spoke to woodward. but the elder bush told cnn he wouldn't read what woodward wrote about his son if it was critical. >> i have some major differences with bob woodward, and there's no point in going into them, but i don't -- we're not on close terms at all. >> reporter: trump himself is quoted in woodward's book as saying "i hope you treat me better than bush because you made him look like a stupid m e mor moron, which he was." richard nixon and gerald ford are not believed to have spoken with woodward. why did presidents agree to speak with woodward? some call it the woodward mistake. >> the ability he has to get presidents to talk, and does it by saying, i've talked to everybody else in your administration but you, is unnerving. >> reporter: veteran journalists say woodward often speaks to scores of people inside administrations before asking a president for an interview, and his sources are impeccable. we asked susan glasser, a former editor for woodward at "the washington post," what makes a washin

that's what bob woodward lays out in this book. what we know is from woodward's dh account on january 28th security adviser robert o'brien tells him in a tough secret briefing this is going to be the greatest threat of your presidency. at the same time, the president is, as you said, playing it down. but what woodward did with the president's permission was, he recorded all of these interviews. there are 18 wide-ranging interviews. and what we're going to play you first is the president in his own words, february 7th, telling woodward in striking detail just how much he understands about how deadly and dangerous the virus is. >> and so what was president xi saying yesterday? >> we were talking mostly about the -- the virus, and i think he's going to have it in good shape, but you know, it's a very tricky situation. it goes through air, bob. that's always tougher than the touch. you know? the touch you don't have to touch things. right? but the air, you just breathe the air. that's how it's -- passed. and so that's a very tricky one

>> woodward: denial. making up his own facts. >> pelley: at age 77, bob woodward has fact-checked nine presidents. "rage" is his 20th book. it's published by simon and schuster, part of viacom-cbs. >> woodward: the title, "rage," comes from him. he said he brings out "rage" in people. and he doesn't know whether that's a positive or a negative, or a good thing or a bad thing. and also, it describes a condition in the country now. there's a lot of rage out there. >> pelley: his interviews for "rage" started in the oval office, then continued for months in phone calls, many out- of-the-blue from mr. trump. >> woodward: yes. i mean, you have an audiotape of this, where they come on. "mr. woodward, the president." >> white house operator: mr. woodward, the president. >> trump: hi bob. >> woodward: president trump, how are you? >> trump: hi. how are you? >> woodward: i'm turning my recorder on, here, as i always do. >> trump: okay. >> woodward: it started in december 2019, before the virus was on anyone's rada

woodward, i'm not going to mock him. but, if i had to guess, those letters had to get to woodward via the white house. and we posted two of them on cnn.com, wolf. >> woodward also reveals that the then director of national intelligence dan coates, a man i know you know, believed that russian president putin actually had compromising information on president trump. tell us about that. >> this i think is one of the most shocking stories in the book because then dni top intelligence official dan coates tells woodward that he has harbored this secret concern that trump -- that russia had something on trump. and i just want to read you a little bit of what woodward write. woodward says that coates suspected the worst but found nothing that would show that trump was indeed in putin's pocket. he and staff members examined the intelligence as carefully as possible. so they're so concerned, wolf, that they're actually going and looking. there was no proof, period, woodward writes. but coates' doubts continued, never fully dissipa

in all the pages of woodward's new book rage. jimmy will be guiding us through the key aspects of it tonight starting with the president, the virus and the truth. so jamie, what was the president telling bob woodward, talk about what he was telling them about the coronavirus in early february? >> this is february 7th, anderson, when, you know, we were thinking about the virus in china. this was very, very early on, and just to point out the president agreed to this being taped. all of these 18 interviews were recorded and what he says is he gives woodward striking detail about how much he knew but wasn't telling the public. here is part of the interview. >> and so what was president xi saying yesterday? >> we were talking mostly about the virus, and i think he's going to have it in good shape but it's a very tricky situation. it's -- >> indeed, it is. >> it goes through air, bob. that's always tougher than the touch. you know, the touch, you don't have to touch things but the air, you just breathe the air and that's how it's pass

and -- and -- i mean, if he is willing just to tell bob woodward that, to suck up to bob woodward in their first meeting, who knows what he said to kim jong un and vladimir putin, when no one else was in the room and he wanted to impress them. >> you know, it's an interesting point because these 18 interviews happened, two were in the oval office. one was at mar-a-lago. but the rest were phone calls from the residence, late at night. sometimes, trump would unexpectedly call woodward at night. normally, the white house, in a normal white house, tape records interviews with reporters. i have a feeling that the white house does not know a lot of what president trump said in these interviews to bob woodward. >> woodward, also, reports on what an aide to general mattis heard the president say in the oval office about military generals. >> so, just to stress, this aide is named. he's on the record. he's -- he was working for general mattis. he was at a meeting in the oval office about a trade deal. and just to tell you, what he said he heard was he goes to general mattis, and he says the p

woodward book. that goes so deeply to who he is and where it comes from. it came to a head on those 18 phone calls over the course of nine hours where donald trump wanted to talk to bob woodward. he did. and this morning he's paying for it. i tell you one other thing, too, when you talk about the office in trump tower, in 1984 my dad was a writer for "new york times." wrote a cover story about donald trump and it's framed on the wall in that office and it was the fact that "the new york times" wrote a piece about him. if he had gone in and read the article he might have had a different impression, but it didn't matter he got the new york times magazine cover and now he has his bob woodward book. excerpts also reveal about what the president thinks about senior u.s. military officials in a 2017 conversation with peter navarro, the president called senior u.s. military officials weak, overly concerned with allies and here's that word again, quote, suckers for shouldering high costs to protect south ca

here is how trump commented about woodward's book. "the woodward book is a scam." he wrote in a note,president trump declined to be interviewed about this book. for bob woodward's new book entitled "rage," donald trump submitted 18 taped interviews with woodward. he never gives up on a possible source, especially if that source is the president of the united states and bob woodward is our greatest expert at coaxing information out of people who work in the white house, including the president woodward gets inside the white house and he doesn't know what he's going to find but he brings enough patience and rope for his interview subjects to hang them or save themselves many people would feel rage when they read this book and see that thousands of lives could have been saved if donald trump were to publicly tell the truth of coronavirus. one of the people already who feels donald trump is the cause of her father's death will join us before her father died, his only pre-existing condition was believing donald trump tonight, she can see for the first time in bob woodwa

bush submitted to interviews with bob woodward and then bob woodward made president bush look like an idiot according to donald trump who never gave the slightest hint that he had read a single word of any of bob woodward's previous 19 books. at the end of one of their last phone conversations, president trump said, hey, bob, could i call you later so i can get to these generals to make sure everything is good i said i still wanted to push on some of these questions. i don't mind, he said. i hope you're truthful if you're truthful, you're going to write a good book, an if you're not truthful, you're going to hit me. three days later on june 22nd of this year, after bob woodward had already completed a first draft of this book, president trump called again at 8:15 p.m during that phone call melania trump enters the room and the president says honey, i'm talkin to bob woodward and said that bob woodward was writing a book about him. and then he said, it will probably be atrocious, but that's okay. donald trump's obsession with the book constantly recurs throughout the interviews for the

woodward. >> and so what was president xi saying yesterday? >> we were talking mostly about the virus. and i think he's got it in good shape but it's a troubling situation. >> indeed. >> it goes through air, bob. that's always tougher than the touch. the touch, you don't have to touch things. but the air, you just breathe the air. that's how it's passed. so, that's a very tricky one. that's a very delicate one. it's also more deadly than your -- even your strenuous flus. people don't realize we lose 25,000, 30,000 people a year here. who would ever think that? and then i say is that the same thing? this is more deadly. this is five per -- this is 5% versus 1% and less than 1%. so, this is deadly stuff. >> more deadly than the flu. by massive margins he's saying at the time. that's amazing. president of the united states never told us that, never told the american people that. 31 days after that conversation with bob woodward, he did have this to say, tweeting on march 9th, six months ago from t

woodward has the audiotape, and the president "hb woodward." and when woodward goes to the oval office, he shows -- we have a picture of it, where the resolute desk is filled with what woodward describes as props to try to impress woodward. pictures, different things that he's done. woodward writes in the book that he has interviewed carter, clinton, bush 43, and obama, in the oval office. none of them ever had any props on the desk. woodward writes, it was a show. >> in that picture in the oval office, we see the vice president, the white house chief of staff. we see counselor to the president, press secretary to the president. they've all gathered to honor bob woodward, clearly in that white house photo. all right, jamie, thank you very much, terrific reporting, as our viewers now know for sure. >>> more breaking news right now on the deadly toll of this coronavirus pandemic. our national correspondent athena jones is in new york for us. athena, tell us more about this new cdc forecast that is so alarming and disturbing. >> reporter: hi, wolf

"the woodward book is a scam." >> for bob woodward's new book entitled "rage," donald trump submitted 18 taped binterviews with woodward. he never gives up on a possible source especially if that source is the president of the united states and bob woodward is our greatest expert at coaxing information out of people who work in the white house including the president. woodward gets inside the white house and he does not know what he's going to find but he brings enough patience and rope for hi interview subjects to hang them or saves themselves. many people would feel raged when they read this book and see that thousands of lives could have been saverd if donald trum were to tell the truth of coronavirus. one of the people already feel donald trump is the cause of her father's death before her father died, his only preexisting condition was believing donald trump tonight she conceived for the first time in bob woodward's reporting how deliberate donald trump deception of her father and that led to her father's death. it is a human story of life and death in the age of donald trump inc

woodward to do. he makes an assessment of the president, and it's something that will draw notice i'm sure in the coming weeks. >> in reading from your story, as you've been talking and i've been speaking at you at the same time, he had another conversation as recently as june 3, which makes your point that these conversations lasted over months and months, throughout the pandemic, up through june at least, and on the issue of race, two days after the attack, the conflict, i should call it, between demonstrators and federal troops in lafayette square across from the white house, on that day on june 1, on june 3, the president boasted about his law and order stance to woodward, and you quote the president as saying to woodward, "we're going to get ready to send in the military/national guard to some of these poor bastards that don't know what they're doing, these poor radical lefts," trump said. so there was absolutely, you know, bragging about his ability to use force against the protesters. >> repor

bush submitted to interviews with bob woodward and then bob woodward made president bush look like an idiot according to dnld truonald trum never gave the slightest hint that he had read any of his previous 19 books. at the end of one of their last phone conversations, president trump said, hey, bob, could i call you later so i can get to these generals to make sure everything is good i said i still wanted to push on some of these questions. i don't mind, he said. i hope you're truthful if you're not truthful, you're going to hit me. three days later on june 22nd of this year, after bob woodward had already completed a first draft of this book, president trump called again at 8:15 p.m during that phone call melania trump enters the room and president trump says i'm talking to bob woodward and said that bob woodward was writing a book about him. and then he said, it will probably be atrocious, but that's okay. donald trump's obsession with the book constantly recurs throughout the interviews for the book the new yorker's review of the book begins with this line, why would president tru

you see how he does respect woodward and he understands what weight woodward holds in the journalism world. to see how he answers it there. it is incredibly revealing of his world view and how there are things when it comes to coronavirus where what he says privately differs from publicly. you can see with an answer like that what the president says privately compared to publicly to voters when it comes to a matter that is very important. race. that is something that people are concerned about. you can see how the president answers that when he knows he is doing an interview with someone writing a book about him. >> he may have been trying to impress woodward a bit. this is just the beginning of the book. there will be more fall out, more to come. >> no question. you read the book, you will see in the interviews that trump says it would really be an honor to get a good book from you. and then the next minute he is saying but it probably won't be. he was worried about it. you can see the thing throughout the book. but just remember, 18 interviews. that is hours and hours and hours of

books bike woodward's are helping do that. the president said february 10th, in april supposedly it dies with the hotter weather imagine? i don't know if there's a more sad sentence i've ever said allowed. what ifs it wa troon? told t -- was true? always two or three step bees lined. the woodward book shows he was actually four, five steps behind what was actually happening with the virus and he knew more about it than he was telling us. >> to brine's point about the fog machine, there were 18 interviews. and two were done in the oval office. one was done at mar-a-lago. i am assuming it were common practice at any white house to record interviews with journalists. i'm assuming those three were recorded. the other 15 were phone calls, and the president was sometimes calling woodward unexpectedly, late at night, from the residence. i wonder if the white house knows what's coming? i wonder if anyone recorded those? and -- you know -- there is more to come from these tapes. >> and trying to impress woodward, right? >> tell us also

woodward. >> but what do you think? >> well, i don't know -- i haven't seen the transcript. >> you haven't -- >> pamela, let me finish. >> hold on. can i play that for you really quick. guys, can we play it when he said that? >> okay. >> and we're prepared and we're doing a great job with it. and it will go away, just stay calm. it will go away. i wanted to always play it down. i still like playing it down. >> yes. >> because i don't want to create a panic. >> okay. so there you heard him say i wanted to play it down, i didn't want to cause a panic. >> uh-huh. >> we don't have -- i don't believe we have the audio of the other things he said about it being deadly and airborne. if we do, guys, let me know in my ear. but he is saying he is downplaying it. and yet he is holding these rallies where he's calling it a hoax. you're okay with that, with people crowded in together? >> well, once again, pamela, i haven't read the transcript. i don't know the context. you just played an excerpt for me. what i heard the president sa

woodward's shoes. i would like to think i would not sit on information like that because i see my chief responsibility pretty much above all as being responsible to a public good. we always have competing interests but that's where my heart is i try and reserve judgment i just think there is going to be a lot of people out there that are going to say that donald trump has always lied and it doesn't matter and i think we all really want to be very careful because we don't want to feed into that kind of thing this information would have mattered to me personally. it would have changed the way i behaved. if i had known it was airborne, i wouldn't have been traveling across the country on the campaign trail people i know would have potentially not been killed or still be suffering and i just think this is no longer a story simply about a rogue president or donald trump. this is a story about those who enabled him and this is a story about how americans responded and every single american has a responsibili

woodward reports that trump was dismissive about former president barack obama and told woodward he was inclined to refer to him by his first and middle names, barack hussein but didn't in his company to, quote, be very nice i don't think he's very smart, trump told woodward. i think he's highly overrated and i don't think he's a great speaker. >> my initial reaction to that is donald trump does so much protection that every single thing that he said about president obama are things that you could attribute directly to donald trump he is not smart. he's not a great speaker and he's not competent so, you know, i think that the american people can see that for themselves president obama, to this day, is held in such high esteem not just in this country but around the world donald trump only wishes he had a sliver of the esteem that president obama has. so, we should just dismiss that. and i have to say on his own comments about race and about black people, it's been evident for a long time, i think and it's been hard for me to say it, because i don't use those words lightly, but the presi

it's all laid out in bob woodward's new book. former defense secretary james mattis going as far as to say that the president has no moral compass. let's discuss now. charlie dent joins us. as well as amanda carpenter, the author of "gaslighting america". good to see both of you. good evening. charlie, according to this book, you've got mattis, tillerson, coats, the president's former secretary of defense a, state, d director of national intelligence. did you know they felt this way? >> i had a sense, don, that all three of them had serious misgivings about the president. by the way, i should say that secretaries mattis and tillerson and dni director coats were three of donald trump's best appointments. and, yeah, i knew that these men had misgivings. you could just tell. they were certainly stressed. i am not shocked -- in fact, you know, this is another the emperor has no clothes moment and it's always worse than we think. and for these guys to say -- i think it was coats who said the president can't tell the difference between

bob woodward is 77 years old. he may have been saying, look, i have done all these interviews and i'm entitled to give my opinion. does it ayou how the president's supporters -- allow the president's supporters to agree with him, that the book ultimately is a political hit job. >> that definitely makes it easier. rather than doing fact a, b and c, he gives an opinion about whether the president deserves the job and then you start to say okay, maybe there were embargoes, what was going on. if woodward is joining the resistance in his own mind, holding off on some of this information and detonating it sort of as a september surprise, of course the president -- this is self inflicted for him in some ways, certainly but the timing of it and the withholding of the information if he thought lives were at stake back then, i think that is a legitimate and fair thing to raise. howie: it is largely a book of reporting. by the way, the president tweeted rapidly fading bob woodward and his boring book, but later said he hasn'

it's reported in the first book that woodward wrote the president's staff get him from talking to woodward and the president hated that. so the president's thinking was if he were to talk to woodward, he'd be able to shape the narrative, win over bob woodward and get a better book than what he's gotten in the end. people feel they could spin bob woodward and now president trump learned a lesson that you can't. he's talking about how that book isn't any good and told sean hannity last night he probably wouldn't have time to read it. >> it's astounding. in my head the president gave 18 hours or so -- >> 18 interviews nine hours. >> yeah, 18 interviews. you scratch your head thinking why would he do this? you're talking about the insecurity that the president has that he has shown over the last four years or so and he thought he could spin it. and the president, wondering how he's feeling now. >> he views himself as a deal maker if i can get in the room with vladimir putin, kim jong-un, then we can solve this problem one on one, that's how he viewed his real estates deals, how he views politi

bob woodward, what we've played so far, this isn't even bob woodward's take on it. there's no editorializing, he's not even giving us his judgment. it's a transcription service, how is that a political hit job? >> woodward is really good at getting people to say things they later regret, as karl rove noted yesterday, every president does an interview with woodward for a book and every president ends up regretting it. i think that's the perspective where he's coming from. but to your point, this is, you know, this is all just him. this is just him talking. there's extremely little narrative description in the book. it is really just these conversations. and it's funny, alisyn, a lot of the book, i wouldn't say half, but solid chunks of the book are just these interviews, these back and forths, where woodward's really just running tape on trump and letting him talk. and it does fill up pages, but it also fills up pages with lots of things that the president now has to account for. >> maggie haberman, great to talk to you, thank you very much for the behind the scenes

in this conversation that woodward prints verbatim, woodward is trying to help trump get us through this crisis. i think perhaps from woodward's point of view he was trying to do his part not just as a journalist but as a citizen in those terrible weeks in march and april. that's an important part of this, woodward is on the phone with trump so often, trying to coach trump like a leadership coach. i wonder in the coming days if woodward will say that was part of his rationale for what he was doing. here's another excerpt from "rage" on page 294. trump talking to woodward saying, well, nobody knew a thing like this could happen. the best decision i made was europe and china closing, our doors. of course, trump did that far too late in the case of europe. but they claim nobody can see this coming is so at odds with the facts. i think one of the public services woodward is doing with the book is forcing all of this back in front of us, making us recognize just how terrible the federal government's response was to this crisis. hey, sam, let me ask you about something a little different, whic

cnn's jamie gangell has a closer look for us at what else is in woodward's book. >> bob woodward's new book is full of stun being revelations about his handling of the coronavirus that, in fact, he did not tell the american public what he knew at the time. this was in early february. bob woodward did 18 wide ranging interviews with the president and on february 7th, very early on, we've obtained the audiotape of the interview where trump tells woodward, admits to him what he's not telling the american public, just how dangerous, highly contagious and airborne the coronavirus is. >> and so what was president xi saying yesterday? >> we were talking mostly about the virus, and i think he's going to have it in good shape but, you know, it's a very tricky situation. it's -- >> indeed, it is. >> it goes through air, bob. that's always tougher than the touch. the touch, you don't have to thuch things, right? but the air, you just breathe the air and that's how it's passed so that's a very tricky one. that's a very delicate one. it's also more deadly than your -- you know, your -- even your st

. >> trump spoke to woodward 18 times, after not speaking to him for woodward's first book. trump brags about a now not secret weapon. >> i have built a nuclear -- a weapons system that nobody's had in this country before. >> in the wake of the explosive excerpts, including the revelation that trump downplayed the coronavirus pandemic to the american people. observers believe the president may have miscalculated. >> his ego got the best of him, he thought he could spin and charm a bob woodward. anybody who knows bob knows that's a possible task. >> ears who have occupied the oval off the have had similar experiences. bob woodward has written best selling books on nine presidents. barack obama, george w. bush, bill clinton and jimmy carter granted him interviews. aids to obama and bush sparred with woodward after the publication. it's not clear if ronald reagan or george bush sr. spoke to woodward. >> i have some major differences in bob woodward, it's no point going into them, we're not on close terms at all. >> trump himself is quoted as saying, i hope you treat me better t

bob woodward has never seen anything like it. he has seen every president since richard nixon in a way that no one else in american history has seen so many presidents. bob woodward has gotten inside of every white house since the nixon white house and seen the president in action through the words of the people working most closely with that president and sometimes through the words of that president himself in interviews with bob woodward for his now 19 books. most of them about the closed door deliberations of nine presidents in a row. in his new book "rage," bob woodward begins with a description of donald trump being told how deadly the coronavirus could be in a white house meeting on january 28th. the state of the union address was on february 4th, just days after the president was told how deadly the coronavirus would be and how it would be the most difficult challenge his presidency had faced. >> he gave his state of the union address to congress, 40 million people watched it. he had an opportunity -- he's a very kind of

woodward. in those tapes, the president admits that back in early february, he wanted to quote play down the dangers of the coronavirus and then he ticked through the details of how contagious and deadly the virus is. that is more than a month before the white house's first official call to stay at home on march 16th. >> now it's turning out it's not just old people, bob, but just today and yesterday some startling facts came out. it's not just older -- >> yeah, exactly. >> older people, but plenty of young people. >> so -- so give me a moment of talking to somebody, going through this with fauci or somebody who kind of it caused a pivot in your mind because it's clear just from what's -- what's on the public record that you went through a pivot on this to oh, my god, the gravity is almost inexplicable and unexplainable. >> well, i think, bob, really to be honest with you -- >> sure, i want you to. >> i wanted to -- i wanted to always play it down. i still like playing it down. because i don't

i actually checked this woodward this morning. as of this morning the white house had not called him to either complain about the book or as would be typical in a normal white house they hadn't called to ask for a courtesy copy of the book so as far as woodward knows they still do not have a copy of the book. >> jamie gangel, thank you again. >> thank you. >> very important reporting. let's get reactions and expertise of two experts. i want to start with you because we had a conversation for months now. you are a leader of an organization get my ppe. but when you hear the president say i acted early, everything that could be done was done, you hear that in the president's own voice knowing what you lived through, what goes through your mind? >> it is so disappointing and heart breaking, john. there was an opportunity in february where the president and the executive branch could have provided federal leadership. the president has a mega phone. in the words of teddy roosevelt, he has a bully pulpit. he could have shaped conversatio

so i want you to pay attention to what bob woodward, what he told bob woodward about the virus. this was way back. this is february -- remember, before you play this, he's the one getting all of the intelligence. this is february 7th. watch. >> and so, what was president xi saying yesterday? >> we were talking, mostly, about the virus. and i think he's going to have it in good shape. but, you know, it's a very tricky situation. >> indeed, it is. >> it goes through air, bob. that's always tougher than the touch. you know, you don't have to touch things. but the air. you just breathe the air and that's how it's passed. and so, that's a very tricky one. that's a very delicate one. it's also more deadly than, you know, even your strenuous flus. you know, people don't realize we lose 25,000, 30,000 people a year here. who would ever think that, right? >> i know. >> i mean, that's pretty amazing. and i say is that the same thing? this is more deadly. this is five per -- you know, this is 5% versus 1% and less than 1%. you know? so, this is deadly stuff. >> so, that's what he is saying

the president giving 18 interviews to bob woodward, telling woodward in early february he knew the virus was much deadlier than the flu. but later, telling the american people the virus was like the flu. and then in march, he told woodward privately he knew it's not just infecting old people, revealing it's quote, young people, too. president trump admitting to intentionally misleading the american public because he didn't want to cause a panic. tonight, how the president is now explaining the comments. and joe biden's response tonight. >>> the harrowing new images this evening. dozens of devastating wildfires exploding across several states tonight. in parts of oregon, flames fueled by the winds, incinerating entire towns. hundreds of homes lost. and the governor now saying tonight that this could be the greatest loss of human lives due to fires in that state's history. meanwhile, the bear fire in ky glowi onge tonight. >>> the race for a vaccine. and we now learned more tonight about why that key oxford trial has been halted for now. the patient reportedly experiencing neurological sym

that's not what woodward says. woodward says as often is the case with donald trump, he didn't know if the president was lying or not. >> yeah. it turns out he was remarkably well versed on the topic early on, because he got that information from president xi, leader of china, the country he's blaming for this virus, which is understandable. it did come from china. the thing really i was sitting here and i couldn't believe what i was hearing, the president of the united states not only blamed bob woodward but said if he thought it was so bad, he should have called the authorities. you are the authorities, mr. president. you're the president of the united states. what's he supposed to do, go home and call 911. it's so crazy, forgive me for using that word, that it's almost hard to wrap your mind around. the problem is that there are people who are going to listen to what the president said and not have the full context of the facts. or maybe depending where they are kind of listen to echo chamber media and they are

>> bob woodward's book is an independent project. we recent lay quily acquired th and did our news story. bob woodward is a hero to many reporters including myself at "the washington post," someone who is legendary, but he made his own decisions when it comes to this publication and its time line, and how to share its information. "the washington post" has reported on the book, when we acquired the book. >> bob costa, i appreciate that. i also thank garrett, carol and ally with us as well. more ahead on this topic as well and plenty more to cover in the show including a whistle-blower accusing top homeland security officials of breaking laws by lying to congress, and manipulating intel reports to bet ear line with president trump's political agenda. the attorney for that whistle-blower joins me live. >>> 35 active fires torched nearly half a million wake acre oregon. the fire chief is battling to keep this stuff from spreading. >> this is what i've got. >> reporter: what you're wearing right now? >> this is what i've got. ♪ come on

. >> in taped interviews with bob woodward for his new book, the president admitted on tape that he has always tried to play down the virus, even when he knew how deadly it was. >> it's also more deadly than your strenuous news. this is deadly stuff it's not just for older people. >> yeah, exactly. >> it happens to plenty of young people. >> that's what he knew, but still the president admits he likes the play it down even though he knew how bad it is, that it's deadly stuff, that young people aren't immune that this is not like the freaking flu woodward quotes the president saying to him, it's so easily transmittable, you wouldn't even admit it he's on tape knowing how contagious it is then in public, he's, you know, mocking people for wearing masks, holding rallies without any mask protection for anyone there, talking about how it's no big deal, it's just going to go away on its own. like i said n the well-written tv drama that we all wish this was, this is the episode where the president resigns. but in the utopia we live in instead of what would be on a tv show, instead we keep goin

woodward has done this before. he knows how to control the news cycle and he has basically the 2020 version of the nixon tapes except there are a lot of deaths attached to these tapes. what do you think the impact is in some of these swing states? not with the hard core trump people. they're going to actually think the tapes are doctored like trump tried to say they were on "access hollywood." but north carolina, for instance, they've been voting for a week, this information breaks on sunday. two weeks of early voting in north carolina is going to be shaped by this story and the story of donald trump attacking our war dead. >> if you look at -- there's not that many undecided voters left, might be say 5% of the population. when you look at the focus groups with those people, they're almost always saying i don't like donald trump, how he does the job, what he says, i don't trust him. but i'm really torn because i think i like republican policies better than liberal policies for those people it will matter. a lot of

quote, woodward had my quotes for many months. if he thought they were so bad or dangerous, why didn't he immediately report them in an effort to save lives? didn't he have an obligation to do so? no, because he knew they were good and proper answers. calm, no panic. earlier today the president held a press conference where he defended his virus response. >> why did you lie to the american people, and why should we trust what you have to say now? >> such a terrible question, and the phraseology. i didn't lie. what i said is we have to be calm. we can't be panicked. the fact is there has to be a calmness. you don't want me jumping up and down screaming, there's going to be great death. there's going -- and really causing some very, very serious problems to the country. if bob woodward thought what i said was bad, then he should have immediately, right after i said it, gone out to the authorities so they can prepare and let them know. but he didn't think it was bad, and he said he didn't think it was bad. he actually said he didn't

he had said to bob woodward. even the president had been asking aides what the book was going to look like and whether or not it was going to reflect positively on him. and i think we got a sense that he didn't think it would about a month ago when he started to distance himself from woodward, despite the fact he talked to him 18 times for this book. so it was a scramble yesterday. they did not have a copy of the book, they did not know what it would say, they have learned a lot of it from cnn and "the washington post." and then the president talking in his own words you're not just reading it in a book but listening to the president say these things about white privilege, about coronavirus. so i think that also changed it. so what's resulted is really a lot of blame internally over who it was that decided it was a good idea to let the president talk to bob woodward this extensively and while there's blame going around, ultimately it was the president who made the this decision because he thought he could outmane

access gave to woodward. we know it is extensive, he gave bob woodward his cell phone number, called late at night sometimes from the residence to talk to him about these conversations he was having with china's president, with other world leaders and all of this stuff that is now in this book, because the president didn't think it would be as damaging if he cooperated and if he spoke to woodward and, of course, we're seeing how woodward just used the president's own words to reveal what it was he really thought about coronavirus back in february and back in march and in all of those months when he was saying something very differently publicly. >> we'll let you sit down. wait for the president, if he speaks, in an opening statement about woodward. take it. also listening for the q&a. kaitlan, for now, thank you. we'll come back to you. >>> bring in two guests, cnn medical analyst dr. saline goudner anden glorp een gloria . let me remind everyone, we talk ob tv, y on tv. you were on the front lines when it wa

the title of bob woodward's new book" rag comes from an interview woodward and i conduct ed with the then-president donald trump. he said i do bringage out. i always had. himself.d how trump sees and the president's critics raged this week when theyd lear what president trump told woodward about the coronavirus in february. will the president pay a political price with american voters? it's hard for any reporter to say. but this time there are tapes. >> you just breathe the air, that's how it's passed. and so that's a tricky one. one. a very delicate you know, even your strenuous you flus. this is deadly stuff. >>he psident told woodward on february 7th, that he fully understood the threat. but he said this just weeks late tore the american people. disappear. g to will disappear. and from our shores, you know it could you go worse before it gets better. it can maybe go away. we'll soo what happen -- we'll see what happens. >> and he toldha woodward he played it down. >> i wanted to always play it down. i still want to play it down because i don't want to create panic. said the presid

the president giving 18 interviews to bob woodward, telling woodward in early february he knew the virus was much deadlier than the flu. but later, telling the american people the virus was like the flu. and then in march, he told woodward privately he knew it's not just infecting old people, revealing it's, quote, "young people, too, plenty of young people." president trump admitting to intentionally misleading the american public because he didn't want to cause a panic. tonight, how the president is now explaining the comments. and joe biden's response tonight. >>> the harrowing new images this evening. dozens of devastating wildfires exploding across several states toni inarts of oregon, flames cinerang e nit tcod be the greatest loss of human lives due to fires in that state's history. meanwhile, the bear fire in california exploding in size. multiple casualties. and the sky glowing orange tonight. >>> the race for a vaccine. and we now learned more tonight about why that key oxford trial has been halted for now. the patient reportedly experiencing neurological symptoms. and we are j

the flu is much higher than that. >> later in march, the president explained to woodward why he felt the need to dismiss the danger in public >> i think, bob, really, to be honest with you -- >> sure, i want you to be. >> i wanted to -- i wanted to -- i wanted to always play it down. i still like playing it down, because i don't want to create a panic. >> now while trump was saying that to woodward, he was telling the public this -- >> i don't think they're panicking. i don't think people are panicking. last night, we did an interview on fox last night, a town hall, i think it was very good and i said, calm, you have to be calm. it will go away. >> here's where we are at this hour -- six months later, the united states has nearly 6.4 million cases and more than 191,000 deaths and still climbing this hour, we're also monitoring vice president mike pence's speech in pennsylvania to see if he's going to address these latest allegations joining us now msnbc correspondent carol lee at the white house. and cornell belcher, formerly with the dnc committee and obama campaign carol, let me be

the president responding to a new book by journalist bob woodward in which woodward quotes the president, saying he knew the virus was dangerous and highly contagious while downplaying the risk in public. this is not from unnamed sources. woodward has tapes of 18 different interviews with president trump on the record, some 20 hours of tape over several months. if the president said this afternoon "we had to show column," but his covid talk is not the only part making news from this book. in a few minutes we will talk live with national security advisor robert o'brien who is cited in the book as well and other things, we are going to talk to him about. this on a day when the president announced a new list of potential nominees for supreme court vacancies should he be reelected. we have fox team coverage, peter doocy in michigan with what joe biden is saying today about the woodward book but first, kristin fisher is live on the north lawn with a very busy day at the white house. good evening. >> indeed, good evening, bret. president trump is calling bob woodward's new book a political hit

he believed he could con woodward. but the strange, bizarre element in all of this is that as he's speaking to woodward, he's revealing he doesn't believe his own con. so he knew he was lying. he knew these were lethal lies that were tantamount to homicide for tens of thousands of americans and he told woodward the whole story. this is so self destructive, so bizarre, to depraved that you really have to wonder how many screws loose this man has. >> he also, in the conversations with bob woodward, this is for you, andy, on march 19th, trump said it is not just old people, bob. just today and yesterday some startling facts came out, young people too, plenty of young people. this is a president insisting that schools should open and that college football should be played. he said that children are quote/unquote virtually immune. how do you square that with what the president said to bob woodward? >> it is really hard to explain. and i think you've got other people who are on this panel who studied how the president thinks

questioning why woodward withheld these tapes from the public for six months. >> now woodward is coming under scrutiny with many asking why he waited so long to come forward. >> reporter: president trump picking up that argument saying if woodward thought they were so bad or dangerous, why didn't he immediately report them in an effort to save lives? again, at that press conference, this is another example of the fox/trump feedback loop. woodward said he needed time to know if what trump said was true, and he rushed to finish writing his book and get it out before election day. anybody who thinks they know the outcome, thinks they know what trump voters are thinking about this, you have to watch this through fox news goggles to see. >> absolutely. brian, thank you. thanks to brian and all of you for joining us. cnn's global town hall with dr. sanjay gupta and anderson starts now. >>> welcome. i'm anderson cooper in new york. >> and i'm dr. sanjay gupta. this is our 21st cnn global town hall, coronavirus, facts and fears. thing being seen around the world. >> i cannot believe it's our 21

it's not just the woodward revelations. a former homeland top security official accuses them of manipulating intelligence to back the president's political agenda. >>> the republicans' slimmed down version of coronavirus relief is expected to fail in the senate any minute now. ♪ >>> welcome to thursday. it's "meet the press daily." i'm chuck todd. 54 days until the election. hard to see how this kickoff week of a general election could be going any worse

reporter: bob woodward is not the president. president trump: only people think it was bad because the fake news media because they take it to try to put it a certain way. if bob woodward thought it was bad he should have immediately gone out publicly not wait four months. he had that statement maybe four months, maybe five months. he has had it for a long time. lou: you may be amongst those asking right now why in the world would the president waste his time with bob woodward when you know what you're going to get? well apparently senator lindsey graham was amongst those who recommended the president talk with woodward despite woodward's history, graham telling "the daily beast" this, quote. the last book woodward wrote trump said he didn't know that he had wanted to be interviewed. so i said, well, the guy's a well-known presidential author. you know you got a chance to tell your side of the story. the president agreed and there you go. end quote. just as an aside here, i think only that needs to go is lindsey graham. he is, w

the woodward interviews now. the "access hollywood" tape and the president saying things if are true would be felony sexual assault and elected. part of the mindset to say and do anything and keep the base and this is about knowing how bad the coronavirus was and match it up against the record. is there a difference? >> as you said, you can match it up against a record. and that is the salient point here is that he is the president of the united states as he was not then. so you know, as many have said, this book is essentially a sequel not only to the previous woodward book but the giant pile of other books about trump that have virtually all pointed to the same conclusion in terms of the way this president operates and what he cares about and how he functions. this is on tape that gives it everyone more obvious credibility but most americans and this is why we've seen such an incredibly stable presidential race, most americans have had plenty of information to make up their minds about donald trump one way or a

be woodward. he puts these facts together in context and he needs time to do that and he actually does that at a remarkably telescoped period of time these are recent interviews that are forming the heart of this book and it's out now before the election so i -- you know, he didn't have the context for all of the president's remarks when the president told him back in february how deadly the virus was, that it was airborne. bob really had no way of knowing whether or not that was true which is, i think, one of the problems with reporting on donald trump is that you don't know if what he tells you was true or not. you've got to report around it to figure that out >> and congressman swalwell, we heard anthony fauci say donald trump is rudderless. his own son-in-law says exactly the same thing using different language and bob woodward has it on tape. his own son-in-law says he doesn't know where he's going pretty much all of the time. and therefore, we never know where he's going to end up his son-in

be woodward. he puts these facts together in context and he needs time to do that and he actually does that at a remarkably telescoped period of time these are recent interviews that are forming the heart of this book and it's out now before the election so i -- you know, he didn't have the context for all of the president's remarks when the president told him back in february how deadly the virus was, that it was airborne. bob really had no way of knowing whether or not that was true i think one of the problems with reporting on president trump is that you don't know what he tells you was true or not. you have to report around it to figure that out. >> and congressman swalwell, we heard anthony fauci say donald trump is rudderless. his son-in-law says the same thing using different language, and bob woodward has it on tape. his own son-in-law says he doesn't know where he's going pretty much all of the time. and therefore, we never know where he's going to end up his son-in-law also says, when pr