here's jonathan carl. >> tonight donald trump being presidential. welcoming the president of south korea to the white house. but earlier today donald trump being anything but presidential. launching a harsh personal attack on msnbc television host, mika, calling her low iq crazy mika. saying she and co host and fiance dime visit him in mar-a-lago in december and she was quote bleeding badly from a face lift. this after she criticized the president on her show. >> nothing feels better than a fake cover lying every day and destroying the country. >> the president's tweets touched off an avalanche of bipartisan condemnation. >> i think it's so blatantly sexist, i don't think there's even any question about it. >> we're trying to improve the tone and suvilt of the debates. >> reporter: among the republicans condemning the president, the two senators seated right next to him on a meeting on health care this week because he needs their votes. >> it clearly was inappropriate and not something that he should have done. it's beneath the dignity of the office

. >> as the world series champions cubs visited the white house, jonathan carl has the story. >> reporterpresident trump predicted a surprised victory for the stalled republican health care bill. >> health care is working along very well. we could have a big surprise with a great health care package. >> reporter: at this point victory would be a big surprise. not only are all democrats opposed so are no fewer than nine senate republicans and on capitol hill, at least 40 arrests today. more protests. the republican opposition to the bill falls into two camps. conservatives who say it doesn't do enough to repeal obamacare. and moderates who are concerned the bill goes too far, slashing medicaid, which donald trump as a candidate promised not to cut. >> president, are you concerned about the medicaid cuts in the health care bill? >> it's going to be great. >> reporter: the president isn't negotiating the specifics but now acting as the chief cheer leader for the bill. yesterday he met with 46 republican senators. >> president trump, i challenge you to invite us, all hundred of us, republican

jonathan carl, abc news the white house. >> the federal contractor with top secret security clearance has been charged with leaking classified information about russian election hacking to the media. the first criminal leak case under president trump. 25 year old reality winner, accused of taking nsa report from the government facility mailing it to the intercept. yesterday, that website published what appears to be a redacted version of the report. it describes how russian intelligence infiltrated a software company that handled voter related information, targeted local election officials. it doesn't indicate whether or not they succeeded in obtaining that information that they needed. president trump will not use executive privilege to stand in the way of former director, james comey, as he prepared to testify the white house said the president wants to facilitate a swift, thorough examination of the facts. comey is expected to discuss their private conversations. lawmakers want to know if the president tried to obstruct or influence the investigation, into russian election meddling

what was it like there and why did he pick jonathan carl? any idea?was an unusual situation, greta, because usually the president has names ready who he's going to call on. and he did have david bowyer, the washington times ready to be called on. then he sort of threw it out there and tried to get the reporters to seek his attention by saying, well maybe i'll call one of these killer network guys who has been treating me bad for fake news and he finally settled on john carl after moving his finger around. >> jill, what's the environment like at the white house now? i mean post press conference? >> i mean, the president right now has departed. he is in bedminster, new jersey. he took off shortly after the press conference. whenever he leaves there is kind of a sigh of relief you can hear throughout the building. but i think it was also this extraordinary moment that everyone witnessed. everyone was so interested in hearing what the president's reaction was going to be to comey's testimony. we didn't hear him -- see him tweet at all yesterday. we didn't

that is when you watched donald trump, jonathan carl is a top rate reporter and he asked him a bunch of questions. i had the distinction impression that no matter what he had said in describing what comey had said yesterday under oath, trump would have been denying it. everything he said, that didn't happen, that didn't happen. he could have said anything. trump is just quite willing in the moment to deny the truth. he's quite willing to do it, and he did it again today. >> and, chris, it reminded me actually when i was a prosecutor in the courtroom, and it was always a losing argument when the defendase attorney wanted t take and accept the most favorable pieces of testimony from a damaging witness that helped their client, but then throw out anything that hurt their client. that never works in a courtroom. in the court of public opinion, i don't think the president doing it today will work either. >> and tell how he did it. >> right. >> he did it by saying i accept his testimony that i wasn't a direct target of the investigation, that my campaign was, and that's going to be my evid

jane, president trump would say by -- in the rose garden to jonathan carl, 100% he's willing to testify under oath about the conversations, is there really a likelihood that that will ever happen? >> thomas, i don't actually think there's a likelihood that will happen. maybe when he also releases his taxes. something he promised for a long time and has never done. but this is such a huge distraction as you are saying. people forget that this was supposed to be infrastructure week and we have spent absolutely no time talking about infrastructure. the president's agenda on the hill both in terms of the domestic policy and his foreign policy is just completely stalled by this. and all focus is really going to be on this investigation until we get some sense of clarity, some answers here. and that's -- could take frankly years. and so this is just republicans that i've spoken to on the hill have said that this is just -- they're really dispairing privately saying they're not sure what they'll get done under this president. >> you make such a great point about infrastructure week. that's cer

abc's jonathan carl has more on the upcoming testimony. >> reporter: at a meeting with republican leaderssident was asked about james comey's highly anticipated testimony. >> what message do you have for james comey ahead of his testimony? >> i wish him luck. >> the source familiar with comey's thinking tells abc news the former fbi director will directly contradict what the president wrote in the letter notifying him he was fired. i greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions that i am not under investigation. to claim the president has repeated. >> i said, if it is possible, will you let me know, am i under investigation. he said you are not under investigation. >> but according to our source, comey will dispute that. but the source says comey will also testify that he does not believe the president was obstructing the fbi investigation when trump allegedly told him he hoped they would be able to drop the investigation into fired national security adviser michael flynn. still the conversation concerned comey enough that he documented it in a memo he wrote shortly af

here's the chief white house correspondent, jonathan carl. >> reporter: president trump suggested special counsel robert mueller is tainted and politically biassed against him. >> he's very good friends with comey which is very bothersome. i can say the people that have been hired all hillary clinton supporters. some of them worked for hillary clinton. i mean the whole thing is ridiculous if you want to know the truth from that standpoint. but robert mueller's an honorable man and hopefully he'll come up with an honorable solution. >> reporter: white house press secretary sean spicer says the president has no plans to fire mueller but insisted he does have the power to do so. >> while he retains the authority, he has no intention on doing that. >> reporter: and trump offered a new information of -- it was a bluff, he said to force comey to tell the truth. >> i don't have any tape and i didn't tape. but when he found out that there may be tapes out there, whether it's governmental or anything else and who knows, i think his story may have changed. >> it was a smart way to make sure he stay

this is his conversation with correspondent jonathan carl. >> would you be willing to give your testimonyh? >> who would ask a man to pledge allegiance under oath. i hardly know the man. no, i didn't say that or the other. >> if robert mueller wanted to speak about that? >> i would tell him what i told you. >> what about tapes? >> trump refused to say but said he would let everyone know in a short period of time. they may be disappointed with the answer. >> teresa may is picking up the pieces in britain. yesterday's elections cost the majority. she called a snap election hoping to extend her majority. instead, it cratered and she must match together a coalition. >> city and state leaders say the long awaited dream of capping i-95 penn's landing in philadelphia is moving from fantasy to realty. governor wolf announced the $225 million project has the funding to move forward, 110,000,000 from the state, 90,000,000 from the city, and the penn foundation will pay the remaining and for landscaping over i-95 and chestnut. >> instead of just a bridge, it's something that connects philadelphia wi

there were news headlines to come out of this, blake and the other thing when he was asked by jonathan carl there by abc about the tape. we've all been wondering if there's tapes of his conversations with mr. comey. we didn't exactly get an answer, but we got something of a preview; right? >> he was examined several different iterations of this, connell, do the tapes exist? and at the very beginning when the president was asked this, he said i will tell you some time in the near future, leaving open the possibility that maybe they exist. didn't answer the question if they don't. but also saying, look, at some point i'll answer the question. and he was asked it again. and then sideswiped it. but then he was kept asking about it, and he said you're going to be very disappointed when you hear the answer. insinuating there that the tapes maybe do not exist. either way, the president didn't answer one way or another one. when he might say whether or not they exist. or two, if they exist at all. just to say that i might give you the answer here soon in the near future, and you're going to be disa

after the benghazi lies fell apart, there was a very intensive press briefing in that room with jonathan carlm abc piling on jay carney. that was a valuable moment. i think the on camera briefing is important. >> jon: guy benson, emily, i'm sorry, we have to run. emily shire from muscle.com. thank you both. >> heather: president trump slamming democrats for opposing the senate health care plan. why he says that the resistance of the g.o.p. bill could actually backfire bed plus the top u.s. military official arriving in afghanistan today with the trump administration and what they plan to do to strengthen afghan forces as a defense secretary admits that things are not going well there right now. >> we are not swimming in afghanistan right now. and we will correct this as soon as possible. >> jon: chairman of the joint chief of staff, joseph dunford are arriving today in afghanistan. at the u.s. gets ready to send nearly 4000 more troops to the country. part of the trump administration strategy to strengthen the afghan forces. jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon with the latest. >> this is

jonathan carl, abc news, the white house. >> trying to see who that was walking through the shot.d, or blitzer? sure. >> going for a stroll. >> favorite drink i have seen, one of the d.c. bars serving up. moscow mules. not any different. all right. house speaker paul ryan did speak out about this. weighing in on comey's prepared testimony saying it is obviously not appropriate for the president to ask and fbi director for loyalty. >> ryan told msnbc, critical for fbi directors to be independent but wants to see evidence, witnesses context before making a judgment on the russia investigation or comey's firing. the nation's top intelligence officials are refusing to say what they discussed with president trump as james comey offers to provide play-by-play of his conversations. >> director of national intelligence, dan coats and national security intelligence agency officers, were grilled by the same committee comey will face. they denied or confirmed allegations that president trump asked them to intervene in the investigation into election meddling. >> i had never been directed to

you're hearing repts from jonathan carl there's an outright war now between the president and his attorney general. he wants to get rid of him. it seems like people are really getting ready to say enough of this guy. >> let me just on the attorney general reporting, chris, tell you what nbc news is reporting based on our sources here at the white house. that is that according to officials inside the white house as well as outside, there is a very deep level of frustration between the president and the attorney general based on not just the recusal, but i'm also told, for example, the selection of rod rosenstein. there are other issues that have come up as well. one person described it to me as kind of monday morning quarterbacking from president trump. the discussions of who's up, who's down, who's in, who's out, we have heard this from january 20th. this is something we have seen from the president in the past. he might get down on somebody and then move on and focus on something else. >> i'm amazed he has trouble with sessions who's been so loyal. anyway, susan, it seems to me you guys c

. >> this is jonathan carl, abc reporter has this exchange with donald trump whether or not he asked. >> he did say under oath and you hope that had the flynn investigation to let go. >> i didn't say that. >> so he lied about that. >> well, i did not say that. well, i will tell you i did not say that. >> did he ask you -- >> there would be nothing wrong that i did not say that according to everybody i read today, i did not say that. >> did he ask for a pledge of royalty. >> so he said those things under oath, would you be willing to speak under oath and give your version? >> 100%. >> i hardly know the man. i am not going to say i want you to pledge allegiance, who would do that? >> it is a credibility contest, only one of them could be telling the truth. >> i am not sure about that because the facts are coming out. i would like to await that moment before i make the determination you asked. i do think this is something kind of a shakespeare strategy and donald trump outside american electoral politics and one that does not know the rules of the game. on the comey side, it is troublin

jonathan davies says... a bit sceptical. former lions and scotland scrum—half andy nicol likes what he sees in the side will carling, who touredat won in 1971 when the likes of barryjohn, williejohn mcbride and the man scoring here, gareth edwards beat the all blacks in the test series. sir gareth as he now is, has been sharing his thoughts on the class of 2017. it's it‘s all right keeping the all blacks in check and trying to squeeze the life out of them, squeeze the life out of them, squeeze the life out of them, squeeze the pips out of them so to speak which i think has been the lions‘ philosophy and he‘s also got some players in there who could make some players in there who could make some damage if they do get good possession and that is really the secret of it all. everybody wants to know how you beat the all blacks, well, it is about taking chances when the opportunity arises so he‘s got form players who are quite capable of doing that and it‘s going to bea capable of doing that and it‘s going to be a very interesting first test. ross ford is poised to become scotland‘s record cap holder after being named in the side t