invest in affordable housing. fight for universal healthcare. and stand up to donald trump. as governor, you can trust me to do what's right- because i always have. hey, there. good morning, everyone. i'm alex witt here at msnbc world headquarters in new york. at the half hour, we have some breaking news to share. there's new video here of a surprise meeting between south korean president moon jae-in and north korean leader kim jong-un. let's go out to msnbc news correspondent janice mackey freher who's joining us from seoul with the very latest. all right, janice, this was certainly a surprise. what can you tell us about this meeting? >> reporter: well, the whiplash continues. this surprise summit happened today at the demilitarized zone on the north korean side, just 48 hours after president trump, of course, scrapped the singapore summit that he was supposed to have next month with kim jong-un. the two leaders met today.

they hugged. they embraced. they had productive discussions for two hours about how they could best implement the agreement that they signed at their first summit on april 27th. they were also talking about how they might hold a successful, quote, north american summit. so they're not even attaching president trump's name to it anymore. while the meeting was a surprise, alex, perhaps it shouldn't have been, because president moon in the hours after that letter from president trump calling off the summit had said that he firmly believed there had to be direct talks with north korea, and that that was something he was going to continue to push in order to implement the agreement they already had in place. what's also important to note is that we've had the same message from china. that there is this entire to harness the momentum that has been built over the past several weeks in the region, so what we're seeing now is kim jong-un having successfully co-opted

these two regional players. it's also important to remember what it is they're all looking for. china and south korea are looking primarily for economic projects and economic partnerships with north korea and they seem satisfied to be able accept denuclearization in a more phased approach. so let's contrast all of that now with where things stand with the united states and president trump, the whiplash of these last few days, over whether this summit in singapore may actually happen. alex? >> okay. and i just want to double check, janice. you said it's been referred to between those two korean leaders as a summit potential with north america. so were they not specifically referring to the fallen-apart summit with the united states? >> reporter: in the translation that we received, they used the words "north america." so they didn't refer to it directoly as the meeting betwee kim jong-un and president trump. they referred to it as a summit with north america. it could be just the wording and

how it's come out of the translation, but what's very clear in this, alex, is that both china and south korea seem willing to move ahead with or without president trump. >> all right. janice mackey frayer in seoul. thank you for this developing story. we appreciate that. let's bring in alex mount. how likely is it that the president knew about this meeting before it happened? >> i can't say for sure. south korea over the course of these negotiations has been diligent about informing its u.s. ally about developments on the peninsula. the united states has been less diligent about informing south korea about its activities. so this could be a sign -- this could be an instance where there is, you know, division or tension between the two allies that kim jong-un is looking to take advantage of. >> you know, the south korean officials are saying these leaders exchanged views, frankly, adam, in order to make

the u.s./north korean talks happen successfully. the talks that are officially off, besides what seems to be percolating in the last couple of days. so what is the message that kim is sending with this trip? >> the message from kim jong-un is crystal clear. it could not be clearer. we will -- if the summit fails with donald trump, we will go ahead with south korea, work to split the u.s./south korea alliance. and we will try to seek economic benefits from south korea. as donald trump is patting himself on the back for, you know, threatening kim jong-un with the resumption of maximum pressure, kim jong-un is sitting in panmunjom with moon jae-in, the south korean president, talking about economic coordination, the reconnection of railway lines and roads across the dmz. he really does thrive in the space between the alliance. and that's why it's just so critical that the united states

and south korea have the same message here and the same coordinated position. >> but, adam, this economic development and potential alliance here between north and south korea and whatever china might bring to the table. can any of that happen without denuclearization? >> ideally, this would all be part of the same process. denuclearization would lead to, you know, an increased normalization of relations between the united states and south korea and north korea, all at the same time. economic incentives would be phased and made contingent upon process in the nuclear area. what it looks like is happening is donald trump pitched a temper tantrum, walked away from his side of the agreement, or, you know, summit preparations, and north korea is demonstrating that it has other options. these are options that quite

frankly kim jong-un gained when donald trump canceled the summit in this manner. >> so, same question, slightly different, can this agreement between north and south korea, and whatever china brings to the table, can happen without the united states? >> it shouldn't. ideally, it should be all of the same process. it's, you know, moon jae-in is not playing games here. we heard the president say this week, "everybody plays games." but for moon jae-in, this is a question of keeping his people safe from war, keeping his country from turning into a nuclear battleground. so moon jae-in will protect the safety of his people, and if that means reprosplamant, he wi go ahead with it. ideally, moon jae-in will have the full weight of washington behind him when he was making these negotiations, but he will do what it takes to make his country safe.

>> adam, thanks for getting to a camera on short notice. let's bring in danielle moody mills, an nbc blk contributor. joe watkins, former white house aide to president george h.w. bush, and msnbc political analyst, rick tyler, former cruz campaign spokesman. good to see you all with a happy saturday morning to you. rick, i'm going to start with you here. we have the president claiming in a tweet yesterday that democrats are rooting against us in our negotiations with north korea. look, as a republican, do you think that's true? >> no, it's in everybody's interest that we don't come to some sort of conflict in north korea, nuclear or otherwise, or conventional. look, it appears that there's an internal struggle in the white house right now, and it's playing out, publicly, unfortunately, between mike pompeo and john bolton. and bolton seems to be the last person who talked to trump, where he hastily constructed that letter to pull out of the talks. and i think north korea holds all the cards here. now they're trying to

marginalize the united states and the term "north america" was very deliberate my the north korea p-- north koreans. they're trying to marginalize trump. look, kim's whole objective here is to get some sort of economic relief, and he's going to do that. what the united states has failed to do is recognize that you can't cut out china in this process. and you also can't cut out the south koreans, which is what he did without informing the south koreans and moon jae-in's political career, and all of his credibility, depends on. this is what he ran on. reunification of -- not reunification, but peace between north and south korea. >> danielle, same question to you. do you think that democrats are rooting against the trump administration and these negotiations as the president was tweeting? >> no, i don't think that they're rooting against the president of the united states. but i think that what this goes to underscore is that trump is really interested in political theater. and not political action.

he's not interested in diplomacy. he likes the show. that's what he told reporters yesterday. and that's what he continues to underscore never tweet that he sends out. so the question that we have to ask ourselves is, is this administration interested in peace? are they interested in keeping the american people and the world, frankly, safe? or are they interested in putting on a show and patting each other on the back for a job well done. one that we all saw collapse in front of our eyes this past week when the summit was canceled. so, i'm unclear whether or not this administration is actually interested in what diplomacy and leadership looks like, when they cut out other people from the conversation and the deal, who are going to be immediately threatened, by a hostile north korea. and everything that this president continues to show us is that he's interested in the showmanship of what it looks like to be the leader of the quote/unquote free world, but he's not interested in actually moving forward with action behind that, outside of his tweets. >> all right, i'm going to go to

a different topic as we look at the report from the associated press which has headlined, "giuliani says the white house wants briefing on classified info." and it says giuliani is seeking a readout on all the information that lawmakers received on thursday about the origins of the russia investigation. also the use of that fbi source, they want this info by next week. does this push -- does it now pick up steam or do you think this is more of a pr messaging? >> i think it's probably more of a pr messaging. first of all, to me, it seems highly unusual, if not inappropriate, that a white house lawyer or lawyers would be involved in that briefing, to begin with. especially given the fact that there's an ongoing investigation. so that seems, to me, to be highly unusual. but i think giuliani is a very skillful -- is very skillful from the standpoint of keeping this alive and pressing the president's points. and doing what he can to diminish robert mueller. this investigation ought to be able to go on unimpeded.

it ought to be able to reach its own conclusions without prejudice. but the president has really launched an all-out assault on robert mueller and rudy giuliani is the point person on that. >> and of course, we're going to have -- we'll put up the ap quote. i want to put this for you, danielle. saying that the president's legal team may take this to the justice department as a part of an effort to scuttle the ongoing special counsel probe. what kind of position does that put the justice department in? >> it puts the justice department in a precarious position, which is what the president wants. if you weren't guilty or didn't have something to hide, you would have a level of transparency that this administration just doesn't have. you would want this investigation to continue so that you can be exonerated. and that's not what they're doing. at every single pass, they have come out against mueller. they have tried now to slander the person that was associated with this administration and said, you know what, we have information to provide. they're calling them a spy.

this is a pr game on the side of the trump administration. and frankly, it is really -- it should be unsettling to all of us that there are white house officials that are a part of this meeting, when the white house should be operating separately and independently of this investigation. and yet trump is using the full force of the white house to scuttle this investigation, which is problematic. and it makes him look guilty. it makes him look like he has something to hide. >> danielle, joe, rick, sit tight where you are. because we're going to talk about the uproar over the new nfl anthem policy and a new poll that shows a divide between players and fans, after a break. excuse me a minute...

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bipartisan efforts to force votes on a handful of immigration bills on the house floor are escalating. my next guest just added his name to that growing list of republicans. joining me now, republican tom reed of new york. congressman, nice to see you u thank you for joining me. you have released a statement, what is this about? >> well, we did. josh and i, my democratic colleague, we signed the discharge position together, to send a message it's time to solve this immigration issue with the dreamers, but also with regards to border security. there's a deal to be struck here. and by putting our name on that piece of paper, we're not just talking the talking, we wanted to walk the walk to break the gridlock in washington, d.c.. >> but what do you say to house speaker ryan who's been saying, you better give up on this. because the bills, you just heard the president say in that interview, he's not going to

sign them even if lawmakers vote in favor of them. >> as we go through this discharge process, there's a marker in that process that opens up the door that's not actually in legislative text as we speak. the negotiations are occurring, and with regards to a sweet pot that i think can be found on this issue that addresses a walsh, a border security issue. at the same time, these kids that are in limbo need to be addressed, and we clearly have to deal with them. and i just want to be a part of the effort to break that gridlock that is causing this to sit in nom man's land. >> but congress is one thing, sir, and you might get a vote that would be in your favor, especially with bipartisan support. that's a big "maybe," but if the president says, not going to go forward, what does that do to everything? >> well, what we can do is at least move the ball forward and put additional pressure on the senate as well as the white house to say, look, we're here in the house demonstrating that we want to solve this problem. and that's why i give great credit to my colleagues in the caucus that have stepped forward in joining us in signing this

document. we're upping the pressure to say, we're not going to sit idly by, we're listening to the american people who say, this problem needs to be solved. the president wants the wall fixed, the border fixes and have said he wants to take care of the children as well. >> you mentioned the children, the daca children, the ramped up effort by the justice department to separate children from theirparetheir parents to deter border crossings. where do you stand on that? >> it's heart wrenching when you hear those stories and see the divide of a family. that's why we have to fix this problem. they're just following the laws, following the rule of order. and the bottom line there is, that highlights why we need to do something. and we're doing our effort in the house. let's hope the senate and white house join with us. >> all right. let's move now to the mueller investigation and the president's rhetoric in describing that fbi informant who's at the center of the president's latest feud with the

justice department. i want to play for you what james langford, who sits on the sblenlg intelligence committee, told my colleague, kasie hunt. >> should he call it spygate? >> i think he can call it whatever he wants to call it. he has a unique name for everybody and everything. that's just his way. >> so what is this? is this semantics? are you concerned the president could be hurting himself with this approach? >> well, you know, obviously, i defer to the president in regards to what he wants to describe this as. and he's been very effective at using those limited characters, if you would, in a tweet, in a twitter account, that can get the agenda moving forward and the conversation moving forward. and so at the end of the day, this is about what happened here. what happened -- you know, they laughed at the president when they said, what he said he was being wiretapped. now we get the actual information out and you see that that's true. that they were surveilling his campaign. now you're seeing additional efforts here, that there's hard questions to ask here, and we've got to get to the bottom of it

and follow the facts. we'll let the rhetoric, the conversation be handled by other people, but i'm interested in the substance of what happened here. >> tom reed, always good to see you, sir. thank you for your time on this saturday morning. >> thanks. what to make the nfl's nati policy? the disconnect between fans and players, next. for all the eyes that get itchy and watery near pollen. there's flonase sensimist. it relieves all your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. and all from a gentle mist you can barely feel.

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who came out and said it violates collective bargaining and the violates the rights of free speech and the players ought to be able to use their platform this they wish to say what's on their mind and to bring attention to the fact that there's a problem in this country with police officers and african-americans. so i would be surprised if this ban is not, doesn't end up in court and end up being overturned. because it looks like the owners did not, did not notify the union, did not bargain with the union and that would be a violation of collective bargaining. >> danielle, here's how the president reacted to the new nfl policy. take a watch here. >> not only people should staying in locker rooms. you have to stand proudly ort national anthem. or you shouldn't be playing, you shouldn't be there, maybe you shouldn't be in the country. >> how do you interpret that, you shouldn't be in the country? >> i'm not sure what america he is referring to.

this was never about being proud to stand for the flag or not. it's about police brutality. and about overpolicing and the fact that countless black people, men, women and children unarmed have been killed by police. without any justice following suit. and these players are using their platform in order to voice their support for a community that they're a part of. they know if they weren't making millions of dollars a year, if they weren't in the public spotlight that that stephon clark and michael gardner could have been them. what's been referred to the "washington post" as a plantation policy goes against, it is illegal and i hope that it does end up in court. these owners, like i get it, they are very wealthy and they own these teams, but they do not own these players. and that is exactly what this policy, that they have instituted is trying to infer that they are property, that

are, that are owned and that should not be the case, they should be able to use their platform and use their voice to stand up for what's right. sterling brown just recently, an nba player who was tased and handcuffed and arrested by police in the most egregious fashion and his team came out in support of him and understood that there's systemic problems that are happening in this country. and this should have never happened. he could have been killed. do you know when i'm saying? and theyed that we're talking about it of course because he is an athlete, you know brings more attention to the plight that these players have been talking about for the past two years. and the nfl did unequivocally wrong by their black players. >> rick, i'm going to let you have the last word on this in terms of what the president said, particularly about the line that these folks shouldn't in the country. >> i don't agree with what the president said and i don't think kaepernick or any of the players kneeling meant any disrespect to the flag. ultimately the fans will decide, the fans pay the tickets and

watch the tv and ratings and pay for the advertisers, if they decide that right or wrong, whether they like it or not, if they don't like people kneeling for the national anthem, the, the owners can, can conduct the rules, that happens in the other major sports leagues. and there's not this issue. so i think the fans are tired of politicizations, actually of sports. that's not my judgment. i just think people go and they watch sports and they don't want to be thinking about a lot of issues and politics and they would like it to stop. >> danielle moody-mills, joe watkins, rick tyler. good to see you. at the top of the hour, the surprise meeting at the north korean and south korean border this morning. why there's an element of suspense coming from the north korean side. and i think that had to shift to responsible growth. second thing i wanted to change was the leadership of the company. and the third was for us to start listening.

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a very good morning to you, i'm alex witt here at msnbc world headquarters in new york, 9:00 a.m. in the east and 6:00 a.m. in the west.