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Inside Politics

U.S. Economy Adds 227,000 New Jobs in January; Trump Meets with Economic Advisory Council; Conway Cites "Bowling Green Massacre" That Never Happened; White House Holds Press Briefing

Aired February 03, 2017 - 12:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[12:30:02] DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So we're very happy about that. I think it's going to continue big league.

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JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Correct me if you think I'm wrong. For all the different things about Donald Trump and he rewrites a lot of rules. There is a basic north star in America politics that if the economy is doing well and people feel good about their bank account and their wallet and their pocket that a president does well.

And so, this is an enormous gift in a controversial first two weeks. To get this, you know, they think they're going to cut tax reform -- they think they going to tax form is one of the reason the business community has been happy. We've had a bit of a rally on Wall Street. But this is great building block for a new president.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I mean especially considering eight years ago when Obama took office. I mean, things were in huge crisis. But, I was at the White House earlier today and one thing I didn't hear in the statement there was the word hoax.

He spent the last year saying this is not an accurate unemployment rate. So it's 4.8 percent, 227, 000 jobs. So this is his baseline. So it would be interesting to see, my guess Sean Spicer will be asked about that if they accept this as the real number. But, this is great starting point. And something much lower than 4.8 percent, that's pretty much at full employment. A little bit higher than that.

KING: In the context, the news -- somebody mentioned this earlier I think without the numbers but the CBS New York Times poll out today, CBS poll, I'm not sure if it's the New York Times poll, this president 40 percent approval, 40 percent approved his performance, 48 percent disapprove now two weeks into his presidency.

So I think we should not dwell in this too much but you mentioned the word baseline. He starts here. You can say wow, that's horrible. He's underwater. If you look historically for a President to be underwater like that in his first two week is bad news, but you could flip that coin too and say if that's where he starts and you get good economic news like this there's only one way to go. NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Yeah. And we know how much he cares about ratings and people liking him and certainly these numbers are, at least some sort of indication that half the country doesn't really approve of him yet. So it will be interesting to see what he does. He's in a very lucky position with these numbers. I think his administration promised something like 25 million jobs over the next 10 years, I think four percent growth or something which most people think probably isn't necessarily likely.

But it is fascinating that all of a sudden he likes these numbers. I mean he spent so much time talking the economy down and now he's in pretty good position with these numbers.

KING: And brought in an all-star group today. His advisory counsel if you go around that table it's very impressive group of different voices from different perspective of the economy. One person not at the table, the Uber CEO who you mentioned this in the last time (ph), the Uber CEO said I can't go dropping off this council because he so objects to the immigration ban.

He says number one, he thinks it's un-American, it's bad for our images the country. But number two, the tech industry wants -- as you said the best and the brightest minds, the minds to come in. Elon Musk said he would go to the meeting but that he would get his moment with the President to tell him he thinks this is a bad idea.

Everybody has their views on this. Is this potentially, as we look at picture, is this potentially a speed bump that the President is putting in front of his own hopes for growth?

KAREN TUMULTY, THE WASHINGTON POST: Well, Uber was in a different situation too. And that it was at the business end of a boycott. You know this delete your Uber app from your phone. So Elon Musk makes the argument you can disagree and being in the room and disagreeing with the President to his face is a more productive place to be.

And let's face it, you talked to people around Donald Trump and they say the only people that he really considers true peers are people who have been as financially successful as he has. So, the people who sit on this business council really are in almost a unique position I think to influence him in a way that he doesn't take feedback from other people.

LISA LERER, ASSIOCIATED PRESS: But a lot of these companies are under immense pressure to boycott and complete resistance to Donald Trump. There's one statistic from the election that I found particularly interesting which was that Hillary Clinton won about 500 counties, Donald Trump won about 2,500. But in those counties that Hillary Clinton won with two-thirds of economic output for the country.

So, that's where you see some of these brands like Nordstrom said they're dropping Ivanka's Trump line. They said because of poor sales but Uber, you know, the places were people are consuming these goods are not Donald Trump areas for most part. So, you know, a lot of these companies face a lot of pressure both from their consumers and also from progressive and liberal groups that are demanding complete boycotts.

HENDERSON: And, you know, Donald Trump has used Twitter to bully in some ways some of these companies in terms of some of the financial decisions they make, in terms of jobs or closing down factories. And you wonder if that kind of leverage that he seemed to have early on even when he was not in office yet, if some of that starts to ebb away because some of these companies don't want to be associated with him because of some of these laws that --

ZELENY: And he's got a reason to show up I think. If you're like sitting around the table with him in the state dining room, he's probably less like to send a tweet if your company is bad or done this. And having a relationship with him, I think, is important because that move stock, but the tweet, it's a, you know, they're trying to figure him out like we are.

[12:35:06] KING: He's about to stir this debate even more signing executive order in the next hour or so. Pulling back some of the Dodd-Frank regulations that went in after the 2008 financial crisis, Democrats say he's pandering to Wall Street and abandoning the middle class workers. He said this during the campaign. We'll see how that goes.

I want to squeeze this, and you mentioned before his questioning statistics at times. We've had this whole debate about fake news and alike, what they say to us. I want to you to listen here to Kelly Anne Conway, Senior Advisor to the President Trump on another network last night making the case of the travel ban.

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KELLY ANNE CONWAY, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR: I bet there was very little coverage. I bet its brand new information to people that President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country were radicalized and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green Massacre. And most people don't know that because it didn't covered.

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KING: I have to talk about that another time. Let's get you over to the White House, the press secretary Sean Spicer.

SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Yesterday, another great deal was reached with Lockheed Martin for the purchase of a new lot of F35s. Through the President's intervention, a total of 90 for a lot of 90 planes; 55 were purchased for U.S. military that added up to a total of $455 million savings for U.S. taxpayers from the previous lot, with an average cost reduction of 7.5 percent, another big win that the President has delivered on for U.S. taxpayers.

Speaking of good numbers, let's turn to the jobs report. The economy added more than 227,000 new jobs, significantly more than the 175,000 that had been expected. Today's report reflects the consumer confidence that the Trump presidency has inspired. According to a recent Gallup poll, economic confidence is at a new high, and ADP showed strong private sector hiring. President Trump campaigned on how to make America work again. Even before he took office, the markets knew he would deliver on that promise. The President has already taken significant steps to turn our economy around, and he's looking forward to ensuring that every American who wants a job has the opportunity to find one.

While the President is definitely pleased that the job growth has far surpassed expectations and that the labor force participation is rising, he also recognizes that there's a lot more work to be done. The President has a big and bold agenda to grow the U.S. economy and to create jobs. In just his first two weeks in office, he's met with more than 50 business leaders across a vast range of industries. This morning, the President participated in a strategic and policy forum with business leaders from some of our country's most successful companies. The President understands the importance of an open dialogue with fellow business leaders on how to make the nation's economy stronger. His firsthand experience as a successful businessman helps to guide his decisions as President, and he will continue to seek opinions of other job creators while crafting an economic agenda.

All of these meetings are focused on one primary goal: providing new and improved employment opportunities for all Americans. We're looking at a full range of policy measures to achieve that goal: regulatory relief, tax and trade reform, empowering women in the workplace, rebuilding America's crumbling infrastructure, and improving our education system.

Also today, in pursuit of that goal, the President will be signing two executive actions as part of his plan to overhaul our financial and regulatory system. I expect that to happen closer to the one o'clock hour. The first is an executive order for posing guideline principles that sets the table for a regulatory system that mitigates risk, encourages growth, and more importantly, protects consumers.

The Dodd-Frank Act is a disastrous policy that's hindering our markets, reducing the availability of credit, and crippling our economy's ability to grow and create jobs. It imposed hundreds of new regulations on financial institutions while establishing unaccountable and unconstitutional new agency that does not adequately protect consumers. Perhaps worst of all, despite all of its overreaching, Dodd-Frank did not address the causes of the financial crisis, something we all know must be done. It did not solve the "too big to fail," and we must determine conclusively that the failure of a large bank will never again leave taxpayers on the hook.

The presidential memorandum addresses the burdens of government regulations and the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule. The rule is a solution in search of a problem. There are better ways to protect investors, and the Trump administration is taking action to do so. We're directing the Department of Labor to review this rule. The rule's intent may be to have provided retirees and others with better financial advice, but in reality, its effect has been to limit the financial services that are available to them.

President Trump does not intend to put unnecessary limits on economic opportunity. The Department of Labor exceeded its authority with this rule, and this is exactly the kind of government regulatory overreach the President was put into office to stop. We desperately need to overhaul how we approach financial regulation. The President is taking action to protect American taxpayers and get people back to work.

[12:40:11] Moving on, we announced earlier this week that we would be taking steps to address Iran's recent actions. Today, the U.S. sanctioned 25 individuals and entities that provide support to Iran's ballistic missile program and the Islamic Revolutionary Quds Force. These designations are in response to Iran's ongoing ballistic missile program, including its ballistic missile test on January 29, 2017, as well as Iran's continued support for terrorism. We've taken these actions today, after careful consideration, and will continue to respond with appropriate action.

These designations mark yet another stop in our continued effort to aggressively target Iran's ballistic missile program and terrorism- related activities. Over at the Department of Defense, Secretary Mattis is on the final day of a two-day trip through Asia. He visited Korea yesterday and Japan today, returning to Washington tomorrow. Secretary Mattis's visit emphasizes the priority President Trump places on the Asia-Pacific, and on strengthening the U.S.-Republic of Korea alliance in the face of a growing North Korea nuclear and ballistic missile threat.

Over in the Senate, the President now has 11 Cabinet nominees awaiting a full Senate vote on their confirmations. We look forward to welcoming these individuals into the administration.

Regarding the weekend's plans, the President will debut his second weekly Facebook Live event this evening at 5 o'clock. You can expect him to recap another week of action on behalf of the American people. He'll also comment on his selection of Judge Neil Gorsuch to be the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. And while recognizing Black History Month, he will discuss his vision to deliver more opportunity and safety for the African-American community.

One more note of this week's address: the lead-in to the President's remark on Facebook Live will feature some of the incredible artwork throughout the White House that was created by African American artists, so you definitely don't want to miss this.

As I mentioned previously, this weekend the President will be shifting the operation of the White House down to the "Winter White House" at Mar-a-Lago. While in Florida, he'll hold meetings and calls with advisors and staff to plan for another big week of action on behalf of the American people. We'll provide readouts of these as they occur. By our count, as of this morning the administration has already racked up more than 60 significant actions: 21 executive actions, 16 meetings with foreign leaders, and 10 stakeholder meetings, to name a few.

We're looking forward to another productive week next week. On Monday, the President will visit Central Command and Special Operations Command Headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base. While at MacDill, the President will receive command briefings from both CENTCOM and SOCOM, have lunch with the enlisted troops, and have an all-hands address to personnel. General Dunford and General Flynn will also be present for the meetings, and the President will return to Washington that evening.

With that, I'm going to go my first Skype question seat. Jackie Nespral from NBC 6 in South Florida. Jackie.

QUESTION: Good afternoon. On behalf of the viewers of South Florida, thanks so much for this opportunity. You know, a lot of focus on foreign affairs this week, a new sanctions announced today against Iran, and of course Miami, as you know, is home to the largest Cuban- American community in the country. And during the campaign, President Trump talked about his discontent with the warming of U.S.-Cuba relations implemented by President Obama. And in the last days of his administration, he ended the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, leaving thousands of Cubans in limbo.

So my question is twofold. A, has there been any contact between your administration and the Cuban government? And B, are there any plans to change the current policy right now?

SPICER: Thanks, Jackie. We are in the midst of a full review of all U.S. policies towards Cuba. The President is committed to an agenda of ensuring human rights for all citizens throughout the world. And as we review those policies in Cuba, that will be forefront in their policy discussions, but there is nothing that we have on that front at this point.

Francesca Chambers.

QUESTION: Thank you, Sean. Today, the United States put new sanctions on Iran. Previously, this morning, the President had said that they were playing with fire. You said that appropriate actions would continue to be taken. Is this the full extent of the punishing actions that we're seeing right now? And are military options still on the table in response to the administration saying that all options are on the table?

SPICER: Thanks for the question. I think one of the things that the President has said throughout the campaign, during the transition, and since becoming President is that he doesn't like to telegraph his options. That's how he believes that you can have a much greater successful option.

So I'm not going to go into the full extent, and I think today's sanctions really represent a very, very strong stand against the actions that Iran has been taking and make it very clear that the deal that they struck previously was not in the best interest of this country, and that President Trump is going to do everything he can to make sure that Iran is stayed in check.

QUESTION: So it is possible that there are more actions coming, though? SPICER: I just -- I would never rule anything off the table. I think the President has made it clear throughout his time that that's what going to happen.

[12:45:08] Jeff. Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks a lot, Sean. I wanted to ask about one of the members that has been announced as being part of President Trump's team -- it's Gina Haspel. Senator Ron Wyden has written to the President saying that her background makes her unsuitable to be the CIA Deputy Director. And what he was specifically referencing was her role in the enhanced interrogation program that the CIA had during the course of the Bush administration. Do you believe that this background is a disqualifier for that position?

SPICER: I think she has had an unbelievably distinguished career as a covert operative. She basically gave up that to come out and serve in this role at the request of Director Pompeo, and I think she has been a very, very distinguished servant to the American people and is highly qualified for that position.

Next, I'm going to go to Josh McElveen over at -- from WMUR in New Hampshire.

QUESTION: Hey, Sean, thanks for taking the question. I know you're looking forward to the Patriots coming down in a couple of months -- a lot of people up here are hoping that happens as well. Getting to business, though, for more than two years, the number-one public health and safety threat facing this state is the heroin and opioid crisis. During the campaign, the President promised to be swift and aggressive when it came to this problem -- stopping the flow of drugs coming across the border. Increasingly, though, the problem lies in synthetic fentanyl being cooked up in labs in the northeast. What is the administration doing on that front as well as the treatment aspect of addiction?

And secondly, if I may, with the understanding it is a state issue, New Hampshire is poised to become a "right to work" state, but the vote is expected to be close. Given the administration's favorable view of "right to work," is it actively engaged in that effort? And if not, what is the general message from the White House?

SPICER: Thanks, Josh. First, on the opioid crisis, that is a major problem for not just New Hampshire but for so many states across the country. I think one of the things beyond the health issue is to make sure that we're looking at borders use. And the flow of heroin through our southern border is something that the President obviously takes -- that's part of his whole strong immigration stance, strong border security, having that wall built, having additional assets on the southern border will go a long way to stem the flow of illegal drugs into the country from our southern border up through the states.

It was obviously, as you mentioned, a big issue that he made in New Hampshire throughout the primary and continued so on the campaign. And that's something that as soon as Tom Price and others are confirmed throughout the department, this has got a health component to it, it's got a border issue to it. So there is a multi-government approach that needs to be taken to the opioid crisis.

With respect to right to work, I think you accurately portrayed it. The President believes in right to work. He wants to give workers and companies the flexibility to do what's in the best interest for job creators. Obviously, the Vice President has been a champion of this as well. It's something that is a big deal in Indiana and something that he has championed as well.

Blake.

QUESTION: Sean, I want to ask you about Dodd-Frank. Beyond the executive order that's going to be signed here momentarily, is the administration planning on or working with Congress to overturn certain portions of the law itself that can be done with an executive order? If so, what might that be? What might that timeline be? And can you say if a full repeal of Dodd-Frank is actively being considered or not?

SPICER: Well, I think there's two aspects of this. There's the administrative piece, which he's starting to address through executive action, and then there's a legislative piece that I think we're going to work with Congress on. But I mean, I think I'd go back to what I said earlier -- that Dodd-Frank has been both a disaster in terms of the impact that it's had, but also it hasn't achieved the goal. And I think that there's no question that the President talked about this extensively, the impact that it's had. And it's not an either-or. It's, frankly, just not doing what it set out to do. And so I think we're going to continue not just to act through administrative action, but through working with Congress and figuring out a legislative fix.

Major Garrett.

QUESTION: Sean, meeting with the Australian ambassador here yesterday with Chief of Staff Priebus and Steve Bannon -- can you describe what that meeting was about? And did the administration make a commitment -- which we heard from the State Department yesterday -- that, in fact, all of those subject to the Obama administration agreement are still possible refugee re-settlers just with extreme vetting or some sort of process? What was communicated?

And on the Iran sanctions, Adam Szubin is the Acting Treasury Secretary. He was, of course, in charge of sanctions at the Treasury Department before. Oftentimes these are a long time in development. Were these sanctions something that were kind of on his desk or have been identified, and that's what made them so, if not easy, available to enact so rapidly?

[12:50:05] SPICER: Yeah, I think those are -- I think you correctly pointed out -- I mean, he served in the last administration. These kind of sanctions don't happen quickly, but I think the timing of them was clearly in reaction to what we've seen over the last couple days. We knew we had these options available to us because they had been worked through the process, but we acted swiftly and decisively today because the timing was right. So they were in the pipeline, they had been staffed and approved, and the President made the decision that now was the time to do it based on recent action. Chief of Staff Priebus and Chief Strategist Bannon did meet with the Prime Minister yesterday. I think they had a very productive --

QUESTION: The ambassador.

SPICER: The ambassador. Thank you. Appreciate the correction. They did have a very productive and candid conversation. We have a tremendous amount of respect for the people of Australia, for Prime Minister Turnbull, and it was a follow-up on the call. But we're going to continue to work through this. We're going to honor the commitments that we've made in some way, meaning that we are going to vet these people in accordance with the agreement that happened. And we'll continue to have further updates as we do.

John Roberts.

QUESTION: Sean, your statement last night on settlements in Israel -- has there been a shift in U.S. policy? While you said that you didn't think that they were helpful to achieving peace, you also didn't think that they were an impediment to peace, which would represent a departure from both Obama and Bush. And there was no reaffirmation of a two-state solution in that statement. So where are you on that?

SPICER: The President is committed to peace. That's his goal. And I think when the President and Prime Minister Netanyahu meet here on the 15th, that will obviously be the topic on that. At the end of the day, the goal is peace. And I think that's what you have to keep in mind. I think that is going to be a subject that they discuss when they meet on the 15th, and that's as far as I want to go on that.

QUESTION: Sean, back to the settlement thing. What is your position on settlements in terms of whether or not they -- I mean, you said that they were not an impediment to peace, but you also don't want them building new ones.

SPICER: Right.

QUESTION: So where are you --

SPICER: I mean, I think the statement is very clear about that. We don't believe that the existence of current settlements is an impediment to peace, but I think the construction or expansion of existing settlements beyond the current borders is not going to be helpful moving forward.

Trey.

QUESTION: Two for you. Seventeen members of Congress requested that President Trump not interfere with the current way unemployment is calculated by the Department of Labor. Does the President intend to comply with their request? And a related question -- how many of the 227,000 jobs added to the U.S. in January does the President attribute to his administration versus the Obama administration?

SPICER: I think, look, when you look at the confidence indexes, I'm not going to get into -- unfortunately, we don't have that kind of a breakdown. I think that you've seen the actions that he's taken, whether it's Carrier or some of the other companies -- Sprint, SoftBank. Clearly there is a desire for companies to want to come be part of this Trump agenda and build and manufacture, create jobs, bring jobs back. But I'm not at liberty to start parsing the BLS and other reports as far as where that comes down.

But look, his team, led by Gary Cohn, was really pleased with the numbers this morning. Obviously, we're pleased that we're -- 227,000 jobs is a great kickoff. We hope they get better. We know that there's a lot more work to do, and that's why the President continues to meet with business leaders, union leaders to help figure out how we can grow the economy.

Ashley.

QUESTION: The government revealed in an Alexandria court case today that over 100,000 visas have now been revoked as part of the President's travel ban. Does that include visa holders who are already in the United States? And will the government begin finding them and trying to deport them?

SPICER: I'll have to get back to you on that. I don't have all the details on that right now.

QUESTION: Six hours ago, the President tweeted that professional anarchists, thugs and paid protestors are proving the point of millions of people who voted to make America great again. Does the administration have any intention of investigating the groups who have been rioting at conservative or pro-Trump events?

SPICER: I think we know who they are. I don't know that we need to do an investigation.

QUESTION: Has the President seen the letter sent from Senator McCain yesterday? And if so, is he looking into arming the Ukrainians?

SPICER: I don't know. I'll have to get back to you on that.

Charlie.

QUESTION: Ambassador Nikki Haley came out with a strong statement on Russia yesterday. Does the administration have plans to keep the sanctions against Russia in place, or do they have any intention of adding more sanctions?

SPICER: So there's two things. One, I think I commented the other day on the sanctions that Treasury put out. Those are, in fact, routine -- or the clarification -- they are a routine clarification that occurs. With respect to the sanctions, I think Ambassador Haley made it very clear of our concern with Russia's occupation of Crimea. We are not -- and so I think she spoke very forcefully and clearly on that.

If I can, I'd like to go to the third Skype question. Christopher Sign from ABC15 in Arizona. [12:55:05] QUESTION: Sean, thank you for doing this. Hello from a sunny and beautiful Phoenix. With the likely confirmation on the horizon with a new Veteran Affairs Secretary, there has been discussion regarding privatizing the V.A. There's also still concerns regarding wait times, even overall care and some reports regarding a suicide rate. What is the reform that the administration is seeking here? Also, will the administration protect whistleblowers?

Second part of the question -- we've seen protests here in Phoenix, as in the nationwide as well. When you talk about unity, what is the administration doing to bring more unity to the nation, and even more transparency? As here in Phoenix, we saw that secret meeting on the tarmac. How is the administration repairing all of this?

SPICER: Thanks, Chris. First, I mean, I think the President, mostly through deed, continues to show that he wants to bring people together in this country, figure out how to move the country forward, both economically, job-wise. I think that is something that he continues to show a desire for. He talked about it in his inaugural address and the prayer breakfast.

So I think he's going to continue to show through both word and deed his desire to move the country forward. I'm trying to think -- can you go back to the first part?

QUESTION: That's all right -- the confirmation -- the likely confirmation of the V.A. Secretary.

SPICER: Oh yeah, Dr. Shulkin. Yeah, look, I think first and foremost on V.A. reform, the number one thing is to get Dr. Shulkin confirmed. And so many of these, as I brought up in the past couple days, it's hard to talk about how we're going to enact an agenda of reform when Senate Democrats continue to slow-walk some of these folks. And I think that's a big problem. Dr. Shulkin is the right individual to reform the V.A. -- to understand whether it's lending or medical care, the problems and the challenges that we face at the V.A. These are people who have served our nation and deserve the best care they can get, whether that's the mortgage lending, health care, or the variety of other stuff that the V.A. serves or provides to our veterans. And I think that what the President has done is talk to people like Dr. Toby Cusgrove at Cleveland Clinic and other business leaders about providing a better approach to serving the needs of our veterans.

Right now, you're right, there are still wait times that are unacceptable. There's care that's unacceptable. We've got to address that, and he's going to continue to do it.

David Jackson.

QUESTION: Sean, during the campaign, candidate Trump repeatedly said he was going to void the Iranian nuclear deal. Bottom line -- is he going to do that, or is he going to let it stay?

SPICER: I think today's action speaks for itself in terms of the sanctions. He's made it very, very clear, David, that the deal that was struck was a bad deal, that we gave Iran too much and we got too little for it. And I think that he is going to continue to be tough on Iran in a way that wasn't done in the last eight years. I think today's actions and the way that we expedited those sanctions are another example of how he's going to stay tough on them.

Let me go to the fourth Skype seat. Dale Jackson from WVNN Talk Radio in Huntsville, Alabama.

QUESTION: Sean, thank you very much for taking questions from outside the elite media bubble there in D.C. My question is about immigration. Donald Trump made this the forefront of his campaign, the foundation of it, yet the DACA and DAPA programs still exist. And I learned from a member of Congress yesterday that the Trump administration is still issuing the work permits that (inaudible) individuals.

Question one is, when are these programs going to be ended? And question two, when will they stop issuing work permits to these individuals?

SPICER: Thanks, Dale. I think as you know, Secretary Kelly just assumed office. We are reviewing these programs. We've made it very clear that we'll have further updates on immigration referring to DACA and DAPA. The President has made significant progress on addressing the pledge that he made to the American people regarding immigration problems that we face, and I think we're going to see more action on that in the next few weeks.

Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Sean, yesterday the President described NAFTA as a catastrophe. We've heard about his concerns with Mexico, but I'm wondering if you can outline some of the irritants that he finds along the Canadian border, and if there's any talk of a meeting with Prime Minister Trudeau.

SPICER: I think he has spoken to Prime Minister Trudeau. I know that they're looking at setting up a time to come down. We've been in constant contact with Canadian officials, and I think that will be a meeting that is set up very shortly.

Sarah.

QUESTION: Thanks, Sean. Russia's foreign minister has pressed the administration for further details on the President's plans to establish safe zones in Syria. The President has said to have discussed this yesterday with King Abdullah. When can we expect further details on that plan?

SPICER: That's a good question. I think that we are -- as you noted in the readouts from last weekend, that has been a subject that has come up with all of the Middle East leaders that he's talked about. It's an area that he feels strongly about. And I think as he continues to have follow-up conversations, we can expect further details. It's something that -- Secretary Tillerson obviously just got sworn into office, -- that there will be further follow-up on that. Yeah.

QUESTION: The President will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Abe next Friday.

SPICER: Yes.

[13:00:04] QUESTION: So what's the main topic for the meeting? Will the President tell Japanese Prime Minister Abe that Japan should pay more and pick up all the expense (inaudible) in Japan?