♪ amna: good evening. i am amna nawaz. geoff: and i am geoff bennett. on the news hour tonight, harvard sues after the trump administration bans at the university from enrolling international student. amna: cryptocurrency investors spend millions for a seat at the table with the private dinner regarding president trump profiting from the presidency. geoff: and a former u.s.

ambassador to ukraine explains why she resigned. >> the policy of the trump administration was to put pressure on the victim rather than the aggressor, russia. and peace at any price is not peace but appeasement. ♪ announcer: major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- friends of the news hour including jim and nancy bildner and the robert and virginia schiller foundation. the judy and peter blum kovler foundation, upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. ♪ nnouncer: the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world at hewlett.org.

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nnouncer: this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the news hour. a federal judge has blocked the trump administration's move to prevent harvard university from enrolling international students. the judge's decision came hours after harvard filed a lawsuit in response. amna: it affects 6800 students or more than 25% of the student body at immediate risk of losing their international status. harvard has been at the center of the administration's battle over higher education including multiple investigations, canceling or freezing billions of dollars in grants. on more regarding what this

means i'm joined by lara meckler from the washington post. this is focusing on the battles over higher education. welcome back to the news hour and thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me again. amna: for the moment the administration is blocked from revoking harvard's ability to enroll foreign students but how big a threat is this to harvard should it go into affect the reputation only but also economically? >> it affects thousands of students that would not be able to join them this fall. the question is can you replace those students so quickly? harvard has a lot of people that want to go there but it is not entirely clear that you can completely replace those students if it came to that. so there are some implications when it comes to things like tuition and that sort of thing. really i think there is a bigger issue of how harvard sees itself.

it sees itself as a place attracting the best and the brightest throughout the world and the people there are learning from each other and people that have come from different cultures and if those students were not there, that would take away something from how the university is and what sort of a place it is to study. amna: we know international students often pay higher tuition in some places. is that true at harvard? does it make a difference for their bottom line? >> there are many schools that will charge international tudents for the full rate whereas a u.s. student can get financial aid. at harvard they do offer financial aid to international students as well so it is not the same disproportionate hit you would have it another university. but it doesn't mean they aren't paying anything. it is still revenue to the school. this is less about revenue and the tuition but about a big operation with a lot of students and a large endowment and more about who will decide what sort of policies they can have and who is going to allow the trump administration to impose its

philosophical and political agenda onto the university. harvard has a lot at stake in trying to resist that. amna: the white house has issued a statement saying if only harvard cared this much about ending the scourge of antisemitic pro terrorist agitators on their campus they would not be in this situation to begin with. the president made in and said -- >> billions of dollars have been paid to harvard. and they have $52 billion as an endowment. they have $52 billion and this country is paying billions and billions of dollars and student loans. harvard is going to have to change its ways. amna: why has harvard in particular come into the president's sights in this way? >> it depends who you ask. some would say it is because they have a real problem with

antisemitism on campus. even harvard has said there are things they need to do to better address issues of anti-semitism on campus. the administration would say they are there to try to fix the problem. they would also point to dei programming around diversity, equity, and inclusion and save much of that is illegal. but harvard is almost synonymous with elite education in this country so there is a symbolic path with getting into a fight with harvard. and this has been escalating for several weeks now. it started out with threatening to pull money, pulling money, threatening to revoke their tax-exempt status. there have been a variety of pieces that have built on this and harvard filing suit to try to stop some of the earlier efforts by the trump administration.

this has been a fast boil that has developed in a short time since donald trump returned to office. amna: in another statement the harvard president condemned the move calling it unlawful and unwarranted and that it serves as a warning to countless other colleges and universities throughout the country. is there a broader impact here beyond just harvard? >> absolutely. what this is a war not just on harvard but on higher education more broadly. and it comes amid what used to be thought of as a rift but is now a rupture between the republican party, conservatives and higher education from specifically elite higher education. whereas colleges and universities were once thought of as the crown jewel of the country. the federal government was happy to invest in groundbreaking

research in medicine, engineering, and other fields but now it is viewed differently and that has implications for everyone. today it is viewed as a place where conservative thought is not welcome to. they are elite looking down on other people in the country. this is not just a fight with harvard right now but a much bigger question about how does this country view higher education and will the republican party continue to support research and educational opportunities that these colleges and universities provide. amna: that is lara meckler from the washington post joining us tonight. we appreciate your time. >> thank you for having me. ♪ tephanie: --

vanessa: i am vanessa ruiz. breaking tonight, dozens of national security council staffers were abruptly dismissed today. staffers include career officials and some political appointees, reportedly shrinking the council to half of its current 350 members. the newly appointed national security advisor marco rubio is overseeing the downsizing with white house officials characterizing the move is acting against what they see as washington's deep state that has sought to undermine president trump. president trump is ramping up his trade wars. in a pair of social media posts today mr. trump said he is recommending a 50% tariff on all imports from european union starting june 1 and a 25% tariff on apple's iphone unless they are made in america. speaking to reporters today the presidentsaid that talks with

the eu have been too slow moving and he is not looking to make a deal. his treasury secretary told fox, i would hope this would light a fire under the eu. in response european leaders said tariffs would only disrupt the global economy. >> it is up to the european commission to respond. i believe such tariffs don't help anyone but would lead to economic development in both markets to suffer as a result. vanessa: tim cook said most iphones sold in the u.s. are coming from india. experts say it would take our -- apple several years and cost billions of dollars to move production here. and the iphone itself would cost triple what it does now. the department of justice has reached a deal with boeing to allow the playmaker to avoid prosecution for crashes involving its 737 max aircraft. under the agreement boeing will

ay more than $1.1 billion in fines. safety improvements and compensation for victims families. it reverses a separate deal reached last year during the biden administration in which boeing had agreed to plead guilty. 346 people died in separate crashes in 2018 and 2019. the current deal needs to be finalized. in the middle east health officials in gaza state israeli airstrikes killed 60 people last night and into the morning. israel says it targets militants and has vowed to press ahead. aid is finally trickling in after israel ended its months long blockade but the u.n. says only 115 of its 400 aid trucks

in gaza have reached palestinians. today the secretary-general compared that amount to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required >> the entire population of gaza is facing the risk of famine. families are being starved and denied the very basics. all with the world watching in real time. vanessa: the world food program says a dozen trucks were looted last night amidst the desperation. ukraine and russia begin their biggest prisoner exchange with both side freeing nearly 400 people. video from russia's defense ministry shows the released russians being bussed to belarus for medical treatment. kyiv released similar footage of ukrainians being brought back into their own country. ukrainians and russia say the exchange will continue into the weekend. the two sides agreed to swap

1000 prisoners each during last week's talks in istanbul but they failed to make progress on a potential cease-fire. billy joel is canceling all of this upcoming concerts after being diagnosed with a brain disorder. it involves a buildup of spinal fluid in the brain that can affect concentration, memory, movement and more. a statement posted to his social media accounts says the singer's condition has been exacerbated by recent concert performances leading to problems with hearing, vision and balance. the 76-year-old had concert dates scheduled through july of next year in north america and england. those with tickets will get an automatic refund. he says he is sincerely sorry to disappoint his fans. still to come, how federal spending cuts could make it harder to guard against severe weather. david brooks and jonathan capehart weigh in on week's political headlines. and basketball legend dawn

staley opens up about the successes and challenges of her career. ♪ nnouncer: this is the pbs news hour from the david m. rubinstein studio at weta in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: president donald trump hosted a gathering with the highest paying customers of his personal cryptocurrency business. sparking bipartisan concerns he is selling access to the presidency for personal profit. the dinner held at his northern virginia golf club was designed to boost sales of his cryptocurrency coins. the guests at the dinner provided a video of the president to the new york times. pres. trump: we have been pushing the market of crypto and bitcoin and everything. i do it for a reason, not for me

but because i think it is the right thing to do. geoff: the gathering featured hundreds of guests including former nba player lamar odom and a well-known crypto investor who has reportedly spent more than $40 million on president trump's meme coin. >> it is really nice to be here today with everyone. it is a great moment in crypto. geoff: he was once under investigation by the sec and doj for securities fraud. after mr. trump took office, the case was dropped. joining us now to discuss all of this is eric lipton who covers the intersection of the presidency and mr. trump's businesses for the new york times. to secure a seat for the dinner last night, attendees had to be among the top 220 holders of the trump meme coin. which means they spent something in the range of $200 million.

how does this all work? how has the president and his family, how are they profiting? reporter: this is an unusual situation. this is not a campaign contribution that supports a political cause or candidate. this is money going directly to donald j. trump, his sons and his family along with their business partners. you have individuals here with his position as president and he is urging people to buy the cryptocurrency meme coin in exchange for getting access to him at a dinner and visiting the white house. i was outside the white house today while 25 of the vip's, the biggest holders of his cryptocurrency, i watched as they entered and exited the white house. this is where you pay to play. you are paying to get access and directly and personally benefiting financially the president and his family. it is a very unusual situation in american history.

geoff: the guest list was private but tell us more who was in the room including the 25 you just mentioned. reporter: the guest list was private but we obtained a copy and we know who was at the dinner and we have identified many of them and communicated with many of them. and they come from all over the world but particularly from sia, china, singapore, korea. many are cryptocurrency players from asia and they are seeking in some cases to enter the u.s. marketplace and there are seeking a regulatory blessing from the trump administration to begin to seek profits in the united states. geoff: let's talk more about the ethical concerns because there are two mainly -- donald trump is profiting off the presidency by selling access and this type of event allows foreigners the opportunity to purchase access to the president and the constitution bans a president from receiving foreign gifts or money without congressional consent.

walk us through the ethical questions as well. reporter: as well, it is an election law violation. but for nationals can buy his cryptocurrency and give him money directly and his family and that is what is happening. the president is exempt from the federal conflict of interest law. the president and vice president are the only two who are exempt. he is taking actions that benefit the cryptocurrency industry and actions that directly benefit some of the individuals that are buying. he is not criminally liable for that conflict of interest because he is exempt from that and additionally the supreme court has ruled that any type of a notion of a bribe it if it involves an official action by the president he is largely protected. the president is doing what he wants and asserts he has no conflicts of interest and the companies are run by his sons or his associates so therefore he does not have a conflict of

interest. but the bottom line, when we look at is financial disclosure report we see he personally financially benefits from the same corporate entities benefiting from these cryptocurrency sales. geoff: the white house press secretary yesterday said the president was attending during his personal time but in that video we saw the presidential seal on the lectern. our -- are president trump's business dealings influencing the administration's policies especially regarding cryptocurrency? reporter: the quid pro quo is a hard thing to prove when you have an explicit action in exchange for a financial gain. what you have is sequentially is-- have sequentially is that there does appear to be a sequential relationship between people investing in literally billions of dollars in the trump family related cryptocurrency companies and the president is pushing for actions by the federal government or taking the actions himself that benefit some of the same companies.

these things are happening. they are factually occurring. whether he is doing them explicitly in exchange for the financial benefits he is getting is to some extent up to a prosecutor or a court to document. we don't know for certain but it does create the appearance of a conflict of interest and it is unusual and there is nothing like it in american history. we have had other families of presidents involved in various financial engagements from the oil industry with hunter biden working as a consultant for example and even selling paintings. but we never had such an intense and far-reaching corporate engagement that personally benefits the president as we are seeing right now with president trump and his family. geoff: eric lipton from the new york times, thank you for joining us. we appreciated. reporter: thank you. ♪

mna: today's prisoner exchange between russia and ukraine was the largest since the war's onset but skepticism of a lasting truce and president trump's peacemaking remain. a former ambassador to the ukraine resigned in mid april faulting the trump administration's ukraine policy. a diplomat for nearly three decades, brink served as ambassador to ukraine under president biden and trump starting shortly after moscow's invasion three years ago. she is now considering a congressional run as a democrat representing michigan and she joined me yesterday to discuss her resignation and the war. welcome to the news hour. in your op-ed for the detroit free press you explained why you chose to resign and you wrote this. i can no longer in good faith carry out the administration's policy.

what specifically did you see or hear that pushed you to make this decision? >> maybe i could step back a moment to talk about the context but over three years of leading my team in kyiv, i was there as russia launched thousands of missiles and drones that killed men, women and children in their sleep. they tried to take out the energy grid and the power to take out the heat and lights for millions of peopleand committed war crimes of atrocity that we haven't seen since world war ii with devastating effects. to see it firsthand left a big impression on me. i agree the war needs to end but the policy of the trump administration is to put pressure on the victim, ukraine rather than the aggressor, russia. and peace at any price is not peace but appeasement. we know from history that appeasement only leads to more war. the specific thing that started my questioning, could i remain implementing the president's policy -- it was not a quick

decision. it was one i took over the first three months of the administration to make. the first sign was an oval office meeting which was horrifying to see and also to see that we were not standing up with our democratic partners and allies. amna: that was between president trump and president zelenskyy in february. we saw president trump blamed president zelenskyy for the war. after that i should point out that you had reposted in ukrainian something that secretary rubio had posted thanking the president for standing up for america in a way that no other president has ever had the courage to do. why repost that? you faced backlash from ukrainians for that. >> at the time i was the president's representative representing the president's policy. i reposted secretary rubio's tweet which is something we

do routinely to use the talking points of the white house and this is part of our professional ethos. however it was internally a sign i did not think i would be able to remain in the position. it was not the only son but it was the first sign. there were other things -- we withdrew our intelligence and security and defense assistance for a period of time and i also did not think that was the right approach to support a democratic partner. we also changed the way we talked about the war. instead of talking about russia's war of aggression on ukraine, now we call that the russia-ukraine war. i think to stop vladimir putin we have to be clear on who is responsible for the war, and it is russia. amna: what do you hope changes as a result of your resignation? do you see the approach of the white house to the war changing? >> i cannot predict the future and i resigned not to try to change the policy but i felt i

could not execute the policy. but the reason i'm speaking out is because i think it is important for people to know the truth and for people to understand the reasons behind the resignation. for me this is about u.s. being on the right side of history. for the first time in 28 years of service under five presidents i felt we were on the wrong side of history. for me, this is something that is not acceptable as someone that has devoted a life of serving the american people, presidents but also trying to achieve our foreign policy goals. amna: are there other people in the embassy in ukraine, other people in the foreign service that have shared your concerns? >> of course, we have a robust policy debate which is a normal thing. i've seen that happen especially on very -- high level policy issues.

i think as part of our profession, that is healthy. i think right now, after a lot of the cuts in government and the way they have gone about, it has made debate less and made people afraid to speak out which i think is dangerous. i've not seen this kind of atmosphere in our country in my professional lifetime. i've seen it a lot in democracies that are young, and not 20 or 30 years old. to have that happen in our country, the biggest and strongest democracy and in my view best democracy in the world is quite disconcerting. amna: you noted that peace at any price is not peace and appeasement. do you believe it is president trump's goal to appease vladimir putin and why if so? >> i take president trump's word that his goal is to end of the war. i just believe to end the war we

have to take a harder line with vladimir putin and we much be clear in our principles and about who is responsible and we need to find a way where we are playing on our playing field and not on vladimir putin's playing field. i think by not doing so we are playing into russian hands. amna: russian experts have said it is not a war of territory but a war of identity and russia is looking to change the very fabric of ukrainian culture and identity. do you agree with that based on what you have seen? >> absolutely. i think it is broader than that. horrifyingly i think vladimir putin wants to wipe ukraine off the map as a people and a culture and this harkens back to some of the darkest periods of europe. this is why i never thought i would be in a position to resign and speak out publicly. but i think the stakes are so high, not just for ukraine, europe but for the united states and we must be on the right side of history.

amna: bridget brink, former u.s. ambassador to ukraine. thank you for joining us. ♪ eoff: for many people memorial day weekend is the unofficial start of summer but along the atlantic and gulf coasts it also means the start of hurricane season is nearly here too. this particular season comes at a moment when noaa and its agencies are being cut. end facing their own turmoil. science correspondent miles o'brien has the story. reporter: nearly 20 years after hurricane katrina ravaged the gulf coast, federal officials came to gretna, louisiana to predict the u.s. is on the cusp of another above normal hurricane season. between 13 and 19 named storms, 6-10 hurricanes, 3-5 of them major. the national weather service

director ken graham did not utter the word climate now scrubbed from the federal lexicon and yet still make clear the main culprit. >> when you have a planet that is warmer, you look at the ocean temperature is to be impacted by that. warmer ocean temperatures has the biggest impact. reporter: forecasters issue and outlook for global tropical storms in three weeks and -- in advance. hurricane hunter aircraft are flying with new radar collecting data on the ocean waves and the wind. and there are improved models for predicting precipitation and the rapid intensification of storms. >> the modeling has never been better. our service has never been better and our ability to serve the country has never been better. and it will be this season as well. reporter: and yet the weather service and its parent

organization, they are facing an uncertain financial forecast. the trump federal spending overview known as the skinny budget released by the white house on may 2 calls for a 24% cut to the budget. the department of government efficiency terminated more than 800 employees. raising concerns about their frequency of essential forecasting tasks like launching weather balloons. and these science -- the science budget is hit even harder. trump proposes a 74% cut to the office of oceanic research. >> i think these numbers are very difficult to believe, frankly. correspondent: glaze geologists --glaciologist and a former nasa chief scientist is the director of the cooperative institute for research in environmental sciences. it is a joint venture between

noaa and the university of colorado, boulder. >> it is important to study climate change because it is a big driver of our environment. the environment in which we live now and the one we will live in one year from now and 10 years from now and understanding that enables us to anticipate what the future may look like. if challenges are coming, how do we head them off? reporter: at first the trump budget tried to eliminate all funding for climate, weather, ocean laboratories and cooperative institutes housed primarily at major research universities. 15 cooperative institutes are strategically extended throughout the country and they study climate, weather, air quality, water resources and disaster resilience. the cooperative institute at the university of miami is deploying

drones and remote research vessels to improve hurricane forecasts. in boulder, the director showed me some of the tools they have developed to predict how fires behave. >> but this is derived from satellite observations coupling this with information on the ground and drought information and how much fuel there is for a fire to get at the dynamics and ultimate implications. >> certainly there are many places -- reporter: that is what this team of scientists is focused on. they manage the western water assessment, one of 13 funded teams across the country focused on climate adaptation. they work closely with small agricultural and ranching communities trying to cope with worsening drought conditions fueled by rising temperatures.

renae duncan is a managing director. >> looking at how droughts are getting bigger and changing. trying to understand how to better predict that which is important for agriculture, farming and ranching and figuring out what to plant and when. correspondent: this was one of 13 original teams. one team has closed and there are concerns that others may as well. what would you do if it ended? >> if it ended? i don't know. i was one of the people that hoped to retire here. it is my passion and i love it. if it ends i will have to restart and figure out what that means. >> it is worse and parts of western colorado now -- correspondent: her colleague, a hydrologist is a newly minted phd now eyeing greener

scientific pastures. >> if i lost this job, it is unlikely i would reenter the workforce in the u.s. i would probably move to australia where there are plenty of positions i would be qualified to do and it is much less adversarial. reporter: when we visited, layoffs were imminent. however after the universities and members of congress raised serious concerns, the commerce secretary approved funding requests for a few other cooperative institutes that were on the brink. but the extent and duration of the reprieve are uncertain. and uncertainty is something noaa is chartered to fight. despite all of this ken graham offered some assurance. >> we let some folks go but we will make sure we have everything we need. reporter: the most important warning may be coming from scientists now sidelined that were doing the work that makes the forecasts better.

for the pbs news hour, i am miles o'brien in boulder. ♪ eoff: from the trump administration's latest move against harvard to house republicans narrowly passing their tax cut bill, a lot to discuss tonight with brooks and capehart. that is david brooks and jonathan capehart. welcome, gentlemen. house republicans managed to pass their version of president trump's legislative agenda, a massive bill passed by one vote. jonathan, this bill extends the trump tax cuts to pay for them it cuts medicaid, slashes food stamps and rolls back the biden clean energy agenda. >> nancy pelosi was speaker of the house and she had two

favorite things. one involves lincoln, and the other was show me your budget and i'll show you your priority. what this budget shows is republicans are hell-bent on financing tax cuts for the upper income at the expense of middle-class, working-class and poor americans. and it is something that republicans, house republicans, are going to have to explain to their constituents. because if you look on the senate side, i saw a clip of ron johnson from wisconsin, no liberal at all railing against the impacts of what the house passed. geoff: and the medicaid cuts and -- in particular. that is tricky politics for republicans because there are many more people on medicaid. over the last eight years medicaid enrollment has risen to record high.

how do you see this playing out? >> and a lot of the hospitals demand that and if they shut down there are not a lot of options. i was thinking of warren g. harding and calvin coolidge as i often do -- they were like 100 years ago and the republican party stood for fiscal discipline. it was in their bones. you don't have to go back too long to get to the tea party movement. and this bill will add to the deficit or national debt by $3 trillion, $4 trillion, mind-boggling. this is already at a moment when we are already paying more to the bondholders than the entire defense budget. you can run deficits when your interest rates are zero but when they get higher, it gets ruinously expensive. and then when your interest rates are above your growth rates, that is a recipe for a national decline because you are building up debt and cost faster than your country is generating wealth. we are at a moment of true national peril.

nations decline because they get buried in their own debt. it is mind-boggling to me that the republican party of warren g. harding and calvin coolidge are acting like this. geoff: is there an opening here for democrats especially on the medicaid cuts? that is how they won back the house. >> absolutely come up -- absolutely, it would be malpractice if democrats were not already running against republicans, vulnerable republicans. this -- the president and the speaker made vulnerable republicans cast a bad vote for a bill passed the house, it will go to the senate and come back to them completely unrecognizable giving democrats all the material they need to hammer away at those house republicans. i am being very specific, i am talking about house republicans.

the senate republicans, some i have been watching, are closer to the harding republicans. [laughter] geoff: let's shift our focus and talk about donald trump's fight with harvard university. because yesterday the trump administration took the extraordinary step of blocking international students from attending harvard. the school filed a federal lawsuit accusing the administration of engaging in a campaign of retribution. the trump administration is trying to hit harvard where it hurts because foreign students typically pay full freight and that subsidizes the tuitions of american students. it is trying to go after the ability of harvard operate. >> it is in a sense out of spite to destroy harvard. i have my beliefs when it comes to harvard. i used to go to harvard square, the coop, and there was a section where the harvard faculty had their books. i was thrilled in the section

like sam huntington and all these legendary scholars. and you think harvard is the greatest university ever. and over the last couple of years, that section of the bookstore has gotten more boring. progressive orthodoxy has had a smothering effect on the intellectual vibrancy. i have my criticism of harvard, but it is still one of the greatest universities in the history of the world. they do amazing research. you have to uphold a belief that the place has serious flaws on antisemitism and excessive progressivism but it doesn't mean it is not one of our most wonderful and valuable institutions and you are destroying a large part of american wealth creation. american simulation -- civilization when you take it down? and these are the kinds of distinctions the trump administration cannot make. it is like you go to the trump

administration as if it is a doctor and say, i have acne and the trump administration says, ok, we will do decapitation and that is a cure. geoff: despite -- this spite combines immigration and culture wars. how do you see it playing out? >> the thing that i appreciate most about this is that harvard is not backing down. one of the reasons why the president is going after harvard is because harvard has the temerity to say no when that letter came with the demands that the administration later said was accidentally sent to harvard. harvard said, we are not doing this and conceding to your demands and this came after columbia university did the exact opposite. what harvard did -- we talked about it after it happened -- because of all the things david said, the stature of harvard, harvard gave all the other colleges and universities that were looking for leadership at a time when they were under

intense assault from the president and gave them a beacon. the fact that harvard is fighting for itself and for academic freedom and for the freedom of universities to teach the next generation of not just students but of leaders. geoff: the other story to talk about is president trump's meeting in the oval office with the south african president in what many people describe as an ambush. the president used misrepresented images to support false claims about white genocide in south africa. the latest data point in history with trump and white grievance. how did this meeting strike you? and president trump's overall message? >> donald trump seems to be hostile to all immigrants unless your ancestors created apartheid. and so the racial element is pretty obvious.

the second thing, not quite as appalling but a close second, how dishonest, how detached from reality the charge is. i looked for the crime statistics in south africa and it took me a half-hour of internet searching for credible authorities. is there genocide? is there ethnic attacks? there are a lot of crimes in south africa. there are 27,000 murders in south africa. is there evidence that people are targeted because of their skin color? not really. all you need to do is have someone in the white house do 15 minutes of googling but the administration doesn't care about basic loyalty to -- maybe we should see what is going on there and that is a detachment from reality. >> the oval office has become a venus fly trap. you walk into the oval office, you may not get out alive. we saw it happen with president zelenskyy who got mauled in the oval office.

we even saw governor gretchen whitmer was called into the oval office and tried hiding her face behind file folders because she was caught in there. and now you have the south african president sitting with a president and delicately trying to fact-check him and doing a little joke about -- i wish we had a plane to offer you. that place is not -- the oval office is no longer a serious place of business. leaders go in there and i watch to see how is the president going to humiliate the person in the most unserious way possible while at the same time lending credence to already debunked racist theories. and i'm glad you pointed out the fact that this president has a long history of racist comments, racist actions and peddling white grievance. he has a problem with immigrants

as long as they don't come from -- countries. and usually those countries he defines that way are not white. geoff: what are the implications if what used to be a coveted invitation to the oval office? >> the understand he has all the power because the u.s. needs them less than they need the u.s. and so it is the perfect situation for a bully. they should walk in there saying i have to be ready. geoff: memoir out this week? you have a book too. how to know a person? [laughter] have a good weekend. ♪ amna: dawn staley is a woman of many titles.

five-time wnba all-star. head coach antonello an author -- and now an author. in her first book she reflects on the lessons that made her who she is today from growing up in the projects in philadelphia to being a wnba pioneer and the architect of a powerhouse. the memoir is called "uncommon favor." i spoke recently with dawn staley and asked her about first discovering her love of the game. >> basketball was everything for me. when i look back being the youngest of five, you grow up in a household where you don't have a perspective or opinion because you are the youngest and no one is listening. when i picked up a basketball, it was a love affair. i found my identity. playing the game, people really saw me for who i was whether

that was a girl playing with all boys or whether that was a girl that was tough, a girl that did not back down. there was a light shined on my life. and in a weird way it was that i felt that but that light has never dimmed. and it is all because of the game that i fell in love with. amna: you are so honest about the challenges you faced along the way about it being a tough adjustment from philadelphia to uva and then playing overseas. there is a great story about kitten play and a house party that we won't that into but a lot of people know you from the big moment in 1996 olympic games. the women's dream team with all the legends of the game including lisa leslie and teresa edwards. there was a lot of pressure because you knew with a team didn't win gold, there would be no professional women's team on the backend.

you said we feared the promise of stateside women's professional basketball would die on the vine if we flopped. what was it like to feel that gold-medal around your neck? >> we did not get gold in 1992 olympics. we had to win gold in 1996 because we were hosted. we had to win gold because they told us halfway through the training of the u.s. national team -- that the wnba was going to start a leak and we felt the -- start a league. and we felt the weight of women's professional basketball. we felt we had to ace the 1996 olympic games winning gold or else people would question whether women's basketball could be a mainstay. and looking back on the history of the game, i'm so happy to be a part of that team because we are still ambassadors of the game. and i hope the youngsters

playing the game today really understand what was at stake just 29 years ago. amna: i mean the league would not exist or be where it is today without you and that team back then. what is it like for you to see that arc? to see what it has become today? >> it feels normal, which is a great thing. it feels like this is what we are supposed to be doing. me going to college -- i should have naturally gone right into the wnba. but that was not to be the case but i'm glad it is happening during my -- i can see it and feel it and see it continue to grow. amna: your success on the court has been surpassed by your success as a coach. you have built south carolina into a blueblood powerhouse. you talk about there not being

enough black coaches in the game despite the abundance of black players and black stars playing the game. why is that? what needs to change? >> what needs to change and i do speak about it in uncommon favor is the decision-makers. i hope i represent a portion of black cultures that could be super successful in our game. someone took a chance on me 25 years ago. i had zero coaching experience. all of my experience was playing. i'm sure at this stage of the game, there are a lot of black coaches out there that have more, way more experience than i did 25 years ago and all they need is a chance. and i would say -- like all of us, if i have a -- someone to hire, i will reach into my personal rolodex and i will go through and see who do i work

with, who comes highly recommended and it will probably be a black person. only because that is who i hang out with and who i know. it would take somebody else to get me another name that i didn't know for me to take a chance on. i think decision-makers will have to stretch themselves a little bit. we have to be less lazy about gathering a list of people that you can draw on if you have an opening, i'm talking about ad's, or presidents or anyone a part of decision-making deciding on who will be your head women's basketball coach. amna: central to your story is your faith which as you shared has -- was instilled in you by your late mother, estelle stanley. and the idea to have a purposeful life.

you talk about wanting a life that means something. at this stage in your life, at this age looking forward, what does that look like to you? >> you mentioned to my mother. my mother lived for the church. every time the doors were open, she was working. four to five times a week. i saw her purpose. i saw what made her happy. and that grew on me. i'm not working in the vineyard as much as my mother. but basketball and being a dreamer is my vineyard. it really is. the players i get to coach, the families i get a chance to impact and hopefully i impacted so much that their generation would change -- i coach first generational college graduates. you know the impact that has on a family and the generations

that come after that -- like, that is my purpose in life. that is what i'm supposed to be doing and hopefully unfulfilling the debt that i owe basketball because i basketball an incredible debt that i can't seem to pay down because it keeps on giving me more and more. amna: the book is "uncommon favor" and the author is coach dawn staley. always great to talk to you, coach. thank you for making the time. >> thank you so very much. ♪ mna: there is much more online and be sure to watch pbs news weekend tomorrow for a look at how some cities are adding taxes to popular sodas and sugary drinks in an effort to improve public health. and that is the news hour. i am amna nawaz.

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>> presidential legacies tend to be debated for decades. but since joe biden left office, things have emerged. his decision to stand for a second term all but guaranteed the return of donald trump to power. and efforts to hide his infirmities were disastrous and design. tonight, questions about joe biden.