bob costas a little younger, about half of bob woodward age as woodward notes in acknowledgment but he's already made a name for himself as national political reporter at the post where he's worked for nearly eight years following several years at the "national review." he's also served as moderator and managing editor of washington week on pbs and as a political analyst for nbc news and msnbc. no doubt many of you watching have heard or read some of the highlights of "peril." general milley has called -- chinese fears about trump possibly launching an attack or vice president mike pence searching for whether there indeed was some way he and cox could reject the election result only be told by none other than dan quayle to forget it. there's much more to this explosive page turner of a book which reads like like a thd will lead you aghast not only at how close the country came to the brink but also how perilous the future remains. the conversation with the authors will be pulitzer prize-winning columnist at the post who in his four decades with the paper also has covered city hall, repor

woodward and costa say they have all this information. all of the serious matter is being investigated, due to the severity of the allegation and our belief and due process and the perception of innocence, this is so serious that the only way i see to handle this is to immediately appoint a commission. it must be nonpartisan think general milley must be put on every street of pleading and then of course, pending this full investigation. he is the highest ranking military officials in the west. and not one of two things is true. milley is a dangerous preacher who can put our country in serious danger or woodward and costa are liars. and if woodward adds costa and the washington post are lying and slandering general milley because that would be slender, he will own the washington post and potentially probably a good chunk of it, not all of amazon considering jeff bezos owns both. after a massive defamation suit. i don't know the answer tonight. i know it is serious enough that it needs immediate attention. immediate appointment of a commiss

bob cost is a little younger about half woodward's age as woodward note in the acknowledgment the national political reporter at the post where he's worked for nearly eight years following several years at the national review. in moderating editor and a political analyst for nbc news and msnbc. no doubt they have heard or read the highlights in general milley with his counterpart in the chinese fears about trump possibly launching an attack were mike pence searching and whether in congress he could've rejected the election results only to be told by dan quayle to forget it, there is much more to this explosive page two turner of a book it'll leave you aghast not only at how close the country came to a break but also help pair realism the future remains. the conversation with authors will be jean robinson, pulitzer prize winning columnist at the post in the four decades of the paper also has covered city hall reported from europe and south america and that the south section additionally he is author of three books working on a fourth and appears frequently on msnbc as a political analyst. g

woodward and costa obtained an exclusive transcript of this call. and pelosi is as concerned about milley. they have a very blunt and dramatic call. pelosi wants to know are the nuclear weapons safe from trump. here's part of the exchange from the book. pelosi, who knows what he might do. he's crazy. you know he's crazy. he's been crazy for a long time. so don't say you don't know what his state of mind is. he's crazy, and what he did yesterday, meaning january 6th, is further evidence of his craziness. general milley responds, madame speaker, i agree with you on everything. so, ana, general milley in that call reassures nancy pelosi according to woodward and costa's reporting. but when he gets off the call, he realizes that she's correct and he decides to take this extraordinary action. >> so that call plus the calls with china, are what lead milley, then, to hold that top secret meeting at the pentagon. right? >> correct. that same day milley calls a secret meeting at the pentagon. he calls in the generals and the officials who man the national mi

we will discuss that in a moment with bob woodward and robert costa. the book doesn't tell us what might have gone through donald trump's mind about launching a nuclear attack or possibly launching a nuclear attack, but it is filled with details about what went through donald trump's mind and what came out of his mouth about his attack on the constitution. for donald trump, after he lost the election holding onto the presidency was all up to his vice president, mike pence. donald trump wanted mike pence on january 6th to simply not count the electoral votes from some states won by joe biden so that donald trump would then end up with the largest number of electoral votes and be declared the winner of the presidency or so the electoral college could choose the representative, and since each state in the house only gets one vote, 26 majority states in the house of representatives would then have given the presidency to donald trump. on january 5th, the night before the electoral college votes were to be counted in congress, donald trump told mike pence t

this is woodward and costa.d with the courage to say i will find somebody to do this with me. the immediacy of the book is stunning. you have done loads of interviews. i want to talk about the future. you into your book by saying the -- you end your book by saying the peril remains. robert: i cannot have a better partner than bob woodward. the peril remains is a theme that runs throughout the book. it is not an opinion, it is through reporting. that is the woodward method. tell american politics through scenes. president trump is out there on the political campaign trail. he has a warlike cadence in some of the speeches saying we will never surrender when it comes to conceding the 2020 election. he is demanding a comeback. tom: i will look at what we see with great grandin in the great american myth. look at the jacksonian history and how full to over to the gop. what kind of republican party do you perceive in 2024? robert: a republican party riven by division. someone like leader mcconnell wants to move on but

now, today, woodward and costa appeared on coffee joe morning and the morning brew crew, and woodwardbout that moment: >> it reminded me of nixon talking to the pictures of former presidents on the wall at a moment as watergate was cracking open and cracking his presidency. and the equivalent is that trump isn't talking to george washington or abraham lincoln like nixon was. he's talking to this mob. >> stephen: and i'm being told we've just received a statement from the ghost of richard nixon: hey, bob, i made you famous. how you gonna do me like that? i am nothing like that guy. i created he e.p.a., and this is my real hair. in summation, abbbbbla, abbbbbla." ( laughter ) ( applause ) luckily-- wow, wow, the ghost of richard nixon. ( applause ) ♪ ♪ ♪ luckily, the former president's legal team did not count on one thing: some republicans caring if the united states continues, like utah senator mike lee, who said of plans to try and overturn the results in individual states: "you might as well make your case to queen elizabeth ii." okay, let's ask her. your majesty, can they present t

it isn't one in the woodward book.ct that i have and some would say i should get a life, i read a lot of the post trump books. milley is in every one of them, talking about how he disapproved and felt he had had been drawn into the photo op at saint john's church and a how he felt about trump in the final days. i can't tell whether it's him talking directly to the authors or him talking to somebody who clearly had authority to talk to the authors. you kind of wonder for a chairman of the joint chiefs who is supposed to be apolitical, he seems to be awfully public and awfully political in the things he's saying and i think that's something that in that hearing, in the senate next week, the 28th, is going to come up and i don't think he's going to look so good. howie: he's not some former official, he's the top military officer in the united states. donald trump denounced milley as an idiot, he called bob woodward a sleaze. trump still take shots at you over the first presidential debate says you didn't have control. >>

, and i certainly don't always take bob woodward at face value. i do want to get all the facts though, to produce the call notes from those calls as well as the participants of all of those calls. these are things that are noble facts, we can get to the bottom of them, and we can make an assessment and get all the evidence. i asked to produce those in a timely fashion without needless classifications and reductions, so we should see that very soon. >> sean: let me ask you a question. general austin testifying, he can't confirm or deny the 4,000 americans are left out of afghanistan, now they say less than a hundred. i hear from people like yourself and others that are working hard to get innocent americans home, i personally don't believe there are 4,000 american citizens he said left in afghanistan. but i cannot confirm or deny that. senator, is it possible that we abandon thousands of american citizens? why don't we get a definitive number, how many people did we stab in the back and abandon there. how may people? >> it's the same story we've he

woodward and costa reveal that milley has intelligence that china is on edge.is having back channel conversations with his counterpart in china. china apparently is worried that trump is going to do a wag-the-dog to stay in power. so milley tells his senior staff according to the book, quote, you never know what a president's trigger point is. then, against this backdrop milley gets a phone call from house speaker nancy pelosi. woodward and costa obtained -- we have known about the call, but the authors have an exclusive transcript. pelosi has the same concerns and pelosi and milley have a very blunt and dramatic phone call where pelosi wants to know are the nuclear weapons safe from trump, and here is part of that exchange from the book. pelosi, who knows what he might do. he's crazy. you know he's crazy. he's been crazy for a long time. so don't say you don't know what his state of mind is, he's crazy, and what he did yesterday is further evidence of his craziness. milley respond on the phone, madam speaker, i agree with you on everything. so they get off the

and here's what woodward and costa report.that the chairman of the joint chiefs is not in the chain of command. >> right. >> so this is slightly different. and he says to the generals and officials from the war room, quote, if you get calls no matter who they're from, there's a process here, there's a procedure no matter what you're told, you do the procedure, you do the process, and i'm part of that procedure. milley may be criticized for overstepping his authority, but woodward and costa write that he felt he was simply taking the necessary precautions when there was a president who he thought was unpredictable and unstable, and woodward and costa write that milley believed that trump after the election was in serious mental decline. >> he's not the only one. the book also lays out the role that steve bannon played in getting trump to attend this january 6th rally where the crowd got whipped into shape, into whatever. >> so, steve bannon was once fired. now he's back. and there are several remarkable scenes in the book. one

bob woodward and rober

did woodward. woodward yes, the other no- did you? — woodward. woodward yes, the other no. did you?did you _ woodward. woodward yes, the other no. did you? did you talk— woodward. woodward yes, the other no. did you? did you talk to - woodward. woodward yes, the other no. did you? did you talk to michael| no. did you? did you talk to michael bender for his _ no. did you? did you talk to michael bender for his book, _ no. did you? did you talk to michael bender for his book, frankly, - no. did you? did you talk to michael bender for his book, frankly, did - no. did you? did you talk to michael bender for his book, frankly, did we| bender for his book, frankly, did we win this _ bender for his book, frankly, did we win this election? the inside story of how— win this election? the inside story of how donald trump los? yes. we accuratel of how donald trump los? lezs we accurately represented in of how donald trump los? 23 we accurately represented in these books? — accurately represented in these books? i — accurately represented in these books? ., �* ,, ., ., , books? i don't know. i

and now peril, coauthored by bob woodward and robert costa. bob woodward book, is like a large christmas tree with dozens of unique ornaments that you've never seen before, and news media headlines immediately focused on the biggest, and most important ornaments on that tree, and we all eagerly read those first news reports about a bobbled workbook, but the reason to read the book, the reason to order this book tonight and get it that your bookstore tomorrow, is to see how the whole story fits together, and see all of those ornaments on the tree that the news media never gets to. because there are just too many of them. the little jolt that aren't quite so newsworthy. like donald trump's views on body fat. on page 28 donald trump tells it overweight attorney general william barnes, this about his weight. and on page 1:25, when he gets covid-19, donald trump tells her quote and then there is the jam of mitch mcconnell gleefully calling donald trump a moron to his colleagues in the republic stan, on page 1:26, the book has mitch mcconnell, happi

here is the woodward and costa account in "peril." quote, a lasting rupture came on august 15th, 2017. on a hiking trip with his family, a member of ryan's eight-person security team approached with the satellite phone. on the line, an adviser had bad news. trump was at it again, blaming both sides for charlottesville. the media was asking for a comment. ryan sighed. this time, he had to pop trump publicly. standing alone on the side of a mountain, ryan began to dictate a cutting statement that was then tweeted out. paul ryan actually tweeted, we must be clear. white supremacy is repulsive. this bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. there can be no moral ambiguity. woodward and costa report, once back in normal cellular range, ryan's phone buzzed. it was trump. you're not in the foxhole with me, trump screamed. ryan yelled back, are you finished? may i have some time to speak now? you're the president of the united states. you have a moral leadership obligation to get this right and not declare there is a moral equivalenc

"peril" is by robert costa and bob woodward.e president's anger at losing might trigger reckless behavior that endangered national security. and there's details at the fury of losing and the deeper fury that vice president pence and others wouldn't help him cling to power. we have spcorrespondents to sha their reporting with us. >> we're learning even more in new details. transcripts. dynamics out there before. you're getting brand new details. i want to come back. we were talking about the revelation about general milley, america's top general saying i need to get the commanders together. i'm worried. he was worried that trump was going to try to do another rount and issue an order for military strikes in iran. if you get calls, he told them in a top secret pentagon meeting, no matter who they're from, there's a process here. there's a procedure. no matter what you're told, you do the process and procedure. i'm part of that procedure. the significance there, there will be trump supporters who say deep state. the general is taki

book is called peril it is by washington post journalist barr rewarded and robert costa it bob word woodward and bob costa. we've obtained a copy tonight, evidence of speed-reading here, a rachel maddow specialty. this book has important news in it. what this book is about broadly speaking the peril it's describing in its title is just how fraught and dangerous the period was for the country surrounding the 2020 election and immediately thereafter. and in the broader possible strokes, of course, we know it was fraught and dangerous, right? we had our national capitol come under a violent attack. but the thing that is so bracing and nerve-wracking and important about this new book is what it reveals about how much worse it was than we knew, how much closer we came to real disaster than we have known before now. so, again, this comes out next week. we have obtained a copy of it. this is how the book starts. quote, two days after the january 6th, 2021 violent sought on the united states capitol by supporters of president donald trump, general mark milley, the nation's senior military joint chie

still with us are the authors bob woodward and bob costa. bob this isn't the question that lends itself well to a 62nd reply. but i will try. a lot of the people in my life who are smart and thoughtful, some recognizable names from our broadcast, have been in touch with me to say, in their view, right now is the time to worry. your book makes it clear, down to the last page, that we came close. how close are we right now? >> well, you can't predict the future. but what bob costa i and i found in eight or nine months of reporting, going off line, not writing for the washington post or going on television, is that there was a national security crisis in this country. that war with china was dangerously possible. there is a call that we have the transcript of, between anc pelosi, the speaker of the house, and chairman milley, in which on january 8th, two days after the insurrection at the capitol, in which she -- i don't know if you have had the chance to look at it. but it's an extraordinary transcript of the leader of the house, the speaker o

and according to woodward and costa, trump blinked and kept on watching television.he book is certainly something that the january 6th select committee is going to be taking a very close look at. jamie gangel, cnn, washington. >>> cnn projects california governor gavin newsom has defeated an attempt to remove him from office. more of our special coverage of california's recall election coming up next. spots? it's not your dishwasher's fault. simply add finish jetdry 3in1 to rinse, dry and shine your dishes. solve 3 problems at once with finish jetdry 3in1. look, i gotta say something. 'said it before and i'll say it again. if i thought a reverse mortgage was just some kind of trick to take your home, i wouldn't even be here. it's just a loan, like any other, with one big difference- and that difference is how you choose to pay it back. find out how reverse mortgage loans really work with aag's free, no-obligation reverse mortgage guide eliminate monthly mortgage payments, pay bills, medical costs, and more. call now! other mortgages are paid back each month, but with

but in this new book, one of the things that bob woodward and robert costa report. is that mike pence is far more reluctant to do his job, far more reluctant to do is constitutional duty, that the public has suggested. and bottom line vice president pence did not ultimately exceed to trump solutions, to block -- to leave trump in power or under the election powers honorable, but it was not apparently for a lack of him trying to find a way to do that. this is from bob woodward and robert costa in late december pence phoned former vice president dan quail, at 70 for the ones boyish looking quail was living the private gulf playing life he loved in arizona. the two men shared a unique profile, indiana republicans who have become. vice president pence wanted advice, despite the electoral college casting its ballot for biden on december 14th, trump was convinced that pence could throw the election to trump on january, six when congress certified the final count. pence explained to's fellow in, dan quail, that trump was pressuring him to intervene to ensure biden would no

but giving an anonymous interview, to bob woodward, just doesn't covet i'm afraid. so we have a lot of soul searching to do. and we have to ensure going forward that our institutions are safeguarded, because what donald has shown us, not purposely of course, is that fragile institutions been through the greatest dysfunctions. turns out that our institutions and our systems are very very fragile indeed. >> mary trump i can never thank you enough for joining us, and i hope as you heard rachel and i discuss at the beginning of the hour, your perspective on your uncle, both professional and personal is so invaluable. to this country to understand what we have been through, what we can continue to go through, and for historians, just cannot thank you enough. mary trump, really appreciated. >> thank you lawrence. >> coming up we will return next and be joined by, jeanne swirling. when jim spilling was an economic adviser, and i was chief advisor of the match -- and we work together to get when gene sperling was -- and i was a writer and executive producer on that show. bu

and according to woodward and costa trump blinked and kept on watching television. the book is certainly something that the january 6th select committee is going to be taking a very close look at. jamie gangel, cnn, washington. >>> cnn proceed jectss gavin ne has defeated an attempt to remove him from office. more of our special coverage of the california recall election, next. u repair your credit yourself? yes. -great. how? uhhh... how long does credit repair take?e? i don't know, like 10 years. what? are you insane? what's a g good credit score? go. 600. maybe if you're trying to pay thousands extra in interest rates. cut the confusion, get started with a free credit evaluation at creditrepair.com. well, would ya look at that! it was an accident. i was— speaking of accidents, we accidentally left you off the insurance poli during enrollment, and you're not covered. not even a little bit? mm-mmm. no insurance. no. when employees c't enter and manage their own benefits enllment information, it can be a real pain. not even— nope! with paycom, employees enter and man

the details of the book, bob woodward, this is your third book looking at donald trump.fferent at the end of his term than he was at the beginning? >> he's always shocking and different, but also always the same, and this -- you know, in a way, the reporting on trump is a quest. who is he? what does he really care about? what is he doing? what is his political appeal to so many people in the country? and just, if you zoom in on the reality now, the idea that he and nixon -- when nixon left and resigned, he didn't do around and campaign, trump is campaigning. >> woodruff: is campaigning and i want to ask you about that. robert costa, so much important reporting in this book, including about, as i just mentioned, about how trump's advisors at different points, at many points, were trying to keep him from carrying out acts that would have been either violated the constitution or have been purely illegal, and there's one example in here i want to ask you about, it was to 20, the attorney general bill barr, he was being asked by the president to okay an order that would, in a

the book by bob woodward and robert costa called "peril. kws the report that marc milley took secret steps to prevent president trump from launching a military strike or nuclear launch and the top general called his counterpart in china. what he reportedly assured china the u.s. would not do. here's jon karl. >> reporter: in their soon to be released book "peril", bob woodward and robert costa report that china was so concerned about donald trump's behavior in the final days of the 2020 presidential campaign that joint chiefs chairman general mark milley took the extraordinary step of secretly reaching out directly to china's top general. "general li, i want to assure you that the american government is stable and everything is going to be okay," milley told him, according to the book. "we are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you." one reason for china's concerns? trump's incendiary words about china and coronavirus. >> there's a plague coming over from china, here it comes. what a disgrace. what a disgrace. >>

bob woodward and bob costa have no subpoena power.sources than they could wish nor. they put it in their book "peril." bob woodward and robert costa join us now. bob and robert, congratulations on the book. it's extraordinary. what is your reaction, bob, to this first round of subpoenas, and how did they square with what these aides and allies of the president were doing on around january 6 based on your reporting? >> well, the question is, of course, what happened and ultimately what did trump know, and we describe an extraordinary phone call between bannon and trump right before the insurrection in which bannon, who was the former top aide to trump, the chief strategist in the white house, tell him he had been fired at that point, but in the trump world you go and you come back. ban no one says to trump, we will strangle the biden presidency in the crib. and that is a foreshadowing, of course, of the violence that we saw the next day. so they're trying -- they're working around the edges in a very logical way. now bannon, what we ha

bob woodward, robert costa, thank you both for being with us. appreciate it very much. >>> next breaking news in the manhunt for brian laundrie. new reporting on a camping trip he took with his family after returning from wyoming and the mystery surrounding it. >>> and later, breaking news on the president's latest effort to get his party to come together on the centerpiece of his domestic agenda. a democrat congressman joins us. ♪ when you hear 'cough cough sneeze sneeze' ♪ it's time for ♪ 'plop plop fizz fizz' ♪ alka seltzer plus cold relief, dissolves quickly... instantly ready to start working. so you can bounce back fast with alka-seltzer plus. for people who are a little intense about hydration. neutrogena® hydro boost lightweight. fragrance-free. 48 hour hydration. for that healthy skin glow. neutrogena®. for people with skin. think wearing less makeup means no need for a wipe? think again. neutrogena® makeup remover wipes remove the 30% of makeup ordinary cleansers can leave behind. your skin will thank you. neutrogena®. for people with

i was asking about this book that woodward just put out. they weren't surprised that -- on the pence stuff. everybody knows that pence felt enormous pressure from donald trump to do something to stop the election to stay in office. we all know that. none of them were sort of supportive of trump trying to stay in office and these are gop lobbyists and political advisers. they think he lost genuinely. what they were most outrageous is the conduct of general milley. these are people that deal not just on financial measures, maybe social issues and doing a lot of things. they have never heard of a general calling up essentially an enemy -- think about it. china is an adversary. where was the evidence that donald trump was going to bomb there? the bomb presents none other than his "worry". going outside the chain of command and calling china like that is really problematic. here's what i've been told. there a group of biden administration people that if the republicans get congress are going to be on the hot seat. one of these is gary ginsler at

he appears, according to woodward and costa's reporting, a svengali like figure january 6.ump is down in mar-a-lago. he was playing golf. he wanted to go to his new year's eve party the next night. bannon says you have to come back. then there is a scene where he is there, you say, with rudy giuliani, jason miller. it's a war room like setting. they're talking to trump the night of the 5th. and saying very inflammatory things to say the least. i think the january 6 select committee is going to be taking a very close look at the entire book, and at steve bannon's role. >> we came closer to stealing an election than we knew. it was pretty darn close. when you have pence calling dan quayle to find out if he can deny certification, two-thirds voted not to. it's remarkable when you look at the accounts. even closer than we realized. >> jim sciutto, you have a show in 36 minutes. we'll let you get ready for that. jamie, thank you for your reporting on this. >>> speaking of, better call quayle. how the fate of democracy came down to that phone call between two indiana vice preside

bob woodward, robert costa, thank you both for being with us. appreciate it very much. >>> next breaking news in the manuhunt for brian laundrie. new reporting on a camping trip he took with his family after returning from wyoming and the mystery surrounding it. zblrchlt and later, breaking news on the president's latest effort to get his party to come together on the centerpiece of his domestic agenda. a democrat congressman joins us. ! thryv? yep. i'm the all-in-one management software built for small business. high thryv! ow. get a free demo at thryv.com. i've always dreamed of seeing the world. but i'm not chasing my dream anymore. i made a financial plan to live it every day. ♪ ♪ find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com priceline works with top hotels, to save you up to 60%. these are all great. and when you get a big deal... you feel like a big deal. ♪ priceline. every trip is a big deal. as someone who resembles someone else... i appreciate that liberty mutual knows everyone's unique. that's why they customize your car insurance, so y

, woodward and costa work for the washington post.ok, "peril". this is absurd. and i honestly as a citizen, i'm getting sick and tired of this. we have reporters who sit on -- if this is true, if it's true, it's a bombshell. if it is not true, then milley may own the washington post. if it is true, the question to you is this, what is the role of journalism and professionalism when you have two reporters effectively who have information they are obviously sitting on it for months. it takes at least three months to print a book. so it is at least three months. the interviews they did back in march and so forth. isn't this outrageous? >> i will answer your question with a question. do bob woodward and robert costa consider themselves reporters for the washington post first or is being book authors superseding those responsibilities? when you look at this here, given the national security implications, mark, should woodward and costa have shared these revelations as a breaking news story -- remember this is goes back to october 2020, rig

i don't know how anybody could read the bob woodward book. i don't know how you couldn't read it and be greatly embarrassed about its contents especially how it's related to you. are you embarrassed by the book? >> i haven't read the book. >> were you embarrassed by the portrayals of the book. no doubt you're aware? >> embarrassed, no. i'm concerned that there is mischaracterizations of me becoming politicized as an individual and that it's my willingness to be politicized which is not true. i'm trying to stay apolitical and i believe i am. it's part of my professional ethic i'm trying to keep the military, the actual military of actual domestic politics. >> do you regret speaking with bob woodward? >> no. i think it's important for me to speak to the media. >> want to talk about some of the contents of the book, since you haven't read it maybe i can read some of it to you. we've heard a little bit about the back-and-forth with you and speaker pelosi. in that conversation, you said in a phone call with speaker pelosi, she said "republicans ar

and according to woodward and costa, trump goes -- just starts yelling.nd trump says in the book, quote, who do you think you are? you took away my authorities. you are not the president. i'm the goddamn president. and after that, he's not only shouting at esper. he turns to everyone in the oval office, the rest of the team, and we'll try to keep the language clear here, but trump says, according to the book, quote, you're all f'ed up, everybody. you're all f'ed. every one of you is f'ed up. there are so many outbursts like this throughout the book that you understand how in the lead-up to when you get to january 8th and milley's actions and the assault on the capital, cabinet officers were concerned. >> really, really concerned. can't wait to read it. excellent reporting as usual. thank you so, so much. >>> let's get to the california recall right now as the clock ticks toward the first results. some republicans are relying on the trump play book. our senior national correspondent is out in sacramento for us. not a single vote has been reported yet, but

do you agree with that, bob woodward? >> well, that's -- if i may say, that's pure speculation. >> fair. >> because we had eight or nine months to work on this book and get faction and do the reporting from witnesses, participants, documents, transcripts, we avoid the speculation. fox news exists now, and is one of former president trump's pillars of support. it's very real. you know, if something like that had existed in 1974, maybe it would have been different but here's the reality. in the case of nixon, he had all these secret tape recordings. and if you listen to the secret tape recordings which now have almost all been released, it's stunning, the criminality, the indifference to the people on the part of nixon. and when those tapes came out, the republican party turned against nixon -- >> right. >> -- and said, this is unacceptable. so it's a very different political environment now. >> i mean, i think that is exactly right. and, bob costa, the difference is, there's been smoking gun after smoking gun produced by j

you bring up a good point about woodward.someone who is directly quoted in a woodward book who never spoke to him, who try to get it corrected because the quote was wrong and could not get that fixed. i think it rings a little bit true, but -- >> greg: can i ask you a question? why is -- i am the host of the show -- >> please, go ahead. >> greg: how do people keep having woodward in the white house? i mean, trump even had him in the white house. where does he sit? i was at the white house, i never saw woodward there. where is he all the time doing this stuff? >> didn't he interview the former cia director on his deathbed, but nobody saw him come in or out of the hospital? >> greg: yeah. >> i want that kind of job. you don't have to do anything. he is nowhere to be found. >> greg: yes. tyrus, thoughts? >> i, you know, i just feel like this whole thing is, well, what is the word i'm looking for -- [bleep]. [applause] there is no reason for milley to resign because he is right where he should be in this administration. what we a

according to woodward and costa general milley stated "mr.sident, they are not burning it down." really? okay, general, will show you the video and remind you. what would you call all of this? >> [bleep]! >> sean: excuse me, general, but law and order broke down completely in city after city after city. police precincts were burned to the ground. hundreds of businesses were lit on fire. looting was rampant. entire city blocks taken over by anarchists. dozens of americans died, including multiple police officers. thousands of others law enforcement officers pelted with bricks and rocks and bottles and frozen water bottles and molotov cocktails. around the same time general milley reportedly made these comments. may 31st in new york alone, at least 345y people were arreste, at least 47 police vehicles damaged or destroyed, 33 police officers were injured. that was just one day. coming up, the great one mark levin will have a message for general milley, you won't want to miss it. he'll weigh in on biden's borde, crisis which has continued to spi

if you watched "the beat" we had bob woodward here.id a trump era general, general milley, called china. today we got a different piece of this, which is the general actually speaking out for the fit time about this. we're going to show you that in a moment. the context of the hearing on the actual biden policy of withdrawing from afghanistan and resetting the u.s. presence in the middle east. p defensefficials peppered on capol hil and dcussin what the viewe as mistakes >> w certainlyid not plan ainst a collaps of the government in 11 da. >> i recommended tha we maintained 2500 troop in afghanistan. >> we need t consir some uncomfortable truths. >> it was a logistic call success b a strategic failure. >> this is what congressional oversight is supposed to do, whether you agree with a given policy or a given president, this is a frank discussion of these really serious issues, including the loss of life and problems in the afghanistan withdrawal something that overwhelmingly most americans support in spirit. general milley recounted ef

now, this is according to a new book by the reporters bob woodward and robert costa. we learned the calls were not secret. not like milley got on the phone and called his counterpart and now it's leaking out. not at all. we learned there were 15 people on each of those two calls. during the discussion on january 8th. he said we're 100% steady. everything is fine. democracy can be sloppy sometimes. according to the book milley went as far to promise his counterpart he would alert them on a strike to the u.s. in the october call approved by esper. the white house's defense in high gear, the president making his support for milley clear. >> sir, did general milley do the right thing, sir? did general milley do the right thing? >> i have great confidence in general milley. >> biden may have great confidence but this issue is splitting the republicans and may not surprise you to hear that some of trump's loyalists are making the case for milley to be gone. >> if true, general milley has broken some very good laws and we ought to make sure there is accountability for that.

and woodward and costa stand by that reporting. i would just add, bob woodward is known to record a lot of these interviews. and general milley didn't come out and say he never said that. >> general milley did confirm he spoke to not only woodward and costa, but a lot of authors, and there are new books. general milley also admitted that the afghanistan withdrawal, the way it unfolded has undermined u.s. credibility. the adversaries are happy, allies are upset. what does this do for u.s. national security? >> listen, i have heard from european diplomats, diplomats with our closest allies who are concerned about this very thing. we know that america's adversaries watch. they watched the gulf war, made conclusions about american capabilities. they watched america's long involvements in iraq and afghanistan. learned about america's vulnerabilities to fighting insurgencies and so far. we know they watch the exit as well. and the question is, does russia look at u.s. departure from afghanistan and leaving its allies and say, what does t

i want to dig deeper right now with the journalist, bob woodward.ew book entitled "peril" which was obviously on so many members' minds at today's hearing and yesterday's hearing. first of all, congratulations, bob. i know it's just emerged, it was number one on "the new york times" best sellers list. not a surprise. all of your books are usually number one on "the new york times" best sellers list. this is also causing a lot of news creating a lot of news out there right now. what was your reaction to general milley, for example, today saying he has no regrets speaking to you in detail for the book "peril"? >> that's his theory. and i happen to agree that it's very important that people be responsive. this is a long-term project that bob costa and i worked on. and we were able to get facts and documents and transcripts of the milley/pelosi call, for instance. which tells you that he agreed with her assertion that president trump was acting crazy. he said today, well, look, i'm not qualified to determine if the mental condition of the president of t

that's according to the new book "peril" by bob woodward and robert costa the of "the washington postorting about giuliani and graham excerpted today in "the post." they write while graham publicly backed trump in private he said trump's arguments were, quote, suitable for third grade. >> the interesting thing about lindsey graham is he was one of president trump's top allies on capitol hill, one of the senators he was most close with, daily conversations over the phone and frequent visits to mar-a-lago. if he couldn't convince him there, wasn't going to be convincing anyone. >> woodward and costa write that trump's team also tried to convince another trump loyalist, mike lee of utah, that certain slates of electoral votes could be set aside by then vice president mike pence on january 6th but lee didn't buy that legal argument. after publicly backing trump's efforts graham and lee both in the end voted to sert fight election results, and on the night of january 6th in the wake of the attack on the capitol, graham voiced his frustration with trump's efforts to counter the results. >>

woodward and costa quote him as saying, quote, half the friggin'world is worried. this is not an unusual thing to do. he was not only talking to china. he was talking to allies. everyone was worried about what was going on in the united states, and certainly after january 6th. >> you point out those concerns. we know that woodward and costa also wrote in the book that -- whether or not he went too far, right. he believed his actions were good faith precautions to make sure there was no accidental war. as we know this morning, there are calls for general milley to resign, from both senator marco rubio and lieutenant alexander vindman. >> we can't have the senior military officer acting without any oversight, exceeding his authorities, without civilian control. the guardrail is not an individual. the guardrail is a system, an institution. it's multiple officers doing the right thing. in this case what's clear to me is frankly chairman milley's tainted by all these things -- >> lieutenant colonel, pardon me on parting with that one. when you look at this, his take is

according to woodward and costa come all present in the room agreed to this.llie was in charge. if this is true, it is one of the scariest things that has ever happened in this country. often people say they're worried about authoritarianism coming to america. well, it's here. it's what it is, authoritarian government by unelected, unaccountable leaders willing to use violence to preserve their power. that is what this book describes. it is shocking. not surprisingly our news media spent today celebrating it. it turns out the self-described defenders of democracy don't really believe in the system they claim to revere. the idea of giving voters power over their own government repulses people like this. so they are relieved to discover that in fact our democracy is fake. here's a selection from some of the programming. >> i would call general millie a hero. he behaved in a heraldic manner. >> what he did was ensure the guardrails were in place, so i give him high marks for this based on what is described in the book. >> i think millie felt ill used in lafayette

let's watch. >> did you talk to bob woodward or robert costa for their book "pearl". >> woodward yes, costa, no. >> did you talk to kara and phillip for their book "alone i can fix it"? >>. >> did you talk to michael bender for his book "frankly we did win this election, the inside story of how trump lost"? >> yes. >> and were you accurately represented in these books? >> i haven't read any of the books so i don't know. i have not seen press reporting of it. i haven't read the books. >> okay. let's have you read the books and then let us know if you are accurately portrayed. >> absolutely. >> you think that the joint chiefs chairman has more to do than to be reading books and reporting back and senator blackburn is from tennessee, but phil rutker, i have to give you a chance, he hasn't read your book. >> i think he's familiar with what we reported. there are a lot of scenes in there about -- >> well, i botched her state, so that's okay. >> we are all in it together. >> it's been a long hearing. >> it has been a long hearing, an interesting hearing at that. look, what we depict in the

you know, there's reporting now in the woodward book that he may not so much have been a defender ofitution on january 6th but was really looking for a way to try to do something of the former president's billing up until really the last moment, and according to this book, you know, it is dan kwquayle who is telling him, you don't have any options. >> well, thanks goodness there was another hoosier vice president for mike pence to consult. you know, this actually really confirms what we learned about mike pence when we were doing the biography of him. he is a person who is profoundly ambitious. he's always wanted to be president himself, and i think that he saw his pathway to the presidency being with donald trump, and to the very last he really wanted to do the president's bidding. he wanted to enable this semi coup i guess you would call it of overturning the election, and when he couldn't find a way to do it he at last capitulated and did the right thing. it was later framed as this idea that mike pence saved democracy. well, in fact, if he did save democracy it was with great rel