what is the purpose of the president? to lead the country. and i don't know what is being accomplished in terms of his agenda or in terms of anything beyond the legal case. it is really taking over the entire white house. and every action he takes, every lashing out that he does either on twitter or even in his personal conversations, ultimately is indicative of the position that he's in. and i just always think, if i'm a foreign adversary right now that wants to strike at the united states or do something around the world, there is no time better than the present, really, to make your gains in terms of your foreign policy, vis-a-vis the united states or while the u.s. is so distracted. >> so gabe, this is interesting, because yesterday we heard john kelly and sarah huckabee sanders had both recommended a strategy around john mccain's passing, the president, again, sort of overruled everybody until it was too much to take. but that is a good question. there was some sense in the beginning that there were adults in the room. the president has systematically gotten rid of the adults in the room or sidelined some of them like john kelly.