North korea said it was ready to launch another attack against provocations in the u. S. Josh we continue to be deeply concerned about the provocations and destabilizing activities that are mounted by the north korean regime. The United States is strongly committed to Standing Shoulder to shoulder with our allies and the republic of korea. That is not going to change. For the an opportunity north korean government to escape the deep isolation that they currently face. They are required to making a commitment and coming into in range with the security resolutions that they currently ignore. Aboutbeen quite clear what the north korean government should do. Have chosen the path of confrontation and provocation, as they are ready to consider an alternate path therd reconciliation that International Community will be willing to engage. [indiscernible] as a result of the law that prohibits people from using restrooms in compliance with their gender identity. Does the president agree that the actions of these organizations where the right hing to do . These individual organizations are making their own decisions. Certainly the present agrees with the values that were wherelated by the leaders they talked about their commitment to equality and justice for every american. Made the observation that this kind of legislation wasnt just contrary to the values held by a lot of americans who do have a lot of commitment to justice and equality. Consistent with a Smart Business strategy. And we have seen private sector businesses and athletic organizations. Intent tonce their take their business elsewhere outside the state of North Carolina. The presence is concerned with the law, but it that Business Leaders and the leaders of athletic organizations have similar concerns, particularly when it comes to the impact it could have on discriminating against athletes, coaches, or even fans. Do you think the decision to cancel events is when you consider the wide variety of companies and organizations that come forward, not just expressing concern with then you are making a choice to do business elsewhere. I think you are on solid ground, indicating opposition to the law is quite widespread. And the people are quite uncomfortable with the discriminatory impact. ,ot just the ncaa in the acc the nba has the allstar game and any number of private Sector Companies have made announcements curtailing their footprint inside the state of North Carolina. Even their fans. I think this highlights a potential consequence that we discussed in here the very first time. When you say these actions you mean the decisions announced by the ncaa and the acc echo i have not talked about that with him. I dont think we weigh in on the decisions those private entities making, but certainly they have described the kinds of values that are leading them to make those kinds of decisions. Those values sound a lot like the making, but certainly they have described the kinds of values that are leading them to values that president obama has been fighting for the last eight years in the white house. You her donald trump today say that his plans would have the economy growing at a rate of 4 per year, which has been disputed by somebody. Is there anything you would like to ask. A lot of people here i think what is clear is president obama has put forward and implemented a strategy that has been good for the american economy, good for middleclass families, good for reducing poverty, good for shrinking equality. And has been good for growing our economy, particularly when you consider that no other is vance no other advanced economy has done as well. All of that happened, even though the United States is in the depths of the worst economic downturn since the great depression. Test casef having a for evaluating the success of the strategy that president obama push forward, i think we have a particularly good one and the results speak for themselves. I dont have an update for you on timing but the president does plan to rent doesnt tend to veto that legislation. Then a what is the concern it dontbe overwritten . I think you need to have an advanced degree in math to understand the significance support that exists in the United States congress for this bill. But the concerns that we have about this legislation are significant. There are many members of congress that are significant that are sympathetic to the argument. Countrya system in this for identifying, isolating, and even punishing countries that support terrorism. This process is actually one that is established by statute. A this is a process where congress and the administration works together to identify these countries, and to isolate them. Is a much more effective way for the United States to respond to terrorism,ored and to prevent countries from giving it to the temptation to sponsor terrorism. Than a more effective patchwork system of Legal Systems that could cloud the clarity that is needed to forcefully respond to the statesponsored terrorism. I think that is the basic argument we have made. I think there is a lot of sympathy, even if there are a lot of members of congress who are intimidated by the politics. That is not going to stop the president from taking a principled this principled position and making a principled argument about the best way to protect the country and the American People from terrorism. So Many Democrats support this bill. Those numbers of congress couldnt be swayed, so are they just wrong . I would acknowledge they havent been swayed. The president continues to believe this is an important andciple to fight for, were going to continue to have conversations with members of congress and continue to urge them to consider the most effective way for the United States to confront state sponsor terrorism. We have a mechanism on the books that works well, that highlights effective Cooperation Among our National Security agencies, the executive branch and the United States congress. Thats it. That is a more effective system, we believe, than a patchwork system of judges that could in some cases arrive at different conclusions about the culpability of individual countries and their role in terrorist activities. Clarity is an effective tool. Identifying these countries has the effect of isolating them in the world. And that certainly has an impact on their ability to engage in terrorism or to harm the American People with terrorism. It also serves as a pretty effective deterrent for other countries that might be considering engaging in that kind of activity. Michelle you said republicans play with congress playing politics with some of their pieces of legislation. So in this case, i mean, youll speak to the sympathy there is on the hill but do you feel in this case democrats are being swayed or overrun by political pressure . Josh again, i think look, in this case there are a large number of democrats and a large number of republicans that have the same position so i think you have to ask them exactly why they have taken that position. I think i am standing here articulating here what is a principled position that the president has taken. There is nobody here who is unable to understand why the politics this is hard. I guess you might say the president may have a little bit more standing in the face of these tough politics to make this argument given how strong his record is in fighting for 9 11 families. Hes somebody who prioritized taking Osama Bin Laden off the battlefield and bringing him to justice. That is a promise he made good on. President obama has been a leading advocate of ensuring that First Responders to ground zero get the kind of support and health care that they need for the risks that they took to try to save their fellow americans battlefield and bringing him to and to rebuild at the site of this terrorist attack, and president obama has used the occasion of 9 11 over the last eight years to speak powerfully and emotionally about how the families of those who were lost on 9 11 are a genuine inspiration to him and a testament to the resilience of this country. Look, maybe that gives the president a little bit more latitude to take this principled stand, but hopefully well succeed in persuading some members of congress to join us. Michelle the president has himself reached out to members of congress on this, and does he plan to . Josh i dont know if there are any president ial level on this. But there have been extensive conversations between members of the president s National Security team and leading officials on capitol hill. Ok. Alex. Alex senator Elizabeth Warren also marked the eighth anniversary of the with a powerpoint. She sent a letter to f. B. I. Comey asking for the release of any documents related to the investigations into wall streets role in the financial collapse. Does the white house support the release of those documents . Is that something the American People deserve to have access to . Josh well, what the white house supports is director comey making the decision independent of any sort of political influence about the release of nvestigative materials. So ill leave it to him to find an effective way to respond to that question. You know, i think what senator warren does, though, underscore in her letter is how important it is for us to learn the mistakes that were made in the past and to build a Financial System and build safeguards into our Financial System that wont put taxpayers on the hook for bailing out large Financial Institutions that make bad bets. Thats what we succeeded in doing in wall street reform, and there are many opponents of wall street reform who said they couldnt support the legislation because it would throw a wet blanket on the economy. Theyve been wrong, and we have enjoyed significant, an historic period of growth since this bill went into effect and was signed into law by the president of the United States. So it is an indication that we can put in place protections on wall street that will insulate middleclass families from the risky bets of wall street traders even as we strengthen the overall economy and contribute to strong Economic Growth and contribute to growth in the stock markets and in the incomes of middleclass families. Weve enjoyed historic gains in both since president obama signed that bill into law. So, again, i think the strategy that president obama has pursued is one that stands up to a lot of scrutiny when you consider the Economic Impact of those decisions. Alex on another subject, there are disturbing details about a boot camp. Marines placed who allegedly committed suicide during a suspected hazing incident. A local paper, beaufort gazette, reported an investigation was actually prompted by a letter by the white house. How closely is the white house following this . Has the president been briefed . Josh well, alex, i think everybody here has seen the news reports. I havent spoken to the president about this. Hes the commander in chief, so im confident hes aware of this situation and aware of these reports. Theres no denying that the graphic details that are included in these reports are disturbing. The United States marine corps has indicated a commitment to investigating exactly whats happened and i know theyll take appropriate action to conduct that investigation and to hold accountable those who are responsible for any sort of misconduct. I i know the marine corps that they take all reports of misconduct seriously. Look, the men and women in the United States marine corps hold themselves to an extraordinary High Standard of personal conduct and a vast majority of the men and women in the United States marine corps do exactly that. Thats why reports of misconduct must be thoroughly investigated. Alex is there a worry there is a larger issue of the current climate with regards to xenophobia or hostility towards the Muslim Community . Josh i am confident that the let me say it this way. Obviously the commander in chief is quite concerned about making sure that those Young Americans who sign up to serve in our armed forces are in many ways placed under his care and he takes quite seriously the responsibility he has as commander in chief in ensuring that recruits to the United States military are treated with dignity and respect and not subject to abuse and hazing even as they undergo the kind of rigorous training thats required to meet the high physical and mental standards thats required in saving in the United States military. So that is something that this commander in chief has certainly prioritized. Im confident that the leadership of the United States marine corps has prioritized this as well. But for the details of their investigation or if there are any Accountability Measures they determine are appropriate, ill let them speak to that primarily because if there is any sort of military justice proceedings, i dont want anything that i have said here to be perceived as interfering in that investigation or interfering in this proceeding. I need to be a little circumspect, but i can certainly say with confidence that the commander in chief wants to ensure that Young Americans who sign up to serve in our military are afforded the respect and fair treatment that they deserve, particularly considering the sacrifice that they indicated theyre prepared to make for the country. Alex do you have more details about the africanamerican museum yesterday . Did you have a chance to talk about it . Was there an exhibit that stuck out to him . Josh i didnt talk to the president about his visit to the museum last night. What i can tell you is the president will have an opportunity to participate in some of the festivities that are scheduled for the end of next week to mark the opening of the smithsonian or the africanamerican museum thats been organized by the smithsonian. So the president and the first lady are quite enthusiastic about the opening of the museum and well have a little more of an opportunity to talk next week about how theyll participate in those activities. Jordan. Jordan thanks, josh. The senate today passed the Water ResourcesDevelopment Act which includes emergency funding for flint and other communities with lead contamination. The house version of the bill contains that funding for various reasons. I wonder if the administration has \[inaudible] josh i dont i havent seen the details of the bill so i dont know weve taken a specific position on it at this point. What we have indicated for quite sometime is we do believe that congress should provide Additional Resources to the state of michigan and to the city of flint to address the situation with regard to the water supply there, but how congress chooses to do that is Something Congress is going to have to figure out. But this administration will continue to press them to make that a priority. Caleb thanks, josh. Hillary clinton indicated she may not nominate marlin if had a chance to nominate a Supreme Court justice. She would consider anyone that represents the diverse of the diversity of the country. Do you have any reaction to the fact that Hillary Clinton if she wins office may make a different choice than what the president did . Josh if Senate Republicans will do their job it wont come to that. If Senate Republicans do their job then Merrick Garland will have a lifetime on the Supreme Court and Hillary Clinton strongly supports. When president obama announced his decision to nominate Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, she said the president made a good choice. She described Merrick Garland as somebody whos a brilliant jurist. Her opinion is one thats widely shared by democrats and republicans. Thats why what republicans in the United States senate have done have drawn so much condemnation, not just from democrats all across the country but even some republicans who uncomfortable with the republican argument that somehow president s are not allowed to nominate judges in their last year in office. Theres no such provision that exists in the United States constitution. Its ironic because many of these same republican senators described themselves as strict constructionists when it comes to interpreting the constitution. You know, apparently thats maybe part of the constitution that they havent read. In some cases you might actually question the intellectual honesty of some of these senators, particularly senator cornyn and cruz that are advocating for the republicans nomination of justices in texas. You cant have it both ways. If theyr