convince trump to do. >> only a couple minutes. >> i don't know if melania is going to love trump again. but i thought yesterday macron michlt i naught it was a butt budding romance. >> my thanks to you for joining us. that does it for our hour. i'm nicolle wallace. "mtp daily" starts right now. hi chuck. >> happy wednesday i'm told it is. i'm told it's wednesday. i'm still figuring it out. if it's wednesday, democrats have the momentum but did they now just get a message? tonight, fun raising arizona. a massive republican cash flow kept the blue wave from sweeping the special election in the desert. but can anything stem the tide in november? >> i think the special election results reinforce that challenge. plus, senators sound off on the allegations against dr.

ronny jackson. >> that's a big, big problem to the point where some of the white house even call him the candy man. and later, the french evolution. >> closing the door to the world will not stop the evolution of the world. this is "mtp daily," and it starts right now. ♪ good evening. i'm chuck todd here in washington. welcome to "mtp daily." moments ago the rachking member of the senate veterans affairs committee made new allegations against dr. ronny jackson including the handling of opioids and drunk drive driving. dr. jackson is standing firm, denying anything about a car wreck. we will speak with senator tester later in the hour about the allegations how he is verifying them and where they are coming from. we begin with the midterm's

messages, margins, and mulvaney. if the you had m in your bingo card today you are feeling good. we begin with developments in the last 24 hours that signal a election year mess for the pez president and his party. president trump won arizona's eighth district by 21 points. but the republican candidate last night won by just five points last night. what makes it how remarkable is how unracialible. no one body slammed a rotter, no one faced allegations of pedphilia. in other words, no one can blame this race on anything except perhaps the broader political environment under this president. arizona it was about the most standard congressional race we have seen this cycle, but republicans outspent democrats by margin of $1 million to zero. democrats groups spent more than republicans on tv ads.

still telts you something. if democrats are overperform in races like this by 15 points it becomes a nightmare for republicans in november. there are 147 gop-held house seats, less republican by the numbers, by the numbers, less republican than arizona eight. it's time to start rethinking how many of those are safe in november. after last night it's election, they are clearly watching these warning signs. >> everybody is well aware as a republican that it is going to be a very challenging political environment in november. >> i'm concerned about, you know, republicans that are above me and haven't experienced what it's like to do a full complain, to have a tough race. >> the intensity question and making sure that the republicans also get out the vote is going to be on the forefront of our minds. >> there is no question the democratic base is more energized than it has been. no question everybody has a tough midterm. it's going to be a heck of a

fit. you better be ready for it and start earlier and work harder than you ever have before. >> if the midterm momentum isn't worrying enough one of the nation's top advisors may have handed democrats a potential gift when it comes to their messages. yesterday mulvaney urged bank executives to push their agenda, here's in part how he suggested they do imt quote, we had a h h hierarchy in my office. if you gave us money, i might talk to you. it looks like the pay to play or swampy politics that donald trump promised to end. if you are a tell you might look at mulvaney's comments or the president's personal business being enriched by taxpayer money or paying for private jets, bulletproof seat covers and argue that trump's party isn't giving up to one of its core promises. >> i came up with this expression. drain the swamp. right drain the swamp.

>> i have been fighting to drain the swamp. sometimes it may not look like it but believe me we are draining the swamp. >> drain the twamp. >> drain the swamp. >> truly we are draining the swamp. >> drain the swamp! into what a great expression. >> it really is amazing. i am draining the swamp. >> joining me now is charily cook. we love putting together trump money tanls as you know. everybody is enjoying this. >> i come from louisiana. what's wrong with a swamp? exactly. i'm have miami i didn't mine the everglades. charlie, editor and publisher of cook political report. i put these together because it seems when you look at three of the more famous frankly in our lifetimes three of the bigger waves, 74, 94, and 06, all three had a -- had this sort of we have got to clean up washington backdrop.

the watergate election of '74, '94, the banking scandal. the congressional scandals of '92 and term limits. '06 he had a mess of ethics issues. other issues, iraq and health care would be there. it feels like mulvaney handed democrats a message for once. >> i think mulvaney ought to get royalties for every time that is replayed in democratic commercials this year. i think he could make a lot of money and retire on that. no, that's a terrible messaging. i don't know why in the heckled want to say that. but the other thing -- when you were saying that, the other thing that hit me is with these kind of wave elections -- and you have watched this stuff for a really long time, too, they always go bigger than you think. when you sort of down through how many seats do you think will go one direction, they always, the domino's tend to paul disproportionately even farther than you think. these are scary. republicans are facing really

serious head winds in this election. >> we have had this conversation i want to say probably half a dozen times over the last six months with one of those special elections and i'm asking you okay, are you reading -- you are looking at it, and each time you are like each time it seems like things are only get worse for the gop. it's getting worse. they are trying to -- it seems as if they are trying to baton down the hatches and it's not working n. arizona eight, every time i turned around the rnc was throwing more money in it or there was another outside group -- i mean, they prepared for this one and still only won it by five. >> that's absolutely right. republican strategists are not asleep. they are not in denial. they know this is going to be an ugly election. you are going to have steven law on in a few minutes and steve is really going to earn his pay this time. this is bad. the other thing particularly about the house is that 73% of the republicans in the house of representatives were elected

since they had their last bath bad election. motors, they were not here in 2006. so that they may think they have had tough races. >> right. >> but most of these guys have never seen a really really tough race before. and they had better get ready. but the strategists know this is coming. >> the other part of this, charlie s what it means for the state of arizona. you look at how -- i mean we already know we have a senate race. i have to say, i'm now taking a second look at governor's race. are you at this point, considering what we are seeing energiwise and a special election like arizona eight? >> absolutely. and watching -- of course in arizona a had the of it in terms of the senate race anyway is what happens in the primary. when you basically have three republicans running. if one of them, mcsally wins the republican nomination you know it is at even money or maybe even for republicans slightly better than even money race. if one of the other two, joe ar payo or kelli ward, thisity seat

might be gone or almost gone for republicans. what happens in the primary matters. but arizona is a state that is gradually moving from red to purple. >> right. >> and it may be purple before we think. >> when we -- it seems awfully early to see the, okay, time to save the whatever it is, save the house, save the senate. every cycle, the party that hold power has to make those tough choices. in '96 it was dump dole. save the congressional majorities. right? democrats had a save the senate strategy this 2010 when they realized the house was gone. seems awfully early to be writing off the house. but if you were a donor, a republican donor, would you be writing off the house at this point, charlie? >> i wouldn't be writing it off. but i would be sort of prepared to, and starting to get a little bit more active on the senate side. but the other thing that happens

is the parties have to start performing triage. i mean they have to say okay these members over here, we love them, but they are probably toast. and these people over here, they will probably survive without us. but these people right here, we have a good chance of saving them. and i think that's -- >> battlefield medicine is what you are saying. >> absolutely. its a going to be a "m.a.s.h." unit over at the campaign committees. >> charlie cook, as always thank you for your insight you. >> you previewed. let me turn to him now. steven law. the president of the senate leadership fund the group tasked with electing republicans to the senate essentially to save mitch mcconnell's job as majority leader. fair enough? >> fair enough. >> you were name checked in there. he said you were going to have a tough time being able to spin sort this political environment. look, you are focused on senate races. as you look at arizona eight, how concerned are you for the republican petition? >> first of all i want to thank you and chuck for dramatically lowering expectations for me

dramatically this fall. i would say this, you know that house races are fundamentally different from senate races for a variety of reasons, in part because senate races tend for more insulated from national trends. we have seen that in 2010, you mentioned in particular where democrats lost the house but they will senate. in addition to that the political terrain in the senate is more favorable for republicans than it is for a ott of the house districts that were held pie hillary clinton. >> i get that. >> we have three states on the line that i would think would be arguably competitive, nevada, arizona, where mcsally outrised her democrat pony.by almost $1 million. and tennessee. they have got ten states that could be competitive. five of them in states that donald trump carried by upwards of 20 percentage points. i think we have more terrain to play with that makes the task of defending the senate majority -- i wouldn't say easy but a task we think we can undertake and win. >> are republican donors starting to essentially make

these tough decisions going i like those guys in the house but it's now time to do what can be done and focusing -- are you seeing more money coming to your sides of this fight now. >> we have actually been seeing it since the beginning of the year. the first thing i would say is i think it would be a mistake to abandon the house. in our business it always matters where you return the kick from. a 30 seat deficit in the house is going to be harder to make up than a smaller one even if you thought holding the house was beyond reach. but the other thing that motivates our donors is the importance of the senate in terms of confirming supreme court justices. if we were to lose the senate majority i'm confident chuck schumer would allow the supreme court to dwindle down to six justices before he would nominate anybody. nevertheless, i think there is a sense that the third branch of government is critical to defend and that comes down to maintaining a senate majority. >> that is a big motivator for some of your donors.

judicial nominations. let me ask you about the mulvaney comments. he made a kinsley gave, when a politician accidentally speaks the truth, which is a donor is going to get call returned before a non-donor does. defend that on the trial. how do you say donald trump is draining the swamp when the guy who has half the jobs in trumps cabinet, consumer financial board, omb, is saying hey lobbyists give more money? >> i don't think a lot of people pay attention to what mick mulvaney says. i think those who supported trump were interesting in a larger portfolio of things he represented. he is doing things differently. he is taking on north korea and china and trade. he is doing things a lot of the republicans don't necessarily like and he is shaking up the larger order. i think when a lot of people heard donald trump say he is draining the swamp it means a lot more and they think he is delivering on that. >> regardless, are you concerned

though that the democrats can throw a reform message basically back in your face. i think it's bigger. particularly in states that donald trump won, i think the dominant argument that we are going to be dealing with is are the democrats who are holding these senate seats going to be able to defend the fact that they have really fought this president every step of the way in states where those voters all voted for him and his agenda. >> one thing we haven't brought up is the tax bill. are you past the point of return for '18 to make the tax bill a net positive for republicans? is it too basically the president sat on the sidelines too long in selling it? >> i think it is different than that. i have a view of my own that not everybody has which is i think even if you were able to convince everyone that the tax bill was god four i don't think people generally vote on gratitude. i think the compelling argument is to say look we have had a of rory, we are creating jobs. the tax cut is part of that and the regulatory agenda is part of

that. you have a group of people they are going to repeal the recovery rather than saying thank you. >> you seem to be in one of these traps as an organization when it comes to the republican senate primaries. an one hand in 2010 the lesson was you let 1,000 flowers bloom and it cost you the senate. mitch mcconnell said that's not going to happen again, 2014 he got aggressive again, '16, aggressive again. but it's dividing the ertd pachl it's noisy primary fights you have on your side. indiana, wes virginia, you brought up arizona inthat's going to be noisy and messy. how involved are you going to be? >> when we see a choice between somebody who would certainly lose or certainly win we will sometime get involved. not in every case. of the may not make case. we are strong sporters of mcsally. >> you have made that decision, you are for her? >> we are for her.

i don't know what we will end up doing in that race. if you look at the roll, there is one person who can beat cinema, and that's mcsally. >> in west virginia are you more against one candidate and you don't care what the other two do? >> in each race it's different. it's not ideological. it can be a personal resume or things in their background that are problematic. as we saw in alabama there are certain people where you can't get elected and you have to take action will. >> it's going to be a wild ride. you have been on these before. i think you have now been involved in every senate race twice. >> elections are hard but enjoyable. >> 200 senate seats i think you have done. steve law thank you for coming on. up ahead the ronny jackson confirmation clash. senator tester released more allegations against jackson. and he will join me live in a few minutes. you know what's awesome? gig-speed internet.

you know what's not awesome? when only certain people can get it. let's fix that. let's give this guy gig- really? and these kids, and these guys, him, ah. oh hello. that lady, these houses! yes, yes and yes. and don't forget about them. uh huh, sure. still yes! xfinity delivers gig speed to more homes than anyone. now you can get it, too. welcome to the party.

you totanobody's hurt, new car. but there will still be pain. it comes when your insurance company says they'll only pay three-quarters of what it takes to replace it. what are you supposed to do? drive three-quarters of a car? now if you had liberty mutual new car replacement™, you'd get your whole car back. i guess they don't want you driving around on three wheels. smart. with liberty mutual new car replacement™, we'll replace the full value of your car. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. a farmer's market.ve what's in this kiester. a fire truck. even a marching band. and if i can get comfortable talking about this kiester,

then you can get comfortable using preparation h. for any sort of discomfort in yours. preparation h. get comfortable with it. welcome back. let me bring in the panel. dan balls, stephanie cutter, and hugh hewitt. welcome all. momentum democrats already had. something about mick mulvaney message, saying what he said, having that come out, and you see this -- what sort of super charged '06, '94 and '74 was when a clean up congress suddenly became part of conversation. mulvaney may have just handed the democrats something. >> he may have. i mean he certainly did everything he could to hand it to them. i don't know the degree to which that will be the issue or

whether the issue will still be donald trump, and then the question is do the trump people just kind of ignore mulvaney and how do they get energized. >> right. >> i think that's still the biggest challenge for the republicans is what's is secret formula for re-energizing the people who came out for trump who, you know, don't particularly care about a lot of these members of congress? >> on paper you would think you could run trump against trump. trump made these promises. he said he was going to do these things. and then you say look at this. i hear this refrain, saying we know he wasn't going to do it but he is sheik shaking it up anyway. >> we are talking about trump voters. in the midterm election. they may not all be trump voters, we don't know if they are going to be turning out for republicans. looking at the coalitions coming out, the democratic coalition is pulling new people into their voting bloch where republicans shrinking it. what does mulvaney's comment

mean? i think it's like the latest icing on the cake. the reason it's problematic is people already believe this. he's not the only one that has had problem. there is an ethical problem streaming all through this administration. look at scott pruitt, look at donald trump and his hotels. there is a long list of these things that are adding up. this is just the latest. could put us over the edge but the momentum is behind democrats anyway because people already believe -- not just democrats but a broader swath of voters believe there is corruption here. >> hugh. >> yesterday the republicans confirmed their 15th circuit court judge. we may have justice kennedy reti retiring. if he wants to preserve his additional legacy that will be at the table. everything steven said and charlie said is true. smash the glass and pull the

alarm time. >> the house, triage, save the senate? is that where you are? you are a judicial nomination guy? >> i am. ryan is working hard, mccarthy. and doug lamborn doesn't make the pallet in colorado. you say are they fat and happy and working hard. guys like mike gallagher young are. and then people like doug are mailing it in. you can't in a swaying like this. >> dan, it feels early though for a midterm to be this fully recalled to. i guess if you look back in 2010, maybe it looked like this now. but it just feels early to all of a sudden have the -- the break glass strategy already. and yet this save the senate mantra is starting to gain momentum. >> two thoughts. i was looking back for some reasons to look at '94. there was that special election in late may. >> the kentucky one. oh, yeah. >> of '94.

>> the matcher seat. >> it was the table setter. there had been run in oklahoma earlier that went in a similar direction. we have had a succession of indicators like that. nothing quite as dramatic like that but indicators. maybe the connor lancing. in some ways it's not that early. i think a second factor is everything is speeded up now chuck. we are on top of all of these things in a way we weren't in some of the earlier cycles. is the house gone? i don't know. but i had an exchange with a democrat today who is not one of these people who is always overly bullish and he basically said, there are clearly 40 seats that are gettable. >> that's what's amazing i feel like the floor keeps going up. i was in the 20 to 40 range. now you are like the floor may be 35. >> seth molt was on my radio show this morning. they recruited 569/11 veterans to run. this is a powerful message for democrats. if republicans don't nominate mcsally in arizona that seat is lost. i know kelly worth.

nice lead. she will lose if she is nominated. blankenship in west virginia. they will lose that seat. it's about the primaries right now. >> there are factors feeding into this. the record number of retirements that we are seeing with republicans. it is another burden on republicans in terms of preserving the house. democrats are outraising outrecruiting and the quality of the candidates are going to matter here. there is a lot of factors that are pointing to democrats taking over the house. you know, i don't count my chickens before they hatch but everything is pointing in that direction. >> you know, there has been a sense that you don't need message. do you buy that that 2018 democratic don't need a message. trump is the messible. >> trump is the nationalized message. i think it's very important for candidates to have a message. i think they are having a message on the ground in terms of what they are going to do for their districts and or states. you know, i think we have this debate every two years.

>> right. >> what's the message? is trump your message? or whatever the debate is at that time. you know, this message is becoming clearer and clearer. comments like mulvaney's comment today in terms of the change that's needed makes it even more clear. democrats have put out an agenda. i would say in a race like this, it's the individual candidates' agenda and message that matters most in terms of what is happeningologically. >> but i'm not sure that democrats are significantly more credible about being able to fundamentally change the culture of washington that people dislike. there may be a lot of examples. i think your point is right there. a lot of examples right now within the trump administration of things of ethical questions, but democrats have a hard time saying well we will be totally different. >> objectsly on change issues when you still have some of the same people, mcconnell and pelosi who were there a decade ago and they could be the leaders den.

speaking of them, i want to put up today's approximately on mcconnell and pelosi. hugh hewitt, mcconnell has a higher negative rating than nancy pelosi. i think it is going to come up here. and i will say there it is. anyway, he basically had a four point -- there it is. 62% disapprove of the job he's doing. 58% disapproved of pelosi. i know there are fewer democrats who degree with pelosi than republicans disagree with mcconnell. >> i think he is the most influential of my time. our messages are judge and defense. a 355 ship navy being the one thing donald trump has not delivered a planner to. mcconnell moves the long game. i don't think he matters as much in a individual senate race as ryan or mccarthy matter in an

individual house race. i think they have their own dynamic in. i defer to these two. >> what do you think? >> i think it depends on the race and the dynamics of that race. i think be a burdenane but ultimately the he had looers don't determine the local elections. up ahead, the french president on capitol hill speaking english. emmanuel macron makes a rare appearance before a join session of congress and he takes a big step away from his supposed bromance with president trump. re plaque psoriasis, or psoriatic arthritis, little things can be a big deal. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. and for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring.

don't use if you're allergic to otezla. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. tell your doctor if these occur. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts, or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. other side effects include upper respiratory tract infection and headache. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you're pregnant or planning to be. ♪ otezla. show more of you.

a trip back to the dthe doctor's office, mean just for a shot. but why go back there, when you can stay home, with neulasta onpro? strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection, which could lead to hospitalizations. in a key study, neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17% to 1%, a 94% decrease. applied the day of chemo, neulasta onpro is designed to deliver neulasta the next day, so you can stay home. neulasta is for certain cancer patients receiving strong chemotherapy. do not take neulasta if you're allergic to neulasta or neupogen (filgrastim). ruptured spleen, sometimes fatal as well as serious lung problems, allergic reactions, kidney injuries, and capillary leak syndrome have occurred. report abdominal or shoulder tip pain, trouble breathing

or allergic reactions to your doctor right away. in patients with sickle cell disorders, serious, sometimes fatal crises can occur. the most common side effect is bone and muscle ache. so why go back there? if you'd rather be home, ask your doctor about neulasta onpro. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. the name to remember.

welcome back. tonight i'm obsessed with the idea that donald trump and emmanuel macron of france have been engaged in some kind of presidential bromance. macron addressed congress today and actually it turns out there is a lot they don't agree on. you just have to know how to listen. >> people know my views the iran deal. it was terrible deal. it should have never ever been made. >> we signed it, both the united states and france. that is why we cannot say we should get rid of it like that. >> i was elected to represent the citizens of pittsburgh, not paris. >> let us face it. there is no planet b. >> when we're behind on every

single country, trade wars aren't so bad. >> a commercial war opposing allies is not consistent with our mission, with our history, with our current commitments for global security. >> if we don't straighten out our border, we don't have a country. without borders -- we don't have a country. >> but closing the door to the world will not stop the evolution of the world. it will not douse but inflame the fears of our citizens. >> so, on iran, on the paris climate accord, on immigration, and on trade there is more than a little daylight between these two. it doesn't mean that the bromance real just that like any couple they have their disagreements. and perhaps macron is showing how you disagree with donald trump without him coming across back at you as disagreeable. maybe. angela merkel would like to find that out. she's going to find out tomorrow. we'll be right back.

puts me at greater risk for heart attack or stroke. can one medicine help treat both blood sugar and cardiovascular risk? i asked my doctor. she told me about non-insulin victoza®. victoza® is not only proven to lower a1c and blood sugar, but for people with type 2 diabetes treating their cardiovascular disease, victoza® is also approved to lower the risk of major cv events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. while not for weight loss, victoza® may help you lose some weight. (announcer) victoza® is not for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not take victoza® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. stop taking victoza® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck or symptoms of a serious allergic reaction such as rash, swelling, difficulty breathing, or swallowing. serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis. so stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away

if you have severe pain in your stomach area. tell your doctor your medical history. gallbladder problems have happened in some people. tell your doctor right away if you get symptoms. taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite, indigestion, and constipation. side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. change the course of your treatment. ask your doctor about victoza®.

welcome back. moments ago. the top democratic in the senate veterans affairs committee released new allegations against dr. ronny jackson the president's embattled pick for veterans affairs secretary. he mishandled opioids and wrecked a government vehicle while drunk. we just caught up with dr. jackson who says he has no idea where these allegations are coming from, and he denies he wrecked a car. he also says he is still moving ahead as planned with his nomination. joining me now is montana senator jon tester, the ranking democrat on the senate veterans affairs committee. senator tester welcome to the show. let me ask you, you have been the point person for thatese allegations. some of these are so troubling it's no longer a question of whether he is qualified to be a v.a. secretary. these are going to be questions

whether he still has a medical license if these allegations are true about opioids is writing his own ipgs weres. how are you verifying these accusations. >> starting a week ago we have claims and accusations that were made. we are following up talking to some 23 different people. and there is more that come forth every day about some of the challenges that admiral jackson had as chief of the white house medical union. and we are following up with them. the reason that document was release as i talked to the chairman's staff this morning -- my staff did -- and gave him a document that was pretty well scrubbed because we don't want to give away the allegations. these are active or retired service members and they are very concerned about theirable to maintain work in the white house medical unit.

once they gave it to us we gave it to them and you guys are entitled to it too. >> are you comfortable that al of these allegations are true enough that they need to be in the public arena or do you think some of these need to be run down and corroborated before you release it to the public? >> the committee question is how do you crab rate it? someone coming to out and saying yep i am the one that reported it. what we have seen is a pattern of problems that people deserve to know. a lot of folks have said mainly from the white house, we shouldn't be doing this. it would be senatorial malpractice for us not to follow up on this issue and find out what kind of a person ronny jackson is. chuck, i have never done this before. i just want the best person to run the v.a. as possible because your guys deserve that. if he has a bunch of baggage

it's going to make his difficult for him to do the job and be all he can be for the service members. >> when you have spoken with these folks, has it always been with you? have you had senator isaacson's staff any mean, is it together that you have been hearing these allegations. >> no. >> okay. >> most of the work has been done by my staff. i have had the opportunity to visit with some. but certainly the majority has been done by the staff, both sides. >> and how much has your staff been working with senator isaacson's? when has to folks come in to tell you your story, is it both your staff and senator isaacs isaacson's staff receiving this information together? >> not always, not always. >> okay. >> but we have tried -- with the information we have got we have tried to share with chairman isaacson's staff as quickly as we can. i don't want there to be a lot of secrets out there. johnny is a great guy, a great person to work with. i don't want to ruin that relationship in the least. these aren't my accusations. these are accusations by active

and retired military personnel that have come to us. we are trying to follow up and find out what is true and what's not. >> as you heard before our interview dr. jackson is denying the most recent allegations that have been put out there, particularly being involved in a car wreck, let alone drunk driving. are you at all concerned that you may have made public something that didn't true fit turns out not to be true? >> first of all i think it's our obligation to come pocket and be as straight up and as square with the american people and with dr. jackson as we can. if he were to admit to that he would be done as the secretary of the va. am i 00% rock solid sure that he did this? no, but i am seeing a pattern here that continues on and on and on. and i think it's important that members of the committee see what i'm seeing, and consequently once the members see it they are going the start talking to you and you are going

to say what the heck is going on. we do what we do in my office, that is be as transparent as we possibly can. it's what i have done since i got here in to 07. >> what's a way forward here? do you think this needs to be aired out in a confirmation hearing or do you think the white house should withdraw the nomination? >> i think we need to get to the bottom of it. i'm still not confident that admiral jackson is not confirmable on these grounds, i believe -- >> you still think he could be confirmable? >> i think there is a possibility he could be confirmable. he has other issues other than these that i think both sides of the aisle are concerned about, about his ability to budget such a massive as the va and his ability to lead. but some of these allegations go directly to his ability to lead. frankly, that's why we need to get to the facts. >> let me ask you a question about whether dr. jackson has been the subject of an ig report. it's our understanding dr. jackson said he was not.

did he deny being a subject of an ig report to you, senator? >> he has not denied it to me, but i have seen parts of that ig report. i have been very, very busy today so i haven't been able the read through it all, but he was absolutely the the subject of an ig report, him and his predecessor. >> i have a he seen some of those allegations. it's my understanding people said it was more about his predecessor than him. is that a fair reading of the report sore is it damning on him as well? >> i think it's equally damning on both of them. >> quickly, on the confirmation issues as a whole, you are not voting for mike pompeo. you didn't vote for him for cia so no one can say you said yes to him one time and no on other. what is your line of deference to the president. because if mike pompeo didn't get confirmed i don't think he is going to nominate a john kerry for instance. what is your line there on

deference to not consecretary. >> look, i had a good meeting with director pompeo. and then i went back and read some of the things that he said in the past. and i'm going to tell you, this is a guy that's secretary of state. his job is to negotiate our way forward so we don't end up in war. war has always got to be a tool there that you use in negotiations. i have got to tell you his past comments that he made have been very troubling to me and i think that peace and negotiations aren't his first option. we have been at war for 17 years. this country is strapped because of it. and nonetheless, i think it has to be a threat out there. but you need to have a person in the secretary of state's office that willing to negotiate in good faith for peaceful alternatives in crisis situations. and gosh knows we have got a lot of them around the country. there is a lot of things out there cooking. >> very quickly i want to circle back. dr. jackson, he is still

confirmable in your eyes if he answers these allegations to your satisfaction? >> i think he's still -- i think there is still a potential of a confirmation hearing and vote. >> okay. you said a hearing and a vote. that doesn't mean -- you have the big shesh ire cat smile. is there any way you would vote for him to be va secretary you senator tester. >> i'm not there yet. we have more work to do with the allegation asks the claims put forth and more scrutiny on his ability to handled a budget as big as the va's budget and the people under him. >> democratic from montana, senator jon tester. thank you for shares sharing your views. >> up ahead the political consequence was this confirmation drama.

nothing says spring like fresh flowers, so let's promote our spring travel deal on choicehotels.com like this. earn one free night when you stay just twice this spring. allergies. or, badda book. badda boom. book now at choicehotels.com

let's team up to get the lady of the house back on her feet. and help her feel more strength and energy in just two weeks yaaay! the complete balanced nutrition of (great tasting) ensure with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. ensure. always be you. welcome back. tonight on meet the mid terms. arizona's republican governor ducey has a challenge and a challenger. as we have been talking about the results from the special election out in arizona gave us a clue about the environment we are in nationally and it bodes badly for any republican seeking statewide office in arizona this year. including perhaps the incumbent governor david ducey. a good showing for the democratic might be 43% in arizona eight. that would be consistent with democrats on track to take back

the house or win a statewide race in arizona. but the democrat thot got over 47% last night. remember sheriff joe arpaio. when he ran in 2016 he ran the district by eight points but he lost the county by 13 points. there is ducey's challenger, bennett now says he will challenge ducey in a primary, setting up another intraparty battle. the last thing if you are an incumbent republican you need to deal with right now is you have independent voters moving one way and your primaries moving theary. arizona, we are going to be taking a lot about it in the next few months. we'll be right back.

time now for the panel. this ronny jackson situation, i've never seen so much damning

information come out on a cabinet secretary and that cabinet secretary is still stick it out but i'm also surprised at how this -- i mean, john tester just putting it out there. we're hearing this and we're putting it out there. we're not yet sure how verifiable it is. >> it is surprising and troubling. it's like it's just raw information. the drunk driving, crashing the car allegation, for example, we don't have a date or a place. we don't know any particulars. he denies it. >> what are you supposed to do? >> right. this stuff gets out into the public domain, it's enormously damaging, if it's true, it's going to be disqualifying as you say, but if it isn't or if there's areas of gray, we need to know more about that. >> there is a ferocious campaign to end this nomination, stephanie, in ways that feel like it's coming not just from a party but coming from inside that white house. >> yeah. what's unfortunate about this is

that a man's career and life is in the cross hairs here and this is not my experience with ronny jackson, but the most unfortunate thing about this, this all could have been prevented with a real vetting process and people could have aired their concerns and then there could have been a decision by ronny and the white house whether to continue moving forward with making the nomination in the first place, but instead it was president trump making, you know, a decision shooting from the hip and making a decision to nominate him because he likes the guy. >> what john tester just did is despicable. steve schmidt made the same point last night on twitter. an admiral is a flag officer that's gone through dozen of fitness reports. he's been reviewed again and again and again. these sorts of problems would not amount to a promotion and so to just say, oh, my staff gave it to me and throw it out there, he's under 50% montana, he's not

particularly vulnerable. i don't think this plays well in montana and it doesn't sit well with me and i don't think it's appropriate. >> if the allegations are true, his career's over. he may not -- he may lose his medical license if you're caught just handing out opioids or writing your self prescriptions and all this stuff's just being thrown out there. >> let's not get -- let's not get ahead of ourselves. >> that's the point here. i don't know in this day and age, you can't put the toothpaste -- how do you walk it back and this is the world -- what i'm saying is, these are some just how do you walk them back? >> i don't think -- i don't think you can walk them back completely. you can determine whether they're accurate or inaccurate, but the damage is being done right now in realtime. >> on his medical license, i do think that there will be a closer investigation and it won't be all based on allegations put into the media. that will be a real process, a real process that the white house should have run.

>> stephanie, you were there when he was there and a lot of obama era folks have said this is not the ronny jackson they know, a lot of trump folks say the same thing. you don't agree on much, but you seem to agree on ronny jackson. john tester managed up with you guys. >> that's what i hear john tester saying, however, he was a respected -- he is a respected doctor and a respected member of the military who has a pretty honorable career, so i don't know where this stuff is coming from, i don't know what's true. it is not my experience, but i still believe that we shouldn't have gotten this far. we shouldn't be going through this character persecution, this should have been vetted from the first place. >> there's a travel ban being debated in the supreme court today of sloppiness by a white house staff. today ronny jackson's nomination is melted down arguably beginning with this, that's where we're at. >> the vetting process, white house personnel, it's not great. it's getting better.

i think pompeo's success tomorrow is getting better. but it needs revamping completely on vetting. >> all right, guys. and stephanie, hugh, thank you up ahead congressional baseball, back in full swing.

ahh... summer is coming. and it's time to get outside. pack in even more adventure with audible. with the largest selection of audiobooks. audible lets you follow plot twists off the beaten track. or discover magic when you hit the open road. with the free audible app, your stories go wherever you do. and for just $14.95 a month you get a credit, good for any audiobook. if you don't like it exchange it any time. no questions asked. you can also roll your credits to the next month if you don't use them. so take audible with you this summer... on the road... on the trail... or to the beach. start a 30-day trial and your first audiobook is free. cancel anytime, and your books are yours to keep forever.

no matter where you go this summer make it better with audible. text summer17 to 500500 to start listening today.

you know what's not awesome? gig-speed internet. when only certain people can get it. let's fix that. let's give this guy gig- really? and these kids, and these guys, him, ah. oh hello. that lady, these houses! yes, yes and yes. and don't forget about them. uh huh, sure. still yes! xfinity delivers gig speed to more homes than anyone. now you can get it, too. welcome to the party. in case you missed it, there's an old saying, practice makes perfect but sometimes just practicing is perfect. the republican congressional baseball team returned to the field in alexandria, virginia,

today bright and early this morning. it's there first pras in almost a year. their last one was june 14th, 2017 when a gunman fired dozens of rounds injuring steve scalise and others. scalise nearly died. he just had another surgery recently. on tuesday he tweeted, i had no idea how things would end that fateful day but i prayed and had faith that god would take care of me and he did. lawmakers say returning to the field after so long was difficult but important. >> i hope the memories we all take from it are not just what happened that day here on the field, but what happened with the democrats' practice where they gathered in prayer and the game the next day where everybody came together. >> the republicans will take on the democrats at their annual charity game on june 14th, one year to the day since the

shooting. that's all we have for tonight. we'll be back tomorrow with more mtp daily" wednesday still goes and the beat with ari melber starts right now. good wednesday evening. >> good to be with you in washington, we begin our broadcast with breaking news. i'm holding a letter that i just received that is president donald trump's personal intervention into the michael cohen matter, his lawyer who is under criminal investigation, we've confirmed, this comes on a evening that we're also learning that rudy giuliani personally met with bob mueller. that is interesting, controversial and appears to reflect new negotiations about a donald trump interview with bob mueller, the good news there from the trump side is that ruddy's working, that somehow these leakings. they don't come from the special counsel's office itself. i'm going to be joined in a moment by an excellent panel on this. i just want to give context to this breaking news.