Transcripts For CSPAN Campaign 2020 Donald Trump Candidate Profile 20240712

News and new book front row to the trump show. Let me begin with you. Has donald trump in the last 3 1 2plus years changed the . Residency julie i think he has. Think he has changed american perceptions of who can be president. I think he has changed about ns perceptions what the president should say, how the president should act, acceptable in that role. I do think there is a question, whether any future president acts in the same way trump does. Actually is a model president or of whether we see an effort to revert back. There is certainly now a much ifferent idea about the qualifications that it takes to become president and who could themselves r prepared and able to receive the votes of the american public. That i think really in an extraordinary way. Steve jon jon, your thoughts o Jonathan Karl, your thoughts to that question . Jonathan we havent had a president like donald trump before now. Actually dont think well ever again have another president like donald trump. Figure. Hes a singular but that said, julie is exactly right. Boundaries. The i think some of it will come back to normal. This k, you know, whether is coming up next year or whether its in four years. Be a degree will norms but hes shown you can do things that of doing. Ught one is Foreign Policy. The idea of the president of the of ed states on the kind whim embarking on something we saw with north korea and saying, what, im going to sit down and do something with vowed enemy, the north korean dictator. Through a at goes massive a decision of that magnitude would go through a engthy National Security process. I think hes shown that some of hose processes can be shortcircuited. You know, maybe it will happen again. I dont expect well have trump. Donald steve and we will look at some of those moments over the years. Some quick background. June esident was born in of 1946. In queens, new york. 1968 graduate of the university pennsylvania. What are then school of business. The father of five children. For the Reform Party Nomination back in 2000. Of course, entered the residential race in 2015 with that famous ride down theess can lator at trump tower. In very first appearance was january, 1998, in new york. Midtown manhattan. Event sponsored by the rainbow push coalition. Ere is what he was talking about. President trump the fact is that building was built with the downtown,ause as we call it, the Downtown Market in Lower Manhattan has given massive tax ncentives for regrowth and rebirth. And its really paid off. I mean, tremendous amounts of construction are taking place. I think its good to ask for abatements. I will tell you that residential batements and commercial abatements have a tremendous impact on construction. And i mean, i know all the taxes and i know all the tax laws and changes. And i will say that the 421 the same program on fifth avenue and 57th street which is trump tower as it is harlem. Andujar lem needs more help than does and harlem needs more than fifth avenue. I think in terms of an economic ncentive is Real Estate Tax abatements at a large level and larger than other sections of the city. 1998. That from january, Jonathan Karl you were in new york in the 1990s covering onald trump in part for the new york post, what are you hearing in that exchange . Jonathan first of all, its his politics has changed over the years. You know, when he ran for the at rm Party Nomination or least started talking about like he was going to run for it, was a year after that, he a tax y came out with onetime steve, of a 14. 14. 25 tax hike on for anybody who had more than 10 million. If you have if your net worth was over 10 million, you were going to write a onetime check than government for more 14 of your total net worth. He ould have been, calculated, it would have raised nearly 6 trillion. The debt at that point. It would have been by far the the history ike in of western civilization. Somebody who at there you talked about there you were talking about harlem. Ng somebody who talked about the biggest tax increase in history go on to become the leader havee Republican Party and near unanimous support among conservative republicans really far he has w traveled. Steve julie pace, what are you hearing back in 1998 . Other thing thats interesting listening to that lip just how rooted trumps Life Experience is in his work as a developer. You know, real estate really of how he looks at the world. Thats continued on. Hell the presidency, occasionally be having these interactions with World Leaders r with lawmakers and hell go back to something that happened, you know, back in the day in new york. Building he was working on or hotel project. That has really shaped his world view. You know, he argues that its really valuable experience. Critics some of his say you cant base the entire u. S. Presidency on what happens in the world of real estate. Hes never really lost that idea even as president that ltimately what he is is a developer. Jonathan by the way, one of the he gs you hear him saying, knows everything. I know about the tax, i know about this. In some ways even though his positions have showed great fluidity, there has been a to how he consistency talks about himself. Steve and, of course, as we repare for the president ial debates, as you mentioned, Jonathan Karl, he briefly ran in 2000 as a candidate for the party. And in january of 2000, this is hat he said in minnesota with thengovernor Jesse Ventura about the upcoming debates and election. Mr. Trump its disgraceful. Its amazing they can get away it. The democrats and republicans, as you know, chose the i guess you have three members of ones that ey are the chose. If you look at your lobbyists and everyone, theyre either republicans or democrats. Add one additional thing. I watched the Republican Debate and ill tell you what. If the right person was debating whoever the winner of that group they would have a major impact on the election. Because that was not very a Inspiring Group of people that i was watching last night. O i think they are very concerned. I think theyre extremely nervous about it. Nd i also think that probably the law may be will be changed in this case or the rule this case ged in because its just inconceivable o me they can allow this to happen. Reporter would you want to go to challenge it . R. Trump i think i probably would. Cannon is in court. Hell probably get nowhere. The fact is, let him spend his money first. He doesnt do it, well step in and maybe we can do something. Very, very, it seems unfair. Reporter what do you do . Think this guy would. I think based on our polls we would. Ased on what weve done internally we would. If people think im running we do great. Not going oh, hes to run, hes having fun. Thats not the case. If people think were running, running, we do very well. I think its unfair that have such of that, to a high standard, high criteria for a party thats a legitimate that has a substantial amount of federal funding, at s recognized and were some point during this process somebodys going to be in all 50 states. Unfair. Steve julie pace, as you listen ago. At, that was 20 years clearly Businessman Donald Trump was thinking a lot about politics. Julie absolutely. Of the running themes as we listen to a lot of these clips will be the consistency of the way he has wayed about himself and the he talked about politics. Ven if his policy agenda has shifted here. I think whats really interesting going back looking that, this was a time when trump was trying to shake up the system from the outside. The now, he was seeking nomination of a third party. And what he ultimately saw, was a weakness in one of the two major parties. Republican party was not representing all of some of the with more centrist or moderate positions that often took hold in washington. Advantage of that. He recognized there was a segment of a Mainstream Party not feel that the top of their party was representing interests and he capitalized on that. He was trying to do a same thing hrough a third party, give those people another just let. I think its remarkable and the mpact he had on our entire political system by, again, shaking up the Republican Party. The Lasting Impact of that will, know, go on far beyond his time in the white house, whether its four or eight years. Karl, would you agree with that, a consistent theme in Donald Trumps views . Al jonathan absolute consistency going after what we once considered the republican hes ishment, and completely upended that. I totally agree with julie. Think future ng i president s will see is they can go directly to the people and go along directly with where the Party Leadership is. Trump, thats one thing hes done successfully. Now, there are some things where lockstep very much in with the base of his party. But hes completely upended the Republican Party was on things like trade. Ways, Foreign Policy. Hes gone in his own way. Steve on the morning of april 2011, we received an advanced copy of president before theas speech white house Correspondence Dinner and it has been one of the most watched events in the cspan video library. Getting a lot of attention this. E of president obama no one is appier or prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the donald. And thats because he can focusing on ack to the issues that matter. Did we fake the moon landing . [laughter] what really happened in roswell . Where are biggie and tupac . [applause] all kidding aside, obviously we know about your credentials and bredth of experience. [laughter] no. Example seriously. N an episode of Celebrity Apprentice at the steak house, the Mens Cooking Team did not judges from omaha steaks. And there was a lot of blame to but you, mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem leadership. F and so ultimately you didnt jon or meat loaf. You fired gary busey. And these are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night. [laughter] [applause] sir. Handled, wellhandled. Say what you will about mr. Trump. E certainly would bring some change to the white house. See what we got up there. [laughter] steve Jonathan Karl, you talked to trump more recently about that dinner. You . Did he tell jonathan well, this was a scene that i recount in my book where summoned me to the oval office. E was very upset about a story that i had done about hurricane dorian. You remember, where he said it going to it was going to affect alabama. The National Weather service wasnt. Anyway, he had brought me in and two of our White House Correspondent association oval office to the basically to complain about unfair coverage, as he saw it. All that, he got to he went on this extended riff 2011 dinner. One of the first things he asked actually it was a wild scene, steve. Is people brought us into the oval office and then left to go get him. Standing hile i was there with julies colleague, zeke miller, waiting for the to come into the oval office. We were just alone. And he comes in. He says is, ng hows the dinner coming . Its coming good. Goes en he and then he off on this riff about the 2011 dinner where he says, you know, why i ran k thats for president because i was upset with barack obama. That couldnt be further from truth. I actually thought he was pretty funny. By his by his speech. I couldnt laugh because i knew me. Cameras were on thats why i wasnt laughing. I had no problem. Thats ridiculous. People say that. Of course, that is omething that [laughter] i saw him. I interviewed him, actually, at dinner. And i he was not happy at all. He was very profoundly uncomfortable. Wasnt just that joke that you played. Mean, he obama went just viciously at trump for much of speech. Uch of his and made trump the butt of his jokes. It was quite clear he was not wanted me to know ears later that he didnt mind it. Steve julie pace, you would agree its one of the dinners today. Talk about julie its one of the dinners people talk about today. I think one of the reasons that stands out, that whole dinner stands out, it got a core motivator for donald trump, which is, hes never really felt respected. No matter how e much money he has, no matter how amous he is, he was chasing respect. Here he was sitting among all of these powerful people in butt of n and hes the the joke again. And when he started running for president , i know this was sort moment to push back on those people to say, hey, im not a joke anymore. Do think even though he is president in office, hes still motivated by that idea that he get fair coverage. That people still look down on him. He can never quite get the he feels like he deserves. Its been this constant strain. I think that dinner, you know, crystallized that. Steve of course, it was june 6, 2015, that donald trump at trump tower in mid town m official as heit entered the g. O. P. Race. Mr. Trump we need somebody that of the unitedrand states and make it great again. Again. T great [cheers and applause] somebody need we need somebody that literally take this country and make it great again can do that, and, i will tell love my life. I have a wonderful family. Saying, dad, youre going to do something thats going to be so tough. Life i heard of my that a truly successful person, really successful erson and even modestly successful, cannot run for public office. Just cant happen. Of yet, thats the kind mindset that you need to make again. Untry great am ladies and gentlemen, i officially running for president of the United States, and we are our country great again [cheers and applause] that from five years ago as donald trump officially entered the race. Circles, arl, in many is announcement was quickly dismissed. Jonathan first of all, talk about upending political traditions. The fact that somebody could candidacy for presidency from the lobby of building, i mean, usually you go out to michigan someplace go springfield, illinois, where for you have a big event. He did it right there. The e had to do was get on elevator. I think watching and listening the crowd eve, is thats clapping. And as i report in my book, they actually paid actors to come in to be trump supporters. This was there was so ittle that went into this announcement, they had to go out theyad a casting call that paid people to cheer him on. There is a scene i described in book that happened right before the president started his speech or the candidate Donald George stephanopoulos had an interview with him that was take place right after the speech. So he was brought so he was brought in to be there by Michael Cohen who ended up going to jail and writing a tellall book against trump trul. But Michael Cohen wanted to show off how good these actors were and he brought george into the lobby of trump tower and he said, watch this. And he walks in front of him and he says, ladies and gentlemen, george ms. Stefanik and then they all do the exact same thing you heard them doing. They did their part. Hey cheered and they moved on. But nobody took it seriously. Most of the networks, including abc news, actually didnt even have campaign imbed reporters assigned to donald trump. All the other candidates, you know, had specific embed reporters assigned to cover the caers signed to cover the campaign. Not so much with donald trump at that point because, again, nobody really thought this was a serious candidacy. They thought it was a ploy, a way to promote the apprentice but not a serious candidacy. Obviously it turned out to be quite serious. Steve so fast forward to november, 2016. Why from your standpoint was the donald trump message successful in getting him elected . Julie i think trump saw something that was going on in this country that maybe other politicians hadnt seen before or even if they had seen it, maybe they werent quite sure how to tap into it. He saw this idea that for a lot of americans, particularly White Working Class americans, there was a shared frustration with both political parties. He was able to tap into a frustration with the elites in the establishment in the Republican Party, among traditional republican voters, but also some people who had voted democrat for years, for decades. He spoke in a way that resonated with people. It was as if he was speaking for them and he wasnt afraid to speak for their interests. He wasnt going to get sucked into the same Power Dynamics and be concerned about the same things that other politicians, you know, were worried about, the same electoral concerns because he was kind of free from the process. I think that one thing that resonated that i heard a lot in covering him during the 2016 campaign is people liked that he was rich. That he didnt have to rely on donors. And they liked that he didnt actually need to be president. Its a line he has said quite a bit. He said, i had a great life. I didnt need to do that. That did resonate with people because they didnt feel necessarily like this was something he had spent his whole life working toward. I think the combination of those factors, in addition to the fact that he was also running against another historically unpopular candidate in Hillary Clinton, and a lot of voters had suspicions of her and really questioned her, gave him this opening. It was this perfect storm that allowed him to really pull off this Pretty Amazing victory. Steve and of course moments after being sworn in as the 45th president , january 20, 2017, the west front of the u. S. Capitol, his inaugural speech. President trump from this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, its oing to be only america first. America first. [cheers and applause] every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on Foreign Affairs will be made to benefit American Workers and american families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries, making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our obs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for you with every breath in my body and i will never, ever let you down. [cheers and applause] america will start winning again. Winning like never before. We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams. [cheers and applause] steve from january, 2017. Jonathan karl, you were on the press risers covering that inaugural speech. What kind of reaction did it get from those who you talked to in the crowd, but also from official washington . Jonathan ill tell you, i was right there on the platform, not far from where he was speaking. As you know, one of the Amazing Things about president ial inaugurations, especially since reagan moved them to the west front of the capitol, as you see , all of the power players in our government, theyre assembled together. You see the outgoing president , the incoming president , the past president s and first ladies. You see the congressional leadership, both party, supreme court, the governors of most of the states are there on the platform as well. You played the more optimistic part of that speech. That speech is perhaps most well known for his line, american carnage. And he talked before he got to what he was going to do about how how he thought the Political Leadership in both parties had effectively destroyed our country. Left carnage in its wake. Because they did everything just for themselves. And it was a really an incredible and extraordinary attack on each and every individual that was on that stage with him, on certainly the outgoing president , barack obama, but also his predecessor, george w. Bush. Remember, Hillary Clinton was on the stage with bill clinton. The congressional leadership. He was lambasting all of them and promising a profound break and it now and now i will come in and i will ask only what is best for america, as if those people that were on the stage with him had done something differently. As if they had acted contrary to americas interest. So it was an incredibly harsh attack on the people that were there to help celebrate this transition of power. Usually a moment of unity, an uplifting moment. And he made it an attack on official washington and on both parties. And it was you could see how uncomfortable everybody was on that stage. I mean, i remember george w. Bush, looking at him thinking, gosh, hes got a lot of places he would rather be than right there at that moment. Steve of course the next day was a saturday, january 21. Julie pace, i want to show this with sean spicer. His first appearance behind the podium in the lathe in the afternoon as he went after the reporters on crowd size. Inaccurate numbers involving crowd size were also tweeted. No one had numbers. Because the National Park service, which controls the national mall, does not put any out. By the way, this applies to any attempts to try to count the number of protesters today in the same fashion. We do know a few things. So lets go through the facts. We know that from the platform, where the president was sworn in to Fourth Street, holds about 250,000 people. From Fourth Street to the media tent is about another 220,000. And from the media tent to the washington monument, another 250,000 people. All of this space was full when the president took the oath of office. We know that 420,000 people used the d. C. Metro Public Transit yesterday, which actually compares to 317,000 that used it for president obamas last inaugural. This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration period. Both in person and around the globe. Even the New York Times a ted a photograph showing misrepresentation of the crowd in the original tweet in their paper, which showed the full extent of the support, depth and crowd and intensity that existed. These attempts to lessen the enthusiasm of the inauguration are shameful and wrong. Steve as you listen to that again, your reaction . Julie a lot of memories. Look, weve spent a lot of time in the White House Briefing room over the years and that was a pretty remarkable moment. I remember just thinking to myself, is this what were talking about . On the first full day of this president s term . And yeah. That was what he wanted to talk about. I remember writing an analysis coming out of that moment about how trump had run for office promising to do all these big things and spent his first full day as president fighting about small things. About crowd size. But i do think it spoke to consume of things. One, it just spoke to the fact that this was going to be a presidency that was going to be about grievances. The president does not let anything pass by. If he feels like he has been slighted, if he feels like hes not getting credit for something, he will become almost consumed by it. And i think that was our first real signal that that trait that had been with him through the campaign and in his prior life was going to maintain itself throughout the presidency. It was also our first real sign of what the interaction between sean spicer as press secretary and the White House Press corps was going to be. Its notable that sean walked out of the Briefing Room without taking questions. The Briefing Room is a place for reporters to be able to press Public Officials on whats happening and he walked out without taking questions. Which did not set the relationship off on a good note. And also, he was saying things that were false. And that again, i think we can all agree, continued on throughout his tenure. And so it just got that relationship off to a really rocky start, which was kind of remarkable because many of us had known sean for quite some time through his prior work in washington. But looking back at that, in some ways it did it set the tone for both the president and his press secretaries and that relationship with the press for now years to come. Steve Jonathan Karl, you mentioned american carnage. Six weeks after being sworn in in his first state of the Union Address, late february, 2017, this is what he told congress. President trump weve defended the borders of other nations. While leaving our own borders wide open. For anyone to cross. And for drugs to pore in at a now unprecedented rate. And weve spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas while our infrastructure at home has so badly crumbled. Then in 2016, the earth shifted beneath our feet. The rebellion started. As a quiet protest. Spoken by families of all colors and creeds. Families who just wanted a fair shot for their children. And a fair hearing for their concerns. But then the quiet voices became a loud chorus. As thousands of citizens now spoke out together from cities small and large all across our country. Finally, the chorus became an earthquake and the people turned out by the tens of millions and they were all united by one very simple but crucial demand. That america must put its own citizens first because only then can we truly make America Great again. [cheers and applause] steve that from 2017. Jonathan karl, that has been a very consistent theme over the last four years. Jonathan it has. That was probably the most well received speech of the Trump Presidency. Up until this point. He went in, we all kind of wondered what it would be like when he went in this House Chamber and addressed a joint session. And he pulled it off. I think that one of the extraordinary things about it, though, one of the questions that will always linger is why he didnt follow through. You heard him talk about rebuilding the country, the infrastructure of the country. I think part of the appeal of donald trump as a candidate is he was a builder and there was this idea that he was going to come in and build great things on behalf of the country. Appeal to greatness. One of the running jokes over the course of the first couple years of the Trump Presidency was that every week seemed to be announced as being infrastructure week but he never did it. He never got congress to pass an infrastructure bill of any significance. There was never any big public works project outside of the wall and even that was rather limited compared to what he had promised. The border wall. And you wonder, you know, possibly, how would it have been different if he had come in when he had some Political Capital early on, and pushed through a big spending bill that would have had a lot of democrats supporting him and done something to rebuild americas bridges and its airports, you know, done something put his stamp on it. But it was the path not taken. Steve of course one of the most consequential moments early in his presidency, the early praise, but then the firing of f. B. I. Director james comey, from the oval office in may of 2017. This is what he told reporters. Reporter why did you fire director comey . President trump because he wasnt doing a good job. Very simply. He was not doing a good job. Reporter [indiscernible] President Trump not at all. Reporter will the f. B. I. Director be in charge of the russia investigation . President trump thank you, everybody. Thank you. Steve you can see the president with former secretary of state henry kiss inger. How significant was this in the president s first year . Julie it was hugely significant. Not just in that first year but i think it really changed the trajectory of the presidency. It set in motion the Mueller Investigation, which consumed so much time. I think you can argue that theres also a direct line from the firing of comey to the Mueller Investigation to ultimately the impeachment probe. And i think it has left this shadow over this president. As someone who wants to actively kind of blur the lines of the presidency and wants to push the guard rails and doesnt have respect for the institutional boundaries that have existed to keep president s kind of out of trouble. To keep them from interfering in investigations, especially when they relate to themselves or to their political allies. And he has just blown through those. Certainly the president and his advisors and supporters would argue that there have not been consequences for that because he ultimately was not removed from office through the impeachment trial. He ultimately feels like he was vindicated by the Mueller Investigation. But i think the election in november will be the ultimate indicator of whether there is real lasting damage to so much of what we have seen that really did start with that firing of jim comey. Steve also in august of that year, a moment that joe biden said was a defining moment in his decision to run for president , as the demonstrations and counterdemonstrations took place in charlottesville, virginia. And heres what the president said in august of 2017 in new york. Reporter are you putting what youre calling the altleft and White Supremacists on the same moral plane . President trump im not putting anybody on a moral plane. What im saying is. This you had a grooth group on one side and a group on the other and they came at each other with clubs and it was vicious and it was horrible and it was a horrible thing to watch. But there is another side. There was a group on this side, you can call them the left, youve just called them the left, that came violently attacking the other group. So you can say what you want, ut thats the way it is. [talking simultaneously] reporter you said there was hatred and violence on both sides. President trump i think theres blame on both sides. You look at both sites, sides, i think theres blame on both sides and i have no doubt about it and you dont have any doubt about it either. And if you reported it accurately, you would say. [talking simultaneously] reporter they showed President Trump excuse me. [indiscernible] you had some very bad people in that group. But 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. You had people in that group that were there to protest, the taking down, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from robert e. Lee to another name. [talking simultaneously] President Trump George Washington was a slave owner. Was George Washington a slave owner . So will George Washington now lose his status . Are we going to take down excuse me. Are we going to take down statues to George Washington . How about Thomas Jefferson . What do you think of him . Do you like him . Ok, good. Are we going to take down the statue . Because he was a major slave owner. Now, are we going to take down his statue . So you know what, its fine. Youre changing history. Youre changing culture. And you had people, and im not talk about the neonazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally. But you had many people in that group other than neonazis and white nationalists. And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly. Steve that from the summer of 2017. Jonathan karl, i want you to react to that moment but also its a good example, and you see this every single day, how he interacts with the White House Press corps. Jonathan yeah. You know, that moment i think certainly until 2020 was the low point of the Trump Presidency. It was something that was condemned by Republican Leaders in congress. His chief economic advisor, gary cohen, came very close to resigning in the wake of that. That line, the line right in the middle of you what played where he said very fine people on both sides, and hes reminded about the neonazis. Everybody saw and he said right there, he saw the pictures too, neonazis carrying tiki torches, marching in charlottesville, saying jews will not replace us, and he is saying there were very fine people on both sides. Really a moment that he never apologized for, he never clarified, i think did him a serious damage. And i wrote about, in my book, something in researching my book i found out, that i did not know at the time, was, as bad as that moment was for donald trump he said almost exactly the same thing, the same rant, the day before in a private meeting that had never been reported on at the white house, in the white house residence, that was attended by his new chief of staff, john kelly, by jeff sessions, his attorney general, by christopher wray, the f. B. I. Director, and he went through basically the same exact rants, which by the way included lavish praise of Stonewall Jackson and robert e. Lee as great military minds. And nobody in that private meeting spoke up and said, mr. President , in the wake of White Supremacists protesting in charlottesville and killing a protester, remember, heggetter higher was killed in those protest Heather Heyer was killed in those protest, the counterprotests, it might not be an idea to start praising confederates and talking about how there are very fine people on both sides. Nobody spoke up and said that and then he went out and said the same thing the next day in public and it became a real dark mark on his presidency. Steve julie pace, a few months after that, in the fall of 2017, a mass shooting in las vegas killing 60, injuring 400 others. One of the worst in american history. This is what he said, ill get your reaction afterwards. President trump it was an act of pure evil. The f. B. I. And the department of Homeland Security are working closely with local authorities to assist with the investigation and they will provide updates as to the investigation and how it develops. I want to thank the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police department and all of the First Responders for their courageous efforts and for helping to save the lives of so many. The speed with which they acted is miraculous and prevented further loss of life. To have found the shooter so quickly after the first shots were fired is something for which we will always be thankful and grateful. It shows what true professionalism is all about. Hundreds of our fellow citizens are now mourning the sudden loss of a loved one, a parent, a hild, a brother or sister. We cannot fathom their pain, we cannot imagine their loss. To the families of the victims, we are praying for you and we are here for you and we ask god to help see you through this very dark period. Steve julie pace, as you well know, one of the jobs of any president is to serve as comper in chief. Your thoughts . Con for ther in chief. Your thoughts . Comforter in chief. Your thoughts . Jonathan we julie we see the difference between scripted and unscripted trump. Hes had moments in his presidency, that included, the first state of the Union Address where hes had a script in which you get to the end of the remarks and you think, you know, he can pull this off. He can play the role. He can rise to the moment. And then you have all of the other unscripted moments. And those are the ones that really resonate and those tend to be the ones where he does find himself getting into trouble or he does find himself generating controversy and i do think, and we touched on this earlier, one of the great Unanswered Questions about this presidency will have been, what would have happened if wed had more scripted trump sfr i dont think its reasonable trump . I dont think its reasonable to expect we would have given Donald Trumps personality and his instincts but again, youve had these moments where i think even some democrats have conceded that hes handled them well. What would the presidency have looked like . Would he have had an opportunity to expand his base so he could have been heading into this Reelection Campaign without this very narrow path, with more leeway, more voters potentially on the table . Instead what weve seen is his path to a second term and his core group of voters get narrower and narrower because what hes most remembered for, what most people think about when they think about trump are those moments like the response to charlottesville. They dont think about the clip you just played, the response to the las vegas shooting. They think more about those undiscriminated moments and that is what puts him in the position to, yes, be able to win a second term, but to do so quite narrowly. Steve of course this has been a year with wildfires out west in california, washington, oregon, hurricanes and tornadoes here in the east. Hurricane maria struck in 2017. The white house announcing additional aid now for puerto rico. Heres how the president reacted when he was down there, october of 2017. Steve as you watch that from puerto rico, what are your thoughts, Jonathan Karl . Jonathan went down to puerto rico in advance of the president s trip and i stayed after he left and got to see the devastation firsthand. And it was shocking how that island was battered by that hurricane. Its a lush, green island and yet the trees, the greenery of the trees was blown away. The island was left almost entirely without power. The toll and suffering and death. And there you have the president , you know, throwing paper towels out like hes shooting hoops. The other thing he did on that trip is he went and he met with the governor of puerto rico. And he made a point in saying that he had brought his o. M. B. Director, who was then Mick Mulvaney with him. So youre going to be asking for a lot of money but we have to keep an eye on the budget. All you think of is somebody going to a scene of devastation like that and hes already talking about how hes not hes going to be limited on what kind of money hell be able to provide. He also marveled at the low death count because at that point the known death toll was quite low. So he was congratulating the governor on having a much lower death count than hurricane katrina. It really there was a real disconnect between the president s demeanor on that trip and the incredible suffering of the puerto rican people. Steve julie pace, did you want to weigh in . Julie the one thing i would add is weve seen in the late stages of this campaign the president authorizing some assistance for puerto rico and i think its because of the political reality. Puerto ricans dont just live in puerto rico. They live in a state like florida and i think the president is now grappling with some of the political realities of his actions earlier in his presidency, trying to make up some ground, saying that he has done tremendous things for puerto rico, knowing that, as jonathan said, the reaction on the ground was quite surprised. People were quite thrown by the way he was handling a tragedy that had befallen americans. And so now hes trying to make up for that with some late action in this campaign. I dont know if it will have the affect he hopes it will by wiping away those images that you played. Steve he said in announcing the additional funds for puerto rico that nobody has done more for puerto rico than i have. Jonathan i was there in the wake of Hurricane Maria and i also covered the way the president dealt with the aftermath and he complained bitterly about the amount of money that congress had authorized to support puerto ricos recovery efforts. Said it was way too much. He had talked about how puerto rican politician, all they do is complain and ask for more money. And now suddenly on the eve of an election, where he may need some puerto rican votes in florida, hes portraying himself as the great savior of puerto rico. You just played the tape. Steve lets turn our attention to Foreign Policy. As you mentioned earlier, Jonathan Karl, one of the key moments in the first four years of the Trump Presidency, his leadership with the north korean leader, kim jong un. This is what he told the u. N. General asem assembly in fall of 2017. President trump no one has shown more contempt for other nations and for the wellbeing of their own people than the depraved regime in north korea. It is responsible for the starvation deaths of millions of north koreans. And for the imprisonment, torture, killing and oppression of countless more. We were all witness to the regimes deadly abuse when an innocent American College student, student was returned to america only to die a few days later. We saw it in the assassination of the dictators brother, using banned nerve agents in an international airport. We know it kidnapped a sweet 13yearold japanese girl from a beach in her own country, to enslave her as a language tutor for north koreas spies. If this is not twisted enough, now north koreas reckless pursuit of Nuclear Weapons and Ballistic Missiles threatens the entire world with unthinkable loss of human life. It is an outrage that some nations would not only trade with such a regime, but would arm, supply and financially support a country that imperils the world with nuclear conflict. No nation on earth has an interest in seeing this band of criminals arm itself with Nuclear Weapons and missiles. The United States has great strength and patience. But if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will ave no choice but to totally destroy north korea. Rocketman is on a Suicide Mission for himself and for his regime. The United States is ready, willing and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary. Thats what the United Nations is all about. Thats what the United Nations is for. Steve julie pace, we now know the rest of the story in terms of the summit meetings with the north korean leader. But as you go back and hear what the president said, the reference to kim jong un and the threat of Nuclear Weapons, what do you remember about that story and you personally covering can . Covering it . Julie it is remarkalbe to look back on that because now so much of the relationship or the discussion around the u. S. And north korea does focus on the president s courting of kim jong un. But i remember being there for that speech, at that time there was this real sense that we were heading for a conflict. This had been hanging over several president s, its one of the warnings that the Obama Administration gave to the Trump Administration when they were transitioning power, where they said, focus on north korea, this is a real threat. There was a feeling that President Trump was so unpredictable that it was possible we could end up in an armed conflict. What was going to happen, what was going to happen coming out of that . Was this going to pit the u. S. And china against each snore i remember very tense nights trying to sort out what was really happening there. And of course ultimately we pulled back from the brink and the president focused on diplomacy, which has not yielded the results that he had hoped for and we are in this same position of unpredictability with the north koreans. But i do think this is one of those constant refrains with this president on National Security, not just with north korea, but also with iran, just this idea of unpredictability and this idea of feeling like hes walking us up to the line. Though never quite crossing it. Steve it was of course less than a year later the summit in singapore. Lets show you what happened and get your reaction, jonathan arl. [speaking foreign language] President Trump thank you very much. Thats fantastic. [applause] thank you very much, everybody. Well see you a little bit later. And were very proud what have took place today. I think our whole relationship with north korea and the Korean Peninsula is going to be a very much different situation than it has in the past. We both want to do something, we both are going to do something. And weve developed a very special bond. So, people are going to be very impressed. People are going to be very happy. And were going to take care of a very big and very dangerous problem for the world. And i want to thank chairman kim , spent a lot of time together today. Very intensive time. And i would actually say that it worked out for both of us, far better than anybody could have expected. I think far better i watched the various news reports, i would say far better than anybody even predicted. This is going to lead to more and more and more and its an honor to be with you. Very great honor. Thank you. Thank you to all of your representatives very much. Steve Jonathan Karl, chief White House Correspondent for abc news, again, that moment, put that in context and also how President Trump used the pageantry of his office. Jonathan it remains one of the most mindblowing things ive ever covered, covering the white house, covering four different president s. I mean, the idea that the president , who had just threatened to completely and totally destroy north korea, who had threatened to rain fire and fury down on north korea, and the north korean dictator, who was the most feared human being on the planet, who had only left his country once as the north korean leader, and that was to take a short trip by train into china, so this was they had to borrow an airplane from the chinese to fly to singapore. This recluesive, mysterious, you know, Third Generation north korean dictator, to see the two of them together, greeting each other as if they were old friends, was still something that blows me away. But he understood how to capture , you said the pageantry, the images, the images of those who dominated the world media. So the most believable statement you heard from the president there was he said that he watched the news conference. He relished the news conversation. So much that we were back coverage. So much that we were back a year later with another north korean summit. In terms of the substance, it didnt accomplish anything. Except for it hit pause on the conflict. There were no more nuclear tests, no more missile tests for a time. But he didnt get north korea to agree to anything and north korea didnt get the United States to agree to dismantling any sanctions. But i have to say, the president s been roundly criticized by Foreign Policy experts in both parties for agreeing to meet with kim jong un without getting anything substantive in return. But that moment, you know, you have to remember what he inherited. He inherited a complete and total failure of bipartisan failure of the greatest Foreign Policy minds or so we thought in our country, who had tried to deal with the north korean threat, beginning with the clinton administration, into the entirety of the Second Bush Administration and the Obama Administration. They had tried to prevent north korea from getting Nuclear Weapons. It failed entirely. They developed a rather extensive nuclear program. And the Missile Program that could potentially deliver those weapons to the United States. So thats what donald trump inherited and he tried something radically different to deal with it. Steve another moment, a month later as the president traveled to helsinki, finland. Meeting with russian president Vladimir Putin. Once again, a moment a lot of people continue to talk about today. Lets watch. President trump i think that the United States has been foolish. I think weve all been foolish. We should have had this dialogue a long time ago. A long time frankly before i got to office. And i think were all to blame. I think that the United States now has stepped forward, along with russia, and were getting together and we have a chance to do some great things. Whether its Nuclear Proliferation in terms of stopping, have to do it, ultimately thats probably the most important thing that we can be working on. But i do feel that we have both made some mistakes. I think that the probe is a disaster for our country. I think its kept us apart. Its kept us separated. There was no collusion at all. Everybody knows it. People are being brought out to the fore. So far that i know, virtually none of it related to the campaign. And theyre going to have to try to find somebody who did relate to the campaign. It was a clean campaign. I beat Hillary Clinton easily and frankly we beat her and im not even saying from the standpoint, we won that race and its a shame that there can even be a little bit of a cloud over it. People know that, people understand it, but the main thing and we discussed this also, is zero collusion. And it has had a negative impact upon the relationship of the two Largest Nuclear powers in the world. We have 90 of Nuclear Power between the two countries. Its ridiculous. Its ridiculous whats going on with the probe. Steve julie pace, as you recall, that meet something also when the president questioned his own Intelligence Community. Julie absolutely. I mean, theres a lot to unpack from that visit. I think what is so striking is the president standing next to Vladimir Putin and say nothing about what the Intelligence Community indisputably says happened during the 2016 election. Trump got so wrapped up in the questions about his own campaign and the questions about his own relationship with russia that he could never find a way to warn russia against interfering in u. S. Elections going forward, to take any kind of action to hold them accountable for what happened in 2016. Because he couldnt see that there was any disconnect between that and his own presidency. Any criticism, any punishment of russia for actions in 2016, he felt would be seen as a sign that he was illegitimate. And as a result you have the russians feeling very emboldened and like under a Trump Presidency they can get away with quite a lot and there were a lot of people in the Intelligence Community, under the Trump Administration, and also republicans who have pushed to be very tough on russia over the years, who were really angered by what they saw as the president s willingness to give russia a pass in that kind of setting. Certainly for Vladimir Putin, that was quite a gift. Steve Jonathan Karl in herms of terms of his relationship with members of congress, most notable ms. Pelosi nancy pelosi. From december of 2018, in the oval office, there was this as lawmakers were battling the threat of a protracted government shutdown. Ms. Pelosi the fact is the House Republicans could bring up this bill if they had the votes immediately and set the tone for what you want. President trump we thought we were going to get it passed in the senate, nancy. Wed do it immediately. Wed get it passed very easily in the house. Id get it passed in two seconds. It doesnt matter, we cant get it passed in the senate because we need 10 democratic votes. Ms. Pelosi let us have our conversation. The fact is that legislating, which is what we do, you begin, you make your points, you state your case, thats what the House Republicans could do. If they had the votes. But there are no votes in the house, majority votes, for a wall. No matter where you start. President trump needed the votes for the wall in the house, i would have them in one session, would be done. It doesnt help because we need 10 democrats in the senate. Ms. Pelosi dont put it on the senate. Put it on the negotiations. President trump let me ask you this. Were doing this in a very friendly manner. It doesnt help for me to take a vote in the house when i will win easily with the republicans. Ms. Pelosi will you not win. President trump it doesnt help to take the vote because im not going to get the vote of the senate. I need 10 senators. Hats the problem. [talking simultaneously] senator schumer we have a lot of disagreements here. You constantly misstate how much of the wall is built and how much is there. But thats not the point. We have a disagreement about the wall. [talking simultaneously] not on Border Security but on the wall. We do not want to shut down the government. You have called 20 times were called 20 times to shut down the government. You say, i want to shut down the government. We dont. We want to come to an agreement. If we cant come to an agreement, we have solutions that will pass the house and senate right now. And will not shut down the government and thats what were urging you to do. Not threaten to shut down the government President Trump you dont want to shut down the government. Mr. Schumer because you cant get your way. Let me say something, mr. President. You say my way or well shut down the government. We have a proposal that democrats and republicans will support, to do a c. R. , that will not shut down the government. We urge to you take it. President trump if its not good Border Security, i wont mr. Schumer its very good Border Security. Steve december 11, 2018. Jonathan karl, you remember that moment, it went on for 15 minutes on camera. Jonathan yeah, yeah, yeah. One of the things, i talk about something weve never seen in previous is thes. Im not sure well see again. He loved to have those previous president s. Im not sure well see again. He loved to have those negotiations play out in public. He was in meetings he had in the cabinet room with congressional leaders where he kept us in for upwards of an hour as they went back and forth on one issue was gun control. Another was immigration. But here he is with the Democratic Leaders and you can tell nancy pelosi in the beginning of that clip, shes like, we can talk once the press leaves here. No, keep the press here. Lets have it play out in public. And he goes on in that session to say, shut it down. And he endoctorses endorses, he takes complete ownership of the government shutdown. Which then boxed in all the republicans on the hill, everybody likes to blame the other party for being responsible for the shutdown. But the president right there in front of the cameras was willing to take complete ownership of the government shutdown, which then ensued. President trump you steve you cannot talk about President Trump without talking about his use of twitter. In july last year, we asked him about that. Reporter you issued 43,000 tweets. Did you ever regret sending one out . President trump not much. You know, honestly not much. I sent the one about the wiretapping in quotes. And that turned out to be true. Remember, the big deal that was . I heard like about a minute after i sent it, i was called by my people, sir, did you say yeah, i did. Whats the big deal . And the reason it was such a big deal is it turned out to be true. I guess you could say a lot of the times the bigger problem, the retweets. You retweet something that sounds good but it turned out to be something from a player thats not the best player in the world. That causes a problem. But overall i would say. No not at all. I think its a modern day form of communication. And its not really tweet. Thats a typewriter. What it really is, as soon as they do, it you put it on, everybody puts it on. Breaking news. Every time i put out a tweet. Even if its good morning, everybody, they say, we have breaking news, the president has just said good morning. Its an incredible way of communicating and you get it out fast. Otherwise, i mean, i dont know how would i combat news thats dishonest . How would i combat a reporter or a network thats totally dishonest . Cnn is 100 negative. Nbc is negative. I made a lot of money for nbc with the apprentice. It was a tremendous success. At a time when they didnt have any successes. But they forgot about that very quickly. And they wanted to extend me, they wanted to do anything i went to run for president , i think weve done a great job. Steve that from july of 2019. Julie pace, how do you unpack what hes saying . Julie theres so many great insights in that clip. About the president s ways of thinking about communicating and he was right. Especially in the early days of his presidency, when we were kind of getting used to this idea of a president using twitter in this fashion. He would send a message and it would be all over it. Would scramble our plans for the day. It would be banners on cable news, it would drive coverage. I think were now at a point where the tweets are not quite so powerful in reshaping the news agenda but certainly at that early phase, this was a huge change for the Washington Press corps. We had to build new staffing plans around the idea that the president was going to be using twitter. I remember in the early days of the Obama Administration when they started using twitter for official announcements, they would tweet something and i would run back to the White House Press office and say, i just wanted to confirm that you meant to send that tweet, that that tweet is right. Now we have the president doing it himself and of course we run with it, when he says it. But he also is right there in talking about how he has gotten in trouble. The president is not careful in his use of twitter, particularly around his retweets. And he has found himself retweeting accounts from a host of people with questionable backgrounds, a host of people who are putting out misinformation and he has this Massive Group of followers and he doesnt seem to really internalize the consequences of the president of the United States promoting and pushing forward misinformation in the way that he does. Steve Jonathan Karl, i heard your laughter as you were listening to julie paces response. Jonathan its just something one of the things the president does every day is, many times a day, and usually in front of other people, is he calls over to dan, now one of his deputy chiefs of staff, but was really the guardian of his twitter account from the very beginning of the campaign, and he says, dan, whats the number . And dans got the number. Its the combined total followers he has on twitter, facebook and instagram. Million. Ell over 100 hes got 80 millionsome or whatever the latest number is on twitter. Its his i mean, he surprises his own people. I also know there have been times when hes done a little party trick, where he will tweet something and say to people hes with, now, watch this. Then hell wait for it to show up on the cable news channels. Just to show hes so entranced with the way he can set the agenda with a tweet. Steve of course the two consequential events this year, the coronavirus pandemic, which well talk about in just a moment, but the impeachment of President Trump and the in the house of representatives. He was later acquitted in the u. S. Senate. And following that, the president , february of this year, with these remarks from the east room of the white house. President trump this is really not a news conference. Its not a speech. Its not anything. Its just were sort of its a celebration. Because we have something that just worked out. I mean, it worked out. We went through hell. Unfairly. Did nothing wrong. Did nothing wrong. Ive done things wrong in my life. I will admit. [laughter] not purposely but ive done things wrong. But this is what the end result is. Cheers and applause] some of the people here have been incredible warriors. Theyre warriors. And theres nothing from a legal standpoint. This is a political thing. And every time id say, this is unfair, lets go to court, theyd say, sir, you cant go to court. This is politics. And we were treated unbelievably unfairly and you have to understand, we first went hrough russia, russia, russia. It was all bullshit. [laughter] we then went through the mueller report. And they should have come back one day later. They didnt. They came back two years later. After lives were ruined. After people went bankrupt. After people lost all their money. Steve julie pace, as you look at that, and contrast that with bill clinton, who was also impeached but not convicted in the senate, two very different responses. Julie completely different responses. Ill also say im struck by how long that feels. Its such a distant memory. But i do think the president felt vindicated in that moment. He did not see that as a moment where he needed to be contrite. And apologize for putting the country through anything he felt like, if anything, he won. Thats how the president views his presidency. Wins and losses. Its all very transactional. He felt like this was a moment where he was the victor and i actually do think, certainly the pandemic has reshaped this year and so many other historic moments have reshaped this year, but i think there is a sense on impeachment that actually it did not work in the democrats favor. That trump probably did benefit from the fact that democrats spent quite a bit of time , only on impeaching him to end up with him still in office. If we hasnt seen everything we saw unfold over the last several months, there was a feeling he was coming out of that impeachment process emboldened, out of that process with republicans more united behind him than ever. Steve Jonathan Karl . Jonathan first of all, it does seem like such an incredibly long time ago. I think that it was telling when the democrats held their convention that there was virtual virtually no mention of impeachment. It was something that consumed washington, consumed congress for months on end. The trial itself in the senate and then we were suddenly hit by a pandemic and it seemed to be quickly forgotten. Steve of course that hit a couple weeks later, as it drew national and international attention. March 11 from the oval office. This from President Trump. President trump we are at a critical time in the fight against the virus. We made a lifesaving move with early action on china. Now we must take the same action with europe. We will not delay. I will never hesitate to take any necessary steps to protect the lives, health and safety of the American People. I will always put the wellbeing of america first. If we are vigilant and we can reduce the chance of infection, which we will, we will significantly impede the transmission of the virus. The virus will not have a chance against us. No nation is more prepared or more resilient than the United States. We have the best economy, the most advanced health care, and the most talented doctors, scientists and researchers anywhere in the world. We are all in this together. We must put politics aside, stop the partisanship, and unify together as one nation and one family. As history has proven time and time again, americans always rise to the challenge and overcome adversity. Our future remains brighter than anyone can imagine. Acting with compassion and love, we will heal the sick, care for those in need, help our fellow citizens and emerge from this challenge stronger and more unified than ever before. Steve Jonathan Karl, on so many levels this has upended americans, every single american directly or indirectly impacted by coronavirus, and it will be one of the defining issues in this election. Jonathan no question about it. I was at the white house when he gave that address. It was truly frightening because he had spent the previous month, you know, he banned travel from china on january 31. But over the ensuing five, six weeks, he had repeatedly down played the dangers powe posed by the virus posed by the virus. So to hear the president speak the way did he in that speech gave you a sense that we were really that we were really in for some tough, tough, tough days ahead. This was one of those stories, unlike any really to a degree id never seen before, that affected every single continues to effect every Single Person in the country. In some way touched by this, by the economic impact, by the way t has upended how our children go to school, how we work, how we live our lives. Everybody has been feaked by this. Steve as we now know from the book by bob word, you asked the president woodward, you asked the president whether he had lied to the American People. Jonathan yeah. I asked him directly and you know after having read my book that thats a word that i have been reluctant to use. I pointed out many, many times when the president has said things that are not true, where he has misled the American People, but i have generally tried to avoid using a word like lie because it implies intent. But what we saw with woodward is the president fully knew back in february, that woodward tape was the first week in february, how dangerous this virus was and yet he continued to go out and tell the American People that this was going to go away, this was no big deal this was just like the flu. So there was only one way to see that which is he lied. And when i asked him in that way, he got offended that i used that word. Called me a disgrace. But i think it was important to have absolute clarity about what was going on. And that was, in that instance, the president lied to the American People. Steve theres also the issue of mixed messages and more recently, as questioned his own c. D. C. Director in the White House Briefing room on vaccines and masks. Heres what he told reporters. Reporter dr. Redfield confirmed that it looked like november, december, the first doses would be able to be distributed. But then he said that the vaccine for the general public likely would not be available until probably next summer, maybe even early fall. Are you comfortable with that timeline . President trump no. I think he made a mistake when he said that. Its incorrect information. I called him and he didnt tell me that and i think he got the message maybe confused. Maybe it was stated incorrect correctly. No. Were ready to go incorrectly. No, were ready to go immediately as the vaccine is announced. It could be announced in october, it could be announced a little bit after october. But once we go, were ready. Pfizers making this theyre taking a tremendous financial risk and theyre spending billions of dollars on making this vaccine. Theyre at a stage where theyre making it because they feel very confident as to the results. Theyll be announcing their results fairly soon. No. Thats increcked information. Reporter he was pretty clear. President trump i dont think he means that. I dont think when he said it, i believe he was confused. Im just telling you. Were ready to go. As soon as the vaccine happens. Reporter when do you want to see it available . What would be a timeline President Trump we will start distributing it immediately. Reporter to the general public . President trump to the general public very shortly there really to the general public, immediately. When we go, we go. Were not looking to say, gee in six months were going to start giving it to the general public. No, we want to go immediately. It was an incorrect statement. Steve that from mid september with john roberts of fox news. Julie pace, one of a number of examples where the president very publicly dismissing what hes hearing from his own cabinet members or senior advisors. The. Julia this is the president undercutting health officials, undercutting experts, trying to put forward information that he peels he feels is more politically palatable. Weve seen this on masks, in particular. For month this is back and forth, the white house saying the president believes in wearing masks, yet we dent see the president wearing a mask himself. We see the president , you know, holding rallies in front of large crowds where people are mostly not wearing masks. I think this is becoming particularly acute around a vaccine, where the president is pushing aggressively this idea that a vaccine will be approved before the election and quickly available to most americans and everyone around him from the pharmaceutical companies to the f. D. A. To other Public Health officials are working on a much slower time frame. Most people are hopeful that there would be an approved vaccine by the end of this year but also are making clear its not as though improved vaccine mean all of us get to get one right away. Its going to be a process and americans need to be prepared for the idea that we will be living with this pandemic in some way for many months to come. The president doesnt think thats a good message when you have an election, when hes on the ballot in a few weeks. Steve Jonathan Karl, you recount many of these store rirks as you look at the video highlights what are your thoughts . Jonathan i think the cspan archive, all of this stuff, is available on your website, its readily searchable, not just donald trump but previous president s. And its really an incredible ar dive to be able to go pack and relive these moments. I think the big picture in terms of trump is the question of credibility. And we always know that hes somebody who has been prone to, you know, exaggerating, he says things that arent true because he wants to, you know, make people feel better about themselves, make them feel better about him. Its kind of the way hes operated as a Real Estate Developer and in business and certainly how he got his, you know, paved his way to the white house. But when we hit the pandemic, credibility, the believing the experts, these were questions of life and death. People are looking for guidance from the federal government about how to act in their own lives to protect themselves, to protect their family, protect their neighbors. And you just see the consequences of a lack of credibility. And i think its one of the Biggest Challenges he faces going into his reelection. Steve julie, well give you the final word. Julie i think its incredible to go back through all these moment which is often feel like a bit of a blur. I know in talking to voters, americans feel like weve been through this incredibly emotional and draining period in our history. The big question im asking going into this election, i dont think any of us can predict the answer, is, has President Trumps strategy worked . We dont really know. We dont know. Will we wake up after election day and find out that in fact he has proven that this is an effective way for him to hold on are s core supporters, there other voters beyond the Core Pr Group that want to stick with him and want four more years of this . Or will we wake up after election day and realize the public has moved on, and the public cant put up with four more years of this. That to me remains the great unknown. What will the public verdict about this incredibly historic and tumultuous four years be. Steve both of our veterans vet beth of our guest, veterans of the white house bureau. To both of you, we thank you for being with us. Thank you, steve. Steve all our coverage as Jonathan Karl pointed out is available flee on our website at cspan. Org. Check out all our Campaign Coverage president ial debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President joe biden is tuesday. Watch live on cspan. Biden is recklessly campaigning against this vaccine. It is really reckless. It is for political regions. It is for political reasons. Biden, his whole deal is catastrophic shut down. And again, in his own words, recorded by bob woodward, the president knew back in february that this was an extremely dangerous communicable disease. It. K about how many empty, chairs around those dinner tables because of his negligence and selfishness . Watch the first president ial debate live from cleveland, tuesday night on cspan. Stream live or ondemand at cspan. Org debates, or listen live on the cspan radio app. Who will control congress in january . Stay informed on all the competitive congressional races leading up to election day with cspans campaign 2020 coverage. Watch the candidates debate and Election Results on cspan. Watch online at cspan. Org, or listen on the free cspan radio app. Cspan, your unfiltered view of politics. Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett and the security of mailin ballots were among the topics on the sunday news programs. Next, we hear from the white house and members of congress. We have been in conversations with leader mcconnell, with chairman graham. He is going to put forth an aggressive schedule for hearings and markups that we believe will happen in the middle a vote on the floor sometime before the election, but that is going to be up to leader mcconnell in making sure all of the senators are informed of the judges credentials. We are optimistic we will be prepared. We will start delivering the information to the senators tomorrow and we will be on capitol hill as early as tuesday