Developments from across the country and the world. Hanse nickels is at the pentagon. Chris jansing is with the president in florida. Casey hunt on capitol hill and onset with me, former pentagon Senior Adviser marc jakobson, Jenna Johnson and caitlin burniburns. We want to quickly update you on another breaking story this morning out of sweden. Police in stockholm confirming investigation into a truck understand accident. We will have much more information as soon as we have it. Back now to the news out of syria and the big breaking news of the day. Hans nickel is at the pentagon, reporting on this overnight since the strikes first began. I want you to break down what exactly happened and what the Defense Department is saying about that mission, what went wrong, what went right. We know there were 59 tomahawk missiles. Walk us through it. The initial reports is that all of their targets were struck. Whether or not they launched 59 or 603 one , one of them may ha failed after luncaunch. Thats not significant. I could caution and hedge all of this by saying these are initial assessments. We need to find out more. Well be walking the halls and figuring out more getting the official cot. Number one, everyone is talking about the speed with which this operation was approved by President Trump. Approved on the same day that it was brought to him. And two, what is the speed and the willingness of the Trump Administration to approve these kind of strikes due to the discussion over north korea. That seems to be a lot of the background noise here. Real quickly on the actual operation, it happened about 8 40 last night local time, happened quickly. The goal was to disable and deter future chemical weapons strikes. And youre also hearing that the russians, if they didnt know they should have known that this chemical weapon attack was taking place. The russia and assad forces are so closely embedded from that very airfield, that airstrip where they hit, the planes that took off, russians also have planes taking off from that strip. We should know the deconfliction line is apparently open. U. S. Officials are saying this is the line, the hotline between the fourss in iraq and syria and russia. They talk a lot on the phone to make sure their planes dont collide. That is open according to the u. S. Side. A little different rorkt out of moscow on that. Thats the latest. On this strike they took, there were russians on the base. The u. S. Had such confidence in their precision that they dont think they actually hit where the russians were probably sleeping at the time. And hans, we know that the president was presented with a range of options by his defense secretary. He chose what is being described as the most limited target. Talk a little bit about that, about the nature of this strike, the fact that its limited, very targeted, very specific. Specific, limited and that minimized some of the risk. The other options that could have been taken would have involved potential fixed wing aircraft on the u. S. Side. To do that you have to deal with radar, potential surface to air missiles. Remember, the syrians, the assad regime have a fairly sophisticated antiaircraft system in part because they get help from the iranians and the russians. Theres acknowledgment if you wanted to ground the assad air force, take it out, that would require aot more air power and that would have been u. S. Air pilots at risk. One other thing on the runway,s back and forth on why didnt they crater the runway or pot mark the runway. They took out the critical structure of the runway, fuel pumps. Pot mocking a runway can be taken air of and fixed in a couple of hours with a few bags of asphalt. Thats why they decided not to waste tomahawks on hitting the actual runway. Hans, we appreciate your reporting. We want to head now to capitol hill. Casey hunt, i know youve been walking the halls there talking to lawmakers and youre getting new information about the briefings theyve been getting. Fill us in. What are you hearing . Reporter we do have some new information, kristen. We know that theres doing to be an all senators briefing from general dunford here on capitol hill this afternoon around 1 00 or so. It will give them a chance to learn perhaps some classified details of what happened and the thinking that the administration has put into this as well as potentially the strategy going forward. I think that is going to be the critical question here for members of congress as the reaction has come in. I think on the whole there has been positive reaction to the idea of punishing assad for the humanitari humanitarian, you know, for the strikes that were so devastating to look at and those pictures being so intense and difficult. Theres definitely broad support it seems tore pushing back against that. However, there has been a lot of discussion already from members of congress about what is the Long Term Strategy here and if there is one, is the president going to consult with congress about how to move forward . You eve already had nancy polocy write a letter to the speaker say congress should come in and consider a new authorization for use of military force. Remember a lot of the strikes that have been conducted recently have been authorized under that 2001 authorization that came after the september 11th attacks. Congress had tried to authorize strikes that the president obama wanted back in 2013, but the political appetite for it just wasnt there. So were keeping an eye on how this is going to play out. Its a little bit of a difficult time for congress to be grappling with this because theyre heading out on a twoweek resays. The house has already departed. The senate is on its way out today. A lot is going to remain in the president ial hands for the next couple of weeks. And we know that there are growing calls for the president to consider consulting congress, as you point out, particularly if there are more steps needed. Well continue to track that angle of the story. Thank you so much. We want to head now to florida and maralago. Chris jansing who is tracking the developments from the white house. What are you hearing this morning from the white house and walk us through how this all unfolded last night, this extraordinary backdrop, the president meeting with the president of china has he made this critical decision. Reporter yeah. And were going to be hearing potentially from the president just about half an hour from now hen he goes into that bilateral meeting with president xi. And as you know when the pool goes in they have an opportunity to ask questions. In addition we may get further comments this morning as we goes into the critical meeting with the president of china. But this all came together very very quickly. We are told from senior white house officials that there was a growing level of confidence over the 72 hours since the attack happened that it was assad, that it probably was sarin gas and the president wanted to talk to the options. They narrow ed down to three, then two. Were told that there was a meeting of considerable length and farreaching discussion before the president made his final decision. He went into what is a secure room at maralago with secretary tillerson, with mcmaster. There were people on the conference by seceideo conference from the white house. And that is where we are told inside that room there was a sort of confidence, a cautious confidence about the decision they had made. There are now other decisions obviously that will need to be made going forward. They hit one of six airfields. Is that a limited situation . What does it mean else where, for example, what kind of message does it send to north korea and what does it tell us about this young presidency and the way that they are going to approach future problems with countries like north korea. Tillerson said very clearly last night in a latenight briefing with reporters, dont extrapolate too much out of this. This was one reaction to one very specific issue. And so again, were waiting maybe within half an hour we could be hearing from the president as he goes into the meeting on this last day of the visit by president xi of china. We know youre tracking that closely. Thank you for all of your reporting. We are going to continue to talk about syria throughout the hour but we want to update you on the breaking news out of sweden. Kooer simil tear simil keir simmonss is life. What do we know about this vehicle that crashed. What are people saying. The state Department Warning u. S. Citizens about a truck that appeared to plow into a crowd of people. The swedish Prime Minister is saying everything indicated a truck crashing into a Department Store is a terror attack. What appears to have happened is that this truck has careened down this main thoroughfair. Were told by Swedish Security Police they know of three dead so more. Many injured. You can see the police hurriedly clearing the area. The police are warning people not to go into the center of the city. Witnesses describing seeing smoke pouring from that building. One saying that they came down from high up in that building, started running down the stairs when a fire alarm started. All they could see was a lot of smoke and then there was someone who helped them to get to the other side of the building and to safety. There you can see the picture where it appears that the truck has hit the Department Store. The fear will be that this will be another example of a deliberate use of a vehicle to kill and maim people in a european city. Whether that is the case, it does appear that the police are investigating it as musuch. But thats what you dppt. Well find out in the hours and days to come. Well continue to checks in with you as you get developments. We appreciate it. Devastating news out of sweden. We want to turn back to our top tor story, the air strikes syria late last night. I want to bring in our panel now. Thanks to all of you for being here. Really appreciate it. Mark, i want to talk to you. You have experience in this. Former official involved with the Defense Department. Youve also served in afghanistan. What do you make of the nature of the strikes . Was this about weakening Bashar Al Assad or was it about sending a message to him . Both. Whats clear to me the military, a professional organization leddy generby general mattis, t were able to provide him with a range of options. One, do some damage to the Syrian Air Base where the Chemical Attacks were launched from. But secondly, and i think more importantly, send a clear signal to assad that the use of chemical weapons will be met with u. S. Military force. Whats less clear to me is whether or not this is a shift no policy and whether or not assad gets the message. You talk about the shift in policy. That is a murky point because let me interrupt. Were going to go to senator john mccain quickly whos talking about this. Well come right back. Committing war crimes and the slaughter of people and refugees. Which are a direct result of what happened in syria. Our failure. Reporter this is the kind of thing you have been calling for for years now. Do you feel vindicated that the president has has taken these actions . Im glad the president has shown trust in his team and i want to emphasize. This is the beginning. Weve got a long way to go before were able to bring the chaos that exists in the middle east under stability. Reporter talk about the relationship with russia. How does that complicate that relationship and what does it say about the trumps administrations with russia. Hes slaughtering men, women and children with chemical weapons. I hope the message is that Vladimir Putin understands, that is when you excite war crimes and help people commit war crimes, theres a penalty to pay. Reporter are you comfortable with the communication that the white house had with moscow ior to the attack . Prior to the attack, im not going to micromanage the way they handmentled it. One other aspect of this is a lot of us are wondering who had the influence of the president as far as National Security is concerned. I am very much reassured wes relied on tillerson and mcmaster. Reporter is there a risk of i talked to him on the phone and then i talked to him again afterwards. Reporter what did he say to you after the strike, what did you say to him . I told him i thought it was the right thing to do and had far more impact than a series of air strikes. It shows that america is interested in asserting its leadership in the world. I was glad that the chinese president was there because our now big crisis is north korea having a Nuclear Weapon and a means to deliver tight the United States. Reporter have you concerned about an escalation of this with russia . I think the russians only understand one thing, and that is that force is used in response to the commission of war crimes. We all saw the pictures of those dead children and that kind of thing, if we can prevent it from being repeated, we should. Reporter given the impact that the pictures clearly had on the president , do you hope he reconsiders his stance on refugees from syria . I believe that the best way to stop that refugee flow is obviously stability and that means that Bashar Al Assad leaving. Im not sure what effect this will have on the president of the United States as far as refugees are concerned. Reporter senator, if this doesnt meet the criteria or the tlesh ld for an amuf. What does . I think when youre going to be engaged in a long military campaign, the amuf as it stands is questionable as far as its constitutionality is concerned. No president , democrat or republican, has challenged it in court because fear that it may be declared constitutional. We have to respect the role of the president as commander in chief and i would be glad and will continue to engage in negotiation with my Democrat Friends on a new amuf but im not ready for congress to micromanage the commander in chief. If youre still with us, that was senator john mccain who was obviously talking about the fact that he had a phone call with the president after those strikes occuroccurred. Hes not going to micromanage an how its done but he thinks this should be a first step that should include arming the free Syrian Rebels as well as additional measures. This is something that senator mccain has focused on for many years. Its something that he has hes visited syria on several occasions. Its really something i think hes focused on and you can see his change in tone toward the president of the United States in the wake of these air strikes. A change in tone indeed. And you press ed him on whether or not this could press an escalation with russia. I thought it was interesting that he said this is the only language that Vladimir Putin understands. Let me turn to the panel. Senator mccain saying that he wants to see the Free Syrian Army armed, arming the rebels and then the potential escalation with russia. Could this spark an escalation with russia . A limited strike with assad is one thing. Im not as worried about an escalation with russia because what the russians say in public is very different than what they say in private. Theyve indicated that assad may not have to stay. This is key for the Trump Administration to follow up military action with a diplomatic plan. Twisting the russians arms if they need to, pushing the russians along in getting assad to move out. Weve yet to see if thats the strategy. But again a diplomatic approach, strategy must compliment the limited military strikes. And the president is clear hes not going to signal his strategy. Hes talk about the politics of this, jenna. As you know in 2013 president obama got very close to launching an attack against syria. At the last moment he decided not to. And he decided to put this to congress and ultimately congress didnt want to weigh in. They didnt want their hands on this. You heard the senator talking about the potential of revisiting an amuf, do you think thats going to happen and will congress have any more willingness to weigh in at this point . Everyone needs to figure out how this strike fits in with the president s broader strategy. Up to this point hes saying things that are completely inconsistent with what we saw last might. On the Campaign Tail he said assad was a bad guy but a lower priority than fighting isis. Especially fighting isis in syria. And really it just wasnt on my radar. He said he didnt want to get involved in other countries, that he was going to have an american first mentality and did not want to directly get involved in conflicts happening within countries. That all changed last night and we have to wait and see what he wants to do coming forward. Such a fascinating point. And it was a swift change from America First to really talking about how personally impacted he was by those images that we saw in the wake of the chemical strike, those children who were suffering. Takeaway. What did he learn . Two and a half months in were seeing the collision of campaigning and governing. President s as we know dont get to choose what their situations are. Although this is a situation they had a lot of lead up to. Chemical attacks happened before. Weve seen these images before. Of course as you mentioned in tw 2013, i covered the vote on this. This is an issue that scrambles alliances on capitol hill. It also comes at a time when the white house is in an embattled position. This is a time that i think youll see some republicans really rally around this president during this. But youll also have some republicans, rand paul, for example, calling for congressional buyin. But as you mentioned, congress is very cautious about these kinds of decisions. But you do have people who want the president to come to them, but its a very difficult vote fo them if that comes to it. Its a great point. It scrambles political alliances. Were going to check in with bill neely who is in moscow. Bill, ie eyes on russia and Vladimir Putin, his reaction. You just heard mark talking about the fact that behind the keens he may be sending a different signal. What are you hearing . Reporter good morning. Interesting picking up from john mccains remark, he was hoping for russian understanding and there is some evidence here that that is the case. They have condemned this attack. But really entirely predictly. President putin chaired a meeting of his National Security council this morning and after it called the u. S. Air strikes an act of aggression against a sovereign country, against national law and will have negative consequences. Highly predictable. Issuing a view that purports the show the damage at that air base but saying only 23 of the 59 cruise missiles struck the base, that the main runway wasnt hit and the combat effectiveness of the mission is very low. More seriously the russians are suspending their involvement in that deconfliction agreement with the u. S. Which helps to prevent u. S. And russian aircraft collide in the skies over syria. But heres the kicker if you like. Its just suspending its participation. It isnt pulling out all together. Russia is conceding that it was warned of the air strikes before hand and the Russian Foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov said i dont think this will lead to an irreversible situation. Limited air strikes, limited condemnation from russia, strong but predictable thank you for breaking it down with for us. Coming up, whats President Trumps next move . Is there a line for more military action . Ill talk to former secretary of defense William Cohen, thats next. Stay with us. 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The u. S. Embassy telling american to avoid the area. Were following all developments along with keir simmonss out of london. Were bring you the latest details as soon as we get them. Back here stocks are mixed in first hour. The Labor Department says the economy added 98,000 jobs in march, well below expectations of a again of 180,000 jobs. But on a brighter note, the Unemployment Rate dropped two notches, the lowest in a decade. Hillary clinton continued to jump back into the political conversation. Heres what he said last night hours before President Trump launched the air strike in syria. I really believe that we should have and still should take out his airfields and prevent him from being able to use them to bomb innocent people and drop sarin gas on them. On the u. S. Retaliatory missile strike on syria, russian president Vladimir Putin has met with his security council. Im joined by bill clintons secretary of defense, bill cohen, the chairman and ceo of the cohen group. Back with me jenna jnson and katelyn huey burns. Thank you for joining me on this busy friday. We appreciate it. Im glad to be with you. I want you to take us inside what may have happened last night in maralago. We know that secretary of Defense James Mattis advised pump President Trump on his decision. Offered him a range of options. You were in a similar situation years ago when you advised former president bill clinton on his range of options in kosovo and syria. What is that moment like . What do you think took place behind the scenes . Well, the pentagon is always in the process of refining military operations. They have been given an assignment to plan for contingencies and identify those places in the world that were required to act on a relatively short basis. This is not a oneshot propositi proposition. Before setting forth those options secretary of defense mattis would have to say, mr. President , here are some of the options. Weve also taken into account if we take each one of these options and there is a response, we have plans for that. So its not just were firing a shot and then see what happens. If we wait to see what happens and have no plan, wre in trouble. So thats why its important to have a strategy and then to make sure that the tactics youre using fit into the strategy. I assume theyve got many plans theyre reviewing and rehearsing what might take place if theres any kind of an escalation on the part of the russians or the iranians or the syrians. I want the get your reaction to the option that they chose. Tomahawk missiles. What do you make of it . It was targeted with specific and limited. All of the above. I thought it was a wise prudent choice to make. Surely we have the capacity to inflict far greater damage. But we have to take into account if we kill russians, iranians and others in the region, including the potential of our own soldiers if the missiles go astray, then we have consequences that follow we have to manage. I have great confidence in secretary mattis who used to be a colonel when i was at the pentagon and i admire him greatly. I know hes a man not only of action but of great thought and wisdom. Im happy and delighted that President Trump turned to him and to his other National Security team and took their recommendations into account and then made a decision. I thought it was a very strong move on the part of the president. There has been a lot of discussion about the speed of this. The fact that several days ago we heard secretary of state Rex Tillerson indicate, look, the future of assad is up to the syrian people. Weve heard the president time and time again saying he didnt want to intervooi vein in syria. His calculation completely changed when he saw the devastating images. He taulked about the fact that e was personally affected. What does that tell us about this new president. He obviously was emotionally involved in terms of seeing the pictures. We could go back several months or many years now. But to see similar pictures inflicted by either gas attacks or the conventional bombings. That little boy that was sitting dazed and shocked at the back of a vehicle, he was the image at that point just a few months ago. I think that the reality has set in on President Trump that he is the commander in chief. He cant blame the world in which hes inherited. Its a mess as he said before. True. You man for the office. Youre the president , the commander in chief, its your responsibility to take action. He did that, did it properly and now the question is what comes next. Lets step back and see what the reaction is. Lets now start to accentuate the diplomatic side of this and send a signal that its time for assad to go and were looking for a diplomatic way to bring that about but if necessary future military action is not off the table. But assad has to go. He ought to be held and charged with war crimes as well. Thats where it gets tricky. The former Obama Administration struggled with them. It was so difficult to actually make that happen. Who can the United States partner with and why has it taken this long to make that happen . I would continue to hold up the photographs of those dead children and put them squarely on the shoulders of the russian people. The russian president to say, you, mr. Putin, president putin enabled this horrific tragedy to take place. Youre supported this ally of yours who is engaged in heinous conduct well beyond any, any sense of decency. And were going to hold you responsible. This is your client. You had supervision. You promised to remove the weapons. You didnt. And you didnt see they were all removed. Were going to hold you responsible as well. I would continue to show that and make the russian president and the people responsible for this kind of damage. And maybe the russia as this point will say weve got to stop this, lets find a way out f this. We dont need assad to be our client forever. Lets find a peaceful solution. Consider more sanctions against russia, against syria, against the iranians, anyone who is at all enabling this regime to remain in power. Have some punishment administ administer administered. Let me follow up on a point that you have made which is we now have to wait to see what the potential backlash if any there might be from syria, potentially from russia. What are you anticipating specifically as Bashar Al Assad is concerned . Does he have any leverage to do anything . She can continue to pummel people, drop gas from the sky. He can continue dototo do all been doing. The question is has World Opinion so turned against him and what the russians have allowed him to do that he is going to have to go. And if there es ooreese any pea there, were going to start looking at the Banking System in russia, what remains of it in syria. Were going to tighten the screws to the point we have a regime change that mr. Assad will have to go under whatever circumstances he can negotiate through president putin, working with the United States. Were going to have to try to achieve that. Andustery quickly, do you think hes going to retaliate or do you think he sees this as a warning . Well if he retaliates and retaliates against the United States, i think he would be making a big mistake. If he tries to attack any of our soldiers in the region, he will invite a much more grievous response. I dont think he wants to climb the ladder of escalation. We should be prepared to manage the escalation and im sure that secretary of defense mattis and others are looking into that and planning for all of the contingencies that might happen. Former secretary of defense William Cohen we really appreciate your insights this morning. Just moments from now, we expect to see President Trump holding a bilateral meeting with president xi jinping of china. Well braing that to you as soo as it happens. A live look at the senate floor where were seeing the final debate over the nomination of neil gorsuch. The final vote expected in the 11 00 hour coming up. Lets talk asset allocation. Sure. You seem knowledgeable, professional. Would you trust me as your Financial Advisor . I would. I would indeed. Well, lets be clear, here. Im actually a deejay. [ laughing ] no way i have no Financial Experience at all. That really is you . If theyre not a cfp pro, you just dont know. 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Swedens Prime Minister confirming at least two people have been killed in that truck attack this morning. The swedish leader also saying indications point to this being a terrorist attack. This happened last hour when a truck drove int a Department Store in stolie stockholm. We continue to get updates and will bring it to you live. Back mere in washington, senators marco rubio and tim kaine are at odds over the legality of last nights strike. This strike is legal. Its in fufrther ans of an agreement. There is no legal justification for this. She mould not have done this without coming to congress. Others are calling for an authorization of force. This all happening as the senate is on the floor Going Nuclear to confirm judge neil gorsuch, changing the senate rules. And that is expected to happen later on this morning. There you see warren orrin hatch on the senator floor. Thank you for being here. I appreciate it. Thank you. Youre going to get briefed on the air strikes later today. Tell me what youre expecting to hear, what you would like the hear in that briefing and what you think the end game should be. We would like to know about the communications that occurred prior to the actual strike, who was notified in terms of other countries. Second of all what the bomb Damage Assessment is right now. How successful was the attack. And then finally what the end game is. We know when you take off youve got to have a place to land. How do we land this now. What did you make of the strike . It was limited. The president was presented with a range of options and we know that he chose the most limited action. Was that the right choice, in your opinion . In my opinion, yes, it was the right choice. It with as message sent to the assad regime. They used chemical weapons, they did cross the line and there was a response. It with us an appropriate response. It sent a message that we have capabilities and we will use them if were forced to. And they have to behave according to international law. They failed to do so and there was a response because of it. Nasenator i want to play you little bit of what President Trump had to say last night, his reasoning for launching the air strikes and then get your reaction on the other side. Take a listen. Tonight i ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in syria from where the chemical attack was launched. It is in this vital National Security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. Senator, do y agree with the president s assessment that this was in the National Security interest to launch these air strikes . Absolutely. No question about it. But he did one more thing. He spoke on behalf of the millions of americans who felt exactly the same way. The emotions that came out because of the pictures. The message that theres a reason why chemical weapons have been banned internationally. And the fact that this should have been done at least three years ago. This is the next best time to do it. And hopefully this stops the use of chemical weapons in the near future and until such time as mr. Assad is removed from office. Senator, the Russian Military this morning is saying its actually going to help syria strength then its air defenses in response to this strike. Vladimir putin flexing his muscles, condemning this attack. What do you make of this and how should the United States respond to that . What should the message be to lad near pVladimir Putin . We understand that mr. Putin would have to say something. Thats probably the least he could have said. E understands that worldwide Public Policy is turning against syria. He understands that he has been part of the reason why syria is still in this state of confusion and in this state in which literally 11 Million People have been displaced. So hes going to tread very very carefully on terms of what he does. If you notice, they didnt take any action. And the offer that theyre simply going to continue to strengthen those air defenses twhab thats probably the least amount he could have said. I want to get to whats happening on the senator floor but one more question about this. Some of your colleagues are saying if the president takes any further action that he should get signoff from congress. To you agree with that assessment . Does the president need to go to congress for future military action . I think the president is operating under the amuf from 2001 and hes doing that appropriately. Anytime you have something that youre operating under thats 15 years old theres room for improvement. I wouldnt be afraid to have that discussion and debate. But most certainly the president was in his purview too appropriately respond in this limited fashion to a violation of international law. Senator mike rounds, thank you for your time. Appreciate your reaction this morning. Thank you. Coming up, the world watching as President Trump holds a high stakes bilateral meeting with chinese president xi jinping of china. Were going the break all of that down for you. Well be right back next. Experi. Or the network that keeps a leading hotel chains guests connected at work, and at play. Or the it platform that powers millions of ecards every day for one of the largest greeting card companies. Businesses count on communication, and communication counts on centurylink. Parts a and b and want more covera, guess what . You could apply for a Medicare SupplementInsurance Plan whenever you want. No enrollment window. No waiting to apply. That means now may be a great time to shop for an aarp Medicare SupplementInsurance Plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. Medicare doesnt cover everything. And like all standardized Medicare SupplementInsurance Plans, these help cover some of what medicare doesnt pay. So dont wait. Call now to request your free decision guide. 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The president beginning a second day of meetings with his chinese counterpart this hour. I want to get to my colleague, chris jansing, who joins us from palm beach. Chris, what a striking backdrop to this summit that the president is having. I should also say, we have a great panel with us, including walter, the director of the sags studies center at the heritage foundation, as well as my panel here. Were going to get to them in a motion. Chris, the top lines, trade and north korea, were supposed to be at the forefront of this summit. Now, things have changed. Yeah. Well, first of all, any time you have a president who decides to use military action, obviously, the drama and the tension is incredibly high. Then you have xi here, already north korea had been on the agenda from the time this was announced. You had that escalation because of the missile test. The intermediate range Ballistic Missile test we saw earlier in the week. And adding to all that, the president , President Trump, left xi to go into the secure room that is at maralago. The place where classified information is discussed. He had with him secretary tillerson, the head of the nsc. There were members of the National Security team who were still back in washington, d. C. They were set up by a secure video conference. It is described by people who were in the room as having had a confidence in the room. A cautious confidence about the decision that had been made. There had been a long meeting which was described as intense, when the president had asked a lot of questions before that decision was finally made. But this then, after going before a National Television audience last night, sort of the reconstiting of the meeting with xi, obviously adds new, important layer to his conversations, to the president s conversations with xi, about their influence on north korea, kristen. Certainly does, chris jansing. Thank you so much. Appreciate your reporting. Walter, i want to get to you to break it down a little more and pick up where chris left off. This meeting was supposed to focus on trade. On north korea, we expected the president to get tough on president xi jinping. How does the fact that hes Just Launched air strikes in syria imact thoi impact those conversations . It brings syria to the table. Itll be something they have to talk about. I think xi jinping will get the message that donald trump means business on these sorts of issues. Whether north korea or syria. I think the chinese will be looking for consistency. So, yes, hell take action, but hes said a lot of things about syria, not all consistent. Theyll be looking for consistency in the messaging, as well. What do you expect to come out of this . This is their first meeting. It is at maralago, aimed at fostering a more personal relationship between these two leaders. But what do you expect will actually, the tangibles of it . First of all, i dont think theyll achieve much personal relationship. Thats not the way the chinese do business. Itll be as generally as formal as it usually is. I think from the administrations perspective, north korea is the big deal. I think more important than trade. I think on trade, theres still some debate within the administration over that. On north korea, it is a very clear and almost present danger. The administration is tired about talking about it. It is time to get the chinese to act on the issue. Let me have you weigh in. The optics, the significance of all of this happening while the president is in maralago, palm beach, holding this incredibly important summit with the leader of china, that has now taken on a whole new significance. It has backed up the president s point that he can continue working while he is at maralago. He is not just there to play golf. That he can continue running the government while hes there. But this sends a very strong message to china. That this president is not afraid to take very swift, very strong action. As theyre talking about north korea, this is a clear example of what President Trump is capable of. And what is your take away . This is a president who is coming off a rocky couple of weeks. Arguably, hes turned the page on that to some extent with these foreign leader meetings hes had this week and now the focus on syria. Certainly an opportunity to turn the page that carries a lot of risks. Im interested in this meeting today. Of course, it was supposed to be about trade. As jenna mentioned, trump was very tough on china during the campaign. Does china now become another kind of an ally in this, bringing north korea into it . Also, there are going to be questions from the other end of capitol hill, of course, about what comes next. I think thats going to be a big part of this dialogue. What is the strategic objective here . I think a lot of questions remain, and all of the spotlight on this president , as he will be here f t next two weeks while congress is in recess. Great conversation. Thank u so muc for being here. Really appreciate it. Well be right back. Stay with us. Announcer time for the your business entrepreneur of the week. Danielle rominetti will never sell online. The owner of the store fiber space in alexandria, virginia, doesnt want to process web orders. She wants to connect with customers at her store. Using social media, she entices people to come in and buy. Your business, 7 30 sunday mornings on msnbc. American express open. Ss open help you take on a new job, 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. More doing chores for dad per roll find out how American Express cards and services more earning something you love per roll bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50 longer than the leading ordinary brand. So you get more life per roll. Bounty, the quicker picker upper thanks so much for watching this hour of msnbc live. Im kristen welker. Ill turn things over to ali velshi. We have a windy back drop so hold on to your seat. Within the hour, an associate justice to the Supreme Court probably getting a nomination vote. We have president xi in china. We have syria going on. Breaking news out of sweden, as well, were tracking. Possible terrorist attack. Theres a lot to cover. Youll also have a busy afternoon. Well talk later on. Absolutely. Thanks for that. Breaking news. Right now, the u. S. Assessing damage after firing dozens of cruise missiles at a syrian airfield, targeting the regime of Bashar Al Assad over suspected Chemical Attacks. Violence in swedens capital after a truck plows into a Department Store, causing deaths and injuries. This hour, the senate will hold its final vote to confirm judge neil gorsuch as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Good morning, everyone. Im ali velshi in a windy washington. As we follow breaking news, the u. S. Firing of a barrage of missiles from the sea at a Syrian Air Base in response to the horrific chemical weapons attack that killed roughly 100 civilians, including dozens of children. The pentagon saying 59 tomahawk cruise missiles were launched last night from two u. S. Ships in the Eastern Mediterranean sea, targeting the