hour of msnbc live. you can mind me anywhere, on twitter, instagram, facebook. right now on msnbc, andrea mitchell reports. right now on andrea mitchell reports, law and order. president trump throwing down the gauntlet on immigration as the nation gets a new attorney general. >> today's ceremony should be seen as a clear message to the gang members and drug dealers terrorizing innocent people. your day is over. a new era of justice begins. and it begins right now. >> as republicans once again overwhelm the democratic opposition. >> when jeff sessions was passed, it turned my stomach. he doesn't belong there. and i think a lot of republicans know it. >> his own man, the president's supreme court nominee, claims he is independent. but is it just for effect. >> is the president aware? >> yeah, remarks by the

president about federal judges. >> he said you should feel free to mention what i said about these attacks being disheartening and demoralizing. >> coming up we'll hear more from senator blumenthal about what the supreme court nominee toll him. and blasted. just a day after record-setting warm weather, new england gets socked with a winter storm set to dump up to a foot of snow in some parts. >> as quickly as they move the snow more shows up. >> the snow continues to fall, the wind whipping flurries around and it's expected to get heavier over the next couple of hours. good day, everyone, i'm andrea mitchell had washington today as the president's controversial choice for attorney general is now the nation's top law enforcement officer. >> we have a crime problem. i wish the blip -- i wish the rise that we are seeing in crime

in america today were some sort of aberration or a blip. this is a dangerous, permanent trend that places the health and safety of the american people at risk. >> even after the president's atag on the judiciary in the last couple of hours is blasting questions at the supreme court nominee. he said he found those comments disheartening. so far, judge gorsuch won't say that in public. joining me, kristen welker and pete williams. kristen, the president has gone after the judiciary in a way that is startling to a lot of people. his nominee is up on the hill telling senators privately that he finds that disheartening. but he has not said so publicly. and chuck schumer and others are saying he should say that publicly. what are you learning about whether the white house was given a heads up from judge

gorsuch. >> i spoke to a senior administration official earlier today who didn't indicate that the white house was given a heads up but who stressed this point. the white house thinks judge gorsuch should be able to speak his mind, to say what he believes. that essentially, they are not trying to redetermine these meetings that he has on capitol hill. at the same time, andrea, if you look at this politically, politically, it could help judge gorsuch in his confirmation. [ loss of audio ] >> reporter: that he sees a strong distinction between the executive and judicial branches. of course that's something that the white house has been pressed on recently, how does the president view that separation of powers? of course the press secretary sean spicer has been very firm about the fact that the president respects the separation of powers, that his strong language isn't meant to undermine that in any way, shape, or form.

but there is no doubt that judge gorsuch will get pressed on that in his confirmation hearings. politically it could ultimately help him. which is not to say that's why he made those comments. having said, that we put the question to the white house, has judge gorsuch spoken to president trump since he made those comments? no response to that yet, but we will try to get an answer when the press briefing gets underway. >> this is theory in the case this is all to make him appear more independent, to do that without doing it publicly. pete williams, you have covered so many of these nominations. one of the things that chuck schumer said last night to rachel maddow is that he is concerned that judge gorsuch looks correct and looks amenable. but so did justice roberts. and from his perspective justice roberts said he was going to call the balls and strikes as he saw it, and according to chuck schumer he came out with citizens united and other

decisions that schumer said were ahim inical to the public interest. >> correct. i have heard that democrats think that judge gorsuch should say whatever he has been saying privately in public. of course, i understand that's not going to happen. the sacred rule for supreme court nominees is once you get the nomination and you make that initial humble thank you very much speech, then you clam up in public and done say anything until your hearing. undoubtedly they will follow that rule here. i have talked to current members of the supreme court who say they make the courtesy calls in the senate and then they are astonished to hear the senators describe the conversations they have had in private. sometimes their not accurate. we know in this case that two people backed up the way that senator blummenthal described judge gorsuch's comments. people supporting the judge's

nomination confirmed the way that the senator -- >>cal audio aonput out a statement reemphasizing that. but at the same time, donald trump today, the president tweeted, senator blumenthal who never fought in vietnam, when he said for many years he had. major lie. misrepresent senting what judge gorsuch told him. kristen, he is not misrepresenting what he said at all. according to what the senator's spokesperson told them. >> two of them. >> two of them. >> that's right. it begs the question, andrea, what kinds of communications have they had privately? what does the president think of this? will this create any backlash or cause him to question his support? the white house has been firm. it won't. that he still stands firmly behind judge gorsuch.

of course this is a president who does not shy away from conflict. not surprising he would respond in that way to sort of spin this in his own way. as you rightfully point out his advisers confirmed those observations. >> the only thing to do at this point would be to withdraw the nomination. >> that won't happen. this is a nominee he want to get confirmed. right now he is going to be moating for lench lunch with four democratic senators from red states who are vulnerable the white house feels to being picked off base on some of the confirmations, specifically on this one. let's talk about jeff sessions now, the new attorney general. there is lot of concern among civil libber tearians and others about the attacks on the judiciary. coming from the president, pete, suggesting that if there is a terror attack, it will be at the judges -- the judge in seattle, and now the appeals court judges who have not yet ruled. the way he said he watched

television and watched their hearings and there was a lot of stuff, and that it was political -- have you seen this kind of attack on the judiciary before? >> yes. you know, it sort of reached its credits endoi think several years ago when republicans in congress were especially critical of some federal rulings and said the judges out to be impeached that the judiciary was out of control. there was a time that newt gingrich rich led a group attacking the judiciary questioning whether they should have lifetime appointments and all kinds of thing. it's unusual to have a president criticizing judges while the white house has a case in front of a court. but you know, franklin roosevelt was pretty critical of the supreme court, too much of i think the other thing is there is sort of an instinctive recoil from whenever anybody attacks judges. guess what, judges have pretty thick skin. they can take it. i think what the judiciary is

most concerned with is consistent attacks that question the judiciary's role in the system. that's what concerns them. i suspect that's what behind the comments that judge gorsuch made. but it's not unusual for a president to be upset about judges. >> then also the president versus john mccain. a question you were asking sean spicer about the yemen attack -- the yemen raid and whether it was a success or a failure and the disagreement with john mccain. and there was a series of exchanges. we interviewed john mccain yet on the hill. and he went offer -- rebutted what sean spicer had said. now overnight you have got the president ginning in and the president tweeting senator mccain should not be talking about the success or failure of a mission to the media. only emboldens the enemy. our hero, ryan died on a winning mission according to general mattis not failure.

time for him to get smart and start winning again. are people in the white house concerned? i guess not if sean spicer carried on against mccain. >> no. during the campaign donald trump took aim at john mccain. this is a dynamic they are accustomed to. it was striking that sean spicer said that nip who questions the success of this mission owes an apology to the fallen soldier. those comments created waves. if you look at it from a different perspective, pruch has been quite critical of the iraq war for example. how does that square? and i think that argument becomes complicated. senator mccain when he was pressed by frank thorp yesterday on capitol hill stressed that he considers of course the fallen soldier to be a hero and that's

not the purpose of his remarks. at the same time it's important to look at these missions critically. so i anticipate that we'll be following up with sean spicer today on some of what we heard from senator mccain. and on those questions about iraq. is it not to some extent a double standard? is this not a tough needle to thread? >> let me play just a bit of spicer versus mccain as of yesterday to set the table. >> it's absolutely a success. and i think anyone who would suggest it's not a success does disservice to the life of chief ryan owens. >> when i was in prison in north vietnam, there was an attempt to rescue the p.o.w.s, unfortunately, the prison had been evacuated. but the brave men who took -- par took in that mission and risked their lives in an evident to rescue us prisoners of war were genuine heros. because the mission failed did not in any way diminish their bravery and courage or

willingness to sacrifice for their fellow americans who were being held captive. mr. spicer should know that story. >> now, presumely, mr. spicer will know that story. the questions will be asked and we hope answered as well. the briefing i think is at 1:30 today kristen. finally to pete, we are now told we will get an hour and a half notice when the ninth circuit rules. >> very unusual. they say due to the intense interest they will try to tell us when it's coming in an hour or 90 minutes. haven't gotten that heads up yet. don't know if it will come today or not. at least it gives us a chance to get ready. >> thank you pete williams, kristen welker. to the storm, the storm that's bearing down in the northeast. turning deadly after the mayor confirmed a death contributed to the weather. in some areas they are forecast to get at least 12 inches.

more than 3,000 flights were canceled early. schools were close in philadelphia, connecticut and boston. up and down the 95 corridor from philadelphia to boston travel is treacherous. high winds are whipping up the snow. blake mccoy is watching live from boston. a view from there. >> reporter: we are getting word of the first storm related death at this hour. it happened in new york city. a doorman was shoveling snow. he slipped, fell through a glass window and sadly died. emergency officials are urging people to stay home with this storm. in new york you guys are already seeing up to a foot of snow. it's going to stop over the next hour or two and then start to hammer boston. look. i can show you when we are seeing here. maybe an inch of snow on the untreated part of the sidewalk. but we are going to see up to 18 inches of snow by this evening if you can believe it or not. so we are talking about a fast moving storm that's backing quite a punch. in new york today up to three

inches of snow has been falling per hour. that's how fast this storm is moving of it's also going to move out just as quickly. by 8:00 p.m. tonight the snow is expected to be done here in boston. right now in philadelphia new york city, and boston, schools are closed. many government offices closed as well. they are urging people, if you do have to travel, use public transportation. that way they keep the cars off the roads and keep plows trooed treating roads more quickly. >> thank you blake. coming up as we await a court decision on the president's travel ban former intelligence and national security officials say the executive order makes america less same one of them jins me here on andrea mitchell reports. stay with us. or fill a big order or expand your office and take on whatever comes next.

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we continue on watch for that decision from the ninth circuit court of appeals on whether it will reinstate president trump's controversial travel ban or not. president trump has twice warned if there is a terror attack it will be the judges' fault. a high level group of intelligence officials disagree strongly. joining me right now john mclaughlin who signed the automatic first down with the court. good to see you. why do you think that the travel ban as originally issued actually undermines our national security? >> i reacted to that on two planes. first as a former senior official in government. and second as someone who spent a lot of time battles terrorists during my time at the cia.

on the first score it was just badly done. if they take it a couple of extra days, asked some smart people they would have avoided all of this chaos. on the second point i think what it does, after a campaign in which the president has repeatedly talked about a muslim ban, even if it isn't, it is perceived that way around the world in the muslim world and s second, i think for al qaeda and islamic state it is a gift. it is their propaganda gift. finally for muslim countries that work with us, there are quite a few, puts them on the spot. they will have demonstrations. some of their facilities will be attacked. it's just not the way to do this. >> the president talked about this yesterday. he was defending what he had decided saying it had been rolled out smoothly, which certainly is in contradiction to a lot of the facts and a lot of what we've seen at airports around the world. and he also was putting it on

the judges if there is any kind of terror attack, it's their fault. let's watch a little bit of what he had to say. >> all right. >> this was done, very importantly, for security. something you people know more about than all of us. it was done for the security of our nation. the security of our citizens. so that people come in who aren't going to do us harm. >> what doesn't the president know? do you think he is getting the right advice? >> no, i don't think he is getting the right advice. i don't know what they have against sitting down with experts. if you were having a heart operation you wouldn't bring someone in off the street. you would want the best heart surgeon in the world. well, there are people in our government who worked for a dozen years intimately on terrorism. on this point, and particularly the judges that will be at fault if there is a terrorist attack, that's just an unfair ill advised thing to i same you can

keep away terrorists consistently, but one is going to get through sooner or later. it's probably not going to be the judges' fault. >> there is also no evidence that there is anything in the threat matrix that would have precipitated this travel ban when it was issued. it's true we may not know. there are a lot of things obviously that we done note. but have you seen anything bubble up from your sources that there was a particular threat that required this kind of emergency ban? >> no, i wouldn't know that myself, but there were at least three people on this travel ban signature line who recently were in the government within a matter of weeks. so i don't know that, to be frank. >> one of the things that the president tweeted bass just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril and if something happens blame him and court system. people pouring in. bad. there is also no evidence of people pouring in. >> yeah, i mean, you know, the president has to -- a lot of

things. everyone wishes him well. we can't wish a president to fail. but he needs to think a little bit more about what he says because there is a consistent record here now of things that aren't true. and over time it makes it very hard for you in the journalism world to follow up on this. they have moved downstream they become truths, this is not good for our democracy. i spent a lot of time in my career looking at authoritarian governments and governments that were trying to avoid. that i'm not saying the president is taking us there but a of the will of things that are happening attacks on judges, consistent falsehoods are consistent with how a country starts to lose it is democrat create balance its orientation. >> there is also the issue of the president and vladimir putin, the things that he said which seemed to be establishing a moral equivalentsy between any kind of foreign policy missteps in america's past with the kind of things that putin does. yeah. >> then there is the issue of

the russian dissident now in a coma in a russian hospital. his wife, who lives in virginia with their children has gone to moscow to be at his side. he previously suffered organ failure from poisoning. john mccain just talked to other senate producer frank thorpe about this. i wanted to play that. >> should the administration reach out to the family of the dissident? >> i can't tell the president of the united states what to do. >> i mean should the u.s. have any role in trying to help him and help his -- >> we should try to help him in every way week. but the best way to help him -- and i'm sure he would tell you that and boris mental sov, who putin murdered, stand up to putin. >> is there any evidence that the u.s. is prepared to stand up to putin? >> not at this point i would say. you know, there is nothing wrong with wanting to have a better relationship with russia. you and i talked about that before. i remember times when there was a better relationship.

but to establish a moral eequivalence as ais base for that is just wrong. we don't blow civilian airliners out of the air. we don't carpet bomb civilians. we don't murder our opponents in our political system. >> one of the things the president said today, he was meeting with airline executives, and he referred again to we should have kept the oil, we didn't keep a single oil frame. this is a refrain where he talks about the fact that after iraq we did not keep the oil. my understanding is that it is a war crime to go into a country and keep their natural resources. >> well, again, the president either has to think about what he is saying or has to sit down with someone and talk this through with someone who knows something about it. i heard this for weeks, months, through the campaign, i have no idea what he is talking about. try to operationalize it. what does that mean? put troops around wells? pump it out? put it into containers, bring it

back here? it sounds like one of the nuttiest things i have heard a public official say. >> how long were you with cia? >> 32 years. >> under democrats and republicans obviously. >> i am an independent. i wok for seven presidents. i was nominated by a democrat, served as deputy director, served under a republican. served republicans and democrats of all parties, of all administrations. so i'm an independent. >> and you are now teaching at johns hopkins at the graduate school of foreign policy? >> i do. >> john mclaughlin, thank you very much. coming up, shop until you drop. president trump under fire for tweeting at a department store that had stopped selling his daughter's clothing line. you are watching andrea mitchell reports on msnbc. ♪ ♪

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senate richard blumenthal is calling for supreme court nominee judge gorsuch to publicly condemn president trump's attack on the judiciary system. that after the judge told 'em blumenthal in private that the president's criticism of the judiciary was disheartening and demoralizing. it was confirmed by the judge's spokes "people." right now, president trump is meeting with some democratic colleagues hoping to gain their support for this nomination. what would you say to those democrats about this nomination process? >> i think they ought to insist on more specific answers to some of the concerns i raised in my meeting with judge gorsuch. there is all the need more for him to publicly condemn these attacks on the media. there is no question he told me the attacks were disheartening and demoralizing you about he needs to be stronger, more

public, condemn president trump's unprecedented outrageous abhorrent attack on judiciary publicly and clearly. and that's what i would suggest my democratic colleagues should ask of judge gorsuch but also to address some of the other issues that i raised with him because the president has said he will apply a litmus test to any nominee appointed, a litmus test that requires his nominee be pro life, professional-second emt amendment, and quote conservative, enquote. and i would urge my democratic colleagues to ask very specific questions and insist on clear answers. >> the judge clearly is going to be asked those questions at a confirmation hearing. he is unlikely to answer questions -- we just tried -- kasie hunt tried to ask him a question in the hallway going from meeting to meeting but he is not going to saying in pub will he but you and senator schumer are saying he should

publicly condemn these attacks on the judiciary. >> we live in an unusual time. you and i both know that typically judicial nominees will say they have to avoid questions because the case may come before them or they are not permitted to talk politics, but fact is that donald trump has established these litmus tests and he has also questioned judge gorsuch's own confirmed statements that he is disheartened and demoralized by these kinds of attacks or at least the judiciary. he finds disheartening and demoralizing these attacks. so i think that there is a clear need for him to condemn these attacks publicly. he failed to do so. it's not enough that he do it behind closed doors or in private meetings. he has to be unequivocal and emphatic. more is at stake than his nomination. the american have a right to question whether he will be truly independent and open

minded if he fails to stand up to this bullying by the president who nominated him. he also should come to the defense of the american judiciary. a core constitutional principle is at stake, the independence and legitimacy and credibility of our judges around the country. and for donald trump to do what he is doing is unprecedented in recent history. it's not just criticizing an opinion or a result. it is a direct personal invective insult attack on a judge and the entire judicial system. >> the president also went after you, really hard, resurrecting old issues. he was tweeting against you because of what you had said about the judge, senator richard blumenthal never fought in vietnam when he said for years he had. misrepresent sented what judge gorsuch told him. we have already established you

were not misrepresent sent iing anything. it was confirmed by neil gorsuch's spokesperson in writing. what about these attacks back and forth between you and the president questioning his nominee. >> this issue is way bigger than me. in fact, way bigger than even judge gorsuch's nomination. it's about the independence and integrity of our judicial system. for the president of the united states to be attacking our judicial system is really a disservice to the nation. and that bigger issue is where judge gorsuch really needs to condemn these attacks publicly. and i believe that the american people will question his independence, and certainly i will. i have grave and serious concerns about this nomination. i think this issue is one that ought to be front and center for my democratic colleagues as they meet with the president of the united states.

>> you no, as a member of the committee, you also have oversight over the justice department. jeff sessions is now sworn in. how closely are you going to be watching him? and my colleague rachel maddow did a very inclusive report last night on the possibility of a solicitor general being nominate who had has a very checkered past, charles chuck cooper. how closely are you going to be tracking what jeff sessions does. great question. we are going to be scrutinizing and overseeing the department of justice very, very closely, particularly when it comes to voting rights and civil rights,women's health care. not just the issue of privacy rights, but also protection of clinics where women go for health care, which is a major responsible to the department of justice. law enforcement, and criminal justice reform. there are a set of issues where unfortunately attorney

general -- now attorney general sessions our former colleague, has indicated an anti-pathy to civil rights and civil liberties that called us in to questioning his fitness for that job. and we opposed him. but we are going to work with him and at the same time oversee very closely and critically, as is our job. we are an oversight committee as the judiciary committee and we are going to be doing that job. >> sam blumenthal thank you very much, thank you for coming on today. coming up acrossing the line. president trump and his top advisors calling out a department for for dropping his daughter's clothing line. the store says it was a business decision. stay with us. helps ease fibromyalgia pain. he also prescribed lyrica. fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves.

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. go buy ivanka's stuff is what i would tell you. i hate.showing but i'm going to get some myself. it is a wonderful line. i own some of it i'm going to give a free commercial here. go buy it today everybody, you can find it on line. >> presidential adviser kellyanne conway plugging ivanka trump's fashion line in light of new questions about potential ethical conflicts after the president accused nordstrom of dropping ivanka's line for political reasons tweeting quote my daughter ivanka has been treated so unfairly by nordstrom. she is a great person always pushing me to do the right thing, terrible. donald trump jr. tweeted a link to a breitbart article about

women around the cut protesting and cutting up their nordstrom cards. nordstrom says the zig was based on performance. joining me an ethics lawyer for president george w. bush. what's the problem with kellyanne or others, the president, promoting the retail line? for one thing, ivanka, we've been told, has separated herself from the company. >> well, the government ethics rules, the standards of conduct for federal employees make it very clear that you may not use public office for private gain. a u.s. government employee, including a white house staff member, may not in an official speech, official capacity a tv interview, promote the products or services of a business owned by his family or by the president's family, or anybody else. so that is illegal under the standards of conduct for federal employees.

much more important, however, is the president's tweet really attacking nordstrom for its decision to drop his daughter's -- the president's daughter's line of clothing. this is a direct attack on the company. it's intimidation. this company does business with every branch -- just about every branch of the federal government. and now we are being told in order trom is persona non grata of this administration. we have in this administration seen attacks on the freedom of religion, attacks on the freedom of press, on the independent judiciary, and now on the free enterprise decision. business people are entitled to make business decisions free of intimidation. we do not have to do business with the president's family in the united states of america. that's not the way it works. i think the american people are getting fed up with this type of conduct. this is not the type of person we want in the white house. if he is going to conduct himself in this manner, pressuring people to buy his

family's products and using the white house to do that. that is entirely inappropriate and it's got to stop. >> let me just raise a question which they would no doubt raise. when they say that it is no longer the president's family business because they claim they have separated themselves now. let me have your insights on that. >> i don't care who owns the business. it's pretty clear that this is ivanka's line of clothing. but i don't care who owns the business. the white house should not be used to promote products for specific companies. in particular, those that are run by people who that are connected with the president's family or anyone in the white house. and most important, we should never have an effort to intimidate a business such as nordstrom for its own decisions in a free market. this is a free market economy we have in the united states. and american voters are committed to a free market economy, particularly many of us in the republican primary and

this kind of conduct has got to stop. and congress needs to hold the president accountable. and that -- if the members of congress aren't going to do their job we are going to see interesting primaries coming up. we are getting fed up, those of us committed to american values, particularly our free enterprise system. >> we'll also poept out since we haven't seen the tax rrns we don't know who owns what. and there was a report in the last weekend or the weekend before that it was not a irrevocable trust it was a revocable trust in term of the president's trust. we don't know who is pulling the levers here. >> he has conflicts of interest problems, foreign policy problems. many of us have been ergeing the president ever since he was

elected to separate himself from his business concerns and focus on running our country. what we are seeing is exactly the opposite. the president is obsessed with his own businesses, with his family's businesses. he is using the official presidential twitter account for that purpose. and the white house staff, instead of reigning him in they are running around shelling for his businesses. this is not the way a white house ought to run. and i think it's about time that congress needs to hold the president accountable for doing his job. >> thank you very much. thank you richard painter. we'll be right back. ss open carn help you take on a new job, or fill a big order or expand your office and take on whatever comes next. find out how american express cards and services can help prepare you for growth at open.com.

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one of the reasons i was elected was because of law and order and security. right now, many communities in america are facing a public safety crisis. in chicago, more than 4,000 people were shot last year alone. and the rate so far this year has been even higher. what is going on in chicago? >> to find out, joining me now is kim fox, chicago's new top prosecutor as cook county state's attorney overseeing the largest unified criminal court system in the country. welcome. congratulations on your new position. what is your response to the way the president is describing what's going on in chicago? is he right? >> you know, thank you, andrea. we had a very terrible year as it relates to homicides in chicago in 2016, which defied a

trend with homicides going down over the last several decades. it was a terrible year. i don't think that it defines where we are going in direction in chicago. and i certainly don't think it defines the spirit of the people here in chicago and cook county on how we are going to defeat these issues. >> and what is the status of the consent degree? loretta lynch before the inauguration, before she left office announced in chicago they were taking over the police department. is that something that now has to be negotiated? and what do you foresee give the fact there is a new attorney general? >> the consent decree hasn't been finalized. there was an agreement worked out between the city of chicago police department and the u.s. department of justice back in january that they would work on the actual consent decree. it is our hope that the department of justice continues to work with the city of chicago to hammer out that consent decree. alternatively, if her not able

to do that it is our hope that the city of chicago -- that chicago's mayor will continue on with the recommendations that were made by the department of justice. >> your own history is, you know, extraordinary. you come out of the housing projects in chicago. you know the landscape. what can you bring to this debate from the authenticity of your own background? >> certainly. i think it's telling the real stories of the people who live in the neighborhoods that the president describes with such broad brushes. the people who live in as he skrbs them, inner cities. these are families who want their children to drive and grow. who want good jobs, to be able to provide for their feels, quality education and they don't, you know, appreciate the impact of violence, that it has on their communities. they also appreciate good policing and want to have a good relationship with law enforcement within their communities. and so for the people who live in those neighborhoods who have been marginalized by society, to

have the president of the united states paint them in those colors is very, very disheartening. and what i can tell you is that the people here in chicago, the people living in those communities are very motivated to do something about the violence that we see. >> what would you say to the president if you could meet with him? >> you know, i would certainly say that he is welcome to come here to chicago to come into the neighborhoods with people who actually live there to look at the disinvestment and the economies in some of our hardest hit areas where we see violence at its highest is where we also see just an economic divestment that has impacted families for decades. that if he wanted to bring resources to chicago we certainly would welcome resources around our economy and social services and the like. but really, he needs to come and get a whole picture of what is happening here from the people who actually live here. >> very nice to meet you. virtually, at least.

and thank you so much what you are doing. thanks for being with us today. >> thank you, andrea. join msnbc's kiss hayes for a town hall event addressing the surging violence in chicago. don't miss chicago in the cross hairs tonight on msnbc. joining me chris alyssa and susan page. what a couple of days we've had here with the president going after nordstrom, the president going after the judges, the president going after senator blumenthal. susan page, i don't want where to start as to what's been going on in our town. >> week three. >> john mccain versus the white house, the white house versus john mccain on who is heroic on what is a successful or a failed mission. >> it's quite extraordinary, the president's willingness to push back against attacks of all sorts, even from sun like john mccain, a highly respected

figure from his own party. and criticizing nordstrom from dropping his daughter's brand. this is different from what i've seen from other president. it's causing concern among some parts. >> we should except disruption because that's what he was elected on. where does he cross the line, do you think, chris alyssa? is it on being more fact based perhaps? >> i mean, if the campaign is any indication -- and it isn't always, right? campaigning and governing are two different things. there is no line. that's the through the looking glass piece of where we are. what i know is that the two most important events of every day in political washington are very early in the morning when donald trump sends out his bevy of tweets. and then midday when sean spicer holds his press conference. those are the two agenda-setting

things. the trump twitter feed which i honestly thought maybe he would scale way back -- i didn't think he would get rid of it but he would scale way back. if you think about it for the first three weeks it largely sets the agenda of the day or of the next day depending on when he tweets. which to susan and your point is something we have never ever send before. chuck schumer is on the cover of "time" magazine. i think that's a first. the democrats have not been able to do anything other than to slow down cabinet nominations. >> after the election the democrats were debating what degree to cooperate with donald trump as president. what degree to confront him. but the grassroots made it clear with the two massive demonstrations on the first two weekends of president trump's tenure that they expect democrats to stand up as much as possible, to obstruct as much as

possible. to slow down when can stop. i think we are seeing that change in strategy, that galvanizing behind a tough approach taking effect here in washington wash with senate democrats on these various issues chewing including these talk-a-thons against nominees they knew they couldn't actually keep from being confirmed. >> chris alyssa, at the same time the game changing moment is going to be whenever we get the notice from the ninth circuit. >> yes. >> that will determine whether or not the president's claim of, you know, supremacy, really, on deciding borders and national security -- that will be the issue. i think we've got a pool spray right now of the president trying to influence some democratic senators. lets a listen. >> we are going to get that one going. there have been a lot of problems but it's going to be good. we just had talks with qatar and a couple of countries, afghanistan. i would say that that's a tough

situation, but we'll do something about it. we'll be having some -- we'll be giving you information, pretty good information soon. we are going to have some good conversations with other world leaders over the next two hours. a lot of things are happening, a lot of positive things. i want to start by thanking senator manchin for having courage to vote for somebody that's really very outstanding, really outstanding, as good as i've seen in a long time, nominating the justice to the supreme court. a justice has always been one of the very important things that a president can do. i guess i'm looking very much at defense. and we are negotiating a lot of contracts with airlines and with a lot of other people. but when you get right down to it, the f-35 fighter is very important in all of the things we are doing is very important. but i've always considered and i guess a lot of people have, the

supreme court nominees to be right up there, right up there. we'll take defense number one. i think,ert. >> we have to go with defense of our country number one. and right after that, i suspect it's going to be supreme court justices. and judge gorsuch is an exceptionally qualified nominee. probably there has rarely been anybody that's more qualified. he has impeccable academic and legal credentials. he went to column yachlt very, very great student. he went to harvard. top of his class. he went to oxnard. great student. great intellect. an outstanding record for ten years on the bench. one of the great writers, legal writers. i have read some of things he has written. believe me. he is a great, great writer. he will respect and very much respect the constitution as written. and he will apply the law as written. he's a mainstream judge, very

much mainstream. and i urge you all to confirm him. he has been doing very well. a lot of people are liking him very much on the other side. and i think that because of politics perhaps they are not going to vote for him. i think that's a shame because that's not being honest. i have had a couple of people tell me from the other side -- because believe it or not i have a lot of friends on other side, too. and they think he is outstanding then they go on to tell me that perhaps they won't be able to do that. that's one of the reasons that our country is in stag nation in so many different forms and so many different ways. i think it's very dishonest, and i think it's very unfortunate. but we'll see what happens. i think he is doing very well. and i know that some people are going to come on board. and hopefully we can do this in a very quick and civil manner. the cabinet slowly is happening. jeff sessions just got -- you are very happy about that, because jeff's outstanding. and we just swore in jeff

sessions as attorney general. and i think he is going to be outstanding. so i just want to thank you all for being here. we are going to have a good lunch and we are going to talk about our supreme court nominee and somebody who will do a fantastic job for many years to come. thank you very much. >> thank you press. >> as you see, the president with four democratic senators having lunch to talk about the confirmation of george gorsuch. that does it for us for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." with our thanks to chris alyssa and susan page. follow us on facebook and twitter @"andrea mitchell reports." egg craig melvin takes over. >> you just heard president trump wrapping up a meeting at the white house with conservative democratic urging them to support his supreme court nominee neil gorsuch.

twitter storm. donald trump going after senator blumenthal over looekd gorsuch comments. and john mccain for criticizing the raid in yemen. meanwhile pressure mounting this afternoon as the president and his advisors jump to ivanka trump's defense. the back and forth with nordstrom heating up now. some experts say that ethics rules have been broken. and winter wallop. more than 50 million people are in the path of a monster storm that's pounding parts of the northeast with blizzard-like conditions. our man, al roker will join me here in the studio with the latest forecast j just a few minutes. let's start with the fallout from judge gorsuch's comments. moments ago president trump meeting with those senators at the white house. you just saw it here. the main topic, the nomination of judge neil gorsuch to the supreme court. the judge on capitol hill once again today, part of the usual charm offensive for supreme court nominees. but