. >> david wright has more. >> reporter: tonight, fallout over "fire and fury." trump's former chief strategist is trying to justify his use of the words treasonous to describe that 2016 meeting at trump tower between don junior and other campaign officials and a russian lawyer promising dirt on hillary clinton. steve bannon doesn't deny the quote but claims it's been inaccuratery reported. donald trump jr. is a patriot and a good man, insisting his comments were then directed at paul manafort, a seasoned campaign professional. >> the president is a great man, i support him. >> reporter: bannon appears to be trying to placate the president who blames him forgiving michael wolff access to the west wing. trump takes particular issue with wolff's assertion that bannon and others have discussed trump's mental fitness to serve. wolff claims they even brought up the 25th amendment, the constitutional mechanism to remove a president from office. >> it's not unreasonable to say this is 25th amendment kind of stuff. this is -- >> anybody say that in the west wing to you?

david wright has more on the fallout from his alleged comments. >> reporter: tonight, a war of words over the president's words. several republicans who were there in the room for that oval office meeting on immigration reform now dispute that trump ever uttered the words attributed to him. >> i didn't hear it, and i was sitting no further away than dick durbin was. >> reporter: senator dick durbin was the only democrat present. >> he said these things, and he said them repeatedly. >> it made me sad. it made me cry. >> reporter: today, congressman john lewis made it clear who he believes. >> do you think president trump is a racist? >> i think he is a racist. >> no, i'm not a racist. i am the least racist person. >> reporter: tonight at his florida golf course, trump denied he ever made any offensive remarks at that closed door meetings. >> did you see what various senators in the room said? >> reporter: the vulgar language attributed to him isn't the only thing trump takes issue with. there's also this quote from an interview with "the wall street journal." >> i'd probably have a ve

david wright has this look ahead. >> a reunion between the former winner of the celebrity apprentice and his old boss. now the president of the united states. >> let's go. come on. >> british journalist, piers morgan, appreciates trump on a range of issues from his views of women who protested trump's presidency in record numbers. >> are you a feminist? >> i wouldn't say i'm a feminist. i think that would be maybe going too far. i'm for women, i'm for men, i'm for everyone. >> to his refusal to endorse stronger gun control measures. even after the mass shooting in las vegas. >> if they had bullets going in the opposite direction, you would have saved a lot of lives. so i guess what you're saying. but i believe in the second amendment. >> trump takes credit for a booming economy. >> a lot of the global economy, piers, is because of how well we're doing. most people will admit that. but we are doing well. that's helping all around the globe. that's a good thing. >> theant view, down right chummy at times. one topic morgan steers clear of is the ongoing russia investigation. >> today "t

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david wright reporting from florida. let's bring in abc news political analyst matthew dowd. matthew, good morning. >> good morning. >> so we've heard from lindsey graham and heard in david wright's piece that lindsay was in the room. paul ryan, the speaker of the house has also weighed in calling his comments unhelpful. what do you think overall about the way republicans are handling this? >> well, paul ryan referring to what many are interpreting as racist remarks as unhelpful or unfortunate is like me forgetting a hat on a sunny day. if they were a pasta and you were cooking then, they would not be al dente. they are as far as from firm on this on the president as possible and i gravitational pull of planet trump, how leaders have lost their principles after they've gotten pulled into that planet. >> and it really seemed that ats and republicans were making a lot of progress on immigration and daca which expires in march. how big of a setback is this? >> i think it's huge. you know, i've described before i think the president is a bit like wiltime he thinks he's going to h

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david wright joins us now.he president's campaign has released an ad online with a serious accusation that will not help the negotiation process. >> reporter: that's right, this is an inflammatory new campaign ad approved by the president and released tonight. it suggests the democrats will have blood on their hand for any murder committed by an illegal immigrant. that's a gross distortion of the population at the center of this debate. the so-called d.r.e.a.m.ers. mostly young people, veterans, by definition felons are excluded from this program. the gist of these negotiations appeared to be the republicans wanted a stopgap funding agreement. now the white house is digging in its heels and obviously playing to the base tom. >> david wright for us at the white house. thank you. >>> one year ago this weekend, that first women's march in large part against the president, that saw rallies across the country. today hundreds of thousands of women marched again in seattle, denver, new york, what was on their mind thi

>> david wright tonight. david, thank you. >>> we're going to turn next to the deadly flu outbreak. a mother of two has now died outside boston. in the last 24 hours here, we've reported on that toddler, now a mother and that 21-year-old aspiring physical trainer. here's abc's dr. jennifer ashton with what you need to know about this year's flu. >> reporter: the startling images. lives taken by the flu. massachusetts mother of 2, jenny ching, thought it was just a bad cold. >> she had the flu and she also developed a bacterial infection. and -- it just was really severe and caused severe pneumonia. >> reporter: word of her death coming just 24 hours after we learned about that 21-year-old, kyler baughman, an aspiring personal trainer and the picture of fitness, succumbing to complications from the flu. his mother outside of pittsburgh saying he got sick and waited too long to get help. and nathaniel downey, 19 months old from toledo, ohio, who started coughing suddenly, and within an hour, couldn't breathe. tonight, as nearly every state in the country grapples with a severe through

david wright joins us from florida. we are days away from a possible government shutdown. this breakdown on immigration and the president's slur could have a real impact on that, david. >> reporter: that's right, cecilia. the federal government is due to run out of money on friday and the democrats hope to use that as leverage to get the deal they want. both the house and the national are out for the holiday weekend so only a few days left to fashion a compromise. and they don't seem anywhere close. cecilia. >> the clock is ticking. thank you, david. >>> this week's brief thaw combined with heavy rain led to this. ice jams and flooding, swollen rivers forcing some residents to evacuate. that brief winter warm-up that we saw, it is longone tonight. temperatures are in a freefall and here's abc's senior meteorologist rob marciano. >> reporter: streets turning into ice rivers in pennsylvania. chunks of ice spilling into neighborhoods. the subzero temperatures striking as the last winter storm continues to torment the northeast. >> this is a road flooded by ice and water. >> r

abc's david wright is at the white house tonight. >> reporter: tonight, fallout over "fire and fury." president trump's former chief strategist is trying to justify his use of the words "treasonous" and "unpatriotic" to describe that 2016 meeting at trump tower between don junior and other top campaign officials and a russian lawysing dirt on hillary clinton. steve bannon doesn't deny the quote, but claims it's been inaccurately reported. patriot and a good man," he said in a statement, insisting his comments were directed at then campaign chair paul manafort, "a seasoned campaign professional experience and knowledge of how the russiaited now t him day in andeporter: bannon appears to be trying to placate the giving author mi access to the west wing. him into the white house quite a bit, and it was one of those things. that's why sloppy steve is now looking for a job. trump takes partic's assertion that bannon and others have discussed trump's mental fe.ht up the constitutional mechanism to remove a president from office.unasable to sa >> it't this is 25th amendment kind of stuff. th

>> david wright for us. david, thank you. >>> moving on now, and the me, too, movement that began in 2017 reverberating in the new year. gretchen carlson, the former fox news host who shared her own story of sexual harassment, taking over as chair of the miss america pageant, after a sexism scandal rocked that organization. abc's linsey davis with the details. >> miss america is gretchen carlson! >> reporter: here she is, miss america's new chairman, former fox news anchor gretchen carlson. the 1989 winner is taking ore the pageant, after the former ceo, sam haskell, resigned over leaked e-mails exposing alleged crude, sexist and derogatory comments. 2013 miss america mallory hagan belittled for her weight and love life. >> having someone bully you, belittle you, demean you, degrade you in any way is not ok okay. >> reporter: both she and carlson among the 49 former miss americas who demanded haskell and others step down, describing a toxic environment. something carlson says she experienced first-hand at fo

abc's david wright is at the white house tonight. >> reporter: tonight, fresh from his quick trip to davos. >> i think it was a very, very successful trip. >> reporter: the president is gearing up for the state of the union, a speech the white house describes as "optimistic," "forward-looking" and bipartisan. president trump, eager to take credit for a roaring economy. >> mr. speaker, the president of the united states. >> reporter: this may be his first state of the union, but it's a format trump has already shown he can master. his address last year to a joint session of congress won high marks. >> the time for small thinking is over. the time for trivial fights is behind us. >> reporter: but this year's speech comes in the shadow of the ongoing russia investigation. including bombshell reports that trump tried to fire the special counsel last summer. trump denied it, at the time. >> i haven't given it any thought. >> reporter: but his close friend chris ruddy was convinced. >> i think he's considering perhaps terminating the special counsel. >> reporter: according to "the new york

tom. >> some strong statements there, david wright for us at the white house. david, thank you. >>> turning overseas and the historic between north and south korea. our martha raddatz on the ground near the border between the countries as the enemies re-open communication to discuss the impending winter olympics. but kim jong-un's nuclear saber rattling could also come up as president trump takes credit for the shifting developments. here's abc's martha raddatz. >> reporter: with north and south korean delegations set to engage in the first high-level talks in more than two years, president trump taking a more conciliatory tone. >> if something can happen and something can come out of those talks, that would be a great thing for all of humanity. >> reporter: the meeting will come a week after president trump taunted kim jong-un, tweeting his nuclear button is a much bigger and more powerful one than kim's. but saturday at camp david, president trump signaled he would be open to his own phone talks with kim. >> i always believe in talking. >> reporter: upton amba

david wright joins us live from florida. the president returns to washington tomorrow where first up that possible government shut down and of course the fight over immigration reform. democrats are digging in their heels. >> reporter: that's right. they especially are interested in protecting those 800,000 or so young people brought here as children, the so-called d.r.e.a.m.ers. democrats want the continuation of that program. they're expected to link that to any temporary funding measure that would prevent a government shut down. a big deadline looming friday. >> david, thank you. >> next tonight the artic blast gripping so much of the country. this is the problem for so many people. ice jams here in new york. the frozen river spilling over its banks. similar scenes across the northeast. these vehicles in meadeville, pennsylvania swamped. cars in maine under water. brace yourself. a new round of snow moving east. tonight rob marciano with that wintry forecast. that's in a moment. we begin with erielle reshef. she's reporti

abc's david wright is on the story for us from west palm beach for us. good morning, david. >> reporter: good morning, paula and dan. president trump is on the defensive over those vulgar comments he's allegedly made behind closed doors at a white house meeting on immigration reform. the president has offered a vague denial but others who were there in the room insist that he did say it and to say this is causing an uproar would be an understatement. >> today we gather in the white house to honor the memory of a great american hero, the reverend dr. martin luther king jr. >> reporter: right after signing a proclamation celebrating dr. martin luther king jr.'s legacy, president trump faced a barrage of questions. >> mr. president, did you refer to african nations as [ bleep ] nations? >> mr. president, are you a racist? mr. president, are you a racist? >> reporter: trump ignored them. the president denies uttering the derogatory language attributed to him in connection to haiti but not in connection with countries in africa. >> he said these hate-filled th

here's abc's david wright. >> reporter: missouri governor, eric greitens, a former navy s.e.a.l. and rising republican star, admits about the time he announced his run for office -- >> i am a very proud husband and father. >> reporter: he was cheating on his wife. that admission comes after audio was released of a woman describing a sexual encounter she says she had with the politician in 2015. in the audio, recorded secretly by her now-ex-husband, she claims greitens tied her up and blindfolded her. quote, i saw a flash through the blindfold and he said you're nef going to mention my name, otherwise there will be pictures of me everywhere. governor greitens denies that insisting he never tried to blackmail her but the local prosecutor in st. louis is launching a formal investigation. calling the allegations serious. >> this election is all about -- >> reporter: greitens wife stands by her husband. we have a loving marriage and an awesome family. anything beyond that is between us and god. governor greitens insists any allegation of violence is completely false. it never happened

story lines, the president felt compelled to defend his mental stability.we white house and abc's david wright. david, good morning to you. >> reporter: goo paula and dan. "fire and fury." that continues to be the president's reaction to the book. not just the title. the president launched into a tweet storm. he even lambasted the author and his book at an impromptu news conference. >> thank you very much. it's great to have you at camp david. a very special lace. >> reporter: on one of the coldest days of the year, president trump was boiling madt michael wolff and its disparaging look at trump's first year in office. >> i consider it a work of fiction. i think it's a disgrace that someone is able to do something like that. the libel laws are weak in the country. if they were strong, would be very helpful. you wouldn't havehings like that happen, where you can say >> reporter: the president took particular issue with the assertion that trump's own colleagues view him as mentally unstable. actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really s

abc news reporter david wright p>> thank you very much.ngton. it's great to have you at camp david, a very special place. >> reporter: on one of the coldest days of the year, president trump was boiling mad about the new book by journalist michael wolff and its disparaging look at trump's first year in office. >> i consider it a work of fiction, and i think it's a disgrace that somebody is able to have something, do something like that. the libel laws are very weak in this country. if they were strong, it would be very helpful. you wouldn't have things like that happen where you can say whatever comes to your head. >> reporter: the president took particular issue with the assertion that trump's own colleagues view him as mentally unstable. actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart, trump tweeted. i went from very successful businessman to top tv star to president of the united states on my first try. i think that would qualify as not smart but genius and a very stable genius at t

david wright has the details. >> reporter: hawaii's false alarm comes at a moment when concerns about north korea's nuclear program are at an all-time high. two leaders openly taunting each other. >> they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. >> reporter: in the last year alone, north korea has conducted 15 ballistic missile tests. one even had the potential to reach washington, d.c. hawaii reactivated its civil defense system as a direct result of those tensions for the first time since the cold war. back in the 1980s, president reagan's attempt at a joke over an open mike -- >> my fellow americans, i'm pleased to tell you today that i've signed legislation that will outlaw russia forever. we begin bombing in five minutes. >> reporter: -- causing an international moment. >> 1941, a date which will live in infamy. >> reporter: the possibility of a sneak attack there still in living memory. just last month, the former chairman of the joint chiefs offered this grim assessment on this week. >> we're actually closer, in my view, to a nuclear war with north korea an

abc news correspondent david wright has more. >> mr. speaker, the president of the united states! >> this may be his first state of the union, but president trump has already proven the format plays to his strengths. his address last year to a joint session of congress seen as one of the high points of his presiden presidency. >> the time for small thinking is over. the time for trivial fights is behind us. >> the administration says this year's speech will focus on five main areas. the economy, infrastructure, immigration, trade and national security. trump is expected to make the case that all groups are benefiting from a roaring economy. thanks, he says, to his efforts to cut taxes and deregulate. >> steve wynn, would you stand up. he's raising so much money for our great republican party. >> meantime, the president and his party are now facing pressure to distance themselves from one of the top republican donors. casino king steve wynn resigned this weekend as the party's finance chair after a "wall street journal" report alleged he pressured manicurists and massage therapists

abc correspondent david wrights a the latest. >> reporter: this morning lady liberty on lockdown. >> i think it's dumb on both sides. >> reporter: the ultimate symbol of a partisan battle over immigration so intense it has ground the federal government to a standstill. >> day one of the senate democrats government shutdown. >> reporter: republicans accuse the democrats of holding the nation hostage for the sake of illegal immigrants. >> the senate democrats are basically conducting a 2-year-old temper tantrum in frants of the american people. >> reporter: trump campaign released this ad suggesting the democrats will have blood on their hands. >> democrats who stand in our way will be complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants. >> reporter: the democrats accrues the president of negotiating in bad faith. >> negotiating with president trump is like negotiating with jello. >> reporter: they insist the shutdown is proof the republicans aren't fit to govern. >> he promised infrastructure, he gave us a train wreck. and now one-year anniversary. a big fat failure "f" for that

abc7 news reporter david wright has the reaction from capitol hill. >> reporter: as of this morning, routine government business grinds to a halt after a night of frantic negotiations behind closed doors and on the senate floor. >> government shutdown was 100% avoidable. >> reporter: senators lingered even after the midnight deadline trying to salvage a deal. >> some people are going to have to get off their high horse and come to their senses. >> reporter: the month-long stopgap passed by the house failed to clear the senate. so senator lindsey graham tried to rally support for a shorter, three-week stopgap. >> i feel like i'm switzerland, with an army the size of the vatican. >> reporter: but the senate was unable to reach an agreement. >> the motion is not agreed to. >> reporter: republicans needed 60 votes to end the debate. in tend sh they fell ten votes short. then the finger-poiting began. senate minority leader chuck schumer called out president trump, whom he met with earlier friday. >> the blame should crash entirely on president trump's shoulders. this will be called the t

abc news reporter david wright has the details. >> reporter: president trump is blaming the democratsurrent impasse on immigration reform. great opportunity missed he tweeted. too bad. this at the end of a week that began with trump showing off the art of the deal. >> i'll take the heat. i don't care. i don't care. i'll take all the heat you want to give me. >> flamboyantly hosting a televised meeting with both parties to demonstrate he's a very stable genius on complicated policy matters. >> when this group and others from the senate and the house comes back with an agreement, i'm signing it. >> but what may have ultimately torpedoed a deal was the president's own vulgar language behind closed doors to describe the countries whose immigrants he'd like to exclude. >> he said put me down for one or more europeans to come to this country. why don't we get more people from norway. that was exactly what the president said. >> the president's comments are a laughing stock in norway. >> elsewhere, the president's comments are a cause for outrage. the african union wants an apology, not just

abc news reporter david wright has the details. >> today we gather in the white house to honor the memoryof the reverend dr. martin luther king jr. >> reporter: right after signing a proclamation celebrating dr. martin luther king jr.'s legacy, president trump faced a barrage of questions. >> mr. president, did you refer to african nations as [ bleep ]? >> reporter: mr. president, are you a racist? >> reporter: president trump ignored them. the president denies uttering the derogatory language attributed to him in connection with haiti but not in connection with countries in africa. >> he said these hate-filled things and he said them repeatedly. >> reporter: senator dick durbin was the only democrat in that meeting. >> he said, put me down for wanting more europeans to come to this country, why don't we get more people from norway. that's exactly what the president said. >> reporter: senator lindsey graham was there too. >> the president was gracious. >> reporter: initially graham kept quiet about what the president said but now admits he spoke up. the president and all those attending t

abc news reporter david wright has the latest. >> reporter: as president trump returned to the whiteouse -- he was in no mood to answer any questions about the russia probe. in davos, too, he dodged. >> mr. president, did you seek to fire robert mueller? >> fake news folks. fake news. typical "new york times" fake story. >> reporter: but overseas that line of attack. >> it wasn't until i became a politician that i realized how nasty, how mean, how vicious, and how fake the press can be. >> reporter: didn't go over so well. the notion of fake news got booed. abc news has now confirmed the president did seek to fire mueller last june, one month into the job, until, according to the times, white house counsel don mcgahn threatened to quit. at the time, the president made no secret of his wish to be rid of mueller and the investigation. the president's long time friend chris rudy certainly had that impression and said so last june. >> i think he is considering perhaps terminating the special counsel. i think he's weighing that option. >> reporter: but at the time, trump denied that was t

david wright, thanks for your reporting. we want to bring in abc's cokie roberts in d.c. for us this morning. good morning to you, cokie. >> good morning. luckily inside unlike poor david. >> we wouldn't put you outside. >> no. >> that's good. >> regarding the clinton foundation, the democrats say this is just the trump administration attempting to shift the focus. is that the case or do you think something there? >> well, obviously donald trump has said in an interview with "the new york times" that he can do anything he wants with the justice department. and the justice department is really just getting whipped -- whiplash from both sides, so the fbi has re-opened or apparently reupped an investigation into the clinton foundation and that investigation was legitimate. it was a question of whether there was pay for play of people donating to the foundation for favors from the state department, but whether that is -- whether they've learned anything new is the real question there. why would it continue now when they've already been investigating it for a good long time? so

we begin with david wright at the white house. good morning, david. >> reporter: good morning, paula. good morning, dan. the state of the union is always a marquee moment. a chance for the president to rerack the table and try to set the agenda for the coming year. the white house says this speech will be optimistic, forward-looking, and bipartisan. but there are challenges to the president's agenda. >> mr. speaker! the president of the united states! >> reporter: this may be his first state of the union, but president trump has already proven the format plays to his strengths. his address last year to a joint session of congress seen as one of the high points of his presidency. >> the time for small thinking is over. the time for trivial fights is behind us. >> reporter: the administration says this year's speech will focus on five main areas. the economy. infrastructure. immigration. trade. and national security. trump is expected to make the case that all groups are benefiting from a roaring economy, thanks, he says, to his effo

abc news reporter david wright has the details. >> reporter: president trump is blaming the democratse current impasse on immigration reform. great opportunity missed he tweeted. too bad. this at the end of a week that began with trump showing off the art of the deal. >> i'll take the heat. i don't care. i don't care. i'll take all the heat you want to give me. >> flamboyantly hosting a televised meeting with both parties to demonstrate he's a very stable genius on complicated policy matters. >> when this group and others from the senate and the house comes back with an agreement, i'm signing it. >> but what may have ultimately torpedoed a deal was the president's own vulgar language behind closed doors to describe the countries whose immigrants he'd like to exclude. >> he said put me down for one or more europeans to come to this country. why don't we get more people from norway. that's what the president said. >> the president's comments are a laughing stock in norway. >> elsewhere, the president's comments are a cause for outrage. the african union wants an apology, not just to the

and north korea abc's david wright now, explains. >> attention. >> reporter: hawaii's false alarm comest a moment when concerns about north korea's nuclear program are at an all time high. two leaders openly taunting each other. >> they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. >> reporter: in the last year alone north korea has conduct 15 ballistics missiles tests, one even had potential to reach washington d.c. hawaii reactivated its civil defense system as a direct result of those tensions, for the first time, since the cold war, back in the 1980's president reagan's attempt at a joke over an opened mike. >> my fellow americans, i'm pleased to tell you today i signed legislation that will outlaw russia forever, and we will begin bombing in five minutes. >> reporter: caused an international incident with hawaii may be especially sensitive. >> december 7th, 1941 a date which will live in infamy. >> reporter: possibility of the sneak attack there, still a living memory. just last month the former chairman of the joint chiefs offered this grimaces. , on this week. >>

. >> our thank s david wright.ned now by abc analysts and political analysts and cohost of the view and former governor new jersey and contributor, chris christie. welcome to the team. >> thank you. >> first question to you. if the president's goal was to unite the people how do you think he did tonight? >> well listen, i think he did the best he could. as i said earlier, i think that the speech was probably too long, too much of a committee putting it together. i think some more tighter themes might have been helpful in that regard. i will also say in tend i don't think anything he could have said the democrats could have stood up for that shows the division in the country. the president has a lot of work in front of him. >> pick up on the point the governor just made. this was a house divided when the night started and didn't seem closer in the end. >> no to put it mildly. this was a democratic congress minority that did not want to give the president anything. but the president didn't give them anything. he brou

>> matthew dowd is standing by for analysis but we're going to begin with abc's david wright at the white house for us this morning. david, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, paula and dan. president trump arrived back here amid mounting questions over the russia probe especially that question of whether he tried to fire the special counsel. trump calls it fake news, but that alone won't satisfy his critics. as president trump returned to the white house, he was in no mood to answer questions about the russia probe. in davos, too, he dodged. >> mr. president, did you seek to fire mueller? >> fake news, folks. fake news. >> what's your message? >> typical "new york times" fake story. >> reporter: but overseas that line of attack -- >> and it wasn't until i became a politician that i realized how nasty, how mean, how vicious and how fake the press can be. >> reporter: -- didn't go over so well. [ booing ] the notion of fake news got booeed. abc news has now confirmed the president did seek to fire mueller last june one month into the job until according to "the times" white hou

abc news reporter david wright has more. >> reporter: this morning "fire and fury" isn't just the titles newest bestseller, creating long lines at bookstores. >> i heard it pissed the president off. i decided to buy it. >> reporter: that phrase neatly describes the reaction the book has inspired here at the white house. >> it's completely tabloid gossip, full of false and fraudulent claims. >> reporter: the president and his team are expressing outrage at the book's depiction of an administration adrift, rife with infighting, and constantly on the verge of chaos. overnight the president tweeted, "michael wolff is a total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book." some senior cabinet officials, including the secretary of defense, are politely dodging all questions. others like the secretary of state offer carefully worded rebutt rebuttals. but on friday's "today" show, author michael wolff suggested all of trump's inner circle have little respect for the man they serve, regardless of what they may say publicly. >> my credibility is being questione