The winners of last nights primary elections. President trump has now endorsed candidates and has a 640 record. And primary races since the midterms demonstrating the string of the president s agenda across the country as evidence in the 64 consecutive congressional special and primary elections over the past 13 months. So next, i want to transition to talking about some of the things going on around the country. The First Amendment does not give anyone the right to riot. The First Amendment does not give anyone the right to loot. The First Amendment doesnt give anyone the right to burn down buildings. The First Amendment does not give anyone the right to deface property. And it does not give anyone the right to assault private citizens and to Assault Police officers. The First Amendment, however, does give you the right to peaceably assemble, and the greatest example that we have seen of peaceful protests, an absolute embodiment of the First Amendment, is the march on washington. On august 28, 1963, a quarter of a million americans gathered at the lincoln memorially and peacefully made a powerful march and a powerful point. That all americans should be treated equally. That Racial Discrimination was unacceptable, abhorrent, and that it needed to be rectified. And in the famous i have a dream speech by referenced dr. Martin luther king, he said this we must not allow our creative protests to excuse me to dengenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the Majestic Heights of Meeting Physical force with soul force, and soul force is exactly what dr. Martin luther king general met the nation with when he said this, i have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Important words, important actions from an American Hero who contributed to making this nation the greatest on earth. With that in mind, we must remember to recognize the lives lost, the passing of george floyd, who was killed unjustly in a horrific video that we all have seen, and we must also remember the passing of Police Captain david dorn yesterday, who was shot and killed by looters in st. Louis. An absolute tragedy. A retired officer. 77 years old. Whose wife was also a Police Officer herself. Dorn was a hero and unfortunate casualty in the riots we have seen. Our hearts are with his family. We are all americans. We must come together. We must unify. And we must have law and order. With that ill take questions. Reporter i have a couple questions. First on secretary esper. Cbs news learned this morning that his remarks were not received well inside the white house. Has he talked to President Trump this morning in private . Does the president still have confidence in secretary esper . Secretary mcenany so, not that i am aware of in terms of expressing his opinion. I wouldnt get into the private conversations that went on here in the white house. With regard to whether the president has confidence, i would say if he loses secretary in confidence in secretary esper, im sure you will know. Reporter right now . Secretary mcenany secretary esper is still secretary esper. If the president loses faith well learn about that in the future. Reporter Vice President joe biden has vowed to speed up a Police Oversight board if elected. Is President Trump considering anything comparable or any other specific legislative and policy reforms to address Racial Disparities in policing . Secretary mcenany so there have been various things discussed here in the white house. I dont want to get ahead of the president as to what he is ultimately as to what he ultimately determines. The president believes most Police Officers in this country are good, hardworking people, and he notes that. He also notes some of the injustices weve seen and the need to make sure that the appropriate use of force is used and that our officers are trained in that capacity. Reporter is he considering some sort of federal oversight . Secretary mcenany there have been discussion of various proposals that we can look at but no one out on that front just yet. Yes. Reporter you mentioned dr. King. He would not have approved what took place monday evening across from the white house, as you probably know. Is the white house, president , his team do it all over again, would you have gassed and pummeled protesters so the president could secretary mcenany no tear gas was used or rubber bullets. Reporter chemical agents were used. She was gassed. Others say they were tear gassed in that area. Secretary mcenany well, no one was tear gassed. Thats been confirmed by d. O. D. And Park Services as well. So let me go back and address what happened because theres been a lot of misreporting. First, i would note that these protests that were going on, in the morning, a. G. Barr had determined we needed to expand the perimeter by one block on each side. He was surprised, a. G. Barr, when he arrived at the white house that that perimeter had not been moved. So he said we needed to get going with moving that perimeter. He told the officers out there. That was late afternoon. That decision was made in the morning, first of all. The protesters were told three times over loud speaker that they needed to move and what happened was it grew increasingly unruly. There were projectiles being thrown at officers. The officers had no choice in that moment to act that they were safe and the perimeter was pushed back because as we know a church was burning in that area the night before. So the appropriate action was taken. Reporter clear the area . Secretary mcenany it was burning the night before which enforced the decision to move the perimeter on each side by a block so that church would no longer be in harms way by the rioters. Its reporter dont you agree the vast majority of those protesters were doing so peacefully and that many of them did not hear those and were simply pushed out of the way, just forced out, pummeled out of the way by their fellow americans, Police Officers . You sent in members of the military to deal with this. I mean, what do you say to americans who look at what happened on monday and find that to be appall . Secretary mcenany well, the National Guard was utilized across washington, d. C. The military was not. There is a distinction. I would say its uncalled for to throw bricks at officers. Uncalled for to throw frozen Water Bottles at officers. They also received intelligence there were calls for violence against Police Officers. And they found caches of bottles, baseball bats, metal poles. When an officer is at risk they have a right to defend themselves. They did so peaceably. There were no fatalities, no severe injuries. Reporter would you do it again . Secretary mcenany they have the right to defend and protect themselves. Next question. Joke about two question tuesday. I think sometimes i get four or five question wednesday. Reporter i want to make sure people that have a problem with what they saw monday have a chance to have that addressed. I mean, what do you say to americans who are just outraged by what they saw . Secretary mcenany what i would say reporter a photo op in front of a church with a bible. Secretary mcenany officers have a right to defend themselves. And, you know, i have watched a lot of your coverage. I watched a lot of defend and protect themselves. In st. Louis, four Police Officers were shot. In las vegas, an officer was shot in the head and is on life support. In new york, a cop was beat up by people. In providence, four to five Police Officers and state troopers were injured. In ashbury park, new jersey, a Police Officer was injured. Police officers are out on the front lines. Theyre defending and protecting you as you go into this building each day, jim. We owe them honor and respect. When they are under attack, they have the ability to defend themselves. Reporter first off, on secretary esper, is the president presently considering using the invoking the insurrection act . Secretary mcenany its a definitely a tool within his power. This president has one singular aim and that is protecting americas streets. We cannot have burning churches. We cannot have Police Officers who are shot. We cannot have businesses that are looted and destroyed. The insurrection act is a tool available. The president has the Sole Authority. The National Guard, its worked to a great effect here in d. C. And in minnesota as well. Reporter back to monday. Are you saying the officers at that protest, clearing that largely peaceful protest were acting appropriately . There were well documented incidents of one member of officer bashing a camera of an australian journalist. This is about the other Peaceful Protesters as well. All the officers involved, was that protest cleared in a way the white house believes was entirely appropriate, that that should be the model for the rest of the country . Secretary mcenany Park Services, having frozen bottles thrown at them, they acted with an appropriate level of force to protect themselves and to protect the average citizenry and to protect the Peaceful Protesters who were among them as well. Reporter protecting the Peaceful Protesters by firing various chemical agents and walking through them with batons . Secretary mcenany it wasnt tear gas. What they used was a way to target those who were being violent. They used the minimal force they could to ensure that that situation was safe, to ensure st. Johns church would not burn a second night in a row and to ensure no officers were injured in the manner i listed off that several officers had been injured and shot off during the course of these riots. Reporter thanks, kayleigh. I have a question about the decisionmaking process for going to the church. The president said on fox radio this morning that he never told anyone to push the protesters out. The defense secretary, he said something similar. Who at the white house did know or was this a unilateral decision by the attorney general . Secretary mcenany the attorney general decided that morning to expand the perimeter. And that was a decision made long before the church discussion was ever under consideration. When the president gives an order, people act. Its not as if he walks through each and every detail how a plan goes about. He says i want to go to the church, he goes to the church. And everyone executes the plan and the order that the president puts into place. So the president is absolutely right in what he said. Reporter the plan was still for President Trump to walk out there even if the protesters were still there . Secretary mcenany i am not aware of the determinations that secret service had as they arranged for the president to walk out there. I would note again, the decision to expand the perimeter was a decision made in the morning by attorney general barr. Reporter with respect to the coronavirus since we are in the middle of a pandemic, dr. Fauci said his conversation with President Trump has decreased and so has the frequency of the Coronavirus Task force meetings. Is that accurate . If so, why . Secretary mcenany there is a Coronavirus Task force briefing just yesterday. We are constantly, as an administration, monitoring the coronavirus to protect the safety and wellbeing of the American People. Right now, we all saw that church burn, we all saw some of the violence in the streets and the president has had several meetings with attorney general barr, secretary esper, general milley, to make sure we are patrolling and also monitoring the coronavirus and whats developing there. Reporter the protests were peaceful monday, why did you all clear the area . Whose decision was it to clear it later in the day if attorney general barr wanted it clear earlier in the day, why did it take so long for it to be cleared . Secretary mcenany yeah, he ordered it to be cleared monday morning. It didnt happen when he arrived. So he immediately instructed the officers to ensure that it was moved back a block. As we all saw sunday night, it was not a peaceful protest. It was a riot with a Church Burning in washington, d. C. The president made sure that washington, d. C. , was secure monday night, and part of that involved moving the perimeter back to ensure that st. Johns church was protected. Reporter but thats quite a gap between the morning and the evening when you all walked over there. Why was there such a gap . Secretary mcenany look, again, thats a question for a. G. Barr. Maybe the question for the officers why that wasnt deployed right away. When a. G. Barr came to the white house, i think it was early afternoon, he noticed that it hadnt been cleared. Gave the order for it to be clear. And that action took place. Reporter why did the president feel it was important to walk through the park to go to the church . Secretary mcenany the president wanted to send a very powerful message that we will not be overcome by looting, by rioting, by burning. This is not what defines america. Going by and standing by st. Johns church was a very important moment. I would note through all of time, weve seen president s and leaders across the world who have had leadership moments and very powerful symbols that were important for a nation to see at any given time to show a message of resilience like churchill. We saw him inspecting the bombing damage. It sent a powerful message of leadership. And george w. Bush throwing out the ceremonial first pitch after 9 11. And jimmy carter putting on a sweater to encourage energy savings. And george h. W. Bush signing the americans with disabilities act flanked by who disabled americans. This president wanted to send a message that the rioters, looters, anarchists, will not prevail. And that moment holding the bible up was wildly held by Franklin Graham and others and it was an important symbol for the American People to see we will get through this through unity and faith. Reporter the results of his physical, we know he did part of the physical late last year, i think it was. When did he have the rest of it done . Secretary mcenany i am not aware of an exact date. I will ask the doctor. But i know it was fairly recently. I will go to brett. Reporter the white house spent a lot of time talking how the protests have taken place and how people are protesting or shouldnt be protesting. What is the white house doing to address the underlying causes that have led to this . Secretary mcenany the president has done a lot. The president expedited the review, the f. B. I. Review of the george floyd case. He swiftly ensured there is a civil rights investigation into George Floyds death. Ahmaud arbery. This president has done everything in his power to send a powerful message that these injustices will not be tolerated. Reporter has the white house and president , have they reached out to some of these protesters to dialogue does the president secretary mcenany the president has looked at tools we can use to ensure Law Enforcement uses the appropriate level of force. No discussions or announcements on that front. I will say we are taking a hard look at this. But the president recognizes our Police Officers are valiant heroes. The vast majority are good, hardworking people who love this country and who love the american citizenry that they protect. Reporter thanks, kayleigh. Rod rosenstein testified on the hill that he didnt read the fisa application and he didnt prepare the memo that started the mueller probe. Rosenstein appeared to be deeply involved and he picked f. B. I. Director Christopher Wray, isnt it time an administration appoint someone else other than wray for f. B. I. Director . Secretary mcenany i have no announcements on that front. With regard to the rosenstein testimony he said there was no there there, and he agrees with that text by peter strzok who obviously had no information of russian collusion but nevertheless strzok threw this investigation and rosenstein said he wouldnt have signed off on the carter page fisa warrant that has his name on it. To spy on the trump campaign. That he wouldnt have signed off on it. Not only that, he is not sure he read every page of that. Its a pretty grave thing to violate their Fourth Amendment rights, to not have a basis to do so and rely on a russian dossier as for justification. So its really astonishing to hear from him that hes not sure he read every page of that warrant. But i suppose its encouraging to hear with his 20 20 hindsight he wouldnt have signed on it. Thats sure no comfort to carter page. Reporter where does he stand now, does he have confidence in wray today . Secretary mcenany the f. B. I. Director, much like the secretary of defense, if the president decides he has no longer have confidence, you guys will be the first to know. Reporter a couple more on new york if its ok. Yesterday, new yorks governor made a pretty big statement saying he might relieve de blasio of his duties. Has there been any talk with Governor Cuomo about sending in the National Guard troops to new york or is there any plan right now to send any National Guard to new york . Secretary mcenany the president will do whatever is necessary to protect americas streets. Hes made that clear. And he has several tools. That is one of them, sending in the National Guard. He does have the ability to federalize the National Guard should he choose to do that. But i would note and i am very glad you brought up new york, the very clearcut cases of d. C. And new york, d. C. Was in chaos on sunday night when you saw the burning of the church. When the mayor did not set the curfew. The president said this is unacceptable. He has always preferred devolving to the states. They have police power, its their response ability to take care of the streets. When the president saw that on sunday night, he took action immediately. He surged the National Guard, encouraged states to accept their National Guard. He went on and on with several various actions to give very powerful speech saying if you dont act i will. He noted that the military would be on hand should it be necessary. His bold action, his swift action made d. C. A much different story monday night. And contrasting the images of new york excuse me d. C. On monday night and new york on monday night where there was rampant looting, where we saw Macys Department store looted, coach store looted, violence in the streets, new york didnt deploy the National Guard. They set an 11 00 p. M. Curfew, even after they saw the disastrous results in the 11 00 p. M. Curfew and the president said i will call antifa a domestic terrorist group. New york was arresting people on burglary charges and letting them go. The weakkneed policies of new york stand in stark contrast of the policies of this president has secured this city as weve seen in the last two nights. Reporter thanks, kayleigh. The individual conduct of officers, does the president think there is a systemic problem against africanamericans . Secretary mcenany the president believes there are injustices. He has not hesitated back to injustices. Going back as a primary candidate, when he called sandra bland, and the use of force, he said its terrible. He did not hesitate when he saw the video of george floyd. He was really upset by that video, as we noted. And he points out injustices but he also notes that our Police Officers are good people. I have seen them on the streets, i have played the videos for you of the police embracing protesters, standing with the protesters. Theyre good, hardworking people. They protect our streets. That is what Law Enforcement is about. But at the same time, the president will note and he will call out injustices. This is a president who has not hesitated in doing that when the time was right. Reporter call out individual actions but does he believe the problem is systemic and endemic to Law Enforcement . Secretary mcenany there are some examples of injustices. He calls them out. This is a president who when democrats for so many years talked about criminal Justice Reform and the disparities, the Racial Disparities sentencing didnt fix that, it was President Trump who engaged in sentencing reform and who really rectified some of the disparities we saw there. So i think democrats, others, republicans should hail this president for calling out injustices when he sees them. Either in a casebycase basis or in the form of the First Step Act when he noted sentencing reforms. Reporter a number of explanations on the clearing the park. One, the enforced curfew. Another there were violent protesters from the park police. D. O. J. Saying it was previously going to be done anyway. Do you have a reason from the white houses perspective clearing the park, why the white house wanted it done . Secretary mcenany it wasnt the white house. It was a. G. Barr who said the perimeter needed to be expanded one block each way because we were not going to see the church burn another night. Ive already gone through in meticulous detail with my friend, jim, here, how that came about, that that perimeter was eventually moved. I am not going to repeat myself again. Reporter would not have been violent protesters that would not have happened . Secretary mcenany no. There were three announcements. If the protesters had remained peaceful and moved the perimeter as they were not instructed one, 2, 3 times via loudspeakers that would have been different. When bricks are thrown, rest assured, officers will protect themselves. Reporter he went down to the basement to inspect it. What was he looking for . Secretary mcenany i wont go further than what the president said because there are Security Matters and i wont engage on that kind of discussion. Yes. Reporter so going back to rosenstein, what is the president s response to the fact that neither rosenstein nor Christopher Wray will be willing to take responsibility on illegal wiretapping . Secretary mcenany look, the president is dismayed. This happened to the president s campaign. A Republican Campaign was spied on by a democratic presidency, a democratic administration. Based on a dossier paid for by his opponent, hillary clinton, and the d. N. C. This is absolutely extraordinary. It is the biggest political scandal that weve seen and the lack of journalistic curiosity on this front is appalling. When you have multiple instances of people saying one thing under oath from the Obama Administration and saying another thing in public, that they had direct evidence of russian collusion, i mean, thats extraordinary. Adam schiff, i have direct evidence when in fact we know there is none. The mueller report, after spending millions of taxpayer dollars, completely exonerated President Trump, it was a travesty and we hope to get to the bottom of this because it should never be done again in american politics to any president of either political party. Reporter on the insurrection act, secretary esper said he opposed it. Last time it was used was 1992. How close is the white house using the act . Is that a last resort measure or is this a real possibility at this moment . Secretary mcenany if you noticed, the president has been going down a line of progression. First point was allow governors to do their job. Allow mayors like bill de blasio do their job. Governor cuomo is supposed to ensure that his state is protected. Mayor de blasio is supposed to ensure that new york city is protected. They failed at their job. There was looting across new york city. There were fire burning in washington, d. C. When mayor bowser was in control. This president monday took definitive action with that speech saying if necessary the military is here. We must urge the National Guard. He took action and he shored up and made sure d. C. Remained peaceful. This president has gone and said the National Guard is the next step. That seemed to be working here in d. C. Well see if it continues to work. But rest assured, he has the Sole Authority to invoke the insurrection act. And he will do so to protect americans. One thing to note, and i think its so important to go back to this, because i havent seen a ton of coverage of it other than in a few places, and i started the briefing with this and its important. I just want to circle back. Note captain david dorn who lost his life in st. Louis and he was killed by a looter. He served 38 years in the st. Louis Police Department. His wife, ann, is a sergeant with the st. Louis metropolitan Police Department. Hes a hero. I also want to note, because there have been 45 officers lost in the line of duty this year, and my heart breaks for them. As a new mom myself, my heart particularly breaks for two women who i was reading about their stories. Officer briand lease of the Indianapolis Police department on april 9, 2020, she was shot and killed. Shes survived by her 3yearold son, her sister, and her parents. She was a National Guard veteran. And my heart breaks for the family. Officer tiffany victoria henriquez of the honolulu Police Department on january 19, 2020, officer enriquez was shot and killed, leaving three daughters, one grandson, and she was a u. S. Air force reserve veteran. These are our heroes. Thank you so much to our officers who are protecting our streets. Many have been shot. Some have been killed. Its a travesty. And let us stand with Law Enforcement and recognize the huge contribution they have made to our society and continue to do so each and every day. Thanks so much, guys. Reporter who is command of the forces in washington right now . I want to start this section with a prayer. We find are ourselves in trying times in the country. Those that are