eastern. please tell me more about our coverage of opioids and the pain crisis that you're in. it does help us in our reporting. thank for watching. "deadline white house" with nicole wallace starts right now. hi, everyone. it's 4:00 in new york. democrats have added subpoenas to their arsenal in the battle to see more than sentence fragments from the nearly 400-page mueller report. today the house judiciary committee voting to authorize a subpoena for the full unredacted mueller report and all the underlying evidence used to reach its conclusions or in the case of the obstruction of justice, the evidence that led to no conclusion reached by special counsel. only adding to the democrats' ammunition in overseeing attorney general barr's summary of the report. jerry nadler spoke about the stand off with the ag ahead of

the strictly party line vote. >> the mueller report isn't probably the, quote, total exoneration end quote the president claims it to be. the committee has a job to do. on multiple occasions i have asked attorney general barr to work with us, he has so far refused. i will give him time to change his mind fp if we cannot reach an accommodation we have no choice but to issue subpoenas for these materials. and if the department still refuses, then it should be up to a judge, not the president and not his political appointee to decide whether or not it is appropriate for the committee to review the complete record. >> the committee also authorizing subpoenas for five west wing staffers who were likely witnesses in the obstruction investigation. the subpoena votes come on the same day that democratic congressman adam schiff, chairman of the house intel committee suggested that mueller himself is likely to face questions from congress on his findings. >> i think it's inevitable bob

mueller is going to have to testify before congress. i think he will probably be needed before more than one committee. >> and speaking of chairman schiff, news breaking this afternoon that the house intelligence committee is seeking documents related to the investigation into the trump inaugural committee known to be under investigation by the southern district of new york. from that report, quote, the house intelligence committee has asked one of the top contractors to provide it with documents about the event a person familiar with the situation said on wednesday opening up a new line of inquiry into the planning and financing of the festivities. inquiries were made to stephanie winston wolkoff. this is added to, quote, her pending cooperation with

congress and her involvement with the investigation out of the southern district point to the ways in which she could be helpful to investigators going forward. while she had an insider's view to trump world as a point person to the inauguration and adviser to melania, she is one of dozens of individuals and entities who have received document requests from democrats in recent weeks. joining us to discuss the multiple fronts of investigations into the president some of our favorite reporters and friends, joyce vance, former u.s. attorney. associated press white house reporter jonathan la mere, frank fa goo see at the table. eddie glod and jim messina. this probably only looks good compared to where you spent the last few weeks. we'll talk about that. let me ask you about chairman nadler setting a very restrained

tone. making very clear that even while authorizing subpoenas, which is a clear escalation in their effort to see more than sentence fragments, it's remarkable to me. we're going on weeks of a 22-month long investigation and all that's been released are sentence fragments from mueller's 22-month long investigation. now they're sounding like someone willing to give attorney general barr the benefit of the doubt. >> chairman nadler has seen how this goes. he's being very, very careful, wants to make sure every dot is hit here. i think long-term president trump's people are doing no political service dragging this out. we're going to talk about this for weeks and weeks and weeks, we'll have hearings, get mueller to testify, fight over this report, and they're just going to drag this on into the summer

in a way that's silly. they should get all this done and get it past them, instead they want to fight, it seems. >> what else could they be doing? you'd have to live in a cave with no wi-fi, they have to be aware of how bad this looks. we don't know what they'd had and what decisions they made inside the small circle, the attorney general, deputy attorney general. but they have to know by now how it loos. it looks at this point like a whitewash. >> every day that goes by that we don't see a release of a report from the attorney general makes barr look more and more like a political animal and less and less like america's attorney. from the way that i know mueller works, he would not have simply handed this report raw to barr and walk away. he would have said, i've done the homework here, i declassified in a way you can take or leave, but we've gone through the declass process.

i have recommendations on how to get around the grand jury issues. here's my advice. i do not believe barr needs all of this time to do what he says he's doing. he runs the risk of turning the public tide against him and further demand coming out for all of this report. >> you're always right so i want to press you on this. do you know, is it just your knowledge of how this works or do you know that something -- an unclassified version of something was offered to the attorney general when they were done? >> i have no special knowledge of this. i know from 25 years at the bower r bureau and working as assistant director under mueller he's not the guy to say here it is boss knock yourself out. he would have gone through the process and given him a road map to declassification at least. >> he also gave him a three-week heads up he wasn't going to reach a conclusion on obstruction. he had three weeks to figure out how to release more than sentence fragments. >> which is why we're back to mueller testifying on the hill

is critically important to get to the real facts, the dialogue that went on between the two of them, the ag and mueller, and the footnotes about why he didn't ask for an in-person trump interview, go to grand jury, all of that needs to be explained. >> there's a growing nervousness with the people close to the president about how this plays out -- >> i don't know whether to laugh or cry. really? >> yeah. >> do you follow them on twitter, they should be nervous. >> breaking news, nicole. when the summary came out there was an effort to take that and frame it, frame the story, this is a win. e we saw the president and his allies the first couple days on twitter, in the rally in michigan, the report and findings suggesting it's a witch hunt and he's been vindicated. even then, according to our reporting, there were people nervous about that, we don't know what's in there, there's a chance this could backfire, even if the overall conclusions are what the summary says they are,

there could be stuff that's embarrassing for the president. so there's a hesitation whether he should take a full flej victory lap on this we've seen the anxiety playing out, suggesting it shouldn't come out. i was in the room with him last friday where he said, if the attorney general wants to put it out that's fine, 24 hours later on twitter he suggested the opposite. there's a growing concern that this is going to look bad, and the longer it stretches it'll be that much worse. >> we're sensitized to donald trump's instability around the questions, but it's worth watching what you're describing. let's look at that. >> it's up to the attorney general but it wouldn't bother me at all. up to the attorney general. wouldn't bother me at all. >> does the public have the right to see the mueller report? >> i don't mind.

frankly i told the house if you want to, let them see it. >> would i break confidence in the attorney general? if that's what he'd like to do, i have nothing to hide. >> that's what you're talking about. >> yes. that's a great room in mar-a-lago. >> very shiny. >> he's still publically saying those things, that was friday. over the weekend, the tenor changed further and more of a reluctance from him and people around him to see this whole thing. now we're seeing a movement from the house republicans to push more and more should be redacted. >> i want to ask you something, you and i were around some of the same tables in 2016. and the idea that simply not being prosecuted but having your conduct detailed can't do devastating political harm is something he can pick up the phone and ask hillary clinton about? >> absolutely. i think what chairman nadler is doing is important. he's not overstepping or getting over his skis. it's important for congress to

exercise its constitutional responsibility with regard to oversight. and it's important in this moment as we try to get more than a few fragments that we need transparency and oversight necessary in a culture of lies and corruption. because our democracy is at stake here. so i think we need to be very deliberate in the way that nadler is being deliberate, cummings is being deliberate. we understand the political hey that can be made of it but the stakes are high. if trump thinks he can escape this, we'll find out quickly he's mistaken. >> joyce, promising to get to this other story but i can't let this round go by without asking these other topics, one the idea the president thought he was in the clear before any of the investigation was out, and the role that barr appears to be playing -- again we don't know what role he's actually playing, we don't know what his challenges are, frankl surmises

he was given something more ready-to-wear than we were led to believe -- your thoughts on all of those topics? >> i think frank has to be absolutely right here. prosecutors are insergei skrive case they've been investigating for two years, they don't just toss it over do what you want to do mr. attorney general. they write it up, write it up in a form that's usable. they would have segregated classified information, prepared a clean version without grand jury. i thought for a long time they may have gone to the judge to obtain an order that would have permitted the attorney general to turn over what grand jury was included in the report. they apparently didn't do it. but frank is right. and to jim's point, you have to imagine that this report is very damaging if the president is willing to let this unfortunate scenario drag on for this long knowing it will continue to damage him. we know he jumps to conclusions, we know he doesn't listen to

briefings. it's possible he heard mueller isn't going to indict you, thought he had been given a clean bill of health. you can envision this notion that it subsequently dawned on him that there was highly damaging material in this report and he's been back pedaling ever since. let me stay with you on the other news breaking tonight that -- to borrow a term first coined by chris christie, there's another tour guide for the southern district of new york. this is a former close confidant of milania trump's, she's a witness in the southern district of new york's investigation into the trump inaugural committee. a lot of questions revolve around pro-russian ukrainians, some of the other reporting has been about the mismanagement of money, about how funds sort of flowed in and out carelessly.

there's also some public reporting about tom berrick being of interest to investigators. what do you make of this two-pronged investigation and scrutiny of the inaugural committee and the witnesses there? >> there are a lot of potential lines of inquiry here that federal prosecutors could have jurisdiction over. it's illegal to knowingly accept a contribution from a foreigner for an inauguration. that would be a clean crime of knowledge and intent. but if these contributions were being taken and were then misused, if there was wire fraud involved or some other sort of fraud, this could be a lengththy investigation, and i think the most interesting thing here is unlike so many instances when trump surrounded himself with unsavory people, people willing to accept criminality or at best unethical conduct, here apparently melania trump brought

in a friend who wasn't impressed by misconduct, had enough, kept records and this may be an important road map or as you say, tour guide for prosecutors in sdny. >> here's information that maggie haberman of the "new york times" has tweeted off. wolkoff has been cooperating since last fall under a gag order. it's unusual for a gag order to be put in place. mueller periodically used them with folks like gates but sdny is not known to have done them in any other cases. >> so an order it looks to make sure that she's not giving up what's going on. this is not someone who's been outspoken about her cooperation, but rather someone they need to keep secret about cooperation. >> is that to protect her? is that in the witness tampering category? >> i think it's two-fold. one to protect her, and secondly, to ensure she's not

tipping off certain people. she can't talk to individuals who are potential subjects of the case and let them know what's going on. it's a significant finding. >> let me ask you about the house intel committee's interest in her. this is also from maggie haberman's reporting. it's unclear what was requested or why the intelligence committee is now involved but it adds a new layer to the existing federal investigations into the inaugural committee, which was run by thomas j. barrack, a close friend of the president. >> the worst job i had was chairman of the inaugural parade. i'm not sure how i got that job. what you learn about the things is one you don't have enough time to plan them. two there are different rules to your point about who can give, how much can they give, and three you have people trying to get around the various activities that shouldn't be there. if the house intelligence committee is looking at it, it's

because they believe there was outside influence from foreign actors. that's the only reason they would be involved in this. it should be in a different committee. so that and the way they're using profew lactic gag orders is unprecedented and means they have something bigger than spending dumb money on beer. >> again, the foreign actors in question are not from venezuela, neither are they from canada, north korea or china. they're pro-russian ukrainians as has been reported. >> it goes back there. how many days after the mueller probe wrapping up and the idea there's no obvious criminal evidence of a conspiracy, but the question still remains, it's russia. it's been russia throughout. the change in the platform at the rnc, the president's behavior towards putin, blocking congress' attempts to sanction russia. it's one of those things even if

there wasn't an actual conspiracy of collusion, it raises questions, there are ties there, we know about trump tower moscow, what else is going on? this is a cloud that hovers over this white house for as long as the president lives there? >> we may have hard evidence of a corrupt soul. >> we're seeing the subtle nuances involved in counterintelligence work. i know i keep hammering this but it's not all about the crime and putting handcuffs on somebody. if a foreign entity is trying to corrupt, coerce, recruit people in our government, that is a subtle nuance thing but the american people need to understand that and we need to air it out and decide as a nation whether this is the conduct we want out of our president. >> last question for you on this topic. we spent more time around this table over the last two years talking about the counterintelligence threat and when andrew mccabe said it, what he talked about was the kind of

investigation that never ends in handcuffs and indictments. the counterintelligence investigation is one with a national security goal in mind, right. so if this was taken over by mueller, do you think there's an effort under way at the justice department to tell the public that andrew mccabe's question was answered by mueller and the answer is x, y, z? >> i don't think we can expect the justice department to do that. let's be fair, historically, counterintelligence investigations never see the light of day. i operated under almost total secrecy for 25 years. so we need to understand that the expectations need to be different. but with regard to the metrics that mueller used when he was handed this counterintelligence case, it's becoming clearer that he used a criminal me trick and at least that's what barr interpreted in his summary as we haven't met any statutory elements of a crime. we need to see the 400 pages of counterintelligence questions

and answers to figure out what really happened. >> after the break, who goes to mar-a-lago for a swim with four laptops, three cell phones, and no swim suits. donald trump takes washington on a wild ride with his on again, off again promises on health care, the border. and joe biden speaks out for the very first time since being accused of making some women uncomfortable on the campaign trail. all those stories coming up. trail. all those stories coming up. just go together. now kayak and opentable let you earn travel rewards every time you dine. earn points with each restaurant reservation on opentable and redeem them for hotel discounts on kayak.

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we've had a number of operational security concerns about the president, about his family, about how they use electronics, are they using encrypted apps, having conversation kept from the american people or their own staff, concerns about the president allegedly granting security clearances to people like his son-in-law that the intelligence communities or those agencies doing the background checks are profound concerns about. are we maintaining the sancti classified information. a new concern that the president and his administration have failed to adhere to security standards and a litany of breaches are putting this country at risk the times reporting that, quote, a 32 woman from china carrying four cell phones and a thumb drive gained access to mar-a-lago

during president trump's visit to the florida resort over the weekend. the woman had arrived at the resort and showed two chinese passports when she sought to be admitted saying she wanted to use the pool. once inside the woman said she was there to attend a united nations, chinese american association event later in the evening. no such event existed, so the club receptionist alerted the secret service. though she said she came to use the pool, she was not carrying a swim suit. an episode troubling against the backdrop of news that came to us moments ago from the miami herald that says, quote, federal authorities are investigating possible chinese intelligence operations targeting president donald trump and his private palm beach club, mar-a-lago. sources familiar with the never reported before investigation told the miami herald yesterday. everybody is still here. frank no surprise but it sounds

like the receptionist at m mar-a-lago more sensitive to security than the son-in-law. >> as disturbing as this incident is, we don't know where this is going, but i can assure the fbi miami office is looking at who this woman is, who controlled her, what was the mall ware on the thumb drive. >> what's malware. >> it's any app that causes your device to do something you don't want it to do. when you say the thumb drive contained malware, was it poised to launch into a system or was she infected with it? if it was poised to launch and affect mar-a-lago network and servers there's a problem there. the government can tell from the snore of th signature of that where it's coming from, they're very good at that. but this is a symptom of a

larger security posture or nonsecurity posture this president has and it can only be a nightmare for the secret service, they're excellent at what they do when they control the domain. they don't control the domain of mar-a-lago, someone at the club is deciding who gets in and who doesn't, that's a nightmare and a symptom of a president who continues to use a personal cell phone, unencrypted, ignore intelligence agency recommendations, this is a guy who must make it hard to protect him and national security. >> how hard is it to know that there's an investigation penetrating mar-a-lago. >> if a foreign government knows every weekend your main target in life is going to be at this location. it's a soft target, you do all hands on deck to get in there and infect the system.

not a surprise to me. but it should wake up somebody at the white house to say we have to harden mar-a-lago or there's a place called camp david that's secure from all angles and maybe he should use it for that purpose. >> you spent a lot of time there. >> i did. we've done reporting on this on this incident. yes, she was swept and screened before she went in. but what happened was she gave her name and her story changed and she presented two chinese passports, which raised red flags. so when secret service called the desk and said who is this, her last name does match that of a club member but not the first name. they assumed it was a language barrier and waived her in. she got on a golf court and went to the main compound. once she went through more security they realized her stories didn't line up and she was desataidetained.

mar-a-lago has been difficult to secure from day one. i believe they rented a boat and were able to sit offshore and hack the system. he posted abe of japan and xi jingping of china, he had a meeting with abe on the patio among dinner guests when they were reviewing classified images of a north korean ballistic test. which you're seeing there. >> it's also the photo of the president looking pleased about it. he's supposed to host xi jingping there again in the white house hopes to finalize the chinese trade deal. this is not camp david, it's not kenny bunk port. it's not the ranch in texas. those are private homes. this is a club that's open for business. and people are coming in and out all the time. whether the president is there

or not. when he is in residence like this past weekend when the incident happened, there are additional layers of security but your point is right. they're mindful of the guests, mr. trump himself as one guest told me told, wants us to feel like we're at home. they don't want to upset the clientele and there's probably more than can be done. >> secret service does not determine who was invited or welcome at mar-a-lago this is the responsibility of the host entity. the mar-a-lago club management determines which members and guests are granted access to the property. this access does not afford an individual proximity to the president or other secret service protectees. you and i both travelled with the secret service, extraordinary professionals who work under difficult circumstances every day, but this is a have structural challenge he decides to land at

mar-a-lago instead of camp david or a home where they can put a perimeter around it. put it together with the way he's abusing the security clearance office and those personnel. it's just a stunning and, you know -- we probably don't spend enough time talking about it. but just a stunning rebuke of the measures put in place to protect from this, protect him from himself. >> it's a blatant disregard for the security of america and our intelligence. the fact that we canndo not hav secret service logs, decide who goes in there, anyone can go in who rents a room. they found this person but what about intelligence officers who want to get in there? our opponents are the best people in the world at this, and we are making it so easy. as white house deputy choice for operations i dealt with these issues. the secret service are the single finest individuals i work

with, they lay down their life for the protectees of this country, they have both hands behind their back and are making it hard. if they wanted it easier, they go to a civilian home like they did president obama, ronald reagan, george bush. trying to run a successful and lucrative resort in the middle of protecting the president of the united states, is not only a nightmare you're opening up our intelligence to foreign actors who can go after it and you're making it easy to do it. >> he does the same thing at the club at bed minister too. >> on this reporting that there's an ongoing, open investigation into the chinese intelligence effort, would it be your estimation that that is a counterintelligence investigation? would you suggest or would you predict that that's in its early stages? what are we to make of the fact that now we're looking at

another foreign adversary getting really close to the president and the country's secrets? >> so frank may not agree with me on this, but often in counterintelligence investigations, they go on for a long time. there's no expectation that they'll end up as a criminal case. and then something happens along the way. and for whatever reason it becomes public, as this situation did, or something else happens that gives the case a little bit of a criminal aspect to it. and so you'll occasionally see a little bit of crossover, the intelligence community and rightfully so wants to protect its sources and methods so that can limit the information available but this is likely an investigation that will have a criminal prosecution hanging off it. the real problem here, as folks pointed out, is this president is pursuing profit-making businesses. he has to know this risk exists i'm sure he's been briefed on

the counterintelligence investigation he chooses to prioritize his profit making activities over the security of the american people. and if that malware was ready to launch, it could have been plugged in any place and potentially compromised the president's personal devices. >> quick last word. >> if you see this woman processed quickly through the system, adjudicated and off, the fbi found nothing of great counterintelligence interest. if this falls off the radar and goes on and on, there's something to be concerned about. >> something bigger? >> yes. after the break, is donald trump unraveling, the policy whiplash that has people asking that very question. that's next. at very question that's next. d. sorry, is that too loud? you don't need any more hormones in your house. that's why you chose kraft natural cheese. made with fresh milk without the added hormone rbst. it's cheese as it should be.

tto harrison, the wine tcollection.. to craig, this rock. the redwoods to the redheads. the rainbows to the proud. i leave these things to my heirs, all 39 million of you, on one condition. that you do everything in your power to preserve and protect them. with love, california. standards, the past 48 hours have been pretty wild.

he seems to be cycling through a host of volatile policy ideas searching for a domestic agenda ahead of the election in a divided washington. he's up ended the apple cart on issue after issue only to be talked off the ledge from health care where now it seems overhaul of the aca will have to wait until after the for what "the washington post" calls whiplash. the battle illustrate the difficulties trump and republicans have had in adjusting to democratic control of the house after two years of uncontested control. but many republicans say they've adapted to the pan demoan yum. joining us is ashley parker. this is some great reporting. and just take us inside what this roller -- it looks like a roller coaster from the outside, what's stunning is that it feels

like one on the inside, too. >> i think that's right on the one hand it feels at this point, and people i've been talking to, par for the course when you ask the campaign for instance, what are the issues they're going to be focussing on in 2020, their honest answer, when they're being honest, is that at the end of the day, president trump is going to sort of lead, he's going to tweet, say things, take those things back and they're going to have to try to adjust and support him in that. so the people around him are used to this on the one hand, but on the other hand in each of these specific instances they have been caught very offguard by what he's saying and members of his own party, as you said lawmakers on capitol hill are quiet unhappy, even some in his own administration have sort of privately in calls and showing him charts and economic data have so far gotten him to walk back just about everything. >> here's the president and mitch mcconnell on a very different page on one of the president's key issues. let's watch. >> if we don't make a deal with

congress, the border is going to be closed. 100%. >> closing down the border would have potentially catastrophic economic impact on our country, and i would hope we would not be doing that sort of thing. >> sure it's going to have a negative impact on the economy. it's one of the biggest trade deals in the world that we've just done with the usmca. >> i think that the consequences to the economy, to our relationship with mexico to millions of families would be absurd, i would strongly urge the president not to try to shutdown the border. >> all you hear me talking about is trade. let me give you a little secret, security is more important to me than trade. >> ashley, we should also explain something, you know better than just about everyone, those pundits are not just talking to the viewers of "fox &

friends," they're talking to him. they pick up the phone and make policy arguments he's like i got to go, i'm tweeting watching "fox & friends." the best way to make arguments to the president is on tv. >> that is absolutely 100% correct. if you want to make an argument to the president and you're a republican lawmaker, in some cases, even a democratic lawmaker, the best way to do that is go on one of the shows that you know he watches, some morning television, a lot of fox news, look directly into the camera and speak directly to the president. that said someone like leader mcconnell and these other lawmakers they can make that case on television and they can also have the ability to call him up and make it privately, and there is maybe a bit of those two that ultimately helps persuade the president to do something. but to be clear, the president doesn't do something he doesn't want to do. so the idea he's wildly talked into or talked out of anything,

there's certain people persuading him and pushing him around the edges but everything that president trump does he owns because he wants to do it. >> until he doesn't. let me show you something else people are talking about this week. this is the president. >> i hope they now go and take a look at the oranges. the oranges of the investigation. the mueller report i wish covered the oranges, how it started. the beginnings of the investigation. how it started. >> my father is german, right. was german. and born in a very wonderful place in germany. so i have a great feeling for germany. >> if you have a windmill anywhere near your house, congratulations your house just went down 75% in value. and they say the noise causes cancer. you tell me that one. the green new deal done by a young bartender, 29 years old.

a young bartender, wonderful young woman. >> i don't agree with him, i don't support him, i don't condone the december mags of the office of the presidency but i'm worried about him. he meant to say i wish the mueller report would cover the origins, i believe. he said oranges. >> three times. >> i don't know, i know the date and city that my parents were born, because i filled out background forms. his father was not born in germany. >> i believe his grandfather was. >> he didn't just get it wrong he made up a magical town in germany. his father was born in new york. >> correct. >> if i know that, surely he should. and something about windmills and cancer.

it's not my job to worry about him, but as a citizen of this country, i am. >> and scientists do not think there's a link between windmills and cancer. and also he said he was afraid it was going to leak to the media, while being broadcast live on cspan. we don't know exactly what is going on with the president. but i think we can safely say it points to the sort of up and down, scatter shot week and a half he's had, more than usual -- >> scatter shot is what the post reporting is, i'm going to do health care, mitch mcconnell calls and says no, you're not. i'm going to shut the border. that's scatter shot. these are troubling public appearances. >> i'm not in a position to make a diagnoses. >> i'm not either. >> yes. people around the president scratch their heads.

scatter shot is the word we can use to the policy, and it seems a moment as ashley said he makes the decisions himself but it seems to be more pushback at times, seems to be willing to consider it. he also walked away from health care. declaring day after day the republican party is health care, and then walking away from that too. >> he's also the creator of birtherism so where people is born is something he's gotten wrong before but two it matters to him. >> there's a combination of cruelty, ignorance and power. that means he's dangerous for a lot of people who are vulnerable. so when you see that, and see him making decisions that impact the day-to-day lives of not only americans but folk who are bringing their babies because they're fleeing violence, families who are trying in some

significant way to imagine america as a place of refuge, and you see that then you have to worry profoundly. then you think about the policy with regards to the border, in some ways he's donkey hoe tay, instead of chasing windmills, he's chasing walls. so you see this guy pushing policy on a lie. the crisis is in his hands, it's manufactured. he's lying about this. and he's going to justify shutting down the border for it. think about what he's doing with puerto rico, cruelty, ignorance, power. means that some people really will have to bear the burden of this. really. it's something deeply disturbing there. >> bob corker before he was drummed out of the senate raised questions about his mental fitness, talked about how he had not shown the competence for the office he held. went on to call the white house

an adult day care facility. jim clapper former dni went on television around the same period voiced concerns about him having the nuclear codes. david brooks wrote in a column that the president in a closed door meeting in front of republican senators walked out of the meeting and were questioning whether or not the habit of repeating himself over and over again could be an early sign of alzheimer's these are three publicly reported events. is this worthy of some attention and some care? >> absolutely. john bre unanimous, the former cia director has been public about the concerns for the president and his judgment. you look at the things in the past few days and say what's going on, who's in charge. there's no one around him anymore who he listens to. he doesn't have an actual chief of staff, no one that you or i would hire for any campaign we would be a part of. it's just him. ashley is right in her reporting, he's making the

decisions by himself. there's also a political end to this. he's doing stupid things politically. the shutting down the border thing is a nightmare for chances in amaz in arizona. the health care flip flop, the democrats aren't going to let him flip flop. he decided on his own to get rid of preexisting conditions, an issue that cost him the house of representativess and may cost him his presidency. this stuff is getting out of hand. as an american we no longer have a leader we can count on. after the break joe biden speaks out. stay with us. r the break joe bi speaks out stay with us i don't keep track of regrets.

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you know, social norms have begun to change, they've shifted, and the boundaries of protecting personal space have been i hear what they're saying. i understand it. and i'll be much more mindful.

that's my responsibility. my responsibility. and i'll meet it. but i'll always believe governing, quite frankly, life, for that matter, is about connecting. about connecting with people. that won't change. but i will be more mindful and respectful of people's personal space. >> that was the first on-camera statement from joeaddressing al number of women who say he made them feel uncomfortable. biden has already insisted he's never believed he acted inappropriately, even as two more women shared their stories with "the new york times." one of a hand on a knee, the other a touch to the back. biden is grappling with all of that as he mulls a run for president. and the rest of the democratic field is working to put as much financial distance between themselves and biden ahead of his decision. just this afternoon, democratic darling beto o'rourke announced his campaign had raised almost $9.5 million in just 18 days. ashley and the table are back. donald trump making some very

interesting comments, seeming to welcome joe biden to this moment in politics. is that how you heard them? >> i think so. it felt like, on the one hand, a kind of, you know, welcome to the presidential race, welcome to the big leagues. what was really interesting to me was the president, who, of course, has his own very serious allegations of sexual misconduct and groping, kind of making fun of biden for encountering some far lesser grade yags of that same type of criticisms, and it was a good reminder that in 2020, the president and the democrats are not going to be on the same playinghahe standard t applies to the president certainly from his base and his voters who, so far, have said, we know about the "access hollywood" tape, we don't care, necessarily, it's not going to change our vote or our support for him, is not the same as the democratic base who deeply cares

about this, and that's why we're seeing this joe biden having to go through all of this and the president even pointed that out, kind of saying to biden, you know, look, democrats, your own party, are coming after you and, of course, that's something the president and his team relish. >> you're both nodding. you first. >> the juxtaposition and the reference by the president to joe biden is just astonishing, because whether he meant it or not, he's trying to put him on the same playing field in terms of horrific conduct, and it's simply not there. it's a healthy discussion we all need to have. but to compare, for the president to compare what biden is accused of doing, which is invading personal space and making people uncomfortable, with what he's accused of doing, and -- including illegal acts, to silence women -- >> 23 women. >> that's not a level playing field. >> and the democratic side, it is a totally different environment, right? it's a cultural shift that's happening that we're trying to figure out boundaries.

and that can't be adjudicated by accusing people and then the law -- it's a cultural shift and we have to figure out how we're going to behave. and then there's a generational shift. millennials are entering into the body politic that's going to have a real serious impact this election, and all of this has the political implications. biden is 76 years old. and so, how he fits in all of that flux is a huge, huge question. >> what's the answer? >> i don't know. to be honest with you. i don't know. it will be interesting, if he jumps into the race, to see how he stands next to a kamala harris, how he stands next to a beto, how does he stand next to a mayor pete, how he holds his own. it's going to be really interesting. i don't know if millennials will get excited about biden. >> he's at the top of the polls 18 to 39. >> yeah, some of that is name identity. >> 18-year-olds are pretty smart about finding anything that isn't -- >> yeah, but still, he's part of

the obama administration, their approval rating is over 90%. i think all these polls are a little bit early. i think you're right, it is a new democratic party. and president trump is being incredibly stupid politically to talk about this, because it brings all of us to talk about the 23 women who have accused, the tape where he admitted he sexually grabbed someone. it's insane politics, but he's not a rational player. the bigger issue is, joe biden had to get this off the plate, if he did. i'm questioning whether he really did get it all the plate. he waited three days to do this, you know, we've been talking about nothing but this for awhile. i think his statement was smart and good, i just think it's a new democratic party with a lot of new voters who are sitting in there, people forget, 58% of all democratic primary voters are women. >> right. the video statement is a step in the right direction over the written ones, but this suspect over. he's certainly going to have to give interviews about this. this story is not going away.

and it is, piggybacking on what ashley said, it is one of the great questions in this next election. w we talk about how 2016 broke politics, donald trump survived things that would have ended the candidacy of any other candidate a dozen times over. do the rules not apply anymore, or the rules still s don't appl? the other candidates have to still meet the same standards. >> and a lot of that is up to the democrats. all right. we have to sneak in a break. we'll be right back. really?

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the conversations that happen when we go to break -- >> no doubt. >> those are the cooler conversations. >> i have john and donnie as regulars. i'd need a ten-second delay clock. >> what if you don't have to have the ten-second delay? that's what a podcast -- that's what podcasts give you. >> i can't wait to listen to yours. >> thank you. if it's wednesday, joe biden responds. good evening, i'm chuck todd here in washington. and welcome to "meet the press daily." we've g