Page 364 - Predecessors News Today

Predecessors, because i know how tough that job can be. and yet, the actions that he has taken in response to criticisms that hes received from the president, his desire, it appears to me, to curry favor with a president who views him disfavorably, worries me a great deal. im not at all certain that he has got the steel that an attorney general has to have. in my conference room, as matt will know, you get to pick four attorney generals, i had eliot richardson left, two down, to remind me that a...

Watergate, are norms enough, or do we need to codify some of these structures that prevent this kind of interference. >> do you have faith in -- fundamentally, in the judgment and integrity of jeff sessions to uphold the norms that were discussing? >> i worry a great deal. >> thats not a "yes." >> its not a "yes." and this is a very difficult thing for me to say. this is a very, very difficult thing for me to say. im not a person who likes to criticize my successors, predecessors, because i know...

Bit later, that will be fine as well. >> is there any reason to believe that things are different this time around when it comes to north korea? there have been so many false starts in recent years. >> there have been. and if you look at north korea, they have had periods where they will open up and interact with democracies and then they will pull back. they will say one thing, they will do another. they will lie, they will take actions that are inconsistent. but at least if we can start the di...

I know you will. >> everyone assumes -- there are a lot of people in the movie who are running around with their heads cut off. >> not her. >> under tremendous stress. the way she handles it is with such good humor and poise its a nice contrast. >> shes great. i think everyone looks forward to seeing it. it is an interesting point that you make about the president being more obsessed with "the new york times" than any of his predecessors. i think thats true. maggie haberman. >> the seeking of ap...

Prefers to not be too public and we might not see her for a little while. >> i was going to say, this could be contributed to being typically of this first lady. she apologize her privacy. >> she does. remember, when she was in trump tower with their son barron, there were periods of time we didnt see her at all and it was kind of a surprise when she tweeted she had moved into the white house last year. so she is incredibly private. but she is meeting with staff and she has asked them all to wri...

Was off yesterday and now its maybe back on and theres more optimism in the white house, what was the cause of that? what was the source of that? what changed between yesterday and today to change that likelihood? >> it speaks to the degree to which this president would like to have this meeting, especially if they can accomplish something. this is a president who is really drawn to grand gestures. this is a white house that really believes in a high-risk, high-reward strategy. and, you know, la...

Deal with the soviets. the republicans against obama a few years ago with the iran deal said he was too eager to do that. how does that enter into it, trumps desire, his strong desire to be seen as succeeding where his predecessors failed? >> well, i think thats the overwhelming conclusion just from the last 24 hours of head-spinning, on again, off again romance. the white house was very eager to let us know yesterday that that very strangely and very undiplomatically worded letter to kim had be...

Term political props from time to time, especially when it comes to comparing himself to his predecessors barack obama. we saw how multiple times he kept playing up the fact, oh, like the last administration, the last president couldnt get this done but i got it done, leaving out the fact that i think more than one of those hostages were taken while president trump was in office. so his pen chant for doing victory laps among those hostages who are just happy to get home to american soil, regardl...

Of international diplomacy, the concern is raised about does the president want it too much in a way that might affect the deal in a negative way, that might cloud judgment. when reagan was president, i remember some hard-liners in his party were saying, you know, dont be too desperate to make a deal with the soviets. the republicans against obama a few years ago with the iran deal says he was too eager to do that. how does that enter into it, trumps desire, his strong desire to be seen as succe...

If theres concern that they cant have meetings of advance teams on time or that calls cant be returned as they get ready for this summit, it raises risks of whether the president would actually be stood up by kim jong-un. >> im curious, though, if it was off yesterday and now its maybe back on and theres more optimism in the white house, what was the cause of that? what was the source of that? what changed between yesterday and today to change that likelihood? >> it speaks to the degree to which...