now at least in my count doud, john kelly, james mattis and now giuliani i think this evening have all issued statements in some way denying some of the reporting in the book. i mean, you know bob woodward well and the quality of his reporting. what do you make of that? >> so i would say a couple of things. i actually thought that the chief of staff kelly's push back was fascinating because he said, i didn't call him an idiot, but in the book woodward also says that kelly calls him unhinged, erratic, and that he's worried about, quote, dangerous impulses. so the only one that he was denying for some reason was the word idiot, but to bob woodward, bob woodward is a legendary investigative journalist. he is a two-time pulitzer prize winner. he interviewed dozens of sources, all firsthand people who have been in the room with trump, and when you read the book what you will see is that they're all quoted extensively. and why are they quoted extensively? bob woodward did hundreds of hours of taped interviews with his sources. he is known for his credibility and in the past when he's been qu

anybody that knows john doud, nasrallah who he speaks. in extreme hyperbole sometimes. according to cnn, woodward calls him an expletive liar, he wasn't the only member of the inner circle that held him in such hoe regard. john kelly said we're in crazy town. chief economic adviser gary cohen pulled things off the president's desk because of national security concerns. as for this president's view of the rule of law, he is said to have lambasted jeff sessions as quote, mentally retarded, unquote. in an shoe published moments ago, the president questioned woodward's credibility. john kelly called the book total bs, john doud is pushing back as well. it will be hard for the white house to go after woodward too hard. he has a recording of the president praising him as a straight shooter. bring in the panel, steve kornacki, zerlina maxwell, and michael steele, msnbc political analyst, former rnc chair and also on the d.c. train to new york. i teased the recording before i let you have at this. let's play the recording. >> i spent a lot of time on this, talked to lots of peop