Phone call with the president of mexico, President Trump called this a good step for the two countries. I like to call this deal the United States mexico trade agreement. I think its an elegant name. I think nafta has a lot of bad connotations for the United States because it was a ripoff. It was a deal that was a horrible deal for our country. I think its got a lot of bad connotations to a lot of people. And so we will probably you and i will agree to the name. We will see whether or not we decide to put up canada or just do a separate deal with canada if they want to make the deal. Lets go to our chief white house correspondent, jim acosta right now. Jim, what more do we know about this preliminary nonnafta agreement . Reporter well, unlike the questions that were asked of the president about john mccain, the president had nothing to say about the late senator, he did go on to a great deal to talk about this new trade agreement that he says that he has struck with mexico. Now, obviously this is a preliminary agreement. The final details are still being worked out. Much of what has been under discussion, wolf, has been the Trump Administration and frankly President Trumps insistence that some car production be brought back to the United States. That has been one of the byproducts of nafta. A lot of the car production that went on in the u. S. Went down to mexico. Wolf, in the middle of all of this is sort of this glaring fact that you have some pretty rough relations going on right now between the president and the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau. I think its inescapable that the president reached this trade deal with mexico. Its outgoing president and incoming president as a way to try to get canada back to the negotiating table. Canada has so far not really been a part of these negotiations, but the president said when talking to reporters just a short while ago that he does invite the canadians to be a part of this. Of course, wolf, this is part of what the president campaigned on throughout the 2016 campaign cycle. He was very tough on the nafta agreement, called it one of the worst trade deals ever negotiated in American History ands this was part of his pitch to a lot of workers in the heartland in places like pennsylvania, michigan, wisconsin, places where those voters ended up being critical when it came down to voting time in 2016. But, wolf, at this point we just have scarce details as to what exactly is in this preliminary agreement between the u. S. And mexico. But it is a rather striking departure from where things have been for the last generation. Nafta has been part of the trade lexicon in this country for a long period of this time to the chagrin of a lot of people in those states where they have seen factories close down and go overseas. The president is trying to position this as a big political win for him heading into the Midterm Campaign cycle. But youre seeing as a result of this some pretty glaring bad relations between the president , this white house and the canadians as theyre apparently not part of this agreement at this point, wolf. As you know, his remarks in the Oval Office Just a little while ago, the president made no mention at all of the wall, the wall he wants built along the u. S. mexico border. Has the president for all practical purposes given up right now on his Campaign Pledge that mexico would pay for that wall . Reporter wolf, we hear him talk about this out on the campaign trail from time to time, and what he says is that he will in some way get mexico to pay for this wall somewhere down the road. I suspect what youre going to hear from his advisers when this question comes up is theyre going to say, well, some of the money that will go towards the wall will be in the form of some of this production that they think will come back to the United States as part of this renegotiated trade agreement. But in terms of how the president positioned this during the campaign where there would be some sort of expenditure on the part of the Mexican Government that would help finance the construction of the wall on the mexican border, wolf, weve heard from not a single white house official who has ever explained how thats going to happen so it sounds like for all practical purposes the president has given up on that. But hes not given up on it as a campaign tool. We hear about his vision for a wall at just about every campaign rally. And he claims falsely that what he presented to the voters during the campaign is being built on the u. S. mexico border. Of course we know, wolf, theres very little wall construction going on down there. Theres fence repairs and that sort of thing, but nothing like what he promised during the campaign, wolf. No. During his Campaign Rallies in recent months he often talks about the wall. He promises the wall will be built. He promises there will be funding for the wall but no longer says mexico will pay for the wall, which always generated a huge amounti of applause at hs rallies. He stopped saying that at least for now. Jim acosta at the white house, thanks very much. Meanwhile, tributes to senator john mccain. They are pouring in from around the world. But one voice still notably missing, that would be the president of the United States. We learned the white house did draft a full statement on senator mccain after his death, a statement that would have praised him, his military service, being a real genuine American Hero, but President Trump for whatever reason chose to go with just a short tweet instead expressing his sympathy to the family. Just moments ago the president repeatedly ignored multiple questions from reporters in the oval office during that photo op when they pressed him on questions involving senator mccain. Mr. President , any thoughts about john mccain . Mr. President , any thoughts on john mccain, sir . Didnt answer any questions. You saw all of his top aides, including the Vice President , his soninlaw, jared kushner, sarah sander, they immediately walked in front of the desk to prevent any further questioning of the president on this issue. We are expecting, by the way, to see the president once again shortly. Hes welcoming kenyas president to the United States. Well see if he weighs in at that time during that photo op. In the meantime joining us to honor the life and legacy of senator mccain, a man who worked closely with him over many years, democratic senator Patrick Leahy from vermont. Senator, thanks so much for joining us. I know you admired senator mccain and worked closely with him. How are you remembering him on this day . I am remembering him as a very, very good friend. I am remembering the last time we talked. I think we both knew it would be the last time wed see each other. Ive got to admit it got pretty emotional for both of us saying goodbye and hugging each other goodbye. Ive worked with john on a lot of things. Sometimes we agreed, sometimes we disagreed. We were both laughing about the fact that we had sometimes have a towering argument and five minutes later wed be back in the cloakroom or out in the hall arms around each other just laughing our heads off. But the thing is, you could go to john and say, look, john, weve got to set aside democratic and republican labels. Heres something that needs to be done. And wed work it out. Whether it was for the security of the United States, the betterment of our people, we could do it. And i i have to admit this morning i got a call from somebody in washington, how angry they were driving by the white house seeing the flag not lowered to half staff. Every single flag in washington and vermont has been lowered in his honor. It is such pettiness, such pettiness in reaction to a real American Hero. You know, i realize the president never wanted to serve in the military, but he ought to show some admiration for someone who did and served nobly. We do know that yesterday for several hours the white house flag was lowered to half staff but for some reason overnight it was raised once again. The flags are at half staff clearly up on capitol hill. I want to get to that in a moment, but weve heard so many stories about senator mccains very strong friendships, not necessarily restricted by age or party affiliation. Youre clearly a democrat, senator mccain of course was a republican. As you correctly point out, you often didnt see eye to eye on a lot of these substantive issues, but what does that say about him, that despite differences, partisan differences, he was willing to work with liberal democrats on some of the most sensitive issues . I think he and i had the same view of the senate. It should be the conscience of the nation. And that means both of us have had to say, look, we cant follow what our party says, we have to follow whats best for the u. S. And he would do that. I do remember one time after an argument he comes over and he starts apologizing for i said, john, you never have to apologize for anything. Anyone who has gone through what you have, you never have to apologize. But then he would sit down i mean i remember we worked on immigration. We worked on other things. He was always there trying to figure out, okay, how do we bring republicans and democrats together for the good of the nation. I mean he could be he could take a republican he was a proud republican. But the nation came first. I think a man who served as he did, who refused to leave the prison in hanoi until the other prisoners were able to leave is a man who shows real character. Yeah. Thats why it bothers me somewhat on the flag at the white house because john mccain had so, so much character. It shows a lack of character in not lowering the flag at the white house. What does it show to you that there was a draft statement that was submitted to the president praising senator mccains his unique role in American History as a p. O. W. , as a war hero, but the president decided for whatever reason he wasnt going to release that. What does that say to you . It shows what a strong person john mccain was and it shows that one of the two was strong and not weak. And i think the fact that john mccains family has invited barack obama and george bush, both men that he ran against, to come and give a eulogy, that shows what americans should do, not try to divide people but to bring people together. John mccain tried to bring people together. Just before we went on the news, you were showing about nafta. Excluding canada, nafta wont pass the senate. I mean the only way it passed last time was because canada was part of it. It sort of falls in the same category, were all waiting for mexico to pay for a wall. I mean President Trump promised that, gave his word that theyd pay for it. Well, my reaction was open a bank account. When money comes in, well spend it on the wall. But youre not i mean this kind of thing, canada is our greatest trading partner. It comes across as petty. It is not what john mccain would do. John mccain tried to rise above petty politics. And thats why youre seeing so much admiration for him from both republicans and democrats. Yeah. Were going to have a lot more on senator mccain coming up. Senator leahy, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you. And thank you for honoring my good friend. Yeah, well, he deserves it. This hour, the president has, by the way, another chance to address the passing of senator john mccain. Were going to hear from the president later this hour. Well see what, if anything, he says. Also, why north korea says the u. S. Is secretly plotting right now to unleash war. Thats what north korea is now saying. We have details. Stay with us. As moms, we send our kids out into the world, full of hope. And we dont want Something Like meningitis b getting in their way. Meningococcal group b disease, or meningitis b, is real. Bexsero is a vaccine to help prevent meningitis b in 1025 year olds. Even if meningitis b is uncommon, thats not a chance were willing to take. Meningitis b is different from the meningitis most teens were probably vaccinated against when younger. Were getting the word out against meningitis b. Our teens are getting bexsero. Bexsero should not be given if you had a severe allergic reaction after a previous dose. Most common side effects are pain, redness or hardness at the injection site; muscle pain; fatigue; headache; nausea; and joint pain. Bexsero may not protect all individuals. Tell your healthcare professional if youre pregnant or if you have received any other meningitis b vaccines. Ask your healthcare professional about the risks and benefits of bexsero and if vaccination with bexsero is right for your teen. Moms, we cant wait. Soon President Trump is expected to speak as he greets kenyas president over at the white house. But will he answer any questions from reporters about senator john mccains death . He ignored repeated questions from reporters earlier today in the oval office. Meanwhile, the white house flag returned to full staff after just one day while other federal buildings remain half staff in honor of the u. S. Senator. And this, a source now telling cnn white house aides did in fact draft an official statement on senator mccain after his death, but it never went out. The president instead simply sending out a brief tweet expressing his sympathy to the mccain family. Joining us now to discuss this and more, White House Reporter for bloomberg news, Shannon Pettypiece and White House Reporter for the New York Times julie hirshfeld davis. What would have been the big deal if the president had released that statement which his top advisers drafted for him . It would have been an easy thing to do. Thats what president s usually do in a situation like this. But weve heard for months that President Trump has a real grudge against senator mccain. He did not want to say anything nice about him, either about his death or his life an legacy. He just didnt want to go there. And so he couldnt bring himself to do even the most sort of basic of president ial statements saying john mccain has died, he was a hero, heres his legacy or something along those lines. He didnt want to do that. He didnt feel comfortable given their history together of doing that. I also think, you know, he felt that john mccain represented a brand of politics and the establishment that he wants to hold himself away from and he wants to keep at a distance. I just think he couldnt really see a way clear to do what his advisers were offering him the chance to do. Because there is, as a lot of our viewers will remember, shannon, an ugly history going back to 2015 when the president was asked about john mccain being a war hero and he said he wasnt a war hero, he was captured, he was a p. O. W. If youre captured, youre not a hero. In recent months, he out on the campaign trail has repeatedly gone after senator mccain for voting against the Affordable Care act and for all practical purposes stopping it from being completely repealed. This isnt the first time, though, a president has disagreed with someone who died and had to Say Something while they were in office. That happens. People on different political parties, you know, will die while someone is in office. You Say Something courteous about them, though. I think thats what shows the difference between this white house and previous white houses is that in the past and maybe the person could have really detested the deceased behind closed doors, but they would publicly at least come out and show some sort of courtesy, show some sort of support for the family. And this white house is just not going to do that. Once this president locks his mind in on something, he does not change it, he does not compromise. There is no grudge too small, too slight, to little that he will look past. Because even the past year when he was clearly dying from brain cancer, the president would still go out there and speak ill of john mccain on the campaign trail. Why is the white house flag now at full staff as opposed to half staff . Yesterday it was at half staff. Well, as pointed out earlier, all the other buildings in washington, theyre still at half staff. There is a provision in the law that when a member of congress dies, the flag gets lowered for 24 hours to half staff. But in cases like these when you have a revered senator whos been serving for decades, a war hero, certainly was the case with senator ted kennedy when he died, the president will issue a proclamation extending that period usually through the funeral or the burial of the deceased. But that would have taken an official act by President Trump. The proclamation would have had to Say Something, presumably something good about senator mccain. As weve seen and been discussing, hes not willing to do that. He still feels that senator mccain was his enemy, worked against him, said bad things about him and he just doesnt he just doesnt want to do it so you see the physical manifestation of that with the flag. Issuing a blockmatiproclamat would have had to sign that and said john mccain war hero, great american, great patriot and he didnt want to say that. I saw a statement from mcconnell and schumer asking that the military ensure that flags at government buildings are flown at half staff until mccain is buried. I dont know if that means theyre going to send the military in to lower the flag at the white house, if thats how the military coup will unfold, but it certainly shows too that bipartisan side making whatever efforts they can to make sure that that honor is extended even if it isnt happening at the white house. Senator schumer wants to rename the Russell SenateOffice Building the john mccain Senate Office building. A lot of democrats are on board. I a