the nra always leads the charge, the republican party always sides with the nra, no matter how urgent the need is for some sort of reform, that need seems to dissipate. ultimately, it is the nra that is the -- still the strongest bulwark against change in this country. and interestingly, the nra right now is in one of the weakest positions it's ever been in in its history. it's got a huge legal war with its own ad agency. they've had top officials leave in scandal. how does that affect, if it does affect, what might be possible in terms of the ongoing and confounding fight over gun policy reform? joining us now is senator chris murphy, democratic candidate of connecticut. we reached out to 30 to join us on our program tonight. all 30 declined to appear. senator murphy, thank you for making time for us tonight. >> thanks for having me. >> senator, i know that you have been a leader on this issue in part because you were so galvanized on this issue over the shooting in newtown. in your state of connecticut. can you tell us where we are today? >> as you can imagine, i got emails from the

and that's something i just never associated with the nra. when i got my bolt actio action .22-caliber moss burg rifle from my dad along with an nra card when i was 12 years old, it was a wholesome organization. i think it's now become nothing more than a front for gun manufacturers, and i think it attracts a very dubious element of people who just see no limit to the amount of firepower that they need to protect themselves. >> you know, james, the white house is eyeing this proposal that would try to identify early warning signs of violent behavior in people with mental illness. so they're trying to shift the debate from guns and the availability of them to mental illness. but the reality is there are mental illness issues in every pocket of the world. but every pocket of the world does not have the mass shootings that the u.s. does. what is your reaction to that? >> so, christy, the available data we have, the fbi conduct at preincident indicator study between 2000 and 2013. they looked at about 160 mass shootings, and i believe they determ

i think the nra remains significant. there is a lot of turmoil at the top of nra, but it remains a very powerful lobbying group. what the nra has particularly done as it relates to the republican party is create this slippery slope argument you heard donald trump make yesterday which is effectively any gun control legislation, anything whether that's expanded background checks, red flag flaws, clip limits, all is a slippery slope. if you let that door open, you will suddenly at one point in the not too distant future have someone knock knock knocking on your door and asking to take your gun. it's simply not bore out in policy. there's no attempt to abolish the second amendment. there's no attempt to confiscate all guns. but that is the dynamic on which we work. it makes no sense. it suggests that any change represents all change. if one change doesn't solve the problem, we can't make any changes? it doesn't make any sense. but it is clearly the governing political dynamic. and candidly, alisyn, has been since at least ne

voters that the nra can mobilize. and the second reason is fear. they are trapped between wanting to appeal to a broader audience, suburban women, for example, which would be delighted to get some real gun control and their hardcore base. for many of these people, certainly congressman and gerrymander districts but also some senators in red states, it's just too big a gamble for them. they might pick up some suburban women, but they can't afford to depress enthusiasm in those deep, deep red areas. so they are making a political calculation. i think what they're seeing what we're beginning to see is that political calculation has to change. we saw how suburban women turned out in droves. we saw 40 seats in the suburbs flip. so i think the more people who feel passionately about this issue, many of them moms, moms demand action. the harder it is going to be for those republicans to do nothing. many of them still-and certainly in the house they aren't going to do anything. but you may see a little bit of softness around

and i thought what he said today talking about "i love the nra, the nra love me, but we may fall out over this" -- he didn't quite say that, he said at best hithey might be neutral on they are coming around. these are baby steps. we're not talking about sweeping reform of the gun laws in the united states. we are about tightening background checks. but even that will face the teeth of opposition from the nra . what i heard from the president today was someone who said i am prepar to take on the nra on this, but we have been here before. if you want to put a skeptical note on this come after parkland he said people are too afraid of the nra. the nra had dinner at the white house and he dropped his proposals. we will see what happens.: nate majority leader mitch mcconnell has refused to reconvene the senate and he saya it wil to vote on this. is there the risk that the momentum fizzles out by then? jon: yes, there is, but i think thpresident saying what he said today has put his stamp on this as a proposal that ought to go forward. i think it would look weak -- i don't think people wil

he shouldn't be talking to the nra. he should be talking to the leaders of congress, mcconnell, chuck schumer, nancy pelosi, all in a room talking about how we pass universal background checks. background checks are the law of this country, we just have an enormous loophole with these gun shows. that's what i would do. he should be putting limits on certain military-style weapons, which we did before. we need to be doing that again. then there's other things. i won't be consulting with the fra in making these decision. >> joe biden, your rival, had this to say on the issue of white supremacy. let's watch this. >> reporter: do you believe -- >> i believe everything he's said and done encourages white supremacists. and it there may not be a distinct, you're in fact trying to curry the favor of white supremacists. >> do you agree with that assessment, congressman? >> yeah. i mean, i do with the sentiments that the vice president is putting forth there. this is the point. the president has the most important microphone, mos

he can also move the nra if he chooses to. >> the stars have lined up. you have a weaken nra. you have a president with -- you don't have to worry about a democratic vote. the question is, will he use his political capital to move the senate, senate republicans specifically, on specific legislation? >> the house already passed background checks. >> we'll update your political -- >> we'll see what bill the senate passes. it won't be an identical bill. >> hold on. >> sorry, george. >> george, the assault weapons ban it passed in the house by one vote. i remember all the phone calls, 3:00 in the morning, i told president clinton, at 3:00 in the morning people are sleeping. he passed it by one vote. how many republicans will go on in the senate? and i would not go on only -- with the history of domestic violence -- you know this as governor and i as mayor, we know the correlation between domestic violence and what else happens. ad how we d y bill. but george -- >> we're out of time. >>> coming right up, al gore on the climate crisis, 2020 and president trump. >>> there were stark

you'll recall that the president of the nra,al ver nor oliver no basically forced to resign at the nra meeting. since then there have been resignations. and some board members have been outspoken but says things in disarray financially at the nra and he believes the leadership needs to change in order to set things right. this puts the nra at a disadvantage at a time it most needs to be strong and unified. and i think we're seeing some of the impact of this disarray in the debate that you've just describing. >> to that point, casey, you've spent a lot of time on capitol hill. you know it better than anyone. to what extent can we get a sense this cast internally in the nra is going to have an impact on the policy of gun control in this country? >> i think the jury's still out on that. but i do think that it always plays a role in so much as the nra is really activate quite a few voters and make a real difference in states where, for example, if they wanted to launch a primary campaign against somebody there is an element of fear for lawmakers, particularly republican lawmakers. that cap

i know people like to just bang the nra over the head, but what is the nra? the nra is 5 to 8 million gun owners. i think these republicans are going to hear from those gun owners. these republicans are going to be reminded, look, both of those shooters in el paso and dayton, they passed a background check. i think this is just the president talking because he had a horrible week. he's made no effort to unify this country during this terrible week. >> and he had the opportunity, of course, when he visited the victims of the el paso mass shooting and dayton, ohio, as well, he had the opportunity to unify, but the president, he did thank the first responders but also bragged about the crowd size of a rally he held in el paso several months ago. later the first lady tweeted a photo of herself as we see of her and the president holding an infant who lost both of his parents in the shooting. a baby who was reportedly brought back to the hospital at the request of the white house. in fact one hospital official saying the president really lacked empathy about bringi

there are certain things that even nra members support, that the nra itself would oppose. people always assume that the reason the nra had influences they had money and they were in the politician's pockets. but it's more that politicians are afraid of the voters for whom this is their number one issue. for a long time, the intensity on this issue is with those supporters of gun rights rather than supporters of gun control. >> harris: is it shifting? >> kristen: it's shifting a little bit. there's more intensity among those who say gun control and wanting to have structured strn laws -- they were voting on other issues. there is some evidence that voters who want stricter gun laws, this is rising about something that becomes a voting issue for them. >> harris: looking at a situation where this current president doubled down again and said he would like to see meaningful background checks, that he anticipates that mitch mcconnell, when they come back from summer break, we'll take a look at red flagging and other types of legislation. could we see something get done? what do

firm who worked on behalf of the nra through projects like nra tv which is now shut down. 'ssically the group accountatants and s some board members found out that there was no due diligence being performed on these contracts which had ballooned to $40 million a year. amy: we have 20 seconds. alex: and those who have raised concerns about it have been forced out of the organization. amy: we are going to do part two of this conversation and put it online at democracynow.org. this seems to be a key moment for gun control groups. given have the new york post front page issue, you might have seen, banned weapons of war. -- ban weapons of war. we will talk more about that at democracynow.org. i am amy goodman, thank you so m much h hello. welcome to nhk "newsline." weather officials in japan are cautioning the residents on the southern island of kyushu to be on alert after a tie foyphoon m landfall. it's been scaled down to a severe tropical storm. it heads northwest at

donald trump got $30 million from the nra and he serves the nra -- >> red flag laws work. you're doing a disservice to every person in this country. >> he said they're very strong backers of mine. >> let's -- >> that's called a swamp. he's corrupt -- >> let's leave it here. certainly -- >> that's ridiculous. >> i'm out of time. listen, here's what we know, twice he said he wanted background checks, twice he talked to the nra, twice it changed. it's on him. but fix nics is not the same thing. information sharing matters. covering all of the transactions matters. red flag laws matter. they all matter. it's about all of it. it's about attacking it with an urgency that suggests you get how big the problem s. let's see when that happens. thank you for making the case as always. >>> we know the president has his problems on these issues. you see the debate, it's obvious. what about the democrats. we got to look deeper inside the poll. it's not about who got the pop. it's not about the two-headed animal on the left now of sanders and warren, i don't mean that as an insult. it's a

it seems to me that it's an nra leadership issue. they're the ones that have been the most vocal opponents of these kinds of measures. >> i've been covering this from what was seen as the first mass shooting of our era, and i wrote surely something will happen in the horror of this killing and the need for some kind of measure over who gets guns and then later on, it evolved in ammunition and semi-assault. the idea here is that the people who want this the most may not be the people who are seen in trump's base. and it always goes back to the nra's ability to identify where the votes are, and that's why nothing gets done. so when wayne lapierre talks to trump, it's not just the argument that the public you know, as you just said, is for this. it's the political argument that you may damage yourself more by doing something than by doing nothing. >> goodness gracious. if i can ask you, michael, before we go, there are some stories out now that former administration officials are concerned that the president is becoming more erratic. i

i have a great relationship with the nra. i have a lot of respect for the people at the nra. i have already spoken to them on numerous occasions. numerous occasions. frankly, we need intelligent background checks. this is not a question of nra, republican or democrat. i spoke to mitch mcconnell yesterday. he is totally on board. he set up and waiting for your call. he is totally on board. i spoke to senators, friends of mine, pretty hardline senators. when i say that i say that in a positive way. hardliners for the second amendment. they understand that we don't want insane people, mentally a people, bad people, dangerous people, we don't want guns in the hands of those people. i think the republicans are going to be great and lead the charge, along with the democrats. i spoke to nancy pelosi. we had a great talk. i spoke to chuck schumer. we had a great talk. chuck schumer is my china policy, has you probably know. i said i can't believe you actually like something i'm doing. he said not like, love. he is great on the china situation, which we are winning and winning big. ch

of course, the nra has about five million members. it's a pretty large, influential group, but there are other gun rights organizations. there's gun owners of america which has about two million members. they're very focused on this as well. very opposed to this as well. it's not going to be a simple fight in the senate. arthel: there are actions and there are words. should president trump address americans clearly and loudly denouncing racism and white supremacy? >> in president trump's mind, he has done this. of course, in other people's minds he hasn't done enough, and, you know, critics say that he has enabled these kind of views. i think that we're going to continue to see trump say that, you know, he condemns this sort of extremism, but, of course, his critics will point to his very harsh rhetoric on illegal immigration and other matters and, you know, argue that potentially he has not gone -- arthel: i don't want to confuse the immigration issue with what i asked you, and so part two of the question is should -- do you think th

the gun manufacturing industry controls the nra. the nra controls even the president of the united states and members of congress. i can't tell you how many of my former colleagues republicans would say to me after they voted against something like strekenned background checks sboirtd by their own constituents in the members it only elevator, they would say i know i voted against that. i wish i could have vote ford it. i said why didn't you vote for it? the answer was i will get a republican primary. i can't afford it. when members of congress are more concerned about tia and their safety more concerned about them than losing a primary, maybe we'll see some action. >> well, stated. tia because you're sort of this activism leading how do we deal with this i'm curious what your movement is doing anwar organization thinks about the fact that the nra is not just an organization that is revolved around hunters or lawful sporting or you know, self-defense in the home. there's a lot of good arguments that related to why people in the unite

with the nra. >> i have a great relationship with the nra. i have a lot of respect for the people at the nra. and i have already spoken to them on numerous occasions, numerous occasions. and, frankly, we need intelligent background checks, okay. this isn't a question of nra, republican, or democrat. i will tell you, i spoke to mitch mcconnell yesterday. he's totally on board. >> okay, so the other headlines in there, china, as you mentioned the president clearly indicating that he's not happy with the state of negotiations but he likes the fact that not just china's economy is hurting but the global economy is hurting. that's a novel approach to how you grow america's economy. it's a strong hint that we're going to have a third summit or 30 1/2 summit. then on joe biden he had this charge he's not playing with a full deck. he also said something that i'm pretty certain is untrue, and that is that robert mueller testified on joe biden's behalf because biden wanted mueller to make him look better. th

i have a great relationship with the nra. they supported me very early and that has been a great decision they made. we have justice cavanaugh. we have justice gorsuch. they feel very strongly about the second amendment. the nra made a great decision in supporting me. nobody else would have won. i have a very good relationship. i will change it -- i have a great relationship with the nra. i have a lot of respect for the people at the nra. i have already spoken to them on numerous occasions. numerous occasions. frankly, we need intelligent background checks. ok. this is not a question of nra, republican or democrat. i will tell you, i spoke to mitch mcconnell yesterday. he is totally on-board. he said, i have been waiting for your call. he is totally on-board. i spoke to senators, friends of mine, pretty hardline senators. when i say that i say that in a positive way. hardliners for the second amendment. they understand that we don't want insane people, mentally ill people, bad people, dangerous people, we don't want guns in t

he's afraid of the nra which he initiated the call of the head of the nra to say background checks are off the table and learly it is a support. 90% of americans support background checks and according to majority of nra members support universal background checks. and why is it happening? because nra represents gun manufactures and there were reports when he gave that speech in new hampshire and talked about the gun doesn't pull the trigger, the person does. he loved the applause that got and he knows the economy we'll talk about later is going downhill. he doesn't want to lose those supporters, he sees himself as the second amendment guy now even though he wasn't for most of his life. >> i think the point about he heard the applause -- >> classic -- >> -- if you look at donald trump and who he is from june 2515 when' announced until now, the one thing that has become very clear is one, he love the campaign ralys because he loves the applause and he's like a comedian doing a -- or a band doing a greatest hit show. you go see -- you want to see hotel california if you see the eagles an

who was he consulting this week with two phone calls to the nra. this has received so much attention. to the american public, this is not necessarily a contentious issue. you have something like 86% of people favoring the background checks. it is really an issue among the republican leadership. it is not a contentious issue with the public. >> interesting point. you have a unique take to this. what we saw from president trump this week and those visits and the fall out since then. a lot of it coming with this photo. this is two-month old paul. his mother was found laying on top of him. her husband died. the little boy's father died at the hospital. he was brought back by his family. they were happy to be there but the fact that this is the picture the first lady tweeted out and to see the president with the thumbs up. i know you have been in a situation with a president to go and comfort families. put it in perspective what we are looking at and what you've experienced. >> it is really an unprecedented situation. i think we've become nub numb to th

. >> my own experience with the nra is this. i proposed in 2013 some very benign legislation with respect to gun traffickers and straw purchasers. these are by definition criminals. and shouldn't have guns. and i -- we did bi camerale or bipartisan legislation that would have addressed this. i was vehemently opposed by the national association of gun rights and the national rifle association. that's when i dropped my life membership of the nra. i'm a gun owner have 12 guns, ar 15. i don't consider it an assault weapon no more lethal than a hunting riefrl but that don't prohibit me from advancing common sense legislation including the red flag law. i'm hopeful presiden trump will lead in this area and force mitch mcconnell to do the right thing. >> senator santorum what do you say about mitch mcconnell and his refusal to do this. he is buying out the clock let's be honest. there is a part of mitch mcconnell hoping that six weeks when everybody comes back from recess people have moved on. >> well, look mitch mcconnell is doing wha

we have to have meaningful background checks. >> reporter: he said the nra opposes any legislation that rarely infringes on the rights of law-abiding citizens the proposals are soundbite solutions. >> i think they will be there or be more neutral. that would be okay. okay senior ministration officials as the president realizes he needs to back some form of gun control unit even if the nra doesn't get on board. the presidents influence is key. there is a strong sense it becomes forward and supports a specific plan republican senators will possibly make it on their position and follow suit. >>> we are getting new details on the man that sparked panic at a missouri walmart. police say he walked into the store in springfield yesterday and made a terrorist threat. he recorded himself walking through the store while carrying a rifle and 100 rounds of ammunition. an off-duty firefighter detained him until police arrived. >>> in the wake of the shooting in el paso walmart is removing alvideogame displays. the move is meant to show respect for the victims. they will stop showing violent movies o

nra members who are law abiding gun owners nor the problem. it's too easy, and it's time for us to talk about things like expanding background checks, banning 100 round drums. maybe temporary gun violence restraining orders. and investing seriously in mental health in our schools. i want to be able to have those conversations, if the nra is telling me i can't, then i'm out. >> all right, se cupp thanks so much. be sure to catch s.e. cupp unfiltered saturday at 6:00 p.m. eastern here on cnn. and on sunday night, cnn will have back to back live presidential town halls. steve bullock takes the stage first at 6:00. and bill de blasio will be on at 7:00 p.m. eastern. we have breaking news, a person in illinois who vapped and later developed a lung illness has died. is there a link? more on our breaking news on two fronts. the dow falling after the president's wild tweets on china down almost 450 points now. and we're now learning he's been questioning aides. why he even has to go to the g-7 summit. and last longer with fewer pills. so why am i stil

he will not stand up to the nra. that's why as presidential candidate, i laid out a comprehensive approach to get money out of politics. go after the greed, corruption and heart of everything that's wrong with washington. have publicly funded elections, deal with political corruption. and i have the most comprehensive approach to do that. i know what we're up against. it's the choke hold the nra has for members of congress that make it so impossible for them to vote the right way. >> another piece in the news today, senator in iraq and syria, isis is gaining new strength after the drawdown of american forces, if you were to become president, what would you do differently? would you actually send in more troops? >> i have served on the armed services committee for a decade. and i travel to the middle east many times, bringing senators and congress members with me. and the last time i assessed what was happening in syria, we went to jordan and we went to turkey as well as israel. i can tell you this, terrorism metastas

. >> i'm a big fan of the nra. these are great people, these are great patriots, they love our country. but that doesn't mean i have to agree on everything. it doesn't make sense i have to wait i will i'm 21 to get a hand gut but i have to wait until i'm 18 for this weapon. >> we didn't address it mr. president. >> who sels is afraelse is afra? >> we all know what happened after those comments. nothing got done. and the president's rhetoric on this can really change. and they need to know if they're going to take a risk, and it remains a risk for republicans to back stricter gun legislation, they need to go is he going to have their back, would he even just sign the legislation? his approach to politics leaves them with very few examples of when he has been consistent and backed his own party when they've taken a vote for him. >> yes, they worry he pulls the carpet out from under them, blames them. he's either for passing it or nothing happening. i want to get to this other issue, joe johns discussed, the president

trish: the nra, they have a big voice. they are pretty powerful and they don't like the idea of anybody telling them anything on this one. but the president is saying we need a little common sense here. he'll also tell you, and i agree with this. it's a multi-prong approach. it's mental health and social media, and making it harder for a guy to kill if he does haven't a gun. >> this president is the change agent to get things done. he's the only republican president who can stopped up to the nra and bullying gun advocates. we have a major problem with guns. what president trump proposed is common sense gun solutions. very simple. 92% of americans in the latest rasmussen poll have said we have to do something on guns. it's outrageous what's happening. trish: americans don't want background checks, that's their talking point. >> they are saying it because they are bullies and they push back. you have to have the courage to stand up to them. the alternative is republican complete armageddon in 2020 amongst congress. there are

the nra always leads the charge, the republican party always sides with the nra, no matter how urgent the need is for some sort of reform, that need seems to dissipate. ultimately, it is the nra that is the -- still the strongest bulwark against change in this country. and interestingly, the nra right now is in one of the weakest positions it's ever been in in its history. it's got a huge legal war with its own ad agency. they've had top officials leave in scandal. how does that affect, if it does affect, what might be possible in terms of the ongoing and confounding fight over gun policy reform? all 30 declined to apyrpeaappea. senator more murphy, thank you for making time tonight. you were galvanized by this. can you tell us where you are and what we've been through over the past week? >> as you can imagine, i got emails from the parents of kids that got murdered in sandy hook. they live in terror every time they watch another community go through this. you do not recover from this. el paso will not recover and newtown has not recovered. ultimately this is a collection of political

of the nra, you were planning to depose him and the nra was suing you because they wanted their own lawyers in the room while you deposed him. >> correct. and they lost. >> ah. okay. why did they sue you over that? >> they were suing me basically saying it was in violation of attorney-client privilege. they lost. we will be deposing oliver north and we will be looking into the nra and their finances to determine whether or not they violated not for profit law in the state of new york. there's been a number of allegations and there's been a number of individuals who have stepped forward who serve on their board who want to cooperate with our office, so, clearly, we have a responsibility and a duty to ensure that individuals who contributed to the nra, that it has been done in accordance with new york state law. >> so, i know that your office subpoenaed something like 90 people who, including a lot of current and former board members -- >> correct. >> with the nra. some of the people who either served in the past or currently serve on the board are helping with your investigation? >>

the nra is funded by the russians. president trump is also funded by the nra. he's got the russians and the nra who don't want him to do anything on this. he's not going to do anything. >> you know, politicians like yourself understand timing. and two weeks ago trump was, you know, bullish, rather, he was going to to something on background checks. as time faded, as el paso fades a bit in the hearts of some people, not everybody. some people won't forget it for a long time. he says now the coast is getting clearer. so by september 9th when the senate comes back, by then it will be a little more faded pen he'll come out for something minimal like what he called it, i'll come out with a red flag thing about mental illness, but that's all i'm going to do. here is what president trump had to say after the horrific shooting at stoneman douglas high school in parkland, florida that took the lives of 17. >> they have to be strong. background checks, look, i'm the biggest fan of the second amendment. many of you are. i'm a big fan of the nra, but i had lunch with them,

and then when things die down, it turns out really he's bought and paid for by the nra. and it's the same old story of politicians in washington, d.c. like donald trump and mitch mcconnell that want to do the bidding of the nra instead of the bidding of the american people when 90% of americans, republicans and democrats, support something as straightforward and common sense as universal background checks. this president came in saying he was going to drain the swamp and make changes. this is perfect example that he is the swamp. he has become what he was complaining about, and we need a new president that will pass common sense gun safety legislation. i will do that. >> how do you convince people, though? after new town there was talk about it. after el paso and dayton, there was talk about it. this time not even two walks of talk and it didn't happen. so how do you change that conversation? >> well, that's not the job of any one politician. the way that's going to change is we have an election coming up in november of 2020. and folks will remember just a couple of week

my special report on something you need to know about the nra and the roads ahead. later, we'll speak to the nation's top expert on the very immigration rule you donald trump is trying to cancel. this is someone who has been winning in court for decades and a look an the democrat candidates handling issues of social justice with a key adviser. all that plus more when we are back in just 30 seconds. plus me back in ju 3st0 seconds. announcer: fidelity is redefining value for investors with zero account fees for brokerage accounts, and zero minimums to open an account. we have fidelity mutual funds with zero minimum investment. and only fidelity offers four zero expense ratio index funds directly to investors. because when you invest with fidelity, all those zeros really add up. ♪ so, maybe i'll win ♪ saved by zero >>> welcome back. we turn now to a story about attempts to col include with a foreign government. this is not a story based on critics of trump, stirring up the collusion talk again or about leads from the impeachment probe. i want to be clear, this is

the nra is with my base. i don't want to deviate from my base. i want to do whatever i can to incorporate a very aggressive base strategy into my campaign operation because that's what i'm doubling down on and that's what i think is going to get me re-elected. the only way -- as far as i'm concerned pass sweeping gun safety measures is to get a democrat back in the white house. >> and there are a lot of people, charlie, who agree with that, who are determined to do it. we have seen no letting up from the parkland students who started the whole movement with all the protests and everything else and a couple of them were -- they were unveiling a comprehensive gun reform policy today. let me play for you what two of the founders had to say. >> the important thing to remember about this plan is it is an appropriate and bold response to the massive amount of gun deaths that we have on every single year in the united states right now. and it's not a plan that's looking to get democrats or republicans elected. it's

, that have stood up to the nra. we can't get anything done in the senate, because mitch mcconnell and the president of the united states are in bed with the gun lobby. >> seth: that's true, but the only quibble i have is with the metaphor i don't think trump ever goes to bed. i think he spends all night wandering around the white house lawn looking for reporters to yell at. "where are you, jake tapper? come out!" [ light laughter ] but it's true, of course, trump takes his marching orders on gun policy from the nra. in fact, yesterday during a q&a with reporters on the white house lawn, amid a national crisis over gun violence and white supremacy, trump said that there was no political will for a ban on assault weapons and offered some vague, half-hearted comments about background checks where even he seemed unclear on what exactly he was proposing. >> i have had plenty of talks over the last two days, and i think something is going to be - come up with -- we are going to come up with something that's going to be re

what do you believe the nra is telling the white house? >> slow down. >> do you think they're nervous? >> sure, they are. sometimes we focus on the the nra as being the organization that's so powerful. you know what's powerful? our gun own who are live in krr district. the nra is down in washington. they send money and all that. they help people to connect out in the community. the nra fought me when i ran for governor the first time. they did everything they could to defeat me. we were able to win, overcome them. what matters more than just that nra are the people who live in your neighborhood and what their feelings are. you're going to have some that are not going to support anything. but i think the vast majority of gun owners will say, you know what, that's reasonable. we should give politicians courage. >> it's in the polling. a vast majority of republican voters, they support universal background checks. majorities of republican voters support bans on high-capacity magazines. the guy that came here, he had 70 rounds. because the cop

he remains in control of the nra. and we saw evidence of that sway just this week despite previously claiming he would push for aggressive gun legislation. president trump seemed to walk back those claims after one call with the nra's ceo. joining me now is the staff writer for pro publica and new yorker contributor. so "the new york times" today reported on how mr. lapierre has, quote, confronted threats from all sides this year facing a revolt from the nra's top lobbyists, its president, several donors, all that quickly became public. how is he still there and how is he still seeming to wield an awful lot of influence? >> well, the first thing i tell you is also that's a conveniently self-serving narrative that was put out through "the times" over the last 24 hours. and i think one thing he's done remarkably well with his outside counsel william brewer iii is consolidate power. he's got the backing of the most important board members, meaning the president, the vice president, the ones that are responsible for overs

. >> will congress and the nra go along? >>> painful separations, families on edge this morning after federal agents rounded up hundreds of expected undocumented workers at mississippi food processing centers. their children heartbroken. >> if you want to find criminals, they're in the streets. they're not at our work. >> many detainees have been released, but all are wondering what's going to happen next. >>> all that, plus hacking the election, a startling hacker's conference showing that our voting machines could be at risk in 2020. >>> trump versus kaepernick, the president speaks out about the controversial quarterback after he released a video showing he still wants to play in the nfl >>> and personal foul, nba legend bill walton talks about the ceremonial first pitch at a major league baseball game and it was just a little bit outside. fans saying walton should stick with basketball, today, saturday august 10th, 2019. >>> fr >>>. >> announcer: from nbc noews, this is "today" with sheinelle jon jones, and dylan dreyer

but the nra is digging in its heels in a statement thursday nra ceo wayne lapierre said quote the nra opposes any legislation that unfairly infringes on the rights df law abiding citizens. but regardless of whether or not the president gets the nra on board some gun control advocates say the president's push. >>is a good first step, but you've got to be a true universal background checks and that on this person this country is not with a background check, christian hi ni of brady is optimistic, but warns any legislation needs to be loophole free in the past there has banned proposals on the table tha have allowed for a lot of gun lobby carve outs so far senate majority leader mitch mcconnell won't call congress back from august recess to vote on gun reform measures. but says the issue will wait until they return in september. the president says the issue is beyond politics. >>republican or democrat. >>reporting in washington, i'm trevor shirley. the controversy all move by the trump administration why a cancer warning will not appear on a popular product. despite powerful evidence tha

according to news reports the nra claims its agency tried to have the nra by a multimillion dollar estate in a golf community. and 3 members of the nra, and the internal squabbling coupled with sheer repetition of mass shootings may have changed the dynamic. >> reporter: that is why the nra is losing membership. people jumped out of it because they are so radical. nobody wants to come to the 50 yard line. >> reporter: contrast that with david french, trashing the new york post editorial the claims ar 15s our, quote, regularly use only in mass shootings, writing all -- i use want to protect my family. when key player in the fight appears to be signaling a step towards compromise. >> something that is very good. >> reporter: with the president men's remains to be seen. gun rights advocate senator joe manchin told the wall street journal if the president supports expansion of background checks and red flag laws it will give congressional republicans cover. one of the patterns of past mass shootings is they are generally followed by a spike in nra membership revenue and an increase in gun sal

i grew up around nra members. i grew up with people that started going hunting with their fathers and grandfathers when they were 5 or 6 years old. members of the nra throughout their lifetime, and after sandy hook, after we all made impassioned pleas on expanded background checks, and the banning of military style weapons, all of them came up to me in church saying i don't need that to go deer hunting. i don't need that to protect my family. i got enough fire power inside my house with my shotguns. somebody walks through my door, you know, they're not going to get more than a couple of steps inside. and so all the nra members i talked to after sandy hook were all telling me the same thing. we actually agree with you. we needed expanded background checks, to stop terrorists from getting their hands on weapons, to stop people who are mentally ill from getting their hands on weapons. you dig a little bit deeper and what i found was it wasn't the nra, it wasn't even local nra organizations, i kept talking about three

the nra represents gun manufacturers, not gun owners. and the nra wants to sell more guns. gun owners understand it. we passed the same measures six years ago. yes, it creates political tumult because people are afraid of government and there's a feeling that the second amendment says you shouldn't go nerney regulatirenear any regulation of guns. some people are not happy about it. nobody can say i'm a legal gun owner and i was ap prooifed of my rights. we have a record that shows gun deaths are actually down in this state. we were the laboratory. we did the experiment. we know what to do. the question is framing the issue to get it done. >> governor, thank you for taking time to be with us, governor andrew cuomo. >> thank you. >>> coming up, critics say president trump's own words are partially to blame for the shootings. we'll take a look at the president's repeated racist and anti-immigrant attacks and what role they may have played. you're watching velshi and ruhle live on msnbc. stelara® works differently. studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks

the nra is changing heart after parkland. that's not how he characterized it today, though. >> no, that's right. you heard the president say no, he didn't talk about universal background checks with the nra ahead wayne lapierre. but the president has certainly had several conversations with people over the nra. it does sound like as we saw in the past after the mass shooting in parkland, the president has changed his views based on those conversations. and, anderson, he really isn't flip-flopping on this issue. he's shape shifting. it's difficult to pin him down. he just doesn't want to get pinned down on this issue and it's because he knows 90% of the country wants universal background checks and inside of his base, you can almost flip that number upside down in terms of where things stand. i talked to a source close to the white house earlier this evening said the president is not just hearing from the nra, he's hearing from republicans on capitol hill. >> yesterday, when he was sitting down and he talked about it in exactl

help us understand the power the nra has. >> so the problem with washington and the nra is the greed and corruption that's at the root of it. the nra cares far more about gun sales than keeping our kids safe in our schools, than keeping worshippers safe in their place of worship, than keeping a kid on a park bench safe from a stray bullet. that's the reality of the nra. and so we need to fight against money and politics. we need publicly funded elections. but we also need leadership. and that's why we need to fight against mitch mcconnell by asking. we need a vote on it right now. if we had a vote today, we could pass universal background checks, we could ban assault rifles and large magazines, and we could pass my federal gun anti-traf hif anti-trafficking bill which the last time we got 60 votes out of 62 needed. we were only two votes shy. so i believe these controversial measures are ones we could pass into law if mitch mcconnell would have the courage, as steny said, to call us back in, take a vote and we can do things to protect americans. we shouldn't be able to live in a worl

>> no, i'm talking nra money. >> no. >> you see him pressing him? i'm talking about nra money. those activists think it's working nra has ran a deficit for three years. even this may be a bit of a scare tactic, their chief sent a fund-raising letter saying they could shutter soon if they don't get more money. a representative representing sandy hook families is teeing up part of the answer. basically they say if the gun measures are now popular, why don't politicians want to do something popular. >> most americans support background checks. senator says it's all about the nra's stranglehold which is weakening. >> the nra is weaker today, not because they're having this infighting at the board level but because they're hemorrhaging members. they don't have as many deuce paying members as they used to. corporations won't sponsor them and the board is in trouble because they don't have the cash to sort of grease the executive wheels like they used to. >> the nra may want you to think this is all hopeless and that talking gun control after a shooting is politicizing it. those advoc

the nra has never been as weak as it is right now. it's under multiple investigations. it's faced with all sorts of financial scandals. it's losing lots of money. if ever there was a time a president could stand up to the nra and do something that has pretty much consensus support in american politics. it would be now. donald trump is never going to be able to do that. he is never going to put the interests and safety of the american people above his short-term political calculations. >> okay. next two years. there there be any gun legislation next year? >> i don't think so. >> i think it's telling when the president talked to people who ran for their life. i spoke to anthony reynolds in ohio who was 10 feet away from won with an assault rifle and watched people lose their life. he was forever changed. he said i will be moving for gun legislation. the president went to the hospital and took away they love him and nothing about gun legislation. >> political platforms mean something. take a look at the republican platform. state 2nd amendment belief. it's almost religion.

one of her targets was the nra. as we saw this week, as president trump reversed himself on the earlier strong position in favor of advancing background checks. the nra continues to be one of the most influential adversary administrations in the trump organization. now maria butina is serving jail time. russia has, is and will be our adversary seek to influence our elects at the highest level. >> the deficit is now expected to reach $1 trillion next year. jobs numbers have been revised down for the year. how concerned are you about the president's ability to handle an economic downturn? >> i am very concerned. we have taken off of the table the critical resources our government has had at hand if there is a sharp downturn. we have brought our deficits significantly lower over the last four years of the obama administration following the massive tax cut passed by republicans last year. that deficit is now soaring back up again. it is approaching $1 trillion and it is projected to be over $1 trillion for the next deca

if you survey nra members as you yourself said, the nra weapons want background checks. and the nra does not have the power that they had before by any stretch of the imagination. and it defies logic as to why the president and mitch mcconnell seem to still be somewhat influenced by the nra. >> i want to get your reaction to this news, this breaking news, apparent suicide of jeff ep epstein. what was your reaction when you heard the news? >> it was interesting. i think i met him once 30 years ago. i certainly haven't seen him sense then. i don't know what happened. he was in a federal jail, as i understand it, and they'll have to do an investigation and see what happened and i'm sure they'll do it. >> more of my interview with mayor michael bloomberg just a moment. but let's go live to the gun forum in iowa. >> we need a president of the united states who on related topics such as the hate that we are also seeing being displayed, which is manifesting itself in lethal proportion like we saw in el paso. we also need a president of the united states who understands in a one

the nra was suing you, your office has launched an investigation into the nra looking into the group's financial dealings, looking into whether the group may have abused its non-profit status. as i understood it, and as i explained it to our viewers, the nra was suing you because you subpoenaed oliver north, you were planning to depose him pursuant to that and the nra was suing because they wanted their own lawyers in the room while you deposed him. >> correct. they lost. >> okay. why did they sue you? >> basically saying it was in violation of certain privileges. and they lost. so we will be deposing oliver north and we will be looking into the nra and their finances to determine whether or not they violated not for profit law in the state of new york. there's been a a number of allegations and there has been a number of individuals who stepped forward who serve on their board who want to cooperate with our office. clearly, we have a responsibility and duty to ensure that individuals who contributed to the nra, that it has been done in accordance with new york state law. >> i know tha

ignore the nra. look at what your voters are saying. look at where their positions are on this issue. and i think you could see enough republicans in the senate because you only need 60, maybe five or six to say, you know what, mitch mcconnell, nra, i hear what you're saying but i have to listen to my voters and they are demanding change on this. this is the position i have to take on this issue. >> safety first doesn't need to be partisan. thank you so much. shermichael singleton and coming up why the president pivoting from grief to grievances is just scratching the surface when it comes to where we are. welcome to 2019. unpredictable crohn's symptoms following you? for adults with moderately to severely active crohn's disease, stelara® works differently. studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. some serious infections require hospitalization. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you hav