or your 10th draft. ♪ ♪ you get to create the room where it happens. ♪ ♪ just don't think you have to do it alone. ♪ ♪ the powerful backing of american express. don't live life without it. good saturday morning, here is what we're watching here today at msnbc. washington is about to say goodbye to senator john mccain. as all americans remember his life and what he did for the country. >> he was a true definition of what it means to be an american hero and an american citizen. what to expect as two former presidents prepare to give

eulogies. and a new poll that shows t the impeachment process just got more real. we're going to start this morning with a love shot of capitol hill. you see the flag still at half-staff. he will be carried to the u.s. capital by armed forces. thousands have paid respects in the great hall, an honor reserved for the most revered public servants. senator mccain is just the 31st person to have a memorial at the capital. there is the washington national ka ahead to really. funerals and memorial services have been held for 21 u.s.

presidents. first he will go on a last ride. the final procession through washington dc. there stopping at the vietnam memorial and then moving on to the national cathedral. halle jackson joins us right now. what a ma just tick lo case for this final send off. >> yeah, you can probably see the line behind me, about 2500 guests will be in the washington national cathedral here. this is the second biggest cathedral in the united states. it has hosted state funerals, big national memorial services. and senator mccain, his casket will come here, the hearse will pull up right out here and the

ceremony will begin inside. you have everybody, a list of top names in washington, and there is a couple of things to be watching for today. first of all before, you mentioned this briefly, but it is worth noting here that after the motorcade leaves the capital, leaves the rotundra, cindy mccain will leave a wreath here. former president barack obama and george w. bush will both eulogize senator mccain. he asked them to come speak at his funeral, and 15 palbearers,

they all seem to say the same thing when they were asked to be part of the service, they say they were so touched. let me talk about another highlight, john mccain's daughter was publicly visible throughout, she will be giving remarks, she has been talking about her dads, at some points pushing back. she has been part of some of the most powerful images we have seen in the last week. not just in arizona been.

she was holding the hand of her grandmother, 106 years old. the rain has held off so far. you remember when the senators casket was pulled out of the hearse and the skies opened up. thousands of people came in, thousands of people that didn't know him wanted to pay their respected and they wanted to pay their respected to him when they were at the capital. they continued that processional line longer than they expected to because there was so many people that wanted to come say final words to the senators. it is the start of a morning that is expected to be powerful, emotional, and expected to be for people all over the country and the world. >> the symbolism of rain is cleansing and rebirth, symbolic.

halle jackson, we will be talking to you all morning as you are there for coverage. thank you so much. let's bring in abigail tracy. editor and chief e, what are your thoughts? >> just the outpouring of emotion, and i'm also struck by who is in the room and not in the room. i can't remember a time in my lifetime when you had a national outpouring of grief and the president was not invited. that is one of the ceremonial roles of the president. she to be the mourner in chief, and president trump is not in a great position to do that. it is kind of a striking on trast between this moment --

contrast between the man leading the country and the unity. >> the celebration that so much of it still represents today. >> yes, the ceremony today, i think it is really sending a strong message about bipartisan, and celebrating a figure who is larger than life in politics. and what his legacy is going to be moving forward. and as i said, you look at the context, and it is certainly glaring from a leadership perspective. >> and in other news, the president, he made some off the record comments that he made about canada, what happened there? >> i don't want to speculate too much. i will speculate a little. president trump has a history of talking closely with reporters and leaking to reporters. there is a lot of chatter that

maybe he was the slipped it. i tend to doubt that bloomberg would break their own agreement. they are the u kind of place that doesn't do that sort of thing. >> the washington post had a fascinating post about how they're not ready for proceedings at midterms, and the threat just got more real, what is that based on? >> there was a story in the washington post that said that the white house has not really made too much of a plan yet to deal with the i word as it is sbefred to, and when you saw the interview, he pointed to the economic success on his watch and the thriving economy as a reason for why impeachment is

off of the table, but when you look at the numbers, it suggests otherwise, especially if he were to take a drastic step like firing jeff sessions after the midterm elections. i want to say there was majority support. so if you look at something like that, you look at the approval ratings for robert mueller and then you also look at trump's own personal disapproval ratings. those spiked as well after the trial and after the guilty plea. the numbers were not really going against trump, if he was to make a move against jeff sessions like he said he is likely to do, i think the numbers will only get worse for him, and the threat of imbeachment is p looming large. >> and we're watching

popadopulous. he says his actions were out of misguided loyalty to his master. those are his words. >>. >> they're trying to keep him out of prison. it is really a slap on the wrist for what they say is an attempt to mislead. and the professor that went under ground, and the e-mails that were packed, in the note, they kept referring to him as george. so we will see what happens, the

sentencing is coming up on september 7th, but this could be the first major jail time for a figure involved in the russian scandal. >> we were saying an hour ago tu was one of the worst weeks for the president. quickly shoeing this headline here, one of of the statements from u it, saying he was out of his element -- >> yes, i think the saga is pretty interesting. originally they said he was just a coffee boy, and then he said no, he was a bigger player, so it is interesting to see his defense team go back to him

being way over his head. one of the more interesting things is that in the meeting he floated a potential putin and trump meeting, he says that sessions green lit it, and that they approved by nodding or something of that nature. >> thank you both very much on this saturday. a gop candidate refusing to back down after using a racist dog whistle. what voters will make of these tactics. your mornings were made for better things,

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now to the bark lash over controversial comments made by ron desantis. he is digging in on his warning to voters not to "monkey this up" by supporting gillum.

>> i am not going to apologize because i didn't say anything about race, it had nothing to do with race, it has to do with his far-left socialist platform. joe, i want to remind you and rick everyone of the remarks that were actually said, let's listen to those. >> he is a meticulous spokes man. >> we don't news to monkey this up and bankrupt the state. >> whether it was purposeful or not, how might we understand that there. >> i'm african-american, and

when i hear something like that, it certainly -- it sounds racist to me. why would you use the term monkey this up knowing that african-americans in the past have been compared to monkeys. i think if you're ron desantis, you apologize to the people of florida and put it to bed. people that run as governor have to choose they words carefully, and they ought to keep it on the issues. but when you use a word like monkey, you're always going to give folks a sense of a racist doing whistle. he needs to apologize and keep it to the issues from here going

forward. in an interview with halle jackson about what was said. >> he decided to pull a page from the trump campaign play book, i think it is unfortunate, but i will tell you this, i think it will be completely unsuccessful. people are really tired of this kind of race baiting almosts. >> what is your thought about his kmaents about potentially the tactic and strategy of desantis? >> if desantis -- what he should have done is recognize the words have meeting, and he has not done that. he should come out and say i didn't mean to say what i said,

but i understand they, juxtaposed against each other could look racist, then he apologizes and moves on. inextend you have this stupid comment and he will carry on the first days of his campaign with this news story that is carrying on. he needs to apologize and get beyond it. people in the republican party like joe and i have worked very hard to make the party attractive to minority voters and nonwhites. that's the only way the party can survive. you want to attract the people to your party so it can grow. >> and it is a reflection of the

fabric of america. that has certainly been, what i think you're saying, the strategy of the center gop. in context here, as both of you know, we're on a weekend, on a saturday, seven days from the day that we got the unfortunate and saddening word that senator john mccain had passed, and one cannot help but put that into the context of the way that words are used and how careful he was about words in many spaces, and the ones that we remembered very quickly, shall i say, last weekend, was that time in the 2008 campaign, joe, and we brought up many times when

one town hall goer said what about barack obama, and why are you not calling him an arab. and he quickly stood up. >> john mccain always made it about the country. i was so proud of john mccain, he said no no no, no ma'am. she a good a-- he is a good and decent man. she a good american, a good man, and that is what he was all about. he was about the country first, i love that he was able to say that even about an opponent. >> rick, ten seconds. >> one thing, his casket will pass by the vietnam memorial. i think his service here really pays tribute to a war that we didn't speak about and the people that fought in it and i'm very grateful for that.

>> thank you, that will do it for me this hour, i'm richard lui. chris matthews picks up our coverage from here. stick around. k around and he's all but confessed to them on fox news. no one is above the law, so we have to make sure this president doesn't use pardons to cover up crimes. if you agree that a president should not be allowed to pardon himself or his associates, join us at needtoimpeach.com. the washington establishment doesn't have the courage to act, but the american people can.

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i have been in my country's service since i was 17 years old. i have neither known or want any other life. i fell in love with my country when i was a prisoner in someone elses. ly reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. i have served america's cause. the cause of our security and the security of our friends. the cause of skpuecurity and eq justice. i'm the luckiest guy on earth.

>> the country is honoring john mccain's military legacy, public service, and the lifetime sacrifice of this american hero. good morning and welcome to this msnbc special event, remembering the life of john mccain. it is my honor and that of my colleges colleagues to honor this figure. this is a statement, the list of those invited to participate today was drawn up by john mccain himself. it's obvious message is communion. and those with whom he differed.

our common faith and our democratic government. for that graum has earned the tribute. he has been escorted every step of the way by men in uniform. and the plane with the united states of america on it's side. and the capital that is the center of this city. this man like those have that come before is today the center of our focus. there have been many days when the spirit of our republic has fallen short. this morning john mccain will depart the capital stopping along the way for his family to pay tribute at the vietnam

veteran's memorial. from there it is on to the national ka ahead to really for his funeral. >> those of us that have known john mccain interviewed him and reports on him over the years will be with him and you every step of the way this morning. we begin our news with kacie hunt, it is so great to be with you this morning, i think we're all so proud to be here. >> chris, absolutely we are proud to be here. and i did cover him for a dead ache here at the united states senate, it is not a overstatement to say that this place will simply never be the same again without him here. he was, and some people have shared their remembrances, and for us in particular, he loved talking and yucking it up with the reporters in the hallways,

on campaign planes, and he really believed in the role of the press in our great democracy. so he had his office here at the capital for many years, not too far from the cram rome r camera would broadcast. he would usually make fun of you and then give you a chance to ask your question and he would try to give you an honest answer. and the events that he laid out for himself is just really stunning when you think about the symbolism. and the statement he is markiki the big statement about the values, how they stand in contrast to what feels, many days, like the small his final

message is trying to show what all of us believed the greatness of america could be. in just a few minutes the family is going to arrive here. you his casket come down here. started pouring rain yesterday as he entered into the capitol ahead of that ceremony. he has been lying in state ever since. members of the public who came to see him and pay their respects. it was a break from protocol that made their own statement. >> he asked chuck schumer to join