rex tillerson set to speak to the state department as its new leader. he was sworn in last night. secretary of defense james mattis is in south korea on his first overseas trip since being sworn in. while in "morning joe" starts right now. .. it's just iv what is that? >> appropriate. >> very excited this morning no two reasons.

punk tawny phil. >> did not help relations with this hamlet of pennsylvania when de blasio said he deserved to kill him. >> what are you going to do? >> thursday, february 2nd. >> i'm not sure why you're throwing the show this way but that is okay. >> it's groundhog's day! >> please do not. >> with us on set, political analyst and co-author of game-changer mark halpern. >> where is your baby? >> he is up. he is watching. say hi to him. >> he is supposed to come in and i'm supposed to hold him. >> he has a roll out coming.

>> also with us is president of the council on foreign raelgs and author of the book "a world in disarray." >> how many times have you seen "groundhog's day"? >> in '87. >> white house correspondent for the huffington post, sam stein. where is your baby, sam? >> he is either sleeping or poo ping. that's all he does. >> you got that down. >> children having children. >> whoa! that was actually quite mean and i'd like for you to take that back. >> call your mom. >> that was a compliment. floyd was a chairman of armed service committee when i first got there and would always say to constituents, oh, lord, children having children, one of the great tragedies. it was meant as a compliment. >> i get that. >> how is everybody today?

>> groundhog day top five, bill murray? >> caddyshack. >> it's in the hole! >> "ghostbusters." >> "razor's edge". >> "king pen." >> that is good. >> rushmore? >> oh, you got to put up there. "rushmore" is in the top three. >> sorry, mika. >> "stripes" is good. it kind of launched things. >> i feel like we are missing one. >> i would say "groundhog day" top three. >> we will cut this out and edit. >> a little going on but i'm thinking we might want to get to it. >> put "groundhog day" and

"caddyshack" and "rushmore" and "ghostbuster." >> "what about bob?" >> i haven't seen that in a long time! >> we have to stop! just stop! >> what just happened? >> we are going to have the top five bill murray -- it sounds like we have to have a top 100. >> tweet the show. vote. >> tweet the show. >> please don't continue this. do not tweet the show. there is a little bit going on. i'm thinking we will start with iran, right? that is kind of an interesting headline. the trump administration has put iran on notice. >> recent iranian actions

involving an bask launch and saudi naval vessel underscore what should have been clear to the international community all along about iran's destabilizing behavior across the entire middle east. the ballistic missile launch is calls upon iran not to undertake any activity readily to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons including launches using such ballistic missile technology. these are just the latest of a series of incidents in the past six months in which houthi forces that iran has trained and armed have struck saudi vessels and threatened united states vessels in the red sea. iran continues to threaten u.s. friend and allies in the region. the obama administration failed to respond adequately to tehran's malalign actions including weapons transfers, support for terrorism, and other

violations of international norms. the trump administration condemns such actions by iran that undermine security, prosperity and stability throughout and beyond the middle east and place -- which places american lives at risk. president trump has severely criticized the various agreements reached between iran and the bchl administration, as well as the united nations as being weak and ineffectivive. instead of being thankful to the united states in these agreements, iran is now feeling emboldened. as of today, with we are officially putting iran on notice. thank you. >> drop the mike. walk off. that is a strong closing line. richard? so, of course, everybody is shocked and stunned and deeply saddened he did and everybody is pulling their hair out. it shows the elections have consequences. also, it's not just sending a message to iran but a message to the saudis and uae and other gulf state allies that there is

a new leader in town and we understand your concerns about iran. what do you think? >> let's unpack it. the fact that iran did the missile test is arguably inconsistent with the u.n. resolution that was passed in 2011. to be clear for people watching, this is not inconsistent income with the iran nuclear deal and talking about a separate resolution. second of all what the administration was doing was essentially signaling now we are going to have a policy that is going to push back against iran all across the region. iran is an imperial country and wants to reshape the middle east and its image and pushing back. what is questionable is two things. one to do it so directly and unilaterally. what you normally do around you talk to the other countries who put the sanctions in place. the danger now is returning this into a u.s./iran public confrontation. i think we diminished our chances to wrap other countries into this which is what we need

to do. >> what would be the chances of wrapping other countries? >> i think the europeans in particular. a decent chance. and i think it makes it a little bit tougher. then also one other thing. interesting that this happened, joe, on the same day that rex tillerson became secretary of state. what it says again is what we used to call the interagency process. shall we say it is not up and running. >> you get the sense, mark halpern, you're going to have a lot of competition within these agencies between these agency heads in terms of -- this is a jolt in some ways. but you would think that you'd want some sort of order or leadership involved but you've got flynn out there on iran and others just being sworn in. these guys are going to be up against each other. >> we are in the transition phase now where people are just being sworn in and they don't have their deputies and their systems and eventually when they have that things will perhaps be different. right now, it's clear that flynn coming out was kind of an extraordinary thing. >> it was. >> security adviser -- this is a

fulfillment of another campaign promise but as richard suggested, there's reasons why certain protocols are in place to do things like this but within the u.s. government and with allies, and it's possible that there can be a misstep here that will have bad consequence. >> let me ask really quickly. how many times have you seen flynn in front of a microphone over the past three months? >> not much. >> zero. >> i think that is the first time. >> i have no evidence of this. but just judging by how things are moving in the white house right now, i think chances are pretty good that was calculated. >> oh, yeah. >> rex tillerson knew about it. they aren't -- i suspect this isn't like a presidential order. i think this was talked about, planned, calculated. he was sent out -- again, the first time he has gotten behind a microphone in a couple of months. i think there was a reason and there was a plan. >> we talked before the election

about the fact that they are very clear foreign policy goals on domestic policy that they are going to push tax reform, regulatory reform and infrastructure. less clear is what are their affirmative goals on foreign policy? we saw with immigration and refuges is one thing they want to do. dealing with iran is another one that is a big priority. >> willie, let's list three. just the first thing they are interested in and they have said it. middle east peace. they want to broke a deal between the israeli and palestinians more than anything else. number two is iran. they want to push back on iran because they know people like me and maybe not a lot of people in the foreign policy establishment, but people like me think barack obama has been too weak on iran since 2009, since they allowed the iranians to get slaughtered in the street and we said almost nothing about.

. the third deal is wiping out is isis. it is interesting and plays to one of richard's concerns and foreign policy analyst concern that foreign policy analysts are political leaders the past is a years have been acting like the whole world is contained in the middle east. >> right. >> there are problems in asia or other places across the world. >> this is another move from the white house like the executive order on immigration where it's jarring to a lot of people. if you stop, ed this over and over again during the campaign. >> oh, yeah. >> again, he telegraphed all of these things as he was a candidate and now he is executing -- >> does it happen this early? >> but they did say, richard, when asked later on background in interviews with the press that all options are on the table. i wouldn't expect them to take any options off the table but they had, yes, military option is on the table. where does that put us now differently with iran than a month ago or three weeks ago when he became president? >> well, look. the previous administration was reticent to push back against

iran. i think it's krocket that you're seeing here the nuclear agreement is important and we will not rip it up, but an entire range of iranian behavior whether it's in yemen or contemporary or iraq or lebanon or across the board. iran is a regional threat. i think joe is right. a signal to the saudis and uae we are going to partner and not be inpribted by the nuclear agreement from doing things like arming different trends and introducing new sanctions and conceivably under certain circumstances using military force. i think this is a signal. yes, a new sheriff in town. my only concern but i don't want it a u.s. versus iran policy and i would have spent more time quietly trying to build an international front. europeans and french in particular are quite tough about iran so we shouldn't ignore the possibilities of getting them on board. >> also, mika, going back to

what willie said, you can't understate the number of times he said he was going to be tough on iran. you also can't understate the number of and maybe it's just because i'm a republican. just how republicans bristled at how we believe -- and i think a lot of people in the center and even left believe that the united states struck a horrific deal with iran, that barack obama starting in the campaign in 2008 when he kept talking about i'm going to talk to iran by themselves. i'm going to speak unilaterally to iran. this was his big foreign policy plan and i think, again, just explaining i think our policy towards iran over the past eight years has been disastrous. i don't speak as a foreign policy expert on that. i'm speaking in this case as a republican and i suspect, again, his base absolutely loved hearing what they heard last

night. >> just like barack obama's when he would talk about getting rid of gitmo when he was never going to get rid of gitmo. >> i think you're saying something that is saying the sky is blue. the question is it lurching? how is that possible this early? for it to be fully understood in terms of the total geo political situation. sam stein, jump in. >> i have two questions for richard. i think it would be helpful to know what being noticed means. it's a loaded term in some respects but i don't think a well-defined term. the second question i have is in the backdrop of all this is the trump administration is supposedly and reportedly going to have much tighter relations with russia. we know russia has much tighter

relations with iran. that seems like a weird dynamic that is going underdiscussed here al with your new allied. i'm wondering if you could discuss what role does russia playing in this and what does unnoticed actually mean? >> the short answer is nobody knows what unnoticed means and it's not a foreign policy technical term. i never heard it per se. it's a messaging as much for saudis and anybody else and the israelis will like it but something of a tougher line. >> if they do another ballistic missile test, are we then -- is that the red line we're critical of? >> no. barack obama put down red lines. >> that is the problem here. >> i can't state, though, richard, so let's talk about this a little bit. i've said this on the show repeatedly. we have an opportunity with sunni/arab states we never had before because they don't see israeli as their greatest enemy.

they see iran as their greatest enemy. this send a powerful message not just to rednecks like me from northwest florida but a powerful message to saudi arabia, to the uae, to egypt, to jordan, to sunni allies who feel like they have been put on the back burner for the past eight years. this is laying down a marker for a lot of people. from birmingham to ba rhrain. >> saudis wake up in the morning and uae and others and iran is their biggest strategic occupation. yes, this sends a signal to them that the united states is willing to be more confrontational to push back and not to be self-contained, if you will, because we are so concerned about preserving a nuclear agreement . the good news ty are not talking about tearing up the nuclear agreement. >> just wait. >> of nuclear development.

at some point we have to think about what comes after the nuclear agreement. in the meantime, i do think this is something of a new middle east angle one of the questions to sam, what does this mean for syria? what are we prepared to do there? for the time being, iran has won. iran and the russians have won. bashar al assad in place and saudis and others have essentially lost this round. and i think one of the most interesting questions is going to be for this administration, what do they do after we beat up an isis, what are we prepared and not prepared to be in syria and what are saudis and onchs prepared to do? >> i hate to keep going back to sunnis and shias. the past eight years under barack obama, shia leadership has blossomed. and the sunnis have been, again, pushed on the back burner and have felt betrayed by the united states. if you don't believe that, talk

to ambassadors across the middle east. they will tell you that. this really is a pretty dramatic change which actually lines up more with what u.s. policy had been before barack obama. i'm not just talking bush. >> we should say as we did at the beginning this is not out of the blue. the iranian government did something provocative and this president and flynn felt that they had to respond because of their world view and the campaign process. i think the worry that people have is doing a lot of provocative things before the government is in place and when you don't know the consequences of threatening iran. it is something of a red line. >> it is. by the way, we did swear in yesterday somebody who has -- >> i would love to hear from rex tillerson. >> -- who had great relations with people across the middle east, including iran. >> the skeptics of what happened yesterday of flynn's world view in general and a president's world view they have a lot of

bluster and they have a lot of ideology but do they have a plan to have alliances? do they have a plan to follow through to make america safer? >> we haven't heard that at all. i'm sorry. i get the base loves it and i get it sends a message. i get the iran nuclear deal is extremely controversial and -- >> but so far, here is what we got to go with. immigration ban that was poorly thought out and not -- and the most important people who could perhaps troubleshoot it and roll it out better weren't even considered. now we have a nice guy, a guy who has had an incredible career but a guy who is the most questionable in terms of his credibility in the foreign policy team. rolling out the next big thing. i would just say i'd like to hear from rex tillerson and general mattis and donald trump sitting with is his foreign policy team and talking about our place in the world and then something like this happening. because it all feels a little bit like -- >> i think you're conflating two

issues. >> no. i'm looking at what we got so far. not conflating anything. >> i don't think what we saw yesterday has anything to do with what we saw this past weekend. >> how do we know? what is the foreign policy policy focus of this administration? what is the trump doctrine? what does he say about a relationship with other countries around the world? so far, it's been a little haphazard and, at times, troubling, especially as it pertains to nato. >> how do we know? >> we don't. >> we don't know. we do know this, though. over the past 24 to 48 hours, at least we know the inner workings of the white house have changed considerably in that something like that is not going to happen without it being passed around. to the agencies. there is no way that he went out there without mattis knowing and other people knowing that he was going to make that statement. >> i think there is a connection. >> on iran. >> two things.

they are inflaming allies around the world. and i'm all for shaking things up because i think the direction of foreign policy and america's security has not been great but they are inflaming -- we haven't talked about the australians. >> we will talk about australia next block. who exactly are we inflaming regarding iran when he makes that statement about iran? if your goal, i believe, is to show our sunni allies who have been treated miserably for the past eight years, that, yes, there is a new president in the white house. >> i don't think you're inflaming anyone particularly except two possibilities. one is iran. iran is a resourceful coury so we have to be mindful of that and not necessarily deterred but careful and mindful. they count a lot. again, the other as we -- i think to some extent, forfeited the opportunity to make this a block against several countries against iran and much prefer this is a joint statement and

europeans involved and have a credible threat and putting them on notice. one thing with the new sanctions, iranians think they are basically sanctions-proof because of the nuclear agreement. what is important is you're not. terrorism sanctions and missile test sanctions. it would be useful to send the message we have global backing that the iranians basically don't have to get out of jail free card because of this one agreement and would be a uniform message to send. >> one note on the personal level and this may or may not have played into it but president rouhani came out yesterday and sort of trolled donald trump a bit and said he didn't understand the world and i wonder how much that plays into donald trump have a visceral reaction to a guy? we have seen him do it before on smaller stages in the campaign and international stages having a guy poke on him and have him want to poke back in a strong way as they did yesterday? >> we will talk about this more. >> still ahead on "morning joe," we will talk about the more complex iran issue with ambassador nicholas burns. and we will ask him about the

reported very heated phone call the president had with the australian prime minister. we will also be joined by the chairman of the foreign relations committee senator bob corker. plus the president of planned parenthood, cecile richards joins us. our far reaching conversation with dr. zbigniew brzezinski. first, bill karins with the forecast. >> scrooge should be on the top ten list of bill murray list. top ten. not top five. >> that was a classic. >> it was. the snow is coming through new york state. we are also going to watch heavy lake-effect snow syracuse northwd and maybe 1 to 3 feet the next couof days and the only story in the eastern half of the country. quiet weather pattern every week east of the rockies and big storm for the west coast and heavy rain san francisco and sacramento. all eyes at 7:25 are on gobbler is knob punxsutawney phil and what he will prognosticate. look at the crowd and party

ongoing! only one hour to go. will he see his shadow? yes or no. partly cloudy skies right now so a chance we could have six more weeks of winter if he sees his shadow. we will find out officially in an hour. of course, that will be breaking news here on msnbc. we will have more "morning joe" when we come back.

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middle east leader texted it's nice that the united states finally sees iran as part of the problem, not part of the

solution. i only bring that up to say, again, there will be a lot of people concerned about this in united states and europe, but across the middle east, there is this feeling with a lot of sunni leaders. >> i think subsequently it's overdue. iran is a force to be reckoned with and on the march the past couple of years and pushing back but the question of how we go about it and whether we are doing it in the most effective way but pushing back against iran, good idea. >> new details this morning on president trump's weekend phone call with australia's prime minister. the president spoke with malcolm turnbull from the oval office on saturday with the national security adviser michael flynn and senior counselor steven bannon sitting nearby. the official read-out of the call said both leaders emphasized the enduring strength and closeness of the u.s./australia relationship and calling it critical for peace, stability, and prosperity in the asia-pacific region and

globally. according to "the washington post," trump informed turnbull that he had spoken with four other world leaders on saturday including vladimir putin and this was the worst call by far. the president is apparently disbelieved with the deal made by the obama administration to resettle 1,250 refuges, australia is housing at offshore detention centers and primary from countries on the repeat travel ban. iran, iraq, sudan and somalia with some syrians. according to "the post" the president said he was going to get killed politically and accuse australia of seeking on to export the next boston bombers. the call was expected to be an hour long but "the post" reports that trump ended after 25 minutes but the prime minister of australia disputes that part of the account. >> the report that the president hung up is not correct. the call ended courteously.

it was very frank and forthright. i stand up for australia's interests. i make australia's case as powerful and persuasively as i can wherever i am. >> so, richard, so i know you worked in both bush administrations. this is the sort of tactic george h.w. bush would take, right? >> whenever aeign policy says a conversation is frank and forthright. this is probably one of the countries in the world -- i say one of the three closest to the united states. australia and britain. >> they fought by our sides for a century. every war. >> ally. >> amazing ally. >> this is an interesting case. here you have an agreement from the previous administration, 1,250 refuges largely from iran and iraq. president obama promised we

would take them and clearly president trump is uncomfortable even though he still has the right to vet them. we have complete vetting. it's not uncolonel taking. it would be vetting. i think it's important here, besides the bilateral relationship. you can't reinvent everything. there has to be a presumption of continuity when you go from one administration to the next. you can actually introduce new policies but you can't undo old ones. i think this would be a terrible way to get started with the australians. we should vet these people if it turns out some are questionable you don't let them in, but i do think this administration can't begin its relationship with one of our closest allies by tearing up this agreement. >> this won't ruin the relationship but what i think is most significant about this is the shock waves it's sending through washington and around the world that this conversation was leaked. the president has to be concerned about that. but for someone to put forward details about this conversation and the other conversation he had with president of mexico, it is a sign of rebellion within much of the establishment that they are not going to let president trump operate his way

if they can help it. >> i was going to ask. usually you have these read-outs. you had a conversation with the saudis. you had the read-out. why don't we get a read-out from this? why was this leaked? i'm curious, richard. what is the process? usually when you have calls with frrn leade foreign leaders you have read-outs. >> usually a white house staffer is listening on the call. i don't know if they have doing it in this administration. i worked for the president bush, the father and the way we usually did and you give the press one or two lines and often that is agreed upon by the mutual staffs. this was, obviously, not agreed upon. i don't know if it's intelligence -- but also for the australians. this is big, big news. >> right. >> this is story number one, two, and three today there. >> wow. >> and we are laughing about it on one level but this is not -- >> no, no, no. no laughing matter. >> the early phone calls with world leaders, they just gotten through eight years with president obama. imagine them on the other end of the line listening to donald trump as is reported in "the washington post" talk about the

margin of his victory and the election and the electoral college and the size of the crowd at the inauguration. giving these details over and over again. >> the question is how -- how we are viewed from the world is problematic. the question also is how do they filter this? and how do they absorb all this? because if i'm not mistaken, he was the first leader to actually speak to donald trump after he got elected because greg norman had donald trump telephone him. do we need normal diplomacy? i'm sure that phone call has already been made right now. but they have already talked before. i'm sure they will talk again. mexico, that blew up the next day. they had an hour-long conversation the next day. >> you wii meant they are dealih a completely different animal. >> among rex tillerson's many jobs as he starts today is trying to keep the state department personnel from around the world being at war with the president of the united states. >> let's go to boston right now. former u.s. ambassador and state

department spokesman, nick burns. harvard kennedy school of government. we are told he talked to the vice president with his phone call with the australian prime minister. great job, mr. ambassador. you should be proud of yourself. >> thank you. let's start with iran. people like myself and sunni leaders thinks it's a grand idea but i would guess most of the foreign policy experts think that the statement yesterday was not good. where are you on this? >> actually think that the trump administration is right to focus on iran. iran is a violent supporter of terrorism and yemen, syria, iraq and in lebanon. they have been sending missiles to hezbollah and hamas that might strike israeli. i think they got push back against the iranians and i have no problem with that. i do think that putting general flynn out yesterday was probably not the right thing to do. as richard said in your previous conversation, what you want to do here is you want to build up

support. the european allies for further academic sanctions against iran. if you take them by surprise, i'd be surprised if that statement had been cleared by angela merkel and theresa may you're not getting them on side. there is an advantage that we do need to tighten and improve our relationship with israeli, saudi arabia, the uae and kuwait. those countries felt disaffected by the obama administration. the better messaenger is genera mattis. he is an iran hawk and secretary of defense. i think taking the time another week or two to get your allies together, let secretary tillerson get into office. he has a private channel to the iranian foreign minister, make this threat privately. i think tactically it would have been better. >> mr. ambassador, willie geist. good to see you. yesterday was rhetoric. we heard from general flynn. what about actual action in policy? richard suggested perhaps adding

some new sanctions might send a message to iran. what would you suggest in terms of putting more pressure on them? >> two things. i think richard is right on sanctions beuse this is a very weak u.n. security council resolution on ballistic missiles. this is what was in question yesterday. we should toughen it. if we can't do that in the security council we should get our own group together to sanction them. the other thing the administration can do is warn the iranians that if their navy continues to make life difficult for the u.s. navy or if the houthi rebels fire missiles at the u.s. navy we will strike back. every country has a right to self-defense. again, i think there is a way to do this that could be more effective and i would think you should use this private channel. we can talk to the iranians. it might even be more effective to warn them privately at this point in time. >> rex tillerson has a great -- let's go to donald trump's tweet. >> iran has been formally put on

notice for firing a ballistic missile. should have been thankful for the terrible deal the u.s. made with them! >> as we were saying, rex tillerson, as the ambassador and others have said, he has got a channel to the iranians and a lot of other arab leaders. along with the iranians. we have an opportunity to do a lot of this back channel, which we should do. >> so there seems to be some consensus, ambassador burns, at the table at least that this, you know, seemed to have been thought out and there was an interagency review. what has happened in the past few weeks and through the campaign that would lead any of us to believe that this was completely vetted, thought out, strategically trouble shot before general flynn made the statement? >> we can't know because we don't know what happened inside the administration. but, again, it happened about an

hour before secretary tillerson was confirmed. the other reason to wait, maybe let him be involved in this because the state department has not had a connection to the white house in the fst 12 days of this administration. now they have it. but i want to go back to the point about both the arab allies partners, israeli, and the europeans. we are going to be much stronger if we include them and if we get some reinforcing statements this morning from the europeans that you haven't heard from the europeans leads me to believe that they were probably taken by surprise by this. and so diplomacy is is not soft on countries but marshalling countries to support you giving you some weight in the argument because the iranians are bad actors. >> richard, this is also why you want to be very careful before getting turned sideways with the australians or with the germans. >> sure. >> or with -- i mean, theresa may thinks they are going right there but this is a morning where you need angela merkel to come out and say we agree. a this morning you need the

australians to come out and say, we agree. you can't be picking these side fights, because all of the big things that matter, obviously, like iran, this is where you need your allies lined up behind you. >> we can do a lot of things but nothing we can do better than we can do with others. we are much stronger. whether it's dealing with china and asia having australia on our side and having the europeans dealing with iran much stronger. diplomacy that is the threat of this morning. you think about the australia call. you think about the iranian statement. it's not so much necessarily the substance of some of things but diplomacy is one -- >> is this a team that could come up with that concept of maybe making those phone calls? >> there is not a state department. general mattis is the only new civilian confirmed and he is off in asia. this is not an interagency. >> you're saying you don't know that. >> i know. there is nothing -- you guys have no evidence here. >> you've said 40 minutes that

this a shot from the hip with absolutely no evidence. >> give me some reason to believe they didn't. >> the only thing i've suggested -- i can't prove a negative right here. >> i wouldn't prove a positive. >> keep repeating this was done with -- guidance. >> it seems lurchy. >> i think we will see over the next several days this was deliberately planned. i hope you're wrong. >> i hope you are. >> we can keep talking about it and you can say they shot from the hip. i'm saying we don't know. we don't know. i suspect this was far more planned and far more deliberate and far more thought out and far more strategic than was the executive order. >> what we don't know who sat at the table said, hold it. right direction but wrong implementation. let's first check with the europeans. >> they weren't sworn in yet. >> why weren't they sworn in? is that rex tillerson's fault? or was that the senate's fault? >> let's move on.

i think we are talking past each other. >> no. you just keep bringing it up over and over again saying they lurched without absolutely any evidence that they lurched. i don't know if they lurched or not. i suspect, though, this was more thought out based on the reporting that we both have done over the past 48 hours that after the steven miller debacle, the whip came down and actually everything started going through reince priebus. >> you suspect. i don't. where we leave it. >> nicholas burns, thank you so much for being here. ahead this morning we will bring in the head of the foreign relations committee, bob worker. we are back with more. cworker. we are back with more. oworker. we are back with more. rworker. we are back with more. kworker. we are back with more. corker. we are back with more. . jinks ..

up next uncovering steven bannon. how he went from breitbart editor to what come arealng a shadow president. we will talk about that coming up we will be right back.

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♪ this week's new issue of "time" magazine is looking at chief white house strategist steve bannon. in a cover story they call "the great manipulator." "time" magazine -- >> go back to the shot. at least they got a favorable shot of him. >> his christmas card picture. >> michael sharea who contributed and edited the piece. >> good morning. >> tell us about steve bannon. i honestly -- i can't figure out if bannon is actually the one everyone should be talking about, but you tell me why he's being given the headline, the great manipulatomanipulator. >> he is one of the ones the people should be talking about. the senior strategist position at the white house is like karl rove, david axelrod are the story materials for the

president to help craft the narrative to allow him to achieve his vision. what distinguished bannon is the ambition of that vision. he was integral to rather than blunt inaugural address. he's been a major driving force behind trump's combativeness with the press. he was deeply involved in the operational problems over the weekend on the rollout of the executive order against refugees. he sees this as a moment in time where president will not only change the policies for the country bu sees this as a historic moment, a turning in terms of changing the entire establishment, breaking down the old order as it has been, and building something new. and so it's really the reach that makes him notable. >> i have to push back a little bit, because everything i've seen -- and i've seen a lot -- i

don't think anyone is manipulating trump. i think trump is the last person in the room. i think this is all kind of "trumped" up. i don't understand where you're seeing actual sort of concepts or ideas that are coming out of someone else's mouth and the strings are being pulled. this is the one thing we know about trump. he's the last person in the room and he leaves everybody guessing, including people like steve bannon. that, i know. >> no, i absolutely agree with you. the argument here is not that donald trump is not pulling his own strings. it's not similar to the criticism that was leveled at george w. bush when people were calling rove bush's brain. trump is his own man. he makes his own decisions. he takes viewpoints from lots of different people. but the role of the chief strategist is one of telling the story that shapes the nation and shapes the presidency and that is bannon's role. >> mark halpern? >> michael, bannon, obviously,

is playing a role in foreign policy, fame loessly added to the national security council staff. but on domestic policy, one of the things that confuses me is people talk about him as a p populace and surrounded by go goldman sachs, his former firm. how does that work? >> i think we have how that works. a lot of questions how it will work inside the white house and how it will work with congress. the president is going to have to work with congress and there is very different views about that. his critique of goldman sachs where he used to work of the banking elite was really directly focused on the 2008 financial crisis. he views, he has said this many times in interviews and made movies about it, that the banks lost their way. that institutions that were built, you know, with a public service in mind, at some point game greedy, that the rules took

advantage of the rules and that he is really taken a very populace reading which is wildly held in the country of bankers getting away scott-free on the backs of the taxpayer and the little guy and that was his fury. i think he continues to see, you know, the value of expertise and the value of the capital system. it's not as if he against banks or bank than. it's just he has been very critical how the recession went down. >> broad question here. but given all you've described about his world view, stephen bannon's world view and the indication it has for president trump's policy, what does the country look like in his utopia, let's say, in four years or eight years? >> i think, you know, he made a movie called "generations euro" after the financial crisis and based on the idea there are generational cycles in american history and end in crises. the thesis this happens every 80

years and we are now at another crisis moment. when those crises happen, the old institutions kind of get washed away and a new order comes out. now exactly how dramatic that washing away is, you know, whether it involves a great war like those other moments did, and how much the institutional change happens we are not sure. if you listen to what bannon says, it's clear, to take the media, for instance, he sees corrupt institutions that need to be washed away and review what they do and how to approach their jobs. i think you can say the same for the banki industry. critique he has given against them. it's an unknown question. what is clear it's a dramatic vision. >> an incredible piece. the new issue of "time" is now 0 on you now. michael sheer, thanks so much. >> thank you. coming up republican bob corker will join us our conversation. his reaction to the administration's tough tone

yesterday on iran. that is straight ahead on "morning joe." and "the new york times" peter baker will join us with his latest reporting. doesn't do any of that. with quicksilver you earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere. leave complicated behind. what's in your wallet? pain from a headache whecan make this...d, feel like this. all-in-one cold symptom relief from tylenol®, the #1 doctor recommended pain relief brand. tylenol® when you have a cold, pain from chest congestion can make this... feel like this. all-in-one cold symptom relief from tylenol®, the #1 doctor recommended pain relief brand. tylenol®

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with every click...call...punch... and paycheck... you've earned your medicare. it was a deal that was made long ago, and aarp believes it should be honored. thankfully, president trump does too. "i am going to protect and save your social security and your medicare. you made a deal a long time ago." now, it's congress' turn. tell them to protect medicare. hillary clinton will be the 2017 commencement speaker at s wewellesley college and joe biden is getting ready at u mass. hillary clinton is reportedly

writing a book of personal essays due to be released this fall. it will be the first political memoir written entirely in all caps! former president obama was spotted on vacation in the virgin islands yesterday wearing a backwards baseball cap and flip-flops and completely ignoring the bat signal. >> welcome back to "morning joe." it's thursday, february 2nd. still with us, we have the president of the council on foreign relations, richard haass. senior political editor and white house correspondent for the huffington post, sam stein. and joining the conversation chief white house correspondent for "the new york times" peter baker. good to have you all with us this morning. >> we were talking about all of the foreign policy things going on but so much going on the hill. you have the tillerson confirmation but the devos fight and sessions pushed off. a thousand things coming at us. >> fascinating. president trump, yesterday, said the senate should do what it takes to confirm judge neil

gorsuch to supreme court and instructing senate majority leader mcconnell to invoke the nuclear option, if needed. >> i would say if you can, mitch, go nuclear, because that would be a absolutely sloot shame if a man of this quality was caught up in the web, so i would say it's up to mitch, but i would say go for it. >> democratic minority leader chuck smurl repeated his demand that gorsuch car the -vote threshold that previous supreme court nominees have met. gorsuch went to capitol hill yesterday and met with both senate leaders. in a "the washington post" op-ed, republicans leader mcconnell defended his conduct, saying he followed the biden rule. quote, i looked to the president set forth by democratic vice president joe biden who a was

chairman of the senate judiciary committee declared that supreme court vacancies arising in the midst of a presidential lex should nont be considered until the campaign ended. here is mike pence speaking with pbs yesterday. >> you don't think the senate majority leader mcconnell has to resort to the nuclear vote? >> i hope he doesn't. when you look at those first-term nominations of president clinton and president obama, none of those were filibustered. all received full broad bipartisan support and all were considered and resolved in the senate in a matter of 60 to 70 days. >> they did set the precedent. what do you think? >> peter baker, let's bring you in. i think democrats are going to have a hard time with their base, not forcing mcconnell to go nuclear. i'm a big believer that everybody should back off, that

there is always an election one year away, you know, that mitch mcconnell need to be very careful. but it seems to me after what happened with merrick garland, democratic voters are going to expect their senators to fight to the bitter end. what do you think? >> no, i agree. a lot of bitterness about merrick garland. you heard the senator from oregon saying this is a stolen seat and a seat should have been filled by barack obama and stole by the republicans who held it open for a full year rather than fill it and a lot of talk of payche payback. they can certainly force senator mcconnell to invoke the option. he doesn't really want to invoke. there is a long-term thinking here. what about next time? you know? nearly gorsuch is a conservative judge and he is well-respected in a lot of places. but he is pretty much in keeping with the philosophy of justice scalia who he replaced.

what if justice kennedy the next time or ruth bader ginsburg were to step down? that would be a fight the democrats really care about because it would change the balance of the power on supreme court. whether to save the filibuster for then or not has been a calculation. >> that is a calculation. the problem, sam, is that democratic voters are going to look at what just happened over the past year. and feel like that seat was stolen, it should have been merrick garland. they wouldn't even him in their office. so why the hell should they give the republicans anything that they want in this area? >> well, yeah. that and when they are posed with peter's question, what about next time? what they say the idea that mitch mcconnell would somehow respect the filibuster in the next nomination is laughable. when push comes to shove mitch mcconnell will get rid of the filibuster for supreme court nominees regardless the next time. why not have the fight now and

get it out of the way. obviously, politics is completely overwhelmed this entire process. all of the norms of the past have been thrown out the window. you can argue if you're a democrat that the garland nomination was the tipping point and if you're a republican the bourque nomination was the tipping point. we are where we are. let's say, for instance, mitch mcconnell were i chuck scmer's shoes and he was running the democratic party, what would he do in this instance in my questions is he would allow six or seven of his members to vote in favor of gorsuch to show they were acting in a bipartisan fashion but not enough get to 60 and forcing the republicans hands to open the move for the filibuster for the supreme court nomination and, you know, i think that is essentially how it's going to play out with chuck schumer. >> if you listen closely to mitchell mcconnell's comments over the last couple of weeks he doesn't want to change the senate rules but he damn will if he has to.

remember. a lot of republicans, presumably many in connecticukentucky, in voted for donald trump on this issue, on supreme court, on controlling the court and having that ninth member be somebody -- that ninth justice be somebody to swing the vote in their favor. this is the critical vote, i think, for a lot of people who put themselves behind donald trump and held their nose about some of the other stuff. but we are now in this, like, this feedback loop of retribution where democrats feel they can't vote in favor of judge gorsuch because of what happened with merrick garland. it's an eye for an eye thing and not a great way to conduct government. >> unfortunately, i think for this country right now, if you're a democrat, how in the world do you not hold a hard line after what you've seen over the past year? >> right. >> how do you not hold a hard line? and if you're mitchell mcconnell and you see what harry reid did for all of the other court

picks, except for this one final court pick, and took it down to 50 and had obamacare passed by a majority vote, which is going to mean now that republicans will repeal it without 60. we have all seen these leaders backed into the corner where the very thing that used to coo down our government, the 60 votes. it used to be 67. now they always say what do they say is in the saucer that cooled down the coffee. that has been shattered. >> between this and executive orders we have almost become a parliamentary system and that is dangerous. it increases the divisiveness and the possibility when there is rotation you have massive changes in public policy, because one day, the democrats will be in charge of the senate and if the nuclear option, you know, is invoked now, you know they will invoke it then. it just means that -- again, the hallowing out of the center of american policy. this is bad, bad stuff for american democracy and for our

ability to act consistently. >> but, peter, it seems inevitab inevitable, doesn't it? we know where this is going. mcconnell gets 60 votes or gets rid of the filibuster. >> yeah. there doesn't seem to be much chance at this point given what we know that judge gorsuch won't be on the court. the only question how ugly will it be between now and then? it can be pretty ugly. and, you know, you're right. i mean, the democrats are feeling pretty bruised by the last year and the republicans, you're right about that too, by the way. i think republicans -- who voted for donald trump a lot of them holding their nose because they thought that this balance in the supreme court made a difference and for a democrat, look. a 4-4 split right now the longer you hold that open is the best you're going to get the next four years so you might as well -- you don't have a lot of incentive to move ahead. and what richard says, obviously, makes an important point, you know? we are seeing this very, very polarized system where each side feels they have to get back at

the other side and each side by the way, is very -- it speaks from where it sits. last year you heard democrats talking about republican obstruction i'm and now republicans talking about democratic obstructionism. where did sd it end? >> betsy devos bid to become education. two gop senators have announced they will vote against her nomination. >> i believe she is a good person. i know that she cares deeply about the children of this nation. but for the reasons that i will explain, i simply cannot support her confirmation. >> i have heard from thousands, truly thousands of alaskans who shared their concerns about mrs. devos as secretary of state of education. they have contacted me by phone, by e-mail, in person, and their

concerns center, as mine do, on mrs. devos' lack of experience with public education and the lack of knowledge that she portrayed in her confirmation hearings. >> i was trying to get to -- i couldn't. >> after that, a wave of undecided republicans like senator dean he he'ller announc their support of devos. 52-48 majority in the senate for republicans and her nomination faces a 50/50 deadlock. if the current vote count holds it could set up an unprecedented tiebreaker by vice president mike pence. according to the office the vice president has never cast a tying vote on a nomination. it vote will delay the confirmation of jeff sessions as attorney general. republicans will need a vote as a senator in order to get devos approved. the next procedural vote for devos' confirmation is expected

to take place tomorrow. >> "the washington post," yesterday, had an article saying that this would be the first time -- it's only happened one time before in the past century that a president who had the majority of the senate actually had somebody voted down. i expect the -- devos will probably be passed and probably be confirmed but this is evidence that confirmation hearings do matter. you show up and if you're ill-prepared and do a terrible job, you're not going to just be pushed over the finish line. >> also some people in the center. it also shows that despite the party labels, if you will, there could emerge on all sorts of issues on national security issues on this, of a small bunch of republicans who could be the swing voters on lots of issues and they will have considerable sway. >> meanwhile, the confirmation hearing for labor secretary nominee andrew punitive damages der is in limbo. a new hearing day will not be

set until key paper work focusing on puzder's plans for future conflicts of interest are delivered. >> this is going to be a tough one. i mean, thi guy, wants to be labor secretary has talked how he wants robots to at that time place of workers! robots wants to take the place of workers! he actually called his own employees, quote, the worst of the worst saying it's hard to get a good work force when you're selecting from the worst of the worst. he said it twice publicly. the question -- how do you ever let this man be secretary of labor? how do you ever let somebody that has talked about his own employees, who made him a billionaire, or a multimillionaire, called them the worst of the worst? >> especially when it's so contrast everything donald trump has been talking about on the

campaign trail the last year and a half when he talking about the jobs are coming back, we are going to rescue the industrial midwest. robots coming in doesn't sound like rescuing jobs for those workers in the industrial midwest. i do think at some point democrats are going to claim a scalp so maybe the one. if betsy devos slips through, if that is not it, then maybe puzder is. >> everything he says so publicly so goes against what people in youngstown, ohio, and parts of, you know, scranton, pennsylvania, that voted for donald trump because they believed he supported the working man. this guy is the antithesis of that. >> that is the fascinating conflict within this white house, right? the message is populace and working class and outsiders taking over the system. yet the people who have been brought in on part and parcel to the system and people who made a lot of money out of the system. goldman sachs, you know, billionaires in the cabinet.

so, you know, the real question is whether donald trump can continue, president trump can continue to convince americans who work, you know, sold on this idea he was on their side that he really is. at some point do these things come to a head in which he has to make a choice that is uncomfortable for him? at the moment, voters seem to give him the benefit of the doubt, his voters, at least. this hasn't yet come to that sort of a confrontation. >> president trump also made an unannounced trip to dover air force base yesterday to honor chief special war fare operator william ryan owens. owens, a navy s.e.a.l. from peoria, illinois, was killed over the weekend in a raid in ye yemen. the trip was kept secret. his daughter boarded marine one with president trump. the family asked that the

transfer of his body be private. when president trump returned to the white house he made remarks with the sailor's family and how plans to approach goblobal challenges. >> i just came from a visit with a great, great family at dover and it was something very sad, very beautiful. ryan, a great man. time to bring a clear-eyed focus to foreign affairs, to take a fresh look at the world around us, and to seek new solutions grounded in very ancient truths. these truths include the fact that nations have a right to protect their interests, that all people have a right to freely pursue their own destiny, and that all of us are better off when we act in concert and not in conflict.

>> so we read, richard, the president's body language when he was given the supreme court pick. you could tell the second he went up to the microphone that he was in his element. he was doing what he loved doing. i thought it was very interesting. i was actually watching this live as he was coming in and watching it on tv, and it was very obvious, almost like he had been hit in the gut. this was not a side of this man that i've seen in the past ten years. and i'm sure you know, visiting dover, is something that actually is life changing experience. >> there is nothing that prepares any individual for being commander in chief. and for having the responsibility to okay missions and then, obviously, not all of the soldiers come back alive. for donald trump i thought an interesting day. it's part of the learning experience of what it is to be

president of the united states and it's overwhelming at times. i think you got a sense of just what the day-to-day responsibility and reality is. >> also a good reminder, i think, to the american public as these wars in iraq and afghanistan have moved into their, what, 15ed, 16th year. >> my god. >> they recede in your mind a little bit that these things we talk about is sort of bureaucratic policy terms around tables like this. and in washington have real-world impact and that americans are in the line of fire and the husband and a father is losing his life and these are very serious, serious things that we are talking about. >> this is going on another five or ten years. this kind of counterterrorism, this is the new normal. we are going to be doing this and sacrificing for this for years or even decades to come. it was a sober reminder. >> it certainly seemed like a sobering situation for him. peter baker, of course, this happens with a backdrop of his

foreign policy team figuring out how to handle isis, who he promised during the campaign to wipe out. if reports are correct, we may be actually moving forward a bit more leading in a bit more in the fight against isis that with we have in the past and this is a reminder what the cost of that will be. >> that's right. exactly. it's not just -- not a reality show. it's reality and reality is, unfortunately, filled with terrible choices and terrible moments for any commander in chief. i watched, you know, president bush and president obama up close as they dealt with this. it affects them. it can't help but affect them. and you're right. i mean, they are talking about now plans that could, in fact, put more americans in danger, of course. he just ordered the pentagon to give him a plan within 30 days to combat isis. one of the things he has talked about is safe zones or safe areas which means creating little pockets of syria that

syrians could go to and protected by american air power and at least somebody's ground power, if not ours, some of the allies on the ground. there's some talk about american artillery or other kind of forces might be a part of that. every little step puts more americans in harm's way. something he is really felt very, you know, adamantly against. a lot of his foreign policy is anti-bush and anti-obama in terms of mucking around in other people's countries as he's put it, whether it be libya, iraq or elsewhere and a test how far he is willing to go and price he is going to pay. >> i remember bob gates. one of the toughest professionals. he served under seven or eight presidents. exposed to this all along by the end of his time at d.o.d., it was hard for him to even give speeches about the soldiers and the sailors and the airmen and marines, without getting

emotional. in fact, he even said at one point that i thought it was time for him to get out because he was becoming so emotionally attached to them and understanding the extraordinary sacrifice that they were making, that it could get in the way of decision making. >> yeah. >> it is extraordinarily difficult thing for any leader to do. but something they must do to understand the consequences, as willie said. this is not an abstract policy decision. this is a life or death decision. >> peter baker, thank you very much. still ahead this morning on "morning joe," nbc's andrea mitchell with a look what will be secretary of state rex tillerson's first full day on the job. and, later, senator bob corker joins us live. he says he found out about the president's executive order on the travel ban the way most americans did, from the media. we will get his take on how it's going so far. and we will play for you our conversation with dr. zbigniew brzezinski. you're watching "morning joe." we will be right back.

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joining us from washington, msnbc chief foreign affairs correspondent and host of "aerped mitchell reports" andrea mitchell. the administration now has a secretary of state. >> and, boy, i would guess rex tillerson is thrilled to finally be behind that desk. >> i'll tell you who else is thrilled. the thousands of diplomats who have been waiting for a leader. they are really excited. no one has come in with more good advanced billing than rex tillerson and this at such a time. the white house's blunt warning to arena and putting iran on notice and promising to hold tehran accountable and a dramatic escalation from the obama administration's position and the president tweeting this morning iran has been formally put on notice for firing a ballistic missile should have been thankful for the terrible deal the u.s. made with them. >> reporter: the administration's first foreign policy crisis, iran.

a challenge today for the new secretary of state rex tillerson. sworn in wednesday night with this caution from his boss, president trump. >> our nation needs to force the stability and security in a world too often trapped and, right now, it's trapped in violence and in war. >> reporter: tillerson confirmed by a closer vote than ever before for the nation's top diplomat. >> the yeas are 56 and nay 43. >> we are officially putting iran on notice. >> reporter: promising to hold iran accountable for test ago ballistic missile on sunday and threatening allies and u.s. ships at sea. the white house says nothing is off the table not even economic sanctions or military actions and president twurump tweeting e following late wednesday. defense secretary james mattis

in south korea deals with north korea's claim it has a long-range missile capable of carrying a nuclear weapon that could reach the continental united states. on still another front, new fighting in ukraine could be an early test with president trump's relations with russia. and a testy call with australian prime minister. one of the united states's as strong as allies and mr. trump reportedly trying to send him the u.s. the next boston bombers with the agreement to send 1,250 refuges here and mr. trump hanging up after 25 minutes according to "the washington post" and tweeting wednesday night, do you believe it? the obama administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from australia? why? i will study this dumb deal! overnight the australian prime minister tried to downplay the dispute. >> the report that the president hung up is not correct. the call ended courteously and

as far as the nature of the discussion, it was very frank and forthright. i stand up for australia's interests. i make australia's case as powerful and persuasive as i can wherever i am. >> this as the president and his daughter flew to delaware to receive the remains of a first service member killed in action on the new president's watch. >> i just returned from an amazing visit with a great, great family at dover and it was something very sad, very beautiful. ryan, a great man. >> so a lot of headaches for rex tillerson, the new secretary of state who takes over and coming into the state department and welcomed later this morning. i got to tell you, from all of my reporting, the foreign service is really eager for this to happen. they have had extraordinary numbers of people signing that dissent letter and challenging

the immigration policies. they think that he is going to have their back, that he has been listening to them in these transition periods and they think they will have a voice at the table which they have not had. >> wow. that is actually good news, andrea. good to hear. >> thank you, andrea. >> you bet. your thoughts. especially given iran being on notice and rex just getting sworn in. do you think that perhaps the secretary of state could contribute to these conversations now? >> absolutely. two reactions to andrea's report. one is the challenge for rex tillerson. every administration, the relationship between the center and the departments, obviously a big one. the other is the challenge. yo could have the russians with ukraine. >> i don't think you're going to, again, not -- certainly not early on because the middle east

is their main focus, whether it's peace between the israelis and the palestinians, or iran, or isis. they are doing just what you said bush and obama did for 16 years. and just focus on this one region. >> but the world won't let you. north korea, perhaps ukraine, the rest of nato. we will see what happens in other parts. you don't have the luxury of having a middle east focus and i think the question of what is enough to do there but not too much, given everything else that will be a real test. >> what is happening in ukraine right now? what can you tell us? >> what you're seeing some signs of fighting. between russian backed forces in eastern ukraine and you're seeing shelling and people killed and temperatures going up there. the question is do the russians begin to escalate, you know, in their support for the forces

they have put in there over the years and for the locals there who they are supporting and how does the ukraine government react to it? the idea that could become more of a crisis, it's happening. >> tillerson said something in his hearing that donald trump never said which is we should arm the ukraines which is an important step now he has been confirmed. >> everybody else in the last administration wanted to do it and president obama didn't want to do it. question whether to reintroduce american military forces into nato and, secondly, whether to do more for the ukrainians and that will figure in what kind of signals he wants to send. >> what was president obama's logic about not arming the ukrainians? >> he was worried with the russians responded and escalated set in a chain of events that we didn't want to face all sorts of questions then about what to do already coming up, dr. zbigniew brzezinski is urging the president to give a major pr foreign policy address. up next why that is critical for the country and the world.

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brexit supporter was speaking to the european parliament yesterday about his support for president trump's actions in his first days of

office. as he spoke a member representing london held up a handwritten sign saying he's lying to you. the man was later scolded for the move and told the press was out of frustration for the former united kingdom leading getting air time without being challenged. >> wow. >> that's just -- >> that's a bold move right there. >> bold move. >> childish move? i don't know. installing his secretary of state should help president trump codify his foreign policy. we know the main messenger of the new administration is the president, himself. with that in mind former onal security adviser dr. zbigniew brzezinski says the new commander in chief needs to personally address the economy and do it soon. here is our conversation with mika's dad. >> you have been suggesting for a few weeks that the president needs to get out and deliver a foreign policy speech to the world. why should he do that? and what should be contained in

that speech? >> and are we running out of time? >> there is both the global a personal reason for it. first of all, personal. the president has to redeem himself internationally. he is the president of the united states. he is my president, even though i didn't support him, but i'm for him. i want him to be a success. he doesn't look like a success to the rest of the world right now. so he has to redeem himself. but, secondly, the world has to have more confidence in the united states. so we have to bear in mind the world needs america, but america needs the world. i would like the president to give a comprehensive speech in which he outlines why america is important to the world and why the world needs america. but, at the same time, take advantage of the opportunity and point out what we expect from the world. that is a perfectly decent comprehensive speech. it doesn't get him involved in immediate detail but at the same

time, sets a tone and in the short run most importantly of all improves his image. >> let's talk about the foreign policy team and how they work together. a lot of strong personalities with general mattis at the pentagon, rex tillerson at state. general kelly at dhs. mike pompeo at the cia. talk about in your position in the carter white house how these relationships formed and how they get balanced out, and what the president should do to sort through these strong personalities. of course, he doesn't have a strong national security adviser such as yourself. >> well, for four years, i was in effect on behalf of the president and under his instructions, running the process, the policy making process within that framework. i wouldn't have on the staff supporting that process anyone who has had or still has a personal stake in financial arrangements with some of the

key countries that we have to deal with in greater detail. i don't want to mention names and starting suggestions. but i think there is a real problem with the personnel, the supportive personnel that is engaged in this process. we have to be very careful to ensure that the staff supporting that exercise shares a common perspective defined by the president and enforced strictly by the person in charge of the entire national security process and that particular instance was me for four years. but they should be able to find someone good enough to do it. >> what are the challenges for any administration as they come in and try to hit the ground running? >> well, first of all, i think so set the theme for the overall relationship america and the world. the world has to recognize that they really need us and need us in a positive way. and we have to recognize that our impact on the world can be only derived from the shared

understanding of some of the key issues. >> dr. brzezinski, what is your view of the impact around the world of president trump's executive order travel ban, the immigration ban from seven countries and the cessation temporarily of the refuge program here in the united states? as you pull back, what does it mean for america and the world. >> well, i think in a general sense, it damages our image. obviously, and for good reasons. some countries, some people, some faiths are very negatively effective and very cruelly affected so that policnes rapid improvement. >> dr. zbigniew brzezinski. always glad to have your dad on. >> it's great and ed better than i did. i said at the top of the show, we don't know what the vision is and it would be great to hear that. >> interesting to say, too, he is my president, i'm root for his success. i didn't support him but he has to succeed for america. >> you know what that is being called? >> what is that? >> the scarlett johansson

doctrine. i didn't vote for him but i want to support him. the johansson doctrine. write that down and our grandchildren will be learning that in the history books. >> the cool kids call it the scarred joe. you have to read "us weekly" next. a new poll that shows democratic women are particularly energized now to get politically active but that can be turned into political wins? we put that question to the president of the planned har parenthood cecile richards. we are back in a moment. there are over 47 million ford vehicles out here. that has everything to do with the people in here. their training is developed by the same company who designed, engineered, and built the cars. they've got the parts, tools, and know-how to help keep

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former vice president joe biden stepped back on to a political scene endorsing former obama labor secretary tom perez for dnc chair. biden saying, quote, we have a lot of good people vying for this important job but i do think for this moment, and in this time, tom perez is our best bet to help bring the party back. the former vice president who swore in the obama appointee four years ago also called him a

man of integrity and vision, adding, quote, tom knows how to talk to people. not down to them. he knows how to explain why our party's core beliefs matter to the immigrant family in arizona and the coal miner in west virginia. but senator bernie sanders responded reaffirming his support for congressman keith ellison saying, do we stay with this approach or go forward with a fundamental restructuring of the democratic party? wow. that also could pertain to our next guest and how we move forward. joining us now is president of the planned parenthood federation of america, cecile richards. good to have you on. trying to get you on this show for a few weeks. we need to talk about some issues. could we say the lady on "house of cards" stole our haircut? do you get that all the time? >> i do. >> i think we were there first. >> exactly! >> perhaps for a long time. let's get serious, though. how is the outlook for planned

parenthood? and as it pertains to politics and women's and women's health and you pare down the sub issues of women's health. are you optimistic or a little bit nervous right now to say the least? >> well, i'm nervous about congress. but i'm very optimistic about planned parenthood. we have never been more popular. we just hit 10 million supporters. and the reason we are popular is because 1 in 5 women in the country come to us for health care. what we are concerned about when paul ryan said the second day of the congress he was going to move to implok women from coming to planned parenthood. we have seen outpouring 6 spoof support and concern. >> there are other health care providers for women. the question is funding and the choices to -- who to give the funding to. the issue of abortion steps into that. are you looking at the reality of the situation? >> sure, absolutely. i'm glad you asked this or brought this up, because here is

what is really important. planned parenthood doesn't get a check from the federal government. we work like every other hospital or health care provider and get reimbursed for the services we provide which are all preventive. this is birth control, cancer screenings. as paul ryan knows, the federal government does not pay for abortion funding and hasn't for years and years and years. what he is talking about doing is talking about the women to not come to us for the care and the unintended pregnancy in the first place. >> do you think your funding will stillontinue, given the political state in washington? >> well, i would say it's in jeopardy. >> it is when you have someone like paul ryan who is putting politics ahead of women's health care. but, again, the support for planned parenthood, i think it's important. this isn't a partisan issue and one of the mistakes i think he is making. women who come to planned parenthood come from every walk of life. >> many are republicans? >> absolutely. >> candidates who have had a reaction from republican women who are like, okay, wait a

minute. we don't feel this way. having said that, if you speak in broad strokes so early on in a new administration with a new set of them in washington and a new party in power, do you perhaps miss the boat on working with them and being able them a? >> we have great support from some of the republicans in office. as you say, so many of our patients are republicans. in fact, there was a poll this politico did in the election that said half of president trump's own voters supported federal funding for planned parenthood. many are our patients. they think this is about draining the swamp and creating jobs, not taking away access to health care. we have three senators in paul ryan's district that provide cancer screening. women are concerned. they were concerned about losing their access at the family planning. >> is that really -- is that

what it's about? are women in jeopardy of losing their health care? is that a care assessment of the situation or is planned parenthood in jeopardy of losing its funding? >> what's interesting, as you brought up and speaker ryan tried to say other folks provide care. we heard repeatedly and publicly, the health centers said, we cannot absorb the millions of patients planned parenthood sees. we are theexpert in birth control. one thing that is important, we are at a record low for teenage pregnancy in the united states of america. a 30 year low for unplanned pregnancy. we are doing a better job of family planning. we have 55 million women under affordable care act getting low cost birth control. those things matter to women's lives, regardless of political party, that is what we are trying to emphasize to speaker

ryan. >> i talked to you the day after the women's march, which turned out to be bigger than many expects. >> right. >> a show of force that was organic. future leaders, in the democratic party, future leaders for women, who are they and who are you looking to to pave the way for planned parenthood and organizations like that in the future? who are they? >> i think it's been interesting to see the power of the women in the senate. we have elected women who are very strong and i think exciting and interesting and different. when i look at leadership, i would say, one of the things about the march is marches. there was a huge turnout in washington. it was boise, idaho, 10,000 people in salt lake city. my state of texas, the biggest march ever in the history of the state. i think those marches were about

something bigger, not who is in congress and elected office, but women making their voice heard. one other thing, mika, that was fascinating is how many men were there. i saw grandfathers marching in support of their granddaughters and husbands marching for women's rights. to me, it is about women's rights, but bigger than simply women standing up. >> what do you make of the new administration, the new president and would you meet with him or ivanka who will be closely involved in women's issues? >> we arhoping the ining theyil at the women's health care, including planned parenthood. the president, himself, said favorable things about the millions of women helped by planned parenthood. i hope the administration is looking at this, for women, this is basic health care. this is not a police cal statement. if we want to do something to

build on the progress of reducing unintended pregnancy, reducing the abortion rate in the united states, reducing teen pregnancy, we should double down on family planning, including access to planned parenthood. >> you have to cut a deal with the new administration in a way. would you come to the table? >> we are always at the table. we talk to everybody. we are nonpartisan. we believe the most important thing is women in this country get access to health care they need. >> thank you so much. good to have you. >> good to see you. still ahead, developing news from washington. this is a live picture we have for you after the international ballroom at the washington hilton, where president trump is expected to address the national prayer breakfast at any moment now. we are going to go there live when that happens. the president's foreign policy dominated the headlines putting iran on notice, to the report the president badgered the prime minister of australia in a phone

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it's thursday, february 2nd. we are following breaking news from washington. we want to show you a live

picture inside the washington hilton international ballroom where president trump is set to address the national prayer breakfast organized by congress. it's an annual tradition dating back to eisenhower. the president has arrived at the washington hilton, expected to take the stage at any moment. of course, we are going carry those remarks live. >> we have a lot to talk about this morning. rex tillerson sworn in yesterday. news out of australia that certainly would concern any u.s. ally, if you are fans of men at work or olivia newton-john. hit's going to be interesting to see what happens there. all australia has been one of our steadfast allies, we have been side by side fighting alongside u.s. troops for well over a century. you don't want to get in fights with steadfast allies like that.

obviously, iran -- >> secretary of state. >> new secretary of state, betsy devos. a lot going on. >> threat of the nuclear option. >> threat of the nuclear option, yeah. >> especially this order, the shelter in place order lifted at uc berkeley after a conversation turned violent. the speech was canceled saying he was evacuated from the cam s campus. the berkeley college republicans called it tragic that the free speech movement is the final resting place. earlier this morning, president trump weighed in on this tweeting if uc berkeley does not allow free speech, no federal fun funds, question mark. >> wow! given if conversation we just had. >> a lot of troubling images coming out of berkeley this morning. >> i'm for free speech all

around. they have a right to protest. i never like, no matter who the speaker is, i never like to have an event canceled. it's never a good thing. i think the university will have to have a debate about what happened. he's an inflammatory guy, but people on campuses should welcome it. the head of that university is the former homeland security secretary. there's the president. janet napolitano. she will have to keep it from happening again. >> the president taking the stage at the washington hilton at the national prayer breakfast shaking hands. we are going take his remarks live, which should happen in a moment. these are traditional moments for the president. he skipped the first few in washington, but this one, the president sees extremely important. >> it was vague on whether he

should go to the dinner. every newly elected president goes to it. it's a writ of passage. he decided not to go. the staff believed it would send a strong message to go to something that seemed that clubby. here, the national prayer breakfast, not too hard of a decision for a republican president to make. there are going to be introductions here. it's interesting, though, a historical context of this footnote. the incoming house secretary, his moment in the national spotlight when he attacked barack obama just a few feet away at this same event. i guess back in 2000 what? 2009, 2013. >> it was a big moment. this is one of the few remaining bipartisan event that happens in

washington. they go give uplifting, humorous, prayerful talks. this is not the kind of talk people associate with this particular president. >> mark burnett to his right who he is talking to right now. we saw the senator from delaware who is also, of course, there, on the other side of the podium, who it looks like he is running the event on the congressional side. this is fascinating. not only do you have washington politico's here, you have people from across the world that come into this prayer breakfast. it's a very international event. i want to get back to berkeley, though. you are right, there are a lot of questions about what a president of a university should and shouldn't do.

obviously the speaker is deeply offensive to many, many americans and certainly deeply offensive to most of the students on that college campus. i think the problem, though, with college campuses that a lot of people would be concerned about is the fact that even speakers like condoleezza rice, and christine la guard have been kept from college campuses now. it reminds me of "the closing of the american mind." this is what that book predicted. >> you see violence and you see an effort to keep someone from appearing as opposed to engaging in free speech to encounter the ideas he has that they don't like. this is a reality of the trump era so far. one of the interesting things about the prayer breakfast, a lot of what the president said so far, particularly on twitter is a cause of devisiveness. the peaceful protest. this morning, he has the

opportunity, i think, to dial down the rhetoric and talk about a vision of america that's more gracious, humble and unifying. >> it is important to remember that one of the landmark first amendment cases had to do with the right of nazis march through an illinois town. >> a town with a lot of holocaust survivors. >> right. first amendment is not there to protect safe speech. it is there to protect the most offensive speech. >> yeah, i think in this case, at berkeley, genuine security questions. they had to get milo out the side door. this is the logical conclusion of years of a small group of people on college campuses bullying the administration into backing away from condi rice.

maybe you think she's respon responsible for the iraq war, but that doesn't mean she doesn't get on stage and speak. it led up here. the reflex, we don't want trouble, let's not have this person speak. to me, it's the wrong instinct. the trend of giving college, young adults safe spaces and coloring books to deal with the pain of having conservatives speak is not a good trend and i hope it goes away. >> it is pathetic. obvious lly condi rice far id logically from the speaker who caused this last night. >> right. >> that said, free speech is free speech is free speech, even if it is offensive, it must be protected on college campuses. >> i completely understand the discomfort some of us might feel. i did, too, about creating safe spaces at colleges to get over

what happened politically. it sort of is vexing, given that you go to a university to develop an open mind to understand different points of view, not to block out hearings. >> you are talking afterlary clinton's loss, college campuses across the nation actually talked about creating safe spaces for people to talk about their pain. >> but having said that, this is a president whose campaign didn't necessarily push away some of the more disturbing aspects, sometimes slightly violent aspects of events, campaign rallies, i'm thinking chicago. i believe there were rallies in the streets turning ugly. then candidate trump was on the phone live to the networks and sort of the question was, was it being ginned up? was it being egged on?

knock 'em out, beat 'em up, whatever. you wonder, as a president, could he be more measured and sort of help urge people to egg it on. >> the times call for it. if you look at what happened over the past ten days with the women's march, then what happened with the immigration order, what happened last night. i have no doubt in my mind that images out of berkeley and other images of violent or near violent protests will actually help him politically and they certainly understand that. but, we have a much, much bigger issue at hand here. >> yeah. >> we have a country that is deeply divided. we got elected in part by playing on those divisions. he asked people in his white house that want to play on those divisions because they see that as a way for him to gain strength. but, it is, at the end, it is a very shortsighted strategy.

it gets you to 42%-43%. that is it. when things go wrong, it puts you down in the 30s. so, we need a unifying voice now more than ever in this country. obviously the president would be in a better position to unif i don't know that i would threaten the funding of uc berkeley because of rowdy protesters. i think the other way to go, i respect the first amendment. i expect everybody should have a right to speak. i'm going to be working with the president of uc berkeley to see how we can assure the safety of speakers in the future. >> he had a point in the first half of the tweet, let's not shut down the speech we agree with. we are going to have to defund. talk about losing the white house. steve bannon, who ran breitbart,

employed milo, the speaker that caused this controversy. milo says and does things we find repellent, that doesn't mean throwing molotov cocktails at law enforcement is the way to do it. >> the paradox of donald trump is one of the most things he's done is choosing a guy who is gracious and shows extraordinary humility. those are not two things people associate with donald trump in his public roll. he valued those traits in his nominee. this is his best opportunity to show those two traits. >> it's really a tail of two staffs. he valued those characteristics in the secretary of defense. he valued those characteristics with rex tillerson, a man who is

a strong leader and personally is from, what i read, can be humble and a strong leader. general kelly. you heard nothing but great things about him personally. you can go across the board. you can. we have seen this past week, there is a faction inside the white house that drafted up an executive order that was linked to the press last night, that would be seen as being discriminatory to many groups that others in the white house killed. but, you have this battle inside the white house and who wins the battle determines the direction this white house goes and the direction the country goes. the stakes could not be higher. >> we are awaiting the president to speak. chris cons is speaking now. we'll take it live when it

happens. in other news, as we await the prayer breakfast to get under way, new details on president trump's weekend phone call with australia's prime minister. the president spoke with malcolm turn bolt. the official readout of the call said they emphasized the enduring strength and closeness of the u.s./australia relationship calling it critical for peace stability and prosperity. >> very good. that's what we want. >> according to "the washington post," trump said he spoke with four other world leaders saturday including russian president vladimir putin. the quote, this was the worst call by far. the president is not pleased with the deal made by the obama administration to resettle 1250 refugees australia is housing at hour shore detention centers.

they are primarily from countries from the travel ban. according to the post, the president said he was going to get killed politically and accu accused australia of trying to expert the next boston bombers. it was supposed to be an hour long. the post reports trump promptly ended it after 25 minutes. the president of australia doesn't agree. >> it is not correct. the call ended courteously. as far as the nature of the discussion, it was frank and forefront. i stand-up for australia's interest. i make australia's case as powerfully and persuasively as i can wherever i am. >> tuesday, press secretary sean spicer said the resettlement agreement will go forward. last night, president trump

pumped the brakes, do you believe it, the obama administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from australia. why? i will study this dumb deal. joining us, peter alexander with more. peter? >> the old commercial used to stay fosters, australian for beer. this is australian for this is a tough conversation they had. we spoke to a white house senior official a matter of moments ago. they described the call as blunt. we asked why it was 25 minutes long instead of an hour. they said the president was done with the conversation. they pushed back on the idea there was yelling going on there. they say it was blunt. they are not concerned about fallout in terms of this relationship going forward. it's worth noting this morning, we have heard that malcolm turnbolt, the australian leader called it a dumb deal.

it's worth noting the u.s. has the opportunity to vet the 1200 plus individuals before they come to the united states on the left. this is notable because of the relationip with australia. they have to decide if they are one of the closest allies. i want to talk about the prayer breakfast you have been watching. jordan's king abdullah is going to be speaking a short time from now. i think it will be part of an interesting conversation that takes place today, specifically given the fact that jordan has taken in so many refugees and the u.s. only 12,000. >> peter alexander, thank you very much. president trump said they should do what it takes to confirm judge neil gorsuch. >> i would say if you can mitch,

go nuclear. that would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was up in the web. i would say it's up to mitch, but go for it. >> democrat minority leader chuck schumer said the supreme court nominees have met. judge gorsuch went to capitol hill where he met with senators of both parties. republicans refusing to hold a hearing on the nominee, mayor garlin. republican leader mcconnell said he followed the biden rule. quote, i look to the precedent set by joe biden who declared the supreme court vacancies arising in the midst of a presidential elect should not be considered until the campaign

ended. joining us is kristen welker. what is the latest on this? given the facthere is a lot of sore feelings.k there's a >> reporter: a lot of sore feelings, no doubt about that. i had a late night conversation with an official ingauged in the effort to get judge gorsuch through the process. he said look, there's no doubt these frustrations are real. this is going to be the challenge. they need to get eight democrats on board with judge gorsuch to have it pass 60 votes. yes, the nuclear option is out there. it's not what anyone wants. it will add to the tension. i said how will you describe the strategy to get the 60 votes? it's going to be all hands on deck. he will be back on capitol hill today. he spent hours there yesterday. i was told he had a number of good conversations, including with democrats. the democrats in red states said

they need to get on board to pass confirmation. that's going to be a strategy moving forward. the argument, i'm told, is one of consistency. if you read his legal decisions, there is a consistency throughout them. you may disagree with them, but he is someone who has sort of lived up to his word. that's going to be their strategy. there is no doubt, this is going to be tough. i'm told there's a confidence because he's a supreme court justice and the credentials they can get the 60 votes. still a question mark, mika, about whether or not they can do that. >> thank you very much. >> mark, do you think it ends up with nuclear option? you were saying you think they can get to 60. >> it's possible they can get to 60. not just with the red state democrats. they believe the nominee has a right to be heard and don't want to do the eye for an eye based

on president obama. >> senator blumen that will. >> durbin madeous about that. i think this wl be decided in the public realm where they will pressure democratic senators to hold the line. there's going to be an effort to pressure them to say you must vote for him. go back to what chuck todd said the night of the nomination, he will be persuasive. the human element can't be underestimated. i think some of them may feel he deserves a chance. there's cross pressure on the democrats. it's going to be intention. >> mayor garlin didn't get the courtesy calls from the republicans. >> he was not an extreme pick at all. >> they are out for blood on this one. it will be seen as a betrayal to

many democrats if a democratic senator votes for this choice. >> the republicans are pressuring saying it should be done in 60 or 75 days. this may sit for a while where mcconnell does not want to exercise the nuclear option and the democrats don't give him the 60 votes he needs. there may be a stand off and they have to look for a resolution. >> still ahead on "morning joe," no more outspoken advocate for bob corker. we'll get the senators take on the executive order limiting the flow of people from other countries. you are watching "morning joe." we'll be right back.

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president trump made an unannounced trip to dover air force base to honor william ryan owens. owne

owens from peoria, illins was killed in a raid in yemen. the trip was kept secret. the president was expected to speak with the owen family who requested the dignified transfer of his body be private. when president trump returned to the white house he made remarks about the family and how he plans to approach global challenges. >> just returned from an amazing visit with a great, great family at dover. it was something very sad, very beautiful. ryan, a great man. to bring a focus to foreign affairs, take a fresh look at the world around us and to seek new solutions grounded in very ancient truths. these truths include the fact

that nations have a right to protect their interests, that all people have a right to freely pursue their own destiny and that all of us are better off when we act in concert and not in conflict. >> meanwhile, we are learning more about that raid on an al qaedaout post in yemen. they say, quote, it included regrettably that civilian noncombatants were killed in the raid and children may be among them. the white house adds 14 militants were also killed. unnamed u.s. military officials say the mission was approved without sufficient intelligence back up preparations. the seal team arrived with a heavily armed contingent. the operation was vetted by the previous administration and the defense secretary signed off on it in january. the raid was first approved by

president trump. new york times has a lot of reporting about this, mark. the s.e.a.l.s before they got there knew they had been compromised and were surprised how prepared the militants were. the women picked up arms. the fire fight killed navy s.e.a.l. owen and civilians according to the pentagon. >> it's great the president went and honored it. this story, we don't have all the facts. there's conflicts on the background. the fact that on background, with respect to the news organization, we add d.o.d. officials say it shouldn't have been approved. it is a serious accusation. this is, in some ways, the most important because it goes to the fact that you have people in the pentagon willing to say the

commander in chief made a mistake and it was not sufficiently vetted and the point throughout the program, without a defense secretary in place, the secretary of state just in place took serious time for the president to make these kind of decisions. if the accusations are true, it's amongst the most serious charges leveled against him. >> i think this is probably the new normal. you have people at the d.o.d. that are very concerned about things they are seeing out of the white house. you have people at the cia who share those same concerns. it's something that we were warning the administration about on this show in the transition. you cross the cia and you cross people in other agencies and you cross as a state department. we have all been around this long enough to know, they will cut you up. anthey will have absotely no -- no hesitation in saying

what was leaked to "the new york times." again, extraordinary, two weeks in, the d.o.d. officials are telling the times, off the record, that the president should have halted the mission. this is, again, guess what? you make war with everybody, everybody fights you back. that's whether it's bureaucrats in the d.o.d., the state department, cia, leaders in australia, new england, you name it. go down the list. >> they are accusations. you can't assume they are true. your point, to be at war with the state department, intelligence community, the pentagon, he's kept capitol hill together so far but they want to do things in a different way and change things fundamentally. it will be harder to have success if he is at war with the groups. the leak of two conversations with foreign leaders, mexico and

australia to have pentagon officials making this. it's up to tillerson to some extent to get people to understand there is a new sheriff in town. he's going to do things differently. you work for him. >> the problem is -- that's it, the problem is, when you fight the agencies, you are fighting yourself because they work for you. you fight your allies, you are fighting yourself because they are shoulder-to-shoulder with you like australia stood shoulder-to-shoulder through the world wars and every battle we have ever fought. the australians have been there with us. so, if you are having that much trouble with allies, god help us when it comes to dealing with enemies. >> coming up on "morning joe," we are awaiting the president to speak at the national prayer breakfast and a lot to cover with bobcorker. he joins us live, next.

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president trump severely criticized the various agreements reached between iran, the obama administration and the united nations and weak and ineffective. instead of being thankful, in is feeling emboldens. as of today, we are officially putting iran on notice.

thank you. >> joining us on capitol hill, senator bob corker of tennessee. very good to have you on board this morning. >> good to be with you, thank you. >> iran on notice. do you think the timing and the preparation was correct in terms of general flynn's call out to iran? are you concerned at all? >> no, i happened to be in his office yesterday when he walked up to deliver those remarks. i was over doing several things at the white house. i think this has been planned. look, the ballistic missile test that just occurred needs something to happen. they need to be put on notice and hopefully actions will follow. i don't think this is one of those thing that is is a not -- in any way. i think it's been thought out and they have plans. >> this is something that there was concern this was a follow up of some of the run and gun type activity we saw this past

weekend where a couple staffers went out on their own. are you detecting, from what you saw yesterday that actually processes are put in place there that would provide at least some comfort to people on your committee? >> i definitely think there's been a process in place. obviously rex tillerson, whoas over there yesterday at the same time i was there was just sworn in. there's no question that, you know, he's just coming into office. i do think they thought this through. i think they have a plan. to be honest, i'm pretty excited about it. i think what's happened, joe, they have always thought iran, as i have, the iran deal was a bad deal, okay? i think what's happened is they have come into office. they have had the ability now to see intelligence and they are probably even more upset about the lack of action over the last

six or seven months based on them knowing now that, look, you know, without being too much, the former administration should have taken action, did not take action. i think they are more anxious to make sure that we push back against what iran has been doing. >> that's good to hear. since you were in the room, can you confirm european nations were considered in this process, perhaps the conversations that looked at the whole landscape so we can get some buy in? >> well, you know, i saw your program earlier this morning and i will say this, the iran sanctions that have gone in place initially have always been through u.s. leadership. we had differences, i had differences, ben had differences with the european approach with this deal. they have interests that are different than ours. i'm sorry, they are our friends, i'm going to meet with one

today. they had a desire to do business with iran that we didn't have. they were willing to overlook things. i think it's appropriate for us to lead on pushing back. i do agree with richard earlier and i have a letter going out today, we need to build the international community support but let's face it, we have been turning our head on ballistic missile testing, armed sales, water, overages. we have. we need to push back. iran will take advantage. by the way, we need to have agreements. this agreement is not in our interest and after year seven or eight, they are able to develop a nuclear weapon legally. even though there's language on the front end that says they will not develop a nuclear weapon, we paved the way for that. i actually applaud what is happening. i strongly applaud it. my guess is there's going to be bipartisan applause. i think that, again, i think

this has been thought out much more fully. i think what happened over the weekend was a wake up call. i saw reince yesterday. i have to be honest, it feels together over there right now. i'm happy that general flynn did what he did yesterday. >> mr. chairman, it's willie geist. you said we need more pushback against iran. what does that mean? are you talking sanctions or is there a point for you, as the white house said in a briefing yesterday or off the record briefing, perhaps military options should be on the table as well? >> it's too early to talk about military options. i think, on the other hand, when they threaten with -- when they threaten us in other ways, move away from the nuclear agreement. when they have their naval vessels threatening ours, they need to be aware there's a new day. we are not putting up with the things they have been doing in

the region. i think you are going to see pushback not only against the violations on the nuclear agreement, i think you are going to be, as there should have been all along, pushback against what they are doing in yemen, in syria, what they are doing in other places. i wrote an op-ed when the iran deal took place stating it was going to become our de facto policy in the middle east and it has become that. i think what you are seeing is an administration coming in, understanding what iran is, who they are, what they do, i think you are going to see a coordinated effort to push back against their actions in the region. i support that. >> i hear you chairman. what is the pushback? what are we talking about here? >> i think you are going to see them -- let them roll out what they plan to do. >> sanctions, for example on the

table? >> again, i think you have tillerson coming in. i know he's very much on this. let's -- i hope, certainly, i have a letter going out today, i certainly hope, at a minimum, we are looking at tougher sanctions on the nuclear issue, but also the other activities taking place in the region. a bill last year to push the obama administration in this direction. i think you are going to see a coordinated effort sanctions wise and other in multiple ways against iran as should be the case. >> senator, what do you see as the implications of the fact in the last 24 hours, u.s. government officials have given ils accounts of president trump's private conversations with two world leaders and defense officials making the accusations that the mission that ended in the loss of american life was ill -- should

not have been approved? >> look, i'm not, you know, we have a love my office here. leaks are unacceptable. we all are able to talk vigiously about issues and come out and be in a unified state. leaks out of the white house, to me, are totally unacceptable and should never happen. as z itd relates to yemen, what we understand to be the case is this mission was planned long ago. it started under the obama administration. this was not some her ki jerky deal. it's unfortunate an outstanding young man lost his life. i know president trump was on his way to dover yesterday. i bumped into him and had words with him. he hates to see any of our great men and women lose their life. this is not something that was a herky jerky deal.

>> senator bob corker, thank you very much. >> thank you, senator. >> thank you. >> the president is expected to speak at the prayer breakfast today. we'll go live when he does. the breaking news as we go to break, punxsutawney phil has seen his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter ahead. >> wow. maybe bloomburg should be been there. >> it was de blasio. >> bloomburg called him an s.o.b.

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i think the election was an incredible vindication for the american people across this country and those in rural america in what elites on both coasts consider to be flyover country. this election could be well understood as the revenge of

flyover country. >> wow. >> went to harvard, had family members work for goldman sachs. could we continue? i think princeton as well. those elites. >> that was ted cruz, senator ted cruz and the election of donald trump and cultural and geographical terms. joining us now, best selling author, robert kaplan. he describes how geography explains the world. i would make several journeys one in my teens filled with curiosity, then as a middle-aged journalist writing about social and environmental issues. finally, in my middle 60s, chastened by international events hoping to learn something about america's place in the world by looking at the country around me.

>> how geography and the role in the world. i think it's your excuse to go out and write about something you love, which is america's geography, the most remarkable in the world. >> yes, it is. i have traveled in mongolia, yemen, china and i have never seen a view like driving for days and days across the tall grass prairie of the middle west, hiting the short grass, great plains, flat for days, then boom, the front range of the rocky mountains. imagine what it must have looked like for settlers, for the first pioneers in the 19th century. settling the west was america's first experience with natn building. >> how does it shape, as you say, america' role in the world? we agree it's beautiful and different in parts in the country. >> america is the great -- the temperate zone of north america

is the largest of the island satellites around the land mass. we are protected from all the conflicts of the old world or have been. but, at the same time, we have more miles of navigatibilitibil areas. the river system flows into the mississippi, the missouri, the greater caribbean, uniting us with the sea lines of communication. historically, we have been protected from the old world. at the same time, we have been connected to it through mer time trade and that enabled america to be fated to lead. we are fated to be a world leader because we have the most add venn teenageous geography for protecting power in world history. >> how does it reflect in the election and presidential elections? >> i think donald trump's election is an expression of what i saw across the country.

i traveled in the spring of 2015, nine months before the first primaries. the thing that struck me again and again is the very thing we pay lip service to and assume exists, the middle class was disappearing before my eyes. a global koz poll tan whiskey sipping elites in nebraska and eastern wyoming. much, much larger was a formally middle class that was slipping into working class desperation and poverty. i think it's this crumbling of the middle class that ignited this election result. >> i'm stunned about your statistic about our waterways. >> i didn't know that either. >> economic implications. >> yes, it does. >> does that play into national security? >> absolutely. pittsburgh is on the ohio river connecting to the mississippi to the caribbean. pittsburgh in the 19th century was an international port. you know, that's how the

interior of america was just connected. it does have international economic implications. because we have a maritime navy, we have a great navy. a maritime power, we have a great navy. 300 warship navy. we conquered the desert. to maritime nation, a maritime power. the point of con decision that i write about what you see america's power is naval base san diego, lines of destroyers, cruisers, an occasional submarine or aircraft carrier. >> you drove across the country when you were a teenager. how much has this country changed in the years you have been driving across it? specifically, as you talk about the middle classes slide to the working class. >> what i have seen, when i traveled across the country for the first time in 1970, 47 years

ago, almost, you came upon a place like colorado springs, suddenly. there was nothing, then you were in downtown colorado springs with the rockies behind you. now you go through miles and miles of suburbs and exburbs. that's what you see, this extension of greater city states, i call them. omaha, lincoln, nebraska. the urban mass is expanding. what you really see is globalization, which has brought america into the world, redivided us. there's a section of our country, which has been swept up successfully into globalization. a larger part, which can't compete, which is left behind. >> the book is earning the rockies, how geography shapes america's roll in the world. robert kaplan, thank you for being on the show.

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i realize that ah, that $100k is notwell, a 103fortune. yeah, 103. well, let me ask you guys. how long did it take you two to save that? a long time. then it's a fortune. well, i'm sure you talk to people all the time who think $100k is just pocket change. right now we're just talking to you. i told you we had a fortune. yes, you did. getting closer to your investment goals starts with a conversation. schedule a complimentary goal planning session today. let's bring in sarah from the new york stock change. what are you watching this morning? >> good morning, mika. some of the biggest names in

technology are taking their opposition to president trump's immigration order to the next level. now, they are banding together. we are talking apple, alphabet, which is google, facebook, uber and others, composing a joint letter. our partner got a draft letter. they are reporting this. here is a snippet from it. our nation's compassion is what makes it successful. we want to identify approaches for thorough screening without a blanket suspension of admissions. they say while security and vetting procedures can and should be subject to continuous evaluation, a blanket suspension is not the right approach. the argument here according to the industry players that affect their workers and visa holders and affect their ability to get the best talent abroad. now, trump is meeting, president trump is meeting in washington today with executives from

harley-davidson. tomorrow, more ceo's coming to the white house including jaime diamond. the big stock mover, facebook reporting earnings, stunning growth in facebook. i pulled out a few numbers to show you. now, 1.86 billion users around the globe. two-thirds of them visit every day. it's a company that gets most sales from mobile phones, 84% of that. back to you. >> share ra, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> interesting, the facebook numbers. the big news with facebook this week is the rise of fake news and a lot of it comes from facebook. >> isn't it something, a third of fake news stories come from facebook. 8% a real. >> very big problems. >> what did you learn today? >> things are cplely co-lessing as much as everyone, bob corker and you think. i'm hopeful. i hope we hear something from

the president cohesive. srk mark? srk the white house has a lot of big stories to deal with today that are developing. the president has been sitting over an hour waiting to speak. >> i learned from senator corker, it feels like things coming. sounds like they have a plan. >> they have a plan in place. we shall see. >> that does it for us this morning. stephanie ruhle picks up the coverage now. >> thanks. good morning, i'm stephanie ruhle. we are waiting for president trump to speak at the national prayer breakfast at any moment. we'll bring the live remarks. first, we have a lot to cover, starting with tough talking. president trump in a multi-prong, diplomatic attack, blasting a key ally. ready for this? australia. the australia prime minister over the phone. he's taking a brazen hard line on iran. >> we are officially putting iran on notice. >> even reporte