they have positioned themselves as a party that advocates on behalf of women, that believes women and stands up for them. given, of course, the focus that they have placed on the misconduct allegations against trump and as well as those we saw against moore, i think they really felt they needed to take a very clear stand. and republicans, i think, alt this moment, they still have been struggling with how to grapple with some of these allegations. probably in part because the tone is set from the top. and i think that has made it a difficult issue for them to navigate. >> i want to turn to another pressing issue. new reporting this week, the new efforts to protect both the special counsel and his ongoing investigation in the wake of reports the president tried to have him fired. lawmakers on capitol hill this weekend, they're working to make sure president trump cannot and will not fire robert mueller. cara, you are learning more here for us at cnn. what have you discovered about trump wanting to fire mueller last summer? >> well, we know that last summer in june, president trump had made a directive to don mcgahn, the white house counsel,