Latest / INSIGHT TODAY / White House press secretary faces questions as Iran negotiations remain uncertain

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White House press secretary faces questions as Iran negotiations remain uncertain · INSIGHT TODAY

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  Speaker 1: Touching on both Iran and the TSA workers that are
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  Speaker 1: who are now getting a paycheck for the first time
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  Speaker 1: in weeks. On Iran, the Press secretary saying that really
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  Speaker 1: not giving a lot of details after the President put
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  Speaker 1: out that post, conflicting messages whether the US would negotiate
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  Speaker 1: with what he called a more reasonable regime in Iran,
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  Speaker 1: but then ramping up the attacks, the threat of further
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  Speaker 1: attacks on Iran.
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  Speaker 2: Let's bring in more.
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  Speaker 1: For this ABC News Washington UA Chief Brick Climb, So, Rick,
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  Speaker 1: let's just start with Iran here, because a lot of
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  Speaker 1: questions on that. Caroline was pressed on that post from
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  Speaker 1: the President this morning, also on Secretary Rubio's comments to
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  Speaker 1: Good Morning America today. Still not a lot of details
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  Speaker 1: on exactly who the US is negotiating here, but she
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  Speaker 1: did stick with that original timeline for the wars, saying
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  Speaker 1: repeatedly four to six weeks here, we're already in week five.
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  Speaker 3: That's exactly right, Elizabeth, we are thirty days in. And
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  Speaker 3: she said, look at the calendar, we still are on
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  Speaker 3: track for that four to six week timeline. So if
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  Speaker 3: you're not good at math, we're just in the beginning
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  Speaker 3: of week five out of those six and there's also
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  Speaker 3: a deadline of the end of the week that the
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  Speaker 3: President has put out there for further negotiations to continue,
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  Speaker 3: or he's threatening to obliterate much of the infrastructure, including
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  Speaker 3: civilian infrastructure, of the country. Karl and Levitt didn't shy
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  Speaker 3: away from that, But you have seen the administration today
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  Speaker 3: try to focus and refocus the conversation on what they
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  Speaker 3: say are the four big points, the four pillars of
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  Speaker 3: the policy.
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  Speaker 2: That is the objective.
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  Speaker 3: It does not include, though, regime change or the taking
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  Speaker 3: of Iranian oil, which is something the President has been
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  Speaker 3: using about in the last couple of days. It also
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  Speaker 3: doesn't include as a core mission, according to the White House,
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  Speaker 3: the taking or the control over the Strait of Horn Moves.
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  Speaker 3: That's obviously very important for energy markets, it's very important
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  Speaker 3: for strategic control of the region, but it isn't the
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  Speaker 3: core mission. And whether that's a distinction that matters or
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  Speaker 3: not as going to be up to President Trump, because
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  Speaker 3: we've seen a lot of conflicting signals about what exactly
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  Speaker 3: we'd be massing ground troops in the region for and
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  Speaker 3: what exactly the full range of objectives will ultimately be.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, let's bring in our ABC New Senior political correspondent
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  Speaker 1: Rachel Scott there in the briefing room, Rachel, you asked
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  Speaker 1: the Press secretary exactly about that, about those inflicting messages
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  Speaker 1: from the White House and the President.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, Elizabeth, I mean it's something that we're hearing
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  Speaker 4: conflicting messages on to your point, I mean, we hear
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  Speaker 4: the President consistently say that negotiations.
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  Speaker 2: With Iran are underway.
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  Speaker 4: Even on Air Force One, he made it clear that
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  Speaker 4: Iran has accepted most of this fifteen point proposal that
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  Speaker 4: the United States and the Trump administration sent to Iran
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  Speaker 4: by the way of Pakistan. But then again, we are
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  Speaker 4: once again hearing from Iran and they are saying no
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  Speaker 4: negotiations are underway. They are acknowledging that messages are being
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  Speaker 4: traded through intermediaries, but they say that there are no
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  Speaker 4: deep discussions underway, certainly not enough to indicate that they
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  Speaker 4: have agreed.
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  Speaker 2: To some of this plan.
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  Speaker 4: So that's the question that I posed to the White
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  Speaker 4: House Press secretary. How exactly do you square those two?
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  Speaker 4: She says that Americans should be trusting the Trump administration,
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  Speaker 4: but the Trump administration has also not laid out who
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  Speaker 4: exactly they are talking to in Iran, and you heard
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  Speaker 4: a lot of questions about that here at this White
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  Speaker 4: House Press briefing. Who exactly are you talking to, whether
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  Speaker 4: they can be trusted, because if the goal was regime change,
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  Speaker 4: are these still remnants of the original regime?
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  Speaker 2: The President said.
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  Speaker 4: That they had been eliminated, So there's still some big
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  Speaker 4: questions on who exactly the US was talking to and
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  Speaker 4: whether or not they can meet that deadline the President
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  Speaker 4: has set for next Monday.
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  Speaker 1: Elizabeth, Yeah, Caroline, calling it a once in a generation
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  Speaker 1: opportunity for iron to make a deal here, Rachel, want
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  Speaker 1: to ask you if she got a lot of questions
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  Speaker 1: in the briefing there too about the TSA funding and
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  Speaker 1: that executive order that the President signed, you know, basically
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  Speaker 1: saying the President says Congress should come back now to
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  Speaker 1: try to get this done on the funding for DHS.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, she was pressed on that as well.
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  Speaker 4: The President did take that executive action to pay TSA workers.
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  Speaker 2: We are told they should have started.
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  Speaker 4: Receiving some of those paychecks today, but the impact of
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  Speaker 4: the chaos at the airports is still being felt across
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  Speaker 4: the nation, and so she was asked directly whether or
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  Speaker 4: not the president is calling for Congress to come back.
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  Speaker 2: She says the president is.
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  Speaker 4: She even says that she would be willing to he'd
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  Speaker 4: be willing to host Republicans here at the White House.
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  Speaker 4: But I'll tell you, Elizabeth, I've talked to Republicans and
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  Speaker 4: Democrats in the life t twenty four hours.
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  Speaker 2: There are no signs that they're coming back, at least
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  Speaker 2: this week.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I know you've been talking to them. Rick, kind
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  Speaker 1: of give us the big picture here. We have Congress
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  Speaker 1: out on this two week recess. I mean, Carly Love,
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  Speaker 1: it was asked, how long can this shutdown go on?
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  Speaker 2: It's already history breaking.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, how are you looking at this in the
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  Speaker 1: context that we are in a midterm election year two Here.
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  Speaker 3: It's fascinating because who is it that controls Congress. Of course,
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  Speaker 3: it's Republicans, it's president from his own party. They've made
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  Speaker 3: the decision with the House on one side, and they've
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  Speaker 3: Senate on another side, and the President maybe somewhere in between.
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  Speaker 3: But I think it's even unclear to most Senate and
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  Speaker 3: House leaders where he is exactly, not clear what they
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  Speaker 3: would do if they came back, because that's how bad
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  Speaker 3: the disagreements were toward the end of last week. Well,
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  Speaker 3: you have the Senate passed the bill, or the House
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  Speaker 3: wouldn't take up. The House pass the bill that the
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  Speaker 3: Senate wouldn't take up. It is utter dysfunction and it
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  Speaker 3: is striking to have members of Congress now back in
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  Speaker 3: their home districts and their home states for this two
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  Speaker 3: week stretch when so much of the traveling public is
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  Speaker 3: being impacted, and those workers themselves, as was pointed out
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  Speaker 3: in the briefing, not just TSA officers, but people throughout
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  Speaker 3: the federal government, the Department of Homeland Security, other than
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  Speaker 3: the ICE Agency, which is the agency that was the
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  Speaker 3: focus of so much of the negotiations. They are not
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  Speaker 3: getting paid right now, and it is real damage to
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  Speaker 3: these families and to the individuals and to the country
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  Speaker 3: at large. And I think until you see more pressure build,
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  Speaker 3: whether it's through lines at airports or confrontations with Members
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  Speaker 3: of Congress at town halls and the like, you may
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  Speaker 3: not see any budging on this. And Rachel's right, there's
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  Speaker 3: no signs that they're coming back early.
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  Speaker 1: Rickline, Rachel Scott. Great to have you both on. Thank
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  Speaker 1: you both so much.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you