“The Powerful and the Damned”

DO YOU THINK FROM ALL THE PEOPLE YOU'VE TALKED TO, YOUR REPORTING, AND THE BOOK WE'LL TALK ABOUT, AND THE INTERVIEWS YOU'VE DONE WITH WORLD LEADERS, DO YOU THINK THEY BY AND LARGE MOSTLY HOPE TO SEE THE BACK OF THIS DISRUPTER?

NOT ALL LEADERS.

NOT ALL?

NO.

IF YOU LOOK IN SAUDI ARABIA, FOR EXAMPLE, THE YOUNG MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, HE WON'T WANT TO SEE THE BACK OF PRESIDENT TRUMP.

AND I WONDER ABOUT THE LEADERSHIP IN ISRAEL.

MR. NETANYAHU, HE'S BEEN A LONGSTANDING SUPPORTER OF PRESIDENT TRUMP.

MR. BOLSONARO IN BRAZIL, HE WON'T WANT TO SEE THE BACK OF PRESIDENT TRUMP.

AND IN A FUNNY WAY, MAYBE EVEN CHINA WOULDN'T WANT TO SEE THE BACK OF PRESIDENT TRUMP, BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO BE ATTACKED ON HUMAN RIGHTS VALUES.

AND I THINK MR. PUTIN, WHO WE'LL COME TO, I'M SURE WOULD PREFER TO DEAL WITH A TRANSACTIONAL PRESIDENT LIKE DONALD TRUMP, WHO BASICALLY WON'T SAY A WORD OF CRITICISM ABOUT PRESIDENT PUTIN IN PUBLIC.

AND MAYBE NOT EVEN IN PRIVATE.

SO LET'S GET TO SOME OF THIS.

YOU'VE INTERVIEWED PRESIDENT TRUMP BEFORE, WHEN HE WAS PRESIDENT YOU INTERVIEWED HIM.

WHAT SORT OF IMPRESSION DID YOU TAKE AWAY?

MR. TRUMP IS A PHYSICALLY INTIMIDATING INDIVIDUAL.

I'VE DESCRIBED HIM AT ONE POINT AS TONY SOPRANO ON THE POTOMAC.

I'M JUST THINKING ABOUT THE MANNER.

IT'S VERY IN YOUR FACE.

AND HE CAN BE SORT OF MILDLY CHARMING.

BUT HIS MAIN -- HIS MAIN THRUST IS TO BE BIG, SWAGGERING, AND A BIT OF A BULLY, FRANKLY, WITH A GIGANTIC EGO.

AND I CAN UNDERSTAND SOME OF HIS APPEAL.

IN PRIVATE, YOU CAN SEE WHY IT TRANSLATES.

AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO SAY IN THIS ELECTION.

YOU KNOW, HE'S WON A LOT OF VOTES.

AND HE APPEALS TO A LOT OF AMERICANS WITH HIS AMERICA FIRST RHETORIC.

HE'S A BRILLIANT COMMUNICATOR IN SIMPLE PHRASES.

BUT HE'S NOT A THINKER, HE'S NOT DEEP AT ALL.

NOT REFLECTIVE.

YOU'VE WRITTEN, OF COURSE, THIS IS IN YOUR NEW BOOK, THAT YOU HAD A RESPECTFUL CONVERSATION, IT WASN'T FULL OF FAKE NEWS AND BLASTING THE MEDIA THAT HE DOES OFTEN IN PUBLIC AND ON HIS TWEETS.