president, teaching him that, no, a continuous wall across the border is not quite practical. convincing him that maybe mexico paying for the wall is not a realistic possibility here. and it's just really interesting. as you're trying -- the whole point here is that everyone's confused about what the president's position is here. and then when you've got trump's chief ally, chief of staff on the hill, further muddling that message and creating more contention, it's just a very awkward situation to be in. >> and ladies and gentlemen, when these two journalists are mystified by what's going on, it's time to worry. two of the very best on the beat with us again tonight, our great thanks to jill colvin and eli stokels, thank you both. coming up, the book "fire and fury" has consumed the white house and a good many of our headlines for two weeks now. our next guest reports on how it came to be including the fact that flattery might have helped greatly. he's a nascar champion who's faced thousands of drivers. she's a world-class swimmer who's stared down the best in her sport. but for both of them, the most challenging opponent was...