mo elleithee and erin mcpike. i saw on every major newspaper, this is the first big natural disaster test for president trump. it occurred to me that on some level the media has to make everything into a trump story. erin: i would say in this case donald trump took the bait the media put out there. many people are saying this is the worst form hurricane we have ever seen. now experts are calling harvey a once in a 500-year flood. he's playing right into media's hands there. i thought that was over the top on his part. howie: the white house trying to show he's on the job. the white house releasing photos from camp david to show he's on the job. if there were to be a government mishap or failure to respond on the scale of katrina, that would be a huge story. but framing it that way in advance was too much. emily: we elected a man who was not a poll figure beforehand. he has no natural disaster experience. but to the tweets. if i'm on the ground in houston, that's not bothering me. i want to hear that the president

simon rosenberg and erin mcpike, and gayle trotter. is the press celebrating the departure of steve bannon? gayle: next to president trump he's the second highest placed target for the media to go after. i would say this interview with the prospect this week outlining his positions on china was his swan song preparing him to go back to "breitbart." we had an article this week that says here is why steve bannon is more dangerous outside the white house than in it. he made clear that he will continue the war he saw himself perpetuating in the white house. how much impact will he have now that he's 100,000 times more famous than a year ago. simon: he made it clear he's going to fight hard. i don't know what it means for the republican party. will it start to push apart the republican party over time? his inside knowledge of how the building works, he could be an effective antagonist against some of the forces like john kelly and other trying to steer trump in a different direction. >> he's still going to be a political operative. there ar

erin mcpike. nbc's alex sikes-wald. how do you interpret it? how significant is his departure? did he jump or was he pushed? >> i think he was probably pushed. as far as how significant that particular comment is, i think it's directed when he says the left, some of the more leftist types within the trump white house. that's gary cohen for example. that is ivanka trump. and jared kushner. we know that steve bannon doesn't like hr mcmaster, the national security adviser, who is not necessarily of the left but is pushing some national security ideas that are not quite in line with what steve bannon and sebastian gorka want. i think when he says we're winning and we're going to come back and get them, he is talking about how steve bannon and sebastian gorka at the helm of breitbart is going to go after those individuals within the trump administration and perhaps smear them, write about them that sort of thing. i don't think he's talking about going after the large american left throughout this country. >> okay. a lex, same question to you. what do you make of this darth vader/obi

. >>> joining me now are paul singer, "usa today" washington correspondent, erin mcpike, chief white house correspondent for the independent journal review and msnbc analyst robert, a former bush/cheney senior adviser. i want to get your take on the images we are seeing out there today, thousands of people, boston, pretty remarkable to see. other cities as well, los angeles, we just saw one starting up right now against hate and for some, the president's comments over the course of the past week. robert, let's start with you. is there a sense that he's going respond to what we're seeing taking place out on the streets of the united states today and maybe use it as an opportunity to reset his message. >> well, one would think from a political standpoint, but also quite frankly from a humanity standpoint. i probably should have started off with that first. from a humanity standpoint frrks a compassionate standpoint, you would think that the president would come out and say something to the country overall. but that's not the president's instinct. i think he realizes that he really went

to the independent journal reviews erin mcpike, "washington examiner" erin -- how the president is dealingtural disaster crisis. gabby, what do you think? >> this is milestone in his presidency. certainly something his predecessors didn't have to face until well into their first or second terms. he has handled it well. they worked with local and state officials to insure not only is the president up-to-date what is happening in houston and other areas impacted by storm but what other officials need to rescue people and begin to rebuild these areas. this trip, certainly marks, set as different tone for this president. it will be interesting to see how he handles it. if he returns later this week, whether he is still disciplined on message, able to show off his leadership. neil: erin, one of the thing he talked about, he will provide any and all resources texans need to be okay. and that is, raised the possibility that he will go ahead and hike the debt ceiling attaching, probably a rescue effort plan to keep the government open. what do you hear about that? >> well, neil, i think that is on