we start with representative gianforte. rep. gianforte: thank you. we have a broken immigration system. i support president trump in his desire to build the wall and secure the border. why is that important to montana? as i meet with folks around the state, they tell me we do not have montana meth here anymore. we have mexican meth. one sheriff told me he knows exactly when the shipment comes in from mexico because he sees a spike in the crime rate in their rural montana community. we need to fix this. immigration reform starts first with securing the border. we also need to move to more of a system that focuses on merit-based immigration rather than the visa lottery we have today. and then we should favor nuclear families. moms and dads and kids. rather than the chain migration we have today. a fourth component, these were the president's four pillars, to take care of the daca kids. there needs to be an accommodation providing them a permanent path to residency with an opportunity to get in line with everybody else for citizenship. i voted twice on

representative gianforte, you get the final thought. rep. gianforte: i think i have been clear. the marching orders you have given me back in washington is to protect our montana way of life. the second amendment is part ofy an integral that. we have stated it already. i am divorced -- i am endorsed i the nra. my opponent has enough which she earned from the and or a. there are other elements of the montana way of life that need to be situation. i had a situation where i learned that the federal motor carrier's word telling rodeo ams that they need to have commercial drivers license and this is craziness. it is an example of federal overreach. our offer -- our office went to work. i sent a letter to the administration. i got 27 or 30 other members of congress to sign it. and proud they came back said, incidental winnings from a rodeo do not constitute a commercial operation. we had a pardon for montana rodeo mons and less regulation. again fork you both adding additional thoughts on our second amendment issue. complexmove to another multifaceted issue come immigration. each of y

everything gianforte did is weak, okay?was at every disadvantage. gianforte showed no control, no confidence, no respect for his office or his constituents or for the law. he is weak. and if he doesn't like it, he can come body slam me as well. i welcome it. now, trump was just joking, right? no. he likes what the guy did. what would a leader do? would he make fun of the victim? no, he'd make fun of gianforte, embarrass him for what he did. another goon. make fun of that. take him down a peg for his pathetic display. even better would be to reinforce what really matters, which is the truth, that this guy is the opposite of what we want to be. a leader lifts others up, right? he doesn't throw a man down. he picks him up. trump doesn't get that, but you know who does? lebron james. i'm not referring to their war of words with each other. i care nothing about that. watch this. >> anytime you fall, stay down. your brother come picks you up. >> gets his young team together. they lost that game but he's teaching them a lesson tha

gianforte actually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in that case. and you have the president of the united states talking about an investigation while he's claiming they're going to get serious with the saudis about all of this, joking that greg gianforte is his kind of guy, saying anybody who can body slam be? is my kind of guy. and don, he not only did this once. he came back to this joke, this bit later on in the rally when he was handicapping the 2020 field going through the various democrats he might be up against and he recalled when joe biden said he would like to take donald trump behind a school building or something like that and have a fistfight. the president at one point saying that he would take down biden faster than greg would, referring to greg gianforte. not just once but twice tonight the president is making jokes about assaulting reporters while the whole world is demanding answers about the murder of a journalist who died in the most gruesome and vicious way possible. and don, also we should point out time and again the presiden

the president stands by gianforte for the 2017 assault.acking the murdering of a journalist. the president says he has confidence in the report. he is awaiting the result of the investigation of saudi arabia and turkey following the lead of two advisers. >> jared kushner who has close ties with the saudis is urging the president to move slowly. two sources tell cnn that kushner is warning his father-in-law over being pressured into a quick decision on jamal khashoggi. and secretary of state mike pompeo briefed the president on his trip to ankara and riyadh and then said this. >> i told president trump this morning that we ought to give them a few more days to complete that so we, too, have complete understanding of the facts surrounding that. >> "the washington post" reporting that hard line republicans are mounting a whispering campaign against khashoggi aimed at protecting the president from criticism. "the post" says conservatives have exchanged privately right wing articles which highlight decades old connections to the muslim brotherh

the president deciding last night to praise congressman greg gianforte for assaulting a reporter from "the guardian" newspaper in 2017. >> greg is smart. by the way, never wrestle him. never. you understand? any guy that can do a body slam, he's my kind of guy. i heard he body slammed a reporter. i said, oh, this is terrible. he will lose the election. i said wait a minute. i know montana pretty well. i think it might help him and it did. no, he's a great guy. tough cookie. >> the editor of "the guardian" not amused. john mulholland says it runs the risk of assaults here and across the world. the reminder of what gianforte did to "the guardians" ben jacobs. >> just -- >> sick and tired of you guys. the last time you came in here, you did the same thing. get the hell out of here. get the hell out of here. let's not do the same thing. are you with "the guardian?" >> yes, and you just broke my glasses. >> the president stands by ghre gianforte for the 2014 assault. accused of attacking the murdering of a journalist. the president says he has confidence in the report. he is awaiting the r

in turn, he was physically attacked by gianforte, essentially for doing his job.ign tried to smear ben. only after gianforte won, he acknowledged he was wrong and went on to plead guilty to charges of misdemeanor assault. so for the president to from the highest office in the land make light of this incident, and frankly praise gianforte's conduct, it's an endorsement of what was an attack on a journalist, an attack on freedom of the press and coming at a time when we're also talking about the disappearance of a saudi journalist. so it sets a tone that could have a trickle-down effect for how reporters are able to do their jobs and the very real threats they face, both here at home and around the world. >> what do you think? >> the president set a tone that won. and that tone was, i'm going to defend you like the cowboy coming into washington and i'm going to take out the people in washington, regardless of what it takes. there is one theme here. if you look at the philippines, duterte, saudi arabia, russia, kim jong-un, they have something in common. each one of

we watched in disbelief as gianforte then began punching the reporter. he began yelling something to the effect of, i'm sick and tired of this. the reporter works for the guardian and said to celebrate an attack on a journalist who is simply doing his job is an attack on the first amendment by someone who has taken an old to defend it. in the aftermath of the murder of jamal khashoggi it runs the risk of inviting other attacks on journalists here and around the world. the correspondents association weighed in saying all americans should recoil from the president's praise for a violent assault on a reporter doing his constitutional the protected job. here to discuss the day's developments, from "the new york times," mike schmidt, matt miller, former chief spokesman at the justice department, jennifer rubin, "washington post" opinion writer and doug thornell, former senior adviser to the dnc. matt miller, there's such fatigue to all of the obliterating of norms and niceties and customs, but there's a tone deafness to this one. this isn't just a story about

greg gianforte is a criminal. he lied about it and only admitted it after the fox producer gave her account and after the reporter himself, ben jacobs released the audio tape that showed he was actually beaten up by this congressman. it goes back to something donald trump has done for a long time. you only have to go back to his rallies during the campaign when he was saying to his supporters to beat the hell out of protesters and that he would pay their legal bill is if they did. he has no respect for the free press. he has no respect for anyone who's not a supporter of him. he is hostile to any of these values that are kind of long-held american traditions. >> i went back and looked at what president obama said and did when james foley was murdered. i went back and looked at george bush's remarks when danny pearl died, and it's instructive whenever we wonder or despair over the fact that we've gone so far from who we were not 50 years ago, but four, eight, ten years ago. let's watch. >> those who would engage in

gianforte is currently running for re-election. last week, president trump praised him at a montana rally for the assault, saying -- "any guy that can do a body slam, he's my kind of guy." in europe, nato forces have launched the biggest war games since the end of the cold war, amid escalating tensions between nato and russia. about 50,000 soldiers from 31 countries are participating in the mock battle in norway. this comes as poland says the u.s. is welcome to station medium-range missiles in poland, and that it supports president trump's decision to withdraw from the 1987 intermediate-range nuclear forces treat with russia. experts warn trump's decision to withdraw from the landmark treaty could spark a new arms race. president trump imposed new sanctions against hezbollah on thursday. the restrictions will racket up -- ratchet up financial sanctions against hezbollah, as well as sanction companies or individuals who support its fundraising. aipac, the american israel public affairs committee, had lobbied for the increased sancti

to the squirrels. [ laughter and applause ] but trump's praise for gianforte is especially gross after murder of "washington post" columnist and u.s. resident jamal khashoggi who disappeared after walking into the saudi consulate in istanbul three weeks ago, and yet on friday after a series of lies, and a sham investigation, the saudis released a truly absurd account of khashoggi's death. >> saudi arabia now publicly confirming that the saudi journalist and "washington post" contributor jamal khashoggi is dead in the middle of the night. and now it's been officials in riyadh said he died as a result of a physical altercation inside the saudi consulate. >> state prosecutors say the saudi writer, last seen walking into the consolate to get papers for his upcoming wedding, got into a fistfight inside that led to his death. >> seth: that's insane. they're claiming he got into a fistfight while he was trying to get paperwork for his wedding. the only time anyone has gotten into a fistfight over a wedding is on mtv's "true life: i'm getting married." >> do you have any [ bleep ] clue who you

>> what raised eyebrows last night, and it was kind of new given the timing, he was praising gianforte. he was talking about the journalist assault. he is talking about the body slam and also jamal khashoggi. what can we expect again tonight? >> sometimes the president goes off his gut, and in that case, of course, in montana, congressman gianforte is a candidate there. certainly the president is going against the norms of constitutionally protected reporters. the correspondence association has put out a statement today saying no american should be accepting of that kind of dialogue. but yes, we should all you p be waiting on this. in arizona we'll have to see. sometimes the combination of rhetoric, the sort of political environment in arizona, you would get very hot rallies in terms of people being fired up. we'll see if the president drops something new tonight that will have us talking over the weekend. chris? >> i think it's a reasonable bet, but let's see how it goes. kelly o'donnell, thank you so much. appreciate it at the white house. >>> up next, he isn't pinning jamal khashogg

the law and order president went to mont campaign for violent criminal greg gianforte, and he made itar that he is totally against litical violence of any kind, unless it's a sick wrestling mo , in which case, he thinks it's awesome. >> greg is smart. and by the way, never wrestle him. you understand? ver. any guy that can do a body slam, he's my kind of -- [ cheers and applause ] he's my guy. >> seth: so trump says a congressman who body slammed a trporter is his kind of guy. let's not forgetp also told his supporters to knock the crap out of protesters, and promised to pay their legal fees if they did. he's an actual crime boss. s mean, look at him. he sweats like hing dangled off the side of a roof by batman. [ cheers and applause ]he trump islassic fake tough guy from queens. if he weren't president, he'd the guy sitting on a park bench in flushing meadows saying, "who you looking at?"o the squirrels. [ lauger and applause ] but trump's praise for gianforte is especially gross after the f murderashington post" columnist and u.s. resident jamal khashoggi who disappead after walking

and it did. >> you may recall gianforte later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault over the incident. >>> call it her departing shot. outgoing u.n. ambassador nikki haley fired off a couple of jokes in her first high-profile appearance since she announced her resignation. >> you wanted an indian woman. but elizabeth warren failed her dna test. actually, when the president found out i was indian-american he asked me if i was from the same tribe as elizabeth warren. people always wonder if i felt different or isolated as an indian-american growing up in rural south carolina. actually, there was a benefit. it totally prepared me for being ep in new york. >> she's got jokes. haley gave the keynote address at the annual al smith charity dinner in new york, joking that she resigned from the administration just to boost ticket sales for that high-powered event. she addedill be out to dinner th harassed. >>> hope has all but faded that the missing saudi journalist is still alive. president trump acknowledged that it appears jamal khashoggi is dead but says he's waiting until the saudi invest

amy: last year, gianforte body-slammed the guardian reporter ben jacobs after he asked gianforte a question about the republicans' healthcare proposal. this is the audio jacobs captured of the attack. >> i will talk to about that later. i am sick and tired of you guys. the last guy that came in here did the same thing. get the hell out of here. you just broke my glasses. >> the last guy did my same damn thing. >> i would also like to call t e police. elected to congress, but he ultimately pled guilty to assaulting jacobs. after trump praised june 40th a rally thursday night, the guardian john a hole in the aftermath of the murder of jamal khashoggi, it runs the risk of inviting other assaults on journalists both here and across the world were they often face far greater threats. we hope decent people will denounce these, and the president will see fit to apologize for them. during the rally trump also , attacked again massachusetts senator elizabeth warren over her recent dna test claiaiming r native american n ancestry. pres. trump: the one gooood thig about her test, is that there was so

that and also gianforte apologized for it.hagrinned about it, embarrassed by it, got in trouble for it, he said i'm sorry, never do it again, aapologized to the reporter. we have, great stuff happening but we have really difficult problems that we need to deal w we talked about the deficit, immigration. we should have a system, that should not be a partisan thing. to argue about something that donald trump said about rosie o'donnell four years ago, three years ago, completely unsatisfying and unnecessary. >> juan: but i think dana is right. >> dana: thank you. >> juan: i wish we had a better level of discourse in politics. >> hillary clinton said you cannot do that until democrats win the house. and then kit be civil again. that will be so nice and fun. >> juan: all right. >> especially when she runs again in 2020. how did we not do that block? >> greg: i predicted that. she's running. slowly, i might ed, but she's running. -- i might add. >> dana: she's no kenyan, greg. >> juan: that joke about body slamming the reporter, bad

greg gianforte body slammed a reporter covering his race, just doing his job. it's not just that, of course. the president is applauding this assault as he's facing one of what could become the most kaungsquenceal decisions of his presidency. what to do about the disappearance of a "washington post" columnist and mounting evidence that he was murdered by the saudis. jeremy, what are you hearing from the white house? is this the president on message? >> well, certainly last night, the president was true to form, focused on one element only, that is rallying his base. and to do so, of course, the president is talking about the issue of illegal immigration. touting the supreme court confirmation of justice brett kavanaugh. but at the same time, the president is confronting one of the most serious diplomatic crises of his presidency, over the disappearance and alleged killing of jamal khashoggi, the saudi journalist who disappeared more than two weeks ago in the saudi consulate. but it is not that issue, while that issue will be front of mind at the white house ove

joining us, ben jacobs, the reporter involved in the incident with gianforte. what went through your mind when you heard the comments from president trump last night? >> it was shock and dismay. i always knew that was a possibility but then there is the process of how you deal with it and then how you actually call up and tell your family that the president is mocking when you've been a victim of a crime. >> today the president said he had no regrets about what he said. i guess that doesn't surprise you. >> no, it doesn't. as someone who actually covered this president on the campaign trail for 18 months, i'm very familiar with his m.o. i've interviewed him a couple of times. that didn't surprise me. i wish -- i wish he had surprised me. but it was what it was. >> for all the president's talk about gjeanngianforte being a t guy, he was such a tough guy that he was misleading initially about what he did with you. >> he lied until there were eyewitnesses, that it was not the actions of a tough cookie. a tough cookie doesn't attack someone out of nowhere with no p

anyway, trump used last night's rally to praise montana republican congressman greg gianforte th gianforteduring his campaign last may gianforte body slammed a journalist at an event. he later pleaded to misdemeanor assaulted charge and last night president trump described the incident as a positive. >> greg is smart. and by the way, never wrestle him. you understand that? never. any guy that can do a body slam, he is my kind. he's my guy. but i had heard that he body slammed a reporter. oh, this is terrible. he's going to lose the election. then i said well, wait a minute, i know montana pretty well. i think it might help him. and it did. >> it could have been trump knows saudi arabia really well? >> no. >> the way they treat reporters. this is this juxtaposition of a reporter who writes for "the washington post" and lives in virginia being cut up into pieces as part of this incredible act of murder. he says the same week that happens he is talking about a guy getting beaten up. what about the guy in staten island, going to break you like a boy, that character? >> because he is making the

and now it's -- they're just so afraid of crossing him, they just enable it. >> well, mark, gianforte was charged and pleaded guilty and apologized. given now the murder of another journalist, the timing is part of this. can you make an honest case that this is funny right now? >> well, i'll say, i was a journalist, i started my career right out of college training to be a journalist and then serving more than a dozen years in television news rooms locally around the country and i have a high regard for journalism but let's not pretend this is a one-sided thing. we saw two congressional candidates in minnesota attacked this week, both conservatives. we've seen other examples, including the shooting about a year ago of congressman scalise. we've got a problem with americans not being able to have a discussion anymore about areas where they disagree without making it personal and in some cases, as we've seen in recent weeks here in washington, d.c., where we had violent clashes with protesters who disagreed over the confirmation of justice kavanaugh. >> yeah, i mean, i would say civilit

greg gianforte wouldn't have been reelected in a normal time. he was elected because donald trump is delegitimizing -- >> a normal republican president would have disparaged him and distanced him and the committees in washington would have cut off funds. >> he was elected right after doing that because donald trump has run around telling people you shouldn't believe the press and the press are fake news. one of the things that's most concerning about the long-term effects. you talk about norms that he's shattered, norms aren't permanent. he has changed the norm for a certain percentage of the population. there are kids growing up who think this is normal. >> do you get any sense in talking to him yesterday that his degree of concern around the khashoggi issue, that he sees any connection to this conversation, or is he totally detached from the effect of his own words? >> about the way he speaks about the media. >> and the closeness with saudi arabia? they're not just any ally. they're his closest alley in the region. >> i think he was very impre

trump was asked about his remarks the night before praising montana republican greg gianforte. >> do you regret bringing up last night at your rally the assault on a reporter by a congressman? >> no, no. not at all. it is a different world, a different league, a different world. no, he is just a great guy. >> the president went on to say there is nothing to be embarrassed about. this again centered arounden a assault during gee informatiian election campaign and there was audio that happencaptured the w thing. he went on to plead guilty to misdemeanor assault in june of last year after he was quiktded -- convicted of body slamming the reporter for t"the guardia." and gianforte won the election. >>> afghanistans will have to wait echk loeven even longer to for parliament. >> we'll have the reason behind the delay. it was the last song of the night. it felt like my heart was skipping beats. they said i had afib. what's afib? i knew that meant i was at a greater risk of stroke. i needed answers. my doctor and i chose xarelto® to help keep me protected from a stroke. once-daily xarelto®,

overnight at a rally in montana, president trump praised republican representative greg gianforte fory slamming a journalist. >> any guy that could do a body slam, he's my kind. he's my guy. >> reporter: this coming after gianforte was charged with salting " -- assaulting "guardian" reporter ben jacobs back in 2017, an incident caught on audiotape. >> i'm sick and tired of you guys. >> you just body slammed me and broke my glasses. >> they said, oh, this is terrible, he's going to lose the election. then i said, wait a minute, i know montana pretty well. i think it might help him. and it did. >> reporter: this as president trump threatened severe consequences if the saudis are found responsible for the murder of "washington post" writer jamal khashoggi. >> well, it'll have to be very severe. i mean, it's bad, bad stuff. >> reporter: abc news has been told exclusively that secretary of state mike pompeo allegedly heard an audio recording of the writer's murder during meetings in ankara, according to a senior turkish official who spoke anonymously. the official adds that pompeo was also

a great guy. >> just great guy he called gianforte. the white house correspondents association had plenty to say. owe livier knox, saying all americans should recoil from the president's praise for a violent assault on a reporter doing his constitutionally protected job. this amounts to the celebration of a crime by some one sworn to uphold our laws and attack on the first amendment by some one who is solemnly plenled to defend it. a lot of the president's supporters, tweeted me today, said we should never shrug the president's cheering for a violent act. the supporters tweeted they believe he was simply joking. but it doesn't appear to be any ek jo, at least according to the white house correspondents association. >> bret: thank you, john. the u.s. border patrol is already seeing a spike in illegal immigration. tonight we show you first hand what it's like on the front lines. correspondent chris jenkins has spent the day with remarkable access along the border. in mcallen, texas. good evening, griff. >> we have him cuffed. >> a record

then gianforte apologized to ben jacobs. "i am sorry for what i did," and the unwanted notoriety.e full responsibility." he ended up winning his election saying his behavior was unprofessional, unacceptable and unlawful. and then this admission, as both a candidate for office and a public official i should be held to a high standard in my interactions with the press and public. my treatment of you did not meet that standard. that was a year ago, and this week we heard from another public official who does not subscribe to that same standard. >> if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them. would you, seriously. just knock the hell -- i promise you, i will pay for the legal fees. i promise. >> the guards are very gentle with him. walking out, big high five, smiling, laughing. like to punch him in the face. i'll tell ya. >> you get him out. try not to hurt him. if you do, i'll defend you in court. >> this week at a campaign stop in the home state of montana, president trump made light of that attack on reporter ben jacobs. >> greg is smart. by the

. >> so, steve, the president last night gets out there and supports greg gianforte. show that sound. >> greg is smart. and by the way, never wrestle him. you understand? never. any guy that can do a body slam, he's my kind -- it hurt that he body slammed a reporter. i said, oh, this is terrible. he's going to lose the election. i said, wait a minute. i know montana pretty well. i think it might help him and it did. >> okay. we can put this on replay. he says something offense. we play it. we're outraged by it and the same people outraged by it and a year ago when the body slam happened and then greg gianforte was elected. trump is white noise with i'm into it. i'm white noise with that's outrageous and voters that want to live their best lives, be free and safe and secure, do they care? >> that's what i'm interested in seeing. >> besides the outraged set. >> there's a big portion of sort of the red america i guess, the trump side, that likes that or maybe that likes what they see as the huffing and puffing of media in response and like that trump brings it out in the

but gianforte was elected after that. can you blame the president for trying to leverage what apparently worked? >> yes, i can. i like the white house correspondents association best, they said the president was praising a crime. gianforte pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault. the reporter was trying to ask about health care. that's how this started. i think reporters should be asking more questions about health care, not less. but you know, this is incredibly tribal. the president was talking to an audience of fans in that room. i don't think he was thinking about the entire u.s. population or the entire world. when he's at the rallies, he's speaking to the converted. there's a reason why they call it a cult of personality after all. >> listen to what the president is saying about calling women beautiful today. >> i want to thank the great men that are here. and i want to thank the beautiful women, everyone beautiful, everyone. and i said, ah, i better apologize. because if i don't for calling you all beautiful -- becau

that's how he makes mistakes like rewarding a thug like gianforte or putin or kim. and we'll see about saudi's mbs. crazy and sad days when the lessons that we teach our kids, don't be a bully, strength isn't knocking down, it's lifting up. now those lessons must also be directed at our president. thank you for watching. have a great weekend. cnn tonight with d. lemon starts right now. >> all of this in a week when we're talking about a journalist that was reportedly dismembered and now confirmed killed. >> what does it make you think about what the president really believes about violence in those situations? we only know what you show in this life. if you cared so much about it, if you were sensitized in the moment -- you know the expression too soon? it's too soon to make fun of a guy who beats up a journalist. >> it's not even too soon. why would you ever do that? and too soon, he hadn't even figured out -- we hadn't even figured out exactly what happened with khashoggi, and he's still, you know, doing this. but you never want to do that. it's not even too soon,

he praised the attack on a reporter last year of congressman greg gianforte. >> any guy who can do a body slam, he's my kind of -- >> reporter: now, despite criticism, no grregrets. >>> it is confirmed jamal khashoggi was killed in istanbul, blaming it on a fist fight. overnight officials said it led to multiple firings and arrests. here's what the president had to say. >> do you consider it a credible explanation? >> i do, i do. again, it's early. we haven't finished our review or investigation, but it's -- i think it's a very important first step, and it happened sooner than people thought it would happen. >> joining me now, julia manchester. what do you make of the president's latest response, and where do things go from here? >> his response is still very measured. it is a step away from the rogue killers line he had on monday, but he is still very hesitant to kr criticize the crown prince. we know he's a key allie for past administrations, but that's not to say president trump can't use that bully pulpit to condemn an act as violent as this one. i think the president is being he

elected, mob rule, and so forth, but he went out of his way to praise montana congressman greg ji gianfortevicted two years ago of misdemeanor assault on a news reporter. here's what the president had the say last night. >> greg is smart. dy the way, never wrestle him. do you unerstand? never. any guy that can do a body am, he's my candidate! (cheers and applause) he's my guy! >> woodruff: so he's been talking, he's beeparts u david, but now the language is getting tougher, more combative. what do we make of this? >> well, a couple of things, one, it's appalling. anybody who assaults a johenalist for doing tir job has done something appalling, anybody whpraises that is doing something appalling. second, he's a showman. so he tries to offend and, when he offends, his people go crazy and they like . so, i sort of think it is appalling. i sometimes wder if we should ignore it because it sets off a cultural drama were one group of people gets upset and the other group are delighted the group got upset and it creates a drama that benefits trump and he's not stupid about that kind of thing. >> wo

what about the rally just last week, the one where he praised montana congressman greg gianforte, who as a candidate body slammed a reporter just for asking a question about health care? >> any guy that can do a body slam, he's my guy. he's my guy. i shouldn't say this because i'll -- there's nothing to be embarrassed about. so i was in rome with a lot of the leaders from other countries, talking about all sorts of things. and i heard about it. and we endorsed greg very early. but i had heard that he body slammed a reporter. and i said, oh, this is terrible. he's going to lose the election. then i said, well, wait a minute. i know montana pretty well. i think it might help him, and it did. >> i want you to listen now to what my colleague, jim acosta, who was covering the rally, said about that. >> reporter: when the president made that joke about greg gianforte assaulting ben jacobs, i looked over to the crowd. there was one gentleman, a trump supporter in the crowd, who was doing pro wrestling moves, doing body slam-type gestures in the crowd. so the crowd was obviously eating this s

the president taking a moment to address another blowup, praising greg gianforte for body-slamming a reporter. >> never wrestle him. >> reporter: in may 2017, ben jacobs said gianforte assaulted him during an event, for asking a question about health care, breaking his glasses. >> let me talk with you later. speak with shane, please. just -- i'm sick and tired of you guys. >> jesus. >> the last guy that did that did the same thing. >> reporter: gianforte, who went on to win montana's only house seat the day after the incident, blamed jacobs for provoking the attack. later, pleading guilty to an assault charge and issuing an apology. president trump, doubling down on his support then and now. >> any guy that can do a body-slam, he's my kind of guy. he's my guy.hallie, we know wha president's message ahead of midterms. what are the democrats focusing on? >> reporter: the big focus is on health care. you see polling that says that is the issue that's motivating voters the most. you're seeing it in a ton of campaign ads. you have the current president making arguments for republicans, yo

of the events when he actually praised the actions of a gentleman who attacked a reporter, greg gianfortek his name was. he actually body slammed a guy to the ground. my kind of guy, says the president. if that is the tone of political discourse, america has a bit ofa of political discourse, america has a bit of a problem. yeah, it goes beyond, as you say, just words, it also comes down to violence. he made those comments last week in which he specifically praise this individual who had body slammed a reporterfor essentially asking questions, but it does leave you questioning what president trump's own body language will be in the next two weeks. we are weeks away from those crucial congressional mid—term elections and they are very, very important for they are very, very important for the president. now what he is doing is he is out on the road, he is at these rallies, he is trying to fire up these rallies, he is trying to fire up his base. but especially he has criticised the media, saying that they must watch their language and set a civil tongue in the weeks ahead, andi set a civil to

anna: they are incumbent republican representative greg gianforte and democrat kathleen williams.ohn: welcome to you both. we have a slightly different format tonight. each candidate has 90 seconds to answer a question and then there will be an open discussion. with a chance for rebuttals, questions, and direct exchange.

june forte faces his -- gianforte faces his democratic challenger. c-span. the control of congress in question, see the competition for yourself on seized in. -- on a c-span. your primary source for campaign 2018. >> next, a conversation with hillary clinton on the sexual assault allegations against brett kavanaugh, the trump administration, and russian interference in the 2016 election. this happened at the atlantic festival in washington. the atlantic editor-in-chief is the moderator. [applause] >> thank you, thank you. thanks. [laughter] [applause] sec. clinton: thank you. jeffrey: they like you. they like you. they really like you. welcome, everyone. thank you all for being here. thank you, margaret. thank you, everyone. thank you, secretary clinton. we are in a relatively brief . -- brief period of time to talk about a bunch of important things. the future of democracy, america, russia, a couple of other countries may be as well. but i want to start with you just on the events of the past week. in his extraordinary presentation in the senate, brett kava

on saturday, montana to republican congressman greg ginn 40 and challenger -- greg gianforte and challenger kathleen williams will debate. >> with the control of congress in question, see the competition c-span.self on make c-span your primary source for campaign 2018. washington journal, live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. posty morning, washington national security reporter greg miller discusses his new book discussing russia's interference in the 2016 election. and the former secretary of state for african affairs talks about first lady melania trump's trip to africa. c-span'so watch washington journal live on friday morning. ? join the discussion. >> this weekend on american history tv on c-span3, satu rday, wake forest university professor david lubin on 19th-century artist winslow homer. presidency," "the a look at how the fashion choices of that nixon and betty ford reflected the politics and culture of their time. and the 25th anniversary of the u.s. capitol cornerstone where george washington and area freemasons first laid the corner of the u.s. capitol buil

and then saturday, montana republican congressman greg gianforte faces his challenger, kathleen williams, for the state's at-large seat. that's live on c-span, your primary source for campaign 2018. >> with the control of congress in question this election day, see the competition for yourself on c-span. watch the debates from key house and senate races. make c-span your primary source for campaign 2018. >> next, the pennsylvania governors' debate between governor tom wolf and his republican challenger scott wagner. the debate court sthoif pennsylvania cable network is being moderated by jeopardy host alex trebek. from hershey, pennsylvania, this is an hour.

the president called gianforte a tough cookie. >> greg is smart. by the way, never wrestle him. you understand that? never. any guy that can do a body slam, he's my kind of -- he's my guy. >> celebrating violence there. the president in montana. there's a new cbs news poll out this morning suggesting the partisan divide is getting worse. half of voters in our poll believe americans will become more divided in the next two years. only 13% think we will be more united. >> the president also used that montana rally to accuse democrats of backing a caravan of thousands of central american migrants now moving into mexico. he offered no proof of that but said the upcoming midterm vote will be an election of the caravan. the president threatens to mobilize the u.s. military and shut down the southern border to stop those migrants from entering the u.s. chip reid is in phoenix traveling with the president. chip, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. president trump continues his western swing today. tonight, he'll hold a rally in nearby mesa, arizona, and with election day just 2 1/2

criticism for joking about greg gianfor gianforte, any man who can do a body slam is my guy, is he stepping on his own jobs not mobs message? >> know he is not. it is so funny to me because the jobs not mobs message -- your average american may not say it on tv but they see what is going on. the mobs we have seen, the lack of respect, the lack of civility that the left has resorted to is horrifying, as an american is anything can be and the average american may not think of themselves as conservative or pro-trump but they think if you run out of arguments you resort to this kind of thing, and i think they disgrace themselves. when trump cracked a joke like that your average american sees it as a joke. we have never seen the beltway out of touch with middle america, never in our history, and it is a dramatic divide. heather: the president is focusing on folks like eric holder and hillary clinton and maxine waters, mobs that are showing up against cabinet officials and republican senators. >> attacking reporters, and the previous segment, and to body slam a reporter, to me, again, people who

to see steve scalise, a person you know, i respect deeply, praising trump for the gianforte comments,ing him for slamming a reporter. this is symbolic of how president trump has completely emasculated the republican voter. >> it's an achievement for a complete outsider, an insurgent to be able to take over a party and remake it and win re-election and govern. i don't like any of it. we sometimes get caught up in the tweet of the day and the crazy stuff he does, just from a clinical point of view, just to have ted cruz crawling on his belly, begging president trump to save him from beto is something that really should have been in the beaver swamp of trump's imagination about himself. but he's actually pulling it off. >> paula asked if ted cruz was his friend and it's a very interesting answer. >> is he your friend? is he your foe? how would you describe your relationship? >> he's the president, and i work with the president. >> and what we know is ted cruz doesn't have any friends. in all fairness, we can joke about the least liked senator in the united states senate, but the truth is