quick answer of being pro-life. thank you for watching. cnn tonight with don lemon starts right now. there he is again. >> great words right there. i think that's what i said before the break, right? you said it plays right into that. i have to tell you i was atten event this weekend with a friend who happens to be white. she turned to me and said do you ever -- does it -- do you notice or are you aware, does it make you uncomfortable that you're, like, one -- maybe the only person of color in the room? and i just -- people have asked me that before, and i said i'm not uncomfortable about it. i am aware of it, but it happens all the time. and she said well, i wasn't aware of it until i was invited to a birthday party where everyone was a person of color. everyone was black and i was the only white person, and i said is this what it's like. she said is this what it's like for my friends of color all the time who' even in most places yu go, restaurants, everywhere you

go, management of companies, on and on, and i said yeah. she said yes -- i told her that's what it's like. unless you're put in the position to be in someone else's shoes, it doesn't exist to you. i think we should all probably try to put ourselves in other people's shoes a little more if not a lot more. >> because even in the example that you raise with you with all of the status that you've gained and the respect you get for what you do in your success, it's not just that your skin color is different than maybe everybody else in that theater. it's what the concerns are about how they see you. >> right. >> you're much more likely to be a white guy in an all black birthday party and everything be fine than the reverse. it's about the animosity and judgment that comes into it. that's part of it. it's the content of a character. >> or the unconscious bias, and things we were taught in this

country as we were growing up. and that's just how it is here. again, we need to really all work on that. i do think angela has a point. we need to really come to some sort of consensus on race or really deal with it, or it's not going to get any better at all. and it's not going to get better by not talking about it. >> we always put the hope in our kids and future. look, you're a great example. people should not treat you by the color of your skin. if they get to know you, there are plenty of reasons not to like you. >> i knew you were going to say that. >> a really good, true reasons. >> i was going to say you're a nice guy, but i take that back. you're an -- i'm just kidding. i love you, buddy. chris cuomo, everyone. contract cnn tonight. president trump on the road again but this is something.

listen. >> in helsinki i had a great meeting with putin. we discussed everything. i had a great meeting. we got along really well. by the way, that's a good thing, not a bad thing. that's a really good thing. now we're being hindered by the russian hoax. it's a hoax. okay? i'll tell you what. russia's very unhappy that trump won. that i can tell you. >> so if russia is actually unhappy that trump won, then somebody forgot to tell vladimir putin. >> president putin did you want president trump to win the election and did you direct any of your officials to help him do that? >> translator: yes, i did. yes, i did, because he talked about bringing the u.s./russia relationship back to normal. >> there you have it from putin himself. it's not fake news.

you can't say his own words. he wanted trump to win the election. and that may shed light on the big question tonight. why won't president trump call out putin for election interference? that's what a strong leader would do. right? instead this white house put on a display today in the briefing room. a display intended to send a message to the american people. that message is to convince you that this administration actually takes russia's attacks on our democracy seriously. so they trot it out one top official after another. every one of them pointing the finger at russia, which is all well and good, but obviously there is one person missing. want to guess who it is? president donald trump who no matter what the members of his administration say can't bring himself to blame russia for anything without walking it back in the same breath. let's compare the director of

national intelligence, what he said today to what president trump said after that disastrous helsinki summit. here it is. >> the intelligence community continues to be concerned about the threats of upcoming u.s. elections. both the midterms and the presidential elections of 2020. in regards to russian involvement in the midterm elections, we continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by russia to try to weaken and divide the united states. >> i accept our intelligence community's conclusion that russia's meddling in the 2016 election took place. could be other people also. there's a lot of people out there. there was no collusion. >> no collusion. could be a 400-pound man in someone's basement. you've heard that one. and then there's the homeland

security secretary saying our democracy it is being targeted. >> our democracy itself is in the cross hairs. it has become clear they are the target of our adversaries who seek as the dni said to sew d discord and undermine our way of life. >> do you hold russia responsible? >> i hold both countries responsible. i think that the united states has been foolish. i think we've all been foolish. >> and what about this? this is from the fbi director christopher ray. >> as i have said consistently, russia attempted to interfere with the last election, and continues to engage in maligned influence operations to this day. this is a threat we need to take extremely seriously and to tackle and respond to with fierce determination and focus.

>> i don't think anybody knows it was russia that broke into the dnc. she's saying russia, but -- maybe it was. i mean, it could be russia, but it could also be china. it also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds. okay? >> there's the 400-pound thing. then as a candidate and now more than a year and a half into his presidency donald trump has let russia off the hook again and again. calling into question the assessments of his own intelligence chiefs that russia interfered in the 2016 election and will do the same thing again. even in today's let's call it what it really is, kabuki theater in the briefing room, the national security adviser john bolton could only point to what putin said about election interference, not what president trump said. >> in fact, president putin said, i thought at the press conference but certainly in the expanded bilateral meeting when the two leaders got together

with their senior advisers, president putin said the first issue that president trump raised was election meddling. >> so take off your describabtr or like donald trump or don't. whatever. what does it tell you when the president of the united states sends out members of his own administration to make the case he should be making himself. that russia attacked our democracy. russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. russia is constantly working to divide america. the facts are there. the intelligence agencies are saying it. they all are saying it. and they're doing a pretty good job of it, russia is. so why doesn't this president, why won't he in the words of his own fbi director, take the threat seriously? it's no coincidence that all of this is happening as the mueller investigation is moving into the oval office, as mueller is pressing for a sit-down interview with the president himself. as former trump campaign manager

paul manafort is on trial. the first trial to come out of the mueller investigation. and as the president brands the whole thing a witch hunt. the fact is this is no witch hunt. robert mueller is doing what the president should be doing. he's working to get the facts. the truth about what russia did in 2016. and about what russia is still doing right now. that's the only way, the only way we can defend our democracy. i'm going to bring in chris soliza and josh campbell. gentlemen, good evening. thank you for joining us on this lovely evening. chris, why isn't the president as forceful or direct as his intelligence team? >> he doesn't believe it? despite all evidence to the contrary. look, i think at this point when donald trump says it, let's take him at his word. over and over and over again he

has not been able to say russia sought to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. my intelligence community tells me they did so because they wanted to help me and hurt hillary clinton. that election is over with, but the threat isn't. we need to figure out as a country how to protect our democracy. all the clips you played would have been a lot of other people, china or a 400-pound guy, he can't simply say it because he doesn't believe it. if you need evidence, the show of force, four big major figures in the trump administration coming out and saying russia interfered in the election. we need to stop them. this is a threat to our democracy. hours later that clip you played donald trump in pennsylvania says all a hoax. if the boss doesn't believe it, there's no way that the administration is as focussed on it as they could be. >> right. because there's no urgency

behind it. the big guy is not saying you guys take care of this. make sure -- >> of course. >> josh, what do i have for you? this is what you tweeted today. you said if trump privately tole putin to stop interfering in the u.s. elections and the intel community continues to see russia efforts to interfere in efforts, then putin is either disrespecting trump or didn't get the message. most likely president trump doesn't see it that way. >> well, he may not see it that way, but i think he should be focussed on the fact that he does not look good. this is simple if you think about it. we heard today from our u.s. intelligence community officials that russia is continuing to interfere in u.s. elections. so that either means one of two things. either the president actually sat down with vladimir putin and scolded him and said cut it out and putin ignored him or the message was not delivered. either way it should be concerning for the american citizens. it either means we're being lied

to and the message wasn't conveyed forcefully or the power of the presidency isn't what it once was and even after being scolded by the president of the united states, someone like vladimir putin thinks he can continue interfering with our elections without repercussions. >> i want to play him at a rally tonight. >> i got along great with putin and everybody said wow, that was great. a couple hours later i started hearing these reports that they wanted me to walk up and go like this. son of a -- they wanted me to go up and have a boxing match. i said what ever happened to diplomacy? >> so, well, there's a lot of things there. i mean, there's -- i mean, there's a wide gap between diplomacy and a boxing match. no one asking him or thought he would have a boxing match. they just thought he would stand up and be a man as the president

of the united states and call russia and vladimir putin on exactly what they're doing instead of capitulating. and he skips the part where putin under -- trump undermined his intelligence agencies on a world stage and had to clean up his own mess. >> and by the way, in cleaning up his own mess, that's when he said could have been other people also. like he can't -- even in the cleaning up of the mess, he still hedged. >> okay. >> i meant to say would or wouldn't. >> go on. sorry. >> go back to what he's doing there. look, what you see there is vintage trump. he is telling himself and everyone around him a story of how he sees things. whether or not that comports with facts, it doesn't in this case, is immaterial. no one outside of maybe his family and some of his advisers. no one who is not on the payroll thought whether it was one

minute after that summit or ten hours after that summit that it went well. the reaction in the trump white house, the reaction on capitol hill among republicans was i can't believe i just saw what i saw. so he creates a reality. he tells himself it, and then he uses that to scapegoat the media in some way. the media is -- the media doesn't make republicans say i can't believe that just happened. we quote them saying that. >> right. >> but that's -- again, vintage trump. >> i want to get this in. if you can get a quick response, josh. i want you to take a look at this. this is a surprising moment from the white house press briefing with the director of national intelligence. watch. >> i'm not in a position to either understand fully or talk about what happened in helsinki. i'll turn it over to the national security director here to address that question. >> so two and a half weeks after

helsinki the top intelligence person in the country can't speak to what happened there? >> two key aspects. first he says he doesn't know what happened and he can't talk about it. the second, i can appreciate. someone in his position, he has access to highly classified information. maybe he couldn't talk about it. but the fact he indicated he doesn't know what happened, is highly concerning. i know him. he's a good man. the fact he wasn't briefed by the president on what took place in the meeting is going to do a disservice to the intelligence community. what should have happen second down the president should have been sitting down at cia head quarters with the head of cia and all the intelligence analysts working on russia and should have given them a full debriefing on what took place to inform their analysis and form what it is they're doing. that didn't take place. the top dni doesn't even know what happened. >> and the dni, the person in charge of all intelligence, maybe should have been in the room. >> i was just going to quickly -- i know you're up

against it. >> i am. >> just remember, donald trump is the one who pushed for a one on one meeting with vladimir putin with just translators that went on for two plus hours. the only version of what happened there that we know is from interviews that vladimir putin has given with russian state television. just sit with that one for a little while. >> thank you, gentleman. appreciate it. when we come back the mueller investigation heating up as paul manafort is on trial in mueller's first russia case. is this turning into president trump's water gate? i'm going to ask the experts. carl bernstein is here and john dean. they know. they were involved in water gate. going new places. (oh!) going out for a bite. going anytime. rewarded! learn more at theexplorercard.com

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robert mueller pushing to interview a russian oligarch and his pop star son who were instrumental in setting up the trump tower meeting. earlier this month he appeared to be trolling the president releasing this video impersonating trump in a room with a slew of models. i just wanted to watch that a little longer so you can see what's going on. there were trump impersonators. there we go, and an ivanka impersonator and on and on. there he is right there. let's discuss now. carl bernstein is here. and john dean is a cnn contributor. good to have both of you on.

your expertise. you were there for water gate. i'm going to get your impressions on all of this relating to that and the latest on what's going on with this whole russia investigation. good evening. thank you for joining us. john, the oligarch's attorney says the conversations about an interview with the special counsel have been going on for nearly a year. we also know mueller is offering the president's legal team new parameters for a meeting with him. what does that tell you about where mueller is in his investigation? is it a sign of wrapping things up or we don't know? >> i don't think we know for certain. this is an airtight investigation, but i think it's interesting he wants to get to the source of the meeting that is a key meeting that june 9th meeting in the trump towers, and one of the key players is setting it up. he wants to get to the source and find out what's behind it. i suspect this fellow who travels the world wants to

cooperate or might -- doesn't want to be subject to an interpoll sans against himself. so he may come in voluntarily. >> karl, according to the attorney, mueller's team is interested in discussing the trump tower meeting and the talks around the building of a trump tower in moscow. right? they were talking about building a trump tower there. what does that tell you about mueller's focus? >> this may be the real sleeper of the whole mueller investigation, because clearly on its face the trump tower meeting was convened for the purpose of collusion and collaboration and conspireing. and with don junior and in the letter -- i'm going to read. i'm going to do something untelevision like and read the letter that brought this meeting about. he just called and ask me to

contact you with something interesting. the crown prosecutor of russia met with his father this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the trump campaign with official documents and information that would incriminate hillary in her dealings with russia and would be very useful to your father. this is obviously very high level and sensitive information, but it's part of russia and its government support for mr. trump helped by aras and emin. what's the best way to handle this? that's perhaps the most important document in this whole investigation. and if donald trump, indeed, means it, that he did not collude and people in his family did not collude, it is very easy for him to call these two people, aman and his father, good friends of the president, call them up and say i want you to come talk to mr. mueller.

testify in my behalf. tell them this is, indeed, a witch hunt and this letter does not mean what it says. trump has the ability right here to put this perhaps behind him if he wants to be honest about the -- this, well, but it tells you something about where mueller is. this is not just an investigation about obstruction of justice. this is about collusion. >> yes. and you're right. so listen, john. more details now. "the new york times" is reporting president trump pushed his lawyers to try to reach an agreement with mueller about sitting for an interview. do you believe this president wants to sit down with the special counsel or does he want it to seem that way to the public? >> i think it's the latter phase of the question. he wants it to seem that he wants to sit down. i'm sure his lawyers don't want him to sit down. but, you know, the man has such an ego. he might sincerely believe that he can somehow turn mueller to

think his own investigation is a witch hunt. i doubt that he can do that. but trump's imagination seems to have no boundaries. >> yeah. that is an interesting way of putting it. stick around and join the conversation. we're going to continue to talk about it. more on the russia investigation and all the new details coming out on it today. we'll be right back. no, no, no, no, no. cancel. cancel. please. aaagh! being in the know is a good thing. that's why discover will alert you if your social security number is found on any one of thousands of risky sites. since joining ninehahi, ubmonths ago,o. my priority has been to listen to you... to cities and communities,

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the president stepping up his attacks on the special counsel's investigation just a little while ago he called russia's interference a hoax for about the millionth time. i'm back with karl and john.

karl, we know that your former colleague bob woodward coming out with a new book on the trump white house. you say the scandals surrounding the trump administration are getting worse an water gate. why do you say that? >> i think this is worse an water gate because the system worked in water gate. it worked among other things, because republicans said what did the president know and when did he know it? and they pursued the truth unlike republicans on capitol hill today who have provided cover for donald trump to cover up in whatever has occurred here in this question of collusion and obstruction of justice. so that's the first big difference of why this is worse than water gate. on top of which we learned in water gate that president nixon was guilty of crimes that he, indeed, had undertaken

authoritarian use of the powers of the presidency to order break ins and it was republicans once again who said that cannot happen on our watch. the president must be held accountable. for did we have a president in nixon who sought to undermine the western alliance. so, you know, under president trump putin has destabilized the united states of america and our electoral system. that did not happen under richard nixon. >> yeah. john, i want your take. is it becoming worse than water gate? what's your take? >> i've always used the title worse than water gate. >> you have? >> yes. about the torture in the bush administration, bush two which i thought was pretty bad, but i think we are in an area that's worse than water gate aside from python and ostrich coats which never made it to the water gate

scene, we do have something that was unlike watergate in that a foreign adversary is involved in the hacking of the dnc with watergate it started with just a bungled burglary and expanded from beyond that. of course, the deaf situation -- definition of watergate meant more than the burglary and coverup. it was abuse of power that nixon demonstrated preceding and during watergate that marked it as a unique reason that he was likely to be impeached had he not resigned. so i think -- but i think we're beyond that. i think the points karl makes are well made. >> you think we're seeing a coverup right now? >> i think we're still in the middle of it, and i never feared for the country during watergate. i fear for the country and i fear for our democracy right now. i have a knot in my stomach.

it's been there ever since donald trump won the election. never had that with nixon. i know he would ultimately apply and follow the law. with trump, i'm not sure. >> karl, you were saying absolutely? is that what you said? >> yes. among other things we've got to consider here, you talk about bob woodward's book. one of the things that one would hope that we would see in the reporting from the newspapers, from the networks, from bob's book is the question of whether or not this president is acting in a competent and coherent manner, because every evidence that we see so far is that he is incoherent, and not competent in terms of how he is conducting the presidency and the policies of the united states. that is a -- all of these questions are related to the russia investigation, to what we saw in helsinki. in helsinki, what the hell happened in helsinki? we don't know.

did that occur, what we saw on the stage because of incompetence or because of nefariousness on the part of the president of the united states? this is unprecedented. we have never had a president of the united states whose loyalty has been called into question by responsible members of both parties in the congress of the united states. it's never happened. >> john, carl has said president trump is unhinged in a way we've never seen publicly with nixon, with the tweeting and his behavior and what he does at rallies and on and on. privately was nixon unhinged? >> nixon had a drinking problem. he would get fairly loose late at night own get on the telephone and have some pretty unhinged conversations, but we went in the office in the morning and was cold sober. he wasn't somebody who drank on the job or totally lost control. there were checks that were placed on him late in watergate.

his secretary of defense, for example, said listen, don't follow any extreme orders without clearing them with me first which is highly unusual. the secretary was worried he might try to use his war powers to somehow deflect from his watergate problems. we're not there yet with trump. in fact, it's trump's incompetency right now that i take comfort in. he doesn't know how to use the powers of the presidency the way nixon did who was a student of the presidency, who had been in congress, who had been vice president before he became president. he knew where the levers were and how to work them. trump hasn't figured that out yet. >> i always enjoy my conversations with you gentleman. thank you so much. when we come back the president attacking the media again tonight but his daughter had this to say. >> no, i do not feel the media is the enemy of the people. >> but he's not letting her have

the last word, though. well, we're going to tell you how he's trying to explain away what you just heard her say there, next. ♪now i'm gonna tell my momma ♪that i'm a traveller ♪i'm gonna follow the sun♪ ♪now i'm gonna tell my momma ♪that i'm a traveller transitions™ light under control™

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ivanka trump did something you'll rarely hear her do. that is contradict her father which apparently didn't sit well with the president since he promptly tried to explain it away. with us, we have a panel to talk about it. thank you all for joining us. again, this is one of those examples think of don't believe what you see or hear unless it comes out of donald trump's mouth. right? ivanka was asked if she believes the media is the enemy of the people.

this is her response. >> i've certainly received my fair share of reporting on me personally that i know not to be fully accurate, so i've had some -- i have some sensitivity around why people have concerns and gripe, especially when they're sort of -- feel targeted but no, i do not feel the media is the enemy of the people. >> why do you think she broke with her father? there's a whole lot there. what did you think? >> first, there's a lot of throat clearing at the beginning of that answer. you know, i think she broke with her father because she's in the midst of an image reset. she's doing that interview because she's trying to come back out into public. she just got rid of the business. we had a story in our paper about a week ago that clearly reflected the fact that people around ivanka were saying you need to take a fresh look at

her. she's getting her act together again. she's going to step back out on the stage. so she's breaking with her father. it's not that much of a break, because she's trying to tell the world what she said from the beginning. i have the name trump, but i'm not in totally with my father. i'm different and modern. >> rehabilitating her image? >> yes. >> my question is and listen, i know it's tough. everyone who is in the public eye really gets media criticism. there are things people write about you that aren't true. much of it you cannot control. if i were in her shoes i would say as awful as that is, i am in a unique position to be able to have a front seat to creating -- to implementing policies that are good for the american people so no one should feel sorry for me because not everyone gets the opportunity i have in a lifetime to effect change the way i am. unless she said it after, i did not see that. >> she should hire you.

>> it's so easy and simple. >> she's one of the most frustrating figures in the trump administration. you're right. she could do that. she wants to have it all. she's an opportunist. she went along for the ride. she wanted washington. she had her glamorous instagram feed. she told us all along you want me here because i'm going to moderate him. i'm much better off here than anywhere else. she did nothing. she did not restrain him on climate change or trade or nafta. all the things where she supposedly had distance from her father, she did not restrain him on. now she steps out and says these things and she's painting an image of herself, but to what end? >> right. and even the children being separated a the the border, apparently she didn't agree with that but never said anything about it publicly before it happened. amanda, what do you think of this? her response? >> well, she had to shut down

her business because no one was buying her dresses anymore. i think she needs to shut down the pseudo advisory role. no one is buying it. the problem is the remarks speak to the privilege that she enjoys in this white house as first daughter and adviser that she feels entitled to protect her brand rather than defend the words and policies of her boss like all other white house employees are expected to do. when she was asked about the family detention policies, she spoke to her feelings and said it's complicated, this isn't easy. and i feel very emotional about this issue. that's just very hard to buy when we've heard the cries of children, parents, you know, mothers and fathers on tyape an we're supposed to believe she feels badly so we should just give them a pass. was she not in the room for the

zero tolerance planning policies? that pain was the policy. that was supposed to be -- >> and that's her role as an adviser, to advise her father. >> right. >> they asked my daughter whether or not the media is the enemy of the people. she correctly said no. it is the fake news which is a large percentage of the media that is the enemy of the people. if we break it down, right, he couldn't handle his daughter contradicting him. this is one don't believe what you hear and see things. that's what she said. she said i don't believe the media. >> no, and she gave a good, honest answer. it's one we would expect to hear from someone in the white house. but there's no other employee that the president would play cleanup for on twitter, and if you want to see the difference in her status in that white house, look at her remarks which, again, i welcome, and how they contrast with what sarah

huckabee sanders said at the briefing where she was asked three times by jim acosta, why won't you say the press isn't the enemy of the free people. she demured every time and acted aggrieved like i've been attacked to. that's the president's view and i'm sticking by it. there's a huge gap. >> amanda, you brought it up. this is what -- she also broke her silence an family separation. s this is what she said. >> that was a low point for me as well. i feel very strongly about that, and i am very vehemently against family separation and the separation of parents and children, so i would agree with that sentiment. i think immigration is incredibly complex as a topic. illegal immigration is

incredibly complicated. >> so 572 children, by the way, remain, frank, separated from their parents and there are different reasons why. but they say some of them may not belong -- you know, they have all kind of excuses. some of them may be true. benefit of the doubt with that, but still, this was handled very poorly from the beginning. that audio of the children crying that amanda mentioned that came out in mid june, it galvanized the country and said oh, my gosh, this is great. wouldn't that have been or even before the time for her to speak out? i'm wondering if everyone is -- what do you think of this sort of profile and courage -- >> i mean, she wants total sympathy and no responsibility and no accountability. and that's what she's wanted from the beginning. i got to say i'm a little offended when she's talking about how emotional it was for her, how much it disappointed her, et cetera. we heard nothing from her privileged vantage point about how this came to be.

about why this happened in the first place. about why it went on as long as it did. about what they're doing to remedy it. she supposedly is a close adviser of the president making a positive impact, but we heard nothing substantive. we heard about how down it made her feel. well, i'm a lot more worried about the children than ivanka trump. >> thank you both. appreciate it. when we come back, president telling the world tonight what a great meeting he had with vladimir putin just hours after his top intel people confirm that putin's russia is a serious threat to our democracy. my life is here... [telephone ring] ahoy-hoy. alexander graham bell here... no, no, my number is one, you must want two! two, i say!! like my father before... [telephone ring] like my father before... ahoy-hoy! as long as people talk too loudly on the phone, you can count on geico saving folks money. fifteen minutes could save you

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the administration's top security officials saying russia

interferes in the 2016 election and is trying to do so again. but their boss, the president of the united states clearly does not believe that. let's talk about it now. susan glasser is here. susan, good evening to you. >> thank you. >> what do you make of the timing of all of this? why today of all days did the white house choose to talk about the russia threat? >> it's a good question. i mean, i think we're looking at extended play cleanup duty from the helsinki summit. clearly there was a sense that even among many members of his own party felt that trump had gone too far in lavishing praise on vladimir putin and raising questions in the press conference with putin about his own intelligence agencies conclusion. i think what you saw today was this extraordinary briefing in the white house by five senior top intelligence officials and other national security officials. they're all singing from the same page and saying not only

that they agree that this election interference occurred in 2016 but they're determined to make sure it is not repeated in 2018. the one guy who was missing was president trump. and then he contradicted them essentially a few hours later. never mentioning this important priority of his government and once again calling the russia investigation a hoax. >> so, susan, the president talked about the helsinki summit. he spoke of it as a boxing match tonight. and you actually use that analogy in one of your articles? . >> well, i have to say i was wondering where president trump got this. he said a couple times including tonight after helsinki, well, you know, those people in washington. they just wanted me to have a boxing match with vladimir putin but hey, i'm giving diplomacy a chance. it was a great meeting. actually, it was a long-time state department diplomat who told me in the runup to helsinki, he was worried trump was so unprepared for the meeting that he would be like an

amateur boxer going up against a professional. that's the only boxing analogy that i'm aware of before the summit. and, of course, he wasn't saying that trump should get in there and punch vladimir putin. he was saying the united states is not being represented by a president who is really prepared to go toe to toe with someone our government considers an adversa adversary. putin has been leader of russia for 18 years. he's met with four total american presidents. trump's three predecessors have come out feeling in many ways that they misread vladimir putin and didn't get what they wanted out of the relationship. so, yeah, i think a lot of people would agree that he was like an amateur up against a pro in that meeting. it's interesting, isn't it, that it really stuck with president trump. he seemed stung by that criticism. >> and just hours, though, susan, after intelligence teams firmly stated russia

interference has happened and continues to be a threat the president says he had a great meeting with putin and called out the russian hoax. what message does that send to the russians? >> well, i think that's an important point that you're bringing up. putin has always been a believer that only his peers, presidents and other leaders really matter. i remember when i was based in moscow during george w. bush's presidency and putin was getting some criticism from colin powell, from the u.s. ambassador at the time, and he and his advisories basically said yes, but we haven't heard it from president himself. i believe that's the way vladimir putin would look at this situation and say basically, well, we'll let trump's bureaucracy say what they need to say, but the president himself is assured me as recently as helsinki that he doesn't take this seriously, and

i think that putin would get the message that this is a divided government, and that the president himself is not on the same page as his own bureaucracy. this is the right message. it's clear a year and a half in that no matter how many times his advisories say they care about russian interference and are determined to do something about it that trump himself has not -- is not on board with that policy. >> susan glasser, thank you. have a good rest of your evening. >> thank you. >> we'll be right back. - i'm at a time in my life where i wanna do business with companies who do right by me. - [announcer] the hartford is the only auto insurance company voted one of the world's most ethical companies 10 times, and 96% of customers recommend the hartford based on their claim experience. join the millions of customers who trust the hartford. call to get a quote from the aarp auto insurance program from the hartford.

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