tv MSNBC Live MSNBC December 10, 2017 11:00am-12:00pm PST
11:00 am
that's a wrap for me this hour. i'm alex witt. thank you for watching. i'll see you next saturday morning. now over to richard lui. that's all i have to do, send it across the desk. >> and two days in front of us before the big vote in alabama. thank you so much. i'm richard lui. thank you for joining us this hour. the battle for alabama is heating up with two days to go in the hotly contested race between roy moore and doug jones. moore speaking out repeating his denial of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. >> i did not know them. i had no encounter with them.
11:01 am
i never molested anyone. and for them to say that, i don't know why they're saying it, but it's not true. when you look at the ground, what's happening there, getting a big assist in the final stretch. on one side, president trump just recording a robocall for the embattled judge while cory booker is hoping to bring voters to the polls on tuesday. then the republicans trying to undermine the russia investigation by discrediting the team who would take the president to task. one top detective in congress says yes. we'll dive into that later. but we'll start this hour for you in alabama, as alex and i were just talking about, less than two days before voters were going to make that walk and pull that lever. they are going to make their decision to elect the next senator. what seemed um possible two months ago will win a state in a seat that has not gone blue in more than two decades. this should show you how much democrats have poured into the
11:02 am
race. that's democratic senator corey booker of new jersey campaigning for doug jones all weekend in alabama. jones' supporters holding events across the state from birmingham to huntsville. while roy moore plagued by allegations of sexual misconduct is counting on help from the white house. president trump is recording a robocall for more help. let's go to roy hilliard there in birmingham. good day to you, my friend. and we have the robocall. as we hit the final stretch on what impact that might have, what is in the very robocall itself, vaughan? >> reporter: exactly, richard. the point you just made is that the roy moore campaign is counting on the robocall. that's the only president you're seeing out of the roy moore campaign. the last time we saw him out in public was last tuesday at a rally. he has no events this weekend and is not expected to be seen
11:03 am
until monday evening when steve bannon joins him in the southwestern part of the state. compare that to doug jones, the democrat who in this race right behind us is visiting his third church in the birmingham area this morning. he was in selma, montgomery, birmingham just yesterday. he's making stops in huntsville and around the state here today. it's just polar opposites when watching the two campaigns run, right? you're running a campaign that is essentially a ghost campaign. i was just talking, and i know that the roy moore campaign tells me they are going out and canvassing neighborhoods today, but overall when you look at the two campaign infrastructures, you have the democrat in alabama who is running a robust operation. whether that is enough to get republicans to crossover was something we'll have to tell here in the coming 48 hours. but i want to play you a sound bite, roy moore appeared on local television this morning in what i'm hesitant to call an interview but more of a conversation with a more republican friendly host here on this tv outlet out here who gave
11:04 am
him the benefit of the doubt. but this is when he asked roy moore about the allegations. this was the u.s. senate candidate's response just 48 hours out. >> ritual defamation has been around for a long time. that's what this is. they have done this, it's inconceivable to think that somebody would wait 40 years because they were embarrassed or ashamed of something. and then less than 30 days before the general election come out and make allegations and then appear on a political advertisement when they have waited 40 years not to be embarrassed. >> reporter: roy moore has propagated this skepticism, right? and it worked for a large number of his base, republican voters in the state that we have talked to over the last month, richard. we have played sound bites all along of people believing roy moore. and it is not to say that roy moore is wrong, but roy moore hasn't opened himself to hard,
11:05 am
serious questions from the press outside of the sean hannity interview the day after the initial allegations came out on november 9th. he hasn't subjected himself to questions about these allegations besides meeting with pro-moore media. i should note, when looking at the two campaigns, i have been with doug jones over the last several days because there's not another campaign to cover, and doug jones, he shakes hands 30 minutes after these events down to the last voter. whether that is enough, right? to ultimately win on tuesday, time will tell. but for doug jones, there's hopes that a high voter turnout could help them, particularly in conservative counties, right, richard? where the republican voters have shown a pension for being willing to vote against roy moore particularly in the 2012 race when the conservative counties voted for the democrat over him. richard? >> so vaughn, you have been talking about alabamans there,
11:06 am
is there a bit of apathy that may be seeping in there, might that hurt turnout? >> reporter: i have not felt apathy, richard. i have been to enough places where this reminds me of iowa, heading into the iowa caucus, where people have an opinion about this race, or their opinion is we don't know how we're going to vote on tuesday. but there's not a lack of apathy. and it is interesting because this continues. the president was just down the road in pensacola two days ago. richard shelby, the other republican senator just did an interview this morning where he came out to say he reminded voters he didn't vote for roy moore, said he wouldn't vote for roy moore and doesn't think roy moore is fit to be in the u.s. senate. this is on front of minds. football bowl games aren't happening for a couple weeks. politics is the story here come tuesday. it's quite fascinating to be in alabama for competitive u.s. senate races in the mix. >> it's the bowl game. quickly here, how is it being
11:07 am
seen since roy moore has not been out? have his supporter who is are on the cusp here, have they seen the swing negatively? >> reporter: it's something. we have been to a lot of corners of the state and i've been reaching out to people i've been in touch with for the last couple of weeks to ask where they stand. those questions still don't know which way to go. it's interesting, some republicans said they were going to vote for doug jones despite the defiance of roy moore said they are sticking by doug jones. but what does that mean? i really don't know, rich administrate. because the steatz is so complex from the rural areas to the suburbs with more flunlt white women that doug jones is going to rely on to turnover, but also the democratic turnout. there's not much of a reason for democrats in the state, at least in terms of having a competitive race to go out there and be a part of in the past, so is there a coalition enough for doug jones? i'm not sure. that's why this race, honestly in my opinion, could swing 15
11:08 am
points for roy moore or 15 points for doug jones. despite having conversations with voters over the last month, richard. >> it's a complex coalition that the democrat has to put together there. doug jones. vaughn hillyard, thank you. and richard shelby says he already cast his ballot and it was not for judge moore. >> as a republican, i had to vote republican, i wanted to vote republican. i understand where the president's coming from. i understand we would like to retain that seat in the u.s. senate. but i tell you what, there is a time that we call a tipping point. and i think so many accusations, so many cuts, so many drip, drip, drip -- when it got to the 14-year-old -- >> senator shelby earlier on "state of the union" on cnn,
11:09 am
joining me is the former deputy assistant of state joel reuben, republican strategist and co-found co-founder, kevin paul scott. joyce vance is here. and former breitbart spokesman, kurt bardella. thank you to all four. since you are there on the ground, joyce, with senator shelby saying, i'm going to go for the write-in candidate. i have to vote for a republican here. how much effect do you think that might have there? >> reporter: this could have a tremendous effect if word is successfully conveyed to republican alabama voters. having senator shelby who is in many ways the senior leadership of the party, is giving voters permission to write in a candidate of their own choice rather than voting for moore could tip voters on the fence down here. he's well liked, he's well thought of and always supports the republican hierarchy. this is the only time that i can
11:10 am
remember that he's broken step with the party. it could potentially be very powerful. >> kurt, do you agree with that? the issue of the roboocall and hitting on key points in the robocall. as we look at the transcript, he's bringing up veterans, that's just some of what he's talking ab. put that all together, could that swing it to roy moore? >> no, i don't think it is too late for any republican to create the distance from roy moore. that time is long since past. we are less than 48 hours. i question how many people in alabama are sitting around watching a sunday show today and are going to determine their vote based on that appearance. i think, at the end of the day, chips fall where they are going to fall. i think it is likely roy moore wins this thing because so many republicans were silent and missing in action during the entire campaign. >> kevin, do you believe it is baked as well? kevin, can you hear me?
11:11 am
it looks like we are having technical difficulty with you, kevin. we'll try one more time. okay. i apologize, kevin. we'll work on that and get back to you in a couple seconds. joel, do you agree that it is pretty much baked at this point. folks are not watching on a sunday, certainly roy moore is not out today. >> well, turnout matters and clearly the ground game is going to impact whether or not the voters come out from the african-american, first and foremost. but really, this is a sad commentary on the state of republican politics right now where they are willing to -- chi being accused of child molestation, looking for moles to find young girls, it is remarkable that republicans are still willing to support him. the president is calling robocalls. and the senate can't let this
11:12 am
pass. if he gets elected, he needs to be investigated under the ethics committee. this cannot be swept under the rug, certainly not the way the senate has dealt with al franken and other members of congress. there needs to be accounting for his behavior. >> and joyce, anecdotely, he's saying, why did they wait 40 years? or so many decades? it seems to not only have resonated with his base, but anecdotely, those on the other side, long-time democrats in the state for so long. why do you think that dynamic still persists, joyce? >> when you speak -- >> it sounds like we're having more technical difficulties with joyce vance. kurt, if you can hear me and can be heard, please reflect on that. >> well, i think again, there is this open cough of republicans trying to say one thing and
11:13 am
doing another. they can't go beyond the least amount possible to let that happen. if the fact that richard shelby said, i have to vote republican. why do you have to vote republican? why isn't a crime-fighting prosecutor who went after the kkk and social injustices and white-collar crime and doug jones, why not this one time between a sex predator who hangs out at the mall waiting for teens, we should be voting against roy moore. if you are a christian and care about the facts, this is an obvious choice to make. >> joel, as we see corey booker down on the ground and some of his messaging, that may attract which had been those going to vote, but that could swing the
11:14 am
white vote that had gone for doug jones that now moved away and will not come back. >> well, a quarter of the population in alabama is african-american. and i hope that people really do reflect. it's the closing that matters, the last 48 hours. and there is an opportunity for the alabama voters to think deeply about their conservative values, particularly clearly on the republican side. and the values of ethics and morality of what they want representing them. i served as a staffer. we did not have in public view these kind of debates and discussions. if roy moore walks into the united states senate. it will be an embarrassment to the other senators and an embarrassment to alabama. >> kurt, as we have been hearing reporting from vaughn, the roy moore campaign not seen in public for days and days. doug jones really is out there.
11:15 am
when vaughn was talking to us, his team was trying to get the vote out. is moore staying inside because he needs to or because he's comfortable? >> well, i think probably both. he's most comfortable right now hiding. i think he would rather have the donald trump and steve bannons of the world make the case for him, but there are a lot of questions he doesn't have the answer for that he doesn't want to address, and if the conversation is roy moore versus the accuser, he's going to lose that fight on election day. donald trump and steve bannon versus much mcconnell, that's a fight that he's looking to play out for him on tuesday. >> also one of the themes here, joel, is the idea of this being a referendum on whether accusations or allegations of sexual harassment, of sexual assault, of sexual misconduct, is now going to be removed from the importance and discussion in political races. that -- this current president
11:16 am
who has bragged about sexual assault, that it will now be erased necessarily from those who might accuse him thereof and therefore moving forward in 2018, this president can now be brought out to help those key races for 2018 and that will not be a negative. what is your reflection on that possibility? >> well, heaven forbid the candidate who thinks this will be over. we can't turn back. and the momentum is in such a direction where in this country we need to have an accounting of sexual harassment. i'm fortunate, i have three young daughter is daughters ando grow up without looking over their shoulder. this is a national conversation that will continue and needs to accelerate and will be an electoral issue in 2018. and hopefully it perpetuity. we need to make sure we don't have harassment in the workplace and in private life. and this is a conversation that
11:17 am
needs to be happening in our country right snow. >> quickly, kurt, does a moore win here erase the negativity and the sexual harassment and the allegations involved in that? >> no, no more than it did when donald trump won the presidency. in fact, you look at what has happened in our culture since trump became president, all the big high-profile people that have been exposed and lost their jobs or careers, i think if roy moore wins, it will intensify to call it sexual harassment and sexual assault with the victims coming forward. they will be outraged that roy moore would win in the united states senate while republicans did nothing to stop it. there will be and huge accounting and a reckoning for anyone on the wrong side of this. and that is a big reason why i left the republican party and joined the democratic party, richard. >> i kind of noticed that. a footnote there for our old friend from breitbart here changing party affiliations. kurt bardella, you'll tree bjoe.
11:18 am
no two better to join us here. we apologize for the technical difficulties again. coming up, twitter news, cable news and diet coke. we'll dive into "the new york times" fascinating new look inside the mind and activities of president trump's day-to-day. plus, more on the russian investigation after this. got a what does that mean for purchasing? purchase. let's do this. got it. book the flights! hai! si! si! ya! ya! ya! what does that mean for us? we can get stuff. what's it mean for shipping? ship the goods. you're a go! you got the green light. that means go! oh, yeah. start saying yes to your company's best ideas. we're gonna hit our launch date! (scream) thank you! goodbye! let us help with money and know-how, so you can get business done. american express open.
11:19 am
what's going on? oh hey! so you can get business done. ♪ 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'm lucky to get through a shift without a disaster. my bargain detergent couldn't keep up. so, i switched to tide pods. they're super concentrated, so i get a better clean. number one trusted. number one awarded. it's got to be tide
11:22 am
intelligence committee, accusing the gop of trying to discredit special counsel robert mueller's russian investigation into the trump campaign. take a listen to this. >> this is an effort to tear at the very idea that there is an objective truth. and i think this president in astonishing speed has remade the republican party in his own deeply flawed image. and that will be ruinous to the republican party. the discrediting of our institutions, the justice system, the judiciary, the press, is enormously destructive. >> the let's bring in michael conway who served as counsel to the house judiciary committee during president richard nixon's impeachment. and the former white house chief ethics lawyer under george w. bush. let's start with you, my friend, richard paynor. you have been on the air discussing this very topic, what do you make of where we are in terms of the accusations against robber muert mueller? >> well, there's no basis for
11:23 am
accusations against robert mueller. he's an experienced prosecutor, the head of the fbi under president george w. bush. he was a republican. and he is a very thorough investigator. and he is out to pursue the truth and find out what happened here. and the congressman is exactly right, there isn't a war here by the trump administration against the concept of objective truth. and it's ironic that i spent years in the academic world dealing with crazies on the left who consistently challenge the notion that there's objective truth. there is right and wrong. and now we have the trump administration trying to distort the truth and throw lies at the american people to cover-up what actually happened. there was collaboration with the russians. robert mueller is finding out what happened. and attacking robert mueller's credibility, his impeccable credentials, is nothing but a smoke screen and political strategy.
11:24 am
and the american people see through that because the american people do believe in objective truth: and they know that robert mueller is going to find it out and hold the guilty accountable. that's his job and he's doing it. >> it's not only the white house, michael conway, there's also certain members of congress, others of those on the right from the republican side who have been saying things that are consistent with an effort to discredit mueller. i'll play a little bit of that right now and get your reflection. >> if you kicked everybody off mueller's team that was anti-trump, i don't think anybody would be left. >> i have serious doubt about some in the fbi, about serious doubts about the integrity of some of the highest levels of the fbi. >> i think the problem that you have, i think you're walking into a contempt of congress. >> did bob mueller recruit people to his probe that had a bias against the president? >> michael conway, as you listen to certain members of congress here clearly making a swipe at the investigation being
11:25 am
undertaken by robert mueller, is there a parallel? is there an experience, is there a data point from your time during nixon that you can give us some context upon? >> well, absolutely. president nixon and his supporters criticized the senate judiciary committee and actually balked at giving information to the senate judiciary committee on the ground it was not impartial and yet the senate judiciary committee subpoenaed the white house tapes by a unanimous vote. later when they fired archibald cox, he was biased according to the president because he wouldn't agree not to seek the white house tapes. there's enormous pressure on the president when there's a congressional investigation, especially when there's a special prosecutor in the case of the nixon impeachment, it was the work of the special prosecutor and the senate judiciary committee that led to the evidence to cause the evidentiary committee to impeach the president. the judiciary committee almost did nothing. and coming back to "the new york
11:26 am
times" article today, the same isolation reflect in that article and enormous pressure on the president for not only himself and his campaign and relatives are under investigation. same thing to occurred with president nixon. he was isolated, fixated on watergate, and i think the parallels are very strong. >> and we'll get to more on that, michael, shortly. i want to go to "the wall street journal's" reporting and they are saying here, just in part, some of the president's associates say they want the white house to set up a classic war room to respond to the probe, hire attorneys, more inclined to challenge mueller on what they see as an anti-trump antimust. animus on the part of the special counsecounsel.
11:27 am
how do you see it? >> what you cannot do is attack the prosecutor's credibility when there's no basis for attacking his credibility. robert mueller is a republican. he was a very good fbi chief. and to attack him personally and to attack his staff and to make the false accusation that they are anti-trump is a bunch of nonsense. we'll go back to kellyanne conway's alternative truth or whatever it is, alternative facts, and that is not the way to defend an investigation. it's an unprofessional way to defend an investigation and no decent lawyer would have anything to do with it. and hopefully this administration is going to learn that we need to play by the rules in this society. we have a constitution. and we have laws. and they need to cooperate with the investigation. they can defend the president as we defended president bush and his staff and the investigations. but they cannot turn to the dirty tricks and attacks that
11:28 am
have no basis whatsoever to the truth. >> michael conway, just looking back to history, one has to ask then based on the criticisms coming from the white house as well as certain members of congress on the right, are they softening the ground here potentially for a robert mueller dismiss dismissal? >> well, that's the warning sign we have to look for. but i think this idea of hard-nosed strategy has to take into account that there are some defense that is are simply impermissible, illegitimate, claim of attorney/client privilege when there's no attorney present. claim of executive privilege when it doesn't apply. looking back to the nixon years, one of the things that happened was in the obstruction of justice charge, part of it was that the white house made claims to withhold documents, to withhold evidence, without any proper legal basis. so i think they have to be very careful in this strategy of a hard-nosed strategy toward the investigations because that itself can be evidence of
11:29 am
obstruction of justice. >> yeah, exactly. michael conway, thank you, richard paynor, wish we had more time together. thank you for being here on a sunday. >> appreciate it. coming up, more on roy moore's interview just days before the voters head to the polls. we'll talk to the reporter who sat down with the embattled candidate, that's next. i just got my cashback match,
11:30 am
is this for real? yep. we match all the cash back new cardmembers earn at the end of their first year, automatically. whoo! i got my money! hard to contain yourself, isn't it? uh huh! let it go! whoo! get a dollar-for-dollar match at the end of your first year. only from discover. more people shop online for the holidays than ever before. and the united states postal service delivers more of those purchases to homes than anyone else in the country. because we know,
11:31 am
even the smallest things are sometimes the biggest. even the smallest things but on the inside, i feel chronic, widespread pain.like most people. fibromyalgia may be invisible to others, but my pain is real. fibromyalgia is thought to be caused by overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i'm glad my doctor prescribed lyrica. for some, lyrica delivers effective relief for moderate to even severe fibromyalgia pain. and improves function. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worse depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects: dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who've had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with less pain, i can do more with my family.
11:32 am
talk to your doctor today. see if lyrica can help. talk to ywhy did you take. see if credit card debt on? second kid. private school. medical bills. moving costs. solid ground. a personal loan from sofi is a smart way to consolidate credit card debt. certain borrowers cut their credit card interest rates 42% and increased credit scores 17 points on average. borrow up to $100,000 with low rates and no hidden fees. find your rate in just two minutes, and take on your debt at sofi.com.
11:33 am
welcome back. i'm richard lui. before the alabama voters head to the polls, moore says he does not know any of the female accusers. >> i do not know them, i had no encounter with them. i never molested anyone. and for them to say that, i don't know why they're saying it, but it's not true. i said i did not know any of the women who have charged me with sexual allegation or molestation. and i did not know any of the women. when i saw these pictures on the advertisements of my opponent, i did not recognize any of those people. i did not know them. i have written cards, graduation cards, i have known families, i've known a lot of people throughout my life, but these
11:34 am
allegations are completely false. i did not date underaged women. i did not molest anyone. and so these allegations are false. >> joining me is the voice of alabama, bill bart. did he answer in your intimating of questions here, in the yearbook question, that he's reversing what he said earlier, that he did know some of those recusing him, that he has recollection thereof? >> this is not one of my interviews that we do, this is a statewide show. this was a very heated debate at some point, or interview at some point. judge moore said that he did not know these women.
11:35 am
he said that he had written some cards and letters. listen, i don't know if this is contradictory to what he said to sean hannity, but what i did hear him say is that he did not know any of his accusers. i think that may be in that little segment right there may leave room for some of the other folks. but again, i'm not going to speak for roy moore, but that's what he said. >> so that was pretty consistent with his messaging as of late, bill. what else did you get a sense of? you know, alabama politics you know so well, what was your sense in that discussion? >> i have interviewed judge moore maybe 15 times in his career, and while i don't know him personally, i know him as a politician, as a judge, you know, we're from the same neck of the woods. i know a lot of people he knows. he was very calm, given what
11:36 am
he's been charged with. he was very calm about it, he was very direct. so it was -- it was generally the same roy moore we have seen before, although i would say he was a bit humbled. this has been tough on him and his family. these are not any allegations that anyone wants to hear, much less about people they care about. so it's been hard on them, but again, we have to here in alabama evaluate what judge moore says, what we know about mr. jones, and the folks in alabama are going to make their decision come tuesday. >> bill, why did he talk to you? you know he's been off the road, there's a lot of journalists like yourself that have wanted to get the one-on-one, want to see him come to a camera, but he sat down with you, did you get a sense of that? >> well, you know, we had had judge moore on and judge jones
11:37 am
on our show, we had about 300 people in the state, i asked mr. jones to come back on, he did not even bother to return my calls. and i have doug jones' private number. i know him, i like him. you know, mr. moore's team did not respond. and then last sunday, i got a call from his team and they said, bill, we're willing to sit down with you. and we're willing to talk. we want you to come to our turf at republican headquarters. and we went with our crew and sat down and had a conversation. >> so you've heard senator shelby saying, what i'm going to do is do a write-in. i cannot support this republican candidate as it stands today. some are saying, this could make a difference, some say it will not make a difference. what do you think? >> well, i think a lot of this is hard-baked already. roy moore has a constituency of about 30%, 35%, that are going
11:38 am
to vote for him no matter what. and they're going to get out on the same tour. i respect senator shelby, as to most alabamans, i would say most republican a.labamans. just like the president and steve bannon, they may move the needle one way or the other a point or two, but i don't think that is going to affect the total outcome of the race again. everybody in alabama is going to make up their own mind. they're going to decide for themselves. and listen, it's a big deal. we are concerned about the future of our state. >> bill, what is the one thing you're watching so well as you specialize in politics. what is the one thing you're watching that could swing this one way or the other? >> well, generally speaking, you know, if mr. jones can get out the african-american vote in jefferson county and around
11:39 am
montgomery, there's a special election in montgomery, if they can get out the african-american vote, this will make a difference. i just -- i fear that doug jones does not give our african-american communities a real reason to vote for him. on the screen, i say dario melton standing by, he's the future of the alabama democratic party, as is walt maddox up in tuscaloosa. these men right here, they can convince alabamans to vote for a democrat. i'm not sure mr. jones can. >> bill brooke, thank you, sir, editor and chief there of one of the major political reporting organizations in alabama. thank you. thank you. >> thank you, sir. >> coming up, we'll shift our focus back to the alabama senate race with just two days to go. president trump recording a robo-call in support of roy moore yesterday. then on the other side, doug jones trying to galvanize support, as was mentioned n the
11:40 am
11:42 am
11:43 am
11:44 am
on young girls for the senate with full support of his party. >> and that was from senator al franken tendering his resignation in the sense of sexual allegations in the move for alabama's senate. donald trump just launched a robokalg n robocall now supporting roy moore. that endorsement coming as the embattled moore speaks out today denying his own sexual assault accusations from a group of nine women. all this as high-profile democratic lawmakers step up to endorse their candidate, doug jones, on trying to get out the african-american vote, which could make or break tuesday's contest. je geoff bennett is traveling with the president and has the latest on the alabama senate race and the endorsement coming from the white house and the president himself.
11:45 am
geoff? >> reporter: that's right. this robocall is just the latest step from this president in his unequivocal support for roy moore. richard, this is a pure clinical calculation. i'm told the white house reviewed polling data with roy moore with a small but steady lead, that is critical. even though roy moore is a household name in alabama, he has long been a polarizing figure. so the president wants to be on the winning side, especially after having backed the losing candidate. luther strange in the runoff race. and the other the president is endorsing roy moore, the president has been fairly transparent about. he wants and needs his vote in the u.s. senate. now all this has put the president at odds with members of his own party to include the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. but also tim scott, the republican senator from south carolina who spoke with our own chuck todd this morning on "meet the press." take a look. >> are you comfortable that the leader of your party is all in for roy moore? >> well, there are a number of people in my party that are not,
11:46 am
including myself and many republican senators. >> reporter: to include senators, you heard tim scott to include richard shelby, the senior republican senator from alabama who said that he could not vote for roy moore and also said that the people of alabama deserve better. richard? >> geoff bennett there very close to the president this weekend. thank you, appreciate that. now we'll bring in our guest who is a congressional reporter for the daily beast. sharon is here and daniel lipman who is co-author of to politico's playbook. the robocall, what will this mean? what do you make of the timing of it? what do you make of now the president and the white house not equivocating any more about their support for moore? >> well, it's a striking step because only a few weeks ago we thought that all republicans
11:47 am
would have abandoned this guy after "the washington post" reports about the accusations. but i would point out that they are not sending trump to alabama himself. so they have the rally 20 minutes or 20 miles away, but this could be a losing political strategy for them long-term. they may hold the seat on tuesday, but moore will be used against every republican in the midterms next year if he wins. they will say, do you agree with judge moore? do you want him as your colleague in the senate and in congress? and that could prove the downfall of a number of republicans next year. they are already facing a tough environment. >> and you heard the calculations here, andrew, they are looking at poll numbers that could have been one of the data points, maybe not the main data point, but this president not doing well with luther strange also in the state and now hoping to get behind the winning horse, if you will, certainly, but on top of that, maybe adding a point or two, or is that just
11:48 am
too late as we speak with bill britt, a local editor and chief there in alabama saying it is already baked. so whether the president got behind roy moore or not may not be a huge difference? >> well, the president certain lip wants another political win coming after the thumping that he got off he backed luther strange in the primary. but look, neither the republican nor the democratic party apparatus in washington, d.c. have gone all-in on this race. but for entirely different reasons. you heard tim scott express what many republican senators feel, which is they worry roy moore if elected will be sort of hanging over their heads as they move forward in future electionsle. that's something the president may not have to worry about them as they would in 2018 or 2020. >> sharon, the anti-outside/in theme happening there in alabama, now both sides are bringing in outsiders for support. i was just talking about president trump, and also i would like to talk about corey
11:49 am
booker and deval patrick. in fact, i'll play a little bit of that right now of corey booker as he was there stumping for the democrat. let's take a listen to that. >> i'm here to try to help the get some folk woke. those people that don't understand the opposite of justice is not injustice, it is indifference, it is inaction and it is silence. i've seen that bad people get elected when good people don't vote. >> so if you read the analysis, sharon, which you're a part of here, they're saying, he needs, doug jones, the african-american vote, he also needs millenials, and he also needs women. will this messaging work coming from cory booker from the outside? >> i don't think it's going to move the needle much. there's a tendency here in washington to look at alabama and at this race through the prison of national politics. but this is very much about alabama politics. just as trump backed luther strange and that didn't do much, i don't know whether trump's
11:50 am
robocall or this support or what is going on in trying to get out the vote for doug jones is going to move it very much. if you look very carefully at what senator shelby said earlier today, he didn't just say alabama could do better or needed better, he said alabama needed a a better republican, which sort of sets the stage of sort of a wink and a nod for people who might still want to vote for roy moore. >> in fact, that's a great tee-up. thank you so much, sharon. you should be on this side of the camera. let's play what the senator said. >> there's a time, we call it a tipping point. and i think so many accusations, so many cuts, so many drip, drip, drip, really got to the 14-year-old story. that was enough for me. i said i can't vote for roy moore. >> i'm disappointed that the rnc has resumed its support of roy moore. i think that's a mistake. >> so when you listen to that,
11:51 am
daniel lippman, there are two influential republicans there saying roy moore is not the winner here, criticizing the rnc for getting back in. and then there are those who are watching the rnc and republicans and saying, well, they seem to be all wholly supporting, at least institutionally, with the rnc, this candidate that has nine accusations, allegations of sexual misconduct here, and therefore, the entire republican party is in dirty water, if you will. >> we should remember that the rnc is under the thumb of president trump. you know, he's the leader of the republican party. it was reported a day or two ago that he even told the chairwoman of the party, rhonda romney mcdaniel, to drop romney as her middle name, and she did, because trump has had his feud with mitt romney. and so it's not a surprise that they would pump in thousands of dollars to this race. i will point out that they've only put in $170,000, compared
11:52 am
to a lot of competitive senate races where they put in hundreds and hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars. this is not the case. and none of the spokesperson that have been talking about the alabama race, none of those people on the rnc side have wanted their names attached to that statement. >> sharon, why is it that the rnc is back in it to win it for mr. moore? >> well, look, they have a slim majority in the senate. they want a republican to win, and if roy moore's the choice, they're going to support him. the interesting question is going to be what happens if, as expected, roy moore wins. senator shelby earlier today was already talking about an ethics investigation, so he said they would seat roy moore, but the question is, what happens after that? would the republicans just want to quiet it down or actually do something about it? that's hard to say right now. >> 20 seconds, to you, andrew. >> yeah, i just want to add, i was on the campaign trail yesterday with doug jones in selma and montgomery, and the focus was really on
11:53 am
african-american turnout, not necessarily on these allegations. jones was actually asked about the allegations and didn't even want to get into it, which shows you that his strategy is really not necessarily trying to win over people that might be firmly in moore's camp over this issue of the sexual assault allegations, but trying to up the turnout because this has become a turnout race, rather than a partisan race, like we've seen in the past here in alabama. >> yeah, maybe moving towards that answer to the criticism, stand for something, right, andrew? andrew desiderio, sharon weinberger, daniel lipman, thank you. event. get ready these 5 pairings are gonna floor ya. like our new feast with lobster-wrapped scallops and a juicy sirloin, plus a savory lobster-and-shrimp smashed potato. and our new lobster and seafood-topped filet? every bite is better than the last. the classic is here too. come indulge in surf & turf like you've never had it before it's too late. and weekdays, create your own seafood lover's lunch for just $9.99.
11:54 am
11:55 am
and open up a world of possibilities. ♪ save 30% for the holidays at ancestrydna.com i kept looking for ways to manage my symptoms. i thought i was doing okay. then it hit me... managing was all i was doing. when i told my doctor, i learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease even after trying other medications. in clinical studies, the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections,
11:56 am
11:57 am
11:59 am
128 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
MSNBC West Television Archive Television Archive News Search Service The Chin Grimes TV News ArchiveUploaded by TV Archive on