The media. Refusing to take any responsibility for stirring up any rage in america. Is it fair to ascribe the president any role in tearing apart the nation . Welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper. We begin with the politics lead. Minutes ago, the White House Press secretary defended President Trumps response to a series of major traumatic events gripping and in some cases terrifying the nation. Sarah sanders claiming that President Trump has brought the nation together. She says he bears no responsibility for tensions, and despite the president directly blaming the media for tensions, Sarah Sanders claimed he had not blamed anyone. She said a lot of things that were difficult to believe, and in some cases, some things that were just plain false. As just an example of how upside down this afternoons press conference was, at times, she made the assertion that President Trump was elected by, quote, an overwhelming majority of 63 million americans. Now, obviously, the president won the electoral vote. But his almost 63 million popular votes were overwhelmed by Hillary Clintons nearly 66 million. Now, thats a small thing. But it was a telling departure from reality. The tone from the white house today was striking, considering that Many Americans are mourning today and still others are just scared. On saturday, antisemite murdered 11 worshippers after writing angry, hateful messages, many blaming jews for helping the migrant caravans. While the shooter was not a fan of President Trumps, he thought trump was too controlled by jews, the shooter did seem to be enthralled in one of the president s favorite topics these days, the caravan of migrants in mexico that the president continues to demonize. The president today continued to tweet his tree oncally about it. Still weeks away from the border. Writing, vote, this is an invasion of our country. The president s blame of the division and hatred and anger and outrage in the country on the media continued. He tweeted today again that journalists are, quote, the true enemy of the people. This, of course, comes the week after a trump supporter sent pipe bombs to stated nemesis, including cnn. Law enforcement officials tell cnn that the bombing suspect had a list of more than 100 people to whom he intended to send ieds, which means more of these devices could be out there right now. Cnns jeff zeleny is at the white house. And jeff, press secretary Sarah Sanders, when asked if the president was going to keep the harsh rhetoric, she said hes going to continue to draw contrasts as we approach next weeks midterm elections. Reporter and jake, at the first White House Press briefing in 26 days, she used the word contrast over and over again. To explain why the president intends to keep up his Campaign Schedule and keep up his rhetoric in the week before the midterm elections. Now, the president , she said, has not blamed anyone. But we have seen him placing blame all over. One thing he hasnt done, accept any of the blame for leading to this climate of deadly political heat. With pittsburgh poised to bury victims of the horrific hatedriven slang at the tree of life synagogue, President Trump opened his day not consoling mourners, but falsely blaming the media. At 8 03 00 a. M. Today, he tweeted, there is great anger in our country, caused in part by inaccurate and even fraudulent reporting of the news. The fake news media, the true enemy of the people, must stop the open and obvious hostility and report the news accurately and fairly. That will do much to put out the flame of anger and outrage. At a rare White House Briefing today, press secretary Sarah Sanders denounced the mass shooting. Above all, it was an act of evil. Reporter but defended the president s words. The very first thing that the president did was condemn the attacks, both in pittsburgh and in the pipe bombs. The very first thing the media did was blame the president and make him responsible for these ridiculous acts. Reporter but attacking the media is how the president chose to use his bully pulpit today, not by calling out the antisemitic actions of the gunman. But in a tirade against the press. And i would have a much different tone, frankly, if the press was evenhanded. If the press was fair. I would have a much different tone all of the time. But im fighting the media. Reporter after 72 hours of unspeakable violence in america, two africanamericans slain outside a Kentucky Grocery store, a florida man charged with as sending pipe bombs to trump critics, the president officially denouncing the crime at a rally. The violent hate crime of antisemitism must be confronted anywhere and everywhere it appears. Reporter but it quickly evolved into an airing of his grievances. And if you dont mind, im going to tone it down just a little bit, is that okay . Audience no youre from illinois. I had a feeling you might say that. Reporter the president is facing a mixed reaction as he and the first lady plan to visit pittsburgh on tuesday. Jeffrey myers, the rabbi at the tree of life synagogue, said he welcomed the president. The president of the United States is always welcome. Im a citizen, hes my president. Hes certainly welcome. Reporter but that view is hardly universal. With lynnette leaderman, a former president of the congregation, asking the president to stay away, unless he firmly denounces hate speech. I do not welcome this president to my city. Because hes the purveyor of hate speech. The hypocritical words that come from him tell me nothing. Reporter now, that is exactly the climate the president and the first lady are walking into tomorrow when they are scheduled to go to pittsburgh. Im told by white house officials that the white house is still working with the pittsburgh Mayors Office and others for the president s schedule. Its unclear if hell be meeting with family members. They do not want to interfere with the grieving process, even the burials that are likely to be under way tomorrow. Jake, it certainly is a fine line. But after that, the president is scheduled to go back to campaign rallies, holding some 11 over the final week before the midterm elections. Jake . Jeff zeleny, thanks so much. And let me ask the viewers and also our experts here, obviously, the only people responsible for the actions of the bomber and the shooter are the bomber and the shooter. But that said, more philosophically, why do we consider it important . Why is it a standard in our society for politicians to not inflame passions among supporters with demonizing language and conspiracy theories and ugly rhetoric . Does that standard not exist because we fear it could result in violence . Is that not why this standard exists . Thats part of the reacson. Its not just violence. Were a nation of very diverse groups and we have to focus on what unites us. Otherwise the potential for vulcanization is very high. And over the last number of years, we seem to have lost the capacity for any generosity of feeling for people on the other side. This is a welldiscussed phenomenon of horrible polarization. And then, of course, there is the fear that it can lead to violence. Every single political figure has an obligation, especially regarding the nuts on their own side. To be aware there are some unstable people that can be flipped over the edge into taking action thats violent. I want to play some sound from marco rubio. This was in march, 2016. Hes running against donald trump. Thats the context. Take a listen to what rubio had to say about the inflammatory language that then candidate trump used. I know people like it that donald trump says whatever he wants and what they feel like saying. But president s cannot say anything they want. President s have to understand that their words have consequences. Often, life and death consequences for real people in the real world. David . Yeah, so is the question did the president hear you cant start out saying the president is not responsible for this i said no. The people responsible are the bomber and shooter. But you cant start out saying the president is not responsible for this, play some sound and say the president responsible for this. Im saying, is there not what is the reason that we say politicians need to have need to restrain themselves . Listen, i agree. Look, the rhetoric on all sides needs to be dialed back. All sides. Dont say no, simone. It needs to be dialed back on every side. Absolutely. This isnt started just with donald trump. Let me finish. This hasnt started just with donald trump. I served on a panel a decade ago with the press secretary for Bobby Kennedy who said jet travel was to blame for, you know, lack of civility in the public discourse, because members of congress didnt sit around and werent friends with each other so they hated each other. Its been going on for a long time. And this isnt about what aboutism. If we were to get to the bottom of why people hate, theres a great oped today in the wall street journal which says, look, lets take this out of political context and really examine. What are the roots of antisemitism, of racism. White supremacy. Okay. So what are the roots of that . Are you going to say donald trump is the problem . Let me tell you something. Its not just politicians. It is there are public officials. Im talking about media professionals. The rhetoric is dangerous. What donald trump and his movement, but not just him, but his movement, and people before him have done is usher in an era where it is okay for the nastiest parts of society to come to the front. This is not both sides. I want to be clear, it was nazis who killed Heather Heyer in charlottesville. This is not me. Its terrorism. No, no, no. Folks that are you know, the women that showed up at the capitol, the protests and raised their voices with Sexual Assault didnt kill anybody. What we saw last week was terrorism. Thats what that is. Absolutely. Those are acts of terrorism. And we need to be very clear. And there is nothing to equate with terrorism. There is nothing to equate. Right. On the White Supremacy we are seeing. Its horrific. It is incumbent upon donald trump, it is incumbent on folks in the republican party. And im saying that, because that is the side. That is the Political Party that has been stoking this. You know this firsthand, because you wrote a story about First Lady Melania Trump and it was just a straight story. It had some positive things, some negative things, whatever. She hated it. The president supporters hated it. They attacked you and President Trump refused to criticize his supporters. You said you need to take it up with them. Yeah, he said i have no message for them. And furthermore, when melania was asked about this, she said i provoked the antisemitic death threats. People were calling my house at 1 00 in the morning, saying, hi, you ordered a homicide scene cleanup. Or hi, you ordered a coffin to your house. Sending pictures of you in an oven and all sorts of things. A caricature of a jew being shot execution style with the subject line being, were on to you. And now that the first lady is now her campaign is be best and its against cyber bullying, but when there was a clear example of cyber bullying, shipped, well, the victim provoked it. Please dont interrupt me. I have to agree which is moan here. I think this president , one of the things that he really launched his president ial run on is talking about islamic radicalization. And this president has radicalized so many more people than isis ever did. I mean, the way he talks, the way the way thats just its unconscionable for you to say that. The way that he allows these the way he winks and nods to these groups. The way he says, i know im not supposed to say it, but im a nationalist. The way that he hems and hoaws, gritting his teeth says, fine, okay, i condemn this. Hold on. For you not to push back on that for her to say, the president of the United States has radicalized more people than isis is irresponsible. Okay. You disagree with it. Its not true. You based upon what . How many camps have you gone to and interrogated isis folks. Do you know . What do you base it upon . 10,000 members. I think the president has far more supporters who espouse an equally hateful ideology. Julia, youre simone, listen. And jake, you raised this yesterday. When Lewis Farrakhan sat next to bill clinton, where was the outrage. Hold up now. What does Lewis Farrakhan have to do with me . This is craziness. Im not talking about you, simone. I really believe that we should be able to have a conversation and get to the issue. 9 root of theish is the president of the United States has aligned himself with white nationalists. He called himself a nationalist. He hazas aligned himself with neonazis. Get back to jakes original question. Why does it matter if the president doesnt do this or does do it, right . And it matters because whether the American People thought this through or not, we do care about our president setting a moral tone. And at moments like this, we need him to. It feels, you know, very unsettling and nervousmaking for people to see a president who is reluctant somehow to condemn evil, call it by its name. He just called it out. Yeah, but in this very mechanical way. Didnt do it well enough for you . And then he backs up. Hold on a minute. He didnt. The fact is, the president has a special responsibility. He is a moral actor. And youre right, you can do what aboutism all day. Ive done it throughout my entire career. Pointing out the lefts hypocrisies and the lefts incitements. But when youre president , its different. You cant just point to some person on the left and say, well, you know, they did something bad and then say, so its okay for the president of the United States to do it. The thesis around this table is the president wants an unsafe future for his jewish grandchildren. No, i dont think i dont think people are saying that. Hes indifferent to whether he is sending coded signals to some people. So hes indifferent. He knows his grandchildren are going to be just fine with secret service protection. Theyre not going to have it for the rest of their life julia. Heres my question. Can you say that with a straight face . Sarah sanders today said she cited eric holder, talking about kicking people. And eric holder went on to say he meant it figuratively. It was awful. Im not supporting it. Hillary clinton saying, when our opponents are that bad, we dont need to be civil. Exactly. Either its important for leaders to set moral examples for their supporters or its not. Thats what i dont understand. Why do we have this standard . I know the thing is, Hillary Clinton is has never been president. She is now a leader, a democratic leader. So is eric holder now in this capacity. President donald trump is the president of all of us. And he has to send a message to all of us. Not just the people who come at his rallies and say cnn sucks, and beat up reporters. And the caravan is full of criminals and middle easterners. He is the president of all of us. Not just his jewish grandchildren. You know, like, to focus it just on his jewish grandchildren, hes my president too. And im a jewish citizen in this country and i feel deeply i want to ask i had dinner last night with one of my jewish friends who came here, supported by was brought here the same refugee company. The same refugee company, right. Huge supporter, works for the administration. What does that have to do with stoking the flames . I understand. Thats my point. You feel the way you do, because of your political beliefs. Theres not youre saying theres absolutely no problem with the tone that the president has set. No, im not saying that. It sounds like that. No, im not. Do you have issue with his tone, yes or no . Its a yes or no question. No, it isnt. Heres my question for you. This is a legitimate question that i think a lot of conservatives really honestly feel, that when people say President Trumps words have an effect on especially the florida wouldbe bomber, lets just focus on him for now. But its not fair that media doesnt hold Bernie Sanders responsible for the supporter of his who shot up that baseball field and almost killed House Majority whip steve scalise. He was now, i asked bernie about it at the time. I said, do you think you know, do you think calling for a revolution, et cetera, incites people, he decried the violence, et cetera. Explain why you think its different. I really mean this. There are a lot of goodfaith people, conservatives, who think this is a double standard. Bernie sanders is calling for a Political Revolution of ideas. He has never incited violence, talked about beating up protesters. He has never called anyone the enemy. He has said that wall street should be held accountable and they should go to jail for bringing america to the brink of collapse. But he has never incited violence. Hes never other anyone. And when there were folks in our coalition that were doing that, i and others and the senators spoke up against that. I think thats why this is different. Donald trump has had ample opportunity to check his coalition. He has yet to check it. We see story after story. I dont know if it was i forget which outlet reported it. But it was reported that ivanka and jared had to coast and cog and pull donald trump into giving a strong statement. Thats problematic. Let me tell you why rhetoric matters. Or to lower the flag to halfstaff. Yes. To lower the flag to halfstaff and Say Something about pittsburgh. This rhetoric matters, because people that are not in the majority, people that are in marginalized communities are literally under attack. They are fearing for their lives when radicalized people see what the president and his supporters and folks are saying, they its okay. Everyone thats why so specifically its not the president. I would like him to stop stoking i would like him to stop one, i would like him to stop calling himself a nationalist. I would like him to not just call for civility, but say i too have contributed to this and from this day forward im going to be better. I would like him to not condemn antisemitism in one breath and calling us the enemy of the people in the next. The two accused faces of hate in court today. What happened when the suspected mail bomber and synagogue shooter faced their judges, and putting the weight of the presidency behind baseless claims. The conspiracy theories that filled the accused murderers head and twitter feed. Stay with us. Rs, exercise rooms and swimming pools, public cafes, bars and bistros even pet care services. And theres never been an easier way to get great advice. A place for mom is a free service that pairs you with a local advisor to help you sort through your options and find a perfect place. A place for mom. You know your family we know Senior Living. Together well make the right choice. seriously, thats what we call tit. Officially. All a huge drag. And we covered it. Talk to farmers. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum up here at the dewars distillery, all our whiskies are aged, blended and aged again. Its the reason our whisky is so extraordinarily smooth. Dewars. Double aged for extra smoothness. We really pride ourselves ton making it easyautoglass, to get your windshield fixed. Teacher lets turn in your science papers. Tech vo this teacher always puts her students first. Student i did mine on volcanoes. Teacher you did . oh, i cant wait to read it. Tech vo so when she had auto glass damage. She chose safelite. With safelite, she could see exactly when wed be there. Teacher you must be pascal. Tech yes maam. Tech vo saving her time. [honk, honk] kids bye tech vo . So she can save the science project. Kids whoa kids vo safelite repair, safelite replace i want to take a moment now to remember the 11 victims of saturdays anti semitic attack in pittsburgh. Jerry rabinowitz made his patients feel at ease. David and Cecil Rosenthal were brothers. One Community Member tells cnn that david was known for having a kind and gentle spirit while cecil had an infectious laugh. Rose mallinger was 97 years old. But she was still spry and vibrant. She always offered a hug and a smile whenever she saw you. Bernice and sylvan simon were a married couple who just wanted to give back to people and be kind, according to their neighbor of nearly 40 years. Daniel steins nephew described him as a dedicated congregant with a dry sense of humor. Joyce fienberg was a former Research Specialist at the university of pittsburgh. One of her former students said she treated her students as if they were her family. And she lit up a room with her huge personality. Richard gottfried was a dentist. He opened a dental practice with his wife. Many of the families in the area were his patients. Melvin wax was a passionate member of the synagogue. His sister said he was always one of the first people to get there in the morning and was, quote, always full of jokes. Lastly, irving younger. He was known for his big smile and big hand shake, which is fitting, since he was a greeter at the tree of life synagogue. Our hearts and our thoughts are with these victims, and their loved ones and their community. May their memories be a blessing. The man accused of committing that awful and hateful act appeared in court today. Hes now being held without bond. Also this afternoon, the other man, the one accused of sending at least 14 pipe bombs to cnn and critics of the president faced a judge in florida. We have components corivering bh huge stories. We start with Miguel Marquez covering the horrific mass shooting there. We know the shooter expressed a hatred of jews online. But would his antisemitism have been obvious to a casual observer . Reporter yeah, look. He was not posting to the facebooks and twitters of the world, jake. You would have to know where to look in order to find it. This is a guy whose life we have dug into deeply. He barely cast a shadow in this world. And now he is charged with the biggest attack and murder of u. S. Jews in u. S. History. Robert bowers in court, cuffed and in a wheelchair, officially charged. 29 counts in all from murder to obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs, a hate crime. The government may seek the death penalty. It was an attack on all people of faith. It cannot and will not be tolerated. He will be subjected to the death penalty, perhaps. Reporter investigators now digging deeply, searching bowers home, sending a bomb robot in first to ensure there were no explosive traps. They have also searched his vehicle and are looking for closed circuit video that might have captured bowers prior to the massacre. In doing a painstaking investigation of the crime scene itself. This was a large, complex crime scene. And much work remains to be done. Bowers had 21 guns registered to him. He took four into the synagogue. Three glock handguns and an ar15 assault style semiautomatic rifle. The glocks he purchased legally. It is not clear how he obtained the ar15. Investigators also recovered a shotgun from bowers car. We continue to conduct interviews, scrub social media, review possible surveillance camera video and exploit Digital Media to determine how and why bowers committed this terrible act. Reporter bowers social media reads like a road map of hate and murder. He was particularly concerned about the caravan of centralamerican migrants and appeared to key on reporting from fox news, right wing social media and highlighted by President Trumps own tweets that middle easterners may be mixed in with the migrants. All claims without evidence. Bowers reposted this anti semitic view on immigration on his gab. Com account on october 4th. Open your eyes, its the filthy, evil jews bringing the filthy, evil muslims into the country. Like the president , he referred to migrants always invaders. He had particular hatred for Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society which helps resettle immigrants in all backgrounds. In his only post, i cant sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Exclusive your optics, im going in. At that time, i could hear the gunfire getting louder. It was no longer safe for me to be there and i had to leave them. There was nothing i could do. I was not in the space at that time. I had run to safety. I called 911. From what ive been told, i was the first caller. And i stayed on the phone for about 20 minutes. It seemed like an eternity. Reporter the dead were the bedrock of the congregation. Among them, 97yearold rose mallinger, Brothers David and Cecil Rosenthal and a couple married 60 years. Bernice and sylvan simon. Let us take a day reporter their deaths and the grotesque massacre has shaken this city of steel to its foundation. What is most terrifying about this situation is that people that we spoke to who have known this man for decades say he never had an unkind word. He didnt even speak up. He wasnt boisterous, never angry, never uttered anything anti semitic. And then this. One woman said he was a lost soul. Jake . Miguel marquez in pittsburgh, thanks. Lets go to miami, where the man charged with five federal crimes for sending at least 14 pipe bombs is also in court. This comes as another suspicious package was intercepted today, this one addressed to cnn in atlanta. Rosa flores is outside the courthouse. The wouldbe bomber was fairly emotional in court today, you say. Reporter he was. He was crying, jake. His face was red. His eyes were full of tears. His temples were popping. His body was shaking. All this while he was sitting in the jury box in his tan jumpsuit, shackled by hands and feet. And his hair in a pony tail. This was a very short hearing, as we expected. The judge informed him of his charges, and after a very brief discussion, the judge determined that there would be a pretrial detention hearing and a status conference hearing scheduled for friday. Jake . And rosa, officials tell cnn the suspect had a list of more than 100 people that he planned to send packages to . Do we know anything about who was on that list and how many packages he sent . Reporter you know, we dont know the names of everyone on that list. But cnn has learned that we have reported on some of the names on that list, that Law Enforcement officials have contacted everybody on the list. And jake, i should add, in a gaggle with sayocs attorney after this hearing, i asked this attorney, you know, should sayoc Say Something, given the bomb that was found and the package that was found in atlanta, and jake, his answer was very short. He said, sayoc is innocent until proven guilty. All right. Rosa fl ro rosa flores, thank you so much. As a potential hate crime the town mayor said today, the shooter initially tried to get into a predominant lie black church, but when he was unable to get in, went to a nearby Grocery Store and started shooting. Today were learning more about the victims. Maurice stallard was with his grandson, buying poster board for a school project. Vicki jones was killed right outside the store as the gunman was taking off. Investigators are looking into reports that the gun maman told someone in the store, quote, whites dont shoot whites. Hes being held on a 5 million bond. President trump talking in his own words about how he absolutely stirs up rage. Thats next. Youve had quite the career. I like working. What if my Retirement Plan is i dont want to retire . Then lets not create a Retirement Plan. Lets create a plan for whats next. I like that. Get a plan thats right for you. Td ameritrade. The accused pittsburgh synagogue shooter and the man charged with sending more than a dozen ieds to critics of President Trump both appeared in courtrooms this afternoon amidst questions about National Tensions and divisions, President Trump blamed not the falsehood surrounding the caravan that prompted the anti semitic shooter to kill, not the rhetoric that prompted his Ardent Supporter in florida to send the bombs to cnn and politicians. No, the president blamed the media, saying there is great anger caused in part by fraudulent reporting of the news, the fake news media, the true enemy of the people must stop the open and obvious hostility and report the news accurately and fairly. That will do much to put out the flame. Asked today if he had any concerns that his words might provoke people to do awful things, White House Press secretary Sarah Sanders said that the president was going to continue to draw contrasts between his positions and democrats. Joining me now is the associate editor of the Washington Post, bob woodward. His book fear trump in the white house revealed the inner workings of an administration plagued by chaos. I want to start with an interview you and bob costa did with then candidate trump in 2016 about the rage in the country. Take a listen. In the republican party, there is a lot of angst and rage and distress. Recordsetting. Recordsetting. And you have to tame that rage. Yes. Dont you . Yes, but i bring that out in people. I do. Im not saying thats an asset or a liability. But i do bring that out. I bring rage out. I do bring rage. I always have. Ive had many occasions like this, where people have hated me more than any human being theyve ever met. And after its all over, they end up being my friends. I bring rage out. Part of it seemed to be saying that he brings outrage in his enemies. But demean it how demeid he n it . He meant it very clearly. What was so surprising about it was, i said, oh, yeah, you have to tame rage. Oh, no, no. I bring it out in people. And then astonishingly, he says, i dont know that that is an asset or liability. He says that twice. And, you know, hes clearly proud of it. We now know as president that is part of the strategy of blame the news media, get, you know get the environment roiled up as much as you can. And in some ways, its worked. And so he is embracing rage. And, of course, rage is fury, uncontrolled anger. The idea that a political candidate or a president would enjoy that, like it, think it possible that its an asset. Yeah. The president in that same interview, the candidate in that same interviews, goes on to say when he becomes president , hell be so president ial, well all be bored. Falling asleep. Well befalling asleep. Were waiting. Yeah, that hasnt happened. Were not bored and not falling asleep. You think that he purposely manifests the rage, channels the rage, incites the rage among supporters . Well, he says so. And when he blames the media, when he goes out in these rallies, i mean, they are all designed to raise the boiling point. Raise the temperature. And that is contributing. We know president s have extraordinary power. He has probably more power than any president ive reported on, going back to nixon. And he has seized it with the communication channel, with the tweeting. And the rallies and the press conferences. And, you know, hes out two or three times every day, saying something. And so the news media follows it, rightly so. And to summarize, having spent two years on this in the book, were being had. Because hes doing things to distract us from all of the big policy decisions that hes gambling on. But while the same token, were being had obviously, the shooter is oh responsibresp the shooting, the bomber is responsible for the bombing. But there is a Big Conversation going on right now about tensions and divisions of america. He assumes no responsibility for any of it. You heard Sarah Sanders this afternoon saying its all the fault of the media. Certainly, you know, the media is not blameless. But do you really think that he doesnt think hes responsible for any of it . We have to look at what he does. And what hes doing here, if its in plain sight, and lets not kid ourselves. And hes stoking the fires. And that serves his political purposes and his view in charlottesville last year. When he gave the speech saying, you know, we need to love each other after trying to come down from the first version. He went ballistic, saying that was the biggest mistake i ever made in my life. Never show weakness. Never. And he wants to have this volatility in politics. And he succeeded. And the volatility sometimes we were talking about this early on the panel, why do these standards exist. Why do we have expectations that politicians will not promote conspiracy theories, will not demonize their opponents. Will not call, you know, their opponents the enemy. And is it not because of an expectation that somebody out there might take it the wrong way, might take it literally. But all politicians all people in the country should be against violence. Right. Against killing people. There should be no ambiguity on this. He embraces the ambiguity here. And has decided, i dont think strategically. I think its just an approach which hes used throughout his life and his presidency as lets use rage. The idea that a president when i said, tame it. Oh, no, no. Yeah. I bring it out in people. Do you think its dangerous . Well, of course, its dangerous. And it you know, we have the great opportunity or president has a great opportunity to heal things, to make things better. And what the presidency is kind of the hallmark of the national and constitutional strength of this country. And the president should represent that. And he is failing. He is even his supporters know that theyre being riled up, and a lot of people like it. Thats fine. But lets not kid ourselves. Before you go, i want to ask you, you write in your book fear, which is a great read, about Jared Kushner making a coming to an understanding, a partnership, almost, with mbs, the Saudi Crown Prince. Now we know that the Saudi Crown Prince is very dangerous and has done some very questionable things and a lot of people think he was behind the murder of jamal khashoggi, the Washington Post journalist. Did they have any idea how what a risk this was to partner with mbs . I went back and looked at some of the information from the intelligence analyst. And they said, mbs, the who would become the crown prince, is a legitimate change agent. But he has some real issues with maturity and impulsiveness. And that was a warning flag. The Intel Community was trying to tell trump and jared, hey, look. Lets go slow on this. And they went full speed ahead. They literally had the first meetings on this. The first week of february 2017. The first month of the presidency. This was a whole strategy designed to embrace saudi arabia and isolate iran. And the result of it is a 27page strategy actually on one hand to embrace iran. On the other hand, to confront them for their actions supporting terrorism. And the other iran is one active participant in all kinds of subversive activities in the middle east. Bob woodward, always an honor to have you here. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it. The wild and false conspiracy theories being given oxygen by this president and his administration that took the mail bomb suspect to twitter loon to wouldbe assassin. Stay with us. Hi im joan lunden. Todays Senior Living communities have never been better, with amazing amenities like movie theaters, exercise rooms and swimming pools, public cafes, bars and bistros even pet care services. And theres never been an easier way to get great advice. A place for mom is a free service that pairs you with a local advisor to help you sort through your options and find a perfect place. A place for mom. You know your family we know Senior Living. Together well make the right choice. First, it continues to pay paramedics while were on break. Second, it ensures the closest ambulance can respond if you call 911. Vote yes on 11. Proposition 11 proposition 11 is a vote to protect patient safety. It ensures the closest ambulance remains oncall during paid breaks so that they can respond immediately when needed. Vote yes on 11. Welcome back. Were sticking with our politics lead and the danger of fringe conspiracy theories becoming more mainstream. The florida wouldbe bomber, a trump fan, sent devices to people that President Trump has been attacking, including cnn, whom the president has labeled the very worst of the enemies of the American People. The pittsburgh shooter, no fan of President Trump. Was nonetheless taken by conspiracy theories that a lot of people out there have been feeding about the dangers of the individuals in that Central American caravan. Now, all of this is in part due to social media, where anyone anyone can retweet and peddle absolutely false stories. They are truly an enemy of the people. The fake news. Enemy of the people. They really are. To the man who mailed more than a dozen pipe bombs to trumps stated enemies last week, the president s words are the truth. Crooked Hillary Clinton. You know that term has really stuck. Andrew kaczynski revealed 3,000 of the wouldbe bombers social media posts and found a man overtaken by conspiracy theories prevalent on the right. In at least a couple of tweets at cnn he actually parroted the president s talking line that the media were the enemy of the American People. Reporter such falsehoods used to be fodder for tabloids, but now theyre promoted from the bully pulpit. His phones at trump tower were wire tapped by obama. False. The Hurricane Maria death toll in puerto rico was inflated to make him look bad. False. He saw arabamericans in new jersey, cheering on 9 11. False. And on and on and on. Todays Democrat Party is held hostage by left wing haters, angry mobs, deep state radicals. Reporter and its not just President Trump giving weight to baseless claims. Cnn found leaders at all levels of the Trump Administration who have sold fiction as fact. A couple of people were put on leave. One was allowed back. The administration has actually defended these people at times. Reporter former conservative radio host and Naval Intelligence officer, frank wuco, is a top adviser to the homeland security. In 2013, wuco promoted a claim that john brennan converted to islam while stationed in saudi arabia. If hes so attracted to shifting political wins that he will dive headlong into them when hes serving in a foreign country to favor the foreign government, that is thats disconcerting. There is no evidence to support that claim. John gibbs, a Senior Adviser at the department of housing and urban development, helped spread the conspiracy that Hillary ClintonsCampaign Chairman took part in satanic rituals, retweeting with the caption, true, true and true. The claim is actually false, false and false. Christine bowserman, an assistant to interior secretary, ryan zinke, resigned earlier this year after cnn uncovered her social media posts. She shared this image, questioning president obamas college and birth records. Gee, why would a member of the Trump Administration question that . He doesnt have a birth certificate. Oh, right. Her boss led the charge on that lie that the nations first africanamerican president was actually born in africa. No matter how often the media tries to factcheck these conspiracy theories, people share them, people chant them in large auditoriums, and sometimes they motivate individuals to violence. Lets talk about some stuff with our panel. I want to get to the conspiracy theories in a second. First we have some housecleaning. Because the Republican National committee is jumping on your comments. You said that President Trump promoted more people than isis has. I think this has been an emotional and personal painful time for me. I think i exaggerated and i apologize for that. The point i was trying to make, its not a coincidence that according to the adl, the number of anti semitic attacks has jumped by nearly 60 in the first year that donald trump was in office. And its no coincidence, because even though the main danger is homegrown, right wing extremists as many have pointed out, this administration has methodically shifted resources away from monitoring those people, away from trying to control those people and keep them from committing violence. But i do apologize for that heated rhetoric. Okay. Lets just say its not factual. And david, you wanted to take Bob Woodwards interpretation of the interview with trump where you said he brings rage out in people. When you listen to the audio, i sat and listened to it carefully and you were trying to make the point the president says he brings rage out in people because people hate the president. Not that he goes to rallies and tries to incite rage. The president says, look, i dont know if thats good or bad. But i have a very strong i illicit very strong emotions to what the president was saying there. A little housecleaning there. Lets talk about the conspiracy theories. It does seem im old enough to remember that george w. Bush knew about 9 11. Were going to warn afghanistan so dick cheney can get rich off a halliburton pipeline. These seem to become more prevalent. There was a poll once that 61 of democrats believed that george bush had prior knowledge about the attacks on 9 11. That kind of thing. Yes, it has been now hes americas sweetheart, by the way. Yes, thats true. And as he says, you know, in a few more decades, hell be a hero. Look, there is a difference, though, between those kinds of things circulating at the extremes and on the in the fever swamps. And being taken mainstream by the president. I worry a lot about President Trump giving credence to things like, well, scalia there might have been a pillow over his face. When he does that, he diminishes the value of truth itself. He has been enabled by members of not just the Republican National committee but members of congress. Members of congress pouted these conspiracy theories. The Republican National committee right now, im sure theyre going to attack me after this, but they are literally the funnel through which these the most heinous things get out there. Donald trump today just said that the caravan is full is an invasion. This is very problematic. And at some point in time, some folks are going to have to stand up and say, not only is this not okay, but this will not continue on our watch. Thanks one and all for being here. Very passionate day, very emotional day for everybody. Coming up, the congressman who represents the district in pennsylvania where the synagogue massacre took place. Stay with us. At dewars, all our whiskies are aged, blended and aged again. Its the reason our whisky is so extraordinarily smooth. Dewars. Double aged for extra smoothness. First, it continues to pay paramedics while were on break. Second, it ensures the closest ambulance can respond if you call 911. Vote yes on 11. Gavin newsom has lived the rich made him powerful. But hes done nothing to help us. Every day i work harder. Rent, food, and gas prices climb. Poverty, homelessness gavin admits it. We created it happened on our watch. What you see out there on the streets and sidewalk happened on our watch. Now he says hell have courage, for a change, but gavins had his chance for eight years, and he never lifted a finger. Its time for someone new. John cox, governor. Proposition 11 proposition 11 is a vote to protect patient safety. It ensures the closest ambulance remains oncall during paid breaks so that they can respond immediately when needed. Vote yes on 11. You can follow me on facebook and twitter at jake tapper. Tweet the show at the lead. Our coverage on cnn continues right now. Happening now. Held without bond. The gunman accused of slaughtering 11 jewish worshippers appears in a pittsburgh courtroom held without bond as he faces federal murder and hate crime charges. There is new information about the extremist website described as a cesspool, where he signaled his intentions. Intercepted bomb. Another apparent pipe bomb found in the mail. This time sent directly to cnn headquarters in atlanta. Its similar to 14 others allegedly sent by an extremist trump supporter who made his first appearance in federal court today. Fanning the flames . The white house angrily denies the president shares any measure of