i can't sleep most of the time. >> as for the estate bruce harkey had so fervently hoped to inherit, that seems to be gone with the texas wind. in the wake of bonnie's death, the orchards faded, and there were no longer any harkey's living in the harkey home. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i am craig melvin. thank you for watching. watchin good morning, and welcome to this saturday edition of morning joe weekend. let's get right to some of the stories he may have missed. he says time and again -- i

think this will probably happen -- that he thinks the most powerful ad against donald trump would be general mattis, general kelly, general billy. and these generals that work for donald trump saying you can't trust this guy. you work for him, you've known him for a very long time. you maybe don't him longer than i have known him. it is shocking to me that you have a guy who is competitive, and yet, apparently none of his secretary of defense is that he had the first three years, i don't think any of his secretary is date -- certainly not his intel people, certainly not his u.n. ambassador. >> is vice president. >> and others we, not his vice president. can you explain to people, first of all why that is, and second of all, what you personally -- we haven't talked about this, but i'm sure you

do, because you been around him. what you personally believe donald trump is such a danger to the republic if he is re- elected. >> there's a lot to unpack there, but let me just talk to my colleagues and friends, because we're sort of in this trump recovery unit together, which would include secretary general millie, and both will be speaking at the conference this coming may. it goes down to the temperament, it goes down to the lack of curiosity, and then it goes down to literally the meanness. and it goes down to the way he will hurt anybody and anything in his way. one of the big fights i had with him in the white house was about the diffusion of the presidency. we are there to serve the people. it's the only job in the country, and everyone of us know, were all of the eligible voters get to vote on it. and therefore, you are present for everybody. mr. trump doesn't see it that way. he sees it as a self

aggrandizement grant ending position, and he can make a little bit of money on the side. that is fine as well. so all the policies that you are discussing today, they are seen to that prism. they are not seen through peace, preservation of the democracy, prosperity for all americans. not just the friends of his that he's cutting taxes for. it's all those reasons. >> can you explain why he admires president she's so much, why he admires president putin so much, why he admires kim jong-un so much, why we found out over the past week or two he admired hitler so much, why we found out from that he kept hitler's speeches by his bedside. why, why -- what is his obsession with dictators, with tyrants, with strongmen? >> well, it has to do with the

adulation. and so when you are in countries like that, they get prescribed adulation. we don't have the dissension that you get in a democracy in his mind. and so he wants to be one of them. make no mistake about that. there's an access autocracy. he signals to those people every day, i would like to be of the bad in your putin of north america. you got eurasia, she has asia, he has a part of eastern europe. that is me. i'm in your family, i mean your tribe. he signals out to those people any signal that was daft. this is the reason why 40+ cabinet members and cabinet members refused to endorse him. they worked very closely with him. he doesn't read intelligence briefings. he says ridiculous things and situation rooms. you are not going to get the generals to comment specifically about some of the things that he said because it is just so outrageous. they don't even want to be affiliated with what he said. and so that is a reason, joe.

>> x trump officials declining to endorse his 2024 run. if you are in the car right now listening, former vice president, former attorney general, former national security adviser, former defense secretary, cassidy hutchinson, former aide, general kelly, former chief of staff. his former press secretary, stephanie grissom, sarah matthews, general marc millie, the chairman joan chiefs, cara mucci, alyssa farrah griffin, a strategic comms director. i mean, we can go on and on and on. i mean, dan coats name is not on there. i know he -- he would never do it. nikki haley. you just go down the list. but michael, still, you couple that with the fact that this guy really worships dictators. you couple that with january

6th. you couple that with the fact he stole nuclear secrets. and then his i.t. guy said when he decided not to, he wanted to flood the room to destroy the documents. we could go on and on. you have a federal judge in new york state that said donald trump eugene carol. again, i could go down the list for the next three hours of one thing after another, which would have disqualified any other candidate running for president in american history. so why is he tied with joe biden right now? >> two things. two things occurred pretty much at the same time. one thing is, he has inoculated himself with a sycophantic

tribe of magda followers who reinforce his messaging, who condone and pushed aside his behavior, who have bought into the lie that he can be a dictator for 24 hours and everything will be all right after that. and so he has this reinforcement of energy that sort of is an extension of himself. and you saw very early -- >> but michael, why don't our friends and neighbors -- why don't my friends that i grew up with, people that i went to church with, when i was in congress, i could hardly go back to church without hearing about bill clinton every second i was there. the sins of bill clinton. this, that -- you heard the same thing. and now these same people are in the front lines supporting

this would be dictator. it's crazy. >> because bill clinton never made them feel the way donald trump makes them feel. donald trump has a connection to people in a way that sort of elicits a permission structure, a sort of brand, an idea, a sentiment that they attached to. >> wait, wait. where were they raised? where were they raised? they weren't raised by my parents. where were these people raised, that they would like a guy that treats people this way? a guy that reveres hitler, reveres xi jinping, reveres putin. do you like this guy? he makes them feel good?

>> yes, yes, yes, john! >> who feels good doing that? >> but they do. you talked to them. you have been in the room with them. you can hear it in their voices a lot of times. you know how these folks -- it's the theme that connects them. i mean, how do you explain, on the heels of the access hollywood tape, when donald trump denigrates women, that 52% of white suburban women vote for him in the following election. >> he did more than denigrate women. >> and how do you explain from focus groups that i saw back in 2016, and this is when i knew donald trump had something that no other politician had. when i saw this focus group, and this one white mother, female from new hampshire, mother of two, divorced, was asked, why was she supporting donald trump?

do you know what her answer was? because donald trump is just like me. why does she feel that? why would she say that? and for me, that's been the crux of the problem with everybody else, because they had never taken time to understand why a white suburban mother of two, watching the tape of a man saying that he loves grabbing women by their private parts would say, he is just like me. >> how long am i supposed to sit in the corner and try to figure that out? because i can tell you, i been trying to figure it out now for 8 years, and i still can't figure it out. i still can't figure it out. >> therein lies the strength of donald trump, because he is able to do something you can't. he has figured it out. >> i confused, mike. >> we have lots more to get to this hour. morning joe weekend continues after a short break. break.

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>> house republicans are pushing a new plan to raise the retirement age for social security and cut medicare spending. the republican study committee, a group made up of more than 100 70 house gop lawmakers unveiled their budget proposal for next year. it calls for, quote, modest adjustments to the retirement age to account for increases in life expectancy and transforming medicare into a premium support model. that model would see medicare compete with private plans as a way to produce spending. the budget proposal also endorses legislation, quote, designed to advance the cause of life by restricting abortion access. among those bills, one that could threaten ivf, and another that would ban the federal government from producing abortion inducing medication

designed to save a mother's life. joe. >> with us now to tell us why he opposes everything that we just read, from the swing district, mike lawlor of new york. a member of the foreign affairs financial services committee. so mike, let's just get these out of the way. you do not support altering social security or medicare in its current form, do you? >> no, not at all. in fact, i've been very clear. i will oppose any cuts to social security or medicare. obviously, it is critical -- critically important that we protect these programs for our seniors, so i will do everything in a bipartisan fashion to do that. >> because we have been watching turning point on netflix, and we just get

through the red scare part, i feel comfortable asking you this question. are you now, or have you ever been, sir, a member of the house republican study group? >> no. >> okay. there you go. >> prior to that, i think i was a member -- in fact, in fact, joe, they told me i was not conservative enough to be welcome to it. >> that is interesting, because when i was there, they kicked me out because i said i was too conservative. so mike, there are a couple of things here that i am really concerned about, and i know a lot of americans are and i would guess you are, too. so if you could help us, take us into the room -- not of the extra mist, but the people that we followed. chairman mccall, chairman turner. the people have been responsible and actually supportive of what ukrainians have been trying to do in

keeping putin's forces out of kiev. what is the latest status? i kind of keep wondering, where are these leaders on ukraine? when are they going to sign the discharge petition? what are they going to push the speaker? to give the ukrainians a fighting chance against russian invaders. >> right now, joe, this is of critical importance to the nation. since i became a member of congress, i have been pushing to continue to support ukraine, as i said many times, my wife is from mulled over. her family lives on the ukraine border. so it is personal. i understand the consequences of failure here. and from my vantage point, we have an obligation to support our allies. in 1994, when ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons, we entered into a treaty and we said we would protect them in the event of an invasion.

so we have to fulfill our commitments, especially if we ever want any country to believe us ever again when it comes to nuclear disarmament. and so this is important, to get this across the finish line. it's why i worked with brian fitzpatrick and jared golden to introduce defending borders, defending democracies, which would provide legal aid to ukraine, to israel, to taiwan, as well as an act provisions to secure our border. and i have signed the discharge petition to get that to the floor. all of us in the house republican conference recognize the threat that is posed by china, by russia, by iran. the question is, how we move forward. i made it very clear to this beaker that the time for debate, the time for discussion, is over. we need to act. and we will either do so by a

speaker putting a bill on the floor or by discharge petition. i encourage my colleagues -- we do not want to see kiev fall. that would be a catastrophic disaster for the world. and if america loses its standing as leader of the free world because we failed to recognize the threat, because we failed to act, that would be a disaster for our country. that would be a disaster for the republican party. >> so congressman, i know in the senate you have republican leaders like john thune, and in the house, you have republican leaders like chairman mccall, chairman turner, who understand that it is not just ukraine and kiev that is at risk. that this is sending a horrible signal to the communist chinese party. and basically saying, putin, take ukraine if you want to want take ukraine. and then going to taiwan.

i mean, is there the understanding of -- by the speaker of the house and by people around him that if we don't defend ukraine, then china takes that as an open invitation to invade taiwan. >> look. american weakness on the international stage is never good. and i would submit that the withdrawal in afghanistan was a precursor to the russian invasion of ukraine. it showed weakness on our part as a nation. and any weakness that china sees with respect to ukraine or with respect to israel, is an open invitation to invade taiwan or set up a blockade. i went with chairman mccall last year. we visited japan, korea, and taiwan, as we understand the threat posed in the indo pacific. it's why i have introduced legislation to create a needlelike alliance in the indo

pacific. because we have to deter and contain the threat of the chinese communist party. and so this is critical. i suspect, in speaking with the speaker, that as soon as we gather the appropriation bills done tomorrow, that we will then move swiftly towards advancing legislation that will support our allies. that is my belief, that is my understanding from this beaker, that we will work to get that done immediately upon our return, and that is my hope, because time is short. ukraine needs the ammunition, they need the weaponry. israel needs the support, and taiwan needs the support if we are to deter china from taking any action in the strait of taiwan. and remember, 60% of international trade goes to the strait of taiwan. if there's a tirade, that will create an economic catastrophe for the united states and the world. >> congressman, good morning.

yesterday, the congressman called for an end into the impeachment inquiry. media figures, fox news of also expressed real skepticism about its future. but yesterday, chairman comber said he wants the president himself to come testify before the committee. would you support that effort? would you still back this impeachment inquiry? >> the reason i supported the impeachment inquiry was because the white house was refusing to cooperate with certain subpoenas. as i said repeatedly, i did not believe there was sufficient evidence for an impeachment, but that obviously congress has oversight responsibility, and should continue down that road. however, that does not mean that we should go toward impeachment. i have yet to see any evidence that would warrant the rise to impeachment. >> all right. republican congressman mike lawlor of new york. thank you so much. great talking to you.

>> and just for the record, he is not for cutting social security. >> coming up, we have reaction to donald trump's comments about jewish democrats. that is next on morning joe weekends. weekends. if you have chronic kidney disease you can reduce the risk of kidney failure with farxiga. because there are places you'd like to be. farxiga can cause serious side effects, including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration, urinary tract, or genital yeast infections, and low blood sugar. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. ♪ far-xi-ga ♪

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marches. and guys like schumer see that, and to him it's votes. i think it's votes more than anything else. because he was always pro israel. he's very anti-israel now. any jewish person that votes for democrats hates their religion, they hate everything about israel, and they should be ashamed of themselves. >> chuck schumer has spent his entire life being the victim of anti-semitic tropes because he has been such a fierce defender of israel. now suddenly, donald trump decides that he again will determine -- donald trump will determine who is a bad jew and who is an enemy of israel. your thoughts. >> if anything has ever offended my core, it's this. how dare you, donald trump, tell me what it means to be a good jew or not be a good jew.

first of all, you stand for nothing . judaism is about being kind to others. you are the farthest thing from what anybody should say what a good jew is or isn't. for anybody who says i am voting for donald trump because he is automatic with israel, he would turn on jew's in a second. this is a guy with a fondness for hitler, according to john kelly. there's good people on both sides of charlottesville. he would turn on jew's in a second if it was in his interest. he doesn't care about israel. he cares about donald trump. and how dare you tell me what it takes to be a good jew or not. >> there's no doubt how deeply offensive these comments were. but as we just read, this is not new. this is something he has done for a long time. he has revealed himself to have these biases, these prejudices, and to defend those who have done and equable things, like

in the wake of charlottesville as we played that clip a moment ago. but yet -- but yet nothing he says seems to chait's core supporters. more than that, nothing he says seems to draw criticism from high-ranking republicans who are trying to cling to power on capitol hill and elsewhere. >> they just -- i mean, there is -- i remember earlier in the hour, you were talking about when he came down the escalator in 2015 and at the end of that campaign, i spoke with a consultant from one of the losing republican primary campaigns, and he said, in retrospect, we all lost -- every republican lost the race when he came down the escalator and said that immigrants coming over from mexico, some were criminals, and some i suspect are very good people. and there he just said again, that is always the qualifier. because he -- because he was

speaking with what people at the base saw as the truth. even though it was an ugly truth, they saw he had the courage to do that and he was willing to defend them on their worldview, they are willing to defend him on anything that he says. and i thought it was a great way to encapsulate what the appeal is and the connection that trump has to his base, versus eight years later. >> so donald trump is standing by his rhetoric from over the weekend, as well, where he warned there would be, quote, but laugh -- bloodbath for the country if he loses in november. in a social media post and in a podcast interview yesterday, he said his words were being taken out of context and then took a swipe at autoworkers. here first is a reminder about exactly what he said at the rally on saturday in ohio, followed by his comments yesterday. >> we are going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you are not going to be able to

sell those. if i get elected. if i don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath. that's going to be the least of it. it's going to be a bloodbath for the country. that will be the least of it. >> the thing they do best is cheating at elections and misinformation like the word bloodbath, which they've used 100 times over the last year about describing things. and i used it about trade, essentially, auto trade, because we are getting ripped off with widens really dumb auto policy. i tell you what, if any autoworker -- united auto worker or other -- if any autoworker voted against trump, they are not the smartest people. >> the biden campaign for its part continues -- not the smartest people. you talk about stripping words out of their proper context. the word is used in a lot of different ways. but when you say there will be a bloodbath, as we said yesterday related to the auto

industry, but then it goes, and that will be the least of it. and then he goes, for all of america, and that will be the least of it. for a guy who trades violent rhetoric, for a guy who took something that he claims was for the auto industry and then generalized it for the rest of america. i guess if that works for people, then -- they can't figure it out. that's fine. i mean, of course, we are looking at trumps headlines. i think drudge is going to use the word every day for the next month or two. >> were talking about whether you use it that way or whether you use it in the context where you attach violence to it. and again, when he goes, and that will be the least of it for all of america, while the biden campaign certainly picked up on that and they called him

out for his rhetoric, posting a video montage yesterday of some of the other times he has excused or encouraged violence. >> now, if i don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath and it's going to be a bloodbath for the country. but you also have people that were very fine people on both sides. >> are you willing to condemn white supremacist? >> stand back and stand by. >> there have been a lot of pardons of january 6 defendants. >> yes, absolutely. >> is going to be a bloodbath. >> you know, jean robinson, again, you put it in context. you could call it election or a football game, a bloodbath. but if you put it in the context of a political speech and you have traded in violence

-- violent rhetoric for 5, six, seven, eight years, you've encouraged riots of the u.s. capital, and then you finish that sentence by expanding it out from autoworkers to all of america in saying that is going to be the least of it. please. i don't know who he is trying to fool, but we said this a couple of days ago. these are the kind of games that he plays with rhetoric, and his followers of unfortunately, sadly, a lot of right-wing media websites and newspapers go along for the ride. >> yeah. these are the games he plays with rhetoric. he uses violent rhetoric, he's used it since he came down that escalator. he continues to use it. he doesn't want to stop, because it has been effective for him, and so, yes. he prefers the bloodbath. and this is the way he uses the

sort of, you know, belief what i say, don't believe your eyes and ears. so he says something very clearly and verbatim, and you can write it down, you can play it back over and over and over, and he says, no, i never said that. clearly, i meant something else. and gives his supporters, who are willing to ignore the reality, give them at least some sort of rationale or what you could call a rationale to keep supporting him and to agree to say, no, that's not what he meant. but that's clearly what he meant, and it is what he said. >> of next, democratic senator alex padilla of california joins us to discuss president biden's outreach to latino voters and how the campaign is working to earn their support. .

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>> that was a new ad for the biden harris campaign from the democratic national committee. it's part of an overall pushed by the president's re-election effort to reach out to the country's latino communities ahead of novembers election. joining us now to talk about that effort, democratic senator alex dia of california. he's a member of the biden harris campaign national advisory board. inc. you very much for coming on the show this morning. tell us more about this ad rollout and the strategy here. >> yes, good morning. greetings from the west coast, where it's 230 days until the election, but never too early to's dart with this community by community outreach nationwide to latino voters.

you know how critical latino voters are going to be in determining the outcome this november, and boy, do we have a story to tell as that begins to showcase the difference, the contrast between the joe biden record of the last several years and the failure and tragedy of the trump administration. i think our families are absolutely better off under president joe biden. were going to work through grassroots organizing, through digital strategies. of course, the typical ads that we hear and see every election season are really amplifying the voices of local elected officials, local community leaders, local civic leaders, and every region of the country to reach out to latino voters. >> are there certain regions of the country where the challenge is greater, and why? >> you know, we take no voter and no community for granted, which is why this is a national

campaign. when you hear of an initiative like latinos for biden -- by the way, latinos are with joe biden because he has been with us throughout his career on all the issues we care about and all the issues that impact our community. we know that predictably, people think, maybe it's just relegated to california, texas, new york, nevada, arizona, something like that. but the latino population is growing significantly nationwide. the second largest population in the united states and growing tremendously in places like georgia where there's more than 1 million residents in georgia, including a lot of voters that could sway the election. a growing population in north carolina, a significant latino in wisconsin. you look at the lehigh valley in pennsylvania. pennsylvania also is not one to be taken for granted. so the initiative, latinos with

biden, is going to include a lot of endorsements, and a lot of leaders over the next several days in every part of the country. >> senator, it's jennifer palmieri. it's good to see you. once there is some measure of latino voters that are undecided, there are some measure of them that are said they are going to vote for donald trump. i assume the campaign wants to persuade those voters to move over to the biden column. what is the best argument that you are all putting forward for help president biden has earned the support of the hispanic community? >> to level with this intelligence, those of the same concerns about 2016, and it did not happen. same concerns about latino support shifting away from democrats, and that did not happen. we are not taking it for granted. we are going to go out and earn the votes. i meant that as i mentioned earlier, were 230 days two

weeks before the election saying the stakes are way too high. the stakes are high, we are starting month and month and month, even before the democratic convention this summer to get the message out and begin organizing before we get to the mobilizing and getting out of the vote. and again, the message couldn't be clearer. you want to reduce the cost of insulin, joe biden got it done. he's trying to cut your access to healthcare and healthcare services, and we talk about community safety. under president biden, we passed the first bipartisan legislation to tackle gun safety in more than 30 years. donald trump wants to give way more guns. and that's being smart about gun safety. the numbers in terms of the economy. unemployment, record lows in the latino community. entrepreneurs starting small businesses, record growth under president biden. so yes, our communities are much better off.

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>> i did read the wit and wisdom of marc twain on the plane ride down wednesday. just leafing through the first few pages, you can tell he is a really good writer. writer. >> as i stare at this magnificent bust of marc twain , i am reminded of how humbled i am to receive such an honor,

and how i vow to take very special care of it. >> this is very encouraging. i mean, it was a long time in coming, but -- >> it hasn't been lost on me that people have evenings like this versus really, really old. >> is it wrong that i kind of wish this could have been presented posthumously? >> is a great fan of the work of marc twain, i was so sorry when i recently learned he was dead. my thoughts and prayers go out to the whole twain family. especially the wonderful shania. >> that was a look at some of the acceptance speeches from

past recipients of the marc twain prize for american humor. this sunday, the 25th twain prize will be presented to comedian kevin hart at the kennedy center in washington, d.c., with the entire ceremony set to air on netflix on may 11th. joining us now, the cofounder of the marc twain prize for american humor, emmy nominated producer kathy mcgarr. he is also author of the memoir entitled, the man who made marc twain amos, stories from the kennedy center, the white house, and other comedy venues. an updated version is now out in paperback, and it is great to have you with us today. i think we should -- we should not just talk about the winter this year, but the value of humor and what makes this reward so important, especially today with the division that we are seeing in this country. >> thank you for having me.

it is so important. i mean, that's one of the reasons why the kennedy center really created this award for national humor, because it is important every once in a while to say thank you to the people who bring us joy and laughter. we have incredible divisions in this country and humor does bring us together. we are very fortunate to have 25 years. it was a very rocky start, but it's not one of the cornerstones of the kennedy center, and we are very, very proud and pleased that kevin hart is our 25th honoree. >> in the book, you recount emceeing the rehearsal dinner for bill murray when he received the award in 2016, and you write in part this -- the first presenter of the night was jimmy kimmel. he said, pappy, thank you. that was a great introduction. after he finished, i came back to introduce the next comedian and clarified, my name is cappy, like a baseball cap.

mistake. i should've just let it go. after that, when i introduced bill haider, he started his toast with thank you, sloppy. became the running gag of the evening to butcher my name in as many ways as possible. nappy, happy, flappy, you name it. on and on. after the snappy cappy gag went on and on, the last toaster of the night, david letterman, gave me some credit. he looked me in the eyes and said, i don't know who you are, what you are doing a good job. honestly, i should print that on my business cards. it has turned out to be quite a go to event every year. despite the name issue. >> thank you very much. yeah, it is fun to go to these -- we call it the night before now, the rehearsal dinner. we also honored billy crystal on our 10th anniversary at the supreme court as well. so you know, it's a fun occasion, because people get

together and they honor, make tributes, they are very hysterically funny for these honorees. we showed earlier tina fey when she accepted the marc twain prize, her mother and father were sitting in the booth, any family booth, and she said, i understand the people that are funny have a difficult childhood. and then she paused and look up at them and said, what did you animals do to me? so it's a wonderful, fun occasion. by the way, we got a great lineup honoring kevin hart. we have jerry seinfeld, chris rock, we have dave chapelle, tiffany haddish, it's a huge lineup. and so we are very, very -- you know, kevin's got movies, tv, i think he's on nine out of every 10 commercials. so we are very excited about honoring kevin. >> that's all the time we have for today.

we will be back tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. eastern for more morning joe weekend. for now, keep it tuned right here for msnbc's the weekend. so a customer shipped the original negatives of a classic elvis movie. not knowing the film would disintegrate above 40 degrees. fedex presents tall tales of true deliveries. ♪"burning love" by elvis presly♪ there it is! ♪♪ we got it... just in time. thank you very much! so basically elvis lives!

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