peter baker joins us now from washington. welcome, peter. >> thanks for having me. >> rose: tell me how you came to this conclusion that the doctrine is don't be roped in by doctrine. >> i think the last week alone has shown just how improvisational and transactional president trump's policy really is. you know, it's not that hard to find statements from the campaign trail where he said syria is not america's problem. we shouldn't go there, where he said we should be working closely with russia and stop alienating them. where he said you know, china shouldn't be invited to dinner they're our enemy and here in the last week alone he has involved us more in syria civil war than ever before. the first american military strike against bashar al-assad's government. he has alienated russia which in fact said that their prime minister said that the relationship is quote completely ruined. and he invited the chinese leader to dinner in mar a lago and tried to work on trade. >> he is very improvisational. he himself said he is flexibl

two great reporters covering the trump white house, "new york times" peter baker and "washington posta. later hallie jackson joins us live from berlin with her exclusive interview with ivanka trump who says she doesn't appreciate being called her father's accomplice. "morning joe" is coming right back. stay with me, mr. parker. when a critical patient is far from the hospital, the hospital must come to the patient. stay with me, mr. parker. the at&t network is helping first responders connect with medical teams in near real time... stay with me, mr. parker. ...saving time when it matters most. stay with me, mrs. parker. that's the power of and. at crowne plaza we know business travel isn't just business. there's this. 'a bit of this. why not? your hotel should make it easy to do all the things you do. which is what we do. crowne plaza. we're all business, mostly. w...i was always searching for ways to manage my symptoms. i thought i had it covered. then i realized managing was all i was doing. when i finally told my doctor, he said humira was for people like me who have tried other me

you attach all of these things -- here is the interesting thing, peter baker, our allies actually, for the most part -- we'll put angela merkel over in another corner where her hand is not shaken. but most of our allies like this american approach. >> well, they like american leadership in the world. they like a robust american presence in the middle east, europe and asia which they felt, rightly or wrongly, that barack obama was not exhibiting, that he had retreated too far. >> they don't like america leading from behind. >> but they do like predictability and reliability. the problem with this administration among the allies is they don't know where they're going and what they're going to do. if you're living in the baltic, what you want to know is the united states will stand with you if russia starts to do something. that strategic ambiguity that president trump has been fostering over the last few months leaves people like that feeling uncertain. >> on nato -- nato has certainly been cleared up. >> turning a corner. >> you talked about syria, cokie, our policy is we're going to st

i'll read this from peter baker.he extent this a trump doctrine is emerging, it seems to be this. don't get roped in by doctrine. i think that is what we see. he is a transactional person. he's looking at this one chris -- crisis at a time. can you do that? can your own team figure out what they should prepare for? this is syria, chemical weapons. what about at the end of the week north korea launches another missile. >> exactly. there was a lot of relief and support offered by other foreign policy establishment in washington and around the world among the allies after he launched the crews missile strike because he felt like that was a long time in coming. president obama should have done it. but the second day thinking is what does that mean, how do we predict? allies want an american president predictability. they're not getting that. i don't think that one strike necessarily means he's changed his mind, syria is now really an american problem. he used the language instability in the region is a threat to american

peter baker joins us from washington. welcome, peter.l me how you came to this conclusion that the doctrine is "don't get roped in by doctrine"? peter: the last week alone as shown how improvisational and transactional president trump's policy really is. it is not hard to find statements from the campaign trail where he said, syria is not america's problem, we should not go there, we should work closely with russia and stop alienating them. he said china should not be invited to did -- to dinner, they are our enemy. in the last week alone, he has involved us in the syrian civil war more than ever before with an airstrike against the bashar al-assad government, alienated russia, and their prime minister said the relationship is completely ruined. and he invited the chinese leader to dinner in a mar-a-lago to work out trade in north korea. i think he is very improvisational. he said he is very flexible. he is not wedded to one approach. so the idea of trying to define his foreign-policy is tricky. charlie: if you're competitor, adversary,

peter baker in new york times described real politic. basically forgetting about carrying that torch around the rest of the world, shrugging off human rights violations and worrying about what the countries can do for the united states. this at least in terms of the gravity, which was felt and conveyed by the president seems to have the potential to change that calculation. trump said he's rethought this. but when you asked him when a reporter shouted questions at him as he first sat down, is this going to change your policy towards syria? all he could say is you'll see. he was asked later -- it was another stunning moment i think got lost when a reporter from jordan asked both leaders about the strategy, how do you confront syria when it's allied with iran and russia? king abdullah gave a broad answer. and president trump went off on the iran deal. being a terrible idea. never mind that. it had nothing to do with the reality of the situation. when she rephrased the question, he said i'll send a strong message. you'll see. but it's hard

peter baker of the "new york times." vivian salama of the "associated press." and michael crowley of politico. announcer: sell braying 50 years. this is "washington week." funding -- celebrating 50 years. this is "washington week." funding is provided by -- >> their leadership is instinctive. they understand the challenges of today and research the technologies of tomorrow. some call them veterans. we call them part of our team. >> additional funding is provided by newman's seen foundation, donating all profits from food products to charity and nourishing the common good. ku and patricia ewing, committed to bringing cultural differences and from contributions from pbs viewers like you. thank you. once again from washington, robert costa of "the washington post." robert: good evening. friday marked day 85 for the trump administration. it was perhaps the most significant week yet for the president on the international stage. us military forces use the most powerful nonnuclear weapon in america's arsenal to target isis in afghanistan. the 21,000 blast nicknamed th

new york times" white house correspondent peter baker joins me now from washington for a preview. you had a chance to sit down with officials in the white house. first of all, regardless of what happens at the meeting, the very act of the u.s. president meeting him at the white house, that's kind of a win for egypt right there? >> well, the picture is what president sisi wants more than anything, that along with the money, of course. but the picture is important, a picture of him with the president of the united states, in the oval office, in the white house, something no egyptian president has had since 2009. president obama, you know, he went back and forlt on how hard to push on human rights but he kept a distance to president sisi, never invited him to the white house. this is something as you say as a victory for president sisi to come and be with the president of the united states. >> let's talk about the people he overthrough to take the spot, the muslim brotherhood, egypt considers them basically a terrorist organization, he wants the world to see them that way as well. wh

peter baker, glenn thrush also reporting a story getting a lot of traction this morning on steve bannon as president trump removes them from the national security council post. claims stevees" bannon resisted the move and even threatened to quit if it moved forward. mr. vince can deny -- mr. banno n's camp denied that. he was appointed to keep an eye on mr. trump's first advisor, 24hael flynn, who lasted days before misleading white house officials about what he discussed with. russian ambassadors steve bannon removed from the national security team. he is of course the chief strategist and campaign advisor to president trump. we will go to steve in illinois, democrats line. back to the nuclear option. good morning. caller: morning. ake the one guy said earlier, lot of this argument started when mitch mcconnell said the day after barack obama got elected that he will find everything he did -- fight everything he did. you had a year that we went without a supreme court judge. when they wanted merrick garland to be on there and he had been praised by the republicans for , but because it i

peter baker wrote a very good piece today that said, he thinks the idea of these report cards is ridiculous but he wants in a plus for his hundred days. there is a lot of truth on that. one thing there are quite aware of and everybody else is, they have done things on executive orders and foreign policy. but they don't have the big legislative achievement. even getting some piece of legislation through one chamber. and theyds as a void know they will be downgraded for that. they are forced to look at other things they have done to say that we have done this and that. they would love to have a vote on the health care bill go through this week. sorlie: why are they insistent on that? not only was there no democratic support, there is division republican party. dan: particularly on the health care front. you can't lay the failure of the house on the white house. they may have contributed to it or they may not have been able to resolve it, but that is a long-standing division within the republican party that they, frankly, inherited. they have a strategy to overcome it. they work themselves thr

. ♪ ♪ continue with peter baker, chief white house correspondent for the new york times.ites that these events revealed to the extent that a trump doctrine is emerging, it seems to be this come don't get roped in by doctrine. welcome, peter. tell me how you came to this conclusion that the doctrine is doctrinet roped in by "? it's not that hard to find statements from the campaign trail where he said syria is not america's problem. we should be working closely with russia and stop alienating them. china is our enemy. in the last week alone, he has involved us in the syrian civil war with an airstrike against the bashar al-assad government, the primerussia, minister saying the relationship is completely ruined, and invited the chinese leader to dinner to work out trade in north korea. i think he is very improvisational. .e said he is very flexible so the idea of trying to define his foreign-policy is tricky. competitor, adversary, whatever you want to call it, if they can't predict how you will because thead relationships between nationstates depends on predictability to a

let's talk about it with peter baker, chief white house correspondent.s of things swirling on capitol hill, and they sort of interconnect. nunes is a stepping down, partisan groups are saying he cannot conduct a fair investigation into russian meddling in u.s. elections, if it happened. he's a saying he will step aside temporarily, wildly temporarily? >> i think he thinks he can dispense these allegations and perhaps return to the investigation. he has not stepped down as chairman of the intelligence committee and he'll continue to fulfill his other functions, but this particular investigation he's going to step away from while he addresses the response of these allegations. as one of these cases where the investigation continues to tug on so many different people in so me different places. the trial by president trump, his people, susan rice, obviously now chairman nunes, it's been a real wrecking ball through washington. >> jon: republicans are saying that susan rice, because she has received a fair amount of bad press in recent days, but there was a a

peter baker of the new york times wrote a very good piece today that said, he thinks the idea of theseeport cards at 100 days is ridiculous, but nonetheless, he wants an a plus for his first 100 days. there is a lot of truth on that. the void they are aware of, they have done things on executive orders, some things on foreign policy, but they do not yet have that big legislative achievement. even getting some big piece of legislation through one chamber. ie, the health care bill. that stands as a void and they know they will be downgraded for that. they are trying to force people to look at other things they have done. here we have done this, there we have done that. do not only look at the legislation. they would dearly love to have a vote on the health care bill go through this week. it is not clear that that will happen. charlie: why are they so insistent on that? a gave him a lot of problems. not only was there no democratic support, there is division within the republican party. dan: that is the problem they run into on a number of these things, but particularly on the health care

my colleague peter baker and i had a role in this.eported discussions going on about a revamp and change to that executive order that did the shift. including restoring the downgraded seats. it was not clear what would happen with bannon. that change was expected a week after that report. that was four weeks ago. the president has been chewing on some form of this change and back to older order on the nse almost since the moment he signed the initial executive order. the first about the nse and the travel ban. he was more upset about the blowback over the nse order than he was about the fallout from the executive order and immigration. >> david gregory, do we think that steve bannon has been sidelined? >> appropriately sidelined from the national security council. i can tell you from my c conversations that h.r. mcmaster was concerned about people excluded and the dni and steve bannon was included in the principles meeting. this sounds like process. this is important in terms of bringing in all of the strains of information for decisi

margaret, peter baker of the "new york times," ma "new york times," michael share of the "new york times." the president in a meeting with the owners of american steel companies, the president signing an executive memo directing the commerce department toto a study, are steel imports hurting national security? we begin with word of progress that some believe a possible breakthrough. in efforts to find enough votes among house republicans for another try at repealing and replacing obamacare. the embarrassing collapse of that first effort is a major failure on president trump's 100 day report card and he has been pushing and pushing for a do over. >> we're on time if we get that health care approval, so press every one of your congressmen. press everybody. because we want to get that approval. >> while congress is at home for a two week easter recess, a breakthrough, really? >> there are signs of a potential breakthrough, john. what we know right now is that leaders of the tuesday group and the house freedom caucus, they have been communicating over the easter recess and sources are tellin

g with op strategist karl rove, charles lane of "the washington post," peter baker who covers the whitew york times", and from "the wall street journal," kimberly strassel. karl, how much emphasis did bush 43 and all of you put up on racking up victories in your first hundred days, and how do you think president trump has done in his first hundred days? >> we put very little effort into it. this is a completely phony measure. it's derived from franklin delano roosevelt. chris: right. >> he was inaugurated six weeks later, on march 4th, he had 60 members in the senate, 35 republicans versus him, he had 109 republicans and the country was in the middle -- chris: you did not know i was going to ask that question, i want to point out. [laughter] >> this is completely phony. and i agree with the president, it's ridiculous. having said that, we're at 100 days, and we're going to have to measure it, and he's got a number of successes; cabinet, supreme court nomination, you heard it from lankford, 13 congressional regulatory act bills signed, two more on the way, veterans choice bill, getting t

strategist karl rove, charles lane at "the washington post," peter baker, who covers the white housew york times" and from "the wall street journal," kimberley strassel. karl, how much and persisted bush 43 and all of you put on racking up victories in your first 100 days and how do you think president trump has done in his first 100 days? >> senator lankford: we put very little effort into it. this is a completely phony measure. it's derived from franklin delano roosevelt. it was inaugurated six weeks later on march 4th, 60 members of the senate, 35 republicans. he had 322 democrats to 109 republicans in the country was in the middle of the depression. >> chris: you did not know that i was going to ask that question. >> this is completely phony. i agree with the president, it's ridiculous. having said that, 100 days and we will have to measure it. she's had a number of successes, cabinet, supreme court nomination. in order from lankford, 13 congressional regulatory -- two more on the way of him. a choice built getting health care to veterans. it has on jobs. pretty good meetings wit

peter baker of the "new york times" wrote a good piece today which said h he thinks the idea of these report cards at 100 days is ridiculous but nevertheless he wants an a-plus for his 100 days. there's a lot of truth in that. they have loaded up this week with all kinds of events to indicate the progress that they are making, but i think the one big void they are quite aware of and everybody else is they've done things on executive orders and foreign policy but they don't have the big legislative achievement, even getting some big piece of legislation through one chamber, i.e. the healthcare bill, and that stands as a void. they know they will be downgraded for that and they're trying to force people to look at other things they've done, we've done this and that, don't only look at the legislation. but they'd dealer love to have the healthcare bill go through this week but they know that's not going to happen. >> rose: why are they so insistent on that in terms of something that gave hem a lot of problems because nonot only buzz it no democratic support, it was division within the re

your colleague, peter baker, called it a highly improvisational situational approach towards foreign policy. just last week, we saw secretary tillerson talking about the syrian people making decision on assad. we saw president trump all throughout the campaign saying we can't get involved in this fight. real change this week. >> well, you know, george, in fairness, syria is the problem from hell. it's a fragmented situation on the ground. what i saw in secretary tillerson there talking about it is, why didn't i raise my hand to be secretary of agriculture? not secretary of state. because it's a difficult, difficult situation. the real question is i think, two things. one is can we increase our leverage there without putting american troops on the ground? by maybe giving more aid to the opposition forces. considering a no-fly zone. that's a big nato-wide question. you know, one thing i'm asking myself today, where is trump's twitter feed when we need it. if i was trump right now, i would be hammering him. putin is feckless and didn't know the ally was doing this or he's complicit. i d

he's a contributor to the weekly standard, and peter baker is chief white house correspondent for "thek times." michael, i'll start with you. not just because your name is michael, but we'll start with michael flynn. michael flynn said he wanted protection from various investigations into the trump campaign. critics think this is big deal. where do you see it? >> i think it's a big deal for michael flynn. now that we have new revelations about the money he was taking from other international sources and talk about kidnapping someone, it's like a bad b action movie. he has a lot of i think risk for himself. it can have absolutely nothing to do with the russian investigation. it could be the best thing that could have happened for trump would be to get mike flynn out early in this first part of the investigation and see where it goes from there. >> dickerson: if you wanted to talk to one person if there was a connection to the investigation, you would want to michael flynn? >> i think michael flynn is a crucial witness. he's the person who can answer the question: what did donald trump k

peter baker and jeffrey goldberg, thank you as well. >>> still ahead on "morning joe" -- >> hold on.hat painful being on the show. >> yes, it is. >> can you give us a smile? >> it's very painful. >> joe, i told you, these are serious times and i'm a serious person. >> he has that -- >> the grimacer. >> still ahead on "morning joe" -- >> smile cowboy. come on. >> president trump said he would talk to nato's chief about money he claims is owed to the u.s. for defense. did the topic come up at the meeting yesterday at the white house? if so, how did that go? general stoltenberg joins us next. and secretary of state reportedly asked his europeans about why the u.s. should care about the ukraine. >> not harold ford's three. he's got four. it's not how fast you mow, it's how well you mow fast. it's not how fast you mow... ...it's how well you mow fast. woooh! it's not how fast you mow... it's how well you mow fast! it's not how fast you mow... it's how well you mow fast. they're not just words to mow by, they're words to live by. the john deere ztrak z345r with the accel deep deck to mow f

i agree with peter baker -- it's a very mixed approach, but i think it is the result of this structuralwo diametrically opposed forces. david: you look at that structural incoherence, and you wonder the degree to which the strike we saw in syria last week was reactionary or part of a broader plan for the region. what do you think about that? you have the secretary of state over the weekend saying he doesn't foresee there being a change to the policy. is that hard to do, hard to say, once you have made a strike like this? >> i think it was definitely a reactionary strike. it essentially ruled out doing anything against assad days before, and senator rubio said that that would encourage them to launch the attack, because he was told there would be no price to pay, that president trump doesn't care. i think it was the result of the president's repulsion at the disturbing images after the chemical weapons attack, and they really haven't thought through the next stages of the strategy. but i think we saw secretary tillerson site, well, that strategy will not change. we will continue to focus

it ends up -- peter baker looked into it quickly, other than george w.h in 2000, he actually won the least number of electoral votes of any republican president going back to rutherford b. hayes. people are picking up on this stuff, too. he keeps saying things that aren't true. he was running against hillary clinton who he told even more falsehoods, according to the american people. he's not running against hillary clinton anymore. he's running against himself. >> and then there's this. treasury secretary steve mnuchin is pushing back on a timeline for a tax reform bill. he said failure to reach a deal on health care means having tax legislation on the president's desk by august is, quote, not realistic. august was his original goal. municipality mnuchin says the end of the year is his peks take achlgts "the new york times" says fixing the tax code is not likely. the paper says democrats have pledged not to cooperate in rewriting tax laws until they know how those revisions might financially benefit the president personally. here is white house press sec

. >> peter baker reported that the emerging trump doctrine was don't follow doctrine. >> right. >> hectable thing we'll see from this man, it's hard to know. michael, you've looked at so many presidents and seen presidents succeed and fail. is there -- if you could have a five minutes with president trump tomorrow, what would you tell him about how not to blow it in this moment where he seems to be getting a little momentum? >> i think one thing is what you've all been saying this morning, which is getting the expertise he really needs in areas that he does not know about. foreign policy and military policy, he's shown he's willing to do that. domestic policy, you know, let's see if he finds the current day, you're not going to find one but a current day version of jim baker and the other thing is, i just have to say it, this is a very ahistorical president, it's not someone -- we're talking about the reagan doctrine, i'm not sure he knows that history. one thing that really is a threat that runs through every great president that i can think of is at least knowing what presidents in