of #metoo, time's up. so, yeah -- i'm in. i'm in. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. good morning. i'm philip mena at msnbc world headquarters in new york. it is 6:00 in the east, 3:00 out west here's what's happening. >> new reporting on the president's two crucial requests to don mcgahn as the information white house counsel gets an ultimatum from house democrats. president trump weighing in days after north korea fired short range missile. tariff hikes on chinese products. political fireworks. the president making moves to change washington's fourth of july celebration. how he plans to take center stage. developing this hour, increasing political fallout

after new reporting that the president sought at least twice last month to have former white house counsel don mcgahn publicly declare the president never obstructed justice. the first request to mcgann's lawyer was before the mueller report was released publicly but after the justice department gave a copy to trump's lawyers. the second request came within release of the mueller report. mcgann refused both times standing by what he told mueller investigators that the president sought to have the special counsel removed in 2017. in a new statement mcgann's lawyer wrote, quote we didn't perceive the request as a threat or sinister, it was a request. the white house has directed mcgahn not to release documents requested by house democrats. the judiciary chair wrote this is why it is critical for mr. mcgann to come before our committee and answer questions for the american people.

>> we subpoenaed mcgahn, and we're expecting him to show up on the 21st and if he doesn't, he will be subject to contemple. one less he has a court order telling him he can't. which i don't think he would get. and he has to respect the rule of law like everybody else. chair of the house ways and means committee subpoenaed the treasury department and irs for six years of trump's personal and business tax returns. congressman richard neil gave the agencies to may 17th to produce trump's tax records. house intel chair adam schiff is confident about the ongoing legal fights. >> i think the courts are going to be aware and mindful of the disruption of the democratic process. >> sounds like you think that congress will get the president's tax returns this year. >> oh, yeah. >> the president's personal lawyer, rudy giuliani says he'll no longer travel to you crane tomorrow. he reportedly planned to seek

new info about the origin of the special counsel's investigation. new findings about joe biden's son involvement in a gas company owned by a ukrainian oligarch. >> i'm not going to go because i'll walk into a group of people who are enemies of the president and the united states. they ought to remove any political suggestion. i'll step back and just watch it unfold. >> democratic senator chris murphy called for a congressional investigation as democrats said giuliani was trying to seek foreign help to influence the election. >> it is highly unethical. >> the defense he's not seeking a foreign government's help, yes it's an investigation to affect one of the candidates they fear the most, joe biden and i think it's reprehensible.

>> we've come to a very sorry state when it's considered okay for an american politician, never mind an attorney for the president to go and seek foreign intervention in american politics. >> trade talks between u.s. and china have stalled. president trump is weighing in on twitter. we go to the white house for more. mike, good morning. where do those talks stand right now and do we have any sense of the sticking points? >> reporter: good morning. we can say they've broken down but certainly have not borne fruit and this after the president and many of his top aides expressed a lot of optimism this was the week. the chinese vice premier came here to washington and negotiate opinion there was a white house dinner on thursday night where they talked about these sticking points. according to president trump and many here at the white house, the chinese sort of pulled the

rug out at the end. there were things that were agreed upon that they wanted to go back and re-open. now the chinese delegation has left town and president trump has followed through on his promise to raise tariffs yet again on some 5,000 chinese goods, everything from clothing to bicycle helmets, you name it and those costs could soon be passed on to the american consumer from 10% to 25% on some $200 billion worth of chinese goods. everything that has been shipped starting on may 10th from chinese shores. won't be an immediate impact and there's some hope these negotiations can finally bear fruit before these tariffs take a bite. you talked about the president's tweets. he is saying again china is paying this tariff into the american treasury. that is incorrect as has well been documented. it's american u.s. importers paying the tariffs and that's why many expect those costs to be passed on to u.s. consumers.

>> all right. thank you. joining me now, senior reporter with business insider and jonathan allen national political reporter with nbc news. first let's talk about trade war. contrary to what the president argues consumers will ultimately pay for these tariffs. a group estimates it will cost a family of four on average an extra $747 a year. what are the political risks for the president if the economy takes a hit ahead of the 2020 election >> two issues that the president was having take center stage during the 2020 election was immigration and the economy. that's what he's touted as his administration is engulfed in the 16 to 20 investigations going on into every aspect of his life. one thing president trump has said is look at the way the u.s. economy is booming underneath my

administration. so the one thing he's been touting throughout the last couple of years takes a hit i would anticipate that significantly affecting voters view ahead of the 2020 election. >> here's what voters have been telling us about the tariffs. >> it's frustrating. you just know most politicians are familiar with what it's like to live every day in the middle class. >> you have to juggle what you can afford and can afford and a lot of people can even do that. >> we don't know how to per sweperceive we're paying for it. >> how will this play out on the campaign issue? >> it depends on what happens with how it plays out with china. right now you got a president who is touting sort of a big macro economic numbers in terms of gross domestic product growth and a democratic party looking

at individual people you're getting screwed doesn't matter what gross domestic product growth is. the calculation trump is making is that even those voters are feeling economic pinch, they are so tied to him, they believe in him so much, they are willing to sacrifice their own economic strength to vote with him, to go down this road with him with china and the question is, what's the tipping point? it's not consumers paying higher prices but business owners paying higher prices. there's a lot of piece of trump's coalition getting hammered by these tariffs. >> the president wants don mcgahn say publicly he doesn't believe the president obstructed justice. will the house democrats hold

mcgann in contempt as the white house looks to prevent him from testifying. >> this increases the urgency in which the house democrats want mcgann to testify before the house judiciary committee and other committees as well. it's also amazing as we look at this reporting, it's confirmation that obstruction of justice is very much one of the main issues on president trump's mind even as he continues to claim there was no obstruction, no collusion and essentially no obstruction. it's incredible that the white house even after the mueller report came out and laid out this extensive road map against trump in the obstruction case, the white house is doing the same things that got them in hot water in the first place. if we remember what the report said mcgann was one of the most critical witnesses against trump. one thing he said trump wanted him to publicly dispute he tried to have mueller removed and he was prepared to resign instead

of doing that. this bears striking similarities and it's amazing the white house still doesn't recognize how potentially legally problematic these interactions are. >> i want to ask about that. ultimately it won't make a difference legally if mcgahn said he didn't believe the president obstructed justice, but jonathan, politically speaking would it have provided the president with a powerful argument? >> politically speaking it would have been helpful for the president if his white house counsel came out and said they don't believe there was obstruction of justice given that the mueller report uses mcgahn as a data point in the larger case that the president might have obstructed justice. conversely mcgahn declining the president's request is politically harmful. however there are multiple reasons mcgann might do that. one he doesn't believe the president obstructed justice. the other is he's a smart lawyer he doesn't talk about what he might say to congress in public

so there's not a difference in those two things. the president of the united states fights one more legal war and then another war in the public relations realm which gets him in political and legal problems. i think what you've seen here is mcgann is being cautious. we really don't know what he thinks about obstruction. as someone was pointing to, this is a problem for the president that tampering with mcgahn could be taken as its own form of obstruction. >> the president's personal lawyer rudy giuliani, saying he's no longer going to travel to you crane. he told the "new york times" quote we're not meddling in an the election we're meddling in an investigation which we have a right to do. meddling or not, are the optics bad here? >> there's no question that this does not look good for the president and his lawyers.

kind of, this kind of bears parallels to the situation with mcgahn which is that rudy giuliani is kind of engaging in conduct that was questionable in the first place, and, you know, if it sounds familiar it's because this is something, you know, asking a foreign government for dirt on a political opponent. this is something that people like donald trump jr. and jared kushner and paul manafort could have been indicted for. as the report says the only thing that saved them they didn't know they were breaking the law. rudy giuliani is a lawyer so presumably he would know asking a foreign party for political dirt would be against u.s. law. but as i reported earlier this is par for the course when it comes to giuliani, because essentially ever since he's taken over as president trump's personal defense attorney every media appearance he's made, any comment he's made has gotten the president and those around him in deeper trouble either legally or politically. it's shocking but in some ways not surprising.

>> jonathan, what do you think? was this an oversight by giuliani and the white house about the optics? >> i spoke with mayor giuliani at length this week not about ukraine specifically. but there's still a real belief, a strong view in the administration and among the president's friends that there's more work to be done in the area of trying to find out, you know, where this deep state conspiracy that they believe went against the president originated and that they may be able to find some of the answers for that overseas. i'm kind of surprised, i guess. it's hard to be surprised at anything any more. i'm surprised after getting help in the 2016 election from russia and going through the entire mueller investigation process and being in this process in congress that may lead to impeachment, that the president's allies would seek foreign assistance in the next election and, obviously, the

president won in 2016, but at some point someone will make an argument that this isn't exactly the way americans conceive of their elections being won and perhaps voters will be more swayed by that having seen it before. >> all right. jonathan allen, very clean shaven this morning. thank you both for joining us. new this morning president trump is reacting to another north korean weapons test. the north sent up short range missiles on thursday. it was that country's second weapons test in just five days. bill neely joining us now from seoul with the very latest on this. bill, does president trump appear to be down playing the significance of these tests? >> reporter: yes, he is, phillip and so too is south korea's president moon. the first of those tests remember exactly a week ago, the second on thursday.

overseeing and directed by kim jong-un. president trump is down playing this with politico. he said, he was asked first of all, if he was angry or frustrated at these tests and he said no, no, i'm not at all. they're short range. i don't consider that a breach of trust at all. and you know at some point i may. so hedging his bets there. but at this point no. these were short range missiles. very standard stuff. very standard. then he was reminded of his pride that north korea for the last year has not tested any missiles and he was asked therefore if he considered this missile test a setback and he said well actually some of them weren't even missiles. so really down playing this. it's short range he repeated. i don't considerate breach of trust. i'll let you know when i do. it's possible that at some point i will but right now not at all. but the fact is in a previous

comment, he said nobody's happy about these tests and he also said it's quite clear north korea isn't ready to negotiate yet. so, he's recognizing that this isn't progress. it is clear that the talks are going nowhere. they are stalled. these missile tests were a message from kim jong-un, a sign of his frustration at the sanctions. the timing was deliberate when president trump's envoy was here in seoul. the caliber of weapon was deliberate. short range not medium-range or long range. but this is diplomacy by missile and president trump may be down playing this but not ignoring it. >> that's one way for cry for attention. the "wall street journal" is reporting that the weapon test resembles a russian pep capable of carrying nuclear war heads and likely to' provide u.s. missile defenses in south korea. are you hearing anything about

that, bill? >> reporter: yes. military analysts are pretty clear that this is a weapon that was paraded in pyongyang in february of last year. this is the first time it's been tested. it's based on a russian design of a missile. that's significant because it's a low altitude weapon. almost like a cruise missile. it's very difficult to detect and it could evade the u.s. third anti-missile system. it's also very mobile. it was launched from an eight wheel truck. so it means it can be brought in and out very quickly and very difficult there to pinpoint and destroy before any launch. so unlike what president trump said it's not very standard. it is new. it is a threat. but the big question and it's one they are asking here in seoul and in washington, is that it? is that the last test or the is

there more to come? can kim jong-un gamble a little bit more by launching some like a medium-range or a long range missile. that really would, phillip, change the dynamic and give president trump a lot to worry about. >> it sure would. all right. bill neely reporting for us from south korea this morning. bill, thank you. the legal implications of this headline here. trump says it would be appropriate for him to talk to barr about launching an investigation into biden. we'll dig deep into that next. 'cause let's be honest... nobody likes dealing with insurance. right? see, esurance knows it's expensive. i feel like i'm giving my money away. so they're making it affordable. thank you, dennis quaid. you're welcome, guy in kitchen. i named my character walter. that's great. i'd tell you more but i only have thirty seconds so here's a dramatic shot of their tagline so you'll remember it.

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has the president or anyone at the white house ever asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone, yes or no, please, sir. >> the president or anybody else? >> seems you would remember something like that and be able to tell us. >> yeah, but i'm trying the to grapple with the word "suggest." they didn't ask me to open an investigation. >> that was attorney general william barr earlier this month one oath. meanwhile a new interview with the president offers insight what mr. trump thinks is appropriate to ask the a.g. the president telling politico a discussion about launching an investigation into his potential 2020 opponent joe biden would quote certainly be an appropriate thing to do. this comes as his attorney rudy giuliani cancelled a trip to you crane in an effort to help the

president's 2020 campaign. joining me now to discuss msnbc legal analyst danny cevallos. danny, good morning. >> good morning. >> let's cut right to the chase here. is it appropriate for the president to push for political opponents to be investigated? are there any legal consequences here for the president or for barr if they go ahead and. follow through on this? >> one immediate consequence could be impeachment if the president ordered the attorney general to investigate someone like the democratic front-runner, his chief challenger for the office of president. but, the president didn't exactly do that in the interview. had he said i'm calling for the attorney general to investigate joe biden, we might immediately be in impeachment territory. instead trump once again is a master of the elusive language. he uses very noncommittal phrases. i haven't talked to him but if i had talked the to him i think it would be appropriate

hypothetically. had he doesn't so he might be in legal jeopardy. >> the attorney general on thursday jokes about the democrats and their threats to hold him in contempt. let's listen to that. >> in those days the deputy job was a lot different. but i'll tell you now the attorney general job is a lot different also. [ laughter ] you like records. this must be a record of attorney general being proposed for contempt within 100 days of taking office. >> attorney general didn't seem too worried there. do you think holding barr in continue the tempt is the best course legally and barr done seem to be taking this seriously. what do you think will happen here? will he face any legal repercussions? >> many of barr's challenges to date have stemmed from the fact that he doesn't seem to take everything so seriously. he comes off as rather glib in his testimony and that response we heard right there, very consistent with his entire

demeanor which i think really angers democrats and people who would prefer he take these momentous issues much more seriously. at the same time historically in the last several decades of all the executive branch officials that congress has wanted to hold in criminal contempt exactly zero of them have actually been prosecuted and that's because congress requires the aid of the justice department to prosecute people in the executive branch. the justice department is part of the executive branch. specifically, to hold the attorney general in contempt, you're asking the attorney general to prosecute the attorney general for criminal contempt. it's a paradox, it's a rift in the space time continuum and just not likely to happen. that might explain why barr isn't too concerned about it. >> makes sense to me. danny cevallos as always thank you. the president taking charge and making changes to the way the nation's capital celebrates

the fourth of july. could it wind up looking like a trump campaign rally? a late night laugh line the president's tax and stain of red ink. >> the report is astonishing. year after year trump appears to have lost more money than nearly any other taxpayer in america. so i guess we finally found something that trump really is the best at. >> really, democrats? you can't do anything about that? elizabeth warren start calling him brokeahontas. woman: this is your wake-up call. if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, month after month, the clock is ticking on irreversible joint damage. ongoing pain and stiffness

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say hi to grandma and grandpa. ♪ ♪ beyond technology... there is human ingenuity. every day, comcast business is helping businesses big and small go beyond the expected, to do the extraordinary. take your business beyond. now to the morning headlines. several neighborhoods in houston dealing with heavy flooding this morning after torrential rain pounded the gulf coast for days. chopper video showing creeks and rivers spilling over their banks from those downpours. rain and thunderstorms are possible today mainly along coastal communities and flash flood watches are in effect until tonight. >> shots fired. shots fired. he's shooting at officers. frightening moments during a high-speed chase in los angeles. a gunman liens out of a passenger side window shooting at pursuing officers.

the unidentified suspect is wanted in a deadly attempted robbery. the driver and passenger were eventually stopped and are being treated at an area hospital. no officers were injured there. the house stands adjourned until noon on tuesday for morning hour debate. >> another first for new york democratic congresswoman alexandria occasio-cortez. at 29 years old aoc is the youngest woman ever to preside over the house of representatives. she sat in house speaker nancy pelosi's chair on friday as part of routine rotation for house members taking their turn with the gavel and running the chamber. she ran it for about an hour. new this morning president trump is re-inventing the national fourth of july celebration. "the washington post" reporting he's moving it from its usual location on the national mall to be closer to the potomac river and he's making tentative plans to address the nation from the steps of the lincoln memorial which could the turn the celebrations into another version of a trump campaign

rally. good morning to you both. adrianna, should president trump be inserting himself into what's traditionally been a nonpartisan celebration? >> you know, absolutely. he is the president. if he feels like doing something new why not? interior officials say that by moving it from the mall to the west potomac it will allow for more visitors so that's good for all americans. as long as they come in without blowing out the budget, i think it's a good move. why not? >> what's your reaction into him potentially turning this into a campaign rally. >> i'm not surprised about this behavior from the president. we've seen where his comfort zone is. that's the campaign style platform where he can throw out the rhetoric to get a response

from his group of supporters and a chance for him to really continue his effort to not govern but really continue to campaign and be a campaigner in chief as we get closer to his re-election campaign in 2020. i'm not surprised. what i'm most disappointed in, he had many republicans call him out for this. as you said in your opening this traditionally has been a nonpar the at the san measure to do the traditional fourth of july activities at the white house. >> i want to move on to a different topic. another new report from politico says that president trump said that biden's 2020 campaign reminds him of his 2016 race when he surged to the front of that very large republican field. why does the president keep directing attention towards joe biden. what's his strategy there? >> well, i think he thinks, you know, he possibly has the best chance to beat out of all the candidates joe biden. and, you know, there are similarities in terms if you look at joe biden's launch it

was very successful and really, you know, way ahead of all his competitors by about 18% in the latest monmouth university poll. he's trouncing all his competitors in the democratic field. that's similar the to president trump in 2016 where he got out ahead within a very short time after his launch and stayed there. so there are some similarities. >> evidently clear that the president is trying to shape a general election argument very early and he's trying to really generate a response from his base and let them know the seriousness of this race and what joe biden brings to this race. joe biden has consistently been the front-runner but also one of the very few people who are seeking out a nomination that can bring our party together number one but number two pull away some of the support donald trump received in 2016. so, of course, the president is using this as an opportunity to make this about him but also to really appreciate a general election argument and this is

similarity between 2016 and 2020 match-up. he's using this as an opportunity for his supporters to draw out some of his i was the as we saw in 2016 when the republicans did the same thing with hillary clinton. >> i want to give you a chance to expand on that thought. the latest poll out of new hampshire has yojoe biden at 36 while bernie sanders has half of that in second place. do you think that's it, this is a two person contest from here on out? >> listen you never count anyone out because they usually come around and teach you, you don't know how to count. joe biden does enjoy love from the democratic party more so than any other candidate. but here's what will shape this race and that's the african-american vote. while i appreciate new hampshire polls, i value iowa polls and good to read about nevada polls. most important poll is south carolina because that's the battle ground, 60% of

african-americans will cast their vote, 55% women, that's the real test case for joe biden, bernie sanders and any other candidate who will want to go on to be our party's nominee and really it's the best place to grab supper on this long journey to the white house. >> the "new york times" is reporting that president trump wants to capitalize on the china trade dispute for 2020. it says in i had recent statement suggests he believes demonstrating his toughness with the chinese in walking away from a deal might well put him in a better position politically than signing one. what do you think about that? >> absolutely. most americans especially president trump's supporters really appreciate his courage and finally taking on china because there's been massive, you know, trade inequities that have been going on, ignored for decades. he's tired of america getting the short end of the stick whether it's trade. he's addressing china

intellectual property theft and other abuses. he's championing america first policies and finally trying to get this right, and, you know, it's working. people had said president trump was just bluffing. he wasn't going to raise tariffs and then he did. president trump is a man of his word and so far he's winning in this battle against china. >> he's not winning anything other than he's winning what we always knew about donald trump that he's more interested in doing politics versus government. the bottom line is farmers in this country are feeling the pain from some of the activities and some of the positions donald trump has taken and what does he do? he goes and gives them billions of dollars in bail out, same thing that republicans and your party rarely give and blame democrats running the debt. what you'll see is a continue pass down of pain to working people in this country because of the posturing donald trump is

doing. i want to ask about elizabeth warren. she's leading the pack on policy proposals. her go to line, i have a plan for that even made the latest "time" magazine cover. in top polls she's trailing biden and bernie sanders and pete buttigieg. >> i commend the senator for her effort. she's been the most aggressive when it comes to laying out a policy agenda that impacts communities that look like mine. she's being rewarded for her work. she's the answer of the political basketball court. but i do think that she has a problem in the polls in terms of her policy agenda and her policy prescription has not moved her up into where she needs to be politically but it's a long race and i think she's starting to edge up. so direction is far more important than speed. i hope this is transferrable. but she's raising the bar in laying out a policy agenda. >> thank you both.

what goes up must come down. when you could see the difference in price the at the gas pumps? and we want to remind you msnbc is now live every saturday and sunday at 6:00 eastern. we're back in a moment. moment these days we're all stressed. i hear you, sister. stress can affect our minds. i call this dish, "stress." stress can also affect our bodies. so, i'm partnering with cigna to remind you that your emotional

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there are now 1.2 million more unfulfilled jobs than number of unemployed in this country. the latest figures show an 8.5% increase in job openings. indiana expect more jobs to come from sports bettering. the hoosier state is the eighth state to legalize sports wagering. giving fodder to those predicting a retirement crisis many folks hoping to win the lottery instead of investing in their future. a frightening 40% of u.s. consumers think playing and winning the lottery is a good plan. worse yet nearly 60% of millennials are putting stock in lady luck. if all else fails there's hope. marital bliss 3% saying they are just going to look for a rich spouse. all right. you might recall a couple of weeks ago the president claiming gas prices were falling. they are the actually rising and

some reaching the highest national average in years. but as steve patterson shows us pump prices are finally on the decline. >> reporter: this year filling up at the pump has been painful. >> it's killer price here. >> reporter: this spring the price of gas reaching its highest national average since 2011. here's some good news. prices are reaching their peak. aaa says this week the average price of gas dropped in half of all states. today the national average 2.87. . most states are expected to see a drop by memorial day. >> whether they are moving higher or loser think about maximizing your fuel efficiency. >> reporter: on your next trip keep your miles per hour less than 60 miles per hour. and fill up your tires. don't forget to shop around.

gas prices can fluctuate widely even down this street. luckily there are apps to help you fine the cheapiest gas. good news for memorial day travel. when it comes to gas prices there's nowhere to go but down say the experts. high price of a trade war with china, why you may pay for it next. r it next. sure to aim it. i'm aiming it. ohhhhhhh! i ordered it for everyone. [laughing] (dad vo) we got the biggest subaru to help bring our family together. i'm just resting my eyes. (dad vo) even though we're generations apart. what a day. i just love those kids. (avo) presenting the all-new three-row subaru ascent. wave to grandma, everybody. (avo) love is now bigger than ever.

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next battle 2020. joe biden's big lead growing even larger. there's not a thing we cannot do. nothing. let's go. get up. time to get up. >> well political pros say it's too early to take polls seriously. the average of polls bears attention. two weeks ago joe biden led bernie sanders by six points. that lead mushroomed to 20 points and now biden's lead is up almost 27 point now. we are going to keep on winning, winning, winning. >> a very confident president trump has a super p.a.c. with some big spending plans.

america first action reportedly intends to shell out $300 million to boost trump's re-election hopes in the six battle ground states florida, ohio and pennsylvania as well as michigan, and north carolina and georgia. the group figures trump will win the election by capturing all six states. the increased tariffs in the trade war with u.s. and china will soon hit home for american businesses and customers. yes, you will be paying for it. nbc's kevin tibbles explains. >> reporter: at this electronics store in chicago, people giving the prices a once over. >> it is going up. >> reporter: for 83 years, this family owned business has seen it all. for third generation, the rising tariffs on chinese goods may effect business. >> do you want to be involved in a trade war? >> we don't want to be involved in any war of any kind. we are here to sell people what

they need. >> reporter: take last year, because of tariffs in place, you would have paid about $100 more for a washing machine. with this hike from 10% to 25%, nearly 6,000 every day household items go up. from furniture and small electronics and every day items like clothing, shampoo and bed sheets. >> replace the word tariff with taxes. if somebody said your taxes were going up from 10% to 25%, you would be concerned. >> reporter: that has shoppers fuming. >> as a middle class person, it is hard enough to send my kid to college or pay for a home and cars. i don't need prices increasing. >> reporter: for others, a purchase is patriotic. >> are you willing to pay more to put america first? >> yes, i am.

>> reporter: why? >> i'm patriotic and i want our country to be successful. i like being the number one country in the world. >> reporter: an escalating fight that could leave every day americans paying the price. kevin tibbles, nbc news, gl glenview, illinois. >> joining me now is christopher di dickey. editor for nbc news. does he have to cut a deal or is this pushing a little too far? >> i think it is pushing too far. xi jinping is not only a proud man, but staking his entire administration on the idea that he will be a world leader. you can't be a world leader if you have bent to the knee to donald trump in this showdown. there was what looked like agreement a couple of weeks ago, but it looks like xi jinping looked at that and realized certain demands. the demanded china codify into

law the demands put by donald trump were unacceptable. it is too subserviant. >> what trump says he is maintaining a good relationship with chinese president xi. take a listen to that. >> he just wrote me a beautiful letter. i just received it. i'll probably speak to him by phone. look, we have two great alternatives. >> a mixed message from the white house on where the situation stands. >> well, we know that trump loves to talk about his love affairs with author tetarian leaders. when the rubber meets the road and you have to get results, somehow that not working out well for trump. >> the president also went on a tweet storm over these trade tensions threatening to put

tariffs on more chinese goods and use that money to buy from u.s. farmers. he claimed the tariffs will bring in more wealth than a normal trade deal. how are these messages viewed by china? is there a strategy here? >> i think not only china, but the new york times was talking about how delusional trump is when he talks about the money made from tariffs. the tariffs on as your report said, a tax on american consumers. also an attack on american consumers. i think people will start to understand that as prices go up on so many things they use. look at anything you have with the label made in china on it. even things you have that don't have that because only components are made in china. you realize how much more you pay with the tariffs. >> actually i used to have a donald trump tie made in china.

let's turn to the other love affair you spoke within north korea. president trump has a good relationship with kim jong-un as well. when asked about this week's missile launches by the raogue nation, i don't consider that a breach of trust. chris, is this another case of mixed messages from the white house? >> reporter: well, yes. it is confusing message, too. that ship, although the announcement made a couple of days ago, that ship was seized last year. it was stopped in indonesia before the summit in singapore before kim jong-un and trump. it was seized by american justice department a few days after the summit in singapore. we're only announcing that now because they wanted to keep things quiet and make things look good with north korea. things are not good with north korea. kim is launching missiles and he still have nukes and not about to give them up.

>> that is true. as far as we know, "the washington post" reporting the tensions and battles with trump and kim fighting with subordinates. he singled out john bolton saying he has to temper the hard liner. is he at odds with his administration? >> reporter: i think to give trump credit, i think he recognizes bolton is not only a hawk, but in some cases a war-monger. while trump loves to talk tough and have bolton talk tough, he doesn't want to be dragged into a war. one thing that trump does not want is to have to send american troops abroad. bolton is pursuing a lot of policies that might result in that. >> he did campaign on just that. all right. christopher dickey, thank you. she is the woman convicted of conspiracy of acting as an

agent for russia. now she is speaking out in defiance of the claims. you will hear from her coming up. you will hear from her coming up (music throughout) change has many faces. names you'll never know. the bright-eyed,

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good morning from msnbc world headquarters in new york. 7:00 in the east. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." i'm phillip mena. alex is off. we are