Clarify areas of common interest and areas of sharp difference so we can better understand why these differences exist and what prospects for narrowing those differences may be. Were not going into syria, but when i see people using horrible, horrible chemical weapons, which they agreed not to use under the obama administration, but they violated it. Frankly putin is backing a person that is truly evil. I think it is very bad for russia. But the russian president firing back saying where is the proof they used chemical weapons . There is none. And the trust between the u. N. And Russian Military has deteriorated. This has james matti srks tampsn a dangerous escalation. We maintain communications with the russian mill stair and with the dipmatic channels that will not spiral out of control. Good day, right now andrea is in the morn ministers mansion in moscow. Rex tillerson is delivering President Trumps message on syria directly to Vladimir Putin. I want to bring in our panel on a very busy news day. We have michael mcfall. Lisa sam, former director for nato and strategic affairs, and h Halle Jackson, but i want to start with andrea in moscow. The stakes could not be higher, youre in the very room waiting to hear from secretary tillerson. We know now there is a meeting going on with president putin that had been unclear. What are the expectations today . The expectations for a real positive outcome are not terribly high. Vladimir putin kept Rex Tillerson dangling. They got a notion there would be a meeting but it wasnt official. He has canceled his departure tonight that was scheduled. He will leave in the morning. Theyre meeting right now, it has been just under an hour. They started about seven minutes after 11 00 your time. Seven minutes after 6 00 p. M. Our time. Theyre meeting at the kremlin, and putin started the day with a slam on the u. S. Policy on syria as you just pointed out saying there is no evidence of the intelligence. Were expecting tillerson will be presenting that intelligence. Lavrov greeted tillerson with a very Cold Shoulder saying not only they have disagreements over syria, but saying there have been conflicting issues coming from washington. Mixed messages. We all noted that, but he seized on the American Press criticism, and the analysis from the u. S. , and also said that there is no one for russia to talk to because this administration has not appointed anyone to the state department to work under secretary tillerson. So it was a nasty greeting and then tillerson said they will trto narrow some of the differences. A lot of issues to cover. We were told before we got here that he would raise the issue of russias hacking of the election. Since then, of course, syria and the whole disagreement there, playing out in the u. N. As you pointed out, has taken precedence. It will be very interesting to see whether or not we can get him to answer some questions for that. What other issues did he bring up . Were also told the u. S. Side is floating the idea of going after assad now for war crimes. That is a difficult legal lis tick issue. Russia can haveto it in the end. It took years and years to get him on trial nap is another threat, and tillerson trying to take a harder line on pew tin than anyone else has until the comments that you just played of President Trump saying that putin is protecting an evil man. That is the har shest that the president has been. Certainly big news they might be pushing to go after asad on war crimes. Quickly, the fact that president putin left this meeting up in the air, left it a mystery until the very last minute, talk about the strategy of that and the tensions really overshadowing this meeting. Why he would have done about meeting with secretary tillerson in that way. Mike mcfall who personally saw this up close, and that is how putin would treat john kerry, but that was john kerry. He criticized russia on human rights and went after russia time and time again. This is Rex Tillerson that got the award of friendship when they were doing billions of dollars to deals. This is very different up until recently. With donald trump sayinghat i want improve retions, and with trump until recently not breathing a word of criticism against putin, for him to do this was an obvious signal they are not happy about the air strike and theyre not going to have a better relationship no matter what donald trump said in the campaign. The other thing over shadowing this is the russian hacking. Tillerson has embraced the intelligence communities findings. We know you will be front and center for that press con friend i want to turn to bill neily. What are you hearing from russia when Vladimir Putin is asking for proof of the chemical attack. He is comparing it to the false claims of wmd. They said we have no doubt the Syrian Government is behind this. Why is russia taking this tactic and what are you hearing today from top russian officials . Yes, the day is ending rather hopefully. It began, i think rather badly in u. S. Terms with a Russian Television interview that Vladimir Putin gave in which, as you say, he said relations between russia and the u. S. Have deteriorated under President Trump. I remember the kinds of things he said about the obama relationship. As you say he said there is no evidence that the Syrian Forces were responsible for chemical weapons attacks nap has always been the russian position. The day didnt start off terribly well. Were getting more intelligence from that base about what was in that syrian base. What kind of forces from the syrian a were there . What kind of equipment they had at that base and the u. S. Saying they tracked the plane that took off from that base. And the u. S. Dropped the weapons on that. The russians right from the beginning denied the Syrian Forces were responsible in any way, kristin. Bill, thank you for that. I want to turn now to ambassador mcfall. You have seen this movie before when can comes to tthd putin. Talk about the expectations for the meeting given the two sides are still too far apart. This is the usual for him. The meeting is on, the meetle is off. It is a republican and democrat thing. That is the way he rolls. He makes and the meeting might be going on for a long time. He has a lot of things to say. He will tell tillerson how we are screwing up the relationship. There was High Expectations in moscow. He said a lot of pro russian things. That has gone by the wayside so far. Dont be surprised at the end of the meeting that secretary tillerson gets before the press and says we are trying to make u. S. Russian relations work. He will try to soflten the differences in public. Lisa, i want to turn to you know. Lets play sound from nikki hailey who spoke moments ago. Lets take a listen. It is long past time for russia to continue to be part of the problem. Let me get your reaction to that. In the context of what andrea was reporting. There might be a push to try to try him as a war criminal. I would be more than happy to actually see it happen. Is it realistic . I think we have to see what the allies are saying. I think what nikki haihailey is saying is similar to the last bam ba ambassador to the united nations. No one should be surprised that assad may have had help covering the primes frcrimes from his pa russia. So theyre looking out for their friend and food hold in the middle east. And pulling the russians a way are not an easy ask. Do you think that is something that secretary tillerson could do to. Sanctions are not an easy thing to get allies in a coalition together and to agree on. We had a little trouble with the ukraine related sanctions and i think there were discussions coming out of the g 7 summit and they want to g back to work. I want to turn to Halle Jackson at the white house now. The president has his own press Conference Today with the nato secretary general. He has not yeteally weighed in firmly. Now all eyes are going to b on the president. What are you expecting in that regard. The press conference that andrea is currently at is dominating the headlines right now. But he stands side by side. The revolves around he is largely struck a tone of conciliation you can say with moscow saying hey, look, if we can work with them, we can work with them, great, why not have a negotiating partner . Does it change thingss after what we heard from President Trump on Fox Business Network this morning regarding tough talk on syria on Bashir Al Assad and Vladimir Putin. So that is going to come up, i can tell you this, senior white house officials are tells us that russia will be on the table. We will be watching and we will bring you the latest. You will be in that press conference hopefully gets a question and pressing the president. Talk about where relations really stand from your vantage point. Are these the worst relations between the United States and russia since the cold war. Ambassador, to you first . Yeah, i think theyre pretty bad. The agenda for cooperation is pretty small. The issues for competition are big and there is a struggle to this too that we have not talked about, but putin is now pressing a different kind of ideology of nationalism, antiliberalism, and he thought that President Trump would be his ally in that. The last couple days suggest maybe he will not be. Andrea, whats your take . I agree with mike mcfall. Just the sense that we have is now it is beyond ukraine, and it is syria, obviously, and the election hacking. Even though that was not a big issue, clearly for donald trump, it is for the rt of the republican party, it is for the senate, the house, with a few exceptions, and it is an unavoidable issue. Now we know the investigation is so serious and has been going on since july, that is also hanging over the relationship. That is not something that Vladimir Putin wants to see. So President Trump, i think is edging, as you heard him in this interview on fox business, edging closer to a broader consensus view. Largely because of the syrian strike, and also clearly the role of mcmaster, mattis and tillerson now taking hold as the trio of National SecurityForeign Policy officials, especially with the diminished authority in this realm at least of steve bannon will refocus the president. He seems to, i think, wanting to become closer to the consensus on the issue of Vladimir Putin after seeing what happened in syria. All right, andrea, thank you, and of course we continue to monitor developments out of moscow. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson meeting with russian president Vladimir Putin and we await a press conference thanks to a great panel, fantastic discussion there. Tillerson will hold that News Conference with his russian counter part, we will bring that to you live here on Andrea Mitchell reports only on msnbc. Cash back on all of my purchasing. And that unlimited 2 cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business. Which adds fuel to my bottom line. Whats in your wallet . Termites, were on the move. 24 7. Roger. Hey rick, all good . Oh yeah, were good. Were good. Termites never stop trying to get in, we never stop working to keep them out. Terminix. Defenders of home. Remember when you said men are supeyeah. Ivers . Yeah, then howd i get this. Allstate safe driving bonus check . Only allstate sends you a bonus check for every six months youre accident free. Silence. Its good to be in, good hands. Welcome back on a busy day of news. President trump urging the chinese to get more involved in north korea. It was front and center at their summitmaralago. I said we cant allow it, its no good for you. I hope china can help you. We talked about trade and chi will do better on trade if they help us with north korea. Joining me now from seoul is janice. Thank you for being here. Lets talk about what is happening on saturday, on saturday north korea is celebrating the birth anniversary of kim il sung. In the past they have used this type of moment to flexion their muscl muscles. To launch a provocation. Do you expect that to happen . What do you hear on the ground . There has been speculation for weeks. They have shown activity at sites. And with his series of tests and provocations. A test right now would be an act of utter defiance to not only the United States but to china, which is emerging as a more proactive player in this situation. We saw that with the call from President Trump. Suggesting that xi jinping wants to continue this conversation. What china is willing to do is still unclear. China is still pushing for talks but were seeing small signs of their tightening the vice. A state run newspaper suggested that china could cut off Oil Shipments if they went ahead with a nuclear test. They also said that china is tired of having north Koreas Nuclear issue at their doorstep. Pressure is coming from all sides and all eyes still on pyongyang. Thank you for that reporting. We really appreciate it. I want to bring in the former supreme ally commander at nato and msnbcs chief international and diplomacy correspondent. Lets talk about the tensions between the u. S. And china. President trump had that neatmeg with the president of china, and it didnt seem like he got what he wanted. What leverage does he have to push china to get something done here. To begin with, he sent a Carrier Strike group that is a massive military capability, steaming about 1,000 miles a day heading right at the korean peninsula. I think that sends a pretty awakening kind of signal from the chinese that as the president has said you can help us deal with this or we will deal with it ourselves. What i see happening, kristen, is h. R. Mcmaster, the National Security advisor, is a master at moving these global pieces around on the chess board. I think he gave the president good advice. There is military leverage, trade leverage that the president mentioned, and alliance leverage. I wonder how you see that trade leverage, though, i think it could cut both ways. In one sense if the president drives too hard on the trade issue, does he run the risk of alienating. You end up cutting yourself. This is the art of the deal. This is how you try to thread the needle. Lets hope the president is up to the task. I want to play something that sean spicer said earlier today about north korea. Lets take a listen. We have a shared interest with china in making sure we dont have a nuclear north korea. We do have a nuclear north korea. They do, they have 25,000 Artillery Weapons facing seoul. Im not going to get into discussions about their nuclear capability. What do you make of that . What is north Koreas Nuclear capability at this point . What is dangerous is that you need to think of it as two streams moving toward each other. One stream is miniaturizing and hardenning existing nuclear weapons. Of which they about have 15. The other stream is the ability to launch them at range with ballistic missiles, when they cross, thats your moment of maximum danger. That is 18 months to two years out. It is coming at us and well have to make hard decisions at that point. Not a lot of time at all. Thank you so much for your insights into this critical topic. We really appreciate it. Coming up, Major Political headlines here in washington today. Sean spicers apology tour after his controversial holocaust comments. That is next on Andrea Mitchell reports. Hey allergy muddlers are you one sneeze away from being voted out of the carpool . Try zyrtec® its starts working hard at hour one and works twice as hard when you take it again the next day. Stick with zyrtec® and muddle no more®. That gives you better taste and better nutrition in so many varieties. Classic. Cage free. And organic. Only egglands best. Better taste. Better nutrition. Better eggs. Thithis is the new new york. E . Think again. We are building new airports all across the state. New roads and bridges. New mass transit. New business friendly environment. New lower taxes. And new University Partnerships to grow the businesses of tomorrow today. Learn more at esd. Ny. Gov press Secretary Sean Spicer expressing rekbret today after a major backlash saying that Bashir Al Assad is guilty of worse things than adolf hitler. When you have someone as despicable as hitler who did not sink to using chemical weapons. He was not using gas on his own people the same way. Understand your point, thank you, i appreciate that, there was not in the he brought them in to the holocaust center, i sense that. Spicers comments set off a fire tomorrow of criticism and he made several attempts to clarify. The Anne Frank Center and nancy pelosi called fir his resignation. He spoke about it this morning. I made a mistake. There is no other way to say it. I got into a topic that i shouldnt have, and i screwed up. To make a gaffe and a mistake like this is inexcuse able enrep reprehensible. I feel i let the president down. Joining me now is elise jordan. It seems like what happened yesterday may be part of a broader problem for the white house. They are struggling with how it relates to syria because they have not enumerated their policy. What do you make of it. I it is a more of a problem. You have so many different prop innocent surg gaits like u. N. Ambassador nikki hailey. At the end of the day it comes down to the fact they dont have a policy or a strategy. Under pinning all of this is a lot of palace intrigue going on in the administration, and what we know have been mounting tensions between the president s soninlaw Jared Kushner and steve bannon. The person who is the protector of the populist message. He said i like steve, but you have to remember he was not involved in my campaign until very late. I had beaten all of theenator d vernorers. Im my own strategist and it was not like i was going to change strategies to beat crooked hillary. He is a good guy, i told them to straighten it out or i will. When i read that i was stunned. That shows that President Trump really does not have the confidence in steve bannon that he once had. He was so clear that i told them to work it out or else is a ultimatum for bannon. Let me follow up with that real quick. Bannon is the guy that keepsth president honest on all of these Campaign Promises he made to his base. Isnt that one thing that keeps him in the job. How has steve dr the counter argument is how has he helped trump deliver on those promises. He was the architect of the very shaky First Executive order. On the travel ban, that caused chaos and is still held up in the courts, he was supposed to help the hill, and that was a stunning failure. Everything that steve has touched has not really gone that well for donald trump, so i think while he has a connection to the base, he wants to see results at the end of the day. Let me ask you about this Washington Post headline. It was suspected that carter payne was acting on behalf of the russians. I spoken to him and he said this is nothing more than a political hit job. He said he every eve met the president. It would be huge news if we department have so many other fires going right now. I just, i was a Foreign Policy advisor on senator pauls ca campaign, and i think it is a pretty big deal. He was not an influencer in the trump campaign, he was someone that President Trump trotted out of, and the Foreign Policy establishment would come on board, but the facts said he was affiliated and involved and the questions should be resolved. Theyre certainly going to be looked into very closely. Thank you so much, appreciate you joining us. Thank you. Coming up, kremlin summit. Vladimir putin and correction t Rex Tillerson have been meeting for over an hour now. Well bring you the press conference live. When this bell rings. It starts a chain reaction. Thats heard throughout the connected business world. 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Because the ones you love, sit behind it. parents whisper jingle safelite repair, safelite replace. It was very clear they executed it, and beyond that we cant is a more, we know what we just told you. That was jim mattis e srks expressing his confidence that Syrian Government was the cause of the chemical weapon attack. They say that u. S. And russian relations have gotten worse on a military level. Thank you for being here, david, appreciate it. Great to be with you. We know thahe has been meeting with president pew tin now for over an hour. There is a lot of tough talk on both sides. What is the realistic message they are sending today . I think the initial mess an they were sending, not announcing the meeting is that were going to key you off balance and guessing. The fact he held a meeting was a sign that the russians want to seek a stable outcome. That certainly was their expectation six months ago in the campaign when they saw trump was potentially more willing to meet with the russians. So i think putin clearly has been put off balance by trumps recent actions and i think is trying to recover ground now. You have the Russian Foreign minister effectively warning the u. S. Not to strike again. What do you make of that warning and the fact that the government continues to deny that day attack. There is every indication they were behind the Cruise Missile strike. They didnt want it to go so quickly. The further warning is of the relations ahead if there is not a Common Ground in dealing with syria. I think tillerson, for all of his tough talk and the military action last week, i think the basic goal remains to see if there is a way they can act together to pursue a political solution. That was the goal they had. Now there is more military u muscle, and well see what they get. When you talk about a political solution, one of the challenges is that you are hearing mixed messaging. Youre hearing tillerson that it is up to the fate of the people. Youre hearing nikki hailey say that assad has to go. What do you think is the impact of that. What message do you think that di tillerson is sending . This is still a new administration, inexperienced without a lot of message discipline. We have seen new evidence of that in the past week. I was told that if youre trying to figure out what our policy is, follow tillerson. I think really there is less of a disagreement here than there might seem. The u. S. Says, now, as obama said assad must be gone for this political transition to work. The fazing of that remains the question. The point that tillerson is making right now to pugh ten is that your interesting are not sk served. You need to think for your own interests about getting him out. Another big meeting that were tracking today, given what the president has said, more of natos partners need to meet their commitments financially, what will come out of the meeting . I would guess it will be less incendiary. I would guess that other nato members do have to do more. A number ofountries said they will increase their commitment for defense spending. There is concern about the russian threat to nato. The sdooir to respond to it. So i think the fundamental issues posed by trumps american first Foreign Policy are still there. I think were in a period where they will be swept under the rug a little bit, and i think well have more smiles and handshakes and seeming agreement than you might have thought six months ago. A fascinating take. Appreciate your insights. Coming up next, the trump agenda, where it stands as we near the 100 day mark. It is time for the your business entrepreneurs of the week. These two launched Cuddle Clones because they knew people like them would like a huggable replica of their friends. They have now shipped out more than 20,000 stuffed animals. For more, watch your business at 7 30 on msnbc. Or fill a big order or expand your office and take on whatever comes next. Find out how American Express cards and services can help prepare you for growth at open. Com. Ive got a nice long life ahead. Find out how American Express cards and services big plans. So when i found out medicare doesnt pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. Then i got a Medicare Supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if youre eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80 of your part b medical expenses. The rest is up to you. Call now and find out about an aarp Medicare Supplement insurance plan, inred by unitedhealthcare insurance company. Like all standardized Medicare Supplement insurance plans, it helps pick up some of what medicare doesnt pay. 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And could save you in outofpocket medical costs. Call now to request your free decision guide. And learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now and down the road. I have a lifetime of experience. So i know how important that is. I got what you need. Ill be your ill, ill. Sarah . Cleaning up. President trump raising eyebrows with surprising remarks he made about one of his closer advisors. The New York Post reporting this statement joining me now to discuss all of this, sam stein, msnbc contributor, and karen, our washington correspondent. Thank you for being here, a lot to chew on. Sam, you covered the campaign. Talk about the notion that he is someone who is new to the trump world . If is not true. He came on board as the last iteration of a campaign manage sore to speak. He was with trump awhile, he knew trump beforehand, but he tries to create distance by claiming he doesnt know people who are very intimately close to his campaign. He was described as someone that was not really around all that long and much and carter page, the embroiled Foreign Policy aide embroiled in controversy, trump says barely knew him, but trump who offered him up for an interview with your paper. So when theres someone controversial, he likes to create distance. Is it a sign that steve bannon is out . He cant win a battle against his soninlaw. I think among other things, its probably a sign that trump is not real happy with Steve Bannons elevated profile, the whole sort of president bannon story line. But the president is right about something, his Campaign Strategy was, in fact, donald trump. And when anyone came in and tried to rein him in or say it wasnt such a great thing to say this thing, it was a pure Donald Trump Campaign sttegy, which more often than not looked like no strategy. And lets talk about in terms of off the cuff, what we heard sean spicer say yesterday, karen. Let me get your take. Look, he made these comments, comparing Bashar Al Assad to hitler. Not a good day for sean spicer, but how does it impact the administration when theyre trying very hard to get on the same page when it comes to messaging about syria . I do think that one problem is that they are not getting enough sort of guidance from the top, on the really big key issues, which are what exactly is our goal here . And to what ends are we willing to go to achieve it . And were hearing different messages from different Top Administration officials on that. Very quickly, im hearing spicers job is safe. Do you think it is . Because this is not his first gaffe. I would be nervous if i were him. Your job is literally to stay on message, not create distractions, move the administrations goals forward. At a time when trump was reveling in his success of the syrian strikes, then have the story turn to an insensitive comparison of assad to hitler, i think is really falling down on the job. For trump, theres nothing more important than p. R. , and im sure he noticed this was a bad day for sean spicer. First rule of thumb, dont compare anyone to hitler. The president told fox Business News about health care and then ill get your reaction. I dont want to put deadlines. Health care is going to happen at some point. Now, if it doesnt happen fast enough, ill start the taxes. But the tax reform and the tax cuts are better if i can do health care first. Reality check, is health care possible within the first 100 days . I dont really see how the dynamics have changed much since it failed in the house. And i think last nights vote in kansas, all slow the republican did win, thats got to spook a lot of republicans. Kansas is a state where the governor did not expand medicaid, and the politics on health care are much different than just a year ago. If youre a republican or even a conservative, youre saying why do i want to touch that again . A great segue to kansas. Is it really a victory for democrats . I think what the democrats should be doing is rethinking their assumptions about what the map looks like. This was a seat that was not on any other lists of potential targets. They gave almost no help to this candidate, and he came awfully close to winning. I think if theyre smart, theyre thinking now where should we be looking for other targets of opportunity . Great discussion, guys. I wish we had more time. We should have more time. Next time we will. Thanks, guys. Up next, Andrea Mitchell joins me live from moscow on this high stakes day for the u. S. And russia. Rex tillerson and vladamir putin have been meeting at the kremlin for over 90 minutes now. Well get the latest from andrea. This is Andrea Mitchell reports only on msnbc. Nor smudge. Nor scratch. Nor damaging uv rays. Nor glare of night can keep you from the clearest vision possible. Ask for crizal noglare lenses. And live life in the clear. 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And theres a range of plans to choose from, depending on you needs and your budget. So if youre turning 65 soon, call now and get started. Because the time to think about tomorrow. Is today. Go long. I want to go back to moscow and andrea to get some final thoughts. You are in the room where secretary tillerson is going to be holding a joint News Conference with his russian counterpart later today. But first, we believe hes still meeting with russian president vladamir putin. What are you hearing . Set the stakes. Reporter as best we can tell, they are still meeting. As you know, these meetings with vladamir putin can go on for quite a long time. Previously, he met with lavrov. They had a long session and lunch. In that session, tillerson was not confrontational. He basically said, this is our bottom line. We want assad out of there. We dont expect an answer from you today. But take this into consideration. This is our thinking, and then get back to us with what you want to do. So hes trying to build a relationship. But clearly saying that there are differences, lets find a way to narrow them. Thats the main theme today. Whether that works with putin remains to be seen, but he suggests that tillerson is going to come out of this and come here to the press conference, which is not really a press conference. There are only two questions theyll answer, and one has already been awarded to fox news, thats the television question, something that happens frequently on these trips. At that point, hell probably try to put the best light on it, because they want to move forward, and they dont want this to be an allout verbal war with russia. Andrea mitchell, we know youll continue to track it for us and well take that live when it happens. Thank you. That does it for this very busy edition of Andrea Mitchell reports. Follow on facebook and twitter and you can follow me on twitter. Craig melvin is up next right here on msnbc. I always enjoy your tweets. Good afternoon to you, craig melvin here at msnbc headquarters in new york. Lots to get to this hour. Facetoface, an unplanned meeting between secretary of state Rex Tillerson and russian president vladamir putin, just moments after russia warned the United States not to strike syria again. Also this afternoon, out of favor . Top trump adviser steve bannon no longer getting a ringing endorsement from the president. Is bannons futcher in the white house in jeopardy . And melanias millions. The first lady settling that 150 million libel lawsuit against one of the biggest tabloids in britain. Thats straight ahead. But we start in russia, where again, any moment now, secretary of state Rex Tillerson will be holding whats being billed as a joint News Conference with his russian counterpart, serge lavrov. It will come immediately after that facetoface closed door meeting with president vladamir putin. In an interview this morning, President Trump blaming putin for being responsible for the april 4th chemical weapons attack. I really think theres going to be a lot of pressure on