sure every election matters. and contest the 68th assembly district even though it's republican gerrymandered. >> no, we don't have new maps for 2018, but the fight is not over. the fight is not dead. good evening. with four days until midterm elections, the president of the united states is making a closing argument for his party. so is the former president of the united states, and in an appearance today in miami, barack obama said something he and donald trump might agree on, though for different reasons and perhaps for different ends. quote, the character of our country, he said, is on the ballot. so, too, is the character of the president and the party he leads and the campaign he chooses to run and the tone he chooses to set. and of course it is a choice. this president enjoys that luxury. today he got another batch of very good job numbers, continued low unemployment and rising wages. previous presidents would have

considered that a midterm gift, a winning issue a president could make as his closing argument, something he would talk about endlessly and justifiably. but that is not what this president is doing. president trump mentioned the economy today but almost in passing. in fact, he said, and i'm quoting, sometimes it is not as exciting to talk about the economy because we have a lot of other things to talk about, unquote. by other things, he means things that might scare voters, he means talking about migrants and what he calls an invasion. >> at this moment large, well organized caravans of migrants are marching towards our southern border. some people call it an invasion. it's like an invasion. >> the president, from the white house yesterday, painting a band of migrants nearly 1,000 miles from the closest u.s. border crossing as a threat to security. ordering military to the border. unless granted special powers, they will be used in only a support capacity. but the president doesn't mention that.

he continues to portray this caravan of men, women, and children as a caravan overrun by dangerous criminals, with possibly even isis members. >> these are tough people. these are not angels. these are not little angels. these are tough people. and we are not letting them into our country. >> of course, in any large group of several thousand people, there are going to be people with criminal records or people who you wouldn't want to invite into your home. but there is a process in place to determine who can be accepted for asylum and who cannot. this notion of invaders from the south which the president repeatedly amplified is the same thing an anti-semitic man shouted as he killed 11 people in a synagogue a week ago. the funeral was held today for the 97-year-old victim.

the pittsburgh post-gazette headline reads magnified and sanctified be your name. pittsburgh's mayor joins us shortly to talk about that. first we want to take a closer look at what is essentially the president's closing argument before the midterms. an ad from his own campaign that the president promoted on twitter. earlier today in west virginia, the president defended it. >> then they gave me a hard time because i put it up on twitter. and they gave me a hard time. they said, you shouldn't be doing that. that's not nice. and i say, all i am doing is just telling the truth. what can i tell you. >> just telling the truth. keeping him honest, the ad, which focuses on a truly deranged mexican man, a convicted cop killer who entered the country illegally, is not telling the truth. it claims democrats let him in and democrats let him stay. records show he first entered the country illegally during the clinton administration. that doesn't mean he was let in. he entered illegally and after he was caught he was jailed and deported after he served his sentence, deported by the clinton administration.

so, saying democrats let him stay is also not true. he came back in during president bush's administration. that doesn't mean the republicans let him back in. using the ad's logic, it would. and he was also deported by republicans. and the last time he came back in was during the obama administration, he killed two officers and is now on death row. he was arrested several times in maricopa county, arizona, and jailed there by sheriff arpaio, a republican, not a democrat, released him from jail at least once in 1998 according to the sacramento bee. here's what he told npr about it in 2014. >> i don't know how many times he was arrested and slipped through the cracks. it is my gut feeling it wasn't just two times he has been deported. >> bottom line, the killer's

time in the united states spanned three administrations, democratic and republican. you could argue he should not have been able to repeatedly re-enter illegally. you can argue he should have been treated more harshly by the criminal justice system while here. both fair arguments. but the ad flatly and exclusively blames democrats and links this clearly deranged killer who is on death row with the people in the current caravan who are fleeing poverty and violence in central america. who else will the democrats let in, the ad asks. jeff flake called it sickening. president trump calls it the truth. whether it is sickening or not or designed to appeal to fears, that's a judgment call. ads matter, and so do words. joining us now from the campaign responsible for this ad is katrina peterson. thanks for being with us.

>> thanks, anderson. >> this killer in this ad is an awful person. he was deported out of the u.s. twice, first in 1997 by bill clinton, and then in 2001 by president george w. bush. >> you want to focus on this one individual who is an extreme version of what is a possibility that can continue to happen under the current policies that we have due to the failures of previous administrations, republicans and democrats. that is correct. >> but the ad says democrats let him in and let him say. that is factually incorrect. >> the policies we currently have, and as you mentioned, it started with clinton. the policies we currently have continued to allow this individual into this country even though it was illegally, and continued to do heinous crimes. he has been deported several times. >> and that's not the fault of the democrats. you could equally blame republicans. >> it is absolutely the fault of democrats. it is the fault of several people, republican and democrat in previous administrations.

>> your ad doesn't say that. why doesn't your ad say that? why doesn't your ad say that? >> because it is the democrats that refuse to come to the table when president trump was willing to go further than obama was to resolve some of these issues when it came to illegal immigration. >> you said it was republicans and democrats. >> in the previous administrations. >> so why didn't your ad say that? >> the ad today is what we are talking about. >> the ad says democrats allowed this psycho killer to come in and allowed him to say. and it is republicans and democrats using your logic. >> listen, anderson. >> i am listening. >> it is the democrats today who continue to allow these types of individuals. >> that's not what you are saying in your ad. i hear what you are saying now. >> these are criminal aliens in the country, and democrats don't want to address the problem. they did not come to the table when president trump wanted to

come to the table. they are absolutely the reason. >> you just acknowledged your ad is false. >> the ad is absolutely correct. >> you can't blame democrats for this psycho killer, which is what the ad is focused on. >> democrats are at fault for continuing to allow these types of individuals. >> these types. >> to come into the country, commit crimes and get deported and come back. >> you are focusing on this man. >> yes, we are talking about that right now. >> yes. and your ad says democrats let him in. democrats let him stay. that is not -- you can just as easily say republicans let him in, republicans let him say. >> they want to abolish i.c.e. they have been on the record to abolish i.c.e. they didn't come to the table. >> you are changing the subject. you can't defend your ad, so you have to yell about other things. >> it is the reason why these types of issues occur. it is the democrats. do you deny --

>> i feel like we are speaking past each other. >> do you deny president trump came to the table to talk about these issues to stop criminal aliens from coming into the country. >> do you want me to answer the question? >> what did you see? >> do you want me to answer the question? >> yes. >> i saw president trump sitting at a table with democrats and republicans and endorsing a number of democratic positions, which freaked out the republicans and once they explained to him what that meant he backed off. >> you are incorrect. >> i am asking you about this ad and you are avoiding it. >> you are incorrect about the ad. >> how am i incorrect about the ad? >> president trump came to the table. >> i want to talk about the ad. >> we are talking about what you said. president trump came to the table. democrats refused. they walked away, they didn't do anything. you admitted that president

trump tried to compromise with the democrats and they failed. >> that's not what i said. >> and the ad is supportive of that same nature. >> of that same nature. you are using words which show you can't back up your own ad. >> i am explaining it to you right now. i am not understanding what you don't understand. the president tried to resolve the problem and the democrats won't come to the table. >> let me just ask specifically as i have been trying to do. you said democrats allowed him in and democrats allowed him to stay. he was deported under democrats, and he was also deported under republicans. your ad could just as easily say republicans allowed him in, republicans allowed him to stay. or you can say democratic and republican administrations allowed him in and allowed him to stay. that wouldn't be accurate, because he fell through the cracks. but that's not what the ad says. so your ad is misleading, yes? >> no. the ad is relevant for today's purposes. >> that doesn't make sense.

relative for today's purposes doesn't make sense. >> their actions are allowing him to say. that is a fact. democrats will not come to the table and work with the president to resolve these issues. they wouldn't to abolish i.c.e. meaning the criminals are allowed to stay, not to mention the sanctuary cities where they are allowed to stay, that is relevant today, that is why the ad says democrats are allowing them to stay. >> sometimes he is committing crimes, sometimes he is in jail, sometimes he is not. sometimes he has been apprehended. there have been republicans and democrats in congress. all this time they have failed to come up with any kind of comprehensive plan. you could argue that allowed this guy to stay in the country. that would be closer to the truth than your ad, which is just lying. and i don't understand why you have to lie all the time. >> it is not lying, anderson. because, today, and i will say it again, democrats are the reason why these types of individuals come into the country.

>> that's not what you are saying in the ad. >> they come into the country. they want to abolish i.c.e. which means we can't rid of these criminals to win with. this is one issue. we are not talking about kate steinle, the little girl that was raped and thrown into the bushes by another illegal who was catch and released. there are thousands who become victims because they failed to move forward. this president is trying the resolve the problem. >> okay. >> and democrats refuse to come to the table. >> you were asked here to speak specifically about the ad. you have done everything but speak about this particular person. >> actually, i was asked here to speak about the midterm election. >> if that's what you believe, i was told you were here to speak about the ad. >> it is in writing. i am on to talk about the midterm elections. >> do you know the names of the police officers that this man killed? >> it is extremely important that americans understand that president trump -- >> you created an ad about this

psycho killer who killed two police officers. are you aware -- >> it isn't about this killer. you don't want to talk about the whole issue of the problems with illegal immigration in this country. this is why americans believe that fake news is real. >> i'm glad we got to that. katrina pierson, thanks very much you are not addressing the ad at all. michael cohen, the president's former attorney, is telling "vanity fair" that candidate and citizen trump used racist language many times over the years. michael cohen is now saying this, michael cohen, who was the president's staunchest defender, and denied that the president had a racist bone in his body, is now doing a 180. viewers should keep that in mind, what he said in the past, and what he's saying now. but, just talk about exactly

what he is now saying to "vanity fair." >> what a difference a couple of months makes. cohen, in this "vanity fair" interview, is unleashing on donald trump, his former boss, saying on numerous occasions in the years that he worked for donald trump, in private conversations he heard donald trump using racist and chilling language. three examples i want to point to from this interview. the first is from 2016. michael cohen says the two men were discussing a trump rally, discussing the fact that the audience members were mostly white. he says, i told trump that the rally looked vanilla on television. trump responded that's because black people are too stupid to vote for me. the second was after nelson mandela's death in 2013, michael cohen said that trump said, name one country run by a black person that's not a shithole, name one city. from the late 2000s, according to michael cohen, he says he

traveled with donald trump to chicago, they were traveling from the airport to the hotel and they drove through what looked like a rougher neighborhood, according to michael cohen. and that trump said to cohen at that point, only the blacks could live like this. so, obviously incendiary language. which michael cohen said he personally heard donald trump using over the years. as for the question of why now, why is he speaking out to "vanity fair" and making these allegations? well, he says that he knows donald trump's private comments are actually worse than some of the things he says in public. and ahead of next week, ahead of next tuesday's midterm elections he would like to make sure that the american people are aware of the true character behind donald trump. and he clearly believes, anderson, that he's the person who knows donald trump better than anybody else. >> i am going to guess the question is -- it is up for viewers to make up their minds, if in fact these comments are true, what does it say about michael cohen's character that he not only worked for donald

trump for all those years after making comments like this but he is also publicly defending him. i want to play what he said during the campaign. m.j., sorry. >> no, no, no worries. you are right to point that out. it is important to point that out because during the campaign. of course we talked about this for a while now, that michael cohen, both in unofficial and official capacity, did a lot of work for donald trump. during the campaign, one thing he was involved in was minority outreach. in that capacity, he very strongly defended donald trump when it comes to this issue, just one example i would point to, he said, i have lost count as to how many times the disgusting liberal mainstream media have attempted to label mr. donald trump as a racist, a xenophobe, and a bigot. clearly he is singing a different tune today.

and this, i think, it is important to sort of put in the bigger transformation that we have seen michael cohen go through. we know he says he changed his party registration from republican to democrat. he says that he now wants to campaign against republicans and donald trump. and you will recall that when i caught up with michael cohen on the streets of manhattan just last month he basically said all americans need to get out and vote because otherwise we are going to see two or six more years of this craziness. anderson? >> m.j. lee, appreciate it. coming up next, the president's suggestion that troops could fire on migrants for throwing rocks. his claim he never said anything like that. and another country using his words to justify this resulted in the deaths of dozens of people. proving words do matter. delicious pasta marinara. but birds eye made it from zucchini. mmm... mashed potatoes...and rice! but made from cauliflower.

looks like i need a fork! oh no. (giggles) birds eye veggie made. so veggie good. ♪ our mission is to make offshore wind one of the principal new sources of energy. not every bank is willing to get involved in a first-of-its-kind project. citi saw the promise of clean energy. we're polluting the air less. businesses and homes can rely on a steady source of power. this will be the first of many offshore wind farms in the u.s. ♪ ♪

you don't need to go anywhere dad, this is your home. the best home to be in is your own. home instead offers personalized in-home services for your loved ones. home instead senior care. to us, it's personal. home instead senior care. at booking.com, we can't guarantee you'll good at that water jet thingy... but we can guarantee the best price on this hotel.

or any accommodation, from homes to yurts. booking.com booking.yeah ♪ ♪ (toots) but you know it's you. so know this. the activated charcoal in charco caps adsorbs gas for fast gas relief without passing the gas. charco caps: put less boom in the room. tremfya® is for adults with moderate to severeg the gas. plaque psoriasis. with tremfya®, you can get clearer. and stay clearer. in fact, most patients who saw 90% clearer skin at 28 weeks stayed clearer through 48 weeks. tremfya® works better than humira® at providing clearer skin, and more patients were symptom free with tremfya®. tremfya® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections.

before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or have symptoms such as: fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. before starting tremfya® tell your doctor if you plan to or have recently received a vaccine. ask your doctor about tremfya®. tremfya®. because you deserve to stay clearer. janssen wants to help you explore cost support options. ibeen building them fora 115 years,hat's get a ford. if you want a car with driver-assist technology, get a ford. if you want waze and amazon alexa compatibility, get a ford. if you want a car that doesn't have any of that, get anything... but a ford. otherwise, you're gonna want a ford. ♪

tonight's second installment of keeping them honest. never mind what the video shows me saying. i did not say what the video shows me saying. it will almost be funny if it didn't involve the commander in chief talking about troops he is sending to the border could or could not shoot at migrants if they were throwing rocks at them. and if those words weren't being used by foreign governments to justify them doing it. here's what the president said yesterday. >> they want the throw rocks at our military? our military fights back. i told them, consider it a rifle. when they throw rocks like they did at the mexico military and police, i say consider it a rifle. >> consider a rock a rifle. as you might imagine it caused something of an uproar from civilians, military commanders, you name it. today when the president tried to walk back yesterday's remarks, here's what he said

about stone throwers today. >> they do that with us, they are going to be arrested. there is going to be problems. i didn't say shoot. i didn't say shoot. but, they do that with us, they are going to be arrested for a long time. >> now, technically, no, he did not say the word shoot because he didn't need to. as you and we and his critics and supporters alike all heard the suggestion that troops should be able to fire on rock throwers, consider a rock a rifle, he said. seems like the meaning is clear. then out on the south lawn after he appeared to be walking things back, he seemed to un-walk them when asked if he could promise the military could not fire on civilians. >> we are doing to see. i hope they won't. >> it would be comical except it involves real troops, real migrants, and real issues at our border. earlier this week soldiers in nigeria opened fire on unarmed religious protesters. at least 45 people were killed.

the military says the protesters threw stones and they fired in self-defense. today the nigerian army posted video of president trump's speech on its twitter feed saying we released the video saying if president trump can say rock are is as good as a rifle, who is amnesty international? joining us now, jack reed. i spoke to him earlier this even. senator, i wonder what went through your mind when you heard the president earlier trying to walk back his suggestion that the military should shoot back at migrants who throw rocks or treat rocks like guns? >> my initial reaction when i heard the president talking about using american forces to shoot at civilians who throw rocks it was completely illegal, completely contrary to ethics and contrary to the instructions he received to use proportional self-defense. walking it back today is just finally admitting what the

military officers told him, that it is not only preposterous but it is wrong. >> he walked it back denying he was implying they should shoot the people with rocks. now he is saying they will just arrest people. but the president's words matter, whether he walks them back or not. you heard nigeria's army, an organization that has massacred innocent civilians and committed atrocities, you had them today tweeting the president's words to justify killing dozens of protesters, some of whom threw rocks. >> you are absolutely right. words have consequences. and the president's either off the cuff or certainly uninformed -- it is very, very daunting and disturbing to have a president giving an address about his plans for the border using, effectively, misinformation. in fact, suggesting he would condone american troops using weapons against civilians throwing rocks.

and, of course, as you point out, anderson, the nigerian army has picked that up as justification for doing exactly that. they shot numerous civilians who were protesting. words have consequences. the president doesn't recognize that sometimes. or just doesn't care. and that is very, very disturbing. >> there are also real geopolitical threats, obviously, that the u.s. military needs to be focusing on, is focusing on. has the department of defense or this white house indicated to the senate armed services committee that this caravan is a direct national security threat to the united states? >> there has been no indication that this is a direct national security threat to the united states. we have to protect our borders. and that's the job of the customs and border patrol. in fact, the troops that are going down there and other presidents have used troops, are merely support. but we have to ask real questions about how much it will cost us, and indeed what better use these troops can be deployed for.

we have engineer units they are sending to the border that could be used at tindall air force base to help relieve some of the destruction caused by the hurricane. that would help the readiness of the united states. it is unclear that these troops will be providing that kind of support to the military. again, this seems to be more of a political statement than a national security statement. and it is a political statement that the president is making just several days before the election. >> just lastly, in your letter to the president yesterday, you requested a full accounting of the financial costs of the deployment. has the white house or the pentagon given any estimates on how much all of this is going to cost? because moving as many as 15,000 troops, that's not cheap. >> it is not cheap at all. it is millions of dollars, certainly, in terms of moving the troops. and there is also the opportunity cost. they could be training. they could be getting ready for deployment. it is something we have to have an accounting for.

and, frankly, again, this seems to be less about national security, less about wise use of resources. and, again, it's putting potentially american military forces in a position that they are not as well trained for. they are not law enforcement officers. in fact, they can't be law enforcement officers. they should be focused on those missions that are central to their role in the world, which is defending us from combatant enemies of the united states. >> senator, i appreciate your time. thank you. >> thank you, anderson. coming up tonight, a tale of two presidents on the campaign trail. one former and one current. we will hear from voters in florida about president obama's campaign stop, next. >> that's some kind of gall. that's some kind of chutzpah. let's call it what it is. it's a lie.

they are lying to you. vo: you're feeling the squeeze.

costs are rising. it's hard to keep up. in washington, one party is calling the shots and the middle class isn't being heard. we need a new congress that will cut taxes for the middle class, ensure coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, and protect social security and medicare. vote for a democratic congress; for an economy that works for everyone. independence usa pac is responsible

for the content of this advertising. booking a flight doesn't have to be expensive. just go to priceline. it's the best place to book a flight a few days before my trip and still save up to 40%. just tap and go... for the best savings on flights, go to priceline.

the president for the first time seems to be admitting the democrats may win control of the house in midterms, but says not to worry about it, that he will just figure it out. both he and former president obama are on the campaign trail tonight in dueling events. president obama is in georgia tonight supporting stacey abrams. earlier, he campaigned in miami for andrew gillum. mr. obama said america is at a crossroads in terms of the character of our country on the ballot. >> we have seen repeated attempts to divide us with rhetoric designed to make us angry and make us fearful. it is designed to exploit our

history of racial and ethnic and religious division, that pits us against one another to make us believe that order will somehow be restored if it just weren't for those folks who don't look like we look, or don't love like we love, or pray like we do. >> randi kaye tonight spoke with voters at that event in miami. >> hello, miami! >> reporter: former president barack obama, once again making his closing argument for a candidate. what can president obama do for andrew gillum? i mean, he won florida twice. >> he can energize the young people, energize the disenfranchised voters, those people who think their votes don't matter. >> reporter: do you think it could pull over even left-leaning independents. >> 100%. even republicans that voted for trump in the past that maybe are not happy now.

>> i think he brings credibility. i think whoever he says yes to is a credible candidate. >> reporter: still, many here remember 2016, and obama's cross-country blitz for hillary clinton in the final weeks of her campaign. his last rally for her was in pennsylvania, which she went on to lose. >> i don't know that the united states is ready for a woman in the presidential white house. i think that's part of it. >> what is different now is we really know who donald trump is. i think anyone that comes out can make a difference now because i think a lot of us are really worried about our country. >> reporter: so worried that they are once again embracing barack obama's message of optimism. what about obama's signature idealism and his message of hope? is there a place for that in this ugly political climate right now? >> i believe so. even those who are upset, if you

scrape away the top layer, i think everybody wants peace. >> reporter: is it needed on the campaign trail? >> it is needed on the campaign. we are the people for the people. that's what we need. not no rich man, poor man, but for the people. >> they promised to take on corruption. instead, they have racked up enough indictments to field a football team. >> reporter: and while obama is breaking precedent by criticizing a sitting president so soon after leaving office himself, some here want even more of it. >> yeah, challenge them, call them out. if something is lie, call it a lie. i think that obama has been doing that, which is great to see. >> reporter: for one voter here, this is really personal. will barack obama's presence in this race and here today influence your vote? >> i believe that it will. >> reporter: we picked her randomly out of the crowd. but at the end of our interview, when i finally asked her name, it sounded strangely familiar.

what's your name? >> my name is francis gillum. as a matter of fact, my son is running for governor. >> reporter: no! >> yes. >> reporter: why didn't you tell me that to begin with? that is not true. that is hilarious. >> yes. >> reporter: well, now, that changes everything. so, what is your hope for how president obama will help your son? >> i know he is going to help him out a lot. andrew is doing well. mayor gillum is doing well on his own. but president obama is going to make it that much better. >> reporter: a proud mother, and a question, will it be enough? tuesday will tell. randi kaye, cnn, miami. >> with me now, our panel. why did she answer that, yes, the presence of obama impacted her vote. she's the candidate's mom. >> every little bit helps. >> i want to play something that

the president said a few minutes ago at a rally. play this. >> sometimes it is not as exciting. surprised that joe donnelly is holding a rally this weekend with barack h. obama. >> i am not sure exactly -- i mean, if the message of that, obviously, he was a purveyor of the birther conspiracy theory. >> i think that's it. whenever conservatives bring up barack obama's middle name, you know, it's another one of his, you can't call them dog whistles, they are like screams. it is clear what he is doing. >> it is a strange to see them on the campaign trail. and as randi kaye noted, a

former president, the last president, out on the campaign trail criticizing directly the current president. >> that is rare. >> the current president has also broke protocol. >> exactly. all of that president's club form is gone and it doesn't exist anymore. it is rare to see that. >> it is like the president's fight club. >> exactly. it is also just -- not just the difference between them. but the president, president trump, is closing on a message that isn't what everyone in his party would like him to be closing on right now. so, whereas president obama is out there galvanizing around the message that democrats almost in a unified fashion would like to head into tuesday being their message, president trump is closing so strong on his hardline immigration policies -- i spoke to a republican strategist yesterday who is running a lot of these house races, overseeing the strategy for it, i said, is this how you would script the president's final message if you could? he said, well, immigration would be a piece of what i would script, but i would really like to hear more about the economy

and more about the accomplishments of the last two years. and that's not in there nearly enough. >> mark, couldn't you make the counterargument, i am sure there are plenty of republicans david spoke to during the general election who said, i don't like what the president is running on. it certainly worked for the president. >> it did. people feel like the tax cuts and the regulations he has done and they need something to motivate them as part of a problem he will fix in the future. the left is energized. having obama on the campaign trail is fine. how much more energized are they going to be, i don't know. but the coalition that donald trump put together had independents and democrats who were fed up with washington, d.c. how do you get those people out? that's a challenge for republicans. i am not sure that those particular voters have the same voters have the motivation to come out and vote on straight line ticket. >> is president obama preaching to the choir? >> this is a time for mobilization.

he is trying to get every democrat out that typically in midterm elections as john and david can tell you -- everybody here -- there is a drop-off, and the drop-off is most significant among minority voters, young people, with some voters with whom the president has a particularly strong relationship. and, so, i think that democrats want him in miami and atlanta. and i think he is going to chicago, and gary, indiana, for joe donnelly, to mobilize the vote in those areas, in elections that are going to be very close. >> but he was out there for hillary clinton a lot. it didn't seem to make a difference. >> yeah, but that's because hillary clinton has a unique problem as a candidate herself. people just did not like her. and you are not seeing the same dynamic this time around in the midterms. what you saw, a lot of people were like, i just can't get with hillary clinton. so i am going tryout this donald trump guy. this time around, a lot of people, democrats, may like

their incumbent senator or congressman. you don't have the same effect that hillary clinton brought to it. so, bringing president obama out, who is popular with the constituencies that they need to come out and vote, i think, is not going to harm them. there wasn't much anyone could do for hillary clinton. she was an awful candidate. ran a terrible campaign. and a lot of people did not personally like her. that dynamic is absent this time around, which is probably why the president is using things like immigration as a foil, because he doesn't have the hillary clintons to point to as the evil other side. he's using something else to demagogue an issue like that, to bring up the culture war and culture clashes, which is what energizes the people that mark talked about that get complacent. >> it is only two years, but we live in a very different world. at the end of his term there were some democrats who weren't thrilled with president obama. they thought he should have pushed harder on this and that. he was campaigning in a presidential year essentially

asking for a third term. now voters had two years of donald trump. whether it is president obama or oprah or anybody, we are going to have close races. the lawyers are going to be at work wednesday morning in a lot of close races around this country. anything you can do to get people to early vote, to get young people, latinos, typically drop out of elections in midterm years. anything you can do to mobilize them all hands on deck in both parties. the president's coalition is different now. the president narrowly carried the suburbs in 2016. he has tanked in the suburbs. he is history in the suburbs. that's why the democrats are poised to retake the house. so, what is he doing? smart, save what you can, the senate. his approval rating is going up in some of these red states. he is going to the red states to try to save the senate races because the president is of no use to his party in a suburban house district anywhere. >> i think the advantage is picking up three or four seats in the senate. i think the story is in the

house. those confirmations in the next few years, it becomes a big deal for the administration to fill judicial appointments as well as cabinet posts. >> which why for democrats -- if we were in an election today, republicans think they would pick up one or maybe three in the senate. you can't change the dynamics of the race right now but some republicans today are more pessimistic than they were yesterday. in the npr/maris poll the president is at 41. we've seen him up around 44. if he is there on election day then the senate gets more interesting, too. >> i have no doubt he has galvanized his base with the campaigning he has done. my question is, is there any limit to it? is there a limit beyond which you end up getting diminishing returns by discouraging voters in some of the suburban areas in the statewide races, in the suburbs of kansas city and the

suburbs of st. louis and the suburbs of indianapolis who are -- who become uncomfortable because he's taken it just a notch too far? i don't know the answer to that question, but i think he is really testing the limits. >> this was precisely what glen bulger, the republican pollster said, i have no doubt, a republican pollster, that we have enlivened our base from what it was in september. what i have a big doubt about, what i have a question mark about is, where are we with independents or some of those other folks that we need to bring on board in addition? >> they are tanking them. and they know that. and also for women in those suburban districts. trump is down 20 points. so, you look at all the districts where trump won by a couple percentage points, republicans are not polling well there. and you have 41 open republican seats, including in a lot of places in these suburban districts where women are going to make the difference. >> my point is, in marginal statewides, you could lose ground in suburban areas that

cost you statewide races. >> why should anybody believe anything until election day? >> we should wait, and we should count them. one of the interesting things in the last couple of days is, increasingly people have early voted. you don't change your list late in the last few days. they are decided. that part is over. now it is about getting them to vote. >> thanks, everybody. >> tune in to the axe files saturday at 7:00 p.m. david's guest will be arnold schwarzenegger. today was the last of the funerals for the victims of the pittsburgh synagogue shooting. a service today for the oldest victim, 97-year-old rose mallinger. i met her family earlier this week. they are extraordinary. even before she was laid to rest, the president lamented that the shooting stopped the momentum for the republicans.

i will talk to the mayor of pittsburgh about that and about the funerals, next. looks like i need a fork! oh no. (giggles) birds eye veggie made. so veggie good. then razor cut upt with sto a blunt angled lob. i'm retiring; you're my swan song. what?! he's gonna slap some clips in your hair, give you a bob and then he's gonna move to boca raton. but you're gonna look amazing. ok. there are multiples on the table: one is cash, three are fha, one is va. so what can you do? she's saying a whole lotta people want to buy this house. but you got this! rocket mortgage by quicken loans makes the complex simple. understand the details and get approved in as few as eight minutes by america's largest mortgage lender.

yeah, i've had some prettyeer. prestigious jobs over the years. news producer, executive transport manager, and a beverage distribution supervisor. now i'm a director at a security software firm. wow, you've been at it a long time. thing is, i like working. what if my retirement plan is i don't want to retire? then let's not create a retirement plan. let's create a plan for what's next. i like that. get a plan that's right for you. td ameritrade. ♪

just days before the mid-terms and days after pipe bombs were sent to democratic leaders and cnn, and days after a gunman massacred 11 jewish-americans in a synagogue in pittsburgh, he suggested the

victims of those attacks was the political momentum for him and his party. here's what the president said at a rally last night. >> we did have two maniacs stop a momentum that was incredible because for seven days nobody talked about the elections. it stopped a tremendous momentum. more importantly we have to take care of our people, and we don't care about momentum when it comes to disgrace that happened to our country, but it did nevertheless stop a certain momentum and now the momentum is picking up. >> joining me now is the pittsburgh mayor. i want to talk to you about the funerals, but i do want to ask about those comments from the president, sometimes he's extraordinarily transparent in his thought process. in that sentence he's going on and on about how these instances, these murders, these

killings, these massacres stop the political momentum but then he went onto talk about the sadness of it tstopping the momentum. >> yeah, there's really not much i can say about that. we've basically stopped campaigns in southwestern pennsylvania saturday afternoon. governor pulled the ads down, other candidates pulled their ads down or went back to their soft ads they started their campaign on. we just had our last neighbor that we buried today. so momentum, not momentum, when you have something as horrific as what we are experiencing right now, it's not a word in my vocabulary. >> let's talk important things. rose, 97 years old, i believe married 50 years to her husband,

60 years going to the tree of life synagogue. i remember her family telling me she always tried to sit in the exact same seat. her grand kits all called her bubby. what a life she was. >> i had the -- i don't want to say a misfortune because being with the mallinger family is blessing, but that afternoon when we were putting together grief counseling and trying to get information from the fbi, i'll never forget for the rest of my life not being able to get ahold of my mom, and then being able to give them the information of yes, we do and the families have been notified and him asking again about her and finding out she was 97 and

getting back to the site and asking the public safety director to find out, and the public safety director's response to me is we're pretty much confirmed that we lost her. nobody should -- especially somebody who lived a life like hers and has been such a central figure to her family and everything else -- ever be taken off of this earth in that way. those are some of the memories that are still lingering in the minds of pittsburghers that make it hard to sleep at night and make it hard to concentrate. >> rose's daughter was shot. she's in the hospital. she has had several surgeries is going to have several surgeries. again, i was able to spend some time in that room with the entire extended family, the grandkids. >> isn't it amazing? >> oh, my gosh. >> they had to go out into the hallway, the family is so big. >> yeah. people flew in from all around. each of the grandkids told me they had a favorite meal that --

i don't think i have the right to call her bubbe, but they said that bubbe would make for us. it was one of the great privileges of my life to be invited in at a time like that and talk to people at their lowest point, but also to have them smile and laugh as they are telling stories about the extraordinary life that rose lived. thank you. >> and. >> sorry, go ahead. >> she was able to be at the funeral today. she is going back to the hospital. she is going to be okay. doctors say she should be out of the hospital next week. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> i want to check in with chris to see what he is working on cuomo primetime. >> important to remember who was lost. i am going to do the same thing, pick up on your momentum.

what was lost and what should be remembered about these people that were lost. i am going to introduce team to two parts of judaism, two formative principles that echo through that faith they should not be seen as a lack of momentum but a pivot toward momentum for the rest of us who remain. so that's going to be a big thing for us tonight. >> i look forward to that. that's about four minutes from now. coming up, one more shoe drops, one more parcel turns up in the package bombing campaign that gripped the country. no. question two: do you like getting stuff you like for free? yes. this feels like a test. it's not, it's just why verizon lets everyone in your family get the unlimited plan they need without paying for stuff they don't. and why verizon gets you six months of free apple music. did i pass? not a test. but, yeah, you passed. yeah! (vo) the music you want, the unlimited plan you need, on the network you deserve. switch now and get $300 off our best phones. for everything that i give, i get so much in return.

join our family of home instead caregivers and help make a world of difference. home instead senior care. apply today.

home instead senior care. california had the worst wildfire season on record. scientists say, our weather is becoming more extreme and we all have to be better prepared. that's why pg&e is adopting new and additional safety precautions to help us monitor and respond to dangerous weather. hi, i'm allison bagley, a meteorologist with pg&e's community wildfire safety program.

we're working now, to enhance our weather forecasting capabilities, building a network of new weather stations to identify when and where extreme wildfire conditions may occur, so we can respond faster and better. we're installing cutting edge technology to provide real-time mapping and tracking of weather patterns. and we use this information in partnership with first responders and california's emergency response systems. to learn more about the community wildfire safety program and how you can help keep your home and community safe, visit pge.com/wildfiresafety

this is a story is that seemed like it would never end. one suspicious packaged after another addressed to targets around the country in makeshift mail bombs. today the fbi confirmed the existence of yet one more. it resembles all the others sent out. it was recovered last night in california addressed to democratic donor tom steyer. he thanked laws enforcement and the u.s. postal service or their support in a statement today saying his organization would not be intimidated by the packages. the news tones. i want to hand it over to chris for "cuomo primetime." >> thank you, anderson. i am chris cuomo. welcome to prime time. mueller has bee