nbc's kelly o'donnell is in new jersey with more. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, craig. one of the president's most powerful advisers from the campaign to the west wing is not going quietly. steve bannon is vowing publicly to quote crush the opposition. the decision to oust bannon came from the new chief of staff john kelly and it's a sign of his authority. >> the post steve bannon era begins, president trump did not respond to questions friday about the dismissal of his chief strategist. bannon leaves the white house but not the battlefield. already back to his former world at the conservative media outlet breitbart named executive chairman and already speaking out. bannon bluntly told the weekly standard, the trump presidency that we fought for and won is over. this image captures the exodus, all of the advisers from the early group now gone. bannon, the hard line nationalist lost his power struggle within to more moderate voices. bannon also said of his return to breitbart, now i'm free. i've got my hands back on

speculation about his political future nbc's kelly o'donnell has the latest. >> reporter: from his summer stay at his new jersey golf resort, president trump's first take on a significant foreign policy accomplishment. north korea sanctions came without bravado. two tweets noting china and russia voted with us, very big financial impact today, adrenaline out of the trump administration came from vice president mike pence. after "new york times" report described a shadow campaign for 2020, where prominent republicans, including pence, were donors, made political stops in case president trump is not on the ballot. but in a lengthy review, he called the assertions disgraceful and offensive to me, laughable and absurd and pledged his efforts to see trump reelected in 2020. >> greatest privilege of my life to serve as vice president to a president who always puts america first. >> reporter: counselor kellyanne conway defended pence's loyalty. >> it is absolutely true that

and back with me now, nbc's kelly o'donnell, of course, at the white house. bill countrieso, editor at large for the weekly standard. eugene robinson, a columnist, pulitzer-prize winning columnist at the "washington post." jonathan greenblatt, anti defamation league. and gabe gutierrez in charlottesville. to you first, eugene robinson. did the president hit the right notes today, despite what he failed to do on saturday? >> well, he certainly hit more of them, andrea, in terms of name-checking, the kkk and white supremacists and neo-nazis. he did that today. he didn't do it on saturday. so on that score, i would say better late than never. i don't believe i heard him describe the incident as i would describe it, as an act of terrorism. but i would have to check the transcript and make sure -- >> no, i don't think he did. >> if he didn't, you know, i think he should have. but it was -- it was much better than saturday. i think the question going forward, of course, is what sort of confidence will he give african-americans and minorities and others who did not

kelly o'donnell in new jersey. kelly, let's go to the poll numbers. they are not good.are consistent with other polls we have seen, but has the white house reacted at all to them? >> reporter: no direct reaction from the white house, but what makes this poll particularly interesting right now is what you mentioned about the states that are drilled down on here. michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin, states that are typically a critical piece of the battleground map and donald trump did what was highly unexpected in 2016 by winning each of these three states, and now months later we see where the numbers are and he has a challenge there to try to get back some of the support that he had. this seems to reflect what has been a turbulent first seven months in office and these questions were put to voters in those states after the charlottesville events of last weekend and the president's differing statements and the criticism that has followed that, so it really shows a reflection of what may be a low point for the trump presidency overall. and this has been a very difficult we

we have nbc's kelly o'donnell live in bridgewater, new jersey, along with hans nichols and gabe gutierrez. kelly, i want to go first to you. the president is laying low on his last dworking vacation. this is guvg us a window into how he is feeling today. >> reporter: he certainly has not separated himself from his phone because he is using twitter and he is fighting back. and it gives us, hallie, a sense of the president's mood, frustration and as we look at this over the next few days, it will be interesting to see to what degree the president feels like he is under siege n a way, what he said about senator graham is very telling today. senator lindsey graham, republican of south carolina, who has been critical of the president, certainly was one of his challengers very early on in 2016, but has also been complimentary of the president at times where he felt he was on the right mark, typically with things like foreign policy. and, again, lindsey graham has been splitting that difference, praising the president for his comments about the woman who was killed in charlottesville and his exp

>> kelly o'donnell, thank you. >>> a programming note, nbc will carry the president's address to then live tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. eastern/6:00 pacific. >>> meanwhile, a new nbc news poll shows many americans, even trump supporters are embarrassed by the president, and it is impacting his favorability in three important states. nbc news political director and moderator of "meet the press" chuck todd is here to explain. chuck? >> reporter: well, jose, look, michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvania, they were the three states that put donald trump in the white house, three states a republican hadn't carried since the '80s. we thought we'd check in there specifically. what's interesting is they look like swing states. his job approval rating in all three states is basically what it is nationally, a little bit lower in pennsylvania and wisconsin than it is in michigan. that's somewhat notable, probably worth keeping track of over time, does michigan end up being more of a rust belt state that stays in the trump column more so than either wisconsin or pennsylvania, but look at these proud ve

>> kelly o'donnell, thank you. much more tomorrow on "meet the press," h.r. mcmaster and admiral mike mullen, former chairman of the joint chiefs. >>> today's violence in charlottesville is a stark reminder of our nation's troubled history when it comes to race. nbc's morgan radford looks at new data as to how deep it exists and where the deep divide exists. >> you will not replace us. >> reporter: last night's torch protest march by the alt-right in charlottesville, virginia, has eerie echos of the past, familiar images from an era that many americans thought was behind us. race, after decades of civil rights legislation and even the election of a black president is still at the center of our national conversation. is this the tipping point? >> yes. america is entering a unique phase in history. >> reporter: nearly three-quarters of american voters say race relations in the united states is worst now than in the 1990s after the o.j. simpson and riots. polls show 42% of black americans are upset about the way that they are treated. but only 15% of whites shar

kelly o'donnell at trump tower. capitol hill correspondent, kasie hunt. maya rodriguez in charlottesville, where that memorial wrapped up a short time ago. kelly o., let me start with you. what are we hearing, if anything, from inside this white house about why the president of the united states would say this? also some new defections from the economic council, i understand, as well. >> reporter: well, let me begin with that, craig. because just in the last few minutes, we have heard from the ceo of the campbell's soup company. denise morrison, also stepping away from the president's vaunted council of american manufacturing, the defections have been coming quickly. she writes, racism and murder are unequivocally reprehensible and are not morally equivalent to anything else that happened in charlottesville. i believe the president should have been and still needs to be unambiguous on that point. also earlier today, the ceo of the 3m company also dropping out. so some people whose opinions and whose cooperation and help the president values most, people fr

>> kelly o'donnell, thank you very much. tomorrow on "meet the press," jerry brown and jeff flake of arizona will be among chuck todd's guests. >>> the hamlet of bedminister, new jersey, population just over 8,000, will be somewhat more populated for the next couple of weeks now that the president is working at the property there. the township was split during the presidential election. president trump won only by 40 votes. stephanie gosk reports on the town and the trump effect. >> reporter: the best way to appreciate the beauty of bedminister, new jersey, is in the sky. >> just about a thousand feet so you can get a really good view of the golf course itself. >> reporter: right there in the middle sits trump national, which is now the summer white house. >> if president trump was there, we wouldn't be able to do this, right? >> no. this is within the ten-mile no-fly zone. so no one is able to fly over here at that time. >> reporter: bedminister residents value the serenity here. just far enough outside of new york city to

>> kelly o'donnell with the president in new jersey. thank you. >>> the united states and it's nato allies are showing off their military might this weekend. and so is the russian military. at a time when u.s./russia relations are what president trump has called an all-time and very dangerous low. we get that story from nbc's matt bradley. >> reporter: this is the sound of sabers rattling. duelling russian and night -- nato war games just as tension between russia and american allies reaches it's worst point since the cold war. >> it's a deterrence to adversaries because what this is is credible, serious capability. >> reporter: on board the uss george h.w. bush off the scottish coast, for a military exercise called saxton warrior. on the other side of the europe, russia is hosting it's annual international army games, showing off it's military prowess. 6 it's a prelude to russia's massive naval drills planned for september. the exercise is called zapad, russian for west. after the direction they'll be facing. bellaruse and china have a

>> kelly o'donnell live in bridgewater. thank you very much. >>> back with me to my set here. bruce clinger a 20-year intelligence and now a senior research fellow at the heritage foundation and then our panel for the hour. josh letterman and foreign policy reporter for the associated press and white house reporter for "washington examiner" sarah westwood. thank you, all, for being here. kind of the dream team to talk about all of this happening today. you heard kelly talking about who the intended recipient of this message is. we shouldn't be surprised by the surprise. you are surprised by the surprise of what is happening now. explain that. >> the people are baeing surprised by north korea's increasing capabilities on nuclear and missile capabilities. we've known about that it's in work for some time. we may not know exactly where they are on the development path, but we know what path they're on and what their objectives are. when i was at cia in the late '90s we did an unclassified intelligence estimate that predicted that north korea would target all of the continental u.

>> kelly o'donnell at the white house tonight, thank you. >>> tonight, the u.s. military is investigating yet another military air crash, this one involving a blackhawk helicopter last night while on a training exercise. one service member is missing. this is just the latest accident involving u.s. military aircraft and ships. it happened off the coast of yemen. we get more from our pentagon correspondent hans nichols. >> reporter: tonight, the urgent search and rescue mission still underway for one missing special ops soldier. five have already been rescued after an army blackhawk helicopter went down during a training mission off the coast of yemen. the helicopter was hovering about ten feet above the water practicing its hoisting when it lost power and slowly crashed into the water and then turned on its side. the crash just a latest in a series of deadly military aviation accidents, including in mississippi and australia. earlier this month, another blackhawk helicopter went down two miles offshore from oahu and a deadly season at sea, two navy destroyers inv

we have kelly o'donnell joining us on the phone, kelly, he was threatening north korea again saying theyetter get their act together or they will be in trouble. he is not bringing, not turning the temperature down. he has his finger on the crank and he is turning it up. >>. >> and we're getting initial reports and they were asking the president. they spoke for several moments and we're just getting threads of what was said as the pool gets ready to transmit material some time from now we'll have the televised comments. so what we know is the president did respond to questions. he did not back away, as you said from the fiery rhetoric of recent days. he did say that perhaps his words had not been tough enough. according to the pooler who described the president being concerned sanctions would not work as well as promised, and he also, according to our colleagues said that there were not mixed mess aging comes from his administration. not wanting to see regime change or reunification. and there is an image coming up, this is at the golf club, the main home there, the clubhouse with the fla

nbc's kelly o'donnell is standing by at the white house with more on this. kelly, good saturday morning to you. tell us more. >> reporter: -- political news to talk about as well. first on the hurricane, the president is already tweeting the day about the coordinated response between federal, state and local officials, praising fema, talking about the fact that he's closely monitoring all this. there isn't much the president can do at this stage, but he has signed a declaration. he says that unleashes federal help. the president plans to travel to texas sometime next week according to white house officials. given the duration of this storm, that could be difficult. the president also had something else in mind that got a lot of attention overnight. when the first family left for a weekend at camp david, hurricane harvey was not the only storm brewing. a legal lightning bolt from president trump late friday, a presidential pardon for arizona's controversial anti immigration hard liner sheriff joe arpaio, a move the president teased at his tuesday rally in phoe

we are going to go now to kelly o'donnell, who is following the situation with the president of the united states. she is near the president's bedminster golf resort. kelly, last we heard from you, we did not know whether the president talked to virginia governor terry mcauliffe as normally happens in a situation like this. we expect to see the president at 3:00 p.m. what do we know right now? >> reporter: at this point, i can tell you from speaking with white house advisers that the white house has contacted the virginia governor and contacted him through his chief of staff. the department of homeland security and the president's own homeland security adviser have been in touch with the local authorities there. that would be part of their role to try to offer support and to try to coordinate and we've heard from the president, via twitter. his first tweet on this is, we all must be united and condemn all that hate stands for. there is no place for this kind of violence in america. let's come together as one. and just 40 seconds ago, the president tweeted a second, updating us on his day,

kelly o'donnell has our report. >> reporter: managing a wild card. >> i like mr. bannon. he's a friend of mine. >> reporter: a friend now unpredictable and on the outside. today the president tweeted his first comments on friday's dismissal of chief strategist steve bannon. ousted but praised. steve bannon will be a top and tough new voice at brightbart news. maybe even better than ever before. bannon, a hard nose nationalist instantly moved on by moving back to the conservative media outlet breitbart where he made intentions clear in provocative language telling the weekly standard, "i feel jacked up. now i'm free. i've got my hands back on my weapons. i am definitely going to crush the open silt." opposition that includes other white house advisors bannon considers too moderate. [000:11:59;00] they include any establishment republicans and any establishment anything, any mainstream media outlets and if anything, he'll have more money and a more liberated platform now that he's outside of the government. >> reporter: bannon has been a flash point for krit wloikz argue he

lester. >> kelly o'donnell at the white house. thank you. >>> still ahead tonight, the question that a lot of people are asking, just why is flooding so common in us reasons involved. >>> also some of the remarkable rescue efforts we saw today, not by the police or fire departments, but by neighbors and family members helping o hundreds of dollars on youmy car insurance. saved me huh. i should take a closer look at geico... (dog panting) geico has a 97% customer satisfaction rating! and fast and friendly claims service. speaking of service? oooo, just out. it was in. out. in! out. in! what about now? that was our only shuttlecock. take a closer look at geico. great savings. and a whole lot more. my belly pain i could build a small city with all the over-the-counter products i've used. enough! i've tried enough laxatives to cover the eastern seaboard. i've climbed a mount everest of fiber. probiotics? enough! (avo) if you've had enough, tell your doctor what you've tried and how long you've been at it. linzess

we get more tonight from nbc's kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: from his summer stay at his new jersey golf resort, president trump's first take on a significant foreign policy accomplishment. the north korea sanctions came without bra va toe. two tweets noting in part, china and russia voted with us, very big financial impact. today, the adrenaline out of the trump administration came from vice president mike pence. after a "new york times" report described a shadow campaign for 2020, where prominent republicans, including pence, court donors and make political stops in casere but in a lengthy rebuke, the vice president called the aserngss disgraceful and offensive to me. laughable, and absurd. and pledged hisff eorts to see trump reelected in 2020. >> it's the greatest privilege of my life to serve of vice president to a president that always puts america first. >> reporter: kellyanne conway defended pence's loyalty. >> it is absolutely true that the vice president is getting ready for 2020 for reelection as vice president. >> so now concern he's setting up a shadow campaign? >> reporter:

nbc's kelly o'donnell joins me from bridgewater near the president's resort in bedminister. welcome to you. the president with a statement in support of his national security adviser last night. why did that come about? >> reporter: i think you see in this new white house and when i say new under the leadership of john kelly as the chief of staff there is an attempt to shore things up and h.r. mcmaster had been criticized in some conservative media outlets for some of his policies and we have heard reports that he and steve bannon, strategist for the president, sometimes see the views on things like afghanistan quite differently. we also had some unique nbc news reporting about frustrations the president was having over options presented to him related to afghanistan, and that he had at least verbalized to some that he might consider sending mcmaster to run the command in afghanistan. he is still a full time general unlikecoal unlike john kelly, a retired military officer. this is the president talking things out as we've seen he likes to do. by putting out this statement sa

thank you, kelly o'donnell, eugene robinson and steve smith. what does north korea hear when they hear sxlokd loaded? what about china and russia? what options beyond tough talk we really have. plus the russia investigation. prosecutors are zeroing in on trump's former campaign manager but they may be rattling the white house. what is behind trump's bizarre fight with senator mitch mcconnell, someone he needs on his side, if he hopes to get anything done? finally the conspiratorial memo that argued the so-called deep state is working the subvert the president because he represents an existential threat to cultural marxist memes and bankers. it actually made it to the president's desk. this is "hardball" where the action is. 's ok that everybody ignores me when i drive. it's fine. because i get a safe driving bonus check every six months i'm accident free. because i don't use my cellphone when i'm driving. even though my family does, and leaves me all alone. here's something else... i don't share it with mom. i don't. right, mom? i have a brand

kelly o'donnell, thank you so much. appreciate that. let's bring in our panel. howard dean. republican strategist susan dell prosio. we're going to get right to it, because we've got four terrific people. as we just heard from conway, the white house appears to be very aware of this support from the gop. there's another poll showing nearly half of republicans feel they are losing on the issues they care about. susan, is this a sign it's as bad as it seems? >> absolutely. what's also very concerning is the other polling members of congress are going back home and seeing in their own districts. so that's what they are really concerned about. and that's why these poll numbers are just so hard for the president right now to move any agenda through. >> so, nile, there's a quinnipiac poll showing, what, 54% of voters are embarrassed that he's president. 62% think he's not honest. 71% think he's not level headed. republicans complain constantly about his itchy twitter finger. do you think mr. trump is ever going to turn these numbers around? >> i think it's a very upheill battle. o

and kelly o'donnell from bridgewater, new jersey, covering the president for us on this saturday. thank you, kelly. we will bring in ned price, and msnbc national security analyst, and the former security director of the national security director, and niles standish, and kelsey snell as well. and so, what should we make from this with the reporting of the new york time, and the move from michael flynn requesting documents related to michael flynn and what that might involve? >> so in is clearly a deepening of the russia probe focusing very much ob michael flynn's contacts with turkey in this instance. so what we can obviously glean from that is a broadening of the investigation as it pertains to flynn. now, of course, there is a certain irony here, because president obama at the very first post election meeting with president-elect trump warned him against hiring michael flynn, and the president-elect obviously disregarded that advice and it is michael flynn who has proven the thread that the prosecutors can keep pulling upon to cause the white house considerable difficulties, and

i want to go back, if i can, to the white house and kelly o'donnell. if you can just explain briefly what reverend al sharpton just referenced, kelly, which is the resignation of the ceo of merck. >> reporter: and so this president, who has tried to be business-friendly and sort of use his mogul persona to bring in some of the giants of american manufacturing to be a part of his council, that includes ken frasor of merck, who is very prominent ceo. he happens to be african-american. he also happens to have a harvard law degree. he today puts out a statement that says, that america's leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the american ideal that all people are created equal. as ceo of merck and as a matter of personal conscience, i feel a responsibility to take a stand against intotalrism and extremism. the president then responded in a much more typically donald trump, combative, counter-punching way, saying that now that mr. frasor will have additional time

because a senior administration official is confirming that bannon will be leaving, i want to go to kelly o'donnellging in kelly right now, kelly? >> reporter: this is a move that is both expected and yet it's always surprising when someone who has been so close to the president will be leaving the administration. it comes at a time when there is a storm of issues that seem to suggest that the bannon era is over. we can report that firmly now. why now? why in this moment? a few different reasons. chief of staff john kelly has been doing an assessment of top officials. one of the things that senior administration officials have indicated is that kelly wanted to be certain that everyone was rowing in the same direction. staying within their lanes. following the new structure that has been set up inside the white house. there are many observers who would say that steve bannon simply did not do that. at the same time, we've had the events of the last several days with charlottesville and the reputation that bannon has. he would describe himself as a nationalist, anti-globalist. many would say he has be

i want to go straight to nbc's kelly o'donnell in bridgewater, new jersey, near the president's resort, where he is spending the next two weeks. kelly, the president's team is pushing back on this pence report, as well. >> reporter: very much so, jacob. as two former road warriors, all i can say is, too soon, too soon. the 2020 race is alive when you talk about the political atmosphere. because the president is in a weakened position with his poll ratings and with the sort of unknowns of the russia investigation, there is a bit of a vacuum where some other republicans who have big ambitions may be wanting to fill some spaces. you'll see senators or governors who traveled to the early states and do political calendar kinds of events. mike pence, the vice president, has done that, as well, and has a network of donors, but the trump/pence re-election campaign is already up and running, so that by observation the pence world is saying is just a part of his job. the job he has now, not a future job he might seek. so kellyanne conway, counselor to the president and the campaign manager at th

kelly o'donnell is standing by. kelly o'donnell is in new jersey. she's traveling with president trump. any comment from the white house so far? >> well, we have comment in two different forms. one is what we expect in times like this, that we're notified by senior officials that the president, with his national security team relevant in this case has been notified. so chief of staff john kelly is keeping the president up to date on any developments. typically the white house situation room would be in touch with support or guidance or simply sharing of information at this very early stage. so that's part one. the other part is more of the outpouring in a small way the first lady through her twitter page, thoughts and prayers to barcelona. so we have not had a statement yet from the president directly and here at his bedminister home in new jersey, and so at a time like this, typically what we find is a voice like rex tillerson, secretary of state who is already at a planned event can speak in an authoritative way and offering support that the u.s.

opportunity for the president to get some insight away from his new jersey home in facility. >> kelly o'donnell live for us in bridgewater. i'll see you later this afternoon. >>> nick and jen. let me ask you about the president's response to this because kelly makes an interesting point about his head space, as he goes into this critical meeting talking about national security and talking about how to protect americans here at home. >> look, the president always seems to react to these incidents in terms of how they affect him. and as a referendum on him. and it's kind of a strange response from our president. we're kind of used to this theater of reassurance from presidents. he tends to see everything as a referendum on him. is he being criticized? is his agenda being criticized? with the border security and the visa ban, it's not entirely clear that there is a close connection between that policy and more security. >> you don't see that as being reassuring to people? >> listen, i'm sure for some people it is reassuring. it is reassuring if we shut our borders to these countries. >> i think th

thank you very much, gabe gutierrez and kelly o'donnell at trump tower. join meg ing me now is madelein albright, the former u.s. ambassador to the united nations, now chair of the albright stone bridge group. i should say also, madam secretary, a refugee from the holocaust. >> yes. we came -- we were refugees twice. once as a result of hitler and spent the war in england and then came to the united states because of the communists and i am so grateful to be in america and i'm so saddened at everything that i've been listening to in the last three days. >> my colleague chuck todd said he was shell shocked in the immediate aftermath of what the president said. other people using the phrase this is irredeemable, that nothing that the president now says can try to bring him back to what apparently was a teleprompter, scripted, recalibration on monday that he then blew up with his -- his impromptu news conference, if you can call it that, on tuesday. how do we get back? how does he retrieve any kind of moral high ground here? >> well, i don't know about him.

nbc news kelly o'donnell is standing by there with more. er good day to you, kelly, how is the white house feeling overall with regard to the handling of hurricane harvey? >> reporter: well, president trump has been tweeting about his plans and saying that there's been good coordination between federal, state and local. he is saying that they placed resources in the region of the storm's path in advance. the president says that was a smart way to do it. he also says that he took the message, learned the lessons he had been warned by some republican officials about getting in front of the storm and says he heard that, quote, loud and clear. that all coming from twitter. so we await to hear a more specific briefing from the president on what he's thinking or knowing at this point. so far nothing planned for today and his homeland security advisor said at this phase they want the governors to be the face of this crisis. they're on the ground and know the most about what's happening in the path of the storm. >> a couple of other points i want yo

i want to bring back kelly o'donnell. bob could you sack is editor in chief. me go to you irs if. this is not a president is backing off in any way, shape or form. every time he's been asked about his words that first raised eyebrows about north korea he has doubled down. >> he has. and as you can tell by peter alexander being there as the nbc representative for tv today, he and kristen welker and i were sort of gaming out would the president be open to taking questions on this subject even though the reason he brought the press pool together was for a separate subject that he began with, and we felt that clearly the president seems to believe that by continuing to make his points loudly around the world, that that will actually advance some of his agenda items with respect to north korea. so as peter was there with the question, the president knew that was coming, clearly. >> multiple questions. >> and was prepared to talk about it. yes. it almost seems like it's a new tactic from the president that especially while he is at his home and wanting to emphasize

i want to go to nbc's kelly o'donnell who is with the president in bridgewater, new jersey, near the president's golf resort. kelly, what's the latest? >> reporter: well, we can tell you that i've spoken to white house officials who say the president will use this opportunity to address the nation on the issue that has been playing out in charlottesville. that was not the original intent of today's event. this is going to be a bill signing related to veterans affairs, and the president had intended that this would be a more celebratory event where he would sign legislation and talk about some of the people who have been invited to bedminster who are members of veterans groups. now it takes on a different tone and this is a real challenge for the president, who in his six months in office, has not had in kind of an incident where there is a sudden violent and upsetting event that has much larger implications in terms of the national dialogue and conversation and all the things that it represents. it's a very potent event that draws deep feelings for people watching this at home and cer

and joining us not far from there is kelly o'donnell. so kelly, explain how this is seen as a victory for the president and important as we see these 15 member nations voting for these sanctions. >> reporter: perhaps the biggest foreign policy crisis for the trump administration is dealing with north korea. we've seen the president already use some of his capital early in his administration trying to get china's help by hosting the chinese president. and he's expressed frustration toward china for not doing more. so given the fact that this is something that is high on his agenda and there are new provocations from north korea that are very worrisome with the ability they have shown testing an intercontinental ballistic missile more than once now with a capability to reach the united states. could they put a nuclear pay load on that. that is the big question. and so with nikki haley as the u.s. ambassador to the u.n., the united states was pushing the other member nations to do something, to send a stronger signal. it's always difficult t

kelly o'donnell is joining us from the president's summer house. migu courtney is keeping an eye on the military response at the pentag pentagon. let us start with you. there will be a meeting today with nikki hailey and h.r. mcmaster today. he is not moderating his tone at all, is it intentional? >> it appears to be intentional. tough talk dmomestically and in foreign policy matters. it is his way of projecting what he believes is u.s. strength, these are not the conventional ways of dealing with this level of heightened tension, this is the president's style and he is committed to it. it is an opportunity to get the first person accounts of secretary tillerson and nikki hailey that have been directly involved with other world leaders from the relevant countries here. the secretary of state was here for a summit with issues related to north korea, and we know that nikki hailey was in the center of trying to broke near u.n. sanction where the entire security council council was in agreement that may were trying to penalize north korea economically.

. >> that was kelly o'donnell reporting. john kelly just one week on the job is with the president along with other members of the national security team. >>> big renovations taking shape at 1600 pennsylvania. the first family will be out on vacation for the next two weeks at the president's golf club in new jersey. crews have taken over the white house, working around the clock on repairs in the west wing, fixing up leaky ceilings and the lower lobby has been a mess. the south portico steps have not been restored in 60 years. workers were taking things out of the oval office. the improvements were authorized by the obama administration but put off until now. so even the white house needs a little polishing here and there. >>> weather needs polishing after the muggy conditions. >> no triple digits. >> we had the hottest weather of the week. a different story this weekend. things are beginning to cool down. we have the low clouds and fog making a comeback in san francisco. waking up to misty skies in a few spots. 62 right now.

. >> reporter: good morning, i'm kelly o'donnell, covering the president in new jersey.he first time this morning, president trump acknowledges the dismissal of steve bannon with a tweet where he says that steve bannon's service was a credit to the country and "it was great." on the outside, bannon says his plan is to "crush the opposition." the post-steve bannon era begins. president trump did not respond to questions friday about the dismissal of his chief strategist. bannon leaves the white house but not the battlefield. already back to his former world at the conservative media outlet breitbart, named executive chairman. and already speaking out. bannon bluntly told "the weekly standard," "the trump presidency that we put it for and won is over." this image captures the exodus. all the advisers from this early group now gon nationalist, economic populist, lost his power struggle within to more moderate voices with whom he had sparred. bannon also said of his return to breitbart, "now i'm free. i've got my hands back on my weapons." critics including many democrats bl