nbc's kristin welker is in jackson for us.he president is facing a lot of backlash for his decision to attend. it's forcing the white house to make some changes to the itinerary. what can you tell us? >> reporter: dara, there's no doubt that tensions are simmering here. president trump is set to touchdown in just a few hours from now. you have some people here saying they're absolutely honored by the president's visit, but others say that the president has done very little to heal the racial divide in america. they say, in fact, he has made it worse. now, as you point out, the white house making this a very short trip here to visit in jackson. we know there's been extra security here. there may be protesters, for example. really at the forefront of this, you have civil rights icon, congressman john lewis, cancelling his planned keynote address here at the civil rights museum, along with mississippi representative benny thompson. the two releasing this joint statement. president trump's attendance and his hurtful policies are a

kristen welker has details for us this morning. >> reporter: a game plan in question when u.n.kki haley seemed to suggest the u.s. may not participate in the winter olympics. >> there is an open question. it's always about how do we protect the u.s. citizens in the area. >> reporter: the olympic committee saying there hadn't been any discussions about not attending. and more confusion at the white house. >> no official decision has been made on that. >> reporter: but moments later, a clarification. press secretary sarah sanders tweeting the u.s. looks forward to participating in the winter olympics in south korea, stressing safety and security. a u.s. official telling nbc news haley's comments were taken out of context. still, it all underscores the escalating tensions with north korea, with comparisons to 1980 when the u.s. joined more than 60 countries to boycott the games in moscow. the reality now the u.s. does not want to boy scott cott an ally. >> the entire world comes together around sport. that's kind of the spirit of the olympics. >> reporter: the athletes now ready t

intensity of this investigation as it moves closer to the oval office. >> that was nbc's kristen welker reporting. now we're back with our guests. the thing we didn't play is president trump saying everybody's angry at the fbi, everybody, everybody. you know how he does these -- he creates this reality that may not, in fact, exist. did you think that everybody is saying that they're angry at the fbi, or do you think that, erin, this is, as some sarks an effort to just undermine the whole mueller investigation and discredit it before it continues on? >> it's both. of course he's angry at the fbi. the fbi has been a thorn in his side almost from day one. you've seen that not only in the way he's worked through his administration and some of the people he's fired but in the way he's reacted to those people. at the same time, if he jumps in and he criticizes and discredits the fbi early, he can get out ahead of its findings, and he can damage the credibility there. it's a two-pronged approach. >> jeff, there's even talk from the republican side about a second special prosecutor. do you thin

kristen welker starts us off from the white house. >> reporter: tonight, damage control. the president's outside counsel john dowd saying he dictated this tweet to an aid set from the president's twitter account saturday. i had to fire general flynn because he lied to the vice president and the fbi. the tweet sparked an uproar. the president implied the president knew his former national security advisor michael flynn lied to the fbi and asked fbi director james comey to go easy on flynn. dowd telling nbc news he's responsible and that the president did not know flynn lied to the fbi when he fired him. dowd also adding, i'm out of the tweeting business. i did not mean to break news. news some say if true raises questions about a possible obstruction of justice charge against the president. republican senator lindsey graham warning -- >> you tweet and comment regarding ongoing criminal investigations at your own peril, i'd be careful if i were you, mr. president, i'd watch this. >> reporter: the president lashed out saying i never asked comey to stop investigating flynn. j

kristen welker, nbc news, the white house. >>> there's a lot more to tell you about tonight. still ahead, birth control and breast cancer. the new warning about the link between them. >>> also, inspiring america. two best friends and ♪ if you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis,... ...isn't it time to let the real you shine through? maybe it's time for otezla (apremilast). otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable after just 4 months,... ...with reduced redness,... ...thickness, and scaliness of plaques. and the otezla prescribing information has... ...no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. tell your doctor if these occur. otezla is associated with an increased... ...risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have... ...a history of depression... ...or suicidal thoughts,... ...or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla... ...reported weight loss. your doctor should m

nbc's kristen welker at the white house. chief correspondent pete williams will be joining us momentarily, "washington post" columnist david ignatius, political analyst carol lee and chuck todd. pete, let's go to you first. from what we know about the documents filed in court, because there were several unnamed transition officials, and i want to go to chuck todd and follow up on that. >> okay, so this is basically about two separate occasions on which michael flynn had contacts with the russian ambassador before the president became the president in late december, and according to the fbi, when the fbi asked him about these conversations january 24th, four days after donald trump became president, he lied and denied having these conversations. but here's what he now has said, according to court documents and told robert mueller's investigators it happened. the first is december 22nd. a very senior member of the presidential transition -- it doesn't identify this person, just very senior member of the transition directed fly

. >> kristen welker, thank thank . >>> we're joined by the house speaker, paul ryan. good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. >> you looked almost giddy when you banged that gavel and voted on tax reform. you worked on it for a long time. the biggest tax cut here, the rate is going to corporations. their tax rate goes from 35% to 21%. as i understand the argument of your colleagues, you're counting on corporations to take that money and put it back into the economy, hire people and raise wages. it wasn't work if they don't do that. is that correct? >> the studies show us that's what does happen. but first of all, savannah, don't forget that we tax american captiorporations at th highest rate in the world. as a result of that, we're we're losing jobs overseas. and american businesses are becoming foreign companies. they call them inversions. we're seeing a rash of companies relocate overseas. >> this is what you're trying to fix that. the rate goes down, and the idea is that the corporations will spend the money on workers and jobs. correct? >> we say that the c

nbc kristen welker is in jackson mississippi. good morning to you. >> reporter: craig, good morning to you. tensions are simmering here in jackson with president trump set to touch down in just a few hours for the civil rights museum behind me. some hearsay they are honored to welcome the president while others say they're outra they say president trump hasn'tt healed the racial t divide in america. in fact,, he's made it worse. wor on the cusp of the civil rightss museum opening here in jackson, president trump reaching out to the black community overnight at a rally in pensacola. >> i love these guys. look at these guys.ensacola blacks for trump. i love you.u. i love you. >> reporter: looming large, civil discord, with president la trump and civil rights icon rig congressman john lewis at odds again. lewis cancelling his keynote address at the opening of the s museum.pening along with mississippi representative thompson.n.sa saying in a jointying statementi president trump'snt attendance d his hurtful policies are an ple insult

let me go to kristen welker, among the questioners there. let me get your headlines from this. >> you heard sarah huckabee sanders pressing back forcefully when she was pressed a number of times on what specifically if president mant when he stweeted that the senator would do anything for a campaign contribution. >> she said he was making an obvious point about the swamp, the fact that politicians ask for all sorts of donations from people, and that is part of the super interests and the problem of the involvement with special interests in our politics. chris, you heard her get this question over and over again and the fact that on capitol hill there seemed to be a very different understanding of what the president was talking about. you have a number of lawmakers, democrats who criticized him very shrply saying that his language was, quote, unquote, sexist. she said that anyone who read any type of sexual innuendo into that has a mind in the gutter. so, again, a very forceful pushback against that. i also pressed sarah huckabee sanders on a

nbc news's kristen welker joins us from the washington. nbc's intelligence and national security reporter ken dilanian is here. from "the new york times," chief white house correspondent and msnbc analyst peter baker and matt apuso and is an msnbc contributor and had some bylines on some of those blockbuster stories over the weekend. kristen welker, the white house at this hour, my understanding is that they're throwing a lot of smoke and a lot of confusion around the president's twitter feed. something i haven't heard from them before. and there's also a debate going to in legal circles about whether or not a lawyer would have sent a tweet or even dictated a tweet like the one that came from the president's feed on saturday. >> i think that's why a lot of people find this to be so remarkable, the motion that the president's lawyer would potentially get the president into more legal jeopardy. but john dowd, the president's lawyer over the weekend was very insistent he was the one who dictated this tweet to the social media director. he als

. >>> kristen welker and steve, thank you very much. and a group connected to a former 2016 presidential candidate is weighing in on this race. >> what if she was your little girl and daughter, or sister? what if she was 16 years old or 15? or even 14? would you let a 32-year-old man be alone with her? date her? undress her? >> stand up republican is out with a $500,000 ad buy against roy moore. the co-founder is evan mcmullin. he ran as an independent in 2 6 2016. he's also a former chief policy director at the u.s. house of representatives. he joins me now. interesting that roy moore wasn't tweeting about your ad but instead focussed on rosie o'donne o'donnell's do nation. why do you think you're going to be able to make a difference down there when you are not an alabamian? >> well, the reality is that our membership includes people in alabama. we have a chapter there, and we worked with them on this. we consultanted with them leadi up it to figure out if it was right for us to be involved whether they wanted to do something, and thr

first, kristen welker, out there on the south lawn, it must have been very cold but the words were hot. tell me your biggest takeaways today. >> reporter: i think the biggest takeaway was the clip you just played, andrea. the fact that you heard president trump not rule out a pardon for michael flynn. i have been speaking with sources familiar with his discussions, with his attorneys. i am told that there has been no discussions as of right now about an actual pardon for michael flynn. so i think that is important to point out. but still, the language is important, the fact that he responded to that question is significant. now, i asked him, when did he learn that michael flynn lied to the fbi? of course, we all remember that tweet that got so much attention in which he said he fired him because he lied to the vice president and the fbi. his legal team walked that back. when i asked him the question today to really put a fine point on it, andrea, he said, "you know the answer to that question." the reality is we don't know the answer to that question. we're still waiting for the answer

kristen welker, and garrett haake. i would never tell garrett he's free to go, the way things are working out on capitol hill these days. >>> looks like a centerpiece of the tax bill will be dropping the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20%. one of the sells points of the republican plan is that the bill would actually increase wages. >> middle income family estimates show they'll see a pay raise too. this legislation results in 3.1% higher wages for people. that means more take-home pay every month in addition to a tax cut. higher pay, lower taxes. >> problem, i've never figured out how that works. former director of the national economic council under presidents clinton and obama and, gene, i want to know if i'm being fair or not fair. i want to put up a chart. there are lots of chart of median income, ways to look tat. this takes real median household income from the nights? 1967 to 2014 and adjusts it to 2014 -- from the census bureau. it has been relatively flat. a bit of a slope. no question. we lost a lot of groun

. >> kristen welker is live with us. >> reporter: a lot of people here are saying they are honored to host the president while others are saying they're outraged. on t president trump reaching out to the black community over night and a rally in pensacola. i love this guy. lock at this guy, black for trump, i love you. >> john lewis at odds again and lewis cancelling his keynote address at the opening museum along with mississippi representative benny thompson saying in a joint statement president trump attendance and his hurtful policies are an insult to the people at the museum. the president created a hostile climate in the nation. the white house is fighting back. >> the president is reaching out going to the museum and celebrating it. while campaigning right here in jackson. a predominantly african-american city. >> i say get that son of the [ bleep ] off the field right now. he's fired. he deepens frustration over the summer seeming to equate white supremacists with counter protesters. >> i think there is blame on both sides. i have no doubt about it and you don't have any doubt

we bring you kristen welker at the white house. kristen, right now the president is talking to the pool. it's his ninth cabinet meeting and we have a summary from them. we'll have a tape very shortly to play it back. it sounds not only self-con g f self-congratulatory, but he asked ben carson to read a prayer. >> reporter: that's right. that was certainly an unusual moment, and andrea, there have been a number of unusual moments in these cabinet meetings. you'll remember the first one when the president went around the table and had all his cabinet secretaries effectively thank him for the job that he was doing. in this meeting, though, in addition to that prayer that you just talked about, the president touted the fact that this is going to be the biggest tax cut, he is hailing it, in history. the president also praising his cabinet for all of their work. a number of successes he has said occurred in his first year in office. and he also talked a little about foreign policy. the fact that nikki haley having some stern words at the

kristen welker, you have news there?robe just releasing a statement. let me read it you to. he says today michael flynn a former national security adviser at the bhous for 25 days during the trump administration and former obama administration official entered a guilty plea to a single count of making a false stantement to the fbi. the false statements that the white house officials resulted in the resignation in february of this year. nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than mr. flynn. the conclusion of this phase of the special counsel's work demonstrates again that the special counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion. now, of course, that is what the president and his legal team are working toward. i can tell you that once ty cobb started working with the president here at the white house, his philosophy has been to be very forthcoming with information, with documentation. he has said he wants this wrapped up quickly and belie

nbc news' kristen welker has more on that. >> reporter: hi, louis, good morning to you. final push for tax reform today. it comes a day after republicans struck a deal. so what's in the deal? well, they will slash the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%. they are also going to cut the individual tax rate and they're going to give more deductions for state and local taxes. perhaps the most controversial part of the legislation, though, it will relegal the obamacare individual mandate. >> that is projected to kick some 13 million people off of their health care. it could alien fate some moderate republicans. in fact, there were protesters outside of the capital. still there is incredible momentum and urgency to try to get something done, particularly after that stunning loss if alabama. back to you, louis. >> thanks to kristen welker for that report. >> meanwhile, the man accused of driving a car through crowd of protesters is set to appear in court today. james alex fields,ier junior, along with three others will attend political fare hearings back in august. fields is fac

kristen welker with that story. what we expect to hear today. hi, kristen. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. the president will deliver that speech and unveil his national security strategy this afternoon. the first framework of its kind since former president obama unveiled his vision in 2015. it tracks closely with trump's predecessors, officials say it will have an unprecedented focus on trade, border security and counterterrorism. and the remarks come amid fresh tensions over the russia probe. in just a few hours, president trump will roll out his international security strategy. the four pillars, defending the homeland, american prosperity, advancing american influence and peace through strength. a key focus of the speech, china and russia. the president expected to argue, china and russia challenge american power to influence and interests, attempting to erode prosperity. it comes as the probe into russian election meddling intensi intensi intensifies. the president returning from camp david, saying he has no plans to fire robert mueller.

kristen welker is an nbc white house news correspondent and she joins me in new york. great to see you on set. >> great to see you. >> merry christmas. >> merry christmas. >> the president retweeting something from fox news going after deputy director andrew mccabe. this comes after a long line of criticisms saying the fbi is tainted, he said it's in tatters questioning the leadership. what's he laying the groundwork for? >> bottom line, we have seen his criticism amp up against the fbi in recent weeks. it's really an attempt, as kelly said, trying to undercut the special counsel. we've seen it from the president. we've seen it from his allies. nothing gets under his skin more than the russia probe. he feels like it not only calls his election into question, but he also feels like it's looming over his entire agenda so we're starting to see him punch back with more force. that's a fact that the special counsel has gotten closer to his inner circle. michael flynn is a great example of that. i have been told definitively by his attorneys he has no plans to fire special c

nbc's kristen welker on the new hurdlings that have the republican tax bill back on shaky ground. >> reporter: this morning, the republican race for tax reform is hitting a roadblock with the final vote approaching next week, senator marco rubio says he'll vote against the gop bill unless the child tax credit is expanded for low-income families. the total credit in the current bill, $2,000. families paying little or no income tax would receive a refundable portion of $1,100. rubio argues that amount needs to be higher. >> unless they can figure out a way to add to the $1,100 figure, i won't support the bill. >> reporter: but president trump insists rubio will eventually get to yes. >> he's really been a great guy and very supportive. i think senator rubio will be there. we're -- >> reporter: rubio's fellow gop senator mike lee is also concerned about the child tax credit and undecided on the bill, according to a spokesman. all of it raising the stakes for republicans who can only afford to lose two votes. senator bob corker is already a likely no vote, concerned the bill will drive u

nbc correspondent kristen welker has more on this. >> reporter: damage krot. outside couns control. fbi. knew the former security adviser lied to the fbi and asked fbi director james comey to go easy on flynn. telling nbc news he's responsible and the president did not know he lead to the fbi when he fired him. also adding i'm out of the tweeting business, i did not mean to break news. news some say if true raises questions about a possibly obstruction of justice charge against the president. republicans senator lindsey graham warning. >> you tweet and comment regarding ongoing criminal investigations at your own peril. i would be careful if i were you, mr. president. i'd watch this. >> for this part, i never asked comey to stop investigating flynn. just more fake news covering another comey lie. former fbi director testified to congress this summer. >> understood him to be saying what he wanted me to do was drop any investigation connected to flynn's account of coverage with russians. >> top democrat on the senate intelligence committee. >> i believe fbi director comey. i think he

. >> kristen welker. the president wants to get infrastructure done next year.ke a bipartisan tone to avoid what many are believing will be the blood bath for republicans next fall? >> reporter: i think that's certainly part of the equation, katy. look, they've been talking about infrastructure for quite some time. i think it is notable that you are hearing the president basically emphasize that today. he emphasized it in a tweet today. the significant because we've wondered what will he try to tackle first in the new year? looks like we have the answer. you pointed out, a lot of debate at the white house about starting with infrastructure before he, for example, tried to do health care, which, of course, republicans failed to repeal and replace obamacare. would the political calculus have been different if he started with infrastructure? he's not wrong to suggest there are a lot of democrats who want something done when it comes to infrastructure. of course, the political landscape is changing for it's reason you mentioned. 2018 is going to be right around the

. >> there in jackson, mississippi, nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker. kristen? >> reporter: hi, richard, good afternoon to you. president trump stuck to his script when he spoke here at the civil rights museum in jackson, mississippi. he paid tribute to all of those who have fought and risked their lives in the civil rights movement. he particularly focused on medgar evers, a civil rights leader who was shot and killed right here in jackson, mississippi, where he lived with his family. his widow was here today, as well as his brother. in fact, he greeted president trump on the tarmac. president trump talked about the sacrifice and the significance of the work of people like medgar evers. i spoke with people here today. they said that they were largely pleased with the president's remarks. he didn't talk about the controversy at the backdrop of his visit, the fact that there were dozens of protesters who greeted himself outside, or the fact that a number of people decided to boycott this event, including civil rights icon, congressman john lewis, who said that hi

let's start with our white house correspondent, kristen welker. what do we know about what the president is going to say? >> this is a break of decades of policy. president trump set to announce that ultimately the add mrlgs plans to move the u.s. embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem. now, this is a process that will take several years. it's not going to be immediate. still, it puts the process in motion. in terms of the thinking, why now, craig. we spoke to a senior administration official who said, look, bottom line is this essentially makes reality what has been known, which is that this is the argument from the trump administration, which is that the capital of israel is in jerusalem. now, an important point i want to underscore, craig, which is this official says, we're not making a determination will the sovereignty of jerusalem about the its borders. that's something that will need to be negotiated as a part of the peace talks which they're still very much committed to. however, one senior administration official, craig, acknowledging to my c