kelly where the president was asking for john kelly's loyalty. where is general kelly cede that loyalty, to whom or what does he give that loyalty? >> what kelly could never understand about trump was the issue of loyalty. trump never could get that someone like kelly or the other generals that were around the president were going to be loyal to the constitution and the rule of law, and not the president personally. trump just never understood that. he never understood that with jeff sessions, his first attorney general who cused himself from the russia investigation, and as kelly spent all this time with the president, as his chief of staff, as that guardrail, trump just never got it. he just never understood that people like kelly were not going to go that extra mile, that extra line just for trump, just for personal reasons, and it was just a remarkable, remarkable phenomenon feature of his time. >> let me read another excerpt from the book talking about the attitudes within the white house. "they tolerated more self-destructive behavior from

. >> i know john kelly. he was with me and did not do a good job and had no temperament, he was exhausted. this man was totally exhausted. he was not able to function in the last number of months. he was not able to function. he was sort of a tough guy. by the time he got eaten up in this world is a different world than he was used to. he was unable to function and i told him john, you are going of to go, please give me a letter of resignation. we did that and now he goes out and bad mouthing. there are people who are jealous and upset they're not here anymore. >> can you believe that? >> why not just say you know kelly's family, the gold star family, yi don't want to speculate about what he may or may not said. what kind of a person does that? pete, this president has no idea if john kelly was even a source. he certainly does not know what it is like to lose a child in a war. maybe he's attacking that way because the information -- he thought john kelly was in the room. i don't know. why would you resort to

what he said about john kelly was notable. the way he talked about him as he left his chief of staff job. he is a retired four-star marine general, went to combat. the president was saying he couldn't handle the chief of staff position and that he was exhausted by the time he left the job and the president going off on john kelly saying he doesn't know if he were the source of the story but it could have been a john kelly-type figure. as you saw there he was asked by bloomberg why had john kelly had been one of the officials that hasn't come out to say anything about the story. there was a story about the president going with john kelly to arlington cemetery. a comment that the president made there. it will be interesting to see if john kelly does respond to the president. we have seen him speaking out privately. but something i want to note is that this is the first time the president has been asked about the poisoning of the russian opposition figure. the president said he hasn't seen the evidence to say he was poisoned and

. >> as for john kelly. well, even as he denied allegations that he showed contempt for the troops, the president took an opportunity to show, quite publicly and for the cameras, deliberate contempt for kelly. >> didn't do a good job. had no temperament. and ultimately, he was petered out. he was exhausted. this man was totally exhausted. he wasn't even able to function in the last number of months. he was not able to function. he was sort of a tough guy. by the time he got eaten up in this world, it's a different world than he was used to, he was unable to function. >> as for "the atlantic" story, itself, the president called it a hoax. he called it a second-rate magazine, and a third-rate magazine. and he took verbal swipes at joe biden, himself, the father of a son who served. or, as the president, apparently, would put it, father of a sucker. >> if it's true and based on all the things he said, i believe the article's true. i'd ask you all the rhetorical question, how do you feel? how would you feel, if

we haven't heard from john kelly. i wonder, listen, you and i have done stories on sensitive information where folks will share that information based on you maintaining us, maintaining their anonymity. with john kelly being attacked today, do you see someone like him coming out and saying no, this is what happened? >> you know, it's certainly possible. i think one thing we learned about the trump administration and the people in it is the senior administration officials, a lot of people are willing to air grievances and frustrations but not willing to go on the record because these are why i continue to work in the administration or have another job. particularly around, you know, career military folks, this is something about honor, integrity, not sticking your neck out too much i think a lot of generals like john kelly and john mattis, they hold on to sometimes perhaps to the public's dentmetriment of fully understanding the president in an election year. there isn't really -- his k0789k0789 comments about kelly to

john kelly, of course, was the chief of staff at the time. that was simply the question that the president was asked earlier today when he unloaded on john kelly, but also the defense secretary at the time has not said anything either, neither has joe dunford. it is these figures who are well aware of the president's relationship with the military that could comment on this that have not so far. it is still an open question whether or not john kelly will come forward given the way that the president attacked him today. >> kaitlan, one more question for you. you followed this white house for a long time now. do you think john kelly might strike back now? >> it is hard to know. john kelly has been someone before, back during impeachment, things like that where people asked why he hasn't come forward and spoken about the president. the president made it increasingly personal today by going after him, and not just attacking his style as chief of staff, which a lot of people did not like. john kelly rubbed a lot of people the wrong way and he and

> i know john kelly. he was with me. didn't do a good job. had no temperament and ultimately he was petered out. he was exhausted. this man was totally exhausted. he wasn't even able to function in the last number of months. he got eaten up in this world. >> while cnn has yet to match "the atlantic's" reporting, we are learning about additional comments the president has made about veterans, specifically those who served in vietnam. let's go the white house where jeremy diamond is standing by. what are you hearing? >> reporter: a person familiar with the president's marks has told us that the president has repeatedly questioned about americans who went on to serve in the vietnam war did so and questions of why they weren't able to get out of serving, suggesting that they didn't know how to exploit the system to get out of serving in vietnam. perhaps the president was thinking about the way that he did so himself. we know that the president received multiple deferments to avoid serving in the vietnam war t

the bus. >> i know john kelly. he was with me. didn't do a good job. had no temperament. and ultimately, he was petered out. he got -- he was exhausted. this man was totally exhausted. he wasn't even able to function, in the last number of months. he was not able to function. he was sort of a tough guy. by the time he got eaten up in this world, it's a different world than he was used to, he was unable to function. and i told him, john, you're going to have to go. please, give me a letter of resignation. and we did that. and now, he goes out and badmouths. now, there are people that are jealous. there are people that are upset that they're not here, anymore. there are people -- we've done an incredible job, the virus came in, and now we're doing an incredible job, again. we're going to build it up bigger than it was, before the virus came in. but i don't know that it was him. i don't see that. i mean, i see anonymous. but it could have been a guy like a john kelly. >> remember when you were a kid and you would -- y

there has been no remarks about john kelly's son as he stood with john kelly at the national cemetery. >> if i can go out on a limb saying it's because they are all true. this is donald trump on 60 minutes. >> he was captured. does being captured make you a hero? i don't know, i am not sure. >> kim atkins, if he had said nice things about john mccain in private, it would be the first time. >> this is not the first time. we have seen this repeatedly over and over again. we have seen him attack john mccain, seen him attack gold star families. we have seen him repeatedly show the lack of respect for the military and military family. if you look at a lot of the news that has come out over the last four years -- four days or four weeks, there is a lack of empathy or understanding of others. after he secondly attacked the kahns, there was an interview with donald trump, and he was asked what sacrifices he had made in his life. he responded with real estate business, jobs. he heard sacrifice as to what can i brag about. he doesn't understand what it means to sacrifice yourself or go fight on

he threw john kelly under the bus. former chief of staff. >> i know john kelly. he was with me. didn't do a good job. and he was petered out. he was exhausted. this man was tote will exhausted. he wasn't even able to function in the last number of months. he was not able to function. he was sort of a tough guy, by the time he got eaten up in this world, it's a different world than he was used to. he was unable to function. and i told him, you have to go. please give me a letter of resignation. and we did that. and now he goes out and bad mouths. there are people that are jealous and upset that they're not here anymore. people that we have done an incredible job the virus came in and we're doing an incredible job. we'll build it up bigotger than before the virus. i see anonymous. it could have been a guy like john kelly. >> remember when you were a kid and you would your parents ask you something you deny and just wouldn't shut up. and they say why are you talking so much if you didn't do it? or we say as adults. doth protest too much. did you say that? no i didn't. does that sou

when the president asks john kelly -- and i know john kelly. he's a great guy, a great marine, serves the country with distinction. he's somebody who's a stand up person. and i resent the fact that the president winds up demeaning him as well today. because the bottom line is his son, john kelly's son, did die and he's buried in articlington. and i've been there with john kelly. and i paid tribute to his son for the sacrifice that he made for this country. i didn't ask the question, what was in it for him, which is what the president is quoted as asking. what is in it -- what was in it for them? as if to say that service to country, love of country, is somehow not enough, when it really is. that's why we are proud of our men and women in uniform because service to country and love of country comes first. >> secretary, i appreciate you taking the time to join us tonight. thank you. >> thank you. >>> also with us, maggie haberman, white house correspondent for the "new york times." you have some reporting and other comments that the president has

mccain and former marine general john kelly. that reporter, james laporta, who says he has confirmed all of this reporting tonight, he joins us next, as does a combat veteran former air force helicopter pilot who was shot down while serving in afghanistan. she has had a blistering response to this from the president tonight. that's all ahead. stay with us. unnerving report from jeffrey goldberg at "the atlantic," revealing that president trump has described members of the armed forces who have died in battle as losers and suckers. among the revelations in goldberg's piece is that upon learning of the passing of the late senator john mccain, trump vowed that the white house would not support his funeral, calling him a, quote, effing loser. the story also says that trump insulted the service of the late son of former white house chief of staff john kelly while literally standing at his grave. following the release of that upsetting reporting tonight from "the atlantic," a.p. reporter james laporta, who is very, very well sourced a

i should tell you on the john kelly front, there is a moment in which john kelly describes something about trump as the equivalent of french kissing a chainsaw? and i couldn't explain all that part of it to you, but you're going to have to read the book for that one. michael schmidt also reports in this new book the backstory on how white house officials tried to stop jared kushner and the president's daughter ivanka from getting top-level security clearances because of some warning that turned up in the investigation into whether or not they should qualify for that kind of clearance. some sort of highly compartmented information that john kelly was briefed on, which led to a strong recommendation that jared kushner not receive a top-level clearance. nevertheless, the president overruled that objection and said that kushner should get one as well as his daughter, ivanka. this is from schmidt's book. may 22nd, 2018. chief of staff's office, the west wing. don mcgahn's recommendation meant nothing to trump. the following day he told john kelly that despite the concerns of the agencies

there's also -- i should tell you on the john kelly front, there is a moment in which john kelly describes something about trump as the equivalent of french kissing a chainsaw. and i couldn't explain all that part of it to you, but you're going to have to read the book for that one. michael schmidt also reports in this new book the back story on how white house officials tried to stop jared kushner and the president's daughter ivanka from getting top-level security clearan clearances because of some warning that turned up in the investigation into whether or not they should qualify for that kind of clearance. some sort of highly compartmented information that john kelly was briefed on, which led to a strong recommendation that jared kushner not receive a top-level clearance. nevertheless, the president overruled that objection and said that kushner should get one as well as his daughter, ivanka. this is from schmidt's book. may 22nd, 2018. chief of staff's office, the west wing. don mcgahn's recommendation meant nothing to trump. the following day he told john kelly that despite the concer

. >> i know john kelly. he was with me. didn't do a good job. had no temperament. and ultimately, he was petered out. he got -- he was exhausted. this man was totally exhausted. he wasn't even able to function, in the last number of months. >> well, john kelly's son was, also, a marine and was killed in afghanistan. mr. trump's opponent in the november election responded, on friday, to all of this. joe biden saying that, because of trump's well-documented attacks of the late john mccain's service in vietnam, he believes the report to be true and horrifying. >> if it's true, and based on all the things he said, i believe the article's true. i'd ask you all the rhetorical question. how do you feel? how would you feel, if you had a kid in afghanistan right now? how would you feel, if you lost a son, daughter, husband, wife? how would you feel? for real. i probably -- i've just never been as disappointed, in my whole career, with a leader that i've worked with, president or otherwise. >> friday, the first lady, also, weighing in. melania trump tweeting out that the "at

also -- i should tell you on the john kelly front. there is a moment in which john kelly describes something about trump as the equivalent of french kissing a chain saw? i could not explain all that part with you but you will have to read the book for that one. michael schmidt also reports in this new book the back story of how white house officials tried to stop juared kushner and the president's daughter from getting top levels security clearances because of some warning that turned up into the investigation of whether or not they should be qualified for that. john kelly was briefed on which led to a strong recommendation that jared kushner not receiving a top level clearance. never the less, the president ov overruled that objection and said that kushner should get one as well as ivanka. mcga memoir r the memo was only one paragraph, it says this, the president of the united states has ordered that jared kushner and ivanka trump be allowed to access national security information up to the top secret level. jared kushner and ivanka

icing anonymous, but it could have been a guy like a john kelly. he was a very -- you look at some of his news conferences, what happened to him, he got eaten alive. he was unable to handle the pressure of this job. mrs. job was a tough job. mark meadows is doing a great job. but kelly was unable to do that, and as far as that day, we have so much proof as to going -- i went to paris, and i was all set to go. they had a rainstorm the likes of which you rarely see. the fog was so great. it was as dense as i've ever seen, and i almost knew that you couldn't use the helicopter. and because they had to drive through, i guess certain parts of paris, the secret service -- by the way, we have people here that were on the trip, they are writing a report, unable to even think about it, and i said, "nope, i want to go." i insisted on going. it would have taken us forever. the paris police said "please, you can do this," you have to have to shutdown various parts of paris. and it just was not a possible situation. the helicopter would have been very quick. to

i know john kelly. he was with me. didn't do a good job. had no temper member and ultimately he was petered out. he was exhausted. he was exhausted not able to function. we have many witnesses, and it is a total -- it is a total -- just a continuation of the witch-hunt so that it can hopefully affect the election. >> important to know there the president was asked about his former chief of stapp john kelly who is not one of those former officials who has come forward to say this is not true. kelly, a retired four-star marine general was on that trip, a pat of the events, and went in the president's place to that american cemetery when the president's helicopter was not able to apply. the question from the reporters was, does the president have any concern about john kelly? because he had not come forward to defend the president. the president used that opportunity to criticizecal caks performance as chief of staff and praising his current chief of staff, mark meadows. cally is also the father of a fallen service member, his son was killed i

kelly's son during a visit with john kelly. so if this isn't true, would you not think that john kelly would come out and say, it's false? >> i think john kelly wants to stay out of politics. i've seen the footage where president trump honored john kelly's son at a very -- at a private service and i know that since i've been around president trump, i've seen him honor veterans or people who have lost loved ones in combat, serving our country over and over. in fact i was with the president in the oval office a couple of weeks ago and a gentleman came in who had served our country in combat and the president praised him and was saying over the top great things about how much he appreciated his service and these are the things that the camera doesn't pick up. these are things that he says in private, in his interactions. i want to go back to the whole anonymous sources thing for a moment because why won't anyone step up and put their name on this if it's actually something that's true? i don't think it is true -- >> have you seen

. >> we have kelly o'donell nell the white house. >> reporter: we have john kelly, because he was present during 2018 trip to paris with the president. that is why there was discussion of the veterans. the reports attribute behind the scenes officials without naming john kelly. john kelly has not come forward to dispute or make a comment which raised the question about what did he know and was he a witness to that. the president was asked about this during a briefing and john kelly was a four-star marine general and had a son, robert, who died in iraq and was visi d visited. john kelly in the report and visiting the grave with the president of his son. why would they volunteer to serve is the comment the president made. the president denies the story and now this story is taking on another dimension. will someone come forward and put their name to the account? president trump was critical about his former chief of staff. here is what he had to say. >> i know john kelly. he was with me. he didn't do a good job. no temperament. he was petered out. he was exhausted. this man was totally exha

mccain and john kelly. joining us is james laporta. thank you very much for being with us tonight. i appreciate you making time on short notice. >> thank you for having me. >> so the white house instantly responded to jeffrey goldberg's piece at "the atlantic" tonight by decrying it as false, saying that it was made up and that these anonymous sources are the giveaway that this is false reporting just meant to smear the president. but to hear you tell it, you've backed up what goldberg has reported and you've got your own sources who say this is really what happened. >> that's correct. when i initially tweeted out, i had one senior defense department official, and i now have a second who is described as a u.s. marine corps officer, who is also in a senior position, who was also briefed on some of the same things that are in this story. they are quite shocking, especially, you know, i got to admit when i first saw it, i actually didn't believe it, which is why i started reaching out to sources, especially th

kelly's son, is john kelly, who has not spoken about this at all. the president was asked about the fact that john kelly has not commented on this story. here's what he said. >> i know john kelly. he was with me. didn't do a good job, had no temperament and ultimately he was petered out. he got -- he was exhausted. this man was totally exhausted. he wasn't even able to function in the last number of months. he was not able to function. he was sort of a tough guy. by the time he got eaten up in this world, it's a different world than he was used to, but i don't know that it was him. i haven't seen that. i mean, i see anonymous but it could have been a guy like a john kelly. >> reporter: dana, remarkable, of course, that, you know, the president here is talking about a former four star marine corps general, former command oer of u.s. southern command and we should note that general kelly has not been all too critical of the president. he's been critical on some of the administration's policies. he also agreed with former secretary of defense jim matti

, but this is about john kelly which he did not, as you mentioned, answer there. this is about alexander -- who tried to black list after the impeachment hearing, he's despairaged a slew of military servants again, he knows the base doesn't like john mccain. he's an easy applause line. this goes a lot deeper in part because there hasn't really been a clean answer on the atlantic piece, which hasn't really been refuted beyond what we've heard. it's also just the silence of a lot of the republicans in the senate has said, this doesn't sound like him at all, this sounds far-fetched. i think they expect there will be other shoes to drop next few days rkz people coming forward speaking on the record about this. >> he said there's more reporting to come. john kelly himself has not refuted this and situation was described in the article where the president was talking directly to john kelly, he'd be in a unique position to say this is not true. it's notable he's not come out and said that. this is just one of a lot of many big and potentially damaging stories that are co

listen to what the president said. >> i know john kelly. he was with me, didn't do a good job, had no temperament, and ultimately he was petered out. he got -- he was exhausted. this man was totally exhausted. he wasn't even able to function in the last number of months. >> reporter: and so you see the president's response there to the fact that general kelly has not commented, is to disparage him, the president even suggesting at one point that the former four star marine corps general might have been the source of this or one of the sources, at least, of this "atlantic" story. of course, we have been trying to see if general kelly will comment on this and ana, i know that some people close to kelly are trying to get him to come out and talk publicly about his feelings about the president but so far, he has resisted doing so. >> we will see. thank you. i want to bring in someone who served nearly three decades in the u.s. navy and retired as a rear admiral following his military career. he went on to return to government to serve as a spok

reporter: john kelly, -- how are -- the notable voice missing was soef of staff john kelly, how are we supposed to read into the facts of john kelly? pres. trump: i know john kelly. didn't do a good job, no temperament. this man was completely exhausted. he was not able to function in the last number of months. he was not able to function. he was sort of a tough guy. by the time he got eaten up in this world, it was a different world than he was used to. he was unable to function. i told him, john, you are going to have to go. please give me a letter of resignation and we did that. now he goes out and bad mouths. there are people who are jealous, they are upset they are not here anymore. now we are doing an incredible job. we are going to build it up bigger than it was before the virus came in, but i do not know that it was him. could have been anonymous, but it could have been a guy like john kelly, because he was -- he was a very -- you look at some of his news conferences. he got eaten alive. he was unable to handle the pressure of this job. this job was a tough job. mark meadows is

as for the canceled cemetery trip. >> he decided not to do it because of john kelly's recommendation that was entirely a weather-related decision and -- >> others insist the allegations were true saying as much of the record, the mixing, the abn jennifer griffin. despite the salacious nature of the reported wasn't the sole focus of the day's presidential briefing. along with the economy and announced presidential medal of freedom for college football coach we will holds the president out of the administration's efforts to combat covid-19. >> the bottom line is the job we've done on covid-19, the china virus, china flag, call it whatever you want to come a lot of different names but it has been incredible. >> reporter: the president is expected to remain in washington over the labor day weekend it is also likely he will be keeping an eye on the increasingly tight poles in battleground states like pennsylvania, north carolina and wisconsin. a recent report on the key focus group showed just 2 of 10 participants backing biden over the president. respondents noticed concerns over spirali

. >> he decided not to do it because of john kelly's recommendation that it was entirely a weather-related decision. did it wasn't the sole focus of the days briefing. along with the economy and announced presidential medal of freedom for we hold. the president again touted the administration's effort to combat covid 19. >> the bottom line is that the job we have done with covid 19, the china virus, the china plague, call it whatever you want. there are a lot of different names. it has been incredible. >> while the president is excited to remain in washington over the labor day weekend it's also likely that he will be keeping an on the type holes in battleground states like pennsylvania, north carolina and wisconsin. a recent report on a focus group showed just two of ten participants backing biden over the president. respondents noticed concerns over spiraling violence and feeling overlooked by the democratic party very also today the white house, serbia and xhosa both took part in his signing ceremony. the two countries agreed to economic normalization. we heard the president comment for

. >> he decided not to do it because of john kelly's recommendation that it was entirely a weather-related decision. did it wasn't the sole focus of the days briefing. along with the economy and announced presidential medal of freedom for we hold. the president again touted the administration's effort to combat covid 19. >> the bottom line is that the job we have done with covid 19, the china virus, the china plague, call it whatever you want. there are a lot of different names. it has been incredible. >> while the president is excited to remain in washington over the labor day weekend it's also likely that he will be keeping an on the type holes in battleground states like pennsylvania, north carolina and wisconsin. a recent report on a focus group showed just two of ten participants backing biden over the president. respondents noticed concerns over spiraling violence and feeling overlooked by the democratic party very also today the white house, serbia and xhosa both took part in his signing ceremony. the two countries agreed to economic normalization. we heard the president comment for

john kelly's son is buried in section 60. he was 29 years old. president trump was meant on this visit to join john kelly and paying respects at his son's grave and comfort the family about their fallen service members. according to sources with knowledge of the visit, trump while standing by robert kell kelley's grave and turned to kelly's father and said "i don't get it, what was in it for them"? john kelly initially believe that trump was making a reference to the selflessness of america's voluntary source. later he realized that trump does not understand non-transactional life choices. he can't fathom the idea of doing something for someone other than himself. he just thinks anyone who does anything when there is no direct personal gain is a sucker. there is no money in serving the nation. kelly's friend went on the say, trump can't imagine anyone else's pain that's why he would say this to a father of a fallen marine in the cemetery where he's buried. goldberg says i have asked numerous officers for their analysis of trump's seeming contempt

staff kelly son was killed in iraq the president stood at robert kelly's grave and said to john i don't get it what was in it for them during his press conference on friday accused john calley of being one of the sources of the story i see anonymous but it could have been a guy like a john kelly because he was because it's going to say he was a very you know look at some of his news conference is what happened to him he got eaten alive he was unable to handle. the pressure of this joe biden's campaign quickly made this an issue really seeing this ad and the former vice president call the allegations disgusting if true my son volunteered to enjoy the united states military as the attorney general went to iraq 3 year won the bronze star and other commendations he wasn't a sucker reaction on social media scathing this from overtire general when he met with the chairman of the joint chiefs general dunford his comment was that's a smart guy why is he in the military and from a veterans organization opposed to trial my message to donald trump is that this you have no right being the commander

kelly and tough words for john kelly in the disputes with john mccain and he covered a lot of ground, he also said reporters asking biden softball questions, the questions meant for child and he said that biden has been soft on antifa and left-wing anarchists. this is a story that we want to get to right now. we're gonna get to former nypd commissioner howard on what happened and what the president is talking about with something really hid in the campaign right now. what the president was talking about with joe biden and nt 4.0 matters to the story, the suspect believed test shot trump's supporter aaron d danielson, michael rino is shot dead after reporting of firing 50 rounds to ball enforcement and southwest of seattle. let's get to howard on that story. what was your reaction to that story? >> my reaction was one that was predictable, he's talking about violent criminals and black lives matter who are well armed, well-financed and totally anti-police and anti-civilian. they are all about writing and vandalism and black lives matter should be worried about over the 5000 black mill

so he's at a point now where the john kellys of the world and the don mcgahns and the jim comeys of the world are gone. he's gotten people to go along with these things. the early years of the trump administration should not be absolved. there were a lot of things thing that were different and abnormal. but it certainlies that the president is in search of the ultimate loyalists, that john kelly would not be one of those loyalists. the president now has those people, at least more of those people around him. >> what was it that came out with everything with bob woodward that john kelly would sit in the national cathedral praying about just the state of the nation and the world because of this president? we've obtained here at cnn even more tapes from the final conversation between woodward and the president. and, again, back to your book. you write that trump wanted to sit down with mueller but that his lawyers stopped him. what does that tell you about how and why he would give woodward these 18 interviews? >> i think that, in this you can sort of see in the broader aspects and what i

have you asked john kelly [indiscernible] pres. trump: i have nothing against john kelly. i was very heartened to see a friend of his -- i was very heartened to see zach fuentes came out with the statement he did last night that it was not true. what is un-american about federal government training programs [indiscernible] pres. trump: i fired those people. they are all gone. it was a disgrace and we are going to give you a big report that's going to make you very happy. reporter: you said a moment of you're moment ago, talking about joe biden and kamala harris and their comments about the vaccine. pres. trump: they say negative. they are going to make the vaccine into a negative so that when we have it -- and i spoke to the head of pfizer, to the head of johnson & johnson, i spoke to the greatest medical companies in the world. we are doing great and we are going to have it soon. so now what they are saying is this is bad news. president trump is getting this vaccine in record time. if this were the obama administration, you wouldn't have that vaccine for three years and

him on friday. >> i know john kelly. he was with me. didn't do a good job. he had no element, was petered out. he wasn't able to function in the last number of months. was unable to function. he was unable to handle the pressure of this job. this job was a tough job. mark meadows is doing a great job, but kelly was unable to do that. >> serving in wars also takes a lot of pressure, and he certainly survived that. >>> democratic presidential nominee joe biden spent the holiday weekend continuing to lay into president trump's reported comments bashing american troops. while at a campaign stop in pennsylvania yesterday, joe biden told union members he was close to losing his temper as he called trump, quote, un-american. >> when it comes to veterans, he's downright un-american. i've never said that about a president ever, ever, ever, but calling those who have served, who risked their lives, gave their lives to our nation, losers, suckers, these are heroes. >> according to axios, biden's campaign is seizing this moment and

trump: i have nothing against john kelly. i was very heartened to see a friend of his -- i was very heartened to see zach fuentes came out with the statement he did last night that it was not true. reporter: what is un-american about federal government training programs that are aimed at improving inclusivity? pres. trump: i fired those people. they are all gone. it was a disgrace and we are going to give you a big report that's going to make you very happy. reporter: you said a moment ago, they will say anything. you were talking about joe biden and kamala harris and their comments about the vaccine. pres. trump: they say negative. they are going to make the vaccine into a negative so that when we have it -- and i spoke to the head of pfizer, to the head of johnson & johnson, i spoke to the greatest medical companies in the world. we are doing great and we are going to have it soon. wait a minute. so now what they are saying is this is bad news. president trump is getting this vaccine in record time. by the way if this were

i want you to listen to what president trump said about john kelly just on friday. >> i know john kelly. he was with me, didn't do a good job, had no temperament. and ultimately he was petered out. he was exhausted. this man was totally exhausted. he wasn't even able to function in the last number of months. he got eaten up in this world. >> i know you worked with john kelly when he was white house chief of staff and elsewhere. do you agree with the president? >> well, i agree that both men are doing the best that they can for the armed forces and veterans of the united states. i'm not going to get into a he said she said. >> all i could say is that the head of veterans affairs, i'm concerned about making sure that we address all the wrongs that were left over from four years ago in giving veterans the best service possible. i see the proof in the pudding. our veterans affairs department is in a place that it has never been. this is the renaissance and it's all because of one man. >> you say that but i have to ask you about the v.a. in particular and something that president trump has c

it could have been john kelly, he was super fatigue and batted. i don't think john kelly has ever been batted at anything or super fatigue. i think john kelly would probably come out and say he didn't say this thing at my son's grave if that were the case. pushing that -- >> bret: he can confirm, he's no longer inside the administration. jessica: i welcome him to do either of those things. the military times poll that show that biden is getting more support among active members is why they are running scare. bret: a lot of things that were going to move the needle ahead of the 2016 election, a lot of things including all kinds of things that were said let alone the access hollywood. people thought that the campaign was cratering a number of different times. where are we on this, does this not fall into some of that category? >> i think it absolutely does. if you're a supporter of president trump you think it's a hit job. they are not going to believer it and if you're a biden supporter, you're going to say, of course, he said it, it's absolutely t

notably absent is former chief of staff john kelly. >> i know john kelly. he was with me. didn't do a good job. >> reporter: the president suggested. >> kyle:ly cou-- -- kelly could have been a course. slammed him for his white house service. >> he was not able to function. he was sort of a tough guy. by the time he got eaten up in this world, it's a different world than he was used to, he was unable to function. >> reporter: admiral iss noted silence. lack of denial from kelly and m mattis suggests the shock is well placed. the admiral referring to general kelly who was chief of staff and previously homeland security secretary. james mattis was the secretary of defense. saying they would have inside knowledge. a number of those who have come forward who are former officials were defending the president more broadly, not necessarily a part of the trip in france where the alleged comments were made. >> kelly owe done 'donnell at t house. thank you very much. >>> l retired commander. he was nato's supreme allied commander among his other posts. he is nbc's chief internationa

he said of general john kelly. he encouraged him to speak out publically and affirm or deny the report. when i asked him why he thought kelly hasn't come out, he says you have to understand for career military men it's chain of command it's a huge step to speak out against a sitting president of the united states. but the admiral said, in this case it's too important and that should go by the wayside and general kelly should come out and speak out. do you think at some point in this process we'll hear from general kelly, who obviously is at the center of those allegations, the comments, including one about his own son at arlington national cemetery or perhaps from general mattis? is this a moment those men might step forward and speak about the issue? >> i hope so. every morning i wake up and hope to see the headline that they spilled the beans and told america what went on. this is the time, right now. this week, this month, a time for general kelly, general mattis, general dunford, anybody in uniform close to him

. >> reporter: the president held a briefing where he denied the reports but singled out john kelly, his former chief of staff who was on the trip with the president to paris in november of 2018, and has not weighed in on the story whether to confirm or deny it. the president took the opportunity to attack john kelly and disparage him as he is being accused of disparaging members of the military current and former. the president went after john kelly saying he was not up to the task of being chief of staff, that he was exhausted and could not handle the pressures of the job, even though john kelly is a retired four-star marine general, led southern command, and had a son who died in afghanistan. the president said despite those credentia credentials, he could not live up to the pressure of working in his west wing. kaitlan collins, cnn, the white house. >>> school's back in session in the uk, and many parents are, well, happy to see it. >> i think things need to start getting back to something a little bit more normal. so i think school's a good place to start. >> we'll look at the p

i want you to listen to what president trump said about john kelly just on friday. >> i know john kelly, he was with me, didn't do a good job, had no temperament and ultimately he was petered out, he was exhausted. this man was totally exhausted. he wasn't even able to function in the last number of months. he got eaten up in this world. >> i know you worked with john kelly when he was at the white house chief of staff and elsewhere. do you agree? do you agree with the president? >> well, i agree that both men are doing the best is that they can for the armed forces and veterans of the united states. i'm not going to get into a he said/she said with the president and the former chief of staff. >> he said he didn't do a good job. >> all i can say is that the head of veterans' affairs i'm concerned about making sure that we address all the wrongs that were left over from four years ago and giving veterans the best service possible. i see the proof in the pudding and the proof in the pudding is our military is stronger and our veterans' affairs department is a place it has never been. this

i know john kelly, he was with me. didn't do a good job. had no temperament, and ultimately he was petered out. he was exhausted. this man was totally exhausted. he wasn't even able to function in the last number of months. he was not able to function. he was sort of a tough guy? by the time he got eaten up in this world, it's a different world than he was used to, he was unable to function. and i told him, john, you're going to have to go. please give me a letter of resignation. and we did that. and now he goes out and bad mouths. now, there are people that are jealous, there are people that are upset that they're not here anymore, there are people that we've done an incredible job. the virus came in and now we're doing an incredible job again. we're going to build it up bigger than it was before the virus came in. but i don't know that it was him. i haven't seen that. i see anonymous, but it could have been a guy like a john kelly, because he was -- >> [inaudible] >> just so you understand, he was a very -- you look at some of his news co

mccain and he also didn't back down and disparaging general john kelly his former chief of staff whose own son was killed in conflict and is the soldier that has been buried so many people are going to find those comments also equally disgraceful given the fact that he essentially said that john kelly a decorated general and highly esteemed in the military community he said he couldn't handle the job he wasn't up to it he was exhausted those are not going to play well with the military vote that you're trying to get so while the president is trying to tamp down one story in many ways he put an accelerant on the fire in terms of the controversy by disparaging his former chief of staff general john kelly thank you very much white house correspondent kimberly thank you can. or bring you some other stories now and of course we've been following developments in lebanon today the country fell silent to mark the moment exactly a month ago when a catastrophic explosion tore through the capital beirut was caused by almost $3000.00 tons of ammonium nitrate which caught fire and blew up after bei

>> reporter: john kelly not commenting on this story. and james mattis, the president's former secretary of defense, also not commenting on the allegations in this story. one former trump administration official is. john bolton, the former national security adviser, who is on this trip to france and wrote about it, in his recently released tell-all book. he told "the new york times," he did not directly hear president trump make the disparaging remarks about service members. he did acknowledge it is possible the president said them when he was not around. boris sanchez, cnn, the white house. >>> among those coming to the president's defense is his wife. first lady melania trump, in a rare public defense of her husband, she is denouncining "t atlantic" story as untrue. this is not journalism, it is activism and a disservice to the american people. >>> coming up, dramatic and dangerous rescues in stormy seas after a massive cargo ship goes missing. we'll hear from one of the few sailors who have been rescued so far. and another powerful st