[George Howell, Cnn Anchor:] Welcome back to our viewers all over the world. This is CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell with the headlines we're following for you this hour. The prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern led tributes to Friday's shooting victims in her country. In parliament just a short time ago she spoke there. A day earlier she and her cabinet promised tougher gun laws will be coming soon in response to what happened on Friday the mass shooting there. Fifty people were killed, dozens more wounded when a gunman opened fire in two mosques in Christchurch. A Turkish man is in custody in the Netherlands, suspected of shooting three people and wounding five others, killing those three people. This happened Monday morning on a tram in the city of Utrecht. A manhunt for the suspect lasted for several hours. Authorities initially suspected terrorism but the gunman's motive at this point remains unclear. Tropical cyclone Idai may have killed more than a thousand people in Mozambique, this according to the country's president. He called the situation a real humanitarian disaster, and warned that 100,000 people are still in danger there. It was a busy weekend online for President Trump, you could say. He took aim at many of his adversaries- both living and even deceased, leaving the White House officials there to follow behind him, attempting to clarify what the President meant, what his intentions were. Our Jim Acosta has this report.
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] It started over the weekend when the President made a rare trip to church and lasted until his Monday morning executive time. And unholy tweet storm airing an avalanche of Mr. Trump's grievances. The President lashed out at the press after the mosque massacre in New Zealand tweeting "The fake news media is working overtime to blame me for the horrible attack in New Zealand. So ridiculous. But it was the New Zealand killer who called attention to the President's rhetoric describing Mr. Trump in a manifesto as a symbol of White identity. The President is back on his heels after downplaying why nationalism. Donald Trump, President of the United States: I don't really. I think it's a small group of people that have very, very serious problem. I guess. If you look at what happened in New Zealand, perhaps that's was the case. I don't know enough about it yet. We are just learning about the person and the people involved. But it's certainly a terrible thing.
[Acosta:] In response to the barrage of tweets, the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, prominent D.C. attorney George Conway suggested the President suffers from some kind of personality disorder adding, "His condition is getting worse," a view not shared by his wife.
[Kellyanne Conway, White House Conselor:] No, I do not share those concerns. And I was getting I have four kids and I was getting out of the house this morning. Before I got here and talked to the President about substance. So I may not be up to speed on all of them.
[Acosta:] The President also attacked his old nemesis John McCain, accusing the late Senator who died in August of peddling a dossier of Mr. Trump's alleged misdeeds before the 2016 election tweeting, "So it was indeed John McCain that sent the fake dossier to the FBI and media hoping to have it printed before the election. He and the Dems working together failed as usual. McCain's daughter fired back at the President.
[Meghan Mccain, Tv:] I just thought your life is spent on your weekends not with your family, not with your friends but obsessing obsessing over great men you could never live up to. That tells you everything you need to know about his pathetic life.
[Acosta:] In a sign of Republican reluctance to criticize Mr. Trump, McCain's old friend Senator Lindsey Graham only offered a muted response to the President tweeting, "Nothing about McCain's service will ever be changed or diminished." The President's poll numbers have ticked up in recent weeks in part because of the healthy economy with 71 percent saying the nation is in good fiscal shape, which may explain why the President feels emboldened to call on Fox News to bring back Judge Jeanine Pirro one of the Network's host who was suspended after making bigoted comments about Muslims in a rant about Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
[Judge Jeanine Pirro, Fox News:] Think about it Omar wears a hijab. Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia Law which in itself is antithetical to the United States constitution.
[Acosta:] The President defended Pirro on the same weekend as people in New Zealand were reeling from a terror attack on Muslims. White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney insisted Mr. Trump is not a racist.
[Mick Mulvaney, Acting White House Chief Of Staff:] The President is not a white supremacist. I'm not sure how many times we have to say that.
[Acosta:] As the President attended church on Sunday, he was exposed to a message of tolerance at the service, as the reverend called on Americans to reject hatred.
[Unidentified Male:] We're called, whenever we overhear or oversee hateful slurs against other people. Perhaps, we need the holy courage to call them out. That's just not us.
[Acosta:] But the President will soon find himself in the company of a like-minded foreign leader when Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro visits the White House on Tuesday. Bolsonaro has been described as the Trump of the tropics, once saying immigrants coming to Brazil are the quote, "scum of the earth". Jim Acosta, CNN the White House.
[Howell:] Any time now, the Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report to the U.S. Attorney General is expected. It could happen again any day now. And White House lawyers want to see it before it is submitted to lawmakers. And if word goes public, Mueller has been investigating whether President Trump's campaign colluded with Russia. Sources say the attorneys want a chance to claim executive privilege over information collected from documents and interviews with White House officials. But such a move could set up a political and legal battle. Democrats, would almost certainly sue over the Presidential claim. Let's talk more about all of this now with CNN's senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. Ron joining us this hour from Los Angeles. Good to have you with us Ron.
[Ron Brownstein, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] Good evening.
[Howell:] On the heels of the report from the Special Counsel due out any day now. Let's take a look at where the President stands right now in the polls. Here is the snapshot, 42 percent approval rating for President Trump. That's up 2 percent from a month ago. 51 percent disapproval the lowest number since the start of his presidency. And a new CNN poll showing that 71 percent of people polled say he economy is in great shape. The highest number since February of 2001. So Ron that's the snapshot with that information. And the Democrats gearing up obviously for 2020. The Mueller report due out any day, where does President Trump stand right now?
[Brownstein:] Well, you know, his approval really has been incredibly stable with between 37, 38 percent, 36 sometimes on the low end. And really no higher than 45 at the high end. He's the first president in the history of modern polling to never reach 50 percent at any point during this first two years. And this poll today I think is actually a pretty good reflection of his situation because on the one hand we do see a tremendous amount of satisfaction with the economy. 71 percent saying the economy is in good shape and you can never count out an incumbent when economic satisfaction is that high. On the other hand, the polls also a pretty clear indication of what I like to call the Trump gap which is the gap between the people who are satisfied with the economy and those who are satisfied with the performance of the President. I mean his approval rating is 29 percentage points below the share of people who say the economy is good. That's an extraordinary divergence and if you look at some of the key groups in the electorate that really move towards the Democrats in the November election last year college educated white voters were really at the top of the economic pyramid in the United States. 80 percent of them say the economy is in good shape. Only half that 40 percent, say that they approve of his performance as President. And that's the price he pays and that's how he avoid himself as President. And that is precisely the price he pays for the way he has comported himself as President. Those are voters who are saying things are basically going well in the country economically. But yet, the way that Trump has his values, his language, his demeanor everything about the way he has approached the presidency still leads to disapproving and that is the risk that he faces is in 2020.
[Howell:] All right. So you talk about that divide Ron are the people who seem satisfied with Mr. Trump, and also those who are not satisfied with him. Those who see him as a divider, notably straddling the line on issues of hate specifically on the issue of white nationalism as we heard earlier in the show and in the wake of the new attacks that took place in New Zealand. The President's people are defending him. Listen.
[Conway:] He has denounced bigotry many times. And I wouldn't be working here if I believed otherwise.
[Mulvaney:] You've seen the President stand up for religious liberty, individual liberty. This president is not a white supremacist. I'm not sure how many times we have to say that.
[Howell:] Ron their reactions seem clear, straightforward. But when the President speaks about the same topic, he does seem to offer, you could say shades of gray.
[Brownstein:] Absolutely. Look, I mean the President has been you know, I think it's a mistake to say that the President is kind of impulsive or off the cuff especially when he talks about race. He is very precise in what he does say and what he doesn't say. And consistently throughout his career on the national stage he has refused to truly condemn and isolate white nationalists. I mean if you recall what is it four years ago, three years ago, this month on CNN Jake Tapper he would not condemn David Duke, the former head of the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi just before southern primary's voted in Charlottesville. He talked about very fine people on both sides, it included neo-Nazi, chanting Jews will not replace us. And then, of course, again in New Zealand, he minimized the threat of white nationalism. I don't think that's because he believes that white nationalists are a significant portion of the country or of his coalition. But his coalition is centered on voters who are the most uneasy about demographic and cultural change. Some are between 60 and 65 percent of Republicans say that Islam is more is incompatible with American values since it's more prone to violence. And the President has been unwilling to draw a line between those views and the more radicalized expressions of that that lead to violence, and any kind of attack. It is pretty clear by now, that he's very deliberately not reading that out of in essence a diverse intolerant society.
[Howell:] Ron the President has taken issue with any suggestion that his rhetoric could have any connection to hateful acts as we saw in New Zealand tweeting this. "The media is working overtime to blame me for the horrible attack in New Zealand. They will have to work very hard to prove that one. So ridiculously," he said. But here's the question, the attacker in New Zealand, he did mentioned his appreciation for President Trump in his lunatic rambling manifesto. Can Mr. Trump truly pass the buck here when it comes to his own words.
[Brownstein:] Well, as you say lunatic rambling manifesto. You can only go so far with that. But there's no question that the President has used, continued to use language that by now he unequivocally knows excites and animates these extremist voices. I mean he talks about immigrants as invaders. He talks about immigration as an invasion knowing that for many on the farthest fringes of the right in these white supremacists and nationalist organizations, they view that as evidence that they are gaining ground on society. They have the ostensible leader of the free world echoing and using the same kind of language that they use to talk about these changes in society. Unquestionably I think it's energizing for them. And whether he meant deliberately to do that or not, I think there is always a wink and a nod. But even if there wasn't he knows now that it is having that effect and yet he persists in using that language. And that is a choice.
[Howell:] Ron we appreciate your time today. Thank you.
[Brownstein:] Thank you.
[Howell:] Another Hollywood executive's career has been derailed by accusations of an improper relationship in his past. The head of Warner Media's movie and TV studio stepped down from one of the industry's top jobs on Monday. Warner Media is the parent company of this network. CNN's chief media correspondent Brian Stelter has more on this.
[Brian Stelter, Cnn Chief Media Correspondent:] Hey guys this is a big change in Hollywood as the head of one of the industry's biggest movie and TV studios is suddenly stepping down. Kevin Tsujihara is the chair and CEO of Warner Media Entertainment, that includes the sprawling Warner Brothers Studio. He was recently promoted into an even bigger job overseeing more of the Warner Media portfolio. And of course, that was part of a broader reorganization of the media company which also owns CNN. But days after he was promoted, the "Hollywood Reporter" the big entertainment magazine in L.A. published a detailed story, about allegations that Tsujihara had an improper relationship with an actress a number of years ago. The allegation was that he offered to help find her roles in Hollywood, get her auditions for jobs in exchange for sexual a relationship. Now Tsujihara at the time through a lawyer said that he never directly was involved in getting her any auditions. He did in a memo to colleagues, say he had mad mistakes in his personal life and that he was sorry for those. Warner Media announced an investigation, and now less than two weeks later he's leaving his job as the head of the studio. Here's part of the statement from John Stankey who is the CEO of Warner Media. He said that "It is in the best interest of Warner Media, Warner Brothers, our employees and our partners for Kevin to step down as chairman and CEO of Warner Brothers. Kevin has contributed greatly to the studio's success over the past 25 years and for that we thank him." But Stankey went on to say that Kevin acknowledges that his mistakes are inconsistent with the company's leadership expectations and could impact the company's ability to execute going forward. So that's the explanation from the head of the company. Tsujihara explaining in a similar way in a memo saying he and Stankey had spoken over the past week and they both concluded it was in the best interest of the movie studio for Tsujihara to step aside. Now there is no immediate word on his successor, but right now this is a time of great change, dramatic change in the television and movie industry. Later this week the Disney and Fox Studios are coming together, merging. That deal will finally be completed there this week. So it is a time of turbulence and dramatic change in Hollywood. Brian Stelter, CNN New York.
[Howell:] Brian thank you. Still ahead it has been five years since Russia used its muscle to annex Crimea. Ahead we look at the status of President Putin's territorial grab and if anything could be done about it at this point.