the keystone xl pipeline. the sioux natives say that their story has not been told. we will tell it next week on the "ed show." that's the ed show. i'm ed schultz. "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now. good evening, rev. good evening, ed. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight breaking news in the chris christie bridge scandal one day after his office internal review cleared the governor of any wrongdoing, christie faced reporters in his first news conference in 76 days. in a combative hour-long q&a, christie insisted this report was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. >> it's an exhaustive report that follows the mandate that i set out when we commissioned the review. one thing was clear from the beginning. i told them to find the truth no matter where it led and to turn

over every rock that they were able to get to in order to get to the bottom of what hatched. >> the report was exhaustive except it failed to talk to many of the key players in the scandal, including david samson, the chairman of the agency overseeing the george washington bridge. at today's press conference, the governor said samson was resigning. >> i received a call from david samson who informed me that after reviewing the master report, that he completely supports the recommendations laid out for the port authority, and that he believes the best way to start a new year at the port authority is with new leadership. in line with that belief, david tendered his resignation to me this afternoon, effective immediately. >> christie says david samson completely supports the findings of the report. but samson declined to cooperate with it, and he declined to talk

to the investigators. christie was also asked about bridget kelly, who the report paints as one of the two key players in the bridge lane closures. >> do you think the report was fair to her? and what did you think of the descriptions? >> i think the report laid out the facts as the investigators found them, and however anybody wants to interpret those is up to your particular interpretation. anything you ask me, which asks me to speculate on what david wildstein was thinking or what bridget kelly was thinking, i'm not going to answer because i don't know. >> he's not going to speculate? except yesterday's report seemed to do exactly that. it said kelly's personal life may have had some bearing on her subjective motivations and state of mind, that she seemed emotional. it even revealed that kelly and former christie campaign manager

bill stepien became personally involved, although their personal relationship had cooled apparently at stepien's choice. there's been a lot of criticism about those very private details in this very public report. but today, christie said the scandal has taken a toll on him. >> there is no question that this shakes your confidence. and if it doesn't shake your confidence, then you're arrogant. i mean, you know, some people that i trusted and relied upon let me down. >> governor christie gave a lot of answers today, but many, many questions still remain in this ongoing scandal. joining me now is former pennsylvania governor ed rendell and liz smith, a democratic consultant who worked for former new jersey governor jon corzine. thank you both for being on the show tonight. >> thank you. >> our pleasure, rev.

>> governor rendell, with david samson's resignation, three of christie's appointees at the port authority have stepped down. the scandal is real and it's taking its toll, isn't it? >> no question. and it's done political damage to the governor. and this report isn't going to do anything to stop that political damage. the taxpayers of new jersey wasted a million dollars of their money to this law firm which did nothing to vindicate governor christie because the five most important people who really knew what was going on, samson, senator baroni, and of course bridget kelly, stepien, and wildstein, they didn't talk to them. >> right. >> so how can they say it's a report? the five most important people who were crucial, who knew who ordered it, who knew what about what was going on, they didn't speak to them. it's a joke, this report. >> liz, the governor says it's a

joke. christie was asked if the report was fair to the women at the center of it, bridget kelly and hoboken mayor dawn zimmer. listen to this. >> this report gets a lot into the emotional state of bridget kelly and dawn zimmer. it says that things going on in kelly's personal life may have affected her. do you think this report was fair to the women that it talks about? because it kind of shows a different side of them that we don't see from the men? >> they didn't get testimony or documentary evidence which gave them a window to the emotional side of those folks. i don't think there was any other reason why that would have occurred. >> in this whole report, liz, the only ones they dealt with the emotions and their motives and whether they could handle things was the two women. >> right. >> how do you respond to that? >> i think it's the biggest news out of this is that chris christie spent a million dollars on a study to absolve him of his reputation as a bully and all it

did -- >> well, he had the taxpayers of new jersey spend the money. >> yes, right. >> this is all taxpayer money. chris christie is not spending a dime. >> right, right. all it did sundays score his long record of bullying people in new jersey and the culture of intimidation that reigns supreme in trenton. i worked in new jersey. i saw some of this stuff firsthand. i think one of the most instructive stories, and i believe you covered at the time, reverend, is what he did to state senator loretta weinberger a few years ago when he encouraged the new jersey press to, quote, take a bat out on loretta weinberg. she was a 76-year-old widowed state senator who dared to take a pension. why was she taking a pension? because she lost her life savings in the madoff scandal. that tells you everything you need to know about governor christie and his attitudes towards women. >> and bridget kelly is a single mom of four. >> right. >> governor, when you look at this, according to "the new york

times," bridget kelly's lawyer is responding to the christie internal report. he calls it venomous and gratuitous with inappropriate sexist remarks. kelly's lawyer also says if misskelley were provided with the appropriate procedural safeguards, she will be fully cooperative. now, when he says will be fully cooperative, he doesn't say to who she would be cooperative. is he talking about the state or the feds? we don't know. but he really hit this report as sexist and inappropriate, and he put out there given the right safeguards, she'll be cooperative. >> there is no question in my mind, rev, what is going on here. the report and the governor have been trashing wildstein and bridget kelly from the beginning. because they're preparing for the day that wildstein and bridget kelly do get immunity and say that governor christie

either authorized this traffic closure or knew about it and didn't do anything to stop it. so they're trashing them now. they paint wildstein as being unbalanced. now bridget kelly is emotional, and she is unbalanced. they're creating the atmosphere so they can say, you know, these two people are just talking to save their own skin. they're unbalanced. you can't trust them. and that's what this is all about. i have no doubt about it at all. >> now, liz, you talked about the governor being a bully, a known for being a bully. >> right. >> his tone was definitely different today than it was the humble kind of laid back person we saw 76 days ago when he did a press conference. he was repeatedly combative with reporters. listen to this. >> stop. you have to get the facts right if you're going to ask me a question. it's nice that you eventually got to the question. but premise of the question is so infirmed that i'm not answering it. why don't you get to the question and cut the commentary back. i don't know whether you can't take notes or you're not

listening. i would love to say i missed you, but i didn't. >> i mean, does this sound like the man that the report said was welling up with tears when he was hearing about this? >> right. and you'll note in that clip when he says stop, like he is talking to a child. he said that to an accomplished female reporter. and this is just his typical style. it's all bullying, all the time. and i think it's indicative of how he's -- of the culture that he created in trenton that allowed these bridge lane closures to go through. and i do think it's indicative of how he views women. >> is he trying to, governor, i mean you are probably one of the most skilled politicians in the country. is he trying to go back to try to make this is over, i'm back to christie and to try to send a public signal to let's move on now? is that what he's doing? >> sure. he is trying to get back to the

old persona of the swashbuckling guy who doesn't take any grief from anybody and who can stare down anybody because he wants to impress republican givers starting with sheldon adelson. >> where heston way to vegas to meet. >> right. >> but it's not going to work, rev. as larry sabato said, the fellow from this political scientist, the voters aren't going to buy this report. they know it was bought and paid for, and they know it's a whitewash. it's not a vindication. it can't be considered a serious report when you don't talk to the five most important people in this entire scheme. >> now, liz, the christie we saw today said he would love to know what bridget kelly's motivation was, but he certainly didn't seem interested back on january 9th. >> right. >> when he fired her. listen to what he said today and then what he said back then. >> i hope some day to have an answer to why it was done, but i

certainly don't have a crystal ball, and i can't tell you if or when i'll ever know. but do i hope to after all this? you bet i hope to. >> have i -- i have not had any conversation with bridget kelly since the e-mail came out. i'm quite frankly not interested in the explanation at the moment. >> not interested in the explanation at the moment. i would love to find out. will the real christie please stand? and explain to me the difference either strategically, because you worked with corzine, you know politicians, or legally. >> i think there probably was a legal reason why he didn't ask -- why he said he didn't ask her for a reason. but what i saw today was that he clearly doesn't have an answer down. and he is sending out a lot of mixed messages. and it indicates to me that he is not being truthful. >> all right. i'm going to have to leave there it. we'll be watching as this develops. governor ed rendell and liz smith, thank you both for your time this evening.

>> thanks, rev. have a nice weekend. >> you as well. coming up, six million and count do you think to the wire for the affordable care act. and the right attacks keep coming. and look out, vegas. here comes jeb bush, chris christie, scott walker, and john kasich. we go inside their sin city visit with billionaire mega donor scott adelson. first lady michelle obama's good will tour of china is over, but the conservative whining over presidential vacations is just getting started. their trip to reality is coming. and he once called the president a subhuman mongrel. now ted nugent is talking about rosa parks? stay with us. we need it right away! we cannot let the fans down.

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six million are coming, and we're three days to enroll in health care plans. house republicans are bringing in a special guest to help repeal it. one who recently compared the law that is saving lives to slavery. that's next. our clients need a lot of attention. there's unlimited talk and text. we're working deals all day. you get 10 gigabytes of data to share. what about expansion potential? add a line, anytime, for $15 a month. low dues, great terms. let's close! new at&t mobile share value plans stay with us. that's next. this is the first power plant in the country to combine solar and natural gas at the same location.

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million people visiting healthcare.gov every day so far this week. but the right is attacking right down to the wire. today "the new york times" reports the state of health care under the national law depends almost entirely on where a person lives. some state exchanges are great. others have major problems. but even worse is the sabotage we've seen from the right. take what has happened in texas. according to the times in texas, political opposition to president obama's health law is so strong that some residents believe erroneously that the program is banned in their state. texans actually think the affordable care act is banned? that's what happens when you have your senator shutting down the government over health care. and your governor refuses to

cover his own constituents. and in washington, house republicans are still calling for a repeal, claiming they'll come up with their own health care plan. guess who is going to help them? according to one conservative blog, fox news contributor dr. ben carson. remember what he said about the health care law? >> obamacare is really, i think, the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery. and it is -- in a way, it is slavery. >> the gop is getting policy advice from the guy who called the health care law slavery? this law is not perfect, but it's working, and it's past time for republicans to admit it. joining me now is congressman jim mcdermott. thank you for being here. >> it's good to be here. >> congressman, six million people, six million enrolled.

and republicans are still trying to undermine the law right to the end. when will they give up? >> i don't think they ever will, al. you remember six months ago, they were ready to bury the health care law and put a stone on it and that was the end of it. and here we are six months later, six million people have enrolled all over and various places in the country. there are a lot of places, as you point out, that are really suffering under terrible political leadership -- texas, florida, places like that where the governor has refused to be a part of this. they're denying health care to their people. i mean, there has got to be 700 or 800,000 people in texas who be eligible for health care coverage. but their governor says no, it's banned in texas. what kind of craziness is that? >> you know, the health care law isn't perfect, but we can fix the problems that exists. you know, the times said today connecticut has successfully

enrolled so many patients that officials are offering to sell their expertise to states like maryland which is struggling to sign people up for coverage. isn't this what we need, fixing problems, not attacking the whole law, congressman? >> well, you know, about a year ago, i had a conversation with bill frist who was the republican head of the senate some years ago. >> and a doctor. >> and he said to me, jim, we ought to repeal -- no, we shouldn't repeal, we should repair. we should fix the law. that's where we ought to be. >> you know, congressman, enrollment started off slowly in october before, picking up in december, and especially this month. when you look at the numbers as we've put on the ground. and congressman, your republican colleagues love trashing the law when the enrollment numbers were low. listen. >> pretty stunning. just another day in a series of messups in obamacare.

>> obamacare isn't working and it's time to start over. >> people did not sign up for obamacare like they needed to. >> a mere 100,000 registered for health care on the new marketplace. this disastrous law was destined to fail from the start. >> it will be interesting to continue to observe our democratic friends come to grips with the reality that everything the critics of obamacare said about it are in fact coming true. >> now, that's when the enrollment was low. now you're getting a million and more going on the live sites every day. you've got six million. the goal was six million. you have six million with three days left. nobody knows how much is going to go. i'm sure your republican colleagues are just celebrating how these numbers have gone through the roof and they've achieved their goal. >> they are fit to be tied, actually, al. they don't know what to do. because now going into the

election, all they have done is oppose something that more and that six million people have said that's exactly what we've wanted. we've been waiting for this. and they're in a real tough spot because what can they say now? well, we agree with president obama? no. they can't say that. so they really don't i know where to go. they do not know where to go at this point. >> you know, when you get past the politics of congressman, the real deal is the people that are involved, the people that need the help. and every day we hear more stories of real people benefitting from the law. listen to this. >> brandon hayes calls his recent trip to the e.r. an expensive disaster. he can't wait to get his very own insurance card. >> it would be like a total relief for me. >> she is paying about $30 a month for insurance. the rest of her premium is covered by a federal subsidy. >> for the first time,

20-year-old christian cruz is signing up for health. >> in has been uninsured for five years and was afraid she wouldn't be able to afford the health care premiums. but found out she was actually eligible for help. >> you know, the real question is what do republicans want to do for these kinds of people? i mean, they want them to just lose their insurance? >> you know, that's what is interesting about this whole thing, al is they're now saying well, we have our plan. we're ready to roll our plan out. one, two, three, four years they haven't rolled their plan out. and now finally when the president's plan is a success, they want to roll their plan out and repeal the president's. it is simply nonsense. they do not have any answer to people who have already preexisting conditions, all the people whose kids have been on their plan because they're under26 who have run over their lifetime limits, and they now have a relief from that.

they have all kinds of people who have benefitted from this law. i could give you a list as long as my arm as the people of the state of washington who a year ago were in serious trouble. >> wow. >> and now they're taken care of. and it's gone on all over the country. and the republicans have no answer whatsoever. >> congressman jim mcdermott, thank you for your time tonight, and have a great weekend. >> same to you. coming up, it's "american idol" for gop hopefuls and this $38 billion man is judging. inside the so-called adelson primary in las vegas. and are we closer to finding the malaysia airlines plane? a potential major sighting today. and why is ted nugent talking about rosa parks? stay with us.

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many on the right are vilifying the poor, people who

need government assistance are takers, food stamp recipients, takers, folks on welfare, takers. and who do they take from? the rich, the makers. >> higher tax rates will decrease the number of makers in society and increase the number of takers. >> are we teaching our kids to be takers instead of makers? >> a special series called entitlement nation, makers very takers. >> you become a society where the net majority of americans are takers, not makers. >> this is an election. of the makers versus the takers. >> we're getting more and more takers than makers in america. >> makers versus takers. you've heard so many conservatives use that term. but maybe the party that brought you the 47% should be looking in its own backyard. a new study indicates gop states

are the most dependent on the government. this map is a little complicated, but what it comes down to is this. all is the green states are the least dependent on the federal government while the red states take the most from uncle sam. notice a pattern? most of the taker states are conservative leaning. the study ranks states from the most to the least dependent. red states had an average ranking of 33 while blue states had an average ranking of 19. the states where republicans rail against government handouts are the ones with their hands out the most. hmm, i wonder what paul ryan and company would have to say about that. did they think we wouldn't notice their poor logic makes no sense? nice try but take this one because we gotcha.

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time for a special addition of the gop's lifestyles of the rich and shameless. from the luxurious venetian casino in the heart of las vegas, which lucky republican will hit the jackpot with casino billionaire sheldon adelson? let's roll the dice tonight with your host, the reverend al sharpton. >> that's right. good evening and welcome to the gop's lifestyles of the rich and shameless. this weekend four of the gop's top presidential wanna-be's, jeb bush, chris christie, scott walker, and john kasich are gathering in vegas for a little meet and greet with big money man sheldon adelson. he's the eighth richest man in the world. worth $38 billion. he spent $98 million to support republicans in the last election. and now he is looking for another contender to support in

2016. inviting them to his casino for a weekend filled with golf outs, a poker tournament, scotch tastes, and, of course, a vip dinner at adelson's private airplane hangar. that pretty much sums up the gop brand right? golf, scotch, and corporate jets. but what is really revealing here is how important billionaires like adelson have become to the party. for the gop, it's not about the millions of people voting in elections. it's about rich guys who spend millions on elections. and that's not right. joining me now are angela rye and e.j. dionne. thank you both for your time. >> good to be with you, rev. >> e.j., it is as important for these republicans to bin over billionaires as it is to win over voters? >> yes is the short answer to that question. i do want to give sheldon

adelson one thing, which is he had the best sound bite for a gambling mogul who spent a lot on politics. he said i don't mind when i lose. there is always a new hand coming up. and it's easy to say that when you have $38 billion worth of chips. but i think this is really very distressing what is happening to our system. my colleague, dan baltz of "the washington post" said it's exactly like the sheldon primary, which people are calling it that makes people feel shut out of politics. and it really has a corrosive effect on public confidence in government. there is something wrong with presidential candidates going to a very rich person and say oh, gee, please, will you spend $90 million to elect me. i think that bothers a lot of people. and not just liberals or democrats. >> you know, angela, there is a good thing that ald son said what e.j. said, he doesn't mind losing.

because he has made some bad bets. he backed newt gingrich in the 2012 primary and newt lost. then he backed mitt romney in the general election and romney lost too. i mean, does money only take you so far if the voters reject the candidate or the message? >> well, absolutely, rev. i think the other thing that you have to look at here is during this particular sheldon primary you have four individuals, one that is a former governor, but three of these folks hailing from states that worked very diligently to keep folks in traffic at the polls so that they would not vote. with all the suppressive measures coming from the states that i just mentioned, then you also have bridgegate governor who is working very diligently to keep people in traffic that cross him in the wrong way. so he does need to hedge his bets. but i would really encourage him to think about hedging his bets on policies that help to make america a better place for all americans and not just a safe place for him to gamble with american lives. >> you know, something, e.j.

that was striking to me, a number of conservative tv ads have aired so far in the 2014 election. but the koch brothers backed americans for prosperity group has aired 17,000 tv ads. official republican party groups have only aired 2100 ads combined. i mean, a billionaire like the koch brothers almost more important now than the actual republican party? >> again, i think the answer to that is yes too. and i think that the effect of these ads is not just republicans versus democrats. these are having a real effect on the republican party itself. today i was talking to a democratic senator, and we were talking about climate change. and this senator noted that five or six years ago, a lot of republicans were willing to say climate change is real, and we

have to do something about it. >> right. >> and with the koch brothers and people who think the way they do intervening in these republican primaries, most republicans have now fallen silent on this issue. and i think that's one of many examples where money has a real impact on the outcomes of public policy. >> you know, angela, check out senator ted cruz's new talking point on the campaign trail. check this out. >> let me tell you, the single biggest lie in all of politics is that republicans are the party of the rich. >> now what would give any of us that idea, angela? >> rev, i don't know. they seem like they don't have any money whatsoever. i mean, ted cruz is crazy. you know, it's very clear whether it's the tax breaks that they so diligently seek or eric cantor just last week talking about there are thousands of families that will be struggling to pay their heat bill and this is why we need to continue to

deregulate policy for energy companies. i mean, it's insane. there is absolutely nothing about their party that says we're look out for the little guy. they're only looking out for the big guy in the yacht, in the private jet, at the hangar having the dinner, at the sheldon primary. they're not looking out for the little guy, ted cruz. come on. now. >> e.j., remember what billionaire tom perkinson last month about how the rich should have more votes. listen to this. >> the tom perkins system is you don't get to vote unless you pay a dollar of taxes. but what i really think is it should be like a corporation. if you pay a million dollars in taxes, you could get a million votes how. is that? >> christ. >> is that amazing or not? >> that is plutocracy, not democracy. i was thinking here listening to this, one of the great old new deal slogans was if you want to live like a republican, vote democratic.

and i think this notion that, you know, the rich who live very well and drink that scotch tend to be on the republican side. but we used to have property requirements to vote. and it was a great democratic d democratic advance that we got rid of them. and it's astonishing 200 years later that there are some people out there who want to bring back those old days which in my view weren't the good old days. >> wow. e.j. dionne and angela rye. thank you for your time tonight. have a great weekend. >> have a great weekend, reverend. >> thanks, reverend. coming up, it's being called a suspicious object. but is the part -- is this part of the missing malaysia airlines plane? and the first lady's good will tour of china is over. but the right wing media complex never takes a vacation from their attacks. that's next.

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first lady michelle obama's good will tour of china this week was a huge success. she put her special touch on diplomacy throughout the trip. one chinese official even said there is michelle fever in china. but many on the right were on fire in a different way. >> michelle, if she's not

playing ping-pong, that's right, ping-pong on a taxpayer-funded vacation in china right now. >> the obama ladies having a grand old time. i hope they're enjoying themselves because you are paying a fortune for this. >> there isn't any media, so we don't know what's being exchanged. and we don't know what is being brought back. you know, cultural exchange works both ways. i mean, they're going to leave michelle's mom in china as part of the exchange? >> it's not their money. it's very easy to spend other people's money. it's not their money. >> they seem so out of touch. >> well, the first lady's trip is over, but there is no vacation from complaining from some on the right. a new report on presidential vacations is out from the judicial watch organization, and it's all over the conservative blogs. are you ready for this bombshell? president obama's hawaii and africa trip cost nearly $16

million for flights alone. wow. air force is expensive. but are they saying the presidents shouldn't travel? well, then it's a good thing president george w. bush never took a vacation. and it's a good thing his father, bush 41 also stayed at the white house at all times. and it's a really good thing president reagan was never out of the beltway. but bashing the president's time away is par for the course these days. >> then he is off to martha's vineyard for a vacation and the mere mortals are upset because the roads are closed. >> he went to senegal, south africa, tanzania. judicial watch comes up with $15 million for that trip. >> that's another con. we pay for the fundraising trips because he does a little business. and then he goes and raise as lot of money. >> president obama is about to leave for a 17-day trip to hawaii. >> oh do, you blame him?

>> this is occupy oahu. >> the president went to las vegas, west palm beach, israel, jordan, miami, three times san francisco, l.a., mexico, puerto rico, palm springs. >> oh, no, a president who travels. some on the right will use any excuse to go after this president. but this vacation from reality needs a one-way ticket home. joining me now, joan walsh and joe madison. thank you for coming on this show. >> thank you. >> you know, joan, all presidents make international trips and go on vacation. i mean, it is the height of a double standard and is just ugly, it's nasty. not only have we seen them criticize this president, but they talked about his wife, his daughters, his mother-in-law. i mean, there is no level of decency at all with this. >> no. first of all, i'm proud to have a president who likes to travel overseas. i'm proud to have a first lady

who is an asset to the country and who creates michelle fever when she travels. i'm really happy that we have a larger than average first family. we have two school aged girls, and we also have a grandmother who helps raise the children. these are family values. i thought these people were about family values. the obama family values happen to involve traveling together as a family unit a lot of the time there is nothing wrong with it. as you have made the point many times, rev, i think george bush in his first term took four times as many vacation days as president obama did. so there is nothing -- >> and none of them were complain:00 it. >> never, never. >> in fact, joe, the so-called study this week said president obama was the most well traveled, expensive president in history through five years. only there is barely any difference the time two presidents spent overseas. president george w. bush had spent 116 days abroad by this point in his presidency.

president barack obama has spent 119 days. three days. three days. and it's a good thing that he's well traveled for that matter. >> well, thank god for "politicsnation" and the statistics that you just show because i didn't know, that man. and i'm so glad that you're showing that comparison. and let me speak to something else that they did while in china. not only the family value aspect, but she, michelle obama, even talked about the importance of freedom of speech. >> right. >> and how african americans had to fight to overcome. now, imagine, you're in china. you're in a communist country. and you're talking to students about the importance of having freedom. and as an african american we had to overcome just like you may have to overcome. oh, they don't report that. and they don't report that the people have even equated the weather. they're having great weather. and they said that's an omen.

because that shows us this is a country now in love with this lady. and finally, i'm old enough to remember when jacqueline kennedy went to paris and the world went crazy, even to the point the president said i'm here escorting jacqueline kennedy. please. >> and the united states paid for it all. we do that for presidents, and we should. and we never complained before. but they keep spinning, joan, that president obama is vacationing. take a look at the comparison. through four and a half years into their presidencies, so far president obama, that's last august, president obama had spent 92 days on vacation. president george w. bush had 367 days on vacation. >> a full year. a full year that must be -- that must be a nice job where you

spend a year out of four on vacation. >> my goodness. >> i mean, the hypocrisy. and rush limbaugh even used president obama's visit to the pope with pope francis yesterday to slam the president's vacations. listen to this, joan. >> president obama met with pope francis for 52 minutes in the vatican. obama didn't intend to show up there. he looked at the word quickly and thought it said vacation. and when they were pulling up to st. peters, obama said what, what, what are we doing here? sir, you said you wanted to come to the vatican. no, no i said vacation. >> you would think if he didn't have respect for this president, he would at least respect for the vatican and the pope. >> absolutely. absolutely. and i guess he didn't plan to go. that's why they exchanged gifts with each other. what, he just pulled a bottle of wine out of air force one or something? i mean, this is absurd. you've got to be absolutely the

dumbest person walking the face of the earth if you buy this. but here is what they'll do. oh, he is just joking. he is just having fun. look, we know what he is doing. and the reality is that when the president travels, particularly when he did the african trip, that was about business. >> right. >> that was about business. we are show -- our show even got a call from air force one. >> it's business. >> it was about trade. but the thing that really has me, joan, really very, very, very outraged by this, it's fine. the president, if you want to attack him and you're obsessed with him, fine. >> right. >> but we're not starting them hearing him attacking his daughters and his mother-in-law. >> oh, no. >> we have never seen that i have protested many presidents and probably will protest others if i disagree. >> right. >> and i have disagreed with this president on some things, guantanamo bay and others.

but to talk about a man's mother-in-law, a sitting president who is on a trip that can help this country with trade and understanding? this is breaux the dignity of anybody that should be talking in public. >> the disrespect really knows no bounds, and we're learning that every day to suggest they leave the first lady's mother behind. can you imagine if the president hadn't gone to the vatican? if he had been in rome and disrespected the pope by not showing up there? it was a wonderful meeting. the pope is an incredible world leader. he is going to come to this country. it was a wonderful moment that rush limbaugh had to make jokes about it. >> joan walsh, joe madison, i'm going have to leave it there. >> have a great weekend. >> thank you for your time. have a great weekend. >> you too. straight ahead, why is ted nugent talking about rosa parks? stay with us.

developing news tonight in the search for missing malaysia airlines flight 370. authorities abandoned their search in the south indian ocean, moving the search nearly 700 miles northeast. today five planes searching the new area spotted multiple objects of various colors floating in the water. chinese state broadcaster cctv tweeted out this picture of a reported suspicious object spotted by a new zealand military plane. nbc news could not independently

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finally tonight, it's time for conservatives to stop distorting the legacy of civil rights in order to promote their own agenda. nra board member ted nugent is the latest offender. he just wrote a column saying, quote, my hero, rosa parks, refused to give up her seat on a city bus. gunowners must learn from rosa parks and definitely refuse to give up our guns. comparing rosa parks' fight against racism to the nra's fight against gun safety? it's outrageous, and it's part of a pattern. in january, a county republican party announced they were raffling off an assault rifle in honor of dr. king. conservatives have also put up billboards claiming dr. king was a republican, which of course is

not true. in fact, he once wrote that the republican party get its appeal and program to racism, reaction, and extremism. and just last week, gop senator rand paul tried to use dr. king to criticize president obama. >> i find it ironic that the first african american president has without compunction allowed this vast exercise of raw power by the nsa. certainly, j. edgar hoover's illegal spiking martin king and others in the civil rights movement should give us all pause. >> this from a man who once said he would modify the civil rights act. it's time for this kind of talk to stop. the pioneers who fought for civil rights stood up for diversity and equality. unfortunately, today many gop policies stand for the opposite.

you should stand for what you believe and use the heroes of that belief as your symbols. don't try to play switch and bait using heroes that would not have stood for what you say to give you cover for things that you know the public does not support. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. kelly versus christie. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. late today in a trenton conference room, chris christie reentered the media arena. in his version of facing the lions, the only things missing as he intimidate and taunted members of the press corps were a chair and a whip.