atwood and cnn's own fareed za car zakaria. and it said this needed reckoning has also intensified a new set of moral attitudes in favor of ideological conformity. well, the response was swift. the signers were called thin-skinned, privileged and fearing their loss of relreleva. some signers capitulated. and saying, quote, i did not know who else signed the letter i thought i was endorsing a well-meaning if vague list of internet shaming. i did know that chomsky, steinen and atwood were in, but i thought good company. the consequences are mine to bear. i sign, the harper's letter i

thought that what the point. letter. and what the daily beast letter, a circular firing squad. and then the scathing response from an opposing group of some of which requested anonymity to protect their jobs this one is head lined a more specific letter on justice and open debate. and it reads, their letter seeks to uphold a sitting atmosphere and prioritizes signal-blasting their discomfort. and the massive platforms argue that they're afraid of being silenced that the so-called cancel culture is out of control and that they fear for their jobs and free exchange of ideas even as they speak from one of the most prestigious magazines in the country. if you're having trouble following the high brow brouhaha fear not. i think i can bring home the

bombast with a trip to the kitchen cupboard. beans, goya beans. the ceo of this kitchen staple was with the president he praised the president while announcing goya would donate 1 million food products to american food banks. >> we're all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like president trump who has been -- >> there hasn't been this much stink about beans since the fire scene in "blazing saddles." the hispanic leaders calling for a boycott of goya products. celebrities like chrissy teigen tweeting things like ashamed. don't care how good the beans taste, bye-bye. and so did playwright lynn man well miranda. goya's ceo told fox news he was not apologizing for praising the

president. calling the boycott suppression of speech. once beans were controversial until when debating chili recipes. now they're part of the partisan divide. i want to know what you think. vote on this week's survey question, has cancel culture gone too far? joining me now one of the five people spearheading the letter, a columnist for harper's. and he's also author of the memoir, health portrait in black and white, unlearning race. thomas, give me an example of what led to the drafting of your letter. >> thank you for having me. the letter came out of the conversation that several of us have be have been having for quite some time now. it came out of a more general mood and climate that we've been noticing out of our nation's

charter consult and landscape. so it wasn't spurred by one incident. we thought about the timing quite a bit and we thought there was never a good timing for this so it's important that we get it out now sooner than later. >> one of the criticisms is that largely your group consists of folks who are white, who are wealthy, and who come from large platforms. your response is what? >> my response is salman rushdie is not white. we have people that have been locked in -- >> thomas, your signal is freezing. i'm going to put up on the screen, in the hope that we get you back in time to respond one of the other criticisms that was raised in the opposing letter. it said this, in truth, black, brown and lgbtq people, particularly black and transpeople can now critique elites publicly and hold them

accountable socially. this seems to be the letter's greatest concern. what's perhaps even more degrading to many of the signatories is that a critique of their long-held views is pervasiper vase persuasive, will you respond to that? >> sure. i want to respond that we have those who did eight years in prison who were minors when they were -- time stigmstigma. i think those people have come out and have to be taken seriously. i have not seen anybody respond to their position of privilege or the supposed whiteness of their identity. and that's a problem. we have people cherry hipicking

signatories to say it's somehow a white production. i'm one of the original people that drafted the letter. i've never been white in my life. so, part of the problem is we're putting identities over ideas and we're cherry-picking identities that we want to disagree with. >> and as to the item that i put on the screen, the criticism that, hey, perhaps you are finding what they're saying persuasive, you would say what? >> if it were persuasive, that would be fine. if it's so persuasive why do we need twitter campaigns to go -- people's employers. that's the opposite of persuasion to me. >> thomas, can we define the line? you know, to me, this is reminiscent of potter stewart and what he famously said about pornography. very hard to articulate, but i know it when i see it. what would you say the standard is that you're trying to put forth? >> i think we need to put forth a standard that stipulates

employers will not immediately react to twitter storms. it's very easy to cause a twitter pile-on. it's very unsettling when your employer immediately cancels you. we don't use the term "cancel culture" because it's been cooperated by a very divisive president. but when your employer does what happened to david shore, a young researcher who tweeted peer-reviewed research by the academic omar wassen that simply said -- effective in violent protests. he was fired for this. because of a twitter storm. this is madness. we need to take a step back and have a moratorium on twitter and firings. and the hr department should be completely separate from the social media department, in my personal view. >> a moratorium on twitter

firing. i appreciate what you have to say. thomas chatterton williams, thank you, sorry for the technical snafus. >> thank you so much. >> what are your thoughts? tweet me @smerconish or the facebook page. i will respond to some of as best i can. this comes i think from twitter. what do we have? cancel culture is going to get trump re-elected. at least wait. it's interesting my guest just said he doesn't favor the words "cancel culture." i will tell you in determining the survey question today i struggled because i wasn't sure how to verbal united states wiz trying to get across. i was worried people would read conservatism. i don't see this as a red or blue issue. but the blowback to what we're describing may be to the president's benefit. i want to know what you think go to my website @smerconish and answer has cancel culture for

language lack of a better description gone too far? we're battling the end of summer break, and school status as the political rebate rages over reopening schools. we'll take a look at the ethical implications. >> and president trump's friend and adviser roger stone was headed to the pokey this week. but the president commuted his sentence. how will this play in november? i'll ask david aboutxelrod. is that net carbs or total?...

eh, not enough fiber... chocolate would be good... snacking should be sweet and simple. the delicious taste of glucerna gives you the sweetness you crave while helping you manage your blood sugar. with nutrients to help support immune health.

and aren't necessarily great for your teeth. the acid can actually wear away at the enamel which over time can cause sensitivity and a lot of people start to see their teeth turn yellow. i like to recommend pronamel to my patients to help them protect their teeth and keep the enamel strong. "should i invest in stocks or not?" meaning, "are stocks going to rise or not?", instead of trying to decide should i invest in stocks or not and let's now look at our goals, which we can control. in other words, we only want to take as much risk as is necessary to achieve our goals. we need to protect the money that's there. and that says you should be investing in... you have the support of a,oney probioticthat's there. and the gastroenterologists who developed it. align helps to soothe your occasional digestive upsets

twenty-four seven. so where you go, the pro goes. go with align. the pros in digestive health. and if stress worsens your digestive issues, try new align digestive de-stress. it combines align's probiotic with ashwagandha to help soothe occasional digestive upsets, plus stress that can make them worse. and try align gummies with probiotics to help support digestive health. . like almost every other issue in our highly partisan society the question over whether to reopen schools becomes a political debate. the cdc isn't changing its guidelines in response to the president, but the director now

says keeping schools closed would be an even greater public health threat. and in florida, a state facing a dramatic uptick in covid-19 cases the governor equates schools with essential businesses. >> if you can do home depot, if you can do walmart, if you can do these things, we absolutely can do the schools. >> even walt disney world theme parks, a not so essential business in his state now up and running as of today. so if the most magical place on earth is opening its gates, what about the schools? my next guest says opening schools amidst the pandemic isn't about politics, it's a matter of ethics. dr. caplan is at langone medical school. dr. caplan, what do you think about opening the schools? >> thanks, michael, for having

me. it's a gigantic experiment. we've had this virus for four months. we don't know what the impact is in terms of children. and we don't really understand how infected they are, both to each other, to teachers, bringing the virus home. so, you're asking kids to go back, who can't give permission, can't make the choice, and i think the first order of business should be safety. not let's go back to normal. >> what concern, of what consideration, if any, based on what i'm hearing you say should economic factors be? if their parents are unemployed, unless the kids are somewhere else, should that be factored into the mix by policymakers? >> well, i don't think you ask kids to sacrifice so that their parents can go back to work by going to school. if it's babysit that you want, if it's day care that we need, let's set it up in safer conditions. you know, michael, schools are not set up to be a place of social distancing.

a lot of them have kids crammed in, 30 to a small room. for little kids they're not going to be able to mask or wash their hands or maintain hygiene. it's the case in a lot of our schools, baltimore, philly, are a mess. they don't have heat, they don't have proper ventilation. some of them don't even have running water to watch the kids' hands to maintain hygiene there. sure, i understand you get the economy going but you don't do it by saying let's send the kids back to whatever school it is. remember, too, some of these kids have underlying conditions, asthma, juvenile diabetes, are we going to send them back as well? >> i read the cdc guidelines. i don't know how many have taken the time to do it. they're not so expansive. i did not find them particularly onerous. i should tell you when i made that observation on radio and read some of the provisions aloud, some of the people called me and said well, that wouldn't work in my school.

that wouldn't work in this school. here's my takeaway, one size fits all can't apply here. there are different dynamics. each one of these schools is different. each one of these districts is run differently. can we agree on that? >> we do, because, look, it's one thing to say, hey, let's go back to high school and we can ask the kids to do certain things as opposed to let's go back to kindergarten and ask kids to do certain things. some schools are overnight, indoors, do they count? my view would be the cdc guidelines are a minimum. i certainly wouldn't weaken them. but let's take advantage of opportunities to keep kids away from one another. and, rememberer michael, we've got to protect the teachers. we've got to protect the bus driver. we've got to protect the older janitor. these kids might not have an immediate risk, i hope they don't. but they could be doing quite a bit of damage to the people who

support them. one size absolutely does not fit all. you know, going back, flu is coming. a lot of these kids haven't had 134 their vaccines. there's nothing in the guidelines that say before the kids go back to school, get measles shots, and shots do you want to send them into that with covid. >> it sounds that the questions you have offered have been focused on k through 12, not college. first, am i right? and secondly, if so, do you see that differently? >> i see college very differently. so there are situations where you have a big sprawling campus. you can get back to college. might be able to distance. obviously, the kids can hopefully follow instruction. and not cramming them back into dorms. they're not going to be doing anything hygenic there. they might be up to it, but i think it's a breeding ground for the virus to spread. so, it depends on the college. depends on the university.

that's a place where remote learning can and should take place. end of the day, whenever we can keep kids learning but away from school, away from infecting one another and the people that work with them and bringing the virus home, why don't we do that. >> dr. caplan, thanks as always. >> my pleasure. more social media reaction, this, i think, from facebook. what do we have? i believe that coming up with ways to reopen schools safely is about health and education. i also believe the threats from 9 the administration have nothing to do with health or education. i think that is strictly economic and political. laurie, as i just said to dr. caplan, my own view, for what it's worth is i don't think there's one solution for the entire country. i recommend that people take a look at the cdc guidelines, as parents, as taxpayers, teachers and administrators and determine can this work in your school. because every single school, in every single district, all across the country is different. i just don't want there to be

one decision made for the entire country. i want to remind you to answer the survey questi question @smerconish.com. i'm told we're getting tremendous reaction to this. has cancel culture gone too far? go to smerconish.com and cast a ballot. up ahead, president trump commuted the prison sentence for his long time friend roger stone. i'll ask david axelrod about the political implications. does the arrest of ghislaine maxwell has many wondering if she'll cop a plea against a-list names but how interested are prosecutors in her little black book? roundup. the sure shot wand extends with a protective shield to target weeds precisely and kill them right down to the root. roundup brand. trusted for over 40 years.

...to soccer practices... ...and new adventures. you hope the more you give the less they'll miss. but even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past... they may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. let's help protect them together. because missing menb vaccination could mean missing out on a whole lot more. ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. and its mission is to make sleep...feel...cool. so, no more night sweats. no more nocturnal baking, or polar ice cap air-conditioner mode. because the tempur-pedic breeze° delivers superior cooling from cover to core. helping you sleep cool, all night long. during the tempur-pedic summer of sleep, save $500 on all tempur-breeze mattresses...

and experience your coolest sleep this summer, on our best breeze savings of the year. i'm a talking dog. the other issue. oh...i'm scratching like crazy. you've got some allergic itch with skin inflammation. apoquel can work on that itch in as little as 4 hours, whether it's a new or chronic problem. and apoquel's treated over 8 million dogs. nice. and...the talking dog thing? is it bothering you? no...itching like a dog is bothering me. until dogs can speak for themselves, you have to. when allergic itch is a problem, ask for apoquel. apoquel is for the control of itch associated with allergic dermatitis and the control of atopic dermatitis in dogs. do not use apoquel in dogs less than 12 months old or those with serious infections. apoquel may increase the chance of developing serious infections and may cause existing parasitic skin infestations or pre-existing cancers to worsen. do not use in breeding, pregnant, or lactating dogs. most common side effects are vomiting and diarrhea. feeling better? i'm speechless. thanks for the apoquel. aw...that's what friends are for.

ask your veterinarian for apoquel next to you, apoquel is a dog's best friend. iredefined the wordng th'school' this year. it's why, at xfinity, we're committed to helping kids keep learning through the summer. and help college students studying at home stay connected through our university program. we're providing affordable internet access to low income families through our internet essentials program. and this summer, xfinity is creating a virtual summer camp for kids at home- all on xfinity x1. we're committed to helping all families stay connected.

learn more at xfinity.com/education. will commuting roger stone's prison sentence hurt president trump's chances of winning in november? stone was convicted last november of seven charges including lying to congress and witness tampering as wart of the

mueller investigation. prosecutors said stone had done so to protect frepresident trum. he told reporters. >> he said you understand i have the option to either commute or pardon. you should understand that a pardon would be final, and that in accepting a pardon you are essentially accepting guilt. and i would rather see you fight this out which is swie iis why commuting your sentence. >> this morning, the president had this to say via twitter. roger stone was targeted by an illegal witch hunt that never should have taken place. there is the other side that are criminals including biden and obama who spied on my campaign, all caps, and got caught. presumptive dem nocratic nomine joe biden leading polls. what effect might the

commutation have. joining me, david axelrod, senior advisor to president obama. david, during the commercial break i looked at twitter. jack goldsmith at harvard had an interesting evaluation. he said president trump with his predecessors doesn't often part or commute, when he does, he often knows the people which distinguishes him from his predecessors. any thought to that? >> i was just looking at the list this morning. many of them are political heroes to the right. and some of them, in the case of roger stone, are intimates of trump who have serviced trump in some way. and who are looking for relief. look, i think that you and i both know, michael, that we both have been in journalism. we've both been in politics. but if you want to dump a bad story, you do it on friday night after the evening news when it's going to get the least attention. it will get attention, but not

as much. and trump has been taking full advantage of that in the previous weeks firing the u.s. attorney in manhattan. firing inspectors general. and now this. he had to do this because roger stone was set to report to prison on tuesday. but i expect that he'll use his pardon and commutation power on behalf of paul manafort. on behalf of michael flynn, if necessary. if that case moves forward, even though all of them have either been convicted or have pled guilty. to crimes related to the mueller investigation. so, you know, i think he sees -- he sees everything, including the pardon power as a political tool to be used on his own behalf and on behalf of his ally. >> does this move the needle? you heard the explanation that the president offered this morning to lay off on both obama and biden previous conduct, the mueller probe.

they sort of preconditioned the gop fox base for that. aren't the people who are upset about this news already upset about the president? >> absolutely. i think those who are disinclined to vote for trump will find this one more reason not to vote for trump. and the trump base will buy his explanation for what he did. his problem is that the base isn't large enough to win. and everything he's doing lately seems to be almost designed to shrink himself to his irreducible core base. so this was not helpful to him. but roger stone was helpful to him. you remember the president referred to people who cooperate with prosecutors as rats. and he's elevated people who didn't, like manafort and stone, to heroic statue, status, among this base. so, you know, i don't think this is going to move the needle in the election. but the needle isn't where trump needs it to be.

>> you said something a moment ago that brings to mind that recently i've been describing the trump strategy as a grapefruit-squeezing strategy. and sometimes, there's just no more juice. sometimes there's no more pulp to be had. when i look at the last couple of weeks, david, and he talked about confederate monuments. and he talks about mueller probe. and he replays the sort of greatest hits role, the nascar episodes, to me, it's all intended to invigorate the base without any eye toward expanding the tent. are there enough folks left in the tent for him to get re-elected? that's really the question i want to ask you. >> you know, i don't think so, michael. if you look at the last election there's four groups he carried. seniors over 65. the suburbs. college-educated white voters and independent voters. he's losing all of them now.

and some by quite a margin. the suburbs have moved away from them dramatically, you're sitting there in the state of pennsylvania, you know if the suburbs move dramatically against a republican congress that's very hard to move away. that's one of the states he's counted on and that is reaping replay throughout the country. he has a base-only view of politics. and he thinks if he just energizes his base that will be adequate. but, you know, in service of energizing his base, he's actually digging a bigger hole with everyone else such as his handling of the aftermath of the george floyd murder in minneapolis. and, of course, his ongoing denial of the covid-19 pandemic. these things are making a huge, huge hole for him that i think it's going to be very hard for him to dig out of. >> quick final question, quick final question, the pandemic,

not because joe biden would wish it to be, but it is a political benefit, is it not? it takes him out of the lime light in those circumstance where is he wants to be. and trump is now essentially winning against himself and can't win, it would seem, according to polling a referendum on his performance? >> 100%. but it's only true, michael because president trump didn't do what will others have done. put the politics aside, followed the signs, given direct and honest guidance to his constituents. if he had behaved that way, he could have put this election away. i'm convinced of it. he would have had the reverse effect of what we spoke about a moment ago. he would have enlarged his base. he would have allayed concerns. but trump is trump. he's just not capable of doing this. he thinks through this political lens at all times. and that has caught up with him now. >> david, thank you so much.

>> good to be with you, always. >> i want to remind you to answer the survey question. has cancel culture gone too far? still to come, ghislaine maxwell has been arrested and charged with her alleged relationship with jeffrey epstein. and while the world is waiting to see what big names she might throw under the bus. i am wondering if the district of new york has any interest in the name ofs in her little black book? i'll ask elie honig. whether a remote test drive, shopping, trade-in, or even service pickup, audi at your door can do this and more at participating dealers. the premium audi dealership experience, on your terms. audi at your door.

yes. neutrogena® ultra sheer. superior protection helps prevent early skin aging and skin cancer with a clean feel. it's the one. the best for your skin. ultra sheer. neutrogena®. latonight, silence it with newd byzzzquil night pain. it's the one. the best for your skin. because pain should never get in the way of a restful night's sleep. new zzzquil night pain. silence pain, sleep soundly. ♪

♪ ♪

when multimillionaire jeffrey epstein died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. the outrage, the disappointment was palpable. with epstein gone, we would never know who else was involved. entering ghislaine maxwell, an alleged accomplice of epstein. she's been charged by

prosecutors in new york for her alleged role of conspiring with epstein to recruit and groom young girls as young as 14. she's previously denied any wrongdoing. now people are clamoring to know if maxwell will name any of epstein's cohorts. but she is the big fry in this case, given the mountains of heinous allegations leveled against her, would the feds actually be willing to cut a deal in exchange for her little black book. joining me now is elie honig, cnn legal analyst and former district attorney for the district bringing changes against maxwell, the southern district of new york. elie, i know that the public is interested. i know the media is interested. do you think the southern district is all that interested in her little black book? >> they really should be, michael. there was a thing we used to say to juries back when i was in the southern district of new york which is it would be really nice if we could make big criminal cases solely by relying on testimony from school teachers

and nurses and good people. but the reality is good people like that can't take you inside a criminal organization. only another criminal can. and the whole hearted reality is people think we do stuff with "csi" type stuff. and sometimes, you have to flip a really bad person in order to catch even more bad people. >> if you, elie honig, were leading this prosecution, would you allow her to name a name, hypothetically, of course, if he has a name to be named? or would you demand she give you everything? >> everything. that's the deal in the southern district. there's no halfway cooperation. it is all or nothing. when you cooperate you have to admit everything did you. you have to plead guilty to it. and you have to be willing to testify against others. i would take that little black book the first time i met with her in the conference room, i would go through it, entry by entry, "a" to "z," each person.

who do you know, how do you know them, and back it up start to finish. >> what level of leniency would she be provided, hypothetically speaking if she just pled guilty now? >> if she just pled guilty without a cooperation agreement she'd get very little leniency. if i was back there i would give her basically nothingful she doesn't cooperate. if she doesn't cooperate, the reality is if you do cooperate, that's where you fare the best. honestly, prosecutors give really good deals. i cooperated with people who committed multiple murders who ended up getting three, four, five years. look, it doesn't feel great. but sometimes you have to do the cold hard utilitarian math and say this person is bad. they pled guilty but gave us all these other culpable really bad people. >> i guess the part i'm struggling with, she faces 35 years for having been the procurer. that's the allegations here.

i'm not sweeping it under the rug. i'm not excusing it. but if i was someone on that plane, whatever they called it, the flying althou in ing lolita individual, whoever it may be? >> well, it would be more than one individual. she would have to deliver quite a bit. you always have to do that math. if all she does is deliver one person that runs the operation, then you're not interested. >> right. >> but if she could deliver everybody, a lot of individuals, then, okay, it would be all right. you have to balance the scales of justice here. look, the victims have the right, i believe, to see as many people as possible brought to justice. i think if you speak to the victims i think they tell you this certainly seems from the indictment this was a very large operation. a lot of wrong doers here. all we have it jeffrey epstein who is dead and ghislaine

maxwe maxwell. i want the whole story. >> and final question, am i right this is being handled by the public corruption unit and if so, why is that the case? >> yeah, it is, michael, and that jumped off the page from me. it's now called the violent and organized crime unit. i know because i was in that unit. i was chief of that unit and did the cases out of that unit. the fact that it's there there are some officials past, present involved in this somehow. this happened in one other time in my experience. the office did this big sex trafficking case. i was sitting there thinking why was this coming out of the corruption unit. it turned out that was the case that eliot spitzer, then the governor of new york, was client nine. >> by the way, he was a public figure meaning jeffrey epstein. but that alone wouldn't put this in the public. we're talking with someone with

portfolio, right? >> exactly. >> elected official, someone with government stature? >> exactly. this isn't just the famous people unit. this is the public corruption unit. it has to be a public official of some type. >> all right. i'm taking away from this eggment if elie honig were prosecuting the case, he'd want to go after everybody. whether that's the way sn new york handles it, we'll see. >> thanks, michael, that's how i operated back then. >> remind me never to be prosecuted by you. >> could do. let's check in on facebook and tweets what do we have, kathryn? how can her safety or even her life be protected. there are some mighty powerful people who like to shut her up. well, janet, that's what we presume, right, you must be reading "the daily mail" as often as i am. i don't know what the facts are, what i think i know is largely predicated on that netflix

documentary called "filthy rich." holy smokes, if half the stuff in there is true, she's got a real issue. i want to remind you to answer the question at this hour, has cancel culture gone too far? hey, my first ever cnn special airs tonight at 10:00 p.m. "things i wish i had known before i started talking." it has nothing to do with the pandemic. it's only happening because of the pandemic. i'll explain in just a moment. plus as always, your best and worst tweets and facebook comments. we'll give you the results of the survey question. so go vote if you haven't done so. has cancel culture gone too far? @smerconish.com. delivers 2x the hydration for supple, bouncy skin. neutrogena®. if you have a garden you know, weeds are low down little scoundrels. draw the line with roundup. the sure shot wand extends with a protective shield

to target weeds precisely and kill them right down to the root. roundup brand. trusted for over 40 years. some companies still have hr stuck between employeesentering data.a. changing data.

more and more sensitive, personal data. and it doesn't just drag hr down. it drags the entire business down -- with inefficiency, errors and waste. it's ridiculous. so ridiculous. with paycom, employees enter and manage their own data in a single, easy to use software. visit paycom.com, and schedule your demo today. little things can become your big moment.

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.

and if you're pregnant this virus is testing all of us. and it's testing the people on the front lines of this fight most of all. so abbott is getting new tests into their hands, delivering the critical results they need. and until this fight is over, we...will...never...quit. because they never quit.

i'll be back on cnn tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern, due to covid. but this is not a typical pandemic schedule. two months ago i was about to begin a new nationwide speaking tour called things i wish i knew before i started talking, commemorating my 30th anniversary in talk radio. tickets for the first two nights in philadelphia were sold out. the rest of the tour was being planned. then came covid. money was refunded. the tour was cancelled but where i had spent considerable time preparing. and in a climate of uncertainty as to when i'd get on the road, i decided to deliver the presentation in an empty historic theater. and have it recorded by a masked and socially distant crew. i hope you'll watch tonight. the back story is my favorite part. i had a great stage director in bill fenley. but this was directed by a friend of 40-plus years a

television producer named chris strand. when the two of us were in junior high school, we both worked on the tv crew. and we dreamed of doing a project together. well, we are. it just took a while longer than we anticipated. ♪ welcome. >> welcome. >> to the michael smerconish program. >> again, thank you so much for being here. it was 30 years ago tonight that i marked the beginning of my career in talk radio. ♪ well i don't know why i came here tonight i got the feeling that something ain't right ♪ ♪ i'm so scare i guess i fall off my chair and i wonder how i'll get down the stairs ♪ >> ronald reagan, i interviewed president barack obama. i drank champagne from the stanley cup. i had a seven-hour dinner with fidel castro at his house. ♪ clowns to the left of me jokers to the

>> of course i talk for a living. it's always been my calling. and not because i'm a lawyer, not because i have a background in politics. in retrospect, i guess i just wanted the attention. i host a daily radio program that bears my name. i have a weekly cable television program and i authored seven books. i am pleased with those achievements, but i am far more proud of what went into them. in 1980, i turned 18 and registered to vote as a republican. you know, like my parents. that spring my father decides to make a run for public office. my first time as a voter, i got to vote for my dad, and cast my first presidential ballot. george herbert walker bush wins the pennsylvania primary. my dad lost his. but i was hooked on politics.

i was advanced man for sitting vice president of the united states. i traveled several times across country, planning logistics of his personal appearances. at age 23, i managed a portion of senator ar lynn spec ter's re-election campaign. i ran for the same seat for which my father had run. i thought it would be a hollywood ending. i lost, too. it was a combination of all these unique political experiences at an early age that caused me to be invited as a guest on television and radio. then i was given a guest host gig. soon i was offered many of the most unpopular fill in times, thanksgiving night, super bowl sunday. i did them all. i was now being paid for something i would gladly have done for free. i am so very fortunate. my political, my media work afforded me a really rich life. there were days when i guest

hosted for both o'reilly and maddow. i would leave fox news, walk into 30 rock, host hard ball. i didn't know if the risk was higher of being shot in the chest or in the back. >> hello, governor? >> how are you? >> i am terrific. how are you. >> we wish you god speed tonight. >> it will come down to the great state of pennsylvania. that's why i'm calling. >> by the time i went to the middle east as a pentagon guest, i was leery of the bush administration for what i thought was lack of prosecuting the hunt for bin laden. looked like for six and a half years we have been outsourcing the hunt to a guy with no motivation to get him. do you agree with my assessment? what are you going to do? >> i made a speech in august. i was criticized. >> not by me, senator. i applauded you. >> of course i changed in the last 30 years. i think we all have. what's different is in my case, all of my opinions have been

captured on audio and videotape. philadelphia magazine, april issue 2009. what the hell was i thinking? i moved from a reliably republican voter to a registered independent. there's been a huge up tick in instability and polarization among our leaders in the exact same time period in which the media has moved to extremes. good for ratings, good for revenue, bad for the country. ♪ stuck in the middle with you. >> i hope you'll watch. here's some of what came in during the course of this hour via social media. what do we have? what is capital lichl? seems to be functioning just the way intended. i guess you vote with your wallet. i get it. should you be voting with your wallet against this family owned

business? i think the largest, one of the largest hispanic businesses in the country, goya bean folks, because the ceo goes to the white house and like he had done with president obama, he praises the president. i don't know, i'm not going to stop eating their beans. if i like the beans, i'll keep eating the beans. that's my answer. what else do we have? smerconish, thanks a lot. that blazing sad else reference made me -- i wrote that last night, late night, mind you. what did i say? i said there hasn't been this much stink about beans since blazing saddles. i am laughing in the opening commentary. i think i made it. one more quickly. here we go. how about the trumpsteres that go after the nfl because of kaepernick. i say support the product.

if you like the product, eat the product, worship the product, go to the concert, et cetera, et cetera. here are results of the survey. see how you all voted. has cancel culture gone too far? 62% say yes. wow. more than 14,000 votes cast. cancel culture, you say, has gone too far. have a good weekend. don't forget, catch my special tonight, 10:00 p.m. in the east on cnn, what i wish i knew before i started talking. thank you. from diy beach days... to kiddo curls... to playgrounds reimagined... we're all finding new ways to soak up a little sun. but sunscreen is still a must. so grab the brand derms trust most for their families. love, neutrogena®.

eh, not enough fiber... chocolate would be good... snacking should be sweet and simple. the delicious taste of glucerna gives you the sweetness you crave while helping you manage your blood sugar. with nutrients to help support immune health. who've got their eczema under control. with less eczema, you can show more skin. so roll up those sleeves. and help heal your skin from within with dupixent. dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. many people taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin, and, had significantly less itch. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe.

tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. if you take asthma medicines, don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. so help heal your skin from within, and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent. if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. if your financial situation has changed, yeah. this moving thing never gets any easier. well, xfinity makes moving super easy. i can transfer my internet and tv service in about a minute. wow, that is easy. almost as easy as having those guys help you move.

we are those guys. that's you? the truck adds 10 pounds. in the arms. -okay... transfer your service online in a few easy steps. now that's simple, easy, awesome. transfer your service in minutes, making moving with xfinity a breeze. visit xfinity.com/moving today.

good saturday morning to you. it is july 11th. i am victor blackwell. >> i am abby phillip. thanks for joining us. you're in the cnn "newsroom." >> coronavirus cases, numbers are headed in the wrong direction. the u.s. set another record on friday. more than 66,000 cases reported yesterday. >> florida is now at the center of it all. that state recorded more than 11,000 new cases and 93 deaths yesterday. despite that, walt disney world in orlando reopened doors this morning. >> at least 26 states paused, some rolled back plans to reopen. president trump is pushing to get kids back in