later in the show, usa today reporter brett murphy talks about his investigation into california's trucking industry and allegations of driver mistreatment. ♪ president trump yesterday in bedminster, new jersey and this morning on the front page of the new york times, saying "fury"eat of "theory" -- intervene china would if washington strikes first. thanf this comes as more 35 hundred u.s. and japanese troops conducting military exercises today and through the weekend in northern japan. the president taking aim at the senate republican leader, mitch mcconnell, saying it is time for congress to get back to work on repealing and replacing the affordable care act, leaving open the opportunity for mr. mcconnell to leave his position. here the latest from president trump and what you think needs to happen next in north korea. our phone lines are open and we would love to hear from you. (202) 748-8000, that is our line for republicans. (202) 748-8001 four democrats. and we have our line for independents. we are enjoying the conversation on facebook. good friday morning, here is the headline from the wall street journal -- trump steps up his rhetoric. post is alson reporting on how things are developing, the headline -- gaming out the north korea crisis. available online at washington post.com, "in this moment of heated belligerent rhetoric they are diving into projections, playing out wargames, engaging in the macabre semi-science of estimating death tolls and predicting how an adversary might behave. inside washington's what if university, people let think tanks, universities, and fouresses have spent decades playing out scenarios that the trump administration now faces a new. examinedays have been fall into four main categories, doing nothing, hitting north with tougher sanctions, pushing for talks, and military confrontation. good morning, on the democrat line. caller: thank you for receiving my call. this is not fake news from the present -- the trump administration? this sounds like the same thing as george bush and the republicans. get us into a war, raise taxes. we will do the same thing we did and i think not. i think we should be very careful listening to information we see about nuclear weapons on those missiles. second, why are we allowing our president to take marching tin? as we look at plane that has crashed at mississippi, our shipment was messed up in the philippines -- excuse me, japan, and the latest shipment failure in australia. giving russia our codes on our ships so they are able to hack into our military ships. are we going to be able to fight a war without russia hacking our military equipment? the most important thing is this -- is the information we are receiving about the north ,oreans being able to destroy using nuclear weapons to the united states, is it really is? host: we will go to jeffrey next in new york city on the independent line. the president's comments yesterday, saying it may not have been tough enough. caller: to put it mildly, i am not a fan of mr. trump. and i would say that in my lifetime, what is going on and has been going on my entire life mean, i do not i want to compare the two with this fiery language from donald trump. say -- i dohelp but not want to overdo it but i think a great part of his persona thinks this is just a tv show getting ratings. god for bid something happens with nuclear weapons. now you have to be tough on north korea, right, but i do not see mr. trump as actually -- he barks when it seems right to bark. i do not think he takes international organization seriously. it really could wind up with all these articles. , i do nots, i mean want to have to grow up further in my life living in the fear tom brokawtions as calls -- as right-wingers would say, liberal diplomacy, multilateral list. it is donald trump scaring me. host: thanks for the call. bill king with his tweet -- trumps threatening comments are simply what he learned from his days working with the wwe wrestlers. , maybe theeadline threat on north korea was not tough enough, from the page of on today, trump and kim jong could find a way back to diplomacy. they could take the steps away from a nuclear precipice, reporting from jim michaels for usa today. on the republican line, joe is next from mesquite, texas. caller: i just want to comment. i am very disappointed in the trump administration, but i really do not worry about it because i know god is in control. we have to let the american people get the lead -- leader they deserve. we watched him throughout the whole campaign do things no president has ever done and we thought magically he would get in the white house and perform and the presidential. no. i am just really kind of confused with the american public right now because i feel like we are in korea and we are being ran by a dictator, and that the people are all brainwashed. seeingke, are they not what i am seeing on tv? you do not have to be a scientist or have a college degree to look at the news, understand, and see what is going on. all this fake news and everybody is lying, come on. it is very scary. i feel it we have lost our mind. us.dy trusts we have this crazy guy in the white house that is really talking about dropping an atomic bomb. host: thanks for the call from mesquite, texas. -- street -- robert mueller and on our facebook page many of you weighing in. this is from michelle who says -- i love how trump supporters are cheering for a man who asked like a rebellious teenager rather than a dignified leader of the free world. the diplomats have jobs to support their families and careers in public service that matter to them. maybe trump wouldn't mind losing his job suddenly and we can all hope that happen sooner rather than later. , based from reuters news on information overnight from china's state-run newspaper. the chinese paper saying china should stay neutral. "if north korea launches an attack that threatens the united states and china should stay neutral, but if the united states attacks first and tries to overthrow north korea's government china will stop them." that from a chinese state-run newspaper. president trump ratcheting up his rhetoric against north korea on thursday, warning pyongyang afteracking u.s. allies disclosed plans to fire missiles over japan to land near the u.s. pacific territory. north korea's most important ally in trading partner has , during thealls for current crisis. the widely read state-run global times in china published by the ruling communist party's people's daily wrote that beijing is not able to persuade washington or pyongyang to back down. china has long worried any conflict on the korean peninsula or a repeat of the 1950 to 1953 korean war could unleash a wave of destabilizing refugees into the northeast and end up with a unified company with the u.s.. they say china will "firmly resist and a side which wants to change the status quo of the areas where china's interest are concerned." as we look at that headline, dan is joining us on the republican line from oregon. caller: good morning. i just want to make a couple quick points. from the gentleman in arkansas who called this fake news i was thinking, when is the last time russia, china, france, they all voted unanimously to sanction north korea. that is not fake news, this is real world stuff going on. texas,gal in mesquite, the republican party, we had eight years of barack obama apologizing everywhere and we were taken advantage of as a country. let's go one step further back. bill clinton armed north korea. is here doing what we elected him to do and i support the president 100%. host: this is from steve -- president reagan cost concern when he joked about bombing russia. today, trump is not joking, real cause for concern. and in washington, d.c., welcome to the conversation. caller: i am a scientist, african american scientist, and i am ashamed of this president. a famous scientist, dr. ellis hawkins was asked to explain donald trump and he said he could not. whoppears to be a demagogue appeals to the lowest common denominator. there were three famous newspapers in the world, the , the bar andpaper policy newspaper, and also the dallas newspaper who had never endorsed a president in history, but all three newspapers warned not to vote for this president. these are famous newspapers. and to support hillary rodham clinton. the only thing hillary ron to -- the only thing hillary rodham clinton said that was wrong was the united states owes an apology to hillary rodham clinton because our country was warned about this president and all over the world they demonstrated. i'm a scientist, and they pulled us out of the world, embarrassed us with some of our partners around the world. this president is taking our country down the drain and threatening world war iii, and this is a shame that our president is allowed to go. let's repeal this man out of here as soon as possible. host: ed from washington, d.c. just-- i hope trump is marketing and will not bite. more hype by -- trump haters. painting trump into a corner trying to trap him into anything that makes him look bad. carly is joining us from frederick, maryland, democrats line. caller: thank you so much. i am wondering if you think the president will ever come to understand the importance of foreign aid, especially in a country like north korea, how 40% of the population is actually below the poverty line? and how something like development and diplomacy can actually help the humanitarian effort? host: thanks for the call. stephen joining us from chesapeake beach, maryland. caller: i just would like to make a comment. pretty much, north korea is playing donald trump. i think they are trying to attack him to make him be something because the problem is if we attack first, i pretty much have the comparison that it is like a small person with a swiss army knife trying to go against us, it is not going to happen. do not do anything don't. -- dumb. c-span's thest on sidebar talks about sanctions on north korea, how they are implemented and enforced, and china's role in all of this. check it out this afternoon on c-span radio or any time at c-span.org. david ignatius with this piece from the new york post. his op-ed available online at washington post.com. fox news has this headline -- as the u.s. and japanese troops begin joint military exercises amid the north korea military threat. the exercises continuing through the weekend and the end of this month. details available online at foxnews.com. david for monticello, georgia on the independent line. caller: thank you for c-span and for taking my call. i guess the question is my feelings on trump's warnings to north korea. wehink they are exactly what needed to hear, what they needed to hear, a little pushback. now i have to respond to the washington, d.c. caller who just because he is a scientist and trump did not go along with his scenario about the global warming, it is typical of how liberals think. they attack, attack, if you do not agree with everything they say. the rest of the country knows that this kind of talks needing to be taken toward the un family. they are cowards who sit behind their people. a tough stance against them publicly needed to be taken. host: thanks for the call. more tweets, this from kevin -- out of control and delusional. -- presidentrica 1 trump is not the cause of the hostility from any foreign place. the washington times, trump saying fire and fury threat not tough enough. editorials from the wall street journal, trump be in theory on north korea -- trumpian theory on north korea -- fury on north korea. the foreign-policy elite who claim to be shocked also don't have much credibility after their policy across three administrations led to the current north korean danger. while the president's words were unusually colorful, communist style language might have been part of the message. the u.s. has military options to the regimeutralize if they continue to develop long-range missiles and the u.s. is considering those options. jim is joining us from cincinnati on the republican line. caller: i wanted to say, look another way. china has built up the red sea basis andary bases -- does not do anything about that. china is right at the border for north korea. they say to suppress that, north korea is coming over there. they also say the united states [indiscernible] missile to japan and guam and neutralize them. host: two headlines from the washington post -- china says the u.s. threats are to blame for the tensions in north korea, more than war, kim jong-il on wants to stay in power. here is more from the president in bedminster, new jersey. >> i don't think they may not and i think the first time they heard it like they heard it and frankly, for people who were questioning that statement, was it too tough, maybe it was not tough enough. they have been doing this to our country for a long time, many years, and it is about time someone stuck up for the evil of this country and other countries. maybe that statement was not tough enough. we are backed 100% by our military, backed by everybody and by many other leaders. many senators and others today came out very much in favor of what i said, but if anything, that statement may not be tough enough. >> what could be tougher than fire and fury? >> you will see. >> [indiscernible] it. don't talk about i am not like the other administration who says we are going into mosul in four months. what they are getting away with is a tragedy and cannot be allowed. from lily is joining us fort lauderdale, florida, democrats line. caller: good morning. i am wondering if all these people that voted for mr. trump and think he is the greatest thing, are they willing to go to war for him? a -- goodwe just take morning? host: good morning. we are listening. caller: what happened? host: nothing, we can hear you. go ahead. we are going to have to move on unless you want to make your comment. caller: i am wondering if all these people that supported him is willing to go to war for him. why don't you take a poll and find out, how many people are willing to sign up and go to war and support this country? they all love this country but no one is willing to go and fight for it. i have known plenty of democrats that have been to war. i have lost plenty of my friends but i was 18 years old when vietnam. they were barely out of their teens but they loved the country , and i am wondering with these hotshots would want to do. i never hear them say, i want to sign up, i want to go in support my president. you have to use common sense with everything. obama used common sense. that man is out of control and i don't understand people following someone like him. i just don't understand it. host: lily from fort lauderdale. a new statement from the official north korean government has been retweeted this morning -- raids -- -- reads president trump is driving the situation on the korea peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war. an official statement from the north korean government. the bbc is reporting on defense who hopesjames mattis to solve the north korean crisis using diplomacy. after fiery rhetoric from both sides, the general said war would be catastrophic. pyongyang announcing it was finalizing a plan to fire missiles near the u.s. territory of guam. let's go to charles from new orleans, republican line. caller: the last caller kind of threw me off with the common about -- comment, but people have their opinion. it is not really about what person is in office, whether it be a republican or democrat. people, thethese establishment is corrupted and it is unfortunate that people are ready to die for this, these lies. it is the u.s. and their allies want whatever it is in their peninsula, in north korea, just as they have been doing all this for centuries. going to war, killing people, taking land, and propping up the war machine. i am walking up the steps right now slime kind of out of breath -- and getting people to die for their wealth. whether it be hillary clinton put in office or any other clown, they going to be all right. it is the people in north korea, on our side of the fence that are dying to fight for these elitists who want to be somewhere in the world living it .p where everybody else's dying it is unfortunate and it is sick, it is very sick that these people are bloodthirsty. ," i amsay "these people talking about the u.s. government. you cannot tell me that every time you turn on the news north korea is telling you all their plans. one day they talking about they are going to blow up long and the next -- guam and the have a bomb they can reach washington and seattle. the u.s. is going to blow something up and they are going to blame it on north korea and they will have a chance to light north korea up, and we will have to deal with the fallout. , the the new york times president on two separate occasions taking questions. he is sharpening his critique on the senate leader and the president with vice president mike pence, and a headline from and why tom's.com -- trump doubles down on threats from north korea as nuclear tensions estimate -- escalate. rhetoric hasump's reached a level that has alarmed allies in asia and others at home. investors were unnerved. democrats complained the president was inflaming the confrontation and called for diplomacy instead. within 60 house democrats sending a letter to the secretary of state asking him to restrain the president. within the administration over north korea against build over and into public view on thursday. speaking with reporters, secretary of state jim matus said the president was entitled to use whatever language he wanted. equallyed about his own tough but less colorful statement about north korea issued on wednesday, the secretary said -- the rhetoric is up to the president, this is my rhetoric. diana joining us from indianapolis. caller: good morning, how are you? host: we are fine, how are you? caller: i am glad everyone is still here this morning. north korea, when they start running out of resources they felt their chest -- thump their chest and swing their sabers. economically, they are having a really tough time and so the only thing they have to leverage is their nuclear arsenal. i know they do not want to use it. they're blowing a bunch of hot air. of course president trump is doing the same thing is that is what he does. i do not want to call him -- i would rather call him 45. at any rate, what would happen puthe united states were to some kind of sanctions on chinese banks? obviously, what we have to work diplomatic solution. so what if we put pressure on chinese banks to dry up whatever financial resources north korea has, or is that going to cause more of a problem and push them deeper into a corner that would make them want to lash out and actually use a nuclear weapon? host: thank you very much for the call. this is the cover story out this week, time magazine -- general .ohn kelly, trump's last hope the new white house chief of staff, london's daily mail has this headline -- thousands of north korea's top military officials marching in support of kim jong on as pyongyang warns it could reduce the u.s. mainland to actions at any moment. trump orazier, donald north korea's kim jong on? we come to expect childish trump, theom donald bully in chief who attacks and belittles anyone who challenges of, but this week's game nuclear roulette with equally egocentric and pathologically defensive kim jong on goes entities beyond the norm. -- goes way beyond -- magnitudes beyond the norm. surely they smart men would have seen what was coming from their own fearless leader. when the president chose his defense and foreign policy teams conservatives told americans not to worry, these are experienced hands that would cause -- stop the president from doing anything reckless. maybe they mean physically keeping his finger off the charlene from michigan, good morning. republican line. job trump is doing, he is our president and handling things the right way. if the administration cannot support him and do what he wants, they should stay on the sidelines. i think the leader of north kid, did notazy know what he is doing. he will do anything. we should strike first and get rid of him. host: when you say strike first, at what caused -- cost? caller: it may be bad for us, but what if he strikes us, look what will happen to us if he gets a chance first. i do not know what would become of it. i am willing to take the chance. because i do not think we will stop north korea. they will keep on until they get what they want. host: thank you for your calls and comments, this editorial cartoon from the usa today, kim jong-un and president trump, scary and scarier. erik prince will join us, the founder of blackwater usa, proposing the privatization in part of the war in afghanistan. we have been involved in the conflict for 16 years. later, a roundtable looks at two different perspectives on how to deal with else care. you are watching -- perspectives on how to deal with health care. we will be back in a