cnn's jeff zeleny joins us now with that.ff, explain what the president did and did not say today throughout the day. >> reporter: anderson, one thing the president did not say, he did not say that this was an act of domestic terrorism. that is something that the new york mayor said. it's also something republican speaker paul ryan said shortly before the president arrived there in wisconsin. he quieted down the crowd of supporters and said make no mistake, this is an act of terrorism. i tried to ask the president about that in the east room earlier today. if he believed it was. he looked me square in the face and did not answer the question. he did not say that again this evening if he does or does not believe this. that's one thing he did not say. he also did not take responsibility at all for any of the heated rhetoric. tonight you could hear him spreading around the blame and talking about the media there, saying stop the hostility. what he's looking for is someone who agrees with him. that is not in the first amendment a

jeff zeleny has this report. >> reporter: president trump in south haven, mississippi, on tuesday night for ra campaign rally. the second in as many days. of course we're five weeks before the critical midterm elections. the president talking about judge kavanaugh. the brutal confirmation process. but he did something that he has not yet done during the course of all of this -- he mocked christine blasey ford, the california research psychologist who accused judge kavanaugh. sexually assaulting her some 36 years ago. this is what he said -- >> i had one beer. well, do you think -- nope. it was one beer. oh, good. how did you get home? i don't remember. how did you get there? i don't remember. where is the place? i don't remember. how many years ago was it? i don't know. [ applause ] i don't know. i don't know. i don't know. what neighborhood was it in? i don't know. where's the house? i don't know. upstairs, downstairs, where was it? i don't know. but i had one beer, that's the only thing i remember. >> reporter: that comment was met with laughter and applause from the audience of loyal

. >> let's go to jeff zeleny, our white house correspondent. jeff, there are a lot of smiles over there at the white house right now. >> wolf, there's no question, and the president, i'm told, was watching the vote right there on the senate floor just a few moments ago like everyone else. most cloture votes are not as dramatic, but the president is in the residence of the white house this hour watching all this unfold. the white house is still confident of the confirmation of brett kavanaugh, but not certain, of course, just like everyone else, they do not know how senator susan collins is going to vote this afternoon. the president at this point is largely a bystander in one of the very central processes here. but speaking with aides and advisers to this president and watching him as he's been out at campaign rallies throughout the week, he intends to make this an issue either way. and there is a school of thought that if judge kavanaugh would happen to fail, that is an even bigger midterm election issue, a rallying point for conservatives. but

let's bring in cnn's senior white house correspondent jeff zeleny, republican strategist and cnn political commentator kevin madden and the former director of communications outreach for hillary clinton's campaign and our newest cnn political commentator jess mcintosh. great to have you here. >> i came back quickly. >> that was hyper space. >> jess, great to have you. something strange is going on with the president. >> yes. >> he's making more and more outlandish really unhinged claims. i understand fear mongering, i get it. >> right. >> but don't they have to generally have a germ of truth to make them believeable to voters? >> usually, yes, although trump's base seems caught in a particularly insidious inclusive bubble where he can perpetuate lies and they just don't go -- they go unchallenged because all they do is listen to the same sources that are repeating the president's lies. what's really interesting is that this close to a midterm election they are simply unable to talk about any of the issues that voters are actually interested in voting on. they have no plan for healthcare, w

our senior correspondent jeff zeleny is in charlotte, north carolina where the president is getting readyo hold a political rally. a huge crowd already has gathered. jeff, the president at least so far is not accepting any responsibility. >> reporter: wolf, good evening. he has not. as the president was leaving the whouts white house a short time ago he was asked specifically if he holds any blame. he said, look, no, there's no blame, there's no blame for anything. he asked if he disavows support from that florida suspect, and he said he would not actually answer that question. but, wolf, this comes after earlier today the president said he is committed to stopping political violence. the question is what will he do about it. president trump urging americans to unify tonight, refusing to acknowledge how his divisive rhetoric contributed to an overheated and dangerous political climate and may have motivated the bomber suspect. >> the bottom line is americans must unify and show the world we we are united in peace, love and harmony as fellow human citizens. >> reporter: those words so far

for more on lunch with kanye, we bring in cnn's jeff zeleny. >> reporter: christine and dave, for the surreal scenes at the white house and the unorthodox moments, there was a major one yesterday at the white house when rapper kanye west was coming for a private meeting with president trump to talk about prison reform. they were scheduled to have a private lunch and nothing on the public schedule. all that changed when the president invited kanye west into the oval office. sitting right there at the resolute desk, the president listened as kanye talked. >> i love hillary. i love everyone, right? the campaign i'm with her just didn't make me feel as a guy that i did not get to see my dad all the time. a guy that can play catch with his son. it was something about when i put this hat on and it made me feel like superman. if he don't look good, we don't look good. this is our president. he has to be the freshest, the flyest and fly the best planes. we have to make him the best. >> reporter: with the rant going on for ten minutes and kanye talking about race relations and other matters. t

(vicki) that was jeff zeleny reporting.agogue shooting suspect faces 29 federal charges and prosecutors will seek the death penalty. (ken) the fiancee of slain journalist jamal khashoggi is demanding justice after the journalist's controversial death. khashoggi was last seen entering the saudi consulate in istanbul on october-second. his fiancee spoke at a memorial in london on monday. hatice cengiz, fiancee of jamal khashoggi: áspeaking in turkishátranslator for hatice cengiz, fiancee of jamal khashoggi: "i want the role of the political leadership in this brutal killing to be brought to light."hatice cengiz, fiancee of jamal khashoggi: áspeaking in turkishátranslator for hatice cengiz, fiancee of jamal khashoggi: "i want justice for jamal." she declined an invitation to the white house over the weekend saying that she will only go if the administration takes action on the case. (ken) apple is investigating allegations that one of its suppliers illegally used high school students to assemble its watches at a factory in chi

jeff zeleny has more from charlotte. >> reporter: president trump issuing another call for civility at a rally friday evening in the wake of the are arrest of the suspected serial bomber responsible for sending at least 14 pipe bombs to democratic critics of this president. the president opened his remarks at this rally saying there is no place in american society for political violence. he said that he is committed to changing the discourse but didn't say how. immediately shifting to blaming the media, blaming democrats. he really is trying in the final less than two weeks before the midterm elections, trying to use the media as what he says trying to score points. it is his leading opponent now the president again and again and again saying that the media is trying to stop his movement as he calls it, the most powerful movement in the history of this country. never mind the civil rights movement and other 3450u6789s fr3450u6789s -- movements from history. the president casting this final argument if you will as the media trying to stop him. of course the supporters cheered all of tha

>> jeff zeleny, thanks. we have ben ferguson and joan walsh. we also have with us mark preston, senior political analyst. ben, let me start with you, there isn't any proof that middle easterners are in this crowd of the caravan, why make the claim? >> i think it's a bigger point the president is trying to make. we don't know all the people in this kacaravan. all the people are not people looking for asiylum and doing good things p.m. we know in this country, every day the government stopped 10 people a day in 2017 that were on terrorist lists or connected to terrorism. >> that's not -- i'm sorry to interrupt. that's not necessarily at the mexico border. >> right. >> anyone coming into the united states. >> the easiest area to come into this country illegally, and we've seen it from al qaeda, if there's ways to get into america, one of the easiest ways to do it is not on a plane. the president is going back to things that worked well for him in the election. we need to secure the border. the fact that you have 10,000 or 8,000 or 11,000 people th

. >> jeff zeleny is out front at the white house. the president constantly appears to be giving the saudi's the benefit of the doubt. >> reporter: no question. the president has been asked about this virtually every day. we'll look into it, we are looking into it, we'll have a report out soon. there's been not a sense of urgency here at the white house, from the president directly, that there has been frankly in other parts of washington, and indeed around the world, particularly from congressional republicans as well, who have been far more vocal, pointing the finger at saudi arabia here. the president said he believes the flat denials. he was asked again in gorjts ya, where he was about the new cnn report. he said we'll have to look into it it's just a report. the president has made certain that he believes the billions in dollars in arms sales is at least one of the things weighing on his mind very heavily. he said that is important, he said earlier this morning, this person was not an american citizen as well. he was a resident o

cnn's jeff zeleny is at the white house. and jeff, press secretary sarah sanders, when asked if the president was going to keep the harsh rhetoric, she said he's going to continue to draw contrasts as we approach next week's midterm elections. >> reporter: and jake, at the first white house press briefing in 26 days, she used the word "contrast" over and over again. to explain why the president intends to keep up his campaign schedule and keep up his rhetoric in the week before the midterm elections. now, the president, she said, has not blamed anyone. but we have seen him placing blame all over. one thing he hasn't done, accept any of the blame for leading to this climate of deadly political heat. with pittsburgh poised to bury victims of the horrific hate-driven slang at the tree of life synagogue, president trump opened his day not consoling mourners, but falsely blaming the media. at 8:03:00 a.m. today, he tweeted, there is great anger in our country, caused in part by inaccurate and even fraudulent reporting of the news.

cnn, jeff zeleny is at the white house. , is the white house spinning in any way that the president of the united states attacking a porn star, calling her a horse face, a woman with whom he allegedly slept right after first lady melania trump gave birth to their son, are they try to spin this as some sort of brilliant, shrewd politics? >> reporter: jake, the white house isn't trying to talk about it. many aides simply did not want to address the question of horse face. perhaps that's because it's three weeks to the day before the midterm elections, one of the central challenges for republicans, women voters in the suburbs. that's the key to holding on to the house of representatives. now, all of this is coming as the president had no events on his public schedule today, leaving him plenty of time to tweet you will havulgarities an. famous for his insulting nicknames, president trump coined a new one today. after a defamation suit filed against him by porn star stormy daniels was dismissed. now i can go after horse face and

i want to turn to the white house, to our senior correspondent jeff zeleny. this is a previously scheduled event, jeff, can you tell us about, an opioid event that the president is hosting but we would expect to hear from him as well on what's going on in new york and other locations in these devices, these suspicious devices, these live explosives that have been sent. >> reporter: good afternoon. i'm told the president is going to address this during his remarks. he has been giving briefings here this morning as in the west wing. he's been getting briefings from counterterrorism officials and others. some are here in the room. the attorney general is here in the room. the secretary of homeland security is here in the room as well. we are expecting the president to condemn these as egregious acts. the white house press secretary, sarah sanders, said they were a despicable act. we do expect the president, as well as the first lady, who is speaking separately to also condemn these attacks. the question is will he call it an act of domestic terrorism as the mayor

our senior white house correspondent, jeff zeleny, on the scene for us already. jeff, walk us through the president's reaction. >> reporter: well, wolf, just a short time ago, as the president was leaving the white house, he disavowed any relationship to this. but he would not answer our question if he should disavow the support of this man, this suspect, in florida. the president throughout the day, throughout the last several days, on one hand, he has been dismissing the acts. today he called them a terrorizing act. he said they're despicable and have no place in our culture. he did not say what he would do about it. president trump urging americans to unify tonight. but refusing to acknowledge how his divisive rhetoric has contributed to an overheated and dangerous political climate. and may have motivated bombing suspect, cesar sayoc. >> the bottom line is that americans must unify. and we must show the world that we are united together in peace and love and harmony, as fellow american citizens. >> reporter: but those words so far are just words. not followed

let's talk about the politics of this now with cnn jeff zeleny at the white house. the white house says they don't see the president's comments at last night's rally an attack. whether it's an attack or ridicule, it certainly did not help husband case with the three republican senators on the fence about kavanaugh. >> jake, there's no question about that. being inside that rally, as i was last evening, you could hear the applause t grew very slowly and it was not uniformly. i saw several people with uncomfortable looks on their face. like at any other rally that he does, he kept going and going and finally got the applause he was looking for. jake, that is not the important audience here. the white house knows it's an audience of three, jeff flake of arizona, susan collins of maine and lisa murkowski of alaska, all of whom condemned that. whether they'll use this to factor in their decision or not. the white house at this moment is waiting for the fbi report. they're waiting for it on capitol hill as well. that could change everything. >> president trump may have dr

cnn's jeff zeleny is at the white house. , the president said he thinks mattis is, quote, sort of a democrat. mattis has always seemed to me to be pretty independent, and he did not have a particularly good relationship with president obama. >> jake, that is an understatement. in fact, president obama dismissed general mattis six months early or so from leading central command. general mattis has served commanders in chiefs in both parties, republicans and democrats. president trump hailed him as a true general's general. that was then, though, when he joined the administration. it's clear now that admiration is waning. >> to see this personally, it's very tough. very, very tough. total devastation. >> reporter: in florida today, president trump getting a first-hand look at devastation from hurricane michael. from the ground -- >> everything okay? you're doing all right? >> reporter: and from the air. pledging the government's help in recovering from yet another massive storm to hit the u.s. but back at the white house, fallo

jeff zeleny is out front at the white house.sers see this as squaring with his calls for unity? >> they viewed it as the president defending himself. the president fighting back, the president under attack by others, defending himself. that tweet came this morning at 8:03 this morning. not by talking about any of the victims at the synagogue, but by blaming the hate and anger in america on his view on what he called the media, simply not true. that was his only public statement on that, so far. he will be doing interviews later that will be airing on fox. he did not have any public events. talking to a variety of people here at the white house, and other republicans who are allies of this president, they say he's filled with grievance, he believes that his words over the weekend denouncing all of this were not really given that much attention, which, of course isn't true as well. they were broadcast, he was talking so much, and went ahead with that campaign rally, that is what made more news, of course. going after maxine waters

jeff zeleny in mississippi where the president will speak at a political rally later tonight. there's also breaking news in the fbi investigation of judge brett kavanaugh. our congressional correspondent sunlen survaughty has that part of the story. christopher wray, complaining think client hasn't been interviewed yet? >> reporter: right. capitol hill waited on bated breath for results of the fbi investigation. news indeed as of right now, christine blasey ford's team says they have not been contacted by the fbi in the supplemental investigation taking place. they wrote this in a letter directly to fbi director wris wray and the general counsel saying they've sent multiple e-mails and calls and letters to cooperate with their investigation, but no communication from the fbi yet. they write it is inconceivable the fbi can conduct a thorough investigation without talking to her. they request a call with the fbi for more information, but, again, up here on capitol hill, everyone is certainly bracing for the results of this investigation, which in large part holds the fate of bre

let's go to our senior white house correspondent jeff zeleny.eeting was certainly unusual. >> reporter: yes, it was. the president likes to show his guests at the white house in the oval office, likes to show them around and likes when they hear him speak or see him sign a bill, and he did something very crucial on top of everything else and he turned and listened as he turned the microphone over to kanye west in the most unusual settings of all right there in front of the resolute desk. >> reporter: a surreal scene in the oval office with the president embracing president trump. >> let me give this i go a hug right here. i love this guy right here. >> the unscripted episode of reality television across the resolute desk. >> how does it feel to be in the oval office? >> reporter: oh, it's good energy in this. >> the president somehow finding the time for a private meeting and lunch with the controversial rapper and loyal trump supporter that devolved into an incoherent televised rant. >> this right here is the iplane up, a hydrogen-powered airpl

jeff zeleny, thank you very much. let's take a quick break.the breaking news right after this. buy chocolate, sea salt rxbar. or not, whatever. i'm just saying some words in a commercial. [door closing] you can do it. 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. -whoo! >>> this is cnn, the most trusted name in news. >>> we're back with our breaking news coverage of the attempted pipe bomb of cnn, the obamas, clintons and others. let's bring in our analysts and correspondents. what are investigators primarily focussing on right now? >> well, right now, the investigation is multipronged, wolf. on one hand, investigators want to see if there are anymore suspicious packages with these types of devices that are out there. in fact, in this press release sent out by the fbi, it acknowledges there could be more packages out there. that is a big focus, was it one person, was it more than one person that was behind this. as my colleag

i've got jeff zeleny to has information on this for us. did not mince word, calling the package bombs a despicable act. he talked about this at the beginning of a bill signing ceremony that was a rare event here at the white house. democrats and republicans in the room for an opioid prevention signing bill. let's listen to what the president said and what he didn't say. i guess we don't have that sound right now, chris. i'll say he did go on to call it an egregious act. he did something interesting. he did something we rarely hear this president do. he called for civility and unity. but he did not say at all that he is often the one sowing all these divisions. we go from campaign rally to campaign rally and hear bawl the people who were targeted, the obamas, the clintons, and we heard the "cnn sucks" wants as loud as i've ever heard. we do know the president was responsible for his rhetoric. the president said he'd been briefed several times by law enforcement officials. chris, i asked him at the end of the event if he believes that this i

wolfe. >> thank you, jeff zeleny at the white house. let's get more on all of this.oining us, former jewish-american attorney, senior cnn analyst pta refareek farard. he is strongly defending the robert mueller investigation, he says and i'm quoting him now. people are entitled to be frustrated, i can accept that. i committed i would ensure the investigation was appropriate and independent and reached the right result, whatever it may be. i believe i have been faithful to that, close quote. rod rosenstein always says he tries very hard to ignore media speculation. why do you think rod rosenstein all of a sudden is speaking up right now? >> i don't know. that's a good question. it is unclear how much longer rod rosenstein will be in office. we had that back and forth a couple of weeks ago. recklessly everyone was reporting that rod rosenstein was on his way to the white house to potentially be fired by the president. the president has made clear on prior occasions he doesn't like the fact that special counsel bob mueller was installed at the hands of rod rosenstein, a

jeff zeleny is "outfront" tonight. tell us about president trump likening the saudi denials to brett kavanaugh. >> reporter: jake, that is simply something that we have not heard him say before, but a bit of a word on the president's day. he had no public events on his schedule, so i'm told he was watching all the news coverage of this, was agitated throughout the day about how this news coverage was critical of him and critical of his administration not doing more, but then, he decided spontaneously, i believe, to do more interviews, and it was in that associated press interview just a short time ago that he compared what was happening in istanbul to judge kavanaugh, saying, guilty until proven innocent, making a play on that. jake, that is discounting all history here. that is discounting everything that the saudi kingdom has done and that u.s. intelligence knows they have done. the reality here is this. this white house, this president, his son-in-law, jared kushner as senior adviser, they have wanted to forge this

let's get to jeff zeleny at the white house.ump was indeed watching senator collins' speech. he's no doubt pleased with how she ended it. >> jim, there's no question about it. we are told that the president was watching the speech, just off the oval office in the dining room. he was actually going to be signing an faa reauthorization bill. he had some house members over, but he asked them if they wanted to watch it, so they all watched it together. he's describ he's described in a very good mood, and he has a concerted legacy on the supreme court, getting a second appointment in just his second year in the presidency is extraordinary. >> so the president was largely a bystander, but certainly was pleased at senator collins' speech on the senate floor. >> and i understand you heard there was a president who lobbied senator collins, but it wasn't president trump. >> that's right, jim. we are learning that a short time ago, president george w. bush was on the phone with several senators, including susan collins, trying to reassure

that's the fbi's definition, and the president did not answer that question from my colleague, jeff zeleny. he looked him in the eye and didn't answer it. we did hear from the president about this call for unity, the fact that we all need to come together, which is pretty rich considering the rhetoric we have heard from this president. i was speaking to white house officials today who reject any notion that the rhetoric could have somehow contributed to what has played out, but it cannot be ignored that the targets here, you know, we have hillary clinton, president obama, john brennan, eric holder, george soros, maxine waters as well. >> and debbie wasserman schultz and cnn. >> and debbie wasserman schultz and cnn. these are targets of frequent, you know, frequent criticism by the president. that cannot be ignored but white house officials i have been speaking with say, look, you cannot blame the president for what happened today, for what a crazy person decides to do. this is not the president's fault, and the rhetoric shouldn't -- his rhetoric should not be a part of this. they don't ack

cnn's jeff zeleny is at the white house. and jeff, the president also said americans must unify in light of this. >> reporter: jake, he did. he said acts of political violence have no place in the u.s. but what he did not say is the fact that he is the very person often sowing these seeds of anger and distrust, going after the same people targeted today. >> this egregious conduct is abhorrent to everything we hold dear and sacred as americans. >> reporter: in the east room of the white house, president trump condemning the attempted act of violence today through explosive devices sent to cnn and high-ranking democratic leaders. >> the full weight of our government is being deployed to conduct this investigation and bring those responsible for these despicable acts to justice. we will spare no resources or expense in this effort. >> reporter: the president issuing a rare call for civility. >> in these times, we have to unify. we have to come together. and send one very clear, strong, unmistakable message. that acts or threats

for more, i want to turn to our jeff zeleny. certainly seems like the administration is certainly in some sort of cleanup mode now over this meeting between pompeo and the crown prince which seemed cordial and happy in front of the cameras. >> there is no question. for the last couple days the president has been agitated, i'm told, by what he sees as news coverage that is painting him in a favorable and cozy light, if you will, with the saudi government and the saudi leadership. no question at all. secretary of state mike pompeo trying to assert that, no, i really did have tough words privately. but the public words are what the world is watching here, and the president once again today said he was going to take a wait-and-see approach, allowing the saudis to complete their investigation. we are more than two weeks into this situation already, and the president not showing any sense of urgency, not saying if the u.s. intelligence officials are involved or if he is getting any information from them. seemingly, putting everything

let's bring in our senior white house correspondent jeff zeleny. jeff, before we get to that rambling diatribe in the oval office, you're also getting some breaking news on the search for a replacement for u.n. ambassador nikki haley. >> we are indeed, wolf. good evening. this is something that has been moving the last couple days when nikki haley announced her surprise resignation. one of the people on the list immediately was dina powell. she left the white house earlier this year after serving as a deputy national security advisor. she of course is the veteran of the bush white house as well. but now we're told that she informed the president in a phone call this morning that she is taking her name out of consideration. our elise confirming that dina powell told the president she is withdrawing her name from consideration. the president is talking in glowing terms about dina powell just a couple days ago. he said he has talked to her about the position. i am told by a separate official familiar with this search that this entire process this week,

jeff zeleny, thank you very much. we'll continue talking about this. of the president reiterating denials of what appears to be more and more of a saudi coverup. we'll be right back. if you're turning 65, you're probably learning about medicare and supplemental insurance. medicare is great, but it doesn't cover everything - only about 80% of your part b medicare costs, which means you may have to pay for the rest. that's where medicare supplement insurance comes in: to help pay for some of what medicare doesn't. learn how an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by united healthcare insurance company might be the right choice for you. a free decision guide is a great place to start. call today to request yours. so what makes an aarp medicare supplement plan unique? well, these are the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp and that's because they meet aarp's high standards of quality and service. you're also getting the great features that any medicare supplement plan provides. for example, with any medicare supplement plan you may

make it, squarespace >>> cnn white house reporter, jeff zeleny, reports president trump doesn't likeoverage of the alleged saudi murder of the "washington post" journalist, so what did he do about it? he attacks the appearance of a woman, just as the framers intended. and joining us is our panel. i think the context here is fascinating, jeff reports the president doesn't like the idea that the president is being criticized for not condemning the saudis, so what is his impulse? attack a woman. >> should we give specifics? >> yeah, do you want to read the tweet. >> you read the president's, and i will read stormy's. dramatic reading. >> federal judge throws out stormy daniel's lawsuit versus trump, and trump is entitled to full legal fees, and trump says now i can go officer horse face, and on and on, and horse face is what he calls stormy daniels. >> stormy says ladies and gentlemen, may i present your president, game on, tiny. >> game on, tiny. i think that's the best phrase to come out of that, and when the porn star gets the better of the president in a twitter fight -- >> this is

jeff zeleny reports. president trump knows the november election is all about him - he worries his supporters do not.president trump/no name font needed: "pretend i'm on the ballot." / butted to/ "i'm not on the ticket, but i am on the ticket."two weeks before election day, a new air of uncertainty hangs over the 2018 campaign, revolving almost entirely around the trump factor.president trump/no name font needed:"a vote for me. themselves from midterm elections - to avoid nationalizing the races - trump is doing the opposite. he's all in, firing up loyal supporters and fierce critics alike.resigned republicans would lose the house, cnn has learned, but now he increasingly believes he can awaken the trump coalition to stop - or slow - a democratic wave.president trump/no name font needed:"you know, i think that blue wave is being rapidly shattered." "the rally in houston is the president's 29th of the year. he's far more likely to visit filled with loyal admirers - rather than running a risk of firing up d

let's go to jeff zeleny. what's the latest over there, jeff? >> reporter: wolf, even with the growing and grisly evidence of saudi arabia's suspected involvement, the president is taking a wait and see approach. not waiting for u.s. intelligence, but waiting for saudi arabia to conduct an investigation of itself. the president was talking more about the business relationship today in the oval office, not talking specifically about that brutal murder. wolf, it's raising questions if his america-first policy still includes u.s. moral leadership. president trump denying tonight the u.s. is trying to help saudi arabia cover up its alleged involvement in the apparent murder of journalist, jamal khashoggi. >> no, not at all. >> reporter: despite mounting evidence of the disappearance and suspected dismembering of the "washington post" columnist two weeks ago in istanbul, the president still taking a wait and see approach. even as he touts the importance of the u.s./saudi relationship. >> saudi arabia has been a very important ally of ours in the midd

our jeff zeleny is reporting republicans if those states have simply asked him to stay. what are the new poll numbers from those those two states show? >> nevada is not trump country. hillary clinton won nevada in 2016 and arizona as you see here in our new poll is edging towards the democrat. 51% for kiersten sinema and within a margin of error. look at the nevada poll numbers, you will see a similar story, jackie rosen the democratic congresswoman there. 48% three points ahead of heller. this is a total margin of eor. dean heller, the only incumbent republican running for re-election in a state that hillary clinton won. in both of these cases, the two best pickup for democrats, donald trump as you noted is not welcome in the closing days. >> with six days to go, we'll be watching it very, very closely. thank you very much. look at this only moments ago, the president of the united states tweeted this about the house speaker paul ryan. let me put the tweet up on the screen. i'm read it. paul ryan should be focusing on holding the majority rather than giving his opinions

bombs sent to people across the nation-- were people he's targeted with hiom our partner's at c-n-n jeff zeleny.. president trump urging americans to unify tonight, but refusing to acknowledge how his divisive rhetoric has contributed to an overheated and dangerous political climate and may have motivated bombing suspect cesar sayoc. president trump:"the bottom line is that americans must unify. and we must show the world that we are united together in peace and love and harmony as fellow american citizens."but those words, so far, are just words, not followed by action.president trump:"we must never allow political violence to take root in america. cannot let it happen. and i'm committed to doing everything in my power as president to stop it. to stop it now. stop it now." that's teleprompter trump, with a carefully-scripted message 11 days before the midterm elections.president trump:"these terrorizing acts are despicable and have no place in our country. no place."but officials tell c-n-n the president does not believe he's complicit in contributing to the red-hot political atmosphere ...whe

jeff zeleny, is the president still feeling confident about this vote for his nominee? >> reporter: i would say he's silently optimistic. we do know behind the scenes he's watching what is happening on the senate floor very carefully. we did speak with white house press secretary sarah sanders a short time ago and she said "i hope so" when asked if the confirmation is going to happen, if judge cavanaugh is going to be confirmed. she said they certainly believe that he should be confirmed and they believe it's heading in that direction. an interesting thing that happened on the eve of this vote last evening, brett kavanaugh came out with an op-ed in "the wall street journal" essentially apologizing for his heated rhetoric and heated comments in defense of himself last week in that hearing. he said if i became too emotional, essentially apologizing for that. trying to respond to some serious concerns from some senators about his temperament and if he can serve impartially. i asked sarah sanders about that, what the president thought of that apology. she said, look, he wan

with me now, from the rally the president just spoke at with senior correspondent jeff zeleny.wed his call for unity. but yet again, that call only lasted a few sentences. what happened? >> reporter: it did. the president was here saying the same they know that he's been saying at every rally. the tone was a little softer than it has been, say, then the houston rally where i was always at. it was similar to the rally on wednesday and the difference is that the president did not specifically mention any of his critics by name with the quick exception of hillary clinton one time and maxine waters. beyond that he largely stuck to his normal script here. but what we heard tonight was the president finding a new point. he has gone out to the media repeatedly. that's his main opponent. he blamed the media entirely for what he said was trying to score political points for the serial bomber. take a listen to what he said, not accepting any responsibility himself. >> nor do we blame the democrat party every time radical leftists unleash violence and mayhem. yet the media has tried to at

. >> jeff zeleny is "outfront" tonight at the white house. ge from the president when it comes to christine blasey ford. why the change? >> reporter: kate, good evening. no question there is a change. first and foremost, it is the fact that we were so close to that midterm election and republicans are seeing data out there that this is gal have as ni -- galvanizing male trump supporters and voters. the president clearly at that campaign rally, which i was at last night in mississippi and you saw the excitement and interest and you heard that applause, but those senators you were just playing clips of were not laughing today, and that is the only audience that matters right now for the confirmation battle of brett kavanaugh. it is susan collins, lisa murkowski, and jeff flake, potentially a couple democrats as well, but that is the audience that matters, and the president simply was not helpful for that. but he is stoking his base and we heard sarah sanders say today in a rare white house briefing that this should not be based on emotion, it sh

let's get right to cnn's jeff zeleny in council bluffs, iowa, where the president is holding a rally tonight. jeff, the president just spoke on his way to the rally where you are, moments ago, and spoke about the speculation that his daughter, ivanka trump, might replace haley. >> he did, jake. and the president, of course, had glowing words for ivanka trump. he said she would be incredible. said she would be dynamite. but he also said he would be accused of nepotism. bringing her on as a senior adviser. he also said she would be the best person for the job. wouldn't be able to find anyone better than that. so, of course, is setting up a difficult situation for whoever he does decide to put in there, if it's not ivanka trump. jake, this is coming on a day when it stunned many people inside the west wing. but the timing of the nikki haley announcement is much more interesting. she actually decided to resign last week, and was going to do it on october 3rd. that's when her letter was dated. of course, that was the day after the president was mocking christine blasey ford in the middle o

with me now, from the rally the president just spoke at with senior correspondent jeff zeleny.all for unity. but yet again, that call only lasted a few sentences. what happened? >> reporter: it did. the president was here saying the same they know that he's been saying at every rally. the tone was a little softer than it has been, say, then the houston rally where i was always at. it was similar to the rally on wednesday and the difference is that the president did not specifically mention any of his critics by name with the quick exception of hillary clinton one time and maxine waters. beyond that he largely stuck to his normal script here. but what we heard tonight was the president finding a new point. he has gone out to the media repeatedly. that's his main opponent. he blamed the media entirely for what he said was trying to score political points for the serial bomber. take a listen to what he said, not accepting any responsibility himself. >> nor do we blame the democrat party every time radical leftists unleash violence and mayhem. yet the media has tried to attack the

. >> jeff zeleny at the white house. bout it with my experts, david urban, you heard jeff say there are people who think the president is squandering an opportunity for real leadership, for the unity he talked about in the initial address before he started talking -- attacking the media and the like. do you think he's missing an opportunity? >> i think big moments like this in history, real opportunity to kind of -- the president said the right thing initially. i think he it continue or that similar vain. the media -- not necessarily this show, has rushed to lay blame at his footsteps pretty early and loudly and i think everybody needs to step back and just wait and see, let's wait and see what happens. there is a big investigation about trials of certain senators and let's wait and see what the jury says. wait until the investigation comes out here, if there is somebody that did this, that is linked to some crazy person, we should talk about it. i didn't blame when bernie sanders crazy shooter went and shot up the rnc ba

our colleague, jeff zeleny, reported earlier today that donald trump not welcome in arizona or nevada in these final days. he was there a little over a week ago on a western swing, but not in the closing days. take a look here at our brand-new poll. in arizona, martha mcsally, 47%. that's a four-point lead within the margin of error and a tighter lead than two months ago in september when it was a seven-point lead. look now in nevada. and you'll see a similar story. you see jackie rosen there, 48%, dean heller, republican incumbent at 45%. that's been about where that race has been for two months. here's what's key. even though donald trump's numbers are improving from what they were in september, in both arizona and nevada, wolf, he is not welcome there, because they democratic pickup opportunities, meaning dean heller and martha mcsally do not want donald trump to take this hard line message into a state where they need to woo independent voters in the closing days here. that is not -- they are not about a base strategy. they are trying to woo in these purple states some independent

. >> jeff zeleny is in council bluffs, iowa right now where president trump is about to take the stageally. jeff, what else do we know about who might replace nikki haley and when it might happen? >> well, kate, the president said earlier today he plans to make this decision in the next two to three weeks. so it's unclear if it will be done before the midterm elections. there is no real hurry in this because of course she said she will stay until the end of the year. and this isn't exactly central on his mind. he is going to be doing a lot of rally stops like this. we are one month to the midterms. there is no question there will be a lot of people vying for the position. as of now, with ivanka trump saying she is not interested, and one of the reasons, kate, the reality is the financial disclosure she would have to go through for a confirmation is not something she would be willing to do. dina powell's name is first and foremost. but senator bob corker chairman of the senate foreign relations committee. he was a possible name mentioned. there will be a lot of people mention in order p

jeff zeleny, at the white house. tune into cnn this morning. cnn's state of the union, john kasich will join at 9:00 eastern time, 12:00 p.m. eastern, as well, on sunday morning. our coverage on cnn continues with "the situation room" right now. >>> happening now, breaking news. the swing votes. after a day of very high drama, emotion and anger, undecided u.s. senators announced whether they'll vote to confirm the supreme court nominee, brett kavanaugh. the stage is now set for a final vote tomorrow. we're standing by to see if the president weighs in. >>> court of opinion. after lambasting democrats and blaming the clintons for a so-called smear campaign overnight, judge kavanaugh began trying to repair his reputation for being impartial. but is his last-ditch effort too little too late to keep politics out of the supreme court? >>> record low. the same day president trump gets an apparent victory on the supreme court, the u.s. unemployment rate hits its lowest point in 49 years. will voters give president trump the credit? and after a rocky s

jeff zeleny, let's talk about what the president had to say, especially his theory on who is inside that caravan of migrants heading through mexico. listen to this. >> among the people they have intercepted, very recently, are people from the middle east. okay? so you can't be surprised when you hear it. you've heard that before. it happens all of the time. and i spoke to him literally last night, i spoke to another one this morning. very good relationship with border patrol and i.c.e. and they say it happens all of the time from the middle east. it's not even saying bad or good. but some real bad ones. but -- >> but no proof they're in the caravan now. >> they could very well be. >> but there's no proof. >> there's no proof of anything. there's no proof of anything. but they could very well be. or they don't have to necessarily be in that group. but certainly, you have people coming up through the southern border, from the middle east and other places that are not appropriate for our country. and i'm not letting them in. they're not coming in. all right? they're not coming in. we're goi

. >> i want to -- paul, sources told my colleague, jeff zeleny, the reason president trump is visiting today was because it's the best day on his schedule, given the string of campaign rallies that begin tomorrow and extend through the mid terms. i think 11 stops in total. a white house official saying today the optics of visiting pittsburgh on the same day as a campaign rally were not viewed as ideal. >> well, he's already held rallies after the shooting. and seems to be completely heartless to the suffering there. this obviously is not a partisan thing. we do want our president to be a healer and a consoler. but the way he has conducted himself has really -- as we saw in miguel's report, it's increased the pain of that heartbroken community. and for him to go and -- let's hope that he says all the right words in the right order on the teleprompter that his staff gives him. and then to go back out and do -- not just do rallies, which is bad enough. i think it's bad for him to be political at a time like this. but rallies that are so very divisive. that are so designed to pit americans

republican officials tell jeff zeleny that president trump's not going to either of the states because there asked him not to go. and his push for immigration, which you were just pleading with him to stop, is part of the reason in nevada and arizona, because that is hurting republicans with their voters. >> but, look, it's amazing. paul and i talked about this earlier. these races were nowhere in sight, right? dean heller was never supposed to be this close, within the margin of error. same with -- and i'm quite amazed that martha mcsally is not running away with it in arizona. you're right. these issues are tough in those swing states. big immigrant populations in both nevada and arizona. much more difficult. >> what's interesting to me in the polls is in both of those states, you ask what is the most important issue. and they say health care, by five or six points over immigration. immigration, the president has put on the agenda. and then when you drill down and ask women, it goes to ten. you ask moderates, eight or ten. among the voters, there are still very much health care voter

jeff zeleny at the white house, thanks so much.tfront" tonight, former republican congressman charlie dent from the great commonwealth of pennsylvania. national spokesperson for moveon.org and stephen moore, a former senior economic adviser to the trump campaign. congressman dent, let me start with you. the only person responsible for sending these bombs or whatever they are is the person who sent them. period. full stop. we have no idea what motivated this person and we have no idea if the president's heated rhetoric has anything to do with it at all. that said, did the president miss a moment here? >> i think so. look, the president's job is to try to keep the country together, unite us, not divide us, and sometimes his rhetoric is very incendiary, very inflammatory and i think he missed that moment. on the teleprompter, he said the right thing. off teleprompter is where he goes off the rails from time to time and i think that's the case and i've often felt that both he and bernie sanders, you know, when they campaigned for presi