, the implications of this election could have a game-changing impact on the biden presidency kristen welker is at the white house with that part of our coverage >> reporter: tonight, with his agenda and control of congress on the line, president biden on the trail dismissing his low approval ratings, saying the election is not about his record >> look, this election isn't a referendum it's a choice. it's a choice between two fundamentally different visions of america. >> reporter: the president aiming to paint a dire picture if republicans win >> tax credits for lower energy costs, gone 50% corporate minimum tax, gone. >> reporter: with republicans showing momentum in this final sprint the top gop leader in the house previewing their agenda, vowing to target inflation by reducing spending. >> you've got to curtail government spending, incentivize people to go to work, not to stay home don't pay them more to stay home. >> reporter: kevin mccarthy, who would likely be the new house speaker if republicans win, saying the gop would tackle the migrant crisis at the border first. if democrats los

lester >> kristen welker at the white house, thanks. >>> that pivotal senate race in georgia, as we said, is neck and neck gabe gutierrez is there. gabe, what can we expect in this coming runoff? >> lester, this is what both campaigns and many voters did not want, another month of campaigning. but incumbent raphael warnock and challenger herschel walker are already fund-raising ahead of the runoff now set for december 6th neither managed to get 50% of the vote but in the governor's race here, republican incumbent brian kemp easily won re-election over democrat stacey abrams and that suggests some republicans may have split their tickets in the senate contest and voted for warnock. now back in 2020, this state had two runoffs that tipped the balance of power in the senate and based on ad spending back then, it's possible that we could see upwards of $200 million in tv ads here over the next several weeks lester >> gabe gutierrez in atlanta, thanks >>> another key state in play, arizona remains in flux both in the u.s. senate race between incumbent mark kelly and republican blake masters,

>> kristen welker, thank you. >>> with the economy the top concern, just how is president biden's message on jobs resonating? he cites 10 million jobs created on his watch. but do workers give him credit? jesse kirsch is in battleground ohio at a final campaign rally in the tight senate race. jesse? >> reporter: lester, former president donald trump's clout on full display outside of dayton, ohio. he helped propel j.d. vance to the top of a crowded republican primary field. now he hopes to send the author to washington after an ohio senate race that captured national attention. in the race for ohio's open senate seat both candidates are betting on the economy. >> i voted with trump on trade. >> i'll take on china to bring jobs back to ohio and fight for a tax cut. >> reporter: long-time democratic congressman tim ryan largely sidestepping party leaders and talking points to focus on blue-collar voters. republican j.d. vance backed by former president donald trump blames democrats including ryan for skyrocketing inflation. >> he voted 100% for biden and pelosi's liberal plan, for trillions

. >>> i want to bring in nbc's chief white house correspondent kristen welker outside the white house. so, kristen, georgia, you covered herschel walker and interview him in his hometown. what's your take on how this runoff will shape up? >> well, andrea, first of all, i think that all sides were anticipating this. i just heard from someone within the walker campaign who said that as soon as this seemed to be where things were heading overnight, that they started to launch the runoff campaign. so all sides were bracing for this. this is a senior biden aide who said this, this is what we expected. we are feeling upbeat, a runoff without brian kemp on the ticket helping walker is a great shot for warnock. there's no doubt that control of the senate could come down to georgia, as it did two years ago, so this is certainly familiar terrain for all sides. the question i think, andrea, that's going to be interesting, will we see president biden campaign for senator raphael warnock? he was not there during the first part of this race, and, of course, you saw warnock kind of trying to distanc

that remains to be seen. >> kristen welker at the white house. thank you so much. >>> we're following some breaking news from capitol hill now. two key republicans are announcing bids for leadership positions if indeed the gop takes control of the chamber. the current house minority leader, kevin mccarthy, announcing he will run for house speaker. the role currently held by democrat nancy pelosi. and house republican whip steve scalise announcing he is vying for the house majority leader position himself. let's bring in nbc news senior congressional correspondent garrett haake now to help us understand how things are playing out here. garrett, mccarthy announcing this bid for speaker before we know who's going to have control of the house come next year. what kind of fight might he be in within his own parties? >> reporter: not much of a surprise there with mccarthy. he's coveted this job since 2014 when he first made a bid for. it he wanted it since 2019 when he became the minority leader. we're starting to say dominoes line up as mccarthy and s

with nbc's chief white house correspondent kristen welker. good morning. >> reporter: good morning.publicans gaining momentum, president biden is intensifying his focus on an issue he thinks can energize the democratic base, threats to democracy. he talked about it since his campaign, but overnight the president calling the midterms a defining moment, but republicans and many democrats say with the economy the top issue, the impact may be minimal on an election now just five days away. with democrats on defense in the final midterm push, president biden sharpening his closing message overnight. >> democracy is on the ballot for all of us. >> reporter: focusing on voter intimidation, political violence and those who won't commit to accepting election results. >> we, the people, must decide whether the rule of law will prevail or whether we will allow the dark forces to -- the thirst for power, put ahead of the principles that guide us. >> reporter: the motivated attack on paul pelosi, husband of house speaker nancy pelosi, denouncing those who joked or spread false information about

nbc news chief white house correspondent kristen welker joins us with the latest. s is significant, jose. our political team has been working on this reaching out to sources who are familiar with the former president's thinking. and two sources close to former president trump say that while he has already all but announced that he is running for president again, he will likely make it official sometime this month. likely after the midterms. they also cautious, jose, that that date could slide. let me just remind you of some of the things we've heard from former president trump. he has been teasing this for quite some time at his rallies including overnight in iowa where he said i ran twice, won twice and did better the second time than the first, of course the facts don't bear that out. and now to make our country safe and successful and glorious, i will very, very, very probably do it again. all but leaning into an announcement overnight. but one gop senator says that mr. trump will announce sooner rather than later. he is ready to go. and this senator would be sho

kristen welker. it will be great to be watching saturday "today." i hope. >> thank you. >>> and that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." follow us online. chris jansing will be here after these brief messages. f messages washable rugs up to 80% off. and living room seating up to 65% off. search, shop, and save at wayfair! ♪ wayfair you've got t i need ♪ moderate to severe eczema still disrupts my skin. despite treatment it disrupts my skin with itch. it disrupts my skin with rash. but now, i can disrupt eczema with rinvoq. rinvoq is not a steroid, topical, or injection. it's one pill, once a day, that's effective without topical steroids. many taking rinvoq saw clear or almost-clear skin while some saw up to 100% clear skin. plus, they felt fast itch relief some as early as 2 days. that's rinvoq relief. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal, cancers including lymphoma and skin cancer, death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurr

nbc news chief white house correspondent kristen welker joins me with that. what do we know about this? >> jose, according to sources familiar with the president's plans tonight, he is going to deliver those remarks at 7:00 p.m. eastern at union station here in the nation's capitol and the focus is going to be democracy. we have heard him say this. he was at a campaign event in florida yesterday where he said democracy is on the ballot. now, in a release from the dnc, they previewed this by saying the president will address the threat of election deniers and those who seek to undermine faith in voting and democracy and the stakes for our democracy in the next week's election. obviously, jose, the timing is critical. it is key and one of these sources telling me adding urgency to this matter they've been quite alarmed by the number of republican candidates who seem to be suggesting that they may not except the election results as well as the fact that according to this source, you have some republicans who have not denounced the attack against the husband of h

kristen welker is at the white house for us, blain alexandria, shaquille brewster. ten, let me start with this one. i imagine the decision as to when the former president would actually announce a possible run for 2024 is going to be dependent on some of the midterm results. talk us through some of the reporting on this. what we know and when it could happen. >> reporter: that's absolutely right. and i think you framed it well, yasmin, if and when it does happen. it would be a political earthquake. two sources familiar with former president trump's thinking tell nbc news, my colleagues and i, that it is likely that he will make an official announcement sometime this month after the midterms. now these sources do caution, though, that the date could slide. and just to take a step back here, yasmin, the president -- the former president's been out on the campaign trail and he's been teasing this for quite some time and he really leaned into it overnight in iowa at an event for senator chuck grassley. take a listen to what he had to say. >> and now in order to make our

. >> i want to bring in nbc's chief white house correspondent kristen welker. robert gibbs is former press secretary under president obama. great to see you both. robert, i want to read something from nbc's first read, which struck me. it is striking to us that biden, known for his empathy, is closing on democracy rather than feeling americans' economic plain with rising prices. this obviously isn't a decision they made lightly. it's clearly a conscious choice. obviously they have the situation the paul pelosi and the attack that is a motivating factor. but the president barely mentioned the economy last night, just in passing. he didn't talk about inflation, jobs, prices going up. can you give us any insight into why they've made this such a huge focus here? >> well, i do think if you're them and you're looking at a lot of the polling, the nbc news polling suggests that democracy is among, if not one of the top issues. but i do agree with others that have said -- and i think there's a real danger in closing any election on one issue, particularly when you have

. >> by the way, there is a statement now that we have from the president, kristen welker passed thisto us, with the president, we only have a minute left, debbie dingell, that the president starts by saying, history will note she is the most consequential speaker of the house of representatives in our history. and he concludes that she may be stepping down of course, as speaker, but she will end as a leader of the caucus and she will never waiver in protecting our sacred democracies and she certainly proved that on january 6th, as no one else could have in calling for help and standing with mike pence. >> that said it all and she is an incredible leader, and i've stood with nancy for many years, and i remember the day she was sworn in, when all of the children came up and were around her. today, we celebrate a woman who made a difference and will always be remembered in american history. >> well, none of us could have said it better. debbie dingell, thank you very much for being with us. steve israel as well, kristen welker, ashley parker, susan, it's been an historic day, a decision

joining us here the other host, co-host of weekend "today" nbc chief white house correspondent kristen welkeranks so much for being here. looking past the midterms there is the trump factor. we will see him in pennsylvania this weekend. he has been out very important races already and hinting everywhere he goes that he's going to announce and now you have new reporting on when that might be. >> that's right. two sources familiar with the former president's thinking say that it is likely he will make it official sometime this month. likely after the midterms, sometime before december. these sources also caution, though, nothing is finalized, so of course the timing could slip a bit. but i think you hit at the important point, andrea, which is that we have seen former president trump out on the campaign trail and he's been crisscrossing the country and teasing a potential run and last night when he was in iowa campaigning for senator chuck grassley he really leaned into it, he said i ran twice, i won twice and did much better the second time. of course, the facts don't bear that out. he conclud

nbc's chief white house correspondent, kristen welker, has the latest. >> reporter: in the final sprint to the midterm elections, both parties are calling in their heavyweights to deliver closing arguments in key battleground states. >> i'm here to ask you to vote. >> reporter: overnight, former president barack obama rallying democrats in nevada, where polls show incumbent senator catherine cortez masto in a tight race with republican adam laxalt. mr. obama taking on republicans. >> that's their agenda. they're not interested in actually solving problems. they're interested in making you angry. and finding somebody to blame. >> reporter: mr. obama is officially set to reunite with his longtime political partner, president biden, on saturday in critical pennsylvania, where democrat john fetterman is running neck and neck with republican mehmet oz in that closely watched senate race. but it's a different story in florida, where democratic senate nominee val demings and the nominee for governor, charlie crisis, are both trailing their gop rivals, senator marco rubio and governor ron desan

to the potential political aspects of this, that the white house is now responding to it, via kristen welkerief white house correspondent, when asked to respond to the news that ag merrick garland has appointed a special counsel, a white house official says d.o.j. makes decisions about its criminal investigations independently, and we are not involved, so i would refer you to d.o.j. for any reaction to this. but in addition, during president biden's event, we told you that he did have some staples he was making about the economy, he was meeting with business leaders, several of the press pool did know about this, they were able to ask him to respond to the news. he declined to answer any questions about this, or any other topic. i also want to bring in msnbc legal analyst lisa ruben. are you surprised by this decision? >> i'm very surprised, chris, by this decision, because there are all sorts of reasons why it didn't make sense for the department of justice to do this. one of the reasons that in my mind it didn't make is because the only way that you can remove a special counsel is for caus

all right, kristen welker. reporter: thank you so much, mr. president. i appreciate it. i want to follow up with you on working with republicans. leader mccarthy again suggested that he is not prepared to write what he is called--he has called a blank check to ukraine, and yet you express optimism that funding for ukraine would continue, that policies toward ukraine would continue. why should the people of ukraine in this country--and this country have confidence in that given the comments by leader mccarthy? and just a follow-up that you don't need to do anything to really if the republicans control the house, donee need to recalibrate to some extent to work across the aisle with republicans in house? pres. biden: i don't need to change any of the policies i passed. that is what they want to go after. i have a civil proposition, i have a pen--simple proposition, i have a pen that i can veto. we are going to continue to fund the infrastructure bill, or continue to fund the environment, etc. i hope -- i think there is a growing pressure on the part of the american people

kristen welker. reporter: thank you, mr. president. i wanted to follow-up with you on working with republicans. leader mccarthy, again, suggested he is not prepared to write what he called a blank check to ukraine. you expressed optimism that funding for ukraine would continue, that the policies towards ukraine would continue. why should the people of ukraine and this country have confidence in that given leadership by leader mccarthy. you said you don't need to do anything differently. if republicans control the house, don't you need to recalibrate to some extent to work across the aisle? pres. biden: what i meant was, i do not have to change any of the policies i have already passed. that is what they say they want to go after. i have a simple proposition. i have a pin that can veto. that's what i mean. i do not have to recalibrate whether i will continue to fund the infrastructure bill, or, to continue to fund the environment, etc.. i think there is a growing pressure on the part of the american people, expecting both parties, and a

kristen welker, matthew dowd, founder of controversy over party and an msnbc political analyst, symoneders townsend. kristen, talk me through exactly what you've learned from your sources about donald trump's plans. >> reporter: you underscored that this would be a political bombshell. but two sources familiar with donald trump's thinking, it is likely what he will make what he's been teasing official sometime this month, likely after the midterms, of course, just a few days away now. and if you talk to those who have been involved in the discussions about this, they say, look, nothing has been officially nailed down, yet, no date, no plans. but you can expect the typical rollout that you would expect to see after an announcement after this magnitude. but, chris, i have to caveat this. i covered former president trump when he was in the white house and dates, ideas, policies were floated as trial balloons and then former president trump would make a determination about how it was received publicly and whether he actually wanted to go through with something. i would anticipate this woul

he was also asked directly by our own kristen welker. >> who do you think would be the tougher competitor, ron desantis or former president trump, how would that affect your decision? >> it would be fun to watch them take on each other. >> jonathan allen is nbc news senior national political reporter, eugene daniels, nbc political contributor, elise jordan was an aide in the george w. bush white house and an msnbc political analyst. elise this is where we find the republican party. everything is great, everything is good. if we lost, it's because the other side cheated and you have other people who are saying, i'm going to get as far away from trump as fast as i can. where does that leave the republican party? has it changed over the last 48 hours? >> how many times have we been through this exercise before? that's just where i am -- >> 1 million. >> and i would say predominantly after january 6th where you have republican leadership wanting to distance, but then they keep going back. and is it probably going to be the same this go-round? they have an opportunity to decide, let's end it w

nbc news chief white house correspondent kristen welker has the story. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> instead of saying hail here comes the bride, at the white house this weekend. 28-year-old naomi biden, the first granddaughter of the president and first lady, is about to say i due to her longtime love, 25 year old peter neil. the bride to be revealing on social media the venue will be the south on. michael larosa is the former press secretary to first lady jill biden. >> it's going to be a wedding infused with a lot of love, a lot of laughter and traditions. >> white house weddings are rare. only 18 in u.s. history. the last time an immediate member of the first family got married here was more than 50 years ago. >> bother both smiling, very happy. >> when trisha nixon cox, daughter of former president richard nixon, said i do in the rose garden. but it was alice roosevelt -- wedding in 1906 considered the greatest in white house history. attended by more than 1000 people and dominating headlines for weeks, decades later, in 1967, another unforgettable affair, when linda heard johnson rob, daughter of lbj

. >> to bring in kristen welker who has made her way from the post at the white house to our set here. very, very, very, probably. >> that is three, by the way, three. >> six if you count the second set. >> good point. >> and he says probably and i know we said a grain of salt in the interim, but i think it is so important, and what you have been hearing from your sources, key, he could make this announcement before thanksgiving and maybe not. >> and i go back to the four years we covered president trump and every single reporting note out was caveated with however, this is not the case until it happens and that is the case with the announcement like this and all of the caveats you laid out at the top are really important. >> what gives your sources confidence that he may do this before thanksgiving. >> he has been increasingly teasing it, leaning into it verbally and some of these people say he is already all but announced it. a senator is saying he's ready to go. and this is close. and increasingly hearing people around him say on the record, it's close. it's coming soon. however, i

we will bring in ken dilanian, vaughn hillyard, chief white house correspondent kristen welker is joiningas well as former federal prosecutor and msnbc legal analyst paul butler. and i will start with you. because you are just hearing now, vaughn, from a spokesperson for the former president. walk us through it. >> right, i just got it, it is a brief statement, and one that i will read. this is a totally expected political stunt by a feckless politicized weaponized biden department of justice. this is a type of statement that we have become accustomed to over the last six years. this is the latest in which you are now looking at a special counsel who is coming in from the outside, and essentially the keys being handed over, from attorney general merrick garland, to the special counsel, to make at least a recommendation on the prosecuting front of not only the issues around january 6th and the peaceful transfer of power, but also the investigation into the movement, the transfer of classified and national defense material to mar-a-lago there, following his exit from the white house. when w

but you heard him particularly in that exchange being asked about running by kristen welker.ant -- 2/3 of americans don't want you to run for re-election. he said, watch me. i think that exchange is quite important, because now we've heard the pontiicaing from everybody. will joe biden, won't he? he's too old. this is a president that bucked national trends, he helped get vaccines to america. when congress didn't act on criminal justice he form, he did. this is the president that negotiated bipartisan deals on infrastructure, bipartisan deals on guns. he's also the president that 20 people ran against him in the primary last go around, i was there, and he won, and the person that beat donald trump. >> talk your talk, they say. that's all fair, because it's based on the results. i want to bring in senator claire mccaskill. i wonder if you want to start with the point simone landed on, which is, ain't the first time joe biden has been counted out. not just by republicans, but the elite press, et cetera, in that primary he was left forgotten, came back. he seems to have some end

kristen welker? >> thank you so much, mr. president. i appreciate it. i want to follow up with you on working with republicans. leader mccarthy again suggested that he is not prepared to write what he says a blank check to ukraine and yet, you expressed optimism that funding for ukraine would continue, that the policies toward ukraine would continue. why should the people of ukraine and this country have confidence in that given the comments by leader mccarthy and just to follow up with you on your comments to zeke, you said you don't need to do anything differently. if republicans control the house, don't you need to recalibrate to some extent to try to work across the aisle with the republican led house? >> well, let me put it this way. what i meant is i don't have to change the policies that have already passed. that's what they said they want to go after. what i have is a simple proposition. i have a pen to veto. that's what i mean. i don't have to recalibrate whether i'm going to continue to fund -- we're going to continue to fund the infrastructur

and kristen welker has more. >> reporter: with democrats on defense in the final midterm push, presidenternight. >> democracy is on the ballot for all of us. >> reporter: focusing on voter intimidation, political violence, and those who won't commit to accepting election results. >> we the people must decide whether the rule of law will prevail or that we'll allow the dark forces to thirst -- that thirst for power put ahead of the principles that have long guided us. >> reporter: mr. biden framed his speech around the attack on paul pelosi, husband of nancy pelosi. denouncing those who have joked or spread false information about it. >> we must with an overwhelming voice stand against political violence and voter intimidation, period. >> reporter: mr. biden spoke less than two blocks from the u.s. capitol, symbolic because this will be the first national elections since the january 6 attack against the capitol nearly two years ago. >> i wish i could say the assault on our democracy had ended that day. but i cannot. >> reporter: the president placing blame squarely at the feet of his pred

starting tonight with kristen welker at the white house. >> reporter: 24 hours after ballots were cast, tonight control of congress is still up for grabs. president biden insisting it was a good night for democrats. >> while the press and the pundits are predicting a giant red wave, it didn't happen. >> reporter: republicans who had been hoping to take the house in a red wave now just looking for a win. the gop still favored to take over, but with a smaller margin than expected. >> we will be in the majority, and nancy pelosi will be in the minority. >> reporter: much more suspense in the senate, where republicans still could gain the one seat they need to take control, but democrats could hang on too, with nbc news projecting races that are too early to call in nevada and in arizona. and in georgia, the showdown between democratic senator raphael warnock and republican herschel walker nbc news now projects will go to a runoff. >> we always knew that this race would be close. >> i'm like ricky bobby. i don't come to lose. >> reporter: democrats' biggest win of the night coming in the c

. ♪♪ >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with peter alexander and kristen welker. >>> welcome"today," and thank you so much for joining us on this saturday morning. joe fryer i here in washington while peter is in bali and i can't believe we're talking about christmas. >> if holiday music before halloween didn't get you in the christmas spirit, this will. the tree is here.

again this evening watching the count and the issues that shape the vote starting tonight with kristen welker at the white house. >> reporter: 24 hours after ballots were cast, tonight control of congress is still up for grabs. president biden insisting it was a good night for democrats >> while the press and the pundits are predicting a giant red wave, it didn't happen >> reporter: republicans who had been hoping to take the house in a red wave now just looking for a win. the gop still favored to take over, but with a smaller margin than expected. >> we will be in the majority, and nancy pelosi will be in the minority >> reporter: much more suspense in the senate, where republicans still could gain the one seat they need to take control, but democrats could hang on too, with nbc news projecting races that are too early to call in

. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with peter alexander and kristen welker. >>> welcome to "today" and thank you so much for joining us on this saturday morning. peter, not just any saturday. it is small business saturday. hope you've made your list and checking it twice. >> no doubt. thinking after watching that amazing u.s. soccer game, big one tuesday. anything team usa gear might be looking good. >> oh, a great gift idea! >> right? >> i like that. marking that down. >>> holiday shopping weekend now in full swing. a record number of shoppers expected to open up wallets this weekend. black friday, of course, lines at malls across the country pretty impressive. one mall even had to close its doors for a period of time, because it had reached capacity inside. as many as 166 million people expected to shop between black friday and cyber monday. >> it's apparent even with inflation, shoppers are not holding back. the national retail federation expects close to $960 billion will be spent between now and the holidays. that's nearly $1 trillion, folks, with shopping to that trip

here's kristen welker. >> reporter: tonight, officials in arizona counting ballots with control of congress still unclear. three senate seats undecided. incumbent democratic senator mark kelly ahead in arizona. in nevada republican adam laxalt with the lead, and in georgia, the runoff campaign has begun between democratic senator raphael warnock. >> are you ready to do this one more time? >> all: yes! >> reporter: and republican herschel walker. >> we're in a tiebreaker, and that's why i say i'm not giving this seat up. >> reporter: the runoff election scheduled for december 6th after former president trump was expected to announce his presidential run, and tonight some top trump advisers are urging him to delay it. >> priorities a, b and c need to be about herschel right now. >> reporter: but mr. trump insisting, quote, we had tremendous success. why would anything change? it comes as some republicans are blaming the former president's handpicked candidates for underperforming on election night. and highlighting the landslide victory of florida governor ron desantis, another possible presi

asked by our colleague kristen welker whether exit polling that shows a majority of americans would prefernot run again factors into his decision, the president said simply, it doesn't. savannah >> let's go into the numbers where things stand steve kornacki at the big board. once again this morning. let's start with the house, what our projection is and some of the places where this is going to -- where house control will turn >> it is still undecided you see our nbc projection is that republicans will end up with 222 you need 218 for majority. but plus or minus seven seats. so what it means is for republicans there is still a world where the democrats eke out a majority basically, what you are looking at, these are still democratic seats that republicans are targeting. so democrats pretty much have to defend all of these. one thing that jumps out, look how many of these districts are in the state of california >> yeah. >> democrats pretty much have to sweep through these. and then, on the other hand, in addition to defending all these, if democrats want a chance to hold the house, they ha