Transcripts For CNNW Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer 20180619

In the United States and around the world. Im wolf blitzer. You are in the situation room. This is cnn breaking news. We are following breaking news on capitol hill. President trump meeting right now with republican lawmakers as mre and more republicans con decon condemn this policy. Mr. Trump says the United States has to take children away to prosecute their parents. I will get reaction from a congressman from arizona. Our core spoerespondents are st by. Kaitlan collins is standing by. We heard the president defense the zero tolerance policy before he went to capitol hill. Reporter we did. We heard the president , as soon as he got on capitol hill, just a few minutes ago, remarking that the United States immigration system is badly broken. He is hoping they can find a solution tonight, he said. He is joined by his chief of staff john kelly, the deputy the department of Homeland Security secretary kiersten nrs niels nielsen. He is going into a meeting with some members from his own party who are openly rebuking the white houses response to that. This should get interesting. President trump defiant and defensive tonight amid public outcry over his administrations zero tolerance immigration policy. Before going any further today, i want to take a moment to address something you have been reading a lot about. Reporter the outrage over children on the border being separated from their parents and kept in cages has consumed headlines. The white house insists this crisis is a problem for congress. Politically correct or not, we have a country that needs security, that needs safety. Those are the only two options, totally open borders or criminal prosecution for law breaking railrobreaking. I dont want children taken away from parents. Reporter but mounting an aggressive defense of the policy. When you prosecute the parents for coming in illegally, which should happen, you have to take the children away. We dont have to prosecute them. But then were not prosecuting them for coming in illegally. I dont want people coming in. Reporter trump stating the separation policy acts as a deterrent. When people come up, they have to know they cant get in. Otherwise, its never going to stop. Reporter contradicting what his Homeland Security secretary said monday. Why would i create a policy that purposely does that reporter the president continuing to blame democrats. As a result of democrat supported loopholes in our federal laws, most illegal immigrant families and minors from Central America who arrive unlawfully at the border cannot be detained together or removed together, only released. Mexico does nothing for us. You hear it here. They do nothing for us. They could stop it. Reporter the media. They are helping these smugglers and these traffickers like nobody would believe. Reporter earlier, the president ramping up his rhetoric, claiming democrats want Illegal Immigrants to, quote, infest our country. The leader of the Republican Party is on his way to capitol hill tonight to discuss immigration. After throwing those negotiations into chaos. We have a house thats getting ready to finalize an immigration package that theyre going to brief me on later and that im going to make changes to. Reporter one day after the white house said he would sign what republican lawmakers sent him. There are currently two bills that are in process in the house. The president supports both of those pieces of legislation that we have voiced support for the details in those. Reporter trump throwing cold water on texas senator ted cruzs proposal to double the number of federal Immigration Judges to expedite cases. I dont want judges. I want border security. I dont want to try people. Reporter leaving a solution hanging in the balance as the crisis on the border intensifies. We have one chance to get it right. We might as well get it right, or lets just keep it going. Reporter so far, the president has resisted demands from democrats and republicans to end this policy. He has showed no signs of letting up so far. We will see if that changes when he leaves that room on capitol hill. Soon enough. We will see what happens. Kaitlan collins, thank you. Lets go to capitol hill for more on the president s meeting and the scramble to pass immigration legislation. Phil mattingly is watching this unfold. Whats the latest . Reporter wolf, president trul trump came with a lot more questions than answers. To take you behind the scenes we just lost our connection with phil. We will check back with him. That meeting is taking place right now. We will see what happens once the lawmakers emerge from that session. See if they say anything, if the president says anything, if they can come up with some sort of immediate fix to stop the separation of these kids from their parents. I dont know if phil have we reconnected with phil . We have not. We will get back to him shortly. In the meantime, lets bring in an arizona democrat. President says thanks for joining us there are two options. Prosecute everyone coming in to the United States illegally or you have open borders. He says those are the two options. What do you say . Either the president is lying or he has no clue what he is talking about when he talks about immigration enforcement. You can have joint detention. That way its humane. You could send people out with some time of tracking system, ankle bracelet, to make sure they know where theyre reporting. You could put them in halfway homes where we could check on them. Theres so many ways. The problem is the president doesnt want to look at those other options. He wants a political situation. Number one, to get his vote out, but number two, to basically hold these kids hostage. We know we have it confirmed, he said it, that he is trying to set up a scenario where he wants to force a border wall on the american citizens. Something he promised was going to be paid for by mexico. We know thats not the case. The president is basically holding these kids hostage for his political stunt. Clearly, this new zero tolerance policy was seen by the administration as a deterrent, more than a year ago, i interviewed john kelly, he was then the secretary of Homeland Security, now the white house chief of staff, he was sitting where you are sitting, and he said they were considering this policy even though he knew it would look bad separating moms and dads from their little kids because this could be seen as a deterrent to people trying to flee illegally into the United States. They had a long debate. It wasnt until april of this year when they decided to finally go ahead with it. What do you say about that . Its illegal. To create a deterrent which will not be a deterrent. People are trying to flee awful places are going to do whatever they can to survive. Two, you didnt even do it well. There are children that we dont know if we are going to be able to reunite with their parents. We are creating orphans. This country created orphans. We dont we have zero understanding what happened to the thousands of little girls right now, because this dhs will not tell us where they are. We dont know who is taking care of these kids. There are kids that we are going to be going to sleep crying. What happens when they are sick . I have a young son. Maybe its great they are getting fed, they have a bed. Who is actually going to rock these babies to sleep when they are tired, when they are angry, when they are missing their parents . This administration cannot answer that because they are so inhumane and so caught up on the idea of deterrents that they forgot to take care of the Little Things. Listen to tom holman, the acting ice director, who was on this program if the last hour when i had this exchange with him. The men and women of ice, they have to implement this zero tolerance policy. Is this new zero tolerance policy that the president has supported, that the attorney general announced, is it humane . I think i think its the law. It may be the law. But is it humane . I think its the law. Im a Law Enforcement officer. I must follow the law. We take good care of these children. Whats inhumane is parents that choose to put their kids in the hands of a smuggling organization, a criminal smuggling organization, have their kids smuggled into this country. Thats inhumane. Whats your reaction . If you have to make excuses why your actions are humane, it probably means your actions are inhumane. These parents are going through horrible situations in their home country. They are coming to ports of entries and legally asking for asylum. What sis inhuman is that dhs ar creating barriers, asking for them to have asylum and turning around and separating families to a point where you have kids so scared that they are crying we heard this recording of kids crying asking for their family members. You have ice agents so coldhearted, they are making fun of little kids while they are trying to ask where their parents are. They understand the leadership of dhs and isace accept that. We dont know if they were making fun or trying to stop the kids from crying by saying you are listening to an orchestra or something along those lines. We dont know what their motive was. I bend over to give these men and women of ice some credit. They have a tough job. What was interesting is when i asked the acting director if the policy was humane, you saw the pregnant pause. He couldnt say it was a human policy that the president has ordered them to implement. I have been in horrible situations, some horrible combat and been in some awful, awful places with is surrounded by children in war, in the iraq war. Even then, us young men, we did everything we could to treat everyone we met with in a respectful manner that would keep the dignity of the United States. Whats happening right undignified. The president set the tone and everyone is following it. These parents bringing their children illegally into the United States, they are charged with a misdemeanor. What seems to be inhumane, if you are charged with a misdemeanor, why are you taking the kids away . He did say they the ice agents, they have discretion in dealing with all of this. They do have some discretion. The president wants them to arrest everyone and if they come in with kids, separate the kids. Look, maybe they do have discretion. We dont know what kind of pressure they are getting from management. We have a president thats intense as well as his administrators that they want to scare as many people as possible. That includes separating families. They are going to do everything they can. They will put pressure on the ice agents. Remember, they are human. At the end of the day, this is not going to end up deterring anybody from coming into the country. The worst is its a black eye on the history of the country. Listen to the republican leader in the senate, the majority leader, mitch mcconnell. He says all 51 republicans in the senate are on the same page. All of the members of the republican conference support the plan that keeps Families Together while their immigration status is determined. We had a robust discussion at lunch about the need to fix the problem. I understand the president just called on us to fix the problem. Obviously, for that to occur in the senate would require bipartisan discussions. Whats your reaction to that . I think we have to get into the details. Im afraid they will use this as an execution to have indefinite detention of the families until they go through the process. Thats unnecessary and just as inhuma inhumane. Under obama administration, you had families detained together until we could determine if that kid belonged to that family and number two, whether or not they were a flight risk should they go through the aisylum process. This Senate Republicans do not have a history of standing up to donald trump. Would you be willing to go along with compromise legislation comprehensive immigration reform, democrats have to compromise, republicans have to compromise, if it includes an opportunity for the dreamers, the Daca Recipients to have a pathway to citizenship, would you be willing to support what the president demands, 25 billion for that border wall with mexico . We have had these discussions before. Lets not forget that the Senate Democrats and actually Senate Republicans did have a bipartisan bill that did include money for the border wall. I dont remember it being 25 billion, but close to 8 billion with a pathway to citizenship. The president rejected it. Theres a lot of things im willing to talk about and a lot of things im willing to proxhipr compromi compromise. He said i can fix everything. He has yet to fix anything during his administration. The one thing you can fix is this. He can pick up the phone. He is unwilling to do it. Do you think the house will pass this legislation this week or next week . I dont believe they will pass that legislation. The compromises among moderates and conservative republicans has nothing to do with us on other side. They need us to have that vote. What they have is poison polarization that we can never support. Thank you for coming in. Just ahead, theres other news were follow, including news about Michael Cohen, the president s longtime personal lawyer. Is he about to turn on the president . We are getting new information about the former fixers legal strategy as he considers cooperating with prosecutors. Trump ally roger stone says he is the target of a setup. Is he trying to change the subject from his newly disclosed meeting with a Russian National . From farm, to pot, to jar, to table. And serve with confidence that its safe. This is a diamond you can follow from mine to finger, and trust it never fell into the wrong hands. This is a shipment transferred two hundred times, transparently tracked from port to port. This is the ibm blockchain, built for smarter business. Built to run on the ibm cloud. This is the ibm blockchain, built for smarter business. Say goodbye to the onesizefitsall family unlimited plan. Starting now, everyone gets the plan they want, without paying for things they dont want. Mom gets the unlimited she needs, dad gets the unlimited he needs, the kids get the unlimited they need. Its big news from verizon. shoes squeaking and you could save some money. scattered applause wow. All this for us . Yeah, and every other family in america. I think the kowalskis are next. vo one family, different unlimited plans on the network you deserve. Starting at 40 per line. Man it takes a lot of work to run this business, but i really love it. Im on the move all day long, and sometimes i dont eat the way i should. So i drink boost to get the nutrition im missing. Boost high protein now has 33 more protein, along with 26 essential vitamins and minerals. And it has a guaranteed great taste. Man boost gives me everything i need to be up for doing what i love. Boost high protein. Be up for it. Mitzi Psoriatic Arthritis tries to get in my way . Watch me. mike ive tried lots of things for my joint pain. Now . Watch me. joni think id give up showing these guys how its done . Please. Real people with active Psoriatic Arthritis are changing the way they fight it. Theyre moving forward with cosentyx. Its a different kind of targeted biologic. Its proven to help people find less joint pain and clearer skin. Dont use if you are allergic to cosentyx. Before starting cosentyx you should be checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms of an infection. Or if you have received a vaccine, or plan to. If you have inflammatory bowel disease tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. Serious allergic reactions may occur. Mitzi with less joint pain, watch me. For less joint pain and clearer skin, ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. Ask your rheumatologist still nervous [about buying a house . A little. Thought i could destress with some zen gardening. At least we dont have to worry about Homeowners Insurance. Just call geico. Geico helps with Homeowners Insurance . Good to know. Been doing it for years. Thats really good to know. I should clean this up. Ill get the dustpan. Behind the golf clubs. Get to know geico. And see how easy homeowners and renters insurance can be. A hilton getaway means you get more because. You get another day in paradise. Get a sunset on a sunday. Get more stories to share. Get more from your Summer Getaway with exclusive hilton offers. Book yours, only at hilton. Com breaking news on the president s longtime attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen. He is lawyering up. He is under criminal investigation and considering whether to cooperate with prosecutors. Lets bring in sara murray. What are you learning about cohens new legal team . Reporter our team is learning that Michael Cohen has been telling friends that he is willing to provide information on President Trump if thats what prosecutors are looking for. That could be a shakeup in his legal strategy. He is shaking up his legal team. He is planning on hiring a new attorney, a former chief of the Criminal Division in manhattan. I think what you are seeing here is Michael Cohen preparing for the possibility of an indictment and changing his legal team to prepare for the criminal investigation he is under. The lawyers he had originally hired, the guy who was leading the charge was from d. C. They were preparing for congressional inquiries to produce documents for congress. They werent prepared for what has become incredibly innovative criminal investigation that included a raid of Michael Cohens home office and hotel room. I think we are seeing cohen make this change in part to deal with that criminal investigation and potentially for a change in legal strategy. You are getting information on whether cohen will stay loyal to the president . Reporter thats what we are waiting to hear. He has signalled to friends he may be willing to provide information on President Trump if thats what prosecutors are looking for. I think that we have to remember, Michael Cohen, like anyone in this position, is a human being. He has gone through a lot of publ public scrutiny. He has his family he needs to consider. He seems to be hunkering down and preparing for the potential there could be an indictment, he could Face Criminal Charges and trying to figure out what he would do in that situation. We dont have those charges yet. He is a human being. We will see what happens when that presents itself. He is weighing his options. I understand theres also a new statement thats been released by trump ally roger stone about that just recently disclosed meeting he had with a russian. Reporter thats right. We talked about this meeting roger stone is admitting he attentions with a russian who said he would provide dirt on hillary in exchange for 2 million of Donald Trumps money. Roger stone released, in typical fashion, a lengthy statement in which he says that the issue is not that he met with this russian who was promising damaging information but that the fbi was setting him up. Here is the last portion of the statement. The real question is not why i failed to remember an innocuous meeting, its the fbi was using an informant to set me up. He very much believes that this was Law Enforcement trying to entrap another member of trumps inner circle rather than what investigators may see it as, which is another trump ally accepting a meeting with a Russian National promising dirt on hillary clinton. Thank you very much. Just ahead, are republicans giving the president an earful right now about the separation of families at the southern border . We will have more on mr. Trumps trip up to capitol hill. What did Rudy Giuliani tell federal investigators when he was questioned by them about leaks in the clinton email probe . Liberty mutual saved us 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. If you have moderate to thsevere rheumatoid arthritis, month after month, the clock is ticking on irreversible joint damage. Ongoing pain and stiffness are signs of joint erosion. Humira can help stop the clock. Prescribed for 15 years, humira targets and blocks a source of inflammation that contributes to joint pain and irreversible damage. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Help stop the clock on further irreversible joint damage. Talk to your rheumatologist. Right here. Right now. Humira. If you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, Little Things can be a big deal. Thats why theres otezla. Otezla is not an injection or a cream. Its a pill that treats psoriasis differently. With otezla, 75 clearer skin is achievable after just 4 months,. With reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. 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. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens brown paper packages tied up with strings these are a few of my favorite things these are a few of my favorite things 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. Breaking news tonight, new information about whats going on behind closed doors up on capitol hill. President trump meets right now with republican lawmakers who are very angry about the separation of migrant families at the border. Lets go to phil mattingly. What are you learning . Reporter people inside the room say President Trump is still talking. Its been a lengthy presentation, one that was supposed to be about immigration that touched on trade, the opioid epidemic, telling republicans gathered that they are a hot bunch right now, saying things are in a positive way. The interesting element right now has been immigration. Right now, republicans in the house are trying to figure out if they can find a pathway to pass a broader immigration bill, one that addresses the family separation issue. What Republican Leaders need the from the president tonight was an endorsement of a compromise bill released about an hour ago. They havent gotten that. What im told from inside the room is the president said he supported republicans 100 on their efforts, that they needed to pass a bill, but not that he supported their effort to pass that bill. That remains an open question. He has touched on the policy. Said he was aware the pictures are bad but hasnt gone further than that. One other kind of interesting and awkward moment, he pointed out specifically congressman mark sanford, the republican who lost his primary, the president came out opposed to him during the primary, he congratulated him on the race and called him a nasty guy in front of his colleagues which led to an awkward, stunned silence. A wide ranging behind closed door speech and presentation from the president so far. Has it given Republican Leaders what they want . Not necessarily. He has addressed immigration. The big now is, a, will House Republicans have the votes to move their immigration proposal forward . B, does this bring them any closer to a solution on the family separation issue that is so royally roiled republicans . Lets see what they say when they emerge. You are standing by. We will get back to you. Lets bring in our analyst rebecca berg. How does this bode for a deal within the next day or two or three to stop this policy of taking these kids away from their moms and dads . The public pressure that we are seeing, the backlash against this family separation policy and the zero tolerance policy of the administration more broadly might make a deal more likely. We are seeing republicans caving to the political pressure. They are recognizing that the Popular Support as our polling has shown is not there to continue this policy. They are looking for some sort of solution. One of the main questions that is going to be answered over the next few days is what does the solution look like . Are they only able to bring out something narrow, that addresses this policy and a few other items or a broader Immigration Solution . Its not clear right now that they are going to have the vote for the leadership solution or the more conservative version. The political pressure has been building. We have seen republicans acknowledging that. For example, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee coming out and saying that the president needs to address this problem. They need to fix it quickly. Samantha, i want you to listen to this exchange i had with the acting ice director in the last hour. Its simple. Illegal entry into the United States, its a crime. Its a misdemeanor. If they are seeking asylum, is that a crime if they are crossing the border you are clouding the issue. If you dont want to be separated from your child, come through a port of entry. Let me clarify something else. You said its a misdemeanor if they do that. You are separating mothers and their children over a misdemeanor . We are separating mothers and children because they chose you said it was a misdemeanor. First offense is misdemeanor. You are separating parents from their kids . Were enforcing the law. Whats your reaction . My reaction is that this is indefensible. Its telling the administration sent a career Law Enforcement officer to speak with you to try to explain a policy that doesnt make sense. Lets be clear. This policy is not just going to impact children on the southern border. Its going to impact children all around the world. Were in a position where the u. N. Is calling our own actions unconscionable. We have absolutely zero credibility going anywhere around the world and fighting on behalf of children. That is going to have a lasting impact. David, this is how the president is framing this sensitive issue. Listen. Under current law, we have only two policy options to respond to this massive crisis. We can either release all illegal immigrant families and minors who show up at the border from Central America or we can arrest the adults for the federal crime of illegal entry. Those are the only two options. Totally open borders or criminal prosecution for law breaking. Thats not necessarily true, david. Before this new policy was announced and began to be enacted in april, most of the undocumented immigrants who went through what was called the civil court system, not the criminal system, so they could stay with their children. This is a new strategy, a new policy by the administration as they themselves say to deter people from crossing the border illegally. A new policy, one announced publically by attorney general sessions at the border in april. The president frames it that way because he wants to make it seem like his hands are tied, its a very simple situation and they have no good options. As you point out, they could amend the law quickly. They could do it tonight. They could do catch and release, which is what the obama and bush administrations did before them. For people who say, look, then you are letting people go into the interior never to be seen again, but when you talk about kids, you have to weigh if you a member of congress, whats about the ebetter option . Were a country of laws, not let people decide at the border whats going on. Let me read to you what the president tweeted this morning about all of this. Quote, democrats are the problem. They dont care about crime and want Illegal Immigrants, no matter how bad they might be, to pour into and infest our country like ms13. They cant win or their terrible policies so they view them as potential voters. What does it say when the president uses words like they want these Illegal Immigrants are going to pour in and invest our country . We have made this conversation, because of the president s questionable leadership, a conversation about law and policy. Its a question of moral imperative. For a country where we had a president who lost his life, lincoln, to say i will protect the weak. We had a president in the 1960s who said i will protect the weak. President bush did something the second president bush, in africa, underreported. I will protect the weak with incredible support on aids funding. Now we have a president who says about the weak, the following, mexicans are rapists, Latin Americans are gang members and people from black countries are shitholers. The president reduced it to a question of law and policy. Its not. Its a question about a country that said we are a beacon for protecting the weak and we failed. Thats it. Samantha, the president doubled down on that tweet that he had earlier in the day with a statement that he then made. Listen to this. We need democrat support. They dont want to give it, because democrats love open borders. Let the whole world come in. Let the whole world, gang members from all over the place, come on in. We have open borders. They view that possibly, intelligently, accept its destroying our country. They view that as potential voters. Some day theyre going to vote for democrats. Because they cant win on their policies, which are horrible. They found that out in the last president ial election. Whats your reaction . My reaction is the president has an infan titile response ev time he is under pressure. He cant say this was a decision he said. He lies. He distracts. He blames someone else. This is like a child. This isnt like the president of the United States. To phils point, we have heard language like this before. The notion of comparing any class of people to a subhuman category has been seen throughout history to really preface atrocities like the holocaust. My father survived the holocaust. Guess what . They compared jews and other classes of people in germany to insects and pests and animals. What is really galling here is that the president is continuing this language and theres no one in the administration that is speaking up and saying enough is enough. Whats going to happen . I know you are plugged in on capitol hill. You have been doing reporting on this. Do you see an easing of this new policy of separating kids from their parents, at least in the next few days . You have heard republicans talking about pressuring the administration to end this zero tolerance policy. Trying to find solutions in the meantime to the detention issues. One thing we heard, for example, from senator marco rubio is detain Families Together. Come up with Family Detention Centers like we saw in some cases in the obama administration. Dont separate families while they are awaiting their hearing, while they are awaiting their court date for their misdemeanor charge. That is where we are seeing a lot of republicans at this stage. Where i dont expect you would see republicans go is saying sglt preside the president is leaving capitol hill right now. Lets see if these are democratic congressmen who have shown up. Mr. President , dont you have kids . Dont you have kids, mr. President . How would you like that they how did you meeting go . Put them in cages. How would you like it to separate your kids . Its wrong. Its not the america. Where did christ say that . Show me where. You see a handful of lawmakers protesting the president as he is exiting. We will say what they say as they emerge from the meeting. The president is heading back to the white house. How do you see it unfolding . The problem, wolf, for the president all week and the moral problem here is that he and his Party Control both houses of congress and the white house. They have put a policy in place. They are dragging their feet on solving the problem. You are talking about children here. Thats why you see this kind of coming to a boil. Its not like other issues where people say, well, lets see how this plays out. People are angry. You see the president now walking through the corridor up on capitol hill. He will get closer to the cameras, closer to the reporters. I want to listen to see if he says anything as he passes by the pool of reporters who have gathered there up on capitol hill. He spent more than an hour meeting with lawmakers, Republican House members. We will see what he says. Lets pause for a moment and listen. Mr. President we had a great meeting. These are laws that have been broken for many years, decades. We had a great meeting. Thank you very much. The president says we had a great meeting. You saw kevin mccarthy, the majority leader in the house, escorting the president out of the house of representatives. Phil mattingly is monitoring it. You have been speaking to individuals who have been inside. What are you learning about what happened . Reporter members are filing out as we speak. The honest kind of reality is members are going to the real work. House leadership is going to be whipping the immigration bills they plan to consider later this week with the real question being what the president just did, his hourlong presentation, is that enough to get one of the House Republican proposals across the finish line . Since we last spoke, im told the president as he was giving his remarks went heavy on the wall, talking again about the need to get the wall, about the various proposals and deals that have been on the table that have to this point come up short and making clear, im told by one person in the room, that the family separation issue is something that can be addressed if the wall is involved. What you are hearing basically from that has been described to me is the president s insistence this not be a target order small soluti issue but it be addressed in a broad immigration proposal. We heard this from the white house. We know the Senate Republicans have been talking about a targeted approach to the family separation issue. The president making clear he wants a broad approach, a broad solution to this. Thats what republicans are going to get him give him an opportunity to get on the house floor on thursday, depending where the votes are. Another interesting element of this, we talked to a bunch of members who have come out. As is often the case, when the president speaks, members tend to hear what they want to hear. I have spoken to some who believe the president outright endorsed the compromise immigration proposal the Republican Leaders have been working on. I have spoken to members who said thats not the case. He wasnt explicit about what he was endorsing. The president said he is behind republicans House Republicans 100 . Thats the quote. What he is behind and whether or not thats going to change at any point in the next 48 hours, that remains an open question. As i would note, whether the republicans can get the vote is unknown. Also what, if anything will be done to address the family separation issue that while the president hasnt backed off where he stands, republicans in the house and senate have made clear they need to do something to address it in the near term. We saw the motorcade heading back toward the white house. It sounds to me like the headline emerging is that theres no change in the separation of families policy until theres xroe hcomprehensi immigration reform. They have to reconcile whatever they pass, assuming they pass something, and then the president has to sign it into law. That could take a while if it happens at all. In the meantime, moms and dads are losing their kids. Is that what you are hearing . Reporter yeah. Based on members i have spoken to in the room while it was happening that have filed out since, there was no impression whatsoever that the administration is going to reverse course. The family separation policy, the zero tolerance policy, wasnt a primary point. No question and answer with the members. The focus was on a broad immigration overhaul, not a targeted fix. Theyre where the president s mind is at. Thats where the administration is at. The question is, can lawmakers actually deliver that . I think you hit the key point. Thats not just an open question at this point, that seems almost impossible based on the dynamics we have seen for last ten years when it cops mes to immigrationd how both parties view this, from an emotional perspective and a divisive policy perspective. As the president says, you need 60 votes in the senate, not just 51 republicans, you need 60 votes to get it through. One clarification, the president is heading to a dinner with supporters right now, not immediately heading back to the white house. More on the breaking news right after this. You might take something for your heart. Or joints. But do you take something for your brain. With an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is the number one selling brainhealth supplement in drug stores nationwide. Prevagen. The name to remember. Mitzi Psoriatic Arthritis tries to get in my way . Watch me. mike ive tried lots of things for my joint pain. Now . Watch me. joni think id give up showing these guys how its done . Please. Real people with active Psoriatic Arthritis are changing the way they fight it. Theyre moving forward with cosentyx. Its a different kind of targeted biologic. Its proven to help people find less joint pain and clearer skin. Dont use if you are allergic to cosentyx. Before starting cosentyx you should be checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms of an infection. Or if you have received a vaccine, or plan to. If you have inflammatory bowel disease tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. Serious allergic reactions may occur. Mitzi with less joint pain, watch me. For less joint pain and clearer skin, ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. Whos already won three cars, two motorcycles, a boat, and an r. V. I would not want to pay that insurance bill. [ ding ] oh, i have progressive, so i just bundled everything with my home insurance. Saved me a ton of money. Love you, gary you dont have to buzz in. Its not a question, gary. On march 1, 1810 [ ding ] frederic chopin. Collapsing in 226 [ ding ] the colossus of rhodes. [ sighs ] Louise Dustmann [ ding ] brahms lullaby, or wiegenlied. When will it end . [ ding ] not today, ron. Phil, i want to play this change i had main the last hour with the acting drirector. Is this new zero tolerance policy that the president has supported, that the attorney general announced, is it humane . I think that, i think its the law. It maybe the law. Its the policy, but is it humane . I think its the law and im a Law Enforcement, i must follow the law. I think these children, whats inhumane is parents that choose to put their kids in the hands of a smuggling organization, a criminal smuggling organization, have their kids smuggle sbood this country. Thats inhumane. What do you think . Well, you know, hes a senior government official. Two options. One, say yes, its humane, take down every mirror. Two, he says no, its not. Violate the principle you cant embarrass your boss on cable tv and goes back and gets fired. Hes got to go home tonight and figure out not only whether i want to represent the policy of the United States, but something i never remember withining in all my years in government. Hees got to say if something violates my moral imperatives what do doi . 34 years at Law Enforcement officer and he couldnt simply say yes, its humane. You heard that pregnant pause twice. And the silence is telling, wolf. Who can say this is humane and we heard secretary nielsen, weve heard kellyanne conway. And now we heard this gentlemen indicate theconditions are huma. Would they put their own children in these places . Can they answer for the fact there are children sleeping under runners blankets . These conditions are not humane and thats why he couldnt answer the question. Yourng david, he just left this meeting with republicans. Looks like the policy is going to stay in place until theres immigration reform. The leaders say dhint want it. They want to end it. I didnt get the impression based on the reporting so far that he got a similar statement from House Republicans. No. Quickly, wolf, earl lier, b i said session announced this p l policy in april. It was in may. He made the one comment on his way out saying look, this has been in place for years. Hes been the president for a year and a half. Regardless of what has before, he won the election. It is on them to either fix it or keep this inhumane policy in place and of course its inhumane. They want them to think its part of a bigger issue, but clearly, this is something that could be fixed right now if they wanted to. And i think we need to remember, wochl tharks the president is the one who could fix it. This doesnt have to be done by congress. Congress can address the detention issue by overturning the judges ruling that families should be separated, but the president could address the issue with one pau phone call and hes trying to pass the buck off the konz because he sees what this has become. He clearly doesnt want to make phone call. Not yet. Thank you very much. Just ahead, kim jongun in china trying to get more mileage out of his smumt wiummit with presi trump. Im on the move all day long, and sometimes i dont eat the way i should. So i drink boost to get the nutrition im missing. Boost high protein now has 33 more protein, along with 26 essential vitamins and minerals. And it has a guaranteed great taste. Man boost gives me everything i need to be up for doing what i love. Boost high protein. Be up for it. Boost high protein. The Digital Divide is splitting this country. We have parents who are trying to get their kids off of too much social media and computers, and then we have parents who would only hope their children have access. Middle school is a really key transition point, right. The stakes start changing. Students begin to really start thinking about their futures. What i like about verizons approach is that its not limited to just giving kids new tools, its really about empowering educators to teach in different ways, and exposing kids to more active forms of learning. Giving technology is not a total solution. Teaching technology, now that is. Kim jongun is taking part in another meeting with chinas president in beijing he is looking to seize momentum a week after his historic talks with President Trump. Brian todd is joining us now. Kim is taking an increasingly prominent role right now on the world stage. He is, wolf. Kim has just made his fourth trip abroad in the past three months after not venturing outside his own country for his first six years in power. Analysts say this is a highly choreographed attempt by kim to normalize himself in the eyes of the world. Kims reality is that hes not a normal leader, but experts say as kim and President Trump try the seize the momentum after the summit, kim appears to have the early advantage. With the fanfare of the state visit, kim consults with his closest ally, chinese president xi. This comes a week after kims smumt with President Trump. B obviously hes there first and foremost to brief him on the summit. But since he flew to singapore and back on a chinese plane, you can bet the first call he made back was to brief x irk. Kims transformation to a globe trotting statesman has been stunning. During his first six year, he never left north korea. In the hlast four month, hes taken three trips ch tonight, both kim and trump are trying to seize the momentum from the summit. Early advantage to kim and his chinese partner. Theyve struck first blood so well have to see what happens in the aftermath, but its fair to say the u. S. And its allies are discombobulated, in disarray and the chinese are taking advantage of that to seize the momentum. The chinese and north koreans have the momentum experts say because theyve gotten the u. S. And south korea to suspend their joint military exercises without giving up much yet in return. That decision by trump took his allies and military by surprise. China could also be helping north korea out by dialing back enforcement of sanctions. One diplomat says the fact kim has not yet had to make specific commitments to give up his Nuclear Weapons shows he may now have all the cards. This was the equivalent of having your wallet, your watch and your shoe laces stolen. But tonight, President Trump is is trying to seize some momentum himself. Demanding credit for at least starting a dialogue with a dictator whoes aggression many believed was out of control. Trump tweeted quote, if president obama who got nowhere with north korea, had gotten along with north korea and made the initial steps toward a deal that i have, the fake news would have named him a national hero. Some analysts agree. Six months ago, we were talking about the possibility of a military conflict on the korean peninsula. We are no longer in a situation where the topic of the day is is is there going to be a war on the korean peninsula. So fair enough, give the president credit for that. Still, sources tell cnn tonight theres nothing indic e indicating that north korea has begun destroying its Missile Launch sites despite President Trumps claims to the contrary and his claims that north korea is no longer a nuclear threat. Analysts say kim jongun could be holding out for more concession frs the u. S. Before he starts destroying those missile sites. Wolf. Lot of work still needs to be done. Good report iing as usual. Thank you very much. And a thats it for meful thanks very much for watching. Im wolf blitzer in the situation room. Erin Burnett Outfront starts right now. Outfront next break iing news. President trump just wrapping up a major meeting on capitol hill as his own party turns on him. Is trump Standing Firm on separating families at the border . Plus, more breaking news. More signals from Michael Cohen that hes ready to save what he knows about the trump, about trump. A friend saying if they want information on trump, cohens going to give it. And kooersen nielsen under fire m more calls for her resignation. Does chef a credibility crisis on her hands . Lets go outfront. And good evening. The breaking new, President Trump just wrapping up a meting with House Republicans on capitol hill. The discussion coming as bipartisan