. >> let's break all of this down now with our two guests, ben ferguson and ellis hennigan. ben a speaker at the 2004 republican national convention and host of daily and weekly radio she here in the united states and a cnn political contributor. ellis hennigan, a pulitzer prize winning newsroom columnist and a tv news pundit. also the author of numerous books. gentlemen, it's good to have you both here to talk about this. let's talk about tax reform. a very important issue. it was a big campaign issue. ellis, how difficult do you think it will be for republicans to push this through, along with the president for a legislative win? >> well, it's make or break. they certainly have a tremendous incentive to try and get this done. they're all in the desired page. that's not a problem. but then you get down to the details of mad tax reform is mighty complicated. when you take something away from one pile to give it to another you end up making both angry. so it's going to be a tough fight. they do have an incentive to make it work. >> ben, do you agree? >> i do. look, i think thi

. >> here to discuss is ana navarro and ben ferguson. nice to have both of you in studio. let me start with you. what do you think about what eminem did? he obviously is a huge rapper. he has sold millions and millions of records. he has a big following. and he's in michigan, which is significant politically. do you think that this matters and gets any traction with his fan base? >> i certainly cannot speak for his fan base. i'm not a member of it. other than slim shady, i'm not sure i could recognize a single song. that might come as a huge shock to you. i come at this from a blooder freedom broader freedom of speech he debate. whether it's flag, anthem, right wing, white supreme sift, freedom of speech exercised by eminem. the president of the united states threatening the press with taking away licenses from networks he thinks are against him. there is a very broad freedom of speech going on in the united states. and i think we have to be so vigilant about it. i come at this also from the, you know, from being a political exile. i need communism. in miami, my friend glo

let's talk about all of this now, joining us now cnn political commentator simone sanders and ben ferguson. good to see both of you. okay, just reading the text of these back and forth tweets, it's almost laughable. it's almost embarrassing, but it's happening in realtime. then just moments ago, adam schiff, ranking member of the house intel committee tweeted after all the scandals involving unnecessarily expensive travel by cabinet secretaries, how much taxpayer money was wasted on this stunt, meaning the vice president going to the indianapolis game and then sending out a tweet and making a statement about those who were kneeling. so, ben, where are you on what now appear to be the priorities of messaging today? >> yeah, i think it's a cheap shot. it's one -- >> which? >> one of the cheap shots in politics. the tweet you have on the scream of attacking the president. never attacked -- let me at least finish. >> i'm sorry. the cheap shot was adam schiff? no, don't. hold on. don't go -- >> you should never tell me to calm down. i want to be very clear about how we should talk to each other

here to discuss, cnn political commentators mark lamont hill and ben ferguson. very serious move by a respected organization against the largest airline in the world. you say the president and his supporters have made the environment ripe for hate incidents like this. explain that. >> i think america has made had -- this is in the new. before you get to a trump presidency you still have racist airlines, racist restaurants, racist corporations. this is what it means to be black in america every day. but i think part of what president trump's america has done is embolden people who may be secretly racist and privately racist to articulate that sentiment much more publicly. i don't blame donald trump, per se, but it's the moment. it's what this moment represents and what this moment excused. >> ben, "the new york times" describes each episode in detail. reverend william barber removed from a flight after exchanging words with two white passengers. baldwin who had first class tickets was moved to the back of the plane while her white friend was allowed to stay up fr

a democratic strategist and former consultant for the department of homeland security and ben fergusonsee you both. >> good to be here. >> mustafa, you first. rex tillerson holding that press conference this week, denying reports that he considered resigning, not necessarily denying that he used the language, you know, moron, but did say he wasn't going to get into that kind of petty stuff at that moment. so, what do you make about what the relationship might be right now, and how it might imperil any movement going forward with these two men working together. >> well, look, they were never together from the beginning. rex tillerson and donald trump didn't know each other prior to him joining the administration. it was, what we learned later on, people that were paid consultants through exxon that had lobbied for him to get this job. and they have a very different temperament. rex tillerson comes from an environment where it's very discipline, they plan ahead, they execute well and now he's working for a president who just embraces chaos, so starting from the outset, the two of them ar

back with me now, mark la mont hill and ben ferguson. so, marc, don't start already. >> i haven't gotten -- go on. white people are amazing. do your job. i don't want to mess up your job, man. go ahead. >> this is what a new npr study shows. 92% of african americans feel they're discriminated against, right, and then it says 55% of white people feel that america skrimts against them as well. go on. >> we can't get nothing. we can't even get discrimination like to ourselves. look, the problem is often times when you are in a position of privilege and power, when that privilege and power is taken away, even a little bit, what equality feels like oppression, discrimination to you. white people are not systematically or sis tell meically disenfran chiegsd for being white. whiteness is not an impediment to social mobility, prosperity, to success, happiness. as a systemic issue it doesn't happen to white people. >> i would say go talk to any kid that's trying to get into school right now and ask how hard it is to get into certain medical schoo

ben ferguson, ellis hennigan, we appreciate you both. thank you for your time. >>> still ahead, in japan, prime minister abe has all but officially secured his third term in office. later, what he had to say about a call that he had with the u.s. president donald trump. >>> plus, isis is defeated in raqqah, syria. but it remains a threat in northern syria. why darzur could be one of the last strongholds ahead. "newsroom" right back just ahead. ow drip coffee drinkers, it's time to wake up to keurig. wakey! wakey! rise and shine! oh my gosh! how are you? well watch this. i pop that in there. press brew. that's it. look how much coffee's in here? fresh coffee. so rich. i love it. that's why you should be a keurig man! full-bodied. are you sure you're describing the coffee and not me? do you wear this every day? everyday. i'd never take it off. are you ready to say goodbye to it? go! go! ta da! a terrarium. that's it. we brewed the love, right guys? (all) yes. we brewed the love, right guys? our recent online sales success seems a little...

let's discuss now with ben ferguson and keith boykin. is the president upset about the flag or the fact he's losing money from these athletes? >> i don't think he knows about the money aspect it. i think the teams have a right to stay at whatever hotel they want to, and if they don't want to stay at trump properties, they absolutely can do that. i'm not surprised they don't want to stay there. i don't think he's concerned about x numbers of games during the season and his properties. i really don't think his comments are based on them not staying there, but by the fact he thought his country was being disermented by flayers on the field. and that's where it comes from. >> you know he knows, come on. >> i honestly don't think so. i also think when he ran for president he knew he was going to alienate a large part of his base. >> if he even knows if people aren't standing or kneeling for the anthem, then he certainly knows what's going on with his bottom line. >> he failed to set up a -- to divest his business from what he's doing, so ever

let bring in the host of the ben ferguson show, and a writer for 538.the part we heard there. perry, to you, a lack of compromise led to the civil war. your thoughts? >> you know, that comment is inaccurate in terms of history, if you think about history. from the constitution, which had the three clauses to the civil war, there's a lot of attempts to compromise, many different policies intended to adjudicate between the slave states and the free states. the idea that there was a lack of compromise between the two sides, there was a huge difference obviously over slavery and that led to the civil war. in terms of kelly, i was more broadly surprised he was talking about the issue at all. it seemed like something that is not really the place where you want the chief of staff to go. they are talking about getting tax reform passed this week. i was surprised he jumped into this debate of confederate simples and monuments at this point. >> i think he was talking about the history of the country, and we know that many generals and those in the military study

want to bring in now ben ferguson and mark lumonthill. >> enan interview earlier today hillary clintontaking a knee in the nfl was about disrespecting the flag, at complete odds you have portrayed this. you fired back a tweet saying you hope she runs again in 2020. >> oh, i hope she runs again. hillary, please run again. go ahead. >> is she at odds over whether or not this is disrespecting the flag? is she right or wrong? >> i think she's wrong. there's plenty of time to do knees and plenty of times to do lots of other things. that's why she lost the election. that thinking is the reason she lost the election. >> what do you say to that, mark? >> this is historically unprecedented pettiness. you won the election, you're president. to constantly jab at hillary clinton is unnecessary. if hillary clinton makes a statement as a priechbt citizen, he every right to respond. i don't think he should, but he has every right >>> to the actual substance of the question which is is it digs respectful? i think hillary clinton is right. it is not disrespectful. the players certainly aren't intending

democratic strategist and former consultant to the department of homeland security, also with me, ben ferguson a cnn political commentator, good to see you both, gentlemen. >> by eliminating the subsidies for obama care, will trump and the gom now own health care's successes or failures? >> first, our hearts go out to people in california and puerto rico that are suffering so much. rather than the president focusing on them, he's burning down the health exchanges and health market and abandoning a deal that kept the world safe from nuclear proliferation, he's trying to appeal to his narrow base, rather than fix the health care system, he's creating sabotage that will hurt millions of americans and we've never seen a president who puts his political ambitions ahead of the country and hurting americans in the meantime. >> the president tweeted he believes millions will be helped as a result of his plan. why is he wrong in your view? >> well, look, he's using alternative facts to try to pull us into an alternative reality. the reason this doesn't work. when you start to take these markets and sub

i want to bring in now cnn political comment tarts ben ferguson, symone sanders, mike shields and bakarieir's remarkable story. a very different story than the great job the president and the white house are claiming is being done in puerto rico. >> yeah. i think donald trump has left puerto rico unfortunately to rot. and i'm not really sure why. i think the same way folks were critical of president bush about his handing with katrina, folks will be equally as critical and history will not be kind to donald trump when it comes to how he handles the crisis in puerto rico and the u.s. virgin islands for that matter. and i find it very, very, very concerning that one, donald trump has left not just the people of puerto rico to rot essentially, but also the people of the u.s. virgin islands. >> yeah. to her point, ben, this is a poll i'm going to put up. it says president trump's approval rating on the hurricanes drop. since maria, it's 44%. do you think that's a signal to the president and the white house? >> i think any time you see people that are suffering, obviously you want the america

let's talk to political commentators ben ferguson and simone sanders. wow, maria. all right, now.f the first lady's communications director and it reads. mrs. trump has made the white house a home for barren and the president. she loves living in washington, d.c. there's clearly no distance to this statement from aen ex. this is unfortunately only attention seeking and self-serving noise. seems like ivana struck a nerve. >> clearly she struck a nerve. and what i find interesting -- and i don't think the best communications strategy at hand -- is that the real first lady that currently lives in the white house actually responded. she is giving fuel to this noise as she calls it. here we are talking about it. i think if she had maintained silence, which she does on most everything else going on in the country, i don't think we would be talking about it and this wouldn't be such an issue. but to your point, i think she really did strike a nerve. maybe there is some real jealousy there. i actually feel bad for melania because i don't think this is a role, the first lady, that she is r

here to discuss what he said, is matt lewis, mark hill and ben ferguson, as well as maria cardona. ning, everyone. good to see all of you. >> good evening. >> so ben, donald trump, jr. is defending his father's charlottesville remarks last night in alabama. according to the a.p., and another source in the room, trump junior said his father "condemned the white nationalists and the left wingers and that should not have been controversial but it was." he's defending the both sides comment there? >> i think he's defending his dad, and i think most people can respect the fact that anyone could defend their father. i think the both sides comment is what you want to focus on. i think he's talking about the broader issue of afterwards. he did come back out and clarify those remarks. there's certain people that are never going to be happy with that. i accept that. the both sides remarks rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. that's the reason you saw the white house pivot afterwards. for the president to declare fie those remarks. i don't think this is controversial. you have someone who is

let's bring in our cnn political commentators on the right, ben ferguson, on the left mark lamont hillost of bte news and a professor at temple university. the nfl is a business, business can make rules about what its employees can or can't do, but since they have already let the genie out of the bottle, would it harm the nfl's relationship now with its players if it tries to pull back on that? >> i think -- i guess harm in the short-term but hopefully they can sit there and say we need to come up with a better way to protest that doesn't seem like we're disrespecting the american flag and those that fought and protect and defended it. i think this is an opportunity for the nfl players -- this afternoon i was looking at a lot of the conversations they were having online and before we did this today and there's so many people that say they support the players and what they're trying to get across but the way they're doing it and their messaging is not connecting with people. if you're running a protest, you want to bring as many people to your mindset and thought process as you possibly

is the former spokesman for republican congressman darrell issa and cnn political commentator ben ferguson. after the vice president left that game, we learned a short time later that president trump told vice president pence to leave if they kneeled. this is one the white house wants and one the president thinks he's winning. >> we saw this play book before when things are going bad in the white house, he turns this this cultural war to change the conversation to play to his base. this was a premeditated act. mike pence knew he was going to leave the game early. it's also an egregious waste of taxpayer dollars to spend the money to travel up there, do all the security precautions and leave early. but after spending the whole week defending why the president isn't a moron or why the secretary of state called him that or didn't call him that, he's immediately looking to change the conversation and in some degree it's working because here we are talking about it instead of whether or not donald trump is a moron. >> white house reporters were told to stay in the van because there may be an ea

here to discuss, cnn political commentato commentators ben ferguson and robby mook and ron brown stein. ron the president says fema and the military can't be in puerto rico forever. i'm not sure we're near forever yet. >> yeah. >> when 90% of the people on that island or 3.5 million americans don't yet have power. the compassion here seems to be, you know, a mismatch with the situation on the ground? >> not only the compassion, but the competence, right. every day, you find yourself saying, how extraordinary what you are hearing out of the white house is. what poppy said ike really underscores the point. this is very different than the tone we have seen on texas and florida and you have to ask yourself whether they're partisan dimensions to that, racial dimensions to that, but either way you're talking about american citizens facing an extraordinary catastrophe and the white house saying they are, in fact, lucky to receive the help they have got son far and, you know, my patience for being involved is limited. as well as over the weekend, the head of fema criticizing the mayor of san j

political commentators anna and ben ferguson. so -- [ laughter ] >> we are the messy truth.ying, you know, van, you first, that kaepernick should have been suspended. he wouldn't have done it before. but these protests, they don't violent the nfl rules. this is a freedom of speech issue. >> look, we have been trying to get this point made over and over again. they're not protesting the flag. they're not protesting the anthem. no athlete has ever said one bad thing about a soldier. they're concerned about the neighborhoods they left behind where there's still so much injustice and poverty. the conservatives are missing a golden opportunity to say i don't like the style of your protest, but the substance of your complaint. if you're telling me in america in your community you don't have opportunity to justice, i want to come and help fix it. instead of calling them out, they could call them in. they don't do it because they would rather play politics and divide the country for their political gain instead of uniting the country -- >> that's a very good point because if you're

ben, you said players made it political. the president made that statement against the players at rally. that is a political statement. >> hold it right there. >> cornel? >> yes. >> mr. ferguson, blaming players in terms of their response to the president's tweet and they somehow lack the courage to respond to the challenge of policing ignores who many players have done and it ignores the price that colin kaepernick paid. this is like playing protesters in salma in the last march for the many who crossed the bridge. we he have to be clear about this. this is a moral moment. players are paying a price, they know what they are are doing and they are stepping out on a limb. sh. >> the person engage fing in po things is president trump. these players are demonstrating courage. the president is displaying cowardess consistently. >> players did not show courage by standing up against police brutality and the majority, it is a fact, okay, that the biggest protest day you had in the nfl was after donald trump spoke. many of the players did not have the courage or it just didn't matter as much to them, it wasn't an issue to them with police brutality so they did not come out. you can'