States senate, 2018, massachusetts, whoo hoo. I am in this fight to retain my senate seat in 2018. Thats where im focused, thats where im staying focused. No pledge, though, on the six years . I am not running for president. Whoo hoo. I didnt know folks in massachusetts said wouhoo hoo. We begin the hour with new president ial tweets and one that speaks volumes. The president is retreating about guns and gun violence. The president who lectured just days ago that people are afraid of the nra, they retracted the nra wishes. Also missing, any big white house rollout. The memo was distributed sunday night. The president is tweeting today but no event on the schedule, no effort to use the traditional bully pulpit. Instead this pair of tweets. Strong improvement of background checks will be fully backed by white house. Legislation moving forward. Bump stocks will soon be out. Highly trained expert teachers will be allowed to conceal carry, subject to state law. Armed guards okay. Deterrent. On 18 to 21 age limit, kauchg court cases and rulings before action. States are making this decision. Things are moving rapidly on this. Quite a contrast to promising parents and students that he would lead this fight. Now apparently content to watch florida, watch congress and ask his education secretary to do something he mocked just 48 hours ago. Lead a study commission. A lot of people are looking at that and thinking, it sounds like the nra got to him. As i said earlier, everything is on the table, and we will be looking at this. The state of florida just passed a law this past week that looks at this issue, that raises the age it raised it, and they didnt engage in a long process. They just passed the law. Everything is on the table, and this commission will be studying it along with many other issues and will be forthcoming with solutions. We begin with cnns jeff zeleny live at the white house. Jeff, people can justifiably say its a retreat from the president. Reporter john, it certainly it. The president can evade attention on something unlike any country in the world. He decided to rescind his gun plan. Not talking about it, at least not scheduled to. He is taking time today to welcome the houston astros, World Champion to the white house. That is the only public event on his day. John, certainly so much different than the tone and the look in his eye and the tone in his voice when he welcomed the gun victims and their families from the parkland shooting almost a month ago here, vowing to do something. He talked about the specifics he wanted to do. He held that open meeting with the lawmakers. Well, the reality here is now all that has changed. Yes, its possible he could still do Something Else in the future, but the urgency of the moment seems to have passed him. For this point, the white house says thats all were expected to hear on guns right now. John, certainly a striking change from almost one month ago. John . Striking change. Jeff zeleny at the white house. Appreciate it. Here to tell me their insights, ma manu raju. New parent there. Beautiful baby boy. If you look at the president s proposal, it would be a mainstream proposal from a traditional republican white house. It is the fact the president got so far out there in his meetings with the parkland students and parents, and victims, parents of past school shootings. Then he said, you guys are cowards. Dont be afraid to fight the nra. Hey, maybe we should raise the minimum age. What happened . Weve seen this before, suggesting he would be willing to go pretty far, traditional republican orthodoxy, but then retreat to standard positions. There is really nothing in this proposal that the nra would oppose. When hes talking about fixing background checks and strengthening background checks, really what hes talking about is the criminal background system already used by the fbi ensuring that states report into that system. Other agencies do that as well. Thats a bill thats pending in congress. That does not expand background checks or do internet sales, gun sales, something the mansiontoomey bill would do. He doesnt get behind changing the age from 18 to 21 on buying rifles. I imagine hes also watching the state of florida where his friend Governor Scott just signed a bill into law and the nra immediately filed a lawsuit to on the 18 to 21 provision of that bill. Well have to see what the outcome of that will be at the end of the day. But certainly, this is just like the daca meeting. And i think a lot of us who watched that meeting and watched his meeting with lawmakers on guns kind of expected this outcome, to be honest. So if youre out there and you want the age rates and you want significant gun control, could it be, in terms of the 2018 midterm election, set the policy aside, smart politics in the sense to use the daca analogy. Now hes not going to ask conservatives to cast a vote on what he considers amnesty in an election year. Now hes not going to ask conservatives to cast a vote on the gun law in an election year. Is that what this is about . I think youre putting a little too much strategy into the movements. I think its very much a situation where the president is saying what the audience in front of him wanted him to say a couple weeks ago when he met with those parkland students and families, and then the gravity brings him back. I think the practical effect of it very much will be what you just described. And thats something that i think a lot of republicans are breathing a sigh of relief over. And also i think it just simply reflects, again, the politics of this thing. Its not necessarily being captured by the nra. Its just a political fact that there is really no interest in congress, or really no path to congress for getting anything more than what hes now agreed to, what hes proposed now. Its certainly true that congress doesnt want to do that and that the president is aware of that and is dialing back what hes asking for. Its also true that if he had held strong to what he had said that day with the families and really pushed for this, we would see whether there is any room for congress. He has made a decision not to do that. And to that point, lets go back two weeks, february 28th, the president of the United States at the white house. He has lawmakers at the table, a Bipartisan Group where the president sounds like hes fighting with the democrats and at the end you hear him lecturing a republican. You cant buy a handgun at 18, 19 or 20, you have to wait until youre 21. But you can buy the gun, the weapon used in this horrible shooting at 18. You are going to decide, the people in this room pretty much, youre going to decide. But i would give very serious thought to it. I was just curious as to what you did in your bill. We didnt address it, mr. President. You know why, because youre afraid of the nra. With a smile there, because youre afraid of the nra. If you dont believe gun control is the answer, you believe that people get guns and commit crimes on 99. 9 of lawabiding citizens, but if you look at the president there saying we should raise the age, tells them theyre afraid of the nra. States should do this again, if you believe in federalism, now hes saying the states should decide these things. But where is the president ial leadership . Im just going to be cynical for a minute. I know thats shocking. And say that this way he kind of gets credit dpfor both. He said those things that he said on the first day that many of those families wanted to hear that he may have believed at the time he said it. The answer was congress isnt willing to do it. Its not that he didnt push for it, it was important for him to get something done and the appetite wasnt there for it so now hes going to be pragmatic. He can try to argue it that way now. But in making the decision not to go pedal to the medal on this, if he gets it, he gets it, and if he doesnt, he doesnt, he has chosen the political path of least resistance over the idealogy. There is the challenge of being a member of congress and dealing with this president. Hell say things you dont really know if thats actually where he ultimately will stand at the end of the day. Hell suggest throw these trial balloons out there and say, well, is this what the white house really believes . Will he get behind this, and then he ultimately retreats from it and it makes it very difficult for the policymakers to ultimately decide, make strong decisions, because they dont know where the president stands on this. They take three steps forward and then a step back. You see him kind of saying, lets see where it ends up, because there are so many things that on first blush they dont agree with this president on, that maybe if they wait a couple days, they wont have to go out there against him. I come back to the president ial leadership question. If you watched the president on the road friday night, he was up in pennsylvania, hes talking about a different issue here. Now hes asked his education secretary betsy devos about an interview shes taken a lot of heat for. Now he says, lets watch if the nra primaries, lets watch to see if the age increase in florida withstands a federal Court Challenge that the nra has already filed. Lets watch. Thats the president of the United States approach now. Heres what the president thought on saturday about commissions. We cant just keep setting up blue ribbon committees with your wife and your wife and your husband. And they meet and they have a meal and they talk. Talk, talk, talk. Two hours later they write a report. Look, thats what i got in washington. I got all these blue ribbon committees. Everybody wants to be in them. 24 hours after that, the white house released its paper calling for a Blue Ribbon Commission. Does he know hes president . Thats a campaign rally, right . He won. He also doesnt know whats in his proposal, which is the more stunning thing about this. Maybe not so stunning. Hes done this in other proposals as well, not seeming to know the details, clearly not knowing that here because why would he undercut what theyre pointing to as a good idea going forward. But as someone who uses power as a way to influence people, as a way to bend people to his will on the regular. We see it on a whole range of issues. It is notable he has taken a step back here and allowed this to go forward. Presumably he now knows that there is a Blue Ribbon Commission in there. Well have to see what he says today, tomorrow on this. I think he recognizes that this is where things go to die, right . These kinds of commissions, this is not an issue, i think, on which hes particularly animated. He is a little bit much to the left of his base. Its just not something that i think ultimately he is motivated enough to cross that base in order to get done, so send it to the commission. He just explained he knows better than maybe anybody that thats where issues like this go to die. Motivated enough, however, and to his credit, to bring in the past victims, to bring in the parkland students, to bring in the parkland children, students and their parents. To bring in the lawmakers and have the conversation when the news was fresh in the headlines, but two weeks later its the consistency issue that makes it hard to figure out exactly what he believes and what hes willing to fight for. How a special election in western pennsylvania on track to test not only the president but his party. For all the noses that stuff up around pets. Theres flonase sensimist. It relieves all your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills dont. And all from a gentle mist you can barely feel. Flonase sensimist. Gas, bloating, constipation and diarrhea can start in the colon and may be signs of an imbalance of good bacteria. Only Phillips Colon Health has this unique combination of probiotics. It helps replenish good bacteria. Get fourinone symptom defense. Todays Senior Living communities have never been better, with amazing amenities like movie theaters, exercise rooms and swimming pools, public cafes, bars and bistros even pet care services. And theres never been an easier way to get great advice. A place for mom is a free service that pairs you with a local advisor to help you sort through your options and find a perfect place. A place for mom. You know your family we know Senior Living. Together well make the right choice. Breaking news to bring you right now. The adult film actress Stormy Daniels making an offer to President Trump aand his lawyer in hopes that an agreement will end the silence. Whats the latest move . John, every day there seems to be something new. This is brand new. The attorney for Stormy Daniels has sent a letter to Michael Cohen and Michael Cohens attorney, lawrence rosen, saying, look, we want to end this nondisparage agreement between stormy and michael that they signed that they also say donald trump is a party to, although he did not sign the agreement back in 2016. And i want to read this to you because its interesting the way theyre doing this. Theyre saying, look, she will pay back the 130,000 in hush money she was paid to keep this story out of the news, but shes saying that shell pay it back to donald trump by wire transfer. Donald trump, by the way, has never said there was an affair, has never admitted there was any kind of affair between the two of them, has not talked at all on a personal level. Its always been through spokespeople or his attorney, Michael Cohen. That was the email sent to me that details this. It also goes into details about how they want this to go forward, and it says that basically no one can come after her if they agree to take this money back, that shes allowed to tell her story, and that they would dismiss the nondisparagement agreement without prejudice. So it is asking quite a bit. It will be interesting to see what Michael Cohen says about this. You can almost bet that this may be a nogo. John . You can almost bet. Sarah, come back if you get any new information. This is without a doubt yet another publicity play, some say a stunt from Stormy Daniels. However, whatever you think of her, whatever you think of what she says, it puts the president and his team now in a very tough box. She says, sign this document, ill give you the money back. I get to talk. If you say no, then youre saying you want to keep in place a nondisclosure agreement that she says is about an affair with the president of the United States. If you say fine, send the money. Number one, she gets to talk freely, and number two, this is part of the stunt part, she will send the money back to an account designated by the president who said, i didnt have this relationship, i dont know anything about a payment. Where do we go . The white house is in such a difficult position here because they have not given a full accounting of exactly what happened, what the president knew, was he aware of this payment right before the election to allegedly keep her quiet . Yesterday rod shaw was asked on one of the sunday shows whether trump was aware of that payment, and he said, not that im aware of, but then he acknowledged he has not exactly talked to the president about this, either. Last week, you guys could attest to Sarah Sanders would not explain this at all. She shut down almost all questions about this. So this is not a story thats going away, and the white house is not making it easier because theyre not really giving any facts or explaining exactly what happened. Again, if youre a trump supporter or even if youre a law student and youre reading what matters and what doesnt matter, she signed a piece of paper saying she wouldnt talk about this. Now shes talking about this and she wants more. Now theres some saying her point is, number one, her attorney has talked, therefore, it freeze hs her up to talk. The lawsuit she filed in los angeles said donald trump never signed the agreement so therefore its not binding. And now her lawyer is saying they have 24 hours and shell send the money back. And she said they would keep anderson coopers interview from airing. But there was always the possibility of the Trump Team Going to court saying, no, she signed a nondisclosure agreement, she cant do this. Even then it puts them in a tough position. What are you afraid of here . What are you afraid shes going to say . This is also a president who has said a bunch of things that are lies and accusations against him. So what does she have that some of these other people dont have . If this 60 minutes interview happens and airs, its a very big deal. Its a big deal. President trump himself, when he was in business, liked to use aggressive business tactics and techniques to get what he wanted, whether it has to do with payment for services or kind of renegotiating a contract that wasnt happening. This is kind of the worst taste of his own medicine and it presents some of the perils of consorting with someone years ago in whatever fashion who now has nothing, really very little to lose by stopping. She has so much publicity advantage to gain from this. Shes probably trying to shift her career into a different mode for more of a longterm strategy. And this has brought attention back to someone who faded out at the spotlight. He has all the motivation in the world to get people to stop talking about this, and shes just not going to let up. Hes in a very difficult spot. But i think to do that, the white house needs to have a better strategy, or how about a strategy at all at dealing with these questions. It doesnt seem like theyve got anything going on. They havent discussed a way to move forward on this. Theyre going to have to do that really quickly, because cbs, 60 minutes, theyre not part of any adas at all. I dont think there will be any legs on that sort of suit. Theyve got to figure out, the white house does, how to respond to this in a way that doesnt just keep bringing more questions. I think theyre in sort of a whirlpool here that they cant get out of. This is the risk of signing a nondisclosure agreement, because to get a legal nondisclosure agreement, you have to put down in writing what youre not allowed to disclose. Not in her lawsuit, in the side letter that is initialled by Michael Cohen on behalf of his llc, it says, again, the man alleged to be donald trump did not sign the document. But Stormy Daniels signed it, Michael Cohen signed it, and it