briggs. we will hear from laura bush and melania trump on the emotional issue of immigration. it is one that will dominate this week and republicans set to week as the white house ills tries to deflect all of the outrage over the zero tolerance border policy by blaming it on democrats. administration critics accusing the president of separating migrant children from families for political leverage and here is why. the president tweeting over the weekend democrats can fix the forced family break up at the border by working with republicans on new legislation for a change. this is why we need more republicans elected in november. democrats are goodt only three things. high taxes, high crime and obstruction. >> later, he s should get together and work something out. don't wait until after the election because you will lose. several democratic lawmakers chose father's day for the tour of the detention centers along the border. they got a look at the zero tolerance policy. let's get more from nick valencia in brownsville, texas. >> reporter: dave and christine, this is the stop on the fa

democrats. but that is not going over well with everyone, including former first lady laura bush who issued an op ed over the weekend comparing it to japanese internment camp. bush wrote i live at a border state. i appreciate protecting our international boundaries but this breaks my heart. and melania trump supporting families even while her husband's administration is pursuing this policy. melania trump issued an extraordinary statement of her own, in some ways distancing herself from the policy but in other ways echoing her husband's language about it. the statement wrote mrs. trump hates to see children separated from their family and hopes both sides of the awful can come together to achieve successful immigration reform. we need to be a country that follows all laws but also a country that governs with heart. the president has not been willing to take ownership over the weekend. he said the policy belonging to democrats. he said it would be used as a negotiation tool. two tweets over the weekend. the president blames democrats. he also implied if democrats want to change it --

. joining us now, anita mcbride, former chief of staff to laura bush and kate anderson brower. melania trump, the senior most official to go visit the border in the midst of this white house-created crisis of separating parents from their children, the message is i care, getting a firsthand look isn't a bad thing. we'll talk about the jacket in a second. but the trip in and of itself, what did you make of it? >> well, i thought that it was very important that she did that. it appears she pulled that trip together very quickly and there are a lot of details that go into a trip like that. i remember certainly making so many visits to the gulf coast after katrina with laura bush after 24 to 48 hours. i think it's important because it does bring a sense of humanity and a sense of i do care what's happening to these children, to these families, because i think she's very sincere about caring about kids. so that's important. maybe it helps to bring back a message to the white house. i hope that it has some effect. that's the one thing that she really is in a unique position to do, v

some questions. joining me now, anita mcbride, chief of staff to first lady laura bush. thanks for coming in. >> sure, thank you, kate. >> what do you think of the first lady's unannounced visit to the border facility? >> i think the visit was great. it was important. and she asked a lot of good questions in that round table. i think she also was able to present to us that there is some semblance of a structure around these kids who are in this unfortunate situation because we're all really confused about what is going on. so that was the good part of her visit. any first lady has this unique position to be able to bring some humanity to any issue that is facing our nation at the time. and also be a conduit for important information back to her husband. at least that's the hope. >> a lot of ink has been spilled about what exactly melania trump is saying and doing, kind of around this issue. the statement that her spokesperson put out as a crisis was breaking out, we need she said we need to be a country that follows all the laws, also need it -- also a country that governs with hea

also heard from former first lady laura bush. they have not backed down, something we do not see this administration doing often, if at all. they are trying to explain it and call it more of a law enforcement issue. the reality here, wolf, this is at the heart of the broader immigration issue. there is no end in sight to that necessarily. this was being viewed as a bit of a bargaining chip, if you will. the president and other administration officials hope it will bring democrats to the table here to get more wall funding, to do stronger immigration proposals. but that isn't necessarily happening. now there is a full-blown crisis on their hand here at the white house, but most particularly, those images, wolf. the white house was scheduled to have a briefing this hour. actually, it was pushed basketball a couple hours. assuming they're still trying to find answers here. in fact, the president is on capitol hill tomorrow trying to convince republicans on the way forward on immigration. this is not ending any time soon, and again, it's those images that the president watching doesn

the aisle will come together to achieve reform. >>> laura bush lashing out for the trump administration for separating children. rare for the first lady to criticize the ofce. in the washington post, she writes, quote, i live in a border sta i appreciate the need to enforce and protect our international borders, boundary, but this is cruel and immoral and it breaks my heart. >> kellyanne conway claims nobody in the white house likes the policy of separating migrant children from parents. but the trump administration is using the practice to force democrats to the table on border security. >> as a mother, as a catholic, as somebody who has a conscious and would not say the junk that somebody said apparently allegedly. i would tell you nobody likes this policy. congress has to act. >> he can end it on his own. >> chuck, congress passed a law it is a crime. this is a congressional law from many years ago. it is a crime to enter this country illegally. if they don't like that law, they should change it. >> separating migrant families is a policy announced by the trump adminis

first lady laura bush in the "washington post" said, i quote, "i live in a border state, i appreciate the need to enforce and protect our international boundaries, but this zero tolerance policy is cruel. it is immoral and breaks my heart." she continues, "these images are eerily reminiscent of the japanese american internment camps of world war ii, considered to be one of the most shameful episodes in history. former first lady michelle obama weighing in as well and citing laura bush and tweeting "sometimes truth transends party." roslyn carter said, "it is disgraceful and a shame to our country." condemning what's been done, including texas senator ted cruz late today. >> all of us who are seeing these images of children being pulled away from moms and dads in tears were horrified. this has to stop. kids need their moms and dads. >> the president says he hates this. he hates what's happening. yet he and his top officials refuse to take responsibility for the policy decision that they in fact made happen. in fact, late today, the dhs secretary would not even concede the existence of

comparisons, comparisons made by the lieksz of former first lady laura bush are exaggerations? >> the attorney general needs to defend his own statements and my statements are about what do we need to do to fix this? >> you don't agree with that? >> the attorney general is going to have to defend his own statements. i'm not going to be part of his own discussion, his debate. the debate that i'm in is the one in congress on how do we find a bill that fixes this, the bill the speaker brought forward addresses this and i think it's consistent with, if you go to npr article that lists out where the american public are that's where the solution is and that's the one we're trying to do. >> ted cruz has proposed on this t would mandate the kids stay with their parents, expedite the immigration proceedings that these asylum cases would be heard within 72 hours, entire cases decided within two weeks, is that legislation you would support? >> i think components of that are certainly very important. the start is the bill that the speaker's brought forward in the house. this is going to be a deba

world and bipartisan leaders including laura bush who said in a post op ed that the administration zero-tolerance policy is cruel and immoral and breaks my heart. but it turns out laura bush is an outlier in her party. according to our poll, a solid majority of the republican party, 58% of republicans, approve of this new zero-tolerance policy leading to the family s-- separation and then the president dropping five points since may and it is 59% of the public disapproves of the handling of the immigration issue and 35% approve. and today the president continued his false claim that the new policy is because of democrats which is again not true. >> say it's very strongly the democrats' fault. they're obstruction -- they're obstructionists and they are obstructing. >> i want to bring in my panel for a reaction. we have with us senator nina turner and form special answer scott jengs and alfonso aguilar from the u.s. office of citizenship. and let's start with the number. i thought it was surprising. 58% of republicans polled approve of this policy. obviously the numbers are completel

. >> children separated from their parents. former first lady laura bush said it is cruel and immoral. the president has lied about this, calling it a democratic policy. it is not. you can argue the merits of what he has decided to do, which the attorney general, chief of staff, former chief strategist has all done. you cannot argue what caused it to happen. the white house chose this. we will speak to two lawmakers who you toured a detention facility in texas technical. let's begin our coverage with abby phillip live this morning at the white house. abby, give us the latest. >> reporter: well, good morning, john. in just six weeks, 2,000 undocumented children have been separated from their families at the border. and the controversy over this zero tolerance trump administration policy for people who cross over the border is growing by the day and by the minute. >> they're using the grief, the pain, the tears to build their wall. >> if you cross the border with your children, your children will be ripped away from you. that's traumatizing to the children who are innocent victims. >> r

and laura bush and hillary clinton and mrs. carter. obama added sometimes truth transcends party. again, this could be fixed with a phone call from the president while congress fixes the law. it has been the law for a couple of presidents now and the presidents chose to enforce it the way this administration is. >>> president trump escalating trade tensions with china. beijing warns it will strike back. punishment for china stealing u.s. tech and trade secrets. >> beijing outlining tariffs on u.s. exports. the president promises to impose additional tariffs if they follow through. further action must be taken to encourage china to change its unfair practices. china again promises to strike back accused of extreme pressure and extortionist behavior. tit-for-tat tariffs are bringing futures down low to 400 points. and economists are warning that this could escalate a trade war. and voting to ban the zte shares. that sent the shares plummeting. the president lifted the ban in exchange for a fine and u.s. oversight. lawmakers on both sides criticized the deal citing national security

a crisis wearing i don't care, do you, or laura bush or hillary clinton. people on -- the president reporters will bash be media for reporting on this even though the president devoted time to make up an explanation. >>> up next, why the president's zero tolerance for those across the border may not be the case. government e-mails suggest. >>> reaction to the confusion over the separated children from a democratic senator who is seeing some of this crisis up close. i am all about living joyfully. ♪ hello. the new united explorer card hooks me up. getting more for getting away. rewarded! going new places and tasting new flavors. rewarded! traveling lighter. rewarded! (haha) getting settled. rewarded! learn more at theexplorercard.com and get... rewarded! ♪ ♪ keep your insights from prying eyes, so they won't be used by anyone but you. the ibm cloud. the cloud for smarter business. >>> we have breaking news. more evidence of confusion and disarray over president trump's executive order on immigration. the administration is saying the zero tolerance border policy continues. e-mai

support this week. you heard a lot of people, even laura bush come out and say this was appalling. a lot of republicans on the hill i heard from were saying the same thing, that this was problematic for their party going into a midterm, but this is a culture war to him. this is why he feels he was elected. he feels he can double down and move forward and that he will win on this issue, so i think he is going to dig his heels in and he feels like immigration is his issue. >> real quick, there is a challenge here for democrats. normally the midterm electorates are older and wider, significantly, than the presidential year electorates at a time when older whites have become the cornerstone of the trump and republican coalition. i mean, the challenge they have is that the question is whether younger voters and hispanic voters are going to turn out in larger numbers than they usually do in a midterm. it's not just trump. 80% of house republicans last week voted for a bill that would cut legal immigration by 40%, including a number of republicans in highly diverse districts in places like

obama or laura bush or anyone, there would be questions, clearly, it's messaging. this is the first lady who is, in my opinion, used her fashion sense to reflect purpose. whether that's traveling to another country and mirroring that country's cull ture or the white pantsuit and white hat that many interpreted as beyonce. these are choices the first lady is making, clearly. i'm going to read the tweet from her communications director about the jacket. she tweeted today's visit with the children in texas impacted flotus greatly. if media would spend time and energy on her actions and efforts to help kids rather than speculate and focus on her wardrobe, we would get so much accomplished on behalf of children. we certainly were focusing on her helping children. this was the first lady who very sneakily, if you will, opted to take this trip to texas. her spokeswoman told us she declared almost two days ago to her staff and to the president, i'm going to texas. it wasn't an ask. this was her decision, her determination. this was her team that put together this trip in a quick amount of t

obama or laura bush had done this. we would be. we would say what's going on? did they fall and hit their head? what is this message? but melania trump is in a very bizarre situation. she's making the best of it, dignified. the polar opposite of her husband. she doesn't use the media and she doesn't like the spotlight. she doesn't want to bring attention to herself. she didn't wear the jacket in the facility. that was very obvious and intentional. at the facility it was about the children, but she made the story of the day about her, no matter how much ramping that was going to go on in that room. >> i do think the supporters are saying it's ridiculous to focus on the message on the back of it first lady's jacket, but to amy's point if micelle obama had worn a jacket with the words i don't care, people's heads would have exploded. there is this double standard. it's almost like one of those, you know, on 24 you see a hostage vid eo where people are blinking a secret message to somebody. you can't ignore when the first laidee of the united states is wearing a sign-on her back in the

? >> that's right. we've seen this in the last few days with laura bush's op-ed, then jeb bush tweeting, i spoke to some people associated with donald trump jr. i spoke with people who think he's a good person, but jeb bush not tweeting anything critical of the president. that was an arrangement that made clear, and when that didn't happen, they were forced to pull out. >> i think it is something nath i guess we'll see play out. one reason george p. bush was also supportive of the president is because he's still in active politics. he's still running for office. he's an elected official in the state of texas. i don't think there is a full-on feud with him. i think he would be worried about that if there was, because it is trump's republican party. it is not the bush republican party regardless of what he might think. >> i have to work in a break here, but still remarkable. the current first lady issuing a statement that was clearly critical of her husband's policy. gently, but clearly critical of her husband's policy. we live in interesting times. >>> up next, an eyebrow-raising answer

, quite frankly, don, we would ask the question if michelle obama had worn the jacket, laura bush. >> 100%. >> this is not necessarily something we would let slide certainly because there is animosity between the media and the administration. it is our job to ask the questions. this is the first lady going to meet these children. she didn't wear it in texas. it's our job. that's what we do. >> that's important. >> i have to run. >> if michelle obama wore a jacket that said "i really don't care. do u?" we would be talking about it. it would be a big story either way. this is not a partisan thing. >> could be a simple explanation for it. trolling at its best. happens a lot lately. thank you both. >>> we come back in a climate where the president has stoked racial tensions, white sprem white supremacists are planning a rally across the white house. the very same white supremacists who planned a rally that turned deadly last year. and now for th. (♪) i'm a four-year-old ring bearer with a bad habit of swallowing stuff. still won't eat my broccoli, though. and if you don't have the right ove

experiences. that's child abuse. >> and, of course, we've all probably seen laura bush who never spoke out -- almost never spoke out about political issues when she was in office, much less since she's been out of office. and among the things that she wrote in an op-ed in the "washington post" is "the people wo at the shelter have been instructed, as i mentioned, not to pick up or comfort them. imagine not being able to pick up a child who is not yet out of diapers. really? this is america. >> i can't imagine just the pain that is happening, especially with these children. which is why you've seen not only a backlash from medical professionals and whatnot but also from the evangelical reallynt here, who are such a major part of -- >> can you holdhat thought? i want to actually show what franklin graham, one of those evangelical leaders, who was an early supporter of donald trump, much to the chagrin of a lot of republicans who didn'tnd why, b still is, and here's what he said. "i think it's disgraceful. terribl to see fam ripped apart and i don't support that one bit. i blame the

with you. you worked in the bush white house. and obviously you've seen the reaction to laura bush's opinion piece this week. you call this policy, quote, trying to mow your yard with dynamite. how does this play out with the trump administration? >> it is not going to play well. the politics of it is bad, the images are bad. most americans support the idea of stopping violent criminals from coming into the country. the problem is these images we're seeing from the border are not of violent criminals, they're little children who have been taken away from their parents, this audio is terrible politics. i think this has been a terrible mistake, i think the president could reverse it and what i would like to see happen here is to try to make something out of this crisis. i want to see the president go up to capitol hill tonight, i want him to rally the republicans. i want the republicans in the house to support this legislation that is sitting there that would end the child separation and get comprehensive immigration reform, i want to see that move on down the line because out of this crisis,

the past, had michelle obama gone to a disaster or a crisis wearing "i don't care do you" or laura bush, i mean, people's heads would explode. or hillary clinton. the idea that people are probably on the republican side, the president's supporters-r going to bash the media for reporting on this even though the president devoted crucial time today to talk about this and make up an explanation. >>> up next, why the president's zero tolerance for those cross the border illegally may not be the case. what government e-mails now suggest. >>> reaction to the confusion over the separated children from a democratic senator who is seeing some of this crisis up close. we test all of our paints and stains for months. or even years. because you deserve paint that's done right. that's proudly particular. benjamin moore. the standard for paint professionals. only at local paint and hardware stores. that you don't think about is very much. counties it's really not very important. i was in the stone ages as much as technology wise. and i would say i had nothing. you become a school teacher for one

. >> laura bush, who is a republican, who is a former first lady, also talked about japanese internment camps. >> that's completely outrageous. by the way, her husband signed a law that created -- >> i do hear what you're saying, steve, because while the president and republicans may be at risk of looking too callous here, maria, are democrats at risk of looking like they are maybe too soft on illegal immigration? >> no, because the fact of the matter is, democrats have been the one pushing a sensible comprehensive immigration bill that actually strengthens border security and republicans have been unable to come to the table to talk about sensible immigration reform. what democrats will not support is an anti-immigrant bill that spends billions and billions of taxpayer money for a ridiculous wall that will not work because the majority of americans do not want it, and to put in place an immigration -- a new immigration law that actually decreases legal immigration, which has been great for this country, and it is a complete pathway to try to become a draconian anti-immigrant country, w