maloy. now you're only down to two insurers in the individual market. how do democrats plan on fixing that? >> katy, you know, this is a complicated issue, and quite frankly, when you talk to republicans about it, they're simply not explaining the reality of insurance. what an insurance company can make on this insurance is, in fact, controlled, and this is a very strenuous vetting process. so whether you have one carrier or ten carriers, the reality is what's driving cost is what does it cost to provide the services? not what the insurance companies are charging, it's what hospitals e chargin and doctors are charging and therapist rz charging, and what does it cost to treat someone for opioid addiction, for instance, which goes out the window. immediately in 2019 -- one of the stories about republicans and obamacare is they said you

can't trust the federal government. that 90% reimbursement will go away. you know what they just did yesterday? they cut the 90% reimbursement after 2019 to a 50% reimbursement. in a very short order, this will cost connecticut about a billion dollars or more a year, and that's if we were going to maintain coverage, and that's conservative. what they're really doing is what they're betting on is that states will have to withdraw from this program because they did what they said democrats would do, they cut the subsidy. and the subsidy is what's keeping people alive. it's getting people treatment. it's getting people off of heroin in my state as we speak. what this is is a death sentence for hundreds of thousands of americans who are part of that 24 million people who will lose coverage. when i hear republicans on this show utter what really are lies -- they call them talking points -- they talk about iowa.

the situation in iowa is caused by this president when he issued an order to the irs and said, you will not enforce a mandate. how does any insurance company understand what their potential costs will be if there's no mandate to make sure that people are participating in the program? he killed it. he owns it. >> that was gone before donald trump took office, to be fair. >> the disruption that is playing out in the marketplace state after state after state right now has more to do with the elimination of the mandate than anything else, and now, obviously, there is starting to be some strength and stability after republicans lost the first vote, that's why they rushed to their second vote. they wanted to be able to blame this on somebody else. they voted yesterday to take insurance away from 24 million people. they voted yes today to shift the expense of these programs to the states. they voted yesterday to end continuing coverage for people who have things like diabetes or cancer, breast cancer or any other form of cancer. that's what they voted for.

then what did they do? they rolled out a bunch of bud lights so they could have a beer before they went to the white house to pound their chests. this is disgusting. >> we haven't confirmed that yet, so i can't back you up on that. there were a lot of reporters saying that, but we didn't confirm that's actually what happened. but the bill that passed the house yesterday is basically going to allow states to choose to take a waiver on whether or not to cover those with preexisting conditions or put them in high-risk pools. what do you believe your republican counterpart is going to do? you are one of 16 democratic governors, the rest are republicans. what do you believe they're going to do? >> katy, i love you, but i think you're missing the big thing. after 2019, a 90% reimbursement will shrink to a 50% reimbursement which means states will be forced to end obamacare as we know it because they won't be able to afford to pay for it, and the republicans' promise about what the democrats would

do in the congress is now being proven by the republicans. with respect to continuing coverage, how does -- quite frankly, i've said this before, i'll say it again. to those states that didn't expand medicare, the members of the legislature, there is a special place in the afterlife for you. effectively over the last few years, you have seen thousands of people die in your states whose lives could have been saved if, in fact, you had expanded medicaid. now what we're seeing is the republicans in the house want to force states out of medicaid by making it unaffordable, saving them even more money and this in a program that even with that 50% -- cutback to 50% is underfunded by everyone's markup of this bill. >> connecticut governor dan malloy, i appreciate your

passion on this, and good luck out there. >> thank you. last month's job report is out and signalling big gains for the work force. but can trump take the credit? we'll be right back. fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. for some, lyrica can siificantly 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.

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many storms are still ravaging the area. towns in missouri are still completely under water due to levy breaches. at least two people have died. many are facing foreclosure due to unpaid water bills. the water crisis is now entering its fourth year. and yet many residents are still without access to safe tap water, but they are still being forced to pay for it. over 8,000 residents have until may 19 to pay or they're going to lose their homes. the famous ride-sharing app, uber, is facing a criminal investigation. the justice department is now looking into whether or not the company used secret software to allow the service to operate in regions where it was banned. uber has declined to comment. another airline company making headlines. this time it's delta. the cpa made a public apology after a family claims it was kicked off a flight from mauio los angeles. the couple said it happened after they refused to give up their teenage son's seat skpand

instead tried to use it for their two-year-old son. >> it's a federal offense. you'll be jailed and your kids will be put in foster care. >> reporter: delta said they were, quote, sorry for the unfortunate experience and reached out to compensate the family. now some good news for the trump family in a jobs report. jobs is back up in more than a decade and job gains is on the rise. 211,000 jobs were added in april compared to the paltry amount in march. the unemployment rate is now at 4.4%. ali velshi is here to talk about this with us. >> it's the month of may, and every time i do this, people get on twitter and say you gave trump credit for this, obama for this. let me just say this. 211,000 net new jobs add nd april of 2017. the unemployment rate you just

mentioned, 4.4%, the lowest in a decade. i tend to say ignore this. i don't want anybody talking about the unemployment rate. the denominator here is a changing number. look at this, jobs added, 211,000. that's actually pretty good. 250 is fantastic. anything above 150 is good. we've averaged 185,000 thi year. you mentioned the paltry number in the previous month, but here's the average. 185,00 this, ironically, is exactly the same as the full average in all the months of 2016. we're kind of creating jobs roughly at the same pace we were in 2016. leisure and hospitality jobs, 55,000 of those were created which is amazing because we're not getting as many tourists, but americans may be feeling good because they're going out to restaurants. this is where our job is being created. health care jobs, 37,000. we've seen health care jobs created almost every month for the last ten years.

this is a very, very popular sector. it doesn't necessarily mean doctors and nurses, it could mean health care who earn less money per year. retail and construction, little change. 62.9% is the percentage of people who could be working. it's been in the 60s for a long time. it's been edging down for a few years. that's a bit of a problem. some people are just not going to work, they're not looking for work. $26.19 is the average hourly earning in the united states. that's been going up for over a year. it's up 2.5%. are you making 2.5% more than you did last year? if you are making it, you're okay. that is a synopsis of the jobs picture for april 2017.

katy tur, i will see you in a month. >> ali velshi, the master with the numbers. you can see the dow is up about 19 points right now. coming up next, we look at the three m's as the health care bill heads to the senate. whatre they, you ask. we'll explain right after the break. at red lobster's seafood trios you don't have to choose just one thing. choose your trio with any 3 of 9 selections for $15.99. like new creamy lobster pasta toasted parmesan shrimp

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as the health care fight turns to the senate, nbc highlights the three challenges the gop faces, calling them the three ms. first off, margin. unlike what the republicans enjoy, the senate can only have two deflections on the bill. two senators are up for reelection, but two of them, arizona senator jeff flake and nevada senator dean heller, could face two tough races. so that will be critical. and third is mood. the house passed the bill in a whirlwind pace. don't expect that in the senate. they're not happy with the hou bill and they plan to take their

time. >> you like the house bill? >> i think it's a bone of contention. >> and now we'll go to work on the senate bill. >> aiit's a work in progress. more work to do. >> the senate will write their own bill. >> is there a chance for an up or down vote in the senate? >> no. >> i'm joined now by jonathan swann, national political reporter for axios, and jonathan kohns for the huffing ton post. if you don't mind, guys, i'm going to call you by your last name. cohn, i'll start with you. is the senate going to take the same risk that the republicans did? >> no, they're not going to take this bill and try to ram it on through. incompete i think they collectively know this bill was bad policy. it was voted on without a congressional budget score. so you can't even tell precisely

what effects it would have. and obviously the senate already knew the debate from vet beginning, you have members of the senate saying, i don't like this provision, i don't like what it does to preexisting conditions, i'm worried about the medicaid expansion. they are very clearly going to start with their own bill and write what they think an actual repeal and replace bill should look like. >> like the house, there are competing factions even within the republican party in the senate so, swann, we mentied flake and heer. who are you keeping an eye out for? >> i think susan collins, people are already factoring her in as probably a lost vote. she would not support the defunding of planned parenthood and is even looking at other things as well. rand paul is always a wild card, so he's someone that leadership is perpetually concerned about, and ted cruz, mike lee, they're going to be very, very concerned about states' rights, so mitch mcconnell would need to craft

something that gives them the flexibility they need but doesn't alienate all these other senators. and particularly the senators from the states that took medicaid expansion, folks like tom cotton, they're very, very nervous about the medicaid aspect of this. >> i'm looking at my phone because we've just gotten news that a group of 13 senators have been meeting to craft a piece of health care legislation of their own just as jonathan cohn was just mentioning, potentially starting from scratch, and that does include members of leadership, including mitch mcconnell. this is the sort of thing that i would imagine is eventually going to need bipartisan support if it's going to become more moderate. after all, this has to go back to the house, and if it's not really conservative, how are they going to get the house freedom caucus to sign off on it again. cohn? >> it's a more difficult path in this senate, because as you said at the top, the margin is smaller. and i actually think the

moderate wing of the senate republicans is gng to fight a little harder than the house moderates ended up fighting. so i think it will be a tougher fight. you know, that said, i think they're subject to the same pressures as the house. i think they feel like they want to show that they've got -- they got something done. i think bipartisanship, if it's got a shot, it will happen in the senate, but i wouldn't be overrealistic about it. i think at the end of the day, it will be hard to get something passed. they don't want to go as quickly as the house, but they are doing what the house did. they're meeting in secret and they're not going to have big committee meetings like they did in 2010. the goal is to craft it, kind of in private, and then spring it on the senate. one thing to watch, are they going to have an open, deliberate debate and let people hear the ideas, or are they going to have a slower, similar

version to what the house did? >> swann and cohn. i think you should start a personal injury firm, what do you think? it has a good ring to it. >> it would be a terrible late night show. >> appreciate your time, jonathans. >> thanks. >> bye, guys. let's get an update on the microsoft pulse question. we've been asking, would the health care vote hurt republicans in the midterm elections? 94% of you, a pretty wide margin, said, yes, they believe it would hurt republicans. therll time to vote, though. go to msnbc.pulse.com. we're live as marie le pen, the other candidate, works to close the gap. the independence. and since we planned for it, that student debt is the one experience, i'm glad she'll miss

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in france it is the last day of campaigning in front of the presidential election. protesters greeted marine le pen with boos after she visited the cathedral in northern france. on the other side of that cathedral, supporters clashed with those of the centrist candidate, emmanuel macron. the newbie was out and about this morning running into supporters in the south of france. joining me now from marfrance, s

it look like he will lock it up? >> reporter: the polls were the big winner from that first round two weeks ago. you remember after brexit and the u.s. election. it fell out of favor. they called it so accurately that many are saying they might hit the same luck again on sunday when these two go vote again. one thing that happened the last day or two has been obama. he actually weigh in the and supported macron who is seen as the centrist in this campaign. it is under sure whether that will tip the race. while oklahoma obama is very, very popular in france, he has been cast as a symbol by the left. obama isn't the only thing as you mention that had looks very american about this race. it has been almost uncanny, the boisterousness and the

bitterness of the u.s. race that you know very, very well. >> there's been allegations of fake news, insults thrown back and forth, a debate a couple nights ago where they were really sparring. the french media called it unprecedented in its bitterness. le p who has been called the donald trump of france, she essentially mocks macron. i think you'll find a lot to reminisce about. >> this will have far-reaching implications in an election. matt bradley, lucky guy in marseille, france today. big news about the health care bill is president trump's upcoming overseas trip. it is his first one since taking office. he will travel on israel, saudi

arabia and the vatican as part of a nine-day trip which will wend a meeting this brusselses and then world leaders at the g-7 summit in sicily. the white house says the visits to the middle east and the vatican an effort to unite religions. er each meeting checks off some major political boxes and brings to mind president trump's very open feud with pope francis during presidential campaign. you'll remember the pope without mentioning president trump by name said if the u.s./mexico plans, a person who builds walls and not about building bridges is not a christian. this happened while donald trump was in south carolina last year and he fired back on his facebook page and then in person saying, for a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful.

joining me now, author of the book one nation after trump, e.j., you're a busy guy. so happy to have you. donald trump going to the vatican. meeting with the pope. what are your takeaways? >> i would love to be an invisible angel in that room when they meet. here you have pope francis who, he hasn't given up on his own positions. he tweeted, it's better not to build walls but bridges. and also to live in peace with everyone. i don't know which half of that would be harder for donald trump. not to build a wall or to live in peace we have one. also, the pope is very firmly committed on the urgency to do something about climate change. he has been a very open advocate of western countries being open to immigrants and refugees. obviously, this is all quite the opposite of what president trump

is for. i think this is a tricky meeting for both of them. trump for the obvious reasons, that he is crosswise with pope francis on so many issues, but also for the pope. at these diplomatic meetings, popes don't like the pick fights with heads of state from elsewhere. and yesterday we know how far apart they are in their view of the world so. the pope, it would seem, would have some obligation to point out his differences with trump. so i think it will be one of the most fascinating parts of this trip. >> and certainly notable that he is going to fight religious intolerance and extremism. after all, he spaenlt good portion of that campaign calling for a muslim ban. do we expect the pope to, i know you said he won't condemn other leaders. are we going to hear him push back publicly against some of the more divisive policies we

saw donald trump at least throw out during campaign, if not during the presidency? >> well, i think that's the question. indeed on the whole war on islam, pope francis has been much more someone who insist that had there should be dialogue among the world religions. he is not part of some hard push back against islam that goes back to earlier centuries. sometimes the vatican does not have the pope say anything after the meeting. but the secretary of state's office there, or someone in the vatican sends out a signal that says the pope told president trump where he disagreed with him. i think that is going to be the test. not necessarily whether the pope himself says it, although he might. but whether the vatican says something afterward about their areas of disagreement. >> e.j. deion the of "washington post." appreciate your time thank you.

>> always good to be with you. >> one more thing before we go or one more thing before i go, if you're on this side of the camera, don't try to speak the lyrics of a song. this from our friends at the daily show. >> democrats singing "be good na, na, na goodbye -- >> kiss him goodbye. >> hey, hey, hey goodbye. >> na, na -- >> na, na, na -- >> hey, hey, goodbye. >> i can't even do it. i love mike viqueira at the end of that clip. so no more speaking lyrics. just don't do it ever. thanks for watching. i'll be back here at 5:00 p.m. eastern. for now, the king of the poetry

slam, alier velshi who does a rousing version of oops, i did it again. >> mike viqueira will be with us in a few minutes. 20 minutes ago i said i'll see new month. >> and now you're back. >> have a fantastic afternoon. here are the top three stories we're working on. republicans are still celebrating their health care bill that narrowly passed the house on thursday west just heard from the white house. earlier today president trump called it a big win. when everything comes together it is going to be truly great health care. the report getso the president's desk. some are talking about the senate writing a whole new bill. i'll break it down for new moment. plus we saw it yesterday after the vote. democratic members of congress taunting their republican members of congress the way katy tur just described, singing and waving goodbye. the cook report is already changing predictions for