WEBVTT 00:01.933 --> 00:04.300 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In addition to the protests over immigration, it was another wild day 00:04.300 --> 00:06.266 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% in Washington. 00:06.266 --> 00:10.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran said he will resign on April 1 because of poor health. 00:12.433 --> 00:14.533 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The 80-year-old Republican chairs the powerful Appropriations Committee. 00:14.533 --> 00:18.833 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% And a former Trump campaign aide announced he will defy a subpoena from the special counsel 00:18.833 --> 00:20.233 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% in the Russia probe. 00:20.233 --> 00:23.166 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Sam Nunberg left the campaign in its early days. 00:23.166 --> 00:27.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Today, he rejected any suggestion that the Trump team colluded with Russia. 00:27.500 --> 00:32.300 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But he also said he thinks the special prosecutor may have evidence against the president. 00:32.300 --> 00:37.300 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% It's a perfect time for Politics Monday with Tamara Keith of NPR and Susan Page, Washington 00:38.533 --> 00:40.733 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% bureau chief for USA Today. 00:40.733 --> 00:42.000 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% Welcome to you both. 00:42.000 --> 00:44.033 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% TAMARA KEITH, National Public Radio: Thank you. 00:44.033 --> 00:46.266 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So we can all agree it really was a wild day, officially. 00:46.266 --> 00:48.166 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% But let's go back to DACA. 00:48.166 --> 00:53.166 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Lisa set up, very nicely, Tam, I think, how we got to this point. 00:54.066 --> 00:56.000 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Where do we go from here? 00:56.000 --> 00:58.333 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% There is so much grassroots effort and enthusiasm to get this solved. 00:58.333 --> 01:02.466 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% And I would point out this was also -- there was some bipartisan agreement at one point 01:02.466 --> 01:04.366 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% that DACA should be addressed. 01:04.366 --> 01:06.300 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% How do we go from here? 01:06.300 --> 01:09.966 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% TAMARA KEITH: So, President Trump today tweeted, hey, let's make a deal. 01:09.966 --> 01:14.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But the White House is also saying that the president has laid out his four principles, 01:14.000 --> 01:16.533 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% the things he wants. 01:16.533 --> 01:20.400 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% What happened is that the president had met with bipartisan members of Congress. 01:20.400 --> 01:23.733 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% He said send me with whatever you can come up with, I will sign it. 01:23.733 --> 01:28.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Then, next thing you know, he is saying, actually, I have these four principles, I need these 01:30.166 --> 01:32.266 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% four things, and without these four things, I won't do it. 01:32.266 --> 01:37.066 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% The Senate voted on the president's principles, and of all the things the Senate voted on 01:38.633 --> 01:42.633 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% a few weeks ago related to immigration, that got the least support. 01:42.633 --> 01:45.366 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% It had something like 39 yes votes. 01:45.366 --> 01:49.433 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% It had a majority who opposed it, and that included Republicans. 01:49.433 --> 01:51.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% So it's not clear where it goes from here. 01:51.766 --> 01:56.766 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And without that really firm, pressing deadline, Congress just doesn't move quickly. 01:58.766 --> 02:02.333 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Susan, you were saying before that, when it comes to immigration, we have 02:02.333 --> 02:03.833 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% seen this movie before. 02:03.833 --> 02:05.800 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% SUSAN PAGE, Washington Bureau Chief, USA Today: That's right. 02:05.800 --> 02:09.166 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% We saw President George W. Bush pursue an immigration package, and then President Obama 02:09.166 --> 02:12.200 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% did, and then President Trump said he wanted to pursue one. 02:12.200 --> 02:16.333 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But the fact is, when the Senate was moving toward a bipartisan deal, the president undercut 02:16.333 --> 02:21.333 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% that movement by tying new limits on legal immigration to the effort to protect the so-called 02:22.433 --> 02:24.400 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% dreamers. 02:24.400 --> 02:27.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The fact is there is a national consensus that the dreamers should be allowed to stay 02:27.066 --> 02:28.533 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% legally in this country. 02:28.533 --> 02:31.133 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% There's no political consensus in Washington. 02:31.133 --> 02:33.533 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% The country's made a judgment on this. 02:33.533 --> 02:35.466 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% In that way, it's like a guns debate. 02:35.466 --> 02:39.900 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% You take a poll, Americans agree on this by a pretty sizable number. 02:39.900 --> 02:41.933 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% It's just that Washington can't seem to make a deal. 02:41.933 --> 02:45.266 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Well, take up this point, Tam, that Susan mentions. 02:45.266 --> 02:48.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% On the issue of guns, we saw the president last week following the Parkland shootings 02:48.933 --> 02:53.433 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% say -- he brought a bunch of bipartisan group of lawmakers together, indicated that he wanted 02:53.433 --> 02:58.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% to have a big, omnibus, comprehensive gun control piece of legislation, harden schools. 03:00.466 --> 03:04.100 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And then he meets with the NRA and it seems like now in the Senate and Congress that nothing 03:04.100 --> 03:05.100 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% is going to happen. 03:05.100 --> 03:07.700 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% What happened to that momentum? 03:07.700 --> 03:10.866 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% TAMARA KEITH: I think that what we have learned is that when President Trump has a big bipartisan 03:10.866 --> 03:15.766 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% meeting of members of Congress that's televised, it's like throwing spaghetti against a wall 03:15.766 --> 03:20.600 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% and whatever the president says isn't necessarily what the president believes or, more to the 03:20.600 --> 03:22.900 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% point, what the president is going to push for. 03:22.900 --> 03:27.800 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And the president has shown with both of those - - in both those cases that he's not actually 03:27.800 --> 03:32.400 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% willing to expend political capital to make the deal. 03:32.400 --> 03:35.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% SUSAN PAGE: It's always safe to vote against action, especially when it comes to limits 03:35.933 --> 03:38.000 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% on guns. 03:38.000 --> 03:41.933 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% The one thing that might shake up this paralysis are the marches that students are leading 03:42.533 --> 03:44.600 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% on March 24. 03:44.600 --> 03:48.600 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% And the question we have had is, is this a moment that terrifies politicians enough that 03:50.000 --> 03:52.100 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% they actually pass something that Americans support? 03:52.100 --> 03:56.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% I mean, support for things like universal background checks or limits on assault weapons, 03:56.500 --> 03:59.233 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% they are all but universal in this country. 03:59.233 --> 04:03.166 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% A majority by big margins of big gun owners support them. 04:03.166 --> 04:08.166 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So I wonder if these very articulate students with their heartbreaking stories about what 04:09.533 --> 04:11.833 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% happened at their schools might move this debate at last. 04:11.833 --> 04:15.100 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WILLIAM BRANGHAM: We will obviously be watching how that one goes. 04:15.100 --> 04:20.100 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% Tam, we also saw today a cleavage within the GOP over President Trump's proposed tariffs 04:21.833 --> 04:23.933 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% on steel and aluminum. 04:23.933 --> 04:27.333 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% He came out very forcefully and has been for several days now tweeting very strongly why 04:27.333 --> 04:29.433 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% he thinks that this is important to do. 04:29.433 --> 04:33.600 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But within his own GOP all the way up to Paul Ryan saying, no, trade wars are bad ideas. 04:33.600 --> 04:34.766 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% They don't get won. 04:34.766 --> 04:35.766 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% Don't do this. 04:35.766 --> 04:37.800 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% How do they resolve that? 04:37.800 --> 04:41.400 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% TAMARA KEITH: President Trump has found a way to drive a wedge within his own party, 04:41.400 --> 04:44.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% which is a relatively impressive thing to do. 04:44.166 --> 04:48.533 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% All along, he's been sort of governing -- he talks like a populist and he has been governing 04:48.533 --> 04:51.266 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% like sort of an establishment Republican. 04:51.266 --> 04:56.266 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Here's a case where he has been literally saying the same things about trade and America 04:58.166 --> 05:02.833 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% getting a bad deal for, like, 30 years, that you know, guns, immigration, taxes. 05:06.566 --> 05:11.166 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% There's nothing that he believes more fundamentally in his core that he has been more consistent 05:11.166 --> 05:13.200 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% on than this trade issue. 05:13.200 --> 05:16.533 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And now, all of a sudden, he's being told by members of his own party and members of 05:16.533 --> 05:21.233 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% his own administration, no, this is not a great idea, you can't do this. 05:21.233 --> 05:24.100 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% The president clearly doesn't want to hear that. 05:24.100 --> 05:28.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Susan, we have a couple of these little that are elections coming 05:28.466 --> 05:30.666 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% up. 05:30.666 --> 05:33.900 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% We have got Texas, we have got Illinois, we have got Pennsylvania, all possibly different 05:33.900 --> 05:37.666 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% little barometers of how the president is doing, how much his message is resonating 05:37.666 --> 05:41.033 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% or is being used to support Democrats. 05:41.033 --> 05:43.966 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Democrats think they are riding an enormous blue wave. 05:43.966 --> 05:46.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% What does your reporting tell you? 05:46.066 --> 05:49.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% SUSAN PAGE: There are red flags for Republicans everywhere, and I don't mean because it looks 05:49.000 --> 05:50.566 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% so good for the Republican Party. 05:50.566 --> 05:52.700 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% I mean signs of trouble. 05:52.700 --> 05:55.800 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% You look at this Pennsylvania special House election, which is next week, it's a district 05:55.800 --> 05:58.733 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% that President Trump carried by 19 percentage points. 05:58.733 --> 06:01.200 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% It is really tied up now. 06:01.200 --> 06:03.333 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% It's entirely possible that the Democrat will win. 06:03.333 --> 06:05.966 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% You look at Texas, which has its primary tomorrow. 06:05.966 --> 06:08.433 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And they have concluded early voting. 06:08.433 --> 06:12.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% If you look at the early voting, the early voting by Republicans is up by 11 percent. 06:12.466 --> 06:15.733 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Early voting by Democrats is up 24 percent. 06:15.733 --> 06:20.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And that is a sign of energy and enthusiasm among Democrats, even in a state like Texas, 06:22.666 --> 06:24.800 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% which has not elected a Democrat statewide in almost a quarter of a century. 06:24.800 --> 06:27.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Lastly, quickly to you, do you think there is a blue wave coming? 06:27.033 --> 06:32.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% TAMARA KEITH: Well, just another sign of that enthusiasm, Democrats in Texas have fielded 06:33.466 --> 06:35.233 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% candidates in every single congressional district. 06:35.233 --> 06:36.900 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In Texas. 06:36.900 --> 06:40.366 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% TAMARA KEITH: This is the first time that has happened in 25 years. 06:40.366 --> 06:44.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Democrats -- and this is happening not just in Texas, but all the over the country, that 06:44.233 --> 06:49.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% in districts where Democrats typically haven't even tried to play, they are now playing. 06:51.200 --> 06:53.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So if there is a wave, and it's more like a tsunami, all of a sudden, we're going to 06:53.133 --> 06:55.200 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% be learning about Democrats we didn't even know existed. 06:55.200 --> 06:57.766 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Tamara Keith, Susan Page, thank you both very much. 06:57.766 --> 06:57.900 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% TAMARA KEITH: Thank you.