Theres no doubt that its a fair judgment, its my judgment, that i was fired because of the russia investigation. I was going to fire comey knowing there was no good time to do it. I said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a made up story. The president said something on tv that if it were a secret tape and you found it, russia was on my mind when i fired the fbi director, itd look worse, but it happened live. Good point. If we do full d. R. E. A. M. Ers, well do the deal, and he agreed. Ive taken the wall off the table because they didnt agree to the deal. The president has been consistent on immigration and what his priorities are. President has been in discussions with a number of people. I intend to keep my word. Thats a lot. Exclusive reporting by nbc news shows the special counsel investigation is Digging Deeper into the executive branch by the day. The outline of an obstruction of justice case filling in bit by bit. The reporting reveals how much the administration is being probed by Robert Muellers team. The directors of the cia, National Intelligence and the nsa were all interviewed, just interviewed, we have to remember that, by the special counsels office. All were reportedly pressured by the president to defend the prosecute or intervene into the investigation into the russian meddling in the 2016 election. For Michael Flynn, Campaign Adviser george papadopoulos, and former fbi director, james comey. Sally yates is cooperating with the investigation. And former white house chief strategist, steve bannon, is in talks to be interviewed at the end of the month. According to a person familiar with the discussions. And a former Campaign Manager and former white house adviser both under indictment. Not just investigation. Not just questions. Indictment for, among other thing, conspiracy against the United States. Paul manafort and rick gates both pleaded not guilty. Papadopoulos and flynn both eventually entered guilty pleas in the investigation as a result of their interviews. Just last week, muellers team interviewed the serving attorney general. The first known instance of a cabinet member cooperating with the investigation. Nbcs Kristen Welker pressured the president about jeff sessio sessions interview. Mr. President , are you concerned about what the attorney general told the special counsel . Not at all, kristen. Did you talk to him about it . No, i didnt, but im not concerned. Thank you, all, very much. Joining me now, the reporter who broke the exclusive, Nbc News National Political reporter carol lee. Break this down. Mike flynn hid this meeting from the president. We said he hid this meeting, but did he hide it . Could the fbi have said, you must keep this to yourself . He didnt bring a lawyer, but maybe he didnt think there was a reason to. Excellent point. Yes, that can happen in a situation like this. What we know is that on january 24th, 2017, one year to the day from today, Michael Flynns office received a phone call from Andrew Mccabes office saying, the fbi wants to speak with the National Security adviser. That gets on his schedule. Two fbi agents come over to the white house. They talk with flynn. Flynn does not notify the National Security counscils legal team, which might happen in an instance like this, and he didnt have his personal lawyer with him. A number of people we spoke with said he seemed to either not get the significance of what was happening or not really fully grasp what the content of the interview was going to entail, or how much he could be putting himself in jeopardy. So we know that. And flynn kept a lot of people in the dark. He didnt notify senior staff. Our sources said that included the president. We learned two days later when sally yates came to the white house and had a meeting with don mcgahn and warned him flynn could be susceptible to blackmail from the russians, she made it clear he had been interviewed by the fbi. She didnt disclose how that interview went, even though don mcgahn asked her. This moment in time kicked off this sequence of events weve seen over the last year, in which the president has taken steps that have become evidence, so to speak, in the obstruction of justice inquiry that Robert Mueller is conducting and looking at. You know, whether he the conversations he had with james comey, you know, whether there was any pressure to do away with the flynn investigation. So this, you know over the arc of the year, really began with this very moment when, for the first time, the russia investigation was on the doorstep of the white house. I have to break down what all of this means. I have a great panel with me here this morning. Msnbc legal analyst and former assistant special watergate prosecutor nick ackerman, former fbi assistant director for counterintelligence, frank. Intelligence chiefs, former heads, member of the cabinet, various white house officials all answering questions, but theyre just questions. Getting it appears that when you look at this list of people, what does it i want to stop myself. What exactly does it tell you . Its misleading to say, my goodness, theyve got em. Theyre just asking questions. Theyre asking questions but theyre zeroing in on people that relate to the obstruction of justice charge. Certainly, the National Director director of National Security and people involved that we know that donald trump spoke to to try to stop the investigation has to relate to the obstruction of justice. We also know, most importantly, that Michael Flynn is beyond that. I mean, the fact that he was interviewed by the fbi and they didnt tell him in advance what the interview would be about is not unusual. Its normal practice to go to somebody and not tell them in advance, were going to ask you about x, y and z. The fact that the lawyers werent aware of what happened afterwards is also irrelevant in light of the fact that donald trump is pretty much his own lawyer. So it doesnt mean that flynn didnt tell donald trump exactly what happened. And the lie is not about obstruction of justice as much as it is about sanctions. Thats what he lied about. It was sanctions that related during the campaign. The question is, did those sanctions, were they a quid pro quo promise to the russians for their help, in return to helping donald trump get elected. Take us into the mind of an investigator. As it relates to Michael Flynn, what are they thinking here . First, its excellent reporting by carol lee. Now, this race is two flags for me. We know if fbi visited mike flynn literally one year ago. This raises the flag and the question of, how long has mike flynn been cooperating . Did the cooperation start on or about that first meeting . That means he could have been working for muellers team much earlier than we thought. Could have been recording and documenting conversations. The second flag it raises for me is two days later, sally yates tells trump, hey, fbi has already interviewed flynn, and this goes toward obstruction, as nick was saying. Now does trump become incensed that he didnt know that flynn was interviewed by the fbi . Cant guess whats going on with that. That plays into his decision to eventually fire flynn. And i agree with nick, what were seeing here is mueller going full bore on the obstruction inquiry, and the people all being interviewed all have something to say about being pressured, pressured to recuse, pressured to get comey to drop the investigation, are privy to trumps thoughts about why he should fire comey. Were seeing a pattern of obstruction involving the president. Nick, how difficult is it to get the president for Something Like obstruction of justice . It is easier to get an average citizen, like you or me. Were talking about the president of the United States. We know hes a different kind of guy. They will spin this to say, listen, this is how he speaks. Hes a straight talker. Hes a new york. If he is a straight talker herhe talked himself into an obstruction charge. He admitted it to lester holt when he said he fired comey because of this russia thing. He admitted it the next day in the oval office when he said he had to fire comey to get this russia thing off his back. Ive had lots of obstruction cases. I have never had one where the defendant admitted on national tv that his intent, it all comes down to whether or not he had corrupt intent, which simply means, was he trying to stop the investigation . I just never had such good evidence before. Okay. Well, corrupt intent, and i want to tie that in to just arrogance or ego maybe. Frank, this is this piece in the Washington Post that the president asked the acting director of the fbi who he voted for in the election. Now, we can all agree that it is totally abnormal to do Something Like that. But we also know that thats hugely important to the president. He loves to have his cabinet members praise him and go around the table with a, thank you, sir, youre the grandest of the greatest of the most super humans alive. But it is a legal issue as it relates to the Justice Department . So if this were a one off, right, if he were having a bad day and was ignorant about how the fbi is supposed to function independently, how the fbi, you know, takes its oath to uphold the constitution, not an oath of loyalty to the president , if it is a one off, we can take that, but when you take it in its totality, the agate, a all of his conduct toward the fbi, demanding mckay will cabe be re denied, comey being purged and sessions is being directed to do that, this notion that trump seems to have that everybody is loyal to him, the fbi is somehow his, the fbi is not an independent agency, is extremely, extremely troubling. It goes to really the rule of law in our society. And all of our notion of law and order in our society. So he is doing an irreparable damage to the fbi and its reputation all because of him. All because he puts his own interest first above those of National Security. He likes to say, i and i alone. Nick and frank, please come back because this story isnt going away. We are going to take a break. President trump and his team are already making waves in davos. Air force one hasnt even left. The elite gathering of some of the worlds richest and most powerful people. Up nooext, well hear from anthy scaramucci, who is there with our own ali velshi in davos. Plus, this morning, treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin upended several decades worth of treasury secretary protocol. As a white house source tells me, this was not on the agenda. This could have been because Steve Mnuchin has no advisers or experience. Stay with us. You are watching velshi ruhle. Hey, dustin. Grab a seat. Woman okay. Moderator nice to meet you. Have you ever had car trouble in a place like this . roaring of truck yes and it was like the worst experience of my life. Seven lanes of traffic and i was in the second lane. When i get into my car, i want to know that its going to get me from point a to point b. Well, then i have some good news. Chevy is the only brand to receive j. D. Power dependability awards for cars, trucks and suvs two years in a row. Woman wait laughing i definitely feel like im in a dependable vehicle right now. Woman 2 i want a chevy now. Woman 3 i know this time, its his turn. You have 4. 3 minutes to yourself. This calls for a taste of cheesecake. Philadelphia cheesecake cups. Rich, creamy cheesecake with real strawberries. Find them with the refrigerated desserts. Welcome back to velshi ruhle. The trump effect is already happening at the World Economic forum in davos, switzerland. Joining me now, my partner in crime, live from davos, ali velshi. Ali, i cant let you out of my sight. Two days away from me, and youre already hanging with Anthony Scaramucci . Reporter ill tell you, anthony and i go back a long wawa way. We were together in a movie some years ago. I saw him, and hes always good for the answers. The single biggest question in davos is, hey, velshi, wheres ruhle . The place misses you. Everybody asks you about. Scaramucci was coming by. Ill tell you, what is donald trump going to do here exactly . We see cabinet secretaries walking back and forth here. We saw wilbur ross talking about the fact that nafta may be renegotiated. Maybe were in a trade war after donald trump said were not. We heard mnuchin talking down the dollar. Something treasury secretaries dont do. May be some merit in it, but they generally dont do it. I stopped scaramucci and said, anthony, what is the president trying to do when he comes and speaks here . Hell get here on friday. Hell make a speech thursday and friday morning. What is he going to do . Heres what he told me. There seems to be a mixed message. The president is coming here and says hell send a message of America First. The schedule we think the president will keep looks like a regular schedule. Theyre meeting with people, probably contemporaries from other governments and business leaders. Whats the goal . I think the big message here is an America First strategy doesnt contradict a longterm global strategy and an integration into the global system. I think thats the biggest challenge that the media is having with the president. At the end of the day, what the president stands for is helping middle class families and lower middle class families have more disposable income, which is greater aggregate demand and purchasing power for the global marketplace. Reporter whatcontext . Davos is about interaction and trade. Heres what the president is going to say, since the second world war, global institutions were built that have made the world more peaceful, more stable. We want to be a part of that. We want to play into that. We want to be a part of the u. N. , institutions like the World Economic forum. At the same time, because a lack of symmetry in trade deals over the 71 years, goods and Services Flow freely into the United States. Some of our goods and services have been embargoed. We accepted that, ali, because we wanted to create a rising Living Standard across the world and greater Global Economic interdependence, which led to peace and prosperity. The effect is its hurt the american working class and middle class families. The president is going to put America First, those families first, and itll be better for the world. Thats the message hell bring tomorrow. Reporter when we talk about america getting hurt in deals like the paris accord or nafta, some people dont think it is true. America is the 800pound gorilla. One of the assignments i had when i was on the campaign and then eventually on the Transition Committee was really study and look through nafta. We lost 70,000 factories since the signing of nafta. There are some things in nafta that are beneficial to the United States, and there are things in nafta that have been detrimental to the american worker. So i had this conversation with my canadian friends. I shared this with my mexican friends. It is better for all of us to Work Together and to have the context of a Free Trade Agreement that works for all three nations. The president is simply saying, and he said this, secretary mnuchin said this, lets work on recreating and helping working class families in the United States. If you do that, thats literally been the bread basket of the world. Ill give you a great example. If china is the saudi arabia of manufacturing, america for 71 years has been the saudi arabia of consumerism. If you can get the aggregate demand up, youll see greater growth. One of the problems with the last administration and im not picking on anybody specifically is they were focused on governmental spend, and that aggregate demand wasnt going to get you north of 1. 5 to 2 growth. You have to engage working class families and the middle class. One of the things the tax cut is doing is providing roughly 2,000 of additional disposable income. Reporter for a short time, a little while. Okay. But itll stimulate the economy and create the consumption that will lead to greater prosperity. I believe that. I understand what youre saying. Reporter right. Its a reporter a lot of people will say, in the longerterm, if congress doesnt do the right thing, a whole bunch of people will have taxes go up. Ill make a bigger point, but ill concede that point. You have to go for incremental progress. You realize how polarized people are. We saw the Government Shutdown. We can blame it on each other but, at the end of the day, we have to blame it on everybody because we have to stop the nonsense, get back to work and collaborate with each other. I give you that point. Reporter good to have you here. Good to spend time with you. Great to be here. Reporter look forward to talking to you again. Ali velshi, let me tell you reporter interesting argument, receistephstephanie. The best thing he can say is he has better hair than you. Reporter youd love the conversation here because it is coming down to this economics. The world is doing well, and for the first time in a long time, the world sort of is in sync in the economic growth. The point you make all the time is Global Growth is stronger than american growth. The argument that scaramucci is making, im not sure it all fits, but the point is, the argument theyll make here is if americans do better and have more bucks in their pocket, because we import so much stuff, well buy more American Made stuff but also buy more from the world. It is more nuanced than the, im going here to tell the world it is America First and everybody else second. As we get closer to friday morning, i think youll see more nuance in the shift of what the president is going to zbsay. Between today and friday, will the administration all get on message . Steve mnuchin making comments about the weak dollar is a real issue. Reporter this is weird. Not because we dont believe President Trump and his administration are not America First, and weve discussed this. A weak dollar is good for exports. Reporter right. The fact that we now have a treasury secretary breaking precedent that has been in place for decades and now commenting on the dollar, which affects our ability or the advantage to be the standard in terms of world currency, its stunning. Reporter right. I spoke to people inside the white house who said, this is Steve Mnuchin going rogue. We have to remember, not only does he not have experience in terms of policymaking, he has almost no advisers and a skeletal staff. Making a Statement Like this, you immediately see an impact on the dollar. It really puts the treasury in a different position. Reporter thats right. There are a lot of people here who a year in a year ago, davos, it was around inauguration, everybody was talking about the Trump Administration. Now were farther away, but people still think there is disorganization with the administration. And contrary comments from wilbur ross today, the commerce secretary, and from Steve Mnuchin, the treasury secretary, are confusing people. There are valid economic reasons to have a discussion about the u. S. Dollar being weaker. It helps exports from the United States to other countries. Fundamentally, as you said, it is the reserve currency of the world. Oil is priced in dollars. Gold is priced in dollars. If you are going to have a governmental policy that supports a weaker u. S. Dollar, that has got to be something everybody is on the same page about. Theres strong messaging so people dont, in a panic, sell the u. S. Dollar and soften the currency. It is a good economic discussion to have. It is not necessarily a terrible thing to have the dollar weaken a little bit, as it has been doing, by the way, against other currencies, but for the treasury secretary to talk about it without having everyone on the same page confuses markets. As does the commerce secretary talking about the fact we might be in a trade war and nafta is going to be renegotiated. Everybody has to get organized, especially around here, where everybodys ears are tuned to what the u. S. Administration is going to say, stephanie. It is important to point out that traditionally, when you hear from a treasury secretary, a commerce secretary or the president , you would see the markets move more dramatically. At this point, even the market response is somewhat muted because of all the mixed messaging. Not just between different members of the administration, but President Trump himself. Remember, on the campaign trail, over and over, he called china a currency manipulator. After he wins, realize that is the Labor Department tracks this and actually has a model, and it is not the case. Wilbur ross saying today. Reporter theyre not, yeah. Hes saying were at a trade war and will renegotiate nafta, when people in the administration are urging the president not to do that. The market is saying, hold on and call me when the policy changes. Reporter i cant figure it out. Call me when it is done. Remember, the canadians are here, and they have gone along with the other countries involved with tpp and said, were going to make our own trade bloc out of this whole thing. While a country like canada cant go at it alone and cant tell the United States to shove it in terms of trade relationships, the fact is, others are getting things done. The u. S. Is going to have to figure out, whats the message on trade . You and i discussed, there are valid reasons to challenge china on some of its trade and in intellectual trade practices, but you have to do this in a measured way so you get success from it. It is an interesting davos, stephanie, but it missines you. And i miss davos. Ali, ill check in with you in a few. We should note, it is not just economics. Another world leader yesterday, modi of india, went on to say, the biggest threat to civilization is Climate Change. Remember, scott pruitt, who runs our epa, said he thinks we should have a televised debate, discussing whether or not Climate Change exists. Given what were hearing from World Leaders and the president s possible position on Climate Change, it could be an interesting topic when we speaks on friday. We are awaiting a sentencing of disgraced u. S. Olympic team doctor, dr. Larry nassar, accused of sexually abusing over ready for this number 100 women and girls. Many of whom bravely testified against him during the trial. Were going to bring you the very latest as it happens. And a war of words over who is paying for trumps wall on the border with mexico. I assumed it was going to be mexico. Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says he is pulling his offer to fund it. President is warning, if there is no wall, there is no d. R. E. A. M. Ers. You know what youre watching. Velshi ruhle. Global today. Mike and i are both veterans, both served in the navy. I do outrank my husband, not just being in the military, but at home. She thinks shes the boss. She only had me by one grade. We bought our first home together in 2010. His family had used another insurance product but i was like well ive had usaa for a while, why dont we call and check the rates . It was an instant savings and i shouldve changed a long time ago. Theres no point in looking elsewhere really. Were the tenneys and were usaa members for life. Usaa. Get your insurance quote today. I tabut with my back paines, i couldnt sleep and get up in time. Then i found aleve pm. Aleve pm is the only one to combine a safe sleep aid plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. Im back. Aleve pm for a better am. Thereswhatever type ofhe end of eweekender you are,ton. Dont let another weekend pass you by. Get the lowest price when you book at hilton. Com alright, i brought in high protein to help get us moving. And help you feel more strength and energy in just two weeks ill take that. Yeeeeeah ensure high protein. With 16 grams of protein and 4 grams of sugar. Ensure. Always be you. Welcome back to velshi ruhle. Im stephanie ruhle. It has only been two days it seems like so much longer since the government reopened, and a second shutdown seems increasingly possible. Chuck schumer took funding for President Trumps proposed border wall off the table yesterday following what he sees as bad faith negotiations from the white house. The president responded, guess where, twitter, writing, quote, crying Chuck Schumer fully understands, especially after his humiliating defeat, that if there is no with the, there is no daca. We must have safety and security, together with a strong military, for our great people. With me now is National Political reporter for nbc news. I want to start with President Trumps quote. So president quote, two days ago, was blaming democrats for shutting down the government. He was saying it was democrats decision to support Illegal Immigrants and not sick children, which is why people should vote republican. Why is the president now saying that it was a devastating defeat if chuck shoochumer came to the table and negotiated . Isnt that what President Trump wanted him to do . It is what President Trump wanted him to do and, you know, i think it is hard to it is hard to follow always what the Strategy Tactics are for a president who seems to tweet based on the emotion of the moment. I think whats really going on here though is a serious impasse. The president kicked this issue to congress, knowing it was tough for congress to do, but he didnt want to decide what to do for the d. R. E. A. M. Ers. Congress fails to get a deal. If they fail over the next few weeks to get a deal, it goes back on trumps lap. He has a choice, he can either protect the d. R. E. A. M. Ers beyond march 5th or start deporting them. I think the democrats look at that, at least Chuck Schumers office looks at that, as a policy win for the d. R. E. A. M. Ers or a political win for the democrats, if trump supports people who are, you know, 90 or so favored among the American People. Not sure it is the right calculation. My guess is the president is going to find a way to not deport the d. R. E. A. M. Ers. Given this is a 90 10 issue, shouldnt democrats all get on the same page here, fold their arms and say, hey, Mitch Mcconnell, you said you were going to do it. Your word is your bond. Thats what theyre saying now, trying to get this Durbin Graham bill up to the floor in the senate. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said it was dead on arrival. The truth of the matter is unless the president and the republican and Democratic Leaders in both chambers get on board with an immigration bill, its not going to happen. Theyve been trying to do comprehensive Immigration Reform on the hill for a dozen years. Even with that kind of a lineup, the president , the senate and house, republican and Democratic Leaders behind it, and they havent been able to do it. To think they can pull it off in three weeks, even with the daca for the wall deal is just naive. There is a better chance of me showing up in davos tomorrow than there is of the bill getting done easily. Even with all those, you have a good chance the conservatives in the house will try to torpedo it. Wow. Better thans youchance youre the great space kostcoste co than this sucker. Foreign tourists are not coming to the United States. Next, well break down how much it is costing the country in dollars and in jobs. My partner ali velshi will join me. Ill take you back to davos where the World Economic forum is underway. You are watching a Global Edition of velshi ruhle. Rheumatiod arthritis. Before you and your rheumatologist move to another treatment, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. Xeljanz xr is a oncedaily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. It can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. Xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. Dont start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. Tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. Your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. Tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. Xeljanz xr can reduce the symptoms of ra, even without methotrexate. Ask your rheumatologist about xeljanz xr. 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Whoo we are back now on velshi ruhle to talk money, money, money. Today, troubling new figures show a dramatic drop in Foreign Tourists, and it is costing the u. S. Economy billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs. Even though International Tourism surged 7 last year, trips to the United States fell about 4 . That is from the United Nations world tourism organization. My partner, ali velshi, is back with us, live from the World Economic forum in davos, switzerland. Ali, part of this is being blamed on what is called the trump slump. Reporter right. So remember, some of this started after 9 11, when extra security concerns caused a lot of people who were traveling for vacation or holding con veferen in the United States to do something else. They didnt want the hassle. While travel went up for several years, its been declining in the United States. It got really serious after the election of donald trump. Heres what i found out. From our famous National Parks to our equally famous theme parks, Foreign Tourists are checking out of the United States. The latest data from the National Travel and Tourism Office shows a 4 decline in visits from foreign travelers and a 3. 3 drop in travel spending. Its costing the u. S. Economy more than 4. 6 billion in spending thats gone. With it, an estimated 40,000 american jobs. Where we should have been growing, weve been moving in the wrong direction. The wrong direction. Reporter marriott operates more than 5,700 hotels in 110 countriy s countries. Theyve seen the down trends in travel to america. Global interNational Travel was 1. 3 billion trips, up 7 from 2016. U. S. Arrivals were down 4 to 5 . You can see, in one year, were losing share. Reporter it is a decline that began after trump took office, leaving some to call it a trump slump. I think weve done a fairly poor job in communicating and welcoming the rest of the world. Were an invitation. Our new president is very newsworthy all around the world, so people are paying attention to what he says. He has a point of view which is communicated loudly. I think that point of view can be communicated and, at the same time, we can be saying, we want you to come. Take your vacation with us. Reporter this week, tourism and retail leaders are asking the Trump Administration to help stop the decline. Marriott international is part of the effort. Were going to seize the opportunities for the economy, for the industry, for our company that are available in the years ahead. Let lets get smart about adopting the policies and communicating the messages that will help it. Reporter america has slipped in the rankings of the worlds most popular tourist destinations. Among the number two most popular country to visit after france, we can say adios. Our spot has been taken by, you guessed it, spain. So thatsan stephanie, he was diplomatic about it. Nobody at davos has a problem getting a visa to the United States. There is this sense that, look, if were talking about imgra immigrati immigration, immigration bands, you have to send a very explicit message to the world that our america is america and wants your tourist dollars and conferences. Theyve said that america has failed in that in the last year. Steph . President trump certainly knows tourism and hospitality. That is his core business. Ali, i want you to stay with us. I want to broaden out this conversation. It is not only a tourism slump that the u. S. Is suffering from. A widely watched, annual survey just out and delivered at the World Economic forum shows a massive collapse in public faith in its four main institutions. The new Edelman Trust Barometer Survey showed 37 drop last year in trust among americans in government, media, business and nongovernment organizations. Basically, everybody in power, nobody trusts them. That is the steepest decline ever measured by the survey. At the other end of the scale, china posted the biggest rise in the trust index among all countries, 27 . The survey was conducted in 28 countries total. Cnbc editor at large john harwood joining me now. Ali is still in this conversation. John, to you first, you know, many people worry that while the United States has turned inward and were very focused in this nationalist agenda, we move away from tpp, china loves it. Theyre moving in. Theyre eating our lunch. When you look at this survey, what does it tell you . Well, a couple things. First of all, there is a longterm problem in the United States of declining trust in institutions. It has been most acute over the last several years from republicans and conservatives looking at Barack Obamas administration and complaining about the media. Now with donald trump in power, people on the left think of him as a ridiculous figure, think of his government as a dysfunctional government and, naturally, youre going to have confidence decline. That goes part and parcel with what ali was talking about before in the declining interest in people overseas in coming to the United States. Theyre not sure what the United States stands for right now and whether they feel welcome. John, i want to point out that Richard Edelman also called this an ultimate irony. That the u. S. Public has lost its faith in leadership, all the while, while the stock market is crushing it and employment rates are at record highs. Well, we do have an economy that is strengthening and a market that is strong. All of that is good news. But we saw in 2016, we had a strong market in 2016 and a continuing to recover economy in 2016, and that didnt prevent the voters, narrowly, from throwing the party that was controlling the white house out of the white house. All right. I want to get it straight from the horses mouth. My friend, steve schmidt, republican strategist, contributor and vice chairman of Public Affairs at edelman, joins the conversation. Steve, when i look at these numbers, im astounded. I want to go through the biggest gainers and losers in terms of public trust. What does it say that the u. S. Is taking a serious nosedive while china is climbing up . Well, it says a couple of things. None of them good for the United States. In the 18 years that edelman has done this, 28 countries, 33,000 interviews, its the single biggest, oneyear drop in trust ever recorded. The American People have lost faith in the country. They are skeptical of theet ethacacy. Headquarters between spain and italy. When we look globally at trust, were slightly ahead of russia, behind of china, and trust is growing in china. Other countries and people in the countries are not looking at the american model any longer with admiration. Theyre seeing the chaos in the United States. Its leading to distrust. Its alarming because in a democracy, we dont function so much on the basis of rules as we do norms, and those norms all exist on a foundation of trust. That collapse of trust is very significant in any democratic republican. Steve, what could the impact be . You talk about the importance of trust. It is lost here in the United States. Were coming two days off a Government Shutdown, where were seeing Chuck Schumer criticized by fellow democrats saying, what are you thinking, trusting Mitch Mcconnell . And why other World Leaders are in davos, yesterday, ceo and founder of sales force, was talking about uber, and he said, the reason for ubers downfall was loss of trust. In corporate america, as soon as you lose the trust and faith of your consumer, it is game over. We know how the ride went for uber this year. Steve . Well, for sure, stephanie. I do think that countries, particularly this country, is resilient, but there is significant work to do in this space. The rebuilding of trust. I mean, the American People flat out have lost faith in so many institutions. The president , theres a constancy with regard to his attacks on institutions. So we can talk about the economy and a lot of the newscasts accurately talk about the run up on the stock market. A lot of good indicators. It is also the case that we live in a country where 46 of americans dont have 400 of disposable income. So the stock market could be at 150,000 and 15 150,000 and it doesnt have relevance or significance to their life. Reporter good point. When political leaders are talking to the country, the country is divided economically and politically, and the rhetoric feeds mistrust because, oftentimes, the rhetoric isnt relevant to the life circumstances of the people, the Political Leadership is essentially talking to. Steve, isnt it unrealistic to say, we need to turn that vote around . Look where we are at this very moment. On friday, President Trump had a deal with Chuck Schumer. He then spoke to Steven Miller and john kelly and said, forget it, no way. He blamed democrats for causing the shutdown. Earlier today, after the democrats then blinked or made a deal, had a little bit of trust, got chip off the table, President Trump just criticized Chuck Schumer, calling him crying Chuck Schumer and his devastating loss. His devastating loss is that he shook hands and he agreed,let reopen the government. Well, look, of course, the remarkable thing about it, and it is why the American People have contempt for congress, i mean, the Government Shutdown was about two issues. Fundamentally, 90 of the American People support them. Were looking at what i say is a carnival of incompetence in d. C. Ali velshi has treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin. I just did. Hes over there. Ali . Reporter he had to move on. Part of a big delegation. As you know and said earlier, secretary mnuchin has made comments about the fact that the dollar could be a little weaker. The dollar has been weakening against other currencies, and that is a big departure for a treasury secretary to make that comment when it is not u. S. Policy. To your point you were making with steve, i want to take one thing out of the edelman report. Richard edelman is here and we were talking about it earlier today. One of the reversals of trust is mainstream media. Media had been losing the Publics Trust over the years, but in concert with donald trump and his constant attacks on traditional media, weve actually seen a bit of an increase in trust in that part of the media. Over all, theres been a decrease. I think steve can give me the facts. Theres been a decrease but traditional media has been an increase as people return to it to see what is constantly reported in the news and hold power to account. That was an interesting shift in that study that i found. Im not sure i believe that. That could be because of Steve Schmidts regularly appearances on msnbc. That could be too. All right, steve. Incredible survey. More people want to see it. I think you need to publish that thing after davos. It is really important, these numbers. Yeah, its really good. Thank you, gentlemen. Ive got breaking news for you out there. We are Just Moments Away from the sentencing of disgraced u. S. Olympic team doctor. Dr. Larry nassar. The prosecution is just wrapping up her remarks lining up charges. Nassar is accused of sexually abusing over 100 girls. We will tell you more about the trial. Whoooo. When it comes to travel, i sweat the details. Late checkout. Downalternative pillows. And of course, price. Tripadvisor helps you book a. Hotel without breaking a sweat. Because we now instantly. Search over 200 booking sites. To find you the lowest price. On the hotel you want. Dont sweat your booking. Tripadvisor. The latest reviews. The lowest prices. 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. Turn up the volume for this one. One of President Trumps first meetings in davos will be with benjamin netanyahu. For years, the u. S. And israel have had a very close bond. But now it is time to use this relationship but the question is, is this the time to use this relationship to potentially reshape a very volatile middle east. Thats the premise of an oped column by james in a Bloomberg View piece. He lays out the ways he believes the ways the United States can help israel as iran rises to a regional power. Welcome. Great to have you here in the newsroom. Walk you through this, general. Whats the premise . I was in israel last week. I spoke with a number of active and retired senior israelis. They would tell you there have been more changes in the last two years than since the seventh century when islam split into sunni and shia. What does the change mean . The change is the rise of iran and the possibility of israel partnering with the sunni arab states. They already partnered with jordan and with egypt. But stephanie, how about with vara . H saudi arabia . How about with the gulf states in ten years ago it would have been impossible. Today because of the rise of iran that political alignment is becoming more and more possible. Trs. Clearly, the Iran Nuclear Deal is a focus for President Trump. Yeah. I would like to believe that President Trump will read your Bloomberg View piece. But lets say hes watching and he will sit down with netanyahu two days from now. Sure. What do you want them to discuss . Top of the list is the danger of a rising iran. Iran has imperial ambitions. They still think of themselves as they did 2,000 years ago when it was the persian empire. U. S. israel together oppose iran. The question is, who are the other partners in the region . Adding saudi arabia, the gulf states to that mix, not in an alliance but working with us. Sharing intelligence. Conducting exercises. Maritime interception. Cyber cooperation. Becomes a powerful way to help isolate iran in the region. What does israel want from the United States in relation to iran . . In relation it iran they want a strong activist United States who pushes back on iran in yemen who pushes back in syria, who pushes back in iraq. Who pushes back in lebanon. All of these places we see the iranian machine moving forward. Israel wants partner that can stand with them against that rising iranian threat. Benjamin netanyahu is one world leader that president seems to have a very Good Relationship with. Jared kushner has known him since he was a child. Is the Trump Administration broad ranging backing or supporting israel . Does that risk hurting our relationship with other allies . I dont think it does. First of all, lets remember that israel is in good shape with european countries. They have Good Relationships with both egypt and jordan. Two of the major sunni arab states. They have Good Relationships throughout much of the rest of the world. Other than the push back they get over jerusalem as the capital issue. Those are tactical issues. I think strategically, israel and the United States, working together, can create real positive security outcomes in the middle east. Take a step back before we go. For the american who says israel, saudi arabia, palestinians, why is that a priority for us . Why should i care . What is the argument to help americans understand why its essential . Ill give you three in ten seconds. One is israel is our strongest ally in the most volatile region of the world. They are an anchor of democracy. Number would, cultural connections between this country and israel are profound. And number three, strategically we need their abilities in cyber. They defense industry. Their innovativeness. They are a very real military partner. We add build on that relationship and make it stronger, stephanie. Thank you for joining me today. Excellent piece. Bloomberg view, you want to see this piece. Thank you for watching this hour. Im stephanie ruhle. You know my partner, on assignment, in davos, but you will see him again at 3 00 p. M. Today. But i hand you off to my friend and colleague, Andrea Mitchell, for Andrea Mitchell reports. All of the president s men, Robert Mueller getting closer to the president. As nbc news confirms that all the nations top intelligence officials have spoken with his team. Now an nbc news exclusive. New information that mike flynn hid his interview from President Trump. Michael flynn did the this interview with the two fbi agent and didnt tell anyone. He didnt mention to anybody that this had been put on his schedule. He didnt say anything to anyone, including the president. Pressuring the fbi. After firing james comey, the president summoned the new acting fbi director, andrew mccabe, and demanded to know who he voted for in the election. Raising Big Questions about political pressure. There is a credible case of obstruction of justice against donald trump. And the questions to then acting director mccabe are just additional evidence that the president wanted to demand political loyalty. And jet set. The president takes almost his entire cabinet to davos. For a gathering of the
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