carl bernstein says yes, they should be asked.

this is not me, carl bernstein saying this, this is me carl bernstein being a reporter. whaen i haand what i have said n important crucial dangerous story that reporters need to start making their business to dot reporting. to go to all the republican members of congress and talk to them in private or on the record if they will about what they believe to be the fitness or unfitness of donald trump to be president of the united states. >> when reporters do they, they usually get a no comment. how do we get to the issue if gg gop leaders don't talk about it. >> i don't believe you will have to many people do what bob corker did on the record and question the president's stability but let's find out. i think the first task to remember is that most good reporting, real deep reporting, investigative reporting we do, does involve anonymity for our sources. and we need to know that people don't have an axe to grind. i don't think we aught to be talking to democrats about this question. primarily we need to go to the republicans in congress. go to top intelligence officials, mil

carl bernstein says yes, they should be asked. he's joining us along with douglas br douglas brinkley. >> carl first to you, you've been asking about the president's stability for quite some time. what is it you think reporters should be doing to tackle this uncomfortable subject? >> i've been raising questions as a journalist about the fact that republicans in congress, the highest of intelligence officials, the highest of military officers in our country, leaders of the business community, all of whom have dealt with the white house and many of them dealt personally with donald trump, have come to believe that he is unfit for the presidency. that's what i'm learning as a reporter talking to many, many people in washington who, over the last month or two, have come to that conclusion. and especially among republicans in congress. they have been raising the very question of his stability and his mental fitness to be president of the united states. this is not me, carl bernstein saying this. this is me being a reporter. and what i h

carl bernstein, what do you say? >> there's a lot of powerful current moving in washington today and it's about the fitness of donald trump to be the president of the united states which has now become in the open a question being debated by republicans with each other. is donald trump fit morally, ethically in terms of competence to be the president of the united states. and there are a lot of negative reports on that. the more people i talk to, senior republicans, high intelligence officials in the military who deal with the white house and with donald trump, they have lost confidence in the fitness of donald trump to be the president of all the american people. it's a new kind of debate that we're watching going on. it's a crisis in the presidency such as we've never seen and what happened this weekend is a kind of demarcation line that we're going to remember for a long time because the rules have now changed. donald trump is not just about his base. he's the president of his base but there's very little proof no

carl bernstein is with me.rly 48 hours after the crash, the president labeled these groups nightly. do you think it was too many too late? >> obviously it shouldn't take a whole weekend to condemn nazism, the idea that a president of the united states needs 48 hours to condemn nazism is unheard of, but there's a much deeper story here, and that is we're in the midst of a presidential crisis, leadership crisis, such as this country has never experienced. the way you see it is by talking to --, by people high up in the intelligence community and in the military who tell you very frankly that they see doubt the fitness of donald trump to be the president of the united states this episode has underscored it. how do you teal with a president that's morally, ethically, has no regard for the law in their view and therefore unfit to be president in a way that none of his predecessors were. that is the kind of conversation that subrosa is taking place in washington today among movement conservatives, republicans on the

political analysts carl bernstein journal and author and abby phillip, a white house report fore"the washington post" and david druck ker, correspondent for the washington examiner. good evening to all of you. abby, we have three ceos who distanced themselves from this president and have now resigned from the president's council beginning earlier today with the merck ceo, then the and under armor ceo, now the intel ceo. this is a big development. >> i think it signals that there is a tide moving in a direction that is not favorable to the president. i remember the days when a presidential tweet an angry tweet about someone's company would really scare a lot of corporations out of saying anything negative about this president. now you're seeing the opposite in the minutes after the merck ceo removed himself from the council, that company's stock went up. and that's a huge difference from where we were several months ago. i think in the broader scheme of things, there's really been a theme beyond just corporations. it's also been republicans in congress. it's been elements of the milit

carl bernstein to you. you say the president is in free fall. how do you mean? be in free fall, the question is whether he has any parachutes left and if he does, can he land anywhere soft enough beyond his base because right now the issue is before the country as it never has been in the congress, especially among republicans, in the military, in the intelligence community where large numbers of leaders believe he is not fit to be the president of the united states. and this is happening at the same time that he is under investigation by a special prosecutor who is closing in on him and his family, so it is a dangerous moment in american history, i've never seen such a moment really of peril in terms of the presidency, including in watergate. we don't know how trump reacts to things. not well and not usually with an idea of what's good for the whole country. and what we are seeing for the first time is that members of congress who are republicans are saying to each other he is unfit and we have to do something about it. >> but that's the thing. they're saying i

now all of a sudden you have carl bernstein wondering about the mental health of the president. james clapper, who who is always sound asleep, he comes out and says the president -- he is worried about his health and a d on the nuclear code. david axelrod said him being removed from office, it's a very dangerous road. over a third of the country backing him. what are you trying to do, take him out of office after he won an election fair and square? >> kimberly: you made reference to that. we've got that clip. >> brian: >> i don't know when e watched and listened to something like this. the president i found more disturbing. i found this downright scary and disturbing. >> are you questioning his fitness? >> yes, i do. i really question his ability -- his fitness to be in this office. i also am beginning to wonder about his motivation. maybe he is looking for a way out. >> kimberly: very interesting. juan. he did that rally. he did that rally and worked up the crowd and did everything so that he could leave the presidency. that doesn't make sense to me. >> juan: i think the guy wh

. >> i have watched carl bernstein at least twice on television this week. i made notes. report, again, quoting his own reporting, there is considerable evidence that a consensus is building. he says, among congressional republicans, people in the intelligence services, military and business, that this president is unfit to be president. could you imagine such a thing? >> not -- not in my lifetime, but, you know, we have talked about this, the fact that we have this wonderful system that our founders gave us, and i remember just after donald trump was elected, you know, a lot of people were nervous about him, and i was certainly anxious about whether he would measure up in this job, and i said to myself and said to others, you have to have faith in the system. and, you know, i don't want to be a pollyanna, but what the founders did, was instead of having a new king, they had a president who was circumscribed, and, you know, divided powers with two other branches, judicial and legislative, and power spread among the country, and you have to see to some extent, this is happ

. >> carl bernstein has been saying that forever. thank you. a growing number of cities are removing con fed rat statues refrom their cities. we'll have from some of these historians next. to keep you on track. it's your retirement. know where you stand. to keep you on track. if you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis,... ...isn't it time to let the real you shine through? maybe it's time for otezla (apremilast). otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque 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. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. tell your doctor if these occur. otezla is associated with an increased... ...risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have... ...a history of depression... ...or suicidal thoughts,... ...or if these feelings develop. s

i think -- carl bernstein and i have been try ing ing to argue . the issue of stability, the president's emotion alg and mental health is going to become increasingly the focus of this story and should be. there's something about the president and the way he responds. if you look across the board, there's so much anger and pulsivety and mistrust and narcissism. those are questions that senator corker has now putz forcingly into play. i think that's ready important along with the competence question. >> to hear the senator talk about that, you don't hear them talking about it every day. >> certainly not publicly from a republican. remember corker is up for re-election in 2018 and we heard the president talk about it. so i do think this is a significant and notable break. maybe it's something about the way the republicans are going the try to run in 2018 as mavericks in a certain way, but i don't think we know what this means for legislation and how they'll vote. corker for instance had been critical. but went along with what the president wanted to

. > sam, how many people are you hearing about, again there's this discussion and carl bernstein keeps in intel and business and military and gop on the hill. having this discussion about fitness for office and what manifestation of it will we ever see, if any. >> well, do you hear it a lot. you hear it a lot in private settings, in the green rooms of these cable shows but not on the cable shows themselves. increasingly though, this conversation that's been happening behind the scenes is coming out in public. it's not just james clapper. you know, three days or so before, maybe two days before, it was senator bob corker who said he was worried about the president's stability. and that was a really remarkable moment for corker who is known as sort of the stoic voice on capitol hill, not one prone to hyperbole. it's a remarkable conversation to have. the fact that we're here talking about the idea of someone hiding the nuclear codes from the president as a precautionary measure and doing it soberly and sincerely is truly a remarkable conversation to have. but people who are serious and w

talking to carl bernstein, he's been talking to republicans and they feel like you can't turn back from this moment. how does he move forward and unite this country. >> i think we saw a pretty significant break of his fellow part sans this weekend. i think you will see, or are already starting to see some praise for his remarks from those folks to try to turn the page on this moment a bit political for him, but you don't see some groundswell right now of statement after statement coming out praising what he did this morning. usee some kind words from him, but i don't see those critics from saturday now just completely dropping their criticism. it was a bit of an earthquake of a moment in terms of until, but i do think there's an important political point here for the president, which is he's already at a huge deficit on these issues, on the stature of the presidency, on hi -- 2-1, americans are against him, so this is already a leadership deficit, and he dug his hole a little deeper this weekend. it is interesting to see the number of ceos coming out against the president of the united

this president as carl bernstein has been saying, his fitness to hold the office of presidency. >> respectfullythink you're all wrong. of course you do. you're a contrarian. >> donald trump won this election by being donald trump. >> doesn't mean his actions are right because he won the election. >> we're not talking about right and wrong here. >> yes, we are talking about right and wrong and decency. >> we are talking about whether you can function as president of the united states, and he can certainly function because the republican party is not going to abandon him. mitch mcconnell said he was upset. you know, i'm upset when i can't find a good parking place. i mean, it is the mildest kind of rebuke. do you think mitch mcconnell is not going to fight for tax reform? do you think the republican party will stop trying to disenfranchise african americans like it is doing all over the country because donald trump said something bad? this is what the republican party stands for now and donald trump won and i don't think his support is going to change one bit because of this. >> his support has a

enormous weight, was considered for vice president, considered secretary of state, and i think carl bernstein and i argue here and carl is forceful on this, that the issue of stability, the president's emotional and mental helts is going to become increasingly important focus of this story, and should be because there is something about the president, the way he responds, you look across the board, this was so much anger and impulsivity and distrust and narcissism that those are questions, ultimately, about the stability that senator corker's now put forcefully into play. i think that is really important along with the competence question. >> yeah, i mean, to hear the senator talk about it, use that word "stability," you don't hear people question the stability of the president of the united states every day. >> right. certainly not publicly, certainly not from a republican, a and, remember, corker is up for re-election in 2018. the president essentially encouraged a primary challenge for jeff flake out in arizona, so i do think this is a significant and notable break. you know, maybe it's sa

. >> carl bernstein has been saying that forever. thank you. >>> when we come right back, a growing number of cities are removing confederate statues from their public spaces. but what do the descendants of the men moralized in these statues think? we'll have from some of these families next. knowing where you stand has never been easier. except when it comes to retirement. at fidelity, you get a retirement score in just 60 seconds. and we'll help you make decisions for your plan... to keep you on track. it's your retirement. know where you stand. to keep you on track. this timyou haveis turn. 4.3 minutes to yourself. this calls for a taste of cheesecake. new philadelphia cheesecake cups. rich, creamy cheesecake with real strawberries. find them with the refrigerated desserts. ♪ tired of wrestling with seemingly impossible cleaning tasks? using sprays in the bathroom can be ineffective. try mr. clean magic eraser. simply add water, to remove soap scum and grime. try mr. clean magic eraser. you're searching for something. whoooo. like

bernstein. i very tune into what carl has been saying on cnn that trump is being unfit for office and trump requiringsychiatric and medical examination in order too cacarry on. that is the biggest story of all. but that is never going to get any traction. that idea of hustling trump into a doctors office and having them checked out, that is never going to -- amy: yet people like the tennessee senator corker who was pro-trtrump, now talking about s stability and his ability to lead. are you concerned about the man behind him, vice president pence , without the chaos of donald trump, without the catastrophe of donald trump for even the republicans -- the plan will then really accelerate of what they want to do? >> no one can predict what will happen. two things, one, pence, although bhoind most of his a policies rrent.t. trump would need to resign or be impeached between now and 2020. i think democrats -- i believe -- not just hoping that i believe the democrats would make huge inroads in 2018 and then pence is faced with democrcratic house or senate and house. pence knows how to deal. he is one of the