and i am so honored to be here with our wonderful first lady, melania trump. melania's compassion and dedication to our nation, and especially our nation's children, deserve great recognition. she has visited hospitals and schools across the united states. she has raised awareness about the dangers of opioid abuse. specifically the effects the drug has on infants and unborn babies. and the first lady is shining the light on the well-being of children through her campaign, be best. melania, and i learned this the very first time i met her, she has a natural gift of being kind and loving to others. she exudes kindness. every time i see her or speak with her. it was evident when we traveled to texas together last december as part of our continuing efforts to assist those affected by the hurricane. melania wanted to shine a spotlight on those who needed assistance to rebuild. she also wanted to encourage americans to lend their time by volunteering, or providing financial support to all of those still reeling from the hurricanes. she wanted to make this trip durin

melania has a natural gift of being kind and loving to others. she exudes kindness every time i see her or speak with her. it was evident when we traveled to texas last year when we traveled to help those affected by the hurricane. she also wanted to encourage americans to lend their time by volunteering or providing financial support to all of those still reeling from the hurricanes. she wanted to make this trip during the holiday season and she asked me to join her and i was honored to go along and help. but she went further when we were there. i wish you could have been there with us when we visited the family whose home was really half standing there with no roof, half the walls were gone. she took the children inside the house, she said tell me where your room was. where was your bed. she had them tell her all about their house and talk about their good memories. so i'm honored this holiday season to be here with millenia at the red cross to put together care packages for american troops currently deployed this holiday season. join me in wel

a stunning, unprecedented move by melania trump. the first lady calling for the removal of deputy national security adviser mira ricardel. and president trump said he is ready to fire her. she clashed with mrs. trump during a recent trip to africa. listen to what she told abc news during that trip. >> has he had people that you didn't trust working for him? >> yes. >> did you let him know? >> i let him know. >> what did he do? >> with some people, they don't work there anymore. >> sources tell us ricardel has also butted heads with defense secretary jim mattis and chief of staff john kelly in receipt weeks. so far no official word from the white house on her status. more now from senior white house correspondent pamela brown. >> reporter: a stunning string of events here at the white house surrounding deputy national security adviser mira ricardel. earlier today, melania trump, the first lady, issued a statement. here's what the statement said, "it is the position of the office of the first lady that ricardel no longer deserves the

for her, melania had not reached out. melania's office released a statement calling for a national security official to be ousted. were you surprised by that? >> here's one thing i know about a first lady and a first lady's office. they have enormous influence in the white house. full stop, that's just how it is, so was -- what i think about it, though, is that it certainly laid down the mark if anybody had any question about mrs. trump's influence in the white house, or how she wants to do things. and be the independent thinker that she said she is, she made that pretty clear today. i think to have an influence on a national security decision, that's out of the ordinary for sure. >> you think about it, the former first lady, hillary clinton -- i mean, she was criticized a lot, because people thought she had influence, remember? we all remember that, what she went through, right? >> well, she had an office in the west wing, she was in the heart of it. >> right. i think you're right, to think that a first lady doesn't have

for her, melania had not reached out.oday melania's office released a statement calling for a national security official to be ousted. were you surprised by that? >> here's one thing i know about a first lady and a first lady's office. they have enormous influence in the white house. full stop, that's just how it is, so was -- what i think about it, though, is that it certainly laid down the mark if anybody had any question about mrs. trump's influence in the white house, or how she wants to do things. and be the independent thinker that she said she is, she made that pretty clear today. i think to have an influence on a national security decision, that's out of the ordinary for sure. >> you think about it, the former first lady, hillary clinton -- i mean, she was criticized a lot, because people thought she had influence, remember? we all remember that, what she went through, right? >> well, she had an office in the west wing, she was in the heart of it. influence on her own husband, that would be just ridiculous. >> or

is melania okay?should we save melania, should we break her out of the white house? what i think you saw here was a very trumpian move from melania trump. it's nancy reagan spoke privately to her husband. hillary clinton spoke privately to her husband. michelle obama. it's either to get the attention of this president, you have to go on cable news or be on twitter. >> as his wife? >> i mean, why would she be making a statement that publicly through her p.r. person? >> why did she wear that coat? >> still, we have seven different answers on that one. >> why do you wear this coat? and i mean, it's not like i'm some rube. i grew up in this world, the presidential world. i understand the idea of being a political family. i've never seen anything like this. i'll tell you what, i'm not the only one who is none plussed about it. the cnn alert -- my a.p. loves when i say this. the cnn alert about this story is the most followed up alert since they started tracking them about trump. >> it's highly unusual. obv

they are denying that melania has an issue with the chief of staff. she's saying the east wing doesn't operate in tandem with the west wing. as we know to be true, this is a very independent first lady, a very independent east wing. it's interesting, the times that melania trump have punched back are times when she's felt slighted in terms of honesty or truth. if what the white house source is telling me that there were perhaps stories pushed that were inaccurate on ricardel's point about the first lady, that seems very much in line with the times melania has pushed back. we've seen her do it a number of times, statements that come from steph nip grisham. they're few and far between but somewhere she feels someone is telling an untruth or injustice about her. i do think and we heard this from the first lady when she spoke on the africa trip, she does have influence. she did tell the president if there are people she thinks he should not trust in that office. and she was asked what happened to those people and she said some of them don't work there any

we are thrilled to be joined today by our great first lady, melania. [applause] on behalf of the entire trump family, i want to wish all ericans a very, very happy thanksgiving. [applause] at this time of the year we reflects on all of the many blessings in our lives. we're also very glad to be joined by the chairman of the national turkey federation, jeff suban along with his wife marsha, his father john, his sons peter and samuel and their very beautiful families. thank you very much for being here. thank you. thank you. jeff, thank you. thanksgiving is a time of great american traditions and today we continue a very special one when a lucky turkey gets a presidential pardon. that turkey is so lucky. i've never seen such a beautiful turkey. it has been stated that president abraham lincoln, honest abe, was the first president to grant such a pardon after his son tad befriended the christmas turkey and imemployered his father please, dad, please, save it in in grand tradition, i am pleased to announce that today's lucky bird and guest of honor is name

plus, outrage and mockery of melania trump's i would say very beautiful white christmas decorations. and now red -- [laughter] another example of liberal media hypocrisy at its best. trish regan prime time begins right now. ♪ ♪ trish: mexico stepping up its police presence in tijuana right next to san diego after hundreds of my grants attempted to rush our border. this is exactly what we had feared, and it prompted border patrol agents to fire tear gas. all of this after they were pelted by rocks and bottles by these my grants. despite all this growing outrage by so many on the left, what do you know, we've got data from the homeland security department showing agents used tear gas at the border dozens of times during the obama administration. joining me right now with the very latest on the ground live from tijuana, fox news correspondent jeff paul. jeff. >> reporter: good evening, trish. we're outside the largest shelter here in tijuana, many of those my grants where organizers -- migrants say there's more than 5,000 people living inside, so many that many are now living out on the

melania is not the only trump woman in the spotlight. daughter, presidential advisor ivanka trump defending the use of a private email account, saying it cannot be compared to what happened with ben secretary of state hillary clinton and her emails in a private server. time and effort tonight power panel to debate the stories. fox news contributor leslie marshall, fox news portable analyst gianno caldwell and white house course mana for "the daily caller" " , soccer and jetty. thank you for being with us. i want to read what "vanity fair" said today or said this week about the christmas decorations. the headline "melania trump's white house christmas has a touch of menace once again." goes on to say if the sense of menace last year came from what we didn't know about melania, this year the feeling comes from what we do know. >> oh, my god. we've got to take her to jail because it's so horrific. these decorations were used on our military families, and as i read, the reporting, a lot of these military families actually participated in the

well, maybe we should have seen this coming. >> a drawmic move by melania trump that apparently blindided top white house aide. >> melania trump office releasing a statement publicly blasting a national security official. >> the first lady called for deputy national security advisor mira ricardel to be fired complaining directly to her husband about being unhappy with ricardo during her first strip to south africa during october,s two fawt over seating on the plane and using national security resources during the trip. the first lady's office issued a statement saying she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this white house. >> trevor: sweet lord, melania does not mess arounded. we barely hear were her and then when she does speak it is to fire somebody? whatever this lady did must have made melania so mad because you realize trump cheats on her and she's pretty chill about it but mel anio goes on a flight and she is all like bit much took our seat. and honestly, i don't even know who this is, mira ricardel who is this person that they are firing? like they are running out of p

melania trump goes public with her call to fire a top national security official. we're going to dig into her role within the white house. and what it says about the president's inner circle. >>> but fist, here is bill karins with a check on the wintry forecast. bill. >> too early for this, mika. we're looking at a december-like forecast in the middle of november. let's get into it. it's already snowing in louisiana this morning and in arkansas. very rare for even december let alone the middle of november. this is just the beginning. winter weather advisories for memphis. st. louis is on a winter storm warning. you'll be plowing tomorrow in areas of st. louis to southern illinois. then it's going to be a sleet and snow mess in the ohio valley and all of this will come up to the northeast. here is the timing of it. the heavy rain today will be in atlanta. airport delays are a good possibility. and then tomorrow morning, we wake up. snowstorm from st. louis through southern illinois. icy mess from cincinnati northwards, columbus to indianapolis. and here it comes in

melania trump just one of those, right? john kelly. i mean, to make the point, it's the personal one and it's obvious lo obviously some of the most important political staffers that he has as well. you have been reporting, we have heard about chaos and frustration from this president before, but this seemed to be deeper, more significant than what we've heard before. >> i think it may be. i mean, i think of the white house now as kind of a hyperventilation chamber where everybody is worried about their job, about the president, about what will occur next given the fact that the democrats control the congress. you know, and as frank was just saying, the president has just finished a month of complete adulation, being out there on the campaign trail, which is where he gets his energy. he comes back, things didn't go as he wished, and this is a president who never blames himself for anything. so, he's upset. he wants to change his white house chief of staff. he's clearly going to change some other cabinet positions, kirstjen nielsen, for

>> stephen: melania trump, everybody!e'll be right back with millie bobby brown. ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing )ha (woman) it's kevin. (kevin) i have head lice. (kevin) now the couch has lice! (grandma) i'll mail your gifts. kay's blafour days only. event. save 50% off select jewelry, and shop hundreds of gifts with thousands in savings. november 23rd to the 26th. only at kay. ♪ ♪ little girl and boy land ♪ while you dwell within it ♪ you are ever happy there daddy, it's christmas! ♪ childhoods, joyland never let go of your dreams. the mercedes-benz winter event is back. lease the glc 300al. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing. so mom's making a deliciously easy dip. two cups of sour cream, bacon, and of course a packet of hidden valley ranch. that's how delicious is done. it's time to ranch out with the original, hidden valley ranch. save on hundreds of deals.get. deals on tv's! deals on toys! deals on xbox and more! doors open 5pm thursday, only at target. (woman) (parawh, you're having oh han ugly sweater party

obama who says she offered melania trump an open phone line, an offer melania has refused.ut as michelle obama speaks out about her husband, their relationship, being first lady, and president trump. kate bennett is outfront. >> reporter: former first lady michelle obama in a new cover story for "elle magazine, taking another swipe at president donald trump while promoting her book, "becoming." this time without mentioning him by name, telling interviewer oprah winfrey, quote, progress isn't made through fear. we're experiencing that right now. fear is the coward's way of leadership. trying to remain positive while the country grapples with a new president, a president that obama can't believe is not hillary clinton. writing in her book she still wonders how people voted for trump whom she calls a misogynist. >> people have to be educated, they have to be focused on the issues and they have to go to the powles if they want their politics to reflect their values. >> and how on inauguration day she witnessed a different celebration than her husband's. >> the vibrant diversity

i mean, i really wanted to give melania a fair chance. and i thought she was doing a great job as first lady, until you had that moment with the i just don't care jacket. she was so concerned about sending that message to her husband or whoever, she didn't care what the rest of the country thought. >> i think it was the liberal media. >> whatever story she came up with. but why is she dragging all this drama out? why is she dragging us into this? i mean, this is a really weird, bizarre development. and it's not the first time. >> if i could -- if i could just say, i also -- why is the white house administration dragging us through any of this? california is literally burning as we speak. there are people that have lost their lives, and the -- i mean, the president and his white house and the first lady are engaging in what's the equivalent of something you would see on vh1 during the basketball wives of new york or wherever the basketball wives are. >> not exactly resistant to talk about it. so there's -- >> are we supposed to ignore it?

no, she hasn't. >> reporter: melania trump's spokesperson brushing that off, telling me mrs. trump is a strong and independent woman who has been navigating her role as first lady in her own way, adding, when she needs advice on any issue she seeks it from her professional team within the white house. the current first lady's message to the former one, lester. >> hallie, thank you. >>> now to north korea's massive deception exposed as kim jong-un apparently tries to fool the world. tonight, his hidden nuclear bases have been revealed. andrea mitchell has late details. >> reporter: tonight, u.s. officials confirm to nbc news that north korea is still 20 hidden bases like this one and this base with u.s., despite president trump's boasts. >> the missiles have stopped. the rockets have stopped. >>or underground tunnels hiding mobile missiles that can be launched in less than an hour. one base just 50 miles from thousands of u.s. troops at the dmz. only 80 miles from seoul. >> but the north koreans have been trying all along to not give up their nuclear weapons program and maybe

melania trump doesn't talk a lot, put out a lot of statements, must have feel deeply. she defends her small staff. this is how she handles it. >> a picture of your eyebrow going down. >> an exciting afternoon. >> thank you so much. right now defense secretary james mattis is on the u.s.-mexico border. he is defending the deployment of thousands of troops there. and with homeland security kirstjen nielsen there at his side embattled as we have been talking about, general mattis toured a base camp near the border. president trump ordered the deployment in anticipation of the migrant caravan, which he has called an invasion. mat the is is insisting that the soldier's mission was to help customs agents and border patrol. >> at the present i do not anticipate military personnel coming into direct contact with migrants. >> florida governor rick scott will recuse himself from certifying the state's final election results. >> that is what his attorneys are telling a federal judge at a hearing today. scott had nothing to say today during a photo op with new senators on capitol

when melania says you got ago, you go. kind of.l reason that the first lady went public with her feelings about a deputy national security advisor? and what happens now? despite the latest white house horror show, potus had time to cook up yet another goofy voter fraud story. is the white house getting its alternative facts from info wars again? i have something to show you. >>> 100%, that's what nancy pelosi

first lady melania trump. today her office publicly called for the firing of deputy national security adviser mira ricardel, seen here at the white house as recently as this afternoon at an event. stephanie grisham, first lady's communications director issued this statement about ricardel. "it is the position of the office of the first lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this white house," grisham said. nbc news has detailed reporting tonight about this latest development and other rifts within the white house. "ricardel has gotten into several disputes with the east wing." also over the first lady's trip to africa in october. more on that later. tonight the white house told our colleague, hallie jackson, that ricardel has never met the first lady and made no indication that ricardel has left the administration. nbc news also reports tonight chief of staff john kelly may soon leave the white house. you may have heard this before a time or two, but now this has changed. "questions about his

a top official by first lady, melania trump, she is calling for the national security adviser to be fired after she clashed with mrs. trump's staff on the trip to africa. she release add quote saying she no longer deserves to work in the white house. >> cnn has been told the only west wing staffers that should feel secure in their jobs are jared and ivanka. that's his daughter and son-in-law. jeff zeleny was sold that. it's the family driving the staff exits. if you think this is all getting to the president, the "washington post" says maybe you are right. look at this headline. five days of fury inside trump's paris temper, election woes and staff upheaval. this is a week where things could really get dicey. >> could? >> get? >> meantime, cnn learned president trump met with his lawyers on monday and could submit his written answers to robert mueller's team any day now. let's take a breath. joining us now, former press secretary, joel lockhart, and cnn senior political analyst, john avalon. let's start with the staff upheaval, which is not unusual after a mid-term election or any electio

stephanie grishham, melania's spokesperson said mrs.rong and inpen debltd woman who has been navy gatding her role as first woman in her own way. when she needs advice on any issue, she seek it from her team within the white house. clearly she's saying mrs. trump hasn't needed mrs. obama's help, and when she has needed advice, she has not needed to turn to mrs. obama. you know, clearly this is a first lady. i've said this before. she feels sometimes when she is attacked or i don't want to say attacked because michelle obama wasn't attacking, but when she feels like she's being discussed and she's not involved in the conversation, she likes to put herself back in the conversation. >> one of the fascinating tidbits of robin rob earth's conversations with michelle obama is when she was sitting in the rain at trump's inauguration and how she tried to smile. what did she say? >> reporter: you know, she discussed just how different the inaugural celebrations were in terms of the audience, the diversity, the sort of vast difference between the

michelle -- i mean, melania is doing things her own way. >> this is not a protocol issue. i feel like the reason the barack obama's reached out was about raising children in the white house, and maybe michelle obama and the obamas had something to offer melania trump for barron trump, but that assistant is not needed apparently. >> well, barron trump has been sheltered. >> as what should be. it's not our business what is going on with barron trump. >>> close calls in florida and arizona have workers in both states counting the votes, so who has the advantage? our harry enten breaks down the numbers when there's something about harry. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ to severe rheumatoid arthritis was intense. my mom's pain from moderate i wondered if she could do the stuff she does for us, which is kind of, a lot. and if that pain could mean something worse? joint pain could mean joint damage. enbrel helps relieve joint pain, and helps stop irreversible joint damage. enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, othe

melania trump from all my reporting, she makes her own decisions.east wing or west wing thing. she never has been thrilled about it. i do think the republican national convention where she had that speech gaffe is a big factor. >> that are wasn't a gaffe. i love you dearly, but people remember that speech. that was word for word what michelle obama said. that is plagiarism. >> that prevented her from feeling comfortable. >> she got caught. >> michelle obama didn't go to many, but she is a powerful public speaker. >> the first speech in the middle. >> that might work for her. this morning she retweeted a tweet from her husband from days ago. >> for the sake of the nation, this is a side piece. if for the sake of a nation, if things are better, maybe as the first lady, she can help soften him. it didn't look so cozy. >> they get the support of women out there, it's overwhelmingly not good for him. >> the clock is running out and i'm not sure he is all that interested. i have not seen him, other than to say women want to be protected. >> look at those

and that insanity includes melania trump. she is donald trump's third wife and the only one of donald trump's wives to push him around publicly, and she did it at the peak of donald trump's power, the peak of the power in donald trump's life. she wasn't just pushing donald trump the real estate guy around, she was pushing around the president of the united states when she had her staff make a public statement yesterday that melania trump believes that deputy national security advisor mira, quote, no longer deserves the honor of serving in this white house. that was melania trump deciding to act as president of the united states, something she apparently decided that was something she could do because of her husband's new level of insanity, that that allows her to do that now. she humiliated her husband, she humiliated white house chief of staff john kelly proving john kelly is in charge of nothing and no one in the white house, and today she is no longer enjoying the honor of working in the trump white house. and so the white

melania versus kelly. i think my money's on melania. >> well, it's stunning. i mean, we've spoken to seven different sources inside and outside the white house. >> seven? i know you've been reporting this story for a little while. >> seven. yaerk yeah. who say, look, first of all, john kelly has been clashing with a range of top officials including john bolton, the national security adviser, but he's also been clashing with the first lady's staff over travel and over staffing and one white house official describes it this way. "there have been instances where the east wing staff were not treated as equals to the male-dominated decisionmakers in chief kelly's office. promotions were denied then finally granted after months of requests." what a striking way to describe the tensions. now, we should say the first lady's office has tried to downplay this and they say, look, the first lady likes john kelly, she does not want to see his ouster, but the bottom line, nicolle, this all builds to the intensifying discussions around the potential ouster of john kelly, the

nbc news breaking the story of clashes nbetween melania trump and j kelly. why the chief of staff y bonn his way out as the first lady oakes a stunning move tot a top official, saying she no longer derves the hoonor of serving the white use. >>> the deadliest firein alifornia history. hundre unaccounted for and new evacuations night. >>> a surprise twist at thetart of the el chapo trial. why two jurors were dismissed. >>> did boeing fail to warn pilots about a major change to the newest planes? the pilots might not have understood w their aircraft was going down. >>> monica lewinsky opening up about the clinton affair like we have never heard before. >> i was mortified and afraid of what this was going to do to my family. >> tonight what about an apology from bill clinton, what she would say to hillary clinton and why she's speaking out now. >> parents behaving badly, a wild brawl caught on camera. >>> the adorable bes friends bonded for life ang inspiri america. the little girls we can't wait for you to meet. >>> this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt.

melania signed off on a statement. ricardo isn't the only white house staffer who may be on a collision courthouse. two officials saying that melania raised concerns that john kelly repeatedly denied her requests of giving her aides promotion. i don't need this trump told kelly. the big question we're asking, who will be the next to leave the white house. a couple different pieces here. i'm not sure how interconnected they are. sounds like from the president's comments today where he's mentioning homeland security that nielsen may be first on his mind. may be first to go here. does that sound right to you? >> certainly she's been in the president's cross hairs for some time. there's many stories about how he's been vented hiss frufr eed frustrations to her, directly to ae her and his aides. the president made that clear in that interview. he also made clear that he's not out there defending his chief of staff, john kelly, at this point. he didn't come to his defense and say he have going to stay. it really looks like t

after a stunning public rebuke of a top official by first lady melania trump. after he clashed with mrs. trump's staff on that trip to africa. releasing a statement that he no longer deserves the honor of serving in this white house. officials tell cnn president trump does intend to fire him and his peers. he's not the only one headed for the exit. >> the only west wing staffers who should feel secure in

so the fact that this is the hill melania trump decided to fight on is strange. i would also say that on the double-edged sword front which i think is a good point, the drawbacks for melania are that the way she's allowing herself to be defined are on a strange choice of a jacket that she wore on a trip. that was in poor taste. a strange outfit in egypt or some people liked it. an anti-bullying campaign that people see as ironic and not in a good way. and now she's kind of publicly calling for the firing and successfully, i guess, of an official who was really a senior paper pusher. so it's strange. most first ladies, michelle obama, for example, hillary clinton, first lady, you know, laura bush, they define their role on their own terms and she's really allowing this to be defined in a way that's not advantageous to her. >> ken, i'm wondering how you see it and also should the first lady be weighing in on a national security adviser even if she is a paper pusher? >> a couple points. one on jen's point about definition. because melania trump is more reserved than

why did melania trump issue this extraordinary statement?deral judge granting cnn a hearing after the network sued trump over revoking jim acosta's press kcredentials. >>> and alexandria ocasio-cortez. >>> good evening, i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, fired cnn reporting. president trump has decided to fire deputy national security

she was asked about her conversations with the current first lady, melania trump, and whether melania had asked for advice. >> i know laura bush reached out to you and said, if you need any help, i am a phone call away. you talked about how you extended that same courtesy to melania trump. has she reached out to you? >> no, she hasn't. >> moments ago we got a response from the white house, from the first lady's team. mrs. trump is a strong and independent lady who has been navigating her role as first lady in her own way. when she needs advice on any issue, she seeks it from her professional team in the white house. there is not a lot of love from the trumps and the obamas. >> that's a good analysis there, john. i mean, let's not forget, melania trump also did promote the birther theories before her husband was even elected president. so there was some tension. but it is -- it is an unusually tense relationship between this white house and their immediate predecessors. we saw this on the campaign trail. clearly it is continuing into the first lady's office. now, on the other side, you

are telling nbc news that white house chief of staff johnel kly may soon be out after clashing with melania trump after the first lady issued a public statement calling for the firing of deputy national security advisor. >> wicked santa ana winds fueling dangerous flare-ups with crews on the ground desperately needg help fromabove. as the death toll continues to climb, and now dangerous smoke is spreading. >> i don't think my heart had ever beat as fast. unbeknownst to me, i was on the precipice of the rabbit hole. >> monica lewinsky speaks out about her relionship with president bill clinton as never before. intimate details and what she'd say face to face with hillary clinton. >> parents behaving badly in a wild brawl at a kids peewee football game. >> a a frightening hit and run where theriver literally ran from the scene. buckle up. "early today" starts right now. good wednesday morning. m i'm philla. >> i'm frances rivera. new signs that one of the driving forces behind the white house shake up is the fst lady. in an unprecedented move, melania trump is calling for the firing of one of

and this is unreported details of the clashes with the first lady melania trump and this is a source of tensions that sources have talked to myself, and kristen welker and courtney lee and others have been working on the story and also conflicts that he has had with the deputy national security adviser which is now an issue. >> and she works for ambassador john bolton. >> yes, and there was a blow up between john kelly and john bolton in the west wing, and the tension tensions of the two men have been flaring. the issues with melania trump and again, this is stuff that we are reporting out now stem with the travel and the staffing issues essentially and some of the logistical issues and some of the east wing concerns actually ess calated to the le of the president according to the seven sources we have been talking. to and melania trump raised concerns about the requests to promote some of her top aids that had been denied and the requests languished for months, and kelly said not enough available positions, and the president was upset when he heard about this, and according to the s

the criticism of melania trump's christmas decorations. they did this last year and we were at the white house. we loved the decoration. this year, the critics are back. they have nothing better to do than to go after melania trump. but first, a war of words among two reported targets of the mueller probe. earlier today, the daily caller reported of an early copy of book written by author jerome corsi. in this book, corsi claimed that he testified to mueller's grand jury that just one month before the 2016 election, roger stone, asked limb to contact julian assange about releasing podesta's e-mail. corsi claims that was because stone had advanced knowledge of the release of those access hollywood tape and advance knowledge of the e-mails themselves. corsi was asked about this earlier tonight on our own tucker carlson. >> this is a political witch hunt. i did not have a contact with assange. i have figured out that assange had podesta's e-mail. i told roger stone and told many people in august. i did figure it out and i connected the dots.

no, she hasn't. >> and in response melania's communications director said that melania trump is a strongbeen navigating her role as first lady in her own way, and if she needs advice she seeks it to the professional people within the white house, and can the current first lady need her help? >> well, what she did and i did, too, as the chief of staff is that i reached out the laura bush's chief of staff and s secretary clinton's chief of staff in the white house, and there is an amazing support, there because there are so few people who have lived through that experience in the white house, and it is a very small group and no other place like the white house, and nothing in your life that you have ever done can prepare you for working in the white house. so getting that experience and wisdom from both sides of the aisle is something that i earn sli valued and i know that mrs. obama did, too. >> tina, thank you for your time, and desiree, you, too, the book is revealing and mrs. obama is opening up about the childhood and the pregnancy struggles, and what struck you about it? >> well, it

and i think melania trump is still very much feeling this out.two years in, what she wants to do with this platform. it is a tremendous platform. some first ladies have been very effective, not just in, you know, in doing things to promote their husband's work, but also doing their own work. getting legislation passed. that's something first ladies have done. we're talking about laura bush. we're talking about barbara bush. hillary clinton. michelle obama. they got legislation passed. they moved needle on policy issues. now, that's not something, it seems, that melania trump wants to do. her ambitions seem to be a little bit more scaled back. but she's, i think, finding it difficult to find her footing, particularly with a husband who is so divisive. i think that makes -- that backdrop is so difficult. and it makes her -- it pushes her into a smaller and smaller lane, in terms of the issues that she can talk about, without having to be compared to her husband. her husband makes her job, which doesn't even have a job description, really hard. >> e

according to the story, ricardel wanted melania to sit in the middle section of the plane and melania] [ applause ] whatever the case, melania decided this is the best way to go. and it's very strange for a first lady to do something like this, to publicly call for a member of the national security team to be fired. but i'm sure michelle obama and laura bush did this all the time. betty ford once had the white house chef beheaded. [ laughter ] that's right. he made cauliflower one too many times. and while the turmoil was being tilled in the east wing, president trump was bright and early in the west wing waging a twitter war on france. trump lashed out at the french today, mocking their performance in world wars i and ii, and really who better to mock a country's war record than the guy who dodged the draft because of bone spurs while playing on the basketball team. [ cheers and applause ] the president also defended himself. he's pushing back against reports that he skipped a world war i memorial service because of the rain. he wrote, by the way -- which is a good way for a tweet to

on behalf of the first lady, melania, myself, thank you all for being here.s been extraordinary. thank you very much. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated until the president, mrs. trump and medalists have departed the east room. applause] >> president trump took reporters' questions at the signing ceremony at the white house. pres. trump: thank you for coming over so fast. this was unexpected.

they're saying first lady melania tru was intur rated by dety securityyr advisor ricardell. all of thi comes at the same time. white house veterans say so mucr di can be damaging. >> don't want the staff at tho white house preoccupied wi in fighting. you want them instead doing their job to help the president make their decisions and implement them. >> in a statement the first lady's spokesperson called thei relationith kelly's staff, quote, very positive. >>> 11 after the hour. stillahead,he holiday season here. soon, joining the masses online, in the malls buys.g gi >> children on your list, beware. we'll break down the biggest offenders. plus, we continue our series on getting a good night's sleep. this morning what you might want to consider eating before bedtime to help you drift of how about our weather, chuck? >> storm team 4 weatherf or tomorrow were going to be all snow, and it won't be, it would be six inches or more in the shenandoah valley. by the time we get ther it will be cut 60 or 70%. se when a new breast cancer patieneacomes to cancer ent centers of america