gives you the strongest hold ever to lock your dentures. so now you can eat tough food without worry. fixodent and forget it. i'm brian stelter. this is reliable sources. our weekly look at the story behind the story. there's a lot to share today. let's get to it. we have investigative journalists talking about following the money. the billionaire who makes trump look cash poor, bloomberg's ad blitz is underway. there's been no avoiding it. how is his news room covering his run for office? there's never been anything like this. the media mogul running for president. and a former news editor who quit over this issue in 2016 is going to join me live. a surprise trip to afghanistan and why it cost one

reporter her job. all of that coming up. first, the impeachment of donald trump and how it's being covered and contorted and confused. the president could be impeached by the end of this month. the house vote might happen by christmas. and the democrats are about to resume hearings jerry nadler says in the new letter trump again sought for interference in the election. he's talking about ukraine, for his personal and political benefit. nadler accusing trump of a campaign of obstruction. nadler says trump has to decide whether he's going to participate in the hearings, defend himself by friday december 6th. the clock is ticking. let's look at where trump is getting his legal advice. his actual lawyers are joined by these players in this elaborate protrump media universal. many say the legal process is in a legal coup.

and the commentators right ring but not pro trump every time, they are drowned out by the sycophant s. maybe it's a tale of two judges. two fox news judges. jeanine pirro who was a judge versus andrew napollitono. fox viewers like pirro. she was at the white house two days in a row this week. she was spotted at the ceremony for a dog and then getting her picture taken. napolitano is a target of trump's ire. he says trump's conduct with the ukrainian president is impeachable. he says trump has admitted to criminal behavior and says there's plenty of evidence. compare and contrast the two judges for me. >> the democrats on the house

intelligence committee have unearthed enough evidence in my opinion to justify about three or four articles of impeachment against the president. >> but after two weeks and 17 witnesses, adam schiff and his gang of political malcontents failed miserably. >> if you're the president, you'd obviously much rather hear from pirro. it seems to me napolatono is providing reasoned arguments. trump has plenty of defenders on the air like gregg jarod who wrote a column saying trump did nothing impeachable. the president shared it on twitter. i would think this thanksgiving trump lightly gave thanks to those people in the world. hear what trump told bill o'reilly the other day. >> the call was a perfect call. i had your friend mark levin go do a whole thing.

i had gregg jarrett analyze it. there was nothing said wrong. >> trump keeps hearing he's not the master mind of a shake down but the victim of a takedown. and dissenting voices are they even getting through? and is this all a preview of what trump's legal strategy will be as the house prepares to vote on articles of impeachment? those are our questions and i have several smart people to ask and they're joining me hear beginning with slate magazine senior editor, a criminal defense attorney and lecturer. and media critic for the baltimore sun. thank you all for coming on. no dahlia, this question about the president getting legal advice from the television set, ultimately are folks like pirro doing a disservice to the president by filling his head with spite? >> they're telling him what he wants to hear, and in some sense it means you've constructed a

flawless feedback loop. the people on television who tell trump all the things that trump has either tweeted or said or felt at some point are reinforcing his legal theory of the world, and the people who tell trump things he doesn't like kind of get fired. >> i noted earlier in the fall caroline, you're on fox from time to time. you took a side on a spat that happened. and you basically were like yes, it's possible that criminal conduct was admitted to by the president here. i know this ukraine scandal is complicated for many viewers, but what do you make of the divide especially at the networks? >> yes, i think that shep smith who is no longer at the network had been sort of the one remaining voice that would speak truth to power, really. and he really prided himself on providing a truthful analysis. so when he texted me, i've grown

to know him over the course of the years having been on his show. he texted me about a legal question. i said it depends. i gave him my truthful reaction. he was using it to defend judge nappolitano to called him a fool for saying it wasn't criminal conduct. i think there's a reason shep left the network and it's fox's loss. >> do you think there's room left for people trying to explain trump is in pretty hot water? >> i think there's always room for reasoned legal analysis. i think one of the issues right now is impeachment is such an inherently political question. perhaps we're looking through it -- through the wrong lens. we're so caught up from the mueller investigation, thinking about this from a statutory analysis, thinking does it meet the legal definitions of a crime when we all know a crime is neither necessary for sufficient for an impeachment. really, it's a political question, and so, therefore, the

echo chamber has some value in this analysis. >> right. obviously you cover the echo chamber and are our media critic at the table. thinking about fox and the influence every day, do you see fox becoming more or more less influential for the president as the impeachment vote nears? >> well, i think it will become more important to the president, brian, because he needs it so much. and fox is so outside of nappollitono and a few other voices, fox is so in with him that right wing media grid you showed earlier is so important. when we compare it to -- we want a historical context, of course. but when we compare it to past impeachment proceedings, you can't come close because of the right wing media that's out there now. and the way it operates. you know, one of the problems fox is having is it's so happy to just take talking points from

the white house and not have to think. but the white house has been so scatter shoot and inconsistent with the defense to this impeachment hearing that fox is having kind of cognitive confusion. you know, first ill legitimate. then it was hear say. then it was not trump who should be investigated for russian interferen interference, it's george sorros. fox is leading the pack on this, seeding the mainstream media and fox is part of it with these conspiracy theories, because when you get to conspiracy theory and nobody knows what to believe and it's all confusion, you are playing into the hands of vladimir putin. that is his strategy for post soviet russia. >> yeah. doll ya wrote about this in a

column. dahl dahlia, you said the fog machine is something trump defenders want to benefit from. last weekend the gop senator saying i don't know if it was russia or ukraine that interfered in the election. the idea is what? that because nothing is noble, they'll side with trump? is that what they want? >> yeah. we have to remember and caroline knows this better than i do. part of this is a state of mind question. and if what in the end of the day the defense is, it was perfectly reasonable for trump to believe that ukraine interfered in 2016. even if that's untrue, all you need to do is build the case that it was reasonable for trump to think it. and if you go back and look at some of the witnesses and the impeachment so far, what we've heard is steve caster questioning on behalf of senate republicans saying it would have been perfectly plausible that trump could infer that ukraine was meddling. a lot of witnesses were like i guess it's plausible. that's building a defense. >> now, your law firm represents

giuliani. you don't personally represent him, but the law firm does. is it a reasonable defense to say they thought ukraine was meddl medd meddling? >> when you think about it in terms of charging a crime, state of mind always is first and foremost in a prosecutor's mind. i think this goes back to the mulvaney 1.0 defense. get over it, people, we do this all the time. this was an internal foreign policy debate, and you can argue over the substance of that foreign policy whether or not that was in america's best interest or whatever the argument may be, but if the president had a truly founded belief that there was, quote, unquote, corruption in the ukraine, and burisma and 2016, that it's a perfectly reasonable thing for him to want to do. i think sondland said businessmen always get something in return when they're about to sign a big check. again, it frames it as more of a

typical foreign policy question and negotiation. >> dahlia you wrote it's delusional for the president, something the president says is delusional. that means worse than lying. it's a significant difference. right? it's not just lying to the public. maybe he believes what he's saying and that's worse? >> i think he believes it and i think the entire machinery of fox is feeding into that. they're not talking. they talk about the office of the presidency. they talk about institutions and plausible legal framing of this. what they're saying is you're right, mr. trump. it's a witch hunt. the deep state is after you. you've done nothing wrong. you're the victim here. and as i said, you get that feedback loop where they're saying, they're just reinforcing his world view. >> yeah. it sounds like a warm bath. it sounds really nice to bathe in that, but i'm not sure it's actually helping the president. all right. to the panel, thank you very much. quick break on reliable sources and then we talk about the bloomberg 2020 campaign story

that i mentioned earlier. also the trump presidency and the follow the money story. we have two investigative reporters standing by. they're next. and your mother told me all her life that i should fix it. and now it reminds me of her. i'm just glad i never fixed it. listen, you don't need to go anywhere dad. meet christine, she's going to help you around the house. the best home to be in is your own. from personal care and memory care, to help around the house, home instead offers personalized in-home services for your loved ones. home instead senior care. to us, it's personal. well you remember what happened last year. you can't bring a backup thanksgiving to my sister's house. it's not like we're going to walk in with it. we'll bring it in as we need it. ...phase it in. phase it in? yeah, phase it in. (groans) hmph... (food grunting menacingly) when the food you love doesn't love you back,

stay smooth and fight heartburn fast with tums smoothies. ♪ tum tum-tum tum tums with tums smoothies. mmacramé! obviously. wanna go to the gym? uh, it's too expensive. actually, our unitedhealthcare medicare plans come with renew active, a gym membership and more, at no extra cost. i'm not a workout kinda guy. you get a personalized fitness plan. i'm exercising my brain. and an online brain health program. i need workout clothes? they have tvs here too. renew active, only from unitedhealthcare medicare including the only plans with the aarp name. [airport pa]"all flights have been delayed." t-mobile makes the holidays easier... ...like this. because right now when you buy one of the latest samsung phones you get one free. on that. so you can post this... ...score this... ...be there like this... ...and share all of this... ...with that.

so do this, on that, with us. now, buy a samsung galaxy s10 or note 10 and get one free. (kickstart my heart by motley crue)) (truck honks) (wheels screeching) (clapping) (sound of can hitting bag and bowl) (clapping) always there in crunch time. it also has the highest growth in manufacturing jobs in the us. it's a competition for the talent.

employees need more than just a paycheck. you definitely want to take advantage of all the benefits you can get. 2/3 of employees said that the workplace is an important source for personal savings and protection solutions. the workplace should be a source of financial security. keeping your people happy is what keeps your people. that's financial wellness. put your employees on a path to financial wellness with prudential. i am totally blind. and non-24 can make me show up too early... or too late. or make me feel like i'm not really "there." talk to your doctor, and call 844-234-2424. is there a through line to every story about the president? a through line to all the investigations and if so, is it about him personally benefitting sometimes personally profiting from public service? that's the question i thought about when i saw these stories in the past week.

the one about giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, how he was privately pursuing hundreds of thousands of business from ukrainian officials while pushing for the trump inquiries into hunter biden. think about months ago, mueller's probe highlighted how cohen was trying to leverage the campaign to try to get trump tower moscow built. headlines after headlines about the idea of private profit and public service tied together. lately it's about trump's properties, seeing business from u.s. officials. the trump hotel in d.c., et cetera, et cetera. the president says he's losing a lot of money by serving. but other investigations suggest otherwise. let's talk more about that, the follow the money angle. i'm joined by a reporter for the wall street journal who broke the story about giuliani's consultanting firm facing conspiracy federal subpoenas.

also the author of "america oligarchs, the kushners, trumps and marriage of money and power". that comes out in january. that's an interesting title. let's start right there, andrea. money and power. what's the importance of the money and power right now in the trump era? >> it's been defining. and we remember the very first press conference trump has as president-elect when he was telling jim acosta he couldn't ask questions and the dossier was just released but what happened was momentous. the president said he was divesting from his small family closely held business. >> right. >> and as a result, even though it's not a large business, it's a worldwide business. the american people would not understand whose interest he was acting in. was he acting in a personal interest or acting in the public interest. it's been the defining question of the trump presidency and it spread out to the people around him. other people on his cabinet, his daughter, his son-in-law, have

not divested from their large oldings. you have a whole administration where we don't know what forces are at play and when they find out, when we find out, they tend to be troubling. >> is it fair to say that look, people in power are trying to profit? that's not new. that's been going on for as long as the country has been around. there's a striking number of cases in the trump age that involve this. >> right. i think it's telling my beat is white collar law enforcement. it feels like a political beat. there is -- you look at cities and states around the united states, there are bipartisan examples of people leveraging political power for their own personal benefit. but there is something about i think the influx of outside money or big money, foreign money into our political process today, and just this striking number of people indicted are accused out of the justice department. it's pretty telling.

>> are use outlets detecting and explaining this pattern? >> in d.c. i think, yeah. there's a lot of great reporting going on by a number of outlets. i think one thing this is maybe my soap box issue here, but i think it's worthying -- not just the explaining is important, but i think to do a better job of looking at what are the -- why does it matter that the trump international hotel sees millions of dollars from foreign delegations every year? why do we care about that? i'm not sure the media has to tell people how to feel. we could be doing a better job covering local and state corruption elsewhere that tells -- that might present to the american public or viewership an example -- other examples of why this sort of problematic overlay of private business and government should matter. >> right. not the type of how to feel about it but to be aware of

what's going on. >> right. >> be aware of what's happening. is that the idea behind the podcast? >> right. we track the interests that might be affecting the president. private interest. one of the things that's fascinating is we're an open investigation and a lot of times we'll do ep sides where we have a lot of questions. we did one on giuliani a year ago where we asked how is he making his money? we know he travels around the world. but he is somebody as we are now obviously seeing has an enormous influence over the president, and yet j is not in the administration and as a result is not required to file any disclosures. so the only tools that we have for finding out this information about where he's making his money are court proceedings. i think in general i feel like journalists have risen to the occasion where we have a very secretive administration that believes that once you work for the president, this is official administration policy, you should never be able to speak about the president and what you

learned ever. that's what they're arguing in court. this is the circumstance under which we're working where it's an abnormally secretive administration combined with an administration where there are -- private profit involved. and those make it difficult for journalists. i think most journalists are actually navigating that pretty well considering all the questions and difficulties we have. >> i always think about the lack of visitor logs at the white house and if we knew who was coming and going at the white house or who was on the phone at any given time? >> rebecca you said you wish you had more time to write more nontrump related storys? >> right. i could be writing act inside trader cases or lack thereof. instead i'm an expert in lobbying laws. >> and you're covering rudy. he could be in some serious trouble. i don't know if people appreciate how serious this investigation is. >> once again, we're seeing a

federal criminal investigation in new york into donald trump's personal lawyer. he's also wrapped up in a fairly serious hearing in d.c. matters in d.c. >> pretty incredible. >> yeah. >> thank you both. >> thank you. >> great to see you. >> a quick break. a bloomberg news insider quit her job because he didn't think bloomberg was covering the boss aggressively enough. she says you can't cover the circus unless you write about one of the biggest elephants in the room. she's next. our problem. ahh no, come on. i saw you eating poop earlier. hey! my focus is on the road, and that's saving me cash with drivewise. who's the dummy now? whoof! whoof! so get allstate where good drivers save 40% for avoiding mayhem, like me.

sorry! he's a baby! ♪ spread a little love today ♪ spread a little love my-y way ♪ ♪ spread a little something to remember ♪ philadelphia cream cheese. made with fresh milk and real cream makes your recipes their holiday favourites. the holidays are made with philly.

♪for the holidays you can't beat home sweet home.♪♪ their holiday favourites. we go the extra mile to bring your holidays home. if you're stayingcessful businessat holiday inn.is easy,

what are you doing back there, junior? since we're obviously lost, i'm rescheduling my xfinity customer service appointment. ah, relax. i got this. which gps are you using anyway? a little something called instinct. been using it for years. yeah, that's what i'm afraid of. he knows exactly where we're going. my whole body is a compass. oh boy... the my account app makes today's xfinity customer service simple, easy, awesome. not my thing.

welcome back. >> michael bloomberg's campaign launch is everywhere. that is thanks to his deep pockets. she's spending across the country on local stations and television networks. tens of millions of dollars in television ads to introduce himself as a 2020 contender. but michael bloomberg is also a media mogul. the founder of bloomberg news and this is an unprecedented situation. how is a media company with a political journalism team going

to cover the owner running for president? well, the bloomberg news room is as you can imagine, stressed out about this. my story is an cnnbusiness.com. one employee told us it's everybody's nightmare come true. others are optimistic hoping it's not too much of a headache. honestly, it is a headache. the editor and chief came out with a memo explain houg it's going to work. we'll continue our tradition of gnat investigating bloomberg and we'll extend the same courtesy to his competitors. in other words, the bloomberg news room will investigate president trump but not the men and women running to take him out of office. this is fascinating. like i said, this has never happened before. it's unprecedented. my next guest has personal experience with this.

kathy kylie was the former washington news director for bloomberg politics. she quit in 2016 when he was thinking about running for office. so kathy, remind us what happened then. why did you decide you couldn't stay at bloomberg back then? >> well, i feel a little bit like i'm living in ground hog day the movie. this is very similar to what happened and what really precipitated my decision to leave bloomberg. the same sort of directions were given, and only it was not yet an official campaign. but i felt that that wasn't ethical, and it was just an unten shl situation for me as the assigning editor to be in. unfortunately, they've had four years to think about this, and they haven't come up with a better solution. i'm really sorry to see this. >> but is it possible that they've come up with the least terrible option, the least terrible route by saying we're going to cover bloomberg's

campaign? they've assigned a reporter to the beat and they're not going to investigate other democrats. they don't want to be bias in that way. >> i think the least terrible option is the obvious option which is you cover mike bloomberg the way you would cover any other candidate, and you cover every candidate aggressively. you know, the press is -- i'm at the missouri school of journalism. one of the things we teach our students is the press is a public trust. and i think most people who own news organizations understand that. and you're serving the people who work for these publications aren't serving the owners. they're serving the people. the readers, the viewers, the listeners, and so i think if you look at it that way, it's a very easy call to make. and this is unprecedented in some ways in the sense that mike bloomberg is running for president, but it's not unprecedented for a rich person to own a news organization and

to be covered by the news organization. it happens all the time. i just don't understand why they're making this decision. it really undermines the credibility of the organization mike bloomberg invested so much money in. >> that's the thing. when news rooms show autonomy and independence, news rooms gain credibility as a result. that's hopefully the idea behind shows like this. but mike bloomberg has always had an issue with this. hasn't he? >> well, you know, this predates my time there. i really thought when i got there that things were going to change because as i say, mike bloomberg, a smart businessman, had made a big investment in building up this organization and creating a political team. and i couldn't imagine that as somebody who wants his own business to succeed, he would hamstring his own organization. it's puzzling, and it's disturbing. if i put on my hat as the lee

hills chair for free press studies at missouri, this is not the kind of thing we really need in our country right now. we don't need another billionaire who thinks there should be a special set of rules just for him. if mime bloomberg really wants to distinguish himself from the man he says he wants to be, he should say free the press. i can take it, donald, even if you can't. >> since you're in missouri, do you think the ads will have any impact in media markets across the country? new yorkers know who mike bloomberg is. is this going to introduce him to the rest of the country or is it a waste of money? >> they will introduce him, but will it backfire? i covered politics for a long time before i started teaching journalism. the campaign trails are littered with the carcasses of billionaires who tried to leverage themselves into

national prominence. donald trump did not win because of the money he put into the race which was a small amount of money that was actually spent by his campaign. he won because he had a message and a certain kind of charisma that appealed to people. i think money helps at the margins, but it doesn't win races. ask steve forbes. he tried to run for president and lost. ask michael huffington who once tried to beat dianne feinstein. i think sometimes voters feel resentful when they think someone is trying to buy their vote. >> thank you for joining me. >> thank you for having me. up next, the phase of the impeachment hearings. will any of the hearings make an impact on public opinion? a social psychologist joins me with answers in a moment. 1 in 5 people you meet wear dentures.

yeah. that many! but right now, is not the time to talk about it. so when you're ready, search 'my denture care'. poligrip and polident. fixed. fresh. and just between us.

you wanna see something thatamazing?ing. go to hilton instead of a travel site and you'll experience a whole new range of emotions like... the relaxing feeling of knowing you're getting the best price. these'll work. the utter delight of free wi-fi... . oh man this is the best part. isn't that you? yeah. and the magic power of unlocking your room with your phone. i can read minds too. really? book at hilton.com. if you find a lower rate, we match it and give you 25% off that stay. expect better. expect hilton. of millions of americans during the recession. so, my wife kat and i took action. we started a non-profit community bank with a simple theory -

give people a fair deal and real economic power. invest in the community, in businesses owned by women and people of color, in affordable housing. the difference between words and actions matters. that's a lesson politicians in washington could use right now. i'm tom steyer, and i approve this message. [ "turn around, look at me" ♪ there is someone ♪ walking behind you ♪ turn around

♪ look at me ♪ there is someone ♪ look at me some trump allies say the impeachment hearings a snooze. no one wants to watch. just keep this data in mind. this is new from nielsen, the television ratings company. finding more than 70 million viewers watched at least a few minutes of the impeachment hearings in november. this doesn't mean they were watching wall to wall. the number was lower at any given time. overall, 70 million people saw some portion of the hearings on tv. and cnn polling shows that the viewers aren't all watching casually. look at this. 41% of americans telling cnn

they're paying very close attention to the impeachment proceedings. 30% say they're paying somewhat close attention. it shows opinions are strongly held. 85% say they have a strong opinion about whether the president should be impeached or not. it doesn't seem to leave too much room for voters to be swayed or to have many minds changed. either for the president or against the president. let's talk more about that with peter coleman, a professor in new york city at colombia university who teaches psychology. he's been writing about this. he had a piece in november titled can the impeachment hearings actually change anyone's mind? do we have an answer to that question yet? >> well, i think the general answer is i think minds can change. and that minds are changing, but different -- depending on the strength of your attitude about trump and about the impeachment hearings, they -- the people's

minds change differently. so i think a vast majority of population, 70% or so, are kind of tired with the status quo. they're tired with the dysfunction in washington. they're tired of sort of the noise and the nonsense and they really want something different. they're eager to change. and to hear information that will move us in a better direction. but there's about a third of the population, about 33% that are stuck. and they really are true believers on the left and the right. they're more on the right right now that are true believers. they're unlikely to be changed by media accounts. but what's interesting to know is that persuasion research is complicated. it's messy. we find that people actually their attitudes are more affected by the relationships by their friends and family they speak to who they trust and understand. so even though 70 million people are watching, those 70 million people are having conversations with countless others. and it's through that channel

that you start to see an impact which means that sometimes these affects take time to see them show up in polls. so i think that there could be changes taking place. we don't see them in the immediate polling. >> what is selective perception? how does that relate to the impeachment process? >> in psychology there's a process that if you have a strong attitude about donald trump, that you tend to watch media or read the news or listen to conversations and look for information that supports your bias. information that's comforting and feels right to you. we tend to ignore or deny or discount information that is contradictory in some ways. so that is a kind of chronic process. that's one of the reasons, there are many reasons but one of the reasons we moved into a tribal societies with different experiences of reality. we're only sort of processing half the story. >> i talk a lot about pro trump

media, anti-trump media. the sense we're all in our media tribes. you're making me think maybe it's not as cemented into the ground as it may seem. people are talking to each other and more people have open minds than we might think. >> i think so. again, there was a study by this nonpartisan group called more in common. they found about 67% are kind of tired and fed up with the status quo and are interested in finding waying to work together and move forward. there's an openness that's out there. >> they published a report called hidden tribes. it's fascinating. it suggests there is more movement in the electorate than you might realize. >> there aren't two groups. there are several groups, and there are extremes in both sides that are holding strong to their ideas and values. but there's a fair amount of the population that is open to moving. so it depends on again the kinds of news sources and who they're

talking to whether they're -- we tend to think that our thinking is just done in our head. our thinking is done with our friends and families where we make sense of the world. and so if you're exposed to people that have a different point of view, you have a chance of being persuaded. >> professor, thank you so much. >> my flash. >> thank you. a quick break and then a photo that spread from the president's twitter feed all the way to hong kong in a matter of minutes. towards bad breath, receding gums, and possibly... tooth loss. help turn back the clock on gingivitis with parodontax. leave bleeding gums behind. parodontax. little things can be a big deal. psoriasis, that's why there's otezla. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with...

...an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you. you can barely take care if yof a plant.me, so, you're probably not ready to get pregnant now. you can prevent pregnancy for up to five years with mirena® or kyleena, low-maintenance iuds. your doctor can place an iud in just a few minutes, and remove it at any time. filling prescriptions could take longer. an iud is more reliable than this... and requires less attention than a toddler. don't use mirena or kyleena if you have a pelvic infection, get infections easily, or have certain cancers. less than 1% of users get a serious infection called pid. if you have pelvic or stomach pain, or if your iud comes out, talk to your doctor.

your iud may attach to or go through the uterus. pregnancy with mirena or kyleena is uncommon, but can be life threatening, and may cause loss of pregnancy or fertility. ovarian cysts may occur but usually disappear. bleeding and spotting may increase in the first three to six months and remain irregular. periods over time may become shorter, lighter, or may stop. mirena and kyleena do not protect against hiv or stds. ask your doctor about mirena... and kyleena.

the meme wars, i know the phrase is funny. this phenomenon is real. this is how online arguments are fought and how prop began da is pushed. the images like this. trump's face on sylvester stallone's body. within hours activists thanked trump for signing two bills for si . and then this one and on and on it goes. david is back with me. i think the memes matter. this is how people communicate these days whether he like it or not. >> yeah. brian, especially globally. remember the meme of putin on a horse back with the bare chest? some of us laughed about it. this like that meme, this says strong man. one of the things earlier efs talking act what happens when

you have all these conspiracy theories out there. there's a book called "this is beyond propaganda". it's called "this is not propaganda". people look for a strong man, and this feeds right into that. that's one part of it. the other part that's fascinating to me is we've become a visual culture. we have social media. this is what the political conversation is reduced to in some ways. memes. >> right. so "fox and friends" this morning was talking about the president's surprise trip to afghanistan for thanksgiving. the banner said media and dems blast trump over viz to afghanistan. i'm thinking who in the media is blasting trump for doing a great thing as commander in chief. they were talking act a reporter for news week who wrote a story before the president landed in afghanistan surmising that trump was just golfing and tweeting on thanksgiving. she put up her story and updated it once everyone found out the

president was in afghanistan. but her original tweet was lambasted by trump supporters. this was an error by news week. as a result the washington examiner has fireed this reporter. it strikes me there's a lot of bad faith acting going on on fox and friends when they attack the entirety of the media for one error by news week. and i wanted to ask you, david, about another "fox and friends" personality, pete. he seems to be the shadow defense secretary. he was lobbying for the navy s.e.a.l. eddie gallagher. and he seemed to be more persuasive than the defense chiefs. >> it's true. and it's disturbing. you know, you think of the media and our role is really important. but when the president is listening to that person over the secretary of the navy, and over the military chain of

command, this is outrageous. this is insab, brian. this is crazy. that he watches "fox and friends," sends out these tweets, pete jacks him up about this, defending gallagher and saying look, the president has to be the commander in chief has to be obeyed on this. and so it puts trump in a spot where you know he's going to react that way and he's going to make a bad choice. >> really incredible. david, thank you so much. after the break hear why so many of trump's advisers are comparing him to a higher power. because right now when you buy one of the latest samsung phones you get one free. on that. so you can post this... ...score this... ...be there like this... ...and share all of this... ...with that. so do this, on that, with us. now, buy a samsung galaxy s10 or note 10 and get one free.

♪ oh, ho! oh, ho, ho, ho! you... you got me. uh, what do you want? i've got uh, ai robots, i've got vr goggles. i want your sled, please. no. [ chuckles ] timmy. it'd be a shame if this went viral. for those who never compromise. the mercedes-benz winter event. whoa. he was pretty good this year.

(groans) hmph... (food grunting menacingly) when the food you love doesn't love you back, stay smooth and fight heartburn fast with tums smoothies. ♪ tum tum-tum tum tums ahh, it's too expensive. actually, our unitedhealthcare medicare plans have renew active. a gym membership and more- at no extra cost. no excuses now. renew active. only from unitedhealthcare medicare. well you remember what happened last year. you can't bring a backup thanksgiving to my sister's house. it's not like we're going to walk in with it. we'll bring it in as we need it. ...phase it in. phase it in? yeah, phase it in. phase it in? i am totally blind. and non-24 can throw my days and nights out of sync, keeping me from the things i love to do. talk to your doctor, and call 844-214-2424.

said a federal judge this week. so president trump is not a king, but perhaps his spiritual influence is far greater. take a look at what's been said recently. >> everything happens for a reason, and the way i see it is look at the results of donald trump as president. >> mr. president, i know there are people that say, you know, you said you were the chosen one, and i said you were. >> as i stand before you today,

i see the greatest president in history. of course he is. he was chosen by god. >> so what are these clips about? sometimes these clips go viral and get mocked on social media, but there's something important here and i think the press overlooks the power of religion. let me bring in angela dinker. she's out with a book titled "red state christians". she's with me now. these recent clips, rick perry and others, what do they signify? >> just the extent to which the american church has lost the gospel of jesus and has become caught up in a gospel distortion, which says that our god is no longer the god of the bible but a god who makes america strongest. >> and you found that in your reporting across the country? >> i did, yeah. you know, people -- i heard that from the southern baptist

pastor. he told me in washington, d.c., he said there's a gospel distortion happening, particularly in the southern baptist convention, but i found this in churches all the way to orange county that pastors in particular have failed to teach the actual teachings of jesus, which were not about power or wealth or money, but about loving one another and giving your money to the poor. and instead, american churches have become caught up in wealth and power and it has led american christians to be so entirely focused on our own power and our own money, and of course has led to a president who exemplifies many of those things. >> and the faith in trump that you found in your reporting, is that probably why he's brought in paula white, the televangelist, as a religious adviser? >> yeah, i attended paula white's church and met with her after the service in florida, and paula white is an example of somebody who really believes that following the gospel of

jesus is about power and is about money and she has become close to trump because her ministry was built on some of the same things trump's prestige has been built on, which is television and celebrity. and as the american churches embrace a lot of these things, starting with mega churches where i served in orange county, california, that has led to american christians becoming enamored in the same way outside the church with celebrity and power and money over the story of jesus. >> let me ask you. i only have about 30 seconds left, but the most important factor, the most important part of the religious beat, the national news needs to pay attention to, what do you think it is? >> i think the national news media needs to more deeply understand the actual story of jesus and who jesus really is. jesus was somebody who was not at all like an earthly king and god sent jesus to remind the people of israel that an earthly king was not what god intended,

and americans are getting caught up in the same kind of traps that the hebrew people of the old testament were, which is waiting for an earthly king to bring us power and that is not the story of christianity. and i think a lot of journalists are missing that part. >> angela dinker, thank you so much. the book is "red state christians ". we're going to need something uplifting at the end of this week, so next sunday, 8:00 p.m. eastern time, anderson cooper and kelly ripa will be naming the cnn hero of the year this day of the week next week. in the men "time," we'll see you right back here this time next week. employees need more than just a paycheck. you definitely want to take advantage of all the benefits you can get. 2/3 of employees said that the workplace is an important source for personal savings and protection solutions. the workplace should be a source of financial security.

keeping your people happy is what keeps your people. that's financial wellness. put your employees on a path to financial wellness with prudential. ♪'cause no matter how far away for you roam.♪ys.♪ ♪when you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze.♪ ♪for the holidays you can't beat home sweet home.♪

the united states postal service goes the extra mile to bring your holidays home. ♪ spread a little love today ♪ spread a little love my-y way ♪ ♪ spread a little something to remember ♪ philadelphia cream cheese. made with fresh milk and real cream makes your recipes their holiday favourites. the holidays are made with philly. their holiday favourites. (kickstart my heart by motley crue)) (truck honks) (wheels screeching) (clapping) (sound of can hitting bag and bowl) (clapping) always there in crunch time.

and my lack of impulse control,, is about to become your problem. ahh no, come on. i saw you eating poop earlier. hey! my focus is on the road, and that's saving me cash with drivewise. who's the dummy now? whoof! whoof! so get allstate where good drivers save 40% for avoiding mayhem, like me. sorry! he's a baby! y the masculine fragrance. yves saint laurent.

if you're stayingcessful businessat holiday inn.is easy, put up or shut up. president trump's been railing against the impeachment process. >> crooked politicians. not giving us due process. >> and now democrats are trying to call his bluff. giving him a deadline to participate in impeachment inquiries. will the president decide to have his lawyers make his case in congress? and ad wars. democratic hopefuls blanket the