miss her every day. >> i think debbie is all around us, and supporting us. and we find hints of that constantly in our lives. she was a wonderful presence. >> and we're blessed to have known her as a friend. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. good morning. i'm dara brown at msnbc world headquarters in new york. it's 7:00 in the east, 4:00 out west. president trump, well, he's stumping for roy moore and sending a message to alabama republicans, don't lose that seat in the senate. >> we can't afford to have a liberal democrat who is completely controlled by nancy pelosi and chuck schumer. we can't do it. can't do it. what did she say? the report that says hope hicks, one of president trump's top advisers, met with special counsel robert mueller's team this week. new violence after the controversial announcement about the u.s. embassy move.

why this happened without any concessions. and we begin with politics and president trump's strongest message yet to the voters of alabama, telling them to get out and vote for roy moore. he did so during a campaign-style rally in florida last night, some 20 miles from the alabama border. >> it's time to get our priorities straight. this guy's screaming we want roy moore. he's right. [ cheers and applause ] just so i can satisfy this gentleman out there, how many people here are from the great state of alabama? [ cheers and applause ] whoa. the future of this country cannot afford to lose a seat in the very, very close united states senate. we can't afford it, folks. we need somebody in that senate seat who will vote for our make

america great again agenda. so get out and vote for roy moore. do it, do it. >> meanwhile, democrats ramping up their get out the vote campaign for doug jones with congressman john lewis and senator cory booker among a number of prominent black lawmakers heading to alabama tomorrow. let's bring in gabby, white house correspondent for "the washington examiner." great to have you both here this morning. i want to start with you, because president trump's comment there is from florida without roy moore at his side. what do you think the president's strategy is here? >> well, he wants a republican in the senate, and he went out and offered a full-throated endorsement last night of roy moore after spending weeks deciding whether or not that was going to be the path that the white house took. obviously in the four days between now and the tuesday election, president trump and this white house have aligned ther themselves with roy moore and are eager to encourage alabama

voters, many of whom are still pretty on the fence when it comes to voting for roy moore or staying home or even casting their ballot for doug jones. they're out there encouraging folks to get a republican in the senate and make sure that seat is held because they feel they can't enact his agenda with one less gop seat in the upper chamber. so i think that's what we saw last night. but it does put the president in a bit of a precarious position because snathd republicenate re leaders have said they intend to open an ethics investigation if roy moore becomes their colleague. if that's the case, whether the white house supports an ethics investigation is whole other question. >> that's a whole nother area to get into. sean, i want to play you this new anti-moore ad that came up, funded by evan mcmullen. take a listen. >> what if she was your little girl, your daughter, your

sister? what if she was 16 years old or 15 or even 14? would you let a 32-year-old man be alone with her? date her? undress her? touch her? have her touch him? that's what roy moore did. he called it dating. we call it unacceptable. that's why we can't support roy moore. >> sean, the group doesn't offer an alternative to roy moore, but doesn't this add to the argument that the strategy could have an opposite effect here? >> well, you know, there are only two candidates in this race. so voters are going to have to make a choice between jones and moore. when you look at that ad and what the president said in his remarks in florida, you know, almost everybody on the ground, voters in alabama are aware of the accusations that moore faces. but when you look at what the president is saying, he's trying to tell voters to sort of look beyond those accusations that

might trouble them and focus on the fact that the, you know, balance of the senate, which right now is 52-48, so a slim margin for republicans, is at stake here and the republican agenda is at stake here. so it seems like trump is saying, you know, there are reasons beyond these accusations that you should consider when you look at this vote. on the other side, we see the argument that, you know, this is the central issue of this campaign, these very serious accusations that roy moore is facing is the central issue. we see that in that ad. we see that in a lot of the messaging from doug jones and his supporters. that's the question on tuesday is what will a lot of moderate republican voters care more about, the balance in the senate, the republican agenda, or these accusations which, you know, trouble a lot of them, i think. >> and sean, congressman john lewis and senator cory booker, they're heading to alabama for doug jones tomorrow. what took democrats so long to send high-profile lawmakers down, particularly to help turn out the black vote? >> well, i think part of this is by design. when i've been on the ground in

alabama and spent time with doug jones, he's tried to make this an alabama race. the national democratic party has a really toxic brand in alabama, which is one of the most conservative states. now we have only a couple days left until the election. as you point out, the jones campaign is making a big effort to try to turn out african-american voters, so they are bringing out cory booker, duval patrick, the former massachusetts governor is another person who's coming down. john lewis, of course. what they're doing now is trying to get everybody they can to try to generate excitement and energy for this race in the final couple days, especially in the african-american communities in alabama. >> i know and it's hard to believe it is right around the corner. gabby, i want to turn to "the new york times" report on hope hicks because she was warned by the fbi earlier this year about e-mails from russians. we also learned that hope hicks spoke with special counsel robert mueller's team yesterday and on thursday. what was your biggest takeaway from this report? >> well, that the russians are

still trying to get access to this administration in nefarious ways an she's been warned by federal officials to be wary of that. i think that's a huge revelation by "the new york times" last night. as far as her interview with robert mueller's team goes, i mean, hope hicks is one of the so-called originals, one of those campaign staffers who's been with trump since the beginning of the election and even well before that. assistant to ivanka trump. i think she has a lot to offer to robert mueller. she's been there at every turn for the firing of james comey. she knows mike flynn very well. so i can't imagine that there wasn't anything new or relevant to the investigation that may have been revealed in that interview yesterday. >> and the gop's now making efforts to discredit mueller, especially by people like newt gingrich, who early on praised the special counsel. what happened and how much should we expect these efforts

to ramp up? >> they have. they've been b pointing out that one of the top lawyers on mueller's team was present at the election night rally for hillary clinton in new york. others have made disparaging remarks about president trump and his administration, trying at every turn to undermine their credibility, to say that they're biased. i think that the purpose of this is to ultimately discredit whatever result comes from this administration, to say that it was, as president trump himself as said, a witch hunt all along, that they were always out to negatively impact the administration, to find some verdict that makes the president or his senior staffers look guilty. i think that's the plan. i'm sure that will only ramp up as this investigation continues to be ongoing. >> and sean, real quick, your colleagues broke the news yesterday of deputy national security adviser dina powell li leaving the white house. what's behind her departure, especially after the big

announcement about jerusalem? >> it looks like this departure unlike some of the others we've seen from the white house is not one that's caused a lot of contention in the west wing. it's not one that comes as both sides are necessarily unhappy with each other. but i would say that, you know, we're seeing potentially the beginning of a year-end exodus of top officials. we still don't know exactly what's going to happen with rex tillerson, the secretary of state, but we've seen multiple reports that he is likely on his way out at some point. we've seen other high-profile staffers, you know, reince priebus, sean spicer, exit this year. we've seen a lot of high-profile exits, more than you usually see from a white house in its first year in office. >> sean sullivan, gabby, please stick around. we have more to discuss. new protests and questions after the president's controversial announcement about jerusalem. plus, what it's like to get caught up in the middle of a clash. >> okay, you don't need to push. all right. we found ourselves directly in the middle here. s: it's 6 am.

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happening now, one of the six wildfires burning in southern california has spread to 143,000 acres with 10% containment. the flames from the thomas fire erupted monday night and have destroyed more than 400 structures. new this morning, escalating tensions in the middle east over president trump's decision to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel. yesterday clashes broke out in the west bank and gaza. nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel got caught in the middle of a clash in jerusalem. >> okay, you don't need to push. all right. we're being pushed. we found ourselves directly in the middle here. israeli security forces are trying to break up the demonstration, but before they

were able to congregate. for the palestinians, this is their way of showing they don't accept the israeli claim to jerusalem. >> and overnight, the israeli military says it used air strikes to hit two posts belonging to militants in gaza in retaliation for rocket fire. the palestinian health ministry says 25 people who live nearby were wounded in those strikes, including children. joining me now is steve clemens, washington editor at large. tell, me what did trump's move actually do, and how long is this going to take to play out? >> it's going to take a long time to play out because the odd thing about this is that while donald trump has announced the intention to move the u.s. embassy to jerusalem, we've just heard from rex tillerson just yesterday that we're not going to move it in 2018. so what we have is essentially the same policy with riots thrown in. so this was a gesture by donald trump to both evangelical

christians in the united states and some of the conservative jewish supporters who had supported him. when it comes to actually moving that embassy, it's going to take a long time. but it's the idea of moving it and the fact that the united states has weighed in on one side of a paralyzed peace process that has really stirred up the neighborhood and stirred up the region. >> and steve, let's talk about that idea. congress approved the recognition of jerusalem in the embassy act in 19 5i95, but no president since has enforced it. so why is this controversial? >> it's very controversial because the united states had presented itself for many, many years as the party that could deliver both the palestinians and israelis through a fair and neutral negotiating process to discuss their grievances with each other and to discuss how they might move towards a two-state solution where both were safe and secure and able to live with each other and function with each other. now we're moving from a two-state solution to what many

people consider a one-state answer in that state, it's unclear what the rights and position of palestinians will be. it's unclear whether jerusalem and israel will be able to maintain their democratic character in the future. jerusalem is one of the most contested parts of that potential peace party process. and in this, the most people, both on the arab side or israeli side, eventually saw that jerusalem would somehow be shared, where east jerusalem would belong, be the capital of the palestinian state of the future and west jerusalem, other parts of jerusalem, would be part of the israeli state and israel's capital. by announcing now that the united states recognizes jerusalem without qualification as israel's capital, the arab world is incredibly frustrated because they see the united states is no longer that neutral broker and that it has put its thumb on one side of the equation quite dramatically.

>> and steve, if there are any u.s. allies beyond israel that agree with this move? is the u.s. going alone here? >> essentially, yes. pretty much the entire world as we saw in the united nations yesterday has already declared this to be a move that it's frustrated with. it has basically said the u.s. has moved the wrong direction in this and this has created a lot of damage. everyone from the vatican to the saudis to the turks to the french, the germans, and the british, all over the world, the russians and chinese, have all come out against this move. so we're facing something yet again where the united states is kind of on an island in one position and much of the world is organized against us because they -- it's been obvious to many that this is not moving peace forward. nikki haley, our ambassador to the united nations, yesterday said this was a big step towards

peace. well, nobody engage theed in th process seems to believe that. >> you mentioned a possible two-state solution, but is that over now? >> i don't know if it's over. it's very, very frustrated. i think that right now you have challenges in leadership on the palestinian side of the equation. the israelis seem to be disinterested in really making the kind of gestures that might lead to a two-state solution. i don't know if negotiations are over, but certainly they've been cut off at the knees right now. i think one of the interesting things as you look forward on the israel-palestinian peace process is whether or not both sides can get to a point where the violence, the death, the killing, the instability and the insecurity about the future drives both parties into something where they realize that they need to solve this and put something together. just recently, i was with the former foreign minister of israel, and she's worried about the direction of where things are going and thinks we're moving from any opportunity to have a two-state solution but

israel will never be secure, she said, unless we get a two-state solution. so i don't know if it's all over. i don't want to be that dramatic. certainly this was a step backward, not forward. >> steve clemens, great to have you this morning. thanks for your insight. >> dara, thank you. the president is heading to jackson, mississippi, this morning for the dedication of a civil rights museum, where he's expected to deliver remarks. but several civil rights leaders and speakers are now boycotting the event because of the president's appearance. nbc's kristin welker is in jackson for us. the president is facing a lot of backlash for his decision to attend. it's forcing the white house to make some changes to the itinerary. what can you tell us? >> reporter: dara, there's no doubt that tensions are simmering here. president trump is set to touchdown in just a few hours from now. you have some people here saying they're absolutely honored by the president's visit, but others say that the president has done very little to heal the racial divide in america. they say, in fact, he has made it worse. now, as you point out, the white

house making this a very short trip here to visit in jackson. we know there's been extra security here. there may be protesters, for example. really at the forefront of this, you have civil rights icon, congressman john lewis, cancelling his planned keynote address here at the civil rights museum, along with mississippi representative benny thompson. the two releasing this joint statement. president trump's attendance and his hurtful policies are an insult to the people portrayed in this civil rights museum. the white house has pushed back very forcefully, though, and they say that this is really a disappointment that civil rights icon john lewis, for example, won't be here. president trump, for his part, had that big rally in pensacola last night, and he touted what he says are his policies that have helped african-americans. take a listen. >> i love these guys. look at these guys. blacks for trump. i love you. i love -- >> by the way, now that you

bring it up, black homeownership just hit the highest level it's ever been in the history of our country. congratulations. >> now, as a candidate, then mr. trump really struggled to win over african-american voters. his pitch to them was one he actually rolled out here in jackson. he said, what do you have to lose by voting for me? democratic policies have failed you in the past. as a president, he has tried to expand his outreach, but he has also sparked some controversy at various moments, including, you'll recall, his kmencomments the wake of the clashes at charlottesville. today the white house says the president is going to focus on honoring this civil rights museum and the memory of all of those who made it possible, dara. >> kristen welker, thank you for that report. and a republican congressman coming under fire for a tweet about diversity. the story up next.

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president trump is heading to jackson, mississippi, for a controversial trip to a civil rights museum. for more, let's bring back gabby and sean. gabby, i want to ask you about the timing of this visit because it's coming a day after the rally in florida. it's essentially for roy moore. so what is the strategy here? >> again, to show his face in an area where you have a lot of trump supporters, people who might have relatives in alabama, folks who might be in contact with voters in alabama, to try and convince them ahead of this election to support roy moore. but i think it's also to just be present at an event that allows the trump administration to say that, look, we do support civil rights, we do want to pay tribute to the african-american community and to civil rights icons and leaders. unfortunately, the message has been lost in the controversy over this event. the trump administration has always had a difficult record on race-related issues, and that's

something that's coming to light again during the visit today. >> and the boycott has certainly altered that visit. sean, republican congressman steve king facing criticism here after tweeting yesterday, diversity is not our strength. he cited the hungarian prime minister who said during a hearing in brussels this week, mixing cultures will not lead to a higher quality of life but a lower one. sean, has the gop autopsy of the 2012 election been thrown out of the window here? >> i think a lot of democrats and even some republicans have made the case that in the era of trump, a lot of the findings in that autopsy have. steve king is somebody who has made controversial comments in the past, so it's not surprising to hear him say something like this, but it's already causing political ramifications in iowa. you have, you know, democrats now calling on the governor there to disassociate her campaign committee from steve king. so we'll see now will republicans try to disassociate themselves with him or not. >> sean, gabby, great to have you here this morning. >> thank you. >> thanks. >> that'll do it for me.

i'm dara brown. thanks for watching. at the top of the hour on hugh hewitt, u.s. associate attorney general rachel brand. first, "your business" with jj ramberg is up next. ( ♪ ) this time of year is all about family. and we'd like you to be part of ours. so our chevy employee discount is now available to everyone. this holiday season, you pay what we pay. and not a cent more. we're so happy to share this with you. hey, mom and dad deserve some toys too. it's our way of saying happy holidays. and welcome to the family. the chevy family. get the chevy employee discount for everyone today.

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