day, live coverage here on msnbc leading into donald trump's first address to congress. it'll be that night, but we'll be covering it all day. i'm steve kornacki here in new york, thanks for joining us. mtp daily starts right now. if it's friday, identity crisis. what do the two parties stand for now? tonight extreme makeover. political edition. why democrats and republicans are evolving further and further om the cent. >> our victory was a victory and a win for conservative values. plus our new nbc/wall street journal poll. new insight into how americans feel about president trump's relationship with vladimir putin. and no press pass. the white house bars some news organizations from asking questions at an off-camera briefing. this after president trump rails again at the media today.

>> they are the enemy of the people. [ applause ] because they have no sources, they just make them up when there are none. >> this is mtp daily and it starts right now. good evening, i'm chuck todd here in washington. and welcome to mtp daily. and despite the please from some strategists, perhaps inside the white house to make everything about the press versus the trump white house, we are not going to talk about that as the lead. we are going to lead with something else. it's extreme makeover edition. folks, we're just five weeks into the trump presidency, and right now it looks as if the forces driving both parties are driving them further apart. to the extremes. and it appears we have a republican president trying to transform conservatism into trumpism. you saw that today at cpac. on the other side, it's a democratic base on the eve of a

party vote to select a new leader that appears intent on transforming progressivism into stop trumpism. today president trump got a hero's welcome at the annual conservative political action conference, coming a year after he was booed for not showing up. amid complaints from some conference goers that he wasn't a true conservative, but today, with perhaps a much different audience than last year's cpac conference, mr. trump delivered a raw meat, base-loving speech. and boy did his folks eat it up. >> a few days ago i called the fake news the enemy of the people, and they are. they are the enemy of the people. we are going to keep radical islamic terrorists the hell outs of our country. immigration offices are finding the gang members, the drug dealers, and the criminal aliens and throwing them hell out of

our country. oh, we're going to build a wall, don't worry about it. >> as the president looks to remake the republican party, he's fed the base a steady diet of executive orders, hot redd rhetoric and promises to repeal and replace obamacare. but boy, he's given congressional republicans very little in actual details to help them achieve those goals legislatively, let alone argue them or defend them at town halls. conservative columnist rich lowrie writes about this and this on president trump. no one knows what his infrastructure plan is or what he wants on obama carrey placement or where he comes down on the issue of threatening the ultimate passage of tax reform. the border adjustment tax. capitol hill is dependent on trump, not just to sign bills, but to lead.

and folks, in order to achieve those goals, the president is going to need support from democrats. who have their own leadership and identity crisis to deal with. tomorrow dnc members will vote to select a new party leader. >> yet the winners fate may have been decided already as the "new york times" notes, senior democratic official concede that the blueprint has been chosen, by liberals demanding no less than total war against president trump. is that the new identity to identify themselves as the anti-trump party. democrats denied obstructionism when obama was president. they derided republicans as extremists and being the anti-trump candidate did not equal success for hillary clinton last fall. but in this radical realignment of american politics and the age of trump, it seems as if anything goes on either side with both bases urging the party, the more extreme, the tter. we're going to talk with elected officials in both parties about this. i'm first joined by republican

congressman tom cole of oklahoma who sits on two powerful committees, the appropriations committee and the budget committee can which cannot get work done if there's not some form of consensus and demon ground. congressman cole, nice to see you, sir. >> good to be with you, chuck. >> let me ask you this issue that rich lowrie brought up which is, you guys, meaning congressional republicans, you need not just the president to sign bills, but you need leadership. right now you've got these town halls and it seems to me it's a whole bunch of members out there unarmed. because, you've got constituents upset about the repeal, but there's nothing you can talk about in the replacement. hoich do you need direction from the white house? >> i think you absolutely need direction and participation. i think that's probably coming and the next few weeks. we should see the draft plans for repeal and replace and we should see tax reform as well. but, you know, frankly that's not all that unusual.

obamacare when president obama showed up was one piece of paper with eight talking points. it was basically written in a legislative process. so, i think we're seeing that again, but you're absolutely right, you're not going to be able to avoid making tough decisions. republican parties going to want to put out a plan that the president will enthusiastically support, and help us work through congress. >> you've been around this town a long time, both as a strategist and then as an elected official. it looks to me as if at least on the legislative side of things, this is a bit slower of a start. than you might expect when you have one party control. you know, there hasn't been the big, you know, look, we're already passed the date of when president obama signed his big stimulus. so is there -- what do you make of in the big -- sort of where we are sequencing wise examine. >> well, i don't actually consider the stimulus all that big a deal. they add ud up every spending project they could think of. they didn't allow a single amendment on it, and they voted it up or down.

and you know, they would argue we were at a moment of national crisis. and congress can move very quickly in crisis. we're not in that kind of crisis today. and what congress has focussed on and have gotte frankly not a lot of credit for, but i think should is deregulatory activity. and there's only a certainly period of time that you can do that. and we've pushed ten major repeals through. in march you'll be seeing again the outlines of tax reform and repeal and replace on obamacare. i would expect a major supplemental appropriations for defense. so we're moving into the time in major legislation begins to emerge. i think we're on schedule. >> what did you make of former speaker john boehner's some might call it a truth bomb when he said, obamacare's not getting repealed, it's getting repaired. >> well, i think, you know, i have a lot of respect for john boehner. he's my friend, he's my former speaker, and frankly, to a degree, he's right because there are elements of obamacare we will keep. if you look at the bill, we're

certainly going to keep the portion that allows people to stay on their, you know, parents insurance until they're 26. we have said, the president's committed, that we're going to continue to make sure that people with preexisting conditions can afford and buy, purchase health care. and finally, and i specialize in this stuff, there's something called the indian health care improvement act that was separate and then added, that's staying in intact as well. the point is there's going to be elements you keep, that's absolutely true, but the replacements that we make will be major. it's not going to be tweaked, it's going to be substantially changed. >> let's talk about the other question that i was raising at the start of the show. and that is, at least on the right, how would you define conservatism today? and who's in charge of defining what a conservative is today? >> well, i think the electorate defines and the conservative movement defines it. i have considered myself a traditional conservative. i'm pro life, i'm pro second amendment, i believe in low

taxes and limited government, strong national defense, so me, that's still pretty much what a conservative is today. now that can cover a pretty wide variety of views on a range of issues, but i don't find the people i see at the republican party meetings and conventions any different than the people i've seen ten years o. >> what would you say though when you look at the issue of economic nationalism and free market capitalism? it doesn't appear that those two ideas can live under the same political party. >> well, i think they absolutely can, but i also think there's always been intention there. look, i think in terms of -- i think trump is not a traditional conservative or traditional republican. he is a nationalist, he is a populist, there's a considerable overlap there, but they're not exactly the same things, and that's one of the reasons he carried some states we haven't been winning in. you know, a guy that can put

together a message that brings you michigan, pennsylvania, and wisconsin, for the first time in 28 and 34 years, you know, is clearly saying something different. and is reaching new groups. and in that process, you do see some shifts of emphasis. you know, tpp was one he mentioned in his speech today. >> yeah. >> most republicans traditionally would vote for free shade deals. he's made the case, and i think he's probably won the argument that yeah, i'm for free trade, but i want to negotiate these, you know, multi-laterally you instead of i'm going to negotiate country to country instead of multiple countries at one time. so there's no question, there's some tactical changes. >> let me -- speaking of taxes, let me close with this, it seems as if this white house very much likes to worry about political tactics with it's political base. this early still, is there a point where do you think it's a bit too much, almost such a focus on making their 40% happy with the press bashing and all

that nonsense that they're so missing the middle? >> well, i don't know if they're missing the middle. look, i look this way, two presidents in a row, good men, very different men, both lifted as a major goal that they would unite the country. and i think both would tell you today, look i failed, the country was more divided at the end of my presidency than the beginning. i think trump has made the decision that that's not his goal. he thinks these divisions predate him. they're there, they're deep. s de is, i'm going to get thing doens. i'm going to accomplish things, and then i wantou to make a judgment. >> but it worth making it worse while you do it? >> look, i don't know that he's made the divisions worse. we had 66 members of congress boycott a presidential inauguration. i've never seen anything like that. probably haven't since 1861. we had hundreds of thousands of people on the mall demonstrating against him when he was less than 24 hours into his presidency. for the idea that he's

unilaterally provoked this, i don't see it that way. i think democrats are still shocked that they lost. i understand that. i saw my own side, you know, go through this. i think it was even more shocking for them because i think most of them woke up on election day and thought they were going to win. and they did win the popular vote. that's tough to deal with and it's led to conspiracy theories and a lot of anger, but, you know, i don't think the division is caused by trump and i don't think it's one-sided. >> all right, congressman tom cole. i'll leave it there. pleasure to have you and sharing your views. >> thank you. of course the democratic party is going through it's own president trump-induced identity crisis. i sat down earlier with washington state governor and vice chair of the democratic governor's association jay he knowsly. we started off talking about president trump's controversial travel ban and remember, washington state was played a big role in getting the ban temporarily blocked. the governor affirmed it's commitment to opposing any new executive order that negatively impacts and pledged to use

resources to fight aravel ban if the state itself doesn't have standing. but i also asked the governor if the democrats should base their identity simply on being anti-trump. >> this is not a matter of personalities, it's a matter of life. here's what this is about, it's about the ability to get cancer care for our patients. they want cancer care no matter who the president is. but it is this president who is threatening this today. we have had 20,000 people treated for cancer under the affordable care act. and this president has put that at risk. we have a clean energy economy that's growing by leaps and bounds. we have thousands of jobs associated with clean energy. this president wants to reduce and impair our ability to fight climate change and have a clean energy economy. these are real jobs, this is real health care. we have real threats to the personal lives and dignity of our state. so it's not directed based on that or any personality

conflict. it is based on the lives of my citizens being impaired and endangered by these chaotic unprincipled plans tweeted policies by the government. so we're standing up, and by the way, states are the first line of defense for these constitutional liberties, and health care, and that's what i'm pleased that we are being vigorous, and we've got some republicans helping to some degree, look, we have republican governors who are pointing out that the president and the republicans are in danger to have health care for their citizens in the medicaid proposals. >> do you think there is a danger of being too anti-trump or that is the loudest animating force inside the democratic party? >> i don't think there's a danger -- i don't think there's a danger listening to the loud voices, and they are loud and they should be loud. shoot, we' got four republican members of congress from the state of washington. they've all entered the witness protection program because they won't speak to their constituents. i'm waiting for churches to offer to give them sanctuary because they won't come out in public and talk to their

constituents. those voices are loud and they should be because these are people who are veteran, senior citizens, their health care is in danger. i don't think there is that risk. i will tell you there is a -- an event that's actually not been based on raucousness or noise, it's been inspiration. i'll tell you why. i've been in public life in and out for a quarter of a century. i have never seen a more inspirational event than the emotional outpouring of people to protect refugees. to protect dreamers, and this has been inspiring to me as a person whose been in public life. and i'll tell you what it tells me, it means people believe in the unique nature of america. they understand how special our constitution is. and it's given the star spangled banner new meaning to me. >> what do you tell the people in eastern washington? much more -- the rural eastern washington, much more conservative, very much voted very similarly to all over america, what do you say to

those folks who say, but america's losing it's identity. they take that very same concept that you're talking about. and look at it the other way. steve bannon talks about it. they say you know what, america's losingt's cultural identity, what do you say? >> you have to worry about losing not your identity, but your health care. eastern washington and cashmere washington, one of the apple growing capitals of the universe, there were 400 people in a town of i don't know, three or 4,000 trying to talk to their republican congressman who refuse to come to meet with them to talk about the loss of their health care. this is not an ideological issue. it's whether you're going to get treatment for your cancer, that's number one. number two, in eastern washington, our agricultural economy is significantly, if not solely dependent on labor that is provided by people, many feeding us for decades, even though they may have come here without documents and their children as well.

they're going to soccer games where their neighbors are kids are a soccer program. these a neighbors, these are co-workers, these are student williams these are not the stereotypes the president is trying to draw. we don't to want rip these communities apart. >> you know, you brought up your time in congress, when i first started covering politics is when you entered. you lost in '94. >> i did. >> so what's your advice to those republicans -- because democrats had control of everything. house, senate, presidency. and when voters aren't happy, they had one party to blame. you got blamed for bill clinton. what's your advice to members right now that are on the republican side doing what you just talked about? hiding, moving their eyes, going, oh, this is going to be. >> reporter: i would say that members of congress who don't see a tornado coming their way are not very observant.

if you don't respect the fact that republicans and democrats both want to get treatment for your cancer and you are the person taking itaway, if you don't see the danger ofthat, you probably don't deserve to be in public life. if you're not respecting this outpouring across the country, to both parties, frankly, of not allowing the chaos to occur that's occurring because of the trump administration, and you should not want to be visibly on that team, you probably not deserve to be an electoral office. this is a tornado heading in the direction of frankly democrats doing very well in 2018. and it is obvious we saw it in 1994, there is a certain symmetry if you will, and because i can tell you democrats are going to crawl on their knees across broken glass to vote in 2018. >> that's what happened to you the other way around. >> that's exactly what happened. and so i think there is some symmetry in this regard. >> it is february of 2017.

i think everybody should be aware of that. a long, long way to go. you can see all of my interview with governor enesly and meet the press.com. we've got more on the forces driving both parties to the extremes and what it means for everyone that's stuck in the middle. just ahead. and this tuesday, msnbc will have all day coverage leading up to president trump's first address to a joint session of congress. brian williams, rachel maddow and chris matthews will lead the address tuesday night. keep it on msnbc. we'll be right back. the future w york state is already in motion. companies across the state are growing the economy, with the help of the lowest taxes in decades, a talented workforce, and world-class innovations. like in plattsburgh, where the most advanced transportation is already en route. and in corning, where the future is materializing. let us help grow your company's tomorrow - today at esd.ny.gov

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less than 24 hours from now the dnc dnz will pick the new chair. the first time the race has been competitive since the '80s. hillary clinton who did not endorse a candidate in the race speak to democrats today in the form of a video. and she urged them to resist. >> we as democrats must move forward with courage, confidence, and optimism.

and stay focussed on the elections we must win this year and next. let resistance, plus persistence equal progress for our party and our country. >> well, in the debate about what should the party be and how should it organize? it sounds like clinton it telling the party to resort to the all-out obstruction to counter president trump. coming up, more on this identity crisis. stick with us right here. that ride share? you actually did not feel like a cloud... that driverless car? i have seen it all. intel's driving...the future! traffic lights, street lamps. business runs on the cloud... and the cloud runs on intel. ♪ i wonder what the other 2% runs on...(car horn) why do so many businesses rely on the u.s. postal service?

because when they ship with us, their business becomes our business. ♪ that's why we make more e-commerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country. ♪ here, there, everywhere. united states postal service priority : you more now on the top story. the dualing identities the sudden realignment under president trump has breathed now life into both bases. driving them further apart. both together in congress, the big question here, what do these parties stand for? what does it mean to be a republican or a democrat in the age of trump? let me bring in tonight's panel.

vice president of communications bipartisan policy center and msnbc contributor. so the realignmentf the parties, it happens, it was interesting yesterday i was speaking with david and he says, the basic fights between the two parties have been the same, arguably, essentially since the reagan era. you know, that we've essentially the red/blue divide. and i think we all think maybe in 30 years we'll look back and say -- 2016 was the middle of the realignment, perhaps. and maybe you'll have your sanders trump wing as one party and paul ryan and barack obama in the other, right? but right now, whew, this is a mess. >> well, what's fascinating, i was watching trump at cpac and obviously he did, you know, his 15 minute opening riff on how terrible the media is, but then he gets into the meat of the speech and he's talking about trade and he's talking about immigration. and what's fascinating to me is

that -- this was a takeover of not just cpac, but the republican party. no one else in that field, in the 2016 field had views on those things, anything like -- >> donald trump, the idea that -- >> quickly, sorry, robert. the idea is he redefining conservative, he absolutely is. if trump represents what it means to be a republican in 2017, that's not just radically different from what it was to be a republican in 1957, it's radically different than what it was to be republican 2015. >> but the question chris is home members are behind him? how many members are marching up the hill following -- >> did you hear tom cole? >> i did >> and he said wel the voters are deciding this. that was fascinating. >> his argument was, the voters decide what a republican is. >> what do you make of that? >> well, i'm not sure the policy's there. i totally respect where the voters are. i totally understand the frustration that they're feeling. they've been lied to on immigration and the deficit and

obamacare. so, i understand that frustration, i do think this is a flash in a pan. that i think conservative members of congress up on capitol hill are just saying, we're going to ride this out. let's wait, things will change. >> i'm thinking about governor enesly's metaphor of the tornado. and, you know, tornados, they can get stronger, they can get weaker, they can veer off course, they pick up things and put them down in different places, and i think that might be what we're looking at here. we don't really know whether we're, you know, looking back to the republican party of good old 2014 and, you know, and this is like just this weird diversion of trumpism we're having or whether there's something major brewing. >> well here's the fact. steve bannon does to want create a realignment. >> he said that. >> carl rove wanted to create -- >> and i remember when carl rove who had the same position as steve bannon, we're creating a realignment. >> rove wanted to create a political realignment that might

be a cultural realignment. steve bannon wants to create a cultural realignment. >> deconstructing the administrative state, it's not solely about government, it's more broadly about where the power was. >> he wants a revolution. he wants a revolution and the question becomes whether or not this country and the republican base are ready for that, i don't think so. >> let's talk about the democrats here. looks like -- >> speaking of revolution. >> clinton say just resist. look, whatever the views are on the clintonsing, political ly trii think alation. there's always different form of it, but clinton has always been a compromiser. in some form or another. to hear her come down on the side of resistance to, to me it's like she's now saying, be an anti-trump party, okay. >> imagine hillary clinton having a nice off the record dinner with tom co i think they would both be

having a lot of agreement in terms of rolng their eyes at things out of control in their own parties and in in their own bases, and just, you know, it's like i'm going to shift from the tornado to wave surfing, you just do better sometimes when the wave is coming, duck under it because it's too powerful. and i think that's what smart democrats and smart republicans are doing right now. just let the wave go over you. because if you resist it, you're going to get knocked back on your you know what. >> i do think it is fascinating that tom perez, who was in the vp stakes because he was the liberals liberal. remember that? like this is who liberals want, he's the center left candidate. he's the establishment left candidate. it speaks to where the party is right now. we focus so much on the republican party. rightly so, they control everything -- >> in fairness, the reason he's been viewed this way, he was recruited by those forces. >> he was. >> establishment --

>> worried that ellison was going to win and go oh no, who's the most acceptable progressive we could support? >> he is not -- >> there's no difference. >> if rudy giuliani's campaign in 2008 signalled the death of the middle of the republican -- oh, he'll just run out the middle -- >> the moderate republican. >> there's no john bro figure. no tim roamer, no new democrat, it's left and left left. which shows you where they are right now. >> which is my point. could we go back to clinton far second. what i saw was someone that probably will be running for president in 2020 or keeping her options open -- >> oh no. >> keeping her options open. >> listen to the confidence in her voice. she got three million more votes, i think she's saying, i don't know what i'm going to do, but i deserve the right to keep the options open. >> not going to happen. >> last word. >> i agree. >> that's it. >> if she runs, she'd lose. >> i think watch who you were interviewing. jay enesly. people don't talk about him

for -- interesting background zblich another one on sunday from colorado. >> that's -- yeah, that's not a dark horse. >> no. >> all right guys, stick around, still ahead, the very first numbers from our nbc/wall street journal poll for february. what americans think about the relationship between president trump and russia. plus the north korean murder mystery got more bizarre today and put north korea squarely on the spot. stay tuned. ♪ ♪ ♪ everyone deserves attention, whether you've saved a lot or just a little. at pnc investments, we believe you're more than just a number. so we provide personal financial advice for every retirement investor.

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welcome back. north korean murder mystery got a bit stranger today. malaysian police found traces of a toxic nerve agent that's classified as a weapon of mass destruction on the body of kim jong nam. the estranged half brother of the north korean dictator. that half brother who was murdered in malaysia last week. two women wiped kim jong nam's face with the deadly nerve agent. experts say vx or venomous agent x is a tasteful, odorless liquid that mere drops on the skin or in the eyes can be deadly. 's the kinf thing that's available to a state actor. like say, oh, north korea. malaysian police officials say the two women were instructed to wash their hands right afterwards, and one even vomited after the incident. a lot more than skrefd there. what americans really think about u.s./russia relations. first here's the cnbc market

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welcome back to mtp daily. we have our first look at the new nbc/wall street journal poll. most released on sunday morning, but on the same day that nbc news confirms that reince priebus asked a top fbi official to knock down new story about contacts between trump aids and russia during the campaign, white house officials dispute that priebus did anything wrong and senior lawnforcement official said fibl officials

also did not consider any lines to have been crossed. so here's a look at this -- these numbers. when asked if they believe president trump is too friendly, 38% said yes and 29% said no. a very large no opinion on this. on whether or not congress should investigate on russia and the interference in the election, 54% said yes, and only 29% said no. we should mention that we actually asked that question two different ways, one mentioning president trump by name and one not. and the responses were virtually identical. so you don't have any sort of trump bias that influences the nature of the question. joining me now, steven hadley, served as national security advisor to president george w. bush. i want to ask you about russia relations overall. there's been an interesting reaction from the russian government. they have essentially, i guess, view everything that has happened around the trump administration and realized, well, there's too many things that have happened, he is not going to be allowed to be friendlier to russia. have they made the correct

calculation? >> i think they probably have. and if you look at some of the comments that have been made by congress -- >> uh-huh. >> leading members of congress, if you look at some of the assessments made, same made by trump appointees to cabinet positions during their confirmation hearings, if you look at the debate more generally in the press and elsewhere, i think there is ach more balanced public discussion about russia, it's intentions, the policies it's been pursuing, and i think it's obviously had an effect on both the thinking of the trump administration, but also, i think it is narrowed the scope for them to take action in the near term in trying to outreach or reach some kind of grand with russia. i think that's a good thing and i think the russians have come to recognize it. >> what's interesting here, over

the last few days, we've heard comments about the nuclear arsenal. we have the new start treaty that is coming up, and it sounds like you've got a vladimir putin that, you know, may -- maybe open to renegotiating it in different ways. he says he'd like to keep it the same, but it's donald trump that doesn't want to keep the momentum of maybe over time dialing down the nuclear arsenals of the world, but maybe ramping it up. what do you make of it? >> well, i think it's kind of a confused set of signals. at one point, there was some discussion that maybe one of the elements would involve further reductions to reduce nuclear weapons. when that has been raised with the russians with, they've generally indicated they're not interested. >> right. >> and i think president trump has talked in terms of sort of numbers, i think one of the things a lot of people would be more comfortable with is if he talked in terms of modernizing

our capability -- >> and that's always -- >> to keep up with the modernization that russia and china are doing. >> that always to me had been the talking point on this stuff. but he is not saying that. do you think -- do you think that's -- do you think he's doing that intentionally or that it's a misspeak? >> i don't know. i think there is an element probably both, you know, there's been a lot of publicity around that actually the united states has, under the framework of the new star treaty has run down the number of warheads either deployed or deployed and non-deployed together, run down the number warheads more than the russians. may be referring to than. you've seen the numbers. it's not clear at this point. but he is clearly doing something that is use to feel say that nuclear deterrence continues to be an important thing about our national security approach. and it's very important that we retain a robust nuclear capability, and if he means that, that means then

modernization of our systems and our nuclear infrastructure, and that's a big bill, as you know. >> having a former national security advisor here, i have to ask you this question, what extra limitations is put on the job when you're an active member of the military? >> well, we had an active member of the military serving as national security advisor before -- >> couple times. >> retired. colon powell was active duty. i think it puts a certain burden on the national security advisor to make it clear that the fact that they wear a military uniform does not impinge their ability to be an honest broker in the process. and to encourage all points of view have equal access to the president. >> he has to salute the chairman of the joint chiefs. i mean, that is an awkward position, no?

>> yes and no. i think it's understood in the military that when you have an assignment in the national security council staff, you salute to the president of the united states. you are then in that staff that is dedicated supporting the president in his or her unique role under the constitution of the national foreign policy. i don't think anybody has confusion about that. >> should rex tillerson, national security advisor sometimes is the mediator, sometimes state and defense, should rex tillerson be concerned then, it seems as if jim mattis has a lot of influence these day kpups. >> you know, i don't think so. one of the things -- if you look at where general mcmaster has served in iraq, afghanistan, he knows, first of all the importance that the military alone cannot achieve the outcomes we need. there needs to be a political strategy and part of that needs to be active american diplomacy and civilian participation in a comprehensive strategy to try to resolve those situations.

i think you may have in general mcmaster someone who's sympathetic to the role of diplomacy and the need to put resources in the direction of development and other things, these civilian capability. >> let alone what everybody's talked about, intellectual fire power. always a pleasure to have you in. thanks for sharing your views. up next, i'm obsessed with the relationship between the president and the press. stay tuned. dear predictable, there's no other way to say this. it's over. i've found a permanent escape from monotony. together, we are perfectly balanced. our senses awake. our hearts racing as one. i know this is sudden, but they say...if you love something set it free. see you around, giulia

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obsessed by the increasingly hostile relationship between the president and the press. president trump made no secret of what he thinks of reporters as he made clear again this morning at cpac. >> they are the enemy of the people. because they have no sources, they just make them up when there are none. >> and just in case the press, however it's being defined by him didn't get the message when the white house held it's offcamera briefing this afternoon known as a gaggle, it barred the "new york times," l.a. times, political, and cnn from attending to ask questions. nbc news chose to attend and all the news organizations were able to share the information with all of the band reporters. so, is this some sort of totalitarian state-like censorship? reporters here are not treated the way journalists are dealt with by vladimir putin who has most favorite leader status, sometimes in the white house. nevertheless, this is a short sided please the base strategy.

it's a tactic. all leaders need an adversary and now that president trump doesn't have hillary clinton to kick around anymore, he and steve bannon have decided it's the mainstream media that is the target rich environment and makes the base feel good. it's a feel-good moment for the white house. president's base loves it, but it's very short sided and unnecessarily defensive posture because unlike megan trainer, you can't be all about that bass all the time. we'll be right back. y hi to xii, lifitegrast ophthalmic solution. the first eye drop approved for the signs and symptoms of dry eye. one drop in each eye, twice a day. common side effects include eye irritation, discomfort or blurred vision when applied to the eye, and an unusual taste sensation. do not touch the container tip to your eye or any surface. remove contacts before using xiidra and wait for at least 15 minutes before reinserting them. if you have dry eyes, ask your doctor about xiidra.

time for the lid. the panel is back. i have to play something that sean spicer said about three months ago. >> i wonder what that's going to be. >> play it. >> there's a big difference between a campaign where it is -- it is a private venue using privateds and a government entity, we have a respect for the press when it m

cos to the government. that is something you cannot ban an entity from. conservative liberal or otherwise. that's what makes democracy v. a deck tator ship. >> wow. that was at a political bre breakfast. here what the white house said. they were banned. they were not permitted to come many and ask questions. >> you can -- >> i understand everyone who says you're being played. they want this. >> they do. >> i understand that. >> i didn't lead with it, i understand where other networks are. >> the media represents everything think don't like, the coast, iy league, it's bad for a

healthy democracy. i'm the last one -- >> it's good theater. >> it is good theater. they are doing this for political gain. steve bannon believes the media should be over throne but the people they are speaking too do not get that. the vast majority of us are trying like heck every day to be fair and get it right. >> if we were -- if i were doing fake news i would have been fired a long time ago. >> i don't think it's smart of the white house to do this. when you start excludeing news

organizations -- >> selectiveness, that's what it is. >> people are wondering what's going on in washington. at the same time if we give it too much attention, we should denounce it. the story we started the day with about the contact reince priebus but the chief of staff, i read the story whether dhs is questioning if there's a basis for having a sustain ship based exclusionary policy, that's another thing we're not paying attention to. at the same time we have to continue to rail about this. >> steve bannon laid out the strategy yesterday. he said it before, they need a foil. he wants to be the foil. it may be bannon's intended

consequence. but the -- >> is to delegitimatization of the press corps. >> i think there's two people here, the president and steve bannon. i think sean spicer is do diagnoing what he is being told. >> he was ordered to do this. >> i think we should talk about that. >> he is following orders. >> yes. >> i still do -- i think people need to -- look at steve bannon's questions. every single answer that steve bannon had is about the media. it's going to get worst for you. if you think they, the media are going to let this go, this,

unclear what this, go -- that's dangerous. he believes it and he is in donald trump's ear. it is not good for democracy to have this going on. >> you're not a biassed reporter. >> you're biassed for american constitution. >> and the first amendment. >> it is number one on the list. thank you. after the break, why arkansas republican say one name carries too much baggage. stay tuned. (announcer vo) when you have type 2 diabetes

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in case you missed it, to get into or out of little rock arkansas you have to go through bill and can hillary clinton. the airport was renamed bill and hillary clinton. when you go to houston you fly through bush. there was hugging,laugr, at least some folks wants to change the name again. a bill has been introduce that would make it illegal for the airport to be named after any living person elected and

received a salary. there r no other airport that would be impacted if the bill would become law. seriously, are we going to co m to the age of politics where when your side win you tear down the statutes name and vice versa sa. everybody should cool off a little bit. if it's sunday we have a "meet the press", raight now "for the record" with greta start right now. president trump at war and it got worst, much worst. we'll talk