Skip to main content

tv   Reliable Sources  CNN  May 13, 2018 8:00am-9:00am PDT

8:00 am
37,5 37,537 planes flew between kuala lumpur and singapore. that is an average of 84 flights a day, carrying over 48 million passengers in total. dominated rankings in the itineraries with eight of the ten most frequent trips originating and arriving in asian cities. thanks to all of you for being part of my program this week. i will see you next week. happy mother's day, everybody. i'm brian stelter, and this is "reliable sources." our weekly look at the story behind the story. of how the media really works. and how the news gets made. ahead this hour, an exclusive interview with "daily show" host, trevor noah. and we're going to talk about the media's addiction to a certain u.s. president. yes, nick kristof is here.
8:01 am
he is calling for an intervention. and later, the "washington post" jason rez eyan spent a year-and-a-half about the iranian prison. he's here to talk about the iran story not being covered. but first, attacks, leaks and lies. the praigs htrump administratiod a lot of good news to tout, but internal leaks and presidential tweets keep sending the white house off-script. there is a lot to address, and we have an all-star panel to do so. but i want to first look at what one other of the country's leaders is saying about this. former new york city mayor, michael bloomberg, who used to be talked about as a possible presidential candidate, gave a really interesting commencement speech yesterday that i want to show you. he talked about dishonesty a dozen times in his speech at rice university, saying we're suffering from an epidemic of dishonesty. >> the greatest threat to american democracy isn't communism or jihadism or any
8:02 am
other external force or foreign power. it is our own willingness to tolerate dishonesty in service and party, and in pursuit of power. the only thing more dangerous than dishonest politicians who have no respect for the law is a chorus of enablers who defend their every lie. >> now who is he talking about there? bloomberg, of course, didn't actually mention trump by name, couldn't bring himself to say the "t" word, but i think we all know what he was describing. i'll show you more in a moment. but i want to take a look at a tweet that revealed a lot this week. sometimes lies or insults can accidentally reveal the truth. in this presidential tweet from trump the other day, he talked about the fake news being negative. we can -- i think zoom in on that part where he says, if it's fake, it's negative. he essentially showed what he's been saying for a long time there. linking the two. if the story is bad for him, then he says it's fake. of course, most people don't believe that. but many of his most loyal fans
8:03 am
do. there's a lot to address about the broader implications of the last three words in this tweet. take away credentials. but let's begin by looking at this from a broader lens with an all-star panel. beginning with cnn's christiane amanpour. and april ryan, washington bureau chief for american radio networks, cnn political analyst. and frank sesno, corrector of the school of media of public affairs at the george washington university. great to see you all. thanks for being here today. >> great to be here. >> great to be with you. >> christiane, when the u.s. president threatens to take away media credentials, how is that heard around the world? what does that mean? >> you know, brian, i have been talking about this ever since the president was elected, even before he was inaugurated, i made a big speech at the committee to protect journalism in november of 2016, warning american journalists that there
8:04 am
was now a grave and extensional threat to their work. hopefully, because the united states has a constitutionally protected journalism, and a constitutionally protected press, by the first amendment, that the press will keep its spine and refuse to bend over to these kinds of threats, or whether they're jokes or whatever. i don't think this administration is going to take away journalists' credentials. if they do, i expect the press to fight back, or to gather forces outside and continue to be able to report in a very, very strong, unbiased, facts, not fiction kind of way for as long as it takes. but i think one of the great things of the trump administration is how it has caused a huge rise in necessary activism. you know, everybody was getting a little lazy, everyone was taking everything for granted, particularly in the united states. and i think women of have come out, you know, black people have come out. the press have come out.
8:05 am
everybody is coming out to defend their profession and their right to exist under the constitution. and the laws of the united states. >> april ryan, since you worked at the white house every day, how was this credentials threat intercept interpreted by the press corps? i think it matters even if he's making empty threats? >> he may be venting, but the problem is that this president has a tendency to vent, and do something. and we understand during the time of his campaigning, he withheld credentials from certain major news organizations. >> right. >> so it's a problem. and the day that we heard about it, everyone was kind of coming together, tried to talk about it. we were very concerned. it is a real issue. and you have to remember, brian, if indeed he does pull the credentials, it's not about us, the press. it's about the fact that the american public does not get the
8:06 am
information that they're supposed to get from the white house. >> now, the issue about credentials, you know, was a one-day story. i think the other day i wanted to bring it back up, because i do think his words have weight. but frank sesno, do you think that when we talk about his tweets, he says fake is negative, he's sort of revealing how he really thinks? it was sort of insightful, helpful, that he linked fake and negative in that way? because it kind of gave up what he has really been talking about all along? >> maybe. but i think we've known from the very beginning. >> okay. >> he is so vocal about this, he attacks so personally and he's basically said, if i don't like your coverage, that's fake, you're making it up. he's pointed to stories that are fake based on leaks that he says has no substance in truth and they turn out actually to be the case. take the firing of his national security adviser, for example. that was first leaked and happened after a denial. i think the denial of credentials, though, is something that's very important to focus on for a moment.
8:07 am
because of what christiane and april just said about the implications for access. but there is something very important pointed out earlier this week, and that was a 1970s court ruling that said the following about the white house press facilities. quote, having been made publicly available as a source of information for newsmen -- that's what they said back in the '70s, the protection afforded news gathering under the first amendment guarantee the freedom of the press requires this access not be denied arbitrarily or for less than compelling reasons. so there are these hurdles, and these are institutional norms, not just venting, that the president is going up against. >> and there is another version of access we should talk about, as well. the president's lack of interviews. this was a notable weekend, because it's been one full year since lester holt's interview with the president. we can show the video from that. ever since then, you see here zero interviews for abc, cbs, nbc, cnn.
8:08 am
it's been 12 full months since we had one of these sitdown, in-depth tv interviews. really a remarkable drought that we're going through. and april, i guess the reason is, his aides and lawyers don't trust him not to slip up. and give robert mueller more ammunition. is that the belief there? >> yeah. yes. this president definitely hurts his own self. he gets comfortable and just let's loose, for better or for worse. but not only has he not given a news interview in a year to any other major news organization, other than fox, he hasn't had a full-blown press conference since that february when he said that his administration was a well-oiled machine. but we're seeing all the dogs fly out. and this is one of the examples of the cogs just flying out. this president is a president of all america, and one great thing about it is different news organizations may come at
8:09 am
stories differently. and i've been asking for an interview myself. and i'm still making that request, no matter what happens. in that white house. everyone has a different take on a different issue. and if you just give an interview to fox, considered conservative, what about if you ga give -- don't give it to someone else who may be considered another -- has another political view, but yet still people of america watch that network? he is not giving a broad spectrum or broad scope to all of america in just by giving it to fox. it's one-sided. >> right. if he was on nbc, for example, he would reach a lot more viewers than on fox. christiane, if the president was giving interviews, we would be asking about iran and north korea. i wonder if your perch in london how the past week has been covered about the global press. you know, we've heard a lot about the withdrawal from the iran deal and the arrival of those three americans from north korea. how is it playing around the world? >> well, you know, in many
8:10 am
different places, in different ways. i really think what april said both about fox and also about, you know, pulling credentials in the past and banning certain people from rallies is really important. because on the one hand, i think it should be one for all and all for one. if one of our members is targeted, we should all rise up and stand with those members. that's what gives us strength. that's what not happened during the campaign and should have happened when various news organizations were banned from rallies. everybody should have gotten together and said, we're all in this together. secondly, about just giving interviews to the -- you know, to the channels of choice. all i can say about that is, if becomes an echo chamber as april was saying, and this is not just an academic exercise. if you remember, all the way back to the george w. bush administration, they just really sort of mostly talked to fox. fox i called the foot soldiers of the george w. bush administration. leading and helping and beating the drums to a war in iraq, which was based on specious and
8:11 am
false intelligence and manipulation of intelligence and basic lies. as you know, we're reaping the very, very bad windfall from that still. so that's the danger of just keeping your interviews in one sort of line. but around the world, i mean, look, we have, for instance, in london, this weekend, the president of turkey, a u.s. ally. erdogan is coming here. this is one of the key abusers of the press in his own country. i mean, taking them to court, you know, putting them in prison. i mean, just the worst. if you look at all the journalist groups, and their sort of list of free and unfree press. just the worst. so when the president of the united states of america, you know, says these kinds of things, other leaders are empowered, whether they're quasi democratic, authoritarian, dictatorial, they're all empowered to beat up against the
8:12 am
press. and that's really dangerous around the world. >> i want to take a look at one more piece of sound from michael bloomberg. mentioned him in the beginning. his comments about dishonesty. here's something he said, again, mentioning trump without using the word "trump." >> so how did we get here? how did we go from a president who could not tell a lie to politicians who could not tell the truth? from a george washington who embodied honesty to a washington, d.c. defined by deceit. >> frank sesno, last word to you on this overall issue. lies and leaks from the white house. is it all essentially, you know -- the coverage about leaks lately, press shop seems to be leaking like a sieve. but isn't the tone that comes from the top what allows or enables that to happen? >> as was said in the reagan white house, the fish rots from the head. of course, they weren't talking about themselves. they were talking about others. but that applies.
8:13 am
and we have so devalued honesty and credibility. which used to be demanded at the white house. when i covered at the white house, i remember the white house press secretary would walk away and say, by the way, the president just misspoke. now we have the "washington post" counting the number of falsehoods there are and maintaining a 3,000-plus list. this is very -- this is insidious stuff, as bloomberg pointed out. it devalues and debases the civil discourse across the spectrum. it enables others to follow suit. it just does what christiane was talking about, seems to ratify others who do this apparently successfully in their own countries, but in countries that bear no relation to the free press and democracy we're supposed to have. my concern -- >> would correct what the president said, because this week trump said the military pay had not been increased in ten
8:14 am
years. that was false. but the white house has always commented. >> they spin. that's what they do. that's what press secretaries are paid to do. but when they misspeak or make a mistake, or get their facts wrong, there has been some degree of accountability for that in the past. that's the bdifference here. >> april, thank you so much for being here. frank and christiane, i want to ask you about powerful #metoo claims against a powerful new york politician. also, nbc clearing itself in its internal investigation of matt lauer. and later, a one-on-one on the set of the ""daily show" with trevor noah.
8:15 am
there's nothing small about your business. with dell small business technology advisors you get the one-on-one partnership you need to grow your business. the dell vostro 15 laptop. contact a dell advisor today.
8:16 am
my dai need my blood sugar to stay in control. i need to shave my a1c. weekends are my time. i need an insulin that fits my schedule. ♪ tresiba® ready ♪ (announcer) tresiba® is used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. don't use tresiba® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. don't share needles or insulin pens. don't reuse needles. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause dizziness, sweating, confusion, and headache. check your blood sugar. low blood sugar can be serious and may be life-threatening. injection site reactions may occur. tell your prescriber about all medicines you take and all your medical conditions. taking tzds with insulins, like tresiba®, may cause serious side effects like heart failure. your insulin dose shouldn't be changed without asking your prescriber. get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing, fast heartbeat, extreme drowsiness, swelling of your face, tongue or throat, dizziness, or confusion. ask your health care provider if you're tresiba® ready.
8:17 am
covered by most insurance and medicare plans. ♪ tresiba® ready ♪
8:18 am
welcome back to "reliable sources," i'm brian stelter. 2:59. that is how much time elapsed between the publication of this "new yorker" story about eric schneiderman and his resignation from the attorney general office. under three hours and this powerful democratic politician was out. the story's allegations of physical assault were reported by jane mayor and ronan farrow who joined the new yorker last
8:19 am
year. it is still a mystery, why did nbc let him walk out the door with one of the biggest stories of the year? we all know how the weinstein story has sparked months and months of reporting about other powerful men, including nbc's matt lauer. when lauer was fired, nbc pledged to investigate itself, and on wednesday, the report came out. nbc's head lawyer said, quote, we found no evidence indicating that any nbc news or "today" show leadership, news hr or others received any complaints about lauer's workplace behavior prior to november 27th. so they say they didn't know. they also say they're making changes to improve workplace culture, just like cbs, which has been under similar scrutiny after the charlie rose scandal. but there is still more to come, because farrow is now ready to talk about what went wrong at nbc. why is weinstein reporting exposing alleged crimes was not broadcast. nbc says its reporting just
8:20 am
wasn't ready. but farrow disagrees, and is going to write about what happened in a new book titled "catch and kill." the book was announced a few days ago and i think it's going to be a doozy. let me bring back christiane amanpour and frank sesno. frank, there has been some skepticism, and one of the women -- the woman who came out tuesdaying tom brokaw of harassment says there should be an independent investigation. where do you stand on the idea of these media companies or newsrooms having to look inward and not always being comfortable doing so? >> it's always difficult. it's always very controversial. i think i generally come down on the side of having an independent, outside set of eyes on it. after all, these are news organizations, they stand for transparency. they depend on their own credibility and the trust of the audience. and so anything that they can do to reinforce that, also to anticipate where those problems are going to be, they should do. so when it comes to something
8:21 am
like this, they can and should bring in outside eyes, whether they're hr or other types of legal experts who can provide both the creditability to the investigation and the fullness to the scrutiny that is brought intermittently to media companies that spend, especially in the news business, their full time trying to put scrutiny to everybody else. >> right, exactly. in this case, nbc has had two outside law firms helping with the review. but still done by corporate. i wonder, christiane -- i remember you speaking very earlier on after the weinstein stories came out, talking about the value and importance of the #metoo movement. i wonder if you're struck by how many stories have come out, how much momentum this has. you know, because frankly, there's been very few stories in the trump age that have broken through and demanded attention the way this movement has. >> look, i absolutely agree.
8:22 am
and i agree with what frank said. to have the maximum transparency in a profession, mind you, as frank said, that is all about maximum transparency, i think absolutely there should be -- just to be sure it's whiter than white and pugher than pure, there is no investigation that it obviously should be independent, outside investigations. i mean, it's like, yeah, of course. that is what everybody would expect. why is it having such an impact? you know, again, it's almost a no-brainer. my question is really why has it taken this long? so many women have complained for so long. and have never been listened to. we have never been heard. and it's as if because of our physique, gender, particular attributes, that we are open season. that it is open season on us. on our bodies, on our minds, trying to control us, sideline
8:23 am
us, interrupt. women have played second fiddle for way too long. when you have a story so m meticulously reported, for many other women to come up and say "me too" that had a tipping point effect. go back to malcolm gladwell's books. often things happen in the world that don't actually make a change until they do. until there is this tipping point. and so what -- you know, the "new york times," ronan far row, the major newsbreakers have done is create this tipping point. and make it so that it is no longer possible to shut us up. and to disbelieve us. apprehension you've seen a retrial in the bill cosby, and calls for more and more of these investigations. it's really vital now, absolutely vital, that women are listened to. not to discourt the playing
8:24 am
field, make specious accusations. we must understand what actually is, you know, something really serious, versus something not so fireable, not so serious. and this should be something everybody takes really seriously, rather than trying to keep on -- you know, swim and not sink. and still trying fully to grasp the host california dimension of what's happening now. >> i noticed -- i'm trying to think back in november when charlie rose was fired, your cnn international program took over temporarily on pbs stations. this week some big news. it's becoming permanent. so congratulations on that. >> thank you. >> and i was struck by something you said in your statement. you said you're thrilled to be a feel filling this role at this time. what is the significant tons of seeing a woman replacing a man within the famous time slot for a talk show on pbs? >> look, i made that declaration
8:25 am
very knowingly and very deliberately. it's not -- you know, it's not an accident that i'm a woman. and it's not an accident that i'm taking this job at this particular time. i'm not figuget into any ad hom personal ack situations right now. i'm just going to say all of this thoroughly investigated, but -- but, but, but, yeah, we can. yes, we can. we can. and we will. and we are. and i'm going to be incredibly privileged to be doing this in an equities panneded however with all those magazine sievent contributors. everybody, i'm really looking forward to doing that with them. but, you know, the idea that we can't or we don't do it as well or whatever it is, is just, you know, neanderthal. and we are in the 21st century. >> christiane, frank, thank you
8:26 am
so much for heek. and amanpour and company starts on july. at&t, the mike michael cohen fumble. and the favorite joke about the president trump presidency. this is bill's yard. and bill has a "no-weeds, not in my yard" policy. but with scotts turf builder weed & feed, bill has nothing to worry about. it kills weeds and greens grass, guaranteed. this is a scotts yard. and greens grass, guaranteed. ♪
8:27 am
most people come to la with big dreams. ♪ we came with big appetites. with expedia, you could book a flight, hotel, car, and activity all in one place. ♪ this is no ordinary coffee. it's single-origin kenyan coffee from the nyeri highlands, 6,000 feet above sea level. but how do you really know that the beans journeyed to the port of mombasa and across the pacific? that you can trust they're 100% authentic? ibm blockchain. a smart way to track every step, ensuring this coffee did indeed come from 6,000 feet above sea level. and not a foot lower. ♪ ♪
8:28 am
it's just a burst pipe, i could fix (laugh) no. with claim rateguard your rates won't go up just beacuase of a claim. i totally could've... (wife) nope! switching to allstate is worth it. tso why binge in here, when you can do it out there. with this clever little app called audible. you can listen to the stories you love while doing the things you love, outside. everyone's doing it she's binging... they're binging... and... so is he. so put on your headphones, turn on audible and binge better. ( ♪ ) ( ♪ )
8:29 am
( ♪ ) does your business internet provider promise a lot?
8:30 am
let's see who delivers more. comcast business gives you gig-speed in more places. the others don't. we offer up to 6 hours of 4g wireless network backup. everyone else, no way. we let calls from any of your devices come from your business number. them, not so much. we let you keep an eye on your business from anywhere. the others? nope! get internet on our gig-speed network and add voice and tv for $34.90 more per month. call or go on line today. one of the things i asked trevor noah, when i sat down with him on the set of "the daily show" made a joke about how cohen was running swamp tours. we had a wide-ranging conversation about trump and comedy and also about what noah
8:31 am
still wants to know. >> trevor, thanks for sitting down with me. >> thank you again, brian. good to see you. >> is this starting to feel like home for you now that it's been a few years? >> i think it's felt like home for a while now. and i think home has been less defined by the space and more the people. i think were it not for the trump presidency, it may have taken me longer to feel like this was home. >> and in the first few months of the trump presidency, your writers and you were scrambling. is that still happening? >> but we don't scramble any more. now we expect it. we plan for the unplanable. we wait for the moment when wolf blitzer goes, "breaking news" because it happens almost every single day. it's the 5:30 curse we call it. >> the 5:30 curse. >> yes, the 5:30 curse. 5:30 every day, the news will break. >> the news about michael cohen getting payments, did break between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. this week. you said cohen is literally
8:32 am
swelling swamp tours. >> yes. >> did it surprise you? >> no, i said trump reminds me of an african dictator. the first thing you have to do is follow the money. and you follow the money with the people closest to them. family members, business associates, all you do is watch for the money. and i would have been disappointed had we not found out or had michael cohen not done this. i'm like, yeah, this is following the script. this is what you were meant to be doing as the person who rolls with donald trump. you are always going to be finding a way to swindle cash. and now the question really that remains is, did trump know? and did these companies really not get anything? because i feel like that's a quick way for the stories to disappear. yeah, yeah, yeah, we paid him, let's move along. >> when you say follow the money, you just just like a journalist. sounds like you bring that idea to this. >> i think you as a person who processes information in the world, good journalists help you think of how to process a story. i think as a critical thinker, you should be able to do these
8:33 am
things beyond journalism. you know, i think we should be trying to build a population of people that are looking at information, that are reading into information, people who are asking questions that go beyond what they just told. >> and where do you see your show fitting into that? >> well, it's always evolved. you know? when i started "the daily show" i thought our purpose was just to make jokes about what's happening, because that's what the world felt like, a benign existence under barack obama. i think as the world comes to change, our purpose in that world changes. and i think that happens not just because "the daily show, bshow," but depending on what is happening to society. so when society is experiencing a boon or if it is a wonderful time for people to be alive and there's not much strife, i generally find that comedy will be benign, and it will be, you know, observational and, you
8:34 am
know, really light in its touch. as things become scarier, as the world becomes less secure, as people question you know, the security that they exist within, that's when comedy becomes more cutting. because in many ways, it's the release valve to that fear or to that tangs. >> you have some of the same challenges that i have. there might be a dozen stories in a day about trump or politics. how do you go about deciding which are worthy ever of talking about? >> well, i break it down into categories. i go, what's news worthy, what is interesting. what is entertaining. and what is original. because i'm going to be on "the daily show" every single day of the week, four nights a week. it's nice to vary my material. it's nice to switch things up. i don't want my audience to tune in every day and feel like they're hearing the exact same story. and so, you know, as much as i can do, i don't talk about trump. he makes it extremely difficult, as you know. because -- and i've heard from
8:35 am
many people that he purposefully wants to be in the news. so it's difficult to avoid that when the person is the president of the united states. >> i think we've had this debate. you think trump will be re-elected if he decides to run. you think he's going to be with us for a long time. >> i think people underestimate how laser-focused trump and his supporters are. i think people also underestimate how many people in america are willing to accept the adverse effects of donald trump as they pertain to the general discourse in america, versus the economy and how people actually feel in their daily lives. so it's -- it goes back to, you know what joe biden was talking about, where he was saying, affected versus offended. and that's what's happened with americans. there are many people who go i'm offended by donald trump, but i'm not affected by him. i think too many people take for granted democrats have in the
8:36 am
ability to step in their own way at the finish line. i don't take that for granted. >> really hard last question. do you have a favorite joke about the president? >> i think my favorite joke that encapsulates how i observe and process the donald trump presidency is this. i say, i wake up most days terrified at the notion that trump is the most powerful president in the world. i also wake up most days acknowledging that he's also going to make me laugh. and that's what's difficult for me, is that he's an emotional paradox. and i've come to realize it's like this. i think it's almost like there is an asteroid headed towards the earth, but it's shaped like a penis. i think i'm going to die, but i know i'm going to laugh. >> you're going to die laughing? >> could be both. if you want to hear more from noah, we're sharing the entire interview on our podcast. you can look it up through apple podcast, stitcher or tune in. next, "washington post" reporter, jason rizina.
8:37 am
the first one is called the trax. beautiful! do you think it would be good for moving in together? moving in together?! ahhh! - ahhh! okay, well, this is the chevy equinox... wow. nice. perfect for when you two have your first kid. give me some time... okay, this is the traverse. for when you have your five kids, two dogs and one cat. (laughter) whoa! five? ahhh... well, no matter what stage of life you're in chevy has an suv for you. you have it all planned out, thanks. paywell, esurance makes itnce you dsimple and affordable. in fact, drivers who switched from geico to esurance
8:38 am
saved an average of $412. that's auto and home insurance for the modern world. esurance, an allstate company. click or call. paying too much for insurance that isn't the right fit? well, esurance makes finding the right coverage easy. in fact, drivers who switched from geico to esurance saved an average of $412. that's auto and home insurance for the modern world. esurance, an allstate company. click or call.
8:39 am
8:40 am
or a c-anything-o. but i've got an idea sir. get domo. it'll connect us to everything that's going on in the company. get it for jean who's always cold. for the sales team, it and the warehouse crew. give us the data we need. in one place, anywhere we need it. help us do our jobs better. with domo we can run this place together. well that's that's your job i guess. ♪
8:41 am
this just in from the pentagon. the three american prisoners who arrived home from north korea on thursday have just left walter reed medical center. they are now being reunited with their families. their release came as president trump seeks a nuclear deal with kim jong-un. at the same time, trump is with drawing the u.s. from the iran nuclear deal. ja jason is a global opinions writer for the "washington post," who was imprisoned for a year-and-a-half in iran while serving as the partner post correspondent in tehran. he's also cnn's newest global
8:42 am
affairs analyst. jason, welcome to the network. i wanted to ask you about that photo op the other day. it was both a wonderful homecoming and also a photo op for the president and for the released prisoners. what were you thinking when you were seeing these three men arriving home from north korea? >> a lot of mixed emotions. i was so happy for them that they've been released for them and their families. but as you just said right now, they're just being released from walter reed hospital. you know, they have already seen the president of the united states and had cameras thrust into their faces in an apparent photo op. that i just wish they had had this opportunity to sort of process over time their experience, spend some time with their family, reintegrate little by little before they were thrust into the public like that. and i was so thankful that i had the opportunity to spend some time alone and with my family before that happened to me. >> yeah, i was wondering, if there was pressure that you
8:43 am
experienced or your family experienced from the obama administration for a similar moment like that. >> never. never. we had the opportunity to meet with the president later on down the road. he checked in with my family right away after i was released. but there was never any pressure like that. >> ever you've been talking this week about what it means for the u.s. to be with drawing from the iran deal. there is a story that i think has been under covered, and that is the americans who remain in prison in the country. tell us about that. >> that's right, brian. there's currently five u.s. citizens imprisoned in iran, we believe. and i'm certain, in fact, that all of them are in there on trumped up charges. and to permanent residents, as well. we also have bob levinson, former fbi agent, who has been missing since 2007. and you know, the opportunity to bring those people home was sort of abandoned in the process of leaving the nuclear deal, because the main channel, the only channel of direct
8:44 am
communication between washington and tehran was around the nuclear deal. and implementation of it. and now that the u.s. has pulled out of it, there aren't those opportunities to speak directly with tehran. >> and i know in the past you haven't shared much about your time being held in prison. you're working on a book about that, though. has that been cathartic? >> it's been a long road. and, you know, it's almost two-and-a-half years since i was released. i just returned to work at the "washington post" in january. i'm finishing up the book now. it will be out next year. but it's been -- it's been a good process for me to kind of put together what happened and also process and talk to people, other people who have been through similar situations. >> what a remarkable experience. jason, thank you so much for being here. welcome to cnn. >> thank you. up next here, "new york times" columnist, nick kristof. he says we in the news media have an addiction to trump. do you agree?
8:45 am
♪ with expedia you could book a flight, hotel, car and activity all in one place. ♪
8:46 am
8:47 am
led california's fight ofor clean, renewable energy.or he cleaned up pollution at the port of l.a. and created more good-paying jobs. antonio villaraigosa for governor.
8:48 am
because antonio villaraigosa millions got it done.healthcare he defended women's healthcare, banned military-style assault weapons, banned workplace discrimination, and more. antonio for governor.
8:49 am
is the news media addicted to trump news? is it time for an intervention? joining me now, nick kristof, an op-ed columnist for the "new york times." great to see you in person here. >> great to be with you. >> i am a trump addict. i think i'm willing to admit that. i think all roads lead to trump right now. but you pointed out in a recent column that that can be a problem. how so? >> so i mean, and let me express my own addiction, as well. you know, my wife and i, we find ourselves -- our pillow talk is about trump. >> terrible. >> but i do think that we have to acknowledge that there is so much more happening in the world than donald trump. and we in the media are essentially all trump, all the time. and frankly, it's a little rude to say, this, but i think cable television is -- particularly cable tv. >> it is. >> and the up shot is we risk not covering a lot of really important things at home and around the world. and we complain that president
8:50 am
trump is, you know, parochial, isn't paying attention to important things around the world, and we're absolutely right. but that can also be said about us. >> well, there's always been a critique of the american press, that it's too focused on politics, washington inside baseball, and not focused enough on real-world issues that affect communities. and i guess the point that, that's even more true now, because trump sucks up all the oxygen. >> i think that's part of it. and also i think, frankly, that there is obviously a crisis in journalism, and our whole business model has been collapsing. and then along came trump, and he's a bit of the solution to our business model. as long as we have cameras focused on him, then audiences will follow. >> that's interesting that you said that. he brought up something similar at his rally a few days ago. here's what he said. >> so i said, unless they give me an extension for the presidency -- [ laughter ] [ cheers and applause ]
8:51 am
-- which i don't think the fake news media would be too happy about. [ booing ] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. actually, they would be happy! because when i'm not here, their ratings are going to sink. >> now, i don't know if that's entirely true, but there is a trump bump that we have seen in television ratings and "new york times" subscriptions, et cetera. >> absolutely. >> so i suppose on an individual and an institutional basis, we have to reckon with this. >> yeah. and i think we have to acknowledge it. you know, in 2016, frankly, i think we in the media, to some extent, blew a historic election, because we were so relieved that there was somebody we could cover that would generate these subscriptions. and as you remember, there was some anxiety in news rooms that hillary clinton was going to be elected and government would be boring again and our audiences would desert us.
8:52 am
that did not happen. >> isn't this really about proportionality? here is part of the column you wrote. i'm not arguing that we avert our eyes from trump or mute our criticism. far from it. but we have to figure out how to spare bandwidth for the genocide of myanmar, opioids in america, and so on. >> yeah. absolutely. i mean, we're focused on one conflict, which is basically the washington conflict. and that's important. we've got to cover that. but there are all these others out there, as well. and that i don't think we're adequately covering those. and, you know, for very understandable reasons. if -- it's easy for me to write this as a columnist. because, you know, i don't -- i'm far enough out of the game, i can write columns that only my mother will read, and that's fine. but if i were executive producer of a tv show, i can understand that if i sent a camera crew off to myanmar to write about the genocide against the rohingya, then my audience is going to drop compared to a rival network that puts a democrat and a republican in a studio together
8:53 am
and has them yell at each other. and that's a real problem. and i don't really have a solution to that. >> you also wrote in the column, quote, the biggest trump scandals aren't those unfolding in washington. but those devastating the lives of poor and vulnerable people in distant american towns. again, that's harder to cover, and the resources are not always there. but i really like the way you framed the scandal, the real scandal, being outside washington. >> that's right. i mean, i come from a part of oregon that has -- that is indeed pro trump in part, because it did get neglected. and because there has been real crisis. you know, american life expectancy has gone down two years in a row. whereas in the rest of the industrialized world, it's gone up. and this -- if this were happening because of terrorism, we would be all over it. but it's happening in really boring, nondramatic ways through suicide, alcohol abuse, through drugs, because of a crisis in
8:54 am
work, a crisis in self esteem, a crisis in employment, in living standards. and i think we have kind of dropped the ball on that. and it helped elect president trump, i believe. and i think in turn his policies are going to magnify that problem. >> what a thought, that if these people were dying from terrorism, there would be wall-to-wall coverage right here. but because it happens in the shadows, one at a time, it's almost invisible to us. >> yeah. and that invisible america, if you will, i think is one that because we don't cover it adequately, because we don't talk about it, we don't develop good policies to address it. i think that as a nation, we tend to have our worst policies towards issues that are difficult to talk about or that are i honvisible. we can be part of the solution. we can help leverage these issues and put them on the agenda. and it's hard, and we have to figure out how to build a business model for that kind of thing. but maybe a starting point is to
8:55 am
have a conversation about that. >> yes, indeed. and a quick plug here for our nightly newsletter, all the news, not just trump, but everything else, as well, delivered to your in box every evening. sign up for free at reliablesources.com, and i'll e-mail you tonight with all of the news. we'll be back right here in just a moment. fisher investments avoids them. some advisers have hidden and layered fees. fisher investments never does. and while some advisers are happy to earn commissions from you whether you do well or not, fisher investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. maybe that's why most of our clients come from other money managers. fisher investments. clearly better money management. tso why binge in here, when you can do it out there. with this clever little app called audible. you can listen to the stories you love while doing the things you love,
8:56 am
outside. everyone's doing it she's binging... they're binging... and... so is he. so put on your headphones, turn on audible and binge better. i had a very minor fender bender tonight! in an unreasonably narrow fast food drive thru lane. but what a powerful life lesson. and don't worry i have everything handled. i already spoke to our allstate agent, and i know that we have accident forgiveness. which is so smart on your guy's part. like fact that they'll just... forgive you... four weeks without the car. okay, yup. good night. with accident forgiveness your rates won't go up just because of an accident. switching to allstate is worth it.
8:57 am
this is a tomato you can track from farm, to pot, to jar, to table. and serve with confidence that it's safe. this is a diamond you can follow from mine to finger, and trust it never fell into the wrong hands. ♪ ♪ this is a shipment transferred two hundred times, transparently tracked from port to port. this is the ibm blockchain, built for smarter business. built to run on the ibm cloud. and my brother ray and i started searching for answers. (vo) when it's time to navigate in-home care, follow that bright star. because brightstar care earns the same accreditation
8:58 am
as the best hospitals. and brightstar care means an rn will customize a plan that evolves with mom's changing needs. (woman) because dad made us promise we'd keep mom at home. (vo) call 844-4-brightstar for your free home care planning guide.
8:59 am
if you'd have told me three years ago... that we'd be downloading in seconds, what used to take... minutes. that guests would compliment our wifi. that we could video conference... and do it like that. (snaps) if you'd have told me that i could afford... a gig-speed. a gig-speed network. it's like 20 times faster than what most people have. i'd of said... i'd of said you're dreaming. dreaming! definitely dreaming. then again, dreaming is how i got this far. now more businesses in more places can afford to dream gig. comcast, building america's largest gig-speed network. finally this morning, happy mother's day to all the moms watching and all the moms of the "reliable sources" team. julia's mom ann, daniella's mom, leslie, david's mom, jeannie, lee's mom, ellen, my mom donna, my mom in law, helen. as a new dad, i am feeling more
9:00 am
grateful for moms than ever before. vicki is at home with their kids as is david marshal's wife anna, and my wife, amy, too. sonny is just about to turn 1. there she is taking a selfie the other day. in a divided world, this day is something that really brings everyone together. so call your mom. and we'll see you right back here this time next week. ♪ historic summit. president trump touts his upcoming meeting with kim jong-un. >> the relationship is good. i think it's going to be a very big success. and welcomed home. american prisoners freed by north korea. >> we want to thank kim jong-un. >> but can the north korean dictator be trusted? and on message?