let me start with susan collins. a lot of speculation if there will be a republican no vote on this certainly right now she seems to be the leading candidate for it. our own vaughn hilliard caught up with her in maine. let's play a little bit of that. >> i have said to the president to his face and to his counsel that i do not believe he should be constrained by any list of nominees. and he and his counsel were able to point to me five different people who have been added to the list since the federalist society and other groups came up with this list. i can understand the president wanting input from a variety of groups including the federalist society, but i do not think he should confine himself. >> betty, it's interesting. it sounds like she's talking about names we are not talking about. how real is the possibility, do you think, that the president goes outside the list we have been talking about and how real is the possibility that susan collins say, you know what, i meant what i was hinting at here and i'm not

susan collins wants precedented perspective for a woman's right to choose. >>> and lebron goes hollywood. the nba superstar signs a four-year deal with the lakers. i expect lebron to be its own sign there next to the hollywood sign. good morning, everyone. welcome to "early start." a parade for lebron's arrival in l.a. >> it is 4:00 a.m. in the east. let's begin with this. breaking overnight upheaval in mexico. winning the mexican presidency in a landslide, and he will be the country's first leftist president. the the former mexico city mayor triumphed against the two parties that have ruled mexico city for nearly a century. >> after the victory lopez obrador vowed to seek friendship with the united states with the quote always rooted in mutual respect and in defense of our migrant countrymen. >> reporter: what many are calling a revolution for this country. you see people pouring into the square behind me to celebrate an event they never thought would take place, the election of a leftist populous candidate. he's been running for president now for over a decade. this is his third attemp

republican senator susan collins, who also has been a key vote in the fight, she will oppose any nominee who is against roe vs wade. watch. >> if a candidate for this important position who would overturn roe vs wade would not be acceptable to me, because that would indicate an activist agenda that i don't want to see a judge half. >> harris: chief white house responded is with us for the latest. >> good afternoon you. he would not ask the question of his supreme court candidates, whether or not they would overturn roe vs wade. it would be improper for him to do that paired with the white house, no question is wrapping up her new not nomination. a new deadline a week from today to make his announcement. he promised that he is going to pick his nominee from his list of 25 conservative judges that he published about eight months ago. the front runners at this point are said to be right cavanaugh on the d.c. circuit court of appeals. the sixth circuit, raymond catlett also the sixth circuit, and thomas hardeman. they were in the running for the last vacancy, the president interviewed them b

one of the senators to watch in the supreme court debate right now is the main republican, susan collins. she will be marching in today's annual independence day parade. our friend is there this morning. we're seeing some abortion rights groups. they are really turning up the heat on susan kol lips. how are they doing that? >> reporter: exactly. if you look here, you see advertisements from key pro-choice groups that are telling folks. tell susan collins to go against any nominee who would work to overturn roe v wade. senator kol lcollins will be co here in about an hour. the president cannot afford to lose a single republican voter. if john mccain is unwilling to make it up to the senate to cast that vote. because without john mccain, you have 50 republican senators and vice president pence would be the one that could be that deciding 51st vote. there's two pro-choice republicans in the senate. that's susan collins here in main and lisa murkowski. i talked to a gentleman said he didn't vote for president trump but voted for susan collins. he appreciates her streak of independence. he do

the women of maine need to speak up and people of maine speak up to susan collins. she values very deeply what the people of her state care about as well as around the country. i think one of the ways to do that is to do what was done frankly with the affordable care act. we didn't just sit around and wait for senate procedure, we took to the streets and made our voices heard and visited offices. all of that outside strategy needs to take place. on the inside, monkey up the works. democrats need to be a little more aggressive here. i've heard them say things like, we will figure out what the procedure is. we don't have a lot of tools. i don't buy that at all. there are tools available to democrats. they can jam up the works in the senate and should do this until they have clarity on a consensus nominee that will not overturn more than 40 years of precedent. >> i see you shaking your head in agreement there. i'm assuming you would agree? >> and i would feel better about the likelihood of that happening if she was sitting in the senate right now. i think democrats nee

susan collins is a republican, but a lot of individuals here voted for hillary clinton and support susan collins and want her to take that position. >> 61% of americans want a justice who will vote to uphold roe. thank you very much, vaughn hillyard, in bangor, maine. >>> the president had what can only be described as a very bad day with the facts yesterday. entire stories written about how misleading his tweets were. "the new york times" fact checker wrote, quote, in the space of a few hours, president trump on tuesday took credit for averting a war in north korea, charged without proof that barack obama had secretly granted citizenship to thousands of iranians as part of nuclear disarmament negotiations, and appeared to suggest that customers of motorcycle maker harley-davidson were psychic. later he was trolled by jk rowling and merriam-webster's twitter account for a misspelling in a tweet in which he actually praised himself for his ability to write. his facts, misfacts, and misstatements, are tracked, they're corrected, they bother a lot of people. but apparently not his base. why

during this nomination process is abortion, specifically because key republican votes like that of susan collins may come down to a nominee' position on roe versus wade. collins told jake tapper during that meeting with president trump last week, she asked him to pick a nominee that respected precedent. she says it's part of the reason she supported the confirmation of justice neil gorsuch because the two of them had a conversation in which he expressed his respect for legal precedent. now, other lawmakers, like senator tammy duckworth of illinois, are suggesting lawmakers should be more skeptical this time around. listen to tammy duckworth. >> i would say to my colleagues who have shown some real bravely, both susan collins and lisa murkowski have shown incredible bravery my first couple years in the senate, to don't just trust what somebody says to you in a conversation trying to get your vote. it's what's going to happen on the supreme court. >> reporter: fred, i did want to note president trump took part in an interview this morning in which he said he hoped this would be a quick process, bu

susan collins wants precedent respected for a woman's right to choose. >>> and lebron goes hollywood.uperstar with a four-year deal with the lakers. a new leading man in hollywood. >> you're speechless. >> i am. i was speechless when i first got the alert on my phone, but it was expected that he would land there. still, a stunning decision nonetheless. welcome back to "early start." happy monday. >> it's 31, almost 32 minutes past the hour, but let's begin here with this breaking news overnight. political upheaval in mexico, andres manuel lopez obrador winning in a landslide. the former mayor triumphed against two parties who have ruled mexico for nearly a century. >> all the candidates opposed trump's immigration and trade policies and anti-mexican rhetoric. layla santiago joins us live from mexico city. what's the reaction there, layla? >> dave, really there was a night of partying. a lot of folks taking to the plaza and cheering him on as it was announced that he would become the next president of mexico. certainly, he has made his platform out to be tackling corruption and violenc

. >> key republican senators susan collins telling cnn that a nominee that would vote to overturn the decision would not be acceptable. >> i had a judge that applies the facts of the law to the case. roe v. wade is a constitutional right that has been well accomplished. >> my colleagues on both sides of the aisle know this could be a key vote of their career. if they vote for someone to change president it could be a career ending move. the senate only needs 50 votes for a nominee means they will not need any democratic support. >> as you have been discussing, the eu and the president's fidelity to the existing w.t.o. will be a topic here. >> susan collins thinks that neil gorsuch would not overturn roe v wade. you finished preparing overhim for college.rs, in 24 hours, you'll send him off thinking you've done everything for his well-being. but meningitis b progresses quickly and can be fatal, sometimes within 24 hours. while meningitis b is uncommon, about 1 in 10 infected will die. like millions of others, your teen may not be vaccinated against meningitis b. meningitis b strikes qu

and republican senator susan collins of maine is joining me now.enator collins, thanks so much for joining us. i want to start ontd white house meeting you have with president trump on thursday night about the supreme court vacancy. it's no secret you could be a, if not the deciding vote on the nomination, what did president trump tell you to try to get your vote? >> well, the president wreel l really was soliciting my views on the type of nominee i was looking for. i emphasized i wanted a nominee that would respect precedent, a fundamental tenant of our judicial system and encouraged the president to broaden his list beyond the list of 25 potential nominees that has been public for some time. >> well, that list of 25 names, let's talk about it for one second. are you con fortable with everyone on that list? >> no, i am not. now some of the people on the list i have not vetted at all at this point. one of them i voted against years ago. and i would have to do a great deal more work on many of them. >> president trump says he's not going to ask the

what is a democrat to do with susan collins? >> one matters, that is susan collins. with her there's not only murkowski and a potentially swingable republicans but swing democrats. it's the gravity everyone is focusing on. you say to her as we said during health care and other folks who got republicans at times, when history calls, history calls. >> you have been in charge of running big votes like this before. what goes on behind the scenes? >> in smaller votes, you look for ways to see if you can convince them on policy, see if you can -- there's something pliable that plays to their state or other like-minded members can convince that senator to flip. in a moment liebke this, it's about the gravity. it's all about health care. i think a lot of people are hanging their hat on a word that she used this weekend, which is demonstrated. that's where people are trying to figure out what that means and if donald trump is smart, he is playing to her. >> probably is. eric, if roe versus wade is one question for a nominee, democratic senator maria camel has a list of sugges

susan collins isn't one that flips. >> it's interesting. she made it very clear, she doesn't want anybody on the court that is an actual threat to roe v. wade, that he will would be a threat. but senator collins said i'm confident that he's about pre precede precedent. it's something that we heard chuck schumer said minutes ago saying every time we have someone come before us, we ask how you feel about precedent. they say we're not going to overturn anything. but he say a number of them reverse and make changes to precedent. this court is the only one that can do that. if you're doing to say as a judge i'm going to stick with the principle that i will precedent from the court,s that the one thing. one of the nine here have overturned decisions in the past that they thought they got wrong. it's possible it could happen. that's the number 1 question for the folks on the left. >> shepard: make no mistake. any of these 25 is a threat to roe v. wade or the federalist society wouldn't have put them there in the first place. the question is whethe

here is what susan collins said. impressive credentials and experience. did hold up a little bit saying i will conduct a careful vetting of the pick. murkowski did not go as far. simply saying i intend to review decisions and writings. she did not go as far as susan collins collins did. phil, is it sooner rather than later? you don't want this to go right before the midterms? >> as far as timing, that is interesting. on both sides, republicans are expecting this to help rally the base come november. same with democrats. the timing is still up in the air. earlier as you stated. kavanaugh has a long paper trail. we will see due diligence from senators on the right and left. they will do their job of advising and contenting. we will -- consenting. we will see. this is going to continue and e define the run-up to the midterm elections. >> phil and michael. thank you. only eight hours after the pick. lots to mull over. >> indeed. thank you. >>> the operation to rescue the four remaining boys and soccer coach from the cave in thailand has resumed this morning.

and also make sure to call susan collins and lisa murkowski and ensure they are going to vote against this particular person or at least delay it until after the midterm elections going based on the mitch mcconnell rule. and not just because mitch mcconnell set this precedent but also because there are two additional arguments that i think are pretty persuasive. one, you are replacing kennedy, who is the swing vote. it's not antonin scalia like previously when you had merrick garland sitting there and mitch mcconnell not even having a hearing. you're not replacing a conservative with a conservative. you're replacing a swing vote who is conservative with potentially a very extreme or conservative person. his list is all people who we have an understanding or an opposition to row. amy barnett went to notre dame. she is very catholic. she had a famous moment with former senator al franken during her hearings about how she spoke essentially to a hate group without really understanding the full context there. but additionally as robert said the president is under investigation. so this par

what are you doing with susan collins. are you going to send people to protest her while she's at recess? >> we're going to hold susan collins to her own words. yesterday, she went on television and said i will not vote for anybody who overturns roe v. wade. we need to keep the pressure on her in maine to convince the voters up there to hold her to account. if she goes on and votes to one of donald trump's picks from his list just because they don't happen to have a huge paper trail on the abortion issue, that is a basis to say that is not somebody to support that. >> she was out on the sunday shows talking about, for example, the neil gorsuch position on it. here's what she had to say. >> don't you think as an academic matter, don't you think gore susuch is going to over yu it? >> i don't think. he pointed out to me he was the author of a whole book on precedent. >> completely disingenuous answer from susan collins. she's trying to take credit for the idea that she's opposing somebody who is roe v. wade. consider this, sh

and again on the republican side, all the suspense is susan collins. she is the republican expressing publicly potential reservations. if she were to say no to one of these picks, especially on the grounds of roe, would that signal lisa murkowski, the other pro choice republican in the senate. could there be two there. that is balanced against that other really reality we're talking about, these red state democrats, facing the voters in 2018, manchin in west virginia, trump won the state by 42 points. donnelly in indiana, trump won by 20 points. hide camp in a trump plus 36 state. the wild card we're saying today john tester, tester has been voting against a lot of these trump nominations. the supreme court nomination last year as well. trump in montana today trying to turn up the heat. he did carry the state by 20 points. could you crank up enough heat on tester. if tester if he's leaning towards being a no, the recent polling out of montana has has him ahead in the high single digits. his political health may be better than heitkamp in north dakota.

and earlier today, susan collins spoke to jake tapper about this. this is what she said. >> i would not support a nominee who demonstrated hostility to roe v. wade, because that would mean to me that the their judicial philosophy did not include a respect for established decisions, established law. i believe that this that is a very fundamental tenet of the judicial system as chief justice roberts says helps to promote stability and e vn-hand defen. >> and now, we are reached out to the white house to get a status update of how far the process has gone over the weekend, and the president, as you said, ana, he would be interviewing one or two candidates here potentially in bedminster and they have not confirmed the requests or responded, because that i have said that they have counseled with chief white house counsel don mcdan and they have revealed that one thing that they have asked him to do is to avoid asking the potential nominees about roe v. wade. >> and big anticipation, and this is expected to move quickly and one week from tomorrow, preside

what are susan collins and lisa murkowski going to do?really difficult to try to figure this one out. >> you mentioned susan collins, of course republican, who susan is insisting she is not going to support a nominee, in her words, who has demonstrated hostility for roe v. wade because she thinks precedence is more important. we all heard this term. is this going to put her fundamentally at odds with any of the candidates on the president's short list? >> it will put her at better odds with most of them. i'm sorry, which one are you asking? >> go ahead, howard. you can answer and susan can as well. >> i think the odds are on most of them. you don't get screened by the federal society and get the okay unless you're anti-choice. so i can assume that all of them are anti-choice and some of them have records that prove that, like brett cavanaugh, for example. >> and susan, can anybody forget what the president said over and over and over again on the campaign trail when he said one of the first things he would do -- i think he said it's going

the key senators who could stop or help this nomination certainly do believe that you look at susan collins from maine she is becoming quite a power player in this with john mccain out ill and likely not able to come back to d.c. and cast a vote for this you're really looking at a scenario in which there are the republicans are numbered at fifty and democrats are numbered at forty nine so you really only need one maybe two republicans here to to go south on this it could create a huge problem for the administration now the interesting thing about susan collins here is she has said what you just said which is she does believe that roe versus wade is settled law it is codified into the u.s. constitution as a fundamental right but she left a little wiggle room open she said she would only oppose a nominee who was quote unquote hostile to the road roe versus wade decision so that leaves a little wiggle room for her if she says you know that she thinks that justice will be fair on that she could certainly vote yes on that so i think you're seeing her early leave just a little wiggle room where s

susan collins wants precedented perspective for a woman's right to choose. >>> and lebron goes hollywood. the nba superstar signs a four-year deal with the lakers. i expect lebron to be its own sign there next to the hollywood sign. good morning, everyone. welcome to "early start." a parade for lebron's arrival in l.a. >> it is 4:00 a.m. in the east. let's begin with this. breaking overnight upheaval in mexico. winning the mexican presidency in a landslide, and he will be the country's first leftist president. the the former mexico city mayor triumphed against the two parties that have ruled mexico city for nearly a century. >> after the victory lopez obrador vowed to seek friendship

key people we're going to have to watch are susan collins and lisa murkowski. talking today with democratic sources on the hill, the view in large part is that if those two were to defect, it will be hard to see those red state democrats joining the president. it's more they would essentially give those red state democrats cover to vote no. so, in large part the big sales job is going to be on both sides to convince lisa murkowski and susan collins to stick with the president. and if they stick with the president on this, then maybe that will convince some of the red state guys to jump ship, but the red state guys are in tough races, it's not an easy vote for them, because they could demoralize their base and supporters by voting for the president's nominee and also outrage conservatives in their states. even someone like joe manchin in a state where trump won big, he does have to worry about the democratic base in the november midterms, so this is going to be a months-long process to see how these ultimately will play out, but lisa murkowski and susan collins

so roe will be the threshold because susan collins said as such. the same time you point out, many nominees have been keiji about it dating back to robert bourque when his nomination was torpedoed by women's rights groups and consultants have trained them not to answer the question. what we found is there is a good way to read some of this language that lines up with the same language that activist groups for pro life organizations use like the susan b anthony foundation and right to life foundation. what i found was that two out of the three, kavanaugh and barrett used those code words. there are only a handful. is referring to roe as o portion on demand. we have a number of restrictions and states on abortion past 20 weeks. if you are calling our current laws on abortion, abortion on demand, you are referring to taking away the exceptions for the life of the mother. the second one and that's used by both kavanaugh and barrett. when you refer to someone as a strict constitutionalist, that is almost always i'm told by impartial constitutional obser

it out of i agree that it was just said about susan collins and lisa murkowski of let me say to be very blunt that i think it is kosta month sensical to believe that what a judge being appointed to what the constitution calls the inferior federal judiciary what a nominee says about precedent will carry over to the very very peculiar office of the supreme court justice it is the case that an inferior court judge is banned by what the supreme court says it would be astonishing if any appellate judge of an inferior court tried to in effect overrule the supreme court once you get out of supreme court all bets are off and the the belief that what judge kavanaugh says about precedent is. something you could take to the bank to get a loan on is just silly he's a very smart guy he will say the right things in order to make it possible for collins. to vote for him but quite frankly the this is not a court that exhibits great respect for precedent and it's not a certainty i agree that was said before if it's not a sure thing he could surprise us i also agree that chief justice roberts is key on t

when susan collins said what she said about roe vs.y hurt her saying don't send me somebody appear who's going to jam me and embarrass me and forced me into a tough vote on that issue of precedent and roe vs. wade. and of course i think that's probably what senator mcconnell would prefer too, to just do this on the basis of republican votes. we will see what the white house, what kind of response she's going to get out of the white house on that. >> jon: a couple of names that are considered front runners on the president's list this time around were also on the list when he nominated and successfully placed neil gorsuch on the bench. >> one of the opportunities the president has here is the best way he can unify the republican party around him as the leader and also the banner man. there's a sense of unity with tax cuts, but also with the appointment of well-regarded justices and neil gorsuch obviously very much respected across the judicial spectrum, including by liberals who opposed them on certain issues. i think you can see as wel

those's closely watched are going to be susan collins and lisa murkowski. that: roe v.he issue, holding onto republicans? sahil: that is a key issue here for pro-choice republicans, most notably like susan collins. david, this is the first time since the roe v. wade ruling was handed down a 1973 that there could essentially be a vote to overturn it. one of the things that kennedy sided with the liberal wing of the supreme court was on the issue of abortion in the 1990's, he wrote an opinion that is essentially says the court cannot outlaw abortion wholesale. this could be the fifth vote to overturn a landmark ruling, so there will be a spotlight like never before on susan collins in lisa murkowski. they are pro-choice in some form or fashion. the key thing again about susan collins' rhetoric -- she says she will not support a candidate that has demonstrated hostility to roe. the key word is "demonstrated." it could be someone who is widely known to be antiabortion, but if there is no paper trail -- david: yes, there is a big loophole. you mentioned on the democratic sid

>> i think it all depends on how lisa murkowski or susan collins falls.for this justice knowing his record on choice, knowing -- kennedy: what is his record on choice? >> well, there was a case in texas regarding a minor who wanted an abortion, and he ruled against her -- kennedy: he actually didn't go as far right as social conservatives -- >> yeah, but it was far enough, and the question is it far enough for lisa murkowski or susan collins to vote against him. ing that's really the question. i think based on that and also will he go after, if the case comes in front of him -- kennedy: what's more important for democrats, thwarting in this nomination -- >> no, no, no, this idea of thwarting the nomination -- kennedy: or having people reelected in critical red state where is the president -- what's more important? please answer the question. >> no, i'm going to answer your question, kennedy. i've never come on here and not answered your question. i do believe for these democrats, let's talk about joe manchin in particular, this is not going to -- kennedy:

we'll talk with republican senator susan collins whose support for abortion rights makes her a critical swing vote. >> i always look for judges who respect precedent. sglfrj >>> and a key democrat on the senate judiciary committee, amy klobuchar, joins us live. >>> plus, america divided. we travelled almost 1500 miles from virginia -- >> i voted for trump. >> how do you think he's done as president? >> i think he's done very well. >> to texas. >> disheartening, discouraging. >> what do voters really think about the president? can a polarized nation come together? we take the pulse of america. >>> plus insights and analysis from our powerhouse roundtable, from the white house to your house, the facts that matter this week. >>> good morning, and thanks for joining us this july 4th holiday week. what a week in american politics. it began with a president in retreat after trump changed course by ending his administration's widely criticized practice of separating families at the border. we'll talk more about that and yesterday's nationwide protests in a moment, but this morning, the preside

susan collins has been going around say she wants to hear a nominee to declare roe to be precent. -- precedent. well, that is not enough. neil gorsuch said roe is precedent. last month, he sided with the majority of an owner turning -- case.urning the janus parade for the fourth of july, susan collins that she wants to hear a nominee declare that roe is the settled law of the land. that is what we heard from john roberts and 20 -- if he had his way he would've upheld the highly restrictive anti-abortion law. past republican appointed nominees have proven that these words mean nothing when they get onto the bench. we need a supreme court justice who will uphold roe, a supreme court justice to believes that 2016 wasen's health in rightly decided and adjusted to believes that a woman has a right to safe, legal abortion, and the standards we want to hear from these nominee will be liad out by t -- olaid out by the speakers here today. in recent days, republicans have been trying to lay the groundwork for saying that a nominee does not have to answer questions, invoking the ginsburg rule.

wade could go away, that abortion could become illegal in this country so senators susan collins andisa murkowski have a lot of thinking to do. >> they'll start getting lobbied by a host of folks. this as you know, alison, a supreme court vacancy and the nomination process is a cottage industry. interest groups will launch television ads, writing editorials in local newspapers and going as far as knocking on doors and organizing around key senate votes. you identified two of them. i find it hard to believe anybody president trump picks is going to go to the senate judiciary committee and say roe v. wade is settled law and it will never be touched. i don't think that's how most nominees talk about specific cases these days. >> david chalian, thank you very much. great to talk to you. so much news and i can't shake the idea that this russian nerve agent was found in a public p k park. >> months after the initial attack. that's a serious problem. >> so that will be on cnn's menu all day. meanwhile, we have the good stuff next for you. lcome back g, who's already won three cars, two moto

they are expanding the list -- they are expanding the list because of susan collins' concerns. the president runs a chance of evangelical conservatives who love that list of names. the president has narrowed the list down to about six. appellate court judges from the right, amy coney barrett, brett cavanaugh, joan larsen, deathledge and hardy man. the list is getting smaller. >> president trump: i will be meeting with two or three more. we'll make a decision on the united states supreme court, the new justice, that will be made over the next few days, we will be announcing it on monday. >> given the possible republican no votes and that john mccain hasn't been voting because of health, majority leader mitch mcconnell may need to reel in the democrats who supported justice neil gorsuch, all of whom have tough re-election battles where the president carried it big. as for the push by more liberal democratic senators like chuck schumer who want to push it beyond the mid terms, it's interesting, four of the last eight justices who have been confirmed have been confirmed in mid-term

susan collins said she would not support any nominee that would overturn roe v wade. the white house is trying to play down the impact that that debate will have on this nominee. but on fox news sunday, leonard leo, who is advising the president on his supreme court pick, says the white house has been careful to narrow its list to candidates who have not taken a clear position on that issue. >> i don't think at the end of the day it's about roe v wade, it's about having judges on the court who will interpret the constitution the way it's written and part of interpreting the constitution is taking into account major precedence. that's going to happen. >> reporter: democrats don't have the votes to block the president's nominee on their own but given the tight margins the gop is working with, democrats wanted to make it as hard of a vote as possible for republicans by making president trump and his policies a focus of their questions during the confirmation hearings. >> i'm so anxious to hear whatever this nominee has to say. is the president able to pardon himself? i w

jake tapper interviewed susan collins on "state of the union" with him. and she said that whatever nominee he picks, it has to be somebody who respects legal precedence, and she said that part of the reason that she could support justice neil gorsuch is because he said in the conversation she had with him that he respected precede e precedence. and senator tammy duckworth says that lawmakers should be more skemt cal in the process. listen to this. >> and i am showing to my colleagues who have shown some bravery and susan collins, and lisa murkowski that not to trust of what someone says to you in the conversation when they want to get your vote is what is going to happen when they are on the supreme court. >> and president trump, as i noted previously, he would not be asking the potential nominees on the stance of roe v. wade, but he said that the justices are conservative and many of them have been vouched for by t the federalist society which is a conser vatist organization, and so it is a read between the lines in that regard, fred. >> thank you, boris

we are here to warn trumps nominee and till susan collins that calling ro a precedent is not enough, not even close. appointedblican nominees proved these words mean nothing when they get to the bench. we need a supreme court justice who will uphold roe, a supreme court justice that believes women's health in 2016 was rightly decided and one that believes that woman has a right to safe, legal abortions in the specifics wed the want our late at today. in recent days, republicans have been trying to lay the groundwork percent in a nomination not have to answer tough questions at a hearing. they have invoked this is the so-called ionsberg wrote with to ginsburgrences in 1993. the situation was entirely don't than. it was not happening against a backdrop of then-president clinton having issued litmus tests during the campaign. we have gone back and look at the record and read what justice ginsburg said at her confirmation hearings on the said thisoe and she is something central to a woman's life, her dignity. it's a decision she must make for itself in one government controls that decisi

but if a susan collins or lisa murkowski says no, then it's easier. >> yes, if collins and murkowski against -- those senate moderates really do matter. they come out for, which i think manchin particularly might do, then collins' vote becomes easier, one, and her vote doesn't matter, two. i think you're going to see a lot of ads in those states by democrats targeting their conservative members at some point too. >> i bet you're going to see a lot of democrats waiting. going to try to get the republicans out there first and make their decision. all right. a lot of that ahead for the next weeks and months. >>> next, as the president heads to montana, a democratic senator looking to hold on to a seat does something unpopular with progressives. he says thank you to the president. with tripadvisor, finding your perfect hotel at the lowest price... is as easy as dates, deals, done! simply enter your destination and dates... and see all the hotels for your stay! tripadvisor searches over 200 booking sites... to show you the lowest prices... so you can get the best deal on the right hotel f

meanwhile, senators on both sides of the aisle trying to win over republican senators susan collins on the left and lisa murkowski on the right of your screen seen as key swing senators. collins spoke about the partisan nature to pick a supreme court justice. >> they're already lining up, either in opposition or in strong support for a nominee who has not yet been chosen. that i have never seen before to this extent. >> joining me now is nbc's kelly o'donnell live at the white house. kelly, just a few days to go before the president meets his self-imposed deadline on monday of naming a supreme court justice nominee. he said he has five names. there does seem to be seven on the list plus mike lee, what are you hearing? >> reporter: the president at one point used the number five. then said it might be six or seven. then when you have a potential candidate like mike lee, the senator from utah, republican, of course, who does have a lot of legal respect in the community, it shows us that there's a little elasticity in this process. at the same time, the president has put this deadline on

susan collins said yesterday she persuaded him during their conversation last week to add some people to the list. which is it? >> it's a good question. we heard from the president in his own words as he was going away to bedminster this weekend saying he has a short list of five individuals. he said he could interview as many as seven total. there may be two women on that list that he was thinking of. we're told by a white house official the president will continue with his private -- with his advisers with these private discussions about this topic. among those advising him right now, this is really a repeat of the way he handled the selection of neil gorsuch last year. don mcgahn, the white house counsel, is heading up this effort behind the scenes. leonard leo, working independently of but is a member of the federalist society which is a conservative leaning group of highly respected lawyers. is heavily involved as well. was involved in the past in crafting that list of 25 names the president used to his advantage during the campaign to try to demonstrate the way he was thinking a

republicans cannot afford to lose susan collins. they cannot afford to use a single republican senator. that's if john mccain is unable to make it to the senator. there are 51. without mccain that makes it 50. they're relying on mike pence to be the vote. what you heard me asking was whether see would ask the person that the president nominates whether that individual believes roe v. wade is settled law. and that's where she is not committing to voting against the nominee that does not commit to believing that roe v. wade is settle the law. i know it sounds like we're parsing words. she doesn't want anybody to be hostile to roe v. wade. there's a question that it's unlikely an individual in that hearing is going to come out with their personal position saying they are pro-choice. >> right. they're all praying not to do that. they all get from the heritage sighting and the federal society and sherpas who guide them around, training. some of these judges have been confirmed before. they know not to fall into traps. they're judges. the

will you join me in saying -- susan collins! >> susan collins! >> voters are watching you. >> voters are watching you. >> lisa murkowski. >> lisa murkowski. >> voters are watching you. >> voters are watching you. >> senate republicans. >> senate republicans. >> voters are watching you. >> a voters are watching you. >> we support choice. >> we support choice. >> we support workers. >> we support workers. >> we support health care. >> we support health care. >> we support equal rights. >> we support equal rights. >> we will fight. >> we will fight. >> and we will win. we will win! [cheers and applause] >> we also have a very important message to we will wi single one of the 49 senate democrats. we need you -- >> we need you. >> to unify. >> to unify. >> we need you -- >> we need you. >> to stay together. >> to stay together. >> stop kavanaugh. >> stop kavanaugh. >>> stop kavanaugh. >> stop kavanaugh. >> stop kavanaugh! >> a stop kavanaugh. >>> together we have a message for every single democrat and activist out there who is wondering if their voic

they want to give to susan collins, lisa murkowski, the three red state democrats the ability to say well we don't really know how they would vote and they didn't give an indication they would vote to do it or wouldn't respect precedent and so on. we saw it in the gorsuch hearings. there's an elaborate game played. one of the reasons why amy coney barrett didn't make it. she was the favorite of the social conservatives she was viewed as a bit too overt in his zeal on some of these issues that would make it hard for a susan collins to cast a vote. >> she is overt in her zeal on issues but has a very thin record. she just got on the court within the last year. >> one other thing in terms of brett kavanaugh who is really one of the two last contenders and jim acosta mentioned this, he wrote an article for the michigan law review in 2009 in which he basically argued that presidents should not have to be bothered with lawsuits or investigations. if i were donald trump and i had the focus on the investigation that donald trump has very obviously just from reading his tweets, that would see

summer places, like -- i am to be placed to welcome all of you here today and our special guest susan collins. we are recording this event so it can be presented on our podcast, called after-the- fact. before i invite senator collins to the podium, i wanted to give a brief overview of her extraordinary career and the bipartisan effort that she is wanting to stop, the escalating cost of prescription drugs. she grew up in maine and graduated from st. lawrence college. she worked in the office of senator william cohen, for 12 years. she worked on the government affairs subcommittee on the oversight of government management. she was the commissioner of -- under former maine governor. she was the regional director of the small business administration under george hw bush. in 1996, she was elected to the u.s. senate. since then, she has never missed a roll call vote. that is more than 6600 votes in a row. the people of maine clearly trust and admire senator collins and said to her colleagues. for the past four years, she was ranked the most bipartisan member of the senate. we talk a lot about the i

i am particularly pleased to welcome all of you here today and our very special guest senator susan collins from the great state of maine. now, we're recording this event so that it can be presented on pew's podcast called "after the fact" which will extend the reach of senator collins' remarks beyond this room and beyond today. before i invite senator collins to the podium, i wanted to spend just a minute giving a brief overview of her extraordinary career and the bipartisan effort she is leading to stop the escalating cost of prescription drugs. senator collins grew up in caribou, maine and graduated cum laude from the university of maine. she worked on the governmental affairs subcommittee on the oversight of government management. she also worked as a commissioner at the department of professional and financial regulation under john cornyn, jr. and for the administration for president george h.w. bush. in 1996, senator collins was elected to the u.s. senate, and in the years since, she has never missed a role call vote. that's more than 6,600 votes in a row. the people of maine clearly

can we depend or rely on pressure with susan collins to reject any of these picks? the answer is likely no. the question then becomes, what will the public response be? will we finally understand when we are abrogating our responsibility to vote for senate leaders and a president who is going to place a supreme court that has respect in the constitutional values that have existed for decades, when we abrogate our responsibilities to do that, we lose our rights in very significant and important ways. it's my hope that this will be a rally cry for democrats all over the country, particularly moderate independent women, who for a long time, felt this was something that would never happen, this was a right we could take for granted. i think tonight we will find the answer to that. that right is no longer going to exist. >> chris, to wendy's point, broadening it out to other civil rights people consider. justice kennedy's legacy, of course, among other things, is being a relatively conservative republican who advanced marriage equality in the united states. obviously, we

>> probably so, but i got to tell you, susan collins, you don't mess with her. if you remember susan collins and murkowski of alaska, these are your two wild cards. these are not rank and file. she just told you how she's going to vote on this issue. she's going to -- >> a step ahead of the president on this one. >> you better believe she did. let me tell you something, she means what she says. she's not easily swayed. she set forth a requirement for her, and this requirement is unwavering. she is not going to back down on that because she has her constituents in maine so you got to look at maine and alaska and what they represent and she's going to represent her constituents and that's the way that she -- that they want her to play this. so she's not going to do -- she's not going to do rank and file. and i think that's why the president invited heidi heitkamp. >> and other democrats. >> to go ahead and hedge his bet on that. you don't know, kdepending on te nominee, you don't know what collins and murkowski are going to do. >> with the issue of abortion coming

lisa murkcowski and susan collin collin collinss. vaughan hillyard. thank you. >> let me bring in my panel right now. james baldwin and our unfinished conversation about race in america. always good to have both of you, david, let me start with you here, there is a recent piece that you wrote for the national review. you criticized progressives for deploying what you call religious, ignorant and bigotry. you write, amy coney barrett is at the peak of her profession. because of it, the bill betray our nation's founding ideas. a fair gain at all through this process? >> not a fair game. i think what happened in amy barrett's initial nomination of the seven courts of appeal, that crosses a bright line for conservatives but also i would note for quiet a few progressives. i note there are progressives who attack the religion in that piece but there is also progressive understanding what's happening that constitutes. it is completely fair to examine her judicial philosophy and probe her judicial philosophy and ask questions about her religion believes and f