admiral john kirby. we'll continue to keep close tabs and watch developments there in norfolk, virginia. >>> also coming up, donald trump junior and paul manafort striking a deal with the senate judiciary committee. their meetings will take place behind closed doors. why aren't they agreeing to discuss in public now? we'll talk after the break. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ i'm karen, i'm a teacher.olfer. my psoriatic arthritis caused joint pain. just like my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. and i was worried about joint damage. my doctor said joint pain from ra can be a sign of existing joint damage that could only get worse. he prescribed enbrel to help relieve pain and help stop further damage. enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. tell your doctor if you've been someplace where fungal infections are common, or if you're prone to infec

john kirby, ryan brown, thank you so much. that is it for me. going to be back at 5:00 eastern in the situation room for our international viewers, amanpour is next. for our viewers here in north america, "newsroom" with brooke america, "newsroom" with brooke baldwin is next. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> hi there, i'm brooke baldwin, happy fourth of july. thank you for tuning in to cnn on your holiday. we have to talk north korea. north korea's claimed that it successfully launched its first icbm, that's intercontinental ballistic missile, something a u.s. official now says the probable. it would be a significant advancement in the regime's effort to build a nuclear weapon capable of actually reaching u.s. soil. the launch triggering an emergency meeting of president trump's national security team. you have japanese officials saying the missile may have landed in their exclusive economic zone, some 200 miles from japan's coast. after this launch, president trump

i meant john kirby, not john kelly earlier.ant to correct myself. >> john kirby said we would lose a lot of talent if what happens the president is trying to mandate. thank you, lieutenant general mark hertling, monica helms, so glad to have you here. visibili victor. >> the unit cohesion was used to keep blacks from serving in the military, women from serving and gays serving openly. today, america has the strongest fighting force in the world. >>> moving on, the president on talk on how police should handle suspects after an arrest. >> and when you see these thugs being thrown in the back of a paddy wagon, you see them thrown in, rough. i say please don't be too nice. like when you guys put somebody in the car, you're protecting their head, you know, you put your hand, like don't hit their hand, they just killed somebody. don't hit your head, i say you can take the hand away, okay. >> cheers and applause standing behind the president after markings made. that the president made about ms-13 gang violence but now some law enfor

john kirby thanks to you as well. republican senator john mccain, a military veteran, a war hero. he said we should all be guided by the principle that any american who wants to serve our country and is able to mete the standards should have the opportunity to do so and should be treated as the patriots they are. congresswoman, thanks so much for joining us. >> you bet, glad to be here. >> so you tweeted today. let me read your tweet, quote, pleased to hear that donald trump shares my readiness and cost concerns and will be changing this costly and damaging policy, #readiness. why do you disagree with the chairman of the senate armed services committee john mccain? >> i have looked at this issue very, very closely and this policy is going to cost $1.35 billion over the next ten years alone just for the sex reassignment surgeries for the members of our service. that equals 13 f-18 aircraft. i am very dissatisfied with the defense cuts that we have had over the last three years and we need every dollar to build up the military. >> where did you get those numbers? >> that's how many

. >> john kirby, it's not just naivety. he also pleads just being overwhelmed and busy, that he was getting over 200 e-mails a day. he couldn't read through all of them, all the threads. this meeting, in other words, was in his schedule, the meeting with the russian attorney that don junior's e-mails were about, was in jared's schedule as don junior meeting. that's it. that's what he thought -- he didn't know what he was walking into, as depicted by his statement here. so in terms of how the russians were approaching this team, what do you see here? >> one thing that leapt off the page is the phroenetic, almost enthusiastic aggressiveness by the russians to get in on the ground floor with this campaign and after they won as a transition team, kislyak repeatedly calling to get meetings on the schedule and reaching out. one of the takeaways is this confirms what we knew, a very active russian effort to get involved with trump campaign and post-election activities. one thing i wanted to add to what david was saying, don't forg

david rohde, admiral john kirby, thank you for being with us. >>> now to the health care fight. today all the republican senators are invited to the white house for lunch and this is no party. this is a last-ditch effort to try to get those outstanding members on board, switch them to a yes vote on a full repeal about obamacare. >> i want to get the mj lee live on capitol hill. is this thing dead or what and has anyone told the president? >> well, thanks to twitter, john, we often get insight into president trump's mood these days and it's clear he is definitely frustrated, keep in mind, this is a president who believed that repealing obamacare would be quick. he believed repealing obamacare would be easy and now six months into his presidency he is seeing potentially his big campaign promise slipping away. keep in mind the latest strategy in the senate is to try to have a vote on the repeal and delay bill from 2015, matsch, the senate majority leader announced this last night and made it clear this was at the request of the president something the president wanted that he is no

. >> you know, john, john kelly, admiral john kirby, i should say, you're with us. n kelly well. you worked with him when you were the pentagon spokesman. he was, what, a top advisor to defense secretary leon panetta. >> correct. >> you wrote a piece on cnn.com. you called him a no kidding bona fide straight shooting full tilt leader. based on what you know on the new white house chief of staff, is he going to get that place organized? >> if he is invested in by the president as david said, it really comes down to the president and what kind of chief of staff he wants. if he'll invest in and trust general kelly, yes, i think general kelly can certainly get things more organized, more disciplined and more productive, more effective. you can argue whether the policies are right or not, but he can certainly organize the team. >> you know, it's interesting also, rebecca, this morning he tweeted, the president tweeted and i'll put it up on the screen, highest stock market ever, best economic numbers in years. unemployment lowest in 17 years. wages rising. border secure, s

. >> john kirby, in a lot of important meetings in your life with principles.it acceptable to not mention this additional person? keep in mind, the whole point of the meeting was initially hidden. right? to talk, saying it was about adoption, when in fact it was about damaging information for hillary clinton? is this acceptable? not just a random person, a translator, a friend of a friend but a well-known lobbyist pushing for change in u.s. policy, not to mention reports and questions whether or not he had an intelligence past. >> the short answer to the question, no, it's not. left off when they originally had a chance to disclose. passed on that. a second time to amend your security clearance application to include this lawyer and still not, that given opportunity, not mention another guy who obviously had some concerning ties to russian intelligence. it boggles the mind. look, i think anybody who loves this country, if you get a call from somebody representing a foreign government saying they want to help you, intervene in our election, it should set off ala

john kirby, this will be a continuing discussion. as we learn what happened in this story that truly matterses to those 16 military lives. we'll come back to you in get some perspective about how we move forward here. john, always a pleasure. thanks. >> cnn will continue, obviously, to cover that story because cnn newsroom with poppy harlow and john berman picks up after this break. see you tomorrow. winds stirring. too treacherous for a selfie. [ camera shutter clicks ] sure, i've taken discounts to new heights with safe driver and paperless billing. but the prize at the top is worth every last breath. here we go. [ grunts ] got 'em. ahh. wait a minute. whole wheat waffles? [ crying ] why! >>> good tuesday morning. i'm poppy harlow. >> i'm john berman. potently explosive words. and one explosive word that's missing. donald trump jr. was told before the meeting he'd be given compromising information about hillary clinton that was part of a russian government effort to helps his father's campaign. russian government effort. those thre

i don't know the answer to that. >> john kirby, what do you make of trump's response on twitter asking if kim jong-un has anything better to do with his life, especially considering the seriousness of this potential test. >> i think it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what kim's priorities and his goals are. look, he has been racing towards developing this kind of a capability and potentially the chance to nuclearize an intercontinental ballistic missile so that he has the ultimate barring anyone chip in any process of negotiation going forward. number two, to preserve the safety and the security of his regime. when the president says he doesn't have anything to do, this is his life and exactly what he's trying to do to preserve the regime's survival and give him the ultimate bargaining chip at whatever negotiating table might be reached someday. >> it's clear kim jong-un has been testing trump, bob. he has launched more tests than his father and grandfather. what is his qualify dns level in your view to pull off more of these dramatic tests? >> first of all the regime is lookin

. >> you have john kirby going to his second overseas trip. have a sit-down with vladimir putin. inside donald trump's own white house, he has not been willing to confront russia on meddling in the election. of course, there is an opportunity here to sit down and do it. it's our reporting. we're hearing from inside the administration he doesn't plan to do that. what's your reaction? is that a missed opportunity? >> first, thank you for not asking me any questions about voter fraud. >> i want to ask about your records. >> i'm heartened to hear there is frustration in the white house about this. i think that's healthy. and i do hope that he'll change his mind and he'll bring this up. frankly, it's probably going to get brought up, anyway, because putin is going to complain about the fact that he kicked out his compounds and that's because of the meddling. they're going to back-door into this, anyway, but i think this is a great opportunity for the president of the united states. even if he doesn't want to talk about the past because i know that'

does he, though, john kirby, have a policy here? this has failed, what is the strategy going forward? >> i don't think it's clear. i will say though, jim, of all the national security issues this administration has worked, in my view, they have treated the north korea one in the most deliberate thorough fashion possible. they have taken this seriously. where it goes, i don't know. we'll have to see. and i do think, and i agree with jeremy, they're right to try to use the lever of china at the outset. i mean, the path to pyongyang, if it goes through anywhere, it goes through beijing. that doesn't mean china is all-knowing and can fix everything, but that was the right way to approach. >> but if beijing is not playing ball, what do you do as an alternative? >> that's still the policy, though. originally they thought they would do it hand in hand, kind of walk into a table with north korea together as friends. but now the u.s. is going to have to drag china to do something, and that's where these sanctions -- that's where a trade deal

admiral john kirby, thank you so much for the time. >> my pleasure. >>> coming up. trump taking aim at seemingly every as sect of president obama's legacy. he's hardly the first president to target his predecessor. back in history when we return. . badda boom. that's it? he means book direct at choicehotels.com for the lowest price on our rooms guaranteed. plus earn free nights and instant rewards at check-in. yeah. like i said. book now at choicehotels.com at johnsonville, naturally hardwood smoked. 100% premium pork. no fillers. period. i'm nick, that's my brother brett and we're proud to say it's made the johnsonville way. . >>> with the senate health care bill at an impasse, president strum is floating one possibly strategy to get the deal done. if republican senators are able to pass what they are working on now, they should immediately repeal and then replace at a later date. it is no secret president trump has been dead set on reversing this. jason carroll reports. >> reporter: it wasn't long ago when president trump had some good things to say about his pred

retired admiral john kirby. also pete, a former u.s. republican congressman, and the former chairman of the house intelligence committee, and john avalon, cnn political analyst. congressman, you are no spratrar to political campaigns. president trump says anyone who is in politics would take a meeting like this with something offering up an opposition research perhaps. would you take a meeting with somebody portrayed to you as a russian government attorney with dirt on your opponent? >> well, the first thing is, my staff would not have -- you know, the e-mail would not have come to me. it would have gone to one of my staff. my staff would not have put me in that position, and they may have found -- and i think most campaigns on capitol hill or, you know, in grassroots america, would have maybe been intrigued enough that they would have, you know, they would have thoroughly vetted the meeting before the meeting ever took place to see if there was any substance. if there was some nefarious activities coming from the russian government, the

bring in cnn military and diplomatic analyst and former spokesperson retired navy reared miller john kirbyou for being with us. first of all, of course, how does this happen and what is the consequence of relationship between u.s. and afghanistan? >> how it happens they're going to investigate very carefully. when supporting ground forces from the air there's always that risk. it's something that the u.s. military obviously takes very seriously. we're more precise than any other air force in the world when it comes to this air-to-groubdz support. but sadly in war, there are mistakes. they're going to investigate this, they'll figure it out, i'm sure what they do, they'll learn those lessons, they'll be publicly transparent what about they learn and they'll apply those lessons to future operations. as for the relationship, i really don't think this will have a major impact negatively on the afghan security forces. obviously, it's going to be a matter of concern for everybody. and our hearts, thoughts and prayers go automatic to all affected by this. but our mission is too important and too

fareed zakaria, john kirby, thanks very much.all our viewers don't miss fareed's special later tonight. "why trump won" airs at 10:00 p.m. eastern and pacific. must-watch tv. >>> and the future up in the air, the president and congress can't seem to agree on the next step. health care. going live to capitol hill, stay with us. when you have something you love, you want to protect it. at legalzoom, our network of attorneys can help you every step of the way. with an estate plan including wills or a living trust that grows along with you and your family. legalzoom. legal help is here. won't replace the full value of your totaled new car. the guy says you picked the wrong insurance plan. no, i picked the wrong insurance company. with liberty mutual new car replacement™, you won't have to worry about replacing your car because you'll get the full value back including depreciation. switch and you could save $782 on home and auto insurance. call for a free quote today. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. yogig-speed int

also with me admiral john kirby and military analyst mark hurtling. good evening. thank you for your service. the president tweeted this major policy change, apparently with little warning to the military and you wrote an opedjust tonight. "first of all it's an affront to the very ideals of the all volunteer force, the force we both joind and served in for a combined 68 years. the central 10t is that young men and women from across the spectrum of american society can choose to wear the cloth of the country in service to the nation." why do you think the president decided to make such a big change out of the blue? >> there were probably several reasons but it was confusing to both admiral kirby and i as we talked about it. this one came out of the blue. we both knew secretary mattis was actually studying this and about twor two or three weeks ago the secretary sent a letter because he asked for a six-month extension. they wanted to study it more. and they said they had more input to provide and more research. so this floored both john kirby and myself. >> what abou

how significant, john kirby? >> well, it's not insignificant.hink it's great that they've done this, but we have to keep it in perspective. a, we've seen these cease fire agreements in the past. i myself have been in the room when they were negotiated. they quickly fall apart because the russian's idea of what is a terrorist and what is not a terrorist and who is in opposition and not in opposition don't comport with the rest of the coalition and the united states. so, let's take it for what it is and see where it goes. i think it's good that they did it. it is in an area of syria which is closer to jordan which we'll explain why jordan is involved and will help monitor. that's also good, but it's not an area where a lot of the fighting is going on. certainly it is not an area where isis is. so, again, i think it is a good start. i think we just -- call me a little skeptical. >> we're going to be focusing primarily on the trump-putin interaction. the geometry of this meeting is more complex. it's not the g20. it's not the president going into th

let's bring in cnn military and diplomatic analyst retired rear admiral john kirby. you for joining us. >> thank you. >> so let's look at the latest in the state of play. the united states is looking to muscle up in posture, looking for its friends to muscle up in boxing in north korea. looks like the opposite is happening with its most muscular players in this space, which would be russia and china. look at this statement they just put out. put it on the screen, please. the two sides propose that the dprk, that's north korea, obviously, has a voluntary political decision declares a moratorium on testing nuclear explosive devices and ballistic rockets launches and the u.s. and south korea accordingly refrain if carrying out joint exercises. both sides confirm that deployment of thaad deteriorates the security of regional states. this is a not north korea the time has come, it's a, both sides stand down. this is not what the u.s. was looking for from china and/or russia. >> i'm not surprised that that kind of statement came out of moscow, and frankly, i'm not all that

john kirby, you worked at the state department. you are very familiar with russian spy craft. does the russian government use people like this russian american lobbyist that we learned about today, this name just came out of the woodwork today as being an additional person at this meeting? >> you heard jim sciutto talk about this, the use of cut outs. they are not beneath using people who have loose or no relationship with the government and try to co-opt them and find stuff out for them. prospectively innocently, but then they get sucked into a larger vortex, potential espionage. i don't know what the case here with this meeting, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me if they used some of this meeting and used the approach to it to feel out the trump campaign to see how much the trump campaign really wanted to work with them. >> and jared kushner was in this meeting. his name, we haven't really talked about jared kushner as much in the context as much as we've talked about donald trump, jr. john, just a follow-up question since you're familiar with this area. what about his se

john kirby, the president has been making a lot of calls.been thinking, of course, as the president heads abroad, he's got this upcoming travel, wausau, hamburg, paris. he's going obviously to the g 20 summit when he's in germany. what message does this send to other countries, especially those who have a tradition of cracking down on a press the way the u.s. doesn't? >> there are probably foreign leaders over there who are swooning over what they're seeing president trump do. >> is that because they think that now no one is going to bug me about my problems? >> sure, absolutely gives them a potential pass on freedom of the press. urd wan, putin himself. there are some of them probably enjoying this, not to mention the fact they probably like the discord and the disunity here in the united states because it serves their purposes as well. but by and large, the leaders that he's going to meet this week, i think they would rather him just focus on the issues and not so much -- i think they're looking at this as yet more distraction from a guy w

john kirby, there is a lot of reporting that donald trump now not expecting to mention russian meddling staff even coming up with carrots to mention russia. no word on if he's coming to the table with any sticks. to be credible, i suppose dealing with a credible negotiator, do you not have to go into that room with both carrots and sticks? >> sure, if you're trying to negotiate something. if you're trying to get them to change their behavior or the calculus of their decision making. i don't think that's what this meeting should be about. i applaud them for thinking it through, that's great, but he should go in with very clear messages and try to move the relationship to a different place. it is a bilateral relationship, it's in the tank right now. he should try to find genuine ways to move it forward without carrots and sticks. this is not a time to do a deal with vladimir putin, this is a time to lay down markers going forward. >> congress has sanctions, they passed them, they're on trump's desk. >> the senate would not pass them. >> that's right, but they passed a different one in the

john kirby, you've been in a lot of meetings with senior officials and world leaders.nteresting response from the german chancellor? >> that says it all right there. putin wants to dominate and he wants to make it clear he's the dominating force and i'm not surprised angela merkel responded the way she did. >> she's also been straddling her own relationship with putin, and as the u.s. and russia has had their tension over the last several years, she's tried to bridge the divide and germany has on one hand been on the forefront of sanctions, but there have been many in the german government and german parliament that don't want that -- >> they were also affected by the russians. >> that's true. she was amid savnnctions on. they have an economic price to pay from sanctions. we don't because we don't do a lot of business with russia, and these come around. >> any other leader has extended a lot of personal capital to make a relationship with putin work and kind of moovving away. they go back a long time. >> that's a really important point, because as you see all these lea

john kirby, a cnn diplomatic analyst at the state department and pentagon. admiral, we know vladimir putin is in the room for this meeting, which is different than the meetings in the past. he's known to keep leaders waiting for the meetings. he arrived first and it's a sign of something, i don't know. one of the things i have heard from people that work for secretary of state, john kerry, like you, is sometimes when you meet with vladimir putin, they begin with really recounting of u.s. russian or soviet history. more of a lecture than a conversation. >> that's exactly right. that's why the meetings with vladimir putin tepid to go longer. i would not be surprised if this goes quite a bit longer. he will start and have a list of grievances that go back to afghanistan in the '70s and the iraq war invasion under president bush and blame all of it on the united states. on the way his country feels pressured by the left. he'll do that, hopefully. i'm sure they have pressed president trump to also have an opening statement of his own and lay down the markers he w

>> joining us to discuss retired rear admiral john kirby, former pentagon spokesman, sumi terry, formerth korea analyst and former white house official, and josh rogan, cnn political analyst and "washington post" columnist. very nice to have you all here. sue, let me begin with you. you met with those from the north korean government and the regime in sweden. the message you say from them was look at libya. look at what happened to gadhafi when he let go of his nuclear arsenal and that is what they are looking at as a reason to hang on so tightly right now. >> that's absolutely right. they said over and over look what happened to gadhafi and iraq. this is the only way for us to survive, it's our final final card. the only way to have a deterrent. they said they would never give up their nuclear weapons program, never give up their missile program and that discussion is off the table. no more negotiation when it comes to nukes is what they told me. >> admiral, people look at kim jong-un and north korea and say this guy's a mad man, but that's rational position, albeit one extremely contr

. >> here to discuss all of this, cnn military and diplomatic analyst john kirby, cnn global affairs analyst and senior national security correspondent for the daily beast and cnn military analyst and retired general. good to see all of you, admiral kirby, you first, how worrisome is this development in the potential advance of a nuclear weapon that could potentially reach the u.s.? >> if it is determined that this is an icbm that could reach the u.s. it's a game changer, but it's not necessarily a game ender. he wouldn't necessarily yet have the ability to put a nuclear weapon on it. what it does is, none of the options going forward are good. they weren't good yesterday, they're not any better today. they may be a little bit more limited. but in the report we just heard, he has been racing to get this capability because he sees it as an ultimate bargaining chip. there's no reason for him to want to sit down and negotiate with the international community, not while he's trying to develop this capability. he won't want to talk until he has it and he has what he considers an upper han

cnn military and diplomatic analyst admiral john kirby dealt with the challenge working with the pentagon and the state department. admiral, start with military options. the president's national security adviser said the president asked for a list. there's nothing appetizing at all on that list. is there a military option, really? >> well, there's no military option in terms of talking about, kinetically and open conflict. i don't think anybody wants to see that. clearly, catastrophic. but there are military responses that are going to probably be part of the bigger fabric here as they determine how to go forward. so, for instance, you could do something very low-risk and yet visible. like flying a bomber or two over the peninsula. as barbara suggested, boosting up assets on the peninsula. frankly, john, i think they're probably looking at region-wide assets, and allocations there. whether or not there's a regional posture that needs to change. not just on a peninsula. certainly you could sail more ships to the region as well. lots of things you can do that are low risk, not kinetic, won'

. >> admiral, john kirby and diane gag gur, appreciate it. >>> and a message for senate republicans overilure to repeal and replace obamacare saying, "the world is watching." straight ahead, how this threats are being received and what they could mean for your health care. . your privacy makes you my number 1 place... ...to go number 2. i love you, but sometimes you stink. ♪ new febreze air effects with odorclear technology cleans... ...away odors like never before. because the things you love the most can stink. and try febreze small spaces to clean away odors for up... ...to 30 days. breathe happy with new febreze. who knew that phones would starentertaining us,ng? getting us back on track and finding us dates. phones really have changed. so why hasn't the way we pay for them? introducing xfinity mobile. you only pay for data and can easily switch between pay per gig and unlimited. no one else lets you do that. see how much you can save when you choose by the gig or unlimited. call or go to xfinitymobile.com. xfinity mobile. it's a new kind of network, designed to save you money. >>> a

spokesman for the state department and the pentagon under president obama, retired rear admiral john kirby. it's great to see all of you. thanks for coming in. as kevin is laying out, it seems that there is little expectation that president trump is going to be bringing up the russian cyber attack, but it's all up to him, so who knows what he'll come up with in that moment maybe. that, if it does not come up, that seems that it's very likely to anger some in his own party on capitol hill who talk about it quite often and who are right now pushing new sanctions against russia for this very thing. >> it's a seminal political moment for him, kate, for president trump in bringing up the question of what he's going to do and how he's going to confront an adversary that his own intelligence agencies and intelligence agencies in the united states believe inappropriately meddled in the united states election. if he doesn't do this now, there are concerns that russia will try this again. but if this is dealt with appropriately in terms of sanctions to make sure this doesn't happen in the future, th

. >>> we've got rear admiral john kirby, cnn political director david chalian and global affairs analyst and former deputy secretary of state, tony blanken. let's look at all the corners of this, shall we? so putin/trump. the big meeting. sgog it, you are advising the president. where is your head? terms of the coaching that goes into something like this? how do you diagnose the man? how do you diagnose the moment? how do you prep? >> first, the president really needs to deal with the elephant in the room and that's russian meddling in the election. >> why not syria? why not -- >> if you don't throw that away you'll never get to something on syria or ukraine. as long as the president is not seen as confronting it, not even acknowledging it, congress is going to keep tying his hands. they won't let him pursue any cooperation with russia. he needs to deal with it. plus, failure to confront it remeans russia remains emboldened. if they are not confronted, they'll keep doing it. and 2018, 2020, all of that is still ahead of us. that's the first thing. the second thing the president needs to

. >> joining us is retired admiral john kirby, cnn military analyst lieutenant colonel rick francona,nt is this cease-fire that the u.s. and russia reached common ground on this? >> it's certain hi good news, john. any cease-fire that can put into effect is good for the syrian people. but the devil is in the details. when asked about the details, secretary tillerson didn't have a lot. when it comes to who is going to monitor this, how is it going to be enforced? number two, it's in southwest syria. again, any cease-fire in syria is a good thing. but that is an area of syria where there isn't a whole heck of a lot of fighting and certainly not a lot of isis. so we need to bear in mind the localities. and number three, we've been to this movie before, and the russians don't always have the same idea of who is a terrorist or vice versa. so these things off times break down. i hope that's not the case, but we'll have to see. again, the devil is in the details. >> there have been other cease-fires that the u.s. and russia have been involved with over the last few years and they have not wo

. >> i get that that concern, john kirby, that there may be an effort to soften the position on russianto the anxiety about this donald jr. meeting where he may have been pitched a softer approach on certain issues of russian sensitivity. but how do we know that the desire of this administration is to go easier on russia? where is the proof of that, john? >> well, i think it's just evident in all the things they haven't done with russia and the things that they've said, the failure to disclose these contacts. all that is a mounting body of evidence, chris, that while they say they want better relations with russia, they seem to be willing to pursue those relations at almost no cost to the russians and certainly at any avenue here in the united states. i don't think -- i think it's obvious that there is something special here going on between these two, and we don't necessarily know what it is, but we are definitely not seeming to prove able to hold russia to account for all the destabilizing activities that they continue to conduct. >> one thing is for sure. for the second time now, am

joining us is retired rear admiral john kirby, david gergen, who has been there in the room during countless crises, and david, i want to start with you. i count three major issues facing the president. the north korean missile test, his meeting with vladamir putin, and the array of allies that are wary about the u.s. role in the world going forward. any one of these issues would be all-encompassing at a g20 summit. now president trump has to deal with all three. how important is the way he navigates the next few days? >> these are probably the most international meetings that he's going to have the first couple of years in office, because everyone is still taking a measure of donald trump as a world leader and whether he's going the retreat from the stage, as he's given indications that he would in terms of international collaboration, and whether he's going to be able to persuade others who are not in his corner to take tougher actions against north korea. he's going to have tough conversations with the chinese, because he's very disappointed. he's going to have very tough meetings with pu

>> john kirby is a former state department spokesperson, official. what jumps out?talk about adoption for an hour, pleasantries for an hour. >> he said it was 15 minutes. a white house official says it was an hour. >> i've never seen any conversation with vladimir putin go only 15 minutes. translation alone takes up half the conversation. he tried to pass this off as a casual pull-aside and i'm not in a position to dispute that, but the question is the wisdom of trying to have a meeting with putin like that which obviously lasted some measure of time about issues without any staff there, a translator, without a note taker, going in there without strategy. it doesn't surprise me in putin brought up adoption but remember, this is about sanctions that president obama levied back in 2008, and he, putin, taretaliated with this violation of adoption against russian children. >> it's never just adoption. it's adoption/sanctions together. thank you so much. >>> we have breaking news continuing next. o.j. simpson asks for freedom, and he wins parole. >> i've done my time, yo