if i can, i want to give one question to david gergen, if he's still with us. david gergen, it's hard for me to read this statement from the secretary of state, rex tillerson today as anything other than a response to how the president has responded to the charlottesville violence. the secretary of state with a much more sober response, to be sure. >> john, you are absolutely right. this is clearly a response to the president and what we have been going through. i think it was not intended as an explicit criticism of the president, but i think it was intended as a healing message that a grown up within the administration is reaching out saying we have a heart, we want to do the right thing. we have the right values. i applaud the secretary for speaking out. the sentiments about diversity are right. i think, john, they would say mr. secretary, you have a department you are slashing by 25%. you are going to fire a lot of people. united states has seen an unstable, unpredictable state led by an impulsive leader. don't you have to address those issues as well to ma

when we come back, we have david gergen.seen his share of successful and unsuccessful presidents up close. and what is the difference between this transition from going through a hard time and making it into a better time? >>> and later, we're going to have a defender of the president on this west wing democrat situation that they have going on, that ryan and josh and alice were talking about. how big a deal is this? how potent can steve bannon be on the outside? all that ahead on "360." yeah, well it was $30 before my fees, like the dog-sitting fee... and the rummage through your closet fee. who is she, verizon? are those my heels? yeah! yeah, we're the same size...in shoes. with t-mobile taxes and fees are already included, so you get four lines of unlimited for just $40 bucks each. and now get zero down on the hottest smart phone brands like samsung galaxy. more reasons why t-mobile is america's best unlimited network. >>> all right. steve bannon has been fired. but he has different word for it, free. he told the weekly s

i want to bring back david gergen. ts have consistently stood up for what's best for this country. is the president doing that today in his response to the violence in gentlemen of th >> there have been clear tests in the past. president after president has come down on the side of justice and advancement of minorities. president eisenhower during the 1950s sent troops to little rock. he thought it was right for the country. john kennedy was reluctant to support martin luther king. but after the march in 1963, he called him to the white house and embraced the views of dr. king and put forward the views. when linden b. johnson became president, he passed the test with flying colors. the civil rights acts of 1964 and 65. that's been a consistent tradition. this is a test now for donald trump. so far i think he's fallen short. can he turn it around? yes, he has still a moment to do that. i hope he reflects on how he leads this country. if he really wants us to unite, he has to stand firmly against hatred and do it publicly

joining us, our senior political analyst david gergen.ssing to have you tonight. >> thank you, chris, it's a blessing to have you here, thank you. >> let me engage one curiosity here, the timing just seems too convenient to be a coincidence. we've heard all of these competing narratives. i am sure you have heard as many or more than i have. but what do you think the timing of this is, what are your suspicions? >> well, it's obvious they're trying to veer away from the charlottesville story to a new story and get us off the whole question of racial hatred and the division that tuesday was such a disaster for the president. and they do want to change this. i find it strange, bizarre, we have not heard a single word from donald trump today. how can a president who has had someone at his side who helped him win election, upset victory the way he did. he has been with him for a year, not even have the graciousness to thank him. with a perfunctory written note. i find it strange. it suggests there is real animosity. we don't know the whole stor

. >>> let me bring in david gergen, former presidential adviser, rich galen and in a moment here we've got the vp of news and men's programming at interactive one. and so, welcome to all of you on this big, big friday. david, first to you. you know, steve bannon gets the door. what does this mean for the presidency? >> i think it's a lot easier, brooke, to explain why steve bannon is leaving than what it means. >> okay. >> i think we're going to be puzzling about what it means for a while. on why he's leaving, there simply wasn't room in the white house for general kelly and for steve bannon. general kelly wants hierarchy, he wants order, and steve bannon is exactly the opposite. but take the latest flap here in the last couple of days, and that was steve bannon giving an interview saying that war with north korea is impossible. he'd considered cutting a deal, that the united states leaves korea altogether in exchange for the north koreans becoming nuclear free. >> that didn't go over well. >> that is totally in conflict -- no, didn't go over well. and so the generals in the administra

join joining us now is leon panetta and david gergen, who has worked for presidents in both parties.panetta, how significant is it that mcconnell is questioning whether the president can salvage the mess he's made of his presidency? >> well, it's a very important statement that reflects a real breakdown between the president and the majority leader in the senate. look, i know mitch mcconnell. he is a -- he's a pragmatist. he's somebody who likes to get things done. he works at his job, and i think the fact that he fought very hard for the health care bill, lost it by one vote. to then have the president come after him and be critical of what he did, particularly a president who is all over the place on health care, from repeal to covering everybody, and then use some of the strong arm tactics that you talked about that blew up. i just think it's a reflection at this point in time that there is a real breakdown between the president of the united states and the leader of his party in the senate. and it doesn't bode well for getting anything done this fall on major issues. >> david, do

in is david gergen tonight on cnn. >> he cannot address the hatred in the country until he addresses hatred in his own heart. >> that was powerful. that got our attention. and here was the exchange earlier today, again, this is cnn correspondent jim acosta asking the president questions after his statement on camera. >> mr. president can you explain why you did not condemn the by name on the weekend. >> they've been condemned. >> why are we not having a press conference today? you said on friday we'd have a press conference. >> we had a press conference. we just had a press conference. >> can we ask you more questions then, sir. >> i like real news not fake news. you're fake news. >> haven't you spread a lot of fake news yourself, sir? >> okay, john meecham, that's where we are. you've seen the weekend we've just endured. part of david gergen's comments tonight, he mentioned his childhood in north carolina growing up with the kkk as a presence as a young kid in that state, and he worried that this is going to start tearing people apart. >> well, it's been tearing us apart since the c

i want to bring in cnn senior political analyst david gergen. terry mcauliffe made a pointed statement while speaking at a vigil last hour, let's listen. >> i call upon every elected official from the white house to the state house to all the local offices, we got to call it out for what it is. >> yeah. >> it is hatred, it is bigotry, and our leaders have to be very frank, unequivocal, we will not tolerate that in our country. >> it seemed pretty clear who he was talking to. >> it does, indeed, and i'm afraid the president still hasn't stepped up to what would be expected of a president in a situation like this, that is to make forthright statements with the same kind of emotional intensity and clarity that he's condemned islamic terrorism. i must say, i do think there are people around the white house, ivanka trump among them, who have strengthened the white house's position. another one is very importantly, h.r. mcmaster today, who said on television, this was an act of domestic terrorism. the president has to be equally frank, he has not been

senior political analyst david gergen says in many ways, it lends them legitimacy. >> we do know oneng that's clear. the president in saying we've had violence and hatred and bigotry on many sides, he reaped that on many sides, did equate, he placed a moral equivalency between the neonazis and the people who showed up today to defend racial justice. he essentially and in doing that, and by putting that -- he in effect defended the neo-nazis. that in effect was a defense. you know? everybody does it. everybody out there is doing it. everybody has to calm down. i'm sorry. what we have to be very clear about is, a second thing is, yes, there is a first amendment protection for freedom of assembly, freedom of speech. but it is not an unfettered right. do you not have a right under the first amendment, courts have been quite clear about that. you do not have a right to use language that incites violence. when have you groups marching through charlottesville as they were with chanting anti-semitic slurs, when they are going after blacks and saying take this country back and make it a white

"outfront" right now, david gergen, april ryan, douglas brinkley, presidential historian.d of this pardon. will it help him or hurt him when it comes to voters? >> well, it will help in the short term to enforce his base. that's clearly why we have this bizarre story. we all thought he was trying to hide the announcement and he made the announcement because of the storm, he said. but i must tell you, erin, in terms of the long term politics of the united states, with the latino vote growing ever more important in some of these states, this sends a message from trump and increasingly from the republican party that if you're latino, you're not welcome in our party and it just seems to me -- i'm incredulous that this isn't part of the republican sort of understanding now after what happened in california. there was an incident in california on proposition 187 some years ago. and california's been a democratic state ever since. so i think politically, the more important thing about this, is the morality and the values that it states. but it does have political repercussions. >

i want to bring in three people now, van jones, david axelrod, and david gergen. david gergen, how do you view what the president said today, specifically reversing from what he said yesterday and going back to what he said on saturday? >> i must tell you, anderson, after watching presidents for a long time, i was shocked by today's performance. on two grounds. one is that -- on the issue itself of charlottesville, he so clearly is wrong. he so clearly sees the world differently than most of us do. and creating an equivalence between the neo nazis and people who came to protest what the neo nazis are saying. it's just so unacceptable to the masses of people in this country. i'm shocked he went back there. but anderson, the bigger question for me, the harder question that is more worrisome is what is going on inside donald trump? this is a man with such massive insecurities. we have not seen anybody in the white house with such massive insecurities since richard nixon. people are increasingly feeling that he's not just a danger to his party but the country. he's go

"outfront" right now, david gergen, april ryan and krcilliz. david, let me start with the question that sara posed as the questions that people are saying, look, when he came out today, it was incredibly forceful and incredibly clear. of course, it took two days to do so and he put it in the middle of a speech. do you think his change of tune today was genuine? >> who knows. i think we should acknowledge that the president did the right thing today. we've been pounding on him for two days, the media, politics, everywhere, to condemn the neo-nazis and the kkk and the white supremacists and the like. and he did that. but having said that, he's grievously wounded over this. i think in the beginning of the day, just within an hour of ken frazier retiring from his board donald trump unleashes a terrible attack on an african-american ceo, one of the only ones in the country, and he did it again tonight. one has to sense that his statement today about charlottesville was grudging and not very authentic and that the real donald trump, the authentic dona

as david gergen referred to earlier. this is extraordinary. it's a dangerous moment in our history.der siege. also from a special prosecutor, his family is under siege from a special prosecutor. but more than anything else, i think there's a sense among military, congressional, business leaders that he's in a kind of freefall, and he made not have many parachutes left except for his base to land safely. and that's awful thin cushion. we've never seen anything like this. we don't know where it's going. we're in a presidential crisis of leadership, because his moral authority is gone with these constituencies that are essential for him to govern. >> van, carl's idea of him being in free fall, people are grabbing on to others can bring a lot of others down with them. free fall is not just happening in isolation. this could be very long, very drawn out and very ugly. >> well, big picture, the three big dangers i see for the country. internally, you have these divisions. listen, i think we sometimes underestimate the heroism of our own cause as americans. the idea you're going to have 30

van jones, david axelrod and host of the ax files on cnn and david gergen who worked closely with republican and democratic presidents dating back to the reagan administration. david, how do you view what the president said today reversing what he said yesterday and going back to what he had said on saturday? >> i must tell you, anderson, after watching presidents for a long, long time, i was shocked by today's performance. on two grounds. one is that on the issue itself of charlottesville, he so clearly is wrong. he so clearly sees the world differently than most of us do. in creating once again an equivalence between the neo-nazi and people who came to protest what the neo-nazis are saying, you know, it's just so unacceptable to masses of people in this country. i'm shocked that i went back there. but anderson, the bigger question for me, the harder one that is more worrisome is what's going on inside donald trump? this is a man with such massive insecurities. we haven't seen anybody in the white house with such massive insecurities since richard nixon. increasingly people feel he's posing

i want to bring in analyst ryan and david gergen and haas spencer. he's a long time charlottesville journalist who is currently assisting in p.r. and "the new york times." good evening and thanks for joining us this evening. listen, i want to talk to you guys about what's going on. david, let's turn to the president's response in charlottesville on saturday. here it is. we'll discuss. >> we condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides. on many sides. it's been going on for a long time in our country. not donald trump, not barack obama. it's been going on for a long, long time. there's no place in america. >> david, are president sis built on moments? was it just a missed opportunity? >> presidencies are built on moments, don. you can remember in bill clinton's administration when the bombing occurred in oklahoma city and bill clinton at that time was his -- his popularity had gone way down. he went to oklahoma city. he was a healing force. the country rallied behind hip and turned around

today david gergen is head of the u.s. government's nutrition program and he's invited all over the world for a scientific conferences where he gives his experts point of view. totally independent. to. introduce reasons why the need is important to be healthy diet has been just. on that day he was in front speaking to scientists from around the world about meat and the link between processed meat and cancer in order to denounce backed up by a power point the climate of fear panic and even hysteria. and we know because we were there. it was right at the start of our investigation when we barely knew about nitrites and had the need of enlightened specialists to help us. so there are new reviews published this year that say nitrite is not harmful and others that say it is harmful. i don't think anybody really knows. definitively what what the answer is. a few months after this handshake when we have learned more about the industry of doubt. bells started ringing. so we took advantage of our trip to america to ask him for anot

senior political analyst david g gergen. >> reporter: we do know one thing is clear. president repeated on many sides. he placed a moral equivalent seu betwe between the neonazis and the people who showed up today to defend racial justice. and in doing that, by putting an equivalence on it, he in fact,e. that was a defense. everybody has to do it. i'm sorry. that we have to be very clear about, the second thing is, yes, there is a first amendment protection for freedom of assembly, freedom of speech. it is not an unfettered right. the courts have been quite clear. you do not have the right to use violence that incites violence, had they are saying make this country back and milwaukee it white dominated country again. that is what we had. primary responsible for the violence rests with those people who are the neonazis and white supreme sifts and other extremists. >> as david gergen adviser to presidents on of both political parties and cnn political analy analyst. among those attending the rally in virginia was a holocaust denier, former kkk leader david duke. he has

there's increasing talk about his emotional and mental stability as david gergen referred to. this is extraordinary. it's a dangerous moment in our history. >> extraordinary and dangerous, he said. well, this afternoon senator bob corker, republican from tennessee who at one point was said to be under consideration to be secretary of state for president trump said this about the president's fitness for office. >> the president has not yet -- has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful, and we need him to be successful. our nation needs for him to be successful. it doesn't matter whether you're democrat or republican. >> quote, he said, publicly seeking lindsey graham publicly seeking lan city gram publicly stated i said there was moral ee kwish lency between the kkk, neo-nazi, and white supremacists. such a light. he just can't forget his election trouncing the people of south carolina will remember. it's true he didn't say heather heyer was on only the same level. but keep in mind the pre

now "the voice" of analyst david gergen.er he listened to the violence that took place in virginia, gergen said his lack of condemnation of white supremacists lends them legitimacy. listen. >> reporter: we do know one thing is clear. the president repeated on many sides. did equate. he placed a moral equivalecy he placed a moral equivalency between the neo-nazis and the people who showed up today to defend racial justice. and in doing that, by putting an equivalence on it, he in fact, defended the neo-nazis. that was a defense. everybody has to do it. i'm sorry. that we have to be very clear about, the second thing is, yes, there is a first amendment protection for freedom of assembly, freedom of speech. it is not an unfettered right. you do not have a right under the first amendment -- the courts have been quite clear. you do not have the right to use violence that incites violence, when you have groups marching through charlottesville chanting anti semitic slurs, going after blacks, when they say take this country back and

. >> david gergen talked about this earlier. >> this is for matt. >> this is a turnover of your top people in the first seven months. this never happens. >> go ahead, matt. >> yeah, don. you showed it to us, right? don't tell it, show it. the pictures, they were right there and earlier today brooke baldwin didn't just talk about the staffers, the turnover, but also the turmoil. the russia stuff, you know. you've had donald trump attacking republicans like mitch mcconnell, jeff flake, his own attorney general, jeff sessions. you've had donald trump fail to pass any legislation, any meaningful legislation, including health care reform. that is the state of affairs today. this administration, it's been six months now, enough time to get your footing, is a disaster. and i think it's time for republicans to admit that. and, you know, you showed those videos earlier. i think you're starting to see that, some senators walking away. >> john, what do you think, remember i've got a big brain or a good mind or a good brain. i hired the best people. all of these people are gone. what does that say? wh

. >> david gergen, we alliance appreciate you. thank you for being here. >>> you are live in the "cnn newsroom." i'm ana ana cabrera in new york. a deadly day. it started with serious clashes in the streets of charlottesville. admitted white nationalists fighting against people who came out to face them and break up their racist rally. some people were hurt before things turned very tragic. [ bleep ] one woman died in this crowd when that car suddenly accelerated and slammed into a group of people protesting against the white nationalists. several others were hurt. some of their injuries are life threatening. we heard from the president. he heard about the incident from his resort in new jersey. what he said and notably didn't say in a moment. first, brian todd is in charlottesville, virginia, right now. brian, you first on the ground there. update us on what police are saying about this deadly crash and set is scene as we head into the evening. >> reporter: setting the scene for you at the scene of the crash, we're here near the

i want to bring in cn senior political analyst david gergen and douglas brinkley. or coming in. what an awful awful story. david, i want to start with you. president trump travelled to texas today where he met with of governor greg abbott. what's the purpose behind a visit like this? is there a reason beyond the obvious political optics. >> i think it is a matter of the president of the united states showing support and empathy for the people in the devastation, the courage they've shown in dealing with it. you remember how large a price president george w. bush paid when he did not go to new orleans after katrina. he sort of flew over it. and so i do think you can quibble with aspects of what the president did today. but i think overall, i think we ought to give him a break. he did the right thing. he went. he stayed out of the way. didn't interfere with the operations and he moved on. he really showed a flag of support. now, quibbles. he's as you calling attention to himself. could he have shown far more empathy for the people. he's got budget cuts affecting his v

at these pictures, this is a higher number than most modern administrations, matt lewis -- >> david gergen talked about this earlier. >> this is for matt. >> this is a turnover of your top people in the first seven months. this never happens. >> go ahead, matt. >> yeah, don. you showed it to us, right? don't tell it, show it. the pictures, they were right there and earlier today brooke baldwin didn't just talk about the staffers, the turnover, but also the turmoil. the russia stuff, you know. you've had donald trump attacking republicans like mitch mcconnell, jeff flake, his own attorney general, jeff sessions. you've had donald trump fail to pass any legislation, any meaningful legislation, including health care reform. that is the state of affairs today. this administration, it's been six months now, enough time to get your footing, is a disaster. and i think it's time for republicans to admit that. and, you know, you showed those videos earlier. i think you're starting to see that, some senators walking away. >> john, what do you think, remember i've got a big brain or good mind or good

today david gergen is head of the u.s. government's nutrition program and he's invited all over the world for a scientific conferences where he gives his experts point of view. totally independent. to. introduce reasons why the need is in order to be healthy diet has been just. on that day he was in front speaking to scientists from around the world about meat and the link between processed meat and cancer in order to denounce backed up by a power point the climate of fear panic and even hysteria. and we know because we were there. it was right at the start of our investigation when we barely knew about nitrites and had the need of enlightened specialists to help us. so there are new reviews published this year that say nitrite is not harmful and others that say it is harmful. i don't think anybody really knows. definitively what what the answer is. a few months after this handshake when we have learned more about the industry of doubt. bells started ringing. so we took advantage of our trip to america to ask him for anoth

david nelson on set with me right now. fox news contributor mercedes schlapp. former president of young democrats of america, atima amaro, editorial director for "washington examioner," bill gergen. thank you for joining us. >> great to be here. lauren: this is the first official full day of the new chief of staff at the white house general i don't know kelly. stocks flirting with 22,000 in record territory yet again. fifth potential record close in a row. you have a big push by the president to sell tax reform. is any of this going to be postively covered in the media? >> that is for me? lauren: that is for you, yes. >> i think that absolutely can. right now the way republicans are proceeding, incations they have not learned from the health care debacle do it again on their own. if they do, that is through the budget reconciliation process. which means they have to juggle offsetting tax cuts with some form of increases. they kicked aside a couple options that would make that possible. i don't see how they do it without senate democrats. they right now are determined to proceed that way. lauren: i think white house wants positive coverage. you get that here on fox news, fox busi