applauding saudi arabia and others in the region for taking a hard line and isolating the country of qatar trump proclaimed from the rose garden about a week ago that quote the nation of qatar has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level but apparently funding terrorism at the highest of levels is not a deterrent for a good ole arms deal less than a few days after the donald's condemnation it was announced that the united states formally authorized the long term sale of twenty one billion dollars worth of u.s. weapons to qatar including twelve billion in f. fifteen fighter jets i guess he just forgot that they were bad guys supporting terrorism. but it's not just donald trump having senior moments of forgetfulness this week the democrats appear to be having a little trouble remembering just who they are and what values they are supposed to be standing up for journalist ben norton and altered its gravestone project of uncovered the democratic senators leapt across the aisle to join their republican brothers and sisters to vote fifty three to forty seven in favor of the trump a

qatar and its neighbors. sarah sanders told reporters donald trump wants to " de-escalate the crisis and is committed to holdingparties." saudi's and three original allies suspended flights and sea travel to and from qatar, escalating. bloomberg markets: middle east , let's talk about how this situation gets the escalated. beene moment, there have talks, the turks have been involved in that. co-ats also seem to be acting as a mediator. what role of the united states playing? >> and very important role. have access to all countries in the gulf. at the existing relationship with saudi arabia, which they tried to reaffirm the visit of donald trump a couple of weeks ago. they are in a position to play a key role, but it will come to the countries of this part of the world to resolve this. kuwait will try to patch things up. crisis inime we had a the gulf in terms of diplomatic tensions was in 2014. the worst was they recalled ambassadors. they didn't cut off any connections. that took seven weeks to resolve. this might take much longer given the amount of damage done. matt: what is the market impact today? yousef:

a qatari—owned television network says president trump has told qatar's leader that he's ready to findmes, however, after mr trump seemed to throw his support behind saudi arabia and several other arab states in their efforts to isolate qatar over its alleged support for extremists. butjust how easy is some kind of solution? our diplomatic correspondent james robbins is in doha. qatar's enormous wealth is very conspicuous, its vast gas reserves transforming this small country in just 20 years, but now it's under the pressure of a blockade. saudi arabia says it can only be lifted it qatar pours into line with a series of demands. president trump backs the hard but in qatar itself, unsurprisingly, you will not find anyone who supports the blockade. the blockade in international law is one step short of war. i think the people of qatar have to resort to the magnanimity or the wisdom of the international community, the european community, the united states itself and we have to go beyond and above the head of president trump himself because he doesn't understand. bearing in mind that the c

regional military operations out of its base in qatar. trump tweets and complained about the country at a press conference on friday, but american troops will have to live with the reality that qatar is their host and close military ally in the war against isis. for a superpower, the best policy in the middle east has always been to maintain ties with all regional players. one of the great successes of richard nixon and henry kissinger's policies is they were able to would egypt into the american sphere while simultaneously preserving an alliance with the shah of iran. two seismic events altered the middle east. the first was the iranian revolution of 1979. which ushered a radical revisionist power into the region, and then triggered a reaction from countries like saudi arabia. iran's promise to spread its version of islam led the saudis to ramp up their own efforts to spread their own ideas and influence. the next earthquake was the american-led invasion of iraq in 2003. which destabilized the fundamental balance of power. you see, iran's ambi

trump may have about these meetings. jane: we are waiting to see about that. another contradiction in the white house again, qatar. e secretary of state saying one thing, donald trump saying another. what does this tell us about the dysfunction in the white house? laura: you have rex tillerson urging calm in the gulf, urging these gulf countries to ease the blockade, and then you have donald trump almost laying in to qatar, accusing them of funding terrorism. the white house is setting not just mixed messages to the u.s., but right across the world. and then they have a state department and white house trying to clear up after themselves. one of the real appeals of this president was his unpredictably, but it is also one of his big problems. jane: thank you for joining us. and one more quick note on the hearing yesterday with a james comey, nearly 19.5 million people watched it on television according to the rating agency, that is about the same number of people watching the nba finals. you can find out more about that story including the coverage of the british election results. and to see what we are working on a

qatar. you've had a lot of counter-trump cooperation. but at the same time, there has been concern going back years that there is money coming from qatar that has reached al qaeda elements, that since the arab spring, they've supported factions that are aligned with al qaeda elements. and even back to the bush administration, a lot of concern that al jazeera, its main source of soft power stirs up anti-heav american sentiment at times, or stirs up sentiment against qatar's neighbors in saudi arabia and the u.a.e. so it's very much a conflicted picture. >> sreenivasan: so this week, it seems those conversations have moved to washington, d.c. the sides are lobbying. >> it's amazing. every one of these governments-- saudi arabia, the u.a.e., qatar-- have flooded the zone, as some say, into washington to meet secretary tillerson, secretary mattis, meet press. and these countries have so much influence in washington through investments and think tanks, through lobbying firms, just through their business and defense contracts that it's-- it's a

trump's agenda. today, he tweeted his full backing for saudi—led punishment of qatar. actually, regarding president trump's tweet, we had a meeting directly with president trump, between him and his highness the emir, and he told us that there are some allegations about different countries in the region funding terrorism and we saw some of them as around qatar and saudi. he repeated this several times. we told him very clearly, if there is any allegation, we can sit on the table and we can sort it out. but there's no resolution in sight yet, as all sides consider how to repair an alliance usually regarded as critical. james robbins, bbc news, doha. why orlando survivors are now some of the strongest blood donation advocates. the queen and her husband began their royal progress to westminster. the moment of crowning, in accordance with the order of service, by a signal given by the great guns of the tower. tanks and troops are patrolling the streets of central peking after the bloody operation to crush student—led protests, and the violence has continued, the army firing

president trump spoke with the emir of qatar yesterday, one year after celebrating the decision by several middle eastern nations to cut ties tweeting, tuesday, during my recent trip to the middle east, i stated there can no longer be funding of radical ideology. but the president's stance was quite difference yesterday according to a readout of his call with qatar. trump emphasizes the importance of all countries in the region working together and offered to help the parties resolve their differences including a meeting at the white house. this was far from the president's first self-inflicted wound on twitter.com. on monday after the president undermined his own lawyer's arguments by declaring his executive order a travel ban, the aclu responded, yes, we may incorporate trump's tweets about the ban into our supreme court argument. but what may prove the prident's st regrettable tweet might be the one hsent about the, quote, tapes. and that's thing 2 in 60 seconds. ment turns romantic? cialis for daily use treats ed and the urinary symptoms of bph. tell your doctor about your medicines, a

qatar short of goods. earlier i spoke with political analyst and author eric ham and asked him about president trump's seeminglyrstand is donald trump has a tendency to be unpredictable. and you're right. the united states has a military inspiration that which is vital to combating and fighting terrorism in the region. —— installation. but as donald trump commends saudi arabia for its actions, we know that rex tillerson has offered to work with all nations to try to come to some kind of negotiation settlement. so while donald trump is excoriating cutter on the one hand and lauding saudi arabia on the other, he is putting the weight and influence of the united states by the situation, try to resolve the problem. -- qatar. the president also has a tendency to take credit for things which are not down to him or are not true. but in this case, he can claim credit? he can. donald trump has been very engaged, very involved in the region, particularly with rebuilding and reshaping his relationship and the us's relationship with saudi arabia. that was his first stop on his overseas trip, and there is a relationship est

turn on trump's anti qatar rhetoric with a spokes person demanding explanation from the gulf states for their blockade of doha however policy shifts become something of a trend for trump the trump administration as duckling found out. trying to fold the trumpet ministrations every move can literally leave your head spinning take for example the crisis the state department stands as of tuesday is a demand that the saudis back their claims qatar supporting terrorists now that it's been more than two weeks since the embargo started we are mystified that the gulf states have not released to the public nor to the qataris the details about the claims that they are making toward qatar but late two weeks ago trump didn't seem to be mystified when he said qatar does sponsor terrorism the time it comes. to our two and its funding. and its extremist. ideology and the tweet term even credited his trip to the middle east for spring on the decision to split with qatar struggling to follow the logic so my but maybe that's just how the trump team works everyone gets to do what they want for one the def

weeks ago in riyadh, i was one of the reporters in that room and president trump had the bilateral meeting with the amir of qatararm, friendly meeting. remember, trump called him a long time friend, so the nations have been longtime friends. they talked about selling our beautiful military equipment to qatar. very warm. i am told that, yes, trump was aware of tensions with qatar between saudi arabia and some of these golf countries with qatar and the reports about qatar being too friendly with iran at the time of the meeting. they were not aware at this particular -- that these new documents came out, which of course qatar is denying. i was told by a couple of officials that, yes, trump would like to see the arab states united. he would. but this is also, they said, demonstrative of these countries taking president trump seriously when he said you need to isolate iran. that is how they are seeing it as the silver lining. >> bret: these countries would probably not be doing this action hadn't been president obama and not president trump because obviously president trump went over there and said, i have your back

applauding saudi arabia and others in the region for taking a hard line and isolating the country of qatar trump proclaimed from the rose garden about a week ago that quote the nation of qatar.

president trump has declared his strong support for the blockade of qatar which is being led by saudi qatari citizens have been expelled from neighbouring countries. mr trump has backed accusations that qatar has been supporting violent extremism. but qatar's foreign minister told the bbc such allegations were based on fabricated evidence. the philippines has halted the deployment of workers to qatar — there are nearly 250,000 filipinos living there. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james robbins reports, from the capital doha. the unprecedented blockade of qatar by her arab neighbours emptied some supermarket shelves briefly, but there's no widespread panic. queues formed as many flights in and out of qatar are banned, with the saudis leading this campaign against a fellow sunni muslim country they say is too supportive of rival shia muslim iran. qatar's foreign minister told me no—one understands how it came to this. what is shocking is the measures which have been taken against qatar. it was like a collective punishment from three countries in this region, by trying to block qatar and

qatar. the ambassador of united states respondent in a statement of fox news, saying that the uae welcomes president trump'sdership in challenging qatar's support with extremism. the next step is for them to look at these concerns and examine the regional policies grid that will provide the necessary basement for discussions bring in as afternoon marks, secretary tellers and acknowledged qatar of supporting tele- -- terrorists. >> qatar has made process halting support and expelling terrorist delegates from his country. but he must do more, and he must do it more quickly. >> "special report with bret baier" ambassador to the united states welcomes the secretary's remarks and says -- >> we have taken actions against individuals who are in the legal system. the courts have concluded and prosecuted certain individuals. >> he says he also supports secretary taylor -- saying it's a first step in the right direction. >> secretary tillerson says it's affecting u.s. businesses in the region. as for the military and its massive presence there, the pentagon says the blockade is hindering his ability for longer-term m

qatar. president trump is voicing the frustrations of many countries and many diplomats and has said in publicsations. do you worry that the golf could be severed resulting in possibly the expulsion of qatar? golf could be severed resulting in possibly the expulsion of qatar7m is time for wiser counsel to prevail ina is time for wiser counsel to prevail in a qatar. this sort of approach, denying qatar's fingerprint which is all over the place, what serves the region is to address the issues and emerging qatar's reputation. that was dr anwar gargash speaking to the bbc. the former chancellor of germany, helmut kohl has died aged 87. he'll be remembered for presiding over the reunification of west germany with the former communist east. the current chancellor, angela merkel, has led the tributes, describng him as "a great german and a great european". the bbc‘s paul adams looks back at his life. as the cold war ended, helmut kohl seemed to tower, quite literally, over everyone and everything around him. as a child he witnessed the destruction of his country. the second world war inspiring his li

qatar does. saw president trump doubling down on his criticism of qatar on friday, saying the country is a funderf terrorism at a very high level. how do you square the u.s.-qatari relationship right now, given that it is home to one of the u.s. is biggest military bases? guest: president trump has a tendency to be trigger-happy with his statements and he doesn't think through a lot of what he says. u.s. position on qatar has always been complicated because as you mentioned, central command for many years is based out of qatar, and air base used for forward operations in syria and iraq, all over the region. 10-20,000 servicemen and women serving in qatar. the u.s. has always been careful of their criticism of qatar not to make it so publicly and to have it done to the state and defense department. never has the president come out on twitter and criticized an ally. so many u.s. troops are conducting operations. it doesn't really square. president trump's statements has put the u.s. military and u.s. diplomatic community in the gulf region in a bit of a bind. tracy: at a high level, how do you see

. >>> and trump calls out qatar for funding terrorism at a high level. >>> we want to welcome our viewers around the world and in the united states. i'm george howl. >> i'm nataliale allen. you're watching "cnn newsroom." >>> donald trump struck a defiant tone when he was asked about former fbi director james comey in the russia investigation. trump says he is 100% willing to testify himself to dispute comey's account. >>> but, oddly enough, he doesn't want to dispute all of it. our jim acosta has details. >>> speaking as he tweets in short bursts, president trump tried to have it both ways, clinging to the testimony of former fbi director james comey as his salvation while also slamming the man he fired in the same breath. >> no collusion, no obstruction. he's a leaker. >> reporter: during a news conference, mr. trump denied he tried to shut down the russia probe, especially when it comes to national security adviser, michael flynn. >> i will tell you i didn't say that. >> reporter: the president rejected the notion that he asked comey for a form -- >> i don't even know the man. i am not

qatar. the trump administration wants to end the crisis as soon as possible. but also trying to exert pressure on qatar to accept the terms of saudi arabia, the united emirates, egypt, bahrain, and others. two major terms. they want qatar to end its support for the islamists, whether you're talking about the muslim brotherhood in egypt or the islamists in libya and its funding, stop its funding for some islamists and also join the anti-iranian coalition. the trump administration believes that iran is a spoiler state and all the gulf states and arab states must become part of this particular coalition. so even though there's some disconnect between the white house and the state department, the american position has really been pushing qatar to accept the terms of saudi arabia and its allies and end the crisis sooner than later because the current crisis has major implications for the u.s.-led campaign against isis. the u.s. has a major military base in qatar and also has major implication for gulf unity. this is where the messages are going from washington these

trump's agenda. today, he tweeted his full backing for saudi—led punishment of qatar. ing directly with president trump, between him and his highness the emir, and he told us that there are some allegations about different countries in the region funding terrorism and we saw some of them as around qatar and saudi. he repeated this several times. we told him very clearly, if there is any allegation, we can sit on the table and we can sort it out. but there's no resolution in sight yet, as all sides consider how to repair an alliance usually regarded as critical. james robbins, bbc news, doha. more on the election now and one of the last debates before polling day has been taking place in manchester tonight. bbc newsbeat hosted the discussion with questions from young voters. our political correspondent, vicki young, watched the exchanges. applause good evening. welcome to manchester. we've heard a lot about the divide between the generations with many young people concerned they will never have the same opportunities as their parents. this was their chance to put the pol

public nor to the qataris the details about the claims that they are making toward qatar but late two weeks ago trump didn't seem to be mystified when he said qatar does sponsor terrorism the time it come to car or get to our due and it's funding. they have to end that fund. and it's extremist. ideology and the tweet trump even credited his trip to the middle east for spring on the decision to split with qatar struggling to follow the logic so my but maybe that's just how the trump team works everyone gets to do what they want for one the defense secretary can make decisions about sending more troops to afghanistan without asking the president to understand it's my responsibility we're not winning in afghanistan right now the biggest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat is dropped in afghanistan no need for presidential approval we are so proud of our military and it was rather successful at that if you walk around. everybody knows exactly what happened the u.n. ambassador the secretary of state am going to show advisor can say different things about key international issues within the span of just a

reported earlier in the show president trump firing off a series of tweets and taking credit for what could be the worst crisis to hit six states after several ties with qatarrich nation a crucial strategic partner. cnn owes pentagon correspondent barbara starr joins me now. barbara, could the commander in chief's insertion into this riff have an impact in any way on the 11,000 u.s. troops who are stationed at the u.s. fwhas qatar? >> reporter: i think it's fair to say right now that the pentagon and state department certainly hope not. even today the pentagon spokesman told reporters off camera that the pentagon was grateful for qatar's support for having the 11,000 troops there in qatar. that's where they run the air combat missions out of for iraq and syria. it's vital. the state department very much focusing on the diplomacy, being very diplomatic in its language saying that it appreciates what qatar has done on the terrorism front, but that it had a lot more work to do so what this really underscores it is what everybody really knows. the middle east is not an easy place. qatar does have a relationship with iran, and the big concern, i would say right

out saying they want to see this crisis resolved and grateful for the cooperation with qatar and then president trumpday pretty much taking credit for regional countries here, isolating qatar and also pretty much in his tweets describing qatar as a afinanci of terror. so a lot of confusion here about where the u.s. stands when it comes to this crisis. >> thank you. >>> amazon launches its latest move in the ecommerce battle with walmart. the two titans go at it and could mean lower prices for millions of shoppers. [vo] what made secretariat the greatest racehorse who ever lived? of course he was strong... ...intelligent. ...explosive. but the true secret to his perfection... was a heart, twice the size of an average horse. when this bell rings... ...it starts a chain reaction... ...that's heard throughout the connected business world. at&t network security helps protect business, from the largest financial markets to the smallest transactions, by sensing cyber-attacks in near real time and automatically deploying countermeasures. keeping the world of business connected and protected. that's the power

>> and its extremist idealogy in terms of funding. >> that was president trump on friday accusing qatar of financing terrorism just an hour before trump's secretary on terrorism called on them to ease sanctions in the country. >> we call on the kingdom of saudi arabia, bahrain and egypt to ease the blockade against qatar. >> qatar is home to the largest u.s. base in the middle east, a base that's central to the air war against isis. since monday they joined four other neighboring nations to isolate qatar to break liberation with the country. ashcroft and his law firm will audit the country's effort to combat terrorism over the next four months. i'm joined with the chair of contemporary middle eastern studies at the london school of economics and author of "isis: a history." let's talk about this decision with qatar who just announced they're hiring attorney general ashcroft to head this audit. what is the significance of this move, do you think? >> qatar is terrified. they are very anxious. here you have the president of the united states, which basically has one of the largest military

despite the tweets we saw from president trump yesterday speaking out against qatar, we also learned the fbi sent a team here to help the qatari s in th investigation. alisyn. >> jomana, thank you so much for okay the scene. the tweets may reflect. >> president trump is taking credit for the saudi arabia decision to isolate qatar. that is not how his national security team sees it. we have tony blanken telling us what is going on. usaa gives me the and the security just like the marines did. the process through usaa is so effortless, that you feel like you're a part of the family. i love that i can pass the membership to my children. we're the williams family, and we're usaa members for life. there's nothing more than my vacation.me so when i need to book a hotel room, i want someone that makes it easy to find what i want. booking.com gets it. they offer free cancellation if my plans change. visit booking.com. booking.yeah. >>> we have a cnn exclusive to tell you about. u.s. investigators believe that russian hackers may have planted a fake news story on qatar's state news agency that

qatar. there is this feeling here that that visit by president trump to saudi arabia emboldened these countries, that they are using this call for fighting extremist funding as a pretext to settle regional scores and differences here. so there's a lot of questions about where the u.s. really stands in all of this, dave. >> now the state department once again left trying to reassure our allies. thank you. >>> that possible russian interference in qatar isn't affects middle east politics it's moving markets. stocks, dollar all shifting over geopolitical concerns including the upcoming uk election and senate testimony of the former fbi director james comey. comey may report the president interfered in the russian investigation. investors worry that could further delay the white house's economic agenda specifically tax reform. stocks are down this week. the u.s. dollar trump's bump is over. the dollar fell to a seven month low. uncertainty is driving investors to safe hey convenience like bonds and gold. gold could go up higher especially if qatar and the middle east states continue this feud. ther

qatar, and may have put out new information that helped spark a diplomatic crisis. a number of arab nations have cut diplomatic, and commercial ties with the gulf state. >> our relationip extremely good. >> reporter: president trump recognized qatar during a visit to the region last month. >> qatar, which hosts the u.s. central command is a crucial strategic partner. >> earlier this week, six arab nations, including saudi arabia, and the united arab emirates broke diplomatic, and commercial ties, citing financial support of terrorism. isolation in reaction to a false news report planted by cyber attackers on may 23. the story attributed false remarks, and questioned whether president trump would last in office. the fbi has confirmed the hack may have resulted in fake news sharing, and that russia is a suspect. >> part of russia's activity is to drive a wedge between the u.s. and our allies. >> reporter: cbs news cannot let the incident undermine its relationship with qatar, which hosts the largest american military base in the middle east. >> u.s. president in qatar is so critical for our campaign against isis, and our aerial campaign in the region. >> reporter: the secretaries of state and defense have tried to

its gulf neighbours who've cut off diplomatic ties, accusing qatar of funding jihadist groups across the middle east. and last week donald trumpis might news is surprising — the us is selling 12—billion dollars worth of american arms to qatar. the defence secretary, jim mattis, signed the deal on wednesday. the qatari defence minister said the purchase of 36, f—15fighterjets will enable qatar to increase its own security and also support the us in operations against violent it's interesting that qatar have been hitting back pretty hard against isolation. saying that they we re against isolation. saying that they were the ones to allow the americans to keep a base there after saudi arabia kicked to the americans out. actually, the cat ambassador said that the attackers from 911, none of them were from qatar. the actual arms deal was in place during the 0bama administration. this is not a trump innovation but he has not blocked it. one week, he says it is a country that funds terrorism and the next week they announced a huge arms deal. there appears to be some confusion in the administration about how to treat qatar at the momen

for arab nations sought to isolate qatar over its ties to iran. president donald trump starting his infrastructure push yesterday, touting a plan to modernize and privatize the air traffic control system. today, he's tackling other parts of his agenda. he tweeted "big meeting today with republican leadership concerning tax cuts and health care. we are all pushing hard and must get it done." kevin cirilli joins us now from our d.c. bureau. where are we on the timetable for the president's agenda? kevin: i just spoke with a source is going to the meeting with vice president mike pence later today to discuss these issues. the senate is really where all of this is going to be in a jam. here's where it gets interesting tax reformnot get to until they pass a budget. vonnie: thursday is clearly the most risky event this week. what can be done legislatively ?efore next week kevin: james comey will be testifying for the first time since president trump fired him. should he release some type of smoking gun or something that could impact the ongoing russia there's no evidence righ

qatar. it is on the front page of the financial times. several papers find the fact that trump is taking credit for this quite surprising. , in theirgton post editorial, says it is stunning that he is taking credit for this diplomatic low up. qatar hosts the largest u.s. airbase in the middle east. they point out again what a strategic role it plays and that this diplomatic crisis threatens interests in the region, such as fighting against the islamic state group. also in the spotlight from the weekend attacks in london. >> seemingly mashing -- lashing out against the london mayor immediately after the attack. it is depicted in this cartoon, by a dutch cartoonist. showing the british flag at half mast and donald trump flying over london and the flag, i guess soiling them. genie: the investigation into that attack continues, police have a that apply the third attacker, a 22-year-old italian of moroccan descent. whichulled out an article points out, in 2016, he was arrested on his way to syria where he planned to fight alongside the islamic state group. italian authorities say th

donald trump had already tweeted support for the decision to isolate qatar by siberia beer and othershe podium, calling out doha as an historic supporter of terrorism. nations came together and spoke to me about confronting qatar over its behaviour. so we had a decision to make, do we take the easier of order we finally take a ha rd easier of order we finally take a hard but necessary action? —— easy road. we have to stop the funding of terrorism. the unprecedented blockade of qatar has exploded a history of regional differences into a full—blown crisis. hours before trump spoke the secretary of state called on doha's neighbours to ease the embargo, he said it isn'tjust causing food shortages but... his tone and approach were strikingly different. we have called for calm and thoughtful dialogue with clear expectations and accountability among the parties in order to strengthen relationships. we ask that there be no further escalation by the parties in the region. we call on qatar to be responsive to the concerns of its neighbours. in a nuanced message, tillerson also urged all parties

president trump has accused qatar of what he called "historically funding terrorism at a very high levelst stop immediately. he also urged other countries in the region to cease teaching the ideology that supports terrorism and do it fast. barbara plett—usher has the story. the dispute between america's arab allies got unexpected billing at the white house on friday. president trump had already tweeted support for the decision to isolate qatar by saudi arabia and others. he repeated that forcibly from the podium, calling out doha as an historic supporter of terrorism. nations came together and spoke to me about confronting qatar over its behaviour. so we had a decision to make, do we take the easy road or do we finally take a hard but necessary action? we have to stop the funding of terrorism. the unprecedented blockade of qatar has exploded a history of regional grievances into a full—blown crisis. only hours before trump spoke, his secretary of state called on doha's neighbours to ease the embargo. it's causing not only food shortages, he said, but hindering a united war against the is

qatar unfortunately has historically been a thunder of terrorism at a very high level. they have to end that funding. and it's extremist ideology in terms of funding. >> donald trumpeds to big foot his own administration friday when he took frame at qatar, evens a his secretary of state was working to resolve a crisis between qatar and other arab states in the persian gulf. an american ally is home to the largest u.s. base in the middle east, central to the u.s. air war against isis. since monday, saudi arabia joined four other nations to isolate cutter by breaking diplomatic and trade ties. tillerson offered to help broker a resolution to the impasse. but the very next day, trump not only expressed support for the blockade but also seemed to claim credit for pushing saudi arabia to take the action, tweeting during my recent trip to the middle east, i started -- i stated that there can be -- no longer be funding of radical ideology. leaders pointed to qatar. look! and no sooner could u.s. officials rush to try to clear up the trump damage than the donald did it again because an hour before trump's friday comments calling on qatar, tillerson had been calling for ca

donald trump is excoriating cutter on the one hand and lauding saudi arabia on the other, he is putting the weight and influence of the united states by the situation, try to resolve the problem. -- qatarich are not down to him or are not true. but in this case, he can claim credit? he can. donald trump has been very engaged, very involved in the region, particularly with rebuilding and reshaping his relationship and the us‘s relationship and the us‘s relationship with saudi arabia. that was his first stop on his overseas trip, and there is a relationship established, and a dealfor sale of r established, and a dealfor sale of weaponry in the range of $300 billion. so we know that donald trump is looking to make changes and reshape the region, and i think what he's doing now is saying us credibility, as well as his own personal credibility, is now on the line. because we now have a high sta kes line. because we now have a high stakes game of chicken going on between qatar, which is actually tried to play all things to all people in the region, and with the other five nations, led people in the region, and with the otherfive nations, led by saudi arabia and bahrain, trying to freeze out

a major stake in the airline after president trump accused qatar the country of funding terrorism. and we look at how moves to overhaul banking rules can affect regional strikes. we'll speak to the c.e.o. of the largest lender bill rogers of we do want to get to the markets and halfway into the trading day and we have had some major market-moving news today. nejra: we have indeed. and that major market moving news. that news you're talking about is the release of the g.o.p. and the senate, the health care bill, the discussion drafflet and on this it has taken the major averages ever so slightly higher before the release of that health care bill draft. replacement proposal for obamacare. we had the major averages slipping between very small gains and losses. now slightly higher. the reason for that not surprisingly, strength in health care. this is an intraday chart of the s&p 500 health care index. when we see that it has absolutely popping higher. especially right after the release of again in a health care reform bill. up 1.5%, almost 1.5% today. in fact, on pace for its fifth re

today president trump was tweeting criticism of qatar that mirrors some of the same that you've heard the saudis and the others in the region. in his tweet trump didn't mention the hack. he cited qatar's funding of terrorist groups. the qatarys of course have rejected that. we got a statement from the qatary government that reads in part -- it is a crime that represents a kre attack. do not support the unity of the region to fight terrorism and conflict. erin? >> thank you very much. moments ago i spoke to. >> mr. ambassador thank you for being with me tonight. as you just heard cnn is reporting cnn investigators believe russians were behind a false report that's used as part of the reason to cut diplomatic ties. what's your response? >> thank you for hosting me. we are still looking to the investigation with the report, 2 conclusion of the report is not yet out, so we can't comment now on ongoing investigation. >> now, another report is out, of course, that says your government paid up to a billion in ransom to al qaeda. are you able to say that that report is not true? >> it is not

president trump was tweeting criticism of qatar. mp didn't mention the hack but he voiced support for the regional block aide and sited qatar's funding. they've rejected those accusations. the fbi and cia declined comment. "the hacking of the qa trngs ar news agency -- these do not support the unity of the region to fight terrorism, instlkt and -- >> the president of the united states must have been away, no? >>> he didn't refer to the hack in his tweets we know the investigation is still ongoing. their they hope todiscuss some of the findings in the next week or so. >> joining me is former cia officer, steve hall. russian security services wld be behind something like this. >> it's not criminals and that distinction is somewhat plows. butted something of this nature, another cyber operation, in this case a u.s. operation, definitely if the reporting is acchart a russian intelligence security services type of operator but this is extremely consistent with what we'vall red a eseen. >> if the was directed by the russian government, thi

francine: qatar's crisis. president trump once 2-d escalate the situation. escalate thede situation. switches thebour focus, claiming tory plans are the biggest attack on pensioners in the generation. the investigations into the london bridge killings continues. timko tells us his company has british officials look into the terrorist attacks. this is "bloomberg surveillance ." i am francine lacqua in london. it seems pretty clear that there seems to be a risk off mood. the haven assets are getting quite a big bid. i want to start with the pound, but it is more of a dollar story with equities retreating in general and investors turning cautious following the seven-week search, with oil fluctuating. on the oil story, we will talk about the saudi story. 2.16.0 year yields, let's get straight to the bloomberg first word news. reporter: we start in australia, where islamic state has claimed responsibility for a hostagetaking in melbourne that left a gunman and one other dead and three police officers injured. 29-year-oldt the after he fired a police with a shotgu