Mike Pence, Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy, more — Face the Nation Full Broadcast - May 31, 2026

[0:01] i'm margaret brennan in washington and this week on face the nation the diplomatic dance between [0:06] the u.s and iran continues as ukraine makes an impassioned plea for more help from the u.s [0:12] we spoke exclusively with ukrainian president blotimir zelinski who issued a warning when we [0:19] know that russia prepares a big massive attack definitely and urgently requested anti-ballistic [0:26] missile weaponry from the u.s whose supply is already stretched thin by that war with iran [0:33] back home as midterm matchups prepare for their november contest does character count anymore [0:40] when it comes to politics we'll talk with former vice president mike pence as well as connecticut [0:46] democratic senator chris murphy they both have new books out and they both have thoughts on the future [0:52] of their respective political parties we'll also hear from the outgoing head of the u.n's world [0:58] food program cindy mccain on the difficulty of feeding the world in challenging times it's all [1:06] just ahead on face the nation good morning and welcome to face the nation as we await developments [1:26] in the back and forth between the u.s and iran over a framework for a truce in the now three month long [1:32] cbs news has learned that the president made further edits to the u.s proposal on friday [1:38] and mediators now wait on iran's response we begin today with ukrainian fears that russia will soon [1:45] stage a massive attack on key which sources tell cbs news could include strikes on the presidential [1:51] office and government buildings when we spoke exclusively to ukrainian president vladimir zelinski on [1:57] friday he told us about the increased attacks from the russians in recent weeks and the dire need for [2:04] assistance from the u.s we think that we will have a big attack from russian side using drones using [2:13] cruise missiles and ballistic and we see the preparation always we see the preparation by the way uh we are [2:22] thankful to united states and european partners when they share with us intelligence so when we know [2:29] that russia prepares a big massive attack definitely our partners also know maybe not a lot of details but [2:38] we know we have uh each day attack from russian side on civil lands and of course on battlefield and two [2:47] times a week or two times per 10 days they have big massive attacks with ballistic and etc last massive attack [2:59] just just to understand it was uh some days ago it was 600 drones iranian drones shahids and they had [3:10] 35 uh about 30 plus ballistic missiles and and totally it was 90 missiles and more than 600 iranian drones so [3:21] it was very difficult to destroy it we use all our weapon what we have what we produce and of course we [3:28] used anti-ballistic missiles this is the biggest deficit for us we're hearing from european countries that [3:37] russia is taking more and more operational risks in europe why do you think vladimir putin is taking [3:45] these risks at this moment um first of all uh it's not the first time yes he's doing such pressure i [3:54] think it's political pressure it's messages from russia don't help ukraine i think this is the most uh [4:01] uh uh the most usual meaning what what he used don't if you will help ukraine i will do these such steps [4:10] so he began he tried once crossing at the very beginning of this war he did it in romanian and uh [4:19] and then a little bit later it was in poland when they used 21 drones usually we try to uh catch [4:27] all the drones even when they go when their direction to other countries like romania moldova [4:34] or uh and the direction of poland we try to catch everything if we can't of course we give these [4:42] messages to our partners we try to help them and also the same with the baltic countries estonia latvia [4:50] so russia uses this just to attack politically and by weapon pressure on nato countries to [4:57] look and the reaction so the reaction we we i i think the reaction has to be more strong from the [5:06] unity of nature countries and uh i think that putin is comparing how this reaction and how it's changed [5:14] during this one year or two years three years this is the way how and he also the testing of air [5:23] defense of other countries nato countries which are bordering us or bordering belarus or russia so [5:30] he's testing what air defense they have can they destroy all their uh all the missiles or drones [5:38] this is what i think you sent a personal letter to the white house and to congress within the past few [5:47] days explaining that ballistic missiles as you put it remain vladimir putin's last major battlefield [5:55] advantage you need a surge of interceptors to take these missiles out have you gotten a response from [6:03] america this is uh the biggest this is the priority for us and big big challenge we had very difficult [6:11] uh russia attack us by a lot of ballistic missiles on our energy infrastructure water supply schools here [6:22] it was it was very difficult now we see big deficit of course one of the reason it's the situation in [6:30] the middle east with iranian war and we see that the deficit is increasing and we need to hurry up [6:38] to rush and to send messages and meetings and do a lot of meetings with other partners we don't see [6:46] enough missiles in production of the united states we see that this is it can be crisis in the world [6:56] including middle east of course i hope god bless that the ceasefire will be long and lasting peace [7:03] i i wish it to middle east countries and to the united states and i hope that president trump and [7:10] his team and american side will negotiate ceasefire but what we see we have to prepare for the [7:17] challenges and we in ukraine we don't have ceasefire we have long five years war and we see that russia [7:24] is increasing in their internal production the production of ballistic missiles and we have [7:32] deficit with anti-ballistics this is big problem i send a letter to the white house and congress of [7:39] the united states and i hope that they will understand and will answer respond and this is very important we [7:48] need to increase the production secretary of state rubio recently said that ukraine has the strongest [7:54] military in all of europe the army secretary of the united states called the ukrainian battlefield [8:01] the silicon valley of war praising how you've integrated ai and anti-drone technology so you [8:08] have this edge on this type of warfare can you use it in any way to take down these russian missiles [8:17] or are you solely dependent on american manufacturing to help where we've got messages to help in the [8:24] middle east to defend some bases with some american soldiers and also infrastructure of middle east [8:32] countries like saudi or emirates and etc and i i came with uh with our groups we sent to more than 200 [8:41] our experts such a level of soft and different kind of interceptors radars systems of electronic warfare [8:54] and nobody has a secretary is right so we have and we can destroy all kind of drones we can destroy [9:02] a lot of different missiles but we don't have still in our total program and system we don't have [9:10] anti-ballistics this is the biggest problem which yes we are on the way by the way i wanted to say [9:16] so we will build it i know but we need time for this but during this time we lose people and we [9:22] remember that united states helped us from the very beginning of this war so of course we are very [9:28] thankful and we are ready to share what we have but until the moment we will produce our european [9:36] anti-ballistic system to this moment we need support from the united states uh secretary rubio said [9:43] there are no negotiations scheduled between russia and ukraine he seems to be acknowledging this is [9:49] completely stalled president putin's spokesperson said it is too early to speak in specifics about the [9:56] the end of the war do you think russia can ever come to negotiate an end yes of course we are ready to speak [10:07] bilaterally with russia i'm ready to meet with putin if he will be ready i think we need more sanctions [10:15] i think we need more pressure and uh you asked uh when they will be ready and if if they will be ready [10:24] uh theoretically i think yes more sanctions more pressure they will be ready for the title even now [10:32] they have losses 30 35 000 soldiers russian soldiers per month and it's a huge number of losses really [10:42] we increased this number we i mean that they increase the number to attack us and that's why [10:49] the the number of losses is where it may and each each month you have to know that they mobilize [10:55] i think the same very comparable number or with the losses so this is a problem for them the deficit of [11:04] people and they are on the way to the big crisis with the people i think all these things will push [11:11] them to the dialogue when is the last time you heard from secretary rubio or steve whitkoff or jared [11:19] kushner the president's peace envoys and and will they ever come to kiev yes we count on on the on [11:27] their coming uh to kiev i hope that they will find a possibility to come during two weeks you know but [11:35] at least i've got such message from my negotiation group they told me that they had contacts with [11:42] steve and jared and they said that they are ready to come to ukraine and to speak if of course if [11:52] always if you know margaret and today if it means middle east so i don't know what will be in the [11:59] middle east and how you close to negotiations positive one again hope so so i don't know it but [12:07] i think that we need to see american negotiation group in ukraine they've never been here i think [12:13] it's important not all also for us it's useful for them to understand to see to see people that [12:20] the life is going on but we want to stop this war it's meant to stop russia they've been several times [12:26] in moscow i said previously about it if they want to go this time to moscow they have to come to kiev [12:34] and then go to moscow i think it will be helpful before i let you go i just want to come back to [12:39] what you mentioned in regard to drone technology and this offer that you made to the united states [12:45] is the deal progressing or is it stalled so we uh we we wanted very much to do the first drone deal [12:54] with the united states like with the first strategic partner but the united states wanted to check all [13:01] our types of drones we signed we uh accepted i accepted this uh uh document this way how they [13:09] wanted first to train to check to use it uh in the sky on the water because we have not only uh sky [13:17] drones we have sea drones and etc so i accepted this way but we still um didn't accept a drone deal like the [13:26] big document i hope that we are on the way but we have already drawn deals with some middle east [13:32] countries and we have already drawn deals with some european countries now we're preparing the big [13:38] drone deal with eu and i hope that we will have such decisions with american partners i count on it [13:47] you count on it and you need to keep working with silicon valley and american technology companies on this [13:52] we want very much yes because american technological company they have a lot of different uh interesting [14:00] ai technologies what we don't have and we have a lot of things what they don't have because our [14:06] experience on the battlefield i think these corporations can be the can be huge and the [14:12] most powerful in the world so we need you know we need to negotiate already not to speak about it [14:19] just to make steps and to do it as quick as possible you need president trump to say yes it sounds like [14:25] yes we need president trump to say yes our full interview with president zelinski is available on [14:32] our website youtube page and our podcast face the nation will be back in one minute stay with us [14:38] and we're back now with connecticut democratic senator chris murphy he is the author of a new book [14:47] crisis of the common good the fight for meaning and connection in a broken america [14:52] he joins us from hartford connecticut good morning to you senator good morning i want to talk about [14:59] your book in a moment but just to pick up on where we left it with president zelinski do you believe [15:04] that there is enough bipartisan support to press the pentagon to reallocate some of these patriots [15:12] so he can take down all the incoming russian missiles yeah i doubt it unfortunately i i think the story [15:21] here has been pretty simple from the start donald trump does not want to do what is necessary to [15:28] support ukraine and the republican party will always follow his lead we've had a bipartisan sanctions [15:34] bill sitting on the senate floor for a year and a half that would tighten the screws on the russian [15:40] economy make it harder for them to fund the war donald trump has basically had a veto on that bill he [15:46] won't allow senate republicans to bring it forward he's been sitting on 400 million dollars that [15:52] congress allocated to help ukraine he hasn't spent a dime of it despite protests loudly publicly and [15:58] privately from senate republicans so i just think ultimately donald trump has decided he does not [16:03] want to help ukraine and there doesn't seem to be enough courage in the republican caucus to fight [16:10] back i mean i hope i'm wrong about that this is obviously a critical moment where ukraine actually [16:15] looks like it is about to be able to take a real offensive position um and so i'm rooting that they [16:21] will finally stand up to the president on this uh to your point on the 400 million hegseth the secretary [16:27] of war said that that was to be released but we haven't seen anything more i know you sit on the [16:32] appropriations committee so you have a chance to ask some of these questions potentially of secretary [16:37] rubio when he sits before you on i believe wednesday asking for thirty three point six billion dollar [16:43] budget um what's the top priority when you do get to ask questions of the secretary well the top [16:51] priority is ending the war in iran this has been an absolute disaster for the united states obviously [16:57] the primary impact is here at home as families and businesses are being ruined by gas prices they're six [17:04] dollars a gallon in some places but it's just been a humiliation for the united states and it's made iran [17:10] more powerful of course there's an impact in russia as well we've had to suspend sanctions on russian [17:16] oil in order to get their oil on the market so the consequence of the iran war is not just [17:22] that americans are dying uh the prices are going up but russia is also getting more powerful we're [17:27] literally funding their war efforts so we need the iran war to end there's been this talk of a deal for [17:34] months and months and months i think the terms of the deal are are pretty humiliating in and of [17:39] themselves but we just need this war done no matter the terms at this point um on the uh point about [17:45] the sanctions we talked about that president zielinski and you can see that full transcript online [17:50] um but i know that that the white house pushes back and says the money isn't that significant uh in [17:56] terms of what russia is able to pocket you obviously disagree yeah i mean i just think from a moral [18:04] perspective um no matter whether the money is a difference maker the idea that we are helping russia fund [18:11] this war is ridiculous it's not small potatoes russia is getting billions of additional dollars [18:19] because of our sanctions relief that that's allowing them to buy some of the missiles that are on the [18:26] verge of raining down on key people are dying because of our help for russia so it's just bad enough that [18:33] the strait of formuz is closed and it's hurting our economy the fact that we are adding insult to injury [18:39] by the war in iran helping russia is just unacceptable uh you have written this book that we mentioned [18:45] and i know that you said about it in a recent interview that 2028 democratic contenders are [18:50] texting you talking to you about some of the ideas in it um some of our recent cbs polling found that [18:57] 62 percent of registered voters view the democratic party in a negative light so how do you take these [19:04] ideas and and what's the main one democrats need to hammer home to redirect the party yeah this book [19:12] is really about the spiritual crisis in the country that led to donald trump this is a country that is [19:17] feeling more lonely more adrift more exhausted by an economy that abuses workers um a culture in which we [19:25] tell people that they can make themselves happy by just buying things instead of you know being active [19:30] citizens and so it's a book about the underlying work that we have to do um to unrig the economy so that [19:36] people feel purpose and value and unrig our democracy so that people feel power and that's [19:42] what the book really is about the emotional state of the country here's what i think democrats need to [19:46] do they need to understand that that people are furious at the fact that our politics have become [19:51] captured and people are feeling out of control of their lives because they think we're all corrupt [19:57] they don't think donald trump is just corrupt they think everybody in politics is corrupt so [20:01] democrats need to be much louder about the ways that we're going to get billionaire and corporate [20:06] money out of our politics because people don't believe us when we say we're going to fix the [20:11] economy if we don't also tell them how we're going to fix our democracy okay well to that point about [20:17] spirit and character um the campaign for graham platner confirmed to cbs on saturday that the main [20:24] senate candidate had sent sexually explicit texts to women other than his wife [20:28] um this is in addition to other past controversies does he pass the character test yeah i mean i have [20:39] not followed this story as closely as others have but i mean grant platner is somebody that served our [20:46] country he served his community he's also made mistakes and he has admitted that um character um also [20:56] involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country and this race is going [21:02] to be a contrast between somebody that has put his life on the line for this country against somebody that [21:09] is literally empowering the moral hollowing out of our nation from the white house so he certainly admitted [21:18] that he has made mistakes but i think this is going to be a pretty clear contrast in maine between somebody [21:24] who has spent his life protecting us versus somebody who seems to be protecting donald trump's corruption [21:32] well you know i want to ask you as well about an interview that aired right before this program [21:36] with my colleague rita braver on cbs sunday morning she interviewed the former first lady jill biden about [21:41] the new book she wrote in which she talks about the infamous 2024 debate where the then president um [21:48] really couldn't answer questions she says a lot of things including that she thought her husband was [21:54] having a stroke because she he was incomprehensible um she admits that she said to him afterwards that [22:02] he's really screwed up but that's what she's revealing now democrats stridently including on this [22:09] program said time and again that his cognitive abilities were fine how do you convince the public that [22:18] democrats are telling the truth now yeah listen i i think democrats do have to be honest about the [22:27] mistakes that we made in 2024 obviously in retrospect um joe biden should have stepped away from that race [22:33] we should have had an open contest and and in this book i frankly talk about you know how tribal our [22:39] politics have become um how republicans are willing to excuse donald trump's corruption because their entire [22:45] identity structure is built around um their party and i think that happens on the democratic side as [22:51] well where we are willing to look the other way too often at mistakes that our own party leaders are [22:58] making and and this book says that that's you know not just up to politics to fix that we actually have [23:02] to create more healthy identity structures for people outside of politics so they see their purpose [23:08] through their work or through their connection to a local community that makes our politics less [23:13] tribal and maybe allows us on both sides to stand up to our party when we think they've gone wrong [23:18] all right senator murphy we have to leave it there thank you for your insights today we'll be right [23:23] back with more face the nation welcome back to face the nation we are joined now by former vice [23:34] president mike pence who has a new book what conservatives believe rediscovering the conservative [23:40] conscience good morning to you mr vice president good morning mark good to see you you clearly think [23:45] your party needs some reminders here um and and you write that americans are confused about what it [23:51] means to be a conservative you say for many right-wing populists grievance dictates policy who or what are [23:58] you thinking about there well i think uh look from all of my adult life the republican party has been [24:06] defined by a commitment to a conservative agenda to america as leader of the free world limited government [24:14] free market economics and traditional moral values especially the right to life uh and i'm proud to [24:21] say that that from the reagan administration to the first trump administration we governed on that agenda [24:27] but i i wrote what conservatives believe because just in the last four or five years there's been [24:34] uh a rise of what i call the populist right that focuses more on what we're against than what we're [24:41] for four focuses more on grievance than a positive conservative agenda i mean the conservative movement [24:47] has always been uh battling politically with the progressive left but now there's a new threat [24:53] from the populist right that would uh embrace uh policies of isolationism abroad that would embrace big [25:01] government and protectionism at home marginalize the right to life and as we go into this fall's [25:07] elections and go into 2028 i thought it was important that we take a moment as a party and as a [25:13] movement to remind ourselves what we believe but some of what you are describing um isn't just on the [25:20] fringes or within the party it's the president of the united states who's leader of that party and you [25:25] write he has not always governed as a conservative um i understand that the president's overall approval [25:33] rating is low it is but he still seems to have this vice grip on the neck of the republican party [25:40] right now so how can you revive a portion of it that that he is in opposition to i mean right to [25:47] life was one of them as you just detailed you split with him very publicly on that you think he [25:51] betrayed it you think he betrayed on for example spending and the way he's uh dealing with some of [25:57] the free market issues right well look i think the second uh trump administration's got a lot right [26:02] they got the border secured after the worst border crisis in american history they extended those [26:07] trump pence tax cuts that we passed in their entirety uh they've stood uh without apology for our [26:14] cherished ally israel and took the fight directly to iran but on on other instances you've seen the [26:23] impact and the embrace by the president and people around him of the politics of the populist right [26:30] that price controls on on credit cards and pharmaceuticals nationalization of american [26:36] businesses of course broad-based tariffs on friend and foe alike add to that marginalizing the right [26:44] to life doing nothing about uh the broad distribution of the abortion pill by mail that joe biden's [26:50] administration made possible and then the stops and starts on ukraine while they've been strong on [26:57] israel strong with iran the stops and starts reflect more of the politics of the progressive left and [27:03] appeasement than that time-honored conservative agenda that's defined our party at home and abroad [27:08] why isn't the party standing up to him then well look i i give the president all you know all kinds [27:14] of credit they're pretty silent he has earned great uh loyalty among republican primary voters we [27:21] saw that in texas you saw that in louisiana we saw that in indiana in our recent state senate [27:26] primaries and i think it's because look the the progressive left uh has been essentially in the [27:34] saddle for about 100 years in this country uh ronald reagan began the battle back i think republican [27:41] voters truly appreciate the way that president trump has fought back against the radical left and [27:46] continues to but i want our voters to know that there's there is this new push from the populist right [27:54] and as we look at the midterm elections as we look at 2028 i think it's important that we focus on [28:00] on what we're for because not only is it a winning agenda for republicans margaret i i believe it's [28:06] delivered freedom and prosperity for the american people well when you say primary voters you know [28:11] that that is not necessarily all republican voters certainly you just look at the turnouts [28:16] in that texas race to speak to that but isn't your party from the president on down with this [28:22] gerrymandering push locking in the changes that will only feed into that more extreme part of the [28:29] party well the populist it's uh you know it's it's awfully hard for democrats to throw stones [28:37] when they live in glass houses on gerrymandering you know they're sure but there are states around [28:41] the country incentivized bipartisanship right there's states around the country though where 40 percent of [28:46] voters are republicans and there are no republican representatives from those states in the congress so i've [28:52] so you support i've never been a fan of partisan gerrymandering but look i have great confidence [28:58] in the american people and in republican voters i think if we hold the banner [29:03] of of american leadership on the world stage of limited government free market economics of [29:10] traditional values in the right to life high i think voters will rally to our cause [29:16] in these midterms and in 2028 when we're going to decide whether the progressive left with its embrace [29:23] of socialism is in the lead on the national stage or or whether a populist right that uh that is a form [29:31] of progressive politics i mean this is when you look at uh the embrace of isolationism protectionism [29:39] nationalization of companies uh and marginalizing values it's it is uh it's it's more and more an [29:47] echo of what the left has provided i think as president reagan said years ago the republican [29:52] party ought to offer a choice not an echo but isn't the vice president jd vance an echo of all of those [29:59] things if president trump's not a conservative is jd vance one well look let me say i lost count of the [30:06] number of times president trump corrected me when i said that a particular position was conservative [30:12] in fact he said himself he he's not a conservative he's never really claimed to be i i'm less clear [30:19] about the vice president's views and his philosophy of government but i'm very clear as i wrote in my [30:25] book that there is this new tension within the republican party that will take those pieces of the [30:32] agenda the populist right agenda that president trump has embraced and try and make that the new [30:38] direction of the republican party i think that'd be bad for the republican party i think it'd be worse [30:43] for the country that needs a vigorous strong conservative party committed to freedom committed [30:49] to free markets committed to traditional values talking about the midterms you also spent a lot of [30:53] time writing about character um and you say it matters last week texas republicans voted to make [31:00] you know this is coming ken paxton is their their nominee uh he's the current ag he was impeached by [31:06] the republican controlled house multiple charges of abuse there including bribery his wife a sitting [31:13] senator in that state accused him of committing adultery and is divorcing him on quote biblical grounds [31:19] he was indicted in 2015 on securities fraud charges though those charges were dropped and the president [31:26] the president chose him over a much more conservative in your description john cornet does character [31:35] represent does character of ken paxton represent your party well i think as i write in my book uh i think [31:41] character uh integrity to principle uh are enormously important uh in the life of our movement in the life [31:48] of our nation but you know when i look at the texas primary when i look at louisiana uh kentucky indiana's [31:55] many state senate races i i see it more as a reflection of the grip that president trump has [32:02] on republican primary voters who are grateful for the way that he has stood up and fought against [32:09] the radical left look you look at where the democratic party is today i mean it's it's amazing [32:14] to see if republicans in part have lost our way with the with embracing the populist right uh democrats [32:22] have have gone over the beam with embracing socialist candidates socialist policies i think [32:28] you would separate yourself from ken paxton he does not public voters want to push back on that [32:33] they respect the president's views i just want to make sure people understand that as we sort [32:38] through all these elections this year that there's a new force afoot in the republican party and i [32:43] think we've got to get back to those core values and principles that have always made our country [32:48] and our party strong and prosperous well at louisiana's senator bill cassidy his offense to [32:54] president trump seemed to be that vote to convict him in the second impeachment trial following the [32:58] attack on the capitol on january 6th does it trouble you that the president is even making primary [33:03] choices based on grievances having to do from january 6th well i i don't know precisely what the [33:10] president's reasons were for weighing in in louisiana pretty explicitly the way that he did so you [33:16] know we have we haven't chatted in a while so uh but uh yeah i i i you know i i'll be honest with you [33:23] that i'll never minimize uh what happened on january 6 and i'll always believe by god's grace we did our [33:30] duty that day to the seat of the peaceful transfer of power under the constitution it's one of the [33:36] reasons why i this talk of a weaponization fund margaret uh the idea of creating a fund that could [33:42] compensate people who who assaulted police officers and vandalize the capitol uh that day is totally [33:49] unacceptable my hope is the administration will drop it drop the idea entirely you think senate [33:55] republicans will make them drop it because it's hard to stand up to the president many republicans [34:00] find well because of what you just said it is primaries and those midterms it it is but uh i've been [34:06] heartened uh by the number of republicans the senate who's spoken out against it look that people that [34:13] assaulted police officers uh on january 6 and vandalized our capital should not get one dime of [34:21] taxpayer money from that fund or anywhere else but i mean even just the the precedent of setting it up [34:29] should they exclude january 6 attackers that the idea of a weaponization fund um is its own [34:34] you know thing that it bears examining but i want to explicitly ask you about something also that [34:40] happened in washington we don't need slush funds to settle cases you view it as a slush fund it was [34:44] a pro-life family that was literally run over by the biden department of justice that it was just a [34:50] seven-figure settlement for them the the doj can settle these uh issues where where people have had [34:57] their rights trampled on uh and and ought to do that i welcome that settlement greatly uh last week at [35:03] the request of the department of justice a federal appeals court throughout the convictions of four [35:07] members of far-right extremist group the oath keepers that was a militia involved in january 6. [35:13] do you think that the trump administration is deliberately whitewashing that day well i've [35:23] certainly seen evidence of that um particularly i i was offended on the anniversary of january 6 when [35:31] the white house put out a timeline that literally blamed capitol hill police for the riot that took [35:38] place that day look i'm very confident uh that uh of the judgment of history uh in the years ahead [35:47] about our role about all the republicans and democrats who returned that day after capitol [35:53] police secured the capitol and we all did our duty under the constitution but uh but there there [35:59] there's clearly been an effort by some uh to rewrite that history but i i don't expect it'll work all [36:08] right mr vice president thank you very much for sharing your reflections it's good to have you [36:12] here in person too uh thank you margaret appreciate it we'll be right back world food program executive [36:21] director cindy mccain is stepping down from her post monday during her three years at the helm of the [36:27] un agency there have been two famines and when we spoke with her late last week from rome she told us [36:33] we're looking potentially at several more among many other challenges there is this emergency response to [36:41] ebola in the congo that's a country that's already struggling as i understand it with about 27 [36:47] million food insecure people i know the u.s state department is pledging some help here but but what [36:54] are you hearing about the situation on the ground for emergency responders like yours it's not good and [37:01] this is it's it's uh hitting people in a mass way and there's really no no way to know right now how [37:09] many people have been affected by this we know that it's it's a rampage now with it so what what we [37:15] need to do is not only be able to get in we we run logistics we bring in supplies we bring in people [37:22] um and we and we do much more than that as well just in the region uh but this is going to take a real [37:29] world effort this is very deadly you said there's a rampage of ebola i mean are you're a are you able to [37:36] keep your workers on the ground our workers are on the ground but my one of my big projects my the [37:44] reason a large reason of what we planned today was taking care of our own people the duty of care [37:50] and that comes into play because right now there's no adequate facility set up to handle that [37:56] and so we're looking uh you obviously putting together a task force and a team that will do just [38:02] that to make sure that we're protected as well as of course anyone that is from wfp well you have [38:09] been in this role at a time when there are so many hot spots so many conflicts and of course the [38:14] mid-east continues to um be a big challenge i understand that you still do have some operations [38:22] inside of iran as you know there isn't a free press on the ground able to document what's happening [38:28] what can you tell us about how civilians there are doing things aren't good i mean let's face it [38:35] when you shut the straits of hormuz and you've got bombings on both sides all the way up and down [38:41] people are going to kind of not only become food insecure they're going to starve it's time to end [38:46] this and make sure that we can open the straits of hormuz because it's affecting everybody and it will [38:52] take us months to get back on track when they do open it months to get back on track why is that because [38:58] the ships with the food are stuck or because of the food prices why prices uh availability uh a [39:07] movement uh good example is that we we do work in afghanistan and before what would usually take us [39:15] three weeks maybe to get the food in from where it comes in from now it takes us almost three months [39:21] and so so in the but in the meantime women and children which are always the first to be hit [39:27] uh are starving and so this is the case with all of them when you talk about fertilizer when you talk [39:33] about seeds of course and other things they're they're being moved around that helps stave off hunger [39:38] it's a real problem bigger picture when you look at the destruction in the middle east just within the [39:45] past few years how do you describe to an american at home what the longer term impact is well the longer [39:55] term impact to put it very bluntly is not good uh you know we staved off hunger in gaza when it was [40:02] finally the ceasefire held and we were able to get trucks in at scale we're back to where we were we [40:09] can't get trucks in at scale people are you know as you know there's bombings there's all those things [40:14] and we're looking at a not just a serious situation we're looking at possibly losing a generation of [40:20] children uh so in any of these countries where there's an issue lebanon uh gaza syria sudan you [40:27] know all the ones that i've been to plus ukraine um it it access and being able to get in at scale is [40:36] most important and make sure making sure that our humanitarian workers are not targets and that we [40:43] respect humanitarian law and that simply isn't happening right now it's very dangerous to be an aid worker [40:49] right now what do you mean losing a generation of children well when you when you talk about kids [40:55] that are not either not getting enough food or what they're getting is not nutritious enough [40:59] and plus there's no schools open and there's no uh you know proper housing clean water etc medicine [41:06] etc that that spells disaster for a child especially and so i'm obviously a one that has as a mother first [41:16] a grandmother six times over and so i see it through my mother's eyes i you know it you will do anything [41:23] to feed your children anything as a parent and the fact that that can't it's not happening in so many [41:30] of these areas now is really alarming and very desperate i've heard you say feed them now or fight [41:36] them later you draw a direct connection to national security and radicalization yes no you're absolutely [41:44] right we believe that because when folks who are hungry can't get adequate nutrition or food they [41:53] will turn to the bad guys because food's offered there you recently were asked about the conservative [42:00] movement and that within the conservative movement aid you said has become a dirty word and being a [42:07] humanitarian useless um you're a lifelong conservative um when when you describe things going this direction [42:18] that has to be hard to stomach why do you think this is happening and do you think it is temporary [42:26] i i i will say this um obviously that was uh that was frustration speaking to a great degree [42:33] um i believe there are many many many good people in the united states that are more than willing to [42:40] help this cause or help you know whatever whatever they see fit to do for all of this but we need more [42:46] of it and we need we need actionable items from not just the united states but other countries around the [42:52] globe that will stand up also and help us we can't do this alone and we're we're hoping as you know the [42:59] united states is our largest donor and we're very proud of that but we need everybody involved in [43:04] this america though has changed its policy towards aid the trump administration uses that frayed phrase [43:12] trade not aid arguing they're going to be more efficient and and more effective with the support [43:18] they provide in the form of foreign assistance when you look at the places you operate do you think [43:26] there has been an impact from the dismantling of usaid i i do i really i do aid was it was an [43:37] intimate part of all of these things and and of course we relied on them on them to a degree as well [43:44] i wish we still had aid but it was the choice of this administration and so we have to work with that [43:51] uh i do i am hoping though that eventually we can put back some of the soft power aspects that we were [43:59] able to do as well as you know that's a very important part of at least usaid but again i'm [44:06] not criticizing anybody in the administration i'm simply saying we need help our full interview with [44:14] ambassador mccain is on our youtube channel and our website and on face the nation's podcast platform [44:19] the kennedy center will soon once again be the kennedy center on friday a federal judge ordered [44:30] president trump's name to be removed in the next two weeks saying quote congress gave the kennedy [44:35] center its name and only congress can change it the judge also ruled that the kennedy center's board led [44:41] by president trump's hand-picked trustees cannot move forward with its plan to close the facility in july [44:47] for a multi-year renovation president trump expressed his frustration at the decision in a social media post [44:53] and said that he had canceled involvement with the failing and unsafe to be in kennedy center [44:59] it's just the latest setback for the president's effort to reimagine some of washington's historic [45:03] landmarks his renovation of the lincoln memorial reflecting pool and his demolition of the white [45:08] house east wing to build a ballroom are also facing legal challenges we'll be right back