secretary tillerson: false with the right act's back tatian's -- expectations. americans should sleep well at night and have no concerns about any rhetoric of the last few days. again, he felt it necessary to issue a very strong statement. just reaffirming is the u.s. has the capability to fully defend itself from any attack or our allies and we will do so. the american people should sleep well at night. hanky. -- thank you. tillersonry of state and winging his way back to washington. the state department is holding a briefing at 2 p.m. eastern. aboutill likely be asked the north korea situation and we will have live coverage of two. live:15 p.m. we will be with a discussion of terrorism. you can watch the american foreign-policy event online at c-span.org or listen on the free c-span radio app. a panel of judges, law clerks will review this past supreme court term looking at the effect of justice gorsuch. we will show tonight at 8:00. >> every week in the clinton white house and was something else. it was a very tense and barman. prosecutors,ial ken starr he wa

>> secretary tillerson: correct.the president has indicated as we are not going to set arbitrary deadlines. we are going to monitor the conditions on the ground and our decisions will be formed around the progress on the ground. >> chris: there's also the question of how this administration defines victory in afghanistan and you and the president talked about that in somewhat different terms, here you both are. >> attacking our enemies, obliterating isis, crushing al qaeda, preventing the taliban from taking over afghanistan, and stopping mass terror attacks against americans before they emerge. >> this entire effort is intended to put pressure on the taliban to have the taliban understand you will not win a battlefield victory. we may not win one but neither will you. >> chris: mr. secretary, is which is a it? >> secretary tillerson: the war against isis is quite clear, chris on the president has been clear that we will defeat isis. we will to eliminate their abiy to organize, raise financing, to recruit new recruit

>> secretary tillerson: i don't see any division.on of tactics and how you achieve those objectives. i think the president has been clear in his speech in afghanistan that we are not undertaking nation-building. we will be shifting our diplomatic and aid in development as well to coincide with the present fear that the afghan government and that african people must own their form of government and they must come to reconciliation with all ethnic groups including the taliban. a peaceful country who does not support terrorism, does not provide safe havens are terrorist and does not align itself with any terrorist organizations or countries that that's what winning looks like. feeling a little over a minute left, the controversy over the racial protest in charlottesville in the president's response to it has become an international issue. a human you and committee has unequivocally rejected and condemned the recent violent demonstrations. she was the president talk more about the media than he was about the neo-nazis and the cla clan. >

>> well, i think secretary tillerson did the right thing. i don't think the improvised threat was very clever. so i think he was right to say, well, that's just how the north koreans talk to and what the president meant was. ultimately i think we're at a point where north korea has the capability to threaten the united states with nuclear weapons and threaten our allies in the region with nuclear weapons. so what we have to do is get in the business of talking with them about reducing tensions. i think the reality is if we're going to deter north korea, we have to make sure we deter them stabally and things don't get out of hand where we end up with a nuclear war by accident. >> do you think north korea realizes, sort of paraphrasing what you said, the notion of tiller son almost playing clean-up to the president's off the cuff remarks, and do you think pyongyang realizes there's a bit of -- i don't know if you want to call it good cop/bad cop or just mixed messages coming from the white house? >> yeah, i think it's mixed messages, not good

tillerson went on to say the u.s. is ready to support peace talks between the taliban and the afghan government without preconditions. he also emphasized something president trump emphasized last night. that in order for lasting peace in afghanistan, the country's neighbors, pakistan and india, need to help. trump focused on the military side of things, at one point saying the u.s. the not nation building, they're killing terrorists. he did touch on diplomatic efforts down the road. >> some day after an effective military effort, perhaps it will be possible to have a political settlement that includes elements of the taliban in afghanistan. but nobody knows if or when that will ever happen. we are a partner and a friend, but we will not dictate to the afghan people how to live or how to govern their own complex society. we are not nation building again. we are killing terrorists. >> reporter: based on tillerson's statement released last night, the state department and the white house seem to be on the same page. we ex

secretary tillerson: i am not going to comment. we are going to protect american troops and servicemen. we're going to attack terrorists wherever they live. we'll put him on notice that if you are harboring and providing safe haven to terrorists, be forewarned. engage with those who provided safe haven and ask them to change what they are doing and help us help them. because, in my view, the best and greatest benefactor other than the afghan people themselves to achieving stability and peace in afghanistan are the people of pakistan. they more than any other nation. said no preconditions to talks. specifically, you saying that the u.s. no longer expects the afghan to accept the constitution and rights of women? to have specific terms for pakistan for the consequences of their actions, whether it be sanctions, dropping their non-nato status, planned toy have you communicate? secretary tillerson: i had a good call with the secretary of pakistan yesterday afternoon to give them a bit of a forewarning with what they would hear from the

ideally rex tillerson would like to punish north korea.ut as i said, china trying to calm things down this morning. they met with north korea, told it off, wrapped it on the knuckles. said it to its face that the situation is critical and not to be provocative. but china also telling the united states, and other countries, south korea and japan, not to hold military exercises off the korean peninsula and also as we know the united states has tested an intercontinental ballistic missile and also flown two bombers over the korean peninsula. china wants talks. well, there will be talks at the summit, rex tillerson talking not just with the chinese but also with the russians and these will be the first talks since president trump said relations with russia were very low, at their worst, and dangerous. and also since he signed into law new economic sanctions against russia. as we've been seeing in the last hour or so, rex tillerson has met with the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov no results from those talks yet but the two men at least t

cnn for secretary tillerson. >> i would love if both secretaries tillerson and mattis could answer a question on north korea. you wrote in your op-ed last week that, obviously, the u.s. prefers a diplomatic solution to the crisis in north korea. but you said that that diplomatic and economic efforts and pressure were, quote, backed by a credible military option. in recent days, steve bannon called the diplomatic and economic ratcheting up of north a,sions with north korea core, sideshow. he said there is no military solution and that the real issue an economic war with china. does this reflect some kind of new opinion by the administration? or was he speaking for himself? and are you afraid that comments like this might dilute the credible military deterrence backing your diplomatic and economic efforts? thank you. sec. tillerson: i don't really have a comment on what mr. bannon's remarks were in that particular interview. i read those. i think we have been quite clear as to what the policy and the posture toward north korea is. and i think secretary mattis and toin that op-ed, wante

tillerson: we have not been able to find who is responsible. we do hold the cuban authority responsible for their security just like other countries have safety and security. we will find out who is carrying out these health attacks on not just our diplomats, but also in other cases with other diplomats. >> what do you make of this awful situation? they are losing their hearing. sec. tillerson: it is awful. you to start -- described it correctly. >> what else should be on the

one tillerson aide r.c. hammond suggested the money is unwelcome because any extra funding for programs to counter russian media influence would anger moscow. hammond today denies he ever said that. he says tillerson's inner circle and staffers that manage those funds in the global engagement center have gone back and forth multiple times working on a spending plan that tillerson will accept. hammond tells cnn he's not worried about the $60 million set to expire on september 30th, adding that if senator graham did send temer son a letter asking if russia has anything to do with this, graham would be, quote, wasting his ink. >>> well, others in congress are angrily using their ink. portman teaming with murphy to send a scathing statement to the state department, urging them to act without delay and saying this is indefensible. every day they say isis is spreading terrorist propaganda and russia is implementing a sophisticate the disinformation campaign to undermine the united states and its allies. so, you ha

rex tillerson softening things saying the u.s. should sleep well. joining us, lieutenant general mark hertling and author of "besieged" brigadier general anthony tata. you advised president trump on the campaign trail. what is his sense of the korean peninsula, china, all these players and what did you make of his words about raining down fire and fury yesterday? >> bill, i see the fire and fury comment as just another element of national power that this team is leveraging. you've got h.r. mcmaster, general kelly, general mattis. they all understand about leveraging elements of national power to achieve ends, ways and means of national security. i think the fire and fury comment was an informational piece of national power just as we've got military b-1 bombers flying across the peninsula using flexible deterrent options. we have the sanctions that were imposed, an economic element of national power. we use political and geopolitical national power to achieve a unanimous vote on those sanctions. i think what you see here is an administration that re

let tillerson meet with his counterpart out in asia. i think it's too late, because the meet somethiing is over. but this should be a high-level die aing although. i think we've made the mistake in the past of saying that talking to the north koreans, you're rewarding bad behavior. well, maybe so. but it makes sense to at least know what they want. maybe there's common ground. i don't know. i doubt it. i don't know what kim jong-un wants. nobody does. but i think this continued alarmist policy of preemptive military strikes is not the way to go. that would be i think a foreign policy -- >> let's talk about that. because south korea's president gave what sounded to me like a pretty blunt warning to the trump administration. strongly urging against any military action. obviously, that could set off a war on the korean peninsula. so, joel, they're obviously responding to indications from the administration that nothing is off the table, military options are there. but realistically, are they? >> well, there is no effective military option

that should be the next step, and i think tillerson is moving in the right direction.rtainly has tamped down the president's fiery rhetoric, and that's good. >> i'm completely out of time. i want to ask you since you brought up this guy who is reasonable, is he also somebody that kim jong-un listens to? >> i don't know. you know, the security forces of north korea control north korea, the military does. the foreign ministry is where they have the more rational policy makers, but whether they have access to kim jong-un, i don't know. the fact that the foreign minister made those very strong statements suggests that he got instructions to do that. but he's a smart character, that foreign minister. i know him. and i think we can do business with him, but it should be at tillerson's level with that foreign minister. that's what i would do. but nobody asked me. just you. and i thank you for asking me. >> and i thank you for answering. bill richardson, i have a feeling we'll see a lot of you in the days and weeks to come. thank you. >> thank you. >>> up next, amid all of thi

we will adapt to it. >> reporter: today tillerson joins defense secretary mattis at a closed briefing with the senate foreign relations committee which has been critical of tillerson's proposed deep cuts in the diplomatic

a call for calm from rex tillerson. even action president trump sends a message to the dictator, kim jong-un, about america's nuclear arsenal. ahead, the rhetoric, the reality and reaction. in moments, i'll speak with a former u.s. defense secretary william cohen about america's options, north korea's forces and what needs to happen next. plus, the second big story developing today and new to us, the fbi raided a home of president trump's former campaign manager, paul manafort. ahead, what we know about the investigation. let's get to it. first from the fox news deck, secretary of state rex tillerson calls for calm as president trump is bragging about his nuclear arsenal. that's after we got word from intelligence officials that north korea can make missile ready nuclear weapons. the "washington post" broke the story. fox news has confirmed it. this morning the president tweeted, "my first order as president was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. it's far more stronger and more powerful. hopefully we never h

you heard rex tillerson. you heard him there saying that the presidents values and american values, he refused to say whether they are one and the same. how did you interpret that? >> that's how it came off and it's not surprising rex tillerson is not in complete lockstep with the administration for the reason he's had several issues in the last eight months whether staffing issues or political views and this is i think rex tillerson saying to the white house we really need to focus on the mission at hand because otherwise you may lose me at the end of the year. >> howard, what's your read? >> i agree with that. i think what trump doesn't understand is that corporate leaders are mostly in touch with where americans are not because they're doing great things for americans but because that's their consumer base. tillerson was in a competitive gas. i haven't used exxonmobil gas because of what they did to gay people when they took over mobile but that matters if you add up a lot so tillerson understands that you

rex tillerson involved. obviously.ese know that we are concerned, that we mean business. i'm talking to you from a rocky mountain state, from utah. it's unacceptable a that north korea should threaten our west coast, the western coast of canada, the rocky mountain states of the united states. we cannot live with a regime like that doing it. but we don't have to just fire back right now militarily. there are other steps. an interim step could be if you could get to the negotiating table from a position of strength, that we would prevail upon the north koreans to freeze their nuclear tests, freeze their icbm, intercontinental ballistic missile test, freeze all the research they are doing to perfect a nuclear weapon. that would make us better off. i don't know if we can get there but we ought to try. it really would be terribly irresponsible of the united states and our allies if we didn't try diplomacy before we thought we were going to put ourselves in a war footing. i think that's what president trump is doing here. i

secretary tillerson was asked about the u.s.'port for the fight against isis in the philippines. namely we're talking about information, training, resources here, and whether that conflicts with or endorses somehow the human rights abuses that have been well documented in the philippines. he says the support in the fight against isis doesn't conflict with what are the alleged human rights abuse that are said to be part of president duterte's war on drugs where it's believed that thousands of people have been killed. in a departure from his usual colorful comments about the u.s. and the obama administration, for example, president duterte did at one point tell secretary of state rex tillerson that the u.s. has been a good friend, a good ally. >> alexandra field for us in seoul. thank you very much. >>> an alarming draft report by government scientists says climate change is already severely affecting the u.s., and there are concerns the trump administration will try to keep this report under wraps. this draft obtained by "the new

you know what i speak -- of what i speak. >> probably tillerson didn't sign off on it either. >> tillersont even know about it initially. >> exactly. he's trying to soften it. even as he defended it today as the president speaking plainly in terms that the north korean leader can understand. he also, you know, clearly was trying to take this down a notch. >> and speaking of rex tillerson, he didn't mention north korea at all when he was in malaysia, the stop before the refuelling in guam. as i was talking it in real time and speaking to reporter on the trip, trying to figure out why hadn't he mentioned it given the heightened alarm about north korea. it was because it was not coordinated with the state department. michael, you wrote a column for the washington post entitled rex tillerson is a huge disappointment. you said if cabinet members are to be judged by the gap between expectation and performance, rex tillerson is among the worst, he was supposed to be one of the adults in the room, a steadying force, but tillerson is ineffectual and destabilizing, unfamiliar with the workings of go

tillerson is in the philippines at a forum of southeast asian nations. he is ramping up pressure on north korea days after the u.n. security council unanimously approved the toughest sanctions to date against the kim jong-un regime. >> so the next steps obviously are to see that the security council resolution sanctions are enforced by everyone. we will be monitoring that carefully. and certainly having conversations with any and all that we see who may not be fully embracing not just the spirit of those sanctions but the operational execution of those sanctions. >> all eyes now are on china. north korea's largest trading partner, the chinese, voted for the u.n. sanctions. it will be key to implementingle this. we'll go to manila and ivan watson. ivan, there's such a heavy sanctions regime on north korea already. they've said in a statement just a short time ago that they are going possibly to retaliate. what's in it for the north koreans? how do the sanctions get us any closer to shutting down the nuclear program? >> reporter: well, the argument is that

a call for calm from rex tillerson.tion president trump sends a message to the dictator, kim jong-un, about america's nuclear arsenal. ahead, the rhetoric, the reality and reaction. in moments, i'll speak with a former u.s. defense secretary william cohen about america's options, north korea's forces and what needs to happen next. plus, the second big story developing today and new to us, the fbi raided a home of president trump's former campaign manager, paul manafort. ahead, what we know about the

but i can say that i speak for secretary tillerson and this building.ur secretary has been very clear, as has secretary mattis, that our diplomatic and military means are both strong and capable. and in the face of the threats that we face against the dprk or other nations. >> let's start there with our guest, a cnn military analyst, and admiral john kirby, former spokesman at the state department under obama. admiral, you've been in that hot seat, you know, defending your secretary of state, and to hear this, you know, deputy to the president criticizing his secretary of state's authority, credibility, what were you thinking? >> you know, i got to tell you, i have a different take on this. i listened to it several times. i actually don't think that's what gorka was trying to do. i think he was trying to say, hey, tillerson was speaking in his lane, mattis is speaking in his lane, and i want to say that i think what he meant by nonsensical was you shouldn't mix the individual roles of the state department with the defense department. i didn't really tak

tillerson in that meeting with russian foreign minister sergei lavrov.n the next hour we know he is meeting one-on-one with his counterpart from china, this after the u.n. slapped harsh new sanctions on north korea over its missile tests. >> it could cost a billion dollars in exporting annually. >> we are prepared to do whatever it takes to defend ourselves and to defend our allied, and the ball is in north korea's court. they now have to decide where they want to go from here. we hope that they will go the route of peace and security. >>> plus, president trump was on twitter on the north korea sanctions after a golf outing at his new jersey resort. he wrote the following. let's bring in errol louis, cnn political commentator and julian zeleny cnn political analyst and historian at princeton university and lieutenant general mark hertling. good morning to you will. julian, put into context the getting a unanimous vote on these sanctions from the u.s. security council for us. >> this was a very important step and highlights both the severity of the cries

i want to read to you from what he said he told tillerson. that u.s. sanctions imposed on russia become another link in the chain of steps unfriendly and dangerous for international stability and struck a ypowerfu blow for the prospects of bilateral cooperation. at the same time we're ready to normalize the dialogue, if washington stops the confrontational approach. fred, some of this was kind of in train, obviously, before these two ministers met. you had this issue of the russians kicking out u.s. diplomats, about 755 u.s. employees, not able to work at the embassy in russia. that was, you know, a recrimination for steps that the obama administration took. congress had these entrained. now the question is, will the two countries be able to put this aside and work together on some of those national security issues? foreign minister lavrov said, look, you need to stop this kind of -- we can work together. remains to be seen if congress and the american people will be able to do that. >> so elise, tillerson had some advantage, right? because he had prio

and russia in secretary tillerson's words, in an all-time low. and talking about sanctions, lavrov saying how much they're an impediment to the relationship saying the u.s. sanctions imposes on russia became another chain for international stability and struck a powerful blow to the prospects of bilateral cooperation. at the same time we're ready to normalize the dialogue if washington stops the confrontational approach, and, fred, i think that secretary tillerson does feel he argued against the sanctions. thought it would hurt his flexibility with the russians and he wants to work with russia on issues like north korea. on issues like syria. on issues like ukraine. this kind of elephant in the room. the sanctions on russia and the whole idea of russian meddling in the u.s. election is something these two countries can't get past in the effort to cooperate. >> all right. elise labott in washington. thanks so much. >>> all right. straight a former trump adviser, to the current state of the economy bring more support trump's way? we check our phone

secretary rex tillerson will take reporters questions. he's expected to be pressed on the president's new strategy for the war in afghanistan. the one the president laid out in a more measured speech than usual last night. a speech that began with a call for unity here at home. >> we cannot remain a force of peace in the world if we are not at peace with each other. let us find the courage to heal our divisions within. >> that a scripted moment for the president. president trump will be in arizona for a campaign style rally, though. a state where he's rallied his base many times before. >> mexico sends people over, we charge mexico $100,000 for every person they send over. >> they want to see people that love our country come into our country not people that hate us. >> we will build a great wall along the southern border. and mexico will pay for the wall. >> that brings us to our word of the day. unscripted. when president trump takes the stage tonight. which trump will we see? teleprompter trump or trump unplugged. >> you could call it

that came after tillerson. again, i think that was totally deliberate., i think totally deliberate that it was a written statement, that you didn't see mattis on camera, that it was put out in writing so that it would be unambiguous and wouldn't force him to have to take any questions about it coming afterwards. so, i think this was all strategy after the fact, to be honest with you. >> that's fascinating, to sort of lift the veil and understand how things happen, right, once -- as we've learned from the white house, that the president's own phrase was improvised, that we know that the tone was planned, according to sarah huckabee sanders, but the words, fire and fury, totally off the cuff. how do you see it? >> at this point, when he says that, i mean, your feet now are well out over the diving board. you're on your way into the pool. and i think they just realized that before they hit the surface of the water, they had to, you know, they had to get themselves into better form. i hate to use that analogy but that's what they were doing. >> john, what do

i think tillerson was right to express that. but i think the russian counterparts, sergei lavrov was equally critical of what it's done, russians call it a witch-hunt a world that our president has used as well. the u.s. sanctions, to lift it away from the president was in their words a power of because it doesn't have this that in itself has a powerful blow. do you think there's any chance on the sanctions bill and also how russia is going to kick out, what was it 755 u.s. diplomats. >> it was to maybe the relationship better? >> that was his idea. i think that's a historically past the moment now. >> you do. >> i think it was already many sign that we had been reading from that the russian were disillusioned with that. i think the fact it's gone through and trump has signed it, i think sends a powerful message to the russians. even if trump wanted to level sanctions, he will not be able to. remember, the lifting of sanctions, let's not forget this, is the main reason the russians want a better relationship with washington. the

tillerson said the u.s. was willing to hold talks with north korea but that there are are some conditions. listen. >> a best signal that north korea could give us that they are prepared to talk would be to stop the missile launches. we've not had app extended period of time where they have not taken some type of provocative action by launching ballistic missiles. i think that would be the first and strongest signal they could send us to is to just stop the missile launches. t >> cnn covering the story with our team of correspondents. our senior koefrnt ivan watson is live at the meetings in manila. and alexander field in seoul, south korea. ivan we start with you. urging leaders to isolate korea more but there is push back from those who say dialogue here is the answer. what do you hear? >> that's right. southeast asian nations which is organizing this diplomatic dwajerring here, they did pitch back from a u.s. proposal to suspend north korea from an asian regional forum that the north korean foreign ministe

i'm curious to see how rex tillerson reacts.earing from the state department is people are outraged by the president's comments on this. it once again reiterates that the president cannot say anything remotely negative about vladimir putin. >> that is what is interesting. of all the times he could have said something. >> please. >> a brief remark. i think the president was more in the spirit of shrugging it off than in praising -- i don't think he was -- >> why do you think -- >> this is one of those times we're not supposed to take him literally. >> why do you think he's never said anything negative about vladimir putin? >> i think he has indicated through certainly through his support, again, of secretary tillerson, who has not made any secret of the fact that relations with russia are at a very difficult point. >> but the president has never said anything. he said stuff about mitch mcconnell. he said stuff about jeff sessions. he's never said anything negative about vladimir putin? does that surprise you? >> he hasn't said an

in fact, secretary tillerson says the u.s. is open to talking with the north koreans because the other options are not particularly attractive. >> we do not seek a regime change. we do not seek the collapse of the regime. we do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula and we do not seek an excuse to send our military north of this 38th parallel. we're not you're enemy. we're not your threat. but you're preventing an unacceptable threat to us. we have to respond. we hope that at some point they will begin to understand that and that we would like to set an have a dialogue with them about the future that will give them the security they seek and the future economic prosperity for north korea. that will promote economic prosperity throughout northeast asia. >> jon: secretary tillerson says the u.s. does not blame china for the situation in north korea. a couple days ago, president trump treated that he was very disappointed in china and china could easily solve this problem. he then said the u.s. would handle north

she was adamant, tillerson is not going anywhere.ter and the president have some disagreements. what do you think? >> i think it is a great team. it is a diverse team. >> you don't see them breaking up? >> i don't. nikki said it best, they are a team. the white house needs to have that camaraderie and spirit of a team and feel like you are invested in the team. i think haley complements mcmaster and tillerson. >> yeah, i don't see them breaking up now but i think john kelly is key in that. this is a major shift not only in policy and tone. and you saw the "wall street journal" piece about how things are different there. the president's door is closed for instance. you can't wait for a second where ivanka and jared could walk in and say hey there we're thinking this, much more formalized. i think it was smart to make those personnel changes swiftly at the beginning of the week. and hopefully it is a new era there. i have been hearing as we talked about before the show started from people i know at the state department that it is disor

i like what secretary of state rex tillerson said. i believe these are things that should have been said and done 10 to 15 years ago. my position is very simple. it is basic math. we can't expect 12 or 13,000 u.s. troops to do what 140,000 u.s. and allied troops could not do. i mean that defies common sense. and so while i do not want a total withdrawal, i want to be laser focused on killing terrorists but secretary tillerson said some really important things, coming down on corruption, absolutely critical. it may be too late. trish i've seen this continent after continent with my own eyes in the military, then as researcher afterward, corruption is the cancer that destroys nation democracies, destroy nation rule of law states and we, st as in south vietnam, we with great intentions poured so much wealth into a poor country we corrupted people to lead that country. we turned petry criminals into crime bosses. trish: we needed to do it with more than a, sort of half you know what, effort, right? when you get into a military situation y

now rex tillerson meets with sergei lavrov. the expectation at this point is he won't be able to do much. >> at the same time, these investigations here in the united states continue. there are several of them. we also know now that the former russian ambassador to the u.s., sergei kislyak, is making headlines in russia, talking about some of these things. basically saying, hey, there are no secrets here. no secret conversations were had. the conversations were straight forward. but this plays very differently in public perception there in russia as it does here. >> russia's answer to and russia's perception of the russia investigation from the u.s. has always been there's nothing there. in fact, it was the kremlin who called it absurd and groundless, the ongoing investigation. right now it's michael flynn, the retired national security adviser, who is at the center of the investigations with the special investigator or the special council in the u.s. looking into flynn's connections to the turks as well as looking at his assoc

tillerson: we have not been able to find who is responsible. with all of the cuban authority responsible for their security just like other countries have safety and security. we will find out who is carrying out these health attacks on not just our diplomats, but also in other cases with other diplomats. >> what do you make of this awful situation?/ sec. tillerson: it is awful. >> what else should be on the table right now for venezuela? president trump: we have three options. i will not rule out a military option. we have many options for venezuela which is our neighbor. we are all over the world. we have troops all over the world in places that are very far away. venezuela is not very far away and the people are suffering and dying. we have many options for venezuela, including a possible military action if necessary. ledhat would be a u.s. military operation?/ we won't talkp: about it. it is a military operation. it is something we could do. >> you consider the u.s. no more than a lump we could beat to a jelly anytime. president trump: let

secretary tillerson insisting that we should all sleep well tonight. were you? >> i'm here in sunny los angeles, and i will sleep well tonight. there is no imminent threat to the continental united states and, in fact, the greatest threat comes from this escalation of rhetoric on the part of the president of the united states. i thought bill gave an excellent summary of that. the south koreans are not used to hearing that kind of talk. neither are the northerns, and they have to gauge it. private nixon used to say it would be helpful if our allies and enemies might think i might be crazy enough to do something crazy. but other than that, i commend secretary tillerson for toning down the rhetoric and secretary mattis, as well. this is something that needs to be solved through diplomacy and talks, and i believe it will be. >> rick, it sounds as if you think perhaps we've overstated the threat just a bit over the last 24 hours. is that -- is that a fair characterization, or no? >> well, craig, you always have to plan for the worst. but i do find it a little bit iro

secretary tillerson said that they're considering a response. i think the question is whether they can, you know, let this stand and move forward. they've both said they want to eliminate those irritants, as they say in the relationship. they consider this one of them. i think it remains to be seen what that u.s. response is going to be, and whether that's going to continue to spiral. >> yes. the pressure on the trump administration will be enormous. it's one thing to expel 34, 35 american diplomats from russia. it's another thing for the russians then to tell 755 american diplomats and other embassy personnel, you're out. that's a big, big number. all right, elise. thanks very much. our global affairs correspondent elise labott reporting. >>> up next, as tillerson meets with his russian counterpart overseas the investigation of possible collusion between the kremlin and washington expands. we have new information. >>> and mike pence, the vice president, striking back in a report in the "new york times" he is eyeing office in 2020. the vice pres

. >> later he held a meeting with rex tillerson, h.r. mcmaster, and nikki haley to discuss how to respond to threats from north korea. they spoke from new jersey. the president talked to reporters about north korea and u.s. policy in afghanistan, iran, venezuela, and cuba. pres. trump: thank you, everybody. we had a very good meeting. we are very much in agreement and are unified and we have been from the beginning, this is something that has to stop. we feel that very strongly. i will be speaking to president xi tonight from china. we have been working closely with china and other countries. that phone call will take place tonight. if you have any questions, go ahead. >> what have you been able to do to reassure south korea? pres. trump: as far as reassurance, they feel as reassurance as they can feel. more with me than they do with other presidents from the past because nobody has really done the job they are supposed to be doing. that is why we are in this horrible situation. it is a bad situation. it is a dangerous situation. it will

you wouldn't have seen tillerson come on camera last night.nd mattis has been pretty reticent, pretty quiet, that's his style, he likes to lead quietly. this is not the kind of thing he really enjoyed ee eed having toi think this is all playing cleanup after yesterday. >> he was mentioning the last sentence, i read the second paragraph, what he was referring to was the dprk should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people. >> to me, that was a really smart thing for them to do, to have mattis do two things, one, put trump's statements more in line with what you just played from bill clinton, in the demilitarized zone, saying basically, if they do something, it will lead to the end of their regime. that's a different line here. it's actions versus threats. the problem with trump's statement yesterday, was that it was a little bit vague and it wasn't what we want to say to north korea, that their consequences will be for their actions, not just their words. >> trump started off

for tillerson, i think that's tough. he's on top of a very large bureaucracy that doesn't really trust him, that certainly doesn't really trust the president, and he's stuck between trying to manage all that. this seems like a sign he's testing least limits of how much he can separate himself from the president. >> do stay with me if you can. after the break, i want to ask you about that darth vader/obi-wan ken nabih statement from groka. we're waiting for a briefing from the texas governor on this storm. houston is not the only part of texas struggling mightily after hurricane harvey. another part of southeast texas is reeling from the storm and show you how people are coping with the initial shock of what's happened. when you've been making delicious natural cheese for over 100 years like kraft has, you learn a lot about what people want. honey, do we have like a super creamy cheese with taco spice already in it? oh, thanks. bon appe-cheese! okay... >>> we are winning and we're going to continue to do so. with steve ba

they forced the chief diplomat, the amazing rex tillerson giving options is nonsense cable.dmonishing the journalists and the fake news industrial complex -- if a journalist doesn't know the difference between the secretary of state and the department of defense, they should hand in their credentials. >> so let's listen again to the audio and you can decide what he said. >> the idea that secretary tillerson is going to discuss military matters is simply nonsensical. it is the job of secretary mattis, the secretary of defense to talk about options, secretary tillerson is the chief diplomat of the united states and it is his portfolio to deal with those issues. >> the state department was asked about it. >> secretary tillerson has not spoken about u.s. military capabilities. you hear my very often from this room when you ask me about u.s. military assets or plans, i refer you to d.o.d. i think everyone clearly heard what secretary tillerson's forceful comments have been and continue to be on the issue of dprk and other issues as well. >> you think he should be paid attention t

tillerson had a very productive visit out there. the message is the world is with us and we're tightening the pressure on north korea with unprecedented sanctions, and they managed to get china to start taking the lead, they have the most influence over north korea, and that's the way to get the crisis back from the brink. that was all blown up by the president's statements. >> are we on the brink right now? >> no, i don't think we are, but if we keep on this path, we will be. we need to step it back, and as congressman said we were on track and we're getting off track. it means to have a disciplined president that speaks after only thoughtful consideration. >> congressman, "the washington post" reported, and since then we just heard that the comments by the president were all trump. he came up with the words, not something he put together with the help of his national security team. i want to play for you what former deputy advisor ben rod rs said here on msnbc. >> it is usually carefully crafted. we would preview any new language

i think what secretary tillerson said was very significant the other day.of mixed messages coming from this administration about, you know, whether there should be military action. whether there should be talking. secretary tillerson said point blank, he's ready to talk, if conditions are right. he just wants to see a sign from north korea that they're ready. >> let me play that clip. this is secretary tillerson widely seen ascending a message. >> he was. >> to north korea. listen to this. >> we're trying to convey to the north koreans, we are not your enemy. we're not your threat, but you are presenting an unacceptable threat to us. and we have to respond. and we hope that at some point they will begin to understand that, and that we would like to sit and have a dialogue with them about the future. >> significant words. like to sit and have a dialogue with them about the future. these summits, the sidelines, there are informal talks that do occ occur. and you've attended those kind of summits. so is that at all realistic that there could be a dialogue betw