>>> AND GOOD EVENING ONCE AGAIN FROM OUR NBC NEWS HEADQUARTERS
HERE IN NEW YORK.
DAY 788 OF THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION, AND WE ARE
COMING OFF A WEEKEND THAT HAD
MANY PEOPLE OPENLY QUESTIONING
THE PRESIDENT’S SENSE.
HIS STATE OF MIND AND HIS
ABILITY TO DISPLAY ANYTHING
APPROACHING THE KIND OF
STEWARDSHIP WE’VE COME TO EXPECT
FROM OUR PRESIDENTS.
THIS HAS TO DO WITH WHAT WE
WITNESSED FROM THE PRESIDENT ON
HIS CELL PHONE THIS WEEKEND.
A STRING OF 50 MESSAGES OVER THE
COURSE OF A COUPLE OF DAYS.
HIS ATTACKS WERE ANGRY AND
UNSPARING.
UNSPARING. HIS TARGETS RANGED FROM ROBERT
MUELLER, TO A COMEDY SHOW THAT
ORIGINATES FIVE FLOORS ABOVE US
HERE IN THIS BUILDING THAT HE,
HIMSELF, HAS HOSTED, TO AN AUTO
UNION LEADER, TO THE LATE
SENATOR AND FORMER PRISONER OF
WAR, JOHN McCAIN.
"WASHINGTON POST" POINTS OUT HE
AVERAGED JUST OVER A TWEET PER
HOUR THROUGH THE WEEKEND.
LATE THIS AFTERNOON, THE
PRESIDENT MADE HIS FIRST AND
ONLY PUBLIC APPEARANCE OF THE
DAY.
DAY. NO MENTION OF WHAT WE WITNESSED
FROM HIM HIS WEEKEND.
JUST A MENTION OF HIS OWN
ADMINISTRATION.
ADMINISTRATION. >> THE WORLD IS TALKING.
WHEN PRESIDENTS AND PRIME
MINISTERS AND OTHERS COME TO SEE
ME, THEY ALL SAY,
"CONGRATULATIONS ON THIS GREAT
ECONOMY THAT YOU’VE BUILT.
AND THEY TRY AND DO THE SAME
THING BUT IT DOESN’T WORK OUT SO
WELL BUT THAT’S OKAY.
>> THE PRESIDENT’S TWITTER FEED,
HOWEVER, REVEALS WHAT ELSE MAY
BE ON HIS MIND.
PERHAPS, THE MOST PRESSING ISSUE
IS THE UPCOMING WIDELY EXPECTED
MUELLER REPORT ON THE RUSSIA
INVESTIGATION AND THE POTENTIAL
LEGAL AND POLITICAL BATTLES THAT
COULD FOLLOW.
COULD FOLLOW. AT ONE POINT, TRUMP ATTEMPTED TO
CREATE A NEW NARRATIVE BY
WRITING, "ON THE RECENT
NONBINDING VOTE, 420-0, IN
CONGRESS, ABOUT RELEASING THE
MUELLER REPORT, I TOLD
LEADERSHIP TO LET ALL
REPUBLICANS VOTE FOR
TRANSPARENCY.
TRANSPARENCY. MAKES US LOOK GOOD AND DOESN’T
MATTER.
MATTER. PLAY ALONG WITH THE GAME."
TRUMP MAY ALSO BE HOPING THE
REPORT BRINGS THE INVESTIGATION
TO A CLOSE, BUT FORMER U.S.
ATTORNEY PREET BHARARA WHO RAN
THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW
YORK SAYS HE EXPECTS MORE TO
COME.
COME. >> IT MAY BE COMING TO AN END,
BUT I KEEP SEEING CONFLICTING
PIECES OF EVIDENCE.
SORT OF LIKE THINGS ARE NOT WHAT
THEY SEEM.
THEY SEEM. ON THE ONE HAND, ANDREW
WEISSMAN, TOP DEPUTY, IS
LEAVING.
LEAVING. THERE’S LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE
REPORTING WHO I PRESUME HAVE
DECENT SOURCES AND ARE VERY
SMART WHO SAY IT’S RUNWINDING DO
THEN ON THE OTHER HAND YOU HAVE
RICK GATES WHOSE SENTENCING HAS
BEEN POSTPONED YET AGAIN.
>> FOR THE FIFTH TIME.
>> THE FIFTH TIME.
THAT MAKES IT LOOK LIKE THE WORK
OF THE SPECIAL COUNSEL IS NOT
DONE.
DONE. >> ANOTHER APPARENT AREA OF
CONCERN FOR THE PRESIDENT IS
THIS MAN, THE HOUSE JUDICIARY
COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN JERRY NADLER
OF NEW YORK.
HE’S LEADING ONE OF SEVERAL
CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATIONS.
CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATIONS. MORE ON THAT JUST AHEAD.
AND AS WE MENTIONED, TRUMP ALSO
LASHED OUT AT ARIZONA SENATOR
JOHN McCAIN WHO DIED ALMOST
SEVEN MONTHS AGO.
HE SLAMMED McCAIN FOR PASSING
THE CHRISTOPHER STEELE DOSSIER
ALONG TO THE FBI BACK IN 2016.
"SO IT WAS, INDEED, JUST PROVEN
IN COURT PAPERS THAT LAST IN HIS
CLASS AT ANNAPOLIS, JOHN McCAIN,
THAT SENT THAT FAKE DOSSIER TO
THEBI AND MEDIA HOPING TO HAVE
IT PRETTYINTED BEFORE THE ELECTI
HE AND THE DEMOCRATS WORKING
TOGETHER FAILED AS USUAL, EVEN
THE FAKE NEWS REFUSED THIS
GARBAGE."
GARBAGE." TRUMP’S ALLEGATION THERE IS
FALSE.
FALSE. NBC NEWS HAS REPORTED McCAIN
GAVE THE DOSSIER TO THE FBI IN
DECEMBER OF 2016.
THAT WOULD BE AFTER THE
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. FURTHER, THERE’S NO EVIDENCE HE
EVER GAVE THE DOSSIER TO THE
MEDIA, AND FOR THE RECORD, JOHN
McCAIN WAS NOT LAST IN HIS CLASS
AT THE U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY.
THE LATE SENATOR’S DAUGHTER,
MEGAN, RESPONDED TO TRUMP
EARLIER TODAY ON "THE VIEW."
>> HE SPENDS HIS WEEKEND
OBSESSING OVER GREAT MEN BECAUSE
HE KNOWS IT AND I KNOW IT AND
ALL OF YOU KNOW IT, HE WILL FEFR
NEVER BE A GREAT MAN.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> AND SO, HE’S -- MY FATHER WAS
HIS KRYPTONITE IN LIFE.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> WAS HIS KRYPTONITE IN DEATH.
>> TRUMP’S WEEKEND MESSAGES ALSO
ASKED WHETHER THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT SHOULD, "LOOK INTO
WHY "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" IS
ALLOWED TO MAKE FUN OF HIM."
ALSO FOR THE RECORD, THE SHOW HE
APPARENTLY SAW THIS WEEKEND WAS
A RERUN AND HE DEFENDED FOX NEWS
HOST JEANINE PIRRO WHO DID NOT
APPEAR ON HER OWN SHOW SATURDAY
NIGHT FOLLOWING HER ANTI-MUSLIM
COMMENTS ABOUT A MEMBER OF
CONGRESS.
CONGRESS. AT ONE POINT, TRUMP ADDRESSED
FOX NEWS DIRECTLY.
"FOX MUST STAY STRONG AND FIGHT
BACK WITH VIGOR.
STOP WORKING SOOOO HARD ON BEING
POLITICALLY CORRECT WHICH WILL
ONLY BRING YOU DOWN.
BE STRONG AND PROSPER.
BE WEAK AND DIE.
THEY CAN’T BEAT YOU.
YOU CAN ONLY BEAT YOURSELVES."
WHILE THE PRESIDENT EXHORTED A
SYMPATHETIC CABLE NEWS CHANNEL,
HE MADE NO MENTION OF THE 50
MUSLIMS WHO WERE MURDERED IN NEW
ZEALAND.
ZEALAND. THIS FOLLOWED HIS STATEMENT THAT
HE DIDN’T THINK WHITE
NATIONALISTS POSED A GROWING
THREAT GLOBALLY.
THREAT GLOBALLY. YESTERDAY, THE ACTING WHITE
HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF DEFENDED
HIS BOSS.
HIS BOSS. >> YOU’VE SEEN THE PRESIDENT
STAND UP FOR RELIGIOUS
LIBERTIES, INDIVIDUAL LIBERTIES.
THE PRESIDENT IS NOT A WHITE
SUPREMACIST.
SUPREMACIST. I’M NOT SURE HOW MANY TIMES WE
HAVE TO SAY THAT.
>> IT THIS MORNING, TRUMP POSTED
THIS, "THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA IS
WORKING OVERTIME TO BLAME ME FOR
THE HORRIBLE ATTACK IN NEW
ZEALAND.
ZEALAND. THEY WILL HAVE TO WORK VERY HARD
TO PROVE THAT ONE.
SO RIDICULOUS."
SO RIDICULOUS." BUT THEN A LOT OF PEOPLE TOOK
NOTE, WHEN BILL KRISTOL, ONE OF
OUR NEXT GUESTS, A VETERAN OF
REPUBLICAN POLITICS SAID THIS.
"TO REPUBLICANS WHO’VE BEEN
INCLINED TO ACQUIESCE IN A TRUMP
RENOMINATION IN 2020, READ HIS
TWEETS THIS MORNING, THINK
SERIOUSLY ABOUT HIS MENTAL
CONDITION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL
STATE.
STATE. THEN TELL ME YOU’RE FINE WITH
HIM AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES FOR AN ADDITIONAL FOUR
YEARS."
YEARS." THAT SUNDAY POSTING PROMPTED
THIS RESPONSE FROM D.C. LAWYER,
GEORGE CONWAY, WHO HAPPENS TO BE
HUSBAND OF KELLYANNE CONWAY.
"AGREE WITH THIS, BUT WOULD ADD
THAT ALL AMERICANS SHOULD BE
THINKING SERIOUSLY NOW ABOUT
TRUMP’S MENTAL CONDITION AND
PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE, INCLUDING
AND ESPECIALLY THE MEDIA,
CONGRESS, AND THE VICE PRESIDENT
AND CABINET."
AND CABINET." CONWAY FOLLOWED WITH A SERIES OF
POSTS TODAY THAT INCLUDED IMAGES
FROM THE AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC
ASSOCIATION’S DIAGNOSTIC AND
STATISTICAL MANUAL OF MENTAL
DISORDERS.
DISORDERS. HE INCLUDED A DIAGNOSTIC
CHECKLIST FOR NARCISSISTIC
PERSONALITY DISORDER AND
ANTI-SOCIAL PERSONALITY
ANTI-SOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER.
DISORDER. THIS MORNING, HIS WIFE,
KELLYANNE, WAS ASKED ABOUT HER
HUSBAND’S CONTINUED CRITIQUES OF
TRUMP.
TRUMP. >> KELLYANNE, YOUR HUSBAND HAS
BEEN TWEETING HIS CONCERNS ABOUT
THE PRESIDENT’S MENTAL FITNESS
FOR OFFICE.
FOR OFFICE. ARE THOSE CONCERNS THAT YOU
SHARE OR HOW DO YOU DEAL --
>> NO, I DON’T SHARE THOSE
CONCERNS.
CONCERNS. >> LET’S BRING IN OUR LEADOFF
PANEL ON A MONDAY NIGHT.
SAM STEIN, POLITICS EDITOR FOR
THE DAILY BEAST.
NANCY COOK, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER
FOR POLITICO.
FOR POLITICO. AND THE AFOREMENTIONED BILL
KRISTOL, A VETERAN OF THE REAGAN
AND BUSH ADMINISTRATIONS.
THESE DAYS EDITOR AT LARGE OF
"THE BULLWORK."
"THE BULLWORK." BILL, ANYONE WITH THE ABILITY TO
DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT, COME
FORWARD TO YOU AND AGREE WITH
YOU, ANYONE WILLING TO SAY SO
PUBLICLY?
PUBLICLY? >> I MEAN, A COUPLE OF
REPUBLICANS I’VE KNOWN A LONG
TIME WHO HAVE SO FAR BEEN MORE
ACCOMMODATING OF TRUMP OR SORT
OF THOUGHT, WELL, WHAT’S THE
POINT OF EVEN TRYING TO MOUNT
THE CHALLENGE, E-MAILED AND
SAID, GEE, MAYBE YOU’RE RIGHT,
THAT THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO MIGHT
SUPPORT A CHALLENGER, THEY’RE
NOT THE CHALLENGERS, THEMSELVES.
I THINK THE GREAT VIRTUE OF WA
YOU JUST DID, BRIAN, IN SHOWING
A LOT OF THE TWEETS IS THE
CONTENT OF THE TWEETS IS WHAT’S
IMPORTANT.
IMPORTANT. I MEAN, SOME OF THE COVERAGE HAS
BEEN, GEE, THERE’S 50 OF THEM,
HOW CAN HE TWEET 50 TIMES?
THAT’S NOT THAT IMPOSSIBLE.
IF HE TWEETED 50 TIMES, SHOWING
GOOD GDP NUMBERS AND RESUMES OF
SOME OF THE JUDGES HE’S
APPOINTED, YOU’D SAY OKAY, HE’S
HAVING A SLOW WEEKEND AND JUST
PROMOTING HIS OWN ACHIEVEMENTS.
BUT THE BITTERNESS, THE
RANDOMNESS, THE FLAKINESS, THE
RETWEETING CONSPIRACY THEORISTS,
YOU KNOW, THEY WERE TWEETS THAT
REVEALED HIM IN A WAY VERY
DIFFERENT FROM SORT OF SOMEONE
JUST SAYING, I’M GOING TO GET A
COUPLE OF MESSAGES OUT THERE.
I THINK THAT’S WHAT -- I JUST
WAS READING THEM, I HAD NO --
YOU KNOW, I JUST -- I DON’T HAVE
A VERY HIGH OPINION OF PRESIDENT
TRUMP, ANYWAY.
TRUMP, ANYWAY. EVEN FOR ME, I MEAN, THE DEGREE
OF SORT OF MENTAL, I DON’T KNOW
WHAT THE RIGHT WORD IS,
INSTABILITY OR UNHAPPINESS OR
LASHING OUT THAT THE TWEETS SHOW
WAS REALLY WHAT STRUCK ME.
>> LET ME ADD A WORD, BILL, THAT
I ASSOCIATE WITH HYMNS AND THAT
EXHORTATION.
EXHORTATION. OUR PRESIDENTS HAVE IN THE PAST
EXHORTED US WHEN WE HAVE TROOPS
IN THE FIELD, MAYBE EVEN THE
U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM ON A FIELD OF
COMPETITION OVERSEAS.
COMPETITION OVERSEAS. MAYBE IT’S A COMMUNITY HIT BY
NATURAL DISASTER, OR ANOTHER
COUNTRY AFTER LOSING 50 OF ITS
CITIZENS TO A MASSACRE.
THIS WEEKEND, THOUGH, HE WAS
EXHORTING THE STAFF OF FOX NEWS,
A CABLE NETWORK THAT’S KNOWN TO
BE IN LINE WITH HIS THINKING.
>> YEAH, I MEAN, HE’S -- HE’S
UNHAPPY ABOUT EVERYTHING, AND
THAT MAKES YOU WONDER MAYBE HE
KNOWS SOMETHING IS COMING THAT’S
GOING TO MAKE HIS LIFE MORE
DIFFICULT POLITICALLY, OR MAYBE
THIS IS JUST THE WAY HE IS, BUT
IT’S -- AS SOMEONE WHO’S AN
INCUMBENT PRESIDENT WHO HAS SO
FAR A PRETTY GOOD ECONOMY AND
CAN TALK ABOUT JUDGES AND SO
FORTH, WHATEVER HIS DEEP,
PERSONAL, YOU KNOW,
PSYCHOLOGICAL SITUATION IS, YOU
THINK HE MIGHT WANT TO PROJECT
CONFIDENCE AND CALM, AS YOU SAY,
TO A COUNTRY, AND COMMENT ON
MAYBE REASSURING, YOU KNOW, SEND
BEST WISHES TO PEOPLE WHO ARE
SUFFERING THAT NATURAL DISASTERS
IN THE CENTER OF THE COUNTRY,
COMMENT ON SOME OF THE SPORTS
PLAYOFFS AND THE NCAA, GETTING
INTO THE TURNMENTOURNAMENT AND A
THAT.
THAT. THERE’S A DEGREE OF DISQUIET IN
HIM THAT HAS GOTTEN WORSE, NOT
BETTER.
BETTER. THIS IS A -- YOU KNOW, REMEMBER
TWO YEARS AGO, A LITTLE OVER TWO
YEARS AGO, PEOPLE HOPED
INCLUDING PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO
DIDN’T VOTE FOR HIM, MAYBE HE’LL
SETTLE DOWN, MAYBE HE’LL GROW
INTO THE OFFICE.
PRESIDENTS HAVE GROWN IN THE
PAST.
PAST. IT’S THE OPPOSITE.
YOU DON’T SEE PSYCHOLOGICAL --
YOU DON’T SEE MATURATION OR
STABILITY THERE.
STABILITY THERE. I THINK YOU SEE THE OPPOSITE.
>> SAM STEIN, THE NEW YORK
TIMES" TELLS IT THIS WAY, "THERE
WAS NO GOLF, THERE WERE NO
MEETINGS, THERE WERE NO
ACTIVITIES OTHER THAN A RARE
VISIT TO CHURCH SO PRESIDENT
TRUMP DID WHAT HE COULD DO.
HE TWEETED."
HE TWEETED." SAM, ON THE SUNDAY SHOWS, YOU
HAD HIS ACTING CHIEF OF STAFF
DENYING THE BOSS IS A WHITE
SUPREMACIST.
SUPREMACIST. >> YEAH.
>> YEAH. I DON’T KNOW HOW -- WHAT MICK
MULVANEY WAS SUPPOSED TO SAY.
I CAN’T IMAGINE HE’D COP TO IT.
YEAH, I WASN’T SURPRISED BY THAT
ANSWER.
ANSWER. TO ADD TO BILL’S POINT, THERE
WAS AN INTENSE LONELINESS TO
WHAT TRUMP WAS GOING THROUGH
THIS WEEKEND.
THIS WEEKEND. THINK ABOUT IT, YOU’RE PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES, YOU CAN DO
VIRTUALLY ANYTHING.
VIRTUALLY ANYTHING. YOU CAN HAVE PEOPLE, SCHOLARS,
MOVIE STARS, ACADEMICS, RENOWNED
LAWYERS, ANYONE TO TALK ABOUT
THE ISSUES OF THE DAY.
YOU CAN GO ANYWHERE, EVEN PLAY
GOLF AT YOUR CLUB.
WHAT HE ESSENTIALLY SAID, HE
SPENT THE WEEKEND WATCHING FOX
NEWS AND REACTING IN REALTIME TO
THE PROGRAMMING OR LACK OF
PROGRAMMING IN SOME CASES THAT
WAS HAPPENING THERE.
THERE IS AN INTENSE LONELINESS
TO THIS, PUTTING ASIDE ALL THE
OTHER ELEMENTS OF IT.
THE OTHER THING I WAS STRUCK BY
IS JUST THE REASON HE CAN DO
THIS.
THIS. THE REASON THAT HE FEELS FINE
GOING ON THESE TANGENTS ONLINE.
I WAS STRUCK BY THE FACT THAT
THE REASON IS BECAUSE HE’S NEVER
BEEN SCOLDED OR PUNISHED IN A
WAY FOR ACTING IN THIS WAY.
IN THIS CASE, SPECIFICALLY, I’M
REFERENCING THE ATTACKS ON JOHN
McCAIN.
McCAIN. USUALLY, THERE IS A PUNISHMENT
FOR ADMONISHING AND RIDICULING A
WAR HERO WHO HAD RECENTLY
PASSED.
PASSED. IN THIS CASE, TRUMP’S DONE THIS
BEFORE.
BEFORE. HE’S ATTACKED McCAIN BOTH WHEN
HE WAS ALIVE, WHEN HE WAS SICK,
AND AFTER HE WAS DECEASED AND NO
ONE EVER PUNISHED HIM FOR IT.
THIS CASE, LINDSEY GRAHAM, JOHN
McCAIN’S BREAST FRIEND
BEST FRIEND PUT OUT AN McCAIN’S BREAST FRIEND TWEET AND
NEVER REFERENCED DONALD TRUMP.
VY THERE’S NO PENALTY HE EVER
HAS TO PAY.
>> NANCY, HOW NEW ZEALAND MAKE
FOR A KIND OF UNIQUE, TROUBLING
ISSUE FOR HIM?
>> WELL, HE’S DEFINITELY HAD A
LOT OF DIFFERENT PROBLEMS OVER
THE PAST EXPRESSING EMPATHY, AND
IN THIS CASE, THIS IS SORT OF A
PERFECT STORM FOR HIM.
IT’S A SITUATION THAT REQUIRES
HIM TO EXPRESS EMPATHY, BUT ALSO
HAVE TO CONFRONT THE FACT THAT
THERE WHITE NATIONALISTS THAT
ARE PART OF HIS BASE.
AND HE’S HAD A VERY HARD TIME IN
THE PAST DISTANCING HIMSELF FROM
THAT GROUP.
THAT GROUP. WE SAW THAT WITH
CHARLOTTESVILLE, WHERE HE
REFUSED TO BACK DOWN FROM THE
IDEA OF SAYING, YOU KNOW, THERE
WERE BOTH SIDES AT FAULT AND
THAT WAS A SITUATION THAT
REALLY, YOU KNOW, CAUSED A LOT
OF POLITICAL DAMAGE FOR HIM.
SO WE’RE SEEING THE SAME THING
HERE.
HERE. HE MINIMIZED THE IDEA THAT THE
SHOOTER WAS A WHITE NATIONALIST
AND SAID THAT’S JUST A SMALL
GROUP, IT’S NOT A BIG DEAL.
AND HE HASN’T REAL LLYLY COME OU
YET AND GIVEN WHAT I THINK A LOT
OF PEOPLE, A LOT OF AMERICANS
HAD HOPED, WHICH WOULD BE A
BROADER STATEMENT.
BROADER STATEMENT. HE’S BASICALLY LEFT THE DEFENSE
OF HIS RESPONSE TO TOP WHITE
HOUSE ADVISERS LIKE KELLYANNE
CONWAY OR HIS ACTING CHIEF OF
STAFF, MICK MULVANEY, BUT HE
HASN’T SORT OF BEEN THAT