mr. conteas the only other leader to support donald trump's idea to readmit russia to this exclusive club at the recent g-7 summit in canada. obviously, a close connection between the italian conservative and the russian leader. that is not new. the former italian prime minister was seen as a close personal friend of vladimir putin. he invited vladimir putin two parties at his home in italy. giuseppe conde -- conte is not a party animal but on the issue of how to deal with russia, he is closer to president trump and other european leaders like angela merkel or emmanuel macron. >> he was asked about the situation with iran. trump said that he is willing to meet with the iranian president. how serious was that? >> i think it was serious in the sense that donald trump was trying to emphasize that he believes in dialogue and sitting down with other leaders. even adversaries, just to hammer out a deal. donald trump got criticized for his meeting with len mickelson in helsinki and his summit with the

carsten phenomenas on the story for us tonight good evening to you carson so made it clear that mr conte is his go to european leader but you know with the german chancellor when the french president they visited the white house earlier this year they both they receive these warm welcomes and the these declarations of best friends forever is there any substance to saying that conte is most useful friend in europe. well known trump is known for saying one thing today and saying the complete opposite tomorrow but i think we have to point out that indeed the political positions of mr conte and his coalition government are much closer to donald trump . the positions of say. or mccraw donald trump and many of his people including some of the new best that have been sent to europe have repeatedly criticized what they see as too liberal migration policies in europe and the globalist multilateral instincts of the european establishment and instead they have expressed support for the new right wing movements in europe and the leaders of places like hungary poland the czech republic austria and no

complete opposite tomorrow but i think we have to point out that indeed the political positions of mr conte and his coalition government are much closer to donald trump than the positions of say. or mccraw donald trump and many of his people including some of the new best that have been sent to europe have repeatedly criticized what they see as too liberal migration policies in europe and the globalist multilateral instincts of the european establishment and instead they have expressed support for the new right wing movements in europe the leaders of places like hungary poland the czech republic austria and now it's a leader of course as the fourth biggest country in the e.u. italy is so far the biggest prize if you like for trump if you want to drive a wedge between e.u. countries when it comes to issues such as immigration trade or how to deal with russia. in person we know that the u.s. president switch gears for a second he has never stopped his verbal attacks on the mainstream media and he recently met with the publisher of the new york times in that meeting we understand was supposed

mr. conte's political base isn't solidified inside italy.hat had to settle on him. the power structure is tepid. we will see how much he can solidify reforms he wants to put in place. he is fighting on trade and immigration. i'm watching this. i want a dialogue. but i don't think i will be overly worried at this point. >> you bring up he was a compromise. but you welcome at someone like his deputy prime minister who could have more power. he wants to convince eu partners to lift sanctions on moscow, readmit russia. should we expect similar language we heard from him from conte? >> you hit the nail on the head. he is almost to the right of his boss. i think you will hear this refrain from italy, lifting sanctions like you said, going to be tough on trying to lift the belfast declaration, which makes european countries responsible for handling asylum seekers in their country. they want the eu to make more of a load on that. they are like trump, foes of a lot of multilateral trade deals. that could make it interesting for trump as he tries to r

day, alongside italy's prime minister conte, mr. trump saids ther "red line" for what congress must do.o but he aid he'd have no veoblem forcing a shutdown. >> i'll always loom for negotiation, but this has been many years. this isn't just trum ministration, we're new. this is has been many years, we've decades. the whole thing is ridiculous, and we have to change our laws. and we do that through congress. so i would certainly be willing to close idown. >> woodruff: several leading republicans have want to see another government shutdown. federal agencies had tclose for a weekend back in january, in a previous funding figh the president also offered today to meet with iran's president hassan rouhani. it came id heightened tensions after the u.s. pulled out of the iran deal. mr. trump said he's open to meeting with "no preconditions." supreme court nominee brett kavanah won over an undecided republican today. kentucky senator rand paul said that he will vote to confirm-- a key endorsement in a closely divided senate. meanwhile, kavan

prime minister giuseppe conte to the white house. mr. prime minister, i want to begin by congratulating you once again on your tremendous victory in italy. it was something that all the world was watching. it excited the people all across italy. and i can tell you all across the united states, as well. congratulations. in your election the italian nation has reaffirmed the great traditions of sovereignty, law, and accountability that stretch all the way back to ancient rome. this proud heritage sustains our civilization and must be always defended. today, prime minister conte we were aplanned to announce a new strategic dialogue between italy and the united states that will enhance cooperation on a range of issues. this includes joint security efforts in the mediterranean where we recognize italy's leadership role in the stabilization of libya and north africa. they have been terrific. both the prime minister and i are focused on the urgent need to protect our nations from terrorism and uncontrolled migration. our countries have learned

prime minister guiseppe conte to the white house. mr. prime minister, i want to begin congratulating you on your tremendous victory in italy. it was something that all the world was watching. and it excited the people all across italy and i can tell you all across the united states as well. congratulations. in your election, the italian nation has reaffirmed the great traditions of sovereignty, law and accountability that stretches all the way back to ancient rome. this proud heritage sustains our civilization and must always be defended. today prime minister conte and i are pleased to announce a new strategic dialogue between italy and the united states that will enhance cooperation on a range of issues. this includes joint security efforts in the mediterranean, where we recognize italy's stablization role in libya and north africa. we know we need to protect our nations from terrorism and uncontrolled migration. our countries have learned through hard experience that border security is national security. they're one and the same. like

got along very well right from the beginning, prime minister giuseppe conte to the white house. mr. prime minister, i want to begin by congratulating you once again on your tremendous victory in italy. it was something that all the world was watching and it excited the people all across italy and i can tell you all across the united states as well. congratulations. in your election the italian nation has reaffirmed the great traditions of sovereignty, law, and accountability that stretch all the way back to ancient rome. this proud heritage sustains our civilization and must be always defended. today, prime minister conte, and i are pleased to announce a new strategic dialogue between italy and the united states, that will enhance cooperation on a range of issues. this includes joint security efforts, in the mediterranean, where we recognize italy's leadership role in the stabilization of libya and north africa. they have been terrific. both the prime minister and i are focused on the urgent need to protect our nations from terrorism and uncontrolled migration. our countries have le

we got along very well right from the beginning, prime minister gee seppi conte to the white house. mr. prime minister, i want the begin by congratulating you once again on your tremendous victory in italy. it was something that all the world was watching. and it excited the people all across italy. and i can tell you, all across the united states as well. congratulations. in your election, the italian nation has reaffirmed the great traditions of sovereignty, law, and accountability that stretch all the way back to ancient rome. this proud heritage sustains our civilization and must be always defended. today, prime minister conte and i are pleased to i a announce a strategic dialogue between italy and the united states that will enhance cooperation on a range of issues. this includes joint security efforts in the mediterranean, where we recognize italy's leadership role in the stabilization of libya and north africa. they have been terrific. both the prime minister and i are focused on the urgent need to protect our nations from terrorism, and uncontrolled migration. our countries hav

welcome my new friend -- we got along well from the beginning, prime minister guiseppe conte to the white house. mrnt to begin by congratulating you once again on your tremendous victory in italy it was something that all the world was watching and it excited the people all across italy and i can tell you all across the united states as well. congratulations. in your election the italian nation has reaffirmed the great traditions of sovereignty, law and accountability that stretch all the way back to ancient rome this proud heritage sustains our civilization and must be always defended today prime minister conte and i are pleased to announce a new strategic dialogue between italy and the united states that will enhance cooperation on a range of issues. this includes joint security efforts in the mediterranean where we recognize italy's leadership role in the stabilization of libya and north africa they've been terrific. both the prime minister and are focused on the need to protect our nations from terrorism and uncontrolled migration our countries have learned through hard experience that border s

clinton pre cont deny solution with russians and dismissed suggestions that russian interference gave him an edge over hillary clinton. >> putin who ordered the election meddling and said he wanted mre u.s.-russia relations were at an all time low and blames the special investigation. >> the probe is a disaster for our country. it kept us apart. it's kept us separated. >> and major joining me now, with the president flying home, is there an effort to clean up or back track these comments? >> there is a concerted effort to get the president and the words of one senior official to fix this and fix it quickly by doing two things. say the president believes u.s. intelligence over vladimir putin and quash as fast as possible any sense that the united states would cooperate with russian intelligence on the mueller probe or anything else. those two things are hanging out there. they have compromised the president's ability. these officials believe to communicate what america stands for and reassure our ally that is what they have given us is valued by this administration. >> thank you and so jeff, sounds like you have a lot to ask the president when you sit down with him again on wednesda