guys and forgot 92-year-old martha ford is now the owner of the detroit lions. >> prediction, what would donald trump do if the league preserves the players' right to protest? >> i may be off. threat ton hold his breath. he'll move on. move on. >> all right. many more in the days to come. sign them all to daily contracts. my thanks to all of my panel. that does it for nicolle wallace. now katy tur is in for chuck todd and the fabulous "mtp daily." and if it's monday, president trump seems to be backing both sides in the republican civil war. tonight with friends like these -- >> steve is very committed. he's a friend of mine. >> senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell who has been a friend of mine for a long time. >> steve bannon declares war on mitch mcconnell. does have the president stand? and can anyone win this civil war?

plus -- the blame game. >> when we get things approved we have to go through hell, because we have no democrat support. >> president trump calls on democrats to come to the table on health care. democratic senator chris coons joins us with his reaction. and a plea for puerto rico. >> water's important. it's really important, and -- people are desperate. >> what will it take to turn the tide of this growing humanitarian crisis on u.s. soil? this is "mtp daily," and it starts right now. good evening. i'm katy tur in new york in for chuck todd. welcome to "mtp daily." right now it looks increasingly as if the republican party as we flow it risks unraveling in large part because of the

president's stalled agenda, which now looks less like an agenda and more like a wrecking ball. steve bannon this weekend declared open war on the republican establishment over its disloyalty and today while talking with reporters at cabinet meeting, the president initially backed him up. >> we're not getting the job done. and i'm not going to blame myself. i'll be honest. they are not getting the job done and i can understand where steve bannon is coming from and i can understand, to be honest with you, john, where a lot of people are coming from. i'm not happy about it and a lot of people aren't happy about>> it the president's defense of bannon's war on gop leaders came after bannon lobbied voters and donors and republican senators to oust senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. >> right now it's a season of war against a gop establishment. yeah, mitch. the donors are not happy. they've all left ya. we've cut your oxygen off, mitch. okay? all you folks that are so concerned that you're going to

get primaried and defeated, you know, there's time for mea culpa. you can see, i am not going to vote for mitch mcconnell to majority leader. >> which brings us to this afternoon, because just hours after president trump backed bannon's war on his own party's establishment -- he defended mitch mcconnell connell, who embodies the establishment, and in an impromptu and lengthy press conference in the rose garden. mr. trump urged critics to give mcconnell more time and bucks bannon by coming out against some of his efforts to oust republicans and bragged about his great relationship with all republicans on capitol hill. >> i'm friends with most of them. i can say -- i don't think anybody could have much of a higher percentage, but i'm friends with most of them. i like and respect most of them and i think they like and respect me. just so you understand, the republican party is very, very unified. >> the underlining tensions were

clear. mcconnell responded to bannon's attacked with a warning aimed squarely at the president's right flank eager to purge moderate republicans from the leader's ranks. >> my goal as leader of the republican party in the senate is to keep us in the majority. the way you do that is not complicated. you have to nominate people who can actually win, because winners make policy and losers go home. >> it begs the question, if bannon wants a war on gop leadership how eager is president trump going to be to wage it? especially if it means the administration is left with a broken health care system, a skulled tax plan and iran pursuing nuclear weapons and a minority leader mitch mcconnell? because some republicans are warning that no one wins in a gop civil war if it derails their agenda. >> if we don't cut taxes and we don't eventually repeal and replace obamacare, then we're going to lose across the board in the house in 2018, and all of

my colleagues running in primaries in 2018 are probably going to get beat. it will be the end of mitch mcconnell as we know it. we lose or majority and i think president trump will not get re-elected. >> senator graham isn't alone. ted cruz warns gop donors that the party could face a "blood bath" at the polls if their agenda falters. joined by one of mr. trump's earliest political advisers, and there railroad many that can say hired, fired, rehired and refired by this president. >> always an honor. >> bannon says mitch mcconnell is the worst. donald trump says mitch mcconnell is just wonderful. >> looked like a hostage video to me in the rose garden. >> for mitch mcconnell or president trump? >> for mitch mcconnell. he's in a tough position. end of the day as republicans we sent a republican congress in and republican executive branch. if they do not pass tax reform, not gorsuch or the regulation.

for me, a clean debt ceiling raise and continuing resolutions from barack obama's budget. mitch mcconnell has not been effect niv passing legislation. point to neil gorsuch, amazing. helped save the bench in my opinion. >> it is not legislation. >> it's not legislation. and you are onboard that mitch mcconnell stinks? onboard with steve bannon? >> he doesn't stink. >> bannon is pointing squarely at mcconnell saying this is essentially mcconnell's fault. >> it could be his fault on some instances. let me go back. the republican senate as of today, republican conference, seems to me a senate where conservative legislation from the house goes and rhinos go to die. a real adult day-care center there. they don't get anything done have three senators that are just simply, republican senators, susan collins, lisa murkowski and john mccain, simply out to just simply

defeated pressdefeat the president. >> you think it's just the president? >> i think in john mccain's instance never over that initial incident you covered early on in -- >> over donald trump refusing to call him a war hero? >> yes. >> saying he's not a war hero. so where does president trump stand on this, does he support bannon and the gop? >> he'll play both sides. say to bannon, wink, wink, i agree. primary everyone, and not disagree on the phone. the president thought, and detractors thought in the left wing once bannon left he would disappear. bannon, very friendly. i was with him. he gets a lot of coverage. talking about him now pt mentioned today twice by the president of the united states. i don't know if he likes to do that and he has a strong voice. >> trying to have his cake and eat it, too?

mcconnell i want to work with you and bannon i'm on your side? >> correct. >> going forward -- >> need bannon more. >> going forward to get something done, to be in a strong position for re-election? >> sim bi bionic. with steve, saying to mitch mcconnell can't point the finger at john mccain, as collins or murkowski saying we're going to recruit you, rue crete candidates and ruin a regime mcconnell has over all the money can put pressure on mcconnell to actually get actions done. there's a big problem in the senate as opposed to the house. talk to a lot of senators with initiatives. mitch will say, can't get it to the floor. don't have time. we have a three-day workweek. >> is the president worried about 2018 and about this war on the gop establishment and what that could mean for these incumbents who are going up for

re-election who could potentially, that could leave an opening for democrats to move in? >> well, i don't know what -- i haven't spoken to the president about it and can't speak for him. i would say the president should be worried about losing the house, and losing the senate because there to be possibly ip peachments proceedings depending when the mueller investigation goes. >> how does the president, you know him better than most. how does he get away with or awe loyed to blame republicans for not getting the job done when he himself is putting forward an agenda that republicans are not in favor of? >> well, depends on -- issue by issue. case by case. the average republican voter does not understand why you cannot repeal and replace obamacare, does not want to hear excuses and don't understand, aneth ma to understand how can we not pass tax cuts or a budget? >> a republican congress it is a republican president and they're not getting anything done. period. how can the president say i'm

not to blame for any of that? >> the president can't escape blame going into the mid-terms. if we don't pass an agenda, we'll lose majorities. >> how can he stand up, have a press conference and say none is my fault? >> because he's donald trump. he's president trump. >> meaning he doesn't have to acknowledge reality? >> i think going into re-election to 2020, it wouldn't be an issue for him. it will hurt his majority and he's very smart in a lot of ways. takes eight steps ahead. you know this. your audience may not agree. in case they lose majorities he'll say it's their fault. not mine. >> say everyone is the problem, not me. not me that's the problem. why is that effective with donald trump's voters and why will it continue to be effective with his voters even if we have a congress the next three years that doesn't get anything done? >> reminded me to a point i wanted to say. thank you for this. do you know that mitch mcconnell and paul ryan may be almost as

unpopular in the republican base as pelosi and schumer? and they are easy, easy targets for him to blame. >> he doesn't actually have to get anything done? >> no. he does have to get something done. has to get something done for the american people. he does. he's the president. should get something done and he's a dealmaker. my point of view, health care part of his problem, in the beginning didn't take it seriously. taking it much more seriously now. defunding the obamacare, putting pressure, a tactic, a strategy. we'll find out and i would say, katy, you know, never underestimate him. i've been his supporter and adversaries, on the winning and losing side of him. don't underestimate him. you'll be surprised. >> political gravity doesn't hold for donald trump. see what happens in 2018 and 2020. sam dunford, thank you for being here. in the past mitch mcconnell

attacked president for being out of touch with reality and complexity of legislating. the president attacked mcconnell at one point didn't rule out trying to oust from leadership, but today they sang each other the praises repeatedly. >> my relationship with this gentleman is outstanding, has been outstanding. >> contrary to what some of you may have reported we are together totally on this agenda to move america forward. >> this man is going to get it done. okay? and i think he'll get it done long before anybody else and a great health care. >> we've been friends and acquaintances a long time. talk frequently. we don't give awe readout every time we talk but frequently talk on the weekend about the issues before us. >> and mitch will tell you maybe with the exception of a few, a very small few, i have a fantastic relationship with the people in the senate and with the people in congress. i mean, with our house of

representatives. i have a great relationship with political people. if you read the papers you think i'm like on one island and they're on the other. well, that's not the way it is. just so you understand, the republican party is very, very unified. when we get things approved, we have to go through hell, because we have no democrat support. >> let's bring in tonight's panel. an msnbc contributor and political reporter with the "new york times." and also an adviser on the clinton campaign now the director of progressive programming at sirius xm and also a republican strategist. guys, welcome. there is a trump tweet for absolutely everything. we all know this. >> yes. >> here's one for today -- obama's complaints about republicans stopping his agenda are b.s. since he had full control for two years. he can never take responsibility. i mean, it's almost like you can -- you can predict the future by going back and looking

at donald trump's timeline nap one is from 2012. >> you know, he tweeted that much, there's always something to find. >> contradict what's you'll do in the future. >> the main thing is the president is mad at mitch mcconnell for not being able to pass things that most of the country opposes. it's a strange relationship to have and a strange disfpute to have. the problems are within republican politics. exceptions like the judges. for the most part, he is dashing the republican majority against the rocks of things he shouldn't necessarily be angry at them about. >> but bannon is using that and going full force at the values voter summit the other day saying it's a war on republicans, saying watch out, mitch mcconnell. we've cut off your funding. we've cut off your donors. my question is how can -- this is a disconnect for me. how can bannon wail against the donor class and take away donors

and -- fund himself and breitbart and his initiatives to the mercers? who are two of the biggest donors in republican politics? >> it's an absolute crazy thing that the republican establishment has and kabdicate of its authority and influence on these issues. i don't know how it came down to breitbart, bannon and mercer running the republican party or trying to run it on that weight. the one thing they are willing to do important for republicans to look at, willing to go into states, go in early. willing to organize on the ground, and that is something that the establishment has not done actually for either party for a very long time. and that's why they're successful. i don't think bannon cares about republicans or democrats. i think he just wants to get people with his ideas behind him and if the president has to be a president who's running against a democratic house, so be it. i don't think he really cares. >> i -- on a moment ago, saying

never discount the president. i'm of the opinion, don't use past as presidents when it comes to this administration and what could happen in 2018 or 2020. i think we just don't know. given what bannon's doing, do you think that there is potential for him to actually be effective with this message and actually effective getting something line graham into the house, getting someone like moore into the senate? do you think that he actually -- knows what he's doing? >> in terms of the electoral politics not necessarily. i think he's very good at making sure that we're talking about him, and he's very good at using breitbart to beat up on republicans, and there is a coalescence of the base, the trump base and the base that they need to turn out in 2020. so this makes sense. in the long term and particularly on policy issues i don't see how it makes sense in the long term. i think republicans are going to need something to run on. attacking republicans in congress right now seems to be a dumb strategy, because they won't have legislation.

>> need help of getting legislation passed? what we saw with donald trump and mitch mcconnell, sam called it a harsh vitt yo. trying to coerce republicans to do something for their agenda. >> a 52-48 senate, the president has gone after at least six senators personally. >> i understand, but do you think -- are they going to at some point put all that aside and say we've got to get something done because voters are ultimately going to make us pay the price for it jie have to ignore the personal attacks by the president of the united states? >> also they have to ignore the white house and everything on a day-to-day basis and well. keep working behind the scenes as they are, some health care, some tax issues and the house and senate have to come up with something and let the president sign it or not. but if they keep waiting for the president to get onboard something they'll be sorely disappointed. every time, lucy with the football. every time the football's put

down, and mitch mcconnell's ready to take a kick, donald trump is going to pull up that football and mitch mcconnell's going to fall on his face. >> can trump have his cake and eat it, too? in one moment say he understands where steve bannon is coming from and he understands the anger and in the next moment say mitch mcconnell is great and wonderful? >> of course he can! here's the thing. steve bannon's balanced the establishment. backing grimm and staten island and way more in alabama with almost nothing in common besides both being republicans. for now looks like fighting for the sake of fighting. and it's urgency for the sake of the urgency to raise money, keep the fight going. >> talk about the politics of this all the time and we forget. they affect people. >> right. >> they affect people deeply. when donald trump cuts off the csr payments he says only affecting insurance companies. it's actually going to affect a lot of low income people who need those payments in order to maintain health care. so -- at what point do the

realities on the ground, to the lives, start mattering more so than the, maybe the entertainment factor of this president? >> look, i think it's already starting to matter. when people go to the doctor or when they get their health insurance bill in the mail and it's twice as much as before, they're going to know who to blame. i don't think that the president in the long term is going to be able to implement policies that directly hurt people when it comes to something as intimate at health insurance, intimate as birth control and able to get the contraception, whatever for, sexually active or have endometriosis and need to threatt. women in particular as a large and important voting bloc on both sides of the aisle are going to blame this president for impacting their lives and their families' lives because it is all intimately connected. >> and remember, it's not just politics. there are people behind the policies and people deeply

affected. thank you all. stay with us. comeing up, the many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many things the president tackled today in his press conference plus democratic senator chris coons weighs in on health care. the president's call to action to democrats. >> they're not good politicians but very good at obstruction.

welcome back to "mtp daily." president trump and majority leader mitch mcconnell impromptu press conference in the rose garden lasted about 40 minutes. in that amount of time, they took more than 30 questions on everything from the stock market to the border wall to roy moore and bowe bergdahl to shouting roerts and non-answers. here's a taste. >> i like steve a lot. >> the world has a drug prob problem. >> we are doing massive tax

cuts. >> we are going to debt prescription drug prices way down. >> i do believe cuba is responsible and a very unusual attack. >> the people of alabama who i like very much and they like me very much, but they like roy. >> i just want really capable people. we have the lowest unemployment rate in i bleevts almost 17 years. >> the whole russia thing was an excuse. i guess he's doing something today. >> our country needs a wall. it's totally fake news. just fake. it's fake. it's made up stuff. >> puerto rico is very tough because of the fact it's and island. >> disrespecting our flag. >> hillary, please run again. unpredictable abdominal pain or discomfort and diarrhea. i tried lifestyle changes and over-the-counter treatments, but my symptoms keep coming back. it turns out i have irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, or ibs-d. a condition that's really frustrating. that's why i talked to my doctor about viberzi... ...a different way to treat ibs-d. viberzi is a prescription medication

you take every day that helps proactively manage both abdominal pain and diarrhea at the same time. so i can stay ahead of my symptoms. viberzi can cause new or worsening abdominal pain. do not take viberzi if you have no gallbladder, have pancreas or severe liver problems, problems with alcohol abuse, long-lasting or severe constipation, or a bowel or gallbladder blockage. pancreatitis may occur and can lead to hospitalization and death. if you are taking viberzi, you should not take medicines that cause constipation. the most common side effects of viberzi include constipation, nausea, and abdominal pain. stay ahead of ibs-d with viberzi. the csr payments have actually brought republicans and democrats together, because we got called, emergency calls, from the democrats and i think probably the republicans were also calling them saying let's come up with at least a

short-term fix. >> welcome back. that was president trump today showing some optimism for a deal on health care involving both republicans and democrats. at the end of last week the white house announced it was endsing obamacare subsidies that helped lower the cost of insurance premiums for lower income americans. they're called csrs and the president says they're a "payoff to insurance companies." seems splt trying to force democrats to negotiate on health care and putting the burden on congress to get something passed. >> obamacare is finished. it's dead. it's gone. it's no longer -- you shouldn't even mention it. it's gone. there is no such thing as obamacare anymore. sadly, the democrats can't join us on that, which will be the long-term fix, but i do believe we'll have a short-term fix because i think the democrats will be blamed for the mess. this is an obamacare mess. >> joining me democratic senator

chris coons of delaware. senator, welcome. thank you for joining us. >> thank you, katy. >> donald trump said there he heard a lot from democrats about a short-term fix. what's realistic here? >> well, katy, what would be helpful is if the president would actually get out of the way and allow the senate to do its work. both senators murray and alexander, democrat and republican, who are the chair and ranking of the health committee here were making progress towards a bipartisan compromise on strengthening the affordable care act and extending affordable quality health insurance to more americans but that got shut down as republicans tried one last time to repeal and replace obamacare which failed. the president saying in the clip you just ran that obamacare is dead, it's gone, isn't in fact true. republicans have failed to repeal it. they don't have a real plan to replace it. and in the meantime, democrats are very eager to find a way to work across the aisle with

republican senators to stabilize and advance the goal that we all have of more affordable, quality health care for more americans. >> well, he's cutting off csrs, which are subsidies to low income americans to help them pay for their health insurance. in effect by doing that is he trying to force democrats to work with him and to negotiate on his terms? >> well, this is the same thing that he's doing in the iran deal. he's sort of throwing a grenade in our lap saying, here, toss this around a while and see if you can make something better with it. in my view leadership would come to us saying, i will accept any package that operates within this framework rather than simply cutting it off, creating more chaos in insurance markets, raising rates for millions of americans, and then hoping that maybe somehow congress will fix the resulting mess. >> let me play devil's advocate and say this -- ishs congress has not come up with a

legislative fix for the problems that are associated with obamacare. yes, a lot of them were exacerbated by the president's actions. yes, that is true. could this -- i mean, if you haven't done it so far, is there an argument to be made for the president doing everything he can to ruin it, essentially. to force some sort of agreement to come out of it? >> katy, think about the human cost of what you're describing. let's see if we can't cause more americans to lose access to health care and see if their increased suffering loss of access to opioid and heroin treatment, loss of access to mental health care, see if that human suffering inspires better action. i remind you, it's october. republicans have been in control of the kng sincongress since th beginning of the year and for eight months held no hearings how to address the affordable care act.

that started when it failed in august. so in september senators alexander and murray began working in earnest. had a series of very promising bipartisan hearings and made progress up and until they had the cord pulled when they attempted to repeal the affordable care act again last month. they've only had a few weeks of bipartisan work here to try to address some of the challenges and flaws with the affordable care act. give an few months, i do think we would get a strong bipartisan deal. >> good. given the fact, and you gave us a good reminder, which we gave right before the commercial break as well which is that there are people behind these policies. if people start losing their health care because it has become unaffordable for them, who is going to be at fault for that? who is going to be held accountable for that? the president, republicans or the democrats? >> well, i'll tell what you the ceo of the insurance company that provides the affordable care act exchange insurance in dale ware told me. there's going to be a 30% increase in rates this year for

those individuals who get their insurance through that marketplace. half of that increase is because of the instability caused by not knowing what the president's going to do. whether he'll continue to enforce the law, whether he might abruptly, as he just has done, pull back on these so-called csr payments. i think it's clear that the president's actions are destabilizing what was a fairly successful program to extend health insurance to 20 million americans and to improve the quality of insurance for 150 million american whose get their insurance through they're employer. i frankly care less about who gets the blame than i do about who gets hurt. who's going to get hurt is hundreds of millions of americans. >> quick question on iran. what will happen with congress? are you going to vote to reinstate sanctions? >> i truly hope we won't. i think -- excuse me. i think the jcpoa, the iran deal, is working to constrain iran's nuclear program. there are lots of other things iran is doing that are

destabilizing, that are dangerous. we should be working in a bipartisan way and with our european partners to rein in iran's ballistic missile program, to rein in iran's destabilizing efforts in the region to support terrorism, and to impose punishing costs to iran for human rights violation but shue blow up the part that's working to pursue a next deal that would address the ballistic missile program and other problems with iran's aggressive behavior. >> senator, i know you have to vote. we'll let you go. thanks for joining us. >> thank you, katy. next, the epa touching down in storm ravaged puerto rico as water shortages leave residents drinking from potentially toxic water sources. we'll have the latest, next.uy e by listening to an audiobook on audible. and this guy is just trying to get through the day. this guy feels like he can take on anything. this guy isn't sure he can take it anymore. unwavering self-confidence.

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is the federal government doing enough to help puerto rico after hurricane maria? up next, we'll talk to one lawmaker calming out the president for the nation's disaster response. >> puerto rico now that more generators i believe than any, any place in the world. there are generators all over the place. most people said we've done an outstanding job, but puerto rico is a very tough one. what started as a passion...

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hurricane maria battered puerto rico and the situation remains desperate for many. more lives could be on the line if the water crisis continues. 69% of puerto rico now that running water but with 85% of the island still without power, pumping and treating the water is still a major challenge. residents have been urged to boil all water, and the epa says desperation is leaving some residents to use wells like you saw there. that may be contaminated. just over half of the waste water treatment plants are functional. none of the water that already has undergone testing so far shows contamination but the process is still ongoing while president trump quoted friday he will always be with puerto rico,

quote/unquote. that tweet came one day after he threatened to pull first responders and the military out of there saying they can't stay there forever. and leading a group of lawmakers pressing the federal government for a stronger response in puerto rico, congressman, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> listen, i know you've been outspoken about the president's response here. today he cited the former fema director under president clinton saying that he got an a-plus for his response to all of the hurricanes, including the hurricane maria, including what's going on in puerto rico? >> well, i will challenge the president, and i will challenge the former fema administrator. what we have seen on the ground is a poor, dysfunctional response from a white house that was cut off guard, wasn't prepared, didn't do advance planning to deploy all of the federal assets that we needed in order to assist the citizens in

puerto rico. the fact that today people are drinking water, contaminated water, tells you the dress operation t -- tess operation people are finding themselves. >> or water they don't know is contaminated, or could be contaminated. if one thing could change this moment and make lives a lot better there, to make it easier, to speed up the progress what would that one thing be, from the federal government? >> we need to restore the energy grid, and we need to restore the water. drinkable water, but we -- >> are they not working on that adequately? >> three weeks later, more than 84% of the people in puerto rico still don't have -- >> what is the holdup to fix the power grid? what is the issue here? why is it so much more difficult to get this back up and running three weeks in than it would be in any other place? >> it was a massive disaster and

needed a massive response. the manpower, the experts that needed to be on the ground, are still not there. and we need for the federal government and the president to start working on a rebuilding recovery package to start reconstruction. let me say this, two weeks ag a ago-virgin islands got funding. >> why are the virgin island getting something that puerto rico isn't? >> i really don't know. the crisis in puerto rico, just by going to puerto rico and staying in the, in the san juan area, without going to the most remo remote, vulnerable areas doesn't provide the kind of facts and

visual that he needed to see. >> not a flyover. >> needed to come back to the white house and bring the cabinet members and instruct them of everything, what they needed to do in order to provide the kind of resources that are needed. >> so the house has passed a $36 billion relief package already including $1.27 billion specifically designated for food assistance in puerto rico. is that not enough? >> there is a shortage of food. supermarkets are empty. my sister called me this morning. she was making a line, she was in line, at 6:30 this morning. she went to another part of the island yesterday and the supermarket, they were -- they didn't have food. so as the president said, this is an island sitting in a big ocean -- women, it's not a big ocean. it's the caribbean sea, but we needed to use all the federal

resources, and to deploy vessels, the aircraft carrier, for example, with the type of helicopters that are needed to reach those remote areas. >> do you think we could benefit from something like a disaster relief czar? >> that's what i ask, and that's what we did during katrina, and the problem, it took the administration almost two weeks to appoint a three-star general. as i mentioned to you before, this was a monumental disaster. the logistics in puerto rico, on an island where people were trapped in some remote areas where they lost the bridges. the roads are obstructed. so there's no way in or out. and we didn't have the man power. we didn't have the equipment, the truck, we didn't have the drivers. >> let's underscore that we are this far out and the epa is --

is worried about reports that people are drinking from wells, water wells in superfund sites. that's like drinking from wells in the guanes if you live her in new york. >> 14 of these sites in puerto rico. today they are facing this because of the rain, rivers overflowing. all of that material, all of that hazardous material is going into those wells. >> if you're at home and don't know what a super fund is, do yourself a favor. google it. thank you. >> thaunkd for all the coverage you have provided. >> you're welcome. still to come, trouble for the president's drug czar nominee after a blockbuster report on his ties to the drug industry. keep it here. so we sent that sample off to ancestry.

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is the president's pick to be drug czar. congressman tom marino of pennsylvania. west virginia senator joe manchin, whose state has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic is calling on the president to withdraw the nomination. the president was asked about marino in the rose garden today and here's what he said. >> as far as tom marino, so he was a very early supporter of mine. the great state of pennsylvania. he's a great guy. i did see the report. we're looking into the report. we're going to take it very seriously. >> you should look into the report as well if you haven't done that yet. the president also said that next week he'll formally declay the opioid epidemic an emergency. more than two months since the president vowed to make that declaration and today said it was because of paperwork. and the crisis that already claimed the lives of 200,000 people in this country still continues.

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it's time for the lid. somehow we lost nick along the way. maybe show up midpanel. "60 minutes" and "washington post" have bombshell reporting about congress, dea and pharmaceutical companies and stores saying that dea was handicapped by congress to go after distributors of opioids and that's been fuelling this crisis because stores able to get more and more, fill more and more prescriptions, doctors became drug dealers the piece said appalling piece if it turns out to be true. whistleblower talked about it. hi nick. he joined us. donald trump has nominated one

of the cosponsors of that legislation, congressman marino to be his drug czar. saying because early supporter. >> that's not enough when draining the swamp. >> this is whistleblower for the dea alleges enabled hundreds of thousands of americans to die from overdose of opioids. >> and not first time we've seen the trump administration not properly vet its own people. that's also disturbing. fortunate this was caught in the "60 minutes" piece and there's full-on discussion. mike flynn is another example, he wasn't fully vetted by the time he was offered the position and goes to president's ability to show good judgment and manage. >> it's beyond issue of vetting i think. piece laid out clearly this was legislation passed in house and

senate and signed by barack obama. everybody was complicit in allowing this to happen. it's kind of story you watch and think, how in the world can you unravel something like this? this is why washington is dysfunctional, never gg to be on our side, always on the side of big money. >> it's amazing. pharma is most powerful special interest group in washington by far in my experience. this example of case study of what president trump said he was talking about on the campaign trail, they're all in it together against us. fact this guy is still under serious consideration, if he still is in a week will be surprising. if you're supporter of the president and whbelieved what h said about the opioid crisis. i think he was well vetted and put there because he's a friend of the industry. >> and somebody who supported

donald trump. just said it a second ago when we played the clip in the rose garden. zlooen that, if the president cares about the crisis, campaigned about it, talked about it a lot on the campaign trail, i'm going to help you he would say to the families. why not declared it emergency yet? >> not sure. he said he was going to in meeting at mar-a-largo i think where they were sitting around the table. supposed to be about the crisis. >> golf course, not mar-a-largo. >> right. this is the fundamental issue. corruption that americans feel is in the system in washington, special interests dumping money into political candidates without their best interests in heart. >> beyond donald trump. that he's nominating him to be drug czar is illuminating but

goes past it. >> pharmaceutical companies are biggest lobbyists in washington, that's been the case. father is retired biologist who worked in pharmaceutical companies and i saw up close the political power they exerted to push certain medications that later became dangerous to people. studies came out of -- >> don't want to roll into a separate issue. but add to president with attack on news media breaking these stories. it's really important we have to start looking at? >> ten seconds, how do we fix it? >> better regulation of pain killers and how they're pushed into communities around the country. >> anything else? >> rip the band-aid off and go after it in comprehensive way. not just one person with a panel of recommendations. you have to roll up your sleeves. >> isn't this larger? money in politics.

how could you get money out of politics? gerrymandering? only public financing? shorter term limits? who the heck knows. >> citizens united is good place to start. >> there you go. guys, thanks for being here. nick you'll be excused to continue doing whatever it was that made you late to your panel. see you later. we'll be right back.

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that is all for tonight.

we'll be back tomorrow with more "mtp daily," "the beat with ari melber" starts right now. ari, commence awkward silence now. >> well it's -- what i was going to say, you're passing it early. i didn't know if you wanted extra time for that. >> went long with the panel and had to kill our in case you missed it. blah, blah, blah. >> insider talk. letting people behind the curtain into what the nerds do on the set. that's always moderately interesting. katy tur, thank you. >> you too, see you. big show. no secret that donald trump and mitch mcconnell don't get along. rarely pretend to. but struck a happy note in the rose garden as trump made it official, asserted that obamacare no longer exists. >> also a