Transcripts For MSNBCW Kasie DC 20181007

Whats next for her . First, the week begins with Brett Kavanaugh taking his seat on the Supreme Court. Last night President Trump was triumphant in kansas under the banner promises made, promises kept. Republican leadership spent the weekend celebrating. John cornyn posting this photo. Not beers for brett but bubbly for brett. Still from certainty hed be confirmed to near certainty he could not be. It exposed one of the nastiest, bare knuckle confirmations in history. Its anyones guess how long it take for the wounds to heal. Dr. Christine blasey ford wrote an anonymous letter to democratic lawmakers. She was pushed into the spotlight for the world to decide whether she was credible or not. To the surprise of many, the president held off on targeting her. Until this week. I had one beer. Well, you think it was nope. It was one beer. Oh, good. How did you get home . I dont remember. How did you get there . I dont remember. Where is the place . I dont remember. How many years ago was it . I dont know. I dont know. Democrats have been openly wondering whether this will turn into midterm momentum. But that is cold comfort after losing the swing seat on the Supreme Court. And it has some rethinking their calculus altogether. The Washington Post reports, democratic strategists tracking polls in republicanleaning states where Democratic Senators are running for reelection. Said they were surprised by the galvanizing impact that trumps offensive had on his base. Brian fallon who ran a group opposing kavanaugh said support for the judge increased in these states after trump changed his tactics. Fallon said hed begown reevaluate the dominant analyses of the 2016 election which held that trump was elected despite evidence of Sexual Misconduct against him not because the controversy motivated his rovoters to the polls. I feel there was a primal screamtype reaction from the republicans overly white, overly male base. It leaves open the question of whether any lessons have been learned from the 2016 election. Particularly for democrats. Let me bring in my panel here on set in d. C. Washington post Congressional Correspondent paul kane, Washington Post white house reporter, ashley parker, former special assistant to the president and former press secretary to the Vice President , mike lauder and Political Correspondent and author of the red and the blue, Steve Kornacki. Thank you all for being here tonight. Paul kane, i want to start with you because you and i have been running around the halls. Im not exactly sure how to characterize it. Weve spent a lot of time on marble floors in the capitol over the past 20 days. From kind of a history making 30,000foot perspective, what do you think happened over the course of this week thats going to matter most in the long term . And is the damage thats been done to the institution of the senate irreparable . I think the biggest longterm shift is on the court itself. This is a seat that for 47 years beforehand had been held by louis powell who was himself a cent rift swing vote and then bjork got defeated and that led to kennedy replacing powell who spent 30 years as a cent rift vo centrist vote. He has the possibility shifting the court to the right for years to come. In terms of the senate, Lindsey Graham summed it up best. If this isnt bottom, god help us. I think were going to find out. Cheerful. Steve kornacki, let me go to you on this question that we sort of were talking about at the end of that script there. This idea that for democrats, they may have learned the opposite lesson. We all assumed the president overcame the obstacles of having had all of these misconduct allegations and brian fallon was essentially arguing, well, actually perhaps those attacks motivated his base to get out there. Is that what you see across the map . Theres an interesting parallel, i think, between how the politics of the kavanaugh nomination may be turned around in a way that allowed republicans to get this nomination through. And what we saw time and time again in the 2016 campaign, i think most notably with that access Hollywood Tape around this time in 2016 but so many other trump controversies where in the moment where the controversy would come to light, when the access Hollywood Tape came to light, when the allegation against kavanaugh came to light this time, when Christine Blasey ford initially gave that testimony in front of the committee. In those comments, politically, it looked like the nomination was finished. Politically in 16, it looked like donald trump was finished. But what would then happen was, over the next couple of days hours, days, weeks even, the republican side, the right side of the divide in this country would start to see the issue in different terms. And they would start to see it more in terms of who their enemies were, how their enemies were treating them, how their enemies were treating this story. This was the media, the democrats. This was Popular Culture ganging up on, in this case, Brett Kavanaugh. Looking turning over every stone trying to get every piece of information out there, even including the Michael Avenatti stuff. It ends up having this rallying effect where theres a rallying behind trump in 16, behind kavanaugh. This time it had a lot to do with who their enemies were. And just the idea of being a bullwark against those enemies. We had a survey monkey poll in the field as the access Hollywood Tape came out in 2016. It was in for four days and you watched trumps numbers collapse in the first two days. The second dave that poll he was losing to Hillary Clinton by 16 points that day, second day after the tape broke. By the forth day, back to base line. And ashley parker, two years ago tomorrow, it came out. Wow. Right . You have been doing some reporting on how the white house thought through all of this because initially the reaction to the president mocking dr. Ford was incredibly negative from the senators whose votes at the end of the day were the ones that mattered. Have they come to see what he did as something that contributed to getting kavanaugh confirmed . They almost instantaneously thought what he did was a net positive. To be clear it wasnt a strategic decision. They department sort of order him up to go off script. This was described to me as a president as he often does, having a visceral sense of the moment and seizing what he saw as an opportunity. He knew there would be blowback but its worth mentioning that that trio, two of whom voted for him, one who did not. None of them allowed the president s mocking of dr. Ford to impact their decision. They came out, condemned it, they were unhappy about it but it did not affect how they voted on kavanaugh on the court. And what was interesting was the white house said that the president in doing that, and again, the white house would say that the president did not mock her quite reasonable people can disagree. But they argue that basically the president changed the momentum. He brought tarks wit away from conversation and scrutiny of kavanaughs debauchery and youth drinking. He pointed out gaps in her memory and gave a green light and permission for republican senators on capitol hill, for these outside groups, for people to take a much more aggressive approach. And they absolutely believe that that was one of the key moments that helped shift the momentum. Interesting. I want to talk about the broader impact here. Grover norquist told the Washington Post, weve been winning Little Victories with regulation. This is the big win. We are cutting down the forest, not the trees. You agree . I would agree. Its one of the longstanding goals of republicans, conservatives was to stop the judicial activism of a liberal court. And so having a right center majority that will look at the laws the way they were written and the constitution the way it was written is something thats been long sought after and going all the way become through reagan, they could not get it done. So weve finally seen 30plus, 40 years of work on this as a success. So theres been speculation, Maggie Haberman tweeted this earlier today about whether or not this potentially opens the door for republicans to break with the president and hear me out on this because theyve actually gotten done what they needed him to do. They passed tax cuts and cemented a conservative major ut on the court. The argument would go they dont necessarily need him anymore. Do you think thats fair or off base . I think its off base. But republicans are going to say were not done yet. I mean there are at least a couple more seats that may be coming up in what i would say the next six years, just given the age of the various justices. There are also still a lot of regulations that need to be rolled back. There are still more things they need to do to reorganize government. And the president wants to keep this economy going. So i think there will be a lot of reason to keep with this progress. And i think its also very strong message for the midterms and heading into 2020. Speaking of what people might do in 2020 or if there were additional Mitch Mcconnell was pressed on whether theyd appoint a Trump Nominee to the court if a vacancy should become available in 2020 which is a president ial Election Year. It harkens back to 2016 when mcconnell led republicans in blocking president obamas nomination of Merrick Garland saying the president shouldnt be able to choose a justice during an Election Year. The answer is well see whether theres a vacancy in 2020. But youre not ruling out the possibility since youre the republican majority leader and theres a republican president that you would go for and push the nomination of a Trump Nominee in the Election Year . What im telling you is the history is you have to go back to 1880 to find the last time a senate controlled a party different from the president filled a vacancy on the Supreme Court that was created in the middle of a president ial Election Year. Thats been the history. Meanwhile, President Trump seems to believe republicans will have multiple opportunities to appoint other justices, possibly many more. Youre going to have other Supreme Court justices, places to be filled. It could be three. It could even be four. It could be a lot. Paul kane, so to parse mcconnells words, and i sort of had missed how carefully he was parsing this, but hes saying, hes leaving the door open to absolutely. Because hes saying, the last time that this happened in 1880 was actually when there was a split between control of the congress and control of the white house which obviously we dont have or wont have, we dont think well have in 2020. We called it the biden rule two years ago with Merrick Garland being nominated and joe bidens floor speech in 1992 said ghog who was in the Senate Majority and who was in the white house. Biden was saying the final months before a president ial election you should not have a Supreme Court clash and mcconnell said that over and over again. That was when he expected Hillary Clinton to win. Now its, oh, gosh, well, we might have a president who is in a the party is this, that. Hes adding on addendum to his rule as he sees fit and thinks it will help him. Whats your view of mcconnells level of devotion to the senate versus his devotion to politics . Democrats have really turned him into the villain in this whole affair. How much of that is justified . Theres both. He is a senate institutionalist but wants to win more than anything else. His autobiography was called the long game for a reason. Its all about trying to set up long game victories. And in when it comes to judicial confirmations, Supreme Court especially, and winning elections, he has now two cycles in a row. 2016 and 18. Thinks those two things are coming together for him and hes going to do that. Hes going to choose that over senate comedy every time. Steve kornacki, how do you think this plays out over the course of the next 30 days before the elections . Is your sense that this may be something where republicans sit back, are satisfied and say we dont need to show up or does this enthusiasm bump were seeing keep going . Ive never known gratitude to be a motivating and energizing force in politics which it seems to be what republicans are counting on right here. I think its almost unquestionable when you look at the polling out there. When you start to look at some of the fundraising. The grassroots fundraising numbers weve seen. Theres been what republicans have been searching for the entire Trump Presidency is some kind of equalizing boost in energy on their side to match what theyre seeing on the democratic side. And the last ten days, two weeks, they have finally found it. But, yes, the election is a month away. If you just think back one month earlier, one month ago today, what were the big, defining stories in politics. It was the aftermath of john mccains funeral and Donald Trumps handling of that. It was paul manafort. It was michael cohen. It feels like years ago. So you know, are we still going to be talking about this in a month . Its a great question. When we continue, well have much more on exactly this. How the kavanaugh vote shuffles the deck on the n kornacki is g up his big board. And kasie dc back after this. Chaos over kavanaughs confirmation. Christine ford tells the Washington Post that she is the author of that confidential letter. Accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of Sexual Assault. I think this woman, whoever she is, is mixed up. The judge says this is a completely false allegation. Very hard for me to imagine that anything happened. Republican senator jeff flake told multiple outlets hes not comfortable moving forward with the vote until he hears more from kavanaughs accuser. She should testify under oath and do it on capitol hill. Senate republicans have a message for dr. Christine blasey ford. Testify monday or theyll move on with the vote. New yorker has published a piece claiming now Sexual Misconduct allegations against him during his college days at yale. A third woman accusing Brett Kavanaugh of Sexual Misconduct. Do you have 50 votes . I believe hell be confirmed. Dr. Ford has arrived on capitol hill. With what degree of certainty do you believe Brett Kavanaugh assaulted you . 100 . Do you think the American People are going to believe dr. Ford . What happened to her, i dont know. Why dont you believe him . What is it about him you dont want to believe . This whole twoweek effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit. The most unethical sham since ive been in politics. We drank beer. I liked beer. Still like beer. I think it would be proper to delay the floor vote. There is a sense among some Republican Leaders that a delay of kavanaughs vote is essentially a death sentence. How did you get home . I dont remember. How did you get there . I dont remember. How many years ago was it . I dont know. Three of the four key senators voting to end debate and proceed to a final vote. I could not conclude that he is the right person for the court. I will vote to confirm judge kavanaugh. The nomination of brett m. Kavanaugh of maryland to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is confirmed. Senator, do you think theres still a place in the Democratic Party for you after this . Hes just an extraordinary person. A great, great talent. And i think hes going to make us all very proud. Here we go. Discover. I like your card, but im absolutely not paying an annual fee. Discover has no annual fees. Really . Yeah. We just dont believe in them. Oh nice. You would not believe how long ive been rehearsing that. No annual fee on any card. Only from discover. Should happen everydred five hundred years, right . Fact is, there have been twentysix in the last decade. Allstate is adapting. With drones to assess home damage sooner. And if a flying object damages your car, you can snap a photo and get your claim processed in hours, not days. Plus, allstate can pay your claim in minutes. Now that you know the truth. Are you in good hands . One of the sharpest displays of divisiveness was the show of activism. Large crowds of americans opposing kavanaughs appointment took to the steps of the Supreme Court and came inside the chamber in the senate. With scores of them getting arrested. Senate majority leader Mitch Mcconnell called the opposition a, quote, great political gift for republicans ahead of next months midterm elections. Adding that the opposition is charging up the republican base. Well, the people that were attacking our members at their homes and in the halls, it was really quite a display of aggressiveness. Far beyond what i would consider peaceful protesting. They were trying to intimidate members of the senate. Not only in our home states but also up here actually in the capitol. And at our homes here in washington. Im really proud of my members for not buckling under those moblike tactics. The president is hitting the trail for a spring of rallies. Hes going to be in council bluffs, iowa, then erie, p. A. , and then on to ohio and kentucky. Lets bring back in Steve Kornacki now at the big board. How does this shake out . Youre talking about that bounce in Energy Republicans have seen. Just to show you what those numbers look like. Over the summer, a poll over the summer there was a tenpoint advantage in enthusiasm for democrats. You can see it right there. Their new poll just a couple days ago, look where it is now. That tenpoint gap down to two points. Thats the surge in republican enthusiasm. The kavanaugh nomination fight seems to have produced. Look, though, what this is doing potentially in the Senate Battleground. The Senate Battleground tends to be in trump states. Trump friendly states. North dakota, trump won by 36 points in 2016. And now Heidi Heitkamp, this down 12 points. Heitkamp voting against this nomination. Is that going to, in north dakota, complicate her reelection further. Heitkamp clearly the most vulnerable democrat. Flip side of that, west virginia. Trump won the state by 42 points. Manchin from a few days ago. Manchin has been running strongly in his reelection. The only democrat to vote for this nomination. Is that going to solidify his hold on that trump state . Then take a look at tennessee. This is where it seems we may be seeing significant movement. A new poll out this morning showing the republican Marsha Blackburn leading Phil Bredessen by eight points. A poll put blackburn ahead by five. Thats a change from what weve been seeing. A lot of other polls have shown bredesen very popular within the state. Have shown him leading. Keep an eye on that. Texas. Ted cruz up six. We continue to see cruz leading this race. Not overwhelming. But leading. And then nevada, this is the one sort of exception in the rule. In dean heller, the only republican incumbent who is running for reelection in a state that trump lost in 2016. Nevada went for Hillary Clinton by a couple points. Heres heller trailing rosen. Of course, heller voted for this nomination. Is that going to complicate his politics . Very quickly if you put those battleground states, we think this is the Senate Battle ground. Say west virginia. Say manchin hangs on there. Take a look at nevada. Jackie rosen were to win there. Take a look at arizona. The polling has been strong for them there. Theres a couple of bright spots for them. If you see in these new polls, if cruz hangs on in texas if heitkamp cant pull off a comeback, if tennessee starts to shift from the democrats, thats all republicans would need. That would be 50 with mike pence breaking any tie. That would preserve the republican majority in the senate, even if democrats swept those remaining states. Uphill climb for democrats. That news out of tennessee and north dakota particularly concerning for them, kasie. Steve, thanks. Paul, whats your take on what he just walked through there . Where are republicans heads . I just love how he works the board. Its amazing. We love him. What youre seeing is two divergent maps. Theres a map in the house of representatives where all the key races are in suburban battlegrounds where white suburban women are breaking against the president and really were energized by her testimony. Christine blasey fords testimony. But in the senate, these are rural states. Theyre older states and whiter states where democrats are trying to defend. And you could have for the first time in Something Like 45 years, an election in which one party wins more house seats and the other party wins more senate seats. It usually never works that way. The momentum always goes in one direction, but this year, right now, its going in the opposite direction. Ashley, whats the white houses thinking about how to best deploy the president , especially after kavanaugh . So first of all, the white house was incredibly happy at these tough votes that red state democrats had to take. I guess senator manchin is the one exception but they sort of say it only helps the map. I think what youre seeing is, first of all, the president you went through the schedule. He actually hes mixed. I was going to say he loves to travel but thats not quite true. He loves the comforts of home but he loves being on the campaign trail at these huge rallies, feeding off the energy. Getting the feedback from the crowd. Knowing which way to move. So i think youll see that ramping up, up until the election. Youll see four, five, six make America Great rallies every single week. Hes going to be going into these Senate States where he is a huge draw. The part thats a little trickier is getting him into these Senate States. As paul was saying, keeping him away from some of these house seats where suburban women may not love him standing there mocking a victim of Sexual Assault. Yeah. So i want to talk for a second particularly about Heidi Heitkamp. Im Heidi Heitkamp and i thought you should hear exactly why i voted against judge kavanaugh. First off, honestly, i dont think he told the truth. And even if he did, he showed himself to be too biased. I voted for neil gorsuch, so i know there are many other conservative judges who can fill this job without tearing our country apart. I approve this message because i believe a senator has to put politics aside and do whats right for our country. So, paul, shes still fighting. Is this a tragedy that can work . Its shes trying to be authentic if nothing else. Its just her, straight to camera. No bells, no whistles, no big letters. Explosions. Its just her trying to explain. Its tough, though. Its tough. Shes in a state that went to trump by 36 points, i think. And shes in a hole right now. She really needs the conversation to just go back to preexisting conditions and health care and anything but this vote. Anything, anything, anything but. All right. Just ahead, my conversation with the attorneys for dr. Christine blasey ford. I talked to them about whether their client would still come forward given everything thats happened. Kasie dc back after this. Why didnat hilton. Com,r Family Vacation on a travel site . I get the price match guarantee. And i can choose from their 14 Different Hotel brands, so i get the right hotel for every member of my family. Like a doubletree for my cousins who love their warm chocolate chip cookies. A homewood suites for my uncle who likes a long stay. A hampton for my sister and her kids. Thats a lot of syrup. And the waldorf astoria Beverly Hills for me. But i thought your Family Vacation was in miami . It is. I hear theyre having a great time. Book at hilton. Com and get the hilton price match guarantee. If you find a lower rate, we match it and give you 25 off that stay. There areand the best. S. Which egg tastes more farmfresh and delicious . Only egglands best. With more vitamins d and e and 25 less saturated fat . Only egglands best. Better taste, better nutrition, better eggs. When the guy in frontd down the highway slams on his brakes out of nowhere. You do, too, but not in time. Hey, no big deal. Youve got a good record and Liberty Mutual wont hold a grudge by raising your rates over one mistake. You hear that, karen . Liberty mutual doesnt hold grudges. How mature of them. For drivers with accident forgiveness Liberty Mutual wont raise their rates because of their first accident. Liberty mutual insurance. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty while we know what is next for Justice Kavanaugh, whats next for dr. Christine blasey ford remains to be seen. Early are this week, i spoke with her attorneys, lisa katz and deborah banks. I just want to start by asking, how is dr. Ford doing after all of this . I think shes doing pretty well, all considered. She feels good about the fact she came forward and was able to share her experience with the committee and give them more information in order to make their decision. Does she have any regrets about coming forward . Her life has changed forever. I really dont think she has regrets. I think this has been an extremely difficult process for her. But she felt strongly that she needed to bring this information to the committee, and she did that. And then she took the kracourags step of testifying in front of the American People. I dont think she has any regrets because she feels it was the right thing to do, and it was important. This has been terrifying. Her family has been through a lot. They are not living at home. Its going to be quite some time before theyre able to live at home. The threats have been unending. Its deplorable. Its been very frightening. And shes also received extraordinary letters of support and encouragement. But these threats are extremely distressing. Did she watch judge kavanaughs testimony . She did not. Has she seen any of it in the wake of it . Of course. So she is still convinced this is absolutely what happened to her and that it was this man . Shes not convinced. She knows it, as she testified. She knew him. He knew her. And she knows exactly who sexually assaulted her on that day. She has never wavered and never questioned her testimony on that point. Republicans have put the two of you in the spotlight, calling you democratic operatives in some cases. Did you ever coordinate with democrats on the committee through this process . We did not. No. There was no communication whatsoever . Well, there was communication in the sense that when she hired us, she had already been in touch with senator feinstein, and we were in touch with the committee to say she wants you to honor her request for confidentiality. We were in touch with that office. But there was no coordination. There was no effort to leak this letter and have this unfold as it did. Thats an absolute falsehood that the republicans are perpetuating. It is untrue. What would the witnesses that you wanted to speak to the fbi have been able to say that senators have not been able to hear . We keep hearing that there were no corroborating witnesses but there are who havent been interviewed or talked to. And those witnesses can say several years ago, well before judge kavanaugh was ever considered for the Supreme Court, she told me that he sexually assaulted her. And this is years ago. Those people were not interviewed by the fbi. Those people were not called before the committee. So those are the kinds of witnesses, thats the kind of evidence that isnt before the senators. Have you seen any of the results of the investigation yourself . No. But we know whats not in the investigation, and thats whats crucial. Im wondering what dr. Blasey ford views as her place in history in the wake of all of this. I dont know that she herself is thinking about it in those terms. I think shes looking to get back to her life. But i think what others looking at this can see is that her efforts, her courageous actions have spoken to hundreds of thousands of women across this country. Women and men. People who have found their voice and are able to speak up as victims of Sexual Assault. Did dr. Blasey ford see President Trump mocking her on the campaign trail . Yes. What was her reaction . I think she was as horrified as the rest of us were. Its terrible. Its disrespectful. Its horrible. Did she was she emotional about it . Was it distressing . She was upset by it, yes, as any woman would be who is the victim of Sexual Assault, who is mocked and belittled by anyone, never mind the president of the United States. As this whole saga is coming to a close, what does dr. Blasey ford hope the country takes away from what she did . That people have a civic duty to come forward. That even if you are terrified, people should be courageous. What do you both think is different about how this process has played out with dr. Blasey ford compared to what happened in 1991 with anita hill . With anita hill, there was a full fbi investigation before there was ever a hearing. That did not occur here. This process was far worse. We thought it was bad back in 1991, and its even worse today. The Political Climate and how women are treated. My thanks to the attorneys for sitting down with me this week. Mark, ive got to say, im not convinced that republicans havent done irreparable damage to their party with women voters. I think they showed dr. Ford a lot of courtesy when they brought her in. They worked dill gently to bring her in on her terms. Made a lot of different offers to bring her in and let her testify. At the end of the day, her story could still not be backed up. The witnesses that she named that were supposedly at this alleged party that where this incident took place, none of them could actually testify that that happened or they knew about it. So i hope that america and everyone will allow dr. Ford to return to the life that she wants to have in the future. We heard her story. And they and the senate voted. They voted on what they thought there was zero corroborating evidence for these accusations. And i hope that what we have what we do is we also allow the fact that Justice Kavanaugh now is also has to live with this. And hes going to have to move on and how he conducts himself. As Clarence Thomas has done for the last, you know, since the allegations were made against him in the early 90s. Hes considered by many to be a highly respected jurist and legal scholar. I hope Justice Kavanaugh will be given the same opportunity. The president did mock dr. Blasey ford, although your point is taken that the senate tried to treat her with courtesy. Well talk about a process in dire need of repair. And dont miss our kasie dc podcast. You can hear the highlights. You can find it on any app you use to get your podcast. So why not bundle them with esurance and save up to 10 . Which you can spend on things you really want to buy, like. Well, i dont know what youd wanna buy because im just a guy on your tv. Esurance. Its surprisingly painless. Ok here we go guys, you ready . Hi cinturones por favor. Gracias. Opportunity is everywhere. Its gonna be fine. Its a door. Its doing a lot of kicking down there. Waiting to be opened. Whatever your ambition. Whatever your drive. Whatever youre chasing. Driver, are we almost there . Were gonna have a baby daddy daddy opportunity is everywhere. All you have to do to find it is get out. Here. With advil liquigels, what stiff joints . What bad back . Advil is. Relief thats fast. Strength that lasts. 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These are people im not going to name names, but im not sure they have a soul. I dont think their mother breastfed them. I think they went right to raw meat. They think hes a smoked turkey. Its time for the senators to be senators, for women to women up and men to man up. If you think this is a search for the truth, you probably ought to put down the bong. That was the always quotable senator john kennedy venting some of his frustrations this week. Meanwhile, some senators have sought to restore the brand of the u. S. Senate to crying tribalism and accusing both sides of exposing a moment for political gain. They sought to relieve some of the cynicism thats affected their hallowed halls. We all know the president cannot lead us through this time. We know that hes dispositionally unable to restrain his impulse to divide us. His mockery of dr. Ford last night in mississippi was wrong, but it doesnt really surprise anyone. Its who he is. Similarly it was wrong last week when he said the attack on dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement authorities, unquote. It was wrong when people insinuate that a woman bears blame for her Sexual Assault because she was drunk. This reinforces the stereotypes that have caused millions of women to bury their experiences of abuse and assault for decades. This kind of repugnant nonsense creates excuses for abusers. Just because a woman drinks or even if she drinks too much does not make her body or her sexuality any less her own. And i dont want anyone telling those poisonous lies to my daughters. I also have a son, and in the event that god forbid hes ever accused of a crime, i hope hes presumed innocent and permitted to exercise his right to defend himself. So that was ben sasse who is one of the younger members of the republican conference in the senate. And ashley, one of the things i picked up on as i was covering this, there was a difference. They all voted the same way at the end of the day but there was to a certain extent, i had a couple private conversations that revealed a level of discomfort among the Younger Generation of republican senators, ben sasse, jeff flake, tim scott, perhaps even marco rubio that they felt more uncomfortable with this debate than some of the older members. The old bulls, if you will. I think thats probably right. The thing you said about they all voted the same way is probably still the most important thing right now but its interesting when we look at those hallway quotes you have, senator grassley saying the reason theres no republican women on the committee is because women dont like to work hard. So sort of the more problematic quotes that are going to send moderates, women fleeing from the Republican Party, you are right. Youre not hearing them from that Younger Generation of people. But the senator hatches, senator grassleys. How much do voters care about the rhetoric and how much do they care about the actual vote at the end of the day . Im interested to see in the long term how this debate has affected the party. I wonder if thats not an early indicator. I think youre right. Theres a generational difference. But is there a place for those people in the Senate Republican conference . Jeff flake is already retiring. Hell be gone next year. Ben sasse told me and hes told many others hes not sure if hes going to run for reelection in 2020. He doesnt ever really seem happy in the senate. So they have to figure that part out of how to recruit new eyoungeyoung er people and how to retain them and get them elected. Marc, is there any constituency in the Republican Party anymore for civility because it seems like they all want Donald Trumps brand of in your face politics. I mean, i would say the same place on the democratic side where you have i want to focus on the republicans here. These people do not to paul the point have a constituency in their party anymore. Theres a lot of civility we see. We have to remember and senator mcconnell said while all of this debate was going on and all the Media Attention rightfully so was on this attention they in a large bipartisan fashion passed one of the largest opioid bills. 90 of what the senate and the house does is very procedural, very formatic and very spending money is easy. But its the handful of things that go along partisan lines where they get all the attention and rightfully so. So i think civility is still there. I think we do have members who are have generational challenges as probably many of douse in our own families when we have some of our older relatives that say things that, not really supposed to say it that way anymore. Theyre not in the senate. Hes not a u. S. Senator. I also worry on the other side, as we talk about how it impacts women. When you look at the video of people clawing at the brass doors of the Supreme Court, screaming expletsives inches away from Police Officers faces and shrieking and being led out of the senate or storming the capitol, that is not necessarily a protest thats going to attract moderate, mainstream that is what mcconnell is arguing is going to help them in the midterms. Marc lotter, ashley parker, paul kane, thank you for a great discussion. In our next hour, a first look at ally vitali with her interview with donald trump jr. On the campaign trail. A closer look at americas deep divide. How and when did we become red or blue . Were going to talk about Steve Kornackis brandnew book, up next. We need to fail down here so we dont fail up there. We got a bad fire. Theyre gone, neil. What are the chances this is the last time the boys are gonna see you . Do you think youre coming back . We have serious problems. [ dramatic music continues ] first man. Rated pg13. Discover. O. I like your card, but im absolutely not paying an annual fee. Discover has no annual fees. Really . Yeah. We just dont believe in them. Oh nice. You would not believe how long ive been rehearsing that. No annual fee on any card. Only from discover. Yes, were still here. And its still too close to call. Just before 8 00 p. M. In the east, a projection that portends trouble for the texas governor. Al gore appears to have won florida. Nbc news projects that he wins the 25 electoral votes in the state of florida. The news comes during a bush family dinner. Started they quickly return to the governors mansion. The nominee works the phones saying the projection is premature. I think america ought to wait before they count all the votes. That was the nbc nightly news digesting Election Night in 2000 after the poll his closed in florida. In his new book, red america and blue america as we now know them were born on november 7, 2000. These divisions were created in the decade that preceded them. Steve is back with us to talk more about this book. First of all, thank you for sending me an early copy with the handwritten notes and the photos inside. That was lovely of you. They didnt have photos in the advanced copy so you put photo copies in. I appreciate it. One of the things thats interesting to me and at the outset of the book, im a child of the 90s, everything was great. You point out the economy was humming right along. We were not at war. It was a peaceful time and yet our politics took a turn for the worse. What do you in the three minutes that we have, what are the most important things that people should look for in this book that apply to what were seeing today . I think everything that we talk about in some ways take for granted in our politics when we say its broken now, take a look at the Supreme Court nomination politics. You look at the battle over the filibuster five years ago was thrown out on most of these judicial nominations, then the republicans threw it on the Supreme Court. All of these sort of norms, all of these traditions, all of these customs in politics that used to sort of breed some level of bipartisan cooperation just one by one theyre big discarded, being tossed aside for the purposes of political and partisan warfare. I think you do have to look back to the 1990s to see the creation of that. The key thing that happened in the 1990s and its expressed in the perfect dilection, but all of the major divisions in this country, gee ographic division, thats what red and blue mean to me. The terms red and blue, it feels like weve had them forever. It was election 2000 when people started to look at the map and saw those divides in that form, that red and blue that those to terms were created. If you said the term red america five years earlier nobody would have known what you were talking about. It was Newt Gingrich leading the republicans against bill clinton. Can i ask you clinton quickly . That was one thing that i was reminded of. Brett kavanaugh, now Justice Kavanaugh, he was an operative. He worked for ken starr and he raised the clintons in this hearing which a lot of people felt was stunning, but the fishers of that war, were still fighting that same war. Absolutely. It was 20 years ago. I believe it was this day in fact 20 years ago or it might have been tomorrow, i cant remember exactly what day it was that House Republicans voted to launch the impeachment inquiry against bill clinton. And you had a couple months later the impeachment of bill clinton. And we think of the impeachment as the big Political Drama of the 1990s, but remember the investigation that led to that moment actually the ken starr investigation, that began in the summer of 1994. The white water controversy sort of sprung up as soon as bill clinton became president. It was a series of wars, a series of momentous events, the republican ref lurvolution, the government shutdown, impeachment, and i think they were all building to that moment that you could see the country was torn in half. Weve been living with that world since. Its the world that about two decades later donald trump came along. Whatever side youre on, whatever you think of trump, he saw in those divisions opportunity and i think its a big reason why hes president today. I can tell anyone whos listened who has been surprised by Lindsey Graham that they have forgotten what Lindsey Graham was like during impeachment. Thank you. The book is the red and the blue, the 1990s go out and buy a copy. In our next hour, just in, taylor swift makes a political endorsement, plus the kasie dvr. We watch sunday shows so you dont have to. Were back after this. To. Were back after this. Itsbeingamasterofhypnotism easy. Hey, i got your text sleep doug, when i snap my fingers youre going to clean my gutters. Ooh i should clean your gutters great idea. Its not just easy. Its geico easy. Todd, you will go make me a frittata. With tough food, your dentures may slip and fall. New fixodent ultramax hold gives you the strongest hold ever to lock your dentures. So now you can eat tough food without worry. Fixodent and forget it. The battle thats divided the country. Still bitterly divided. Closely divide. Kavanaugh was officially sworn in yesterday. Judge Brett Kavanaugh is now Justice Kavanaugh. Justice kavanaugh. I love that. I am happy as a clam. Is this your proudest moment as a senator . I think so. I think there are good reasons to have doubts about now Justice Kavanaugh. Hes going to be on the Supreme Court with a huge taint. Justice kavanaugh should not be seen as taunted. Did you believe her . I thought she was credible. Do you not believe her. There was no corroboration. In this case its he said, she said, they said. I do not believe that Brett Kavanaugh was her assailant. Protesters stormed washington this week. It was really quite a display of aggressiveness. We may have lost a political battle, but i do think we are winning the cultural battle. This has been an awakening for this country. People of this country are so divided. Have things gotten worse in the United States senate . Theyre worse. The notion that the senate is somehow broken is inaccurate. Its not broken. Ive never campaigned against a colleague in my life. Thats about to change. In the long term you have to wonder about the soul of our country. Its almost an out of body experience i must say. Welcome to the second hour of kasie dc. Joining us from miami, Maria Theresa kumar. Greg, i want to start with you. You have worked with Mitch Mcconnell whose laughter is the man has a sense of humor that people dont actually realize. But how much damage was done this week to the senate and to the press as you, if our viewers who havent seen you on our previous weeks . You had wondered this process. I think a lot of damage was done. Senators are personally angry with each other about how this was handled. It was not handled the way allegations are normally handled, so it was a divisive few weeks. The scene that unfolded marked a chilling crescendo to one of the most partisan fights that the chamber has seen in quite some time. Will restore order in the gallery. The sergeant at arms will restore order in the gallery. { yelling } the sergeant at arms will restore order in the gallery. { yelling } the sergeant at arms has restored are in the galleries. As the daily beasts sam stein put it, those screams from the protesters seemed primal. These last 20 days have felt like one primal scream, one thats revealed even deeper f h fissures. Even Top Republicans were downbeat on saturday afternoon as the vote neared, cognizant of the cost of the political and cultural reckoning that has been sparked alongside the confirmation process. That sentiment was echoed by Susan Collins in her floor speech friday and its really the only thing senators on both sides of the aisle have been able to agree on through this entire process. We live in a time of such great disunity as the bitter fight over this nomination both in the senate and among the public clearly demonstrates. It is not merely a case of differing groups having different opinions. It is a case of people bearing extreme ill will toward those who disagree with them. Leann, weve been covering this the last 20 days. One thing that became clear to me and it was clear to me before dr. Blasey ford came forward, the way the protesters approached Susan Collins and across the board, showing up at their houses, it caused them to dig into the positions that they held, but on the flip side, ive never seen protests that were so personal and emotional, people actually standing outside offices telling deeply and personal stories about their own live. Thats absolutely right and they were numerous. They were there on a daily basis. They were committed. You talked about digging in. I think thats absolutely what happened. It became a partisan thing as well. The protesters were the left. The right, the republicans didnt necessarily pay much attention to the protesters. As far as the mood on capitol hill, we talked to senators throughout the week who said that theyve never seen it this bad, even some of these longtime senators. And even after kavanaugh was confirmed on saturday, people were leaving the senate chamber, you know, the republicans were happy, but still there was some solemn feeling. You know, jeff flake said rock bottom. All of them had very similar sentiments and how it repairs itself is still unclear. Greg, how much of this falls at the feet of senator mcconnell . He has a reputation as being, you know, and paul cain said it earlier, all he wants to do is win. Well, he certainly had a priority placed on the judiciary and judicial issues going back for decades. This whole story is one that goes back for decades. Mcconnell took a strong position on not filling the vacancy that arose during the obama presidency. Which he calls his greatest achievement so far. But thats not the beginning. Republicans it will tell the story going back to bourque who kavanaughs feeling was supposed to be bourques seat. Mcconnell has been part of this fight, but so has schumer going back through the bush years and some nasty judicial confirmation fights. Its not exactly a straight line, but it keeps getting worse and worse. Maria, i want to get your take on mcconnells analysis of how this has affected his landscape politically. Hes called the protesters a mob. He says that thats essentially created an enemy that has animated his base in a way he wasnt able to do himself. Whats your take on how those displays fit into what democrats are trying to accomplish this midterm . Well, i think actually labeling these individuals, many of them were survivors coming forward as a mob and not actually listening to their voices plays into what a lot of the Progressive Movement believes is the republicans are helping incite a cultural war. I think the challenge mcconnell faces is to stir up as many of his base as folks that have been independent, but feel uncomfortable with the way the tone is. I have to say i used to work on capitol hill. I have never seen anything like it. It is a sad day when you cant have even the folks that are voting someone into the top judiciary excuse me, into the top office of the Supreme Court and feel at least that it was functional. I think that was the real underlying problem on this is that it didnt seem functional. It didnt seem transparent. It wasnt like there was an honest dialogue of what was happening. The fact that kavanaugh was sworn in. Even the people that were swearing him in didnt feel elated. There was a group that did, but they felt like they didnt do their job and i feel like its something people should take seriously. Do you think that the one week period while we were waiting for the fbi investigation, how do you think that ultimately tilted this process . I think it went two ways. I think jeff flake and senator chris coons tried to save the process with this fbi investigation. But when the fbi investigation came out, it was such a partisan response to it. Democrats thought it was a sham investigation. Republicans used it as an opportunity to say that there is no corroboration. And i almost think that it harmed the process anymore. I think that it gave republicans like Susan Collins and jeff flake an opportunity to vote for kavanaugh, but as far as the senate is concerned, i dont think it did anything to improve it. Youve seen a lot of these background investigations behind the scenes. Whats your take on whether this was legitimate . I think it was an ordinary supplemental background investigation. I think the democrats got what they were asking for. And are disappointed now that it wasnt more than what they were asking for. There was a reason that senator schumer and senator feinstein when they were demanding the supplemental investigation kept saying it will only take a view days when that is what a supplemental investigation is. They go out and interview a few people to complete the file. I think thats what happened here. Maria, whats your take on how the investigation or i know democrats are arguing that it wasnt actually an investigation. How ultimately it turned the process. Well, if you recall, one of the second people that came forward was Diane Ramirez and she herself said im open to have a conversation with the fbi, please interview me. That never took place. I think it was the fact that a lot of the folks that were accusing kavanaugh of basically these acts, it was not a comprehensive review. That and the way the information, the fbi investigative report was distributed. The senator his to stand in a room and basically rip off the report and share page by page. It wasnt widely reviewed in a way that you would most normally be bound and given to every senator. The process didnt have to stink, but it did because they basically created obstacles that were unnecessary. All right. When we continue tonight, the president relishes victory, but who stands to gain the most from kavanaughs confirmation . Im joined by Mississippi Senate candidate mike espy. Women were front and center as the vote came down the wire. Well talk about their historic roles when we continue. Toric roles when we continue es Liberty Mutual accident forgiveness means they wont hike your rates over one mistake. See, Liberty Mutual doesnt hold grudges. For drivers with accident forgiveness Liberty Mutual wont raise their rates because of their first accident. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty this is moving day with the best inhome wifi experience and millions of wifi hotspots to help you stay connected. And this is moving day with Reliable Service appointments in a twohour window so youre up and running in no time. Show me decorating shows. This is staying connected with xfinity to make moving. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Stay connected while you move with the best wifi experience and twohour appointment windows. Click, call or visit a store today. People that spoke to me most in the strongest of terms in his favor were women. Women. Women were outraged at what happened to Brett Kavanaugh. Outraged. And i think thats a total misnomer because the women i feel were many ways stronger than the men in his favor. So we have a lot of women that are extremely happy, a tremendous number of women. Theyre thinking of their sons. Theyre thinking of their husbands and brothers and their uncles and others. And women are i think extremely happy. President trump has praised Susan Collins speech and vote over and over again saying shes gotten an unbelievable level of respect. But senator Lisa Murkowski is another story. Even when one side of this chamber is absolutely dead set on defeating his nomination from the very get go before he was even named, even in these situations the standard is that a judge must act at all times in a manner that promotes Public Confidence in the independence, integrity impartiality of the judiciary and shall avoid the appearance of impropriety. And after the hearing that we all watched last week, last thursday, it became clear to me or was becoming clearer that that appearance of impropriety has become unavoidable. In a time with plenty of outbursts in the senate chamber, there was no one there to applaud her speech. And the president told the Washington Post, quote, i think murkowski will never recover from this. I think the people from alaska will never forgive her for what she did. Lets walk through all the way in this Lisa Murkowski, all the lessons shes learned about how much she does or doesnt need the Republican Party. This is a person who was abandoned by her leadership when she lost a prime tary in 2010 a said fine, im going to launch a writing campaign and she won. I think the difference between Lisa Murkowskis floor speech and Susan Collins floor speech said everything. The republicans were right behind Susan Collins floor speech. They placed two republican women behind her. Solidarity. Lisa murkowskis floor speech the chamber was empty. But like you said, she has pr b proven that she has not needed the party to win. Alaska is a fiercely independent state. She also one her last Reelection Campaign with at Broad Coalition. She won with women and men and a Broad Coalition of voters. Shes done it before. Greg, whats your sense of how the republican conference is going to react to Lisa Murkowski . I think shes been a valuable to the party for a long time. Shes an independent voice. Even her take on kavanaugh was very unique. She asserted that she was sure he was a good man and didnt believe suggested she didnt believe the allegations, but shes upset with how this process has gone and that brought the Court Disrespect so she couldnt vote yes. It certainly i thought that because she tried to not focus on dr. Blasey ford even though that was at the forefront of her thinking. The day before she had been meeting with Sexual Assault sir vi survivors. I think its difference between collins and mur ckowski. They are good friends but they represent two different states and theyre two different women. I was talking to a former murkowski aide shortly after she announced she was going to vote against kavanaugh and he said that murkowski has always taken great pride in representing women and republican women and that is something that she has done throughout her career. Susan collins when you ask her similar questions has a different take. She says yes, i am a woman, but i am a senator too. She doesnt view her role the same way that murkowski does from a gender perspective. Thats really interest. Susan glasser writes also in the new yorker about sally quinn who is a former Washington Post reporter and long time person here in washington and she said that senator john tower attempted to rape her in the back seat of a taxi after a dinner date when she was 20 years old. When tower was later was for defense secretary under president george hb bush quinn refused to talk to the fbi. She didnt think anyone would believe her story and she had no corroboration. He told glasser the night before dr. Blasey fords testimony that she could have been anita hill but she didnt want to be and that nothing has changed since then. Glasser writes, quote, i called quinn back on thursday evening after a tumultuous week when it was already clear it would likely not change the outcome of ka kavanaughs appointment. Bottom line, civic duty or no, its just not worth it. Whats your response to that . Is the message thats been sent here that its still just not worth it for women to come forward . No. I think if anything the opposite. The fact that we were able to get two women that protested flake at the Elevator Bank asking him to really reconsider and he basic went back and had a conversation with coons and promoted and encouraged that fbi investigation demonstrates that we have to be at the front lines p. Wh what elected officials want us to do is turn off and turn away so they cant function in a transparent democracy. It should be the opposite. We should encourage people to come forward, to be courageous. I think if anything the vote that we saw with murkowski was incredibly courageous. She was brave and went against her party because she was representing the people of alaska. Well see, im interested to see if some democrats reward her for that when shes back up election again. Some democrats are acknowledging that dr. Blasey ford and Deborah Ramirez allegations could have more effect if not for Michael Avenatti. Who is now eyeing a run for the white house. He entered the fray days after dr. Ford went public. Avenatti revealed his client julie swetnicks allegations that featured gang rape and spiked drinks. While kavanaugh denied those claims, republicans slammed them and took issue with avenattis involvement. I think this process changed dramatically when mr. Avenatti entered the picture. I ang lthink a lot of people, including my democratic colleagues felt like at that point we had gotten into the foot hills of preposterous. It seems like democrats like chris coons are conceding he may have done more harm than good. I like the phrase the foot hills of the preposterous is going to end up being a memorable phrase. I do think hes correct that there was a widespread response certainly on the republican side, that these were not incredible allegations. Avenatti is Still Standing by his involvement. Here is what he told me last week when i pressed him on this point and asked whether swetnick might have been better served by a different lawyer. As it relates to my client, my client came to me because i am a very good lawyer. I represent my clients and i do a very good job as evidenced by the last 18 years of trial practice and the work that ive done for stormy daniels. Ive done an exceptional job. So i also want to raise, we just had a tweet from Michael Avenatti about an hour ago, he says hes quoting cory booker who says in iowa i have nothing personal against this president if he wants to attack me personally he can. Michael avenatti taking cory book to booker to atask over this. We have different views about how solve the problems of his presidency. It seems like were off to the races. I asked him that question last week because thats what i was hearing from democrats on the hill is Michael Avenattis involvement made it worse. He did not like that question either. But so when Christine Blasey ford first came out and then the ramirez claims came out, democrats were trying extremely hard to not make this look political. Republicans were charging that this was all politics. The timing, they questioned all of it. Then when avenatti stormed in, it made it look very political and that is the exact opposite thing that democrats wanted from the optics perspective. And republicans obviously, i mean, greg, whats your view of how avenatti involvement change s changed . It was like all democrats were lined up against kavanaugh before any of this came out and the hearings were contentious. Democrats senators were suggesting he was lying. There was a line of question from kamala harris. The ford stuffed seemed credible. There was a pause but there was that background and by the time it got to avenatti, the ford story kind of sunk into all that other partisan mess. Whats your take on avenatti . Do the democrats need somebody whos going to play a little bit more the way donald trump works . I think its avenatti 2020. I think thats clear. He knows that cory book ser doing his rounds and wants to basically be the nominee. Avenatti is saying ill take the gloves off. Its going to be an incredibly crowded field as you know, kasie. Avenatti i think is going to be on one end where people are going to fill in in between. It will be interesting if the American Public really wants constant shouting at each other between the president ial trump and the nominee on the Democratic Party. I actually think that people want the temperature to be a little bit toned down and actually have thoughtful analysis, but well see. If you thought 2016 was exhausting, just wait. And now for something completely different and some breaking news for all of you at home, pop star taylor swift has made a political announcement. She has announced on her instagram she is endorsing two democrats, former tennessee governor for the u. S. Senate and congressman jim cooper for reelection to his seat. He said a republican senator Marsha Blackburn saying her voting record a pauls and terrifies me. The congresswoman hman has sinc tweeted his thanks. You took out the shake it off pun. Thats sad. I like that. When we come back, mississippi is as dark red as it gets, but is there a chance it could follow alabama . Were going to talk to former congressman mike espy who faces an uphill climb as he runs for senate. If you ever missed the show, dont worry. Kasie dc is Still Available on podcast. Our breaking news and analysis. Ok here we go guys, you ready . Hi cinturones por favor. Gracias. Opportunity is everywhere. Its gonna be fine. Its a door. Its doing a lot of kicking down there. Waiting to be opened. Whatever your ambition. Whatever your drive. Whatever youre chasing. Driver, are we almost there . Were gonna have a baby daddy daddy opportunity is everywhere. All you have to do to find it is get out. Here. Minutes can mean the difference between life and death. Proposition 11 saves lives by ensuring medical care is not delayed in an emergency. Proposition 11 establishes into law the longstanding industry practice of paying emts and paramedics to remain oncall during breaks and requires they receive fema level training and active shooters and natural disasters. Vote yes on 11 to ensure 911 Emergency Care is there when you or your love one need it. Today, lifechanging technology from abbott is helping hunt them down at their source. Because the faster we can identify new viruses, the faster we can get to stopping them. The most personal technology, is technology with the power to change your life. Life. To the fullest. A vote for cindy is a vote for me and make America Great again. And a vote for cindys opponent, mike espy, is a vote for chuck schumer, nancy pelosi, and the legendary low iq person max se m maxin maxine waters. Thats why schumers pack is funding mike espy with a lot of money. That was President Trump rallying voters this week in mississippi where an nbc News Survey Monkey poll shows former democratic congressman mike espy leading cindy hydesmith by one point. Secretary espy joins me live from jackson mississippi. Sir, thanks very much for being on the program. Hello, kasie. Good evening. Im sorry we cant produce that lightning bolt. I will keep that in mind. Well try and bring it back for your next appearance. Next time. I want to ask you first, youve said that youre going to be a no on judge kavanaugh or if you were in the senate you would have been voting no. This is something that republicans have basically crowed about as leading them to much greater returns i suppose on the senate map. Yes. Do you think that this is going to be a defining issue in your race and did you think about announcing or did you ever consider supporting kavanaugh . Well, i mean, i didnt say, that but i want to qualify it if youll allow me to. Im running for the senate. Im not there yet. So i was not privy to that confidential fbi report that all senators read on a confidential basis, so i was not able to read who corroborated what dr. Ford said. But i base my answer on what i had seen and what i saw like most americans on that riveting testimony of dr. Ford, i really saw her, you know, give a searing rendition of what she believed had happened to her. And i was it was searing and i believed it and i thought it was incredibly credible. On the other hand, Justice Kavanaugh, i believe that he treated himself and came up with more of the victim. I think that someone running for the highest court in the land, you know, for a lifetime appointment, that fbi investigation should have been more thorough and im sorry that it wasnt. But on that basis alone, i said that if i had been there in the senate, i would have been a probable no. I said that. But its qualified based on what was in the report which i didnt read of course. Do you think you might have been a yes if you had read the report and concluded as many republicans did that there was no corroborating evidence for dr. Fords claims . Well, i mean, i always like to make judge mt basment based , so i would have drawn a conclusion based on what i read. The only thing i have to base my conclusion on what i saw as an ordinary citizen which is dr. Fords testimony which i thought was serious and credible and the fact that the fbi did not interview her and i read that she supplied other names of those who could serve as corroborating witnesses and they werent interviewed. And then they did not interview judge kavanaugh. So thats why i said probable no. How do you feel this issue has impacted your state as you have been campaigning and talking to constituents . Is this something that has broken through and you think is going to make a big difference in your race or isnt. I dont believe it will at all. Its been a couple days since that testimony and ive not seen we have not seen any perceptible change in polling or attitudes. Ive been all over the state of mississippi, counties and rallies and people care about rural hospitalis closing, about the brain drain, about health care. All the issues that concern them much more than this. Of course, this is a serious issue, but for me and my race, i dont think its going to be that impactful at all. What do you i think there are a lot of people who are surprised that this is a competitive race. Theres not generally the perception that mississippi is ever in play for on the senate map at least. What is your explanation for why this is happening . Is it about the president or is it about Something Else . No. Its about me. Its about me. Perhaps that question was too easy for you. Well, its the truth. Hes the president of the United States and he can go anywhere he chooses to go and, you know, he came to mississippi and thats great, but im not running against President Trump. Im running for the u. S. Senate. I served as a member of congress for six years, elected to a fourth term. I served everyone regardless of race or party or gender or religion. I was a representative for everyone and everyone here knows that. I served as secretary of agriculture so whether youre a white farmer or black farmer, or a white or black resident, youre concerned about rural hospitals and rural water and rural suer and ewer or race or d early on a quintessential republican was running and i endorsed him in public. It was done at the right time for the right reason because it was right after Hurricane Katrina had devastated mississippi. I said then in 2007, i didnt know id be running for any office, but i said in 2007 hes the right person at this time for mississippi because Hurricane Katrina had devastated our state. He was in the office with the rolodex and the network to bring greater rehabilitation to mississippi. Thats why i did it. People know i will work across the aisle. I will work with everyone regardless of race or party, to lift our state, to improve our education, to improve our health care, and to improve our education and economic development. They know that. Thats why im leading in the race today. Haley barber a friend of the show, mike espy, thank you for your time. Were going to be watching your race very closely. Thank you very much. Its an honor to be here with you. Thank you. When we come back, brand new reporting on the growing trump family business. Campaign trail surrogate. Her oneonone interview with donald trump jr. Up next. P next [ buttons clicking ] [ camera shutter clicks ] so, now that you have a house, you can use homequote explorer. Quiet. Im blasting my quads. Janice, look. Im in a meeting. Janice, look. [ chuckles ] look, look. Im looking. Its easy. You just answer some simple questions online, and you get Coverage Options to choose from. Youre ruining my workout. Cycling is my passion. Get stronger. Get closer. Start listening today to the Worlds Largest selection of audiobooks on audible. And now, get more. For just 14. 95 a month, youll get a credit a month good for any audiobook, plus two Audible Originals exclusive titles you cant find anywhere else. If you dont like a book, you can exchange it any time, no questions asked. Automatically roll your credits over to the next month if you dont use them. With the free audible app, you can listen anytime, and anywhere. Plus for the first time ever, youll get access to exclusive fitness programs a 95 value free with membership. Start a 30day trial today and your first audiobook is free. Cancel anytime and your books are yours to keep forever. Audible. The most inspiring minds. The most compelling stories. Text listen27 to 500500 to start your free trial today. President trump will be campaigning across the country this week as the midterms near, but one of the most in demand surrogates is actually his son, donald trump jr. , who has been traveling the country speaking at republican rallies in some of the most critical races. But im here to help the people that weve had good relationships with. Were out there fighting for the people who have been there and who have supported my father. When you look at it, theres not a single economic metric that we are not better off today than we were two years ago. Not one. It doesnt exist. Nbc news caught up with donald trump jr. On the trail and ali joins us now. Its great to have you here onset. Your reporting on the midterm elections has been great. I want to start on this point, not with the political side of this, but rather the fact that donald trump jr. Frankly is under a cloud of legal suspicion and with the mueller investigation. Do we know whether or not hes spoken to mueller . We dont. So when you ask him about the russia investigation, he really does give you this sense that maybe we care about it in washington, but voters dont necessarily. Take a look at what he had to say to me about that when i asked him that very question. When youre out here on the campaign trail and you talk about this, whats the reaction that you guys get . Honestly, no one has asked about this in two years because everyone knows it was nonsense. It was a big catalyst because the media needed it to be true. They needed something to say this is why trump won. Truly when i talk to voters and i ask about russia the one whose support trump are keeping up with it because they feel like its another reason theyre trying to get him out of office, but none of them are saying this is the issue im voting on, so i think theres something to be said when don junior said no one is paying attention to. Mueller is, but voters might not necessarily. The family has been ramping up his Legal Defense as well. Do any of the candidates seem concerned about it or not really . No, not really. When you listen to them, i followed them to montana and i was with them in texas. In the tester race and then the ted cruz race. Both of those candidates were happy to have him out there. The crowd loved having him there. S ask who you are here for and it was kind of a split. A lot of them are like im here for don junior. Matt rosendale said he was ecstatic to have don junior there. When youre looking at can i get the trump base turn up, they think thats what is going to be the magic formula. Sure democrats are energized and we can get them out as long as trump can come out here. Matt said Something Like that. Take a look. What do you think of having donald trump jr. Out here . Its fabulous to have support from the white house, from the president , from the son. Its really been great. It brings energy. Very exciting. This is energy. This is a charged up Republican Party. So yeah, kasie, theyre not paying attention to russia. Theyre looking for someone who is going to rally the trump base. Greg, whats your take on the trump family and the longterm kind of state of the Republican Party . Because it does seem as though i suppose if mueller actually finds something we wont be hearing as much from don junior in the future because he does seem to be following in his fathers foot steps. I think he has a deep are rooting in the Republican Party. He was talking about republican policies for years before his father aligned himself with the Republican Party. With don junior you get the energy of the trump brand, but also someone who seems to have been committed to some causes that Republican Voters care about. I think he has in the family has the most star power. That is really interesting. I would not have thought that. Ali, great reporting as always. Last week we heard Elizabeth Warren saying she could run for president. Next on kasie dc. Kasie dcmatch. So if you find your room at a lower rate, hilton is like. Were gonna match that rate and give you an extra 25 off. What would travel sites do if you found a better price . Thats not my problem, its your problem. Get outta here. Woah, i really felt that performance. Its just acting, im really good at it. Book at hilton. Com and get the hilton price match guarantee. If you find a lower rate,and giu 25 off that stay. What sore muscles . What with advpounding head . Advil is. Relief thats fast. Strength that lasts. Youll ask. What pain . With advil. With tough food, your dentures may slip and fall. New fixodent ultramax hold gives you the strongest hold ever to lock your dentures. So now you can eat tough food without worry. Fixodent and forget it. Elizabe. I want to ask you a question straight out. Flatout. I want you to give me an honest answer. Are you considering running for president in 2020 . Im not thinking about running for president. I dont know what im going to do. I have no clue. Ive been traveling around the country. Raising money for democrats. Im going to do all i can to win my seat first. Have a baby, on november 14th. People want a fighter and people want somebody that can actually beat donald trump. Sir, i cant imagine how you might accidentally end up in new hampshire, how many months out from the 2020 primary are we . You cant beat donald trump, you go home. Are you ruling out running for president in 2020 . No. Thats another year. I dont know. Im not ruling it out. So youre telling me theres a chance . Yeah got a great run of some of our favorite kasie d. C. Segments. Democratic senator from california. Kamla harris happened to be in california speaking on behalf of her party. She implored democrats to take back the power. What we saw and many of us became very disspirited over the last couple of days and weeks. Lets deal with that, right . Because what we saw was an exercise of raw power. Raw power. Which was used and had the effect of demeaning and diminishing and belittling people. Well, heres the thing if we want to correct the course, what do we need to do . We need to take the power. That means we need to maximize the power of the people. The power of the people. And how do we do that . We vote. And with that, lets bring in Nbc News National Political reporter mike memally. Youre talking about the memo today, so but you still put the memo what are you seeing in ohio . Well, kasie, the Supreme Court confirmation process just wrapping up here. Really on the minds of everybody at this Ohio State Party dinner. Thats senator kamla harris spoke to tonight. Its 30 days until the midterm elections but 31 days until we can dive into the 2020 race, we had a chance to talk to senator harris earlier today. She did say shes focused on 18. Thats why she was at this dinner tonight. Her role in those Senate Confirmation process was really something that we heard from the litany of speakers here. Every statewide office. Shes one of the people who really emerges with her stature in hand what we heard from a lot of the speakers tonight is concern that the Supreme Court confirmation process may have helped energize republicans in a way they hadnt been previously. Senator kamla harris, front and center in this process. She talked about the fact that theres still perhaps more to say, more to hear about what involves, involving judge kavanaugh. Heres what she had to say to the democrats in the room tonight. The truth is like the sun it always comes up in the morning. And on these issues that were presented during those hearings, i believe the truth will eventually reveal itself. One of the important things that senator harris is doing here not just filling a room, i promise you this room was very full about an hour ago. But also helping some of those red state democrats who are going to be facing even tougher races perhaps because of their vote against judge kavanaugh. You as you know well kasie. You reported some of this as well. Sno donnelly and senator heitkamp. Senator harris used her fundraising list to try to help those candidates. Praising them and saying they need all the help they can get now. Mike, thank you so much. And yes, thats right kamla Harris Campaign folks apparently raising 400,000 for senator heitkamp in just 24 hours. Maria theresa kumar, youre our resident democrat here tonight. Whats your take on senator harris role in this primary process . How do you think she sort of stacks up against the emerging field . I think she is really impressive. She would be the first firstterm senator to decide to run for the highest office of the land. Whats interesting, though, is who shes endorsing, in august she endorsed the democratic oh oh secretary of state. Shes saying shes going to be in iowa later this month after right before the midterms, shes doing all the right things. But shes also bringing in some of the more conservative democrats. You mentioned Heidi Heitkamp, theres a few others, shes trying to none straight shes a prosecuting attorney first, shes tough and that she is definitely weighing her options. Where is she visiting, who is she visiting . Shes with Stacie Abrams in georgia. Going to the red states and is identifying with people she feels she can bring forward and help. Certainly going to be one to watch. Thanks. When we return, what to watch for in the week ahead. All right before we go, lets talk about what youre watching in the week ahead, Maria Theresa, what are you looking for . The florida, arizona and testimony tx, a surge of voters texas, voters registering, it will interesting to see what the outcome is. And texas alone, over 400,000 new registered voters. Very great point. Leanne what are you watching next week. Democrats are trying to turn the tide back to issues that their voters care about. They are going to push a bill this week on the senate floor about preexisting conditions. And effort to rally their base. Im sure they need that at this point greg, what are you watching for . Im watching the fallout from the kavanaugh hearings. A lot of senator was like to turn the page but thats not going to happen yet. Call for investigation into how the allegations were handled and how it leaks out into the public. Im watching to see the kavanaugh and the impact on the midterms is this just a sugar high for republicans or is it real and lasting . I also before we go, want to give a shoutout to wanda. And her human tom who is a friend of our show. This is our dog watching kasie d. C. For the evening. Thank you, guys, for tuning in. We love it and all of you out there, send it to us on twitter with the dogswatchingkasied. C. Well be back next week from 7 00 to 00 p. M. Eastern. Dont miss an allnew headliners, Jared Kushner. For now goodbye from washington. Jared is a great young man, he went to harvard . Hes the quiet power behind the brass president. He said were going to win this thing. But Jared Kushner has drawn criticism of his own. Raised a whole host of questions about his business deals, his financial history and his ties. To russia. Had i no improper contacts. When you have a Family Member that you appoint and who is expected to serve you, theres a divided loyalty. Kushner learned early about family loyalty. Especially in a