tony schwartz joins me now from new york. welcome to the program. >> thank you. >> i just want to ask you what you think as you sit there sort of taking in this year. did you ever think the man would be president and did you ever think this is how the year would end with this legislative victory after the ups and downs? >> two questions you asked. the first one is no, i never imagined that he would be president. it was inconceivable to me even up to 7:30 the night of the election. that's a simple answer. in terms of how the year is ending, you know, this has been a year of so much pain for me and for most americans that one more horrible event, no, i'm not enormously surprised. >> you say so much pain. your old editors called you doctor frankenstein for putting donald trump on the map. why so much pain? it was a bestseller and you defined a bid. >> well, in some sense it's self evident. this is a man who is putting the future of civilization at stake. he is a danger to the republic and i knew deep in my heart that that's exac

amy: so that was tony schwartz, who i think ghostwrote the book "the art of the deal," very close tomp for a period of time. what are your thoughts about what he said? >> well, as you know, he has a chapter in the book, even though he's nototounted amomong the 27 experts. we do hahave three oththers whoe been included for their special insight, their special experience with mr. trump. and we included him because he has special insight into these matters. and i would agree with his assessment. we speak often. we share our observations. and we're both deeply concerned. amy: the chapter that tony schwartz wrote in your book, "i wrote the art of the deal with donald trump. his self-sabotage is rooted in his past." explain his point here. >> well, there's actually a lot that's outlined. it's a reprint of an article that he wrote, i believe for the new yorker. he outlines very much his interactions and experiences with the president. and he describes, most markedly, this emptiness, this -- what he calls a black hole level of self-esteem or self-worth that is missing, whereby he can have al

. >> if you heard me laughing way too audibly with tony schwartz, sorry about that. >> we laugh about the apocalypse. >> thank you so much. >>> good day to all of you. i'm alex witt here at msnbc world headquarters. it is high noon in the east, 9:00 a.m. out west and here's what's happening right now. the massive tax plan comes one step closer to reality. republicans say they have the votes, but what does it all mean for you? >> i think it's going to do very, very well. >> where are all the benefits going? the vast majority are going to the wealthy. >> also, the president trashing the fbi and the russia investigation and he's not ruling out a pardon for former national security advisor michael flynn. >>> the seven words you can never say at the cdc. the new report about a list that includes the words diversity and entitlement. >>> and she's gone but not fading into the sunset. what to make about omarosa's complaints about the lack of diversity at the white house. >>> but we begin with that massive tax plan as it comes one step closer to reality. the final version of that republican bi

president trump's coauthor tony schwartz predicted i pray trump will resign by year end to avoid worseiliation, indictment by mueller or 25th amendment removal. vince, the list of these predictions from trump being exiled to the economy imploding. there is no end of all the experts warning us of all the doom and gloom. n't didn't work out that way. >> no, it didn't. that comes from a place of underestimating his ability to get things done or overestimating his core for evil. he has a colorful twitter account and watched over a pretty successful year getting legislation that outweighs many other presidents. you can look back on this year and was able to get the over the finish line. charles: you would have to be awake 24 hours a day just to keep up with him. tammy: i think they were less predictions than they were hopes and dreams. the even tire january. look at the campaign. no, he wasn't frightened out of the campaign or forced to resign. if him winning the campaign and getting rid of the bush and clinton dynasty wasn't enough. it's pie in the sky. so imagine if he had the support of

. >> tony schwartz.you coming here and telling us the insights that only you would have. >> you always get me talking in the most apocalyptic terms. is that you? >> it may be me. thank you very much. my experience with usaa has been excellent. they always refer to me as master sergeant. they really appreciate the military family, and it really shows. we've got auto insurance, homeowners insurance. had an accident with a vehicle, i actually called usaa before we called the police. usaa was there hands-on very quick very prompt. i feel like we're being handled as people that actually have a genuine need. we're the webber family and we are usaa members for life. usaa, get your insurance quote today. your body was made for better things than rheumatiod arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist move to another treatment, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. xeljanz xr is a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. it can reduce pain, swelling and further

not only tony schwartz, person who actually wrote "the art of the deal."called the white house a day-care center, you tweeted on friday, mr. trump, there's help for your deteriorating health called admitting guilt and telling the truth. why do you suppose even with republican background on the record questioning this president's mental stability they haven't been willing to actually do anything about it? >> the republican party is in disarray. i don't know that it is a party anymore. first of all, you're absolutely correct. they're silent. they aren't saying anything. called him a moron, tillerson did. people questioning his mental health and look what they just did with this tax reform bill? created a $1 trillion deficit when they're supposed to be the conservatives concerned about our budget, concerned about our expenditures. so i don't know who the republicans are anymore. they're simply now tax and spend republicans, they're simply republicans who are standing behind a president who's taking us to war, who's bullying, who's taunting, who's carrying us

not only tony schwartz who wrote "the art of the deal," bob corker who has called the white house an daycare center. you tweeted on friday, mr. president, there's help for your deteriorating mental health. it's called admitting guilty and telling the truth. why do you suppose they haven't been willing to do anything about this president's mental instability? >> the republican party is in disarray. i don't know that it is a party anymore. first of all, you're absolutely correct. they're silent. they aren't saying anything. tillerson called him a moron. people are questioning his mental health. look what they just did with this tax reform bill. they created a $1 trillion deficit when they're supposed to be the conservatives concerned about our budget, concerned object our expenditures. so i don't know who the republicans are anymore. they're simply now tax and spend republicans. there are simply republicans who are standing behind a president who's taking us to war, who's bullying, who's taunting, who's carrying us right into a war with north korea. i don't know that there is a republi