jonathan swan, ashley parker, going to let you go back to chasing those leads. thank you for spending time with us. >>> when we come back, yesterday donald trump declared no collusion about his campaign. it turns out his campaign was trying very, very hard to make it look like it was interested in it colluding. we'll bring you brand-new reporting from the "the new york times" about what robert mueller is slooking at now. >>> and taylor swift versus kanye west round two. has drup druch made a bad bet by dissing taylor swift's music? dissing taylor swift's music fidelity's rewriting the rules of investing. again. introducing fidelity stock and bond index funds with lower expense ratios than comparable vanguard funds. and we now offer the industry's first true zero expense ratio index funds directly to investors. plus, we have fidelity mutual funds with zero minimum investment. how many other firms give you this much value? absolutely zero. ♪ why don't they do what they say ♪ ♪ say what they mean ♪ baby, one thing leads to another ♪ ♪ say what they mean ♪ my love h

jonathan swan, thank you very much. we'll see you just a bit on "morning joe."that. >> go to it by signing up at signup.axios.com. i'm ayman mohyeldin alongside alex witt. "morning joe" starts right now. >> reporter: senator, you just read the background report on kavanaugh, what are your thoughts? >> if that's an investigation, it's a [ bleep ] investigation. the reality is that is not a full an thorough investigation. >> why aren't you brave enough to talk to us and exchange with us? don't you wave your hand at me. i wave my hand at you. >> when you grow up i'll talk to you. >> you grow up! >> how dare you talk to women that way? how dare you? how dare you? how dare you. >> you can't hold the door. you're going get arrested. >> that is the scene on capitol hill where in just a few hours the u.s. senate appears poised to push forward and brett kavanaugh's nomination to the u.s. supreme court. good morning, it's friday,

i'd love to know what you guys jonathan swan and others are hearing about the idea that it is reallys. >> no, that's a great point. they say that, a, there wouldn't be time to get someone else through before the midterms, b, they talk about now a kavanaugh problem, a great quote to jonathan swan said how do you vet for that, an accusation from 36 years ago. so cold feet about anyone else, plunging ahead with kavanaugh. i think you're probably hearing the same thing. they are hopeful, definitely not certain. a week is an awful long time. >> obviously all this politics aside has serious implications on the supreme court. >> yes. >> the supreme court opens up its new term today, possibility of a 4-4 court more likely on some key decisions now it seems, right? >> that's exactly right. and that 4-4 could last a while. sources told jonathan swan that if democrats take the senate in january, that trump is not headed toward putting forward a compromised candidate who might be acceptable to democrats and therefore could be confirmed under a democratic senate. instead the white house is talkin

that these will be very similar legal battles and axios jonathan swan and evan ryan talked to a bunchhat the traps are that are out there for the trump white house, and they include the idea of compartmentalization, one of the reasons that president clinton was able to survive for eight years of investigations is he could put it in a literal box, he had a different team that dealt with those investigations. president trump is the opposite, of course, he loves to talk about what's on his mind, he loves to talk about it more in these flurry of rallies that we're having this week. second is talent. jack quinn a former white house counsel for democrats said that trump essentially needs to build the biggest investigative and powerful litigation firm in the city. that's how many things are coming at them and that's just from the democrats not even including mueller. and the third issue for this white house is the quality of the investigators. something that clinton benefited from was the republican congressional investigators weren't always at the top of their game, weren't always sharp. de

not every day we get you jonathan swan. >> get to it.g you guys have this morning? >> the murder of jamal khashoggi has thrown a significant wrench into the white house's middle east peace plan, such as they are. we've been hearing about this peace plan for quite some time. we don't actually know any details because it's been kept so secretive inside the white house. but president trump imposed an artificial deadline in september saying they would reveal the jared kushner peace plan within two to four months. the khashoggi killing has thrown a wrench into that and the white house is now having to deal with a situation in which they have invested a huge amount of capital in mohammed bin salman in saudi arabia as a leader in the middle east and also for help in their economic portion of the plan. >> so, yeah, help us understand and help our viewers he, as well, understand why the killing of a saudi journalist at the hands of a saudi arabian government would necessarily derail the white house's efforts to impose a peace plan on the israelis

and jonathan swan. a new position here at the end of the table. you're watching hardball.right back. from the bom and floss to set a good example. you fine tune the proposal, change the water jug so no one else has to, get home for dinner and feed the cat. you did a million things for your family today but speaking to pnc to help handle all your investments was a very important million and one. pnc. make today the day. stop fearing your alarm clock... with zzzquil pure zzzs. a drug-free blend of botanicals with melatonin that supports your natural sleep cycle so you can seize the morning. zzzquil pure zzzs. >>> another programming note tonight, tune in for a special edition of "hardball" this friday night at 7:00 eastern, broadcasting live from beer park at las vegas. our special guest will be democratic senate candidate congresswoman jackie rosen. it's going to be a fantastic show this friday night in vegas. we'll be right back. of three kids... ...raised a good sport... ...and became a second-generation firefighter. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer.

jonathan swan, you had been talking with the saudi ambassador. texting with him, actually, about certain issues. and then he went radio silent. explain that exchange. >> so i received a text message on monday from prince khalid ben salman, he's the saudi brother in washington and younger brother of mbs. it's a younger message saying they're very concerned about the well being of khashoggi, all the reports are wrong. i said thank you and then i said do you have footage of him leaving the consulate? and i didn't receive a response. >> willie geist, this is, again, as the -- as the evidence builds up, everyone is looking to the united states of america to respond in kind to an attack not just on a wonderful human being and an incredibly talented writer, but a member of the press. a writer for "the washington post." >> yeah. and i would add to this conversation, mika, that as of today, treasury secretary steve mnuchin is still scheduled to attend that conference in riyadh. >> you have got to be kidding me. >> they may end up canceling. we'll see. ric

joining us now, national political reporter for axios, jonathan swan. good to see you.'s pick up our conversation about the whip count. that's what you've been following. where do you have it as of 6:46 this morning. >> well, they were still very nervous fairly late last night and even to the point at which i was talking to a senior source involved in the confirmation process helping kavanaugh be confirmed, fairly late last night, they didn't even want to with 100% confidence declare that the cloture vote would happen at 10:30 today. they thought that it would, they were under the understanding that it was barrelling ahead but they said to me we still don't have 50 and inside the team they worry about flake, particularly the comments he made about partisanship earlier in the week. they were very concerning. he's since said some things that have alleviated concerns. it's literally been an hour by hour roller coaster from the team. susan collins wanted more information to have another look at the fbi report so -- and then, of course, lisa murkowski had some women female c

one thing i do want to caution is that jonathan swan e-mailed me about, this is something that really still under water on those. >> when it comes to this bounce, this grenade, what are we going to hear on a damatangible leveln it comes to the midterms? >> a lot of these people will push for. there's a huge segment of the republican base that voted for the candidates because of the judiciaries. there's a lot of cultural issues settled at the supreme court. donald trump has not been doing this a lot on these campaign rallies. he's touted the fact that he has tilted the balance of the court. if cavanaugh gets across, that could change the course of the court for a generation. i think very motivated republicans will certainly respond to that. >> so as we reported, the senate received the results of the fbi's background check on kavanaugh last night. they're going to get briefed on it this morning. what is the over/under that is going to get leaked either officially or from the hill? >> this document is being stored in a secured document where they typically keep intelligence documents. t

jonathan swan, national political reporter, and it tucker carlson, a host of tucker carlson tonight and "ship of fools." how is self its ruling classes bringing america to the brink of revolution, and apparently it's number one everywhere. you just trip over at the airports. >> tucker: i did today. >> and so it took a long time to figure out if there was anything more to it and it still may be that there is not? >> i broke the story but i still don't feel like i actually know what happened or why. i have been told numerous accounts of what happened and why, including it was long planned and everything is great and there is a beautiful ribbon around it and maybe that's the case. i haven't reported an insane because i don't have a high enough degree of confidence to anything that i've been told so far as actual truth. >> bret: tucker? >> tucker: we will find out in the end, nothing is hidden, everything is revealed. the deeper question is why the president hired nikki haley in the first place. very public popular among american voters, she's impressively on intimidated and hyper articulat

joining us now from washington, d.c., jonathan swan.os is tracking? >> you might recall when anthony scaramucci had his brief run with the white house, he had the idea for a daily show from the white house lawn and it was going to be a television show documenting the trump presidency. we haven't quite got the formal show, but trump has done really what he wanted to do initially, which is fully merge the presidency with television. we are now seeing a new, much more free wheeling phase where, you know, you saw it with him inviting new york magazine's elizabeth nuzzi in for this interesting conversation over lunch with the vice president and others in attendance and yesterday was another round with the cameras in there. this is a much sort of bigger impulse from trump and i expect we're going to see a lot more. he's just booked, apparently, an interview, done an interview with 60 minutes which he had never done before. >> and in between, we've been seeing him calling into fox news, as well. so talk to me about this. is it something that's

. >> thank you, jonathan swan. sahil you know your stuff. sahil kapur. when we return, let me finish with trump watch. you're watching "hardball." wat. a car you can command when you're nowhere near it... wat. does that require mind-control? no. just some mind-blowing engineers from the ford motor company and pivotal who developed fordpass, allowing you to reach out to your car from wherever you are to check your fuel level, unlock your doors and start your engine... so when you're ready to go, your car is, too. magic can't make digital transformation happen... but we can. that's the power of pivotal, part of dell technologies. ...to give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you don't. [grunting noise] i'll take that. 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. ensure max protein. in two great flavors. ensure max protein. you can do things like change your settings, learn tips and tricks, troubleshoot, and even manage your account. finding your xfinity username or wifi password, restarting your equipment, or paying your bill is easier than ever w

on china and we're told that after the election he's going to ratchet it up even more and axios jonathan swans before. of course, there could be a boomerang effect of pain here, can affect prices here, but the president is focused on china and it's going to do for them. he's not done. >> all right. it will be interesting to see how it plays out. >> mike allen, thank you much. thanks for all those audio issues. we will see you on "morning joe" in just a little bit. we will be reading axios a.m. in just a little while. you, too, can sign upsignup.axi >> i'm ayman mohyeldin along hallie jackson and louis burgdorf. "morning joe" starts right now. >>> there any senator in the chamber wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? if not, the yays are 98, the nays are 1, the motion is agreed to. >> i will soon sign into law, the largest legislative effort in history to address the opioid crisis. rob and so many others helped. very little democrat support. >> okay. earlier this month the senate passed a sweeping bipartisan bill to fight the opioid epidemic. it was opposed by just one member, a rep

as jonathan swan said, it is not clear whether the president has the power to end this policy by himself. the 14th amendment to the united states constitution says all persons born or naturalized in the united states and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the united states and the state wherein they reside. it is not clear whether the framers intended the line about jurisdiction to include the children of foreigners or not. for the past 231 years, it has been assumed that they did. regardless this is just one part of a multipart strategy by the administration to use immigrants as a wedge issue for republicans. on monday, the u.s. military said it would send 5,200 troops to the southwest border in response to the group of migrants traveling north through central america. by way of comparison. if you take the 2,100 members of the national guard already on the border and add 5,200 more, you get roughly the same number of u.s. troops that are serving in iraq and syria combined. all of this for a group of people a lot of whom are mothers and children who pose no imminent thre

this is trump speaking with reporter jonathan swan. pres.rump: we're the only country in the world where a person comes in, h has a baby, d the baby is essentially a citizen of the united states for 85 years with all of those benefitsts. it is ridiculous. it has to end. >> have you talked about that with counsel? pres. trump: i have. it is in the process. it will happen. amy: trump's executive order would violate the 14th amendment of the u.s. constitution, which states -- "all persons born or naturalized in the united states, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the united states and of the state wherein they reside." the 14th amendment turned 150 years old in july. the american civil liberties union has lambasted trump's plan, tweeting -- "this is a blatantly unconstitutional attempt to fan the flames of anti-immigrant hatred in the days ahead of the midterms." juan: on tuesday, republican senator lindsey graham said he would introduce a bill to support trump's citizenship plan. but house speaker paul ryan criticized tr

as jonathan swan reported today on axios, what you can see happening is the crown prince very quickly, probably within secretary of state pompeo's 72-hour window, finding scapegoats for this. saying he, the crown prince, personally knew nothing. and then the president's signals have been that he will be very willing to accept that. as he suggested, carry on with the relationship. >> dana: there's also other things an administration can do. you don't have to be open or public about it. for those who were involved, whatever we know intelligence wise, you can travel around the country. you can tap the brakes. maybe their visa doesn't come in. >> i lost you. >> dana: i was making an excellent point. axios cam better work on its audio. we'll bring him back for another time. most critical issue for voters. our polling reveals your top concern with controls of congress hanging in the balance. plus, new migrant caravan grows, the overall migrant parents with children has reached a record level. >> we see what's happening with the border, where people are coming up in caravans. we have to stop

challenge the constitution, and try to overturn birth right it ist zenship by executive order telling jonathan swan of ax yoes that he is going to divert the constitutional crisis. >> some believe that you can get rid of the birth right citizen without constitution change. >> with executive order. >> have you thought about it? >> yes, you can do it with the act of congress, but now they are saying that i can do it with an executive order. >> have you talked about that with counsel? >> yes, i have. >> and where in the process? >> it is in the process. it will happen. >> and the team to unpack all of this, and ron motte is in pittsburgh, and nbc white house correspondent kristen welker, and nbc political analyst ashley parker, and white house reporter and editor of the washington post, andrea markle. and now, first to ron mott, and it is a mixed report from pittsburgh, and some people want the president there, and others including the mayor and some of the families say too soon and they have to foe can kus on security, and security of the funerals and the emotional weight of the funerals today, and w

a terrific reporter, but clearly there's white house theater where it looked like someone told jonathan swan, hey, we're considering this, ask the president about it and the president feigned shock. >> and it's theater as to whether he would actually follow through with it. i mean, look at how embarrassed he was by the family separations because of this, you know, attempted deterrents and within a week they backed off of that saying, no, that's an awful thing. >> we should point out quickly that even if it's theater, it can still be very real, as we've learned in the past with this administration. maybe the travel ban was theater, it became real. even when it was struck down initially they went and tried again. these things do have an effect on established law in this country. i think this is one of those things we really should pay attention to, even as much as it is kind of get out the vote tactics seven days before the midterm elections. >> john, your final thoughts? >> i think abby makes all the right points but there's just this, picking a fight with constitution is usually a losing pro

this last race to the finish line with racism sirens ringing loudly, did you see when you and jonathan swan were talking to the president? it almost seemed like -- and i wonder if you would concur -- that he was making stuff up as he went along. i don't think he understood what he was talking about because if he did, he would understand you don't do that. >> i think it's the opposite. i think he's been thinking about this for the several weeks. he's been talking to lawyers externally and internally. i think even the stuff he sees on fox news, i think he believes this. i think there's parts of it that are no doubt propaganda. i think there's parts of it that he thinks is happening. the interview was fascinating. it will be on sunday. but it turned into a very, very tense argument about a lot of things he's saying and doing and the guy just believes it. like yes, part of it is for show, but part of it, you can see it in his eyes, this is his heart. he does not feel like he has an obligation to bring anything down, any temperature down. he feels very passionately about these things that he's d

jonathan swan. the other thing kennedy said in the interview, the entire thing makes me want to heave. a series on netflix. you could call it "as the stomach turns" in addition to the bong comment we heard a moment ago. >> sandra: here we are tuesday morning and more breaking news. overseas this morning we're learning 1200 people have been killed after a devastating earthquake and tsunami in indonesia. the latest on the situation on the ground. >> bill: big day for the first lady. she arrived in africa. the first solo international trip and her focus is coming up in a moment here. >> sandra: president trump one step closer to making good on a signature campaign promise with his new trade deal. what hurdles could it face in congress? more on that deal when larry kudlow joins us live from the white house next. >> president trump: the largest trade deal the united states has ever negotiated and it is also a great deal for our country. it's going to produce jobs and companies aren't going to be leaving.

office has not been prepared for the blizzard of subpoenas that's coming in their direction. >> jonathan swany much. it's just past the top of the hour. along with joe, willie and me we have legendary ad man donny deutsch. former chairman of the republican national committee, michael steele. former aide to the george h. w. bush white house, elise jordan. we have jeremy bash. and associate editor of the "washington post" eugene robinson. let's start with you, eugene. let's keep the discussion on the mid-terms going here. your latest in "the washington post" is a pep talk for democrats. and you write in part, dear democrats, you can do this. stop fretting and second guessing. get out of your own way. concentrate on turning out the vote. and remember you have everything to gain in this mid-term election and nothing to lose. i say you have nothing to lose because that is literally true. republicans control both chambers of congress. most governorships. most state legislatures. and, of course, the white house which isn't up for grabs at this time. the great blues artist muddy waters put it best, y

jonathan swan broke the story. on the radio with me.tory i still don't know why she is leaving. i watched him last knight at 6:00. i still don't know why she is leaving. why is she leaving? >> in washington people try to look for the most complicated reason. she has been on a long slog governor two. years as u.n. ambassador. this is a tough job. she might just want to do something and hang out with her family a little bit right now. brian: a replacement. dina powell. >> she would be great. brian: ric grenell. >> he would be great. brian: he says i like him in germany. i want to enter a few ryan zinke navy seal foreign relations background in congress. >> he he would be great. brian: joe lieberman. the president liked him. secretary of defense. >> fbi under consideration as well. brian: kelly ayotte. she became one of the three amigos when lieberman retired. >> these are good suggestions. i worked dina at the council. the bush administration. i know the president really likes her. the key in these jobs is you want somebody in that job wh

jonathan swan says i think the president has given up on the house.n the house at all. ainsley: president says even though i'm not on the ballot go to the polls. how far key say that. brian: focusing on senate races not house races. certain areas where the president is not going to help. it's a very moderate area. steve: we will talk to tom bevan from real clear politics about the races here in five minutes. meantime it's 7:11 and time for some news. jillian: it is. a fox news alert. human remains just found in horrific plane crash in indonesia. the air flight plunging 5,000 feet into the sea. reported technical difficulty just minutes after takeoff before falling off radar. the exact location of the plane wreck is still unknown. all 189 people on board are believed to be dead. that same plane experienced a technical problem on its last flight. a suspect is in custody accused of shooting and killing an active duty navy sailor. police say brandon acuna opened fire on interstate. adams had just pulled over to try to help acuna who he thought was strande

brian: i'm just amazed at, when the president brings up birthright citizenship, a story jonathan swaney, he says this is the debate we need to have, yet some people are interpreting this some type of xenophobic racist quest to change america. are you surprised how some are playing the presidenting the president's would be executive order? >> i'm not at all surprised, media, democrats, which sometimes can be one in the same would overplay their hand whether on this issue or anything else the president brings up. this is the party of no. this is the party of obstruction. they have no ideas. they have no policies. the reason we're in this position in the first place because democrats failed to come to the table, they failed to work with this president and pass legislation that helps protect our country. that helps protect the citizens of america because they do not want to secure our borders. they do not want to have a law and order country. the reason we're in this predictment because democrats in congress failed to do their job. the president will look at any way possible that he can f

jonathan swan did an interview with the president on sunday.s and you are born here, you become a citizen right away. ed: something the president talked about in the campaign. the challenge for him is this goes back to the 14th amendment to the constitution and legally it seems very unlikely you could change an amendment to the constitution with an executive order. it's unlikely. brian: their argument is. >> last minute gam gamut. ed: it's not going to happen the last week before the midterms. steve: although suddenly it's news. >> president said there is going to be a tax cut before the election. i'm not sure -- steve: ed, thanks for stopping by. ainsley: thanks, ed. steve: meanwhile, straight ahead on this chilly tuesday as you can see we have lara trump is going to be with us 8:25. lawrence jones is hanging out with the crowd. he is on deck. brian: don't tell him we are outdoors. ♪ nobody, nobody ♪ nobody can drag me down . help people find their way. fastsigns designed new directional signage. and got them back on track. get started at fast

. >> charles, just moments ago, jonathan swan who broke the story was on with us, booked ahead of timeing news, nikki haley is resigning. obviously a friendly. bottom of the hour. could be happening now. sending in the pool cameras. they are slightly delayed when they come out to us. i don't know that anybody argues she was just on the "fox & friends" couch next week. how do you explain the fact you get along with the president? we have disagreements. i have a direct line to him. i pick up the phone to talk it out. only time i saw her disillusioned that larry kudlow made a statement she was confused by something. she called him out. i'm not confused by anything. besides that, she had a chance to bring a lot of prestige to that seat. i thought she has been brilliant. charles: everyone agrees she has been brilliant. even her retort to larry kudlow got a real quick apology for larry. stick to the economy, but don't mess with me. that is the whole thing. don't mess with me, don't mess with america. >> just to speculate real quick i want to get on the record, this was not my idea, allison m

jonathan swan reported this. his friend in very direct language that there isn't some endless time line here in terms of investigation. they need to get this investigation done quickly. turkey has the tapes. there is nothing to be done. >> let me tell you what the rumors are inside the beltway intelligent sources are suggesting another prince replace him they are checking boxing on his background. financial background check. intelligence background check. managerial background, check. more mature and not as reckless as the present counselecounsel crown prince. steve: will there be a trial against the crown prince? >> no. ainsley: reformer in early 30's, 32 or 34. a lot of people like what is he doing over there. steve: except the murder part. on the resume. >> there is reform and there is reform. he kidnapped wealthy saudis and had them beaten to within an inch of their lives until they turned billions of assets over to the government. what kind of reform is that? brian: go to other countries killing people they