Coverage of national and international news, including breaking stories. In the white house. The first lady if President Trump would hammer his successes and tweet less about lebron and this off stuff, it would allow people to focus on what hes done and his administration have done well. Thats called an unforced error. The president is once again putting focus on that Trump Tower Meeting, potentially complicating legal matters for his son over the high level sitdown donald trump junior, jared kushner, and then Campaign Chair in his second week of his trial, Paul Manafort had with a kremlin linked lawyer and alleged Russian Intelligence Agency an oligarchs representative and an interpreter. Whats wrong with that . Well, lets look at the shifting story from the white house and the campaign. The New York Times first broke the news of the Trump Tower Meeting more than a year after it happened. Donald trump then released a
you, adoption is really about the Magnitsky Act and that takes you back to sanctions. So it was never about russian babies. As questions increased about the nature of the meeting the president s son voluntarily tweeted out screen shots of his emails. Emails that made it very clear the offer was on information on clinton, and the source was part of, quote, the russian governments support for mr. Trump. Last week at a rally in pennsylvania, the president of the United States told those Rally Attendees some children that russia did not want him to win, its bad for russia. Well, there you have it right there. Not only did putin two weeks ago in helsinki say he wanted trump to win. Don junior said it in an email. The next week sean spicer gave the administrations position. There was nothing farce we know that would lead anyone to believe that there was anything except for a discussion about an adoption and the Magnitsky Act. President tweeted this over the weekend. This was a meeting to get information on an opponent. Totally legal. And done all the time in politics. That would be true if you ignore the fact that this was a hostile Foreign Government that was trying to attack our elections. In various statements put out by both donald trump junior and the white house turned out to be lies. Heres what i want to know. Why . If the president of the United States and his campaign did absolutely nothing, why does the president and his son and the president s lawyer continue to change their storys . One said over time the facts developed. Facts do not develop, sir. Facts are facts. Joining me now White House Reporter robert acosta, and mimi. Rob, donald trump was on a radio show that said this is a media
narrative. Nothing ever changes. Put this in perspective why its a big deal. You have the court of Public Opinion that doesnt change, but in Robert Muellers eyes, how is this different . Because Robert Mueller didnt say anything over the weekend. The president did. Because you have a president weighing in on an active investigation. The president is talking about the meeting with don junior and the russian lawyers in 2016 as we just discussed. The original response from the administration was that there was nothing to see here. There was about adoptions. The president eventually changed his story. So did donald trump junior. Whats interesting about the timing of the president s tweets in response in a sense to the washington posts story about the ongoing scrutiny of this moment in 2016 is that the president has to make a decision soon. Will he sit down with federal prosecutors and talk act that exchange on Air Force One . Will he talk about his knowledge of the meeting with federal investigators . More than a tweet . Thats the interview decision laying before him. So the president And Don Junior Have changed their story,
false Air Force One statement we now know was dictated by the president , there were already ongoing fbi and congressional investigations. Now, lying to the public isnt a crime, but i think if you put it in the broader context, it can be seen as part of a broader effort to mislead investigators. Okay. Then, bob, What In The World is the white house strategy here . It clearly is a violation. And we see the white house change their story over and over. Is the game plan here my wife is about to catch me cheating on her, so why dont i just get out in front and announce it and say its no big deal . With this white house, stephanie, theres the white house, the administration, and then theres President Trump. Based on my conversations with the fshofficials and friends ofe president , its really the president alone talking with mayor, Rudy Giuliani but its not. Its him and don junior. Don junior is on the hook, and the president wasnt answering the press badgering him with questions. He went out there voluntarily. Don junior just went on a radio show voluntarily. It reflects the isolation of the group. This is not so much about Sarah Huckabee sanders, is she going to get questions, but you nailed it. Its jay, giuliani, the family and the personal legal team. Theyre navigating the waters together. Then what comes of this . Because, yes, if theyre speaking among themselves that theyre all out to dinner smoking cigars, they could say this doesnt matter. To a lot it doesnt, but does it matter to bob mueller . Bob mueller probably knew what trump tweeted before trump tweeted it. Its all of us saying wow, look what he just admitted on twitter. He obstructs justice on twitter and now just made a big admission. Thats stunning but mueller knew what that meeting was about. I think a lot of us inferred it. Mueller, im sure has facts. Evidence. Witness testimony what thats about. So but yes, its still a big deal. By trump saying this c by him
saying this is what the meeting was about, it takes away any possible argument or defense they might have had. As crazy as we all might have already thought it was. They cant make that. And prosecutors love to be able to Say Something is indisputable. It now is. Bob, is the president testing the American People . Its not bob costa thats going to push the president out of office. Its the republicanrun congress. And if Congress Takes a look at the country and they dont seem to mind if theyre not pushing back, if the president , again and again lies and changes his story, are the Mitch Mcconnell and paul ryans of the world checking to see how the American People feel about it and thats whats important to the president . Because if the American People say its no big deal, he could be in the clear, as absurd as that sounds. It comes back to the point. It comes up again and again in the reporting. Theres a president in the administration. Think about last week. The administration comes out to the white house lectern and
talks about russian interference on thursday. Hours later the president is talking about the russia hoax. And so you have a president that really is testing the limits of how far can we go and publicly discredit Robert Mueller and his investigators mowing the mid knowing the midterms are around the corner. This is a complicated story. Thank you both. Its always awkward when i do an interview and another network is behind them. Ill say thank you for msnbc being on the screen. He says his tariffs will force other countries to pay down our national debt. For facts sake, thats not what tariffs do. Next, how tariffs actually work, and who actually pays. The first person to survive Alzheimers Disease is out there. And the Alzheimers Association is going to make it happen by funding scientific breakthroughs,
advancing public policy, and providing local support to those living with the disease and their caregivers. But we wont get there without you. Join the fight with the Alzheimers Association. Countries, mr. President. Its a tax on u. S. Suppliers and manufacturers that rely on imported parts to make the goods we consume. Ultimately, u. S. Consumers pay for those tariffs. But that is not all. The president went onto claim because of the tariffs well be able to pay down the large amounts of 21 trillion in debt except the revenue isnt enough to pay down the debt. The president imposed tariffs on about 85 billion worth of foreign goods amounting to 21 billion raised through duties. That is. 1 of our 21 trillion debt. A drop in the bucket. Let us not forget about his proposed aid to u. S. Farmers. That bill will likely cost 12 billion. More than half the revenues from imposed tariffs thus far. He cannot help himself in the last tweet blaming president obama for our ongoing ballooning
national debt. But the government has added about 1. 6 trillion to the debt balance since trump took office. Lets see. 21 billion in revenue from tariffs. Less the 12 billion farmers leaving just 9 billion. Nowhere near enough revenue to make even the slightest dent in our debt. Maybe im missing something. Lets bring in some experts. John harwood and josh boke. When we go out and speak to farmers and speak to Factory Workers who could be losing their jobs, weve heard over again, theyre saying you know what . Weve had trade issues for years. Were glad the president is taking this issue on. Maybe its going to hurt us in the shortterm. Maybe well be collateral damage. Well accept that. Are we getting it wrong . First, steph, youre not
missing anything. This is an economic gibberish argument the president s making, and to the extent that people who are on the short end of the stick economically from that argument are nevertheless embracing what the president s doing, that is a Leap Of Faith theyre making for somebody they see as an ally on other issues, and sort of their trust theyre trusting he has their best interest at heart. If you talk to economists, nobody thinks theyre going to come out ahead through the policies which, in fact, are going to be destructive to the american economy, and destructive to many of the people who voted for donald trump. Gosh, all right. Well, josh, i want to ask you about your story from the ap. From last may to this may, 58. 5 of job gains were in counties that voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. And its a similar story when it comes to job losses. 35. 45 of trump counties lost jobs compared with 19. 2 of clinton counties. What does this mean . It means when voters are making decisions, theyre not factoring in the economy the way the president talks. They like his rhetoric on tariff and taxes. But a lot of his most loyal voters arent seeing their daily lived improved. When we spoke to voters, they say theyre more motivated by culture issues like guns and immigration. And Foreign Trade is one of the rare Economic Issues that plays to those cultural aspects. The fact is that the president has not transformed the economy as he claims. Most of the jobs are still going to large urban centers in the United States. Those are democratic places that are not likely to reward the president this november. So, john, the economic climate that helped elect President Trump that coastal cities supported Hillary Clinton, the Income Inequality divide is what pushed
propelled trump forward. To joshs point, if cultural issues like immigration are Hot Button Issues, immigration takes us back to jobs and the jobs issue and the wage issue doesnt get resolved by cracking down on immigration. There are Jobs Available in this country, and americans dont want them because they dont pay enough. There are Small Businesses having to shut down because they cannot get Foreign Workers because they cant get the approva approvals. How does immigration remain a Hot Button Issue for trump counties when it doesnt solve anything for them . Well, thats a question that democratic politicians ask all the time. But remember, in 2016 i dont think it was actually, stephanie, the jobs issue that got trump the votes he needed in those crucial rust belt states that got him into the white house. It was if you look at analyses of the trump coalition, it was significantly issues connected
to race. The same ones that josh is talking about in the reporting that hes done about the economic consequences. Hillary clinton carried counties that generate twothirds of the Economic Activity in the United States. So if the economy is boosted by trump tax cuts which in the shortterm it may be, that is likely to generate jobs disproportionately in the democratic areas, but when the president talks about the wall with mexico, about crime among immigrants when he goes after African American athletes, he is touching racially sensitive cords that appeal to many of those con College White voters who he depended onto get elected and theyre not responding principally to economic incentive. Theyre responding to cultural ones as josh indicated. Oftentimes the Cross Cultural ones come from a place of hopelessness and come from a place of joblessness, and there are Jobs Available. Josh, i want to ask you before we go, obviously the united
states is a massively important Trading Partner but were seeing other countries create Trade Treaties and partnerships without the United States. We know that the president has already offered a 12 billion aid package to some farmers. But farmers arent the only ones who suffer here. If theyve got an 12 billion bailout, how slippery is the slope for loads of other industries who are impacted by this to knock on the front door of the white house and say please, sir, i need some help . There is a Moral Hazard Risk at flay how were dealing with trade. I would take us all the way back to the 1912 election of Woodrow Wilson who ran on getting rid of tariffs to address Income Inequality because the tariffs preferenced Certain Industries and effectively served as a tax on the middle class. After his victory, thats how we got the income tax to reduce the tariffs. And the real, real fundamental
issue is if the government starts playing preferences in who gets help and who doesnt, youre going to exacerbate a lot of the problems and feelings of unfairness driving voters. Yesmegentlemen, its my goaly day in this hour to get smarter. You did that for me. Thanks, guys. Thank you. Appreciate it. Next, President Trump attacking king james. Lebron james, im talking act. But the first lady is not siding with her husband. She is supporting lebron james. Were calling out the rift in the first family and why the president is attacking lebron james in the first place. And remember, First Lady Melania Trump was not doing a press conference. She volunteered that statement on a weekend. Youre watching msnbc. To look at me now,
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