that's it for today. have a great week and we will see you next "fox news sunday". howie: an anonymous official the "new york times" calls a senior official says he's trying to save the administration. >> the paper of record has become the paper of rumor. the times published a column from someone they do not identify. >> they are trying to make the story a media malfeasance story which i found outray just when this op-ed is echoing the

woodward book. >> >> if someone wants to write an op-ed like this, resign and put your name on it. this is just gossip. howie: should the paper have published this anti-trump scream. this as bob woodward's book bombshell portrays the white house as crazy town. president trump: the book is a work of fiction. if you look at woodward's past he had the same problem with other presidents. he likes to get publicity and sell some books. >> i talked to dozens and dozens

of people and have notes and documentation of lots of things. >> bob woodward's book on the trump administration is like nothing we have ever heard. it's like everything we have heard except worse and scarier. >> there are a bunch of people who say the president said these things. >> it's time for the come to say the trump presidency is a national knowledge. >> apparently hundreds of anonymous people painting the trump presidency in a very negative light. howie: are the books undermining the president's credibility. howie: serena breaks down.

' was the umpire sexist? this is "mediabuzz." what began as a media furor took a serious turn when the ' "new york times" op-ed said trump is unstable and i am norm. his impulsiveness results in half baked and reckless decisions that have to be walked back. president trump responded on "fox and friends." president trump: if the "new york times" has an anonymous editorial, we are doing a great job. because really what they have

done is virtually, it's treason. howie: this official if the person exists, the president says committed treason. sara fischer, and phillipe reines, former state department official. ' the president says he should be investigated by the department of justice. mollie: it's an interesting story that we have someone claiming to have a power unto themselves. this is a person who is not elected. we don't even know which agency he's in, yet he's claiming to be involved in policy make and law making that the people have no

right to know who they are. howie: you said this is a threat to our democracy? mollie: there have been all these allegations saying there is a deep state and hidden bureaucracy engaged in nefarious activity and this person went to the "new york times" and said that's absolutely true. we have accountability for them. when they are secret in a bureaucracy, we have no way to hold them accountable. howie: the "times" editorial page knows who it is, this person is making serious charges, it's news worthy. sara: we'll find out eventually. if the "new york times" was to publish this knowing it will

come out who it is, then they are risking their credibility if it's not a senior official. we heard the "new york times" podcast say the way they use senior officials, it's not directly linked to the president. howie: "times" editors say they are proud they published it. of course, they are, they detest president trump. phillipe: i think any paper would have done it. here is a problem with the deep state. whether it's five minutes for five days from now we'll know who it is.

if you want to call him gutless. he's employing gutless people. there are a lot of problems to this that we won't know until we find out who it is. be careful how hunt for because you night find them. this might be someone 10 feet away from his office. it could be someone he knows. howie: the president called the source gutless. and he has a point. even if you buy into the self-righteousview view that we are saving america from a crazy president. didn't he undermine his own trump by infuriating the president. and undermining the move. mollie: he said the economy is

doing well. national security is well. foreign policy is doing well. it turns out donald trump acts like donald trump in meetings. it seems petty and small compared to the claims everything was going well. why he would do this when nothing new was shared in this op-ed is bizarre. howie: i think by immediately attacking the times and the source the president added rocket fuel. when you were involved in the obama administration you were involved in hunting down someone with a rogue twitter account. >> there was someone who sent about 2,000 tweets hitting much everyone in town, not just democrats and obama, but republicans. it got under people's skin. a bipartisan team got together

and did a osama bin laden'' investigation. and it turns out he was on the nse team. and he was fired. what happens when you find leaks like this. howie: when the president says this could be treason. he demands the "times" turn over the source. what's he talking about? there is no classified information. it's an op-ed attack on the president. is it political betrayal, yes, a firing offense, yes? but where is the national securiti' threat. sara: this is the rhetoric donald trump uses when he wants to undermine the credibility of

what the "new york times" published. mollie: when you have a rogue and unaccountable person thwarting by his own claims the will of the american people. that's a serious threat. the people have a say. they voted for this person and he's the person held accountable. phillipe: a year and a half ago someone was leak the transcripts of his phone calls. howie: the media's guessing who it was, i won't repeat all the names. let me turn to the bob woodward book. many of the same themes about aides trying to restrain the president. the president is an idiot, he's a liar, he's off the rails operating at a 5th or 6th

grade level. i can tell you from my firsthand knowledge that bob woodward is a meticulous reporter. while some trump officials are denying the comments, he says he has hundreds of hours of tapes and transcripts. mollie: i think it claims against bob woodward aren't that he makes up quotes. but he talks to just a certain type of fern who is going to trash the principle. howie: let me read you a tweet from the president about this book talking about some of the senior officials around him. their quotes were made up. a con on the public. woodward is a damn operative? notice timing? you can say a lot of the things about woodward. his techniques can be controversial and there are

often denials about what he reports. but' a dem operative? you can't dismiss that. sara: when woodward came to him, he said the administration took that seriously. they thought this was a credible report. it's fascinating to see the difference in this administration. apparently when bob woodward tried to get donald trump to talk to him, kellyanne conway said i will put in a request. howie: he has a style that leaves room for people to deny. and he's accused of giving more sympathetic treatment to sources who cooperate. does that undercut the book to

some degree? phillipe: the scariest words in d.c. are bob woodward called for you. if they might seem they are torqued up, they happened. he captured the essence of things. i don't think you can attack and assail the book the way the president has. the president has a knack to just shellack people and make stuff up. mollie: the critiques of bob woodward are he doesn't get and complete picture of how he treats people. they are not saying he made anything up, but with john berks lushi,'. howie: we have some real factual

disputes. woodward on cbs said he wouldn't have used the anonymous op-ed writer's charges without more detail. later, serena williams getting hammered for her blowup at the hammered for her blowup at the u.s. open. my name is jeff sheldon, and i'm the founder of ugmonk. before shipstation it was crazy. it's great when you see a hundred orders come in, a hundred orders come in, but then you realize i've got a hundred orders i have to ship out. shipstation streamlined that wh the order data, the weights of , everything is seamlessly put into shipstation, so when we print the shipping ll everything's pretty much done. it's so much easier so now, we're ready, bring on t. shipstation. the number one ch of online sellers. go to shipstation.com/tv and get two months free. and it's time to get outside. pack in even more adventure with audible.

with the largest selection of audiobooks. audible lets you follow plot twists off the beaten track. or discover magic when you hit the open road. with the free audible app, your stories go wherever you do. and for just $14.95 a month you get a credit, good for any audiobook. if you don't like it exchange it any time. no questions asked. you can also roll your credits to the next month if you don't use them. so take audible with you this summer... on the road... on the trail... or to the beach. start a 30-day trial and your first audiobook is free. cancel anytime, and your books are yours to keep forever. no matter where you go this summer make it better with audible. text summer10 to 500500 to start listening today.

howie: president trump has been denouncing book woodward, but he had hah more positive assessment in a call released by the "washington post." president trump: who did you ask about speaking to me. >> about six people. president trump: nobody told me by the.

i would have spoken to you. i am open to you. you have always been fair. but i don't blame you entirely. howie: do you believe president trump didn't nope bob woodward didn't know he was putting in the request. mollie: i don't mean to disrespect him, but i don't think's always telling the truth in these phone calls. howie: there is a lot of stuff in my book, media madness about the staff trying to re-strain or slow walk or end run him. some of this happens in every administration. but what the media loves about this is they can say, aha. mollie: i talk to people who have fights with the president. they characterize it differently. they say they do have battles and they do fight.

at the end of the day the president gets to say which direction it will be and they have to follow it. if you see it as nefarious proof donald trump is urn fit for the presidency or adults with debates. howie: howard bernstein says the trump presidency is a national emergency. but people who try to slow walk policies they don't like' or challenge the boss. fill there are that's a challenge that has to be faced every date. you are talking about someone who says something negative about a third person because they have an ax to grind. howie: do you think they love the infighting and happy to do it all in.

phillipe: books are different animals. when a book is done right, when you spend a lot of time on a topic you are actually more likely to be more accurate. you are not doing the 24/7. howie: they know you are taking the time. phillipe: we have to accept the possibility that bob woodward is right. howie: here is something that has gotten less attention. according to the woodward book, the chief of staff said this. i am the only thing protecting the president from the press. the press is out to get him. i'm determined to stand in the way taking the bullets and take the arrows. sara: this is a fiery thing for him to be saying. it's something we heard in the

past. but john kelly is a reserved guy. so you know he has to mean it if he's going to say it. howie: whether the aides are doing the right thing or wrong thing. it's fair to say president trump is in a position where he has to wonder who he can trust. all these leaks are going on since the day he was sworn in. mollie: the lack of people on his team within the administration. this was a silly move by the anonymous author and the media. the narrative about being unstable just confirmed how much d.c. is a swamp and how much they oppose what the people chose in the last election and how unable they are to deal with the reality of what the people chose. howie: but according to woodward it includes the chief of staff

and the defense secretary, so it's not just trolls. is it a good thing we have that even though the contents are in dispute. phillipe: it will depend on who it is. the woodward book is good. if donald trump woke up last wednesday morning feeling comfortable with people around him, that doesn't make a lot of sense. his lawyer was taping conversations. his closest aides are turning on him legally. and not to mention omarosa. sara: what bob woodward is writing, we have been hearing from people within the trump administration and people outside it. the overall narrative, we have heard it. phillipe: woodward might have

gotten it right. howie: ahead, mike huckabee on an intense week of media criticism of the president, anonymous and otherwise. the serena policy. the press says a sexist power play ruined the u.s. open.

>> you owe me serena williams says ramos stole the game from her. in slapping her of three penalties not only robbed her of

her chance of coming back. he took the match away from both womens and left her in tears. serena said it was sexist. >> because i'm a woman, you are going to take it away from me? howie: serena's meltdown was painful to watch. but the commentators whacking her should take a look at oh so sensitive umpire who allowed the situation to keep escalating. susan: he let it get out of control. he could have taken the insults the way has from other male players. same refs. this was a different standard. sally jenkins said the issue for her is she felt the umpire was

not going to let a woman talk to him that way. did he feel i am not going to let a woman wave a finger at me for a serious penalty i wouldn't have given to a male player. howie: . she said he abused his authority over a tone of voice. male players have sworn and yelled at the top of their lungs and were never penalized the way serena was. susan: she played a role in this. she smashed her racket. she waved a finger at the umpire. she appeared threatening. she has a habit of throwing tantrums and threatening line

people in the past. howie: a tweet from billy jean king. when a woman is emotional she is hysterical. but when a man is emotional he's outspoken. susan: that's not true. he was ejected from games. howie: the coach gave a signal from the stands that it's illegal. serena said she didn't see it. breaking the racket, he could have let that go. when she'd called him a -- when she called him a thief, she didn't curse, but that's when he called it a game and he made it more about him than the players on the court. susan: the whole ending was so emotional. it was just a disappointment for

everybody. so everybody can point fingers at the ref. but the players are responsible for their own behavior. good sportsmanship on the court. talk about the problem after you get off the court. that's something every player grams with. howie: this was unfair to naomi osaka. she was in tears. he ruined her moment, and he ruined serena's attempted comeback. last year she almost died from complications in childbirth. so do we agree on that point? sara susan: we agree on that point. a player was penalized for changing her shirt, and serena told she couldn't wear certain outfits. a lot of people, not just chris

everett and billy jean, her contemporaries are saying this needs to be looked at how men and women are treated different by the umpires. howie: this treatment has people up in arms, including the press. ahead, the "new yorker" wanted to put steve bannon on the stage until some big hollywood types threatened to boycott event.

howie: president trump and the press unleashing some of their harshest language against each other. mike huckabee, a former arkansas governor and presidential candidate and fox news contributor. the media furor over the "new

york times" anonymous op-ed, why shouldn't the times have published this? mike: i think they shouldn't have because to do so gives some type of credibility to a person who doesn't have the guts to stand up and say here i am. if you run for office, you put your name on the ballot. if you are going to undermine the people who have the guts to run for office. tell us who you are so we can evaluate and hold you accountable for your views. this guy is, i think, a gutless coward, guy or girl. he could be a fourth-tier person in montana federal office. howie: the president says that jeff sessions at the justice department should investigate this secret source. on what ground?

what's the criminal offense? political betrayal? certainly a criminal offense. criminal investigation? mike: it depend. is this person also telling things he or she knows of national security? we don't know. howie: that's not what was published. mike: what the president is saying it's serious. it is serious for someone gets a paycheck from the president trump administration to betray the trust of that. give up our paycheck and go out on the streets. howie: that account and the bob woodward book have painted a portrait of top aide, some say they believe in the president, but are working against what they see as some of his worst impulses. shouldn't we look that there

should be some truth to these accounts? mike: donald trump can be vulgar, donald trump can be vain. what a shock, we knew that during the campaign. he wasn't elected to be the nicest guy in washington, d.c. he was elected to drain the swamp and change the economy. he's like a doctor that comes into the room. he's rude to the family perhaps. he's not got the best bedside manner, but by golly he's going to save the patient's life. would you rather have him or a guy who is the nicest guy in the world but his patient die. howie: you are not an enemy of the american people guy and your daughter sarah sanders isn't a

woman who is the enemy of the people. mike: from his perspective when 90% of all the coverage about him is negative, how else should he feel? i can't blame him. howie: he can feel it's unfair. that he doesn't get a fair shake. i want to make sure i get to president trump. he came out and gave a speech harshly critical of his successor and had this to say about fox. >> i complained plenty about fox news. but i never threatened to shut them down or called them enemies of the people. mike: that's not true, he went after james rosen and rosen's parents and the ap. that was patently false what he

just said. and his administration went after conservative pro life and pro israel groups through the irs and the doj. for him to say we never did anything like that. there was a time when he was going to make sure fox news didn't get the same level of access. and to their credit the other white house correspondents came around and supported him. howie: you don't have an objection to the former president speak out? mike: no. howie: your daughter work in an environment where so many people are leaking against the president. mike: it's pretty rough and i hope they can get to the bottom of it. what's amazing, president trump talked about the miracles. the miracle is that president trump is getting a lot of things done in spite of the fact that

he has so many knives from the back. you expect them from the front, you don't expect them from the back. howie: a colorful metaphor on which to close this segment. twitter and alex jones. some accuse the tech company of more and more people are finding themselves in a chevy for the first time. ♪ you can too during the chevy labor day sales event. now through september 10th, use labor day cash and trade up to this silverado to get a total value of $11,000 when you finance with gm financial. this labor day, discover why chevy is the most awarded and fastest growing brand the last four years overall. find new roads at your local chevy dealer.

and it's time to get outside. pack in even more adventure with audible.

with the largest selection of audiobooks. audible lets you follow plot twists off the beaten track. or discover magic when you hit the open road. with the free audible app, your stories go wherever you do. and for just $14.95 a month you get a credit, good for any audiobook. if you don't like it exchange it any time. no questions asked. you can also roll your credits to the next month if you don't use them. so take audible with you this summer... on the road... on the trail... or to the beach. start a 30-day trial and your first audiobook is free. cancel anytime, and your books are yours to keep forever. no matter where you go this summer make it better with audible. text summer10 to 500500 to start listening today.

howie: twitter ceo jack dorsey and facebook's coo, sheryl sandberg got hammers on capitol hill saying they were biased against conservatives. joining me, steve hilton, author of the book "positive populism." steve, as you know, twitter was the only big social media platform not to ban alex jones. but now it has banned him after he con propertied a cnn reporter and told him he looked like a rat. steve: it is all subjective. the answer is not regulation, but more competition. these platforms have become so dominant in each of their

particular areas. it's important to disclose that my wife is a senior executive at facebook. the problem is no one should be overmighty, not the government, or big unions and not big business and not big tech. we need a two-stage process. a pro-market breakup of these companies. facebook need to be forced to sell whatsapp and android and amazon. these platforms are too powerful. howie: i was going to ask you about the justice department meeting with state attorneys general whether the tech companies are intentionally stifling off the free flow of idea and stifling competition.

you are saying the government needs to step in and break up these companies like they did with standard oil? >> conservatives should be believers in markets and competition. this is a pro market argument. it's not just forcing them to reverse the acquisitions they already made, like google and an droipped and amazon web services, and amazon make their own product and selling them on amazon. all that needs to be broken up. but even then these companies would be too dominant and too powerful. there is a further step. we need to have a pro market regulatory framework where if a company gets too big of a market share in any sector, over 60%, it should be treated like part of the public sector, higher taxes and more regulation.

and only companies that are truly competitive should be free of that regulation and be free of those taxes. that's a pro-market way and you get a better deal for consumers. howie: my favorite part of your bikes when you worked at 10 downing street, you were described as somebody who walked around in his socks. at that house hearing jack dorsey of twitter got criticized for the platform discriminated against conservatives. do you think that's a significant problem and do you think it's a fixable problem and do you think it's a problem government can facial? steve: these are private companies and they are not subject to the requirement to give everyone a voice. but it comes back to the fact they are so dominant. the whole conversation goes upon

facebook or twitter. in the media, our business, there are tons of outlets, hundreds and hundreds of outlets. it doesn't matter if they have a particular view. they talk about algorithms. algorithms are written by people. the people inside those companies are overwhelmingly liberal. of course, that's a concern. the answer is more competition. howie: it' a fascinating debate. steve hilton, great to see you before reading more of your book. still to come. how is the press covering the chaos over the brett kavanaugh hearing. sleep disturbances keep 1 in 3 adults up at night. only remfresh uses ion-powered melatonin to deliver up to 7 hours of sleep support. number 1 sleep doctor recommended remfresh -- your nightly sleep companion.

available in the natural sleep section at walmart.

released the night before. >> when the document did come out it actually showed that after 9/11 in an internal white house discussion whether there would be racial profiling of people from arab country, . . to be cautious. howie: when he makes a great spectacle saying i am willing to expelled over this, and it turns out he wasn't releasing secret documents. would the coming have been different? it seems a lot of the accounts went easy on this. >> that's true. go back to sotomayor and kagan.

can you imagine jeff sessions saying this is what she did and if he was wrong? oh, man, that would be practically calling for it to be a firing offense in the senate. howie: the "new york times" obtained an unknown email, having to do with roe and whether all the scholars agree. were hill afterrers on the democratic side using leaks to get around that confidentiality? >> of course they were. it's clear democratic staffers were leaking to the "new york times." if you want to leak something, i'm open for business. we all love leaks. but it showed kavanaugh was citing correct supreme court precedent. in the middle of an emotional debate he was being pretty sober

and clear headed and that's why the republicans like him. howie: the "new yorker" thought it would be fun to interview steve bannon until he received back lab from liberals in hollywood like jim carrey saying they wouldn't attend. this weekend marks the fifth anniversary of "mediabuzz." i want to thank our loyal audience. check out my podcast. and subscribe at apple itunes, google play, let's continue the conversation on twitter @howardkurtz. i respond on facebook.

and post a lot of videos. thanks again on anniversary number five. back next sunday with the these folks, they don't have time to go to the post office they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the amazing services of the post office only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again!

heather: it is monday september 10th and this is "fox & friends first", happening right now at 4:00 a.m. on the east coast, the furry of hurricane floor rents picking up steam at it takes aim at the east coast, three states declaring emergency while millions prepare for the worse. >> it's really an assault on our democracy. heather: vice president mike pence calling out the anonymous new york times author, what the white house is doing right now to identify that person and hold them accountable. and losing momentum just two players take a knee during the sunday kickoff of the nfl season, is this the