. . . ♪ just barely holding it together this monday morning. good morning. welcome to "morning joe." it's still cold. okay? until april, that's what bill says. with us onset we have donny deutsch, associated professor at columbia -- >> i didn't know i was an associate professor. >> you're not. you're definitely not.

trust me. but at least you're dressed not like a clown today. i'm happy. how is my show? >> your show is great. >> am i in it? >> my new usa show debuted in the fall. mika is a love interest. >> is that howism being cast? >> a secret from us. >> i'm in his show. i didn't know i was a love interest. >> nice way of putting it. >> really? oh, god. we'll talk. so dorian is here with us and richard engel. on capitol hill senior political editor for the huffington post sam stein. we're going to get to your interview with president obama in a moment sam. good job on that. but first, a disturbing report of an isis hit list surfaced over the weekend urging sympathizers to kill american soldiers. a group claiming allegiance at islamic state has published names, pictures and alleged addresses of active and retired military personnel online. the group claimed 100 americans carried out air strikes against

isis targets in iraq and syria and that they should be killed as a result. defense officials tell nbc news the list include names of some active duty service members including some combat pilots. the pentagon has reportedly not yet made a decision to pull them off duty at this time. richard, what do you make of this this? >> i think mostly it's a scare tactic. i've spoken to military officials. they're not overwhelmingly concerned about it. they said no classified databases were hacked that this was mostly an isis list culled together from -- >> this is what they do. >> -- the internet from news reports, from photographs that were online. they put together a list and they compiled that with public information and home addresses. it's incitement to violence. it's calling on people to commit murder against these military personnel. but it doesn't seem to be like an active plot or they have real information or they have the capability to do this.

it's incitement. >> let's circle back to how it relates to this next story which is a major headline this morning and still developing. just days after a deadly suicide bomb attack in a mosque in yemen the country appears to be spiraling out of control, prompting the u.s. to evacuate its remaining troops from the region and yemen's president to call for a, quote, urgent intervention by the u.n. security council. shiite rebels have claimed large parts of the country since they drove out the country's president. and over the weekend they seized control of yemen's third largest city just 85 miles from where yemen's president established a base. just six months ago president obama said the fight against terrorism in yemen was a success while discussing the assault on isis. >> this counter terrorism campaign will be waged through a steady relentless effort to take out isil wherever they exist using our air power and our support for partner forces on

the ground. this strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us while supporting partners on the front lines is one that we have successfully pursued in yemen and somalia for years. >> this is at this point extremely disturbing, what's happening in yemen given those comments. >> i'm much more concerned about yemen than this isis hit list. the isis hit list is bad. hopefully no one will act upon it. but the situation in yemen is we have a state in collapse. yemen, which is right on the border of saudi arabia could become the new syria. since february the government in yemen has been in a state of free-fall. it has been forced to be on the run. it's almost a government in exile. it is battling with a rebel group, shiite rebel group there had the had. normally this would be the kind of civil war you see in the middle eastern or african countries, kind of things that

happen. but as these two sides are fighting for their own survival and for control of the country, isis is moving in and the establishing a bigger base and is using the chaos to try and firmly embed itself into yemeni society. just on friday carried out five suicide attacks and killed around 140 people. this is a real dangerous situation. >> dorian? >> richard, what's the role of saudi arabia in helping to as our ally and helping to manage this conflict? >> sud day arabia does not want this conflict to bleed over into the kingdom. it wants to back the u.s.-backed government, it wants to get rid of the rebels it wants to have a negotiated settlement where the government returns to order and things go back to normal. unfortunately that might be wishful thinking about this stage. they keep taking more and more

power. the government's position gets weaker and weaker. like i said, as these two sides battle it out for control, extremists in particular in this case isis are making hay while they're asleep. >> we watch this while on going negotiations with iran and of course the relationship with israel which is poisonous some would describe. israel's president is holding a second round of talks today about forming the new israeli government but it appears u.s. and israeli officials are still focused on what happened in the run-up to that country's elections. president obama is finally speak out in a wide ranging interview with the "huffington post" including criticizing benjamin netanyahu for warning that israeli arabs were out voting, quote, in droves. >> we indicated that kind of rhetoric was contrary to what was in the best interest of israel traditions although

israel was founded based on the historic jewish homeland. and the need to have a jewish homeland. israeli democracy has been premised on everybody in the country being treated equally and fairly. >> president obama also says netanyahu jeopardized a possible peace deal by vowing palestinians would not have a state if he is prime minister. >> i did indicate to him that he believe a two-state solution is the only way for the long-term security of israel if it wants to stay both a jewish state and democratic. we take him at his word when he said it wouldn't happen during his prime ministership. that's why we've got to evaluate what other options are available to make sure that we don't see a chaotic situation in the region. >> going to bring sam in in a second his interview, but anyone here at the table see any value in this point in the

president being conciliatory toward netanyahu at this time? because he's being criticized. john mccain is saying get over your tantrum. i'm not sure -- i'm not sure things have worked that well in terms of the relationship with netanyahu as it stands and why be conciliatory? to what end? >> well, you also have to engage in the art of diplomacy. he's forming a government. he is the israeli government or is going put together a coalition and lead israel for the next several years. so while you can have your position and your disagreements you're going to have to also work with the u.s.' closest ally in the region. coming out, creating,s have having a bit spat in public which is what it is right now, has become almost tabloid story where the two men don't like each other personally and are making jabs that might not necessarily advance the cause of

broader peace in the middle east. >> on all the sunday talk shows when folks were talking about the relationship between obama and netanyahu they used the word poisonous. i heard it over and over ban. toxic, poisonous. at this point the relationship -- >> it's not a gossip column. at the end of the day, who cares. that it don't have to get along. they don't have to love each other. they clearly don't have a lot of personal chemistry. okay? that happens in world relations. we're all adults here. but i think you have to -- if you're going tv that strategic relationship, everyone says there is that strategic relationship between israel and united states -- >> shared intelligence support. these things can happen. >> i want to bring sam? >> that hasn't stopped at all. the relationship between -- >> the basis of it. >> -- the u.s. military. >> sam, you interviewed the president. we're bed fellows with israel like it or not. as a ceo of this country he's got to do business with the ceo of israel. as simple as that. is he getting over it? what does he have to say? >> he made a point in the interview to stress that

american collaboration with israel and intelligence on military matters was going to continue no matter what. to richard's point, disagreements over whatever rhetoric was said to the lead-up to the campaign wouldn't stop that from going forward. i would say that it's very clear to the administration at least this isn't just tabloid stuff, when the prime minister of israel came to congress to specifically lobby against an iranian nuclear deal the president it appears took that very personally. it wasn't something that he took lightly. we talked about it a bit in the interview. also, i would say one thing i was struck by when we talked that what angered him almost more than the prime minister's comments about a two-state solution are the lack thereof in his time as leader of israel was the prime minister's comments about arab voters. i think the president took it very -- someone who obviously -- we obviously have our own issues with race in this country and

the president has experienced them probably more than anyone he took that very seriously. he thought that that was, you know, insulting, essentially, to wide swath of israeli voters. that's not necessarily a gossipy thing to speak out about. that's about minority rights and the one democracy in the middle east. >> richard? >> no i totally agree that the fundamental issues aren't the gossipy part. there are real issues at stake here. how the u.s. sees the -- >> changed or lied about his position number one. and number two, he race baited. can i just say it? >> the real issues those are real issues. >> real issues yes. >> but the idea of focusing on the personal chemistry between the two men is -- >> i was saying poisonous in a real way. i wasn't talking about whether or not they like each other or they're in or out. i was talking about what damage has been done. by the way in part by the republican party who fed into this and fed the flames, to make sure this damage happens. and now we have a situation

where the relationship is uncomfortable. >> i don't think it was just the republican party. a lot of democrats like myself lined up with bibi and agreed with what he had to say and a lot of grandstanding. >> do you think he was honest before and after his election about a two-state solution? no. >> i think -- i think he is who he is and he's been pretty straightforward all along. i think that the republicans are really set up in 2016 because a lot of this country does line up with bibi. >> straightforward. later we will show this now but we're going to move on to politics. the ambassador who says that netanyahu did not change his position. i would like to see how he explains that. we'll get to that in a second. richard engel, thank you for being on this morning. just like that it is presidential campaign season once again and senator ted cruz has made it official on twitter. at midnight the senator from texas tweeted, i'm running for president and i hope to earn your support. and then he sent along this video. >> it's a time for truth, a time

to rise to the challenge just as americans have always done. i believe in america and her people and i believe we can stand up and restore our promise. it's going to take a new generation of courageous conservatives to help make america great again. i'm ready to stand with you to lead the fight. >> wow. >> can i just throw up now? >> stop. donny deutsch. >> can i just throw up now this. >> he's jumping in. earlier in the night the associated press shot these photos of cruz and his family wife heidi, daughters kalt ss catherine and caroline trying out the liberty university stage where he will speak today becoming the first major candidate to announce for president in 2016. cruz decided to jump in rest of the field and he has work to do. the latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll shows as many republicans couldn't see himself

supporting him as those that could but will the early entrance help him? according to bloomberg no candidate to announce their run for president first has won since 1952. we'll see if that changes. joining us now from the campus in lynch berg, virginia msnbc political correspondent kasie hunt. kasie? >> mika, good morning. well, today cruz is finally going to dispense with that will he or won't he game that we've seen from the presidential race so far. his advisers are hoping that by going first he will be able to win back some of the attention that lately has been focused on his rivals. >> the miracle of america began with a revolutionary idea which is our rights don't come from government, they come from god almighty. >> reporter: a badly kept secret goes public the morning. texas senator ted cruz is running for president. >> we're a work to build a grass roots army. >> reporter: cruz worked on george w. bush's presidential campaign.

won a long shot senate bid in 2012 and became one of the unforgettable moments leading up to the government shutdown. >> do you like groo eneggs and ham? i do not like them sam i am i do not like green eggs and ham. >> reporter: it made him popular at home but along the way cruz alienated many in his own party. >> if standing for liberty and standing for the constitution makes you a whacko bird then make me a proud one. >> reporter: the baptist college was founded by reverend jerry falwell. >> because i'm a democrat, i don't vote republican i vote christian. >> reporter: the venue underscores cruz's focus on christian societiers and the grass roots conservatives that cruz says already are showing up to support him. >> buried down in about the 20th paragraph of that article is a paragraph that said that there were substantially larger groups crowds of voters that came out when i was there than had come out for either jeb bush

or scott walker. there was more enthusiasm. in the world of journalism that used to be called news. >> reporter: students here at liberty university are required to attend today's convocation so he should be seeing a pretty large crowd. the student newspaper reported that he actually bumped virginiacall live out of this slot when he wanted to come here and make this announcement. mika? >> kasie, here we go. thank you very much. >> here we go. >> i have a question for the table here. is he the herman kaine? the 999 of this election? is he the, i don't know, rick perry? >> he's the sarah palin. he's a sideshow. >> you stop it. i'm telling you. >> he's unelectable. it's very very simple. when you look at the swing states and the way the demographics are moving in ohio the way they're moveing in colorado, a character like this who says -- >> characterer? >> character, exactly. no such thing as climate change. basically basically, there's been no

legislation in the senate. this is a -- >> government shutdown, remember. >> this is a complete obstructionist. this is not what this country is all about. he's done nothing but run for president, i find him offensive. >> offensive? >> complete i gins the grain of where the country wants to go. there's a difference between running for president and 18-month game show that leads up to it. >> okay. i just have one thing to say. it's just my instinct and a couple of meetings with him, i wouldn't underestimate him. i wouldn't underestimate him. i think this guy is really really smart. i don't agree with a thing he says -- >> you think this guy has a chance to be a serious contender. i'm not saying he's not smart. >> i wouldn't underestimate him having a big impact in this election and not being the 999. i'm just saying. that's my instinct. we'll see. maybe you're right, donny. still ahead on "morning joe" -- probably not -- we'll take a deep dive into the troubled u.s./israeli relationship. plus we're going straight to the hometown source for two of

many morning's big political stories. senior editor of "texas monthly" weighs in on ted cruz and a top editor of the boston globe explains that paper's push to draft elizabeth warren in the race. later, the runner-up, former "american idol" star clay aiken stops by with a new fascinating documentary on his failed bid for congress. but first, bill karins with a check on the forecast and it is horrible. >> have you ever considered how hard it is to be me? >> yeah i have. i have. >> you have right? >> many times. >> i know when i'm going to make you up set before you're even upset. >> well, usually you insult me and you have some sort of weird like obsession with me that i can't explain, but this is just bad weather. >> we'll keep trying to figure that one out. let's take a look and show you what everybody is going to be upset about, not just mika. areas on the wet are way too hot and areas in the east way too cold. this is the forecast as we go through friday saturday into sunday of next week. record heat in the west with the

droughts already horrible no rain and another huge cold shot for the eastern half of the country. we're going to do it again. let's bring you back to the weather maps and go from the bad to the worse. chicago, snowing this morning. winter weather advisory. two to four inches between now and noon today. right when it all melts and you think you're done, not so lucky. it's not a white spread show. it doesn't go much further south than champagne and not much further north than milwaukee. areas right around south bend. also this morning, our friends down on i-4 from tampa to orlando, a wet dry for you. a lot of heavy rain as you go throughout your morning commute. maybe some airport delays. a lot of people on spring breakdown tl. for today, cold from chicago up through the northeast where windchills are in the single digit digits. in the middle of the country that's where you get your spring fling. we leave you with a nice shot of a very cold and chilly areas right around new york city. it's been that way for a while now. stay tuned.

more "morning joe" coming right up. ♪ edith piaf "no regrets" ♪ plays throughout ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

so i got on the plane and thought... yeah! empty seat next to me. and then i saw him, slowly coming down the aisle. one of those guys who just can't stop talking. i was downloading a movie. i was trying to download a movie. i have verizon. i don't. i get that little spinning wheel. download didn't finish. finished the download. headphones on. and i'm safe. i didn't finish in time. so... many... stories. join us and save without settling on the largest most reliable network.

home for me. there isn't a newsroom across new york where several other big cities that isn't mourning the loss of an incredible journalist and person. lisa colagrossi veteran reporter and anchor for wabc died of a brain hemorrhage late last week just after covering a story. she handled all the news beats from extreme weather to her beloved new york rangers. she was on the scene of the crash of flight 587 in queens and reported from manhattan after the attack on the world trade center. but aside from her impressive reporting which she homed in cleveland and orlando, her most important role was that of a mother and a wife. friends and colleagues note her enwauferring love and pride of her two young sons. she was all about her kids. she chose the morning shift, she could have gotten off of it several times, getting up at

2:00 in the morning the go to work but she wanted that job so she could get home to her boys. lisa colagrossi was 49 years old. let's turn now to some of the other morning papers. the "new york times," seven children aged 5 through 16 were killed in a fire in brooklyn this weekend. according to officials, the fire was sparked by a hot plate that malfunctioned sending flames racing up the stairway where the family slept. there did not appear to be any smoke detectors on the first and second floors. the mother of the children and the oldest daughter survived by leaping from a second story window. the remains of the victims will be flown to israel for burial. "sports illustrated" san francisco chris borland shocked the sports world last week when he announced his retirement from the nfl after only one season. citing concerns about the long-term effects of repeated head trauma. borland spoke about his decision on "face the nation" yesterday.

>> to me the decision was simple, after i had done a lot of research and it was personal. i was concerned about neurological diseases down the road if i continued to play football. there was a moment in camp where i probably sustained mild concussion. it wasn't something detrimental to my health immediately but it just changed the way i viewed the risks motor vehicle chosen profession. to play one year is not a cash grab as i've been accused of. i'm paying back three fourths of my signing bonus and this to me is just about health and nothing else. i never played the game for money or attention. i love football. i've had a blast. i don't regret the last ten years of my life at all. i would do it over the exact same way. >> donny, this guy gave up 3/4 of his bonus. he really wants to move on. >> there are two parts to this story. bill karins was talking about it earlier, young kids that play football and he chose health that is unusual. the fact he gave back 3/4 of his signing bonus, talk about

quality of character of an individual. >>nd a message. >> by the way, this guy should be run for office. i like that kid. seriously that is a really -- that is a side bar to this story but really talks to who this young man is. >> i like him but i'm wondering does the move send a message that's strong enough to be a money making machine. >> unfortunately he's going to be a very rare exception. for a lot of these kids playing it's the only way. this is a kid who probably has alternatives and some of these kids don't. nbcnews.com now, you cannot beat this delivery service. pope francis received a hand delivered pizza as he rode the popemobile through the streets of naples italy, on saturday. in a recent interview pope francis said as much as he enjoys being the pontiff he missed anonymity that allowed him to walk to local pizza for a slice. look at this. thank you. i'm going to have my pizza now. i love him. and lastly the associated press, 14 gamblers are heading to court to try to keep the $1.5

million they won at an atlantic city casino. it comes after they were ordered to return the cash when the casino unknowingly used unshuffled cards at the table. that's just not fair. they get the money. >> that's it. >> what? >> sorry. come on. >> the gamblers said -- >> shuffle the cards next time. >> the gamblers said they shouldn't be held responsible for the the casino's mistake, sending the message no jackpot is ever safe. the judge heard it on friday but did not issue the decision. give the money to the people or close down your casino. what the heck? >> i'm not even for gambling. i think it's terrible. coming up as the saying goes you should have seen the other guy. richard haass hammers both president obama and prime minister netanyahu over the republic rift and richard joins us next. significawe went arment over the infiniti we had... i've had a lot of hondas... we went around the country talking to people who made the switch to ford. the brand more people buy. and buy again. all-wheel drive is amazing... i felt

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dib dib rately flaunted the nuclear threat in a direct and indirect way in the west over actual references to nuclear weapons. that has not happened for decades. that's dangerous. >> there was dr. zbigneuzi brez

my dad. there's no reminder by why the violence struggle over ukraine's future has global implications. i called him, richard, over the weekend and it went blrks leee and i thought oh, my god, where is he? he's in brussels. he's been having a great time having these corporations like many times over at this forum. >> you pronounce his name so well. >> i do. let's get to the heart of the matter here. we started to have a pretty heated conversation with donny earlier on netanyahu. i want to try to understand what's important here and what's not. a personal rift is not important, but there are those who are saying that u.s./israel relationships are the worse they have been in decades and that this is beyond a rift. how can trust be restored and is there a reason it's not trustful

relationship right now and why? >> why, we could spend an hour talking about that. >> what's the bottom line? >> each one is responsible. each 00 has behaved badly, vis-a-vis the other and vis-a-vis protecting what ought to be truly strategic important relationship to both sides. i don't think it's particularly useful to go through who did this and who said what. >> aren't we looking at the past few weeks? >> then again, each has. netanyahu, arguably should not have come and made the speech. there was nothing he said then that could not have been repeated two or three weeks later. on the other hand the president normally disciplined, showed a lack of discipline first of all, in how he reacted to the speech and then in his public comments. it's not appropriate for the american president, i would say, to be lecturing the israel prime minister about his policies vis-a-vis israeli/arabs. can i make a larger issue? >> yeah. >> none of this is taking place in a vacuum. it's not as though everything is just fine and dandy in the middle east. things are bad.

you've got three but failed states yemen, syria, libya. you've got walk which is its own crazy mess. i think it's only a question of time before jordan is tested and saudi arabia is tested. we need greater strategic confidence and trust between israel and the united states arguably, than at any time in israel's history. we don't have it. >> richard, what is the white house to do when they are reportedly visibly appalled by the behavior of bibi netanyahu, especially in the days leading up to his election race baiting, and lying about whether or not he's going to keep his promises on palestinian state. there is a problem there, is there not? how do we overcome that? >> both sides have problems. i think bibi netanyahu made a a mistake in inviting john boehner so quickly after the election. you can't continue to channel this election through the congress if you're israel. i think the president and his aides have to show some discipline, stop the public criticism of the israeli prime minister. what we need to have is a good

old-fashioned private conversation where the two of them learn to work together again. they don't have to like each other. they don't have to retire together after both of them step down from office. what they've got to do is come up with ground rules for the conduct of their relationship that protects the core national interest of each side. >> you've got to be a willing partner in this. and take a look here's the ambassador ron dermer and he says that prime minister netanyahu did not change his position on anything. take a look. it's as if what planet are we on? look at this. >> why did the peace process collapse? because president abbas jouned up withal hamas. you can't join up with a terror organization. our children is that a palestinian state today would be a palestinian terror state. so the prime minister is not against a demilitarized palestinian state. what he's against is establishing a terror state on the west bank which would create not another gaza but 20 gazas. >> i want to bring this back to politics for a second in 2016 and this is a big problem for

the democrats. obviously the jewish vote historically predominantly democratic. having said that though the conservative, the wealthy jewish and the big donors are really really in play now. it's very interesting what the hillary clintons of the world are going to have to say because they do line up right here with the republicans in a big way and republicans are going to use that. this has great implications. big implications are the safety of the world. but for the presidential campaign in 2016 this is going to be a big test for hillary. >> it's a problem for obama though right now. >> it is right now. look, what ron dermer said in certain ways is not wrong. by that i mean the situation between israel and the palestinians is not in any way ripe. israel tomorrow could come forward with fairly generous positions. do i think the palestinians are willing and able to accept them given their own internal politic, given the pressures they're under, no. it's in israel's interest all the same to do it because i think israel needs to make sure if there is no progress on the palestinian state the

responsibility lies with the palestinians. otherwise, israel fuels the movement to see it delegit mize. i don't think israel should be positioning itself to say we want a palestinian state no matter what. the conditions should be demanding but reasonable. and my hunch is again, the palestinians are unlikely to mv on them. israel can't be held accountable for whether their success, they can be held accountable for whether they are willing to meet the palestinians at a reasonable place. >> i understand that in terms of analysis from 20,000 feet from someone who studied this all his life. but sam stein, i think the question i'm asking is is far further down to earth which is how can we work with someone who is not an honest broker? >> well, that's what the administration is trying to figure out. tellingly, they're ignoring the post-election walk back from netanyahu and his government where they tried to clarify that he is open to a demilitarized palestinian state under a more

restrictive conditions. instead they're just assuming what he said in the lead up to the election is the operating principle of the government, which is that you won't see a two-state solution while netanyahu is president. i had a question for richard though. he's right that none of this happens in a vacuum. when i sat down with the president i asked him what impact did netanyahu's re-election would have on his ability to sell the iranian nuclear deal to the american public and to congress. and he said none at all. i have a feeling that that's not necessarily true. i'm wondering, as you look at the next couple of weeks, do you see any of this bleeding over into iran negotiations? >> absolutely. and it will complicate his life in selling this because bibi netanyahu will have a yard stick, if you will that is going to be extremely demanding. i think there's almost sr. row chance those criteria can be met. the president is going to have to basically make the case that even though any negotiated pact does not meet those criteria. it's still good enough and it's still better than the alternatives. it won make it impossible but it will make a decision more

difficult. >> yes. >> all right. richard haass, stay with us because coming up, new developments in yemen spiraling out of control there. no things are bad when isis even isn't the biggest threat in iraq. michael wise weighs in. "morning joe" is back in a moment.n't be shy, try some pie! you're giving away pie? what would you like apple or cherry? cherry. can i top that with oil or cream? excuse me? oil...or cream? definitely cream! a slice of pie always sounds better with reddi wip. that's because it's never made with hydrogenated oil. ohhh yeah. always made with real cream. the sound of reddi wip is the sound of joy. don't be shy try some... don't be shy try some... shhhh! in small business you have to work hard, know your numbers, and stay focused. i was determined to create new york city's first self-serve frozen yogurt franchise. and now you have 42 locations. the more i put into my business the more i get out of it.

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joining us now contributeor to foreign policy magazine and the author of the book "isis inside the army of terror" michael weiss. before we look at general petraeus and some comments he made that i'd like for you to speak on richard haass, can you characterize the situation in yemen as it stands right now? >> this is a textbook failed state. governmental authorities such as it is has been dramatically reduced.

most of the interaction is between groups like isis and various off shoots of it. and the houthis, iranian-backed the purview of the central government is extremely now. so what you really have is the country where the ungoverned spaces are far greater now than the governed spaces. there's almost no one for us to work with anymore. that's why we pulled out our people. >> we pulled out our people six months ago. we thought this was a pretty successful situation. >> but this -- we were just talking about how did we get the reading so wrong? >> so wrong. >> more of a question i have an answer for how did we miss the dynamics of the country because it's so fundamentally really this is along with libya and syria, this is now one of the three textbook examples of a failed state. in some ways even worse than iraq, as bad as that is. >> are you richard engel, said at the top of the hour yemen is

the next syria? >> yemen already is. >> already is. >> i think it's now a question of when not if. so saudi arabia get tested. i think it's inevitable this group that calls itself the islamic state will one way or the other find a way to challenge the country that controls the two holy shrines of islam. try it through terrorism, disrupting the an hulnual pilgrimage. every time we think we reached the bottom we find out there's more to come. >> for perspective, it's now five years in syria with 4 million refugees at least. it's a chaotic, horrific -- >> and another 6 or 7 million internally displaced. they're homeless or refugees. >> from that michael, we turn to you. and we look at iraq. general petraeus had some comments recently about iraq's future in the "washington post" and he wrote in part this. i would argue that the foremost threat to iraq's long-term stability and the broader

regional equilibrium is not the islamic state, rather it's shiite militias many backed by and some guided by iran. what do you make of that? would you agree? >> spot on. i can tell you for sure that general petraeus was relubtctant to say that. what's happening in iraq today is you're seeing the creeping takeover of the country. not just by iran but by the elite foreign intelligence service. the man who is running the ground campaign against isis this guy was singlehandedly responsible for 20% of american casualties during the war. david petraeus spoke about him as well. you have a classic kind of car low versus george smiley dynamic between the two of them. i just spoke to an iraqi official who told me that the defense secretary, defense minister of the country was barred from entering tikrit by the shia militias who is now running this campaign. you have seen the

hezbollahization of this country. once that genie is out of the bottle you can't go back again. >> it's almost a poisoned chalice where we're watching for forces so close to iran and shia militias dominate the country which is going to alienate the sunni population and that alienation will feed the rise of isis in western iraq. we have now in some ways allowed a dynamic to take place that can't succeed. i think it's argues that it's time for fundamentally different strategy in iraq and i would say that we give up on iraq as an entire country. we should be thinking very hard about supporting the kurds and about supporting the -- >> are you talking joe biden speak? >> this is beyond joe biden speak. >> i'm just saying because he said it. >> he talked about it all within a single country. i think we're at the point where iraq is an attacked state, where if the mcnally iraq those days are behind us. we have to be thinking about a separate area. >> wow. >> help us understand what are

the implications of what you just said with our on going negotiations with iran in terms of nuclear capacity and given what just happened with the israeli elections. >> look the administration likes to pretend that there is no linkage between negotiating over nuclear file and essentially ak questionesing to the irc takeover of not just iraq but yemen and the houthis. how did the islamic state find purchase in this country? this the most genocide alanity shia terrorist organization on the planet. goes back to the days of zarqawi in 2004. it will bleed out beyond iraq. it's in syria. it's going to yemen. it will hit other parts of the region. look, the kurds, you know richard you spoke about the kurds, they are pretty fied about the growth of shia militias. it wasn't just general petraeus. the intelligence chief of iraq kurdistan said the same thing. isis we can eventually defeat but look at the guys who are going to inherit the earth after

they're going. they're creeping up on to the green line so they're trying to penetrate into kurdistan. this is an ungodly mess. the country is de facto and iraq as we know it is finished. >> michael weiss, thank you, i think. good to have you on. still ahead, drafting the rich. this is a fascinating concept. really think about it. why one deckorated combat veteran said the military should tap you upper class americans for war. we will discuss his new cole lum. plus, the conversation you will likely won't be happening with your starbucks barista. but the coffee giant is saying about the much criticized campaign on race relations. we'll be right back. the real question that needs to be asked is "what is it that we can do that is impactful?" what the cloud enables is computing to empower cancer researchers. it used to take two weeks to sequence and analyze a genome; with the microsoft cloud we can analyze 100 per day. whatever i can do to help compute

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what if we were to write race together on every starbucks cup and that facilitated a conversation between you and our customers? if a customer asks you what this is try and engage in a discussion that we have problems in this country with regard to race and racial inequality. >> i think it's pretty clear no one has said no to this guy in 25 years. a conversation about race is clearly important, but there's a time and a place. and it is not the length of time it takes to whip up a a

frappacchino. ly think about it best case scenario you get a heartfelt conversation about race going and you get interrupted saying can we solve racism later, i'm late for work? >> i got to the you i'm a huge john oliver fan. i disagree. >> why? >> howard schultz is a visionary. you have a private company forcing itself -- >> is he your client? >> public company oh we. >> is he your client? >> no. forcing the conversation to start a conversation. and what we berate them? here's a company that is trying to, well intentioned, to get the party started and everybody takes dutches on him. i salute howard schultz. >> visionary, he is a lack of racial diversity in top leadership staff, he is not invested his stores in african-american neighborhoods around cities in this country. he could have started there first if he wants to have a serious and authentic genuine conversation. >> if every company tomorrow did what he did, we would be in a

pretty good place. >> we would be yelling at each other. he did not train baristas how to talk. throwing people out there to talk about it? >> you guys are making my job a lot easier. >> without saying no preparation, no -- by the way, there is no preparation. that's whole point. >> unstructured conversation where people aren't me prepared to manage it, i don't sar what his intentions are, it's not obvious. >> i'd like to take this moment -- >> i would think the opposite. >> a white guy and black guy going, huh, what are we supposed to do? >> not before my coffee. >> i'm going to take -- >> race talk. >> i am going to take this moment to say, on this show i stepped in it. i made a mistake. i can't even imagine having an untethered with complete strangers conversation about race in this country when we have the police tensions brewing across and we have young people feeling completely -- >> what are we afraid of? even the more reason why we have to do it.

we can't do it. >> there's a reason -- but you've got to do it strategically, not just throwing people out there. >> we got to get the party started. we should all have ceos like howard schultz. >> who never has been said no. i just know it. coming up at the top of the hour we'll go live to the pentagon for the very latest on the situation in yemen, which has gone from a white house success story to a full u.s. military withdrawal. also isis publishes a kill list with 100 names on it. why some have our courageous men and women in service over seas in increased danger this morning. plus, clay aiken's improbable turn from singing sensation to congressional candidate. he joins us with a look at his new documentary series. just aid head on "morning joe." toenail fungus? don't hide it... tackle it with fda-approved jublia! jublia is a prescription head on "morning joe." to treat toenail fungus. use jublia as instructed by your doctor. once applied jublia gets to the site of infection

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i'm very consistent about spending time with family and you noergs b when you have dinner with your daughters, particularly teenage daughters, they will keep you in your place and they'll teach you something about perspective. >> yes, they will. that's if you're not frightened of them. that happens sometimes, too. aka, dinner last night. welcome back to "morning joe." donny deutsch, dorian warren and sam stein still with us. mike barnicle is here. >> can i just be -- i'm going to be secure and say i love this man. i get happy when you come. i just really -- >> wow. >> sorry, mike. >> i just get happy when i see

mike. i'm sorry. iman enough to say it. >> you get happy when you see mike. >> sam good job. good job on the interview with the president. >> thanks mike. >> sam, we'll get to more of that. >> vacation, that's where your project was? >> good job. we have a lot to get to this hour. just days after a suicide bomb in mosque in yemen, the country appears to be spiraling out of control. prompting the u.s. to evacuate it rest maining troops from the region and yemen's president to call for a, quote, urgent intervention by the u.n. security council. shiite houthi rebels have claimed large parts of the country since they drove out the country's president and over the weekend they seized control of yemen's third largest city, just 85 miles from where yemen's president established a base. just six months ago, if you can imagine, president obama said the fight against terrorism in yemen was a success while he was discussing the assault on isis. >> this counter terrorism campaign will be waged through a

steady, relentless effort to take out isil wherever they exist using our air power and our support for partners forces on the ground. this strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us while supporting partners on the front lines is one that we have successfully pursued in yemen and somalia for years. >> let's go right to nbc news keefe pentagon. correspondent jim miklaszewski where do we stand? >> mika it's incredible that in a matter of weeks yemen is totally unraveled. you know it's bad when 125 u.s. military green berets and nef s.e.a.l.s are forced to vac with it the country. now, those 125 special forces were working at a number of different locations. they were forced to change their locations because of the increasing violence. but ultimately the pentagon the white house said get them the heck out of there. they were conducting surveillance. they were conducting training

missions with the yemenis but now, quite frankly, it almost sounds that death now in terms of any kind of u.s. operations within yemen. here's why that's important. while everybody thinks well, you know that's in yemen. why do we care? the al qaeda and the arabian peninsula centered in yemen is considered the most immediate viable realistic terrorist threat to the united states. they've got the technology the know-how, and the wherewithal to launch large scale terrorist attacks in the united states. primarily through their bomb technology and secreting that somehow on airplanes. they're working at that fult tilt and it has u.s. officials very concerned. >> and then what is the pentagon saying about the hit list that we've been reporting on this morning targeting the u.s. military the isis hit list? >> well, you know it goes to show you that the internet is

isis' most effective and insidious weapon that they can deploy that immediately worldwide to gather recruits. and one of the biggest concerns of intelligence and counter terrorism officials in the u.s. is that some day some random bomber will strike. it's already happening, in tu neisha at a tourist filled museum, in marparis and canada. isis claims it posted the names photos and sud addresses of 100 u.s. service members after it says it hacked into military servers and databases. the group called the islamic state hacking division claimed the 100 americans carried out air strikes against isis targets in iraq and syria. and that they should be killed in their own lands as they walk their streets thinking that they are safe. the terrorist website urged on any potential lone wolf demanding, what are you waiting for? defense officials tell nbc news

the list does include names of some active duty service members, men and women, some deployed overseas some combat pilots. the pentagon is encouraging anyone on the list to exercise caution, but at this time has apparently made no decision to pull them off duty or provide personal protection. officials in the pentagon say there's no evidence that isis hacked into any kind of servers or websites of the u.s. military and government that all these names were out there in the public venue and they consider this not an imminent threat. they think this is more about propaganda and intimidation. but that's the evil of this kind of strategy. you never know for sure when, again, that lone wolf might strike. >> jim, you have iraq syria, and now yemen basically three failed states fracturing an already fractured region of the world. can you give us a handle of what

the mindset within the pentagon among the war planners is for what is going on here? >> mike, i can tell you among the war planners just last week i heard for the first time that they are not optimistic but they are pesz pessimistic about the long term future there in iraq particularly because of the growing involvement by those shia militias backed by iran. here is one of the most disconcerting thing of the war planners here in the pentagon war fighters, too, is that so far we have seen no moderate sunnis join the effort against isis there in iraq. and they claim that this war against isis can never be won without participation by moderate sunnis. and they're hedging their bets they don't see an optimistic outcome to, this either particularly with the involve -- growing involvement of iran

there on the ground in iraq. >> nbc's jim miklaszewski at the pentagon. thank you. ft. lauderdale, four ft. lauderdale florida police officers are without jobs this morning after an internal investigation revealed a racist video and text messages. several text conversations released on friday referenced violence toward african-americans and according to a police report in the investigation, derogatory comments about hispanics and gays. a warning to our viewers, the video's material is offensive produced by one of the officers in the form of a mock movie trailer. it uses the "n" world, shows images of the ku klux klan and police dogs and features a derogatory image of president obama. officers police officers three of the officers involved were fired from the department, the fourth who created the video resigned before the completion of the investigation we. but would have been fired.

also according to the police chief, the fbi has now launched an inquiry into the investigation and the local naacp chapter is calling on the justice department to investigate as well. let's bring in msnbc national correspondent joy reid live from miami. you've got more on this story. what's the latest? >> well, mika, chief everything fra atorly was insistent yesterday that this behavior was limited to the four officers but he did say that the department is continuing to investigate. on the fbi investigation that you mentioned, the chief said they fully intend to cooperate, that they are cooperating with the federal investigation and that he would welcome if there was, in fact the pattern and practice investigation which the local naacp is calling on. he said he would absolutely welcome that and cooperate with it. now, i did ask the chief, mika whether or not he was concerned that perhaps more wide spread behavior of this nature might not come to his attention because other officers feared

isolation, or maybe even retaliation, if they begin to speak about what their fellow officers were doing. this sort of question about police culture. this is what he said. >> i think the people that are true leaders, that are committed to this profession recognizes the value of having the public's trust. and if there's any deviation from that then this is not the profession for them. i don't think there's any room for those particular individuals that's going to say i'm going to sit back as a sworn law enforcement officer and allow something like this to happen and say absolutely nothing about it because i fear retaliation? i don't even think that's a reasonable excuse. personally. and that's just me. >> joy, curious of the make-up of the ft. lauderdale police department in terms of racial

black to white/hispanic. >> i don't know the percentages but this is a diverse police force as obviously the chief is african-american and from that community and the ft. lauderdale community is a heavy african-american community. the police force, the chief says is reflective of the makeup of the community and he insists this is isolated behavior within that department. >> it's interesting. you had a situation like ferguson completely different type of situation in terms of the crime that was committed, but you know you had a racial makeup of the police department that was almost entirely white, if not completely. i think in a way, dorian this is even more of a sign of how deep the problems are when you have a racially mixed police department still dealing with problems as extreme as this and chances are it's not just these four people. >> that's right. and it means that the simple solution of just saying we need more diverse cops is not -- >> that's not the answer. >> that's not the answer. joy, i'm curious.

because you know this region so well, what's the historical context for this? talk to us about have different incidents like this before, this can't just appear in a vacuum. this is all -- >> this is horrible. >> this is against black people latinos, gay people. can you give us context from where this comes? >> i mean obviously throughout the country these sort of racial issues, you know they're not buried anywhere. ft. lauderdale historically was at one time segregated like many cities in the united states, many cities in the south. but ft. lauderdale is a fairly racially diverse community. the parts of the city that are policed by this department include a substantial gay and lesbian population substantial african-american population active naacp. frank adderley, the chief, he talked about, sort of turned and pointed tout windows around the room to the high school he went to, the elementary school he went to, all in that neighborhood. he grew up in that area heavily

african-american. if you want to talk about community policing this is a guy who is literally from the the community, born and raised. so i think that some of these issues don't seem as obvious in florida but, you know it is like any other city in the country. not everyone is necessarily down with the idea of diversity and the kind of racial relations we want. >> that police chief sounds really interesting. i would love to have that conversation. joy, will you try and bring him on tomorrow and come back? >> oh, absolutely. i'm sure he would be happy to do it. >> that would be really really interesting. joy reid thank you very very much. >> thank you. moving on to politics now. senator ted cruz he's made it official. at least on twitter. and more coming today at midnight the senator from texas tweeted, i'm running for president and i hope to earn your support. along with this video. >> it's a time for truth, a time to rise to the challenge, just as americans have always done. i believe in america and her

people, and i believe we can stand up and restore our promise. it's going to take a new generation of courageous conservatives to help make america great again. and i'm ready to stand with you to lead the fight. >> last night the associated press shot these photos of ted cruz and his family. wife heidi and daughters catherine and caroline trying out the liberty university stage where he's going to speak today, becoming the first major candidate to announce a run for 2016. cruz decided to jump the rest of the field. he has some work to do. latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll shows as many republicans couldn't see themselves supporting him as those that could. we'll end it there and open it up to the panel. how does he change the race? go ahead. >> i would like to ask sam stein that. >> go ahead. >> sam, who does he hurt more potentially, scott walker or jeb bush? >> you know i don't think

that's the -- i don't know if that's the right way to view it. i think his affect on the race won't be on one specific candidate but on the conversation as whole. >> yes. >> he will set benchmarks for the party that it won't want to hit and he will move the conversation to a con we tive place that it probably doesn't want to go. we were talking earlier about whether he was this cycle's herman kaine or sarah palin or whatever. i don't think he's comparable to any of these people. i think he's incredibly eloquent. i think he's incredibly smart. i think he will have a lot of legs in iowa where he can relate to a lot of the socially conservative caucus goers there. i don't think he's a viable candidate in the end but i think his impact is felt throughout the entire conversation of the republican primary is going to have. >> sam to your point. i think that is exactly -- we've got to distinguish somebody who creates conversation, who makes noise in iowa versus a true presidential candidate. we've seen this before. we've seen the show before. the beginning, he's going to

steak out his claim, it's clear where it is he does not believe in climate change and other intelligent things like that pd but he will play to a certain base and make noise in iowa. >> don't hold back please. >> i agree. >> >> t. real race will start with that and maybe also play in south carolina and nevada. >> let's be clear about that. >> donny the question is what lingering impact does he have in iowa? what does he do for instance to a jeb bush to make him sdis disavow some of the immigration positions and what candidate in this race decides they have a good stake to say i'm the antited cruz? there is a platform or a republican to run as the anti-ted cruz in this primary because it's such a crowded primary. >> so, sam. >> yes. >> that leads to the dilemma, the quandary the question he is incredibly eloquent. >> yes. >> he is an incredibly powerful speaker. he's going to be a very powerful candidate in these republican primaries. because of his eloquence and stance on some issues that are far to the right of where the

mainstream is in this country, how much does he scare people during the course of the primaries and thus potentially damage the republican's chance in the fall of '16? >> a lot, i think. just look at the impact he had on congressional politics in the past two years. he singlehandedly, maybe not, but he played a huge role in sort of manipulating the house republican caucus into shutting down the government when virtually every single person knew the end game at the beginning, that they would get blamed and the government would be reopened and nothing good would really come of it. and if you can have the power to do that, think about the power you have to operate in the iowa caucus. it's going to be impressive to watch, actually. >> i think there's a bold move for a jeb bush and basically you're going to have to give up a couple of primaries. we all know this country lives just right of center and you go just right of center you will win every election. go too far right, you're never going to win. a candidate with define himself, a jeb bush by okay that's where ted cruz is and salute

some of that but this is where i am and he will get bloodied in a couple of early primaries but he will be a winnable candidate come november. >> we've got more on this ahead. i just -- ted cruz i've met him a few times and i i don't agree with anything that he stands for but i'm not sure he's not going to -- >> don't underestimate him. >> no. >> not for a second. >> he's part of the show. >> he's not -- listen -- last time around donny, we had a freak show. we had a clown show. i was the first to say it. this is not. >> he's sarah palin. >> oh, he is not sarah palin. >> he is. he is. >> donny deutsch, you're wrong. >> he is theater. i am right. >> oh, my lord. >> he is completely unelectable. >> he's not sarah palin. please don't make me explain why he's not sarah palin. >> i'll tell you why, he's good theater. that's why he's sarah palin. that's what sarah palin was. we love the show. okay? >> oh, my god. >> comes time for the grown-up voting. >> i'm going to leave it hanging

there because if i were to explain to you why he's not sarah palin, i would then get killed. >> i'm not saying he's not smarter. i'm saying where he exists in our conscience. would anybody like to make a bet that come november 16 he is not going to be part of the discussion? is there any point to that? it's that simple. >> i'm not willing to. >> still ahead on "morning joe" -- yeah. that's fine. we'll go live to new orleans where there are yet more twists in the case of millionaire murder suspect robert durst. the latest on this freaky case coming up on "morning joe." thank you for being a sailor, and my daddy. thank you mom, for protecting my future. thank you for being my hero and my dad. military families are thankful for many things. the legacy of usaa auto insurance could be one of them. our world-class service earned usaa the top spot in a study of the most recommended large companies in america.

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millionaire murder suspect robert durst will be back in the new orleans courtroom this morning for a bond hearing where defense lawyers plan to argue for his release claiming in part that his arrest was illegal. joining us from new orleans nbc news correspondent stephanie gosk. stephanie, is today's hearing on

the weapons violations or murder charges or what? >> mika, good morning. it's on the weapons charges. it's a basic bond hearing but late on friday durst's lawyer in a bold move filed a motion saying he wants to actually argue the legality of that original arrest warrant out of l.a. for the murder of his friend susan berman. he says that that arrest warrant was based more on the hbo documentary than on actual probable cause. when robert durst appears at a bail hearing in a new orleans courtroom this morning on weapons charges his attorneys will demand an immediate preliminary hearing. those charges were filed after police arrested durst at this new orleans marriott for the murder of his friend susan berman 15 years ago in los angeles. in court documents durst's attorney argues the california arrest warrant was issued without probable cause to coincide with the final episode of the hbodocu drama "the jinx." durst was arrested the night

before the final episode aired. evidence found in the new orleans hotel led police to the home of a long-time friend in new york state where investigators seized 60 boxes of durst's personal possessions. again, just hours before the final episode. >> i think that anybody would be a fool to think there wasn't a connection between the final episode of the series and the arrest of mr. durst. >> reporter: durst's lawyer is also concerned about what happened once his client was in custody saying a los angeles prosecutor spent three hours with him before the houston attorney could fly to new orleans. long-time new orleans lawyer says durst may be tried in louisiana first because the new orleans parish da may feel he has a slam dunk case on the lesser weapons charges versus a harder to prove murder charge in california. >> if robert durst is sentenced to 20 years clearly 15 years, even 10 years in his physical and mental condition and age, it is essentially a life sentence.

>> foray compares the weapons charges actually to the al capone case. remember, authorities went after al capone for years and for murder and got him on tax evasion. for durst's part he says he is not guilty in the murder of susan berman. >> stephanie gosk, thank you very much for that update. new details this morning about jeb bush's 2016 strategy and in particular his efforts to win the state, ran as governor for eight years, the state he ran as governor for eight years. "the new york times" is reporting on the bush team's extensive operation aimed at florida including what could amount to a $50 million spending effort by election day. the times reports bush's florida plan will focus on two potential threats for victory. a likely challenge from miami-born senator marco rubio in the republican primary and a florida demographic shift that could favor the democratic nominee should he reach the general election. >> bring this back to ted cruz? >> please, why not. >> this is a guy thinking about

the white house and he's realizing he's going to go what giuliani wasn't able to do and say i'm going to pass the first few. he knows he has to win florida eventually so why not put all of my chips in and make that my big stand in the primary and in two things work together. that's what a smart strategist looking at end game does. >> well, that brings us to our smart political strategist mike allen coming up soon. ted cruz's presidential announcement sets up a battle over who will carry the conservative mantel and politico reports establishment favorite jeb bush has a problem with conservative radio. joining us from washington the chief white house correspondent for politico mike allen. mike, what's jeb's issue with radio on the right? >> good morning, mika. governor bush's effort to avoid that freak show that y'all were talking about in the last block, that makes him very wary of talk radio. michael cruz of politico who just joined us from down there in florida where both of course governor bush lives and where

rush limbaugh broadcasts his show. points out when jeb bush talks about having adult conversations and wanting to have a positive joyful campaign, that's taking a little shot at the right wing talk show host who don't much like him either. rush limbaugh has said that jeb bush is not a conservative. mark levine liberal republican. and laura ingram has said that he would lose. so he's been keeping his distance from them not doing the talk radio circuit in the way that most republican candidates do. now, we talked to people very close to governor bush who say that he will engage with talk radio but he wants to do it more as a teacher than as preacher. he wants to go on and make his case not go on and argue. >> okay. we'll follow that. meanwhile, mike "the new york times" is reporting this morning, at least shedding new light on hundreds of e-mails that hillary clinton turned over to the house elect committee on

benghazi. u.s. officials tell the piper they show the former secretary of state and aides were increasingly concerned about the fallout from the attack which left four americans dead. but the e-mails do not suggest that clinton was part of a cover-up or told u.s. forces not to respond as some critics have claimed. aides also used personal e-mail to correspond with clinton which appears to contradict her remarks earlier this month. >> it was my practice to communicate with state department and other government officials on their .gov accounts. those e-mails would be automatically saved in the state department system to meet record keeping requirements and that indeed is what happened. >> but in a statement a clinton spokesman said it was the aide's, quote, practice to primarily use their work e-mail when conducting state business with only the tiniest fraction of the more than 1 million e-mails they sent and received involving their personal

accounts. all right. before i go to sam, you're shaking your head and yawning, dorian. >> it's this -- this is the clinton exhaustion factor. >> we were just talking about that. >> you're tired? >> this is exhaustive. how much more of this -- like it's micrononsense. is this -- it's death by a thousand cuts. >> sam, is it micrononsense? >> it's the exhaustion fact we're the clintons. >> mike cononsense or serious questions? >> a bit of both. >> this story is like the perfect personification, the problems she created for herself. the e-mails that are discussed seem fairly innocent or just sort of detached, i guess, where she's asking for articling to be printed out, making sure her images isn't that badly but because of what she did in terms of storing her e-mail on private server and using a private account she will never quiet the critics who will assume there's something out there she's withholding. yes, there is a little bit of

death by a thousand cuts here but it's the problems she created for herself. we're in the news business. we believe that the notion of transparency. and the fact that her e-mails were secret is a problem on that fundamental issue of being transparent. i don't think that's a microissue, i think that's a big issue. >> i think the bigger macro issue is i think she's a victim of been here too long. i think the show comes -- going back to ted cruz it's a show i want to watch even though i don't think he's going to win. there's a fatigue factor. she comes on and you want to change the channel. >> interesting times. mike allen thank you very much. >> thank you, mika. still ahead, it's tough for any political contender to gather voter, especially oh, my gosh i remember bridge over troubled water. that's all i'm going to say. i cried. i did. i cried. i cried. especially when you're better known as crooner than a candidate. take a look. >> i hope if you vote you will consider voting for me. >> i don't know whether i will or not. >> oh, yeah? can i count on you to vote for

me? >> i don't know. i haven't decided. >> you haven't? >> i hope i can count on you to vote for me. i don't think people take me seriously initially. thank you, guys. >> thanks. >> a lot of people want to talk about "american idol." until i can get past that i'm doing to continue to struggle. >> you can't, clay i'm sorry. you just can't get past it. you can't. i love him. >> miss nonculture. >> no i watch "american idol" with my kids every time it was on for about five years. sorry, clay. i know there's more to you. and we're going to get to that. the story behind clay aiken's improbable political bid next on "morning joe."

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tonight is stressful. i've come in second before. i can do it again if i have to. great. >> the polls are open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. tomorrow. i hope you will come out and vote for me. thanks for listening. this is killing me. this is killing me. so he's getting hit with about 40. 41. 40. [ bleep ]. >> 1.1, 156 reporting clay

aiken, 40.99. >> god. you know it's much easier if you just open a damn envelope and say who wins. >> this looks really good. okay. joining us now the subject, not the suspect, you are not a suspect. i promise. the subject -- that was last segment. i'm just so excited because i was just playing it on youtube and it's as good as i remembered it. okay clay. but this now, clay is the "esquire" documentary subject. the runner-up, former congressional candidate, and "american idol" star clay aiken and also with us jonathan chen and this looks -- you got complete access jonathan first of all, and really capture every moment. why did you do this and what ultimately is sort of the message? >> well, the message we i guess we left up to clay.

but when i found out that clay was running for congress i thought it would be an interesting opportunity to take a look at politics from the inside with the candidate that obviously is not known for being political. so i flew down to raleigh, north carolina to convince clay to open up his campaign to documentary crew and after a little bit of back and forth he agreed to do it. but, yeah we had great access to clay and his campaign. >> clay what made you feel like you could let these cameras in because it is as you know -- >> i'm still not sure it was a good idea. >> it's a gutting experience. i mean to choose to run for office, i actually commend anyone and everyone who does it because it is -- >> i know now, yes. >> it's not what it looks like. >> you know it took a lot, as he said. we had several people had asked before and they have an academy award winning resume and i think jonathan's argument was a

lot of people wouldn't see what happens in a congressional race. we've seen what happens in presidential races but to be able to see how much money is involved, how much gerrymandering affects things how much marketing -- there's so much, it's like watching sausage made and a lot of people don't cake for that. i learned as i went. i learned a lot. and i think, you know one of his arguments was to make sure people see how it works and that we ran a very good campaign. >> this wasn't without drama. what happened along the way here. >> yes. >> riveting. >> during the primary that was obviously a lot of drama in that clay's opponent died quite tragically just a few days after the primary election and clay had won the election by a few hundred votes but it was -- it was a little up in the air for a while. >> watching this would you do it again? would you want to run for office again? >> i haven't seen it yet. it's not off the table. i don't think it's something i'm going to do right now. one of the things i think i learned most is that maybe congressional politics especially in this environment

and this climate we're in politically, is not necessarily the way to get things done. >> really? >> really? >> took me that last year to fig their out. >> a challenge. look you were in the center of the universe. when you were on "american idol" and how is it adjusting when the kind of lights move on a bit? obviously you ran for office and that put the lights back on. but i think you're an example now of we have a kind of fame that comes on so strong it doesn't completely go away but it dims as a person is that kind of hard to manage and work with? >> for me i don't think it was as difficult because i went on "idol" before people knew it would be big. our season was the one that blew up. no one knew what to expect. i enjoyed singing. i thought it would be a nice summer camp experience. >> oh, my gosh clay. you were the reason my daughters and i got along for a few years. we watched -- we loved you. i'm telling you. it was your "bridge over

troubled water" which we're going to play because we found it, was, i am serious, absolutely epic. >> you're pop culture. you don't know who forrest gump is. >> you're amazing. the first episode of the four-part series runner-up debuts 10:00/9:00 central on esquire network. thank you so much. and here now is clay on "ai" and thank you so much. good times with my girls. we'll be right back. ♪ bridge over troubled water ♪ ♪ i will lay me down ♪ ♪ so long silver girl ♪

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welcome back to "morning joe" at 41 past the hour. joining us now, decorated veteran elliott ackerman.

he has served multiple tours in iraq and afghanistan, five tours. and is the recipient of the purple heart silver star and bronze star for valor. he is also the author of the new novel" green on blue." i suggest everybody read that. elliott, it's great to have you on the show. we appreciate your service 100 times over. i want to read from your time.com column before we get to the book. >> sure. >> i think this concept is fascinating and it should make all of us think. you say, draft the rich. limiting the draft to the children of the wealthiest and most influential americans will stymie a tolerance for perpetual war on the part of critical decision makers. i would propose that draftees be assigned exclusively within the fields of combat arms infantry engineering, career paths by which -- which by and large have been opened up recently to women and would ensure that no undue influence could be lef rammed to

secure work in areas far from actual fighting. lower and middle class americans will continue to join the military for educational opportunities, but with well to do citizens serving in greater numbers, we would create an all volunteer force which more accurately represents america. so what do we have now? >> i think what we have is a very real civil military divide and a lot has been spoken about that. and you know ultimately if you want to bridge that divide we can all go see all the films you want to see or read all the books you want to read but unless every american has skin in the game that divide is going to continue to exist. >> how do you think the conversation would change? how do you think our foreign policy would change if this actually happened? >> i think right now for instance we're having this conversation about ice says and iraq and whether or not we're going the put boots on the ground in iraq and by and large it's a little bit of an abstraction abstraction. i think if many americans were feeling that that might mean they're 17 18-year-old child would be serving in iraq again, i think it would -- a lot more

people would be paying closer attention. >> you know stan mckrystal has spoken about this quite eloquently general stan mckrystal retired. national serieser isservice of some kind is almost to the point where it needs to be mandatory in this country. as you're probably aware from your service alone, years ago, not that many years ago, it used to be the top half of this country or the top one-third of this country knew people in the lower one-third or one half. that is no longer the case. what impact did it make on you when you joined the marine corps and actually met people from different backgrounds, different races, than you grew up with? >> i think it's the military is a great leveler in terms of bringing people together from different backgrounds and everybody serves. i think there's also much larger impact it would have on our foreign policy. we sit here. we're 15 -- we've had 15 years of war. as a country we're in these

perpetual wars. why is that continuing to happen? every war since the second world war has had a construct. these wars are characterized by all military force and funded largely through deficit spending. nobody has felt them. it's fine but we should have -- i think it's good to have a realization that this is the first time the united states has ever gone to war. >> i sit here with you i'm in awe. >> i am, yeah. >> why did you join up? this is obviously incredibly articulate, bright. i'm guessing you aim came from a fairly well to do background just by listening to you and yet here you are, you enlisted, why? >> i would consider myself for nate son of this country. i joined rotc in 1988 and before 9/11. i wanted a job where i was good at my job or bad at my job, really mattered. i wanted a lot of responsibility. i got that in spades. i was commissioned in the marine corps in 20003 as infantry officer. it was an interesting year to

come in and served for eight years. ultimately to me it's about as a nation, you know we export a foreign policy that is heavily influenced by our military. is that the type of country we want to be do we want to be a country that fights wars in these ways? i don't know but i hope that's a conversation we can begin to have. >> memory bracelet? >> yes. and my daughter. >> who is the bracelet? >> a friend of mine lieutenant dan malcolm. we fought to the in the second battle fallujah and he basically was our weapons officer and artillery observer who was killed on a rooftop by a sniper trying to call off artillery rounds landing on our platoon. 25. >> married? >> fiance. >> the book is "green on blue." elliott ackerman, thank you so so many ways. still ahead, time to pull out apparently i'm really going to do this after this incredible conversation, we'll be right back. and multi-layered security. it's how you stay connected to each

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last chance for villanova. trying to get it to overtime. nope. and nc state is headed to the sweet 16. >> and another man -- and that is a three. 78-65 victory. >> shot clock at 4:00.

grant to the rack and it goes! >> so good in this situation. >> wow. >> takes the long one. >> ooh! really? >> to the regional. some of the biggest games in the ncaa tournament round of 32 over the weekend. one seed villanova, knocked out saturday by michigan state. two seeds, virginia and kansas going home early after elimination yesterday. the sweet 16 matchups start this thursday. how many brackets are alive? you have a bracket? >> no. i had georgia state going all the way. >> oh. i'm always big ten. michigan state's the limit. >> your bracket? >> i'm watching clay aiken. i'm sorry. he was awesome. >> not participating? >> i had wofford going all the way. >> can i just say, it is, mike you follow a couple sports. there is no better event than the ncaa -- >> it's great. >> just the energy, the passion.

it is just -- by the way. >> the predictability, 11 million -- >> and i'll hit the brackets. >> and that's why that bracket's alive. >> what is he doing here? >> he's alive. >> i could have been -- >> all of your brackets are busted. so we'll return to mika's first love. >> oh please. tell me about football. >> march madness is massive, but this weekend biggest in the world, 645 million homes watch this game. 16 172 countries, makes the super bowl look -- both teams, not so good this season. both battles to crack the top four, crucial for economic reasons in english football. manchester united took first blood. beautiful ringwald even and -- >> what? >> look at him. like a little beanie baby mika. >> you are weirder than me. molly ringwald and beanie babies

in the same sentence. >> gorgeous. liverpool trying to respond, the captain, lasted just 38 seconds. think derek jeter in his last game against the red sox being ejected in the first inning. he's coming to mlx in june. he'll bring his surreal brand of magic to our shore, surely. united wraps up the game with look at this. barnicle. gorgeous. like cirque du soleil. only tatum channing has moves like that. and beat liverpool 2-1. look that. it's gorgeous. >> roger, do you know who mookie betts? >> related to mookie wilson? >> no. no not really. no. >> he's the center fielder for the boston red sox who own liverpool. >> yes. >> how does 645 million -- where did you get that number? 645 million people watch this? >> it's called rating. i'll tell you, it's what --

>> thank you for explaining. >> liverpool in the first place, they realized they were obsessed with the super bowl obsess wd baseball but saw the numbers for english premiere league worldwide and realized they could take the red sox like dunkin' donuts, new ballans andance and chelsea leads. eight games to play. six points ahead. can we just see that goal? it is gorgeous. >> can we go back to a real sport? >> oh donny deutsch, stick to brooklyn. >> please, please. >> play that for donny deutsch, he wants to see it. >> look tat. action. look at this. more goals like this oh! even donny doifeutsch would like to start football. >> can we just so kentucky going -- >> they need better uniforms. >> they do. jimmy mcmoor pec show. danny deutsch, football world

championship. >> i was doing better listening to clay aiken. >> and the story, it's going to be great. >> i have noed? what just happened but everyone needs to be quiet now. i don't get it. i could -- i could listen to him all day, no idea what he's talking about. >> none. but it's transfixing. >> get out of his segment. >> moving on roger bennett, thank you very much. thank you. be quiet. up next yemen. the country that president obama once held up at the model of success in the fight against isis. now on the brink of civil war. nbc's richard engel joins us on-set. and the knives are out as senator ted cruz prepares to normally announce his bid for the white house. plus as one senator jumps into the race there's an attempt to drag another one in kicking and screaming. why the boston globe says democrats need senator elizabeth warren or at least someone like her.

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it's 8:00 on the east coast. 5:00 a.m. on the west coast. with us on set, donny deutsch. try to wake up. you have a show to do. dorian warren richard engel and sam stone on capitol hill. get to your interview with praed president obama. good job on that. first, disturbing report from

isis. kill american soldiers. a group published names, pictures, alleged addresses of active and retired military personnel online. the group claimed 100 americans carried out air strikes against isis targets in iraq and syria and they should be killed as a result. defense officials tell nbc news that the list includes names of some active duty service members including some combat pilots. the pentagon has not yet made a decision to pull them off duty at this time. richard what do you make of this? >> mostly a scare tactic. i've spoken to military officials. they're not overwhelmingly concerned about it, frankly, saying no classified data bases were hacked. it's mostly an isis list put together from photographs online put together a list and compiled it with public access

information and added home addresses. it's incitement to violence. calming on people to commit murder against these military personnel, but it doesn't seem to be like an active plot or they have real information or have the real capability to do this. it'sen citement. >> circle back to thousand relates how it relates to this nextdeveloping. yemen, country appearings to are spiraling out of control prompting the u.s. to evacuate remaining troops from the region and yemen's president to call for urgent intervention by the u.n. security council. drove out the country's president and over the weekend seized control of yemen's third largest city just 85 miles from where yemen's president established a base. just six months ago president obama said the fight against terrorism in yemen was a success while discussing the assault on

isis. >> this counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a steady relentless effort to take out isil wherever they exist using our air pow around our support for partners' forces on the ground. this strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us while supporting partners on the front lines is one that we have successfully pursued in yemen and somalia for years. >> this is, at this point, extremely disturbing what's happening in yemen, given those comments. >> i'm much mariaore concerned about yemen than the isis hit list. the hit list is bad, hopefully no one will act upon it but the situation in yemen, a state in collapse. yemen, right on the border of saudi arabia could become the new syria. since february the government in yemen has been in a state of free-fall. it has been forced to be on the run, almost a government in

exile, battling with a shiite rebel group calmed the houthis. as the government and houthis fight for control, normally this would be the kind of civil war you snee a lot of middle eastern and african countries, things that happen. but as these two sides are fighting foyer their own survival and control of the country isis is moving in and is establishing a bigger base, and is using the chaos to try and firmly embed itself into yemeni society and just on friday carried out five suicide attacks and killed around 145 people. this is a real dangerous situation. >> dorian? >> richard, what's the role of saudi arabia in helping to as our ally helping to manage this conflict? >> saudi arabia does not want this conflict to bleed over into the kingdom. it wants to back the u.s.-backed government. it wants to get rid of the houthi rebels.

it wants to have a negotiated settlement with a government returning to order and things go back to normal. unfortunately, that might be wishful thinking at this stage. the houthi's keep taking more and more power. the government's position gets weaker and weaker and like i said as these two sides battle it out for control extremists, in particular in this case isis are making hay while they're -- >> we watch this while there's ongoing negotiations with iran and of course the relationship with israel which is poisonous, some describe. israel's president is holding a second round of talks today about forming the new israeli government. but it appears u.s. and israeli officials are still focused on what happened in the run-up to that country's elections. president obama is finally speaking out in a wide-ranging interview with the huffington post including criticizing prime minister benjamin netanyahu for warning that israeli arabs were out voting "in droves." >> we indicated that that kind

of rhetoric was contrary to what is the best of israel's traditions. that although israel was founded based on the historic jewish homeland and the need to have a jewish homeland israeli democracy has been premised on everybody in the country being treated equally and fairly. >> president obama also says netanyahu jeopardized a possible peace deal by vowing palestinians would not have a state, if he is prime minister. >> i did indicate to him that we continue to believe that a two-state solution is the only way for the long-term security of israel if it wants to stay both a jewish state and democratic. we take him at his word when he said that it wouldn't happen during his prime ministership, and so that's why we've got to evaluate what other options are

available to make sure that we don't see a chaotic situation in the region. >> going to bring sam in in a second. his interview. anyone here at the table see any value at this point in the president being conciliatory towards netanyahu at this time? he's being criticized. john mccain is saying get over your tantrum. i'm not sure things have worked that well in terms of the relationship with netanyahu as it stands. and why be conciliatory? to what end? >> well you also have to engage in the art of diplomacy. >> yes, there is that. >> forming a government he is the israeli government or going to put together a coalition, and lead israel for the next several years. so while you can have your position and your disagreements, you're going to have to also work with the u.s.' closest ally in the region.

coming out, having this big spat in public what it is now become almost a tabloid story where the two men don't like each other personally and are making jabs nap might not necessarily advance the -- >> no. in fact, donny, it's been described, on all the sunday talk shows when folks were talking about the relationship between obama and netanyahu they used the word poisonous. i heard it over and over again. toxic, poisonous. at this point the relationship -- >> the not a gossip column. at the end of the day. who cares? they don't have to get along or love each other they clarely don't have a lot of chemical chemistry. that happens in world relation. okay? we're all adults here. if you're going to have that strategic relationship, everyone says there is that strategic relationship between the united states and egypt -- >> shared intelligence these things can happen. >> that hasn't stopped at all. the relationship between -- >> the basis of it. >> the u.s. military and the intelligence -- >> sam, you interviewed the

president. we're bedfellows israel like it or not. as a ceo of this country he'd gauss to do business with the ceo of israel. simple as that. is he getting over it? will he? what did he have to say? >> he made a point to stress this was going to continue no matter what, to richard's point's disagreements whatever was said in the leadup to the campaign wouldn't stop that. elements from going forward of the relationship but i would say it's very clear to the administration at least this isn't just tabloid stuff. when the prime minister of israel came to congress to specifically lobby against an iranian nuclear deal, the president, it appears, took that very personally and, you know it wasn't something that he took lightly, and we talked about it a bit in the interview. one thing. i was struck by when we talked what angered him almost more than the prime minister's comments about a two-state

solution or the lack thereof in his time as leader of israel was the prime minister's comments about arab voters. i think the president took it very -- someone who obviously we obviously have our own issues with race in this country and the president experienced probably more than anyone he took that very seriously. he thought that was you know insulting essentially, to a wide swath of israeli voters and that's not necessarily a gossipy thing to speak out about. that's about minority rights in the one democracy in the middle east. >> i totally agree the fundamental issues aren't the gossipy part. there are real issues at stake here. how the u.s. sees the -- >> either changed or lied about his position. number one and two, race baited. can i just say it? >> talking about the real issues. >> those are real issues yes. >> but the idea of focusing on the personal chemistry between the two men -- >> no. i was saying poisonous in a real

way, actually. not whether or not they like each other or are in or out. talking about what damage has been done, by the way, in part by the republican party who fed into this and fed the flames to make sure this damage happens, and now we have a situation where the relationship's uncomfortable. >> mika it wasn't just the republican party. a lot of democrats, like myself line up with bebe arpd agreed with what he had to say and obviously a lot of grandstanding. >> do you think he was honest before and after his election about a two-state solution? no. >> i think he's -- he is who he is and pretty straightforward all along and i think that the republicans are really set up in 2016, because a lot of this country does line up with where bebe is. >> straightforward. just like that it is presidential campaign season. once again. senator ted cruz made it official on twitter. at midnight the senator from texas tweeted, i'm running for president, and i hope to earn your support. and then he sent along this video. >> it's a time for truth.

a time to rise to the challenge, just as americans have always done. i believe in america and her people and i believe we can stand up and restore our promise. it's going to take a new genre generation of courageous conservatives to help make america great again. and i'm ready to stand with you. to lead the fight. >> wow. >> can i just throw up now? >> now stop. donny deutsch. >> can i just throw up now? i've said a lot of things on this show but never that. >> jumping in. earlier, these photos of cruz and his family wife, heidi, daughters katherine and caroline trying out the liberty university stage where he will speak today, becoming the first major candidate to announce for president in 2016. now, cruz decided to jump the rest of the field and he has work to do the latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll shows as nearly republicans couldn't see themselves supporting him as those that

could but will the early entrance help him? according to bloomberg no candidate to announce their run for president first has won since 1952. we'll see if that changes. joining us from the campus in lynchburg, virginia. msnbc political correspondent kasie hunt. kasie? >> mika good morning. well today cruz is finally going to dispense with that will he or won't he game that we've seen from the presidential race so far. his advisers are hoping that by going first he'll be able to win back some of the attention that lately has been focused on his rivals. >> the miracle of america began with a revolutionary idea which is that our rights they don't come from government. they come from god almighty. >> reporter: a badly kept secret goes public. texas senator ted cruz is running for president. >> we're working to build a grass roots army in iowa and across the country. >> reporter: cruz worked on george w. bush's presidential campaign. won a long shot senate bid in

2012 and led a marathon fill la buster that became one of the unforgettable moments leading up to the government shutdown. >> do you like green eggs and ham? i do not like them sam i am. i do not like green eggs and ham. >> reporter: it made him popular as home. along the way he alienated many in his own party. >> if standing for liberty and standing for the constitution makes you a wacka bird then count me a proud wacka bird. >> reporter: he will launch at the baptist college founded by jerry falwell. >> because i'm a democrat i don't vote republican i vote christian. >> reporter: the venue underscores cruz's focus on evangelical christian voters and they're showing up to support him. >> bearing down in the 20th paragraph of that article is a paragraph that said that there will substantially larger groups crowds, the voters that came out when i was there that had come out for either jeb bush

or scott walker and there was more enthusiasm. in the world of journalism that used to be called news. >> reporter: students here at liberty university are required to attend today's convocation. we should be seeing a pretty large crowd and the student newspaper reported that he actually bumped virginia governor terry mcauliffe out of this slot when he told the university last week that he wanted to come here and make this announcement. mika? >> all right. kasie, here we go. thank you very much. >> reporter: here we go. thank you. >> vie a question for the table. is he the herman cane? the 999 of this election? is he the, i don't know rick perry? >> the sarah palin. in a sense. he's a side show. >> you stop it. i'm telling you. >> he's unelectable. it's very, very simple. when you look at the swing states the way the demographics are moving in ohio and colorado a character like this who says things -- >> character? >> character. exactly. no such thing as climate change. basically, his first few gleersyears

in senate, no legislation. >> government shutdown. >> complete obstruction. which is not what this country is about and done nothing but run for president. i find him offensive. i find his completely against the grain where this country wants to go. a difference between running to president and the 18-month game show that leads to do up. he's part of the game show. >> one instinct i wouldn't underestimate him. >> i agree. >> i think this guy is really really smart. i don't agree with a thing he says. >> and you think he has a chance to be a serious contender? >> that's a -- >> i'm not saying he's not smart. he's a u.s. senator. >> i wouldn't underestimate him having a big impact in this election and not being the 999. i'm just saying. that's my instinct. we'll see. we'll see. maybe you're right, donny. still ahead on "morning joe," i don't know why, but dan see senor is joining us.

why he says president obama's reaction to the outcome is down right absurd. oh. oh. this is going to be good. plus, the boston globe says democrats need elizabeth warren the voice in the 2016 presidential race. the ed tours of papers editorial page our guest. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. e. ♪ ♪ ♪ their beard salve is made from ♪ ♪ ♪ sustainable tea tree oil and kale... you, my friend, recognize when a trend has reached critical mass. yes, when others focus on one thing you see what's coming next. you see opportunity. that's what a type e does. and so it begins. with e*trade's investing insights center, you can spot trends before they become trendy. e*trade. opportunity is everywhere.

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this story hits close to home for me. there isn't a newsroom across new york or several other big cities that isn't mourning the loss of an incredible journalist and person. lisa coal la grossy a veteran reporter died of a brain hemorrhage just after covering a story. she handled all the news beats from extreme weather to her

beloved new york rangers, she was on the scene of the crash of flight 587 in queens and reported from manhattan after the attack on the world trade center. aside from her impressing reporting in cleveland and orlando, her most important role was that of a mother and wife. friends and colleagues note her unwavering love and pride of her two young sons. she was all about her kids. she chose the morning shift, she could have gotten off of it several times getting up at 2:00 in the morning to go to work but wanted that job to get home to her boys. lisa colagrossi was 49 years old. let's turn now to some of the other morning papers. the "new york times." seven children aged 5 through 16 were killed in a fire in brooklyn this weekend. according to officials, the fire was sparked by a hot plate that malfunctioned sending flames ss racing up the stairway where the

family slept no smoke detectors on the first and second floors. the oldest mother and daughter survived by leaping from a second-story israel. the remains will the flown to israel for burial. and san francisco 49ers, shocking the sports world announcing retirement from the nfl after one season citing concerns about the long-term effects of repeated head trauma. borland spoke about his sdgs on "face the nation" yesterday. >> to me the decision was simple after i had done a lot of research and it was personal. i was concerned about neurological diseases down the road if i continued to play football. there was a moment in camp i probably sustained a mild concussion and nothing detrimental to my health immediately but changed was i viewed the risks of my chosen profession. to play one year is not a cash grab add i've been accused of, paying by three-fourths of my signing bonus, this to me is about health and nothing else.

i nerve played the game for money or attention. i love fuchootball and had a blast. i don't regret the last ten years of my life at all. do it over exactly the same way. >> gave up three quarters of his bonus. he really wants to move on. >> two parts to this story. obviously the part in bill karins talking about early young kids that play football and obviously he chose health which is unusual. but the fact that he also didn't have to gave back three quarters of his signing bonus. talk about quality of character of an individual? >> and a message. >> this guy should run for office. i like that kid. seriously. that is a really -- that is the -- that is a side bar to the story but really talks to who this young man is. >> i like him. wondering, does the move send a message strong enough to be what is a money-making machine -- >> unfortunately, a very rare exception. too much money and for a lot of the kids playing it's the only way. a kid that probably has alternatives and some of these kids don't. >> all right. nbc.com now. you cannot beat this delivery service.

pope francis received a hand-delivered pizza as he rode the popemobile through the streets of naples italy, on saturday in ap recent interview the pope said that as much as he enjoys being the pontiff, he missed the anonymity that allowed him to walk to a local pizzeria for a slice. look at this. ah thank you. i'm going have my pizza now. i love him. and lastly the associated press, 14 gamblers are heading to court to keep the 1.5 million dollars won at an atlantic city casino coming after they were ordered to return the cash when the casino unknowingly used unshuffled cards at the tables. no. not fair. they get the money. >> that's it. >> sorry. come on. >> the gambler said -- >> idiots. shouldn't be held responsible for the casinos mistake. adding the notion no jackpot is ever safe. the judge heard the motion but did not issue a decision. give the money to the people or

close down your casino. >> golden nugget in atlantic city has much bigger problems. >> exactly. >> just trying to stay alive. >> i'm not for gambling. it's table. up next kasie hunt conversation with press secretary josh earnest is ahead. and senior editor for "texas monthly." why the venue picked for a big speech today is a misstep. keep it right here on "morning joe." assat handles like a dream. go ahead... step on it. yeah? yeah! that turbo engine packs a punch, right? oh yeah. pinch me. okay... and on passat models you can get a $1,000 volkswagen credit bonus. one more time. pinch me. it's not a dream. it's the volkswagen stop dreaming, start driving event. stop dreaming, do it again. and test-drive one today. hurry in and you can get 0% apr plus a $1000 volkswagen credit bonus on 2015 passat and jetta models. there's nothing more romantic than a spontaneous moment.

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it is 27 past the hour. welcome back to "morning joe." now just a couple hour away from senator ted cruz's speech at liberty university in virginia where he will formally announce his candidacy for president. joining us now from austin senior editor for texas monthly, erica greeter. erica, okay first of all what would be some of the best arguments on how ted cruz would be a positive force in the republican primary? funny. no sound. go ahead. try that again, erica? >> i'm trying. >> got it. >> i think, you know historically he's been one of the rare tea parties who can actually unite the tea party. the liberty university thing today seems a little like a

dangerous move for me because he's going to one side of the conservative party not the entire group. >> that's the location of his speech, where he's making the announcement? >> right. jerry falwell's university culture world academy. risks losing people like libertarians, non-social conservatives, the rest with issues like obamacare. >> how important is that issue? one of this signature accomplishments or issues maybe not accomplishment. and it stays with him. he still talks about it to this day. is that going to help or hurt him? >> i think it helps. the issue that united states the entire party not just the conservative part of the party. still popular with republicans, evergreen issue. 16 may be the last time presidential issue but still counts this cycle. >> donny? >> i've stated completely unelectable, no place at the table. unelectable for a hoet ofst of

reasons. basically, accomplished nothing. involved in two bills and a vote in the senate. 272 votes. he's an obstructionist, bring nos new ideas to the table, other than, no and i think this country is tired of that, and am i missing something? because i think he's just a piece of theater and nothing more. >> i think in a way he has the problem obama had, that he hasn't been in congress that long. the type of experience he wants eastern somebody running for president, hasn't had time to amass that and not the inclination to amass that experience. a young, smart guy. very smart guy and very very good tactician. >> back to smart guy. everybody is saying -- >> he's really smart, donny. >> a guy basically saying that climate change is not a fact. >> i understand that. >> that's not smart. that dumb. that's ignorance, not smart. >> go ahead, erica. >> hasn't quite said that. he says his quotes including

last week on your show, you asked him. he's very, verifyy precise and hasn't said the dumb things he's accused of saying. he's careful about what he says. >> uh-huh. no, no no. i believe you. i actually -- i actually think he's a force to be reckoned with. i really do. >> you saw him last week for the first time. >> yeah, he was on and he was -- i didn't agree with a word he said but i don't think he is like some of the batch we had last time around. >> i think he's worse that fit into the category you talk about. >> worst. scary, dangerous, slimy and bringing no fresh ideas. >> erica greeter, thank you so much. we'll watch that big announcement today. ted cruz announcing his candidacy for president. the first to jump in on the republican side. now to the democratic field. from boston interim editor of the boston globe, alan page.

a bold ask in this sunday's paper saying democrats need elizabeth warren's voice. the staff wroeftte democrats would make a midtake if they let hillary clinton coast as the only candidate and liz wethelizabeth warren can make sure that doesn't happen. she ought to reconsider. if she sticks to her refusal, help recruit candidates to provide voters with a vigorous debate on her signature cause, reducing income inequality over the next year. so i take it the paper has made a clear stand on this. do you think it's going to -- do you think she's going to run? >> well we don't know. we know she's a spokesperson and a very effective one for income inequality, and it's early. but we do believe that these

ideas deserve a full-throated hearing in a presidential primary. >> i don't necessarily disagree with your piece, so i'm not going to pretend i don't. but i'd like to ask you what your piece is also saying without saying it, about hillary clinton? >> well we're saying you can't have a conversation with yourself. and hillary will be the better for having a strong a strong opponent in the primary. presidential primaries are a stress test, and it's a chance for candidates to hone their message. we think that should happen here. >> all right. i want to go to sam stein. what is hillary clinton's message? ten seconds or less. >> ah. that's impossible. i don't think she has a message. >> okay. >> i have a question for ellen. >> no no. sam. i have -- >> very important question for ellen. critically important to this whole conversation. ellen, there are two other

people potentially running for president. it's not a conversation with herself. someone named bernie sanders in a state north from you, martin o'malley why did nor editorial page not encourage them to enter more forcefully? >> we believe senator warren already has the national profile and leadership that they do not. or have not yet established. >> okay. >> ellen, thank you, sam, back to you. a follow-up question to my what's hillary's message ten seconds or less you had nothing say. what's elizabeth warren's message? ten seconds or less? >> i was ignoring your question to ask my question. hillary clinton's question will probably be gender specific to be honest because she'll be a historic candidate. unlike 2008, she rarely mentioned the historic nature you can see it in what she's doing whether on twitter, bring a perspective to the presidency

never brought before. that's her message. >> 14. uh-huh. >> it was close. not bad. >> trying to make a point. one has a message, the other doesn't. and we need to get hillary clinton -- >> it's very true. >> very true. >> sam does it surprise you in this gray land of ours there are no other up and coming democrats? so many interesting characters on the republican side. young, you know of various races, various points of view and you would think there would be a governor somewhere, there would be a mayor of a city. >> where are you going to get the money? >> i'm just -- >> why would you want to do it? >> donny's right. first time in the show he's right, but this is a huge problem for democrat. it's they don't have a bench. who is there? we saw jerry brown on "meet the press" yesterday, and he's having a great run as california's governor. he's too old. even said it himself. he's too old in respect is not a young, viable democratic bench out there, in part because of the mid-term losses obama sustained. and in part because of gerrymandering.

there's not -- this is a problem that's talking about with increasing alarm. >> thank you. still ahead, president obama's criticism of israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, is it part of a larger plan? former bush policy advise rer dan senor says, yes and joins us next to explain why. in small business you have to work hard, know your numbers, and stay focused. i was determined to create new york city's

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everybody in the country being treated equally and fairly. they're trying to make this about the prime minister netanyahu. it's not about him. it's not about the administration. this is about the mutual concern we have for iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. but i will tell you that the special relationship that america has with the israeli people transcends any of the politics. this administration should be better than this that prime minister netanyahu has been re-elected. we have a unique relationship and we should build that instead of trying to make it personal. >> really we should but unfortunately, the republicans interfered with what is the white house's job, which is to be on the front lines of diplomacy. thank you very much, kevin mccarthy. good morning. hi, dan g. to see you. >> good to see you. >> really? >> yeah. >> dan senor is here and you say the white house criticism is

actually part of a larger listening to the president asked the question and answering it in a measured way, rhetoric con contrary to what is the best of israel's tradition. what's wrong with saying that? that's not the white house lashing out at netanyahu? >> first of all, this president has a history of not lecturing other countries, what's in the best interests of their tradition, whether it's turkey russia. he doesn't beat up putin or others congratulated putin after the election the iranian leadership after its election in 2009. pretty disciplined in the past not making these sorts of statements. he's fixated on what netanyahu said at the 11th hour of a heated tough election campaign which the president knows full well candidates say things unartfully in the heat of campaigns and the idea that after the campaign once the prime minister is clarifying what he's saying 23409not going let the prime minister clarify, hold him to something he said at the

11th hour. >> there's unartful and race baiting and telling something that is not true. those are different things dan senor. >> this was not race baiting. that's a little outrageous mika. >> how do you describe it? >> the parties, netanyahu worried about supporting a national government in israel support unity with hamas, support an iranian nuclear arms deal that the israelis are very worried about. netanyahu was not marginalizing the voters turning out for the parties, using it as basis to get his vote out. the way he articulated it was unartful but that's not what's really going on here. what's really going on here is the president is trying to delegitimize netanyahu, and the reason he wants to delegitimize netanyahu is because netanyahu is the most articulate obstacle to the president's marketing his arms nuclear arms deal. >> dan dan, wait a minute. back up here. there were five other nations in

on this iranian deal. why is it that spokespeople for whatever cause on the other side never mentioned fact that it's five other nations? it's not just president obama. it's not just the united states. >> have you heard anything from those five nations? the president made this about him. in fact, france right now the leadership of france is expressing deep concerns about this nuclear arms deal. they're part of the p5+1. >> why are they expressing deep kearns about it? could it be because the fabric of the agreement thus far, there's no agreement, but the fabric of the negotiations thus far has been completely torn asunder by bebe netanyahu? >> you're suggesting he's shaping -- >> no. suggesting strongly the five other nations are looking at the united states thinking they can't get anything done. >> thank you. and don't have it together. just don't. >> 45 republican senators basically signing a letter we want to be -- match fn they send a letter during len lise

negotiations and stop it -- >> slow down. slow down. do you think that the republican senators and many democrats, by the way, like bob menendez and chuck schumer, do you think republican democratic senators the israeli government the government of france they have a right, these criticisms they're laying out our legitimate? >> absolutely. >> the prime minister commands an audience to make the case against this arms deal. >> which audience? >> the american audience. >> how did he do that? >> through congress. >> because the speaker of the house has his own foreign policy. >> hold on. over 70% of the american pub lk according to public polls believe the deal discussed would lead to an iranian missile and are uncomfort to the deal. it's not inconsistent with where the american public is. >> all right. >> i disagree with the tactic but ay glee where iagree where he's coming from. >> so when the prime minister makes the case against the deal a, consistent with where the public is and, b, the administration has a real

problem because they don't want this debate in public. let me ask you this question. why won't the administration put a final deal to the u.s. congress? >> because the deal isn't done yet. >> saying when there's a deal they won't put it before congress. >> you think congressional oversight? >> yes, i do. >> wow. >> we'll have to end this brzezinski style. take your jackets off, roll your sleeves up we're going out on the front lawn. you're going down. coming up move over twitter. so 2012. kasie hunt is back with more on how meerkat is drawing its way into the 2016 conversation. keep it right here on "morning joe." your mom's got your back. your friends have your back. your dog's definitely got your back. but who's got your back when you need legal help? we do. we're legalzoom, and over the last 10 years, we've helped millions of people protect their families and run their businesses. we have the right people on-hand

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meerkat shows how much the campaign trail is changing this year. it's just an thapapp that show as live stream through your twitter feed. it's easy, loads in 30 seconds. >> what is the over/under on candidacies will be ruined by meerkat. >> i don't know. halperin looking at your meerkat right now and -- the good thing is it only adds 800 pounds. that's the good news. >> you look fantastic. >> mike allen, get that off me. stop it right now. there you go.

and mike allen, you're doing -- this is awful. this is just the worst -- >> that's "morning joe" on friday discovering the live streaming app meerkat. it does kind of widen the face out just a tad bit. >> a tad? >> yeah. >> details. >> details. okay. >> you look like john candy. >> john candy reference. >> i loved john candy. i miss him. >> so do i. >> he look goods. if 2012 was dominated by twitter, 2016 might be dominated by meerkat. meow. we explain. >> officially my first meerkat interview and the first meerkat interview any press secretary. morning history. >> reporter: history from your iphone the promise of meerkat making everyone a broadcaster. >> that's our jokes right there. >> reporter: jimmy fallon's letting viewers in on his rehearsals. actors and rock stars meerkating and likely presidential

candidates rand paul and jeb bush are using it too. >> i'm going to be a happy warrior warrior. >> reporter: it's clear the 2016 presidential run will be here. >> the 47% with him, who believe they are victim. >> reporter: why is meerkat different? push one button and you're live to all your twitter followers. it's an instant personal connection that could quickly turn into a very public embarrassment. >> be prepared for everything to be live. i think the challenges, there is no more -- the concept of everything being off the record is gone. >> reporter: the potential reward, a new audience that might never tune in the old-fashioned way. >> 2000 people. >> yeah. >> that's a lot. >> the show goes to millions and millions of people. we have almost 2,000 people watching on -- that. >> reporter: and if meerkat's

makers have their way that audience will only grow into the future. >> oh, my gosh. kasie, what if you butt meerkat somebody. you know what i mean? what i'm talking about? press the button. >> last night campbell explained to me how it worked demonstrating it to me and like i want to show you but i'm scared i'm accidentally going to press the button and our conversation sitting there -- >> always have your clothes on when you're meerkating is that what you're saying? >> always. >> right. >> note to self. >> sure of that. checked that out. >> this is not progress. >> all right. this is not progress. i am not getting -- i just know i would that at the wrong time. like yelling at my kids oh, oh, no. they would do it to me. already done it. snap chat immediate yelling at them. >> that's something i hadn't thought of. >> dirty pool. >> senate chatting parents or whoever else. a dangerous new technology. >> trust me some of my

meltdowns are on snap chat. kasie is on lynchburg there for the big announcement. what are we seeing? >> reporter: yes. please forgive, there is drumming going on in the background. it's the christian rock band warming up for the convocation which is the weekly gathering here at liberty university that all of the students at liberty are actually going to be required to attend this morning to come see ted cruz give his big presidential announcement. >> incredible. kase looking forward to your report tomorrow. be careful with that meerkat. >> i will. >> what if anything did we learn today? i think we learned something. no one thinks they're going to be in an accident. which is why no one wants insurance. so we go cheap.

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what if we were to write, race together on every starbucks cup and that facilitate add conversation between you and our customers and if a customer asked you what this is try and engage in a discussion that we have problems in this country with regard to race and racial inequality. >> i think it's pretty clear, no one has said no to this guy in 25 years. a conversation about race. it's clearly important. but there's a time and place. and it is not the length of time it takes to whip up a tiramisu frappuccino. think about it. best case scenario a

conversation about race going to have it justifiably interrupted by someone saying can we solve racism later, i'm late for [ bleep ] work! we begin in israel. dramawise, the opposite of kand darr canada. netanyahu looks here to stay. the problem he has, how will he convince the u.s. he's a credible partner for negotiation giving he explicitly said he would not allow a two-state solution but only a one-state solution. >> i don't want a one-state solution. i want a sustainable peaceful two-state solution but for that circumstances have to change. >> impressive. a michael jackson level of walking backwards. he just demonstrated the verbal gymnastics of a guy caught being too honest on his first date. i don't want kids. wait hold on. do you want kids? i love kids! okay. really, that crystallizes it. >> i disagree. >> what did you learn today? >> i learned that mike barnicle

is probably the last person on the planet earth to use meerkat. how long? a year, five years? >> i don't want to see it. that's all i have to say. >> nots happening. >> it's not happening. >> sam stein. >> i learned donny deutsch will make a big, old check to the ted cruz presidential campaign starting today. >> so sweet of you. ten grand. >> i don't understand. it's bold, it's a shot and -- that's not dumping on companies that are trying to make a difference. >> a bad idea. >> i think a great idea. >> that's cool. >> come on. >> what have you learned? >> buy green on blue by elliot ackerman. marine corps buy this book. >> and what i learned. given elizabeth warning is in headlines today -- >> i just wanted to do that. >> wow. that was just weird. just weird. >> no no. >> this is not a good time to talk about knowing your value. actually. never mind. >> i was going to say -- >> moving on? >> tickets on sale but -- you

know elizabeth warren -- >> come on. you felt something. >> oh -- >> you felt something. i felt something. >> dan felt something. >> i didn't feel anything. good morning. i'm jose diaz-balart. first on the "rundown," official. 9 the 2016 president's race is on. ted cruz, the first candidate to formally announce a white house run. we expect to hear from him in about an hour. he first broke the news just after midnight by releasing a video message on twitter. >> it's going to take a new generation of courageous conservatives to help make america great again. and i'm ready to stand with you. to lead the fight. >> cruz will launch his president's campaign with a speech at liberty university. these are pictures of the senator an