host: so you would put him below james buchanan on most any list of worst presidents? he is at the bottom, could not seem to grasp the normandy of american divisions over slavery, the strife leading up to the civil war. that is how cbs news puts it in their story about worst presidents. you and put donald trump below that? host: i think they both did the same thing. they listened to people that wanted the power and they got paid to do so. if people think he is not getting paid for this from somebody, he has got to be getting paid. whenever they open up the deutsche bank or some of this investigation that went on that they are trying to investigate, that is something that is totally crazy. we had the russians interfere in our elections and what trump and the people are doing is having people investigate there the -- investigate the russians. who benefits from that? host: john in florida. where would you put donald trump? caller: i like donald trump very much and i think you did a great job and i think he would be up there with reagan. i don't know if he is the best pres

caller: he would have to be last even below president james buchanan, even below president andrew johnson, who is the president that replaced president abraham lincoln after his death and try to help the south to regain their power after the 14th amendment passed. host: why do you think he is worse than that? caller: the president's main job is to protect our democracy. the president did a speech and told the crowd to go to congress while congress was doing their duty to certify the election. he said in a speech that i'm not proud of what -- i am hearing bad things. after president pence in his speech and said he was not going to turn the election, then this

because he will come back to pave the way for james buchanan's campaign for president. pierce had sent buchanan to end his career, but the only democrat with the hope of winning the presidency in 1856 is someone who is untainted in any way by the kansas nebraska act, so the very act that meant to end buchanan's career ends up being the thing that will ensure he becomes the next president of the united states. sickles comes ahead of him to lay the groundwork. sickles is not interested. this is a recurring theme throughout his life and career. daniel sickles is his own man. in fact, let me read something to you which i think is illustrative of his general life philosophy. he writes this as a congressman, but think about him in gettysburg and every aspect of his life and see if this doesn't fit. "i cannot play courtier to the multitude, much less individuals. i know all the consequences and have many a long year since resolved to enjoy it, even at the price which must inevitably be paid. i do not deem it a wise course, nor prudent, nor recommend it to any friend, but i have

. >> [indiscernible] james buchanan had like a really good best friend? dr. kastor: james buchanan was never married, and both in his own time and our time, a lot of people focused very much on his relationship with rufus king, who had been a vice president in previous administrations and who died before buchanan was elected. at the time, observers claimed that there was an inappropriate relationship to be made fun of. historians have increasingly come to conclude that buchanan was probably gay, and this is probably a romantic relationship, but what is crucial is that part of what made buchanan's relationship same unusual was that there was no first lady. so who was first lady during thomas jefferson's administration? he was a widower. what was he going to do? >> [inaudible] dr. kastor: absolutely. his daughter served that role. my point is the role is so important, it is so assumed that there should be a first lady that it need not be the president's spouse, but rather there is some woman in the white house who plays that role. let's talk about how the indiv

the bottom three, franklin pierce, andrew johnson and james buchanan. do you think donald trump falls on that list? that survey was based on presidential historians ranking presidents on individual leadership characteristics. here is that list of characteristics that they were ranked on, public persuasion, crisis leadership, economic management, moral authority, international relations, administrative scale, relations with congress, vision and setting an agenda, pursuing equal justice for all and performance within the context of the times. 10 different rankings brought together and ranking all of the 43 former occupants of the white house from highest scores to lowest. you don't need to use those individual leadership characteristics. you can tell us the characteristics you would use to rank donald trump in the list of presidents. we will start with patrick out of naples, florida. good morning. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. i am a recovering southern democrat. this guy has done everything to divide this country. he is probably

. >> wasn't james buchanan who had like a really good best friend? dr.r: james buchanan was never married, and both in his own time and in our time a lot , of people focused very much on his relationship with rufus king, who had been a vice president in previous administration and who died before buchanan was elected. at the time, observers claimed that there was an inappropriate relationship to be made fun of. historians have increasingly come to conclude that buchanan was probably gay, and this is probably a romantic relationship, but what is crucial is that part of what made buchanan's administration unusual was that there was no first lady. so who was first lady during thomas jefferson's administration? he was a widower. what was he going to do? >>'s daughter. dr. kastor: absolutely. his daughter served that role. my point is the role is so important, it is so assumed that there should be a first lady that it need not be the president's spouse, but rather there is some woman in the white house who plays that role. let's talk about how the individual

. >> reporter: that is president james buchanan, sworn in on the east front of the capitol.eks before he was assassinated. kennerly was president gerald ford's photographer and captured the non-ceremonial transfer of power from richard nixon, the only u.s. president to resign. >> he gives a little wave. it was one of the most dramatic things i've ever witnessed. >> reporter: traditionally, the incoming and outgoing president share a ride to the capitol. -kennerly was among the veryfirs camera inside the presidential limousine. ford and jimmy carter. carter and his successor, ronald reagan. >> in the eyes of many in the world, this every-four-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle. >> reporter: kennerly has captured that miracle for millions. one of the reasons i e doing what i do i >> one of the reasons i like doing what i do is being there in a front-row seat to history. >> reporter: for the first time in 152 years, there won't be an image of the incoming and departing presidents together to witness what we again realize must never be taken for gra

pray in congress, from temple -- congregation in new york city, bonder in sweden, 1860, carl james buchanan was president then. america was on the eve the civil war and his very lengthy prayer invoked inning of brother against brother. a lot of for shadowing going on in his prayer about what america was about to face now. to add a little intrigue to the first rabbi, he was pro slavery, and there are scholars who -- i know from the timeline of my story, but there are people who follow the jewish tradition of jewish history in civil war and know him to have written about pro slavery positions. so it's kind of very different back then. he looked a lot different, too. shows up in his -- the "new york times" calledded in costume,. very odd to see a jew in front thief house of representatives, praying. the other members were iter titerring to each other and saying look at that in their way of talk but quite a sight. >> did any of the christian pastors complain? >> no complaint. i was while before the next one came on the scene, about stenyears buff the next rabbi gave a prayer in congress so not

carl james buchanan was president then. america was in the eve of the civil war and is very, very lengthy prayer invoke images of brother against brother. there's a lot of foreshadowing going on in his prayer about what america was about to face. to add a little intrigued to the first rabbi, he was proslavery, and there are scholars who have studied him but there are i know from the time in my story but are people who followed the jewish tradition of the jewish history in civil war in order to have written about proslavery position. it's kind of very different back then. he looked a lot different, too. he shows up in -- the "new york times" called in costume, was their description, very odd to see see a jew in front of the house of representatives praying. the other members were saying look at that in their way of talking but it was quite a sight to see it. >> did any of the christian pastors complained? >> no. no complaints. it was a while before the next one came on the scene though. i think was about ten years before the

james buchanan, teddy roosevelt, james mattis, or dwight eisenhower? is correct you got two points. feel free to prez away. all right jimmy got to catch up your buddy. which president was be the first to be protected by the secret service? grover cleveland, theater roosevelt, james monroe, or james k polk? >> a while. this is hard. i'm going to say grover cleveland but i am guessing. kennedy: you guessed it wrong you are now quite a whole, but you have zero. robby has two, laura has one, laura can catch up with her second question. laura here we go. which president famously showed up drunk to his inauguration as vice president? was it andrew jackson, andrew johnson? james a pulp or lyndon johnson? all the sound good. >> know i feel like andrew jackson was a both a raging of populism murder of indians and a party guy. so i'm going with andrew jackson. safari picked the wrong andrea was andrew johnson. yes he was a picked from the great state of tennessee by abraham lincoln to shore up the democrat he was an utter failure, barely escaped impeachment when

.>> that is president james buchanan sworn in on the east front of the capital, abraham lincoln 1865, six weeks before he was assassinated. kendrell he was president fourth photographer and capture the non-ceremonial transfer of power from richard nixon, the only united states president to resign.>> he gave the little wave and it was one of the most dramatic things i've ever witnessed. >> traditionally the incoming fiphotpherto put hijimmy ar carter, carter and his successor, ronald reagan. >> in the eyes of many of the world this every four years sermon we accept as normal as nothing less than a miracle. >> can truly has captured that miracle for millions.>> one of the reasons i like doing what i do is being a front row seat to history.>> for the first time in 152 years there will not be an image of the incoming and departing president together to witness what we again realize must never be taken for granted. power peacefully transferred. major garrett, cbs news the white house. >>> let's shift our attention to the weather, the three things that stand out, warm temperatures, high sur

years and has written 11 books and we're here to bach it her recent, he she has biographies of james buchanan, mary todd lincoln, and margaret sanger. tonight she is talk about building america, the life of henry latrobe. she dwell we joined in conversation with susan schoelwer, i hi, susan. >> hi, kev

the niece of james buchanan, who served as first lady and that very necessary female hostess, you canee how compelling she would have been as a hostess. but she was very dear to her husband, he mourn her passing for many years. we believe that he probably kept this miniature, it's quite small. it's only two or three inches. he either kept it in his pocket or person as a way to remember his wife. he would never really spoke about her after she died. it's such a sad story. win one of their sons went to maine, a daughter who had been born he could remember if his mother's name was anna or hannah, because his father would not speak about her. one of the pleasures of doing this exhibition has been learning about these relationships. they are very loving and enduring past death for some of these presidents. juliet gardner tyler, another second wife. second wife of a president. and we show her in this beautiful portrait from the white house which was done after leaving the white house and at sure would forest, a plantation in virginia that her husband bought for her. she was a first lady who

years and has written 11 books and we're here to bach it her recent, he she has biographies of james buchanan, mary todd lincoln, and margaret sanger. tonight she is talk about building america, the life of henry latrobe. she dwell we joined in conversation with susan schoelwer, i hi, susan. >> hi, kev van. >> excited to watch this interview and learn more about henry latrobe. take care. have a great evening. susan, thank you so much. >> thank you, kevin and thank you to all of those who are joining us. jean, it's wonderful to have you with us tonight. >> thank you. >> i'm really excited about this. i think latrobe is one of those important figures from early america that i wasn't real -- i heather known that much about, and perhaps that's true of many of our audience as well. kevin mentioned several of the previous books you have written on a variety of topicsics and dt necessarily seem to lead to latrobe, so i'm always curious how authors come to find their subjects. how did you get interested in latrobe? >> well, it's been a long road. live in baltimore, and latrobe has had an important ef

james buchanan was censured. but it is different now.esident of the united states and slipping slapping him on the hand and making a stapt from congress that said that was not cool, just does not meet the severity of the offenses we're talking about today. >> well the president said just moments ago he did nothing wrong, nothing wrong with his statement. maybe you should listen to his fellow republican outgoing senator pat toomey who said it was wrong and impeachable and brought up to jake tapper on sunday morning it might be criminal. so what is the criminal exposure for the president here for his words? >> so speech under the first amendment could be prohibited. you could get in trouble for it if it is directing at inciting lawless activity or likely to incite or provoke suck action and the argument could be that the president incited the violent action. now if the president is getting good legal advice, which no comment, but if he is, what he was engaging in was protected speech from someone who is an elected official. he's merely enc

history is usually james buchanan, who -- who was a good person. he just did a lot of inaction to try to stop the country from the civil war. we've had presidents, like warren harding, and richard nixon with corruption. but, what president trump has done, and is doing as i am talking to you, the fact that the american flag is not at half mass for five dead from the capitol riot, it's just another indication of the lack of respect. and it's a president who's denounced armed forces, mocked our troops. and looks like he may be headed for the double i, the only president in american history to be impeached, twice, if the congress starts proceeding as they are claiming they are tomorrow. >> the president said, friday, that he is not going to be attending biden's inauguration. and joe biden responded saying that it was, you know, a good thing that donald trump was not. and i -- i -- i was curious, if you thought it was a good thing? >> you know, i never did, up until january 6th, 2021. i always thought, even as bad as it is, it would be good for presiden

the relatives, the daughters, daughters in law and nieces, harriet lane johnston, the niece of james buchanan who served as first lady, as that very necessary female hostess. and you can see, you know, just kind of how compelling angelica van buren would have been as a hostess. but hannah hose van buren was very dear to her husband and she mourned her passing for many years and we believe he probably kept this miniature which is quite small, just about two or three inches, either in his pocket or on his person as a way to remember his wife. and he never really spoke about her after she died. it's such a sad story. but when one of their sons went to name a daughter who had been born he couldn't remember if his mother's name was anna or hannah because his father would not speak about her. you know, one of the pleasures of doing this exhibition has been, you know, for me, learning about these relationships, you know, very loving and, you know, relationships that endured past death for some of these presidents and their wives. julia gardener tyler, another second wife, the second wife of a presid

contributes to the his legacy as the worst president in american and that honor formerly held by james buchanan who basically watch the nation's slide into civil war and did nothing. this person actually try to precipitate the civil war. with an assault on the u.s. capitol. he has broken all the norms things he's done so many things that. i think you strings are not going to treat very kindly and as indicative of that and indicative of his personality is the fact that he is still refused to acknowledge joe biden by name. he's refused to concede the election and he has refused to take back. the lies of of fraud. in the to i think for joe biden not having president trump that there and having to acknowledge him in any way was somewhat of a blessing in the skies because how do you know someone who won who wasn't going you. no is your victory or acknowledge that this was an election that was freely and fairly one by by joe biden. >>now michael yesterday a lot of people were watching what he would do as far as the pardons are you surprised that he did not pardon. and south his family or his longtime

and that, i included the presidency of james buchanan and any of the sort of low lives in american history. there are people in this audience of now if you thousand who could -- who probably thought it could have not gotten worse than richard nixon. richard nixon looks like a paragon of virtue compared to what we have now. it is extremely concerning, not because of what happens over the next 30 days, but to me, what happens over the next 30 years as my children go into their adulthood as citizens in this country. henry: thank you, bret. that tease up the second column of yours that i wanted to talk about, which is published on december 14. it took a slightly different tone, saying that trump had did considerable damage, though not as bad as some had forecast. you came in with a big line where you said, the catastrophe of trump's presidency does not mainly light and the visible damage it has caused, it is in the invisible damage. trump was a corrosive. what humanity corroded was social trust, the most important element in any successful society. elaborate on that. bret: i think this is an i

back then inauguration wasn't until march, before president james buchanan vacated the premisesment.ween buchanan and lincoln. lincoln is elected president, and within a matter of weeks after that, seven states secede from the union. >> reporter: during the depression, as franklin delano roosevelt waited to take the reins, the country itself was on life support. >> it is hard to imagine. franklin d. roosevelt really did not know in january, february, ad march, whether the government could collapse before he even had a chance to put his own programs into use. >> reporter: hoover had suffered a humiliating defeat. what was that ride to the capitol like on inauguration day in 1933? >> from all accounts, the ride between hoover and roosevelt was very frosty, as they say. >> reporter: but hoover did ride in the car? >> absolutely. it may not have been the most friendly of transitions, but they were riding together. >> reporter: and that ride is one of the transitions we come to expect. those rituals, few are mandated by law. they're not in the constitution, no concession speech, no congra

in my mind, puts him at the rank bottom, which is good news for james buchanan and franklin pierce, but it wasn't good for our country the last four years. >> doug brinkley, you know, despite the fact that this president attempted to turn the election into what he said was a massive fraud, the election was really extraordinary. just the number of americans who decided to come out in person, vote from home, however they did it, but decided to cast a vote in the muidst of a pandemic, overwhelming support frankly for both candidates. president trump received a huge amount of votes. president-elect biden received more votes. some 81 million votes. this is a day, really, of celebration. yes, the president of the united states, who is about to be the former president of the united states, tried to turn it into something else. but really, america came out and voted and expressed their wishes and we are seeing the results of that. we are seeing a peaceful transfer of power, despite what this president has attempted to do. >> i'm so glad you phrased it that way, anderson. it is a great triumph,