Bill still have a chance of passing . We already made that choice. Were with trump. There you have it, paul ryan, changing his tune, despite some very tough talk during the campaign. We cant continue to allow china to rape our country and thats what theyre doing. Mm, President Trump singing a very different song when facetoface with chinese leadership. Maybe theyre not currency manipulators. I dont give china. I give china great credit. Mm, unfake news fallout, the Trump Administration holding up a potential multibillion dollar merger reportedly for one reason, ready for it, cnn. A deal we will not approve in my administration because its too much concentration of power. Thats a wow. We begin today with a tale of two republican tax bills. House and Senate Lawmakers on the verge of unveiling plans that will affect the Bank Accounts of every Single Person in this country. That said, republicans, theyre running out of time to get this thing right and they simply cannot afford to let things fall apart again, but youre in luck, i have a great panel here to break it all down. Starting with msnbcs Garrett Haake on the hill. Garrett, already youve been running all over the hill this morning. This thing is unfolding over the next few hours. What are we going to see . Yes, stephanie, tax reform wasnt hard enough for republicans. Its about to get a lot harder. And not for any particular reason except that the senate has to get involved now. As weve seen over last year, the Republican Controlled Senate has a very hard time agreeing with itsself in getting anything done, so late this morning the senate will introduce their version of the tax reform bill. We expect to see it have a number of significant differences with whats going on in the house bill right now. Some of the biggest what they do with state and local Tax Deductions for example. In the house, this is a big fight. In the senate, those hightax states are almost entirely represented by democrats. Theyre going to set that all aside and say this is a democratic problem and they dont necessarily want those democratic votes. Also what are they going to do with the estate tax, the death tax . Republicans in the house would love to get rid of this completely. But in the senate, theyre working on a really hard cap on the math, that 1. 5 trillion. They cant get past it. So maybe repealing the entire estate tax is something they leave on the side. But the bottom line, stephanie, this is like building an airplane at 30,000 feet. Theyre working under this deadline. Theyre trying to rewrite the tax code as a process. Each house is kind of keeping one eye on the other, trying to see what theyre doing, so they can come in with as close as the same plan as possible. Oh, by the way, theyre also starting to get some of that outside pressure weve been talking about. I tweeted a picture yesterday. I think were going to put it up on screen. Of senator john kennedy, hes a republican from louisiana. He came out of one of the hearing rooms yesterday morning and was surrounded by a lobbyist constituents, folks from back home in louisiana, pressuring him about a proponent of the business tax that they want to see enacted. You can see, he is literally surrounded by these folks pressing their point. He said he would take a look at it, go back and get back to them. That kind of meeting, that kind of pressure is happening literally hundreds of times over. As all of these lawmakers, particularly the republicans are just getting pressured from all sides, trying to hit this deadline of getting this incredibly complex piece of legislation done before the end of this year. Garrett, im going to head down to d. C. Today to talk to some of those lobbyists because we talk day in and day out taxes. Peoples wallets, their pocketbooks, thats what they vote on, thats what they care about. So stick around. I want to bring my panel in. New york times kate kelly, republican strategist and author of branding america, noel nikpor and msnbc political analyst and White House Reporter for the journal, eli stoker. Kate, there are some very big issues up in the air. You can take the republican purists all day long who are deficit hawks and the deficit doesnt matter to most people at home who just want their taxes lowered. Right. Well, its hard to say how theyre going to thread the needle when we havent seen the Senate Version yet. It does seem like, number one, theyve been delayed repeatedly on this. Now theyre facing this sort of end of the year deadline which is going to make things tougher. Maybe it will make people more willing to compromise. Right now, these nonpartisan studies show you that theyre actually creating an additional loss of revenue of 1. 57 trillion, which is more than they can do. They need to cap it at 1. 5 as you know in order to get this done through reconciliation, which i think is the hope given the opposition of democrats to the bill. I think its going to be a complicated political calculus of making sure that they dont alienate some of these suburban areas which have revolted as of this week, to some degree, against the trump establishment. It would be nice if they could pick up some democratic votes in california, new jersey, new york, some of these places that really feel strongly about the state and local Tax Deductions. Which, depending how you look at it, theyre mostly going to lose, right. Theyre not going to lose entirely under the house version but theyre going to be pared back dramatically. Well see what the senate does. In terms of the republicans, theyre so divided that its not at all clear they can come together. One final thought, you know, john kennedy, the louisiana representative garrett was just mentioning, i think he said yesterday, i would rather drink weed killer than not see this legislation pass. So regardless of what his constituents are saying thank you. He actually wants to get something done. Im not sure though, i dont know whether thats the mainstream view. Kate has a great point that republicans paul ryan needs to get something through here or hell cease to exist come next year. But when we learn more about this bill, when we look at nonpartisan analysis, it shows the house bill at least is going to benefit the wealthy even more and youre going to see taxes raised for quite a few people in the middle class. How are they going to fix this thing . I dont know. The politics as you just laid out are a mess just for House Republicans. If we just want to talk about that. I mean, after the elections tuesday night and the suburban backlash the republicans are confronting, youre going to have a lot more retirements. Youre going to have politicians in that caucus who arent motivated by the same thing that paul ryan and a lot of others are ahh. Which is something, anything, to show voters. Voters who will get hit the hardest come from a lot of these districts that are represented by some House Republicans representing suburban voters in those states like new york and california. We saw darrell issa come out against this bill already. That surprised a lot of people. I doubt hell be the only one. Because, you know, its nice for republicans to say at the end of the day, look, we cut everybodys taxes, but if a lot of peoples taxes actually arent being cut, theyre going up, theyre going to feel that, theyre going to not be rewarding republicans for doing this, and there are a lot of members of paul ryans caucus who recognize that. Theres a lot of big donors who like it. I want to talk about peter king, who specifically said what this would do to the republican middle class voter. Take a look. Oh, excuse me, sorry. Im convinced wed are going to lose them with this tax bill. Picture they see is an indifference to the middle class but taking care of special interests. And that is not why they voted for donald trump. You know, earlier this week, i actually saw on fox news someone said president won on people who voted against elitism. But when you look at this actual bill, it hooks up the elitists. When you look at President Trumps cabinet it does. So how do you make an argument against that . Well, i mean, i feel like im trying to sell the titanic to you. Im a lover of the water so go for it. Great. Yesterday, which was really funny, garrett, your reporter, ran into Lindsey Graham in the hallway and i feel like Lindsey Graham speaks for most of us with some pretty common sense. He asked him, what do you think, why are people losing races on the gop side, and Lindsey Graham says we got to get something done. I think youre seeing the desperation. Were built our platform is built on lower taxes and less regulations. And im very upset that we cannot come together on a bill. Look, the growth, the economic growth, has grown 3. 5 almost underneath trump. And we have a thriving economy and a great market. And its been growing since president obama took office, it has no dont get me wrong, weve definitely seen a trump bump in the market. Deregulation a positive for business sentiment. But simply cutting Corporate Taxes. Were not getting rid of the loopholes, were just cutting Corporate Taxes, hows that going to help the country . Well, the republicans feel like if youre cutting taxes with some companies, and i know youre going to disagree, but the thing of it is that you can have more of this money and it will i hate to use the word trickle down, but it will result in jobs. And this is the gop, this is what theyre thinking. I know, ladies, but this is what the gop thinks. Im not going to argue. I was going to ask in terms of this process are we seeing a sort of redo what we had with the Obamacare Repeal and replace in the sense of the republican party, you know, in the senate and the house is just so divided. They really cant come together on a principaled reform effort so you have multiple versions, a lot of disagreement not dissimilar to democrats. No, of course, of course. But im just talking about this year in perspective. Theres Something Else too, theres a trump effect. While you have a divided house, you have a divided senate, you have the republicans in general key divided, you have a president who is basically saying, look, im trying to get all this done. Look at me, i want all this. This is my agenda. Its them. They cant get along. So basically hes coming out unscathed. And does that work for you . Does it work for me let me tell you something, stephanie this is hard. Im going to tell you where its hard, is when i have to call a donor, mr. Big shot, and say, okay, i need you to fund the Senatorial Campaign and hes going to say, well, noel what are you going to do . We already have a house, a senate and a president we have a tri effect ta, sister, and you cant get anything done. Im going to say, i got to go, whats my argument . You speak to the hill every day. They have this pressure that they havent got anything done. What do tuesdays elections do for republican lawmakers . Because on one hand, it could make them wake up and say, man, we just have to get something through so we have a win. Or we say, holy cow, all politics are local politics and i need to Pay Attention to my state and i need to Pay Attention to what my people need. Well, look, these guys are locked in on tax reform now, stephanie. They cant they cant change the subject now i think even if they wanted to. I talked to a lot of republicans in the senate yesterday who said, you know, they already felt like the pressure was at a 10 on tax reform and maybe now its 11. Theres a sentiment of sm republicans in the house who are particularly frustrated with this. They feel like theyve gotten things done. They pass their repeal care obamacare bill only to see it die in the senate and they will be the ones more likely to be punished in 2018. Most of these republican senators arent up next year. Its the Republican House members who have the most skin in the game and theyre looking here at the Upper Chamber and saying guys, help us out a little bit here. If they can get through tax reform before the end of the year, that gives them next time more time to figure out what issues they can address, an infrastructure bill for example is something that might be popular in a lot of other places. For right now, theres no brakes on the train in doing tax reform. Theyve got to get something done. Every republican on the hill is keenly aware of that. Eli, lets say im a house republican. We know that gary cohen and trump told democrats the other day dont Pay Attention to the house bill. Focus on the senate bill. Thats going to be better. What if im a member of congress who is putting my job on the line to push this thing through . How do i read that message . It doesnt read very, you know, reassuringly to those House Republicans, thats for sure. Now, the white house, when i ran those quotes by them, they didnt deny that cohen, the president , said those things to the senate democrats, they just offered a more favorable interpretation of, look, dont get hung up on the bill. But the scar tissue is pretty fresh from the Health Care Debacle a couple of months ago when House Republicans recall that they put out a bill. They took a tough vote. And the president was out there going on tv and standing up before the cameras saying that their bill was mean. And so theyre already walking on eggshells, not really sure if theyre going to be able to count on, you know, full throated support of the president behind this bill. We understand that the president has committed to lowering the Corporate Tax rate. But beyond that, in terms of the particulars, no ones really clear if any of it really matters to him so much as just having a win at the end of the day. When youre paul ryan trying to get house members to take pretty difficult votes on this, not knowing if the president s going to sort of throw you under the bus right after you do it, thats not making paul ryans job any easier. Im going to take a guess here. Im pretty sure the president is going to be committed to lowering taxes on passthroughs to which he has over 500 of. Were out of time for this segment. Really quick, each of you, yes, no, does this thing go through for 2017 . Do we see it pass . Eli . I cant make predictions but based on the past nine months, i would say no. Kate. I would echo eli. I dont know. I dont want to be too skeptical. My reporting suggests even some of those involved on this are thinking they may need to to the new year. Its going to pass because the gops survival, we depend on it. And garrett . I stopped making predictions a year ago yesterday, but i think republicans know theyve got to get something done, even if its a very pared down version of this. You all stop making predictions. Youre all a bunch of turkeys. Up next, the third leg of President Trumps asia tour. The president striking a very different tone on trade than he did during the campaign. Later, a look back at many of President Trumps Campaign Promises one year after election day. How many has he actually kept. We know goresuch was a huge win. Lets find out who else was. Its a small finger. A worm like, a dagger . A tiny sword . Bread. Breadstick . A matchstick a lamppost coin slot no . Uhhh. 10 seconds. A stick a Walking Stick eiffel tower, Mount Kilimanjaro ding time sorry, its a tandem bicycle. What . What . as long as sloths are slow, you can count on geico saving folks money. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. We cant continue to allow china to rape our country and thats what theyre doing. Its the greatest theft in the history of the world. Rape, did you hear that word . That was then candidate donald trump in may of last year campaigning on a hardline promise to take china to task over its trade practices. But what a difference a year makes. This morning, President Trump with the remarkable shift in tone now saying, listen to this, he gives china, quote, great credit. He made these comments during a business event in beijing attended by chinese president xi jinping. I dont blame china. After all, who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens . Peter alexander live in beijing. The trade deficit since President Trump in office is in office, has only gotten bigger. The Trump Administration hasnt done anything to improve this. What does it say to the American Worker that he gives china great credit for doing this . Yeah, remember, it was a year ago, that you just played, he said it was the greatest theft hes ever seen. This time, hes using the word great to give credit to china. Saying he doesnt blame them, he only blames his predecessors there. Were hearing from the president as he just wrapped up a state banquet here at the end of his second and final day here in china. He just tweeted the following. He wrote, in the coming months and years ahead, i look forward to building an Even Stronger relationship between the United States and china. Specifically on trade. The president said that the Current Situation is not sustainable. He said its a real priority to try to level the Playing Field but he wasnt entirely clear about how the president plans to go forward with that. We have seen him publicly show affection. Behind the screenes, aides say,e can be a lot tougher. As the president was again pressuring china today to basically act faster, to move forward more quickly, to pressure the north koreans. Talking to reporters only a matter of hours ago. After the president s comments today. Saying there was an unequivocal agreement between the United States and the chinese on the idea of a denuclearized korean peninsula. Now the timing and tactics Going Forward to kind of go about that process. This is certainly to be a topic these two nations are focusing on Going Forward. I just have to point out the president brought up trade and opening up trade back when xi jinping went to mara lago in the spring. He said there would be a 100 day review between ross and china bhep the 100 days came, absolutely nothing came of it. Its stunning for the president to bring this up now. We also have to note on the campaign trail he repeated lid called china a currency manipulator. This is when president was being advised by peter navarro. He then won. And once he was in office and he sat down with mnuchin and cohen and realized the Treasury Department and Labor Department have an actual model where they review currencies every single day that china isnt a currency manipulator, he suddenly said no, thats not the case. So it is very confusing the message he is sending to the world as it relates to trade and china and theres more confus n confusion. President trump possibly meeting with putin on friday. What are you hearing about this . Yeah, no, lets be clear, about friday, which now is tomorrow, when he wakes up, the president heads right to vietnam for what is an economic summit. The president , as we have heard from the kremlin, will be meeting with vladimir putin. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson saying that no meeting has been finalized. It is not entirely clear what substantive topics they could focus on to necessitate an entire meeting. President said recently on air force one he thought it was likely the two sides would meet. So thats certainly going to be on our radar tomorrow as we get to vietnam. But back here, to be clear, just that very different kinder gentler tone from this president , instead of cracking down on china, he was lavishing praise on his chinese host, saying he was a great man, a strong man, even saying that basically the people of china are proud of their president. Stef. People of china are proud of their president. As im reading headlines about more malls and Retail Stores closing because manufacturing exists entirely overseas. Up next, it has been one year since President Trumps surprising victory built on promises of economic strength, renegotiating trade deals and of course the wall. So which promises has he kept so far . Well, if you look at the markets, thats certainly a win. And what are the chances he keeps all of them . We know hes got that pen and he loves executive orders but as far as legislative wins, not too many. avo when you have type 2 diabetes, you manage your a1c, but you also have a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. Noninsulin victoza® lowers a1c, and now reduces cardiovascular risk. Victoza® lowers my a1c and blood sugar better than the leading branded pill. avo and for people with type 2 diabetes treating cardiovascular disease, victoza® is now approved to lower the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. And while it isnt for weight loss, victoza® may help you lose some weight. avo victoza® is not for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. Do not take victoza® if you have a personal or Family History of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. Stop taking victoza® and get medical help right away if you get symptoms of a serious allergic reaction such as rash, swelling, difficulty breathing or swallowing. Serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis. So, stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have severe pain in your stomach area. Tell your doctor your medical history. Gallbladder problems have happened in some people. Tell your doctor right away if you get symptoms. Taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite, indigestion, and constipation. Side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. Ask your doctor about victoza®. The market. Redict but through good times and bad. At t. Rowe price. Weve helped our investors stay confident for over 75 years. Call us or your advisor. T. Rowe price. Invest with confidence. I wanti did my ancestrydna and where i came from. And i couldnt wait to get my pie chart. The most shocking result was that im 26 native american. I had no idea. Just to know this is what im made of, this is where my ancestors came from. And i absolutely want to know more about my native american heritage. Its opened up a whole new world for me. Discover the story only your dna can tell. Order your kit now at ancestrydna. Com. What is an answer and how can you measure the value of one . Today trusted answers from trusted sources are rare and precious commodities. And when industries are undergoing massive transformation, opportunities are only opportunities if you can find an answer that separates fact from near fact. Thomson reuters provides you the intelligence, technology, and Human Expertise you need to find those trusted answers. The answer company. Thomson reuters. Welcome back. Im stephanie ruhle. It is time for your morning primer. Everything you need to know to get your day started. A former boston news anchor claims her son was sexually assaulted by spacey at a bar in nantucket in 2016. Her son just 18 years old at the time but told the actor he was of age to drink. As nbc news has confirmed th ee he has been removed from the latest ridley scott film soon to be released. A 55yearold man accused of attack senator rand paul just arrived in court. Rene boucher has been charged with fourth Degree Assault after allegedly breaking, are you ready for this, six, six of the republican senators ribs. And a federal judge has imposed add g ed a gag order agl manafort and his Business Partner rick gates. The order limits all parties from make comments about the case to the media and in public settings. New travel and trade restrictions on cuba go into effect today. Making it harder for americans to visit the country. The white house says the restrictions are aimed at preventing cubas government from benefiting from american tourists and trade. And tsa is under fire after an under cover agents were able to smuggle test weapons and explosives through checkpoints at multiple airports. And President Trump made at least 60, did youer ehear the number, 60 promises on the campaign trail. Who better to do it than the woman who joined him on that trail, nbcs katie tur. I felt like it had to be more than that. Thats because you lived with it day in, day out. Some might say it was unbelievable. Some might say it was unbelievable, youre very, very cheeky. He said a lot of things on the campaign trail. He made a lot of grand promises. He said i alone can fix it when it comes to every problem in the country. He talked about how he would be able to wipe out isis very, very quickly. Hed repeal and replace obamacare in a day. Donald trump is now learning that what you say on the campaign trail, its a lot easier to make promises on the campaign trail than it is to actually get things done in washington. Take a look. Were going to cancel the paris climate agreement. Trump made good on this promise. Although the u. S. Cant formally ree leave the accord until 2020. I was elected to represent the citizens of pittsburgh, not paris. Another promise kept. Were going to allow the Keystone Pipeline to move forward. And in the first week as president , trump fulfilled promises to expand Americas Energy infrastructure projects. You know about keystone. Another one. Big one. Big. He also vowed to kill tpp. Well stop the horrible, horrible, horrible transpacific partnership. And days after taking office with a stroke of his pen, trump withdrew from the agreement. Thank you very much. And perhaps the biggest promise kept. The justices that im going to appoint will be prolife, they will have a conservative bent. Cheered by conservatives i, Neil Goresuch was sworn in as a justice, a Trump Campaign promise kept. Trump also rain a campaign on building a wall with mexico. Whos going to pay for the wall . Mexico. And that begins our list of promises that havent happened yet. I promise were building the wall and mexico will pay for the wall. I promise. But the Trump Administration is now asking american taxpayers to pay for the border wall. Is your plan still to have mexico pay for the wall . Yes, they will, one way or the other, mexicos going to pay for the wall. Another pledge donald trump made to voters that hasnt happened yet. On my first day, i am going to ask congress to send me a bill to immediately repeal and replace disastrous obamacare. The president tried to use his force of personality but the Republican Controlled Senate has repeatedly failed. Repeal and replace obamacare. That will happen and it will happen quickly. Well, not that quickly. It hasnt happened yet. Im not going to blame myself, ill be honest. And remember that muslim ban. Well, that hasnt happened yet either. Donald j. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the United States until our countrys representatives can figure out what the hell is going on. Trumps muslim ban morphed into a socalled travel ban. Which was then scaled back in the courts but allowed to go partially into effect. And as for slashing taxes. As part of our plan to bring back jobs, were going to lower taxes on american businesses from 35 to 15 . Has not happened yet. President trump is demanding that congress get this done by christmas. Youll be saying Merry Christmas again when you go shopping, believe me. Believe me. I think he may have been in a carrier plant during one of those speeches. I just read on fox news, carriers having layoffs so thats stunning. When the president talked about his first day in office, what he would be doing, wasnt it his first day he was visiting the cia, sean spicer was lying about crowd sizes . Hes got to think about numbers, i will say this. Even though the campaign trail, he would talk about the crowd sizes and he would overestimate every single crowd. Even when he had giant crowds. Just say you have 20,000. Its a lot of people. Honestly, its like what my kids do. Throughout the entire campaign, we heard the wall, the wall, the wall, build the wall, mexicos going to pay for it, one way or another. Already we know, well, were going to pay for it now, maybe them later. His nominee to head Homeland Security told a Senate Committee we do not need a wall from sea to shining sea. Hello. There is a disconnect between donald trump and his cabinet members. I know theres no surprise there. He has even softened his position on this ever so subtlety talking about in some areas having a cyber wall. But then he said there will be a wall, were going to build a wall. I think if you put that question to donald trump maybe while hes in china or when he comes back from china, he would push back against that and say no, no, no, there will be a wall. Thats what he sold himself with. He said im going to build a wall. Every single time he had a rally in every sickngle interview, it was the crux of his campaign. That being said, i had an interesting conversation with a man in ohio towards the end of the campaign and i said, why do you put donald trump so much . And he told me, i like him because hes going to build a wall. I said, what if hes not going to build a wall . He said, its okay, i trust his judgment. My point is donald trump voters voted for the man more than they voted for any of his policies. Well, they got the man. I should correct, that announcement from carrier, theyre not announcining new layoffs, theyre just changing date on it. According to trump because of his policies they were going to save so many jobs. Extraordinary reporting. Good to see you. A year this woman spent with donald trump. Its 510 days. 510 days. A lifetime. Up neck, the Justice Department blocking at ts proposed merger with time warner, demanding time warner sell some of its major assets for a deal to go forward. Can you guess what that asset might be . Ding, ding, ding, its cnn. Is this political payback . This is the United States of america and thats happening, hello. Accused of obstructing justice to theat the fbinuclear war, and of violating the constitution by taking money from foreign governments and threatening to shut down news organizations that report the truth. If that isnt a case for impeaching and removing a dangerous president , then what has our government become . Im tom steyer, and like you, im a citizen who knows its up to us to do something. Its why im funding this effort to raise our voices together and demand that elected officials take a stand on impeachment. A Republican Congress once impeached a president for far less. Yet today people in congress and his own administration know that this president is a clear and present danger whos mentally unstable and armed with nuclear weapons. And they do nothing. Join us and tell your member of congress that they have a moral responsibility to stop doing whats political and start doing whats right. Our country depends on it. Afi sure had a lot on my mind. My 30year marriage. My 3month old business. Plus. What if this happened again . I was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me . So i made a point to talk to my doctor. He told me about eliquis. Eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. Not only does eliquis treat dvt and pe blood clots. Eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. Eliquis had both. And that turned around my thinking. Dont stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. Eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. If you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily. And it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. Eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots. Plus had less major bleeding. Both made eliquis right for me. Ask your doctor if switching to eliquis is right for you. As an example of the power structure, at t is buying time warner and thus cnn, a deal we will not approve in my administration because its too much concentration of power in the hands of too few. Then candidate donald trump on the campaign trail last year. That megamerger between at t and time warner is facing a major roadblock. Department of justice says it will not approve at ts plan to go through with the deal unless it agrees to sell one of the companys biggest assets, either direct tv or turner broadcasting which of course including cnn and you know the president , he doesnt like cnn. I want to bring in senior media editor for nbc news, claire atkinson. And my panel, kate kelly and noel nikpor. Walk us through this, claire. This is the president who loves to deregulate. Why is the fcc getting in the middle of this . Thats a big question mark, whats going on here. For past year, everybody thought this deals going to sail through, no problem. Then boom, the wall street journal reports that the Justice Department is thinking about suing to stop this merger. At t responded by saying i think on tuesday that theyd spend 1 billion if trump gets the tax cuts through. That seemed like a olive branch or something. A pure kiss to the administration. Absolutely. Well invest 1 billion if tax reform goes through. We know the rnc sent that out in a talking point yesterday. Suddenly Randal Stevenson from at t is saying hold on, i never said i was going to sell anything. So randal says he committed, im not selling cnn, it seems the Justice Department wants him to sell a division such as turner, which is everything, not just cnn, but tnt, tbs, a whole bunch of channels. Its worth 50 of time warners profits. Theres no way at t is going to agree to that. How does that equate with a Telephone Company . What is the trust concern there . Whats the rationale . I think thats the question, right, theres nobody out there saying theres a problem here. Even the antitrust chief at the doj said in october i dont see any major issues here. And then boom, here we are today, the deals not going to happen. To kates exact point if you look at 21st century fox, for example theyre trying to pick up media asset after media asset and that raises the question, what if you have too much control of tv properties. Telephones and tv, these are two different things. Obviously its a Distribution Network versus content provider. The idea is to have a complement there but you dont want one company to be so empowered it drives up costs on consumers. Thats the argument. In this case it seems there is a lot of complementary nature to the deal and its just interesting whats going on. I was talking to a Hedge Fund Manager i know early this week who said youre guys got to Pay Attention to this, theres Something Real here. Theres Something Real here meaning what . There really may be government opposition to the deal as the wall street journal reported last week but there wasnt a lot of follow to it. Its a very large merger. This is historical merger. This is 85 billion merger. So its going to be looked at. I think in all fairness it should be looked at now. The funny thing is we are the kings when it comes to less regulation, so this a little contradictory to what, you know, we, you know, our platform, the republican platform, is built on. So the fact that trump would call foul on that, i think a lot of people are saying maybe its because you dont really like cnn. The extreme scrutiny seem, like an Obama Administration scrutiny, not a President Trump make them bigger, badder and better. We were just talking a moment ago about the head of im sorry, clashgs tire, the head o antitrust said he would be in support of a deal in an earlier stage, right . The situation is the merger seems to be sailing through, even though it seems to be against the law. Theyve reached the cap on the number of stations they can own. St. Claire has not said its divesting those stations yet. It seems like its smooth sailing. One would wonder why okay for them and not okay for time warner. We have to be clear, theres absolutely no evidence theres any foul play. Theres no evidence that the president has done anything but when we see the president make any sort of moves that are out of balance, ie, firing james comey, things that dont smell exactly right, he gets burned for them. So at some point, do you start to look at this and say this isnt good politics for you, President Trump, if he is trying to interfere, if he is trying to rejigger how the cia is set up. You know the media is going to call you out for it. He doesnt care. Hes been doing this now for a year. He said look, everybody, im going to be more president ial. He has not stopped tweeting. Thats really the biggest part of it. Because hell wake up at 2 00 in the morning and put out a blitz like this. But its not just hes been doing it for a year. Hes been doing this for his entire career. Hes not going to change. Which is why no u. S. Bank would ever do business with him. Just to look at one other side of the coin. I think its interesting to think about the companys perspective. Theyve indicated theyre willing to sue to preserve the deal. Yes, absolutely. But what is the opportunity cost for those two companies to tie this up in court . But they also said the merger he also said he doesnt think this is going to affect the merger. He may have to take it to court if he cant Reach Settlement with the doj. What does that take, a year, two years. Whats the opportunity cost of not combining the businesses during that period. Today at 1 15 at the deal book conference, andrew ross sorkum is going to sit down with stevenson and i have a feeling hes going to have a lot to say. Next, gary cohen speaking exclusively with our friend john harwood over at cnbc. Are they really trying to sell tax reform by calling it trickle down economics . Or does trickle down economics work . If you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis,. Isnt it time to let the real you shine through . Maybe its time for Otezla Apremilast . Otezla is not an injection or a cream. Its a pill that treats plaque 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. Ask your dermatologist about otezla today. Otezla. Show more of you. Do you want the same tools and seamless experience across web and tablet . Yes . Great then youre ready for power e trade. The platform, price and service that gives you the edge you need. Sweet e trade. The original place to invest online. Youre in luck because i have john with me with a preview of that interview. I know that is set to air later this morning but i want to share a piece that stuck out to me. Gary cohn defended cutting the Corporate Tax rate and advocating for this idea you and i have talked about it at length, trickle down economics. Gary said we create Wage Inflation which means the workers get paid more and workers have more disposable income and the whole trickle down through the economy and thats good for the economy. You and i both have taken economics 101 but welcome to the global economy. Companies are flush with cash today and they dont need to pay workers more. Because most manufacturing takes place overseas, as the president has underscored just yesterday speaking in china and when we look at the trade deficit, nothing is changing as far as wages going up. Its minimal. How is cutting the Corporate Tax rate and how does it work in todays environment . I dont see it. Thats the question. What gary was expressing was the view thats been expressed by the head of the council on economic advisors for President Trump that if you cut Corporate Taxes, theres going to be a big surge in investment employment and wages and gary cohn insisted that that would happen even if those firms put the money into dividends and stock buybacks because then it would trickle down to the rest of the economy and thats why this would work. Democrats, of course, dispute this. Many independent economists also dispute this. And its the crux of the argument that the house is considering and the senate is considering when they act on these tax bill expect to get the senate bill later today and the house is going to try to pass it out of committee this afternoon. I might say if you actually sat down with trumps base in states like michigan, they would dispute it. You and i saw since the Financial Recovery and we saw the Auto Industry bounce back, well, ges what, the auto workers didnt bounce back. Their stock did. Their executives did. And, stephanie, the other thing that he said was, i asked him why there was so much more tax benefit for corporations and businesses and for wealthy people than for middle class people and he said, well, middle class people dont pay that much in taxes and, so, weve given them a tax cut and we cant get much further because their marginal tax rate is already down to 1 . Obviously, there are other ways you can provide tax benefits to workers, either through refundable tax credits or something on the payroll tax. But theyre focused on the income tax and the income tax skews towards the top. Payroll tax would be a good one. I have to ask you about wilbur ross. Earlier this week we talked about the paradise papers. At the end of the day, a lot we see in there and gary cohn himself defended all the llcs or the shell corporations he has and said, guess what. This is the way the world works like it or not. This might be the take away. This is how rich people are legally allowed to manage their money. But with wilbur ross specifically he never devested himself in ownership of a huge shipping company. A shipping company with ties to the people who run, i dont know, russia. And he now is part of President Trumps cabinet and hes the commerce secretary. Does that not seem strange to you . Well, it certainly seems strange to a lot of critics of the administration and democrats. Wilbur ross disclosed his investment in this firm at the beginning of the year when he became commerce secretary. Did not list. He wasnt required to. The fact that it had Major Business dealings with russia. So, its legal. Yes. But because of the pattern of activities and contacts at multiple levels with the Trump Campaign and the Trump Administration in russia, russian investments, russian investments in the United States real estate. All of that is whats fueling the questions that bob mueller is investigating. Last question. Federal subpoenas have been issued seeking carl icahns role when he was serving adviser to the president. Tell me what this is about. I have known carl for a long time. Shrewd, brutal business guy. And, yes, carl might be willing to eat his own young but hes not a sloppy guy. Certainly doesnt have the Business Record that President Trump has. Carls a killer. Well, hes so shrewd that wilbur ross has said on Election Night carl icahn left the Victory Party for trump when the market was going down and said this is a buying opportunity and made a ton of money. He did. Thats right. This particular episode has to do with his role as an adviser and whether or not he was influencing trumps biofuel policy to the benefit of a company that he was invested in. This is the issue of conflict that democrats raise and, you know, government ethics watch dogs raise when carl icahn had this freefloating role as an economic adviser or regulatory adviser to President Trump. He stepped down from that job, but people are going to look and see what he did while he was advising the president and whether he was trying to benefit himself. All right, john, great interview. I cant wait to watch it later today. 11 30 is it . You bet. 11 30 on cnbc and much more on President Trumps trip to china and his sudden change of tone around that country. Former secretary of state will explain the tone shift and what it means for our relationship. O. Or your digestion. So why wouldnt you take something for the most important part of you. Your brain. With an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is now the number one selling brain Health Supplement in drug stores nationwide. Prevagen. The name to remember. But on the inside, i feel like chronic, widespread pain. Fibromyalgia may be invisible to others, but my pain is real. Fibromyalgia is thought to be caused by overactive nerves. Lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. Im glad my doctor prescribed lyrica. For some, lyrica delivers effective relief for moderate to even severe fibromyalgia pain. And improves function. Lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. Tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worse depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. Common side effects dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, swelling of hands, legs and feet. Dont drink alcohol while taking lyrica. Dont drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. Those whove had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. With less pain, i can do more with my family. Talk to your doctor today. See if lyrica can help. Fr are. Before we go, i have to get this in. Who say politicians dont have any fun. Steve scalise challenged sam johnson to a scooter race the other day. He has been using a scooter to get around since recovering from getting shot back in june. See, look at this. Im glad he wore that helmet. Extraordinary. These guys lifelong friends. That wraps us up this hour. Im stephanie ruhle. I wont see you at 11 00, im heading down to d. C. My friend ali velshi will be there. More news with my friend. Im in for Hallie Jackson who joins us shortly from beijing. Thats where we start this morning. President trump making nice in china, once his political punching bag now his sudden side kick. The president saying he doesnt blame china for taking advantage of the u. S. Well have more on the big about face from asia that everyone is talking about this morning. On capitol hill, republicans cruising along with their tax plan. The Committee Mark up