-Even as the Russia investigation
reportedly nears its first possible indictment
of a Trump associate,
the GOP is insisting
on ramming through a radical plan
to repeal Obamacare
without even waiting to find out what it does.
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
♪♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
Of course, with everything else going on,
Trump has also been preoccupied lately
with the North Korean nuclear program.
And since it seems like threats and sanctions
have not stopped North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un so far,
Trump is trying out a new tactic -- nicknames.
Over the weekend, he tweeted...
And then today, he repeated the nickname,
not in a tweet, but in his first speech
to the United Nations General Assembly.
-The United States has great strength and patience,
but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies,
we will have no choice
but to totally destroy North Korea.
Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself
and for his regime.
-Why are you calling him Rocket Man?
That's not a diss. That's a cool nickname.
[ Laughter ]
You're making him sound like a character from "Top Gun."
[ As Trump ] Hey.
Hey, Rocket Man, you're on a suicide mission,
and there's only one way to settle this --
on the volleyball court.
[ Laughter ]
[ Normal voice ] So Trump --
[ Cheers and applause ]
Trump is again threatening North Korea with military force
even though that seems to have failed as a strategy so far.
In fact, as we know,
Trump loves talking about the military.
He's surrounded himself with generals,
called for massive increases in military spending,
and during a meeting
with French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday,
Trump talked about how much he loved
France's Bastille Day military parade
and suggested he might want to replicate it
here in the U.S. on the 4th of July.
Trump talks about the military
like a kid who just got home from his first air show.
[ As Trump ] We had a lot of planes going overhead
and one of them did a flip
and another one made a boom,
and then when we landed, one of the pilots,
he tossed me his sunglasses, and he said,
"Hey, kid, I'll see you in the skies."
And then I said, "Thanks, Rocket Man."
[ Laughter ]
[ Applause ]
[ Normal voice ] Of course, it might be a little foolhardy
to make plans for next July,
considering the speed with which the Russia investigation
is engulfing Trump's White House.
Yesterday was yet another bombshell
about the Russia investigation being conducted
by special counsel Robert Mueller,
suggesting that Mueller may be close to indicting
one of Trump's closest associates,
his former campaign chief, Paul Manafort.
-Breaking news tonight
on special counsel Robert Mueller's case
against Paul Manafort.
According to
a search warrant on Manafort's Virginia home two months ago,
which was reported more recently,
the special counsel followed up with a warning.
His prosecutors told Manafort they planned to indict him.
-"They even photographed
the expensive suits in his closet."
-That's right.
They photographed his expensive suits.
Well, Manafort might like to shop at Armani,
but where he's headed
is definitely more of a men's warehouse.
[ Laughter ]
[ Applause ]
Now, the hard-nosed tactics being used by Mueller
have been described by some as a shock and awe approach
with one former independent counsel saying
Mueller's approach is intended to scare people
into telling him the truth.
And if there's anyone who can strike terror
in the hearts of people in Washington,
it's Robert Mueller.
Look at him.
He looks like the door-knocker on a haunted castle.
[ Laughter ]
Another former prosecutor said the investigation resembled
the way law enforcement has historically gone after the mob,
telling the
And that is so unfair.
How dare anyone call
the Trump administration organized!
[ Laughter ]
They're basically --
[ Cheers and applause ]
Come on. "Organized."
They're basically running the government like a Roomba.
"Yeah, we just go until we hit a wall
and then go somewhere else,
and we suck the whole time."
[ Laughter ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
So, with the Russia investigation
escalating rapidly,
how is the president's legal team responding?
Well, yesterday,
that there are internal divisions
between Trump's lawyers
over how much to cooperate with the special counsel.
Trump's lawyer, Ty Cobb,
has accused the White House counsel Don McGahn,
together known as "Franklin and 'Stache,"
of withholding sensitive information
from the rest of the team.
According to the
The craziest part, though, is how
found out about Cobb's comments.
It wasn't from an interview or an anonymous source.
Instead...
The Trump administration is worried about leaks,
and yet, it keeps hiring people
who are the physical manifestation of leaks.
When they talk, it should just be the sound
of air escaping a balloon.
[ Air hissing, balloon screeching ]
[ Laughter ]
[ Applause ]
Now, obviously, we don't know yet
where the Russia investigation will lead,
but one thing's for sure.
It will continue to infuriate Trump,
who remains obsessed with both the 2016 election
and, in particular, Hillary Clinton,
so much so that he retweeted
a video from a fan account over the weekend
that made it look like he hit Hillary
in the back with a golf ball.
Hey man, I don't know if you noticed,
but you're the one under FBI investigation
with approval ratings in the low 30s.
If you're gonna post memes of yourself golfing,
at least make them more accurate.
[ Laughter ]
[ Applause ]
And, yet...
he was so happy to swallow --
he's so happy to eat a golf ball.
[ Laughter ]
And yet, even with these scandals
swirling around a historically unpopular president,
Trump's party is still trying
to push through his domestic agenda,
specifically his promise to repeal and replace Obamacare.
The GOP is like your friend
who knows only one song on the guitar
and he's drunk and no one wants to hear it,
but he's tuning it up again.
Republicans are pushing a new bill that is in many ways
even more radical than previous bills.
The new bill...
Although last week,
when Trump first heard about the new GOP health care bill
being advanced in the Senate,
he talked about it in vague terms and made clear
he had no idea what it was.
-We'll be discussing probably a little bit of health care,
because I know some information's come to light.
-"Some information's come to light."
Every time Trump talks about health care,
he sounds like a teaser trailer for a soap opera.
Next week on an all new "Trumpcare"...
-We had to go with the health care first,
and we're doing well.
I think we're gonna have some great surprises.
♪♪
[ Laughter ]
-What kind of surprises?
This latest attempt to ram through a health care bill
that would literally take money away from vulnerable people
without letting people know what it would do
is why Democrats need to be extremely careful
before making any deals with Trump and the GOP.
Trump has apparently commented recently
that it's much easier to get along
with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi
than with GOP leaders Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell.
According to Politico, Trump has dismissed Ryan as...
Oh, I wish I could see Trump trying to make small talk
with Mitch McConnell.
[ As Trump ] Do you have a gold apartment?
[ As McConnell ] I do not, Mr. President.
[ As Trump ] Oh.
[ Laughter ]
Why does your face look like that?
[ Laughter ]
[ Normal voice ] Meanwhile, after a meeting
between Trump and Schumer, his fellow New Yorker,
a congressman who was present
said Trump and Schumer got along so well...
...and Schumer was caught on a hot mic on the Senate floor
gushing about how much Trump likes the Democrats
and him, in particular, even telling a colleague
that his new partnership with Trump would go smoothly.
-No! It won't work out!
He'll only be your ally as long as you're useful to him.
Haven't you seen how he treats his friends?
First, you'll stand behind him at a press conference,
and the next thing you know, you're eating nachos
and yelling at people at baseball games.
It's a precipitous ball.
Remember, this is still the same Donald Trump
who ran a cruel, bigoted campaign,
who called Mexicans rapists,
bragged about committing sexual assault,
and fired the FBI director
for investigating his administration.
In fact, just last week
after an attack on the London Underground,
before any details were known,
Trump doubled down on his call for a Muslim travel ban.
-Trump tweeting...
-And then there was this.
-"Must be proactive and nasty"?
That's not a terrorism strategy. That's a Prince "B" side.
[ Laughter ]
You know what, can we actually hear
a little "Proactive and Nasty"?
-♪ I'm not gonna wait for that ass to come to me ♪
♪ Unh ♪
♪ Yeah ♪
♪ I'm about to get proactive and nasty ♪
-That's it.
[ Laughter ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
So, one of Trump's closest associates
is on the verge of being indicted,
and the GOP is trying to ram through
a massively unpopular bill
that could strip health care away from millions.
I'll say it again.
Donald Trump is really hitting a hole in one.
[ Laughter ]
Right into his own mouth. This has been "A Closer Look."
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪