PBS News Hour - Politics

After Monday’s royal welcome of President Trump in the UK, Tuesday was reserved for business and a final meeting with outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May. Trump took jabs at London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, and also said he didn’t see much in the way of crowds protesting his visit. Yamiche Alcindor reports and talks to Judy Woodruff from London.

Robert Mueller’s report lays out scores of contacts between the Trump campaign and people connected to the Russian government. In the second of their series examining key parts of the special counsel’s report, Lisa Desjardins and William Brangham explain why Mueller didn’t believe these contacts added up to a conspiracy.

Over the weekend, California played host to 14 Democrats running for president in 2020. With its primary three months earlier than normal, the state is poised to play a bigger role in shaping the nominating process for the Democratic Party. Many candidates were warmly received at California’s Democratic convention, but some pushed back on the party’s most progressive ideas. Amna Nawaz reports.

NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Amna Nawaz to discuss the latest in politics, including how primary campaigning has become more national, the changing role of California, an interview with Jared Kushner and why President Trump’s trade war with Mexico could have such a big impact.

The 448-page Mueller report contains copious detail about how Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, both by using social media to influence American voters with misinformation and by hacking into the Clinton campaign’s computers. Russian operatives also connected with WikiLeaks to release the stolen material. Lisa Desjardins and William Brangham share some of the key findings.

Mexican officials are in Washington D.C. preparing for talks later this week after the President Trump threatened to impose 5 percent tariffs if Mexico does not stem migration from Central America. On Sunday, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said that the president was “dead serious”. Washington Post reporter Kevin Sieff discusses developments from Mexico City.

In our news wrap Friday, Attorney General William Barr says he doesn't think senior FBI officials committed treason when investigating the Trump campaign, despite President Trump’s repeated claims. Still, Barr said the investigation may have been “antithetical to the democratic system.” Meanwhile, Missouri’s last abortion clinic will remain open until at least June 4 due to a judge’s intervention.

President Trump has long praised the use of tariffs, but his new threat to Mexico took many people by surprise. Trump said he will levy a 5 percent tariff on Mexican imports as of June 10 unless the country curbs immigration to the U.S. The proposal drew widespread bipartisan criticism from lawmakers, who predicted U.S. consumers would bear its cost. Yamiche Alcindor joins Amna Nawaz to discuss.

This spring, around 100,000 migrants per month have been caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. With a proposed 5 percent tariff on imports from Mexico, one of the largest U.S. trading partners, President Trump wants to leverage economic power to reduce that flow. But will the strategy work? Amna Nawaz talks to Ambassador John Feeley, a former U.S. envoy to Panama, for analysis.

The New York Times columnist David Brooks and The Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart join Amna Nawaz to discuss the week's political news, including special counsel Robert Mueller’s public statement, what Democrats should do about impeachment, why President Trump is so bothered by the late Sen. John McCain and new details about Republican strategy for redrawing congressional districts.