[Lynda Kinkade, Cnn Anchor:] An absolute commitment to stand with NATO. U.S. Vice President Pence delivering that message at the Munich Security Conference. We'll have a live report from Germany just ahead.
[George Howell, Cnn Anchor:] And the U.S. president left Washington, D.C., for the weekend but it is the vacancies in his administration that are triggering concerns.
[Kinkade:] Also this hour, powerful storms turn deadly in Southern California. We'll have the latest from that region. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and right around the world. We are live in Atlanta. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
[Howell:] I'm George Howell from CNN World Headquarters. NEWSROOM starts right now. It is 5:00 am on the U.S. East Coast. Just under an hour ago, the Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, spoke to U.S. allies in Europe, assuring them the U.S. is unwavering in its support of NATO but there was one caveat. We'll have more on that ahead.
[Kinkade:] Well, of course, the vice president is at the Munich Security Conference to soothe the European fears over Donald Trump's month-old administration. In the past, the U.S. president has dismissed the long established alliance. However, Pence has repeated some of Mr. Trump's words saying all of the allies needed to pay their share if NATO is to succeed. Pence says the fate of Europe and the United States are intertwined.
[Mike Pence, Vice President Of The United States:] Today on behalf of President Trump, I bring you this assurance. The United States of America strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in our commitment to this transatlantic alliance.
[Pence:] And as you keep faith with us under President Trump, we will always keep faith with you. Now the fates of the United States and Europe are intertwined. Your struggles are our struggles. Your success is our success and ultimately we will walk into the future together.
[Howell:] CNN is live in Munich, Germany, our international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson following the story this hour. Nic, great to have you with us. It seems the vice president offered assurances to allies but also suggested for the U.S. to be there, they'll need to pay up.
[Nic Robertson, Cnn International Diplomatic Editor:] Yes, this message, I think the European leaders will be scratching their heads a little bit, saying, well, is this is the real message from President Trump, what was all this before that we heard about NATO being obsolete and ambivalent towards the unity of the European Union? So you know, I think while this is being well received, there's still a relatively cool reception. Although that was a generous round of applause. But the expectation here was that Pence was going to come and say these things. He talked about how, on the issue of Russia, which is a great concern for the European Union, a concern that President Trump will sort of reach over the heads of European concerns to strike a deal with President Putin. He says the United States will hold Russia to account. But he also added to that a caveat that, you know, the United States will look to do make agreements, deals with Russia where appropriate. And that President Trump still believes that is possible. So, you know, keeping up that, keeping up the possibly that the United States may still do something that concerns the Europeans. The idea of paying their way for NATO, that's something that obviously is a message that does resonate here. We certainly we heard Angela Merkel talking about the power and strength of the United States being required to tackle global terrorism, the threat of global terrorism. It's really at the borders of Europe. So their help is needed. So there is, you know, there is a feeling in Europe that they do need the support of the United States. But, you know, the message that's being delivered, you know, by Mike Pence for President Trump, people are still going to be wondering, why have we gone through all of this so far and what's to come next?
[Howell:] This issue of allies, as the Trump administration is suggesting, not fulfilling their commitment, it's not a new issue that's come up. But it has certainly been highlighted and put in the forefront by the Trump administration. What would you say the reaction has been of allies, just from conversations, if you had the opportunity, to hear anything from people there, about how this message was delivered and that this is now front and center?
[Robertson:] It is. And there's you know it's not just that they need, the other NATO nations, only five of the 28 so far paid that 2 percent of GDP. And there is a lot of details in that as well, I fact, 2 percent of GDP that you are supposed to spend on defense 20 percent is supposed to be on sort of big ticket development items, not just troops. You know, what we heard in Wales back in 2014, when this aspiration was laid out, was an idea that the NATO nations would get to it sometime. What we've we heard from Secretary of Defense Mattis in the past couple of days is, you know, any time is not good, is not good enough. We need to begin to see resource by the end of the year. That sounds very much like President Trump. It sounds a lot like pressure to the leaders here. But there is an understanding that some countries have paid less than was required and were perhaps slower than others to move forward. The countries that are really the most worried, the Baltic States, probably when those that are sort of on the front line of what is concerned about sort of Russian potential aggression with going into those countries in the same way went into Ukraine, they have been some of the first to sort of and among the strongest to step up with those payments. But the concern here going forward is that this is, you know, an expectation to turn around economists to focus on defense and such a big change, some countries only putting in 1.2 percent GDP. So that is a big step for people to make in a short space of time. So they are going to want more detail. How much, what is that level of commitment is going to need to look like? And what are the punishments for not doing it? You know, that you have faith, if you continue to have faith in us, we'll continue to have faith in you. It does put the emphasis very much on Europe to do its part first.
[Howell: 11:] 06 in Munich, Germany, our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, following the story, thank you so much for the reporting. We'll stay in touch with you.
[Kinkade:] Well, the theories of provocative actions from Russia seem to concern just about everybody, except the U.S. president. Donald Trump, instead, blaming the media. Mr. Trump accuses the media of spreading fake news. That makes it harder for him to strike a deal, to have better relations, as he says, with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. CNN's Michelle Kosinski has this report for us.
[Michelle Kosinski, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Tonight, this Russian spy ship works off the American East Coast. U.S. Defense officials telling CNN that someone is testing the new administration, to see how it will react. That's different from what President Trump believes is Moscow's motivation, in part, blaming the press.
[Trump:] The false, horrible, fake reporting makes it much harder to make a deal with Russia. And probably Putin said, you know, he's sitting behind his desk. And he's saying, you know, I see what's going on in the United States, I follow it closely. It's going to be impossible for President Trump to ever get along with Russia because of all the pressure he's got with this fake story. OK? And that's a shame.
[Kosinski:] But at his epic news conference Thursday, Trump said he still thinks he can work with Vladimir Putin.
[Trump:] The greatest thing I could do is shoot that ship that's 30 miles offshore right out of the water. Everyone in this country is going to say, oh, it's so great. It's not great. That's not great. I would love to be able to get along with Russia.
[Kosinski:] He didn't dismiss Russia's provocations...
[Unidentified Male:] This spy ship off the coast of the United States.
[Trump:] Not good.
[Unidentified Male:] There was a ballistic missile test that many interpreted as a violation of
[Trump:] Not good.
[Unidentified Male:] between the two countries and a Russian plane buzzed the
[U.s. -- Trump:] Not good.
[Kosinski:] At the same time, though, Defense Secretary James Mattis now meeting with NATO counterparts in Germany is taking a much more definitive line.
[Gen. James Mattis, U.s. Secretary Of Defense:] We do not, are not in a position right now to collaborate on a military level but our political leaders will engage and try to find common ground or a way forward
[Kosinski:] And Secretary of State Rex Tillerson isn't letting Russia off the hook.
[Rex Tillerson, U.s. Secretary Of State:] The United States will consider working with Russia, where we do not see eye-to-eye, the United States will stand up for the interests and values of America and our allies as we search for new common ground, we expect Russia to honor its commitment to the Minsk agreements and work to deescalate the violence in Ukraine.
[Kosinski:] Russia would not comment on President Trump's unexpected words, saying they had more important things to do than watch his news conference. But a prominent Russian lawmaker himself had pointed tweets aimed at the White House. "Trump hopes to make a deal with Russia. Mattis thinks in vain that he can put pressure from a position of strength. Tillerson is playing a second Kerry. Three lines from one administration." You heard the secretary of state there. He didn't say, we would love to do a deal with Russia. He said the U.S. would consider working with Russia if certain conditions were met. What we have been hearing lately, this backing away, a harder line coming from both sides, analysts are now wondering, is that just reality intruding on the original optimism or is it because of the politics right now? Russia says that it's too early to tell what exactly this relationship will be. But they say they are still working on setting up a date and time for President Trump to meet face-to-face with President Putin Michelle Kosinski, CNN, the State Department.
[Kinkade:] Well, President Trump has also dismissed allegations of frequent Russian contacts with his administration, calling it "a ruse." Russian interference in U.S. politics is being taken seriously on Capitol Hill. On FBI on Friday, FBI director James Comey briefed U.S. senators in a closed door meeting about what Russia has been up to. At least three official investigations are expected. Well, for more on their reaction out of Russia, let's go to CNN Clare Sebastian in Moscow. Clare, before we get to that I just want to focus a bit on the contradictory statements we seen from the Trump team on Russia. What did Moscow make of it?
[Clare Sebastian, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, you know, I think we're increasingly seeing an incredible sense of resignation, this hoped-for deepening of ties, at least in the short term, might not be happening. Certainly the immediate reaction to Mike Pence's speech just today or anything just go about, just want to read you a couple of those tweets from a high-ranking Russian senator, Alexei Pushkov, just in the last hour or so, he said Mattis has already assured the Europeans the U.S. will be faithful to NATO. Now Pence has repeated it. So I think Trump, the U.S. administration is returning to traditional politics. So you see then that they're this might not be that different from the relationship they had with the Obama administration which, as we know, was extremely strained. Another quick reaction from the head of the foreign affairs
[Kinkade:] All right, Clare Sebastian, we'll have to leave it there. We are having a few satellite issues.
[Howell:] Thank you so much. President Trump is returning to a rather familiar setting after what has been a rocky and very busy first few weeks in office. He set the headline, a campaign-style rally in the state of Florida.
[Kinkade:] That's right. The president is spending the weekend at his Palm Beach resort, Mar-a lago. His aides say he will be working on the effort to repeal ObamaCare and finding a new national security adviser. Athena Jones has more on the names in the mix.
[Athena Jones, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi, there. The president is spending a third consecutive weekend here at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach. A senior administration official says it will be a working weekend. All kicking off with the rally on Saturday afternoon at the Orlando Melbourne International Airport. It will be a campaign-style rally, according to the White House, paid for by his campaign and something aimed at getting around the media filter that we've heard the president talk so much about and being able to talk directly to the people. He's also going to spend some time meeting with potential replacements for his now former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. He is slated to meet with former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton; also with Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster and with the acting national security adviser, Keith Kellogg, who is a retired lieutenant general. The president's top aides are down here in Florida with him for the weekend. They will be joined by the newly confirmed Office of Management and Budget director, Nick Mulvaney, and also by the Health and Human Services secretary, Tom Price, to talk about next steps when it comes to repealing and replacing ObamaCare and tax reform. So that senior administration official making it clear that the president will not be vacationing here at his vacation home. Back to you.
[Howell:] Athena Jones, thank you. So you will remember, just a day ago, we had that marathon combative news conference with the President of the United States, where he was really focused on the media.
[Kinkade:] The media.
[Howell:] Yes.
[Kinkade:] And he continued to tweet about the media. And I want to bring the tweet up. He says, "The fake news media, failing "New York Times," NBC News, ABC, CBS, CNN, is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American people."
[Howell:] The question is does the president knows that the media, we are here to ask the questions for the people. Let's bring in Scott Lucas. He is live in Birmingham, England, with us. Scott, so just to start, first of all, it is important to point out that there were two ways of viewing this news conference there. There were those who were scratching their heads about it. But there were also people who really like seeing the President of the United States take it to the media. The president has set up and as Steve Bannon has pointed out, the media is the opposition party, in their view. So this was sort of a show called "beat the press," I think, as one of the Trump surrogates suggested.
[Scott Lucas, University Of Birmingham:] Well, a significant minority of Americans have been with Trump through the primaries, through the campaign and even now. And Trump continues to count on that minority by framing this as a battle between him and you are not just the opposition folks, you are the enemy. So the idea is, if he can keep those Americans thinking, no, it's not really the question or the issues, you know, maybe the ties with Russia, maybe the question about domestic approaches to health care, maybe about questions about his tax returns, which have never been released. If he can just say media, media, media, it's the hope that that distraction continues to keep give him an advantage. Now, the problem is, is that, of course, the media will not be silenced. And that there are a lot of Americans who don't actually believe that it is all just fake news. So this is a contest which is going to run and run. And I should add it's also one within the administration. Trump's approach is one that is favored, I think, by some of his hardline advisers, Steve Bannon,
[Kinkade:] President Trump is due to return to the campaign trail this weekend. The election campaign is over. He's four weeks into his administration. Why is he going back on the campaign trail?
[Lucas:] Oh, because this is where Trump feels comfortable. Trump does not feel comfortable, one, in Washington. He doesn't like being amidst a mix of people who might criticize him. Two, he doesn't really feel comfortable dealing with the nitty-gritty of policy. He would much just rather speak to a large group of people and sort of feel the love of the Trump die-hards, who will show up today. It gives him a bit of a break from what he's going to have to face when he comes back on Monday morning. And, again, you have the questions which are going to occur, which now include probable congressional investigations, which are going to be building on the Hill as well as, I think, a real question, which is, all right. You say you are going to replace ObamaCare. How are you going to do it? Oh, and remember that Muslim ban that the courts threw out, are you going to reinstitute that Muslim ban, despite the confrontation it might cause?
[Howell:] Scott, just going back on the theme that I set up earlier, that there really are two bubbles here. There is one bubble that views Trump with a great deal of skepticism. There is another that has a long leash and is expecting change. These are the many people, millions of people, who voted for the president. With that scenario in place, with the president going back on the campaign trail, some have suggested that this is him reconnecting with the people who put him in office, the people who believe in what he's doing. Is that something that would benefit this president?
[Lucas:] Well, look, first of all, this isn't news; as much as we focus on Trump. You remember a guy named Nixon, who used to talk about the silent majority and they would keep him in office? Well, the problem for both Nixon and for Trump is that reality bites. Reality caught up with Nixon because of Watergate. In this case, if Trump doesn't revive the economy, if he continues to make a mess out of foreign policy, if he is not seen as being reliable indeed, perhaps, unstable, as many people saw on Thursday that reality is the one that will challenge his fake news and all the rallies that he seeks to hold.
[Kinkade:] A very valid point. Scott Lucas, great to have your analysis on all of that. Thanks so much for joining us.
[Howell:] Thank you, Scott.
[Lucas:] Thank you.
[Kinkade:] Still to come, a new arrest in the mysterious death of the North Korean leader's half-brother. What we know about the latest suspects, just ahead in a live report.