stewart speaking at a town hall in virginia. later, republican senator ted cruz and democratic representative better over iraq made for their first debate in the texas u.s. senate race. ♪ this week on q&a, cbs news chief white house correspondent ager garrett, he discusses his book "mr. trump's wild ride." thrills, chills, screams, and occasional blackouts of an extraordinary president." reporter: major garrett, your book "mr. trump's wild ride." you say this, this book is not trump's lies,t rancor, or flamboyance. why? major: because that is a fairly well covered aspect of the trump presidency.

brian, i learned during the campaign that one of the biggest challenges come i mention this in the book about donald trump come as a political force, as a islity, american politics, every day there are 10-12 or more really interesting things. but there are also three or four really important things. as i worked every day covering this white house, and as i work for 60 months covering the campaign, the biggest challenge, what is it? important ande not relentlessly being distracted by the interesting. donald trump generates tremendous amount of interesting things. intentionally, sometimes. unintentionally other times p of the book is about what happened in the first year and a half on the trump presidency, that we are going to as a country be living with the looking back on 10, possibly 20 years from now. as if not turning points, differences that last. arepposed to things that somewhat transient and headline

grabbing. of which there are many. when war donald -- where donald trump is concerned. brian: you open your book with fantastic -- with major. fantastic. major: the first two words donald trump ever ex post me. i never engaged with him before he became a presidential candidate. didn't consider him seriously. is anything, and american life, except an oddity. never watched the apprentice. never paid any attention to his flirtation with running for the presidency early in his life. we were in michigan, the first rally of donald trump that i sought -- that i was assigned to cover for cbs, sitting in the first row to the left. the press conference before rally, trump walks in, looks around, takes one or two questions, sees me, and says, major, fantastic. hey,he meant by that was,

there is a network correspondent on the front row, this was in early august, 2015. what did he say to himself? that must mean i'm getting somewhere. because until then, a network correspondent he knew and thought of them had some memory about was now covering his campaign. he considered himself personally, not a breakout moment, a moment that he wanted to savor. brian: how did you set this book up? in that opening, the prologue, i described my first interaction with donald trump. all the things that were obvious but he was not intentionally telling me but if i had been wiser and smarter, i would have paid closer attention to. i take myself to task. that is why it is called, what i should have learned. i think anyone who cover the trump campaign, who covers the trump white house, who does not approach the american public and say, i have had to learn a few things, i missed a few things. i was not as smart as i thought i was. if you don't say that, if you

don't acknowledge that, you will have evidence and credibility problem. because most of the coverage of the trump phenomenon was if not skeptical, sort of, this has no chance of happening. guess what? it did. those of us who were along that ride have got to take stock. have thoughtuld more clearly, been more sensitive to, been more aware of. in the moment. i started the book by saying, i missed a few things. i am going to knowledge that right up front. so you can have a sense that i don't come to you as a reader, as this all-knowing all seeing, because i was not all-knowing or all seeing. i caught a little bit of the font on and on. -- of the phenomenon. then i take the reader, not in a chronological order because the -- because i think that is too static, but through the most important events as i saw them,

of the first year and half of the trump presidency. some of those are foreign policies, some of those are domestic policies, some of them are successes, failures. in totality, they give you a feel and explanation of what happened. not what did not happen. what did happen. as a guesttarted many years ago. 27 years ago on the washington -- we did not call it bit to the washington journal. in 1991.ere you are just the people can see what has happened to you in 27 years. [laughter] the thingsink one of this country will recognize and the whole thomas debate is that, black conservatives do exist. one of the small hurdles in the way our country approaches the issue of races to get over the idea of -- a black liberal. brian: you are with the washington times at the time. major: yes. brian: in the history of journalism -- major: i still have a -- have an

affinity of green ties, apparently. [laughter] brian: in the history of media, are you the only two and made it from the washington times to big media? major: others dead. lori kelman worked at the washington. she worked for the associated press. a reporter inr is town washington. she was on the business desk. others did. are probablynd i the two best-known. peter baker was on the metro desk at the time. a sensational reporter. there are others. what did we share? we were very young, very aggressive, we were looking for a place to work in washington that would give us a place to do that work and move on if we could. and we all have. this: nobody cares about much today, but back in those days, everybody called it the moonie paper. were you ever labeled that and did you -- when you are inside that paper, did the reverend have an impact on the content?

major: not at all. other than to finance it without the money, the paper would not have existed. other than that, putting the money behind the newspaper, i never felt any editorial interference at all. to the contrary. the people who ran the paper were given what i consider to be free reign. the idea of the moonie paper, that anyone who work to their, -- of their, there was something wrong with them because they took the job. peter baker proved that wrong, i proved that wrong, laura kelman proved that wrong. other journalists proved it wrong. all we were looking for, young, aggressive, eager journalists in washington, was a place to find a home. we did. i don't think any of us said, this will be the only job we ever have in washington. that was -- it was a springboard. brian: what year did you leave there and where did you go? major: 1997 i left after serving for more than a year and a half as the deputy national editor. went to leave to write my second

book. because i had reached a threshold where if i had stayed, i would go into senior management. having been an editor and line editor emma not out on the field for more than a year, i learned that was not what i loved to do in journalism or what i loved was be where the story is happening and bring it back. i went to write my second book. landed at u.s. news. was a senior congressional correspondent for two years. frank says -- frank brought me into the interesting world of television. i have been there since. brian: what is your best memory of cnn that had an impact on you? major: it is not my best memory, but it is by far my most indelible memory. being in sarasota, florida with george w. bush the morning of 9/11. brian: what is your memory of that experience? major: it has every aspect of the tragedy, horror, and disbelief every american felt. morning, and i have

described this in other everyiews and speeches, day except that day, there is a pyramid of information atop which the american president since. a vast array of information collected by the cia, national security agency, fbi. that pyramid of information sons all sorts of signals to the president about what is happening, threats, everything else. that morning, that pyramid fell like this. the amount of information that the president of the united states had to act upon was not altogether that much higher than any other american had. in those first frightful hours after everything happened. i know that because the senior officials who were with the president there did not know what was next, did not know what they were most afraid of, what to be most afraid of, and how to begin a reaction process. that pyramid of information for a few hours collapsed, almost

flattened. and then gradually come it had to be built back up in the president had to be in charge of studying the nation, and leading the nation. that is without a doubt, my biggest and most unforgettable takeaway of that take. -- of that day. brian: what did you do next? major: we were there for three days, couldn't get out. brian: i mean with your job. since 2004. there -- 2002. cnn decided to do without me. that is what we call in the industry being fired or not for cause. they just wanted to move on. it happens in television. there is an old expression that you are not really a television reporter until you have been fired. brian: did they tell you want? -- why? major: they said we are moving on. totally within their prerogatives. we had a very equitable settlement week as they knew they had no cause. and they had to make it equitable to avoid friction, let us say. they did.

then i went to fox 10 i was there for eight years. brian: what was that like? major: i worked for bret hume. a tremendous leader. a great journalist. i had a lot of fun. i covered to democratic campaigns are that was a great ride. i cover the hillary clinton-barack obama campaign of 2007-2008. i thought at the time would be the most fascinating presidential campaign i would ever have the chance to cover. then came 2016. brian: why did you leave fox? before we do that, what was your biggest memory from your experience at fox? an a norma's amount of criticism from what they call the mainstream media in this town. is it deserved and why did you leave and what do you remember about your experience? major: when i was there, 2002-2010, i worked alongside a lot of people who put together what the marketing team called fair and balanced journalism. i called a journalism. 's -- bothsides of the

sides and get out of the way. the audience will appreciated. those who cover will appreciated. they will not say it publicly, but they will appreciate it. that is what i did and what we did. i don't know if i have a particular memory at fox. brian: any difference for you at fox and cnn? major: no. i did what i did. when i came in, everyone knew and saw my work as a journalist, and knew i would get the story. knew that i knew had to get the story and left me alone. ever dealt with anything other than the normal, anytive conversations, lively engaged and curious newsroom goes through. that is because of the standard established by britt hume. brian: one of the places you can find in norman's criticism of the mainstream media is on talk

radio. we put together -- this is only 30 seconds, we put together a montage of the kind of things being said on talk radio. first is chris plant, a stepson of the bill finding who used to be at cbs. major: dear friend and colleague. brian: then there is rush limbaugh and sean hannity. this is what they say almost every day about what you do at cbs. >> the democratic boot lick schleifer, mommy wrapped, news media, they are bidding for them. >> the media is praying to the unstable. they are playing to the in firm. they are playing to the loosely coagulated in the frame. needese people really help. they have no, let's say, they don't want to adhere to truth anymore. that is a sad thing. brian: what do you say? major: i heard that during the campaign. when i met trumps support is at more than 75 trump rallies. i have given speeches on this. what i'm introduced as a nice

introduction, but what you should know it is my name is major garrett. i am a semi-well-known member of an industry with record low popularity and approval and declining market share. and everyone laughs. because i'm being self-deprecating card but also making a point. this industry has to reconcile itself to those two fax. this is long before donald trump came along. as defined by democrats, republicans, and independence for the last decade, before 2016, was on a steady descent. among republicans, but still study among independents and self identified democrats. what was happening simultaneously? market share was decreasing. i asked out loud repeatedly come is that a coincidence or a cause? our industry has to come to terms with that. story approaching every with the same level of curiosity in both her actions and

rendering that story that our audience can were believe is credible and believable and bankable. not necessarily true to them. but true and defensively true, overtime. the question you have to ask all the time. and when you see evidence like i just described, i think you have to ask that question more profoundly, more deeply, and more persistently. i understand some of that is a trope. some of that is criticism because taking down the mainstream media creates a market incentive for those who are competing with the mainstream media. and we are all competing for a, for years, and eyeballs. ears, and eyeballs. some of that is set for marketing purposes, for critics. if it had no basis, it would not work. it does work and we have to ask ourselves, like? -- why? one of the things i tried to do in the book is explain and show

inple what actually happened the first year and a half of the trump presidency. there is in the entire 300 26 pages of the book, one blind quote. everything else is attributed. everything else happened in full public view. i give assessments of what happened behind the scenes. but this is something that you can literally, in my opinion, humbly, take to the bank and belief. because of cap and i am describing it as it happened. are may 3, 2018, in a news conference room reefing in the press room at the white house with sarah sanders. advised not ton wade into this, to protect her self from any potential legal exposure by giving false information that proves later not to be able to be understood in court? >> no, but i would always advise against giving false information

-- >> when you say before that you gave the best information you had at the time -- it turns out not to be correct. brian: explain to those of us who watch it from afar. what is going on in that room? is she telling the truth every day? why is there such an end has it -- and housing -- antagonistic room against her? major: it is one the white house internally thinks about all the time. probably more than those of us who sit in those rows think about it and more than trump supporters might imagine. they are sensitive to it. this antagonistic atmosphere here in the first place and why does it persist? some of that has to do with the rhetoric the president has turned toward the news media. psychologyt of the of this interaction. rallies,dent says at

as he repeatedly does, we are fake, disgusting, dishonest, we are liars, we do all this intentionally. the audience turns and screams and brays at us. that has a psychological effect. no human being is immune from that. i dealt with it during the campaign. i have dealt with its at rally since donald trump was elected president. does sarah huckabee sanders truth?tell the i will only quote her. there have been several times in the briefing where she said, i gave the best information i had at the time. which speaks to a process question inside the white house which is different than other what white house as i have cut -- other white house as i've covered. which is, the best information i have at the time may be limited and everyone knows it is limited but they will go with it for the moment and to see if they have to back away from it. they will test of that proposition. sometimes it has worked out, sometimes it has not. anddynamic in that room is, mrs. -- this has always been true of every presidential daily briefing i have done, they have

a message that they are trying to drive. we have a set of questions that either tries to eliminate that message or knock them off that message to get at a deeper truth. whether it is about politics, legislation, or things that are in development behind the scenes that they are not ready to talk about. all of that is part of the attention of that room that always exists. one of the reasons it is more tense now is that the briefings are far more infrequent than they used to be. and they are shorter. the pressure builds in the room to get questions asked and answered. when you don't have lots of precinct -- briefings and the ones you have are short, 19, 20, 21, maybe 22 minutes, there is more desire to get in there and to scrap, if you will. then there is some showmanship that goes on. i have never been one to orient myself in that direction. other reporters have no criticism. it's their style. not mine.

fundamentally, if there is a white house reporter, the most important part of your day is a briefing, you're not doing it the best way. most of the best information about any white house is developed outside, then you bring it in. then you require them to ask and answer when you have developed outside of that briefing. small just a couple questions about doing your job every day. how many people are with you at cbs, from cbs, with you come at the white house? major: i have at least two cruise every day. a videographer and sound person. anywhere from three-for producers who come in and out of the booth where we work. on any given day. then there are lots of people back in the bureau that are part of the newsgathering and development of the story for the evening news or the cbs this morning. brian: when you go out and stand in front of the camera live on the evening news show, is your report written or do you read it off at teleprompter?

major: it is written by me and i never use a teleprompter. i memorize it. brian: you memorize it? major: most of it is track. most of it is pretty recorded. my voice is laid down over the picture. we do that around 5:00, 5:30 p.m., 6:00 if it is a harem, scarab day. there are maybe 15 seconds of me at the end. there is something out the top and all of that i commit to memory and i present. i don't like to read off a teleprompter. there is something unnatural and artificial about that. that is why i will never be an anchor. [laughter] brian: how many different presidents have you covered? major: four. whenered george h.w. bush i arrived in washington, in january of 199010i never covered george h.w. bush presidency from the building could meaning inside the gate. flight forlew on one george h.w. bush because they had no one else in the newsroom and they put me on the plane. presidency, i covered from

a distance of congress. i got to do cool things like state of the union. i will never forget my first state of the union address. being in the house chamber. looking down at the rostrum, seeing everyone there. it was one of those moments where i said, this is what i always dreamed about it i always hoped i'd have a chance to do this. now i am. it was unforgettable. brian: george w. bush. major: bill clinton, barack obama, donald trump. all up close every day. youn: i want to ask something. of numbers in an article written about this. i have been around town for a long time. i have noticed this seems to be a change with donald trump administration. this is a former anchor for cbs. let's watch scott pelley back on february 16, 2017. i want you to explain this. >> today, we learned the length of the president's views. 28 days. of beingr weeks

blocked by courts, challenged by congress, and held to account by the public, president trump called a hasty news conference and went on offense, with of the familiar tools that built his career. luster, bravado, exaggeration, and a few loose fax. i don't remember anchors doing what they are doing today by saying the president lies. scott was the anchor there for some time to all of a sudden, he disappeared. we never saw him again to what happened? major: there was a change. quite obviously. brian: why? that: the network decided they wanted a different anchor. allowed to do that are networks is is that power. then, to speake for themselves. an anchor in about leaning, andrward

describeadjectives, to , feels different in the trump era, sounds different in the trump era, and strikes many trump supporters as, if not over aggressive in a way that they, like you, never heard before. what is that about? one of the things i talk about himselfook is trump likes to pick fights. and likes to do things that a rattle the norms. rattle the norms of expectations, rattle the norms of what we think about, and we have commonly associated with the american presidency. as i point out in the book, donald trump is unique in many ways. among the ways he is unique, he is the first person elected who never served in the military, never led armies to successful battle, or served

in previously elected office. is it isy about that telling us as a country something new about what our expectations are for who should be in the oval office. that is changing before our very eyes. donald trump is a representation of that change. perceived, he is because he is a disruptor and because he is so different in the office and does not do things the way previous presidents have, there is an edge. there is uneducated edge to the presentation. there is an edge to the evaluation. that seeps in. brian: is that bordered by the producer of these programs? i can say for everything that has -- that scott pelley wrote, -- brian: did that gets -- did i get scott pelley in trouble? major: i don't think so. brian: you didn't get removed because he was angry about

donald trump? major: i don't think so. brian: if you watched it every night, he did it every night. anchors across the board are stunned every night. they are shocked. you sit and watch a new go, whatever happened to journalism? major: taking the question at its full measure and full weight, i get that question a lot. the first thing i say is i am one person. a long tracke with record. you can read everything i've ever written. brian: why do you think this is happening? major: i think, even those close to the president who like him and admire him, knew this about him. at one level and went about it on another level. outsized emotional reactions. he does. that is one of the things that is his strength. and his weakness. one of the tension points within the campaign and with of the presidency is how to best

channel this thing that donald trump evokes within people. side, for people who admire and respect and adore donald trump, it is at almost a level of adoration. it is almost feverish. they know it and they love it. can't abide donald trump, there is something so visceral about their reaction. they don't even know how to cope with it. is going reality that on and playing on in our american politics. it is not just about partisanship. i think it transcends party. i describe donald trump in the book as proto-partisan. he is bigger than partisanship. because there is this emotional dynamo that he spins within people. he doesn't intentionally caret sometimes he doesn't even know he is doing it. but it happens, it is influencing every aspect of american life. culture, economics, politics,

and in ways you have detected, the way journalists interact story.is ongoing brian: so you werebrian: in the obama white house and you have been in the trump white house. people that like donald trump think that president obama was given a pass. by the media. major: they do. brian: you know these people up close. do you -- do you know anyone in the media, mainstream, if that is what you want to call it, that likes donald trump? and do you know anyone from anybody in the white house but like barack obama? it thiset me answer way. i like them both. in a general, generic sense. brian: but you know what i'm talking about. once the cameras go off, or people stop and say, i can't stand this man, versus, i really like this guy, i'm happy he is president. ajor: you will think this is

dodge. i will accept that as a criticism. in of the things i have done my career -- i've worked in places that are, let us say, different. i worked at the washington times, fox, cnn, cbs, i've written cover stories that is a freelance story is a freelance standard and mother jones. i might be the only person who can say that. what is the common denominator? the checks both cleared. [laughter] major: i worked in lots of different places and bumped into an been in newsrooms of very different constructs. >> i don't spend a lot of time engaging with my colleagues and who theyy like don't like. a) because i'm not interested in it. b) i don't think it is what our job should be about at any level

ask me, major, how many people in the press corps love donald trump? i would say that's probably a small amount. polled them? will i ever? never. >> what about barack obama? have said he doesn't accept criticism, like himfigure, and i more than i dislike him in a general sense. an impression. there's a video in a newsroom obama. 15th with barack >> as you know there are four americans in iran. three held up on trumped up charges. one whereabouts unknown.

country, sir,he why you are content with all of the fanfare around to leave the conscious of the nation and the strength of the nation unaccount ed for in relation to these four americans. got to give you credit, major, for how you craft those questions. i'm content as i with american citizens in jail?ng that's nonsense. you should know better. somemet with the family of of those folks. nobody is content. host: what was that like? major: i knew it was coming. as soon as i stopped talking. i could see the reaction in his eyes. i interviewed him six times for the campaign when i worked for

fox. evidence that i would suggest he appreciated not only the spoke to but me. the exception of the self-declared white house war on theearly on in 2009 in obama administration, a solid, relationship. it wasn't the first time at a press conference he said i got you major the way you craft the questions. was lawyery stop ping him and preventing him questioning easy? i take pride in the way i put my questions together. atnew he was going to come me. that's what i put it in the book anything with your face don't look away. don't shift in your chair. it. take you've asked the question. he has the opportunity to come everything that he's got. i had a very strong sense he was

going to. which he did on his terms. other presidents have been loud er and more boisterous. as barackut as loud obama gets. but he knew it and i knew it and the audience knew it. as i write in the book and go forward in ways he had not he spoke of the iran nuclear deal which was the under subject of the press conference he mentioned by name americans. there was a shift in his appraisal and willingness to place the rhetorical weight of his presidency behind those name through intermediaries of all four families, some words of i heard appreciation. did the obama white house come after you? major: that after i walked into

the office. i'm not spoiling any confidence. i walked in and popped my head and i said we're good? he said all good. it's all business. ask. answer. you ask a tough question. you get a tough response. the american people get to evaluate it. way it is supposed to happen. host: one of the chapters in the sessions. jeff here's some video from january the 10th, 2017. you can explain it once we look at it. it is former senator questioning jeff. >> if there's any evidence that anyone affiliated with the trump theaign communicated with russian government in the course youhe campaign, what will do? >> i'm not aware of any of those activities. called a sir gait a time or two.

comment on it. >> very well. without divulging sensitive .nformation host: what's the importance of that in the book? isor: the importance twofold. i had no communications. it turned out something that was disputed. disputed in the sense that jeff andions has a senate surrogate had had communications there was a separate report about how important they were, how they lead to and didn't lead to. didn't have any communication. that was not a defensive sessions.by jeff that was the -- that answer and the dispute over that lead him ethics attorneys within the justice department which lead him to recuse himself all matters relating to the ongoing russia investigation.

that'sond part of it -- i learned this as i reported on the book. breakingtion was on a news story from cnn. senator franken mentions that. he takes on jeff sessions and goes in directions that are responsive tonot what senator franken actually asked. i point it out in the book. i know this from people who were counseling jeff sessions at the back on it and wince at the way it was handled. he could have said if there's give it to the relevant authorities. you have my word on that. he diverged and went off in the other areas. -- ime, this was late believe in the first day -- of the confirmation hearing process closest to then the designeeons, for attorney general thought it was going great.

they let their guard down. they thought they got through the toughest questions. they were feeling good and look ing ahead to the next day or two and anticipating this was smoothly. this question sort of came out of nowhere. they weren't sure it mattered. they didn't catch the import of it until somewhat later. that happens in politics. everyone thinks everything is so and so structured. frequently it is. there's real moments where thing missed. an answer is given that's not foundationally defensible and things start spinning. and the things that spun out of are not central, deeply embedded in the story of jeff this administration host: seeing al franken had to from the senate because there was the pressure on him from his female colleagues, allegations of sexual a -- behavior some admitted

on his part, yeah. host: i have to ask you what it working on cbs when your ceo ran out and possibility will up $120 million before it is all over and charlie roast was one of the biggest names was fired.usiness what's it like in your own organization having to deal with this? major: of course it is difficult. people you know and respect and knew and interacted with charlie rose all the time. washington.h in i would occasionally go up to new york. i saw him on the set. i walked off the set. -- i just -- i was honored enough once to be a his pbs show.t on one of the great thrills of my life. this place inad our industry. les mundes has a place in the

industry. they have the other aspects of their lives. what happened to me and i think ist happened to everybody that reckoning now goes all the way. used to stop. speeches,id in many after the supreme court decision in the late 1990's, the toll doesn't matter if you know. you've got to take a proactive effort to communicate to your what the standards are and do everything that you can before anything happens to discourage this kind of behavior hostile work environment. harassment. the like. all all happened through ranks, except the top ranks. now it is happening at the top across america. host: what's the impact on the industry of all of these people that you know well -- i'm sure from michael in npr and go down list of all of the people that have been run out, includ

matt lauer and others. what's been the impact on the way the public looks at the media? major: that's a bigger question than i can answer. i think the public is absorbing it. it is not just happening in the media. it is not the only place. a conspicuous and highly visible place. aspectscurring in other of american life as well, as it should. it is to say these standards apply universally. they apply at very highest reinforcing that they apply everywhere else. for my point earlier was it had everywhere else for a long time, but not up here which created a perception gap serious organizations really were about the standards. is the communication absolutely clear. standards are real. they apply universally.

workplace wend of need to achieve. we're all better for that. host: i want to reach from page 171 in the book. this is another aspect between trump and the russia investigation. again it was in competence or amnesia. incompetence was an acceptable explanation for absolutely nothing. great.ing trump does is his team is great. his people are the greatest. achievement everywhere. numerous russian-related revelations have been chalked up to ineptitude. the established record. what they explain or seek to ex plain what questions arise investigation,n when you get to the specifics. not to there's no collusions. but to the specifics. either people don't remember or they blunder. they made a mistake. and sometimes it is character

ized as -- character ized as an innocent mis take. it is still a mistake. fascinating and worth noting. this book, to be clear, as you well know, it is not about russia and the russian investigation. i don't know what the bottom of the story still is. chased people who have told me, oh, my gosh, x indicted going to be tomorrow. you better get on that. it never happens. it all drifts away. bottom line ofe robert mueller's investigation is or isn't going to be. most people don't. those that pretend they do, should stop pretending. know.t amnesia or incompetence has been pillar uponiable which trump people and trump officials have leaned against with some of the un comfortable facts or revelations that have come along as the story has progressed. you continue to write in there the trump world also suffered a plague of amnesia on topic and one topic only, russia. trump forget.

forget. clint forget. kushner forget. trump forget. k.t. mcfarr land forget. how is it that russia and only russia affected top personnel of inhe ailments competence and amnesia? peopleld all of the forget? major: that's the public what hason for happened that's presented to them in a later sequence of events. i, -- i remember this didn't happen. you explain it happening and them -- people on television say ing the president lied to him major: i think one of the reasons the russia stories continues and has this -- there's smoke there must be fire it is because denials

have had to be recanted. situations have to be acknowledged that were not acknowledged.lly or recontextturized. people say ah-ha. thing then.s now you have to say this thing now. what's going on? that's one of the things that keeps the russia story part of the conversation. there was a blanket denial. it was no longer from the campaign,s presidential transition. no foreign contact of any kind. i didn't make them say that. no reporter made them say that. they said that. you and i know that it is not true. context.e where they inept because if we acknowledge one, we have to ex plain. explain.want to they said it. it is part of the record. that part of the record

didn't withstand scrutiny. that's happened more than once. and this explanation or the subsequent explanation either in competence or ineptitude seems visited upon one story and one story only: russia. not others. host: you talk about movies in the book. major: why? host: i love movies. i'm a huge movie fan. nearly as well versed as movie critics. myself even an aspiring critic. movie.ve i love books. movies talk to america. culturalof the resonance and what we carry with us, i think, is informed as a society as a mass society by movies. me as i was to be honest taking breaks from writ ing the book watching lots movies just to clear my head and move in different directions break.e a

i did this book while i was doing my day job. something i do not recommend. we'll never do again. struckacross movies that me as sounding as if they were representing something or a set a different era that people viewing them now might feel were coming to life in some way. host: 1957. griffith "a face in the crowd." let's watch the exert. >> the whole country is like my flock of sheep. >> red necks. crackers. hillbilly. whenbody has to jump somebody else blows the whistle. they don't know it yet. going to be fight ers for voters. they are mine. them. they think like i do. only they are even more stupid than i am. so i've got to think for them. good point.

major: good movie. scene. the point of that part of the movie is andy griffith's character, lonesome rhodes has become a star for spinning on the wisdom of the common american person. he describes there the people most.ove him there's an aspect of the people who love him most as portrayed came across that i at trump rallies. people who have to answer when whistle.lows the someone who is in a position where they are working two or three jobs and can't get ahead and feel frustrated and are look has if someone who not thee answer, a set of answer s different than what hearing before. and the point of the movie is misleading. it can be possibly manipulative. aspect where lonesome

griffith'sy character, says i've got a thing for them. it was part of a warning signal that the writer at the time was saying be afraid of someone who thinks he or she has all of the answers. be skeptical of someone who may in any walkthat way of life. that's not something that's un common or not attached to general.in but i write in the book that those people who had those fears might look at the trump phenomenon and say i'm feeling the same fears now. they are the same. i don't compare donald trump to lonesome rhodes. writers were talking about something they were fear fears tod those those who think exactly the way the writers did might feel to now as if they are coming to life. you quote ar book lot of people you met around the country and a lot of trump supporters. major: yes. for a precise reason. i wanted the book to not just

reflect my experience here in washington, but the people that i met and people that as a practical matter every month cbs news through my dear colleague, talks to to get their take on what's going on month by month of the trump presidency. weaving them in was important to a to get their voice if not balancer or leveler in the assessment. host: you have a character -- i he would like to be called a character. my rashard. major: rashard. host: he paused for a moment. he looked like he was going to walk away. i like who he picked for mike pence.nt, you said why?

in arizona. he turned it around. indiana you said helpfully. do you help people who have no idea about what's going on? major: that's not what i say in the book. no idea what's going on. they lack what i would regard as a precise understanding of person, place, and thing. what matters to them. this is where i really try and are, this is an advertise ment for the book, full on. aboutto humble myself what the truth mat means to them because the truth and the way it mattered in the country. the truth as it mattered to them lead to the election as donald trump as president. truth as it matters to them is it. impressionistic? yes. is it specific in key respects? no.

but that doesn't make it any vital to them. or any less motivational to them and i would have conversations with trump supporters about fact s or times or things. yeah, yeah, yeah. i'm interested in a larger truth larger truths. he speaks about big things and and trajectories. that's what i care about. okay? position nor should i ever be to say your sense of impressionistic or otherwise, is invalid. it is valid to them. made it acting on it valid for the whole country. host: 40 seconds from another movie. us how this fits in. "seven days in may." burt lancaster and frederick march. prepared to brand you for what you are, general. an egotistic with a complex.

i know you think i'm a weak comes to thehen it oval office -- howesterday you taught me to salute a flag. >> i'll teach you -- president, you are not qualified. ed on criminal negligence. weakre a criminally servant. topic of the movie is about a disagreement between the pentagon and sitting president over the nuclear treaty. there are those that believe in hurtful for it is this in the country to go through. the clash between civilian leadership and military leadership. the president is dangerously placing the united states in a weakened position.

one of the constructs of the movie is what is weakness and what is strength? what is and frederick march ther as the president in movie talks about a disease of helplessness caused by the nuclear age. people feel they can't make things happen. they feel powerless and in their inadequacy. and as i play -- as i say in the was the phrasege then. we might call it age of terrorism now. we might call it age of global ization where people feel sense of powerlessness. a sense of frustration. thatse that the system they believe in, and have believed in, is either incapable their needs, or no oriented forward addressing their needs. a theme through trump supporters at all of the theies that i went to was

sense that is the system didn't work or didn't even bother to working as they thought it ought to work or they wanted it to be heard to work on their behalf. and that disconnect is something that donald trump jumped right as everyddle of and capable politician, even as a newly minted one as donald trump was, learned how to navigate. january 18, 2018. your podcast the takeout podcast a bunch of questions why the president's lawyer is podcast.o you on a here in the january time was ty podcast.your from your vantage point right now, ty cobb, a certainly a q the president will have & a with the special counsel robert mueller? belief.s my >> when do you believe it will reach the conclusion? >> there's no reason not to

conclude soon. >> what's soon? >> soon would be in the next weeks. six host: he's gone. john is gone. there's no no interview. why would ty cobb talk to you? major: interesting question. didn't know the answer at the time. i took what is sometimes as aibed in our industry flier. would you ever consider doing my show? when do you want to do it? what? wait a minute. are you serious? sure. i'll do it. i didn't know was -- i aboutd later, and i talk in the book, ty was trying to move the president toward an lateview with mueller in january. they had a date selected, 27th.y and the point of him appearing sit-down intera view and not a network thing. kind of interesting, kind of

the network sphere, not exactly. place was tod ball lay the predicate for the president. you can do this. we can work it out. let's do it sooner rather than later. robert mueller. forobb says i have respect robert mueller. i think he's a formidable but fair prosecutor. the president shouldn't worry thet a perjury trap meaning knowledge and legal skills and perjuryr wouldn't lay a trap for the president sending signals in all sorts of different directions. generates global head lines. this is the first time my gotast popped up and significant notice. and that began the unraveling. because john dowd as related to ty cobbs in the book reacted to thatgatively appearance. he was becoming more fearful about the president sitting down with mueller.

the book, out in about where this story would be now if, in fact, the president had an interview with mueller in late january before so many other revelations and had come to pass. universitye you go, of missouri journalism? sir.: yes, and police science. it was an active time. your where did you meet wife? major: well, that's a two-part question. my first wife in las vegas , nevada. kles, theeporter at cbs affiliate. i was a reporter at a las vegas review journal. i met my current wife here in washington. she was the professor of at villanova.nce she's now the director of management in george washington. year did you marry her? major: 2016. ended.fter the primaries not a good idea. we struck while we could.

three kids?ve major: yes. 18.23, and been whiteuest has house correspondent for cbs news , major garrett. thank you. major: thank you. >> visit us at q and a.org. they are also available as podcasts.

jeffreyweek on q & a, book aboutis president george hoover walker bush "when the world seemed new ." that's next sunday at 8:00 p.m. pacific on c-span. "washington journal" live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. up monday morning we'll latest news.

be sure to watch c-span's " journal" live at 7:00 eastern monday morning. join the discussion. >> professor christine ford has agreed to testify about her allegationult against supreme court nominee on thursday.h judge kavanagh will also testify at meeting. have live coverage 10:00 a.m. on c-span, c-span 3, c-span.org and the radio app. town hall meeting in virginia with the candidates run ning for a u.s. senate seat. then a debate before the candidates running for a senate in texas. another chance of q & a with about hisjor talking book on the trump presidency.

the british parliament was in recess this week. now primaries >> good evening and welcome to tonight's u.s. senate town hall between a democrat, senator tim kaine, and his challenger, corey stewart. mark: i'm mark spain. we will bring the candidates out -- tonight's townhall will focus primarily on domestic issues. the next townhall, at hampton university, will focus more on foreign policy and national