Judy Woodruff:

As we have been discussing, President Trump reportedly used vulgar language to describe some immigrants to this country, comments prompting backlash from both the right and the left.

The comments also raise questions about President Trump's own long history with race and how that affects the national conversation happening now.

Peter Wehner is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center here in Washington. And he served in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. He was also a senior adviser to President George W. Bush. And Jelani Cobb is a professor at Columbia University School of Journalism. And he's a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine, where he covers race, politics and culture.

And we welcome both of you back to the program.

Pete Wehner, I'm going to start with you.

As a lifelong conservative, how are you interpreting what President Trump said? First of all, do you believe he used those words that he's alleged to have used, and what do you take away from it?