Thats the best people. I want to begin by discussing and focussing on the other president ial double talk we saw today about background checks for gun buyers. After the Mass Shootings in el paso and dayton, the president was talking about meaningful background checks. Confirmation hes not looking at background checks. Well be joined by a reporter of details the president may have fully caved a phone conversation with the head of the nra. Its not the first time hes done this. He did this after parkland, exactly the same thing saying hed stand up to the nra and quickly shrinking down. It was just nine days ago after the latest shootings he said he favored, quote, intelligent background checks and said, quote, this isnt a question of nra, republican or democrat. He told reporters he did not buy the National Rifle associations main argument against new legislation it was a slippery slope. You know, its a slippery slope. They think youll prove one thing and that leads to a lot of bad things. I dont agree with it. I think we can do meaningful, very meaningful background checks. I want to see it happen. Okay. Hes a man of action. He doesnt buy the nra slippery slope argument, no way. He wants something done. We can do very meaningful background checks he said. I want to see it happen. He won the news cycle august 9th. He was engaged and would do something, thats what the chyron said. Now that 11 days have passed, hes heard from the nra and people arent as riled up. The president is singing a very different tune. The people a lot of the people that put me where i am, are strong believers in the second amendment. And i am also. And we have to be very careful about that. They call it the slippery slope and all of a sudden, everything gets taken away. We wont let that happen. So in the space of a week and a half, all of a sudden, he is very concerned about the slippery slope, where something gets taken away although i think what hes really referring what might be taken away is what he talked about at the beginning of the sentence, the people who got him where he is. Thats what this is about for him. The house and the senate are on vacation but the nra are clearly on the job. Remember when the president made fun of congressional leaders to their face saying they were afraid of the nra but the president was and he would take the heat after parkland, thats what he said. He said he would take the heat after the shutdown. He would own it. Its double talk. The words spoken by the president of the United States, do they have any meaning . It doesnt seem like they do. Well have more on how the president went from mouthing off about standing up to the nra to mouthing a talking point. Joining us now a elaina, staff writer for the atlantic. Pivotal moment. According to your reporting, President Trump and wayne la pierre, the head of the nra talked on the phone today. What have you learned about that conversation . Thats right. They spoke on the phone earlier today and the first point i would make is that trump actually made this call himself. This was not wayne la pierre trying to schedule time with the leader of the free world. This was trump himself wanting to reach out to the head of the nra. So once they were connected, i am told by somebody briefed on the call who actually heard the tail end of it that trump was pretty unequivocal and not interested in pursuing expanded background checks and that instead he wanted to focus all of his energies now on focussing on funding for Mental Health reform, and prosecuting gun crimes across the country at the federal level. So as those clips you showed just, you know, revealed to your viewers, weve gone from parroting the idea the slippery slope argument is bad and very meaningful back ground checks are on the horizon to trump assuring wayne la pierre this is not something the group needs to worry about. He was telegraphing this i think yesterday on the tarmac where he was talking suddenly about, you know, there is a very strong background check already and now clearly then fascinated he was the one to reach out to Wayne Lapierre today. The white house is telling cnn background checks arent off the table, which i mean, again, this is the same white house that said they werent looking into cutting payroll taxes last night and of course, the president said of course, yeah, we are. So again, i actually, i mean, it really is getting to the point i feel like you just have to put everything they say in a box and just let it stew there for a little while and then wait to see who contradicts it the next day. This wasnt the first conversation they had had over the course of the last few weeks, right . Right. Both Wayne Lapierre and his top lieutenants have been in contact with either the president or his aids almost daily over the last two weeks. So this has been a pretty concerted effort on their part. Its interesting even in spite of all of the internal strife taking place within the organization right now, you know, you have Board Members resigning, leadership shakeups, they are still very much, you know, on the front lines when it comes to this and having the president s ear. In fact, im told that Wayne Lapierre even considered going up to bedminster, where the president was on vacation the last ten days, but the scheduling didnt work out. I mean, that really, anderson is showing how close they are. Contradictory what he said to members of congress mocking them for being afraid of the nra and reporting what the president seemed to have been most interested in about all this, which was a televised ceremony in the rose garden . Correct. Im told that ivanka trump right in the aftermath of the el paso and dayton shootings decided that perhaps the way to get her father to be on board for expanded background checks was to say, you know, if you support this, then we get a bill signed, we could have a really lavish rose garden ceremony for it. These are the kinds of strategies you have to float to this president to pique his interest. And he was in fact quite interested but then he got on the phone with Wayne Lapierre, the first of many calls that would come over the next two weeks. And Wayne Lapierre, im told, put the president on mute and looked at the person next to him and said is he serious . And took the president off mute and then said, you know, im sorry mr. President but thats not going to work and trump said ill over you cover, can you give it all on background checks. Putting in very plain language, this is the president of the United States asking the leader of the gun lobby what they would be willing to give on background checks and not the other way around. I mean, i just if i can, i want to whatever you im not sure what you can say but i want to ask about your sourcing. They said they heard the conversation between the president and lapierre . Correct. Your source was briefed . Correct. Thats fascinating. Thank you, appreciate it. Thank you, anderson. Joining us is somebody that confronted President Trump and had ever reason to. This is the mayor of dayton, ohio, and who the president attacked after visiting the wounded city. The last time you were on the program, you accused the president of being a coward. Is there any light of that especially in the reporting we heard . Not really, anderson. I cant say im very much surprised. I was hoping that the president was a man of action instead of a man of talk and, you know, the people of dayton when this happened on sunday night, you know, shouted to the governor, who is a republican, to do something, not say something. The governor is responding. Our congressman is responding with an assault supporting an assault weapon ban but unfortunately, were not seeing that action out of the leader in washington. Yeah, i mean, you spoke last time you were on the to gram program, about wanting action from washington. It does i mean, i assume it seems to you that the president is more concerned about the nra wants than what the residents of dayton wants. Its kind of its not unbelievable to me, its all too believable but this would be the exact same play he did after parkland, you know, talking about background checks when people are upset and furious and mourning and then when he thinks attention is sort of faded and, you know, more people are whispering in his ear, he just does a back flip on it. Right. I mean, i think thats the reason why dayton was the 250th site for a shooting, mass shooting this year. Hes counting on the people that happened in cities across the country they will forget, and that he can just talk away instead of seeing action. I think the difference is were starting to see support from republicans like governor around these meaningful efforts and stays. But not surprisingly, unfortunately, we just dont see that in washington and its disappointing. I think, you know, im not super surprised because this is what he does whenever a shooting happens. You always hope as a mayor, youre the city that will break free for meaningful common sense gun legislation. I cant say im surprised he would act any different today ton than any other city. You think one wants the president of the United States words to mean something, if anybodys words should mean something it should be the president of the United States. It is at the point now where weve had enough time to assess and see that the words he speaks dont really have much meaning, you know, you have to kind of track it over time and see where truth really ends up. The fact that he seems more focused on a rose garden ceremony and that that was something that ivanka trump is using as a hook to kind of get him onboard, thats stunning. Its just sad frankly, anderson. 90 of americans want background checks. The majority of his party want background checks. The majority of the americans want something on assault weapons and certainly, every city, every community thats gone through what my community has gone through wants action. And this president is one that just likes to talk and, you know, make sure that the people that have out sized power in washington get the voice instead of the voice of the people and thats what is really sad about this. Appreciate your time tonight. Thank you. Uhhuh thank you. Next, more president ial words that really dont mean much on the state of the economy and what the president is saying hes doing about it. Were keeping them honest. Democratic president ial candidate Julian Castro joins us who would do best against President Trump and some words from jill biden. Well talk electability and more ahead. And the industrys first true zero Expense Ratio index funds offered directly to investors. Plus, we have Fidelity Mutual funds with zero minimum investment. How many other firms give you this much value . 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Linzess treats adults with ibs with constipation or chronic constipation. Linzess is not a laxative, it works differently. It helps relieve belly pain and lets you have more frequent and complete bowel movements. Do not give linzess to children less than 6, and it should not be given to children 6 to less than 18, it may harm them. Do not take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. Get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain, especially with bloody or black stools. The most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. If its severe, stop taking linzess and call your doctor right away. Other side effects include gas, stomach area pain, and swelling. Im still doing it all. The water. The exercise. The fiber. And i said yesss to linzess for help with belly pain and recurring constipation. Ask your doctor. My Car Insurance to geico. This is how it made me feel. It was like that feeling when you pull your green sock out of the dryer and then the very next sock is the other green one. And then you pull out two blue ones. And you keep going till youve matched every single sock in perfect order. And the owner of the laundromat is so impressed, he hangs a picture of you next to the dryer. Geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on Car Insurance. There is no issue more central than the state of the economy how the president is handling it. For days concern is centered on what many economists see as a sign the recession could be coming. The president have been telling the fears the media is intentionally trying to create a recession or hasten one. Three sources confirmed the white house it held early discussions about a possible payroll tax cut that would indicate they are concerned ability the economy. The white house denied it to us. The president was asked directly if he and advisors were talking about cutting payroll taxes and here is how he answered. So were talking about indexing and always looking at the capital gain stacks, payroll tax. Were looking at i would love to do something on capital gains, were talking about that. So there is confirming what his an mid station, at least some members were denying to us last night in addition to that he called on the fed to significantly cut interest rates, in order, between that and the tax cuts, the president called for just the kind of measures would one take the economy is slowing down, something top advisors have been going on the v and denying for days. Just this morning one of the president s spokes people hogan gidley was denying payroll taxes were being discussed but actually admitted it seconds later in the same interview. Its not being considered at this time but hes looking at options to give back the hardearned money they made. If there were to be a temporary payroll tax to be considered, what might draw the conclusion there is a need to stimulate the economy the white house and president is still on very strong ground . First of all, there is a payroll tax cut, not a payroll tax because were looking to give people back hardearned money and thats what the conversation was about. I was in the meeting yesterday. We talked about all types of options. Thats what the conversation was about, he said. The conversation he said had taken place about concerns the white house denies having and that is incredible. More now on this with former obama Senior AdvisorDavid Axelrod and commentator and cnn political analyst kirsten powers. Kirsten, i mean, i guess for me the question is should at this point anyone believe out right anything that comes out of the white house because it just seems like every day there is an example of they say something, they deny something and the president cuts them off of the needs. Yeah, well, i think the short answer is no, i dont think you can believe it and i think that the president was given way too much credit for a looming economy. Thats my opinion. The economy has not actually been as looming or stable as the white house has led people to believe and there is a lot of concern among economists, we may be heading for a recession. There was a survey three out of four of the nations Top Economists said they are fearful were headed for a recession and the thing they named as being the biggest problem is the president s trade war so it is the president as behavior that has helped hasten a recession many were worried about and i think that clearly they are concerned about it or they wouldnt be talking about a payroll tax cut. Yeah, david, i also just want to play something that the president said today, which frankly, you know, has also made headlines about Jewish Voters, americans, after talib and omar hit israel and jewish people, i want to play what he said then. I think any jewish people that vote for a democrat, i think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty. I mean, this is the president of the United States essentially saying either you support me or you are, you know, ignore rant or uninformed or disloyal, im not sure to whom, to your faith, to america which brings up antissemitic tropes which have always been used. Im the son of a jewish immigrant who fled tropes like that when he came, he and his family came to america and has terrible meaning to many, many Jewish Americans and, you know, the president may think that he can bully Jewish Voters into his corner by