surveillance checking on all of this to see if the protests would spill over hike we're seeing right now. >> spilling over indeed, kelly o. we see the riot police. at this point it is unclear if they are going into the protest or if the protestors are trying run away. >> let's go right to kier in the thick of this, what is happening around you? >> well, cakatie as you see the german water cannon are now moving along the street here to help the police who moved in to disburse protestors. a little bit earlier we were caught in the thick of it as the demonstrators attempted to escape. they were climbing these walls

and up these railings desperate to get away. you can see that large numbers of german police now are moving through into the square where there was a protest with music and generally a happy atmosphere, but the police always feared this would happen, they figure around 8,000 protestors were coming in order to cause violence like this. as you see, these water cannons now are moving as the protestor is standing in front of that water cannon. there is a protestor standing in front of the water cannon refusing to get out of the way and not let it through. and now another protestor has joined him.

and another protestor has joined him. a number of demonstrators, not dressed in the black and masks we saw others wearing stood in the way of the water cannon and now we see it doing it's work. >> do we have any idea what sparked the clashes? if there was something specific that happened a few moments ago when this all started? >> yeah, well as you see the german police are moving in to move that protestor. there was a stand off for i guess around an hour where the protestors lined up like a kind of army, stood with just a short distance away from riot police, and then we saw that the german police, i believe, started

firing the smoke bombs into the crowd to disburse them and then the riot police started moving forward as you have seen so many times in protests around the world. it is a fairly practiced routine by law enforcement in many, many parts of the world. what happened next is the water cannon moved in and they are so way along the street. and the water cannon moves in. the reason they wanted to do this is because in that direction the g 20 leaders are meeting this -- sorry, this atmosphere gets to us journalists as well. including the, i'm sorry the g 20 leaders are meeting in that direction, including president trump. the german authorities determined to ensure that the protestors could not get there. so determined that even while it

is still daytime, they moved in to disburse these protestors. even now, you know, there are part-time still shouting and trying to demonstrate. lines of riot police significanting their work is done here for now and they lae a stre -- leave a street a general debr debris. >> is that a -- what is that noise? do you have any idea? is it a cannon fired by the police? >> it looks to me like that was another smoke bomb fired by the police. it gets into your eyes and your throat. it is the kind of thing you experience if you have been around it before. it is pretty standard practice.

the riot police are moving in again very determinedly where there may be protestors moving out. >> sorry -- >> just to inform your viewers, all of the images on your screen are from cameras around this protest, and all of the images you're seeing right now are happening live. riot police using water cannons. i know they always expect protestors at the g 20. it is something that everyone prepares for when they host the summit. is it left-wing political protestors? is it because trump is there? is it a mixture of the two? >> yeah, well, except it is a

really desperate group. it is anti-capitalist. i'm moving out of the way. it is the kind of collection of our anti-establishment protestors that we have seen. many at g 20 meetingings. the thing that makes this particularly difficult is that the simple politics takes place at the g 20 itself, with all of the tensions we have talking about, it adds an extra dimension. that is protestors throwing bricks at the police vehicles. that is -- >> i see police, and you're not seeing them on your screen, hold on one second we're looking at another image that is from a

different location where protests are happening. we see riot police they were trying to subdue a protestor. we knew that it will be a potentially fracous moment. this rally was billed as welcome to hell by the protestors. what you're seeing on your screen right now is the police dousing protestors sitting down on the street with water cannons trying to get them to move. these are clashes that were expected and certainly clashes that are nothing short of dramatic when you see them happening live on your screen. kier, high lent left left wi

wind -- wing activists. >> they're argumenting the g 20 quite sirmly because many of them are on here because of the idea of power -- there appears to have been protestors taking up a position. we need to step aside for a second. we need to step aside as these guys come by. they're trying to disburse those protestors as you imagine who are throwing bricks, i think from that direction. a group of protestors have positioned themselves there, found some kind of debris or some kind of ammunition, if you like, to argument the police with. and now, there are clashes with

riot police and protestors in a raids pedestrian area to the side. i have to say despite the use of water cannons and gas, we're not seeing the protestors give up here, they are a group that we know many of them will be well versed in this kind of protest. they have been this before at other kind of demonstrations. it is not just about president trump and the other leaders, the kinds of issues that we're talking about. many of them are simply opposed to the whole system, many of them are anti-capitalists. as you can see. one protesting bus, if you like,

making it's way through the street. despite the fact that the police have shown quite clearly they are determined for the protestors not to go in that direction. >> we see the riot police go up and down the stairs to try to disburse the protestors. from the images that i can see, this is not a -- it's organized, but it's a very separate effort. there are groups of protestors all around the city, how difficult is that making it for police? is there not just one specific area where there is a large group of protestors? >> yeah, there was, most of the protestors were in the square further back there, and another group of proprotestors moved

along the street here. some of those meetings will be taking place, o so it is a tactic that the police use. they are coming back for more, if you like. if you look in this direction, there are riot police moeing back along this sidewalk. it looks like they are retreating. it is not -- >> how many people here are just watching alongside you? it seems like there are a lot of spectators like it is a show for them. >> yeah, yeah. there are spectators. let me just give you a shot of that. if we look this way over my shoulder, just take a look

there. a group of people over there who found a vantage point to watch the running street battles, if you will. so yeah, there is a little bit of a spectator sport happening here with the hard core demonstrators clashing with police in the streets while others stand aside and look. >> why was it so corey sm that they were holding the g 20 in hamburg specifically? >> can you ask again, katie? >> what was the worry about holding the g 20 in hamburg, the protests, the history of the city and why they might be more

violent than another german city? >> reporter: some people did question that. they have a left wing tradition. and there are many left-wing groups based, and in fact at this g 20 summit it is happening right there. h hamburg is also a major trading city. it would have looked like a great place to hold the summit because it sends some messages, for example that the german chancellor would have wanted to send, like the importance of global trade in contrast to the messages we have heard from president trump. so she would have wanted to hold the summit in a major german city. and the protestors suggested there might be 10,000

demonstrators here. we don't know how many, but these are, i would say, a few thousands hard core comm demonstrators, not the majority of the view in germany or this city itself. just how much more of this will this be? >> i want to go to kelly o'donnell who is there covering the g 20 suspect as well. how much of the clashes are reaching your side? is it just the noise and is there any reaction from the white house about trump making his way there in the middle of the demonstration sngs. >> no reaction from the white house yet, but it was expected that there would be protests as we discussed. the g 20 always attracts an

organized and determined meeting. the 19 largest capital iist countries. we are separated by the river from where kier is. we see some of the protestors at some of the road ways closest to the bank on the other side. we observed lots of helicopters over head. not able to discern if it was a fire cracker, tier gear gas, or combination in an attempt to disburse the crowd. it is notable when you hear the

bang bang bang. we have seen the helicopter presence of what appears to be german military aircraft. president trump is in a secure location, having a meeting with the prime men ster of japan, talking about the peril that's is north korea right now. they're cape abouts for nuclear weaponry. so the president is in a secure zone. i was watching the president of turkey making its arrival, so kier is in a pot spot -- >> and kelly, we want to go back because we think things are flaring up one more time. what are you seeing? >> we're seeing the riot police move again to try to disburse

these protestors and running through the sidewalk here. they clearly are having trouble trying to pinpoint people. there is one demonstrator being carried away. as rye not plisz continue to move in. she is moving. she is okay. i have to say -- >> did you just get pushed? >> for all of us. >> a little bit. for all of us, you know, our faces are burning, eyes are stinging because you know, that is called tear gases for a reason. we need to just move this way, let's just move this way. we're just going to move out of the way a little bit, katie. as you see, we just found

ourselves there, we just found ourselves there in the way. it is hard to tell what they're doing. they seem to be moving back and forth across this area. >> remarkable to see the police run up the staired behind you. run back up the stairs, back down the stairs, it seems like their pushing the bolder up the hill right now trying to wrangle these demonstrators. >> yeah, i mean you're getting an eyewitness account of what it is like to be in the middle of all of this, and it can be fairly chaotic. there are police tactics i have seen many times where they surround the demonstration and just hold them there for hours until, if you like, the demonstrators themselves get board. that is definitely not the

approach that the german police have there. they will have to move back and forth to try to find the protestors and move them on. i guess what the protestors are doing is, you know, kind of runding around them and finding ways. let me just show you this now, here are young women just sitting in the street, and in that direction, the german police who are making it clear they don't want them to sit there. there are little battles breaking out all around here. meanwhile some protestors are finding debris to throw at the police that does make it slightly tricky. >> have you seen a number of

injuries so far, give us the run down on that. >> none that i have seen. excement for the woman that was moving. let's just step out of the way as these guys come by. >> hold on, we're just getting word that president trump's motorcade is on the move, do we know anything more about what that meeting, what was tad in that meeting and how it went? >>. >> we have not been given a read out about the topics they discuss. we have been told it was a positive meeting. she has many, many

responsibilities. tonight the president is having a dinner where he will dine with shinzo abe of japan. they will be talking about the issues of japan. the dipper will not have an opportunity for coverage. the president moving between different is locations here in hamburg. all of the routes being kept secret. it is a very high operation. >> and he is in a limo where ever he goes. >> yes. >> kelly, i know that none of this is a surprise, so he will keep to his schedule today.

>> just a question further about what could have happened in that merkel meeting, there was reporting that the president was not looking forward to it. he was not go to revel in it. do you have any idea what the president might have wanted to get out of that meeting with the chancellor. >> in talking with senior officials, they said they do talk from time to time. they have disagreements on issues like trade, climate change, and migration, so there are presidential pinch points. the against that we have is that they were not looking for

anything specific. mostly this was intended to be president trump showing respect to chancellor americamerkel. the g 20 is a very big under taking, and to stress the day in poland was the new story they most wanted to make with the president's reception there, and the work he is doing with north korea. trying to keep things friendly when it comes to the u.s. and german relationship. >> we're going to keep up to date with you and what is happening there. we want to go to a former u.s. ambassador to the u.n. and a former deputy advisor. and also corey shocky. >> let's start with you, these are dramatic images. everyone expects there to always be protests, but this is the president of the united states

first g 20, and he has a tense relationship with a number of european leaders. he is facing a major threat, a major crisis, with north korea and tomorrow he will be meeting with the russian president after all of the allegations of russia meddling into the u.s. election. walk me through what you are looking at and the significance of this meeting today and all of the optics around it. >> well, the protests are fascinating. there are always protests at the g 20, but i think trump took them to a bigger, huger level. the more important thing is what is happening in the meetings. this is his first time on a global stage. he conceded american relationship on trade. the climate deal, we don't really have a sensible policy

with syria, and the g 20 wants america to lead. they do not want to see american leadership to russia and china. so tomorrow's meeting will be a lot more important than what is going on outside of these streets with hamburg. >> this is a day after angela merkel said she does not believe that the u.s. is leading any more. when he was asked about the leader there, he said that russia did interfere in our election, to agree with what all of his agencies have said and he said they probably did, but maybe they did not, and he also went further to not only not trust our intelligence community assessment, but to criticize them by bringing up weapons of

mass destruction. what does it say to you when the president goes to foreign soil and criticizes american institutions? >> well, president trump, there is a reason that lots of people are worried about his meeting with president putin. a lot of the people worried about it will be in that g 20 meeting room. he is always making excuses for the bad behavior of vladimir putin. the optics of the protests outside come into play is that they're a huge gift to actual authoritarian societies. vladimir putin president erdogan will argue there is no freedom, only mob secenes.

i think it is unhelpful for the kinds of protests there are. they don't help in the argument that she wants to make about free, the importance of prosperity. >> i want to get one more question to you, it might be easier to get on the side of more authoritarian or strong man leaders, but what about the european leaders that have been our allies? how hard is it for the u.s. to negotiate with them when we're going overseas and doubting something like our intelligence assessment. >> i don't agree that the protestors and lack of freedom message, it will be interesting to see how it plays out. the real issue is leadership on the key issues. if you look at the speech that

president trump game, it was just bizarre. trump is under mining his own message by questioning the strength of our democracy. he needs to reaffirm the strength, lead on the key issues, and start solving problems. we'll see if he does it in a meeting with vladimir putin tomorrow. that will be the first at the time of his presidential leadership. >> ambassador, ladies, thank you for joining me. we're approaching the half hour mark, we're at 2:28 in new york city and we're watching hamburg, germany where you're seeing protests at the g 20 summit. the protests started to flare up about an hour ago after a standoff. we always see protests at g 20. some are more violent than others, this is certainly one of those. kier simmons has been in this

melee for us all day. reporting firsthand what he is seeing. it seems slightly calmer now than it was a few moments ago. >> we had to move to give you a picture of a protestor now on the ground who is being arrested and is face down on the ground, surrounded now by riot police. it is difficult to tell if he is injured or simply there because the police put him there, but he has just won and you see they're racing off to ask for help. it seems like a number of people are there. let me just give you a wider picture, katie, of what we are seeing here. there is a line of riot police behind me. if we move this way, another line of riot police in that direction. we're right in the center of it

and protestors have been moving around trying to escape the riot police. can you just tell me why are you still here? >>. >>. >> i didn't even want to come in the first place. but cleaning up with not legal basis, and i just want to -- >> what is the message that you want to send with this prozest? >> the message that they should stop. too much police violence, and stop pushing us around, and pushing us around. >> if you were not here, there would not be police violence? >> we were just watching the demonstration? >> you're a spectator that got caught up in it. >> we were a peaceful part of the demonstration, and police

started their violent act against the sdmon strag-- demonstration, and someone that looked very white in his face and the bambulance took him awa and he looked like he was about to die. >> have you ever been in something like this before? >> no. >> reporter: hold are you? >> 19. >>. >> reporter: let me take you this way, i'll go here and throw it back to you, the water cannon we have been seeing firing spore r spo sporatically. it was live music and a peaceful

atmosphe atmosphere. a group of hard protestors moved this way. i will pause so you can ask questions, you see more riot police and protestors throwing everything they can find. >> are you seeing any anti-trump protestors in this group? >> there is a number of them wearing messages against president trump and banners against president trump. it is important to under score.

the man we just spoke to didn't really know why he was here and there are anti-establishment protestors, and the kinds of groups that we have seen at many of the gatherings before. >> what is the plan for night fall? what is the police planning for when it is dark there? >> that is a good question. i don't know the answer to that. it has looked fairly chaotic. it can feel chaotic when you're at the center of these things, and we don't, of course, have the wider picture of what the police strategy is and what

might be happening in other cities across the country. the plan is so specially push property testers around until they get fed up with it, if you like, and go home. >> stick with us for a moment, we want to go to hans nickels. give us more con dex. they picked a significant place to hold this g 20 that would create a number of protests in itself. >> it is the commercial capital. you also have a strong relationships here. the newspaper is reporting right now, they're saying the main demonstration has been canceled.

that was just in a statement they put out, and the police's twitter feed in german, they're doing a lot of talking about how police have been attacked. a lot of the intent, they were warning about protests, they were warning that things could get ugly. the local police force in hamburg, they have a thousand radical left wing protestors. they feel some of them could be violent. >> he picked up a piece of if your honor -- if your honor cher and kicked it down the stairs at police. also a number of protestors throwing rocks at officers. just want to point that out. >> in general, some of the protestors, if you look at some

of the disturbances there have been they were, i believe, 1999, 1998, they were expecting a big presence, if you recall, a lot of the g 20 summits have been out of this location, sort of difficult to get to. remember last year for the g 7 in germany, two years ago, it was in a mountain retreat, basically. this is a problem when you hold an event in a major urban area. >>. >> it seems like the officers are chasing them around the square, water guns being used now on the right-hand side of the screen as well. what is the industry.

they went up a flight of stairs. the water cannons, they're using tear gas. they have military style vehicles trying to pen these protestors in. they are still there, what is the strategy for the police. >> typically it is hold the line and disburse the crowd. >> let's hear from the protestor. >> story, casy, sorry, katie, , if you step around me. >> i got smashed in the face. >> they smashed you in the face. >> why are you at the protest? >> i'm protesting against g 20 and capitalism.

>> capitalism and the g 20. >> did you expect there would be clashes with the police like this. >> to be angry. >> there were protestors covering their faces and dressed in black, and you are in black, you weren't part of that group, right? >> sorry i can't hear. >> thank you for talking to us. >> here, the police are saying that the protestors started this. the police are saying the protestors started this. we're seeing more water cannons trying to disburse protestors sitting down on the street. you see many thousands, thousands on the left-hand side of the screen. the police are saying that the protestors started it. can you make heading or tales

for us. >> the protestors, a group, clearly came from a confrontation with the police. they were dressed in black, many were covering their faces. and you see in the stand off, as far as i can tell, police started firing tear gas. my face is still burning a little from being in the center of that. and then the water cannon moved in. it is just a flare coming in now. >> they were wearing bathrobes on one side and potentially flashing the cops. it seems like you have all manner of people coming out. to make a seen, to protest

globalis globalism. >> reporter: you're seeing the riot police, the german police, making space for the demonstrators, let's get a picture of that for the viewers. the police are allowing the protestors to move out of the square where they were further along the street there. there was a march plan, a march was agreed for with the police, maybe that is what we're seeing. we have appeared to be allowing a group of demonstrators not

dressed in black, to make their way along the street here. and maybe this is the demonstration that was originally planned finally taking off. >> and it is call "welcome to hell." they were expecting 8,000 protestors. >> i think you were mentioning the protest itself was called "welcome to hell." and yes, there are around, the demonstrators, around 10,000 here. 100,000 expected in the city through the weekend. and 20,000 protestors so 20,000 police bust in to try to keep

the piece. i don't know if you can still hear me. >> we can still hear you. you're doing a great job. now, it looks as if you want to hold the protest you want to hold. >> imhajjes from you, from a camera we have, another part of the square there, more and more protestors refusing to move even if police douse them with a water cannon to try to get them to move and push against the line forming. these images that you are

seeing, how will this play into donald trump's message, or detract from donald trump's message. what we saw on the campaign trail, when there was violence clashes, there was a lot of riot police at his rallies for the summer time, and the late spring last year. and when that happened, he used that as an opportunity to talk about law and order and how he would be the law and order president. he would finally back up the police department's of this country that were not getting the respect or the resources that they deserved or needed. does this do, essentially, the same thing? >> that is exactly right. that is exactly right. it fits in perfectly with trump's objective. you heard the speech today, a very dark speech. one that emphasized fear, not hope. threats, not solutions. this is a continuation of his inauguration address.

the american carnage address. pure steve bannon. that we're at risk. what do you require if that? law and order. the scenes of chaos fit in perfectly to that message. you need a president, a world leader who is willing to stand up to these people, who is willing to have them suffer severe consequences. the message he gave on north korea today as well. it fits in perfectly to the kind of authoritarian strategy that you see trump trying to implement in america, and now trying to impose as a model for the western alliance. >> how does that play with european leaders, the ones that he is trying to make friends with now, reset things with the second trip, and the ones he needs as allies in order to try to combat terrorism and isis but

allies on trade and allies when it comes to the growing crisis in north korea. >> this is the exact opposite of their message. the opposite of their approach. the president, the leader of turkey and poland, like this kind of law and justice, strong man rule. but this is not going to sit well with the leaders of france and germany. these people want to have a more inclusive rule that does not stress the differences. talking about climate change, migration issues, free trade, tru donald trump is the very odd man out. >> he e give kuwaited today when he asked if russia interfered in

the election. say he refuses to say or bring up that russia interfered in the election, i can't tell you whether or not he will do it or not. what message will that send to vladimir putin? >> the message is pretty clear whether or not he wanted it or not, putin has a friend in president trump. a president of the united states who basically is carrying out putin's agenda. splitting the western alliance, splitting the united states, sewing doubts about the freedom of the press, doubts about the american leadership of the world. >> what about doubts about the intelligence community. what about when something happens and we have intelligence on it and he goes to our allies or our enmys and says hay, we need you on our side or we need to watch out for that.

do our allies trust that? >> they do not, you're seeing the split, you're seeing our allies distance themselves not from america, but from trump. not from the united states people, but from the leadership and current government. over the collapse of american leadership on freet world. very few of our allies look to trump as the leader of the free world. that is no longer a monkier you can put on the president of the united states. >> and one of the critics of the free world. angela miracle. kier simmons, you're watching an arrest right now, walk us through this. >> that's right, we're right

beside an arrest, taking place next to a number that we have seen here. we are just able to see the handcuffs being applied there by the police surrounding this protestor. if i just stepped in this direction, the march itself that we believe was planned, and agreed by the german police, appears to be taking place. we are seeing the protestors moving. those are flares being fired by the protestors. we are seeing tear gas being fired by the police recently and the water cannons being fired even while the protestors are

making their way along here. as you see now, there are different groups of protestors here, some with their faces covered, wearing black. others are wearing ordinary clothes and are just here to demonstrate. the message they're bringing here is multiple. there are anarchists, there are many, many different protestors. do you speak english? >> against g 20, i came here to demonstrate in peace. and we are here since the beginning of the demonstration. we saw how the police just came in, there was no provocation from any participant. so they just came in what is the difference with turkey, egypt, or any other plait, this is not

how a democratic state should behave. the police are just attacking innocent people here. >> what is started attacking people. >> what is your message to leaders of the world, gathering in the city, president trump, president xi, the most powerful people in the world are here. >> we came out to demonstrate in peace. and it's not fair for 20 countries of this world were for 20 head of states in this world to dictate on the guidelines, on the rules of, to upon what other people or what other countries have to do in this world. it can't be like that. as you look around -- >> we are just seeing that -- we just missed that. but we are just seeing -- tear gas -- sorry be water cannon fired again by the german police. they appear to be allowing us to

move but defining that water cannon in the way of protesters. there are people like this woman who is fairly dressed in black and covering her face. so you know, there are very many different kinds of protesters here. do you understand why you are being allowed to move in this direction now? >> personally i'm really amazed. i studied law in this country. it is not allowed to block people. it is not allowed p.. i'm amazeed. this is a demonstration that's allowed. we are on a demonstration now that was planned. >> yes. this is the actual route. >> seems as if the german police are trying to let the protest happen. despite everything. >> but provoking people before and he were supposed to start by 7:00 and pass this place by long -- >> ask him why it is called

"welcome to hell." >> we are just now at this point. >> yes. my colleague, katy tur, is in the studio in new york, she is asking me to ask you about the name of the protest, "welcome to hell" which doesn't sound peaceful. >> i think the organizers want it make it clear for the 20 head of state that we are not happy with what their politics stand for or what they are are doing. this message doesn't have anything to do with that anybody is aggressive. violent demonstration or anything like that. so you know, the only violence came from the police so far. >> the police tell a different story. appreciate you talking to us. thank you very much pz. >> as you can see, we are making our way in protest. there is chapting, clapping, all of the things you see in everyday protest in an ordinary democratic country like germany.

so there are moments when the police appear to be firing water cannon further back but they are now moving slowly back and allowing this demonstration to continue. and just left with slightly stinging face from the tear gas that was fired right at us at times earlier in the day. >> kier simmonsville yantly covering this protest. hans nichols, i'm going back to you. these protests we see every time there is a g20, how much of an affect do they have on the meetings that do happen during the g20? >> very little. heads of state, leaders of the countries, are usually far way. in past you have to get through several security barriers. you will recall other g20s or g7s where they had designated protesting zones.

here is the latest from the hamburg police department. they are saying the applicants for this protest, in germany you need to typically, this might sound funny, but when you have a big protest like this, you file an official application. the german police are saying they have withdrawn the application and the protest is ending and they have called it off. that's why the official organizers. police are also saying there are many peaceful protesters among them and they are asking the peaceful protesters to separate themselves from the more violent ones. leading into the entire summit, estimates is that there are a thousand potential radical people in hamburg. about 600 of them could have been violent. that is on the left of center side. just to give you the other side of the equation, about 300 according to the german police. 300 extremist right wing individuals in hamburg they were watching ahead of this. that gives you a less than 1500 that they are watching. but clearly things have gotten

out of control. and people could come in from out of hamburg. >> hans nichols, our correspondent who used to live in berlin, speaks german, helpful at times like these. joining me now, political analyst michael steele be a went with me onset, former campaign adviser, jess mcintosh. we are showing images of the protest on the screen, so you guys wouldn't know that. jess, let's start with you. actually, i will start with michael. this is more after question for you. donald trump used images of disorder during his campaign at his rallies to his advantage. by saying he would be the law and order candidate. >> yeah. >> do you expect he will try and use these images in the same way or at the very least, are they going to have that subconscious effect on those who believe in donald trump? >> i think for those who believe in donald trump, this is a european affirmation of what they already know about what's going on here in america, for

example. so the dot is connected in that regard. i don't think these protests in hamburg will have any real impact on what donald trump says or does. he may reference it offhand. he may juice the goose a little bit, if you will, katy, to you know, get some play back here at home for his base. but i think overall, i think he knows what his mission is and he will let images speak for themselves. >> what is his mission, michael? >> his mission, i think, to be rather frank about it, is to affirm his relationship with vladimir putin. i think our nato allies and others are secondary to the purpose here despite the lofty speech this morning in poland. i think that for this president, this moment, face-to-face with vladimir, is one that i think for him will help submit that relationship with russia and to sort of put in motion wherever and whatever he wants to get to

next. we don't know what that is quite yet. but certainly is not necessarily aligned with our european allies. >> when donald trump was campaigning, he always talked about how he wanted to be friendlier with russia. how he needed to reset relations. he talked about his ability to make deals and how he believes that vladimir putin will really like him. people who know vladimir putin, people who have observed him for years, know that every time an american president has began and hoped that sheer force of that president's personality might build a bond between the two men has been disappointed. but ultimately vladimir putin is not swayed by personality. he is swayed by his own national interest. it doesn't necessarily matter who is in power in the united states. only if that person is willing to bend to his interest and his demands and furtherance of russian influence and the sfooers they want to to have their influence. >> absolutely.

at this point vladimir putin has gotten so much about donald trump's presidency. he is already talking about lifting sanctions. he does not clear to investigate russia -- >> congress will veto that if he try dose that. >> going forward, i think we know donald trump wants to do right by vladimir putin. he put his staff put together a list of deliverables to bring to the meeting. deliverables are what you give a paying client. not when you are on equal footing. i think we are seeing a president who is more than willing to capitulate to vladimir putin because he cares so much about being seen as worthy in the eyes as someone he considers to be a strong man and he is willing to do that at the expense of our allies and expense of america. he went across the globe, held his first foreign press conference and den grated americ american institutions. that is something both sides of the aisle can agree. that is not appropriate. we don't cross the pond and talk

about partisan opposition much less our media. >> michael, what is the reaction of that? it is not tradition. it doesn't happen when that president goes overseas and din grate institutions or past president. does it matter if donald trump does it? he has broken every other tradition. >> it does. why will this matter when everything else seems to get brushed off? >> when i say it matters, it doesn't mean someone will do something about it or they stress heightened outrage of this over something else. the point is, i think jess made it very well, is that it does further the narrative of the interest between donald trump and putin and you know, this negative narrative about american media. certainly some of our allies. is part and parcel of that. so americans will be upset about it. certainly folks from capital hill will express, that's not presidential or he shouldn't

have done that. it doesn't change ultimately the force donald trump is trying to put in play that is building up this relationship between putin and himself, united states and russia. >> former rnc chair, michael steele. and former clinton campaign jess mcintosh joining us on this hectic day. it is 9:00 p.m. in hamburg, germany. that's where donald trump is. he is there at g20. he just met with angela merkel, german's chancellor. there are a number of violent clashes between protesters and police have have been ongoing for about the last hour and half. this all comes right before donald trump has his very first face-to-face meeting with the russia president tomorrow. all ice will be watching that. i will hand it off to my colleague. ali, take it away. >> this is not how i thought the