Ground zero, 30 people remain unaccounted for. The trumps will also visit parts of georgia hit hard by the storm. Concern is growing over relations with saudi arabia. Jamal khashoggi was last seen entering the saudi consulate in istalbun nearly two weeks ago. His disappearance is linked to the critsomecrit sosome of the i family. The denial was very strong. It wasnt like there was a question in his mind. The denial was very strong. The president adding secretary of state mike pompeo is on his way to saudi arabia right now. Lets go straight to Cnns Abby Phillip at the white house. What else did we hear from the president this morning . Hi, erica. President trump this morning is presenting an alternative theory for what might have happened to Jamal Khashoggi. The president saying today after his phone call with the Saudi Arabian king, he heard a strong denial. He said that repeatedly in this gaggle with reporters as he was preparing to leave for florida. But this is whats causing a lot of people to raise their eyebrows. He said there might have been rogue actors responsible for what happened to khashoggi. The king firmly denied any knowledge of it. He didnt really know, maybe, i dont want to get into his mind, but it sounded to me like maybe it could have been rogue killers. Who knows . Were going to try getting to the bottom of it very soon. But his was a flat denial. The president this morning also repeated salmans denial and also said and pointed out that Jamal Khashoggi was a saudi citizen. Thats something that has become more important in part because President Trump has suggested that because khashoggi was not an american citizen, that there might be a different standard for what might have happened to him. So hes really putting some attention on that issue, even as hes getting a lot of questions both in his 60 minutes interview last night and from critics about whether or not hes doing enough to stand up for the issue of human rights on the global stage. As we wait for word on what will happen as pompeo heads over to saudi arabia, this is the question for the white house today. What are they willing to do to find out what happened here . And potentially to punish the saudis for it. Oh, so many questions. Joining me now, cnn senior political analyst mark preston. National security analyst sam vinograd, and elise labott. Sam, i want to start with you. The president saying he takes the saudi king at his word. Should anyone take the saudi king at his word . Putting the president on the phone with the king was a massive mistake. Typically, you do these calls so the president of the United States can deliver a message. In this case, it sounds like the president was in listening mode. He kept repeating talking points that king salman gave him. That it was not saudi arabia that perpetrated this crime, that he firmly denied it. What was the president s message to the king about human rights, about freedom of the press, and about the need to have a credible investigation . We didnt hear that. Of course, the king of saudi arabia is going to deny this, just like the kingdom has done in other instances historically, just like Vladimir Putin does on election meddling and other issues. I would like to know what President Trumps message was to king salman and what secretary pompeos message is going to be when he visits the kingdom i believe tomorrow. As were watching for that, you bring up such an interesting point about him also taking Vladimir Putin at his word. He was asked specifically last night, he talked to leslie stahl, and in many ways, we heard him talking again about siding with these leaders over his own intelligence. Take a listen. Do you agree that Vladimir Putin is involved in assassinations, in poisonings . Probably he is, yeah. Probably. Probably . Probably, but i rely on them. Its not in our country. Is it true they havent gotten rid of a single weapon and they may actually be building more missiles. They want to and i will tell you that theyre closing up sites. Is what i said true . Nobody really knows. People are saying that. I have actually said that. That theyre still building missiles, more missiles . We really dont know, we really dont know. It raises the question, elise, as to whether the trump doctrine is trust but dont verify. Well, you see, what happens is there are kind of parallel governments going on, right . The president is talking to these leaders, whether its the saudi king or kim jongun or Vladimir Putin, and then you have the Big Government which is his cabinet and National Security adviser, secretary of state, defense secretary mattis, doing the leg work and trying to build a policy around that. So its very true there wasnt much substance on this conversation with king salman, but thats all going behind the scenes. There are hard and Uncomfortable Conversations being held. You saw the turks talking to the saudis. There is a kind of deal, obviously, being made to, you know, have a narrative being formed, and secretary of state pompeo is the one thats going to go out and deliver that tough message. I think we have come to expect from this president that he doesnt like confrontation, that hes not going to berate countries or leaders. You know, he likes to do that on twitter. But certainly not in a conversation. And i think that youre going to hear these kind of things about what the saudis need to do and the punishment coming from the advisers around the president , not from the president himself. Ultimately, its his decision, but you wont hear him until that all comes out, is the way i read it. Were also hearing it, i should point out, from members of congress vowing they want to see action, that they would take action themselves. In fact, heres senator marco rubio on state of the union this weekend. I believe the Trump Administration will do something. The president said that. But if he doesnt, congress will. That i can tell you, with 100 certainty, with almost full unanimity, across the board, republicans and democrats, there will be a very strong congressional response if in fact saudis lured him into their consulate, murdered him, cut up his body, and disposed of it. Theres going to be a very strong congressional response. We hear there from marco rubio, there will be a bipartisan, very strong bipartisan congressional response, but mark, what could that be at this point if we see where the president is at . Honestly, i dont necessarily know because im not sure that marco rubio necessarily knows. He did mention also in the interview on cnn it could be the magnitsky act, which would perhaps allow sanctions on individuals of the saudi family, if they were to be found guilty or complicit in this luring in of the journalist and murdering him. But i dont even know if that would work. Theres been a lot of talk about freezing arms sales to saudi arabia. The Defense Industry will lose their mind if that occurs. You might also have a lot of diplomats who might say, what are you doing . This is our foothold here in the middle east and our two other colleagues can speak to that with great knowledge. The fact is, this is an extremely complicated situation, and in some ways, it was good that President Trump didnt necessarily come out and say, as elise said, what the end sanctions are going to be or what the United States actions are going to be, but for him to come out right now and also as we have all been noting, to really just mouth the saudi official line is kind of ludicrous, and just really not the position for the president of the United States to take or to be in. Well, an interesting shift after what we saw in the 60 minutes interview where the president said there would be severe punishment if it was determined there was saudi involvement. Then we heard not only is he touting the strong denial from the king a short time ago this morning and also saying it would have been, in his words, rogue killers who could be responsible here, sam. Floating a new narrative, and im not really sure where that comes from. I would guess it probably comes from the saudis who are trying to probably peddle other conspiracy theories out there. If rogue killers penetrated the saudi consulate, then they have bigger problems than we had previously known. One thing i want to point out. Its been two weeks. We have an entire Intelligence Community and intelligence partners all around the world who i imagine have put together an assessment of what we know to this point. It will continue to develop over time. So before the president s call today, im sure he saw the assessment. Im sure he has some understanding at least of whats happened, as does secretary pompeo. I agree with elise hes not going to deliver a harsh message, unfortunately, to the king at this time, but regardless of what the state department does and congress does, if the president undercuts those assumptions, undercuts those repercussions, that weakens them. We have seen that in russia. Elise, i know you want to jump in on that, especially with the comment about, quote, rogue killers. On sams point, i think its the opposite of that. You see these advisers around the president kind of weaken his denials when they kind of push these, you know, stronger lines. On the issue of the rogue killers, i think what we see is a narrative shaping up. Over the weekend, you heard President Trump say, oh, it looks like jamal isnt here anymore, that hes died, unfortunately. And now you have heard that the turks and the saudis are working together. You heard a saudi official tell me this morning that an internal investigation is under way, that king salman ordered this prosecutorial internal investigation. And now if you start to connect the dots, you can see a picture thats emerging, that the saudis are going to say that, you know, this is a mission that was horribly gone awry. Someone went rogue. I think we can see how this is shaping right now. It didnt come out of the clear blue. I think this has kind of been the discussions that have been happening behind the scenes all weekend, and now, if i had to predict, i would say this is where its going to go. Elise, just to pick up on that point about the narrative shaping up here, and obviously, the different messages coming from officials versus the president himself, but based on secretary pompeo going to saudi arabia, is this ultimately anything more than a photo op with the king, because who were not talking about is mohammed bin salman. I was going to say, i dont think its just going to be a photo op with the king. I expect hell meet the king, but the king is in poor health. We dont really know if he will end up meeting with the king. I think in addition to trying to find out whats going on with this investigation, i think whats more important that secretary pompeo will be doing is sit this young crown prince down and give him a little bit, you know, of tough love, and say look, youre the future of saudi arabia. We embraced you. We embraced what they call the 2020 vision for refworm, economic and political reform and modernization of the country. You cant be off on these wild adventures whether its killing civilians in yemen, whether its kidnapping the Prime Minister of lebanon for a short period of time, whether its rounding up members of the royal family at the ritzcarlton. You need to be a seasoned, sober leader thats taking his country into the future. I think that he needs someone to sit him down and have calmer heads prevail. I think thats what secretary pompeo is doing as much as he is trying to get answers to what happened to jamal. Elise, mark, sam, appreciate it. Thank you all. Up next, senator Elizabeth Warren releasing a dna test, sending a splashy new video out to supporters. Is it the unofficial start to her 2020 president ial campaign . Plus, at any moment, we expect President Trump and the first lady to arrive in florida where theyll tour hurricane damage. This as rescue crews continue to search for more than 30 people still unaccounted for in mexico beach. Well take you there live. A onceinfive hundred year storm should happen every five hundred years, right . Fact is, there have been twentysix in the last decade. Allstate is adapting. With drones to assess home damage sooner. And if a flying object damages your car, you can snap a photo and get your claim processed in hours, not days. Plus, allstate can pay your claim in minutes. Now that you know the truth. Are you in good hands . But birds eye made it deliciousfrom zucchini. A. Mmm. Mashed potatoes. And rice but made from cauliflower. Looks like i need a fork oh no. giggles birds eye veggie made. So veggie good. All the tools you need for every step of the way. Make it, squarespace trump can say whatever he wants about me, but mocking native americans or anyone in order to get at me, thats not what america stands for. Some people have questioned my heritage and my family history. Maybe they do it to insult me. Maybe they do it to distract from the kinds of changes im fighting for. And the kind of change im trying to bring to washington. That certainly feels like the unofficial start to a president ial run. Senator Elizabeth Warren releasing that Campaign Style video and dna test results to back up her claims of native american heritage. The boston globe reporting those chose a strong evidence of that ancestry. The democratic senator from massachusetts has been a frequent target of President Trump who routinely mocks her as pocahontas. The Washington Post reporting shes backed more than 150 campaigns in all 50 states. Across all 50 states. If these were the first steps for a run in 2020, she could be facing an uphill battle. A new cc poll shows the senator in fourth place in a crowded list of likely democratic nominees. Joining me now, the reporter behind the boston globe story, and also with us, matt, who has been tracking warrens midterm push for the Washington Post. Great to have both of you with us this morning. Annie, warren gave you these dna test results, to the globe, then we also see this video that launches. Why now . Whats the timing . Well, i think warren, keep in mind, is still running for reelection in massachusetts. And i think shes trying to put some of these issues about her native American History and heritage to bed, you know, before the midterms end and before she takes that hard look that she said shes going to take at running for president. Getting it out of the way, in essence. Yeah. Your reporting, matt, details the length she has gone to to shore up democratic candidates, again, across the country. Were talking about involvement in all 50 states here. In many ways taking over the more traditional role of the party itself. Is your understanding that this move is more about 2018 and the elections 22 days from now or is that more about 2020 . I think its a twofor, but more geared toward 2020. Elizabeth warren has spent a lot of time developing a grassroots network. She gets a lot of small dollar donations. But this is really about connecting her to a wider Political Network in states across the country, but also quite focused on the early primary states. Shes dispatched staffers from her own network to those early states like New Hampshire and iowa and South Carolina to start working in those states, which will be beneficial to her after the midterms if she announces that shes running for president. Its kind of about getting chips she can cash in later with a lot of those candidates around the country. Not just those early states. She has activity in ohio, florida, wisconsin, michigan. President trump was asked about the news about this dna test, and he basically said, who cares . Although as we know, the president himself has cared for some time. In fact, heres a listen. Did you ever hear pocahontas . Huh . Its pocahontas, Elizabeth Warren. Pocahontas. Pocahontas. Ive got more indian blood in me than pocahontas, and i have none. Elizabeth warren. Oh, i hope she runs. I hope she runs. Then we can finally get down to the fact as to whether or not she has indian blood. I will give you a Million Dollars to your Favorite Charity paid for by trump if you take the test and it shows youre an indian. That pledge of a Million Dollars back in july, this morning, though, the president pushed back on that. Take a listen. Who cares . I didnt say that. You better read it again. We didnt read it again. We played the tape. There it is. Is there any sense, though, from your reporting, from your conversations with Elizabeth Warren, annie, that any of the president s comments or even the comments in july about the Million Dollars, did any of that play into her decision to have this testing done and put those results out . Yeah, sure. I think theres no question that President Trumps comments and his sort of continual goading of her on this issue, always calling her pocahontas, requesting the dna test. I think that absolutely played a huge role. I think that she was following the model here of barack obama who finally released this longform birth certificate after then just businessman trump was just haranguing him over it. So i think that what Elizabeth Warren is hoping to do is to get this out there, you know, theres going to be some attention around it for a few days. It will die down, and then as she thinks about running for president , she just will never really have to address the issue again. She can point back to the dna test that shes taken and say look, its settled. Matt, the fact that shes trying to get ahead of it at this poi