and to what to watch, let's bring in vivian and eugene scott.et me ask you about the 1023 challenge last night. how long do you think this has been prolonged? >> it seems like a clear cut victory. it was not a massive victory. even president trump himself came out and recognized that roy moore did in fact lose the race a couple weeks ago. so, it seems that a lot of the party is moving on. of course, a lot of the mainstream republicans here in the house and senate in washington were trying to distance themselves from roy moore in the beginning. so, for them, they're very much willing to move on from this race. however there is an element of the republican base, you know, including steve bannon, the former adviser to president trump who are very much backing roy moore, despite the sexual allegations against him. and saying that he is the rightful winner. of course, that race, as viewers may remember, was a really stunning defeat for roy moore and the republican party. alabama being a very decisively red state. and to have a democrat win was obviou

thank you, eugene scott. thank you mayor randall woodfin. now, an important programming note. next week, awe have a special show as we wind down 2017. it's called the year in social justice. and a special guest panel will re-examine stories like white supremacy in charlottesville, pro-athletes taking a knee against police brutality, and jeff sessions aeg aegi' justice departme department. that's next sunday at 8:00 p.m. eastern. and then on new year's eve, it's the revvies where we give awards for the best and worst political moves and those who made the biggest impact in our lives. that's on december 13st, 8:00 p.m. eastern. >>> when we come back, four black young girls lost their lives in the bombing of a baptist church in 1963 done by the coup clku klux klan. we'll talk to the sister of one of those girls. we'll be right back. this is "politics nation." at planters we know how to throw a remarkable holiday party. just serve classy snacks and be a gracious host, no matter who shows up. do you like nuts? when heartburn hits fight back fast with tums chewy bites. fast relief i

jason johnson, eugene scott our thanks. historian john meacham to take on this topic of civil rights in the south. we'll also talk about a historic milestone, the 45th anniversary of the last time we went up there and walked around. the apollo 17 mission. when we come right back. ♪ ♪ it feels good to be back. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> we don't want to skip a beat in our conversation so we'll bring him right in. that's pulitzer prize author john meacham who happens to be an msnbc contribute bore and germane to our conversation happens to be a southern at the same time as a historian. and no one ever rolled credits on the civil rights struggle. no one ever said well that's over because of course it never ended and won't. so i need to you sum up just where we are vis-a-vis the president's remarks tonight in pensacola, his attendance tomorrow in mississippi, and the fact that an icon or two has chosen to stay away because of it. >> everything old is new again. you had a president of the united states today who offered an endorsement of a can

jason johnson, eugene scott our thanks.an john meacham to take on this topic of civil rights in the south. we'll also talk about a historic milestone, the 45th anniversary of the last time we went up there and walked around. the apollo 17 mission. when we come right back. [ coughing ] when you have a cold... stuff happens. [ sneeze ] shut down cold symptoms fast with maximum strength alka seltzer plus liquid gels. ♪ tired of sore throat lozenges that only last a short time? try new alka-seltzer plus sore throat relief. the melts dissolve quickly. plus, the powerful pain reliever provides long-lasting relief for up to six hours. try new alka-seltzer plus. nice man cave! nacho? [ train whistle blows ] what?! -stop it! -mm-hmm. we've been saving a lot of money ever since we switched to progressive. this bar is legit. and now we get an even bigger discount from bundling home and auto. i can get used to this. it might take a minute. -swing and a miss! -slam dunk! touchdown! together: sports! touchdown! this ♪s electricity. this

and "washington post" political reporter eugene scott. eugene, as we mentioned in the opening of the show, we said the president used the word "collusion" 16 times, insisting on multiple others no collusion had been found. i want to quickly get your reaction to what was the highlight for you out of the interview in terms of the language the president was using? >> what's interesting is how the president continued to attack the democrats assessment of the election in term of its relationship with russia. a day after secretary of state rex tillerson wrote an op-ed in "the new york times" saying that russia, in fact, did meddle in the election. it's just another example of how two very key people in the white house see this issue very differently despite the number of times maybe the press secretary or our senior official try to tell us they're on the same page. >> let me read you the quote from the interview in which president trump talks about the collusion. he says there was no collusion with respect to my campaign. i think i'll be treated

. >> lets bring in eugene scott and kate martell. we'll go with you first, kate. why is it important for the president to make this trip happen despite all the backlash? >> it is important for the president to be making this trip because all the racial tensions that's been going on and this could be the opportunity for president trump to come out and have diplomatic words and say things that are necessary controversial. we'll be interested to see how controversial it ends up being. it is important of all the racial tensions. we are talking about the kkk and nazis coming up in previous statements. it is a shame that we are ta talking about this. it is interesting to see how the president is coming out and the reaction. >> is there any consensus or had the president not gone to mississippi today? >> well, it is not consensus and part of that is the president won the state of mississippi and there is a lot of voters in the state who are looking for ward o sing. it is not something that you see often for the president visits to the deep south. what the president is go

joining me now eugene scott, political reporter, and elmore. let me talk to you how this evolution is coming about, these folks moving to the left? >> i think fascinating issue and deep divide in the political party that we'll see play out during the course of the year. i was talking to democrat officials who work on some of these in state and district campaigns and asked them when you look at a race like alabama and see a pro choice candidate like doug jones win in a deep red state, does that make you more inclined to go for candidates who are more progress who are further to the left or as you see president trump's approval ratings going down or more toward the middle? what are you going to try to do? pick up people or go for broke? that's what we are will find out by november. >> what dozes centrism lk like today? who is occupying the center? how much attraction to move into the center? >> i would argue more of a doug jones. when you look at someone like him, he definitely got the support of the more progress wing of democrats in alabama but

and eugene scott's back with us as well, political reporter for the washington post. both have chronicled this president's are esponse to issues like the nfl protest, the violent alt-right rally in charlottesville and his ongoing feud with assorted members of congress. gentleman, welcome. well, let's talk about -- we'll start with home field advantage since you're in new york. perhaps in light of the rally we saw tonight in pensacola and the president's comments really going all in on the roy moore race. >> the president of the united states has basically said any system of government that does not bend to his will is corrupt or broken. the fbi is in thatters with had it doesn't work for him but it was great when comey was in his had favor and had a letter. so we have a president that consistently undermines the if had stugzs that bring our country together. so it's not surprising that no one would want to spend time with him at a civil rights museum when he seems to undermine the work these men and women put their lives on the line fighting american apartheid but see

joining me now nbc news reporter eugene scott, thank you for joining us. let's start with the president's interview, alex, there anything in there that surprised you? >> reporter: well, there is always something surprising when this president talks. i think he comments on the russia investigation how often he repeated no collusion, something like 13, 15 times over and over again seems to be fixated on. that i think his comments on the justice department that you highlighted earlier, he believes he can do whatever he wants with the justice department, particularly surprising. he even praised eric holder, president obama's attorney general for being quote loyal to the president and he said hd he admired that. he held that up as an example. which is really notable, considering that was a major issue for republicans under the obama administration. they went after eric holder mercilessly, they held him in contempt of congress the first time ever that an attorney general has been held in contempt. because they believe eric holder was too loyal to that president.

bring in capitol hill reporter for usa today, kevin certificate i will ee, and eugene scott, politicaler for "the washington post." eliza, when you saw this come out and you were looking through the words as i think many of us did, you had to read it two or three times. when you got to it the third time, you went okay, this is real. what do you make of him putting the word fbi into this? >> could be two things. could be as the white house said is just repeating what the guilty plea was. he lied to the fbi, that's what president trump is saying. if that's not the case and if it is what the tweet says, that he fired him because he lied to the vice president and fbi, that raises a whole set of questions. remember, after he was fired then the infamous meeting with president trump and james comey in the white house happened where comey said trump asked him to go easy on flynn, comey said he refused and then was fired. it changes the time line frankly and raises a lot of questions. >> kevin, john dowd, saying it just par aphrases what ty cobb said yesterday, and that's not true. >> what's in

for more, i'm joined by eugene scott, the political reporter from the "washington post" which was breaking the stories i mentioned. and the former prosecutor, seth watchman. welcome to you all. jill, do those dots connect in a way that mueller would be probing? >> they definitely connect. i see a long trail of evidence that points to the trump campaign and trump himself and trump's family. his son and son-in-law work the russians and then concealing it. the failure to disclose all the meetings from his cabinet members, from his son and son-in-law, are all very suspicious, and make me want to know more. it doesn't make me think there is no collusion. it makes me think there is support for concluding that there is collusion. >> you have been a federal prosecutor for many years in the d.c. u.s. attorney's office. as i understand it, you've done some criminal defense. a classic criminal defense technique is to say here's a bad thing about the defendant and it sounds bad, but it helps explain why he didn't commit a crime. how much of that do you see here? and this ego defense, oh, yeah, the onl

"washington post" political reporter eugene scott. and margaret tawer. rich, if this tax bill is all republicans say it is, all the president says it is why is it so unpopular? if you look at the latest cnn poll, the majority of the country opposes it. only a third at this point favors it. >> one, it's associated with president trump. anything associated with president trump is not going to be popular at the moment. two of the biggest elements are c corporate tax cuts. they're worthy. and i think will be pro-growth. they're not an easy sell. one, they would have just -- the voters would have quit on them if they didn't get anything done this year. two, it will allow them to take credit for an economy appearing to be kicking into a higher gear. a third point i would add, most people, bad things are not going to happen to them from this bill. they'll get a tax cut, despite the democratic rhetoric that it's terrorizing the middle cloosz. >> it really might come back around for the republicans. it might not be in time. i think the combination of the fact tha

. >> thank you, michael crowley and eugene scott. let me finish with trump watch. hardball. i'm ginny and i quit smoking with chantix. i had tried to quit before, i had tried the patch. i tried to go cold turkey; it didn't work for me. i didn't think i could quit until i used chantix. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced my urge to smoke. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. some people had changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, or suicidal thoughts or actions with chantix. serious side effects may include seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking or allergic and skin reactions which can be life-threatening. stop chantix and get help right away if you have any of these. tell your healthcare provider if you've had depression or other mental health problems. decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. use caution when driving or operating machinery. the most common side effect is

columnist with the alabama political reporter, jon meacham, author, editor and msnbc contributor and eugene scottlitical reporter for "the washington post." coming to us from birmingham, alabama, on this wednesday. josh, let me start with you. let me show what may be the biggest number out of last night's exit polling. in is the president's approval rating. this is back on election day 2016. president trump won 62% of the vote. 62% with almost a 28-point advantage. last night voters gave trump a 48% approval rating, dead even with his disapproval. what message should national republicans take from that number? >> i think you should take that even in a very, very red state, you are losing voters over some of the policies that you have implemented here and some of the scandals that have taken place. and by marginalizing a lot of voters here. you know, the black voter turnout last night speaks volumes, i think, to the motivation of a lot of people who have historically in alabama not played a large role in state elections and in state wide elections. so, i think that's a pretty clear message to them