pat toomey certainly.toomey is probably pretty happy, though, that's how the president talked about him. >> exactly. i was waiting for -- i was listening, waiting for -- >> that was actually good. but i think they're looking down -- i mean when they say what's it going to be a year from now? what's a year from now? the real election. so i think that's on their minds. >> i think it's also interesting that the republicans on the hill, one of the things they can look past the tweets sometimes and look past the rhetoric as long as the economy is doing well, as long as they feel like they're getting the things, their priorities like tax cuts and conservative judges. but when we see things like today the economy, gdp being revised down for the last quarter, consumers are still spending, corporate profits are still doing fine but the exports are down and weighing on the economy. so when does the trade war start to impact how the republicans on the hill are willing to look past some of the other stuff. >> you ment

but pat toomey is not the only one. wisconsin senator ron johnson told politico, the biggest risk to the economy is the whole trade situation. i think the president did a great job. we stopped doing the regulatory burden. we have a fair attack system, and the whole trade war has injected a huge dose of uncertainty and instability. senator johnson blamed white house trade adviser peter navarro for the whole thing. he said, i don't think peter navarro understands the instability of what he promotes and what his trade war is injecting into the economy. senator johnson said. and so for republican senators who are brave enough to float warnings about the trade war, it is peter navarro's trade war suddenly. a person most americans have never heard of. it is donald trump's trade war, but by this time next year, for political survival, who knows how much republicans running for reelection to house represent representatives in the senate might have to break with the president on what is most definitely not peter navarro's trade

. >> what does pat toomey want me to do, does he want me to say let me put my hands up, china, continuerip us off. when pat toomey says, oh, i don't like that, that only means one thing, that means raise your hands and get used to paying $500 a bill to china plus -- billion dollars a year to china plus, plus, plus. gerry: is he right, the president, are we just putting our hands up if we don't take them on with tariffs? >> no, of course not. you have more than just one alternative in how you deal with this issue. i mean, let's look at the facts here. the united states still is the most dominant power in the world. by any measure and any means. and you be smart. you take it on not win or lose, but you take it on like i mentioned here just a minute ago, using the advantages and the levers of power that you do have. and and you do it the smart way. now, there are things that need to be corrected, structural problems in china. their economy, their government. but we've got a fundamental issue here that's probably bigger than any of the issues that we can't do anything about, and that's chin

host: we heard the president talking about these issues with senator pat toomey, senator joe mansion. what are they endorsing when it comes to legislation? guest: toomey mansion are known forthe past -- in the past background checks legislation. legislation to close gun show loopholes, loopholes regarding internet firearm sales. right now, you can purchase guns at those two venues and without going through background checks whereas if you go to a regular gun store, you need to go through a federal background check process. these two bipartisan senators in the wake of the sandy hook wasting in -- i believe it 2012, these senators came awful close to pushing something through the united states senate. they fell 6 votes shy when it was all said and done and we have not seen real movement on any sort of major gun reform legislation in the remaining years, even as we have seen a number of high-profile shootings ranging from parkland to orlando to las vegas where the most lives were lost. this is seen, i think, as a critical moment because it seems a number of americans are simply frustrate

pat toomey picked up the phone and called me. mittee which i also spoke also said can and should pass. all my bill with pat toomey would do is make sure state and local law enforcement is promptly noferred. if someone who is a convicted felon, someone who is predicted by law from buying a gun goes in to a gun store and lies and tries to buy a gun. in my state and more than 30 other states, currently that information goes nowhere in pennsylvania state police are the intermediary with the system. they know about it in some cases they act promptly. broader background checks, such as the manchin-toomey bill would close some of the loopholes that currently exist. the gun shell loophole, for example. this is broadly supported by americans who are democrats, independents, republicans by a majority of gun owners. because it simply means there would be one more layer of protection to ensure that those americans who are exercising their second amendment right are doing so responsibly and that we are taking action to keep guns out of the han

. >> besides the senate majority leader and pat toomey, anyone else you are talking to? >> to many republicans. i'll tell you, it has been an amazing experience. they want to see some thing happen, and it is simple, they don't want to have insane people, dangerous people, really bad people having guns. republicans agree. i would say, pretty much uniformly. >> do you think this will be easy to do when the senate comes back? >> if we came up with a good bill, i think the democrats might then up it, and do things that can't be done, that the public wouldn't want done. i hope that wouldn't happen, but has happened in the past. >> do you support universal background checks? >> i support strong, meaningful background checks, where people who should not have guns, people that are insane, people that are mentally ill, people that are bad, bad people like this guy in philadelphia, who had been arrested numerous times. he's a bad guy. people like that would not have guns. frankly, people like that should be locked up. he shouldn't have even been on the street. thank you. thank you

pennsylvania senator pat toomey will join us.tate of course one of those very very much in play, and all this at a time republican senators are under enormous pressure to do something not only on the trade front, advising the president, but now in light of some of these recent attacks on the gun front. he's next. ♪ ♪ ♪ introducing the all-new chevy silverado. with fifty industry-firsts. it's the strongest, most advanced silverado ever. ...or trips to mars. $4.95. delivery drones or the latest phones. $4.95. no matter what you trade, at fidelity it's just $4.95 per online u.s. equity trade. no matter what you trade, at fidelity a cockroach can survive heresubmerged ttle guy. underwater for 30 minutes. wow. yeah. not getting in today. terminix. defenders of home. neil: they are urging congress to get back into session and do something on these mass shootings, reining in guns, doing something to prevent those of questionable mental status to get those guns. pennsylvania senator pat toomey in the middle of all that. he's sponsoring a

we can report that senators joe manchin, a democrat, senator chris murphy a democrat, and pat toomey a republican have been in talks with the white house on subjects that include expanding background checks. now one word of warning, don't get overexcited. just because they're talking doesn't necessarily mean there is progress. white house aides are expected to visit new jersey soon and brief the president on where all these discussions are going. now, the president has claimed over the last few days that mitch mcconnell may be in favor of background checks expanding background checks. but. he may be confused. because republican aides say mitch mcconnell say he has not endorsed any gun legislation. >> maybe this time will be different. this comes as police in dayton, ohio, release chilling new surveillance video and a detailed timeline of the gunman carrying out his massacre. he shot 26 people in 32 seconds. let's get right to cnn's ryan young. he is live in dayton with the latest. what have you learned? >> reporter: tough to watch. you can see how police were able to stretch all this

. >>> pennsylvania republican senator pat toomey is leading the push for background check legislation in the senate, reviving the toomey manchin bill. i want to ask you where you stand on this. i think you spoke with the president after el paso e perhaps also after dayton, perhaps monday. correct me if i'm wrong about that. what did he have to say about you trying to revive the toomey manchin bill? >> i've spoken with the president several times this week. and our conversations they're about what we can do and should do. i think the president is open to considering broadening background checks. wr we discussed various pe permutations. i won't get into the specifics of a private conversation, but i'll say the president is very much interested, he's listening. i think he wants to work with congress and accomplish something. >> well, that begs the question of what about wayne lapierre? there are reports he has spoken to the head of the nra. last time that happened the president backed off his prior support for background checks and for other action. he seems to not be solidly behind any

pat toomey didn't speak too extensive about the policy of this. remember he won pennsylvania in 2016, he outran trump and a lot of that was his forward leaning stance on gun control. >> shannon watts of course leads a group for moms for action. in the statehouses and some of those key congressional races that gun control advocates won republican seats. >> yeah, and look this is the -- this is a discussion that's happening in the deciding area of electoral politics right now, the suburbs. this is where democrats or republicans will really gain a majority. so if gun control is the dominating issue as it seems to have been in the last mid-terms, then that's going to be something that is going to swing the pendulum one way or another either to democrats or republicans. and if republicans can get onboard and figure out a way to pass some kind of gun bill, they'll probably gain some seats. >> i think some people expect some massive change, but if it's seat by seat, statehouse by statehouse maybe that makes a difference over time. >>> still to come this

the fact pat toomey has not necessarily been a part of this solution on gun control, you need to penallizehat. that's where democrats i think have not taken advantage of this. this is a moment unlike any other because, again, i think with the culture war guns has been won by progressive and i think democrats have to use that amer to actually execute a plan to act on gun control now that they've got that public support behind them. >> it's between rural state republicans in many cases and big state republicans, senators like john bu raso of wyoming versus say rick scott or pat toomey of pennsylvania who have had a little more indication that they might be able to support some things. but even with that does nothing get done unless donald trump picks up the phone, calls mitch mcconnell and says okay we're going to do this >> yes, what is required here is prejudice leadership. republicans hoping to represent suburban districts in states with large suburban areas in the future understand that sensible limited effective gun safety changes are necessary to win those votes, but it's going to take

pat toomey, senator pat toomey from pennsylvania complained that the president's steel quotas on foreign steel were preventing the construction of this plant. so actually, if there is anybody who potentially held this thing up, it was donald trump. and then there is a whole litany of just misstatements and gaffes and lies. and the kicker of all this thing is that this ended up becoming an official event. so american taxpayers paid for this entire travesty. >> right. we paid for it. and it became rally. i think the average person watching this show has become confused over what the difference is between an official event and a rally, because the rhetoric sounds similar. now we don't air a lot of these rallies, so people don't realize he gets much more animated at these rallies, and he stands there while people chant "send her back" and things like that. but we do see these events that are supposed to be actually official events that feel much like what political rallies used to feel like. >> and until this administration, there was a clear line, that if the president was appearing in offi

he should look to pat toomey, who teamed with joe manchin several years ago around background checks.ntee you if pat toomey were sitting here, he got reelected because he basically demonstrated to be constituency in pennsylvania that's not as conservative as he is that he stood for something that they didn't. >> melissa: then why don't two legislators get to together ano that now? >> richard: they are, but they are getting mixed signals from the white house. one day he says, "i'm with you," the next day he says is mental health. the whole world has metal health problems. only one has these shooting problems. >> lisa: that there is nothing in the background that would have prevented them from being able to purchase weapons? i think that's a bigger challenge and a lot of these instances. also a lot of these members of congress aren't just looking at the national polling, they are looking at the polling in their states among their base. you can look at a state like alabama that has a different viewpoint on guns than a state like california, which represents the challenge and looking at a

. >> pennsylvania republican pat toomey is reintroducing his background check was west virginia democrat joe mansion. in the meantime the white house is considering taking action without, but it hasn't given any specifics on that. some lawmakers and a majority leader mitch mcconnell to hold an emergency session on guns. congress is in recess until september 9. >>> and santa clara county a bush fire broke out earlier this afternoon or so several road closures in san jose. the fire was contained to a field. plumes of smoke will it out and drifted towards the arm and at international air, fire crews responded quickly. >> our initial concern was areas to the south of this field, industrial park buildings. the first part of the fire we decided to work on was the part threatening the buildings. >> fortunately no buildings were damaged, crews were able to contain the fire to five acres, no word on the cause. >>> we learned today it could be a wild before jurors back with a verdict in the ghost ship fire trial. kpix5's judy goodrich has been monitoring these developments. >> reporter: keep in mi

pat toomey was on, i believe, "america's newsroom" the other day talking about an assault weapons banwhich she wouldn't be in favor of because they are popular weapons. i think that kind of thinking needs to go by the wayside. the president is not right about the appetite for an assault weapons ban. i do think it is there and we saw the positive effects there for the ten years that it was, about 394 to 2004. universal background checks? wonderful to hear the conversation about red flag laws. so i've seen some pushback from gun owners think it's slippery slippery than we have the boyfriend loophole, the charleston loophole. there was a poll out last week that found that 20% of millennials are reporting they have no friends. zero friends. there is something really to be addressing there about the loneliness and the friends that people then make online in these dangerous communities. that certainly is the mental health aspect on most focused o on. >> kennedy: but that's a cultural issue and not necessarily a government issue. how do you legislate loneliness? >> melissa: this is one of th

i believe three republican senators, one re-election, including pat toomey. now, ironically, in pennsylvania pat toomey has proposed background checks, red flags. and i think that was one way he was able to get a lot of suburban voters. at this time and i have spoken to a lot of people involved in national politics about this before i came on your show, there is more of -- this isn't something where republicans can suddenly just say, we're not going to do anything. we love the fact that the democrats want to take away everybody's guns and then we'll run on that and run pro sect amendment. apparently within pollings even showing now within suburban where it is going to really change the election, people want action. >> jay, to that point, if you make it a center piece of the democratic party, they're all in together, force them to say, no i'm not. then force the republicans to be the party of assault weapons. not the party of protecting the second amendment, not of gun rights the party of assault weapons. >> it doesn't matter because mitch mcconnell is not goi

and senator pat toomey on background checks. admin station policy is he has opposed the two bills that house speaker nancy pelosi wants to bring up. that seems like a nonstarter. something weaker than that. and all the indication from mcconnell is you need to get broad support. you need to have more than 60 votes that can pass. this isn't just the president coming on board and getting behind the pat toomey legislation. you need to see others move. there is a strong sense if the president comes out for something, a lot of his base of supporters will come out. if the president gives top cover, you could see senate republicans moving on all of that. . >> hans nichols, i will give you a quick break to check your phone. we are waiting for the tape. as soon as it starts to play we will bring it to you. here is how this morning's political playbook framed this debate. what happens, what doesn't happen and what might happen comes down to trump. it comes down to trump. so when he makes up his mind, makes it public and leans into it, that

is no question the president's trade war is weighing on the economy. >> so what does pat toomey want me to do? does he want to me say, let me put my hands up, china, continue to rip us off? >> he also had this to say about the american farmers who are being hit hard by his trade war. remember when he said the trade wars are good and easy to win? there are a whole lot of farmers who don't see it that way. >> they actually target -- because they know that the farmers like trump and trump loves the farmers, actually. they don't want any subsidies. they don't want handouts. >> right. >> but they also know something has to be done with china and they're with me all the way. >> with him all the way. i talked to one farmer earlier this week who says he's lost $400,000 in the president's trade war with china. listen to what he says. do you think the president is in danger of losing any of that support in 2020? >> well, if he doesn't lose 100% of it from the farm belt then people are kind of crazy because this is not going well for farmers at all. >> and with all of that, the trade war, loomi

those are the people that are committing these massacres. >> rick: senator pat toomey. flag law might have helped because he apparently posted lists of people in high school. the two senator toomey, thank you. >> rick: this fox news alert from wall street. trying to rebound. how does president trump try to fix this? peter navarro joins live next. managing type 2 diabetes? audrey's on it. eating right? on it! staying active? on it. audrey thinks she's doing all she can to manage her type 2 diabetes and heart disease but is her treatment doing enough to lower her heart risk? [sfx: crash of football players colliding off-camera.] maybe not. jardiance is the number 1 prescribed pill in its class. jardiance can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults who also have known heart disease. that means jardiance can help save your life from a heart attack or stroke. plus, jardiance lowers a1c and it could help you lose some weight. jardiance can cause serious side effects including dehydration, genital yeast or urinary tract infections, and sudden kidney problems. ketoac

i believe three republican senators won re-election, including pat toomey.ronically, in pennsylvania, pat toomey has proposed background checks. he's proposed red flags. and i think that that was one way that he was able to get a lot of the suburban voters to vote for him. at this time -- and i've spoken to a lot of people that are involved in national politics about this before i came on your show -- there is more of, this isn't something where republicans can suddenly just say we're not going to do anything, we love the fact that the democrats want to take away everybody's guns, and then we'll run on that and we'll run pro second amendment. apparently, within -- polling's even showing now that within suburban, where it's really going to change the election, people want action. >> jay, i guess to that point, if you make it a centerpiece of the democratic party -- they're all in together. >> right. >> force them to say, no, i'm not, and then force the republicans to be the party of assault weapons, not the party of protecting the second amendment, not the pa

. >>> senator pat toomey was one of the architects for a plan for bipartisan gun reform.e been reluctant to revisit the bill after its failure before. but tonight he's calling for its passage again, saying, quote, we must do more to keep guns out of the hands of psychopaths. toomey was also part of a rather memorable exchange with the president during an hour-long televised meeting with senators in the wake of the shooting in parkland, florida. >> i'm the one bringing it up, and a lot of people don't even want to bring it up because they're afraid to bring it up. but you can't buy a handgun at 18, 19, or 20. you have to wait until you're 21. but you can buy the gun, the weapon used in this horrible shooting at 18. you are going to decide, the people in this room pretty much are going to decide, but i would give very serious thought to -- i can say the nra's posopposed it and i'm a fan of the nra. there's no bigger fan. these are great people. these are great patriots. they love our country. i'm curious as to what you did in your bill. >> we didn't address it, mr. presiden

over the past several days, he's repeatedly called democrat joe manchin and republican pat toomey.ir background check bill narrowly failed in 2013. >> the president is open to this conversation. he has initiated this conversation in some cases. >> not one more! >> reporter: and the pressure is mounting. more than 200 mayors from both parties sent a letter to senate leaders urging them to call the senate back to session now to vote on two background check bills that passed the house in bi february. those bills would close loopholes for sales at gun shows tsd on the internet. in a radio interview this afternoon, the senate's erpublican leader, mitch mcconnell, said gun control legislation will be on the agenda after august recess. >> we're going to have these bipartisan discussions, and when we get back, hopefully be able to come together and actually pass something. >> o'donnell: nancy cordes is on ilpitol hill tonight. and, nancy, the president, after parkland, promised tougher background checks and then he reneged on those promises. given the politics on capitol hill, how much of

pennsylvania senator pat toomey. thank you so much. good to see you.e come back as this battle heats up. we want to hear from you and senator manchin. >> thanks for having me. >>> new details just emerged about what else mitch mcconnell does not plan to do about gun legislation. stay with us. at t-mobile, for $40/line for four lines, it's all included for the whole family. like unlimited with netflix on us. and now with each new line, get one of our latest smartphones included. $40/line for four lines and smartphones are included for the whole family. managingaudrey's on it.s? eating right and staying active? on it! audrey thinks she's doing all she can to manage her type 2 diabetes and heart disease, but is her treatment doing enough to lower her heart risk? maybe not. jardiance can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults who also have known heart disease. so it could help save your life from a heart attack or stroke. and it lowers a1c. jardiance can cause serious side effects including dehydration, genital yeast or urinary tract infections

over the past several days, he's repeatedly called democrat joe manchin and republican pat toomey.eck billionaire rowley failed in 2013. >> the president is open to this conversation. he's initiated this conversation in some cases. >> not one more! >> reporter: and the pressure is mounting. more than 200 mayors from both parties sent a letter to senate leaders, urging them to call the senate back to session now to vote on two background check bills that passed the house in february. those bills would close loopholes for sales at gun shows and on the internet. in a radio interview this afternoon, the senate's republican leader mitch mcconnell said gun control legislation will be on the agenda after august recess. >> we're going to have these bipartisan discussions, and when we get back, hopefully be able to come together and actually pass something. >> finding something that the two sides can agree on won't be easy, and republicans are going to want assurances that the president won't renege. that he is going to give them the political cover that they'll need. but still, the fact th

and i wrote senator pat toomey about this. cannot be somebody who has the ability to act as a president should. what can be done? and i received the most insulting letter back. and the letter gave me a civics lesson, and eighth grade civics lesson on impeachment. he did not once address my concerns, nor my question. and i think c-span should be aware of that. kathy int is allentown, pennsylvania. we will go to west virginia next, mark from call will -- caldwell. a reallyhanks for interesting show today. i have to say i echo a lot of your colors. it goes to show how many critical issues there are facing this nation, and also the world, but if the government of we the people, by the people, and for the people is to survive, we have to have bipartisan support and allow a vote, my friend mitch, on election security. most of the other problems i think can be taken care of if people heed the words of mahatma gandhi -- every man's need but not every man's greed. host: independent line, steve is next in burnett, texas. caller: i just

white house officials and the staff of these senators, democrats chris murphy and joe manchin and pat toomey. let's start there. with me now april bryan, who is correspondent for urban radio networks, and jeff mason covers the white house for reuters. >> hi, brooke. >> when you hear that these talks are informal and not substantive, according to one official. how serious are these conversations? >> not substantive is the key piece right there. we've been hearing about these talks forever. i've been in washington for 22 years, there were shootings, columbine, so many things that happened. they were talking about closing the gun show loophole. now hr-8 that is in the house, is to close the gun show loophole as well as the online loophole for buying guns. we're talking about assault weapons bans. it's a lot about a lot that's not moving. the problem is people are dying and hr-8 has passed in the house, but the senate won't do it. not only that, you have the nra that is telling the president no. remember parkland? the president was all for background checks when he heard the people in that town

so, yes, these talks are happening, but evidence and the fact there -- is that the fact that pat toomeyy republican right now, a senator from pennsylvania, the only republican so far involved in these discussions. if that shows you with these talks are headed, right now there's not a lot of support. the president insists -- with the nra telling him something that his base in the red states are not going to support, but we're told that they will brief the president during the vacation how these talks are going. they're putting off any progress. the president returns to washington next week. even though the talks are happening, there is a great of skepticism that will move the needle on anything, kate. >> skepticism is the only play to be, considering what history looks like and how much you can trust his position will be the same from one day to the next. >>> while these informational talks may be happening, democrats are demanding more. democrats are now accusing the senate majority leader of trying to run out the clock. listen. >> we know exactly why he isn't here. he's waiting for the

pat toomey and others have been vocal about background checks and president trump has indicating a willingnesssupport some kind of expanded background checks, but we will have to see. when they reconvene, we will see what the hot issues are. this is a hot issue because the of the events that happened just more than a week ago in ohio and texas. in this environment, where different things are happening every week, we do not know when the senate reconvenes in the fall whether this will still be the top issue. david: we've talked about this before. you said the president said things that are objectionable but his basil stay with him. is it possible to go too far? over the weekend he tweeted something that was just a conspiracy theory from somebody online having to do with the epstein situation with the suicide. we now have anthony scaramucci, of former head communications for 11 of communications for 11 days, saying we should replace him at the head of the ticket. is there a point where republicans say enough is enough, we cannot tolerate, what he is thousand -- what he is espousing is too object

even in the senate today, see senators like pat toomey, co-sponsor of a background check legislation,uld never support a ban on assault weapons. you would have to see a major wave and shift in the senate to see the kind of legislative response some of these candidates are calling for. >> aaron blake, on top of everything heidi just articulated so intelligently and accurately, there is this about the entire field now has, to point to donald trump and say, we are against that. let's undo that. that is the intersection between a killer's creed and the president's twitter feed. >> yeah. don't forget it wasn't that long ago that these democratic presidential candidates, many of them were reluctant to talk about things like impeachment. it wasn't that long ago that if you asked democratic members of congress or leaders, if the president was a racist, they would not go that far. obviously, the thing he said about the judge with mexican heritage was wrong and bad but wouldn't go as far as to call him a racist. again, we're seeing the 2020 presidential candidates lead this party towards a new

i understand he's had conversations with folks like lindsey graham and pat toomey but so far there is not a sense he's doing the kind of arm twisting that we saw on the tax bill in 2017. until we see that, i don't think this is going to happen. >> i guess i shouldn't be surprised but it's just it's normal when a powerful human being who is the president of the united states says something that you're sort of supposed to believe what they say and this it has meaning and that they might follow through. when the president, you know, mocked the other congress members for being scared of the nra and said he's not and that he'll take it on and they want to do what's right and then does nothing and then yet again now is saying it's not about the nra, i don't know why -- i mean, it like we are rationally sitting here saying, well, maybe this time will be different. we don't know. >> we don't know. here's the reason why the president has said to aides that this will be different in terms of the nra. the nra is in a substantially weakened position. it has an enormous amount of internal turmoil.

fromyou have pat toomey the state of pennsylvania who together with former governor and senator joe mansion together legislation that would address this, and a lot of suburban women would find very thoughtful legislation. this is a matter for the whole congress to deliberate. we know where democrats stand on this and we know where republicans tend to stand, and we know the power of the gun lobby. you do not expect mitch mcconnell to head into the fault with that head of steam to do something about this. maybe they will do something on background checks, but maybe not. it depends on what is hot when they get back. mitch mcconnell has been very effective so far as to not keep this on the front burner. shery: the economy will be a top issue. it was interesting to see over the weekend peter navarro, larry kudlow out and about trying to talk up the economy. is the white house feeling the pain of perhaps the economy starting to slow? basil: a lot of their activity belies some of their earlier comments last weekend that we should not be worried about the economy. when we get into a place when we a

with new tariffs between the two countries just days away, senator pat toomey an outspoken critic of trump's tariffs told "politico," quote, there is no unquestion trade uncertainty is contributing to the economic slowdown. >> what does he want me to do? does he want me to say, let me put my hands up, china, continue to rip us off? >> trump also said talks with china are continuing and repeated his belief that china wants to make a deal. while senate republicans worry about the economic tariffs are rising, they aren't new, and most lawmakers don't want to overtly challenge trump's trade war, because they agree with the administration's concerns about unfair chinese trade practices, in particular intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer. >>> breaking overnight. two high profile pro democracy activists arrested by hong kong police. and now, a new report says china rejected a request from hong kong to withdraw the extradition bill that sparked months of protests. cnn's paula hancocks live in hong kong with more on this. i mean this is only going to inflame the anger th

a handful of key lawmakers from both parties, including democratic senators murphy, manchin and pat toomey. the focus what could have a chase of getting through congress, especially the republican senate where gun safety measures have been blocked for years. joining me now, kristen welker in new jersey and senior white house reporter shannon pettipiece. there have been reports at the staff level that perhaps some of his domestic violence advisors are going to see him in bedminister? >> reporter: so here's what we know at this hour. these are the first substantive talks that we're aware of between the white house and the hill about potential bipartisan legislation on gun safety laws. so we do know that president trump has been in contact with senators murphy, toomey and manch manchin. why is that significant? chris murphy has been a leading advocate when it comes to stiffer gun laws, expanding background checks. m manchin and toomey are the two senators that proposed that legislation to expand background checks in the wake of the sandy hook massacre. that was the last time that congress cam

. >> your fellow pennsylvania republican, pat toomey, tried to push for an expansion of background checks supporter, joe mafrnlg manchin. does the republican party need to give on this? >> i think the republican party will focus on what the problem is. the problem is not the gun. the problem std peopis the peop those guns. the problem is not trying to ban guns or trying to put more gun laws in place because the people who are committing these crimes are breaking the law and they don't really care whether they violate gun crimes or not. the reality is what the democrats are doing -- pete buttigieg was a good example this morning. you asked him the question has that gone too far? he said let's do what we agree on, then we can get to that. so even democrats who are not calling for gun bans are saying let's do this first, then we can get the -- >> wait a minute -- that's like -- it's not the opioids the problem, it's the in ohio -- 30 seconds, 30 seconds and they were able to mow down a whole group of people. it doesn't make sense. it's the weapons we have to get rid of. >>> lady liberty gett

that's pat toomey of rhode island, who we know, of course, was part of that background checks push before that republicans were against and that the white house threatened to veto. so that's why there's so much skepticism here. because despite the president saying he believes the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell wants to do something and is on board with background checks, we're being told behind the scenes that several republicans and conservative allies of this white house are telling them they don't think background checks is the way to go here. these talks are going on. we're told the white house aides are going to come to bedminster to talk to the president about this. we should really take this with a lot of skepticism. a lot of these lawmakers are not in washington. a lot are not even at home. some are on vacations. that's what's happening in the background as all these talks are going on. so there doesn't seem to be this great sense of urgency. >> okay. kaitlan, we're also learning on a totally separate topic, you know, the president had talked about rob blagojevich, who's c

pat toomey of pennsylvania, a republic republican, and joe manchin of west virginia, a democrat, so those are two items for sure will be front and center as we see what's we can come together on and pass. >> so i wonder if that's a signal to the president there because practically we know mcconnell won't bring that before the senate unless he's confident the president backs him. that's really -- it's in the president's hands, is it not? >> i think it is a signal to the president that he has seen support grow on this issue, and he's saying he's going to bring it to the floor which is actually very significant for mitch mcconnell, because he controls the floor and he does not bring up things he thinks the president will not support or he doesn't think will be helpful to his republican party. the fact he's saying it will be part of the discussion is significant, but he's not saying it will pass or even saying he'll promise to bring it up for a vote. i think he's sending out a signal, there's this bill, it is bipartisan and being discussed. but he's being very careful with his word choice her

we've been -- my staff has been working with him along with susan collins, pat toomey, chris coons. the president has reached out to everybody and was trying to find a pathway for it. i said this, mr. president, if you want to start making america sfe again, you have got to have the building blocks of a background check and especially our bill that i wrote back in 2013. it started with the premise that a law-abiding gun owner is not going to sell their gun to someone with a criminal background. we're not taught that way. don't you think we should take any commercial transaction must have a background check, any internet sell, anything commercially where you don't know somebody, that's the building block. if he can't do that, we're not going to take us serious about anything. >> let's get to the next level of this. why he would back off. what can they tell him in a phone call that would make him push back on the pressure. >> i don't know. i haven't talked to him in a week or so. last time i talked to the president, i said, mr. president, i'm a life member of the nra, a lifetime membe

. >> first of all i'm working with senator pat toomey and joe manchin and with the white house on making sure that we closed some loopholes in the background check system to ensure people with criminal records who are mentally ill cannot purchase firearms. that's something we ought to be able to unite around. i'm not talking about restrictions on family members, i wouldn't support for example the house passed bill. it is overreached, it goes too far. but if we can come together working with president trump, working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle and to say if you advertise the sale of a firearm over the internet, there should be a background check, that makes sense to me. >> martha: do you think the president will stick with this? what we've seen too many times, people say this is the moment because of dayton and el paso but i have said if it wasn't the moment after sandy hook, why should anyone believe once a few weeks passed, it doesn't go awa away? >> the president has been engaged and he has talked to senator mcconnell who has indicated a willingness to bring that bill to

pat toomey of pennsylvania, a republican and joe manchin of west virginia, so those are twoimes that for sure will be front and center as we see what we can come together on and pass. >> okay, josh green, again, the language from him on expanded background checks being front and center of the debates, to me that's new. what september new is action. those two are very different. >> it's new in the sense clearly mcconnell feels political pressure to speak up and not duck on this issue. but the two things that stood out to me was the language he used. front and center is different than saying i'm going to take that bill and put it on the senate floor for a vote. the other thing mcconnell said that we didn't have in that clip was he's not going to call the senate back in session. that to me obviously suggests a lack of concern or a lack of urgency on this issue. and as we've seen after past shootings a lot of times weeks go by, all of a sudden the urgency and promise to act people expect to happen in the immediate aftermath trails away and we go back to the normal of no new gun control.

pat toomey telling me earlier that a lot of his republican colleagues are indeed rethinking some otherno votes on gun-control legislation and the like. judge andrew napolitano says a lot of those proposed laws won't hold up the constitutional muster. he joins us. george, what do what do you me? >> good afternoon. it's always a pleasure to be with you. the proposal that the president offered the other day is called a red flag law. that's a law by which the federal government would pay the states to change their state laws so that anybody who wants to raise a red flag -- my next-door neighbor is a little crazy but he has a gum and i think -- has a gun and i think you should take it away, it can cause the gun owner to be dragged into court and in some states the gun is taken away before the hearing and the hearing decides whether or not the gun owner might abuse it in the future. that's the serious constitutional problem. in this country and it's been this way for 230 years, the presumption of innocence on the due process requirements mean you can only be punished for something you've don