msnbc. ♪ this morning, republicans are trying to push forward with brett kavanaugh's supreme court confirmation. senate judiciary chairman chuck grassley has now set a deadline for the accuser to provide prepared testimony. plus, president trump tours the carolinas to see the devastate from hurricane florence. and president trump continues his attacks on attorney general jeff sessions, but the president's closest allies are reportedly getting tired of it. ♪ good morning, everyone. it is thursday, september 20th.

i'm ayman mohyeldin alongside alex witt a. the woman who has accused supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh has called the hearing not a good faith investigation. ford continues to believe that a full non-partisan investigation of this matter is needed and she is willing to cooperate with the committee. however, the committee's stated plan to move forward with a hearing that has only two witnesses is not a fair or good faith investigation. there are multiple witnesses whose names have appeared publicly and should be included in any proceeding. the rush to a hearing is unnecessary and contrary to the committee discovering the truth. a spokesman says that chairman chuck grassley is willing to send committee staff to california to speak with ford. however, grassley has informed lawyers for ford that if he

wishes to testify on monday, ford must provide the committee with prepared testimony by 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. senator susan collins voiced her hopes that ford would testify. >> i don't think she can reject having made all of these serious allegations, i don't think she can reject all those options, because otherwise there are these very serious allegations hanging over the head of a nominee who has emphatically denied them. and that's just not a good way for us to end. so i think she needs to come forward, and i think we need to provide her with any protection that she may ask for for herself and her family. >> meanwhile, senator lindsey

graham pushed back against ford's calls for an investigation into her allegations, tweeting, requiring an fbi investigation of a 36-year-old allegation without specific references to time or location before professor ford will appear before the judiciary committee is not about finding the truth but delaying the process until after the midterm elections. it is imperative the judiciary committee move forward on the kavanaugh nomination and a committee vote be taken asap. and the president weighing in on all this once again. took a couple days, but now he's saying something about it. >> reporter: president trump is hitting back at democrats for what he calls a last-minute attempt to sink his supreme court nominee. trump was asked about christine blasey ford's allegations. he said, quote, the democrats have had this letter for three months and every democrat knew about it. this is no different than the

russian witch hunt. what they've done is they've made up a lot of stuff and tried to obstruct and resist. before departing the white house for the carolinas, president trump spoke to reporters about the allegation against his supreme court pick. trump hinted that he may reconsider kavanaugh's nomination if ford's testimony in front of the senate judiciary committee is credible. >> i'd really want to see her. i really would want to see what she has to say. but i want to give it all the time they need. they've already given it time. they've delayed a major hearing. we want to get it over with. at the same time, we want to give tremendous amounts of time. if she shows up, that would be wonderful. if she doesn't show up, that would be unfortunate. the fbi has been very involved with respect to justice kavanaugh. they know justice kavanaugh very well. they've investigated him, i guess, six times and they've investigated him for this

hearing. look, if she shows up and makes a credible showing, that will be very interesting and we'll have to make a decision. but i can only say this, he is such an outstanding man, very hard for me to imagine that anything happened. >> so president trump making clear that he wants to hear from dr. ford, but monday is a deadline, a hard and fast deadline for her to show. >> it's interesting. it's almost as if he's sending out mixed signals, right? he's supporting kavanaugh and saying he's the kind of man he can't believe this would be possible and then, well, you know, let's hear what she has to say. >> reporter: he's saying that they want to hear from her, but they do not want to hear from anyone else. this is the problem for dr. ford and for her attorney. first they requested the fbi investigation. now it seems they're changing their position to say, well, we just want other witnesses.

this is why, because you heard from the president himself some hints of doubt there. you're also hearing that from members of the committee, including senator orrin hatch who said she's mixed up. yesterday we heard from senator lindsey graham saying, quote, i'll listen to the lady but we need to move this forward. she will be listened to but not heard, not from the republican perspective. this is like lindsey graham said, a last-minute drive-by. they are still fuming over the timing of this and the fact that senator feinstein and other democrats knew about this letter since july and did not even anonymously provide a tip to the fbi. senator feinstein says she was just protecting the witness in this case and her wishes. >> from that point, in terms of the mechanics of what is expected to happen, is there anyway that the democrats can force the committee's hand here in allowing other witnesses?

do they have the power to say, you know what, since there are other witnesses that can either corroborate or contradict this story, we've got to hear from them and bring those witnesses forth? >> they have the power to bring that information to the public and to make it unbearable for the republicans to not provide those witnesses. for example, yesterday we just saw a potential witness, another woman, a classmate from dr. ford's say, yeah, this happened. it was the word on the street, i heard about it. you have then the witness mark judge who was in the room, who christine blasey ford put in the room, who said at first, no, it didn't happen. then he said i have no recollection. and then he said, don't want to testify under oath. so the democrats can simply use the power of public relations and public opinion to try and pressure republicans to bring those witnesses in. >> that whole mark judge thing,

he says he doesn't want to testify. i'm curious if they could make him do so? they have subpoena power. >> whether or not they will do that is another question. secretary of state mike pompeo has invited his north korean counterpart to meet in new york next week for more talks about denuclearization. pompeo says the new goal is to achieve denuclearization by the end of president trump's first term in office. that is in january of 2021. it comes on the heels of kim jong-un's third summit with moon jae-in where kim made several new promises including to, quote permanently dismantle nuclear fuel production facilities which are still in production despite the agreement signed in june. north korea has a long history of breaking signed agreements and promises. and kim says he will close down his main nuclear complex only if the united states takes additional steps as well. kim also made no promises to give up his current nuclear

weapons and missile arsenals or even give at least a list of facilities and what they macon tra may contain. several u.s. officials are highly skeptical with one u.s. intelligence official telling reuters, quote, there is nothing the north has offered to far that would constitute movement towards denuclearization. everything that's out there now is conditioned on u.s. actions that would reduce the pressure on the north to cooperate or is filled with loopholes and exit ramps. reports of the carolinas still underwater from hurricane florence. president trump visited the area yesterday to get a firsthand look at some of the devastation. he greeted residents, toured neighborhoods in both north carolina and south carolina and

promised federal funding would come quickly. at a food distribution center he helped pass out meals. at one point in his visit while touring new bern, north carolina, a city hit hard by the storm, the president remarked about a boat in one man's yard. >> is this your boat? or did it become your boat? at least you got a nice boat out of it. >> during a briefing, president trump asked the ceo of duke energy about one particular area in north carolina. >> thank you very much. how is lake norman, that area, how is that doing? >> good. still 10-12 inches of rain. >> i love that area. i can't tell you why, but i love that area. it's been really terrific. >> what the president did not mention is that lake norman is home to the trump national golf club outside charlotte. i guess he was getting a check

on the links. one year ago today hurricane maria made landfall in puerto rico, leaving that island devastated and ravaging the infrastructure leaving many without power for months. the official death toll stands at just under 3,000. now in a letter, puerto rico's governor is asking the president to consider statehood. the governor says the island's territorial status negatively affected recovery efforts post maria. he writes, as we revisit all that we have been through in the hast year, one thing has not changed, the inequalities puerto rico faces as the oldest, most populace colony in the world. now to the shooting rampages in two states yesterday, the first in wisconsin. officials there say four people were injured, one critically when a man described as heavily armed with lots of ammunition opened fire on his coworkers at

a software company. the police chief says two of his officers and two sheriffs deputies shot and killed the suspect. officials credit those first responders with preventing more bloodshed. hours later in southwestern, pennsylvania, police say a man there walked into a court building and shot four people, including a police officer. that suspect was also shot and killed by police. we're told he was in court for a hearing on domestic violence charges. neither gunman has been identified. still ahead, what administration insiders reportedly think about the president's continued attacks on attorney general jeff sessions. plus, president trump pulls from his own play book and proposes a new fix for europe's migration crisis. - [announcer] the typical vacuum head can struggle

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administration insiders are expressing frustration at president trump's latest dig at jeff sessions. the president saying, quote, i don't have an attorney general and calling him mixed up and confused during his confirmation process. trump spoke about his frustration as he left the white house yesterday. >> i'm disappointed in the attorney general for numerous reasons. but we have an attorney general. i'm disappointed in the attorney general for many reasons. you understand. >> are you going to fire him? are you going to fire jeff sessions? >> we are looking at lots of different things. i have a great cabinet. we have the greatest economy ever in the history of our country, so we're very happy with the way things are running, generally speaking. >> but the "washington post" report reports that even trump's allies have grown frustrated with his attacks on sessions, saying, quote, it is a complete disgrace the way that trump is acting like a schoolyard bully against sessions. sessions appears at a law

enforcement conference in illinois yesterday, where he praised the president's leadership. there are self-developments with some key figures in the russia probe. a december 18th sentencing date has been set for michael phone line -- flynn who pleaded guilty. then there's paul manafort, who also agreed to cooperate while pleading guilty last week to charges related to his work for a pro russian political party in ukraine. kristin welker asked the president about that specific plea deal. >> no, i'm not. i'm not, because if he's honest -- and he is -- i think he's going to tell -- as long as he tells the truth, it's 100%. paul manafort was with me for a short period of time. he did a good job. i was, you know, very happy with the job he did. i will tell you this. uh, i believe that he will tell the truth. and if he tells the truth, no

problem. >> a 9/11 memorial is evidently helping inspire president trump's border wall. america's commander in chief told the hill tv in that interview, quote, so we are building the wall. i could build it. you know what i do best is build. i could build the whole thing in a year, but there was a picture of something great. they built this gorgeous wall where the plane went down in pennsylvania, shanksville, and tlifi was there. what they did was incredible. it's beautiful. they have a series of walls. it's like perfect. we are pushing very hard. we've gotten approved in the house but the senate can't get it approved. he also reportedly told spain's foreign minister that a giant wall in the middle of the sahara desert was the solution for europe's migration price. the president was confused as to

why the spanish government didn't jump on the idea of a 3,000 mile long way in the middle of the desert. when officials expressed skepticism, trump responded quote the saharan border can't be bigger than our border with mexico. much of the sahara is foreign territory not controlled by spain. okay, bill karins. take it away. >> we'd need like 2,000 million characters. the flooding, we updated you earlier in the show. it's still ongoing. it was a week ago today that the rain from florence arrived in north carolina. many rivers are still in major flood stage, but a lot of them are beginning to crest and are coming down slowly. over the weekend they do get dry weather in this area. that's a little piece of good news. overnight flooding and han has

been -- rain has been a problem in northern iowa and southern minnesota. this is the worst weather in the country by far today here in the northern plains. not only are you getting the heavy rain and the thunderstorms, but you're going to get round two later this afternoon and this evening. we have an enhanced risk of severe weather. this does mean we have a chance of a few tornados today. watch out in lacrosse to rochester. tomorrow, we're going to bring this threat all the way to the east. looks like the northeast will have a chance of strong storms. about 26 million people at risk from ohio all the way through northern new england. we're not really focusing on the carolinas. they've got good weather, but we are going to see some strong storms as we end summer. it's been a hot summer. >> sticky summer. still ahead, what calls our own joe scarborough to tweet,

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investigators concluded that mavericks management was ineffective including a lack of compliance and internal controls. team owner mark cuban will not face punishment. he will however donate $10 million to women's organizations. switching gears to major league baseball, we'll pick up in cleveland, the indians trailing the white sox 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded. watch this. >> the payoff pitch to jason kipnis. here it comes. swing and blasted to deep right!

way back! gone! >> the walkoff grand slam is kipnis's 1000th career hit. the indians win 4-1. the yankees keep the red sox from clenching the division with last night's victory during which david price gave up three home runs. the first hit to open up the scoring in the second inning and later another two, both courtesy of luke voi joe scarborough not a happy

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♪ welcome back, everyone. it is the bottom of the hour. we're going to start you off with the morning's top stories. a former schoolmate of kraichrie

blasey ford is speaking out. christina miranda king said she recalled about the allegations but added she had no firsthand information. she added many heard a buzz about it indirectly. however, christine's vivid recollection should be more than enough for us to know that the accusation is true. judiciary committee chairman chuck grassley said he won't delay the hearing scheduled for monday. grassley also said that he would not push for an fbi investigation into ford's claims. grassley says it would be a disservice to dr. ford, judge kavanaugh, this committee and the american people to delay this hearing any further. the fbi cannot ask the fbi to investigate the ford letter because there's no allegation of

a federal climb. the fbi can investigate the claims, but only if the white house asked the bureau to do so. still, some are questioning why republicans will not approve an investigation into the matter. >> i'm just absolutely stunned at why the republicans and the president is opposed to letting the fbi do what the fbi has done for decades. and that is background checks on nominees. it is not unusual at all in a background check, because i've had one. i mean, i've had a couple of them. that when you find new information, they update that background check the way they're supposed to. why is there a reluctance to get the fbi involved? that's what they do. they can do it good, efficiently and have this ready and we can go forward. >> one of the most vulnerable democrats seeking reelection this year says she will vote no on judge kavanaugh's nomination.

politics is a factor in all of this, but break it down for us. >> senator claire mccaskill of missouri came out against it. with the midterms less than seven weeks away, the "washington post" reports that republicans fear the push to confirm kavanaugh will come at a political cost. one senior republican involved with the national campaign planning for the house tells the post that several top gop lawmakers have told colleagues that they hope ford declines to show up for the hearing even as they issue statements urging her to do so, helping the gop avoid a risky televised drama and making it easier for senate leaders to hold a confirmation vote next week. best possible outcome for the republicans is that she's a no-show and they don't have

another spectacle similar to the anita hill hearings. >> can we get back to what doug jones was saying, heidi, when he says he does not understand why the fbi can't be brought in to put forth a clear, complete picture. is the reason all about the timing? because i know they want to get judge kavanaugh seated for the beginning of his supreme court term, probably even more so, like pull this away from the midterms, right? >> it is all about the timing. if you hear the republicans' complaints, it has everything to do with timing. technically, the president has every right to reopen this investigation. we're drawing lines here between an fbi investigation involving criminal charges, which does not exist at this time. but the fbi could investigate by reopening the routine background check that it does of all supreme court nominees. many people have pointed out, for instance, that anita hill got her fbi investigation during

those hearings, and that for that reason, this witness is not getting as fair a trial potentially as anita hill even did. republicans say, look, the democrats had their chance to do that when the investigation was open, when the six different background checks that were being done were open, and now that time window has passed, so let's just let each side have their say and then hold the vote. >> this was somewhat expected to be a vote along party lines from day one if everyone can hold within their own caucus. but are we seeing any cracks whatsoever on the gop side, especially with some of the republicans that were thinking about waiting until the end of this process before explicitly saying they support judge kavanaugh? >> such a fast-moving story that we did see some cracks earlier this week among senator susan collins and lisa murkowski.

what changed was that christine blasey ford seemed to suggest that maybe she won't show up. at that moment, you saw a reverse in the public opinion among those senators, including senator bob corker who said he really wanted to hear from her, saying if she doesn't show, then we need to hold the vote. everything seems to come down to whether or not professor ford is going to show. it's clear from her lawyer's position that they're trying to gather evidence beforehand so they can avoid the spectacle of what will inevitably happen. each side will cast their votes based on their preexisting opinions about this case. so with the midterms less than 50 days away another

lawmakers has come forth with evidence of hacking. ron widen claims his office has discovered that at least one major technology company informed an unspecified number of senators and staffers that their personal e-mail accounts were, quote, targeted by foreign government hackers. similar methoded were u es weree russians to infiltrate the 2016 elections. the letter goes on to stress that the office of the sergeant at arms which oversees senate security told legislators and staffers it has no security to secure personal rather than official accounts. widen argued this must change as foreign governments' hacking has become a legitimate attack on american democracy. beto o'rourke got some positive news after trailing ted cruz by nine points in a quinnipiac poll. a new poll of the upcoming

senate raise gives o'rourke the edge over cruz but it's tight, 47-45%. the poll also found a neck and neck race in arizona where sinema lead mcsally. it is the very same in nevada where dean heller is up against jacky rosen. he is ahead 46-43%. florida governor rick scott is up one point over incumbent bill nelson's 45%. tallahass tallahassee's democratic mayor takes 50% as compared to the republican who comes in at 44%. after reversing course to not se -- collins said that if he wins in november, he plans to serve his district despite facing

insider trading charges. in a statement, collins also explained his reasoning for the move saying the stakes are too high to allow the left to take control of this seat in congress. republican officials in new york were preparing to unveil a plan to replace colin this lins thisd were caught off guard by his decision. he was indicted last month. still ahead, the woman convicted of helping kidnap elizabeth smart is released from prison. plus, president trump speaks out about his highly questioned physical exam. why he says his health will help republicans in the midterms. and bill karins is back with another check on the forecast. you've tried moisturizer after moisturizer

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16 years after one of the most infamous kidnappings in this country's history, the woman convicted of helping kidnap elizabeth smart wis released frm prison earlier than expected. >> reporter: when wanda barzee was released from this utah prison, she managed to release without being seen, now free after spending 15 years in custody for her role in the kid snaps of elizabeth smart. moments after the release, smart took to instagram. may we all remain vigilant in watching over our family, friend and community from anyone who would seek to hurt or take advantage. >> do i believe she is dangerous? yes, but not just to me. >> reporter: nine months passed before smart was rescued. >> it's real.

it's real. >> reporter: mitchell is serving a life sentence while barzee was initially supposed to be released in 2024. last week her 15-year state sentence should include the time she spent in federal prison, which means her sentence has now been served. >> to my knowledge in my position there's no credible evidence she's a danger to the community. >> reporter: at age 72 barzee is now listed on utah's sex offender registry and will be on probation for five years. smart is choosing to focus on the future, not her painful past. well, the president said that his health will help republicans during the midterms, telling the hill tv, i think this, we probably have the greatest economy in history, so they've tried many narratives with me. you know, i took that test when i got my last physical and the doctor said that's one of the highest scores we've ever seen. i did that not because i wanted but i did it.

i was always good attesting. the president touched on a range of topics including his management style, his campaign and george w. bush and barack obama's handling of the war in iraq. he concluded the tax cuts, judicial appointments and the economy would also keep republicans from being swept in november. let's get a check on the weather with bill karins. bill, you're a physical specimen yourself. >> yes, i know. in this suit it's hard to tell but i really am. if it wasn't for florence, we would have been talking a lot this september about how it's one of the warmest septembers we've had on record. it's the time of year where it can change in a hurry, but not today. the heat index feels mid 70s out there. look at st. louis, feeling like 81 degrees already. we're unseasonably warm here from the midwest all the way through the south. temperatures today are going to be about 10-15 degrees above normal.

the forecast that's now in the middle of the country will shift to the east. by the time we get to friday, we're at 88 degrees in upstate new york. it won't be until the weekend that we significantly cool things off, indianapolis dropping into the 70s. for today, look at st. louis, 95 degrees, chicago at 91. if you want the fall air, you have to go up through the dakotas. the only concern i have is the chance for some heavy rain that's going to develop in oklahoma and north texas that starts on friday. then saturday that continues into arkansas. we have a great weekend coming your way from the midwest, great lakes, much of the ohio valley and the northeast is going to have a fantastic fall feel to it, cool nights, nice warm days. make your plans now. i know that apple picking is really at its peak from the

great lakes to the northeast. still ahead, british prime minister theresa may faces her fellow european leaders over the state of brexit. >> we're going to go live to austria as may called for the unacceptable demands for the u.k.'s withdrawal to be dropped. and packages. and it's also a story about people. people who rely on us every day to deliver their dreams they're handing us more than mail they're handing us their business and while we make more e-commerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country, we never forget... that your business is our business the united states postal service. priority: you ♪ so shark invented duo clean. while deep cleaning carpets, the added soft brush roll picks up large particles, gives floors a polished look, and fearlessly devours piles.

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welcome back. a new book shows the president's reluctance to find fault with the russian government.

the apprentice by the "washington post's" greg miller describes the president's reaction after an exrussian military officer and his daughter were found in england suffering from a nerve agent developed by soviet scientists. when british prime minister theresa may told trump that british authorities were 95% sure, trump said maybe we should get to 98%. when asked about the term "the deep state" trump said i don't like to use it because it sounds so conspiratorial. with about six months to go before the united kingdom quits the european union, theresa mail is appealing to her european counterparts. what's the latest from austria

where her meeting is taking place? >> reporter: yes. she arrived along with the over 27 european heads of state last night. they're meeting this morning. t she'll be excluded from a lunch conversation in an hour or so's time because she's not going to be part of the decisions about what approach the europeans take when it comes to brexit. blind brexit refers to this idea that in six months' time, the uk has to leave the european union, no matter what. and as part of that decision to leave, they're going to include a kind of promise between the two sides about what their future relationship will look like. what may end up happening in the months ahead, before that deadline, is both sides agree on a quite vague set of circumstances whereby they can decide how they will trade in the future. that blind brexit will mean come the end of march, once the uk's out of the european union, then we'll get a totally fresh set of negotiations. no one entirely clear what the political wording ahead of that

will mean, so that's where we get this concept of a blind brexit. in terms of what theresa may's trying to do today, she's squaring a circle between what the europeans are insisting on when it comes to the border the uk has with ireland, which is the only land border with the european union, and what her own political party back in the uk are demanding of her, to make sure there's no separation between northern ireland on the island of ireland and the rest of the united kingdom, and that's the real challenge for theresa may is trying to keep all sides happy as she strikes a compromise. >> all right, thanks very much. coming up, axios' mike allen has a look at this morning's "one big thing." then on "morning joe," hearing holdout. the latest on the lawyer for supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh's accuser calling for a thorough investigation of her client's claims as republican leaders try to push ahead with confirming the judge to the nation's highest court. plus, president trump gets a firsthand look at the damage from hurricane florence as some question some of his comments to those impacted by this storm. the governor of puerto rico,

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it is that awesome time. joining us from washington with a look at "axios a.m." -- >> the highlight of the show. >> mike allen. this is worth waiting for. what is the one big thing this morning, mike? >> good morning. thank you. the "axios one big thing" is democrats are planning a massive campaign if brett kavanaugh goes down. so, republicans will tell you this is an increasingly unlikely scenario. they feel like the standoff over the testimony of the accuser on monday makes it look likely we'll have a confirmation vote with brett kavanaugh next week, but how many twists and turns have there been? so, democrats are planning for what happens if this nomination goes down. and we have exclusive reporting that democrats plan a national-style campaign. we've been thinking the 2018

midterms, those will be state and house races. the national election will come in 2020? no! if you have a vacancy on the supreme court, the 2018 midterms suddenly become a national election. democrats around the country are reminded of the stakes on this. roe versus wade is suddenly on the ballot. >> so, in terms of that prediction, if brett kavanaugh falls, but how might the midterms actually be impacted if dr. ford does not testify on monday? >> so, republicans and democrats will tell you that it's looking increasingly likely, even democrats telling me, increasingly unlikely that she will testify. in that case, it sure looks like brett kavanaugh is headed toward confirmation, and so, the court will be less of an urgent issue. democrats will be reminded of the consequences of the vote.

but what if you either have a vacancy, or here's another scenario for you -- what if the kavanaugh nomination doesn't happen, for whatever reason, the white house has told us that they are going to right away nominate someone at least as conservative. and so, democrats are telling us, you have a nominee out there, perhaps who hasn't been confirmed that would energize evangelicals on the conservative side, animate progressives on the democratic side. again, suddenly, the dynamics of a national election. >> hmm. so, mike, look, it's always about turnout, whatever, whether it's a midterm or general election, of course. but when you look at what's happened in the primaries, you had more democrats than republicans. they came out and voted. is there an indication how that's going to play in the midterms? >> yes. so, this is fascinating. this is new data that axios dug into. and if you look at how many people voted in house races for the first time since 2008, we see here the dramatic difference

in how many of those votes were democratic votes and how many of those votes were republicans. look at that gap. and so, that's another way of looking at the deep hole that republicans are in going into november. an expert projecting for us the democrats will have a 7% turnout advantage in the midterms. and so, that means that looking over the course of the house elections that republicans are going to have fewer votes to work with. they have to go to the right place. and something very important, the line of coverage that you've seen here on "morning joe" -- a lot of that 7% gap will be driven by women voters. >> mm-hmm. >> so, mike, talk to us about the one thing you're looking at. what are you guys tracking in terms of how the rest of this week shapes up? what have you got for, in terms of the brett kavanaugh and christine blasey ford testimony? how do you think it plays out over the next couple days? >> yeah, so republican sources telling us they see this as a

weird standoff. the headline in "the new york times" is a good way to put it, an impasse between the two sides. what republicans say is they thought they were calling the bluff of the accuser. they said let's call on her to testify. they thought she wouldn't. at first, she said that she did. here's the risk for republicans. democrats say that perhaps republicans will win on this, if she doesn't testify next week, but could they lose in the long run if among women voters in particular it looks like this accuser was railroaded? >> okay. mike? >> so many twists and turns already. we'll see what happens in the next couple days. >> sure will. and we'll also be reading "axios a.m." in just a little bit, mike all allen. thanks very much. thanks to all of our viewers. you can sign up for the newsletter at signup.axios.com. >> that's it for us this thursday morning. i'm ayman mohyeldin alongside alex witt. "morning joe" begins now. thank you very much.

how is lake norman, that area? how's it doing? >> good. >> good? >> but still 10 or 12 inches of rain. >> i love that area. i can't tell you why, but i love that area. it's been really terrific. >> welcome to "morning joe." there's donald trump in south carolina. the back reference north carolina there -- the back reference -- and here he's walking in conway, south carolina. the back reference, though, of course, willie, is that while he was traveling and was talking to community leaders, through a storm-ravaged region where communities have been destroyed, small businesses have been wiped out, countless homes destroyed and dozens dead, that was donald trump talking about his golf course. he wanted to know from the leaders how lake norman was faring through the storm. >> well, the greens are going to be playing slower today, joe, and that's something you've g