continued balance of struggle and that has people around the world much more exercised than kind of in washington than oh, this is just another political game. no, if we do not deliver this money to ukraine, they will lose territory, lose people, lose momentum, on the front line on the biggest war with europe since world war ii and our politics can't seem to process. >> so it's a real statement of priorities on behalf of the united states of america. ben rhodes, thank you for your time and thoughts tonight. really appreciate it. that is our show for the evening. "way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next. tiktok is a threat to our national security because it is owned by bytedance, which does the bidding of the chinese communist party. >> i believe that this bill can cause future problems.

it's opening up pandora's pox. >> the bill seriously undermines civil liberties by essentially banning a platform that 150 million americans use to engage in free speech and expression. >> that's just some of the debate over tiktok yesterday taking place on the house floor before lawmakers voted by a massive margin to pass a bill that could potentially ban the popular app. we'll go through where the legislation will stand in the senate. plus, donald trump is expected to be in court today for a hearing in the classified documents case. we'll have legal analysis for you on that and on the charges against the former president that were just dismissed in georgia. and we'll show you president biden's message to voters as he looks to secure more support in key midwest swing states.

good morning and welcome to "way too early" on this thursday, march 14th. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day with us. the house has overwhelmingly voted to pass a bill that could ban tiktok here in the united states. it passed with remarkable bipartisan support, 352-65 with one member voting present. lawmakers in favor of the bill so its goal is solely to divest the popular social media platform from its chinese parent company. opponents say the bill will effectively ban the app and call the legislation a form of censorship. >> our intention is for tiktok to continue to operate but not under the control of the chinese communist party. >> it's a overly broad bill i don't think will stand first

amendment scrutiny. the other issue is there are a lot of people that make their livelihoods on this. >> i voted yes, and i served on the intel committee eight years. i didn't need to be convinced. i have eight years to understand why it's important. it's not a first amendment issue. it's not a shutdown, it's a divestture, and it's a national security issue. >> tiktok has aggressively fought the bill calling on the senate to stop its passage and sending video creators and the ceo himself to capitol hill in an effort to lobby against it. in a statement posted on social media, tiktok's ceo responded to the house vote. >> this legislation if signed into law will lead to a ban of tiktok in the united states. even the bill sponsors admit that's their goal. this bill gives more power to a handful of other social media companies. i encourage you to keep sharing your stories, share them with

your friends, share them with your family, share them with your senators. protect your constitutional rights. >> president biden has committed to signing the bill if it does pass the senate despite his campaign using the very platform to reach out to younger voters. nbc news polling shows that roughly 20% of voters use the social media app at least once per day. turning to other news now, former president donald trump is expected to be in court today for a hearing in the federal classified documents case against him. in fort pierce, florida, u.s. district judge aileen cannon is set to hear arguments on two of trump's motions to dismiss the charges against him. the first argues that trump was allowed to store classified documents in unlocked rooms at his club under the presidential records act. the second motion claims that the main statute used to form charges against the former president is unconstitutionally

vague. in an interview with the far-right wing network news max yesterday, trump defended his actions and made outlandish claims against his former rival, the former secretary of state, hillary clinton. >> i took it very legally and i wasn't hiding. we have boxes on the front -- and a lot of those boxes have clothing. we're moving out. unfortunately, we're moving out of the white house. they hammered hillary clinton. it's essentially acid will destroy everything, you know, within 10 miles. i had the right to do it in my opinion and my lawyer's opinion and everything else. >> very little of what you just heard is true. elsewhere on the trump legal front, the judge in the georgia election interference case has dismissed some of the charges against the former president and

his codefendants. judge scott mcafee dropped six counts in the case, three of which apply directly to trump, who still does face ten felony counts in that case alone. the six counts all focus on accusations that trump and his codefendants asked public officials to violate their oaths of office. but the judge found the language in the indictment too, quote, generic and did not specify which part of which oath of which constitution, state or federal, trump or his codefendants have been accused of asking georgia official tuesday violate. in his ruling the judge wrote in part this, these six counts contain all the essential elements of the crimes but fail to allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of their commission. adding, they do not give the defendants enough information to prepare their defenses intelligently. now, one of the charges dismissed involves the reported call that trump made to georgia

secretary of state brad raffensperger, urging him to find enough votes for him to be declared the winner in the state of georgia. trump's attorney in the case praised the ruling. the d.a.'s office declined to comment. the judge left the door open for prosecutors to reindict on the dropped charges. judge mcafee is also expected to issue a ruling by the end of the week on whether or not fulton county d.a. fani willis should be disqualified from the case. joining us now to help make sense of it all, msnbc legal analyst, danny cevallos. how big of a deal is it the charges were dropped? is the judge's reasoning sound, or does trump still face a lot of danger? >> it's very significant because it tells me judge mcafee was largely inscrutable like the sphinx. we hardly know which way he's leading, but motions like this

which challenge the wording of an indictment or a charging instrument or a complaint, they're reviewed by a judge, and the judge gets all the deference to the state. in other words, he looks at the four corners of the document and ask the question have they alleged the bear minimum to move forward, and the answer in this case was no. in the case of a firearm or burglary, those elements are pleaded every day thousands of times a day. this is an unusual crime not pleaded very often, so for that reason that might be why this is a motion that is almost always unsuccessful, was actually successful in this case. but you pointed out correctly this is just a pleading issue. the government -- excuse me, the state could reallege these properly with more detail. as a criminal defense attorney, you file these motions. even if you win, oftentimes it just means the government can reindict you if they really get their drafting back together.

really what was alleged there wasn't enough detail about the oath of office that was solicited to be violated. >> even the charges made are seriousness for trump. >> sure, oats not a majority of the crimes alleged against these defendants. when you're on the defense attorney and on the defense team, any win -- throwing out any charges is considered a win. but on the whole the case moves forward. i say that with an asterisk because we're all waiting for a much more significant decision in this case when this came down, which is whether or not judge mcafee will either dismiss the indictment entirely or disqualify either the d.a.'s office or maybe just the lead special prosecutor. >> and what's your read as to what he will do? >> if you try to read into a decision like he just granted, it means judge mcafee is looking very closely at the law, and i've long thought of this case as the law is slightly on the side of the state, because the conflict really doesn't say just

because you pay a special prosecutor an hourly rate, there's nothing inherently wrong with that. even if he makes more money, the more he bills prosecuting a defendant, and by that reason if the money going to nathan wade was okay the money going back was okay as well. all the problems the state created happens after this motion to disqualify was filed. if they are disqualified, i suspect it will be for actions they took after the motion to disqualify was filed. i think had they come forward at the beginning they said, you know what, we're dating early, this is when we're dating, the law is generally on our side here, have at us. >> and lastly and briefly, what you do you anticipate coming out of the classified documents? >> these motions, again, are really difficult to win. whenever you try to throw the case out at the early stages, judges are really reluctant to

not give the government their day in court. but at the same time some of these issues are novel even if the legal issues have been addressed before, they've never been addressed in this context. we're talking about a former president charged with a crime. and, you know, we often say no man is above the law, but i have to say if i have a law called the presidential records act, well, the president might be treated a little differently because it's about the president and his record. these are such novel issues, it's hard to say which way it will go, and no matter what is decided at the district court level, you have two more levels about the appellate court review that could make it interesting very quickly. >> we'll of course be staying on and watching the bill as it goes through florida and georgia as it continues. next up here on "way too early," house speaker mike johnson says the biden impeachment inquiry will continue despite a clear lack of evidence. we'll bring you his new remarks.

plus, we'll take a look at the president's swing through the midwest as he looks to shore up the blue wall ahead of november. those stories and a check on sports and the weather forecast when we come right back. the we when we come right back.

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welcome back as we turn to some of the morning's other top headlines. house speaker mike johnson says the impeachment inquiry into president joe biden will continue despite not presenting any evidence so far that links the commander in chief to a crime. nearly six months after kevin mccarthy launched ininquiry, his successor was asked about it at a gop conference in west virginia yesterday. there johnson called the evidence presented to the public, quote, alarming while then conceding that he hasn't had time to look at it himself. >> president trump has been

indicted on the same thing for much lesser offenses, by the way. and so the american people see this, they see a double standard and want accountability and want answers. this impeachment if inquiry and the company that investigates that continues. oversight judiciary committee, ways and means does an extraordinary job and they put a lot of evidence together. and it's been alarming and a lot of american people have seen that. what has been uncovered is alarming. >> we should note johnson was conflating two separate investigations there. the first being the house's inquiry into the biden family's business dealings and the second being the doj's now closed investigation into joe biden's handling of classified documents where no charges were recommended. meanwhile the attorney for hunter biden said the president's son will not testify next week in a public hearing

for the house oversight committee. biden's attorney, abbey lowal, sent a letter declining the request and calling the hearing a carnival sideshow. lowell added he will participate. comer responded to a statement dismissing the letter and writing he does still expect hunter biden to appear along with three of his former business associates. we turn flow to the deepening crisis in haiti. the u.s. has spent a specialized marine unit to guard the united states embassy as the caribbean country struggles with violence and political instability. nbc news senior white house correspondent gabe gutierrez has the latest. >> reporter: with haiti in utter chaos, a new team of u.s. marines has been sent to protect the u.s. embassy. this is what hell on earth

sounds like. a nighttime gun battle in port-au-prince captured on a terrified bystander's sell fen. another woman, a haitian-american says an armed gang kicked her out of her home and threatened to kill her if she went back. >> we are so frightened for our lives, we can't never go back home. >> reporter: she's now desperately trying to escape and meet up with her family in miami, but the border and the airports are shutdown. also suddenly trapped a best selling author mitch album. >> you can't go anywhere, can't get out. that's how haitians live every single day. >> reporter: then a harrowing escape, a stealth helicopter mission rescued album and his staffers. >> the fear is the gangs are going to shoot at helicopters. they've done that, and we're all on top of one another, not in seats, just a big ball of hunanty and the doors closed and within 60 seconds we're in the air in the dark and flying. >> reporter: haiti's prime

minister said he'd step down soon. but a notorious gang leader named barbecue is calling for civil war. >> that was nbc's gabe gutierrez reporting and a truly terrifying situation there. next up we'll turn to sports with college hoops as march madness approaches. plus we'll bring you the latest free agency moves in the nfl including where the former top wide receiver on the market, callan ridley, will be catching passes next year. we'll be right back with that. w. [♪♪] if you're only using facial moisturizer in the morning, did you know, the best time for skin renewal is at night? add olay retinol24 to your nighttime skincare routine. it combines hydrating moisturizers with powerful retinoids to renew millions of surface skin cells while you sleep. plus, it hydrates better than a $100 retinol cream. wake up to smoother, younger-looking skin with olay retinol24. learn more at olay.com this has been medifacts for olay.

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last nigh 60-57. they now go to the western athletic conference quarterfinals. lumberjacks advance to play ut arlington tonight. number 16 kansas is headed home on the early side. cincinnati knocked off the shorthanded jayhawks 72-52 with a blow out last night. it marks the fourth of last games for kansas which was ranked number one in the nation to start the season. we turn now to some of the latest developments out of nfl free agency, the tennessee titans in a surprise have locked up one of the league's top available wide receivers. calvin ridley leaving jacksonville and reportedly signing a four-year deal with tennessee that is worth $92 million. the patriots ran on him fell short. the titans have also agreed to with one-year deal.

there should a four-pointer purge in las vegas yesterday. the raiders looking to clear salary cap space. back up qb ryan hoyer and also let go. meanwhile the former super bowl mvp quarterback joe flacko who did well for the browns last year will continue his nfl comeback now in indianapolis. the colts are reportedly signing flacko to replace gardener as the backup for starter richardson. signing a one-year deal worth up to about $8 million. last year he led the browns to a record down the stretch to secure cleveland a playoff birth. to major league baseball and a major worry for the new york yankees. the team has now shutdown ace pitcher garret cole with no official timetable set for his return. the reigning cy young award

winner he's since visited a specialist in los angeles who's recommended further testing. we'll learn more in the days ahead, but at the moment missing some time and hoping to have him back in the rotation sometime in may or early june, a significant blow. time now for the weather and let's go to meteorologist angie lassman for the forecast. >> good morning, jonathan. it's looking like two different stories across a couple spots across the country. winter in full swing in the rockies and meanwhile the east is feeling like spring. 5 million people under winter alerts and specifically places like denver, colorado springs and up through fort collins. the heaviest of that snow as we go through tomorrow it's going to be setting up on the front range. 4 feet totals in the highest spots and 6 to 14 inches expected for colorado springs, and this is heavy wet snow with the strong winds up to 40 miles

per hour. travel is going to be very difficult, expecting a lot of delays as far as the airports are concerned there, and the roads are going to be a mess. meanwhile that same system bringing the potential for severe weather to us as we get into the afternoon and evening hours tonight, the plains in the midwest. the greatest threat looks to be hail, but we could see strong wind gusts as well. and meanwhile, the temperatures they're just ridiculous out there. 67 for cleveland, new york, new york 68 degrees. i like the temperatures, jonathan, but of course this is not typical so we will start to see those temperatures falling as we get into the weekend. >> we'll enjoy it while it's here. msnbc's angie lassman, thank you so much. still ahead on "way too early," we'll get back to the morning's top story, the fight over tiktok. some top lawmakers argue it's not about banning the app, but rather it's about national security. we'll bring you the very latest from capitol hill when we come right back. very latest from capitol hill when we come right back

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here's morikawa in a tough spot. off the comcast business van. look out! where did the ball go? oh, wait there it is. back in to play! and that's in! what an impossible shot! welcome back to "way too early." it is coming up on 5:30 a.m. here on the east coast, 2:30 out west on this thursday morning. i'm jonathan lemire, thanks for being with us. we want to return now to our top story of the morning, the debate over tiktok. as we mentioned earlier house lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a bill yesterday that could potentially ban the popular social media app in the united states. the two top lawmakers on the house select committee on china argued at the legislation is

about keeping americans safe online. >> tiktok is a threat to our national security because it is owned by bytedance which does the bidding of the chinese communist party. we know this because bytedance leadership says so and chinese law requires it. >> this bill is not a ban, and it's not about tiktok. it's about bytedance. >> joining us now congressional reporter for politico, daniela diaz. daniela, thanks for being with us this morning. so some lawmakers -- we just heard some arguments there from lawmakers who want it banned or the divestment, but others like congressman ro khanna object to this bill on first amendment grounds. is there a sense they believe that the supreme court could eventually rule this measure unconstitutional? >> well, that was one argument that they showed in not supporting this legislation. i spoke to dozens of progressives in the last two days, jonathan, because this

vote moved really quickly through the house. i do want to note that-touch it took a couple of days on the vote on it. the response from progressives on why they weren't going to support the legislation ranges from it helps the small business owners in the united states be able to market their businesses. that was something maxwell frost told me, too. it helps reach voters to the 2024 election, and then of course the right of free speech. they said they don't want to regulate what people can say on social media platforms and that it oversteps peoples rights, and so that is why you saw a lot of progressives and some even far-right conservative, marjorie taylor greene was another member who didn't support this bill on the floor yesterday come out against this. >> it was striking to your point how fast this moved and also how overwhelmingly it passed with real bipartisan support there in the house. what are you hearing as to its future in the senate isn't. >> oh, jonathan, it's really

complicated what's now going to happen in the senate. senate majority leader chuck schumer put out a really short statement saying the senate was going to review the bill. technically its jurisdiction is under the senate commerce committee, so they're the ones that move forward on this legislation, but the head of the committee is maria cantple well who has former staffers right now lobbying for tiktok, to keep tiktok in the united states. there's varying opinion how to handle that legislation, but it's going to be impossible for senate majority leader chuck schumer to ignore this legislation considering as you noteed the overwhelmingly bipartisan vote that took place in the house yesterday really is big issue how to deal with tiktok, that it's owned by a chinese company bytedance, and that is why we hear so many of these lawmakers say it's a national security concern. >> daniela, one more on a different issue. discharge petition circulating to try to circumvent speaker johnson and get this national security package passed, aid to

ukraine in particular. can you give us an update where that stands? >> democrats are moving forward with their own version of the discharge petition, republicans have theirs, but it's complicated, jonathan, to say the least but most republicans don't want to move forward on this because they don't want to overstep what speaker mike johnson will do on ukraine aid. of course democrats are all onboard, but they need republicans to sign onto their petition. of course there's none that's signed on so far. two competing petitions to try to get this legislation on the house floor. right now neither has enough votes. unclear whether any will have enough votes. they're both long shot bids to get the package to get passed. considering the senate voted on this and passed it. >> a lot of story lines we'll be following in the days and weeks ahead. congressional reporter for politico, daniela diaz, thank

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time now for business, and for that let's bring in cnbc's charlotte reed who joins us live from london. charlotte, thanks for joining us. stock futures are up this morning as investors look ahead to another inflation report. what should we expect? >> good morning. these moves come after a pause yesterday in s&p 500 record setting run. the broad markets need 0.2% while the nazdic lost about 0.5%

with the tech stock worst performers of the day with apple, nvidia, meta all lower by about 1%. investors do profit ahead of the producer price index today which will give us further clues on the inflation picture and how soon the fed may be able to start cutting rates. tuesday, consumer price data gets slightly hotter than expected than the second month in a row and vestors today will also be watching weekly job claims and retail sale, both also due before the break. >> as we tease before the break the discount chain set to close nearly 1,000 stores, police tell us what prompted this move. >> almost 12% of the current total. the news comes after the group posted a $1.71 billion loss in the fourth quarter. so dollar tree acquired family dollar almost a decade ago on $8

billion, but it has struggled to integrate and also faced a tougher competition from discounted e-commerce like temu and all the other retailers introduced some cheaper lines trying to attract some of the inflation hit consumers, so they haven't attracted more on average they have been spending less. shares in dollar tree fell 14% yesterday making it the worst on wall street in more than six months. >> lastly, a new study shows automated driving systems seem to be lacking in the safety department. tell us more about that. >> they released their very first ranking for partially automated driving systems. these are not self-driving cars but a system a driver needs to pay attention and watch the road and stand ready to take control if anything goes wrong. they tested 14 different systems

including bmw, gm, nissan, and volvo, and 11 were rated poor, two were marginal, and only one passed, and that's the advanced drive. most of them do not include adequate measures to keep drivers from losing focus on what's happening on the road. john? >> all right, cnbc's charlotte reed live from london, thank you very much. next up here israel claims responsibility for a deadly strike on an aid warehouse in rafah. we'll go over what officials are saying about the attack as the humanitarian crisis in gaza only grows. we'll be right back with that. mucinex instasoothe sore throat medicated drops. uniquely formulated for rapid relief that lasts and lasts. that's my babyyy! -ow! get mucinex instasoothe. it's comeback season. (psst! psst!)

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of rafah. officials say a hamas commander was targeted and killed in yesterday's attack. it's believed the terrorist group leader was taking control of humanitarian aid there. the u.n. says at least one of its aid workers also died in the strike, and 22 others were injured. it comes as the humanitarian crisis in gaza is worsening and thousands of people are on the brink of famine. yesterday secretary of state anthony blinken reiterated his call on israel to protect civilians there, saying it must be their main priority. >> we've been working closely with the government of israel but also many other countries to try to make sure to the best of our ability aid can get in it, it can get to people who need it and civilians are better protected. that remains an ongoing effort. as i said we need to see efforts in that direction maximized.

this has to be a priority and has to be a priority for israel. it's the right thing to do, also i think profoundly in israel's interest to do it, and that's what we're working on. >> joining us now retired cia officer mark paul maropolis. so i reported earlier this week there are those in the white house to the say president biden could consider withholding military aid for israel or at least conditioning it if prime minister netanyahu orders an all. out invasion of rafah. what is your take on that? do you think the president will do it, and what implications could it have? >> i think first of all the reporting was outstanding. i think it reflects certainly some of the desires of those -- some of those in the administration that do this. i'm just not sure, jonathan, though, that president biden would ever go through with this. that's why the red lines turn to

pink maybe. ultimately withholding weapons systems at a time when israel doesn't face really an existential crisis in gaza, but they're looking to the north against hezbollah. there's 100,000 missiles hezbollah has that could rain down on israel. the idea of withholding weapons systems at a time of great insecurity inside israel, i think that might be a little problematic, though one could argue some of the pressure seems to have worked because israel is talking about increased aid coming in. jonathan, there's a key point on all this in terms of the rafah operation and in essence israeli public opinion is for the rafah operation. the israeli democracy institute did a poll a couple days ago. of course the israeli national security establishment, so it's kind of a nuanced issue here. but ultimately i think the what

the administration wants is to take more care in civilian casualties. that seems to be having some effect, so that's a good thing. >> let's talk about that ground offensive in rafah could look like. what are you hearing in terms of when it could happen, and of course it comes against the backdrop of ongoing cease-fire talk, but nothing has been agreed to. hamas refusing to sign the dotted line, if you will. so what will this invasion look like including the humanitarian toll? >> that's a great question. i think we have to understand a couple things. the rafah operation is aspirational right now. israeli combat brigades are actually far fewer numbers than we've seen in the past and mopping up in gaza city, focused on khan yunis. it's a bit aspirational, so i think that's something important to consider. yesterday the biden administration signaled they would be open to an israeli

operation in rafah with much more limited combat power, much more kind of pinpointed strikes, and i think israel is doing that anyway, so i think what you will see down the line is something in which they'll take much more care in civilian casualties, and ultimately that's the goal of the administration and would have been successful. what's happening in terms of the ground where famine, death and disruption is not good for emthem in the long run. >> president biden has been clear what he's doing has been hurting the standing throughout the world. let's switch briefly to ukraine. mark, we reported yesterday the peptsgon was able to scrape together an aid package due to defense contract savings to get some weapons there. but it's a drop in the bucket compared to what ukraine really needs. we've seen reports each and every day about how they're running out of ammunition and russia is making slow but steady gains on the ground. give us your sense there. how much longer can ukraine really hang on until we see real devastating losses if the u.s.

and congress, republicans in congress don't step up? >> right, well, it's always funny when the pentagon seems to find money under the couch, and they did so here. and that's a good thing. one thing, you know, that has been rumored all along, and i think you reported it as well, as part of this package going in is an attack on long-range missiles you and i talk about so often so important in terms of deep penetration strikes. but i think you're right, time is of the essence and congress is still acting in this glacial terribly slow pace. and the question is when will russia, you know, continue their offensive and start taking more townseast? i think ultimately, it is hard to assess. the ukrainians are digging in, but there is no doubt russia will make gains. ultimately, the longer congress waits, you know, ukrainians are going to die. as you said, there is a drastic shortage of ammunition, air defense, and that'll lead to catastrophic effects for the ukrainians. you know, russia is not going to

roll into kyiv, but they are going to make some advances until or, you know, when congress finally acts. by the way, if congress acts, we can get this $60 billion. this package will start flowing immediately in, so time is of the essence, no doubt. >> putin about to be re-elected and, of course, playing the waiting game, as well, to see what happens in the u.s. election. terrific insight from marc polymeropoulos. thank you for joining us this morning. up next here, president biden is making a big campaign push in michigan today as he looks to shore up support in a key battleground state where polling has shown some slippage. we'll discuss how his re-election bid is playing out there. part of the blue wall. coming up on "morning joe," the house has passed a bill that could ban tiktok in the united states as lawmakers argue the social media app poses a national security threat. democratic congressman raja

krihnamoorthi will join the conversation on what to expect if this bill becomes law. plus, in a surprise move, a georgia judge dismissed six charges in donald trump's election interference case. why this happened now, and what it could mean for the overall case. and also ahead, we'll dive into the fall of the soviet union and the rise of russian president vladimir putin with a look at the netflix series, "turning point, the bomb, and the cold war." the director of the docu-series will join us live in studio. "morning joe" just a few moments away.

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president joe biden heads to michigan today as part of a two-day trip through critical swing states in the midwest. ahead of november, the president is looking to shore up the so-called blue wall, pennsylvania, wisconsin, michigan, that donald trump won in 2016 and biden captured back in 2020. today's visit comes amid concerns of dwindling support in michigan where 13% of democratic primary voters cast ballots for uncommitted rather than for biden. the president was in wisconsin yesterday where his re-election

team opened a new campaign headquarters in milwaukee. it is one of 44 new field offices across the state. the president also held a campaign event where he announced a $3.3 billion investment in transportation infrastructure and pointed out the funding is coming from the bipartisan infrastructure law. >> my predecessors and allies in congress, including senator ron johnson, who voted -- [ booing ] well, he voted against the law that funds this project. they want to undo everything i talked about. my predecessor talked about infrastructure a week for four years. he didn't get a single thing done, not one. ron johnson and every republican in congress voted against the inflation reduction act, helping to fund these projects, and wants to repeal it. >> joining us now, white house reporter for "politico," adam, good to see you. let's start with the blue wall and the campaign swing through

wisconsin and michigan. the president showing off his campaign has more field offices, staff, and money at its disposal than donald trump does right now. walk us through each state. wisconsin, which many believe is the closest battleground of all, and then michigan, where the president's support has slipped. talk about what the biden campaign is trying to do in each. >> absolutely. this is the kind of targeted bread and butter strategy we'll see from the campaign through the summer and into november. these are targeted events and targeted states that biden needs to win here. wisconsin, michigan. we're going to see him in nevada and arizona a little later. the attempt here is to do a couple things. talk about his accomplishments. in wisconsin, talking about infrastructure. michigan, i'm sure we'll hear about his pro-labor policies, support for the unions. crucially, as you saw there, to

talk about what donald trump didn't do and contract the accomplishments he's had over the last three years with reminding people what it was like during the trump term. that's the kind of big difference the campaign believes if they can remind people how things actually were from 2016 to 2020, that, suddenly, you'll start to see the polling shift more in biden's favor. >> trying to combat what is being known as trump amnesia, americans forgetting what the four years were truly like. to your point, the president's best path to the 270 electoral college votes runs right through the blue wall states there in the great lakes. you've got new reporting about social security and how it could impact this upcoming election. tell us about that. >> yeah, social security is clearly always in pretty much every election that i can remember a big issue. it is something that gets older americans to vote, that they care about. it's a big turnout demographic. what we've seen, especially the last year, is democrats really looking for any opportunity to position themselves as the ones

who are going to protect the program and cast republicans as trying to cut it. if you remember last year during the state of the union 2023, there was the back and forth with biden and republicans where he got everybody to stand and say, we're not going to cut medicare and social security. he tried to engineer the same dynamic this year at the state of the union and was essentially given a gift by donald trump when trump did an interview with cnbc and suggested he may look at cutting entitlements. one of the things these visits, routine visits to swing states allows biden to do is react quickly to the news. you saw biden go really quickly and say, look, here's what trump said. let me just promise again that i'm going to stop, you know, any cuts. i'll protect social security. it creates, again, the contrast that the campaign is looking for on an issue that they think, you know, can be crucial, especially down the stretch. >> yeah, certainly good timing. biden really ramping up the

travel post state of the union, thinking they've addressed some of the age issues head on. hitting a bunch of battleground states. next week, heading out west. one of the best reporters on the beat, white house reporter for "politico," adam, thank you for joining us this morning. thanks for getting up "way too early" with us on this thursday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. mr. president, i'm curious what it's like for you, your life. you know, no one has gone through what you've gone through. nobody in human history has really. i know you have supporters, friends, family. they say it's lonely at the top. i'm curious, is it ever lonely for you? i mean, no one can fully relate to what you've been through and what you're going through. are you ever lonely? >> so i was -- over the years, i love history. i study history. i was told that andrew jackson as a president was treated the absolute worst. he was lambasted. i heard abraham