abc's jonathan karl has more. >> reporter: in his first public comments after the massacre, president trump condemned what he called an act of hate, but he did not mention the victims. instead, he suggested armed guards at the synagogue could have prevented the tragedy. >> if you take a look, if they had protection inside, the results would have been far better. >> reporter: no mention of anti-semitism until a few hours later, when the president, reading from a teleprompter, called the attack pure evil. >> this was an anti-semitic act. you wouldn't think this would be possible in this day and age, but we just don't seem to learn from the past. >> reporter: the president said he considered canceling his political events in the wake of the massacre. >> and at first i was thinking, i'll cancel, and then i said, you know, we can't let evil change our life and change our schedule. >> reporter: at his next stop, a rally in illinois, the president's words veered between tightly scripted sober-minded words about the massacre and classic trumpism. >> if you don't mind, i'm going to tone it dow

and jonathan karl was there. >> reporter: a most unusual day at the white house. >> love this guy right here. >> reporter: president trump invited the cameras into the oval office for his meeting with rapper and provocateur kanye west and football great jim brown. west launching into an extended soliloquy about donald trump and his red make america great again hat. >> you know, they tried to scare me to not wear this hat. my own friends. but this hat, it gives me -- it gives me power in a way. it was something about when i put this hat on, it made me feel like superman. you made a superman. that's my favorite super hero. and you made a superman cape for me. >> reporter: the rapper's meandering monologue touched on more than a dozen topics. the president almost seemed at a loss for words. >> i'll tell you what, that was pretty impressive, folks. >> reporter: the meeting, capped a frenetic 24-hours for the president that included a bill signing with kid rock and a campaign rally in erie, pennsylvania. >> all the beautiful red hats, make america great again. >> reporter: despite all of thi

here's jonathan karl. >> reporter: police in riot gear today faced with migrants fleeing deep poverty and gang violence in central america. the caravan of an estimated 3,000 or so people, many of them families with children, broke through a fence near mexico's border with guatemala. president trump says he's prepared to bring in the military to keep them out of the united states. >> if that doesn't work out, we're calling up the military, not the guard, we're calling up the military. and we're going to have the military stationed. they're not coming into this country. they might as well turn back. they're not coming into this country. >> reporter: after declining last year, the flow of undocumented immigrants is now surging to near record levels on president trump's watch. more than 37,00 apprehended at the u.s./mexican border in august alone. now the president wants to make the migrant caravan a defining issue for the midterm elections. >> this will be an election of kavanaugh, the caravan, law and order, and common sense. >> reporter: the president is on a campaign blitz, 16 days on

jonathan karl, abc news, the white house. >> what a day at the white house there for jonathan karl, whoug from kanye as well. >>> in the meantime, the president's former fixer has made a political change. michael cohen is now a registered democrat. his attorney tweeted cohen is distancing himself from the current administration's values. cohen is awaiting sentencing on charges connected to trump's 2016 presidential run. >>> and wall street has one more day this week to try to recoup its stunning losses. the markets opened this morning with the dow off another 545 points, closing in at above 25,000. it's a two-day loss, about 5%. investors concerned about rising interest rates and trade tensions spread the selloff across the board, dumping shares from technology as well as other industries, including energy companies to health care stocks. >>> and we have more news ahead, including a royal wedding that's happening today. the wedding takes place at windsor castle. there is already plenty of drama surrounding who is going and who is not. >>> and later, cutting loose with cosplay. why so ma

here's abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl tonight. >> reporter: as he celebrates brett kavanaugh's confirmation victory, president trump is lashing out at democrats who opposed him. >> it was a disgraceful situation, brought about by pooefl th people that are evil. and he toughed it out. we all toughed it out together. >> reporter: kavanaugh was confirmed by the narrowest margin for a supreme court justice in over 130 years. protests going on in the senate chamber even as vice president pence presided over the final vote. >> the sergeant-at-arms will restore order in the gallery. >> reporter: as kavanaugh was sporn in that evening by chief justice john roberts, two of the court's staunch liberals were there to witness. justices elaina kagan and ruth bader ginsburg joining samuel alito and clarence thomas for the ceremony. deep divisions remain. republican senator susan collins, whose vote proved decisive, told "60 minutes" that she now has a security detail because of threats she's received. and while she believes christine blasey ford is a victim of sexual assault, she

then i want to take you to the next question, with jonathan karl.herishes the american-jewish community for everything it stands for. he adores jewish-americans as part of his own family. however, the president is going to continue to draw contrast particularly as we go into the final days of an election, the differences between the two parties, particularly on policy differences. very first action that the president did was condemn these heinous acts. very first thing that the media did was condemn the president and go after and try to place blame, not just on the president, but everybody that works in this administration. the major news networks first pub licks -- public statement was to blame the president. that is outrageous. >> dana: karl, the briefing started off with an emotional moment when she talked about the president's love for his children. this is not the first time the press secretary has had to talk about a tragedy, when you think of all the shootings she's had to talk about. the hurricanes. it immediately went back to this fight tha

here's abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl tonight. >> reporter: president trump is campaigning as if his own name is on the ballot, at least ten rallies planned between now and election day. and he's got a new brand for himself. >> you know what i am, i'm a nationalist, okay? i'm a nationalist. >> reporter: nationalism is a racially loaded term. in the oval office today, he was asked if he's trying to appeal to white nationalists. >> i have never even heard that. i cannot imagine that. you mean -- i'm a nationalist, no, i never heard that theory about being a nationalist. i've heard them all. but i'm somebody that loves our country. >> reporter: as he makes the final push, the president is unleashing a torrent of exaggerations and claims that just aren't true. for example, on taxes -- >> we're going to be putting in a 10% tax cut for middle income families. it's going to be put in next week, 10% tax cut. >> reporter: but a tax cut would have to be passed by congress, and congress isn't even in session next week. in fact, republican leaders say they know of no such tax plan. on

abc's jonathan karl with a reality check tonight. he has the state of the race, with one week to go. >> reporter: just seven days before the midterm elections, president trump is determined to make immigration a central issue, today vowing to singlehandedly end the constitution's guarantee of citizenship to anyone born in the united states. >> you can definitely do it with an act of congress, but now they're saying i can do it just with an executive order. it's in process, it'll happen. >> reporter: but today, the top republican in congress said the president simply does not have that power. >> well, you obviously cannot do that. you cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order. we didn't like it when obama tried changing immigration laws via executive action. i think in this case, the 14th amendment is pretty clear. >> reporter: as the election approaches, the president focused on the caravan of migrants fleeing poverty and traveling by foot to the u.s./mexico border. >> i wish i could just tell them -- and i say it, "c

here's abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl. >> reporter: as the president and first lady prepare to visit pittsburgh, the white house is making it clear the president does not see a need to tone down his rhetoric. does he have any concern at all that his words could inspire or provoke troubled people to do awful things? >> certainly, the president wants, in moments where our country is hurting like the las, find ways to bring our country together, and we've seen him do exactly that. however, the president is going to continue to draw contrasts. >> reporter: in his very first comments after the shooting, the president condemned what he called an act of hate, but he did not mention the victims. instead, he suggested armed guards at the synagogue could have prevented the killing. >> if they had protection inside, the results would have been far better. >> reporter: the mayor of pittsburgh firmly disagreed. >> i don't think that the answer to this problem is solved by having our synagogues, mosques, and churches filled with armed guards. we should try to stop irrational behav

jonathan karl on the president's evolving response. >> reporter: in his first public comments after the massacre, president trump condemned what he called an act of hate, but he did not mention the victims. instead, he suggested armed guards at the synagogue could have prevented the tragedy. >> if you look at it, if they had protection inside, the results would have been far better. they didn't, and he was able to do things that unfortunately he shouldn't have been able to do. >> reporter: no mention of anti-semitism until a few hours later, when the president, reading from a teleprompter, called the attack "pure evil." >> this was an anti-semitic act. you wouldn't think this would be possible in this day and age, but we just don't seem to learn from the past. >> reporter: the president said he considered cancelling his political events in the wake of the massacre. >> and at first, i was thinking i'll cancel. and then i said, you know, we can't let evil change our life and change our schedule. >> reporter: at his next stop, a to tone it down just a little bit. is that okay? [ crowd booi

. >> jonathan karl at the white house tonight. jon, thank you. >>> and to the other breaking headline this evening. authorities a short time ago before the cameras, taking questions in the nationwide search for a missing 13-year-old girl, fearing she could be in danger tonight after her parents were found dead in their wisconsin home. police say there was a 911 call from the home, they heard noise, but that no one was able to talk into the phone. abc's alex perez is in wisconsin. >> reporter: tonight, the search for missing 13-year-old jayme closs intensifying. wisconsin authorities now working with the fbi. >> our goal is to bring jayme home. that's our only goal. >> reporter: the mystery beginning about 1:00 a.m. monday. investigators discovered jayme's parents, james and denise, dead, here at their home in rural barron, wisconsin. >> i heard one shot and then the second shot was even louder yet. >> reporter: the girl nowhere to be found. officers led to the house after a puzzling 911 call. can you walk us through that 911 call

i want to bring in our chief white house correspondent jonathan karl tonight. and jon, there have been calls for political leaders really in both parties to take down the temperature of the rhetoric. but when it comes to the president, this is what sarah sanders said today, you were listening. >> there's a big difference between comments made and actions taken. the idea that this is at the hands of the president is absolutely ridiculous. >> absolutely ridiculous that it's at the hands of the president, were her words at the end. so, jon, defending the president there. this call for unify from the president himself last night, how long do you suggest it will last? >> reporter: well, the president's about to embark on his most intensive period of campaigning since he himself was running. we're talking about at least ten rallies planned for the final week of the campaign. he certainly toned down the rhetoric last night in wisconsin, but at the same time, neither the president nor any of his top advisers have said there is anything wrong at all with his rhetoric or

abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl at the white house for the say moanny tonight. >> reporter: president trump tonight marking a milestone. his second nominee now on the supreme court. >> i, brett m. kavanaugh do solemnly swear. >> reporter: president trump is lashing out at democrats who opposed kavanaugh. >> what happened to the kavanaugh family violates every notion of fairness, decency and due process. >> reporter: kavanaugh was confirmed by the narrowest margin by a supreme court justice in over 130 years. >> on this vote, the ayes are 50, the nays are 48. >> reporter: as kavanaugh was sworn in that evening by chief justice john roberts, two of the court's staunch liberals were there to witness. justices elena kagan and ruth bader ginsburg joining samuel alito and clarence thomas for the ceremony. deep divisions remain. republican susan collins, whose vote proved decisive, told "60 minutes" that she now has a security detail because of threats she's received. and while she believes christine blasey ford is a victim of sexual assault, she says she's also convinced

here's abc's jonathan karl. >> reporter: before the midterm elections, president trump is determinedration a central issue, vowing to single-handedly end the constitution's guarantee of citizenship to anyone born in the united states. >> you can definitely do it with an act of congress, but now they're saying i can do it just with an executive order. it's in the process. it will happen. >> reporter: but the top republican in congress said the president simply does not have that power. >> well, you obviously cannot do that. you cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order. we didn't like it when obama tried changing immigration laws via executive action. i think in this case the 14th amendment's pretty clear. >> reporter: as the election approaches, the president focused on that caravan of migrants fleeing poverty and violence in central america and traveling by foot to the u.s.-mexico border. >> i wish i could just tell them and i say it, caravan, turn around. you're not coming in. you're not coming in. i'm sorry. >> reporter: now the president is sending more than 5,000

jonathan karl, abc news, the white house. >>> a navy veteran is set to be formally charged today withent trump. prosecutors say william allen seeds which can be used to make the poison ricin to the president, the fbi director and the defense secretary as well as the chief of naval operations. investigators do not have a motive now. >>> jurors deciding the fate of a chicago police officer resume their deliberations this morning. jason van dyke is accused of murdering laquon mcdonald four years ago, shooting the teenager 16 times. van dyke was emotional in front of the judge yesterday when he claimed he was late coming back to the courtroom because his daughter received a threat. two alternate jurors who were dismissed said they would have found van dyke guilty. >>> former rap mogul suge knight is now serving 28 years for murder. knight was sentenced yesterday in los angeles. in 2018, he ran over a man with a pickup truck and killed him outside a compton restaurant. the victim's daughter called knight a disgrace to the human species during the hearing, which prompted that, that lengthy

here's jonathan karl. >> reporter: president trump is campaigning as if his own name is on the ballotday. and he's got a new brand for himself. >> you know what i am? i'm a nationalist, okay? i'm a nationalist. >> reporter: nationalism is a racially loaded term. in the oval office, he was asked if he was trying to appeal to white nationalists. >> i've never even heard that. i cannot imagine that. you mean i say i'm a nationalist -- no, i never heard that theory about being a nationalist. i've heard them all. i'm somebody who loves our country. >> reporter: as he makes the final push, the president is unleashing a torrent of exaggerations and claims that just aren't true. for example, on taxes -- >> we're going to be putting in a 10% tax cut for middle income families. it's going to be put in next year. 10% tax cut. >> reporter: but a tax cut would have to be passed by congress and congress isn't even in session next week. in fact, republican leaders say they know of no such tax plan. on health insurance, the president is making this claim -- >> we will always protect americans with pr

abc's jonathan karl has more on the president's stance and the money at stake. >> reporter: presidentned of severe punishment for saudi arabia if it murdered jamal khashoggi, but he added this -- >> it depends on whether or not the king or the crown prince knew about it, in my opinion. number one, what happened, but whether or not they knew about it. if they knew about it, that would be bad. >> reporter: he tweeted, quote, just spoke with the crown prince of saudi arabia who totally denied any knowledge of what took place in their turkish consulate. in the days since khashoggi's disappearance, the president has tried to walk a fine line between vowing punishment and preserving the u.s.-saudi relationship, a relationship he has worked hard to cultivate, making saudi arabia the very first foreign country he visited as president. taking part in a traditional sword dance with the king. the president also tweeted, quote, for the record, i have no financial interests in saudi arabia. but just three years ago he said this -- >> saudi arabia, and i get along great with all of them. they buy a

here now chief white house correspondent jonathan karl. >> good morning and welcome to "this week." less than 24 hours ago the senate voted to confirm justice brett kavanaugh cementing a conservative majority on the supreme court. kavanaugh was officially sworn in yesterday making him the 114th justice on the high court. you see him there. his hand on his family bible. chief justice john roberts administering the oath. justices thomas, ginsburg, alito, kagan all in attendance. it caps what "the new york times" called the best week yet for the trump presidency. including a big new trade deal, the lowest unemployment rate since 1969 and signs that the political momentum has shifted for republicans ahead of the midterm elections. take a look at that from our colleagues at 538. just a week ago democrats had a 1-3 chance of taking back the senate. now it's scaled back to 1-5. at a rally last night in topeka, kansas president trump was in his element boasting about his accomplishments and touting kavanaugh's confirmation a victory that ensures the president's legacy will last long after h

abc's correspondent jonathan karl has more. >> reporter: in his very first comments after the shooting, the president did not mention the victims. though he suggested armed guards at the synagogue could have prevented the tragedy. >> if you take a look, if they had protection inside, the results would have been far better. they didn't, and he was able to do things that unfortunately he shouldn't have been able to do. >> reporter: the mayor of pittsburgh said he disagreed. >> i don't think that the answer to this problem is solved by having our synagogues, mosques and churches filled with armed guards or schools filled with armed guards. we should try to stop irrational behavior from happening at the forefront. >> reporter: later, the president condemned the attack as, quote, pure evil. >> our nation and the world are shocked and stunned by the grief. this was an anti-semitic act. you wouldn't think this would be possible in this day and age, but we just don't seem to learn from the past. >> reporter: the president said he considered canceling his political events in the wake of the tra

. >> martha: we will get reaction from that on karl rove and richard fowler in a movement first, the latest from fox news chief correspondent jonathan hunt as we know it tonight. hi, jonathan. >> good evening, martha. it's been a day of fast-moving events and it's coming to a close tonight with a 56-year-old man in custody and charged with five federal crimes, including transportation of explosives and threats against former presidents. that man is 56-year-old cesar sayoc, a registered republican living in florida near the postal facility from which many of the packages were mailed. he was tracked this morning to plantation, florida after investigators lifted a fingerprint from one of the packages and were able to match it to sayoc. it's fingerprints were on file because of extensive criminal history that included a bomb threat that came in 2002 when he called florida power and light threatening to blow up the electric utility and saying it would be, quote: worse than september 11. his record extends back to the early little 1990s and includes theft, drug charges, and traffic infractions. a van owned by sayoc was also seized today b