howie. howie: on our buzz meter from new york. president trump battling back or his press conference with vladimir putin, even after he tried to clarify his remarks. >> you have been watching perhaps the most of disgraceful performances by an american president with a russian leader. he has gone from snarling alpha dog in brussels to putin's lap dog in helsinki. howie: plenty of attention paid

to the criticism. >> his performance is disgusting. that's the way i feel. >> i understand they are on a world stage and appease russia in disfavor to our intelligence community is what shocked me. >> the sky is literally falling. the world as you know it is now over according to the press. howie: why does trump say the press is risking war with russia. and are they hurting him with damaging leaks after helsinki. a conversation with sean spicer. the president hits back over a report that michael cohen was secretly taping him. does that justify this latest media explosion?

i'm howard kurtz and this is "mediabuzz." the biggest fire store of the trump presidency began when said this. >> who do you believe? >> dan coats came to me and some on thers and said they think it's russia. i have president putin and he said it's not russia. i will say this. i don't see any reason why it would be. i have great confidence in my intelligence people. but i will tell you that president putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. howie: the next day trump tried to clarify his remarks. president trump: i said what's

the big deal. i got a transcript. in key sentence in my remarks i said would instead of wouldn't. the sentence should have been i don't see why i wouldn't or why it wouldn't be russia. howie: most of of the media reaction ranged from scepticism to outright mockery. >> how stupid does he think americans are. he sided with vladimir putin or his own intelligence chief does not add up. >> this confirms what he said. >> the president buckled to criticism. that's exactly what happened. and that happens. this is politics after all. howie: joining me to analyze the criticism, kat timpf, and jessica tarlov and also a fox

news contributor. liz, let's start with this media explosion over helsinki. it was the most of intense moral condemnation itch seen since charlottesville *, do you think it's been fair? liz: initially when you looked at the attacks, it was a real pile-on. but from both sides. when you got the friendlies, the so-called friendlies -- each network picks a didn't perspective on things, that's always been the case well before president trump. when you see the fox news journalists were almost to a person coming out and condemning or criticizing how the president handled this, you have got to ask yourself. the president called the other side fake media. are we now the fake media? it did not strike a positive

chord. howie: you had many people at fox and the "wall street journal" editorial page. a personal international embarrassment. saying congress should censure the president. kat: oftentimes whatever the president does people will stand behind him. newt gingrich said it was the middle east serious mistake in his presidency. but the president still blamed it on the fake news media. but i think it was just a bad day. there was no way to spin it any other way. the publicly was not good. how could it have been. howie: do you think some of the liberal criticism went too far. we saw on msnbc it being compared to 9/11.

jessica: traitor has been thrown around since he assumed office. it's a lot to stomach to see him standing next to vladimir putin who we know is a murderous thug dictator. and h -- equivocate on everythig and make him seem like the big guy in the room. we are the big dogs in the room. howie: treason and traitor go too far? it was a botched press conference. jessica: i think it's more than a botched press conference. you can't just throw impeachment around without ground. what are you going to impeach him on. we have definitions of those. i think we go too far. but this is both sides of the aisle. everyone is ashamed of this. liz: the deck was stacked

against him. but he was the dealer. that was the problem. two-hour closed door meeting, that was by his choice, no aides present. then pictures of melania and the president greeting vladimir putin. if i'm the american press i would say where are my guys. that didn't seem to be the narrative of him sticking up for the american side. kat: i think treason went too far. a lot of people on president trump's side are less likely to listen to any of this. howie: why didn't you cover the meeting, but the american media wasn't given any information. why can't the president say he misspoke without all of this he didn't really mean it, he wasn't being sincere. kat: i think it's because he

waited so long to do it. i meant to say wouldn't, he gave two interviews on this channel and didn't mention that clarification once. if he had done that then i think people might have believed him. but it seemed like a last-ditch evident. howie: let me ask you about dan coats. it was an extraordinary spectacle of him being interviewed by andrea mitchell in aspen. while the cameras were rolling he didn't bother to tell his dni he invited putin to washington this fall. >> how do you have any idea what happened in that meeting. >> you are right, i don't know what happened in that meeting. if you asked me how that ought to be conducted i would have suggested a different way. but that's not my role.

howie: you have officials saying the president has gone rogue. does this fuel the media base doesn't consult his national visors. jessicavisoro -- advisors? >> yes, it does, but that's true. how does it benefit you to have vladimir putin on american soil in the white house right before the elections. the point about the clarification, the problem is not the 27 hours. the problem with it is it's a lie. president trump speaks english. he knows the continues between would and wouldn't. howie: on what basis are you declaring he's lying when says he didn't mean to say what he said. jessica: he has overwhelmingly come down on the side -- howie: speak of clarifications, so coats puts out this

statement, the press coverage has mischaracterized. i didn't mean to be disrespectful or criticize the president. self-serving leaks saying they gave him 100 pages of briefings to be tough on you continue but he ignores it. axios, he need a shower. dude, it's a total disgrace. should the press let people say that without their names attached. liz: you and i have a comfortable position as members of the american press where we expect we can say and report what he want. but when the president's inner circle are some of the people dropping the dime on the president? do you choose to hide that? i can't tell you how often we have gotten calls and dimes dropped from the inner circle. if i told you who they are you

would be surprised. they are very close and supportive of the president. it's the confusion and cirque du soleil back flips by the president to misstate. people are allowed to misspeak. they absolutely are. but why is it so difficult when he's talking about one person, vladimir putin or standing next to vladimir putin, that he suddenly can't do the reagan, mr. gorbachev tear down that wall. people say they are not sure what reagan really meant. howie: i'm not saying the press shouldn't report these leaks. but that these where cheap shots from people who are supposed to be on their side. >> mr. president, is russia still targeting the u.s.? >> no. >> no, you don't believe that to

be the case? howie: sarah huckabee sanders said he was the saying no to the question, but no i'm not ticking any questions at this meeting. the white house said the word were misconstrued. kat: i think the media coverage of this was overblown. when i watched that video, it's hard to hear. he was saying no, no, no, repeatedly. he could have been saying no to answering questions. "the washington post" is going to jump on that saying he's taking russia's side. given what the news cycle was at that time. of course, everyone is going to jump on that. howie: i thought it was ambiguous. i have a tweet for you, jessica. the fake news media wants so badly to see a major confrontation with russia, even one that could lead to war. they are pushing so recklessly

hard and hope i'll probably have a good relationship with putin. jessica: you see that with the north korea coverage as well. i think everyone is giving his his due credit. but as the reports roll out about what's going on in north korea, it's warranted. we had our own john roberts pushback and say am i the fake news and an enemy in the media? liz: policy versus behavior. he has been toughest when it comes to sanctions. these sanctions have really hurt russia. howie: a real gap between the policies and the tweets. let's take a look at this from the "new yorker."

they seem to find new ways of killing off the president and they do it every week. when we come back, michael cohen secretly taping his former boston * about a former playboy model? ♪ it is such a good time to kiss ♪ ♪ it is such a good time to dance ♪ ♪ it is such a good time to [ laughing ] ♪ scoobidoo doobidoo ♪ scoobidoo doobidoo [ goose honking ] ♪ [ laughing ] a bad day on the road still beats a good one off it. ♪ progressive helps keep you out there. when it's too cold for camping, we go camping.

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get $400 off the gator xuv835m are you ready to take your then you need xfinity xfi.? a more powerful way to stay connected. it gives you super fast speeds for all your devices, provides the most wifi coverage for your home, and lets you control your network with the xfi app. it's the ultimate wifi experience. xfinity xfi, simple, easy, awesome. howie: there was a massive media explosion when the "new york times" disclosed donald trump's former lawyer was secretly taping him about a former "playboy" model. she said her story was bought and killed by the "national

enquirer." >> it does raise questions as to why it is the trump campaign in october 2016 when the "wall street journal" asked about these payments were told by the campaign we know nothing about this. the president obviously did know something by the a month earlier. howie: there was virtually wall to wall news coverage. kat: it has sex, it has deceit, tapes. i'm not surprised it got so much coverage. but i don't know if it will change anyone's minds. i think most of people believe donald trump cheated on his wife and they don't care. the people who support the president, they say they like what the president is doing in this country and they don't care about these kinds of stories. howie: what rudy giuliani in

confirming the story said this was a payment for buying mcdoug alps storey and killing it for $100,000. but at the end of the campaign you had hope hicks telling the "wall street journal" that donald trump didn't know anything about it. jessica: rudy even said on tv, there will be more to come. kat is right, the infidelity of this president is baked in. we heard the access hollywood tapes and 62 million people said he's a good guy and we are going to vote for him and you got neil gorsuch. michael cohen's plot line is important. it has to do with taxi medallion businesses. but he's the keeper of many of

donald trump's secrets. that's where this could legally be a problem. howie: michael cohen and his team are convinced was preemptively seeked by the trump side to take the sting out of it to reduce cohen's value as a witness to mueller. it makes cohen look bat taping his boss at the time it's clear cohen is trying to work his way through two challenges. at the same time as he distanced himself from the president in at least one interview to own up to some of the things he did that maybe he's not proud of, to say he's now president. let me put up for you, liz, a tweet. you can expect the next day the president would tweet with about this. in the second second' he says

inconceivable that the government bo break into a lawyer's office, almost unheard of. even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client. liz: when i worked in boston at a television station, two party, both sides had to know. but this can be explained in certain cases when you look at the law. it's almost like taking notes. but what's more interesting is both sides are leak or revealing things to different members of the media to advance their side. the media is being used in many case. however, once you get it, is it your representation? is it important for to you reveal it? of course if you have have it you want to give it out there. the question becomes rudy giuliani saying it's

exculpatory. howie: lanny davis tweeting trump's tweet was false. when you say michael cohen is an important player here, it seems like this is playing out with a lot of leaks. the "new york times" story was accurate. but what it means is open to media debate. kat: i think it would be better off if president trump would not talk about this stuff at all. the media loves this story. the more he tweets about it, the more the media will talk about it. howie: the same thing with stormy. i get the who cares, he was a celebrity businessman. but it also goes to veracity. because of the denials. jessica: if it was president obama or president bush it would be a huge problem. it happens to not be with this

president. howie: and president clinton. jessica: i mean when they were elected in was no access hollywood tape when president clinton got arrested. the russia story is more important. i have seen media criticism that i think is smart. the "playboy" line matters less to voters. it's by definition sexier. howie: ahead, sean spicer on the media environment. one fox anchor who spoke her mind about what happened in helsinki. trish regan is here. since my stroke, he hasn't left my side. with the right steps, 80% of recurrent ischemic strokes could be prevented. a bayer aspirin regimen is one step to help prevent another stroke. so, i'm doing all i can to stay in his life.

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who spoke out forcefully was trish regan. trish: he should have defended us or testified his own defense agency. or just don't take the meeting. howie: trish, you have often been supportive of president trump. so when you strongly cite sides him over the helsinki press conference obviously you felt strongly. trish: i did. with me it's pretty much what you see you is what you get. if i like something, you will know it, if i don't like something, you will know that, too. i did not like way saw in helsinki. i was surprised and i reacted in real-time. it's what we need to do. too often journalists come at things with such a bias against the president. so it's not as though they are

reacting in real-time. they have theirer on agenda. i approach my job every day and my agenda is what's best for the country. if we have economic policy that will help create jobs, raise wages, that's good. if we have policies that will make us stronger on the international front, that's good. when he does well, you know that i do believe he's doing well. but when he has a misstep like that, and that's being kind calling eight misstep. i have to say something. howie: as you know, some supporters don't take kindly of any criticism. what kind of reaction have you gotten online? trish: mixed. from a lot of his followers, his base, they are upset. perhaps they wanted to come to me and hear something

reassuring. i have to call it like i see it. i don't know how to do it any other way. howie: it comes with the territory. trish: oh, my goodness, trish, you deserted us. i am not on his side. i'm not on anyone's side. i am on the side of our country. therefore i am on our viewers' side. maybe they -- it becomes sort of a religion, right? they want this president to succeed. i want this president to succeed. i want our country to succeed. howie: cnn played montages of fox people criticizing donald trump. trish: some people said that was courageous of you. i said how is it courageous?

i am just doing my job. i try to look at things independently enough so i can call it like i see it. it's not as though it takes courage. it just means i am doing what i signed up to do. that's to be fair and honest and now, you know when it comes out with a good piece of economic policy i say it's good, i mean that it is. howie: michael cohen secretly taping donald trump. is that a big story, is it a story pushing aside other stories. trish: it's pushing aside the whole helsinki story. when you think of the news cycle these days -- howie: they all go crazy over something, then something else pops and it becomes wall to wall. it doesn't matter if it's as important as our relations with vladimir putin.

it just payment new shiny object. trish: when some people said do you think this story has legs and will it be his undoing? i said the reality is there will be something else tomorrow. sure enough the michael cohen tapes came out. howie: this is a president who makes a lot of news and the media loves to cover him. thanks for coming by this sunday morning. ahead on "mediabuzz." why doesn't zuckerberg think it's okay for facebook to host poll' caught deniers. there will be a white flower for alzheimer's first survivor. join the fight at alz.org/walk. but how do i know if i'm i'm getting a good deal? i tell truecar my zip and which car i want and truecar shows the range of prices

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howie: one of the biggest casualties of trump's administration is sean spicer. he has now written a book called

"the briefing." sean spice were, welcome. president trump has drawn criticism across the media landscape for the putin press conference. was the press right that it was an egregious mistake? sean: i think even the president acknowledged he fumbled the words. there is a degree in the intensity they go after him. he acknowledged and clarified his words. i'm glad he did. i have heard him say before this isn't the first time he made it clear what russia's role has been in the election. howie: i want to talk about the intent. this is not just the liberal media. conservatives, people of on fox news, newt gingrich saying it many the most of serious mistake of his presidency.

sean, i get and i glad he clarified it. before it wasn't like there wasn't any history to this. he has said before that russia was involved in meddling. and so i get it. but i think part of the reason a lot of them pile on was because there was this fury from the media that a lot of folks felt they had to react to. i think they could have come out sooner and made it clear if that wasn't his intention, if the media reacted immediately they could have made this go away if there had been a quicker response. howie: you gone it with megyn kelly. she said why can't you admit donald trump sometimes struggles with the truth. do you dispute the fact that the president sometimes --

sean: here is what i think. you, me and probably everybody have made mistakes and said things we regret or turned out to be false or we misspeak. with this president the desire to constantly go after him. i don't remember any of those questions coming up. after benghazi, there was no questioning of going after does president trump. they didn't temperature treat the story with the same veracity. it was a story, but hardly in terms of people leaving that administration, none of them were held together the same way we are. howie: friday rudy giuliani confirmed the "new york times" report that michael cohen the president's personal lawyer secretly recorded the president. and it was about the payment that was allegedly made to

"playboy" model karen mcdougal. is the media explosion over this justified? sean: i don't know. the reason i say that is we don't know all the facts. it's an unconfirmed report and cohen isn't talking. howie: it was confirmed by rudy giuliani. sean: it's a betrayal of trust, the idea you are secretly recording people of on matters of business like that when you work for them. i think that's the bigger story. howie: when you were named press secretary, you wrote, i knew in my heart i was better qualified to be communications secretary. why were you not better suited for press secretary? sean: i don't think i could have anticipated the intensity and the scriewt any that job

involved. i looked at that job in the traditional sense like ari fleischer, dana perino. a lot of people who have had it. i have done hundreds of media hits and briefed people for years. but there was a new found intensity and scrutiny on this candidate, this president, this white house i couldn't have anticipated. howie: as you have write, the first day. the president saw the coverage of the inaugural crowd an sent you out. >> attempts to lessen the enthusiasm for the inauguration are shameful and wrong. >> the president got sworn in. he starts off with a flurry of executive orders and executive actions. i want to know show the mayor what people he's hard at work fulfilling the promises he made. and the media instead of focusing on those policies they

say he falsely took out a bust of martin luther king. and how many people were standing on the mall. there was an overall frustration from the people who say really? we have an historic campaign and that's what seems to be so much of the focus of the media. howie: you scolded the press and you say i should have lowered the temperature and not so body questioned the media's motives. i made a bad first impression and it was the beginning of the end. sean: the die was tas off the bat. my mom and my wife out of a sense of unconditional love were the only two people who were supportive of me that afternoon. and i don't even think either

one of them thought it did a good job. i think they just love me. howie: more with sean spicer including whether he may become a talk show host. pea-protein, gluten-free pâté. (whistles) it's a burrito filled with plants pretending to be meat. here we see the artist making an attempt to bare his soul. it's just a gray dot. there are multiples on the table: one is cash, three are fha, one is va. so what can you do? she's saying a whole lotta people want to buy this house. but you got this! rocket mortgage by quicken loans makes the complex simple. understand the details and get approved in as few as 8 minutes by america's largest mortgage lender.

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howie: more now of my conversation in washington with sean spicer. you say two cnn reporters were

among those trying to become cable stars by generating fake controversy and outrage. why fake? sean: it's not about a question. it's about creating and antic in the briefing room. jumping up and down and screaming. my point was this. those folks had went in briefing word quite often. suddenly they jump up and down and make a spectacle of themselves and suddenly they find themselves with cable contracts. not because of the great reporting or led an investigation. that's what we have done. we started to reward antics, not good journalism. howie: you have some myself things to say about maggie hayward of the "new york times." but you say a therapist could have made a fortune with the

amount of time you spent tangling with her. sean: maggie and i during my tenure would often -- she would write a story i didn't was fair. she didn't think me up responses were. we would spend 20 minutes talking about how we were talking to each other instead of focused on the issues. like a lot of reporters there i have respect for people who are tenacious and tough and make sure they are well sourced. i don't faulty journalism for tough stories. but the question is are they trying to get it right or be first to get a click. with all due respect to maggie, i don't agree with every story she writes. but i think her and jennifer jacobs. i hope that people who read "the briefing" walk away from -- there is some constructive stuff

on both sides. i say this is how we could do a better job. and i talk about how journalists could do a better job. we need good journalists and a healthy and robust press corp. howie: you were a dogged trump defender, constantly fighting with the media, aren't you more of a partisan warrior than a common ground guy? sean: i'm a huge partisan warrior but that's the point. a lot of the stories i tell in "the briefing," we can have civil and respectful discussions but totally disagree on policy. howie: you were ridicule rid --e ridiculed on snl. and you were acost in a store. is this hard on your family?

>> i think so. i have a partner of a wife and i think it hurts when you see somebody you love be attacked. with melissa mccartney, some of it was funny, and in cases where it was funny, when you screw up and you step tonight, she is a talented actor and she did some funny stuff and i can laugh at it. i don't blame her. it's not like she was a writer. she was a writer and did it well for the most of part. but i don't think people fully appreciate the impact it has on the families and loved ones. i had no idea. you talk about it from day one. you bring up the apple store. all of these instances when i took the job i didn't realize you would have this kind of

notoriety. save a few people on capitol hill, no one ever recognized me. i i think a lot of press secretaries would say political junkies know who they are. but could live a normal life. i think that changed under donald trump. howie: after the break. two feisty conservatives get an apology from facebook. mark zuckerberg tries to clarify his comments about hole kawftd denials. little things can be a big deal. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable after just 4 months, ... with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla.

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are you ready to take your then you need xfinity xfi.? a more powerful way to stay connected. it gives you super fast speeds for all your devices, provides the most wifi coverage for your home, and lets you control your network with the xfi app. it's the ultimate wifi experience. xfinity xfi, simple, easy, awesome.

are you ready to take your then you need xfinity xfi.? a more powerful way to stay connected. it gives you super fast speeds for all your devices, provides the most wifi coverage for your home, and lets you control your network with the xfi app. it's the ultimate wifi experience. xfinity xfi, simple, easy, awesome. howie: mark zuckerberg stepped in it when he was asked how facebook handles people who are holocaust deniers. >> i find that deeply offensive.

but at the end of the day i don't believe our platform should take that down because i think there are things that different people get wrong either -- i don't think they are intentionally getting it wrong. howie: they just happen to believe 67 million jews weren't killed by the nazis. it prompted zuckerberg who is jewish to say he didn't mean to say it didn't happen. he needs to abandon the fiction that facebook is a public utility where anybody can post lies and disinformation and it's not his problem. he runs a media company that has to take responsibility for its content. diamond and silk have been complaining of unfair treatment.

now a vp at facebook said they are right. she says we apologized to them at the time and i would like to extend my personal apology. >> when we were going through our issues, we were back and forth. nobody could give us an answer. howie: facebook didn't censure them. but they were sent a letter saying their panel was dangerous. roseanne goes off the rails. whatever you do to stay healthy. you might be missing something. your eyes. that's why there's ocuvite. ocuvite helps replenish nutrients your eyes can lose as you age. it has lutein, zeaxanthin and omega-3. ocuvite.

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howie: the network made it official with a one-sentence

statement. fox has parted ways with kimberly guilfoyle. she has been considered for a job in the trump white house. and the situation became more complicated when she started dating donald trump, jr. guilfoyle views this move as a rare opportunity. she is about to join the trump pac and plans to hit the campaign trail with don, jr. to campaign for the mid-terms. i wish kimberly all the best. "usa today" has dropped a conservative columnist for an insanely harsh tweet. asking if his daughters are ugly

like him and suggesting they party with a sex offender. she says she was responding to his attacks, but slamming his kid, please. roseanne says she was fired because she voted for donald trump, and that is not allowed in hollywood. and there was this rant and youtube. i'those [bleep] lies. god damn it. howie: it's kind of sad. i hope she gets help soon. media buzz meter. we spend the day kicking around the five most of important or buzzy stories. you can subscribe on apple itunes or google play. let's continue the conversation on twitter @howardkurtz. we hope you will like our facebook page. daily columns by me.

and we can have what i think is a good dialogue. we are back in washington next sunday morning with the latest "mediabuzz." arthel: this is a fox news alert. president trump reacting to the justice department's release of hundreds of pages much documents last night concerning the 2016 fisa application for former trump campaign advisor carter page showing the unverified steele dossier was a major con poll end for the warrant. i'm arthel neville. mike: i'm mike emanuel in for eric shawn. though heavy redacted, it shows carter page was being recruited by the russian government.