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CNN NEWSROOM

What's Behind Adulation for North Korea's Kim Jong-Un; Trump Offends Presidential Norms, Attacks Press; Laura Ingraham: Scott Pruitt Has Got to Go; Parkland Survivors Join Chicago Shooting Survivors on Gun Violence; Seth Meyers Talks Comedy in Trump Era; Taxi Hits Pedestrians On Sidewalk Amid World Cup Festivities; Trump Blames Dems For His Own Family Separation Practice; DHS: 2,000 Families Separated At Border Under Trump Practice; Trump Former Campaign Manager In "VIP Section" Of Jail; Michael Cohen Signals He May Work With Investigators; Giuliani: Pardons Might Clean Up Mueller Investigation. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired June 16, 2018 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[17:00:18]

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: It is 5:00 in New York, 2:00 in the afternoon out west. Thank you for being with me. I'm Ana Cabrera. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Our breaking news out of Moscow where the 2018 World Cup is taking place, and we want to warn you, the video we are about to show you is disturbing. A taxi plowing into a crowd of pedestrians in the middle of World Cup festivities. Here's that video.

(VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: You can see the car hop on to the curb there, right on the sidewalk, hits a group of people before striking a traffic sign. Bystanders rushed to the car, trying to open the door, and then the driver jumps out and runs away. He has since been detained, is being questioned by police.

Our Matthew Chance is on the scene for us. Matthew, what are authorities saying about this incident?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, there's been a lot of suspicion, Ana, that this may have been some kind of terrorist attack. That was the speculation when you see horrific images like that taking place with a taxi mounting this pavement right behind me and accelerating through those pedestrians, many of them, of course, soccer fans who had come to Moscow to watch the world cup football championships which are under way right now.

That is not the case. That's not how the Russian authorities are characterizing this. They're saying this was essentially an unintentional situation that emerged with this driver. There's some quotes that I'm trying to get for you here from the Russian traffic police. They're saying according to the person responsible for the road accidents, it was unintended, which is absolutely crucial when it comes to how this instant is being characterized. The Interior Ministry of Russia is saying the cause of the road accident is failure to control the vehicle.

The driver has been detained and delivered to the local police officers, so they're going at great pains to make it clear that this is a traffic violation that they're investigating and indeed they formally launched a criminal investigation into the violation of traffic laws and they've made a point of making sure that it's understood that this is an unintended act, not an intentional one -- Ana.

CABRERA: Matthew Chance, a relief to hear that it was just an accident. We appreciate that reporting.

Back in this country, President Trump today mysteriously standing firm on his position that his hands are tied and that the human travesty playing out on the southern border right now is beyond his control. Those points are completely wrong.

I'm talking about the 2,000-plus children forced away from their parents, caught crossing the border illegally. The president is wrongly claiming that Democrats created a law making that practice necessary and that he hates seeing it and for the moment, there's absolutely nothing he can do to stop it.

That is just not true. Yes, he said it Friday and he repeated it today, but with the political spin, tweeting a couple of hours ago, Democrats can fix their 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 good at only three things, high taxes, high crime, and obstruction. Sad."

CNN's Ed Lavendera is on the U.S.-Mexico border right now in South Texas. And Ed, bottom line here, this is the president's so-called zero-tolerance policy in action.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is dramatically changed things here along the U.S. southern border. From April 19th to May 31st, the federal government reports that nearly 2,000 more undocumented immigrant children are being held now in detention centers. That is a dramatic rise that we have seen here just in those initial weeks of this zero-tolerance policy.

That doesn't take into account the first two weeks of June, so we'll have to wait some time to get those updated numbers, but you can kind of see the trajectory on where things are coming because everywhere you look, this continues to flow.

The Trump administration says that what is behind this is this idea of trying to deter people and the new -- they're hoping the news of this spreads into Central America and deters people from making that journey, but we don't have full numbers on whether or not that is happening. It's too early to tell. But at least anecdotally, when you talk to people, Ana, either, A, they don't know about the policy change or they're still willing to gamble and take the risk with what might happen in the immigration -- in the U.S. immigration system.

CABRERA: Tell me about Jonathan Ariel, he's that 11-year-old that you found sitting on the ground. We're showing the image right here. Where are his parents and what is happening to him this weekend?

LAVANDERA: Well, he told me he's never known his father. He told me this was just before he was taken away by border patrol agents that he had started making the journey from Honduras with some cousins. They abandoned him along the way and he met up with this group that he was eventually caught with.

[17:05:13] I was able to speak with his mother, who he's never met either, who lives in Virginia, and she tells me that she was able to speak with him just after he was taken into custody, when we met him, and she told me that she was told that authorities would reach out to her again this weekend to let her know what the process would be to reconnect and reunite with her son.

But I just spoke with her again just a little while ago, and she told me that she hasn't received any more updates, so he's probably in the process, when you come as an undocumented child or unaccompanied minor, you're already separate from these children that have been separated from their families. You automatically get sent into these detention centers and I think it can take a couple days to process all that.

CABRERA: And again, the numbers of children who are being separated at the border from their parents now over 2,000, Ed. Are there plans for these families to eventually be reunited?

LAVANDERA: Believe -- yes, that is the case. Now, that process for reunification is something we're still trying to understand because a lot of it depends on whether or not the parents who have been prosecuted, are they scheduled for immediate deportation, do they have other claims that would allow them to go through the immigration process here in the United States.

These immigrants are given a phone number to reach out to so that they can begin the process once they're in custody to track down, which shelters their kids have been taken to. But remember, these kids are now spread out across more than 100 shelters in 17 different states -- Ana.

CABRERA: All right, Ed Lavandera in McAllen, Texas, thank you for bringing us and being our eyes and ears on the ground as to what the facts are.

Tomorrow, a group of lawmakers will head to the U.S.-Mexico border to see some of these detention centers for themselves, and one of the lawmakers is Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez of Texas. He is joining us now. Congressman, this is all happening in your district. You're a part of this group now heading to the border tomorrow. What exactly will you be looking for?

REPRESENTATIVE VICENTE GONZALEZ (D), TEXAS: Yes, well, we're actually -- we're going to be seeing how these kids are being treated, where they're living, what are their living conditions. I hear some of the rooms are overcrowded. And I want to begin with a premise of saying I'm a United States member of Congress who believes in strong border security. I don't believe in open borders.

I believe in having a strict immigration system that we follow. But I could never agree with a notion of ripping 2,000 children away from their parents. We have toddlers and babies being taken away from parents and I think any American parent who has a child can understand how egregious an act like that would be.

And that's not the America the world knows and loves, and it's certainly, you know, not who we are as a country, and I think this needs to be addressed. This is a crisis that's happening immediately in our country, and the president has the power to stop this.

CABRERA: So, when you go to the border, what questions are you hoping to have answered?

GONZALEZ: Well, we want to know -- one of the questions that was asked by a federal judge just a couple days ago, what's the plan of reunifying these families? Most of these people who are being detained for illegal crossing are being given time served.

Why are we sending kids across the country when the parents are being detained here and what are the living conditions of the 2,000 children that are detained now? Are they being housed? Are they at a health risk? Are they being housed appropriately?

These are issues that are important. It's a humanitarian issue that I think as Americans we should care about. The world is watching us, and we have the responsibility to act appropriately.

CABRERA: Do you know how or if federal officials are tracking the families that they're separating so that they can eventually be reunited?

GONZALEZ: I was told that they were having difficulty coming up with that answer. There was a lawyer yesterday trying to -- who was representing a family down here who was trying to find out when -- what was the time line, where were the kids being sent to, and he was having a very difficult time having answers to that, to be able to explain to his clients, which are the adult parents. It's a huge issue.

I recently visited Central America. I think we need to get down to the root of it. I know we're putting a band-aid on it here on our front steps, but this is something that I think we've neglected in Central America for years. I was recently down there meeting with the administrations of Guatemala and El Salvador and I think as a country, we should be looking for ways to incentivize folks to want to stay home, by helping them have better economic opportunities, by certainly bringing some security to those countries.

I think we could do that at a fraction of the cost of what we deal with once they come here to our front steps. We've ignored it, but now we're dealing with this problem and we have to do it humanely.

CABRERA: We've heard from a lot of Republicans and Democrats alike who don't agree with this policy that's leading to the separation of parents and children at the border, but New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, a Republican and a border state has defended the practice of separating the families.

[17:10:07] She told the "Albuquerque Journal," people shouldn't be allowed the break the law, quote, "simply because they have children." What do you say to that argument?

GONZALEZ: That's just as awful as I can imagine. The scripture that I quote is Luke 12:31, "Love thy neighbor as you love yourself" and we're not acting his way, and this is not who we've been historically as a country and I think this is a real blemish and a dark period in our history.

And one day it's going to be repealed and right now I think it's on the president's shoulders and all members of Congress to protest this idea and to have the president stop the separation of children.

The idea of ripping toddlers and babies from mothers and fathers' arms or telling them, I'm going to -- we're going to take them to bathe your child and they never see them again, at least they haven't seen them again since is atrocious and that's a behavior that needs to stop.

CABRERA: Now the president has suggested Democrats are trying to use this situation to their political benefit. Is he wrong?

GONZALEZ: Well, I don't think this is politics. This is humanity. This is who we are as a country. We talk about our Christian Judeo values, these are not Christian Judeo values. These are atrocious values that we should be ashamed of and I think the majority of Americans are and I think the majority of Americans don't want to see this and I think that will be a determination in November.

You're going to see a lot more Democrats being elected if this continues because I don't care how conservative you are, you do not agree on this type of behavior by the American government. This is not the history that we have. We've built an amazing reputation around the world over the past two centuries, and we can't have it ruined overnight by acting in this manner.

CABRERA: Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, thank you very much for joining us.

Still ahead, VIP, a Virginia jail now has a new high-profile inmate. Why Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, is behind bars?

Plus, late night in the world of President Trump. Comedian Seth Myers sits down with CNN's Van Jones. Stay with us. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:16:20]

CABRERA: Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, is spending his first full day behind bars in the VIP section of a Virginia jail. Meantime, his former boss, President Trump tweeting once again today that the Russia collusion investigation that put Manafort there is a witch hunt.

CNN political correspondent, Sara Murray, shows us why Manafort went from house arrest to a cell block.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Paul Manafort will spend at least the next three months in a jail cell, where he will await his September trial on foreign lobbying and obstruction charges. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson saying I have no appetite for this and revoking Manafort's bail after he spent more than seventh months under hours arrest.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team argued that Manafort is a danger to the community and carried out a sustained campaign over five weeks using different phones and apps to try and mold witness testimony, including using a system called foldering where multiple people have access to an account and write messages to one another as draft e- mails that are never sent.

As Manafort pleaded not guilty to two new charges for witness tampering and conspiracy to obstruct justice, his lawyers argued he was unaware who the government witnesses were. This will not happen again, one of Manafort's defense attorneys said.

The judge was unmoved, saying, this the not middle school, I can't take his cell phone. Manafort faces charges in both D.C. and Virginia, related to foreign lobbying and financial crimes. So far, prosecutors haven't tied his alleged wrong doing to work on the Trump campaign, the core of Mueller's investigation.

But in court filings, prosecutors have said they're probing Manafort's contacts with Russians and Ukrainians and potential coordination with them while he oversaw Trump's presidential bid. President Trump downplayed Manafort's contributions in 2016.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think a lot of it's very unfair. I feel a little badly about it. They went back 12 years to get things that he did 12 years ago. Paul Manafort worked for me for a very short period of time.

MURRAY: Later tweeting, "Wow, what a tough sentence for Paul Manafort. Didn't know Manafort was the head of the mob. What about Comey and Crooked Hillary and all of the others, very unfair. To be clear, Manafort was not sentenced. He hasn't even had a trial yet. While the president railed against the special counsel's Russia investigation --

PRESIDENT TRUMP: There was no collusion. There was no obstruction.

MURRAY: The judge in the Manafort case making it clear this hearing is not about politics, is not about the conduct of the office of the special counsel. Soon after, Manafort was let out of the courtroom. Minutes later, a court-martial returned, handing Manafort's wallet, belt, and burgundy tie to his wife.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY: Now I'm told Paul Manafort's allies were shell shocked by the judge's decision to send him to jail awaiting trial and it is worth noting again, Manafort has not been convicted or sentenced. He has insisted that he is innocent this entire time but if he is convicted and found guilty without a presidential pardon, he would spend the rest of his life in jail. Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

CABRERA: Let's talk about the reverberations this could have. With us, CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney, Joey Jackson, and CNN law enforcement analyst, and former FBI supervisory special agent, Josh Campbell. So, Joey, I'll start with you. We heard the term, danger to the community. That was a direct quote, what the judge said about Manafort. Why?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think because if you look at the alleged behavior, it's problematic, right? The fact is, is that when you're out on bail and of course, he was on $10 million, the fact is that you have to comport with the law and when you don't do that, and you allegedly reach out to other witnesses in an effort to have them tailor your testimony in a way that's consistent to your defense, that becomes problematic.

Now understand this, Ana, that all you need is probable cause to believe that those things occurred in order to get you back in and so I think the judge was none too pleased with his behavior, his alleged conduct, and showed him as much by putting him back in.

[17:20:11] And just quickly, here's why it's important. I mean, number one, obviously, when you engage in this alleged behavior, again, probable cause, he's not guilty of it at this point, you know, it allows you to be put back in but more importantly, it allowed the prosecutors to upgrade the charges.

And then more importantly thereafter it's going to allow them at trial to tell the jury he did this and what's troubling to me about this is I always thought he'd be holding out for a pardon, holding out.

If he was confident in a pardon, why would he allegedly reach out to witnesses to tailor their testimony so the judge and any federal judge, when you skirt the rules, there are consequences. That's the consequence of his own behavior. CABRERA: Sounds like he's feeling the heat certainly, if what he did was true. But that's the point. He isn't guilty at this point. Innocent until proven guilty so the president is saying this is unfair to Manafort, he's being treated unjustly. Is this fair?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, as we've said, you know, Paul Manafort is innocent until proven guilty, but man is he making the government's job easy for him to make this case. And if you look back at this acc -- attack on Bob Mueller and his team, the genesis of this wasn't Bob Mueller, it was Paul Manafort and his actions and reaching out.

You know, witness tampering is something you just don't do. These witnesses are sacrosanct. Sometimes defense attorneys will look and say, the government has a higher hand here when it comes to witnesses.

But that's the way it goes and it's not illegal for the team of Manafort to be talking to witnesses but if they had done it through the lawyer, that would have been one thing. They're using encrypted communication to have this discussion and as we found out, and Mr. Manafort found out in a very real way, encrypted communication is only secure when one party doesn't hand those messages over to the FBI.

CABRERA: Joey, let me turn to Michael Cohen, the president's once personal attorney as well. Sources are now telling CNN that he is maybe willing to cooperate with federal investigators, according to these sources. That's what he's telling family and friends. He's worried about this and then of course he also had this change recently with his legal team. Do you think all signs are pointing toward him flipping?

JACKSON: You know, it could, and I'll tell you my mixed feelings about this. On the one hand I was thinking -- and to be clear, there are many instances where people change lawyers. I've been substituted for. I've substituted for others.

There's issues concerning fees and bedside manner and personalities. There's issues concerning strategic defenses that you want to employ that your clients are not on tune with and you're the lawyer. They're not. You break away.

You know, and whatever the reasons here, here's what the difficulty is. On the one hand, I'm thinking he's switching lawyers because he wants to get lawyers who are more conversant with the southern district, their tactics, perhaps to gear up for trial and to be ready and to be loyal to the president.

On the other hand, you know, when you're facing what he's facing, and you have a family and you hear the president minimizing their relationship and talking about he did a tiny fraction of work, you're wondering, if you're in his position, is this guy going to be as loyal to me as I was to him.

And that's a risk when you have a family and everything to lose and you have a president who, maybe he's got my back, maybe he doesn't and so I can't say whether he'll cooperate, and boy will his loyalty be tested, but if ever there were a reason or basis to cooperate with what he's looking at, now would be the time.

CABRERA: It makes me think of Flynn and his reasoning for this plea deal, remember, it had to do a lot with his family and worrying about them. Josh, Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani, told the "New York Daily News" this yesterday.

When the whole thing is over, things might get cleaned up with some presidential pardons and he later told CNN the president wasn't planning to pardon anybody involved in the Russia probe right now, but he wasn't going to rule it out. What do you think -- what do you make of the pardon talk?

CAMPBELL: Well, there's a lot of signaling going on here in my judgment, and that is, you know, kind of sending these messages that just hold tight, hold tight, everything's going to be OK. It's a lot harder for Manafort that he no longer has access to the news, maybe his lawyers will point that out to him.

But, you know, to Joey's point earlier, and spot on here, defendants and subjects are constantly trying to calibrate, recalibrate in this situation. These aren't normal cases but Cohen and Manafort, nothing's normal these days.

But to be able to say, OK, you know, what's the gamble here, do I gamble on trying to flip, help the government or am I gambling on this person coming through and finally giving me a pardon. That's a calibration that, you know, no one knows how it's going to end but it's got to be a tough spot to be in.

JACKSON: If it doesn't end well, boy, is your exposure so significant and that's what he's got to be thinking about now, will the president come through for me and you know, Josh, you mentioned, the signals are there, but can I rely upon that?

CABRERA: I'm getting the wrap, but I do have to ask. If the president were to come out and say, don't worry, I'm going to pardon you, I mean, would that be obstruction of justice? Could he say that --

JACKSON: It depends who you ask --

CAMPBELL: Counselor?

JACKSON: This president can say whatever he wants to say because he does say whatever he wants to say and rejects advice that's conventional wisdom. I think certainly it would be consistent with any notion of obstruction of justice, but he has the pardon power, he's able to do it.

[17:25:08] He said it's a witch hunt, it's unfair, there's no collusion, and he could have that to fall back on in terms of a justification for pardoning, not that I'm doing it to do anything wrong, but I've been wronged, this is all nonsense and I'm getting rid of it.

CABRERA: All right. Gentlemen, we'll leave it there. We'll have you back, so we can continue the discussion.

JACKSON: A lot to discuss.

CABRERA: There always is. Thank you both.

Coming up, in a week is that saw President Trump praising Kim Jong-un, we look at the harsh reality behind those happy pictures of North Koreans cheering their leader. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: President Trump insists he was only kidding when he expressed admiration for the adoring way North Koreans treat Kim Jong- un. All jokes aside, we went in search of --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:30:06] CABRERA: President Trump insists he was only kidding when he expressed admiration for the adoring way North Koreans treat Kim Jong-Un. But all jokes aside, we went in search of what's really behind the adulation we see in North Korea's infamous propaganda videos.

Here's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPNDENT (voice-over): President Trump these days is full of admiration for Kim Jong-Un, for his strength as a leader and the deference he's shown by his people.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.

TODD: The president wanted to clean up the comment by saying he was joking.

TRUMP: I'm kidding. You don't understand sarcasm.

(CROSSTALK)

TODD: But North Koreans aren't laughing unless they're told to.

GREG SCARLATOIU, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH KOREA: Just like the grandfather and the father, Kim Jong-Un, perhaps even more so, has ruled through fear politics, the politics of fear.

(MUSIC)

TODD: That's especially evident in this propaganda video Kim's regime just produced to highlight the supreme leader's summit with President Trump in Singapore. Showing the kinds of displays of affection for Kim that President Trump says he appreciates.

The video has the classic signatures of a North Korean production, adoring crowds seeing Kim off at the Pyongyang airport, dramatic music. And upon his triumphant return, women in colorful robes, top officials, even normally stoic generals, practically weeping at the sight of him.

But analysts say what you're witnessing isn't spontaneous devotion. It's carefully choreographed fealty.

JAMES PEASON (ph), PROFESSOR, JOHNS HOPKINS SCHOOL OF ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: They amassed early in the morning, and sitting around for hours with these flags. And when the moment comes, everyone knows exactly what to do, to wave their flags or their flowers.

TODD: In one of the first propaganda films released after he took over from his father, Kim Jong-Un is seen departing on a boat. The crowd of soldiers and civilians weep hysterically, then do one better, racing waist-deep into the water to see him off.

SCARLATOIU: If one doesn't clap for Kim Jong-Un, that person is sure to be in trouble.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Why was your applause so weak?

TODD: In a 2016 documentary, called "Under the Sun," a Russian filmmaker captured behind-the-scenes footage of a North Korean propaganda film being made. The minders often didn't know the cameras were rolling. At factories, dance classes and elsewhere, minders are shown prodding, scolding film subjects to be more zealous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Still too gloomy. Do it with more joy. You can do it more joyfully.

SIMONE BAUMAN, FILM DIRECTOR: They would come to the team and tell the people what they have to do, where they have to sit, how they have to sit, how they have to smile.

TODD: But experts say we shouldn't assume all this emotion is completely fake. Many North Koreans, they say, genuinely believe that their leader has god-like greatness because they've been indoctrinated in it.

PEASON (ph): The very first things that they're taught in school is to revere the Kim family they're taught about the sacrifices of the Kim family to the state, not just the individual Kim but the entire family going back generations.

TODD: A system that, thanks to America's existing democratic system, no president of the United States could ever recreate.

(on camera): While the crime of not showing quite enough joy at a rally can be punishable with reeducation or jail time for the average North Korean citizen, for top officials, that kind of thing can be deadly. A top education official in North Korea was once executed by firing squad for showing a, quote, "bad attitude" at a gathering of the supreme people's assembly. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[17:33:35] CABRERA: Up next, President Trump making history on the White House lawn, becoming what's believed to be the first sitting president to simply stroll up to the media, live-shot position and give an interview. And what an interview it was. Details just ahead, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Three years ago today, if you can believe it, then-Candidate Trump announced his bid for the presidency. It was a made-for-TV moment that a lot of people didn't take quite seriously. Since then, President Trump has offended presidential norms, even democratic norms.

CNN senior media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES," Brian Stelter, joins us now to discuss.

And, Brian, to that last point, just this last week, the president came out and called the free press America's biggest enemy.

[17:39:56] BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT & CNN HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES": It's a sign that things are getting worse, meaning his rhetoric is getting more extreme. You think back to February 2017, that's the only time in the past he's made that enemies reference. This time, he went farther, further, by saying, we're the greatest enemy of the people, of the American people. It's a sign that he hates what he's watching on TV. You know, whether it's the coverage of the North Korea summit with North Korea dictator, Kim Jong-Un, he apparently did not agree with the way it was portrayed by the American press, according to the "Washington Post." He joked about how the North Korean government-run media was friendlier.

And then recently, the news about Paul Manafort heading to jail that you were just talking about, the news about Michael Cohen thinking about flipping, all these headlines, troubling headline for President Trump, and I think what we see is him lashing out, whether it's coming out and talking to the press and being really aggressive in questions, lying to reporters or whether it's calling us the enemy.

It's amazing to think back three years ago, that anniversary, and how far we've come, but also how, in some cases, the rhetoric is getting more extreme.

CABRERA: But there has been at least a slight change in the president's interactions with the press in that he is talking to the press a little bit more. This week, he held two press conferences the one in North Korea and the impromptu press conference that happened just yesterday on the White House lawn. And he's talking to some organizations that he doesn't normally talk to, not just FOX anymore.

STELTER: Not just FOX. He did also give an interview to ABC this week. The first time in over a year he's given an interview to one of the major networks not named FOX. So I think this is a sign he's trying to control the narrative however he can. Sort of similar to what Rudy Giuliani's been doing on the legal front. By giving so many interviews, Rudy, last night, on "CUOMO," tomorrow on "STATE OF THE UNION," he's trying to shape the narrative around the Mueller probe and I think Trump's trying --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: -- is it an attempt to reach out beyond the base?

STELTER: I think the ABC interview was Trump was trying to reach a mass audience and trying to convince that the summit was a success for him. Most of the time, he's speaking to his supporters that are already there. He was on FOX for a third time in a row yesterday.

It's notable that reporters are being more aggressive, calling out lying and deception. I think that's been a change this week. Certainly, there's been a lot of fact checking all along. I'm not trying to downplay that. But you heard reporters yesterday saying, you're lying, that's not true. That is interesting. And I think it's because these issues are so black and white. When he says, it's the Democrats' fault that they're breaking up families at the border, that's verifiably untrue, so reporters are better able to state the facts.

CABRERA: Quick question about Scott Pruitt, the EPA administrator, drenched in controversy. A lot of questions about his ethics and his spending. FOX News host, Laura Ingraham, actually came out against Pruitt this week, saying, he's got to go. What's your take on that? That's significant, isn't it.

STELTER: That's a big deal. Ingraham, also "National Review," the conservative publication, couple of other notable conservative names, but Ingraham is the most important because she's a prominent host on FOX News. She's saying he has to go. It seems like Pruitt and Trump have bonded over their similar disdain for the press. There was a report this week that Pruitt and Trump talk about all these stories, all these scandals. But it does seem Pruitt is increasingly on an island when you even have Laura Ingraham saying he has to go.

CABRERA: Brian Stelter, as always, good to have you. Thank you for bringing us your perspective.

You can watch Brian every Sunday morning at 11:00 Eastern for "RELIABLE SOURCES," here on CNN.

Coming up, Actress Angelina Jolie, as part of her role as U.N. special envoy, tours the devastation in Mosul, Iraq. Her powerful message for this city still in ruins here in the NEWSROOM when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:48:15] CABRERA: Oscar winner, United Nations special envoy, Angelina Jolie, is getting a firsthand look at the devastation in an Iraqi city leveled by ISIS. Jolie walked among the bombed-out buildings in Mosul and met displaced families to discuss the efforts to rebuild this city. Mosul was liberated from ISIS about a year ago and most of the western part of the city is still in ruins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELINA JOLIE, ACTRESS & UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL ENVOY: This is the worst devastation I've seen in all my years with UNHCR. These people have lost everything. And the trauma and the loss that they've suffered is unparalleled. They're here on their own with very little support, next to nothing, and they're rebuilding themselves with their bare hands. They're moving the rubble with their bare hands. And there are bodies in this rubble that stay here. And you can smell the bodies. And some of them have family members that are here, and they're unable to move them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: This was Jolie's fifth mission to Iraq with the U.N. Refugee Agency since 2001.

They're united by tragedy and their unyielding drive to end it. Survivors of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting are in Chicago today joined by young survivors of gun violence there, and they're kicking off the March for Our Lives national bus tour. This month, they will be zigzagging across the Midwest visiting cities like House Speaker Paul Ryan's hometown in Janesville, Wisconsin, and the Standing Rock Reservation in South Dakota. The campaign kicked off this weekend at Chicago's Annual Rally for Peace.

CNN national correspondent, Dianne Gallagher, has more from Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How you all doing, Chicago?

(CHEERING)

[17:50:00] DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bringing their brand of activism and all the crowds and cameras that come with it to the southside of Chicago.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone from Parkland is so grateful to be here with you today. We're so grateful to fight with you, stand with you, rally with you.

GALLAGHER: Announced earlier this month back in Florida, the students from Parkland officially kicked off their next movement, a 75-stop cross-country political-action summer tour and voter registration drive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're calling this the road to change. What place better to bring change to than Chicago.

GALLAGHER: Linking up with young Chicago activists, like Trevon Bodley (ph) and Aryanna Williams, who will join them on the summer tour. The Parkland teens taking a bit of a backseat at the first summer stop, the Chicago Strong rally and St. Sabina Academy (ph) peace march. Instead, choosing to shine their spotlight on the Windy City's youth movements, which have struggled to garner the same kind of attention.

TRAVOR BODLEY (ph), CHICAGO ACTIVIST: I've been fighting for anti- violence for eight or nine years now. We had a press conference and literally had no press at all. To see that Parkland got the press and they allowed us to use their platform to spread our message of everyday shootings because they've been happening for so long and so often. The majority of the times, the media here has become content with it as well as the community has become content with the violence.

ARYANNA WILLIAMS, CHICAGO ACTIVIST: I was born into a violent Chicago, but in reality, we're starting to change that because we begin to see if we have a hope of people helping us and we have a way to change Chicago --

GALLAGHER: Manuel Oliver, whose son, Joaquin, was one of 17 murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, used art, paint and a hammer to advocate for nationwide gun reform as the city's young activists delivered fiery speeches.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's time for change.

GALLAGHER: Taking turns on the stage with the likes of former Arizona congresswoman and shooting survivor, Gabby Gifford's, Chicago teens solemnly read the 147 names of young people killed in their city this year.

CHANCE, RAPPER: I'm not here to sing, man. I'm here to turn up. You all's turn to get loud.

GALLAGHER: Chance, the rapper, and Jennifer Hudson, the singer, who lost three family members to gun violence in 2008, pumped up the crowd of thousands as they took to the southside streets, marching for peace and unity in Chicago.

The young people here today saying these are the first steps --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ain't seen nothing yet.

GALLAGHER: -- on their unified road --

BODLEY (ph): We're coming for you.

GALLAGHER: -- that they believe will end in change.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The kids are done sitting at the kiddy table. It's now the adults' turn to sit there and lead. Stand up.

GALLAGHER: Dianne Gallagher, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: There are nearly 430,000 children in America's foster care system. This week's "CNN Hero" was one of them and remembers carrying his few belongings around in a trash bag. Nearly 30 years later, when he and his husband adopted four foster children, he couldn't believe it when each of their kids arrived with a trash bag in tow. His shock sparked a mission to provide kids in foster care with a tangible sign of love, something that tells them they are seen and they matter. Meet Rob Scheer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB SCHEER, CNN HERO: Many children in foster care, they're put in a situation where they do feel invisible. They do feel that they do not count, that they have no voice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Going to be cozy.

SCHEER: It's up to us to make sure that we're there to help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so cute! It's a little angel teddy bear.

SCHEER: And we need to make them feel wanted by all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: To see exactly what Rob is doing, go to CNNheros.com. While you're there, nominate someone you think should be a "CNN Hero."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:58:10] CABRERA: Late-night host, Seth Meyers, tells CNN Van Jones about writing comedy in the President Trump era.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VAN JONES, CNN HOST, "THE VAN JONES SHOW": Do you feel that the red- state folks have a legitimate complaint when they say all these late- night guys are just a -- you know, an attack squad against the president and there's no diversity there when it comes to ideological diversity or fairness?

SETH MEYERS, HOST, LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS: Look, I can understand that they don't like it. I certainly respect their opinion to choose not to watch. With that said, most comedians are pretty consistent in calling out hypocrisy and lying. I don't think -- you know, we don't every day just say, hey, we got to attack Donald Trump, what is there? It's the opposite. The thing comes first, and then we realize in order to talk about it is, in some degree, to attack Donald Trump. The day he stops giving us stuff to talk about, we will move on to something else. But it's not like we have to, you know, go searching through the corners of the Internet to find something crazy he said.

(CROSSTALK)

MEYERS: Yes, I mean, we just put on CNN and just wait.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: I sat down with Van Jones, who dished on the surprise arrival of Seth Meyers' new baby boy. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: You see him on television and he's so funny and quick. He's got great writers. No. check out.

(CROSSTALK)

JONES: He's as quick and as funny.

CABRERA: Does he see comedy being different in the age of Trump?

JONES: No. He talks about that and the importance of it. I asked him, are you worried you're adding to the polarization? He talked about that as well. He takes his role very, very seriously. He's at the pinnacle of his career right now. So it's a great time to talk to him.

But I also talked to him about himself as a father. You know, his -- I don't know if you know about this, but his wife had their last baby in the lobby of their apartment. They couldn't get --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Oh, my gosh.

JONES: They couldn't get to the Uber. So he talks about that.

CABRERA: Talk about a traumatic experience.

JONES: Exactly. Seth Meyers is such a genius. So that interview goes all over the place as well. He's an amazing, amazing guy.