about speaking too publicly about this border crisis, whatever you want to call it. if anything, democrats are afraid that, you know, the timing of all of this really boosts the political chances of cindy hyde-smith, who is, of course, running for re-election in mississippi on tuesday. trump is betting right now that, you know, continuing to stoke fear about the caravan and what not could really, really help her chances on tuesday. so you have democrats on the one hand who are eager to stand up to the president, you know, speak out about especially his tweets today, but also don t want to give the issue anymore airtime than it s already getting. david, your take? is this what democrats want to be talking about right now? so, ana, i don t think this is what democrats want to be talking about. and i think that elaina s reporting sounds about right to me. and yet it s weird that democrats would think that. look, this is a closer-than-expected race in mississippi, but most forecasters
immigration going forward, because the president is pressing forward with this heavily, having, as my washington post column, nick miroff reported, some sort of side agreement with the incoming mexican administration and, you know, it s something that congress hasn t weighed in on. it s something that is going to reach a head very soon. and about that agreement. here is elijah cummings, a democrat on meet the press this morning. if the president cuts a deal with mexico, are you supportive of that? no. no. why? because that s not the law. they should be allowed to come in, seek asylum. that s the law. and we don t would you support changing the law? no. no. i think that we have a system that has worked for a long time. this president has come in, wants to change it. that s up to him. but now the congress has got to stand up. elaina, is that the consensus among democrats? absolutely. but one interesting thing, ana. a top democratic official in the house told me ea
by throwing projectiles at them, and i m still reading, as i have continually stated, dhs will not tolerate this type of lawlessness and will not hesitate to shut down ports of entry. we will also seek to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone who destroys federal property and endangers our front line operators and endangers our sovereignty. cbp will continue to have a robust presence along the southwest border and at our ports of entry to prevent illegal entry or violence. we continue to stay in close contact with mexican authorities and we remain committed to resolving this situation safely in concert with our mexican partners. i want to talk more about all of this with david swerdlick and elaina plott, staff writer for the atlantic. david, there are troops on the border anticipating the arrival of this caravan.
and starts over the last couple of years. this is going to be a tough slog. but just to talk about the different issue around nancy pelosi about whether her caucus is going to back her, democrats should think about the fact that if they weaken their own speaker zbi going into any kind of negotiation with president trump or any other issue, that will affect how trump plays the issue publicly, whether it s on social media or how he speaks about it. he s feeling pretty good on immigration. he likes that issue. both for the reasons that elena said, and because he feels like he knows that issue better than some issues. and he s going to continue on that path. david swerdlick, elaina plott, good to have you both with us. thanks, ana. an emotional plea after alabama police say a man they killed was likely not the gunman who shot two people at a mall. what went wrong and is there a gunman still on the loose? a live report, next. plus, embedded enemies. two two of the president s closes
gave huge, unauthorized raises to his favorite aides and received cheap rent for a d.c. apartment from the wife of an energy lobbyist. president trump said he would drain the swamp. is draining the swamp renting an apartment from the wife of a washington lobbyist? i don t think that there s even remotely fair to ask that question. it s like an air bnb situation. the landlord had access to the entirety of the facility. when i was there, i only had access to a room. he use the facility in common areas at the same time i was there. you only paid for the nights you were there? that s exactly right. that s kind of a sweetheart deal. no, it s not. i ve lived in washington over 25 years and have never heard of a deal like that. that s something that has been reviewed by officials here. they said that it s market rate. joining me now, cnn chief political correspondent dana bash, and elaina plott, one of the reporters that broke the story about pruitt s employees