>> that does it for us on "first look." "morning joe" starts right now. have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? have you left no sense of decency? >> that's 1954. a young lawyer named joseph welts standing up to joseph mccarthy and his anti-communist crusade. a parallel is seen between that moment and a blistering columniest from retired four-star admiral william mccraven who commanded the mission that killed osama bin laden directly challenged trump and his words, you've embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and worst of all divided us as a nation. good morning. it's "morning joe." it's friday, august 16th. i'm willie geist. and the host of "kasie dc,"

kasie hunt. almost not recognizing the lightning. has it worn out its lightning nomplgts. i like it. i wish we could have donny in the light. you need a little light. >> i need some weather effect. >> a cloud over your head normally? >> well, a man, really, who needs no title or sound effect. the great donny deutsch. also with us republican communications strategist and msnbc political contradicter rick tyler. republican strategist and msnbc political analyst not pictured here susan del percio. there now we have pulitzer prize winning columnist and associate editor of the "washington post" and msnbc political analyst eugene robinson, political reporter for "the daily beast" betsy woodruff and retired four-star admiral, diplomacy an drift for nbc and msnbc and

executive operator and get into this. new reporting from the "washington post" that president trump feels emboldened by stripping ex-cia director john brennan of his security clearance. trump believes he's emerged looking strong and decisive in his escalating feud to brennan, two aides tell the "post." adding shows a visceral disdain for the director when he sees him on television. he did not focus on his power to remove clearances until this summer. white house aides confirm trump made his decision weeks ago about brennan who serves as an msnbc contributor. senior advisors including press secretary sarah sanders recommended they announce the action wednesday amid the onslaught of news cover about former aide omarosa newman's release of a book. and remaining silent about the treatment of her predecessor asked if stripping bren nan of

his security clearance and if she knew about. told them only cia does not comment on individual security clearances, but 12 former top intel officials including cia directors webster, tenant, gauss, hayden and others signed a letter saying regarding the removal of john brennan's security clearance, goes on, we all agree the president's actions regarding brennan and threats of similar action against other former officials has nothing to do with who should and should not hold security cleernarancesened everything to do with an attempt to stifle free speech. you don't have to agree with what brennan says. not all do, to agree with his right to say it, subject to his obligation to protect classified information. comes after william mccraven who

over saw the operation to kill osama bin laden, few americans have done more to protect this country than john. therefore i consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well so i can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency. if you think for a moment that your mccarthy era tactics will suppress the voices of criticism you are sadly mistaken. the criticism will continue until you become the leader we prayed you would be. again, that's from admiral mccraven, directed at the president of the united states. so admiral ismiral let me go to. what's your reaction this morning? >> i would focus on the letter. that is an extraordinary document and to see all of those former directors of the cia and deputy directors of the cia going back 30 years is really

quite striking, and there's kind of three quick pieces to hit on here. first is, john brennan. i know him extremely well. he is as straight at the gate. an absolute public serve enned great thinker. two, why do in have security clearances after out of office? to go back to consult and help government. we see that example again and again and many on that list do exactly that'sand people in office need that. i needed it when i was supreme allied commander and able to consult with my predecessors in that job. and then lastly, you just have to ask yourself, as a technique, the politics of this are just awful. if we're going to start stripping security clearances, what comes next? we're going to take away pensions? we're going to have special tax examinations for former officials that speak out?

it's a -- it's frightening to see the division this is causing. that's what i really worry about is the polarization. this is another example of it, willie. >> admiral, what do you make of the argument coming out of the white house and some conservative circles as well, which is that security clearance after you leave is not a birthright. the president has the right to take this away and this is a man in john brennan who is no longer the cia director, no longer works in the government and they say is working to undermine the sitting commander in chief? >> i think that's nonsense, and again the reason people hold these security clearances principally is so they can be helpful, they can advise, remain appraised of facts. we would give away generations of experience if people did not have the ability to look at the facts in a classified setting and provide advice successors. that is a good thing and we shouldn't let it go. >> gene robs, reading from your

newspaper, "washington post," president trump being emboldened watching this play out feels better today than he did even yesterday or the day before how this looks. feels it makes him look strong and is now considering removing the security clearances of a number of other people whose names were on a list the white house made public under review, james clapper, general michael hayden and others. the president likes what he sees in this? >> yeah. he thinks it looks great to have an enemies list the way president nixon had an enemies list and have it all be public, actually, and out there. this is -- this is just a blatant abuse of power. i mean, i don't know what else you can call it. and really should be one of the eventual articles of impeachment. i mean, this is really pretty outrageous. he's trying to punish individuals, because they are critical of him.

there's an element of calculation in what he's doing. there's also an element of sort of 2-year-old tantrum that is -- it's deeply disturbing. it hurts the country more than it hurts john brennan, who will be fine. it's shortsided, kind of everything that donald trump is. >> one thing i think is important to point out, willie, is that the president is actually not on an island by himself on this right now. >> right. >> there is quite a significant level of republican support for what he did. i'm curious about your take on this. because the antipathy towards john brennan coming from republicans across the hill and not just anti-trump, never trump republicans. i mean, it's deeply seated. the only republican i heard yesterday acknowledge that brennan should keep his clearance was susan collins. even she said, i don't really like what brennan's done. >> she qualified it.

three things i don't like about this. one is that he decided to include comey, for instance, already had his security clearance revoked. he just wanted to publicly stick to do comey. >> jim comey and others on capitol hill with no friends. >> and political damage coming from the omarosa release of tapes and wanted to -- that's not new. it's unwise, but it's not new and illustrates he doesn't play well with others. right? these are former administration cia directors with intel. been at a war with intel and it's illustrative of his character. he likes to diminish others to build himself up. i take issue with one thing that kind of bothers me. this isn't about free speech. you don't need a security clearance to have free speech. i don't have a security clearance, i have free speech. all have security clearances and if revoked will still have free

speech. it's not a central argument, i think it is. basically why it was taken away. speaking his mind. >> he can still speak. >> but that was the punishment for that. back to gene. so nixonian and we do van enemy's list here. take john brennan. i would have liked to track the last 30 years of john brennan, what he did, what his day was like, what his public service was to this country and contrast it with donald trump's last 30 years. i have to applaud admiral mccraven. that has got to start to happen in this country. on every level. people speaking out in ways they haven't before. public servants speaking out and once again, to me the real villains in this are the republicans. there is no level that donald trump cannot send to that would be a surprise but kasie, in your beat, to tell me there is not one republican out there that does not have an issue with stripping the security clearance. making our country --

>> not one, there has been some. susan collins qualified and bob corker spoke out about it weeks ago forcefully. for the most part yesterday people saying, the president had the trite do this. >> as jack nicholson said when they took him off the wall, you made this country a little less safe today. now we don't have decades of experience to go to, who knows in a situation, brennan called on does not give a piece of information, he won't be able to be brought in because of a security clearance. this country gets a little sadder every single day. >> willie, too, interesting, as the admiral pointed out, all top officials standing up, saying, no, this is not okay. the reality is one excuse republicans used when talking why they're okay with something president trump is doing is that he has trusted national security officials around him. jim mattis. name that gets thrown out a lot whenever you ask republicans as to what the national security implications of all this is. >> and give credit will due. bob corker said yesterday this

is a banana republic move to strip the clearance of the former director and gave up an interview with the "wall street journal" saying it was what he call about the sham russia investigation and brennan's perceived connection to that. >> and once again the president puts himself above country, and he shows that he is a feckless coward who no one will want to ever be in a foxhole with, because he never has anyone's back. what's more important i would like to ask the admiral about this is, these folks with clearance also have individual relationships that go back decades with people around the world. whether it's their knowledge on terrorism or other issues, cyber security. and can you maybe get into the, how that really affects how the intel community does their job? not having access to those specific relationships that perhaps a new person may not have? like pompeo, for example? >> you know, that's a really good point, and i was going to

add to that and say, look at the optics of this outside of country. bob corker, head of the senate foreign relations committee, saying that this looks like a banana republic, and believe me, that comment gets picked up, translated into 200 different languages. they have to figure out the context of a banana republic, but it is going to reverberate again and again in that international arena and you're right to point out that this will have a chilling effect on those national security officials, formers, and how they are viewed and all of it will reduce or national security. that's absolutely right. >> betsy woodruff get you in on the next story. increasingly open criticism by the president by top intemperature officials likely has roots in earliest days of trump's presidency. even transitioning to the white house president trump was unsparing in criticism of the u.s. intelligence committee. december, 2016, remember, the

"washington post" reported 0en a secret cia assessment that said russia was trying to help trump win the white house. the transition office responded in part that the report came from "the same people that said saddam hussein had weapons of mass destruction." after buzzfeed published the steele dossier in january, president trump erupted on twitter writing, intelligence agencies should never a allowed this fake news to leak into the public. one last shot at me. are we living in nazi germany, he asked? he echoed that sentiment at his first news conference. >> i think it was disgraceful, disgraceful, that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned 0 ut to be so false and fake out. i think it's a disgrace, and i say that, and i say that, and be that's something that nazi germany would have done and did do. >> nine days before he was sworn into office. the day after the inauguration, he went to cia head quartkwahea

spoke about the size of the media, gave a politically charged speech in front of the memorial wall for officers who gave theirs lives in service to the country. >> there is nobody that feels stronger about the intelligence community and the cia than donald trump. >> the wall behind me is very, very special. probably almost everybody in this room voted for me, but i will not ask you to raise your hands if you did. >> so betsy, just worth reminding people that the president didn't just wake up and have an adversarial relationship with the intel committee's community, insulting them, compared hthem to nazi germany. logical outcome about the way he feels about the leadership in those groups. >> and this didn't start when inaugurated. he is as a public figure long harbored conspiracy theories that relate to the way the intelligence community functioned. blamed ted cruzz's father for

being relate toddle con speersp theory of president kennedy the assassination. he's very much of the mind there is a deep state that is puppet mastering the united states national security and foreign policy. something that's concerned him going back through his time as a public figure. he's very much acting in-character when he goes after the intelligence community using this incendiary rhetoric and also not just president trump. remember, rudy giuliani, his attorney, speaks with his blessing, become the public face of his attacks on the mueller investigation has actually compared fbi agents to storm troopers invoking that nazi imagery. it isn't just the president himself but bleeding out through his administration and through the people who speak for him and of course on fox news sean hannity spearheaded attacks on the quote/unquote deep state and

this campaign to try to revoke national security clearances. >> continued last night on fox news. mentioning general mattis' name and you know well general kelly as well. what are these two men thinking as they watch the president threaten a list of names with whom they've all worked? >> they've got to be just feeling it in their heart, because both have worked so closely with so many people on that list, and i'll point out two names on that list that all of us senior military absolutely revere. one is robert gates. former secretary of defense and the other leon panetta, former secretary of defense. both of them, a republican and a democrat, served the country in unbelievable ways. are in no way representative of this false notion of a deep state, and to see their name on that list has got to really give pause to jim mattis and john kelly.

it certainly hit me very hard when i read that list. that is the document to focus on this morning. >> admiral what can they do about it remains the question? we've heard they've been frustrated, outraged at certain times over the course of this administration, yet the course of the presidency doesn't seem to change. is there some pressure they can apply if they really are as outraged as you suggest they may be? >> they are going to have to do what they have done thus far, which is try their best to present a guardrail around an extremely impetuous and extremely volatile president. all i can say is it's, in terms of their service, it's probably like a lighthouse. you don't know what would happen if the lighthouse wasn't there to warn the ships off the rocks. maybe it could be a lot worse. i know they'll continue to do the best they can, because they're both patriots of this country. >> great to you have with us this morning on the story. thanks so much. >> thank you. still ahead on "morning joe," by the government's count

more than 500 children remain separated from their parents. a live report on what the administration has to say about that. plus, a few years ago we asked aretha franklin here on "morning joe" to define the meaning of the word "diva." we'll show you her answer as we remember the life, legacy and the voice of an american icon. first, bill karins has a look at the forecast. >> willie, wish i had better news. late in the summer, weekends, not many warm ones left. a lot of rain out there this upcoming period. right now dealing with tomorrows over top of indianapolis. nashville, shower over you. raining all morning long in between memphis and paducah. later the cold front goes to the east. humid, hot and spark thunderstorms. an area of yellow includes areas north of new york city up to albany and scranton, allentown, wilkes-barre and slight risk of severe weather. 8 million people at risk and of course thunderstorms pushing through areas of new england.

we will get airport delays out of that, too. notice d.c., baltimore, keeping you dry today. 95 in d.c. who knows? could be one of the hottest summer days left in you. 98 in dallas. very hot. showers and storms around chicago and st. louis. weekend forecast, the front hangs up, soggy from west virginia through virginia and hit and miss showers and storms new york city to boston. not raining out your day but showers and storms. sunday, northern half great. great lakes good, heavy rain in the central plains and still hit and miss showers in the east. not exactly -- wouldn't go canceling your beach plans but be prepared. could have brief periods kind of cloudy and wet, you have to run under the umbrella and then run back out. one of those weekends like all the others lately. new york city, most of today is dry. heat advisories up for the five boroughs. feeling like 98 degrees this afternoon in the shade. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. ♪ nobody but me, yeah, yeah sfx: [cell phone dialing]

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fans around the world are celebrating the life arpd the voice of aretha franklin. queen of soul, yesterday's singer's longtime publicist announced she died of advanced pancreatic cancer surrounded by family and friends in detroit. had a career spanning six decades and known for songs like "respect," "i say a little prayer" and "you make me feel like a natural woman." barbara siggers franklin and civil right, grew up in detroit and got her start singing during her father's church services. debuting her first album "songs of faith" at 14 years old. over her career she won 18 grammys awarded the president's medal of freedom and became the first woman inducted into the

rock & roll hall of fame. franklin was a luminary in the civil rights movement and for women. rocketing in number one on pop charts later becoming an anthem for both the civil rights and female empowerment movements. aretha franklin was 76 years old, and "morning joe" had the pleasure of hosting the queen's soul back in 2014 on the day she released her 41st studio album. aretha franklin sings the great diva classics. >> what is your definition of a diva and where do you cut off the line? are there great divas? medium divas? where do you establish that? >> yeah, you could say there are different levels of divas, but the word diva coming from classical, the classical realm is usually associated with the principle singer who is usually female, of course, and then it has translated over into the

secular field of music to the very well-known and more popular female vocalist and it's usually associated with a temperamental person, but, in fact, and the truth, i think. the person, the singer, is trying to give the audience the best, and the people that they are performing for, they are really trying to give you the best. it's not their tmp temperament temper. it's not about that at all, really, and then finally i think a well-rounded diva, because it takes more than music just to be a diva or popularity, being a real diva is giving back to the community, giving to charities and giving to others. >> that was aretha franklin talking with us four years ago. a 13-year-old sam stein asking the question in that case. >> i think it was -- aretha,

who's a legendary, iconic, no other word for it. to have her side-by-side with sam stein. >> a moment. gene robinson, so much to say about aretha franklin, of course, but to give perspective about who she was and where she fits in the history of this country, she sang as both the funeral of martin luther king jr. in 1968 and the inauguration of president barack obama in 2009. >> yeah. that says a lot about where she fit in the civil rights movement. where she was a huge advocate. so she has that place in history, but, you know, i wrote this morning about her place in history as a musician. she was just a tremendous ly gifted and accomplished musician who had the skill and the chops to take songs that had been made hits by great singers, like otis

redding and dionne warwick and just make them her own with "respect" and "i say a little prayer" she was versatile, no one can forget that evening in 1998 when, at the grammys, when luciano pavarotti was sick, couldn't perform and she did the arya that was -- you didn't think of her as an opera singer but she was just so talented and such a -- such a brilliant thinker as a musician that i think really one of the most important musicians of our time. >> donny, i interviewed, two days ago, lenny kravitz for an upcoming piece on my subbed show. hadn't passed and he talked about her. this is what lenny kravitz said. through her voice and expression we get to feel what soul really is. you know what gospel really is,

what the spirit of god really is. she's such a dynamic vehicle and i'm so grateful i got to hear this music. >> i'm going to sound like, crusty old guy, what i am, but to compare her importance and gravitas to the artists of today, and i don't know if it's just, oh, well, 30 and 40 years from now we'll look at this current and say, that will be aretha. they don't make it like that anymore. in terms of where they fit in our culture and elevated status, str trivialness when you compare them to aretha. watch the "blues brothers." her scene in that, just watching her and watching aykroyd and belushi and in that diner what is going on. it's like nobody else on the screen. >> she owns it. we'll hear -- >> think about the consequences of your actions, as she said in that movie. you know, there will be -- there

will be someone of her stature will come along. we'll know when it happens. frankly, it hasn't happened yet. >> she's been very generous about current artists. loves beyonce, adele, respects her voices but you're talking about something bigger than a voice, a presence she had in a role and history of this country. we'll hear that clip in a second, by the way. president trump become enamored with some executive powers he can exercise. breaking down some of the president's favorites. plus president trump's military parade is delayed after escalating costs skyrocket. "morning joe" will be right back. >> you better think about what you're saying, think about the consequences of your actions. >> oh, shut up, woman. ♪ you better think, think what you're doing to me ♪ let's go back, let's go back, go way on back when ♪ i didn't even know ya, you came

to me ♪ i ain't no doctor with a degree ♪ it don't take too much iq to see what you're doing to me ♪ ♪ you better think, think about what you trying to do to me ♪ ♪ oh, oh think, let your mind be free ♪ ♪ oh, freedom, freedom freedom, yeah, freedom ♪ ♪ now, freedom, freedom ♪ freedom ♪ oh, freedom so, how's it going? well... we had a vacation early in our marriage that kinda put us in a hole. go someplace exotic? yeah, bermuda. a hospital in bermuda. a hospital in bermuda. what? what happened? i got a little over-confident on a moped.

even with insurance, we had to dip into our 401(k) so it set us back a little bit. sometimes you don't have a choice. but it doesn't mean you can't get back on track. great. yeah, great. i'd like to go back to bermuda. i hear it's nice. yeah, i'd like to see it. no judgment. just guidance. td ameritrade. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

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axios, mike allen. good to see you. good morning. >> thank you, willie, and happy end of summer friday, 17 days to labor day. >> oh. why would you say that? no. several weeks. don't say end of summer. >> 17 days? >> depressing the table. >> the grinch. >> we're in the middle of summer as far as we're concerned. you guys, mike, at axios looking at powers of president has grown and enamored with using. which did you find? >> right. the president's favorite reason for doing something is, because he can. we found that the president likes powers that are uniquely

and solely his. things that he can do without consulting anybody, and without having to even get any input from anybody, and that's behind the revocation of the clearances. a variety sources told axios, a lot like the president's use of executive orders and of pardons that he can do it and nobody can stop him. an amazing quote in the story that popped up on axios, a person very close to the president said he gets a kick out of pardons. the reason he gets a kick out of pardons is that it's something that he has complete domain over, and people have to come to him and beg him for them. >> you know what, mike? funny you mention that. that "washington post" piece we've talked about getting into the president feeling emboldened and strong with the removal of brennan's powers there, the quote is "the process is essentially meaningless. if trump wants to do it, he'll

just do it." there are processes in place but the president doesn't like to go through them. the "new york times," donald trump, payback president. despite the irrational allegations by the president, the spanking is the latest display of what has become standard operating procedure for this president using official livers of government to pun ish critics to sit down and shut up. one might ask why the white house bothers to invent cover stories the president himself will inevitably contradict. excuses aside, the president wants everyone to know this is how he operates. the tough guy. where' fun in punishing enemies if you can't rub their noses in it? so the piece goes on, susan, but this is the president feeling himself as the "washington post" points out today, and feeling

emboldened to continue to do it with that list of people he's put under review. >> and realized he's a failure at dealmaking in washington. he's not really been -- been able to break up a few deals but hasn't been able to put any serious reform, except maybe tax reform out there. so he can only do what makes him feel good. that's what he's all ab's we know he only thinks of himself first. and that is really a sign of such a weak leader. a heady leader. a leader, a person who just will not -- give of himself to give to his country. >> and betsy woodruff, this is something that seems to heb explain president trump's affinity for autocratic style leaders. i mean, clearly he -- perhaps didn't realize how limited the powers of the presidency actually are in a republic like ours, and wants to exercise these powers that he and he alone possesses? >> that's right. one of the dominant themes of his presidency has been the

pushback he's gotten from the checks and balances that exist in our system. particularly the senate, over the course of his entire time in office he's beat the drum trying to get rid of the filibuster rule, which protects minority power in the senate and puts a check on the ability of the senate majority to sort of move without much constraint. the president has tweeted over and over that the filibuster rule needs to go. even though i think as an entire body, republicans in the senate who many remember being in the minority very passionately oppose any change. the president is looking to fundamentally change some of the institutions that exist in this country to dramatically expand the authority and power of the party that is in power. it's not just about the white house. also it's about the way congress works, and the extent to which he has chafed against the checks and balances that exist is significant and kind of a key part of understanding the way he operates as president. >> don't forget, clearly a shiny toy. yesterday, the day before, we

were on omarosa and clearly getting to hill. seven tweets. really starting to get people talking more and more, an n word tape and kind of getting unusual traction being it was omarosa. of course, it's the shiny toy strategy. mike, you mentioned the little toys he likes, particularly pardons things with complete unadulterated power. interesting backdrop with the manafort trial yesterday, harbor for things to come in? what about all the president's member? >> the president loves to remind people he has pardon power can and will use it and again likes to be begged for it. we see here with this brennan decision a microcosm of a lot of the ways the president loves to operate and that we can expect to see even more this fall heading towards midterms and re-election in 2020. he loves ininstant gratification. you would see that with a pardon. the president feeds off of his enemies. that's why he loves to call attention to them.

he loves to create foils that he then uses to fuel the base. bloomberg, a great point in a column. said the president isn't trying to silence john brennan as he suggested in the "new york times" op-ed. instead elevating brennan. loves the idea of having someone that we're going to cover that we respect, at the face of the deep state, and someone we can go out this fall and talk about. why we saw him tweeting last night again, the president talking about john brennan. he wants to call attention to him. make him part of his cast of characters. >> one more time as we go to break. a white house aide to the "washington post." the process is meaningless. 23 trump wants to do it, he'll just do it. reminding us, three, long, big beautiful weekends remaining in summer and not almost over, mike, thank very much. >> happy weekend. still ahead, minority leader nancy pelosi facing growing opposition from her own caucus. now at least one democrat says

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in the face of criticism on generational ends of her party house leader nancy pelosi is open to extending a helping hand to the future democratic leadership while still leaving herself in the running for re-election in november, pelosi is purposefully eyeing change within reason. in an interview with the "new york times" she goes on to explain, "if people want to be the bridge that i'm building towards they have to show what's on the other side of the bridge. and waiting on the other end could be veteran south carolina congressman jim clyburn confirming his intent to run in pelosi falls short of the threshold saying he would absolutely do it telling the "times" accession of a black

speaker would put to bed forever the democratic caucus is taking black voters for granted. approached about his interests pelosi says she's untroubled calling him a beautiful, lovely member of congress whom she views as a brother. kaz kasie hunt, your beat. any chance nancy pelosi will not be leader of the democrats after the fall? >> it's a real possibility simply because so many running out in the country, if there is a blue wave, all come to washington. a lot said i'm not going to back nancy pelosi. it's a very tough vote to ask them to take. remember, this will happen first behind closed doors then a full vote in public on the floor of the house. for her to say to all of these people just got elected, first thing i want you to do, break a promise you made to voters, that's a tough spot to be in. it's complicated. jim clyburn wouldn't do this without nancy pelosi blessing, first of all. he doesn't necessarily represent the generational change a lot of younger meshes demanded.

that said, he points out the significance having an african-american speaker would be hard to miss and generate a lot of support. democrats are in a bind with joe crowley's loss. nancy pelosi is not wrong when she says she is an extraordinarily accomplished legislator. the things she's pulled off on the floor for her party and behind the scenes. that's experience that is actually needed and that there aren't that many people in the democratic caucus have. >> we've heard, kasie, from people, democrats campaigning getting ready for the fall and people elected in special elections they would not support nancy pelosi, they've said. have you seen it inside the chamber? on capitol hill? hearing it out loud or just privately? >> sure. there's a reason we're asking these candidates what their position is on her, and gene robinson, i mean you know as well as anyone that she did see this challenge from tim ryan via

seth moulton behind the scenes, nancy pelosi doesn't have a great relationship with. what's your view on how this could play out, especially kind of the clyburn piece of it. an interesting figure in this drama. >> clyburn announcement surprised me, actually, and you're absolutely right there's no way he would have gone out on that limb without her support. or her approval. she clearly would have known about it in advance. you know, the question really is one of generational change and, you know, the number one, two and three democrats, nancy pelosi, steny hoyer and jim clyburn are in their 70s. and that is, you know, as skilled and accomplished as nancy pelosi is, and she's a great fundraiser. in addition to being a great legislator. but, you know, three leaders in their 70s is not a great look

for a party that wants to promise something new, and one thing she did not do and you have to say is sort of cultivate and bring up that sort of younger leadership. you would argue maybe crowley and then he lost. it's not as if she went out of her way to put in place that younger generation that would naturally succeed her. so the party is in a bind, and, you know, i'm not sure. him not to sure they are going to dump her. we'll see. >> i got to bring my branding hat in and talk about optics. the democrats need to turn the page and it starts with the presidential hopefuls, the bernie sanders and elizabeth warrens and goes to nancy pelosi's -- they have to send out a signal. donald trump is 70 but it was an advertisement in permission to believe. you got to give voters

permission to believe there's something new. even if nancy pelosi or clyburn are delivering a new message it won't feel new. i talked with the dnc on their messaging and they said whatever message we put out there trump owns the news cycle. how do we respond. i said part of your problem is you don't have new faces. put together a super a-team, seven or eight that become the daily response to trump. what happens now, no matter what the response to trump is, when it's being delivered by these old faces but these faces that stand for -- >> familiar face. >> familiar faces, what's wrong with the party. i like nancy pelosi. they need that change. >> and then betsy, there's the question of who the democratic party is exactly. a guy like tim ryan from ohio can say i can go into youngstown and get back those voters who flipped from democrat and voted for donald trump and nancy pelosi as she has been by the

president and republicans will be held up as this avatar of the left, san francisco left who wants to take something away from you. tim ryan and those people can make the case i can get you back to opinion you lost last time around. >> a core component of the democratic party which is the labor party has been pummelled over the last several decades. labor joins were reduced to take dues from people in the industries that they represent. so as that component of the democratic party has become just significantly weakened, smaller, less politically effective, the democratic party is kind of had to go through this process of a bit of soul searching and that seems to be playing out quite publicly, particularly when you look at polls that come out that show members of the democratic party may lean more in favor of socialism than capitalism. that make older members deeply

consternated and challenges the democratic party republicans feel they have been abandoned by trump's version of the gop. you have a number of trump types trying to find a place in the democratic party and find the alexandria occasio-cortez could all come together around one candidate or one set of issues is inconceivable. an identity crisis. >> thank you for being with us. coming up the top democrat on the senate intel committee warns the president could go after bob mueller's security clearance next. talk about that and the president's admission that his move against john brennan was due to his involvement in the russia probe. "morning joe" is coming back with much more. if you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis, little things can be a big deal. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream.

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sense to me. i don't think we should change the system because of brennan. i think the idea of collaborating with people in prior administrations to keep us safe makes sense. but i can't imagine sharing anything with brennan given his hatred towards president trump. >> why do people who no longer work for the federal government still continue to have a security clearance? >> is this nakedly political, all people who have opposed the president in some political way not just on the national security front. >> politics happening in washington, d.c., i'm shocked. >> puerto rico brennan has demonstrated that that's not the case. he's been totally political. i think i called him a butt head and i meant it. >> those are the reviews on capitol hill from republican senators. president trump revoking the security clearance of former cia director of john brennan. welcome back to "morning joe". it's friday, august 17th, 2018. with us we have, the host of casey dc on msnbc, kasie hunt.

branding guru -- >> how about just dude? >> branding guru. >> i would go with branding mogul. show my phone what my daughter bought me. >> i love that you blame that on your daughter. that's donny deutsch. republican strategist rick tyler. republican strategist and msnbc political analyst. pulitzer winning prize columnist, msnbc political analyst eugene robinson. joining our conversation, chief white house correspondent for the "new york times," peter baker. joe and mika have the morning off. let's talk about what we saw on capitol hill yesterday with the senators. i'm listening to john cornyn who comes on the show and we like, feigned ignorance about why

former officials have security clearance. knees. >> what you're seeing in this case is actually an antipathy on john brennan. imagine if the partisan roles were reversed and there's plenty of times in covering congress, you know, supreme court fights a good example, replay the same quotes and put them in the mouths from the other party when that fight comes back around. this is a situation where if president obama was doing this imagine the outrage coming from the reside. similar dynamic here. i do think susan collins is somebody willing to challenge the president. she had that message there. bob corker somebody who is willing to speak out strongly. bob corker won't be in congress in a couple of months. that's the untold story. no matter what happens the democrats and the wave there are going to be far fewer people

holding elected office in washington who are willing to oppose the president in his own party. >> an interesting game to play, what if the other president -- two days ago what if obama called a woman, a white woman a dog. imagine that. and it's just amazing on a daily basis what we put up except as a norm which you've assigned it to any other previous president would be a stunning impossibility and what the reactions would be. >> one thing that the united states senate has held very deer to it, itself, its own institutional prerogatives. that's why they protected the filibuster for so many years. that there has been this sense that what goes around, comes around, some day we won be in charge, so it's in the interest of everybody to protect the rights of minority. that's teetering on the brink. >> new reporting from "the washington post" that says the president feels emboldened by stripping ex-cia director john brennan of his security

clearance. president trump believes he looks strong and decisive in his feud with brennan adding he shows a disdain for the cia director when he sees him on television. white house officials say trump did not focus on his power to remove clearances until this summer. white house aides confirm he made his decision years ago. senior advisors including press secretary sarah huckabee sanders recommended to the president that they announce the act on wednesday in the midst of the onslaught of news coverage about former aide omarosa manigault newman's new book which accuses president trump of making racist remarks. cia director gina haskell is remaining slient. asked if she approved of trump stripping brennan's security clearance and if she knew or advised the president.

13 former top intel officials including cia directors webster, gates, at the net, and others signed a letter that states this. we feel compelled to respond in the wake of ill considered and unprecedented remarks and actions by the white house regarding the removal of john brennan's security clearances. we agree the president's actions regarding brennan and threats of similar actions against former officials have nothing to do with who should or should not hold security clearances and everything an attempt to stifle free speech. the letter goes on you don't have to agree with what brennan says and not all of us do, agree his right to say it subject his bla obligation to protect classified information. peter baker, how is this playing in the white house. the president likes what he sees and is considering moving down that list that sarah huckabee sanders read off in the white house briefing room two days ago of former officials under review

for their security clearances. >> exactly right. this is a president long before he became president you hit me i hit you back ten times as hard. when he was a businessman, he could yell at the tabloids or something. he's now vested with the ultimate power in our constitutional system, the power of the president. he's discovering ways to use it and enjoy it. he enjoys ways to take actions that don't require approval by anybody else, particularly congress. same thing as converse of his discovery of the pardon power, somebody can come to him gosh can you forgive somebody for something. he says yeah, apparently i can do that. nobody can question him. that's pretty cool. in effect, he's taking the opposite view of this. punish people that he doesn't like, people that he thinks crossing him or in some ways betraining him. this is what he likes the most about the presidency where he has unchecked, you know, power to help his friends and punish

his enemies. >> peter, i'll put the question to you that i put to the admiral in our last hour. that's the question of where john kelly and mattis, general mattis are. many men on that list are friends and people they worked with. >> they really are. i have to imagine -- i don't know this for a fact, but i imagine they find this troubling. there will come a time when president trump is not in the white house and somebody who doesn't like president trump is in the white house and what happens if they start stripping security clearances from the john kellys and jim mattis' of the world who is out in the public. it's surprising that the republicans you played in those clips are eager to back the president on this because they will at some point be on the receiving end. they've created a precedent that they themselves somewhere down the road potentially suffer from and that's something that both parties have understood up to now. both parties resisting going down this road because they

didn't want these kinds of things politicized. but now no going back. >> in reacting to president trump's decision on brennan, senator richard burr pointed to brennan's op-ed in the "new york times" and replied director brennan's recent statement purport to know as fact that the trump campaign colluded with a foreign power. it's based on intelligence he received while still leading the cia why didn't he include it in the intelligence community assessment released in 2017. if it's based on intelligence he's seen since leaving office it constitutes an intelligence breach. if he had other knowledge of collusion it should be disclosed to the special counsel not to the "new york times". if, however, director brennan's statement is political and based on conjecture the president has full authority to revoke his security clearance as head of the executive branch. so, rick, senator burr there is

referring to the op-ed by john brennan saying the president's claims of no collusion is hog wash. does senator burr have a point here? >> no. there's collusion with the trump campaign with the russians. that was clear. whether it amounted to anything has not been proven. they were willing to meet with russian operatives to get dirt on hillary clinton. i reject the notion that the idea -- we all using political world opposition research and opposition research people base their reputation on providing accurate information. what you don't want to happen is have your candidate go out make an assertion that's falls. they were looking for opposition research from a foreign government who doesn't have america's interest in mind. they were willing to coordinate with that group, they all knew it, that's collusion. now whether it meets the definition of conspiracy or

broke any particular laws that's a different question. they colluded with the russians that's clear. >> susan what richard burr is saying what he wrote in that op-ed piece for the "new york times" should have been included in the intelligence assessment presented in january of 2017 and not presented in the "new york times". >> the senator can present facts however he wants but the fact is this is something that brennan put out there recently. like rick said we know there was collusion, we've seen the emails. and the fact -- the fact that donald trump has made brennan an individual bad guy and that's unfortunate, because he's quota bad guy because he disagrees with the president. that's not what makes you loyal to your country or not. and we're taking it as a whole. we're taking everything as far as security clearances for many and wrapping it all around brennan and that's a very dangerous thing. the president is looking very

weak, as a matter of fact, for showing such pettiness to go after an individual and not even have a policy in place on what to do with security clearances. >> we can add another name to the list, former navy admiral, william craven who oversaw the ad willing bicycle bicycosama b. he writes brennan is one of the finest public servants i've ever known. few americans have done more to protect this country than john. therefore i would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well so i can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency. if you think for a moment that your mcarthur tactics will suppress the voices of criticism you are sadly mistaken. the criticism will continue until you become the leader we prayed you would be again. that's admiral mcrae convenient. hans, how is this playing out?

>> reporter: navy s.e.a.l.s special operators have a special way to attack. what's interesting about his letter is not only is he saying revoke my security clearance he's saying president donald trump is humiliating the country. this letter we have is hugely important because it's bipartisan. you got guys like porter goss on there, form larm criticized as the cia director being too partisan. the interesting thing about the cia letter they are not saying revoke my clearance. that's why mcraven took it different. former generals that have security clearances are willing to axe theirs. that's the urgent task this morning calling them all up. look privately you criticized the president you have some concerns. your willing to say, look, i'm going to put my name on the dotted line and say revoke my security clearance. that's why this mcraven letter

is so interesting. >> do you have a sense for how this is playing with general mattis, the defense secretary what he thinks as we watches all this. is there any push back? >> no formal push back. i don't have a great since part because mattis is down in south america. remember, this is not something that jim mattis wants to get himself in between. no way he'll look for an opportunity to put himself between the president and his critics. he likes to keep his head low. that's been i had m.o. throughout his entire time at the pentagon. you see some of this back and forth on the military parade. military parade is announced. pentagon gruvles. then we have a date. we get a number. then all of a sudden yesterday couple of days ago they say actually the number as of yesterday, the number will go to 92 million potentially so much more expense jennifer and then late last night they announce they are going to be delaying it. that military prayed will not be thank way president wanted

november 109. they will delay it potentially into 2019. >> we'll dig into that in just a moment. peter baker you look at the names on this letter by former cia men. some of the most respected men in history. there's a long list, men and women on that list. the question is does it amount to anything other than a form of protest that they will put out there on the record now that they don't agree with the decision to revoke it. does it to change the way the president thinks and operates at all. the same could be said about the joint op-ed that was written by the newspapers the other day. makes an important point and we're grateful they did it as members of the press. does it change anything? >> well, i think it probably feeds into the president's narrative that the deep state is out to get him and the deep state defends itself. these are as you point out cia directors and other intelligence chiefs who work for presidents of both parties. robert gates is a strong

republican. david petraeus was touted as a potential candidate for the republican party. they know john brennan and see a system that's fraying around him. john brennan when i covered him in the obama white house, you know, he was a strong quiet sober fellow. not partisan. not outspoken person. he was very cautious about what he's said. he's become to a certain extent radicalized by this administration. this president has offended him the way he handled things. he's become a far more outspoken person. that's something his colleagues in the intelligence community, you know, look at, even if they didn't agree with him they respect where he's come from because they know what a professional he's been over his career. it does say something to people who care. but to the president and his supporters it reinforces the

narrative. >> when you stop to think about 35% of his base. think about other 7% or 8% in play. to me when there's 300 editorials from the newspaper sources in this country, 7% or 8% looking at that list of people, some pretty serious dudes. these guys protected us. these things do add up. >> does it matter to the president? >> no. this list of 13 people, you again robinson, if any one of these people publicly rebuked me in the smallest of way i would be you had my lie atd. yet the president is inoculated from humiliation. >> donald trump's secret weapon is utter shamelessness. he's just shameless. that's who he is. and who he has been. and who he will be. i think it just rolls off his back and as was reported, on a

certain level he probably welcomes it. but, you know, i think the reason that brennan really gets under his skin is that donald trump's brand and with the mueller investigation, no collusion, no collusion, no collusion, every tweet. no collusion. in all caps. and then you look at what brennan says, he just says the opposite what you just said, rick and what susan said. obviously there was collusion. that's sort of textbook definition of collusion. we don't know if it amounts to a crime but obviously it took place. he just states the obvious. and that coming from a person with the gravitas of brennan is threatening to donald trump and it drives him crazy. >> let's go back to that development with president trump's desired military prayed. the defense department spokesman said yesterday the parade originally scheduled for november 10th now has been

pushed potentially to next year. that came after a defense official told nbc news earlier in the day that the estimated cost for the parade as hans reported had skyrocketed to 92 million. that's a huge increase from the $12 million the pentagon said it would cost last month which reportedly based on the cost of the victory parade held after the 1991 gulf war and significantly more than the $10 to $30 million the budget director told congress it would cost back in february. yesterday the american legion came out against the parade saying in part until such time as we can celebrate the war on terrorism and bring our military at home the parade money would better be spent to fully fund the department of veteran affairs. it was a respectful statement from the american legion. they expressed their thanks to the president for his support of the troops but agreed this should be pushed back until more important matters are taken care

of. >> there's always debate inside the pentagon how you please the president and keep costs low. initially some talk of tanks. you roll out tanks on constitution avenue what your going to do? the treads will tear up the asphalt. there's a back and forth how do you make this to please the president and have a big shock and awe, a wow fact orthat the president saw during that bastille day in france that he enjoyed and what's appropriate. they haven't found a decision. they are burning. it will go to 2019. let's be clear. in an instant the president can tweet and reverse it and put this parade back on. this is a pentagon used to receiving orders from the president's twitter account. it does look like they reached an agreement but i don't know if the president is on that and i don't know if he'll be upset with the coverage this morning. >> i would love to be doing some message if he ever run that parade.

take the va letter and do that across the board. he did this so he with look at his own toys. here's what he took away from hospitals, schools, everything else. that's an amazing thing. >> let's not forget it's not because we need to rally behind our troops he saw a parade on bass until day. >> where's my parade. >> what they can have all the people deferred from military service from bone spurs save a lot of money, wouldn't tear up the asphalt -- are we on the air? >> american legion put out that letter but that money could go to the va is what they suggested. >> where's my parade. >> peter baker you'll get the final word. what are you looking at today? what can we expect from this white house? >> sorry. you never know. look, obviously a lot of eyes on the courthouse in alexandria

today. well the jury in the paul manafort trial come back. that will shape things in the days to come. there's still obviously blow back on the brennan decision. more omarosa tapes perhaps. a white house constantly, you know, surprising us and i wouldn't expect -- i would never predict at the beginning of the day what we'll see at the end of the day. >> your answer was the first one, a chuckle i have no earthly idea. peter good to see you. still ahead it won't stop the president from sangt but the u.s. senate just unanimously declared that the press is not the enemy of the people. does the president have targeted tweets to send out this morning. we'll talk to one u.s. senator straight ahead on "morning joe". okay we need to get

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in many counter intelligence cases in the past i know what the russians tried do. they tried to subborn individuals and tried to get u.s. persons to work on their behalf either wittingly or unwittingly. i was worried with the number of contacts russians had with u.s. persons and so therefore by the time i left office on january 20th i had unresolved questions in my mind as to whether or not the russians had been successful in getting u.s. persons involved in the campaign or not to work on their behalf, again, either in a witting or unwitting fashion. >> that was former cia director john brennan testifying in 2017 about his knowledge of russian election interference. in an interview with the "wall street journal" on wednesday president trump essentially confessed that his decision recent lly strip brennan of his security clearance was because of his role in the mueller role.

trump said i call it a rigged witch-hunt. ate sham. and these people led it. so i think it's something that had to be done. joining us a former aide to robert mueller, chuck rosenberg. we were talking on the break what it would be like for a defendant like the president gives away the came i stripped him of the clearance because of the russia thing. >> a textured thing. >> what's going on here? >> it's a strange dichotomy. the president acting within his article ii authority to remove clearance or fire national security official is fine unless done for a corrupt motive. so the president's statements to the "wall street journal" or to lester holt indicated a corrupt motive. i did it because of the russia investigation. i did it because this thing is

bothering me. to a prosecutor, and foregive me but i was one for a long time, that's a corrupt motive. and that constitutes, in my view evidence of a crime. >> there was any nexus with what robert mueller is looking into? is bob mueller watching what's played out in the last three days and i got something here? >> he's got lots of somethings and not just the last three days. i think what happened with the "wall street journal" and stripping of the security clearance is another brick in that wall. no question. >> chuck, there's some questions raised, speculation that the president could potentially pull bob mueller's security clearance. is that a realistic thing? >> in a normal world, kacie, no. but in this world everything is on the table. the supreme court has been clear that the president has unt

unfettered discretion. i hope he doesn't go down that path. the court has given him great deference to the president. >> the manafort verdict. if this jury -- you can look at it either way whether these questions are significant. what if they come back with no conviction. doesn't mueller have a great deal at stake vis-a-vis the russia investigation? >> yes. but to acquit a defendant, a jury must be unanimous. there's some confusion sometimes about that. to conviekt it must be 12-0. to acquit it must be 12-0. anything sells a hung jury. a hung jury gives the prosecutors, the government the option to retry a defendant. the notion that manafort would run the table would get a 12-0 acquittal on 12 counts strikes me as very unlikely. put it mildly. >> you've worked with mueller

very closely. what have you seen as this manafort trial has unfolded, that we should view as his personality on display. is this the kind of a man who is a zro a secret to many of us. >> i did work with him. what you're seeing from the prosecutors is what you would see from bob mueller. i'm biassed, freely admit it. this steady methodical professionalism, when they speak they speak in court. otherwise they don't speak. that's the way prosecutors and investigators ought to work. that's what we're seeing. so no mystery and no surprise. >> chuck, is there anything to the white house waving its arms and saying wrap this up? the vice president of the united states saying time to wrap thunder. rudy giuliani is saying bob mueller has nothing on donald trump. does that have any implication or is that just noise for the public. bose bob mueller hear any of that and does it mean anything to him?

>> it's just noise. investigations don't come with an expiration date. you know, just a small example. but for instance we know the president traveled with hope hicks the other day on air force one. small point. but that would mean for instance investigators want to talk to hope hicks again. if they want this investigation to end, they ought to stop creating new evidence. right? and prosecutors have an obligation in my view to follow every logical lead. they keep handing him logical leads. >> one thing that's interest is that we see rudy giuliani is now getting the issue of can the president be subpoenaed and does he have the right to. so my question is, mueller is preparing his case. i'm assuming that he has already laid out whatever he wants to do if he gets the interview, if he doesn't. but could the issue of corrupt motives that you mentioned earlier serve as enough of a foundation to build that case without any interviews the

president? >> many time. many times. we conclude a case without interviewing the ultimate target. sometimes they are abroad. sometimes they won't talk to us. sometimes we can't find them. we often finish cases or conclude case or charge case without talking to the one person we want to talk to. that happens. however we know where the president is. it's a question of whether or not he'll sit down with the investigators. there's lots of complicated issues here. can you subpoena a president. what will the supreme court say about that? can you charge a sitting president. the answer is probably no. he won't be a sitting president forever. i imagine what the investigators here would like to do is talk to him and then hold off on charges. >> knowing that could take so long, years potentially. would it be potentially mueller's, in mueller's before the interest to move beyond that and wrap it up faster without having to go through the supreme court challenge? >> right. you know really interesting question and my gut instinct is

you want to talk to him. i looked how long it took between the time president nixon got a subpoena and the supreme court ruled he must comply with it and it was three months. supreme court can move fast. it may not move that fast but in 1974 it did. we're not talking about years and years ever delays, we're talking months ever delay. frankly i think we can pay that price as a nation. >> the disconnect between a long time in our news cycle and a long time in lawyer speak gets me. >> you know robert mueller. i'm very curious from rudy giuliani. he goes out and speaks for the president and talks about this negotiation going on with robert mueller who robert mueller seems to be holding all the cards. giuliani is speaking for robert mueller when he talks about these negotiations about the president testifying. how much is that real or do you think there is -- what is the nature of the real negotiation? >> there's some negotiation. i wouldn't look to mr. giuliani to describe it accurately. there's some negotiation because the president and his team obviously would like to talk, to

susan's point, to as many witnesses as they can including the president. but it's not the negotiation that mr. giuliani makes it out to be. mueller, as you know, has a lot of leverage and many cards here and likely has said this is what we would like to do, yes nor. if the answer is no, we'll consider our next step, which could well be a grand jury subpoena. so i don't think there's a ton of back and forth here. maybe i'm wrong. the nice thing from my perspective mueller isn't talking about it nor should he be. >> chuck, you mentioned something a lot of your brethren either punt on or have a different opinion can you indict a sitting president and that seems to be a very foggy question and answer at this point. >> twice the department of justice has looked at that question and twice they have said no. but it's policy not law. so i could imagine that if mueller and rod rosenstein and others wanted to push the issue they could. but by and large we follow our

policies as well as our laws and i would imagine they would hold off. i don't think you can charge a sitting president. the other point, though, he won be a sitting president forever. >> chuck rosenberg, answering a lot of questions. thanks so much. still ahead this morning there are still hundreds of children in government custody after being separated from their parents at the border. msnbc has been following the story from the beginning and this week our reporter spoke with one mother who is trying to desperately trying to get her two sons back. that's next on "morning joe". at ally, we created a savings account with a great rate. but if that's not enough, our app helps monitor your spending too. and if that's not enough to help you save, we could start a carpool. look at this traffic. don't worry. ok, if that's not enough we'll start a trainpool.

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the trump administration released new detailed numbers yesterday on migrant children separated from their parents. nbc news correspondent joins us now from miami with those numbers and the story of one mother still separated from her two sons. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, willie. last night we got updated fundamentals from that u.s. district court in san diego, and get this. out of the 2,654 children who were originally separated, 565 remain separated from their parents. and 366 of those parents have already been deported. so that's over 500 kids in

government custody and it is the month of august. the numbers are stagnant pretty much. we asked ourselves, who are these families. what are these red flags keeping these reunifications from happening and really set out to put a name, a face and a human story behind the numbers. let's hear from one mother desperate to get her two children back. this is a mother looking for answers and her two sons. have you been told when you'll be reunified with your children? >> no. >> all of them have been reunified but not his. she's one much hundreds of parents who remain separated from their kids three weeks after a court mandated deadline set for the trump administration. this is her youngest son, 9 years old, autistic and still in federal custody. her other son 13, is in a

different facility in san antonio. where are you they ask. i don't know what to tell them when we speak. she was released from a detention center in texas earlier this month. >> translator: i had hope when i got bonded out they would be there. but it wasn't that way. >> reporter: in a statement i.c.e. claims it received information that she is a documented member of the ms-13 gang in el salvador. >> when you deal with ms-13 the only thing they understand the toughness. >> reporter: i.c.e. is to identify any red flags. the lawyer believes that alleged gang affiliation is keeping her from getting her kids back. >> i don't think i.c.e. knows

what umbrella she falls under. they bonded her out. clearly she's not a threat to the public. and i think that she may have been mismarked as a gang member. >> reporter: she fled el salvador after being attacked by police. >> they hit me. >> translator: they dragged me. they tortured me. >> reporter: now she's seeking asylum in the u.s. for both her and her sons, once she gets them back. >> translator: to be separated from them, it's like everything is missing. like air. >> reporter: we asked the office of refugee resettlement and i.c.e. why it was safe to release this woman into the country but she is still not reunified with her kids and they refused to answer. guys, the gist of it is these numbers are not changing and

this reunification plan has failed. it's hard to understand even for us who have been covering the story for months why so many of these children continue to be separated from their families. >> that's the question. i guess we continue know the answer. if she's been bonded out, she's free, why are her children still being detained and why can't she be told where they are at least? what's the explanation for that. >> reporter: she knows where they are but just not being released to her or her mother. these two kids who are brothers, we heard one is autistic on top of everything, willie, they are being held in separate facilities. so it's very hard to understand why. it's really a case by case sort of evaluation here. but even in the individual case we just heard it's mind-boggling why these children are still in federal custody. >> a lot of those kids, 565 you told us are still separated from their families, their parents already have been deported, sent back to where they came from.

where do those kids turn now? what happens to them? >> reporter: so this week the government also submited a new plan for those kids and it turn out that they say these reunifications can only happen in the country of origin. so that means those hundreds of kids will probably have to be deported to their countries and that's where these reunifications are going to happen. it continues to be a logistical nightmare that we'll continue to cover. >> we need an answer. their mother is free why can't they be reunited. thank you very much for staying on this. coming up, ten senate democrats defending seats in states donald trump won. senator tammy baldwin is one of them. we'll talk about the battleground in wisconsin which just as a reminder voted for republican presidential candidates in 1960, '68, '72, '80 and '84 before president trump's win in 2016.

i just realized the other day they told me, when we won the state of wisconsin, it hadn't been won by a republican since with dwight d. eisenhower in 1952. did you know that? i won wisconsin. i like wisconsin a lot. but we won wisconsin. [ applause ]

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brian's back? he doesn't get my room. he's only going to be here for like a week. like a month, tops. oh boy. wi-fi fast enough for the whole family is simple, easy, awesome. in many cultures, young men would stay with their families until their 40's. i am going to work very hard, i'll go six or seven days a week when we're 60 days out and i will be campaigning for all of these great people that do have a difficult race. >> president trump recently told the "wall street journal" quote as long as i can get out and campaign i think republicans will win. it's a lot of work for me. i have to make 50 steps. it's a lot. so there aren't a lot of people that can do that physically. fortunately i have no problem with that. when asked if his appearance mobilized democratic voterers the president said i think the

democrats give up when i turn out. if you want to know the truth i don't think it energizes them it de-energizes them. joining us is senator tammy baldwin. polling has you up by 17 points going into this fall's election. what's your sense of the energy of democrats in your state, a state that went by a narrow margin for president trump in 2016. >> you know, i have a sense that there's a lot of energy and it's not just partisan energy but turn out for our primaries earlier this week was record setting in terms of pure numbers. and the highest percentage of turn out for a primary since 2002. so the energy is there. and it's very exciting to see. i think for the last year and a half i've seen people get involved in our democracy in number that i haven't seen in my

whole life, frankly. usually around issues, because right now i think there's this scene that washington is a mess, there's too many distractions. they want somebody work forge them, which is what i've always done. but focusing on the issues that their aspirations, not the special interests who call the shots around washington too much. >> senator jeanne robinson has a question for you. >> sneer, so does what you just said, does that mean that for you the key this year is energizing and bringing out the democratic base as opposed to trying to appeal to, say, some voters who might have -- might usually vote democratic but went for trump last time? >> you know, i think it's all of the above. so let me -- there was a clip about the president saying he's going to visit all the states. well, the president has visited wisconsin since his election. the first time he came, he

signed his by america order right in kenosha, wisconsin. well, i've been fighting for buy america policies since i was first elected to the house of representatives. because i know it's good for wisconsin workers and when we use taxpayer dollars, we ought to be supporting american workers and using american inputs for our infrastructure and manufacturing. and so the trump voter who was taken by his focus and rhetoric during the campaign for working people, i think they understand that i've been working for the hard working wisconsinites forever. and so i don't think you can just separate it into the democrats and republicans or trump or not, that we're going to attract folks who are looking at who is fighting for them. and one of the big stories coming out of wisconsin, i think, as you know, was record spending in the senate race. i've had $11 million aimed at me

from out of state billionaires, from corporate special interests. why? because i stand up to them and i'm fighting for wisconsin. that's going to be the clear choice because i think leah, my opponent, they figure she's going to be in their pocket. >> senator, it's kacey hunt. good to see you this morning. i want to ask you about senator bill nelson said there was evidence of russian meddling already in the florida senate election. i'm wondering if you have been made aware at any attempts of outside influence in the state of wisconsin. have you spoken with your secretary of state about those security concerns? where does it stand? >> okay. so there was clear evidence after the 2016 election of both an attempt to hack into the election apparatus in our state. didn't work, but they were ralgsing tralg

rattles the doorknobs and trying to get in. also, a lot of evidence, after the fact, sadly, of social media interference and misinformation and targeting certain voting groups in wisconsin. because the administration hasn't taken the steps that they need to to make it absolutely clear that this will not be tolerated, because the congress hasn't yet passed the deter act, i have no reason to believe that russia is not going to be trying to interfere. whether that's on social media or trying again to interfere with our election apparatus, i don't know. but -- >> are you confident that your election results are going to be clear and unimpeachable? >> so first of all, i've supported getting extra resources to our election commission to beef up their security. but we do have a predominantly paper ballot system who we can recount by hand. i'm probably most concerned

about all the reports of the bots, if you will, and the false information. and, boy, we've seen not only in our own country, but other countries that a foreign adversary, russia, has sewn the seeds of division. this is very harmful in a democracy and we've got to safeguard our democracy and stand up for the truth, which is also why it's so important to protect the mueller investigation from interference and to protect a free press. >> senator, there's a new poll out that says president trump's supreme court nominee, brett kavanaugh, has the lowest public support since robert bourque was rejected back in 1987. a cnn poll found 40% say the senator should not vote to confirm kavanaugh. the poll says kavanaugh is doing poorly among women. over 28% support his confirmation. 46% are against it. and to look at kavanaugh's position in context, he's

performing 0 10 to 20 points than some of the recently confirmed justices. on the high end, 59% supported john roberts in 2005. you've come out, senator, and said you will not support judge kavanaugh. shouldn't you wait to get through the hearings before you declare that you won't support his nomination? that kind of thing looks nakedly to a lot of people. >> wisconsinites want a fair, independent, impartial justice. and wisconsinites realize that the cases that are going to come before the court after the next supreme court justice is confirmed is going to take a lot of issues that they are very concerned about up. so whether people are going to have health care coverage if they have a pre-existing condition or a loved one with a pre-existing condition, women's health is in the cross hairs.

we have issues of whether we're going to be able to protect clean water and clean air and whether the next supreme court justice is going to be in the pocket of corporate special interests or fighting for consumers and workers. and so i think wisconsinites look at this record, the record that has been publicly disclosed already and say this is not the fair impartialist jurist that we want. >> do you think he deserves to answer his questions before you make up your mind about him? >> i certainly intend to meet with him. certainly there will be hearings. but i also have to question the process of who funded the organization that put together a list for president trump to pick from? this was not an exhaustive search and wisconsinites want

impartlty. >> thanks for your time this morning. we appreciate it thank you. the president is accused of trying to stifle free speech with the decision to strip the security clearance for john brennen. now the navy commander who oversaw the bin laden raid is telling the president to revoke his clearance, as well. mortgage joe is coming right back. the highway when the guy in front slams on his brakes out of nowhere. you do, too, but not in time. hey, no big deal. you've got a good record and liberty mutual won't hold a grudge by raising your rates over one mistake. you hear that, karen? liberty mutual doesn't hold grudges... how mature of them. for drivers with accident forgiveness liberty mutual won't raise their rates because of their first accident. liberty mutual insurance. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty ♪

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have you no sense of decency, sir.? at long last, have you left no sense of decency? >> that's 195 h4. our friend richard haas sees a parallel between that moment and a blistering column yesterday from william mccraven. mccraven who commanded the mission to capture osama bin laden questioned president trump. you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and worst of all, divided us as a stage. good morning. it's friday, august 17th. i'm willie geist. with us, we have kasie hunt, also the great donnie deutsch,

republican communication strategist and an msnbc con attributer rick tyler, susan delpercio, msnbc political analyst eugene robinson, political reporter for the daily beast betsy woodruff and retired four start admiral james freetis. joe and mika have the morning off. let's get right into this. new reporting from "the washington post" that president trump feels emboldened by stripping john brennen of his security clearance. trump believes he's emerged looking strong and decisive in his escalating feud with brennen, two aides are telling the post, adding the president shows a visceral disdain for the former cia director when he sees him on television. one official say trump did not focus on his power to remove

clearances until this summer. white house officials confirm trump made his decision weeks ago about brennen. senior advisers including press secretary sarah sanders. cia director gina haskell is remaining quiet about the treatment of her predecessor. ci aspokesman tim barrett told the daily beast, cia does not comment on individual security clearances. but 12 former top intel officials, including cia directors webster, tennette, goes, hayden, pa nairus signed a letter that said this. we feel compelled to respond in the wake of the ill considered

decision to strip john brennen's security clearance. we all agree that the president's action has nothing to do with who should and should not hold security clearances and everything to do with an attempt to stifle free speech. you don't have to agree with what brennen says, the letter goes on. and, again, not all of us do. so agree to his right to say it subject to protect classified information. this comes after former navy admiral william mccraven wrote a public letter challenging the president to revoke his security clearance. he writes brennen is one of the finest public servants i've ever known. few americans have done more to protect this country than john. therefore, i would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance, as well, so i can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency. if you think for a moment your

mcar think era tactics will be effective, think again. a admiral, what's your thoughts on in this morning? >> i would focus on the letter. to see all of those former directors of the cia and deputy directors of the cia going back 30 years is rm quieally quite striking. there's three quick pieces to hit on here. first is john brennen. i know him extremely well. he is as straight as the gate. he is another one absolute public servant and a great thinker. number two is why do people have these security cleesharances af they get out of office?

it's so they can go back and consult and help government. many of the people on that list do exactly that and people in office need that. i needed it when i was supreme allied commander and was able to consult with my predecessors in that job. lastly, you have to ask yourself as a technique, the politics of this are just awful. if we're going to start stripping security clearances, what comes next? we're going to take away pensions, we're going to have a special tax examinations for former officials that speak out. it's frightening to see the division this is causing. that's what i really worry about is the polarization. >> what do you make of the issue that security clearance after you leave is not a birth right. this is a man who no longer works in the government and they

say is working to undermine the sitting commander ner chief. >> i think that's nonsense. again, the reason people hold these security clearances, principally, is so they can be helpful, they can advise. we would give away generations of experience if people did not have the ability to look at the facts in a classified setting and provide advice to their successors. that is a good thing and we should not let that go, willie. >> gene robinson reading the reporting from your newspaper, "the washington post" today about president trump being emboldened. he feels better today than he did even yesterday or the day before about how this looks and is now considering removing the scleernss of a number of other people. the president likes what he sees

in this. >> yeah. he thinks it looks great to have an enemies list and to have it be public and out there. this is just a blatant abuse of power. i mean, i don't know what else you can call it. and really should be one of the eventual articles of impeachment. this is really pretty outrageous. he's trying to punish individuals because they are critical of him. there's an element of calculation of what he's doing. there's also an element of a 2-year-old's tantrum which is deeply disturbing. it hurts the country more than it hurts john brennen who will be fine. it is short sided and it is everything that donald trump is. >> one thing that is important

to point out is that the president is not on an island by himself on this right now. there is quite a significant level of republican support for what he did. and rick tyler, the antipathy coming from republicans across the hill, it's pretty deeply seeded. the only republican i heard yesterday average that brennen should keep his clearance was susan collins. and she said i don't really like brennen. >> one is that he decided to include tommy, for instance, who already had his security clearance revoked which meant he just wanted to publicly stick it to comey. he didn't have a -- >> jim comey, another person with no friends on capitol hill any more. >> correct. >> two, it's pretty clear he did this to quell the political damage coming from the omarosa

tapes. that's not wise, but it's not new. he doesn't play with others. these are former administration with intel and he does not get along with intel. this isn't about free speech. you don't need a security clearance to have free speech. you know, i don't have a security clearance, i have free speech. all of them have their security clearance. if they have them all revoked, they will have free speech. >> it's basically why he's taking it away. >> but they can still speak. >> but that was the punishment for that. i go back to jean. it is so nixonian. i would like to compare and

contrast his service to this country with donald trump's last 30 years. i have to applaud admiral mccraven. that is what has to start happening in this country on every level. public servants speaking out. once again, to me, the real villains in this, other republicans, there is no level that donald trump cannot sink to. kasie, in your beat, to tell me there is not run republican out there that does not have an issue with stripping the security clearance, with -- >> i'm not saying there is not one. there has been some. susan collins qualified and bob corker spoke out about it weeks ago very forcefully. but we saw people say hey, the president had the right to do that. >> now that we do not have the decades of experience to go to, who knows in a situation if brennan being called on does not get a piece of information that now he will not be able to brought in because of security

clearance. >> i do think, too, willie, that it's interesting that all of these top officials standing up and saying no, this is not okay, because the reality is one excuse republicans have been using when they talk about why they're okay with something president trump is doing is that he has trusted national security officials around him, jim mattis, you know, is a name that gets thrown out a lot whenever you ask republicans as to what the national security implications of all this is. >> give credit where it's due. bob corker did say yesterday this is a banana public move to strip the security clearance of the former cia director and the president gave up the game when he said this is really what he called about the sham russia investigation and brennan's perceived connection to that. >> and once again, the president puts himself above country and shows that he is a feckless coward who no one will ever want to be in a foxhole with because

he in evenever has anyone's bac. can you maybe get into how the folks do their job, not having access to those specific relationships that perhaps a new person may not have, like pompeo, for example. >> that's a really good point. and i was going to add to that and say, look at the optics of this outside the country. bob corker, head of the senate foreign relations committee saying this looks like a banana republic. believe me, that comment gets picked up, translated into 200 different languages. they have to figure out the context of a banana republic. but it is going to reverb rate again and again in that international arena and you're

right to point out that this will have a chilling effect on those national security officials, formers, and how they are viewed and all of it will reduce our national security. still ahead on "morning joe," admiral mccraven's column is hardly the first time frustrations have spilled over between the president and the intel community. we'll run through that. but first, bill karins has a look at your weekend forecast. >> unfortunately a lot of rain to track this morning, friday afternoon, saturday and even into sunday on the east coast. this morning, we've had heavy rain moving through areas of indiana, kentucky and tennessee, some showers going through areas of pennsylvania and new york and the rain won't stop in northern arkansas. it's been endless this week. later on this afternoon, we will see a threat of of some severe storms. 8 million people at risk. mostly areas north of new york city and from about central vermont into the glens falls saratoga area. tornado threat is low. damaging winds is the biggest

risk. new york city, third day in a row under heat advisories. in the shade, it will feel like mid 90s this afternoon. this is it, though. it will cool off as we head towards the weekend hit and miss showers through the weekend. it will be soggy, on and off rain from the appalachians, kentucky, pennsylvania, even through the deep south. by the time we get to sunday, it drys out a little bit. northern half of the northeast should be fine on sunday. still showers and storms lingering in the mid-atlantic region. watch out for heavy rain and maybe severe storms in areas of the central plains. seems kind of like a repeat, dealing with the rain and the heat and the humidity on the east coast. new york city is one of those spots today, feeling like mid 90s. this could be one of the warmest days we have for the summer. you're watching "morning joe."

we'll be right back.

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oh boy. wi-fi fast enough for the whole family is simple, easy, awesome. in many cultures, young men would stay with their families until their 40's. increasingly open criticism of the president by top top intel officials, president trump was unsparing of his criticism in the u.s. intelligence committee. you'll remember december of 2016, "the washington post" reported on a secret cia assessment saying russia was trying to help trump win the white house. the transition office responded in part that the report came from, quote, the same people that said saddam hussein had weapons of mass destruction. president trump erupted on twitter writing, intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to leak into the public.

one last shot at me. are we living in nazi germany, he asked. he echoed that sentiment at his first news conference. >> i think it was disgraceful, disgraceful, that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out. i think it's a disgrace. and i say that and i say that and that's something that nazi germany would have done and did do. >> that was nine days before he was sworn into office. then the day after the inauguration, he went to cia headquarters where he spoke about his war with the media, inflated the size of his inauguration crowd and gave a politically charged speech in front of the memorial wall for officers who gave their lives and service to the country. >> there is nobody that feels stronger about the intelligence community and the cia than donald trump. >> the wall behind me is very, very special. probably almost everybody in this room voted for me, but i will not ask you to raise your

hands if you did. >> so, betsy, it's just worth reminding people that the president didn't just wake up and have an adversarial relationship with the intelligence community, he's been insulting them, comparing them to nazi germany. so this is the outcome of the way he felt about some of the leadership of those groups. >> and this didn't start when he wasser inagurated as president. jtk conspiracy theories are closely tied to conspiracy theories about the intelligence community. there hasn't been a conspiracy theory trump has encountered that he hasn't embraced. he was very much of the mind that there is a deep state puppet mastering the united states national security and foreign policy. this is something that's concerned him going back through

his time as a public figure. so he's very much acting in character when he goes after the intelligence community using this kind of incendiary rhetoric. and it's also not just president trump. remember rudy giuliani who is his attorney, who speaks with his blessing, who has become the public face of his attacks on the mueller investigation, has compared fbi agents to storm troopers, once again invoking that imry. so this isn't just the president himself, but it's bleeding out through his administration, through the people who speak for him and on fox news where sean hannity has spearheaded attacks on the quote/unquote deep state. >> and that continued last night on fox news. admiral, you know well general kelly. kasie mentioned general mattis. >> they have to be feeling it in their heart because both of them have worked so closely with so

many people on that list. and i'll point out two names on that list that all of us senior military absolutely revere. one is robert gates, former secretary of defense, and the other is leon panetta, former secretary of defense. both of them, a republican and a democrat, served the country in unbelievable ways, are in no way representative of this false notion of a deep state. and to see their name on that list has to really give pause to jim mattis and john kelly. it certainly hit me very hard when i read that list. that is the document to focus on this morning. >> admiral, what can they do about it remains the question. we've heard that they've been frustrated and outraged at certain times over the course of this administration. yet the course of the presidency doesn't seem to change. is there some pressure they can apply if they are as outraged as you suggest they may be? >> they are going to have to do what they have done thus far,

which is try their best to present a guardrail around an extremely impetuous and extremely volatile president. all i can say is in terms of their service, it's probably like a lighthouse. you don't know what would happen if the lighthouse wasn't there to warn the ships off the rocks. maybe it could be a lot worse. i know they'll continue to do the best they can because they're both patriots of this country. >> coming up on "morning joe," is donald trump is pay back president? we'll read from a "new york times" editorial as the white house looks to hit critics where it hurts. let's begin.

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joining us now, mike allen. good to see you. >> thank you, willie. happy end of summer friday. 17 days to labor day. so enjoy -- >> why would you say that? >> several weeks. don't say that number. >> the grinch. >> we're in the middle of summer as far as we're concerned. so the president has found some reasons he's enamored with. >> because he can. we found that the president

likes powers that are uniquely and solely his, things that he can do without consulting anybody and without having to even get any input from anybody. and that's behind the revocation of the clearances. a variety of sources told axias jonathan swan that this is a lot like the president's use of executive orders and of pardons that you can do it and nobody can stop him. an amazing quote in the story that just popped up on axios, a person very close to the president said that he gets a kick out of pardons. and the reason he gets a kick out of poureds is that it's something that he has complete domain over and people have to come to him and beg him for them. >> it's funny you mentioned that because that washington post piece we've been talking about this morning that gets into the president feeling emboldened and strong with the removal of brennen's powers there, the quote is the process is

essentially meaningless. if trump wants to do it, he'll just do it. so there are processeses in place, but the president doesn't like to go through them. mean wile, a new editorial titled donald trump the payback president. mr. brennan's spanking is just the latest display of what has become standard operating procedure for this president. using the official levers of got the to punish critics and to encourage other deextracters to sit down and shut up. at this point, one might ask whether the white house creates cover stores so the president himself can inevitably contradict. the president wants everyone to know this is how he operates. it fuels his image as a tough guy. more strategically, scaring one's critics into submission won't work if those critics don't understand what is happening. so the piece going on and this

is the president feeling himself as a washington post points out today. >> and he's realized that he's a failure at deal making in washington. he hasn't been able to put any real serious reform, except for maybe tax reform out there so he can only do what makes him feel good. and that's what he's all about. we know he only thinks of himself first. and that is really a sign of such a weak leader, a heavy leader, a leader who -- a person who just will not give of himself to give to his country. >> well, and betsy woodruff, this is something that seems to help explain president trump's an finty for autocratic style leaders. perhaps he wants to exercise these powers that he and he alone possesses. >> that's right. and one of the dominant themes

of his presidency has been the pushback that he's gotten from the checks and balances that exist in our system, particularly the senate, over the court of his entire time in office. he's beat the drum trying to get rid of the filibuster rule and puts a check on the ability of the senate majority to sort of move without much constraint. the president tweeted over and over that the filibuster rule needs to go, even though as an entire body, republicans in the senate and even those whom remember being in the minority very passionately oppose any change. the president is looking to fundamentally change some of the institutions that exist in this country to dramatically expand the authority of the party that is in power. it's not just about the white house, it's also about the way congress works and the extent to which he has chafed against the checks and balances that exist is significant and kind of a key part of understanding the way that he operates as president. coming up on "morning joe," tonight, steve banyan joins the

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joining us now, mis-nbc hsn ari melber. ari will be sitting down with steve bannon tonight at 10:00 p.m. on "the last word". we know ari is out with this new film. what do you want to get at with steve bannon when you sit down with him today? >> that's right. i'm sitting down with steve and we'll be airing parts of that interview tonight. this is his first ever interview on msnbc and relatively rare as viewers will notice for him to sit down and do these television interviews with journalists. we want to talk about his new efforts in the midterms.

we want to talk about an area where his analysis overlaps with many critics of donald trump which is that the midterms are not only a referendum on donald trump, as any midterms might be in the beginning of a presidency, but more specifically, a referendum on the potential legitimacy of this unusual presidency. he has said that he is concerned that if democrats take back the house and subpoena power, it will hobble this first term and lead to potential impeachment. i think that's an important thing to get into and discuss both the case for that illegally and legally and whether that's going to affect midterm turnout. he has a new group citizens for the american republic. he says he has 25 staff, he wants to be a player. he wants to save, quote/unquote, the trump presidency. >> ari, what's your sense as you sit down with steve today, the bannon, about his relationship

with the president? obviously at times he's been loyal to the president. others, not so much. i don't know how much they talk any more. he called the meeting with donald trump jr. at trump tower in 2016 treasonous, among other things. do you have a good feel for where they are right now? >> i've spoken both to steve's people and himself both on and off the record. but i would say broadly as panelist owes this show have said recently, this is a -- partly an effort by steve bannon to flex his muscle and to get back involved in politics after what was a widely known and public break-up. so i don't think it's a suggestion that he is constantly talking to the current president, but i don't think that anyone benefits from ignoring what's happening out there. and whether you like or dislike what steve bannonen stands for. in 2016, there were a heck of a lot of times where the politics

in this town and washington and some of what was perhaps in the media was missing what was out in the country. so i think what the bannons of the world arer arguing is that they're in touch with the trump base, which is very relevant in our politics even if they're not talking to donald trump regularly because he basically wrote off publicly steve bannon, as we all know, after that very public break-up. >> ari, it's donnie. congratulations. good get together. what is your gut as far as his motivation? we understand the path he's on now. >> i'm going honestly tell you that the because i'm not in his head and i don't know the answer, i don't want to get ahead of that. i'm going to listen to his answers tonight. i'm going to have a back and forth with him, i hope, and press him on issues, policy and facts, but hopefully do it in the spirit of journalism, which i think people who are willing to have a conversation and maybe

sometimes we lose that nowadays, people who are willing to do that may see that as a benefit, but donnie, i can't say that i know. >> everybody will watching tonight including donnie who will be watching from a hot tub in the hamptons. i hope that's okay. that's just where he's going to be. >> that is where populism reigns. >> there's problems with hot tubs. sometimes the nozzles get -- you know, it's not all puppy dogs and roses. >> no, it's a tough life. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> exclusive interview with steve bannon tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern here on msnbc and before that at 9:00 p.m., john brennen sits down with rachel maddow in his first on-camera appearance since the president revoked his security clearance. check it out. and while we're premoting things, you're about to run across the street to promote who

you have coming up. who do you have? >> on sunday, my guest is chris odow. he broke through in "bridesmaids." a charming, funny guy. he's in a second season of a show called "get shorty." just one of those fun conversations where he just immediately vibe with somebody. >> i love him. that's awesome. i'm jealous. >> any high jinks with chris? >> almost exclusively high jinks with that guy. we are in the final stretch of corporate earnings season and president trump is weighing in on it this morning writing, quote, in speaking with some of the world's top business leaders, i asked what is it that would make business, jobs, even better in the u.s.? stop quarterly reporting and go to a six-month system, said one. that will allow greater

flexibility and save money. i've asked the s.e.c. to study. for more on this, let's bring in dominic chu. is this a real thing? >> sth a real thing because the president is tweeting it's a real thing. but there's a reason why this is bringing up all kinds of debate about whether this is worse or better for everyday investors. right now, krn has reached out to thor securities and exchange commission. this takes away some of the reporting requirement that companies have to investors. they have to right now, every quarter, tell you how much money they made, how much stuff they sold, what their plans are for the future. if they only have to see it twooit twice a year, that could save company's costs. but certainly something we're watching right now. but it goes in that spirit of deregulation that president trump has reached about ever since the campaign trail. speaking of deals and president trump, he obviously wants a

bigger and better deal in terms of trade with china. derg a cabinet meeting yesterday, he said we are talking to china. they are very much wanting to talk. he said the only acceptable agreement is the one that treats america fairley. that next.round of trade talks is slated to happen later on this month. elon musk, meanwhile, is showing some of his more human and vulnerable side. he spoke to the "new york times." he opened up about his now infamous tweet about taking tesla private. the times is reporting that tesla insiders have been for years now trying to recruit an executive to help run day-to-day operations of tesla, kind of like what eric sch mi dt did for google founders or what cheryl sandberg is doing at facebook right now. we'll see if that has anything going on. and it's a fast food divorce. wendy's is selling its remaining stake in arby's for $450 billion

million. now that means inspired owns arby's, buffalo wild wings. >> arbys is amazing. a great slogan arby's yes was america's roast beef, yes, sir. >> i'm impressed you remember that. if forced to choose fast food on the campaign trail, i would go with arby's. perhaps that's embarrassing. anyway, earlier this morning, we told you how the president's military parade in washington has been delayed until 2019. that news coming after a defense official told nbc news earlier in the day that the estimated cost for the parade skyrocketed to $92 million. now president trump is taking credit for the delay, tweeting moments ago, the local politicians who run washington, d.c. poorly, no windfall when they see it.

when asked to give us a price for hold ago great celebratory parade, they wanted a number so ridiculously high, i canceled it. i will attend the big parade scheduled at andrew's air force base on a different date and go to the paris parade celebrating the end of the war on april 11th. maybe we will do something next year bht cost goes down. now we can buy more jet fighters. >> was that all too predictable? >> illustrate was a little long. >> get it down, you know, like it wasn't going to happen. there is no reason to have -- there's no event to celebrate a military parade. people don't want it. the pentagon doesn't want it. the military doesn't want it. the only person who seems too far saw it was donald trump. >> but it just goes to show how

time and time again donald trump always brings it back to himself. the parade was to celebrate our country, our veterans. yes, he ran into a lot of trouble, like having tanks go down constitution avenue. >> it might rip up up the streets. >> so that posed just a little problem. again, we shouldn't be so spriec surprised. when you see such a weak leader who cannot come up with any plan, he has to back away with it. >> i want my parade. where is my parade? >> you'll have your parade. coming up next on "morning joe, "-- >> i have a friend, he used to like france, used to. and he was going to france and i said, how is your trip going? he goes, i'm not going to france because france is no longer france. >> i have a friend every year he goes to paris. i haven't seen him in a while.

paris, the city of likes he used to tell me. i see him like a month ago. how was paris this summer? i don't have to pairy any longer. are you kidding me? it's no longer paris. i have a friend, he loves the city of lights. he loves paris. i haven't seen him in a while. and i said, jim, let me ask you a question. how is paris doing? paris? i don't go there any more. paris is no longer paris. >> that is the president talking about his mysterious friend, jim, who apparently no longer goes to paris. nobody really knows who jim is. we'll explain next on "morning joe." so, how's it going?

well... we had a vacation early in our marriage that kinda put us in a hole. go someplace exotic? yeah, bermuda. a hospital in bermuda. a hospital in bermuda. what? what happened? i got a little over-confident on a moped. even with insurance, we had to dip into our 401(k) so it set us back a little bit. sometimes you don't have a choice. but it doesn't mean you can't get back on track. great. yeah, great. i'd like to go back to bermuda. i hear it's nice. yeah, i'd like to see it. no judgment. just guidance. td ameritrade. new sleep number 360 smart bed. it senses your movement and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. and now, all beds are on sale. save 50% on the new sleep number 360 limited edition smart bed. only for a limited time.

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♪ ♪ let your perfect drive come together at the lincoln summer invitation sales event. get 0% apr on select 2018 lincoln models plus $1,000 bonus cash. by the way, i have a friend. he hired three people. they were prisoners. pretty hard-line people. i can tell you, two of the three, he said, are unbelievably outstanding. i'm hearing from, in one case, a friend of mine, hired ten people, and of the ten people, he didn't give me the exact number, but i will tell you, he said "these are incredible

people." we've taken the toughest ever actions in response to china's abusive trade practices. i was with one of the greatest companies in the world, the chief executive officer, very short while ago. and it really affects him. he said, you know what, this does affect our company, but, mr. president, keep going, you're doing the right thing. one of the pundits said that he's made a lot of promises and you won't believe it, but he's actually kept far more promises than he made. did you ever hear that one? >> those are just a few recent instances where president trump in public remarks has used anecdotes featuring anonymous characters to support his claims. joining us now from washington is white house reporter for "bloomberg," whose latest piece explores the unnamed mystery men that keeps popping up in trump's speeches. thanks for being here. did you ask the white house who

these people are? do they exist? >> yes, i gave the white house a week to try to come up with some actual people to verify that the president is not making up these characters. and they did not provide any names. i gave them all of the quotes that you just played and i said do these people actually exist? if there's a great ceo that supports the president's trade policy, that would be big news because most of the ceos have said it is hurting their industries, the u.s. economy. the president saying there is a great ceo who wants him to keep moving forward with the trade war, would have been big news. but they did not provide any information to back up the fact the president is saying this person exists but it's not likely this person is a public figure who has come out publicly yet. >> i was wondering if you can answer this question. president trump said he has kept

more prom promises than he's m. as a journalist, explain what that could possibly mean. >> it's hard to know exactly what it means. we've done some reverse engineering to try to find out where that quote first came from. the president said it in a gathering of republican lawmakers himself and it started playing on tv and three weeks later he said someone on tv said i kept more promises than i actually ever made and then back during that rally in july, he said it was a great pundit who said the line. it's not clear where the president got that line but he thinks it's a brilliant one and he's been repeating it on the stump for quite a while now. >> the president creating his own reality, susan. >> of course he does. i was just wondering if you looked at the membership rosters in the golf clubs because that's mostly who he surrounds himself with, so maybe that would be a lead as to who these potentially

real people are or maybe fictional people may be. >> it is important to point out the president does spend a lot of time talking with a lot of different characters, friends he gets on the phone, people who are members at his golf clubs. those membership lists are not public so it's hard to track those people down. he does get advice for people who are not in the white house, not in the administration. it's possible the president is just parroting things he heard from his friends. maybe he doesn't remember the names of the people who originally brought up the comments. but the president has a knack for sort of telling these dramatic stories that sometimes seem implausible and sometimes run afoul of the facts. we did give the white house an opportunity to tell us if there are people who actually represent the people who the president is referring to. but they did not provide any names for us. >> telu, what is it they say to you, when they don't come up with any names, do they provide excuses? do they just ignore the request? what are they saying? >> this is a white house press

shop that's in a tough place. i mean, a lot of times they're left out of the loop. a lot of times the president is saying things they can't back up. it's difficult for them to know exactly what the president is referring to at times. it does appear that they got the request. they said they were going to work on it. they said they were going to look into it. in part because i think they had trouble verifying what the president was saying. this is a fast-moving presidency where it's hard to track them down on a number of things. obviously, they have a number of different crises they're dealing with at any given time. omarosa this week. the whole issue of the military parade just came up. i do think they realize this is not a battle that they could fight so they decided not to respond. >> and this president of course relying on anonymous sources that he argues the media shouldn't use. of course the media is using anonymous sources that actually we do know exist. thank you so much for your reporting today. if you figure out who "jim" is,

the one who "likes paris," will you let us know? >> i will do that. security was heightened at the "boston globe" after the newspaper paper reportedly received a threatening phone call. an e-mail went out from the building manager saying authorities were taking the call seriously and security measures were added around the property. after the globe published an editorial pushing back at president trump for labeling the news media an enemy of the people. president trump criticized the paper for leading that effort, tweeting, quote, "the boston globe," which was sold to the failing "new york times" for $1.3 billion, plus $800 million in losses and investments, or $2.1 billion, was then sold by "the times" for $1. now the globe is in collusion with other papers on free press. prove it. the senate passed a unanimous resolution affirming that the media is not the enemy of the people. the resolution also reafirms

the, quote, vital and indispensable role that the free press serves and condemns attacks on the institution of the free press. >> there is the profile in courage. >> indeed. well, at least they did take some action. that's it for "morning joe." joe will be back on monday. kristen welker picks up our coverage. >> hi there, great to see you and happy friday. kristen welker in for stephanie ruhle. this morning, intelligence report. a growing list of former top intel and military officials pen a letter blasting the president's decision to revoke john brennan's security clearance. many republicans on the hill backing the president's move. >> mr. brennan has gone way over the line in my view and i think restricting his clearance, pulling his clearance makes sense to me. >> the president taking full use of his executive time this morning, tweeting about the postponement of his proposed military parade, after a report said it could cost n