that is our show for today. we'll be back tomorrow. alex, i know you're a california girl. it's such a horrific -- >> it's very emotional. i think we should say you're so thoughtful when you asked how my family is doing. everybody is safe and sound, thank god. we'll bring you this story, as the president is there as well. we'll see you tomorrow, joy. thank you. it's high noon in the east, 9:00 a.m. out west. the president about to see the california wildfire disaster for himself. before leaving, weighing in on a wide array of topics. >> with the firefighters and

fema, first responders, i like nancy pelosi. she's tough and she's smart. it's called presidential harassment. my pence is 100%. when you look at the people coming in, this would get a good time to do a shutdown. we have a truly great cabinet. plus what to make of his revelation he's personally answering russia probe questions from robert mueller. and the husband of kellie anne conway calls the white house a dumpster fire. will the words come back to hands hi wife? but this hour the president is set to arrive in occasion occasion expe-- california. officials say up to 1,000 people could be missing. before leaving, the president weighs in on a range of topics, first doubling down on wildfires being a management issue, we

will be talking about forest management. i've been saying that for a long time. it's a very expensive issue, but very inexpensive when you compare it to even one of these horrible fires. he's also endorsed nancy pelosi in her bid to become the next house speaker. >> nobody else should be speaker. but certainly they should start off with nancy pelosi as speaker. i already have a lot of votes. if he needs any votes, i will give her the votes to put her over the top. he also knocked down a "new york times" report where he's been asking aides about whether he's loyal. >> it was a phony story. mike pence is 100%. not even a doubt about it. he's been a trouper.

it's fake news. that's what breaks up a country. on the border wall, the president threatening a government shutdown if funding isn't approved. he also disparaged the thousands fleeing violence and poverty. >> when you look at the caravans, the mess, the people coming in, this would be a very good time to do a shutdown. they come up and talking about all their great fear, all their problems with their country, but they're all waving their country's flag. if they have such fear and such problems, and they hate their country, why do we see all the flags being waved? >> the president also with a note about the mueller investigation, and kelly o'donnell joins me from the white house, fresh on her return from paris. i guess you've been back a couple days. what all did we learn from the president on this today? >> this was an unusual wide-ranging question and answer session, unusual for the time of day, just after 7:00 this

morning, because the president would be aboard air force one for hours to get him out to california. of course the mueller question is always somewhere close to the surface. he was asked about this. part of what is interesting here is the president is telling reporters that he is personally involved in crafting answers to questions provided to him from the special counsel team, row mueller and his group of propertiors. questions that deal with issues relating to alleged collusion, events that happened before he was president. president trump says he's been very personally involved. >> no, we do that next week. they're all done. >> we haven't even talked about it. >> reporter: the last question was about whether the president would sit for an in-person interview. he said we haven't even talked

about it. his lawyers certainly have. that's been a discussion of ongoing negotiation between his team and the mueller investigators. we don't know if the president would be subpoenaed or requested for an in-person interview, but the written questions are an important step. typically it's sort of an expectation when an investigation is winding down, the focus could shift to perhaps the largest fish in the sea, if you will. the president would certainly by that. could that be an indication that the mueller team is getting near to the end of its investigation. it's a year and a half today since mueller was named for this role. but the president set he answered the questions himself, chess notable, and then says his lawyers will sign off before they're turned in, he says, this coming week. >> thank you, kelly. kimberly atkins, washington bureau achieved for "the boston herald" and msnbc contributor,

and john heart work-- john harw. is the president's answers the key to wrapping up the probe? >> i think nobody really knows exactly where the mueller probe is aside from the special prosecutor robert mueller and his team. they have done a good job throughout this process of keeping the investigation close to the vest. there were a lot of rumors there might be indictments days after the election. that didn't happen. they're on their own timeline. i'm sure the president was involved in the drafting of some of the these, but i doubt that he did that on his own. >> why would he say that, though? why would he say that? >> because he likes to give off this idea that he has control, and he's in the driver's seat. but i think if the president

drafted these answers it would be no collusion over and over again, and i highly doubt his attorneys would let that happen. they're trying very much to insulate him as much as they can from saying something that could get him in trouble. >> you have to wonder how he would answer the questions, and if he would do so al a twitter style. this week four more tweets to the hole thing. what do you think this says about the president's state of mind and the expectations? >> i think he's scared. i think first of all on the question you just asked kimberly, she was exactly right. he likes to convey, yeah, i got it, it was easy, think try to trap you up, so he was trying to

demonstrate control, but on the flip side, the tweets reveal he understands he was not in control, and he talked about attacking the inner workings, which he really doesn't have much insight on, except for what they tell husband lawyers. to me it reflects the fact that people like roger stone, jerome coursie, maybe he donald trump jr. are anxious at what's coming to them. we learned this week that they put off a meeting this week with paul manafort's attorneys. he continues to cooperate, which means stuff is moving ahead. there's a potential deal with maria boutina, the russian involved through the nra and other operatives to try to get some things done on behalf of the russian government. so there's a lot of motion. at kimberly said, we don't know

when things will pop, because robert mueller doesn't leak, but it seems to be getting to an end stage and a very dangerous end stage for the president. >> still counting votes in florida, but stacy abrams ended the fight for the state's governorship without consaiding, but here is what she did say. >> to watch an elected official who claims to represent the people of the state baldly pin his hopes on the election on the suppression of the people's democratic right to vote has been truly appalling. let's be clear. this is not a speech of concession, because concession means to acknowledge an action is right, true or proper. as a woman of conscience and faith, i cannot concede that. >> so ultimately, kimberly, she was not swept in by a blue wave, but she got pretty darn close. how do you read that? >> yeah, you know, democrats for

a while have been eyeing states like georgia for a potential traditionally red state -- for potential they could turn blue even in a presidential race, which hasn't happened in quite a while. other states like arizona and florida, you are seeing an increase of mobilization of democrats, seeing them making inroads in some of these really, really close races. at the same time, to stacy abram's point we have seen places particularly in the south, but the midwest, a lot of laws being passed to suppress votes. that's been something that's been going on for a decade since the supreme court decision made that a lot easier. these are two things coming together. at the same time you see some other efforts to enfranchise people, like in florida, where they allowed people with

convictions to get their votes back. it will make a big difference, especially leading up to 2020. >> speaking of 2020, john, you write about the mid terms as being not only a blue wave, but that there is a lasting impact as a result. how so? can you expand on that? >> what we are seeing is annic increasing segmentation of the country with parts of the population and the economy that are growing, drifting towards the democrats. that is more diverse, better educationed, more urban and suburb suburban. the more rural, the less densely populated, less diverse, more economically struggling parts of the country are siding with republicans.

so what stacy abrams did in georgia was try to drag the electoral process into the full. you know, democrats in the recent past in a state like georgia have reached to the past, to the vestige of old, white, moderate democrats. relatives of jimmy carter, sam nunn. those were not successful. stacy abrams moved it toward rallying toward the more diverse part of the state. she didn't quite make it, but that's the debate we'll have in 2020. barack obama did it, hillary clinton wasn't able to. i want to quickly ask about the race to be the next speaker of the house. kimberly, i know you wrote about it in your latest column, those challenging nancy pelosi. how serious are those challenges? >> it's pretty serious. never count out nancy pelosi.

she's very good at what she does, including whipping up votes for his own bid. remember, two years ago about a third of the caucus voted against her for the leadership spot. it seems that there especially with some of the incoming freshmen, there's a growing energy for people who want a change at the top, but getting there is the tough part. we'll have to see if congresswoman marsha fudge does come out and launch a challenge and where that goes. >> john, quickly to you, count on the nancy pelosi or no? >> no, she's going to be the speaker. there's foment in the caucus, more than in the past, but she has no opponent, which tells you something about the possibility of stopping her. in late november when they nominate 9 candidates spoke fer,

i think she'll be the speaker. >> thank you both for speaking with me. the president is on the way to california where the wildfires. more than 9800 homes have been destroyed. the death toll of the camp fires jumped to 71. the number of missing rising to over 1,000. the search for victims ongoing, of course, and the president spoke with reporters before leaving for the golden state. >> we will be talking about forest management. i've been saying that for a long time, and this could have been a lot different situation, but the one thing is that everybody now knows this is what we have to be doing. scott cohn joins us from not far from the wildfire. you must have suppose with those having been displaced by the firefighters. what are you hearing from people there?

>> reporter: well, alex, as you can imagine, even now more than a week out, people are just dayed by this, making sense of what's going on. you mentioned that figure of more than 1,000 people missing. we're at one of the half dozens or so evacuation centers for the campfire here in chico. the hope is that some of those missing people will be found in evacuation centers like this one. a lot of seniors, a lot of elder are in paradise, so we have the board behind me, which is the low-tech way of trying to connect families with people who survived, but who are still unaccounted for. later today, the president will be in this area, will meet with first responders, accompanied by governor jerry brown, and governor-elect gasp newsom. on the heels of the president's talk about forest management and

downplaying the issue of climate change. but both the governor and governor-elect tweeting that now is the time for all of california to pull together. >> i have trees in nigh front yard 300 years old. there's never been a major fire through there in 300 years, but now we do. the reason is because of mismanagement of forest, the california department of forestry and wildfire. >> i would like for our president to do some forest managing of his own. maybe he could like chop some trees down and do some deforestation. >> reporter: honestly, a lot of empeople we talked to are still getting their lives together, weren't necessarily aware of the visit. more pressing issues, obviously

for them. the air quality, by the way, is just awful. it extends for miles. take a look at the scene at the golden gate bridge, about 175 miles away from here. some of the most polluted air in the world right now, and it's something they're dealing with throughout northern california and the bay area. some winds are supposed to kick in probably tomorrow that will blow some of the smoke out of the here. the problem is it's not good for the fire fighting ever. this fire is still only 50% contains. >> that picture is extraordinary. you can't even sigh across the bridge's span. whether the border wall is worth a government shutdown? you'll hear from the ranking member of the budget committee next. member of the budget committee next estments avoids them. some advisers have hidden and layered fees. fisher investments never does.

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democratic leader nancy pelosi has an unlikely fan in her bit to become house speaker. >> i would help her if she needs votes. i like her. can you believe it in i like her. now they're playing games with her, just like they'll be playing with me. . it's called presidential harassment. this is awesome to have you

here. why do you think the president is endorsing. what does he have to gain by it? >> hi wants to make sure she is speaker, so he has a foil when he fails miserably to get hi agenda enacted. he wants this controversy to be about him, not about nancy and democrats. i questioned someone earlier. is marsha fudge a likely opponent? >> i doubt it. i think people believe that nancy will ultimately prevail. her loyalists will have the vast

majority. and i think people will come to the realization that nobody can do that job better than she can. there is a whole element of change. so nancy pelosi staying tess top is not exactly sending a message about changes? the first six months of our majority will be the most important six months. with the diversity, with the new members, with the wide-ranging pins about policy, it's going to take somebody with her skills.

so i think what you'll see, however, is a lot of new faces being featured prominently, the leadership will be putting new faces out to media so they get exposure. i think she understands that she has to do that, that the party won largely because of women and young voters. >> absolutely. >> so we need to be responsive to that and sensitive to it. >> okay. border wall funding. the president has not ruled out the possibility of shutting down the government early next month. let's listen. >> when you look at the caravan, the mess, the people coming in, this would be a very good time to do a shutdown. i don't think it's going to be necessary, because i think the democrats will come to their senses. if they don't, we will continue to win election. you do recognize we won the senate, right?

that would not take effect until next month. i think it's highly unlikely the president will get his wall. >> $5 billion. the question is whether it's to build new structures. just as the last allocation, which is about 1.7 billion, but it was prohibited to being used for a new structure. it was basically renovation and repairs. it's just a border wall across the southern border does not make sense. he knows that. he has to keep hammering it.

>> it's part of what got him electioned. mick mcconnell will do everything he can to avoid a shutdown. and he's up for reelection. do you call that a blue wave overall? if you do, what is what is behind this? >> i do call it a blue wave. you add to the 37 seats, the seven governor spots we picked up, 300 seats all over the country, it was a pretty significant victory for democrats across the board. the largest pickup since 1974 for democrats, so it's pretty historic. i don't think there's any question it was a repudiation of his style, if not his policies,

but also a recognition we have a new electoral. when young people come out and vote, it was almost a 50% in this. so i think it was a significant transition election is impeachment anywhere among the actions? >> no, impeachment is not among them. obviously things can change. in 1974 things changed basically in a day's time then. i think we're looking at certainly president trump's financial dealings. we want to look into that. i know the intelligence

committee will pursue the investigation that our people believe some nunes and the committee shortcircuited. i think we'll go after his income tax returns, not for new prurient reasons, but if there's any influence there. president trump and what he said about answering written questioning on his own. legal analysis of that is next. n legal analysis of that is next ♪

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now when you go out, you cash in. what's in your wallet? yeah, this is bob barnett in chicago. (john foley) i was there when bob barnett made the first commercial wireless phone call. we were both working on that first network