Transcripts For CNNW Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer 20180827

Who will be picked to hold it through 2020 . Understanding. President trump invited the world to watch him on a clumsy Conference Call with the president of mexico to announce a new trade deal. Mexico calls it an understanding and so far, canada is not in the mix. Will congress sign off on a new deal . Video game killing. A video game competition in florida turns deadly when a competitor opens fire, killing two and wounding dozens of others before killing himself. Its captured on live stream. Im wolf blitzer, you are in the situation room. Announcer this is cnn breaking news. Breaking news as americans mourn senator john mccain, the maverick republican leaves behind a farewell statement, urging them to live up to the nations ideals and not sink into tribal rivalries. President trump, who will not join his predecessors at the funeral, spent the day refusing to comment on the late senator. It wasnt until the 2 million wartime veterans of the American Legion demanded the president adhere to tradition and issue a terse statement saying he respects john mccains service and ordering flags to be flown at half staff. Ill speak with adam smith, correspondents and specialists are standing by with full coverage. As the rest of the nation honors the service and sacrifice of john mccain, President Trump kept a stoney silence, issuing a brief proclamation, but only under public pressure. Lets begin with jim acosta. Jim, the president cant get over a grudge. Thats right, wolf. President trump put his bitter feelings for john mccain on full view saying repeatedly in front of the cameras to say a kind word throughout the weekend and today, the flags were lowered to half staff, then raised again, overnight, this morning, then only to be lowered this afternoon as we all saw here at the white house, when mr. Trump issued the proclamation. It was painfully obvious the president was nursing a nasty grudge. Mr. President , any comment on john mccain, sir . Mr. President , why wont you call john mccain a hero, sir . Reporter the two words capable of hitting the mute button on President Trump, john mccain. At five different photoopes, the president was asked to comment on the late senator. And each time, mr. Trump greeted the question with stone faced silence. Make your way out. Reporter the president s harsh feelings for john mccain have been hard to miss, even in the days since the senator passed away. Mr. Trump posted a tweet, my deepest sympathies and respect go to the family of senator john mccain. Our hearts and prayers are with you. A longer statement was drafted, but not used. The flags at the white house brought to half staff were brought to full staff, then half staff in the afternoon. The president issued a statement brief, but ordering the flags half staff. Despite differences on policy and politics, i respect his service to our country. This came after the head of the American Legion released a statement saying on behalf of the wartime veterans, i strongly urge you to make a president ial proclamation noting his death and legacy of service to the nation. For mr. Trump, a continuation of assault on the former prisoner of war. Hes not a war hero. Hes a war hero because he was captured. I like people who werent captured. The bone spurs kept the president out of vietnam. One aspect that i will never, ever, is that we drafted the lowest income level of america and the highest income level found a doctor that would say that they had a bone spur. That is wrong. Reporter the president nursed a grudge against mccain for voting not to repeal obamacare. We had a gentleman late into the morning hours, go thumbs down. That was not a good thing he did. That was not a good thing for our people, our country, whether you are a democrat or republican. Reporter in a stark contrast with her father, ivanka trump praised mccain in a speech, calling him a hero. The nation is united in grief and the world mourns the loss of a true hero and great statesman. Reporter trump loyalists. The president put out a flowery statement, the media would criticize it saying its not consistent with things said in the past. Reporter it was a sign of the times for the gop as he claimed barack obama was not born in the u. S. , it was the senator who took the high road and told the truth. Hes an arab. He is not no . No, maam. No, maam. Reporter instead of taking time to praise mccain, the president phoned the leaders in mexico. I believe the president is on the phone. Enrique . Reporter the white house tried to change the subject, pointing to a trade deal with mexico, that is aimed at replacing nafta. I think nafta had a lot of bad con notations with the United States because it was a rip off. It was a horrible deal for our country. Reporter asked earlier in the day why more was not done for john mccain, they said the president did issue that tweet. The white house came to the realization the tweet was not enough. Make no mistake, the president and his team had every opportunity to get it right. It took 48 hours for the white house to do what could have been done saturday, issue a full, respectful statement honoring mccain in a statement that orders flags to be flown at half staff. This was not what john mccain deserved, he deserved better. Enormous pressure. Jim acosta, thanks very much. The senate convened without john mccain. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are mourning john mccain and recalling his service to the country. In a farewell statement, john mccain left behind a powerful message to the American People. Lets go live. Clearly emotional moments on capitol hill. Reporter extremely emotional moments, wolf. John mccain was a giant in the senate. We have heard comments and reaction for colleagues give tribute to them and will continue for some time. This, as the mccain family released details of his Memorial Services for the latter half of the week starting in phoenix on wednesday, coming in for ceremonies in washington, d. C. , then his final resting place in annapolis, maryland, where he will be buried on sunday. The legacy of senator, john mccain. Moral support. Really, thats what john mccain gave this body and this country, for so long. His memory will continue to give it. Reporter palpable in the halls of Congress Today from the makeshift memorial outside his Senate Office building to his desk on the senate floor. Ill miss how much fun he was and how much i learned from him. He leaves a big hole in my heart. Reporter mccains colleagues, friends and rivals, republicans and democrats remembering him for his service, his sacrifice and the tone and tenor he brought to washington. He never stopped trying to find ways to work with people, even if they had an opponents. More than anything else, it is how he will be remembered, someone who did the right thing for the right reasons, at the right times, even when it was difficult to do so. Reporter that sentiment from mccains final words, a farewell letter written by the senator revealed and read by his former campaign manager. Fellow americans, that association meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud american. We have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. Reporter to that point, a push from democratic senator, Chuck Schumer to remain the Senate Building in washington in his honor. I would like, decades from now, children to ask their parents, who was john mccain. They will explain his sacrifice, patriotism and fidelity to do the right thing as he sought. Reporter after being diagnosed with brain cancer, mccain started planning his own funeral, declaring how and by whom he want would to be memorialized by. President trump not attend any services. On wednesday, what would have been his 82nd birthday, mccain will lie in state in the Arizona State capitol building. There will be a service where biden will speak. Then mccains body will be flown one last time back to washington, where he will lie in state at the rotunda of the u. S. Capital friday. Two former rivals, george bush and barack obama will eulogize him. The week, coming to an end sunday, with a private service at the u. S. Naval academy in annapolis, maryland, where mccain will be buried. The final goodbye, leaving a legacy and unmeasurable void on capitol hill. Its tough to imagine the Senate Without it. Its tough to imagine politics without john mccain. But, we need to go on. Reporter to that point of having to move on, this leaves john Mccains Senate seat open. Arizonas governor says he will not name a successor until mccain is buried. The governor saying now is the time for remembering john mccain and his life that was so well lived. Wolf . Thank you. Joining us now, democratic congressman alan smith of washington state, a key member of the Armed Service committee, the top democrat, Ranking Member of the Armed Services committee. Congressman, thank you for joining us. You worked closely with senator mccain who headed up the senate. What are your thoughts on his legacy as a senator and a military Service Member . Well, the first thing that comes to mind is what he said in his farewell letter. That is his commitment to our country and commitment to public service. You know, we didnt agree on every issue. I dont think every republican agreed with him on every issue. If you had no doubt john mccain was trying to do what he thought was best for the country and understood you have to work with people you dont agree with. Something we need more of in politics. You are not going to find someone who agrees 100 with you on issues. John mccain understood that. He was willing to speak the truth, even when it wasnt in his best interest, necessarily. He was willing to work with people he disagreed with. I tell you what, there was no more passionate advocate for the issues he cared about. I got the privilege of negotiating the defense bill with him for five years. Four of us sitting in the room. When john mccain cared about something, you knew about it. He was passionate and informed. The biggest thing he cared about is the men and women in the military are taken care of and the defense contractors providing goods and services were held accountable to do that in the best, most Cost Effective way. He was tenacious about the issues. He certainly will be missed. Well said. What do you make of the way President Trump has handled the moment . Donald trump is a spectacularly petty human being. Of the many things that i am just appalled by in terms of the way he conducts the presidency, this is, perhaps, the greatest. Its the exact opposite of what john mccain personified. Look, john and i got in really, really heated arguments, which i remember meeting with the secretary of defense and how we had to fund the defense budget. At the time, they were talking doing the tax cut. I said you cant cut taxes by 2 trillion. John went ballistic about things, went back and forth. As we were walking out, he said sorry, i shouldnt have been so tough on you. Yeah, he was speaking out for what he cared about. Donald trump cares about one thing, thats the thing that looks back at him in the mirror in the morning. I heard republicans saying if he came out and praised mccain, people would call him a hypocrite. Look, this isnt hard. In public life, you always have people passing away who you disagreed with. Donald trump could have said, look, theres no secret john mccain and i had our differences, but i recognize a patriot when i see one and recognize someone who served this country. I didnt agree with everything he did, but his dedication to public service, service in vietnam, six years in a prisoner of war camp, you have to admire that. Our president cant get past his own pettiness to praise somebody who deserves it, even in that balanced way. You dont have to endorse their entire life to recognize what they did was right. In john mccain, theres plenty to praise in that regard. James inhofe told reporters senator mccain was partially to blame for the controversy over the lowering of the white house flag and mccain disagreed with the president in certain areas and wasnt too courteous about that. What is your reaction when you hear that criticism . Thats absurd. You know, john mccain always kept it about the issues, always kept it about what he disagreed with the president on. He disagreed with the president s approach to health care, so he stated it. Its the president who seems to always fall back on personal, petty attacks. That is one of the biggest things that is dividing this country. I have worked in Public Policy for a long time. There are people who, some dais, you are toetly tally on the opp side of the issue, then the next day, find something you can Work Together on. Thats what its about. I worked with senator inhofe and have a decent working relationship with him. The notion that because senator mccain disagreed with donald trump on policy issues, its okay for donald trump to ignore the fact that john mccain was a war hero and dedicated his life to public service. Look, we need leadership that brings us together and lifts us up. What we get is a string of insults that gets a second grader sent to the principals office. Congressman adam smith, thank you for joining us. Thank you, appreciate it, wolf. Colleagues from both sides of the aisle pay tribute to the late senator, john mccain. At the white house, it takes enormous pressure for President Trump to issue a turs proclamation and order flags lowered for the lawmaker. Stay with us. Tech at safelite autoglass, we really pride ourselves on making it easy for you to get your windshield fixed. With safelite, you can see exactly when well be there. Saving you time for what you love most. Kids whoa kids vo safelite repair, safelite replace breaking news, after defiantly refusing to answer questions about senator john mccain, President Trump, finally, under pressure, issued a statement expressing respect for senator mccains service to our country and signed a proclamation to fly u. S. Flags at half staff. The flag at the white house had been flying at full staff most of the day. Our analysts are here to weigh in. Admiral, i know you have thoughts about senator mccain and what he meant to the country. Its hard to overstate the significance he had on the military, not just the navy. The initiatives he helped push and prod and make better. I was in the navy 29 years, 1986 to 2018. There wasnt a single year of service that wasnt affected by john mccain on capitol hill. I understand he wrote a personal letter to your son, who is also in the navy. He did. My son joined the navy this year. So, several months ago, back in the winter, i thought it would be nice to give him advice by senator mccain. Everything he was going to with his staff, he took time to pen a letter to my son. I would like to read a little bit for you. Go ahead. As you may know, my father and grandfather served in the navy, great courage and tough acts to follow. They inspired me to have a cause greagter than my own. It was their leadership that encouraged me to work for other people. God blessed me with a company of heroes and it made all the difference in my life and closed with this. Be proud of your accomplishments. Never stop believing in yourself and, most importantly, you will find the most happiness in serving a cause greater than yourself. John mccain. Beautiful words. A real gentleman. Yeah. Im sure your son who is now serving in the navy appreciated what the senator wrote. You know, its been a rather contentious day, chris cillizza. The relationship john mccain had with the president was pretty ugly. The president in 2015 suggesting he wasnt a hero because he was captured, a p. O. W. Today, repeatedly, photoop after photoop, reporters tried to ask him what he felt about john mccain. Watch this. Mr. President , any mr. President , any thoughts on john mccain . Mr. President . Any thoughts on john mccain, sir . Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Do you have any thoughts at all on john mccain . Keep moving. Nothing at all about john mccain . Why wont you say anything about john mccain . Were finished. Mr. President , any comment on john mccain, sir . Mr. President , why wont you call john mccain a hero, sir . Could have been easy for him. He could have said hes a hero. Yeah. You know, theres a gracelessness there that i think is worth noting. This isnt about politics. John mccain and donald trump didnt see eyetoeye. Thats a fact. But, as an admiral, the letter he read speaks to, this is not really about what john mccain thought of donald trump. This is, in the end, what john mccain sacrificed for our country. Donald trump has repeatedly been unable to take the high road to understand theres a moral leadership role inherent in being the president of the United States that people like admiral kirby. His son, others who served, im sure kirby didnt agree with everything said about the military, but you honor the service. Right . Me, who never served, you honor the service because he has given so much for the country. This is not about what he said about you or who invited you. A president of the United States, in every case, up until now, has been able to say, this is about something bigger than myself. Im echoing john mccain here, but this is bigger than myself. This is about an office that is ultimately owned and controlled by the American People. We honor those who keep us safe. Its the easiest thing in the world to do, say john mccain and i didnt agree on everything, but my gosh, he served honorably. We are going to honor him to the extent, at the fullest extent we can. You cannot do this, theres a gracelessness there that we need more of in politics. We need more grace. Late in the day, under enormous pressure, the president issued a statement saying he was ordering the flags at half staff. It says the white house cant mourn properly. Its not that difficult. Chris is right. This is what the void feels like when you dont have a consoler in chief. You put your personal feelings aside. You put your own bickering aside and talk about the larger picture. What this person meant for the country. This isnt the first politician, by the way, of the same party john mccain had disagreements with. Remember when it came to torture and water boarding, the public disagreements john mccain had with president george w. Bush. George w. Bush finally had to come out. He gave in to john mccain and his demands that we do not torture in this country. When george w. Bush, by the way, will be delivering one of the people delivering one of the eulogies talked of john mccain as a hero, a patriot, with reverence. We dont hear that from this president. Its crucially important that we tell our children about what these people meant, what these heroes meant for this country. We hear from World Leaders in response to john mccains death, offering condolences. Who did we not hear from . Vladimir putin. John mccain said i see three letters when i look at Vladimir Putin, kgb. He is somebody trying to undermine this country. Look what we have heard from the president. President trump has spoken more highly of Vladimir Putin than he has of john mccain. I just think of this past year, since we have known about this diagnosis, this death wasnt a surprise. I think about all the heart ache, the unnecessary heart ache this white house, this president in particular put his family through in addressing issues about public spats, going out to rallies and demeaning him. So unnecessary and so childish. It really is telling when you read reports that white house insiders agree to be named. John kelly. Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying they disagreed with the statement the president gave out. They encouraged him to include the word hero. It shouldnt be difficult. We are all americans here. Trying to cover this as objectively as we can. At the same time, you have to call a person out for not mourning as a leader and teaching us to mourn somebody who meant so much to the country. Stand by. We are going to take a quick break. Much more on the tributes pouring in to senator john mccain, including at last from the president. I want to ask you about Something Else the president did today. He announced the new trade deal with mexico he says will replace nafta. New family connections, every day. Llion thats more ways to discover new relatives. People who share your dna. And maybe a whole lot more. Order your kit at ancestrydna. Com anncr as you grow older, your brain naturally begins to change which may cause trouble with recall. Learning from him is great. When i can keep up anncr thankfully, prevagen helps your brain and improves memory. Dads got all the answers. Anncr prevagen is now the numberoneselling brain Health Supplement in drug stores nationwide. She outsmarts me every single time. Checkmate you wanna play again . Anncr prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. When we switched our auto and home insurance. 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I know you want to weigh in on how the president handled this john mccain issue. A big legacy john mccain has with the Africanamerican Community is the way which he referenced and defended barack obama at the time in my home state of minnesota when he was attacked. It shows the candor he had of selfawareness, even if it came from his campaign, people were spouting about his opponent. He said it wont make me popular, but i will respond, nonetheless. The concession speech of john mccain following the loss, then president elect barack obama would have seen the need to restore america. Although they disagreed on many things, they had a diplomatic relationship. Thats what was missing in the discussion since the death with the president of the United States, a man with selfawareness and knew he, himself, made unpopular and wrong decisions, whether it be to keep up the con federal flag or against the Martin Luther king holiday. He had about faces the more he progressed and acknowledged that and should be rewarded in that respect as well. Amist this, the president called in reporters in the ovl office, announced he worked out a trade agreement with mexico to replace nafta. He hates nafta, its been a disaster for the United States. Canada is not involved at all. What is your analysis . It cant be nafta. Canada is not involved. You have three countries as part of this deal. We are still missing one. Its a partial deal. Once again, we see a norm thats broken with the president announcing a partial deal. Nothing is finished or written in stone or signed. In fact, with regard to nafta, we need to have canada as a signatory. This could be the president s attempt to put pressure on canada. For that to happen, you have two weeks, september 1st would be the deadline for canada to come on board with this deal. Look, going through some of the details, looks like they have been able to work out things related to the automobile industry, in particular, 75 of cars built in north america. They have increased wages for 40 of workers as well. So, a lot of the fine details we still dont know of. The president touting this, a bit too soon. At least as many other president s would have touted a deal. Its not a final deal, yet. As we know, this president is about bilateral deals, where he feels he is at his best and strongest. We have yet to hear from canada and whether or not they will come to the table. I want to shift gears. Roger stone, a confidant of the president saying hes about to be indicted by special counsel, Robert Mueller. He said Robert Mueller is coming after me, President Trumps personal attorney, Michael Cohen made a plea bargain after pressure. Im next on the special prosecutors hit list because i have advised him. Im targeted because the deep state liberals want to silence me and testify against my good friend, donald trump. The witch hunt continues. This is not the first time hes asked for money on attacks or what he perceived to be attacks on himself. He asked in november and earlier than that. The irony here is, i have never heard of somebody preparing to be indicted to release information and say, can you fund me. Oh, by the way, im innocent. Oh, by the way, my great friend, donald trump, and his Campaign Rhetoric about the witch hunt is what i would like to go with as well. It tells he is feeling all the walls are closing in on him. Andrew miller, subpoenaed, Kristin Stewart asked questions. He sees the writing on the wall. The question is whether the American People choose to support him. Know where the money is going and why. We are following more on breaking news, President Trump, after ignoring questions most of the day, finally issued a statement on the death of senator, john mccain. 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The governor will have to figure out if he can pick someone in the mccain libertarian camp or somebody who is more aligned with President Trump and that wing of the party. Arizona republicans here have become increasingly part of the trump Republican Party, much more difficult for someone like mccain to operate. I think, fair to say, no matter who is picked by the governor, it is going to upset one wing of the Republican Party or the other in arizona. Who are the contenders, miguel . Reporter there is a very, very deep bench of contenders. That is part of the problem the governor has. It could be cindy mccain, the senators wife. She has been with him and by his side so many years and knows arizona, politics and she is someone who is close to senator mccain like very much. There is a deep well of possibilities, from those who are protrump on the stateside or National Figure who is are retired. Wolf . Miguel marquez reporting from arizona. Thank you. Coming up, disturbing questions about a shooting at a video game tournament. Mom okay we need to get all your School Supplies today. School. Grade. Done. Done. Hit the Snooze Button and get low prices on School Supplies all summer long. Like this case of paper for only 29. 99 at office depot officemax. We really pride ourselves on making it easy for you tech at safelite autoglass, to get your windshield fixed. With safelite, you can see exactly when well be there. Saving you time for what you love most. Kids whoa kids vo safelite repair, safelite replace and if you get lost, just hit me on the old horn. Man toms my best friend, but ever since he bought a new house. Tom its a 10 cover . Oh, okay. Didnt see that on the website. Hes been acting more and more like his dad. Come on, guys jump in the waters fine tom pritchard. How we doin . Hi, there. Tom pritchard. Can we get a round of jalapeno poppers for me and the boys, please . Ive been saving a lot of money with progressive lately, so. Progressive cant protect you from becoming your parents. But we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. But we can protect your home and auto reon friday, sept 7th, tonijoin stand up to cancer for all the inspiration all the laughter kevin heart if you change one letter in cancer it becomes dancer, what . All the stars tom hanks keep this movement going strong. Every Network Every star kevin bacon dream big with us. One night to save lives get ready to see it all tune in live, september 7th 8 7 central tonight, we are learning new details about the shooting at a videogame tournament in florida. Authorities this afternoon said the gunman shot 12 people, killing two, before turning the gun on himself. Cnns brian todd joins us from jacksonville. What are the investigators saying, brian . Reporter tonight investigators say it was a deliberate attack, the shooter walked past other patrons at the restaurant to get to the gamers. Also getting new information from people that participated in this tournament about a possible motive. Gamers from around the country competing in an online video tournament. The announcers call is interrupted by gunfire. 22yearold Elijah Clayton was shot and killed playing. 27yearold Taylor Robertson died, and 10 others were injured. The shooter, 24yearold david cats was in town for the tournament. Police say he recently purchased two handguns legally in his home state of maryland. They say his targets were obvious. The suspect walked past patrons who were in other parts of the business, focused his attention on the gamers. Video Surveillance Footage from inside the restaurant clearly shows this is a single shooter incident and that the suspect took his own life after shooting the victims. Next thing you know, pop, pop, pop, pop. Reporter alex was shot in the foot. My first instinct was drop to the floor, get cover. I was in the fetal position underneath a table, next to some guy that also got shot, i dont remember his name exactly. I remember holding each others hands. Reporter he says he was known as a loner in the competitive yet close knit gaming community, and had lost recently to one of the gamers he killed, Elijah Clayton. He says the shooters appearance just before the attack was alarming. He wore the same outfit he wore the night before, had some sunglasses on, same exact thing he wore the day before, came back with that one look, you know, kind of just off, like something was going to happen eventually. We have a third semi finalist moving on, david katz. He was seen here competing after a win in 2017. I dont think of myself as a seven seed. I think personally im one of the better players. I like my game to prove that. Reporter gamers say the tournaments are intense, hypercompetitive, adrenaline rushes and trash talking are the norm. We want to win. Every drive matters, every tick on the clock matters. When theres a good play, we get adrenaline, want to scream lets go. When theres a bad play, we get effected. Reporter tonight theyre all trying to cope with the realization one of their own turned on them. We were all in the bathroom, people were calling their families, saying goodbyes. They were saying if you dont see me again i love you. Did you think you werent getting out of there, nick . I thought 100 we were dead. I thought he would load clip after clip, but he took his own life. I thought we were dead. Everybody did. Reporter both of those witnesses we spoke to, nick and alex, were visibly frustrated over what they called a horrible lack of security at the event. Unlike other gaming tournaments they have been involved with, there were no guards that they observed checking for weapons. A lot of people were allowed to move in and about the venue freely. We contacted the owner and sponsor of yesterdays event, ea sports for response to those assertions, havent heard back from them. I understand, brian, theres important new information from the shooters parents, is that right . Reporter right, wolf, the family is telling cnn according to a Law Enforcement source, telling cnn, that david katz suffered from Mental Health issues. This Law Enforcement source saying the family is being very cooperative with investigators. Sad, sad story. Brian todd reporting from jacksonville. Coming up, breaking news as the nation mourns senator john mccain. Takes enormous public pressure and scolding from 2 million veterans of the American Legion to get President Trump finally to issue a proclamation and order the white house flag lowered to half staff. gasp singsong budget meeting sweet. If you compare last quarter to this quarter. Various mmm. 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Oh, and happy birthday. Or retirement. In advance. So you have, your headphones, chair, new laptop, 24 7 tech support. Yep, thanks guys. I think he might need some support. Yes. Start them off right, with the School Supplies they need at low prices all summer long. Now save 150 on this dell notebook at office depot officemax. Breaking news. Grudging respect. The white house returns its flag to half staff as the president finally issues a formal statement on john mccains death thats still very short on praise. Mr. Trump clearly feeling the heat after being scolded by members of both parties and a leading veterans group. Replacing nafta . President trump says he is scrapping a trade agreement he loves to hate, announcing a tentative deal with mexico in an awkward phone call. Is he leaving congress out of the loop and canada in the lurch . And trump ally roger stone suggests he may be indicted by Robert Mueller soon in an urgent appeal for donations to his defense fund. What does stone know about the special counsels next move . Criminal plot. Kim jonguns regime resumes a wharf word war war of words. Has kim joined the ranks of people that turned on mr. Trump . We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I am wolf blitzer. Youre in the situation room. Snoelts