Mueller and could the president diffuse a legal threat against cohen by issuing a pardon even ahead of time. This morning, one white house aide answered to some of this. They said no reason to know what it is that Michael Cohen could possibly flip on. The mere fact he said i dont think hes going to flip i dont have any information. Kaitlan collins is at the white house. Where to begin today what a weekend it was. What are you hearing from the white house now . It certainly was quite a weekend, especially for our president on twitter saying he does not believe his long time attorney Michael Cohen would flip on him. That language coming after the New York Times, of course, reported that the president s legal team is resigned to the fact that Michael Cohen, someone with a wife and two kids, could begin to cooperate with those federal officials who are investigating him. But the press secretary with Sarah Sanders was on the north lawn this morning and asked if the president has any plans to pardon Michael Cohen, should it come to that. And heres what she had to say. Is the president open to a pardon for Michael Cohen . I dont think well talk about hypotheticals that dont exist right now. Now, of course, that question came because, of course, the president was tweeting this weekend about pardoning jack johnson, that former champion boxer who is now dead. And she was asked if the president is sending a message to Michael Cohen by tweeting Something Like that, and even more interestingly here, kate, she said that phone call with Sylvester Stallone about pardoning jack johnson happened a month ago, which raises the question of why was the president tweeting about it this weekend if the call happened just so long ago, kate. Suppose he was watching rocky over the weekend. Lets talk about this now, joining me seth waxman, former federal prosecute, Jackie Kucinich here, and mark preston, cnn senior political analyst. Great to see you. Seth, first to you. On these two fronts, cohen and when it comes to mueller, the white house is basically they say there is nothing to see here. That is not necessarily what you gather when you look at president s tweets from over the weekend. How do you square it . Sure, he seems worried about something, so if mr. Cohen has put that pressure put on mr. Cohen by federal prosecutors to flip, it will be a pressure cooker. Question of whether he flipz s not goes to whether the government has quantifiable significant evidence. I will tell you, as a federal prosecutor myself for 13 years, i flipped dozens and dozens of people. And some of the tactics federal prosecutors use, theyll talk about the persons family, how youre going to be away from your kids for five, ten, 15 years. The other tactic sometimes theyll use is theyll say what if the shoe was on the other foot. If mr. Trump was facing this kind of pressure, will he stand tall for you in exchange for instead of flipping on you. And when i pose that question, to almost every Single Person i put it to, they look at me and they say, no, that person wouldnt stand tall for me. They start to realize theyre out on their own limb, and they got to do for themselves and their family and kind of put mr. Trump or whoever the targets of the investigation might be secondary. Maybe a window into why the New York Times report from over the weekend hurt so much or angered so much. Jackie, 24 tweets between friday and sunday. Grievance list was long. What has the president so upset, more upset than usual if you will this weekend. Really does seem to be Michael Cohen and this New York Times report that you mentioned that really delved into the relationship between Michael Cohen and the president. It was a very abusive verbally abusive relationship. The president again doesnt respect cohen. He just it is a oneway street when it comes to that relationship. And i think it must have hit a nerve because while other World Leaders were mourning the death of barbara bush, the president was golfing and raging on twitter. In addition to that, apparently this morning, the president is venting about his nominees being held up again. And the wall. The wall seems to be a security blanket, the president goes back to it when he needs Something Else to rage about. But, again, it certainly it certainly points to the fact that this president isnt happy about, you know, maybe some things he shouldnt be focusing on right now. Mark, to jackies point of the what do you make of the timing, of the president unleashing these tweets just as the first lady is representing the family at Barbara Bushs funeral . What gives here . I wish i had a formula that we could put in place to try to understand why the president does things. An algorithm, if you will. And why he says things. Look. We can hypothesize, guess in some ways, there was that unity picture of former president s being together. Of course, we saw that put out over the weekend. He wasnt part of it. We also saw that he his nominees are under attack right now, not only from democrats, but from republicans, rand paul is not even a vote on behalf of mike pompeo who he wants to be his secretary of state. And then the bottom line is, kate, if you look at the situation donald trump is in now, his shrinking group of advisers that he truly, truly can trust, those that would not flip on him has shrunk to almost nil at this point. I thought Michael Cohen would probably be one of the last men standing and i may be right on that. Well, and seth, a little bit talking about Michael Cohen and what you mentioned up top, in defending Michael Cohen, talking about twitter again, the president said most people will flip, even if it means lying or making up stories. Thats what he wrote on twitter. One, is that your experience . Two, does that make you think the president does that give you a window into what the president is nervous about . Well, yes. I think with regards to lying, thats a big concern for federal prosecutors, you know. Cooperators are by definition criminals. And just because someone is cooperating doesnt mean that theyre going to be entirely forth coming. One of the biggest problems is people who cooperate minimize their conduct, or continue to hold allegiances for people that theyre testifying against. In this case, the president potentially. It is the job of the federal prosecutor to weed all that out, to make sure that the cooperator is truly being 100 honest and the best way to do that is to have corroboration, documents, emails, bank records. When youre speaking to the audience, whether it is a jury or in this Case Congress or the american people, if there are impeachment proceedings, you say, look, you dont have to believe mr. Cohen because of the words coming out of his mouth only, you get to believe him because look at these documents. Look at these bank records, that corroborate everything mr. Cohen says. That is a true struggle and the idea that a potential target like mr. Trump is saying that someone who is cooperating against me may be forced to lie against me, that is a standard position that people that face the kind of scrutiny or the jeopardy that mr. Trump may face, thats a tactic that is often taken. Jackie, in this this all is happening as the president is set to welcome the french president tonight for his first state visit. This is just after the allied effort in syria. And this is what the president is talking about over the weekend. Is this the president talking about stepping on his own good news . Right. And this say world leader. He actually has a Good Relationship with right now. And so they you would think they would be highlighting that and they probably will seek to do that today, but, listen, the president has been preoccupied with this for as long as hes been president. This being the Mueller Probe and this being his top advisers being in the cross hairs. So this is one of the reasons the president has trouble keeping lawyers and hiring lawyers because he doesnt take their advice and he puts the spotlight back on him. So youre right, you think they would be highlighting the relationship with france, but, you know, maybe it is a new week. Speaking of advice, mark, advice coming from unique place, ivanka trump giving an interview to the new york post. She had an interesting take on her husbands political future, asked about a second term and told the new york post, ill tell you something, i dont think it is necessary. It is a good life, he has everything. Donald is going to be 74, 73 for the next election. Maybe he should just go and play golf and enjoy his fortune. If i was donald trump, i would do that. If i had his money, and i had his life, guess what, im not sitting here talking to you, kate, im certainly not yes, you would. Even if you did have millions. What is interesting about that comment and i know were short on time, hes been hearing that from folks who have been close to him. We even heard howard stern, when donald trump was running for president , said, why would donald trump do this . And to this day, you heard howard stern say over and over again, i still never understood why donald trump ran for president. He had such a good life and were hearing that from his exwife and, you know what, shes probably right. Closest circle of advisers now. Michael cohen, howard stern and ivana trump. Thank you. Coming up, a community on edge, a killer on the run. The massive manhunt for the waffle house gunman. Are police any closer to tracking him down . Well go live to tennessee with the very latest. Plus, following this, the president claims north korea has agreed to denuclearize. Well, were going to get a fact check on that and also talk to an expert who says kim jongun is conning President Trump. Stay with us. If yor crohns symptoms are holding you back, and your Current Treatment hasnt worked well enough, it may be time for a change. Ask your doctor about entyvio, the only biologic developed and approved just for uc and crohns. 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Im the new sleep number 360 smart bed. Lets meet at a sleep number store. Ftheres flonase sensimist. Tchy and watery near pollen. It relieves all your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills dont. And all from a gentle mist you can barely feel. Flonase sensimist. This morning, the hunt is on. Dozens of schools on alert and entire community on edge as a manhunt in tennessee intensifies. More than 31 hours after a gunman killed four people and wounded several others at a waffle house in the nashville area, the suspect is still on the run today. Police fear he is still armed. One weapon he does not have on him, the ar15 semiautomatic rifle that Police Believe he used in the killings. Thats because the man one man in the restaurant james shaw actually wrestled the gun away and police say likely prevented more carnage because of it. Listen. It was at that time that i made up my mind. There was no way to lock that door. If it was going to come down to it, he was going to have to work to work to kill me. You have to either react or you have to or youre going to, you know, fold. And i chose to react because i didnt see any other way of me living and thats all i wanted to do. I just wanted to live. Folks are calling him a hero today. Nick valencia is live with the latest from tennessee. Nick, the hunt is still on, the suspect has a disturbing history. What do we know about him and where the search stands right now . Reporter yeah, hey, kate. Scary when you listen to james shaw jr. And think about thefol the waffle house. We were supposed to get an update a little while ago from the National Police department about this manhunt, the dragnet, about 80 Police Officers from nashville working with atf, fbi, as well as other agencies to try to find this individual. So far, kate, no credible sightings of travis reinking, 29 years old, the man accused of walking into this waffle house behind me early sunday morning, killing four people, and injuring several others. Two of which are still in the hospital. Local schools here are also on lockout. Not allowing any visitors or guests into or off the campus because this alleged killer is still on the run. And, nick what do we know about the victims . What do we know about them . Reporter the four victims, the all in their 20s, taurean sundayer lynn, joe perez, Akilah Dasilva and deebony groves. Two others are still in the hospital in stable condition. You asked me about the history of this alleged gunman. We know in 2017 he walked into a restricted area of the white house and told secret service he wanted to meet with President Trump. He was arrested and because of that, the fbi recommended he be taken his guns be taken away from him in the home state of illinois. When he moved to nashville in the fall of 2017, travis reinkings father gave those weapons back to reinking and it is believed he used that ar15, one of the weapons seized in this mass shooting that happened early sunday evening. Hes a man with a history of Mental Health problems, and in 2016, he told police he believed pop Singer Taylor Swift was stalking him. Is said to have heard voices and believed people were hacking his phone and looking at his computers. There has been a 2500 reward for information leading to his arrest. At this hour, kate, hes still on the run. Sure is. Nick, thank you so much. A lot of moving parts here. Lets discuss this now. Joining me is cnn Law Enforcement analyst and former assistant director of the u. S. Marshal service art rodderick. This man shot up a waffle house without wearing clotheses a ands clearly unbalanced. Are you surprised that Law Enforcement hasnt picked him up yet . I am. If hes still alive, i mean. I keep going back to the 2016 report where he told First Responders, this was the taylor swift report, where he told First Responders that he was, you know, suicidal. So is this a product of what has come out of this particular incident, it could very well be. It wouldnt be unusual for an individual to commit a crime like this and then kill themselves and we have documented history of him being suicidal. Plus, also several Different Police reports of some sort of paranoia, some definitely mental issues going on here. We have got a history here and it wouldnt surprise me that at some point after this shooting at the waffle house that he went ahead and committed suicide. Having said that, there is obviously a very good possibility hes still out there, hunkered down in the woods somewhere, but i think when you look at this weather issue that has been going on for a couple of days, in nashville, they had rain all day yesterday, mid50s, temperature last night, you know, is he able to survive out there with just pants on and shirtless in that type of weather . Right. Can you take us all on the ground now, what are your former colleagues doing now to find him . All Law Enforcement, they have gridded out that area behind the apartment complex, theyre looking at abandoned dwellings, old shacks, any place possibly where he could find some kind of shelter. Theyre also checking any type of crimes in the area, breaking and entering, carjackings, auto thefts, and theyre also trying to pinpoint from the air as well as on the ground any possible location that he could have traveled in via canine dogs, tracking dogs and from the air. There is a lot going on here. There has been reports issued earlier that people have seen Law Enforcement in a Straight Line walking through backyard areas in this wooded area behind the apartment complex. So the manhunt is still going on in earnest. And the fact that this many hours afterward, there have been no credible sightings of him, what does that tell you . It leads me to believe that there is a good possibility that this individual might have killed himself. I keep going back to that, but i think he doesnt we havent seen any history in his background of him being able to be a survivalist type, an individual that could survive in the woods for any extended period of time. So it is just odd there has been no confirmed sighting of him, since yesterday morning, after he left his apartment complex in that wooded area behind there. Hunt is on in the community, still on edge, waiting for something to give. Art, thank you so much. Thank you, kate. Coming up for husband, is north Koreas Kim Jongun playing President Trump . Former republican policy adviser who joins me next says yes. Well be right back. Does your Business Internet provider promise a lot . Lets see who delivers more. Comcast business gives you gigspeed in more places. The others dont. We offer up to 6 hours of 4g Wireless Network backup. Everyone else, no way. We let calls from any of your devices come from your business number. Them, not so much. We let you keep an eye on your business from anywhere. The others . Nope get internet on our gigspeed network and add voice and tv for 34. 90 more per month. Call or go on line today. North and south korea are getting set for a high stakes meeting later this week. President trump is already making demands for his own meeting with the north korean dictator. President tweeting over the weekend, that we havent given up anything and they have agreed to denuclearization, site closure and no more testing. Not exactly what they agreed to, of course, as we know. North korea has only said theyll freeze Nuclear Testing and close down one test site. Sarah sanders was asked about all this. She tried to clear things up a bit short time ago. Listen. I would think it looks to this president like it would to every other person across the world, it means that north korea doesnt have and isnt Testing Nuclear missiles. Are you worried about not dismantling the arsenal . Were going to get into the details of what this negotiation would look like, but not before it actually takes place. All right. Joining me now, senior fellow at the council on Foreign Relations max boot. Good to see you. In listening to Sarah Sanders there, do you still do you still feel the president has a different understanding of denuclearization than what kim jongun understands . Yes, absolutely. There is a real risk that this summit is going to be a car wreck because trump is setting such unrealistic expectations. Hes tweeting that north korea has already agreed to denuclearization. Wait a second. Thats flat out false. Theyre not going to denuclearize, kim jongun saw what happened to dictators like gadhafi or saddam hussein. Hes not agreed to anything like that right now. So things are in conflict, right . You have president s tweet, what Sarah Sanders saying, and the the wall street journal reporting writing this, when the president says he will not make the mistakes of the past, that means u. S. Will not be making substantial concessions such as lifting sanctions until north korea substantially dismantled its nuclear program. If thats the actual marker going into the meeting, will it work . No. What will probably happen is theyll issue some kind of statements, but, remember, there is Donald TrumpsForeign Policy and the Foreign Policy of the rest of the administration. So i dont doubt that his aides are much more wary than he is and understand the traps that are being laid, but donald trump does not read his briefing papers, he does not Pay Attention to the history or the details, he just thinks that with his overwhelming magnetic personality, get him into a room with kim jongun and hell make a deal and my concern is hell disregard all the caution of his advisers and, you know, say whatever he wants to say in order to conclude a big deal and then theyll have to do cleanup on aisle three essentially. Max, you heard this, what are you the last 30 years of listening to advisers hasnt worked. Why not put the man in the room and see what happens . Ju yes, we made mistakes we made in the past often had to do with being overly credulous and accepting on north korean promises like in 1994, the agreed framework they were going to denuclearize and they didnt do that. My promises were looking at today. Exactly. The problem is that trump is showing every sign of being just as credulous as previous u. S. President s or even though his aides i think are more wary because they have a better understanding of north koreas actual track record. You make it very clear in the piece you wrote over the weekend, when it comes when kim says hes he doesnt need to test anymore, that they can close down a site, you think hes conning President Trump yet again is what you wrote. Is this is in the big progress that President Trump is tweeting about . Yes this is the big progress, a big nothing baurkecause hes getting credit for saying hes not going to test nukes or missiles, which he already said before, and he can do that temporarily without discontinuing his nuclear program. If he goes into the meeting, and this i feel like the news cycle has gone so quickly that people have forgotten this happened last week when the president said that he would be okay, part of strategy maybe going in if he doesnt like what hes hearing, hes comfortable getting up in the middle of the meeting and leaving. I hope thats right. You also are reading reporting saying that trump has given up hopes that he alone can solve the middle east crisis, but now he thinks he can solve the north korea crisis. Try to focus on one massive crisis that has never been solved. Hes got such an exaggerated sense of his own ability to negotiate and to deal on all this kind of stuff that im concerned that he could wind up a selling out south korea or if that doesnt happen, and if the deal blows up, then that would actually strengthen the case of the hardline if you cant trust if you cant trust kim going in, how can you trust that there is going to be progress. I think it will be hard because of the track record of cheating on every agreement they ever concluded. You need to be prudent and cautious and donald trump is not displaying caution in his tweets. Thank you for coming in. Historic rebuke. A senate banl panel is expected vote against mike pompeo. Were just getting word about how a pivotal senator, a pivotal vote in all of this when it makes it to the floor, how hes going to vote for full confirmation. Well bring you that next. Dont juggle your home life and work life without it. Dont skip that Office Meeting for a Board Meeting without it. Dont keep it real. Keep it going. Or simply keep it in the family without it. And dont turn that business trip, into an overdue family trip without it. The more you live between life and business, the more you need someone at your back. The powerful backing of american express. Dont live life without it. The kayak explore tool shows you the places you can fly on your budget. So you can be confident youre getting the most bang for your buck. Aloha. Kayak. Search one and done. Almost 800 when we switched our auto and home insurance. With liberty, we could afford a real babysitter instead of your brother. Hey oh, thats my robe. Is it . When you switch to liberty mutual, you could save 782 on auto and home insurance. And still get great coverage for you and your family. Call for a free quote today. You could save 782 when liberty stands with you. Liberty mutual insurance. President trump pick to be his next secretary of state is about to make history. Probably not in the way that he would like. As mike pompeo is expected to become the first secretary of state nominee to not receive the endorsement of the senate Foreign Relations committee. The committee is expected to vote today and, again, you never know until the votes are cast. But despite that historic roadblock, as of now, it looks like he has enough votes to win final approval from the full senate. President trump this morning making clear who he blames for all of this, in a tweet, hard to believe obstructionists may vote against mike pompeo for secretary of state. The democrats will not approve hundreds of good people including the ambassador to germany, theyre maxing out the time honored approval process. Need more republicans. Just a quick side note, the nom know was approved by the committee in october. The republicans in control of the senate could bring that up for a vote anytime now. I digress. Here with me now, cnn political commentator, former Communications Director for the Republican National committee doug high and former press secretary for the bill Clinton White house, joe lockhart. Great to see both of you. Doug, lets get to it. Pompeo making History Today if and when he get final approval from the full senate. Do you see him as starting the job at a disadvantage because of what could possibly go down later today . No, because i think you sort of answered your question already. Hell start the job. I love when i do that. We know hell be confirmed with the joe manchin announcement that hell support mike pompeos nomination, Heidi Heitkamp, another democrat is supporting him as well. Hell have the votes needed to pursue to pursue the job to take the job. Yes, it is a little bit of a black eye not getting the approval from the committee, but hes going to start the job, hes going to be the next secretary of state and try to hit the ground running as he already has with his trip to north korea. And fact of the matter is, this isnt just joe schmo off the street. Democrats voted for him in that role, so is there something to the president when he says that democrats are just holding this up for holding it up sake . I dont think theyre holding it up for holding it up sake but underneath all of this is politics. You have joe manchin and Heidi Heitkamp in a tough reelection and from red states. Theyre going to vote for him. You have democrats who in order to appeal to their constituency want to block anything trump wants to do. And trump, you know, with this you cant take you cant take his tweet seriously, but should. Talking about how this has never happened before. This always happens. And i think the hallmark of during the obama years when oconnell was running the senate was blocking everything and slowing everything down. So there is a lot of demagoguery here, and a lot of politics and the fact of the matter is hell be secretary of state. Fact of the matter is at the end of the day hell hell be secretary of state and very likely to go unless something wild happens and when has that happened in the days we have been covering this administration. Another republican who is facing a im going to say, surprising uphill battle is mitt romney. Hes running for senate, in utah, the senate the utah senate seat, he couldnt win enough support over the weekend to avoid a primary. To put it another way, the partys former nominee to be the president of the United States could not get 60 of his state Republican Party to support him. Why . Well, i think we have elections for reasons. One of the things we have seen from Donald Trumps victory not only in the primaries but in november of 2016 is voters whether Republican Voters or democrat voters dont want to be told by the local or state or National Parties who their candidates are going to be, who is going to be successful. So hes going to have to campaign in a primary like anyone else, hell win that campaign, and then will become a senator. Similar to pompeo, it is a little bit of a speed bump, but hes going to get where hes headed. I dont know what kind of traffic analogy we can make, but lets try it on for size. Republicans have issues, democrats have issues too, a top democrat, congressman jim clyburn, he told politico this over the weekend. With regard to the midterm. If were still in the minority after election day, all of us have to go. Hes talking about democratic leadership, of course. Hes part of that democratic leadership. Do you agree with him . I think it is really interesting comment. And it reflects a couple of things. One is, i think, jim clyburn looks at it and says if im going to be in the minority again, we dont win this time, i dont really want to be in leadership. I think the other hand it is part of a it reflects the whole that the democratic that nancy pelosi has on the caucus. It is strong. But it is, you know, it is tenuous. And i think republicans will make a big push to make her part of the election, you know, the local elections, but i think at the end of the day, you know, leader pelosi and jim clyburn and the rest of the leadership, if they dont pull it off this time, i think you will see a change. Youll see a new set of leadership, not necessarily reflecting poorly on the current leadership, but just the dynamic that if we cant win this time, you know, when do we win . That kind of gets to, doug, when it comes down to it, are you to the point of would you agree if democrats dont pull off the win of taking back the majority this time, anything short of pulling off winning back the majority is a total failure for democrats . I think it is given trumps approval numbers. When i was at the Republican National committee in 2010, when we won the house, our magic number for obama was 46 . If he was under 46, we thought we would take back the house and he was and we did. You covered it, kate, fire pelosi was a big part of our message. Also, even if they win, i think House Democratic leadership is going to have clenkz because there is a new crop of young, smart democrats who are trying to show leadership like josh gothimer, there are a lot of young smart democrats who see a glass cerealing that hasniling in a long time. Thank you for coming in. Coming up, the president championing himself as the man who could fix americas Opioid Crisis. Why did he lash out on twitter at someone facing addiction, he says, someone he calls a drugged up loser. A conversation about that coming up. Ancestrydna has 5x more detail. And its now on sale for just 59. It can lead you on an unexpec ted journey. To discover your heritage. Get ancestrydna for just 59. The lowest price of the year. Ftheres flonase sensimist. F up around pets. It relieves all your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills dont. And all from a gentle mist you can barely feel. Flonase sensimist. We need to help more tocalifornians get ahead. D, thats why Antonio Villaraigosa brought both parties together to balance the state budget with record investments in public schools. And new Career Training programs. As mayor of la, he brought police and residents together to get illegal guns off the streets and keep kids out of gangs, and on the right path. Thats Antonio Villaraigosa. A governor for all of california. Breaking news, new video coming in, im seeing this with you for first time. Prince william an young george and charlotte walking into the wing where they will be going to see their new baby brother for the very first time. George and charlotte, of course, george is 4 years old, charlotte is 2 years old, this is also the very wing, very hospital where both of them were born, Prince William as well. Were seeing them walking into the hospital together with their father to see the newest member of the royal family, the new baby boy, born this morning, for the very first time. Well keep you updated. See what happens, what theyll say, if they talk when they come out. Well bring that to you. Adorable nonetheless. Coming up here, two hours from now, the First Official state visit of Donald Trumps presidency getting under way. Emmanuel macron will be in washington for the next three days. Tonight, the president and the first lady will host them for a private dinner at mount vernon, George Washingtons home. Tomorrow is the much more formal First Official state dinner at the white house. Cnn White House Reporter kate bennett is joining me now from washington with more on this. The first lady, shes briefed reporters on details of tomorrow nights dinner. What did we find out . She just released a behind the scenes sneak peek video on her twitter feed and it looks as though, you know, things are going well, shes picked the clinton china, it appears, some White Flowers and the menu will reflect tastes of france and america, the Washington National opera will perform, so it actually, you know, considering the entertainment has been pretty low key at the white house since the trumps took office, this sounds like it will be a pretty fancy pants soiree, i guess. 130 guests should be in attendance. This is something the first lady planned all on her own no event planner, which is typical lately for state dinners, typical for the Obama Administration to hire an event planner. Shes done it all herself i hear from the chair cushions to the menu to the flowers to all of it. So it is a big evening for her. And tonight i should say before they go to mount vernon, theyll take a helicopter tour over the city of washington with the macrons for a birdseye view. Thats beautiful. The guest list for tomorrow night is getting a lot of the guest list gets a lot of attention. Some of the attention this time because it is unusual there are no members of congress from the opposing party that have been, this time, the democrats, invited to the dinner. What are you hearing about that . That is what were hearing. They dont release the guest list until right as the dinner starts. But were hearing there is not a lot of representation if any from republicans on the hill, even leadership, certainly it is a it is somewhat of a break from tradition. Sometimes leadership from the opposing party is invited and they choose not to attend. I believe john boehner did that a couple of times during the Obama Administration. So until we actually see the list, we wont know for sure, however, buzz is that this is not a opposing Party Friendly sort of state dinner, which is a break from tradition. And then the photo that broke the internet, if i could ask you about it, the office of president george h. W. Bush releasing a touching photograph of First Lady Melania Trump with four former president s from Barbara Bushs funeral over the weekend, so many people talking about this, and i dont know, reading into what they see in this photo, kate. Well, i mean, i think they should. I think this is an important moment that is sort of speaks to barbara bush in a way, supersedes politics. This is could have been a virtual lions den that Melania Trump was walking into, considering the things that the president has said and continues to say. I mean, we see the crooked hillary tweets still about this group of people, and she hadnt seen the obamas since inauguration day, Melania Trump hadnt herself. Certainly she seems to have been warmly embraced, she is smiling. We saw a video of obama and melania laughing and chatting before the start of the service. So certainly she took it upon herself to go. She announced before the president almost two full days before that she was going to go in person and again, sort of took precedence over any other stuff that might have been happening beforehand over her husband. Those two things are the same. I think it says something of what people are yearning for. Theyre searching in this photo for the decency and by partis bipartisanship of days gone by. Thank you. Thanks. He said he could fix americas Opioid Crisis. Then why is he lashing out at someone on twitter he calls a druggedout loser . Coming up. Much on their car insurance. Hey, theres cake in the breakroom. What are you doing . Um. Nothing . Marvel studios avengers infinity war, in theaters april 27th. Now. Where were we . Searching for answers may feel overwhelming. So start your search with our teams of specialists at Cancer Treatment centers of america. The evolution of cancer care is here. Learn more at cancercenter. Com experts if youd have told me three years ago. That wed be downloading in seconds, what used to take. Minutes. That guests would compliment our wifi. That we could video conference. And do it like that. snaps if youd have told me that i could afford. A gigspeed. A gigspeed network. Its like 20 times faster than what most people have. Id of said. Id of said youre dreaming. Dreaming definitely dreaming. Then again, dreaming is how i got this far. Now more businesses in more places can afford to dream gig. Comcast, building americas largest gigspeed network. President trumps two dozen tweets over the weekend, none seem to be as vicious or personal as this one, where he calls an unnamed source for a New York Times story, quote, a drunk druggedup user. The president s contempt seems completely at odds, though, with his pledge to fight the Opioid Crisis with compassion. Listen to this. I had a brother fred. Great guy. Bestlooking guy. Best personality. And he had a very, very, very tough life because of alcohol, believe me. Very, very tough life. We will face this challenge as a National Family with conviction, with unity and with a commitment to love and support our neighbors in times of dire need. They lost their beautiful son adam to a fentanyl overdose. Jim and jean, were sorry for your loss. A great boy. Hes a great boy. Joining me right now, regina labelle. She served as chief of staff over drug policy in the Obama Administration. Thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me. You heard the president s words from earlier this year, then you see that tweet from the president from over the weekend. And you thought what . Well, his first message about this, and how it affected his brother, was so important that he talked about it from a personal standpoint. Because the people in this country who have Substance Abuse disorders, there are over 20 million of them. And each one of them has a family or a friend who cares about them. So that language he used to talk about his brother, it really helped a lot of people who have a lot of shame because they have someone in their family or they have addiction themselves. So i was a little taken aback by the language used this weekend when it appeared that we were making some progress in the language of addiction and making sure that people know that you cant hate up close. Regina, can he say both things . Youve advised president s on this. Can you talk this way about a druggedup loser and also call for compassion for those battling addiction . Well, i think the ironic pieces that the white house has put out the crisis next door where people can share their stories. I think thats actually a really good outlet for a lot of people. Again, we need to make sure people come forward. So im hopeful that the efforts that are being made by the secretary at hhs, by the commissioner, by the secretary at samsa, that all of that will make more of a difference. And that it doesnt get drowned out by this by the language in this tweet. Why does it matter just on its face how the president talks about people facing addiction . Well, it matters how all of us talk about addiction. There is actually studies that dr. John kelly did at harvard that talk about when you call people addict, it actually makes them get more punitive responses. So its not just about political correctness, its about making sure that we treat the disease of addiction as it is, a medical condition. Someone called it its not a casserole disease, that if someone is suffering from cancer, you bring casseroles. If someone in your family has a Substance Abuse disorder, you dont bring casseroles, you actually may look the other way because you feel in some ways it may be catching so you dont know what to say. So the more people of authority that can talk about this, the more people come out of the shadows and get treatment for the addiction they have. President obamas last billsigning ceremony before he left office was a bill to help tackle the opioid epidemic. Congress and this president , they are implementing the bill, and as i can see, expanding on it in terms of money. Do you think the president s words matter if his actions are helping the cause . Well, words always matter. And so does money. Its not we dont have to have one or the other, we have to have both. So i would encourage the words to match the action. Yeah. I hear you. Regina labelle, thanks for coming in, i really appreciate it. This is one moment in the tweet storm of the weekend that easily could have gotten lost and drowned out, and im glad we had a moment to actually discuss it. In general are you happy with what youre seeing from this white house in terms of taking on the epidemic . I think what we need to do is treat it not as an acute problem but as a chronic condition. So we need to have sustained funding, not just onetime hits of funding. The onetime hits of funding are important but states need sustained plans. This is not a problem thats going to go away in a year or two years or even three. But its also not a problem for just one state, its a problem for the entire country that needs a National Response to it as well. Regina, thanks so much for coming in. I appreciate it. Thank you very much. Thank you all for joining me, as always. Inside politics with john king starts right now. Thank you, kate, and welcome to inside politics. Im john king. Thank you for sharing your day with us. Ie m emanuel macron is in the white house today. Do we live in the