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david axelrod, i know you want to weigh in as well. >> well, yeah. i agree with you, wolf.rey has some arch comments there for our fellow americans, and i understand them and he's absolutely right. a lot of us misread what was going on in the country. but i don't think that all of those voters who voted for donald trump were voting for this. >> right. >> they were voting to -- for change. they were voting their frustrations. they weren't voting for this. so, i don't know i don't believe that. but on this point about his apologizing, we should point out it's been lost in all of the furor here, that in all the midst of this in the last few hours, he tweeted out or he retweeted from fox an intimation that he might pardon sheriff arpaio of the phoenix area, maricopa county who has been convicted of defying court orders relative to his abuse of citizens there, particularly minority citizens, who is really a symbol of hatred in this country. so, the notion that the president is looking for an off ramp here seems a little remote to me. >> you know, he also, rebecca, shared a tweet

david axelrod suggested they had it under control and did not need his help but appreciated the call and then trump pivoted and said the way they do the white house dinners, the state dinners, was not very appealing and he said, put me in charge and i can build a much better. >> the president and first lady are in texas visiting austin for a look around the emergency operations center. to get an update from state officials at the texas public safety department, where they set up the governor's briefing room. expecting the president shortly. cpan.overage here on earlier today the president and first lady visited a fire station in corpus christi. take a look at that visit.

david axelrod suggested they had it under control and did not need his help but appreciated the call and then trump pivoted and said the way they do the white house dinners, the state dinners, was not very appealing and he said, put me in charge and i can build a much better. >> the president and first lady are in texas visiting austin for a look around the emergency operations center. to get an update from state officials at the texas public safety department, where they set up the governor's briefing room. expecting the president shortly. cpan.overage here on earlier today the president and first lady visited a fire station in corpus christi. take a look at that visit. >> i want to welcome the president of the united states to the great state of texas. i want to express my gratitude for fellow texans in corpus christi for giving the president such a warm welcome on his ride over here, showing the gratitude we all have a for the president. i want to express my deep gratitude to the president for his entire cabinet and staff for what they have done in the past couple weeks. a lot of

david axelrod. >> listen, i have experience with mitch mcconnell. when i was in the administration we had to deal with him or not deal with him. whatever donald trump thinks, mitch mcconnell is a wiley coyote and he knows how to operate that chamber in 1,000 different ways that can be either helpful to the president or unhelpful to the president. i don't think the president has even the faintest knowledge of what all of that entails but if he has any hope of getting his legislative program through, then it seems like a very foolish long-term strategy to be in this sort of tete-e-tete with mitch mcconnell. >> very quickly. >> newt gingrich in an interview earlier was very critical of the president's approach to mitch mcconnell. newt gingrich obviously understands how congress works and said the president needs to understand that he's not in the stands as an observer of this game, he is on the field right there with mitch mcconnell, with paul ryan. he's a part of this and he needs to take a leadership role. >> we have a lot more coming up. i quickly w

>> i think david axelrod is completely right.nt, talk of the 25th amendment. i think those are misguided. those are beyond what i can imagine right now of what is needed here. i think we all, and this is as you've heard many republicans say, i think everybody would like the president to be successful because that is good for the country. and trying to have -- you hear from his own party every day, they're trying to influence him to get there. what is very concerning is donald trump may either be incapable or totally uninterested in actually getting his presidency on a course that would be beneficial to him, his agenda, that would be about addition and not subtraction, really trying to broaden out to get majority support and move the country forward. to this point in time, wolf, he seems totally either incapable or uninterested in doing that. >> this is a very sensitive moment, and you hear words like that from general clapper and it's going to encourage others to follow suit. >> yeah, i got to tell you, i agree with david here wh

. >> let's get perspective now from david axelrod, david chalian, and michael dantonio.nary to hear from director clapper openly questioning president trump's fitness to serve after last night. he's served both democrats and republicans and was the head of the dia. >> yeah. look, that was a stunning analysis by director clapper, who i have known, i've watched him in government, and he's got a stellar record, not a partisan, calling into question the president's fitness for office, particularly invoking the nuclear codes, which has been a concern of some for a long time. and i suspect that he was echoing private concerns that he's heard among national security and intelligence people. the only reservation i have about this, anderson, one of my concerns about the president is he's been so reckless about delivering these hammer blows to our democracy, to the legitimacy of the courts, the congress as a co-equal branch of government, to the news media, i think we have to be very careful when we leave these heavy inferences out there that suggest somehow something should be do

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

chr chris, david axelrod and don lemon. the president's factual basis about this being equal combatance on the ground. our sister network was on the ground there. a here's what was being said and done on the ground. >> you will not replace us. jews will not replace us. blood and soil! blood and soil! who is streets? our streets. >> i'm here to spread ideas, talk in the hopes that somebody more capable will come along and do that. somebody like donald trump who does not give his daughter to a jew. >> so donald trump -- a lot more racist than donald trump. i don't think you could feel about race the way i do and watch that -- >> the president wants to talk about the fact basis. yeah, they had a permit, but this was supposed to be moved to a different site. they didn't want it moved. they actually won the legal battle. they wanted this to be as provacative as possible. they wound up being cited for unlawful assembly because of what happened. this isn't about the facts. this is about moral agency and what do you make of the pre

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

so david axelrod what do you see in these numbers?ice to see you so late at night chris. the numbers are devastating obviously, they're unprecedented for a president at this stage. but, he's obviously not running for election for a while and the midterms aren't even for a while. the problem he has is that other people are looking at these numbers two. particularly members of congress. you can see members of congress losing their patience -- i mean republican members are trump. if they believe to feel it's not a big price to pay for peeling away from him then it's going to become more difficult to pass his program that he's already had very little success. >> john, do you think there might have been a riff of this in terms of motivation from what we're seeing with some republicans bucking the president's will on healthcare reaching across to try and get action with senate and get some things done? do you think that maybe they sense this weakness? >> well, yeah there's some political gravity that's been apparent. it is bad news across t

and let's look at what david axelrod had this to say. >> if people think there's an extraordinary measure to be taken -- remember a third of the country supports this president. that's a very dangerous road to go down and if you ever did go down that road you're opening a pandora's box that will never end. >> do you think he has a point? >> absolutely. that's a true public servant. somebody who's been on the inside and knows. look, president obama took a lot of flack from a lot of people about his citizenship, the fact he was aloof, he was an only child and therefore he must have these harborings of being lonely and i just think that -- let's not take axelrod. let me take corker because of what juan was saying. i actually think sometimes when people say things like that about stability that it's not about mental health, necessarily, it's about focussing on an issue to get it done. i think the democrats would worry. imagine if the mantra on tuesday night's rally in phoenix was tax reform, here's my three principles, the three things i want to get done and i want every one of you to be on f

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 who wrote the art of the deal also says he thinks trump is looking for a way out. but i don't know. >> brian: i spoke to him in 1988. >> juan: significance, people like frank luntz, he still does pulling. trump was more critic

overreaching, david axelrod had this to say. >> if people get a sense that there's some extraordinary measure that's going to be taken, to affect what they would do -- remember, a third of the country supports this president. that's a very dangerous road to go down. if you were to go down that road, you're opening a pandora's box that will never end. >> jesse: do think he has a point? >> dana: absolutely. that's a true public service. as someone who's been on the inside and nose. obama took a lot of flak from lots of people about his citizenship. the fact that he was aloof. an only child and therefore, he must have these harv harboringf being lonely. let me take corker for example. what juan was saying. i actually think when people say things like that come about stability, it's not about mental health necessarily. it's about the ability to focus on an issue in order to get it done. i think the democrats would probably worry. imagine if the mantra can't tuesday night's rally in was "tax reform" here's my three principles. the three things i want to get done and i want everyone of you

he was the closest thing you had to, you know, the closest thing you would compare, david axelrod, during the obama years. there isn't now a person who has that political portfolio. the person who is going to guard the narrative and political identity of the president, which, of course, what has the populace wing of the party nervous, saying oh my god, steve bannon is gone. who is going to keep him, you know, there. he's suddenly going to move to the republican, you know, establishment or something like that. there isn't one person. you know, it's john kelly is not a political guy. he's there. he's not worrying about the president, he's worried about the staff. there isn't one person, yet. closest, maybe it's the vice president's chief of staff. he's probably the most politically savvy of the group that's now in the inner circle, that would be od if the vice president's chief of staff, guarding the political of the president. >> doubling down on both sides, sharing some blame from last weekend in charlottesville. and members of his own party are starting to speak, how long will they start

there's a faction that are the true trump loyalists like steve bannon, kind of david axelrod role in the obama administration. defending the image, defending the platform that got him into office and then more establishment republicans in the military that are also -- didn't original from trump's orbit. shep, what is striking me is that we're having two conversations at the same time. the most serious we can have, north korea and nuclear weapons. i'm feeling agitated. i imagine many people are. americans in times of crisis want to feel like they can rally around their president, there's a sober leader that is focused. the more that the president focuses on squabbles within his party and with mitch mcconnell, the harder it might be for him to rally the country and show that he's a sober focused leader at a time of crisis. >> shepard: your editorial page reads, mr. trump issued a let of support for mr. mcmasters. rather than question the loyalties, rather mr. kelly should question mr. bannon's loyalties. the former breitbart publisher has been a survivor but his warring habits have bee

in terms of the issue about the president being a builder, there's a great story in david axelrod's book. he was a top aide to president obama. he said during the gulf oil spill he got a call from someone who said the generals and people in charge of the efforts to plug the hole to know what they're doing. put me in charge and i will fix it. the person who was calling was no other than donald trump. suggestedavid axelrod they had it under control and didn't need his help. trump pivoted and said that the way that they do the white house dinners was not very appealing and he said put me in charge and i can build it will look much better. out to thent to turn city of houston. joining us now on the phone, congressman al green. he has joined us a couple of times since the storm hit. good morning. you're down in the ninth district of houston. how are you doing today? good morning and thank you for allowing us to be on. i'm appreciative to c-span. i'm also very much appreciative people who have volunteered, and have literally come in from other states to help us out. they are good samaritans wi

>> i feel like, david, i feel like david axelrod when you say after you make the moral point, let me make this other point. i feel like, you know, we keep talking about politics and what this means and the factions in the white house. if you are there in the white house, then you tacitly support what this president is doing. you are complicit. anyone there from general kelly to whomever, to whatever spokesperson, stephen miller to bannon to everyone on down complicit. they believe what the president does. if they didn't they wouldn't be around him they have the power and freedom as an american to say i don't want this job, i'm going to go do something else. they believe it as well. they are complicit. no one around him believes other than what he believes. as i said earlier, he said he's not the most -- he's the least racist person. it is certainly racist a jace ept. all of it. >> very quickly. >> go ahead, very quickly. >> look, somebody has to do those jobs. i suspect that some of those people who are staying -- i'm not defending any of this. but some of those people are staying be

then to the politics of modern society to the arts of david axelrod. there was constant creation and re-creation of identity throughout his rise. he was opaque. even to those of us who covered in turkey didn't come back to the press cabin on air force one and chit chat with reporters. he didn't throw his hands are vegan ask of the kids were. it was a opposite of his very unfiltered vice president joe biden would do all those things. joe biden is a very authentic man, whatever you think of them good or bad, right or wrong on the policies he is what he is. he's exactly what you see in public. he used to have every year a barbecue on the lawn of the vice presidents mansion, and for kids of reporters and staff, and they put up these moon bounces and squirt guns and water games all over the place and he would run around the backyard squirting guns at all the kids. the first year, my kids were there, the kids actually teamed up and gained up on him. by the second your he figured it out. he rousted them and made them his posse and attacked the reporters. [lau

and then through the politics of the modern society like david axelrod, it was a constant creation and re- creation of identity throughout the rides but it was kind of opaque even to those of us that covered him. he didn't come back on air force one and chit chat with reporters or for his hand around and ask where his kids were. it was the opposite of his unfiltered vice president joe biden who would do all those things. he's up there right now. joe biden is a very authentic than whether you think he's good or bad, right or wrong on the policies whatever that is. he's what you see in public and he used to have every year a barbecue at the vice president's mansion and the reporters and staff put up these moon bounces and squirt guns and water games oveall over the place and he wod run around the background squirting guns and the super soakers of all the kids. the first year, the kids actually getting tough on him and by the second year he figured it out and made them his posse. [laughter] that's not obama. that's not the kind of guy he was. he was a very reserved personality, intellectu

and even david axelrod, chief strategist for president obama, said the transcripts of president trump's calls with mexico and austria were embarrassing, yet the leaking of them feels like a terrible precedent. and the former nsc spokesman for obama said, i would have lost my mind -- would have lost my mind if obama's conversations with foreign leaders leaked. he wouldn't have sounded so dumb, he added. but it's still absurd. >> right. >> are these the kinds of things that are potentially damaging? how do you separate what's truly damaging, going back to not all leaks being created equal? >> let me agree with kayla. everything that the mooch said last week to "the new yorker" is not a leak of classified information. >> and, in fact, none of it was classified. >> none of it was even close to classified. >> or correct. >> or -- well, there's that. now you're getting into the details here. >> there's nothing the attorney general can do about that. that's an internal white house staff issue that the new chief of staff will have to deal with. but at the same time, look, the president and othe

david axelrod, if i could begin with you, by any measure, this is a test of the trump administration.or, really unprecedented natural disaster. from your seat, how do you think he's doing? >> well, look, there are a couple of dimensions to presidential leadership in disasters like this. and this is by any measure a major disaster and very hard to handle. one is are you doing those things kind of governmentally that need to be done to respond? are you cooperating with the state and local authorities? are you providing the resources that are necessary? are you getting the assets there that you can that can be helpful? by that measure it seems like things are going pretty well. you heard the governor of texas speaking to that today in the meeting that the president had in corpus christi. but there is another dimension to presidential leadership, and that's the dimension of empathy. now, the clip you just played in corpus christi which was later than that meeting edged up to empathy, but you have a situation here where i think 15 people have died. you've got thousands and thousands of peo

society and his own generation and then through the politics of modern society through the arts of david axelrod and so forth and there was constant creation and recuperation of identity throughout his rights. but he was opaque. he was opaque even to those who covered him. he didn't come back to the air force one and chat with reporters. he didn't throw his hand around you and asked how your kids were. he was the opposite of his very unfiltered vice president joe biden who would do all those things. joe biden was up there right now is a very authentic man in whatever you think of him good or bad, right or wrong on the policies he is what he is and he is exactly what you see in public. he is to have, every year a barbecue on the lawn of the vice president's mansion and for kids of reporters and staff and they put up these moon bounces and water games all over the place and he would run around the backyard squirting guns at all the kids. the first year, the kids actually all teamed up on him. by the second year he figured it out and he rousted them and made him his posse and attacked the reporters

cnn senior political commentator, david axelrod. what a gift to you the viewer.e in these numbers? >> well, first of all nice to see you so late at night, chris. the numbers are devastating, obviously. they're unpres depted for a president at this stage but he's obviously not running for election for a while and the midterms aren't even for a while. the problem he has is other people are looking at these numbers too, particularly members of congress and you can see them losing their patience. i mean republican members with president trump and if they begin to feel that there is not a big price to pay for pealing away from him or that he may become an alba traus for hem, it's already going to be difficult to pass his program. >> do you think there may have been a whiff of this and try to get action with democrats? do you think they sense this weakness? >> i think there's some political gravity but it is bad news across the board for the president. it's fun to dig into some of the details and it gets stunning. only 43% of college noneducated whites at this -- colle

>> david axelrod said the same thing. >> you're going to have bipartisan calls for -- it's going to come down to they're worried other leaks could undermine the mueller investigation. if you lookin side the white house, kelley has moved in, mcmaster has talked about this, the leaks inside the white house. there has to be a lock down because it affects foreign policy. part of it is prompted by two things, the chaos in siside the white house but when trump goes out publicly and bashes the intelligence community and the law enforcement community, that incites this. >> and when he lies about conversations about what happens, somebody inside the government may say, wait a second, that's not what happened at all, he is lying to 300 million american people and also to the world and there are -- you know, the more he lies about what's going on, the more whistleblowers are going to feel the need, gene. >> that's exactly right. there are ways to issue statements about conversations like that that are not lies, but that aren't flat-out lies. and he just told flat-out lies about what was said or not

in terms of the issue about the president being a builder, there's a great story in david axelrod's book. he was a top aide to president obama. he said during the gulf oil spill he got a call from someone who said the generals and people in charge of the efforts to plug the hole to know what they're doing. put me in charge and i will fix it. the person who was calling was no other than donald trump. suggestedavid axelrod they had it under control and didn't need his help. trump pivoted and said that the way that they do the white house dinners was not very appealing and he said put me in charge and i can build it will look much better. out to thent to turn city of houston. joining us now on the phone, congressman al green. he has joined us a couple of times since the storm hit. good morning. you're down in the ninth district of houston. how are you doing today? good morning and thank you for allowing us to be on. i'm appreciative to c-span. i'm also very much appreciative people who have volunteered, and have literally come in from other states to help us out. they are good samaritans wi