Clip: What Trump said before his Oval Office interview with The Atlantic

Jeffrey Goldberg: Good evening and welcome to Washington Week.

So, technically, we're not at a hundred days yet. That's on Tuesday. If the president's goal is to exhaust everyone, well, mission accomplished. It's hard to reckon with how much has changed in the economy and foreign relations across the institutions that have made us acknowledge knowledge-based democracy.

Tonight, we'll discuss what Trump has accomplished and what he hopes to achieve in the remaining 1,362 days left in his second term. I want to make a brief note. some very online Washington Week viewers may have caught wind of the fact that along with two colleagues, I interviewed President Trump yesterday. The reason people even know about this interview is that President Trump helpfully posted about it before we even showed up in the Oval Office. That interview will be part of a story that comes out on Monday on theatlantic.com.

Joining me tonight for our discussion on the first a hundred days, Kaitlan Collins, an anchor, and the chief White House correspondent for CNN, Stephen Hayes is the editor of the Dispatch, Asma Khalid is a White House correspondent for NPR and a co-host of the NPR Politics podcast, and Ashley Parker is my colleague and a staff writer at The Atlantic, and also one of my co-conspirators in the White House meeting yesterday.

Thanks for everyone for joining us Special White House Correspondents' Weekend episode. We have nothing different actually, just noting that for the record.

Ashley I do want to note that we had a weird day.

Ashley Parker, Staff Writer, The Atlantic: Yes, it was a real journey.

Jeffrey Goldberg: It was a journey. It was an emotional journey. And I wanted to ask you one question because I think a lot of people did see this post from Donald Trump on Truth Social. I won't read the whole thing, put it up on the screen, but, you know, about four hours before we are scheduled to go see the president in the Oval Office, he basically has a -- puts up a long rant against us and saying that we're bad reporters, but he's having us come in as a kind of a competition with himself.

And, I mean --

Ashley Parker: He also totally blew up our spot.

Jeffrey Goldberg: Yes.

Ashley Parker: Right. You want to get in and out.

Jeffrey Goldberg: Yes, exactly. Yes, we want to just sneak in and sneak out.

And what's interesting is, because, you know, you've done this as well, I've interviewed presidents in the past in the Oval Office. I don't recall President Obama ever beginning an interview by announcing how terrible I was and saying, welcome to the White House, but this is an unusual presidency.

What's the thinking behind the whole like I'm going to invite them in and then I'm going to insult them before they come?

Ashley Parker: Well a couple things. As you know, with Trump, everything is sort of a negotiation. He's trying to woo you. He's trying to browbeat you into submission, but without revealing too much because I want everyone to read our cover story.

It was interesting in sort of the pleasantries as we approached the Resolute Desk, he kind of said two things. He referred to his Truth Social post and said, look, I did it to up the pressure, make it a little more interesting, and then always sort of the savvy media mogul that he is, he said, and also it's really going to help you sell subscriptions. And you know what? I don't know that he is wrong.

Jeffrey Goldberg: No. He is right on both counts. It was just an unusual way to start what was a very substantive and interesting meeting.

Ashley Parker: Totally, yes.

Jeffrey Goldberg: We will read about it on theatlantic.com on Monday.