first lady feels about those allegations from stormy daniels against the president. we have brand-new reporting on giuliani's controversial comments. let's begin our coverage with josh dawsey. he's the white house reporter for the "the washington post." josh, great to see you. give us the headline of your new reporting. >> our reporting is on the g7 summit in canada. president trump is supposed to go to canada, obviously tomorrow for meeting with canada and germany and all of our other allies and what he's frustrated about is that a lot of the other ones agree with him on tariffs and trade and he doesn't think he's going to be useful. he doesn't like being lectured. and he's not looking forward to going some where where he is in the minority and he just doesn't think it's a good use of his time. the trip to singapore next week, our reporting indicates he's quite excited about that. he remains very optimistic about the kim jong-un summit.

even as some of his aides, john bolton and others around him, are not so sure that north korea will do what they say they're going to do. >> there were discussions over time about whether there was a way for the president to get out of this, right, because he did get out of that summit in south america, but ultimately he's going to quebec. >> right. the president enjoys more of these unilateral trips where he goes to china or goes to the middle east and meets with foreign leaders one-on-one. these conferences are not necessarily his forte because you have a whole host of world leaders united in their criticism of him. he likes to pageantry, he likes the one-on-one settings. he likes making deals and in the g7 summit in canada, he tweeted that he's going to go and trying to reverse some of the worst trade deals in history. it's hard to do that when every other country there is almost unified in their opposition. >> he won't be feted quite

enough in his mind. he likes these unilateral settings, going to china because they throw these big lavish welcoming ceremonies. he's just one of several in canada tomorrow. >> when he comes back from those trips, he talks to his aides for days about the treatment. he loves the sword dancing and all of the dinners in saudi arabia. i don't know if you remember those classic scenes of all of trump aides as they dance with swords in the ballroom. that's what the president loves. he enjoys that part of the job. he thinks that's how a president should look and how you play the part. he does not enjoy as much these summits. and in some degree, it's understand be. if you're the president and you have very defined views that many of the united states allies do not agree with and to his credit, he won the election by espousing some of these views. a lot of his supporters love

these views. it's hard to go some where when you know everyone will try to talk you out of what you think. >> his only personal preferences for sword dancing over actually, you know, diplomacy with the closest allies like angela merkel or theresa may or justin trudeau will fray the long time relationships? >> i think many of the folks in the white house say the president, you know, is angling for a better deal with these people, and some of these early on tensions and exacerbated problems. china retaliating on trade. canada -- more canada and france and others than china. these countries getting mad at the president are just part of the growing pains of getting better deals. most of the folks in the white house are used to his way of behaving. they expect anything can happen at these sorts of meetings. there's not an expectation that he will do one thing or the other. in fact, they don't know. you can say what you want if you're them, but you go and you

watch and hope for the best. >> josh, scoop machine. you have another story in "the washington post" overnight about what the president said after the camera stopped rolling during his fema meeting. more talking about donald trump. >> right. when the cameras stopped rolling yesterday, the president went into a litany of recitation of his successes. he talked about the economy, his approval ratings, the power of his endorsements, how he's helping the republican party. he talked about how he's such a good negotiator, his business acumen and it was around the room of fema officials and first responders, days into the hurricane season. so when the cameras are rolling he talked about storms, but when they stopped rolling and he was behind the scenes, it wasn't a discussion of puerto rico or any of the other -- >> or the death toll. he didn't mention the death toll, the new estimated 400 to 600 americans killed. >> i was listening to his audio last night.

it was very striking to one of his rally speeches. 5,000 to 10,000 people there. it's not what you expect to hear from a president at fema, but it's a style and it's what he's comfortable doing obviously. >> josh, thank you so much for sharing your scoops with us. >> thank you. >> scoop machine. >> that is what we're going to call him now. scoop machine dawsey. president trump's lawyer rudy giuliani is making controversial comments about the adult film star stormy daniels. so daniels as you know says that she had an affair with president trump, which the president denies. so speaking at this conference in israel, giuliani, the president's lawyer, says daniels has to uh-uh credibility because of her line of work. that's not all he said. here's more. >> excuse me, when you look at stormy daniels, i know donald trump and look at his three wives, right? beautiful women, classy women, women of great substance.

stormy daniels? so, i think -- >> we have to respect on the stage every women. >> yes, i respect porn stars. don't you respect porn stars? or do you think porn stars desecrate women? do you think that porn stars don't respect women and therefore sell their bodies? >> joining us now we have cnn chief political correspondent dana bash and cnn political analyst josh green. what did he tell you? >> i should say you saw those comments. he's in israel. he's still in israel. i called and said, you know, that this has become a thing and he didn't realize how big of a thing it was and i explained why and he -- he initially pushed back saying, well, in my day feminists didn't like porn because they thought it was demeaning to women and then he said, i still stand by what i

said and i said, well, take the feminism aside and just talk about your main point which is that she doesn't have credibility as a witness and he said he completely stands by that. let me just give you part of our conversation. he said the following, if you're involved in a sort of slimy business, it says something about you, it says something about how far you'll go to make money. a person who would say no isn't going to do something very demeaning like that for money. a person who would do that for money, a real point about her is she's not just generally uncredible, she's credible from the point of view of want to go get money. she's a con artist. we had a pretty lively back and forth on the phone about this notion about how women are viewed today versus how they used to be viewed and he said -- i said to him, you know, people listen to what you say and it sounds antiquated about how women should be viewed based on what they do for a living whether it's a porn star or not

and whether that means they have credibility and he said, well, i like the way i view it better. >> okay. i'm just curious, what does he think of men who pay for that slimy business or married men who have sex with a porn star without using any protection? are they trusted and credible as witnesses? hypothetically, i'm saying hypothetically if that situation -- >> i hypothetically asked a question of mr. giuliani about, first of all, men who participated in porn whether they have credibility, male porn stars if they would have credibility issues on the stand. he said yes. >> they would have credibility issues. it's gender neutral in the porn world apparently for him but then on the issue of men who sleep with porn stars, i asked him the question and he said, you're trying to suggest the president here and i said, yeah, and he said he denied it. >> if a man did that, a married man did that under those

circumstances, if you would think that person had credibility on the stand. >> we didn't get that far. >> the playmate which the white house and rudy giuliani has not addressed in a long time. >> because the president offered money. >> and they had a long relationship too, not just one time. >> exactly. i think, you know, it's important also to take it up to 5,000, 10,000 feet here h. we've having a conversation about whether a porn star is credible and about the president's lawyers/political strategist, rudy giuliani, standing by those comments, comments that are now taking hold and are not -- are not contradictory to what the president's strategy is, to continue to takedown his political opponents and he now has somebody in rudy giuliani who is like-minded and very willing to do it. >> josh green, you have been listening to all of this. care to weigh in? >> yes. what's really going on here with giuliani is something we've seen

consistently from the trump administration, from giuliani frrks a lot of trump's accusers and that is an effort to discredit anybody who can say anything negative about donald trump. the central facts in the stormy daniels' matter aren't in dispute. trump, or more specifically, his lawyer, maybe his former lawyer michael cohen paid her hush money, $130,000, not in dispute. you'll generally pay somebody that kind of money if there isn't something you're trying to cover-up. part of what giuliani is doing here is taking a very weird tangent and going deep on porn, but big picture. trying to discredit daniels' accusations because they've become a political and potentially a legal problem for the president. >> to be fair, he doesn't -- rudy giuliani doesn't represent president trump on this issue. he was asked specifically whether he thought stormy daniels was credible. >> i want to get to that point because we've had on legal experts like michael zeldin who have said that rudy giuliani

represents the president legally as a lawyer at all. basically that he was hired as a pit bull. he's like-minded with president trump. they're old friends. he's his p.r. attack dog. do you think that he's doing actual legal work? >> yes -- well, not in the white house. he's outside the white house. he consults and confers with the president's other lawyers on the legal team, jay sekulow and the raskins and i guess now emmet flood. there's no question -- and he's not shy about this -- i mean, i did a story on this that he confirmed and said that it was right on the fact that he might be a lawyer, but he is absolutely doing the president's political work here in terms of trying to take down the credibility of the mueller investigation and if you look at the polls on that, if that is his goal, he's seeing success.

>> josh, let me read you some breaking news here because the commerce secretary wilbur ross just announced a deal with zte which is this chinese tech company that had been sanctioned and really outlawed in the united states for working with, you know, shady organizations and countries. zte will pay the united states $1 billion fine and put $4 million in an eskroe account. wilbur cross just made those comments publicly. a deal has been reached. this is a political sticking point with members of the president's own party. marco rubio, he doesn't want a deal. >> he might if they're going to pay the u.s. a billion dollars. >> i don't think it's about the money. it's about not trusting zte and the technology and the fears of what zte is doing here. a billion dollars doesn't solve

marco rubio's problems. >> was zte cut off in bringing that company to the knees. they reached out to trump to work something out. it appears they have. however, paying a relatively modest fine and letting them go about their business is something that's going to be deeply upsetting, not only to democrats in congress but to republicans who are considering passing some kind of legislation to try and block this. i think a lot of people on capitol hill will be very unhappy to hear that this is the settlement that the trump administration is worked out. >> it's not just -- it's not money, it's not just money. it probably isn't money at all. it's been intellectual property. it's about them stealing american secrets and technology -- >> but it's also about sanctions. >> it's cutting a deal with zte before you might shake hands with kim jong-un. we're in the middle of that doughnut hole you'll get in a fight with your closest allies. >> ever since the president

tweeted about zte it set peoples' hair on fire because why was he defending this dubious company. the $1 billion fine was is different when he was giving them a pass with nothing. >> it is. you mention this had summit. everything that the president can get vis-a-vis china saying good things to north korea about working out a deal with the president he'll take. >> before we let you two fine people go, i want to show you the new cover of "time" magazine just out. josh green, king me it says for those that can read the print there. >> i think you're putting it -- emphasize on the syllable, i think it's king me. >> who's right? is alisyn right or me? >> i'll let you two settle that dispute when we go to commercial. it's a wonderful cover and reflects trump's sense of himself but even more than that

his desire to act as a king rather than as an executive who has to deal with the judicial branch. >> "time" magazine is preaching to the choir. not a single person in president trump's base has read "time" magazine for a long time, dana. >> but you know who does like "time" magazine, donald trump. he likes the real and not real covers. thank you both for being with us. cnn exclusive learning the president blamed canada, wrongly so, for burning down the white house during the war of 1812. republican senator john kennedy, who knows the truth about the war of 1812, joins us -- >> what are you suggesting? >> i'm just saying. john kennedy has a lot to say about 1812. e counties that you don't think about very much. it's really not very important. i was in the stone ages as much as technology wise. and i would say i had nothing.

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...to give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you don't. i'll take that. [cheers] 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. new ensure max protein. in two great flavors. we do have breaking news. commerce secretary wilbur ross announce the just moments ago that the united states has reached a deal with the chinese tech giant zte which has been banned basically from doing business in the united states sanctioned for doing business with iran and north korea, the united states has reached a deal which includes a $1 billion fine for zte. joining us now to talk much more about this is senator john kennedy, republican from louisiana. senator, thanks so much for being with us. this is something that many republicans, including marco rubio have been concerned about, saying that the united states should not be giving relief to zte, not allowing zte really

back in the united states. how do you feel about the announcement of that deal this morning? >> i've got to give it prayerful consideration. i'm not a big zte fan. i'm sure zte makes a fine cell phone but they're a little too close to the communist party of china for my taste and on top of that they cheated. zte violated our sanctions and thereby helped north korea. you want to read exactly the terms of the settlement, but color me doubtful. >> it's a billion dollars, 400 million in he is crow. they have to fire their board apparently or change them over and there's some kind of monitoring there. does that get past -- >> it's not the money. it's the fact that zte helped kim jong-un and lied about it and it's the fact that zte, some

would argue they are a state controlled or at least influenced company and what does that mean? that means that they're pretty close to the communist party of china. i wouldn't buy a zte telephone. i'm not saying it's not well made, but i wouldn't buy a zte telephone and allow my information, potentially, to be shared with president xi jinping and his party. >> what's it tell you that the trump administration is entering this deal with china in zte at the same time it is slapping tariffs on u.s. allies including canada and mexico? >> let me talk about the trade issue. i'm giving the president the benefit of the doubt. i think he is using the threat of tariffs that he made -- and he may even implement some to

better negotiate trade deals. i think the president's too smart to get us in a trade war. i think the president understands that global trade is not a zero sum game. all trade surpluses are not good and all trade deficits are not bad. just because you're running a deficit, a trade deficit with a country doesn't mean they're winning and you're losing. >> you said you trust him, but you just said you didn't like the zte deal and to an extent -- >> i don't know whether that's part of a global trade approach or not. i just don't know the terms of it. i heard about it five minutes ago. let me say it again, i don't trust zte. it's not the money. they're just a little bit too close to the communist party of china, but in terms of the overall trade, i'm willing for the moment to give the president the benefit of the doubt. let me say, i think he understands -- i hope he

understands, i believe he understands -- >> is canada a security threat? is canada a threat to the security of the united states? >> not to me, no. >> are you still angry about the fact that canada burned the white house in the war of 1812? >> i think the president was probably joking. everybody knows it was the russians who burned the white house. >> absolutely, senator kennedy. thank you very much for that reminder, historic reminder. >> let me ask you about bob corker who's got a bill that he wants to propose to the senate right now which will restrict the president's abilities to enter into these tariffs. do you see yourself supporting that measure? >> i don't know how i'm going to vote. i do not see it as an i am pinging upon presidential power all it says is congress has a say. if congress invokes section 232 of the trade expansion act of 1962, congress gets to weigh in on it.

it doesn't say a president can't do it, we just get to have our say. on the other hand, i don't want to step on the president's toes as he is trying to renegotiate these trade deals and let me say it again, i think that's what he's doing. he's using the levers that we have, the threat of tariffs to try to get better trade deals. he's not -- he's too smart to get into a trade war. >> we'll see. >> if we get in a trade war, that's a whole different ballgame. >> we'll have you back. we'll prebook that for you to come back in. i want to ask you about the president's treatment towards two members of his cabinet yesterday and get your take on each one. he had his members around him. he had something very short to say about jeff sessions and something quite efufive to say about others including scott pruitt. listen. >> attorney general jeff sessions, thank you, jeff, thank you very much. administrator scott pruitt, thank you, scott, very much. epa is doing really, really well and somebody has to say that about you a little bit.

you know that, scott. but you've done -- the epa is doing so well -- >> so two things happened there, he had half a sentence on jeff sessions. people saw that as a slight to the attorney general, just one more slight. and scott pruitt, the epa chief who we just found out had an aide contact chick-fil-a to see if his wife could set up a franchise. you say that scott pruitt has been -- i think the exact quote is acting like a more-on, am i right? >> yes. >> what did you mean by that? >> i support many of the policies of the epa. they're not mr. pruitt's policies. they're president trump's policies. i don't know mr. pruitt. i'm commenting on his actions. i have fought the waste of taxpayer money. i've fought the influence -- the appearance of i am pro-prity and

i thought impropriety. and the things that mr. pruitt allege to have done, the hits just keep on coming. i think he's hurting the president and therefore he's hurting the country. i did. some of these things that mr. pruitt, apparently has done, i know some of them are allegations, some of them are facts, he is acting like a moron and he needs to stop it. it's not personal but he just needs to stop acting -- mismanaging in this way. >> you have some legislation. you were very concerned about facebook and some of the rules involved in facebook going forward. will you tell us what you are proposing? >> yes. senator klobuchar and i from the great state of minnesota have a bill. it deals with social media platforms, in particular facebook. facebook is a fine american company, but we all know it's no longer a company, it's a country. it influences a third of the world. it has the ability to influence

what we buy, what we believe, how we vote, what we own, and it doesn't do that just by looking at the stuff we post on facebook. facebook can follow us around on the internet. it can spy on us one click at a time. we just found out that facebook shared data with walway that is the largest tech company in china which is also have close to the communist party. i'm not trying to put facebook out of business. here's what i want them to do. i want facebook in clear, unmistakable terms, plain english to tell people who sign up on facebook, here's what you get. free service, here's what we get. here's all the data we're going to collect on you. here's who we're going to collect it from and here's everybody we're going to share it with, if you don't want to do that opt out. if somebody steals your data

we'll notify you in 72 hours and if facebook will do that and really make sure that people understand, i'm cool. i trust the american people. they can use facebook if they want, but right now they don't have the information. >> senator kennedy, thanks so much for being with us. please keep us posted on your concerns there, sir. >> i take back the part about the russian burning washington. >> too late. it's out there. >> bye. that wasn't historical, it was hysterical. president trump as you know kamuted the life sentence of alice marie johnson after she spent 21 years in prison. alice and her daughter join us live next with what their relationship is with president trump, kim kardashian and what she does with her life now. you never know what the day's going to bring when you're running a small business, it might even bring a blue screen of death. having it problems? ask a business advisor how to get virus and spyware removal, and 24/7 tech support.

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a great-grandmother gets a second chance of freedom after president trump commutes her life sentence. she served 21 years for a nonviolent first time drug charge, but a serious charge of drug trafficking and money laundering. her story caught the eye of kim kardashian west who made a

personal plea for the release to president trump last week. johnson shared an emotional reunion with her family after walking out of an alabama prison yesterday. and alice johnson and her daughter join us now. good morning, ladies. >> good morning. >> good morning. > you look happy, alice. >> i'm so happy to be here. >> i bet you are. >> i am so happy. >> how has your life changed overnight? >> this time yesterday i was behind bars. today i'm walking around seeing all the sites and hugging everybody. >> ca teena, did you ever think it would come to pass where you you were sitting next to your mom like that outside of jail? >> i didn't know when it was going to happen but i knew god had a plan for my mama and she was coming home, so i knew it was going to happen one day but i did not know it was yesterday. >> well, that is certainly

optimistic. the president, alice, has just tweeted about you. he said good luck to alice johnson. >> okay. >> have a wonderful life! what's your reaction? >> wow. wow. president trump made me have a wonderful life possible. i'm just so thankful to him. i'm just amazed to hear -- to hear that i'm actually one of his tweets. i love it. >> have you spoken to him personally? >> no, i have not spoken to him, personally. >> what would you say if he called you? >> oh, i would tell him thank you, president trump for really seeing me, not just looking at some data about my crime, but actually looking at the person who i have become now and having faith that i deserved a second

chance in life. i just say thank you for this mercy. >> well, i don't want to overlook that data, just because i want to put it in perspective for everyone. the department of justice brief on you, just so everybody understands what it was that you were convicted of a life sentence for. possession of 12 gram -- kilos of gram with intent to deliver, nine kilos of cocaine, 75 kilograms of cocaine with intent to distribute as well as money laundering. so what were you thinking back then and how do you plan to change your life now? >> i believe i've already changed my life and i was convicted under a conspiracy theory, which means that you're responsible for what everyone else does in that conspiracy, so that is not what i personally did, but it's -- it's what everyone else did that is attribute today me because it is a conspiracy charge and my life

is completely changed. and i'm not trying to under play any role i made, but my life is completely changed and i believe that over these almost 22 years i've proven that i'm a changed woman. >> what is your plan now? >> my plan is to start work. i already have a job secured and my plan is also to work hard on helping to change some of these laws, something has to happen and i believe that what is already begun is a good first step with prison reform, so i'm happy to see that moving forward. >> how did it come to pass that kim kardashian took up your mom's cause? here's her tweet. so grateful to donald trump, jared kushner and to everyone who has showed compassion and contributed countless hours to this important moment for ms. alice maria johnson. her communication is inspirational and gives hope to so many others. how did it come to pass that she

got connected with your family? >> my mom did an interview with op ed and god made it so that kim got on her twitter at that moment and saw that mike.com interview and it was unbelievable because she felt my mother pain and change in her heart and it come through and do that for my mom, forever, forever grateful and i've said it before, kim kardashian is part of the family now. she has an open invitation to come to memphis and spend time and with the whole entire family whenever she feels like it. >> i think that means you'll have to be on a reality show. there's cameras around you guys all the time if you extend that invitation. >> i'm ready. >> you're ready. alice, why do you think that she felt so passionately about your cause in particular?

>> i tell you, it's a miracle. i believe that anyone who truly looks at this cause will know that something has to be done and when kim saw this, she didn't just look at it and walk away, kim acted. many people saw it, but she was the only one who did something about it, so i believe that -- we have a heart connection. i love kim. and i'll never forget this. i'll never forget what she has done for me. i wouldn't be sitting here if she had not taken me to heart. >> best of luck to you moving forward. you did get a second chance and we'll look to seeing what you do. >> thank you. i'm going to make the best of it. >> god bless. alice maria johnson, thank you very much for sharing this moment for us. >> thank you for having us on. thank you. van jones is going to interview kim kardashian west exclusively tonight at 10:00 eastern on cnn. a woman who endured forced labor is now seeking asylum in the u.s. did she get it?

we have a live report next. sometimes, bipolar i disorder

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asylum denied. a woman who says she was kidnapped by people in el salvador and forced to do cooking and cleaning, cannot stay in the united states. our joe johns live in washington with the latest on this. joe? >> good morning. this is about a woman who's name we do not have. now facing deportation. a lot of this is about the meaning of the term material support for terrorism. divided court ruling says she did cooking and cleaning under threat of death, that she was forced to witness the execution of her husband after he was forced to dig his own grave. the woman was essentially a slave to the guerillas acting under duress and under coercion. the court also said she received military type weapons training from them and their violent opposition to the government along with the cooking and cleaning which qualifies as

material support for a terrorist organization. a huge disqualifier if you're trying to get immigration relief to live in the u.s. the court ruled that the law does not have an exception allowing special treatment because of duress and that immigrants can be banned even if the material support was minimal. the concern now is what happens to the woman, especially if she returns to el salvador. the case has been sent back to a lower court with guidance. there seems to be a question about whether the woman might be tortured if she returns to her home country. ultimately the decision could rest in the hands of either the attorney general or an appeals court. john, back to you. >> thank you very much for that report. so two top aides to embattled epa chief adjust quit as he faces even more ethics questions. how can this quick happening? you know... ou, weeds are low-down little scoundrels. draw the line with roundup. the sure shot wand extends with a protective shield

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two top aides to scott pruitt have resigned. that's the latest development of the growing list of controversies surrounding mr. pruitt. they were set to receive pruitt

approved big pay raises even though the white house refused to sign off on them. president trump praised pruitt just yesterday. >> administrator scott pruitt, thank you, scott, very much. epa is doing really, really well and, you know, somebody has to say that about you a little bit, you know that, scott. but you've done -- the epa is doing so well, so many approvals -- joining us now is christine todd whitman. she was the epa director. governor of new jersey and a critic, frankly of scott pruitt. governor, thanks so much for being with us. these two aides resigned, one of them admitted to doing personal tasks for scott pruitt including apartment hunting and using a trump hotel mattress yet the president continues to heap praise on him, why? >> i have no idea. i cannot imagine why this is continuing because the agenda

that the president set out, i may disagree with it entirely as far as epa and science and protecting human health is concerned but that's his agenda and that's going to be contraried out by whoever's the administrator. scott pruitt is an embarrassment. not just to the agency. i get it. they don't care about that, but he's an embarrassment to the administration. the ethical tone deafness is extraordinary. i can't imagine what's keeping him there. certainly he's terrible for morale. i understand they don't really care about that, but i don't get it. the president should want him gone. >> the answer to your question, why is he keeping him there which is that you understand what the president's agenda is, you disagree with it, but the administrator is carrying out that agenda? >> but anybody he appoints will do that. it doesn't matter. as an appointee of the president, you are not the policy maker. you serve at the pleasure of and while you give your best advice and disagree and say i think there's a better way to do it or

we shouldn't be going in this direction, once the principal is signaled, this is what you want to do, you salute and get on with it or you leave. this extraordinary extra attention of ethical lapses which spills over to the entire cabinet becaus people start looking around and we've seen other secretaries who have had to resign because of using -- spending too much of taxpayer money on personal things. it's bad for everybody. so i don't understand what the personal relationship is between the president and scott pruitt that is keeping him there. maybe because he wants a mattress from the trump hotel and that kind of service. >> scott pruitt doesn't seem to be behaving like he thinks he's in any trouble or he's got anything to risk. there's the story about chick-fil-a where he asked one of his aides to contact chick-fil-a because his wife was interested in opening up a chick-fil-a franchise. he asked someone paid by the taxpayer to call chick-fil-a to set up a business opportunity for his wife and i want you to

listen about what he had to say about it. >> chick-fil-a is a franchise of faith and it's one of the best in the country. and so, that's something we were very excited about. we need more of them in tulsa and across the country. any way, it's an exciting time. >> that doesn't sound like a person ridden with guilt. >> no. again, that totally overlooks the question of, you're not supposed to be making money personally from your service as a public servant when you're being paid by the taxpayers and that wasn't an answer to the question he was asked and the question he was asked was about that, is it right to use public funds and a person who is working for you being paid for by the public dollars to set up a private enterprise or a meeting so you can try to set up a private enterprise for your wife who would presumably make money from it, that's what's wrong with it. chick-fil-a may be a great company and they may need more of them in tulsa and god bless them to have more in tulsa, that's not the issue.

the issue is about using your staff paid for by all of us as taxpayers to enhance your livelihood and your wife's livelihood. >> he doesn't sound like he's going to quit. doesn't sound like the president is going to fire him at least not based on the statements we heard the president make. so who is this on right now? republicans? they control congress, they have committees with oversight on this. what would you say to the committee chairs in congress right now? >> they've got to start asking even more questions and harder questions and the republicans can't leave it to the democrats to ask the questions, because they should be embarrassed too. this isn't great. yes, president trump's base and the very hard core base for the republicans love everything that's going on, could careless about all of this because they haven't realized what it costs them and what it means when you have people that go so outside the law and what that implies for our whole system of government. so that's one thing, but it doesn't play with the rest of the country. the rest of the country is saying, hey, there are rules for

me and i can't -- i can't ignore those rules and laws, how come these people are getting away with it? it's tarnishing everybody's ep reputation on the republican side and they've got to be the ones to lead some of these hearings and tough questions and not let them back away from him. they can't fire him. he serves at the pleasure of the president. >> thank you for being with us. >> my pleasure. "the good stuff" is next. in no hurry to make anything happen. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair works in just one week. with the fastest retinol formula to visibly reduce wrinkles. neutrogena®. i'm about to start the hair, skin and nails challenge. so my future self will thank me. thank you. i become a model? yes. no. start the challenge today. and try new tropical citrus flavor with collagen. nature's bounty. do not mistake serenity for weakness. do not misjudge quiet tranquility for the power of 335 turbo-charged horses.

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announcer: "the good stuff" brought to you by -- it is time now for the good stuff. people breaking a serious sweat for a very good cause, at least 1,000 people turned out in new york sunday for the annual tunnel to towers event. this was at one world trade center. participants climbed more than 2,000 steps to the 104th floor. there's this veteran am pewee. he raced towards the finish line to a round of cheers as you can hear. the event honors fallen firefighters who ran through the battery tunnel with his gear to the burning towers on 9/11. it raised money to build a smart home for a service member injured on the battlefield and look at this. the climb took a romantic turn

for one couple. >> wow. >> absolutely. >> that is beautiful. >> oh, look at that. >> i actually did that. >> i heard. you ran that race. >> it's not a race. you sort of climb up to the top. >> there you are. that's an action shot. you're not doing anything. >> that's before and i think they have me coming out. >> wait a minute. do you just idly stroll down a hallway. >> i had just climbed a lot of stairs. >> prove it. prove it. >> i look tired there. >> you're just standing around. >> this is before and the other one was after. >> are there any pictures of you climbing the stairs. >> just take my word for it. >> i'm going to have to. >> good for you. >> it's a wonderful cause. i want to bring in our new interns. we have here chessa, macey and olla. these are my daughters. say hi to this camera right here. they just got out of school. what are you guys looking forward to now? >> summer, no homework,

relaxation. >> that's exciting. any message that you want to share with, i don't know, dad or somebody. >> hi, dad. >> they're actually triplets. >> we've got recreational math for you after the show. great to have you here. >> all right. >> time for "newsroom" now with brianna kielar. >> see you tomorrow. good morning. i'm brianna kielar in washington and we start with breaking news. the trump administration striking a deal with chinese telecom giant zte, a company that has violated u.s. sanctions and one that the department of defense says poses a national security threat. now the company has to pay a hefty, hefty fine. cnn's christine romans joining me now. what else is in this deal, christine and why is it so controversial? >> reporter: good morning. wilbur ross just said this deal was struck at 6:00 a.m., just a few hours ago and he wa h