MS NOW Highlights - April 27

[0:00] This was an event dedicated to freedom of speech that was supposed to bring together members of [0:07] both parties with members of the press. And in a certain way, it did, because the [0:13] fact that they just unified, I saw a room that was just totally unified. It was in one way, [0:19] very beautiful. For a moment, some thought there might be a reset. In the hours following the [0:27] shooting at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Dinner, Trump struck a somewhat somber tone. [0:33] But then within 24 hours, Trump reverted back to usual form, and any restraint seemed short-lived. [0:40] He was back in a combative posture by Sunday. In an interview with CBS 60 Minutes, [0:45] Trump repeatedly attacked the anchor, Nora O'Donnell, personally and the media more broadly [0:50] for the act of asking straightforward questions about the shooting suspect. [0:55] He writes this, quote, administration officials, they are targets. And he also wrote this, [1:02] I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his [1:08] crimes. What's your reaction to that? [1:09] Well, I was waiting for you to read that, because I knew you would, because you're horrible people. [1:15] You should be ashamed of yourself reading that. You're a disgrace. But go ahead, [1:19] let's finish the interview. [1:20] The other thing that he wrote in the interview. [1:22] You're disgraceful. I'm not a king. What I am, if I was a king, I wouldn't be dealing with you. [1:26] We have some great people in the press, some very fair people, and people that are just on my side. [1:31] But for the most part, it's a very liberal or very progressive, let's use the word liberal, [1:35] liberal press. [1:36] You'll recall that in the days leading up to the White House Correspondents' Dinner, [1:41] the reporting suggested Trump had already planned to lash out against the press. [1:46] According to the Daily Beast, quote, [1:47] Donald Trump will launch a revenge attack on the White House media when he confronts them [1:52] in person at a Washington dinner on Saturday night, then flee before there can be revenge. [1:57] The event was, of course, evacuated before any such speech could take place. [2:02] In his remarks following that evacuation, Trump admitted he had planned to be inappropriate and rough. [2:09] I was all set to really rip it. And I said to my people, [2:14] this would be the most inappropriate speech ever made if I said, so I'll have to save it. [2:19] I don't know if I could ever be as rough as I was going to be tonight. [2:24] And Trump already announcing that he wants to reschedule the event. [2:27] The organizers aren't so sure that's going to be possible. [2:30] Earlier today, Press Secretary Caroline Levitt blamed Democrats and the media. [2:37] This political violence stems from a systemic demonization of him and his supporters [2:41] by commentators, yes, by elected members of the Democrat Party and even some in the media. [2:50] Missing from that press conference, any moment of self-reflection from the press secretary [2:55] serving a president who has described political opponents as garbage, scum, demonic, animals, [3:03] the enemy within and low IQ, whose election related conspiracy theories have led to death threats [3:08] against election workers, whose administration pushed rumors that Haitians were eating cats and dogs. [3:14] This as Trump is now reviving his feud with late night host Jimmy Kimmel, calling for ABC to fire [3:21] Jimmy Kimmel over a segment that aired Thursday night in which Kimmel staged a parody White House [3:26] correspondence dinner, roasting the president and the administration as comedians have done at past [3:32] events. Here's the portion that Trump and the first lady seem to be referring to. [3:36] Our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania. So beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an [3:45] expectant widow. You know, Melania's birthday is on Sunday. That's right. She's planning to celebrate [3:54] at home the same way she always does, looking out a window and whispering, what have I done? [4:00] That joke was obviously written and performed before the events of Saturday night, but it's now landing, [4:06] of course, in a very different political and social environment. Trump calling for ABC and Disney to [4:12] immediately fire Kimmel, calling the segment, quote, far beyond the pale. [4:17] This so-called White House press secretary wants to lecture America and lecture us about civility. [4:25] Get lost. Clean up your own house before you have anything to say to us about the language that we use. [4:33] That was Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries responding to Caroline Levitt's criticism after Saturday's shooting. [4:40] And joining me now is David Folkenflik, media correspondent for NPR, and Molly Jong-Fast, [4:45] contributing opinion writer with The New York Times and MSNOW political analyst. It's great to have [4:50] both of you guys. So, Molly, I want to start with you. You were at the dinner for part of that evening, [4:56] but you weren't there when the shooting unfolded. But you have a sense of the room, the history of [5:03] this event, the tension, of course, leading up to that night. When you see the president's rhetoric [5:11] that we've seen, and there have been shifts in it just in the past 48 hours, what is the impression [5:16] that you are left with here? Is there a serious grappling with the nature of political violence [5:21] and everyone's role in it right now? [5:24] Well, I think there are two problems that are separate. One is the problem of the White House [5:29] Correspondents' Dinner, which is at best looks very—the optics on it are pretty terrible, [5:36] and they always have been pretty dicey. The idea that you have members of the government [5:42] and journalists and, you know, and lobbyists and all sorts of D.C. swamp all together in a room [5:51] very dressed up. And then I think it's worth realizing, like, we are in a very heightened moment [5:57] in American political life. And people are mad, but people are mad at journalists and politicians [6:04] and everyone. And so I think it's important to sort of pull back and say none of this is happening [6:10] in a vacuum. And the—I think that the anger that the American people have towards politicians [6:16] is also sort of spilling out on journalists and why it's so important that things like the [6:21] White House Correspondents' Dinner probably don't happen anymore. And that, you know, we raise that [6:26] money for those scholarships in other ways. Because I think that as much, you know, our job is to cover [6:32] these people. And at this moment, it really needs to be as clean as possible. And I think that even [6:39] just the mere optics of the dinner are so distracting. And I think they really undermine the fundamental [6:46] premise of what we're supposed to be doing. [6:47] I understand. You and I talked yesterday when I think so many people were still in shock. I was [6:54] sitting with Eugene in our D.C. bureau who was there and who also has poured so much of himself [7:00] into planning this dinner, into mentoring young journalists, into the incredible things that [7:05] this dinner is supposed to represent that people want it to be. But there is this tension right now [7:10] between what we want it to be, what it traditionally has felt like, and just the reality of the moment that [7:15] we're all living in. David, for you, how have you processed the imagery, the symbolism of that night? [7:25] You know, one of the things Molly pointed out to me yesterday was just that there is the gratitude, [7:31] of course, everyone is safe. But there is also the reality, too, that we as journalists, we've covered [7:36] so many shootings at which poor schoolchildren in Uvalde didn't have Secret Service people leaping over [7:42] tables to rescue them. And we and our colleagues did. And I guess after you see and you experience [7:50] and you understand something like this, what obligation do we have as as an industry, as a profession [7:57] moving forward? Well, there's a lot of jumbled emotions. I don't think we have to create a hierarchy [8:05] of tragedies to acknowledge both the terrible language, which one feels even unrelated to what [8:14] happened to folks at Uvalde or at other school shootings or other mass shootings, as well as [8:21] acknowledging the terror and the terribleness of what occurred on Saturday night. I was not present. [8:26] I don't think we've seen the president fully grapple with what it is to be engaged in political [8:35] rhetoric, which is in some ways inciting or affirming the idea of violence or at least violent [8:43] political rhetoric as part of everyday norm in public life. I think there is something to what [8:48] Molly's talking about with the question of this very this very event. I haven't gone in over two [8:54] decades. I don't blame those who do. I think it can be useful as well as fun. But I do think that [8:59] there's a time where there's a lack of trust in the elites in American society, sometimes so-called [9:05] elites, sometimes actually, but powerful figures in media and commerce and business and entertainment [9:12] and politics, the highest level of politics altogether on this night. You know, one was desperately [9:20] hoping and gratified that there would be no actual violent acts occurred. And the one officer who [9:25] was shot was protected by his protective gear, as we understand. But this is a moment where I think, [9:32] you know, it would be useful for rhetoric to be ratcheted down in all parts. And yet the idea that somehow [9:37] some columnist somewhere, some blogger, somebody on Substack, somebody on cable news, on any of the networks, [9:43] whatever flavor or variety you like, is responsible for this seems to me to be wide of the mark. I just think that [9:49] there's far too much violent political rhetoric in public life right now. And I think it's become [9:55] very accepted in kind of the conversational vernacular of podcasting and blogging and posting [10:00] online and, you know, getting things viral on TikTok and everywhere else. And at the same time, [10:07] you know, you've seen that filter down from the top and top echelons of government. And I think that [10:13] I don't know that I blame that for what occurred Saturday night, but I sure would feel a lot more [10:18] comfortable if the people in prominent positions in all of these institutions would behave themselves [10:23] in a way one would want to see emulated rather than avoided. Well, speaking of some of those [10:28] implications and people in prominent positions, Molly, I want you to listen to some of Acting [10:32] Attorney General Todd Blanche's remarks earlier, implying the reporters critical of the president [10:37] may have a role here in all of this. Many people in this room, if we're going to be honest about it, [10:45] have done it, has done it as well. They're just as guilty as a lot of people on X. When you have, [10:49] when you have reporters, when you have media just being overly critical and calling the president [10:56] horrible names for no reason and without evidence, without proof, it shouldn't surprise us that this [11:02] type of rhetoric takes place. Molly, are the people in that room, the reporters we know and we work [11:09] with, are they just as guilty as a lot of people on X? I mean, we're at the very beginning of this [11:13] investigation in the first place. I mean, there are so many problems here. I mean, one is that [11:19] we do have a First Amendment and the idea that speech is somehow violence is, you know, pretty [11:27] nutty. And remember, like, we're in a country that has a major mass shooting and gun problems. So, [11:33] like, that would be where I would start if I wanted to stop violence. Like, that seems like a very easy [11:39] one. But the second thing I would say is, like, he is standing next to a woman who was a host on Fox [11:46] News, OK? And there are numerous members in this administration who have been on Fox News. [11:54] I recognize that I am part of the national media. So, therefore, I am a little self-conscious about [12:00] the fact that the national media has really been sucking its thumb on this story and hasn't much [12:06] caught on to it yet. The national media has been really behind on this story. But local media have [12:13] been taking notice of these fights everywhere they are happening. And local media everywhere this [12:18] weekend took notice of these protests that happened in more than 180 different locations all over the [12:23] country. And I'm just telling you right now, you know, file this for future reference. Someday, when this [12:33] signature sort of landmark turn against the Trump administration goes down in American history, [12:40] when somebody in the future, looking back at this time, finally figures out that this was actually a [12:46] really dramatic and important thing. When sometime in the future, somebody figures out that Donald [12:52] Trump, when he got back into the office, when he got back into office, he tried to build himself a [12:56] huge archipelago of prisons to hold people without trial. And he succeeded in getting Republicans in [13:02] Congress to give him billions and billions of dollars for it. And his administration really did make all [13:08] these secret ominous warehouse purchases all over the country to do this for him. Someday, somewhere, [13:16] someone in the future is going to marvel at the fact that despite the fact that Trump got back into [13:23] office after everything about him, despite the fact that he got funding for this thing, despite the fact [13:27] that they bought these things, somebody in the future is going to marvel at the fact that none of [13:32] these things ever actually got opened. That Donald Trump did not get his archipelago of prison camps [13:38] to hold people outside the legal system. And the reason he didn't get it is not because he didn't try [13:43] hard enough, but because people all over the country stood up and said, no, not here. You cannot do this. [13:49] We won't let you. You, sir, have a lot of bad ideas. This is the worst one. And we're not going to let you do it [13:54] in our town. Someday that history will be written about this moment in American history. And when that history is [14:03] finally written, I can tell you right now, all the footnotes in that history are going to be to like [14:08] blue sky posts from local activists and sub stack articles from local activists and archive stories [14:16] from local newspapers and little straight to the point YouTube clips from the local TV news stations. [14:22] We keep being told have all gone away, but they have been covering this even as the national media has [14:27] fallen down on the job. And so I'll show you some of what I know. Here's Mount Kisco, New York this weekend, [14:35] protesting this weekend against Trump's ICE prison camps out in the cold and the rain on Saturday in Mount Kisco, [14:41] New York. Here's Anchorage, Alaska this weekend, where they had signs naming and shaming their Republican [14:46] members of Congress who voted to fund ICE's expansion. Here's Colma, California this weekend with the banner that [14:53] you see there. Stop ICE warehouse detention. Here's Tucson, Arizona, protesting this weekend against [15:00] Trump's ICE prison camps. They're outside the office of their Republican congressman, Juan Siskamani in Tucson. [15:06] Here's El Paso, Texas, where the largest existing ICE prison is already up and running. It is not one of these [15:12] warehouses they want to build. It's a tent facility that they built at Camp East Montana in El Paso. [15:18] It has a horrific record of prisoners dying and infectious disease outbreaks. El Pasoans this weekend [15:24] turned out in big numbers. They marched from the gates of Camp East Montana to the local Homeland Security [15:30] offices saying no to Trump's ICE prison camps. There were protests against Trump prison camps in [15:36] Marietta, Georgia this weekend and in Conyers, Georgia and in McHenry, Illinois and in Las Cruces, [15:42] New Mexico. Communities, not cages. In Portland, Maine, there were protests. In Portland, Maine, [15:48] Trump's federal agents took a 19-year-old nursing student and locked her up in one of these ICE [15:53] prisons. And Portlanders this weekend were out on the street saying, we want her back. [15:58] There were protests against Trump prison camps this weekend in South Lake, Texas. [16:03] There was a big protest this weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah, outside the governor's mansion. [16:08] Salt Lake City is one of the places they are trying to build another one of these [16:11] huge warehouse Trump prison camps. There was another really big one in San Antonio, Texas. [16:17] In San Antonio, people rallied in front of the warehouse site itself, including local Catholic [16:22] clergy and local elected officials. San Antonio has been pulling out all the stops locally to try to stop [16:28] this thing that Trump's trying to do to them. Local news reports say that, you know, even though [16:33] it's Texas, so they're not going to get any help from their state government. Local news reports say [16:37] that city officials in San Antonio are not only passing resolutions trying to stop this thing within [16:43] their own power. They're also currently taking legal advice on whether they too, as a city, can bring the [16:49] kind of lawsuit that has been brought by the state of New Jersey, by the state of Michigan, by the state of [16:54] Maryland. This weekend and over the last few days, we saw a whole bunch of protests in the Northeast [17:00] specifically against Citizens Bank, which is based in the Northeast. Citizens Bank has hundreds of millions of [17:08] dollars invested in companies that run these immigrant prisons for Trump. In a statement, Citizens Bank said in [17:14] part that it does not comment on specific customer or client partnerships. They said, we, quote, regularly review [17:21] our partnerships and evaluate clients against applicable laws, regulations and our internal risk [17:28] standards. That's how they have tried to sort of deflect attention from this matter. But it has not [17:34] succeeded. This was the scene at their shareholders meeting in Providence, Rhode Island. And all over these [17:40] past few days, protests at Citizens Bank branches asking the bank to drop these investments from, as I said, [17:47] headquarters in Providence, to Northampton, Massachusetts, to Great Neck, New York, to Saratoga, [17:53] New York, to Wilmington, Delaware, to Plymouth, New Hampshire, to the Bronx in New York City, to [17:58] Queensbury, New York, to Roslindale, Massachusetts, to Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, all over the Northeast. [18:04] People over the last few days have been protesting at Citizens Bank branches and at their shareholders [18:10] meeting, protesting against Citizens Bank over their involvement with Trump's immigrant prisons. [18:15] And I'm showing you things. I'm showing you these things you might not be seeing elsewhere. [18:25] Not only because this is the news, this is an important part of the story of how the United [18:30] States is responding to this presidency, how Americans are spending their weekends these days, [18:35] now that Donald Trump is back in the White House with this agenda that he has. [18:40] But I'm also showing you these things are happening because I think it's important [18:44] to get our heads around the fact that these folks are winning in this fight. [18:51] Trump has not been able to open a single one of these warehouse prison camps, [18:55] despite setting aside $38 billion to try to do it. They have not yet been able to open a single [19:02] one of these warehouse prison camps, and I don't know if they ever will. They know the public is [19:08] against them. Despite what they say, that does matter to them. They've made clear over and over again [19:14] since the start of this administration, they would prefer to do things that are easy. [19:19] And right now, this is not easy. The American people all over the country, even in red states, [19:24] have made this a thing that is hard for them to do. And so they're not getting it done. [19:31] And this is important, not only in terms of thinking about the tactics of the American people [19:35] saying no to this president, this phenomenally unpopular, radical president, [19:40] but it's also substantively important in terms of what kind of presidency this is going to be, [19:45] because it would be a phenomenally radical new power to give this particular president, [19:49] right? All these prison facilities to hold thousands, to hold tens of thousands of people [19:54] who have never been convicted of a crime, that would be an incredibly radical power [19:59] to give President Donald Trump. And I'm sure that is why the Trump administration would love to do it. [20:05] But so far, despite their best efforts, it is really not working out for them. [20:08] Well, 2.19 p.m. on Saturday, four hours before heading to the White House Correspondents' Dinner, [20:16] Donald Trump, became the first president of the United States in history to complain publicly of [20:25] too much work. Donald Trump has decided that the war he started with Iran is now too much work [20:33] after 58 days. Donald Trump also became the first president of the United States in history to [20:39] complain of too much time wasted on traveling, and that's traveling in negotiating the end of a war. [20:47] During World War II, President Franklin Donald Roosevelt spent several days traveling from [20:54] Washington via airplane and ship for his first meeting with his most important allies in that [21:01] war, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. And the meeting [21:08] was in, of all places, Iran. President Roosevelt flew by plane to South America, having to make fueling [21:16] stops along the way, and then by ship from South America to North Africa, and then by plane again [21:22] to Iran. And every minute of that time, along with every minute of his presidency, President Roosevelt [21:29] was suffering the effects of polio, which left his legs almost totally paralyzed, left him in a [21:37] wheelchair. And he never complained of too much time wasted on traveling. President Roosevelt's final [21:45] overseas trip during World War II to meet with the Allied leadership was to Ukraine, then part of the [21:51] Soviet Union. The trip from Washington, D.C. to Yalta, taken by plane, ship, and several hours of driving, [21:58] was the longest trip ever taken by a president of the United States. President Roosevelt died months [22:06] after that trip without ever having complained about too much time wasted on traveling or too much work. [22:14] Donald Trump canceled negotiations with Iranians when he issued that complaint of too much work. He [22:21] said, I just canceled the trip of my representatives going to Islamabad, Pakistan, to meet with the [22:27] Iranians. Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work. Besides which, there is tremendous [22:33] infighting and confusion within their leadership. Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, [22:38] we have all the cards. They have none, exclamation point. If they want to talk, all they have to do is [22:43] call, exclamation point. And so there is the Trump so-called negotiating style on full display. [22:51] Donald Trump claiming to have all the cards when one of the cards he does not have is the Strait of [22:56] Hormuz. And with the Strait of Hormuz closed in response to Donald Trump's war in Iran, the price [23:01] of oil has skyrocketed. The price of gas in the United States has skyrocketed. And a new poll shows [23:06] that 77 percent blame Donald Trump for the rise in gas prices. Secretary of State John Kerry negotiated [23:15] with Iran for years, which ended in a written agreement in which Iran said, quote, Iran reaffirms [23:23] that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons. That [23:30] agreement contained very strict monitoring of Iran's use of nuclear materials so that it could never be [23:36] used for weapons and only used for nuclear power and other research, as is done by many other [23:42] countries around the world. And John Kerry never complained of too much time wasted on traveling. [23:47] John Kerry never complained of too much work. John Kerry and President Obama achieved the greatest [23:53] diplomatic breakthrough of our lifetimes. John Kerry did that by traveling as much as necessary. [24:00] President Obama traveled as much as necessary. And by doing the careful work of multi-layered [24:06] diplomacy and negotiation without ever tweeting empty threats to Iran, without ever tweeting threats [24:14] of committing war crimes against Iran, which is in and of itself a war crime. At the beginning of [24:20] Donald Trump's war, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz tried to stay out of Donald Trump's line of fire [24:27] while sharing the European consensus not to get involved in Donald Trump's war. At the outset, [24:34] the Chancellor refused to criticize Donald Trump's war by saying, now is not the time to lecture our [24:39] partners and allies. Well, that was then, and this is now. German Chancellor Merz saying Donald Trump [24:48] has been humiliated. [24:50] At the moment, I can't tell what strategic exit the Americans are pursuing, especially since the Iranians [25:01] are obviously negotiating very skillfully, or perhaps very skillfully refusing to negotiate, and then [25:07] letting the Americans travel to Islamabad only to send them back without any results. An entire nation is [25:13] being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called revolutionary guards. [25:22] After Donald Trump put out his social media complaint that negotiating with Iranians was too much work, [25:31] and he was calling it off. He then told reporters this as he was boarding Air Force One. [25:39] They gave us a paper that should have been better. And interestingly, immediately when I canceled it, [25:47] within 10 minutes, we got a new paper that was much better. [25:52] Much better. So there's Donald Trump characterizing a new proposal from Iran as much better. And here [25:59] is what Donald Trump's Secretary of State Marco Rubio said about that much better proposal. [26:05] And what they mean by opening the straits is, yes, the straits are open as long as you coordinate [26:11] with Iran, get our permission, or we'll blow you up and you pay us. That's not opening the straits. [26:16] Those are international waterways. They cannot normalize, nor can we tolerate them trying to [26:21] normalize a system in which the Iranians decide who gets to use an international waterway and how much [26:26] you have to pay them to use it. And so as usual, the Iranians are hearing diplomatic chaos from the [26:32] American side, with Donald Trump saying the offer is much better and Marco Rubio saying the opposite. [26:38] Donald Trump did not think it was too much work today to meet with someone who, like J.D. Vance, [26:44] has a very fancy title with absolutely nothing to do. Of course, if Charles were related to Donald [26:54] Trump, he would refuse to meet with Donald Trump, just as King Charles refuses to meet with his brother, [27:04] because of his brother Andrew's long friendship with the man who was Donald Trump's closest friend for [27:13] 10 years, sex trafficker and raper of children. Jeffrey Epstein. [27:20] Hi again, everyone. It's four o'clock in New York. America once again forced to grapple and process [27:29] another frightening incident of potential political violence in our country, as well as big and important [27:35] questions about how we protect our president. After a gunman was able to get close to Donald Trump for [27:41] the third time in less than two years, this time it was at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. [27:46] Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Janine Pirro, [27:51] and FBI Director Kash Patel held a press conference in the last hour about the shooting. Watch. [27:55] This was an attempted assassination of the president of the United States, with the defendant making [28:04] clear what his intent was. And that intent was to bring down as many of the high-ranking cabinet [28:12] officials as he could. This one hits a little differently. We were all there. Many of you were [28:18] there. Many of you watching were there as well. All of us on there put us in a unique position, [28:23] but all of us also acted uniquely. We are investigating this matter fully. We will apply [28:30] the law fairly, and we will ensure that accountability is swift and certain. But we also [28:38] should recognize what did not happen. Law enforcement did not fail. They did exactly what they are trained [28:45] to do. This was not an accident. It was the result, as we know now, of preparation. But the men and women [28:54] who protected us that night were trained, professional, and had an enduring commitment [29:01] to the rule of law. The suspect is 31-year-old Cole Allen. He's a tutor and engineer from California. [29:10] He appeared in court earlier today, where he's now facing three charges. They are attempted assassination [29:16] of the president of the United States, transportation of a firearm and ammunition across state lines, [29:22] and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. The government is seeking life in [29:28] prison and says more charges could be coming. The New York Post obtained over 1,000 words attributed [29:34] to the suspect. They lay out his alleged motives for the shooting. It contains apologies to his parents, [29:40] colleagues, and students. It also lists so-called rules of engagement with the Secret Service agents, [29:47] guests, and Trump administration officials, making it clear the administration officials were his [29:52] primary targets. One person, a Secret Service agent, was shot in his bullet-resistant vest. He was not [29:59] seriously injured, fortunately. Outstanding questions remain, though, about just how this gunman was able [30:06] to get so close to the president after the suspect was able to make it to the top of a staircase near the [30:12] ballroom, where Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and members of the Cabinet, and journalists from all across the [30:18] country, including from this news organization, were gathered. MSNOW's Carol Lennick was at the dinner [30:24] Saturday, and she reports this about security. Quote, unlike at major national special security events [30:30] known as NSSEs, there were no specially trained counter-assault agents on standby to stop a breach [30:38] or a person with a weapon. The dinner is not considered an NSSE, which triggers a higher, almost [30:44] militaristic level of protection, and brings in security teams from across the federal government. [30:51] A current Secret Service official told MSNOW that the Checkpoint staff was not paying close attention, [30:56] in part because the dinner had begun at 8 p.m., and they didn't expect to be screening any additional [31:01] guests. While the full picture of what happened Saturday is still coming into focus, the Trump [31:07] administration quickly pointed the finger at Democrats and critics of Donald Trump for the violence. [31:13] Trump also seized on the events of Saturday to demand the construction of his ballroom, [31:19] which a judge has halted. Trump's saying now it should proceed. Claims which were echoed by members [31:25] of the Trump administration, including at that press conference we just showed you a little clip from. [31:30] Donald Trump sat down yesterday for an interview of 60 Minutes about the events of Saturday. Take a look [31:36] at how that went. The so-called manifesto is a stunning thing to read, Mr. President. He appears to [31:43] reference a motive in it. He writes this quote, administration officials, they are targets. And he [31:50] also wrote this, I'm no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands [31:57] with his crimes. What's your reaction to that? Well, I was waiting for you to read that because [32:01] I knew you would, because you're horrible people. Horrible people. Yeah, he did write that. [32:06] I'm not a rapist. I didn't rape anybody. I'm not a pedophile. Do you think he was referring to you? [32:13] Excuse me. Excuse me. I'm not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person. [32:19] I got associated with all the stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated. [32:26] Your friends on the other side of the plate are the ones that were involved with, let's say, [32:33] Epstein or other things. But I said to myself, you know, I'll do this interview and they'll probably, [32:39] I read the manifesto. You know, he's a sick person. But you should be ashamed of yourself reading that [32:45] because I'm not any of those things. And I was never, excuse me, excuse me. You shouldn't be reading [32:52] that on 60 Minutes. You're a disgrace. But go ahead. Let's finish the interview. [32:56] That's where we start today. Former assistant special agent in charge of the FBI and national [33:03] security and intelligence analyst for us, Michael Feinberg, is here. Plus, senior investigative [33:07] reporter, Carol Lennig, is also here. Also joining us, PUC News senior political columnist, [33:12] national affairs analyst, John Heilman, joins us. And with me at the table for the hour, [33:16] political analyst, former Senator Claire McCaskill, is here. Carol Lennig, how are you? [33:24] Just fine. I was scared for a few minutes, for sure. When those, when that gunfire was, you know, [33:32] just beyond the door near our table. But then we got to work. I'm really proud of the MSNOW team. [33:38] People scurried to report in the room, left the room to report. So I'm just fine. Thank you, though. [33:45] In a model that you model for all of us, I have it on multiple sources that that's exactly what happened, [33:50] that you all jumped into, almost like muscle memory, reporting the news that night. So let's start [33:59] there. Tell me what we learned in the last hour that, I mean, they seem to be talking a lot. I'm not [34:10] sure that some of the big unanswered questions have been answered yet. But in fairness, it is early. [34:16] Just tell me your understanding of where things stand. Yeah, good, great, broad question. But I, [34:23] let me give you what I took from especially the news conference today. On Saturday night, [34:28] the burning question was, did this guy intend to try to kill the president? His letter that he sent to [34:34] his family on the evening, I believe, of Saturday night, and that was forwarded by the new London, [34:43] Connecticut police to the secret service late, late, late that night. Sure seems to indicate that [34:48] his intention was Donald Trump, as he says, Trump administration officials from the top first down. [34:56] And so his intention was to kill the president based on that letter, again, surfaced by the new [35:02] London police and his family and sent to the secret service. I was told by a secret service source on [35:08] Sunday, they received that information somewhere before 11pm at night, so pretty quickly after the [35:15] shooting. The other important thing that I've still been trying to learn ever since Saturday night, [35:20] and we still don't know Monday morning, is the secret service and the justice department are being [35:25] really careful, waiting for FBI ballistics to determine who shot who. You know, did the UN, [35:33] the secret service uniform division officer, we know, was shot in a bulletproof vest and and was [35:38] recovering. Even Saturday night was was mildly injured and was going to be fine. And we know now, newly, that [35:49] the suspect, Mr. Colt, Mr. Allen rather, also is alleged to have discharged his weapon. Whether he's shot [35:57] anyone is still unclear. Secret service sources told me yesterday, Nicole, that they believe, based on [36:05] the witness accounts of the agents and the officers that were in that stairwell you've been looking at, [36:10] that the UD officer began shooting at the suspect to try to stop him after he'd already gotten through [36:16] the final checkpoint. And they believe that the suspect then turned around to engage that fire and [36:23] try to stop it and was the person who shot the UD uniformed division officer. Those UD officers, [36:29] by the way, are the ones that always man the magnetometer screening area and try to stop this [36:36] from ever happening. But the justice department and the FBI, I think, are being reasonably careful [36:42] and conservative and not confirming what happened until they get all the casings and they get all the [36:48] bullets and can say for sure what happened. It is conceivable, and I'm not saying it's true, [36:53] but it is conceivable that another officer may have accidentally shot that bulletproof vest. We just [37:00] don't know yet. I want to bring in retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral John Kirby, former White House [37:07] National Security Communications Advisor and an MSNOW National Security Analyst. I want to get your [37:12] reaction first to this new information that we just heard from the Secretary of State, who says a [37:17] narrower peace deal. The way it's being offered now is not going to fly. So where does that leave us? [37:24] Well, on one hand, I agree with Secretary Rubio 100 percent. The Strait of Hormuz is international [37:30] waters and no country should have some sort of constraint or ability to constrict it going forward. [37:36] Freedom of the seas can't just be for whales and icebergs. It has to be for everybody. And so I agree [37:42] with them on that stance with regard to the Strait. It's hard to see, though, when we ever get through [37:48] these negotiations how there's not going to be some play by Iran to extract some sort of toll or price [37:54] or have some sort of limits on the Strait. I do, however, think there might be merit in the Trump [38:01] administration taking a look at this from a bifurcated perspective and dealing with the Strait [38:06] first. That is, I think, the most tactical issue in front of them right now is getting that straight [38:12] open, getting the oil flowing, bringing the price of oil down and robbing Vladimir Putin, by the way, [38:17] of additional revenue from the higher oil prices. I think that's a problem worth working on sort of [38:24] separately, seeing if you can get that going. That could also build confidence in the negotiations [38:29] to allow you to sit down and deal with the nuclear ambitions separately. So I hope the Trump [38:34] administration is willing to at least consider the option of doing them separately and working [38:39] on the Strait first. But again, totally agree with Secretary Rubio. There cannot be, should not be [38:44] restraints on the flow of traffic through that straight. So right now, the two sides obviously are [38:50] locked in this uneasy stalemate. No war, no peace, U.S. blockading Iranian ports, Iran threatening any [38:55] ship that dares enter the Strait of Hormuz. MSNOW spoke with the Secretary General, the U.N.'s [39:01] International Maritime Organization, about the ships that are actually right now stranded in the [39:08] Strait. And here's what he told us. It's roughly 20,000 seafarers that are still trapped in the [39:15] Strait of Hormuz, 2,000 commercial vessels that are in that region. And of course, it's not possible [39:22] and it's not safe right now to transit east of the Strait of Hormuz. The longer as well that we have them [39:28] there, the more that the supplies become an issue from water, food and even the fuels that the [39:34] vessels need to remain safely on board. And in the meantime, oil prices are back on the rise today. [39:42] You know, we've been following these day by day by day. So talk about the complexities of even taking [39:48] this one step at a time. Well, it's very difficult. I mean, you're not just dealing with two hostile [39:56] states here, Iran and the United States. But you do have to consider the Omanis who are on the southern [40:01] part of that Strait and their needs and their requirements. You've got to factor in the Israelis. [40:05] For the Israelis, the Strait of Hormuz doesn't matter so much. It's the nuclear material that [40:09] matters the most. And they're going to want a vote and a voice and a say in whatever is negotiated here [40:15] in Pakistan or elsewhere. And then, of course, you got, as you rightly pointed out there, the concerns of [40:20] shipping companies and their insurers. And right now, nothing is moving. This is a risk averse industry. [40:26] They're not going to want to put their ships in that Strait until they are as bona fide security apparatus [40:31] in place that can allow them to do it safely. And in the meantime, of course, not only the world economy is [40:37] suffering, but the ability of the shipping companies to maintain their ships, their crews and their safety is very [40:45] much at risk. Not to mention, you've got U.S. naval forces, actually military forces writ large, but [40:51] mostly naval forces whose readiness is going to start to dip over time. You can't have that much [40:58] force assembled in the region and just sitting idly by and not exercising, not operating without that [41:05] readiness going down. And that reduces the commander in chief's options going forward. [41:09] Can I just ask you really quickly, because we are absolutely out of time, [41:12] what do you make of Vladimir Putin's role in all of this? Look, I think it's probably could be that [41:20] he might be a third party willingness to accept the nuclear material. That could be. But I think [41:25] also it could be that they're going after some economic leverage. Mr. Putin's economy is doing [41:30] well. Iran's economy is doing badly. Iran needs Russia. Russia needs Iran for the war in Ukraine. [41:36] So it could be that they're looking for some economic relief or maybe even because they know Mr. [41:40] Putin has a relationship with Mr. Trump, maybe some diplomatic pressure and leverage from Moscow to [41:45] see if they can get the Americans to the table. Welcome back. In just hours, the royal red carpet will [41:51] be rolled out in Washington for King Charles and Queen Camilla arriving to mark America's 250th [41:57] anniversary. This visit, which had been announced back in March, now unfolding under a very different [42:02] security lens after the shooting of the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday, which is raising [42:07] new concerns about security at high profile events in the nation's capital. Let's discuss with MSNOW Senior [42:13] Opinion Editor Autumn Brewington and back with us MSNOW National Security Analyst Rob D'Amico. Autumn, did this [42:19] attack this weekend change any of the plans for the King and Queen's visit? So Buckingham Palace and the [42:26] White House were looking very carefully after Saturday's incident at plans yesterday to see [42:32] sort of where's the exposure, where are their potential risks. They did not remove any of the [42:38] public events from the schedule, but they did look at things to see whether there were any concerns or [42:42] things they wanted to tighten up. So Rob, with the King arriving under this new cloud, if you were back at [42:48] the FBI and in the security apparatus, how much did Saturday's breach potentially force security teams [42:55] to adjust their approach, particularly when it comes to securing protection for a royal? [43:00] Yeah, I think they're going to relook at it. As you know, Bobby said last time, reset's a good word. [43:05] Anytime you have something like that, you know, I remember when I was in the Marines, we had a Vietnam [43:11] general tell us about, you know, combat, and all he said was complacency kills. And he let us think [43:16] about that. And when you get complacent, things happen. And a lot of times when you do things [43:20] over and over and you had the same thing happen, nothing, you get complacent. So I think this event [43:27] in itself, everyone doing security is going to have all these things on their mind when they're doing [43:33] it, when they're setting up a checkpoint to come in. Hopefully they're going to look at it and say, [43:37] wait a second, that guy ran through ours. What can we do to slow that down, give us more time and space [43:43] to indicate someone has ill intent? How about IDs? Maybe we put some undercover people in the hotel [43:49] with them that are just walking around, uh, observing people and what they're doing. And [43:54] do they have a bag that may look suspicious? You know, the secret service has people at those tables [43:59] in that dinner doing the same thing. Well, they probably should have had that at the hotel a day [44:04] or two before, maybe not full security, but people, when you do random things, that's what gets in the [44:09] way. Anytime crime you look at is a random patrol, a random, no, no sense of, of when it's going to [44:16] happen really deflects someone's ability to get around and do things. So hopefully that's going [44:22] to be the intent with these people doing security for the King. And Autumn, even against this backdrop, [44:28] the King and the Queen's visit is still about celebrating America's 250th anniversary of [44:32] independence, but also something else. You write this on MSNOW this morning, unofficially, [44:38] the couple are on a diplomatic charm offensive, seeking to smooth bilateral relations with Trump, [44:43] who has been publicly critical of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's refusal to partner on [44:48] military action against Iran. So tell us more about the dynamics at play with probably America's closest [44:56] ally right now. So we've seen from President Trump's social media posts, from his comments, [45:03] he's a very big fan of the King and the King's late mother, Queen Elizabeth II. He's talked about [45:09] how his mother loved the Queen. He really enjoys being around royalty. When Sir Keir Starmer visited [45:17] the Oval Office and produced a letter from King Charles, inviting President Trump for a second state [45:24] visit to the UK, which was unprecedented. You know, Trump brightened. So what the British government [45:29] is trying to do here is basically roll out, you know, their biggest asset in terms of diplomatic soft [45:37] power and try to sort of mend fences with Trump, who has said a lot of critical things about [45:44] Starmer. He's said he's no Winston Churchill. He's been very unhappy about Britain not being partners on [45:51] Iran. He's been critical of some trade policies. But, you know, they're hoping that this president, [45:58] with being a fan of the royal family and admiring someone who has palaces and a realm, [46:04] will be kind to the king. We have about 30 seconds here. What's on the agenda? [46:09] Oh, the agenda is vast. They're going to do a military review, which I think Trump was really [46:15] impressed looking at troops, like inspecting the troops at Windsor Castle. So he's going to have a troop [46:19] inspection. They'll also be checking out the expanded White House beehive. Charles is going to [46:25] address a joint session of Congress, which is only the second time the British monarch has done so. [46:30] His mother did it in 1991. They will go to lay a wreath at the 9-11 memorial. They're going to visit [46:38] a national park. And also, I think there's a horse racing event. And there will be a tea at the British [46:45] embassy. A lot to come in the days ahead. And the state dinner, of course. Autumn Brewington, [46:51] Rob D'Amico, thank you so much.