look, he's a showboat, a grandstander. the fbi has been in turmoil, you know that. i know i'm not under investigation. i am a big fan of the fbi. i love the fbi. there is no collusion between me and my campaign and the russians. >> lester holt's exclusive no holds barred interview with the president. plus in depth details of how the story on james comey's firing changed and reaction from some on capitol hill. >> he has absolute right to fire the fbi director for any reason. the problem is the inconsistent reasons offered. >> frankly, i'm offended at the president's comments.

>> reports of sightings of up to 15 sharks. plus a horse rescue that is out of this world. and jillian michaels' multimillion dollar score. "early today" starts right now. happy friday. great being with you. i'm frances rivera. the world certainly reacting after new details from president trump throw the entire james comey firing ordeal into further chaos. headlines from "the new york times" and the guardian say it all. in the president's interview with lester holt mr. trump discussed for the first time his decision to fire the fbi director revealing the true motivation behind his decision even contradicting his own vice president and closest staffers as he offered new details on his conversations with the former fbi chief. he also raised eyebrows when delving into the russia investigation. it began with a stinging and

personal rebuke of the now ex-fbi chief. >> look, he's a showboat, a grandstander, the fbi has been in turmoil, you know that, i know that. everybody knows that. you take a look at the fbi a year ago, it was in virtual turmoil. less than a year ago. it hasn't recovered from that. >> monday you met with the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. did you ask for a recommendation? >> what i did is i was going to fire comey. my decision. it was not -- >> you made the decision before -- >> i was going to fire comey. there's no good time to do it by the way. >> in your letter you said i accepted their recommendation. you had already made the decision. i was going to fire him regardless of recommendation. he made a recommendation, he is highly respected. very good guy, very smart guy. the democrats like him, the republicans like him. he made a recommendation. but regardless of recommendation, i was going to

fire comey. knowing there was no good time to do it. and in fact, when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a made up story, it's an excuse by the democrats for having lost an election that they should have won, and the reason they should have won it is the electoral college is almost impossible for a republican to win. very hard. because you start off at such a disadvantage. so everybody was thinking they should have won the election. this was an excuse for having lost an election. >> are you angry with mr. comey because of his russia investigation? >> i just want somebody that's competent. i am a big fan of the fbi. i love the fbi. i like the people of the fbi. i think that about the hillary clinton investigation? >> no, about the russian investigation, and -- >> as far as i'm concerned, i want that thing to be absolutely done properly.

when i did this now i said, i probably maybe will confuse people, maybe i'll expand that you know, i'll lengthen the time because it should be over with, in my opinion should have been over with a long time ago because all it is is an excuse. but i said to myself, i might even lengthen out the investigation. but i have to do the right thing for the american people. he's the wrong man for that position. >> let me ask you about your termination letter to mr. comey. you write i greatly appreciate you informing me on three separate occasions i'm not under investigation. why did you put that in there? >> because he told me that. i mean he told me. >> told you you weren't under investigation with regard to russian -- >> i heard that from others. >> was it in a phone call? was it face-to-face? >> i had a dinner. he wanted to have dinner. he wanted to stay on. >> he asked for the dinner? >> dinner was arranged. i think he asked for the dinner. and he wanted to stay on as the fbi head. and i said you know i'll consider. we'll see what happens.

but we had a very nice dinner, and at that time he told me you're not under investigation. which i knew anyway. >> one meeting. what was the other two? >> when you're under investigation, you're given all sorts of documents. i knew i wasn't under. and i heard it was stated at the committee, some committee level i wasn't. >> that didn't come directly from him. >> in a phone call and during another phone call he said it. he said it once at dinner and then twice during phone calls. >> did you call him? >> in one case i called him and one case he called me. >> did you ask am i under investigation. >> i said if it's possible would you let me know am i under investigation? he said you are not under investigation. >> but he's given sworn testimony that there is an ongoing investigation into the trump campaign and possible collusion with the russian government. you were the centerpiece of the trump campaign. was he truthful -- >> all i can tell you -- i know -- i know i'm not under investigation. me. personally. i'm not talking about campaigns,

i'm not talking about anything else. i'm not under investigation. >> did you ask him to drop the investigation? >> no. never. >> did anyone from the white house? >> no. in fact, i want the investigation speeded up. >> did anyone from the white house ask him? >> no. >> any surrogates. >> not that i know of. look, i want to find out if there was a problem with an election having to do with russia, or by the way, anybody else, any other country. and i want that to be so strong and so good and i want it to happen. i also want to have a really competent, capable director. he's not. he's a showboater. he is not my a man or not my man. i didn't appoint him. he was appointed long before me. but i want somebody who is going to do a great job, and i will tell you we're looking at candidates right now who could be spectacular and that's what i want for the fbi. >> what you said a moment ago about supporting the idea of investigation, a lot of people

would find it hard to believe that the man who just said that tweeted recently it's a total hoax, it's a taxpayer charade. >> i think that looking into me and the campaign -- look, i have nothing to do -- this was set up by the democrats. there is no collusion between me and my campaign and the russians. the other thing is, the russians did not affect the vote. and everybody seems to think that. >> were you angry with james comey when he went public and said he can't support your unsubstance eighted claims of wiretapping, that your predecessor wiretapped you? >> i was surprised but i wasn't angry. there is a big thing going on right now which is spying and you can call it anything you want. the unmasking, and the spying, and to me that's the big story right now. that's a very, very big story. >> you didn't take that as a

sign of disloyalty that he came out and contradicted you? >> i don't think of it as loyalty. i want whoever the director is do the right thing. >> what about when he went public there was an investigation looking at your campaign and russia? did that anger you? i ask that because there's a sense that you -- there was a building anger. >> no, no, i know once in a while you'll see that in the newspaper, somebody will report or have false sources that maybe don't exist because of the way media is. i will tell you i think that i want very simply, a great fbi director. >> will you expect they would continue on with this investigation? >> sure. i expect that. >> fallout from that interview this morning including revealing reports that call into question many of the claims you heard by the president himself. we'll bring you those ahead. i want to turn to dangerous and severe weather including high winds that left a wave of destruction. downed trees, houses and damaged

throughout the tulsa area. what's ahead for today and the mother's day weekend? let's ask meteorologist bill karins. how are we looking? >> some areas looking fantastic this weaken. other areas not so nice. one of the areas that's not so good, you see the storm spinning off the coast in the pacific northwest. that will playing us with weather over the next few days. in the higher elevations you could see snowshowers. that's above the passes. we'll watch through sunday with on and off showery weather in the northwest. california miss a lseot=add= the district attorney )s union president -- is calling for an along the coastal section. once you get to sacramento southward, looking dry and nice. >> we'll give everyone in the

west complete weekend mother's day forecast coming up. >> bill, thanks very much. sometimes you may see a pig fly. how about a horse fly? that's what happened when a rescue crew had to lift this horse to safety. the animal and its rider slipped 300 feet down a cliffside, crews had to sedate the horse. luckily it didn't seem to be seriously hurt. you know i'm kidding. pigs don't fly. just ahead, steven colbert's ecstatic reaction to donald trump's tweet about him. plus the ever evolving story and background into the firing of james comey. you're watching "early today." you help ensure that children in the u.s. and around the world are safe, healthy and educated. this red nose day, swing by walgreens and get your noses on to help end child poverty.

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that's not fair. glad i had a v8. the original way to fuel your day. the president of the united states has permanently come after me and my show and there's only one thing to say. he-he. mr. trump, there's a lot you don't understand. but i never thought one of those

things would be show business. don't you know i've been trying for a year to get you to say my name. and you were very restrained admirably but now you did it. i won. >> stephen colbert reacting in a way only he can after president trump blasted the comedian in an interview with "time" magazine saying, quote, you see a no dash talent guy like colbert. by the way, they were going to take him off television. then he started attacking me and he started doing better. now his show is dying. zbr whiplash in washington after the president's exclusive interview with lester holt which contradicted several assertions from white house staff, even the vice president himself, including mr. trump's claim he planned on firing james comey all along. even "the new yorker" depicting

attorney general and jeff sessions dragging director comey off a plane, harkening back to the united airlines incident last month. the paper of record saying the president demanded comey's loyalty, only for him to decline saying he would instead offer honesty. the president said that dinner took place at comey's request. one says it was at the request of the white house. harvard law professor who represented al gore in the 2011 elections says his actions are impeachable. >> my loyalty is to the law and the constitution, in which case trump is attempting to sub born obstruction of justice. either way as for the first article of impeachment of president nixon, this is a series of high crimes all by itself. >> this morning the white house

has been offering something that has some worrying on capitol hill. nbc's hallie jackson has more. >> reporter: in this tale of two days, the story keeps changing. >> regardless of recommendation i was going to fire comey. >> flashback to tuesday night when the president said the white house acted on clear recommendations from the white house. >> no one from the white house. that was a doj decision. >> reporter: wednesday the vice president reiterated rosenstein's role. >> because of the actions that the deputy attorney general outlined to act on the recommendations, to take the recommendation of the deputy attorney general. >> reporter: later that day, a shift. >> frankly he has been considering letting director comey go since the day he was elected. >> reporter: now, the white house deflecting questions on the revised rationale. >> shouldn't be a complicated process. the president knew that director comey was not up to the task. >> he has absolute right to fire the fbi director for any reason. the problem is the inconsistent reasons being offered.

>> reporter: democrat mark warner alarmed that the president called comey a showboat. >> frankly, i'm offended at the president's comments. >> in a senate hearing the acting fbi director defended the man he replaced. >> director comey enjoyed broad support within the fbi. and still does to this day. >> reporter: at the white house a different story again. >> i heard from countless members of the fbi that are grateful and thankful for the president's decision. and i think that you know, we may have to agree to disagree. >> that was hallie jackson reporting. details about a plane evacuated because of a scorpion. then we'll tell you what led to a case of road rage caught on camera. fitness guru jillian michaels' multimillion dollar legal score. add some fun to sunday brunch with a cuisinart waffle maker. and vera wang fragrance is just $29.99.

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who are all these caretakers, advocates too? turns out, it's californians it's me and it's you. don't stop now, it's easy to add to the routine. join energy upgrade california and do your thing. another day, another problem on a plane. this time passengers in houston had to be evacuated from a united airlines plane after a scorpion crawled out of a customer's clothes. the passenger was not stung but crews were unable to find the creature. united said they put passengers on a new plane and provided everyone with a meal voucher. this comes a month after another passenger was actually stung by a scorpion on a plane. also flying out of houston. >> queue the jaws music. a sheriff's chopper off the coast of california spotted a group of sharks swimming along the surf line.

>> attention in the water. you are paddle boarding next to 15 white sharks. >> the swimmers were urged to exit calmly and quickly. thankfully the sharks were not aggressive and everyone was cleared from the coast safely. road rage caught on camera in florida. a pickup truck slams into another car moments after the drivers got into a fight in the parking lot. the pickup driver dave blankenship tells nbc he was making a u turn. >> there he was right in front of me. i don't know if i hit the break instead of the gas. >> police say this was not accident and blankenship used his car as a weapon. he was arrested and charged with aggravated assault. why steve harvey is telling his staff to come out of his dressing room, don't come near him. remember this, gangnam

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let's talk about the weekend forecast including mother's day. cool unsettled weather in the northwest will be with you. warming it back up into phoenix as we go through saturday. san diego looking pretty decent, too. for mother's day itself, unfortunately it's kind of stuck in this pattern here, only 57 in the pacific northwest. 64 around medford, 71 in l.a. you get the picture out there, francis. not even picnic weather in the northwest. >> same here in the northeast. reaction continues following the president's exclusive interview with nbc's lester holt as we get new reaction from mr. trump on his fight for legitimacy in a divided country, his attempt to pass a health

care bill mocked by many. >> do you feel like you're fighting for your legitimacy sometime, feel like your legitimacy is under attack? >> we have a very divided count country. the republicans are very, very much behind me. >> some say what's been proposed is not great health care. >> some do. now it's in the senate and they'll change it around a little bit and it's coming back to the house. we're going to end up with good health care. you have to understand we don't have good health care right now because obamacare is dead. there are so many important things happening, so many important things, and to be a part of it and to help people, i'm helping people, helping the people of this country. >> you can watch lester's interview with the president this morning on "today." fast forwarding into friday, bill o'reilly will give his first interview since parting ways with fox news. this morning o'reilly will join glenn beck on his radio program. first lady melania trump

will host a celebration of military mothers event at the white house. according to the national retail federation, americans are expected to send a record $23.6 billion for mother's day, most spent on cards, flowers and special outings to restaurants. an internal memo from steve harvey to his staff at the steve harvey show that has surfaced. in it he tells them not to pop into his dressing room or they'll be removed and also not to approach him in the makeup room or the hallway. if they need to speak with him, according to this memo, they must schedule an appointment. harvey says he has no regrets and he was taking advantage of his open door policy. >> i guess disappointed when someone is so endearing -- >> i get in the makeup chair, but in the hallway even? you can't talk to him in the hallw hallway? >> i'm frances rivera, we leave you with photos of our "early today" team members and their moms.

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good morning. it is friday morning. we're looking live from our san francisco camera. there is the beautiful city skyline. it's chilly out there, so grab a coat before you leave the house. "today in the bay" starts right now. it does feel chilly when you get outside. i have some goosebumps over there. >> later today i'm going to take you up on that, mike. what are we looking at to warm us up. >> it will be sunny, but it will be a cooler day and also breezy that will make it feel cooler on this friday. let's look at what to expect. out the door is