admiral jackson very publicly optimistic about the president's health. it got a lot of attention. kate? >> it sure did. and now he will serve as assistant to the president and chief medical adviser. barbara, thank you. thanks so much, everybody, for joining me today. "inside politics" with dana bash starts right now. welcome to "inside politics." i'm dana bash. john king is off today. on the eve of president trump's state of the union, a new survey shows his favorability has stabilized during the shutdown while speaker pelosi's has surged. plus brand new polling this hour shows the top two choices for 2020 have not even jumped into the race. and virginia governor ralph northam is still in office after his party spent the weekend calling for him to resign, calls

that are continuing today. >> this has been so offensive and hateful that it hearkens back to it's the only choice available to him right now. he can act most honorably at this point by stepping aside. >> this is not about him, this is about what's in the best interest of the commonwealth and he should step away from that job. >> we begin this hour with the president no doubt looking for glimmers of hope in cnn's polling out today as he prepares for his second state of the union address tonight. everyone in the house chamber will be listening intently for what he'll say about border security and immigration since we could be two weeks away from another government shutdown over the border wall. polling shows a very slight uptick in the president's approval rating since the partial shutdown from 37% to 40%. but he is still under water, as they say, in the polling biz. many more disapprove.

55%, to be exact. the survey after the 35-day sta stalemate that left 3500 wo800 worke -- 800,000 workers without a paycheck. let's get to abby phillip at the white house. abby, some presidents say they don't look at whole numbers. this president doesn't even pretend to say that. he's very, very focused on his ratings, as he calls them. what are you hearing from the white house about the numbers? >> that's right, dana, the president is often looking at where he's at on these issues, but on this particular issue, he has been consistently under water. the idea of the border wall has not been particularly popular with the overall public, but

standing up for the wall brought him back up to 48% in the overall approval rating. what does that tell him about how he should proceed next? the president has made it clear that his position on the wall has not changed. he hasn't softened on it, he hasn't moved from the place he's been all along, which is he wants a border wall, and if he doesn't get it, he's keeping a national emergency on the table as an option and another shutdown as an option. one of the reasons for that could be another statistic in our cnn poll which shows that a very healthy majority of conservative republicans back him up on shutting down the government if he does not get his border wall. so as always with president trump, the question is, is he listening to his base, or is he looking at these broader approval rating numbers of the broader american public which show that not as much support for this fight for the border wall, and they also show more support for him when the government is open, when the government is working as it

should be. as we go into the state of the union address tomorrow, president trump has teased what he'll say about the wall, but increasingly he's frustrated about what's happening on capitol hill and basically using the power of the pen to go around congress and get his wall if nancy pelosi doesn't give him what he's been asking for for weeks and months now. dana? >> abby, thank you so much for that reporting. here at the table to share with me, michael bender with the "wall street journal," sandra kim with the "washington post," cnn's kaitlan collins and andrew whitsky with the "washington post." everyone good after partying last night? we'll get to that later in the show. but i want to talk about the robust numbers for the president, not just on the border wall, but on a shutdown if the border wall issue doesn't get resolved in the president's

favor. 71% of americans support a shutdown if no wall funding. that's one thing, pretty strong. but look at the number of independents. 40% of independents say they agree with that. 13% of democrats. i wonder who those 13% are, but the number in the middle of your screen there, the independents, that is striking to me because those are the people at the trump white house that were worried they would go away. he doesn't have a majority but he has maybe more than one would expect. >> you're seeing an uptick in his jegeneral approval rating a well. not a huge increase, but some. this is the second chance the president has had in recent weeks to make a prime time televised address on immigration, making his argument for this border wall. i think if they do it successfully tomorrow night, they could see that as something that could help them over the next few weeks if the president does make that decision to declare a national emergency,

because that's what they've really been working with the messaging of this, three-way committee trying to find a legislative solution to this. they think even if they don't and the president does declare a national emergency, they'll have support on their side because it looks like they exhausted all options to try to get the wall built legislatively. >> there is also polling that the president lost ground in the last few days that showed democrats, amazingly, had a slight edge among americans on how they would handle immigration. democrats traditionally had been down by nine points. there is quite a lot of turmoil right now on that issue, and i think you're right, the president is going to want us to rec recapture it because it would be quite concerning to see democrats, especially since they haven't offered any kind of plan whatsoever, but if americans are starting to think, wow, democrats might do a better job.

>> you mentioned democrats haven't offered a plan. that's a really important point and it has gotten a little bit lost in the fact that there was such a robust political fight over on the president's terms, on what he wants. if it had gone on longer, perhaps more discussion would have happened over what are the democrats offering. having said that, let's look in cnn's new polling about the president but also nancy pelosi and how she is faring right now after she's regained the speakership. pre-shutdown, donald trump 41%, nancy pelosi 34%. now donald trump 44%, nancy pelosi 41%. that is way outside the margin of error. if i might just add, our polling director, jenny justice, said she went back and that's the highest favorable rating for nancy pelosi since april of 2007, since she first took the

speaker's gavel. >> those are pretty remarkable statistics. but recall what was going on before the shutdown. she was grappling for votes to become speaker. there are a lot of stories out there and a lot of voices from the democratic party saying this is why she should step aside. obviously that would have an impact on the voters' minds. look what she did during the shutdown. she did a lot of things considered a win on her terms. remember it was nancy pelosi who decided, much to the concern of her own leadership, to essentially disinvite the president from the state of the union since it's held in the house chamber, and the president actually acquiesced to that, and clearly the government opened back up again without money for the border wall, so nancy pelosi has really gained some ground among the democratic base, some members who question whether she should still be the speaker and among the public at large. >> i think it's a really big jump for pelosi, but it's also important to kind of pull back the scope on these poll numbers and look at the broader

importance. one is these are good numbers for pelosi, but these are good numbers for any speaker. paul ryan spent his term as house speaker in the 30s, john baynor spent his term in the 20s and teens. that's a real significant number for pelosi, not just for herself but also in the broader context of washington. the trump-pelosi dynamic isn't just important for this immigration debate, it's going to be the predominant political fight in washington for the next two years. >> none of those republican speakers had the millions, tens of millions of dollars, spent against them, demonizing them the way she did. let's turn to sort of the heart of the substance. i want to talk about polling. it's important. this is "inside politics." let's dumb down what we expect the president will do tomorrow night, and even if it's not tomorrow night, broadly about this national emergency, whether he will try to get around congress. very conflicting bits of advice that he's getting from his television counsel, which is how

he does spend a lot of his time, watching his friends on television. first let's start with rick scott, the senator from florida. >> this is not a political issue. this is what all americans want, so if i was the president, i would sit there and say, what are my options? if congress won't do their job, if he has the power, then he should use the power to fund the border security. i think on top of that, he ought to take care of daca kids. >> okay. so that looked like a green light to say, you know, forget about us here in congress from the newly elected senator from florida. then let's look at what governor chris christie said. he is somebody who has a book out about the ups and downs that he's had with the president since they were friends and then working and helping him on his campaign. here's the advice he had for mr. trump. >> but i think everybody realistically knows in the back of their mind that it's not going to happen. i don't think republicans in the senate would permit it to happen

even if the president wanted to. the president would then have to defy republicans in the senate and democrats in the house. i just don't think he's going to do that because i don't think it's practical and i don't think it will get him what he wants, ultimately. the national emergency thing, you know, is a real jump ball in terms of the legal strategy and whether or not a court will endorse his ability to do that. >> so that's what he's hearing from his advisers on television. what are you hearing from your sources, kaitlan? >> the white house knows they'll face legal challenges if the president faces a national emergency and bypasses congress to build this wall. that's kind of the point for them. they want it to be a win for the president. some of them don't even think the wall should be built but they know the president wants a win here. that's why they negotiated for the shutdown and they were willing to take that 5.7 billion. they want to be able to walk away and say he's got a win here. i've been talking to multiple people who speak with the president on this, and i said,

what is your reaction going to be when this goes to a legal challenge, it goes to court? they said, that's fine, because then we look like we've done everything we can to fulfill the president's promise, and that's a fight we're willing to have in the next two years as the president tries to build a wall. >> national security won't give him what he wants, which is the border wall when you look at the substance, but what he needs is to really save face for a political win. he needs to be able to say he didn't disappoint his base and everyone involved. the big question for virginia's embattled governor is, will he stay or will he go? i'm alex trebek here to tell you

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our big idaho potato truck and we're going to find it. awe man. always look for the grown in idaho seal. today the virginia governor, democrat ralph northam, is still on the job after giving a master class in how not to manage a political crisis. for all of you who spent your weekend away from politics, here is a recap. on friday the conservative website big league politics

published northam's 1984 medical school page which featured this racist photo. not long after, every major media outlet confirmed the photo's au authenticity and norm lost a lot of support. he said maybe it is him, whether it was the one in the klan robe or the blackface. then saturday a different story. >> i'm deeply sorry. i cannot change the decisions i made, nor can i undo the harm my behavior caused then and today. >> i believe then and now that i am not either of the people in that photo. >> cnn's dan merica is in virginia, the capital there. dan, i know you have some news coming out of the governor's office this morning. what can you tell us? >> reporter: the governor had two key meetings this morning. he had an all-cabinet meeting

and a staff meeting kind of back to back, sandwiched together. what we've been told about a virginia democrat briefed on the meetings is that northam asked for more time, a similar thing he asked yesterday when he had a hastily planned meeting wall his cabinet members of color and staff members of color. this is what has been going on the last few days, ralph northam asking for more time and asking for more time, and it's getting to the point with democrats in the state who have called for his resignation that are unwilling to give him that amount of time. one thing ralph northam has going for him, though, is it's very hard to impeach a governor in virginia. the member mr. cox basically laid out impeach want is nment the table at this point. you have a number of protestors who are outside the governor's mansion, and they started to gather outside the saturday press conference or around the

saturday press conference. initially it seemed like governor northam admitted he was in the photo, issued those statements saying as much, and those protestors came out calling for him to resign. that was ratcheted up after that very bizarre, frankly, hour-long press conference that he held where he walked that back significantly and said he now does not recall that it was him in the photo but later admitted he did wear blackface, dressing up as michael jackson in a san antonio dance contest. he's hanging on by a thread at this point, governor northam is, and there are many people in virginia who think he would be a threat at this point and he should leave his job. >> it looks so peaceful behind you and totally belies what's going on in that building and in that town. >> i can promise you it is not. >> i know, i know. we believe you. dan, thank you so much for that reporting. appreciate it. joining the conversation is

erin haynes wax for the associated press. based on what you heard from dan that ralph northam is asking for time again, will he get it? >> ralph northam is putting his future ahead of the pain and damage that was inflicted on many who voted for him in the state. very few democrats, if any, have been willing to not call for his resignation chl resignation. you saw people on the local, state and national level calling for him to step down. virginia is still reeling from the pain inflicted on the charlottesville race riot. this certainly doesn't help at the beginning of black history month and as the state marks the 40th anniversary of jamestown, the first slaves arriving in

this country. it's unclear if he'll be able to hang on, but as dan mentioned, he's hanging on by a thread. >> you mentioned the current tensions in charlottesville, but you also rightly mentioned the fact this is a centuries-old tension in the seat of the confederacy. > let's look at what we're hearing from some of the african-americans who are in elected office in virginia. this is jeff borne, who is a member of the virginia black caucus. >> i think ralph northam the man should rehabilitate his reputation and repair the relationships. but his governorship is one that will be ineffective and he's unable to govern because of everything that's transpired over friday. we have a deep sense of betrayal and have been betrayed by someone who we considered a friend. and it's just going to be difficult, if not impossible, to move forward under any other circumstances other than him

resigning. >> i think what the governor has to be looking at right now is can he be an effective governor from this point on? i think the answer is pretty clearly no. you have democrats on the national level saying he should go. he has his own legislators that he has to work with to pass bills. can he take action -- >> we should emphasize of his own party. >> yes. and there is no way i can see he can be an effective governor at this point in time. i feel resignation is inevitable, more bizarre things have happened in politics, but i thought the legislator made a great point where you can rehabilitate, you can show remorse, but does that mean that you have to be in the governor's office to do it, and i think the answer is no. >> i find just in covering these things, and unfortunately we've done it many times over the years, the person in the hot seat grasps at allies and grasps

for allies, tries to hang onto that. we have heard some supporting at least him hanging on for now, and one is former congressman from virginia jim moran. listen to what he said on cnn today. >> i don't think we have all the facts at our disposal. when you get ambushed with these things that come up that you're not expecting, you're like a deer in the headlights and your staff is screaming at you, apologize, apologize, the facts don't matter, just get out there and apologize as profusely as possible. >> well, i mean, you have a lot of people understanding that he is sorry, and yet at the same time calling for him to step aside. >> they're not mutually exclusive. >> exactly. lieutenant governor justin fairfax, while he did not call for the governor to resign, did say that he understood that the governor was sorry. he spoke with the governor, he knows the governor. these are people some of these

black lawmakers have worked with for years and whose elections he has helped with. but yet reconciling that with this act is something that just really is a bridge too far for a lot of folks. >> it's not just the page. the page is horrible. then it came out he dressed as michael jackson, he had an unfortunate nickname while in college. >> people can be forgiving of things people have done depending on how genuine your apology is, and if you watched his press conference on saturday, his apology was so botched and it didn't seem genuine to the fact that he almost moonwalked at one point until his wife said it was inappropriate given the circumstances. given that, the comment he made

about abortion days before this came out, i just think there is so much. there are things he did and he knowingly did, and i don't think he really apologized by saying it was me in the photo and now it's not me in the photo. >> because it's not me, i did not do anything wrong here, and therefore i should not have to step aside. it doesn't sound like he really grasps what is actually wrong with this. i would be remiss if i did not mention it's black history month. just a psa. you do not have to wear blackface to impersonate michael jackson, diana ross or any other black person. it's not appropriate. so even if his admission that he did impersonate michael jackson with blackface, he's saying that was a long time ago, he has learned from that and, therefore, should be allowed to stay. i don't think other people hearing that -- it made them only more resolved that he should go. >> apologize for wearing blackface by explaining the last time you wore blackface, it

doesn't jibe very well. >> no. everybody stand by because we want to talk about what this means, the broad implications for something that is already underway, which is the race for the democratic nomination for president. what all the 2020 candidates, could-be candidates, are saying, and why his scandal could become their problem. roasted rock tail and creamy lobster linguine. or try new lobster in paradise. it's a crispy coconutty, vacation on a plate. new ultimate lobsterfest surf & turf is here, too. 'cause what's better than steak and lobster? steak and lots of lobster. so hurry in and see how you're going to lobsterfest.

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high-profile democrats running for president or thinking about a white house bid are going out of their way to stay publicly where they stand, and it's not with fellow democrat ralph northam. >> he should step down and start his road to redemption. being governor of a state is not an entitlement. i believe in the idea of redemption and we should not be judged by the lowest points in our past. but the reality is, this is hurtful, painful to betrayal of public trust. >> the lieutenant governor can assume the reins. it's the only decision right now. this has been so hateful to racism that it hearkens back to -- it's the only choice available to him right now. >> take a look at these candidates and potential presidential hopefuls calling on northam to resign. that's just a sample of the backlash coming from inside northam's own party. as we have a discussion about the 2020 impact, i want to look

at the latest overall polling of where things stand with the 2020 field. this comes from the brand new poll out showing joe biden at the top, 29%, bernie sanders 16%, kamala harris 11, and then elizabeth warren and beto o'rourke coming in at single digits. sherrod brown spoke very clearly about what he thinks the democrats' problem is. big picture with race. >> i don't think this country has dealt well with the decision of race. we have a president who is a racist. i know he built his political career knowing what he was doing on questioning the legitimacy and the birthplace of the president of the united states. i know there has been all kinds of news reports of what he did early in his career on housing. charlottesville was only a

symptom and a more public viewing, an outing, if you will, of the president's views about race. >> so sherrod brown trying to turn it against the president, which is, i guess, maybe -- i said clear, maybe i should have said clever, not clear. trying to be creative about making a democrat's problem the president's problem. but it does show how delicate this issue is for both parties, but especially the democrats, because they need that african-american vote. >> brown was pretty critical on his views of trump, but i think it is sort of part of the problem for democrats in how this reflects back on trump. right now my colleague, ken thompson, laying out some of the democratic analysts and how they view this, and through a pure political lens, the problem here for democrats is that this seeds the moral high ground that they believe they have right now heading into 2020. a and we saw that very acutely

with the president's tweet over the weekend where, without a hint of irony, he tried to use this to immediately attack democrats and go on the offensive. >> that's exactly it. to your point, democrats have often claimed the moral high ground on race, particularly since the civil rights movement. today the modern democratic party is seen as the party of equality and justice. they jux taposed themselves wit the gop and they have had some issues and stumbled on race. because race was such a factor in the virginia governor's race, we're already seeing -- this is a clear sign that in 2020, democratic candidates are going to have to understand and be able to articulate and reject racism, and we're already seeing that candidate speaking out on issues from criminal justice to voting rights to immigration. you know, they are weighing in on race early. >> you mentioned 2020, and you mentioned criminal justice reform. i thought it was interesting,

not only did the president go after democrats, he's politically trying to use this to court african-americans along with or after the really landmark legislation, bipartisan legislation he signed in criminal justice reform. listen to what he told cbs. >> when colleagues like yours, even republican senator tim scott, he said donald trump is not racist, but he said you're racially insensitive. >> i have a great relationship with kim and certainly with his state, south carolina, and where we do very well, and i think if you look at the numbers for african-american unemployment, best numbers they've had, literally the best numbers they've had in history. and i think they like me a lot, and i like them a lot. >> this is no joke. i mean, this is president trump actively courting the african-american vote. he did it in 2016. we were all at those rallies

where he did it maybe not that artfully in a few instances, to say the least, but this is an active strategy, and they do think, inside trump world, and i don't know what you're hearing, kaitlan, that this huge misstep in virginia could help them. >> of course, and they're going to point, and that's what you've seen the president and his allies do, not just on this issue but multiple issues. they'll pick one instance that proves what their argument is, and this is something they'll be using, that democrats are hypocrites, there's all these complaints against the president, and they're trying to use this to their advantage guaranteed as they go into the president's reelection. i think it's republicans overall trying to use this, because look what happened to steve king. he has been making the remarks he's been making recently for a decade. but this year did you see all these republicans come out and try to center him, reprimand him, take action for what he said, and that's because they're

trying to draw the line here saying, no, we actually do retaliate when people cross the line the way steve king has done. >> and just last month, the revelation of him having that photo from 2005 in blackface as a hurricane katrina victim, that cost him his job. so they're saying if that's costing him his job, why is governor northam still in office? >> he offered an apology but there was no conversation. >> you mentioned the fact that certainly since this -- well, in recent times the democrats have been seen as more sympathetic to african-americans, but as you well know, it wasn't that long ago that it was the republicans who set up for civil rights in the solid south. they were all -- for the most part the democrats there, many of them were against the civil rights bill. >> absolutely. >> thanks so much for joining us and giving yourself reporting. quickly before the break, the democrats not only have to choose a nominee for 2020, they also have to pick a convention

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topping our political radar today, anxious house democrats will soon get their chance to question homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen about border policies. top ranked gop representative

rogers says chief nielsen will testify next month. it's unlikely the president will get his border wall since in part he caused the recent government shutdown. isis will carry out what it calls opportunistic results if the u.s. withdraws from syria. they could regain the territory. it is the only support since the president said we would withdraw. a new poll suggests many americans are still forming their opinions of one of the democratic party's young stars. a new cnn survey shows a

plurality say they're not sure what to think about 29-year-old alexandria ocasio cortez. her popularity is only slightly higher for democrats who say they' they're unsure. the woman you see there confronted former senator jeff flake, now former senator jeff flake in the capitol in that elevator imploring him not to support jeff kavanaugh in his nomination. she is one of the constituents of new york. now to the patriots' sixth super bowl win last night, we want to share images of super bowl superfans. first the happiest person on the screen there is cnn's gop john

gideon who interviewed the patriots this morning. video catching pure joy among the king family and friends watching tom brady and the patriots capture yet another super bowl championship. i'm going to turn to you, annie, because you are the patriots fan. i guess second patriots fan at this table. >> yeah, i'm standing in for john. look, i grew up in new england, i've got a lot of family in boston. the reason i am a patriots fan, though, is not about any of that, it's about tom brady being 41 years old and at the top of his game. i have a hard time running three miles. i ran marathons in college, and i get skpup and i think, you kn what, i can do it. if tom brady can do it -- >> in my 40s i'm going to buy

that avocado ice cream or whatever he does, and i should disclose that little person in that video was my son. i think you have some trash talk? >> not to rain on your parade -- >> by the way, there will be another parade. >> this is the sixth super bowl for bellichek and brady. i would like to point out that graham of the cleveland browns had seven super bowl championships. grant granted, it was before the super bowl era. and the browns have won championships in three different cities: l.a. and cleveland. back to politics. who leaked trump's daily schedule and all the questions about his so-called executive time. and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three p's.

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there are leaks and tlehen there are leaks. this one is pretty epic. it's the trump white house. it's someone inside the administration revealing dozens and dozens of copies of the president's private daily schedule. they gave it to axios. the schedule shows the president spends most of his time, around 60%, that has been dubbed free time. that's the time he spends watching television, making phone calls, holding free meetings. axios took to twitter to blast how he spends his time and writing, what a disflgracedisgr breach of trust. this potus is working harder than anyone in recent history.

>> there is a question why, if he is doing all these phone calls and meetings, why aren't they publicly advised in the first place? i think there is a critical transparency issue. the public should be aware of the types of meetings that the president, the commander in chief, is taking. a couple weeks ago i found out that the president had a private lunch with senator david perdue of georgia where they talked about a lot of issues. that was not on the public schedule. and later this week the president made an ill-advised trip to talk about the oval office issue. that was not talked about. >> we talk about leaks in the white house, is one staffer trying to one-up another or hurt them? the only person this hurts is the president and makes him look like he's not doing anything. but i think it's genuinely reflective of how people feel in the white house. these aides are trying to get something accomplished, whether it's the fight over the border

wall or whatever else they're doing, they're not feeling like the president is serving the staff that they think could help send their message that they're actually doing something, but i think going back to the transparency, they don't publish the visitor log, they don't let out calls he makes with world leaders, and yes, the president has a right to privacy, but if it's something they feel makes it look like the president is working on an issue that he is way behind, why wouldn't they publish it? >> you're right, i covered the bush white house 43, and they didn't always tell us what he was doing, but we got details of a lot of what he was doing when we didn't see him. chris christie has a book out where he tells largely how he doesn't think the president is served well, starting in the campaign and later in the white house. this is his interview this morning on cnn. >> it's just not acceptable. it's gotten better than it was the first six to nine months, but there are still problems.

it's not only that some of the people around the president still don't understand how government works and how the city works, but he also doesn't have enough people around him that are really experienced in government. and i think, you know, this kind of thing has got to be disturbing. i mean, i know the president very well. we've been friends for 17 years. i am confident he is really hot today about this leaking of his schedules. >> yeah, this is the sort of thing that's easy for the white house to attack and frankly kind of rally around. i think it's important the point here made about the transparency. it is easy to get out ahead of these things if you believe that this is a good use of the president's time, then put it out there, get in front of it. the idea these are being hidden sort of lends credibility to the argument that some people are embarrassed about this. but when you hear the white house explain this away, someone told axios that trump is always up to something, that he has a, quote, different leadership

style, that he takes spur of the moment meetings. if you don't support trump, you're kind of shaking your head at those quotes. but if you're a trump supporter, you're nodding your head and standing up for him. >> yes. this is a leak and why someone inside would do this to your point, because they want to hurt the guy they work for, which is a whole other discussion. but even the president, very quickly, in the art of the deal back when he was a businessman, i play it very loose, i don't carry a briefcase, i try not to schedule too many meetings, i leave my door open. you can't be imagine active or entrepreneurial if you've got too much structure. i prefer to come to work each day and just see what develops. brianna keilar right after the break. did you ever notice that the very first bite

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every day, visionaries are creating the future. so, every day, we put our latest technology and vast expertise to work. ( ♪ ) the united states postal service makes more e-commerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country. i'm brianna keilar live from cnn's washington headquarters. underway right now, the controversy over blackface, the kkk and the moonwalk is not forcing the governor of virginia to resign. instead he's digging in. he slammed the president for not working hard enough, but a recent schedule leak makes people question exactly how hard he is working. i.c.e.