:00:08. > :00:12.Another senior member of the Trump administration is under scrutiny
:00:13. > :00:18.There are growing calls for the Attorney General to resign
:00:19. > :00:20.after he misled Congress about meetings with
:00:21. > :00:26.Under oath, Jeff Sessions said he did not meet the ambassador
:00:27. > :00:34.But the country's top law official is defiant.
:00:35. > :00:37.I have not met with any Russians, at any time, to discuss any
:00:38. > :00:44.political campaign and those remarks are unbelievable to me.
:00:45. > :00:46.Senior Republicans ask Sessions to withdraw
:00:47. > :00:48.from investigations into Russian links with the Trump campaign.
:00:49. > :00:55.Better for the country if he resigns, but let's get a real
:00:56. > :01:07.In France, two of the three frontrunners in the
:01:08. > :01:14.Are now the subject of criminal investigations.
:01:15. > :01:17.The new favourite, Emmanuel Macron, says he has a plan to clean
:01:18. > :01:21.The new US Interior Secretary arrives for the first
:01:22. > :01:28.day at the office - on his horse!
:01:29. > :01:31.I'm Katty Kay in Washington, Christian Fraser is in London.
:01:32. > :01:33.Allegations of inappropriate links between the Trump campaign
:01:34. > :01:39.Today, President Trump's Attorney General, Jeff Sessions,
:01:40. > :01:42.has been accused of lying under oath after he failed to disclose
:01:43. > :01:51.to the Senate that he'd had two meetings with the Russian ambassador
:01:52. > :01:54.A growing number of senior Republicans are demanding
:01:55. > :01:56.Jeff Sessions withdraw himself from overseeing any investigation
:01:57. > :01:58.into the administration's links with Russia, while Democrats
:01:59. > :02:00.are calling for the appointment of a special prosecutor and even
:02:01. > :02:10.Mr Sessions joined the Trump campaign last February.
:02:11. > :02:11.In July, he attended a Heritage Foundation
:02:12. > :02:13.event on the sidelines of the Republican National
:02:14. > :02:16.Convention where he spoke to a number of Ambassadors,
:02:17. > :02:19.Then, in September the Senator held a meeting
:02:20. > :02:26.After winning the election, Donald Trump nominated Sessions
:02:27. > :02:29.At his Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing
:02:30. > :02:31.in January, Sessions was asked by Senator Franken about contact
:02:32. > :02:53.between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.
:02:54. > :03:00.I'm not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a
:03:01. > :03:04.surrogate at a time or two in that campaign. I did not have
:03:05. > :03:18.communications with the Russians. I'm unable to comment.
:03:19. > :03:20.This morning, Mr Sessions again denied any wrongdoing.
:03:21. > :03:23.He says the meetings with the Russian ambassador had nothing
:03:24. > :03:27.I have not met with any Russians at any time to discuss any political
:03:28. > :03:29.Spain and those remarks are unbelievable
:03:30. > :03:32.I don't have anything else to say about that.
:03:33. > :03:35.REPORTER: What about the calls to recuse yourself from
:03:36. > :03:38.Well, I've said that whenever it's appropriate,
:03:39. > :03:43.A few hours ago, the Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer,
:03:44. > :03:50.The bottom line is, we have an obligation
:03:51. > :03:54.We must evaluate the scope of Russia's interference
:03:55. > :03:56.in our election and assess if agents of their government have
:03:57. > :03:59.penetrated to the highest level of our government.
:04:00. > :04:01.Nothing less than the sanctity of our dear democratic process,
:04:02. > :04:04.the primacy of rule of law and the integrity of our executive
:04:05. > :04:13.We now know the only way that this will happen
:04:14. > :04:16.is if an independent, impartial, special prosecutor
:04:17. > :04:17.who has no attachment to this administration
:04:18. > :04:35.President Trump has said he has total confidence in Jeff Sessions.
:04:36. > :04:40.Our North America editor, Jon Sopel, is here.
:04:41. > :04:42.The President may have confidence, eight senior Republicans say he
:04:43. > :04:44.recuse himself from any recuse himself from any
:04:45. > :04:48.investigation into the ties with Russia. He's unlikely to go, isn't
:04:49. > :04:57.he, Jon? Yes. A long way between recuse and resign? A long, long way.
:04:58. > :04:59.Where we are, it seems to me, broadly there are three
:05:00. > :05:02.administrations. We will tough it out, carry on in the job, he can
:05:03. > :05:06.oversee any investigation that is going on. I think that will pile up
:05:07. > :05:11.bad head leans. The other option is that he announces this kind of word,
:05:12. > :05:16.the word of the day, recuse himself. He withdraws from overseeing any
:05:17. > :05:20.investigation into the links between Russia and their involvement in the
:05:21. > :05:25.last US presidential election. The most dramatic option, of course, is
:05:26. > :05:29.that is fired. That is not going to. Ha. I don't see unless there is new
:05:30. > :05:35.evidenced that he has been - about his conduct. What there is a kind of
:05:36. > :05:39.curious lack of candour there. Is nothing wrong with him having
:05:40. > :05:43.meetings with the Russian ambassador just as there was nothing wrong with
:05:44. > :05:49.Michael Flynn having meetings with the Russian ambassador. That is what
:05:50. > :05:52.you do. You can't then not say what those can tacts were. That cost
:05:53. > :05:58.Flynn his job. It is leading to a lot of pressure. It raises questions
:05:59. > :06:03.about what they were talking about? What is there to hide? Whether the
:06:04. > :06:05.Trump campaign colluded with the Russians to interfere in the
:06:06. > :06:12.American election, we still have no evidence that that is the case? We
:06:13. > :06:16.have absolutely not a sin till la of evidence they concluded and there
:06:17. > :06:23.was stuff going backwards and forwards. That is the big issue
:06:24. > :06:26.here. The administration is is making life more complicated for
:06:27. > :06:31.itself. When Jeff Sessions was having the hearings it was clear
:06:32. > :06:36.that Russia was a big issue. Why didn't he say I met the Russian am
:06:37. > :06:40.was bass dosh ties in connection with the Armed Services Committee,
:06:41. > :06:45.that is it. There is conle text. Because 20 of the 27 members of the
:06:46. > :06:52.K armed Services Committee did not meet with the ambassador, that is
:06:53. > :07:00.including the Chair of the Senate committee. He had time to clarify in
:07:01. > :07:04.oral and written questions. He didn't take that option? After you
:07:05. > :07:08.have a record you are sent what you have said. You can correct the
:07:09. > :07:12.record if you think that is ambiguous. Maybe I should clarify
:07:13. > :07:19.that. He chose not to. He was happy to leave it that he said he had no
:07:20. > :07:23.contact with the Russians. The legal answer is is giving - did you have
:07:24. > :07:27.contact with the Russians about the campaign. No, he said, didn't have
:07:28. > :07:32.any contacts. He did have contacts. It was about something different.
:07:33. > :07:35.Maybe for the sake of clarpty and with perfect hindsight he would
:07:36. > :07:38.think more candour would have helped me a long way. Jon, thank you. We
:07:39. > :07:43.will talk to a lawyer in a few will talk to a lawyer in a few
:07:44. > :07:46.minutes and ask him whether he will stand by Jeff Sessions's dens if of
:07:47. > :07:50.all of this. Before we came on air, I spoke
:07:51. > :07:53.to Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, who sits on the Judiciary Committee
:07:54. > :07:55.which held that confirmation Senator Klobuchar, when Jeff
:07:56. > :07:59.Sessions told your committee, in the Senate, that he hadn't had
:08:00. > :08:02.contact with the Russians during the Well, you must believe someone
:08:03. > :08:10.when they're under oath. So this is, at its least,
:08:11. > :08:13.misleading and I believe he must come before the committee
:08:14. > :08:16.and we must get to the bottom of the Because if he lied,
:08:17. > :08:22.then he must resign. There are many things,
:08:23. > :08:24.even beyond Jeff Sessions, that I Did someone from the
:08:25. > :08:27.campaign tell him to meet Did he report back to
:08:28. > :08:33.the campaign afterwards? What was the substance
:08:34. > :08:37.of those discussions? Because I think that takes this
:08:38. > :08:39.beyond just the realm of the Attorney General
:08:40. > :08:45.of the United States, to a much bigger picture
:08:46. > :08:47.because we see that Flynn actually contacted the Russian ambassador,
:08:48. > :08:50.right when President Obama put those Guess what, this meeting
:08:51. > :08:56.with Sessions, it took place only three days
:08:57. > :08:59.after President Obama, at the G20, had met with Vladimir Putin,
:09:00. > :09:01.had told him he wasn't rolling back
:09:02. > :09:03.the sanctions and had said the same thing
:09:04. > :09:04.at a Three days later, Senator
:09:05. > :09:09.Sessions, who by his own acclaim is chair of
:09:10. > :09:11.the campaign, is someone who's been a surrogate
:09:12. > :09:14.for Donald Trump, then meets
:09:15. > :09:18.with the Russian ambassador. We have not seen a series
:09:19. > :09:20.of meetings going on that I believe we need to get
:09:21. > :09:30.to the bottom of that and the only way is by him coming
:09:31. > :09:33.back immediately before the So to be clear, in terms of,
:09:34. > :09:43.kind of, priorities, you're biggest concerns, are they that he may have
:09:44. > :09:46.misled the committee or are they the content of those meetings
:09:47. > :09:49.with the Russian ambassador? Of course, I want to know if he lied
:09:50. > :09:53.to the committee and then But I also want to know,
:09:54. > :09:57.and I don't want to lose this opportunity to find out, what were
:09:58. > :10:05.his communications with the rest of the Trump, now administration,
:10:06. > :10:07.and then campaign about these Manafort had to step down,
:10:08. > :10:12.Flynn had to step down. I want to get to the bottom
:10:13. > :10:15.of the communications and the way you do that is under oath
:10:16. > :10:22.before the committee. It is the job of other
:10:23. > :10:24.ambassadors to Washington to meet with Senators such as yourself
:10:25. > :10:27.and such as Jeff Sessions, it The British Ambassador
:10:28. > :10:30.does, it the French Ambassador does it, even
:10:31. > :10:32.the Russian ambassador does it. Are the Democrats
:10:33. > :10:40.at risk here making a mountain out of a mole hill,
:10:41. > :10:43.this is what Senators do, they meet Senators do meet with ambassadors,
:10:44. > :10:48.but for two reasons, Number one, did he lie
:10:49. > :10:50.to the committee? And then, number two, the pattern
:10:51. > :10:53.of this, where you see him meeting with him three
:10:54. > :10:55.days after the President of the United States has announced
:10:56. > :10:58.that there's going to be no roll back of the
:10:59. > :11:00.sanctions against Russia. Why three days later
:11:01. > :11:03.was Jeff Sessions, who is one of the chairs of the Trump campaign,
:11:04. > :11:05.meeting with the Russian ambassador Maybe the Russian ambassador
:11:06. > :11:12.met with a number of people boy that, it
:11:13. > :11:14.sure hasn't come out yet and those are one
:11:15. > :11:16.of the many questions we
:11:17. > :11:18.want to get answered. To be clear, there has been a lot
:11:19. > :11:20.of speck speculation between links between the Trump
:11:21. > :11:22.campaign and the Russians. So far there is no
:11:23. > :11:24.evidence that anything was done, that the Trump
:11:25. > :11:26.campaign was trying their interference
:11:27. > :11:29.in the US election? Well, first of all,
:11:30. > :11:33.we have the varying fact that 17 US intelligence agencies have
:11:34. > :11:40.undeniably established that Russia was trying to influence
:11:41. > :11:41.our election. Not that the Trump campaign
:11:42. > :11:45.was dealing with them? Well, that we are
:11:46. > :11:46.trying to find out. That is why we need
:11:47. > :11:48.an independent commission. That is why we need
:11:49. > :11:50.to have the Intelligence There are a lot of what
:11:51. > :11:54.we say looks like more access Hollywood video came out, two
:11:55. > :12:07.hours later the emails are leaked. There are a lot of things that seem
:12:08. > :12:10.to coincide with actions with the Trump administration or campaign
:12:11. > :12:12.and then things that happen that I don't have that
:12:13. > :12:28.evidence right now. But that is very clear
:12:29. > :12:32.with Mark Warner, who head up the Intelligence Committee
:12:33. > :12:34.in the Senate, who say they will investigate the links between
:12:35. > :12:37.the campaign and the Russians. With me now is Ron Christie,
:12:38. > :12:43.Republican strategist and former White House adviser to George W
:12:44. > :12:47.Bush. President Trump, we are getting
:12:48. > :12:50.report from Reuter's agency, has said he does not think that Jeff
:12:51. > :12:55.Sessions should recuse himself from Russian investigations. Do you think
:12:56. > :13:01.the Attorney General has compromised himself, either because of the
:13:02. > :13:05.meetings, or because of what he told the Senate he can be trusted toover
:13:06. > :13:09.see an investigation into links with Russia, between Russia and the Trump
:13:10. > :13:12.administration? These are two distinct questions. A political and
:13:13. > :13:17.legal question. From a legal question, has the Attorney General
:13:18. > :13:22.done anything that would trigger the independent counsel statute? The
:13:23. > :13:25.independent council came in to look at White Water, it there evidence
:13:26. > :13:29.that would indicate that he has broken the law or that there is
:13:30. > :13:34.evidence that will be forth coming that will show elicit conduct? At
:13:35. > :13:37.this point, no. From a little standpoint, however, the Trump
:13:38. > :13:43.administration is in hot water. There are calls, we heard them
:13:44. > :13:46.today, we heard it from the Senate Minority Leader that Jeff Sessions
:13:47. > :13:52.should resign he has compromised himself on the content he gave to
:13:53. > :13:57.the Senate during his hearings. That is the bigger problem. How does he
:13:58. > :14:02.reconcile the fact he said there was no contact but he met with the
:14:03. > :14:05.Russian ambassador twice when he was under consideration to be Attorney
:14:06. > :14:08.General. His defence is, I didn't have contact and talk about the
:14:09. > :14:12.election campaign. You're a prosecutor. Would you accept that as
:14:13. > :14:20.a defence? I would. He can come out and say, I was under oath, I
:14:21. > :14:27.testified under oath, under perjury I could be imprisoned on I had no
:14:28. > :14:35.conversations with the Russians as it related to the campaign. This
:14:36. > :14:38.will play out in the long-term. No-one goes into a confirmation
:14:39. > :14:42.hearing poorly briefed and prepared. He would be briefed that rush ya was
:14:43. > :14:47.coming out. It was a big store ahead of his hearing. He knew it was going
:14:48. > :14:51.to come up. Why did he not answer truthfully that he had met the
:14:52. > :14:56.ambassador back in September? He He could have spelt that out, couldn't
:14:57. > :15:00.he He could have. It's the lawyer in me that would come back to you and
:15:01. > :15:04.say, good afternoon first and foremost, his response would be - as
:15:05. > :15:10.a member of the United States Senate, as a member of the Senate
:15:11. > :15:14.Armed Services Committee I have legitimate contacts with the Russian
:15:15. > :15:17.ambassador and other entities involved I should have been more
:15:18. > :15:21.transparent here I did not do anything untoe ward or anything that
:15:22. > :15:23.would have risen to breaking a legal standard, but honestly, you have
:15:24. > :15:28.touched on something here. Why wouldn't he have done that? If I was
:15:29. > :15:32.going to be the certificate pa, if you will, of bringing this Cabinet
:15:33. > :15:35.nominee through the United States Senate that would have been the
:15:36. > :15:38.second question I would have said - have you spoken to any Russians
:15:39. > :15:49.about anything, if so, let's get it out there. In a way, he is
:15:50. > :15:53.compromised. Chuck spelt out what the Department of Justice guidelines
:15:54. > :15:56.are. There must be a special prosecutor when a standard
:15:57. > :16:01.investigation would present a conflict of interest and it would be
:16:02. > :16:08.in the public interest to appoint a special counsel? I respond to Senate
:16:09. > :16:11.who might have forgotten a thing or two from law school. After the
:16:12. > :16:17.Attorney General of the United States the next person is the Deputy
:16:18. > :16:21.US Attorney General, there are 92 US attorneys here in the United States.
:16:22. > :16:25.This notion we should immediately jump to a special counsel, a special
:16:26. > :16:28.prosecutor, there are many more hurdles legally here in the United
:16:29. > :16:35.States that have not yet been existed. The big picture is the
:16:36. > :16:40.questions still lingering about Donald Trump's relationship with
:16:41. > :16:44.Russia. What could the White House do to clear this up once and for
:16:45. > :16:48.all? I would have done this much earlier. President Obama looked at
:16:49. > :16:51.this last December and said the Russian government has had no
:16:52. > :16:58.influence on the outcome of votes that were cast in ballots counted in
:16:59. > :17:02.the United States. The notion that the Russians influenced our election
:17:03. > :17:04.is false. I would have put President Obama's statement out to deflect
:17:05. > :17:09.what is going on with President Trump. Thank you for joining us
:17:10. > :17:14.there. While we are chatting about this. I want to talk more about it.
:17:15. > :17:20.If we dive into pictures. This is from Tide Water in Virgina. The
:17:21. > :17:26.President due to turn up, Newport News. Many of those are shipbuilding
:17:27. > :17:31.areas. He is pushing his campaign to rebuild the military. A lot of the
:17:32. > :17:39.money they targeted at the defence budget, $54 billion will go towards
:17:40. > :17:43.repair and maintenance. They will see more work in the years. We will
:17:44. > :17:48.see what reception he gets. We should talk about the story on the
:17:49. > :17:52.New York Times today. They said in the last days of the Obama
:17:53. > :17:56.administration they tried to leave a very clear trail of intelligence.
:17:57. > :18:01.They sent documents and paperwork to members of Congress trying to create
:18:02. > :18:06.this paper trail? I thought that was a fascinating story. The idea that
:18:07. > :18:11.the Obama administration wanted to make sure that future investigators
:18:12. > :18:15.would be able to connect the dots, if it was to be to do so, between
:18:16. > :18:18.what happened during the course of the election campaign, Russia and
:18:19. > :18:21.then look at this question of any contact with the Trump campaign. The
:18:22. > :18:26.critical thing is what we talked about with Ron and Jon. There are so
:18:27. > :18:32.far no indications, there is no evidence, that the Trump campaign
:18:33. > :18:34.colluded with the Russians. There is evidence, according to US
:18:35. > :18:38.intelligence, that the Russians interfered. They may not have
:18:39. > :18:41.influenced the outcome but they did interfere in the American election.
:18:42. > :18:45.That is a serious accusation against the Russians. What the Obama
:18:46. > :18:48.campaign was doing, in their final day, the image of them running
:18:49. > :18:54.around these agencies hiding this evidence to make sure it was sprayed
:18:55. > :19:00.around, to make sure that story got told. Ron talked about if he was the
:19:01. > :19:07.sherpa he would have prepared Jeff Sessions for what he was going to be
:19:08. > :19:12.asked. The Russian ambassador saw him because he was in the Trump
:19:13. > :19:20.campaign, it was very clear. He didn't see John McCain, the Chair.
:19:21. > :19:23.Mr Sessions would be nigh e not to understand why the Russian
:19:24. > :19:30.ambassador came to see him. The feeling was that he didn't fell
:19:31. > :19:35.spell out in that hearing, I met him but in a previous setting. He was
:19:36. > :19:38.asked in writing, did you have contact with Russian officials. He
:19:39. > :19:43.said in writing one word. No. There is written evidence of his testimony
:19:44. > :19:47.as well. The feeling here in Washington seems to be that he does
:19:48. > :19:51.have to recuse himself from any investigations but he probably won't
:19:52. > :19:57.have to resign. The Democrats are going to make political hay out of
:19:58. > :19:59.this. They have nothing to lose by pushing this as hard as they can.
:20:00. > :20:06.It's a political point they are making, not necessarily a legal one.
:20:07. > :20:08.OK. No sign of Mr Tufrp at the moment. We will go back to that as
:20:09. > :20:13.and when he appears. If you think there's
:20:14. > :20:15.a certain amount of chaos in Washington these days,
:20:16. > :20:18.it's mild compared to the French election where the far-right
:20:19. > :20:19.presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, has lost immunity
:20:20. > :20:21.from prosecution for tweeting graphic images of atrocities carried
:20:22. > :20:24.out by the so-called She had immunity originally
:20:25. > :20:27.because she is a European But EU lawmakers voted to remove her
:20:28. > :20:31.legal protection in the case, which was opened by French
:20:32. > :20:35.prosecutors in 2015. In response, Marine le Pen
:20:36. > :20:37.has criticised the move as part of the system
:20:38. > :20:40.to derail her presidential bid. She is predicted to win
:20:41. > :20:42.the election's first round in April, Well, her rival - the centrist
:20:43. > :20:52.candidate, Emmanuel Macron - has set out his political
:20:53. > :20:54.and economic programme. That involves major
:20:55. > :20:56.reforms of the pension Addressing a news conference
:20:57. > :21:00.in Paris, Mr Macron said his project would also seek to address
:21:01. > :21:02.the changing nature of employment. TRANSLATION: We, in our
:21:03. > :21:09.project, have chosen The transformation of the world
:21:10. > :21:13.of work, the transformation of our productive model,
:21:14. > :21:20.the digital transition - these are risk, but they are also
:21:21. > :21:22.brilliant opportunities. And so, at the heart of this
:21:23. > :21:25.project, there is the refusal I will not say, in this project,
:21:26. > :21:33.that we have already lost the battle No, work is going to change
:21:34. > :21:37.and we will be part of that change. We will go with it and we will
:21:38. > :21:52.transform the balance of forces. I'm right in saying he is at the
:21:53. > :21:54.moment the only candidate in the French presidential election that is
:21:55. > :21:58.not under some kind of official investigation, is that right? Of the
:21:59. > :22:01.front runners, yes. The front three. Remarkable. He is the only one that
:22:02. > :22:16.is not facing charges. While he was there, they have been
:22:17. > :22:21.raiding his house this evening, as part of this investigation into the
:22:22. > :22:25.false jobs allegations. Also his campaign is in all sorts of trouble.
:22:26. > :22:29.There was high-level defections yesterday. One of his senior
:22:30. > :22:33.advisers walked away. People are walking off the job in his campaign
:22:34. > :22:37.office. The people who book trains and arrange meetings. He will have a
:22:38. > :22:43.real job I think persuading the Republicans that he can carry on.
:22:44. > :22:47.Tell me more about the political impact on Marine Le Pen of this
:22:48. > :22:53.investigation into her. Is it the kind of thing that some of her
:22:54. > :22:57.voters might be alarmed by? How much support is she managing to get from
:22:58. > :23:01.the more left-wing candidates, for example? Well, I think the first
:23:02. > :23:10.thing to say, this is an election for the outsiders. They have got rid
:23:11. > :23:18.of two Presidents in Hollande and Sarkozy. They have got rid of two,
:23:19. > :23:25.three Prime Ministers. Whoever wins it looks like it could be an
:23:26. > :23:30.outsider. As far as the allegations against Marine Le Pen will not have
:23:31. > :23:35.any affect on her base. Her base will see it as an establishment
:23:36. > :23:40.rouse to undermine her. The interesting thing is what happens in
:23:41. > :23:46.the second round of this vote. What Marine Le Pen has been effective at
:23:47. > :23:52.doing is harnessing the dissatisfaction among blue collar
:23:53. > :23:56.worksers and rural areas. She has had good work there and won towns
:23:57. > :24:00.because of the disaffected youth. It's quite a strange thing, in this
:24:01. > :24:03.country, in Britain, you have older people who are eurosceptic and are
:24:04. > :24:08.voting against the euro, the European Union. In France, it's the
:24:09. > :24:12.young people conversely who have a problem. She is doing pretty well
:24:13. > :24:16.among blue collar workers. It will be interesting to see what they do
:24:17. > :24:22.in the second round of the vote. Which is of course what Donald Trump
:24:23. > :24:25.did in some of those states in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, he did it -
:24:26. > :24:30.we didn't expect him in Michigan, for example, to win people who voted
:24:31. > :24:34.Democrat all their lives, blue collar, solid left-wing voters for
:24:35. > :24:40.their working lives and decided to switch parties and vote for Donald
:24:41. > :24:43.Trump. We can go to Newport in Virgina and look at the picture on
:24:44. > :24:48.board this aircraft carrier. Donald Trump is about to be introduced. One
:24:49. > :24:52.of the issues he has, you talked about him wanting to expand the
:24:53. > :24:55.military. He has the cost of some of these big ticket projects and
:24:56. > :25:00.particularly aircraft carriers like this one. He wants to try and get
:25:01. > :25:06.the manufacturers of these, the defence contractors, to bring down
:25:07. > :25:10.the costs. He's been proud of himself during the course of the
:25:11. > :25:13.last couple of the weeks of bringing down the cost of aeroplanes he wants
:25:14. > :25:16.to bring down the cost of these ships as well. He came here to boost
:25:17. > :25:20.the military, be the Commander-in-Chief and do the deal
:25:21. > :25:27.and say - by the way, this shouldn't cost us much? He is looking the
:25:28. > :25:32.party. He he is on the Gerald Ford. It has been down there for a refit.
:25:33. > :25:38.It was well behind schedule and over cost. Apparently, that's been one of
:25:39. > :25:43.the problems with naval spending. It's something that Mr Trump talked
:25:44. > :25:49.about, procurement and waste within the Pentagon. He will talk about
:25:50. > :25:52.that. Many of the naval commanders said that the real priority is
:25:53. > :25:56.refitting some of these ships before they start rebuilding or building
:25:57. > :26:02.new ones. We will see what he has to say. Particularly, of course with
:26:03. > :26:10.regards to those allegations facing Jeff Sessions.
:26:11. > :26:17.And skilled workers and our boundless energy... Your' watching
:26:18. > :26:23.100 Days on BBC News. We are just watching President Trump, who is in
:26:24. > :26:27.Virgina on board the Gerard Ford, an aircraft carrier. He is about to
:26:28. > :26:33.speak to some of the troops and the shipbuilders down there as well.
:26:34. > :26:40.Let's just listen in for a second. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
:26:41. > :26:53.Whether her mission is one of defence, diplomacy or humanity, this
:26:54. > :27:00.aircraft carrier will command all admiration from some, caution from
:27:01. > :27:06.others and respect from all. So, ladies and gentlemen, to those who
:27:07. > :27:18.threaten our home land or our liberties, let the word go forth -
:27:19. > :27:23.very soon 100,000 tonnes of the most powerful warship ever known will
:27:24. > :27:32.report for duty to her Commander-in-Chief. Congratulations
:27:33. > :27:40.crew members and God speed. Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, as
:27:41. > :27:44.the ship sponsor of the USS Gerald R Ford and behalf of the President of
:27:45. > :27:50.the United States it's a high honour to introduce and welcome to Dad's
:27:51. > :27:56.name sake aircraft carrier the 45th President of the United States,
:27:57. > :28:02.Donald J Trump. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
:28:03. > :28:24.Thank you, thank you very much. What an honour. They just gave me this
:28:25. > :28:28.beautiful jacket. They said, "here, Mr President, please take this
:28:29. > :28:33.home." I said, "let me wear it." Then they gave me the beautiful had
:28:34. > :28:46.hat. You know I said, "maybe I'll do that. ." We have a "make America
:28:47. > :28:51.great hat." I I have no idea how it looks. This is a great looking hat.
:28:52. > :28:58.This is great looking ship. I'm privileged to stand here today with
:28:59. > :29:03.the incredible men and women of the United States Navy. American sailors
:29:04. > :29:09.are the best war fighting sailors anywhere in the world and it's not
:29:10. > :29:14.even close. Sueson, I'm so glad you could be with us. I know how hard
:29:15. > :29:19.you work. 17 visits and she wanted things done right. I will tell you.
:29:20. > :29:22.They told me, she wanted this one done right in honour of both of her
:29:23. > :29:27.parents who were great, great people. We wanted to introduce this
:29:28. > :29:32.beautiful vessel to the American people and I wanted to be here. I
:29:33. > :29:36.wanted to be with you. So Susan, and to your family, unbelievable job.
:29:37. > :29:45.Unbelievable. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE The soon to be
:29:46. > :29:50.commission Gerald R Ford, USS, what a place. It really feels like a
:29:51. > :29:54.place. You stand on that deck and you feel like you are standing on a
:29:55. > :29:59.very big piece of land. This is better than land. It not only be a
:30:00. > :30:06.great symbol of American strength but a great legacy for your father
:30:07. > :30:12.and our former President, President Ford was a navy man. By the way, he
:30:13. > :30:16.was also a great athlete, for those of who you didn't know.
:30:17. > :30:23.He saw action in the South Pacific during World War II. He served this
:30:24. > :30:27.country with honour, in the nil Congress and the White House. It's a
:30:28. > :30:31.fitting tribute to Gerald Ford, the man and the President.
:30:32. > :30:39.Congratulations to all of the men and women who helped build it. This
:30:40. > :30:45.is American craftsman ship and its biggest, at its best, at its finest.
:30:46. > :30:51.American workers are the greatest anywhere in the world. This warship
:30:52. > :30:53.and all who serve on it should be a source of shared pride for our
:30:54. > :31:03.nation. You'd better believe it, right?
:31:04. > :31:11.APPLAUSE CHEERING
:31:12. > :31:13.And by the way we are soon going to have more coming. We've got more
:31:14. > :31:20.coming. CHEERING CHEERING
:31:21. > :31:37.We are joined today by general Mattis, now secretary Mattis. Where
:31:38. > :31:40.is he? Who will be charged with overseeing this great rebuilding of
:31:41. > :31:45.our military might. We will give the men and women of America's armed
:31:46. > :31:53.services, the re-sources that you need to keep us safe. We will have
:31:54. > :31:59.the finest equipment in the world. Planes, ships, and everything else.
:32:00. > :32:03.We are going to have very soon the finest equipment in the world.
:32:04. > :32:10.CHEERING APPLAUSE
:32:11. > :32:15.We will give our military the tools that you need to prevent war and if
:32:16. > :32:22.required, to fight war and only do one thing, do you know what that is?
:32:23. > :32:29.Win! Win! CHEERING We're going to start winning again.
:32:30. > :32:34.Admiral John Richardson, Chief of Naval operations, is with us today
:32:35. > :32:39.as well. Great gentleman. Admiral were going to make sure that our
:32:40. > :32:43.Navy has the resources, training and equipment, the kind of equipment
:32:44. > :32:55.that you need. So congratulations. A lot more is coming. Let me
:32:56. > :33:04.congratulate captain, Richard McCormac. Commanding officer, this
:33:05. > :33:08.ship will make an extraordinary addition to the fleet. Like no
:33:09. > :33:15.other. Anywhere in the world, there is nothing like this. It represents
:33:16. > :33:20.the future of naval aviation. I have no greater privilege than to serve
:33:21. > :33:27.as your commander-in-chief, and the commander-in-chief of the men and
:33:28. > :33:40.women of the United States military. Great people, great, great people. I
:33:41. > :33:45.salute you, and I salute our sailors, I will always support you,
:33:46. > :33:54.and your mission. I will never, ever let you down. And I also have two
:33:55. > :34:00.recognise, the president and CEO of Huntington Ingalls industries along
:34:01. > :34:04.with the president of Newport News shipbuilding. They won't let you
:34:05. > :34:11.down, either. They're not going to let you down either. To those who
:34:12. > :34:14.serve our nation in uniform, and to those who build the instruments of
:34:15. > :34:20.our defence, I thank you won the half of our nation. -- on behalf.
:34:21. > :34:30.LAUGHTER I agree! Power carriers are the
:34:31. > :34:35.centrepiece of American military might over sees, we are standing
:34:36. > :34:40.today on four and a half acres of combat power and sovereign US
:34:41. > :34:48.territory, the likes of which there is nothing to compete. There is no
:34:49. > :34:52.competition. To this ship. It is a monument to American might that will
:34:53. > :35:02.provide the strength necessary, to ensure peace. This ship will carry
:35:03. > :35:07.4500 personnel, and 70 aircraft, and will be a vital component of our
:35:08. > :35:12.defence. This carrier and the new ships in the Ford class, will expand
:35:13. > :35:20.the ability of our nation to carry out vital missions on the oceans, to
:35:21. > :35:25.project American power in distant lands. Hopefully it is power that we
:35:26. > :35:38.don't have to use. But if we do, they are in big, big trouble.
:35:39. > :35:44.This great aircraft carrier provides essential capabilities to keep us
:35:45. > :35:50.safe from terrorism. And take the fight to the enemy for many years in
:35:51. > :35:54.the future. The great Admiral limits, who commanded the US Pacific
:35:55. > :36:01.Fleet through the Second World War. One said, it is the function of the
:36:02. > :36:13.Navy to carry the war to the Navy, so that it will not be fought on US
:36:14. > :36:19.soil. True. And it was under Admiral Nimitz commands 75 years ago this
:36:20. > :36:24.June, that the Navy did just that. At the Battle of Midway, you all
:36:25. > :36:30.know about the Battle of Midway. Where the sailors of the US Navy
:36:31. > :36:42.fought with a bravery, that will be remembered throughout the ages.
:36:43. > :36:46.Storeyed bravery. The backbone of the fleet at Midway was three
:36:47. > :36:51.beautiful aircraft carriers, the Yorktown, the enterprise and the
:36:52. > :36:54.Hornet. All three were built with American hands, right here, at the
:36:55. > :37:15.Newport News shipyard. At Midway, America was greatly
:37:16. > :37:19.outnumbered, by I mean a lot. And its fleet badly damaged, but the
:37:20. > :37:25.heroic deeds changed the course of history. Many brave Americans died
:37:26. > :37:31.that day, and through their sacrifice, they turned the tide of
:37:32. > :37:36.the Pacific War. It was a tough tide, it was a big side, it was a
:37:37. > :37:39.vicious tide and they turned it. Countless other Americans in that
:37:40. > :37:46.war, some of them parents and grandparents to people in this room
:37:47. > :37:50.today, came home thanks to their very heroic deeds. The sailors at
:37:51. > :37:57.Midway, are part of a long line of American heroes, Annan broken chain
:37:58. > :38:05.of patriots from each generation to the next, who rose to defend our
:38:06. > :38:11.flag, and our freedom. That legacy continues today as American warriors
:38:12. > :38:17.protect our people, from the threat of terrorism. On Tuesday, in my
:38:18. > :38:23.address, to a joint session of Congress, I asked Congress to
:38:24. > :38:27.diminished the defence sequester and to support my request to a great
:38:28. > :38:41.rebuilding of the United States military and the United States Navy.
:38:42. > :38:47.After years of endless budget cuts, that have been impairing out
:38:48. > :38:51.offences, I am calling for one of the largest defence spending
:38:52. > :38:57.increases in history. And by eliminating the sequester, and the
:38:58. > :39:03.uncertainty it creates, we will make it easier for the Navy to plan for
:39:04. > :39:09.the future and thus, to control costs, and get the best deals for
:39:10. > :39:13.the taxpayer, which of course, is very important. Right? You have got
:39:14. > :39:19.to get a good deal. If we don't make a good deal we are not doing our
:39:20. > :39:24.job. The same boat for less money, the same ship for less money. The
:39:25. > :39:28.same aeroplane for less money. That is what we are doing. That is what
:39:29. > :39:33.we are doing. It means we'll go to get more of them that we can use
:39:34. > :39:37.them. How military require sustained stable funding, to meet the growing
:39:38. > :39:44.needs placed on defence. Right now the ageing front line strike and
:39:45. > :39:49.strike fighters, many aircraft, are often more likely to be down for
:39:50. > :39:53.maintenance, than they are to be up in the sky, the Navy is now the
:39:54. > :39:59.smallest it has been, since believe it or not World War I. Don't worry.
:40:00. > :40:09.It will soon be the largest it has been. Don't worry. Think of that. In
:40:10. > :40:15.these troubled times and Navy is the smallest it has been since World War
:40:16. > :40:19.I. That's a long time ago. In fact I just spoke with Navy and industry
:40:20. > :40:26.leaders and I have discussed my plans to undertake a major expansion
:40:27. > :40:35.of our entire Navy fleet. Including having the 12 carrier Navy that we
:40:36. > :40:40.need. CHEERING We also need more aircraft, to
:40:41. > :40:43.modernise capabilities and greater force levels. Additionally, we must
:40:44. > :40:49.lastly improve our cyber capabilities. This great rebuilding
:40:50. > :40:55.effort, will create many jobs in Virginia. And all across America,
:40:56. > :41:01.and it will also spur new technology, and new innovation.
:41:02. > :41:06.America has always been, the country, that boldly leads the world
:41:07. > :41:15.into the future. And my budget will ensure that we do so and continue to
:41:16. > :41:20.do exactly that. American ships will sail the seas, American planes will
:41:21. > :41:33.soar the skies. American workers will build our fleets, and America's
:41:34. > :41:38.military will ensure that even though the darkest nights and
:41:39. > :41:44.throughout, a bright and glowing sun will always shine, on our nation.
:41:45. > :41:46.And on our people. Our Navy is great. The Navy is great. Our people
:41:47. > :42:04.are great. Great. How republic will meet any
:42:05. > :42:11.challenge, defeat any danger, face any threat, and always seek, true
:42:12. > :42:17.and lasting peace. May God bless our military, may God bless our Navy,
:42:18. > :42:25.may God bless the wonderful Gerald Ford family. And may God continue to
:42:26. > :42:28.bless the United States of America. Thank you very much. CHEERING
:42:29. > :42:41.MUSIC STUDIO: Donald Ford, speaking aboard
:42:42. > :42:44.the US aircraft carrier Gerald Ford, promising to grow the military
:42:45. > :42:48.saying that the Navy is at its smallest since World War I and that
:42:49. > :42:54.can't stand, he said, it is going to be the largest in the world. He also
:42:55. > :42:59.talked about the need to get a good deal. Cutting the prices of the
:43:00. > :43:02.aircraft carriers, and planes. He said, if we're not getting a good
:43:03. > :43:07.deal, we're not doing our job. That problem sums up Donald Trump. He
:43:08. > :43:16.came into office as a deal-maker, to get a better deal for the American
:43:17. > :43:18.public. In the White helmets are the shipbuilders, whose companies are
:43:19. > :43:24.presumably going to go through the roof, a lot of money is going to be
:43:25. > :43:27.spent down there. 25% of ships built United States are built down there
:43:28. > :43:33.in Virginia. You can see day mingling among the crowds. Quite a
:43:34. > :43:41.ship, the Gerald Ford, it is one of the new super carriers. That by the
:43:42. > :43:45.way is Marine one, the helicopter, it is only called Marine one when
:43:46. > :43:49.the president is on it, he will fly back up to Washington where he has
:43:50. > :43:54.to come back and deal with politics. As we spoke about it, the political
:43:55. > :43:57.fallout of his Attorney General and whether he told the truth. To
:43:58. > :44:00.Congress. Which the president has been addressing while he has been