as we do every memorial day weekend, we remember the u.s. service members who have been killed in the past year serving the country. please spend some time thinking about those who have served. that is all for today. thank you so much for watching. we'll be back next week, because if it's sunday, it's mees the press. ♪ unhinged, diminished, and can't win a general election. those are not my words. those are some of the things nikki haley said about donald trump during the primary campaign. now she says, sure, i'll vote for him. sarah matthews and tim miller are standing by to tell us why

she did it and where the party goes from here. plus, we're reaching the beginning of the end for trump's criminal trial in new york. we're here for a deep dive into the closing arguments we'll hear this week. also today judge juan merchan's jury instructions are going to be crucial for the 12 jurors who are going to deliver the verdict. we'll look at what to watch for. later, nbc's favorite son luke russert and why john boehner told him to get the heck out of washington. okay, stop me if you've heard this one before. republicans speak the truth about donald trump, donald trump smears, attacks, and belittles them. republicans falls in line rather than faces excommunications from the party. how many times have we seen this movie? of course, we saw it over and over again during the republican

primary race in 2016. marco rubio called him a con artist and now he's begging to be his running mate. ted cruz called him a pathological liar and immoral after trump attacked his wife and spread a conspiracy theory that his father was involved in the assassination of john f. kennedy. graham once called him a -- bigot. we could probably have an entire show about people speaking out against donald trump and later, not so long later, kissing the ring, and now we can add another name to the long and incredibly sad list. >> i put my priorities on a

president who's going to have the backs of our allies and hold our enemies to account who would secure the border, no more excuses, a president who would support capitalism and freedom, a president who understands we need less debt, not more debt. trump has not been perfect on these policies. i have made that clear many, many times, but biden has been a catastrophe. so i will be voting for trump. >> now, i can't pretend i'm completely surprised. as i've said, we've seen this exact sequence of events so many times before, and, of course, nikki haley was one of the many 2024 presidential candidates who said she would still support trump. considering the attacksing it's

still something to behold. he repeat lid referred to her as bird-brain, he mocked her husband who was serving overseas in the national guard. he said he didn't need haley's voters after she dropped out of the race. >> you've talked about trying to unify the party. how do you bring the nikki haley voters, some who voted for you in 2020? >> they're going to all vote for me again. they're going to all vote for me again. e i'm not sure we need too many. >> i'm not sure we're going to need many. not exactly political outreach 101 going on there. don't forget, nikki haley said very harsh, very true things about donald trump too. >> time changed and so has trump. he's gotten more unstable and more unhinged. >> if you mock the service of a combat veteran, you don't deserve a driver's license, let alone being the president of the united states. >> he's not qualified to be the

president of the united states. >> it's not normal to spend $50 million in campaign contributions on personal court cases, and it's not normal to call on russia to invade nato countries. >> there is no way that the american people are going to vote for a convicted criminal. >> he went and was trying to buddy up with putin. every time he was in the same room with him, he got weak in the knees. >> many of the same politicians who now publicly embrace trump privately dread him. they know what a disaster he's been and will continue to be for our party. they're just too afraid to say it out loud. well, i'm not afraid to say the hard truths out loud. i feel no need to kiss the ring. >> kind of hard to unsay a lot of that. i mean, a lot of her attacks directly conflict with her endorsement. look, i've been around politics

a long time. believe me, e've seen my fair of gymnastics when an election is clearing up. i remember when joe biden joined the ticket as obama's running mate after suggesting during the primary that he wasn't ready for the job. but what we're witnessing right now with the republican party and donald trump is different. these are people who at one point said what they know to be true, who talked about moral bankruptcy and fundamental unfitness and later kissed the ring. nikki haley's ens do dorisment is a brazen shameless political calculation. it's the path she sees to full political party, full stop. end of story. it's an attempt to stay in the base. make no mistake, there's always another path for these republicans, but they rarely choose to take it.

sarah matthews and tim join me now. i gave my rundown of what i think is going on here. what am i missing, and what's your take on what her calculation is? >> yes, that last clip was hard to listen to it. all of it was, but her talk about how she's going to tell the hard truths and contrast it with i'm going to vote for trump because he stands with our allies? it doesn't make any sense. i don't think she is trying to make it make sense. what is happening here is pretty obvious. nikki hay letter wants a future in the republican party. she thinks it's worse than death and is what liz cheney is going through. she wants to potentially run for office again whether it's '24,

'28, '32, or '36. she knows if she endorses biden, she'll face something there. it's nothing more, nothing less. >> it's a sad state. the allies thing really struck me, too. in watching it again, that does not make any sense, that particular point. sarah, you were a haley supporter. you talked about how you supported a number of things she said. you also said the outcome was both predictable and inevitable. it's sad to say that. this is more of your tweet. i accepted long ago 99% will choose personal ambition over priniples every single time. what's shocking is she gains nothing from this but loses everything.

you are a haley supporter. there is a package that supported haley. i agree with tim. what do you think among other haley supporters and the fellow base, what do you think the response is going to be? not surprised? is it going to turn them off? >> what's so interesting, she clearly felt the need to endorse donald trump because she's holding out hope for 2028 she can run again and she thinks she needs to win over the maga base. she has criticized trump time and time again. it goes all the way back to 2016. she's flip-flopped numerous times on it. i think they have already rejected her. what's shocking, though, she did build this support in the 2024 primary among people like myself like republicans who are looking for an alternative who may not be happy with joe biden but are

more turned off by his actions. she was building momentum and she could have in a post-trump republican party been a leader, but instead she chooses to bend the knee, kiss the ring, like every other republican seems to do. donald trump said it best. they always bend the knee. it's disappointing, but not surprising. >> yeah, unfortunately. timing one of the questions people ask a lot, could she be on the ticket. i say there's no way that happens. she does have kind of a base of support among republicans. what's your take on that? what do you tell people when they ask you? >> i don't know that it's quite as big as it seems. i think there's a small group that loves nikki haley. others voted for her were those who didn't want trump to be the republican nominee and she was the last vessel standing.

as for the vice president, i just -- i don't -- look, donald trump, the one thing he has never done is betray his maga base on something that's a core issue that matters to him. when i was at a rally in arizona, this maga coachella that i suffered through and bannon was on stage and said the establishment is going to try to make nikki haley v.p., the screaming and everything around the crowd was anything. she's a traitor. they'd real estate have tulsi. i can't imagine donald trump picking someone who would be that an act ma of that.

>> some of our reporters have talked to people about haley supportersinging what this means to them. let me play a quick bite and i want to get your take on the other side. >> would you be disappointed if she endorsed trump? >> i don't think she will. >> she'll have to vote democrat, that's all there is to it. >> it's one example, but it's an interesting question here, if haley supporters say, oh, she's supporting trump, i'm going to support trump, or i never liked trump. what'sure take on what we should expect? >> i agree with what tim said. i think a lot of her supporters were looking for a vessel and she just happened to be that person at the end, and i think that people were really excited to see her challenge donald trump, especially the way she ramped up her attacks in the few file months of her campaign. so i think people were exciteden that. but i think at the end of the day, i don't know that i see a majority of the supporters

following her toward trump. i think a lot are still on the fence. it creates this permission structure for republicans to follow her. in an election that's going to be decided on the margins, even if it's not the majority, having those few who might end up following her and supporting donald trump could make the difference in some of those key battleground states. what i will say is i never in any universe expected her to come out and endorse joe bind. but i think she could have taken a page out of mike pence's book and declined to endorse trump. >> and held back. the ambitions piece got the best of her in that case. tim, let me ask you. as we all know, some of the outrage from the buddhen team may have happened. some may have been conversations behind the scenes. what do you think the campaign should be doing to reach some of

the voters that might not be quite with biden but are not following her lead to go with trump? >> i think two things. i think the people around trump, the few who say they'll endorse biden, put them on tv, put them at the convention, and show there are others like them out there. as far as the message, if you look at the haley rubric, strong on national security, fiscally conservative, and think donald trump has bad character, joe biden can message to that. he can say, i'm for nato or putin. i think that's a compelling message for some of those voters. it's not going to get every single one over the line. >> it's interesting how much overlap. but there is between haley and biden only some of these

national security issues that are important to some of her voters. tim miller, sarah matthews, thank you for being with us. coming up, closing arguments and a verdict. we'll break down the week ahead in donald trump's criminal trial. my guess is they both va advice for the prosecution. i can't wait to hear it. we're back after a quick break. we're back after a quick break with e*trade from morgan stanley, we're ready for whatever gets served up. dude, you gotta work on your trash talk. i'd rather work on saving for retirement. or college, since you like to get schooled. that's a pretty good burn, right? diabetes can serve up a lot of questions. like what is your glucose and can you have more carbs? before you decide with the freestyle libre 3 system know your glucose and where it's heading no fingersticks needed. now the world's smallest and thinnest sensor sends your glucose levels directly to your smartphone. manage your diabetes with more confidence and lower your a1c. the #1 cgm prescribed in the u.s.

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life's daily battles are not meant to be fought alone. - we're not powerless. so long as we don't lose sight of what's important. don't be afraid to seize that moment to talk to your friends.

- cloud, you okay? because checking in on a friend can create a safe space. - the first step on our new journey. you coming? reach out to a friend about their mental health. seize the awkward. it's totally worth it. well, after five weeks, 22 witnesses, countless tense exchange, and zero testimony from the former president himself, donald trump's new york criminal trial is coming to a close. in just two days the prosecution and the defense will give their closing arguments where they will make their respective cases

to the jury for the final time before deliberations begin. now, over the past few weeks we've learned a lot about what trump did. according to michael cohen, the only guy other than trump himself who can testify to the heart of this case, trump directed cohen to make the infamous hush money payment to stormy daniels. he came up with a scheme to cover up the payments and signed most of the reimbursement checks himself. we don't need michael cohen for that one. we can see for ourselves. the big looming question is why did he misrepresent these payments? what was his motivation? his intent? that will be key for the prosecution to try to answer before handing the fate of the case over the jury. what else can we expect to hear from the prosecution during the closing arguments on tuesday and what can we expect from the defense? joining us now, andrew weissmann is former counsel at the fbi and

kneel ka teal. andrew, i'll start with you. what advice would you give? what do they need to do? >> i'll tell you what they need to do. there's no way i would give the device to josh stein glass. he's tried more cases than i have or neil. first you're going to see a time line with the jury seeing from beginning to end how the evidence fits together. you're going to see that in a powerpoint form where they lay out all of this so-called hard evidence, the emails, phone records. then they'll layer in the softer evidence, which is from witnesses and show how that all fits together. second, they'll address michael cohen. i think you'll see them talk about all of the proof that was in place prior to his testifying to show how strong this case is, and then finally i think they need to really argue the case

about why it would be so ridiculous to think that allen weisselberg and michael cohen would have orchestrated this and kept it from donald trump. it was really in their interest to let him know what happened. it would be totally against their interest not to do so. and there's lots of coordinating evidence that says it would be out of character to have kept this from him. all of the attacks on michael cohen by the defense will be flipped, which will say that's why they would. have done something like that. he would have had 130,000 reasons. >> you made that point before, which struck with me. neil, anything to add to that and what can we expect from the defense given the past couple of weeks in their closing argument. >> the first thing i would say,

jen, this is significant. all of that has been beaten back by the court of -- appellate court in new york and now we're finally going to get to closing arguments. i think what the trump defense is going to do is basically to say this is not at a case about donald trump. it's a case about michael cohen and to put michael cohen on trial, they'll call him a liar. they'll say he was convicted because he was a liar, that he's in it for his own ends, that he's in it for ego because he's not a -- and what the prosecution is going to say is this is not just a case about michael cohen but plus. cohen is just grave and it's things like the hope hicks testimony that andrew referred

to, but it's also handwritten notes we got and the checks you just flashed on the screen a moment ago which picks up on paragraph 33 in the complaint. these are checks that donald trump himself signed, and so that shows knowledge of the whole scheme. i think at the end of the day, the trump defense is going to play and try to look at it beyond a reasonable doubt, get to one juror who says, hey, i disagree, which in our system means you can't put him in jail. and the prosecution is going to say, hey, this is common sense. you're talking about a guy, donald trump, who watched every penny. do you think he would have been cool watching this money go out of his account without knowing it. of course, not. it's a commonsense case, and i suspect it's going to be successful. >> andrew, let me ask you about

jury instructions. it's quite important in this case. what are you looking for as we learn more about what the jury instructions are later this week? >> well, jury instructions are important, jen, but they're kind of not the story here. alvin bragg would not have brought a case if he was seeking a jury instruction that was not down the middle. i think here, i think most people should not worry about what the actual charge is because it's going to be the straightforward what people call the standard jury charges. there there's enough uniform charges the judge is going to give. in unof it is controversial. this is -- what the judge is going to give is straight law. there are some pieces that are useful, but i actually think this is one where things to worry about, is there a holdout

juror who made up their mind sort of before they came in? are jurors going to feel because it's a former president that i gore doing hold the state to an even higher standard than proof beyond a reasonbling doubt even if it's unconsciousconsciously believe? i think it's how the arguments go on the facts, but the law is pretty straightforward here. that's a long way of fighting the hypothetical. >> thank you for easing our burden on that, of things we need to become experts on. andrew weissmann. kneel ka teal, we'll see you a lot. thank you both so much for joining me on the memorial day weekend. up next, what to expect at donald trump's trial this week with a former superior court judge. and later, another home

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donald trump's trial is finished up in downtown mants where the jury trial is closing on tuesday. less dramatic but more important is judge merchan will give the jury the instructions for deliberation. they'll consider the evidence and how to apply the law. it sounds mundane, but they're important in every case including this one. to convict trump on any of the 34 felony counts he's facing, the jury must believe that trump falsified business records with an intent to commit or conceal another crime. so the challenge is to distill a lot of legalese into clear and concise language so the journos exactly what they're doing when they decide whether or not to

cop victory donald trump. and as "the new york times" put it, the outcome could impact things. judge cordell, thanks so much for spending time with me on a memorial day weekend. i appreciate it. >> ah, it's my pleasure. >> let me start with jury instructions. it might not be the most exciting part of the trial out there. you might have heard an true weisman's take in the previous segment. how do they help the jury apply the law to the evidence they heard of the trial? most of the people on the jury are not lawyers or from the judicial system, of course. >> well, jen, my take on jury instructions is a bit different from that of andrew weissmann. guilty verdicts are reversed most frequently because of faulty jury instructions, and who is its that gives the jury instructions? it's the judgment it's all the judge's fault in a conviction gets reversed because the jury

instructions. the jury has two jobs. find the facts and apply the law. in the jury instructions, there's talk about circumstantial evidence, direct evidence, what to do when you go into the jury deliberation room, how you should keep an open mind, but the key elements on the jury instructions are the crimes charged against donald trump. now, you recall that the judge when going over the instructions with the lawyers, there were 12 different instructions or issues that came up that the judge had to decide, and of the 12, the judge still didn't make decisions on at least five of them. and then when all of that was done, the prosecution raised another six issues and that was -- excuse me, the defense raised six, the prosecution made three, and the judge deferred decisions on those until later. so these are really, really important, in the weeds kind of stuff that are going to go to

the jurors. so think about this. you have 12 jurors, and they're all lay people. i include the two lawyers because they do civil cases. they don't do criminal cases. so in this instance, these are people who this whole criminal system, reasonable doubt, is all new to them. so they're going to get these instructions that deal with the elements of the defenses that these lawyers and judges couldn't even agree upon, and the judge is still waiting to decide. and then finally -- this is just what boggles my mind. so the judge is going to read these instructions eventually and there will be pages of them. i have done this when i have presided over criminal cases. in new york apparently, the copies, written copies of the jury instructions, do not go into the jury room. so the jurors are sitting there taking all this information in and having to remember. they don't have the ability to do that, particularly in this --

with this in the weeds kind of stuff. it's my hope a copy of the jury instructions will go into the jury deliberation room. i always did that when i was in a jury trial. i hope they'll make it a rule. how can you possibly consider all of it without actually seeing the jury instructions in writing. >> i saw that. it struck me as a nonlawyer, how will they know what to do and how will they remember how to implement all of this. so let me ask. the jury must believe in order to convict trump, they must believe trump falsified business records with an intent to commit another crime, which is very specific. the jury need not be unanimous with what the other crime was. what are you looking for as far

as properly instructioning them on how to consider this. >> right. so that was one of the issues that call up with when the jury instructions were being discussed. you left out a word. donald trump caused the -- the issue is caused. how do you cause that? that's another issue that the judge is considering, which will be part of the instruction. the jurors have to understand what cause means. and then the intent. the intent to defraud. and the commission of crimes. the defense wanted the jury to be unanimous on what these crimes were, and so the prosecution says no, no, no, no, no. the jury doesn't have to be unanimous. they can think it was extra crimes. they don't have to be unanimous. they just have to believe there was some sort of crime that was

going to be committed or that donald trump aided or kplited in. they have to have this stuff in writing so they know exactly what to do going forward, sitting there trying to figure out if the el managements of the crime have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. i cannot emphasize enough these jury instructions are critical to what's going to happen in this case. >> judge cordell, thank you so much for educating us. very few people know as you do how this works. thanks for joining me. coming up next, the list of samuel alito's red flags keep growing and i mean that literally. and later, luke russert, son of tim russert with his new book "look for me there." i look forward to that conversation. all back after this. conversation all back after this.

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thanks to supreme court justice samuel alito, we're getting signals on the far right. this week"the new york times" obtained three photos. this is called the pine tree flag. it dates back to the regulation lugsary war. lately it's become a symbol of

christian nationalism. ever since the rioters of january 6th carried it there, it's become part of the stop the steal campaign. mike johnson has it displayed outside of his office. alito also flew this flag outside of his home in maine. et you see a pattern. it's wild to say the least this flag would fly outside of justice alito o's summer room as it did in july and december of 2023 according to photos taken during that time. especially suns september, a case called joseph w.fisher versus the united states arrived. he asked the court to throw out one of the charges. now, the justices, including justice alito will be deciding on the case in the coming weeks.

the same judge showed another symbol related to the insurrection, an upsidedown flag flying outside his virginia home. he blamed his white. it goes without saying it raises some major ethical questions. on top of that, these symbols were displaced as the supreme court was taking up cases related to the insurrection. this week justice alito wrote the opinion on a case. this erodes votes rights for minority voters in this country and comes at the hands of a justice who openly displayed symbols used by election deniers. it appears the irony was not lost on another supreme court justice. justice elena keegan wroit of the upside-down, him, hint,

application of the law, which could have been a come meant toward her colleague justice alito. it's becoming very difficult to imagine that justice alito is working within the bounds of impartiality. how can someone sworn to administer justice for all americans fly the flags of the far right movement that seeks to divide us? luke russert is standing by for a wide-ranging topic on his book. i read it on the plane this week. i have a lot of thoughts. we're back after this. lot of ts we're back after this. (♪♪)

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on june 13, 2008, tim russert, the longtime legendary host of "meet the press" died suddenly from a heart attack. he was only 58 years old. his son luke was just 22 years old at the time. he had just graduated from boston college. this he is, babyfaced, when he had to face the sudden loss of his beloved father. luke spent eight years working at nbc news. then he set out on his own and left a familiar path behind. he traveled to grieve and to find purpose. that trip, which was only supposed to last a few months turns into what luke described as a, quote, three-plus-year odyssey across six continents to discover the world. he's now the host and creive director of "msnbc live." a new book is out. >> all around the world and back here at the peacock.

>> i rah ed this whole book on the plane. i was emotional. people looking at me thinking is she okay. it's sufficient a beautiful book. i was telling you how i was too early in my career to know your dad. i was too junior to be his point of contact. i knew he was a legend. it really told me a lot about who he was as a human being and i enjoyed that about the book and i'm jealous of your travel. >> thank you. >> one of the stories i love in this book is about the advice that former speaker boehner gave you, and you tell this great story in the book how he used to call you loud mouth, right? >> affectionately. >> affectionately. >> right. >> he brought you into his office and gave you advice, which was to get out of here. >> wild story. i was a capitol hill correspondent. he saw me in the hallway and says, i want to talk to you. i thought he was angry about coverage. i thought i'd get chewed out. he had a lot of baggage, the beginning of the freedom caucus, the tea party, and what it was. >> yes. >> i go to his office.

he said, what are you doing here? i said, you invited me. smoking a cigarette, reading "golf digest." >> obviously. >> he said, what are you doing on capitol hill? you've been here seven years, you act like you own the place. this is a transactional town, transactional building. people could be here 10, 30, 40, 50 years, don't leave, don't have any other skills, and they wake up and go, why was i there? could i have done something else, learned about something else? you may be well served to get out of this bubble you grew up in and have been in and see how america works, how the world works. give it some thought. it was prescient because i had for the last year been thinking, man, who i am beyond this name, beyond this company, beyond this beat? should i go see something else? that was the nudge that i needed. if john boehner, who was literally on the top of the hill said, hey, the view isn't all it's cracked up to be, maybe try checking out something else. >> it is good perspective. one of the things you talk about in your book, which i very much

relate to at the state department for several years, not as awesome as your trip, but the perspective you have from traveling overseas. the world is big and small at the same time. you traveled everywhere. what perspective did that give you on our country and what's going on here? >> the one thing i truly believe is america is a special place. for all our problems, the fact we have this experiment that is a multicultural, liberal democracy, that we're all actively trying to participate in and preserve to the best of our abilities, the fact we go into a country, engage in warfare, and try to build them back up, it doesn't always work out okay, but our heart is in the right place, i think that's very significant. but what you do learn when you travel around the world, you see three things. one, the biggest export we have is not necessarily all of our democratic values, it's hollywood. that is the single biggest thing. hollywood and sports. number two, i really do think people look at america for guidance. not in the sense of, okay, we want to do everything the u.s. tells us to do, but we do

believe that the u.s. has a good sensibility on things compared to a china, compared to a russia, compared to other places. but number three, and this is the thing i saw everywhere, no matter your culture, your faith, whatnot, people just want opportunity. they want opportunity for their children. they want safety for themselves, filling their belly, a roof over their head, and most people are really nice and want to take care of you and will help you out. everywhere i traveled, i didn't experience any hate or dislike for being an american. a lot of people might get a few comments here or there, but no one actively tried to hurt me since i was an american. a lot of americans feel they go out in the world, oh, it'll be a big, scary place. most is kind and accommodating. >> heartwarming. one of the things your dad was known for in addition to being the cream of the crop of interviewers, the scary interviewer, i mean that in a complimentary way, was for everyone sizing hard work and also being in touch with what's happening in the country, which is sometimes lost in the politics now.

there are so many hours of television, as we know. you have a gut for this, as well. what do you think is missing about what's happening in our country politically right now that warrants more coverage or attention? >> every single monday after "meet the press," my father would call up his dad and his sisters who were living in buffalo, one moved to texas, one moved to florida, and he would say, what'd you think of the interview? what'd your friends think of the interview? what is getting through to you? i think oftentimes, that perspective is missed. it is easy when you're in the beltway, you get caught up in the scene, caught up in what's on social media, you forget that politics is not life and death 24/7 for everybody. a lot of people sort of see it casually. i do think, though, there has been a disconnect in the last few years of a lot of people think what's happening on mainstream airwaves is getting through when a lot of people get things through social media. the big, scary thing for me is that for all the problems we might have in the media, all the stuff that's thrown against us, we have standards. we at least have to have some

values that we uphold. a lot of the stuff that's on social media, it's coming from someone's basement. it is put up next to each other. i wonder what someone would think when someone like bob woodward is on the same pedestal as someone reporting from their basement. that's a report. the american public is grappling with how to deal with that, and it is coming at a rapid clip. the more we're aware of that, it is really important, especially as it reflects so many numbers. >> my mother-in-law lives in cincinnati, ohio. i see how they're consuming things. >> sometimes what cuts through in the beltway doesn't cut in the heartland. you have to be conscious of that. the late david broder used to say, voters are smart. they get things.

the more they listen, the better off we are. >> it is an important point. sometimes they're talking about issues we're not talking about in the beltway, and that's important to pay attention to, too. you sometimes miss what the actual story in the country is. >> inflation, inflation, inflation. >> yes, cost of living, cost of eggs, cost of housing. people care about it. luke russert, happy to talk to you. great to have you as a colleague. >> thank you. >> it is an amazing book. i highly recommend it, "look for me there." >> joe burrow's bengals. >> that's for another day. one more thing before we go today. we'll be right back. ahhh! my bottom's been saved! with its diamond weave texture, charmin ultra strong cleans better with fewer sheets and less effort. enjoy the go with charmin.

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