kristen welker, with a good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, alex. the finger pointing had begun even before there was a shutdown. now this morning it's only escalating. the president is trying to put the blame squarely on democrats in a series of, tweets, alex. safety in our dangerous southern border. and then the second tweet which you just read accusing democrats of playing politics, saying this is the one year anniversary of my presidency and the democrats wanted to give me a present, democrat shutdown. the president has shifting views when it comes to a shutdown, alex. during a spending tweet in may he said it would be good for the country. there is real concern about the political costs to republicans and to this president. after all, they control the white house and both chambers of congress. alex, as you mentioned, the president was scheduled to be in mar-a-lago to celebrate the one year anniversary of his inauguration. now that is postponed. what is on tap today? likely the president will be working the phones, trying to twist arms behind th

nbc's kristen welker is with us. julia ainsley and white house reporter for the washington post, josh dossie. kristen, let's start with you. a little while ago on camera the president seemed restrained when it came to the book. behind the scenes though what's it like there at the white house? >> reporter: well, i can tell you that senior officials here are fuming. the mr. ez is fumging, increasingly angry with the headlines after this book and the revelations of this book came out yesterday and the explosive statements made by the president's former top adviser, steve bannon. they are trying to paint the book as fiction, dismissing it. president trump yesterday said, of course, steve bannon had lost his mind since he lost his administration. katie, you're absolutely right. he was far more restrained today and pointed to the fact that in his radio show steve bannon essentially praised the president. take a listen again to what the president had to say today. >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? >> any words a

>> oh i would do it under oath, absolutely. >> kristen welker, sound person extraordinary on her iphone. you don't need any help at all. kristen, what a moment. you're in an off-the-record moment. we all know it was, can we say where it was? >> reporter: we can say where it was. it was with the chief of staff, john kelly. we're going to have a conversation, andrea, about immigration. it was just extraordinary, though. as you say, the president walked in, we were about seven minutes into this. the president walked in and we started talking about immigration and then the conversation did turn to the special counsel investigation with robert mueller. will president trump agree to do an in-person interview. you heard him say, yes, he looks forward to it and would do it under oath, which was incredibly striking, andrea. he stressed the fact there's been no collusion, of course, this is something we have heard him say a number of times before, but he was very definitive about it last night. and then, of course, as he was leaving for davos, his lawyer here at the white house, ty cobb, was walk

nbc's kristen welker is there as well. good morning to you. the president was not expecting to to be here and spend the weekend in washington, was he? >> he wasn't, alex. he was supposed to be in mar-a-la mar-a-lago. he has a big-ticket event tonight to celebrate his first year in office. right now, though, he is here in washington, with no plans to go to florida. no plans until there's a deal. i can tell you the finger-pointing had begun earlier this week at the white house and it's only escalating this morning. the president up and tweeting and pointing the finger at democrats, trying to put the blame squarely on democrats. here is one tweet, alex. he writes this is this is the one-year anniversary of my presidency and the democrats wanted to give me a nice present, #democratshutdown. he's trying to give this shutdown a name and pin it to the other party. sarah huckabee sanders writing this in a statement. senate democrats own the schumer shutdown. we will not negotiate the status of unlawful immigrants while democrats hold our lawful citize

here's kristen welker with a preview. >> reporter: poised to address a deeply divided nation at his first state of the union address tuesday, president trump will aim to strike a tone of unity echoing the optimism from his joint address to congress last year. >> a new chapter of american greatness is now beginning. >> reporter: in a preview, one senior administration official says the theme this year, building a safe, strong and proud america. the president preparing to highlight 14 points, jobs and the economy with a focus on his tax victory. >> it's the largest tax cut in the history of our country. >> reporter: the president expected to press congress to pass a trillion dollar frux p k infrastructure package along with border wall funding. and another key focus, national security. making his case for a stronger military. more secure borders and a tough approach to north korea. >> we will defend our common security. >> reporter: the president will deliver the adepress the shadow of the escalating russia probe. cnn reporting that mr. trump privately was venting about rod rosenstein, his

we get all the latest from nbc's kristen welker. >> reporter: in davos today president trump lashing out at reports he ordered the firing of special counsel robert mueller last june. >> fake news, folks. fake news. >> reporter: a source with firsthand knowledge of the matter tells nbc news mr. trump ultimately backed down when his white house counsel don mcgahn threatened to quit over it saying the move would be catastrophic. the news first reported by "the new york times" said it all happened amid the first reports mueller was looking into a possible obstruction case. the white house on defense. >> we know that the president is not considering firing mueller. we want to find an end to this investigation. >> reporter: democrats pounced renewing calls for a bill aimed at protecting the special counsel. >> we've seen a pattern of behavior of him going after people that are related to this investigation. >> reporter: president trump has long denied he ever considered firing mueller. >> i haven't given it any thought. i mean, i've been reading about it from you people. you say, oh, i'm g

nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker with more now on what oprah had to say. >> reporter: oprah winfrey all but closing the door on a potential presidential bid. the famed star telling "instyle" magazine, it's not something that interests me. i don't have the dna for it. and acknowledging she's getting a lot of pressure to take on president trump. speaking to "instyle" three weeks earlier at the golden globes. >> the new day is on the horizon! >> reporter: calls for an oprah candidacy have only grown louder. #oprah2020 trending for days. the president himself weighing in. >> oprah would be a lot of fun. >> reporter: a recent poll shows the president trailing oprah 51-42%. a tv titan who many democrats believe could be a strong challenger to take on the former reality tv president, but publicly oprah has been clear. she's not interested. telling stephen colbert last year. >> any chance you'll run for office. >> never! >> really? >> never. no. >> reporter: still, in the world of politics, there's always time to change your mind. >> so you will not run for president or vice

nbc white house correspondent kristen welker has the details. >> reporter: tonight, tensions between north and south korea seeming to decrease, the two bitter enemies talking on a dmz hot line for the first time in two years, but president trump now raising that temperature in a fiery tweet after kim jong-un threatened he had a nuclear button and the u.s. in his range. president trump writing, will someone from his depleted and food-starved regime please inform him that i, too, have a nuclear button, but it is a much bigger and more powerful one than his, and my button works. the tweet sending shock waves including from former vice president joe biden. >> the only war that's worse than one that's intended is one that's unintended. this is not a game. it's not presidential. >> reporter: former national security officials say tone matters. >> the danger with bellicose language or imprecise language via tweet or otherwise is that you run the risk of escalation, you run the risk of miscalculation and at a time of tension with north korea can be very dangerous. >> reporter: tonight, defen

we get details from nbc's kristen welker. >> reporter: today president trump pelted with questions about the book "fire and fury." >> mr. president, what do you say to michael wolff? >> reporter: showing restraint but earlier taking to twitter to unleash some fury of his own, calling the book full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don't exist. mr. trump's legal team tried to block the book's release. in such high demand, it hit shelves today, four days early. >> wait, where do i send the box of chocolates? >> reporter: in an exclusive interview on "today" author michael wolff said the president's threats will only boost his sales and wolff insisted the account is accurate despite some of the president's former top aides saying they were misquoted. >> i'm certainly and absolutely, in every way, comfortable with everything i reported. >> reporter: wolff noting he recorded some interviews and spoke with the president. >> i spent three hours with the president over the course of the campaign and in the white house. >> reporter: when pressed by savannah that those around the white

our kristen welker has exclusive details. >> reporter: tonight, nbc news has learned president trump could meet face-to-face with special counsel robert mueller within a matter of weeks as a part of the ongoing russia probe. the president's legal team and federal investigators met in december to discuss a range of options. according to three sources familiar with the matter, those options include whether the president would be interviewed directly by the special counsel or his investigators or provide written responses, the location, duration and topics. legal experts say it's unlikely investigators would agree to anything other than an in-person interview. >> prosecutors want a live body in front of them for lots of reasons, including they want to be able to assess tone and inflection. they want to ask follow-up questions. they want to be able to probe. >> reporter: when asked over the weekend if he's still committed to speaking with mueller in person, mr. trump deflected. >> just so you understand, just so you understand, there's been no collusion. >> reporter: but defense attorney

lester. >> kristen welker at the white house tonight, thank you. >>> a program note. "fire and fury" author michael wolff will be savannah guthrie's exclusive guest tomorrow on "today". >>> suspending offshore drilling in the gulf coast. it would offer up to 90% of the u.s. outer continental shelf in the largest drilling lease ever and open up federal waters off california for first time in over three decades. it sets the stage for a big battle with environmental groups and coastal governors opposed to offshore drilling. >>> another move by the trump administration generating controversy tonight and it's all about the fight over legalized pot. attorney general jeff sessions announcing that he's rescinding the obama administration policy that helped pave the way for legal weed in a growing number of states across the country. as nbc's miguel almaguer reports, the decision is being met with confusion and some concern about what it means. >> reporter: just days after recreational marijuana sales began in california, the attorney general's decision could dampen the park t

as white house correspondent kristen welker reports now, he lashed out at democrats but also sent some mixed signals. >> reporter: sharp words in pittsburgh today. president trump accusing democrats of trying to force a government shutdown. >> the democrats want to see a shutdown to get off the subject, because this subject is not working for them. the tax cuts and tax reform has not been working well for the democrats. >> reporter: but potentially complicating that strategy, the president's own mixed messages including on the issue of c.h.i.p., the children's healthcare program, which provides healthcare to some 9 million low-income children. right now the gop short-term budget bill includes funding for c.h.i.p. for six years, but this morning mr. trump tweeted c.h.i.p. should be a part of a long-term solution, not a 30-day or short-term extension. that sparking widespread confusion on capitol hill. the white house trying to clarify. >> yes, he supports the c.h.i.p. program and he supports the continuing resolution. >> reporter: adding to the turmoil the president also seemed to be at

nbc's kristen welker is in the briefing room for us. i'm sure we haven't had enough time to get any reaction about this lawsuit. so let's start with the book, kristen. just what did the president have to say? >> reporter: well, i think you hit the nail on the head, chris. his response was scathing, to these allegations by steve bannon. i'll read you a part of the statement and then we can do analysis on the other side. he said steve bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency. when he was fired he not only lost his job he lost his mind. steve was a staffer who worked for me after i had already won the nomination by defeating 17 candidates, often described as the most talented field ever assembled in the republican party. those are the sharpest words we've ever heard from this president about steve bannon. remember, steve bannon was brought in, he was widely considered to be a touchtone to the president's base. the president continued to keep in touch with him even after he left the administration. but he did at various points try t

kristen welker, nbc news, washington. >> we'll see. pop quiz for you.u know the difference between a cold and the flu? this year it is a pretty serious question. that's next. see ya. -take care. ♪ so probably take it at night. and if you have any questions, the instructions are here in spanish as you requested. gracias. ♪ at walgreens, how we care will change over time, but why we care remains the same treating everyone with the care and attention they deserve. walgreens. trusted since 1901. right. in. your. stomach! watch this!... >>yikes, that ice cream was messing with you, wasn't it? try lactaid, it's real ice cream, without that annoying lactose. lactaid. it's the milk that doesn't mess with you. with advil's fast relief, you'll ask, "what pulled muscle?" "what headache?" nothing works faster to make pain a distant memory. advil liqui-gels and advil liqui-gels minis. what pain? tyson any'tizers and crispy strips. advil liqui-gels and advil liqui-gels minis. [ sound of sports game ] you help fuel greatness. you'll just have to make the ultimate game

joining me now is kristen welker at the white house and nbc's casey hunt. before we talk about steve bannon, is the government going to stay open, neither of us know, casey, but it seems like a lot of positioning and a protest demonstration in the row tundra? >> that really underscores the emotional nature of this issue and why democrats are pushing so hard to make the end of this week is deadline, democrats want to see republicans attach a fix for daca to a must-pass spending bill and of course they do have to pass a continuing resolution if they want the government to stay open past friday. republicans have a plan to do it by themselves, as you alluded to, speaker paul ryan unveiling this plan to members last night. it would include a fix for the children's health insurance program, and there are of course many children who rely on that program and typically it has been authorized, in a pretty bipartisan way, reauthorized regularly, so republicans are saying to democrats, we dare you to reauthorize this bill -- which republicans insist doesn't need to be

can i say t kristen welker at the white house, aman in new york. kristen, reacting to the protests, and we're hearing from the eiyatollah who is striking back to the u.s. >> reporter: that's right, he had some very firm words for the president. i asked if this would deter the president in terms of using some of this tough talk we have heard. the administration official said no, but at the same time the president does understand that he needs to walk a somewhat fine line here. i am told he wanted to stand with the protesters, wanted to make it very clear that yet again the united states denoun ces what it perceives to be bad reaction by iran. administration officials said, look, this is essentially echoing what we have heard from the white house, from this president before, but again, in the wake of these protests, andrea, the president giving those frustrations new voice. i am told that there are discussions here behind the scenes about potentially imposing new sanctions, again, just discussions that the point -- at this point this time, but this co

joining me now, correspondent kristen welker and security analyst john mclaughlin, former acting director at the cia. kristen, the ci ara admiral joh kelly had to bustle to the floor and try to tell them the president did support what they said, what was necessary, what the national security adviser wanted, even as the president was watching fox news and tweeting on the other side of the issue. >> reporter: i think that is the right assumption to make on what john kelly was doing on capitol hill. adding to that picture, andrea, we know the president spoke to house speaker paul ryan after that initial tweet, and you heard some of the reaction from congressman king, saying essentially that tweet didn't help. then you had that second tweet that came out, essentially trying to clarify the one that you just read. look, this speaks to the fact that president trump for a second day has muddled his message. we saw this yesterday when he was asked whether or not he would speak with counsel member robert mueller. he said it seemed unlikely there would be need for an interview. that ran counter to w

. >>> this is kristen welker. tonight, the uncertainty for d.r.e.a.m.ers has only deepened. >> we're not pieces on a chess board. we're human beings. >> reporter: this is one of nearly 700,000 d.r.e.a.m.ers, undocumented immigrants brought to the u.s. illegally as children. the bill passed today doesn't directly address the issue of daca, the program that protects them. he says both parties failed him. >> we are disappointedone to republicans, they keep playing games trying to pass some sort of immigrant policies against not only undocumented students, youth but families, and second, too, democrats couldn't hold the line. they couldn't say, we want this now. >> reporter: a federal judge ordered the administration to keep daca going, even though the white house wants to shut it down in early march, and if it ends, the d.r.e.a.m.ers, some who have been here decades, may be departed. under today's deal, republicans are pledging they'll allow a vote on the issue next month, if it's not resolved by then. today presiden

kristen welker, nbc news, washington. >>> let's turn to this country's devastating opioid epidemic and our exclusive interview with the new head of the food and drug administration. while there's no shortage of blame to go around including drug companies and doctors, some now say the fda could have and should have done more to stop it from becoming a national crisis. here's nbc's cynthia mcfadden with our "one nation overdosed" report. >> reporter: the impact of the opioid epidemic is stunning. with 300,000 american deaths since the year 2000. tonight, listen to what critics are saying about the fda's role. >> absolutely criminal. >> i think this may be the best example in history of a regulatory agency failure leading to a public health catastrophe. >> reporter: dr. scott gottlieb inherited the problem, appointed as president trump as the new head of the fda. >> i think that this is one of the biggest health crises facing this country. >> reporter: ever? >> ever. >> reporter: could the fda have stopped this? >> i don't know that we could have stopped it. i think a lot of people didn't

>> kristen welker for us. kristen, thank you. >>> judgment day for disgraced doctor larry nassar, sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for multiple sex crimes against women and girls. the sentence comes down after a week of emotional testimony from nassar's victims, who say he molested them under the guise of medical treatment. several of nassar's victims including olympic gymnast aly raisman, simone biles, and jordyn wieber thanked the judge for her sentence. nassar worked for both usa gymnastics and michigan state university. both facing fierce criticism over the scandal. msu's president louwanna simon has now resigned. days after three top board members of usa gymnastics resigned. the u.s. olympic committee is now calling for an overhaul saying all usa gymnastics leaders should step down. and there's economic fallout as well. at&t says it's suspending its sponsorship of usa gymnastics, joining topps like procter & gamble, hershey's and under armour. nbc's kate snow has more on nassar's sentencing. >> i ju

we've got nbc white house correspondent kristen welker and nbc political reporter carol lee joining us. first, kristen, let's play a little bit of president trump's reaction when asked about steve bannon. >> any words about steve bannon? >> i don't know. he called me a great man last night, so he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. thank you all very much. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. that's just a misnomer. >> so kristen welker, a busy day at the white house with the overnight reactions from the lawyers first going after steve bannon, telling him to cease and desist and that they were going to file suit. we should point out they're also taking on michael wolff and the publisher as well with these threats, but this isn't the first time the president has made threats of legal action that haven't actually been followed up. >> reporter: that's absolutely right, andrea. still, it does underscore the fact this war is escalating between president trump and steve bannon. you could see his frustration there in his remarks when he said he obviously changed his tune pretty quic

>> kristen welker at the white house tonight. >>> to the new revelations in the russia investigation. multiple white house officials urged attorney general jeff sessions not to recuse himself from the probe according to a senior u.s. official. and the order reportedly came straight from the oval office. it has some asking tonight could that be construed as obstruction of justice. nbc news national correspondent peter alexander has more. >> reporter: do not recuse yourself, that was the message delivered to attorney general jeff sessions by white house counsel don mcgahn and several others last march. a senior white house official telling nbc news that the president tried to convince sessions not to remove himself from running the russia probe. the instructions coming from the president himself, according to "the new york times," orders sessions ignored. >> i have recused myself. >> reporter: sessions' move infuriating president trump who at times erupted in anger telling aides he expected his attorney general to look out for him. like robert kennedy did for jfk and eric holder for pre

nbc's kristen welker has more. >> reporter: president trump pelted with questions about the else plo explosive book, showing restraint but earlier taking to twitter to unleash some fury of his own, calling the book full of lies, misrepresentations, and sources that don't exist. mr. trump's legal team tried to block the book's release. in such high demand, it hit shelves four days early. >> where do i send the box of chocolates? >> reporter: in an exclusive interview on "today," author michael wolff said the president's threats will only boost sales and insisted the account is accurate despite some former top aides saying they were misquoted. >> i am certainly and absolutely in every way comfortable with everything i've reported. >> reporter: wol if,ff noting h recorded some interviews and spoke with the president. >> i've spent about three hours with the president over the course of the campaign and in the white house. >> reporter: and when pressed by savannah on his assertion that those around the president question his fitness for office -- >> let me put a marker in the sand here.

nbc's kristen welker is there at 1600 pennsylvania avenue for us with more on that. n, good morning. >> reporter: craig and sheinelle, good morning. president trump is waking up on the first anniversary of the inauguration to the government shutdown and his strategy is to shift the blame to the democrats. he is doing that in a series of tweets this morning. one saying democrats are far more concerned with illegal immigrants than the safety of our border. this is the one-year anniversary of the presidency and the democrats wanted to give me a nice present. #shutdown. what is the issue? the president will work the phones this weekend and schedule more meetings with lawmakers. the bottom line is there is real concern about the political cost to republicans and this president. after all, republicans control the white house and both chambers of congress. the president was scheduled as you said, craig, to be in mar-a-lago to celebrate the anniversary of the inauguration tonight. now that trip is postponed until there is a deal. craig and sheinelle. >> chrkristen welker from

we get more now from nbc white house correspondent kristen welker. >> reporter: president trump beamed into the march for life rally by satellite from the rose garden, the event just blocks away from the white house. >> the march for life is a movement born out of love. >> reporter: celebrated by marchers energizing his conservative base. >> i just think it's amazing that we have a president who stands up for life. >> reporter: for joann whose daughter katie was adopted today is personal. >> abortion is not the answer. we have adoption. >> reporter: but the politics also loomed large as a businessman mr. trump supported abortion rights but ran as an anti-abortion republican candidate. once in the oval office, he's touted some victories for the movement, like nominating conservative justice neil gorsuch to the supreme court, but other campaign promises have lagged like his vow to defund planned parenthood and limit late-term abortions. why should anti-abortion supporters feel confident that president trump is going to get some legislative victories? >> the pro life movement has seen a r

we get it all from nbc white house correspondent kristen welker. . >> reporter: after publicly expressing reservations about sitting for an interview with the special counsel, tonight president trump told reporters he's willing to testify under oath. >> i would do it under oath. >> you would? >> absolutely. >> reporter: the president says no date has been set yet, but told reporters his lawyers have told him it will likely happen in the next few weeks. >> i'm looking forward to it, actually. >> reporter: exactly a year to the day, after the fbi interviewed then-national security adviser michael flynn in his west wing office, tonight, nbc news has learned exclusively flynn took that meeting without alerting the president or the white house and without an attorney president, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. those sources tell nbc news no one in the white house found out about the interview for two days until then-acting attorney general sally yates informed the legal team. but even after that revelation, flynn wasn't fired for another three weeks. for lying about his c

also thanks to danny, matt miller, kristen welker. i'll ask michael steele and anne to stick around. democrats divide over the deal that ended the government shutdown with some upset with chuck schumer. we'll talk about protections for d.r.e.a.m.ers and where this all goes next. i accept i don't conquer the mountain like i used to. i even accept i have a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. but whatever trail i take, i go for my best. so if there's something better than warfarin, i'll go for that too. eliquis. eliquis reduced the risk of stroke better than warfarin, plus had less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis had both. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily... ...and it may take longer than usual for any ble

a spokesman calling questions about his schedule and work ethic ludicrous. >> that was kristen welker later on, our u.s. colleagues on cnbc will speak with "fire and fury" author michael wolff about his book's claims of chaos in the trump administration's early months >>> sticking in the u.s., berkshire hathaway stands to make a $37 billion windfall fro the u.s. tax overhaul, that's according to barclays, which claims buffett's firm can lower its tax bill on firms that have gone up in value this means a 12 prgs % increase book value for the firms buffett has not always been a massive tax reform champion. head to cnbc.com to see his views on the white house tax overhaul >>> samsung electric shares weighed on the kospi index after the firm delivered guidance that fourth quarter profits will fall below expectations despite record earnings, the company struggled against the yuan the chip business was once again the main driver for samsung. it helped operating profit jump 64% year-on-year arjun joins us this morning. that's an extraordinary number when it comes to the chip business that's

nbc's kristen welker has more. >> reporter: this morning, president trump preparing to strike a note of bipartisanship and optimism in his state of the union address tomorrow night. a senior administration official says the president will tout gains in the economy and also calling on congress to pass a trillion dollar infrastructure package and immigration reform. >> i think you can talk about the fact that america is open for business. >> the white house not weighing in on whether the president will address one of the biggest cultural flashpoints, the me too movement. during a new interview with british journalist piers morgan, the president was asked if he sees himself as a feminist. >> no, i wouldn't say i'm a feminist. i think that would be maybe going too far. i'm for women and for men, for everyone. >> morgan even asking the president about his mental and his c physical health. >> stable, genius, your words. >> i'm a stable genius. >> reporter: he'll deliver tuesday's speech with a number of controversies looming. steve wynn stepping down as the republican party finance chair a

kristen welker, before i let you go, i want to talk about the implications of this new book. we'll get right to this in just a moment which deals with that critical june 2016 meeting. this is steve bannon's remarks about it, if you can bring us up to date on that. >> reporter: that's right. this is according to a book we're reviewing right now by michael wolf in which he talked to steve bannon. steve bannon made a couple really stunning comments about that meeting between donald trump jr. and the kremlin-linked attorney. he said bannon thinks is amounts to trees on. the chance that john jr. did not walk these people to the 24th. he's essentially saying, andrea, that, did bring, introduce that attorney to his father, the candidate. of course, this comes after the president has really distanced himself from that meeting, not only saying he didn't know about it, but also remember it was. one more headline, i think fwhoon becau bannon, because of this book, says he is going through jared kushner. bannon battling for the president. we'll have more revelations going through this bo

joining me is white house correspondent kristen welker. kristen, i mean, i'm not even going to say, do we know why robert mueller -- i mean, excuse me -- president trump wanted to fire mueller, but why did he back down on it? >> reporter: well, he backed down because his white house counsel, don mcgahn, refused to do it, steph. he essentially argued that it would be a catastrophe for the trump presidency, to fire robert mueller. he said he wasn't going to do it. i think that ultimately allowed cooler heads to prevail and the president backed away. this has been a concern here within the white house, that the president would take this action. a lot of people saw the firing of former fbi director as a disaster for this president. of course, that's what prompted the appointment of the special counsel. so, again, deep concerns about what would happen if he, in fact, did fire robert mueller. the president himself though publicly, steph, it is important to point out, consistently said he's not thinking of firing robert mueller. that goes all the

we'll get the latest from kristen welker on the north lawn of the white house. and kristen, the tweet heard around the world, right, from president trump overnight. >> reporter: it really is, hallie. this is what people are talking about. president trump taunting north korea's leader kim jong-un. this is what he said on twitter. he tweeted overnight, i, too, have a nuclear button, but it is a much bigger and more powerful one than his. and my button works. now, that is obviously gotten a lot of attention. experts say it's the type of language that is potentially dangerous, essentially saying, look, this could lead to an escalation of tensions and possibly, possibly some type of military engagement. and that is, of course, the key concern. the tweet sending some jitters throughout foreign policy circles, throughout some quarters here of the administration and the pentagon. of course, hallie, a fact-check here, there isn't actually a nuclear button. the process by which the president would deploy his nuclear weapons would be very different. there is a nuclear footb

hopefully we'll get some answers. >> kristen welker, see you in a few hours, my friend. picking up where kristen left off, we knew the president was not happy about jeff sessions' recusal. here's what he said in the interview with your paper over the summer. >> sessions gets the job. right after he gets the job, he recuses himself. >> was that a mistake? >> well, sessions should have never recused himself. and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job. and i would have picked somebody else. >> we knew what james comey was doing, what the president was doing here, but there's something else in this. you talk about a staffer going to the hill and talking with an ai aide about expressing more about james comey, maybe as frequent lip as you say, once a day. that's out of the playbook, the lawyer that the president used to have. >> four days before comey was fired, they were out there looking at what was going on in the justice department the week before the firing. why was it they wanted to fire comey? because it because the president di

kristen welker, and the host of the show hallie jackson traveling with the president again, just having attended the speech in davos. kristen, start with you on the headline making news today. that is the reporting that the president ordered the firing of robert mueller back in june. nbc news, you have confirmed those details. walk us through where it stands, and this pushback, as one would expect, from the president today. >> reporter: that's right. nbc news has confirmed "the new york times" reporting that president trump ordered the firing of special counsel robert mueller back in june. he ordered that of his counsel, don mcgahn, who pushed back forcefully, refused to do it. even went so far as to threaten to fire over the issue, saying it would be politically disastrous for the president and for his presidency. now, the broader context to this, peter, is that it underscores the fact that this is a russia probe that's escalating, getting closer to the president himself. the president has repeatedly denied considering firing mueller. by the way, he was asked in june. he was asked a nu

joining me now, kristen welker, nbc national security and intelligence reporter ken dilanian, ari mel better, and former obama white house council bob bower and axios national political reporter jonathan swan. kristen, set the table, you were reporting on this last night. >> a source familiar with the matter confirmed the report that this past june, president trump ordered the firing of robert mueller, and that his council don mcgann refused even going so far as threatening to quit himself, that's really what blocked the president, the president was making the argument that there were all sorts of conflicts of interest, don mcgann was making the argument, if he were to take such a step, it bo be catastrophic for his presidency. publicly, president trump has denied that he ever thought about firing mueller he was asked about this a number of times. those close to him have publicly indicated otherwise including telling pbs the president was considering firing robert mueller. the president's legal team is having connotations right now about the size and scope of a potential interview wit

kristen welker is at the white house. no apology, and the irony today we saw live the president signing a proclamation that we're not sure how necessary it was, because the martin luther king jr. holiday was enacted by an act of congress many years ago. >> reporter: that's right, a lot of people looking at today's event and really noting the contrast between honoring dr. martin luther king, and, of course, these reports about president trump referring to haitian and african immigrants and those countries as s-hole countries. the white house not denying that those comments were made but president trump, andrea, had disputing the characterization. let me read you one of his tweets and do some analysis on the other side. he said, the language used by me at the daca meeting but this was not the language used. he said he also did not say anything derogatory about haitians and never said "take them out." now, based on reporting from my colleagues, frank thorpe and kasie hunt, we're learning a little more about how that meeting

joining me with the details of their reporting white house correspondent kristen welker and national political reporter carol lee as well as msnbc contributor chuck rosenberg, former federal prosecutor and chief of staff to james comey. kristin, set the stage here. what we're talking about is whether and how the president would actually be interviewed by people from the special counsel's office on the russia probe. >> reporter: that's right. we spoke to three sources familiar with the matter who say the talks are preliminary and they are ongoing. with the president's legal team considering a range of options which include how the president would be interviewed directly by special counsel mueller or potentially his investigators, the legal standard for when a president could be interviewed, things like the location, the duration, potential topics and then this really caught our attention, potential compromises including written responses instead of a formal sitdown with one source even saying there are talks of submitting an affidavit. now, what does president trump have to say about

but nbc's kristen welker and other reporters kept talking. kristen welker asked when is the president going to talk to the special prosecutor. >> do you have a date. >> they're saying two or three weeks. i'd love to do it. subject to my lawyers and all of that, i would love to do it. >> will you do it under oath, mr. president? >> you mean like hill hilly -- who said that. >> i did. >> you say a lot. did hill ree do it under oath? do you have an idea, she didn't do it under oath, i would do it under oath. i would do it. you know she didn't do it under oath. >> she would. >> if you didn't know about hillary, you're not much of a reporter. >> to reach a higher standard, you would do it under oath. >> i would. >> of course, the president's lawyer, ty cobb almost immediately took all of that back saying the president was speaking hurdly, that was his word, and was saying he was willing to meet with the special pl prosecutor. we have jill winebanks be and nata that bertrand. >> tim, i want to start with you. you were sued by donald trump. you know

but first we'll go to kristen welker standing by at the white house. and kristen, the president is waking up just behind you for the first time in a week and a half, back home in d.c. after the holidays in south florida. nation's capital, frozen, literally, also politically. so how is the president planning to, let's say, thaw relations over the next few months? >> reporter: well, i think you're going to see some arm-twisting behind the scenes, hallie. and happy new year to you. but we'll see the attempt at the bipartisan outreach begin tomorrow when the onb director nick mulvaney is going to sit down with congressional leaders, democrats and republicans and try to tackle some of those big issues you just talked about. the government's going to run out of money in about three weeks. so at the top of the list, how to overt a government shutdown. and also the thorniest issue, immigration. democrats want to deal with the dreamers issue. president trump showing a potential willingness to work with them, but he wants funding for his border wall. of course, t