>> oh, yes. >> phil rucker? >> that's the problem because remember, it's not a criminal investigation but this is a job interview to be on the supreme court where you are deciding things about values and truth. if you are found to have lied in this -- lied before the senate, it's not only violating that oath, committing perjury, but it, in some ways, would seem to disqualify you from the job of serving on the supreme court. there's a lot of anxiety in trump circles this week that this fbi investigation could uncover some sort of misstatement or mistruth in what judge kavanaugh had to testify last week. and we're already hearing that some of his former classmates at yale disagree with his characterization of his drinking habits. remember, kavanaugh said he never blacked out, meaning he never drunk alcohol to excess where he couldn't remember something that occurred. but some of his classmates in media interviews have contested that. we'll see what the fbi finds in their investigation. >> donna edwards, take us in

from the "washington post," white house bureau chief phil rucker. here with us on set, emily jean fox, senior reporter c eer "van fair." elise jordan. now co-host of the fabulous must-listen podcast, "words matter." presidential historian and author doris kearns goodwin. leadership in push leapt timetu. and david jolly, no longer affiliated with the republican party. let me start with you, phil rucker, what brought the president back to twitter, why did he go there with horse face, does it have anything to do with the insults stormy daniels had for him? >> well, it just may, nicolle. excerpts from stormy daniels' book came out a week or two ago. she apparently describes the president's manhood in pretty graphic detail in that book. i'm sure the president's aware of that and it may have gotten under his skin. but, look, he had a lot of time this morning, free time, there's not a single meeting on the president's public schedule today, no daily intelligence briefing. no public events, no meetings that have been publicly announced. we know he spent a c

phil rucker, let me start with you. >> you should start with jim. he's so outvanced the rest of us. >> i'm gobsmacked by how the republicans, sort of the audacit of spin and having been a flack, like when they fall for the most outlandish spin you high-five each other. i feel like everyone has fallen for the notion that republicans are less screwed because they've tapped into some sort of backlash against me too over the kavanaugh nomination. how gleeful is the white house that they're actually having some success at selling what i think is a completely bogus message? >> nicolle, pretty gleeful. the president has been on a multiday victory lap, and i think it's going to continue straight through all this week. he's got rallies almost every day. and what they're trying to do is create a common enemy ahead of the midterms. and that's the angry mob as mitch mcconnell put it over the weekend. the feeling they've gone up against what the president today has dismissed as a hoax. a sexual assault allegations against brett kavanaugh and prevailed and won. a

phil rucker, i want to start with you because i've always wondered.sident is somebody who takes loyalty seriously. and a lot of the aides and forgive me, you may remember the term they've applied to the "access hollywood" period of time, but they remember who was with them and who was against them. >> a real litmus test moment. >> there are some people now where he's swallowed his pride and he's gone out to support people like dean heller who abandoned him in that moment. how much convincing did it take to get the president to that point? >> the president is going out to campaign with them because they want him here and they've been suplicants while he's been president. dean heller has been saying flattering things publicly and privately to trump to sort of win his favor to make amends. i was with them two or three months ago when trump was in las vegas for his first campaign appearance with dean heller. it was really rather awkward. they both see a mutual beneficial relationship here where they can both benefit from it. and you see the same thing hap

phil rucker, let me start with you. the white house, at least the staff level, very much aware of the resistance in the community to the president's visit today. >> i'm sure the president is aware of that as well. huge embarrassment for the president of the united states to go to pittsburgh this afternoon and not be greeted by the mayor, not be greeted by the govern governor, not beofficials -- >> you report they were all invited. >> they were invited. think the white house wanted them to be there to greet the president. it's important to the president, this president in particular, that he be greeted with respect. he made such a big deal about president obama going joioverse when sometimes the red carpet wasn't rolled out to him. he's going to pittsburgh without any carpet at all. it's an embarrassment for him but effort by the president to show some respect, go through the motions of being a consoler in chief which we know and his aides acknowledge privately is not a natural thing for him. he does not sort of naturall

phil rucker, that is donald trump's not just his dream but perhaps his game plan if republicans hold onto the senate and the house. and he's got a small victory. rod rosenstein, the deputy attorney general is hassing up to capitol hill on wednesday to be peppered with questions. i believe it's a closed session, but it will be transcribed and things transcribed by the house republicans have a funny way of ending up in fox news primetime. talk about how donald trump thinks his war on his own justice department is going. don mcgahn, a close ally of the professionals in the justice department is gone. does the president think he's winning? >> i -- he thinks it's going quite swimmingly, nicolle. and two weeks after the election, he very well may be making some personnel changes at the justice department. attorney general jeff sessions is widely believed to be on his way out, regard fless of how th election go. matt's point is right. if republicans keep the house and keep and perhaps expand their majority in the senate, trump is going to very much feel emboldened to do what he want fos do

also phil rucker and robert jordan is with us today. he's now diplomat in residence at smu and author of the book desert diplomat, inside saudi arabia following 9/11. ann guerin, i want to start with you. you and your colleagues have done extraordinary reporting on the disappearance and what we believe to be the gruesome murder of jamal khashoggi. take us inside what you're reporting. >> thank you. what we're trying to find out is what exactly the turks have in terms of evidence of what happened inside the consulate. and what's going to happen to that evidence as this case moves forward. the turks have been speaking in -- not in official capacity about things that they say they know happened inside the consulate. and as you alluded to at the beginning, those things are gruesome and point, unfortunately, to jamal khashoggi's dealt. we do not know for certain he is dead. we know it's been well more than a week since he went into the consulate. he's not come out. there's no evidence he ever came out. no evidence he's been heard from in any

. >> and phil rucker. tim o'brien executive editor for bloomberg opinion who has written extensively on donald trump's finances. and robert jordan is us with. a diplomat in residence and author of the book "desert diplomat" inside saudi arabia after 9/11. >> you and your colleagues have done an extraordinary reporting on the disappearance and now what we believe to be the gruesome murder of your former colleague jamal khashoggi. please take us inside anything you have been reporting and anything you have learned since the story posted. >> thank you. what we are trying to figure out is what exactly the turks have in terms of evidence of what happened inside the consulate and what is going to happen to that evidence as this case moves forward. the turks have been speaking not in an official capacity about things that they say they know happened inside the consulate. and as you alluded to at the beginning, those things are gruesome and point unfortunately to jamal khashoggi's death. we do not know for certain

phil rucker, i would like to read more of the writing you contributed to tonight. as the mail bomb and synagogue shooting crises unfolded over the past week, trump received advice from allies who urged the importance of sounding presidential, though he was at times annoyed by what he viewed as unnecessary and gratuitous counsel, said one republican in frequent contact with the white house. phil, why this struggle over the center of the president, how the president portrays himself not to the base but to all-americans? >> yeah, brian, well, the first thing that we should clear up is that even the president's advisers acknowledge that he struggles with these sorts of moments of national tragedy and terror, that he struggles to show any empathy of any kind. this is not his forte. it is not what he is good at doing. it is not a natural thing for him to be trying to do. so effectively doesn't really try. he sort of reads through the scripts, he sends out the necessary tweets that his advisers tell him to do to try to comfort the country, to try to unite people, to heal

phil rucker and jill colvin. well done as always. thank you for being here. >>> the president sticks up for the saudis in the unraveling murder of journalist and permanent resident of the u.s. >>> later the president warns a foreign country not to let their people come here, or as we call it, tuesday on "the 11th hour." x1 is here to help. you can do things like change your settings, learn tips and tricks, troubleshoot, and even manage your account. finding your xfinity username or wifi password, restarting your equipment, or paying your bill is easier than ever with x1. x1 help. another reason to love x1. say "teach me more" into your voice remote to get started. >>> as we mentioned in a new interview with the associated press, president trump criticized the rush to condemn saudi arabia over this missing journalist jamal khashoggi. trump told the ap earlier today, quote, "i think we have to find out what happened first. here we go again with, you're guilty until proven innocent. i don't like that. we just went through that with just

"washington post" white house bureau chief phil rucker. associated press white house reporter jonathan lemire and john heilemann, co-host of showtime's "the circus" and nbc and msnbc national affairs analyst joins the table. let me start with you, director mcloughlin. take me through what it says that time and time again the president's reflective response to any sort of crisis is to trust the authoritarian leader telling him something on the phone before and above his own intelligence community. >> nicolle, i think the president has a severe case of what i've always called he told me disease. in other words, many policymakers have this reaction when a foreign leader lies to them or tells them a story that may not be true. with the president trump, it's an epidemic. we've seen it with, of course, as you pointed out, with president putin. we've seen it also with kim jong-un. and now we see it with the king of saudi arabia. i mean, just on its face, a whole series of questions arise. for example, if these were rogue killers, who were the peo

. >> let me bring in phil rucker mailboxes nbc political analyst and friend of show. and willing alexey cameron. and ken vogel. eagle fans extraordinaria. that's the reason we bring you back. >> love it. >> element let me start. alexey with you at your organization is the one got the interview with president trump. driving headlines. back story your your colleague heard of a discussion about talking more about birth right citizenship in the closing days of the midterm campaign. asked the president about it. you heard the response the president gave. to be clear, legally almost impossible to do this via executive order. this is a constitutional amendment. the president can't just go in and just say just kidding. although he believes he has the legal authority. this is a political play. seven days out. >> yes. >> so that is absolutely clear, right you can't rewrite the constitution through executive order. but we how much the president loves the executive orders. he signed 55 in the first year as president the most since any president since 1993. but, again, we are so c

phil rucker, kimberly atkins, would of our returning veterans returning to the broadcast on a mondayight. coming up for us, will nafta really give way to something called usmca? and what did we witness at that event today? when we continue. ♪ south l.a. is very medically underserved. when the old hospital closed people in the community lived with untreated health problems for years. so, with the county's help we built a new hospital from the ground up and having citi as an early investor worked as a signal to others to invest. with citi's help we built a wonderful maternity ward and we were able to purchase an mri machine. we've made it possible for the people who live here to lead healthier lives and that's invaluable. ♪ >>> just today we made history again when i announced to the world that we are replacing the job-killing disaster known as nafta with a brand new u.s./mexico/canada -- we added canada, it worked out great -- trade agreement. and we're calling it usmca. no more nafta. >> president trump rolled out this new trade agreement with canada and mexico today intended as you

joining us from the "washington post," phil rucker, who co-authored the piece called trauma for a manar rises in gop in defense of kavanaugh." phil, it's a remarkable article that you and robert put together. >> thank you. >> i want to read a bit from it, it says "outrage crystalize a strong current of grievance within a party whose leadership is almost entirely white and overwhelmingly male and which does not make a secret of its fear that demographic shifts and cultural convulsions could jeopardize its grip on power." what donald trump was doing there, what other have done, is they have named that fear, they have said if you believe women who accuse men, men are done. >> yeah. they have, ali. it's not just president trump doing this, also his son,junior. he's the one who did the interview. >> ah, donald. >> it's bubbling up on the right, rush limbaugh on his talk radio show has been talking a lot about this, ann coulter, the conservative commentators. this is a rallying cry for the conservative grassroots for some of the trump voters out there who have a voice, have somebody champio

but we are blessed to have with us phil rucker, jill colvin, and robert costa. coming up after a break, the governor of ohio, john kasich, joins us to talk civility in politics after this unsettling day. i'm alex trebek here to tell you about the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85 and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three p's. what are the three p's? the three p's of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i just turned 80. what's my price? $9.95 a month for you, too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the number one most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed, and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock, so your rate can never go up for any reason. and with thi

there was nothing from the president about human rights. >> phil rucker, michael allen, a pleasure having you both on the show, thank you both. >>> president trump tweeting like it's 2020. going after potential challenger elizabeth warren and her dna test. but she's clapping back. warren just one democrat running a so-called shadow campaign for a white house run. our garrett haake takes us behind the scenes as we gear up. believe it or not, 2020 just two years away, gang, get that countdown clock going. n choose r 14 different hotel brands, so i get the right hotel for every member of my family. like a doubletree for my cousins who love their warm chocolate chip cookies. a homewood suites for my uncle who likes a long stay. a hampton for my sister and her kids. that's a lot of syrup. and the waldorf astoria beverly hills for me. but i thought your family vacation was in miami? it is. i hear they're having a great time. book at hilton.com and get the hilton price match guarantee. if you find a lower rate, we match it and give you 25% off that stay. discover.o. i like your card, but i'm abs

joining me now is geoff bennett, and nbc political analyst phil rucker, and washington bureau chief and "usa today" bureau chief susan page who interviewed the president exclusively last night on the trip to houston. and jof, to you first, the caravan claims of going to washington and the caravan coming, and take a look at part of what he had to say. >> go into the middle of the caravan and search. and -- no, no. take the camera and go into the middle and search, you will find ms-13 and middle eastern and everything. >> you know how the caravan started? does everybody know what this means? i think that the the democrats had something to do with it, and now they are saying, that i think that we maid a big mistake, because people are seeing how bad it is. >> geoff bennett, do some fact checking first of all on the caravan, and the middle eastern influence or the democratic influence in starting the caravan. >> and in the way that the president so casually and implicitly links the middle easterners with terrorists is as problem problematic as offensive, and we saw the president there say t

but we are blessed to have with us phil rucker, jill colvin, and robert costa. coming up after a break, the governor of ohio, john kasich, joins us to talk civility in politics after this unsettling day. with no aerosols and no heavy perfumes. so you can spray and stay. febreze one. >>> we are back after this busy day. and a short time ago earlier this evening we spoke with the republican governor of the state of ohio, john kasich, about this unsettling day across america. >> governor, this was another troubling day in this country. the tone of this country is something you have talked about often. obvious question is does the president bear some responsibility? obviously not for the bomb making or the recipients, but does he bear responsibility for the tone that allowed it? >> sure. sure, he does. it's part of the reason i never endorsed him and i've never been personally critical of him but yeah, he does bear responsibility for the divisions. he has the biggest megaphones. but i think, brian, you and i have been observers and participants in this business for

but we are blessed to have with us phil rucker, jill colvin, and robert costa. coming up after a break, the governor of ohio, john kasich, joins us to talk civility in politics after this unsettling day. ou're waiting patiently for a liver transplant, it could cost you your life. it's time to get out of line with upmc. at upmc, living-donor transplants put you first. so you don't die waiting. upmc does more living-donor liver transplants than any other center in the nation. find out more and get out of line today. our because of smoking.ital. but we still had to have a cigarette. had to. but then, we were like. what are we doing? the nicodermcq patch helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. nicodermcq. you know why, we know how. let's do an ad of a man eating free waffles at comfort inn. they taste like victory because he always gets the lowest price on our rooms, guaranteed, when he books direct at choicehotels.com. or just say, badda book. badda boom. book now at choicehotels.com [woman 2] ..this... [man 1] ...this is my body of proof. [man 2] proof of less j

anyway, phil rucker, thank you. kasie hunt, barbara mcquade. >>> coming up, five days and nine interviews. why was the fbi background check on judge kavanaugh so limited in scope? plus, a yale law school classmate of brett kavanaugh withdraws his support after watching his performance before the senate judiciary committee last week. >>> and what is senator heitkamp's brave stand today mean her re-election chances come up next month? and what does the kavanaugh fight mean for democrats' chance of taking back the congress? we'll see. it's up in the air right now. >>> finally, let me finish tonight with the constitutional role of the united states senate. they've got to fill it, now. and this is "hardball," where the action is. "hardball," where the action is. ♪ it's a lot easier to make decisions when you know what comes next. if you move your old 401(k) to a fidelity ira, we make sure you're in the loop at every step from the moment you decide to move your money to the instant your new retirement account is funded. ♪

. >> that's president trump explaining to phil rucker how he plans to handle relations with saudi arabia going forward. he dismissed the idea of suspending weapon sales for the country in the disappearance of the journalist. the crown prince has been friendly with the president's son-in-law, jared kushner. the new york times is reporting the adviser appears to be paying no income tax from 2009 to 2016. we'll talk about the taxes here in a moment here. shermichael, let me start with you, the closeness of the relationship, jared kushner developing a friendship and more with the working relationship with the 33-year-old crowned prince. >> this is going to raise a lot of questions when you think of finances and the financial issues at kushner's company going through. they were trying to get money from all over the place and they purchased a bill in new york that costs him hundreds of billions dollars a year. they're going to ask when you look at how slow the president has been to respond to comment on the issue of jamal and in turkey of what's happening to saudi arabia. people are going to w

joining us over the phone is phil rucker. he just spoke with president trump. >> and the president is pretty excited about this confirmation of brett kavanaugh. we had a telephone conversation today before he headed to ckanss and he told me that he thinks lisa murkowski who voted no on kavanaugh will never recover politically. he talked about a primary challenge for her and he said, quote, i think that she will never recover from this, i think that people from alaska will never forgive her for what she did. >> will he alrea . >> she already lost a primary fight and got reelected to the senate, so she is not afraid of this kind of threat. >> that is wright and importais context. he did not bring up that 2010 -- >> he didn't know probably. >> no, r, but he singled out he and he also praised susan collins that she is positive and thought that the two week delay 46-or the one week delay rather turned out to be a disguise. >> willin-he endorse joe manchin now? >> he hasn't spoken out that just yet, but manchin speaks somewhat regu

he called phil rucker for reporting a story. that's what the president is going to come here and talk about. brett kavanaugh is -- and the j job numbers and the trade deal with mexico and canada. promise made, promise kept on the banner behind. that's the thesis statement for his speech. >> yes. jeff thank you. let's go to garrett haake on capitol hill. garrett, that's the situation there? >> reporter: well, ali senators are returning home after what was not the climax of the week here. that was susan collin's speech yesterday where it became clear republicans would have the 50 votes they needed to get brett kavanaugh confirmed. this confirmation battle, if you think about it, has altered the ground we're standing on politically going into the midterms. think starting here in the chamber itself. the three republicans who emerged as heros on the right to the trump base, lindsey graham, susan collins, mitch mcconnell, all folks a year ago who were deeply distrusted on the right, and now they are the three republican heros who help

be a long term win for them because women are afraid of what the republicans are giving them. >> phil rucker, let's talk about the building behind you at the u.s. capitol and specifically what is going on. your paper is reporting what may be a new whack at a new family separation policy. the majority leader in the house put forward a bill to fully fund the wall. considered d.o.a. when it reaches the senate. what are republicans doing in this period? >> well, i think, brian, there are a couple things at play here. one is politically they are trying to show the conservative base, the trump voters, the thousands of people that turn out at these rallies that they're pushing forward and plowing ahead and they are going to build a wall. it still remains the rally in cry, build the wall. but a lot of these decisions are going to be punted until after the election. the funding decision for example about whether there would be additional funding for the wall construction that president trump wants is likely going to be made in december during the lame-duck session. there could be fireworks there. law

having explained that, phil rucker, what is going on here? this had to be called a media blitz. he got close to 12 million viewers, which he told us on "60 minutes" and on today's round. >> yes, president trump is trying to be his party's best surrogate here in the run-up to the midterm elections. he wants t he's taking questions from reporters at every opportunity on air force i, on the white house lawn and in the oval office, and i think that will happen in the days to come. the president is confident but also repugnant and defiant. as much as gubernatorial candidates have tried to sell their pitch to voters, it's really about trump. that's how it's been in washington the last two years and that's how it is on the campaign trail as voters in other states are starting to vote early. they're thinking about horseface, they're thinking about trump parodying on "snl" tomorrow. you have a president who is extremely confident in his own ability to direct his party's message and to shape this election and to determine a winning outcome. he truly believes, i think, that republicans are

that his brothers and sisters in saudi arabia and across much of the arab world do not enjoy. >> phil rucker, thank you. >>> the former president and the vice president both speaking out today. joe biden with a message for democrats hoping to take back the house. barack obama appealing to young voters. the seven excuses he says they need to stop using as reasons not to vote. >> also, this thing has something called google. you can't use google to figure out which candidates on your local ballot think that they're the splat and climate change is a hoax? t and climate change is a hoax don't let cracked skin tell you what to wear. new aveeno® cracked skin cica ointment. with shea butter and triple oat complex. for fast relief and a protective barrier for lasting relief. wear what you love, aveeno®. billions of problems. sore gums? bleeding gums? painful flossing? there's a therabreath for you. therabreath healthy gums oral rinse fights gingivitis and plaque and prevents gum disease for 24 hours. so you can... breathe easy, there's therabreath at walmart. should happen everydred five hundred yea

fi phil rucker. erin simone, co-author of "the notorious of rbg." ron insana, cnbc contributor. and mike, the host of the slate's daily podcast. >> you're invited. >> we got that officially on the record. >> the whole thing is an ask. >> perfect, got that out there. erin, first, i want to start because former u.s. attorney -- u.s. troernl, excuse me, eric holder had this to say. with the con gir mation of kavanaugh and the treatment of merrick garland, the legitimacy of the supreme court can justifiably be questioned. the court must prove through its work it is worthy. how does the court go about doing that? >> well, i mean, i think we should look back to other times that have been extremely controversial in the history of the court. the one that comes to mind is bush v. gore. the way that they handled it was kind of to pretend it didn't happen. if you ask me what i think would happen, think the nine justices will try to smooth over those wounds. clarence thomas also joined the supreme court after being accused of sexual misconduct. i think the way to interpret justice kagan and

thank you, phil rucker., bill krystal. >>> at least two packages at a department of defense mail processing center are suspected of possibly containing ricin, a deadly material. the facility is not located inside the pentagon building. it is inside the intake facility where the packages were addressed to someone there. the fbi has taken the lead now on the investigation. we should expect a statement from them shortly and we'll be right back. d we'll be right back how your skin feels. so, when the world expects you to follow the rules, write your own. ♪ because no one gets an opinion on how you live your life, why you shave, or how you show your skin. my skin. my way. ♪ are you paying too much and getting too little with your current medicare plan? if you have medicare, you have an important choice to make. you can purchase a separate drug plan for an additional cost; or you can choose a humana all-in-one medicare advantage plan that includes your medical benefits and drug coverage in one. in fact, last year

phil rucker, white house bureau chief at the "washington post," mark thompson, radio host. and bret stephens. philip, to you first, we're hearing a lot of rhetoric from the president, from republicans. is the rhetoric, the president's message what's actually the focus here, or is there a different message locally? i want to share what the president's been saying. >> the caravan looks, you know, frightening when you see what looks like an armada heading your way, it's symptomatic of the fact we've not put any discipline on the border. >> we struggle because there are many people in congress prwho a afraid to address and secure our border. >> i get sick and tired of people believing they've got ownership over compassion in the name of open borders. when i believe that is the exact opposite of compassion. >> okay, walk us through what's going on here. i'm totally confused, phil. >> yeah, well, steph, you have this caravan moving through central america and president trump is trying to use these images that have been playing out on the internet and in the media as a way to fear

>> well, ashley parker and phil rucker didn't win those pulitzers for nothing. they're exactly right, i think, that she has a diminished role right now because you have a very strong, very effective secretary of state in mike pompeo who is very close to the president. rex tillerson was none of those things. and you have john bolton who hates the united nations, is very strong and with a very strong deputy. mika ricardell. not well known but having more power inside. she was having less flexibility, less ability to exert her influence. and this is perfect timing. this is nikki haley, i think, choosing the exact right moment to have her day in the sun. how many people have left this administration on good terms with the president, even though she has, in the past, disagreed with him on some issues? you pointed out russia. and sitting in the oval office with her own moment without any kind of tension with her script, and that's the way she wants to leave, before the election, which has an uncertain, you know, outcome certainly for the republicans. this way if she l

ashley parker and her colleague phil rucker reporting, the pentagon leaped into action to hold a militaryade and launch a space force on the president's whims. the commerce department moved to -- this reads like seth meyers -- to create a plan for auto tariffs after trump threatened to impose them. and vice president pence, the department of homeland security and the white house all rushed to back up trump's unsupported claim that unknown middle easterners were part of a migrant caravan in central america. here's the punchline. only to have the president admit later tuesday that there was absolutely no proof at all that there were middle easterners inside the caravan. the spaniel still here. ashley, this is one of your favorite stories you've written. this reads like a satire so jarring next to the thought of people receiving pipe bombs in the mail today. >> well, it's an interesting way to run a white house. and i think you have to sort of -- i think -- no. the one thing in our story we tried to do is there were two separate categories. one is to reverse engineer evidence for the preside

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joining me now is phil rucker, the white house bureau chief for washington post and msnbc political analyst am very sorry for those of you who worked and knew jamal and in is an incredibly difficult time, but phil, let's talk about the u.s./saudi connection and how the president views it, and how it is going to the play in as you see it into any investigation. >> thank you for the nice words there, chris. in terms of the president's view, trump's view, he thinks that the relationship with saudi arabia is critical from the economic standpoint and from the geopolitical standpoint. first the economic piece. there is billions of dollars in arms deals, and arm sales from saudi arabia that he would like to maintain and perhaps grow in the future, and then when you are looking at geopolitics, he can see saudi arabia as a counter to iran in the middle east, and potentially as an arab voice of support for any eventually israeli/palestinian peace plan, and so he doesn't want to upset that apple cart so to speak. but clearly, the khashoggi situation is a cause for concern in the administration, and th

he first of all called phil rucker at "the washington post" on air force one. he was calling senators. he talked with reporters on air force one. he got off and stopped with reporters again. he's now going to a rally where he's going to talk about this yet another time as these protests are happening. the president i'm told from sources i talked to at the white house is feeling confident and optimistic how this relates to the midterms, how this relates to november. he's been looking at polling. this is a president who likes to know about the polls. that's been true true since his campaign. he's seeing republican intensity and enthusiasm that -- he said something very interesting on the plane. he said he believed that mississippi speech he gave, remember when he mocked christine blasey ford for her accusation against kavanaugh, he thinks that made in his view an important difference in all of this. believing presumably that galvanized republicans. the question is whether that's a sugar high or it sustains through november. >> thanks very much. miking is in that

joining me now is white house bureau chief for "the washington post," phil rucker.sident, as we thought he might, reiterated what he tweeted this morning, that he wants secretary mike pompeo to meet with the saudi king. he wants him to get to the bottom of whatever happened to khashoggi. what more can you tell us? >> the administration, chris, has been very cautious about, you know, attributing khashoggi's disappearance or killing to the saudis until they have what they believe to be more concrete evidence. of course u.s. intelligence intercepts have shown a saudi plot. the intelligence community in the united states is believing there was saudi involvement, but president trump is not yet reiterating that. he talked to a number of reporters and he vowed very powerful and severe punishment for saudi arabia if it's found out they did this. then mike pompeo, the secretary of state, interjected and said, look, we have a lot more we need to find out. we just don't know enough information yet. >> let's talk about the u.s./saudi relationship. that details kushner's close p

. >>> we asked the "washington post's" phil rucker yesterday at this hour if donald trump would be ableack down with taylor swift who took the rare step of weighing into the midterms yesterday. here was phil's prediction. >> i can't imagine his advisers at the white house would like for him to weigh in. as we said earlier, he's got a number of these make america great again campaign rallies this week. we know when he gets in front of those crowds, he can go off the script, so to speak. i would not be surprised if he were to pop off about her at some point. >> and on cue, approximately one hour later, the president said this. >> marsha blackburn is doing a very good job in tennessee. she's leading now substantially, which she should. she's a tremendous woman. i'm sure taylor swift has nothing, or doesn't know anything about her. and let's say that i like taylor's music about 25% less now. okay? >> a margin she can probably handle. on the question political pundits and entertainment reporters, alike, were struggling to answer at this hour yesterday, will it matter? here's some data to che