Us. President trump working phones today in advance of a big trip including his first facetoface with vladimir putin. Trying to predict President Trump is a fools errand. I have to assume a lot of discussion about syria, very important. Hopefully a reference to the situation in ukraine, also pretty dire. I have very little confidence that the president will bring up the russian attack on our Voting System last november. More on that in a moment. Congress home for the fourth of july but talks on a Senate Obamacare replacement deal continue, and, yes, its complicated. I mean, the bill is just being lit up like a Christmas Tree full of billion dollar ornaments and its not repeal. We dont repeal the regulations. We dont repeal the subsidies. And the president adds a body slam to his war on the media and in a style he calls modern day president ial. Hes the most genuine president and the most nonpolitician president that weve seen in my lifetime and hes demonstrated, whatever the content of that particular tweet is or any tweet, demonstrated a genuine ability to communicate to the people. Thats one take. With us to share reporting and insights, from the washington post, and from the new york times, and 538 and from the daily beast. Consistency, not a trump trademark. Abandoned promises. Including, yes, golfing. He put himself front and center at a big rose garden sell brace of the House Health Care plan and found out what was in it and calmed it mean. One constant, war an the media and turning up the volume. This saturday night at what was supposed to be a tribute to do veterans. The fake media is trying to intense us, but we will not let them. Because the people know the truth. The fake media tried to stop us from going to the white house, but im president and theyre not. And then this sunday morning whats going to happen . Oh, my god the president calls such things modern day president ial. Whatever you call it, we should not be surprised. This president sometimes switches positions on policy in the same speech, but the media whining is his gospel. Spelled out by his chief strategist the media here is the Opposition Party steve bannon told the new york times. They dont understand this country. There we are on monday heading into july 4th. We should not be surprised and i think sometimes people in our business get overly whiney about it. I totally agree. Whines about us. The president whines about us, we whine back, but this is clearly a political strategy. Clearly designed to keep his base locked in. What else is it . I totally agree we shouldnt whine back. Cover him for what he is and the fact that it does not get him five more senate votes. There is no obscure senate rule that says if you have a good tweet content, you get five more votes. The fact is that all the attacks on the Fake News Media dont move Shelley Moore capito, susan collins, dean heller. Their still nos on health care. Nothing else matters right now. The obsession he tweeted, i get we have to cover it but it doesnt change the fact his agenda is stalled and thats the really story in this presidency. Thinking this is a vat strategy but impulse move you could say maybe. Maybe to rile up his base. Saber rattling for a 2018 race but not working. He particularly does not seem purchase turns ter tuperturbed by that. And policy matters away from that because were discussing this, but not even aimed at the dean hellers of the world but the media generally. At one point took aim at their own party in the commercials against heller. The second complained they yank the ads off the air. Mostly its complaining about the media but not aimed to actually moving senate votes, which is the whole issue now. Showing his people. The president goes to a veterans event, lashing out at the media. The president sunday morning, a lot of people going to church, posts a tweet and lashes out at the media. The staff complains were complaining what the president said and did. Really extraordinary. That said, we have to give him credit for being consistent on the media. All over the board on Everything Else but trade, but when it comes to bashing reporters, hes extremely thorough and consistent. That said, this isnt new to his time at president. For his entire career hes been aware of the power, influence role the media playing in the american political and cultural conversation, watches cable news from the white house the way a tv executive watches. Pays attention to chyrons, pays attention to graphics. Keeps an eye on hair and makeup. How the visuals look. Not just the way a typical tv viewer watches tv. Part of the reason his tweets get him in trouble is hes live tweeting the shows hes watchings when he digs himself into the biggest holes like the joe and mika thing last week, it wasnt about policy or congress but cable news. Something i think is crucial to understanding his presidency, that it goes back years and years to his life, his career, as a voracious consumer of television media. My concern is not about the media as such but the war at times the white house has had on independent facts and independent ideas. Like the fact theyre bashing the cbo constantly is basically like the media know theres no kind of objective reality in the world, and theyre constantly fighting. And then i am concerned about, cnn a part of trying to create and show what is reality in our culture. He beats up on news organizations. And maybe we dont give enough credit for executive actions taken, but he promised a wall, Congress Wont pay for the wall. Promised to repeal obamacare. Easy. Were almost six months in, very hard. Go on and on with the list. Do that. Another network he doesnt criticize when they interview him, ask, sir, were confused. Are you excellent or extraordinary . Lets get into the part of this debate. Republican congressman scott taylor, i think has a good take here. Says the president knows how to drive the content, the conversations on television, he wants it to be about him. I think you guys are getting played, man. Every time he does this, you guys overreact and i say, you guys, i mean the media in general. Overreact and play into his hands. I dont think any american, most americans, excuse me, certainly some, maybe, but most americans out there believe hes incite violence from a wwf clip. I want to pick up on the last part. A comment if you looked at social media, was the president inciting, encouraging, giving a green light to vile ens against journalism. I dont take it that way although i think you certainly can. Anyone watching serm can. Knowing this president s history as you mentioned, i took it as something else. More of his way of punching, not a physical way. Heres the led of council, only a matter of time before shun actually does it. Suspect this in erdogans turkey, not the United States. Mike kaufman, swaying district in colorado, republican congressman but a swing district, a tough district. He tweeted yesterday, exactly what i meant when i said, stop the twitter tantrums. Those republican members of congress worry about this from a if trump is not all that popular in their districts, they worry it poisons the water back home. Which is potentially does. For some of these people trying tonot necessarily catering to an electric all trump republicans and need to worry about that. I mean, its it may not be a total inciting to violence but certainly something in between making it okay, palatable. Making it a normal part of the conversation thif the president s doing it. Not going as far as saying go beat up the media, certainly a it does tell you this white house has a vat strategy. Should not be surprised. Sometimes the president do more to reach out to democrats. Reach out to democrats. They decided they got elected on the base and keeping that. When the president gets mad at us when we raise the questions, the American People have questions about his temperament. Intelligence, yes . Six in ten of americans say intelligent. Good leadership skills . No. Honest, no. Level headed, almost twothirds of the American People. A lot of republicans saying, no, their president is not level headed. I suspect this poll was taken last week. I suspect tweets like the body slam dont help. Go ahead. I think level headed, though, can be in cases code for insider establishment boring, and trump ran on a platform to shake things up. Dramatic actions. Yob usually for most its a negative to be considered not level headed. For a lot of Trump Supporters they like that hes very brash. They like that hes willing to buck norms. I mean, if you look at trump reddit for instance, thrilled we tweeted that wwe video. For context, important to remember the things most republicans, most politicians, try to avoid, trump embraces and sometimes makes work for him. Hes saying its a political the attack on the media is part of his brand. Im not convinced republicans love this either. The number i say, approve many rating of republicans in the low 80s. Usually first year of your term, your own people in your own party are in the 90s. 95s. Suggests to me as a political strategy, not the best one. Probably in his first year, elected in a controversial way george w. Bush was but tried to broaden out and get numbers up in the first term, maybe win a second term. Not sure trump is pursuing a strategy thats that smart, even if it is a strategy. Deliberate from day one, undermine the credibility of any organization that might question the president. Question his strategy, question his policies. Put up a scorecard that says obamacare is still the law of the land. Havent built the wall, so an and so forth. Listen to republican senator ben sasse on state of the union with jake tapper. The president has every right to complain about coverage he doesnt like, but i mean, theres an important distinction between bad stories or crappy coverage and the right that citizens have to argue about that, and complain about that. And trying to weaponize distrust. Weaponize distrust. Interesting way to put it in the sense that the president does not want his bases specially to trust people who are critical of him. He says everything critical, any poll critical, fake news. Report thats critical, fake news, despite the fact its based on fact. Yeah. How you in part keep your base. By trying to delegitimize the mainstream press. If you look, as i did yesterday, at the front pages of major papers across the country, what they were focused on. It wasnt trumps tweets. It was medicaid and health care broadly. And, john, to your point, this is why trump wants to create this dynamic with the media. Because if his supporters dont believe those stories about folks losing health care coverage, or folks losing medicaid, then i i think that the assumption is that his party will suffer less at polls next year, if folks dont believe that. The problem, though, is, if people dont have coverage next year, it doesnt matter what he does or doesnt say. Their lived reality. It wont be fake policy if they cut back medicaid, change health insurance, real life. Not fake policy. Sit tight. Likens debates to solving a rubiks cube. If only it were that easy. Minutes old. A babys skin is never more delicate. What do hospitals use to wash and protect it . Johnsons® the number 1 choices in hospitals. You can use whipped topping made. But real joyful moments. Are shared over the real cream in reddiwip. Reddiwip. Share the joy. [woman] we did it. [man] were campers. Look at us. Look at us. Its so nice to get out of the city. Its so. Quiet. Is it, too quiet . Its awful. Yeah. Feel at home, pretty much wherever you are. Tmobile is americas best unlimited network. Megans smile is getting a lot because she uses act® mouthwash. Act® strengthens enamel, protects teeth from harmful acids, and helps prevent cavities. Go beyond brushing with act®. Welcome back. So how are the Senate RepublicanHealth Care Negotiations going . Well, depends who you ask. The white houses appointment with Congress Says things are getting close. Senate majority leader says still working to find 50 votes for one big bill to repeal and replace, but conservatives not impressed. I dont think were getting anywhere with the bill we have. Were at an impasse. Every time you add more federal money, more spending for the Big Government republicans, it offends the conservatives. Right now this bill, which is not a repeal, has become the kitchen sink. Now, if conservatives like rand paul had their way, two steps. One vote on repeal and then debate on replace. Sometimes when you lump too many things into one piece of legislation, you doom its likelihood of success. And i fear that might be where we are today. Cnns Phil Mattingly on capitol hill with more on the process and the substance debates. Hey, phil. Reporter john, look, on the process, the separate repeal and replace option is not the option. You noted, Mitch Mcconnell making clear, moneying on Going Forward with both and external political issues talking about senators home for recess and the pressure put on them. Behind the scene, the policy here that matters. Look what this bill does, at least the proposal, if you look at the moderate centers. Not just medicaid expansion, but states with large populations in general looking at the bill and changes, reforms to the program itself seeing reductions in spending in the second decade up to 35 for the program. A change in how federal spending is actually applied to the program. Something conservatives always wanted, but when you come from a state that has a vulnerable pop langs, problematic, because the state is going to have to pick up that money right now. We talk to senators and wary that could happen. They want more money there. The focus now john is on conservatives. Look what they want. Obviously, as much of the obamacare infrastructure taken away as possible and where that stands, all about regulations. When that matters, ted cruz matters specifically one of his proposals. Is this it could be crucial to unlocking conservative votes. Ted cruz proposes for any exchange or insurer offering an aca plan on regulatory side must offer one thats not. Essentially that means preexisting conditions, residual health benefits, key protections required by the Affordable Care act wouldnt be available driving premiums down for the plans but the problems would be, do republican senators want to deal with preexisting conditions and more importantly, would Insurance Markets be able to handle that . The big question, where are senators on this . Very wary of this idea. Listen to what White House Legislative Affairs director mark short had to say. Are you worried that theyll push it so far to the right that youre going to lose a lot of those moderates you need to have . No, not at all. We support senator cruz and senator lees efforts. This is similar to efforts that transpired in the house and we think its perfectly appropriate, his amendment and hope its part of the process in bringing everybody together. Reporter my ears perked up, sounded like like a tacit endorsement. Whether the white house gets behind this proposal, wary senators, could be a very, very important issue as they try and map this out. A lot of questions, again. Not close to 50 yet, but these are the dynamics of a debate were going to see come to a head here in the next couple weeks. Phil mattingly live on capitol hill. Say hi to tourists up there as well. An interesti ing point. The bill moves to the right, white house says thats okay with us. Mitch mcconnell can only lose two. The bill moves to the right, that means lose susan collins, dean heller. The question, lose only those two or Lisa Murkowski and rob portman and so on, so forth. Mention eed Shelley Moore capit and throw opioid money into the pot, the ohio governor, republican, an effort to buy you off. Put that out there for the ohio voters. Dont fall for this crap, basically. Talking Shelley Moore capito has to somehow be convinced. Lisa murkowski. Others we havent heard jeff flake tull talk all that much but also from a medicare expansion state puts all of them in a strange bind to face political pressure and if trump is thinking, i cant lose the house. Go too far towards the middle ill lose the house, he may lose the senate before it gets back to the house. You move it to the left to get collins, heller, portman, moore capito and flake you lose lee, cruz and rand paul. Use it on that side. Listen to Mitch Mcconnell. Imagine yourself trying to figure out the rubiks cube and meet the Senate Majority leader . Sitting there with a rubiks cube trying to figure how to twist the dials to get to 50. To replace this with something better. The American People said we elected a republican president , a Republican House and republican senate. We want to see some results, and i cant say anything other than i agree with you. But its not easy. And were going to continue to wrestle with this and try to get it done. He went on to say during his trip home, its not easy making America Great again. Is it . A pretty selfaware Mitch Mcconnell, by the way. Plays his card close to the vest, fascinating to watch that clip back home because hes usually tacit and to say out loud, yeah, you guys elected republicans and want stuff done. I think thats a message a message, though, because he knows theres no policy solution in 50 votes. You cant turn the cubes to get those more moderates we talked about and keep the conservatives. Cant turn it to get conservatives and keep the moderates. A rgt in the end, done the best i could. We have to pass something, because we promised we would pass something. Im skeptical that the ted cruz, mike lee alternative is a Silver Bullet to get this done. Certainly an interesting policy idea to put out there. Anytime you talk about people losing coverage for preexisting conditions all the moderates get antsy and concerned. Perhaps the sum text in other corners as far as the