on behalf of that average man and woman, i once my thank you -- i once more thank you all. [applause]

>> the annual white house correspondents association dinner gets underway this weekend. previous presidents have attended, the president trump has chosen not to attend a second year in a row. it celebrates first amendment rights and freedom of the press. it honors reporters and news organizations for their work. the new york times maggie won the award for her coverage of president trump. congratulations. >> thank you. talk about your extensive experience covering donald trump. it began before he became president. when did you begin reporting on him? , the newt 14 years

york post for a long time, and working for tabloids you invariably covered trump in some way. he was a spicy quote who would make a story better. and heed up after 9/11 wanted to pitch a revamped version of the twin towers. he was always there. i did not know him as well when he was considering running for president. .e made a huge splash he also was roasted memorably by president obama. it was april, 2011, shortly after he announced he was not running. i spent a lot of time watching him, covering him, learning how driven he is to be taken seriously, and that is a lot of what you saw regarding his desire to run in 2016. >> did you take him seriously when he said he would run in

2015? 2011took him seriously in when the apprentice was still on the air. he said he would not be running for president. once it was 2015, one of his advisors, sam numbered, wanted me to write a story ahead of time saying he would declare in 2015. i said i would not write it having onto that experienced before. i did not believe he would stay in the race. i thought he would do it for a while to boost the brand. he did well. he does not like being perceived as a quitter. by october 2015, i took it seriously. his crowds were real. he was leading in the polls. nothing put a dent in the floor of his voters. he stayed around 25% in a primary, it turned out to be all he needed. >> you have seen the evolution

from businessman to candidate to president, is there any difference? what is the same about donald trump the president? >> almost everything is the same. when he was getting ready to move to washington, and there was a question whether he would make the move, many of us who watched him during the campaign, we expected he would find ways to get back to new york city on the weekends. he has not done that because the protests and traffic would be bad around trump tower. he has gone to mar-a-lago on weekends. in summers he goes to bed mr. in new jersey. it is the same concept. he is a homebody, he is provincial. he believes his instinct is the best, and he does not like to be educated by anyone. .hat has been a challenge

many did not know him prior to winning presidency. that is a constant with him in the white house, on the campaign, and in business. >> in winning this award, the thees said you convey feeling of being a fly on the wall of the white house. how have you used those 14 years to cover this president? is it strategic for you when you hear something about this president to go back to what you learned in those 14 years when you covered him as a businessman? always presetsre about donald trump that you go back to. peoplet is stymieing for trying to learn about him is there is some grand plan, such as this morning when he called in to fox and friends to give an interview by phone, which he has not done for quite some time, what he enjoys doing. he was hoping to get attention off of a hearing involving the

epa administrator scott pruitt. he was looking to create a new storyline. the interviews feel good to him. people overthink the degree there is a strategy. that is a lot of what informs my thinking. also how -- i try to think about how he views the world. it helps interpret what he does. >> how do you think he views of the world? of us versus lot them, and he makes the presumption people are out to get him. he rarely closes the door on anyone. everything is an ongoing deal or negotiation, which is why you see him fire people, but never do it himself. by tweet is not the same thing. he can strike up relationships with them again once they are gone pete -- once they are gone. >> he has publicly criticized eu and the new york times.

does that impact your reporting? >> no. working the refs is a time honored tradition, many presidents have done it. he might be doing it the most explicitly with his own fingers on the twitter keyboard. he is trying to affect coverage, but it does not affect anything. it is worth remembering the new york times was a symbol of the elites he felt rejected him as somebody not from manhattan, from the outer boroughs, that seem of not being taken seriously. that is what looms large in his imagination. >> the new yorker headline last year, a conversation with maggie does he come up behind you differently than he does publicly on twitter? >> i would not discuss private

conversations one way or the other. the number of times i had interviewed him and spoken with him and then in his presence speaks for itself. >> does he disliked the media? >> no. i think he loves the media. i think he doesn't understand what a government devoted media is all about. the media was transactional in new york, whether he was in the gossip pages and made himself a celebrity. core on used to oppress not devoted to his personality. >> what are your thoughts on winning this award? >> it is a huge honor. i was stunned and overwhelmed by it. 70 at the white house correspondents association -- somebody at the white house itrespondents association, was very gratifying. it is thrilling and overwhelming

to be honored by my peers. >> your advice for aspiring journalist? >> stay off twitter. i wish i could do that myself. that is the main one. >> 90 haberman with the new york times. thank you and congratulations. haberman with the new york times. honorable mention went to msnbc news. mention to the washington blade. the edgar a poe award goes to cbs news. c-span will be covering the dinner saturday. p.m.ge begins at 9:30 eastern on c-span, c-span.org, or listen along with the free c-span radio app. c-span's washington journal

live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. friday morning, the meeting between president trump and angela merkel. we will look at u.s. russia relations. the search for a new veterans affairs secretary. be sure to watch c-span's washington journal live at 7:00 eastern friday morning. join the discussion. friday on the c-span networks, at 9:00 a.m. on c-span, the house returns to ofk on the reauthorization the federal aviation administration. on c-span2, we join the republican national lawyers association. and president trump and german

chancellor angela merkel hold a joint news conference at the white house. on c-span3 at 9:45, israel's defense minister speaks at the washington institute on middle east security. and at noon, new america hosts a form on digital data and user rights. sunday night on afterward, journaled ronald kessler with his book, the trump white house, changing the rules of the game. >> he is like a boxer. he is bobbing and weaving, counterpunching. it is all an act. for 26 years, when she joined the organization, there were seven other employees. she knew them better than anybody on the business and social side. she said there are two donald trump's. one is the one you see on tv who

makes outrageous comments to get attention for his brand. --n if it creates public negative publicity, he becomes the center of attention every day in conversation and for the media. then there is the other donald trump who is the opposite. he is thoughtful, he listens, he is careful about making decisions. >> watch afterwards sunday night at nine a clock p.m. eastern on c-span two book tv. the senate judiciary committee considered legislation to set requirements and limitations on removing a special counsel appointed by the attorney general office. past with senators grassley, flake, and graham favoring the legislation. this is just over 1.5 hours.