Transcripts For KGO This Week With George Stephanopoulos 20240712

Looking at these polls. President trumps poll numbers tanking after months of crises. Were doing i think very well. We just started. Hes like a child. Who cant believe this has happened to him. Can trump come back . Or is biden poised to put this race away . Insight and analysis from fivethirtyeights nate silver and our powerhouse roundtable. Announcer from abc news its this week. Here now, chief anchor george stephanopoulos. Good morning and welcome to this week. More than five months ago the first case of covid19 was confirmed in the United States, but as we come on the air this morning, the pandemics grip on our country appears to be as strong as ever. 00 new reported saturday. Four states hit new daily highs. Five have set new records for hospitalizations. More than 40 states marking higher weekly averages than last week. With new records set nearly every day. Overnight, the number of cases worldwide topped 10 million. More than 1 out of 4 right here in the United States. We all had hoped the worst had passed and thankfully, the mortality rate of the virus is coming down. But the notion that america could reopen quickly without consequence has now evaporated. Several states putting plans on hold. Dr. Anthony fauci warns of outbreaks across the south and west that could spread across the country. That came at fridays press briefing from the white house. The first one in almost two months. Notably the president did not attend. But after cancelling a weekend trip to his country club in new jersey, he offered this positive take. Were making a lot of progress with the whole situation that came in from a place called china, you probably know, you probably see. But we have a little work to do and well get it done. And were joined this morning by the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi. Madam speaker, ll welcome to this week. Good morning. Lets start out with this covid crisis. Were failing to stop the spread, how do we fix it . We can fix it by passing the heroes act, we have a major pillar is to open our economy by testing, testing, testing. Tracing, treating, isolating. Wearing masks. Washing your hands. There is a way to do it instead of the administration did deny, delay, death. Its time for this administration to take this seriously. As dr. Fauci said, we have a serious problem ahead. Take this seriously. Were 4 of the worlds population. Were 25 of the cases and the deaths. 25 . We have the worst record of any country in the world. And the president says were making progress or whatever. So this is this is life and death. And we do have a plan to, again, reverse this trend as well as to kill off this virus. We dont have a vaccine and we dont have a cure. God willing and science enabling we will some time soon, but until we do we have the tools to halt the growth of this. Is it time to mandate the wearing of a mask across the country . Definitely long overdue for that. My understanding is that the centers for Disease Control has recommended the use of masks but not demand requiring it. The president should be an example. Real men wear mask. Be an example to the country and wear the mask. Its not about protecting yourself, its about protecting others. Of course, were also dealing with the economic fallout right now. Youve said another economic package is necessary, but you havent engaged in direct negotiations with the treasury secretary, why not . When we have negotiations its at the end of the agreement. The committe havehe discussions, when they reach an impasse it rises to four corners of leadership. And when that reaches an impasse, we negotiate with the administration. But i have a number of republicans calling me in the next bill, can we have this . They know we have to have a bill. The chairman of the fed has said, unless we do something significant were going to have a worse recession. He has said state and local governments provide jobs and services, i recommend that to the congress. Even secretary mnuchin knows there has to be legislation. Theyll be ready. They wanted a pause, well, again, rent doesnt take a pause. Putting food on the table doesnt take a pause. Having no job doesnt take a pause. They have hurt our economy, but we have a solution. Let me just tell you this its three pillars, one is, honor our heroes, thats why its named that. In there we have resources for state and local governments so they can keep our heroes on the job, healthcare providers, first responders, transportation, sanitation, teachers, teachers, teachers. I want to turn and you have to know this, all the money thats in there, and you go to speaker. Gov heroesact, and look at where you live and see how the resources go into those communities in order to cover the outlays for the coronavirus expenses, or b, the loss of revenue from those places, and remember this, all of that money thats out there, and its very significant, is half of what the republicans put on to the national debt, half of what they spent, give tax cut, 83 of the benefits going to the top 1 and they complain about it. Theyll come around. Theyll come around. I want to turn to that rather startling report in the New York Times. Well show it on the screen right now. Russia secretly offered afghan militants bounties to kill u. S. Troops. It reports that american intelligence officials have concluded that a Russian Military Intelligence Units secretly offered bounties to talibanlinked militants for killing Coalition Forces in afghanistan including targeting american troops. It was briefed to President Trump and the xwhous National Security Council Discussed the problem at an interagency meet in late march. The white house has yet to authorize any step, now the director of National Intelligence put out a statement late last night denying the president was briefed. The president has said that as well, not denying the intelligence. Were you aware of those reports . No. We have calls for report to the congress on this. This is as bad as it gets. Yet, the president will not confront the russians on this score. Denies being briefed. Whether he is or not, his Administration Knows and our allies some of our allies who work with us in afghanistan have been briefed and accept this report. Just as i have said to the president , with him all roads lead to putin. I dont know what the russians have on the president , personally, politically, financially, he wants to ignore it. He wants to bring them back to the g8. Despite the annexation of crimea and the invasion of ukraine. Despite his intervention into our election, which is well documented by our Intelligence Community and despite now possibly this allegation, which we should have been briefed on well, thats what i want to ask you about. Do you believe the president hasnt been briefed on this . Secondly, how would you explain the New York Times saying it was in the president s daily brief, perhaps he didnt read it, how would you explain if the president werent briefed on this . Because the president wants to ignore any allegation against russia. Ive said to him in that meeting when im pointing to him, with you, mr. President , all roads lead to putin. Russia has never gotten over the humiliation they suffered in afghanistan. This is totally outrageous. You would think that the minute the president heard of it he would want to know more instead of denying that he knew anything. Now if in fact well find out he was briefed, if it were not what does that say about the concern that those who have briefed the president of not going anywhere near the russia issue with this president . This is appalling. This is beyond the list is a long one in terms of his ignorance of what russia has done. A gift to russia, to diminish our leadership in nato. Diminish our troops in germany. All are gifts to putin. Something is very wrong here. But this must have an answer. Youve raised that several times. You dont know what the russians have on the president. Do you believe they have something on him . How else would you explain his refusal to even to ignore again and again the intelligence that puts right at the russian doorstep the involvement into our elections for example. Now hes saying this is fake news. Why would he say that . Why wouldnt he say, lets look into it and see what this is, giving the money to taliban, a bounty on the lives of our troops in afghanistan. How do you answer to the families of those family members who are serving there and hes engaged in peace negotiations with the taliban and hes kissing up to putin in every way, saying they should be in the g7, even though they annexed crimea and caused death and destruction in ukraine, so totally irresponsible. Something is wrong with this picture. But putting that aside for the moment, lets dwell on this. We hear also that the administration is considering diplomatic response to this, or sanctions to this, well, they either know about it or they dont know about it. The American People need to know what that is. Before we go, i do want to ask you about the 2020 president ial campaign, youve seen all these polls this week showing former Vice President biden opening up a lead over President Trump. President obama warned democrats not to get complacent. Whats the greatest threat to joe bidens chance right now . Well, i do believe we have to put one good day in front of another. I take nothing for granted. 128 days, no wasted time. No underutilized resources and no regrets the day after the election. And again, we saw what overconfidence did in 2016 and the harm that exacted on the country. This election has everything at stake. Any time we have said this is the most crucial election of our time. We thought it was true. But it just keeps getting more so. I do believe that its going to be as long as we protect the vote. So if you ask what stands in the way . Not the enthusiasm of the American People. Not the excellence of our candidate for the president of the United States. Were so proud of joe biden, hell be a great president. And all of the other candidates im so proud of, our house candidates, hopefully well win the senate, which is very possible. But protecting the vote from the Voter Suppression that the republicans know they cant win on the national, so they have to engage in Voter Suppression and look at their playbook and youll see what theyre afraid of and that is the votes of the American People. On the ground, well mobilize, well get on the vote and well have a victorious election come november. Putting one good day in front of another. Madam speaker, thank you for your time this morning. My pleasure. Thank you. Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson is up next, plus our powerhouse roundtable. Stay with us. Hutchinson is up next, plus our powerhouse roundtable. Stay with us. N in, were open. All we do is hand you the bag. Simple. Done. This smells so good. Big thanks to you guys at home. Were here right now. We adapt and we change. I mean you just figure it out and well do like we do as safely as we can. I got a new job. Weve just been finding a way to keep on pushing. Were lookin for a day at a time baby. I opened a sofi money account and it was the first time that i realized i could be earning interest back on my money. I just discovered sofi, and im an investor with a diversified portfolio. Who am i . i refinanced my Student Loans with sofi because of their low interest rates. Thanks sofi for helping us get our money right. Blood and platelet donations. With the coronavirus outbreak, blood supplies are critically low, and we need healthy donors to schedule an appointment to give now. Donating blood is safe, and the red cross is following Public Health guidelines to ensure the safety of donors. Please, schedule your appointment today. Go to redcrossblood. Org, or call 1800red cross. Patients are counting on you. Go to redcrossblood. Org, or call 1800red cross. If theres gonna be a sticker on it has to mean something. So we make sure this means something. That weve done everything to make your shopping, testdriving and carbuying experience the way it should be. Carmax. Every year, you can see spectacular celebrities at aids walk San Francisco. This year they are coming to you join bette midler Gloria Estefan matt bomer stars of queer eye rupauls drag race superstars. For aids walk San Francisco live at home, streaming on july 19 to benefit prc and their covid relief efforts all over the city. Register now at aidswalk. Net were announcing today a joint travel advisory, people coming in from states that have a high infection rate must quarantine for 14 days. Its only for the simple reason that we worked very hard to get the viral transmission rate down, we dont want to see it go up. Of course i understand where Governor Cuomo is coming from, but whenever youre looking at growing our economy, trying to restore our economy, this is not particularly helpful to that. New yorks andrew cuomo going head to head with arkansas Asa Hutchinson after the Governor Cuomo announced a quarantine. Governor hutchinson joins us this morning. Governor, thank you for joining us this morning. Was Governor Cuomo justified or not . Well, i think hes understandable as to where hes coming from, theyve had such a huge challenge there in new york city. We sent our nurses up there to help them during that time of crisis. I understand where theyre coming from. In fact, we had had the same order in arkansas that travelers from new york had to quarantine. Weve lifted all of those now because this virus has become like a fog going across the United States sometimes slowly, sometimes rapidly so were just going to do better to get our cases down in arkansas, but ultimately we cant be putting these restrictions on each other across the country because we do have to do two things both manage the virus and manage the growth of our economy, and ultimately, whenever you see growth of cases from texas to california, i dont think new york wants to isolate themselves from every region of commerce that might have a spike in cases. Both texas and california have put their reopening plans on pause, at least some of them, as well as the state of florida, your cases have jumped about 25 in the last week, will you be putting any pauses in place on your reopening . Well, we havent announced anything additional were going to do, we can go into phase three, were not going to do that, so we are on pause on that, to make sure we get a handle on our current cases, and so we are in effect on pause in that way, but we are continuing to move our economy and thats important to be able to go into the future both handling the virus and living life. And thats what were trying to do. But this is a very, very serious challenge we have right now. Just let me emphasized, we doubled the amount of our testing nationally weve got to double it again. Thats probably the most important thing we can do and im concerned as a state, we increased our testing dramatically in arkansas, with demand for testing from california and texas and highpopulation states, how are our commercial providers going to keep up with that . I really think that we need to look at a greater use of the defense production act so that we can make sure the supply keeps up with the demand that we know is going to continue growing. So you think the National Effort has to be stepped up . The president s done very, very good job of utilizing the defense production act when it comes to managing the production of ventilators, making sure that we have that capacity. We need to continue to use that in the areas of the supplies for testing. The demand is only going to increase and if were going to have school, which we plan on doing next year, if were going to have other activities that we like in society, it all depends on the ability to test and know what the radar shows, where the virus is, so we can go in and isolate it, trace it down, thats how you live life, thats how you manage the economy, but at the same time, minimize the risk of the virus. Its now mandatory to wear face masks in the city of little rock, the mayor passed the executive order, why not extend that to the whole state . Well, were encouraging mask wearing. Ive set the example for that. Thats a very important part of the equation. As well as social distancing. Were not going to pass a mandate thats unenforceable. So as we educate the population, well continue that effort because it is an important part of the equation. Ive got a Good Relationship with the mayors, were all trying to accomplish the same thing, which is encouraging the use of masks that helps protects others. A very unselfish act. Should the president and Vice President be doing more to set an example on the wearing of masks . Well, i saw the Vice President as he went into the briefing the other day he had a mask as others did, i think thats a good example. It is important that theres a consistent National Message to take this seriously, that we are going to wear masks, that we are going to set that example, that consistent National Message supplements what were trying to do in the state and is important to you can have two messages at the same time. Your message is grow our economy but also have the message of social distancing, protecting our self and others for the virus. On another subject, mississippi is set to remove from the confederate symbol from the state flag. Governor tate reeves is set to sign the bill. Is it time for the con federal monuments in state of arkansas to come down . We already moved one in bentonville, my hometown, there was a confederate statue in the square, there was an agreement reached to move that statue to an area in a cemetery, away from the public square, thats the right process to go through. Its not the right process to destroy by acts of violence or vandalism, it is right to have the debate and to take action. So, yes, i think theres more that we need to look at in arkansas and i thought mississippi, they did it in a thoughtful way, they set the process up and i applaud them for their debate and the decisionmaking that they did. That will continue across the country and its the right thing to do. But your personal opinion is that they should come down . Well, you have which one are you talking about . Whenever youre looking at those in municipalities, we have one in hot springs, thats a local decision. Whenever you look at the ones that relates to the state, we do have one thats on our State Capitol grounds, thats a decision of general assembly. What do i think about it . I think its time to look for other places that we can know that history and remind ourselves of the lessons of that history. Finally sir, i wanted to talk about the 2020 race coming up, President Trump, youve seen the National Polls, he won arkansas by 27 points. Last time. One poll this week showed him two points up. If its close in arkansas thats real sign of trouble for the president , what should he do to fix it . Well, hes going to do fine in arkansas, hell carry arkansas, and you just got to look at President Trump and the fact that hes been down in the polls, nobody thought he was going to win the last election, he surged in the final days, he won some of the key battleground states. People who are writing his obituary is a little bit early on that and i think the key is the economy and of course managing this virus and, you know, whenever he was doing when he was engaged in it, doing his national briefings, people were responding to it, even though he made some missteps in it. He has to be engaged both in moving the economy forward but also making sure that were going in the right direction and doing all we can to support the states in terms of the virus. Governor hutchinson, thanks for your time this morning. Thank you. Nate silver is up next with his take on the president s polls. Has trump hit the Tipping Point . President s polls. Has trump hit the Tipping Point . Tonight, try pure zzzs all night. Unlike other sleep aids, our extended release melatonin helps you sleep longer. And longer. Zzzquil pure zzzs all night. Fall asleep. Stay asleep. There are times when our need to connect really matters. To keep customers and employees in the know. 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That continued emphasis on people our advisors, associates, clients and communities gives us purpose, strength and a way forward. Today. And always. Come on in, were open. All we do is hand you the bag. Simple. Done. This smells so good. Big thanks to you guys at home. Were here right now. We adapt and we change. I mean you just figure it out and well do like we do as safely as we can. I got a new job. Weve just been finding a way to keep on pushing. Were lookin for a day at a time baby. Roundtable is standing by. Well be right back. Well be right back. If theres gonna be a sticker on your car, it has to mean something. That you got into college. Or crossed the finish line. Eventually. What . That you went someplace worth going. Or maybe. You have opinions. But if its on there, it has to mean something. So we make sure this means something. That weve done everything to make your shopping, testdriving and carbuying experience the way it should be. Carmax. Im an associate here at amazon. Come on christian, step onto the blue line. Good stay safe, man. This device is giving us an Accurate Temperature check. Youre good to go. Have a good day. The safety of Amazon Community is very important. Youre good to go, sir. Thank you if i can take care of everyone who is sick out there, i would do it in a heartbeat. Step onto the blue line, sir. I have to take care of my coworkers. Thats how i am. This is my passion. Have a good day. I have a son who is 10 years old. I say, you know, mommy loves to help people. And he said, wow, one day im gonna be like you too. Im gonna be a doctor. He make me cry. Have a good day out there, okay . Blood and platelet donations. With the coronavirus outbreak, blood supplies are critically low, and we need healthy donors to schedule an appointment to give now. Donating blood is safe, and the red cross is following Public Health guidelines to ensure the safety of donors. Please, schedule your appointment today. Go to redcrossblood. Org, or call 1800red cross. Patients are counting on you. An extra 15 percent credit on car and motorcycle policies . Ok . Thats 15 percent on top of what geico could already save you. So what are you waiting for . Dj khaled to be your motivational coach . Yo devin remember to brush in a circle motion. Thank you. Dj. Khaled. Tiny circles, devin. Do another one. Another one. Is this good . Put in that work, devin. Dont give up. Geico. Save an extra 15 when you switch by october 7th. Save an extra 15 when you switch you try to stay ahead of the mess. But scrubbing still takes time. Now theres new powerwash dish spray. Its the faster way to clean as you go. Just spray, wipe and rinse. It cleans grease five times faster. New dawn powerwash. Spray, wipe, rinse. Whatever it is done to help joe biden get elected we have to do more. We cant be complacent or sense that somehow its so obvious that this president hasnt done a good job, because, look, he won once. A warning to democrats from president obama in the wake of weeks of falling poll numbers from President Trump. A poll this week had biden up by 14 points nationwide, leading in every one of the top six battlegrounds. So how deep is the hole . Can trump come from behind . We asked fivethirtyeights nate silver for his analysis. Nothing makes me happier than talking about uncertainty. Typically, were still a long way from the election and either candidate can win. I have to level with you, President Trump is starting to get deeper into underdog territory. Three things make his path harder than it was four years ago, his numbers are in a downward slide. In several swing states. Hes now down 11 points in michigan, 10 in wisconsin, 8 in pennsylvania and 7 in florida. Second, there are far fewer undecided voters today than in 2016. Joe biden is already above 50 in National Polls. Pretty rare for that to happen so early. The last candidate to do that was Ronald Reagan in 1984. In some recent swing state polls, some voters said they wouldnt consider reelecting President Trump. Hillary clinton was trying to win a Third Straight term for democrats. Amid mediocre economy. Not so easy. This time its trump whos on the defensive. 56 of voters are unhappy with trumps handling of covid as cases continue to rise, voters also havent liked his reaction to nationwide protests, 63 disapprove of his handling of disapprove of his handling of Race Relations and weve seen some of the worst Economic Data from the great depression. Theres time between now and november. Unpredictable news stories that benefit President Trump, but i buy he should be worried. A deeper hole than he faced in 2016. Thanks to nate for that. The roundtable is up next. Well be right back. L be right back. This virus is testing all of us. And its testing the people on the front lines of this fight most of all. So abbott is getting new tests into their hands, delivering the critical results they need. And until this fight is over, we. Will. Never. Quit. Because they never quit. What are your top priority items for a second term . Well, one of things that will be really great the word experience is still great. The word experience is a very important word. Its very important meaning. I never did this before. I never slept over in washington. I didnt know very many people in washington. Wasnt my thing. I was from manhattan, new york. Now i know everybody. I have great people in the administration. President trump on thursday night with sean hannity, lets talk about this now with our roundtable. Joined by chris christie, yvetti simpson, rahm emanuel and sara fagen. Chris, let me begin with you. You saw the president get that question on secondterm priorities. Didnt specify anything. Youre in regular contact with the white house, does the president believe hes losing right now and what does he need to do about it . Well, listen, he is losing. And if he doesnt change course, both in terms of the substance of what hes discussing and the way that he approaches the American People, then he will lose. Theres no question that while these National Polls are less significant in terms of the raw numbers, the trend is obvious, the trend is moving towards joe biden, when joe biden hasnt said a word. Joe biden is hiding in the basement and not saying anything. No discredit to the Vice President. If youre winning without doing anything why do anything . The president has to change course here. Both in terms of the substance and answering that question much better than he did with sean hannity in terms of what he wants to do in a second term and secondly, he needs to approach the American People in a different way than hes been approaching them recently. So, i said this last week, george, you know, no doubt the president is an underdog, now, theres 128 days left as was said by nate silver, theres still a lot of time to go here. President dukakis was up over Vice President bush back in 1988 at this time. There have to be some fundamental changes made by the president and his team. If they dont do it. Theyre in trouble. Some real candor there from chris christie. Rahm emmanuel, whats the greatest threat to joe bidens campaign right now . Well, look, if youd look at the piece id focus on right now is joe bidens got seniors, the first democrat to win in his winning 65 and older voters since al gore, and if everybody remembers, back in davos, President Trump acknowledged that he was going to look at second term at Social Security and medicare. Given the opportunity that the democrats have right now with seniors, thats a historic moment, id start drilling down on that senior vote. I come from the great jewish weakness, paranoia. Gravitating towards joe biden seniors are the most Vulnerable Group because of what they think about the president and on economic terms and et cetera. If i was joe biden, id go after that senior vote to solidify. You have a window of opportunity. Theyre open to listening. A second term in davos the president himself said hes going to cut Social Security and medicare. In his own budget two years ago was the largest cut in medicare. Id say it on this show. Theres advice for joe biden from rahm emanuel. Sara fagen, how about some advice for President Trump and republicans from you. Where hes falling short right now, a huge threat, suburban white women who have just abandoned the president. Well, i agree with what governor christie said. But id a third thing that complements for republicans, we need to keep seniors and suburban women as you pointed out, which is to not only draw to lead on coronavirus and Race Relations and all the things that the president needs to step forward on, but also to remind them what theyre getting with joe biden. Joe biden is not the leader of the Democratic Party right now, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are. He put congresswoman ocasiocortez in charge of his climate policy, these are not things that seniors want to see in america. They may be unhappy with donald trump at the moment but they dont want a green new deal. They dont want medicare for all. They dont want Free College Tuition for everybody. They understand because of their wisdom and their experience the country cant afford this. The democrats have put no plausible plans to pay any of this. The president needs to do three things reassure the country on coronavirus, he needs to put forward a positive agenda for the country and he needs to remind voters, suburban women and seniors and other important voting blocs to his koconstitu y constituency, just what electing joe biden means to the country. And yvette. You fought hard for progressives like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. I think the big thing to remember is that most americans actually support these policies. Seniors, they care about their grandchildren, they want to leave the planet better. They want to make sure that their kids good. They have medicare. They understand what its like to have a secure health care system. They want that for everything. But i think the big picture, george, this Enthusiasm Gap that we still have against the president , right, he has twice as much energy as joe biden does when you think about people who are excited about voting for him. So we need to mobilize and excite our base, that translates into Voter Mobilization and the type of resilience well need to overcome the Voter Suppression and maybe foreign interference that were going to see in this election. I would say he needs to come out of the basement, we need to see him energized, have a concrete plan, even if its digital on how were going to get voters to show up, and if we do that, i think we win. Its june. Its too early to call this race. You know that President Trump is like teflon, everything that comes on him it bounces off. It doesnt stick at all. Not planning for not expecting this implosion by donald trump, but we need to energize our base. Chris, yvette said she doesnt expect to see an implosion by trump. In politico this morning, President Trump facing a possibly historic defeat. Saying, quote, trumps numbers erode to 35 over the next two weeks. Hell be facing a realistically a 400punt electoral vote loss and the president would need to strongly reconsider. George, i dont spend any time, any of my time, a complete waste of time, listening to sam, he has no idea what hes talking about. The best news ive heard this morning is what yvette just said, listen, for republicans, we need to get joe biden out there and campaigning. When he does, he will make mistakes. Hell misspeak and yvette put it out there in the very nice way. The progressive wing of the Democratic Party is very, very suspicious of joe biden. They didnt support him during the primary season. They didnt want him as the nominee. Thats why joe biden is trying to sit on his lead right now. If i were him, i wouldnt do anything different. But its the republicans job to put forward as sara said, a forwardlooking agenda for the next four years, so that biden will be forced to come out and tell people what his agenda is, when he does, it will divide the Democratic Party. Rahm will want certain things to be said. Yvette will want very Different Things to be said. If they cant come together, thats going to be a proig probl a big problem for joe biden. Rahm, does the Vice President have to worry about this Enthusiasm Gap . Look, i mean, you have to worry about a lot of things. Right now, id say this way, joe biden has to do this or do that. No, this is a race of trump versus trump and trump is losing that race and joe biden has a good strategy to force trump to the center. Will lay out an agenda that will take in consideration both restoring the Public Health of the country, restoring the health of the economy and restoring the wellbeing and health of the Civil Society that are all under threat. The fact is, American People have made a judgment on a political and moral leadership of this president. Hes failing on all grades. My guarantee is, on this russia story, will continue to show the president of the United States is failing his most important job as commander in chief. If he got briefed on the fact that the russians are targeting american soldiers and then this week, we would have had the g7 meeting where he invited putin, it would be a dereliction of duty. It would require congressional hearings. I know how those briefings on intel go. The fact is, americans have unnecessarily lost their lives here at home because we werent prepared on this virus and, still not prepared for reopening. And a report that the president was given a briefing that the putin was trying to do our troops. That is a major crisis of leadership. The whole world is watching. Sara, we saw the president deny he was briefed. The dni denied that he was briefed, but didnt deny the intelligence. Its also a problem for the president if the Intelligence Community had this intelligence and he wasnt briefed. Yeah, thats a real problem if in fact thats true. We dont know what the truth is. So i think the president should call for figuring that out. If the intelligence is true and if russia is doing this or has done this, the United States needs a very strong response. Sanctions. Other measures. Disinvite him from the disinvite putin from the g7. Absolutely. Thats a disgrace by russia and the United States should have a very strong response, but i will point out, theres such a desire among the left to tie donald trump to russia, its almost even for credible conservatives, its almost hard to believe any of these reports, because it seems to be almost the north star for the party and so we dont know whats true. We dont know if this is true. George go ahead. Remember, afghanistan operation is a natoled operation. All of our allies know of this intelligence. They also watched what the president did. Remember, merkel pulled out of this meeting that was supposed to happen, its not going to happen based on the virus. All of our allies, germany, great britain, they know about this intelligence. And they watched the president s actions as it relates to russia, thats why there are consequences both here at home as a commander in chief and theres consequences to americas standing around the world. If its true, its a dereliction of duty that goes to the highest level of the responsibility of the president of the United States. Yvette, we heard House Speaker nancy pelosi doubling down on the suggestion that the russians have something on President Trump. Look, the trumpputin love affair is well documented. I disagree with sara. This isnt some hoax that the left has come up with. We know that he was more than willing to allow putin to interfere with our democracy mp now it looks like hell allow infiltrate and damage our military. Theres no evidence to suggest that the poll that was done. Thats ridiculous. From an insider im sorry, go ahead, sara. Look, again, this is the north star of the Democratic Party is to tie donald trump to russia when theres been several investigations, none of which have been able to tie any have been able to tie any criminal conspiracy yes, the russians were trying to interfere with our election in 2016, and donald trump signed sanctions into law because of that. We should also point that out. This obsession with tying trump to russia, you know, really is becoming is ridiculous and so, look, theres reasons to criticize donald trump. I just dont think this one of them. Chris, how should he be handling this news stories coming out of the New York Times . Well, what should matter is the truth of what happened. The president saying he wasnt briefed about it. He better find out why he wasnt briefed about it. If the report is true. Lets remember something, the New York Times breathlessly, george, reported about russia collusion, they got a pulitzer over it. As it turns out, Robert Mueller said there was no russian collusion he said there was no criminal conspiracy. There were more than a hundred contracts. 100 contacts. George, listen, again, thats the democratic talking point. Okay no, thats a fact. Thats what he had in the report. Its not a talking point. Its a fact. Its a fact that he documented more than a hundred contacts. No, and he also concluded that none of those things rose to the level of any kind of collusion or conspiracy between the campaign. I bet you this, i bet there were a lot of contacts between the Clinton Campaign and the russians during that campaign as well. We didnt have a twoyear investigation into the Clinton Campaign. So the fact this theres no proof of that kind of relationship, so now what the president needs to do is, dont rise to the bait. And just say to his Intelligence Community, is this intelligence correct . Then if its correct, to take very aggressive steps against putin and the russians for doing anything like that. Aggressive sanctions. George. Rahm. Yeah, first of all, let me say this, when we were in the white house president obama ordered every other friday a deep dive into an issue. The fact is, senior members of Foreign Policy team met on this. This should led to a deep dive on any issue, they know that the president may not read the briefing, whether he was briefed on it or in the briefing is two separate issues. Ill speak for sara and chris, this is on such a level, given the targeted killing of our soldiers overseas carrying out mission, there should be meetings. Its worthy of that level. I dont think that when it comes to killing our men and women, its just about sanctions. Its the fact that the whole world watches, they knew that we knew this he was invited to the g7 that would happened this week in the United States. It sends a statement about this president and his priorities. Remember, Ronald Reagan said, weakness invites chaos. And thats whats happened here. China took advantage im not least surprised. Go ahead, chris. This is the Intelligence Community. This isnt conspiracy. Listen. Hold on, one at a time. Im not surprised that you want to believe whats written in the New York Times. Im not surprised. What id like to do is see people in administration look into this and decide youre saying categorically the president knew. Thats not what i said. Lets find out the real truth. Yes, you did. You said the president knew and other people knew that he knew. You dont know that to be a fact. I think we have seen from the Mueller Investigation and the New York Times pulitzer prizewinning reporting how valid they are in many stories. I think, rahm, we agree with you. If this is true, absolutely, very, very tough sanctions. Dont include russia in the g7. We agree with that. But we dont know if its true. Sara, lets get back to if President Trump knew this, though. George said it right. What is the punishment for him . If he didnt read his briefing there are consequences. There should be hearings on it and also understand the consequences on what this means. And the president is losing right now, because theyre seeing whats happening overseas, our men and women are being targeted. Were losing people here at home stateside whats happening also because we are not prepared for this virus. Hes failing the leadership test of being president of the United States. Before we go, one last subject. Yvette, pretty remarkable the state of mississippi is going to be taking the Confederate Flag off. Were seeing a sea change here. We are. I mean, its remarkable. Youre seeing corporations respond by changing the names and the figureheads on their packaging. Youre seeing states take down monuments. Youre seeing flags change and i think thats absolutely necessary in this time. You know, weve been through this before but this feels different. But the big nature of this moment and the reaction that it requires shows that we all need to take a beat and say, how can we make sure this moment doesnt pass us in making fundamental changes . Police relate to the people theyre supposed to protect and serve. This is a big deal. I actually saw that faith hill, a Country Singer was leading the fight to change the flag in mississippi. When you see celebrities who have brands reaching out, the thing that happened with nascar, this is a big moment. I dont want us to miss it. But we need to see real fundamental change in our country in the way people relate race to race and particularly the Police Interact with the public, particularly black americans. Chris christie, Princeton University in your state, the name Woodrow Wilson coming off their Public Policy school as well. It is, george. My son, our oldest son is an alum of Princeton University, graduated there from 2016. I asked him this morning about what he thought about it. Hes spoken to a number of his friends who are minority alums of princeton who are overjoyed this morning. And you know what, he said to me, and hes right, that if in fact thats the way they feel about it, hes happy for them and hes happy for the university he calls his alma mater. I think its the right move. Ill tell you this on the confederate statues, these men were traitors, they were traitors that tried to divide this country in order to keep slavery in place. I never understood confederate statues. Im glad confederate statues are going down. Im glad the republican governor of mississippi is helping to lead the way to change their flag. Its long overdue. And i think that is an uplifting moment coming out of the tragedy of the george floyd killing. This is the right thing for america to be doing and princeton did the right thing this week. Im afraid thats all the time we have for today. Thats all for us. Thank you for sharing part of your sunday with us. Check out world news tonight and ill see you tomorrow on gma. ll see you tomorrow on gma. Up next, everyone is weigh up happy this friday weekend. What were hearing about this damage done to an Lgbtq Community center in oakland. A live look outside. Clouds are still clinging to emeryville. Temperatures are in the low 60s. Its going to be a windy and cool day. Well talk about a red flag warning in effect for parts of the bay area next on abc 7 mornings every year, you can see spectacular celebrities at aids walk San Francisco. Re coming toou joinidr stars of queer eye rupauls drag race superstars. For aids walk San Francisco live at home, streaming on july 19 to benefit prc and their covid relief efforts all over the city. Register now at aidswalk. Net