he-- there was some itical back-and-forth, and with my pbs "newshour" colleague, yamiche alcindor, she asked a question of the president about whether his using the term "nationalist" referring to himself as a nationalist s giving encouragement to white nationalists. he told her he thought it was racist question. what do you think the answer to the question is, though? >> well, i would just note, judy, today president took 68 questions from 35 a reporte as many reporters in the press corps have said, we are the mosc ssible administration they've covered, and that he is the most ablccespresident. he proved that today by taking these lestions. i ve what he was saying to your colleaguia meche is the implication of raishism in the word "nationalis very unfortunate. there's a difference between nationalism and white nationalism, and i have to tell you somebody who has been here from day one, i resent tremendously always being put into this toxic stew of raism and sexim, misojanism and xenophobia. it's a lot on our shoulders because it's not fair.o and, you kw, judy you have handled your car

let's turn now to our yamiche alcindor at the white house. we reported earlier on the president's forcing out his attorney general jeff sessions. we've been trying to understand what happened. what do you know frm quar reporting before i ask you about the election, what do you know from your reporting about the decision to ask the attorney general to go? >> reporter: ll, jeff sessionss' firing was a long time coming. president trump for months w raelg against jeff sessions. he really blamed jeff sessions for a special counsel had been appointed. to look at the prsident's campaign' connections with russia, the president really looked at jeff sessions as someone who was a thorn in his side. he want to fire him for a long time. the one thing that was really surprisis to white house ai that i talked to was the timing when he announced he fired jeff ssions. he hd what long press conference are but didn't break the news. whe house aides said they expected the president to talk about je sessions there and didn't do it so he broke the news after. >>

our white house correspondent yamiche alcindor was in the room and joins me now. hi, yamiche. so the president has made it very clear, he is not happy with general motors for announcing that it is going to close some plants, it is going o layff thousands of employees. the president just today, we're learning, given an interview where he's commented on that to the "washington post." rell us what you know. >> well, the pesident is make it abundantly clear that he is not appywith general motors. on twitter, he railed against the company, and he said he was considering cutting all r,bsidies to the auto make including subsidies that allow them to be able to make electric cars. he accused g.m. of wanting to make cars in mexo and chna instead of in the united states, and that white house top adviser, lar kudlow, came to the podium, and said that he had a lengthy conversation with theo c.e.g.m., and he personally expressed how disappointed he was, how the prident gave a wide-ranging interview to the "washington post," and in it he blames federal reserve chairman jay powell as part of

tonight, he is at the white hou, and so is our own yamiche alcindor. hello, yamiche. so what has the president been doing and saying today as he waits for the results to start to come in? >> well, the president hasn't been seen on camera, but he has essentially thrun a watch party behind me at the white house. the president on twitter has u being people to vote for specific republican candidates in states like flori, illinois, and michigan. and he's been tweeting out polling locations some when president is done campaigning for the midterms on the trail, he's campaigning on soal media, rolling out some last-minute endorsements for ntpublican candidates. then the presiill be later tonight gearing with family and friends, some of the people who might be there might be ivanka trump, his daughter who works at the white house, as well as jared jared kushner, hi son-in-law, who works at the white house. the president doesn'want to see these midterms as a referendum on his presidency, buhe will likely beeering if republicans do well and likely not be talking about it if repu

this is what i believe in because of these things i grew up in and know about. >> yamiche alcindor also you here. and now we are hearing from the white house, now responding to the lawsuit that we told you about earlier in the show from cnn, after the administration yanked the press credentials of a cnn reporter. here's what we are hearing from press secretary sarah sanders. >> she says the lawsuit is more grand standing, the first amendment is not served when a single reporter of more than 150 present attempts to monopolize the floor, referencing jim acosta's press conference. if there is no check it impedes the president and the white house staff and members of the media to conduct business. this is a story we're going to continue to follow, including with the white house correspondence association today and the big picture. associatioy and the big picture. ♪ ♪ i'm all for my neighborhood. i'm all for backing the community that's made me who i am. i'm all for my theatre, my barbershop and my friends. because the community doesn't just have small businesses, it is small businesses. and

i want you to listen to this exchange with yamiche alcindor of pbs news hour. the campaign trail, you called yourself a nationalist. some people saw that as emboldening white nationalists. now people are also saying -- >> i don't know why you say that. that's such a racist question. >> there are some people that say -- >> no. >> -- that now the republican party is seen as supporting white nationalists because of your rhetoric. >> oh, i don't believe it. >> what do you make of that? >> i don't believe it. i don't know. why do i have my highest poll numbers ever with african-americans? why do i have among the highest poll numbers with african-americans? i mean why do i have my highest poll numbers? poll numbers with african-americans? that's such a racist question. >> none of it makes any sense except the way yamiche alcindor handled that. she was a consummate pro asking a legit question that was handled horribly. boy did she stand strong in the face of power. that's not easy. don lemon is here. your take, my brother? >> it makes no sense. they're right. what do

. >> woodruff: lisa joins me from capitol hill, alongside our white house correspoent yamiche alcindorod to see both of ou at the capitol. we are used to seeing you apart. but there is so much to talk about. so lisa, let's pick up with the democrats in the house. nancy pelosi's efforts to be atected speaker, where does t stand right now? ed well, if you ask mrs. pelosi's team, they say that she is going to be speaker. they point out she does hav support from a majority of house dem kratds and this is exactly n what she needs wmocrats vote internally two weeks from now. but that is just step one in th process. step two comes in january, judy, when whoever wants to be speaker needs to get a majority of the full house, so to do that nancy pelosi would need more like 95% of her caucus to support her. she does not have thatt ri now, in particular ten of the new freshman who arrived today campaigned saying that they would vote no, not to supportna y pelosi and other two dozen who haven't said which way they would go. there is aroup of dem kratds without are putting out a letter trying to get

alan gomez, yamiche alcindor, thank you. >> thank you so much. . in the day's other news, a new wildfire exploded to life in northern california, and fials ordered an entire town of 27,000 people, including a hospital, to evacuate. high winds drove the fast-moving flames toward paradise, 180 miles northeast of san francisco. witnesses described homes engulfed by the fire. with the fire growing rapidly, nothe state hadeclared an emergency in the region. u.s. supreme court justice ruth nsbader rg was in a washington hospital today, after she fractured three ribs. 85ginsburg i a spokeswoman said she fell in her office last night, and was hospitalized early this morning. the justice broke two ribs in 2012, and had other health prlems, but she has never missed upreme court arguments. in justice ginsburg's absence, the court went ahead with a ceremony welcoming new justice brett kavanaugh, who was sworn in last month. president trump attended today's event, along with the first lady. the seven other justicesnd new acting attorney general matthew whitaker

that's such a racist question. >> none of it makes any sense except the way yamiche alcindor handleda consummate pro asking a legit question that was handled horribly. boy did she stand strong in the face of power. that's not easy. don lemon is here. your take, my brother? >> it makes no sense. they're right. what do poll numbers have to do with anything? i'm not surprised. maybe that he said it publicly because it's been said, trust me, behind the scenes for reporters of color who have challenged him on issues, especially when it comes to birtherism. i don't want to do an interview with that person. that person is not going to treat me fairly because they're racist, like saying an african-american reporter is racist towards him because they ask him a serious question as yamiche did. i thought she handled it perfectly. i thought she was great. his answers speak for themselves. and for him to sit there and point, that is so racist, well, explain your answer. do you actually thuink he doesnt understand what nationalism -- when he said, i'm a nationalist? he doesn't understand the impli

rhank you both for you reporting yamiche alcindor, lisa desjardins, thank you. i spoke with one of those new lawmakers, representative-elect michael waltz, a republican from florida. onthe former green beret iof at least 15 military veterans newly elected to serve in congress. he won the house seat vacated by ron desantis, florida's republican candidate for governor. a i began bying about how his military service will shape his work in congress. >> you know, i could tell you in the fox hole nobesody carbout race, religion, party, social onomic background t about mission, it's about country, it's about getting things done. i coll you from my perspective compromise is not a dirty word. e voters in my district in north florida expect us to get things done that is going to better their lives andt not si up here and throw a receipt or kal grei nade. n tell you with veterans we put our lives on the line at a e verly age for this country end we are determined to see it progress for all can. >> woodruff: i hear you say compromise is not a dirteddee word. let's ta i abou

eugene scott, yamiche alcindor is back. the crimes based on race, ethnicity or ancestry rose nearly 60% last year. when you look at the numbers, based on some of the things that this president has said and not said as well, easy to connect the surge and the president's rhetoric. is that fair? how much is he perhaps the cause or symptom of something larger? >> it's certainly not fair to blame the president for all of the behavior of these individuals who have committed hate crimes, but if you go on some of these websites where white supremacists frequent and violent individuals go to comment, they have acknowledged that they now feel safe and empowered to say and behave in ways that are deemed hateful in part because of the rhetoric that came from the president. we've seen that most of these crimes specifically target race and ethnicity, and we have to remember from the day the president announced his candidacy for president, he called people of color specifically mexican immigrants, drug dealers and rapists and dangerous in

yamiche alcindor, eli stokols, susan page, you guys are like the ghost of christmas past. you guys know this guy and you're bringing it all up. everybody who ever knew trump say, same old trump, same old trump. >>> we have some breaking news now. nbc news is now ready to make the following call. nbc is calling democrat andrew kim the apparent winner in new jersey's third congressional district. that's another democratic pickup. >>> and coming up, trump's attempt to install a loyalist at the very top of the justice department, that would be whitaker, is generating backlash on both sides of the aisle now. are republican lawmakers finally onboard with legislation to protect mueller and his investigation? >>> plus, after a democratic victory last week, winning between 35 and 40 seats in the house of representatives, can the party ride the blue wave out of the midterms into 2020? >>> and the progressive caucus in the house is now facing off against a more moderate group of incoming democratic freshman, fresh people, i guess. can pelosi keep both groups happy? >>> and an illumin

yamiche alcindor, and cnbc editor at large, john ha welcome to sunday. it's "meet the press." >> announcer: from nbc news in washington, the longest running show in televisio history, this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. >>> well, a goodrn sunday g, everybody. for nearly two months we've heard little from special counsel robertr, muel nor have we heard much about mueller from president trump. they both went quiet. it's possible the silence has worked in mr. trump's favor. thm midtxit poll found that 46% of those polled disapproved of mueller's handling of the russia inveigation. that of course almost exactly equal to the president's job lican housethe rep vote share. just 41% approved of the mueller probe. but with the m elections over, the president unloaded this week on mueller and his invest aation both in tweet in an interview with "the daily caller." what led to the outburst? is it because new indictments are expected soon, possibly including the president's son, donald trump jr.? is the prospect of a democrat majority in the house launchingo a

and yamiche alcindor, and hallie jackson. and rich lowry, editor of national review. i want to react a little bit to lindsey graham. john harwood, there was a bit of a theme in the various questions, whether it is the mueller protection bill, up to mitch mcconnell, criminal justice reform bill, up to mitch mcconnell. you saw the passion of lindsey graham. he is ready to fight on one. and not fight as much on the other. >> i was fascinated by his vehemence on the prison reform bill. and mitch mcconnell reflects some resistance in the republican base but if we look at the results of the midterm election, we can see the country moving toward the spirit of criminal justice reform. in florida, when ron desantis was elected governor and it appears that rick scott was elected senator, more than 60% of floridians voted to restore voting rights for felons. 1.5 million people. that is to the detriment of the republican party. yet republican and democratic voters came together to do it. i think whether or not this criminal justice reform bill happens in this lame dumb -- lame du

accuracy and media, pete dominick, host of the radio show, "stand up with pete dominick" and yamiche alcindorpondent for pbs news hours. yamiche, is the if the isn't answering questions around whether there was obstruction, does this seriously impair where the counsel is trying to go in terms of their investigation, their probes, and their question? because it would seem to me you have to deal with obstruction as well as whether or not there was any collusion. >> robert mueller has been very silent on exactly what they're doing, what we have had they might have. we've had leaks here and there, but there's not really a firm reason to know exactly what robert mueller is doing. that said, president trump in interviews, on twitter, has been very open about all sorts of topics, including the interview with lester holt where he says eye fired james comey because of that russia investigation. i mean, that was really a smoking gun in a lot of people think because he admitted on live television, on national television that that was one of the main reasons why he got rid of the fbi director. so i think

they are yamiche alcindor, abby phillips and april ryan.icking up for them but, still, there is something so wrong with hthis. it is beyond disturbing. i'm angry. >> on the campaign trail you called yourself a nationalist. some people -- >> i don't know why you'd say that. that's such a racist question. sit down. i didn't call. you didn't call you. i'll give you voter suppression -- excuse me, i'm not responding to you. i'm talking to this gentleman. will you please sit down. >> the same thing with april ryan, i watch her get up. i mean, you talk about somebody that's a loser. she doesn't know what the hell she's doing. she gets publicity and then she gets a pay raise or a contract with i think cnn but she's very nasty. >> do you want him to rein in robert mueller? >> what a stupid question that is. what a stupid question. but i watch you a lot. you ask a lot of stupid questions. >> trump loves to punch, but this is something else. this feels personal. among the multiple reporters this president has insulted this week, three are african-ame

the president calling a question from pbs yamiche alcindor, who is african-american, falsely claiming her question racist. >> on the campaign trail, you called yourself a nationalist. some people saw that as emboldening white nationalists. now people are also saying -- >> i don't know why you'd say that. that's such a racist question. >> there are some people -- >> there was nothing racist about that question, nothing at all. the president could have just answered, could have tried to explain his position. instead, what does he do? that old tactic. when you can't really explain it, you attack the person who is doing it. he attacked the reporter. but the president did not just target reporters today. he also threatened democrats if they step up their oversight of the white house, which is their job. >> but they can play that game, but we can play it better because we have a thing called the united states senate. >> he even threatened candidates from his own party who made the fatal mistake of not wanting trump to campaign for them. >> you had some that decided to let's stay away. let's

this is him talking to yamiche alcindor and his response to her.en. >> on the campaign trail you called yourself a nationalist, some people saw that as emboldening white nationalists. >> i don't know why you would say that. it's such a racist question. >> some people say the republican party is now supporting white nationalists because of your rhetoric. what do you think of that? >> why do i have my highest poll numbers ever with african-americans? that's such a racist question, honestly, i know you have it written down and you're going to tell me -- let me tell you, that's a racist question. excuse me. but to say what you said is so insulting to me. it's a very terrible thing that you said. >> it's a racist question. what's going on there? >> well, i mean, it combines donald trump's two great loves, racism and misogyny. that's the first thing going on. the second thing is one of the highlights of white supremacy as a force and racism as a force is this kind of truculent approach, how dare you imply i'm racist. it's typical trump. for yamiche and t

. >> those three reporters are april ryan, ay fill im, and our own yamiche alcindor who were singled for particular insult and derision from the president. >> particularly yamiche, and it's true of april ryanbb andy phillips, but yamiche asked a legitimate question about nationalism and the encouragement of sympathy that he gave to right nationalism, and we already are aware of support, echoes of support forr him ese groups and individuals, and so he immediately tacked her f a racist question. i mean, this is the oldest igambthe world. he does it over and again. it's a bullying tactic. it's a mean-spirited tactic, and it's... to me, i shows the pressure that he is feeling from this defeat that he sufferedon tuesday. i thought we got a little peek into how he treats those around him in the white house by the way he treated those in th press. the jim acosta thing is unrgivable. to use a doctored tape from inf wars to someke the case hoat he had mistreated this white intern, which he did not do, i don't know, i just wish sam donaldson and helen thomas had a shot at this guy. >> mark shie

with abby phillip or yamiche alcindor. these are women journalists.e qualified professional asking normal questions and being treated with -- you want to talk about lack of respect. they are being treated with lack of respect. and this president has a history of doing this to black people. if we want to -- we don't have enough time to go through the list. he has a long history of treating black people this way. >> let's check in with chris. >> we have a new segment tonight. that i think people will like. called "don't be a sucker." and it will be at end of show and point out things that should be obvious to everybody. we'll spend time getting deep into florida. and what's going on. we'll test the loyal cases of both sides and talk about the eventuality. >> death toll rising in california wild fire. >> devastation is widespread. a live update ahead. i'm ken jacobus and i switched to the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy. and last year, i earned $36,000 in cash back. which i used to offer health insuranc

carrots, i'm sorry to tell you, the result did not change. >> alcindor: for the pbs newshour, i'm yamiche alcindor. >> woodruff: as the current outbreak of wildfires in california shows, 2018 will likely be one of the worst wildfi seasons in recent history. but how does fire spread and what can you do to protect your home? as part of our web series "sciencescope," newshour producer nsikan akpan explores the science fires and gives us some tips. >> reporter: although this , ar's wildfire season should be winding do continues to leave behind a record wake of deearuction. as oy november, flames have scorched more than 8.2 million acres in the u.s., a 25% increase relative to the last decade. wildfires have raged in recent years, embdened by climate change. though the overall number of ldfires has declined slightly since 1985their individual size and the damage they cause have more than quaupled. apart from lightning strikes and careless camp fires, aroundct 500,000 ste fires start pmdoors in the u.s. each year. cooking equit is the main cause, but the deadliest cases involve cigarettes and upholstere

as yamiche alcindor tells us,th ruling was a temporary win for cnn. >> alcindor: president trump versus, a case that centers around this exchange last week at a white house press conference. >> mr. president, are you worried about indictments coming down igan this inveson? mr. president? >> i'll tell you what: cnn should be ashamed of itself, having you working for them. you ara de, terrible person. you shouldn't be working for cnn. >> alcouindor: white press secretary sarah sanders said acosta was being punished for "placiisngands" on a white house intern. she later tweeted out an edited video of the exchange. u.s. districjudge timothy friday afternoon, acta returned to the white house and reacted to the ruling. >> that's my cue to go back to work. >> alcindor: in an interview with fox news today, mr. trump said the white house is now uplanning to cowith new rules for press conferences. >> nobody believes in the first amendment i think somebody is acting out of sorts, i will leave. i will say, "thank you ery muceverybody, i appreciate you coming," and i'll leave. and those reporters wi

the president calling a question from pbs yamiche alcindor, who is african-american, falsely claiming her question racist. >> on the campaign trail, you called yourself a nationalist. some people saw that as emboldening white nationalists. now people are also saying -- >> i don't know why you'd say that. that's such a racist question. >> there are some people -- >> there was nothing racist about that question, nothing at all. the president could have just answered, could have tried to explain his position. instead, what do do you? that old tactic. when you can't really explain it, you attack the person who is doing it. he attacked the reporter. but the president did not just target reporters today. he also threatened democrats if they step up their oversight of the white house, which is their job. >> but they can play that game, but we can play it better because we have a thing called the united states senate. >> he even threatened candidates from his own party who made the fatal mistake of not wanting trump to campaign for them. >> you had some that decided to let's stay away. let's

last wednesday, trump accused pbs reporter yamiche alcindor of asking a racist question at a white house news conference, after she asked trump whether he was emboldening white nationalists. trump went on to attack april ryan of american urban radio networks, whom trump repeatedly told to sit down on wednesday as she tried to ask a question about voter suppression. pres. trump: the same thing with april ryan. i watch her get up. i mean, you talk about somebody that is a loser. she doesn't know what the hell she is doing. she gets publicity and then she gets a pay raise or to get the contract with i think cnn, but she isis very nasty. she should not be. amy: in more news from the justice department, jeff sessions signed a last-minute order limiting the use of consent decrees wednesday hours before he was fired by president trump. the order will restrict the ability of law enforcement officials to use court-enforced agreements between the justice department and local police departments to enact changes when the police departments have been accused of abuses and civil rights violations. in

when pbs's yamiche alcindor, who is also black, asked trump about his recent comments declaring himself a nationalist, he respondeded that it was a racist question. looks on the campaign trial, you called yourself a nationalist. so that the sum so that -- such a racist question. close some say now the republican party is seen as supporting white nationalists because of your rhetoric. what do you make of that? pres. trump: why do i have my highest numbers ever with african-americans? why do i have my highest poll number's? that is such a racist question. honestly, i mean, i know you have it written down and you're going to tell me, let me tell you, it is a racist question. amy: as final ballots from the midtdterm electionons get tallia handful of races are still too close to call or will head to runoffs, including three senate races, 12 in the house and georgia's governorship, where democratic candidate stacey abrams is refusing to concede as a number of absentee and provisional ballots have yet to be counted. a non-profit group filed an emergency lawsuit tuesday to prevent secretary of

he's gone after april, he's gone after abby, he's gone after yamiche alcindor.ends of mine, black journalists who are outstanding. i don't think emptihe wants to f the rails with michelle obama. >> everyone take a listen to this. >> on the campaign trail you called yourself a nationalist. some people saw that as emboldening white nationalists. >> i don't know why you would say that. such a racist question. >> reporter: do you want matt whitaker to rein in robert mueller? >> what a stupid question that is. what a stupid question. but i watch you a lot. you ask a lot of stupid questions. the same thing with april ryan. i watch her get up, i mean, you talk about somebody that's a loser. she doesn't know what the hell she's doing. >> i know, i mean, we saw yamiche there and then to abby and he references april. how much do you think that is politics and how much do you think there is a group to whom this behavior appeals, and what group is that? >> well, what i think, alex, is that the president is getting more and more abrasive with his language towards everybody.

why did he go after yamiche alcindor, who did nothing but ask a very serious, very sober question of him and he didn't even wait for her to finish before he starts calling her a racist. this is what he wants. this is what this white house wants. and i think the problem for the press is, we have to be careful not to play into it. the story shouldn't be about us. it should be about jeff sessions and the president of the united states and it should be about the elections from yesterday. and instead, we're talking about this kind of an action. but it is the first action that they've taken that i remember that directly punishes a reporter since, you know, since taking office. there were one or two other times that they kind of came close to that. they excluded a reporter from one particular pool spray. this is a big deal and it will be something we talk about in the days to come. >> and let's say a word on behalf of this white house intern in question. she very gamely had to deal with a highly uncomfortable circumstance. she did not come to work at her unpaid job this morning thinking tha

yamiche alcindor. are you kidding me? >> they can say whatever they want whenever they want about the president of the united states. >> there's a temporary restraining order that's going to get lifted and he's making it again. are you serious? >> his press pass was removed for very poor behavior. nothing was done to the organization of cnn. >> you don't mean that. he asked him -- >> i'm tired of -- >> do not do that to jim. >> i'm tired of constantly hearing about how he somehow abusing freedom of the press. that is a lie. that's fake news. >> no. >> he has done nothing to impinge upon the freedom of the press in this country, and you cannot compare him to mbs or to anybody in the house of saud, whoever it was, who ordered the murder of a journalist. >> that's not our standard, steve. you don't have to -- >> i'm sorry you have to die for it to be an attack on the freedom of the press. >> we're not there yet, pal. the line isn't everything's okay but murder. we're not there yet. >> that's actually sick. >> what he has don

. >>> joining me now, yamiche alcindor, correspondent for pbs news hour, retired four star general mccafferyneral, let me start with you first. just your reaction to the president choosing to mix it up with a decorated admiral like this. >> you know, there is actually a comical aspect to this. admiral bill mcraven is probably the epitome of a heroic warrior defending america. he commanded jsoc career navy seals special operations, modest, sort of of a quiet professional type, just widely respected by everybody in the community that's run into him. and apolitical. the senior military leaders are not partisan and will support whoever is the president of the united states. so his attacks on mr. trump must have hurt badly and now he's taking -- acting like an 8th grader with this counterattack. >> yamiche, when i looked at what the president said here, my mind went right back to the summer of 2015 when he was at that event on the campaign trail early in the cycle. john mccain had criticized him publicly. he was asked about it. trump was. and he immediately said basically, i don't think heroes ge

joining mike and aaron here in the studio, yamiche alcindor. joyce and chuck are still here as well. take us through whitaker's role not just as a whitaker skeptic, but also as an enthussist for what you report donald trump is keen to do. >> this is the justice department who obviously is open to these ideas that the president would like. the president would like a second special counsel to look into hillary, to look into comey. he had talked with whitaker. i don't know if it was specifically about that but about this matter before he came on to do this. and you know, the president feels that a second special counsel would sort of even things out. if i have to have a special counsel, why can't you have a special counsel? and he thinks in the public sphere that would be beneficial to him. >> so i watched jeff sessions and rod rosenstein field questions about his second special counsel under oath in front of the house intel committee and the house judiciary committee. they have said it wasn't warranted. what facts is matt whitaker in possession o

let's hear president trump's response to a question from pbs's white house correspondent yamiche alcindoron't know why you're asking such an neat —— racist question. i don't know why you're asking such an neat -- racist question. what do you make of that? why do i have my highest poll numbers ever with african—americans? why do i have my highest poll numbers, that is such a racist question. and now here's the president's retort to a question by cnn's abby phillip, who asked about the status of the investigation into claims of russian collusion in the 2016 election following the sacking of former attorney generaljeff sessions. did you want to rein in robert mueller? what a stupid question that is. you ask a lot of stupid questions. you ask a lot of stupid questions. let's talk now to frank sesno, he's a former cnn anchor and washington bureau chief, and is now director of the school of media and public affairs at the george washington university. thank you forjoining us. is part of the problem that the media in america has become partisan and the boundary between reporting the facts and co

yamiche alcindor begins our reporting.em >> therat party wants to sign illegal aliens up for fre healthcareee welfare, free education. >> reporter: president trump's fiery and often misleading closing argument. >> the democrat partpenly encouraging millions of illegal aliens to break our laws or violate our laws, violate our borders and bankrupt our country. >> reporter: but, in his final two-week campaign sprint, mr. trump is ratcheting up his divisive rhetoric. he's held rallies in 1cities, across 12 states, stoking tensions over immigration and race in some of the country's tightest elections. that's an unusual schedule for r ident who is not up for re- election. but, mr. trump is campaigning like it's 2016 all over again. he is focusing mainly on predominantly white small towns and cities in states he won in 's16. lso claiming-- without evidence-- that democrats are encouraging millions of undocumented immigrants to vote >> you know what i am? i'm a nationalist. okay? i'm a nationalist. >> reporter: while campaigning in texas, mr. trump called himself a "nationalist." in florida, he sd

. >> maya wiley, msnbc legal analyst, danny is a va lis, and yamiche alcindor, any reaction to the story inside the white house yet? >> it really is a window into the fact that president trump is still really angry at his political opponents and really hoping to wield the power of the presidency to hurt those people. i think that sometimes the people thought there was a lot of rhetoric on the campaign trail and that he was just ginning up his base by saying lock her up. now we know he really did want to lock her up. it shows the president has some restraint in that he didn't actually follow through with this idea yet, but it paints in a different light the hiring of matt whitaker because he has publicly said that hillary clinton might have broken some laws and maybe should have ended up in jail, so now he has an a.g. that might have a different take than what don mcgahn was. don mcgahn was saying don't do this, cautioning against this. matt whitaker might have a completely different take. >> also saying apparently at one point if you want to do it, mr. president this could lead to impeac

for more on this, i want to bring in yamiche alcindor, white house correspondent for pbs "newshour." so with us, betsy woodruff, daily beast reporter and an msnbc contributor. so as hans just said, yamiche, the president has actually been lying pretty low this week, even not going to the usual veterans day appearance monday. but now he's unleashing. is this as you -- excuse me -- as you see it, just more pressure building? >> i think it's definitely more pressure building. the president loves photo hops. and he's been really skipping even the most easiest photo ops. you think of the idea that he stayed home after veterans day when he was supposed to be going to arlington cemetery, for people who don't live in d.c. is really, really, really close to the white house. i think it's remarkable that the president hasn't really engaged with the media this week, but it's also not surprising, because i think he's in a bad mood, mainly because of the midterm results that are coming in and these late, breaking midterm results. democrats have been picking up even more seats in the house. and then

times" and yamiche alcindor, the white house correspondent for the pbs "newshour" and an msnbc political mark thompson is here, the host of "make it plain" on sirius xm progress channel 127. and evan siegfried, a republican strategist. all right, eli, you have been covering the heightened tensions within the white house. walk me through, what is up with these ridiculous voter fraud allegations? >> well, the president is agitated and upset, losing, as one person close to him put it, is really pad for the brand. so he's out there throwing a lot of various skus excuses at the. in that interview, he's making stuff up about people voting illegally. he's also telling "the daily caller," he didn't endorse any house candidates except the one, andy barr, in kentucky for one. that's not true. there's a lot of things that the president would just like to forget about and claim have nothing to do with him, even though for weeks he was on the stage at rallies, telling voters, pretend i'm on the ballot. so he's really rattled by the election results here, and trying to come up with a counternarrative.