The piece claims the president wants better tv lawyers to represent him on cable news. Remember, giuliani told the New York Post when he joined the legal team almost a month ago he hoped the investigation would end in a week or two. Well, not quite. Remember when ty cobb reportedly said it should wrap up by last thanksgiving . Then the end of 2017 . Then january or so . Well, that didnt happen either. In fact, this week marks a full year that Robert Muellers investigation has been methodically winding its way through mr. Trumps inner circle. President trump calls it a witch hunt but again, let us remind you President Trumps former Deputy Campaign manager, former Campaign Foreign policy advisor, and former National Security advisor have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the special counsel. An affiliated lawyer is already serving time in prison. Donald trumps former Campaign Chairman has been indicted and is awaiting trial. And 13 russian nationals and three Russian Companies have been indicted for alleged interference in the 2016 election. Nearly one year in, and mueller still has not sat down with the president though. Right now all signs point to Donald Trumps legal team doing everything it can to keep Robert Mueller away. So our big question is, is Donald Trumps best defense a good offense against mueller . One other reminder whatever you think of donald trump as president , it is important to remember muellers investigation is tasked with getting to the heart of what makes us a democracy. Was our election free and fair. Well see what the white house has to say when the briefing starts any minute. Raj shah is filling in for sarah sanders. Phil rubbing cker is the white bureau chief for the Washington Post. Peter alexander. Guys, welcome. Phil, you had a huge piece about the very different worlds Robert Muellers world and Donald Trumps world. Take us in to those two worlds. Tell us what it is really like behind the scenes right now. Yeah, well, katy, were coming up here on the oneyear mark for the Mueller Investigation and we wanted to take a step back and really explain whats going on. The mueller separation is so secretive but theyre also acting swiftly and professional, by all accounts. Their questioning of witnesses inside the grand jury in a pretty drab Conference Room at a courthouse here in washington has been very intensive, almost surgical in how theyve approached various issues with the witnesses. By contrast, you have a president at the white house whos sort of consumed with this russia issue. Very bothered by it. Feels like it is a cloud that damages his legitimacy as president and is a problem for him. Hes eager to get rid of it and the way he is going to try to do that is by being much more aide s aide v adversarial, much more offensive in his posture. Its been about a week since the president tweeted about the probe. I know when he goes silent for a little while, lots of folks wonder what that means. Should we be looking more into that . I dont know quite what to make of that, katy. It is interesting. Last weekend, last sunday, trump was huddling with Rudy Giuliani, his new lawyer, at the golf course in virginia for about five hours. One of the things giuliani told the president was, do your day job, focus on north korea, focus on the trade issues with china. Focus on the really big issues facing the country as commander in chief and leave the legal issues to me, your lawyer. It was only the next morning trump was on twitter saying the russia witch hunt, the russia witch hunt. It is still top of mind. Whether hes tweeting about it or not, i will expect hell reengage on twitter at some point soon. Peter, phils Washington Post report talks about donald trump wanting more tv lawyers. Rudy giuliani is certainly more of a tv lawyer. He was always on fox news. He still is always on fox news. Is there all down to politics for trump, that if he can sway the public opinion, the results of the investigation wont really matter . Well, its about politics but it is also personal for this president. Recognize this is something, he drew the red line about the effort by Robert Mueller if it ever crossed into his personal finances. We know now that theres been a raid of his longtime fixer, personal attorney, Michael Cohens offices and his home in new york city. We know theyve been looking at some of the business dealings of the Trump Organization as well. It is more than just politics for this president. It is certainly personal. As to the conversation youve been having with phil, i think it is notable, nbc news spoke to Rudy Giuliani again. Hes been speaking to a lot of us in recent days. He talked about this timeline. The fact that thursday marks the oneyear mark for this Mueller Investigation, suggesting that this thing should be wrapping up soon. But compare it to other investigations, ken starrs investigation going four years. The benghazi investigation, two and a half years. It is possible this investigation still has a ways to go. Rudy giuliani in a conversation conversation with me was theyd have this wound down by this thursday, by that oneyear mark. Regarding an interview, they initially hoped to get that done but now giuliani tells nbc news given the fact the north korea summit is expected to take place on june 12th, less than a month from now, he thinks it would be a bad idea to take the president s concentration away from that and he suggested, among other things, he wants to know that Robert Muellers drafted his written report, that theyve made Real Progress before there is any questioning of the president to try to effectively tie up some loose ends. Thats part of the nixon strategy. Guy, jump off that for me. How much sway is Rudy Giuliani going to have with Robert Muellers team . How much can he see or can he know about the written report being done before he demands that mueller or demanding Robert Mueller do all that before he allows his client to sit down with Robert Mueller . Katy, it is a fascinating dynamic thats going on. You can bet that Rudy Giuliani who also knows a lot of these same players and has worked with them in the past. And of course, hes former u. S. Attorney himself and prosecuted cases. So he sort of knows the drill here. And as much as he might want to come in and say, i want this wrapped up, i want this over with, the truth is, katy, hes got virtually no say in the process in terms of timing, in terms of who to interview, in terms of what documents to be reviewing. Really, what he should be trying to do is extract as much information from the special prosecutor, from bob mueller, and his deputies, as much as possible so that he can then go in and say, okay, if this is really the area that youre concerned with, then lets focus just on that area and lets confine this thing and wrap this thing up. Thats got to be his mission, his goal. Although i agree with your panelists, there is no way that this thing is going to be through over with in a matter of days, weeks. Frankly, i think months. Maybe even years. Listen, we dont know much from the special counsels team because obviously theyre not talking publicly. The way we hear from them is through their court filings. When i presume they read the Washington Post or New York Times or occasionally watch cable news, when they see this, when they hear about whats happening behind the scenes at the white house or at least when they deal with them what do you think theyre thinking . Whats their reaction . Guy . Again, there were some reports and i commend the post for some of the reports ive seen and read over the past few weeks. But when the mayor, when Rudy Giuliani, came in and said, im going to wrap this thing up in a couple weeks, it was reported that there were several people on muellers team that sort of laughed at that and chuckled and that and said, okay, well, thats great. Okay, theres another 40 subpoenas going out for another 100,000 documents and Bank Accounts and things like that. If you look at it, katy, it is fascinating because the manafort case, for this to even be wrapped up, that case has not even been tried yet. Thats got motions to dismiss still set. The other cases are still pending in the process. And thats without regard to an investigation of cohen himself thats taking place up in manhattan in the Southern District of new york. Phil, one last question to you. Whats going on with the white house in terms of who theyre worried about . Maybe theyre not so worried about the president up top but who are they worried about getting ensnared in muellers crosshairs . Well, katy, i think a chief worry is Michael Cohen and what happens in that case up at the Southern District of new york. But theres also concern in the white house about how close it could get to the president. Theres a high level of confidence that the president s not going to be directly implicated in any sort of collusion with the russians but that there may very well be implications for some of his family members potentially, for some of his close advisors. Theres been buzz the last few days among people in the president s orbit that roger stone could be in more serious trouble than were led to believe. And theres also as there has been for some time now concern about donald trump jr. And Jared Kushner, the soninlaw and Senior Advisor at the white house. Remember, both of them were in that meeting, along with Paul Manafort back in 2016 at trump tower with the russian lawyer. It is interesting that we havent heard more about that, that one particular meeting recently. Nbcs Peter Alexander at the white house. Washington posts phil rucker, and former u. S. Attorney guy lewis, gentlemen, thank you very much. A democratic consultant, and Senior Advisor to jeb bush. Hank, i want to start with you. Democratic advisor or consultant is not really a good way to totally describe you. You are an animal of new york politics and youve known the trump people and trump in the trump world for a long time. Youre somebody whos seen it in action. I dont know if youve watched john luis standup on netflix. He has an interesting analogy about a horse and a hospital. Donald trump is a lors inhorse hospital and you have no idea whats going to happen name. People who have seen birds in airports and hes like get out of here. Youve seen a horse in reich an Office Building setting so you are going to be our donald trump translator. He is doing everything that he would normally do as donald trump. Rudy giuliani is doing everything Rudy Giuliani would do as Rudy Giuliani. Why people are surprised by this is quite shocking. What do you mean everything they would do . Playing to the newspapers, hes running a pr campaign, the president is. Hes not running a Legal Campaign in public. Rudy giuliani is doing what he did as mayor of the city of new york and as the u. S. Attorney bombastic in front of every story trying to create as much tension as possible and taking the focus off the issues and putting them on himself. Does it work . Its worked for both of these men in the past. Ive done a lot of litigation, pr work, worked for politicians around the country, in and out of office, whether theyre in trouble. This is very different. This is the president of the United States. Could this get close to the president . Who knows. Is it going to get close to people close to him . It already has but these guys are playing a very highstakes game doing what they know how to do. Its worked in new york but will it play in peoria, quite frankly, is really the question you have to ask. And it is not likely it will. Donald trump worked outside of new york when he said he wouldnt. I guess thats still up in the air. Michael, the more serious question though is, as the post puts it, hes asking about Michael Cohen 20 times a day. If hes behind the scenes so consumed with this russia investigation, how is he getting other things done . Are you worried his focus is not entirely on the things it should be . Absolutely. I think the entire country should be worried about that. This is an understaffed administration with a lot of people who dont have much experience in government, trying to handle some of the thorniest problems in the history of our country like the situation in the Korean Peninsula. So the fact that the president appears consumed by this investigation and his response to it is not good news for our National Security or for our economy. I dont know if youve seen the standup, either, but i watched it last night so it is on the top of my mind. I think this is such a good descriptor for how the country is feeling. Theres such confusion about what will happen next that you cant take your eyes off a television. Youre constantly scrolling through your phone or reading newspapers to see what is going on. Maybe with past president s you didnt really think about it because you presumed the person who was in that office knew what they were doing. Now there are a lot of folks out there who arent quite sure that donald trump knows what he is doing. Do you think that thats an accurate way of describing the american state of mind right now . Absolutely. Theres a sense of foreboding. Theres a sense that something is going badly wrong or is about to go badly wrong. I feel as though as a country were like wiley coyote, weve gone over the cliff in some form or fashion but havent quite noticed yet or figure out what disaster has or is about to befall us. Hank . I think people are just glazed over by now. This is just too much. Those watching are seeing the greatest soap opera of their lives. When have we ever seen a president of the United States involved with a porn actress . It is almost like a great comedy being played on a large stage with characters that most of person has never seen or heard about. What would you tell republicans running for office, michael, if you were talking to them right now . I think that it is important to embrace the president s agenda. The economic gains that weve made, tax reform, et cetera. While distancing yourself from his own personal foibles, from the things like payoffs to an adult film actress, things like all these questionable interactions with russia. Youve got to somehow run on the trump agenda without the taint of trump himself. What do you tell a democrat . I would tell democrats dont just sit there and wait for something to happen. Get out there and begin to talk about real issues. Democrats are deluded. They somehow believe that they just wait and something will happen and trumps behavior will somehow help them take back the house. Not a good idea. Be active. Be much more direct in your campaign style. Thank you for being our horse observer today, hank. We appreciate it. Thank you. It is good standup, guys. Michael steele, thank you as well. We are waiting on the white house briefing. When questions begin well bring them to you live. Up next make china great again. This is a car protected from storms by an Insurance Company that knows the weather down to the square block. This is a diamond tracked on a blockchain protected against fraud, theft and trafficking. 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So sophie, i have an xfi password, and its daditude. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Xfinity. The future of awesome. If you have ever heard donald trump talk about china, youve probably heard some version of this. The biggest problem is china. We lost 500 billion. How previous president s allowed that to happen is disgraceful. But were going to take care of it. For many years, no president wanted to go against china economically, and were going to do it. We have a problem with china. Theyve created a trade deficit, and i really blame our representatives and, frankly, our preceding president s for this. Trump more succinctly, i know china, ive made deals in china. China is taking advantage of us. Only i know how to stop it. Make America Great again. It makes those sudden reversals you know, the ones where President Trump suddenly fawns over president xi and china. So confusing. But it makes a move like this down right unbelievable. President xi of china and i are working together to get massive chinese phone company zte a way to get back into business fast. Too many jobs in china lost. Commerce department has been instructed to get it done yes, it is very confusing. But raj shah is asking questions. Well put a pin in this and listen to raj. Were aware of reports of continued violence in gaza today. The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with hamas. Hamas is intentionally and sneakily provoking this response. As the secretary of state said, israel has the right to defend itself. Also whats the president s thinking on zte . I mean here is a company that violated u. S. Rules regarding doing business with north korea and iran. It was, according to the Commerce Department, appropriately sanctioned for that. Fined 1. 2 billion. You have heads of six intelligence agencies telling congress back on february 13th that they wouldnt use zte devices because of counterespionage concerns. They also wouldnt recommend that american citizens use zte or waway devices. Whats the president s thinking with that tweet over the weekend about wanting to rescue zte . Obviously, this is part of a very complex relationship between the United States and china that involves economic issues, National Security issues, and the like. It is an issue of high concern for china thats been raised with the u. S. Government and with our administration at various levels. So the president has asked secretary ross to look into it consistent with applicable laws and regulations. I guess i want to follow on that. Did the president give second tar ross any specific instructions on how he wanted that case to go . And when you say that it was raised, i assume you mean in the context of the ongoing trade discussions between the u. S. And china. So is there a sort of direct linkage there where china can make concession on retaliatory tariffs and so we would see from the u. S. Kind of easing back on that . Hes asked secretary ross to look into the matter, again consistent with applicable laws and regulations. Its been brought up at a number of levels as part of bilateral talks on a number of issues. I wouldnt restrict it to just talks that you reference. Follow on that. Yeah. Didnt the Commerce Department make an independent judgment when they decided to issue the sanction against zte . So can you talk about the significance of bringing it up again now . How much does it have to do with the impending summit with north korea . Critics will say that the president wants chinas support, needs chinas support, and that is why he is now backing off on the sanction against zte. It is part of, again, the u. S. Relationship with china. Which is complex. It has economic factors. It has National Security factors. This is just one of many factors. Again the president commerce to into the matter consistent with laws and regulation. Senator Lindsey Graham said, i wish somebody from the white house would tell the country that what kelly sadler said was inappropriate, that thats not who we are as a trump administration. Why not just apologize so america doesnt think that that is an acceptable way of sneaking inside this white house . Well, i understand the focus on this issue. But it is going to be dealt with and has been dealt with internally. How . Hang on. I was told kelly sadler called the mccain family late last week and did apologize. Beyond that, i dont have further comment. Excuse knee. But she kelly sadler told megan mccain that she would apologize publicly and that has not yet happened. Why has that not happened. I wasnt on the call. I was told she made it prior to the story being published and she ai poll gupologized for the. Is there any concern that this white house seems more concern about the fact that there was a leak about the content of what was said . I think were concerned about all sorts of matters. But this is an internal matter. It is being addressed internally and i dont have anything further to add. Can you explain how it is being addressed internally . Obviously if it i explain all that then it wont remain internal. Is she still an employee at the white house . She came to work today. Why hasnt she publicly apologized as she told megan mccain that she would . She is addressed it with the family directly. I dont have anything further to add. On zte, how does the President Trump statement that too many chinese jobs are at risk square with his Campaign Promise that china is stealing american jobs . I dont think this has, frankly, any bearing on the president s Campaign Promises. Lets just look at the Overall Economic record. The president has overseen an economy in which we have the lowest Unemployment Rate since 2000. Right . It is at 3. 9 . Over 2 million jobs have been created since this president took office. And with respect to trade with china, hes been tough. Lets put this into context. This president has taken china to task for its unnfair trade practices but the section 301 investigation. Hes introduced and proposed up to 150 billion of tariffs on china for intellectual property theft, dumping and a range of enimcal economic chinese actions. Hes ben carson tough and confroco been tough and on this issue has asked the secretary of commerce to take a look at it. Raj, the death toll is over 50 in gaza. Is the u. S. Calling on israel to use restraint when dealing with these folks . Well, we believe that hamas is responsible for these tragic deaths, that their rather cynical exploitation of the situation is whats leading to these deaths and we want them stopped. There is no burden on israel to do something to sort of rein it in . No. We think we shouldnt loss sight of the fact that hamas bears responsibility for the dire situation right now. Actually, raj, the United States has been wanting to put out a peace plan. How does todays situation hurt that . I dont think it hurts the peace plan. The peace plan will be introduced at the appropriate time. But what today is about is following through on what the president promised and believes, and it is also recognition of reality. I think weve for decades walked on eggshells pretending that jerusalem isnt the capital of israel when it obviously is. This is just a recognition of reality. Raj, there seems to be some confusion given the messages on sunday, the news shows from secretary pompeo and National Security advisor bolton about what exactly the u. S. Is asking of north korea. Is the administrations position that the u. S. Expects the complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of the peninsula and of north korea. Or is this administration willing to accept something sort of that . I dont want to get ahead of negotiations but our policy has been to pursue the complete irreversible and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and thats going to be the purpose of the june 12th meeting. If you could address a little bit this idea that the criticism of the president s sort of tone with the dictator of north korea, kim jongun, saying that he treated the u. S. Detainees excellently. The president s rhetoric has certainly shifted on kim jongun. Im wondering if you could explain why and whether he thinks that at all that he is going too far and or the of phrasing kim jongun . I think the president s rhetoric has reflected kim jonguns actions. I think that kim jongun has stepped forward and made pledges to halt nuclear tests, halt icbm tests, and now has released these three prisoners. Those are signs of good faith. We hope to build on that. If i can very quickly, the French Foreign minister said about whats taking place in gaza, he urged israeli authorities to exercise discretion and restraint. Does the president not agree with the french president we believe that hamas is responsible for whats going on. So responsibility of israeli authorities just kill at will. The Hamas Organization is leading in the action thats leading to these deaths. Following up on kelly sadler today, Matt Schlapps wife portrayed kelly sadler as a little bit of a victim here. Do you agree with that and why . Again, the matter has been addressed internally. I will say that when you work in any Work Environment, you with your colleagues at nbc, or elsewhere, if you dont if you arent able in internal meetings to speak your mind or convey thoughts or say anything that you feel without feeling like your colleagues will betray you, that creates a very difficult Work Environment. I think anybody who works anywhere could recognize that. Is there any environment where conveying that thought would be viewed as appropriate . Im not going to address it any further. To be clear, it was dealt with internally. Has anything been dealt with since last week when she called the mccain family . For clarity. She called the mccain family. Im not going to address it anymore from the podium. If i could ask you a delicate question. It was reported you were leading the meet being where kelly sadler said what she said. How did it strike you . Did you find it to be inappropriate . And what was the reaction in the room . Well, look, this is not about my opinion or anybody elses opinion. It is an internal matter and were we have addressed it internally. Two questions. First, the white house is hosting some kind of meeting on wednesday with california officials on sanction ware cities. Can you tell us what thats about . Will the president attend and whats the point of the meeting . Well, i cant obviously get ahead of the meeting but, look, the department of justice is engaged in certain litigation regarding sanctuary cities in california. We believe that california should help us and all muse palle municipalities and states should help the federal government in enforcing federal law and help deport criminal immigrants and i guess help stem the tide of illegal immigration in the United States. It is actually on the rise now. It is a point of frustration for the president , and for the administration. That will be part of obviously whats discussed. No negotiation, this is just to solidify your point . Im saying that im not going to get ahead of the meeting. My second question is the president s going to capitol hill tomorrow to meet with senate republicans. Can you tell us about that meeting . And do you the topic of the conversation at all, so do you think he will not get asked by senators about the kelly sadler issue . Youll obviously have to ask senators what knells ask him. I think he will be discussing the administrations agenda. I think a focus of that will be on appointees and getting the president s team in place, particularly gina haspel who we believe should be confirmed as the next cia director. This is an individual whos had over three decades of Exemplary Service and experience with the cia and we hope that the senate takes it upon themselves to confirm her. Besides the cia, is there another issue . It is to talk about the administrations agenda. The Trump Organization thank you. I thought you said me. Go ahead. The Trump Organization is involved in a project in indonesia building hotels, golf course, residences. It is getting up to 500 million in backing from the Chinese Government. Can you tell or explain the administrations perspective on, a, how this wouldnt violate the emoluments clause, and, b, how it wouldnt violate the president s own promise that his private organization would not be getting involved in new foreign deals while he was president . Ill have to refer you to the Trump Organization. No. But i mean the Trump Organization cant speak on behalf of the president as the president , the head of the federal government, the one who is responsible, who needs to assure the american people. Youre asking about a private organizations dealings that may have to do with a foreign government. Thats not something that i can speak to. So, raj, couple things. I need some information we all need more information about the conversation that the president had, by phone, with james shaw jr. And why wasnt it at the white house. Also prison reform. We understand thats working its way and there is a big push from the white house. And also on sadler. Where does decency and morality come in to play on in the workplace . She still has a job. She made that statement about an american hero, no matter what the political feelings are about him, he was broken and bruised overseas for freedoms of this country. To say those things again, thats an internal matter and has been addressed internally. You mentioned prison reform. Were pleased to see last week the house markup with a pretty broad bipartisan vote. Prison reform legislation that white house is supportive of that particularly Jared Kushner has been very involved with. We believe that that legislation can help reduce costs in prisons and improve quality. We hope to see it looked at at the house floor and then eventually pass the senate. With respect to james shaw, it was a conversation that the president asked to have and why not hes honestly, i dont know if he was invited. I just honestly dont have more on that. Thank you, raj. I wanted to ask you about the embassy move today. Who delivered the invocation. Robert jeffries. Hes made some statements in the past that he believes that muslims are going to hell, jews are going to hell, hindus are going to hell. Do you think that his remarks that hes one of the right people to speak at the opening of our embassy in israel and can you give us a Little Information on how that came to be . Well, i honestly dont know how that came to be. I know that pastor jeffries has had a strong relationship with many people in the faith community. As well as folk in the administration and republicans on the hill and others. I believe democrats, as well. So i think that he has a longstanding involvement with public officials. Beyond that, i dont really have a whole lot to add. Do you think it is appropriate for a person whos said that jews are going to hell to speak at the opening of our embassy . Israel . I havent seen those remarks. Obvious will i those arent remarks the president made. So i have two questions for you. First on zte. Did the Chinese Government give any specific concession for the president of the United States to tweet in support of a Chinese Company . No. The president has asked secretary ross to look into the matter consistent with why did he do that . The issue has been raised at many levels by the Chinese Government with various levels of our administration. You think raising the issue was enough to spawn a president ial directive . It is a significant issue of concern for the Chinese Government. In our bilateral relationship there is a give and take and we discussed these issues. Regarding the president s tweet on paris. He said America Needs to change its thought processes. What did he mean . What was he hinting at . Well, i think that the president wants the United States to be tough on terrorists. Wants our government to be tough on terrorists. I havent asked him about that specific tweet but i think his thoughts on how to address terrorism are pretty clear, both through the legal system, through our international through our Foreign Affairs policy. So just understanding the existential threat that terrorists pose to american citizens and addressing it accordingly. Raj, on the issue of peace between the israelis and the palestinians, when was the last time the white house reached out to palestinian leadership and will, given the high numbers of casualties, palestinians calling whats happened today a massacre, will the white house be reaching out . Well, i dont honestly have an answer for you on that. Ill get back to you. Can i just follow up then . Sure. I mean Jared Kushner has pointed the finger at the palestinians saying they were responsible for invoking violence. But given the fact that its only palestinians that are being killed, should israel not shoulder some of the blame . Well, as i said earlier, we believe hamas bears the responsibility. This is a propaganda attempt. This is a gruesome and unfortunate propaganda attempt. I think the Israeli Government has spent weeks trying to handle this without violence. We find it very unfortunate. Throwing rocks 50 meters from the wall and faced with sniper attack. Is the white house denial of the split screen reality thats occurring . Again, we believe that hamas is responsible for this. Raj, can i ask you on zte. The congressional hearing that john was talking about and which the intelligence chief said that people should not be using zte products because of security concerns, does the president himself believe that there is a security concern using involved with zte . I havent asked him about that. But again, he has asked the Commerce Department to look into this matter consistent with applicable laws and regulations. Speaking of the Commerce Department, wilbur ross said at the National Press club a little while ago the upcoming meet being this week with the chinese, wouldnt surprise me if they bring up zte but it would be an enforcement action separate from trade. Is that the position of the white house that whatever may or may not happen with zte, that has nothing do with trade negotiations . Or does it . I think secretary ross speaks for the u. S. Government on this matter. The president s asked him to look into it. I havent seen those remarks and im sure there will be some followup conversations. On the Supreme Court decision today on sports gambling that allows now states to go forward with that, does the white house have any opinion one way or another on the decisions . I dont have a reaction for you just yet. Raj, on israel, the United States and the white house are hoping to release their peace plan in the next few months. Going back to that split screen, i understand that youre blaming these on hamas. But does the white house feel that the position is undermined now by these deaths that last time i knew, the count was at 52. No, i dont. The peace plan will be brought forward at the appropriate time and evaluated on its merits prp the actions today, both the opening of the embassy in jerusalem and these tragedies in southern israel, we dont think will impact the peace plan. On a different Foreign Policy topic sort of, the president isnt going to the Royal Wedding this weekend. Today we saw him deliver a video address at the embassy opening. Will he deliver an address of some sort via video . Is there anything you can tell us about that . I dont have anything for you. Raj, last month sarah said sorry. Last month sarah said the allegations against the governor of missouri were concerning. The governor now is on trial this week. Does the president believe he should resign . Hes campaigned with him. Hes been out with him. Hes managed several times. Does he believe he should resign irrespective of the verdict or if the verdict comes down in his favor, should he resign . I dont have anything further on that. Ill have to get back to you. Raj, later this week, thursday and friday, chinese officials are supposed to be here in d. C. To have continued trade meetings. Can you tell us which u. S. Officials and which chinese officials are going to be involved in those . What the president hopes to come out of those continued talks, this round of those talks. And has the administration provided i know larry kudlow mentioned the u. S. Was considering providing a list of what theyd like to see out of these negotiations. Some of the details of the participants have yet to be determined. Well provide that information when its ready. But, look. The u. S. China relationship again is a complex one. We believe that china has engaged in decades of unfair trade practices, forced Technology Transfers and the like. That was part of the discussion that went on when the u. S. Delegation or u. S. Group of Administration Officials went to china and thats going to be continued later this week. Last question . Thank you, raj. You said before that you hadnt heard pastor jeffries remarks. Among other things, he said mormonism, judaism, judaism lead people to a separate of god and an eternity in hell. Another pastor involved in that ceremony once said hitler was an instrument of god. On sunday, Jared Kushner and ivanka trump met with a rabbi, the chief rabbi in israel. He once compared black people to monkeys. So im wondering in all three of these instances, can you tell us anything about how these people were brought in to the ceremonies . And do you think it is incredible that people with these views were involved with the American Government . I dont have any readout on how they became involved with these events. All ill say is those specific views that you outlined, wouldnt be embraced by this white house. Shouldnt we know from the podium whether or not that was quite a briefing from raj shaw. Three things to watch. One, this zte deal. Another one, israel and palestine. Raj shaw calling all those deaths of palestinians who were protesting killed by israelis a propaganda attempt and repeatedly said that hamas was responsible. And then also the issue about kelly sadler and the remarks she made about john mccain. Peter alexander will join us in just one moment from the briefing room. Just one thing on the kelly sadler topic, what ive seen in the past two and a half years on the twacampaign trail until now one thing thats suffered as a result of Trumps Campaign and presidency, its decency. On the campaign trail id routinely see people say terrible things about the candidates or terrible things to the press. I saw men wearing shirts saying Hillary Clinton is a c word. I heard a man say, assassinate that b, during a trump rally, and nobody said, hey, thats a little too much. Nobody called on protesters to say, hey, they should get out or tell supporters if they punched protesters he would pay their legal bills. Decency has been lost with Donald Trumps ascension. And hes been going after john mccain now for some time. This is a man thats dying of cancer and the white house refuses to apologize for what a white house advisor said. Nbcs peer alexander is back with us from the white house. Peter, why wont in i mean they are making it a much bigger deal than it would have been. Why wont this white house just apologize publicly for a terrible thing that somebody said in a private meeting, regardless of whether or not it was because of a leak. Katy, thats a good question. This is now day five of this controversy that is of the white houses making. But i think the answer to your question is very clear. Were the white house to apologize or have kelly sadler publicly apologize for her private comments about john mccain, what would it say about President Trump himself who never apologized for Public Comments where he, in effect, said that john mccain was no a war hero. So in that sense, i think the white house really feels it has its back against the wall, it lass to do this as an internal matter. Theyve tried to make the conversation about the fact that this is a leak saying that it has been dealt with privately. You saw in this briefing that i pressed raj shaw on that very topic where he said, among things, in places like at nbc it really creates, in his words, for a difficult Work Environment if you cant be allowed to say things like this in private without fear that it would become public. I followed up, asking him, is there any circumstance under which comments like these would be appropriate to say . Raj shaw again indicated that this was simply an internal matter. Katy . Peter, it is not just that. Its with a we are seeing with israel and palestine. More than 40 people dead. More than 40 people dead today. And the white house isnt offering condolences. Theyre not offering any sort of heartfelt comments on the loss of life in jerusalem and in the gaza im sorry, in the gaza strip. Instead saying it is a propaganda attempt. You asked if the white houses policy was for israel to kill it. This was part of the conversation with raj shaw. I thought it was strike region just hours after the president s only Public Comments, at least by twitter, were congratulations oen this great day for the people of israel that this white house hasnt said anything in terms of sympathy for the Palestinian People. Now dozens, 51plus, by some measure, already killed on this day. In fact, the white houses public statements now indicate that they believe this is exclusively to be blamed on hamas, as you described it, an unfortunate propaganda attempt, as raj a grievous, i think he said, propaganda attempt, as indicated by raj shaw here just a short time ago. The reason this matters and it shouldnt come as any surprise that the president is erring on the side of the israelis here. Remember, this is a president who from even before he became president said he was going to be the guy he felt confidently, he could make the deal, get the deal done for a peace deal between the israelis and palestinians. He joked at some of those galas, maybe the night of his inauguration, that Jared Kushner would be put on this mission, this would be his duty. For obvious reasons, you can see why the palestinians do not view the u. S. , or certainly not the trump administration, as some sort of fair broker in any peace negotiations that would take place. It was asked by one of my colleagues in the room when the last time was that the president had engaged with the palestinians. I dont remember the answer to that but if doesnt appear theres been any meaningful conversation with the palestinians in months. On this day i think it will only go to underscore the challenge that the president has created for himself with the announcement about the embassy moving to jerusalem and perhaps more significantly for not showing any sympathy toward the Palestinian People who died on this day. Nbcs Peter Alexander, thank you very much. Nbc news has correspondents in israel and on the gaza strip. Ayman muhyeldin just us from jerusalem and matt bradley is in gaza. Ayman, react to raj shaw just now saying that this is all hamas fault and this is just a gruesome propaganda attempt. And what are we hearing in the background . Is that matt bradley . Is that shelling . No, katy. You are actually hearing that from here in jerusalem. There is actually fireworks going on behind me. Fireworks. Fireworks going off behind me towards the old city, a real indication of the festive atmosphere that israel has been experiencing for the past 24 hours. A very stark contrast to the images and reality that were seeing in gaza unfold. It gives you a sense of really how wide the gap is between what israel is going through over the past 48 hours and what palestinians are. You asked me a question about the comments that have been coming out from the American Administration. Theres no doubt that over the years of covering this conflict, a lot of blame has been put squarely on the shoulders of hamas for what has been happening in the context strugg. But perhaps i have not heard an American Administration use this kind of language to describe what has been widely documented by a lot of journalists including our own of largely peaceful protests inside the gaza strip. Whats interesting is not so much what raj shaw said. Its not what the white house says. Its what they dont so. They are not acknowledging what is the reality for the people of for gaza, what life is like for the people of gaza, including the fact they have been living under siege, the fact that the international community, and the red cross says that the Health System there is on the verge of collapse that people there are so desperate that they want to try to get out even if it means risking their lives trying to get to the gaza border. It is a stark departure from the comments we have seen where the white house threads the needle. They blame hamas for a lot of problems in the gaza strip. There is no doubt that it is a terrorist organization. But to go so far that children are being killed, people in wheelchairs shot and killed journalists have been killed are all part of a hamas ploy, a propaganda ploy is personally something i have not seen in the past. I think a lot of human rights organizations documenting what is going on on the ground there in gaza will take great offense. But it will lift the mask for palestinians who think the administration can maintain a semblance of balance and that the Americans Administration is even handed. This is an indication of how it is not a balanced administration in the process. Is peace possible . Thats a difficult question. Based on what we are seeing on the ground. If you ask the palestinians and the palestinian liberation organization, because they are the ones who actually entered into agreements with israel, the short answer to that is no. The statement that came out yesterday on the events simply said that the American Embassy move to jerusalem is a fullfledged support of israel now becoming an apartheid state. It also went on to say that this effectively ends americas role as an honest broker and potentially end a twostate solution. From a palestinian perspective what we are seeing now is perhaps the most stark departure we have ever seen from them on the palestinian israeli peace process. One of the things that is dangling in front of the party is to withdraw and set this process back more than decades. He has been called on to do that. That is something he says he is consider, given the developments of the past 48 hours. Matt, what has it been like on the ground . Tens of thousands of young people crossing fields between the urban part of gaza and the Israeli Border essentially trying to walk across this heavily militarized border unarmed. It is easy to say they were completely unarmed. They had some light weapons. A lot of them would be burning tires or rolling tires to try to melt the rayor wire. They had sling shots. They had incendiary kites where they would try to loft kites and set them on fire to try to light up some of the agricultural fields beyond the border with israel. But these are beyond the kind of weapons that could frighten solars who later on this afternoon were using artillery near hamas locations and near us, about 100 meters next to me and my team this afternoon. We were nearly hit by some artillery. So its kind of hard to imagine how the israeli troops could have been threatened by a lot of these young people who were really not peacefully demonstrating but peacefully by comparison to the israeli soldiers. Indeed, no israeli zoeller has been kill and nearly 100 Palestinian Protesters have been killed in the past several weeks of protesting. Gentlemen, thank you very much. Another topic that came up repeatedly at the briefing was the tweet i referenced a little bit before the briefing started. President xi and i are working together to give chinese phone company zte a way to get back into business fast. Congress has been instructed to get it done. What . Did donald trump just make a pivot to make china great again . Did i miss something from over the weekend . The last i heard, this administration was not happy with zte. President trumps own Commerce Department found the chinese phone company sold equipment to iran and north korea. So President Trumps Commerce Department banned u. S. Commerce from buying ztes products and pd sla then with a billion dollar penalty. That is not all. Americas top Law Enforcement officials have been waving red flags on zte for years they say their products pose a National Security threat. Our big unbelievable question is why does donald trump suddenly want to put them back in business. John harwood joins me. Explain this to me. What is zte . Why would the president want to help. They are a very large Chinese Telecommunications company that as you mentioned has two big problems. One, they violated restrictions imposed by u. S. Law on trade with north korea, and with iran. And second, our intelligence agencies believe that there is an espionage threat from their products in the United States. So the United States imposed these very tough sanctions on u. S. Products going to zte. The company responded by announcing that they were shutting down. And this of course happens as the u. S. And china are beginning to have a showdown over trade. And as the United States president is heading to see the north korean leader, kim jongun, and try to get some sort of a nuclear deal. So all of these things are in conflict with one another. And the president has backed off. It makes it difficult for the United States then to go to European Companies for example, and say you cant do business with iran if the i just changed my policy on a Chinese Company because at that moment we needed china. Its very inconsistent and reflects the impulsive nature of the president. I think we need to point out one other thing that also came up in that briefing which is a trump project in indonesia that is seeking Chinese Government funding. When raj shaw was asked about that, he declined to comment on the ground that the Trump Organization is a private organization. Now, did that project play any role or other trump private projects play any role in that decision in who knows. You are hitting the nail on the head. We dont know if it did play any role. Heres the thing about divesting yourself from your organization or selling off your business before you get into office. The point of doing that is to of remove that question from the conversation. Exactly. That question does not exist because i dont have any interests. So the voter, the american public, knows that when i make Foreign Policy decisions i am to the doing so with the interests of my pocket. Im doing so with the interests of the american public. This is one of those occasions where that question comes up. And that question is not being adequately addressed. Donald trumps own party katy, as you know, no president has even approached the edge of the envelope on this. No. Nobody has tried to do this. Donald trumps that done it extremely aggressively. Donald trumps own party, the republicans, are not generally happy with this. At least some of them. Marco rubio has tweeted about it. Problem with zte isnt jobs and trade. National Security and espionage. Any telecomin china can be forced to act as tool of chinese espionage without any court order or review process. We are crazy to allow them to operate in the u. S. Without tighter restrictions. What about that aspect of it, the National Security aspect of it that marco rubio is raising . Well, its real and its generating pushback from both parties. Its not just jobs in china. Its also National Security considerations. I talked to two diplomats today who served in democratic and republican administrations who said they thought the initial Commerce Department sanctions on zte were too strong that they should not have barred u. S. Companies from serving as suppliers and shut down the firm in that way. But that just underscores the impulsive nature of the original action preceding the reversal. You need a wellconsidered policy process, make logical decisions that advance the broader principles you are pursuing and not just ad hoc arrangements that come up depending on the last person you talked to. John harwood of cnbc. Good to see you. That wraps things up for me this hour. I will be back at 5 00. Its monday, for mtp daily. Ali velshi joins us now. Im not sure if you caught the briefing. It was remarkable on the zte front and the israeli and palestinian front. Offering no condolences for the loss of life but backing into their corner when it comes to kelly sadler and the mccain story. This is a sorry about leaking as well. Why people in the white house want to leak about this white house. That is a story in itself. Why they feel like they should be doing it. More than anything else a simple apology for the insensitivity for a dying man. This is not the first time donald trump or his administration essentially gone after mccain. The first time it happened, jaws were on the floor. Lots of people dont like mccains positions he devoted much of his life to debating thing. You should be decent. People talk a lot. U