mna: For more on the president's trip to the middle East and political headlines here at home, we turn to new York Times columnist David brooks and Jonathan cape are,, associate editor for the Washington post. Let's jump right in. He president's first foreign trip to the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates.
All places the trump family has deep business ties. We saw some investment deals time, meeting with the new Syrian leader, a man the U. S.
Has previously called the terrorist, nuclear talks continue. What did you take away? >> I thought the first story was the slip-up on Iran.
Trump was the guy who walked away from the Iran nuclear deal, saying no deal. Now he is back into the deal business. I happen to think this is the right move.
Iran is much weaker than they were even five years ago. Israel has taken out hamas and Hezbollah. The economy is much weaker, the Saudi's are much stronger, so they are much more inclined to do a deal than they were at any time in the last 15 years.
I'm glad trump is exploring this. The second big thing on the trip was the Riyadh speech. That was a speech in which he opined his foreign policy.
All of American history postwar is we care about democracy, we don't like it if you are murdering journalists, we don't like that stuff. That was partly politics, but also who we are as Americans, like we do have a moral foreign policy. The two key pieces of the trump speech is we are not going to tell you how to run the country, if you want to blow off some journalists he don't lie, that it's yours.
And the second is we are not in the nation business anymore. That is a pretty sharp reversal of what had been a bipartisan foreign policy for years. We will see if it is right, whether we should be tolerant of dictators and we will see whether Americans can stomach it.
We define our natural identity because of how we see ourselves acting in the world and if would become a moralists, that will shift how Americans think of their own country. Laura: What do you make of it? >> I look at the trip is an old western, the good come of the bad, and the ugly.
David talked about the good, the flip on Iran. Talking to the new leader of Syria and ending the sanctions to give that new regime a leg up. The bad being what you were just talking about in terms of the president's speech and then the ugly.
You would be a stupid person if you didn't accept a free plane. The idea that the president of the United States is going to take a hand-me-down plan, a 13-year-old plane from a foreign country, just on its face is horrendous. Yet he is insisting on it.
Ven though there are some objectively good things on the trip, it has been overshadowed by the plane from Qatar. But also to Laura's huge story, interwoven in there's these deals that the trump family is mixed into completely. Amna: We know we will continue to cover all of those stories as they unfold.
In related headlines, you were tracking the supreme court hearing arguments on birthright citizenship. The supreme court unanimously affirmed at 125 years ago. Congress codified at 100 years ago.
End this week that the department of homeland security is considering backing a reality show in which immigrants compete for citizenship. I should note Laura spoke to the producer who said it is not like we picked people against each other, we are celebrating their journeys, people in the process, but someone has a chance to win getting to the front of the line. Just the way we are talking about who gets to be American right now, David, how are you looking at this?
>> A couple things, we have birthright citizenship in this country since the 14th amendment. European countries, Asian countries, African companies by and large -- African countries by large should not. They tend to be in the Americas.
We saw ourselves as a certain type of country, we welcome a lot of people and kids are born here and we say, welcome, you are one of us. That again is a long-standing tradition of America and a certain conception of what America was. You go to non-birthright citizenship, which will not happen because it is majorly unconstitutional, you are looking at a European style conservatism, not an american-style.
That is trump really breaking with a lot of traditions here. I was struck by Brett Kavanaugh asking the solicitor general, suppose a baby is born, what is going to happen to that baby without birthright citizenship? The solicitor general said, I don't know.
You think you would have a plan for that. On the game show where the reality show, I have to confess I have never seen a reality show in my life. Amna: You have never seen a single reality show in my life?
>> I haven't seen the housewives of bethesda, Maryland. I haven't seen love is blind. I did not see dynasty.
[Laughter] I'm bad with emotional drama. [Laughter] But if we are going to be in reality television land, I frankly and this is counterintuitive I would be ok if Americans saw it immigrants are really like and immigrants are not rapists and gang members and the guy who has allegedly conceived of the show is an immigrant and if Americans could see a naturalization ceremony, that would do a lot to improve how Americans think of their administration? Amna: What do you think?
>> I have been to a naturalization ceremony and it is one of the most beautiful things I have seen. However, this producer proposed to this during the tail end of the Obama administration. This is not something that has popped up just for the trump administration.
You can't think about that television show without thinking about it in the context we are living in, which is why I thick a lot of people were thinking, a hunger games for immigration? Just because of how cruel the trump administration, how cruelly the trump administration has treated immigrants, treated migrants. I have watched reality television shows.
One, rupaul's drag race. [Laughter] Which is a fabulous reality show. But I think where we are right now, as wonderful as it would be for the American people to see immigrants who want to be in this country and do these competitions, I don't think if this producer ends up having conversations with the dhs secretary in the trump administration, what things they would want put into the show that would make it just demeaning.
I just think having read the interview that Laura did with the producer, it strikes me that the guy has not read the room. He doesn't I think fully appreciate why his idea has hit like a lead balloon. Amna: The homeland security spokesperson said it is in early stages of vetting and the secretary has not seen or signed off on it.
Meanwhile, I'm dying to get your takes on this other story. Three were reported earlier on the former FBI director James Comey posting this image, seashells arranged 86 47. Trump is the 47th president, 86 is short for getting rid of something.
Comey said he didn't realize. What did you think when you saw this. >> I didn't know what it was and I have since learned a lot more about diner slang.
[Laughter] Apparently when you were out of something, you were out 86. When there was a pretty girl at a table, it was 89. [Laughter] He is a very earnest, intellectual guy.
He is not an Instagram memester. I assume it would not have occurred them to do violence. I assume his conception of 86 is from the diner or some other era, where it means, let's get rid of this.
Or we are out of this. He is not the first person to have sent really stupid texts. In retrospect it was kind of stupid, but I would be shocked if there is evidence he meant actual violence.
>> I agree with that. I just thought it was boneheaded. In our business, any time I put anything on social media, I mentally go through all sorts of permutations.
How will this be read? What will people think? What is in the photo?
The idea that the former FBI director didn't put those numbers together and say, maybe I shouldn't do that. I have to factor in one more thing. James Comey does indeed have a book coming out on may 20, the same day as mine.
I'm not jealous. What are we doing right now, we are talking about James Comey. So from selling a book perspective and I don't know.
If this was some part of -- part of some master plan to sell a book. I think the timing is very interesting. Amna: This is why I wanted to talk to both of you.
>> Follow Jonathan's Instagram -- social media tonight. >> Watch rupaul's drag race. [Laughter] Amna: Thank you both so much.
