. this sunday my sitdown with president donald trump. a blunt, frank and far-reaching interview. >> let me startight in. what happened last night? >> on why he stopped the planned military strike with iran. >> here we are sitting with 150 dead people that would have taken place probably within a half an hourer i said go ahead. and i didn't like it. i didn't think it was -- i didn't think it was proporti proportionate. >> on u.s./iranian relations. >> i didn't want war. if there is, but you can't have a nuclear weapon. >> on children in migrant camps. >> they're in terrible shape down there, mr. president.

in homestead, florida, where ie grup, the conditions are horrible. >> they are. >> on jining a lautd that would kill coverage for pre-existing conditions. >>r am in favo of pre-existing conditions. >> so drop the lawsuit. >> so, we will -- >> drop your aspect of the lawsuit. >> and his biggest regret as president. >> if you could have one do-over as president, what wouldt be? >> and how mr. trump thinks impeachment c impact his re-election opportunities. if he'll keep mike pence on the ticket and whether he's prepared to lose the election. this morning one-on-one withen presidtrump. plus, the democrats ashee into the first debates, joe biden and pete buttigieg confront difficult questions on race. joining me are nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker. william baker, chief correspondent for "the new york times." "wall street journal"ist peggy noonan andlanhee chen of stanford university

welcome to sunday and a special edition of "meet the press." >> announcer: from nbc news, the longest running show in television history, this is aed special ion of "meet the press" with chuck todd. >> good sunday morning. it's safe to say we're at one of the prift points of20 the election cycle. s at thee time, democrats will unofficially hear the starting gun for their nomination fight wha 20idates face off for two nights of debates this wming week in miami. even though he't be there, president trump will be a dominant presence at tho debates. one way or the other, the 2020 election will be a referendum on donald trump. the president will argue he's a successful business n turned president who's created a strong economy, appointed conservativeu dges, ended unnecessary regulations and established a sense of strong and, yes, feared america around the world. in short, he'largue he's made

erica great again. democrats will say he's a bigot who's praised neo-nazis, caged children, lied shamelessly and embarrassed america before the world. in short, they'll argue he's unfit for the office. i sat down with president trump fridaymorning phofor an intervi that touched on, well, everything. we startedec with his dion just hours earlier to call off a retaliatory strike after iran shot down an unmanne american drone. >> mr. president, welcome back to "meet the press." >> thank you. >> let me start right in.ap what hned last night? >> well, you had a situation that was very bad because the night before they shot down an unmanned drone. and the unmanned is a very big factor. the fact there was not a person on it, a u.s. person on it or anybody. and that had an impact on me. i said, well, you know, we got a little problem. and i think they did it on purpose because they understand that they will be hit very hard

if that were a plane with a person in it. and i think they knew that there was nobody there. so, we had a very modest but pretty heavy attack scheduled. >> and this was a preplan you had. something that if you did something -- they were sort of ready-made plans. >> we had many of them. i have so many targets, you wouldn't believe. we have targets all over. >> did you green light something or had you osaid, if we d it, i'll do this? what was the order? >> nothing is green lighted until the very end because things change. >> so you neval gave a f order? >> no, no. we had something ready to go, subject to my they came in, they came thisou abt a half hour before and said, we're about ready to go. i said, i want a better definition -- >> were planes in theair? >> no, no. they were about ready to go. no, but they would have been pretty soon. things would have happen to a point where you wouldn't turn back or couldn't turn back. so, they came and they said,

sir, we're ready to go. we'd like a decision. i said, i want to know something before you go. how many people will be killed? in this case iranians. i said, how many people are going to be killed? sir, i'd like to get back to you on that.op great pe, these generals. they said -- came back, said, sir,ma approly 150. and i thought about it for a second. i said, you know what, they shot down an unmanned drone, plane, whatever you want to call t, and here we are sitting with 150 dead people that would have ithin a ace probably half an hour after i said go ahead. and i didn't like it. i didn't think it was -- i didn't think it was proportion te. >> do yonk they were trying to provoke you? >> no, i don't think so. and it was very important to them -- don't forget -- >> you don't think they intended to get you to respond ? militarily >> their economy is shattered. shattered. >> what's the --

>> the inflation is through the roof. worse than anyplace -- they're living n>> well. do you want to do a separate deal with iran or get everybody invoed in the same deal, get the russians,chinese. >> i don't care what kind of a deal. it can s barate or total. >> it's one-on-one talks you and the ayatollah or --tt >> it doesn't to me. anything to get you to the result, they cannot have a nuclear weapon. it's not about the straits. a lot of people cover i incorrectly. they never mention -- they cannot have a nuclear weapon. they'dse it. and they're not going to have a nuclear weapon. >> did you send a ssage last night? reuters is reporting you sent a message to the iranians saying, i don't want a war. i want to talk. >> i did not send tha message. >> send a message right nowto the ayatollah. >> it's fake news. >> send a message right now to the ayatollah. >> itn' woube much different from that message. >> which is? >> i'm not looking for war. objecte is, it will be lit rags like you've never seen

before. but you can't have a nuclear weapon. you want to talk good otherwise you'll have a bad economy for three years. >> no >> not as far as i'm concerned. no preconditions. >> and you'll talk anyway? >> here it is. you cannot have nuclear weapons. if you do, you can live in a shattered economy for a long time to coue. >> do yo feel like you were being pushed into military action by any of your advisers? >> i havewo groups of people. i have doves and some hawks. >> you have some seriouss. hawk >> john bolton is an absolute hawk. if it was up to him, he would take on the world at one time. i was against going into iraq. for years and years. before it ever happened, against going into iraqi. i was a private citizen. i was against going into the middle east. chuc we spent$7 trillion in the middle east right now. >> what would candidate trump have said about a president who on hi watch had iran shooting

down a drone, a venezuela dictator thumbing his nose at you, no resul on the border. >> let me -- >> what would candidate trump say. >> the border is doing great. mexico has been fantastic. they've been trying to get a deal with mexico for 45 for 45 years they couldn't get a deal. i got one in one day. we agreed in one day.co meust moved 6,000 people to their southern border. 6,000 troops to their southern border. the border is working out well and the wall is being built. people don't like to talk about we'll have 400 miles of wall built by the end of next year. that's hard because the democrats don't want to approve it. we just beat them in a big lawsuit, as you know, in washington and d.c. we jusbeat them in a big lawsuit -- >> doesn't it worry you your border numbers are worse than obama's? >> no, people are coming up because the economy is good. obama had a lousy it was a dead economy. >> let me show you this chart.

you see that chart? >> >>yeah. t's the unemployment rate from the peak of the recession. your economy is great. i'm not saying it's not great. bu this recovery started and in the 28 months you've been president and the last 28 months of obama's pridency, he averaged more new jobshan your first 28. >> that's because he started off with such a bad base. >> okay. >> i mean, he hits -- >> but is it not -- >> chuck, you have to laderstand, nobody was working. the whole p was a disaster. and i don't -- i've never take that awayryut it's easy because when that turned they pumped a tremendous amount of money into e economy. he also had a federal reserve person who kept the interest rates low. i do not. >> sounds like you do now. >> no, no. >> he raised them far too fast. >> your threat to demote him. do you think that's had an impact? >> i never threatened to demote him. >> there was talk you threatened to demote him to the number two spot. >> i can do that. >> that's not a threat? >> i he the right t do that but i haven't said that.

what he's done is $50 billion a month in quantitative tightening? that's ridiculous. he raised interest rates too fast. >> do you think it's going to hurt your re-election? >> i think the economy is so strong, we'll bowl through it but i'm not happy with his actions. no, i don'tthink he's done a good job. if he didn't raise rates -- obama had very low rates. obama was playg with funny money. i wasn't. i'm playing with the real stuff. >> let me ask you this. >> wait, wait. obama had somebody that kept the rates very low. i have someone that raised ths ratery rapidly, too much. he made a mistake. that's been proven. and yet my economy is phenomenal. we have now the best economa ybe in the history of our country. just to finish off. when i took over this country, the economy was ready to collapse. you take a look at the numbers. it was ready to collapse. and if i didn't win -- >> i just showed you the numbers. it wasn't ready to collapse.

>> you showed me the unemployment rate. take a look at your gdp, optimism, all of theen charts wh i took over, from election day on, you show me one chart -- i did well in that too, but i'm not talking about that. take a look at the optimism charts, it went from 57 to 92. >> u're right. you're right. optimism, you're right. >> optimism is a bi part of success in business. >> you were always hard on obama. you didn't think he was enough of a cheerleader. >> he was not a cheerleader. >> if you could have one o-der as president, what would it be? >> it would be personnel. if it would be one do-over, i would nohave appointed jeff sessions as attorney general. >> that in your mind >> yes. >> is bill barr your -- >> i think he's a very talented -- >> you always said, where's my -- >> i had many, many lawyers. roy was one of them. he was a tough guy. >> cut from the same cloth, do

yo think? >> bill barr is equally as tough. he's a fine man. he's a fine man.th e job he's done is incredible. he's brought sanity back. i think 's real. i don't think, i know. he's respected. he loves the department of justice. he saw what was happening. he has done a spectacular job. now he's in the process of doing mething and i stay away from it. i really -- i stay away from it. but i think he feels that what's happened in this country was a very bad thing a f very bad our country. >> that's part one of my interview with president trump. since there's a lot to unpack, we'll unpa it inbite-sized chunks. let me bring in my panel, peggyn noon kristen welker, peter baker, chief white house correspondent for "the new york times." first takeaway, peter. >> you're jousting him in an interesting way. it's interesting he's letting you do this. most presidents won't allow you

to push him that way but that's the only way you get him to talk. >> i think he likes that. >> i think he doin. and i he's enjoying giving you his case for re-election, as you already outlined, basically. he's runningmyhe econo despite all the things obama had done wrong. he's the one who will be tough on iran when obama just gave away the store. the question is whether the results are going to end up being there november 2020. as you said, wall is not built. border crossings are up.n ca he make enough of a case on >>obamacare. e already made foils. his fed chair can slow down the economy. democrats hurt him at the rder. jeff sessions, worse mistake he made. those are people to blame if things aren't going right. >> let me start there, chuck. he mentioned jeff sessions, but he first said personnel. thought that was notable. look at how this week evolved. he's grappling with iran butdo n't have a defense secretary in place. hasn't had a permanent defense

secretary for six months. he's dealing with what's der, this at the bo decision to pull back on his that of i. krmplgc.e. deportatid taking aim at jerome powell and dangling the possibility of demoting him to the second spot. you're starting to see him line theexcuses, but it continues to plague him as he makes these critical choices. >> what did you see there, peggy? >> all correct. i agree with everything you said but mostly what i saw was he loves this. he loves talks. he loves interviewing. he's loaded for bear. he's thought out the forrays he's going to take in the future. i thought the most interesting thing heid was, i have doves and i have hawks. explaining his iran decision this week. i think the american people will be sympathetic to that decision, sympathetic to the declared reasons for it.

and sympathetic or supportive of the idea he's thinking about this and he's got a lot of different people and he listens to them and then he makes a decision. >> i'll tell you, i don't believe he ever would have ordered the strike. the person i'veed intervi and known for a long time and his position on this, but he -- he was reveling in the fact he had everybody confused. >> thishe was t classic articulation of trumpian democracy at work. i mpian diplomacy at wor mean. you think about it this way. there's a piece of leverage, that maybe he's created and he doesn't allow people to really s know what he thinkings. and so he may or may not exercise or use that leverag he uses that to bring his adversary to the table. you've seen it with north korea. u've seen it with china. you've seen it with mexico. now you're seeing it with iran. and it is -- in many ways it's become entirely predictable. the unpredictable has become

predictable. i think you're right. i think if you look at trump from the campaign, you look at the donald trump we know about sot wanting to get entangled in the middle ea it was very unlikely he was going to launch that. >> was that a confident president or is he trying to show too -- so much confidence because he's nervous about the economy. he is nervous about iran. he is nervous about the border. he's nervous about jeff sessions, which is code for igations and mueller. >> look, as you said, he just announced his re-election. he's eager to get out in the fight. but there's this insecurity that fuels this cocky kind of persona he likes to project to the public. e's always been this idea that he hasn't done enough to impress the elites, even at the same time he lkes to bash the elites. i think this a is part parcel of his appeal, peggy has written oout this, to a lot of americans whout there feel the same way. you guys are looking down on me, but i'm doing okay he . why do you treat me this way? >> chuck, i wrote this phrase

down when you asked him about the economy. he said, t we're going bowl through it. i thought that was striking. ist not sort of the word or the term that you would i use you're feeling really confident about the future prospects of the economy. >> that's a grinder comment. i'm going grind my re-election. >> exactly. i saw a president at the white house this week and in your interview, internally conflic d conflicted. how to seem tough and not get mired min theddle east. >> coming up, more of my president trump interview. the battle over pre-existing of those and all children in migrant camps. >> they're in terrible shape down there, mrpresident. down there in homestead, florida, that's where i grew up, the coitions are terribnd (alarm beeping) o welcome tour busy world. where we all want more energy. but with less carbon footprint. that's why, at bp, we're working to make energy s that'cleaner and better. we're producing cleaner-burning natural gas.

and solar and wind power. and wherever your day takes you... we have advanced fuels for a better commute. and we're developing teultra-fast-charging nology for evs.. at bp, we see possibilities everywhere. so we can all keep advancing. jobut we're alson a cancer fighting, hiv controlling, joint replacing, evand depression relig company. om the day you're born we never stop taking care of you. the one thing you learn pretty as a small bquickly,owner, is that there's a lot to learn. grow with google is here to help you with turning ideas into action. putting your business on the map, connecting with customers, and getting

the skills to use new tools. so, in case you're looking, we've put all the ways we can help in one place. free training, tools, and small business resources are now available at google.com/grow when i was diagnosed with ms, the firstwas my family.ht about i came home and cried. the medicine has progressed diright alongside it. trying to make medications more affordable is important, but if washington isn't careful we might leave innovation behind. let's fix the system the right way. innovation is hope, and the last thing you want to lose in life is hope. welcome back. continuing now with my interview with president trump. as you'le see, w hit a lot of

topics in this part of our sitdown, starting with the crisis on the border. >> i want to ask what's going down with these children in the migrant camps. the stories are horrible, mr. president. you have children without their parents. h youave kids taking care of kids. y>> yeah. >>'ve read these reports. i know people are coming to ky. you think this is the democrats' problem. >> well -- >> forget it. why aren't you doing something about it. >> are you ready? >> they're in terrible shape down there, mr. president. down in homestead, florida, where i grew up, the conditions are terrible. >> i agree. >> do something. >> and it's about enthat huawei for a long time. >> do something. >> and preside obama built the cages. they said i built them. >> do two wrongs make a >> chuck, listen for one second. spras for president obama, i took over separation. i'm the one that put i together. what's happening are the cartels and all these bad people are using the kids. they're -- it's almt like slavery. >> let's not punish the kids more.

>> this is -- >> the kids are getting punished more. >> you're right. and thien has be happening long before i got there. what we've done is created -- we've ended separation. you know, under president obama you had separation. i was one that ended it. now, i said one thing. when i ended it, i said, here's what's going to happen. more families are going to come up. and that's what's happened. but they're really coming up for the economics. once you ended the separation -- but i ended separation. i inherited separation from president obama. president obama built -- they call them jail cells. they were built by the obama -- >> let's talk about, your administration, you're not doing the recreation, not even schooling these kids anymore. you got -- >> we're doingc a fantas job under the circumstances. the democrats aren't even approving giving us money. where's the money? you know what,he democrats are holding up the humanitarian aid. >> it looks like these kids are being used as some sort of --s it hostage? >> well, they are being used. they are being used b by very people on the other side. >> as political -- >> they are getting paid.

money is being made using them beuse our lawsre so bad. if you have a child, you have an advantage. you know tett br than anybody. >> why let the political debate hurt these children? they could be impacted for >> if the democrats would change the asylum laws and the loopholes, which they refuse to do because they think it's good politics, everything would be solved immediately. but they refuse to do it. they refuse to do it. do you know haw if they change -- i used to say 45 minutes. it's 15 minutes. if they changed asylum and if they change loopholes, everything on the border would be perfect. >> let me ask you this. why do you think nancy pelosi has held off her impeachment caucus? >> becau i think she feels i'll win much easier. i've been told -- >> do you think impeachment is good politics for you? >> i tnk i win the election easier. but i don't like -- look, i did nothing wrong. i was spid on. what they did to me was illegal. it was illegal on the other side. i did nothing wrong.

impeachment is a very uinair thbecause nothing i did was wrong. if you look at the mueller report, there was no collusion.a this wasll about collusion. >> there is not a single -- i've read this mueller report both -- >> did he use the word collusion? >> there's not one place he says nothing hapned. >> i'l be honest with you, nobody mentions russia anymore since the mueller report. nobody mentions russia anymore. and it was about russia. it was a hoax. >> let me ask you this -- >> wait, wait. while he we'll give you the time you need. >> what hoax? >> a russian hoax with me. >> you don't believe the russians interred -- >> what they did with respect to our electionnts differe. we're not talking about that we're talking about my campaign -- >> you were conspireing -- >> -- was a hoax. good. >> going back on wikileaks, knowing now that was stolen foreign material, do you regret using it? >> i wouldn't have but this was well known. it was in papers. i'm going back a long ways --

>> it s rumored to be russian stolen property, how why would you use it? >> how would i know that. i made a speech. >> knowing they're a russian intelligence asset, do you gret it? >> wikileaks, that's not my deal in life. i don't know about wikileaks. it was atrange name. there was something about wikileaks, they had information. i say it in a joking manner at p ch. joking. everybody laughing and -- they made it like it was serious. no. i don't want anything bad to happen t our country. anything bad happens to this country, i will end it and i'll end it fast. i don't want any of that to sppen. >> you're going vladimir putin in a week. >> yes. >> are you going to address to him directly about interference in the 2020 election? >> i may. if you would like me to that derek. >> your answer last week invited him to do it again. >> oh, that's not true. that's not true. >> are you going to tell him not

to and the consequence -- >> i said i'd do both except they didt put iton. when they put it on, people understood. they didn't put it on because theyut a different segment on. they asked me a question, yeah, i do both. people saw that in the last version of that because theth g played all weekend and on friday. so, it's just more fake news. chuck, there's so much fake ne . >> the republican party has changed in your image. do you think you caed that change or do you think the party was changing and you were the leader they selected? >> i think common sensech ged it. i'm common sense. people say, are you conservative -- i guess i'm conservative. i'm about common sense. we need borders. by the way, mexico has done a great job. it's slowed down so much. but we have an amazing economy and people want to come up. i'm about borders. i'm about great health care. bomg obamacare is a disaster. i got rid of the individual mandate. >> why is the economy doing so

well -- >> you said obamacare is goingr to dest the economy. >> we managed it great. i had a choice. i could have let it implode and ve --d it or i could >> you're still trying to kill it. why are you trying -- if you -- this lawsuit that the department of justice joined, itcould get rid of pre-existing conditions. >> i am in favor of pre-existing conditions. >> drop the lawsuit. drop your aspect of the lawsuit. >> it has nothing to do with it. the lawsuit is one thing. we're going to put in a bill. total pre-existing conditions. and the republicans are in favor of pre-existing conditions. >> you have full republican control and they couldn't pass anything. >> chuck, are you ready? >> do you think -- >> we had a negative vote from john mccain. but i got rid of the worst part obamacare which was the individual mandate. we will always protect pre-existing conditions. . threason obamacare will continue is -- wait. we have a n maned azar, our secretary, a fantastic man, alex. a total pro. i could have managed obamaca

so it would have failed or i could have managed it the way we did so it'ss good as itan be. not great but it's as -- it's too expensive. the premiums are too high. i had a decision to make. i could have politically killed obamacare. i decided not to do it. but still,t's not good. we're going to coming up with great health care if we win the house, the senate and the presidency. >> are you prepared to lose? >> no, probably not. >> fair enough. >> probably not. >> you choke -- >> it would be much better if said, yeah. it will be much easier for me to say, well,y he.m no, probably not too prepared to lose. i haven't lost that much. >> you didn't like the fact you lost the popular vote. that bothered you, didn't you? >> i'll say something that, again, is controversial. there were a lot of votes cast that i don't believe. i loo, at california -- >> mr. president -- >> excuse me. take a look at judial watch. take a look at their settlement. california admitted to a million vote >> million votes of what?

>> take a look at -- >> what are you talking about? >> judicial watch made a settlement. >> by what? >> there was much illegal voting. let me talk to you about popular vote. do you have a second? >> yes. >> you like popular vote. i think i do better with the popular vote. but i didn't campaign for the popular vote. you didn't seeme campaigning in california and new york. if it was up to the popular vote, i would have done i think, even better. i won 306 to 223, which was a lot, in the electoral college. but it's like you're training for the 100-yard-dash versus the mile. >> you're totally right. i don't disagreto >> i went michigan, she didn't go to michigan enough. i won michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvan. i won places that she didn't do a good job. what can i tell you? no, maybe i did a great jo i never git credit for that. they always say she was a lousy candidate. i actually think hillary clinton was a great candidate. she was very smart.

she was very tough. she was ruthless and vicious. >> you'd rather run agast her, wouldn't you? you only talked about her in your announcement speech. you spent a lot of time talking about her. >> no, no. i'd actually rather run against bide that would be my preference. >> why? >> sleepy joe. she was not sleepy. the electoral college ious ter for a republican to win the popular vote -- at least me. i g feel that ito three places. i went to 19 or 21 states. i went to maine four times because i wanted to get one. etd i did g it. that's the beauty of the electoral college. i've been a proponent of the other sometimes and i change. i will tell you, the electoral llege brings you to many of the states in this country. >> you have joked about a third term. you've joked abou -- >> i only joke. i joke and i say, watch, i will drive chk todd crazy. >> okay. you will -- >> yes -- >> you will accept the result, you will accept whatever happens in 2020? >> sure. >> you're going to be, you may

not like it and walk out. >> i said at a speech recently,l watch, we'rive the media crazy. let's go for a third term and then a fourth. some of the media said, he is going to do it. >> speaking of driving people crazy, when you were asked about mike pence in 2024 and you paused aboutendorsing him as your successor, that got a lot of people going, ifke pence 100% on your ticket in 2020? >> well, 100%,y he. >> 100%? >> yes. >> he's been a terrific vice president, a friend, a lot of things. >> why did you hesitate in endorsing him? >> it was a surprise question. i wasn't even thinking about it. it's so far out. i mean, it's so far out.ou that w be the only reason. now, what happens in 2024? i don't know mike is going to run. >> yes, there's much more to my interview. you can see it all unedited, soup to o nuts on website,

meetthepress.com. when he we return, the panel is back a in a few minutes, the oval office. >> i think, somebody said i read >> i think, somebody said i read this morning, i have can you love >> i think, somebody said i read this morning, i have wearing powerful sunscreen? yes! neutrogena® ultra sheer. unbeatable protection helps prevent early skin aging and skin cancer with a clean feel. the best for your skin. ultra sheer®. neutrogena so chantix can help you quit slow turkey.rkey.

along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. with chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting. chanhex reduces the urge so wthe day arrives, you'll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. when you try to quit smoking with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggreson, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking, or life-threatening allergic and skin reactions. decrease alcohol use. use caution driving or operating machinery. tell your doctor if you've had mental health problems.mo the most com side effect is nausea. quit smoking slow turkey. tach to your doctor aboutix. but allstate helps you. with drivewise. feedback that helps you drive safer.

and that can lower your cost now that you know the truth... are you in good hands? but some give their clients cookie cutter portfolios. lofisher investments tai portfolios to your goals and needs. some only call when they have something to sell. fisher calls regularly so you stay informed. and while some advisors are happy to earn commissions whether you do well or not. fisher investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. maybe that's why most of our clients come from other money managers. fisher investments. clearly better money management.

back now with the panel. peggy. >> yes. >> there's a lot to digest in that one because we wentt a lo of places. i first want to start with the child migration issue because he just -- there is -- he's no personalizing that one. he personalizes almost everything in our interview. he wants -- he sounds a bit almost too dispassionate. >> that's interesting you found him to be a little distanced on the subject. i know he thinks it is a big issue for him still. in the coming election. i know also there is probably sense within him that he is perceived by others to be failing there at the border. not onlysuor the is you mentioned, which are very serious, but because it's three years now and nothing is under control down there. so, maybe that has something to

with histhinking. but i'll tell you, i was listening to your audience here as we were watching this interview. and, man, i thought of the old -- look, this president, we shouldn't lose sight of it because we see him every day. this is a compelling character who people are watching closely. in is a character. he reminded me -- he's got a line on every subject and he reminded me of the old real estate salesman saying, always be closing. >> yes. >> i sense he is always closing. but i heard a lot of laughter from your audience. i'ot sure i can interpret the kind of laughter, but, man, it was total engagement. >> you know, i think the frustrating thing about immigration, i would imagine, probably to a lot of people is this president is in a position to do the deal on immigration. >> boy, he has been. >> he is in the position, and

everyone knows the terms of the deal. everyone understands what the democrats want out of it. everyone understands what the republicans would like to see in terms of border security and a merit-based system. he's the one that can get this done. imagine it's frustrating. it's politics involved. that. it's an election year. it's especially difficult to do immigration in an election year but i still inc. this the president is the one to have the opportunity and ge and get that deal done. >> did he bluff -- it's interesting peggy said always closing, but is ho going t get a reputation that he bluffs too much? >> yeah, that's a great question. the last two weeks basically he's done isree times. mexico and the tariffs. he says, i'm going to impose these crippling tariffs unless you give me what i want. pulled off and got a deal. go did the same thing with iran. not that he t a deal but pulled back on the strike. and the i.c.e. deportation, nancy pelosi called me so i decided to hold off for two

weeks. >> he gives democrats credit. i'm not sure if that's smart with swing voters. >> he's being accommodating. even though it's the crisis he set up. this weekend is going to be mass deportations. well, maybe not. he likes to create crisis and be the solver of the crisis. he's a showman. it's a way of getting where he wants g you put out a maximalist, almost extreme version of what you want to get in order to push yourde other sio get 70%, 80% of what you want. that works sometimes but a lot of times he's coming up with a deal that's not much of a deal. >> chuck,a whing your exchange with him about kids at the border, it reminds me of the phrase he uttered over and over, i alone can fix it. i think he's deeply frustrated that he can't fix it. he did walk up to the line of the deportations that were supposed to start today and say, look, now i'm calling de crats and republicans to get

something done on asylum. that's not going to happen. what could happen, they are consthering these bills at would add more funding to dhs, to hhs at the border. and he'll claim credit and say, look, we got this done ultimately. >> i want to talk about what he said about joe biden.linton and one of your neighbors on "the wall street journal" editorial ge, daniel henniger, had an interesting servation about joe biden and sleepy joe. mr. biden may be doing so well in the head-to-heads against mr. trump because many voters mply want respite from the nonstop trumpian atmosphere of disruption and volatility. for them, sleepy joe biden may not be an insult. i thought that was -- in some ways, that interview and this column, you see how that could go together. >> oh, sure. do you remember on the ed sullivan show when we were ttle children, there w a guy who came and balanced plates.

there would be a stick, put a plate up, get it etgoing, g another and run back and forth just trying to keep them all up. balancing ates is part of the tone of this administration. and of this president. look, it's nonstop harem scare 'em. even something in the past that might have been as cleanly, logically handled as the iran thing became harem, scare 'em. i did it for t s reason. he's exhausting. i think a threat for the president is that he tends to exhaust not into submission but into ultimate aversion. many people inmi the le who would like to be sympathetic towards him thinks, oh, my goodness, this is too pch. >> sto tweeting, stop taunting. >> it's too much. >> that's how the president gets things done. this is his style. it's this notion that you're going to change who he is, i

think weuphould give on that. all the criticism about there being no processhin twhite house. do you really expect there won't be a process in this white house? and the president arrives at wa decisions the he's going to arrive at decisions. i don't understand. all these democratic candidates criticizing on process. i get it, i love good process more than anything else. why do it? it's not a compelling argument. he's going to do what he wants to do. >> it can exhaust people. >> i think he's struggling on how to take on biden.he you saw that whe was in florida launching his campaign. he went back to his talking points bs on hillary clinton because in some m ways he'se comfortable there. >> he decided ghe was aat candidate now. >> exactly. >> that's interesting. great , because she's a candidate because it would make his victory -- >> seem that much more impressive. >> yes, yes. >> we're going to pause it here. there is another big event in a couple of days. coming up, the democrats battle for the nomination as we head

into the first democratic party debates. joe biden and (burke) at farmers insurance, we've seen almost everything, mo we know how to cover alst anything. even a parking splat. fly-by ballooning. (man) don't...go...down...oh, no! aaaaaaahurhhhhh! (b) rooftop parking. (burke) and even a hit and drone. (driver) relax, it's just a bug. that's not a bug, that's not a bug! (burke) and we covered it. talk to farmers. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ brushing only reaches % of your mouth. listerine® cleans virtually 100%. helping to prevent gum disease and bad breath. never settle for 25%. always go for 100. bring out the bold™ the cloud i need? it has to keep up with sales, supply chain, inventory - ♪ ♪ it needs to track it all, from cincinnati to singapore. ooo! ♪ ♪ and protect it all. customer records, our financials,

they better be secured. but i also neegeeasy access, to mana data across my clouds - ivno matter where it l. ♪ ♪ so if an auditor shows ui can b. that's the cloud i want. is that to much to ask? expect more from youcloud. ibm cloud.

welcome before we get to the democrats, we wanted to show you one more moment from my sitdown with present trump. u. administrations have long allied themselves with saudi arabia and the trump administration is no exception. but in view of continued human rights abuses by the saudis, including the murder and smemberment of the journalist jamal khashoggi, i asked the president why he overruled congress to allow more arm sales to saudi arabia. his answ boiled down in a word, money. >> they buy massive amounts -- $150 billion worth of military equipment that, by the way, weu we use their military equipment. and unlike other countries that don't have money and we have to s

s subsigize. it's a broducer of jobs. >> it makes you overlook some of their bad behavior? >> no, i don't like anybody's bad behavior. >> the unitedions said they'd like the united stateso t order the fbi to investigate jamal ogkh's death and possibly nbs's involvement in it. will you allow the fbi to do that? >> i think it's been heavily investigated. >> by who? >> by. everybody >> by the fbi? >> here's where i u. are ready? iran has killed people every day. this is a vicious, hostile place. iftou're going to look saudi arabia, look at iran. look at other countries, i won't mention names, and take a look at what's happe yng. th go outside of the middle east and you take a look at what's happening with countries, okay? and i only say, they spend $400 to $450 billion over a period of time, all money, all jobs, buying equipment -- >> that'sthe price. as long as though keep buying, you'll overlook this behavior? >> no, but i'm not a fool that

says we n't want to do business with them. by the way, if they don't do business with us, they'll do business with the russians or chese. they will buy -- we make the best equipment in the world, but they will buy great equipment from russia and fomr as a small business owner, the one thing you learn pretty quickly,a ais that there's t to learn.s grow with google ire to helptty quyouly,a with turning ideas into action. putting your business on the map, connecting with customers, and getting the skills to use new tools. so, in case you're looking, we've put all the ways we can help in one place. frl training, tools, and smbusis are now available at google.com/grow but dad, you've got allstate. with accident forgiveness they guarantee your rates won't go up just because of an accident. smart kid. indeed. are you in good hands?

but we're also a v,company that controls hi figh cancer, repairs shattered bones, relieves depssion, helps you back from rokes, and keeps you healthy your whole life. from the day you're born we never stop taking care of you. from the day you're born ♪ ♪ this simple banana peel represents a bold idea: a way to create energy from household trash. it not only saves about 80% in carbon emissis... it helps reduce landfill waste. that's why bp is partnering with a california company: fulcrum bioenergy. to turn garbage into jet fuel. because we can't let any good ideas go waste. at bp, we see possibilities everywhere. to help the world keep advancing.

when it comes to reducing the evsugar in your family's diet,an coke, dr pepper d pepsi hear you. we're working together to do just that. bringing you more great tasting beverages with less sugar or no sugar at all. smaller portion sizes, clear calorie labels and reminders to think balance. because we know mom wants what's best. more bevbalanceus.org, smaller portions, less sugar. we like coffee, layovers- -and waiting on hold. what we don't like is relying on fancy technology for help. snail mail! we were invited to a y2k party...

uh, didn't that happen, like, 20 yrs ago? oh, look, karolyn, we've got a mathematician on our hands! chn k it out! now you caschedule a callback nt or reschedule an appoint, even on nights and weekends. today's xfinity service. simple. easy. awesome. i'd rather not.

back now with end game. i think we have an idea, peter baker, of what the first bigis challenge for not just joe biden but for a lot of the democratic candidates that are in the top tier. that is, confronti thesue of race, appealing to african-american voters and answering for past discretions. joe biden and this working with segregationist. here's how a bunch of his democratic rivals ripped into him on that. >> what he's speaking on with such adoration are individuals who made their reputation on session gags. >> that civility gave us today's status quo that is not working for millions of people. >> as a black man in america, i know the legacy of this kind of language. i know how it still hurts and oeill harms. >> j biden went on al sharpton's show on msnbc yesterday to try to re-explain what he meant. take a listen.

>> it hurts when you talk about boy. it means something different to us. >> it does. >> it hurts when you call a racist like you normalize. that's not the biden i got to know. don't you understand it? >> i fully understand. that's not what i said, though. do you know what i mean? the context was totally different. by the way, the fact of the matter is i ran against all those folks. >> peter baker, w t did learn from this incident? >> look, what we learned, joe biden is not pro-segregationist, he's not flirting with segregationist ideas. what he's talking about isid th we're supposed to work across the aisle and therg ene of neither party is there. i think it's a generational nging. he's talbout the 1970s when people want to talk about the 2020s. he's talkingabout jim eastland. who's going to remember jim e t eastland? that's not a good

representation. when you're the option pty candidate, you need to be freshness and change. he's not where the party energy is right now. may be enough to get him the nomination, maybe not but that's not where the activism is. >> i think peter is right. the way that struck me is biden handled it in ae v trumpian way. whoever wins this nomination will go up against a president who does not ologize, typically. every once in a while. if the democrats -- of course, they're sort of tearing each other apart, but a ift the end of the day they apologized for various different things, does that leavevethe eual nominee? >> i'm starting to buy into the comparison, is joe biden the mitt romney of 2012? meaning where you have a base of the party, a base of the party that wanted something else, but he was considered, well, that's your best shotat getting obama. the base of the democratic party wants something else, but then

there's this idea, joe biden is your best shot at getting donald trump. >> i think arguably mitt romney was closer in terms of having been -- having governed and having had a record a little closer to when he ran for president. the problem with biden is the separation between so much of his political record because, yes, he was vice president but people don't really account for that if they're thinking about joe biden's political identity. they think about it fromthe 1970s. that separation is huge. if you think the democratic candidatesre attacking biden now, just wait. in a political primary where they agree on 90% ofli pocy, it's going to be aboutaw drg distinctions. you'll see it in the debates this week. >> well done. >> thank you. the way ey go after him. if you think this is bad now, just wait. >> he is the person in the way of the ambitions of a whole bunch of the other candidates who will be on the stage on wednesday and thursday i think s

biden probablyo get used to the idea that maybe starting out in subtle ways and then tougher ways, a lot of people are going to try to make hm a pinata, you know. and he's got to be able to handle that. and you don't hand it by bringing up 50-year-old references t senators who made your party look very bad and whose name reminds you of their bad history in that area. who e question, though, is had the worst week in the democratic primary? is it joe biden or is it pete buttigieg who's getting tested with a crisis in south bend. a white police officer kills a black citiz of southbend. he's been there most of the weekend dealing with protesters and really being read the riot act. here's a quick excerpt. >> did you just ask me if black lives matter >> yes. >> we want to hear you say it. >> of course, black lives matter. >> then fire your cops!

>> wcome to the nfl. this is a big test. pete buttigieg, is he ready for the national stage in his own city? this to me is a big test for him. >> it's a big test. unlike former vice president biden, he doesn't have a long-established relationship with the african-american community. he didn't work on civil rights. and he'seally just starting to introduce himself to american voters. right now that was taking place in south bepnd. to what extent will it resonate? clearly a topic of the debates. what he did was he was smart, he went off the campaign trail, he went back home and dealt with people in his own community face-to-face. the question is, did he do a good enough job? >> we're getting skrut fli here. politico said the police department hasn't gotten more diverse, it's gotten more white. when you look at miami, new york, l.a., all of them realize the onebig thing they had to

change was diversifying their police force. you're sitting there going, 2012 pened in hasn't h south bend? >> pete buttigieg has done very well up until now off a really go presentation on television. he presents himself really well. we'll start looking at his actual record. he's running a city of before 100,000 people it's not been scrutinized up until now. this is going to bring that home. you're right, he goes there, he confronts the issue head-on. i think that obviously helps him in a sense. you'e right. thcord is going to come back and haunt him a little bit. >> bad week to have a bad week. >> beyond the reco, there's also a thin skinness about his response that will not wear well on the campaign trail. >> he had never shown that before. >> right, right. there'sthis one moment when you read it, it looks terrible. he didn't mean it the way it came across. i don't want your vote. i am not playing politics. it came across. a horrible exchange for him. >> i was in south bend recently. i gothe impression talking to a lot of people that they approved of him as mayor, but

theyhought he had some problems. one thing is, this is the sort of cool and technocratic fellow. >> >>interesting. yeah, doesn't always translate higher. >> fabulous way to describe him. not always a compliment. i want to show you one final moment with my interview with president trump. it happened in the ove. offic where we also got a surprise visit from mike pence. when i asked the president something about his legacy. >> have you tht about a presidential library? >> i am so busy, i know a lot of people mentioned it to me, the library. ial >> yeah. >> i'm so busy -- >> do you know where yet you'd want it? >> i haveof lot locations, actually. >> i know you do. >> the best part, i don't have to worry about buying a location. >> would you want it at one of your properties? >> i've been treated so great in florida. you know, i've been treated great in so many states -- >> i take it you'd wantur library where your people would go. so florida -- >> my people are aoing to lot

of different places. people are great. i read this morning, i had the greatest base ever in politics and i reallyelieve that. >> i have to see i didn't see the idea of his library coming on one of his properties. the debates are on nbc, telemundo wednesday night includes booker, klobuchar. thursday we'll hear from buttigieg, harris, among others. i'll be privileged to bemo rating alongside my colleagues. i hope you'll join us. we'll have coverage all week long. naets all we have for today. thank you for watching. we'll be back next week with all of the debate analysis that's fit to put on the show. because if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." te

we are sisrs. and we just moved in together. why alissa and aleah chose fios. we stream sooo much. a lot of times alissa is watching tv on her laptop,

using her phone, also using her tablet. i am really good at multasking cause i'm awesome. a little. the best internet is even better at our best price. switch now and get our fastest speeds available. plus, a free samsung chromebook on us. that's fios.