here we have literally barack obama in a garden of his history, his biography. one of the things the artist mentioned is that it almost seems like the leaves are creeping over his shoes and bringing him back. now he is very well known for these bright colors. he is a bit of a hip-hop artist. he has taken african-american men and women and put them into these wonderful settings. there is a great picture of ll cool j looking like nelson rockefeller. the president didn't want anything like that, so he created a whole new way of hinking. not just about how the depict the presidency but about how to actually break with conventions was still embracing past traditions. it's a wonderful picture and we get a lot of people coming to pay respect to our most recent president. we started on the third floor. we're now on the second floor. let's look at some of america's origins. the people who made this country. i want to introduce you to an interesting picture. it is called the men of progress. it's by kristin of 1862. why is it so interesting? i like to think of a quote pab

he'll try to deflect that and come with trump conspiracy theories and blame it on barack obama and hillary clinton but it won't fly. >> the obama economy for the first part of the presidency. he's still riding it. >> so it won't fly and the other problem is, you know, a lot of republicans, a lot of his supporters and republican lawmakers have given him a pass or looked the other way at the stuff robert mueller is talking about because of the economy and they felt like well, being hitched to donald trump is better than now because so many people are excited about the economy. when that seizes to be the case, they will stop forgiving him for other stuff. >> what do you think? do you think the economy is an even bigger threat if there is a downturn to the mueller investigation? >> the economy affects everyone. there is plenty of americans that see it as a confusing side show that doesn't affect their lives but trump has been buoyed by this economy. his approval rating is artificially high because of the good economy. people just will give a president, no matter what they might think of him pe

finally, purple flowers are known as african the lease to promote kenya such here we have barack obama in the garden of his history, his biography. one of the things the artist mentioned was that it almost seemed like the leaves in the garden were creeping over his shoes and bringing him back. , he's well known for the colors and is a bit of a hip-hop artist and he's often taking african- american men and women and put them into wonderful settings. for example there's a great picture in our gallery of ll cool j looking like nelson rockefeller. the president didn't want anything like that so he created a whole new way of thinking not just about how to depict the presidency but how to actually break the conventions was dale embracing past tradition. it's a wonderful picture and we get a lot of people coming to pay respects to the most recent president. started on the third floor and were now on the second floor let's go to the first floor and look at some of americans origins, the people who made the country . >> i want to introduce you to an interesting picture, it's called the mint of

>> barack obama is the anti-donald trump. his wife, the first lady, michelle obama's book is number one. he is extremely popular -- reminds me a little bit of a more pronounced version of what we saw at the end of linden johnson's time when l.b.j. was getting really unpopular over vietnam, the gallop most popular man in their poll was dwight eisenhower, the former president, not l.b.j. it was a way of some people essentially sort of going like this to l.b.j., and i assume that to some extent, that's going on with donald trump. >> yeah, very interesting. three african americans at the top of the poll when you count first lady michelle obama, oprah winfrey number two on a list of women, and president obama. that's got to be unprecedented, too. >> fascinating and reassuring. >> yeah. nbc presidential historian and author of presidents of war, michael beschloss, always, always a treat and an honor to talk to you. thank you very much. >> same with me, thank you, joy. happy holidays. >> happy holidays. that does it for us tonight a

obama birth certificate by the way i was the first republican consultant in the country 2008 to say this is the dumbest thing i have seen in my life and then to establish he had a birth certificate than found the reference in the newspaper that barack obama to be born that day and unless he has a time machine so trump new the acting attorney general was working the case. >> it's all coming together. [laughter] so he understands the buttons he is pushing he understands those racial infections. he understands when he doesn't say that charlottesville are lowlife scumbags that ought to be whipped he knows what he is doing he is conscious of and you can tell when he pulls back and then pop the chain and pull the leash back you can tell when he doesn't want - - he has to read a teleprompter he's miserable his game was caught. >> i don't think it's all just lies i do think he does believe his own bs. >> a lot of things in the world because for example, with bob woodward's book talks about the white house economic advisor try to explain that we are not actually losing money from the trade d

. >> this is exactly what barack obama did. howie: why has this sparked such criticism from the conservative pundits to usually back trump. the beltway was virtually certain mike flynn will serve no jail time. will a federal judge put the former national security advisor behind bars. >> this judge who has such a reputation of holding prosecutors to a high standard would suddenly decide he's a member of the prosecution. >> i think today was a good day for the justice system and this judge really did his job. >> all over the country their heads were blown up. they love this judge when they thought he would believe the conspiracy theories, right? howie: how did the media miscalculate flynn's case. a massive breach of trust by facebook peddling access to your private messages. has mark zuckerberg's company finally gone too far? i'm howard kurtz and this is "mediabuzz." with much of the government shutdown at least through christmas with pulling troops out of syria and general mattis resigning. "politico" says trump allies are priva

here we have literally barack obama in a garden of his history, his biography. one of the things the artist mentioned at the unveiling is it almost seems like those leaves are creeping over his shoes and bringing him back. the artist is very well known for these bright colors. he is a bit of a hip-hop artist. has often actually taken african-american men and women and put them into these wonderful settings. for example, there is a great picture in our galleries of ll cool j looking like nelson rockefeller. the president didn't want anything like that, so he created a whole new way of thinking, not just about how to depict the presidency, but how to actually break with conventions while still embracing past traditions. it's a wonderful picture and we get a lot of people coming to pay respects to our most recent president. we started on our third floor. we are now on the second floor. third floor and look at some of america's origins. the people who made this country. i want to introduce you to a very interesting picture. it is called the men of progress. why is i

president barack obama joins former secretary of state james baker and presidential historian john

he's the one who built his political career by trashing the first black president, barack obama. he even questioned whether obama was an american citizen. trump followed on the so-called birther movement by stating that his residential -- starting his presidential campaign, i should say, by calling mexicans criminals and racists. he's attacked an american judge born of mexican parents as being unable to deliver justice because of his mexican heritage. the speaker of the house, paul ryan, a fellow republican, said that was an explicit example of racism. and it was trump, of course, who recommended that all muslims be temporarily banned from entering the country. i don't have to remind you, and you know, it grieves me to go through this litany but he called nfl players sons of bitches for kneeling during the anthem to protest police brutality. he tweeted that a black woman was acting like a dog and he responded to the terrifying display of white supremacy in charlottesville by saying that quote, fine people were on both sides, end quote, of that tragedy. this is just what comes out

barack obama was the speaker, but it was also earlier in the day that barack obama went to visit george herbert walker bush at home, probably one of the last major visits that he had before his passing. he was failing in the last couple of days and had been. really family and friends expected almost eight months ago to barbara bush's passing. i think we all remember seeing him sorrowful and frail at that service and the love and support of his children. i had the great opportunity recently to sit down and talk about the past and the present and current politics and policy at a private gathering, an academic gathering with jeb bush. and we talked about his eloquent eulogy for his mother. it was very much on his mind because we all knew that his father's health was failing. remember at age 90 when he took that parachute jump and when i listened to barry mccaffrey talking about him as a commander and working in the first gulf war for george bush, the commander in chief, you think of him as being the youngest naval aviator in world war ii, to think of his rescue in the pacific is just extra

former president barack obama and former first lady michelle obama take the top spots. it marks the 11th year in a row that barack obama's been number one on that list. it's also the first year for michelle obama. she unseats hillary clinton, who held that spot for the past 16 years. president trump coming in second for the fourth year in a row. philip, we're talking 2020 here. the role of barack obama in the 2020 democratic primaries, how do you see it? >> yeah, it's a fascinating question. he's sort of the de facto leader of the party at this point in time for a variety of reasons. we'll see if that changes once nancy pelosi becomes speaker. but he doesn't seem to be someone who has a track record of kingmaking, right? he tried in 2010, in 2014 to really shape what the congressional elections look like, unsuccessfully. there have been conversations, apparently, between himself and beto o'rourke and potentially other folks as well. it's going to be interesting to see how much weight that carries. i mean, i think this gallup poll is mostly a reflection of partisanship a

when it was going up, it was barack obama who built it. >> barack obama destroyed our economy and this president has taken the last two years to bring it up. i think there is a lot of uncertainty out there in the markets. and i'm not an economist. but i'm a political guy. i look at the investigations that are besetting this president and white house. you will see a white house under siege by the democrat controlled house very shortly and you will see a white house that is naturally going constrict in its ability to get a legislative agenda through as well as other priorities on the economy. judge jeanine: the house couldn't do what it might have done. why? >> because the house is known for passing things then letting the senate fail to do it. this time there were a lot of things we didn't pass. we didn't even send them to the senate. judge jeanine: the economy is so good. why didn't republicans win and keep the house? >> the economy is an interesting and fickle thing. in a good economy a lot of republicans don't get excited and turn out. democrats looking at donald trump and dissurpris

robin biro is a former regional campaign director for barack obama and they both join us now. welcome aboard, you guys. thanks for joining me. >> thank you. >> tammy: dan, i got to say to you, this is funny to watch, of course, the democrats, the doom and gloom. we've just moved to the christmas holidays. the sky is falling. we are looking for grabs and part of water to eat and drink through the shutdown. do you think that this kind of complaint is really changing the point of view of the american people about what is really happening in washington and what matters when it comes to national security versus a negotiation to get what we need for that were wall? >> no, i don't think the media is changing one mind out there, tammy. very, very specific reason. listen, chaos is not a brand, okay? it's not a brand -- even richard nixon figured that out, running on a law and order platform, of all people. nixon figured that out. chaos is not a brand. i say that because the democrats have not offered anything of substance outside of cheap rhetoric about actually supporting border secur

activities have stayed fairly civic, but barack obama is looking political. vanny fair reports he's already been meeting with presidential hopefuls. meanwhile a former obama advisor saying his position this time if you're serious, you want to talk, i'll talk to you. as things unfold he might say let's all stay focused but and it's a big but, he's not going to pick a winner. we'll get to those politics, but what does it tell you to see these people on the most admired list here at the end of this very, very divided 2018? >> it tells us first of all americans are tired of being divided. the tact that barack obama and michelle are both aspirational, about hope, change, moving people to be their best selves is really telling about where we are right now as americans and where the appetite is and the mess in politics. michelle obama has been really civic and this lady right now is literally selling out stadiums with her book tour. she has sold so many books right now, she's literally broken records. i don't want to undercount and support to underscore mobilizing t

barack obama wrote, "while our hearts are heavy today, they are also filled with gratitude." the 43rd president, george w. bush, said in a statement, "george h.w. bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for." president trump praised bush's character while attending the g20 summit in argentina. >> one thing that came through loud and clear, he was very proud of his family, and very much loved his family. so he was a terrific guy, and he'll be missed, and he led a full life. and very exemplary life, too, i will say. >> george h.w. bush! >> reporter: no place knew that better than his adopted home town of houston. but for residents like mike peterson, he was simply the president next door. >> he brought people together. if you were a democrat or a republican, it didn't matter. and he brought leadership to both sides of the field. >> reporter: after the president's body leaves washington, d.c., he'll come here to st. martin's episkical church for a memorial service. it's the same church where his wife had a memorial service when she pa

the president of the united states when it was barack obama was very careful not the comment, and influence the ongoing legal matters, but we have seen this president just donald trump blow through the norms as it relates to commenting on the investigation, and we have seen him actively trying to undermine the independence of the investigation s and trying to mettle, and by saying that someone who is cooperating is a rat. he is sending the message that he is working against the rule of law in this kcountry, and whether it is the justice department or the intelligence community, you rely on people to cooperate with you to get to the bottom of things that happened and to get to the bottom of the national security threats in the country. so what james comey is point in out there is that we are in a extraordinary situation where trump tweets things everyday that become normal to us, and we are numbed to them. and every now and then, you have to step back to remind yourself, we have a president of the united states actively are preventing the success of an investigation into serious matters and

. >> barack obama saying hi. michelle obama. it's really very rare to have this kind of attendance together. there is the presidential hearse leaving the grounds of the capitol that will drive past the white house and then arrive at thecathedral. let's listen in. 7 . >> this is president trump arriving at the cathedral. all the other former presidents have already arrived. he will join them and not speaking. he will be in attendance. this, the body of george h.w. bush heading towards the national cathedral. it will probably take about 10 or 15 minutes to get there. this is an opportunity for people who have wanted to come and pay their respects to line the route. it's interesting as we watch this, some of the people lining the route have a -- when he was the president -- others were too young and still want to pay respects or bear witness to this moment in history. >> a rare moment in history. this is the capitol yesterday. parents are saying the same thing. of course, their children have no concept. they can't put into concept

the third obama term, this is barack obama's foreign-policy, worse than the obama foreign-policy because obama didn't have the benefit of hindsight. when he pulled out of iraq and presented the rise of basis, he didn't know what would happen, donald trump has the benefit of hindsight. he campaigned criticizing barack obama, calling him the founder of isis because he precipitously withdrew from the rack, took a bit of the terrorists next and donald trump spent the past two years dealing with the consequences of the precipitous withdrawal and decision to pull out in the fight against isis. it is unconscionable to me, why would he go and repeat obama's mistake knowing through experience what the consequences will be. heather: who steps up and takes his leadership role? there are big positions open, un ambassador, interior secretary of the ag. >> only so much can get through the senate with the cabinet positions. you may see someone who has been confirmed, someone who is not going to be controversial from a confirmation standpoint particularly with attorney general and everything else. whoev

barack obama did have five chiefs of staff. it is not uncommon for a chief of staff to be chewed up and spit out by washington. it is one of the toughest job congress -- toughest jobs, if not the toughest job. certainly for trump, it has been tougher because you have to deal with tweets that happen at 6:00 in the morning or 11:00 at night. you have to figure how to deal with that. it is a very tough job. especially for this president. the first hour of the program talking about potential government shutdown. going over to the white house to have this discussion, does john kelly join those conversations? guest: i assume so. the big negotiation is the wall money. and what trump is willing to give in to democrats and what the democrats are willing to offer him or not. has beeny intimately involved in wall discussions. i imagine he is going to be the chief of staff until he is not. also a general so i expect them to salute and keep doing his job until he is not in there. that is the big question. is trump going to be in the mood of

in fact, he campaigned, criticizing barack obama. he called him the founder of isis because he precipitously withdrew from iraq and let the territory -- and donald trump has spent the last two years dealing with the consequences of barack obama's precipitous withdrawal and decision to pull out in the fight against isis. so it is unconscionable to me, why would he now go and repeat obama's mistake? knowing, from experience and watching what the consequences will be? >> shannon: before we are out of time, i want to ask you both to weigh in. who will take a leadership role at the pentagon? there are big positions open. u.n. ambassador, interior secretary, ag, secretary -- >> there's only so much you can get through the senate with all of the other cabinet positions. you may see an insider, someone who has been confirmed or a deputy, someone who is not going to be controversial for my confirmation standpoint, with attorney general and everything. >> we might get it offend secretary confirm -- think about this, whoever it is, abdominal tr

. >> very similar to how you all did not like barack obama's tan suit or michelle obama's nice arms. trish: i missed that. similar to how we all what? >> how you all did not like barack obama's tan suits or michelle obama's arms being out. trish: i have no problem with her arms. you are being silly, antoine. you really are. >> that letter should be very concerning to everyone the fact that we are pulling out of syria set off an alarm on the left and right. that speaks volumes about the seriousness of the nature of the decisions the president makes. trish: i think it's hypocritical. if it had been a democrat president you would cheer and say we are out of those places wee where we don't belong. you cheered when under barack obama we got out of iraq and we had so many more troops there. but different standard for different presidents. what disappoints me in all this is how darn political it all is. >> everything that president trump does, they have to criticize. it's interesting the people criticizing him today had different opinions a year ago. the "new york times," they were against

as did barack 0bama. as did barack obama. barack obama has paid a surprise visit to a children's hospital in washington complete with santa hat and a sack full of presents. the former president spoke to chidren and their families and thanked the staff for looking after them over christmas. cheering. hi, merry christmas. you know what? my reindeer, they were stuck in some snow. ijust want to make sure that i have made the trip to see all you guys. it is so nice to meet you. is this mum over your question is this mum over here. so santa thinks you have been a good girl. spreading festive joy, the president, the ex—president getting out to meet people. he lives about a mile away from our studios in washington and he pops up occasionally in the city and people like seeing him and he is part of the community. i have been criticised for wearing a black shirt thatis criticised for wearing a black shirt that is not festive enough. our editor kate saying it is not showing enough of the festive season. so in honour of the festive sea

trish: barack obama was out there saying business was bad. so now she is out there with bernie sanders and they are pretty different but they speak the same language and for whatever reason is resonating with a lot of young people and timmy madison it's scary. >> it is scary but i understand where their frustration comes from. many coming out of school working hard to pay their way through college and having no opportunities. they are frustrated that the problem comes with so many of them who complain and they voice their frustration but they don't take the time to see they could make significant change in their lives. trish: look it's not that hard. i used to say this during the barack obama years. it's not that hard. cut taxes, less regulation to make businesses understand they do play a vital part in society. there are all kinds of socialism concerns out there right now and i talked at length about the challenges. you look over in france for example obviously very different before the danes start going after me. >> are they giving you a ha

>> the tea party formed around an almost fanatical opposition to barack obama. in 2010, it propelled a wave of new republicans to congress. >> what does it feel like? >> it feels bad. >> this new hyper partisan congress presided over a growing impeachment movement. >> when you promise that you're out to impeach the president, you can make a name for yourself. you can raise money. you can rally the base. >> impeach him. really? >> impeachment is not supposed to be used as a rallying cry to get people to vote for you. both sides played around with it. >> impeachment campaigns against presidents bush and obama never gained legitimacy or real legislative support. so one could argue who cares? it's only talk. >> if you play around with impeachment that way, over time the american people are going to misunderstand its constitutional power and its necessity. >> when barack obama left office, he was more popular than george bush. but the gap between the people who loved him and the people who hated him was even larger than it had been with president bush. >> t the stark

. >> is he barack obama? >> no, he's not barack obama, no. because they never got the chance to know what you have to be at least 20 or 21 to know. >> that's mr. rogers. >> he was lots of fun to watch. i wish i could be princess and live in the castle and have the king and queen. oh, yeah, i love that. >> reporter: can you identify this man? >> yes. >> happily. >> reporter: what's this -- >> my heart. >> reporter: your heart? >> that's my heart right there. >> reporter: really? >> yeah, i love him. ♪ it's a beautiful day in this neighborhood -- >> reporter: you think of the song he made famous, the innocence owed to getting along with each other. you consider how that song would fail today for the present moment. >> you're speaking spanish. speak english. >> do something about your dad's immigration practices, you feckless -- >> reporter: we demonize each other. people calling each other names and the incivility among our leaders. >> get that [ bleep ] off the field right now, out. he's fired. >> reporter: or does it? could it, in fact, be

in our first majority, the last 2 years of barack obama, had i not signed up with barack obama for trade promotion authority, it wouldn't have passed because both pelosi and harry reid were against it. so, my party tends to be more inclined to support trade agreements. the administration is going to have to sell this deal to the house of representatives in order to drive it through. >> do you think it's a good idea for the president to just terminate? >> no. not to terminate it. but i think the new proposal, from what i hear, is pretty good. the new negotiated proposal, at least from a kentucky point of view, is pretty good. so, i hope to be able to support it. but, you can't pass it without the democrats. >> but you are going to have a tougher debate about it here than -- >> well, you know, how many democrats came to washington to support donald trump trade deals? which is not to say that they might not be able to sell it. but, to say that this new group of kind of eager beaver younger democrats who ran against the president came to town to ratify trump trade deals i think is probably n

think about how barack obama got on the national stage. that brave controversial speech calling the iraq war a dumb war. his dnc speech. so these people need to get out there with something to say, rather than just saying, oh, i want to hear what voters want. no, you have to have a message. >> we got rid of michael avenatti. so it's slimming down a little bit. >> i want to ask a question -- it's true, avenatti has said he's not going to run. deval patrick says he's not going to run. two sources tell cnn, andrew gillum who ran for florida governor and lost met with obama. beto o'rourke met with obama last month. is there a market for candidates who ran statewide and lost? can they still then go on and run for president? >> so here's the thing. they are -- when you look at beto o'rourke and you look at andrew gillum and even stacy abrams, they are what you call the rising stars of the party. and even though they lost, they actually helped, because they ran so strong in their states respectively, they helped change the tide in some of these h

they nominate barack obama over hillary clinton. i sort of think hillary clinton having lost in 2016, it feels to me like the mood of a lot of democrats is, can we find someone young, exciting, more like barack obama? not someone quite so much like hillary clinton. it's unfair to elizabeth warren, she's only been a senator for one term, beginning her second term. but she feels a little bit like the hillary clinton type candidate, not the barack obama type candidate. >> yeah, but unlike hillary, if you look at senator warren's polling with people of color who make up 25% of the democratic party, she doesn't poll very well. and no one has really figured out why she doesn't poll well, especially with african-american women and african-american men voters. that's going to be a real challenge, because if you have 10 or 15 people in the race, that huge block of voters who are highly motivated and will be mobilized to get out and vote in these primaries all across the country, she's going to have to figure that part out. and you've got som

and barack obama behaved much the same. but donald trump, he really was emphasizing his concern for his own safety and melania's safety. >> well, that's because everything is always about him. no other president has gone to a war zone and said i'm concerned for my safety. the president typically goes to a war zone and says tell me about what you're afraid of. tell me about the concerns that you have about your safety. i'm here to listen and to say to you we will do whatever you can -- we can to make this more safe for you. but president trump has the ability to make everything about him. and that's the only prism through which he sees. >> noah, your final thought. >> i'm sure that the president's premise -- presence here in this battlefield is a morale boost for these troops. but it must be tempered by the fact that he is telling them things they don't want to hear. he's saying your mission is accomplished when they know it's not. he's saying that your efforts on the ground have secured the status of, for example, the kurds

bush, barack obama, who saw my buddy 41 in houston. in that visit, obama said bush and james baker deserve a norma's credit for managing the end of the cold war in a way that could have been sideways. we have a statement here from james baker, who was a longtime of presidentworker george h.w. bush. the legacy of george h.w. bush will forever be etched in the history of america and the world. it is a lifelong record of selfless patriotic service to our nation. he was the youngest navy pilot in world war ii, texas congressman, u.n. ambassador, america's first envoy to china, cia director, vice president, and president. in each position he led with strength, integrity, compassion, and humility, characteristics that to find a truly great man and effective leader. with a singularly unique consistency, he always demonstrated these traits, whether on the global stage or interacting with people in his everyday life. his passion was a deep love of family and our country. it was my pleasure and great joy to of had him as my special friend from o

so when you think about the fact that in 2006, barack obama himself said, u.s. senator, said that we needed secure financing. he voted for the secure fencing act. people like hillary clinton, joe biden, chuck schumer, they also part of it. now they are against it, because president trump is proposing it. in addition to this, sebastian gorka mentioned something in the last segment that was very important. there are a number of criminals that are certainly trying to get in, not all, but certainly there are some. if we look back in 2017, i.c.e. come out of their most folks they brought in, 74% of those folks had past criminal convictions. this seriousness possessing or selling drugs, these are the hard-core drugs, the, so when you think about these facsimiles irrefutable facts, how could they not want to protect our country? only because they believe they can correlate some of these votes to protect their party and stay in power. >> jason: ronna, part of the messaging actually should be, let's do what the border patrol wants to do. we have a lot of these political

>> the tea party formed around an almost fanatical opposition to barack obama. in 2010, it propelled a wave of new republicans to congress. >> what does it feel like? >> it feels bad. >> this new hyper-partisan congress presided over a growing impeachment movement. >> when you promise that you're out to impeach the president, you can make a name for yourself, you can raise money, you can rally the base. >> impeach him! really? >> impeachment is not supposed to be used as a rallying cry to get people to vote for you. both sides played around with it. >> impeachment campaigns against presidents bush and obama never gained legitimacy or real legislative support, so one could argue, who cares? it's only talk. >> if you play around with impeachment that way, over time, the american people are going to misunderstand it's a constitutional power and it's a necessity. >> when barack obama left office, he was more popular than george bush, but the gap between the people who loved him and the people who hated him was even larger than it had been with president bush. the st

barack obama did everything to decimate the democratic party and help barack obama. what do you think will hand, can happen on the senate side? are there enough and moderate democrats? >> it is reasonable and its a great question. we've already seen the schumer shutdown a couple weeks ago, but who would not be in favor of that. $5,000,000,000.01 you compare that to 1.3 trillion that we have in our annual budget, we are talking a day and a half of our budget to build this wall for security. the truth of the matter is, the senate did not vote on this bill that they sent us, they passed it by voice vote. the reality is now that they will either find this or they will shut down the government. it's a tough choice for them to be in. >> this $5.7 billion is actually less than one day, it's about half a day. and i'm tired of fixing the blame. we in the house should do our jobs, but when we say it won't, i don't like that. thanks for joining us and thanks for fighting the good fight guys, i appreciate it. on his radio show earlier today, rush limbaugh reported the president

if that had been barack obama or hilary clinton, what would you be doing right now? >> look, first of all, we don't know that he michael cohen admitted anything about offering a condominium. that's reported by sources. >> you're not answering the question. the president admitted he said if he did it -- the president admitted. he said i can do business. even if i did do it, it was okay. it was good. >> very cool. >> it was very cool. >> so. >> there's a difference between looking at an opportunity and offering a free apartment to the leader. >> that's not what i asked you. if the exact same scenario was playing out and it was barack obama or hillary clinton, what would you be saying right now? >> what i would be saying is heavily cite sizing the clintons as i did when they accepted hundreds of millions of dollars. >> if the exact process was happening right now with the russia investigation if it was hillary clinton, if it was hillary clinton or barack obama right now, with the russia investigation, what would you be saying? >> the clintons, i would be saying the clin

. >> i worked for four people jimmy carter, bill clinton, barack obama and donald trump to my surprise. i also came to understand about donald trump and this is profoundly important for the way things work now is in his heart of hearts he believes he always wins. here is a guy who has been in new york real estate boxing and wrestling beauty contest television construction never been subject to a criminal investigation that is astonishing in new york city. [applause] good morning. thank you very much you just got back from the g 20 it look like a lively discussion and president trump certainly described the - - it as peace in our time?

and we heard former president barack obama, a democrat, say a gentleman. and i think civility, his graciousness, the way he handled himself is a role model we all will miss. >> jamie, dana, thank you. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> i'm don lemon. it is the top of the hour. here is our breaking news. the 41st president of the united states, george h.w. bush has died at the age of 94. the flag at the white house flying at half-staff right now as flowers pile up outside the bush home in houston, texas. tributes are pouring in from president trump and former presidents barack obama and bill clinton. as well as former vice president al gore and condoleezza rice, james baker, and so many more. the nation mourning the man who devoted his life to service to his country and to his family. cnn's john king now with the story of george h.w. bush, the politician. ♪ >> reporter: it was the defining promise of his presidential campaign. >> read my lips. no new taxes. >> reporter: that was his 1988 republican convention speech. just two years later, during the buildup

in 2008, barack obama was elected on a promise, to help heal the country's extreme partisan divide. >> yes we can! yes we can! >> the candidate who campaigned on yes we can ran into a wall of republican opposition. >> hell no, you can't. >> the tea party formed opposition to barack obama. in 2010 it propelled a wave of new republicans to congress. >> what does it feel like? >> it feels bad. >> this new hyper partisan congress preside said over a growing impeachment movement. >> when you promise you are out to impeach the president, you can make a name and raise money and rally the base. >> impeach him? really? >> impeachment is not supposed to be a rallying cry to get people to vote for you. both sides played around with it. >> impeachment campaigns against president bushes bush and obama never gained legitimacy or legislative support so, one could argue, who cares? >> if you play around with impeachment, overtime the american people are going to misunderstand the constitutional power and necessity. >> when barack obama left office he was more popular than george bush, but the gap bet

according to everybody's staffs in 2008, barack obama's campaign spent nearly 2 million in illegal -- in violation of election law. they got a fine of 300,000. but you want to throw this president in jail about payments to women that he may or may not have known about that divamps dwarfed the $2 million? we should just accept that. >> yeah. there is a lot in what you just said. what you said is factually correct. the barack obama team was guilty of the exact same thing and was given a civil fine of i think it was $375,000. brian: 375. >> because it's barack obama, the anointed one, nothing happened and the media, of course, there was no clamoring to have him thrown in jail. the first thing prosecute documents which me as a formal agent involved in many federal cases you just nailed it they are never written like that. they are written with a joe friday just the facts ma'am approach. why is this written like some kind of elongated romance novel here? and the reason is very simple, brian. this prosecutor is not looking for a criminal prosecution against trump, i don't believe. is he loo