Transcripts For MSNBCW MSNBC Live With Craig Melvin 20181002

Moment. We start with the evershifting definition of a comprehensive fbi investigation into Brett Kavanaugh. Just moments ago, some breaking news, nbc news reporting that the fbi has completed its interview with mark judge. Thats according to judges attorney. That means the fbi has completed interviewing the four names initially approved by the white house, and after much criticism, the white house has okayed enlarging that list, but Neither Party is exactly sure of the goal posts here, especially as Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell reiterated his demand to hold a vote this week. Lets start on capitol hill with msnbcs garrett haake. Mcconnell really seems to think theres going to be a vote sometime later this week. Whats he betting on here . Reporter well, hes betting that the fbi will not find anything particularly new or damning about judge kavanaugh, and hes betting that the republican senators who asked for this investigation will be satisfied that the fbi had free rein to do its job and do its job well. And if youre a betting man or if youre Mitch Mcconnell, you have to like how today is starting out so far. Heres jeff flake talking a short time ago about this investigation. They interviewed the first four that were named and have branched off from there is my understanding and are interviewing additional individuals as it should be. And i hope that they follow leads that come from those first interviews. Reporter so flake was the key man in this, he was the man who suggested in the first place this oneweek long fbi investigation, and you hear him saying he hopes that the fbi would continue to conduct additional interviews based on what they found. Another one of those key senators involved in this process who wants the fbi investigation, Lisa Murkowski of alaska who i spoke to just a few minutes ago. Shes going a little further than hoping. She talked to the white House Counsel about this very question. Heres what she just told me. I have had a conversation with mr. Mcgahn about the extent of what the fbi is doing and what i have been assured is that they are conducting this Background Investigation as they do all Background Investigations allowing for the investigation to take its course. Reporter so craig, remember, with jeff flake before he asked for this investigation, he had said he was going to be a yes vote on judge kavanaugh. He, at least, wants to get to that point, so its not that these three senators need exculpatory evidence to come out. They dont need a smoking gun somehow proving kavanaugh is innocent. They need to trust that this process was thorough and it was done in a concerted effort and not just done to paper over their concerns. And it sounds like so far, at least these two senators are getting what they asked for. Senator murkowski say anything about whether she believes this timetable is realistic . Reporter she wouldnt go into the timetable beyond saying she trusted the fbi can and will do its job. Even democrats can see that the fbi can do this work in a week if they are allowed to do so. So the timetable isnt the question so much as whether the white house or whether Senate Republicans or anyone else from the outside might be inappropriately interfering or telling the fbi to somehow limit the scope of what they can do. Garrett haake for us there on capitol hill. Thank you for your hard work as always, sir. Shawn henry is an msnbc contributor. Hes also former executive assistant director of the fbi. Greg bauer, a former u. S. Attorney, former assistant director for the office of Congressional Affairs at the fbi, and Betsy Woodruff is an msnbc contributor and a political reporter at the daily beast. Well start with you in the studio. The fbi can now extend this process to interview more people. We know now that mark judge has been interviewed. Going back to this timetable question, is it realistic to believe that the fbi can conduct a thorough, sufficient investigation in the time thats been allotted by the white house and the Senate Majority leader . I think the first question, craig, is what is it thats actually being investigated. Is this an investigation to corroborate the allegations made by dr. Blasey ford and if thatses cathats the case there are certain parameters there. Is the candidate suitable to be a Supreme Court justice . And if thats the case, then i think a lot of information has come out. There have been people who have come forward subsequent to the candidate testifying in front of the Senate Subcommittee, and that would be a different investigation. So what can be done in a week . Theres a lot that can be done in a week. Whats most important, i think, is really to define what is to be conducted here in the course of the next few days . There are reports that professor ford has not yet been interviewed by the fbi. Could the fbi realistically conduct a thorough investigation without, again, talking to professor ford . I think its standard process in any investigation that if you have a complainant whos a witness, somebody whos made these allegations, that would be the first person to be interviewed. Youve also in this case got the accused. The president said that judge kavanaugh could be interviewed. I think the bureau would typically do that in the course of an investigation. If there are parameters that have been placed, remember, they are working at the behest of the white house. The white house has made a statement that said they can go wherever they want to go, but the reality is its being filtered down through the department of justice. The bureau is likely getting directions contemporaneous their interviews from the department of justice. How involved do you think this white house is in terms of directing the fbi, guiding the fbi through the course of this investigation . I think that thats unclear. I think we can look historically where there have been statements made by the white house. The white house in this particular case, because its not a criminal investigation, the white house is the ultimate consumer of the fbi report, and it is not unusual for there to be direction coming back through the department of justice. Ive conducted these specific types of investigations early in my career. Thats not unusual about going back and forth. The question remains, though, can the fbi conduct a thorough investigation that the Senate Subcommittee and ultimately the public can be convinced that the allegations have been resolved one way or the other before this nomination goes forward. Betsy, meanwhile, the president s response appears either measured or oppo plek tick depending on whether hes at the rose garden or a Campaign Rally. Take a listen. I think the fbi should do what they have to do to get to the answer. And then they want to take a lot longer with the fbi. No, the fbi they should take by the way, if we took ten years, theyd want more time. How comfortable is the white house, betsy, with this expanded inquiry . Of course the president switching rhetoric on these things reflects tension within the white house and reflebcts te fact that hes hearing different assessments from different people when it comes to how he should be talking about this fbi investigation that could potentially upend what he views as a key legacy item for his presidency. The broader question of how folks in the white house feel about this fbi probe is one thats a little challenging to answer. Remember, the white house is not a mono lif you may hear Different Things about the comfort level. Just the extension of the time frame that it takes for kavanaugh to be confirmed gives more time for other potential accusers to come forward. This is something that people in the white house have been worried about going as far back since last week. Since this investigation started, we havent seen any new accusers come forward. In political times, four days or even three days now is a lifetime. People in the white house just dont know whats going to happen, and that causes a significant level of agitation and concern. At the same time, theres also a school of thought that its very possible this fbi investigation will not turn up any new material corroborating the assertions and allegations of dr. Ford. And if thats the case, then you can expect to see white house officials point to the investigation and say, look, the fbi wasnt able to definitively prove that what she said was true. Therefore, shes a liar. Thats something that was a very possible response from the white house, again, totally contingent on the results of this fbi investigation. Right now the white house is in wait and see mode as is the rest of the country, and its certainly an extraordinary few days we can expect to see play out. Greg, in his testimony Brett Kavanaugh criticized yale accuser Deborah Ramirez for trying to refresh other peoples memories prior to that new yorker story. A new nbc story says basically his team was apparently trying to do the same. The nbc story based on a memo about texts between kavanaugh and yale classmates. It also says this, the texts demonstrate that kavanaugh and ramirez were more socially connected than previously understood and that ramirez was uncomfortable around kavanaugh when they saw each other at a wedding ten years after they graduated. The efforts of one of the yale classmates show that some potential witnesses had been unable to get Important Information to the fbi. How does the fbi determine whom to contact, greg . Generally, in my experience in managing the legal aspects of these Background Investigations, one witness will lead to another witness. It starts with the names of the people that the applicant, in this case, the nominee, lists on their paperwork, but it doesnt really stop there. It doesnt necessarily stop there. Agents will go out and interview those people. Those people may mention other people, and it can expand from there, and thats why its very difficult to put a time frame on even a Background Investigation, even a reopened Background Investigation, and i suspect that if the bureau at the end of the week believes that it hasnt had sufficient time to interview all of the people whom it thinks should be interviewed to get to the bottom of these allegations, it will request more time from the white house, and that will be an interesting thing to watch, if that happens. Shawn, in kavanaughs testimony as you probably remembered, he talked about something called boofing. Yearbook comments said it pertained to flatulence. Former yale roommate tweeted maybe an hour or two ago, tweeted this, boofing meant sex, not sex with a girlfriend. Sex with someone who doesnt matter. People would say i want to boof her, not i want to boof with her. Should the fbi investigate the voracity of kavanaughs claim . And i ask that because earlier this week it was former fbi director james comey who said little lies point to bigger lies. You know, i think that going back to is this a suitability inquiry, is this to determine whether judge kavanaugh is suitable to sit on the Supreme Court or not, and if he made statements that were misleading, mischaracterized or out and out lies, would that be a disqualifying factor. We heard senator flake say, yes, that certainly would be. I think when youre talking about a position like a Supreme Court justice, certainly voracity and credibility are pretty key ccharacteristics. In the course of this investigation, if people come forward with allegations that seem to contradict what the judge said, i think that those are the types of things that they would look at as part of his ability to be on the Supreme Court. Whether theyre allowed to do that or not is the question at hand. Is the white house through the Senate Subcommittee trying to put the brakes on some of these investigations or not. The agents in the course of their interviews would want to pursue allegations that appear to contradict what the judge said, if its this suitability inquiry. Were not really clear on how theyre being directed and guided, but i know where theyd like to go as investigators to get to the truth, to try and make a determination or to provide the facts that corroborate one way or the other what the judges position is. Thank you. Greg, thank you. Betsy, thanks to you as well. Do appreciate your time. Were going to have much more on this story including speaking out. A kavanaugh accuser whose claims are being investigated by the fbi. Just spoke to nbc news about her allegations saying she felt, among other things, disposable. Trump on the trail, the president s message to voters, his knocks on democrats and how the partys doing as it stares down the midterms. And obamas picks, president obama just releasing his latest round of endorsements, the notable names on that list and the notable omissions. Carla is living with metastatic Breast Cancer, which is Breast Cancer that has spread to other parts of her body. Shes also taking prescription ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor, which is for postmenopausal women with hormone receptorpositive her2 metastatic Breast Cancer as the first hormonal based therapy. Ibrance plus letrozole was significantly more effective at delaying disease progression versus letrozole. Patients taking ibrance can develop low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infections that can lead to death. Before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant. Common side effects include low red blood cell and low platelet counts, infections, tiredness, nausea, sore mouth, abnormalities in liver blood tests, diarrhea, hair thinning or loss, vomiting, rash, and loss of appetite. Carla calls it her new normal because a lot has changed, but a lot hasnt. Ask your doctor about ibrance. The 1 prescribed fdaapproved oral Combination Treatment for hr her2 mbc. seriously, thats what we call tit. Officially. All a huge drag. And we covered it. Talk to farmers. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum just a few hours from now, President Trump will be speaking to the National Electrical Contractors Association in philadelphia. Then it is on to mississippi where hell be halfway through a series of make America Great again Campaign Rallies in support of republican candidates. Nbcs Morgan Radford is on the ground in philly ahead of the president s speech. Ms. Radford, what can we expect to hear from President Trump . Reporter craig, good afternoon. There are hundreds of people already in this room as, as you mentioned, its a National Convention for the people who are electrical contractors. Thats basically anyone who helps you get electricity in your homes, offices or buildings. President trump thinks he might have found his base here, and from the looks of things, this looks like pretty friendly territory. A lot of people here already donning those trump 2020 hats. Hundreds of people to my left, to my right, and even behind the cameras, and many of them when i spoke to them said they are anxious to hear the president speak, and they want to hear about one thing and one thing only, thats the economy. They want to hear how the president is going to keep and maintain the integrity of what they call american jobs. They talked about tax reform, and they also talked about the apprenticeship program. Thats something they say is particularly important to their industry, something they hope will bring young people into and young blood into their industry, and help them stay alive and keep their jobs. They also talked about foreign policy. One man told me, quote, he feels like the president is making the country proud again. He feels like he was trying to make America Great and that if he stays in office he will continue to do so. We expect that we will hear a full menu of things when the president takes the podium, and we expect things to get pretty political since were just weeks away from the midterms. For example, lou barletta. Thats one of those early candidates the president backed for the senate race. He basically positioned himself early on as trumpier than trump. Hes a hard line conservative with a popular message, but lou barletta like several other republican candidates in four states trump won in 2016 are actually lagging behind their opponents in the polls by as much as doubledigits. Lou barletta is lagging here by 16 points, and thats behind senator bob casey. Were expecting to see this range of issues that the president will tackle once he takes to the podium in just a few short minutes, craig. Morgan radford there in the city of brotherly love. Thank you. Some new polling from nbc and survey monkey shows that President Trumps make America Great again tour may give republican candidates a boost in states he easily won back in 2016. 48 of southern voters pleuralty said they expect to vote for the republican congressional candidate in the upcoming midterm elections. Is he just taking victory lap. Nbcs National Political correspondent Steve Kornacki who has a new book out. Its called the red and the blue. Its out today. Well get to that book in just a moment, sir. Lets start with this politico report. Steve, 42 congressional seats now being rated as tossups. How worried should republicans be a few weeks ahead of these midterms . I think they should be very worried. You point to that polling from the south from Trump Country inti. I think the problem or the challenge for republicans, even when you look at an area of the country that President Trump was strong in in 2016, theres a lot of suburban areas within that. A lot of places where youve seen the energy move to the democratic side the last two years. You could even look around the charlotte area and north carolina, may be a race there. Florida certainly, georgia, the governors race down there. You know, texas has a couple right in the houston suburbs, a couple of other districts. Even when you look broadly at a region where trump may still be strong or have support in rural areas, the suburbs have been the heart of democratic energy, and there are all sorts of opportunities all over this map for democrats to make gains there. Patrick, midterms are thought to be referendums on the president. Anything in your polling indicate otherwise this time around . Is there anything in your polling that really seems to be galvanizing voters just a few weeks out . Theres no question that you have to start with trump, first and foremost. You cant get past this because this is whats really driving the race. Then when we get down to this and you talk about these suburban voters and why trump needs to go out and get his base out is to counter act their concerns about the republicans in congress, and the issue and you asked about the issue. The issue is health care. Health care . Thats what i keep hearing from these voters who tend to vote republican in these rural areas, and these southern districts and saying theyre concerned that the rug might be pulled out from under them. They looked at what the republicans tried to do with repealing obamacare last year, and theyre worried that they might try to do it again without having something in place that could keep that market stable. You know, the sense is im doing okay right now, but one Health Care Crisis away from bankruptcy, and thats why they are flirting with voting for the democratic party, even though they still definitely support donald trump as president , theyre not quite sure about the republicans in congress. Its interesting because you dont see that Many Democrats running on that issue right now ahead of the midterms. Democrats by and large and grant it, there are a handful of exceptions out there, no ones running under the obamacare banner. Theyre not running under the obamacare banner, but they are running under the idea of health care security. Do you feel does your family feel confident you can afford the things youre going to need to afford in case a crisis occurs. The democrats who understand this have that kind of woven into their message because they know theyre kind of trying to get that subconscious fear that people have. Steve, Barbara Comstock, in my inlaws area. This might be a decent arbiter of whats to come. Why is that . This is a monmouth poll, they just came out with this one today. This is one of those top opportunities for democrats in the country right outside of washington, d. C. , northern virginia. This is that quintessential traditionally republican area that has swung away from the republicans in the age of trump, a 10 point hillary win in 2016, and now this poll has constock down six points in their likely voter model. The interesting dilemma for republicans, there was some thoughts it might be worse for comstock. It is expensive to try to keep Barbara Comstock afloat. If shes down six points in a very expensive market in a district clinton won by ten points, do you keep pumping money in there or start spreading the money out. Theres some point where you give up on comstock or is it close enough where she can tell them ive got it keep fighting. Im not out of this yet. Theyve been hammering away with negative attacks against the democrat for the past few months spending a lot of money and theyve moved this race from a ten point lead to a sixpoint lead now. They have made some in runs but theyve had to spend a lot of money to get that. When you look at the underlying fundamentals of this district, donald trump is unpopular. Health care is the number one issue. They want to see democrats control congress. All those things work against whatever positive feelings they have about the incumbent comstock. This book that you somehow found time to right, its interesting, i just started for full disclosure, i havent finished it, but essentially it seems to be a look at how the tribalism of the 90s really helped create what we have today . I think that the 90s created politically the world we live in today. The title of this the red and the blue speaks to how those colors through the course of events in the 1990s, all the political wars, bill and hillary and Newt Gingrich and media like Rush Limbaugh, the political war of the 90s created two tribes, red for republicans, blue for democrats, almost evenly divided right down the middle. At the start of the decade if you said red america or blue america to somebody, or red states and blue states they didnt even agree on what colors were which party, and by the end of the decade, the start of this century, Election Night 2000, that perfect tie between bush and gore in red and blue said everything after that election. Thats really been the world weve lived in ever since. Donald trump came along and was a character just perfectly made for that world. To exploit the divisions . Exactly. Steve, thank you. It is by all accounts from what im hearing out there on the streets, its fantastic book. Its called the red and the blue written by our guy, Steve Kornacki. Good to have you. We usually use the monmouth polls, but we dont usually get the guys to come and talk about the polls. This is a treat. One of the women who will now be interviewed by the fbi by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sat down with nbcs kate snow. Kate is going to join me to share her interview right after this. O share her interview right after this to look at me now, you dont see psoriasis. You see clear skin. Cosentyx can help people with moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis find clear skin that can last. Dont use if youre allergic to cosentyx. Before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. 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Kavanaugh has denied all of those allegations. President trump yesterday in the rose garden seemed to support the idea. Should the fbi interview all three of Brett Kavanaughs accusers . It wouldnt bother me at all. I dont know all three of the accusers. Certainly i imagine theyre going to interview two, the third one i dont know much about, but it wouldnt bother me at all. I mean, ive been heard that the third one has i have no idea if this is true has very little credibility. If there is any credibility, interview the third one. The aforementioned third one is a woman named Julie Swetnick, and she sat down with nbcs kate snow for an exclusive interview to talk about the allegations. It was a wide ranging conversation. Kates with me now. What did Julie Swetnick tell you . We want to be really transparent about this. She made very serious allegations. I sat down with Julie Swetnick on sunday afternoon. We spent more than 24 hours reporting and vetting what she said to us using the resources of nbc news. Kavanaugh, as you mentioned, has called Julie Swetnicks story nonsense and a farce. The president yesterday also questioned her credibility. And nbc news has not been able to independently verify her claims. Swetnick told me that she and her friends lived in gaithersbu gaithersburg, used to go down to the bethesda area for house parties in the early 80s. She says she was introduced to Brett Kavanaugh, and heres what she remembers about how he behaved. Can you describe to me what you saw him do . He was very aggressive, very sloppy drunk, very mean drunk. I saw him go up to girls and paw on them, try to, you know, get a little too handsy touching them in private parts. I saw him try to shift clothing. Are there people alive today who would say yes, i went to those parties . Yes, there are people who know about those parties. Yesterday morning swetnick did give us names, four names of students that she said were with her at those parties. One she told us had died in a car accident. We reached out to the other three. One man told us he did not remember Julie Swetnick. He also did say his memories are hazy from back then. We have not heard back from the other two people, but we know where they are. Weve put in requests for comment. We just havent heard back from them. Again, nbc news unable to independently corroborate her claims. She said much more in this interview. I would invite people to watch the whole thing on our website and twitter. Credibility. Does she have credibility issues . I would say yes because there are just to be clear, there are things that she said to me that differ from her initial statement, which was a sworn Statement Last week submitted to the judiciary committee. I think that in many peoples minds raises a credibility question. Republicans have repeatedly raised that shes been involved in lawsuits and some other things that they say question her credibility, but just, you know, the interview itself, again, if you watch the whole thing youll see that even her description of why and how she came forward and when is a little unclear. Its a little bit hazy, and there were moments in the interview that if you watch it i think youll see that she seems a little unsure. So her motivations for coming forward right now, we dont know precisely what those motivations are. Well, she said she wants to be interviewed by the fbi. Look, to tell her side that she has a story to tell, and she says she wants heard and she doesnt see why she and her lawyer, michael avenatti, they dont see why the fbi wouldnt talk to her because as avenatti said to me, you know, if shes telling the truth, shes going to the fbis going to see that. If shes lying, the fbis going to see that. What are they scared of is his point of view. How did she explain the differences between what she said to you and the claims that she made in that sworn statement . I think she would say shes just being more descriptive now. For example, on the punch. Everybodys heard about the notion that the punch was spiked at these parties. In her Statement Last week, she said she had awareness that mark judge and Brett Kavanaugh, mark judges friend were spiking the punch. In my interview with her, she didnt go that far. She said, well, i saw them around the punch bowl. And i asked her directly, did you see Brett Kavanaugh spike the punch and try to get girls, you know, drunk or put quaaludes in the punch, and she said, no, i never saw that. Theres a discrepancy between the two things. But i think part of it is shes telling her story. Shes sitting and describing it in the way you and i are talking right now, and human beings always tell stories a couple different ways. That might be part of it. These details matter because, for example, in the statement they used the word gang reign aga gang rape again and again. She didnt use that term with me. She described she saw boys grouped around doorways. Later she says she was attacked in 1982, and she says that she was raped by multiple men, and she says that made her think that thats what had been happening in those other occasions, and she says Brett Kavanaugh was present around those doors at various times. He denies all of this. All of it, sure. He says he doesnt know her and was never at these parties. Kate snow, again, i would echo that encouragement that people go and watch the entire interview themselves. Thanks as always for your fantastic work. The obama effect, the new list of candidates he just endorsed and how his successor is already trying to hurt any democrats who might run against him in 2020. We call them 1 biden until obama took them off the trash heap he couldnt do anything. Tough guy. Hes a tough guy. Couldnt do ang tough guy. Hes a tough guy which is why you didnt grab just any cheese. You picked up new kraft expertly paired mozzarella and parmesan for pizzahyeah kraft. Family greatly. Stay at la quinta. Where were changing with stylish makeovers. Then at your next meeting, set your seat height to its maximum level. Bravo, tall meeting man. Start winning today. Book now at lq. Com former president barack obama announced his second wave of midterm endorsements on monday. Just over a month from when voters will head to the polls in what could be the most anticipated midterms in recent political history. A record 800,000 people registered to vote on National Voter registration day last week. I want to bring in bill burton, former Deputy Press Secretary in the Obama Administration and john they capehart Washington Post opinion writer, msnbc contributor, host of the national callin show america on the line. He has three other jobs, but we dont have time to mention all of them. Bill, let me start with you. Whats the real obama effect here . Can the former president make a measurable difference at the polls in a few weeks . Absolutely. President obama is by any measure the most admired man in america right now, and at a moment where men are taking some pretty big hits given whats going on in the news these days. Having president obama out there encouraging folks to be enthusiastic and get out for this diverse, young new generation of leaders is great and its going to make a big difference in all of these races up and down the ballot. The record registration numbers, what can we make of that for democrats . What can we make of that for republicans . Well, in general its good for the country. We have millions of people, a majority of the country doesnt vote on any election day. The fact that you have 800,000 people registered to vote on one day is a very good sign. Its a good sign for democrats in that democrats have been angry since Election Night 2016. A lot of the policies by President Trump have made them even more angry or kept the angry going. The kavanaugh nomination is another perfect example of that. But we cant underestimate the amount of anger and enthusiasm on the republican side. I dont think its as big or as roiling as on the democratic side, but we dont know the party registration, at least i dont think we do, of the 800,000. I would be assuming the overwhelming majority are registering democrat. President obama endorsing candidates in 29 states. There are some notable names missing from the list, among them youve got orourke in texas running against ted cruz. Congressman Keith Ellison whos denied those allegations of abusing a former girlfriend. And new york governor andrew cuomo. Why not endorse those three . I think when former president obama was looking at the slate of candidates around the country, the thing he was really focused on is where could he make a big difference, and where could he help elevate this new generation of leaders and get people excited . As jonathan was saying right now, democrats are extraordinarily enthusiastic, but the thing that we have to be careful of as democrats in 2016 people missed how enthusiastic Republican Voters were and how fired up trump voters were to go to the polls. We cant take our foot off the gas. Weve got to keep fighting. Republicans are going to show up, and if democrats dont were going to miss the opportunity. Lets talk about joe biden for a second here, spent some time with the Vice President a few weeks ago. He has been kris crocrisscross country, raising money for candidates ahead of the midterms. With the Kavanaugh Hearing now front and center, there are some parallels that continue to be drawn with regards to how he handled the Clarence Thomas hearings back in 1991. Mr. Bidens name has been invoked frequently in recent days, especially by republicans, for leading the 1991 hearings when an all male, all White Judiciary Committee aggressively questioned anita hill about claims that judge thomas had sexually harassed her. Has the renewed attention to mr. Bidens role in those hearings, do you think it has had an impact at all on how he is being viewed ahead of 2020, or do you think it will have some sort of impact . Both. It cant i mean, people are focusing on this now because of the Kavanaugh Hearings. Heres the one advantage Vice President biden has over the current excuse me, the current crop of people on the republican side who might want to use that against him. That was 27 years ago. Vice President Biden has an opportunity to be to clear the air, to say mea culpa, to do whatever he which he has done. But to keep doing it. If he runs for president , hes going to have to say it over and over and over again that what i said then was wrong. My views have changed. I have a better understanding. I think the Vice President is in a much better position to make things right than, say, President Trump who still stands accused by, what, 19 women of Sexual Misconduct and has various, you know, hush money payments and things like that. In between the two because i saw yesterday the president talked about Vice President biden, how he is a tough guy, but in that fight, oh, no. It would be fun to watch in cover. Thats for sure, of joe biden, donald trump race. Let me ask you really quickly here, mr. Burton, about this Washington Post article today. The right has come alive. The right has come alive with impassioned defenses of kavanaugh in recent days. Talk radio host Rush Limbaugh unleashed a torrent of criticism on the air last week on militant feminism. These women are angry, limbaugh said. Something has happened to them in their lives, and their rage and anger, they take it out now on the country or on all men or men in the powerful majority, which is white, christian men and so forth. Again, thats a quote from Rush Limbaugh. Thoughts . Look, i listened to some Rush Limbaugh yesterday, and what i noticed about his show is he actually started with an hour about trade before getting into the kavanaugh stuff. It made me feel like some of the energy is gone. There are strong defenders of the establishment, and when you look at President Trump and Brett Kavanaugh and the way they talk about women, treat women have no apologies for it, i think there are a group of voters out there in the country that limbaugh is trying to speak to, who think that men should offer no apology for what our culture has been saying and doing and the way that theyve been treating women, and this is that defense coming alive in the most grotesque and awful of ways. Look, i think theres a good chance kavanaugh gets confirmed. I think the politics of it are better for democrats if he does. Its not worth it. Like, we shouldnt have another person whos accused of Sexual Assault and harassment on the Supreme Court. Theres already one. Its one too many. Im glad that Brett Kavanaugh wont be able to ever teach again on an Ivy League Campus and have those problems follow him all his life but i still wish he would not advance to the Supreme Court. Thank you as always, sir. President trump billed his new trade deal as wonderful, historic. Were live at a huge expo in wisconsin full of Dairy Farmers. Were going to talk to them to see if they feel the same way about the president s new look at those cows. Look at those cows, jonathan. Wisconsin cows. Look at those cows, jonathan wisconsin cows plus, with most insurance a safelite repair is no cost to you. Customer really . singers safelite repair, safelite replace. If your moderate to severeor crohns symptoms are holding you back, and your Current Treatment hasnt worked well enough it may be time for a change. Ask your doctor about entyvio®, the only biologic developed and approved just for uc and crohns. Entyvio® works at the site of inflammation in the gi tract, and is clinically proven to help many patients achieve both symptom relief and remission. Infusion and serious allergic reactions can happen during or after treatment. Entyvio® may increase risk of infection, which can be serious. 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Learn more about aarp Medicare Supplement plan options and rates to fit your needs. Oh, and happy birthday. Or retirement. In advance. President trump celebrated the new u. S. mexico Canada Agreement at the Campaign Rally monday night. And just today, we made history again today that i announced to the world that we are replacing the job killing replacement to what is known as nafta with a brandnew u. S. mexico canada and we added canada working out great trade agreement. And we are calling it the usmca. And he is also sending out quotes from the members of Congress Praising the deal. And canadas restrictions on the dairy product, and one of the key sticking points between the president and Prime Minister of cap da, under the usmca there is going to be better access to the dairy industry. And von hilliard is once again live from the world dairy expo in madison, wisconsin, and what are the Dairy Farmers saying about the president s deal, sir . Craig, when we got wind of this yesterday of the announced deal we know where to go, because today is the launch as you note odd of the world dairy expo here in madison, wisconsin there. Is is going to be 15,000 to 20,000 Dairy Farmers here today alone and several hundred cows. I want to bring in one of the Dairy Farmers, craig. This is lauren bry and you are living 400 miles north of here and you have about 300 cows at sturgeon bay and what are your emotions today . The emotions are positive and optimist optimistic, but there is work to do. We need congress the approve the deal. You need congress the approve the deal and they have 60day window to sign what the president put forward and how important is this, because there are 42,000 daur ri farmers like you have and several have closed in the last few years, and how important is this deal for you . Itt is very important, because it is providing the export markets for us, and free and level Playing Field for the fa farmers, and the dairy economy is challenging, because the cost of production is above what we are being paid. So we are not making money, but it is a step in the right decision. Your message to President Trump . We are thank on behalf of the Dairy Farmers and look forward to his continued work on all of agriculture. And craig, i want you to know that the are retaliatory tariffs that are impacting the Agricultural Products such as cheese that mexico has added the 20, to 25 more on the cheese, and 90 of the dairy does go to cheese production and those are still in place. So it is important to note as the negotiation s as are going forward. Comprehensive report from madison, wisconsin, and my only d disappointment is that you, sir, you did not milk a cow. Disappointed. We have the afternoon. And von hilliard, and thank you. A pay raise for 350,000 people in this country. Why amazon says it is now more than doubling its minimum wage for all workers. We will look at that after this, and then on Andrea Mitchell reports, one on one with senator Patrick Leahy of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme Court vetting of Brett Kavanaugh. Of dont forget that the past can speak to the future. Im going to be your substitute teacher. Dont assume the substitute teacher has nothing to offer. Same goes for a neighborhood. Dont forget that friendships last longer than any broadway run. Mr. President. laughing dont settle for your first draft. Or your 10th draft. You get to create the room where it happens. Just dont think you have to do it alone. The powerful backing of american express. Dont live life without it. Lets do an ad of a man eating free waffles at comfort inn. They taste like victory because he always gets the lowest price on our rooms, guaranteed, when he books direct at choicehotels. Com. Or just say, badda book. Badda boom. Book now at choicehotels. Com little Financial Relief for the workers at amazon as the seasonal and the temporary workers will earn at least 15 an hour starting next month. Nbcs Business Correspondent is here in the flesh with details. Why the decision and why now . It is coming before the retail season to the affect 350,000 workers. The competition to hire for retail is super cut throat and plus a lot of pressure on jeff bezos to do something. And senator Bernie Sanders and we have been reporting on the worker conditions around and the pr pressure is on to push them up, and not to mention that walmart has raised minimum wage to 11 an hour and a lot of other retailers are thinking of doing the same thing. And what about other hourly workers . Well, amazon going to be lobbying federal government to the double the minimum wage and who knows if that go to work, but jeff bezos is a powerful man. And we dont have time to get into all of minimum wages, but jill, always good to have you and that is going to wrap up this hour of msnbc live. Andrea mitchell is standing by in washington, d. C. , to pick things up. I will see you tomorrow the on today today. New questions today about what Brett Kavanaugh told the senate about his College Drinking days, and when he first found out about the allegations as the fbi continues to investigate investigate. But what i think that we all need to do now is to wait and see exactly what comes back. I dont know what is it going to be in it, and i dont know that anybody knows what is going to be it in, and i wont speculate. I think that the week has said that it is the right time to do it, and Chuck Schumer has agreed to that and the president and wait for the investigation to be done and then i will make the decision. But is it case closed before the fbi completes the job . Mitch mcconnell promising to deliver the first vote for judge kavanaugh no the president