david axelrod and david gergen. vid axelrod, did you ever grab somebody by the collar in the white house and have to have secret service step in? >> no, and i'm not sure any other person from the white house would answer that question yes. but you're right, anderson, white houses are terribly precerable places. people feel passionate. chill as i am, i had arguments with people, but the idea of mere fistfights outside the oval office, which apparently is not -- not an uncommon event there, we now know about two of them, is really i think as maggie suggests a consequence of the leadership style of this president. he is his own chief of staff. he encourages conflict among his people, and this is the result of that. and, you know, one wonders what impact that has on the day to day operations of the government. >> david gergen, chief of staff kelly obviously a redesired four star general, and cory lewandowski i don't believe if memory serves me, he has any time served in the military. should -- does it surprise -- yes, i

also cnn political analyst gloria borger and david gergen who joins me here. d, of course, served presidents in both parties including bill clinton. david gergen, i mean, you hear what president trump said tonight, did you expect him to at least acknowledge two former presidents had their lives threatened today? >> i expected far more than he did. yes, he should have acknowledged both presidents. jeff zeleny was right, he should have reached out to the former presidents, assured them of the continued help from the fbi and others and a secret service. but i think most of all, he should have taken some responsibility. he completely refused to do that. he hasn't taken an ounce of responsibility or accountability for this whole thing. i think what he needs to understand is donald trump unleashed the dogs of hatred in this country from the day he declared he was running for president and they've been snarling and barking at each other ever since. it's just inevitable. there are going to be acts of violence that grow out of that. a president's duty, he says, first du

david gergen, i want to start with you. is this a good use of our military, sending 15,000 troops to the border. >> pamela, first of all, welcome back. >> thank you. >> good to see you. >> thank you very much. >> well, strikingly, secretary of defense james mattis thought it was a bad idea. he opposed it originally. he's going along with it because the president is the commander in chief. but i think most americans are smart enough to see this is a stunt coming just a few days before. it's not apparent why troops are needed this weekend when this caravan is a thousand miles away. it's going to be two or three weeks, why do they need to go now. it's not a coincidence just the weekend before the elections. so the president needs to define what are these people for, why do we need so many, how long are they going to be here, what's the purpose of all of this? you don't accepted troops in unless what your purpose is and what your getting out strategy is. i think this looks completely political. it's inappropriate for the presid

"outfront" now, wesley lowry, pulitzer prize winning reporter for the "washington post," david gergen, former adviser for four presidents, democrats and republicans, and andre bauer, former governor of south carolina. wes, you've covered race relations in this country extensively. what's your reaction to this -- president trump, you know, doubling down, tripling down, calling himself a nationalist. >> well, first of all, it was really interesting watching this whole riff where he's talking about globalists versus nationalists and in many ways, it's language that echoed steve bannon, and for anyone who's read breitbart.com, that's the exact type of framing and language that's often used, very often anti-semitic undertones to it, racist undertones. so you have two things. the president was giving voice and word and a term to his policies and how he's run his campaign. he started his campaign disparaging mexican immigrants as possibly rapists, refooused to condemn white nationalists and white supremacists. he resurfaced the term america first as a campaign slogan. so he was, in some ways

presidents, david gergen. quite a bit since the shooting at the synagogue yesterday morning, different rallies as he was taking off to go to indianapolis. what do you make of the president's response so far? >> inadequate. you just interviewed doctor cohen head of the hospital there and a member of the synagogue. he said this is a time for leaders to step up. leaders have to understand their words matter, he said. their words matter. i don't think anybody should hold donald trump personally responsible for what happened in pittsburgh. you have lunatics in our society who are loose with guns, but i do think he bears special responsibility for two things, for the moral tone of the country. that's what we expect our presidents to do, especially in times of crisis to bring us together. and donald trump has, in effect, unleashed the dogs of hatred in this country. as if the two things are not connected. but what we know is this fellow bower ordered to go after jews who were trying to help refugees settle in this co

manager david gergen made of mine in which he plays a german p.o.w.'s signed to clear mines after world war two was nominated for an oscar. and he appeared in dark a mystery drama and the first german series produced by netflix. i mean if you want me and i want to like erik do on the edge i really enjoy that i want tell stories that have relevance on some. such as this drama about abuse and violence at a protestant reform school. because that's a very. born in one thousand nine hundred seven louise hoffman is the only one of our magnificent seven with no formal acting training but that doesn't seem to be hindering his career. who is hoffman was fourteen when he got his first starring role playing tom sawyer in a german adaptation of the mark twain classic the last member of our magnificent seven is another one dark and not yet twenty five she's already being compared to the great romy schneider some call her the best actress of her generation that's thanks in large part to one film. it was her work with french director francois was all that got polarbe

david gergen said he was part of the state police. he was not actually. he was a part-time state marine patrol officer trainee from 2006 to 2010. >>> i want to check in with chris cuomo and see what he's working on for the top of the hour. chris? >> lies is what we're working on. i mean -- >> which ones? >> i mean that's the problem. we are like in a watershed moment. in truth, the president is flooding the zone right now. he is clearly in campaign mode. h this caravan is a gift for him but the truth isn't good enough. even though the truth of that situation plays into his politics on immigration, he's still lying about it. he's still lying about it every way he can. so tonight there's no dancing around and trying to figure out what does he mean, is he trying to say this. he's lying. we're going to call it out. we're going to show you how we know. we're going to have people in who -- we have a journalist tonight who tracks him in realtime. that's what he does for a living. think about that as your job. and we're going to take him on. we also have former s

if he wants to unify the base and not grow it, it's an effective message. >> david gergen, senator susanollins explained why she voted yes this morning on our show "state of the union." let's take a listen. >> i found dr. ford's testimony to be heart-wrenching, painful, compelling, and i believe that she believes what she testified to. i do not believe that brett kavanaugh was her assailant. i do believe she was assaulted. i don't know by whom, and i'm not certain when. >> david, you've written a piece for cnn opinion entitled the only susan collins had shown real leadership on kavanaugh. collins emerging as the decisive vote choose not to exercise her power to walk in the foot steps of her hero, the late congresswoman from maine, margaret chase smith. instead she fed into the rank partnership and power politics that defined this process and have dominated american politics recently. what do you make of her explanations like the one that we just heard? >> well, i'm afraid it doesn't hold up. in the court of public opinion, this was a theory that was being passed around earlier about a we

we're going to talk about it with kirsten powers and david gergen and former trump campaign advisor steve cortez. david, were you surprised that president trump brought up the kavanaugh controversy in such blunt terms tonight in front of the other justices? >> absolutely. it just seemed so inappropriate. he said that kavanaugh had been proven innocent. we all know that is simply not true. but it comes in the wake of a series of statements that have flown in the face of what statesmanship is all about. churchill once said in victory, magnanimity. there's been none of that. there's none of that grace here. he's called women like mrs. ford who came forward, he said these allegations were brought from people who are evil. that's mrs. ford. evil. only a few days ago he was saying she was a credible witness. he talks about the women who have descended on washington. as you say, the long tradition going back to the civil rights marches, the vietnam marches and so forth, everybody comes to march when they have a protest. and he labeled them angry left-wing mob. mcconnell is using mob. it's obviou

. >> with me now, david gergen, kirsten powers, jeffrey toobin and michael caputo. d, i'm wondering, you know, he's clearly saying based on what he saw his freshman year living in the same room with brett kavanaugh, judge kavanaugh wasn't truthful under oath describing his drinking and the terms he was using. does that matter at this point? >> unfortunately, it may not matter as much as it should. i think one of the -- he was thoughtful and admitted his own weaknesses, which i thought was important. it's very important for our viewers to know that you wouldn't have had him on the air unless cnn had checked him out for his reliability. he didn't randomly walk in here. >> right. >> you had to think about this. >> he was the only direct roommate at that time that brett kavanaugh had. >> right. you know, so you're left with the impression he's pretty credible. are there others out there that we should also be hearing from in order to make a fair judgment about judge kavanaugh? >> but if -- i mean, he has no direct knowledge of debbie ramirez's allegations or of witnessin

david gergen, kirsten powers, appreciate it. to our breaking news of the missing "washington post" columnist. president trump claims he has no financial interest in saudi arabia, no reasons to be sympathetic to them. we'll check out that claim when we come back. geographic detail... ...ancestrydna can pinpoint where your ancestors are from... ...and the paths they took, to a new home. could their journey inspire yours? order your kit at ancestrydna.com. you don't need to go anywhere dad, this is your home. the best home to be in is your own. home instead offers personalized in-home services for your loved ones. home instead senior care. to us, it's personal. home instead senior care. but birds eye made it deliciousfrom zucchini.a. mmm... mashed potatoes...and rice! but made from cauliflower. looks like i need a fork! oh no. (giggles) birds eye veggie made. so veggie good. that last place was pretty nice. i don't like this whole thing. i think we can do better. change is hard. try to keep an open mind. come on, dad. this is for m

about whether we should tell debbie that she's wrong or crazy and believe him. >> back now with david gergenten powers, jeff toobin and michael caputo. david, you heard that letter -- does this in the end really just boil down to politics for the senators who have to make this choice? >> it seems to be boiling down to politics. that's exactly the way it shouldn't come down. and i, again, go back to the conversation you've been having with mr. roche tonight. you know, what strikes you is he's got a really credible story, but is it the complete story? isn't it fair to kavanaugh to hear other stories? the fact we're going to tomorrow morning before the deadlines they closed down this so-called investigation and they've never talked to him or 30 to 40 other witnesses that the parties -- mrs. ford and miss ramirez are talking about, have not been consulted. we, the public, have been misled by the -- what's going on in washington, by the president, by his party, that this week would be spent, the entire week, up to the entire week would be spent in a serious inquiry to get to the bottom of things

david gergen, kirsten powers, appreciate it. >> back to our breaking news of the missing "washington post" columnist. president trump claims he has no financial ties to saudi arabia. we'll which check out that claim when we come back. e's so cute. ♪ the most loved iphone meets the most loved in wireless. right now, save $300 on iphone xs at t-mobile. that last place was pretty nice. i don't like this whole thing. i think we can do better. change is hard. try to keep an open mind. come on, dad. this is for me, son? principal. we can help you plan for that. rewards me basicallyaptain everywhere i stay.bvious and hotels.com so why am i stomping grapes with aerobics enthusiasts near this b&b? or doing goat yoga at this mountain resort? or treating a destination wedding to the sweet sound of pug bongos? because hotels.com lets me do me. where my dogs at? oh, here they are. hotels.com. you do you and get rewarded. take it away henry. >>> returning to our breaking news on jamal earlier today the president tweeted about what some reported as a complicated factor in this, namely, his financia

. >> perspective now from "the new york times" correspondent and analyst maggie haberman, david gergen worked with four presidents and former defense attorney paul callen, a cnn legal analyst. maggie, you have been saying that something is agitating the president. what makes you confident it's related to the mueller probe? >> i don't know that it's related to the mueller probe. it could be related to all kinds of things. he has tended to use witch hunt when something is going on with the russia probe. there were some sentences that were handed down, i believe, that fox news was talking about the morning that he made that tweet. that could have been it. i think it is likelier that they have an expectation that there is a report coming, as you have been reporting and as we have heard as well, fairly soon after the midterm election, that there could be an indictment of roger stone, which while the president will distance himself from roger stone, roger stone has been a long serving off and on advisor to this president. the longest serving of his political group. and so it could be any one

i want to bring in two of the loudest people i know, david gergen, and kirsten powers. so david, what does it say two of the president's top aides were arguing so intensely outside the oval office, is that -- i mean, is that normal having worked in white houses? >> no. i think when bob woodward turns his hardback into a paperback, he's going to have plenty of material for a postscript about the chaos in the white house. we have two very strong willed individuals here, who have been used to asserting themselves and everybody else getting out of the way and letting them have their way. and now they're clashing, and it's not totally surprising, the issues surrounding the borders are getting sharper. president trump clearly wants to turn the border question into a midterm elections issue over the next couple of weeks, and he wants to crack down on it. i think general kelly is trying to protect his protege as well as disagreeing with the hardline that bolton wants to take. i don't think he'll resign in the near term, but he could well be close to the door by the end of the ye

global business columnist and associate editor at the financial times and cnn political analyst david gergen of harvard's kennedy school of government. he served as an adviser to presidents nixon, ford, reagan and clinton. david, first to you. turkey is revealing a lot of information about this apparent murder. what is the turks' motivation here? >> i think the turks' motivation for a long time has been they're considered rivals of the saudis. they would like to see saudi influence diminished and it would open up space for them to be a bigger power in the middle east. that's one basic motivation. but they've also had this apparent murder take place on their soil. they have a real motivation to figure out how had got done and make sure people know the turks didn't do it. this investigation is being slow walked. it's been 15 days since this man disappeared. it's time for the turks to turn over whatever audio materials they have to the u.s. government, to the saudi government. it's time for the saudi government to tell us who are these peoples are where were they, what are their alibis. the sau

. >> david gergen , one of your close friends on cnn yesterday said the following. watch. >> is that what's going on with some of the men in this country and their relationship to trump? is being for trump make them feel more masculine? i don't know the answer to that. boy, there was sure an overtone of it in that session. >> laura: in other words, the toxic masculinity, it is a brutal type of being masculine to be in line with trump. >> davis doing the best he can. i am not going to attack him. >> laura: why not. >> i feel bad for him. that's real. men feel that they can't be men and that's not a talking point. i'm not a men's movement guy or whatever. if you had a movement that was against toxic femininity or homosexuality, you would say you are attacking people for who they are, because it is mean and it hurts kids when you do that. we send $60,000 a year that have entire departments devoted for attacking men for being men. if you have a son, this is a huge threat to him. if you have a daughter, who is she going to marry? these are central questions. >> laura: th

david gergen, john dean, asha rangappa. we heard what he said. but in spite of what he said, senators haven't even heard or seen i should say the investigation and the report. mitch mcconnell is moving forward. >> absolutely. well, he does what he says. he plays a real serious game of hard ball. very objectionable in many regards but he delivers. that's why he's majority leader. >> why is he moving forward so fast? >> to get it done. i don't think option he gives a damn whether there's a lot of questions about it. what he cares about is getting it done. we just heard from a man apparently struggling with his conscience whether he ought to come forward and do there tv interview. cnn checked him out to make sure his reliability seemed strong. i think he gave a remarkably credible statement about what happened in the freshman year at yale. what's astonishing is that the fbi is disinterested in his tale. and the tales of at least 30 to 40 other people that these women have recommended go look at and talk about. and so we're going to wind up with tomo

let's get perspective now from david gergen and carl bernstein. strategy from the president, not surprising i suppose, disappointing to some, and to supporters, it's why they elected him. >> i don't think he has a strategy on almost anything. i think he plays it by ear. i do think he thinks it's working. he wouldn't continue it. but it's really worth understanding and remembering, there have been a lot of books recently about authoritarianism that have been creeping up across europe. how countries go down that road toward authoritarianism. and the books almost all agree, one of the first things you do is to silence critics, especially in the press. you try to delegitimize them and discredit them, so they won't be taken seriously in what they report, then you can run of them. that is, i'm reluctant to say this, it seems that's what we're seeing. >> that's the strategy? >> that's what he's doing. i'm not sure i would call it a strategy. >> do you think, carl, do you expect anything different from this president? i mean, it was fascinating last night

joining us now, or cnn senior political analyst david gergen, and ron brownstein, senior editor tot "ic." good to have you with us. is the goal for democrats to find someone who can match trump's charisma, or is it better to go opposite and say this is a serious job for a serious person? >> first of all, i think the goal of the democrats is to win the midterm elections. that's going to shape a lot of other things including the way the country is governed over the next two years. if the democrats can win the house, they can have a serious voice in the government, and that will be a run-up to the 2020 election. i've always believed when you're not out party, the first thing you want to be doing is what are your main goals, what are your policy goals, what's your message? and then find the candidate who best fits that message, rather than sort of turning one way or another to see how kamala harris fits, is she ready yet, is cory booker too hot or convince and go all the rest of it. what you need to do and what's been central for people who have won what party has come out of the wilderne

. >>> "outfront" with me tonight, david gergen, who served as an adviser to four presidents. joan walsh is a national affairs correspondent for "the nation" and mark short was a director of legislative affairs for president trump. david, if this vote count holds like we saw today, the final tally, 51-49. that's exactly what was expected before kind of the latest round of twists and turns. if that's the case, what was this exercise for then? >> i'm not sure what it was for. but i know what it has created. and that is it has left women very discouraged, millions of women very discouraged and disgusted, angry. it has left both parties about as poisonously divided as any time in our -- in memory. and it's left the supreme court in the hands of conservatives, the clear majority, for at least a generation. so it's a momentous night, a sad night in many ways, and i think whether you're on the right or the left, this is a time to be sad about what's happened to the country. because this should have been a much smoother process. it was not. and i think both sides feel the other one rea

presidents, david gergen, and cnn chief media kornet and host of reliable sources, brian stelter.or are they just more documented now because everyone has a cell phone? >> i do think we are seeing this explosion of anger and frustration on both sides because people don't feel represented. we're coming two years after an election where the person who won the most popular votes by a landslide was not elected president. there's a lot of rage on the left about the election of president trump. there's also a lot of frustration on the right bubbling up. some of the in the ballot box, but some of it in this concentrations. the more protests, the better. i felt that during the tea party, during occupy, i feel that now. but they have to be peaceful. it can't get to the point of violence. the problem recently is we've seen that line crossed with proud boys, antifa, where it's intimidation. >> now painting democrats as a mob. listen. >> the democrats don't like being called an angry mob, but really, that's what they've become. >> you can either vote for democrat mob rule, or you can vote for

david gergen has served four white houses. i think he's a republican by registration. he said on cnn tonight the president has unleashed the dogs of hatred in this country. governor cuomo of new york called this political terrorism. do you agree that this is kind of the definition of terrorism, the fear and uneasiness you just described? >> mayor de blasio in his comments today labeled it terrorism in a conversation with john miller. later in the day, deputy commissioner for counterterrorism. this is clearly an act of terrorism. terrorism at its most basic form is intended to spread fear and disruption, particularly in the political world. and that's exactly what happened today. the unresolved fear there are more of these devices, certainly in the law enforcement world is working very hard to alert various politicians, if you will, others that have been targeted. either by the president or media or whoever to be on the alert for these types of devices continuing to come at them. the cnn event today the reason for the large-scale evacuation of the whole flex, that's a h

and david gergen. is kanye west cursing the oval office the right messenger.n millions are reeling from a devastating hurricane ask beyond that i don't understand what the president of the united states and the people around him would be thinking this was a wise thing to do today. >> look, there's a right way and pa wrong way. for celebrities. people who have big platforms to engage the white house. frankly his wife is a good example. it involves preparation. focus on a particular ask. and no cameras. you can actually have a conversation. this is a situation where none of those rules were followed. he obviously wasn't as prepared as he could have been. no focus and cameras. it became a big show. we have to accept what we saw was someone who is not in a healthy place. from a mental point of view and emotional. we have to back off of treating him like a pin ya ta. it was mental health awareness week. the white house didn't show good judgment in having him there with the cameras. he's not in a healthy place emotionally. psychology and the white house shouldn't pu

joining me now is david gergen and cecile richards. about a possible midterm implications, you've read kavanaugh's op-ed. i want to ask you both about it. he says that he was there testifying as a father, as a husband, as a son. i'm wondering what you make of what he's saying in this op-ed? >> well, it's sort of an incredible campaign for a job that's supposed to be impartial and above politics. but i was, as i was reading it, i was thinking of all the women, i can't imagine a woman being basically perform the way he did, which he clearly was not impartial. i think some people question his temperament. certainly his honesty. >> you're saying if a woman applicant for the supreme court was yelling like that, was crying like that -- >> it would be completely disqualifying. a woman could never rewrite a story and say i was just being a mother or a daughter, or a cyster, or a wife. i think that this is a desperate effort by brett kavanaugh to rewrite history. he wrote that testimony. he actually, proudly said those things. i think if the se

former special adviser to president obama, and david gergen.rsing the oval office, wearing a maga hat, hitting the desk. on a day when millions of americans are reeling from a devastating hurricane. i don't understand what the president of the united states and the people around him would be thinking that this was a wise thing to do today. >> look, in is a right way and a wrong way for celebrities, people who have big platforms to engage the white house. kim kardashian is a good example of it, it involves preparation. focus on particular acts and frankly no cameras in the oval office. you can actually have a conversation. this is a situation where none of those rules were followed. he obviously was not as prepared as he could have been. people tried to prepare him, and they couldn't. it became a big show. i think we have to anticipate that what we saw with someone who's not in a healthy place from a mental point of view, and i think we got to back off treating him like a pinieda, it is mental health awareness week. i was very concerned by what

joining us for that is cnn political analyst david gergen, gloria borger, as well as carl bernstein. david, in light of the fact that some local officials thought it was an ill-timed visit with funerals taking place and maybe taking resources away, do you think the president was right to come here today? >> i think he was right to go to pittsburgh, not today. it became an extremely awkward day for the president. he did the right thing in wanting to go and comfort families. but the awkwardness started right after the fact that he arrived basically with his wife alone. he was not met at the airport. he was met with lots and lots of protesters in the streets. he did not apparently -- he met with the families of those who had been wounded. as far as i can tell. and this may be wrong, but i'm not sure he met with the families of those who lost their lives. and he left in silence. our presidents when they've gone to the days like this, you think of barack obama or george w. bush or bill clinton, they all spoke out and gave meaning to what happened and tried to be healers. they came to be kn

we have david gergen on the phone now. he's served four u.s. presidents, republican and democrat. describe how significant a loss this is for this administration. is it destabilizing in your view? >> no, i don't think it's destabilizing but it's a significant loss. nikki haley was one of the people that donald trump has trusted most. they seem to be very simpatico. she's also popular in the cabinet generally. very importantly, she sends out a signal of a woman who is standing by the president's side. a popular woman, a woman who has had guts when she was governor of south carolina. in that sense, it's a political blow. it also -- you know, there's a great deal of speculation, has been for some time, about what her political future might be after the u.n. that did not seem the last stop in the road, much of the speculation centered on whether donald trump could make her his vice presidential candidate in 2020, whether she might play a significant role, whether she might step up to be secretary of state at some point. often, the u.n. can be a stepping stone to the secretary of state

definitely not >> all right david gergen has beur gerstenhau he's very involved very engaged, i wouldlot more. kevin rudd is going to join us on the set he says this year will mark a turning point in relations between the u.s. and china we'll find out whether that's a good or bad thing. first as we head to a break, check out oil prices right now wti at $71.91. stay tuned you're watching "squawk" right here on cnbc what do advisors look for in an etf? i tell clients, etfs can follow an index, but which ones target your goals? it's not about quantity. it's about quality. no trendy stuff. i want etfs backed by research. is it built for the long-term? my reputation depends on it. flexshares etfs are designed and managed around investor objectives. so you can advise with confidence. before investing, consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. go to flexshares.com for a prospectus containing this information. read it carefully. unstopand it's strengthenedting place, the by xfi pods,gateway. which plug in to extend the wifi even farther, past anything that stands