Assessment of where the drone actually was, whether it was in iranian airspace, as tehran is claiming or not, as the pentagon says. There is new reporting on that, which were going to bring you tonight. Either way because this is, in fact, such a tense moment, we are taking extra care throughout the entire broadcast to clearly label any and all unverified claims as such, no matter who is making them. Were making sure to bring you strong advocates on both sides of the debate over what to do next. The president today sent mixed signals telling reporters he thought the shootdown was accidental, but also suggesting that some sort of response is in the works. I find it hard to believe it was intentional, if you want to know the truth. I think it could have been somebody who was loose and stupid that did it. Mr. President , how will you respond . Youll find out. Are you willing to go to war with iran . Youll find out. Youll find out. A short time later, he briefed lawmakers. Mitch mcconnell saying the president is weighing a measured response. His words. Chuck schumer said he worried about the president bumbling, that was his word, into war with iran. We talk about that tonight, the risks ahead and the possibility of escalation or deescalation. We begin, though, with Cnns Barbara Starr at the pentagon. So, barbara, what do we know happened here . The accounts coming out of the u. S. And iran are very different. They are different, anderson. Perhaps thats not unexpected. The u. S. Began its day saying one of the biggest drones, skud, was shot over International Air force by an iranian surface to air missile. The iranians saying, no, the drone had strayed into iranian airspace and they shot it down. All of this resulted in the dueling videos you showed and dueling maps and graphics from both sides as to where exactly this occurred. It is going to be up to people to make up their own minds at this point. Who has the better track record on truth. Who they choose to believe. For the president , the challenge at this hour is what to do about it, whether it respond, whether there is something to be done about it. We know the president is very reluctant as he looks at all of this intelligence still to commit to a significant action in iran. He has been for several days downplaying the tensions, if you will. Calling them minor, the attacks minor on the tankers, trying not to escalate it. He has advisers who probably would like to see it escalated. Anderson . Has the drone been recovered yet. Do we know . Can it be recovered . Well, the iranians are making some claims about that, but we checked a short time ago with the u. S. Military. The weather out there has been bad today. Were told the seas are very choppy, the winds are pushing toward the iranian coast and it is making it difficult for the u. S. To get any of the debris back. The iranians claim they have some but havent showed it to the world yet. If the u. S. Decides to respond militarily, is there any idea what that might look like . Well, we already are seeing, of course, the pentagon put thousands of troops into the region for the current strategy of defense and deterrence against iran. The pentagon adamant it is not looking for war with iran, but it wants to deter further aggression. So the question at hand now is, if you want to respond with some kind of kinetic activity to this drone attack, if you want to bomb something, is there a limited strike option against iran, against missile sites, against radar, some kind of limited strike where you do not risk an iranian reaction that leads to a wider war with tehran . And that is a calculation right now we do not know exactly where the white house will come down on that. Anderson . Thats a difficult calculation to make. Barbara starr, thank you. More now on the messages coming out of the white house and the briefing tom lawmakers received. Our pamela brown joins us now with that side of the story. So President Trumps message on iran seemed to shift over the course of the day. Can you explain that . Do we know what was behind the thinking . Reporter thats right. Were seeing the president downplay this once again, calling it a big mistake, literally saying whoever did this was loose and stupid. All of this happening around the same time, anderson, that congressional leaders were called to the white house for this emergency briefing in the situation room. Gop congressional leaders left, called for a measured approach. Democrats emerged with the stashstark warning that President Trump must get congressional approval before using military force with iran. And senator schumer, as you said, hes concerned the administration, in his words, will bumble into war, but the president is sending mixed signals. Hes remained noncommittal on how this administration will act. In fact, anderson, just moments appearing to put iran on notice, that is when the president made the statement he thought it was all a big mistake. However, iran contradicted the president saying it was intentional because it believes the u. S. Drone violated its airspace. The pentagon, as barbara said, maintains that it was over International Waters and released video that it claims shows a smoke trail in International Airspace. But deliberations continue tonight, anderson, over what the next steps should be, if anything, on top of already sending 2,500 troops to the middle east in response to the recent acts by iran. Prior to this latest act, officials said the president resisted the idea of military engagement. Tonight he faces growing pressure from allying like senator Lindsey Graham who says he risks looking like hes all talk if he doesnt take action. The president said well have to see if the u. S. Decides to use military force. Im told by an Administration Official he is being constantly briefed on iran by his National Security adviser john bolton, who is known to have more hawkish views on iran. The president said today he is not being pushed no war by his advisers. Anderson . And do we know exactly the kind of advice well, you talked there about john bolton. What is the next step for this white house . Is there a sense of when a decision might be made . Reporter it certainly feels like something could happen soon, anderson. I dont know that, but it certainly seems in terms of the posturing with what the president has said, look, we will have to wait and see if there will be a military strike. And all of this pressure growing on him from his allies, like i said, Lindsey Graham, that he will look weak if he doesnt do something in response to this latest act by iran. He has been downplaying it consistently. He is someone who has said repeatedly he doesnt like intervention. He campaigned on that. But there are several provocative acts by iran with this latest one being the downing of a u. S. Drone that has the president in a tricky situation here. He tried to again give himself some wiggle room by saying i thought it was an accident. Iran made it clear it was intentional, though, and so we will have to see if the administration does choose to take any military action or look at other ways to respond, anderson. Pamela brown, appreciate it. Thank you. Cnns Fred Pleitgen is the only western correspondent in tehran where its early in the morning right now. He joins us. So President Trump is saying it could have been a general or somebody who made a mistake and decided to shoot down this drone. Is that what exactly are the iranians saying . . Reporter well, the iranians are pretty much saying the exact opposite of that. Ive been looking for any sort of statements, any iranian commander, anybody from the military or politics that said this could have been an accident or some sort of rogue commander or even the iranians possibly trying to walk this back, anderson. So far theres been none of that. The iranians are clearly saying this was a deliberate shoot down of this u. S. Drone because they believe the u. S. Drone infringed upon the airspace, violated their airspace. And the interesting thing about this is, ive been here 16 or 17 times now, anderson, and i have never seen the iranians on all levels, the moderates, the hardliners, the military, the politics, come out with so many statements so quickly. Pretty much all of them seem to be in sync. Irans foreign minister is getting involved in this. He pretty much tweeted a playbyplay how he saw this unfold. He said it had its transponder off and then he said it violated irans airspace and even gave coordinates where he said the drone was shot down. That would put it about nine miles off the iranian coast. Again, the u. S. , of course, has a very different view of where that drone was shot down. The iranians, for their part, however, are saying, and this is now coming from the military, the revolutionary guard, which is the unit that shot that drone down. Theyre saying this is definitely a clear message to the United States that if you infringe upon irans airspace, this is whats going to happen. The iranians are saying this is a red line. Anderson, the Top Commander of the revolutionary guard came out earlier today, shortly after that drone was shot down, and said iran does not want any sort of war with the United States, but at the same time, theyre also saying that iran is prepared for a war with the United States. And one of the things that senior revolutionary guard former commanders and commanders have told me, they said if this does get out of hand in any way, shape or form, the u. S. Would not only be dealing with irans military, but, of course, also with the many proxy forces that it controls throughout the entire middle east. Anderson . Right. I mean, iraq, there is obviously a huge number of proxy forces as there are elsewhere throughout the world. Has there been talk about taking retaliatory action against the u. S. , you know, if in fact the u. S. Does respond in a military way . Reporter well, yeah, and the iranians, the way that theyre putting it first of all, they said that if the u. S. Does make a military move, and weve seen the u. S. Obviously say they want to deploy those 1,000 troops here. Thats something that the iranians also feel is a threat to them. They say theyre monitoring what the u. S. Is doing. Theyve been saying that over the past couple of days. They say if the u. S. Strikes first, of course, it would be what they call a crushing response, they call it their iron fist, but the interesting thing that you hear from them again and again, anderson, they always say its going to be in a wide territory. You could expect that to be in places like iraq, possibly in syria, possibly in lebanon, all these places where the iranians have their militias. The other thing that the iranians keep talking about a lot is theyve really advanced their Ballistic Missile program as well. Thats another thing the iranians say they would use as well. Sa theyre saying, again, they certainly dont want this to escalate, is the view from tehran. They dont think President Trump wants it to escalate, but if it does, its going to be painful for the u. S. All right. Fred pleitgen in tehran for the u. S. Coming up next, an up close look at one of the tankers allegedly targeted by iran in the runup to today as well as the leading member of the House Intelligence Committee on what we know on iranian intentions. Two military analysts join us later. The breaking news in what joe biden said about getting along with segregationist senators. Dr. Cornell west joins us with his thoughts, which are always well worth hearing. Well be right back. Ive got an idea oooh, what is it . What if we give the people iphone xr, when they join tmobile . For a limited time, join tmobile and get the awesome iphone xr on us. With licensed agents available 24 7. Its not just easy. Its havingawalrusingoal easy roooaaaar its a walrus ridiculous yes nice save, big guy good job duncan way to go [chanting] its not just easy. Its geico easy. Oh, duncan. Stay up. No sleepies. The way you triumph over adversity. And live your lives. Thats why we redesigned humira. We wanted to make the experience better for you. 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So you can move more. Dr. Scholls. Born to move. So are the traits you love about your breed, but behind them are health needs you may not see. Royal canin believes in tailored nutrition, to ensure his long back and playful spirit get the joint support they need. Or to help this gentle giant keep her heart going strong. Weve developed over 200 formulas to support the magnificence that makes them, them. Find the right formula for your pet at royalcanin. Com. On a john deere x300 series mower. Because Seasons Change but true character doesnt. Wow, youve outdone yourself this time. Hey, whatre neighbors for . Its beautiful. Run with us. Search john deere x300 for more. Well be right back. As we wait for the administrations next move on iran, a reminder it wont be the first. The administration has pulled out of the multinational Nuclear Agreement and placed tough sanctions on tehran. Iran is the likely suspect and a pair of tanker attacks in the gulf of oman. The u. S. Navy gem giving cnns sam kiley an up close look at one of the vessels. This hull just over my shoulder, the americans say it was pierced with an iranian limpet mine. They cant say with total certainty it was put there by the iranians. Nonetheless, it blew through both the outer hull and the inner hull of this ship, penetrating the fuel tank area. Some experts have said that that is deliberate. It was a sign that whoever planted this mine knew what they were doing, that they wanted to send a signal but not cause a disaster. If that, in fact, is the case, it certainly is a risky signal to send given the overall climate and the always real pocket of miscalculation. Joining us now is congressman himes, democrat of connecticut. Do you have any reason to doubt they say the drone was in International Air space and iran was the aggressor . I dont, anderson. I havent seen quite as much briefing material as some have, but i dont have any particular reason to doubt it. I do want to get confirmation. But in some ways i know were going to spend a lot of time talking about whether it was in International Airspace or over iranian airspace. There is no getting around the fact that, regardless, the iranians did a very, very dumb and aggressive thing here. They are rolling the dice on what the nature, if any, of the president s response will be in a way that is really playing with fire. Look, a military conflict in the region is bad for everybody, including the United States. But a military conflict between the United States and iran ends with the end of the iranian regime, and thats why im just puzzled why they are being as aggressive as they are, even though, of course, they have been isolated and strangled in some senses economically by what i regard as wrongheaded u. S. Policy. Republican leaders put out a statement, im quoting, there must be a measured response to these actions. Do you agree that there should be a response . And what would you think a measured response would look like if you supported any kind of action . Yeah, i do, anderson. As you probably know, i have been sounding the alarm for months now that the president s people, john bolton and mike pompeo, have been trying to get to precisely this moment, this moment when we are on the brink of a potential military conflict. They, of course, have been urged on by leaders in the middle east and saudi arabia and the uae and elsewhere. But, yes, so heres where we are. We are in a box right now because on the one hand, a response is a very risky thing. If we do a proportional response, which i hope they do and take down one of their drones or whatever it might be, we dont know how they will respond. Will they escalate . However, if we dont respond at all, thats equally dangerous because the iranians will read that as a feckless president who shouts a lot and tweets a lot, but doesnt follow up his words with actions. So here we are in precisely the place that john bolton wanted us to be in where were in a box where no matter what we do, there is a high risk of escalation and military conflict. Your question was should we respond. I think to fail to respond to an awful iranian regime, to sort of empower them, to send a message we wont respond if we are hit would be the more dangerous of the two options. Do you believe the president has the authority to launch an attack specifically something thats proportional, not an allout war, without getting congressional authorization . Well, thats a really good question. I have for years been saying that we need to reassert congressional Constitutional Authority for deciding when we go to war. Of course, president s have been violators on both sides of the aisle. Whether it was barack obama in libya or syria, President Trump in syria with his attack. There have been violation after violation. The reason your question is a slightly tricky one is that even members of Congress Like me who are very concerned for congressional prerogatives and what the constitution says will acknowledge that when we have been attacked, the president has the authority to respond and need not, depending on the circumstances, go through the whole legislative process that would result in congressional approval. Congressman himes, i appreciate your time. A lot to get to, a lot to watch for. Thank you. I want to focus more closely now on all the factors that any president has to weigh at a moment like this as well as the implications and consequences, intended or otherwise, that could follow. Joining us right now is cnn military analyst, retired air force colonel cedric leighton. Served during the george w. Bush administration. Colonel, do you believe the u. S. Should take retaliatory action against iran . And if so, what would that look like or should it look like . Well, anderson, i think it should be proportional, just like congressman himes mentioned. When we do like at this kind of situation, we have to keep in mind that in this specific case, theres been no loss of u. S. Life. So the type of action that we take in regards to iran must really take that into account. Yes, we have to respond to it. We have to make it very clear to them that their behavior is unacceptable. But we also have to keep in mind that there was no loss of life in this particular case. Mike, do you think there should be some sort of response, and should it be proportional as the colonel is saying . Yes, i think there has to be some kind of response. Not necessarily at this moment and to this particular attack on the drone. But looking at the totality of what the iranians have been doing, theyve been trying to provoke us now for some time, attacking tankers, pipelines in saudi arabia, a plant in saudi arabia. Theyre purposely choosing targets where there is not going to be any american loss of life, while at the same time, challenging the position of the United States across the region, so i think while we should be measured in our response, we should realize what this struggle is. This is not about a drone. This is about iran trying to tell everyone in the region that they run the middle east, not the United States, and that its this easy to kick the United States out. Colonel, what about i mean, the argument the president seemed to be making this could have been, you know, a mistake, essentially. Some lowlevel general getting over his skis or just a mistake. Well, i think, anderson, thats really unlike the Iranian Military structure. Ive been watching iran for over 30 years now, and its a very rigid command and control structure. There are differences, of course, between the army there and the revolutionary guards. But whether its one system, the regular army, or the revolutionary guards, they still follow a very rigid command structure. This was a deliberate act on their part. Having said that, the president s comments give the iranians a way out if they choose to take it, but it seems they arent taking it. Mike, why do you think they arent taking it . Theyre trying to put pressure on the entire International System ahead of the g20 meeting at the end of next week. They want, they want all of the members of the jcpoa, china, russia, the eu, all of them to swarm donald trump and say, you know, you need to actually negotiate with the iranians, you need to relieve some of the sanctions pressure on them and so on. So theyre just trying to turn up the heat in general. Cedric, isnt there tremendous potential that any kind of u. S. Military action, as with any military action, one doesnt necessarily know the ripple effects, things can spiral out of control, you cant necessarily predict how somebody is going to react or how, you know, whether theyre a rational actor or not. Is the u. S. Ready for an actual war with iran . Unfortunately, anderson, i dont think we are. Now there have been theres been a lot of talk about iran over the years, really since the iranian hostage crisis, but in terms of concrete war plans, we dont have something that really looks at the day after next. So if we go into iran and actually have a real war with them, it would, first of all, be extremely devastating and we really dont know what the day after next is going to look like. And it would be a terrible mistake to do anything without understanding what that day should look like. Colonel leighton, i appreciate your expertise, both of you. We have breaking news just ahead. Joe biden and cory booker spoke on the phone after the the senators cnn interview about the controversy that wont go away for the Vice President. Ill talk to dr. Cornell west and segregationist senators. What sore muscles . What with advpounding head . Advil is. Relief thats fast. Strength that lasts. Youll ask. What pain . With advil. Calyoure gonna love this. Rs. New coppertone sport clear. Not thick, not hot, not messy, just clear, cool, protected. Coppertone sport clear. Proven to protect. Welcome to our lounge. Enjoy your stay. Thanks very much. Find calm in over 1,000 airport lounges worldwide. Its another way weve got your back. The business Platinum Card from american express. Dont do business without it. Is this ride safe . I assembled it myself last night. I think i did an ok job. Just ok . What if something bad happens . We just move to the next town. Just ok is not ok. Especially when it comes to your network. At t is americas best Wireless Network according to americas biggest test. Plus buy one of our most popular smartphones and get one free. More for your thing. Thats our thing. We like drip coffee, layovers and waiting on hold. What we dont like is relying on fancy technology for help. Snail mail we were invited to a y2k party. Uh, didnt that happen, like, 20 years ago . Oh, look, karolyn, weve got a mathematician on our hands check it out now you can schedule a callback or reschedule an appointment, even on nights and weekends. Todays xfinity service. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Id rather not. Fireworks, separation, or any other anxieties, announcer if your dog suffers from fear of thunder, thundershirt may be the answer. Thundershirt, absolutely, 100 works. Welcome back. Theres breaking news in the most recent controversy that has consumed joe bidens campaign. A source telling cnn that biden reached out to cory booker over his comments about two segregationist senators. The phone call came after bookers interview on cnn. No apologies, were told, from biden and the call was described as direct and respectful. It came after cory booker criticized the way biden described the two late senators he used to work with. He said biden should apologize. Biden took it poorly and said booker should apologize to him. Booker called those remarks insulting. The controversy represents a existential crisis for biden. He holds about a 40point lead with africanamerican voters across two cnn polls. That despite a past that includes helping to write the 1994 crime law and once cauley dixie catt strom thurman, the consummate public servant. I want to talk about the Public Policy with cornell west. Dr. West, vicepresident biden called senator booker last night. He still hasnt apologized for his comments. Do you think he needs to . Well, brother, i just first want to say that we are loving you. Were pulling for you. Were praying for you and i know you are as strong as ever. Your mother was a warrior, love of life, joy, a beauty. We want you to know that. I appreciate that. She did. She lived a life of joy and beauty and love. So thank you. Definitely. But, no, i think that brother biden is putting himself in a deeper hole. I think he ought to be ashamed. I think he has to recognize that all of us can make mistakes. Nobody called him a racist. Nobody said that he in any way was xenophobic in any serious manner. Its just a matter of saying certain things that hurt people. And so it can be cleared up by saying im sorry for that . Thats right. All you have to say is, i believe in bipartisanship. I could have chosen many other examples, and then lets have a debate about the record and so forth. But it gets deeper and deeper and its sad. See, you have to remember, brother cory booker, he rarely ever has that kind of malcolm x come out of him, you know what i mean . Hes a very calm and serene kind of brother. He has a righteous indignation. Hes got a brilliance, but its rare to see him in this kind of mode, which means he was affected in a very deep way. I wonder the fact you have jim clyburn, the highest africanamerican person in congress, as well as several other prominent africanamerican members, they came out strongly in support of biden on this. Should that carry weight or is that about politics . Well, its hard to say. I mean clyburns a complex brother. We know on one hand its about politics. I think they have a personal relationship and therefore you get the friendship kicking in. I can understand that, but i think that brother clyburn is wrong in this regard. I dont think anybody can go around talking about, well, he didnt call me boy, he called me son. See, you dont play with that kind of stuff. See, part of the problem is when you talk about jim crow, jim crow was neoslavery, it inspired nazism. Youre not talking about segregationists. Thats the deodorized term. No, youre talking about hatred, youre talking about terror, youre talking about drama. Thats what jim crow was, terror, hatred trauma, not segregation in that broader sense. Weve got to understand that. Thats why it affects not just black people, it affects any morally sensitive human being no matter what color you are. There are a lot of White Brothers and sisters who are upset with him because theyre a people of principle, too, concerned about a certain kind of language. I think thats an original and important way that you phrase that, kind of segregation is the deodorized term of it. This is hatred, not only hatred, but hatred institutionalized, hatred legalized. Thats exactly right. And greed. And greed. Because youre extracting peoples labor. Black people are paying taxes and not gaining benefits. Theyre part of the civic body but were civically dead. We have no rights, even though were part of the body politic. So weve gone from social death of slavery to civic death of jim and jane crow. Thats nothing to play with. Eastland, thurmond, helms, had he was close to because it was the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party was diverse ideologically and politically at that time. And we understand he had to work with them. Of course. Of course. Ive had to work with people i disagree with all the time, believe me you. You know what i mean . Good god almighty. But at the same time youve got to draw the line. Of course, none of us are pure. Ive got some evil in me. Youve got some evil in you. Everybodys got some evil in them. But its a matter of whether we act on it, do we conquer it every day. And do we learn how to die every day. Thats the crucial thing. And do we acknowledge it and do we face it and try to overcome it. Absolutely. In fact, when brother biden says, i dont have a racist bone in my body, let me tell you something, ive got White Supremacy inside of me. I grew up in america. I have to conquer it every day. There is White Supremacy inside of me a free black man 66 years, my hunch is theres a little racism inside of him and other americans. Its a matter of conquering it every day. The quality of effort. Its not a matter of acting as if we are beyond racism or beyond sexism or beyond antiarab, antijewish, antimuslim, antiindigit adjen people, any kind of element that inside of us is that loses sight of humanity of others. Dr. West, a appreciate your time as always. Thank you. Thank you so much. Love you, brother. Stay strong. Stay strong. Thank you, dr. West. Appreciate it. More breaking news to come. I love having him on the program. I always learn something. More break egg news on the biden fall out including the discussion of how this latest controversy may affect bidens campaign with the first democratic debate a week away. 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Former White House Communications director and tar a was Communications Director for former republican congressman dana rohrabacher. All are senior political commentators. Is he handling this as well as he should have . No, i think hes a bit rusty. He hasnt been on the campaign trail in a while. I think democrats piling on biden on an issue like this is just its cannibalism. They are going to end up reelecting donald trump if this is the kind of purity test they are going to apply to democrats. I dont think biden does anybody really believe joe biden was happy to pal around with segregationists . I mean, his record in the senate doesnt reflect that. His time serving with barack obama doesnt reflect that. So is this really the issue they want to try to kneecap him on when he has the biggest appeal right now to beat donald trump . I just dont think its an issue that is going to move the voters that democrats need to defeat trump. Could biden have handled it better . Yeah. Could he have used a better example . Probably. But i think his point was, look, i can work with people that are segregationists. Older voters understand that, especially older black voters and theyre the ones who go out and vote in primaries. Bakari, the fact that biden wont apologize for these comments, you know, we heard dr. West saying, you know, he should. I guess hes apologized or kind of had to walk back a bunch of things. I dont know if thats part of his calculus for not doing that this time. What do you think about that . Well, first of all, no one is calling joe biden a racist. No one is calling the former Vice President a xenophobe or a bigot, but there are a lot of us who are disappointed in his remarks. I think, for me, its two things. First, its extremely personal. When joe biden talks about the fact that senator eastland did not call him boy, he called him son, it harkens to language that is probably the most degrading term that you can use to describe any africanamerican male. My father, my grandfather, my uncle, cornell west can tell you about it. Even cory booker can tell you about the generations of africanamerican men who have been called down and been degraded by the term boy. And for Vice President biden not to recognize that in context is a problem. But even more importantly, i think when you invoke someone like senator eastland, who said in opposition to the bus boycott, he said at every stage of the bus boycott, we have been oppressed and degraded because of black slimy juicy unbearably stinky neggers. That is who we invoked. That is who we held with some sense of reverence. You have to see when were talking about civility, what would they be working on. Thats when you get to the record and you understand that the common bind these two gentlemen had was opposition to bussing. Forced bussing, which was a method by which we had integration and the African Americans were able to get to better schools. First and foremost, its very personal. Second, i dont think that someone who stumbles through issues like this, no one asked him about this. Thats the most astounding thing. But hes stumbling through issues like this. How do you take on donald trump . I think it kneecaps the issue of electability. Jen psaki, the Washington Post is reporting that advisers have heard this story before and been urging biden not to tell it in public. According to one advisor, hes not someone you can go to and say youve been doing this x number of years and you cant do this anymore. Why cant an advisor just go and say that to somebody . I mean, you know, dont touch people who arent clearly, you know, wanting to be touched by you, dont say this. I think they certainly can and they are. I think what that statement meant is he doesnt always take the advice his advisors are giving. Thats been clear time and time again. You know, i think this case is one where, look, even if hes told this story before privately, i saw that reporting and ive heard that. It doesnt make the story more palatable to hear and it doesnt make it more endearing to hear, and the fact is when people are offended by it and when a major swath of the democratic electorate in the country may be offended by it, thats something where you have to pause. So i would take issue with this notion that were trying anybody is trying to kneecap him. There are many people who certainly support him and have a lot of affection for him. But this does, you know, this isnt an ordination. When you make statements like this publicly, it does raise question about whether youre ready to compete at the level of being the democratic nominee. Tara, i mean, do you think that hes not ready . I mean, again, there had been a number of missteps and it hasnt, you know, he hasnt been making that many appearances, frankly. Right. But, again, are the missteps really something that are disqualifying . I dont think so. Do i think that he should have used a different example . Yes. And if i were advising him i would have said, mr. Vice president , probably not a good idea given whats going on with racial tensions in this country. There are plenty of other examples. Lets use another one. I just dont think its disqualifying. The underlying point he was trying to make is you have to be able to work with the other side even if you disagree with them. If you look at whats happening today, a lot of people when you poll voters, they want bipartisanship. They Want Congress to get things done. And this retreating to each others corners in tribalism is destroying this country. I think bidens overall point here was that hes able to work with anyone, which is why hed be the best person to go up against trump and try to get things done and heal the country. Not the greatest example, but i just dont think the pileon, the implication is what, because hes using this example that hes not hes tone deaf to racial issues . I just dont think so. I think hes rusty. Bakari, i want you to respond. Very briefly. Yeah, thats not the implication at all. The implication, though, is joe biden wants to hearken on the issues and the times of yesteryear when there are a lot of people who are ready to turn the page. This is just as much generational as anything else. I wish joe biden instead of harkening on Strom Thurmond and tom eastland not heros from yesterday. Transcripts from the hope hicks testimony is out. Coming up, what she had to say and notably what she did not. Behr presents a job well done. Painting be done. And stay done. 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Unexpected there was a great deal to be learned from the transcripts released of hope hicks testimony yesterday before the house judiciary committee. Accompanied by two private attorneys, three lawyers from the white house and one from the justice department, she didnt answer any questions at all about her time in the white house. She did talk about her time on the trump campaign, telling Committee Members that she was not aware of hush agreements with Karen Mcdougal and stormy daniels. Hicks has never been asked to hicks said shes never been asked to lie about matters of consequences and she only told, white lies, about small matters. Asked if President Trump ever asked anyone to lie during the campaign she answered not that i can recall. When a Committee Member said have you read the Mueller Report . She said no, i lived the Mueller Report. Chris cuomo joins us now. Not especially revealing and not spectacularly surprising. Not surprising, i agree with you. Revealing in as much as it shows that this is a dead end and that the idea that going through the ordinary course of oversight isnt going to work here because the system allows for the executive to stymie it, and yes, can you go to court, but you wind up achieving the same end of stalling. Litigation takes time. What are you working on tonight . We have chairman schiff here. Hell tell us about the briefing on iran. Whats the truth . What is tin tensional . Is that clear . If so why is the president who is in the same briefing with him a mistake . What does he believe should happen Going Forward . Were going to make a case tonight about why i argue that this iran situation is more dangerous to the president s reelection than the Mueller Report ever threatened to be. We also have began spider marks and Aaron David Miller to talk about the political and military aspects of this situation. I sent you an email about this, and i was with my mom last week. We were watching cnn and i said to her, so what do you think what do you think of chris cuomo . She was singing your praises, hes so good. I trust him. Hes so smart, and i i was sort of like, yeah, okay. Enough. Well, i had a source that was close by the situation who said you actually said more than that and some of it was negative and your mother corrected you and that was in complete keeping of what kind of a person she was. My mom and dad were fans of your mom for big reason and you are loved and appreciated for what you represent to us as a man. Are you a great son. Your documentary is a gift to all of us who love our parents and i know youre in pain, but it means everything to see you tonight. Well, chris, thanks very much. Im glad to be back. Ill see you shortly. About eight minutes until chris. Coming up next, a few words about my mom and some thanks. Change has many faces. Names youll never know. The brighteyed, the brave, the visionaries. Where challenges exist, youll find them. At citi, we empower people who are out to change the world. Because tomorrow belongs to those who welcome it with open arms. Citi. Welcome whats next ive always been im still going for my best. Even though i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. So if theres a better treatment than warfarin, ill go for that. Eliquis. Eliquis is proven to reduce stroke risk better than warfarin. Plus has significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. Eliquis is fdaapproved and has both. Whats next . Sharing my roots. Dont stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. Eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. Eliquis, the number one cardiologistprescribed blood thinner. Ask your doctor if eliquis is whats next for you. Hi, do you have a travel card . We do the discover it® miles card. Earn unlimited 1. 5 miles on every purchase, plus well match your miles at the end of your first year. Youll match my miles . Yeah mile for mile and no blackout dates or annual fee. Nice i was thinking about taking a scuba diving trip i love that. Or maybe go surfing. Or not. Ok. Maybe somewhere else. Maybe a petting zoo. Cant go wrong. Cant get eaten. Earn miles. Well match em at the end of your first year. Plus no annual fee or blackouts. The discover it® miles card. Ive got an idea oooh, what is it . What if we give the people iphone xr, when they join tmobile . For a limited time, join tmobile and get the awesome iphone xr on us. At red lobster. Featuring three new dishes that are planked to perfection. Feast on new cedarplank lobster shrimp. Or new colossal shrimp salmon with a citrusy drizzle. Tender, smoky and together on one plank. But only till june 30th, so hurry in. But only ti l june 30th, ahhhh were here. I wanted to take a few moments to thank all of you who have reached out to me about the death of my mom, gloria vanderbilt. Your cards and emails and your texts and dms on instagram and treats have truly meant a lot. My mom would be stunned by all the attention and the kind words written and spoken about her. I know this because when i got her to join instagram had when she was like 92 or so she didnt think anyone would actually follow her. Why would anyone be interested, she asked. It wasnt long before she had some 200,000 followers, and it tickled her beyond belief. I cant believe it she would say. Shed email me constantly and sort of annoyingly what she would post, and what pictures she would post or what she would name the painting she was about to finish. Mary gordon, the author wrote a fatherless girl thinks all things possible and nothing is safe. Thats how my mom felt her entire life. Nothing every felt safe but everything was possibility. She never let that feeling of insecurity stop her. She never let fear or pain or loss prevent her from forging ahead, from moving forward. She always believed the best was yet to come. My mom found out june 8th that she had cancer. She lived nine more days. Friends came to see her. She laughed a lot. She saw her family and nurses cared for her with true love and affection. It was the best end possible to her remarkable life. To be able to spend those nine days and nights with her was a great, great blessing. They were the most extraordinary days of my life and im very grateful. She died monday shortly after 4 00 a. M. , and though i was holding her hand and her head when she took her last breath its still a little hard for me to believe shes gone. One of her friends explained her sadness by describing my mom as her north star, a person she used as a guide, a kind of light in the darkness. I never realized until now how much she was my north star as well. And right now things seem less bright and magical without her. My dad died when i was 10 and my brother when i was 21. Sheings was last of my immediate family. The last person who knee me from the very beginning. They are all gone, and it feels very lonely right now. I hope they are at least together. Ive said before that ive often thought of my mom as a voyager from a distant galaxy stranded here unable to return to the place and time of which she was born. I always tried to protect her but couldnt do that very well when i was 10 or 20. But im happy i was able to make the latter years of her life comfortable and fulfilling. When i die that might be the thing im most proud of. Im happy that we left nothing unsaid between us. She knew me and i knew her, and theres great comfort in that. You and i, its a match made in heaven she said to me last week. Were a good team, i told her. We stayed up late that night Holding Hands and when she got sleepy and i got ready to leave she said to me what a wonderful night and it was. Perhaps our best. She liked me to play this video of a peggy lee song on youtube. Its called is that all there is and we would sing along to this chorus. Is that all there is, if thats all there is my friends then lets keep dancing lets break out the booze and have a ball, if thats all there is id hold my moms hand while we were singing and move it back and forth as though we were dancing, having a ball. If thats all there is, lets break out the booze and have a ball if thats all there is every time it ended my mom would say, isnt that marvelous. Shed be smiling, and it was. With her, with my mom, it was marvelous. Good night. I want to turn it over to chris for cuomo primetime. Chris . Anderson, thank you so much for sharing what is so hard to be shared. I know it means so much to so