Trump: Mission Almost Accomplished

[0:00] it's thursday april 2nd the president says we've got to finish the job but what's the job exactly [0:06] we start here in a prime time address president trump says we're not stopping the iran operation [0:14] yet these core strategic objectives are nearing completion but what will actually end the conflict [0:21] that remains less clear the supreme court claps back at the president's executive order to his [0:26] face well it's a new world it's the same constitution a historic hearing on birthright [0:31] citizenship and for the first time in 50 years astronauts are on their way to the moon three [0:38] two one but while the world looks upward space companies are staring at the bottom line from [0:45] abc news this is start here i'm brad milkey when president trump announced the u.s was launching [0:58] missiles at the islamic republic of iran he was clear about one thing this would not he said be [1:04] a never-ending endeavor he even gave a timeline to the american people this should be done in four [1:09] to six weeks [1:09] well it's been four weeks it's been slightly more than four weeks closer to five weeks [1:14] thousands have been killed in the middle east shipping lanes have been shut down [1:18] several countries worldwide have declared economic and energy emergencies and day by [1:24] day it has become less and less clear what the finish line is president trump perhaps [1:29] intentionally has never firmly laid down a clear picture of what victory or defeat would look like [1:35] well last night president trump strode to a podium in the cross hall of the white house [1:39] to give a prime time address to the nation and when this was announced people immediately wondered [1:45] is he about to declare victory here are we withdrawing troops or maybe [1:49] are we doubling down surging ground forces into iran itself he ended up announcing none of that [1:55] instead he issued a promise that we're almost there let's start the day with abc's chief [2:00] washington correspondent jonathan carl john this was a highly anticipated address prime [2:05] time in front of the nation what was the message can you walk us through it well it was kind of a [2:09] greatest hits of what we heard from him on truth social over the past couple of weeks he touted the [2:15] tremendous success as he sees it of the as the u.s military operation taking out the iranian navy [2:20] the iranian air force most of the iranian missile capability never in the history of warfare has an [2:26] enemy suffered such clear and devastating large-scale losses in a matter of weeks setting [2:32] them back severely obliterating their nuclear program all of that we've heard it from him [2:37] uh before uh he also [2:39] uh did you know did that kind of a of a suggestion that we're nearing the end he said at one point [2:46] we are on track to complete all of america's military objectives shortly very shortly and [2:52] tonight i'm pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion [2:58] but then he went on to say we're going to continue to hit them hard extremely hard [3:03] for the next two or three weeks he said over the next two to three weeks we're going to bring them [3:09] back to the stone ages where they belong and then brad the very next sentence after he talked about [3:16] bombing them to the stone ages he said but uh the meantime discussions are ongoing uh so we're [3:22] really uh not a clear indication of of where we're going but you know an overview highlights as he [3:29] sees it and a suggestion uh that the war is nearing its end but wait i'm confused because [3:35] like you said he kept listing objectives and said that he'd been clear about his objectives saying [3:39] that he'd been clear about his objectives but then he would say we're on the cusp of eliminating the [3:42] threats we have to finish the job what is the job john like when is this over in his eyes well i think [3:48] the job brad very simply is a deal now what that deal is i'm not exactly sure but but he said if [3:55] there is no deal and this is what he said at one point if there is no deal we're gonna hit each and [4:01] every one of their electrical plants we're gonna hit them harder we're gonna hit their [4:06] oil fields he was suggesting if there is no deal [4:09] we have not hit their oil even though that's the easiest target of all [4:14] because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding but we could hit it [4:22] and it would be gone and there's not a thing they could do about it again not clear exactly what [4:28] that means on a deal is it reopening the strait of hormuz well i don't think so because he also [4:33] addressed that and he said that the strait will effectively open itself up once uh the american [4:40] is over because it's in the iranian interest to be able to export their oil they're going to need [4:44] that revenue and in any event when this conflict is over the strait will open up naturally it'll [4:50] just open up naturally they're going to want to be able to sell oil because that's all they have [4:56] to try and rebuild it i should mention one other thing about what he was doing in this speech which [5:02] is a reminding the american people of the reason he went to war in the first place and this is [5:10] something that they did very little before the bomb started to drop because it was such a surprise [5:14] at the time right yes uh but saying we really ultimately did it so that iran would never be [5:19] able to develop a a nuclear bomb would never be able to use it to hold the world hostage [5:26] would never be able to terrorize the world and you know hurt american interests most [5:31] importantly but that's a great example because like he said nuclear capabilities were like a [5:35] huge part of the objectives but then specifically he said there might still [5:40] be nuclear material there but we don't feel the need to go get it we're just going to watch it [5:43] through satellite imagery and then pound them again if they start trying to get it like i [5:47] guess i'm just not even clear that that threat is gone even though he's saying there's really [5:51] no threat from iran yeah and there had been quite a bit of speculation that uh the ground troops [5:55] that he has sent to the region remember we have those two marine uh units that that have gone to [6:00] the region we have the 82nd airborne that is moving to the region and there's been speculation [6:05] that they would be used to some kind of special operations force to seize the uranium i didn't get [6:10] any sense that that was happening as a matter of fact no discussion of ground forces i didn't you [6:15] know there's been talk of seizing karg island where you know the the the iranians moved their [6:19] oil out of no indication there's anything like that an indication that the war is not over though [6:26] we salute them and now we must honor them by completing the mission for which they gave their [6:32] lives and every single one of the people their loved ones said please sir please finish the job [6:40] of them but no sense that there is a new component in this war of of ground forces now if he makes [6:46] that decision we'll look back on this and say well he didn't he didn't prepare america for that [6:51] but i got the sense that's not a decision that he's thinking about making why now john because [6:56] you actually spoke to him personally on the phone just a couple days ago i mean do you have a sense [7:00] of like what what he feels the need to communicate at this moment that he might not have a couple [7:05] weeks ago or a couple weeks from now you know i i frankly don't necessarily think he [7:10] feels a need to to do anything like that but i think that i i do think that some of his advisors [7:15] and some of his supporters outside of the administration think that they have not done [7:21] a good enough job communicating the purpose of the war have not done a good enough job [7:26] communicating what the military has accomplished and they're telling him you know that that's why [7:32] the polls are down and we've seen the polls brad i mean it's not one or two or three polls it's like [7:37] it's a lot of polls that have showed [7:40] at least a few of them i mean i don't know if it's true or not but i i think that's the reason [7:46] that he's been doing that so it's true that 30 percent of the american public uh are frankly [7:52] opposed to the war i don't understand why we're over there so i think that was the reason you [7:57] know that he's been told you got to get out there and make the case tell people you know what you're [8:02] doing by the way marco rubio you know the secretary of state slash national security advisor put out [8:07] a video uh this week we were on the verge of an iran that had so many missiles and so many drones [8:08] so that no one could do anything about their nuclear weapons program in the future basically kind of sunrise and sunset [8:10] summarizing those reasons why we went to war. It's kind of interesting to see that stuff going [8:14] out, you know, four weeks, five weeks into the war. Well, and also, John, like, it seems like [8:19] some of the polls almost match inverted, like, gas prices. For every cent the gas prices go up, [8:25] the polls go down. Yeah. And by the way, that was one very interesting part of the speech. [8:29] He said absolutely confidently that gas prices will go down very quickly once this is over, [8:35] and the stock market will go up very quickly. Right. Clearly very cognizant of all that and [8:40] telling European allies, like, hey, you guys, you guys deal with this at some point. All right. [8:44] Jonathan Karl there in Washington. Thank you so much. Thanks, Brad. Next up on Start Here, [8:52] you ever have a debate about someone when that someone is sitting right there? The Supreme Court [8:57] decides in front of the president who gets to be an American after the break. If last night's White [9:08] House address was the end of President Trump's day, well, the start of it kicked off with a [9:12] visit to the Supreme Court. Which justices will you be listening for most closely? I love a few [9:18] of them. [9:18] I don't like some others. This was historic for a couple of reasons. First off, never before in [9:25] this nation's history has a sitting U.S. president sat and observed a Supreme Court argument in [9:31] person. It's simply not done. But here was Trump in the very front row watching the justices [9:36] questioning his handpicked solicitor general, his former personal attorney, in fact, [9:41] about a case revolving around Trump's own executive order. And that's the other historic [9:46] part of this, the order itself that claims there is. [9:49] President Trump is a fundamental principle of American citizenship. If you were born here, [9:58] you're from here. You're a citizen. End of story. In a nation of immigrants, it doesn't matter who [10:03] your parents or your grandparents were. If you were born on American soil, you're one of us. [10:08] President Trump has been critical of this concept for years. I remember covering him in his run for [10:13] president back in 2015 when he proposed ending this practice. Legal experts laughed in his face. [10:18] Well, last year, [10:19] White House lawyers put forward a new legal argument, effectively saying the 14th Amendment [10:23] doesn't even say what you think it says. That was the question being debated right in front of Trump [10:28] yesterday. And ABC's Washington reporter Devin Dwyer was there in the room. He is back with us [10:33] this morning. Devin, first time we'd ever seen this, the first time any of these justices had [10:36] seen something like this. What was it like in there? It was pretty extraordinary, Brad. I mean, [10:40] this Supreme Court of the United States, an entire branch of the federal government has never before [10:45] seen a president of the United States, much less one named in a case, [10:49] seated there in the front row, staring the justices in the eyes. And you could feel the [10:56] tension in the room awaiting Trump's arrival. He came just about 10 minutes before the court [11:01] gaveled into session, came in quietly, unacknowledged by the court, sat in the front row [11:06] of the public gallery near the back of the room, although it is an intimate chamber. [11:11] Trump himself, unmistakable with that bright red tie. He was flanked by Attorney General [11:16] Pam Bondi, the Commerce Secretary, a friend of his, Howard Lutnick, was there, [11:19] we also saw him seated next to White House counsel, David Warrington. And he was very [11:26] attentive, but sat expressionless and stood as the court gaveled in by tradition, and all nine [11:32] cloaked members of the court walked in and took their seats. We will hear argument this morning [11:38] in case 25365, Trump versus Barbara. Chief Justice John Roberts, who officiates the proceedings, [11:45] didn't reference the president being there. Really, things proceeded business as usual. [11:50] General Sauer, Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the court. [11:54] As far as I could tell, Brad, and I was in the press box, just across from Trump, [11:57] had a good line of sight on him. He never made direct contact, eye contact, [12:02] with any of the justices on the bench, so far as I could tell. I didn't even really see any of the [12:07] justices look his way for an extended period of time, which is not to say they didn't know he [12:12] was there. But the court didn't acknowledge his presence. Right. And again, civics lesson, [12:17] like co-equal branches of government. Theoretically, he's not more important than [12:20] any of the Supreme Court justices, but just a really interesting dynamic there. [12:24] Let's talk about the case itself. What is the case? And I guess, you know, [12:27] sort of what were the arguments in there? Well, this case is all about the text of [12:31] the 14th Amendment, which was enacted after the Civil War, Brad, to ensure that freed slaves and [12:38] their children were guaranteed American citizenship. And the text is pretty simple. [12:42] It says all persons born in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens. [12:50] And the catch is that the amendment doesn't define what subject to the jurisdiction thereof [12:55] means. Now, for over a century, courts and the government have interpreted, you know, [13:01] all persons born here and subject to the jurisdiction thereof to apply to anybody born [13:06] here. If you're born on U.S. soil, as you said at the top, you're a U.S. citizen. But Trump, [13:11] on day one of his second term, released an executive order which redefined really what [13:17] subject to the jurisdiction means. It says, you know, [13:20] all persons born in the United States, born or naturalized in the United States and subject to [13:23] the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and the states of which they reside. [13:27] And his attorney yesterday, Solicitor General John Sauer, said that phrase means domiciled. [13:35] Reside means domiciled in the Constitution. [13:37] What does that mean? It means living here lawfully with the intent to stay. [13:41] When you come to a new nation, you say, I'm here to stay. You become part of their political [13:45] community and you become akin to a citizen. People domiciled here, lawfully here, [13:50] and intending to stay. Oh, like tourists from Japan are here, [13:53] then they happen to have a baby. That doesn't make that kid a citizen in their eyes. [13:57] That's right. And by derivative, excluding tourists, foreign students, asylum seekers, [14:04] certainly undocumented immigrants who had illegally crossed the border, [14:07] those would be all excluded from having their children born here, [14:12] continuing that legacy of U.S. citizenship. It was an argument that really seemed to fall flat. [14:17] Yeah. Walk me through how the justices responded here, because they question, [14:20] Solicitor General, as he's sort of making his case. What was the vibe you got? [14:23] Yeah, I mean, they parried with him for almost 90 minutes. [14:27] Do we look at how domicile was understood in 1868? [14:31] Justice Neil Gorsuch fixated in on the text and history of the 14th Amendment. He said, [14:35] you know, to Solicitor General John Sauer, you keep talking about domiciled should be [14:40] really the bar for citizenship. He said, where is that word anywhere in the amendment? [14:46] And the stuff you have about unlawfully present, it's like Roman. [14:50] Law sources you're going to. [14:52] Yeah. Justice Amy Coney Barrett zero in on this idea of intent. [14:56] Let's say they don't have an intent to stay. They want to escape and go back [14:59] the second they can. Are they domicile? [15:01] In fact, some U.S. citizens who give birth on U.S. soil might not intend to stay here, she said. [15:06] You're using some pretty obscure sources to get to this concept. [15:11] The liberals on the same warpath, Brad. I mean, Justice Elena Kagan talked about the vast legacy [15:18] and the interconnectedness of this idea. [15:20] Of birthright citizenship. And Justice Sonia Sotomayor zeroed in on something that's concerned [15:25] a lot of people. [15:26] That the government could move to unnaturalize people who were born here of illegal residence. [15:34] Even though Trump's order is said to only apply going forward to babies born after it would take [15:40] effect, she suggested that perhaps it could be used to take away citizenship from people [15:46] if the court ruled in Trump's favor. [15:48] Well, and Devin, like this is where it's always so difficult is, [15:51] addressing how the world has changed since whatever, the hundred something years since this amendment was passed or whatever, [15:57] what the founders intended. This comes up in the gun debate all the time. [16:00] But how do they address that? Like the migration picture in the world looks very different than it might have back then. [16:05] Yeah, I mean, it's a valid point. [16:06] And what we're dealing with here is something that was basically unknown at the time when the 14th Amendment was adopted, [16:13] which is illegal immigration. [16:15] It wasn't a thing back then, as Justice Samuel Alito pointed out, but he happened to be one of the most sympathetic justices [16:21] to the Trump point of view, suggested that, you know, maybe these amendments need to be viewed through a different lens to respond to modern day problems. [16:30] It's the same argument that Solicitor General John Sauer made. [16:33] He said, we're in a new world now. [16:35] We're in a new world now, as Justice Alito pointed out to where eight billion people are one plane ride away from having a child as a U.S. citizen. [16:42] Well, it's a new world. It's the same Constitution. [16:44] What many conservatives refer to as birth tourists, people who, you know, want to come to the United States for the express, but they're not. [16:48] What many conservatives refer to as birth tourists, people who want to come to the United States for the express, but they're not. [16:50] They're expecting people to come to the United States for the express purpose of giving birth and then going home and having a U.S. citizen in tow. [16:51] They're expecting people to come to the United States for the express purpose of giving birth and then going home and having a U.S. citizen in tow. [16:56] The data is mixed on how widespread that is, how, you know, how widely it's abused. [17:01] But regardless, Chief Justice John Roberts, several of the other conservatives said, you know, it's the same Constitution in any event. [17:09] And it's not entirely clear how relevant that is in this case to interpreting the law. [17:13] Wow. It's the same Constitution, like mic drop gavel drop moment. [17:17] Were they expressing all this skepticism in front of Trump, by the way? [17:20] Like was he reacting to any of this? [17:22] You know, I kept looking over for his facial expressions, Brad, and I have to say he was pretty stoic. [17:28] He was awake and got some questions in light of recent, you know, Oval Office events and whether he had dozed for, you know, over an hour of these intense legal arguments. [17:39] But he wasn't writing anything down. [17:41] He didn't make any gestures. [17:42] What was interesting was about halfway through when ACLU attorney Cecilia Wang, herself a birthright citizen of Taiwanese parents, got up to argue in defense of the policy. [17:55] Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the court, ask any American what our citizenship rule is and they'll tell you. [18:03] Everyone born here is a citizen alike. [18:05] He pretty quickly looked over at David Warrington, the White House counsel, and seemed to gesture with his hand that it was time to go. [18:11] And sure enough, he did. [18:12] He did get up in the middle of her opening statement and walk out. [18:16] The only comment upon leaving that he made was on social media. [18:20] And he said yesterday that birthright citizenship, in his view, is stupid. [18:24] And he said we're the only country that allows this, which isn't actually true. [18:29] 32 countries, according to the Pew Research Center, have birthright citizenship policies, including Canada, Mexico, most of the countries in the Western Hemisphere. [18:37] So we aren't alone in this practice. [18:40] But so then, Devin, it's now in the hands of the justices, right? [18:42] They'll. [18:42] They'll decide on their ruling. [18:44] I mean, what are the possibilities here? [18:46] Because in some cases, it's like a firm yes or no on a given law. [18:50] Other times, it's more sort of caveated or convoluted. [18:53] And each of those has, like, very big ramifications for the regular people on the end of them. [18:58] What happens next? [18:59] You know, this is one of the rare cases, Brad, where it seems pretty clear cut that they are going to do an up or a down. [19:06] And every tea leaf from the argument yesterday was that they're going to say down. [19:12] I come out of the court today. [19:14] With the thought of my parents and so many of our parents and ancestors. [19:21] The stakes are huge. [19:22] I just wanted to point out, Brad, I mean, by one estimate, around two hundred and fifty thousand babies every year in this country could lose citizenship and be at risk of deportation shortly after their birth to a country they have never known. [19:37] And under this order, if it takes effect, every American would face new hurdles to proving their citizenship as they go about their daily life. [19:44] The government says they have a plan for that. [19:46] They're going to have new bureaucratic mechanisms for that. [19:49] But it certainly would be a big change for everybody. [19:52] Yeah. And just the fact that this got in front of the Supreme Court and that the president was there. [19:55] Remember, he signed an executive order a couple of days ago saying basically that that mail ballot should only be available to Americans who are on like a federally approved list. [20:04] A lot of legal analysts said that looks unconstitutional on its face. [20:07] But maybe that could end up in front of the Supreme Court. [20:09] I mean, now that we've seen this, you see sort of what's possible here. [20:12] Devin Dwyer covering this all. [20:13] Thank you so much. [20:14] Thanks, Brad. [20:15] Okay, one more quick break. [20:17] When we come back, gravity. [20:19] Who needs gravity? [20:20] One last thing is next. [20:25] And one last thing. [20:26] We are so back. [20:28] Three, two, one. [20:30] This was the scene last night as Artemis II lifted off. [20:34] And lift off. [20:36] The crew of Artemis II now bound for the moon. [20:39] Humanity's next great voyage begins. [20:43] As we speak, the most powerful spacecraft to ever transport humans is now carrying four astronauts up to the moon. [20:50] The first manned mission to even get near the lunar surface in 50 years. [20:54] This is that first step in humans becoming a true space-faring society. [20:59] You could feel the excitement at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida where people had traveled to watch. [21:04] You could hear the awe in the voice of Captain Reed Weissman as they emerged from Earth's atmosphere. [21:09] Outstanding stand. [21:10] We see the same and we have a beautiful moon rise. [21:12] We're headed right at it. [21:13] But you could also feel the excitement around the country as we turn to a new chapter in the space race. [21:19] If this mission is successful, make no mistake, it is the beginning of something, not the end. [21:24] Which could be why, yesterday, multiple outlets reported that Elon Musk has filed the paperwork to take SpaceX public. [21:32] SpaceX, of course, is Musk's space venture, which has positioned itself as perhaps the most advanced private company for launching rockets into orbit. [21:42] Which is cool and all, but many people did not understand how lucrative that could be until they saw these initial public offering details. [21:49] According to these reports, Elon Musk has filed the paperwork to take SpaceX public. [21:50] Which is cool and all, but many people did not understand how lucrative that could be until they saw these initial public offering details. [21:51] According to these reports, if SpaceX sells all available shares at their asking price, it could be valued at more than one and a half trillion dollars. [21:59] That would instantly put it on par with some of the most valuable companies on Earth. [22:03] Why so much? Well, think about this series of Artemis missions. [22:07] The goal is to eventually create a moon base and then later launch missions to Mars. [22:11] We're not doing that for our health. [22:13] In addition to the scientific leaps, there are resources to mine, money to be made. [22:18] SpaceX spent a decade racing to the front. [22:19] In addition to the scientific leaps, there are resources to mine, money to be made. [22:20] SpaceX spent a decade racing to the front. [22:20] In addition to the scientific leaps, there are resources to mine, money to be made. [22:20] In addition to the scientific leaps, there are resources to mine, money to be made. [22:21] In addition to the scientific leaps, there are resources to mine, money to be made. [22:21] SpaceX also found a new use for its talent. [22:24] Launching something into orbit other than satellites and space stations. [22:29] The next step beyond Earth data centers are Earth orbital data centers. [22:35] So you know how artificial intelligence is the future according to tech entrepreneurs? [22:40] You know how artificial intelligence systems do a ton of computing, [22:43] and how those computations consume exponentially more energy and resources than their predecessors? [22:49] These server farms require [22:50] massive warehouses that many communities don't want to give them. You know where there is a lot [22:55] of space, though? Space. What if you want to go beyond a mere terawatt per year? In order to do [23:02] that, you have to go to the moon. That's right. Musk and other private space entrepreneurs have [23:06] floated building AI data centers in orbit. Not only could you build huge structures, but you'd [23:12] also have cloudless access to solar power. Plus, you know how much energy and water these data [23:17] centers are consuming? Much of that is just to cool their systems. Air conditioning bills in [23:22] the millions. Well, with no air in space, servers would be bound by a different set of cooling [23:29] parameters. Now, some are still skeptical of these plans, including some physicists. Plus, [23:35] there's the issue of maintenance. Like, if something breaks, instead of sending a guy [23:38] over in a truck, what, you're going to have to do a whole series of space launches? But Musk [23:42] clearly believes now is the moment to get a level of investment never seen before. [23:48] $50. [23:48] Billion dollars, more or less, in one day. Talk about a moonshot. No better time than when [23:54] everyone's feeling uplifted. By the way, if you did not watch the Artemis launch, [24:01] go back and watch it this morning. I am so skeptical of space missions until I see those [24:06] engines light up and just these colossal structures launched into space. And then [24:10] suddenly I'm saluting everyone and using words like humankind and the intrepid nature of man. [24:15] Go astronauts. I'm getting psyched up all over again. I'm Brad Milkey. I'll see you tomorrow. [24:23] Liftoff. [24:24] Liftoff.