A MONDAY NIGHT. >>> GOOD EVENING ONCE AGAIN FROM
OUR NBC NEWS HEADQUARTERS HERE
IN NEW YORK.
DAY 648 OF THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION AS THE NATION HAS
NOW WITNESSED IN THE SPACE OF
JUST DAYS TWO ACTS OF DOMESTIC
TERRORISM, THE SECOND VASTLY
DARKER THAN THE FIRST.
THE WHITE HOUSE IS NOW CONSUMED
BY ITS EFFORT TO DEFEND ITSELF
FROM THOSE WHO SEE THE LINK
BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT’S WORDS
AND WHAT WE’VE WITNESSED.
TOMORROW THE PRESIDENT AND FIRST
LADY WILL VISIT PITTSBURGH WHERE
11 WORSHIPPERS WERE MURDERED AT
THE TREE OF LIFE SYNAGOGUE.
THAT ATTACK CAME JUST DAYS AFTER
TWO BLACK SHOPPERS WERE KILLED
IN KENTUCKY IN A SHOOTING BEING
INVESTIGATED AS A HATE CRIME.
IN THE PAST WEEK, OF COURSE, HAS
SEEN THAT SERIES OF MAIL BOMBS
SENT TO TRUMP’S POLITICAL
OPPONENTS AND TO CNN.
IN THE WAKE OF ALL OF THIS,
TRUMP AND HIS WHITE HOUSE ARE
TRYING TO TURN THE SPOTLIGHT ON
THE NEWS MEDIA.
THIS MORNING HE WROTE, QUOTE,
THERE IS GREAT ANGER IN OUR
COUNTRY CAUSED IN PART BY
INACCURATE AND EVEN FRAUDULENT
REPORTING OF THE NEWS.
THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA, THE TRUE
ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, MUST STOP
THE OPEN AND OBVIOUS HOSTILITY
AND REPORT THE NEWS ACCURATELY
AND FAIRLY.
AND FAIRLY. THAT WILL DO MUCH TO PUT OUT THE
FLAME OF ANGER AND OUTRAGE, AND
WE WILL THEN BE ABLE TO BRING
ALL SIDES TOGETHER IN PEACE AND
HARMONY.
HARMONY. FAKE NEWS MUST END.
THEN TONIGHT HE SENT THIS.
CNN AND OTHERS IN THE FAKE NEWS
BUSINESS KEEP PURPOSELY AND
INACCURATELY REPORTING THAT I
SAID THE MEDIA IS THE ENEMY OF
THE PEOPLE.
THE PEOPLE. WRONG.
WRONG. I SAID THAT THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA
IS THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE.
EARLIER TODAY THE WHITE HOUSE
PRESS SECRETARY LASHED OUT AT
REPORTERS.
REPORTERS. >> THE VERY FIRST THING THAT THE
PRESIDENT DID WAS CONDEMN THE
ATTACKS, BOTH IN PITTSBURGH AND
IN THE PIPE BOMBS.
THE VERY FIRST THING THE MEDIA
DID WAS BLAME THE PRESIDENT AND
MAKE HIM RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE
RIDICULOUS ACTS.
RIDICULOUS ACTS. THAT IS OUTRAGEOUS THAT THAT
WOULD BE THE VERY FIRST REACTION
OF SO MANY PEOPLE ACROSS THIS
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. THE ONLY PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR
CARRYING OUT EITHER OF THESE
HEINOUS ACTS WERE THE
INDIVIDUALS WHO CARRIED THEM
OUT.
OUT. >> TONIGHT PHIL RUCKER OF "THE
WASHINGTON POST", WHO IS
STANDING BY TO JOIN US IN A
MOMENT, REPORTS ALONG WITH HIS
COLLEAGUES ON THE
ADMINISTRATION’S STRUGGLE TO
RESPOND TO THE ATTACKS DAYS
BEFORE THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS.
QUOTE, BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE
WHITE HOUSE, AIDES HAVE BEEN
DEBATING HOW TO STRIKE THE RIGHT
TONE BETWEEN TRUMP’S CLOSING
CAMPAIGN PITCH AND PLAYING THE
ROLE OF NATIONAL CONSOLER,
ACCORDING TO PEOPLE FAMILIAR
WITH THE CONVERSATIONS.
TRUMP’S CAMPAIGN APPEARANCES
HAVE NOT BEEN DIALLED BACK.
THE WHITE HOUSE SAYS HE PLANS TO
SHOW UP FOR RALLIES IN EIGHT
STATES BETWEEN NOW AND ELECTION
DAY.
DAY. THIS PAST WEEKEND THE PRESIDENT
HELD A CAMPAIGN RALLY IN
ILLINOIS JUST HOURS AFTER THE
SHOOTING IN PITTSBURGH.
HE COMPLAINED TO THE AUDIENCE AT
ONE EVENT THAT DAY THAT IT WAS A
BAD HAIR DAY FOR HIM BECAUSE HE
HAD PAUSED IN THE RAIN TO
RESPOND TO THE MASSACRE.
THAT’S WHEN HE SUGGESTED WE
MIGHT NEED GUNS IN OUR HOUSES OF
WORSHIP.
WORSHIP. HE ENDED THE DAY ON TWITTER
CRITICIZING A PITCHING CHANGE IN
THE WORLD SERIES GAME THAT
NIGHT.
NIGHT. TONIGHT HE EXPLAINED TO LAURA
INGRAHAM ON "FOX NEWS" WHY IT
WAS IMPORTANT NOT TO CALL OFF
HIS RALLY THAT DAY.
>> ONCE YOU CANCEL, SO YOU ARE
DOING A RALLY AND RALLIES ARE
MEANT TO BE FUN.
RALLIES ARE MEANT TO BE
EVERYTHING, AND I SAID, TONE IT
DOWN, AND THEN YOU SAW THE GROUP
SAYING, NO, DON’T TONE IT DOWN,
DON’T TONE IT DOWN.
SO WE HAD A GREAT RALLY IN
ILLINOIS FOR SOME GREAT PEOPLE,
AND, FRANKLY, I THINK THAT’S
PROBABLY THE WAY IT SHOULD BE.
YOU SHOULD GO ABOUT YOUR LIFE.
YOU CAN’T LET THESE PEOPLE
DISRUPT ANYMORE THAN THEY
ALREADY HAVE, WHICH IS
DISGRACEFUL.
DISGRACEFUL. >> THE PRESIDENT HAS, OF COURSE,
CONTINUED TO ATTACK AT LEAST
THREE OF THE RECIPIENTS OF PIPE
BOMBS IN HIS SPEECHES AT HIS
RALLIES, AND THE WHITE HOUSE WAS
ASKED TODAY ABOUT THOSE
CONTINUING ATTACKS.
CONTINUING ATTACKS. >> IN HIS RALLIES SINCE THE
SUSPICIOUS PACKAGES BEGAN BEING
MADE THE PRESIDENT HAS CALLED
OUT MAXINE WATERS BY NAME AT HIS
RALLIES, HE STOOD THERE AS HIS
SUPPORTERS CHANT "LOCK HER UP"
IN REFERENCE TO HILLARY CLINTON
WHO HE CONTINUES TO CALL CROOKED
HILLARY CLINTON.
HILLARY CLINTON. WILL THE PRESIDENT STOP USING
THAT KIND OF LANGUAGE IN LIGHT
OF THE FACT THAT THESE
INDIVIDUALS WERE TARGETED?
>> THE PRESIDENT IS GOING TO
CONTINUE TO DRAW CONTRAST.
LET’S NOT FORGET THESE SAME
DEMOCRATS HAVE REPEATEDLY
ATTACKED THE PRESIDENT.
THE PRESIDENT IS GOING TO
CONTINUE TO FIGHT BACK WHEN
THESE INDIVIDUALS NOT ONLY
ATTACK HIM BUT ATTACK MEMBERS OF
HIS ADMINISTRATION AND
SUPPORTERS OF HIS
ADMINISTRATION.
ADMINISTRATION. >> AT WHAT POINT DOES A NATIONAL
TRAGEDY TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER THE
PRESIDENT NEEDING TO PUNCH BACK?
IF NOT NOW, WHEN?
>> I THINK YOU SAW THE PRESIDENT
DO EXACTLY THAT IN THE WAKE OF A
NATIONAL TRAGEDY, NOT JUST THIS
WEEK BUT EVERY TIME OUR COUNTRY
HAS EXPERIENCED THE TYPE OF
HEARTACHE AND PAIN THAT WE HAVE
OVER THE LAST WEEK.
>> IS HE INCAPABLE OF, IN THE
WORDS OF SOME, TONING IT DOWN
AND TONING DOWN THE RHETORIC?
>> YOU GUYS HAVE A HUGE
RESPONSIBILITY TO PLAY IN THE
DIVISIVE NATURE OF THIS COUNTRY
WHEN 90% OF THE COVERAGE OF
EVERYTHING THIS PRESIDENT DOES
IS NEGATIVE DESPITE THE FACT
THAT THE COUNTRY IS DOING
EXTREMELY WELL.
EXTREMELY WELL. >> THIS ALL COMES AS THE
PRESIDENT IS MOVING FORWARD WITH
HIS PLAN TO MOVE MORE THAN 5,000
ACTIVE DUTY U.S. MILITARY TROOPS
TO OUR SOUTHERN BORDER BY THE
END OF THE WEEK, A SHOW OF FORCE
AGAINST MIGRANTS MOVING NORTH
THROUGH CENTRAL AMERICA, WHO HE
HAS CHARACTERIZED AS, QUOTE, AN
INVASION OF OUR COUNTRY.
HERE IS WHAT HE TOLD LAURA
INGRAHAM EARLIER TONIGHT.
>> WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT CARAVAN
AND YOU LOOK LARGELY VERY, YOU
KNOW, A BIG PERCENTAGE OF MEN,
YOUNG, STRONG, A LOT OF BAD
PEOPLE, A LOT OF BAD PEOPLE IN
THERE, PEOPLE THAT ARE IN GANGS.
WE DON’T WANT THEM IN THIS
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. WE HAVE A VERY STRONG BORDER.
I CALLED UP THE MILITARY.
THIS KARA VAN ISCARAVAN IS WASTI
TIME.
TIME. >> OF COURSE IT IS NOT A THREAT
TO THE UNITED STATES, NOT A
THREAT TO US OR OUR DEMOCRACY.
WE HEARD IT ON "FOX NEWS", YOU
DON’T NEED TO BELIEVE ME.
>> THERE IS NO INVASION.
NO ONE IS COMING TO GET YOU.
THERE’S NOTHING AT ALL TO WORRY
ABOUT.
ABOUT. WE’RE AMERICA, WE CAN HANDLE IT.
>> TO BE FAIR, A GUEST ON THE
PROGRAM AFTER SHEPARD SMITH
WARNED THE IMMIGRANTS IN THE CAR
VAN
VAN CARAVAN ARE GOING TO INFECT OUR
COUNTRY WITH LEPROSY, TB AND
SMALLPOX.
SMALLPOX. LET’S BRING IN PHILIP RUCKER,
WHITE HOUSE BUREAU CHIEF FOR
"THE WASHINGTON POST".
KIMBERLY ATKINS, WASHINGTON
BUREAU CHIEF FOR THE BOSTON
HEARD.
HEARD. PETER BAKER, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE
CORRESPONDENT FOR "THE NEW YORK
TIMES".
TIMES". PHIL RUCKER, I WOULD LIKE TO
READ MORE OF THE WRITING YOU
CONTRIBUTED TO TONIGHT.
AS THE MAIL BOMB AND SYNAGOGUE
SHOOTING CRISES UNFOLDED OVER
THE PAST WEEK, TRUMP RECEIVED
ADVICE FROM ALLIES WHO URGED THE
IMPORTANCE OF SOUNDING
PRESIDENTIAL, THOUGH HE WAS AT
TIMES ANNOYED BY WHAT HE VIEWED
AS UNNECESSARY AND GRATUITOUS
COUNSEL, SAID ONE REPUBLICAN IN
FREQUENT CONTACT WITH THE WHITE
HOUSE.
HOUSE. PHIL, WHY THIS STRUGGLE OVER THE
CENTER OF THE PRESIDENT, HOW THE
PRESIDENT PORTRAYS HIMSELF NOT
TO THE BASE BUT TO
ALL-AMERICANS?
ALL-AMERICANS? >> YEAH, BRIAN, WELL, THE FIRST
THING THAT WE SHOULD CLEAR UP IS
THAT EVEN THE PRESIDENT’S
ADVISERS ACKNOWLEDGE THAT HE
STRUGGLES WITH THESE SORTS OF
MOMENTS OF NATIONAL TRAGEDY AND
TERROR, THAT HE STRUGGLES TO
SHOW ANY EMPATHY OF ANY KIND.
THIS IS NOT HIS FORTE.
IT IS NOT WHAT HE IS GOOD AT
DOING.
DOING. IT IS NOT A NATURAL THING FOR
HIM TO BE TRYING TO DO.
SO EFFECTIVELY DOESN’T REALLY
TRY.
TRY. HE SORT OF READS THROUGH THE
SCRIPTS, HE SENDS OUT THE
NECESSARY TWEETS THAT HIS
ADVISERS TELL HIM TO DO TO TRY
TO COMFORT THE COUNTRY, TO TRY
TO UNITE PEOPLE, TO HEAL WOUNDS,
BUT THEN HE REVERTS RIGHT BACK
TO POLITICKING.
TO POLITICKING. THAT’S THE REAL BALANCE THAT YOU
SEE RIGHT NOW BETWEEN THE
PRESIDENT AND HIS AIDES AS
THEY’RE A WEEK BEFORE THE
MIDTERM ELECTIONS, THEY WANT TO
BE FOCUSED ON THE CAMPAIGN, THEY
WANT TO CONTINUE WHAT HAS BEEN A
SCORCHED EARTH STRATEGY OF
TRYING TO TEAR DOWN THE
DEMOCRATS TO PROTECT THE
REPUBLICANS IN THE HOUSE AND THE
SENATE MAJORITIES, AND THEY’RE
NOT ABLE TO DO THAT BECAUSE THEY
KEEP GETTING INTERRUPTED BY
THESE TRAGEDIES, THE MAIL BOMBER
SITUATION LAST WEEK AND THEN, OF
COURSE, THE MASSACRE AT THE
SYNAGOGUE IN PITTSBURGH.
THE PRESIDENT IS COMPLETELY
UNWILLING TO VEER OFF COURSE
FROM HIS CAMPAIGNING AND FROM
HIS POLITICKING TO FOCUS ON
THESE TRAGEDIES AND SORT OF ACT
IN THE WAY WE’VE BECOME
ACCUSTOMED TO PRESIDENTS ACTING
ALL THROUGH HISTORY.
>> KIM, THINK OF THE TIME, THE
EFFORT AND THE COST OF MOVING
5,000 ACTIVE DUTY U.S. TROOPS TO
OUR SOUTHERN BORDER, WHICH, BY
THE WAY, IS 2,000 MILES LONG,
FOR A FAKE INVASION DAYS BEFORE
THE MIDTERMS, AN ARRIVAL OF
PEOPLE WEEKS, SOME HAVE SAID
MONTHS AWAY IF EVER.
THINK OF THE PRESIDENT AT THE
END OF AN EMOTIONAL DAY IN THIS
COUNTRY, NOT TREATING --
TWEETING WORDS OF COMFORT BUT
CRITICIZING A PITCHING CHANGE IN
THE WORLD SERIES.
>> LOOK, I’M A BASEBALL FAN AND
THE WORLD SERIES IS IMPORTANT,
BUT I HAD TO DOUBLE CHECK TO
MAKE SURE THAT THAT TWEET WAS
REAL WHEN I SAW IT COME UP ON
THE TWITTER FEED AT THAT TIME.
YES, I MEAN KEEP IN MIND NOT
ONLY ARE WE SENDING 5,000 --
MORE THAN 5,000 ARMED TROOPS TO
THE BORDER WHEN 2,000 NATIONAL
GUARDSMEN ARE ALREADY THERE,
THAT’S A BIGGER MILITARY
PRESENCE THAN ARE IN SOME
FOREIGN COUNTRIES LIKE
AFGHANISTAN RIGHT NOW.
THIS IS NOT AN INVASION, AS YOU
NOTED.
NOTED. THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE FLEEING
POVERTY AND VIOLENCE, TAKING A
WALKING TREK THAT WILL TAKE THEM
WEEKS, MORE THAN A MONTH TO
COMPLETE, IF THEY COMPLETE IT,
COMING TO THE UNITED STATES
ASKING FOR ASYLUM, KNOWING THAT
MOST OF THEM WON’T GET IT.
THIS IS NOT AN INVASION.
THE IDEA THAT THIS IS A VEHICLE
FOR TERRORISTS OR CRIMINALS OR
OTHERS, MOST CRIMINALS AND
TERRORISTS TEND TO USE MORE
EFFICIENT WAYS TO TRY TO GET TO
THE UNITED STATES IF THEY’RE
TRYING TO DO THAT.
BUT THIS IS, OF COURSE,
SOMETHING THAT HE WANTS DONE BY
THE END OF THE WEEK BEFORE
ELECTION DAY.
ELECTION DAY. WE ARE AT A POINT WHERE IT IS
ALL OR NOTHING WHEN IT COMES TO
POLITICS, AND HE IS ALL IN ON
THIS ISSUE OF IMMIGRATION.
REPUBLICAN STRATEGISTS HAVE BEEN
TELLING ME AND OTHER REPORTERS
FOR MONTHS NOW THAT THAT IS THE
KEY ISSUE HEADING INTO THE MID
TERMS.
TERMS. THE ECONOMY IS GOOD.
IT IS HARD TO GET PEOPLE ANGRY
ABOUT THE ECONOMY WHEN IT IS
GOOD.
GOOD. THEY THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE ABOUT
IMPEACHMENT, BUT DEMOCRATS
REALLY AREN’T TALKING ABOUT
THAT, AND SO IMMIGRATION IS THE
ISSUE AND THE PRESIDENT WANTS TO
KEEP THE HEADLINES ON THAT.
HE SEEMS TO BE PULLING OUT ALL
OF THE STOPS TO MAKE SURE THAT
THIS NARRATIVE THAT AMERICA IS
UNDER INVASION CARRIES THROUGH
EVEN THOUGH THAT’S NOT THE CASE.
>> PETER, DON’T TELL GOODWIN OR
MEACHEM OR BESTLASH I SAID THIS,
BUT IT IS EASIER TO BE A
HISTORIAN BECAUSE YOU CAN GET
COMFORTABLE AND LOOK BACK ON
SOMETHING THAT WAS YEARS EARLIER
AND SAY, YES, THAT RIGHT THERE,
THAT WAS A MOMENT, THAT WAS A
MOMENT FOR OUR COUNTRY.
HERE IS MY UNDERLYING PROOF.
MY QUESTION TO YOU IS, YOU
COMBINE WHAT WE WITNESSED LAST
WEEK WITH THIS WEEKEND, WITH
EVERYTHING WE’RE TALKING ABOUT,
REAL AND SHINY OBJECTS BOTH, IS
THIS YET ANOTHER MOMENT?
>> WELL, I THINK IT IS.
I THINK IT KIND OF BRINGS BACK
TO THE CONVERSATION A DISCUSSION
ABOUT WHAT A PRESIDENT MEANS TO
US, WHAT WE WANT OUR PRESIDENT
TO BE.
TO BE. I ACTUALLY THINK THAT IN THE
MOST RECENT FEW MONTHS LEADING
UP TO THIS LAST TEN DAYS OR SO
PRESIDENT TRUMP HAD BEGUN TO
KIND OF CHANGE THE CONVERSATION.
HE MADE IT ABOUT THE DEMOCRATS
AND THEIR HANDLING OF THE
KAVANAUGH HEARING.
KAVANAUGH HEARING. THEY MADE IT ABOUT THIS CARAVAN.
HE WAS SUCCESSFULLY CHANGING THE
NATURE OF THE ELECTION TO SOME
EXTENT.
EXTENT. IT WAS LESS ABOUT HIM THAN IT
WAS ABOUT HIS OPPONENTS, AT
LEAST WITH HIS CORE SUPPORTERS.
NOW THE CONVERSATION IS TURNING
BACK TO WHAT WE EXPECT OUT OF
OUR PRESIDENT.
OUR PRESIDENT. DO WE WANT OUR PRESIDENT TO BE A
UNITER OR A DIVIDER?
HE HAS MADE IT VERY CLEAR, PHIL
SAID CORRECTLY, THAT THIS IS NOT
HIS WHEELHOUSE, IT IS NOT HIS
STRENGTH OR EVEN REALLY HIS
DESIRE TO PLAY, YOU KNOW,
CONSOLER IN CHIEF.
NATIONAL HARMONY IS NOT WHAT HE
CAME TO OFFICE PROMISING NOR HAS
IT BEEN WHAT HE HAS SOUGHT TO
DELIVER.
DELIVER. WHAT HE LIKES TO DO IS TO DRAW
CONTRAST, TO USE SANDER’S
PHRASE, TO SHOW PEOPLE WHO IS ON
THE RIGHT SIDE AND THE WRONG
SIDE AS FAR AS HE IS CONCERNED.
IN MANY WAYS WHAT DORRIS GOODWIN
AND THE OTHERS THAT YOU
MENTIONED WOULD TELL YOU IS THAT
THAT IS A HISTORIC ANOMALY.
THAT OUR PRESIDENTS IN TIMES OF
CRISIS RECOGNIZE THEY HAVE A
HIGHER CALLING THAN SIMPLY BEING
ANOTHER PARTISAN.
ANOTHER PARTISAN. IT DOESN’T MEAN YOU CAN’T BE A
TOUGH AND VIGOROUS CAMPAIGNER,
BUT IT MEANS AT MOMENTS LIKE