Canceled. Jeremy diamond is where the president just delivered the commencement speech, minutes ago. Jeremy, the president , we heard, had been furious about the rhetoric coming from north korea. It certainly doesnt seem he is so much today. Yeah, thats right. If you were feeling a case of whiplash right now, i dont think anybody would blame you. Less than 24 hours after the president sent a letter to kim jongun to cancel this planned summit in singapore next month, the president now appears to say well, this summit could be back on the table. He suggested that u. S. And north korean officials are once again speaking to each other, once again communicating potentially about the logistics of the future summit between himself and the north Korean Leader kim jongun. This would be, of course, the first summit between a u. S. And north Korean Leader. But it is difficult to see what exactly has changed beyond that communication. Yesterday, the North Koreans put out a statement signaling they were still open to the prospect of diplomacy despite the president canceling on them. But the gap on the issue still remains. One of the reasons why the summit is canceled is because the u. S. And north korea were not yet on the same page with regards to denuclearization. There is still a lot of questions that would take place on whether indeed the North Koreans are truly committed to denuclearizing as the president certainly hopes that they are. But, again, the president expressing some optimism this morning about this, he has not addressed it here at this commencement speech. Instead, he has hinted at the u. S. Military buildup that has taken place during his presidency, which is past and tony blanken, cnn analyst and former deputy secretary of state under president obama. Tony blanken, i would love to hear your favorite Princess Bride quote here. You thought donald trump needed this meeting more than kim jongun. That yesterday happened and the date was off and now it is how would you describe it . I think it is a little bit early to be singing the summit time blues because this is really a very high stakes game of international chicken. Each leader thinks the other needs the summit more than he does. And so theyre both ratcheting up their demands. I think they both need it and thats why i think it is too early to cancel your reservations for singapore. For kim jongun, this is the if the meeting happens, it is the legitimacy he secures that his predecessors couldnt get. President trump is so hyped to deliver what his spread cessors couldnt that predecessors couldnt. Governor, you also think that both sides need this meeting. Ill read for you what some of what the North Koreans said in response to the president canceling the meeting. Were willing to give time and opportunity to the u. S. , always with a big and open mind, we reiterate to the u. S. Were willing to sit face to face at any time in any way. Not the usual were going to annihilate you and reduce you to ashes that we hear sometimes from north korea when messaging. What do you think what message are they trying to send then . Well, that message was from their Nuclear Negotiator for many years. It is very authoritative. What the North Koreans did i think they overplayed their hand on the rhetoric side. Even though they always do this, they dont show up to meetings to discuss the logistics of the summit, they call the Vice President a nasty name, they talk about nuclear annihilation. I think what happened was they overstepped their boundaries and this caused obviously the president to be upset. So my view is like tonys. I think the summit will happen. Im not sure it will be the 12th. I hope it is not the 12th. I want there are still fundamental issues that is that there is substantial disagreement. The North Koreans dont want to denuclearize. Theyre ready to put limits, curbs on the use, we say total denuclearization. North koreans are not going to do that. I think the president already signaled a little flexibility on that when he says, well, maybe phased denuclearization. This is a negotiation that still has to happen. Welcome to the trump roller coaster foreign policy. It is a fun ride. Tony, is do you think china is to blame for the recent falling out . I ask because the president seemed to suggest that when he said that kim changed in his words after the second meeting with president xi. I dont think china is to blame. They did a good job reinserting themselves into the process. They were a little afraid of being left to the side of the road. They got back in the middle of it where they wanted to be. I think it is exactly has govern Herb Richardson said. The president set the bar almost impossibly high on himself, the virtual immediate denuclearization. That was never going to happen. Ironically, what could happen and there is at least a possibility is to get some kind of deal, a little like the deal that the president trashed with iran, where they take a series of steps overtime that are reciprocated, that start to curb their program, not eliminate everything, but get it in check. Unfortunately, the president setting this bar so high makes it very, very hard for him to succeed and the idea that he would even get something as effective as the iranian agreement that he threw out, up front, the most Intrusive Inspections regimes in history, thats a very high bar. Here is an opportunity to reset expectations before a meeting which i still hope happens. Governor, what do you do if youre secretary of state mike pompeo now. The day before the president pulled out of talks he seemed optimistic they would happen and then this and he was left to answer before it before a senate committee. Well, what i would do, if im secretary pompeo, is i would go to the president and say, mr. President , i have to be the lone voice, the lone messenger of north korea, cant be the National Security adviser, the Vice President. Good luck with that. The problem is too many messengers, too many messages. White house press office, the president , the Vice President , bolton, it should be the secretary of state. This is diplomacy. It was pompeo that got the two meetings with kim jongun that set up the intelligence channel. Let him run the show. I think he has been hampered a bit by individuals in the white house that didnt want this summit to happen. Thats my observation. Now, i dont have any inside information, but i do think it is important that the summit take place, that the administration prepare, that the president really prepared, that he listened to substance on what is achievable, i think there are some things that as tony said that are achievable. But total denuclearization, by north korea, it is not going to happen. Yeah, and one thing that might be their first challenge among many is speaking with one voice, coming out of the administration, if we look at the recent history of coming out of the white house and beyond. Great to see you both. Thank you so much. Thank you. Were following breaking news coming in just now to cnn. Breaking news on the russia investigation. Were now learning President Trumps personal attorney Michael Cohen, that he held a trump tower meeting with a Russian Oligarch who has been questioned by the special counsel Robert Mueller. This meeting unknown until now came during the transition to the white house, focused on improving relations with russia. What does this all mean and what really do we know . Let me bring in Shimon Prokupecz working his sources, hes got all of this. Bring us up to speed, please. Thats right, kate. This meeting took place in january, around january 9th of 2017, as you said. During the transition. It happened during trump tower, victor vekselberg, you may recall, is a very wealthy, a billionaire, worth some 15 billion, Russian Oligarch, who has been sanctioned by the United States. He was also recently questioned by fbi agents working for the special counsel after he flew to the u. S. In a new york area, he was pulled off a plane, and questioned by fbi agents. Now, at this meeting at trump tower, you see there is video there of mr. Vekselberg, there with the hat, his back is to the camera, hes accompanied by his cousin, a man by the name of andrew intrader. As you may recall, we did some reporting regarding andrew intrader. He was eventually hired by Michael Cohen as a consultant, was paid about 500,000 by Michael Cohen for what we were told was consulting work. And now this new video which we have reviewed today shows that these two men, andrew intrader and Viktor Vekselberg were at trump tower and as you said, we were told the meeting is about improving u. S. And russia relations and this meeting were told was with Michael Cohen, the president , was not there, donald trump was not in the meeting, the meeting lasted about 30 minutes and then the two men left. And as you now know, kate, pretty well there has been a lot of reporting about victor vekselberg, about andrew intrader and it all tells us why the special counsel is so interested in Viktor Vekselberg. We know at some point andrew intrader was also questioned about the fbi. Now, also keep in mind, kate, Viktor Vekselberg was at trumps inauguration. There is some history with him and vladimir putin. He was at an rt dinner that Michael Flynn was at. All of this, obviously, created some suspicion and some concern for the fbi and the special counsel team that has been looking at russia collusion and thats why they wanted to talk to him and this raises questions about what was Viktor Vekselberg doing there, who thought this was a good idea for this man who is a very well known Russian Oligarch, who has connections to vladimir putin, you know, who would think this would be a good idea for this man to appear to show up at trump tower during the transition . And also how that is, if that is connected to that huge dollar amount that the private equity firm paid then to Michael Cohen for consulting services. How that all fits together, thats what theyre looking at. Great to see you. Thank you so much. Coming up for us, the backlash over the briefings, lawmakers ripping the Trump Administration for involving a white house attorney and a confidential briefing among the gang of eight, in talks about the source in the russia investigation. Plus, did they learn anything new . With all that leadup ahead of time. Well discuss, also surrounded by cameras, without a red carpet in sight, Harvey Weinstein walks into a new york city courtroom, walks into a new york city courtroom in handcuffs after being charged with rape and other sexual offenses. What his accusers are saying now. Picking the right style takes time. One picky customer shouldnt take all your time. Need something printed . The Business Advisors at office depot can assist with exactly what your Business Needs to grow. Get your coupon for 20 off services, technology and more at office depot and officedepot. Com. Stay at la quinta. Where were changing with stylish makeovers. Then at your next meeting, set your seat height to its maximum level. Bravo, tall meeting man. Start winning today. Book now at lq. Com stcome hok. , babe. Y. Nasty nighttime heartburn . Try new alkaseltzer pm gummies. The only fast, powerful heartburn relief plus melatonin so you can fall asleep quickly. Oh, what a relief it is booking a flight doesnt have to be expensive. Just go to priceline. Its the best place to book a flight a few days before my trip and still save up to 40 . Just tap and go. For the best savings on flights, go to priceline. Delivcrisp leaves of lettuce,s. Freshlymade dressing. Clean food that looks this good, eaten at your desk. Panera. Food as it should be. Now delivered. If you have moderate to severe or psoriatic arthritis, Little Things can be a big deal. Thats why theres otezla. Otezla is not an injection or a cream. Its a pill that treats differently. For psoriasis, 75 clearer skin is achievable with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. And for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. And the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. Dont use if youre allergic to otezla. Otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. Tell your doctor if these occur. Otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. Tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts, or if these feelings develop. Some people taking otezla reported weight loss. Your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. Other side effects include upper respiratory tract infection and headache. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if youre pregnant or planning to be. Otezla. Show more of you. Backlash and bewilderment for both sides of the aisle after one of the president s lawyers emmet flood and john kelly attend the beginning of two classified Justice Department briefings on capitol hill. The briefings were about a confidential source in the russia investigation. Information trump and his capitol hill allies have been lighting their hair on fire about to get. Finally, the meetings happened. Coming out of the meetings, pretty much crickets. Really . After all this buildup . And why were the president s men there in the first place . Laura jarrett has more details. There is outrage over who attended the meeting. What do we know about the substance . After all of the anticipation and speculation, building up to yesterdays briefings, it really landed with something of a thud. None of the fireworks that the president s twitter feed might suggest, the democrats came out and said they heard absolutely nothing to suggest that the fbi placed a spy in the campaign, but we have heard virtual silence from republicans on capitol hill, including chairman devin nunes, the Top Republican on the house intelligence committee, the main one pressing for the confidential source documents. But the Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell said this was basically not a game changer. Take a listen. Were you surprised with what you learned . Nothing particularly surprising. But, again it was classified, so no real report i can get to you. None of this has stopped the president s lawyer, rudy giuliani, telling the cnns dana bash that essentially they plan to use the information on this confidential source as some sort of bargaining chip, pretext to the president sitting down with the special counsels office, Robert Mueller leading the russia investigation, leading some to question whether any of this entire ordeal was ever about congressional oversight in the first place or really part of a pr strategy. Great to see you, laura, thanks so much. Here to discuss this, cnn chief Political Correspondent dana bash and chris cillizza. Weeks of leadup to this meeting, almost like the north korean summit at this point, and it happens and it is either crickets or democrats saying nothing new or Mitch Mcconnell saying nothing surprised him. I dont know, do you think people should conclude at this point this was blown out of proportion. It depends what you how you frame this. So the fight with congress and doj really started with the president s ail lillies looking documents and looking to get more information about this confidential source and other bits of information. So, remember that even they said that what was eventually arranged, this meeting yesterday, to get a briefing and to get sort of topline information data points was not enough. So when it comes to the kind of tug of war between the president s allies on the hill and doj, thats not over. So it is not as if this settles it at all. But the point that laura just made is a really, really good one, which is the fight that theyre having, that theyre waging on capitol hill, is it really for oversight, maybe in part, but it is also pretty transparent that it is about the president s legal team and legal strategy to get as much information as possible about the investigation, of which the president or at least his campaign is a subject and is being looked into, which is really unbelievable that, a, that thats even happening, but, b, that the president s legal team is so transparent about it. And giuliani told me, point blank, that he needs to see, they want to see whatever information that they can about this confidential source that this that they call an informant, before there is any interview with Robert Mueller and the president of the United States because he doesnt want to send him into a trap. Now, that is a very strategic, very carefully choreographied thing to say to the press as they are trying to kind of do a dance about whether or not to do an interview, which, by the way, the president s legal team doesnt even want him to do and they keep saying that their client, the president , is still insisting he wants to. There is there is always like eight caveats when it comes to this. To that point, what giuliani told dana, why then is that a totally irrational quid pro quo in your mind . Well, because donald trump sitting down with special counsel bob mueller shouldnt be predicated on information gathered on something that appears based on all publicly available facts to be totally from whole cloth. This idea that a spy, Donald Trumps word, was embedded in the Trump Campaign, there is no public evidence that that is the case. There is quite a bit of evidence to suggest thats not the case at all. To say, i made up this thing over here and therefore, unless i find out that it is real, im not going to do this other thing, seems a little bit like a strongman. Dont see the connection there. I can see what theyre trying to do, part of a broader effort to disqualify, discredit the doj, the fbi, special counsel bob mueller, but from a logical perspective it doesnt make much sense. I do, though, regardless of what they were told in the room, i do on some level think that it is somewhat inconceivable that republicans, president s allies will shift and accept there was no quote unquote spy in the campaign. How do republicans handle it then . Theyre going to keep plugging away and keep pushing doj as i said, you know, even the concession that the republicans on capitol hill who were pushing for more information got with these briefings yesterday was sort of not even close to being enough. So it is not over with regard to the pushing. Remember what this is about. This is, again, very transparent. And i think therefore we should sort of be underscoring it over and over again. This is about undermining the investigation. This is about planting seed aft after seed after seed of doubt into the public zeitgeist and if you look at polls, it seems to be working. And if you look at what lesley stahl said she was told by donald trump, why does he hit the press, why does he do things like this, because he wants to make sure the people dont believe it when negative things come out. And just for the billionth time and i know the three of us know this, donald trump doesnt hate the press. Donald trump loves the press. Donald trump is more interested in cable news, in print media than almost any president that has come before him, he certainly consumes more of it than any president that has come before him. This is a strategic gamble. The same way this alleged informant embedded in this campaign, by the way, not true, this is all an effort to discredit, disqualify so that the narrative he prefers, which is often unward from the facts, is the one that his supporters believe and accept. Bring it to the show when you receive your love letter from President Trump. I would like to see it. I will let you know. I will call you as soon as that happens. Wait by your phone. Perfection. Waiting all the time for your call. Great to see you. Thank you. Coming up, Harvey Weinstein, arrested and in handcuffs. Dozens of accusations against the movie mogul. Now hes facing the first charges. Hear from women who said he used his position, his influence, his power to assault them next. With expedia you could book a flight, hotel, car and activity all in one place. Ways to lthe northern belly fat. Percussion massage. Not cool. Freezing away fat cells with coolsculpting . Now thats cool. Coolsculpting safely freezes and removes fat cells. With little or no downtime. And no surgery. Results and Patient Experience may vary. Some rare side effects include temporary numbness, discomfort, and swelling. Ask your doctor if coolsculpting is right for you. And visit coolsculpting. Com today for your chance to win a free treatment. Whhes happy. Im . Your familys finally eating vegetables thanks to our birds eye voila skillet meals. And they only take 15 minutes to make. Augh family giggling oh my. Birds eye voila so veggie good. And we got to know the friends of our friends. R the friends. Then our old friends from middle school, our mom, our ex and our boss joined forces to wish us happy birthday. Then we discovered our uncle use to play in a band. And realized he was young once too. And we found others just like us. And just like that we felt a little less alone. But then something happened. We had to deal with spam, clickbait, fake news, and data misuse. Thats going to change. From now on, facebook will do more to keep you safe and protect your privacy. So we can all get back to what made facebook good in the first place. Friends. Because when this place does what it was built for, we all get a little closer. Heartburn and gas . Now fight both fast new tums chewy bites with gas relief all in one relief of heartburn and gas tum tum tum tums new tums chewy bites with gas relief you might be missing something. Y healthy. Your eyes. Thats why theres ocuvite. Ocuvite helps replenish nutrients your eyes can lose as you age. It has lutein, zeaxanthin and omega3. Ocuvite. Be good to your eyes. Im a small business, but i have. Big dreams. And big plans. So how do i make the efforts of 8 employees. Feel like 50 . How can i share new plans virtually . How can i download an efile . Virtual tours . Zipfile . Really big files . In seconds, not minutes. Just like that. Like everything. The answer is simple. Ill do what ive always done. Dream more, dream faster, and above all. Now, ill dream gig. Now more businesses, in more places, can afford to dream gig. Comcast, building americas largest gigspeed network. Weinstein, arrested. Weinstein, in handcuffs. Words many women thought would never be spoken. But after dozens of accusations including rape, assault and other forms of sexual misconduct, the disgraced hollywood producer has surrendered to authorities today on felony charges of rape and other sex crimes. This morning, he entered a new york courtroom, his hands bound, his freedom in jeopardy. This is a long road, though, after numerous women felt free enough finally, look at them all, to tell their stories to the new yorker and the New York Times in 2017 which triggered the metoo movement. One of his first accuser was actress rose mcgowan. The sight of him in handcuffs this morning had a profound effect. I have to admit, i didnt think i would see the day that he would have handcuffs on him. But i have a visceral need for him to have handcuffs on. Another accuser, the italian actress asia argento tweeted this, today Harvey Weinstein will take his first steps on the inevitable descent to hell. 1997, i was raped by Harvey Weinstein. I was 21 years old. Weinstein maintains his innocence, saying any sexual encounter was always consensual and now it is up to the Justice System to decide. Brynn gingras has been following all the developments, outside the courthouse where weinsteins attorney spoke just a short time ago. Brynn, a lot happened behind you at that courthouse today. What did his attorney say . Yeah. His Attorney Says what you said, that is always was consensual, that he denies all of this, and theyre going to fight it. He reiterated saying when asked the question how weinstein is feeling now, he said as well as you can be expected when accused of a crime you vehemently deny. And then the interesting part, kate, there was a little bit of a turn when asked the question what does he have to say to all those women who made that accusation those accusations against him and brafman, his lawyer, basically says that he didnt weinstein didnt invent the casting couch, that he doesnt defend his job is not to defend bad behavior, but criminal charges. I want you to hear more about that, it was a very important part of this news conference. Mr. Weinstein will enter a plea of not guilty. We intend to move very quickly to dismiss these charges. We believe that they are constitutionally flawed, we believe that they are not factually supported by the evidence and we believe that at the end of the process mr. Weinstein will be exonerated. Bad behavior is not on trial in this case. It is only if you intentionally committed a criminal act and mr. Weinstein vigorously denies that. The d. A. , the one filing these charges today, and they also released a very different statement, i want to read that to you, said weinstein used his position, money and power to lure women into going to where he was to sexually assault them. Two very obviously differing statements, kate, but very poignant moment today when his attorney spoke on his behalf. Absolutely. So a lot of accusations against him. These are the first charges. Tell us about the first charges and the women behind them. Yeah, absolutely, these are the first ones. And thats so important to note. These are the most serious of them, rape, they involve two separate women who went forward to nypd and they arrested him on these two separate complaints, but there are a number of charges related to sexual assault. And these, again, are just the beginning. We even heard ben brafman say hes been in talks with the sdny. There is a grand jury convened right now. They could bring charges as well. This is just the beginning for mr. Weinstein and this legal road. It sure is. Brynn, thank you so much. I appreciate it. Coming up for us, is President Trump a dealmaker or the ultimate deal breaker . The president s negotiating style comes under fire from both sides of the aisle in the wake of the failed north korean summit, alive, dead, mostly dead, slightly alive. Thats next. In the spring of 68, the most violent period of the entire war. Ive seen the promised land. I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land. Martin luther king was shot and killed tonight. My parents generation, king was the dream. And then hes gone. Im announcing today my candidacy for the presidency of the United States. Oh, my god. Senator kennedy has been shot. This was really the death wallace knew how to get a crowd energized. I know a lot of words you dont know. Theyre over this busy intersection. It is probably most important movie of the 60s. I hope to restore respect to the presidency. One of the most dramatic and consequential years in history. 1968, a four part cnn original series event starts sunday at 9 00. It has been a tough week, i think we could say, for a man who staked his brand on being the master of the art of the deal. President trumps diplomatic dealmaking, making taking a beating if you will as the north korean summit appearly hangs in limbo and some republicans are criticizing his trade talks with china. How much talking are they actually doing now is one question. Senator marco rubio took this poke at the white house. Sadly china is out negotiating the administration and winning the trade talks now. They have avoided tariffs and gotten a zte deal without giving up anything meaningful in return by using north korea talks and agricultural issues as leverage. This is not winning, says the senator. My next guest goes as far to right an oped with the headline, surprise, donald trump is terrible at diplomacy. Joining me now, max boot, senior fellow for National Security studies at the council on foreign relations. You wrote it, ill read it for our viewers. Here is one bit of your oped, max, to judge by the evidence of trumps dealings with china and north korea this week, it has been a disaster. The trump train just jumped the tracks. How are you sure of that. Trump now says the 12th might be back on. You can never say anything for certain with this guy because he zigzags so much. You have to look at what happened in the 15 months that hes been president , does he have a single negotiating success to show for it. Absolutely not. Hes been great at breaking deals, hes left the transpacific partnership, he left the paris climate accord, hes left the iran nuclear deal, so were all these great wonderful, super, amazing new deals that are supposed to replace him. What if that is the opening pitch of a longterm negotiation. Thats what they say. It could be. I dont think we have seen any evidence hes having any success negotiating. This week, what we saw could be characterized as the art of the debacle with both china and north korea, the negotiations just blew up and the u. S. Didnt achieve any of its goals with china, trump was pressing for a 200 billion reduction in their trade deficit with the United States, and he had to settle for a vague promise from china to maybe buy some more american goods, which marco rubio and others have correctly characterized as a defeat. And, of course, his much wanted north klorea summit, likely is off, maybe it will be back on again, but the way hes handled it is not increasing confidence in the United States. Tk it is making him seem erratic and unreliable. You say hes terrible at diplomacy and what message that sends. You say it is a negative one around the world. Here is how Adam Kinzinger put it to me yesterday when it comes to north korea. It is meeting crazy with a changing strategy to say how do we get you to the table and if youre not going to come to the table under our conditions, well have a different tone f youre willing to come to the table, well have a different tone. Thats International Diplomacy. Is that International Diplomacy . I think he is putting lipstick on a pig here. What we saw was that donald trump rushed into this summit with kim jongun in early march, without doing any kind of the normal preparation work that you would expect at such a high level, high risk meeting. Then he hyped it to the skies, a month ago talking as if north korea had already agreed to denuclearize, hes pulled out of it, maybe in the future hell pull back into it. This is not achieving anything. It is hurting us because it is leading to a relaxation of sanctions on north korea, china is relaxing sanctions, leading to a rift with south korea, because trump didnt even notify south korea before pulling out of the summit. It is making kim jongun look like the reasonable one in this relationship with the United States. Lets see if they get back to the table, if the 12th is on or whatever the date is, great to see you. Maybe. But theyre not going to denuclearize. Well see what they get then if it is anything short of that is that a success. Great to see you, thank you. Coming up for us, gas prices on the rise across the country in a big way. Jumping 25 since last year. And the summer driving season is just getting under way. How much is the president to blame and what is the president to do . Gas price politics, thats next. But, first, when disaster strikes, top ten cnn heroes dan hayes and pit master buddies, they bring comfort in the form of barbecue to those in need. This week, stan is expanding his service to honor those who serve our country all year long. Were here with the Gary Sinise Foundation at the invincible spirit festival. How are you guys doing . Want a pulled pork sandwich . Were cooking for 7500 people. Being here where the men and women have given so much, while protecting and serving our country, it is pretty special. This is an awesome event. The barbecue is steller. Barbecue is about bringing people together and for us, this is the biggest thank you we can give those men and women that have served. Find out more about whats happening with operation barbecue relief or to nominate someone you think should be a cnn hero, go to cnnheroes. Com. Prepare for your demise, mr. Billingsley do your worst, doctor. I will. But first, a little presentation. Hijacking earths Geothermal Energy supply. Phase 1. Choosing the right drill bit. As long as evil villains reveal their plans, you can count on geico saving folks money. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. With expedia you could book a flight, hotel, car and activity all in one place. You might be missing something. Y healthy. Your eyes. Thats why theres ocuvite. Ocuvite helps replenish nutrients your eyes can lose as you age. It has lutein, zeaxanthin and omega3. Ocuvite. Be good to your eyes. As millions of americans hit the roads this memorial day weekend, theyre looking up and seeing higher gas prices pretty much across the board. Nearly 3 a gallon, a 23 spike. While democrats say this cost increase could reverberate throughout the economy, the president today doesnt seem concerned. Prosperity is booming at home. Our economy is the strongest it has ever been. Cnns alison kosik is joining me now. What is behind this . Okay, well, first of all it does reverberate through the economy. What happens is you see gas prices go up, it acts like an extra tax for americans. It undercuts confidence and it means people are spending more on gas than they would other things. And lets not forget about the tax cut plan that President Trump has heralded as a feather in his cap. Well, the higher gas prices are going to take a shine off that apple. A huge chunk of that extra take home pay, that will be spent on the higher gas prices. The interesting thing is you look at the timing of this, it is happening during the summer, but then were dove tailing into the midterms. And this is going to be at the forefront of voters minds as the higher prices, the higher gas prices that americans were paying, it really could be one of the pocketbook issues that really follows republican candidates to the polls come the fall. Talking about gas prices is something that politicians do all the time. Talk about how much control they have over it. Great to see you. Thank you so much. Joining me now, cnns newest political commentator, former republican congressman from pennsylvania charlie dent. Great to see you. Great to be with you, kate. So if you, of course, there seems to be not so much, not a ton, lets say, a president can do to impact the price at the pump. Democrats are already though making noise about this number. And it sounds like when it comes to gas prices, theyre just going to get louder and louder about it throughout the summer heading into the big problem, kate, to be perfectly honest. Ive been through this with years. Ive seen gas prices ebb and flow. Happens all the time. All comes down to supply and demand. You could make a case that the economy is doing better or greater demand for it thats maybe driving prices up. A whole bunch of factors that effect this thing. So i dont think its that big of an issue but it could be. If things got considerably higher than id started to push the panic button, but not yet. But again that has never stopped a politician in the past even if they dont have so much control over supply and demand. Look no further than donald trump in years past, even touted his own influence in gas prices in the past. Heaven in 2012 tweeting out gas prices at crazy levels, fire obama. Whats he going to do about it now . I remember, ive heard donald trump do that. Ive seen nancy pelosi do that. Politician also dem a god gas prices ad nauseam. When they go low, who takes credit for that . Somebody will always be yelling about big oil, big oils. Always a conspiracy. There really isnt. Again, the price of oil is set on global basis and comes down to supply and demand and speculation also. But ive been through this some times, as a former member of congress, i never got panicked about these gasoline prices because really outside of our control and you have to manage the issue as it is. Do you think voters here that if it hurts and democrats railing against the fact any benefit to the tax benefit is wiped out because of gas prices . Well, you can make a strong case. As a republican member, i would say the democrats have done everything they could possibly do to make sure that it would be difficult to access oil. They make it harder to drill. They want to make it more difficult. They want to see the price higher in many cases based on their policy decisions. So democrats have a tough time arguing higher gas prices that seems to what be their policy is to drive the price up. So let me ask you while i have you about the Justice Department classified meeting and classified briefing with members of congress yesterday. It was all of this leadup, talk of a spy, talk of getting the truth about the mueller investigation, and the roots of the investigation. And pretty much it was crickets coming out. Or democrats saying that there was no evidence or Mitch Mcconnell saying nothing surprised him. What do you make of it . Well, i believe really pretty simple, that this investigation is going on as it should be going. There was no grand conspiracy here. Doesnt appear that anybody was implanted in the Trump Campaign from the fbi or some informant. That wasnt the case. Its a big nothing as far as im concerned. I thought Rod Rosenstein had it right when he said there is concern about this streks, well, well have the Inspector General look into it. Thats the proper way to deal with it. I think the president , you know, damaged himself by calling this spy gate and trying to make more out of this than he should. I think the strategy as someone in the white house is to attack the investigators, attack the fact finders rather than going after the investigation or the facts. I thisnk thats really the biggr issue here. The political strategy is simply try to discredit or taint this investigation so when director mueller comes out with his findings, enough people will be able to say, oh, see, this is a witch hunt, its all fixed. I think thats the whole issue. But from a legal perspective if you are cross hairs of director mueller, hes not paying attention to it. What hes doing hes already indicted how many people . And others have pled guilty already. If you are in the legal cross hairs all this Political Drama wont help you much. Sure makes a lot of noise though. Thats for sure. Great to see you congressman. Have a great weekend. Great. Thank you. Coming up is there still hope for peace smumt with north korea. Trump says talks are dead. Talks are now under way right now to try to set something else. Whats happening here . Details ahead. Wait, i have something for you every stay is a special stay at holiday inn. Save up to 15 when you book early at hollidayinn. Com save up to 15 when you book early booking a flight doesnt have to be expensive. Just go to priceline. Its the best place to book a flight a few days before my trip and still save up to 40 . Just tap and go. For the best savings on flights, go to priceline. Im a small business, but i have. Big dreams. And big plans. So how do i make the efforts of 8 employees. Feel like 50 . How can i share new plans virtually . How can i download an efile . Virtual tours . Zipfile . Really big files . In seconds, not minutes. Just like that. Like everything. The answer is simple. Ill do what ive always done. Dream more, dream faster, and above all. Now, ill dream gig. Now more businesses, in more places, can afford to dream gig. Comcast, building americas largest gigspeed network. The events change the america forever. Sunday night explorers that positive year. Roaring for change. Time is up for the female condition. That is the Womens Movement now, and then. 1968, more than any other year, found women such as singer janis joplin, activist, and congressman Shirley Chism challenging every stereotype what every woman could do and should do. Im the candidate of the people of america. That year sees the first conference on womens liberation and the rise of the term, womens lib. Yale announces it will finally admit female under grasds. Johnson government contract to end discrimination hiring women takes full effect. While audiences today more easily embrace female comics. One of my best friends got married this morning, shes an anthropologist, and by that i just mean she goes to that store anthropology a lot. Until 1968, brand new show laugh in, turned some people inside out. Even as it reinforced others. What is the name . Lady goe did ive va. I know your name the name of the horse. A lot of people are calling him lucky. And starting to flex their modern muscles, concentrate can their votes, moves that would pay for the last president ial election which saw the first woman chosen as a National Partys nominee. I cant believe we just put the biggest crack in that Glass Ceiling yet. Many women back then might have been surprised to know it would take so long, but then it might have been even longer if not for the amazing events of 1968. Tom foreman, cnn, washington. Airs this sunday 9 00 p. M. Western. Thanks for joining me. Inside politics with john king starts right now. Thank you, kate. Welcome to inside politics. Im john king. Thank you for sharing your day with us. An important pea too milestone, disgraced hollywood mog you wul charged with rape harvey