This morning, but his problems will most certainly follow him on his tenday vacation at his new jersey golf club. As Jonathan Lemire of the Associated Press notes, his Summer Vacation comes as he is confronting a storm of crises. Quote, his poll numbers stalled and his act to rally the questioned he is being tested by an escalating trade war with china that may slow the economy, rising tensions with iran and north korea, and in the aftermath of the latest Mass Shootings, pressure to act on guns and face accusations of his own role in fostering an environment of hate. Aide say his attention will be focused on golf, cable news, and twitter. As the president was leaving the white house this morning, he was asked about one of these crises, being called a white supremacist by eight democratic president ial candidates in the wake of the massacre in el paso. I dont think it helps. First of all, i dont like it when they do it, because i am not any of those things. I think its a disgrace. And i think it shows how desperate the democrats are. The president s own language characterizing hispanic migrants as an invasion was echoed in an online declaration of hate by the suspected gunman. Today Law Enforcement officials confirmed the el paso suspect said he was specifically targeting mexicans. Meanwhile, President Trump insisted today that gun control legislation strengthening background checks is coming, despite reports the nra warned the president it would be unpopular with his base. I spoke to Mitch Mcconnell yesterday. Hes totally on board. He said ive been waiting for your call. He is totally on board on background checks. We have tremendous support for really common sense, sensible, important background checks. Well see where the nra will be. But we have to have meaningful background checks. But a spokesman for Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell said he actually hasnt endorsed any specific Gun Legislation at this point. For more, im joined by Jonathan Lemire, White House Reporter for the Associated Press, a democratic candidate for congress in new yorks 15th district, and john podhoretz, editor at commentary magazine. Thanks for being for being with us. John lemire, you wrote the story were quoting from there. What are you seeing from behind the scenes from folks in the house, folks around trump at the end of this week . Do they feel there was a missed opportunity here this week . Do they feel that this is something thats going to reverberate for weeks, for months, for the rest of his at least first term as presidency . Do they think there is lasting damage here . There is a few things going on at once. I think there is a sense around the president that wednesday did not go as well as it should have. Wednesday he went to visit the mass shooting sites in ohio and texas. He ended up spending a day that was meant to be to console the grieving into a day of airing his own grievances. He made the day very much about himself while he was there. And as much as those around him were sort of forced to echo that statement, members of his staff who sort of tweeted again attacking senator brown, that the mayor of dayton suggesting they were being too political, there is a sense there that that was a moment he could have shown some real leadership and it didnt work out. He left today for bedminster. He was at a fundraiser a rather controversial fundraiser in the hamptons first and now on to bedford where hell remain for ten days. We expect to see him a few times there will be a couple of events in new jersey. He is going the travel to pennsylvania on tuesday. He has a rally coming up as well in New Hampshire later in the week. But largely, he is going to be out of sight. And there is a sense here as to what happens next with this issue of guns. He is under extremes pressure right now to make something happen. You saw him on the south lawn when he left the white house today, suggesting he had talked to Senate Majority leader mcconnell, he had talked to the nra. He portrayed it as if there is some momentum there. We dont know how reliable a narrater he is. Mcconnell has balked previously about certain measures. The nra has not signed off on the background checks idea. The president certainly is wildly popular with republicans. He has the ability, if he wants, to provide cover for republicans. This is a moment to act on background checks, even in a limited way, to give them something, to show some sort of victory on gun control, if you will. But those around him arent sure whats going to happen, the mom dissipa dissipate . We have seen the news cycle is so fast. As tragic as this was last weekend, will this still be what were talking about in a few days. And if were not, the president might ease off the gas pedal. Everybody can remember going back to the campaign certainly since he is president , going the these conventions, an annual event, the heros welcome he receive theres. Thats also part of the backdrop. Well talk more than in a minute. But melissa and jon, i want to ask the same question here. In some ways what we saw this week, it was in some ways, something weve never seen before with the president. In other ways, its a continuation of the story weve seen with trump. There are ceremonial moments, ceremonial aspects, sort of national grieving taking place. And he takes it in a direction. We have not seen modern democratic or republican president s do. I ask you this, melissa. Is there anything new or different that you think americans take from this week and how the president handled it in terms of how they take the measure of him or do they end up viewing this as par for course . Anyone that is waiting for some sort of dramatic shift in tone from this president , and ive got a bridge to show you. This individual has shown his true colors. The fact that he would take a moment like wednesday where he is visiting both ohio and texas to make it all about himself, to basically push back on people that are saying we need to grieve. We dont need you here right now, and not taking that message. Then go to the hospital and take photos and utilize it for some sort of a campaign. This is all about who he is. We as latinos have just witnessed possibly the most incredible moment, negative, obviously, of a domestic terrorist attack targeted to us as latinos for who we are. And this was under this administration. And so i we are very concerned, right . That were not going to see any changes. Weve heard before the bluster about oh, were going to do something about background checks. I would hope that something gets done. I dont really have a lot of faith it is going to get done. Were at a crossroads. We continue to go down a path a that is very dark. Reverend dr. Barber was in el paso the other day. I was there. He talked about white supremacy, it is about the words of racism. It is about the works of racism, and it is about the war of racism. And this is what this administration is perpetuating, the words, the rhetoric. When you talk about the policies is the works of racism. And then when you see the war that is now being taken in terms of violence against communities that are particularly of color in this country. Its a very dark moment, and i have a its very hard for us to find any sort of Silver Lining right now. Same question to you, john. Is there anything different, more lasting, deeper that you sense in how people are reacting to and processing this past week . No, no, i would say that what we see here is every couple of months something happens and the president behaves in a certain way that then reminds people who might conceivably start feeling more positively about him because of the state of the economy and the fact that we havent had the military adventurism and all of that. And its like he strums the guitar, and they remember his discordant performance. So what we have here is a kind of moment of oh, no not again. Like once again we have a president who cant rise to this kind of occasion. This is not among the people who are solidly definitely going to vote for him. These are the reluctant trump voters . Either the reluctant trump voters or the people on the fence. The people in those 40 republican districts in november 2018 who went the other way, that hes got to get back or got to get some of them back in order to prevail in november 2020. And i think this is the danger for him. The thing that he should do right now is go silent and play golf. He should go on vacation, go have meetings on National Security and do all that. He will not be able to resist getting into fights on twitter, yelling at people, doing all of that at a moment at which we just spent five days watching him be extremely uncomfortable with the trappings and bearings of the classical responsibilities of the presidency. In no way, shape or form can this be imagined that it could help him. It could be something that fades or evanesces. It kind of leaves a residue. All of these moments where he fails leaves a residue. Thats what im wondering too, john. For the time of voter that john is describing here, say the reluctant trump voter, however you want to define it, folks who did not go into this with a strong opinion of trump, but either voted for him anyway in 2016. Maybe they didnt like clinton even more. Maybe theyre still open to it, but theyre not wild about him. Is there a breaking point for them . Is there a walk away point . Does this potentially rise to a higher level than some of these other moments that john is describing . Is there a sense in the white house that thats a risk . There is some nervousness about it. That is the question. He will have a second term or not depending on those voters, by a lot of analysis. There is concern around him that he has not, as john just said very rightly, has not risen to the moment here there have been a number of occasions like this. Lets remember parkland, the shooting a year and a half ago at this point where he also vowed to be tough on guns. As soon as the nra got in his ear, he walked away from it. He certainly has the ability. The nra is in a weakened position at the moment. Wayne lapierre is at the center of more scandals than i can count. He would be in a position where perhaps the president who is so popular among republicans can provide some cover and move forward. There are suburban voters. There are independents. The democrats we might have caught last time around who even now might still be pretty happy with where the economy is, but those in the white house are worried that the president is letting them down. And its not just this moment. Its the last couple of weeks. Take those at once. The idea that the undeniably racist rhetoric towards the four democratic congressmen of color. The attacks on representative Elijah Cummings in baltimore. And now as he goes on vacation, this sort of series of storms he is going to have to confront. The idea of not just the aftermath of the shooting and what responsibility he made there for his rhetoric, for his antiimmigration record, rhetoric mirrored by the shooter in el paso, but also are the chickens copping home to roost perhaps with north korea and iran and particularly china in that trade deal. And if the economy slows down, that is the number one thing the people around the president are panicked about. That is his number one argument for reelection the good economy. And of course if the economy tanks and the folks around him of course want him to be talking than a lot mr. Than he is. The other issue, obviously i think a more generally, we have to talk about the Republican Party. Because you have both the senate that is out of session and refuses to even consider an emergency like this where this is a crisis that the nation is going through. It is a crisis that certain communities are living. Each and every day us as latinos wake up what is the new level of depravity that this administration is going to inflict on us in terms of ripping our families apart. We just saw the raids that occurred, over 680, and how many children are being separated from their parents. This is a violent administration against communities of color. So it is generally the lack of inaction, right. How alienated this administration is to the reality that communities live. The fact that the republicans wont come back into session in the senate. When you have a president that is going to the hamptons and in this gilded moment, right, in this bubble that he is in with people that are wealthy and are giving money and really completely removed from the reality that is being lived. Its a crisis. I understand all i was going to say is i dont know the specifics of whether or not the senate comes back in session or doesnt or that he has fundraisers are large enough to, you know, turn people against him, or theyre too specific. Theyre too political and people dont follow them. What he says, what he tweets, how he acts, when he looks uncomfortable, what he does when he has that rally next week in New Hampshire, those will matter in this sense also even dwelling on background checks. So if he pushes the Republican Party to accept background checks and somehow mysteriously makes it into law, thats kind of small beer. People who really want gun control, you can say this is really its only a first step. And everybody who believes that, you know, any step down that road is a step toward confiscation and the seizure of their guns and the abrogation of their Second Amendment rights is going to be unhappy. No ones going to be that happy. And so his back is against the wall. If he does if he does some kind of stopgap measure, yeah, maybe hell say i did it, i did it, i did it. But the people who like him wont like it, and the people who dont like him wont be satisfied. But at the same time, even if he does that, it seems an open question if he can do that. If the nra says no, were still against this, weve been with you, trump, but were still against, this youve had this background check bill has not made it through the u. S. Senate, has not made it through the republican, has not made it through mostly republican opposition. There are democrats who have opposed it too. There is no question if it could even get through. Weve got to cut it short here lufrt i. But think, Jonathan Lemire, melissa mark viverito, john hot hornets. Another official fails the loyalty test. Handing in her resignation. She says the president should have his team. This just weeks after dan coats announced his departure, leaving two top intelligence posts unfilled. Plus, after the roundup of nearly 700 undocumented workers in mississippi, why arent more employers being punished for hiring undocumented immigrants . Well look at that and a new report that the president himself continues to employ undocumented workers at his properties. Much more ahead. Stay with us. Ith us this is your wakeup call. If you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, month after month, the clock is ticking on irreversible joint damage. 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The two top positions in the Intelligence Community are now vacant after the Deputy Director of National Intelligence sue gordon resigned her post yesterday. According to nbc news, gordon tendered her resignation after she learned she would be passed over for the top job that outgoing director dan coats is leaving next week. By law, gordon was supposed to be next in line. And coats even recommended that she replace him. But the white house objected. In a handwritten note, gordon told the president , quote, i offer this letter as an act of respect and patriotism, not preference. You should have your team. Hours after the news broke, the president revealed that he will instead appoint Joseph Maguire, the director of the National Counterterrorism center to be the acting director of National Intelligence. This latest shakeup follows trumps botched attempt to install John Ratcliffe into that job last week, but ratcliffes name was dropped over his lack of experience. Now the president is signaling he is in no rush to find a permanent replacement for maguire once he takes over. Im in no rush. Admiral maguire is a very talented man. He is a great leader as an admiral. He is always a great leader. Always a man respected by ever