and cnn political analyst, maggie haberman. maggie, you have covered this president for some time. you've covered of the white house. clearly, he wants to leave the outbreak behind him, even as the numbers rise. is there anyone in that building who is telling him, honestly, directly, that he can't do that? >> there are many people who are telling him that, honestly, jim. i think what has become clear to people, or should have by now, is this president wants to govern a certain way and he wants to run his re-election effort a certain way. and that does not relate to talking about the coronavirus, unless it's about describing his administration's response, in glowing terms. that just don't comport with reality, certainly, for the first many weeks as the pandemic was growing. the president wants to have culture wars. he wants to fight on -- on white grievance. and he wants to have a discussion around race, that he thinks appeals to his base of supporters. and he has resisted all suggestions that he do it a different way. >> david, those words, his people, right? i mean, they're very r

. >>> perspective from cnn political analyst, white house correspondent maggie haberman and dr. sanjay gupta, two of the smartest humans i know who also happen to be pretty nice. mai maggie, how did the white house think it went this afternoon and what can we expect from them, what do they want to do going forward? >> john, the white house was overwhelmingly very happy with how this late afternoon briefing went by the president with obvious exceptions, one being maxwell question and they wish he had answered that differently and with all due respect to jim, reporting on this but i'm not convinced they didn't brief the president about this in the past and he messed up the question. they felt he was saying things he needed to be saying, that he was sort of not getting outside his lane and not talking about treatments and chemicals and what we saw previously trying to one up the doctors and talking about a forward looking picture that's obviously an incomplete look at it because there is a lot of questions to be asked as you just said and it's not clear to me that he can sustain thi

maggie haberman thanks for being with us. >> thanks, maggie. >>> join fareed zakaria as he investigates president trump believes in conspiracy theories, a new cnn special report "donald trump's conspiracy theories" airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific, just one hour long, here on cnn. >>> so with no federal mask mandate, local leaders are making the rules and leaving front line workers to enforce them. we'll hear from some of them next. there's a bridge. between ideas and inspiration, trauma and treatment. gained a couple of more pounds. that's good for the babies. between the moments that make us who we are, and keeping them safe, private and secure, there's webex. ♪ ♪ beautiful. >>> this morning, there is no federal mask mandate, and the number of people pushing back hard against local mask requirements keeps growing. front line workers just trying to enforce mask rules are being attacked more often. cnn's pete montine is live in alexandria, virginia, with more. it's troubling, pete. >> reporter: it's really troubling, john. more and more workers are forced into becoming the

back with us, maggie haberman who helped break this story. ggie, what exactly are we talking about here in terms of the british open and what president trump was asking the u.s. ambassador to britain to do? >> according to my reporters and me, woody johnson, the ambassador to the u.k. told colleagues that he was pressured or asked or urged or something in 2018 by president trump to try to help him land the british open at one of the president's clubs in the u.k. his golf course. that is not -- it's not even possible in terms of how the british open is selected for certain sites but it does speak to, you know, we have seen areas where the president tried to steer business to his private firms and to his private holdings, you know, such as the doral last year for host to g 7 and moved anyway after an uproar but this is not the first time the president has done this but it is extraordinary and by raising this with an ambassador, he is using government resources in a very specific way and other government officials as instruments to get something

one who read it and reported on it is maggie haberman. this book, you've seen it. a lot of notable passages already online. one she writes that donald trump hired and paid for someone to take his sats for him writing that he enlisted a smart kid with a good reputation of being a good test taker. the white house released a statement denying this. what do you make of what is coming out of this book? >> certainly, the as trkrks sats case dois interesting. what this president has done over time it has sort of smaller by comparison. look, she paints a pretty dark portrait of her uncle. she payments a pretty dark portrait of her grandfather and described him as the person who made her uncle the way he is. she describes her uncle as associa associa associaa socio path. clearly some of this was not her direct knowledge, she was hearing from other family members but she talks about for instance conversations she had with the president's sister mary ann where mary ann was dismissive and called him a clown and got upset her brother, the president was talking about their late

we're joined by maggie haberman, the white house correspondent for "the new york times" and a cnn political analyst. maggie, thanks for joining us. you saw the president just posted this picture of himself in a mask in which he says, many people now think it's a patriotic thing to do to wear a mask. but watch what he said about masks for months, even just yesterday. watch all this. >> will you consider a national mandate that people need to wear masks? >> no. i want people to have a certain freedom, and i don't believe in that. no. and i don't agree with the statement that if everybody wears a mask, everything disappears. everybody was saying don't wear a mask. all of a sudden, everybody's got to wear a mask. as you know, masks cause problems too. i wore one in this back year, but i didn't want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it. somehow sitting in the oval office behind that beautiful resolute desk, the great resolute desk, i think wearing a face mask as i greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens, i don't know. somehow i don't see it for myself. they learned abo

medical perspective from "the new york times" white house correspondent and cnn political analyst maggie haberman and medical school professor william, the author of "a family guide to covid." maggie, there certainly has been a shift how the president is approaching the pandemic or there has been lately. today instead of talking about the 150,000 dead in this country or out lying a strategy to fight, he boelasted about the tests and encouraged governors to open up the states. is the plan continue everything going great while so many people are continuing to die? is there actually going to be some sort of a new plan? >> look, anderson, i think you hit on what the issue is, the white house in many respects is treating this, at least in terms of how the president approaches it as a messaging challenge, not as a public health challenge in something they need to have addressed specifics of. they are treating him almost like a speaks mokesman, he goes and talks about the positive news. part of that is a reflection of the fact that the president's advisors within the white house recognize that if he doe

joining us now, cnn political analyst, maggie haberman. white house correspondent at "the new york times." maggie, we just had the tweet up there and the president seems to be saying it's not just racist enough to protect the legacy of robert e. lee, because in that tweet, he hurled one of his favorite racist epithets at elizabeth warren. now, this interests me for two reasons. number one, this is what the president is choosing to focus on, lean into, a few months before the election. that's number one. but number two, what he's not focusing on, because overnight, yesterday, this morning, we're hearing nothing about the explosive growth of coronavirus across the country. >> i think that's right. look, john, it's very obvious the president has been trying to basically create his own news program related to crime and related to statues. and he has been focusing his twitter feed on that not exclusively, but very aggressively. it is not the subject that most americans are talking about right now. it is not part of the national conversation tha

maggie haberman, thank you very much. have a good weekend. >>> the question on so many parents' minds continues to be is it safe for kids to return to school. we're going to ask a superintendent what he learned when he reopened his schools this summer and how they did it safely next. how about no no uh uh, no way come on, no no n-n-n-no-no only discover has no annual fee on any card. n-n-n-no-no ♪ ♪all strength ♪we ain't stoppin' believe me♪ ♪go straight till the morning look like we♪ ♪won't wait♪ ♪we're taking everything we wanted♪ ♪we can do it ♪all strength, no sweat no matter where you live, where you live has never mattered more. for over 100 years, realtors® have brought local knowledge and deep expertise to helping people find new places to dream and thrive. the next great place you'll call home. so, whether you're upsizing downsizing or just ready to make a change. look for the r. you've been avoiding. like people... and pants.ings but don't avoid taking care of your eyes, because we're here to safely serve you wi

joining us now, cnn political analyst, maggie haberman, a white house correspondent at "the new york times." maggie, i think this decision on the convention speech in florida is a microcosm of what's happening here at a much larger level. you said overnight that the decision is unbelievable. not literally -- >> not literally. >> not literally unbelievable, but because of what it represents. the convention speech was only going to be in florida because the president was mad that north carolina wouldn't let imdo it in a full, packed, unmasked stadium. so he moved it to florida so he could speak to tons of people. and now he's saying that's not safe. >> that's right, john. look, this is a microcosm, i think, as you well put it, of how the president has approached this virus over the course of the last several months. when he was told by north carolina's governor that there needed to be some safety plan for how to do a scaled back version of the convention, the president was furious. and had the republican national convention send a letter saying, we must have a full convention. the presi

maggie haberman who doesn't miss much tweeted back suburban women probably would have worked better. again, this is the law and order campaign of stoking fear. with most people scared enough of the pandemic, thank you very much. >> reporter: you know, just listening to the recitation of headlines, and those are likely to change by 11:00 when your show comes on the air, it strikes me how much donald trump has benefitted from the volume of disruption. and it always helps to have a couple things that increase talizes how bad they are. to me, how bad are they, they're so bad, a judge sided with a convicted felon in michael cohen over corrupt sitting attorney general. when you look at what unfolds on the streets of portland and on the streets of chicago, on the streets of albuquerque, remember the man making the laws bend around donald trump's desire to play president, to play dictator is so bad that a second judge, i mean, when he runs into the other branch of government, the judiciary, he does not prevail. i think there's this myth that in donald trump's world, he is the smartest mischi

maggie haberman instantly re-tweeted "i think you meant suburban women." "the suburban housewives of america" must read this article. biden will destroy your neighborhood and your american dream. i will preserve it and make it even better." jonathan, is this the strategy? >> well, brian, first of all, i'll say a lesser guest would note that dr. fauci's first pitch was him flattening the curve. i will of course leave all my anti-mario rivera material on the sideline here for you. yeah, that tweet is part of a strategy here. i don't think -- i think we can question how effective those particular 280 characters were of the president trying to win back some of the support he has lost, particularly among suburban voters and within, where he and his party are really suffering, they did in 2018, they are again now, and senior citizens as well. they're doing so by playing up this idea of law and order, trying to project strength. they're really playing up these images that we're seeing in portland, these clashes with these military police. we have seen that he has

the other like a guy bum rushing the post office papering the walls with wanted posters leaving maggie haberman to post writing the president's twitter feed feels like he's producing a crime show and the rest of the country is having a different conversation, more relevant conversation to millions concerned whether they might catch a deadly disease. or their moms might or their dads or grandparents. which any other president, republican or democrat would be focused intensely if not obsessively on. instead, a couple hours before dr. fauci gave his chilling testimony, today the president was tweeting this. we are tracking down two an an arkest that threw paint on the statute. we have them on tape and they will face prison time. turn yourselves in now. that is where the president's head is. on catching a pair of vandals who threw paint on a statute in new york. couple blocks from my house. when he could be using that platform to save tens or even hundreds of thousands of lives. the tweet might read we are all americans and americans look out for each other. please wear a mask. might even do what d

perspective right now from "new york times" white house correspondent and cnn political analyst, maggie haberman. also, former professor william haseltine. author of "a family guide to covid, questions and answers for parents, grandparents, and children." maggie, there's certainly been a shift in how the president's approaching the pandemic. or at least, there has been, lately. today, instead of talking about the almost 150,000 dead in this country or outlining a strategy to fight, he boasts about the number of textsts as usual. is the president's plan, going forward, just continue, everything's going great while so many people continue to die? i mean, is there actually going to be some sort of a new plan? >> look, anderson, i think you've hit on what the issue is, which is that the white house, in many respects, is treating this, at least in terms of how the president approaches it, as a messaging challenge. not as a -- as a public health challenge. and something they need to have him address the specifics of. they are treating him almost lie a -- like a spokesman. like, he goes out and he talk

was taking the stage, stepping on his message was reporting from nbc and "the new york times" maggie haberman about his son, donald trump jr.'s girlfriend, former fox news employee and analyst getting covid, testing positive. now, they weren't on air force one on the way down, but it fits with a rally that was really, as we saw tonight and now we've seen it with our own eyes with the president onstage, a rally that has people packed together as if medical science and the greatest surge this week in covid ever, as if it's not occurring. michelle? >> well, i'd say, you know, let's say we all survive the trump presidency and there's still movies in the future. when somebody makes a sort of dark film rendition of these awful, awful four years, this, you know, surreal and noirish and frankly kind of fascist spectacle is going to be part of the denouement. i want to say something about cancel culture. there is no bigger practitioner of cancel culture in this country than donald trump. a man who has made it in his mission and his legacy to cancel barack obama, to extricate everything that barack oba

. >>> joining us now, maggie haberman from "the new york times." i appreciate you as well and the time we spend together. what jumped out at you from what peter navarro told john? >> he really wants to talk about hydroxychloroquine. that's what jumped out at me. he's been an evangelist for the administration and the hydroxychloroquine for a while but it's almost as if he works for someone who controls the federal government and the federal government rescinding the emergency use of hydroxychloroquine for treating the coronavirus. maybe it will turn out great but we don't know. and there clearly needs to be more studies and i don't think it's the media isn't talking about it. he didn't want to talk about his boss' comments about the confederate flag yesterday, that jumped out at me because there's nobody in the administration who seems to want to take up the mantel of what the president himself said and explain why it is that the president thought it was a mistake that nascar got rid of the confederate flag. >> it was interesting that he did that. l

was taking the stage, stepping on his message was reporting from nbc and "the new york times" maggie haberman about his son, donald trump jr.'s girlfriend, former fox news employee and analyst getting covid, testing positive. now, they weren't on air force one on the way down, but it fits with a rally that was really, as we saw tonight and now we've seen it with our own eyes with the president onstage, a rally that has people packed together as if medical science and the greatest surge this week in covid ever, as if it's not occurring. michelle? >> well, i'd say, you know, let's say we all survive the trump presidency and there's still movies in the future. when somebody makes a sort of dark film rendition of these awful, awful four years, this, you know, surreal and noirish and frankly kind of fascist spectacle is going to be part of the deknew mau. i want to say something about cancel culture. there is no bigger practitioner of cancel culture in this country than donald trump. a man who has made it in his mission and his legacy to cancel barack obama, to extry pate everything that barack ob

. >> with us this sunday to share the reporting and their insights, maggie haberman of "the new york times," tolu olorunnipa. we saw this past week an attempt to pivot, an attempt to be more responsible in the briefings about the coronavirus. he was better. i'm not going to say he was great. we could break the fact check machine with some of the things. does team trump believe in the past week he at least laid the building blocks of a comeback? >> they absolutely do. team trump is very happy with what happened in the past week. they think that if he can stick to this, again, big word is if, if he can narrowly focus on the coronavirus when he does briefings, if he can stop fighting with reporters, if he can stop, you know, wallowing in self-pity, which he has been doing for many months now, they think they can be in position to have a chance in the fall. whether that's true or not depends on who you talk to. you talk to some republicans who think basically the president only has another four weeks until the convention which is going to be very scaled back to get himself in position. b

maggie haberman points out biden didn't have any in person fundraisers last month.sident had two. from the "washington post" phil rucker, "new york times" reporter nick and senior adviser to the biden campaign. nothing moves donald trump -- a former military personal member says if putin grabs anything here it's trump's political pain. >> he's privately furious about it and hands complaining to his advisers and campaign team about why he's losing to joe biden. he likes nothing less than to be labeled a loser. that's his fear here and that's his reality as well four months ahead of the november election. nicolle, talking to republican strategists, there's a growing fear in the party that trump is going to cost the party their senate majority and could endanger other elections up and down the ballot. there's a real anxiety about that right now and an urgency to get the president back on track. >> nick, it's hard not to tie the fate of senate republicans to their refusal to even hear witnesses in donald trump's impeachment or their sort of trepidation to step away from

maggie haberman, also of "the times," live tweeted the event and as she watched it, tweeted this. quote, the president seems surprised by some of what he's reading from his own notes. talks through a few lines and then says them again, end quote. the president's loosening grasp on even his own reality comes as the predictions for the toll the pandemic is expected to take on our country go from dire to catastrophic. new modeling from researchers at the university of washington now predicts that more than 224,000 americans could lose their lives by november. there's a glimmer of hope in a new vaccine, but most doctors warn that it's still very early. those developments come as new reporting in "the washington post" underscores and details donald trump's abdication of leadership, as the pandemic emergency intensifies. they write this, quote. there is no cohesive national strategy, apart from unenforced federal health guidelines. instead, the administration is offering a patchwork of solutions, often in reaction to outbreaks after they occur. although trump and his team declare sweepi

q and a broke out, that's when we heard him wishing well an accused sex trafficker as maggie habermanst night, think of the people in federal custody he's not wished well, think of the presums of innocence of all those arrested and locked up who are people of color, who have not been wished well by the president. >> well, i don't know if this was a roger stone kind of code, that's scary. it's very deeply disturbing thing for him to wish well to someone who literally was an accomplice to jeffrey epstein and victimizing young women, she hadn't been convicted yet but i think it's pretty clear what happened there. >> i also have ready to play for you the now-famous exchange with chris wallace about the test the president took. we'll talk on the other side. >> in the fox poll they asked people who is more competent, whose mind is sounded? biden beats you in that. >> i tell you what, let's take a test. let's take a test right now. let's go down, joe and i will take a test. let me take the same test -- >> incidentally i took the test when i heard you passed it. it's not the hardest test. >>