Transcripts For CNNW State Of The Union With Jake Tapper 20180318

Secretary of state and cia director could face confirmation fights. I will oppose both pompeos and haspels nominations. The president needs the team around him he feels most comfortable with. Might a republican tank trumps nominees . Senators rand paul and Lindsey Graham weigh in, ahead. And charging into the storm . President trumps Attorney Says a porn star might owe them millions of dollars for violating her nondisclosure agreement. But Stormy Daniels lawyer says his client is the one whos been violated. She was physically threatened. Might a lawsuit keep stormy silent . Hello. Im jake tapper in washington where the state of our union is waiting to see who might be fired next. It was a week of highprofile firings in washington that ended with exfbi deputy director, Andrew Mccabe, getting pushed out, after fbi disciplinary officials recommended his firing for leaking and for a lack of candor during its internal investigation. Mccabe disputes this and says he was a trump target after it became clear he would corroborate the testimony of former fbi director, james comey, in the Mueller Probe, as to whether the president president obstructed justice. President trump has seized on the firing to attack the special counsels investigation, tweeting late saturday, quote, the Mueller Probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime, unquote. In another deviation from president ial protocol, President Trump is celebrating mccabes firing, just two days before mccabes scheduled retirement, calling it a good day for democracy. According to a source briefed on the matter, mccabe has already been interviewed by the special counsels team, about the firing of james comey. Mccabe also handed over memos, detailing his own conversations with President Trump and what comey told him about his interactions with the president. In fact, just minutes ago, President Trump pushed back on that, tweeting, quote, spent very little time with Andrew Mccabe, but he never took notes when he was with me. I dont believe he made memos to help his own agenda, probably at a later date. Same with lying james comey. Can we call them fake memos . Unquote. Joining me now is jeff flake of arizona, a member of the Judiciary Committee. Senator, thanks for joining us. The president also just tweeted this. Quote, why does the mueller team have 13 hardened democrats, some big crooked hillary supporters, and zero republicans . Another dem recently added. Does anyone think this is fair . And yet there is no collusion. Obviously, the description he has of the mueller team is much disputed. He doesnt mention, for instance, that mueller is a republican. But beyond that, do you think that the president is laying the groundwork to fire mueller . Well, when the president said it was a great day for democracy yesterday, i think it was a horrible day for democracy. To have firings like this happening at the top, from the president and the attorney general does not speak well for whats going on. So i dont know what the designs are on mueller, but it seems to be building toward that. And i just hope it doesnt go there, because it cant. We cant, in congress, accept that. And so i would expect to see considerable pushback in the next couple of days and urging the president not to go there. He cant go there. So just to ask about the mccabe firing, attorney general sessions has said that the recommendation calm from the office of Inspector General and internally, and it wasnt he suggested it wasnt because of anything President Trump said. But, of course, there is this very politicized context, President Trump has been calling for mccabes firing for more than a year after the firing, he tweeted, as you note, it was a great day for democracy. Mccabe said in his statement, it was driven by the president , the office of the Inspector Generals focus on me became part of an unprecedented effort by the administration, driven by the president himself to remove me from my position, destroy my reputation, and possibly strip me of a pension that i worked 21 years to earn. So you are not buying the sessions explanation. You believe that he was fired because President Trump put pressure on the Justice Department to do so . Well, im certainly, like everyone else, waiting for the ig report to come out. And so i dont want to get too far ahead. But i can tell you it will come out. And we in congress have oversight in that regard. The Senate Judiciary committee will be looking into it. So i am just very surprised that the president would get so far ahead of this. And make the statements that hes made, because we will know. And i just im just puzzled by why the white house is going so hard at this. Other than theyre very afraid of what might come out. I dont know how you can have any other conclusion. The president s lawyer, john dowd, said in response to mccabes firing that the Justice Department should, quote, follow the brilliant and courageous example of the fbi office of professional responsibility and attorney general Jeff Sessions and bring an end to the alleged Russia Collusion Investigation manufactured by mccabes boss, james comey, unquote. Again, there are a lot of factual misstatements in there. But let me ask you. Youve already said, based on President Trumps suggesting the Mueller Probe should end, that you expect to see pushback. I dont know why you expect to see pushback, to be honest. Ive been watching congress now for the last year and with the exception of you and maybe ben sasse and john mccain, i havent seen a lot of pushback from republicans. Do you really think that Mitch Mcconnell and paul ryan will stand up and say, no, mr. President , you cant do this . I hope so. I mean, talking to my colleagues all along, it was, you know, once he goes after mueller, then well take action. I think that people see that as a massive red line that cant be crossed. So i hope that thats the case. And i would just hope that enough people would prevail on the president now, dont go there. Dont go there. We have confidence in mueller. I certainly do. And i think my colleagues do, as well. So i hope that the pushback is now to keep the president from going there. Lets turn now to Something Else that muellers looking into, which was covered in a bombshell report in the New York Times and another one in the guardian newspaper. The conservative data firm, Cambridge Analytica, which worked with the Trump Campaign in 2016, facebook is now accusing the company of fraudulently obtaining data from more than 50 million americans and then lying about it. We know mueller is looking into Cambridge Analytica as part of this investigation. What questions might you have about this issue, especially when it comes to russian interference in the election . Right, well, certainly, who knew what when . This is a big deal, when you have that amount of data and the privacy violations there are significant. So, the question is, who knew it . When did they know it . How long did this go on . And what happens to that data now . I guess theres some discrepancy as to whether or not its been expunged or given back. Or if its still held and being used. So that was a big report, significant reporting. Youve also said that youre actively considering whether or not youre going to challenge President Trump in 2020. Youve said you havent made a decision. Its not likely, but it is on the table. You just gave a speech at the famous politics and eggs breakfast in New Hampshire, which is obviously the first in the nation primary state. I understand youre not going to announce that youre running for president right now, but when do you think you might make a decision one way or the other . Well, all i can say is, i hope that somebody does challenge the president. I think that and what ive seen out there, what i experienced on friday in New Hampshire and what im seeing is that there is a crying need out there for some republicans to stand up and say, this is not normal, this is not right. We want republicans who will take higher ground. And to see whats going on right now, in terms of the chaos, and these actions that clearly are not conservative, on tariffs, and what not. So its not just the policies, but the behavior, as well. People want to remember the Republican Party as the decent party. And it is not right now and so what im seeing is theres a crying need for that. I dont know who will step up in the end. I hope somebody does. Im not ruling it out, but i certainly, i think the odds are long that i would do it. But just to be clear, its not necessarily because you think that this person, whether its you or john kasich or ben sasse or whomever, would be able to defeat the president. Its just the point of taking a moraled and principled stand, right . Well, certainly right now, nobody would defeat the president. But two years from now, we could have a completely different scenario. Nothing focuses the mind like a big election loss, and what might happen in the midterms is a big loss. Like charlie dent said, this is a fivealarm fire after what happened in pennsylvania, politically. And so, who knows what will happen. But it would be extremely difficult to defeat the president right now if the election were held in a republican primary. This is the trump party right now. I just am not sure that it will be two years from now. Senator jeff flake, republican of arizona, thank you, sir. We always appreciate your time. Thank you. A republican vowing to do everything in his power to block President Trumps nominees. Why is senator rand paul so angry . Hes here to tell us, next. Get outta my dreams get into my car get into my car get outta my dreams get in the backseat, baby get into my car beep, beep, yeah get outta my mind get outta my mind get into my life applebees to go. Order online and get 10 off 30. Now thats eatin good in the neighborhood. And get 10 off 30. We know that when youre tspending time with thelass grandkids. Music tech . Every minute counts. And you dont have time for a cracked windshield. Thats why at safelite, well show you exactly when well be there. With a replacement you can trust. All done sir. Grandpa looks great tech thanks for choosing safelite. Grandpa thank you child bye tech bye saving you time. 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These are dangerous appointments, unquote, with a slim majority in the senate and john mccain at home in arizona battling cancer, pauls opposition means President Trump might need democratic support to move his picks through congress. And senator rand paul of kentucky is joining us now. Senator, i want to talk about your opposition to President Trumps nominees in one sec. But first, the news that former fbi director mccabe has been fired, the president and his lawyer are both using this as an opportunity to talk about why they think the Mueller Investigation should be ended immediately. What would your response be if President Trump ordered the firing of mueller . Well, ive said all along, i dont like special prosecutors. They have too much power and too much power to go far afield of the question. I do think, though, that we have a problem and that the fbi and our intelligence agencies have become politicized. And even our Founding Fathers recognize that bias would be a real problem. Madison said that men are not angels. Thats why what ive been advocating for is a bigger reform for a bigger question. That is that no one should be left to their own devices. Mccabe, peter strzok, lisa page, they shouldnt be allowed to search databases on americans without first asking a judge. So this goes to a real reform question. Should individual agents who might be biased against President Trump or may be biased against hillary clinton, frankly, should they be able to use the apparatus, this powerful apparatus to politicize a process . This is a real problem. I think james comey started this when he went after hillary clinton, frankly. And now its turned its head and now theyre going after trump. Really, the fbi needs to stay out of political affairs. Do we want to be a banana republic, where every time someone leaves office, were prosecuting the people who leaves office. I think its a terrible thing and its really hurt the fbi and it started with james comey, frankly. Those are all cogent points, but quickly, would it bother you if the president ordered the firing of mueller . I wouldnt advocate for it, but i would have never advocated for the appointment of a special prosecutor. And people have asked me, should there be one for mccabe and peter strzok and lisa page . And i said, no, because i think what weve discovered, first when they went after bill clinton, now theyve gone after President Trump, that the prosecutor has too much power to do whatever they want. Theyre looking at peoples tax returns from 20 years ago. I really think that the power is so unlimited that its worrisome for the people on the receiving end. I think general flynn was treated unfairly. I think Andrew Mccabe did worse than general flynn, frankly. Andrew mccabe lied about doing something illegal. He leaked classified documents. General flynn apparently did not state the truth about something he did that was legal. So you wonder, how are we going to make this fair or just . Lets get to the new nominations by the president for cia director and secretary of state. You said youre going to do everything you can to block the nominations for mike pompeo for state and gina haspel for cia. What are your objections and what do you mean when you say, youll do everything in your power to block them . One of the things i like about trump is he continues to say the iraq war was a mistake. But when you say its a mistake, youre saying that regime change in the middle east leads often to unintended consequences. He keeps appointing people around him that love the iraq war so much, that theyre ready for a war with iran next. So i dont think you really want people who are eager for war to be running the state department. You want a diplomat. I frankly think that pompeos positions are too much of an advocate for regime change, really everywhere. North korea, iran, russia, you name it. And i think really, we need to see the world as it is. Doesnt mean we need to support what happens everywhere in the world. But i dont think our policy ought to be for regime change. And so i think pompeo really isnt a good fit to be a diplomat or to be the chief diplomat. With regard to haspel, i think that, you know, what america stands for is not torture, you know . Torture is the hallmark of totalitarianism. We should be that hope for the rest of the world that people who, you know, who want to resist totalitarianism, they want to be free from torture, they dont want to be free to torture. So i think that its inappropriate to put someone at the head of the cia that have so much power, power to assassinate, power to spy, power to collect all the data on everyone in the world, i dont think the person running that agency should be someone who ran a secret prison in thailand. Will you filibuster these nominations on the senate floor . Ill do whatever it takes, and that includes filibuster. I will try to make a point to the American People and maybe the American People will rise up and say, you know, we stand in solidarity with those who seek freedom from torture, not the freedom to torture. Its just inconsistent with who we are as a people, to have someone run our spy agency that has all of this enormous power, who is intimately involved with torture and from everything were reading, was supportive of the policy. So, no, i cant support that. And i will do everything i can, including filibuster. You know, filibuster doesnt stop anyone. The only way i could stop anyone is if we convinced enough senators. It would take a majority in this case to stop their appointment. But when you read the torture report that senator feinstein put forward, i wanted hope that she will stand up and say, enough is enough. Were not going to appointment people who made fun of the process and really, one of the worrisome something about gina haspel is, she was also involved with destroying the tapes. There were actually videotapes of trying to drown these people and torture them. And these videotapes were destroyed years later. So first she was involved with the waterboarding, and then years later, she was involved with destroying the tapes. Theres no way she should be running our spy agencies with all of their power. Heres the pushback youre going to get. Liz cheney of wyoming, the daughter of dick cheney tweeted saying, gina haspel has spent her career defending the American People and homeland, rand paul is defending and sympathizing with terrorists. Your response . You know, juvenile, but i think the cheneys, both father and daughter, could spend a lifetime trying to justify the thousands of soldiers, thousands of iraqis who died in the iraq war, which was an you be necessary war. Made the middle east less stable, emboldened iran, and really have been wrong about every Foreign Policy decision over the last four years. So i think when theyre done explaining why people had to die in iraq, why people had to be maimed in iraq and why it really made the situation worse, the cheneys can stand up and try to make other points about Foreign Policy, but until they prove they knew anything about the world, i think probably they ought to be quiet. Lets turn to what we learned on friday when facebook suspended Cambridge Analytica. It was revealed the group fraudly obtained private information from more than 50 million facebook users. Youve talked a lot about the need for privacy not only not government, but by corporations. Do you think that the American People can trust that these massive social Media Companies can safe gard the privacy . And if not, should there be regulation . Im very concerned about privacy, primarily from the government, because i think the government takes it from you unwillingly. The internet does trade information. If you order a pair of shoes line, those shoes will pop back up if you didnt pick them, or even if you did pick those shoes, youll get more shoes. Theres a certain amount of personal information, but its consistent with your agreements. We ought to be very, very careful about the government collecting that data from private entities. With regard to private entities, they can break the law, also. Im not sure about the specifics of this. But whether or not it broke the law, absolutely, the privacy of the American Consumer should be protected. Senator rand paul of kentucky, thank you so much, sir. Always good to see you. Thank you. Coming up, a very different perspective on haspel and pompeo. Trump ally and confidant senator Lindsey Graham is frustrated with senator pauls threat to politic the nominees and hes here to respond, coming up next. Stay with us. At t gives you more for your thing. Your metime thing. That sunday night date night with hbo allllllll night thing. That island without men or children would be nice to visit thing. Buy an at t unlimited plan, and get hbo included. More for your thing thats our thing. Where were changing withs . Contemporary makeovers. Then, use the ultimate power handshake, the upper hander with a double palm grab. Who has the upper hand now . Start winning today. Book now at lq. Com. Today, the new new york is ready for takeoff. Were invested in creating the worlds first stateoftheart drone testing facility in Central New York and the mohawk valley, which marks the start of our nations first 50mile unmanned flight corridor. And allows us to attract the worlds top drone talent. All across new york state, were building the new new york. 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If youd have told me three years ago that wed be downloading in seconds what used to take minutes. That guests would compliment our wifi. That we could Video Conference and do it like that snaps . If youd have told me that i could afford a gigspeed. A gigspeed network. Its like 20 times faster than what most people have. Id of said. Id of said youre dreaming. Dreaming definitely dreaming. Then again, dreaming is how i got this far. Now more businesses in more places can afford to dream gig. Comcast, building americas largest gigspeed network. Welcome back to state of the union. Im jake tapper. We just heard republican senator rand paul vowing to do everything in his power, including a filibuster, to block President Trumps nominees for secretary of state, mike pompeo, and leader of the cia, gina haspel. Joining us now is a republican senator with a very different take. Senator Lindsey Graham of south carolina. Hes a member of the Judiciary Committee. Senator, thanks for joining us. You just heard rand paul talking on why he opposes mike pompeo and gina haspel. Whats your response . I think hes an outlier, senator paul, certainly within the Republican Party. My response is that mike pompeo is a highly qualified person to be secretary of state. Number one in his class at west point, army officer, member of congress, cia director. Hes close to the president. He shares the president s world view that north korea is a dangerous threat to the homeland, that we need a better deal with iran, and i think he can do an outstanding job explaining to the world President Trumps Foreign Policy. Hes very much in the mainstream as a republican. Someone you would expect the republican to pick for this job. And he will get confirmed. 15 democrats voted for him for cia director, and these are dangerous times, jake. Were about to enter into negotiations with the north koreans and this president , like every other president , deserves to have a qualified cabinet, helping them navigate the dangerous times in which we live. So he will be confirmed. You addressed gina haspels nomination this week saying that waterboarding was a, quote, authorized program at the time. And if she makes clear that waterboarding is not legal now, that would be enough for you. Your close friend and colleague, senator john mccain, who obviously survived torture as a prisoner of war in vietnam, he has said he needs an explanation on your past. What do you say to your good friend about why the senate should look beyond her story . I think john is right. I believe that waterboarding was legal at the time. I helped write the treatment. At the time, the Bush Administration viewed it as an authorized interrogation technique. After the passage of the detainee treatment act, it is clearly not authorized and im looking for her to acknowledge that this behavior is no longer allowed and that she will adhere to the law, as it exists. She, again, is very highly qualified. Mr. Clapper supports her. Leon panetta supports her. Mr. Hayden supports her. She is excellent at what she does, but she will have to adhere to the law as it exists today. That will be the test for me. What about rand pauls objection that her name was on the cable ordering the destruction of the videotape evidence of the waterboarding. Does that concern you . Well, well look back and see what she did and what role she played. But im looking forward. At that time, the Bush Administration, i think, had the wrong view of the law, but the law is now very, very clear, thanks to senator mccain and others, and i will be looking for her to understand that the law has changed and she cannot engage in these interrogation techniques. I think it undercuts our national security, but in terms of her qualifications to me, theyre second to none. Attorney general Jeff Sessions fired former fbi director Andrew Mccabe on friday night, two days before he was set to retire and receive his pension. Mccabe says this was a politically motivated effort driven by the president himself. And though of course there was this Inspector General recommendation that he be fired. But President Trump was calling for the firing months ago. He celebrated it on twitter after it happened. Do you have any concern about the way that President Trump personally has politicized Andrew Mccabe . I think President Trump believes that hes been put upon by the fbi. He reads the texts between the two fbi agents in charge of the clinton email investigation, showing a bias against him and support former. And mr. Mccabe, the office of professional responsibility has recommendation that he be dismissed. But to the average american, i think we owe it to the average american to have a hearing in the Judiciary Committee where mr. Sessions, attorney general sessions comes forward, with whatever documentation he has about the firing and give mr. Mccabe a cans to defend himself. I believe when it comes to this issue, we need as much transparency as possible and make sure it wasnt politically motivated. Take a look at what the president s personal lawyer john dowd told cnn yesterday after mccabe was fired. Quote, speaking for myself, not the president , i pray that acting attorney general rosenstein will follow the brilliant and courageous example of the fbi office of professional responsibility and attorney general Jeff Sessions and bring an end to alleged Russia Collusion Investigation manufactured by james comey based on a fraudulent and corrupt dossier. Just end it on the merits in light of recent revelations. Obviously, theres a lot to fact check in there, but a lot of questionable assertions. But since then, the president has tweeted this morning and last night, questioning muellers team, saying that, quote, the Mueller Probe should never have been started. You have said in the past that if President Trump were to order the firing of special counsel mueller, that would, quote, be the end of trumps presidency. Are you worried or concerned at all that hes preparing to fire mueller . Let me be really clear about this. What mr. Mccabe did had absolutely nothing to do with the Mueller Investigation. The dossier, i think, was mishandled by the fbi. I think it was inappropriately used and presented to the fisa court. Thats a separate issue than the Mueller Investigation of the Trump Organization regarding russia. Theyre separate in time, theyre not connected in any way. The only reason mr. Mueller could ever be dismissed is for cause. I see no cause when it comes to mr. Mueller. He needs to be able to do his job independent of any political influence pip pledge to the American People, as a republican, to make sure that mr. Mueller can continue to do his job without any interference. I think hes doing a good job. And everything about mccabe and the fbi handling of the dossier has nothing to do with the russia investigation regarding mr. Mueller. Are you worried that the president is preparing to order the firing of mueller . It sure looks that way from his tweets. Well, as i said before, if he tried to do that, that would be the beginning of the end of his presidency. Because were a rule of law nation. What i saw at the fbi and the department of justice regarding the dossier really bothered me. It was a paid political document, unverified, used inappropriately by the court, the two fbi agents investigating. Clinton had a bias against trump in favor of clinton. All that needs to be looked at. Thats why i want a separate, Second Special counsel. But when it comes to mr. Mueller, he is following the evidence where it takes him and i think its very important he be allowed to do his job, without interference. And there are many republicans who share my view. In addition to russias recent nerve agent attack in great britain, we also learned this week that russia has targeted American Power grids. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders on thursday, did not take a stand when asked at a briefing whether Vladimir Putin was a friend or a foe. Is Vladimir Putin putin a friend or foe . Oh, hes an enemy of democracy. This is why i want pompeo to be secretary of state. Mike understands russia isnts an enemy of democracy. Mike understands that the north Korean Nuclear program can never be allowed to mature to hit the American Homeland with a nucleartipped icbm. He understands that the Iran Nuclear Deal is a terrible deal in its current construct. You cannot argue that mike pompeo is out of the mainstream when it comes to somebody that a republican president would pick to be secretary of state. So mike gets russia. And i would urge the administration, particularly President Trump, to sanction more people. This first round is good, but their inner circle Members Around putin, oligarch types around him, that need to be sanctioned, because russia is on the move throughout the world. And we need to push back more aggressively. And i think pompeo would do that. All right, senator Lindsey Graham, republican of south carolina, its always good to see you, sir. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you. A blue wave rising . Democrats feeling good about their chances in midterms. Could even Top Republicans be danger . Thats next. The fastest samsung ever demands tmobile, the Fastest Network ever. Right now get the new Samsung Galaxy s9 for half off. Pepsoriasis does that. It was tough getting out there on stage. I wanted to be clear. 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Pg e prunes and removes over a Million Trees every year to ensure that hazardous trees cant impact power lines. And since the onset of the drought weve doubled our efforts. I grew up in the forests out in this area and honestly its heartbreaking to see all these trees dying. What guides me is ensuring that the public is going to be safer and that these forests can be sustained and enjoyed by the community in the future. We just had a special election on tuesday. And all of this continuing chaos and drama that were seeing with the tillerson firing, the mccabe firing, Stormy Daniels, all this stuff. This is having an impact on republicans downballot. If people didnt get the message on tuesday, i hope they get it now. Thats republican congressman charlie dent of pennsylvania, issuing a warning to his fellow republicans about the special election on the other side of his state, the western part of it, where in pennsylvania 18, Democrat Conor Lamb appears poised to become the next congressman from a very, very solidly conservative district. Lets talk about it all with the panel. Senator santorum, you used to represent pennsylvania 18. It looked a little different, it was shaped a little differently, but you know those voters. Are you concerned . And i know understand conor lamb didnt run as a liberal democrat. He ran as a moderate or conservative democrat. But are you concerned that this does indicate something about a potential democratic blue wave for the midterms . Theres no question about it. If there wasnt a wave out there, as good a candidate as conor lamb was, he wouldnt have won that district. The thing that donald trump does and has done and i think will continue to do, if he continues to do what he did today, is really energize the other side. All of these tweets, all of this personality stuff that were seeing, just really pumping up the other side. And on our side, you know, personally the president went in there and i think the president helped him. I think the president going in the weekend before got our side a little bit more energized. But he cant do that in 48 congressional districts a week before the election. Hes got to continue deliver for the republican base. And i believe personally the biggest thing is health care. The fact that the republicans in congress are thinking of propping up obamacare and putting more money into obamacare will be another death well of enthusiasm on the right and more energy on the left. Let me ask you, because conor lamb, he didnt run as a progressive democrat. He ran as union democrat, but appeared with an ar15 in a commercial. He said he was not going to vote for nancy pelosi to be the democratic leader. Are you concerned as a progressive, that there will be too many conor lambs running . Too many conservative democrats, which could upset your hopes for a Progressive Agenda . Yeah, i hope the dems dont go that way. Certainly, conor lamb had some things that progressives would like, but the ar15, that kind of stuff, especially in the midst of whats going on in this country with the parkland shooting is really an uncomfortable position to be in. But progressives, by and large, and when the senators say health care, i think well disagree on that, to the extent that i do agree that medicare is thing, so i dont think that nationally it is in the best interest of democrats to run more centrist. They need to run aggressively progressive. You are on the ballot coming up, congressman. Are you concerned about a blue wave coming . Youre in a traditionally democratic state. Well, i think history suggests that the midterm year for a president s party is always difficult. So as the old saying goes, theres only two ways to run, unopposed or scared. So i think all republicans should take what happened in pennsylvania, also in the state senate race in wisconsin, and learn some lessons from it. I also think we would do well to do two things. One, see if we can recruit 9 11generation veterans on the conservative side to run. I think they have an opportunity to transcend certain parts of the divides. And also, to just do our job. Just lock us in the house and senate floor until we get some of this stuff done. Thats that i hear more than anything else in my district. We want you to stop tweeting, stop yelling at each other, just do your job, keep the country safe, keep the economy moving, do your job. Do you think nancy pelosi is a drag on democrats . She can be. I think that shes somebody who doesnt get nearly enough credit for making health care law. And thats a reality. At the same time, if you talk to democrats on the hill, theres a Movement Among 30somethings on the hill, among newer members who want new leadership at some point. Does that mean they want new leadership in november . Its a little bit unclear. But i think that is coming. So i think the question is, is she going to do that on her own terms . And the bigger question is probably, whos going to challenge her . Which is what would also keep her in leadership, in her position, because nobody is going to challenge her. Theres infighting within the democratic party. I want to turn to the mccabe and the mueller debate going on right now. After a tweet from President Trump, calling the day that mccabe was fired a great day for democracy, the former cia director, john brennan, responded on twitter, tweeting, quote, when the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude and political corruption becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history. You may scapegoat andy mccabe, but you will not destroy america. America will triumph over you. This is what i was just talking about. Donald trump just really energizes the other side. Because he makes everything personal about him. Instead of looking at what happened, the process within the fbi, that recommended that he get fired. Had the president just simply stepped back, let the process get out there, let the evidence of mccabe get out there, that he should have been fired, then you have no issue. There will be issue, people will scream that he shouldnt have been fired, but it wouldnt have looked political and it wouldnt have looked like it was about donald trump. He injects himself, get the other side fired up, and what does it do to our side . Maybe the hardcore base likes it, but our side is like, why is he doing this . Its energizing their side and depressing our side. We should point out the Inspector General who recommended the actions against Andrew Mccabe was appointed during the obama years. When you see a tweet like this from brennan, i have to ask you, jen, at a time when all these republicans are saying, look at how politicized the Intelligence Community was during the obama years against trump, this is exhibit a for them. First of all, john brennan is hardly a cardcarrying democrat. I think most people who worked with him and know him would assume hes a republican. He served for decades in the cia, served for decades in government. And hes someone, i think, who looked at this. I havent talked to him about this. But my guess is, looked at this firing of mccabe and said, you know what . Enough is enough. This is going after the Law Enforcement agencies, this is going after men and women who have served for decades. And im just not going to stand by. And so, it stands out for that reason. Because hes somebody who goes out and marches or protests or goes on television all the time. This was the case where it stood out for his language and i think he thought, enough is enough with the firing. I want to get to one other thing in the news, which we havent had the chance to talk about on the show. Hillary clinton appeared in india and he was asked about some of the reasons why donald trump won. Heres a brief excerpt of her remarks. So i won the places that are optimistic, diverse, dynamic, moving forward. And his whole campaign, make America Great again, was looking backwards. You know, you didnt like black people getting rights, you dont like women, you know, getting jobs, you dont want to see that Indian American succeeding more than you are. Whatever your problem is, im going to solve it. Whats your response when you hear her talking, saying that . Well, my state is one of those states. So in defense of ohio, that voted twice for president obama in 2008 and 2012, the quintessential swing state, no republican has ever won the presidency without us. And president obama won my state. So it was very hurtful to lump all ohioans and all people in politics, we should not criticize the voters. The onus is on the person that is running for office. And just to do that just continues to divide and malign people. What do you think . I think its rare for nina and i to agree wholeheartedly on something, but i agree. To suggest that the people of wisconsin are somehow backwards or on the wrong side of history, it not only misreads history, but it misreads the present moment. But i knocked on this one door gave my whole spiel, mike gallagher, running for office, and this lady says, im not voting for you, im not voting for republicans, and i said, im sorry for your time, ill leave. And she said, but i am voting for donald trump, because hes going to shake things up. That disgust with the status quo i think animated donald trump and bernie sanders. Clinton fundamentally misreads the moment. You want to weigh in . We looked very closely at what happened post election. I think i said on your show before, there are counties and states like ohio and in iowa where there was a massive flip from supporting obama to supporting hillary clinton. And that just doesnt justify what she said. It doesnt validate, i guess i should say, what she said. There were a lot of dynamics in the race, no question, but i dont think you can blame it entirely you shouldnt be blaming it on the electorate and there was a larger issue with the campaign, how it was run, and frankly her candidacy. Thanks one and all for being here. I know you want to weigh in here, but i have to cut to commercial break. Its march madness in the white house. Who will be out next . Who will make it to the final four . And always keep an eye on the spoilers. Thats the subject of this weeks state of the cartoonian. By whole blends. A caring formula. Blended with oat milk and rice cream extracts. Intensive moisture for hair. Without the weigh down. Only from whole blends. Garnier. We know that when youre tspending time with thelass grandkids. Music tech . Every minute counts. And you dont have time for a cracked windshield. Thats why at safelite, well show you exactly when well be there. With a replacement you can trust. All done sir. 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Ill stand by you, so if youre mad, get mad, dont hold it all inside, come on and talk to me now. Hey, what you got to hide . Mvo its a calling to the nation of how great we are and how great we can be. Im alive like you. When youre standing at the cross roads, and dont know which path to choose, let me come along, cause even if youre wrong ill stand by you. Ill stand by you. Wont let nobody hurt you. Ill stand by you. Even in your darkest hour, and i will never desert you. Ill stand by you. At t gives you more for your thing. Your metime thing. That sunday night date night with hbo allllllll night thing. That island without men or children would be nice to visit thing. Buy an at t unlimited plan, and get hbo included. More for your thing thats our thing. Welcome back on march madness. Unpredictable, tensionfilled, and the stunning upset leaves to a top pick ousted. Some are placing bets on who will be the next to go, and thats the subject of this weeks state of cartoonion. Its march madness in the white house. The chaos league versus the russia league. Who will emerge victorious . He is a stonecold loser. When you choke, you can never give a choker a second chance. This rounds loser is Rex Tillerson beat out at the buzzer by trump loyalist mike pompeo. I have worked with mike pompeo now for quite some time. Tremendous energy. Were always on the same wavelength. Who else might be on the bubble . Some say it looks as though h. R. Mcmaster will be able to find a way out of this round. We have a bunch of losers. They are losers. Might Jeff Sessions be ejected . Im disappointed with the attorney general, but we will see what happens. Time will tell. Is chief of staff john kelly the ringer the president thought he was . Is this more fun than the basketball game . Madness, its madness. Whoever youre backing, it looks like the final contest will be a russia showdown. There is no collusion. Although keep in mind, march madness we want winners now. Please welcome Stormy Daniels. And surprises always emerge. President trump shocked leaders around the world surprised by the firing of his secretary of state. Will he have better luck with someone who shares his view . Thats next. How do you win at business . Stay at laquinta. Where were changing with contemporary makeovers. Then, use the ultimate power handshake, the upper hander with a double palm grab. Who has the upper hand now . Start winning today. Book now at lq. Com. [seen it. Covered it. N. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum nadia white the moment a fish is pulled out from the water, its a race against time. And keeping it in the right conditions is the best way to get that fish to your plate safely. dane chauvel sometimes the product arrives, and the cold chain has been interrupted, and we need to be able to identify where in the cold chain that occurred. tom villa we took our world class network, and we developed devices to track environmental conditions. This device allows people to understand whats happening with the location, but also if its too hot, if its too cold, if its been dropped. Its completely unique. dennis woloshuck if you have a sensor that can keep track of your product, it keeps everybody kind of honest that way. Who knew a tiny sensor could help keep the food chain safe . your heart doesnt only belong to you. Child bye, grandpa and if you have Heart Failure, entrusting your heart to entresto may help. Entresto is a Heart Failure medicine that helps improve your hearts ability to pump blood to the body. In the largest Heart Failure study ever, entresto was proven superior at helping people stay alive and out of the hospital compared to a leading Heart Failure medicine. Dont take entresto if pregnant. It can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. Dont take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if youve had angioedema with an ace or arb. The most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. Ask your doctor about entresto. And help make more tomorrows possible. Entresto, for Heart Failure. This is gps, the Global Public square. Welcome to all of you in the United States and around the world. Im Fareed Zakaria coming to you live from london today. On todays show, a secretary of state fired. A poisoned spy and the kremlin holds elections. First up, the american secretary of state gets fired via twitter. What does Rex Tillersons departure mean for america and the world . Then, a poisoning in britain sets on a Major International incident with russia