kaitlan, you're there for us. give us some more details on what else we can anticipate from the president and the first lady. >> reporter: well, wolf, one thing that's been really striking about this visit is who isn't here. when the president landed on air force one, he wasn't greeted by several officials as he typically is on a trip like this, and didn't travel with any representatives from the state, as he typically does. when he visits florida or any other state like this, certainly any state that has gone through a tragedy, you can see of times when he's visited states when there have been hurricanes and what not. that is something we didn't see there. and you can see the first lady, melania trump, going, getting back into the motorcade right now. the president still chatting with ivanka trump, jared kushner, the rabbi. but wolf, none of the -- a lot of local and national officials declined to come visit with the president on this trip today. some of them said they had scheduling issues. some said they had al

kaitlan collins. kaitl kaitlan. we've hadfor a long time.is in san francisco and half-measures haven't fixed it. homelessness doesn't just hurt homeless people. it hurts all of us. that's why we're all voting "yes" on c. the plan is paid for by corporations that just got a massive tax break. it's time for them to give back by helping all of us to fix our homeless crisis. with more affordable housing... expanded mental-health services... clean restrooms and safe shelters. vote "yes" on c. it helps all of us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> this is cnn breaking news. >>> we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm

we had it in the piece which kaitlan wrote at the top there. bob mahler's team.spent 50 plus hours with paul manafort over the last 28 days. that to me -- a couple things. it suggests that november 8th, it's not done and they are waiting for the election is over to press the button or send it to rosenstein but i this isly it's interesting that donald trump including as recently as his interviews this week has emphasized that the manafort stuff has nothing to do with me. this is years ago and he's right that what paul manafort pled guilty to has nothing to do with him, dealing with ukraine, but bob mueller and his team aren't spending all those hours falk begun ukraine in the 2,000s, and in his plea deal, remember, it's absolutely hinged to the level of coordination and information that he provide so i would circle that with a big red pen saying that's a lot of time for one of the three people in the room at the june meeting in june 2006. don't underestimate that that's important. >> the former white house counsel has also spent a lot of time with robert mueller t

kaitlan collins has the reporting for us in washington. kaitlan, good evening to you.alk to me about this dramatic shouting match. how ugly did it get? >> reporter: don, it got pretty ugly. this is of course a pretty bitter divided west wing. it's not unusual to see an argument. but an argument of this kind is pretty unusual. they were yelling at each other right outside the oval office. it was a shouting match. profanity-laced. to where it startled their west wing colleagues to where now it is this public reporting that they got into such an argument. it started with president trump involved. they were talking about this recent surge in border crossings. and don, we know this has infuriated president trump because he's been tweeting about it, threatening to shut down the border. but it was between kelly and bolton that it got the ugliest. they were arguing about it, and kelly was set off because bolton made a remark about the dhs secretary kirstjen nielsen, criticizing her and saying essentially she needs to start doing her job over at dhs. of course, don, that didn't

christine and dave. >> kaitlan collins in wisconsin. >>> white house officials not discussing the issue over president trump to tone down the rhetoric over the crazy things and violence that people want to do. there is no doubt that his words contributed to the failed pipe bombings. consider this. >> fake as hell cnn. the worst. >> don't worry. i don't like him either. >> hillary is a dishonest person. >> i think a lot of bad things happened under his watch. i think he is a very bad person. >> and of course, the legendary low iq maxine watters. >> it was polarizing under president obama. >> i'll go to a person holding a sign who gets paid by soros or somebody. >> you heard the president talk about john brennan as a very bad person. brennan said this about the pipe bomb that was addressed to him at cnn. >> donald trump has not helped to encourage the type of civil discourse and public engagement. his rhetoric too frequently fuels the feelings and sentiments that now are bleeding over into potentially acts of violence. >> the white house did not reach out to president obama or clintons or

here is kaitlan collins from the white house. >> reporter: dave, it wasn't that long ago that presidentrump called on the country to come together and make decisions about the political life peacefully. now that seems to be a thing of the past. even for this president shortly after he said that. the president now abandoning calls for unity and turning his focus once again on attacking the media. saying they are the ones to blame for the division in the country writing on twitter they are the ones responsible and they are the ones who need to change their tones. he made similar remarks on wednesday night in wisconsin when he called for unity. he turned to criticize the media saying they have false reporting out there that is contributing to the division that we have seen sweep our country. now president trump held two events at the white house yesterday. he made no remarks about the attacks. in the meantime, he was telling his confidants and allies he was w in the right because he did not want to be linked to the bombings and he felt the media was unfairly doing that. white house aides a

christine and dave. >> thank you for that kaitlan. >>> white house officials not discussing the issue over president trump to tone down the rhetoric over the crazy things and violence that people want to do. that being said, here is what the president said about the people targeted about those bombs. >> fake as hell, cnn. the worst. >> don't worry. i don't like him either. >> hillary is a dishonest person. if you look at the things she says. they are dishonest. >> i think brennan is a bad guy. if you look at it, a lot of bad things happened under his watch. he's a very bad person. >> and of course, the legendary low iq maxine waters. low iq person. >> it was polarizing under president obama. unbelievably polarized under president obama. >> he'll go to a person holding a sign who gets paid by soros or somebody. >> you heard the president talk about john brennan as a very bad person. last night, brennan had this to say about the pipe bomb addressed to him here at cnn. >> donald trump has not helped to encourage the type of civil discourse and public engagement. his rhetoric too frequent

let's bring in now cnn white house correspondent kaitlan collins. kaitlan, good evening to you. thank you for joining us here. you know, we heard what the president said about kavanaugh. what did kavanaugh said tonight? >> reporter: well, kavanaugh tried to strike a little bit of a different tone, a much different tone, don, than what we saw when he testified, that aggressive tone where he was coming forward, saying it was all a conspiracy against him. tonight he went a much different direction. he tried to say, when i get on the court, this is how i'm going to act. >> the senate confirmation process was contentious and emotional. that process is over. my focus now is to be the best justice i can be. i take this office with gratitude and no bitterness. on the supreme court, i will seek to be a force for stability and unity. my goal is to be a great justice for all americans and for all of america. >> reporter: so you see there, don, he's trying to tamp down that concern that he didn't have the right temperament to be a supreme court justice after that testimony. he also said he'

let's go to our white house correspondent, kaitlan collins. kaitlan, what's the latest? >> reporter: wolf, the president's initial response to this was a lot different than those statements that evan just read from several of his own agency leaders. instead, the president's first response was not a warning to voters about potential election interference, but a denial. >> nothing to do with my campaign. if they're hackers, a lot of them probably like hillary clinton better than me. now they do. now they do. but, you know, they go after some hacker in russia, they say, oh, it had nothing to do with my campaign. president obama was contacted by the fbi in september, long before the election in november. and they told him there may be meddling by the russians. and he did nothing about it. because he thought hillary clinton would win. he did nothing. he didn't do -- he didn't lift a finger. he didn't spend a dime. we've done a lot. to protect the elections coming up. >> reporter: now, wolf, what he said there about hillary clinton, the hackers favoring her. actually, we heard

kaitlan collins is getting reaction i suspect.arlier in the week we heard the president say, kaitlan, that he had heard that, quote, rogue killers may have been responsible, what the saudis are now suggesting is that, yes, rogue killers may have been responsible for the death of jamal khashoggi. >> reporter: that's right. and now the question is who does the white house believe here. of korks, it course, it is comi know that the white house is tracking these developments as we are hearing them ourselves coming from saudi state television, so they're keeping track on that. we did hear from president trump on this earlier. they're giving this one-month timeline, but earlier when president trump was speaking to reporters he said he hopes to know more by monday and that he already knew a lot. of course, that's going to raise a question of what exactly is it that the president knew and did he know that jamal khashoggi is dead now that the saudi state television is confirming as much. one of the questions, wolf, he was asked about is if

but to say that it's too much work for a woman is -- it's just outrageous. >> kaitlan is right.is was a good illustration to the extent senator grassley relies on women to do his dirty work. it just speaks to how unbelievably tone deaf these individuals are. the senate judiciary committee is one of the most powerful committees oh in the united states congress, in the united states government. the notion that women, who are accomplished and smart enough to actually win elected national office are sitting on their hands thinking, well, shucks, i just don't know that i want to show up for a wednesday meeting, because i have to knit and bake that evening. >> how about women on the court! >> it's absurd. and i do think it touches into the same sort of incandescent rage that we are seeing in response to the kavanaugh confirmation. and i do think this is something that we are going to see -- have a real difference, come november. >> and the idea that there is a problem getting women on the judiciary committee because they aren't willing to do the work, i mean, it's a bizarre argument t

these people in theory are trying to make their way to the united states, kaitlan. what do we know about what secretary pompeo is hoping to accomplish in his visit to mexico today. >> reporter: ana, it's those images with bill weir, those are the ones infuriating president trump. we've seen him follow along with them, threatening to cut off aid from central american countries as they've made their way up and are headed for the united states southern border. you can see why the images are so striking and they grab president trump. we've seen that reflected in his tweets. last night at his rally saying he might choose to send the military down there for that. that is the frustration here inside the west wing with president trump. of course he has sent his secretary of state, mike pompeo, to meet with mexican officials as well. that trip was scheduled before all this got started. but mike pompeo said that is the biggest issue since the mexican trade deal has been worked out. mexico called on the united nations to get involved, to help with this. that is something mike

kaitlan collins is in pittsburgh where the president will be. what are you hearing about what the president is going to do and who he will meet with? >> it's a pretty big question mark for some officials in the white house who have been scrambling to put together a schedule for president trump when he does arrive. that's becoming complicated because they have a slew of not only national, but local officials who say either they don't want to meet with the president or it's not going to work out. these funerals are starting to get under way today. that's one reason why the rabbi said he will on't be meeting wi president trump even though he is welcome to visit when he wants to. the mayor said there is logistical officers to guard the funerals as they are starting. there is other concerns. whether or not the visit will create protests in the area and they will have to handle as well whether it will get in the way of families traveling to the area. the white house wants to move forward because president trump is not telling aides, i said i was going

here's kaitlan collins. kaitlan, good evening to you. let's start with this incredible unprecedented op-ed. what's behind this? >> reporter: well, clearly, don, we know what's going on right now. those key senators are still weighing whether or not they're going to support judge kavanaugh, and a big thing that democrats and critics of his have raised in recent days, not just the sexual assault allegations, not just whether he misled congress on his drinking habits, but if he has the right conduct and temperament to even be on the supreme court. that is something that they're considering. clearly he's heard those criticisms. and that is why he came out to write this op-ed, publishing it just hours before they are set to vote potentially on whether or not to confirm him. now, we're told by sources inside the white house, don, that this was his idea. he wanted to come out and apologize for his demeanor last thursday during that hearing that got very tense at times. but if you look at, this he apologizes for being too emotional but he offers

for more on all of this, let's get right to cnn's kaitlan collins at the white house. president trump was vocal about his difficulty with drinking. i can imagine kavanaugh was surprised at how president trump talked about his drinking today. >> reporter: two different versions of what it was that happened when brett kavanaugh testified on capitol hill. today president trump i mplying that brett kavanaugh admitted to a bringing problem in his younger years, but brett kavanaugh sought to do the opposite, to tamp down the notion he drank too much, and possibly he doesn't remember sexually assaulting someone. that is what he denied. but president trump used that line today to go after those democratic senators who raised questions about brett kavanaugh's drinking. president trump saying today, he believes they're just being hypocritical. president trump growing frustrated in the rose garden today. over mounting questions about the fbi investigation into his supreme court nominee. >> do you have a question on trade? >> reporter: our evensing several questions -- >> excuse m

let's go to kaitlan collins. don mcgahn left the job two weeks ago. they had this encounter at the white house. what did president trump say? >> reporter: it was one last time that president trump blamed him for the mueller investigation. they were sitting face to face in the oval office, supposed to be this exit meeting that typically would not be a situation like this, a critical situation or meeting like the one that it was, but we are told by sources that president trump brought up the mueller investigation, blamed mcgahn for it, saying it happened on his watch and has now cast this cloud over the presidency, which we know that president trump has said privately multiple times that he believes the russia investigation hangs over this white house and hangs over any of his other accomplishments. they were sitting in this oval office face to face, but this was long after the president announced on twitter much to mcgahn's surprise he was announcing his departure. he always expected to leave the white house but he didn't expect the president to tweet

. >> let's go straight to our white house reporter there, kaitlan collins. and kaitlan, let's start on this fbi investigation, what we heard from the president then. we just got a scoop a moment ago. where are they on this fbi investigation? >> well, essentially, you heard it best from president trump there, saying that they should interview anyone they deem that is within reason to be interviewed. and that comes after days of complaints over the weekend, mostly from democratic senators, saying that the white house is trying to limit the scope of this investigation, because the white house and the senate republicans only gave the fbi four or so names to interview about these sexual assault allegations against brett kavanaugh, but president trump saying they can interview anyone they want, including brett kavanaugh, while casting some doubt on the third accuser, julie swetnick, and the allegations she has made about there being excessive drinking, gang rapes at parties, and anything of that nature. but president trump making clear he thinks they should interv

cnn's kaitlan collins is at the white house with that. what are you hearing this morning?ump is growing increasingly frustrated with the fallout related to jamal khashoggi's

let's get reaction from our political experts, and kaitlan collins, once again, we're waiting to hear from the president, chatting with reporters right now. but listen to what he said earlier in the day about the process that led to the confirmation of judge kavanaugh. >> a man that was caught up in a hoax, that was set up by the democrats, using the democrats' lawyers, and now they want to impeach him. false charges. false accusations. horrible statements that were totally untrue, that he knew nothing about. frankly, terms that he probably never heard in his life. he was this, he was that. he never even heard of these terms. it was a disgraceful situation. brought about by people that are evil. and he toughed it out. >> that was him earlier in the day. now he's been speaking with reporters, again. we'll have that tape in a moment. but the president sort of spiking the football right now. >> today we're seeing something we haven't seen president trump do yet in the wake of this drama surrounding brett kavanaugh. and that is he is completely saying these allegations are entirely fabric

kaitlan, we will get back to you. thank you very much.nn national correspondent miguel marques is also in pittsburgh, only about a block or so away from the tree of life synagogue. miguel, we have seen the protesters marching as the president visited the synagogue. what is going on now? >> reporter: yeah, i want to show you exactly where we are. we are at murray and forbes avenues, and there are thousands of people who have marched today. they started much earlier today. they've gathered at the sixth presbyterian church here and will have a series of speakers. it has been for the most part peaceful. the there were some concerns when the president left, you could hear the sirens when the march started earlier today, it wasn't quite clear what was going to happen. there were a couple of different groups that ended upcoming together and then marching as one. there was a really amazing moment as marchers went by the fire station and police station nearest the synagogue. they just started applauding the firefighters and the police officers who

and he stuck to that ask cnn's kaitlan collins. president trump: don't do that. excuse me.ve a question on trade. we'll do one or two more questions on trade. don't do that. somebody is before you. howie: he made kaitlan collins pass the mic to another reporter and stay with the topic until as promised he took questions about the kavanaugh battle including from her. the "new york times," 8 full pages saying donald trump inherited far more money than he admitted from his father and they committed tax fraud by creating shell corporations. but neither he nor the white house disputed a single attack. even the "times" acknowledged the irs never challenged the trumps on any of this. and it's hardly a shock that rich people are very aggressive when it comes to minimizing their taxes. politics and entertainment. next. that's why quicken loans created our new, exclusive rateshield approval. first, we lock your interest rate for up to 90 days while you find your new home. then, if rates have gone up, your rate stays locked. but, if rates have gone down, your rate drops. either way, y

cnn's kaitlan collins is at the rally for us.n, so the president seemed to at least in part blame democrats and certainly the media for what happened today. >> reporter: well, he came out, he made these remarks which we weren't sure, anderson, entirely, if he was going to address it again after addressing it for the first time at the white house earlier today. but after paul ryan came out here, scott walker, all on stage, condemning these attacks, president trump got up and that was one of the first things he said. he talked about these attacks. he called for civility. said you should settle your disagreements at the ballot box. that was one key line. but anderson, you're right, those two lines you can't ignore that trump said that those engaged in the political arena must stop treating political opponents as being morally defective. now, some critics of the president might raise questions about things he said about his political opponents. on stages like the one he's on right now behind me including on maxine waters, john brenna

thank you, kaitlan. i appreciate your reporting this evening. we're going to discuss trump's condemnation of political violence after spending years stoking it right after this break. these folks, they don't have time to go to the post office they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the amazing services of the post office only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again! >>> president trump calling for an end to political hostility tonight, sort of. at a campaign rally in wisconsin, not canceled in light of the assassination attempts on two ex-presidents and a former secretary of state among others, the president made no acknowledgement of his own heated political rhetoric. he went on to say disagreements should be settled at the ballot box, stopping short of accepting any responsibility that he said we have to st

kaitlan collins, let me go to you. president trump talking about deploying almost 10 to 15,000 service members to the border, he said, and he also talked about how there are 25 or 30 million undocumented immigrants in this country? that's a number i've never heard before either. >> reporter: jake, that first number is stunning, the president saying he could send 10 to 15,000 troops to the border. a reminder, we have 14,000 troops stationed in afghanistan. the president is talking about those level of numbers down at the u.s./mexico border, where he's deployed 5,000 troops to stop this caravan he says is coming, he uses the word invaded, even though they are weeks away from arriving. that is a stunning number. it's going to be interesting what the pentagon has to say about that. also, jake, two other things i do want to point out the president said. one right there at the end, which is going to give republicans a little bit of a headache, saying he thinks they're doing fine with suburban women, essentially trying to les

thank you, kaitlan. i appreciate your reporting this evening. we're going to discuss trump's condemnation of political violence after spending years stoking it right after this break. if you're waiting patiently for a liver transplant, it could cost you your life. it's time to get out of line with upmc. at upmc, living-donor transplants put you first. so you don't die waiting. upmc does more living-donor liver transplants than any other center in the nation. find out more and get out of line today. the new lincoln mkc.mix. connecting the world inside, with the world outside. so you can move through both a little easier. introducing the well-connected 2019 lincoln mkc. we are the tv doctors of america, and we may not know much about medicine, but we know a lot about drama. we also know that you can avoid drama by getting an annual check-up. so go, know, and take control of your health. it could save your life. cigna. together, all the way. >>> president trump calling for an end to political hostility tonight sort of. at a campaign rally in wiscon

kaitlan collins is on the scene. and kaitlan, you've been there all day.ry -- it's very sad to be there. tell us what you're seeing. >> reporter: yeah, jake. this has been a really sad scene all day. you can see to the left of where the president just got out of the beast. we have seen people all day paying their respects and now the president, the first lady, jared kushner and ivanka trump are going into the tree of life synagogue. not all the way into the synagogue, i should note. because it is still an active crime scene. we saw fbi agents going in and out all day long. but they're going to go into the entrance, they're going to meet with one of the rabbis. and we are told by the white house that they're going to light a candle for the victims that were shot here on saturday inside of this synagogue. now, you did mention that the israeli ambassador, ron dermer is here. another person we didn't know is going to be traveling is also here. the treasury secretary, steven mnuchin. he also traveled with the president and the first lady and their family member

kaitlan collins, the president saying i think ivanka would be incredible. although noting that it would lead to accusations of nepotism, mainly because it would be nepotism. and then saying he's not sure there is anyone more competent in the world. he also did mention the former deputy national security adviser, dina powell, as somebody being considered. >> right. and with ivanka, he didn't say he wouldn't pick ivanka. he just said that would be the reaction. but he couldn't think of anyone better than her to do that job, saying that even cnn would like her there, at the end. it does sound like he's been watching the news reports about who could take that job. he kept saying, i heard ivanka, i heard ivanka. back to dina powell, someone who is pretty much viewed as a contender in this, and a pretty serious contender. she is already in new york. she has told people she believes this would be her dream job. and president trump saying there, she is on the list of consideration for people he's considering for this. that he said today, he's going to announce in t

. >> how is the president, kaitlan, going to react?ou cover the white house, to rod rosenstein saying the mueller investigation -- his words -- appropriate and independent and the american public should have full faith in the outcome? >> well, it raises even more questions about what was said when the president invited rod rosenstein to ride with him on air force one to orlando during that recent trip to visit the police chiefs because we know it was going to be an awkward conversation anyway because it came after the reporting that rosenstein talked about people wearing a wire when they met with him and forcing him out of office. after that flight, president trump was in a good mood, talking about the russia investigation, saying he believes they are going to be treated fairly. so it raises the questions if rod rosenstein felt comfortable enough to go to the "wall street journal" and do this interview, what was said between the president and the deputy attorney general, but also an interesting thing he says is that he thinks the ameri

let's talk about this and start with kaitlan collins who has breaking news on this. you're learning more about the role of jared kushner, obviously the president's son-in-law, senior adviser, who has established from very early on the crown prince a very close working relationship. >> the more this becomes a full-blown diplomatic crisis, the more scrutiny there is on jared kushner, because he did tout that close relationship with mbs, the crown prince, for so long. and now what we're seeing, he's not saying anything publicly. several white house officials fear if he was really involved on this, on a public front, because he has such a close relationship with the crown prince, that there would be backlash. that's a big part of why we didn't see him travel with the secretary of state, mike pompeo to meet with the saudi officials this week. and a big part of why we haven't seen him say anything publicly. he went to new york last night. and as you have seen, there is that video of him getting off the plane in new york with his wife, ivanka trump, also a white house emplo

. >> kaitlan collins is live for us at the president's rally right now. and kaitlan, are you told whether or not the president's going to address the bombs this evening? >> reporter: jake, we've asked and we haven't heard back from the white house whether or not he's going to address that. when he's in front of his supporters here, but we have seen two republicans get up on this stage right here behind me and address them. that was paul ryan, the house speaker, and also scott walker as well. they both got up here, they condemned those attacks with scott walker saying an attack like this on one american or a certain individual is an attack on all americans so we'll see if president trump gets up here, if he echos that rhetoric when he takes the stage as well. we are learning a little bit more about what president trump has been doing or hasn't been doing over the last few hours and we have learned by calling jeff zeleny that he hasn't phoned any of those officials, current or former, that were on the receiving end of those packages today. that includes pre

cnn's kaitlan collins is at the white house.aitlan, the president said he had a good talk with rod rosenstein while aboard air force one. do we know whether his future came up at all in that conversation? >> reporter: well, we know right now he's still the deputy attorney general. and according to president trump, they had a great talk. the white house says the talk lasted for about 45 minutes. they discussed a myriad of issues, one of them being general doj business. we don't know if that means the russia investigation or the palm shell reporting that rod rosenstein debated wearing a wire when he met with the president. right now president trump is keeping the readout of that meeting to just one word. president trump putting the speculation about firing his deputy attorney general to rest today. >> thank you, as well, to our deputy attorney general, rod rosenstein. for being here. flew down together. >> reporter: inviting rod rosenstein to fly with him on air force one, and claiming it was a smooth flight. >> the press wants to

listen to the exchange with cecilia vega and cnn's kaitlan collins. >> now you answered the questions on trade i would like to turn to kavanaugh. >> do you have a question on trade? one or two more questions on trade. okay. don't do that. that's not nice. >> mr. president -- >> you've had enough. she's shocked i picked her. in a state of shock. >> i'm not thinking. >> i know you're not thinking. you never do. >> i'm sorry? >> it sounds like the president said i know you're not thinking. that is what us watching thought. the transcript says i know you're not thanking. he referred to the press corps as loco. he called them loco because of the new trade agreements with mexico. >> does it matter? it is more of a condescending co tone to a female reporter. does it matter? >> i thought the demeanor veered from engaging to cocktail humor to insulting. >> he had a nice moment with the joke. >>> melania trump on the way to africa. the first significant solo international trip she has taken as first lady. let's go live to johannesburg and bring in david mckenzie. >> reporter: good morning, dave

our kaitlan collins is here with details of his visit. there were certainly questions about what would happen, where would the president go today. we really didn't know up until the last minute where exactly he was going to go. did the white house, i mean -- >> it was a bit of a scramble. to say the least. even the city of pittsburgh, the mayor said they were not aware that the president's plans to come were official until the press secretary announced it yesterday during that white house press briefing. but the president came, he made his first stop at the tree of life synagogue. he went inside just to the entrance with the rabbi and the first lady -- >> still a crime scene so they can't -- >> still a crime scene. the fbi agents still inside there today. they couldn't go very far. they just went to the entrance. while they were in there just a private ceremony. no cameras or any reporters in there. they lit a candle for each of the 11 victims from saturday's shooting. then they came outside where all the cameras were waiting in this make

wolf. >> kaitlan collins at the white house.hank you. >>> also breaking, cnn confirms the fbi has interviewed multiple witnesses in the kavanaugh investigation. we are told that the interview of mark judge has not been completed. drew griffin is joining us with new details on the fbi probe. tell our viewers what you are learning. >> reporter: cnn has learned that the fbi has interviewed debbie ramirez along with christine blasey ford's friend leland kaiser and two of kavanaugh's high school friends, b.j. smith, and of course mark judge, the big news today. the question is if the fbi is interested in interviewing several people that dispute his claims about his drinking habits. the night they say they're not limiting fbi agents in the investigation, but the fbi is concentrating on four key witnessed, singled out by republican senators, p.j. smith, leland keyser and mark judge, who were all at the party where christine blasey ford says she was attacked, and they're investigating a second accuser, deb ee ramirez, who came forward w

as kaitlan said, this is mike pompeo and the president, this is his portfolio. jared kushner that the crown prince called to say we didn't do this. how invested is he? >> i think he is pretty invested and doesn't want to openly say he is invested. the president was trying to sprayed not just himself from the saudi government, but jared kushner as well. suggesting he doesn't have that keep of a relationship with him. that is contrary to all of our reporting and the facts that have been established. i don't think and i sat on the panel and i didn't think he offered a detailed explanation of how they are going about this. it was fact finding and it is true that he tried to push this off and would not talk about the advice he has given to his father in law. they have taken this administration in various positions from the get go and left themselves outs. i didn't see him doing anything. >> the saudis said they need another month. that gets us past the mid-terms. how does the u.s. respond? washington will be consumed by other things in a month. you will have a big de

>> the first was cnn's kaitlan collins and the second was cecilia vega from abc.t do with the tone? i know you are not thinking or thanking. does it matter? >> i think trump has never liked the press. he never needed it more. if you stitch together the clips, it feels like trump is lashing out at female reporters on purpose. there's a big "washington post" story that trump and other republican men feel like they are under attack because of the me too moment. trump's son said he is afraid for his sons to face false allegations. i think there is a real concern that trump feels like the culture is changing and they are left behind. >> okay. daniel lippman. i appreciate you being here. >> thanks. >>> melania trump on the way to africa. the first solo international trip as first lady. first stop is ghana and egypt. we go to johannesburg where we have david mckenzie. her first big solo international trip. interesting she chose africa after what her husband said about the continent. >> reporter: good morning, christine. it is. he has said things which has ruffled feather

. >> kaitlan, who should the president most be worried about coming out of this democratic field?aw with the republicans in the last presidential election, so many running. michael avenatti, everyone come ing out of the woodwork signaling they're going to run. president trump, even though we haven't even made it to the midterms, he has become increasingly concerned who it is going to be. >> who do you think he's most worried about? >> you can see who he talks about. he doesn't talk about kamala harris. a lot of people see her as someone who will be a star in the next election and he clearly doesn't think she's a threat. he's not very -- what would the word be -- sly? >> hard to read. >> who he's worried about, that's who he's calling out at those rallies. >> three midwestern states who decided the election. it's unlikely for me to see a democrat losing all the states that hillary won but pennsylvania, ohio, wisconsin. >> expanding the map. >> 2020 very much already here. >>> next our reporters share from their notebooks, including midterm conspiracy theories from the dark corners.

. >> kaitlan collins, we didn't learn a lot new there. >> no, we didn't. the only thing new was that he encouraged president trump to give him a few more days to keep investigating. it's been 16 days since he entered the saudi cannes lonsul didn't leave. you would think that's enough time to investigate but the secretary of state said he believes they need more time and they are we are going to get the answers. he was asked how do you trust the saudis to investigate themselves here since they're accused of masterminding the murder of this reporter? he didn't answer but he said he'd let the saudis have a few more days before president trump makes a decision. so not a lot of clarity. but president trump, we didn't hear from him in person, only pompeo at the microphone but he did tweet saying he met with pompeo this morning. he said they discussed what has been going on in great detail including the secretary of state's meeting with the crown prince. he says he's going to wait for the results of the investigation being done by the saudi arabia dis and the tur

cnn's kaitlan collins is at the white house. what is the next move for the white house right now? i was pretty surprised that mike pompeo came out to talk to reporters on such a sensitive issue. >> the delay continues. that's essentially what he told us when he came out and spoke for about three minutes to reporters and didn't even take three questions from reporters there to talk about what happened when he went to saudi arabia and turkey where he was supposed to be briefed on all of this, and white house officials have been waiting on his return for him to brief president trump before they could make a decision going forward. that's what we have heard for days. what we heard from pompeo was essentially no decision has been made and he advised president trump to give the saudis a few more days to continue their investigation so they can learn all the facts. critics are going to say they're giving them a few more days to continue to come up with their cover sory about this because they believe the intelligence points to responsibility for the saudis for the disappearance of and po

>> joining me now is white house correspondent kaitlan collins and, wes, let me start with you. what was going through your mind watching that? >> it was certainly a remarkable spectacle at a time when we see these reports from brooke down at the ravaged florida host after the hurricane where we're awaiting any updates on our colleague presumed assassinated by the saudi government, that this kind of spectacle is taking place in the white house with a controversial celebrity, who in this conversation disclosed he's been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. there are very few words to describe what we saw. you could argue that it was sad. it certainly was remarkable and it was entertaining but empty calories. >> kaitlan, what are you hearing from your sources inside the white house how the president viewed this going in? was he looking for press coverage or a real conversation about the issues that were technically on the agenda? >> reporter: we've seen the president tout kanye west supporting him multiple times. he has been touting that support. but people in the white house are a li

. >> kaitlan, thank you so much. the "times" says they had given the white house quite a bit of time to respond and they had not gotten -- they did get that response, that letter statement from trump's attorney. but let's discuss all of this right now. john dean, former nixon white house counsel, karen, a "washington post" columnist, harry is here, a former u.s. assistant attorney and rob is former senior counsel for the tax division of the department of justice. thank you all so much. john, let me ask you this. if this is right, and sue laid out their extensive reporting that they have, he was a million mayor by the time he was 8 years old. that is not self-made at all. he's known to not tell the truth, but this -- this is big. what do you think this does to the president? >> i don't think he was that precocious at 8 to make a million dollars a year. but what's interesting to me is the big picture this is going to fit in, and the reaction his core and people in general are going to have. this came up in the nixon ye

kaitlan colins is standing by and the president of the united states will speak any moment. he is behind schedule. the president has not praised the fbi for the investigation and he attacked the media for the angry mood in the country. he has been briefed on this now. any indication of what we will hear from the president moments from now? >> reporter: the question is, are we going to hear more on who the suspect is and how they arrested the person and what went down, but the president will make remarks at the young black leadership summit, but he has been briefed on the arrest and also the attorney general, jeff sessions who has been spearheading the investigation is also here at the white house right now. he is likely also speaking with the president about this. john, you have to look at the last sweet that the president sent before he told us he would give us an update. he was raising questions about what has gone on here. republicans were doing so well in early voting and the polls and this bomb stuff happened. now the momentum greatly slowed. he was lamenting the idea t

cat lynn calle kaitlan collins is at the white house. if this kwums a day after the president went much farther than kavanaugh describing him as having difficulty with drinking? >> reporter: jake, seems to be a guarded optimism on the president's part. a far cry from what we saw when the president first nominated brett kavanaugh as his supreme court nominee, bragging the ideal candidate for this position. ivy league educated, a family man. now jake, seems to be hoping that his nomination can hang on. president trump voicing confidence in his supreme court nominee today, but not without a word of caution. as he left the white house for philadelphia, the president telling reporters he's optimistic the senate can vote to confirm brett kavanaugh in the coming days. >> hopefully as mitch said, they'll have a vote by the end of the week, and it will be a positive vote. >> reporter: but trump making clear kavanaugh's fate remains uncertain, as the fbi investigates the sexual assault allegations made against him. >> a lot is going to depend on w

kaitlan, a remarkable event. i admire you for your persistence. tell us what it was like to be in the rose garden. >> the approximapresident came refused several questions on brett kavanaugh making clear he wanted to talk about the nafta deal first. then we did get around to and the allegations made against him as we were in the middle of this fbi investigation. the president made news on several fronts. my question to the president is if it is to you understand that brett kavanaugh did lie when he was testifying about his drinking habits, would that be enough to disqualify him from being president trump's nominee on the supreme court. that was questions several democratic senators have raised since the testimony that riveted washington and president trump didn't say it would bar him from being the supreme court nominee. he said he thought brett kavanaugh was truthful about his drinking, saying he struggled with it even though that's not what brett kavanaugh said. he tried to characterize his drinking as pretty normal in his college years and said

cnn's kaitlan collins joins me now from the white house.o we know about what the president said? >> reporter: well, he came out there, of course, jake, the first subject on this was the development in this case. now, the suspect has been apprehended. we know president trump praised law enforcement while speaking to reporters out there. he asked -- also made a few remarks about his own rhetoric. he told reporters out there that he believes he has already toned down his rhetoric. likely a reference to that rally we saw in wisconsin whenever he was saying much different things than we typically hear from his rallies in light of the focus on what he has said, now that all of had is coming out. he was asked about whether or not he has anything to say about this person, clearly identifying themselves with president trump being a supporter of his and appearing at his rallies. it's unclear exactly what he said. it's really hard to hear out there with marine one, choppering in the background. we'll likely hear that soon. one interesting thing he bro