We hop this will result in a different pathway. Vice president mike pence denies vehemently hes thinking about a 2020 run himself. Vice president pence is a very loyal, very dutiful but also incredibly effective Vice President. And tick, tick, tick. It is day 200. From the comey firing to blink and you missed him, scaramucci, what in the world has been going on . No. No. We have got to begin this morning with the u. S. And more than a dozen other countries racing against the clock trying to force north korea to give up its pursuit of Nuclear Weapons before those weapons are actually unleashed. And youre in luck, because we have the best team in the business here. Nbcs bill nealy live in the southern philippines where secretary of state Rex Tillerson is meeting with his asian koump counterparts. What exactly is the secretary of state hoping to get out of all this . Reporter well, stephanie, good morning. The first astonishing thin i have to say is that Rex Tillerson is a double noshow, not only did he not attend the summit dinner last ninth circuit, he hasnt actually attended the main meeting of those Foreign Ministers, 27 nations gathered here. Hes doing it in bilaterals so hes meeting the Russian Foreign minister, the Chinese Foreign minister, the south Korean Foreign minister, but today he obviously chose not to be in the same room as the north Korean Foreign minister. E pretty astonishing. Whats he trying to do . Pile the pressure on north korea. Rallying those 25 other countries to try to force the one country, north korea, to stop its missile testing. Two longrange missile tests this year, and stop its nuclear testing, two Nuclear Tests last year. These are talks about talks. On the sidelines, there have been hints, how could these talks take place. What are the preconditions . What signals should each country send perhaps that it wants talks . Heres what Rex Tillerson had to say about that. The best signal that north korea could give us that theyre prepared to talk would be to stop these missile launches. They can demonstrate theyre ready to sit with a spirit of finding a way of forwarding these talks by no longer conducting these missile tests. So this is not give me 30 days and were ready to talk. Its not quite that simple. Reporter well, the north korean moern minister was at that gathering and he had a typically defiant response. He said he wanted and indeed north korea was ready to give the u. S. A severe lesson if it threatened to take military action. He also said north korea would retaliate against those very severe u. N. Sanctions that were passed and passed unanimously, hitting north koreas exports. And he said north korea would never put its Nuclear Weapons or its miss ls on a negotiating table. He said theres no bigger mistake than the u. S. Believing its land is safe across the ocean. Now, obviously, a lot of those things north korea has said before, defiant threats, and yet as this crisis grows in intensity, those menacing words become even more problematic. Stephanie . But so do sanctions. So, yes, these are menacing words. We of heard them time and again from kim jongun. Could these sanctions make a difference, hitting them where it hurts . Well, actually, Rex Tillerson addressed that very question today, saying it wasnt clear whether they would bite in time to prevent north korea developing missiles that could reach the United States. But they are the most severe sanctions yet. Remember, they were passed unanimously, so china, north koreas only ally, also agreeing, russia agreeing, a billion pounds worth of north korean exports being banned, basically, especially coal exports. North koreas economy, stephanie, as you know is pretty fragile already, so this will undoubtedly hit it hard. But i think possibly the most significant thing was a dressing down that china gave very publicly to the north Korean Foreign minister, so the north koreans are under no doubt that even its one friend china is at least publicly turning against it and that it is very isolated. All right, bill. I want to bring in my panel. David rothcop, former rosey edeh or the of Foreign Policy magazine. Shelby hollidaholliday. And crystal ball, author of reversing the apocalypse. David, this is extraordinary. If you think about this, experts have said the last missile test from north korea could theoretically hit the United States. How much time do we really have here . Well, i think we only have months. I think it will soon be very clear to everybody in the United States, possibly within the year, that north korea will have the ability to deliver a Nuclear Weapon that would hit a major Population Center in the United States. When you think about it, thats probably the most destabilizing event thats happened in Global Security since the end of the cold war. And honestly say that one more time. Because so many people who go i just care about my paycheck, my health care, dont realize how important this is. Well, i can say it again, that its the most destabilizing event thats happened in u. S. National security since the end of the cold war. But let me emphasize, we are no closer to stopping that threat today than we were last week. There have been seven settles of sanctions against north korea over the years. We dont stop them. I dont think kim jongun wasnt as to give up these weapons because the last person he saw give up weapons like this was moammar cada k gadhafi, who is dead. Nikki haley getting the u. N. Security council to vote. That Means Nothing to kim jongun . It means something, it means a little bit, but i think the economic pressure is minimal. If china put pressure on north korea, that would have an e fact. But over the First Six Months of this year, as this crisis has escalated, chinese exports to north korea have gone up, not down. The chinese have shown no appetite for really turning the screws on north korea. And without them doing it, we will get nowhere. In terms of economics, these sanctions would hurt north koreas exports in a big way. But does kim jongun actually care . Hes certainly not going to starve and hes got no problems starving his own people. Exactly. Will they matter . We of done this seven times before. Countries that basically control every aspect of life, like north korea, they dont care, because they can buck these sanctions, shrug them off. They will continue to develop Nuclear Weapons. Its symbolic that russia and china are on board here. But economically, does kim jongun care . No. So we will see what the pressure means. I also think its interesting that south korea is a little bit stressed out right now because of the rhetoric coming out of the u. S. And we have lindsey graham, for example, going on television saying if theres a war, its going to happen over there. If people die, its going the happen over there. They dont want a war on the korean peninsula, so what are your options at this point . Do you allow this man to continue his belligerent talk . But now its backed up by dangerous weapons. Can you allow that to continue or do you start ramping up the pressure . Nobody wants a war. Where is this going and do sanctions ever matter . Nobody wants a war, but can we get inside the mind of kim jongun for a moment, this is the brattiest of boys on the planet and his and those missiles are his toys. Yeah. No. I think thats exactly the right way to look at it. Just to underscore here what shelby and david and you are pointing out, when we talk about economic sanctions and kim jongun not caring, what that means, and what we have seen over years is that this is a regime that will allow their people to suffer and starve and die rather than give up their status as an International Pride and give up the pursuit of these weapons. I think politically as we look at this, to the extent that this win at the Security Council is significant and more than similar pollic in having russia and china on board, thats important, it underscores the fact that President Trumps rhetoric on the campaign trail of this go it alone, unilateral approach doesnt work. This is really an acknowledgment that we do need the world, we cant be the sole superpower and not have close allies and not have close friends. So i really give u. N. Ambassador nikki haley a lot of credit for the work that shes put in there. And she is really taken a path much different from what President Trump has laid down at least rhetorically. Then talk far moment about a tweet you put out this weekend, a sarcastic tweet, because you mentioned south korea. Completely depending their future on President Trump. They need President Trump. You didnt mean that. No, i didnt. President trump has established himself in the minds of World Leaders in a few ways. Hes liar. Hes undependable. He doesnt know what hes doing. He doesnt control really whats going on in his administration. He doesnt read up on the issues. And he is cowed by bullies from putin to the middle east. And so, you know, when south korea sees that, they have to be worried. But, you know, im going to add another level of worry to this. I was talking to some people from the Clinton Administration. I served in the Clinton Administration from their Defense Department t in the mid1990s. They faced a crisis like this. And these lib ram, thoughtful democrats looked at the situation and the risk of north korea getting Nuclear Weapons and they said, you know, we ought to go to war. We ought to g to war even if the casualties are several hundred thousand casualties in the korean peninsula. These were democrats in the 90s. So you have to recognize that there are a lot of people who are not screaming rightwing maniacs who recognize the threat of north korea with Nuclear Weapons, the ability of kim jongun to push a button and eliminate a city in the United States is so grave that really dire measures may be e seasonial. Chicago, denver, los angeles. Were not just talking about missiles in the ocean at this point. But i would say the question whether or not President Trump understands that the economic sanctions wont do the trick. He seems to be trying to speak to china say, you should cut them off economically, its on you to deal with north korea, and at the end of the tay, as weve been talking about, its not about economic sanctions necessarily. This is where general kelly comes into play and i think gives a lot of people confidence. We interviewed leon panetta last week and he said theres crisis that could bubble over any minute and having someone with Foreign Policy experience, a marine, whos trained to think and act globally, could be helpful if you give him the opportunity to lead. We of been hearing that for months and the president himself said early on, i defer to my generals. And do you remember where the generals were . Was it on vacation . A week ago, two weeks ago, when the president decided to tweet out on a wednesday morning, lets talk transgender ban in the military . So the question is will the president actually empower his leadership to and look at the president s twitter storm this mornirn morn. Where is chavp kelief of staff . That hasnt changed. The president is out of control. On top of that, if you ask the people that sefshged with kelly when he was the commander at southern command, they would say respectable guy, has sacrificed a lot for his country, and not really very good at Foreign Policy. He understands the gravity of the commander in chiefs decision so, if he can get in trumps ear and say you cant tweet that and heres why good luck with that. We have to take a quick break. It sounds like general kelly is about to be spending the next two weeks in bedminster i would guess after this mornings tweets. Next, after President Trump issues a warning to Robert Muellers investigation, Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein says, well, the special counsel is free to investigate whatever he needs to. Dear President Trump, your businesses are part of your past. But first, remember last week . Two organizations, two, apologized for President Trumps speeches. Well, if youre looking to book mr. Trump at your next event, john olver has a warning for you. Im obviously not sure why the boy scouts are so upset. If you book trump, you get trump. You cant book gallagher and suddenly complain when you get covered in melon juice. If youre not familiar with his act by now, its kind of on you. Before fibromyalgia, i was a doer. I was active. Then the chronic, widespread pain drained my energy. My doctor said moving more helps ease fibromyalgia pain. She also prescribed lyrica. Fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of overactive nerves. Lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. Woman for some, lyrica can significantly relieve fibromyalgia pain and improve function, so i feel better. Lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. Tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. Or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. Common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. Dont drink alcohol while taking lyrica. Dont drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. Those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. With less pain, i can be more active. Ask your doctor about lyrica. The special counsel is subject to the rules and regulations of the department of justice. We dont engain in fishing expeditions. In the course of his investigation of the issues he is looking at, if he finds evidence of a crime, can he look at that . Chris, if he finds evidence of a crime thats within the scope of what director and mueller have agreed is the appropriate scope of this investigation, then he can. Then he can. Did you hear that, President Trump . That is Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein making it crystal cheer that bob mueller can follow the russia inquiry wherever it leads, i. E. , follow the money if thats where it goes, as long as it remains within the, quote, appropriate scope of the investigation. And i want to bring in mike allen, cofounder and executive editor of the one and only daily must read, axios, and my superstar panel, Shelby Holliday and crystal ball. Mike, is this Rod Rosenstein with a shot across the bow back at President Trump who just a few weeks ago said it is a red line for me, i do not want to see this investigation touch my Family Businesses or anything like that . Well, youre exactly right, and of course this isnt the president s red line to draw when special counsel mueller was announced, there was a clear statement that it was russia involvement in the elections and related matters. And as muellers Impressive Team starts to pull on the threads of the sweater, the money, as you point out, is a very natural place to go. Its connected to all these questions that have been raised. Its the means and the motive for some of this. And of course this is very much what the president and the people around him, you can mostly say the president s men, really fear, because they were in new York Real Estate. You know new York Real Estate better than anyone. Its hard to come out of new York Real Estate, as my mother would say, smelling like a rose. Michael, ive fot to tell you, to that exact point, you know, those who have known President Trump in business for years, even those who supported him on the campaign trail, i met with after the election said i dont want to get a white houseappointed job. Pruch, if he get taos dprif with the Intelligence Community or others, hes led a pretty tricky business. Axiios points out this morning the white house is changing its defense strategy, dropping the talk about firing bob mueller. Balon baloney. General kelly could soften this up, but that is an absolute joke. President trump is not changing his view. Already back to his old tricks on twitter calling the russia investigation a ruse, a hoax. R of the dream team legal force here. Youre right. In axios this morning, my newsletter, we say be smart. The president s legal team and his spokespeople can say anything they want but at the end what will matter is what trump says and hes shown hes willing to change on a dime with a win or with a tweet. What the story points out is that