the "washington post," white house reporter, ashley parker. and senior political reporter, aaron blake. with us on set, ben rhodes. alice jordan, a former aide in the george w. bush white house and state department and co-host of the fabulous new podcast, "words matter." jonathan, let me start with you since you broke this news. take us through the morning's events. tick through all the advisers who were caught off guard. >> well, i still don't know what happened, really. i mean, i reported that she resigned. she told trump that last week. i still don't know the real backstory, and frankly, nor does really anyone that i've spoken to in it the white house or outside the white house within the circles that you would normally expect would know this. the news, mike pompeo was caught off guard by this, and as were other senior foreign policy officials. it was kept very, very, very close. right now, i can confirm that people inside the white house view dina powell as a front-runner for the job. by no means is that a done deal, but that is a name tha

by the forth day, back to base line. >> and ashley parker, two years ago tomorrow, it came out. >> wow. >> right? you have been doing some reporting on how the white house thought through all of this because initially the reaction to the president mocking dr. ford was incredibly negative from the senators whose votes at the end of the day were the ones that mattered. have they come to see what he did as something that contributed to getting kavanaugh confirmed? >> they almost instantaneously thought what he did was a net positive. to be clear it wasn't a strategic decision. they department sort of order him up to go off script. this was described to me as a president as he often does, having a visceral sense of the moment and seizing what he saw as an opportunity. he knew there would be blowback but it's worth mentioning that that trio, two of whom voted for him, one who did not. none of them allowed the president's mocking of dr. ford to impact their decision. they came out, condemned it, they were unhappy about it but it did not affect how they voted on kavanaugh on the court. and wh

person i might add employed by ashley parker's newspaper. and ashley, about the president, this advice he's getting right now, do you think it is of the kitchen cabinet variety or actual, and what do you make of how he's communicated his specific choice of words these past couple of days? >> i think there's a recognition in the white house as of now at least that whatever happens is going to be driven by president trump. and while there's certainly advice behind the scenes, they're taking their cues from the president who, as my colleagues reported, privately has been searching for a way to protect that u.s.-saudi relationship and frankly publicly has been offering a number of tells as to where he's headed. that ranges from mentioning that khashoggi is not a u.s. citizen, from talking about the strategic importance of the u.s.-saudi relationship, of likening it to a guilty until proven innocent rush to judgment a la justice kavanaugh. anyone who follows this president knows the direction he would like to go in. there may be other factors as

you bind people together by making someone else the object of your scorn. >> let me bring ashley parkerto the conversation. ashley, we seem to be pulling back the layers, pulling back the curtain sort of inside the inner workings of the white house political strategy. are we looking at what we've got, not just for the midterms but maybe how the president plans to present himself to voters if he stands for re-election? >> potentially, yeah. and going back briefly to him mocking dr. ford, my colleague jenna johnson was at that rally in minnesota last night and talked to a number of trump voters and they all to a person and this is a minnesota nice crowd but they all to a person said they wish he had not said it. they did not like he mocked her or said it. so you're right that people are sort of not that ugly as you put it. but from the white house strategy, and in terms of what we should see going forward, they say it was less about mocking her and they argue that it was about trying to change the conversation and point to gaps in her credibility and so i think the broader answer is that,

is in pittsburgh, and nbc white house correspondent kristen welker, and nbc political analyst ashley parker, and white house reporter and editor of the washington post, andrea markle. and now, first to ron mott, and it is a mixed report from pittsburgh, and some people want the president there, and others including the mayor and some of the families say too soon and they have to foe can kus on security, and security of the funerals and the emotional weight of the funerals today, and what are you hearing? >> yes, hey, there, andrea, and some people feel that the president should not come here at all until he is more forcefully going to denounce the deadly violence that we saw here at the synagogue over the weekend. it is looking as though those drit schisms and him being a distr distraction for what people hoped wow would be a week of reflection, the secret service is on the ground here, and they put up the barriers here across from the synagogue, and so it appears that the president will stop by the synagogue when he makes the arrival here in the afternoon. about the same time that he arriv

at forementioned ashley parker, pulitzer prize-winning white house reporter for the "washington post." stienl, politics editor for the daily beast. lisa lerer, national political reporter for the "new york times." ashley, i'd like to begin with you. and just the optics of all the sitting justices of the supreme court. some big-time lawyers in that room. the congressional leadership. the people who know enough to know it's not correct that this man has been, whatever you want to say about him, proven innocent. >> that's right. these swearing-in ceremonies are generally fairly pro forma. it's a nice thing to do sometimes for the justice or the president may want to take a victory lap the way president trump did, but it is very striking for the president to go out as he did this evening and begin by apologizing to justice kavanaugh on behalf of the nation, which is not, frankly, a sentiment the nation writ large shares. that was the whole point of these past three weeks we went through, is that the nation is deeply divided over this. and then most striking of all was the president saying

ashley parker, the president made a marked departure from the way he was speaking about dr. ford this week. why did he suddenly change tone when it came to dr. ford? did he feel -- did he see internal polling? did he feel like he had his base or the republican party on his side and safe enough to go out and? i can't believe i'm saying this in a sentence, safe enough to go out and make fun of a woman who was saying she's assaulted when she was a teenager? >> that's the question and there's a number of factors. one of the reason he did not mock dr. ford up until we saw tuesday night was that he had a number of people from leader mcconnell to don mcgahn who sort of running this process internally to his own political team telling him in no uncertain terms to not do that. saying you can defend judge kavr gn -- kavanaugh. you can be forceful going after the accusers and her credibility helps nothing. there's some evidence that the president being on the campaign trail and getting feedback from the people he saw in his base and being told came to believe that forcefully supporting

. >> ashley parker pulitzer prize-winning reporter for the "washington post." and sabrina siddiqui is back with us, political reporter for the guardian. who among us doesn't like a good sweeping generalization? let's start with one. the closing argument in 2016 was don't vote for hillary clinton, she's a straight up criminal, if you do we'll have nonstop investigations at the start of her presidency. the closing argument, 2018, seems to be they're coming for you, they're coming to your house, your flat screen tv, your family, and for good measure there are middle easterners embedded within the crowds. do we have that about right? >> well, that appears to be the closing argument both from the president as well as frankly republicans on the ballot who have been running very sharply sthant immigrant political ads on tv. so there certainly is this embrace by the gop of the politics of fear. and a lot of it has to do with the fact that the republicans were supposed to run on tax cuts, on what was the president's singular legislative accomplishment since taking offic

>> in the last period since then that the new yorker story. >> so, ashley parker, nbc news and heidi presbyla said that there were text messages to his college mates, and asking questions about this the before the new yorker published the allegations, and does that impugn his sbeg ri the or credibility for truthfulness? >> well, it is frankly going to depend which member or senator that you are asking on the whole. >> good point. >> and the democrats think absolutely, and the republicans on the whole think that not necessarily, but there is only three senators who matter in the three republicans senators, and that is something that leader mcconnell recognizes, and it is basically senator collins, senator flake, senator murkowski, and what the others think is not to say unimportant, but frankly unimportant, and this is one of the reasons early on talking to the white house that they have always said that time is of the essence, and even when they are trying to be sort of more conciliatory and more deferential no the concerns of the democrats have or the concerns of the handful of the

from "the washington post," white house reporter ashley parker. and ned price, former spokesman for the national security council under president obama. jonathan lemire, take us through your reporting on this topic and on his application of the kavanaugh standard to the saudi crown prince. >> yeah, that was a pretty stunning link he made yesterday in our oval office interview with the president. where out of nowhere he suggested that, as you read the quote, that he felt that there was a rush to judgment. a troush condemn saudi arabia for what happened here to this journalist. he likened it to what happened to kavanaugh saying they were both guilty until proven innocent, which he said he did not like. but this is in a broader point the latest moment where he has decided to take at face value the denials of an authoritarian leader where he's given them the benefit of the doubt. whether it's putin, sisi or duterte. we've heard this from the president time and time again where u.s. presidents sometimes have to make unsavory compromises with, you know,

they'll pay for what they need, and that's what we're seeing tonight. >> ashley parker, adam goldman at the other newspaper, the "new york times," wrote, the plot appeared to be the latest and one of the more bizarre in a string of comments by reporters as a hoax and a witch hunt. he has secured six guilty pleas and a trial conviction in the 17 months he has overseen the investigation. that is an understatement of the mueller investigation so far. what does it say about potential anxiety and frustration on the part of the right? >> well, it's worth mentioning, obviously, that these people, best we can tell, are not in any way way affiliated with the trump white house. but it does get to a level of anxiety of what mueller's probe may be turned up, but while in the last several weeks it's not been focused on this, and the midterms and the president's strategy. even he has grappled with that balance. this is a good reminder that bob mueller has not stopped his work. he has quietly been proceeding along with exactly what it is he was tasked to do. the midterms do stand as a marker where

and ashley parker, white house reporter for "the washington post." charl charlie sykes an msnbc contributor. geoff, we'll start with you. how significant is this departure? how surprised was the white house? >> i can tell you that white house officials some of them were caught entirely offguard by nikki haley's decision to make this announcement today. some of those officials learned of this impending announcement based on the questions that reporters like us were asking after "axios" crossed that story in just the last hour, and there was some consternation that this development would come so close to the midterm, a period in which the white house has been trying to avoid any and all distractions. i think the way it was handled certainly works to the president's benefit. at least in the short-term. we have somebody like nikki haley who was an interesting figure in the trump orbit. she's one of the few people left standing who has a foot in establishment politics, based in south carolina, and now in sort of trump gop politics. she said something that

joining me senior election analyst sean trendy, ashley parker and jonathan lemier. ashley, let me start with you. the president obviously making the case that, hey, you got to vote for your local republican candidate because that means you're voting for me. it also seems there's going to be stepped up campaigning activity from the president. what do you know and what are you hearing about what the white house has in mind in terms of his campaign schedule these final 19 days? >> we hear the president in the final ten days before the election plans to be on the road doing these mega rallies every single day and he's conveyed to his team that even now he would like to be out sort of six days a week. we haven't quite seen that yet but we have seen a ramped up schedule. he's meeting with his political team several times a week and he's fairly engaged. he believes again that it's all about him. some of that frankly is quite true. midterm elections are often a referendum on the president and the party in power, but this is one where the president as he often does, squarely

frank figliuzzi, ashley parker and eugene robinson, representing the fine "washington post." our thanks. coming up, former secretary of state john kerry. plenty to stay about today's headlines. we'll ask him about this story and his new book just ahead. and later, new polls on the brett kavanaugh controversy. steve kornacki at the big board with the latest numbers. talk about the new book he has written. "the 11th hour" just getting started tonight. >>> i don't approve of the comments from last night. i thought that they were wrong and extraordinarily unfortunate. >> i wish he hadn't have done it. i just would say it's kind of appalling. >> anything anybody says, any of us, that say -- that may say something that accentuates the polarization is just not a good thing and not helpful. >> we just heard there from three key republican senators highly critical of president trump mocking dr. ford. some of them highly critical of president trump on a good day. their condemnation of the president comes as their votes are necessary to confirm his supreme court pick. and as that vote d

frank figliuzzi, ashley parker and eugene robinson, representing the fine "washington post." our thanks. coming up, former secretary of state john kerry. plenty to stay about today's headlines. we'll ask him about this story and his new book just ahead. and later, new polls on the brett kavanaugh controversy. steve kornacki at the big board with the latest numbers. talk about the new book he has written. "the 11th hour" just getting started tonight. cancer ... it's very personal. each of us is different. and each cancer is different. how it reacts, how it evades and adapts. and how we attack it. that's why at cancer treatment centers of america, we use diagnostic tools that help us better understand what drives each person's cancer. this is what we mean by outsmarting cancer. and for some, it may uncover more effective treatment options. like christine bray. after battling ovarian cancer for several years, her test results revealed a potential treatment not considered previously a drug therapy that targeted her tumor. today, christine's metastatic cancer is in remission. this

. >> joining me now is ashley parker, white house reporter for "the washington post." eugene robinson is a columnist with "the washington post," and ryan costello is a republican congressman from pennsylvania. thank you all. ashley, you're a straight reporter. you write on the front page. you're one of the leading reporter of our time right now. what do you make of the fact that the president is blaming you? i mean, in effect, he's blaming people like you. he doesn't have a problem with opinion people like me, i have noticed. he doesn't go after us. he's most scared of front page hard news reporters who write the main bar stories. that's what bugs him, the truth. >> well, the media is a constant foil of this president. it's not particularly surprising. the irony, of course, is this is a president who always attacks the media. he's attacked us since the beginning of the campaign. you saw him coming out and attacking us and blaming us today. but he's also a president who relies on the media, craves media attention, watches hours of cable news every day. reads the front pa

ashley parker, white house reporter for "the washington post," and eli stokols, white house reporter for the "los angeles times" all join us here in studio. let me start with you, tom winter. take us through the list of targets, the devices they were sent and where the investigation stands at this hour. >> sure. so the latest i can update you on, is it appears based upon the fact that, one, nobody has been transported from the time warner/cnn building by ambulance for any sort of exposure and the fact that the time warner center and cnn has reopened, they are no longer evacuated, we can safely say the white powder found on the device sent to cnn has been deemed to be nonhazardous. we know the initial field test came back as negative as far as for any chemical or biological weapon. so that's a good bit of news that twe have here. as far as the targets, there were devices that were sent and in -- they're bombs because they have explosive powder in them, something to contain that powder in them. those bombs were sent to george soros back on monday. and then the other people targeted wer

frank figliuzzi, ashley parker and eugene robinson, representing the fine "washington post." our thanks. coming up, former secretary of state john kerry. plenty to stay about today's headlines. we'll ask him about this story and his new book just ahead. and later, new polls on the brett kavanaugh controversy. steve kornacki at the big board with the latest numbers. talk about the new book he has written. "the 11th hour" just getting started tonight. "the 11th hourju" st getting started tonight. at booking.com, we can't guarantee you'll find gold on your wild west vacation... but we can guarantee the best price on that thar rental cabin or any hotel, home, boat, yurt, whatever. ♪ just don't get carried away with the wild west thing. hey guys. get the best price on homes, hotels and so much more. booking.com, booking.yeah >> tech: don't wait for a chip like this to crack your whole windshield. with safelite's exclusive resin, you get a strong repair that you can trust. plus, with most insurance a safelite repair is no cost to you. >> customer: really?! >> singers: safelite repa

peter alexander, ashley parker and jonathan lemire and we appreciate all of your reporting so much. >>> the outrage, and jamal khashoggi's disappearance bringing outrage from both sides of the isle. we will have more on msnbc. msn. no, i can't believe how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars on my car insurance with geico. cool, huh? yeah. he plays football, huh? yeah. believe it. geico could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. oh! oh! ♪ ozempic®! ♪ (vo) people with type 2 diabetes are excited about the potential of once-weekly ozempic®. in a study with ozempic®, a majority of adults lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than seven and maintained it. oh! under seven? (vo) and you may lose weight. in the same one-year study, adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. oh! up to 12 pounds? (vo) a two-year study showed that ozempic® does not increase the risk of major cardiovascular events like heart attack, stroke, or death. oh! no increased risk? ♪ ozempic®! ♪ ozempic® should not be the first medicine for treating diabetes, or for people with type 1 diabete

ashley parker, white house reporter for "the washington post," and joshua green, national correspondeor bloomberg businessweek. geoff, you were at the white house all day friday. how did the president and his top advisors handle this moment? >> we saw what w a ritual. when it requires to hue to this aditions, the conventions of the american presidency like this past week has, he does up to a point. and so today from his scripted remarks he said we should never allow political violence to take root in our political discourse. but as his mind and his eyes went ay from the teleprompter, he painted himself as the victim of t pitical hostilities. he asked the crowd. who's got it worst than me? he suggested that the coverage of this week long saga hasaken away from his own political message. we saw him speak to that on the nouth lawn. we've shis before certainly afterot chasville. he's focused more on the political impact and less thant human impact. robert: what are you picking up, asheey, about president not abiding by the norms? this is a president who has never abided by the norms and p

. >> let's bring in ashley parker. a white house reporter for "the washington post" and political analyst. good morning. >> good morning. >> ashley, after two weeks of denials from saudi arabia, now they are acknowledging jamal khashoggi's death. there is a lot of criticism of this over the idea a 59-year-old guy walked into consulate with 15 guys and got into a fist fight and tried to fight . the president praised the explanation. he said it was a great first step and called the explanation credible. the white house response is muted. what is the calc? understanding president was struck by sort of the reports of the gruesomeness of the death. he knew he had to show some response. to really blow up that strategic relationship he believes to undermine the arms deal. he wants to be able to show he is doing something, but not really be as forceful as many in the administration and many republicans in congress would like to see from him. >> let's shift gears a little bit. i want to look at the pictures in kelly's spot. this

and they really don't quite know the answer yes. >> great reporting as always, ashley parker, white house reporter at "the washington post." one of the topics the president seized on is that caravan of honduran migrants. right now they are more than 800 miles away from the u.s./mexican border. nbc news debunked several of the claims the president made cleeptly including, quote, criminals and unknown middle easterners are a significant portion of people using the caravan to sneak their way into the united states. msnbc's mariana has been following the caravan and joins us from mexico. mariana, i don't know if you can hear me, but if you can, go ahead. we may have a technical problem. >> one of the big questions about this caravan and one of the president's claims that we want to break down for you today is who is organizing this caravan? it's a two-fold answer. when we talk about caravan organizers, we're talking about a group that means people without borders, and this is a group that is escorting this massive people through mexico. they have done it in the past, long before donald trump

, our favorite reporters and friends, with us from the "washington post," white house reporter ashley parkerd senior political reporter aaron blake. here at the table, nbc news, and msnbc national affairs analyst john hileman, a co-host and executive producer of show time's the circus. bill kristol, founder and editor at large. -- >> the bill kristol. >> i thought you were going to say at the table, we have a distinguished group of reporters and losers. >> getting a shout-out in a rally is like one insult above getting a hate tweet. so congratulations on that. and matt is here. let's me start with you since you have the honor of being mentioned in donald trump's hate filled, lie filled rally speech this weekend. what did you feel like being singled out, not personally, but the moment you were singled out, in the hours after the deadly attack on jewish americans in our country's history? >> i don't know what was in his mind. if i said something that particularly annoyed him, if that happened, that is fine with me. a couple of reporters called yesterday and i thought of witty insults and it is

joining me around the table tonight, ashley parker, white house reporter for the washington post.lse, chief washington correspondent for the new york times. abby phillip, white house reporter for cnn. and kelly o'donnell, white house correspondent for nbc news. what a day on capitol hill, kelly. >> amazing. >> when you listened to susan davis, was this someone who wasa alwawing vote and just turning at the 11th hour, or was this someone who was always trying to get to yes? >> from the time that brett kavanaugh waamed, her concern that she expressed was, would he be riable in the area of roe vs. wade? because she is one of the rare abortion rights advocates in the republican party. ander personal meeting made such a difference. but when the allegations came out, when i had contact with her,he was concernbout mark judge, the high school era friend o.brett kavanau and she was part of the group that wanted that additional b.i. information. he did submit to that, mark judge. apparently we don't know exactly what was said, but everyone was saying he was unable toorroborate the account g

ashley parker from the "washington post." the former assistant director for counter intelligence who has worked for robert mueller among others and mimi, a distinguished fellow at the pace university school of law. welcome to you all. frank, because you alone have worked with and for robert mueller, i would like to begin with you. this caught our eye tonight from our friend and frequent contributor, barbara mcquaid and a former u.s. attorney requesting an fbi investigation is what innocent people do when false accusations are made. frank, i am attempted to joke at this point when you hear tales of drinking and heavy drinking and womanizing you think robert mueller immediately but you really did work for this man. we know a lot about his bearing and less about his life. talk about this smear attempt. >> brian, it has been several days of a somber nation and i have not laughed much in the last several days because of events but i laughed today. for the first time i read this account of this woman claiming she has been paid and

. >> so ashley parker, is the subhead of your story that shiny objects will always be shiny objects? when you are the head of government, there are so many people beneath you that some of them can sound like orders and initiatives. >> they sure can. when you're head of government, you can turn your whims and your desires and your offhand comments and tweets into, oftentimes, reality. what we get to in our story is, in some examples, if you just take two from this week, the president has said something not rooted in truth. like a claim about the caravans which he's been able to provide no evidence, but it sends the rest of the administration scrambling to find justifications. it also allows them to hang out to dry after they've gone out publicly, you're right, there is no proof but it could be true. the flip side of that is when yufr the president. again, you can have a whim or a desire, like you would like to do a tax cut, then government sort of mobilizes around you to try to make it happen. trump did sort of come up with this tax cut seemingly out of the blue. no one in his adminis

ashley parker, nina, thank you both.l ahead, donald trump and mitch mcconnell want kavanaugh on the court. but right now it's not really up to them. where those four key senators stand. we'll have live reports from capitol hill. you're watching "morning joe". we'll be right back. right back. so, that goal you've been saving for, you can do it. we can do this? we can do this. at fidelity, our online planning tools are clear and straightforward so you can plan for retirement while saving for the things you want to do today. nana, let's do this! aye aye, captain! ♪ and as you go through life -whoo! -♪ tryin' to reach your goal ♪ and as you go through life if you have moderate to thsevere rheumatoid arthritis, month after month, the clock is ticking on irreversible joint damage. ongoing pain and stiffness are signs of joint erosion. humira can help stop the clock. prescribed for 15 years, humira targets and blocks a source of inflammation that contributes to joint pain and irreversible damage. humira can lower your ability t

>> well, ashley parker didn't win those pulitzers for nothing. they're exactly right, i think, that she has a diminished role right now because she has a very strong, very effective secretary of state in mike pompeo who is very close to the president. rex tillerson was none of those things. and you have john bolton who hates the united nations, is very strong and with a very strong deputy. she was having less ability to exert her influence. and this is perfect timing. this is nikki haley, i think, choosing the exact right moment to have her day in the sun. how many people have left this administration on good terms with the president, even though she has, in the past, disagreed with him on some issues? you pointed out russia. and sitting in the oval office with her own moment without any kind of tension with her script, and that's the way she wants to leave before the election, which has an uncertain, you know, outcome, certainly, for the republicans. this way if she leaves after the election, there is going to be a lot of departure. she would be

tonight ashley parker, philip ruck rucker reported that president trump settled on a strategy of fear. the president has been focussed in recent days on a caravan of about 5,000 migrants traveling north across the u.s. border, a group he has darkly characterized as gang members, violent criminals, an unknown milli middle easterners. the approach, in many ways, seeks to recreate the 2016 playbook that lifted trump to the presidency in which cultural flash points and controversies like the specter of mass illegalillega illegal migrations. >> as we speak, the democrat party is openly encouraging millions of illegal aliens to break our vour laws, violate ou borders, and overwhelm our nation. the democrats have launched an assault on the sovereignty of our country, the security of our nation, and the safety of every single american. >> meanwhile some high profile democrats were out on the campaign trail urging people to get out and vote. vice president joe biden in florida supporti florida. president obama was in nevada supporting democratic candidates urging people to head to the polls. >

ashley parker writes just in time for halloween trump has transformed the federal government into his own fear factory as part of his midterm strategy. there is so much to talk act he is even getting into a twitter fight about paul ryan. let's start now. >> reporter: the president is about to start on an 11 stop tour. from now until election day he will be trying to campaign for candidates he wants to get into office. first stop will be florida. later today there is not only a competitive senate but also a competitive governor's race. it is interesting to take a look at specifically where he is going though. florida, west virginia, montana, georgia, indiana, all of these large states that are friendly to president trump and really there is a focus on senate and gubernatorial races. the question becomes is the president effectively acknowledging that republicans are poised to lose the house? sarah sanders was asked about this earlier today. take a look. >> we have done a lot for the house but if you look at those ten states they are also places where the president is overwhelmingly pop

and ashley parker, a reporter for "the washington post," ned price is with us as well, former cia analyst and nbc national security analyst. first, richard, what are police saying about the discovery of this car? >> so right now, i'm in front of this underground parking garage and police earlier today found a black mercedes, a black diplomatic car that is registered to the saudi consulate here in istanbul, it is one of the vehicles they have been looking for and they say that it has been parked here since the 10th of october. and forensic teams in white jackets have been inside, they have been bringing ultraviolet lights. we are not allowed inside the parking garage, but they're conducting investigations and teams have been coming and going from this parking garage for the last several hours. but this car, a nondescript, car found in this business and residential area about ten miles from the consulate seems to be a center of activity. according to the turkish media, this car was left here on the 10th. so we know that khashoggie was killed on the 10th. then on the 18th. another vehicle ca

tonight ashley parker, philip rucker reported that president trump settled on a strategy of fear laced with falsehoods to motivate republican voters. and we quote. "the president has been focused in recent days on a caravan of about 5,000 migrants traveling north across the u.s. border, a group he has darkly characterized as gang members, violent criminals, and unknown middle easterners. a claim for which his administration so far provide nod concrete evidence. seeks to recreate the 2016 playbook that lifted trump to the presidency in which cultural flash points and controversies like the specter of mass illegal migration helped energize trump supporters. and he saw plenty of that on display tonight in texas. >> republicans believe we should protect public benefits for truly needy americans, not for illegal aliens. as we speak, the democrat party is openly encouraging millions of illegal aliens to break our our laws, violate our borders, and overwhelm our nation. that's what's happening. the democrats have launched an assault on the sovereignty of our country, the security of our natio

ashley parker, white house reporter for "the washington pos post". and evan siegfried, a republican strategist here in new york with us. picking up on that last piece of data there, ashley, are you surprised that mcconnell is going ahead with the vote without knowing that it is going to be a solid 100% success? >> yes and no. leader mcconnell, he's very savvy. he often knows a bit more than he lets on. and so it is a true mix. there is some nervousness about not quite knowing where everyone falls. especially it's worth singling out senator murkowski. she all along has been the biggest wild card, at least from the republican leadership's point of view on this. in part just because she very much keeps her own counsel and has not given many clues as to where she is. i'm hearing that from inside and outside the white house as well. while mcconnell might not know 100% exactly where it falls, that he wouldn't go ahead with this unless he was confident that 70% or 80% peter just mentioned. >> i want to play this sounde e by sound bite. this is chuck grassley

we are lucky enough to be joined by the writer of both those articles, ashley parker, peter baker, and cornell belcher, all three msnbc political analysts. guys, six days, ready to rock and roll. let me start with you, you're talking about the strategy now behind this 11-rally, eight-state, six-day push by president trump. what are you hearing from folks in the west wing? >> well, the president in addition to sort of hitting these states, especially senate and gubernatorial races where he thinks he can be helpful, he's rehashing the 2016 playbook in many ways, which is really a playbook of fear. what we write about today is not just how he's using specifically and most frequently immigration to gin up fear in the way he talks about it in his rallies or in his tweets, it's not just the same stuff, but he's announced he's sending 5,200 active duty troops to the border, the largest surge of active duty troops to the u.s./mexico border since the mexican revolution. he's announced he's trying to end birthright citizenship. he's not just talking about the, he's doing stuff that could galvani

m ambassador and governor of new mexico bill richardson and friend of the show ashley parker.assador, you know this world. what are you hearing from friends, from former colleagues about haley's resignation, about anticipation or concern about who might be next? >> well, first of all a big surprise, and not a plus because the president was having some good news. what i'm hearing -- and this was what happens with the u.n. job -- it's a cabinet level, and she started out as a star in the administration because mcmaster, the national security adviser and tillerson, secretary of state were not that visible, but now with pompeo and bolton, two pretty strong guys she's been eclipsed a bit. that's what i'm hearing. i have no inside sources as good as yours. it's a great job. you don't give up a job at the u.n. like that. you're a big player on the world stage, in new york, at the u.n., 195 countries look up to you. 28% of the budget is the u.s. it was a big surprise to me. >> ashley what are you hearing about this short list here? kelly o'donnell talked to dina powell, you might have

ashley parker, who i always need to remind you, pulitzer prize winning author. charlie psysykes, who i have no seen in ages, contributing editor to the weekly standard. how seriously should we take that, because a lot of what he says around law and order and around immigration really get his core base fired up and he doesn't actually have to follow through. he just has to push these narratives. they like that. on the policy front, which is wealthy people, corporate america, they don't want these things anyway. >> well, it's not just that so far he hasn't shown the follow-through on a number of areas, especially immigration and migration. he actually doesn't have the unilateral power, for instance, declare that mexico will actually pay for the wall at the southern border or have them pay or build this border wall. the hold up there doesn't seem to be the president's desire but the congressional process. this is really something for the midterms. our understanding is he has been told you can't just go out there and tout achievements. you have to stir up your base

. >> thank you, ashley parker, steve mcmahon, adolf ee. i like parties.nish with trump watch, you're watching "hardball." ♪ at last, ♪ my love has come along, applebee's new neighborhood pastas. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. (woman) we'd been counting down it was our tresiba® reason. neighborhood pastas. he needs insulin to control his high blood sugar and, at his age, he's at greater risk for lows. tresiba® releases slow and steady and works all day and night like the body's insulin. (vo) tresiba® is a long-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. don't use tresiba® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. don't share needles or insulin pens. don't reuse needles. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause dizziness, sweating, confusion, and headache. check your blood sugar. low blood sugar can be serious and may be life-threatening. injection site reactions may occur. tell your prescriber about all medicines you

. >> the "washington post's" ashley parker tweets this today, "the real question, my question, at least, if any republican voters penalize trump this november for using language like this to denigrate a woman who accused him of an extramarital affair. this is the kind of language that's come to define trump's presidency and his party which elected and continues to support and cheer a man whose public insults of women have included miss piggy, miss housekeeping, degenerate, slob, pig, bleeding very badly from a facelift. not my first choice. low i.q. wacky. and, of course, look at that face, would anyone vote for that? here to discuss today's developments and donald trump's brazen return to twitter tirade, some of our favorite reporters and friends. from the "washington post," white house bureau chief phil rucker. here with us on set, emily jean fox, senior reporter c eer "van fair." elise jordan. now co-host of the fabulous must-listen podcast, "words matter." presidential historian and author doris kearns goodwin. leadership in push leapt timetu. and david jolly, no longer affiliated w

ashley parker, white house reporter for the "washington post." sam stein, politics editor for the daily beast. ashley, let me start with you on the sheer political enormity of the entire trump brand, the self-made billionaire, falling apart based on this investigation. >> well, it certainly does undercut his inception story and his narrative which is sort of the crux of being donald trump. right? and the irony is that story really comes from for a lot of voters what they learned about the president on "the apprentice" which is actually sort of -- it is reality television, and it's quite fictitious. so now you have actual reality bumping up with the fiction of reality tv. and so that is huge and cannot be overstated. at the same time, again, what we'll have to wait and see, this literally just broke, one thing that struck me especially about the president's core group of supporters, the president has often been able to say to things like making products overseas that otherwise would be unacceptab unacceptable, wouldn't you have done the same thing?