a family that once was. proof that there was a time when all was as it should be. proof also that time is gone forever. good morning. i'm dara brown in new york at msnbc world headquarters. it's 7:00 in the east, 4:00 out west. here's what's happening. recount in florida. outrage amid concerns that not every vote will be counted. this rally is the respect and protection of democracy. >> we just want to make sure that people's votes are respected. >> how long the recount will take and what happens if races are still too close to call? >> president trump's trip to france and his moment with the russian president. plus what france's president had to say about nationalism. historic and deadly

wildfires, a look at the damage done in california and the growing danger that lies ahead. new this morning, the recount is on in florida. the nation's largest -- no stranger to to recount but this is the first statewide recount ever. all employees working around the clock. they have until 3:00 p.m. thursday to machine count more than 8.2 million ballots. on the line, two of the most closely watched races. yesterday, unofficial results came in by noon deadline. republican leads shrunk even more. democrat andrew gillum, fewer than 34,000 votes behind ron desantis. >> conceded on election night, but he announced yesterday, he's still in it. >> let me say clearly, i am replacing my words of concession with an uncompromised and

unapologetic call that we count every single vote. >> the marquis race for the florida senate is even tighter. governor rick scott leads democratic incumbent bill nelson by less than 13,000 votes. that is a margin of just .15 of a percentage point. if on thursday, the senate race is under a quarter of a percentage point, counties will have another three days to conduct a hand recount. president trump is in paris. but on twitter, he reiterated his unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud. the president wrote, quote, trying to steal two big elections in florida. we're watching closely. florida's department of state found no evidence of criminal activity. joining me now, laura barron lopez a reporter with the washington -- great to have you both here this morning. i want to begin with president trump's florida vote recount. here he is addressing media

thursday. >> all of a sudden they're finding votes out of nowhere. you tell me. it's always the democrats. it's always gps fusion. it's always crooked stuff. >> laura, how can trump impact public trust of the florida vote recount? >> well, the president right now is casting doubt on our elections, not only in florida but arizona. that's a dangerous precedent. he and the gop, we've seen the rnc also push out of e-mails saying that something is going on, something nefarious. yet, there's no evidence to suggest that. these are conspiracy theories. it's always important for the public to have trust in our election system. >> jonathan, to you, what about that tweet this morning from overseas about trying to steal two elections? >> well, let's remember what the president is suggesting strongly through his twitter account and

through what he's said publicly that what he cares about in florida is not necessarily the sanctity of florida's elections but that republicans win those elections, which is consistent with how the president has behaved in the past. and maybe not surprising for the leader of a party that he wants his party to win, but he's been sort of open about his belief that victory justifies whatever the means are. whether that's the brett kavanaugh hearing or in elections. i would say he's not an impartial observer of what's going on in florida. >> jonathan, what are the implications of the races in florida for president trump's presidential bid in 2020. >> that's a good question. as we see with florida republicans controlling the machinery because they sit in office, governor scott and other statewide office holders having a lot of power within the state, that matters in a statewide

election. just the ability to organize and to have officials at various levels of state government and to have a political operation in state going for you. all of that is meaningful in a presidential election. i've heard it positive that a governor can mean as much as 1% in an election. florida is so darn close in every single major election that any sort of tipping of the partisan scale from one side to the other could be huge in the 2020 presidential election. >> we do remember that hanging chad incident very well. we're also following the right race for the arizona senate here. the votes are being counted. democrat cinema expanded her lead over mcsally to less than 29,000 votes. what is the significance of a democratic victory in the arizona senate race? >> right. well, if sinema wins, democrats will have lost one seat in the

senate. that is counting all that we don't know the result in florida yet. if somehow the florida senate race going bill nelson's way, that would mean that democrats haven't lost any seat in the senate. so we would see the numbers stay the same. but incredibly, it's important for democrats. -- it's incredibly important for democrats. given how heavily the map skewed in favor of republicans. the fact that they can hedge their losses and make gains in arizona, states that they haven't in a long time at the statewide level would be a big win for them. >> jonathan, what's your take on the sinema/mcsally race in arizona? >> i think it's like many other races, so close. this is an interesting moment because arizona has been such a republican state for such a long

time. it obviously at this point is becoming purple. hillary clinton loss it by about three point. you have a democrat now leading maybe, i think, most of the people are familiar with the vote count. it's more likely that she'll end up winning that, than mcsally there. the last democratic senator, if people remember him, they pay a lot of attention to politics. that's a state that's changing and you see it in the possible election of kiersten sinema here. >> jonathan, with this being so close, is this a pro-sinema vote or an anti-trump vote. >> i think it's a combination. one of the things that stood out for her, she was a very effective candidate at sort of running towards the middle, making the case for voters that she would be a candidate who could both work with republican in washington and oppose the president when she saw fit.

martha mcsally, tied herself very closely to the president. i think there's republican shift away from the president towards sinema. like we've seen in other suburban areas, like we've seen in certain demographic groups, there's been some shift away. basically, i think sinema is a pretty good candidate in a year in which trump alienated a fair number of swing voters. >> how are the democrats preparing for the 2020 election? what are some of the names being discussed for a presidential run? >> jonathan? >> so every democrat and their brother and sister and their cousin and their mother and their son and their daughter wants to run for president. i think the name that i hear the most right now in terms of intensity and energy, despite the fact he lost by 2.6 in the texas senate race is beto o'rourke. democrats are excited about the

potential for him to energize their grassroots. he raised $38 million in a quarter for that senate race. he's somebody that they see as exciting. a lot of folks in obama's world look at him as somebody not necessarily as another obama but similar in that he seems to excite a lot of democrats. we've got, seems like, almost half the democratic caucus and the senate wants to run. several former and current governors, mayors, it's going to be a very full car, maybe a big bus, perhaps a chartered plane of democrats flying to iowa pretty much every week for the next several months. >> we shall see. laura, i want to ask you the exit polls that they show more latinos voted in the midterm elections than previous years. latinos made up 11% of all voters nationwide. 68% voted for democratic candidates. laura, how do candidates and can they better engage in the latino

voters? >> i was i was out n the trail talking to latino voters, one of the main things they said was the normal modes of communication, through cell phones or social media, they're working class people, the vast majority of them in the u.s. so some of the best ways to reach out to them are radio and definitely knocking on doors. so we saw really big pushes, not only in texas, but in the southwest states by groups like next gen, by the candidate themselves trying to be more organized when it came to reaching out to latinos. it appears to have at least increased the number of turnout within that demographic. latinos are not a monolith. they definitely don't -- people think they might lean towards democrats, especially given the president's immigration policies, but that's not always

the case. they're a bit of a hard group to pin down and get to the polls. >> jonathan, that's your take on reaching out there? >> you know what, i think it's interesting, dara, as laura was referencing a hard stance on immigration from president trump. obviously, he's got his views, but he really focused on that issue, talks about the caravan that suddenly is not something he's talking about a lot anymore. when you saw as he was trying to get republicans out for senate races in deep right states is a recession of support for republican candidate in swing -- house districts and particularly in areas with large latino communities. what i heard from republicans surrounding us, they were fearful that he might lose some house seat. we saw a majority of hispanic district lose. john culbertson, about 30% hispanic population, lose a

fairly close race and pete sessions in texas, 32nd district around dallas, a 25% hispanic population, he went down on election night. whether that had to do -- everything had to do with the president's stance on immigration or not, those are certainly examples of candidate who were not helped, i don't think, by the president's stance. >> certainly interesting numbers there. jonathan allen, laura barron lopez. thank you so much for joining me. thank you. president trump and putin shake hands in paris. we'll get a read on whether they'll have a longer meeting. that's up next. >> teacher: let's turn in your science papers. >> tech vo: this teacher always puts her students first. >> student: i did mine on volcanoes. >> teacher: you did?! oh, i can't wait to read it. >> tech vo: so when she had auto glass damage... she chose safelite. with safelite, she could see exactly when we'd be there. >> teacher: you must be pascal. >> tech: yes ma'am. >> tech vo: saving her time... [honk, honk] >> kids: bye! >> tech vo: ...so she can save the science project. >> kids: whoa! >> kids vo: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace ♪

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i am a techie dad.n. i believe the best technology should feel effortless. like magic. at comcast, it's my job to develop, apps and tools that simplify your experience. my name is mike, i'm in product development at comcast. we're working to make things simple, easy and awesome. now it breaking news. officials in northern california are warning that strong winds in the next couple of days could make the state's most destructive fire more dangerous.

fires are lajing in the north and south of the state. the camp fire the most destructive in history, claimed 23 lives. ten fatalities from paradise. a small community decimated by that fire. poor air quality forced officials to close schools in the nearby city of chico. two people were arrested for looting. about 105,000 acres have burned and more than 6400 homes destroyed. in the san fernando valley, firefighters took advantage of diminished winds overnight to battle the woolsey hill fire. two people died there. 177 homes destroyed. breaking news. president trump just attending a ceremony marking the end of world war i. he was one of 80 world leaders in paris. he shook hands briefly with russia's vladimir putin. joining us from paris, kristen welker. good morning to you.

french president emmanuel macron giving a speech that is getting attention. tell us about it. >> reporter: it has been a remarkable morning here in paris, dara. president macron delivering that speech under the arc de triomphe to celebrate and mark 100 years of the armistice. he delivered very powerful words essentially calling for multinationalism and warning that nationalism could leave the world -- lead the world into more conflict. note abable and striking becaus weeks ago president trump proudly declared that he sees himself as a nationalist. on display, this collision of two world views. take a listen to what president macron had to say speaking earlier today. >> as the very opposite of the selfishness of a nation which only looks after its own interests because patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. nationalism is a betrayal of

patriotism by saying our interests first, who cares about the others. we erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life and what is essential. its moral values. >> reporter: so, again, a direct rebuke of nationalism. president trump has proclaimed that he is a nationalist. a number of foreign policy experts believe president putin is a nationalist. that is at the backdrop here and it's the latest sign of fraying relationships between president trump and president macron. remember, the two were once so close, their relationship was described as a bromance. but they have clashed, frankly, on a range of different issues, everything from iran to climate policy and then as president trump was landing here in paris two days ago, he lashed out at president macron who said that he believes that europe should have its own military. publicly, the two leaders sought

to tamp down any signs of tension. but it's a stunning break in this critical alliance, dara. what are we expecting the rest of the afternoon? right now ail lunch with the leaders is getting under way in paris. we know that president putin arrived at that luncheon. president trump and president putin had a brief handshakes with president putin giving' thumbs up. we'll see whether they have an extensive conversation at this lunch. this will be their first interaction since their summit at helsinki. sarah huckabee sanders is only expecting brief hellos, nothing formal scheduled between the two leaders. later this afternoon, we may hear president trump answer to president macron. he'll deliver remarks when he visits a cemetery where american soldiers are buried. then he heads home. almost as interesting what he is doing in paris, what he is not doing. he is not attending the peace

forum being hosted by president macron and a lot of foreign policy experts and officials here in france. already criticizing that decision. we're watching very closely as this lunch unfolds. dara. >> kristen, a busy morning for you. live for us in paris. a theory why robert mueller can't be fired. that's next. with my bladder leakage, the products i've tried just didn't fit right. they were too loose. it's getting in the way of our camping trips. but with a range of sizes, depend fit-flex is made for me.

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new this morning, concerns for the future of the special counsel's investigation intensifies after the president appointed a critic of the probe as acting attorney general. but a new article in the atlantic says matthew whitaker's potential efforts to interfere with the investigation is improbable because the moment for firing mueller has, quote, passed. joining me now is criminal defense attorney ashleigh merchant. with the reports that he's in the process of writing up the

final report, do you agree this investigation is just too far along to be stopped. >> yes, i think it's doo far along and i don't think whitaker is going to take the stance that he'll stop the investigation. teechb even if he did, there's so many checks and balances that he can subpoena the report, subpoena him to come testify. i think the truth will come out. but, again, we've got whitaker's appointment at question. whether or not it's legal or not. >> the husband of -- kellyanne conway wrote an op-ed that called the appointment unconstitutional and illegal. what's your take and do you agree that this is a legitimate replacement? >> i actually unfortunately do agree it's legitimate. i think it's under the law that i think it's legitimate. what kellyanne conway's husband was arguing, under the apportionment clause, the president can't appoint him to sit in this position. he's got to be confirmed by the senate. but the united states supreme

court back in the 1800s, decided a case that said under certain limited circumstances and special circumstances that someone could be appointed for a limited time. then we have the federal vacancy act that actually defines that. congress defined what a limited time means. it's up to 210 days. so they've got to actually fill certain requirements under that law and unfortunately, mr. whitaker does, and so he can be appointed for up to 210 days without senate confirmation. the only way to find that his appointment was illegal was if that law was struck down and that law was found unconstitutional. we haven't had any type of ruling like that. under the state of the law right now, mr. whitaker's appointment is legal. >> we may have 210 days to figure that out. i want to turn to the "wall street journal" bombshell on the president's involvement, silencing the women alleging an affair with him. does this implicate that the president committed a crime?

>> yes. i've thought for a long time that he was implicated in finance reform laws and actually paying the women off, some campaign finance laws. the question is whether or not anyone acts on it. the we've got a republican heading as the attorney general. whether or not he's going to act on these laws is a whole different story because any time you've got a prosecutor, they've always got discretion. even though a crime could have occurred, they've got discretion whether or not they want to prosecute him. that's what this comes down to. whether or not they're going to exercise their discretion in prosecuting the president. >> ashleigh merchant, thank you for joining he. great to have you. >> thank you. >> that will do it for me. i'm dara brown. thank you for watching ziechlgt up with david gura at top of the hour. first, your business. on the korean, we ha-- scenreen

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hard work baby, it gonna pay off. you got this. with the one hundred and forty-first pick, the seattle seahawks select. alright, you got it, shaquem. alright, let me see. i am a techie dad.n. i believe the best technology should feel effortless. like magic. at comcast, it's my job to develop, apps and tools

that simplify your experience. my name is mike, i'm in product development at comcast. we're working to make things simple, easy and awesome. good morning. everyone. coming up on msnbc's your business. these veterans started a coffee company helping them assimilate into the workforce. shop local means eat local. a group of grocery stores, restaurants and farmers work together to grow the local food scene. and the creator of a face mask beauty product faces our shopify judges for the opportunity to be seen in pop-up stores. getting customers to spend dollars with nair community businesses. that's all coming up next on your business.