>>> WELCOME BACK.
OUR PANELISTS ARE HERE, YAMICHE
ALCINDOR, JEH JOHNSON, STEPHEN
HAYES, EDITOR OF "THE DISPATCH"
AND WASH BUREAU CHIEF SUSAN
PAGE.
SUSAN, THE COMMENT, THE AD LIB
HERD AROUND THE WORLD,
LITERALLY.
WALKING IT BACK, SAYING IT,
EVERYBODY SEEMS TO AGREE, WAS
NOT THE RIGHT THING TO SAY AT
THE MOMENT, BUT EVERYONE IS
THINKING IT.
>> TRUE.
A WASHINGTON GAFFE, WE SAY,
PEOPLE SAY WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS
IS TRUE.
WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT TODAY?
NOT THE IMPASSIONED SENSE OF
DEMOCRACY BUT HIS FINAL WORDS
WHERE HE'S ASKING FOR REGIME
CHANGE, AND WE'LL FIND OUT
WHETHER IT'S DANGEROUS OR
DAMAGING OR CAUSES SOME REACTION
FROM MOSCOW THAT WOULD NOT HAVE
BEEN COMING JUST FROM CALLING
PUTIN A BUTCHER OR A WAR
CRIMINAL.
>> QUITE A WALK-BACK.
>> IT IS QUITE IA WALK-BACK, AND
YOU HAVE THE WHITE HOUSE MAKING
SURE HE JUST WANTS REGIME
CHANGE.
THIS IS AFTER HE HELD REFUGEE
CHILDREN, THIS IS AFTER HE HURT
ALL THESE PEOPLE, THIS IS AFTER
HE CALLED PUTIN A DICTATOR, SO
THE AVERAGE PERSON THIRNGNKING,
COURSE HE SHOULD NOT BE IN
POWER.
THAT SAID, IT IS DISTRACTING
BECAUSE NOW THE WHITE HOUSE, YOU
SEE ROB PORTMAN CALLING IT A
MISTAKE AND OTHERS SAYING IT WAS
A GAFFE.
>> I'M GOING TO DISSENT.
I'M NOT SURE I WOULD HAVE WALKED
IT BACK.
HE'S A WAR CRIMINAL.
HE'S SLAUGHTERING INNOCENT MEN,
WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
HE ILLEGALLY INVADED UKRAINE,
AND HE HAS GOT COMMAND CONTROL
OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
SUCH A PERSON SHOULD NOT REMAIN
IN POWER.
>> SO HE'S LOST HIS LEGITIMACY,
IN YOUR MIND?
>> MORE THAN LOST HIS
LEGITIMACY, AND AT MOST, I WOULD
HAVE MODIFIED THE STATEMENT BY
SAYING IT'S NOT A STATEMENT OF
OUR POLICY, IT'S JUST SIMPLY A
STATEMENT OF FACT.
BUT I'D LIKE TO SEE US AT SOME
POINT GET TO A PLACE WHERE WE'RE
NOT CONSTANTLY DISCLAIMING THE
LINE OVER WHICH WE WILL NOT
CROSS.
HE SAID IT, PRESIDENTS EVERY
ONCE IN A WHILE DO SAY THINGS
THAT AD LIB.
>> EVIL EMPIRE, RIGHT, RATTLED
THEIR CAGES.
>> THE BOMBING STARTS IN FIVE
MINUTES, REMEMBER THAT?
>> YEAH.
>> IT'S A STATEMENT OF FACT.
VIRTUALLY EVERYONE AGREES,
EVERYONE IN THE WESTERN WORLD
AGREES.
>> I THINK EVERYTHING THE
PRESIDENT SAYS ABOUT VLADIMIR
PUTIN IS CORRECT.
CLEARLY HE SHOULDN'T BE IN
POWER.
IT'S ONE THING TO SAY SOMETHING, TRUE, BUT IT'S ANOTHER TO WONDER
TRUE, BUT IT'S ANOTHER TO WONDER
WHY IT WAS WISE TO SAY IT.
THIS DOES, AS SENATOR PORTMAN
CALLS OUT, THEY HAVE LONG SAID
THAT NATO IS A THREAT TO
VLADIMIR PUTIN, IS A THREAT TO
SOVEREIGNTY.
THE U.S. SAYS, NO, THAT'S NOT
WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.
THIS IN A SENSE FEEDS THAT.
AND THAT'S A CONCERN.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF
TIMS PRESIDENT BIDEN HAS HAD TO
WALK BACK THINGS ON THIS TRIP,
THREE SIGNIFICANT STATEMENTS ON
THIS TRIP ALONE, THEN YOU GO
BACK FURTHER AND TALK ABOUT HIS
COMMENT ABOUT A MINOR INCURSION,
HE HAS SAID THINGS REPEATEDLY
THAT SHOW THE LACK OF DISCIPLINE
THAT PEOPLE HAD CONCERNS ABOUT
PRESIDENT BIDEN OR JOE BIDEN AS
A CANDIDATE.
>> THAT MAY BE WHY YOU HAVE THAT
INCREDIBLE 71% IN YOUR NEW POLL
THAT AMERICANS DO NOT HAVE
CONFIDENCE IN PRESIDENT BIDEN TO
HANDLE THE SITUATION.
THAT INCLUDES SOME OF HIS
SUPPORTERS.
THAT INCLUDES A FAIR NUMBER OF
DEMOCRATS.
AND THE IDEA THAT WHITE HOUSE
OFFICIALS, FIRST ANONYMOUSLY AND
THEN THE SECRETARY OF STATE HAVE
TO COME BACK AND CLEAN SOMETHING
UP, I THINK REINFORCES THE IDEA,
CAN WE TRUST HIM TO RESPOND IN A
COMPETENT WAY TO THIS WAR.
>> IT NEVER HAPPENED DURING THE
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.
>> IT'S PARTICULARLY CONCERNING
WHEN YOU THINK --
>> WE'VE BECOME NUMB TO IT AS A
PUBLIC THESE DAYS, BUT GO AHEAD.
>> THE PRESIDENT WAS GOING TO
COME WITH THE A-TEAM, HE WAS
GOING TO COME WITH ALL THIS
EXPERIENCE, AND NOW AMERICANS
ARE SAYING WE'RE NOT COMFORTNFID
IN YOUR POLICIES.
THEN PEOPLE SAID WHO DO WE BLAME
FOR RUSSIA AND PRICES?
THEY ARE ALL BLAMING PRESIDENT
BIDEN'S POLICIES.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT ALSO
BOTHERS OFFICIALS.
>> THE DEMOCRATS, FOR WHAT IT'S
WORTH, WE ARE SOMETIMES ALL
ABOUT OUR POCKETBOOK.
JEH?
>> YES.
AND AS MY FRIEND, THE LATE ANDY
COHEN USED TO SAY, WHEN IT COMES
TO POLLS, WITH ALL RESPECT TO
NBC, IT DEPENDS ON HOW YOU ASK
THE QUESTION.
IF YOU ASK AMERICANS THE BINARY
CHOICE OF YOUR WALLET VERSUS
SOMETHING ELSE, MOST ARE GOING
TO BE THEIR WALLET.
>> I THINK PART OF THE REASON
HE'S STRUGGLING ON THE ECONOMY
IS, ONE, WE'RE NOT SEEING ANY
IMPROVEMENT, AND TWO, HE'S NOT
WILLING TO DO THE KIND OF
THINGS, I THINK, WITH RESPECT TO
THE WAR AND THE ECONOMY THAT
MIGHT ACTUALLY HELP.
IF YOU TALK ABOUT AN ALL-IN
ENERGY POLICY THAT WOULD ADDRESS
SOME OF THE THINGS WE'RE SEEING
COME UP OUT OF RUSSIA AND
POTENTIALLY FORESTALL SOME OF
THE INFLATION, HE COULD MAKE THE
CASE BUT I DON'T THINK HIS BASE
WILL LET HIM.
>> YOU BROUGHT UP THE POLL
NUMBERS OF PRESIDENT BIDEN.
ON WHO DO YOU BLAME ON
INFLATION, I JUST WANT TO PUT IT
OUT HERE.
THE MOST GENEROUS WAY YOU CAN
LOOK AT IT, SUSAN, IS, WELL,
ONLY 38% BLAME PRESIDENT BIDEN
AND A MAJORITY BLAME SOMETHING
ELSE, BUT THAT'S ABOUT ALL YOU
CAN DO.
WHAT'S INTERESTING IS ONLY 6%
BLAME THE RUSSIAN INVASION OF
UKRAINE, AND THAT IS A SPECIFIC
THING THE PRESIDENT SAID.
>> INFLATION WAS BECOMING A
PROBLEM BEFORE RUSSIA INVADED
UKRAINE, ALTHOUGH IT'S CLEARLY
JACKED UP GAS PRICES AND HAD
SOME OTHER EFFECTS.
BUT THIS IS OF GREAT CONCERN TO
THE WHITE HOUSE.
THREE OF THE LAST FOUR
PRESIDENTS HAVE LOST CONTROL OF
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN
THEIR FIRST MIDTERM ELECTION,
AND WE'LL SEE THAT IN NOVEMBER.
>> THE PUBLIC IS GOING TO LOOK
AT IT, YOU'LL SEE 46-44,
REPUBLICANS UP BY TWO, BUT
THAT'S A COIN FLIP.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE HAD
REPUBLICANS LEAD IN OUR POLLS
SINCE SEPTEMBER OF 2014, EIGHT
YEARS AGO.
THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF A
DEMOCRATIC ADD BECAUSE DEMOCRATS
ARE PACKED IN MORE DISTRICTS
HERE.
THIS IS A HUGE RED FLAG.
>> IT'S A RED FLAG, AND IT'S
COUPLED WITH THE IDEA THAT
PEOPLE ARE BLAMING PRESIDENT
BIDEN'S POLICIES FOR INFLATION.
IT'S COUPLED WITH THE IDEA THAT
AMERICANS ARE STILL VERY, VERY
CONCERNED ABOUT HOW MUCH THEY'RE
PAYING FOR SO MANY OTHER THINGS,
NOT JUST GAS, AND THAT ALSO IS,
I THINK, PART OF THE REASON WHY
WHEN YOU ASK PEOPLE RIGHT NOW,
THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY SAYING
REPUBLICANS ARE THE ONES WHO
THEY TRUST WITH THE ECONOMY.
THAT'S GOING TO BE A HARD THING
FOR DEMOCRATS TO OVERCOME AND TO