Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20170217

Im pretty sure that i fit almost every demographic thats going to be ruined by this administration, that i feel like i have to speak out. Woodruff and, its friday. Mark shields and david brooks give their take on the president s thursday News Conference and the rest of the weeks news. Sreenivasan all that and more, on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Xq institute. The ford foundation. Working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff fresh off his white house News Conference, the president is out, touting his first four weeks in office. He flew to florida today for the holiday weekend, with a campaignlike stop on the way there. Lisa desjardins has our report. Reporter for President Trump with grandchildren in tow a chance to leave washington behind. I love south carolina, i love it. Reporter after a roller coaster week, he found a friendly audience at boeings North Charleston plant. Were here today to celebrate American Engineering and american manufacturing. Were also here today to celebrate jobs. Jobs. Reporter underscoring the point, mr. Trump touted the rollout of boeings 78710 dreamliner plane. I campaigned on the promise that i will do everything in my power to bring those jobs back into america. We wanted to make much easier it has to be much easier to manufacture in our country and much harder to leave. Reporter the president also pushed back at boeing, telling reporters the price for the new air force one and that of lockheeds f35 fighter are still too high, and hes negotiating. All of this, one day after defending his record at a freewheeling white house News Conference. This administration is running like a finetuned machine. Reporter today, another top republican, Senate Majority leader mitch mcconnell, held his own News Conference, praising the trump agenda but criticizing distractions. Ive been pretty candid with him, and with all of you, that im not a great fan of daily tweets, but what i am a fan of is what hes been actually doing. I have not been a fan of the extra discussion that he likes to engage in. But were going to soldier on. We like his positions and were going to pursue them as vigorously as we can. Reporter meanwhile, the president is back at the drawing boards on finding a National Security adviser, after Michael Flynn was forced out. The president tweeted this morning that general keith kellogg, who i have known for a long time, is very much in play for n. S. A. , as are three others. Whoever it is, will be choice number two, after retired vice admiral Robert Harward turned down the job, calling it a purely personal issue. He did not address reports that he balked at being denied his choice of staffers. White house Officials Say the president may interview candidates for the post this weekend, at his maralago resort in florida. Tomorrow, hell hold what the white house calls a campaign event, in melbourne, florida. Woodruff and lisa joins me now. So campaign event, we thought it just ended. No, its just building up. In fact, the president himself announced that rally in florida will be happening as a rally, and sean spicer said last week thats going to be a campaign event. Woodruff you and i were talking a little while ago and you were saying some of the people around the president are creating fundraising vehicles . Tell us about that. Thats right. These are things like super pacs. Weve seen the president have a super pac before, the Great America pac, for example. In the last weeks his Main Campaign alums formed one called the America First 501c4. They say theyre supporting judge gorsuch, obamacare, all of that. Whats so unprecedented about the president s campaign, he actually filed his Campaign Paperwork on january 20th. President obama, for example, he waited two years before officially inaugurating his reelection campaign. This is unprecedented territory. Woodruff really interesting. I know reporters will continue to ask him about it. Lisa desjardins, thank you. Sreenivasan in the days other news, the u. S. Senate confirmed President Trumps pick to lead the Environmental Protection agency, 5246. Scott pruitt was oklahomas attorney general, and in that role, hes repeatedly sued the e. P. A. To rein in regulations. Democrats tried, and failed, to delay todays confirmation vote until pruitt releases thousands of emails with oil and gas executives. Its not the worst thing in the world to take a few extra days to properly vet someone who will have immense power over our nations streams, skies, even the lead level in our homes and water supply. Those emails could contain Material Information about his confirmation. Government agencies like the e. P. A. , and one after another, need their leadership in place, and they need it in place now. What they dont need, what the American People dont need is more political theater from the senate democrats. Sreenivasan pruitt was strongly opposed by environmental groups, who warn he will roll back enforcement efforts. He was sworn in this afternoon. Well take a closer look, right after the news summary. Woodruff in pakistan, the military says it killed more than 100 people they call terrorists in sweeping anti terror raids. They came a day after a suicide bombing, claimed by the Islamic State, killed at least 88 people. Protesters took to the streets today to denounce weak security. Pakistan has been hit by a spate of deadly attacks in recent days. Another Islamic State bombing killed 59 people in iraq yesterday. Sreenivasan the World Meteorological organization reports the sea ice pack in the arctic and antarctic was the smallest ever for the month of january. The u. N. Agency also says concentrations of heattrapping Carbon Dioxide hit a record. Meanwhile, nasa satellites captured part of the ice loss. This was the pine Island Glacier in antarctic, earlier in january. A separate image showed an iceberg the size of manhattan that broke away on january 31. Woodruff a powerful new storm barreled into california today, with what could be the heaviest rain in years. The rain and high winds lashed the Southern California coastline, threatening flooding and mudslides, and forcing smallscale evacuations. The storm is expected to skirt Northern California, but officials kept watch on the Lake Oroville dam and its damaged spillways. We have a very close communication our monitoring teams between our incident commanders to make sure that we have all eyes on this and were ready to take action with our mitigation plan. I dont see that thats a risk at this time. But having said that, were ready. Woodruff another storm system is expected to hit Northern California late sunday night and could bring 30 hours of precipitation. Sreenivasan wall street headed into the president s day weekend with a lackluster session. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained four points to close at 20,624. The nasdaq rose 23 points, and the s p 500 added almost four. For the week, all three indexes gained 1. 5 or better. Woodruff and a passing of note a longtime former minority leader of the house of representatives, bob michel, has died. The Illinois Republican served 19 terms, but retired just before the g. O. P. Won back the majority in the house in 1994. He is credited with helping president reagan and the first president bush push their agendas, by negotiating with democrats. Bob michel was 93 years old. Still to come on the newshour two texas cities a microcosm of the nations deep political divide; mark shields and david brooks analyze the weeks news; an actor caught up in the oscars so white controversy stars in a new film about controversial love, and much more. Sreenivasan now that scott pruitt is in charge of the e. P. A. , we take a look at what to expect from the agency under his leadership, with myron ebell, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian advocacy group. He oversaw President Trumps e. P. A. Transition team and has been vocal opponent of many of the agencys policies; and Jeremy Symons of the enviromental defense fund, a group strongly opposed to pruitts confirmation. All right, myron, you think Climate Science is somewhat alarmist. Were not here to debate that. We have you on because you likely vin sight as to why scott pruitt is head of the e. P. A. Today. Is someone who shared your views on Climate Science, was that one of the prerequisites to get this job and you helping the perp getting the head of the e. P. A. . I wasnt involved in the personnel decisions of the Trump Administration. What i think President Trump was looking for is someone who would be an able advocate and implementer of the president s agenda for the e. P. A. , and i think scott pruitt is a great choice. Sreenivasan this is is first time in the eds history that youveposed the nomination. Why . Because scott pruitt is extreme. This fight isnt over. When you look at his record of suing the e. P. A. , 14 times to undermine clean air and clean water protections, doesnt bode well for what he will try to do when he gets in. Myron ebell this is about public health. We have someone who wants to take taghtsy backward and not forward. Its not good for childrens health, protecting the elderly or anyone vulnerable to toxins. Sreenivasan the president on campaign trail even on the debate stage said he would like to cut the e. P. A. Significantly. Why does scott pruitt help the president advance that agenda . Scott pruitt has been a very strong advocate for devolving more of the work of the e. P. A. To the states, and, in fact, the e. P. A. Already has the state sue ago lot of its work, but it still has a very large bureaucracy nonetheless. I think scott pruitt understands that the e. P. A. Can be a lot smaller than it is and well still have the same levels of Environmental Protection for clean air and clean water because the states are already doing the work. Sreenivasan the eb a has shrunk even under president bushs term. Can it be smaller . Weve worked for e. P. A. Across democratic and republican president s, and its not an issue of where we go from here has to be maintaining e. P. A. s capability and capacity to get the job done. Scott pruitt, when he took over as attorney general in oklahoma, he got rid of the Environmental Enforcement division. If he does that for the e. P. A. That means trouble anywhere in the country from florida to ohio. We have to make sure that we remain vigilant and hold the senators that voted for him by the narrowest of margins and scott pruitt accountable for what he does. Sreenivasan Jeremy Symons, what are the most immediate things youre concerned about . Scott pruitt is one individual, its a large agency, the rules take time to change. Myron and the transitions recommended cut epia. P. By halve, talking gutting core capacities like enforcement, science, the Health Studies that need to happen to make sure pollution is in control. Were worried about enforcement like in oklahoma and interfering with science. Trying to roll back mercury standards, arguing mercury isnt a threat to tun born because it is and science says it is and quite clearly across many studies. If you add all of those lawsuits up, if you took away the rules he was attacking, we would see 850,000 more asthma attacks every year. That is unacceptable. So were going to be keeping score in terms of are we moving forward or back. The pruitt we saw in front of the senate said he cared about e. P. A. s mission and would move us forward but his record says otherwise. Were waiting to see which pruitt shows up. Sreenivasan one of the concerns has been mr. Pruitts record. The Competitive Enterprise Institute is in some ways funded by the fossil fuel industry, but scott pruitt was a friend to the fossil fuel industry, to put it mildly, in oklahoma. There is a famous incident of him basically copypasting an email or concern directly from the e. P. A. At the hearings he said he understands it is an incredibly important job especially when it comes to the rule in regulating co2. Jeremy mentioned the 14 lawsuits. Im proud my organization is a coplayoff with attorney general scott pruitt in several of these lawsuits. These are meant to shrink e. P. A. s overreach, its illegal regulatory overreach. I think, when you look at oklahoma, oklahoma is a big oil and gas producer. Theyre proud of it. They produce the energy we use. Of course, scott pruitt supports that industry. Its oklahomas major industry, and it helps the entire nation. So i think, if you look back at what President Trump said in the campaign, he said, i want to get rid of the regulatory rampage that is killing investment and jobs in our resource and Manufacturing Industries, and i want to make america the Worlds Energy superpower. So i think scott pruitt will have a vital role in shrinking that regulatory rampage. Rampage. Sreenivasan does his thinking change when its just not oklahoma and a specific industry hes protecting as states attorney general, but a country which has many different sources of energy and a much larger constituency . Yes, but the Trump Campaign wasnt just about oklahoma and the oil and gas industry. It was about rebuilding our resourcing Manufacturing Industries across the heartland of america, and that is going to require putting e. P. A. Regulations back in their place so theyre concerned with air and Water Pollution and not destroying jobs. Sreenivasan myron ebell, Jeremy Symons, thank you both. Thank you. Woodruff on january 27, the president s executive order banning travel from seven muslimmajority nations went into effect, throwing plans to travel to the u. S. Into chaos for many people in the middle east. Right afterward, we introduced you to one iraqi man who had long worked for the american military, whose plans to emigrate here with his family were suddenly canceled. Tonight, from Southern California, special correspondent marcia biggs, brings us this update. Reporter this is the day Abdul Hamid Al ghani and his family have waited years for theyre driving towards the airport in erbil, northern iraq. I feel great, actually. I feel like a big burden is off my shoulder and i can take my family to a place where i can feel safe, and i can take care reporter abdul hamid and his family are finally coming to the u. S. , on special immigrant visas, issued to iraqis who worked for the u. S. Military. He spent nine years as an interpreter for the u. S. Army, at great personal risk, even finding himself on a kill list back in 2006. Yet he still proudly wears the American Flag on his hat. Did you like working with the americans . Oh i loved it, i loved it. The brotherhood they have, this type of mentality, like we are one team and one fight, they never gave me this impression like you are not one of us, or you are just an interpreter and youre going to do your job and theyre going to leave me behind. Reporter three weeks ago, with bags packed and having sold everything he owned, he got the news that President Trumps executive order on immigration meant that the visa he had waited almost six years to get would be cancelled. I was shocked, like someone just popped me in the head. Like, its over, all the dreams that i had. Everything that i planned has just vanished from my life. Even my little kids, like my eldest son, he kept asking me, daddy, why is trump stopping us from going to the states . And i had no answer for him. Reporter because you believed in this brotherhood that you had been a part of for so long . Exactly. Ive had this feeling like someone is going to stand for me, and the American Society is the america that i know is totally different from the decisions that have been made lately by those executive orders. And i was like, this is not america. Reporter someone did stand up for him. Protests erupted all over the country. And just under a week later, the pentagon recommended that the ban be amended to allow visa holders who worked for the u. S. Military to immigrate. So once again, the family prepared to travel. And half a world away, another family is preparing. Sitar khidir, one of abdul hamids best friends, has been living here in san diego for the last 5. 5 years. As a former u. S. Air force contractor, he immigrated on the same type of visa. Abdul hamid helped him and many others fill out their visa applications to get out. Reporter and he did all of this just out of the kindness of his heart . Yes. Reporter hes a good man. He is. He is a great man. Reporter is this an opportunity to give back to him . Yes. I will do whatever it costs to just help him out. I will do my best. Reporter it hasnt been easy for sattar, either. He arrived in 2011, and has struggled to find steady work in i cant find any jobs for me like translating because there is a lot of translators over here, they translate for government. Reporter abdul hamid and his family are moving to this suburb of san diego, which has more iraqi refugees than anywhere else in the United States. This main street could be in anytown, u. S. A. , yet its been nicknamed little baghdad. In the last five years, over 8,000 iraqi refugees have been resettled in the greater san diego area. Thats almost 10 of total arrivals nationwide. A local Resettlement Agency has found abdul hamid an apartment, but its not ready yet. And the rent is 1,500 a month, almost a quarter of a onetime allowance given to them by the state department. So this is where they will be staying . Reporter while he waits, sattar, his wife and two children are making space in their twobedroom apartment for abdul mids family of five. So this is your room, and now your familys going to be in here. Yes. Reporter its gong to be tight yeah, i know that, but were going to be fine, its a temporary situation. I know its tight, but this is what i can do and we will have fun. Reporter back in iraq, all is going according to plan. The family sets off on the 24 hour journey to the other side of the world. Its an emotional departure. translated we hope life will be better. We hope our childrens education will be better. But im so sad that i wont be able to see my mother. Reporter and fear is never far from their minds. I always had this doubt, because it happened a couple weeks ago. Some people were airborne and they were stopped from coming into the United States. I had this fear that maybe something would pop up at the end of my journey. Reporter it was a nailbiter on this end as well. But finally, the moment abdul hamid says hed been worried would never happen. When i first got off from the airport and i looked around to see sattar and i actually saw him, its kind of hard for men to cry, but i actually cried. It was like a dream come true it was an amazing moment. Its something that im not going to forget it in my lifetime. I will never forget that moment. First thing in the morning, i took a step outside and took a really long breathe and looked around and i told myself, yep, it is true, and i am here in the United States of america. What do you want for your family in general . A Brighter Future for my family especially my down syndrome kid. What im most worried about if they Start Talking about this ban again or if anybody starts to make a difference between all of these types of religion or make it hard for muslims, then im going to be suffering. Reporter youre more worried about discrimination than getting a job and an apartment and i know its meant for me to be here. Im kind of worried about getting a job, but i will get a job one day soon, hopefully. Reporter but with the goal of finally reaching this country, the fear began to settle in. With little money and a small dispensation from the government, abdul hamid has to make a life for his family. I know a lot of folks are coming out here as immigrants and as refugees, so i know the opportunity of getting a job is going to be hard. But i believe in myself and i believe in my destiny and i think ill be good. Ill do my best to be good. Reporter for the pbs newshour, marsha biggs in san diego, california. Sreenivasan Public Opinion polls show we live in a deeply divided country, particularly when it comes to politics. Its been four months since the election, and just a few weeks into the new Trump Administration. So how are voters responding . The newshours William Brangham is just back from a reporting trip to texas. Hes here with me now. What exactly did you set out to do . We wanted to talk to voters on both sides of the political spectrum. We were in texas, we went to two very different places and i asked people four or five, six questions, identical questions in both places and you will see its as if voters are living in two completely different worlds. Lets take a look. Bellville, brangham bellville, texas is a small, rural town an hours drive from houston. Its streets are lined with Single Family homes and locally owned shops. But a recentlyrenamed restaurant in town has become something of an attraction the trump cafe. So, you changed the name to trump cafe two weeks before the election . Before. Yes, sir. Brangham what if trump hadnt won the election . You know, actually, we pray for god to he wins. Im so glad he win. Im so glad, you know. Brangham so if Hillary Clinton had won, would this be clinton cafe . No, i will move back home. Brangham sue hawa owns the place with her husband. Trump memorabilia is everywhere. The big seller on the menu is the trump burger onion rings, b. B. Q. Sauce, bacon, topped with an American Flag. As you might imagine, the trump cafe is full of trump supporters. 80 of the county here voted for the president. How was Election Night for you . It was great. I was on cloud nine. I was a trump guy from day one. Brangham is that right . Day one . From day one. Soon as he said it, i was like, we need something other than a politician. I was so excited when he won, because you know, i just believed in everything that he says. We were so ready for a change, and he listened to the people. Brangham a hundred miles west, and a political world apart, is austin, the state capital, a liberal outpost in this red state. We visited what is perhaps austins version of the trump cafe the Bouldin Creek cafe, a vegetarian place in south austin. Two thirds of the county here voted for Hillary Clinton. Chesley allen is the general manager. Its kind of the nexus, or the heart of what people think of, when they think of austin as the offbeat, funky, keep austin weird, that sort of thing. Brangham the day after President Trumps inauguration, the cafe donated profits to the a. C. L. U. , the Southern Poverty Law Center and planned parenthood. Because im pretty sure that i fit almost every demographic thats going to be ruined by this administration, that i feel like i have to speak out. Brangham what was Election Night like for you . Brutal, devastating, heartbreaking. If i were to have a nightmare that night, then my nightmare would be a reality, because i definitely didnt want trump to win. My big fear with him is that he is coming out fast and hard with a lot of big stuff, but i really, truly believe that he is just trying to tire out his opposition. Brangham to spend a few hours in these two places, talking to people on either side of the political divide, is to see just how deep the chasm is in our politics. What have you made of his cabinet picks so far . I love every one of em. Brangham every one of them . I love betsy devos. I love her. I hope she does something about education. I love sessions, jeff sessions. He is not a racist, its just ridiculous. I dont know how he couldve picked more unqualified people to run things like the education department, or rick perry for energy. Its a direct mirror of how much of a role money plays in politics. Brangham the politics of the team running the white house including steve bannon, former chairman of Breitbart News has been a source of controversy. I love steve bannon. I think hes great. He says what he says, means what he says. Thats why they dont like him people who are just nambypamby, little me, me, they dont like people who are outspoken. Brangham you have any thoughts on steve bannon . Yes. Hes the devil incarnate. Brangham the devil incarnate . Yes, he got the man elected and so, i guess he got a payback, so he made himself an advisor. But everything he stands for, i do not. I have a lot of muslim friends, and friends who are also people of color, and so its just very disturbing to me how it could have progressed to such a state. Brangham patrons of these restaurants are also split on the news they trust. What are some of your main sources of news . I would say, the guardian, cnn and pbs and npr. I listen to npr every morning. I think its great that hes on twitter, because now we know what he is thinking everyday. No filter. If you look where the media comes from, the mainline journalist schools, and you go and you look at the numbers on that, its pretty much a bet that a mainline journalist is going to be not a conservative, be more in the school of being progressive and everything. Fox. Brangham fox news. Yeah, almost excl i will not look at cnn. I get ill. Brangham straight up fox news viewer. I have a brother that watches fox news constantly. And its on 24 hours a day, i think, at his house. They came here to austin to visit me over christmas, and the room he was staying in has a tv. And on the cable box, i blocked that station. I have a sister who cant stand the guy and we still talk, but i try not to talk politics with her. Brangham shes still your sister, though. Yeah, shes still my sister. Shes always going to be my sister. Brangham the couple who runs the trump cafe say theres a reason theyre open to all diners. Their own story seems to cross political divides. So youre a Palestinian Muslim couple that owns a cafe in texas named the trump cafe. You understand how some people might think, that sounds like a bizarre combination. I like my president. Actually, i like him because hes a businessman. He know how to do business, you know . And actually, what he trying to do, its excellent. Brangham now, do you let democrats eat here . You know, welcome to, yeah, you know welcome to everyone likes to come inside my restaurant. My door open for everybody. You know, republican, democratic, same, you know. Brangham for the pbs newshour, im William Brangham. Woodruff now to the analysis of shields and brooks. That is syndicated columnist mark shields and New York Times columnist david brooks. Welcome, gentlemen. David, to you first, that was quite a report from William Brangham, two towns in texas, two groups of people, both sides of the political aisle. What does it tell you about how divided this country is . Welcome to life in america these days. For those of us who have been traveling around, thats reality. Two things strike me, the first is poll six the based on social identity, and, so, again, there is going to be differences between rural and urban and left and right, but whats at the core, why is the chasm so wide between the two and why are the two universes almost nonoverlapping . Its whether were ingroup, outgroup or is there a cultural or ethnic or racial divide thats at the bottom of this . Its hard to find out what unconsciously is making people so fervent in yon universe or the other. Whether its an identity politics or whether we like to form groups and identify with one group which hating another, thats the world were in. Woodruff that you couldnt have been more divided than they were. They werent. They were characteristically texan, outspoken. They didnt hide their allegiances or enemities. I thought eternal love was disabling the Fox News Channel when his brother came to visit for christmas. Not exactly a loving act, it would seem, but something that he boasted about to william on national television. Woodruff what all of them are reacting to is whats been going on here in washington, david, certainly during campaign. But since, we heard them say they the ones who like donald trump, they love his cabinet picks and like his staff, but during this past week, the president s had a rough go of it, certainly losing his National Security advisor Michael Flynn being forced out, and then the man the president wanted to have replace him announced publicly that he wasnt going to take the job. What do you make of how the president did this week . Yeah, to me, the big qasem of the week is the gap between the circus act and the substance. The press conference was its own thing, its like some exploding nebula of madness. I thought it was mildly deranged. The epitome of nonlinear thinking, lets put it that way. What strikes me, weve got to remember what is the guy actually doing . And here we have an administration where hes making a lot of press conferences, but on the substantive picks, he doesnt have a National Security advisor, there are 691 confirmable positions in the white house. The Trump Administration has not even come up with names and nominees for 6301 out of those 691. So there is nobody there. Nobody in the shop, no policymaking being made, and, so, i compar it so, you know, trump is sitting on the control deck of the starship enterprise, and he can push a lot of pretty buttons but the buttons arent connected to anything so nothing is happening. Woodruff mark, whats getting the attention is what the president was saying this week, and the this very public departure of his National Security advisor, one of any president s closest advisors, Michael Flynn. And certainly one of this president s closest and most loyal supporters. I mean, spoke at the confirmation and was in consideration for Vice President. So this wasnt just a late connection. The irony to me, judy, was that Michael Flynn, the reason for his leaving was not that he had misled the Vice President about his conversations with the Russian Ambassador about sanctions or possibly sanctions and retaliation, but the fact that the president knew about it, had been informed about it, and mike pence, the Vice President , only learned about being disassembled to by the National Security through the free press. So it wasnt the act itself, it was the public exposure of the act. So it was bizarre. He does not have a successor. I just think more than anything else what were seeing in this administration, judy, is campaigns are fun. Campaigns are police escorts, airplanes, crowds, balloons, bands, a lot of fun, you speak in vague generalities, you get applause for slogans, and then governing comes, and governing is tedious and its difficult an its time consuming and it demands your attention, and policy isnt vague generalities, its specifics and its based on knowledge. I will say this, this white house is preciously scarce on attention, and i just dont think the president i think the president that press conference you talked about really returned to the campaign station. Wants to again saturday. Its back to the balloons and the bands and the cheers. Thats fun. Woodruff meanwhile, there is the controversy swirl around. There is seven or eight investigations going on about whether there is a connection between the Trump Campaign and russia, looking at whether it was campaign officials, whether Michael Flynns talking to the ambassador, i mean, there are very real concerns out there hanging over this administration. Yeah, there are three russia scandals, all the ones. To me the most signature is the contactser the trump came pain may have had with the russians during the campaign. We know they had contacts, we dont know the content. If there is collaboration, if there is some sort of quotation suggesting they got tipped off about the leaks, that would be a cat cliz my scandal and rock the whole administration. My instinct from talking to people in the Intelligence Community is there is no grade showing Paul Manafort getting tipped off by the russians or we would have had it by now. If there was a week to the washington post, they probably would have leaked it. I dont have any New York Times information. There is a series of scandals ratcheting up on the administration. Woodruff is it possible the press, all of us are making too much of all this russia concern . It is, judy, but the only two entities and news sources that deny russias involvement and malicious involvement in the election of the United States president attempt to influence the outcome appear to be Vladimir Putins russia and donald trump who calls this russian ruse, and i dont have inside information as to what went on. But there is enough at this pointening it puts the republican in congress in a terribly defensive crouch. Woodruff david, you started out with pretty Strong Language describing the News Conference. I wrote down and you said the president came across as mildly deranged. Did you really mean that . Ill walk that back a little. If we hes not coherently speaking as a president should whos going to be carefully giving orders, whos going to be uniting the American People. He is speaking as someone whos involved in a Junior High School gladtorial attack on the press, and parts were bizarre and somewhat offensive, picking on an africanamerican reporter and assuming she knew people in the Congressional Black Caucus because all black people are supposed to know each other. But the tweets saying my newspaper, nbc, all these organizations are enemies of the people. If you want to draw rhetoric out of the fascist play book, enemies to have the people, that has so many historical echos. Its ill liberal and offensive to the way democracy is supposed to work and how one is supposed to act within the institutions of democracy. So within that context seems to me strong hangs badge is merited. Woodruff donald trump was critical about the press throughout the campaign and he won. So the American People and we heard William Brangham talking to voters in texas who have completely different views of which parts of the news media they listen to. Could this be a Winning Strategy on theths part . I dont think so, judy. He ran against Hillary Clinton. He that was his opponent. The tough thing about a campaign being over is you lose your enemy. President barack obama, at this point in his presidency, in 2009, was on his way already to having passed the bailout, the economic bailout, passed the equal pay. He was on the way to healthcare. This is the time you build coalitions. Donald trump is spending his time, his energy, precious time, and really, just creating these new enemies or trying to look for a villain like Hillary Clinton was that he could run against. He needs that as an organizing principle. Without an organizing principle of an enemy, the press is a punching bag, its unpopular, yes, it doesnt approach the sense of vinaly that hes looking for, and i just dont think it will wash longterm as a political strategy. Woodruff david, do you think thats what hes doing and do you agree with mark, its not going to work in the long run . I think it offends 65 or 70 of the American People, but as we just saw from texas, it pleases 35 of the people, so i think he can hang along with 35 of the people for a long time. Ive been asking republicans on the hill are they worried, personally they are, but there will be no distance among republicans and donald trump anytime soon. Among republicans according to pew poll, 82 of republicans supported donald trump which is more than Ronald Reagan in his administration. So 30 of americans like the guy. So there will not be a governorring coalition, but he will retain, if he continues it this way, some solid base of support. Let me disagree a little with david. What have going against them is history. Judy, when a sitting president has his job rating in the gallup polls drop below 50 , that president s party loses an average of 37 seats in the house of representatives in the next election. Above 50, they lose an average of 14 seats. By the end of this year donald trump is 35, this is his honeymoon. Hes at that point now. Its hard to see how he goes higher without some International Crisis that galvanized total national unanimity. January, his window of opportunity to pass something big, and these are difficult, tricky, complicated issues hes trying to write legislation for, is between now and december, by the first of january, members of the party on the hill start thinking about themselves and they have to establish independence from an unpopular person in the white house. Theyve got to think about getting reelected. Woodruff ten seconds, david. Sounds like the clock is ticking. Theyre living in a hermetically sealed room as the democrats are. It leads to downfall. Woodruff thank you both. Sreenivasan finally, an actor at the heart of the oscars so white controversy takes on a new role, based on a true story set in colonial africa. Jeffrey brown has the story from los angeles. Its part of our occasional series, beyond the red carpet. Im not asking for an answer this very second. All i ask of you is that you go away and think about it. Brown in 1947 london reporter in 1947 london, sereste khama, played by david oyelowo, proposes to ruth williams, played by actress rosamund pike. Yes reporter their races make the relationship fraught. But theres more he is a prince in his tribe in southern africa, expected to return to lead his people, and their marriage will have international consequences. A United Kingdom is based on a true story, and it was oyelowo who first learned of it, in a book titled, color bar, by susan williams. More than just the films star, he was the producer who brought director amma asante and others into the project. What was indisputable to me was the power in the love between these two people, and it was that very thing that helped them overcome so many of these insurmountable obstacles and odds that they faced. And you know, as someone who is a real believer in love myself, and i mean love in the truest sense, not movie love, im talking about the unglamorous stuff of sacrifice, of courage. Reporter i must say this film has movie love, almost love at first sight, right . But the thing about that is that we, you know, we even have a name for it, the meet cute. You know, weve turned it into something that is so fantastical and so inaccessible that it has become fairytalelike. But actually, what can happen it doesnt happen every day, admittedly is that two people see beyond their race, see beyond their cultural differences and their national differences, and they just, two souls meet. We should be fighting for equality. That is where we should be focusing our minds, not on the wife i have chosen who means you no harm reporter the historical characters, khama and williams, become caught up in colonialera politics, as britain tries to hold onto the land that will later become botswana, while maintaining close ties to the neighboring Apartheid Regime of south africa. It is unacceptable that they use their power to keep us voiceless reporter oyelowo is best known for his portrayal of another historical figure, Martin Luther king in the film, selma. And he starred in a recent film based on a true story set in a slum in uganda, the queen of katwe. Born in england, oyelowo spent ages 6 through 13 in nigeria, before returning and eventually becoming a classicallytrained stage actor. He was the first black actor to play an english king, henry vi, for the Royal Shakespeare company. He recently returned to shakespeare, this time on broadway, in othello. I asked what made him want to take on a role. Its got to resonate for me but also, i want to make things that are synonymous with who i am as a man and how im bringing up my children. You know, what it is i believe in, because this is a very powerful medium. Culturally, politically, familially, it can shape peoples thoughts. Reporter i think of this film and i think of selma and queen of katwe, clearly films that have a larger context to them, right . A history. Yeah, i think that is also a key and is crucial to me. You used the word context there something that is very important to me is contextualizing what it is to be someone who looks like me, on planet earth. And by that i mean, a black man. And ive lived on three continents as a black man, and there are differences. There are complexities and dimensions to being someone like me in all of those places, that are rarely, in my opinion, seen on film and television. Reporter to the extent that you dont see you much in the film world, that has limited the roles that you can get . It hasnt, because i have chosen to do something about it. You know, i produced, a United Kingdom, and im pretty sure thats the only way this film would have got made. Reporter do it yourself. Yeah, do it yourself. And because im very passionate about seeing a story like this told, and passion is what makes you roll up your sleeves and get it done. And passion, i think, can be contagious. Reporter i read that early on, you asked your agent to go after roles that might have been written for white actors. Yeah, again, like producing, it was born out of necessity. When i looked at my white contemporaries or the white actors ahead of me as a young actor back then, there was complexity that made me see myself in them, even though they were white People Living a very different life than mine. I was able to identify what they were going through emotionally and i couldnt identify necessarily with what black characters i saw in films and tv were going through because it was onedimensional. At best, twodimensional. Reporter oyelowo was directly caught up in the 2015 oscars so white controversy when his criticallyacclaimed performance in selma failed to receive an oscar nomination, and neither did any other actor of color. You said in an interview, theres resistance to films with black protagonists, especially if they cant have Denzel Washington in the lead role. Right. That must be qualified with me saying, he is one of my heroes and i would go anywhere to see him. Reporter as would i, thats not to denigrate him. Hes a great actor. Absolutely. But yes, there is a reason why theres isnt a plethora of other black actors that you could reel off the tip of your tongue, who in that space that he occupies, which is that he can play anything. Hes not tied to race as the prerequisite for why he gets to be the protagonist in a film. And the resistance is i think purely to do with the decision makers. They want to see themselves in movies, as we all do. And so what you see in movies is a reflection of those who are making the decisions. Reporter but for you personally, your producer role becomes almost as important, perhaps, as your acting role. Yeah, crucial in a sense. You know, you can either complain about this stuff or you can do what you can to change it and thats the tack ive chosen. Reporter david oyelowo, producer and actor, stars in the new film a United Kingdom, just out in theaters nationwide. From los angeles, im jeffrey brown, for the pbs newshour. Woodruff on the newshour online right now the director of an oscarnominated documentary walks us through his favorite scene of best picture nominee moonlight, ahead of the Academy Awards ceremony next weekend. All that and more is on our website, www. Pbs. Org newshour. And tonight on washington week, nearly a month into the oval office, President Trump is facing new questions about his administrations relationship with russia. A deep dive into the president s pushback at leaks and the consequences of alternative facts, later tonight on washington week. Sreenivasan tomorrow, on pbs newshour weekend, the designation of a National Monument in the nevada desert has some people pushing for the Trump Administration to undo another part of the obama legacy. And thats the newshour for tonight. Im hari sreenivasan. Woodruff and im judy woodruff. Have a great president s day weekend. Thank you, and see you soon. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by bnsf railway. Xq institute. Supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worlds most pressing problems skollfoundation. Org. And the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. And with the ongoing support of these institutions this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org welcome to the program. Im Allison Stewart filling in for charlie rose. We begin with politics and a look at President Trumps press conference earlier with ed okeefe of the washington post. He said the leaks are fake and it left reporters scratching their heads. In essence youre confirming it but slapping us for bothering to report it and it caused a spirited if sometimes testy exchange. We continue by look at the masters documentary on maya angelou. When we began the documentary with the quote you will encounter many defeats and its