s in cnn tonight. i'm don lemon. a little past. 11:00 on the east coast. we have breaking news rocking the white house ton. a top aide to president trump, rob porter, resigning amid allegations by two exwives. sourcing telling cnn that senior white house officials knew about the ails for months. scrambled to protect porter once

they became public. but the white house pushes back claiming porter misled everyone in the west wing. and president trump tweeting support for the massive bipartisan two-year senate deal in the senate. designed to prevent a government shutdown. but will the house approve the similar measure in time? also ahead, the white house and republicaning on capitol hill trying to discredit the russia investigation by constantly tossing out red herrings, the problem is there are distractions, mostly phoney stories but they are sticking in many segments of the media and the country. people believe they are real. we'll take a look at them. a lot to get to. i want to begin with mark a former adviser to george w. bush. and i need to tell our viewers there is new information coming up on the rob porter story. you'll hear from one of the people involved and so we are working on that.

make sure you stay tuned because there is a lot to come. mark today rob porter is a white house -- i guess was a white house staff secretary, resigned amid domestic abuse allegations. he denies the allegations. here is what we know. so the president didn't know. this is what we know tp didn't know about the allegations rowe but his daughter ivanka was upset when she saw the picture. . this is a picture of portary ex-wife today. it's unchlor. this is the picture came out today. it's unclear when the chief of staff found out about the ails. but sources say he relied on porter acting like a deputy chief of staff. this is a big story. what's your reaction to the news today? >> well there is a lot of discussion, don, about how it was handled in the last 24 hours, how the story and statement changed and the information we though changed. more disturbing to me is the full history of this and the fact that he was ever hired in the first place. there is a reason why people get security clearance in the white

house. it's -- there is a lot of sensitive information traveling through the white house. and the fact that somebody couldn't get clearance should have been a huge red flag for the chief of staff. and he should have been fired then. so i think the real issue here is why somebody without clearance -- i mean -- and this is not -- this wasn't like the white house chef that didn't get clearance. this is the staff secretary that handles the most sensitive information in a white house. they handle the paper and the documents in the white house. it's extremely sensitive. so the notion that he couldn't get clearance boggles the mind. >> so when he couldn't get clearance -- doesn't that clearance come from the fbi which is being -- >> from the fbi. >> yet still they try to under undermine the fisher saying they are bias. the fbi -- the agency that you're trying to undermine gave you the right information, and you didn't listen to it.

>> and what they're saying is we're trying to sieve you from yourself here. there is a problem, a red flag with a very sensitive personnel position at the white house. >> yes. so, listen, kelly has been defending porter, mark. earlier today he said rob porter is a man of true integrity and honor. i can't say enough good things about him he is a friend and confidante. and then he released a statement. i was shocked about the ails about rob port are. there is no place for domestic abuse in our country. i stand by rob porter and believes every individual deserve the right to defend their reputation. i accepted his resignation and will ensure a swift and orderly transition. tonight the white house says the first statement was drafted before the picture was released. a senior white house official

also says that porter misled people in the white house, including kelly, mark, even still, are you surprised kelly issued a statement of strong support like that initially? >> it's just the wrong reflex in a position like that. the reflex should be to show empathy and concern for victims. the second thing is to protect the president. and so, you know, this is not an issue about what his work habits were like. this was an issue about his character and habits with women outside of white house. >> um-hum. i need you to stand by. i'm getting instructions. go ahead, maria. okay. mark, i want you to stand by i want you to react to this. as i told you we have new information you were going to hear from someone involved in this. on the phone is a reporter for the "washington post". josh wab the "washington post" has been doing extensive

reporting. you have been speaking to some of the women involved what are they saying. >> the women involved in the story are saying that they both raised flags to the fbi about his conduct during the period of his background checks. that they had contact info for the fbi agent. they gave an extensive idea of what happened in the past, and that they were surprised when, you know, he was able to still work in the white house at a senior level. we interviewed both of the victims -- or both of the women. one of them said to us. -- my colleague beth reinhardt, said that he held her down and punched her. obviously he denies that. but she gave a pretty vivid account. the other woman said that she was verbally and physically abused and gave contact of her friends who could stand that account up. we reached out to friends who she confided in at the time. and the friend described the scene where he dragged her out

of a shower, according to the friend, and gave pretty -- pretty extensive, you know, physical assault there. >> yes. >> we spoke to both women tonight. they raised the red flags during the process. and then they felt the red flags were denied. >> okay, josh i want you to hold on. and viewers pay attention, whatever you are doing, sit down or turn the volume up. the "washington post" posted some video of porter's second wife, jenny, and she speaks out listen to this. >> rob wasn't finished fighting at that point he was still angry. and he came and grabbed me by the shoulders here. and pulled me out of the shower in a rage. and immediately i'm seeing the terror in my face retracted and

apologized and changed compose yur immediately. >> so rob porter denied this. listen this is jenny. they had a separation agreement. in 2010 they had a temporary order of protection, you know, with that separation agreement. so there is a lot to discuss here. josh, both wives shared stories with the fbi. they shared the story with the fbi. he supposedly couldn't get a permanent security clearance. what happened then? >> we don't know about the permanent security clearance. by all accounts the fbi poke to both of the women and he did not get one. now in the white house there are a number of people who don't have permanent security clearances yet. some of it is backlogged. some of it is obviously concerns like these towards mr. porter. what we do know is that the white house was made aware of it several months ago. back in 2017. and there seems to have been an effort at the white house to ral

kr behind rob porter, to say they're not the accusations have veracity. they are not sure what to make of them. and they kept him in. if anything he was on the rise. he was a person who was handling the papers, briefings to the president and the accusations were not taken as serious inside the building until they emerged last night. >> did you say january of 2017 the fbi made them aware of this? >> no we're saying late in 2017 that the white house became ware aware. early 2017 the fbi had contact with both women, talked to both women. and we don't know specifically when the white house was made borja aware of this. we know a number of senior aides were made aware of this six, eight weeks ago. >> viewers again, pay attention. jenny willobghy.

spoke about why some might find this hard to believe. listen. >> i'm not surprised that people who work with him in a professional capacity see him as a model of discretion, integrity and character. because like i mentioned i think he is, professionally he is intelligent. and he is measured. and he is certainly someone that i would trust in that professional position. and in his personal life he is also abusive and angry. >> the white house defense is that they didn't know about all of the allegations, but should they have known? and what about how they handled it once they did find out, josh. >> last night obviously, the daley mail report came out. in that time perfected the white house put out a number of strong statements supporting him from

the chief of staff, john kelly to sarah sanders. orin hatch one of his former bosses put out a statement praising him. what changed by many estimations were the pictures of the blackened eye. after the pictures emerged white house officials including john kelly were not convinced he needs to go. rob porter told various associates this morning that he plans to leave the white house and he needs to resign. there was an effort to keep him in the fold as this developed. the white house is putting out a statement from john kelly saying he was shocked by the okayizations but earlier today myself and other reporters were told after the pictures came out that john kelly stood by his statement praising rob porter. the pictures were released early this morning. and for many hours the white house had not taken this stance. as the blowback increased and some of the outside pressures came into play, there was a new statement from the chief of

staff that was released tonight. >> yes. >> if you read the statement carefully, he still says he stood by porter and he thinks porter has a right to defend his reputation. just that he was shocked by the new accusations. >> josh, from the "washington post", thank you so much. i appreciate it. do we have rob porter's statement that we can put up? because you know, he says this is outrageous allegations, saying they are fls false. also calling it a coordinated smear campaign. just go ahead and put that up because i think it's important to put up what he is saying about this. as we do that let's go back to mark mckinnon. what does this say about how the white house is vetting people. >> that's the bigger problem, don. the white house has to have not just high standards but the highest standards. this isn't a denny restaurant doing security checks. this is the white house. there is a reason way there is that security check. people can be compromised if

there is information like in the background. imagine somebody going to him in a bar somewhere and saying listen if you don't do x or y we're letting this information out. that's why you have to be so careful about this. and the fact that the chief -- the white house chief of staff knew about this and, a, didn't act on it and actually hired him without the clearance was the first mistake. and you know should have been taken care of then. shouldn't have been in the white house. >> tonight a retired general who served with john kelly says he no longer feels he knows the chief of staff anymore in light of what happened today. kelly's comments about immigrants and daca today. and the general added this. he said i'll also say this old axe i don't mean, the command takes on the personality of the commander. it appears trump brings out the worst in a lot of people. and mark did you hear it that in do you agree with that statement. >> yes, i do agree with it.

and it's certainly true of donald trump and the people around him. it's true of any president that there is an infectious thing that happens around presidents. and it becomes -- it changes personalities. and character bends. i have heard great things about john kelly. and i think a lot of us believed he was a good moderating force in the white house. but there's been several examples and more than a couple just this week that certainly raise concern for a lot of us. >> do you think he can survive this? do you think he should? >> you know, it's been a series of things. i don't know who would replace him. >> yes. >> i don't know who the last man standing will be there. >> or who would even want that gig. >> at the least i hope it's a learning moment. >> thank you, mark. always appreciate it. >> thank you, don. >> president trump in the middle of another fire storm of his own

making after the democrats treasonous remark. quite upset they didn't applaud during the state of the union address. we have this. let's discuss it with michael, who as a piece out on trump called "trump is bringing everyone down to his level." what do you think of this story out tonight about rob porter. >> i think one of the things that also must be pointed out is that this is not only a problem where porter could have been compromised. but what does it say about his impulse control, that he can't keep himself from allegedly beating women? this is a very bad sign. you don't then consider a man like this and say, well, he is doing a good job in the office. i mean, this is the white house. >> and so -- but again in falls on kelly. he is the chief of staff. and this is -- you know who walter schwab is. >> yes. >> the director of office of

general ethics. >> john kelly falsely smeared a congresswoman. tells as you failure to compromise on slavery causes civil war. protect add wife beater. tell us again, sarah sanders how we're never allowed to criticize the general. and then we didn't talk about how he treated the gold star widow. and on and on. who is this person? you had another general coming out saying i don't recognize him. >> well it's very easy to present only elements of your character when you're the general. when you're in charge and you're with a president who has a fetish about people with stars on shoulders, who is going to challenge this man's reputation until he reveals it? so now we see, he has characterlogical problems. >> who is strong enough to stand up by the standard set by the president himsz. >> we forgot stormi daniels, people are traitors.

>> and treasonous. that's what you write with in your piece. you said the trump presidency reduces everyone to the level he operates. and that applies to john kelly now. is that applying to him. >> it sure does apply to him. i think it's a tragedy for his reputation. and it's a stain on the american military. >> here is what you write. you said unwilling or perhaps incapable of operating by the usual standards of adult behavior. donald trump openly shares what's in his heart and mind and often it's a spray of juvenile insult, recklessness and ignorance. the outbursts hit everyone and everything in range. bringing the potential for a contamination and thus demanding a response. it's only wednesday night. the president has called, you know, democrats who didn't applaud at the state of the union unamerican and treasonous. the president's chief of staff implied immigrants who didn't sign up for daca said they were lazy and didn't get the off

asses and now he is defending a physical abuser. >> isn't the president abusing us every day by debasing public debate, literally soiling the language that we use? have you ever said the words that you've had to say in your career prior to donald trump appearing. >> i said that last night. i said i have said words and sworn more on this show -- i've said words that i never thought i would say. i said when it someone going to drop the f bomb on television. >> soon we'll do it because this is what he tries to do to the world. i almost don't blame him. >> here is what gets me. when we talk about language and people complaint i can't believe you're saying this. i'm repeating the words the president said. >> of the president of the united states. >> but then they say the language of john kelly saying people are lazy and should get off asses, that it doesn't matter it's a throw away. you can't have it both ways. >> of course it matters.

of course it matters. and he is not addressing privates in the army or grunts. he is addressing the american people with this kind of language. and he is describing his -- other people residents of america as of now still legal residents of america. and degrading all of us in the process. i think this is what donald trump is doing to the world. and it's something we have to call out every time he does it. >> absolutely. i appreciate your perspective. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. michael dantonio. is the russia fixating on president trump and his team while ignoring real scandals. we'll breakdown the story lines that the president complains are undercovered because most of them simply are not true. little things can be a big deal. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable

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so as the special counsel progresses with the russia investigation, the president and his party have thrown out distractions, attempts to discredit the investigation. they get in the news cycle, generate headlines and air time. and then they turn out not to be true. but the damage is done. big headlines, little or no truth to them. the latest example in a long string of examples, newly released texts between fbi officials peter strouk and lisa page. agents involved in investigating a hillary clinton private mael

server. robert mueller removed both of them after the justice department reviewed the messages. the exchange shows page referring to a meeting at the bureau set up because obama wanted, quote, to know everything we are doing. president trump after seeing it reported breathlessly on his network of choice, tweeted out this. new fbi texts are bombshells. the implication being president obama had metalled in that investigation of hillary clinton and her emails. here is the facts first. the texts sent months after james comey publicly announced the clinton investigation had closed and days before president obama called out president putin for russia medding in the presidential election. a sources tell cnn those refer to president obama ace concern for interference in the election not the clinton investigation. senator ron johnson made the same false connection from the texts. he is of course the same senator johnson who last month took a joking text between fbi

officials and turned it into a controversy about a secret society of anti-trump agents lurking within law enforcement community. only after it was made clear to him that he missed the joke did he back off. but the damage was done. it had become a talking point already. some people still believe it. remember the uranium 1 bombshell where hillary clinton stood accused of using her role as secretary of state to approve the sale of mining rights to a russian company. president trump insin eighted she signed off on a deal that gave russia control over 20% of american uranium holdings. republicans claim they had a whistle blower who would expose the operation. democrats briefed by the trump justice department. they say they were told the

whistle blower was unare relevantable. top oversight intelligence officials sent letters to republican colleagues, a letter stating just that. and they said he offered zero evidence about clinton and the clinton foundation. these are just a few of the stories presented by allies of the president, stories that got a lot of headlines, sometimes a lot more headlines than the actual facts get. stories presented a lot of the time on the trump cable tv network over on the other side of town. joining me now cnn political analyst ryan lizza and political analyst shawn turner. you wouldn't believe, ryan the arguments i get in with people i thought were rational and sane about uranium one. and i say have you read the information? do you know what goes into getting a fisa -- what happens

when wupt to get a fisa request? what happens at a fisa court? most of them don't. they just know talking points they hear from the president and his allies and conservative media, mostly fox news. the attempts to discredit -- they keep coming. are they having an impact. >> well, there is not -- there is a lot of scientific research now about this phenomenon of fake news and why it's so hard to kill a fake story. there is a great piece in scientific american about this. and the authors note a phenomenon of the illusion of truth or what stephen cobert called truthiness. once you get it in your head and it may have been reported by a respected news organization, it's very hard especially for partisans constantly looking for information to confirm their biases, which frankly that's human nature. all of us do that. it's very hard for people to --

to lose the idea, lose the idea of that -- of that story or to give up the idea that it's -- that it's true. and i think so many people are swimming in information every day online, and especially among political partisans, they're looking for stories and facts that confirm their -- the preconceived ideas about what's going on with scandals, politics. and they seize on these things and don't want to let them go. and the more they're repeated the harder it is to kill them. >> i think that there was -- i shouldn't give my idea away. but there should be a network that is devoted to just going through the opening month logs of conservative media and fact checking them every single night to debunk. a i watch and i can't believe no one is fact checking.

they load the it deck with hemiwho support them never a dissenting voice. it's unbelievable. and many americans believe the bull crap they are spewing. shawn, do they affect the work that the mueller investigation do anyway. >> don, i think it does affect the work of the fbi and the ic. everyone from congressman to the president, to a long line of a talking heads have come on and they've disparaged the fbi and intelligence community. and you know, they try to do something that i think the people in the fbi and the ic see through. they come on and say the concern is with the leadership of the agencies. but then they follow that up quickly by praising the men and women working in the agencies. i think the men and women working in the agencies see through that. you can't separate the attacks on the fbi and intelligence community from the people who do the work and produce the

products that you claim are biased and shoddy, and somehow prejudiced against the president. so when we hear the attacks on the leadership and we say the people of the fbi and ic are hard working and great people, well, you know the people need to understand that is a claim that falls false and has impact on the work and morale in the organizations. >> what we is interesting -- why do you think he couldn't get the security clearance? because the fisher had the information, gave it to the white house. it appears at this point that they ignored it for months. and allowed him to continue to work there, reportedly without a long term security clearance. >> yeah, don. and it's unconscionable he is not the first to be able to work if the white house and handle sensitive information without a security clearance. it's my understanding that jared

kushner is still in the process of get ago secured clearance and other individuals the president says you're on the team so you'll be allowed to do this. >> we have had so much breaking news. i have to cut it short. ryan i'm giving you a chance to weigh in and give you the last word. my question is can we ever go back to facts. >> i think the scarey thing is we have now political professionals understanding the information environment so well that they understand all they need to do is come up with something and don't really care about the facts as long as their team -- as long as they can generate content that might be fake that their team can use to -- to make an argument. i think that's what this nunes memo he said was about was just getting anything out in the blood stream of the right to defend the president. >> i wonder that -- i said -- and i sit and watch over the last weeks since i haven't been working. i sit and watch and say why is this person on television? if the average american knew the

background of the person that they never met a green room they didn't like, that this person undermined the white house until they get in a position they want in the white house, then they would never but -- but we put them on television and people believe the crap they say. >> weaponizing the fake news in the service of a political party. >> got to go. more on the breaking news stories. sources thelg tell us that john kelly knew about allegations again rob porterer. if he knew, how did porter get hired in the first place? we'll talk about that. my day starts well before

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sources telling cnn that top aides to the chief of staff. tell us that rob porter was hitting road blocks with background checks months ago. the reason allegations of domestic abuse from both of his exwives. why did no one tell the president? i want to bring in cnn commentator. . about a kari. . it almost makes you noft allegic for rirps. never that you had i'd say that is it problematic for the people working for the president for the tone set from the top. >> nothing is new in this white house. i've been guilty of it as well we had the false sense of expectations for people like john kelly. think about john kelly he had the most race it trip of them all that black and brown dak ara recipients are lazy.

now today rob porter is a great man. and now we realize he is not a great man in fact one of the least of us because he puts his hand on women in violent ways. the doesn't choose the best. he has had nazis and racists. let's check another box. dmabdsers around him. >> a retired general told our jim acosta told us doesn't recognize john kelly. are we seeing the real john kelly or is this white house changing him. >> i don't think it's either. i think the bottom line is we don't know exactly what he knew about this incident. we know that it clearly flagged by the fbi. i think it's clear that he should not have been in the white house referring to porter. i don't think this has to do with politics either. this is an issue of domestic abuse and violence that we should all not try to score political points on and condemn it for what it is. you do not put your hands on a woman. i don't care about any other

political talking points of this that or the other, this individual if this is true -- and from what we've seen with the pictures and from the women i don't believe i don't have any reason to believe it's not true. >> but what about the extreme vetting. you can't brag on someone saying you're hiring the best and turns out to be the domestic abuse her. and the fbi warns you months ago about this. it's in the white house. it's politics. it's the white house president of the united states. >> let me say this we don't know exactly what was in the warning. we tone know if there was issues that came up in the interview. i was listening to one of the women talk on the "washington post" video. she may have been telling them she thought he was fine to serve. she said that on the video that he could do the job and do it well. but that also -- so, again, i don't know what he was told we don't know what the president was told. >> go ahead. >> just quickly you have the resources in the entire country -- you have the best source resources in the world at your disposal one woman in kirk

particular. one had a blog up in april of 2017 in which she laid out the abuse that she suffered from this individual. and not only that but john kelly the chief of staff knew from the fbi and promoted the individual. this was a power struggle. this is a power struggle in the white house. and john kelly needed an ally that's why he was afraid to let him go. this is a black mark on john kelly. he put a domestic abuser above what our country needs. >> i want to put this picture up. from july of 2017 from the new yorker. corrie lewandowski fired june 2016. . ing andly scar mnichowicz. filed july 2010 sebastian gork '2017. rob porter resigned today they're all in that picture. so much for the hiring the best people. thank you both. when we come back, the president -- the vice president disputing a story that he is in a feud with an openly guy olympic skater but the reporter

stands by her story. she will join me next and i will speak with the olympic gold medallist to get his take. why wait months for your next vacation

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vice president mike pence leading the u.s. delegation at the opening ceremonies at the winter games in south korea and pushing back on a report he was snubbed by a member of the u.s. olympic team. i want to bring in cnn sports analyst kristine brennan who broke the adam rippon story in usa today. it looks beautiful by your background. you asked rippon what he thought about the vice president leading the u.s. delegation? here is the apply. you mean mike pence the same mike pence that funded guy conversion therapy. what happened after that, kristine. >> well i wrote the story the next day, january 17th, don. and it was basically also making the point by the way that the vice president had denied that he was funding guy conversion therapy back -- dsh during the campaign in 2016. put together this story put it online. and within one hour of the story being on usa today.com on january 17th i was hearing from the vice president's office they

wanted to comment. and of course we already had a comment but we let them comment. and they were refuting this and were very upset and angry. and i couldn't believe it. i just couldn't believe that the vice president of the united states was focused on a figure skater comments and that's where the story stood. i kept hearing about from sources of course -- i've covered the olympics a long time. people get in touch with me and i with them. i heard more and this is the story i was able to put out today, which was that the vice president at the exact same time through his staff had people contact the u.s. olympic committee to try to arrange a conversation with adam rippon. and adam rippon declined. and that is of course the story that's out there now. >> so tonight mike pence office defied the usa today report, as you've been talking about trying to set up a meeting with him here is the statement you talked about. so the usa today report is false and should be corrected. the vice president's office did not reach out to set up a

conversation with mr. rippon. as we have said before, the vice president is supporting all the u.s. athletes in the olympics and is hoping they all win medals. what do you think of the response? because again you stand by your reporting. >> absolutely. well, as i mentioned in the story, don, i have two sources. but there are more people who told me things, deeper detail with pence and his actions, reaching out to the u.s. olympic committee. but that was on such deep background the source didn't want to be mentioned as a source. we went with two. people were calling me. this is about one of the easiest stories i've broken in a long time. i feel incredibly comfortable with the reporting. i believe it to be true. i wouldn't put it out if i did not, having done this a long time. the story is rock solid. that is the truth. it definitely happened. and obviously the vice president and his staff is disputing. they have every right to. but the story is accurate. >> thank you very much. i appreciate that kristine

brennan in south korea. i want to bring in olympic diving medallist breaking the surface. greg, thank you for joining us here. you're an olympic legend. >> thank you. >> you tweeted us in support of adam rippon. you said i am with you all the way. pence has openly promoted ignorance about and hate towards the lgbt community his entire life and then asks me to his office for a photo-op which i declined. i think the v.p.doth protest too much. resist, equality for all. you have a history with mike pence. talk about that. what dote he protest too much. >> i do. i was in indianapolis. i was actually there for jeanne white, coming out with a new book about ryan white, her son. so was helping them promote the back. as it turned out that's when

pence was working on the anti-lgbtq legislation. and all of a sudden it was the h.r.c. talking to me. and the athlete allies. and you know taking me here and there. and you know we tried to get into a press conference. but i was escorted out of that press conference. and once he learned when -- when pence learned i was removed then he invite td me for a meeting. and i shared with him what it was like growing up being guy. and you know, i was born in way, bullied and suicide attempts, and, you know, all his response was, "i'll pray for you." of course he wanted a photo-op and i declined. >> and ryan white -- ryan white was -- he wasn't allowed into school because of hiv aids

diagnosis and eventually died in 1990. but he became the face of the hiv. >> he was my hero. >> i wanted to remind our viewers. >> yes. >> but adam rippon and lindsey vonn have said they won't attend the white house after the olympics for a celebration hosted by donald trump and the olympics is all about representing your cy, good sportsmanship, transskrending politics. is that lost, do you think. >> no. it's a personal decision. it's your right as a human being to do what's -- what's comfortable for you. there -- you know, there are ways of -- i don't know that i'd go to the white house. i mean, with this administration, hell, no. >> why do you say that? >> just with the -- you know, civil rights, and health care,

and i mean there is so many issues that are affecting so many of my friends, people that i love. and, you know, and true life is about -- about family, you know, shoot, if donald trump was in my he could be escorted out with the language that he uses. >> i'm just -- you say that, now we have, you know, olympic athletes, we have an nfl player on last night who, you know, was on the winning super bowl team that said, i'm not going. you had the winning nba team saying, i'm not going to the white house. this white house doesn't understand that -- they don't seem to understand and they don't seem to be changing their tune at all on the issues, on the reasons why people don't want to go to the white house. what do you think of that? do you think they will change? or does it -- >> ah -- there's a lot of change

that has to happen. i mean, i was at the women's march in d.c. last year, i was at the women's march this year in orange county, because that's where i spent a good chunk of my life. it was such an honor to be there, and just the energy and the people coming together, that we're here to protect those that have come to this country, whether they're immigrants and our veterans -- >> right. >> you know, there cea's so man issues that are layered. >> the white house doesn't understand they represent all americans, not just the 30% of hard core supporters that they think they respect. >> right, yeah. >> greg, thank you. always a pleasure. >> got to see you in new york. >> absolutely. any time. all right, we'll be right back.

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(crying, screaming) today is your day. crush it. angie's boom chicka pop whole grain popcorn. boom! as the world gathers for the winter olympics, the white house is keeping a sharp eye on north korea. concerned its participation in the games may be nothing more than a ploy. vice president pence visiting u.s. troops in japan on his way to the games in south korea, issuing this warning. >> as the old book says, a

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good evening. we begin tonight with breaking news. new details in the abrupt departure of rob porter. you have probably never heard of him before today, but he was chief of staff john kelly's right-hand man. he quit today in a cloud of spousal abuse allegations, allegations he's denying. if the white house hoped this story would dis