if he had fired comey and at the same time announced i am appointing so and so, he would have will be given them something to latch on to. comey is in the past and we have this great person. >> all right. we'll pick this up ahead. thank you. that does it for this hour. i'm nicole wallace. "mtp daily" starts right now. hi, chuck. you've had a busy day. >> so have you. >> you had a great panel. i promised some poll numbers so stick around. if it's thursday, it is a parade of contradictions. good evening. i'm chuck todd here in a very wet washington. welcome to mtp daily. we have a ton of breaking news to get to this hour. the fallout from the president's decision on fire the fbi director has mushroomed into chaos for this white house for a

series of claims they initially made with the firing, has now begun to unravel. president trump sat down with my colleague, the anchor of the "nbc nightly news" for a dramatic interview amid this escalating controversy. we have some brand new survey monkey online polling out right now this very issue. sort of snap shot overnight numbers. we'll get to them in a moment. we'll begin with the highlights of this lester holt interview with the president which began with mr. trump unloading on now former fbi director james comey. >> look, he is 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 duffle and for a recommendation?

>> what i did was i was going to fire comey. my decision. >> you had made the decision before the recommendation. >> i was going to fire comey. there's no good time to do it by the way. >> it was in your letter, you said i accepted the recommendation. you had already made the decision. >> i was going to fire him. 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. regardless of recommendation, i was going on fire comey. >> let me and you about your termination letter. you write, i greatly appreciate you informing me on three separate occasions that i am not under investigation will why did you put that in there? >> because he told me that. and i've heard it from others. >> was night phone call? >> aid dinner with him. he wanted to have dinner because he wanted to stay on. >> he asked -- a dinner was

arranged. he wanted to stay on as the fbi head. and i said, we'll see what happens. we had a very nice dinner. and at that time he told me, you are not under investigation which i knew anyway. when you're under investigation, you're giving all sorts of documents and everything. i knew i wasn't under. and i heard it was stated at the committee. some committee level that i -- then in a phone call he said and it another phone call. he said it once at dinler and then twice during phone calls. >> did you call him? >> in one case i called him. in one case he called me. >> did you and am i under investigation? >> i actually asked him. yes. 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's an ongoing investigation into the trump campaign and possible collusion with the russian government. you were the center piece of the

trump campaign. >> all i can tell you, i know that i'm not under investigation. me personally. i'm not talking about campaigns, anything else. i'm not under investigation. >> all right. let's deconstruct the two big pieces of news from that interview xerexcerpt. first the president said he had decided to fire comey before. it directly contradicts the white house reason for the firing. the white house said, president trump acted based on the clear recommendations of both deputy attorney general rod rosenstein and attorney general jeff sessions. the white house then publicly flooded the zone with that said justification. >> you said last week the president had full confidence in the fbi director. what changed? >> the recommendation that came today. >> when you receive a report that is so clear and a

recommendation by someone like the deputy attorney general, you have no choice but to act. >> because of the actions that the deputy attorney general outliened to the president, that were endorsed and agreed with by the attorney general, the president made the right decision at the right time. >> but you just heard the president tell lester holt that deputy attorney general rod rosenstein's recommendation was essentially meaningless to him. the white house press secretary today acknowledged that the white house's story has now changed. she said they were jt goi off the information they had at the time. let's bring down t other big claim from the lester holt interview. you heard the president say he asked if he was under investigation and mr. comey said he was not. first off the "washington post" said people familiar with the matter say that statement is not accurate although they would not say how it was inaccurate. and secondly the white house was pressed today about the

appropriateness of the president's actions. >> isn't it inappropriate for the president of the united states to and the fbi director directly if he is under investigation? >> no, i don't believe it is. >> one of these conversations happened at a dinner where the fbi director was asking to stay on as director. >> i don't see it as conflict of interest and neither do the legal scholars and others who have been commenting on it the last hour. >> and there's a third plus aible explanation. it is the trump campaign under investigation and one theory is, trump himself was kept out of the loop if there is a collusion. let's bring in our panel. an msnbc contributor. stephanie cutter, former campaign adviser for president obama, and bill kristol at the weekly standard. let me start with you. i think we start with the rod rosenstein explanation. what was used that and then

suddenly, it is not used and the president decided to own it himself. i think we're all trying to figure out, why was there, why did the white house put out one explanation at that moment versus now? i think there are a lot of theories. it seems to be a glaring gap. >> it is a glaring gap and there's no understanding of why you have a white house that wouldn't stick to the story. if you're going to fire director comey, at least stick to it. he acted definitively and kept it at that. it started to seal like they wanted to put it on the doj and distance trump from doing this and say this had nothing to do with the russian investigation. that would have kind of distanced him from that idea. now you have president trump saying after i was told that i was not under investigation, i did this. it seems like this investigation was on his mind when he was acting this way. to say he was completely

divorced and he had made up his mind, it makes no sense why you would put out all these surrogates. >> both of you have worked in white houses. both of you have worked in west wings. two possibilities. the president misled his own staff or two, the staff made an assumption and didn't and the president. >> i think there's a third explanation. >> the third explanation is that someone knew what a big problem it was for the president to be firing comey at this point and wanted to create another explanation. another cause igs for this firing. so they manufactured this set of memos and got everybody to buy into it. the problem is, this is a consistent problem with this white house. manufacturing that memo is actually a lie. these lies catch up with you and that's what we're seeing here. they lied about it. if the truth was, as the president now asserts, and he is

our commander in chief, we should believe him. it was his decision. he made it a long time ago, then everybody else was lying. it is too naive to say everybody else was out of the loop. >> and then if that's the case, the president is owning this, then they've been misleading the public the last three months about the confidence the president had in james comey. >> the reports up through deputy attorney general. he can't fire fbi director and no president is simply going to take a memo that says, this fbi director has done some problematic things and say therefore i have to fire the fbi director. and incidentally, he is not saying that james comey should be fired. they would have been better off accepting the they know from the beginning and saying donald trump had wants to fire james comey. he was uncertain over the last few months. i think they could get away with that. i think the second opponent, the assertion that comey told him

three times he was not under investigation is more problematic. i don't know what that even means. well, i don't know. my impression talking on people in law enforcement is, it is inappropriate for the fbi director to say that in any case. you don't know where an investigation will lead. but as of may 5, you're not a target of the investigation. but the president of the united states asking the fbi director, am i under investigation? why would you want to know that? what is the answer? what is the answer you're trying on get? i can understand you would be worried but what would he do if the answer were yes? why would you and the question? >> i know there's been some criticism shrgs director comey have answered the question. this is a case where -- >> we don't know if he did or not. >> trump says he did. but i go back to, it is not surprising to me that the president individually is not under investigation. they're not looking at that.

they're looking at collusion mostly having to do with associates. and one very plausible theory is that what have was done, there was stuff they kept, he doesn't know how to keep secrets. there's an argument to be made. to me it is a semi pointless. but it is important to him to publicly get it out there. >> i guess there are two things going on. one is president trump knows more about what's happening. if there is collusion, not saying there is, if there is collusion, donald trump knows what that collusion might have been. so there's no way that he was completely out of loop so asking that question might be getting in front of audience end of this investigation. whether or not it penlds way is a completely different story. you have to beg the question. this is also president trump's personality. he doesn't want to look line he is getting bossed around by the doj. i don't think we can gloss over that. he started with this one theory and then says i make decisions

myself. and i can't hold on to what i told my staff to say. >> my point is it is not exculpatory. >> if you say to me, gee, am i under investigation? the most simple thing is, gee, he's worried. why are you asking? >> he should be worried. i mean, there are grand juries looking into. this grand juries, whether or not you're a target, all roads lead back to the person at the top. >> what was amazing was he said, you know when you're a target because you're having to give -- wait. >> that means you're the subject. that doesn't mean that you're not being also investigated as, in relation to that. >> let's get to why the story changed about whose decision was to fire comey. there was another development faye got overshadowed by lester holt's interview. rod went to capitol hill and got richard burr out of the meeting to have a meeting with him. we don't know exactly.

there has been reporting, bill, that he didn't like that he was being used as the scape goat here. clearly they were kerneled. they denial that had he threaten it. >> if you've been in the white house and how careful people get when you're in the middle of a possibly criminal investigation, a national security investigation at the level this is going on, with an fbi director, people close to the president, when the president will be drawn in or not. and you know how careful he have one is about everything everybody says. that they put out a statement in the president's name with this middle paragraph. >> a first person. >> and the white house counsel didn't say, wait a second. you don't put in anything problematic. and then you have the deputy attorney general. there are all kinds of rules and regulations about how he is

supposed to conduct it. as he man of integrity. it is one thing for him to write a memo detailing some problems james comey was having. i think that's legitimate. but then to sort of throw him under the bus the way they did. >> something about tax returns yesterday. it struck with me how he is delaying and delaying and delaying. t the continuous changing of why the delay. we're talking about this in a logical way as if it would be this way. that trump had made up his mind it would be this way. this is president who couldnnsty changes his mind. he sits down with lester holt. he says, i will make this decision on the fly. he could have told his staff, we're going to stick on this story. mike pence and he could have had a meeting and say we'll stick to this story.

and then he tells lester holt this is the decision i made. >> welcome to the attempt to try to find logic in this administration. sometimes it is not there. sometimes it is very difficult. we're going to chew over this basically most of the hour. we've got more to come so stick around. you can see more of lester holt's interview. exclusive interview with the president from the white house on "nightly news." coming up, more white house claims. some poll numbers of how the public views snap chat and the firing. think again. this is the new new york. we are building new airports all across the state. new roads and bridges. new mass transit. new business friendly environment. new lower taxes.

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the shlike a bald penguin. how do i look? [ laughing ] show me the billboard music awards. show me top artist. show me the top hot 100 artist. they give awards for being hot and 100 years old? we'll take 2! [ laughing ] xfinity x1 gives you exclusive access to the best of the billboard music awards just by using your voice. the billboard music awards. sunday, may 21st eight seven central only on abc. welcome back. we have the brand new survey monkey polls out tonight showing what americans btss the firing of james comey. 54% say the dismissal was

inappropriate. 38% characterized it as appropriate. 46% said that they think president trump fired comey because of the way he handled the russia investigation. 24% said it was because of the way he handled the clinton e-mail case which was of course the initial white house explanation. meanwhile, 55% say it makes them less confident the russia investigation will be conducted fairly. we'll dive into all of this with nbc's lester holt. with all the over-the-counter products i've used. enough! i've tried enough laxatives to cover the eastern seaboard. i've climbed a mount everest of fiber. probiotics? enough! (avo) if you've had enough, tell your doctor what you've tried and how long you've been at it. linzess works differently from laxatives. linzess treats adults with ibs with constipation or chronic constipation. it can help relieve your belly pain, and lets you have more frequent and complete bowel movements

that are easier to pass. do not give linzess to children less than six, and it should not be given to children six to less than eighteen. it may harm them. don't take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain, especially with bloody or black stools. the most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. if it's severe stop taking linzess and call your doctor right away. other side effects include gas, stomach-area pain and swelling. talk to your doctor about managing your symptoms proactively with linzess. welcome back. let's dive into the big story as the white house scram bhs to explain a series of glams the president's firing of fbi director james comey that today showed signs of unraveling. here's a third claim that has been thrown into question. >> this absolutely has nothing to do with any investigation into russia. >> this has nothing to do with

russia. >> they've said this is tied to the russian officials. >> but leaks today from inside this white house paint a very different story. the "washington post," quote, the president fumed comey was giving too much attention to the russia probe. politico said he had grown enraged by the russian investigation. "new york times." mr. trump has been nursing a collection of festering grievances including mr. comey's handling of the russia investigation. the president himself referenced the investigation in his letter that fired comey. >> most importantly, the rank and file of the fbi had lost confidence in their director. >> but here's what the acting director of the fbi said during testimony on capitol hill today. >> i can tell you that i hold him in the absolute highest regard. i can tell that you director

comey enjoyed broad support within the fbi and still does to this day. >> now, we'll move on to yet a fifth white house claim that is now been called into question as well. >> yes or no, did the president direct rod rosenstein to write this memo on james comey? >> no. the president had lost confidence in director comey. >> he overseas -- you can and him. i assume he put together report on his own. >> the washington report reports that on monday, mr. trump gave sessions and rosenstein a directive to explain in writing the case against comey. and there are more reports today that suggest he was not happy with pinning this on him and play even threaten someday form of public action if it hadn't stopped. which of course it ended up stopping. pete, i want to start with you.

first of all, any clarification here on rosenstein where this memo, the origins of this memo, did he write the whole thing, what do we know? >> the white house and the justice department were both pretty clear about this yesterday. that the way they tell it is this. this is their version of it. the president came to this meeting monday intending to fire james comey. asking the attorney genel and the deputy attorney general, they said yes, we've reached the same conclusion. the president said to rosenstein, then put your thoughts in writing. the way they tell it, both these parties arrived together thinking james comey had to go but there was no memo at that point. nobody thought about writing a memo until the president said to rod rosenstein, then put your thoughts in writing to me. i think it is clear that the president said, his thoughts about why he thought james comey should be fired, let's say there wasn't exactly a one to one

correlation between what he was thinking and what's in the rosenstein memo. it is a reflection of what the justice department says why rod rosenstein thought he should go. common conclusion both had reached but they say for different reasons. >> i want to follow up on that. the idea that i saw senator diane feinstein really erupted over this memo. she said i read this three times. almost implying as if she didn't believe that rosenstein wrote it. that it was a political document. not a legal document. >> it reads like it was written in a hurry because it was. the meeting was monday and the memo was sent to the white house on tuesday. so regardless of what you may think, and there are people in town, outside the white house who thought james comey should be fired too, for a lot of different reasons. regardless, you would think this would be more deliberative.

>> i'll go to capitol hill mr. rosenstein made an appearance. you had to do old-fashioned stakeouts. what did you learn? i know the two people that rosenstein met with, the senate intel chair and vice chair burr and warner, you had some time with them. what did you learn? >> first, we asked them when they appeared of a that surprise visit from rod rosenstein, if they discussed the reports that he had threatened to resign over all this. they said it didn't come up. they said jim can comey's name didn't come up at all. he said that they have invited james comey to capitol hill thursday to come speak with them in a closed door session for their investigation on the senate intelligence community. one more inconsistency to put at the top of the list, andrew mccabe, in testifying today

before the senate intelligence committee said the investigation now ongoing at the fbi is highl significant. a highly significant investigation and not the hoax or other adjectives applied to it by president trump and oots at the white house. so overall, a stunning day. an extraordinary day here on in the capital. they're talking about decould not flicks because obviously there are two parallel investigations. all the mechanics and the logistics that go into it. he made it very clear. no one has been reassigned. and both burr and warner say they are moving at a pace as well. >> what was republican reaction today? yesterday you had some running from cameras. some expressing dismay.

after hearing the president give voice and explanation, what has that done to republican reaction on the hill? >> i think we start to see a pattern. i've only been back here for two weeks. i think i'm starting to see pattern. there's a tweet from the white house. some sort of explosion. controversy, certainly this is at the top of the list in terms of the decibel level. what we've seen over the 48 hours. a lot of them take step back. they'll put out a tepid statement or express concern and walk that line. don't burn any bridges back. we've been seeing it since the campaign, since "access hollywood" when some congressmen jumped ship and they lived to regret it. i think that's what we see. >> say as little as possible. we heard that now acting director of the fbi say broad

sport. that's headquartered. >> and appointed by james comey. how much of his word should we take on this? what would you say? what is the real -- >> well, you expect the hand picked number two to say that. he was very loyal to the director. secondly, give credit to andrew mcbride. he admitted this. there were some agents in the filibuster who were not happy with mccabe, with the director's decision on the clinton investigation. >> he made a point to say that. and he admitted it didn't go over with some people. from everything i've heard, that's correct. this firing has been an enormous shock to the fbi. they are still reeling from it. >> my guess is even if there

were some fence is sitters, thee all jumping in the same bucket right now. all right. pete williams in our studio. thank you. still ahead, a couple of republican senators, the whole point of interview was to talk about health care. but we sat down today and ended up talking about the fbi and how it could impact the entire legislative agenda. david. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪ i use what's already inside me to reach my goals.

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james comey's abrupt dismissal has been affecting capitol hill and it has made its way to special elections and the gubernatorial race. john as you ossoff says there should be bipartisan. in the montana house race to replace interior secretary zinke, it created a back and forth. they said america lost trust in the fbi and looks forward to a replacement. and another took the opportunity to blast what he calls shady investments. in virginia, the leading candidate in the race tried not to talk about it at all. they dodged questions that comey twice before releasing a statement that took no sides on the issue. the democrats in the race have been quick to pounce on

gillespie but they kept it short. they said the statement was bs. the point is you can see a pattern. democrats wanting to jump on the news and the republicans wanting to duck and cover. up next, republican senator susan collins and bill cassidy. we talked about the future of the republican agenda. first, hampton pearson with the cnbc market wrap. >> thanks. retail plunges with fears consumers aren't spending enough to support strong economic growth. the dow ending down 23 points. the s&p down 5. the nasdaq finishing off by 13 points as well. macy's falls 17% after reporting weak earnings. the retailer posting earnings of 24 cents a share and revenue up 5.34 billion. social media company snap chat taking 21.6% a day after the

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these are walls that bring us together. because quality public schools build a better california for all of us. president trump's decision to fire fbi director james comey is not the tonight thing going on in washington but it is certainly casting a shadow over everything going on including the republican legislative agenda, specifically health care. i sat down this morning with bill cassidy and susan collins. saw with supposed to be focused almost solely on health care. i asked about business on the hill and things like. that unfortunately, you're only going to see half this interview today and half tomorrow where we dive deep into health care. because i started asking senator cassidy about the timing of the comey dismissal. >> we can say in defense of the president, because there are reports he wished to fire comey

when he took office. he did not fire the attorney general. it took him two and a half months to get the attorney general. then he didn't have the assistant attorney general. when that finally got approved, it was shortly there after that the firing occurred so in fairness, it was a process to work through. i'm not sure timing would have ever been good. >> do you buy the white house's claims that this had nothing to do with russia? >> i don't think that it was linked to the russian investigation. but that is an issue that we need to get to the bottom of. i'm a member of the senate intelligence committee. we are expediting our investigation. we're going to be talking to former director comey. and those will be questions that we will be asking of him. the irony here is that there is no doubt when you look at the

actions of the fbi director starting last july, that he did not follow this standard protocols of the department of justice. now clearly, it would have been very awkward for president obama to remove him because of that. but if you look at the proper role of an fbi director versus the department of justice prosecutors, he usurped that role. that had a snow ball effect allowed him to keep being embroiled in political controversies up to the day which he was fired. but certainly, if i had been advising the president, i would have said, you have to be careful about how this is going to look regardless of what the merits of the situation may be. >> restoring credibility to the fbi, to the investigation investigation will sit on

whoever replaces director comey. senator cassidy, how important do you think it is that this person that gets nominated can get 70, 75 votes, so people think there's independence there? and what, define what an independent director looks like? >> comey was not heading the investigation. he had a chief lieutenant. comey had responsibility over budgets, over other investigations, over h.r., over cafeteria. i think whoever takes his place will feel, and this is pattern of such things. an incredible impetus to show that he or she is independent and will pursue as vigorously -- >> this almost empowers the investigators to feel strengthened. >> you know it will happen. it will be incumbent upon them. i won't say democrats have to support. i think they should. i think it should appeal to

them. but i don't want to give them veto power over credibility. i would be so easy to play politics. >> at 51, 52-vote confirmation for fbi director is not going to look good. >> it would not be good. but i am very hopeful that the person who is nominated will be an experienced law enforcement official with impeccable credentials, with unquestionable integrity. and i do want to add to what bill said. the president fired the director of the fbi. he did not fire the whole fbi. he did not fire the head of the russian investigation. they're still on the job as if you rob a bank or kidnap a child today, the fbi is still going to be on the job. the fbi is still on the job when it comes to the russian investigation. >> how concerned are you about russian interference? >> comey testified and susan can

speak better to this. they testified that they had seen no collusion. of course we have to investigate and be concerned. but comey himself said so far none. i have to draw comfort from that. >> finally, how, the environment right now, kl, all this stuff. how concerned are you that this derails your ability to get health care done by the end of the summer? >> well, it does seem like we have an upheaval, a crisis almost every day in washington that changes the subject. but the health care debate is so important. we have states where people who qualify for subsidies under the affordable care act aren't going to be able to buy insurance that qualifies for those subsidies. so regardless of who was selected president, we were going to have to act to fix the

flaws in obamacare. pass powerful incentive for to us act. and as bill said, health care is so personal. it is something that everyone relates to. and we have an obligation, no matter what else is going on, and there are an awful lot of important issues going on, to pursue this path. and that's what we're committed to doing. >> are you concerned about how this could all scramble? >>er insurance companies are about to start announcing rates for next year west just mention in the connecticut, 15 to 35% premium increases. i spoke to another ceo of an insurance company. they're projecting 30 to 40. the american people cannot afford $24,000 premiums increasing. >> so health care will force you. >> absolutely. >> you got a little taste there of part of the health care situation. i did speak in depth about both

their bill and how the republicans in the senate will write a bill. what's wrong with the current system. that portion of the interview we're airing tomorrow on "mtp dail daily". i didn't want to seering today get overshadowed. why i'm obsessed with a second conspiracy that threatens the good people of washington, d.c. i count on my dell small business advisor for tech advice. with one phone call, i get products that suit my needs and i get back to business.

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welcome back tonight. i'm obsessed with the widespread russian interference and our beloved institutions. let's start with the obvious. the russians attempted to influence the election with fake news, e-mail hacking and wikileaks. who was reportedly behind this operation? this man. vladimir putin. the former kgb intelligence officer. this russian campaign does not end there. last night washington capitals hockey team lost in the stanley cup playoffs again in game 7 again, in the second round again. to the pittsburgh genls again. the final score, pittsburgh, 2, washington, 0. who was behind that operation? this man. alex ovechkin. star of the capitals. the man responsible for the penguins' second goal. ahh, trojan horse, if there ever was one. i know what you're thinking. todd has lost it. he's become a conspiracy theorist just like everybody else. but theorize this. who is that second from the

left? vladimir putin. and who is smiling next to him? alex ovechkin. what are they doing? celebrating a russian hockey win. that's right. a russian hockey win. that was in 2014. here they are chumming it up again in 2012. he's missing a tooth. and here they are again chumming it up again in 2007. why doesn't vladimir putin just play himself? oh, right. now tell me there isn't a russian conspiracy against washington. here he is. all right there staring us in the face. sorry, caps fans. how come no one likes me, jim? intel does! just think of everything intel's doing right now with artificial intelligence. and pretty soon ai is going to help executives like her see trends to stay ahead of her competition. no more sleepless nights. - we're going to be friends! - i'm sorry about this. don't be embarrassed of me, jim. i'm getting excited about this! we know the future. we're going to be friends! because we're building it.

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when liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance time for the lid. the panel is back. i want to talk about, we haven't been able to sort of unwind some of this republican reaction here. how it impacts capitol hill. look. they had to say what they had to say but the fact is, you have a

whole bunch of congressional republican who's thought last week, maybe we'll start getting some stuff done. and then this just puts a pall over pall over this probably for the summer. >> this could be an inflection point. we've said that before. >> you and i have said it before. the trump campaign, the trump this, the trump that. >> or the other way, too, the state of the union, now he's really president. i've said two things. people who have been around awhile know a fbi investigation is a bad p.r. day or two. the media missed that. here and there, the way trump is, he's impulsive. fbi investigation, that's just a whole different ballpark, a. and b, i have talked to several republicans on the hill who are a little freaked out. leave aside the legal side. the degree of recklessness and incompetence and willfulness this shows in the white house, it's been in 3 1/2 months. the executive order was the first week. they're impulsive, they do

something foolish. now to do this now and trump seems to be glorying in it, giving your colleague an interview, he didn't have to give an interview to lester holt on camera. they're not really into that. >> well, that's because -- everybody around him is, but trump, stephanie, believes, you don't run from controversy, you run toward it. and if you don't react, somebody else will for you. so, you might as well do it yourself. >> yeah. >> and to trump's credit, it has worked for him in the past. >> in the past, but now he's, you know, singularly united the intelligence agencies and the fbi against him. so, let's see if it works now. i think also the other thing to consider on capitol hill is that, i know we talk about this every week, but he is at a record low. that doesn't even include what's geneva convention to come out from the last 24 to 48 hours. the generic ballot between democrats and republicans is

only getting worse for republicans. so, when do they understand that loyalty to trump means the end of their careers? i think it's a matter of time. and i think slowly but surely as these investigations continue, we're going to see that. >> it's interesting, yameshia, i wanted to check in how the special election campaigns and the off-year elections were dealing with comey. obviously you see the democrats think it's an asset, republicans are trying to deflect, at best. but that's the test. democrats start winning these specials in june and we're going to get three in june, including one in south carolina that i bring up. it's probably not going to -- probably democrats don't have a chance, but it was represented by a democrat not that long ago. that is when the rubber could meet the road. >> completely. and i think that even if you see democrats getting super, super close in red states, that tells you something about how the morale is going, that tells you something about whether voters are sticking with him, whether or not he's motivating new voters to come out and say,

look, i wasn't paying attention before. now i'm really paying attention. we all know so many people who were kind of out on sleeping for some reason during the campaign and are super plugged into what's going on now. i think these elections are going to say a lot about where democrats stand. >> there are some more poll numbers i wanted to put up and let you guys chew over here and they have to do with director comey. we asked, and again, online poll, it's a big sample. director comey's handling of his job, 44% were disapproving, 25% approved. now, look at this, his handling of the russia investigation, 34% approved, 27% disapprove, 34% were in the unknown factor. his handling of the clinton investigation, 57% disapprove, there was bipartisan support for different reasons. 19% approve. so, it sounded like comey isn't fairing that well either, but trump is fairing worse. >> he's not the leader of one of the two major parties, not the president of the united states and now he's just a lawyer in private practice. i think the politics will matter

in the special elections. i think there is something that happens in the leads, voters makeup their mind more slowly. they want a congressman to cut taxes or not, pro life or pro choice congressman. >> which guides which? they have been tough on trump two years. it hasn't impacted voters. >> the republican elites rallied to him. that is the key point. trump base isn't going anywhere. the reluctant republican supporters for trump, a lot of the voters and elite republicans, i think that's the thing to watch over the next few weeks. >> the most telling thing was your reporting earlier about ed gillespie's statement who, you know, used creative word choice to say nothing about it. that's because ed gillespie has been here. >> he's been here. >> he's been in the situation and he knows where this is going. so, that was the most telling thing, i think. >> he's the most experienced ex-operative turned candidate. as you say, he's had his share. another crazy day. thank you, guys.

appreciate it. after the break, just who is the president tapping to head his voter fraud investigation? stay tuned.

well, in case you missed it tonight, remember when president trump wanted to do a big investigation into voter fraud? this was after the president claimed without evidence that millions of people voted illegally in the 2016 election and all of them for hillary clinton. as an attempt to try to explain why he lost the popular vote. so, today after months of vowing to address it, he indeed did

sign an executive order that establishes a commission that is aimed at investigating so-called voter fraud. so, we'll finally get to the truth, right? well, not so fast. guess who is helping lead the so-called election integrity commission? it's this man, kansas secretary of state chris kobah, one of the only voices to defended the president's assertion of illegal voting last fall. he said trump was, quote, absolutely correct when he said the number of illegal votes cast exceeds the margin between him and hillary clinton. would be the greatest scandal in our american democracy. in fact, he has quite a long history ofu wall owing in these voter conspiracies. whether thousands of massachusetts residents illegally voted in new hampshire, he's been sued by the american civil liberties union for voter suppression himself four times. so now you're putting a man like kobach on this commission. maybe a boost for the conservative base that wants to believe in voter fraud, but it isn't going to help the president with the credibility -- his credibility

if there truly is a problem with our voting systems. sort of a strange choice, unless it's only supposed to be a fig leaf decision. that's it for tonight. tomorrow we'll have more mtp daily. for the record with greta starts now. take it away, greta. >> rod rosenstein was invited to brief all u.s. senators on how and why fbi director james comey was fired. and tonight, right here the nbc news exclusive interview with president trump, the expanded interview that you have not yet seen. the president's first sit-down since that bomb shell firing, he's talking about that, michael flynn and so much more. this interview comes as his white house is engulfed in a fire storm. today president trump unloading on james comey. here's part of that exclusive with nbc's lester holt. >> look, he's a show boat. he's a grand