July 15, 2019 - PBS NewsHour full episode

A political firestorm has erupted over tweets from President Trump telling four American women of color in the House to “go back” to where they came from. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., joins Judy Woodruff to discuss what Trump is trying to achieve with his inflammatory rhetoric, why Republicans who don’t condemn his tweets “should be ashamed" and how the president has “broken the border.”

Washington is reeling as a result of racist tweets President Trump made Sunday, in which he blasted four women of color in the House and said they should return to where they came from, although all four are American citizens. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky, joins Judy Woodruff to explain why a “frustrated” Trump’s comments are “overblown” and how he knows his constituents aren’t offended by them.

President Trump has said that major arrests and deportations of undocumented immigrants and migrants no longer eligible to remain in the country would begin this past Sunday. So far, the number of people detained appears to be small, but fear and trepidation are still reverberating through the targeted communities. Judy Woodruff talks to Shannon Camacho of Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights.

For months, the Trump administration has accused Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei of being a threat to U.S. national security, warning that data could be channeled through the company’s equipment to China’s intelligence services. Huawei is effectively banned from U.S. networks. What does the company think of Trump’s stance? Nick Schifrin talks to Huawei Senior Vice President Vincent Pang.

Some states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use have experienced a surge in the drug’s black market activity. In particular, Colorado has become a haven for underground marijuana cultivation, sale and export, prompting questions about how legalization led to some unforeseen consequences. John Ferrugia of Rocky Mountain PBS has the story.

Candidates competing for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination continue to make health care a central focus of their platforms, with former Vice President Joe Biden releasing a new plan on the issue. Over the weekend, candidates campaigned in critical early states. They're facing harsh criticism from President Trump -- and some are responding. Lisa Desjardins reports.

NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Amna Nawaz to discuss the latest in politics, including a “total shift” for the presidential campaign of former Vice President Joe Biden, what kind of change Democratic voters are seeking and which politicians represent it, the fallout from President Trump’s recent tweets and why he likes talking about race and immigration.

President Trump is defending racist tweets targeting four House freshmen, all women of color. Three of the four lawmakers had recently testified about their visits to crowded border detention facilities, lamenting what they saw there. But despite condemnation from congressional Democrats, some Republicans and even the British Prime Minister, Trump isn’t expressing remorse. Yamiche Alcindor reports

In our news wrap Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that 70 current and former employees who belonged to a secret Facebook group are under investigation for offensive posts about migrants and lawmakers. Also, a Virginia state judge sentenced James Fields to life in prison plus 419 years for driving into a crowd of people protesting a white nationalist rally in 2017, killing one.