[Unidentified Male:] North Korea has just launched another ballistic missile.
[Unidentified Female:] We're not looking to pick a fight, but don't give us a reason to have one.
[Donald Trump, President Of The United States:] There's a chance we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Obamacare, we're going to repeal it, we'll replace it. We're going to get something done.
[Unidentified Male:] The American health care act it's important to work together.
[Unidentified Female:] Do you have the votes?
[Unidentified Male:] Right now I'm a no. As of now, I'm still a no. The best thing I think to do is to pull this bill. I will not sugarcoat this. This is a disappointing day for us.
[President Trump:] Who knew that health care could be so complicated? We will build a great wall.
[Unidentified Male:] There is no way that Mexico can pay a wall.
[President Trump:] The wall is going to get built.
[Unidentified Male:] So help me God. Congratulations.
[President Trump:] The newest member of the United States Supreme Court.
[Unidentified Male:] I'm humbled by the trust placed in me.
[President Trump:] And I got it done in the first 100 days.
[Christi Paul, Cnn Anchor:] The first 100 days out of the nation's capital.
[Victor Blackwell, Cnn Anchor:] Of course, we do.
[Paul:] Happy Saturday. We're so grateful for your company. I'm Christi Paul.
[Blackwell:] I'm Victor Blackwell. Good morning to you. It is day 100 of the Trump administration and President Trump says that being president is tougher than he thought. We'll talk about that assessment in just a moment. But North Korea is determined to make life even more difficult for the president this morning after firing yet another ballistic missile.
[Paul:] This is the 10th missile test since Trump took office. The Pentagon says this latest exploded soon after launch, but according to one former State Department official, the message from Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un is very clear.
[John Kirby, Cnn Military And Diplomatic Analyst:] This is Kim giving us the finger, giving China the finger, giving the U.N. the finger after what happened today. There is no question about that. I think the timing is absolutely planned and pre-ordained in his mind.
[Blackwell:] This morning we have our team of correspondents covering this around the globe. CNN senior Washington correspondent, Joe Johns, is following the reaction from the White House. David McKenzie is standing by in Beijing, but first, let's go to Will Ripley live inside the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. Will, good morning.
[Will Ripley, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi, Victor. Here in North Korea even though the rest of the world has been talking about this missile launch still no official acknowledgement by the regime that this even happened which means pretty much every North Korean aside from rocket scientists and Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un have no idea because they only announce successes inside this country. But the message that North Korea was sending with this missile launch to the rest of the world, very clear. Even though the missile by U.S. assessment only flew about 22 miles, exploding over North Korean territory, it was as that analyst said it was a missile finger to the United States. Because the kind of missile that they tested is the kind that North Korea could eventually use to launch and sink potentially an aircraft carrier like "USS Carl Vinson," that strike group approaching the waters off the North Korea Peninsula. North Korea remains defiant despite mounting international pressure calls for them not to test missiles or nuclear weapons. But officials on the ground here say they will push forward despite what the world thinks. They say that the United States, which is engage in joint military exercises is hostile and that they have a right to develop these weapons they feel to protect their national sovereignty. That's the view from here. For the view from the White House, here's Joe Johns.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Washington Correspondent:] The White House reaction to the missile launch was very much muted, overall leaving the impression that they were trying to downplay it. The president of the United States himself tweeted about it indicating in the first place that North Korea had disrespected the wishes of China's president with the launch. The president's words that he used to describe this was bad with an exclamation point. There was a bit more from the National Security Council's K.T. McFarland indicating that this launch was cause for concern. Nonetheless, she was asked at one point with an interview with CNN whether this was provocative, given the fact that the secretary of state had chaired a meeting at the United Nations. Of course, she said this was one of those situations that North Korea had always been provocative. Now to David McKenzie in Beijing.
[David Mckenzie, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, that's right, Joe Johns. Here in Beijing, silence. That's to be expected because China has said repeatedly THAT it wants to calm the situation down and there has been strong words at the Security Council from the foreign minister saying that really the only solution to the North Korean crisis is for all sides to ease off on the rhetoric, to stop military moves of any kind and, in fact, to get to the negotiation table and talk. There's little sign right now, though, that U.S. administration is opening the door to talks that North Korea will play ball with that, but North Korea has been ignoring China's pleas for years. So there is a sense that they are primed to wait this out, this current missile test and push towards more diplomacy Christi, Victor.
[Blackwell:] All right, David, thank you so much. Let's bring in our panel now, Maria Cardona, CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist, Kayleigh McEnany, CNN political commentator and contributor for "The Hill," Sara Westwood, White House correspondent for "The Washington Examiner," Eugene Scott, CNN politics reporter, and Clarissa Ward, CNN senior international correspondent.
[Paul:] All righty, full house here. Clarissa, I want to start with you. In the last 24 hours, we have full condemnation on North Korea from President Trump, from Rex Tillerson, from the prime ministers of the U.K., from Japan. Is this launch a reaction to all of these comments in the last 24 hours?
[Clarissa Ward, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, I think it's a little difficult to speculate as to exactly what prompted this missile launch. It may take probably, and I would have to defer to a military expert some weeks to actually t-up a missile launch. But I think it's certainly a response to the kind of rhetoric that we've been hearing more generally over the past week. I think what is a little concerning to people and allies in the international community, when you look at the U.S. response, is that we're seeing a division within the administration between the type of rhetoric that we're hearing from President Trump who just yesterday told Reuters there's a chance of a major, major conflict with North Korea. And the rhetoric that we're hearing from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, which is much more nuance, much calmer, saying we're not seeking reunification, we're not seeking any military action or regime change we're seeking denuclearization. So are they playing good cop, bad cop thing or is there a lack of coherent strategy underpinning the reaction to North Korea. That's what have people a little bit on edge I think.
[Blackwell:] Sara, yesterday the president tweeted that this launch was disrespecting President Xi but this came right after Rex Tillerson's comments at the U.N. Disrespecting the U.S. as well I'd imagine, but the president didn't frame it that way.
[Sara Westwood, White House Correspondent, "washington Examiner":] Right. And his North Korea strategy has centered around putting pressure on the Chinese to bring Pyongyang to heel so that is in keeping with how he approached the North Korea problem all along. He knows that China has the most economic and diplomatic leverage with North Korea and he's hoping to keep the U.S. out it as much as possible by trying to get the Chinese to deal with it and he's vaguely threatened with the Chinese that if they don't take care of it, the U.S. and their allies will.
[Paul:] What has to happen for China to align with the U.S., do you think?
[Maria Cardona, Cnn Political Commentator:] Well, I think I think first of all, a little bit more of an understanding from this administration as to where China is. I think one of the most jaw- dropping moments so far and there's been many in this administration, is when Trump admitted that he actually didn't really understand the relationship between China and North Korea until the president of China explained it to him. And then he's like oh, I understand. After a ten-minute conversation that he had with the president of China. And so I think that what underscores a lot what has people on edge this administration doesn't really seemed to have a strategy. Because from the top down, at least certainly from Trump's perspective, there's a huge lack of understanding of what the reality is, not just with China but with what is going on in that area in the world at the moment. So I'm hoping that Tillerson and the military strategist and Haley and all of his team that actually do have some experience in this are the ones who are going to actually be talking the mantle in terms of what our strategy is moving forward.
[Blackwell:] But we are hearing some discrepancies between, you know the vice president told Dana Bash that there would be no conversations with North Korea and then we heard from Rex Tillerson on NPR that yes, there's a possibility we will talk with North Korea.
[Kayleigh Mcenany, Cnn Political Commentator:] Yes. I would argue, she speculated there's perhaps a good copbad cop scenario going on. That might be the case. I would dispute what Maria said, I think there has been progress on the China front. You look at China, they cut off coal imports and threatened to cut off oil exports. They even said according to Rex Tillerson that perhaps they would even levy sanctions if, in fact, North Korea did do a nuclear test. Now they just did a ballistic missile test not a nuclear test, but those are some changes on the China front and those are significant, I would argue, forms of progress that could really make progress in the North Korea front.
[Blackwell:] What's the fruit there? I mean, if China is putting pressure on the North Koreans, who had two attempted tests, missile tests in two weeks, what's the fruit of what we're seeing, the pressure the president put on China?
[Eugene Scott, Cnn Politics Reporter:] Well, I think the fruit that China would like to see from the president is just a calmer tone and less provocation, at least from their perspective in dealing with a very complex nuance issue that involves a lot of world leaders and experts trying to get North Korea to respond well and appropriately in a way that does not harm anyone else and that moves everyone together in terms of responding more diplomatically to the issues affecting all of us.
[Paul:] OK, so Clarissa, we're watching the missile test, but I think everybody is bracing for is another nuclear test. Is that the red line that if crossed then what does the U.S. do?
[Ward:] Well, we don't really know exactly what President Trump's red line is. He seems to be more than willing to use military force. In fact now every problem seems to be a nail for him because he felt there was some he had some political support after the strikes on Syria. So we don't exactly know what President Trump's red line is. Beyond that we don't know really what the young Mr. Kim's red line is either and that's what has people very nervous because his father while undoubtedly an unpredictable character was not as erratic, was not an unknown commodity. We've seen him quite clearly trying to assert himself both internally and internationally. We know he is willing to go quite far. This is one of a dozen tests this year alone. So clearly he has an objective in mind. The question is that objective to get people to the negotiating table to try to extract more aid, more concessions, as it has been historically, or is he potentially more of a magnet. Is he willing to cross that line? I don't think anyone knows the answer. That is what is so deeply disconcerting about saying we're doing away with strategic patience, but we don't really know what we're doing in with. We're not bringing in a new policy.
[Paul:] Yes, no doubt about it. OK, everybody stick around. We have a lot more to talk about. President Trump promised to take on corruption and collusion in Washington within his first 100 days as president even signing a contract with the American voter, here it is, saying so. Is President Trump draining the swamp?
[Blackwell:] Plus the divided states of America. CNN travels the country finding out what voters across the spectrum think of the president's first 100 days in office. This hour, how happy are his most staunch supporters?
[Unidentified Male:] How do you think Trump is doing? I think he's doing good. I do not regret having voted for Trump. One hundred days in, I'm not pleased.