i would listen to nikki haley here. i would think in her maiden speech, she's not going to go rogue. she's not going rogue. >> headquarters, rex tillerson secretary of state. he was at the state department. spoke to state department officials in the lobby. they had gathered over there. gave a positive message. he's got a differential ahead right now. >> he does. in terms of policy and in terms of morale at the state department right now, we saw this dissent letter come out this week signed by hundreds, almost a thousand officials at the state department and it was dismissed by the trump administration, by the white house who said sean spicer said in reference to that letter, if you don't want to get with the program, you can just leave. and that's not how that works at the state department or really any of these agencies. they want to have productive policy discussions. rex tillerson has to go in there, reassure the career professionals at the state department that he will hear them out, that he will work with them, and

so what nikki haley said was surprising only because it came from a trump appointee. otherwise it was entirely in keeping with what the u.s. policy has been on russia's aggression in ukraine. the settlement issue, the white house's statement was again surprising only given trump's lavish phrase of israel and criticism of obama. otherwise, what the white house said about israeli settlements was what every white house has said for 40ers yoo. perhaps what's happening here is the continuity of american policy is asserting itself through these professionals which is a very good thing. frankly, once you give trump credit for recognizing that you do need continuity. people expect the united states to have a consistent foreign policy. >> and then there's this. your op ed in "the washington post" that is the headline "sorry, president trump, i agree with you." what have you done with fareed zakaria. >> there are parts of trump's program i agree with, infrastructure. i think there's excessive regulation in some sectors. i think it's a very good idea to have tax reform. the tax

the nikki haley comments at the u.n. where she condemned russia, russian aggression, talked about how sanctions wouldn't be lifted until russia got out of ukraine. all that feels very much like it's foreign policy continuity. now, we shouldn't really even jinx this by calling it embraces the pillars of obama's policy because then he's going to say oh, my god, i can't do that. it's really emphasizing continuity in foreign policy, which we want. the country -- particularly in foreign policy the rest of the world depends on the united states for some consistency. >> yeah, let's talk about iran. nothing is off the table. that's how the president has responded. that's what he said about iran. others in the administration when it comes to these missile tests have said the same thing, nothing is off the table. use the same language. what does this mean for the president? what's the next step? >> again, i don't want to jinx it but this is what the obama administration often said, this is what obama always said. he always pointed

ambassador nikki haley reacted? >> well, i think the trump administration is playing a two-level game here. they're trying to reassure congress that they will not give away the store in any negotiations with russia around ukraine. remember, congress is putting forward legislation that would prevent the president from lifting sanctions unilaterally without congressional approval. so i think part of nikki haley's statement was designed to reassure congress that the trump administration will not give away the store, and that there is no need for this legislation that would tie president trump's hands. >> stewart: what is it president petro poroshenko wants from the united states at this point? >> he wantaise stronger position at the bargaining table. there's been negotiations around minsk 2. this is an agreement whereby the ukrainian government would devolve some sovereignty to the two regions that are in conflict, and that there would be free and fair elections held, and once those elections are held, then the russian

nikki haley comments at u.n. where she condemned russian aggression and talked about how sanctions wouldn't be lifted until russia got out of ukraine, all feels very much like foreign policy continuity. we shouldn't even -- jinx this by calling it embraces pillars of obama's laws because he'll say i can't do that. but particularly with foreign policy, rest of the world depends on the united states for some consistency. >> iran, nothing is off the table that's what the president said. others in the administration said the same thing. nothing is off the table. used same language. what does this mean for the president? what's the next step? >> again i don't want to jinx it but obama administration often said, pointed out he was never ruling out use of force and additional sanctions in place, the obama administration did put in some additional sanctions when they would see this kind of behavior. but it's important to understand that iran nuclear deal was about freezing iran's nuclear program and relaxing internationa

this great nikki haley statement. nobody mentioned the fact that two days later, trump literally denied that russia is inside ukraine. and who is vladimir putin listening to? this great nikki haley statement. nikki haley i think will be a very, you know, important person in this administration, but let's be honest, russians are listening to donald trump, not listening to nikki haley. so, we just got to be careful to let republicans trumpet the statements of the national security cabinet. you got to actually listen to what trump is saying. mr. hohmann: let's talk about yemen. when barack obama was president, you criticized u.s. weapons sales to saudi arabia, the saudi used in their military campaign been yemen has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis there. continuing on that issue, yesterday, you joined rand paul and mike lee along with al franken to request a classified briefing from the administration on our actions and objectives in yemen. obviously one of our navy seals died. let's talk about our yemen policy. are

the same with nikki haley yesterday. that wasn't just nikki haley scribbling notes down. you can tell that went through state and the inner agency process. yesterday seemed to be the first day on foreign policy maybe because tillerson is at the plate. order seemed to be coming to our foreign policy team. >> some normalcy, perhaps in terms of how people in the beltway and new york are used to seeing things go. the whiplash you were talking about is potentially disorienting atmosphere after the first couple weeks of the trump administration. part of the premise here, i think, kneneeds to be readjuste. the policy for the soviet union had a through line. reagan executed the policy in a very different way, you would agree. his leadership, his rhetoric, that mattered. it made a difference. the focus on key strategies with the soviet union made a difference. i don't think you would say jimmy carter would have handled them the way ronald reagan did. we are going to see very different rhetoric and maybe different focus from this administration. i think we are already seeing that.

remain in place according to nikki haley the u.s. ambassador to the un until they abandon the peninsula. very aggressive. iran on notice additional sanctions for missile launch. peter, is this a return on more obama language and if so good or bad. >> i don't think it is. it seems like trump had a meeting with king abdullah of jordan and that's probably the reason he put out something on settlements but what it says is don't build beyond existing borders. that means don't build new settlements but it doesn't stop him from building up in the settlements that already exist. the statement is totally incoherent because it says we don't think settlements are an impetment of peace and then says they want them to be helpful. they wanted to give him something but this is not exactly the red light. >> is this the influence already that language seems to be moderating and things seem to be shifting. >> russia you'd have to say is a modulated or different language in the campaign. every president i've ever seen that i've covered runs for office

. >> reporter: yes, nikki haley pivoting away from president trump. sanctions remain in place for russia. that was a modification that allowed u.s. businesses to do business in russia and make payments and trade. the white house saying that is not an easing of sanctions. they said that they knew about haley's speech in advance of that happening. another sign this hope for russia with warming of relations is not yet materializing. russia with a positive spin on the comments from haley at the u.n. he saw that as a fairly friendly speech given the circumstances and this is the start of a road, one he hopes will lead to a more constructive relationship with russia. very important fact. as you mentioned a serious escalation of violence in eastern ukraine. one monitor on the ground said it was we heard more shelling overnight according to the monitors. reports of civilian casualties. this is an escalating humanitarian crisis and challenge for the u.s. administration just in a second week in office. >> clare, thank you very much. >>> turning to iran. the whi

giving those questions, are you surprised or at least heartened about what nikki haley had to say at the u.n.? >> i am certainly happy to hear that. i think it is a welcome pivot. look, it is so important that the u.s. both remains credible and as a sort of guiding force here. the ukrainians came out to say we are worried america is not backing us and as a result, we are going to start ratcheting up the violence, and that is not a benefit to anyone here. i think a peaceful solution is everyone's best interest. having the u.s. come out and say to russia, this is not going to stand, i think that sends a very clear message. i want to think them russians misjudged this president, and you cannot get a clearer message than that. >> jon: a lot of people misjudged this president. thank you. >> thank you. >> jenna: the uss cole returns to the waters in yemen years after the deadly bombing that happened when they patrolled the same area, we will tell you what is going on there plus fighting in the ukraine is escalating and why that could impact relations between the u.s. and its nato partners.

nikki haley pivoted away from president trump's cordial rhetoric toward russia. going after moscow after the aggression in ukraine. >> this escalation of violence must stop. the united states stands with the people of ukraine who suffered for nearly three years under russian okay paccupation military intervention. until it supports and respects ukraine's sovereignty and territory, this crisis will continue. >> haley disappointing kremlin hopes that sanctions would be curbed under the new administration. let's bring in clare sebasti an. good morning. what is the view from moscow? >> reporter: absolutely, christine. the u.s. blaming russia. russia blames ukraine for the escalation in violence. this is the difference of opinion that we saw with russia and the obama administration. nikki haley doesn't want to see sanctions lifted. and neither does president trump. a slight modification. the white house emphasizing this is not an easing of sanctions. they said they knew about the speech in advance. the warming of relations that many expected does not seem to be materi

it doesn't matter what nikki haley says in the u.n. when two days later the president of the , united states casts doubt on whether the russians are even in ukraine. and what i mean by consequences is that as we speak today, the russians are advancing in eastern ukraine. as we speak today, inside the balkans, the russians are pressing their advantage further in places like bosnia and the republic of serbs, potentially setting off a catastrophic chain of events in the weeks and months to come. so every day that it is totally unclear what the u.s. policy is on russia, and their effort to try to achieve a sphere of influence, russia is moving. and until we draw a line somewhere, until we tell them that we're going to continue sanctions and grow them, russia is going to get closer to what they want, which is a little area around russia in which they run things. they're doing it. they are moving right now. mr. hohmann: john mccain, lindsey graham, couple of others supporting legislation this week to codify these sanctions into law so that t

ambassador nikki haley, right? >> i like that, i would like to hear it directly from president trump. it's the kind of message we should be sending right now. >> why don't you hear that, why don't you believe we don't hear the tough talk on the russians for president trump. >> he's willing to go after pretty hard, friends of ours like australia and mexico, he reserves only soft speech for president putin. i don't have a good explanation for it, all i can say is, this is a part of a long and troubling pattern, the president is not willing to step up and speak out against russian aggression and actions that russia has taken that are directly contrary to the interest of the united states. >> i assume the very carefully drafted statement that ambassador haley read before the united nations security council was authorized approved by officials at the white house. season the that normal procedure? >> that would be normal procedure. we're not living in normal times now, it's hard to know whether in fact the right hand kno

the us ambassador to the un, nikki haley, said it is time to hold north korea accountable with actions not words. our correspondent neda tawfik is at the un in new york. well, the security council issued a very strong statement, as you said, unanimous there, saying that they would basically look to see what further actions they could take. now, they didn't specify what they could be, but certainly security council members over the last decade have issued increasingly harsh sanctions on north korea, to try to persuade pyongyang to take a path away from nuclearisation. so we had very strong language from the us ambassador, nikki haley, urging security council members to basically take all actions, not words, actions, she said, to force north korea to basically depart from its action. so one thing that a senior security council member mentioned to me was implementation of the current resolutions, and current sanctions on the table. and we know that that is something that, if north korea continues to launch missiles in defiance of those security council resolutions, that they are hoping co

meeting on middle east surgery u.n.ed a boar nikki haley talked to report erred. this is ten minutes. >> good morning. first of all, as this is the first time i have dealt with this press corps, i just want to say i hope we can have a lot more conversations and continue to do these types of things but i'll ask that i will respect you as we respected me. so as we develop this relationship we's see how it goes. the first thing i want to do i talk about what we just saw in there the security council just finished its regular monthly meeting on middle east issues. it's the first meeting like that which i have attended it was a bit strange. the security council is supposed to discuss how to maintain international peace and security. but at our meeting on the middle east, the discussion was not about hezbollah's illegal buildsup of rockets in lebanon, not about the money in and weapons iran provides the terrorist issue wait not be how we defeat isis. it was not about how we hold al-assad accountable for the slaughter of hundreds of civilians. no instead the meeting focu

it doesn't matter what nikki haley says in the u.n. when two days later the president of the united states casts doubt on whether the russians are even in ukraine. and what i mean by consequences is that as we speak today, the russians are advancing in eastern ukraine. as we speak today, inside the balkans, the russians are pressing their advantage further in places like bosnia and republic of serb-- setting off a catastrophic chain of events in the weeks and months to come. so every day that it is totally unclear what the u.s. policy is on russia, and their effort to try to achieve a sphere of influence, russia is moving. and until we draw a line somewhere, until we tell them that there are -- we're going to continue sanctions and grow them, russia is going to get closer to what they want, which is a little area around russia in which they run things. they're doing it. >> john mccain, lindsey graham, couple of others supporting legislation this week to codify these sanctions into law so that trump can't roll them back. do you think th

is nikki haley speaking for the administration or herself? you have to balance her statement today very much in line with the obama administration view. it does sound like powers in the chair there. balance against the public statements from the campaign and since the inauguration from president trump, praising russia and refusing to criticize them for ukraine and also interference in the u.s. election. keep in mind nikki haley's comments are in response to grave escalation in the violence over the last several days and couple of weeks. it's an open question. as david roed was saying, must gift administration credit for moving to the center as it were on some positions but we have to balance against the previous weeks and months from the president himself and senior advisers. is it a real change? representation or demonstration of a dispute within the administration? different camps there. own choices for senior cabinet positions are contradicting him on policy decisions. where is the direction? don't know yet. >> michelle, are some of the ac

the us ambassador to the un, nikki haley, said it is time to hold north korea accountable with actions, not words. a few hours before, president trump told a joint news conference with the canadian prime minister, that the us faces many dangers. when i was campaigning, i said it is not a good situation. now that i see it, including with our intelligence briefings, we have problems that a lot of people have no idea how bad they are, how serious they are. not only internationally, but when you come right here. 0bviously north korea is a big, big problem, and we will deal with that very strongly. 0ur correspondent neda tawfik is at the un in new york. she told me there was a clear message from the security council. well, the security council issued a very strong statement, as you said, unanimous there, saying that they would basically look to see what further actions they could take. now, they didn't specify what they could be, but certainly security council members over the last decade have issued increasingly harsh sanctions on north korea, to try to persuade pyongyang to take a path aw

it doesn't matter what nikki haley says in the u.n. when two days later the president of the united states casts doubt on whether the russians are even in ukraine. and what i mean by consequences is that as we speak today, the russians are advancing in eastern ukraine. as we speak today, inside the balkans, the russians are pressing their advantage further in places like bosnia and republic of -- setting off a catastrophic chain of events in the weeks and months to come. so every day that it is totally unclear what the u.s. policy is on russia, and their effort to try to achieve a sphere of influence, russia is moving. until we draw a line somewhere, until we tell them that there are -- we're going to continue sanctions and grow them, russia is going to get closer to what they want, which is a little area around -- around russia in which they run things. they're doing it. they're moving right now. >> john mccain, lindsey graham, couple of others supporting legislation this week to codify these sanctions into law so that trump can't rol

her first public remarks as the united states' new representative at the united nations, ambassador nikki haley has condemned russia's aggressive actions in ukraine and pledged strong us support for the government in kiev. an estimated 200,000 protesters have staged a third night of demonstrations in romania against a government decree that decriminalises some types of corruption. the prime minister says he won't withdraw the decree. europe's migrant crisis, the election of donald trump, and britain's exit from the european union are all likely to dominate the eu's first summit of the year. the meeting of the group's leaders is taking place in malta. the new american defence secretary has said the us will deliver an effective and overwhelming response if north korea uses nuclear weapons. generaljames mattis said any attack on the us or its allies would be defeated. now for the latest financial news, with aaron heslehurst and world business report. brexit, round one. as eu leaders gather in malta. malta's prime minister calls for a "fair deal" for britain, but warns it will pay a price for

ambassador to the u.n., nikki haley this week expressing u.s. support for ukraine. they might be looking for a higher level of support than they originally anticipated. certainly some of president trump's comments during the campaign trail, particularly for example when he said he might consider recognizing the independence of crimea, those were very worrying to ukraine. but this will be a particularly interesting relationship. i think many will be watching both russia and in europe to see how the u.s. continues to respond to the violence in eastern ukraine. >> and talking of that violence there, what is the current situation right now? things seem to be getting worse. >> reporter: it's an extremely situation on the ground there in eastern ukraine. as i said, unprecedented levels of cease fire violations according to international monitors from the osce, the organization for security and cooperation in europe, the ukrainian side saying yesterday they saw the worst violence in the last 24 hours than they had seen in a year. we're two years on from the cease-fire agre

what i find the most fascinating is that nikki haley, the u.s. ambassador to the united nations said things about russia that the president, her boss, differed with 180 degree way with in the campaign. he has been open to the idea of not being tough on russia and opened up the idea on one occasion during the campaign of kind of leaving the situation alone. that is not what we heard from his ambassador to the u.n. today. i talked to someone familiar with the drafting of her remarks saying the white house is well aware of what she was going to do and well aware of her position on this which is pretty hawkish. it is more in line, frankly, with the republican party's credo on philosophy which is to be tough russia. she made it clear in her confirmation hearings. the white house and the president heard that. she will continue to do that. >> you were critical of the administration for not speaking out about the situation in ukraine. does this give you confidence? >> well, it gives me hope. ambassador haley said what democrats and republicans, americans

., nikki haley, said the u.s. would keep sanctions on russia until it changed behavior and returned crimea, but european leaders remember when donald trump said that he might forget about those sanctions and lift them. so i think they're getting a mixed message from this administration. clearly, in the last few weeks, the tone has definitely hardened against russia and i think now, people are hungry for more and want to see some actions by this administration. vice president pence was short on what type of policies the u.s. would institute and talked about these broad concepts. on the russia file, looking for more information. >> matthew, that hardened tone coming from the vice president and also the u.s. ambassador to the u.n., nikki haley. how is that being received there in moscow? >> yeah. we can add to that the comments made by sean spicer. a few days ago about crimea and president trump himself tweeting a few days ago that crimea was taken by russia and whether it was too soft on moscow. i mean, this kind of

from nikki haley. so we don't know but let's give president trump are credit -- >> you think he should be given credit for this because you think this is a good turn in policy rather than being so hard line. >> yes. to most experts, yes. coming in this early and having all these wild disputes with mexico, australia, china, you know, this is a better few days for president trump and let's give his administration credit for stepping back from some of this bellicose rhetoric. >> michelle, what about israel and the building of new settlements? the white house issued a statement on the israeli settlements tonight and it reads in part, "while we don't believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal." is that a change in policy? >> yeah. i mean, it's different from what we heard from president trump while he was on the campaign trail. i mean, stron

it doesn't matter what nikki haley says. when two days later the president of the united states cast doubt on whether the russians are even in the ukraine. as we speak today, the russians are in dancing in eastern ukraine. as we speak today, inside the balkans the russians are pressing their advantage for the places like bosnia and others potentially set enough catastrophic chain of events in the weeks and months to come. every day that it is totally unclear what the u.s. policy is in russia and the effort to achieve a sphere of influence, rushes moving. until we draw a line and tell them we're going to continue sanctions and grow them, rushes going to get closer to what they want, which is a little area around russia in which they run things. they are doing it, they are moving right now. >> john mccain, lindsey graham, few others supported legislation to codify the sanctions into law so they cannot, do you think it's can happen? you think it'll end up getting killed? obviously that would reassure our eastern european allies

as for the nikki haley comments earlier in the week, there was a lot of mention of the fact she did say that she still wanted to see an improved relationship between russia and the u.s., and they certainly touched on the fact that nikki haley and the russian ambassador to the united nations did meet separately again on friday in new york and did say that they planned to work together within -- under the auspices of the united nations. so, you know, they're not touching too much on the issue of mixed messages and they're certainly trying to draw any positives where they can, particularly in the media, michael. >> yeah, indeed. >> keep you busy there. >> yeah, keep you on for a bit, claire. thanks, claire sebastian in moscow. we will take a short break on the program. when we come back, much more on the trump administration's legal bid to uphold that travel ban after it was temporarily struck down on friday. >> plus how visa holders from the affected countries are reacting to the news that is u.s. borders are back open, even though things could change yet again. (vo) maybe it was here, wh

>> i think we should not assume that nikki haley was freelancing here. clearly the administration was sending a clear signal and we ought to understand that nikki haley's statement is part of a larger strategic view in terms of russian policy. russia cares about many things, whether it's the assad regime, access to their port in torto e toretuse, a larger russian policy being formulated here. >> would you agree it's a stronger tone towards russia? >> absolutely. the russians ought to be sitting up and listening and taking notice. >> the trump administration pivoting to a position more similar to the obama administration? >> i think that's a generous view. i wouldn't think that's a generation of the obama policy. >> certainly more aggressive in terms of rhetoric and perhaps in terms of action. >> right. i think we ought to understand there's some posturing going on here and we ought to, i think, expect that the trump administration will look for a more strand strategic bargain of which ukraine, syria, are all pieces in this puzzle. >> the u.s. military ha

nikki haley in the u.n. said we will not release sanctions until you get out of crimea. investigating every infraction that ever happened is a bridge too far right now. katty: the president also said that america is no more guilty than president putin when it comes to murder. it is not true what sean spicer said in the white house, that the u.s. has been tough on russia. there was that one nikki haley incident. rep. kinzinger: i think the administration is being tough. i was critical of the comment of somehow moral equality between the united states and russia. totally untrue. we will be critical when those comments come out. i think they are very damaging. but on the broader scale of reassuring nato, reassuring the troops in europe and calling for , liberation of crimea and a return to the ukrainian people, this is been very much a departure from the last administration. to the extent there is involvement, we will find out, we need to. but you say we need to launch major investigations anytime somebody resigns for something will paralyze this administration from going o

the statement by nikki haley, that was good, towards russia. if you continue with your policy towards ukraine and crimea, we're not going to lift sanctions. that's positive. with israel, increasing settlements as israel has doing, is not going to make things better with israeli/palestinian talked. although i did disagree with the obama administration's vote at the u.n. on abstaining on the settlements. you don't want to deal with a u.n. on israel/palestinian issues. so that was a mistake. so, you know, i'm going to say that the president and his team on those two issues did the right thing. but let's do it with deliberation. let's not do it with tweets. let's do it with our diplomats, with the state department. let's take a lot of this power out of the white house and put it in the hands of individuals that know what they're doing, the professionals at the state department. >> former u.s. ambassador to the u.n., former governor bill richardson. thank you for joining pe. >>> that brings us to today's microsoft pulse question. do you think sancti

on russia, everybody was surprised to hear nikki haley, the new u.n. ambassador to forcefully say to russia the the sanctions will remain in place as long as there's a krimea in moscow's hands. you heard sean spicer say during the briefing that nikki haley, ambassador haley spoke clearly and forcefully were the words he used. this was not the u.n. ambassador going rogue in any respect. that's a dialing back of what's considered to be. sanctions with a slight adjustment to the sanctions yesterday but i think this was an open question heading into when nikki haley made the remarks yesterday. i think it's interesting. this is a new day in the white house briefing room. i think it's worth noting to our viewers to have the white house press secretary turn to local reporters who are chiming in from around the country, asking questions, i think that's a very healthy sign and you're seeing this white house working around the room trying to bring a lot of other reporters who don't normally get to ask questions during these briefings, during previous administrat

that nikki haley, the u.s. ambassador to the united nations, went before this body, and said things about russia in crimea that the president, her boss, differed with kind of in an 180-degree way in the campaign. he has been very open to the idea of not being tough on russia, even open to the idea, at least on one occasion during the campaign, of just kind of leaving the crimea situation alone. that is not what we heard from his ambassador to the u.n. today. i just talked to somebody who was familiar with the drafting of her remarks, who said that the white house is well aware of what she was going to do, but also well aware of her position on this, which is pretty hawkish, which is more in line, frankly, with the republican party's credo and philosophy, which is to be tough on russia. she made that clear in her confirmation hearings. the white house and president heard that, and she's going to continue to do that. >> paul, just last night on the broadcast, you were critical of the administration for not speaki

nikki haley was strong about russia before the security council. president trump has been warm the whole time. >> we know about president trump is that if he doesn't like what you are saying, he throws you under the bus. if she said something out of line, i guarantee and i think you agree within maybe five minutes, we would see a tweet that pus her in her place. >> there is a lot of open questions. does russia have something on him? the fact that there is a story about flynn talking to the russian ambassador, we have known about the conversation for two months. did trump not care that he called the russian ambassador? did he know what michael flynn said or did he direct him to talk about the sanctions? he sat on it for two months and took no action until it was a media controversy. >> he is aware of the dynamics of power. there are three powerful entities. america, china, and russia. he said whether you agree, it behooves us to move forward in areas of danger with those that have power and are willing to use it. and i suspect that this is all part

ambassador to the u.n., nikki haley. the russian colleague dies that he is expected. he was surprised by such a strong language. >> penn state men's, what do you want the u.s. to do? or lethal defensive weapon, cannot help? do you think your forces to deal to repel the russians? >> i think so. i would name three areas in which we need continued support from the united states. they work in the organization bilateral second economic assistance and financial assistance and that is what we see from the united states for years now and we are extremely grateful for that. this is a huge amount of help. in the third, military. as you may know, ukraine announced some time ago that we would be willing to join nato. we need to go through painful and big security military reforms that is not possible without the u.s. assistance. so if we would have more weapons, more training, more equipment, i think our military will be much more better prepared. >> do think it would approve that or did they cut a deal with latimer putin? are you concerned that the critics during the election an

his ambassador to the united nations nikki haley stood before the u.n. security council on her first day and strongly denounced the russian occupation of crimea. as ambassador's nikki haley said at the time "the dire situation in eastern ukraine is one that demands clear and strong condemnation of russian actions." president trump has made it very clear he expects the russian government to de-escalate violence in the ukraine and return crimea. at the same time, he fully expects to and wants to be able to get along with russia. unlike previous administrations so that we can solve many problems together facing the world such as the threat of isis and terrorism. the president is currently evaluating a group of very strong candidates that will be considered to fill the national security advisor position permanently and is confident in the ability of general kellogg, a decorated and distinguished veteran of the united states army until that person is ultimately chosen. before i get into the president's schedule for today, quick recap of the president's activi

. >> and tough talk coming from nikki haley condemning russia for a recent surge of violence in eastern ukraine. >> we do want to better our relations with russia. however the situation in eastern ukraine is one that demands clear and strong condemnation of russian actions. >> haley's rhetoric far stronger than the president's posture on russia but thursday's remarks coming as no surprise to the white house. sources tell cnn they signed off on haley's speech. meanwhile today the white house could announce additional tougher sanctions on iran following sunday's ballistic missile test. these sanctions expected to be similar to actions taken by former president obama. mr. trump also not ruling out military action. >> nothing is off the table. i haven't eased anything. >> foreign policy, center stage on rex tillerson's first day as secretary of state. >> i'm the new guy. >> speaking with israel, germany and mexico and also doing damage control after the president's tense phone call with australia. >> president obama said that they were going to take well over a thousand and bring them into

nikki haley's comments at the u.n. must have been heartening for mr. poroshenko. mr. poroshenko obviously trying to look for some u.s. support. >> absolutely, michael. quite a stark difference between the two statements we got on that call. one from the white house and one from the office of president poroshenko. the white house keeping it really very broad, broad enough, in fact, to be almost confusing. of course mr. trump calling it a very good call, but saying that the u.s. will work to resolve the conflict along the border. this of course is not specifically a border conflict, more of a territorial conflict in the east of ukraine. the ukrainian side being much more specific, saying that they are working to kind of resolve the tensions around the government-held town where we've seen violence flare in recent days and weeks. referring perhaps to those comments from nikki haley earlier in the week who talked about not lifting sanctions against russia until crimea was returned to ukraine. so you're right, definitely, ukraine is trying to draw as many positives as it c

. >> nikki haley came down hard on iaruss. in>>> new york city yemeni americans closed their doors to >>pose president trump's policy. > the explosion called them to flee. >> it was a rough opening round. >> president trump mitet wh harley-davidson executives. >> how would you like to see me fall off of one of those. >> -- and all that matter -- >> the president used the prayer breakfast to pray for the dismal ratings on "the apprentice." >> i want to pray for arnold schwarzenegger now. >> i never heard that in the bible. is that corinthians. >> why don't we switch jobs. you take over tv and i can take over y finally sleep comfortably again. >> is this the war of 1812 because the white house just got burnt. >> announcer: this morning's "eye opener" presented by toyota. let's go places. >>> welcome to "cbs this morning." gayle king is on assignment and norah o'donnell is off. anthony mason and alex wagner of "cbs this morning: saturday" are here and we're pleased about that. we're following breaking news from paris. a machete a

there's nobody around him, including nikki haley and others around him at the white house, that have somehow implied that they're going to go weak on russia. i think he understands that vladimir putin is a guy that's going to be there probably throughout his entire presidency. so if you're going to deal with him, why not deal with him in a way that at least maybe gets us the best-case scenario for both countries instead of walking in there and already having a we don't speak to each other, we negotiate through the media-type mentality, which has not worked for the last 12, 15, 18 years. >> i agree with ben that we shouldn't get overanxious about the language and that donald trump should have, as president, the right to see if there's a way to work with russia. i'm skeptical that he's going to be able to strike a deal that's either in u.s. interest or shows enough to really give putin what he wants. i mean on things like ukraine, things like crimea, putin is really not going to budge. on syria, i don't really think we have the same interest as russia. i don't think russia is committed

nikki haley went far not even the most anodyne criticism. it's a sharp contrast within the administration. >> thanks very much, jim sciutto. >>> more on this. kathleen rice joining us a member of the house homeland security committee. thank you for joining us. what's your reaction to the president's drawing this comparison between the united states and russia under putin when it comes to killing individuals? >> my reaction is the same as every single american that i have spoken to and that we've heard from. they're outrageous comments. we are seeing just a very troubling propensity for this president to say things without thinking about the consequences of his words. look, when you are on a campaign trail, you can say whatever you want, but once you're sworn in as the president of the united states, you have to understand that words have consequences. every single word that you speak. i am so happy that people in his own party have chosen to react to his comments as patriots, not as politicians. it begs the question, why is it that he can ha

you have got nikki haley at the united nations saying russia need to be condemned for it actions. you have the secretary of defense making his comments about what when need to do vis-a-vis russia. you see the trump administration is working on an angle that doesn't embrace russia. but saying i think it's a good thing for russia and the u.s. to have good relations. the kremlin spokesman said we may not agree between washington and moscow on everything, but there is room for pragmatic mutual interest to prevail here. kennedy: interesting. maybe just like there is air between russia and iran, maybe that's what nikki haley is doing is putting some air between our policies and russia and the president's perceived favor built of vladimir putin. why is president trump dragging this is the silverado special edition. this is one gorgeous truck. oh, did i say there's only one special edition? because, actually there's 5. aaaahh!! ooohh!! uh! holy mackerel. wow. nice. strength and style. which one's your favorite? come home with me! it's truck month! find your tag for an average total value

. >> his ambassador to the united nations nikki haley stood before the u.n. security council on her first day and strongly denounced the russian occupation of crimea. >> the president certainly hasn't lacked opportunity to call out russia for provocative actions. recently, we've had a pickup in military activity inside eastern ukraine, the u.s. believes that's being directed by russia and now the deployment of this new cruise missile, both of those things that the president has yet to comment on publicly to criticize publicly from the bully pulpit, wolf, of the white house. >> jim sciutto reporting for us, good report. thanks very much. we're back with senator mark warner, vice chairman of the senate intelligence committee. reacting to jim sciutto's report, is your committee now, democrats and republicans, looking into all those issues that we just discussed? >> wolf, every one of those issues we're looking into, and every one of those issues we're going to follow the facts wherever they lead and the american public deserves answers. in terms of those investi

the next day nikki haley the u.s. representative to the ut nationed comes out as you noted and criticized, actually condemned russia for the violence, said that they called for an end to the occupation of crimea. and she also said that sanctions won't end until russia returns crimea to ukraine. that's very strong stuff. and then tonight, we have the statement from the white house on the conversation between president trump and president boris schennco of ukraine. there again we have let's all get along, let's work together to bring peace along the border, but no real mention of the things that i'm sure the ukrainians are worried about and may well have discussed but it wasn't noted in that statement and that is sanctions. i think you'd have to say that the policy is all over the place. very strong statements coming from one official at the united nations and then almost a complete opposite from the president himself, so where is policy? >> just back to claire on the president of the ukraine, he has spoken with preside

nikki haley says it is part of the ukraine and always will be. people joked that she was speech. samantha powers' there are consequences to this thefighting has flared in eastern ukraine again. 30 have been killed in the last week and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes and there is actors on the ground with russian rebels and maneuvering starting ofget active with a lack certainty and there is a bigger bargaining position. >> he doesn't have any actual influence on what happens. they say there should be more lethal aid and the ukrainians it is just beautiful words and it doesn't mean anything, practically. ofi think this is a theory 15 tanks and russia gives them 16. the russians want it more. if we give the ukrainians something, the russians will give them that and one more. they want it more and there is re, especially in europe. , withe: do you think that what prudent has said -- what vladimir putin has said, he would be more likely to move against baltic countries and thete what he has done in ukraine in the baltic countries? receptive to confusi

nikki haley/ un ambassador: "the united states continues to condemn and call for an immediate end to the russian occupation of crimea," nikki haley, the new ambassador to the united nations saying thursday all sanctions related to crimea will remain until russia returns it to ukraine. however, the treasury department ádidá ease a minor sanction, put in place by the obama administration, on russia... calling it a technical fix to avoid unintended consequences... still, the white house says its policy toward russia has not changed. in washington, i'm dianne gallagher. take a look at this: what could be a drought-busting snowpack in the sierra. it's 173-percent above average...that is the most snow recorded since 19-95. the snowpack is vital to california's water supply... in april governor jerry brown is expected to decide whether or not officially lift the drought emergency. and more rain on the way... chief meteoeorlogist brittney shipp is tracking it tonght. light spotty showers continue you heard it there... time to brace for six more weeks of winter.. according to america's furr

with nikki haley at the u.n. saying sanctions will remain in place with general mattis stressing the importance of nato the message coming out of the administration except for these press conferences is very good. >> those press conferences are key, though, as you know of course, congressman. perhaps the most important one -- or not perhaps -- the most important word is the one coming from the president himself. >> absolutely. >> congressman adam kinz i thinker thank you for your time. what you're looking at on your screen is the beginning of this event in south carolina where donald trump is going to speak. this will be the first time that we will hear from him since retired vice admiral bob harward turned down the role of national security adviser. we will bring you those remarks live as soon as he begins speaking, should be pretty soon here. while we wait i am joined by congresswoman jackie speier of california, she is a member of the armed services and also the intelligence committee. very helpful as we discu

ambassador nikki haley says "we call on all members of these gritty council to use every available resource to make it clear to the north korean regime and its enablers that these launches are acceptable. it is time to hold north korea accountable. not with our words but actions." president trump had an on characters in the brief response today when asked about the north korea situation. many experts are expressing alarm about what has happened over the past three days. here is senior foreign affairs correspondent greg palkot. >> north korea launched over the weekend a medium-range ballistic missile, his first missile test of the year and the first clinical test of the new trump administration. kim jong-un reportedly monitoring the launch. pyongyang called it a success, claiming a missile could very a nuclear warhead now being developed. u.s. officials branded it a grave threat to national security. high trajectory and three inter-miles across steve japan, it's the greatest distance pyongyang has sent this type of missile. experts say rocket fuel and a mobile launcher makes it a test pad fo

ambassador rice nikki haley calling for possible additional sanctions on russia because of the incursion into crimea. today"dline in "usa about the easing of sanctions. the u.s. eases restrictions on cyber security sales to russian spy agencies. sanctions ononomic russia, allowing some cyber security transactions, but the russian federal security service accused of meddling in the u.s. electoral process applauded the move as signaling a thawing in relations. several members of congress decried the move as pandering to russia and its hacking attempts. the trump administration demanded any easy appeasing of the sanctions, describing the sanctions as routine tweaking. here is the response from sean spicer. [video clip] >> wise the administration easing sanctions against russia? >> we are not easing sanctions. from what i understand, it is a fairly common practice. the treasury department after sanctions are put in place. to go back and to look at whether or not there needs to be specific carveouts for different industries or products and services that need to be going back and forth. i woul

nic nikki haley said we're not going to remove sanctions because of the ukraine, i think that has to stay in place, while frankly this mess is cleared up. >> if he doesn't pivot and keeps the same line as he has, would you then be suspicious? >> well, i wouldn't be suspicious that it's -- that he's being compromised. i would just say that it's bad policy, really wrong policy but i think you're going to find a awful a lot of republicans on the hill saying we have to find this out. the intelligence community has to look into this and get their own facts of who knew what at the fbi and who did they tell it to when did the chief of staff find out when the president find out? was it all the same day? i think you're going to find they're looking into that pretty carefully. >> last night i saw you on erin burnett "out front" and that it was you being number two officially snagging that, we keep hearing that the knives are out. have you ever seen anything quite like this? >> no. in the bush administrations george w. bush. >> that if you're seen with a knife you're out. there was a store in b