i'll see you tomorrow morning on today. "andrea mitchell reports" starts right now. and right now on "andrea mitchell reports," bracing for impact. hurricane dorian inches toward the u.s. after stalling over the bau bahamas causing untold damage, and at least five people killed. millions of others along the atlantic coast are heading for higher ground. >> many people here have

evacuated and they're hopeful they'll not see as bad of conditions as they were expecting from dorian. off course. vice president mike pence staying on the wrong coast of ireland during an official visit in order to stay at the president's golf resort. standing in for the president to stay home to monitor the hurricane, in part from his virginia golf course. >> the opportunity to stay at trump national to accommodate the unique footprint that comes with our security detail and other personnel made it logical. and inferno. unanswered questions about what caused that boat fire off the coast of santa barbara, killing dozens below deck. a passer by rescuing the crew. >> they told me there was another exit but the exit was blocked. >> there were two ways out? blo?

>> both of them were blocked. and we'll have a lot more on that horrific boat fire coming up, but good day, i'm andrea mitchell in washington. we have details on hurricane dorian's small push toward the atlantic coast. the storm just downgraded to a category 2. there are hurricane and storm surge warnings from florida's jupiter inlet all the way to charleston, south carolina. joining me now me, al roker in our weather center. nbc's morgan chesky and gabe gutierrez on the florida coast. al, tell us about the storm and its extraordinary path and its speed, or should i say its slow march. >> it's crawling. it's picking up forward speed.

right now, category 2 storm, but we tell people don't pay attention to the category. while it's important, you can get a lot of damage with storms that are not a 4 or a 5. this is a category 2. 105 miles east of ft. pierce, florida, with 110 mile per hour winds. and now its forward speed moving northwest at two miles per hour west palm beach all the way up past charleston. we've got hurricane watches all the way to cape hatteras. inland we've got tropical storm watches as well. that speaks to the size, the growing size of the storm. even though it's in a sense weakening down to a category 2, it actually -- its wind fields are growing. in fact, here's the official path from the national hurricane center. by thursday morning, it is a category 2 storm just outside of charleston. then cape hatteras by friday

morning and then out and past the new england area as we get into the weekend. let's compare the american model and the european model from the national hurricane center. all very, very similar until we get to the north carolina coastline. there the american model gives some possible landfall late thursday, early friday around wilmington. then across the outer banks of cape hatteras. whereas the european model is a little slower with a landfall possibly early friday morning and then continues on out. so we're going to watch that very closely as we get into that. but here's what i want to talk about right now. hurricane force winds extend out 60 miles. the tropical force winds from the center extend out 175 miles. so look at this. you can see they're starting to -- as this makes its move right along the coast, we're seeing the possibility of tropical force winds. and if it makes a little bit of

jog to the west, that becomes even stronger. by wednesday evening, kingsland, savannah, charleston, all within that tropical force wind possibility. then we move into thursday. wilmington's involved. so is myrtle beach. as we continue to move to the east you'll see as we get into thursday night, early friday, cape hatteras, even norfolk around that counterclock wise flow which adds to the storm surge. the hurricane force winds just barely off the moorehead city. that's how tight that will get. but the tropical force winds extend out fairly widely. with that counterclockwise flow against the land mass, that's where you have -- why you have surge warnings from charleston, savannah, jacksonville, daytona, melbourne, even west palm beach. that will continue through wednesday. as the system moves up and along the coast, those storm surge warnings will be extended out.

we're expecting through friday generally about anywhere from three to seven inches of rain, andrea. but we could see upwards of a foot of rain as well. and with the strong winds, we have to worry about power outages. a potential for four million people without power. widespread to extensive power outages from daytona up to jacksonville, savannah, charleston, myrtle beach, wilmington and even cape hatteras. while, again, it's starting to lose some of its strength, it f the slowest moving storms you've seen? >> it is at least in recent memory. again, now that it's starting to pick up strength, we've had a ridge of high pressure kind of take the -- depress it a bit. the ridge is starting to break down and we expect it to shoot out. until that happens we'll wait for the next advisory to see if its forward speed increases. the last 24 hours, it's only moved about 12 miles.

that's nothing generally speaking for a storm of this magnitude. >> al roker, thank you so much. gabe gutierrez is along the florida coastline. gabe, you're seeing the winds picking up there now? are people going to be evacuating? >> reporter: hi, andrea. well, you're now talking about that slow moving storm. for the people along the florida coast, this has been an agonizing wait. we are starting to see some of those rain bands. we've been seeing them for 24 hours. the wind has been pretty much sustained. we're expecting it to continue throughout the afternoon. you see the choppy surf behind me. local authorities have been worried about storm sturge here, six or seven feet. that's been revised a tad down to three or four feet perhaps in this area. the local authorities are warning people to be careful here to remain vigilant. they say this is a test of

patience. now 85 emergency shelters have opened throughout florida, here in martin county, a mandatory evacuation order is still in effect. about 1,400 people we're told spent the night in shelters. they're now considering whether to keep some of them open tonight as this storm moves up the coast. andrea, as you heard al mention, this could potentially bring tropical storm force conditions throughout the afternoon and into the evening for parts of florida as it continues to threaten georgia and the carolinas perhaps later in the week. perhaps making landfall in the carolinas as a category 2. right here we may not be seeing the category 2 or 3 strength conditions here, but here in the coast of florida they do expect tropical storm force conditions and that's why local authorities are warning people not to think they're out of the woods just yet, andrea. >> gabe gutierrez, stay safe there there meanwhile, morgan

chesky have been in the bahamas talking to prime minister and other residents about the aftermath as we've talked about how slowly the storm is moving. it sat on top of the bahamas. and we're just -- >> reporter: sorry, we had a communication issue here. i can tell you we're standing at nassau airport. coast guard choppers, a team of four are working hand in hand, getting those people off abaco island. we know the first place they made contact was specifically a clinic that was used as a shelter in marsh harbor. they were able to bring several pregnant women and several people who were suffering from medical ailments from that clinic here to nassau where they were taken to a nearby hospital where they're receiving much needed medical care.

it's been a non-stop process ever since the conditions allowed them to move in starting yesterday. you mentioned dorian being a slow moving storm. while they're doing this rescue operation it's dropping feet of ra rain. roo right now the prime minister, we're told, is flying over abaco island to witness the devastation to try to come up with a plan that will be a month if not year-long process of recovery here. i can hear one of the helicopters about to take off right now. this is going to be very much a busy place here in nassau, bahamas, ground zero of the recovery effort. >> thank you so much. al roker as well, and gabe gutierrez, thanks to all. craig fugat joins me now

from gainesville, florida. it's good to see you again, craig, as you help floridians and the rest of the people of the coast prepare for this. what should we be telling them in terms of obeying the orders for emergency evacuations and preparing for something that's been so anticipated and so slow moving that people might become sort of too kfcomfortable. >> we need to keep reminding them it's not over yet. al put it pretty clear. we're not going to see a lot of hurricane force winds inland. but along the coast we may get gusts. the principle threat and biggest killer is always water. so storm surge and heavy rainfall, beach erosion, we have to remember as far as back as hurricane matthew coming up the coast, a little bit further east, but caused a lot of flooding up in st. augustine, and jacksonville, florida. again, a landfall in the carolinas, particularly north carolina, the outer banks and those areas are very vulnerable

to storm surge. don't focus on the category of the hurricane, focus on the forecasted impacts and continue to heed the evacuation heard a transfers that money was taken from fema, put into other categories. is fema on top of all of this? >> fema's had teams. they've moved quite a bit of resources into florida and georgia, south carolina, and north carolina getting ready for this. i imagine they'll start shifting resources from florida as the storm begins to move north if they don't have impacts. but they've been working very closely with the states. the transfer of funds has nothing to do with the response, and quite honestly was a distraction over the message of getting people to prepare for the storm. >> what should people in north carolina -- people are still preparing for vacations in north carolina heading down there, still in these weeks of september and now should people

back off and figure that north carolina is going to be off limits? >> i would say if you're traveling in the next couple days your best option would be to hold tight, wait and see what happens. it may be, again, the storm doesn't impact the area and later on this weekend things are better. right now you're in a situation where the best thing to do if you can't postpone your trip is postpone it, wait, let the storm get out of the way. i think we've got to remember, this is not the peak of hurricane season. september 10th historically has been the peak. we're seeing the tropics crank up. this may be the first of several storms this year we've got to be prepared sfor. >> there's nothing you can do about storm surge except prepare? >> yeah, and evacuate the area. if you look at the deaths from hurricanes, all the data from the national hurricane center, the biggest cause of death are drownings. the best way to prevent that is

to evacuate the areas and don't drive through flooded areas. >> craig fugat. thank you so much. knows about what he speaks. be sure to stay with us for the latest on hurricane dorian coming up this hour as well. coming up also, irish exit. vice president pence defending his decision to stay at a trump golf resource more than an hour's flight away from his meetings in dublin. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports," stay with us on msnbc. l reports," stay with us on msnbc. ♪ big dreams start with small steps... ...but dedication can get you there. easily set, track and control your goals right from the chase mobile® app. chase. make more of what's yours®. on a scale of one to five?

one to five? it's more like five million. there's everything from happy to extremely happy. there's also angry. i'm really angry clive! actually, really angry. thank you. but what if your business could understand what your customers are feeling... and then do something about it. turn problems into opportunities. thanks drone. i do! i do! i have a really good feeling about this.

as hurricane dorian approached the u.s., president trump canceled his weekend trip to poland and to the netherlands. he said to monitor the storm. in between presiding over an emergency hurricane briefing at camp david on saturday and visiting fema headquarters on sunday in d.c., the president spent hours at his golf course in virginia. while tweeting up a storm of his own. more than 100 tweets on everything from dorian to attacking the news media. vice president mike pence took over the boss' duties overseas sparking criticism by going well out of his way in ireland to stay at a trump resort and flying on air force 2 back and forth to dublin on the opposite coast. joining me now is peter baker and ed price, former special assistant to president obama and msnbc national security analyst. welcome both. peter, this was an unusual

decision by the vice president's staff. tell us about it. he was staying on one coast of ireland and commuting back and forth to dublin where his meetings were and staying at the trump resort. >> yeah, that's exactly right. it is an unusual decision, it's 150 miles from the trump property to dublin where the vice president will be having his meetings. flying back and forth doesn't seem as convenient as you might imagine. his staff acknowledges the vice president took the president's offer to stay there. this is in the context of all of the things we've seen lately with the president's properties. he's now considering his florida property, the doral golf club as the site of the g 7 for next year. attorney general bill barr is working out $30,000 of his own

money to host a holiday party at the trump hotelton saying there was no other venue available. this raises the issues we've seen for two and a half years between the president's personal and political interests. >> this is taxpayer expense going back and forth across ireland. i was confused seeing all these reports this weekend saying he's lifted off, arrived in dublin. and in fact it's because he commuting. >> it does seem unusual and but this president it's par for the course. this president routinely profiteers off his presidency. it's not that he rutuoutinely g to his own resorts. most of them at golf resorts. that is about a third of his time in office. he brings with him entourages,

foreign dignitaries. we all remember the scene where north korea sent off missiles and the mar-a-lago dining room became the situation room. it was early in his presidency where the membership fee to mar-a-lago doubled to $200,000. foreign dignitaries flock to his hotel in d.c. t one firm that was representing the saudi government spent $200,000 there early in the trump administration. so to have president pence -- by the way, the president doesn't suggest anything. when he issues a suggestion, it's close to a command. to have president pence -- >> vice president pence. >> -- travel to the president's club it's more of the same. >> i wanted to talk about the hurricane preparations and the president's management of all that. there was an extraordinary statement by a white house aide

suggesting -- sort of putting out there that the vice president is not anti-gay, that the proof is that he is meeting with the leader of ireland who is openly gay and married. >> well, of course, vice president pence has been at outspoken opponent of some gay rights legislation, in particular as governor of indiana, he resided over that state's legislation, you know, that was meant to establish religious freedom for people who didn't want to serve same sex couples getting married. that became a national storm of controversy. it's an issue that has long been at the core of vice president pence's political ideology. he's not in favor of gay rights. i think that the president -- the white house is trying to make that point. >> but it seemed a little bit off -- i don't know. a little bit off tone to put that out there. >> nobody raised the issue, right? >> of course.

he's in ireland, meeting with the leader of ireland. back to the president and what he was doing in terms of hurricane management. understanding he doesn't want to be out of the country when we didn't know what size and shape the storm was going to be. he's in a meeting with fema and he says that alabama will potential potentially be affected. the national hurricane center put out a statement saying alabama is not in the zone. at one point he also said that he's never heard of have been s category 5 storms since he's been president. >> you know, i think we often confuse the president's most important and his most powerful tools. we often think that our military, that the nuclear arsenal are the most important and the most powerful. the most important tool the president has is the bully pupppu pulpit, his ability to speak to the world to deliver important

messages sometimes of life or death in the case of a hurricane. in this case the message was muddled and frankly incorrect. in many ways, this weekend was a microcosm of the trump presidency. it started on friday when he tweeted a highly classified -- what appeared to be a highly classified image taken from what looks to be a u.s. spy satellite of iran. he skipped a world war ii ceremony purportedly to monitor the hurricane but he got out to his golf courses twice. president pence, of course, stated his golf course. he picked a fight with the mayor of london with the national weather service. and, of course, he was back in d.c. for a shortened trip already because he got into a spat with the leadership of denmark because they wouldn't let him entertain the idea of buying greenland. of course, you see everything this presidency involves, corruption, just incompetence, coming home on this weekend that

most americans see as the unofficial end of summer. >> and, peter, that image that was tweeted out on friday by the president, pretty unprecedented. the president has the legal right to declassify anything he wants. it seems to have been, according to the experts i've spoken to, taken from the presidential daily brief. an image that was shown to him there. it was then photographed, you could the flash. someone took a picture on the smartphone and tweeted it out with a mocking, taunting message to iran suggesting that someone may have messed with their satellite launch, israel, who knows, or not. and it was a satellite launch -- disastrous launch that iran had not even confirmed. so pretty extraordinary decision to declassify that. >> well, and you wonder of course what's the point, right? is the point that he is goading them, is he trying to say we're behind it, our allies were

behind it and he's trying to like taunt them as you say. or -- is he actually trying to genuinely disclaim responsibility, even though most people would assume the united states might have had something to do with it because there is this sort of bizarre to do with the iranians over whether to have a negotiation. the president of france has said he's trying to get president trump and president rouhani together in the next few weeks. that could potentially i happen at the united nations later this month. both sides are saying if the conditions are right. putting the tweet out in the midst of that, that tentative diplomacy, how does that play into it? it's a really open question. >> let me just say, we've also this weekend had the secretary of state traveling to brussels for a scheduled meeting with european officials, we don't really know. there was no coverage.

he travelled overseas without any reporters, without the standard press pool which is extraordinary. there's been an objection from the state department correspondent's association which i'm a part of. from the warning that was going out, he had been planning to go to brussels. there is critical negotiations with the taliban and foreign leaders. no reporters traveling with the secretary of state overseas. peter, that as you might well understand is unusual. >> it is. it's unfortunate that that sometimes is par for the course for this administration. you saw it up close with rex tillerson who often didn't travel with reporters when he was secretary of state. mike pompeo has seemed more intent on engaging reporters than his predecessor. this is an unfortunate precedent. the secretary of state is traveling to europe for these important talks as you say.

afghanistan right now on the table is traditional and it's important to have reporters with him. this is a diplomacy at the highest levels and with the highest stakes and transparency, of course, is usually the -- at least part of the factor going into these kind of events. we don't see that in this particular trip. >> and as we know, reporters pay their way. it's not a cost to the taxpayer. if anything, it defrays some of the costs of these trips. thank you very much. coming up, trapped. the search and rescue crews trying to find survivors from a horrific boat fire. a live report from california next right here on "andrea mitchell reports." stay with us on msnbc. "andrea mitchell reports." stay with us on msnbc. that sophie opened up a wormhole through time? (speaking japanese) where am i? (woman speaking french) are you crazy/nuts? cyclist: pip! pip! (woman speaking french) i'm here, look at me. it's completely your fault. (man speaking french) ok? it's me. it's my fault?

no, i can't believe how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars on my car insurance with geico. (pterodactyl screech) believe it. geico could save you 15% or more on car insurance. for adults with moderately to severely active crohn's disease, stelara® works differently. studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. some serious infections require hospitalization. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection or flu-like symptoms or sores, have had cancer, or develop new skin growths, or if anyone in your house needs or recently had a vaccine. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems, including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems. these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. talk to your doctor today, and learn how janssen can help you explore cost support options. remission can start with stelara®.

today's senior living communities have never been better, with amazing amenities like movie theaters, exercise rooms and swimming pools, public cafes, bars and bistros even pet care services. and there's never been an easier way to get great advice. a place for mom is a free service that pairs you with a local advisor to help you sort through your options and find a perfect place. a place for mom. you know your family we know senior living. together we'll make the right choice.

off the coast of santa barbara in the channel islands, the search continues for victims of that horrific fire that engulfed a five -- excuse me, a dive boat killing 25 passengers, nine people still missing as well as answers to what caused this fire. the santa barbara county sheriff's department will hold a press conference with the latest details shortly.

five crew members were able to escape the blaze and were rescued by a nearby boat captain bob hanson who described the harrowing scene. >> hearing somebody pounding on the boat and yelling, so, well, i don't know what this is. so i get out of bed, put a pair of shorts on. i open the door, and the five guys are there in their dinghy. they're telling me, asking me to help them. their boat is just you know 400 yards away fully engulfed. i mean, just -- it's a 75 footer, and the flame was from one end of the boat to the other. >> nbc's blain alexander joins me now. i'm still trying to get my head around the fact that five people survived, the crew members and a captain, and no one was able to rescue any of the passengers? >> reporter: you know, that's going to be one of the biggest questions so many people have. when we hear from officials in less than 30 minutes now, is what exactly was it that prevented the people from down

below from getting up. we hear that call, and according to witnesses, you see the pictures right there. that fire consumed the entire boat and it was on the deck. our understanding again, according to witnesses is that there were two hatches and both were covered in flames. there was simply no way for somebody to get up. certainly that's something we're going to get clarification on later today. crews right now are out on the water, out where that wreckage is. they have the very difficult and daunting task of trying to get down into what's left of the conception this afternoon. they have to get in and try and account for those nine victims who are still unaccounted for. but they're facing a very difficult task because the boat is underwater, it's upside down and very unstable. you're talking about conditions that make it very difficult for divers to get inside. we're going to ask about those recovery efforts when we hear from officials later. we also know the ntsb is sending a group of 16 investigators to

come out and begin their process as well. so if we can come back here live, i want to set the scene for you here at santa barbara harbor. this is the main dock. this is the main port with the conception typically was. it was typically docked alongside these boats. now you see a growing memorial behind me. just a little further behind me, the biggest boat that's close to me, that's the vision, the sister boat of the conception. they're advertised together on the truth aquatics website. it gives you a sense of the type of boat that was lost in this accident. >> what do we know about the boat's last inspection and whether it met regulations? >> reporter: that was a question that was asked yesterday. we understand the boat was in compliance, it was just within the past year there was a coast guard inspection and the boat passed. in order to pass inspection we're told that there would have to be fire fighting materials on

board. the fact it passed inspection lets us know there was some sort of materials that were there in case of a fire. so big question now is why weren't those able to be effective? >> thank you so much, good to see you. coming up, the storm's path. mandatory evacuations are d inway in the outer banks in north carolina where dorian could make landfall as a category 2 hurricane later this week. later ts hi week to make me feel sluggish but now, i take metamucil every day. it traps and removes the waste that weighs me down, so i feel lighter. try metamucil, and begin to el

we're hoping that the storm doesn't hit as hard, but talking to all of the people here, we know what a tough hurricane can bring. so we're gearing up and we're ready. >> mandatory evacuations are beginning at this hour in the outer banks of north carolina where hurricane dorian could make landfall later this week. dangerous storm surge and flooding along the coast. kristen dahlgren is in nag's head, north carolina and joins me now. first of all, what are they preparing for there? the weather looks beautiful, but all the warnings are there and evacuations are now being ordered. >> reporter: yeah, hey, andrea. it can be deceptive when you see the blue skies. this is the one thing that's different and gives you an indication of what may be coming. it's red, no swimming signs. nobody allowed in the water here. yesterday they actually pulled one man, he died, in the surf

here. so a big concern with rip currents as this moves closer. you can see the waves getting just a little bit rougher today. but they know this could be the area that actually gets the closest brush, if not a landfall from dorian. and so they are preparing. as you see, you know, people out here getting the last bit of sun. right now there's a mandatory evacuation order for tourists here along the outer banks. at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, that becomes mandatory for residents. and so if you go off the beach a little bit you do see people making those preparations, boarding up some of these homes. you can see how close some of them are to the beach here. and so there is concern as we go through today and tomorrow and then later on in the weekend. here's the biggest concern, these are very thin barrier islands. and so officials are warning that if the storm comes ashore, if it causes a storm surge, this is narrow. there's one road on and off the

island here. and if that gets washed away or if that gets covered in water, people are going to be stuck here. and so they are telling them now is the time to get your stuff together and now is the time to evacuate. at some point, this may be too late. people watching that forecast very closely, andrea. >> as you pointed out, those are very fragile beaches. so the erosion back in 2011 i think it was, irene, they probably rebuilt the sand and the beach as best they could. this could be happening to them all over again. >> reporter: yeah, the beach erosion, you can tell it's a pretty narrow beach here as you look at it. there's not much dune left after some of the previous hurricanes. and so there is concern that what they replenished could get washed away again. in some places, this is so narrow that the concern is it could even -- the water could overtop it and come all the way from the bay to the ocean and cause some big problems for this

area. so they're trying to get the beaches fortified as much as they can. you mentioned irene. also think about florence, at least in the carolinas, and what damage that did with the inland flooding. people not just along the coast, but also inland are looking if this dumps a lot of rain, they could see inland flooding as well. everybody sort of on their toes here in the carolinas as we go through the week as this path starts to firm up and we know more about where it is going exactly. >> kristen dahlgren in beautiful nag's head north carolina, thank you. coming up, senate stall. in a new interview mitch mcconnell says the future of gun reform legislation lies in the hands of president trump. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. u're watchingl reports" on msnbc. ...depend® silhouette™ briefs feature maximum absorbency, beautiful colors and an improved fit for a sleek design and personal style. life's better when you're in it. be there with depend®.

did you know you can save money by using dish soap to clean grease on more than dishes? try dawn ultra. dawn is for more than just dishes. with 3x more grease cleaning power per drop, it tackles tough grease on a variety of surfaces. try dawn ultra.

you may be at increased risk for pneumococcal pneumonia - a potentially serious bacterial lung disease that can disrupt your life for weeks. in severe cases, pneumococcal pneumonia can put you in the hospital. it can hit quickly, without warning, making you miss out on what matters most. just one dose of the prevnar 13® vaccine can help protect you from pneumococcal pneumonia. it's not a yearly shot. prevnar 13® is approved for adults to help prevent infections from 13 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. don't get prevnar 13® if you have had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. adults with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects were pain, redness and swelling at the injection site,

limited arm movement, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, less appetite, vomiting, fever, chills, and rash. ask about prevention. ask your doctor or pharmacist about prevnar 13®. you may have gingivitis. when you brush, and the clock could be ticking to much worse: bad breath. then, over time, receding gums. and possibly... tooth loss.

help turn back the clock on gingivitis with parodontax toothpaste. it's three times more effective at removing the main cause of bleeding gums. leave bleeding gums behind. parodontax. the deadly highway shooting in texas is sparking new outrage from democratic candidates. congress doesn't return until next week, and that's when all eyes will be on mitch mcconnell, who has been blocking expanded background checks since last february. in his first comment since the

latest texas killings, mcconnell talked to hugh hewitt. >> we're in a discussion about what to do on the gun issue in the wake of these horrendous shootings. i said several weeks ago that if the president took a position on a bill so that we knew we would actually be making a law and not just having serial votes, i'd be happy to put it on the floor and the administration is in the process of studying what they're prepared to support, if anything. and i expect to get an answer to that next week. >> joining me now, joyce vance, former u.s. attorney and msnbc contributor. sam stein, politics editor for the daily beast and an msnbc contributor and a former senior advisory to president obama. welcome, all. sam, let me ask you, where is the sense of urgency? we were listening to mitch mcconnell.

i know there have been conversations, chris murphy has talked to the president even. so there is a package that's being discussed. but is this going to be any different? >> you couldn't feel the fierce and urgency there? i almost fell asleep during that interview. there was not a -- it's not news that republicans have never felt a sense of urgency about passing gun control legislation. but what stands out about this instance, at least from our reporting is that they're not dismissive of it. if you're a gun control advocate that's a victory in some respects. remember, there was a moment a couple weeks ago where the president had a call with wane lapierre, the ceo of the nra. it came out he was against background checks. the white house actually told our reporters that they felt that the nra was spinning that call. they were upset with the nra for getting in front of the call.

the president had not backed ba checks and may not have been a fan of universal background checks, but that is different than the pat toomey/manchin bill. there is actually a small window here. not saying it is going to happen but as oppose today other times it is not being outrightly dismissed by the majority leader. >> but despite what the president and the white house staff say, what the president himself is talking about is mental health issues. >> it's a little hard to predict where donald trump will end up on any given moment. but i do think there is a political issue here for republicans, which is that the issue of gun safety legislation is more potent amongst a group of voters they desperately need and mitch mcconnell desperately needs for his senate majority. cory gardner, susan collins, even places like iowa feeling some pressure on these issues because the support for things even like the assault weapons ban is a strong majority.

and you have democratic presidential candidates who are going to be making the argument all this week and into the debate next week. and i think you'll continue to see that drum beat. >> and that's the perfect segue to the candidates. joyce, let's take a look at what some of the candidates have been saying this weekend on the trail. >> we have too many guns. we sell to one another weapons of war that were designed to kill people on a battle field that are used to kill people in a walmart or on the side of a street or in a church or in a synagogue or in a mosque. >> work with mitch mcconnell where we can agree but on this one he is not going to agree because he is where the president is so we just have to flat out beat them. >> we've been having great ideas for decades. the problem is congress has not had the courage to act. if they don't within the first 100 days of my administration i'm going to take executive action. >> and, joyce, even the house has not passed anything on assault weapons or those big

magazines. >> i think that's right. and senator harris gets it exactly right when she says they haven't had the courage to act. but that includes everyone. you would think that with some of these new poll numbers with support for universal background checks in the '90s, even with support for assault weapon bans with a strong majority of americans congress would have the cover it needs to take steps that law enforcement has always sought and known were desirable. you know, we had a ban on military assault style weapons in this country in the '90s and it was successful. and when that ban stopped being in existence because of pressure from the nra and other gun supporters, that flooded those weapons back into the country. it will be very difficult to walk that back but we can start with background checks and proper resources for the law enforcement agencies that have to conduct those checks and reclaim guns that are sold improperly. but, also, with banning high capacity magazines. these magazines that enable a

shooter in one of these mass settings to get off multiple shots in a very short period of time, at least starting with that and then moving forward on to slightly more controversial provisions like the assault weapon ban. seems like a really well warranted direction for congress to move quickly. >> i would say i think judiciary committee will be actually taking up a ban on high capacity weapons next week when they're back because i do think they recognize that there is an urgency around not just background checks but getting these weapons of war and what's required for these weapons of war off the streets. >> speaking of congress coming back next week let me switch topics for a moment to the game plan now of the congressional oversight folks subpoenaing people to begin hearings on the whole hush money issue and the cases involving stormy daniels and all of this and mcdougal. sam stein, what is the political

benefit of that if you're just looking at the politics of it? i mean, people are worried about guns, worried about their healthcare, worried about their economy, worried about the soybean prices. china trade. and what are they going to open their hearings as they come back to washington on something that the president can actually describe himself as a victim of over zealous house investigators if he wants to. >> the theory of the case is that actual law breaking occurred with the use of campaign funds or what should have been campaign funds to pay off these hush money payments. obviously, this has been a legal drama. it was somewhat resolved but it perhaps documents can be unearthed to get the president to actual political and legal problems. i do see your point, though. it is not like there are keen voters out there waiting to hear about what kind of hush money payment was made. it's probably more likely they're waiting to see what plan the president has if any for preexisting conditions. but the bigger problem for my own reporting and from what i hear talking to house democrats

is we're now what, nine months into the new house democratic majority. what are the tangible oversight gains they've had to this point? they're in some litigation to get some more documents. i grant them that. if you can recall an actual oversight gain the house democrats have won at this point, it's difficult. and i think people are beginning to feel frustrated because the house democrats were elected at this juncture in 2008 to provide effective oversight of the trump administration. they don't have many major things to point to. i can feel that over on my left. >> i'm just going to answer your question. that's all. >> but, joyce, very briefly, what can they do if they keep getting challenged in court? >> well, i think sam's point is well taken. this looks frustrating to people looking in from the outside. and what the american public is really getting some insight into is how the sausage is made when you're a prosecutor. it is a pains takingly slow process. but we'll have to see what congress can make of it now that

they've got subpoenas under way. >> joyce vance, sam stein, we have to leave it there. coming up, the latest forecast on hurricane dorian, where it's going, how big a punch it's packing. live reports from florida. and the forecast from al roker right here on msnbc. so, every day, we put our latest technology and unrivaled network to work. the united states postal service makes more e-commerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country. e-commerce deliveries to homes liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, hmm. exactly. so you only pay for what you need. nice. but, uh... what's up with your... partner? not again. limu that's your reflection. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪

that could allow hackers devices into your home.ys and like all doors, they're safer when locked. that's why you need xfinity xfi. with the xfi gateway, devices connected to your homes wifi are protected. which helps keep people outside from accessing your passwords, credit cards and cameras. and people inside

from accidentally visiting sites that aren't secure. and if someone trys we'll let you know. xfi advanced security. if it's connected, it's protected. call, click, or visit a store today. thanks for being with us. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." remember to follow the show

online, on facebook, and twitter @mitchellreports. here is "velshi and ruhle." >> thank you. it is tuesday, september 3rd. you're watching "velshi and ruhle" tracking hurricane dorian the category 2 storm now making its way toward the u.s. mainland after spending about two days pounding the bahamas. dorian slammed the islands, leaving five people dead and more than 20 injured. satellite images of grand bahama before and after show dorian's arrival and they show how devastating the storm can be with flooding significant areas including grand bahama international airport. >> here in the united states more than 1 million people are under evacuation orders across the states of florida, georgia, and south carolina. already home to nearly 15