>> YOU’RE GOING TO BE READING AXIOS AM IN JUST A LITTLE BIT.
>> THAT DOES IT FOR US ON THIS
THURSDAY MORNING.
THURSDAY MORNING. I’M YASMIN VOSSOUGHIAN ALONGSIDE
AYMAN MOHYELDIN.
AYMAN MOHYELDIN. "MORNING JOE" STARTS RIGHT NOW.
>> AND SOME REALLY BAD THINGS
HAPPENED TO OTTO, SO REALLY,
REALLY BAD THINGS.
BUTCH
BUTCH BUT HE TELLS ME HE DIDN’T KNOW
ABOUT IT AND I WILL TAKE HIM AT
HIS WORD.
HIS WORD. >> I HAVE GREAT CONFIDENCE IN MY
INTELLIGENCE PEOPLE, BUT I WILL
TELL YOU THAT PRESIDENT PUTIN
WAS EXTREMELY STRONG AND
POWERFUL IN HIS DENIAL TODAY.
>> I SPOKE WITH THE KING, I
SPOKE WITH THE CROWN PRINCE
YESTERDAY AND HE STRONGLY SAID
THAT HE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH
THIS.
THIS. THIS WAS AT A LOWER LEVEL.
>> HE’S CONVINCED THAT KIM JONG
UN DIDN’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT
THE DEADLY ABUSE OF AN AMERICAN
COLLEGE STUDENT.
COLLEGE STUDENT. HE TAKES VLADIMIR PUTIN’S WORD
THAT RUSSIA DIDN’T HACK THE 2016
ELECTION AND HE BELIEVES THE
SAUDI CROWN PRINCE WASN’T
INVOLVED IN THE MURDER OF JAMAL
KHASHOGGI.
KHASHOGGI. GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO
"MORNING JOE."
"MORNING JOE." IT IS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28th.
THE PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS ON
BELIEVING KIM JONG UN CAME IN
HIS NEWS CONFERENCE THIS MORNING
IN HANOI.
IN HANOI. RIGHT NOW PRESIDENT TRUMP IS
MAKING THE LONG TRIP HOME AFTER
HIS SUMMIT WITH NORTH KOREA’S
KIM JONG UN CAME TO AN ABRUPT
END WITH NO DEAL REACHED BETWEEN
THE TWO LEADERS.
A SCHEDULED SIGNING CEREMONY
BETWEEN THE TWO LEADERS WAS
SCRAPPED AND THE PRESIDENT LEFT
VIETNAM TWO HOURS EARLY.
THE WHITE HOUSE ISSUED A
STATEMENT SAYING THAT PRESIDENT
TRUMP AND KIM JONG UN HAD,
QUOTE, A VERY GOOD AND
CONSTRUCTIVE MEETINGS.
CONSTRUCTIVE MEETINGS. THE TWO LEADERS DISCUSSED
VARIOUS WAYS TO DISCUSS
DENUCLEARIZATION AND
DENUCLEARIZATION AND ECONOMIC-DRIVEN CONCEPTS.
ECONOMIC-DRIVEN CONCEPTS. NO AGREEMENT WAS REACHED AT THIS
TIME BUT THEIR RESPECTIVE TEAMS
LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING IN THE
FUTURE.
FUTURE. HERE IS THE PRESIDENT IN HIS
NEWS CONFERENCE AFTER THAT
STATEMENT WAS RELEASED.
>> WE THOUGHT AND I THOUGHT AND
SECRETARY POMPEO FELT THAT IT
WASN’T A GOOD THING TO BE
SIGNING ANYTHING.
SIGNING ANYTHING. WE HAD SOME OPTIONS AND AT THIS
TIME WE DECIDED NOT TO DO ANY OF
THE OPTIONS AND WE’LL SEE WHERE
THAT GOES.
THAT GOES. BUT IT WAS A VERY INTERESTING
TWO DAYS.
TWO DAYS. AND I THINK ACTUALLY IT WAS A
VERY PRODUCTIVE TWO DAYS.
BUT SOMETIMES UPYOU HAVE TO WALK
AND THIS WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE
TIMES.
TIMES. >> IT WAS ABOUT THE SANCTIONS.
>> WILL THERE BE A THIRD SUMMIT?
>> BASICALLY THEY WANTED THE
SANCTIONS LIFTED IN THEIR
ENTIRETY AND WE COULDN’T DO
THAT.
THAT. THEY WERE WILLING TO DENUKE A
LARGE PORTION OF THE AREAS THAT
WE WANTED BUT WE COULDN’T GIVE
UP ALL OF THE SANCTIONS FOR THAT
SO WE CONTINUE TO WORK AND WE’LL
SEE.
SEE. BUT WE HAD TO WALK AWAY FROM
THAT PARTICULAR SUGGESTION.
WE HAD TO WALK AWAY FROM THAT.
>> Reporter: WILL ALL THE
SANCTIONS IN PLACE REMAIN?
>> THEY’RE STILL IN EXISTENCE.
WE HAVEN’T GIVEN AWAY ANYTHING.
I ANY WE’LL END UP BEING VERY
GOOD FRIENDS WITH CHAIRMAN KIM
AND NORTH KOREA.
I’VE BEEN TELLING EVERYBODY THEY
HAVE TREMENDOUS POTENTIAL,
UNBELIEVABLE POTENTIAL.
UNBELIEVABLE POTENTIAL. WE’RE GOING TO SEE.
IT WAS ABOUT SANCTIONS.
THEY WANTED SANCTIONS LIFTED BUT
THEY WEREN’T WILLING TO DO AN
AREA WE WANTED.
HE PROMISED ME LAST NIGHT HE’S
NOT GOING TO DO TESTING OF
ROCKETS AND NUCLEAR, NOT GOING
TO DO A TESTING.
SO I TRUST HIM AND I TAKE HIM AT
HIS WORD.
HIS WORD. I HOPE THAT’S TRUE.
BUT IN THE MEANTIME, WE’LL BE
TALKING.
TALKING. >> ALL RIGHT.
WELL, DAVID IGNATIUS, A LOT TO
TAKE IN THERE.
BUT I WOULD JUST SAY FOR ME
PERSONALLY, THAT SEEMS LIKE THE
BEST OF ALL CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE
THE PRESIDENT CONTINUES TO
COMMUNICATE WITH A COUNTRY THAT
WE WERE CLOSE TO WAR WITH A YEAR
AGO, THAT MOST FOREIGN POLICY
EXPERTS GAVE US A 50/50 CHANCE
OF HAVING A LAND WAR IN THE
KOREAN PENINSULA A YEAR AGO, AND
TALKED BUT DIDN’T GIVE AWAY
ANYTHING, WHICH WAS THE GREAT
FEAR, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE COHEN
TESTIMONY YESTERDAY, WHICH WE’RE
GOING TO GET TO IN ONE MOMENT.
>> JOE, I AGREE WITH YOU.
I THINK AS PRESIDENT TRUMP SAID,
SOMETIMES UP HAVE TO WALK.
IT SEEMS AS IF A STICKING POINT
HERE WAS WHAT U.S. OFFICIALS HAD
BEEN WORRIED ABOUT SINCE THE
SINGAPORE SUMMIT IN JUNE OF LAST
YEAR.
YEAR. NAMELY THAT THE NORTH KOREANS
WOULD WANT REMOVAL OF MOST MAJOR
SANCTIONS BEFORE THEY HAD TAKEN
SIGNIFICANT, IRREVERSIBLE STEPS
TOWARD DENUCLEARIZATION.
TOWARD DENUCLEARIZATION. IN THE VIEW OF TRUMP’S CLOSEST
ADVISERS, THIS WAS THE PROBLEM
WITH ALL PAST EFFORTS WITH NORTH
KOREA, THAT THEY’VE BEEN PAID
TOO EARLY FOR INADEQUATE
COMPROMISES.
COMPROMISES. IN A NEGOTIATION YOU HAVE UPS
AND DOWNS, YOU HAVE SESSIONS
THAT PRODUCE AGREEMENTS, YOU
HAVE OTHERS THAT END EARLY AND
HOPE FLIP PEOPLE WILL COME BACK
TO THE TABLE LATER.
IF THE KEY THING THAT PRESIDENT
TRUMP SAID IS THAT HE HAD BEEN
GIVEN A VERBAL ASSURANCE THAT
NORTH KOREA WOULD NOT RETURN TO
NUCLEAR OR MISSILE TESTING.
IF THAT HOLDS, WE’RE THEN IN A
PERIOD WHERE THERE WILL BE
EXPIRATION OF OPTIONS, THE KIND
OF PROCESS THAT’S APPROPRIATE IN
DIPLOMACY.
DIPLOMACY. IT’S BROKEN, THEN WE FALL RIGHT
BACK INTO THE VERY
CONFRONTATIONAL SITUATION WE
WERE IN LAST YEAR.
>> THERE’S NO REASON TO TAKE KIM
JONG UN AT HIS WORD, BUT AT THE
SAME TIME, CERTAINLY THAT WILL
BE A TEST.
IF FOR SOME REASON THE
AGREEMENT, THE VERBAL AGREEMENT
HOLDS, THAT LAB VERY POSITIVE
STEP FORWARD.
STEP FORWARD. >> WE’RE GOING TO HAVE MUCH MORE
ON THE PRESIDENT’S SUMMIT WITH
THE NORTH KOREAN DICTATOR
THROUGHOUT THE SHOW.
SENATOR CHRIS COONS WILL BE OUR
GUEST.
GUEST. WE’LL ALSO BRING IN THE A.P.’S
JONATHAN LEMIRE FROM HANOI.
HE WAS ONE OF THE FOUR
JOURNALISTS THE TRUMP