up. let me give you a truism in regard to intelligence. we're less about prediction than we are about understanding. and i do think we communicated a certain understanding that this is where the north koreans are going. and before very long we're going to have a big problem. >> general michael hayden, always great to talk to you. thanks so much for being on the show. >> thank you. >> thanks to our international viewers. cnn international is next. for the rest of you, "new day" continues now. >> we have a president who is acting like a 5-year-old child on twitter. >> the president this weekend defending his mental state. >> i went to the best colleges. i had a situation where i was a very excellent student. >> if you have to say you're stable it raises questions about your stability. >> garbage author of a garbage book. >> i don't think this is going away any time soon. >> it's a worldwide change that we want to hand all of our daughters. >> oprah's inspiring speech raising speculation about her

political future. >> we all have lived too many years in a culture broken by brutally powerful men. the "new day" is on the horizon! >> we appreciate the branding from her last night. >> what a beautiful horizon we showed over new york. >> welcome to our "new day". up first, trump administration officials are coming to the president's defense after that bombshell book questioning his mental state. president trump himself taking to twitter insisting he is a very stable genius. one of the president's top advisers sparring with jake tapper calling the book trash and slamming former chief strategist steve bannon. >> we see is the president's ire is having an effect. he now says his treesousoasonou

meant only for paul manafort, not the president's son. so will the president forgive bannon? do we care? you probably shouldn't. let's get into what we have covered beginning with joe johns live at the white house. joe, what do you know? >> reporter: good morning, chris. a predictable response from mr. trump, also from his subordinates and the administration as well as his political allies to questions about his fitness to serve. some of the very latest questions. these are questions that hung over the summit at camp david on saturday and spilled into the sunday talk shows. questions that continue unevaded after the release of that blockbuster book.

>> no one questions the stability of the president. >> president trump is completely capable. >> the reality is the president is a political genius. >> reporter: members of president trump's administration coming to his defense, insisting that mr. trump is fit to serve despite questions about his mental stability raised in the new tell-all book fire and fury. >> i have never questioned his mental fitness. i have no reason to question his mental fitness. >> reporter: declaring throughout my life my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. before asserting he is a very stable genius. mr. trump saying this when asked by cnn why he felt compelled to weigh in. >> i went to the best colleges or college. i went to a -- i had a situation where i was a very excellent student. came out and made billions and billions of dollars. ran for president one time and won. and then i hear this guy who doesn't know me, did not know me at all, said he interviewed me for three hours.

in the white house. it didn't exist. it's in his imagination. >> reporter: president trump continue to go attack "fire and fury" author michael wolff. >> i consider it a work of fiction. it is a disgreat that somebody is able to have something, do something like that. the libel laws are weak in this country. if it were strong, you wouldn't have things like that happen. it would be very helpful. >> reporter: wolff standing by his reporting, saying his mental fitness is regularly discussed amongst aides, along with the 25th amendment which spells out the removal of a president. >> the 25th amendment is a concept that is alive every day in the white house. >> reporter: mr. trump senior adviser stephen miller also taking aim at the president's former chief strategist steve bannon who was quoted in the book, calling the 2016 trump tower meeting between trump campaign staffers and russians treasonous. >> it's tragic and unfortunate

that steve would make these grotesque comments so out of touch with reality and obviously so vindictive. the whole white house staff is deeply disappointed. >> reporter: bannon respond to get backlash releasing a statement insisting his remarks were aimed at campaign manager paul manafort, not don jr. and praising the president's son as both a patriot and a good man. a source said bannon drafted a similar statement that he had planned to release before the president attacked him saying he had lost his mind. today the president travels first to nashville, tn to speak to the concerns of farmers and rural americans apparently tennessee senator bob corker, who has been highly critical of the president, is expected to make the trip with him. after that, the president goes on to see the college football national championship. chris and alisyn. >> thank you, joe. we have john avlon and gregory. david, i'll start with you.

it's been very interesting this weekend to watch steve bannon sort of twisting in damage control and how he's trying to say he wasn't referring to don jr., he was referring to paul manafort when he said the meeting was unpatriotic and treasonous. he said don jr. would be cracked like an egg, i think. >> for money laundering. >> yeah, for money laundering. steve bannon i guess at one time was considered a rainmaker of one kind. but then roy moore happened. so is steve bannon still relevant? >> i think he's highly relevant. no way the white house can get away from the fact that steve bannon was a critical figure in the campaign. he reportedly was going to get the chief of staff job in the white house. that's pretty important, until the president was talked out of it. and he was a senior adviser who was the energy, the force behind major policies on immigration and a kind of populism that fueled the president's victory

and certainly was cast on the early days of his presidency. there is no getting around all of that. it is also true that bannon probably still supports the president. and that he was settling scores by talking to michael wolff for this book. so there is a multilayered agenda. you can't get away from the fact that somebody that close to the president questions his mental fitness for office and questions all of these other circumstances, especially regarding an investigation about influence by the russians during the campaign. you simply can't get around that. let me just state the obvious. it's a bad day for any political campaign or any white house when the top advisers to the president, including the president, have to go out and insist that the president is not mentally unfit. bad day. >> also, you know, look, david makes all good points. exempt they don't have to do

this. the president doesn't have is to engage what is speculated about in this book. he doesn't have to take on steve bannon publicly. he doesn't have to have the white house hit the media shows to talk about what a real stable genius he is. that's his choice. >> no, that's the whole point. a real stable genius, quote, unquote, as president would be ignoring this book, i'm focused on doing my job for the american people. i want to talk about the economy. i want to talk about building a great record with tax cuts and et cetera. instead, moth to a flame, he can't avoid ruminating on this, not only ruminating but obsessing. you send minions out to parrot things they know are b.s. the biggest evidence that you're not a very stable genius is the need to say you're a very stable genius. >> the president was tweeting about it yesterday morning as

the sunday shows started. he said i've had to put up from the fake news from the first day i announced i would be running for president. now i have to put up with a fake book. r07b8d reagan had the same problem and handled it well. so will i. what does that mean, david gregg stphr ry? >> whether you are ronald reagan, donald trump, you're also going to face it when you behave as erratically as he's behaved. to john's point, and to chris's point, when he reacts in a way that only fuels these questions about him, how about the mueller investigation. the fact that it is accelerating around obstruction is how the president has reacted to the investigation, firing jim comey and the like. how thin skinned he is, his obsessiveness means he's his own worst enemy in office. >> actually, that tweet storm we

sometimes ignore. it began with him calling the russian investigation a discredited hoax which it fundamentally is not. let's not forget that. >> the russian collusion, after one year of intense study, has proven to be a total hoax on the american public. the democrats and their lap dogs and fake news, media, mainstream media are taking out the old ronald reagan playbook and screaming mental in stability and intelligence. the idea that the russians were trying to collude and get access is demonstrably true by everything we have seen. >> correct. >> senator lindsey graham trying to draw the distinction between the president believes that. he just doesn't believe it about him. now with the revelations that we had they were really concerned about him in the because of his alzheimer alzheimer's, is that who he wants to be compared to?

>> in this specific case, let's talk about that moment in the reagan presidency when the 25th amendment was invoked. howard baker was coming in. he was basically told watch the pretz clo president closely. is there a case for the 25th amendment. he came in, watched the president and alzheimer's kicked in later. 1994 or thereabouts. so in any case, that history is what he is referring to. but the president is being told to reference that because unfortunately he has never read deeply about history. that's the best ammunition he's got. >> can i just make a point about the president's insistence on trying to delegitimize journal issism. he is talking about going back to reagan or bill clinton impeachment.

you may not like the coverage you get. everybody is in the barrel regardless of party. that's number one. number two, it is amazing how much america knows. because people around the president talk to reporters who they apparently don't think are fake but actual journalists and can report the toxicity and the dysfunction around the president. that's called reporting. and the leaking that goes on out of this white house is unbelievable. it is reaganesque. they leaked a great deal. that's what trump is doing as well. that should put how ridiculous this whole notion of discrediting media. he talked on the record to michael wolff. >> so case in point. steve bannon, when he wanted to do damage control, sent bullet points to axios, a full statement to the "new york times". the failing "new york times".

that's where steve bannon wanted to reach their audience. the hypocrisy just has to be called out. >> that's who the president keeps talking to. it is the slap and tickle routine he can't break himself of. he resents the act of being held to account. you can't dismiss this book as purification because the administration does leak. and, david, your comment about the reagan administration leaking a lot. david gurgan will take you up. >> of course something else that's hurting the current president is that his genuineness about liking these questions flies in the face of his own behavior. when was it. >> 2014 he tweeted this. i'm starting this think there is something seriously wrong with president obama's mental health. why won't he stop the flights.

that's when the ebola was happening. psycho! >> yeah. this will all be taken care of when it's donald trump against oprah winfrey in 2020. >> glad you brought that up. we are going to be discussing that coming up. gentlemen, thank you very much. all right. so the author of this "fire and fury" that is causing so much of both in the white house, michael wolff, he will be on cnn tonight with don lemon 10:00 p.m. eastern. okay. oprah winfrey sparking talk of a possible run in 2020 after a rousing speech at the golden globes last night. she issued a call to action for an entire nation. brian stelter joins us tonight. what a night. what a speech she gave. >> oprah 2020, where did this come from? she deflected questions in the past about running for election. she said president trump's upended all the assumptions about what it takes to run for high office. listen to her speech about the

me too movement and the campaign rallying cry. >> i want all the girls watching here now to know that a "new day" is on the horizon! >> oprah winfrey bringing the golden globes audience to its feet with an inspiring call to action. >> when that "new day" finally dawns it will be because a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say me too again. >> the television and movie icon honoring those who have spoken out about sexual harassment and discussing in personal terms the women whose stories will go untold.

>> i want tonight to express gratitude to all the women who have endured years of abuse and assault because they, like my mother, had children to feed and bills to pay and dreams to pursue. for too long women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men. but their time is up. [ applause ]. >> oprah also emphasizing the power of the free press to expose injustice. >> we all know the press is under siege these days. i want to say i value the press more than ever before. >> oprah's speech fueling speculation on social media about a potential 2020 presidential bid. despite past comments downplaying it, her long time partner saying it's up to the people.

she would absolutely do it. during his opening monologue, host seth meyers saying she should run. referencing jabs about president trump not being qualified at the 2011 correspondents dinner. >> some have said that night convince said him to run. so if that's true, i just want to say, oprah, you will never be president! you do not have what it takes! >> oprah's speech was the culmination of a night focused on combatting sexual harassment. actors and actresses appearing on the red carpet wearing black in solidarity. many makes a statement with pins reading time's up. >> okay. . so, brian, you think that oprah winfrey is running for president. what is your evidence? >> you just gave away my gut feeling, but that's okay. >> did i steal your thunder? >> you -- you have no loyalty. >> to tell you the truth, here's what i thought. i thought a year ago when she

signed up with "60 minutes" as special correspondent, bridging the divide, uniting the country. i thought back then, she is testing the water for 2020. she is trying to get herself out on a big national platform in front of 20 million viewers on a sunday night, trying to appeal to the country and test out the idea. look, i'm not claiming she's made up her mind. i have no reporting about that at all. i think it's notable what her partner said last night, hey, she would do it if the people want her to do it. you look at social media this morning o. trump detractors, trump critics want to see a female president, they want to see a woman of color run for president. we know what she brings. tremendous star power, deep pockets, charisma. she is an elitiselitist, a cele being cheered on by some of the same people that are under scrutiny for ignoring sexual

harassment and abuse. there are a lot of reasons to be skeptical i think this morning, but there's a lot of reasons why all of social media is filled with wishful thinking. >> interesting we are talking about who can be president on the united states and we're not even discussing what it takes to do the job anymore. >> we have learned billionaires with star power can win. >> one. >> will the u.s. elect tv stars twice in a row? i don't know. >> provocative. >> it's still 2018. all right. coming up, president trump continues to insist there was no collusion between russia and his campaign. in fact, he does more than that. he says the entire investigation is a joke. is special counsel bob mueller building an obstruction case against him because of some of his actions. former independent counsel ken starr next.

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i guess the collusion now is dead. everyone found after a year of studying there's been absolutely no collusion. >> president trump emphasizing again his campaign didn't collude with russia. he is criticizing a story first reported in the "times" saying the president asked white house counsel to convince attorney general jeff sessions not to recuse himself from the russia investigation. the story has some speculating that bob mueller may be building an obstruction case against the president. let's discuss with someone who knows how this works. former independent counsel ken starr. always good to see you, sir. >> thank you. >> first procedural question. senator blumenthal this morning said i think mueller is going to have a face-to-face with the president of the united states. possible, probable? >> probable. he needs to in order to round out, complete his investigation to come to a decision. he needs to look the president in the eye and ask the appropriate questions.

>> is that legal? is it appropriate? >> yeah. it is certainly legal. it is appropriate. and it will probably be negotiated. that is the last thing that we would want would be for the president to actually be subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury. there are dignity issues, the presidency and so far. just politics aside. so the office of the presidency demands our respect and deserves our respect. so the right way to do it is so to, through counsel, to negotiate and hear the terms of the interview. >> so ken starr says it would be okay for the president to be interviewed directly by bob mueller. point number two, the idea that mueller is overreaching, mueller is going too far, now, you are a man roundly accused of exactly that. you started off looking at land transactions. you wound up with monica lewinsky. do you believe bob mueller is too far afield by any indication? >> not from what i have seen?

i have seen no evidence of obstruction. let me make this very clear. but we don't know what bob mueller knows. the jury is out. he's finding out facts. so my view is let him do his job, as the president has said and his counsel has been very clear that he is going to not interfere with the orderly conduct of the investigation. so we're behind the pale of ignorance. we just don't know. >> the idea that the president directly or indirectly or through thirds tried to get sessions not to recuse himself. what does that mean to you legalitily, if true? >> legally, it is not significant. that is, i've heard people say and it's been suggested that it actually is initial evidence of obstruction of justice. i totally disagree with that. the president has every right through his counsel or whomever to encourage the attorney general to say, hey, be on the job. you were nominated, you were

confirmed to do your job. now, i don't think it was a wise thing to do as a matter of prudence. >> because? >> because the attorney general should follow guidance and advice of what the ethics requirements are at the justice department. >> does motive matter? if he went to jim comey and said i'm going to get rid of you because i feel you may be looking at me and my people and i don't like it. if he had people, directly or indirectly, go to jeff sessions and say, no, no, no, you have to keep them away from me and my people. if you're not going to do that, we have a problem. is that motive? >> my view is it just doesn't count. as long as it's not a corrupt bargain. what i mean by that, not what you're trying to do in your own self interest. but if you're not being bribed or otherwise compromised as opposed to i'm just following my own instincts. i'm a survivor. i'm a new york street fighter.

in, in, you have to fight to survive. there are a lot of sharks in the water, so to speak, and i'm going to defend myself. and the president has been very transparent about this, right? i'm trying to defend myself. and i have all thyssen mys. >> help me understand something. one, as we both know, the president of the united states has breathed nothing but rare phied air. he is certainly no new york street fighter. i understand your metaphor, he's a tough guy. it seems to be a growing and growing unsatisfied defense of his actions. how you defend yourself matters. if he went and muscled up on comey and said you tell people you're not investigating me and when it doesn't go the way he likes, he gets rid of him. and he goes to sessions and says, you better get my back on this. i'm not saying that happened. he seems to be looking at this. if none of it matters, why would

such a sophisticated gentleman and his team be looking at it? >> here is my basic point. i have a different perspective. that is a very robust view of presidential power. as long as the president is operating within his domain. he may be using poor judgment or great judgment. he may be doing something for self interested reasons. as long as he is exercising the power of the presidency, criminal law should not be called into question. congress can. oversight, impeachment. >> one quick take. the president keeps saying we have a year. there is no proof of any collusion. can you look at what is even dribbled out and say that's a true statement? >> there have been connections. it depends -- i'm going to be very controversial. if it means conspiracy, i have seen no evidence. if there are have been contacts, of course there have been contacts. i think the contacts are undisputed. it is undisputed the russians did try to interfere with our

election. that is what i think the american people really want to know exactly what did the russians do and how did they do it. >> and who helped, if anyone. >> absolutely. >> you think they are all legitimate questions. >> i totally think they are. we have the senate intelligence committee and the other committees working to find out these answers. that's very important. it is one of the things we tend to overlook, the importance of congress and congress's oversight. >> ken starr, thank you very much for your take, as always. >> my pleasure, chris. >> are lawmakers talking about president trump's mental stability? democrat senator richard blumenthal talks about that and more next. with adt, you can feel safe for only $49.00. that includes security panel, keypad, key fob, entry and motion sensors and for a limited time, get a camera included and installed at no additional cost.

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one major question surrounding the russia investigation is will president trump meet face-to-face with special counsel robert mueller? let's ask senator richard blumenthal, a member of the senate judiciary compete, one of those investigating the russian meddling and collusion. great to have you here, senator. >> thank you, alisyn. >> you predict he will meet face-to-face? >> there has to be that face-to-face interview. the timing is important because the special counsel needs to

have as many facts and as much evidence before he has that face-to-face interview with the president of the united states. >> when might that happen? >> my view is it will probably happen sometime this is year. we're going to have more convictions. there have been two already. and we will have more. >> how do you know there will be more? >> the evidence accumulating against individuals within the white house, the administration, the mounting evidence of obstruction of justice that's public. and we had no idea all of what is available. plus, there will be a trial. in the manafort case that will be regulatory. >> who else might be indicted? >> at this point, speculation is pretty hazardous. the people around the president who have been involved, for example, in him writing a misleading statement on air force one returning from europe about his son's meeting with

foreign agents describing that as having to do only with russian adoption when clearly its purpose was to get dirt on hillary clinton. who knew about that, who knew about its falsity. that's who may have exposure. >> that means don jr., hope hicks, and what would the indictment be for? >> it could be for obstruction of justice. there is obviously exposure on money laundering, involvement of deutsche bank and jared kushner in those transactions. to take donald trump jr., we're writing today asking for the simpson interview. >> one of the founders of fusion gps who testified in front of your committee? >> he was interviewed in our committee. >> but behind closed doors. why do you want that to be made public? >> the american people have a right to know exactly what glenn simpson told us. that is just a start. also there is a right to know

what donald trump jr. told us. and i will tell you, alisyn, as a former prosecutor, i have looked very carefully and closely at the glenn simpson interview and donald trump jr. interview and the most profound and pressing questions come out of the donald trump jr. interview. >> such as? what raised your eyebrows? >> well, to take what is already public, the exchange between donald trump jr. and wikileaks about stolen and hacked materials taken from the clinton campaign. why wasn't that material and that approach reported to the fbi? the republican leadership has made a criminal referral about christopher steele who blew the whistle on russia. >> he's the one that compiled the dossier. your committee, it seems, more often is interested in him and

doing something with him. what's that about? >> and that's profoundly disappointing. because the republican majority has made a referral asking is for criminal review of chris officer steele who reported wrongdoing. not committed it. and they're using facts that the fbi and the department of justice actually provided the committee. in other words, they and we should be looking at russian meddling and obstruction of justice and trump collusion, which are the priorities to investigate. >> just to be clear, from where you sit today, you believe that don jr. and jared kushner could be facing indictment? >> well, i'm not predicting and i'm not saying what all the evidence may be. but certainly the evidence points to continued investigation and there ought to be very surging consideration of whether they face criminal charges. >> when you say you already see a case for obstruction of justice, you're pinning that on

the misleading statement crafted on air force one about the meeting with the russian lawyer? >> the air force one statement, the direction to his white house counsel to stop sessions from recusing himself, the firing of jim comey, the requirement that jim comey pledged loyalty and the request that he let go michael flynn. there are a series of events and statements that create mounting evidence. serious criminal evidence of obstruction of justice. corrupt intent is a key element. and that has to be proved as well beyond a reasonable doubt. robert mueller is a careful, meticulous, methodical prosecutor. and he's going to demand a high standard. >> the feds are now investigating the clinton foundation. what's that about? >> well, this investigation is about three years old. it was closed at some point.

reported publicly. >> why has it been reopened? >> and the reason it's been reopened, i think, is part of a continuing campaign on the part of republicans, namely in congress, to deflect and distract, from the special counsel investigation and our investigation, the judiciary committee, as well as the intelligence committee, into the russian attack on our democracy. and let's be very clear. the russians have going to do it again. >> but who called for this to be reopened, the white house? >> the white house has been talking about it. members of congress. the president's defenders and sycophant also in congress have been talking about it. >> that means the fbi does it? does somebody have to request it? why would the fbi reopen a closed investigation? >> the president has said, very wrongly, that he should be able to control what the department of justice does. but the reason the fbi has reopened it is quite possibly because of the threats that have

been raised and the criticism made of the fbi and law enforcement by members of congress, as well as the white house. >> are you concerned about the president's mental state? >> i am concerned about the president potentially violating the law. i'm concerned about the in stability of the president's policies as well as his personality. the threats and taunts to north korea are deeply concerning. and i think that the special counsel investigation has to be protected against possible impulsive and rash threats that would bring us to a constitutional confrontation. and even similar to what we had with the saturday night massacre. >> senator blumenthal, we appreciate you coming in and talking about all of this. thank you for being here. chris? here's a question for you. should apple do more to keep kids from getting addicted to their iphones?

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latest. is all of this under control now, allison? >> reporter: it seems to be under control, but there are residual delays. back her at terminal 4 but only after a chaotic situation yesterday when a water pipe that feeds into a sprinkler system here at the terminal broke, seconding a cascade of water pouring into the terminal and into the baggage claim area. hundreds of bags were already sitting because of massive cancellations that had happened a few days before because of that big winter snowstorm. it didn't help that baggage handling equipment had failed because it was frozen. now, because thousands of people had been affected by this huge mess, the port authority, which overseas the airports in new jersey and new york, they are working to figure out what went wrong here, why there wasn't weather protection around this interior pipe and what other factors may have contributed to

this huge mess. alisyn? >> thank you for the update there. two people may not show up for work today because they became instant millionaires over the weekend. a store sold one winning ticket for the $560 million powerball jackpot. down in florida, someone has the $450 million mega millions jackpot. so far neither winner has come forward. i can't believe we didn't win. >> i can. because the chances are like a gazillion to one.

discuss. where are you? >> it's troubling they have a higher level of suicide and depression. of course you can be addicted to things other than substances. we have discussed this. it's real. it lights up certain brain centers. >> is on the onus on apple or us? the iphone is coming upon us. i have a teenager. she's already in iphone land.

>> i could use their help. i think obviously it's on us. but i think we can use all the help we can get. it's real. my daughter sometimes it is hard to pry out of her hands. in your house? >> it is is an ongoing battle. i am surprised very strict about it. i think it's a mistake. i think technology can be a great thing. it can be a bad thing. kids left to their own devices, it's easier for parents to give in. what do you think? do you think that's the solution, that it is about the software or the parenting? what's the balance? let me know. very good. all right. president trump's mental health is being questioned in this new tell-all book. is he the only president whose fitness for office have been called into question? we give historical context next. ..

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people around president trump questioned his fitness for office. let's get some context. we want presidential historian douglas brinkley, professor, the best for the new year, always a pleasure to have you. before we dive in, just set a bit of a scene for us right now. where do you believe we are in terms of what we are living right now being historically extraordinary? >> well, we have never really had a president we were worried about this kind of mental instability going on. that's really the key of the wolff book, a insider said the president is not fit for command. there have been moments with pockets of concerns with president nixon, the pressure of

watergate, his drinking of gin made people think he was becoming unglued. linden johnen had cardiac issues, and started letting his hair grow long and became a bit of, and wood row wilson after a stroke, and a book was written about him and his alter ego, how to the president and his personal assistant had create add co-dependency. so we look at these things, but donald trump it seems every day he's giving evidence of a na, there's an old bob dylan line -- you don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows, we all now that he has a narcissistic disorder. >> but the feel or reckoning

about what the president may seem to be exhibiting is a very different standard from that which would trigger any actions specifically under the 25th amendment. when we have seen it exercised in history, what are the circumstances? and what does it take? >> i don't think you're going to see the 25th amendment. that would be very large measure to take. there's no reason for the republicans to do it. instead you're having a containment strategy, how can the white house contain donald trump? it's now clear you won't stop his tweets and irrational behavior, but can you make sure there's not damage done on the international stage or domestic policies? the fat that the stock market is booming, unemployment is down, it makes it seem like perhaps he's working and just a lot of americans have problems with his way of behaving. so it's going to be people keeping an eye on him in the white house, keeping notes, telling people.

he is under oeblgs by his own staff even if he doesn't realize it. >> i just remember from the practice of law and investigations, people would always say you don't have to be sick to be evil. you don't have to be sick to be stupid. just applying that as an an axiom to what we are seeing right now, the president of the united states doesn't have to be mentally unfit or some way ill to exercise bad judgment and to fail to surrender the me to the we, which is clearly evidenced by what he does every day. he doesn't have to be sick to be acting like this. >> but i think it would be helpful to convince cnn to do a documentary on what is narcissism in politics. >> even if he were narcissistic, diagnosed as such, we have seen presidents in the past who were diagnosed, recognized or --

there's even a percentage for it, somewhere around 10%. just because even if you did have clinical depression, that doesn't mean you can't be president, does it? >> no, i agree with that completely, about you what it does mean is some people have to take precautions. you notice that vice president pence is not in the "fight and fury" book. he was smart enough not to talk to wolff. >> he could be key to anything that happened under the 25th amendment. it could not happen without him. >> exactly. he's staying quiet e i'm just suggesting there are people that are looking at this. wolff happened to be, for some reason, let into the white house and roam around, and report what some may be thinking, the ultimate portrait rings true to a lot of people. it doesn't mean that the president is in time-out or the 25th amendment is coming, but we have to analyze it and really

the people in his inner circle will. >> may you live in interesting times, the old adage. we certainly are. certainly douglas brinkley, you'll be part of that effort when it happens. so it's always great to have your perspective. good to have you, professor. >> thank you so much. on this monday morning there's a ton of news. what do you say? let's get after it. the president insisting that his two greatest assets in life have been his mental stability and, quote, being like really smart. >> i have no reason to question his mental fitness. >> the allegations are nothing but a pile of trash. >> we've seen steve bannon apologize. >> i don't think this is going to immediately solve that feud between him and the president. actresses wearing all black

at the golden globes in solidarity with the me too movement. >> this is as much as a bold statement to make. >> the new statement is on the horizon. this is "new day" with chris cuomo and alisil al i -- >> now that they used that -- >> it's a big reason we named "new day" because of the hope of tomorrow. >> yes, it's on the horizon. good morning. welcome to your new day, monday january 8th. up first, administration officials are coming to president trump's defense, because the fall outis growing from "fire and fury" that among other dises, raises the question