kimberly atkins of the "boston herald"nd manu raju of cnn. >> w this is "washingtk." funding is provided by -- >>their leadership is instinctive. they understand the challenges of today and research the technologies of tomorrow. some call them veterans. we call them part of our team. >> on an american cruise lines journey along the columbia a snake rivers, travelers retrace the route forged by lewis d clark more than 200 years ago. american cruise lines' fleet of panel wheelers, travel to historic landmarks where you can experience loc customs and culture. american cruise lines. proud sponsor of "washington week." >> additional funding is provided by -- >> newman's own foundation, donating all pitches from newman's own food products to charity and nourishing the common good. the eths and excellence in journalism foundation. koo and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation, committed to bridgg cultural differences in our communities. the corporation for public body contrasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> once again, fr

kimberly atkins, well said.hank you for being here, guys. >>> when it comes to gun control, can we believe anything the president promised at yesterday's meeting with senators? here was connecticut senator richard bloom thaul. >> the actions so far has been lacking. >> the senator joins me live in three minutes. people come to la with big dreams... we came with big appetites. with expedia one click gives you access to discounts on thousands of hotels, cars and things to do. like the bicycle hotel & casino for 30% off. everything you need to go. expedia cohigher!ad! higher! parents aren't perfect, but then they make us kraft mac & cheese and everything's good again. i own my own company. i had some severe fatigue, some funny rashes. finally, listening to my wife, went to a doctor. and i became diagnosed with hodgkin's lymphoma... that diagnosis was tough. i had to put my trust in somebody. when i first met steve, we recommended chemotherapy, and then we did high dose therapy and then autologous stem cell transpla

>> here to talk about all of it with us tonight, kimberly atkins and msnbc contributor and jonathan lamarre, msnbc political ann list. kimberly, it has been reported that the president is now going to live like somebody left the gate open that a lot of the gate keepers in the west wing are now gone, don't have their influence, so what we saw this weekend was him enjoying the warm bath of his base. a guy that there are people in this network that remembered him, he's an entertainer and he can be an entertaining guy in front of a live audience. >> yeah, and we saw that in pennsylvania. he brought the full trump show. it had very little to do with rick saccone enjoying millions of dollars from the republican party and outside spending to try to hold on to a seat in the belt that it should be easy for a republican to win but suddenly isn't. he didn't make it about the candidate. he launched the reelection bid in front of the crowd and he's gone, trusted his guts on a number of issues from the announcing north korea talks to going ahead with the tariffs. we've seen him now shift away from the pr

kevin, natasha, as well as kimberly atkins. have a great sunday. >> richard, you, too. >>> we'll turn to yesterday's march for our lives right after the break. what a sight this was. so many young folks all around the world marching on the slogan, "never again. "qu when we come back. >>> also we're going to speak with one of their teachers, a hero in their own right who saved more than a dozen students during last month's shooting in parkland. stay with us. copd makes it hard to breathe. so to breathe better, i go with anoro. ♪go your own way copd tries to say, "go this way." i say, "i'll go my own way" with anoro. ♪go your own way once-daily anoro contains two medicines called bronchodilators, that work together to significantly improve lung function all day and all night. anoro is not for asthma . it contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. the risk is unknown in copd. anoro won't replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. tell your doctor if

joining us at the campaign, nick, "new york times" political reporter, kimberly atkins, "boston herald reporter, zer le zerlena maxwell, now director of progressive programming. and i'm so happy to say this -- where are you? >> i'm here. >> msnbc analyst. we already -- >> we did a cute video because we frequently get confused for each other because our hair is similar. so we established that -- >> i was confused. i'm blind. >> but in the peripheral vision, our hair is similar. >> welcome. we're so lucky to have you. talk about this idea, though, because you and i spend a lot of time on that program, on "morning joe" and joe calls it as he says it th. i agree with his assessment. >> i don't. >> no? >> here's why. i'm surprised tillerson lasted this long. how could he -- >> joe made that assessment -- >> no, exactly. he has been on the outs for all this time. and in fact, it is true, he doesn't agree with the president on critical foreign policy issues. now maybe he fired him in a fit or got tired of him for some reason we haven't seen yet, but the president should have somebody who refl

kimberly atkins and jeremy peters, that does it for us.ember, follow us online on facebook and on twitter at "mitchell reports. "chris jansing is up next here on msnbc. hey, chris. >>> thank you so much. good afternoon. we are here at msnbc headquarters in new york, and we are zeroing in. nbc news has learned that the grand jury investigating russia has subpoenaed a witness to provide e-mails, texts, and documents involving the president and a lot of his closest advisers. plus, man of steel. house speaker paul ryan just announced he's pressing the president to shift his position. will that work? and a blue wave, democrats just a day away from their first test of the election season in texas. can they flip seats in the lone star state from red to blue? so a lot going on, and we start with the robert mueller investigation creeping ever closer to president trump himself. on a day that the president welcomes israel's benjamin netanyahu, a leader facing his own high-profile corruption allegations, nbc news obtained a copy of a confidential

and chief washington reporter for the "boston herald," also msnbc contributor, kimberly atkins. we saw mar anna there asking folks to raise their hands if they plan to vote in november. a year ago, there was the women's march. and there have been a lot of folks who have said there is no coincidence you had that massive march, and now you have a record number of women running for office in this country at the state level, local level, and do you think that that is going to be the case this time around? that we are going to see more young people than usual voting in midterm elections? >> i think we will. one thing i talked to a lot of these young people about is what happens after today. what happens when the march is over, what happens when the headlines have dropped away from gun violence. and that's the first thing they talked about is political engagement. not just voting. but the organization that they have been doing, using petitions. using other things to reach out to other young people, and to develop coalitions to keep this in the forefront in their local communities, in

with us, kimberly atkins, and jeremy peeters, contributor for the "new york times" and both are msnbc contributors. there's new polls out tonight say roughly two-thirds of american believe the women in this case. what do you think the lead story is right now from the stormy daniels matter, including the interview last night? >> well, i think the biggest thing more than just the dlashs detail of an alleged affair that the president had more than a decade ago is the legal aspect of this. i mean, you have fresh lawsuits being filed in this case and the more legal litigation there is over this, the more potential peril this could pose for the president and those around him because it just presents more opportunities for him to be on the record under oath, making statements or even being deposed in these cases. if you recall, some of the most high-profile legal cases that brought down some politicians, including bill clinton, what led to his impeoplement of the plons litigation. what brought down john edwards was the discovery, he had used money to pay someone who he fathered a child with

. >> joining us now kimberly atkins and david frum. and, kimberly, this report from inside the white house that the president is upset about the chaos situation as it was revealed today and has the feeling that things was unraveling, which was a feeling i think available to him on day one of his presidency. >> look, this is a chaos president. it was a term i believe coined by jeb bush. in a way the president likes that. he likes doing things differently, keeping everybody and everything on their toes. he even likes some of the internal push and pull that can happen, but i think what we've seen over the last week really exceeded that. and if the announcement of this tariff was meant to change the subject, it actually has done quite the opposite. it seems to have caused a lot more consternation both within the white house with gary cohen, someone who contemplated leaving and was urged by republicans to stay in there because they didn't know who else would come in and they wanted him to stay on and be a stabilizing force. possibly leaving

kimberly atkins, chief washington reporter for the "boston herald" and nbc contributor. huffi"huffington post's" lauren. i'll start with you. should the president be worried about this? >> possibly so. we don't know exactly what's in all of this information, we don't know what andrew mccabe has told the special counsel or what he will tell the special counsel if he continues to talk to them. but it draws a clear line between his cooperation and now him being fired. andrew mccabe is insisting that this is retribution for his cooperation with this ongoing probe by robert mueller, and if that is found to be true, that could add a lot of trouble to president trump if mueller believes that that's an additional effort to obstruct justice, of course. the president is saying this is a crackdown on wrongdoing within the fbi that he's been decrying for a long time. so i think right now only robert mueller knows the full answer to that. >> laura, we've seen several democrats come out calling for an end to the russia investigation as a result of mccabe's firing. the senate minority

let's get the scoop from kimberly atkins and msnbc contributor, kathleen parker, washington post opinionr. first to you, kimberly, this seat is important, but it's all going to go away anyway because of the gerrymandering decision they both have to run against and both end up in congress at some point. >> right. >> so, $20 million on a special election for a seat that doesn't matter, but these are bragging rights? >> it's bragging rights and it matters nationally because republicans don't want to seem vulnerable in this particular district. this is right in that industrial working class area just outside pittsburgh that was so important for donald trump's win. and to have a democrat win that seat would be further evidence of his democratic wave, this momentum on the other side that republicans really want to stop. that's the point more than what's going on on the ground. >> it's really a test case. 20 points was the margin for donald trump in thissette district in pennsylvania, but steel is important. this is one of the places where jobs could be saved biz his tariffs as net loss elsewhe

pat and kimberly atkins here. steph, it's been a pleasure working on you with some of our reporting related to gary kohn's dparpt, over night you have heard from your sources that gary kohn might come back. >> without a doubt. people think there was a massive blow up yesterday, there wasn't. after taxes got through in early january, gary kohn said to the president give me something to do. he didn't demand a bigger job, hebs now i'm done, what do you want me to do. maybe there's a cabinet level position, how about infrastructure. trump give him infrastructure. you remember infrastructure week. >> i remember all the infrastructure weeks. >> no, you don't because i never happened. the big plans to roll it out and the president keeps getting distracted. whether he what times to change the program on russia or daca. and then the issue on the tariffs came up. for gary kohn this wasless about policy and more about process. gary kohn is well aware that trump, one an agenda. without coordinating with defense treasury or st

kimberly atkins is from the "boston herald." josh is with me in new york, senior editor of "business insider." jonas here with me as well, a column nice with bloomberg. last night from the president, there's an eerie similarity. >> it was a good night for connor lamb, he's the democrat running in that district. what you saw was, you know, trump unbridled, the trump that he wants to be for this coming year as we head to the midterms. if you like that trump, you'll vote for him. but if you've come to be tired of that trump or suspect that trump or these other issues he doesn't talk about, maybe that 20-point lead that he got in 2016, maybe that's going to be evaporate. >> this is what we're going to see heading into 2018. what did that performance last night tell you about the tact that he's going to take going into the midterms? >> this is the part of the job the president likes. he gets to be front of a crowd compared to his day to day in washington surrounded by a media he views largely accurately as hostile to him, lawmakers o

kimberly atkins, josh, thank you as well. >>> after a quick break, russian roulette, the coauthorizethe new book on putin's war on america and the election of donald trump. they join me next. last years' ad campaign was a success for choicehotels.com badda book. badda boom. this year, we're taking it up a notch. so in this commercial we see two travelers at a comfort inn with a glow around them, so people watching will be like, "wow, maybe i'll glow too if i book direct at choicehotels.com". who glows? just say, badda book. badda boom. nobody glows. he gets it. always the lowest price, guaranteed. book now at choicehotels.com . >>> you have a relationship with vladimir putin a conversational relationship or anything that you feel you have sway or influence over his government? >> i do have a relationship, and i can tell you he's interested in what we're doing here today. he's done an amazing job. he's put himself really -- a lot of people would say had he put himself at the forefront of the world. >> my colleague interviewed him at the miss universe pageant and he was showering vladi

kimberly atkins. chief washington report. edward isaac. correspondent for politico and gibson respondent for reuters. thank you. let's start off. tell me what you're seeing in the several hours really 48 or so hours watching the very nice. i think we all enjoyed that give and take with the democratic and republican senators and other people in the room, but then following with nightfall with a meeting with the nra which might be a lot more important. >> i think we saw essentially a replay of what the president did with the daca debate play out over guns where initially he brought together lawmakers have this big discussion on camera where he threw out all kinds of ideas or expressed support for all kinds of things, was rained in later by the more conservative folks and nra to really back off some of the things he expressed support for for background check to raising the age limit and remember that meeting at one point he even went around the idea taking gun from people expected of being dangerous or unstable and due process later. and at a

let's bring in the roundtable, eli stokols, political analyst, kimberly atkins, chief washington reporter for the "boston herald" and peter emerson a democratic strategist. kimberly, how is this faring? the irony is replete here. >> can you imagine if someone was president when their campaign aides have been indicted? that's what we have right now. there's been an ongoing investigation. no end in sight. and just one scandal and hiccup and problem after another with this presidency. but the same people who decried how terrible that would be if it were hillary clinton largely ignore what's going on on the republican side. >> i keep wondering whether normal people meaning somewhere in the center or center left or center right, not extreme, how can they justify trump's behavior? his basic bad behavior, the way he treats human beings, the way he treats colleagues firing people by tweet. it's not the way people are supposed to treat -- your parents tell you don't treat people like that when they're going to school with you in third grade or you're president. he or she is secretary of state. nob

and also kimberly atkins. chief washington reporter for the boston herald. i appreciate your being with me. michael, i want to start with youality when you look at the money spent. somebody lamb out spending saccone 3-1. and the million dollars they have sunken into this in a district that don't even economiexist come november. talk about the strategy there. >> special elections are all different. they are all special. as this one coming early in the year. it is going to be overanalyzed no matter who wins. so republicans want to do everything possible to give a relatively bland candidate the best chance of prevailing against an appealing democratic candidate. a guy with a great background. pro second amendment. relatively pre live for a democrat. he fits the district well. but it is a trump district and having trump go there should be able to pull him over the top. >> especially look at the number of years there. 13 years as the democratic. gabriella. you have this race where tough registered democrats out numbers the republicans. but voted overwhelmably rep

joining me to weigh in frank fig lose si, sarah and kimberly atkins, chief washington reporter at the "boston herald." i guess i'll start with you, frank. the florida legislature is attempting to fix what is probably one of the most permissive atmospheres for the carrying of firearms in the country, but they can't do it unless marion hammer says they can do it. they have to have the permission of the nra. what do you make of the fact that teachers don't want guns but that's probably what they're going to get out of the florida legislature? >> we're getting a real inside glimpse of how it works within a state legislature with regard to the real relationship with the nra and their lobbyist. some recent reporting reflects that literally nra lobbyists are crafting the language in legislation alongside state legislators and literally handing them the law. this is something that's quite disturbing because the nra really at its heart represents gun makers, not gun owners, and these are the people who are literally suggesting bills and legislation. so, look, teachers -- i've said this before,

steel and ashley parker, joining the table, chief white house reporter for the boston "herald" kimberly atkins to the secretary of defense and lest evelynn far cass, also with us from nashville historian an contributor john meacham, john is also the author of the new book "the soul of america," the battle for our better angels which is due out in may. john, i'm going to have to start with you on that, because i don't really get the sense the better angels of history were sitting on president trump's shoulders last night. i'm wondering if you can put this in a little bit of context for us. >> that's a bold assertion, katie. >> i think that's where we are. this is where we are. the country perennially battles between light and dark. you know r, no era has been as great as we'd like to think, but also we have the capacity to move forward. it's a uniquely american idea that tomorrow can be better than today. that's not necessarily a european idea. president reagan, president roosevelt, president jefferson, president lincoln, they all talked about how hope was a critical factor in our political and

atkins. >> kimberly: never miss an episode of "the five." "special report" up next. >> bret: thank you.x news alert. and bret baier in washington. officials in miami still do not know how many people were killed this afternoon when a 950-ton pedestrian bridge collapsed at florida international university. we are told eight cars were trapped under the structure and eight victims transported to hospitals. it is of course the second major tragedy to hit that south florida region and a little more than a month. correspondent phil keating is live on the scene in miami. good evening. >> good evening. nearby kendall regional hospital reporting they have ten patients they are treating. two of them in critical condition. we still do not know the number of dead and the number of people they believed to be still trapped and p

atkins. >> kimberly: never miss an episode of "the five." "special report" up next. >> bret: thank you. this is a fox news alert. and bret baier in washington. officials in miami still do not know how many people were killed this afternoon when a 950-ton pedestrian bridge collapsed at florida international university. we are told eight cars were trapped under the structure and eight victims transported to hospitals. it is of course the second major tragedy to hit that south florida region and a little more than a month. correspondent phil keating is live on the scene in miami. good evening. >> good evening. nearby kendall regional hospital reporting they have ten patients they are treating. two of them in critical condition. we still do not know the number of dead and the number of people they believed to be still trapped and possibly alive underneath the rubble of the pedestrian bridge behind me. you can take a zoom in and see one of the eight vehicles sticking out from underneath the pancake section of this massive bridge. just assembled on saturday. it was supposed to open to the pub