making his case donald trump's supreme court pick meets monday with democratic senator joe manchin. it could be crucial to getting brett kavanaugh on the bench while manchin is up for reelection in the red-hot state. >> reporter: joe manchin is holding discussions whether to support the supreme court nominee with voters in a state trump won by 42. >> i have not done that myself. >> reporter: if manchin votes know it affects voters and gop opponent patrick morrissey questions his government. >> the more it is clear he is only in this to appeal his liberal donors and only stand for judge brett kavanaugh after it is clear they have the votes. >> reporter: mansion is set to meet with brett cavanagh. >> healthcare is a big one. >> reporter: morris cc healthcare talks as a stall tactic. >> no debate with respect to preexisting continues. he has come up with a fake issue, a scare. >> reporter: the digital crisis issue is a manchin with a $1.5 million ad campaign claiming healthcare concerns. >> talking points. >> reporter: manchin laughed at suggestion see the show for schumer. >> mitch mc

senator heidi heitkamp, joe manchin of west virginia, senator joe donnelly. you could talk about the role that michigan senior senator might play in all of this. hugh hewitt, help me understand the political parameters of this. we don't have a nominee yet, yet we have seen a lot of lobbying on capitol hill already. the "new york times" reporting that mitch mcconnell is backing either two candidates, raymond kethledge or thomas hardeman, suggesting they would have an easier path to confirmation. help us understand the divide in the republican party when it comes to the short list. >> it's the key question, david. you've got to make sure that senators colin and murkowski do not lead. you can't take points off the board. and they will be very hard pressed to vote against either judge kethledge or judge hardeman, i believe. on the other hand, how do you get heidi heitkamp, joe manchin and john tess extra under the most pressure, claire mccaskill? i think it is easiest to lose one of the two republicans with judge barrett, because she's so

with joe manchin. when democrats are demanding before they will consider the confirmation. >> i have zero doubt he is going to be on the supreme court before the end of october. he is highly qualified, well-deserving. we'll break the back of every democratic effort to stop this good man from being on the supreme court. hey there people eligible for medicare. gimme two minutes. and i'll tell you some important things to know about medicare. first, it doesn't pay for everything. say this pizza... [mmm pizza...] is your part b medical expenses. this much - about 80 percent... medicare will pay for. what's left... this slice here... well... that's on you. and that's where an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company comes in. this type of plan helps pay some of what medicare doesn't. and these are the only plans to carry the aarp endorsement. that's because they meet their high standards of quality and service. wanna learn more? it's easy. call unitedhealthcare

talking about what joe manchin should do? what the senator should do when it comes to the supreme court vote? >> reporter: certainly. joe manchin is one of the most sensitive facing the re-election. he's running as somebody willing to support the president, rather than stand in his way. he backed picks for epa, cia, and the first democrat to come out in support of neil gorsuch. we asked two manchin supporters whether they think he should support president trump's ultimate supreme court pick. take a look. >> i believe that joe manchin is open-minded snu eed enough, he' moderate enough, that he will support, if it's the proper pick. he will support him. >> he does some things that are considered unpopular. but he's willing to step out on a limb and confront issues and work across the aisle. one of the few that actually does it. you know, they can talk about it but actually doing it. >> reporter: and so, joe manchin is not the only red state democrat in the president's sights, it's also heidi and joe donley. >> jeff bennett in w

joe manchin, joe donnelly and heidi heitkamp. these are people the president has embraced and targeted. donnelly voted for amy barrett for the court of appeals. if the president picked her, it would be difficult for manchin and donnelly say it would be difficult to confirm her. if he was to pick a brett kavanaugh or if he was to pick a thomas hardiman or somebody like that, those three senators in particular would find it difficult to vote against that nominee. they are up for tough re-election battles in states that the president won handily. west virginia in particular. joe manchin has tried to make peace with the president, but the last time he was there at the green brier, he was certainly pretty tough on joe manchin. if joe manchin wants to survive politically in any confirmation hearing that happens this fall, if they can get a hearing this fall before the election, manchin will be hard-pressed to vote against the president. >> shepard: john, you broke the news 23 minutes as that the president made the decision. i know the

joe manchin from west virginia, colorful and blood. does he have a point? would he think of the prospects from other red state democrats will cost party lines? >> the chances of joe donnelly, joe manchin and heidi heitkamp whenever brett kavanaugh of the supreme court are high considering the fact in 2017 they voted for the first supreme court nominee neil gorsuch. they simply wanted to go vote for them. you can put politics considering the fact they were a tough reelection campaign and at least three of them -- elise. this red state democrats, heitkamp, donnelly and manchin are down to the liar. you can also look at mccaskill , but really those three are the ones who got to look out for. >> we have one you left out was jon tester. you did point out that manchin voted for gorsuch as well as joe donnelly. but they voted again sent three. do you think because of the pressure in the fact they are up for reelection that they will perhaps switchover and cassius took out or not? >> it's tough to say. mccaskill will say no. a lot of this comes down to what happens

so we suspect that those will break against joe manchin. will benator manchin among the first them across to me with brett kavanaugh this week. marcia is joining us from port, oregon. good morning. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. yes, i wanted to mention really quick that i am working on my doctorate and getting to the end here in business administration. that iwanted to say was am pretty sure that president trump understands negotiation theory -- negotiation very, very well. i don't think it is a bad thing yellow president coming in with economic --with an with an economist background. i think people should not put in motion into everything -- put emotion into everything. host: thank you for the call. we will get a response. guest: first, congratulations for working on the end of your doctorate. that is a huge accomplishment. there is a debate actually among pundits as to what degree president trump is playing chess and what degree he is playing checkers. and you get heated debates on one side or the other. we have seen in

manchin is a possibility. manchin has head meetings to get his colleagues take. meanwhile, democratic leadership is pushing for more documentation from when kavanaugh worked in the george w. bush white house. >> this is one of the most important positions in the world. we need to know everything. not just some of the stuff and some of the stuff the white house wants us to know but everything. >> some republicans see that as a stall tactic. >> i think when he was associate counsel to the president, his 200 opinions are very important. but chuck, to go on a fishing expedition to millions of documents that he had nothing substantive to say about is a mistake. >> now kentucky senator rand paul says he's a yes after meeting judge kavanaugh and reviewing his record. i decided to support his nomination. i believe he will carefully adhere to the constitution and will take his job to protect individual liberties seriously. fellow republican senators now sound quite confident. >> when it comes to brett kavanaugh, i have zero doubt he will be on the supreme court before the

joe manchin from west virginia is one of them. if they vote against or treat brett kavanaugh wrong, it will kill them with the republicans in states that trump won. if they vote for brett kavanaugh, it will kill them with activist and liberal base. >> trish: are they running a political risk by talking to him, looking that they're hearing them out? is that how divided we are? >> no. the political risk is not meeting with him. they're still in this divided country and has to be room for decency and normalcy. >> trish:out think. >> even if the democrats don't like what they see from the trump white house should they continue this game of everybody being more bit tore the point that they don't meet a supreme court nominee? that is not the right way to proceed. so they should hold the meetings and make up their mind. forget the politics. the politics will be so bad either way and do what they think is right from their heart and their gut. >> trish: well, they liked neil gorsuch enough. one would think they would confirm kavanaugh. if

he's in a real pickle. >> he is. >> manchin. >> he is. if he votes for kavanaugh, he's going to infuriate the democratic base. i know it's a conservative state, but he does need to get those liberal voters out to the polls and look at the primary that he just went through in west virginia. he did not get a lot of support from those same core democratic voters. so he's in a bind because he's getting hit from the right and left. this is going to be a difficult vote. >> and the way he's setting it up is talking pretty extensively about kavanaugh's writings and views on obamacare, which is, you know, somebody said it was risky. i think it's actually kind of clever because that is an issue that is universally a big one among people who voted for trump and manchin and even those who didn't. >> that is an issue that activates the core democrats he needs to have on his siede, but he also steers clear of talking about abortion rights, gay rights, all of the social sort of cultural hot-button issues that could alienate the republicans and swing vot

so for right now, at least, we think joe manchin has the edge. his problem is most of the probably like the president and approve of his job. so we suspect that those will break against joe manchin. -- it might end up close at the end. host: senator manchin will be among the first senate democrats to meet with brett kavanaugh this week. marcia is joining us from port, -- portland, oregon. good morning. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. yes, i wanted to mention really quick that i am working on my doctorate and getting to the end here in business administration. what i wanted to say was that i am pretty sure that president trump understands negotiation theory very well. i don't think it is a bad thing that we have a president that is coming in with an economic, as an economist, with an economist background. i think people should give him a muche and not put so emotion in everything, because emotions don't run, it is ruined. host: thank you for the call. we will get a response. guest: first, congratulations for working on the end of

manchin is seen as a possibility. manchin has held meters with constituents to get their take on the supreme court nominee to make sure he has their input. meanwhile, senate democratic leadership continues to push for more documentation, particularly from when kavanaugh worked in the bush white house. >> namely in these documents, if we get them, there may be bomb shells and smoking guns and other revealing evidence that goes to his views on these critical issues. not just presidential power but roe v. wade. >> democrats say there could be critical information there in his past employment history. some republicans suggest that could be a stall tactic, shep. >> shepard: we've been waiting to hear from rand paul on this matter. you knew what was going to happen. there's a pattern here. he's true to pattern. >> senator rand paul says he's a yes on judge kavanaugh's con fir makes. he said he was evaluating the nomination and had some concerns about privacy issues. he issued a statement saying that he was re-assured that j

so manchin, west virginia. up for reelection, trump won by 42. heitkamp in north dakota, trump took it by 36. missouri -- i meant to circle indiana here. donnelly in indiana, trump took it by 20. donnelly, heitkamp, manchin, they voted for neil gorsuch last year, they're all facing the voters in these states in a few months. if they were to side with this pick, if you had 48 coming in from that last screen and you got these three, that would put you at 51. we mentioned by the way he's not up but doug jones in alabama. he took that seat a few months ago. that's a state trump won by nearly 30 points. he's up in 2020. again, there will be a lot of pressure on him so there are a lot of democrats in theory who could be in play here to vote for this nominee for some very self-serving political reasons. they want to get re-elected. that's balanced with the potential threat from collins and murkowski. joining us to talk more about this, norm ornstein co-author of the book "one nation after trump." leading congressional scholar. evan siegfried, republican

manchin was the first of three democrats to split with the party and support neil gorsuch, president trump's first supreme court pick. man ch manchin is in the throes of contested senate re-election bid, this is a state that broke for president trump. manchin has a choice to make, stick with the president or support the president as a way of muting criticism from his opponents who would like to see the seat end up in republican hands. >> joe donnaly and joe manchin, heidi heitkamp under pressure to vote for the president's nominee and there are some republicans under pressure not to support a nominee who might support the overturning of roe v. wade. the simple math a lot of people have in their minds may not be applicable in this senate confirmation. thanks for that. geoff, good to see you. >>> let's talk about a name that's emerging. you heard geoff mention her as a tom contender, amy barrett, one of the leading female candidates and reportedly already met with the president. amy barrett is 46 years old, the mother of seven children, and a member of the federalist society. that's th

i'm happy senator manchin and senator donnelly is going in with an open mind. i hope others join them. i can't believe that this will be a partisan issue. from the most part, supreme court nominees have really risen above the partisanship. >> harris: elena kagan was nominated by barack obama. she moved forward in her nomination process. did republicans sit with her? >> most republicans did sit with her. most republicans get with justice ginsburg and sotomayor. >> harris: let's listen. >> it's an unfortunate thing. it makes the world think that they are in competition. i think that's not the way that we think of ourselves even given that we disagree and we disagree sometimes in ways you can predict. these votes do make a stand as though we're just part of an extension, the political process. that's long term very unhealthy for the court. >> harris: what do you say about that? >> i think justice kagan is right. the less politicalized the american court is the less it has with the decision. >> harris: i want to talk about this candidate and the kinds of questions

democratic senator joe manchin requesting a second meeting with brett kavanaugh, a key supreme court swing voters still undecided. >> rand paul has support behind the supreme court nominee. i the democrats fighting a losing battle? here to weigh in his chief counsel and policy director at the judicial crisis network. thanks for being here. do manchin in west virginia, donnelly in indiana and heidi heitkamp in north dakota have a choice in the matter? >> not if they want to stand with the citizens of their state. my organization conducted a poll and found anywhere from 20% to 40 point spread in their state saying they want brett cavanagh confirmed. they voted for neil gorsuch. that wasn't even an election year and all three are running for reelection. we will see them, a two our discussion yesterday with senator manchin but i'm optimistic all three of these senators are likely to vote for brett cavanagh. he is such an amazing excellent judge. not to mention the fact when choosing between supporting the citizens of your state and supporting the extremists of the party like chuck schume

kennedy: if you're joe manchin, joe donnelly, heidi heitkamp, how do you vote? do you vote with your party, or do you vote with someone that voters in your state approve of? >> i think it all depends on how lisa murkowski or susan collins falls. they vote for this justice knowing his record on choice, knowing -- kennedy: what is his record on choice? >> well, there was a case in texas regarding a minor who wanted an abortion, and he ruled against her -- kennedy: he actually didn't go as far right as social conservatives -- >> yeah, but it was far enough, and the question is it far enough for lisa murkowski or susan collins to vote against him. ing that's really the question. i think based on that and also will he go after, if the case comes in front of him -- kennedy: what's more important for democrats, thwarting in this nomination -- >> no, no, no, this idea of thwarting the nomination -- kennedy: or having people reelected in critical red state where is the president -- what's more important? please answer the question. >> no, i'm going to answer your questio

parentally chuck schumer had approached joe manchin from west virginia. he said can i influence your thinking on this? joe manchin said i'll be 71 years old in august. you're going to whip me? kiss my you know what. so i think that was pretty clear on what some red state democrats are thinking. >> yeah, i have to say obviously chuck schumer is in a difficult situation here. but you know, it's arrogance of thinking that something like joe manchin should bough to democratic leadership instead of doing what he's supposed to do instead represent the people of west virginia and the other red state democrats as well. the way the system works is these people represent the voters back home. they don't represent leadership in washington. so that said, i with see it's a very tough task that dick durbin and chuck schumer have. they really have no power whatsoever. >> dana: the base wants a fight. i listened to a couple podcasts. they really want a fight. yet, if you're going to take back the majority in the senate, if you're chuck schumer, you're thinking i can't pu

and now, so garrett, who is donnelly, manchin, mccastle and murkowski and collins, and so many being targeted with these ads, and so as someone who might potentially break with their party, because of the ads? >> well, the list is shorter than the one that you are laying out talking realistically, and the two republican senators from susan collins and lisa murkowski. and if both of them vote with the party as they do overwh overwhelming majority of the time on the judicial nominations this conversation is effectively over. and you did have three democratic nominees vote for republican nominations. some folks who may want to vote for another trump supporter as well, and also, you can put doug jones on the board, because we have not seen his cards on that the as all. but obviously, the two republican senators, and you are over the line, a nind combination of the democrats, and talking about what is ultimately a fairly comfortable margin here sh, and we won't kn for more than a month and none of the folks are going to be showing their cards before the hearing takes place which is a mont

joe manchin has been doing the same thing. i'd be hard pressed to think about something negative joe manchin has said about president trump. heidi heitkamp as well. there's a few more examples, but she's also someone the president reportedly likes. so we're going see this in a couple different places, i think, where you have a democrat snuggling up a little bit to the president, particularly -- and i would not be surprised if they end up voting for the president's supreme court nominee. they would have two. several of them. >> i think it's also important to note the nuances tester was not saying in any of those ads that i like the president. he was saying the president likes me and what i do. that's undercutting the message of the president. unless they're very, very dedicated to president trump, no one is going to remember ronnie jax w jackson when they go to the polls in number. too much has happened in the meantime. aligning himself to the president but putting it all on the president. >> and to the point when you have this

joe donnelly in india india, joe manchin of west virginia and heidi heitkamp of north dakota. all three declined the invitation, saying they wanted to first meet the nominee and discuss their judicial philosophy. all three of those senators are in very tight races in states that president trump won. republicans and conservatives are pressuring them to vote yes on kavanaugh or risk having their reelection bids undermined. liberals on the other hand are demanding that senate minority leader chuck schumer try to strong-arm them into opposing trumps nominee. we should note all three voted to confirm sipping court justice neil gorsuch but our senior capitol hill producer chad pergram reports tonight that senator manchin told him he could vote either way. it's also worth watching alabama senator doug jones who was not yet a senator when gorsuch was confirmed and is not up for reelection, but he's a conservative democrat in a very red state. here is jones on cnn. watch. >> i'm going to make an independent judgment and view. i don't think anyone should expect me to simply vote yes 40

. >> how do you think joe manchin took that with his sunday morning coffee when he sitting in a state like west virginia come up for election. he voted for justice gorsuch in 2017 and by the way, donald trump carried west virginia not by 20, not by ten, but 41 points. and they are in the exact same boat as joe manchin although obviously west virginia is probably the most extreme case. he had to have gulped deeply because of course his responsibility is to the people of west virginia, not fellow democrats, not democratic's constituency around the world or anything like that. and it dick durbin probably ought to go back to study the founding to understand exactly why senators are picked and who they are supposed to be representing. but the guy deserves a little bit of credit for honesty here. you know, you think of the democratic party, they love to divide americans by race, creed, gender, whatever they can, they spit everyone against one another in the campaigns. what dick durbin is saying here is, there's only one issue that we care about and that is abortion. joe manchin and all thes

>> yes. >> manchin of west virginia all voted for neil gorsuch. those are certainly targets of opportunity for kavanaugh to win. so any of those increases the margin of error that they have with the republicans. so i mean he's in good shape. >> and he voted on the affordable care act. he voted in 2011 before it went up to the supreme court. and he didn't vote to strike it down. he took on off ramp, kind of, you know, classic brett kavanaugh to try to not stir more controversy. >> what he did, it's important for people to know. the plus-minus is 300 decisions. that's a lot of decisions. his 12 years on the d.c. circuit puts him, i think, about as long as any recent nominee in terms of time on the appellate court. >> alito was longer, but none of the others. >> he was back in the early 2000s. >> so he has a lot of decisions. you're going to look at the decisions. this aca decision that we're talking about, now you have to read the decision because he didn't go after the aca. >> not at all. >> but the way he didn't go after it was by saying, well, th

and joe manchin has a choice here, stick with the democrats or support with the president in the past in muting the way that he does not fully support president trump. that is a key issue in the race here. >> thank you, jofgeoff. and now, join g ing us is corne belcher who is an msnbc political analyst, and we thank you for being with us. cornell, let me start with you. taking joe manchin and we got the update from west virginia and i hear all of the argument ns that the democrats and the activists on the left are maching to try to stop the names on the list that is circulating so far, but when you are looking at joe manchin, and democratic activist trying to get mansion to the vote against the trump nominee as he is facing the voters in the state that trump just won by 42 point, and what is the best argument politically to get a guy like man chun against a trump nominee? >> well, you don't play small ball, right? this is not about one race. and the numbers are what they are. there is a battle here in the senate where republicans control the senate. they can ultimately probably win th

you're watching for senator manchin. thank you. >>> i want to bring in a former assistant attorney at the baltimore school of law, who worked with brett kavanaugh in the independent counsel's office. pleasure to have you on, considering your relationship with kavanaugh. you had a chance to be a colleague of his. given that, is there any credence to the idea that democrats are talking about, that the president picked kavanaugh partially because of his views on presidential powers when it comes to investigations? kavanaugh has written about the idea that a sitting president sho shouldn't have to undergo the investigations. >> he said congress passed legislation limiting the ability of the prosecutors to investigate a sitting president. whether that would be something that constitutionally he'd dry a line, i don't know. he is a separation of powers hawk. he believes in strong powers for all three branches of government. what's interesting here, we won't know this, is whether he would endorse what basically mitch mcconnell d

manchin's impression could set the tone. we are 99 days until election day. we will see if the kavanaugh vote will move the dial either way in red states. more "mtp daily" right after the break. ♪ ♪ let your perfect drive come together at the lincoln summer invitation sales event. get 0% apr on select 2018 lincoln models plus $1,000 bonus cash. i love you, basement guest bathroom. your privacy makes you my number 1 place to go number 2. i love you, but sometimes you stink. febreze air effects doesn't just mask, it cleans away odors. because the things you love the most can stink. and try febreze small spaces to clean away odors for up to 30 days. breathe happy with febreze. but behr premium stain y can weather any weather. overall #1 rated, weathers it all. find our most advanced formula exclusively at the home depot. >>> welcome back. time now for "the lid." today after the president said he would meet iran without any preconditions, no preconditions, his secretary of state mike pompeo then went on cnbc and, you guessed it, just like the tires are the th

manchin: thank you. i'll take your assurance that my colleagues were delighted what say, and therefore, will not take any additional questions. senator collins? sen. collins: thank you, mr. chairman. welcome, ambassador. let me say thank you for sending maine last month to meet with our lobstermen, dealers and processors. since that visit, regrettably, the situation for the lobster industry has worsened. china is admittedly a very bad actor when it comes to trade. but we have to be sure that the actions we take don't end up hurting our own domestic producers. china, since that meeting, has slapped a retaliatory tariffs on maine's lobster, our state's largest export. it generates about $1.5 billion in economic activity in my state. exports of maine lobsters to china had nearly tripled during the past 3 years. compounding the problem facing the industry, is the new trade agreement between canada and the european union. it is known as ceda. it has eliminated and phased out tariffs on frozen, live and proces

his first meeting with a democratic senator is monday, senator joe manchin. that will be followed by indiana senator joe donnelly august 15. what senate democratic leadership said, and how does that play into the strategy in opposing the nominee, which won't have his senate judiciary confirmation meeting until september? >> you do have the first two democrats announcing they will meet with him. leadership,cratic members of the judiciary committee, say they are not going to meet with him until they get a deal on documents from his time working in the george w. bush white house, where he was staff secretary and legal counsel. you had some back and forth among leadership blaming democrats -- that same bill ours trying to stonewall -- are trying to stonewall them. sayingy came out democrats are trying to go on a fishing expedition. it seems like there is an impasse on what documents they will request. >> you can tweet jordain carney, read her work. we want to thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me on. journal,'s washington live every day with news a

kennedy: you have also got people like jon tester and others -- and manchin said chuck, don't tell me what to do. i have to make up my mind, i have to talk to this guy. we have to talk about his opinions he has written about. it seems like kavanaugh will be confirmed. >> there is a lot of stuff i don't agree with him. he seems a little soft on the 4th amendment. and he deserves pushback. but man chins worried about his political career and he'll vote for him. because it's suicide. a lot of people who held their nose and voted for donald trump because of the supreme court. if you want to get them rallied up' vote for the nomination. >> you could make a case for holding a pity party for the red state democrats in an impossible situation. when you are in that no-win political situation, i think people should take politics out of it. he's saying listen. he's saying i'm going to base my decision on if kavanaugh is qualified. kennedy: he released a statement saying i asked him questions you posed to me. he had an email where people can send him questions for kavanaugh. >> what rand paul sai

manchin: mr. president, i rise to introduce an amendment that would appropriate funding for the office of terrorism and financial intelligence of the department of treasury. two investigate the illicit trade of synthetic opioids originating from the people's republic of china. in 2016 synthetic opioids killed 19,413 americans. that's more than heroin which killed 15,469 and prescription pain pills which killed 14,487. between 2016 and 2013, synthetic opioids increased 25%. most orange in china with some shipped from mexico according to the united nations. china produces other 90% of the phenomenon and exports a range of phenomenon products to the united states including phenomenon analogues, phenomenon-laced pill presses. under like in the past, many manufacturers of fentanyl and fentanyl precursors in china are legitimate companies, exporting legitimate drugs and chemicals to the united states. according to the u.s.-china economic and security review commission. the primary obstacles to controlli

joe manchin of west virginia, joe donnelly, and heidi heitkamp. >> the new york 11th, joe seat thatlosing that she tweeted that -- you tweeted that politicians face a rorschach test. what did you mean by that? that was a story with multifaceted story lines it, not the least of which mr. crowley was trying to position himself to be the next leader of the house democrats, and the ocasio.of or what she wants people to remember as her message was something i'm going to guess that we are going to your more and more from democrats between now and the election. not so much her message of progressiveness. she is a bernie sanders progressive democrats, wants to eliminate ice, once to medicare to be the sole health care, , i dofree public college not think the democrats are going to go for those progressive ideas. but what they are going to listen to which is what she said, we, the democrats, noble donald trump is, we do not need to spend our campaign talking ill of donald trump and trying to talk people out of voting for democrats voting against donald trump. what does do good is when democrats gi

by the same token, the joe don nely, the high camps, the manchins, they would rather not deal with this issue either. >> definitely not. >> congressman, what is it like to be under that pressure? both sides now, on the issue of abortion or other issues, are gearing up for a fight? there will be a lot of money poured in on all sides on this? >> interestingly, supreme court nomination really was never a big issue in a house race. >> because you don't get to vote. >> you don't get to vote. it's that simple. it was never a very big issue. it's changing a bit this time. but the politics is interesting that if donald trump gets what he wants. he'll win on this. probably before the november election. this will supercharge the democratic base, i think, more than anything else. yeah, it will help stoke up republican turnout, but the democrats will be very angry and they'll be motivated. this will make them more angry. >> but the cross-currents that you're talking about, i think, particularly for joe manchin in west virginia where the president won by 30 points, is he needs to make sure that trum

least the same three democrats to vote for his nominee this time that note -- that voted for , joe manchin, joe donnelly, and heidi heitkamp. >> let's ramp up -- let's wrap up talking about the election, joe crowley losing, and the victory of alexandria across your cortez -- alexandria ocasio -cortez. willo you think democrats tailor message ahead of them in terms? >> this is a story with multifaceted storylines behind it, not the least of which that mr. crowley was trying to position himself to be the next leader of the house democrats, not the least of which cortezdria ocasio- represents an ideological breakthrough for the democrats. whatthink her message or she wants people to remember as was something i will guess we will hear more and more from democrats between now and the election. not so much from her message of aggressive is a -- progressivism. she wants to eliminate ice, wants medicare to be the sole health care provider for the country, wants free public college for everyone -- those progressive ideas. i don't know whether that's when the democrats will go. but here's what they

so he's telling joe manchin, joe donnelly, heidi heitkamp that it doesn't matter, if you're in close races, it doesn't matter if you have a political future. that's how important this is. speech he was interesting to me, and i don't think this is lost in the american public. it's not about are you pro-life or pro-choice, how do you feel about this issue or that issue, it's do you think that a judge should be doing magic tricks with the constitution to make it say something it doesn't? 's and that what it's really supposed to be about? >> andrew: that's exactly right and what's really lost is what terrific craftsmen of the law these four finalists are. it really shouldn't matter. they're all very much committed to what ought to be conservative principles for interpreting the constitution. >> kennedy: we heard a lot about that after the death of justice scalia. >> andrew: if he could rank them, probably amy coney barrett of the top and we don't know enough about thomas hardiman to my mind but as to the other three, whoever said you can throw a dart and end up with a great judge, i thin

man manchin, heitkamp and jones and tester. what can they really do to hold up this pick and could it cost them crucial senate seats, phil? >> they need to do something more than last night. it was laughable on the supreme court protests where people were again with signs with fill in the blank. ready to protest whoever the president nominated. they did it with gorsuch. it is now with kavanaugh. it is not just protesters who showed up late night. it is groups like the women's marches. they sent an e-mail blasting the nominee before he was named. we know as a matter of fact that mainstream democrats, chuck schumer, will oppose the nominee. we knew that before he was named. as far as the questions about whether or not the president should face investigations, i think with kavanaugh, you have someone who saw it from both perspecti perspectives. i think looking back to the experience in the starr investigation, he realized that this should not necessarily be a partisan thing and this hampers the president from fulfilling his execut

heidi heitkamp of north dakota, joe donnelly of indiana, claire mccaskill of missouri and joe manchin of west virginia. three of those people actually voted for neil gorsuch. they are being torn between intense pressure from the leadership of the democratic senate and intense pressure from their constituents back home who voted for donald trump. he was joe manchin who we caught up with earlier this morning. >> i am not speaking on any other senators, i know what i feel in my heart is right to give everybody the benefit of the doubt, look at it, study it, have them come in and sit down and go over the concerns we might have. i'm going to go back home to town hall meetings, how many people do town hall meetings? >> there were also two g.o.p. senators who will be absolutely pivotal roles given the g.o.p.'s razor-thin margin of majority in the senate. talking about lisa murkowski of alaska and susan collins, both of them moderate, both of them pro-choice, both eagerly awaiting their one-on-one interviews with brett kavanaugh. already hinted that if he is diehard when it comes to antiabort

talking about doug jones, joe manchin, joe donnelly, heidi heitkamp. did the president expect to get their support? >> if the democrats actually look at the qualifications of judge brett kavanaugh they have no choice but to confirm him. if it is based on pure politics some will do what they usually do. hold up the stop sign, fight to the death to stop him, but if they are being honest and it is a matter of policy and principle and personal qualifications, the professional and personal pedigree of this man and his time on the bench already, then if they are being honest and they are doing what they promised their voters they would do, which is to make sure that the judiciary is filled with folks who are faithful to the constitution and won't make up the law as they go along. that's all the president asks. i think whether you're a red state or purple state or in cycle or not in cycle, if you're honest about the process you'll give this man his due and a thumbs-up vote. everybody should be concerned. every voter out there represented by a senator who said

meanwhile, kavanaugh had his first meeting with democrat, west virginia senator joe manchin. he's seen as a potential swing vote. supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg says she hopes to stay on the court until she's 90. ginsburg is now 85.to sh an interviewer on sunday, "i think i have ...at least five more years." she cited former justice john paul stevens served until he was 90. in zimbabwe they've begun v counties after a largely peaceful election day. it's the country's first presidential election since inrobert mugabe was ouste may. he had ruled for 37 years. his rmer deputy, emmerson mnangagwa, faced opposition leader neln chamisa, who complained of voting delays designed to undermine his support. john ray of independent television news, reports from rare, the capital. >> ray: for zimbabwe a histoc day worth the early start. sunrise and already thousands were queuing patiently. many here ha waited a lifetime for this moment.e' >> w only known one president until now, you know. so, i think this demonst tes change. >> chamisa! chamisa! >> ray: there has been a joyous

joe manchin is facing a tough election battle in a state that president won by a huge margin. the meeting comes a senate minority leader chuck schumer is reportedly pushing red state democrats to hold back any support for brett kavanaugh as long as possible. schumer is also calling for the release of cavanaugh's time in the white house where he worked his legal counsel and staff secretary. this morning, senate majority number said he will try to delay the process until that demand is met. watch. >> the question is what they're hiding, what are they concealin concealing. i will meet this with mark nominee and will certainly urge my colleagues to vote against him if we are denied those documents. >> melissa: in the meantime, senate republican is warning against an expedition saying they should request documents only relevant to who to who is potential supreme court service. i want to ask you about this. if so a bunch of these documents have to do with the time when he was staff secretary at the white house. they say that job is somewhat called it a paper pusher, that's not quite

can be checks away from the border and technical solutions as the prime minister rightly described at manchin house. in fact, there already are. but when i and other colleagues , and i see my right honorable friend proposed further technical solutions to make customs and regulatory checks remotely those proposals were never even properly examined as if such solutions had become intellectually undesirable in the context of the argument. and somehow after the december joint report, whose backstop arrangement we were all told was entirely provisional, never to be invoked, it became too ta boo even to discuss technical fixes. so mr. speaker, after 18 months of stealthy retreat, we have come from the bright certainties of lancaster house o the agreement. lancaster house set laws that will be made in westminster. there will be an ongoing harmonization rule book. lancaster house said it would be wrong to comply with i rules and regulations without knowing what they are. they make us rules takers. lancaster house said we don't want anything leaving us half in and half out and hold on to. check est sa

why is senator joe manchin taking this meeting? >> i think he's probably going to do the exact same thing regarding neil gorsuch. i think he will support brett kavanaugh the way he did neil gorsuch and i wouldn't be supplies to if donnelly and the - - can't out of north dakota does the same thing. right now, the democrats are like a football team taking the field with eight players going against a team with a full squad and i don't see how they will stop this. i would like to point out, i believe the confirmation of brett kavanaugh should wait until after the mueller investigation because it's a total conflict of interest if they do decide to indict donald trump to have brett kavanaugh decide that case i think is something the american people don't want to see. >>alicia: i want to get your thoughts on senator joe manchin but in regards to the mueller investigation, we don't know how long this will last. >> to talk about joe manchin first, as previously stated, you have three senators that did vote for neil gorsuch and i'm certain t

they're in moderate states like doug jones and joe manchin. and also make sure to call susan collins and lisa murkowski and ensure they are going to vote against this particular person or at least delay it until after the midterm elections going based on the mitch mcconnell rule. and not just because mitch mcconnell set this precedent but also because there are two additional arguments that i think are pretty persuasive. one, you are replacing kennedy, who is the swing vote. it's not antonin scalia like previously when you had merrick garland sitting there and mitch mcconnell not even having a hearing. you're not replacing a conservative with a conservative. you're replacing a swing vote who is conservative with potentially a very extreme or conservative person. his list is all people who we have an understanding or an opposition to row. amy barnett went to notre dame. she is very catholic. she had a famous moment with former senator al franken during her hearings about how she spoke essentially to a hate group without really understanding the

so we suspect that those will break against joe manchin. will benator manchin among the first them across to me with brett kavanaugh this week. marcia is joining us from port, oregon. good morning. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. yes, i wanted to mention really quick that i am working on my doctorate and getting to the end here in business administration. that iwanted to say was am pretty sure that president trump understands negotiation theory -- negotiation very, very well. i don't think it is a bad thing yellow president coming in with economic --with an with an economist background. i think people should not put in motion into everything -- put emotion into everything. host: thank you for the call. we will get a response. guest: first, congratulations for working on the end of your doctorate. that is a huge accomplishment. there is a debate actually among pundits as to what degree president trump is playing chess and what degree he is playing checkers. and you get heated debates on one side or the other. we have seen in

you mentioned on the democratic side joe manchin and heidi heitkamp. they are up for tough elections in november, and they cannot really afford to break with republicans. donald trump one thing though states by a good margin. sahil: if it is another matter where the president gets to pick and supreme court nominee, and if the senate stands in his way, it will be seen as another partisan foo fighters there is a potential roadmap for red state democrats to oppose trumps pick them and it was written by jon tester, the democrat from carolina. he is facing reelection in a red state that trump won pretty handily, and he faulted gorsuch refusing to where he stands on key precedents, and his darks, "are plenty," -- " money," on women's rights for health care, which is code word for roe v. wade. if the nominee dodges, as most of them typically do, that could be a basis for wright state democrats to vote no. -- red state democrats to vote no. david: mitch mcconnell is giving advice to the president for who he things will be easier to get through. who is he say i