>> an explosive report about accusations of sexual misconduct rocks the alabama senate race. i'm robert costa. the democrats bounce back tonight on "washington week." >> it's very disturbing. >> the white house and a chorus of republicans are calling on roy moore to step aside if reports of sexual misconduct with teenagers are true. >> it is a devastating nasty story. robert: moore has launched a fundraising appeal. and how the weaven of democratic

victories this week affect next year's mid-terms. president trump talked about his message of america first and said hello to president putin. we discuss it with molly ball and peter baker and chuck todd. >> celebrating 50 years, this is "washington week." funding is provided by -- >> their leadership is instinctive. they understand the challenges of today. and researched the technologies of tomorrow. some call them veterans. we call them part of our team.

>> additional funding is provided bynewman's own foundation, donating all profits from newman's own food products to charity and nourishing the common good. koo and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again, live from washington, moderator, robert costa. end: robert: roy moore said he will never give up the fight. in an interview in tweets, the former judge is calling reports that he pursued relationships with minors when he was a district attorney completely false. four women told the "washington

post" that moore made inappropriate sexual advances on them when they were teenagers, the 70-year-old moore has been a controversial figure since his political career began decades ago. someone who has displayed his gun at a political rally and removed from the alabama state supreme court in 2003 after he refused a federal judge's order to remove a 10 commandments and then arguing that keith ellison should be not be serving because of his muslim faith. republicans have been called on moore to step down. senator mccain went further, he wrote the allegations against roy moore are deeply disturbing and should immediately step

aside and allow the people of alabama to elect a candidate that they are proud of. senator after senator are singing their resignment. chuck: he said after rereading all of the accusations and hearing judge moore's response, i have decided to pull my endorsement. he is basically saying, i believe the accusers. just what you were saying with john mccain. he is not going anywhere. it has taken court orders to do his job or being kicked off the bench. this is a lose-lose situation. mitch mcconnell, it's clear, this republican party was trying to figure it out.

they didn't want him around before there was an accusation that he did a misdeed. that is that much worse. mitch mcconnell said it is worst to have him as a senator than having a democrat senator. robert: he was the senate seat and down to 51 and any single senator can force a tie and the vice president breaks it. and you don't control the senate anymore. and next year is a long shot for the democrats in the senate because the republicans have very few seats, it looks like very much possible. could they come back in the south, molly? molly: we have heard a real

reluctance and they fear that doing so would nationalize it. if this is the national democratic party throwing a bunch of money, it turns into a pelosi ad in a contest you are in a red state. you want to depart inize it as much as possible. we will see a lot of party trying to hold back. and roy moore who isn't a terrific fundraiser, you have the national republican party pulling out of this race. the outside groups are going to do the same thing and when you don't have the outside group, it will be difficult. robert: the national republican senatorial committee they are pulling their funding and they are giving it to the democrats.

why aren't are they going to play? peter: this is not a normal campaign anymore. we are in a state of suspended animation here between what the republican party is going to do. we have a whole month before election day in alabama. you will see flir takes with write-ins. and a lot of people think that roy moore might win any way. on the same day this came out we had the louis c.k. and we are in a cultural moment. i'm not as cynical that somehow this is nt going to impact the way women are voting. and we saw it in the virginia election. i think the democrats are now the slate favorite here and i wouldn't be surprised to see

republicans perhaps endorsing doug jones. watch the governor, she never endorsed moore and i don't think she will. robert: she said she is deeply disturbed. another name is coming out. mitch mcconnell with josh homes and targeting bannon and bannon has to have some responsibility. peter: bannon was out trumpping this to the videotape last year with "access hollywood." the response is or chest traited smear and this is -- robert: it is not. peter: you have to give your supporters an alternative theory. not that he did something wrong but people are out to get him but he is speaking truth to power and scaring the

establishment and going to drain the swamp. i have been down there but it's a pretty desperate last-minute strategy when you are facing these allegations. robert: suburban women are looking at what happened in virginia, the governor-elect and phil murphy, pennsylvania's women and northern virginia, they are turned away from the g.o.p. and president trump, what are they going to see and what is happening in alabama? molly: that was really what we saw in the surprisingly robust win for democrats particularly in virginia but all over the country. it was a surge in turnout particularly from college-educated women. and that is the demographic that you don't hear so much about. you hear the trump voter who is

the angry white man who had a factory job. but the real dynamic is the college educated suburban woman. but they seem to really have changed in some way after last year's election. and see an unprecedented amount of activism. there is a surge in enthusiasm that made a difference in virginia. virginia is pretty much a blue state. but what we don't know, does that make a difference. i was in alabama a few months ago reporting on the primary in this race, and there is a stereotype of the alabama voter that there are enthusiastic trump supporter, republicans and country clubs, they don't like roy moore and lost a lot of

republican primaries and people of alabama -- >> ralph northam did better and what you have is a build to that point. we may look back at 2016 and say everything we thought was going to benefit hillary clinton because of the accusations against president trump in the "access hollywood" tape. we were right but when she is not on the ballot. whatever hard feelings and misgivings these women had about donald trump, the misgivings let them gamble or stay home. a year of trump and there was no hesitation. robert: on that point, chuck and peter, everybody says these analysts and the pundists say

suburban voters say they don't like president trump and look at the medicaid expansion. exit polls show it is the policy and style. peter: i think the thing that is the accelerant is the president and his leadership style and the volatility he has introduced in the political environment. republicans have a difficult time making their policy. in virginia, you mentioned hillary and donald trump and two unique candidates and people say she was the only democrat who couldn't beat donald trump. you had a laboratory between two generic candidates. neither one of them are flashy and both of them defeated the

wings of their party to win the nomination and you had a test case. molly is right. virginia has been changing long before donald trump. but the margin of victory at nine points and the down ballot suggested a real important moment. molly: if the dem cats want to take the house, they have to win in places that hillary clinton did not win. they are winning in places that she did win. but they have to win in places she did not win. if all of the republicans in districts that trump won still win, get the exact same share of the vote, the republicans will hold the house. i want to play devil's advocate that alabama's voters are going to turn. voters calculations have changed. white evangelical voters that a

candidate's moral character is more important and now down to 30%. people change about the way they vote. and there may be a slippery vote. and if they could swallow like the "access hollywood" vote, maybe they are willing to look past it. >> we have two opposite issues. chuck: it feels as if the -- is the trigger the "access hollywood" tape and he won and despite that wim are feeling, i'm not going to stay silent about what so and so did to me and i'm going to hold men more accountable because look what happens if you don't. then somebody can get into the white house while bragging about it. so there is something there that i think is layering over the

politics. i don't think there is some sort of rationalization but there is something else happening. robert: the one republican you aren't hearing from, donald trump. he is in asia yeah and not focused on domestic policies and maybe he doesn't work well in china -- molly: he did talk about ed gillespie. robert: he hasn't said one word about this and obviously, you can imagine in going in the direction. so alabama, new jersey, what does it mean for taxes. the senate has its own bill and want to lower the corporate rate. the house republicans are saying we have our own plans. there is a lot of drama in the

g.o.p. what does it mean? chuck: the leadership will tell you and i'm sure they told you off the record, they think there is a fierce urgency of now and the election results of tuesday and roy moore has everybody in the house and senate focused and if it were up to leadership, they would be right. but we are in every republican for themselves mode. the closer we are inching to 2018, i don't know. there are a lot of suburban members of congress and right now this tax plan does not benefit their constituents. it benefits their donors but does not benefit their constituents. so there is that issue. and they haven't started the wooing process of democrats. i don't buy this idea they are going to get a tax cut agreed upon. i think this thing ends up sometime in the spring where

they do something much more narrow. molly: another trend that accelerated and a number of republican members retiring from congress which is up to 30, which is the most in decades. so you have on the one happened a lot of members who because they don't have to run for re-election don't have to do something to put themselves on the line. they are liberated to vote for a policy based on the merits. there are a lot of people worried on the re-election. they are legitimately not sure whether it is worst politically for them to pass something or not to. there's a lot of analyses coming out about people who are going to see a tax hike, voters who aren't going to benefit from this bill or in certain tax brackets. and leadership thought that because tax reform is hard and complicated and do it in secret

and push it through. and they are finding out that people still read the bill only if you give them a day. and if they are queasy about what's in there, they will be queasy. peter: will it get done? i sense a more momentum and they are able to bridge some of these divides. the compromises aren't hard to imagine. it's not a cultural or moral game. little money here and little money there. you could see where they could get it done. i'm not saying they will. i will take your bet. but you never know. robert: let's head overseas where president trump is on a foreign trape. -- trip. he spoke on friday, the president said he will put america first and vow to

strengthen america's position in the global market. president trump: i do not blame china or any other country for which there are many, for taking advantage of the united states on trade. i wish previous administrations in my country saw what was happening and did something about it. they did not, but i will. robert: chuck, what did he accomplish? chuck: not a lot. but there has been a lot of unforced errors and he didn't step on any diplomatic landmines and had a rhetorical sabers rattle for north korea or actual sabers rattle. you know, it's interesting, he talked tough on trade after he left china. he is not the first president to

talk tough, i'm going to tell the chinese and then suddenly become president and joked off. you know, that rhetoric, he is in china, back it off. trump did it, too. he backed off. there is a little political risk here. he gave an opening to senate democrats who have to run for re-election in red states and letting people go hard after china. is he too cozy with the president of china? is that going to back fire. being cozy with china is not popular with the left or the right. robert: shaking hands with putin, the russian president, being cozy with the chinese president, what does that tell us? peter: he didn't have a formal meeting. and they issued first

indictments. but chuck is right about the president and it has been fascinating because you can't really see a personality similarity there. molly: he admires tough guys. and it was so interesting and revealing to me when he praised xi for his great political victory. it's not a democracy and didn't win a popular election but he has total control over this one-party state. he likes a man who has that kind of control and wishes he had it himself. peter: he isabel coast on the stump but not in person. chuck: people have asked me, what's he like in person? like every other politician.

robert: you don't see a lot of deals being announced. chuck: and peter knows this very well covering international stories, there is a lot more pre-cooked deals. i will say this, i wouldn't grade him and say it's an incomplete and maybe china gets tougher on north korea, if you are this white house you would want an announcement that china wanted something to do against north korea and that didn't happen. molly: the pulling out of the t.p.p. is the promise he kept but that may have the effect of empowering china in the region. to your point about deals, he is mostly a deal breaker, and pulled out of agreements, the paris climate cord.

peter: not having deliverables is a surprising move because they want to show something. all these deliverables and other administrations have given us on these trips have been cosmetic. the real test is we won't know for a know. can president xi convince him to lower the temperature. he is open for talks. he said it was a waste of time. robert: chuck, from all of your friends here at "washington week," congratulations on your run on "meet the press." chuck: you are a great addition and so is your predecessor

glifle. robert: you are a class act. thanks for being here, peter and molly, chuck, the best. we will continue online on "washington week" extra at pbs.org/"washington week." i want to remember again i've i will who moderated for 17 years. she passed away one year ago. but her legacy lives. and with her straightforward style and her incredible stamina, she also knew that the best way to cut through the high per bowlo was to concentrate on

steady. and her role as a mentor to so many reporters, especially women of color. we still get mail from so many of you every week who miss gwenn's smile. for her example and class continue to guide us every friday night. >> funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> their leadership is instinctive. they understand the challenges of today and research the

technologies of tomorrow. some call them veterans. we call them part of our team. >> additional funding is provided by -- newman's own foundation, donating all profits from newman's own food products to charity and nourishing the common good. koo and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org.]

man: a few hours ago, i discharged my last duty as king and emperor. narrator: when king edward viii abdicated the british throne in 1936, he sparked a constitutional crisis. woman: at stake was the monarchy and the empire. narrator: it was a family crisis, too, forcing his reluctant younger brother bertie to become king. woman: bertie wasn't brought up to be king. narrator: but at the heart of it all was a bitter conflict between two strong and determined women. woman: behind that great abundance of charm lies a shrewd, scheming, and extremely ruthless woman. narrator: wallis simpson, the american divorcee, for whom the king gave up the throne. edward viii: nothing can change how i feel about you. man: she was smart, she was sassy,