public safety officers that were killed in the line of duty. the second is the law enforcement heroes act which is co-sponsored by senator john cornyn and elaine kobichar which also adds veterans to the forces by prioritizing the department of justice funding to law enforcement agencies that is used to hire veterans. it's critical that we support our veterans and the loved ones of those who have paid the ultimate price while protecting our communities. the president is glad to be signing these important bills today, and that will happen shortly. also in washington today, education secretary betsy devos visited the eagle public charter school this morning to show support for inclusive schools. rex tillerson met this morning with the president of brazil and is departing where he will join

secretary mattis to join the australia ministerial confrontations. secretary mattis will attend the sha shangri la dialogue in singapore where he will meet with counterparts to discuss security issues. with that i'll be glad tieo taka few questions. kevin. >> thanks, sean. i want to ask about the push to the travel ban to the supreme court. is it fair to say one of the reasons the president wants to keep this going is obviously we have a full court impanelled, and if you look back yesterday, it appeared his base was very pleased with what he decided to do. i would also like to ask about some follow-up on the xl pipeline. can you give us some follow up in terms of jobs and development? >> i think what we said with respect to the executive order in question has been fairly consistent since its

implementation and the first court action. last night we asked the supreme court to hear this important case and are confident that the president's executive orders are well within the authority to keep the country safe and protect us from terrorism. the president is not obligated to sponsor countries of terrorism, and until he determines they are properly vetted and doesn't pose a threat, it's consistent with what we talked about. i don't have an update on -- are you talking about in terms of production for keystone? i don't have that at this time. zeke? >> you asked earlier this week about the president's personal views on climate change and you said you hadn't had a chance to have that conversation with him. it's now been 72 hours. what does the president believe as far as climate change? does he believet's ahoax. >> i have not had the opportunity to have tha discussion. >> don't we deserve to know what the president thinks about that

issue? >> what the president is is focused on is making sure we have clean water, clean air and making sure we ever the best deal for american workers. mike? >> trey. >> trey, sorry. >> quick question for you related to the paris climate agreement. why does the president feel it's important to continue to reduce carbon emissions and export clean energy technology? >> i think he understands the importance of clean air, clean water, as i just mentioned and a healthy environment, but also doing so in a way that provides the american workers and our economy a way to grow. but obviously as administrator pruitt pointed out, we have a lot of technology that we can export to other countries and help them. >> just a quick question as it relates to climate change. a very simple definition of climate change is a change in the earth's weather patterns. the epa administrator said today that he does feel there is some

value to the studies that say the earth is warming somewhat. does the president share the epa administrator's thoughts on this topic, and why is the administration sort of backed away from using the words climate change? >> as i mentioned, i have not had the opportunity to specifically talk to the president about that. aman. >> yesterday the president painted a pretty dire picture that if the united states stayed in the accord, it would be bad for the country. t there are lobbies for the united states to stay in the paris accord. why is it a bad move when others say it is important to stay in? is the president wrong? >> there were other sectors that were very concerned about the implementation of it, and frankly, i think there were some

companies and some organizations that are among those that you mentioned they'at while they ma wanted to stay in expressed concern about target levels. but the president is wanting to get the best deal for the american people. this is who they elected last year. one of the things we have to remember is the president was very clear on the campaign trail about his position on this, but he was also clear he's going to negotiate the best deal for the american people. if you look at all of the deals that we have, whether they're trade deals or paris, the president has made it very clear that he's committed to getting the best deal for america, america's workers, america's manufacturers. >> is the president going to replace elan musgrave? >> i don't have any idea. >> the president thinks pulling out of the accord will lift china as a global leader. do you agree with that? >> i think part of the reason the president said it was a bad deal yesterday is because countries, including china, were not making substantial progress

in reducing their carbon footprint. they weren't doing enough and america was carrying the load. so i think by negotiating a better deal, hopefully we can get a better result for our country and the world. john? >> thank you, sean. yesterday president macron of france delivered a sharply worded speech in english attacking the president on the climate change decision, saying it is bad for all of our children, and he specifically called on scientists to come and move to france. what's the president's response to president macron? >> i think that the president has made it clear since day one that his job is to protect the interest of this country and our citizens. as he said yesterday, he was elected to represent pittsburgh, not paris. hunter? >> thank you, sean. the "washington post" has reported that the administration is considering returning these properties in maryland and new

york to russia. what is the reason for that, and what would the white house have to see before giving back those properties? >> the state department issued comments on that earlier saying, quote, the u.s. and russia have reached no agreements. they're projecting negotiations further along than they are. so the state department has a lead on that and they've been very clear on where we stand on that. charlie? >> has the president been following the kathy griffin meltdown and does the family want a personal apology from kathy griffin on the beheading view? >> the president and his family have all made it very clear their thoughts on that. steve? >> is the white house going to invoke executive privilege to comey testifying before the panel next week? >> that committee hearing was just noticed, and i think obviously it's got to be reviewed. >> so that's not a no.

>> i was just saying literally my understanding is the date for that hearing was just set. i have not spoken to counsel yet. i don't know what that -- how they're goingo respond. jen? >> two questions, sean. one on the tax bill and one on the debt ceiling. in the rose garden yesterday, the president said something about our tax bill is moving along in congress very well. we've heard something about a bill being drafted in house ways and means. is that what he was talking about, or what tax bill was he referring to? >> i think, as you know, secretary mnuchin and director cohn were here a couple weeks ago laying out what they expect to see in legislation. they've had several discussions both in house and in the senate, bipartisan industry groups, and i think the reception the president's initiative has received in both chambers is moving along very well with leadership and rank and file members. >> the debt ceiling. we've been given mixed messages from administration officials whether you would like to see a

clean debt bill. can you tell us what the president's feelings so that? >> i think both secretary mnuchin and the director have weighed in on this. we're going to work with congress on this one. >> two questions. number one, when we heard the administrator talk about this decision on the paris climate accord, he said it's not a signal that the u.s. wants to disengage on climate policy. what are the steps the administration is taking to engage in the climate? secondly, as you know, climate has been a key part of communication between the u.s. and china. will you try to replace that very important intersection of interest with something else? will you continue to do some technological innovation with the chinese? do you have any thoughts on that? >> this was a decision just made yesterday afternoon, and i think the president is going to engage both with domestic shareholders.

he looks forward to talking to leaders in both parties about a way forward and reasonable ways in which we can engage in that. and then he'll obviously continue to talk to world leaders. that's a process that has to evolve. >> and the relationship of china as a point of cooperation. have you given any thoughts of how you'll manage? you mentioned tensions with china with areasf cooperation, and this was previously an area of cooperation. there are obviously other areas the white house is working on with china, but do you envision some other areas of cooperation with the chinese government? >> the relationship president trump has established with president xi is quite remarkable. it's a model in which they'll continue to build their relationship and talk about issues, whether it's this or north korea or other areas, economic areas that they're going to work together on. i think the great thing about this issue is that the relationship that the president has and continues to build with

president xi is one that will allow them to move forward. >> thank you, sean. in a recent statement by senator mccain, he said that vladimir putin is a greater threat to the united states security to the u.s. than isis. has the president had any conversation with you about that comment? >> no, he hasn't. >> secretary mnuchin has said he launched the debt ceiling rate before the august recess, that we're going to run out of money by that. this morning gary cohn said the administration was willing to do whatever with congress to get it passed before august, and the fema caucus has said they want spending cuts. what does this look like? it doesn't sound like the treasury secretary is going to get a clean bill. what will it take as far as spending cuts to get the debt ceiling? >> i think that's the nature of what jen was asking, and that's a conversation our team is going to have with congressional leaders and others about what it's going to take?

there's bipartisan recognition that we need to get that done, so secretary mnuchin, director cohn, director mulvaney and other members of the team will continue to meetith congressional leaders to figure out what it takes to get it done. april? >> sean, can you tell me how is the president dealing with the fact that there are several mayors, many mayors from a bipartisan group, the u.s. conference of mayors, who are against the president's withdrawal from the paris agreement. how does this president move forward with what he's saying about making coal great again and taking the bulk away from the economics of clean energy and then walking out of paris when you have mayors who are saying we're going to continue with the paris agreement? >> well, if a mayor or a governor wants to enact a policy on a range of issues, they're accountable to their own voters and that's what they should do. we believe in states' rights, so if a locality, municipality or a

state wants to enact a policy that their voters or their citizens believe in, that's what they should do. but i will say with respect to elected officials, there was, i think, a large contingent of officials at every level of government that were very pleased with the president's decision yesterday and applauded him for that. >> we have democratic and republican mayors who are accepting of that. >> there are numbers of reports that has been found at the new museum, the history and culture museum, and also there was very negative words, one of the worst words you can say, spray painted on lebron james' home. what is the president saying about this specifically as people are saying over the last 130-plus days, people are feeling that the has been a divide that has perpetuate fd fm

this white house. >> i would disagree with the premise of that. we need to denounce hate in any form, in any act. this president made it clear from election night to inauguration that he wants to unite this country and move it forward. kaitlyn? >> did the president speak with others about leaving the paris accord? >> i'm not aware of conversations he had. >> can you talk about the date with the meeting with the banker? >> i cannot, and i mentioned the other day that we're focused on the president's agenda. all questions on these matters will be referred to outside counsel. >> how can you not answer questions when the president himself tweets about it? >> we're focused on his agenda, and going forward, all questions on this matter will be forwarded to counsel. jill? >> i don't know where you guys

are in actually finding spokespeople. that would be helpful. also do you guys know any more about the search for an fbi director? >> a couple days ago, the president has met with some candidates. when we have an update on that, we'll let you know. >> you said you haven't talked to the president yet about whether he believes climate change is a hoax? would it be possible for you to have that conversation with him and report back to us at the next briefing? >> if i can, i will. >> you can't say where the president stands on climate change. does that mean that members of this administration makes the decision to withdw fromhe paris accord without knowing where the president stands, not knowing what he thinks about climate change? >> all i know is individuals gave him a briefing on the situation that stands and he made a decision on the merits of the agreement. >> we know the president heard lots of points of view on this on both sides of the issue, and

there was an impression, maybe a false impression, that it was a difficult decision and that he was wavering. in the end, though, yesterday he was emphatic about getting out of the agreement. in the end, was this an easy decision or was it a close decision? >> i honestly don't know. the president is the ultimate decider and once he gets the information that's required, he lets us know he has a decision and he announces it. >> one other thing. there is a lot of talk about renegotiation. why renegotiate? the united states has the authority to simply reduce the targets. why not just do that? >> because the president believes it's in our country's best interest to renegotiate the deal. >> the president signed a waiver yesterday that the ladies seats are moving in jerusalem. how can they know this is a promise he will keep? >> i think when the president signed the waiver under the

jerusalem act and delayedovin into jerusalem, nobody should call this a retreat from the israeli relationship. the president made this decision to maximize the chance of successfulful negotiating a deal between israel and the palestinians fulfilling a solemn obligation to defend america's national security interest. but as he repeatedly stated his intention to move the embassy, the question is not if that move happens, but when. >> is there a time frame when they'll do this? >> his ultimate goal is to get peace. it's not an if, it's a when. francesca. >> thank you, sean. following up on kaitlyn's question, and then i have a second thing after that. is it still the administration's position, though, that jared kushner was in the meeting with the russian people representing the president? >> as i said to kaitlyn, we're focused on the president's agenda, and going forward, all

questions on these matters will be forwarded to outside counsel. >> does the president still have confidence in jared kushner? >> absolutely. >> thank you, sean. one of the waivers contains discussions with the news media that's retroactive. was that aimed at -- did the white house have steve bannon's communications with breitbart news? was that applied retroactively to address those communications and any response to director schaub's claim if you need a retroactive waiver, you have divided the rule. >> there are two pieces that are important. this didn't have to do with lawsuit or regulations, it had to do with the president's pledge. so the only -- he is the ultimate decider on that. this isn't with respect to a law or regulation. what we discovered was that several individuals on staff had previously worked for media

organizations, and in order to continue having those discussions and advancing the president's agenda and priorities, it was important to make sure that all individuals had the opportunity to be able to speak to the media about what the president was doing to make the country stronger. for what it's worth, today happens to be a national leave work early day. i hope you all get a chance to participate participate. if you didn't participate in national donut day, maybe you get to go home. i hope you have a good day. >> sean spicer trying to get on the sweet side of reporters right there talking about national donut day. of course, the white house got a lot of questions just now talking about climate change and where exactly the president stands on climate change. does he believe it or does he not believe it? both sean spicer and scott pruitt, the epa chief, neither one of them saying whether he believes it or not, neither one of them wanting to answer that

question. so far no answer on that. they're also getting questions about russia and they didn't want to answer that, either. so while the white house would really like our word of the day to be paris,odaye are focusing on a name, and that is putin. here's why. >> translator: in those reports there is no specific evidence, no facts, just assumptions, allegations and conclusions based on delegations, nothing more. >> one day after suggesting russian hackers were patriotic, president vladimir putin tells nbc's megyn kelly his country played no role in interfering with our election. he even joked that children could have carried out the hack. this as new reporting uncovers how trump administration officials tried to ease sanctions against russia almost immediately after taking office. we have got a lot to unpack today as we debrief with the best team of kornts acorrespond analysts we have out there. first, it was a surreal scene as

vladimir putin sat down with nbc's megyn kelly in a forum in st. petersburg. take a listen to that sound as the president insisted there was no proof his country was engaged in russian hacking. >> this type of disinformation campaign is intentionally difficult to find hard-core proof of. it's other factors. and what the experts say is that this couldn't have been faked, that it's not one factor, that it's a hundred factors that point to russia. they say it's the forensics, it's the digital fingerprints, it's the ip address, it's the encryption keys, the specific pieces of code, that all of them, all of them point to russia and none of them points to anyone other than russia. >> tralator: what fingerprints or hoof prints? what are you talking about?

they can be invented, you know. there are many specialists that can invent a fake setup. a kid of yours can send it, your girl that is three years old can perpetrate such an attack. >> nbc's kristen welker is at the white house, yahoo's chief investigative correspondent michael iskoff is also with us, ambassador wendy sherman and author of "how to catch a russian spy" and msnbc contribute toor and here with mr on once, ed sherman. >> for the second day in a row, sean spicer saying he refers all questions about russia to the president's outside counsel. a couple striking things that came out of that. one, you heard one of my colleagues press him on the fact that it's been really tough to

get answers from that outside counsel. and you sort of saw spicer say that he would, in fact, circle back on that point, try to make sure the person is more respsive. but number two, theact tt president trump continues to tweet about russia, so sort stepping on the me say ss amesss own press shop here. you heard him talking about that banker back in september. he wouldn't say much about it but we know the president still has confidence in jared kushner. he's become a flash point because of these meetings. a lot coming out of this briefing, even though sean spicer wouldn't answer questions about it. >> we tried to get answers from that banker over in st.

petersburg today. he did not get answers about why exactly they held that meeting. originally the banker said it was for business purposes, but the administration has repeatedly said it was just trying to open some diplomatic actions. back to putin, he's saying a kid could have engineered the hack on the election. >> it's just the perfect troll-like behavior. vladimir putin is certainly taking pleasure in the chaos it's created. katy, what i learned from working in this sphere for four years with the fbi and the russian intelligence, the number one priority of any intelligence agency is not attribution. that is to say, your goal besides kind of completingour mission, is to make sure if it's compromised that there are no ways to trace it back to that host country. i think vladimir putin is pretty confident that when it comes to attribution, when it comes to a traditional, sort of legal standard of proof, we're not going to find that when it comes to this intelligence operation. i think he's really kind of

poking his finger at us about that and taking great pleasure at our expense. >> he's obviously not going to admit to this, but is the biggest asset right now the president's lukewarm condemnation -- if you can even call it that -- toward russia for the hacking. >> right, and it's not just a lukewarm condensation. if you look at the pattern of deception to the pattern of being consistently not even lukewarm, but sometimes praising vladimir putin, you have to wonder what's going on. if you look at this from another perspective. there certainly seems to be indications and warnings that there is something here. there is not just smoke, there is fire. >> for more on that pattern let's go to michael ismakoff. your story was aimed toward

leading russian sanctions. you said, unknown to the public at the time, top trump administration officials, almost as soon as they took office, tasked state department staffers with developing proposals for the lifting of economic sanctions, the return of diplomatic compounds and other steps to relieve tensions with moscow. michael, why so many steps to get this done? >> that is the question at hand here, and if you put it in the context of what we're continuing to learn about these meetings that took place during the transition involving jared kushner and michael flynn, and just if we can focus on the kushner meeting with the russian banker, this is -- he's the head of a bank that has been sanctioned as part of the sanctions. so -- and plus, we have these discrepancies in what the purpose of the meeting was. the white house originally said

he was meeting -- kushner was meeting with the banker as part of his transition duties to reach out to foreign diplomats and representatives. the bank, as quoted in a very important "washington post" story today, said it was business purposes, that they were meeting with kushner as the head of his real estate company, his family real estate company. well, it would be impossible for kushner to do -- kushner's company to do business with this bank unless sanctions are lifted, because it's a sanctioned bank. so it does -- it is a pretty critical question, you heard sean spicer not answer questions about it, but one of the things it did once it took office is ease those sanctions. you've got a lot of questions

here they have yet to answer. >> guys, hang on with me. we just brought in keir simmons. as we mentioned, vladimir putin was involved in a panel discussion with my colleague megyn kelly. besides asking about russian hacking, kelly also asked putin if he talked with the trump team about easing sanctions. take a listen and we'll we'll talk to keir. >> this is a systeria. perhaps there is a pill to cure it. my answer is no, no agreements whatsoever. we never, ever get down to that, never had the time to solve the issues. >> also attending today's event was sergey gorkov, a long-time

aid to putin. our own keir simmons was able to try to get an answer from gorkov today, and gorkov was in the news because he met with trump's son-in-law jaredushner there's a lot of confusion about what that meeting actually entailed, what was said in that meeting, why they were there, where it happened. keir, did you get any answers? >> not very many, katy, honestly. the bank you're talking about that sergei gorkov is the chairman of, that bank is absolutely tied to the russian government. it was involved in the sochi winter olympics, it's been involved in sanctioning projects in ukraine, particularly at that point where there was the revolution taking place there prior, of course, to russian nexting crimea and moving forces into that territory.

so it is absolutely linked to president putin, and at the same time, these ongoing questions you've been discussing, why did the head of that bank meet with jared kushner back in december? so we found him here and we went to ask him exactly that question. take a listen. >> mr. gorkov. it's good to see you. you're the subject of intense scrutiny in america because of your meeting with donald trump's son-in-law, jared kushner. there is some confusion over what happened. were you talking about business or were you talking about politics? >> no comments, please. >> reporter: have you been contacted by the fbi, or would you be prepared to talk to them? mr. gorkov, it's just a question of understanding what happened in the meeting. >> please, please. >> reporter: was it a political

meeting or an economic meeting? could we ierviewou at a later date? would that be possible? >> please, no comments. >> reporter: if it was an innocent meeting, why don't you want to talk about it? mr. gorkov, if it was an innocent meeting with jared kushner, why don't you want to talk about it, sir? please don't push me out of the way. i just want to ask you about the meeting that you had with jared kushner. please explain. we really do want to hear what happened. if it was an innocent meeting, please just explain what happened in the meeting, mr. gorkov. >> so it all looked pretty murky, katy, but we still don't really have any answers to what happened in that meeting. >> a valiant effort to get those answers, though, keir. good job out there.

donald trump campaigned he wanted to be better friends with russia. we're getting all this news about what exactly they were talking about before the election. they were having meetings. now there's news potentially they may hand over those properties that the russians used diplomatically here in the u.s., maybe even easing sanctions. usually there is reciprocity here. what, if anything, would america be getting back if the trump administration igoing to be making all these concessions or even thinkin about it? >> it's not clear we'll get back anything at all as a country. i think michael's work at yahoo with ambassador freed and tom m melanowski, these are two public servants. really an astute foreign service officer and tom malinoski was the secretary for human rights. these are guys who care about our country and were quite disturbed by what they were being asked to do, and really

creating a situation that would be win-win for russia and lose-lose for us. what really hit me today listening to putin, i've had an opportunity to be with secretary kerry a kerry in sochi for four hours. i haven't had a lot of time with trump, but there was a lot of similarity, disinformation, asking for evidence that's hard to get, saying it must be someone else. putin talked about megyn kelly's three-year-old, donald trump talks about a 400-pound man sitting on a bed. so we really have two guys who are trying to objefiscate, puttg disinformation out, really not answering america's questions which are is american security at risk because of what the team was doing during transition and what they're doing now. climate change agreement is certainly a piece of that. >> what is the president's

motivation? have any idea? ambassador? >> oh, i'm sorry, what's the president's motivation? >>an you guess what his motivation is? >> i cannot guess at his motivation. i don't know whether jared kushner's actions were extreme naivete, someone way over his head in dealing with these issues, someone very successful in business but has no idea what diplomacy is about, or whether this was about his and donald trump's business interests, or whether this was some cocka mrks aracockamamie idea that if you could get with syria, we could rule together somehow. in my mind it doesn't make any sense which makes it very concerning and makes all of us wonder what's really at the bottom of this. i hope that robert mueller, who is really an extraordinary investigator and prosecutor, can figure out what's happening here, and i hope that the congressional committees will continue to work because we need to make sure that russia cannot

interfere in our government again. that's not robert mueller's task. it is the task of the united states congress, and those committees need to do work. there is a lot at stake here for americans and american workers to make sure they have a secure america. >> speaking of those committees, the ranking democrat on the house intelligence committee, jake, adam schiff came out and criticized president obama today and said president obama should have done more sooner to make the public aware of the russians being involved in hacking of our electionnuer one, and also making sure the russians knew it wouldn't be tolerated. he said the sanctions that were imposed by the obama administration in december were too little too late. this is coming from a democrat. >> it sounds like a republican. but what's going to happen is this is the story on capitol hill for the next couple months. every day a new shoe drops. the republicans are not talking about tax reform, not talking about infrastructure, not

talking about anything they want to do -- >> are they doing this behind the scenes and we're just not paying attention to it? >> they are. a lot of hearings are closed, a lot of briefings are closed. they'll go into the end of summer, into the fall next year without any legislative accomplishments. this investigation into russia has a lot to do with it. >> are they behind the scenes worried about this investigation into russia? are they worried about this administration and how no on administration and how no oonch lantly he is handling this, saying things like a three-year-old can do this. are they frustrated with him saying, absolutely no, this is not going to happen and we're going to make you pay economically for what you have done? >> yes. if the president does roll back sanctions or do anything that looks like he's taking a step toward moscow, republican senators and members of the house said, paul ryan said, john

mccain said, we will put those sanctions back on a they will be a lot worse. so this is a party that is all over the place when it comes to russia, and i could tell you, i've had conversations with people on the intelligence committee who are just completely in the dark about what the president is trying to do and what he feels towards moscow. >> jake sherman, thank you very much. michael isikoff, amazing reporting as always, my friend. ambassador wendy sherman, thanks, you guys. sunday you can watch megyn kelly's official sit-down with vladimir putin. do not miss it. next we'll look at what pulling out of the paris climate accord could cost the u.s. it is a big play at the president's base, but could it ignite a backlash like we've never seen before?

♪ the opioid my doctor prescribed for my chronic back pain backed me up-big time. before movantik, i tried to treat it myself. spent time, money. no go. but i didn't back down. i talked to my doctor. she said: one, movantik was specifically designed for opioid-induced constipation-oic- and can help you go more often. number two? with my savings card,

i can get movantik for about the same price as the other things i tried. don't take movantik if you have a bowel blockage or a history of them. movantik may cause serious side effects including symptoms of opioid withdrawal, severe stomach pain and/or diarrhea, and tears in the stomach or intestine. tell your doctor about any side effects and about medicines you take. movantik may interact with them causing side effects. don't back down from oic. talk to your doctor about movantik. remember mo-van-tik. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help.

parts a and b and want more coverage, guess what? you could apply for a medicare supplement insurance plan whenever you want. no enrollment window. no waiting to apply. that means now may be a great time to shop for an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. medicare doesn't cover everything. and like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, these help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. so don't wait. call now to request your free decision guide. it could help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that works for you. these types of plans have no networks, so you get to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. rates are competitive, and they're the only plans of their kind endorsed by aarp. remember - these plans let you apply all year round. so call today. because now's the perfect time to learn more.

go long. what's the best way to get v8 or a fancy juice store?s? ready, go! hi, juice universe? one large rutabaga, with eggplant... done! that's not fair. glad i had a v8. the original way to fuel your day. you asked earlier this week about the president's views on climate change and you said you hadn't had a chance to have that conversation with him. it's been 48 to 72 hours. what does the president actually believe about climate change? does he still believe it's a hoax? can you clarify that because apparently no one else in the white house can.

>> i have not had the opportunity to have that discussion. >> don't the american people deserve to know what the president believes? >> i think president putin pointed out that what the president is focused on is making sure we have clean air, clean water and making sure we have the best deal for american workers. [ president trump ] >> that was sean spicer during today's white house press briefing, but he's not providing any answers. president trump's decision to back out of the paris climate accord has made headlines around the world. france's liberation newspaper saying, "goodbye, america" with oil oozing down the front of the page. let's bring in nbc's kelly o'donnell who is inside that white house press briefing room. we're also joined by john finer, chief of staff, to john kerry. also an msnbc political analyst and joe walsh with me in person for once. everyone, welcome.

kelly, first to you. why are we not hearing from the white house where the president stands on climate change? >> reporter: there is a history and a record on twitter and as a candidate. if he does not believe a new deal should be negotiated, what does he actually believe? in the past he has derided the notion of climate change, he's called it a hoax. the white house just does not want to engage on this issue. it's hard to imagine that a decision in this scope in conversations with scott pruitt that he was sharing with us the many opinions brought in for the president, yet the white house won't tell us what the president's core belief is about the science itself and the nature of what is changing on the planet and in our condition. so if he wants to do something different, we don't know what basis upon which he's acting. so they are clearly not asking the president to give a clearance, or they sidestepping, responding to us if they actually know. that's all politics, not wanting

to offend his core base that likes this decision, and not wanting to complicate and trigger a whole series of new questions about when did the president change his mind and what does he think now? katy? >> and john, the world is reacting to this, not only world leaders but newspapers around the world. take a look at this cover in germany. it's the president golfing, and he's using the world as his golf ball. it says, "you're fired" underneath it. break it down for me in real life terms. what does it mean for americans here at home if the united states is no longer at the table? >> well, i think what it means, katy, is in the broader context in which you have a president who has pulled the united states out of the transpacific partnership, a major trade agreement involving 40% of the obal economy, a president who has called into question the article 5 collective responsibility, collective self-defense provision of the nato treaty, the foremost alliance in america's security architecture, and has now pulled

the united states out of the paris climate agreement, which was the first major diplomatic step involving the entire world, trying to tackle a problem that really threatens the existence of the human race going forward. you start to wonder whether people are going to question the united states's leadership in the world. the thing that is really, i think, the most disappointing about this is this notion that the agreement can be renegotiated is a fantasy. it's not possible. there are 190-plus countries that were involved in negotiating paris. they're happy with it. they're not going to renegotiate for the united states, and it's also not necessary. i think this point often gets lost. if the united states wants to adjust its ambition, its target, its policies, and stay in paris, it could have done so. this is not a binding ambition, it's a voluntary ambition, and president trump chose skbrus ju get out. >> it's strong for him to say it's a bad deal for the united states, that he wants to get out from it. why not just stay in it and roll

back your obligations, your commitments? is it, frankly, solely political for him, period? >> i actually may be alone on this panel with this opinion. i thought yesterday was the best day he's had as president. he was an american president. he stood up for american jobs, the american economy. katy, this is why he ran. >> what jobs is he saving on this? >> potentially avoiding the loss of millions of jobs and trillions of dollars to the economy. >> is he looking at new technology jobs, allowing china to fill that hole? >> this sort of progress is being made without this government intervention, without this international agreement. in china and even pakistan, some of the worst polluters in the world has been left with this deal. this is why trump won. >> this is a non-binding agreement, though. how is this affecting jobs? >> a non-binding agreement that would still impact american

jobs. this they had to hold to their cut in emissions -- >> they didn't have to. it's non-binding. he could have rolled it back. >> no, but we probably would have. i think the other fear, katy, is -- >> but he could have just not committed to the numbers that obama committed to. he didn't have to actually exit the deal. my question is, how does this affect american jobs? >> if you're going to get out, get out now before it becomes -- i think a big fear here, katy, is it will become binding. get out now, start over -- >> it has to be initiating to become binding. >> but now we're not at the table for renegotiation if it changes in some form or another down the line. >> if germany and france and these other countries want to set the table, then start over. >> i think the impact on american jobs is it's going to slow down the potential growth. we could have been the leaders in this world in creating clean energy jobs. right now clean energy jobs outnumber coal jobs by about 10 to 1 in this country. even robert murray, a coal

founder, head of murray energy, says he's warned the president, don't talk about creating more coal jobs because it's not going to happen. we have sacrificed our leadership, we sacrificed our leadership as a producer of clean energy. five years ago we were number one, we're now number four, and this is going to make it worse. it's going to diminish our influence around the world. our allies and friends know now after the foreign trip in this that donald trump has willingly and purposefully compromised our role in the leader of the free world. >> we have a number of businesses and mayors and governors in this country saying we are going to commit to this regardless, and we are going to invest in new technology, green technology. doesn't that just supercede what the federal government is doing? playing devil's advocate, doesn't that allow us to be at the bargaining table regardless whether or not they make a deal? >> it's the reason we have a federal highway system in this country and why the trancecontinental railroad was built by the federal government.

when we have big challenges in clean energy and our energy future and energy independence is critical to our economic future, the federal government needs to play a leading role. the fact he's decided to not just put us in the backseat but take us out of the car, cities and towns will have to do what they can, but that is not the same as the federal government putting its weight in a full future. >> it was wonderful to see you in person, joe. nice to put a face to the voice on the television. joel, nice to see you as well. kelly o'donnell, john ner, thanyou, you guys. a different subject. kathy griffinsn't going to be quiet. she held a press conference today with a photo shoot about a bloodied mannequin head of donald trump. she apologized and said she went to far. after melania trump questioned

her mental health, griffin claimed she was a victim of bullying by the president. she now can't leave her house because of death threats. she said her first amendment rights have been violated >> the message is clear. criticize the president, lose your job. >> i'm not afraid of donald trump. he's a bully. i've dealt with older white guys trying to keep me down my whole life, my whole career. >> whether or not you get or like her artistic expression, in america, kathy has the right to publicly parody the president. >> apology absolutely stands. i feel horrible, trust me. if i could redo the whole thing, i would have been a blow-up doll and no ketchup. if you don't stand up, you get run over. this president will come after me? he picked the wrong red head. it's time for your business entrepreneur of the week. she has a detroit based bottle

tea business. local customers love her product but she wants to go national. she asked for your business makeover and now she's about to break through with the disruptive strategy and big time distribution. for more, watch "your business." will your business be ready when growth presents itself? american express open cards can help you take on a new job, or fill a big order or expand your office and take on whatever comes next. fi out how american exprescards and services can help prepare you for growth at open.com. fi out how american exprescards and services ♪ everything your family touches sticks with them. fi out how american exprescards and services make sure the germs they bring home don't stick around. use clorox disinfecting products. because no one kills germs better than clorox.

♪"my friends know me so well. they can tell what i'm thinking, just by looking in my eyes. but what they didn't know was that i had dry, itchy eyes. i used artificial tears from the moment i woke up...

...to the moment i went to bed. so i finally decided to show my eyes some love,... ...some eyelove. eyelove means having a chat with your eye doctor about your dry eyes because if you're using artificial tears often and still have symptoms, it could be chronic dry eye. it's all about eyelove, my friends.

"washington post" has reported the administration is considering returning these properties in maryland to russia. what is the reason for that and what would the white house have to see before giving them back? >> the state department issued comments saying the u.s. and russia reached no agreements that projecting negotiations further along than they are. the state department is the lead on that and they've been very clear where we stand. >> can you clarify the conversations with jared kushner and what was the date of the

meeting with the banker? >> i cannot. as i mentioned, we're focused on the president's agenda. >> that was sean spicer refusing to answer questions about russia including questions surrounding jared kushner's role in the investigation. this morning, msnbc's joe scarborough revealed new information from his sources about who may be behind those white house leaks. >> steve bannon was running around, according to my sources, bragging to journalists a month and a half ago that he didn't have to worry about kushner and he would side line him. that he had information on the russian investigation and that he was going to side line jared kushner. >> joining us to talk about all this is white house reporter ely, i have to tell you my sources in the white house say exactly the same thing as what joe scarborough is hearing. that he was very happy about this, well, not happy per se. but pleased that the russia

investigation would diminish jared kushner in the president's eyes. >> let's put it this way, someone who spoke to steve bannon a lot in the last few days and he described a different sort of tone in his voice. more confidence, more pep in his step. steve bannon after being in the dog house for a bit is maybe feeling more empowered and emboldened in this sxhaigs i think that's in large part, or some part, a result of jared kushner kind of sort of receding a little bit as someone with the esident's ear. kushner was someone who told the president to fire james comey. that didn't go very well. obviously the decision with the paris accord. that was a big win for bannon who ran a quiet internal campaign in this white house to convince the president to go with his gut and to fulfill the campaign promise. and jared kushner, despite what you may read in the paper today, you see a lot of face saving

coming from jared and ivanka trump. saying we didn't really have an opinion. that's not true. behind the scenes they lobbied very hard to convince ceos to be vocal and in the president's ear, they did not want him to fully withdraw on this. the one thing sprating jared kushner from ivanka, just a little bit, is that jared kushner at the end of the day, he is not an ideological person. he is a very go with the flow business mindset guy. at the end of the day, he'll be able to say that whatever the president does is a win for him. he'll be able to spin and it sell it either way. >> with the caveat that we could be having this discussion, instead of about steve bannon in a couple weeks, given how much turmoil there seals to be and all the competing leaks. how much influence can we even say that jared or ivanka actually have on the president?

what have we seen where he's changed his mind or moderated? have we seen thing at all? >> no. that idea that they would be the moderating influence on this president took a big hit yesterday the withdrawal from the ris accord. and you're right. we have yet to see any concrete proof ofthat. >> is that just a narrative they would like to have out there? >> that they've worked very hard to put out there at times. i think regardless of the sort of fixation on who was up, who was down, who the president is listening to at any given moment, we know that he listens to a lot of people inside the administration and he takes their advice to varying degrees. sometimes he does seem swayed by a conversation that he has. and boom, he makes the decision. other times not so much. this is a case on the paris agreement where trump wanted to do this all along. bannon sort of helped firm up his resolve to do so. unlike jared kushner, donald

trump, people say he doesn't care, will flip-flop on everything, there are a few things this president does care deeply about. one issue is immigration. we know that he feels strongly about that. this notion that the u.s. is getting rimmed off by other countries, that's something that he believes very firmly. and this climate change, this global climate change accord fell into that category for him. >> great to see you. i like your tie, like the curly cues. another reminder to catch this sunday with megyn kelly for that interview with vladimir putin. that's 7:00 p.m. on sunday. bear with us, it's friday. have you ever heard of a pastafarian. we found a dmv photo, he was allowed to wear a metal colander on his head. he says he's a follower of the church of the flying spaghetti monster. the picture is causing a real

ravioli up the food chain. the arizona department of transportation says while some exceptions do apply, the colander head dress is a bit meatball so the state will void the license. don't you worry, you flying spaghetti monster believers, say he will take his battle to court if necessary. that will wrap things up for me this hour. i'll going to go grab a plate of pasta. >> you made me hungry. a great afternoon to you. good afternoon. right now the white house fighting critics on a two-front war. on the one hand, administration officials are dealing with the back lash from president trump's decision to exit the paris climate deal. they're categorically refusing to say whether or not the president is a climate change skeptic. on the other hand, russia. vladimir putin taking the world stage talking to my nbc news colleague megyn kelly. he raised