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White House Says FBI Not Limited in Kavanaugh Background Probe; Trump Slammed for Snide Comment to Female Reporter. Aired 6- 6:30a ET

Aired October 02, 2018 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want them to do a very comprehensive investigation. Whatever that means.

[05:59:07] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They want to tell the FBI who should be believed and who should not be believed.

SEN. LINDSAY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: There's not anything new, I imagine we'll press on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he's willing to lie about something so small, will he also be willing to lie about some of these larger allegations?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can't keep moving the goal post. This is not supposed to be a fishing expedition.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R), LOUISIANA: Just win, baby, at any cost is what this thing has turned into.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, October 2, 6 a.m. here in New York.

So what is the scope of the FBI's investigation into Brett Kavanaugh?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: That's a great question.

CAMEROTA: OK. And I think we have some answers, and we will get some answers over the course of the next three hours.

BERMAN: I think there is an answer.

CAMEROTA: OK. Right now, here's what we know, an official tells CNN that it has been made clear to agents there are no limits on their background search, no limits except a time limit.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says a vote on Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination will take place this week, no matter what the FBI finds.

Senator Jeff Flake one of the key Republicans who holds Kavanaugh's fate in the balance demands a real investigation and not one that just gives his party cover. Music, maestro?

BERMAN: Yes, we have some music here. We're going to play something for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC: UB40, "RED, RED WINE")

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Why are we playing this?

CAMEROTA: Because it's a good song.

BERMAN: And why aren't we showing you the video that goes along with it? Because it would be that much better. But this song and this video, believe it or not, now at the center of the question surrounding Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

The first time UB40 has ever been connected to a Supreme Court confirmation process. This has to do with new information that came to light overnight about a bar fight, documents, police documents, showing that Kavanaugh was involved in a bar fight when he was in college following a UB40 concert. This raises questions about his temperament at the time, maybe his temperament now.

The question, of course, is, is a bar fight -- with no arrest, mind you -- just a bar fight with no arrest or does it say more than that? Ultimately, the answer to that question matters to just four people, these four senators sitting on the fence. Where are they this morning? We'll take a look at that coming up.

CAMEROTA: And was that video like cellphone video, because it looked like it was documentary footage?

BERMAN: It was my son who put that together. My 11-year-old son who doesn't know anything about UB40, he pasted those black and white photos together.

CAMEROTA: That was amazingly relevant, that video.

BERMAN: Yes. By the way, UB40 not only was the fight following a concert, but they actually -- there was a mistaken identity of the lead singer of UB40 in the bar which caused the fight.

CAMEROTA: I can see why that would.

BERMAN: Yes, all right. Obviously, we have a lot to discuss about UB40 and much more. Let's begin with Abby Phillip live at the White House.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, John.

After President Trump's freewheeling press conference yesterday, we still this morning have a lot of questions about the scope of this FBI probe. And there are questions now also about whether Brett Kavanaugh's past drinking habits will have any bearing on that probe at all, but Republicans are saying that that issue is moving the goal posts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: The time for endless delay and obstruction has come to a close. Mr. President, we'll be voting this week.

PHILLIP: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying he will move forward with a vote on Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation, despite the White House allowing the FBI to expand its investigation into the nominee. His pledge coming amid backlash over the restricted probe.

SEN. JEFF FLAKE (R), ARIZONA: We certainly want the FBI to do a real investigation. It does no good to have an investigation that just gives us more cover.

PHILLIP: President Trump declaring that he supports a comprehensive probe with a couple of caveats.

TRUMP: My White House will do whatever the senators want. I'm open to whatever they want. The one thing I want is speed. The FBI should interview anybody that they want, within reason.

PHILLIP: CNN has learned that the FBI has spoken with three people who knew Kavanaugh in high school and Deborah Ramirez, who accused him of exposing himself to her in college, a claim he denies.

But the extent that the FBI will delve further into Kavanaugh's past remains unclear. A source says Ramirez supplied an extensive list of witnesses to the FBI and Democrats on the Judiciary Committee submitted a list of more than 20 individuals they believe should be interviewed, including Kavanaugh's third accuser, Julie Swetnick.

Swetnick says she witnessed Kavanaugh engage in inappropriate behavior while they were in high school, which Kavanaugh also denies.

JUDGE BRETT KAVANAUGH, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: The Swetnick thing is a joke. That is a farce.

PHILLIP: Republicans raising questions about Swetnick's credibility, but a spokeswoman for a key GOP swing vote, Susan Collins, tells "The Portland Press-Herald" that Collins is advocating for the FBI to look into Swetnick's claims.

JULIE SWETNICK, ACCUSES BRETT KAVANAUGH OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT: He was very aggressive, very sloppy drunk, very mean drunk.

PHILLIP: Meanwhile, Kavanaugh's college friends offering conflicting accounts of the nominee's past drinking habits. The White House releasing statements from two of Kavanaugh's friends who say they never saw Kavanaugh black out, an account contradicted by Chad Ludington, a former classmate.

CHAD LUDINGTON, BRETT KAVANAUGH'S FORMER CLASSMATE: I can unequivocally say that in denying the possibility that he ever blacked out from drinking and in downplaying the degree and frequency of his drinking, Brett has not told the truth.

PHILLIP: Ludington says he was present at an altercation involving Kavanaugh at a bar in 1985.

According to the police report, an argument started between Kavanaugh and another man, who said the nominee threw ice on him before Kavanaugh's friend hit him in the ear with a glass.

President Trump appearing to veer off script Monday when discussing the Supreme Court nominee's relationship with alcohol.

TRUMP: He's had a little bit of difficulty. I mean, he talked about things that happened when he drank. I watched him. I was surprised at how vocal he was about the fact that he likes beer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIP: And later today President Trump is going to be making multiple stops, first to Philadelphia for an event, and then on to a campaign rally in Mississippi -- Alisyn and John.

BERMAN: All right. Abby Phillip for us at the White House.

I want to bring in former FBI supervisory special agent, law enforcement analyst Josh Campbell and CNN senior political analyst John Avlon.

I think there are three new things that are crucial to discuss this morning. No. 1, what is the scope of this FBI investigation? No. 2, what does America think about all this right now, because we have new polling which I think is fascinating.? And No. 3 is UB40 and the bar fight.

And I want to start --

CAMEROTA: John Avlon and I cannot talk about UB40 and not --

BERMAN: But I think you have to start with UB40, as one does. Look, there was a bar fight. There are police documents, John, there was a bar fight at a bar that you used to go to. I don't know if you got in any fights there.

CAMEROTA: Wow. Wow. that show that Brett Kavanaugh threw ice in someone's face at this bar. We didn't know about that before. Charles Ludington, who is one of these men who's talking, says it indicates that maybe Brett Kavanaugh drank more or got in states different than perhaps how he portrayed during the testimony, but does this matter or how does it matter? JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think we all know that

most Supreme Court nominations go down after bar fights at Demaree's (ph) after a UB40 concert. That's traditionally -- we're at that stage of the nomination.

CAMEROTA: Ruth Bader Ginsburg could tell you a whole bunch of things.

AVLON: For example. Look, you know, I actually mention that, because the absurdity and place in time aside, and we can go deep cuts on UB40 later.

I was poking around and actually, when Stephen Breyer was nominated, Malcolm Gladwell wrote a piece in "The Washington Post" in '94 that mentions innocuously that he was arrested for underaged drinking at Stanford. It is one line in a very long profile that is utterly not relevant to the larger story of his qualifications for office upon nomination.

The drinking subplot here runs into questions of credibility. Did he lie? Did he embrace a choir boy standard when he, in fact, was more of a frat boy?

But it does seem to me to be a distraction from the larger questions of sexual assault that were raised. And so now we're talking about long ago arrest records for IC being thrown at a bar after a concert. It's, I think, a symbol of the degradation of the debate we're hearing.

CAMEROTA: I disagree. I think it's part -- I think it's part and parcel of the whole other thing. I think that if you are known as a belligerent, mean, fighting drunk, that's relevant. I think that it's relevant to, then, a woman who says that you would corner her and put your hand over her mouth.

Somehow that, I think, makes more sense than if you were just a fun drunk who always fell right asleep. OK. So I think that it is relevant.

I also think, Josh -- and this is where you come in -- that of course his -- I mean, there are now so many people who testify to the idea that he did forget things, that he was so drunk that the next day he often forgot things. Also relevant, maybe he doesn't remember what happened at that party. That leads us to the scope of the investigation.

Can the FBI get into his drinking? What is the scope of the FBI's investigation as you understand it?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes. So I think we have more clarity on what went down after that UB40 concert than we do on the current scope of the FBI investigation. By that I mean we don't really know.

I mean, we've reported over the weekend, you know, talking to sources I'm familiar with the investigation that the scope was very limited, that the White House is dictating the terms to the FBI. The White House is the client in this matter.

But there was some reporting yesterday, where the White House is saying, no, you know, the FBI, they can do whatever they want. They can look wherever they want. But the problem is, is that what we found in some of this conflicting reporting is that the FBI still has to go back to the White House and ask for specific permission before they open the aperture.

So I think it's -- they're talking about hypotheticals which, if you're the White House, it serves your purpose, because I think it's a little bit of spin.

CAMEROTA: Could I ask one more question, Josh? Is there something like a piece of paper that is a directive that tells the FBI exactly what to start with? When you're an FBI agent, do you get something that tells your parameters?

CAMPBELL: Yes, so the White House dictates that to the FBI. This is not like a typical criminal investigation where the FBI has free rein, they kind of give the Heisman to politicians on either end of Pennsylvania Avenue and say, "We're going to work this investigation. You know, lay off it."

This isn't that. This is a very specialized investigation, a background case, where they're actually working on behalf of the White House, as I mentioned, their client; and the White House sets the terms.

And I know it sounds bizarre, because it's different than what we think about law enforcement, but this is that unique role that the FBI has long played as the investigative arm when it comes to nominees. So yes, to your question, the White House would dictate to the FBI, these are the terms --

BERMAN: But a piece of paper, would they say -- do we know?

CAMPBELL: I don't know if it's a piece of paper or e-mail or, you know, discussion among lawyers, but it is a directive to the FBI. And you know, we've again talked to sources that are familiar with what this investigation looks like. And that's what they're saying, that this is very narrow in scope. It's very specific.

CAMEROTA: And that's what Dianne Feinstein wants to know, the exact specifications.

BERMAN: Do you know what might exist after the fact? A memo. Because I'm told that officials in the FBI occasionally write memos about their conversations.

CAMEROTA: I've heard that.

CAMPBELL: Exactly. And that's the point here. We're going to find out what that directive was. So people that are sitting down and saying, no, the FBI has free rein, we're going to get the answer to that question because all this at some point will fall under the Freedom of Information Act. We're going to know what the -- what the White House told the FBI.

[06:10:12] BERMAN: So Abby, you've been at the White House covering this. I have to admit, you had it in your piece just there. I was surprised when President Trump went out of his way to note how odd Brett Kavanaugh's depiction of his drinking was.

You know, I'm paraphrasing what the president said there, but the president shined a light on how Brett Kavanaugh testified about his drinking. That was unusual.

PHILLIP: It absolutely was, but it was something that we always knew was a possibility that he would do, because the president actually has very strong feelings about drinking personally on a deeply personal level. He doesn't drink; he never has. He has a brother who did have a drinking problem, and that informs his view of that issue.

And so when he focused in on that like a laser, it was both something that was very true to who he is as a person, but also very problematic for the White House, as they're trying to control the narrative around Brett Kavanaugh.

Brett Kavanaugh did not acknowledge having a drinking problem, as the president said. He did not acknowledge in his testimony doing things as a result of drinking, doing things that he might have necessarily regretted as a result of drinking. Those are all things that the president put on the table for the first time yesterday, and it was a problem for Kavanaugh, because I think it opens the door to analyzing that question.

What exactly did he do when he was drunk? How drunk did he get? You know, did Kavanaugh give an accurate portrayal of his drinking habits in his younger years, and at what point did those habits change?

So I think the president is really speaking from his heart in a lot of ways. I mean, this is one of the very rare things about him that goes all the way back to kind of his origin story as a person, not as a politician.

But the problem for Kavanaugh is that it really focuses attention on something the White House was actually trying to steer away from, because they want to say that the drinking is not of issue here. The issue is whether he would be willing to engage in a violent act of sexual assault, and they say the answer to that is clearly no.

CAMEROTA: I don't know how they can say that. I mean, Chad Ludington, who I believe we have sound from, said he had a hair trigger machismo, which was pathetic. And most importantly, he had memory lapses after drinking.

How can Brett -- even Brett Kavanaugh know exactly what happened when he was drinking?

AVLON: The stereotypically named Chad Ludington is not a good character witness for Brett Kavanaugh. Other people from the -- his circle of friends have come forward and said they didn't see that. I think there's nothing less attractive than hair trigger machismo. CAMEROTA: But I disagree with that. When you're -- let's say

somebody is on trial, OK, for a bar fight. You don't go out and find tons of witnesses who never saw that person in a bar fight. They're not relevant. The people who -- the witnesses who saw the bar fight are relevant.

AVLON: But when you're trying to establish a pattern relying on sort of people who knew him in college, and then you can decide which testimony is more relevant. The fact he was interviewed for a bar fight is relevant to the case you're making, but it's also about the content of somebody's character. And that's really what we're trying to get to.

You know, ideally this is about a search for the truth and what is the content of his character, because we're going to high school and college for Brett Kavanaugh to figure out what that foundation is.

I will say the question of drinking is a little unprecedented. It's within the context of allegations of sexual assault, but there are other questions, too, that seem more relevant, for example, what the president seized upon. It's very unusual for someone who's been nominated for Supreme Court to mention he likes beer 20 times in a -- in a hearing.

BERMAN: Drinking chief John Tower (ph) away from being secretary of defense all those years ago. So it's not (UNINTELLIGIBLE). But I don't think anyone is making the accusation, or at least up until this point, that the Brett Kavanaugh situation is anything close to that,

Brett Kavanaugh did admit that he sometimes drank too much. What he did say or refused to say is that he ever had any memory lapses. I don't know how you're going to prove that. That seems to me that will be difficult to prove. And Charles Ludington may say he thinks that he had memory lapses. But Josh, very quickly, is there any way to prove that?

CAMPBELL: Well, there's no way to prove this. It's going to comes down to who you believe.

And I think the point is, you know, John talks about character. It's so important here. I don't want to sound like a prude. We're not talking about, you know, the second in command at the Commerce Department, we're talking about a judge, someone who should inherently have those characteristics of fairness, of honesty, of truthfulness.

That's what they expect from people that are sitting across from them. So if his, you know, character traits are being called into question now, that is an issue.

Can we throw up the polls? Because I think this is crucial, and I don't want to have any talk about this, because both sides have been saying this is going to help them in the midterm elections, or this is going to make their case.

Look at this. Should the Senate confirm Brett Kavanaugh? Forty-eight percent now say no, according to Quinnipiac. That is up six points since September 10. So now --

CAMEROTA: Among women. This is interesting. So 55 percent of women say no he should not be confirmed. Only 37 percent say yes.

And then "Is he the target of a smear campaign?" Well, this shows you the trends. So the trend of him being confirmed has gone down, as you can see. Him not being confirmed has gone up.

[06:15:09] And then "Is he the target of a smear campaign," which obviously, some people have suggested. Yes, 49 percent; no, 45 percent. So more people think yes.

BERMAN: Well, it's interesting there, Abby. There are two things. No. 1, is that Brett Kavanaugh is in a worse situation now after America has seen all this testimony on both sides.

However, the White House and Republicans are calling this a smear campaign, and they are getting some support with that argument.

PHILLIP: Yes, I think the -- you know, on some level, it does seem that these poll numbers bear out that Republicans and the White House have kind of lost the war of public opinion here on Kavanaugh.

But they are gambling that that doesn't matter, because if he's confirmed, then they're -- that's the long game. They've already won that part of it. He's going to be on the court for the rest of his life, and he has a lot of life left to live.

But it does pose a problem for the court. I think it's just an issue, when the American public believes that there is someone on the court for the rest of his life who shouldn't be there.

So that's a problem that Republicans will have to deal with, probably, at the polls in November and beyond. But for the time being, they are pushing past this, pushing past the issue with women, pushing past Kavanaugh's problems and trying to get him out the door so that that story can just be done with and they have -- they have their justice.

BERMAN: All right. Abby, John, Josh, thank you very much.

There is new controversy this morning over how President Trump treats women. He told a reporter she never thinks. And this is not the first time something like this has happened. So how is the White House explaining all of this this morning? We'll discuss that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:20:24] CAMEROTA: Well, amid the Brett Kavanaugh controversy President Trump is under scrutiny for his treatment of female journalists. Watch this exchange yesterday with ABC's Cecilia Vega.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She's shocked that I picked her. She's, like, in a state of shock.

CECILIA VEGA, ABC CORRESPONDENT: I'm not thinking, Mr. President.

TRUMP: That's OK, I know you're not thinking. You never do.

VEGA: I'm sorry?

TRUMP: No, go ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Well, it sounded pretty clearly that the president said, "I know you're not thinking."

BERMAN: That's exactly what he said. It doesn't sound like it. He said.

CAMEROTA: It sounded like that to me. There was -- it's quite clear. He said, "I know you're not thinking. You never do."

But the White House has a different take. Let's bring in our CNN political analysts: Brian Karem. He's the executive editor of "The Sentinel" Newspapers and was at yesterday's press conference. We'll hear what his lying ears told him. And Margaret Talev. She is Bloomberg News's senior White House correspondent.

OK. So what the White House says in this transcript is -- where is the transcript of what the White House released? "She's shocked that I picked her. She's like in a state of shock."

She, Cecilia Vega says, "I'm not. Thank you, Mr. President."

The president said, "That's OK, I know you're not thanking."

BERMAN: Oh, give me a break.

CAMEROTA: You never do. The reporter says, "I'm sorry."

The president says, "No, go ahead. Go ahead."

Wow. OK. So they have changed the transcript.

BRIAN KAREM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, they have.

CAMEROTA: Which must mean, I think, Margaret, that they're embarrassed or that they know it's wrong that the president would say, "I know you're not thinking. You never do." Why else would they change the transcript?

MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, BLOOMBERG NEWS: It's obvious what he said and the transcript should be correct to reflect the realities of what he said.

CAMEROTA: I mean, what next? I know you're not drinking? They can say -- they can keep claiming --

TALEV: No, he definitely will not say that. Not anyone's debate. CAMEROTA: What do you, Margaret, think of the treatment that he gave Cecilia Vega. Is -- was that sexist or is that the president being the president to all journalists?

TALEV: I know there's been a lot of talk about this, and the reason for why is as I look about the context of the moment in which we're talking about it is respect for women.

But I've -- I've seen President Trump go after a number of reporters regardless of gender. I think it's entirely possible, entirely plausible that, if the first questioner had been a man asking the question, he would have gotten exactly the same sort of treatment.

The optics of it are seemingly unfortunate for the president given that, again, the moment that we're talking about is a moment in which one of his judicial nominees is -- is being questioned about his respect for women, you know, 30 years ago.

BERMAN: Look, if they want to make the case that it's an equal opportunity offender let them make that case. But the idea that he didn't say you're not thinking, you never do. That's a load of -- that's just bull.

KAREM: Well --

BERMAN: So the transcript there, that's bull. But Brian, to the other point, you know, he -- I'm sure he treats you badly.

KAREM: He loves me. Let's go back to this. I was sitting right there when it happened. He said thinking. There's no doubt about it. That's exactly what the man said, and they should correct it.

To Margaret's point -- and she's right -- look, he -- during the course of that press conference yesterday, he was equally offensive to everyone. That doesn't mean that he's not a sexist egotistical lying hypocritical bigot. It's just that he treats all reporters.

But -- and the optics of it is bad, because we're talking about a SCOTUS nominee who is being accused of sexual assault. He did insult -- all right, he gave Major Garrett from CBS -- Major had the microphone in his hand a couple times and then dismissed him. He dismissed Peter Alexander, told him to stop. He told me to sit down, I was already sitting down.

BERMAN: You deserved it.

KAREM: Yes, that's right. I had it coming. I asked him a question about he about tariffs, and then he wouldn't let me ask a question about SCOTUS.

But the real telling point, if you really want to know how this president thinks, it wasn't and isn't how he treats reporters. He is a misanthrope, but that doesn't excuse his misogyny.

If you really want to understand how this president thinks, take a look and listen to what he said yesterday during that press conference. He was all about the apologies to Brett Kavanaugh's family. He was all about how they're being put out. He was all about their discomfort. This man stepped forward to be a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. He knew what he was doing, and he did it of his own free will.

Now, take a look at Dr. Ford. She came forward out of a sense of civic duty. She has nothing to gain. And she has had death threats and has had to move her family around. And not once, not once did anyone in this administration or any members of the GOP come forward and say, "Listen, we appreciate what you're doing and what you're toughing out and what you're going through." No, it's always been about Mr. Kavanaugh.

So that's where the tip-off is. That's where you see that he's a misogynistic, sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot.

[06:25:07] CAMEROTA: I don't know that that is Exhibit A of everything that you're saying, because as we know, the president always sides with the accused.

KAREM: Yes.

CAMEROTA: He feels empathy for the accused, not the accuser. I think, Margaret, in this one particular case, I mean, the bar is low, obviously, for the president, because he always sides with the accused.

But he actually has been less attacking of Christine Blasey Ford than people had suspected at first he would be. He's the person who has said, "I think that some of her testimony was very credible."

TALEV: Yes.

KAREM: He has -- he has said that.

TALEV: And he spoke yesterday also -- he was pretty careful in a lot of his remarks yesterday. He really veered away from criticizing the FBI, going after, you know, Comey and Strzok and Lisa Page, kind of -- kind of the normal set list. And so -- which is what made kind of the fact that this turned into being viewed through the lens of women, how are you treating women.

I actually think when you were even looking at the people he was calling on, he seemed to be going out of his way to be calling largely on women during the news conference yesterday.

KAREM: He did that, yes.

CAMEROTA: So maybe our lens is wrong.

BERMAN: But that may be -- that may be because Jim Acosta pointed out last week --

CAMEROTA: That's right.

BERMAN: -- that he went to three men before he went to a single woman.

CAMEROTA: Maybe he's course correcting. He's course correcting.

BERMAN: But Margaret agrees with me, by the way. She says that's -- hang on one second, Brian. Because this does not happen in a vacuum, either. What he did to Cecilia Vega, who did not deserve it in any way, and what he said was repugnant.

It's not in a vacuum. I mean, he has done similar things to other female members of the press corps. Just last week at this news conference with an NBC reporter and a CBS reporter. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: One more question. Yes. She stands up, "I'd like to ask about three questions." It's not really fair to everyone else, BU SHOULD I let her ask another question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I could just actually ask my question, Mr. Trump. You didn't let me ask my question.

TRUMP: You -- you've been asking a question for ten minutes. Please sit down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you at all concerned at the message that is being sent to the women who are watching this when you use language like "con job" in relation to allegations of sexual assault?

TRUMP: I've used much worse language in my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: But in particular to Haley and the CBS reporter there, Margaret, what you do see is a dismissiveness and a condescension that some suggest you do not see -- you see ire when he addresses male reporters like Jim Acosta but not necessarily the condescension.

TALEV: So there's an increasing number of women in the White House press corps. That's awesome. During my year at the WHCA, my decade or so covering the White House, we've seen increasingly more and more women join the ranks of the press corps.

But what you're going to have when you have a briefing room with more women is more women getting called on. And the president's instinctive or natural reactions to each individual reporter, some of whom he has a personal affinity for, some of whom he doesn't, are all going to be on display. And with him it's very instinctive, instinctual, off-the-cuff sort of behavior.

In Cecilia Vega's case, she raised a really important point, by the way, which is, "Hey, it's a news conference. The whole point of a news conference is to get --"

CAMEROTA: To get to the news.

TALEV: Is that we get to decide, you know, what the questions are. And he's -- the president has stayed away from the news conference format for a long time. He now seems to be coming back to it really in full form for the first time of his presidency, and what we're seeing is he likes the format. It's kind of a -- he likes to change it up a little bit.

And this seems to be a format that he wants to explore more between now and heading into the midterms. But the problem is with a news conference, the reporter gets to decide what the questions are.

CAMEROTA: Right. And reporters get to ask the questions, Brian.

I mean, this is how -- this is the whole predicate of the news conference. Here's Kaitlan Collins, our own Kaitlan Collins of CNN and the president, again, being true to form, in not wanting her to ask a question. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Yes, go ahead, please.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Just to wrap up --

TRUMP: Do you know what? You've already had enough. Hey, you've had enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAREM: Well, that's to the point that you were talking about earlier, Alisyn, and the same thing that Margaret was talking about.

His condescension towards all reporters exist, towards women it appears to be a little more dismissive.

And while, Margaret, you're right that yesterday, in fact, he took several questions from women, and that's why Major Garrett, in fact, didn't get to ask his question. He was handed the microphone. Then it was taken away from him and given to a female reporter. He has tried to reach out.

But nonetheless, if you still listen to him, you cannot deny the fact that he has a bigger problem with female reporters, with women, than he does with men. And it goes back to his actions on the campaign trail, some of the things that were on the "Access Hollywood" tape. Those things have all come back to haunt him and that -- he has not -- I'm sorry, I sat through that -- I sat through that yesterday.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

KAREM: And he did not in any way, shape or form, acknowledge what Dr. Ford had gone through. It was all about Brett Kavanaugh.

CAMEROTA: Yes, yes, I hear you. Yesterday was, but I'm just saying during the course of this he --

KAREM: Yes, you're right. BERMAN: All right. Brian, Margaret, thank you. As the president would say, "No, think you." Thank you, as the White House transcript would say.