out ahead of his own policies with his inability to allow anybody to get a per sooeed slight on him. we have seen it with the muslim ban, health care, it's stopped republicans from passing some pretty horrible legislation. >> elevate us. >> the more likelihood it is this bill gets across the finish line. >> thank you to my panel. that does it for this hour. katy tur is in for chuck. >> if it is monday, the score is out on the senate health care bill. good evening, welcome to "mtp daily." live from los angeles, we're e preparing to hear from president trump live in the rose garden with the indian prime minister.

we'll take their joint remarks as they happen. but tr now, it's make or break for republicans on health care. the entire political world, including the trump white house, is watching the senate trying to pass a bill this week before the july 4th recess. we're told the first procedural vote could kom as soon as tomorrow afternoon. just in the last hour, we got the nonpartisan analysis from the congressional budget office. a crucial test that could determine which republicans go from a yes to a no vote or to a no from a no to a yes. the bill would reduce the federal definicit over the next ten years by $321 billion. more than $200 billion more than what they estimated for the house bill. the bill would increase the number of uninsured people by 22 million by 2026, slightly fewer than the increase in the house bill. the the tole nurmt ininsured would be 49 million. but right now, we don't though

if this bill is going to get gop support to pass regardless of the score. rod johnson of wisconsin told chuck yesterday on "meet the press", that he was concerned with the speed in which his party leadership is trying to ram this bill through the senate. >> we don't have enough information, i don't have the feedback from constituencies who will not have had enough time to review the senate bill. we should not be voting on this next week. >> there are still five senate republicans who oppose the health care bill and we're expecting the number to shift as we edadjust the analysis. for this thing to pass, the majority leader mitch mcconnell can only afford to lose two of his gop colleagues. and the white house is getting involved in whipping the votes. press secretary sean spicer told reporters in an off camera briefing that the president has made multiple calls to senators a about the bill. plus republicans made a small

change to the bill trying to compel people not to go without insurance coverage, which could cause the most conservative members of the conference to cry foul. we're keeping an eye on the politics, policy and the process and seeing if republicans can make themselves impose rapidly approaching dead line. joining me from capitol hill is garrett headache. thank you tr joining us. break down the score and what it could mean for the senate conference. >> there's a couple things in here that republicans are going to like. starting with the deficit reduction number. they say after ten years, they can cut $321 billion from the deficit. that's not necessarily where tall that money is going to go. that $321 billion is now money they can cloe throe at this problem. if rob portman wants more money for opioids, they can find more money. but they have to a big problem with the top line number, the 22

million people who will be uninsured compared to current law with this bill. that means they are going to have to face the same argument with donald trump's words at the forefront that this bill is mean. that it doesn't do enough to make sure people get covered. the biggest chunk of that comes from medicaid. 15 million fewer people will be insured by ned kad in ten years than compared to current law under this bill. so in the breakdown, there's a chart that shows the sort of cut off, the flattening out of the line on medicaid spending. this is something republicans have want waed to get done for long time. but that gap, that space between those two lines on medicaid spending and what this bill projects is going to affect a lot of real people. i expect to hear democrats hammer that point. a lot of vulnerable people who would potentially be on medicaid not getting that care. >> and the president came pained on not touching medicaid. is there concern within the republican senate right now to

go against something that the president himself campaigned on? >> the president campaigned on that, but that's not something he's been talking a bt since then. it's not something the republican senators campaigned on. there's a a difference between the president's rhetoric and the senator's rhetoric and the president's rhetoric from day-to-day. the president has been reaching out trying to get them on board. but i talked to rand paul within the hallway and he said while he's spoken to the president, he hasn't spoke on to leadership they are not having the negotiations yet. >> what about this way to compel without not going with coverage. this is really important. to make people get coverage. that's to the senate

republicans. they don't want to have a monetary mandate, but to keep premiums down, they need to get a way to boy health insurance they might not otherwise want. their solution was the penalty box approach. if you lose your health insurance or choose to not be covered for more than 60 days under this plan you would be locked out of buying insurance for six months. it makes it look better on paper. if they are locked out of this penalty box, that's huge problem for republicans politically. with every tweak they try to make in this bill, they potentially dro another problem along the way. >> what happens to the person who gets diagnosed with cancer who says you can't get

treatment. you have to wait six months. what happens to that person then and how well will they be doing six months from then? thank you for joining us. joining us is richard blumenthal of connecticut. thank you very much. is there anything that the democrats can do to stop this from passing? >> we're going to do everything we can because republicans have gone from total secrecy now to increasing chaos. a real opportunity to rally the groups. all of the citizen advocates because they are real people affected. i have seen many of them in the emergency field hearings that i held monday and friday of last week. people with stories that are heartbreaking. 22 million and more alarming the 49 million american hads who will be uninsured in 2026. and the effect on the private

markets. the private insurance markets of diluting the standards for health benefits. eliminating the caps and the annual limits as well as the other kinds of consumer protections here. >> no doubt mitch mcconnell is going to be trying to strong arm the members of them who may thot support this. are the democrats trying to influence anyone in particular behind the scenes? any moderates to say no to this bill? potentially any conservatives to say no to this bill? >> they can do a lot of deal making. but as ronald reagan said, facts are stubborn things. and the facts here on the ground are what are powerfully persuasive. we're talking to our republican colleagues. but they are as aware as we are because they are hearing from the folks in their state whose lives will be transformed. you mentioned the person who

learns of cancer and is unable to get insurance because of that penalty box, the waiting period before the application for insurance can be made. these real life stories about the elderly, two-thirds of them depending on medicaid for nursing homes, children with preexisting conditions because they have muscular dystrophy at birth, young people who have other kinds of stories that are really just powerfully heart wrenching are the most important. >> in the house, there's a lot of hand ringing among republicans about their bill. they did vote to pass it. there's a lot of hand wringing among a number of senate republicans, but there's something of a feeling that ultimately they will be able to pass it. if they are able to do so before the july 4th recess, before they go home and hear tr their constituents, is there anything the democrats can do then other than just cry foul.

>> isn't that a pretty powerful observation that hearing from their constituents may actually persuade them to vote against this bill. what does it presume about the merits of the bill to say that? and i think it is right. what we can do is offer the amendments, make the arguments and bring home the realities here. and the score is pretty powerful evidence that republicans are going to regret voting for this bill. it will weigh on their conscious. they are going to have to look at themselves in the mirror, look at themselves in the constituents in the eye for weeks to come. >> hi said he would welcome bipartisan support on a bill. say this bill does not get passed. would you be willing to work with him on a bill that does change obamacare and put forth a

different plan that may be more pal e etable to democrats. >> and the answer is unequivocally yes. we have been ready, willing and we hope to be able to sit down with our republican colleagues after they abandon this effort to completely repeal is and destroy the affordable care act. hend it, not end it. some of the barriers to more competition and choice for consumers. lower medical care costs, where has the conversation been about pharmaceutical drug prices chrks can be done and must be done. away from 22 million americans and eliminating the protections against preexisting conditions and arbitrary caps on coverage and all kinds of other abuses that i saw all too well as a

state official and state attorney general in connecticut. >> the strategy right now among democrats is to be what the republicans did when president obama was in office, which was just not necessarily obstruct, but stop the republicans from getting anything done. that's what they are doing. so if it comes to a point where they are asking for some bipartisan support for a a bill dorks you believe anybody else among the democrats will be willing to work with them? do you believe it's problematic for the democrats to be seen working with republicans right now? >> far from politically problematic. i think it is what the country wants. when i go home to connecticut as i do every weekend, when people say to me is why can't you guys work together. the country is hungry tr bipartisanship. not for destroying the affordable care act and adopting a measure that is approved by 10 public or 20% of the population, they want us to do what has been

done with other major social reforms. change it to improve it, not destroy. the kind of reforms are achievable. and many, many of my democratic colleagues and most of the country want us to work together. >> senator blumenthal, i appreciate your time, sir. >> thank you. >> let's bring in tonight's panel. amy holmes was a former speech writer and now a political analyst. and bob shrum, nice to have you here in person. let's talk about this score. it's pretty dramatic number. 22 million more people uninsured. that would bring the total number of people to 49 million

uninsured. are the republicans going to have a problem with this if they pass it? >> let me not talk about the morality of it because it's pretty immoral step to take. let me talk about the politics of it. under this plan, 15 million people will lose their health insurance in 2018. so the republicans will go into the merm election have been done that. premiums will also be going up in the first several years. they come down later because few er people are covered, more costs are transferred to people at the upper income scale who are older. but the truth of the matter is you don't want to go into a midterm election like this. if i were the senator from louisiana said today, these numbers give me more pause. i can't see dean helder, the senator from nevada, committing political sabotage for voting for this. i'm not sure susan collins will vote for it. you're probably right. they probably somehow hold a hammer to 50 poem's heads and get the vote for this, but i

have talked to a number of strategist who is say the best thing that could happen would be for this bill to go away. move on to infrastructure and emphasize the economy. >> amy, why kwould you not wait for this bill for members of the senate to go back and talk about their constituents before passing a bill like this. >> i don't know that i would do that, but i think the reason mitch mcconnell is doing that is because they don't want to go into the town halls and have all of those angry constituents yelling at them as what happened to democrats if you remember before the passage of obamacare. the democratic party lost the majority in the house in 2010 in large part because of that. i don't think republicans want to run into that buzz saw. thr five senators who expressed opposition. it would make it hrder for other republicans.

is. >> what does it say about the bill that they don't want to hear? >> what it says about health care reform is it's a difficult effort that there are win rs and losers whenever there's this reform effort. the republican from nebraska said this was largely a medicaid reform bill and we found that the appetite for some big overhaul of health care law was actually going down since the election. and i think if republicans focused on medicaid reform, you might not have quite as much strong opposition to this. >> the president himself ran, as you know, ran on not touching entitlements and medicaid. ran on making sure no people were dying on the streets. how does he square this argument or how does he square his new

argument that they need to do something, even if it doesn't benefit everyone? >> he doesn't. there's no way to square anything. >> i guess the question is does anything he says matter? and i think the answer is no. >> as colin paul said about iraq, you break it, you buy it. what the republicans are doing right now, they are about to own this thing. the way the democrats have owned this thing. they are about to discover the problems that the affordable care act was attempting to attack were fairly intractable problems that governors, republicans and democrats alike have to deal with every single day. so they are now going to inherit and bob was totally right. the big number on this is not the deficit numbers. it's not the 22 million by 2026. it's next year. 15 million people are getting whacked off the roles.

it's going to give democrats wind behind their back and now trump, who has said everything under the sun you could potentially say about health care reform and is clearly not a details guy on this stuff, is going to have to deal with real human fallout from his actions. apart from the original travel ban where people were bogged up in airports, you are now going to see a very large pool of americans of all demographic categories suffering from this and trump is going to have to own that problem. >> unsurprisingly i have a statement here from budget committee chair had that only talks about the deficit reduction, the number of people who would go unb inshired. not vising whatsoever. stay with us. we're going to come back later in the hour. coming up, part of the travel ban is back on the books as the supreme court say it is will weigh the issue this fall.

we'll look at the political and national security implications of today's decision. ♪ when heartburn hits fight back fast with new tums chewy bites. fast relief in every bite. crunchy outside.

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you are taking a live look at the rose garden where president trump is expected to make joibt statements following their meeting to discuss u. u.s.-india relations. we'll bring you those comments live. we're back in 60 seconds with more. our grandson. (woman 2 vo) that's when moderate alzheimer's made me a caregiver. (avo) if their alzheimer's is getting worse, ask about once-a-day namzaric. namzaric is approved for moderate to severe alzheimer's disease in patients taking donepezil. namzaric may improve cognition and overall function, and may slow the worsening of symptoms for a while. namzaric does not change the underlying disease progression. don't take if allergic to memantine, donepezil, piperidine, or any of the ingredients in namzaric. tell the doctor about any conditions; including heart, lung, bladder, kidney or liver problems,

seizures, stomach ulcers, or procedures with anesthesia. serious side effects may occur, including muscle problems if given anesthesia; slow heartbeat, fainting, more stomach acid which may lead to ulcers and bleeding; nausea, vomiting, difficulty urinating, seizures, and worsening of lung problems. most common side effects are headache, diarrhea, dizziness, loss of appetite, and bruising. (woman 2 vo) i'm caring for someone with moderate alzheimer's. if you are too, ask about namzaric today. welcome back. it was a block bluster day on the stream court with big decisions. but the biggest bomb shell came when the court reinstated partially the travel ban. lower courts blocked the entire order, but the administration can enforce the ban on visas tr six middle eastern countries, but only apply to foreigners who don't have a, quote, credible connection to the united states. the president says the decision

means that the travel ban can now largely be enforced as we wait for the supreme court to hear the case this fall. the court's final ruling on the travel ban will come after that. the president hailed the news saying this part the unanimous supreme court decision is a clear victory for our national security. today's action by the court also gave the administration a potential road map to argue its case. but still a lot of questions remain about what this decision means legally, politically ask what it means tr national security. >> the court gives president trump a victory on one thing he wanted. he wanted the court to take the appeal of these lower court rulings against them and they said yes. so that's a clear victory and a pathway to prevail.

so it will still be in effect. this 90-day pause on issuing visas. it can now go into effect on this issue of visas from six muslim countries. unless the people who apply tr visas have a close relative here in the u.s. they are coming to visit or stay with are a student or a teacher or are coming here to accept a job. anyone who has a connection to the u.s., in other words, the travel ban is still in place. the ban on enforcement is still this place. so it's a a partial victory tr the president, but it was a 6-3 vote to allow people still to come here if it they have a connection to the u.s. >> so part of their justification was the interest in preserving national security is an urgent objective of the

highest order to prevent the government from pursuing that objective would injury its interests. is that essentially u a road map for trump's lawyers to argue this case? >> no, that's basically what trump lawyers said in asking the supreme court to take the case. that's been their argument all along. that was the argument in the fourth scircuit, ninth circuit and every trial court. we theed to put a pause on issuing visas because we need to check the reliability of the background information on visa applicants that are either too connected with terrorism or falling apart and they don't have the kind of infrastructure to give you background information on people. that's basically the supreme court picking up on the line that the court has argue d in which they will argue again in the fall. >> this ban was only supposed to last 90 to 120 days. by the time the court hears it, it could be mute. is that a good thing or a bad thing for this administration?

>> it could be a good thing for the administration. 90 days they can start entorsing it now for the most part. if they say by october, we got enough of what we wanted. we're out of here. that could be one possible outcome. but because the administration doesn't get everything. it can't entirely enforce the executive order. they will still be something to chew over again in the fall. but you're right. it does raise the prospect that by the time we get to october, things may have changed enough that everybody says, you know what, no point in going on with this. >> pete williams, appreciate it. i'm joined by jeremy bash, who is chief of staff at the cia and at the pentagon. jeremy, just a warning. we're waiting for the president to come out to the rose garden with the prime minister mode so we might have to cut you off. to get started, the rational for the ban was that they needed to do this for national security immediately. but it was only supposed to at least in the beginning happen for 90 days.

it's been 150 days. the rational, does it make any sense? >> it does not. unless we banned all muslims from the six countries, the terrorists would be streaming over our borders. as you noted that was 150 days ago. so the original rational for the ban has gone out the window. that's why i think this was a narrow victory for the president today, but it was a hall row victory because this as a counterterrorism measure was never put in place. it never protected the country and now what the supreme court has done is lifted the lower court injunction. not only can the ban go into place, but also -- and i'm watching the screen to see if the president comes out, not only will the ban go in place, but the vetting can go forward. and the vetting will happen over the course of several weeks. with pete.

>> already taking to their seats or standing at the hoemt. we're waiting the president and prime minister mode. what's the hard evidence that foreigners or refugees who have a connection to the u.s. are less of a terror risk than those who do not have a connection. >> there's no evidence a at all. all somebody needs to do to get into the country under this paradigm as set forth is go up to the visa office and say i've got a familial tie and they have to provide some basic evidence. it's going to be easy for anybody who wants to get into the country to get into the country under this program. i think it's going to be hard to keep people out. >> they have to provide documentation. are you saying that the vetting process for these visas is not strong as it is? all you have to do in addition is provide some credible claim you have a familial tie.

that's going to be fairly easy for most people to e show who are determined to get into the country. if someone is a terrorist, do e we think they are above lying to the visa officer? that makes no sense. >> we see jared kushner and his daughter ivanka and gary cone as well in that frame. jared kushner there. jeremy, i was under the impression it was the second generation imgrants that end up posing more of a risk. the attackers in orlando, san bernardino, fort hood and the boston marathon were all children of immigrants. those who did have a connection to family members, obviously, in the u.s. >> it's a a fair point. many had of those domestic attackers have been born inside the united states. in the uk they faced some of the same challenges where a lot of those terrorists have been uk-born. it's the domestic issue that hurts societies. but back to the overall structure of counterterrorism

policy, counterterrorism requires focus. you need to actually have specific information that loads you to specific plots that can be disrupted. if you put entire populations of individuals because of the nationality, because of the national origin, because of their religion and the way they look or they operate, if it's broad suspicion is, that's going to take away resources, focus from those individual who is need to be focusing on specific plots. every counterterrorism official i have spoken to believes that focus is the number one key to counterterrorism. >> we're seeing members of the indian delegation go to their seats as well. we're awaiting president trump and prime minister mode to take the podiums. we're going to get donald trump's reaction on camera to the travel ban. we're going to see if they take any questions as well. does lifting this injunction set a precedent that the president's

decisions when it come s s to national security, will it set a precedent cannot be impeded? that they go through no matter? >> i thought it was interesting the way the court wrote this this this opinion. it was an unsigned opinion. so-called procure yum opinion. presidents that win opinions like to call them unanimous decisions. but they are a little different. they are an unsigned opinion from the court. what they said was in balancing the national security powers versus other equities here, we have to defer to the president in his powers. but this was not a constitutional claim. let's see the president and the indian leader come to the poed wum. >> president trump and prime minister mody. let's take a listen. >> thank you very much. prime minister modi, thank you

for being with us here today. it's an honor to welcome the leader of india to the white house. i have always had a deep admiration for your country and for its people. and a profound appreciation for your rich culture, heritage and traditions. this summer india will secelebre the 70th anniversary of its independence and on behalf of the united states, i want to congratulate the indian people on this magnificent milestone in the life of your very, very incredible nation. during my campaign, i pledged it elected india would have a true friend in the white house. and that is now exactly what you have. a true friend. a friendship between the united states and india is built on shared values including our shared commitment to democracy.

not many people know it, but both american and the indian constitutions begin with the same three very beautiful words, we the people. the prime minister and i both understand the crucial importance of those words, which helps to form the foundation of cooperation between our two countries. relations between countries are strongest when they are devoted to the interests of the people we serve. after our meetings today, i will say that the relationship between india and the united states has never been stronger, has never been better. i'm proud to announce to the media, to the american people and to the indian people that prime minister modi and i are world leaders in social media.

we're believers. giving the citizens of our countries the opportunity to hear directly tr their elected officials and for us to hear directly from them. i guess it's worked very well in both cases. i am thrilled to salute you, prime minister modi, and the indian people for all that you are accomplishing together. your accomplishments have been vast. india has the fastest growing economy in the world. we hope we're going to be catching you soon in terms of percentage increase. i have to tell you that. we're working on b it. in just two weeks, you will begin to implement the largest tax overhaul in your country's history. we're doing that also, by the way, creating great new opportunities for your citizens. you have a big vision for improving infrastructure and you are fighting government corruption, which is always a

grave threat to democracy. together our countries can help chart an optimistic path into the future, one that unleashes the power of new technology, new inf infrastructure and the enthusiasm ask excitement of very hard working and very dynamic people. i look forward to working with you, mr. prime minister, to create jobs in our countries, to e grow our economies and to create a trading relationship that is fair and resip ro kol. it's important barriers be removed to the export of u.s. goods into your markets and we reduce our trade deficit with your country. i was pleased to learn about an indian airline's recent order of 100 new american planes, one of the largest orders of its kind, which will support thousands and

thousands of american jobs. we're also looking forward to exporting more than more american energy, including long-term contract s s to purch american natural gas, which you're right now being the negotiated and we'll sign them. we're trying to get the price up a little bit. to further the partnership, i'm excited to report the prime minister's invited my daughter i-vvanka to lead the u.s. delegation to the global entrepreneurship summit in india this fall, and i believe she has accepted. finally, the security partnership between the united states and india is incredibly important. both our nations have been struck by the evils of terrorism and we are both determined to destroy terrorist organizations and the radical ideology that

drives them. we will destroy radical islamic terrorism. our militaries are working every day to enhance cooperation between our military forces and next month they will join together with the japanese navy to take part in the largest maritime exercise ever conducted in the vast indian ocean. i also thank the indian people tr their contributions to the effort in afghanistan. and for join iing us in applyin new sanctions against the north korea en regime. it's causing tremendous problems.

our two countries can set an example for many thagss. make great strides in defeating common threats and make great progress in unleashing amazing prosperity and growth. prime minister modi, thank you again for joining me today and for visiting our country and our wonderful white house and all oval office. i enjoyed our very productive conversation this afternoon and look forward to its continuation tonight at dinner. the future of our partnership has never looked brighter. india and the united states will always be tied together in friendship and respect. prime minister modi, thank you very much.

>> translator: vice president, ladies and gentlemen of the media, right from the opening tweet -- >> that was president trump and india's prime minister modi, who is still speaking now. donald trump saying that india will have a true friend in america. we're going to have more right after the break. vid. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds!

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johnson's. wheyou wantve somto protect it.e, at legalzoom, our network of attorneys can help you every step of the way. with an estate plan including wills or a living trust that grows along with you and your family. legalzoom. legal help is here. the opioid crisis is a big flash point in ohio potentially affecting rob portman's vote on the health care bill, which critics say slashes the money for treatment. republicans can only afford two no votes in the senate. they may not be able to spare portman. joining me now onset is msnbc's jacob soboroff. tell us more. >> now opioids are central to the health care debate with med kid ob the chopping block. so is addiction treatment.

this as overdoses are killing more americans than ever before. ohio is the epicenter of this crisis on track for a staggering 10,000 deaths this year alone. politicians back in washington on the ground. the death toll continues to skyrocket daily because the drug so powerful it could kill you simply by touching it. >> reporter: in what local fushls say is the overdose capital of america,en montgomery county sheriff phil plumber finds a crisis on his hands brought on by the opioid, up to thousands times stronger than heroin. it's used legally in chronic pain management and now manufactured, trafficked and sold as a street drug. >> we're on pace to have 800 people die this year to overdose. we're number one on the nation in overdose deaths. >> reporter: in may the county passed last year's total number of deaths.

officials estimate this year's total will be double that. the deputy said there was a car accident and took one person who had a thousand yards there and was out of it. now he's in the back of the ambulance here. he just walked in to cash a check. your brother had gotten in an accident. what did he look like? >> his eyes were glossy. he could barely open them. he said i love you. >> what did you say to him? >> what's it like to go through this? >> hell, hell every day. >> this is what you call the cooler. >> this is our main cooler. >> when did the bodies that are all around us come in here? >> over the last 24 to 48 hours. >> and every day bodies are cycling through here. >> these are mostly be full by tonight. >> what's the percentage of the

bo bodies in here overdose deaths from heroin or fent normal. >> 60 to 70% of our cases now are overdoses. >> it's made in china and smuggled into the u.s. by mexican cartels. who pass it to local gangs to sell. if law enforcement can't get to them first. >> you see any narcotics yet? >> there is narcotics. >> can you explain why we have to put masks on? >> you breathe it in, you can die. >> it was a big load. nearly a pound. thuf for thousands of deadly doses. >> it's a good day. you're seeing a lot of lives saved right there. >> another way of save iing adds lives is to lock them up. in the county jail, there's a wing of women in withdrawal. >> what were you using? >> fental. >> are you going through withdrawal? >> yes. i feel like crap.

>> do you know anybody that's died? >> yes. my boyfriend and my mom just died in january. >> i'm sorry. have any of your femme or friends catch this on tv, what do you want them to know? >> that i love them. and i'm sorry. >> local officials there in ohio say they need more help tr the federal government, not less. in ohio the medicaid expansion provided coverage for thousands of addicts who didn't have it previously. the bottom line is while politicians debate slashing the way many get their treatment, this crisis is getting worse every single day. >> when you look at a woman who was going through withdrawal in jail, i find it hard to believe anybody can make the argument that she wants to be there. that she's willingly doing this. addiction is something that is overpowering.

>> that's part of the crisis. that it's touching more people than ever before. often times you hear people point a finger at sufferings of addiction. and say those are the worst of the worst. those are people down on skid row. if you go to ohio and spend time there, if you ask people if they know somebody that's suffered from addiction, the majority of people that you meet will say yes. >> so what is the senator from ohio going to be doing about this? how could this affect his vote on health care? >> when you look at the cbos, there's 2 billion in 2018 for opioid addiction. senator portman from ohio asked for $45 billion for substance abuse addiction treatment over ten years. that's far less than he asked for. and ultimately, this is about medicaid. medicaid expansion provided

treatment for so many people that are on opioids and are addicted. if the medicaid expansion goes away, it's going to affect the people that we talked about today. >> what's the biggest thing you have learned covering this? all the stories are compelling. what is your take away been? >> it's bigger than any one person and any one solution can provide. this is a multinational problem that stretches from laboratories in china to cartels in mexico. but at the end of the day, it's a supply and demand problem. there are people across america who cannot get off this stuff. it feels like an indescribable feeling. some say it's like seeking the heat. these drugs are getting more and more powerful than ever before. unless it's a multipronged approach to tackle them, this problem is not going to go away. >> are the families of these addicts struggling with this, are they supportive of one party over another? >> certainly not. this is a bipartisan problem. you saw new hampshire during the campaign.

it affects everybody in every state from whatever political party. no racial barriers. this is a problem that is an. epidemic proportions. >> is building a wall going to stop it from happening? >> it's the busiest border crossing. border patrol will tell you that the number one way that cartels try to get drugs through is legal ports of entry, not through a hole in the border wall. >> great to see you in person. thank you for sharing that with us. just ahead, dissecting president trump's latest comments on russia's election interference and the obama administration's handling of the issue.

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it's your paradise perfected with behr premium plus paint. right now get incredible savings on behr. only at the home depot. welcome back. if a twitter feed is any measure. the russia investigation is on president trump's mind today. he sent several tweets this morning on what he says is the obama administration's failure to deal with interference in the 2016 election.

with that, it is time for the lid. our nationwide panel is back. glen, i must start with you this time. in one of the tweets that donald trump sent out this morning, he said obama colluded or obstructed. what does that mean? is he saying that obama colluded with putin in order to help trump win the election and then covered it up? >> i think he's referring to collusion with the dnc or the democrats. but who knows. you know, the goal here is not to assert any new fact. we grilled sean spicer in his -- during the unknown comic press briefing today. the thing about it is, what he's attempting to do is very simple. we saw him do this during the campaign. whenever the president is on the defensive and he sort of has an indefensible position, he wants to drag someone else into the line of fire with him. and president obama seems to be as good a human shield as he can come up with. so i don't think this is about a

rational argument so much. if you actually track the logic of the tweets, you'll get a blinding headache. the issue here is, he just wants obama in the same frame with him on this. >> so, amy, speaking of which, the president himself has had a hard time saying definitively that russia interfered in our election despite the conclusions of 17 intelligence agencies, even today sean spicer equivocated a little bit on that. does the fact that president obama and his administration, could have, quote unquote, choked according to one former official, does it mean now that it's politically safe for him to come out and say russia was involved? because he could essentially, as glen said, can drag president obama into it and blame him? >> i don't know if it's because he can drag president obama into it -- >> then why does he -- >> hold on. former administration officials are saying that the former administration choked, and adam schiff on the intel committee

said the president should have done more, just in political terms, of course that gives president trump cover to criticize the actions of the previous administration for not being tougher on russia. of course, the question moving forward is, what is this administration going to do to try to strengthen our international community against russia. that's the job of the commander in chief. >> do you think they're doing enough? what are they doing right now? >> we do know we're at loggerheads with russia when it comes to syria. you know, to be honest, i'm not sure. i think the american people want to know. >> so today in that off-camera briefing, glen was there, sean spicer said the president himself was joking when he asked russia to release the e-mails that he couldn't find from hillary clinton, the missing or deleted e-mails. i was at that press conference back in july. maybe you could argue president

trump was joking initially. but i pressed him on it quite a few times, and it didn't sound to me like he was joking. take a listen. >> you said, i welcome them to find those 30,000 -- >> they probably have them. i would like to have them release sgld does that not give you pause? >> it gives me no pause. hey, you know what gives me more pause? that a person in our government, crooked hillary clinton -- here's what gives me pause. be quiet, i know you want to save her. that a person in our government, katie, would delete or get rid of 33,000 e-mails. that gives me a big problem. after she gets a subpoena, she gets subpoenaed, and she gets rid of 33,000 e-mails? that gives me a problem. now, if russia or china or any other country has those e-mails, to be honest with you, i'd love to see them. >> bob, it doesn't sound like he was joking. it certainly sounds like he was welcoming anything that they could find. is that the -- i think i know your answer -- is that the

posture of somebody who is the president of the united states now should have been taking while he was running? >> no. but look, you had one of the toughest most interesting jobs a reporter has around the country. he ran a most unusual campaign. >> unbelievable. >> if you were his lawyer right now, and i suspect they've said it, you would say, please stop tweeting. please stop having spicer comment on what went on during the campaign. you're only making things worse. it is true, by the way, that president obama did less than he might have done on the russian interference, for two reasons. one, i think trump complaining all the time about the election being rigged, led people in the administration to fear that it looked like they were interfering with the democracy and democratic process. secondly, i think they thought hillary was going to win. they have to wait for the special counsel here. the outcome of the special counsel. i think the only thing he may do in the end is fire him. >> bob, glen, amy, appreciate your time. after the break, a big honor for a colleague, and a friend. stay with us.

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in case you missed it, our nbc colleague was honored by the press club, which is why i am here in los angeles today. andrea was awarded the joseph m. quinn award for lifetime achievement. i had the honor of introducing her. they gave me three minutes to do so, and i thought, oh, great, i'll go through her highlights. then i realize that going through andrea mitchell's highlights in three minutes

would only get me to about the reagan administration before they cut me off. andrea mitchell has super powers. i don't know if you know this. she can literally teleport, at the least the hedges of an international embassy. that's a good story. she also has the super power to shake the earth, literally. she's anchored twice during earthquakes. most importantly what andrea mitchell has done and her biggest super power is all that she is kind, caring and giving, and always had our backs here at nbc. andrea, if you are listening, just know we at nbc, me especially, will always have your back as well. that is all for tonight. for the record with greta starts right now. greta, i'll have your back as well. how about that. >> i've got yours, too, katie. i competed against andrea, and i could never keep up. it's impossible to keep up with andrea. >> she's tough. i don't think s