[Martin Savidge, Cnn Anchor:] Happening now in the NEWSROOM. The President under fresh fire over HIS vulgar comments.
[Unidentified Male:] I think he is a racist. Of course, I think that is ridiculous. You are saying flat out definitively, the President did not say those words? I'm saying that this is a gross misrepresentation. I didn't hear that word either. You are saying it did not happen or you haven't or you just don't recall. I didn't hear it. And I was sitting further away from Donald Trump and Dick Durbin was.
[Savidge:] All as the state of Hawaii is reeling from a phony missile alert.
[Unidentified Male:] I wanted to check out and head to the airport because I didn't want to stick around to see if it is getting this is going to get blown up or not. I just told him, let me use your phone and let me call my wife and tell her I love her.
[Unidentified Female:] I think traumatic under states the experience of the people of Hawaii went through yesterday. This was unacceptable that this happened but it really highlights the stark reality of the people of Hawaii are facing.
[Savidge:] CNN NEWSROOM starts now. Hello there. I'm Martin Savidge in for Fredricka Whitfield. Thanks very much for spending some time with me. We begin this hour with the growing argument over what the President did or did not say in a crucial immigration meeting. The conflicting reports over the use of vulgar language firing up again today.
[Unidentified Male:] Coming out of that meeting with a gross misrepresentation of what happened to that meeting. Can you it was a gross misrepresentation? Senator Durbin has been very clear. Senator Graham has told others that the reports were basically accurate. Are you saying the President did not use the word so widely reported?
[Sen. David Perdue , Georgia:] I'm telling you he did not use that word, George. And I'm telling you it is a gross misrepresentation any time you want me to say that.
[Sen. Tom Cotton , Arkansas:] I didn't hear that word either. I certainly didn't hear what Senator Durbin has said repeatedly.
[Unidentified Male:] So you are saying in that room you didn't hear any of this sort of lumping everybody together. Is that what you are saying?
[Cotton:] I did not hear derogatory comments about individuals or persons, no.
[Unidentified Male:] OK. So this sentiment is totally phony, as well, that is attributed to him.
[Cotton:] Yes.
[Sen. Jeff Flake , Arizona:] All I can say is that I was in a meeting directly afterwards where those who presented to the President our proposal. I spoke about the meeting and they said those words were used before those words went public. So that's all I can tell you is I heard that account before the account even went public.
[Savidge:] The President is at his Florida golf club today and tweeting, blasting Democrats and declaring that a bipartisan deal on DACA is probably dead. Let's start our coverage with CNN White House correspondent Boris Sanchez who is near the President's resort in Florida. Boris, what do we know about what the President is doing today?
[Boris Sanchez, Cnn Correspondent:] Hey, there, Martin. President Trump spent the majority of his day so far at Trump national golf course. He returned to Mar-a-Lago estate just a little bit over an hour ago. And as you noted, he is further driving a wedge between Democrats and Republicans at a very tenuous time because the government is set to shut down in five days unless both parties come to an agreement over budgeting and funding for the government. The issue at heart of the disagreement is the legal status of these DREAMERs, these 800,000 or so young adults that were brought to the United States illegally as children. And while there was already some contentious disagreement between Democrats and Republicans on that issue the question of the President's comments this week on Haitians, on African nations further driving a wedge between the two parties just based on what he allegedly said. We should note the President, as you said, was on twitter earlier today saying that a deal on DACA with Democrats was possibly dead. He then further tweeted quote "I, as President, want people coming into our country who are going to help us become strong and great again. People coming in to a system based on merit. No more lotteries. #Americafirst." The head of the department of homeland security Kirsten Nelson Nielsen I should say, was on the Sunday morning talk shows backing up the President, the argument to convert the United States to a merit base system, she kept the possibility of a DACA deal still open though she made the case for separating any kind of immigration issue from the question of funding the government which as we noted was set to shut down midnight on Friday. Some Democrats however are saying they simply will not discuss a budget deal unless DACA is a part of that deal including Congressman John Lewis. Here is Kirsten Nielsen and John Lewis speaking to the media earlier today.
[Kirsten Nielsen, Homeland Security Secretary:] We need to fund our troops. We need to protect them. We need to increase homeland security. These are vital national security interests we need to fund to tie it into a DACA deal where the actual expiration date is in March is irresponsible.
[Rep. John Lewis , Georgia:] Well, I for one would not vote for government funding until we get a deal on DACA.
[Sanchez:] The key thing to keep in mind here, Martin, is that Republicans are going to need Democrats to pass any kind of budget deal. So Democrats are now using that leverage to get something done on DREAMERs and DACA, a program that is said to end in March. Because of the urgency and limited amount of time that lawmakers have to get something done, some in the Republican party have suggested just passing a continuing resolution, another stop gap bill that will keep the government funded and then further move the can down the road on this argument as we have seen them do several times since September Martin.
[Savidge:] Yes, we have Boris. Thank you very much. All right. Plenty to talk about here. And joining me to do just that Josh Rogin, a CNN political analyst and columnist for "the Washington Post." Also back with me is Julian Zelizer. He is a CNN political analyst and Princeton University historian and professor. So thanks to both of you. Josh, I will start with you and the President's tweet that DACA is probably dead and it is the Democrats' fault. Is the President by just putting that out there, hurting any chance of a bipartisan deal now?
[Josh Rogin, Cnn Political Analyst:] He is definitely not helping. I mean, all we have seen the President Trump do over the last few days is harm the ability of these lawmakers to come up with a bipartisan compromise that gives the President much of what he wants and allows alas the DACA DREAMERs to stay in the country. And that bipartisan compromise were actually rolled out on Thursday. There is a deal on the table. It does accommodate what the President is saying he wants about the visa lottery and chain migration. Gives a little bit of money for this wall or border security, whatever you want to call it, and fixes the DACA problem for these 800,000 DREAMERs. Why can't he just take that deal? Well, it seems that they are pushing for a better deal. And meanwhile, the President is just creating controversy after controversy really throwing the entire process into chaos. And why he is doing that? I mean, basically because he seems to lack the self-control not to do it.
[Savidge:] Yes. I mean, the supporters may think that there is a grand plan. Others may say no. He has no plan at all. We will have to see. Julian, you wrote a story for CNN.com about the President's remarks. And you say that it's a mistake to dismiss Trump's vile words as a distraction and to normalize the President's behavior would be absolutely reckless. So explain that a bit more.
[Julian Zelizer, Cnn Political Analyst:] Well, I think if you take these comments and put them in the context of the many, many, many comments he said on twitter, in public about immigration from the very start of his campaign you see exactly where he stands on a lot of these issues. And the rhetoric of a President matters. And we speak of it as a distraction from the real stuff, the legislation and the regulation. But I think he has given legitimacy to a lot of arguments that come from nativist organizations and individuals about immigration that are extraordinarily damaging to hear from the President of the United States. And I think that is part of why you have this backlash and the risk we have is that eventually this is normal.
[Savidge:] Can I ask you this, Julian, especially from your historian perspective?
[Zelizer:] Yes.
[Savidge:] You listen to White House tapes of previous administrations, you know. And I'm going back to LBJ and I'm going back to Nixon. And you hear some really bad stuff. At the same time as they are trying to negotiate bills even as LBJ was trying to push forward, you know, civil rights, there is a time a President has private conversations or no?
[Zelizer:] There is. This wasn't a private conversation at least this meeting. You are right. The previous Presidents have said horrendous things. But we shouldn't use that as the measure for what president should do today and the hope that -.
[Savidge:] No, I'm not. And I do agree that what the President said was absolutely outrageous. I guess what I'm saying is that in trying to negotiate and work a deal it wasn't a totally open meeting, he is expressing something. And it was a question, actually, to which he got a response in a very good moments said here is why. So I guess this whole idea, you are always having to be on your guard even when trying to negotiate?
[Zelizer:] I think it is correct. I mean, I think it would be good to have some space for Presidents and legislators to negotiate as they did decades ago. The reality is that doesn't exist. For many reasons from social media to polarized Washington environment where there is an incentive to report what has happened, I don't think we are going back to that. So I think Presidents will just have to deal with that. But again, that is separate from the comment itself which, you know, fits a broader pattern we have heard from the President.
[Savidge:] No, I'm with you. Josh, sorry, just had the opportunity to talk to a historian there. Today "New York Times" reporting former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney texted a friend saying he is running for the Senate in Utah to replace retiring senator Orrin Hatch. So Romney was somebody who has been pretty critical of the President. And I'm wondering how might a senator Romney impact Trump and his agenda?
[Rogin:] Well, I know that a lot of people in the Republican party especially people who have been especially upset with the way that President Trump has handled himself are looking towards Mitt Romney to be a leader, a statesman in the Senate who stands up for what we used to know as traditional Republican values especially traditional Republican positions on things like foreign policy and national security that the President has abandoned. He could, because of his sheer gravitas his relationships and the large and well known step that he is like to bring on become a counter weight to the President in the Republican Party and the Senate. That is the scenario that I think a lot of people are looking for. You know, we are seeing a lot senior Republican leave the Senate who play that role now. Bob Corker, you know, Jeff Flake, you know, we hope that Senator John McCain will be with us for a very long time. But in the coming years, it seems that this sort of Republican Party that we knew before 2016 lacks a standard bearer. And the hope at least amongst those people who still believe that the Republican Party can head in that direction is that Mitt Romney would take up that role. I think we are a long way before we actually get in there. First, he has to run, then he has to get elected.
[Savidge:] Yes, interesting point. Next weekend, by the way, is the one-year anniversary of the President's inauguration. And times seems to have gone remarkably fast. And while a 2020 election is still far away today former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe was on "STATE OF THE UNION" and he hinted that he might run against Trump.
[Jake Tapper, Cnn Chief Washington Correspondent:] Are you going to challenge him in 2020?
[Terry Mcauliffe , Former Virginia Governor:] What I'm going to this year, 36 governors are going to take a big lead. I am doing a big project on redistricting mode. That will be my focus on 2018. And we will see what happens after that. But could you imagine, you know, hypothetically, if that ever happened you would have to sell tickets to me.
[Tapper:] That would be enjoyable.
[Mcauliffe:] But I'm focused on this.
[Tapper:] But you are focused on that but you are thinking about a debate with President Trump.
[Mcauliffe:] I think everybody sits around and dreams about a debate with President Trump and how much fun that could actually be. Get the truth out there and let the facts speak for themselves.
[Tapper:] OK. I'm not going to qualify this as you throwing your hat in the ring, but there is a hat there. Governor McAuliffe, thank you so much. I really appreciate your being here.
[Savidge:] Julian, do you think that this is the beginning of where the Dems could have big, huge crowded field in 2020 kind of like what the Republicans did?
[Zelizer:] Yes. I mean, midterms are at least in recent years the moment you see people throw their hat into the ring. I wouldn't be surprised if more people start to at least speculate that they might be in the mix. And it will depend on the midterms. Look. If Democrats retake control of one or both chambers, you are going to see a lot of Democrats jumping in because they are going to sense that this President is vulnerable to losing in 2020. And that is when everyone starts to raise their hand and say I'm in.
[Savidge:] Well, we will see how it goes. All right, Josh Rogin, Julian Zelizer, thank you very much.
[Zelizer:] Thank you.
[Rogin:] Thank you.
[Savidge:] Hawaii, that state still is reeling. And officials are demanding answers. Ahead, the details on that false alarm of an incoming ballistic missile that launched panic across the state and beyond.
[Unidentified Male:] We put the baby in the bathroom. Didn't know what else to do in the stroller and cape after run.