WEBVTT 00:02.033 --> 00:04.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WOODRUFF: Now to the ripple effects inside the White House, after President Trumpús reaction 00:04.733 --> 00:09.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% to Charlottesville and the departure of White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. 00:09.033 --> 00:14.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Here to break it all down, our politics Monday regulars, Amy Walter of the "Cook Political 00:15.066 --> 00:18.233 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Report" and Tamara Keith of NPR. 00:18.233 --> 00:20.566 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And welcome to both of you, politics Monday. 00:20.566 --> 00:25.566 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The country got through last week, Amy, but I think itús fair to ask the question how 00:26.733 --> 00:28.433 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% many damage was done to the president. 00:28.433 --> 00:30.500 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% AMY WALTER, NATIONAL EDITOR, COOK POLITICAL REPORTER: Right. 00:30.500 --> 00:34.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WOODRUFF: I was away last week enjoying some family vacation time, but there was no avoiding 00:35.200 --> 00:37.266 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% what was going on. 00:37.266 --> 00:40.566 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WALTER: Thatús right. Itús never a good time, Judy, when youúre the president of the United 00:40.566 --> 00:45.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% States and your own party is finding lots of different ways to distance themselves from 00:45.033 --> 00:50.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% you. Report after report was that elected leaders werenút even going to go on television 00:52.000 --> 00:54.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% to defend because they were worried they would have to defend the president. 00:54.033 --> 00:59.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The short answer, though, is we donút really know what total effect that the results of 01:01.100 --> 01:03.866 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% Charlottesville and the presidentús reaction have had. Weúre starting to get some polling 01:03.866 --> 01:07.800 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% data, but itús really not definitive yet. The only thing we have is history to guide 01:07.800 --> 01:09.900 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% us. 01:09.900 --> 01:13.600 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% And weúve sat at this table plenty of times during 2016, Judy, where we watched the "Access 01:13.600 --> 01:17.666 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Hollywood" tape, the attack on John McCain not being a war hero, the president attacking 01:17.666 --> 01:22.666 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% a gold-star family who was Muslim, where we said, well, maybe this is it, maybe the Republican 01:24.600 --> 01:27.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% base will now divide over this candidate, this nominee. Obviously, they never did. 01:29.966 --> 01:32.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So, itús a little bit soon to tell, but itús pretty clear even in talking to the voters, 01:32.433 --> 01:36.633 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% listening to the voices of voters and a lot of the reports over the weekend, theyúre not 01:36.633 --> 01:41.533 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% abandoning this president. The question, of course, is what happens when a president is 01:41.533 --> 01:46.533 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% constantly being -- his own party in Congress has constantly distanced themselves and watched 01:49.000 --> 01:54.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% out for themselves. How much effect can you have as president when youúre only talking 01:55.366 --> 01:57.533 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% to a narrow slice of the electorate over and over again? 01:57.533 --> 01:59.566 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% WOODRUFF: Is that whatús happening, Tam? 01:59.566 --> 02:02.533 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% TAMARA KEITH, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, NPR: Yes. Now, an interesting thing is there are 02:02.533 --> 02:07.533 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% some rank and file Republicans like Bob Corker from Tennessee or Susan Collins from Maine, 02:09.533 --> 02:13.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% who are saying things that are clearly distancing themselves from the president and saying it 02:15.500 --> 02:18.133 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% in a way that says the presidentús name. But when you get someone like Paul Ryan, the speaker 02:18.133 --> 02:22.933 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% of the house, or Mitch McConnell, the majority leader in the Senate. And Ryan put out a statement, 02:25.400 --> 02:28.333 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% you know, arguably, a very strong statement condemning neo-Nazis, saying there are -- there 02:30.333 --> 02:33.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% are no sides when it comes to racism and neo-Nazis and white supremacists, never mentions the 02:34.866 --> 02:37.000 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% presidentús name. 02:37.000 --> 02:40.966 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But there certainly is a sense there are many Republicans in Congress, obviously, you have 02:40.966 --> 02:45.966 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% these business leaders who jumped ship from the advisory council to the president and 02:48.033 --> 02:51.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% all this indicates that there are a lot of people who arenút as afraid of this president 02:51.066 --> 02:53.233 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% as they were earlier in his presidency. 02:53.233 --> 02:56.633 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WOODRUFF: So, would do it -- Amy, what does that mean? I know weúre all, you know, sort 02:56.633 --> 02:58.066 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% of groping 02:58.066 --> 03:00.100 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% (CROSSTALK) 03:00.100 --> 03:04.200 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WOODRUFF: -- trying to understand what has changed. Has anything changed? Are we just 03:05.333 --> 03:07.366 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% right back where we were eight, 10 days ago? 03:07.366 --> 03:12.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WALTER: It feels like every day is about like a dog year. Itús like every day, seven years. 03:14.100 --> 03:18.900 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So, you have to sort of live within that, knowing that by tomorrow, we could be talking 03:18.900 --> 03:22.533 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% about something else, and so, itús unclear if there is real systemic damage. 03:22.533 --> 03:27.533 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But the president has a pretty important task ahead of him as we come back into the fall 03:29.533 --> 03:32.833 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% and thatús will he be able to get his legislative agenda back on track, and thatús where we 03:34.833 --> 03:37.400 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% can have an answer to this question about how much damage did this really do. As I said, 03:37.400 --> 03:41.366 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% if youúre a president whoús sitting at anywhere between 35 and 40 percent approval, itús hard 03:41.366 --> 03:43.333 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% to get a whole lot done. 03:43.333 --> 03:47.100 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Itús hard to first of all pressure members of Congress with an approval rating that low 03:47.100 --> 03:51.900 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% and for members who are Republicans, the base may still be with Trump, but they know that 03:51.900 --> 03:56.900 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% independents and other swing voters in their districts may not be. They canút guarantee 03:58.866 --> 04:01.966 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% that he can come and help them in the fall of an election year with approval ratings 04:01.966 --> 04:06.966 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% this slow. So, it really does limit his ability to be a strong legislator and chief as well 04:08.366 --> 04:10.500 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% as an executive. 04:10.500 --> 04:13.766 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% WOODRUFF: And when it comes to appealing to the base, the person who I think most represented 04:13.766 --> 04:18.766 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% the base in the White House, Steve Bannon, is now out as of three days ago, Tam. How 04:20.700 --> 04:22.800 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% much difference is that going to make do we think in whatús going on? 04:22.800 --> 04:27.300 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% KEITH: I think we just donút know. You know, how many times have we said on this very set, 04:28.466 --> 04:29.300 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% how much difference is this going to make? 04:29.300 --> 04:31.366 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% WOODRUFF: Right. 04:31.366 --> 04:33.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% KEITH: This person leaving, this person coming in, this new chief of staff? And I think the 04:33.933 --> 04:36.033 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% answer is we donút know. 04:36.033 --> 04:40.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% What we can say is that Steve Bannon is still going to have a voice in this country and 04:41.933 --> 04:45.800 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% on the right, and he also is still going to have a telephone. And President Trump may 04:47.800 --> 04:51.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% be unhappy with him now but as we have seen, people who have been fired from the Trump 04:52.933 --> 04:56.400 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% orbit, they come back like celestial beings, they come back around and come back in. Like 04:58.433 --> 05:01.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% a Corey Lewandowski who was fired as campaign manager, who then I saw walking out of the 05:01.066 --> 05:03.133 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% White House the other day. 05:03.133 --> 05:07.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So, people go way. They come back. And Steve Bannon is going to continue to have an influence 05:09.466 --> 05:13.366 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% in this White House and with this president, simply, if only because President Trump reads 05:13.366 --> 05:15.300 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% "Breitbart News". 05:15.300 --> 05:19.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WALTER: Yes. And the shakeup in the White House is reflective of the broader debate 05:19.133 --> 05:23.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% within the party right now, between these two different wings of the party, the more 05:23.033 --> 05:28.033 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% establishment versus the anti-establishment, the Tea Party versus the original. That is 05:30.100 --> 05:32.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% a debate thatús ranging within the Republican Party. It makes sense that itús also happening 05:32.500 --> 05:36.333 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% within the White House and that debate isnút going away at anytime. 05:36.333 --> 05:41.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WOODRUFF: So, because as you look at Steve Bannon who represented all the nationalist 05:41.033 --> 05:46.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% instincts and populist instincts, the fact thatús not going to be in the presidentús 05:48.066 --> 05:50.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% ear, itús not that heús not going to hear it. But itús not going to be as regular. 05:50.066 --> 05:54.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% KEITH: Itús also still going to be in the presidentús head. President Trump believes 05:54.133 --> 05:59.133 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% - - President Trump has those nationalist instincts. I mean, he has been talking about some of 06:01.133 --> 06:04.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% these nationalist ideas for years and years and years, well before Steve Bannon entered 06:04.033 --> 06:06.633 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% his orbit. 06:06.633 --> 06:09.833 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% WOODRUFF: So, thatús -- and thatús still going to be there. So, as we look to see, OK, different 06:09.833 --> 06:14.833 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% chiefs, chief of staff, the chief strategist has gone, the communications shop has changed, 06:16.033 --> 06:18.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% but the president is still the president. 06:18.166 --> 06:20.800 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WALTER: The president is still the president. And as I said, you know, the people who have 06:20.800 --> 06:24.900 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% left the White House, you had one establishment wing with Reince Priebus, the former RNC chairman, 06:26.900 --> 06:30.333 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Sean Spicer came from the RNC, and one from the outside. And thatús what his policy portfolio 06:32.433 --> 06:35.000 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% looks like so far thus far. You had some wins from the nationalist side, the Steve Bannon 06:35.000 --> 06:39.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% side, the travel ban, pulling out of Paris. But also, the more traditionalists have gotten 06:39.000 --> 06:41.000 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% their way as well. 06:41.000 --> 06:45.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So, it has been this balancing act within the White House and, of course, within the 06:45.000 --> 06:50.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% party. But both those issues are tearing -- the difference on those issues are tearing the 06:51.266 --> 06:52.566 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% party apart and the presidentús temperament as well. 06:52.566 --> 06:54.200 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% WOODRUFF: More to come. 06:54.200 --> 06:56.433 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% Amy Walter, Tamara Keith, politics Monday - - thank you both. 06:56.433 --> 06:57.433 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% KEITH: Youúre welcome. 06:57.433 --> 06:57.566 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% WALTER: Youúre welcome.