rex tillerson didn't have the mental capacity needed. he was dumb as a rock and i couldn't get rid of him fast enough. he was lazy as hell. it was right around this time last year that nbc news first reported tillerson called the president a moron, something tillerson refused to confirm at the time. with us tonight, our own andrea mitchell, nbc news chief foreign affairs correspondent and, of course, the host of the noon hour eastern time on this network. and still with us, we have prevailed upon the chief white house correspondent for the "new york times," peter baker to hang out with us or a little longer. andrea, you had a front row seat on the tillerson era at the state department. what did you make of this conversation with our mutual friend mr. schieffer? >> well, trust bob schieffer to be able to get that out of rex tillerson. that was the most honest, direct statement i'd ever heard from rex tillerson. he never fully denied the moron question when we reported it, as you recall, and when we asked him, he said, you know, i never di

i want to you listen to this rex tillerson interview and keep in mind tillerson is known to be tight-lippedlly hunkered down since he's left state in march, very safe with his word choice. he has not spoken out at all since leaving. >> we did not have a common value system. when the president would say, well, here's what i want to do and here's how i want to do it and i'd have to say to him, mr. president, i understand what you want to do, but you can't do it that way, it violates the law, it violates a treaty. he got really frustrated, and i think he grew tired of me being the guy every day that told him you can't do that. he acts on his instincts and in some respects that looks like impulsiveness, but it's not his intent act on impulse. i think he really is trying to act on his instincts. it was challenging for me coming from the disciplined, highly process-oriented exxon mobil corporation to go to work for a man who is pretty undisciplined, doesn't like to read, doesn't read briefing reports, doesn't like to get into the details of things but rather says, look, this is what i believe. >>

remember, nbc news reported that rex tillerson called president trump a m pochlt ron he had to brief him on so many policy matters. these tensions were simering while tillerson was here and exploded after he left. and then again this tweet, remarkable he would speak about his former secretary of state in this way. now, in terms of his current chief of staff, john kelly being on his way out, again, we do have four sources saying, look, he is expected to leave in the coming days. and it comes after all the tensions with the chief of staff and some of the top officials here, john bolton, the national security adviser, they have clashed over immigration issues. other policy matters. john kelly has -- we reported several weeks ago clashed with the first lady's team. that got under president trump's skin. and bottom line, president trump has largely moved beyond having a chief of staff. he has gone back to sort of directing things himself here at the west wing. when kblkt is he going to garratt we are not sure. but we know one of the names that emerged as his likely replacement, nick ayers,

here's what he said about rex tillerson when he was trying to hire him. whether i choose him or not he is a world class player and deal maker. i've chosen one of the truly great business leaders of the world, rex tillerson, to be secretary of state. but now he's dumb and lazy as hell. speaking of lazy as hell, this was trump's official schedule today. here it is 12:30, the president has lunch with the vice president. closed press. why is that is correct of all the white house events, there's nothing i'd like more than to see mike pence hand-feeding french fries to president trump. but he was up tweeting about the russia investigation. robert mueller released a sentencing memo for michael cohen and then alleges the president directed cohen to make two illegal hush money payments to keep karen stormy daniels quiet. no smocking gun. there was no collusion. so now the dems go to a simple project transaction, wrongly call it a campaign contribution, dot, dot, dot. and we wait 14 minutes, which i guess he went out and took a smock braeak during this time. but i

rex tillerson didn't have the mental capacity needed.dumb as a rock and i couldn't get him fast enough. he was lazy as hell. congresswoman harmon, i guess they won't be sending christmas cards to each other this year. >> i have no idea why rex tillerson did thatinterview . >>chris: we love that he did that interview. well, fine. congratulations on 15 years on fair and balanced inkling of this show. big deal. back to this, i came of age when john kennedy said ask not what your country can do for you. ask what you can do for your country.we just buried a present for duty, honor and country where the theme of his service over his entire lifetime. i think rex tillerson came to washington out of the feeling of duty, honor and country. i think he was an excellent head at exxon. >>chris: he was not a very good secretary of state. >> he had no experience at the state department and certainly was a misstep with president trump. i think the latest tweet is a sad, a lack of civility and respect for honorable people who come to serve. >>chris: rex t

and undisciplined on the part of rex tillerson. what's the point here? he said nothing new. i disagree. i mean, the fact that the president wanted to do some things that were illegal? the president campaigned to do things that were, quote, against the law. >> if you heard obama's secretary of state -- if john kerry gave an interview tomorrow and said, you know, this has been on my mind. there were times obama asked me to do illegal things -- >> yeah, but -- like deliver cash to the iranians. >> totally fair. i would say we want to know if the president was asking his secretary of state to do something illegal, just like you would want to know more if kerry said that. >> and i think it's important that some of the things that rex tillerson said that confirm things we've heard about the president not reading, et cetera -- president trump has called that fake news. now we have a former cabinet secretary saying on the record, on camera, that these things are true. >> i want to ask you to switch topics for a second. because heather nauert, the former spokeswoman for the state dep

who has turned out to be an extraordinary back and forth in a rhetorical war heating up between rex tillerson and the president. remember last july, it was widely reported that tillerson called the president advisers. later tillerson would not deny he said it, but he also said re president trump is going after him. it happened minutes ago. john roberts has the details from the north lawn. wow! >> and there were some people last year that said that no, tillerson did not call the president a moron. he called him an f-ing moron. so we don't know exactly what was said, but that's what some people said. the former secretary of state was at the m.d. anderson cancer center in houston for a question and answer forum. bob schieffer was the questioner. tiller said that the president would say here's what i want to do and here's how i want to do it. i would have to say to him, mr. president, i understand what you want to do but you can't do it that way. it violates the law and the treaty. he had some other choice words for the president. listen here. >> he acts on his instincts and in some respects it l

rex tillerson didn't have the mental capacity needed.mb as a rock, and i couldn't get rid of him fast enough. he was lazy as hell. let's bring in d. lemon. don, this is the presidential version of the i'm to hear him confirm what was speculated about at the time and reported on -- and the president always said it wasn't true. he doesn't like to read. he doesn't pay attention to the briefings. he's frustrated by details. he'd rather tell you how he peoples. and he got frustrated by tillerson saying to him, you can't do that. it's illegal. you can't do that. it violates a treaty. i mean wow. >> it wasn't speculated on. he says he goes with his gut. he knows more than the generals. it's not the presidential version of i'm rubber and you're glue. it's the presidential version of projection. everything he says usually negative about someone else is what we can confirm about himself. >> it reminded me of during the debate with hillary clinton. you know, this guy's putin's puppet. all of a sudden, you see the president go, puppet? i'm no puppet

she also worked for rex tillerson.es have some experience. >> the key thing about donald trump is he was elected to disrupt and change the country. we're seeing it in his appointments. rare is the one like bill barr that has establishment support. >> and just on the military again. why nine months early on a military appointment? >> i have no idea. >> julie?s a great question. it's a bit of a mystery about why -- we don't know what this means about dunford. if he'll leave early. or if this transition is going to take nine months. >> go back to the mueller probe quickly. and the southern district of new york. which we have been talking about all morning. how much does this damage donald trump going forward? >> i think politically, i'm not sure, frankly. because we have seen, up until this point, republicans largely stand with him, as we get revelations in the sdny probe relating to payments to women and in the mueller probe. i thought it was interesting in your interview with senator rubio where he noted that a pardon f

he himself hired rex tillerson. he says he only hires the best people. what sparked this feud? e interview this week. >> i have never met donald trump until the day he asked me to be secretary of state. he acts on his instincts. in some respects that looks like impulsiveness, but it's not his intent to act on impulse. i think he really is trying to act on his instincts. it was challenging for me coming from the disciplined, highly process-oriented exxonmobil corporation to go to work for a man who is pretty undisciplined, doesn't like to read, doesn't read briefing reports, doesn't like to get into the details of a lot of things. >> bear in mind, tillerson is known to be disciplined, to be rather tight-lipped, safe with his word choice. now, this feud just adds to what was a heck of the week for this president. >> why do you think he is just speaking up about this now? >> there were a lot of reports to this effect that i believe tillerson denied when he was still in the administration. we've seen a lot in the various books that have come out about this administration. the first

his predecessor, rex tillerson, didn't have the mental capacity needed. he was dumb as a rock and i couldn't get rid of him fast enough. he was lazy as hell. now it is a whole new ball game. great spirit at state!"

i know rex tillerson said he doesn't like to read. that's not what i read. you? >> he doesn't like to write much either when he's got problems. he didn't want to address any of the reality of what he's confronted. he may not even be up on what he's dealing with here. you know, it is just a mystery, this man, who has his former secretary of state said how difficult it was working with a president who won't read his briefing papers, who has a very short attention span, who wants to do things his way, whether they're legal or not. so this is what we're seeing. he thinks his gut reaction to all this is the guiding light, and i just think he's getting himself in deeper and deeper. >> and the more that he struggles against this, the more he implicates himself in obstruction of justice by saying that roger stone and manafort should not cooperate. all these things setting himself up for witness tampering. he's making his troubles worse the more that he lashes out here. >> let me ask you, you said that you don't think that they'll do anything about it, because, quote, he

the president hired rex tillerson, the man he now calls dumb as a rock and lazy as hell. he hired john kelly, the man who won't even speak to him now. he hired paul manafort to run his campaign at the most crucial moment when he won the name nation. he hired michael flynn, the former national security adviser, who pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi about his contacts with the russian ambassador. he hired michael cohen, who pleaded guilty. do you want me to go on? i mean i only have two hours tonight if there isn't more breaking news by the end of this. on and on. that tells you a lot about donald trump's judgment about people. and here is something else, something else that calls his judgment into question. remember what he said after the deadly violence in charlottesville? >> you also had people that were very fine people on both sides. you had people in that group -- excuse me. excuse me. i saw the same pictures as you did. >> look at me. very fine people on both sides. very fine people on both sides. one of those very fine people was found guilty today of first-degree

rex tillerson didn't have the mental capacity needed.mb as a rock and i couldn't get rid of them fast enough. he was lazy as hell. congresswoman, i guess that will be sending christmas cards to each other this year. >> i have no idea why rex tillerson did that interview. >> chris: would love that he did that interview. >> fine. >> chris: we like people airing their dirty laundry. >> congratulations on fair and balanced anchoring on the show, thank you. really big deal. >> chris: thank you. if i was going to get there without that. >> we didn't. i came of age when john kennedy said that's not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. we just bury a president where duty, honor and country where the theme of his service over his entire lifetime and i think rex tillerson came to washington out of a feeling of duty, honor and country and i think he was an excellent head at exxon and what went on -- >> chris: he was not a very good secretary of state. >> that's right. he had no experience at the state department a

from president trump, who tweeted, "rex tillerson didn't have the mental capacity needed for the job." this as another shake-up looms in the administration. weijia jiang is at the white house. >> reporter: white house sources tell cbs news chief of staff john kelly already has one foot out the door, and his imminent exit could be made official as early as tonight. >> he's doing an excellent job in many ways. >> reporter: president trump has repeatedly waved off rumors of kelly's departure, despite their deteriorating relationship. by last month, he refused to say kelly would stick around through 2020. >> there are certain things i love what he does and there are certain things that i don't like that he does. >> reporter: the leading candidate to replace kelly is vice president pence's current chief of staff, nick ayers. >> the president of the united states. >> reporter: today, while sharing a stage with the acting attorney general, mr. trump said he's nominating someone else for the full-time job. >> i am nominating, as matt said, william barr to take the helm as our new attorney ge

by the way, here's what trump said about rex tillerson when he was trying to hire him.hether i choose him or not he is a world class player and deal maker. this is what he said when he did fire -- hire him. i've chosen one of the truly great business leaders of the world, rex tillerson, to be secretary of state. but now he's dumb and lazy as hell. speaking of lazy as hell, this was trump's official schedule today. they publish his schedule every day. here it is, 12:30, the president has lunch with the vice president. closed press. why is that closed to the press? of all the white house events there's nothing i'd love more than to see mike pence hand-feeding french fries to donald trump. [ laughter ] but he was up tweeting about the russia investigation. on friday you know special counsel robert mueller released a sentencing memo for trump's former lawyer michael cohen which among other things alleges the president directed cohen to make two illegal hush money payments to keep karen mcdougal and stormy daniels quiet. "no smocking gun, no collusion." that's because there

rex tillerson was dub as a rock and i couldn't get rid of him fast enough. he was lazy as hell. pirit at state. tillerson ran a global corporation, very profitable. widely respected as one of the top ceos in the country. comments like that make the president look a little pessy you think? >> look, rex tillerson negotiated deals as the ceo of exxon that where the rounding error was greater than every penny donald trump has ever made in his entire life. this is who has scene as somebody who led a gigantic multinational corporation successfully. this is not some two-bit manhattan person that puts his name on building and goes bankrupt every five years. trump is always jealous of business success and makes him . he said he was uncomfortable with the president's management style. how is anyone shocked by this now? look, we saw it today, southern district of new york was reporting -- >> i got to run, rick -- >> ask people to commit felonies. >> i don't think people are that shocked what the he said but he said it out loud. thank you, appreciate it. we'll be right back. (music throughou

first of all, it's remarkable that rex tillerson has kept his mouth shut since being shown the door intreated very well by this white house, by this president. this was quite a coming out last night in houston, at a dinner where presumably an awful lot of prominent republicans in texas were there. tillerson might have viewed this for his moment to start coming out with his version of his time in the white house and not painting a very flattering picture of the president. thank you, sir. >> sources telling cnn that president trump has been expressing anxiety about this weeks's extreme volatility in the stock market. you see the dow down 522 points this afternoon this afternoon. and his surprise that his trade truce with china hasn't done more to settle nerves. details next. breathe freely fast, with vicks sinex. my congestion's gone. i can breathe again! ahhhh! i can breathe again! ughh! vicks sinex. breathe on. ...and i found out that i'ma from the big toe lian. of that sexy italian boot! so this holiday season it's ancestrydna per tutti! order your kit now at ancestry.com for each job

this, i think, what rex tillerson said and some of rex tillerson's reported comments throughout his tenureecretary of state, i think quite frankly should be a bigger story. rex tillerson said in that interview that donald trump wanted to break the law. the secretary of state is talking about the president he served under and is saying that donald trump actively sought to break the united states laws. it was reported that right after rex tillerson came into office and he was in the oval in february donald trump had just been inaugurated, that donald trump was speaking to him about the foreign corrupt practices act and why couldn't we get rid of it. and rex tillerson had to explain, well, that exists to actually help americans and to help american businesses abroad. we need to keep those laws in place. but why was donald trump so fascinated with breaking laws as president? >> i'm just kind of hurt because i thought dumb as a rock was mine. that's what he said about me. >> he did, because you are from southern poland, so it always goes -- >> i was dumb as a rock and now he's using it on rex.

decided that he didn't like tillerson deference to curb some of his instincts and foreign policy rex tillerson recently said during an appearance in houston that he had seen was persuade the president many times not to do things that rex tillerson knew would be illegal the departure of h.r. mcmaster the celebrated general who had written the perhaps the textbook on how not to fight a war the war in vietnam he was driven out as the national security adviser because again he was the one who said that we needed to stay a key member of the united nations of nato of other international institutions and mr trump didn't want to hear a charge that masters advice so he has left you see this happening over and over again and what you have left in the wake is really the sense that donald trump is going to be acting in terms of things in terms of policies that would perhaps be more pleasing to people in moscow or in beijing or in rather than what is most appropriate for first washington and then for haps for its allies in europe and in other parts of the world very very real sense of alarm here in washing

he used the same epithet actually applied to rex tillerson that he's applied to you before. >> i knowd. i was like wow, i'm up there with rex tillerson. >> hey, ceo of exxon and former secretary of state. think about the bush funeral. >> i'll take everything. i'll take the money but everything else rex tillerson can have, including his time working in this administration. listen, let's -- michael, i printed out all the tweets from today, right? but the -- it ended with totally clears the president. thank you. >> well, right. >> what's he talking about? >> i'm 6'4", i've got a nice head of hair and i'm very athletic. >> television adds pounds and inches and hair. >> this is -- this is a collision of reality represented by the southern district of new york and robert mueller and abject lying in the part of donald trump but also all the people around him, and this is one of the shocking things that you alluded to at the start of this segment is that we now have five major associates of the president of the united states who have been found guilty or pled guilty to serious crimes. and we'

trump praised secretary of state mike pompeo and criticized his predecessor tweeting, "rex tillerson didn't have the mental capacity needed. he was dumb as a rock and i couldn't get rid of him fast enough and he was lazy as heck." the president's twitter follows remarks from last night where he said in texas the president tried to get him to do things that were illegal. >>> still to come we've seen pictures from mars, but now we're hearing sound from mars. >> we'll play you the first ever audio taken from the martian surface. find out what's making those fumbling sounds on the red planet. >> plus a salmon run in the middle of downtown, the bay area city where creeks are now thriving. >> appeared to be intoxicated and then began to continue running with the wise man in his hands. >> a bay area grinch caught in the act carrying a piece of one of the church's nativity sfx: tinny headphone music sfx: feet shuffling life can change in an instant. be covered when it does... ...with a health plan through covered california. we offer free expert help choosing the best plan for you. and all o

the guy he fired by the way over a tweet who didn't even -- so rex tillerson -- >> and then called dumb and lazy. >> right. i don't think that rex tillerson was somebody donald trump wanted, he was recommended by like condi rice and some others. and i think trump felt like i need somebody with gra-- somebo who looks the part so we'll make him sex. same thing with john kelly. it is not really a trump guy i think trump is past that, he is past feeling like i need to have people who have this impression. now what trump wants are people who are basically loyal to him and maybe actually just logistics. i think nick ayers certainly is not going to challenge the president as somebody -- he's not like a general or something like that. but he will probably implement the president's agenda in a pretty efficient manner and that is what the president wants. >> all right. we shall see. matt lewis, maria cardona, good to see you. >>> next, a new report about the relationship between jared kushner and the crown prince of saudi arabia. and the contacts they had following the murder of jamal khashoggi.

so the fact is that rex tillerson, while he said some pretty incredible things, didn't make any news.thing we knew. on the leadership side, that's an interesting.that lauren raised. tillerson also is a former ceo. one of the differences is tillerson was a ceo of a successful company, donald trump was ceo of one that had its troubles in the past. >> julie: they're working for america not necessarily the man in the white house. but then to go and talk about the white house, or whomever is in the oval office at the time is almost a slap in the face, is it not? >> it depends -- >> julie: is it not giving a message to other countries that clearly he does not respect the president. if you had respect for your former boss, you don't speak to him about that way, lauren? >> i don't agree with that. i think we're a democracy. yes, tillerson served at the pleasure of the president. we are a democracy. that means everyone has a voice. there does need to be transparency about what is going on in the white house at any given moment. i don't think that he was also being disrespectful. he wasn't bash

today the president tweeted, "rex tillerson didn't have the mental capacity needed.rock and i couldn't get rid of him faorr a offering. it is expected to be one of the most hotly anticipated tech company stock market debuts in the new year. rival lyft also filed for an ipo today. the new york times reports that the two companies are rushing to beat each other to public markets. >>> trouble for an innovative attempt to clean up the great pacific garbage patch, the massive collection of debris in the pacific between california and hawaii, the nonprofit n auo francisco bay in september with a 2,000-foot long cleaning device aimed at corralling some of that trash, but recently the team saw some plastic had been escaping. it could be because it's moving too slowly or vibrat be ing the team isrk fix priceypr move is a sour note. people are questioning why concord police had to spend $34,000 on a video for the lip sync challenge. ♪ you look at me and take me to another place ♪ >> the video features lip syncing sergeants and cops from concord. videos like this one have been

rex tillerson didn't have the mental capacity needed.dn't get rid of him fast enough. he was lazy as hell. wow. what do you say to that? >> scathing. also, not surprising. this is how trump sort of turns on folks who turn on him. >> he hits back harder. >> and blunter. again, i think this points to a similar problem at chief of staff who would want to come into this administration. you know this will be you eventually. one day you will be on the receiving end of this the other thing is what it says about trump's judgment that he hires people he thinks are dumb and lazy. this is not the first time he has called someone. >> it's madness. slult madness. he hired difficulterson in the first meeting he mitt him. he had not donnie proper background checks and talked to people. this is -- secretary of state is one of the three or four most powerful jobs in the government. enormously important not only for this country here, but to our relationships overseas. had tillerson tell the world, this guy kept on presenting illegal plans to me, and i tr

. >> and here's rex tillerson talking quite candidly. >> the president would say here's what i want told have to say to him, mr. president, i understand what you want to do but you can't do it that way. it violates the law. >> that was -- >> among other things. >> details. >> a lot of people said why is rex tillerson speaking out? he was ready and he had a forum. do you think there's any other reason? >> he has been tight-lipped and this was an unvarnished look at a president that doubles down in a lot of the descriptions we have heard. with the people who work closest with him it does not breed respect and loyalty. the unvarnished truth is deeply unflattering. and friday was such a big news day, and normally that would be front page stuff. the president kept asking me to break the law. that's nuts. >> the president fired back with a tweet. he says mike pompeo is doing a great job, tillerson's replacement, and i am proud of him. rex tillerson did not have the mental capacity needed, he's dumb as a rock and he was lazy as hell and now it's a whole new ball game. >> we know the secretary

we will see the next time rex tillerson comes out in public.ether mark seki gives the communist chinese firm should be arrested for their violation of u.s. sanctions against iran. 94% of you said yes. on wall street stocks plummeted ending the week with a selloff that dow down 559 points the s&p lost 63 the nasdaq down 219. volume on the big board 4.4 million shares. the s&p and nasdaq down nearly 5%. stocks losing big today. facebook down nearly 2%. amazon another 4% netflix down more than 6%, google down 3%. not a great day for crude oil up a% at $52 a barrel crude oil prices rising after opec decision to cut oil production by 1.2 billion barrels a day. gold up, copper relatively flat. and that is it for us tonight. thanks for being with us. have a great weekend and good night from new york. trish: breaking right now kind of details pouring in after special counsel robert mueller issues a series of memos in connection with his russian investigation. plus so far no apparent proof of collusion with russia. robert mueller now alleging former tru

i wonder if you are surprised to hear this from rex tillerson.ou think of the -- a non-exhaustive list of the things that president trump has done and the courts have said hey, that's not legal. things that had to be revised or struck down. the muslim ban, making it easier to fire federal employees and asylum ban. this is not like we departmeidn this happened. >> tillerson was probably one of the early messengers. i don't think he was the go to guy for what's legal and what's not for the president of the united states. his former coo of a large multinational conversations. for him to have reacted by saying mr. trump, you can't do that, it's illegal begs the question of what odd request that trump was making. >> what do you think? >> you know what happens to yes men? they get prosecuted. that's really the issue that he said i'm not going to be a yes man to help you facilitate things that will be unlawful. the yet that even if a layman, maybe on the business side and industry for them to recognize and point out this is an illegal action to take rea

that's how rex tillerson is describing his former boss. we're going to tell you what the president said in response. ♪ [upbeat music] you wouldn't feel good not knowing the price here. don't let it happen when you buy your diabetes test strips. with the accu-chek® guide simplepay program, you pay the same low price. all without having to go through insurance. plus, they come in a spill-resistant vial along with a free meter. skip the guessing game and focus on your health. not the cost. make saving simple today at simplepaysaves.com. ibut it doesn't always come naturally. this i can do, easily. benefiber® healthy shape is a 100% natural prebiotic fiber that's clinically proven to help me feel fuller longer. benefiber® healthy shape. this i can do! you've got to get in i know what a bath is smile honey this thing is like... first kid ready here we go by their second kid, every parent is an expert and... ...more likely to choose luvs, than first time parents. live, learn and get luvs super emma just about sleeps in her cape. but when we real

his predecessor rex tillerson dent have the mental capacity needed.was dumb as a rock and i couldn't get rid of him fast enough. he was lazy as hell. now it is a whole new ball game. great spirit at state. >> all that was needed was hashtag be best. >> geez. >>> former fbi director james comey spoke with nicole wallace about the lingering questions he has had about his january 2017 briefing of president trump about russia's 2016 attack on democracy. >> what did you think when the president of the united states started working on a press release instead of asking one question about an american adversary trying to hurt this country? >> it was really troubling. i started going to the whys. something really weird is going on here. and that weirdness continued where he would not even criticize putin in private. and trying to understand that just kept running through my head, so why is this? >> comey told the house judiciary and oversight committees that he launched an investigation into leaks about the hillary clinton e-mail investigation that he suspected

let me just say that we talk about rex tillerson, the first secretary of state. we talk bottega cohen, the former economic advisor. we talk about rob porter. those are individuals who worked at the highest levels of the trump administration. but through their actions, and through the president's observations, i think, he came to understand that they weren't on his team and that they were undermining him or playing -- slowed the process down whether it was on trade -- mostly on trade issues with gary cohen. the president use and wants to continue to use tariffs and gary cohen was very much against that policy. and i think that you -- we have the story in our book, and it's been widely report that gary cohen actually took a document, off the president's desk, the resolute desk in the oval office he took a document of the desk that the president was but to sign in order to slow down the policy. in order to stall it. in order to make sure that the president didn't enact that at moment, and i think that the president, as he learned about the job, because there's no cl

the second nominee former secretary of state rex tillerson, tillerson got a similar firing with trumpouncing his replacement in a morning tweet. the daily beast reported that chief of staff john kelly said he gave tillerson a heads up on the news while tillerson was on the toilet. and last but certainly not least, former epa administrator scott pruitt. after months of increasingly bad headlines and questions over how he still had a job trump wrote, i have accepted the resignation of scott pruitt. as the administrator of the environmental protection agency. within the agency scott has done an outstanding job. we're back with our panel, sam steen, inevery ruben, jason johnson and dana. what's the word, on the throne? >> should we even bother talking about it, this is undebatable. it's not just because the daily beast reported it. that you were fired while on the can is the most inglorious, dehumanizing of a way -- >> are you sitting down? >> this man was running exxonmobil two years ago and then to end in this fashion, unreal. >> it's not like they had footage of it. >> we have a mental

people like gary cohn and rob porter and sean spicer and some others, rex tillerson. look, they had own agenda as well but they were not elected to be the president. look, , we saw this too many tis with the president the presider specific policy or specific action item to get done, and the staff would walk up and just completely disregard the they would use subversion, stalling techniques, the old man is going to forget. that's not what happened but they used their positions of influence to say we can't get it done this way. he wants to get things done. he's a businessman who brought that business mentality to washington, and his staff by large at the beginning did a very serious disservice to them and when i think to the american people. >> jimmy choo sean spicer who was compiled not sure what his title was but he was spokesman for a time. you wrote in the book that he really initialed did want to be part of the campaign and came aboard as he said reluctantly. after president trump one. how significant was that or was he as a plate of this. sharyl, let me say, in th

enrique: y el presidente arremetiÓ hoy en contra de su ex secretario de estado, rex tillerson, en aparenterio la casa blanca. trump halagÓ a su actual jefe diplomÁtico y crÍtico a stevenson por no tener la capacidad necesario. patricia: estos inmigrantes que aseguran haber trabajado como indocumentadas en el club de golf del presidente trump en new jersey dicen que sus supervisores sabÍan que usaron papeles falsos para obtener este empleo. afirman tambiÉn que decidieron hacer estas revelaciones migratorios, cansadas de lo que ellas califican como maltratos y agresiones verbales de sus jefes en el club del presidente. la carroza vilches conversÓ con ellas. blanca: caminan con libertad y todavÍa sonrían, pero saben que sus vidas han dado un giro repentino y temen por futuro. orina morales y sandra dÍas trabajaron como empleadas domÉsticas para el campo de golf de new jersey del presidente trump. y con documentos falsos, que segÚn ellas, los supervisores les ayudaron a conseguir. >> es tiempo de decir la verdad. blanca: rompen su silencio, citando abusos e insultos de sus supervisores. >> no

you nailed it. [ light laughter ] then trump called his former secretary of state rex tillerson "dumb" and "lazy as hell" after tillerson, in a rare interview, offered some brutal criticism of his former boss. >> he acts on his instincts and in some respects that looks like impulsiveness. but it's not his intent to act on impulse. i think he really is trying to act on his instincts. it was challenging for me coming from the disciplined, highly il corporation to go to work for a man who is pretty undisciplined, doesn't -- doesn't like to read. [ laughter ] >> seth: that's the former the president of the united states like he's mowgli. [ laughter ] "i mean, he doesn't mean to howl and walk on all fours. he was raised by wolves." [ laughter ] although in fairness to trump, the reason he doesn't like to read is that he is bad at it, even if he will never admit it >> through their lives -- and though their lives beating expectations in the house for the midtown -- and midterm year. they sacrifice every day for the furniture, and future of their children. [ laughter ] >> seth: instead of sa

hand a voice of reason that also included general john kelly the chief of staff on his way out rex tillerson the fired secretary of state and now mattis himself is leaving so it's a new era for the trump administration starting in two thousand and nineteen without the. widely seen as restraints on the president's more rough impulses all right well the i could be dull to left the room so to speak on this decision though didn't just sign. nato allies were also shocked by this policy change how will his resignation change the way that this alliance operates. well it was certainly a shock knowledge to nato allies but also within within washington we've seen a lot of republican legislators i within the president's own party coming out today saying that they're shocked or their dismayed some of them even calling it a sad day in america that mattis is stepping down and it really is unclear how things are going to move forward in both syria and afghanistan if u.s. troops are pulling out i mean we heard the russian president vladimir putin saying that this was the right move but it's no doubt that u.

you should fire him tomorrow or tonight, do it with a tweet like rex tillerson.t trump's political director, steppian worked for chris christie, bev that he worked for multiple establishment republicans, including joh john mccain, he hs to go. but this not just went immediate white house staff, scores of senior policymaking position in government are occupied by swamp creatures, many fighting the president's ajen athe worse is ted casinger, an adviser to steph dat state department and s been since 2008, he a never-trumper. he also a serial abuser of the revolving door. before joining lobbying firm, and mid 80s, he ran back through the revolving door in 2000s, joined commerce deputy before leaving again to join his current firm. he worked as a lobbyist on behalf of mayor energy klein, and advise russian and chinese state owned enterprises on of that gate -- navigating u.s. regulation and trade negotiation. what the hell is he doing in the state department. we have a state deputy stuffed with people who made a living of sucking up to china. we have a president to f

republican senator bob corker claimed mattis, along with white house chief of staff john kelly and rex tillerson were helping separate the country from chaos. leave nextis set to february 28. the islamic state group has launched an attack on syrian democratic forces in the southeast of the country, according to an official from the sdf. we will bring you more details as they come to hand. hearing,t we have been many observers are expressing concerns that with this resignation, there are no adults left in the room. >> lets go through the people who have left the administration, who were in that mainstream mold. left, h.r.on mcmaster left. john kelly is leaving at the end of this month. resigning.mattis decision onp's syria was the last straw. as we heard, there is a more fundamental rejection of trump's america first policy when it comes to foreign relations in that resignation letter. he says we cannot protect our interests without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to our allies. that is a key phrase and highlights how hard it is going to be for the administration to find a replac

at the state department adding that his predecessor rex tillerson can't have the mental capacity needed. the president adds he was dumb as a rock and i couldn't get rid of him fast enough, he was lazy as hell. he says now it is a whole new ball game, great spirit at state. kaitlan collins, cnn, the white house. >>> in charlottesville, virginia the man who drove a car into a crowd protesting a white nationalist rally was convicted of murder and nine other charges. 21-year-old james field was found guilty for the incident in august of 2017 which took 32-year-old heather heyer's life. he faces possible sentencing of life in prison. his defense tried to argue that field was panicking and acted in self-defense. he also faces 30 federal hate crime charges which will be decided in a separate case. >>> we're watching these live images from paris. and these are images from just moments ago where we understand tear gas has been fired into the crowd. you see the crowd is moving about. we understand now some 1500 protesters are on the streets of paris right now. they are protesting a fuel tax, and

the second nominee, former secretary of state rex tillerson. erson got a similar firing with a tweet. the daily beast said he gave tillerson a heads up on the news while tillerson was on the toilet. >>> and last, but certainly not least, former epa administrator scott pruitt. after months of increasingly bad headlines and questions over how he still had a job, trump wrote, i have accepted the resignation of scott pruitt. as the administrator of the environment protection agency. within the agency scott has done an outstanding job -- that's narrow ing it down. we're back with our panel. sam -- >> on the throne? why even bother talking about it? this is undebatable. not just because "the daily beast" reported it. you were fired while on the can is the most inglorious dehumanizing -- >> are you sitting down? >> this man was running exxon/mobil two years ago, and then to end in this fashion. >> it's not like they had footage of it, that would have been -- >> we have a mental image that will never go away. >> john kelly should get honorable mention b

(justine) to say president trump was not amused with former secretary of state rex tillerson's comments may be a bit of a understatement. the president wrote on twitter that tillerson was, quote, "dumb as a rock" and lazy, and didn't have the, quote, "mental capacity needed" to be secretary of state. (catherine) 77-years ago today the u.s. military suffered a devastating attack by the japanese at pearl harbor...(justine) now a special pearl harbor photo exhibit is on display in the bay area... kron4's haaziq madyun tells us where we can see it.. it is the 77th anniversary of pearl harbor day here at the uss hornet national world war ii museum in alameda. this year's commemoration features a special photographic display called infamy. uss hornet museum curator holly gallagher...sot

his predecessor, rex tillerson, didn't have the mental capacity needed. he was dumb as a rock and i couldn't get rid of him fast enough. would anybody in their right mind take a job with these people? >> nick ayers is about to. >> reporter: clearly, yes. >> everyone thinks they can be the one who can survive this wave. >> survive or tame trump? >> at this point i think taming trump is difficult to do. you manage the situation. the reality here is that the one person who is not changing position is the president. so regardless of who is around him, that is not changing. the biggest issue in the white house is talking to people, the offices are still somewhat empty. as the president heads into what is going to be the biggest challenge of his presidency with democrats on the house, looking into everything with this investigation, there are not a lot of people minding the store from the communication side of things, to the legal side of things. that is the challenge for nick ayers, people who aren't necessarily -- it's not as well staffed as it may need to be

he could pick up the phone and call rex tillerson. rex tillerson and jim are doing things.ick ayers will not tell donald trump. if you weren't worried as i am about the guardrails kind of going down here in the second half of whittaker and with a lot of the senior people leaving. young political operative. >> what about heather snrks a-- n nauert. i was thinking back. p then y then you look at samantha power, whether you like our politics or not, her credentials. she was a war correspondent. she was an adviser to barack obama. is she qualified for this position? >> in the trump administration. >> what is it a sliding scale? >> yes. let's compare it with nikki haley. she managed to get along with donald trump. she did things at the u.n. and did them capable. she was the governor of south carolina. she had a certain standing. i believe she could get on the phone with mike pompeo and say on this kind of thing, let's eeh if we can't talk the president into this. can she get on the phone with jim mattis and say can you walk me through some of the complexities of this possible re