"morning joe" is starting right now. mr. president, the suggestion word of the great coretta scott king would voc rule 19 rule 19 to sit down is outrageous. good morning. welcome to "morning joe." we have so much to get to. >> i don't get it. tom hanks says, i don't get it. it just doesn't make sense. >> well, we are going to make sense of it this morning. >> i don't get it. >> we have veteran columnist mike barnacle. i'm so sorry. >> happy to be here, thank you.

>> love to ann with everything you are going through. also with us, former treasury official and "morning joe" economic analyst steve rattner. and on capitol hill, niles stenich. oh, stenich. >> that's a little-known fact. >> i want to say stenich. >> "the new york times," we missed it because it was on the crease. apparently steve bannon is really big in the vatican. seriously, this guy has been an aide. this guy has been an aide.

this guy has been an aide for two weeks. he's on the cover of "newsweek." they have it on the front page of "the new york times." >> he's powerful. >> a story about him, seriously, it's a dan brown-up. secret power of the vatican. he's so powerful. >> no, he is. >> seriously, the da vinci code. it's the bannon code now. >> every story on the front page shortens his tenure. >> have you ever seen anything like this before? an aide to the president, now they have stories about him in

>> you have -- >> in any other administration, someone who did all that would be fired by now. >> this is outrageous. this is beyond outrageous. the press machine has been churned up for this guy daily. this actually does take it. to comedic new heights. >> steve has to get more of a light touch i would argue. right to the pope loves me. >> he actually is powerful, joe. he came from the media. he knows how to generate. >> instead play the media. >> i would say that everything he has stood for in the past is coming through in the policies that are being -- so it's not a mirage. he actually is very powerful. >> don't do that as a staff guy. >> internally. internally, there is no match for him in the white house. internally. >> apparently, maybe he thinks the president is not a match for him because he is getting more press than the president. >> cover of "time" magazine permanency to the national security council and now twinned with cardinal raymond burke, 68

years old from st. louis. >> according to "saturday night live" the president is now sitting at a small desk in the oval office and bannon is sitting at the big desk in the oval office. >> we have followed politics for a very long time have ever seen anything like this before in our lives from a staff member. two weeks in, the amount of press. this is unprecedented. >> well, look. we will get back to niles piece in a moment because he is talking about steve bannon flying too close to the sun. i don't think so. i think this is the plan. we will revisit because we have got a lot of news to get to. the second straight night, senate democrats launched an all night talkathon in protest of senator jeff sessions nomination to be attorney general. the move is nearly identical to the marathon of speeches against betsy devos that took place

monday night, but what happened with senator elizabeth warren has everybody talking. she was barred from speaking on the senate floor after majority leader mitch mcconnell said she had broken senate rules. warren had read a 1986 statement from senator ted kennedy when he led the opposition against sessions nomination at that time to be a federal judge. kennedy calling sessions a disgrace to the justice department. warren then also read a letter from coretta scott king, written in 1986 to the senate judiciary committee, also opposing sessions federal judge nomination. after that, senator mcconnell interrupted senator warren's floor speech to announce the rebuke. >> they are mothers, daughters, sisters, fathers, sons, and brothers. >> mr. president -- >> they are -- >> mr. president. >> the majority leader? >> senators impugn the motives

and conduct of our colleague from alabama as worn by the chair. senator warren, quote, said senator sessions has used the awesome power of his office to chill a free exercise of the vote by black citizens. i call the senator order under the provision to rule 19. >> mr. president? >> senator from massachusetts? >> mr. president, i am surprised that the words of coretta scott king are not suitable for debate in the united states senate. i ask leave of the senate to continue my remarks. >> is there objection? >> object. >> i appeal the ruling -- >> objection is heard. the senator will take her seat. >> wow! >> i got to tell you, i'm with elizabeth. >> that is what you had. like that scene in "big" tom

hanks is looking at that thing and he says, "i don't get it." ." how is she reading letters from two great people impugning? >> you got the wrong movie. clint eastwood, senator warren saying, "go ahead, make my day." >> out dumb to actually -- that's so stupid. >> look at this. >> on so many levels. >> the senate voted 49-43 along party lines that warren had violated the rule, that no senator in debate can impugn another senator. really? this was impugning? she is now barred from speaking on the floor until the senate wraps up debate over sessions' nomination. really? >> okay. >> fantastic! >> all you've done, willie, you played into her hand, first of all. >> yeah. >> and, secondly, not like jeff sessions is in the role as a senator here. >> and his history is controversial. come on, everybody. >> he wants to be attorney general which over the past two

weeks, has become -- like steve bannon thinks, it will be the most important on position in the administration, outside of the president. and, by the way, did they do that to ted cruz when he was running around calling mitch mcconnell a liar? >> on the floor of the senate. >> no. democrats have ruled out a list of other moments like that one there when ted cruz went after mitch mcconnell what weren't you being impugned there? this has not been invoked very often. what would it cost mitch mcconnell and republicans to let her read that letter for three minutes even if they don't like it and somebody was impugn as opposed to what they have now, which is the elevation of elizabeth warren. >> acting like babies. >> now she is a martar. >> after being banned from speaking, senator warren went to a nearby room and read the coretta scott king letter alive on facebook live. you go, girl. thank you. she posted a series of tweets

saying she will not be silent which i will be retweeting all day along with many democrats across the country. >> nobody ever expected her to be silent and mitch mcconnell should have known get more pu publicity off the senate floor than on the senate floor. >> fund-raising will be off the charts for senator warren. >> oh, my lord. >> they have done her the greatest favor, steve, the greatest favor. >> it was unbelievably stupid. republican senators rebuked warren saying they have seen the lost of decorum. >> turn on the news and watch these parliaments around the world. how do you feel about those countries? doesn't give you a lot of confidence in those countries. i'm not arguing we are near that tonight but we are flirting with it in this body and we are flirting with it in this country. we are becoming society incapable of having debates any

more. >> i listened to her for quite a while and she didn't have a good thing to say about a fellow senator here. and i, frankly, don't think that's right. that is the thing that really bothers me. everybody on the other side know we have the votes to finally do this. yet, they are treating it as though they have to try to win, which they are not going to win. in the process, treating a fellow senator with disdain, it's wrong. >> the fact is that we have to treat each other with respect or this place is going to devolve into nothing but a jungle. >> too late. too late. willie, you say they had a list? they got a list, huh? >> yeah. other examples of senators saying things that were unkind that could be viewed as impugning someone. i have to say, republicans and

conservatives often rightly call progressives snowflakes. a lot of snowflakes on that floor last night. >> oh, my lord. they were not progressives. >> by the way, as they speak about the decorum the next time the president of the united states tweet something i wait their soul's response. >> did senator mcconnell or senator hatch or rubio or any of the united states senators have anything to say when republican member of the house of representatives stood up or didn't stand up and shouted out, you to the president of the united states? did they talk about decorum then? >> no. >> they did not. >> i don't remember it. >> strategically, they are not stupid men. >> mitch mcconnell, it's hard for me to believe that came from mitch mcconnell. mitch mcconnell is an ultimate insider. he's a pro. the sort of guy said to younger members and had it said to me

let them relax, it's much better than drawing attention. it's like mitch mcconnell was either pushed by sessions to do this or maybe he got a call from the white house to do it but it was short-sided and stupid and it is another big win for elizabeth warren because of their own missteps. >> mitch mcconnell told nbc news, a spokesman said elizabeth warren, i can't say this with a straight face, had been warned many times. >> had been warned many times? >> and then said, yet she per s -- persisted to which she said, you're damn right. we are waiting word from the federal court president trump's executive order will go forward barring people from entering the country. judges for washington and minnesota challenging the ban and defended their arguments in a telephone hearing with judges on the ninth circuit.

the trump administration attorneys were pressed for why this month's long vetting procedures already in place were insufficient. the state lawyers were held to account for why the action was out of the normal national security powers of the presidency. a court spokesman said 137,000 people from the united states and around the world listened in to a live audio stream. that is not even counting the media outlets that carry the broadcast. yesterday, president trump was asked how far he thinks the case could go. >> do you it will go to the supreme court? >> we will see. hopefully, it doesn't happen. it's common sense. some things are law and i'm all in favor of that but some things are common sense. this is common sense. >> really quickly, though. outcome of that. does anybody here -- mike, do you not assume the end of the supreme court is going to go with trump, go with this just because they have always

historically deferred. the ninth circuit no likely going to keep the stay in place. but there is such -- we have had somebody on right after this come out. there was the chal. there's such a huge deference to the executive branch when it comes to border security and national security on these matters. i find it hard to believe that they are going to -- >> i don't disagree with you, although as a layperson, just listening to the exchange yesterday between the three judge court of appeals and the administration's representative from the justice department, they just sliced and diced him in the questioning. i don't know. >> remember, also, if this court upholds the district court, then the temporary restraining order stays in place and the question is whether the supreme court takes that away, which would require this 4-4 deadlock to become 5-3 and require anthony

kennedy or on somebody else to decide with the government. the tie stays in place if the appeals court upholds the district court. >> it would take one of the four democratic judges there, one of the four, and i don't know who that is. again, such deference is overwhelmingly paid to the executive branch. >> remember, this is just on the temporary restraining order and there would ultimately be a trial on the merits. secretary of homeland security was on capitol hill, trump's pick, defending the premise of the executive order and taking the blame for the rollout. >> this is not a muslim ban. saudi arabia, egypt, lebanon, uae have systems within their countries that are, in our view, fairly reliable, although we are looking, in terms of their internal vetting, police records, things like that. the countries that are on the list that put on the list really by the last administration,

don't have those. they are countries in chaos really countries in collapse. in retrospect, this is all on me, by the way, i should have delayed it just a bit so i could talk to members of congress, particularly the leadership of the committees like this, to prepare them for what was coming. >> wow. >> how could he take the blame for that when he had 24 hours notice. saying it's on me? >> he was cut out deliberately by steven miller and bannon. >> we have gone from no one knew about this, right, whether defense or homeland security which was the original reporting onto it now, it's general john kelly's fault entirely. he went out there yesterday and fell on a sword for people inside the white house whether it's donald trump or steven miller or the people who put this together. general kelly just took one for the white house. >> this was miller and bannon,

mike, and you even had dhs saying it didn't apply to green cards and bannon and miller recove overroad them. >> he is believer in the chain of command and you heard right then is general kelly just in the chain of command taking one for the president of the united states. >> a real stand-up guy. >> senator john mccain agreed with secretary kelly's assessment of the travel ban's botched rollout. >> i wonder what would have happened if there had been na s notification to the leader of congress and usual vetting by the agencies involved, rather than this kind of out of the blue explosion that took everybody by surprise. it seems that the m.o. of this white house is on a shakedown cruise. and there is a certain lack of

appreciation as far as i can tell that there are certain things you have to do. >> do you think that the white house thinks that congress is irrelevant, or do you think it's that they are just sort of, you know, trying to meet campaign promises, or they don't care, or they are learning? what is your thought? >> all of the above! >> okay. >> i really think that this is a good administration. we got to remember, it's on in two weeks. it seems like two years. >> so i would guess everybody in that hearing room yesterday knew that general kelly was being a good soldier there. but he certainly did take the blame for something that was not his fault at all, obviously. >> oh, absolutely. i don't think anyone who was listening to that testimony really took it at face value. that was clearly, as you say, him being a good soldier, him

displaying his loyalty. franklin, him displaying the capacity to sacrifice himself to some extent or his reputation for other people in the white house who you have just named and who i have been writing about. >> yeah. so what has this done to relations between the white house and republicans on the hill? are there still bruised feelings there or are they working through it? >> no. i think there are bruised feelings. there is a whole range of issues where republicans on the hill feel blindsided, i think, by the white house, or feel that the white house has not been giving them sufficient cover, and i think that continues to be an issue. we look at, for example, obamacare. we look at numerous other issues where the white house is very much plowing its own furrow and leaving republicans on the hill to fend for themselves. there is a difficulty there, for

sure. >> all right. >> niles, stay with us. we will get to your piece about steve bannon flying too close to the -- ahead. also ahead the senate's number three ranking president senator john thune is with us and we will speak exclusively with the head of the consumer financial protection bureau richard cordray who is called the next in line after the president. >> including steve bannon. >> i wonder what will happen to that organization? >> the question is what is going to happen tonight, bill karins, when severe weather across the country and i asked for snow. you're bringing snow. when does it start? >> it's going to start in areas of the mid-atlantic overnight and then in new england as we go through tomorrow morning. i have to show you what happened in the louisiana area first. east of new orleans and happened around the mid-day hour. these drone pictures just show the devastation from an ef-2 tornado on the ground ten

minutes through the area. amazingly, no fatalities but 25 injuries and we wish them the best with their cleanup as it begins today. for the storm. 40 million people already in winter storm warnings from philadelphia, all of you know, newport and providence and hartford and boston. the purple is 6 inches. that is almost all of central southern new england down to new york city, philadelphia, much of the state of pennsylvania. as far as the pacifics in the snow totals as we head down into washington, d.c. snop on tonly r two. further to the north a blitz of snow. this isn't that the snow totals are so high. they are going to happen in about four hours. the morning commute a nightmare. philadelphia to new york city tomorrow morning. you do not want to be on the road about 6:00 a.m. to about 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. tomorrow afternoon all through areas of southern new england. again, it's not a huge snow totals for this nor'easter but it's going to be very quick, about four to six hours of intense snow and maybe each some thundersnow as we go through

tomorrow morning in areas of philadelphia and new york city. so new york city, it could be 60 degrees this afternoon! then tomorrow, we are in a snowstorm. amazing. winter whiplash. you're watching "morning joe." we will be right back. ghbor's f. and once we do, we see wonder waiting. every step you take, narrows the influence of narrow minds. bridges continents and brings this world one step closer. so, the question you asked me. what is the key? it's you. everything in one place, so you can travel the world better. only tylenol® rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. they release medicine fast, for fast pain relief. tylenol® ( ♪ )

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you guys all remember president obama, right? yeah. because i'm not sure he remembers us. >> that, of course, is president obama, himself, killing it, enjoying life as a former president. he took some kite boarding lessons in the british virgin islands last week as a guest of sir richard branson. >> it's so nice to see president barack obama cutting loose, relaxing. he is still the former president and sha secret service all around him so don't forget that. he is so excited.

he is like, i turned off my phone, cancelled my twitter. this is what i call obamacare free. >> let him have a vacation. all right. niles, your column for the hill asks could steven bannon be getting too big for the white house? and quoting one line from your piece, i assume president trump was not pleased with the "time" cover because that is reserved for donald trump and he said one white house source granted anonymity to speak candidly. what did he also you find out? >> i think one of the issues here is any staff member who gains this level of prominence, by its nature, diminishes the principal, donald trump in this case, and that is the problem for steve bannon. he had, of course, become close to trump because they shared a sense that they were basically sneered at by the elites or looked upon they didn't get enough respect. but now the thing that unites them or united them could

actually undercut steve bannon. if he is going -- we don't know this for sure, of course, but it would appear he is trying to bolster his own profile, then that always comes at the expense of the principal, in this case, as i say, donald trump, so that is, obviously, a problem. >> nile, we have been talking around the table and you heard this and we were talking about it yesterday, too. actually, a story about steve nnon in the vatican on the front pages of "the times" yesterday, almost a parody of the situation. but have you ever seen any staff member in any white house get this type of publicity, especially two weeks in? >> no. there hasn't been anything remotely close to this, joe. we can all name aides david axelrod was very close aide for the importance in president obama's election victory in 2008. it would have been unthinkable

for axelrod to app on "time" two weeks into the obama presidency. one of the comparisons that a source drew to me in reporting this piece, and i couldn't fit in the finished story, was the comparison with karl rove. even rove, i don't think, would have risen to these kind of levels. the source talking to me about that, though, was drawing the parallel of, as i say, the principal being diminished. so when people spoke of karl rove as being smart and cunning, george w. bush suffered in comparison. i think we are seeing something similar here. >> willie, i guess you see a direct link between some of the things that bannon, you know, was sort of connected with or wanted to do, and actual execution in the first two weeks. a riveting and wild first two weeks of a white house. >> i think for donald trump there is a balance to loyalty to a guy he believes helped him become president but also this ego question. you pointed out, you don't want

to be seen as a mayrionet with someone else pulling the strings. >> i think bannon and trump are close because of the election and i think bannon had sort of a philosophical framework that he put on trump's beliefs and also a genuine understanding of theo. that makes them close. the idea they are fighting against the elites is a powerful glue that holds them together, but then you have this other side of it, which is the enormous publicity that bannon is getting. >> obviously, steve, they write stories about steve bannon because, i mean, every major media news outlet is writing a profile how important and powerful he is. >> because he is and that is what the media should be doing, but if i were bannon, i certainly be cooperating.

look. trump thinks that the cover of "time" magazine is for trump, not for steve bannon. it's a dangerous thing for someone -- >> i actually think most presidents would think that from fdr to john kennedy to you name it. i would love to have seen nancy reagan's response if somebody in the reagan administration two weeks in was on the cover of "time" magazine and getting all of this press. that would not last. >> ask don reagan. >> niles, thank you for being on the show. the must read opinion pages are ahead. "morning joe" is coming right back. this is the story of green mountain coffee and fair trade,

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joining us now for the must read opinion pages "the new york times" reporter jeremy peters. good to have you on board. i want to start what you wrote in "the washington post" because there was a lot of talk about trump doubling down on this relationship with putin. trump's dangerous lie about russia and joe writes this. president trump's recent claim that the united states is morally on par with russia's

corru dystopian rooem was so historically ignorant that even republicans felt compelled to speak out this week. perhaps that is because remaining silent in the face of such a morally disorienting claim would make them look like fools. comrade putin dreams of rebuilding the ussr one invasion at a time. as he wraps himself in that delusion, someone in the west wing should remind the president just how inhue maim life was in the old soviet union. since seizing control, putin has carried forward the worst of the soviet's legacy, his political opponents. despite what trump would have the world believe the historical record is clear there is no moral e.

>> donald trump grew up like us in the cold war. the soviet regime that putin admires killed 60 mill and some people their own citizens and what putin wants his russia to be? i just don't understand it for the life of me. this is one of the most vexing things of the vexing things that donald trump has said. >> as you know, there are a lot of conspiracy theories out there and stuff in the blogosphere. i was struck in "the new york times" putin crick said he w was -- critic said he was poisoned in 2015. enemies of putin who seem to be

getting poison and yet our leader somehow defending them. >> just a year or two ago, one of his political critics shot dead right across from the kremlin. >> this is a niagara of stun grenades coming out of the white house. the moral equivalency he draws between the united states of america. words from the president of the united states have meaning. >> right. he say the same exact thing here in december of 2015 but he was a candidate. now he is president of the united states. >> we called him out then and were shocked then but he is president of the united states. this is a country he won. >> it's a question we have been asking for two years now which is for a man who is so quick to insult anybody who crosses his path, domestically, mexico,

china, whoever, why is it his reflex to give the benefit of the doubt to rusch? >> to vladimir putin. >> what is behind that for a man who never gives people the benefit of the doubt? >> he is even willing to throw his own country under the bus. >> right. to defend vladimir putin. >> there is a way to make his argument, mika, which is you know what? i think we need to reestablish a relationship with russia. it's something barack obama did. people didn't like the reset button and all that. you can say without saying we are like them, we kill people too. >> i would say that also we have to look at somebody who has been by his side throughout the campaign who is now a member of his foreign policy team. you can say mattis and kelly, these -- tillerson are just getting into office and they are just getting to the president and just getting around him. but general flynn has been there for months. has he not educated his boss on russia? or does he agree? what is going on here? this is not funny any more and it's not -- it can't be passed off as, oh, he doesn't mean it.

it can't be passed off, oh, he doesn't know. there is something deadly serious going on here. >> again, jeremy peters, this was disturbing. >> if donald trump is going to use this strong language in support of vladimir putin? i think reporters and all of us questioning need to start looking at what the deadly truth is here. >> well, yeah. nobody thought this was even funny. i know that is just an expression this isn't funny. >> they pass it off he doesn't really mean it. yes, he does. >> jeremy, again, the other night was so jarring to so many people. >> even to bill o'reilly. >> he did the same thing through his own country under the bus to defend vladimir putin. there is no moral relevancy. there is not a historian alive suggest there is historical relevancy between america and russia. >> one of the things that struck me, joe, is that the line that trump has used, which he has used before, you think we are so innocent, is exactly the kind of language and exactly the same

argument that russians in defense of vladimir putin use when they are talking about the united states getting us on its moral high horse. trump has absorbed a lot of -- i think he is probably talking to russians and communicating at the highest levels with these people more than we realize. what is he doing there is parodying his arguments. another thing, willie raised a good point there about what is really behind trump's irritation here at being asked about putin and whether or not -- why he is such a defender of him. think it goes back to that debate when hillary clinton called him a puppet and ehe sai, no, no, you're the puppet. remember? when donald trump feels he is portrayed as somebody not in total and complete control, he lashes out. and that is ultimately what you're suggesting when you say that putin is calling the shots

here. it's putin and not donald trump and donald trump is going to let you know, no, he is in charge. >> what is strange, as willie said, jeremy, there are so many easier ways to get -- to say the same thing without insulting your own country. speaking of puppeteers, you talk about steve bannon. you've spoke on with steve bannon and his strategy to move things as quickly as possible. you say there is a couple of reasons why steve bannon told you he is trying to move things as quickly as possible inside the west wing? >> right. these arguments were ones that steve bannon was making throughout the transition process and, you know, he continued to make now that they are in the west wing. and that is as bannon would say to rip the ban dated off. do all of these controversial proposals on immigration and such first, because they realize they have no runway.

there's going to be no honeymoon. the thinking there goes you do two things. you rev up the base, get them very excited and you look at trump's core supporters, they are pleased, by and large, what they are seeing. they think he is a doing a great job first few weeks in office. >> does your reporting show that steve bannon is as powerful as steve bannon would have us believe he is? >> i think there is some ca caricature going on here. we love the scene of the man behind the curtain. i do think that, ultimately trump is calling the shots here. i mean, steve is not telling trump to do things that trump does not want to do or ultimately things are wise. jared kushner is another kind of leveling influence here as well. he's not getting written about as much because he didn't run breitbart and he is not as big of a figure. i think the reason we are so

fascinated with steve bannon because people didn't know much about steve going into this campaign. no one had really heard of him before he accepted the position as campaign chairman. now here he is being described as the second most powerful map in the world and people are naturally curious about that and the fact he does have some very hard right wing tendencies, i think, leads to a lot of dramaication and characterization who he is. >> bwe will explain who they sa that is ahead on "morning joe" of the democratic party.

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the vice president had a big day on capitol hill where he tasked a historic deciding vote

for secretary of -- secretary of -- education betsy devos. >> i'm sorry. if i'm sean spicer, i'm loving this stuff. i really am. if i'm sean spicer -- >> walking around the podium. >> it's the only thing that is easy to look at people like -- >> it was an hour after the patriots won, too. >> mike, we were talking just during the break. i think this is important. a lot of my friends, you know, last week, i was talking about well, everybody is exploding about the executive orders on and i talked to 10 to 12 people that were trump supporters before. everyone but one was saying, yep, i like what he is doing. i did the same thing yesterday. called around. how do you think trump is doing? how do you think he is doing? outside, you know, didn't call anybody that i knew here or in washington. it's the same thing. he's doing what i wanted him to do and why i voted for him. as we know, people sit and look

at every second of the news like we do, they don't. they go to work and come home and look up and see people they are against or the press is going after them. good, give them hell and keep fighting and now i'm going back to feeding my kids and sitting down and doing the homework. >> a large part of our audience probably does not want to hear this. but now what donald trump is doing, he is wearing the cloak of the presidency. you're running a gas station and you're taking the money and you're not watching the news, you're not reading the news the way we do and everything like that. the president of the united states does the immigration thing we need more security. okay, fine. now you owe me 16$16. that's it. people move on in their lives. >> the russia thing we are wondering what is going on and deeply offendered by it -- >> i'll leave it there. you cannot say people like this russia thing. >> i didn't say like it. i did not think they liked it.

i'm not talking about -- we will see how the polls shake out over the next couple of months because we have to wait a couple of months. i'm saying that people that voted for trump, day in and day out, living their life are not sitting there wringing their hands like we are about some of these details. they are just not. if somebody disagrees, call relatives you have in middle america. >> no. i think that is true. i do think, though, if you're a trump supporter you think of america first and listen to him talk about america that way with russia. >> it's weird. >> has to put you off. at least it's weird. the polls give us a mixed picture. remember the reuters poll last week said 49% support it and new poll says it's actually own 46% that like it as opposed to 51%. it's a divided issue. thats the new quinnipiac poll. on the immigration -- ban on refuges, down to 37% support m

him. >> so-to-joe's point a poll the other day whether it's ttp or pipeline decisions, hiring freezes in the federal government, he actually does pretty well. he's got support of at least the plurality and in some cases the majority of americans on this stuff. >> the administration is playing us as a whole because part of the toxic brew in all of this is people's contempt for the media. >> that is the one thing, that is the -- i don't know that there are playing us. it may be just happening that way. the thing i hear over and over again is basically the press hates him, so i like him even more. so much of this is a pushback to the press that his supporters have always believed, even before they ever thought donald trump was running for president, was biased and disconnected from middle america.

and i actually think the overwhelming negative press coverage actually was worth a couple of points in the election for donald trump as well. >> we have been speaking about tough confirmation battles this morning and steve, you're digging into the history of supreme court nominations. democrats are vow ago fight for judge courgorsuch, against him actually. what do you have? >> it's important to put judge gorsuch in perspective. if you look back at history it would argue his chances could be fairly good. first of all, on an audio logical spectrum you've seen judges, no pun intended, sit, and this one is based on political contributions that all federal judges made before they became a federal judge and then taking that and creating an ideological spectrum.

you can see where the liberal and conservative groups sit and the judge gorsuch a little bit to the right among the liberal judges but more conservative in his giving about 87% of other judges. if you turn to the next issue, which is rejections of supreme court nominees, what you can see is that, in fact, rejections of supreme court nominees have been quite rare. in modern times, there have been these few here which we are going to talk about some more in a second. after that you have to go back to 1930 or so to see a supreme court rejection. what you see in this trend is that no votes have been rising and you can see that up in the circle here that, essentially, this has become like so much in washington, more and more of a partisan issue. lastly, let's go to sort of the historical record.

since 1969 six nominees not approved and interesting to look at the circumstances. haynsworth and carswell were rejected on the grounds of being qualified. i think you'll remember that famous line the senator i think from nebraska saying so what if they are mediocre and rominska should be represented on supreme court as well. then robert bork for the role he played in the saturday night massacre in mixon. >> by the way, that started, i believe, more than anything else, the modern era of partisanship. that bork fight, if you want to look for a red dividing line, ted kennedy's speech was the beginning of a blood bath that has continued to this day. >> after that, you had doug

ginsburg who had to withdraw because it turned out he had smoked marijuana with his students and not probably a great thing to do if you want to be a supreme court judge. and unqualified was harriet miers. and merrick was not even considered. >> steve rattner, thank you very much. up next -- >> so -- >> we have to go to break. >> i know. does anybody here think he is going to be -- >> no. >> he is going to be confirmed. >> look. it's just like betsy devos which it came close, but there is just, unfortunately, the votes are votes and mike pence got to deliver the sditideciding vote n my perspective she is a horrible nominee for education. >> i think democrats should fight, but i am now starting to wonder whether gorsuch is so strong as far as temperamentally.

>> yeah. >> i wonder if they should wait until the next pick to declare complete and total war. >> the only question has mitch mcconnell changed the rules and i thinkly when it comes down to that. >> whatever it takes. another night of drama on the senate floor. elizabeth warren shut down and rebuked after criticizing jeff sessions and we have much more ahead on "morning joe." ar predi, there's no other way to say this. it's over. i've found a permanent escape from monotony. someone who desires more than just beauty alone. who prefers elusive over usual. powerful over passive. together, we are perfectly balanced, our senses awake, our hearts racing as one. i know this is sudden,

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education secretary despite not having any experience in public education and asked why he nominated her in the first place, trump said. >> i love the poorly educated! >> oh, my gosh. that was taken out of context. that is actually -- oh, my lord! welcome back to "morning joe." it's wednesday, february 8th. join the conversation, former senior strategist for john mccain presidential campaign steve schmidt and professor at the university of michigan school of public policy, former democratic congressman harold ford jr. and from the capitol hill is jeremy peters. >> the "the wall street journal" had a column talking about the real democratic party and despite betsy devos' stumble, steve schmidt, you could see, even the republicans that were standing up to oppose betsy devos had been given money by the teachers unions. i didn't see elizabeth warren give that speech about our hud

secretary she could have given the same speech about whether he was qualified to be hud secretary and she voted for him. so it's kind of hard to say, ah -- we all thought that betsy devos' performance was bad, but the difference is the teachers union wasn't opposing the hud secretary. >> 100%. look. i think that the ability of the education secretary to positively impact education negatively impact education is pretty overstated from a reality perspective. that being said, these teachers unions, some of the most p pernicious forces in american life. allow in los angeles. 50% of black and latino kids don't make it to a high school diploma and they are done. they have no hope in a 21st century economy. we have public education in this country is fundamentally broken

and shockingly, harvard study out, you have 80% of people born in the 1930s think it's essential to live in a democracy. people born in the 1980s, it's down to 25%. the whole concept of public education at its founding in this country which made us the most powerful country in the wrl world was to create civics and create good citizens and just a total profound failure. >> a total profound failure. you look at the fact we spend more money per student than any other country on the planet and public education is broken. i don't know why you can't say that. everybody knows that is the case. just like our health care system was broken. just like obamacare is broken. just like the republicans don't have a plan to fix that. we spend, willie, more money on education puer student than any country on the globe and more

planet more money per patient than any country on the planet. these are two areas that are the most broken right in this country. >> that is the argument for people who speak out in favor of bet di devos we can't keep dumping tens and hundreds of millions of dollars into a broken system. there has to be some reform. now you could argue whether or not she is the right person for that forum given her background or experience or lack thereof. steve is right. i think some people exercise about this can take heart education is controlled at the state and legal level. overwhelming majority of funds and control comes from there and not from the federal government. there are things she will oversee. civil rights complaints and sexual abuse on campus, really sporn stuff b important stuff but the vouchers come at the local level. >> the department of education at the federal level as we all know and joe you know we served on the committee has a big responsibility for poor kids. there is no doubt the administration and the

responsibility for insuring the kids that schools are open and the day to day happens at the state and local level but a big part of the federal fund go towards helping poor kid. i would differ slight from my buddy steve. i think arne duncan, they developed big pockets and states of delaware was the first to get them when president obama was elected largely because they were citing these innovative and creative things. bet di devos had no public education background other than directing huge sums of money from her family. you talk to people in michigan they had issues but particularly those in detroit. the mayor there who is a -- pro reform kind of guy so i think legitimate points here. >> i was explaining before,

there are legitimate points and we agree she had a terrible hearing. all i'm saying they chose to go after one unqualified cabinet secretary and not the other and if people are wondering why, it's because of teachers unions. >> all right. also on capitol hill for the second straight night, senate democrats launched an all-my take-ath take-ath talkath talkathon. in protest of senator jeff sessions nomination to be attorney general. the move is nearly identical to the marathon of speeches against betsy devos that took place monday night, but what happened with senator elizabeth warren has everybody talking this morning. she was barred from speaking on the senate floor after majority leader mitch mcconnell said she had broken senate rules. here is what she did. this broke the rules. she had read a 1986 statement from senator ted kennedy when he led the opposition against sessions nomination at that time to be a federal judge. kennedy calling sessions a disgrace to the justice department. warren then also read a letter

that coretta scott king, written in 1986 to the senate judiciary committee, also opposing sessions federal judge nomination. after that, senator mcconnell interrupted senator warren's floor speech to announce the rebuke. >> they are mothers, daughters, sisters, fathers, sons, and brothers. >> mr. president -- >> they are -- >> mr. president. >> the majority leader? >> senators impugn the motives and conduct of our colleague from alabama as warned by the chair. senator warren, quote, said senator sessions has used the awesome power of his office to chill a free exercise of the vote by black citizens. i call the senator order under the provision to rule 19. >> mr. president? >> senator from massachusetts? >> mr. president, i am surprised that the words of coretta scott king are not suitable for debate

in the united states senate. i ask leave of the senate to continue my remarks. >> is there objection? >> object. >> i appeal the ruling -- >> objection is heard. the senator will take her seat. >> wow! >> wow. >> thank you. the senate voted 49-43 along party lines that warren had violated the rule that no senator in debate can impugn another senator. >> wow. >> she is now barred from speaking on the floor until after the senate wraps up the debate over sessions so she is not allowed to speak or read letters from coretta scott king. >> i don't understand. >> that is correct. >> i don't understand this. >> a gift. >> steve, senator warren was given the best political gift. >> fund-raising. >> an early political

valentine's day gift. >> mcconnell is smarter than this. he had to be hearing from the white house or maybe from sessions. he is smarter than this. he knows he is playing right into her hands. >> well, look. i also think it could be this. if you have to pick an opponent and you certainly will have one, why not elizabeth warren? >> yeah. >> i think a lot of republicans look at her and say that if we could do anything to elevate the opposition voice in the democratic party, why not her? because frankly, i don't think she sells particularly well outside a really small segment of the democratic party. >> you think that is what it's about? >> maybe. >> just like playing -- >> maybe. i don't know! >> what you mean by she will sell just fine now? thank you. >> correct. >> this is really -- >> for her base. >> for her base. >> i think -- >> for her base. >> that's fascinating. >> the notion that she has a

broad appeal in the middle of the electorate. >> i know if donald trump could select his appoint in 2020 right now he would pick elizabeth warren. your dear buddy steve schmidt and my dear buddy is on to something and why we have you guys here to educate us. donald trump and mitch mcconnell wanted to elevate her to be the face of jeff sessions opposition. that is fact. you learn something every day. >> >> i agree with my good buddy on this one. they succeeded. >> the professor! >> we will see who has the last laugh. after banning from speaking, senator warren went to a nearby room and read the coretta scott king letter aloud on facebook live. >> earlier tonight, i went to the floor of the united states senate to debate whether or not jeff sessions should be confirmed to be the attorney general of the united states.

now, back in 1986, senator sessions, back then, had been the u.s. attorney and he was rejected to be a federal judge. and one of the things that was important in both republicans and democrats deciding to vote against him was a letter from coretta scott king to the judiciary committee. tonight, i wanted to read that letter and senator mitch mcconnell and the republicans came to the floor to shut me down from reading that letter. right now what i'd like to do, i'm outside the senate, i just want to read the letter. >> pitch perfect. >> steve is right. right? it's fascinating. but you know what? now that i think about it, he is exactly right. but that is the greatest thing that could have ever happened to elizabeth warren as well. >> right. forgot about that. >> facebook live views she probably got off of that, do you know? >> more than 4 million.

>> more than 4 million? shared almost a hundred thousand times? >> eight hours ago, it was posted. >> eight hours ago? >> more coming. >> this is what they called in "the lion king" the circle of life. >> first of all, she had every right to do what she did that night and no do you there was -- >> for sure. >> they broke the rules saying she violated the rules. number two, i think you could have been more effective here is the things he said during his confirmation and people thought 30 years ago and he has changed and we will hold his feet to the fire because he made promises throughout that hearing and, mr. president, mr. attorney general, here is what we want from you you. if you're a supporter of her and the 4 million people that went online you have the question how effective will we be in dealing with jeff session? we have four years of this and she may have elevated herself personally and politically something to gain but democrats realize we lost this race and i

don't think it's fully accepted. >> i agree. >> we have not accepted you can tell because we don't have a real strategy to deal with this. if this is our strategy to go to the floor and then off the senate floor -- no, no, no. this is a big part of the strategy and if this is what we are going to be doing, then, you know, we are not going to make much of a difference. >> more needs to be done with this but -- how could she expect to be cut off like this? i think she handled it perfectly. and quite frankly going on facebook and very calmly saying i was kicked off and i'm going to read this letter here was well played. >> cory booker. >> someone -- go ahead. >> that was 30 years ago. that was almost 31 years ago. >> right. >> i just think at some point -- i'm a christian. people change. if he does not change then we will come back. any way she should have been able to read that on the senate floor, i don't deny that. moving off the senate floor,

steve is right. they elevated her as the voice in the face of the party. i just ask for my supporters for democrats who are concerned about jeff sessions and others was the right strategy? >> you mean declaring -- >> to go after -- >> declaring war against him? >> i think she did it the wrong way. >> this brings up a really good point, willie, because sometimes when you go -- when you declare total war against a political figure, then you get them to actually bend over backwards to work with you and try to heal the wounds. but there are also other times when you declare total war against, say, clarence thomas and he and his wife remember forever, and will remember until their dying days, the scars that they felt during those hearings. whether they were legitimate or not, i'm just talking about political strategy here. and i'm quite certain that they didn't radicalize clarence thomas, that might be the wrong word, but they certainly made

him a more entrenched hardened conservative who never cared to ever reach out again after having his name dragged through the mud the way it was during those hearings and that is a risk. i guess that you take with devos, with sessions, with all of these people. >> in this case like thomas and devos now someone who is going to be confirmed. it might be tight but they have got 52 votes -- republican votes. jeff sessions will be confirmed. but you can hear elizabeth warren is running for senate again next year. she is running for re-election. you can hear the campaign ad already being cut, right? when they say the senator will take her seat. no, the senator will not take her seat. she will stand up. for her, it's good. the question is big picture is it effective? >> saying on the floor of the senate racial profiling and what is happening with young black men in communities across this country we will hold the attorney to ensuring when things are going wrong he is sending the fed in and voting rights. you said during your hearing,

mr. sessions, you would do a, b, c. prison reform. we have bipartisan efforts in this senate and the congress and we will hold you to that, mr. sessions. coretta scott king's speech said this. we think you're a changed man. i'm not voting for you tonight and i hope you're a changed man is all i meant. i'm not suggesting the speech should not have been delivered. the speech last night affected most likely elevation for perhaps 2020. i hope the end result for the next few years. >> you can boil it down if you're going to shoot at the king you better kill him and u you -- >> you better knock him down. >> so people don't freak out about the old saying but that is what is always said in political circles. if you are going to try -- you better take somebody down if you're throwing everything you have at them. if you can't, there may be a better way to do it. >> we will never know because they cut her off and all she was

doing, quite frankly, her presentation was elegant. >> right. >> it wasn't unmeasured. it was invoking history. >> right but we are not talking about her -- >> jeff session has a very, i'd say, controversial history. >> we are talking about -- yeah, but -- come on. they have worked with him. >> given the muslim ban. >> my dear friend from alabama, my buddy from alabama, oh, jeff session, my good friend. we are here with jeff sessions -- and then, suddenly, he is appointed. he is a bigot and despite the fact worked with him for years and eaten with him every day and cosponsored legislation with i am had he ever day and the stupid sessions with the capitol behind him. you don't go from a friends with this guy and him being a bigot. >> she was reading letters. >> i'm not talking about her.

>> i'm not talking about you. harold's bigger point is not about elizabeth warren but the democratic party. what is your strategy doing it having that war fare with betsy devos and you lose and having all-out war fare against sessions when you know you're going to lose when you got to deal with this guy for four years? >> i think it's important to put out in hearings that are for the public record exactly what the concerns are, leading into working with these people. >> you can do that. >> i don't disagree with you. >> i think it would be horrible we lost and we go home, you guys do your nomination thing. bye. >> that's not what i'm suggesting. i think a different strategy -- >> well, you are. >> no, i am not suggesting that and you know i'm not suggesting that. there is a way to do it without basically suggesting he's a racist. >> i think elizabeth warren had a wonderful strategy. she was reading letters invoking history and showing people what the concerns were in a very measured and elegant fashion.

>> it certainly worked out very well for her. >> now because of mitch mcconnell, people will actually hear the speech. >> no doubt about it. >> that is correct. jeremy peters -- >> she did not break the rule. i'm not suggesting that at all. i don't think she broke the rules at all. i think they broke the rules saying she broke the rules. >> jeremy, jump in. >> well, this is a larger debate that democrats are having right now over how vigorously to oppose nearly gorsuch, rig neil? do they want to blow a hard line and blow a filibuster against another republican supreme court nominee or take a more measured and thoughtful approach is in the problem with the way republicans responded to elizabeth warren is that it played right into democrats' hands. all democrats need now is for donald trump to tweet about this. >> right. >> and it will blow up even more. the image of two male republican senators basically telling elizabeth warren, a woman, to

sit down and shut up is going to reverberate so strongly with the democratic base but this is also going to reverberate to the republican base. i've been to enough trump rallies and heard the lock her up chants and referring to hillary. it's the same kind of animosity and hatred of elizabeth warren on the right that existed for hillary clinton. this just drives both camps further into their corner. >> it really does. willie, now that jeremy has said that, you can almost predict -- you can almost hear donald trump's fingers -- like you can almost predict -- >> that was not my intent! >> you can almost predict that donald trump is going to tweet something about elizabeth warren to draw more attention to the person he is already hoping will run against him in 2020. i just checked. not yet. >> he might be typing as we

speak. >> i'm surprised it hasn't happened already. >> steve set it up. a totally new way to look at this. what we thought in our first hour, what we talked about is idiotic move by senators. one of the most prominent women in america to sit down and shut up actually is a cunning mock move to elevate her so donald trump can beat her in 2020. >> i wish they were that smart. >> hold on. they are in this case. >> no. >> we are not but mitch mcconnell is! >> that's right! >> and that is the point. i'll bet you -- i'm almost certain mitch mcconnell had to pick up the telephone and call the white house and say, hey, listen, i've got an idea. if you want elizabeth warren to be the face of the opposition to jeff sessions, i can do this on the house floor. i can do this on the senate floor and it will blow up tomorrow and those idiots on "morning joe" will talk about it for three hours and elizabeth warren will be the face. >> we never saw little marco

wringing his hands. >> he is a united states senator. have i ever shown that man some disrespect? you can show him some respect. go ahead, steve. >> no. look. when you look at this whole elizabeth warren thing the person that is probably saddest is cory booker. he didn't get any attention last night. >> he tried. he tried. he had that -- he had that -- he testified. >> right. >> before the judiciary committee and a noble effort on his part to get some publicity and i'm sure he was upset about a lot of things his colleague had done through the years. but he got -- excuse the expression, he got trumped by elizabeth last night big time. >> if hillary clinton picked her as a running mate we might have a different story today. >> not underestimating her. >> you all are. >> i love her. >> we are underestimating the strategy of the overall party. not her. >> still ahead -- >> harold is asking a more --

universal question and it's more about a holistic approach, than just one senator, one debate, one move. >> still ahead on "morning joe," the president's supreme court nominee makes more rounds on capitol hill. >> steve schmidt is smart. >> set to meet with several democrats but they likely won't be as impressed as senator john thune was. he met with judge gorsuch yesterday and joins us live ahead. mr. president? >> yes. >> forfeit tour. a state senator in texas talking about introducing legislation to require conviction before we could receive that forfeiture money. i told him build a cartel. >> who is the state senator? do you want to give his name and we will destroy his career? >> that's quite a laugh line! isn't it? whoa. >> that's a good one.

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harder than any team i've ever coached. they came to work every day and there were no days off! no days off! no days off! no days off! no days off! no days off! no days off! no days off! no days off! go, pats! >> that was, of course patriots

head coach bill belichick. >> i like it. >> saying no days off. the champion parade in boston was yesterday. you say that every day. >> i do. everybody comes in at 3:30 and we hold hands around a circle and we pray, right? then harold has the bible study. we have a moment of silence. then we chant that for the next hour and then we come running out here. you don't get that. >> i didn't get that. i think his team looked really uncomfortable. >> no, that is their mantra. >> i love that. we are working every second of every day. no days off. by the way, you should understand that. >> i know but i don't people like to chant it. >> no days off. it's the nick saban sort of strategy. >> and never ask. >> you don't have a life, you have same thing every day so you can focus on winning. >> that's one of the great nick saban details is he eats the same thing every day because he

doesn't want to waste time thinking about what to have for lunch. that's a waste of time. >> wayne that a steve jobs thing too? like the turtleneck? he wore the same thing every day and didn't have to worry about the details of it. >> quite the opposite of that european summer sensibility, right? six weeks off! >> no! >> three hour lunch? >> and fiesta afterwards! >> a little nap. >> definitely is not his thing. it is not sweden. >> that is why they never win the super bowl. >> one of the guys on the team doing this with beer. >> 1 million people showed up to celebrate the patriots win in the parade yesterday. there is tom brady at quarterback. he was named the game as mvp for the fourth time but the real star yesterday may have been new england tight end rob gronkowski. always the life of the party. he didn't play in the super bowl. sidelined late in the season with an injury. gronk hauled in beer cans as they were tossed to him from the crowd and then he would chug them and spike them!

he says it was all for the fans. >> i wasn't even planning on going that crazy but the fans were asking for it and i brought that they wanted and he i partied for them and chugged beers for them and unbelievable. i love them so much and love this team and the city of boston and everybody was so unbelievable. >> when i speak of bible version. that reminds me of greater man. >> he is drinking a lot of beer. >> gronk said i love the fans so much i had to chug beer for them. i've never heard that before. >> for the people. >> few people enjoy life more than rob gronkowski. he is really doing that. this morning we are wag to hear from a federal whether or not president trump's executive order to barring people from seven countries going forward. >> we are waiting for the tweet also. hasn't come. he did tweet 25 minutes ago about the actual hearing but he is not taking jeremy peters' bait yet on the elizabeth warren

tweet. >> it's coming. >> maybe bannon said no. >> last night, lawyers for the justice department and for the states of washington and minnesota challenging the ban defended their arguments in a telephone hearing with judges on the ninth circuit. joining us from the white house nbc news national correspondent peter alexander. good morning. how is the white house looking at what happened in court yesterday and what this decision might be? >> reporter: you guys were just talking about that latest tweet from donald trump and not as jeremy was talking about about elizabeth and better highlighting what happened there but what he did say the last 20 minutes. he wrote this. to be very clear as we wait for word from this west coast federal appeals court, this is more about the status of that stay than it is about the merits of the constitutionality of his immigration order right now. the bottom line is this three-judge panel was pretty skeptical of the government yesterday and pressing them to defend why the system, the

vetting system in place right now isn't sufficient to protect americans. the government's attorney basically said the determination of the president is that there is a real risk. similarly, the states had to push back on why this was outside the national security powers of the president. they insist that it is. the bottom line, the government is saying it's well within their powers. the state is saying this will create new chaos if it is reinstated. what was also striking yesterday is that the new homeland security secretary john kelly spoke out before congress and he seemed to have accept personal responsibility for the botched rollout of this ban. take a listen. >> in retrospect, i should have, this is all on me, by the way, i should delayed it just a bit so that i could talk to members of congress, particularly the leadership of committees like this, to prepare them for what was coming. >> reporter: it seemed like a generous falling on the sword

given the fact we understand he had not seen a final draft of this before the executive order was announced. kelly went on to say it's both constitutional and lawful. he also insisted it's necessary for the safety of americans. joe and mika? >> peter alexander at the white house, thank you. harold, you listened to the hearing and i think we all did yesterday. what were your impressions coming off that? >> i think peter is right. they were skeptical of the government lawyers. i thought they came after the state's lawyer who i thought got ahead of him at the very beginning of his argument. and should have stuck this is an overreach and it creates a problem. finally was some of the judges who had to bring him back. one of the judges in particular who reminded him of his exhibits in his piece and the evidence making the case. i'm not convinced that the states won that yesterday. i'm a believer they should win and i want them to win, but listening to the hearing i have not read the brief so it's hard to make a determination, but i didn't see that the hearing yesterday to be just a clear

winner on the state side there. i don't know if you all were different. >> steve, what happens if this goes to the supreme court? >> i think people have misunderstood john roberts. some of the judges are more ideological but the chief justice is an institutional lift before he is ideological. i think the chief justice would be focused on getting a decision, not a 4-4 tie. you know, bashing heads together and he would understand -- >> tell people why that is important if it's 4-4. >> because it has no impact. but what it does, it erodes confidence in the supreme court. right? another institution. look. the president is constantly, whether it's the attacks on the media, the attacks on the judiciary, any institution in the country that has an ability to check the power of the executive, they are engaged in an all-out assault on trying to erode their credibility. the questioning of their

intentions. so i think the chief justice would understand that it would be important to try to form a consensus whether it's 5-3, whether it's 6-2 and not go into this on a tie decision, that erode the credibility of the institution. if you go back. i played a leading role in the confirmation fights for chief justice roberts and justice alito in the bush white house. if you go back to his testimony. >> which one? >> to roberts in those hearings. you very much see a person who cares deeply about the perception of the judiciary. and its functioning as that independent arbiter on these questions. >> if it's 4-4 it stands. >> and it passed pro log. you would bet on ninth circuit and not upholding the

administration. >> they went after both lawyers yesterday. anybody watching it, it was a great civics lesson. i hope a lot of people watched. >> another case it might be nice to have nine supreme court justices. i know that is a radical concept. >> that is exactly right. soon enough, i think, soon enough, willie. looking on down the road, though, one, two, four years here, i think this debate sets up a bigger question which my colleague peter baker has written about. that is the clash we are likely to see between donald trump and the courts the limit of his executive power. a clash very much along the lines what we saw with franklin delanor roosevelt. if the court doesn't validated this which i'm not sure they will and legal experts say that trump is on solid ground here in a lot of ways, if they do invalidate this then the question becomes what is the

administration come back with? do they have a new kind of travel ban or immigration policy that is not so specifically focused on these muslim countries? and that may be answers the question i've never been able to understand. why the refuge program? it's so extensively vetted and never the source of a lot of the downing that trump claims is out there so maybe this results in gnaw policy. i don't know. >> jeremy peters, thank you. amid donald trump's curious pros to posture toward vladimir putin what do the russians think? we will have a look inside that country. "morning joe" is back after this. vladimir knew that putin is a killer and he might very well be the next target. vladimir knew there is no moral equivalents between the united states and russia. there no equivalent between him and the united states of

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the legislating is going to be done this year. we are going to be done legislating with regard to health care and obamacare this year. the question how long did it take to replace the full implement of obamacare? >> paul ryan in a difficult position because the people he represents in congress even want obamacare repealed. don't give me the details. get rid of it. donald trump is saying, it's wise if you would like to win wisconsin and michigan again, what is the replacement? what is paul, the speaker, in a very difficult position. what does he do? >> i think they are make ago smart political decision here. republicans, to repeal this without a plan, causing chaos in

the health insurance markets, the whole agenda goes bye-bye. there will be no tax reform and no infrastructure. this will be a quagmire issue. >> by the way, they are going to get killed in the town hall meetings when they go back home and it's going to look like 2009 did for democrats. >> it is amazing when you think about it. all like to show me, you know, theater, political stunts, repeal votes. it's like, my god, you mean they actually didn't have a replacement in mind? >> how many votes did they have? >> 50? >> 50 some. >> 50 some? >> why don't they have one now? now they are in power. why don't they have one now? >> no plan. >> how do you do that for so long and not have a workable plan the second, the second that

it passes or the second you win? >> it also speaks to the collapse i think of an intellectual level of the conservative think tanks. we don't talk about the degree of conservatism. >> i would say this about newt gingrich. when we ran in '93 and '94, you know? you could run against bill clinton and i ran against him on everything that i opposed. and what would you do? that looks pretty good. these are my ideas. like, gingrich had plans for tax reform and he had plans. they were spelled out. >> he had a land for a lunar mining base! >> exactly! which is why i won! but john kasich told me a great story and i know we got to go to break. john kasich told me a great story one time about how bill

clinton had a tax increase and i told kasich one time, i decided to run, watching him and tim penny on the house floor talking about their alternative plan. it was a bipartisan plan. i said, man, those two guys, i'd love to get in the middle of that. i told kasich the story. ed the funny thing is -- i said i respected you, john, because you had a plan. ed he said we took it to a vote among house republicans and only two or three people that wanted us to develop a plan. and gingrich said to the whole caucus whether you had to vote, screw them and come up with a plan. we have to have an alternative to this or once we get in power, we will have nothing to do. it was all gingrich saying if you're going to protest against bill clinton's tax increase plan. >> you better have a plan. >> you better have plan. guess what. it made all of the difference in the world. >> ryan is going -- >> what is that? >> who is right?

i would say that trump is more right based on what you just said. >> i've been saying from the beginning only because of all the republicans i know, just politically, all of the republicans i know that voted for donald trump who were on obamacare in northwest florida, you better have a replacement because you will not win wisconsin, michigan, ohio, and pennsylvania in 2020 if you repeal without a replacement. you will not. the white working class voters and also the black working class voters and the hispanic working class voters and all of the working class voters will come out and actively vote against you. >> steve schmidt, thank you so much for being on today. >> steve taught us something today. >> yes, he did. he did. he always educates. >> so wise. >> beyond his years. >> one senator says more power than anyone in washington other than the president. >> is this another steve bannon story?

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welcome back to "morning joe." it's 51 past the hour. with us, the news and finance

anchor at yahoo, brianna joins the table, and on capitol hill, richard cordray, and many republicans are calling for director cordray's removal. he rights this. >> other than the president, the head of the consumer financial protection bureau has more power than anybody in washington, and that's not just a problem but it's a threat to the government by and for the people. nobody should be locked to learn that there's often a huge gap between what bureaucracies say they will do and what they actually do, and the defenders talk about standing up for the little guy but in reality the bureau consolidates vast power in the hands of the washington elites. richard, i would think that might be overstating things, but how do you exercise that power

in the age of trump? >> i think some of the rhetoric is quite overheated. we have a job to do and in my view it's a law enforcement job and we are trying to hold companies accountable for mistreating or abusing consumers, and regular people don't have the chance when they are exploited out, and it might be $10, $20 or $50, and they can't go court over that, and that's the work we are doing. >> richard, let me ask you, and i am not sure it falls under your purview, but i want to get your thoughts on the recent rollbackfaduciary view. >> we blew the whistle on wells

fargo, and yesterday we filed an action against rd legal, and and nfl concussions players were cheated out of millions of dollars. >> obviously the consumer financial protection bureau was built in a large part by elizabeth warren and put together by the obama administration, and i can see how it would be under attack in the trump administration, and i can see, herald ford jr., how we could need this bureau now more than ever. >> one of the questions i have and i applaud the work they have done under him, and the question about the way the bureau was organized, does it give the director of the bureau out-sized

power and perhaps that needs to be rewritten and put aside with the way some of the differences people have, and the bureau setup itself, do you think it a raises legitimate questions from the court 12 months ago or a little longer? >> we do have a case that is pending in the case, and i don't want to speculate about it because it's in the court's hands and the courts will make their judgment and we will abide by it, and in the meantime there's a job to do, and we are supposed to make sure the law is being enforced, and we have gotten money back for over 29 million consumers across the country, and we will try to do the work to the best of our ability. >> thank you very much. still ahead on "morning joe," things fall apart on the senate floor.

>> what senator warren did earlier tonight was not over the line. >> i did not believe it when i heard it that a united states senator would be silenced by another united states senator. >> decorum goes by the wayside when senator warren is kept from speaking. i discovered a woman my family tree, named marianne gaspard. i became curious where in africa she was from. so i took the ancestry dna test to find out more about my african roots.

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of the great mrs. king is -- >> february 8th. welcome to "morning joe." >> i didn't get that last night on the senate floor. >> a lot happened. >> i don't get it. >> did you see that? >> do you remember "big", and tom hanks said i don't get it, and i don't get it. >> we are going to try and make sense of it this morning. >> with the help of mike barnicle, good to have you back and i am sorry. >> happy to be here. >> also with us, morning joe economic analyst, steve rattner. on capitol hill, white house

columnist at "the hill," stau tphaupblg. we were going through all of the press that somebody had leaked out for bannon, and no, you know, this for guy that some people are calling president bannon. "new york times." we missed it because it was on the crease. and it has been leaked, steve bannon, they love him in the vatican. it reads it straight out of -- >> certain parts of the vatican. >> can you explain the difference? >> seriously, this guy has been an aide. this guy has been an aide for two weeks to the president, and i have never seen press like it.

here they even have him huge in the vatican. and what about donald trump in the vatican? but steve bannon -- still, he's an aide and on the cover of "newsweek," and -- >> "time." >> i always say "newsweek," and in the "new york times," it's a story about him. secret parts of the vatican -- >> he's powerful, joe. >> the da vinci code. an aide to the president, and now they have stories about him in the vatican. >> you have -- >> and in any other administration, somebody that did all that would be fired by now. >> this is outrageous. this is beyond outrageous.

the press machine that has been churned up for this guy daily, and it does take it to comedic new heights. >> don't go right to the pope loves me. >> he is powerful, joe. he came from the media. he knows how to generate it. i would say that everything he has stood for in the past is coming through in the policies that are being -- so it's not a mira mirage. he is actually very powerful. >> you don't do that as a staff guy. >> internally, no match for him in the white house. >> maybe he thinks the president is not a match for him, because he is getting more press than the president. >> now he is twinned with cardinal raymond burke, 68 years old -- >> the equivalent of the tea party in the vatican. >> and according to "saturday night live," the president is

sitting at the small desk in the oval office and bannon is sitting at a big desk in the oval office. >> us following politics have never seen anything like this before in our lives. two weeks in, the amount of press. this is unprecedented. >> for the second straight night senate democrats launched an all-night talk-a-thon, this time in protest of senator jeff sessions nomination to be attorney general. the move is nearly identical to the marathon of speeches against devos that took place monday night, but it's what happened with senator elizabeth warren that has everybody talking. senator warren was barred from speaking on the senate floor after mitch mcconnell said she wrote senate rules. warren read a letter from kennedy. kennedy calling sessions a

disgrace to the justice department, and then read a letter from coretta scott king. after that, senator mcconnell interrupted senator warren's floor speech to announce the rebuke. >> they are mothers, daughters, sisters, fathers, sons and brothers -- >> mr. president? >> the majority leader. >> the senator impaoupbed the motives and senator warren, quote, said senator sessions has used the awesome powers of his office to chill the preexercise of the vote by black citizens. i call the senator to order under the provision to rule 19. >> mr. president? >> the senator from massachusetts.

>> i am surprised that the words of scott king are not suitable for debate in the united states senate. i ask leave of the senate to continue my remarks. >> is there objection? >> object. >> i appeal the ruling -- >> the objection is heard, and the senator will take her seat. >> wow. >> i got to tell you, i am with elizabeth. >> that's what i said. it's like that scene in "big," where tom hanks is looking at that thing and says, i don't get it. >> how is she reading letters from two great people impaoupbing. >> how dumb -- that's so stupid on so many levels. >> and senate voted along party

lines that warren violated the rule that no senator in debate can impaopb another senator. really? she is now barred from speaking on the floor until they wrap up the debate -- really? fantastic. >> willie, you played into her hand, first of all, and it's not like jeff sessions is in the role as a senator here. >> and his history is controversial. come on, everybody. >> he wants to be attorney general, which over the last two weeks is -- what steve bannon thinks, it will be the most position inside the administration outside of the president. by the way, the they do that to ted cruz when he was running around calling mcconnell a liar? >> no.

>> listen, what would it have costs mitch mcconnell and republicans to let her read that letter for three minutes, even if they did not like it and they thought somebody was being impaopbed, opposed to what they have now, which the warren being martyred. >> she went to a nearby room and read it on facebook live. thank you, and she posted a series of tweets saying she will not be silenced, which i will be retreating all day along with many democrats across the country. >> nobody expected her to be silent and mitch mcconnell should have known that that would get more publicity off the senate floor than on the senator floor. >> little rubio is back. >> democratic fund-raising will be off the charts. >> they have done her the greatest favor, steve. the greatest favor. >> it was unbelievably stupid.

>> it's not done. the favor continues. republican senators reacted to the vote to rebuke warren saying they have seen the loss of decorum in the upper chamber. >> turn on the news, and ask yourself how does it make you feel about those countries. i am not arguing we are anywhere here tonight, but we are flirting with it, but we are flirting it with it in the body and country, and we are becoming a society incapable of having debates anymore. >> i listened to her for quite a while and she didn't have a good thing to say about a fellow senator here. and i frankly don't think that's right. that's the thing that really bothers me, everybody on the other side knows we have the votes to finally do this. and yet they were treating it as

though this is what they have to try and win, which they are not going to win. in the process, treating a fellow senator with distain. that's wrong. >> the fact is that we have to treat each other with respect or this place is going to evolve into nothing but a jungle. >> too late. too late, willie. you say they have a list, huh? >> yeah, there are other examples of senators saying something unkind. i have to say republican conservatives rightly call progressive snowflakes. >> as they speak about decorum the next time the united states president tweets something, i await their gentle souls. >> did any of the senators have anything to say when a republic

member did not stand up and shouted out you lie. did they talk about decorum then? >> no. >> they are not stupid men. >> no. >> it's hard for me to believe that came from mitch mcconnell, and he's an ultimate insider and a pro and the sort of guy that used to say to younger members, and i had it say to me in the house all the time, just relax and let them vent and it's much better than drawing attention. it's almost like mitch mcconnell was either pushed by sessions to do this, or maybe he got a call from the white house to do it, but it was short sided and stupid and another big win for elizabeth warren, because of their own missteps. >> a spokesman said -- i can't say it with a straight face,

that warren had been warned many times. >> and then said, yet, she persisted, to which she said, you are right i persisted. >> she's such a threat to our democracy. and this is another low bar for the senate. also ahead, courtroom drama, inside the appellate court hearing for the president's travel ban. you are watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. thank you! imagine if the things you bought every day earned you miles to get to the places you really want to go. with the united mileageplus explorer card, you'll get a free checked bag, 2 united club passes... priority boarding... and 50,000 bonus miles. everything you need for an unforgettable vacation. the united mileageplus explorer card. imagine where it will take you.

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♪ ♪ >> this morning we are awaiting word from the federal court on whether president trump's executive order barring entry to people from seven countries will go forward. last night lawyers for the justice department and the states of washington and minnesota defended their arguments on the telephone with the judges from the ninth circuit. they were pressed for why the

months-long vetting procedures were in sufficient, and the state lawyers were held to account of why the powers were out from the president, and 137,000 people listened into the live stream. yesterday president trump was asked how far he thinks the case could go. >> to the supreme court you think? >> could. we will see. hopefully it doesn't have to. it's common sense. some things are law and i am in all favor of that, and some things are common sense and this is common sense. >> really quickly, though. the outcome of that, does anybody here -- mike, do you not assume in the end the supreme court will go with trump just because they have always historically deferred -- the ninth circuit will most likely

keep the stay in place, but there's such -- we had somebody on right after this came out, and there was a challenge, and there's such a huge deference paid to the executive branch when it comes to border security and national security on these matters. i find it hard to believe that they are going to overturn -- >> i don't disagree with you, although as a layperson just listening to the exchange between the three-judge court of appeals and the administration's representative from the justice department, they just sliced and diced him in the questioning, so i don't know. >> remember, also, if this court upholds the district court then the temporary restraining order remains in place, and then if they take that away it would require the deadlock or somebody else to decide -- the tie goes

to the state's order staying in place. >> it would take one of the democratic appointed judges, one of the four there. i don't know who that is, but, again, such deference is overwhelmingly paid to the executive branch. >> and this is just on the temporary training order, and there would be a trial on the merits. >> meanwhile secretary of homeland security was on capitol hill taking the blame for the rollout. >> this is not a muslim ban. saudi arabia, uae, have systems within their countries that are, in our view, fairly reliable, and the countries that are on the list, that were put on the list really by the last administration don't have those, and they are countries in chaos,

and countries in collapse. in retrospect i should have -- this is all on me, by the way, i should have delayed it just a bit so that i could talk to members of congress, particularly the leadership of committees like this to prepare them forhat was coming. >> wow. >> how could he take the blame for that when he had 24 hours notice? saying it's on me? how can you -- >> he was cut out deliberately by steven miller, and bannon -- >> we have gone from nobody knew about this defense or homeland security, which was the original reporting on it, to now it's general john kelly's fault entirely, and he went out yesterday and fell on his sword for people in the white house, donald trump or steven miller or people that put this together, and kelly just took one for the white house. >> this is miller and bannon, mike, and you even had -- you

even had dhs saying it doesn't apply to green cards, and miller and bannon over rode them. >> we are fortunate to have him as secretary of homeland security, and he's a believer in the chain of command and what you saw and heard right there was general kelly in the chain of command taking one for the president. coming up on "morning joe," #diplomacy. how one of the most important trade partners is coming up with a strategy for when he visits the u.s. mom, i just saved a lot of money on my car insurance by switching to geico. i should take a closer look at geico... you know, geico can help you save money on your homeowners insurance too? great! geico can help insure our mountain chalet!

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the governor of louisiana declared a state of emergency after eight tornadoes tore through parts of the new orleans, and no deaths have been reported but 25 people were sent to local hospitals for injuries, and the damage is unspeakable. let's bring in bill karins with more on that and a look at the day ahead in weather. >> that tornado was yesterday during the late mornings and the same areas hit hard by katrina, and on radar it looked horrendous. it looked like a textbook classic joplin-type of tornado.

it was an ef-2 tornado at least, and that's winds up to 132, and in joplin, it was a ef-4 and 5, and if that was where they did not have any roofs. the nor'easter going to have big impacts for boston, new york, providence and philadelphia. winter storm warnings in this highly populated i-95 corridor. let's take you to the snowfall map. the purple is six inches of snow, so half a foot from pittsburgh, harrisburg, philadelphia, hartford and all the way through the coastal areas in new hampshire and maine. let's get into the cities themselves. washington, d.c., at about three quarters of the storm you are rain, and at the tail end you

are rain. and don't expect a lot in washington, and baltimore, two to four inches for you on the tail end from 2:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. philadelphia, you get hit with a big hit of snow, and from the philadelphia area to new york city and hudson and long island, heavy for about two to three hours at the peak of the morning rush hour, and you may wake up and see no snow, and head out to the roads and it will come in like a white sheet and snowing three to five inches in three hours in new york city, and boston, it's during the midafternoon into the evening rush hour for you, 8 to 12 inches of snow. it's not a huge block bostoner amount of snow but it's the intensity we are going to get in a short period of time. we will be back here on "morning joe" in a moment.

stay tuned.

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warning of a potential looming threat because of the court order blocking the travel ban. here's homeland security secretary, john kelly, speaking yesterday before the house homeland security committee. >> it's entirely possible, whether it's somebody coming in during this stay or previous to this period that want to do us harm. >> but you don't have any proof at this point? >> not until the boom. >> until what? >> not until they actively blow something up or go into a mall and kill people. >> and meanwhile, sean spicer said the president is not trying to put fear in the american public but is reminding them to be vigilant.

>> it's becoming too often we are seeing the events not get the spectacular attention they deserve and it undermines the threat we face around the country, and the earth is a very dangerous place these days and isis is trying to do us harm and the president's commitment is to keep this country safe. >> joining us from capitol hill, chairman of the senate republican conference, senator john thune of south dakota. and mike barnicle and brianna back with us as well. >> always good to have you here. you met who could be the next justice to the supreme court, what do you think? >> extremely well qualified and great legal mind and that's universal on both sides of the aisle, and i think it will be hard for democrats to block his confirmation, and the president made an outstanding choice. >> you know, you listen to

senator thune whoas a very great knowledge of the situation, and we have a right to say that, and republicans are in power, and democrats have to pick their fights at this point and i am not sure this is the one. >> democrats seem to be divided over how far they are willing to buy over judge gorsuch, and whether this is a fight. what lengths are you willing to go to avoid the nuclear option? >> we will make sure this judge gets confirmed to the supreme court, and we hope that's with the democrats, and we hope they don't filibuster this nominee, and so we hope that democrats, although they may ultimately vote against him and oppose him, will allow him when the process concludes to get an up and down vote. anybody that has met with him

can't help but be impressed with not only his knowledge and insights and he's somebody that has written really sharp, crisp legal opinions, and he will be a very independent judge on the court that will judge with impartiality, and that's what most americans want to see, somebody who will call balls and strikes on the supreme court. >> senator thune, it's willie geist and always good to see you this morning. and we are talking about when elizabeth warren was cut off for impugning, mitch mcconnell said, and you voted for that to go forward. what is the argument to not allow senator warren to speak or finish what she was saying on the floor? >> willie, it was a clear violation of the rules. she was -- the rules say directly or indirectly impugning the conduct of another colleague, and she clearly had done that and crossed that line, and she had been warned before, and this was simply -- the whole

message behind this was that the senate is a place where kau hraepblg al tea is supposed to rule, and there are rules and we are supposed to abide by the rules, and when the rules are not adhered to, people need to be called out. typically what happens when members are warned about something they said they heed that warning, and most of us who serve understand and know he is a man of integrity. >> you have been there for a while, and you know you have heard worse, and was that really impugning his character worthy of shutting down what she was saying? >> look, i think you can make a judgment, willie, about whether or not you ought to invoke the rule, but it was a clear violation of the rules. the language that was used in that attack, in that letter, was something that very much was a direct attack on jeff sessions,

and this is one of the circumstances where you understand this is the senate is where most of us like to think about it we are all a team and when one team member gets attacked you defend them and that's what happened last night. >> you think reading a letter from coretta scott king and kennedy is an attack? elizabeth warren, i have seen her on the attack, and she can own her attacks, but she wasn't. it was -- she was reading a letter by somebody who is an icon in history. >> right, and it was a letter from 31 years ago, mika, and it was a direct attack on -- at that time -- jeff sessions who was up for a federal judgeship. i don't think there was any question there was a violation of the rules, and again, whether or not you want to enforce the rules is a judgment call made. when the issue was raised, it was raised to the par llama

tearen. the senate is a place where decorum is supposed to rule, and it's one of the few places in the world where you should be able to have a civilized debate, so the attempts to reign in members whether it's in direct reading a letter or a direct attack, who are violating the rules, that's one of those things that the senate ought to be known for. and it's unfortunate there were not more democrats that would step up and acknowledge that was crossing a line as well. >> senator, it's interesting that you view the senate, as you said, a team. i mean, i know you are a tm guy and you are a hoops guy and know what it's like to be on a team, so my question to you is, it seems looking at the senate from the outside, you have got a fractured team. do you think the senate is as kau hraepblg annual today as when you first entered the united states senate? >> i don't think it was and

right now it's especially bag because we are still in the fog of the election, and i hope things will normalize at some point, and there are a lot of agendas at work, and last night was about 2020 politics, and in order for us to get things done, we have to work together. i was a staffer back here in the 1980s, and it was a different place, and i hope we can restore and return to that, because people want to see accomplishment and results, and the senate is the place we have to make that happen and in most cases it takes a 60-vote majority to do that, and that means there has to be democrats and republicans working together. >> can i ask you a question about the travel ban. i know the president says its intent is to keep the united states and its citizens safe. are we safer, when in return, and it's following the botched raid as well, and we hear from yemen they are not allowing us

to run special opposis. >> all these things are part of keeping america safe, and there are many features and elements -- >> but not having access to raid some of the homes and compounds of terrorists, does that keep us safer? >> i think those types of things are concerning, and obviously things that we need to pay attention to, but that doesn't negate the responsibility that we have to vet people come into the country, and the rollout of this created a lot of unnecessary confusion that has been cleared up with generals kelly and mattis, and i think we have to have a national security strategy that has a clear-eyed focus on keeping americans safe in this country and protecting americans other places around the world, knowing that the world is an increasingly dangerous place.

so there are always domino affects and reactions to actions taken, but i think that people like general kelly and general mattis who are really tasked with protecting the safety of americans and i have a high confidence in them and their judgment. >> what about obamacare? we were talking about it early this morning, and a lot of votes to repeal it before, and what is the status of the replacement plan at least in the senate, and are you all working with the house to make sure that there's a replacement plan when this is repealed? >> we are, joe. th house has the ball control, and it will be step by step, and i don't think you will see a sweeping bill like when obamacare passed in the first place, and it's not going to happen overnight. there has been a lot of discussion about time lines. the important thing is that we get this right and go about it

in a systematic way and look at what the issues are, maintain stability in the marketplace and do something to get costs down to a more affordable level for americans, and that's been the real failure of obamacare and the most things americans are reacting to, the dramatic increase in premiums and deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. >> we're all over the place because there's a lot to cover. >> yeah. >> we are all exhausted. >> i have to ask you how you navigate president trump's choice of wording on how he feels about vladimir putin? this is, you know, sort of vexed everybody at the table here and it's concerning to foreign policy experts, and it's concerning to our allies and to countries around the world. i am assuming that you would not try to translate for him.

how do you get around this? >> what do you tell constituents when they ask you about a president saying we kill people too? >> i mean, i disagree with that. i navigate it by saying i disagree with that. i think that's a wrong interpretation of -- there's no parallel or moral equivalence between our country and russia, and we don't have people executed in this country that disagree with us. i think it's important. we understand. there may be times when our interests are aligned, and we would for purposes of that we work together with countries like russia, but understand who they are, and i think we have to have a clear-eyed understanding and recognition that this is a nation that is very different from ours and a leadership different from hours and keep that perspective. >> i am writing this town. navigates it by telling the truth. okay. always great talking to you.

>> thanks, guys. let's do business now, and turn to cnbc'sarah eyesen. >> one stock that will be watched today on earnings is disney. steal feeling the pinch of espn subscribers losses and advertisement falling. espn, it turns out, did not have as many college bowl games over the period and so we saw an impact there and this is plaguing the disney over the last few couquarters, and disnes doing well in other businesses like theme parks, for instance, which had a strong quarter, and the movie business has had a number of recent hits lately, although "star wars" "rogue one" did not do as well, and bob, a long time ceo, says he's open to

staying on beyond his june 28th retirement and he turned 66 years old on friday. i wanted to share news on facebook. the company is allowing employees more paid time off to grieve the loss of family members. facebook saying that bereavement leave for those who have lost immediate family members now is up to 20 days paid time off for extended family, it's about 10 days off. this is a personal issue for the coo who suddenly lost her husband back in 2015. she posted the announcement on facebook saying that s need a lot of time to start her recovery and appreciated her coany for giving her this leave, so another example of silicon valley taking the lead on these kind of policies not required by law and trying to set an example for the rest of america. >> you have the deloitte, and

cheryl sandberg, what she shared after the death of her husband was some of the most gripping things you could read and i know people that printed it out and saved it because it was so moving. thank you very much. up next, we are following developing news from washington. this is a live picture as president trump prepares to address a major convention of law enforcement officials. we will go to the white house for a live report on that, and we know what the president thinks about vladimir putin, but what do russians think about their president? we will get a revealing new look straight ahead. so how old do you want to be when you retire? uhh, i was thinking around 70. alright, and before that? you mean after that? no, i'm talking before that. do you have things you want to do before you retire? oh yeah sure... ok, like what? but i thought we were supposed to be talking about investing for retirement? we're absolutely doing that. but there's no law you can't make the most of today. what do you want to do?

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or some bee repellant. i'm just spit-balling here. nothing stops us from doing right by our customers. ally. do it right. told you not to swat 'em. in a moment we will get a live report from kristin welker at the white house, and first here's a look at some of the ground we covered so far on this busy wednesday morning. >> now they have stories about him in the vatican. it's the bannon code now. >> in any other administration, somebody who did all that would be fired by now. >> it would have been unthinkable for axelrod to appear on the cover of "time." >> people did not know much about steve and now he's being described as the most powerful man in the world. >> and how is reading two letters from two great people

impugning. >> what would it have cost mitch mcconnell and republicans to read that letter? >> now she's a martyr. >> it was a clear violation of the rule. she had been warned before and the senate is the place where collegiality is supposed to rule. >> secretary of homeland security defending the premise -- >> and mr. bannon would say to rip the band-aid off, do all of these controversial proposals because they realize there is going to be no honeymoon. >> trump's dangerous lie about russia. >> there are enemies of putin's who seem to be getting poisoned. >> why is it his reflex to always give the benefit of the doubt to russia. >> general flynn has been there for months. has he not eduted his boss? >> he's probably talking to

russians more than we realize because he is parroting their arguments. first, at the top of the hour, president trump set to address police and chief polices, and this should be interesting. and he inaccurately claimed the nation's murder rate is the highest it has been in 47 years. why did he say that? >> i don't know. let's bring in white house correspondent, kristin welker. what do you expect to hear from the president in just a few minutes? >> why did he say that? >> reporter: i don't know why he said that, but a fact check, it's at one of its lowest rates in 27 years. k kellyanne conway saying she was not sure where she got the facts from. in terms of what we expect to hear today, though, he's going to thank law enforcement for their service, and also highlight the role that the government plays and can play to

keep the country safe. this is what he tweeted just moments ago. he said i will be speaking at 9:00 a.m. today, with police chiefs and sheriffs and we will be discussing the horrible and dangerous and wrong decision, referencing the decision by the lower court to block his travel ban and its being appealed and he's waiting for that appellant decision. he will say whether a child lives in detroit, chicago, baltimore, anywhere in our country, he or she has a right to grow up in peace and nobody should be punished because of the city he or she is born. expect a focus on national security. no surprise there, and also thanking law enforcement for their service. >> and thank you and we'll be looking forward to watching the president's address. back in 2015, then-candidate donald trump had this to say about vladimir putin right here on "morning joe." >> how would america's relationship with russia change

if you were president? >> well,'s think it would be good. i have always felt, you know, fine about putin. i think that he is a strong leader, and he's a powerful leader, and he has represented his country, that's the way the country is being represented and he got popularity within his country and they respect him as a leader, certainly over the last couple of years they respect him as a leader and he's up in the 80s, and you see where obama is in the 30s and low 40s, and he's up in the 80s -- i don't know who does the polls, maybe he does the polls, but it could be done by american companies, actually. >> and a firsthand look at everyday russians and how they view pair leader, and it's the backdrop to her book. you did not just do this in the past three years, and you started in 1995, and these journeys would last two to three months. you go back to the same people

in 11 wns. what did you find? >> starting in 1995, talking to people in 11 different cities, rich, young, poor and old, and going back every ten years, it was very dramatic how russia changes, you know, 1995 was really chaotic,ing and yeltsin was the president, and then ten years later you have putin in five years and the price of oil going up and people doing better than they had been, and the economy was faltering again because the price of oil was falling, and people were not doing as well as they had been doing. >> how do they feel about vladimir putin. >> i was curious about this as we took our trip, and we have seen the poll numbers and can they be true? i have to say the people i spoke with, the vast majority of them love putin, and they have framed pictures of him up on their book

shelves. >> i remember in the '90s there was economic, political and social anarchy. >> turmoil. >> a country out of control. >> it was turmoil, and that would explain why russians feel positive about putin, and since he has been in office it has been more stable than it was under boris. >> does it explain beyond trouble' trump's affinity for putin, and if you look at what we have seen in the last two years, he likes popularity. >> he does like popularity. >> and money. >> and putin has both of them. putin likes to rule --e have term limits, and while in theory russians do as well -- yeah, that's right, in theory, he is not going to retire when his term limit is up and give speeches in open universities

and libraries, and he will be there until he dies or is killed, so when you talk to people that say they do like him and they are in favor of his policies, while the economy may be faltering, he is sort of restoring some of the self confidence that they didn't have. >> you think about it, and there has been three leaders of russia since the fall of the soviet union 26 years ago. there was yeltsin, and that period was difficult for russia. >> having an affinity for a leader because of high poll numbers is a high standard. >> that's not judging the standard, but trying to understand it. i have been trying to understand it for a long time. >> how do you view russians, just the dawn of trump before he was the president, but how are they feeling about the united states? >> there was a lot of anti-american sentiment, they did not feel good about our

government, barack obamas was not a good guy in russia, had a lot of people say a lot of things. >> why is that? >> a couple things. they get fed a steady diet that is pro russia and anti-u.s. government. i had one guy say i am embarrassed for your country, that you could have this guy as president. and hillary clinton, the same, and i did not ask about trump in the fall of 2015 because i did not think he would get the nomination, much less win. >> talk about younger russians, millennial russians. there has been a transformation, hasn't there? there's a group of people that never lived through the cold war. >> funny to think people in their 20s are working and starting businesses, and they don't even remember the soviet union, but they were not born then. that is amazing. one of the trends i did see on the trip was, and a lot of people said this to me, young people are more careful about

their health, not drinking as much or smoking and taking care of the food they eat and that's a trend i had not seen before. >> it's legal, i think you get one round of abusing your wife without going to jail, and that's a law that was just passed. a slap on the wrist if you do it once, and you are punished if you do it again. >> a new law unbelievable. >> do you have any sense how people in russia feel about donald trump? >> he is popular there, i think in the sense -- that was the sense that i got. i think, you know, in part because clearly that is who putin preferred rather than hillary clinton. the sense was this wasood f russia. >> underlining something that would surprise most americans, vladimir putin is extraordinary popular in his country. here, americans put willie

geist's picture on the wall, and over there -- >> yeah, there was so many people -- >> the shirtless picture? >> no. >> lista, thank you so much. that does it for us this morning. stephanie ruhle picks up the coverage right now. good morning, live in washington, d.c., and we are standing by for president trump set to speak any moment to law enforcement officials just hours after his travel ban was defended in court. plus, breaking overnight, shut down. senator elizabeth warren silenced. did you hear me? silenced on the floor. >> senators impugn the colleagues. >> i