to announce that he was dismissing alderman because of watergate nixon asked alderman to call around and asked if people liked his speech and he said he didn't think in this particular case he didn't think that was appropriate. my sense is that's the zone we're in. i could be wrong again, obviously. it's something secretary rumsfeld it's a known unknown, but i'd bet a significant amount of money that he's not calling around trying to challenge his pre-existing beliefs. >> certainly, that's what we understand from fired cabinet secretaries who have disagreed with him that, in fact, he does not like to be challenged. john meacham, as always. thank you so much. it's good to see you. >> thanks, andrea. >> coming up, full disclosure. president trump wavering on whether he will release the special counsel's final report on the russia probe. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. a mitchell reports" on msnbc.