good morning.

it is 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart. right now, president biden fights back. >> how dare he raise that? it wasn't any of their damn business. >> the president forcefully responding to the accusations of memory loss in the special counsel report that found no criminal charges were warranted for his handling of classified documents. new reporting today on why the memory details were included in the report. at the supreme court, the justices gear up to potentially hear another case involving former president donald trump. on capitol hill tonight, the senate is due to consider the stripped down bill providing aid to israel and ukraine, but its future is still uncertain, even without the bipartisan border provisions. overseas, israel steps up its assault on the city of rafah in southern gaza. president biden says the response in gaza has been, quote, over the top.

we begin this morning with president biden's response to a report on his handling of classified documents from his time as vice president. the long awaited report by special counsel robert hur says no criminal charges will be filed, but the investigation uncovered evidence a president willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen. the president denied the allegation during a news conference last night. >> i've seen the headlines since the report was released about my willful retention of documents. this assertion is not just misleading, it is just plain wrong. >> president got angry when he responded to an assertion in the report that he forgot when his son beau died. >> how dare he raise that? frankly when i was asked the question, i thought to myself, it wasn't any of their damn business. i don't need anyone to remind me when he passed away. >> the president was also

defiant in responding to a comment in the report saying if he were charged, he would present himself to the jury as, quote, a sympathetic well meaning elderly man with a poor memory. >> i'm well meaning, i'm an elderly man, i know what the hell i'm doing. my memory is fine. >> just moments later, he confused the presidents of mexico and egypt while talking about the war in gaza. >> initially, the president of mexico, sisi did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in. >> with us to talk about this, gabe gutierrez, nbc news justice and intelligence correspondent ken dilanian, and michael zeldin, former federal prosecutor and special counsel to robert mueller, now an adjunct professor at american university's washington college of law. so, gabe, you were in the room last night for the president's news conference. what was it like and why did he decide to speak out last night? >> well, jose, the president was

very forceful there as you said and it seemed he really wanted to take these reporters' questions, took several of them before walking off and came back, to answer a question about the hostage negotiations and the israel-hamas war. so he wanted to push back here. and according to several white house aides, they felt it was imperative for the president to push back on some of the more damning allegations in the report. and some of biden's advisers view this as some purely political allegations from the special counsel, robert hur. but, jose, there weren't just allegations as you said about his memory. there were some allegations that the president put national security at risk. now i asked the president directly whether he shared classified information with his ghost writer as alleged in page three of the report. take a listen to his response. >> i did not share classified information. i did not share it. with my ghost writer, i did not. i guarantee you i did not.

i did not say that. >> mr. president -- >> let me answer your question. the fact of the matter is what i didn't want repeated, i didn't want him to -- i didn't read it to him, i had written a long memorandum to president obama, why we should not be in afghanistan. it was not classified information in that document. that was not classified. >> the president in that answer also referred to that information that he spoke with, with his ghost writer, as perhaps private information, but, again, he did not consider it to be classified information. however, jose, that directly contradicts page three of the report. again, white house officials and biden advisers say that the allegations about president's memory were, quote, gratuitous and way out of line. jose? >> and, again, you have new reporting about why the special counsel included these passages about the president's memory in the report. >> yes, i think what you just heard is a great example,

because mr. biden's recollection is just incorrect. the special counsel clearly says in the report that he shared classified information with the ghost writer and they documented that and they have evidence of it. what i'm told by justice department officials is that special counsel hur, you know, he was writing a report that is required under the regulations to the attorney general explaining why he wasn't filing criminal charges against mr. biden despite the significant evidence he found and mr. biden willy retained classified information, which is a crime. this wasn't an accident. he took documents related in particular to the afghanistan surge in 2009 that were highly classified, he took them home. and in 2017, he was recorded on tape saying i just found a bunch of classified documents and he didn't report that to the fbi. now, he said the reason for that is he quickly forgot about it. and mr. hur had to explain why that there was some credence to that, there is a context here and in doing that, he explained mr. biden's history of -- recent history of memory lapses and

significant memory issues that he observed in his five-hour interview with the president over the course of two days. so that's why according to the justice department hur put that stuff in there and the reason it is public is because attorney general merrick garland promised to make every special counsel report in there for under his tenure, every one public in response to what bill barr did when he was attorney general when he took the mueller report, didn't release it, characterized it, mischaracterized it in the view of some people and got pilloried for that. he does not want to make that mistake and wants to put it all out there. >> michael, you're familiar with an investigation like this. what is your take on this report? >> well, i think that hur was trying to have it both i was. he's saying, look, there is evidence of willfulness, but there are extenuating circumstances. i just don't think he needs to be as explicit in a report that he was -- that he knew would go public in this election season.

so, you know there -- i sort of think this crossed over the line, knowing that this was the single most important issue for biden's re-election chances, his mental acuity. to put this stuff in there, ken is right, it was for context. but i think it should have been that he believed that a jury would be sympathetic to mr. biden, and that they would prevail at trial and that would violate doj policy to say you must be able to convince a jury you can convict and that conviction has to be sustained on appeal before you indict. i think it was a step too far on hur's part. >> michael, i mean, so in a way, essentially, you're saying that there -- that politics needs to be taken into consideration, the timing of what these allegations and this report, knowing full

well that we're in the campaign season, that politics should have played a part in what the special counsel said or didn't say? >> yeah, he would have been -- in one sense, almost better off if he were indicted. then he would have had a courtroom opportunity to defend his memory and himself. now he has this headline out there that he's a frail mental capacities and he has no real forum within which to prove it otherwise. hur said, look, i don't think a jury would convict because i think a jury would be sympathetic to him. he's putting himself in the mind of a jury. if jack smith wrote a report saying i didn't charge donald trump with fraud because i believe his witnesses would lie and because he's paying for all their attorney fees, i don't think i can sustain a conviction but i think they're all going to lie. would that be an acceptable report? i don't think he can do that. it has to be much more clinical. when i wrote my report in the investigation of george h.w.

bush, we didn't try to psychoanalyze what a jury might do. we said, these are the facts, and we can't bring an indictment because there was nothing that is warranted to bring an indictment. and end of the case. that's all hur needed to do. didn't need pages of psychoanalysis of perspective jurors. >> interesting perspective you're giving us this morning. i appreciate it. ken, what are the differences in there? vast differences between president biden's handling of classified information and former president trump's handling of classified information? >> these cases are not even in the same universe and rob hur, who is a life long republican and appointee in the trump justice department made a point of enumerating the differences because, again, his audience here are republicans in congress as well, who are going to criticize him for not charging biden, while trump is charged for similar conduct. what hur said is it is not similar conduct because mr. biden is not accused of trying to hide documents or withhold evidence or refuse requests from the government to return classified documents and not accused of obstructing justice,

where as mr. trump is accuseed of all those things including ordering subordinates to destroy evidence and lie about it and charged in an indictment in that respect. rob hur said it in his report and anyone can make their own judgment, these cases are not the same at all. >> the latest nbc news national poll finds that just over three-quarters of voters have concerns over the president's physical and mental health. >> the white house is pushing back hard on that even a couple of days ago, they were asked about concerns about the president's age and mental fitness because there have been a couple of times where he had confused recently the names of world leaders and, in fact, he did that last night, confusing the presidents of mexico and egypt. the press secretary came back and said, look, people misspeak. it is normal for people to misspeak. she really brushed off the concerns. and, indeed, jose, when i speak with biden advisers and a source

close to the campaign, they see these as gop attacks and nothing new. they transition to saying, look, when it comes to the campaign, they feel voters will not end up caring about that, they will want to focus on other issues. for example, threats to democracy. and reproductive rights and also the improving economy. they do not see the age, the concerns about the president's age as really making a difference in the coming months and the 2024 campaign. of course, it will be a challenge, though, as republicans really plan to seize on this issue. >> ken dilanian, gabe gutierrez, and michael zeldin, thank you very much. the next case the supreme court could soon take up involving former president donald trump. and tempers flare on the senate floor over why republicans shot down the bipartisan border bill this week. >> this has been a half ass effort to deal with border security. to the people in the house -- i'm speaking. you can speak later. >> talking about what's next when colorado senator michael

bennet joins. we're back in 60 seconds. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. s you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. hey, you should try new robitussin honey medi-soothers for long-lasting cough and sore throat relief. try new robitussin lozenges with real medicine and find your voice. you know? we really need to work on your people skills. feeling claritin clear is like... ♪♪ is she? playing with the confidence of a pro and getting all up in that grass as if she doesn't have allergies? yeah. nice. some migraine attacks catch you off guard, but for me a stressful day can trigger migraine attacks too. that's why my go to is nurtec odt. it's the only migraine medication that can treat and prevent my attacks all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion and stomach pain. now i'm in control.

with nurtec odt i can treat a migraine attack and prevent one. talk to your doctor about nurtec today. 13 past the hour. new reaction after the nation's highest court seems skeptical of efforts in colorado to disqualify former president trump from being on the ballot. the majority of supreme court justices appeared to raise concerns about using a civil war era statute to remove trump from the ballot, because of his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. and the court may not be done weighing in on trump's legal issues. on monday, the court could decide whether to take up a challenge to an appeals court decision this week which ruled that trump is not immune from prosecution in the 2020 election interference case. joining us now, a former senior investigative counsel for the house select committee on the january 6th attack on the capitol. great seeing you, thank you. your reaction to yesterday. we were all here on msnbc,

watching, listening to it, watching what was going on in the supreme court. what was your reaction to what you heard? >> well, i think we always -- i always thought it would be an uphill battle for the petitioners trying to get trump off the ballot. i was surprised about how unanimous the court effectively was against the petitioners and in favor of the former president. i mean, you look at the court, it sounds like we're going to get potentially an 8-1, maybe a 9-0 ruling in the favor of the former president. that did surprise me. >> for example, on the issues that the magistrates focussed in on over and over again, one of them wasn't whether trump participated, led or was part of an insurrection. it was almost like it was mentioned in passing, but it wasn't a central part of the magistrates' questions. >> yeah, and i think that was incredibly disappointing to me. the question really at the core

of this attempt to get the former president off the ballot is because he took an oath, he violated that oath. that's the core question. what the justices were focused on is what i call off ramps, whether or not trump was an officer, the linguistic debates as to understanding the provision, whether or not it is a state power to enforce or congress' power. but they all, besides ketanji brown jackson, sidestepped the question of did the former president, while he was in office, effectively take up arms against his own country? that's the core question i think voters want to have an answer to. that's a question -- that's an issue that led jack smith to charge the former president and it is unfortunate that the supreme court looks like they're going to not weigh in on that at all, and instead sidestep it and likely do one of these off ramps here. >> i hadn't heard ketanji brown jackson, who is in a supreme

court setting asking questions, i thought she was particularly pointed toward history. that's interesting, because who you are and your sensitivities in life kind of help you become who you are and how you ask questions in a moment like this. it was interesting to see how she was very carefully focusing on history. >> she has done this in other oral arguments. historically, it is a conservative side of the bench that has to be focused on what people thought historically, what the founding fathers thought, and really looking backwards. but she has sometimes used that tactic as a sword herself, she's not a liberal justice, but someone who is appointed by a democrat, considered on the left, she also has used that and looked back and said what the founding fathers thought and used that to basically in support of what you might call more liberal positions. i think on this issue, what is critical is the individuals who were proponents of this

amendment, what they were most concerned about was that the person who was engaged in this kind of conduct before, that person should never be allowed to assume office again. should never be put in a position of trust again. they were not focused on, i think, these kind of linguistic arguments that the court has been focused on. it is unfortunate that the court is not getting to the heart of why we have this section 3 of the 14th amendment. >> we might see soon the court take up another challenge regarding trump. this is on that d.c. court ruling on trump being or not, you know, his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, was he in any way able to say i'm not included in this. what do you think that's going to be looking like? >> about the immunity decision? >> yes, the immunity decision. >> if i had to predict, it is always a dangerous game, i think the former president is going to win on the ballot case and lose on the immunity case. real question for the court is timing. what does the supreme court do?

they could do what i think is most wise position, which is to deny cert. there is no need for them to take up this case, which they do all the time. >> that would deny and then it stands? >> the d.c. circuit decision, and that happens all the time. when you don't have a circuit split, two circuits disagreeing, the court all the time can say, we read the opinion, we're not going forward, we don't need to weigh in further. this opinion, which i think was very, very well written, can stand on its own. that's the quickest way this case gets back to the trial court judge chutkan. if they decide to take this case on, which could then involve additional briefing, argument, and then it is really, you know, on their own schedule, it could be expedited, they could stretch this out to june, when they release their decisions, if they do that, that could ensure that there is no criminal trial before the election, which i think would be both unfortunate and dangerous. i'm hopeful that they would do -- they would do first option, which is deny cert and

have this decision be upheld. >> great seeing you, thank you for being with us this morning. appreciate it. up next, the sweeping bipartisan border bill, well, it kind of got derailed in congress. talk to colorado senator michael bennet about what happens next. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. st you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. the itch and rash of moderate to severe eczema disrupts my skin, night and day.

despite treatment, it's still not under control. but now i have rinvoq. rinvoq is a once-daily pill that reduces the itch and helps clear the rash of eczema—fast. some rinvoq patients felt significant itch relief as early as 2 days. some achieved dramatic skin clearance as early as 2 weeks. and many taking rinvoq saw clear or almost-clear skin. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal, cancers, including lymphoma and skin; heart attack, stroke, and gi tears occurred. people 50 and older with a heart disease risk factor have an increased risk of death. serious allergic reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. help heal your painful skin— disrupt the itch & rash of eczema. talk to your doctor about rinvoq. learn how abbvie can help you save. i'm getting vaccinated... ...with pfizer's pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine. so am i.

because i'm at risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. i already got a pneumonia vaccine, ...but i'm asking about the added protection of prevnar 20®. if you're 19 or older with certain chronic conditions... ...like asthma, diabetes, copd, or heart disease,... ...or are 65 or older, you are at increased... ...risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. prevnar 20® is approved in adults... ...to help prevent infections from 20 strains of the bacteria... ...that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. in just one dose. don't get prevnar 20® if you've had a severe... ...allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. adults with weakened immune systems... ... may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects were pain and swelling at the injection site,... ... muscle pain, fatigue, headache, and joint pain. i want to be able to keep my plans. i don't want to risk ending up in the hospital with pneumococcal pneumonia. that's why i chose prevnar 20®. ask your doctor or pharmacist about the pfizer vaccine... ...for pneumococcal pneumonia. (male friend) rachel, you okay? ask your doctor or pharmacist about the pfizer vaccine... (rachel) no, i live with a broken phone i can't trade in.

(female friend) okay, that's dramatic. a better plan is verizon... everyone can trade in their old phone, and get the new samsung galaxy s24+ with a.i. on them. (rachel) a new phone! (female friend) yeah! (rachel) free! (female friend) mhmm (male friend) wait, i'm on verizon, can i still get it? (female friend) yeah! (rachel) cool (female friend) good talk (vo) save up to $1800! new and existing customers can trade in any samsung phone for a new galaxy s24+, watch and tablet, all on us! only on verizon. i'm daniel lurie and i've spent my career fighting poverty, helping people right here in san francisco. i'm also a father raising two kids in the city. deeply concerned that city hall is allowing crime and lawlessness to spread. now we can do something about it by voting yes on prop e. a common sense solution that ensures we use community safety cameras to catch repeat offenders and hold them accountable. vote yes on e. you can make money the hard way as a bullfighter or a human cannonball... or save money the easy way, with xfinity mobile.

existing customers can get a free line of our most popular unlimited plan for a year! not only will you save hundreds but you'll also be joining millions who have connected to america's most reliable 5g network. sure is a lot safer than becoming a stuntman for money. get a free line of unlimited intro for a year when you buy one unlimited line. plus, get the new samsung galaxy s24 on us.

24 past the hour. this morning, new developments out of capitol hill after the senate cleared the first hurdle yesterday on a stripped down foreign aid bill that would support israel and ukraine and taiwan, but does not include border security. it comes just a day after senate republicans rejected a bipartisan package that combined both. as the battle over the border continues in congress, nbc news has exclusive reporting that president biden is considering taking executive action to deter migrant crossings. nbc's julie tsirkin joins us from capitol hill. good morning. what is going to happen now with this bill? >> reporter: yeah, it is hard to be in the prediction business in this congress, jose, but it does seem like this national security supplemental for ukraine, for taiwan, for israel, minus the border provisions, will have success in the senate. it is a long road ahead, and that's in part because there needs to be a time agreement from all 100 senators in order to speed this process along. that means the senate will be in

and voting this weekend, including on super bowl sunday. today's vote, which will happen later today at 7:00 p.m., requires just a simple majority for it to move ahead to the next step. we already know 17 republicans have joined, almost all democrats in pushing that package forward yesterday. that's with the exception of senator bernie sanders who opposes it based on the lack of conditions to israel aid. something interesting on that, i just came from a press conference that is ongoing from a group of senate democrats praising the biden administration's national security memorandum conditioning foreign aid to international humanitarian law. that, of course, is pointedly directed at israel, some democrats including those who were tepid on this package because of netanyahu's response in gaza, that will enable them to support this package to the bitter end. the question is what happens in the house. we already know speaker johnson is considering breaking this package up and considering the bills individually, jose. >> julie tsirkin on capitol hill, thank you so very much.

with us now to continue our conversation is colorado senator michael bennet who sits on the finance and intelligence committee. senator, great seeing you. i thank you so much for your time today. senator, i think back, you were part of the gang of eight, that negotiated an immigration bill, comprehensive immigration bill, that passed the senate in 2013, a bill that among other things included path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, dealt with daca, the border, strengthening the border and so much more. how do you compare that bill to the one that currently is on capitol hill and doesn't seem to have a lot of support? >> well, the bill -- yeah, that bill is no longer going anywhere. the gang of eight bill was far more comprehensive and as you said, you know, it had a pathway to citizenship, the 11 million people that are here that are undocumented. the most progressive dream act that had ever been written, all kinds of visa stuff that is important to our agricultural

sector and high tech sector. and $40 billion of border security. but it wasn't a medieval wall built over mountain south of texas. it was 21st century security that could allow us to see the border and monitor the border. and in my opinion, that is still where the american people are on this issue. they want a secure border. they don't want chaos at the border. they also want to know we got an immigration system that can drive our economy. and they know that a third of the economic growth in america for the last 100 years has been the result of immigration. that -- all of that stuff sort of dropped off in the emergency that has been caused or the chaos that's been caused by transnational gangs smuggling people from all over the world to the southern border of the united states. so, look, we got to get this ukraine aid done in particular. and then we're going to come back and i assume we're going to

have a campaign where we're going to litigate these issues on immigration, going into the general election. and then we got, i think, get back to a bill that looks a lot more like the gang of eight bill. >> in no way am i calling you and me older, that was already 11 years ago, senator. do you think about -- had that thing passed, had the house of representatives at the time, majority republican, even put that bill to a vote, and could have been discussed to some possible conferencing later, how things would have been different just 11 years go, this thing would have been dealt with. >> the whole world would look different today. i think that had they put it on the floor, remember, it got 68 votes in the senate. even lindsey graham yesterday was on the floor of the senate, reminding everybody how many amendments we had, how many votes we had. 68 votes and if they just put it

on the floor, it would have passed. and i don't think donald trump would ever have been elected president, i don't think a guy could have rolled down the escalator at trump tower and say mexicans are rapists and been elected president or even nominated to be president of the republican party. it was a terrible shame. i'll tell you, john boehner, who i actually like, who was the republican speaker, says the worst mistake he made as speaker of the house was not putting the gang of eight bill on the floor. and i agree with him. it was a terrible mistake. >> it was a terrible mistake, but they considered it and the fact is that you make -- if you make a mistake not knowing that you're doing that, that's one thing. but they were very clear, everybody was very clear, that this was a possible fantastic way of solving an issue, and they decided not to do it. and, senator, i -- just going back to what you were talking about, ukraine and israel aid

bill, what do you see going forward on this? >> after the republicans insisted that border be part of this and then dropped it, we had a procedural vote yesterday that had 67 votes, 17 republicans joined the democrats, and we got to stay here throughout this weekend until this is done. the ukrainian people have astonished the world in what they have done over the last two years. putin invaded their country, kyiv was supposed to fall in 72 hours and instead, these folks have taken back half the territory that putin stole from them, they kicked him basically out of the black sea. you got an entire country of macgyvers who figured out how to do that without having a navy, and their fight is not just for ukraine, it is for democracy. it is for freedom all over the world. and they have delivered, and they have shown that people are still willing to fight and die for democracy. the least we can do is continue to support them in this fight.

this is a -- this is a profound test of our resolve as a nation, and this is a moment when the united states has to lead our allies, not just in europe, but around the world, because if we don't, if we don't, this war will not end, it will never end. putin will continue his invasion of ukraine, xi jinping will continue to rattle his swords with respect to taiwan, and we have -- and putin, last point i'll make, putin is not doing that well on the ukrainian battlefield. the battlefield he's trying to win on is here. he can read our newspapers. he looks at our social media. in fact, he manipulates our social media. he knows how dysfunctional we are. and he's counting to win on that dysfunction. i think he's going to be surprised this weekend that the u.s. senate is going to come together and do the right thing. then we're going to need the house to do the right thing as well. >> senator michael bennet, i

thank you so much for being with us on this friday. let's continue our conversation going forward and, again, i apologize if i implied that we were in any way, i guess, ripe. we're not in any way ripe. or old. >> come on, look at how old these pillars are. we got to get this immigration stuff before this place crumbles into dust. >> thank you, senator. i appreciate you. take care. we'll go live to israel for a reaction to president biden declaring a response in gaza over the top. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. p you're watchg in"jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. whoo! ♪♪ light work! ♪♪ next victims. ♪♪ you ready for this? ♪pump up the jam pump it up♪

as someone living with type 2 diabetes, i want to keep it real and talk about some risks. with type 2 diabetes you have up to 4 times greater risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. even at your a1c goal, you're still at risk ...which if ignored could bring you here... ...may put you in one of those... ...or even worse. too much? that's the point. get real about your risks and do something about it. talk to your health care provider about ways to lower your risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. learn more at getrealaboutdiabetes.com (music) have heart failure with unresolved symptoms? it may be time to see the bigger picture. heart failure and seemingly unrelated symptoms, like carpal tunnel syndrome, shortness of breath, and irregular heartbeat could be something more serious called attr-cm, a rare, underdiagnosed disease that worsens over time. sound like you? call your cardiologist, and ask about attr-cm.

mara, are you sure you don't want -to go bowling with us tonight? -yeah. no. there's my little marzipan! [ laughs ] oh, my daughter gives the best hugs! we're just passing through on our way to the jazz jamboree. [ imitates trumpet playing ] and we wanted to thank america's number-one motorcycle insurer -for saving us money. -thank you. [ laughs ] mara, your parents are -- exactly like me? i know, right? well, cherish your friends and loved ones. let's roll, daddio! let's boogie-woogie!

you want to see who we are as americans? let's roll, daddio! i'm peter dixon and in kenya... we built a hospital that provides maternal care. as a marine... we fought against the taliban and their crimes against women. and in hillary clinton's state department... we took on gender-based violence in the congo. now extremists are banning abortion and contraception right here at home. so, i'm running for congress to help stop them. for your family... and mine. i approved this message because this is who we are. two leading candidates for senate. two very different visions for california. steve garvey, the leading republican, is too conservative for california. he voted for trump twice and supported republicans for years, including far right conservatives. adam schiff, the leading democrat, defended democracy against trump and the insurrectionists. he helped build affordable housing, lower drug costs, and bring good jobs back home. the choice is clear. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message.

36 past the hour. new reporting this morning as israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu ordered his country's military to prepare for a potential invasion of a major city in southern gaza, the israeli prime minister's office says that netanyahu directed security officials to prepare a plan to evacuate civilians sheltering in rafah, roughly 1.4 million palestinians have sought refuge there. this comes after president biden shared last night his sharpest rebuke yet of israel's operations in gaza. >> i'm of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in gaza, in the gaza strip, has been over the top. >> joining us now from tel aviv

is raf sanchez. any reaction to the president's comments there? >> reporter: well, jose, you saw the president warning that israel's conduct has been over the top. you heard from both the white house and the state department earlier in the day. the united states would not support an attack on rafah unless major steps were taken to get civilians out of the way. they said without that, it would be a disaster. and yet here we are, friday night, in israel, the sun has gone down, shabbat is here and netanyahu who despite the warnings from the united states order his military to prepare for a ground assault in rafah. he's saying rafah is hamas' last bastion in the gaza strip and he's saying it is impossible for israel to achieve its war aim of destroying hamas without going into rafah. but as you said, jose, more than half the population of the gaza strip, some 1.4 million people

are sheltering in that city right now. these are people who were displaced, mostly from their homes in the north, they fled to rafah, the southern most city in gaza, hoping they would be safe there. and now they have the israeli military closing in. netanyahu says the military will prepare pathways for civilians to get out of harm's way. but it is really not clear where they are going to go. they have israeli forces to the north of them. and they have the egyptian border, which is closed, to the south of them. they are squeezed into really the last couple of remaining miles in the gaza strip, and, jose, housing very short down there, our team met one family sleeping in a chicken coupe just a few feet away from live birds because it was the only place they could find to get away from the rain. >> raf sanchez, thank you so very much. up next, our very own steve kornacki will dive into the nevada caucus, the results there, at the big board.

plus, democratic strategists are calling it, quote, a nightmare, how the reporting of president biden's handling of classified documents may hurt him, even though he won't be facing any charges. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. a. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc.

i know what it's like to perform through pain.

if you're like me, one of the millions suffering from pain caused by migraine, nurtec odt may help. it's the only medication that can treat a migraine when it strikes and prevent migraine attacks. treat and prevent, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. relief is possible. talk to a doctor about nurtec odt. nice to meet ya. my name is david. i've been a pharmacist for 44 years. when i have customers come in and ask for something for memory, i recommend prevagen. number one, because it's effective. does not require a prescription. and i've been taking it quite a while myself and i know it works. and i love it when the customers come back in and tell me, "david, that really works so good for me." makes my day. prevagen. at stores everywhere without a prescription. rsv is out there. for those 60 years and older

protect against rsv with arexvy. arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. i chose arexvy. rsv? make it arexvy. 44 past the hour. former president donald trump is inching closer to the gop nomination. last night trump won all of nevada's 26 gop delegates during the state's republican caucuses.

msnbc national political correspondent steve kornacki joins us at the big board to break down the results. steve? >> yeah, i mean, not much to say when it is 99.2 to 0.8. nevada had this confusing situation where the state republican party held the caucuses, which did have the convention delegates and trump, you see here, won that, then a state run presidential primary and they said if you're a candidate, you can be in the primary or caucuses, but not both. nikki haley lost the primary to none of the candidates. a ballot option out there in nevada. there is a proxy for trump, a 2 to 1margin there. that's the question on nikki haley to overcome the kind of obstacles she's faced so far? next test for haley will be her home state. south carolina. here is a poll from this week, in that state, trump leading

68-31, over haley, in south carolina. the problem haley has faced consistently, in primaries, in caucuses, and in polling, is that when you get outside -- she does well with independents. well with democrats. where they can vote. but among actual core republican voters, she's getting clobbered by donald trump. that's reflected in this poll. it is also reflected in our nbc news national poll that we released over the weekend. we asked republicans who would you like to be the party's nominee and donald trump with a 60-point lead nationally over nikki haley. so, you know, look, she lost by 11 points in new hampshire. nevada, i don't think -- she didn't get anything out of that. if she's losing her home state by anything like the margin we're showing you here we have seen in this poll and other polls, there is that obstacle for her of not making inroads with republican voters that so far she has shown no ability to overcome. if that continues, there is no path. >> the path going forward after south carolina, super tuesday

plus, doesn't look real good for her there either. >> i think you have to say, her home state, if -- in her home state, if she gets blown out, where she was a two-term governor, not that long ago, if she gets blown out by some margin like this, i can't look at any state outside of south carolina and say, she's going to have a great chance there. and, again, the evidence from our polling suggests republicans as this process has unfolded nationally are coalescing more and more behind donald trump. >> steve kornacki, thank you so very much. i want to dig deeper into the political firestorm. joining us now democratic strategist basil smikle, also with us sarah setmyer, serves as president resident scholar at the virginia center for politics. let's talk about, for example, "the new york times" reports, quote, the decision not to file criminal charges against

president biden for mishandling classified documents should have been an unequivocal legal exoneration. instead, it was a political disaster. the fact is that that case was closed, and there will be absolutely no legal repercussions for the president. but then there is the political side of it. how do you see that? >> if you're donald trump, you're going to see sameamesies the language was willfully took these documents. he will see that as an equivalent and continue to push that narrative. of course, the document itself, if you dig deeper, says, you know, there was some simple explanations for all of this, we believe that, we don't think it meets criminal indictment, criminal charge, so let's leave it there. and the reality is it should have been left there. there was some language in it, which we'll talk about, that was problematic for biden, but the white house responded and said, now we can close this case, let's move forward. and what i wanted them to do was

move swiftly into let's go to a state, do a message event, michigan, pennsylvania, whatever, to be able to sort of turn this around and just hit the ground running, put it behind them. >> did that turn around hit any kind of walls yesterday? >> the wall that it hit, and i said this in real time, do not do this press conference. because a gaffe prone biden might say something that the public will pick up on, that we'll end up seeing, that they do not want -- they did not intend for us to take away. the language, the posture, the exchange regarding mexico, all of that is what we are now talking about, which reinforces the language from that document, which references his mental stability. the thing that so many voters, democrats, republicans, and independents can't help but think about. >> tara, let's talk more about the nbc news poll released this week, which found that 62% of registered voters had major concerns about president biden's mental and physical health, a

third of voters say the same thing about trump. how do these concerns play out over the next nine months for both of these candidates? >> yeah, this is an ongoing problem. we can't fix father time. right? you're not going to change that. this is something that where perception is reality, obviously, doesn't matter what is true or what isn't, it is the perception. and a lot of this, i think, has to do with the way it is cover ed, has to do with the fact that there is platform platforms with how donald trump behaves, what he is saying, they are ignored. because president biden is at a certain age, they are obsessing over this with joe biden. look, it's obvious -- everyone knows that he is not the same joe biden he was 10 or 15 years ago. no one is at that age. the fact that he has forgotten a

few things here or there -- i forget things every day and i'm half his age. we need to put this in perspective. the framing around this has been -- the framing is what i'm concerned about. we need to put it in perspective. you know what i mean? i missed the time where multiple former officials of joe biden have come out and warned the country against him being re-elected because he is so dangerous. i miss the fact that president biden has 91 felony counts for multiple reasons. i miss the fact where lawyers have said, donald trump, we didn't want him to testify because he lies so much and he could have been a liability. i miss the fact that there was a committee put together by the congress to review an insurrection that was inspired by joe biden. i miss the fact that there are multiple people who have written books that are republicans, in

the same party, as the president, talking about how dangerous he is. i miss the fact there are people that came out and questioned article 25 and whether he was mentally competent during his presidency. none of this happened with joe biden. it's happened with donald trump. i think we need to put in perspective. everybody needs to calm down. until joe biden can demonstrate that he is incompetent as president of the united states and represents a threat to our democracy, we need to put it in perspective what we are facing with donald trump and start covering it that way. >> i thank you so much for being with us this morning. appreciate it. up next, as you gear up for the super bowl this sunday, we will take a look inside the controversy simmering under the surface of the $2 billion stadium in las vegas. you are watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. cr demand... in real time. (jen) so we partner with verizon.

their solution for us? a private 5g network. (ella) we now get more control of production, efficiencies, and greater agility. (marquis) with a custom private 5g network. our customers get what they want, when they want it. (jen) now we're even smarter and ready for what's next. (vo) achieve enterprise intelligence. it's your vision, it's your verizon. a few years ago, i came to saona, they told me there's no electricity on the island. we always thought that whatever we did here would be an emblem of what small communities can achieve. trying to give a better life to people that don't have the means to do it. si mi papá estuviera vivo, sé que él tuviera orgulloso también de vivir de esta viviendo una vida como la que estamos viviendo ahora. es electricidad aquí es salud. i told myself i was ok with my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. with my psoriatic arthritis symptoms. but just ok isn't ok. and i was done settling.

if you still have symptoms after a tnf blocker like humira or enbrel, rinvoq is different and may help. rinvoq is a once-daily pill that can rapidly relieve joint pain, stiffness, and swelling in ra and psa. relieve fatigue for some... and stop joint damage. and in psa, can leave skin clear or almost clear. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal; cancers, including lymphoma and skin; heart attack, stroke, and gi tears occurred. people 50 and older with a heart disease risk factor have an increased risk of death. serious allergic reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. done settling? ask your rheumatologist for rinvoq. and take back what's yours. abbvie could help you save. i'm kareem abdul-jabbar. i was diagnosed with afib. and take back what's yours. when i first noticed symptoms, which kept coming and going, i should have gone to the doctor. instead, i tried to let it pass.

if you experience irregular heartbeat, heart racing, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, or light-headedness, you should talk to your doctor. afib increases the risk of stroke about 5 times. when it comes to your health, this is no time to wait. i love your dress. oh thanks! i splurged a little because liberty mutual customized my car insurance and i saved hundreds. that's great. i know, right? i've been telling everyone. baby: liberty. did you hear that? ty just said her first word. can you say “mama”? baby: liberty. can you say “auntie”? baby: liberty. how many people did you tell? only pay for what you need. jingle: ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ is it possible to count on my internet baby: ♪ liberty. ♪ like my customers count on me? it is with comcast business. keeping you up and running with 99.9% network reliability. and security that helps outsmart threats to your data.

moaire dida twoo? your data, too. there's even round-the- clock customer support. so you can be there for your customers. hey billy, how you doin? with comcast business, reliability isn't just possible. thanks. it's happening. get started for $49.99 a month. plus, ask how to get up to a $1000 prepaid card with a qualifying internet package. don't wait, call and switch today! i'm daniel lurie and i've spent my career fighting poverty, helping people right here in san francisco. i'm also a father raising two kids in the city. deeply concerned that city hall is allowing crime and lawlessness to spread. now we can do something about it by voting yes on prop e. a common sense solution that ensures we use community safety cameras to catch repeat offenders and hold them accountable. vote yes on e. 56 past the hour. i'm told we are two days away

from super bowl sunday when the chiefs will take on the 49ers. it's happening in las vegas for the first time ever. david noriega joins us from the stadium there. david, how is it going there? >> reporter: jose, you can say the city of las vegas has been preparing for this moment for more than six years, when they broke ground on the stadium. the people who worked to get the stadium built say the fact the super bowl is here is a clear sign of the success. the story is more complicated than that. take a look. for the first time ever, the super bowl is in las vegas. >> let's go, baby! >> reporter: it's all thanks to this building. home of the raiders. finished in 2020 to lure the raiders and big games like the super bowl to vegas, it is one of the most expensive stadiums in the world. it has a lot of bells and

whistles. that's the grass feed. it's on a giant platform that ways 19 million pounds and gets rolled in for game day. the stadium is privately owned. taxpayers paid 40% of the cost of building it. this man is a consultant who was hired to get it built. $750 million of taxpayer money went into building that. >> correct. >> reporter: was it worth it? for the people of las vegas, the people of nevada. >> i don't think there's any doubt about it. over 50% of the people that are in there come from out of town. when they come from out of town, each one of them spends $1,100 per person, per trip, while they are here. that creates jobs and wages and salaries and tax revenue. when we have something like the super bowl here, those visitors are going to spend between three and four times that amount in our community. >> reporter: cities and states

have been subsidizing stadiums for years. nevada will do it to lure the oakland a's. they were sued to stop funding for the baseball stadium. union members say if the state can find hundreds of millions of dollars for stadiums, it should be able to find them for schools. >> when we are told there's no more money, when teachers are sacrificing to try to hold the schools together with basically tape and a stapler, so that we can teach, it's infuriating. >> reporter: nevada ranks at or near the bottom of the country for class sizes and per people spending. the union says stadiums, even with the promise of tax revenue, haven't done anything to change that. is there a benefit to the amount of public money spent on them? >> i don't think so. there's no benefit to these children. what i think it does is it makes rich people richer.

>> reporter: jose, the teachers union is working on a ballot measure to bring the question of funding for the baseball stadium to the general public. >> david noriega, thank you very much. great seeing you. i appreciate it. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. thank you for the privilege of your time. andrea mitchell picks up with more news right now. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," no criminal charges against president biden for mishandling classified documents. the special counsel delivers a political gut punch by spotlighting the president's ge and alleging memory losses, prompting the white house to schedule a rebuttal in primetime. >> i'm an elderly man. i know what i'm doing. my memory is fi