little bit on "morning joe." you can sign up for the news line, signup.axios.com. that does it for me. "morning joe" starts right now. >> it was one of those split screen moments for america. on one side, house speaker nancy pelosi and ushering in one of the most diverse lawmakers in history. on the other, president trump recommitted to the government shutdown over his demand for a border wall. just look at the imagery. it speaks volumes at the start of this new congress. but so do the policies for the economy, for congressional investigations, for politics, and for the very direction of where this nation chooses to go. >> it is quite a picture. >> quite a picture. quite a split screen. welcome to "morning joe."

>> the diversity in that donald trump press conference. >> you wonder, is it planned or wow. who knows. it is friday, january 4th. it's quite a day. with us we have msnbc contributor mike barnacle. >> he could have been in that picture if he had shaved off the hair on the side. >> thanks. >> not sure why donnie deutsch is here, but he's here. >> whoa, whoa. mika, we're way past that right now. that has not haepd in a long time. >> are you sure we're past it? >> we brought in the mediator and we worked through it. >> associate editor msnbc contributor noah rothman, washington bureau chief for "usa

today," susan meech. >> donald trump, let's show the picture of donald trump and the three bald guys behind donald trump. >> be nice. >> i am being nice. >> i'm sure they're very nice. >> i'm just talking about the image that he -- >> men's hair club. >> what was that about? >> that was very clear. i mean, you have four white men, you have four stoic, strong white men of a certain age, not smiling, by the way. look, this is all donald has left. this wall is not a wall. it is a let's keep america white again and basically he doesn't have the -- all the things he used to be able to play to, they're not there any more.

this is all he has left to say either the black man or the jewish man or the banker man -- you're not in position because of you, it's because of everybody else. that's all he has let me tell. just as what he did in syria back fires on him. >> donnie, you've really gone much longer than we expected to go. >> no. >> just wanted a quick chat. like ain i back in '72. just jab and back up. noah, there are hispanics, a lot of hispanics in the border guard. border patrol. but i'm interested, what an interesting decision by donald trump to have that imagery while history was being made on the other side of pennsylvania

avenue. what was your take? >> he was trying to demonstrate that law enforcement is behind him because he's projecting himself as the preserver of american national security. i am struck by how uniquely stupid this show of strength is for all sides. the wall ask was $25 billion. what the president wants is a display of defer republicans from democrats, once that he couldn't get from republicans. democrats have no interest in giving him a display of defer republicans. b a lot of people aren't making money behind this exercise in power play. >> so, susan paige, let's take a moment to talk about the history that was made yesterday with nancy pelosi being sworn in for the second time as speaker of the house. and in so many ways, it was an

incredible day for women. but i'm fascinated with the dynamic that is now set up between nancy pelosi and this president which i think could have pit falls for the president in the days to come as we deal with this shutdown showdown. >> you know, it's so interesting because donald trump, as president, has never had a democratic counterpoint with the kind of power that nancy pelosi will now have to both determine and shape his legislative agenda. also, to shape the investigations that we know are going to begin shortly, both into his administration and into his personal life in ways that remain to be, you know, fully explained. nancy pelosi has been here before. she was speaker for two years the last two years of the george w. bush at administration and she was tough with him in terms of the war in iraq. she was a big opponent of the war in iraq. but she also delivered for him. remember that 2008 bank bailout

package. nancy pelosi got that through the house for george w. bush. that is maybe the kind of balance we will see for this president. she now talks about george w. bush, a president she was very critical of at the time with more glowing terms in comparison to the president. >> and i think her experience as a politician and as a mother of five might help her in the days to come. let's get to the top story of the day, the newly sworn in speaker of the house, democrat nancy pelosi is scheduled to visit the white house this morning as votes to reopen the government passed the chamber late last night. one bill approved short-term funding through february 8th to allow more time for border security negotiations. five republicans joined all democrats to support in that vote. while another bill to fund the remaining shutdown agencies through the end of the fiscal year in september passed with

241 votes. 7 republicans joining the democrats on that one. the senate is not expected to take up either bill. before last night's vote, speaker pelosi gave her terms for what she will give on the president's border wall. >> is there any situation in which you would accept even a dollar for the wall funding to reopen the government for the president? >> a dollar? one dollar? yeah, one dollar. >> how high are you willing to go? >> you said a dollar. that's not your question. you said a dollar. >> the fact is, a wall is an immorality. it's not who we are as a nation. >> this is symbolic. donald trump doesn't feel like

he can back down, as noah rothman said. the democrats are in no mood to back down and why should they be? this is extraordinarily unpopular with the american people. 25% of americans, only 25% of americans think it is worth shutting down the government to give donald trump his $5 billion that he wants to build a wall or slats, metal slats or whatever he claims that he wants to build with that money. and as a fiscal conservative, i say do not give any politician $5 billion of taxpayer money just so somebody will be able to have a punch line in a political speech. as a fiscal conservative, i say that is an immoral use of taxpayer dollars, especially when we all know that, first of all, the wall is not going to work and, secondly, $5 billion is such an incredibly small

amount to try to erect this massive wall that, again, it's all a face saving device. and besides, for democrats, you've got a president who has been bragging about wanting to shut down the government for a very long time. he's shut it down. here is a clip that chuck schumer tweeted out last night and it shows how desperately donald trump has been itching for a government shutdown for quite some time. take a look. >> i am proud to shut down the government for border security, chuck. so i will take the mantle. i will be the one to shut it down. i won't bluegrass blame yame yo. >> a possible shutdown. i think probably if i was ever going to do a shutdown, this would be a very good time to do a shutdown.

>> the president telling politico that he would shut down the government. >> i would have no problem doing a shutdown. >> president trump tweet that he, quote, would be willing to shut down the government. >> even if we have to think about closing up the country for a while, we're going to get the wall. we have no choice. >> we'll close can down the country. >> the kwe donif we don't chang love to see a shutdown if we don't get this is if you have taken care of. then shut it down. we'll go with another smutdown. i would shut it down over this issue. i can't speak for everybody at the table, but i can tell you i would shut it down over this issue. believe me, we have to close down our government over building that wall. president trump tweeted saying our country needs a good shutdown to fix this mess. if there is a shutdown, i think it would be a tremendously

negative mark on the president of the united states. >> so, mike barnacle, the president has obviously wanted this for a very long time. told chuck schumer he would take full ownership of it. the problem is donald trump has been itching for a fight that only 25% of americans support, which means three in four americans do not support this. it's maybe one reason why -- the and i know you've seen the "new york times" article that mitch mcconnell is starting to feel a lot of pressure from senate republicans to start negotiating himself since the president is not negotiating in good faith. do we expect mitch mcconnell to step in in the coming days and weeks as corey gardner, susan collins and other republicans who are out in 2020 say no mas, this has to come to an end? >> well, joe, as you know, mitch mcconnell's principal objective is to have a functioning united

states senate which he needs as majority leader. i mean, in this situation, the president's political skills, if he ever had any, are nonexistent because he unwittingly has made this wall, whether you're talking concretes, slats, iron poles, whatever, he has made this wall more than metaphorically the foundation of his presidency and the foundation of his presidency is now, even in his own language, ask collapsing around him. and jeff mason, let me ask you with regard to mitch mcconnell and donald trump, what is your view based on your reporting, the internal dynamics in the united states senate where there are a host of united states senate as republicans who know this presidency is built on this foundation of quick sand, really, the wall. >> well, i think at this point senator mcconnell is offering protection to president trump by making very clear that he will not put up a vote or the bill

passed by the house up for a vote. that's essentially giving president trump a pass on not having to use the veto pen which would then, even more, get responsibility to president trump for not getting the government open again. that's an alignment between senator mcconnell and president trump. and we'll see how long mitch mcconnell is able to hold out. i mean, there is absolutely pressure now coming from others within the republican party, certainly in the senate for some people who are vulnerable in 2020 for this not to continue. at this point, we'll see if that pressure really has an effect on mcconnell, as well. >> here is donald trump, again, i don't know if he has posters around him that just don't tell him the truth about the political situation, whether he is delusional 24 hours a day. but here is donald trump talking about how popular this issue is.

that 75% of americans oppose. take a look. >> we're going to make it good. the people of our country want it. i have never had so much support as i have in the last week over my stance for border security, for border control, and for, frankly, the wall or the barrier. >> that is just delusional. you look at the numbers and it's just not right. mike barnacle said -- 35%, by the way, support the border. only 25% think we should shut down the government to get that $5 billion in border wall. but let's talk about defining conservativism down, in 1995,

1996, we conservatives shut down the government to get a dshg to force bill clinton a plan to balance the budget in suspect years. we ultimately succeeded and balanced the budget four years in a row. in 2013, the government was shut down by conservatives and they did it to push sequestration, to push fiscal restrain. donald trump is now shutting down the government over a fictional wall. it's going to cost $5 billion just so he has a political punch line. and as you have said time and time again, it's meaningless. how low can conservatism go that you base your presidency and congress follows along on a mythical law. >> it's symbolic, as you said.

insofar as donald trump represents a metaphor to a certainco ho cohort of people - does. but a strike at the heart of elites in washington, of elites in business, of elites in their lives or telling them that the things he they want can be done, they're silly, they're nonsensical, and generally donald trump represents a rebillionon in that. insofar as that symbolism prevails, whatever the president wants, whatever he's asking for is representative of what they want and what they are asking for. and when mitch mcconnell is facing in the rebellion of these republicans is really quite significant. if republicans forced donald trump to abandon this pledge, he would be a politically neuter entity. and i think that would go down, frankly, more to his benefit because his base would rally to him and rebel against republicans and force republicans into an even worse

situation in 2020 as their base of support erodes and loses enthusiasm. so this is a politically difficult situation for all republicans, the president and all republicans around. they are in a box of their own making and i don't see an easy way out of this for anybody 37. >> but, mike, this isn't rebellion against the elites. this is rebellion against reality. you have a $22 billion national debt that is going the cripple this economy. we have entitlement programs where the numbers just don't add up. god save the next generation of retirees because the money is not going to be there. we have deficits exploding. and you have -- if this is symbolic, i mean, maybe a lot of people in the streets of paris thought that they were rebelling against elites. what they were rebelling against was reason, was rationality.

where you have macron trying to bring a 40 hour work weeks and economic reforms to france so they can compete in the 21st century. here, you have an entire party, an entire political movement throwing themselves upon the barrier. among the barricades for imaginary wall. >> joe -- >> for symbolism. it is so extraordinarily irrational and so anti-conservative because from russell kirk to william f. buckley to ronald reagan, conservatism was always supposed to be about a connection to reality. what's real, what works, what stops us from being swept up in mindless ideology. >> well, let's set ideology and

principled conservatism to one side and let's stick with donald trump and his wall. and let's ask ourselves, as something the president has clearly never even thought about is what does it say about the strength and real devotion of his supposed base if they would walk away from him if he doesn't get $5 billion for a wall? he fears they would walk away from him? boy, that's some strong base that he has got there. they flee because he can't get $5 million for a foolish wall? susan paige -- >> yeah, done. >> go ahead . >> no, no, i was just going the ask donnie the question, but why don't we ask susan paige. i thought donald trump said he could shoot somebody on fifth avenue and get away with it. he can't even get away with rush limbaugh and ann coulter being

upset with him for 15 minutes. >> just weeks ago donald trump was willing to sign a short-term funding deal for the wall and then he got criticism from talk show hosts. it seems to me there are only two ways out of this. one is that president trump declares vick fotory, accepts something tore border security and moves on or he gets a big deal that would include protection for the dreamers along with funding for the wall. that's a deal that a while back the democrats were willing to take. but beyond making it much bigger or folding, i don't see a way out of this. >> you know, donnie, part of this is fascinating when you consider trump's background. he's a showman. he's not a politician, really. he's not a developer, really. he's a showman. and the wall, in his essence, in

his mind, in his life, is basically like one of those applau applause sitcoms, you have the signs, applaud now, laugh now, that's what the wall is. >> everything is a game. the irony of this wall is he shut down the government because -- on a broken promise. mexico was supposed to pay for this wall. so he ran for years saying i'm building a wall. we're not paying for it, mexico is paying for it and now he's shuttings it down because we're not going to pay for it. he will go a week, a month, six months, and he will swirl down the drain with this wall. i was coming back into the country and there was a guy in customs and i said, how are you doing? oh, you know. and you forget. he's a human being. 800,000 people that are not getting paid. it's not a number. it's guys coming to work. it's women coming to work. that base that we continue to

say is nonerodible -- that's probably not a word. at some point when people start to see the jobs are not coming back, the economy is not going in the right direction, at some point people start to think about themselves. >> jeff mason, how does the president get out of this? how does the president move forward? >> it could move forward a little bit today. the president is scheduled to meet with democrats and republicans from congress at 11:30. and so they will continue negotiations today. they suggested perhaps napsy pelosi would be willing to change her position once she had the confidence of having that title of speaker. but i think speaker pelosi made very clear yesterday that her

position is not going to change at all. she's drawn a line in the sand. the republicans and the white house have drawn a line in the sand. so which side is going to move? is there any middle ground that the $5 billion president trump is demanding for a wall and border security? we'll see if they make any headway on that at 11:30 today. but it does not seem like either side is willing, at least at this point, to say yeah, we'll give up what we've been demanding. >> thank you so much. we appreciate it. it would be so hard for democrats to enter into any deal with donald trump. he's promised in the past that he was going to work with them and agree to whatever deal they agreed to. steven miller told the president that he couldn't take that deal. another deal was put out there

two weeks ago. it would be funny except for the fact that we have 800,000 americans right now that of aren't getting their paychecks and the situation is grim for so many of them. still, the president is concerned about talk show hosts and them being angry at him. donald trump promised us thousands of times during the campaign that mexico was going to pay for this wall. we can get you the clips. over and over again for a year and a half. we're not going to pay for a dime. mexico is going to pay for the wall. so it is bizarre that we're having this discussion because donald trump has failed miserably in that part of the promise. he couldn't get mexico to pay for the wall, so now he's trying to make you pay for another broken campaign promise. before we go to break, really

quickly, because i know we're going to have more time for you to talk about this later this morning, but what were your thoughts yesterday as you saw nancy pelosi and others getting sworn in? >> i got chills every time i turned the television on. she had her children and her grandchildren around her. i kept saying this is a step forward and in many ways, a huge opportunity to follow her lead. and we'll talk more about that coming up. also still ahead on "morning joe," this week the president defended the soviet union's 1979 invasion of afghanistan. we now may have a better idea where that came from. we'll explain it. plus, one democratic presidential contender from 2016 says he won't run again, while another is reportedly issued consideration to join the trump

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to crystal clear hd video monitoring from anywhere. gig-fueled apps that exceed expectations. comcast business. beyond fast. people are still trying to figure out what was behind president trump's statement in support of the soviet union invading afghanistan. russia. the reason russia was in afghanistan was because terrorists were going into russia. they were right to be there. >> it turns out that opinion of the soviet's decade-long war

which was opposeded to party lines in the united states and across the western world is currently being promoted by the kremlin. russian dissidents wrote that putin's government is attempting to officially rewrite its own history with a resolution that wrongly calls the war in full accordance with the norms of international law. writing in the atlantic, former bush speech writer asked why is trump spouting russian propaganda? and the wall street editorial writes right to be there? we cannot recall a more absurd statement by an american president. they stayed until 1989. the soviet invasion of

afghanistan was a defining event in the cold war making clear to all serious people the reality of the communist kremlin's threat. mr. trump's cracked history can't alter that reality. and, joe, look, i just think it might be worth considering that it is time to not just call him ignorant, but to see that there is dots to be connected here. >> i -- i am almost utterly speechless. i will go with what the "wall street journal" said, that this is the most ignorant statement in history by any president, it was a misstatement. and it was just insanity. ly let me go to you, mike barnacle. you and i are old enough to remember 1979 and the shock

waves that it sent across not only america, but the world. jimmy carter actually didn't send our athletes to the 1980 olympics in moscow because of that invasion. and everyone, including the soviets, said at the time that this was in defense of the breshnev document. this was to stop a communist country from going out of the soviet sphere. you have donald trump parroting a rewrite of history that vladimir putin is now trying to push on the russian people. my gosh, this at least should be a footnote. in any robert mueller report on collusion because it is sheer insanity. >> joe, there is no doubt that donald trump is parroting the putin line here. and to keep it in house, the breshnev doctrine was

counteracted by the brzezinski national security adviser to president jimmy carter outlining what was taking place at the time and america's reaction to it. and america's reaction to it in part, the world's reaction to the russian invasion of afghanistan resulted in what happened. >> yeah. well, obviously, the soviet union's isolation. i think kremlin's -- applies here, which is indictment enough that this is less malice and more ignorance. the president said the soviets went in to combat terrorists, which i think maybe he was thinking about chechnya and the collapse of the ussr, he seemed to blame, as a result of the material pressures that related from the bleeding in afghanistan that had nothing to do with that. it was a result of military expenditures that are more focused in europe and containing nato and having very little toad with the bleeding in afghanistan although that was part of it and

then the union treaty in 1990 was more a result of political malaise and the pollution of the european satellite states. it's just that the president has no idea what he's talking about. but that was disturbing enough in and of itself, that the president has little intellectual curiosity about one of the most pivotal moments of the century is -- >> let me ask you here, you've studied the cold war history. barnacle and i were living through it. i studied it for foreyears in college. it has been an obsession of mine for some time. as any good conservative would be obsessed with bringing down the evil empire, so to speak.

but i have never once heard anybody attach that invasion to terrorism. can it really be ignorance when this lines up with what we read in "the washington post" just a month ago that putin was trying to rewrite history and make it about terrorism? >> it's such a fringe belief within the kremlin's circle. this is revisionism that sort of just sprang up. that is you sort of gaining prominence. so to say that he is that plugged into that kind of thinking within russia suggests that there is a very narrow pipeline between this president

and some marginal elements within russia. that is sort of hard to imagine. >> vladimir putin believes it. and what vladimir putin believes, actually, is dominant. and it's somebody that donald trump has been kowtowing now to for years. >> there are efforts to rehabilitate efforts like the invasions of afghanistan, hungary and czechoslovakia. but there is a incorporate visual effort over this still. >> the fact that he's going into such detail, it's the opposite of ignorance. this is not an accident.

he does not stumble on even to false facts. there's too much detail in there. >> well, he had the meeting in warsaw with putin this summer. no american note taker was present in that meeting. that is something that trump would remember. he's talking about things that putin talks about. >> yeah. it was helsinki, by the way, and you're exactly right. that is -- mika, that is exactly what donald trump would do. and also, it was in "the washington post" last month, i'm sure that either he read it or somebody else read it, but chances are good, again, the in those private conversations, trump is saying i want to get out of afghanistan and putin -- who knows. maybe putin said, well, boy, we had to have there because of terrorism and look what happened

to us. >> he's helping him out again. up next, happy friday himself, mike allen joins us with new reporting from axios on why 2020 should be dirchbtd for women. we're back in a moment. women. we're back in a moment a little anxious sometimes. these days we all feel so i'm partnering with cigna, to remind you that how you're doing emotionally affects you physically. go for your annual check-up and be open with your doctor about anything you're feeling. physically, and emotionally. body and mind.

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as the 202 presidential field begins to take shape, some democrats are starting to throw their support behind potential candidates. while former maryland governor and democratic presidential candidate martin o'malley shot down speculation that he would run for president again, he's instead hoping that beto o'rourke will run for the race. o'malley listed the reason why he believes the former congressman is the person to, quote, bring us together and turn us around. meanwhile, senator dianne feinstein has another 202 presidential contender in mind and it's not a fellow california senator. feinstein said yesterday that she believes joe biden brings a level of experience and seniority through to the table through his previous work on the judiciary committee and as the

former vice president. new york governor andrew cuomo recently backed joe biden's prospects, saying that he has, quote, the secret ingredient you would need to win for a democrat, which is credibility. joining us now, mike allen. >> hold on. how are you doing today? >> first thing st first, happy first friday of 2019. >> there you go. now we can talk about the one big thing, mika, this morning. >> so the one big thing this morning is why 2020 should be different for women running for president. tell us why. >> they say with multiple women running for president for the first time, there's a big hope that the women will escape some of the sexist troupes women have faced in the past.

with it not being just one woman running against the male presidency with multiple women out there, it's more likely to be about what you bring to the bring job than a character of ambition. >> makes sense. susan paige, i do think strength in numbers helps. and i do think we're seeing some women ascending to power now who have worked for quite some time. they have been in the game for decades. which really helps. it's not just, you know, that one newcomer that broke through. there is a sense of us now. >> you know, i think that's true. i think there is a much greater willingness, also, to push back on stories like is she likable enough to be president, which is, by the way, not a question we hear asked about the male candidates or running for president. but i think it would be a mistake to assume that attitudes are changing. attitudes are deeply set about

whether a woman can speak up and not be seen as shrill or unlikable. i think it's helpful to have women candidates running or helpful to have women in power as nancy pelosi will be. but i think we're in a new golden age where women are not going to face some of these questions. >> it makes sense, mike allen. to an extent, though, i think men -- i'm just being blunt here. men get some of that, too. i've heard -- gosh, i guess i'll just say it. certain male candidates, he can't win because he's not six feet tall or because he has a certain type of voice. i've heard these things. had i don't know we're playing fair because men get those

criticisms, as well. >> it's a huge part of any candidate breaking through, male or female. but it's the tone of some of the criticism. things change slowly as susan just alluded to. questions about likability already for elizabeth warren. there's a story on the front page of her hometown paper, "the boston globe" today about the likability. she diffused that cleverly with a tweet where she says i hear that female candidates are most likable in the quiet car. >> that was funny. i saw that. >> we're talking about branding and we're talking about getting out there, whether you're a woman or a man. so much of this is going to come down to whether you can stand up to donald trump and whether you can pound him rhetorically on

the stage. because everybody is going to be thinking, is there a democrat. as they stand across the debate stage with donald trump, who is going to do the best job. and it's never really an easy answer. no one would have guessed that george w. bush, what he did at the time, nobody would have guessed that margaret thatcher would have absolutely torn all her competitors to shreds the way she did in 1979. but she did. i don't think it has anything to do with likability. i think it has everything to do with who can beat donald trump. >> it's not likability, it's strength. and it's not gender. i'm going to take two women and put each one of them up against donald trump. elizabeth warren, nancy pelosi.

nancy pelosi can punch. there's a gravitas. i don't see it with warren. donald trump's core essence, his core brand attribute is strength. if you don't have strength, it's not happening. >> part of it is on us, the media. elizabeth warren is peppered with tv pundit after tv push yitd talking about her likability factor. right out of the starting gate, the only question for elizabeth warren, male and female, isn't likability. it's are they credible. what is your record? not likable, but credibility.

>> she's credible and she's been on the national stage for quite some time now. she's that have been defined as shrill. she's working on all the things that men work on as they develop their stature and credibility on the national stage and it is going to be a big reset for her, and i believe she's got the strength, the warmth, the confidence, but also the experience and the mistakes to step up and really make a case for credibility. >> we'll agree to disagree. >> let's bring in two other names, too, susan page, you've got kamala harris, who's about as tough as anybody can be, a prosecutor, an attorney general in the state of california. she not only had to deal with the politics of northern, some of the progressive politicians in america and constituency, but

also with some pretty conservative cops in los angeles, and in southern california. and then you have amy klobuchar, also a very very tough woman. >> absolutely. >> but sort of a quiet strength, too. so i think people writing stories need to understand that when you talk about toughness, it's not just the person who can shout into the microphone, wave their arms and point to donald trump, sometimes it's that quiet, tough strength that we saw with amy klobuchar during the kavanaugh hearings. >> interesting, too, both of the women you mentioned, both of them credible presidential candidates come from a law enforcement background and worked as prosecutors and i think that's great training for politicians in general and perhaps for women in particular because it enables them to project that strength that donnie was talking about that is reassuring to voters, makes them able to visualize this person as the executive who is leading our

country, and a third name to also mention, kirsten gillibrand, also a credible female contender for the presidency. we have never had a field like this before with more than one woman who you could see credibly being the nominee. >> susan page, thank you, mike allen, thank you. coming up, we're talking about democrats but the president's allies are reportedly nervous about donald trump getting primary. the ap's jonathan lemire joins us with his reporting. we're back in a moment. with hi. we're back in a moment my experience with usaa

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u.s. stocks are hoping for some relief this morning after another day of massive drops following apple's warning over the impact of president trump's trade wars. the dow shed another 660 points, nearly 3% yesterday. the s&p 500 and nasdaq were down about 2 1/2 and 3%. the latest hit comes after apple said it was cutting its earnings

guidance as a result of the president's trade war with beijing. technology stocks as a whole sank 5%, marking the sectors worst day in seven years. a key gauge of u.s. manufacturing also came in weak for last month, heightening investor concerns about slowing global growth. amid the fallout over apple's move, a top economic adviser to president trump acknowledged that the trade war is damaging u.s. businesses dealing with china. still ahead, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has vowed to block legislation passed by house democrats that would end the shut down without money for trump's wall. but now he's starting to feel the pressure from members of his own party. will we see movement today? "morning joe" is coming right back. "morning joe" is coming right back last time.

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hey, can you spot me? come on in! find your place, today, with silver sneakers... included with many medicare advantage plans. call the number on the screen now or visit getsilversneakers.com two months ago the american people spoke and demanded a new dawn, they called upon the beauty of our constitution, our system of checks and balances that protects our democracy. remembering that the legislative branch is article 1, the first branch of government coequal to the presidency and to the judiciary. i'm particularly proud to be a woman speaker of the house of this congress which marks the 100th year of women having the

right to vote. and that we all have the ability and the privilege to serve with over 100 women members of congress, the largest number in history. >> welcome back to "morning joe", it is friday, january 4th, joining the conversation we have, white house reporter for the associated press, jonathan lemire, pulitzer prize winner, eugene robinson, and columnist and deputy editorial page editor at "the washington post," ruth marcus. good to have you all on board this morning, and gene, your latest piece is entitled, speaker pelosi will show trump he's not the only one with power in washington. you write it's only fitting after the past two years that the new democratic majority in

the house, led by nancy pelosi, debuts in a crisis republicans managed to create all by themselves. i wish i could predict that democratic control of the house will automatically make everything better. i can't, but for the first time trump will confront an opposition that has real power. all the frenzied tweeting in the world can't take back his self-proclaimed ownership of the trump shut down as pelosi calls it and as he called it. how much garbage needs to pile up before mcconnell seeks a way out of the impasse, how many government paychecks and subsidy payments have to be missed. trump will learn that government by tantrum doesn't always work. and more to the point, that he's not the only one in washington with real power. this is going to be an interesting show down for donald trump. >> well, it's going to be an interesting show down, and it is something that donald trump, for

the first time in his life, a man that inherited $200 million from his father, has never had anybody work for him other than yes men and yes women. he, for the first time in his 72 years, he confronts people who can tell him no, and he comes to it in an extraordinarily weak position where he has bragged about a shut down that he brought about by himself. >> right. this is really a crazy situation. he painted himself into this corner. he said, i'll take the mantle for the shut down. he claimed it, claimed ownership of it, and engineered it. i mean it really is extraordinary. i don't think there's been another example of one party controlling the presidency in both houses of congress managing to shut down the government somehow. that was an extraordinary achievement on the negative side. but look where we are now.

i mean, you know, yes, trump confronts somebody who can tell him no, and that's exactly what nancy pelosi is saying, so the question is how do we get out of this, and you know, i could write a script that would fit normal times in which the president would realize that he's in a corner and look for a way out or republican senators relatively quickly would see that this is a no win situation for them, and begin to cave. but these are not normal times, and donald trump is not a normal person, so your guess is perhaps better than mine as to exactly how we get out of this worsening mess. >> ruth marcus, i see absolutely no reason why democrats should pay a dollar for what donald trump calls a wall. it's not a wall. even lindsey graham and everybody around him says it's

not really a wall. it's about border security. donald trump says it is about a wall that he's willing to shut down the government because of the wall. so donald trump himself gives the game away. this the a $5 billion waste of money, so he can have a political punch line in 2020. why do democrats give him a dime for that? >> i don't know why they would give him a dime for that, and the extraordinary thing about where we are now is that donald trump is negotiating himself into a worse position than he was a year ago or earlier when in exchange for other things, democrats were willing to give him some money for his wall. >> right. >> so he's in this terrible position and it's only getting worse, and let me just tick off a few things here. first of all, as mike allen pointed out earlier, a week from now we're at the point of the longest shut down in history. okay. does he want to own that?

yesterday nancy pelosi invited him to give the state of the union address on january 29th. is he going to come to congress in the midst of a government shut down? that doesn't seem like a sensible thing to do, so that ratchets up the pressure on him, and then as gene alluded to, we're starting to see, starting to see anyway, some cracks in the republican senate ranks, cory gardner of colorado and susan collins of maine are breaking with the party. what is senator mcconnell going to do? there has to be a way out of here, even though as gene points out, the president has managed to paint himself very firmly into this corner. >> well, and he's painted his party into a corner, only 25% of americans support the shutting down of the federal government for donald trump's quote wall, for his fraudulent wall.

only 25% of americans. maybe some house members and strong red house districts can withstand that pressure. i don't know a whole lot of united states senators who can, so i think whoever said the senate probably will buckle first, the republican senate is right. jon th jonathan lemire, let me ask you, i know you have been very because, you have written stories. i know you're preparing an article for saban's immediate filing by three touchdowns, and of course, cora, if he doesn't win every game in spring training he has to go, but all that inside, what is the feeling inside the white house, do they know they're cornered? does everybody know the president's cornered and are they desperately trying to figure out a way out of that corner? are there actually some people other than steven miller who like exactly where they are? >> yeah, i took a pause from my

writing of coaching obituaries to do some reporting this week about the white house, you saw yesterday the strange moment when the president came into the briefing room, his first appearance behind the podium, sort of symbolic of the frustration people are feeling about this. the president time and time again caters to the base, and he sees this as a winning issue for his base. we can debate whether that's broad enough support for him going forward, in terms of what he thinks, that's what he cares about, and he was moved and frustrated by even some of his media allies on the right, rush limbaugh and others telling him don't cave on the wall, make sure you fight for this. he has seen the media coverage and the polling very much turn against him in recent days and weeks, and yesterday was an effort to change the subject amid all the coverage of nancy pelosi taking the speakership and the democrats regaining control of the house, had bursts into the white house briefing room surrounded by border agents and again makes his case for the wall.

mind you, he takes no questions while there. >> right, mike barnicle, i understand politicians playing to their base. at times when i was in politics, i played to my base. every politician plays to their base. that's why they're called their base. here, the base is 25%. i know we're showing a poll that says 35% of americans support funding for the wall, but only 25% support donald trump's shut down over the wall. that's a radically shrinking base. i go back to these senators who have to run statewide. they can't hide themselves in, you know, a deep red congressional district. they've got to go statewide. how long do they hold out on this as 25% turns into 20%, turns into 15%? >> well, joe, that's the point, i think. i mean, i think the 25% estimate

might be a bit generous, and i think it probably is shrinking in the wake of the president of the united states literally handcuffing himself to one issue in terms of substance to hold up his administration. the wall, there's another interesting element that has to do with his base with the country, with the present congress going forward, and it was the snapshot of the picture yesterday of the house of representatives. in the 21st century, one side of the aisle, the democratic side of the aisle, that class portrait actually resembles the united states of america. the other side of the aisle, the republican side of the aisle, that snapshot resembles the 1952 duluth, minnesota, chamber of commerce. it's largely old, largely white, largely gray. so the immediate future, and the long-term future of the republican party i think might be in some jeopardy given the

lack of their wide enough base to sustain success. >> well, yesterday senate majority leader mitch mcconnell had this message to the new democratic house majority. >> we know that the senate with the republican majority is fertile soil for big bipartisan accomplishments. the question is will the newly democratic house join in this good momentum or bring it to a standstill. it's a clear choice and it will be clear to the american people watching all of this at home. good governance or political performance art. the public interest or political spite. policy making or presidential harassment. >> gene, that really is rich, mitch mcconnell, lecturing anybody about bringing the wheels of government to a

grinding halt. >> i think his word was standstill. how long was his standstill over merrick garland. >> yeah, how long was the standstill over merrick garland, how long did it take him after barack obama took office to announce that he wasn't going to do anything the president wanted to do. i mean, it was just absurd, so he raised obstructionism to a new art form. it's just astounding that he would say that but of course everyone counts on the american people having the political memory of a gnat these days, so i guess they assume that nobody would remember. you know, one dynamic that's happening in this shut down that we shouldn't lose sight of is, you know, people say, well, it's just a quarter of the government shut down, it's a quarter of arguably the biggest enterprise

on earth or certainly one of the biggest enterprises on earth that has many many ramifications for constituents of those republicans and democratic senators and so, you know, the national parks are going to have to start closing, the smithsonian is already shut down. most federal workers don't work in washington so their constituents are not going to get their paychecks. there are farmers who are looking for their subsidy bailout checks from the tariff war that may not get those next checks. there are people who won't get paid, and that ripples through the economy. this is going to start affecting people. it's already affecting people, but it's going to get worse. >> it's going to start affecting working class and middle class americans, farmers who look at the tariffs. you look at the government shut down, you see what apple did yesterday, and the impact that

had on stocks, the impact that's going to have on working americans 401(k)s. ruth, there are just a collection of policy decisions that are hurting not just working class americans and farmers but all americans and, you know, james fallows noted yesterday that we have seen a lot of stories about miners put out of work, that donald trump is fighting to get more miner back into coal mines. there are more workers affected by this shut down, more workers not getting a paycheck today than all the coal miners in america. >> indeed, and i think as this shut down persists that we're going to start to read these really heart wrenching stories about people who are unable to pay their bills, unable to pay their rent, unable to afford their mortgages, unable to rely on what we all should be able to

rely on which is a steady paycheck, and i think it's really important to put the ripple effects of that into the broader context of the economy and where it's going. the president has been very very quick to claim credit for a soaring stock market. he isn't quite taking the mantle to use his word of the rapidly sinking stock market, but that has real life effects on people who look at their 401(k)s diminishing, and diminishing, and diminishing, and then you have serious economists talking about the prospect of a recession or some other kind of slow down later this year. all of that and certainly a shut down is not the way to promote economic growth. so all of this just creates a big ball of mess for president trump and therefore for republicans in what is turning out to be a tough new year for

them. >> all right. meanwhile, just hours after getting into office, a video appears to show a new member of congress using derogatory language about removing president trump from the white house. michigan democrat rashida tlaib became the first of two muslim women ever to be sworn into the house yesterday. in august of 2016 when talib was a member of the state legislature, she was one of several protesters who interrupted an economic policy speech by then candidate donald trump. in an op-ed for the detroit free press yesterday, she called for impeachment hearings, writing his conduct has created a constitutional crisis that we must confront now, and in a brief video clip circulating on social media, she appears to have shared those feelings with explicit language while addressing a gathering held by the progressive group "move on"

in washington last night. >> people love you, and you win and when your son looks at you and says, mama look, you won, bullies don't win. we're going to go in there and teach them. >> nbc news has reached out to the person who posted the video and is seeking comment from the congresswoman. >> donny deutsch, my goodness, i don't know how much fox news prime time hosts would have paid her to say that, but that is what you talk, i mean, that's just playing into the hands of your political opponents and your critics, and also it is a reminder and this is something mitt romney learned in the middle of the 2012 campaign, there are always, there's always video rolling wherever you go because of phones. remember romney's 47% glitch that had a huge impact on his

campaign. that's what so many of these new members of congress need to worry about. >> joe, that's a lesson of whatnot to do. the biggest mistake the democrats can do is overplay. i would throw out that word impeachment for the next three or four months. go back to ruth's point. if we just start to show clips of people's lives being affected by this shut down, the department of agriculture's program, could be nutritional help to 7 million women and children who need help is in jeopardy. things like that, overplaying hands like that is going to backfire. that is a cautionary video of how not to play this. just let it play out, let the president completely, completely go down the drain by himself. keep your eye on the ball, what's best for people. >> yeah, and you know how old people like us always say thank god there wasn't social media when we were teenagers. i will say here, mika, thank god

there weren't camera phones everywhere when i was a freshman member of congress. >> it's so challenging. >> it is challenging but you do have to keep your head, and yesterday, though, let's talk about yesterday, mika. it was a remarkable moment. i was watching nancy pelosi being sworn in with you, and we were watching all the women on the house floor, and i was moved but boy, you were really moved and you kept talking about how this was such a special moment. >> it was a big moment on so many levels, you know, we always have the phrase a woman's place is in the house, the house of representatives, also the senate. also corporate boards. basically leadership roles across the board. that's a place for women now. because nancy pelosi, ascending to third in line to the presidency for a second time, illustrates much more than just a great moment for women. it's a message to all of us that we can't just focus. we don't have to depend on

anymore of the newcomer, we don't have to depend on the next fresh face on the horizon who still has a lot to learn or the one young exception. there is strength in numbers now, and this story is about a confident, accomplished, elegant, warrior. an example and an inspiration for women of all ages. it tells us that at 78 years old, with decades of service behind her, nancy pelosi's most important moments in her value and in her contributions to this country may be in the years to come. >> amen. >> as she goes head to head against donald trump. how awesome is that. this is a moment for women. a mother of five, a grandmother, a wife, all incredibly important roles, also speaker of the house. my only hope is that the dozens of newcomers to washington, the record number of women who have the guts to step up, who ran for

election and won, my hope is that they follow her lead, work hard, be measured, learn from mistakes because trust me, as someone who knows, you're going to make them. don't play to the crowd, as you just saw. your goal is not the pithy sound bite that gets clicks and buzz. it's not the magazine spreads. it's not the late night appearances, comedy central, whatever, it's not that. it's the long play. just like nancy pelosi, and i just say keep your eye on the woman with the gavel, and follow her lead. still ahead on morning joe, the president is reportedly considering a democrat to nominate as the next defense secretary. plus, admiral james tavritus is joining us to explain why trump's generals are abandoning ship. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. orning joe." we'll be right back.

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which enemy are you most proud of? . >> i would have to say the enemy soldier that threw the grenade that wounded me but he's not around right now to talk to. >> okay. >> that was jim webb during the 2016 presidential campaign. now "the new york times" reports that donald trump is considering the former senator to be the next secretary of defense according to three officials. webb, a naval academy graduate served as president reagan's assistant secretary of defense from 1994 to 1987 before becoming the secretary of navy. he later switched political parties and won a senate seat as a democrat in 2006 and was part of the 2016 democrat presidential field very early on. several of his views also appear

to align closely with some of trump's current positions, including being against the iraq war, being against the iran nuclear deal, and wanting to aggressively confront china. the white house has declined to comment on the report. joining us now former nato supreme allied commander, retired four star navy admiral, james, stavridis. >> so what is your opinion on the former secretary of the navy becoming the president cease sec def. >> what we need, joe, and you know this, is somebody who will stand up to the president. jim webb is somebody i have known for a couple of decades. i worked on his staff when he was secretary of the navy back in the reagan administration. i was a young officer navy cross winner in vietnam.

tough fighter, he eventually left as secretary of the navy over a matter of principle, deciding that the budget was insufficient for the navy ship building program. he is anything but a yes man. he's a centrist. i agree and disagree with some of his particular views but i think he's a strong, steady character who would do well on the job if the president would listen to him. >> so an issue that matters a great deal to many americans right now that actually matters to conservatives across the ideological spectrum, even those who have been traditionally supporters of donald trump has to do with the withdrawal of syria and russia and iran and a resurgent isis. where would jim webb based on what you know, what would jim webb think about cedeing syria

to putin and assad and iran and isis. >> based on my read of senator webb, he would be opposed to the troop pullout. i'm not here to put words in his mouth, but having watched him over many many years, he's a smart, pragmatic decision maker, like senator lindsey graham, senator tom cotton, other names you see floated, the first two have been very public about not wanting to see this withdrawal for exactly the reasons you articulate, joe. i would suspect senator webb would fall into that camp, and again, i think that's the right move, but more importantly, it's his propensity to speak truth to power that makes him very attractive in that role. >> admiral, there appears to be a slow down, at least rhetorically about the withdrawal of troops from syria. obviously republicans and some democrats believe it would be a disaster to do that. we're just reading the tea leaves here, can you tell us anything that you have heard about whether that withdrawal

from syria is actually going to be slowed down so we don't turn that volatile land over to russia, iran, syria, and isis? >> this is one of those issues where literally across the spectrum there's agreement that we should not be precipitously withdrawing from syria, joe, and so i think that message has started to penetrate even into the inner of the white house. here i give a lot of credit to graham who's emerging as a trump whisperer if you will at least on this subject, and yes, from what i can hear from the pentagon side of things, there is a slow it down, let's be a little more measured here, and by the way, same point you may have noticed a week, ten days ago, there was almost an announcement that we were going to pull out of afghanistan, pull 7,000 troops out which would be

at least as bad a decision as syria. let's hope the voices of reason are starting to make some progress. in that regard, joe, watch national security advisers trip. he's taking off, john bolton, taking off today to go to israel, and to turkey to sort of see and calm the region on the withdrawal piece. i think you'll see it slow down as a result of that trip as well. >> well, let us hope, i mean, and how strange that john bolton would be working for an administration that would consciously work to help islamic radicals and the russians and the iranians after you see all that he has written. his public life has been defined by not giving an inch to the very forces that donald trump would be helping and if lindsey graham is, by the way, the trump whisperer here on syria and stopping seeding that region to the iranians and isis to the

detriment of just about everybody, but especially israel, then god bless lindsey graham for doing that. let me ask you, speaking of russia, your thoughts about donald trump picking up the kremlin's line, vladimir putin's line on the invasion of afghanistan in 1979. i don't know a single foreign policy expert over the past 30 years that thought that was about terrorism, even the russians themselves said they were doing it in furtherance of the bresh na doctrine that somebody would never leave the sphere. do you agree with the "wall street journal" editorial page that donald trump's afghan history may be the worst misstatement on history in the history of the presidency? >> well, certainly one would think the advantage of a president in his mid-70s is that

he would actually remember those events. pretty striking, i think everybody around the table can remember pretty vividly this was really about the expansion of the soviet union and continuing to build buffer states around the soviet union and by the way, driving toward indian education, setting up pakistan. this was part of the great game of risk that was being played, if you will, throughout that region, so yeah, it's very strange to hear the president sort of take the side of the soviet union in opposition to ronald reagan, a figure i think we can all agree was one of real strength for the united states. it's as odd a misreading as one can imagine. >> let's finally, admiral, discuss your "time" column on why the president's generals are abandoning ships and we find it curious, actually, admiral that you would allow generals on your

ships, but why are trump's generals leaving is this. >> well, first of all, i do have to say as an admiral, i myself have been annoyed by generals many times over the course of my career, and i think the president has finally hit the point where he has significant personality disagreements with these generals who are sort of ramrod, stiff, in the best way that one would imagine, they are straight arrows, doesn't fit with the president. secondly, process, the military is very inclined to want to brief, to take time to make decisions carefully, the president famously is the go with the gut guy, that just doesn't fit, and then, joe, it's the policies. any senior military officer is going to stay in syria. get the taliban to the bargaining table. keep our troops in north korea, so many policy differences, so policy, personality, process. it was never going to be a good match for those generals and i

hope they all have life jackets as they jump over the back of the boat. >> admiral james sta. there are several other issues, they also plan to tackle in the new congress. we'll take a look at what's on the agenda with newly elected house majority leader ste steny hoyer up next on "morning joe." r up next on "morning joe. see a little blood when you brush or floss? you may have gum disease and could be on a journey to much worse. try parodontax toothpaste. it's three times more effective at removing plaque, the main cause of bleeding gums. leave bleeding gums behind with parodontax toothpaste.

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another attempt by some to mock democratic congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez has appeared to backfire once again. multiple social media users on the right shared a year's old video of her at boston university with other students recreating dances from john hughes movies. with ocasio-cortez taking a part in the breakfast club, they wrongly stated she was in high school, and instead of embarrassing her, the video went viral, the people putting the dance moves to other songs. it's not just this, conservative

news sites finds dozens of articles criticizing the 29-year-old democratic socialist, whether it was for borrowing a $3,000 outfit for a photo shoot or the income level and property values in the town she grew up in while wrongly claiming she went to an ivy league school instead of the public university she attended or attacking her for saying she was having trouble getting approved for a d.c. apartment while unemployed. aoc, as she is sometimes called, tweeted in november that republicans should listen to her arguments instead of drooling over every minute of footage of me in slow mo, a comment which breitbart turned into a headline. what do you make of this? i'm of two minds of it, but it is a great example of how the right sometimes can focus on someone on the left and overstep to a point where it gets ugly,

undermining quite frankly doesn't help either side. >> well, it's fascinating because she's gotten attention both from democrats and republicans and has really captured the public imagination with her youth, with her outspokenness. i think that from the point of view of the right, they have kind of rung the last political benefit they can get probably out of nancy pelosi. it was getting a little stale to be running against her. you're not going to be able to run against her in 2020 because there's going to be a democratic nominee, so i think to some extent, republicans are looking for the new pelosi, the new sort of, you know, instead of san francisco liberal, you can get new york socialist, whatever they want to turn her into, and be able to sort of use her as the new whipping person, if you will, to explain how crazy dangerous democrats are going to be. i think it's really, that's been obviously the instinct.

it's obviously, if it hasn't worked for them in the past, at least it's helped with fundraising and things like that. i think it's really important and look, jumping on that video was ridiculous. i wish i had been able to dance on rooftops like that in college, but it's really important for her and for others. we had that really unfortunate mother video earlier, just not to do anything that gives republicans and the right any ammunition to use against them. >> don't give them the ammunition. mike barnicle. >> be careful. >> you know, this is kind of an age old thing, the thing about aoc. we have seen it play out a million times, and it's not just now conservatives or right wing stuff or breitbart, it's conservative democrats and it seems to me it's the age old recipe of what happens when fear marries envy, which is what you get, an attack on a woman like this. >> i guess that's what it is, mike. i have been trying to understand it.

i mean, they have elevated the right. >> she's a star. >> really the right has elevated her to the point where we now call her aoc, right, and she has these initials, the shortened initials name which you don't get unless you're really a major figure and so she's become a major figure in our politics for the right. but she's a freshman congresswoman who has zero power right now, except as something of a spokesman for the, i guess, for the freshman class, or part of the freshman class for this new sort of wave of activists who have come into the democratic party, but they're all over the map. they're not all democratic socialists. she just has a lot of sparkle. she has a lot of that political x factor that makes people pay attention, and the right just

seems to have almost lost its mind about her. >> i would push back a little bit on that to say that the right didn't create alexandria ocasio cortez. she defeated the fourth ranking house democrat and became a fixture overnight. she appeared on many programs, and it wasn't the right that made her the phenomenon. they responded to that. i agree we should listen to what alexandria ocasio cortez says and not what she wears or what she said in high school. she says we should expropuate, a proposition offered by frederick engels in the 19th century. she says we can invoke the new deal every time to pay for programs upwards of $2 trillion and the fed will lend credit to that effect. what she says is quite enough to discredit what i believe are ideas that are of poorly founded

and we can leave what she wears in the halls of congress. >> he brings up a good point. it's a lesson, joe touched on this earlier. we're going to elect a president that's going to have footage doing a lot worse than that. today's generation, it's built into that. and you know, for them to not understand, it's one thing if you're cursing out that, oh, a girl dancing in college is a problem, they're going to have figure out this is a world that's grown up with this thing, and every single human being is going to have a history of stuff that is what it is. >> yeah. well, ruth marcus, eugene robinson, thank you both for being on this morning. up next, the new cover story of the economist is looking at season two of the trump show as the president begins to face the consequences of his own policies and behavior. "morning joe" is back in a moment. orning joe" is back in a moment my name is elaine barber, and i'm a five-year

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economist washington bureau chief here with the magazine's first issue of the new year entitled "the trump show, season two," which fakes a look at what to expect from the second half of this president's first term. the cover story reads, in part, this. donald trump's nerve-jiang jangling presidential term began with a second half with a federal government shutdown, a seesawing markets and ejection of reassuring cabinet members like generals john kelly and james mattis. programs the world will muddle through, luck is a slender hope on which to build prosperity and peace. i couldn't agree more. thank you very much for being on this morning. jonathan le mere from the ap has the first question for you. sir. >> your piece is very interesting. it's been noted the president

faced very fewer, ternal crises to this point in his term. going forward with the economy showing science of slow down, question of foreign policy moves, how do you anticipate this president with a cast of characters around him changing and some you write disappearing, how does he face this? how will he face wane real crisis comes? >> sure. we don't know because the future is uncertain. you are right, one of the most important points of this cavalier leader is to note what helpful conditions trump has had in the first half of his presidency. he's had a unified republican government. he's had a strong economy. rising markets, which he cares about a great deal. he hasn't had to face the geopolitical shock that you refer to. i guess it could go either way, if circumstances get more difficult. they already have, with the democrats taking the house to some degrees it got more difficult. we know he cares a great deal about the markets, as a mark of

his progress. i guess it is possible with falling markets, volatility, that he could feel more constrained, especially in his trade negotiations with china. however, we have all seen plenty of evidence this is a president who takes ill fortune personally, everything personally. he is prone to over react sometimes in unpredictable ways. i think we are particularly concerned how he appears to lash out in foreign policy, re, his announcements, which may not come out of everything, withdrawals of syria afghanistan, apparently to distract attention from a domestic political problem over the wall and the funding prices. crisis. that worries us a great deal. >> mike barnicle. >> so every successful television series needs the introduction of new characters and narratives every couple of

seasons in order to keep the narrative going and keep the narrative interesting to viewers or in this case voters so what are the odds that nancy pelosi is now introduced as a new character on the scene to balance off the principle character donald trump and what can we look forward to in that narrative? >> so i think that in this show trump remains the preeminent protagonist. i don't think viewers will lose sight of that, perhaps to his detriment. they may get wary of the show and exhaustive antics of this president. are you right, nancy pelosi, house democrats have already entered this drama. the effect of that could be positive. they may turn into a foil, a release valve for republican voters who are concerned about the president but want to be reminded and now perhaps can be reminded they don't like his

enemies either. so there is a danger for democrats that their new prominence emboldens and strengthens the president. but as i say, think that we would probably need to see president trump, you know, manage that situation by making himself a little bit less than the man of this drama. i don't think there is much prospect of that. >> to start thinking it will do that. thank you so much. the new issue of the eeconomist is on season two of the trump show, thank you so much for being on this morning. still ahead, we'll talk to newly elected house majority leader steny hoyer ahead of a new white house meeting today of the shutdown. stock futures are looking up ahead of two key factors weighing on the market today. a public appearance from the fed chair and the december jobs report, which we will have in the next hour. "morning joe" is back in a moment.

it was one of those split screen moments for america. on one side house speaker nancy pelosi, it was moving, ushered in the most diverse class of freshman lawmakers in history. on the other, president trump recommitted to the government shutdown over his demand for a border wall and just look at the imagery, it speaks volumes at the start of this new congress.

but so do the policies for the economy, for congressional investigations, for politics and for the very direction of where this nation chooses to go. >> it's quite a picture. >> quite a picture. quite a split screen. welcome to "morning joe." >> the diversity at that donald trump press conference. >> you wonder, is it planned or wow? >> i think probably not. >> it's friday. it is friday, january 4th. quite a day. with us we have msnbc contributor mike barnicle. >> he could have been in that picture there on the side. >> he could a. not sure by donny deutsche is here. associated editor. >> we are way past that. that has not happened in a long time. >> you sure about that? >> we worked out our differences, we brought in the mediators, i thought we were all good. >> no, donny, you told me this gets you dates, people feel

sorry for you. >> let's bring in msnbc contributor noah rothman and susan page and white house correspondent from reuters jeff mason and meika it seems donny does fit in here, as a good person to go to. i mean, no, donny, mr. legendary branding advertising guy. >> okay. let's ask a question. >> donald trump. let's show the picture of donald trump, the people behind donald trump. >> be nice. >> i'm sure they're very nice. >> i'm sure they're all wonderful human beings. i'm just talking about the mental image. >> men's hair club. >> what was that about? >> well, that was very clear, you have, i mean, you have four white men, four stoic strong white men of a certain age, not smiling, by the way, look, this is all donald has left. he has one thing. this wall is not a wall.

as the let's keep america white again and basically, he doesn't have the economy anymore. all the things he used to be able to point to and say, well, i'm a jerk but -- not that he says, i'm a jerk. we look at him. they're not there anymore. this is all he has left s. that one metaphor that one thing that talks that 39, 40, 41% base that says either the black man or the brown man or the jewish man or the media man or the banker man is coming to take your life. are you not in the position are you in because of you, it's because of everybody else. that's all he has left as the economy slows down, as what he did in syria backfires on him. that's all he has. >> donny, you are going on much longer than we wanted to go. we just wanted a jab and come back up. let's go to naia rothman, instead, it wasn't just about making america white again,

there are hispanics, a lot of hispanics on the border guard, border patrol. but i am curious, though, what an interesting decision by donald trump to have that imagery while history was being made on the other side of pennsylvania avenue. what was your take? >> yeah, i think he was trying to project the strength associated with the office. he was trying to demonstrate that law enforcement is behind him, because he's projecting himself as the preserver of the national security. i am struck by how uniquely stupid this entire exercise is. it is an exercise on face saving. there is no principle at play here. the wall isn't on the table. the whoo wall asked is 25 billion. what the president wants 4 billion. he wants a display of deference from democrats. one he couldn't get from republicans. democrats are at no, have no interest in giving him a display of deference. again, this is not about the

law. it is about politics, one upsmanship. a lot of people aren't making money in this exercise in power flip playing. >> susan paige, let's take moment to talk about history made yesterday with nancy pelosi sworn in nor the second time as speaker of the house and in so many ways, it was an incredible day for women. but i'm fascinated with the dynamic that is now sewed up between nancy pelosi and this president which i think could have pitfalls if, for the president in the days to come as we deal with this shutdown showdown. >> you know, it's so interesting. because donald trump as president has never had a democratic counter point with the kind of power that nancy pelosi will now have to both determine and shape his legislative agenda, also to shape the investigations that we know are going to begin shortly both into his administration and into his personal life in ways

that remain to be fully explained. noens pleas has been here before. she was speak ter last two years of the george w. bush administration against an opposition president. she was tough with him in terms of the war in iraq. she was a big opponent in the war in iraq. she also delivered to him. remember that bank bailout package, nancy pelosi got that through the house for george w. bush. so maybe that is the kind of balance we will see her try to strike with this president. she now talks about george w. bush as president. she was critical at the time. in more glowing terms in comparison to the current president. >> yes. i think her experience not as a politician, but as a mother of five might help her in the days and months to come. let's get to the top story of the day. the newly sworn in speaker of the house, democrat, nancy pelosi of california is scheduled to visit the white house this morning as votes to reopen the government passed the chamber late last night. one bill approved short-term

funding for the department of homeland security through february 8th to allow more time for border security negotiations. five republicans joined all democrats to support in that vote. while another bill to fund the remaining shut down agencies through the end of the fiscal year in september passed with 241 votes. seven republicans joining the democrats on that one. the senate is not expected to take up either bill n. a news conference, speaker pelosi gave her terms for what she will give on the president's border wall. >> is there any situation that you would accept even a dollar of wall funding for this president in order to reopen the government? >> a dollar? a dollar. $1, yeah. >> how high are you willing to go? >> no, you said a dollar. well, that's not your question. you said a dollar. the fact is, a wall is an

immorality. it's not who we are as a nation. >> you know a wall also is again this is symbolic. it is symbolic. donald trump doesn't feel like he can back down as noah rothman said. the democrats are in any mood to back down. why should they be? this is extraordinarily unpopular with the american people. 25% of americans think it is worth shutting down the government to give donald trump his $5 billion that he wants to build a wall or slats, metal slats or whatever he claims that he wants to build with that money and as a fiscal conservative. i say, do not give any politician $5 billion of taxpayer money just so somebody

will be able to have a punch line in a political speech as a fiscal conservative, i say that is an immoral use of taxpayers' dollars, especially when we all know that first of all the wall is not going to work and, secondly, $5 billion is such an incredibly small amount to try to erect this massive wall that again it's all a face saving device, besides, for democrats, you got a president who has been bragging about wanting to shut down the government for a very long time. he shut it down. let him get his votes from republicans. here's a clip that chuck schumer tweeted out last night and it shows just how desperately donald trump has been itching for a government shutdown for quite some time. take a look. >> i am proud to shut down the government for border security, chuck. so i will take the mantle.

i will be the one to shut it down. i'm not going to blame you for it. i will take the mantle of shutting it down. >> it's a possible shutdown if we don't get the money. i think probably if i was ever going to do a shutdown, it's a good time to do the shutdown. >> the president telling politico he would be totally willing to shut down the border wall funding. >> if it was up to me, i'd shut down government. >> i would have no problem doing a shutdown. >> president trump's tweet he quote would be willing to shut down the government. >> even if we have to think about closing up the country for a wall, we will get the wall. we have no choice. >> we'll close down the country. >> if we don't change it, we'll do a shutdown, it's worth it for our country. i'd love to see a shutdown if we don't get this taken care of. then shut it down. we'll go with another shutdown. i would shut it down over this issue. i can't speak for everybody at the table. i tell you i would shut it down over this issue.

would i shut it down over this issue, yes. believe me, if we have to shut down our government, we will get that wall. >> he said we need a government shut jo unto fix this mess. >> if there is a shutdown, i think it would be a tremendously negative mark on the president of the united states. >> so, mike barnical, the president obviously has wanted this for a very long time, told chuck schumer, he would take full ownership of it. i think most americans are suggesting he has full ownership. the problem is, donald trump has been itching for a fight that only 25% of americans support. which means that three and four americans do not support this. it's main one reason why i know you have seen the "new york times" article, that mitch mcconnell is starting to feel a lot of pressure from senate republicans to start negotiating himself since the president is not negotiating in good faith.

do we expect mitch mcconnell to step in, in the coming days and weeks as corey gardner, susan collins and other republicans who are up in 2020 say no mas, this has to come to an end? >> well, joe, as you know, mitch mcconnell's principle objective is to have a functioning united states senate, which he leads, as majority leader. i mean, in this situation the president's political skills, if he ever had any, are non-existent because he unwittingly has made this wall, whether you talk concrete, slats, iron poles, whatever, he has made this wall more than metaphorically the foundation of his presidency and the foundation of his presidency is now even in his own language almost is collapsing around him and jeff mason, let me ask you with regard to mitch mcconnell and donald trump, what is your view based on your reporting, the internal dynamics in the

united states senate, where there are a host of united states senators, republicans, who know this presidency is built on quicksand, really the wall. >> i think at this point senator mcconnell is offering protection to president trump you know by making very clear that he will not put up a vote or the bill passed by the house up for a vote. that's essentially giving president trump a pass on not having to use the veto pen, which would then even more give responsibility for it to president trump for not getting the government opened again. that's an alignment between senator mcconnell and president trump. and we'll see how long mitch mcconnell is able to hold out. i mean, there is absolutely pressure now coming from others within the republican party certainly in the senate for some people vulnerable in 2020 for this not to continue and at some point, we'll see if that pressure really has an effect on mcconnell as well. still ahead on "morning

joe," president trump often claims to have sweeping support from the american people, in actuality, it's around 30%. roughly the same number who support funding for his border wall. we'll break down that polling straight ahead. but first, here's bill kweerns a check on the forecast. bill. >> good morning to you, mika and joe. i know a lot of people in the east are wondering where is winter, in this week, it's in oklahoma, and texas, for a second day in a row oklahoma city for a snow day for all the schools and teachers and kid. they've seen four inches of snow yesterday. by the way, that's more than they've received in the last three years combined. a big deal there in central oklahoma so that storm is on the move. it's moving through atlanta and georgia. atlanta you are just about done, that's good news for you. is anyone flying in and out of charlotte, rain go etc. to d.c., not to the evening rush hour. they should be light. the middle of the country is fine today. west coast, enjoy the great

weather today. so your weekend outlook looks like this, saturday morning you wake up through the rain, philadelphia, new york city, boston, providence, hartford, the middle of the country looks great, here comes our west coast storm, we will get a lot of significant snow in the mountains. we need it. that's good news, that continues through the rockies on sunday. if you want great weather for your weekend, everyone east of the rockies is going to feel like march. beautiful conditions. 53 in d.c. 60s in atlanta. >> that itself your reward day for what will be a pretty ugly saturday in the northeast. looking at new york city, rain timing after midnight tonight. it will continue through the dinner hour on saturday. then you have a beautiful sunday coming your way. you are watching "morning joe." we'll be right back.

♪ [ dog snoring ]

baxter. it's bedtime. peace of mind should never be out of reach. [ voice command beep ] xfinity home. xfinity home connects you to total home security you can control from anywhere on any device. and it protects you with 24/7 professional monitoring. i guess we're sleeping here tonight. xfinity home. simple. easy. awesome. call, go online or demo in an xfinity store today. welcome back to "morning joe" with nancy pelosi stealing the spotlight, president trump

jumped in front of the tv cameras yesterday, he said things that weren't true and did nothing to change the dynamic in washington right now. >> the people of our country want it. i have never had so much support as i have in the last week over my stance for border security, for border control. and for, frankly, the wall or the barrier. >> well, and, noah rothman, that is delusional. you look at the numbers, actually, this concept is less popular than its ever been. i wonder what you think as a conservative about this, mike barnical said something fascinating in that 35% by the way support the border. 25% think we should shut down the government to get that border. to get that $5 billion in border wall. let's talk about defining

conservatism down. in 1995, 1996, we conservatives shut down the government to get a forced bill clinton to define a balanced budget in seven years. we ultimately succeeded and balanced the budget four years in a row. in 2013 the government was shut down by conservatives and they did it for a lot of to push sequestration, to push fiscal restraint. 2018 into 2019, donald trump is now shutting down the government over a fictional wall that will cost $5 billion just so he has a political punch line. as you have said time and again, it's meaningless. why his conserve -- how low can conservatism go that you base your presidency and congress follows along on a mythical law? >> well, it's symbolic as you

said and insofar as donald trump represents a metaphor to a certain cohort of people. he does. he represents not his governance but a strike at the hearts of elites in washington, elites in business, elites in their lives telling them the things they done cannot be done. they're unfeasible, silly, nonsensical and generally donald trump represents a rebellion against that. insofar as that prevails, whatever the president wants, whatever he is asking for is representative of what they want and what they are asking for. what mitch mcconnell is facing in the rebellion of these republicans is quite significant. if republicans forced donald trump to abandon this pledge, he would be a politically neutered entity and the -- and i think that would go down frankly down to his benefit, his base would what rally to him, not republicans, they would force

republicans into a worse situation in 2020 as their base erodes and loses enthusiasm. this is difficult for the president and republicans, they are in a box of their own making. i don't see an easy way out of it for anybody. >> mike, this isn't rebellion against the elites. this is rebellion against reality. you got a $22 tril national debt that will cripple this economy, cripple the next generation as we move forward. we got entitlement programs where the numbers don't add up. god save the next generation of retirees because the money is not going to be there. it is so extraordinarily irrational and so anti-conservative because from russell kirk to william f. buckley, to ronald reagan, conservatism was always supposed

to be about a connection to reality. what's real? what works? what stops us from being swept up in mindless ideology? >> well, let's set ideology and principled conservatism to one side and let's stick with donald trump and his wall. and let's ask ourselves, as something the president has clearly never even thought about is, what does it say about the strength and real devotion of his supposed base if they would walk away from him if he doesn't get $5 billion for a wall? he fears they would walk away from him? boy, that's some strong base he's got there. they flee because he can't get $5 billion for a foolish wall. >> coming up on "morning joe" in the words of president trump, russia was right to be in afghanistan? the kremlin couldn't agree more with him. >> he's actually spouting soviet

lines, actually even the soviets didn't say. >> he won't do anything putin needs him to do. >> putin is saying it now. he's spouting russian propaganda that no one in america has ever done. >> this is not ignorance, this is an unspoken or spoken deal. more on those surreal talking points from america's commander-in-chief. we'll be right back.

russia used to be the soviet union, afghanistan made it russia. because they went bankrupt fighting in afghanistan. russia. but russia should be fine. the reason russia was in afghanistan was because terrorists were going into russia. they were right to be there. >> well turns out that opinion of the soviet's decade long war which was opposed across party lines in the united states and across the western world is one currently being promoted by the kremlin. russian dissident wrote in the washington post last month that putin's government is attempting

to officially rewrite its own history with a legislative resolution that wrongly calls the war in full accordance with the norms of international law, writing in the atlantic former bush speech writer dravid fromme asks why is trump spouting russian propaganda? and an editorial board, right to be there? we cannot recall a more absurd misstatement of history by an american president. . i think it might be worth considering that it is time to not just call him ignorant, to

not just think he is ignorant of history. to see that there is line, dots to be connected here. it's obvious. >> i am almost utterly speechless. i will just go with what the "wall street journal" said. this is the most ignorant misstatement in history by any president ever. it was a misstatement and it was just insanity, but let me go to you, mike barnicle. you and i are old enough to remember 1979 and the shock waves that it september across not only america but the world, jimmy carter actually didn't sin our athletes of the 1980 olympics in moscow because of that invasion and everyone including the soviets said at the time that this was in

defense of the british neff doctrine -- britiowdock -- breshnev doctrine, you have donald trump par roddying -- parodying a rewrite of history vladimir putin is trying to push on the russian people. my gosh, this at least should be a footnote in any robert mueller report on collusion because it is sheer insanity. >> yeah, joe, there is no doubt that donald trump is parodying the putin line here and to keep it in-house, the breshnev doctrine was counteracted by the new bring zin ski -- brizin ski to jimmy carter that what was taking place to it. america's reaction in part the world's reaction to the russian invasion of afghanistan, noah,

resulted in what happened. >> yeah. well, obviously the soviet union's isolation. i think this is indictment enough that this is less malice and more ignorance. the president said the soviets went into combat terrorists. maybe he was thinking of chechnya. it had nothing to do with that. it was to prop up a soviet satellite government. the prop up ussr he seemed to blame the material pressures from the bleeding in afghanistan. it had photo do with that. it was military expenditures more focussed in europe and containing nato and the bleeding in afghanistan. although, that was a part of it. >> a drop in oil prices. >> the treaty of 1990 was sort of more of political malaise and the dissolution of the european satellite states. it's just the president has no idea what he is talking about. >> that is disturbing enough in and of itself. >> coming up on "morning joe," we'll bring you the brand-new

jobs report, what it may mean for a battered wall street. first a majority leader, congressman steny hoyer joins the conversation.

welcome back to "morning joe." mike born cal, donny deutsche, noah rothman and jonathan le mere are all back with us. joining us now is the now house majority leader steny hoyer of maryland. he is among the lawmakers expected to meet with trump at the white house today. so welcome to the show. what a day yesterday. congratulations to you all. >> thank you very much, mika. appreciate it. >> what do you expect to accomplish at the meeting at the white house today? what do hope will be accomplished? >> well, i hope we will open up government. that's what our objective ought to be. we provided a process which we can fully fund six of the bills

that were passed by republicans. they are republican bills. they talk about compromise. we have voted to pass republican bills that were passed out of committees and passed the united states senate almost unanimously. so that i'm hopeful that the president will say, okay, we will open up government. we have provided in a cr for the homeland security department 30 days in which to negotiate a resolution to the impasse that we have seen and for vice president pence to say they're going to keep the government shut down no matter what i think is a responsible and is hurting the economy. it is hurting the confidence of the american people and frankly of the international community. we ought to open up government. we have provided a way to do that. >> all right. hay, steny. >> yeah. >> always great to talk to you. >> hey joe. >> let's look at this from 30,000 feet. yesterday, obviously, a historic

day, it had to be a moving day for you as a democrat. what do you want the headline to say two years at the close of this congress, what the democrats in the house accomplished? >> that the house and senate of congress accomplished its work on time. it brought stability to the affordable care act. it brought drug prices down, it provided for retrading of our citizens to take 21st century jobs. it addressed climate change. it addressed the universal registration oversight of gun owners when they purchased guns. >> that we fix daca and we did a number of other this i think so to make the lives of americans better and their congress worked on time responsibly, reached compromises that were in the best interests of our country. that's what i hoped two years from now people will be saying. >> steny, let me ask you also, what areas do you see are

possibilities for compromise between you and president trump? what areas do you see as fertile ground to actually build a consensus with the president of the united states? >> joe, when you see what the president said during the campaign and he said, since he was president. first of all, in the campaign, he said he wanted a health care program where everybody was covered at lower cost and higher quality and i've said, he sends that bill down to congress, i'm voting for it. we ought to accomplish that objective. he says he wants infrastructure. with we want infrastructure. it creates jobs. certainly we ought to be able to reach agreement on that on daca when he withdrew the president's daca program, he said, look, it wasn't done correctly. the president didn't have authority to do it. he said to the congress, you send me a law to fix it and i will sign it. meaning this is a legislative

responsibility. well, he backed off on that promise as well. so that the key here is going to be is this president prepared to compromise and work together with us. we know we have to compromise. he's the president. we have to compromise, he has the veto. when we decided what we were going to pass to open up government, we took all republican bills, not one of these is a democratic bill. we didn't come up with new legislation of our own that we appreciated that was in you know were our priorities. we took the republican bills and said, shutting down government is a bad policy. you guys have passed these laws, okay, we'll vote for them. we'll send them to you. open up the government. then we gave four weeks to negotiate on how we make sure the objective we all support, that is keeping the borders secured can be accomplished best. >> congressman, you have been in business a long time. you have a lot of federal

workers who live in your district across the d.c. border. >> 62,000, mike. >> yeah. so you got a meeting today with the president of the united states, not your first meeting at the white house. not your first president you've had a meeting with. what is it like when you sit there with the president of the united states and you are sitting in front of a man that has no sense of the word you just used how to compromise? >> it's difficult. it's difficult. it's frustrating. it's disappointing. the president of the united states i said in the meeting yesterday, mr. president, i represent 750,000 constituents. you represent those same constituents and you represent millions more across the country. and their government serves them on a daily basis. we ought not to as a strategy as a tactic take hostage the government of the united states in order to accomplish our objectives. we're at a stalemate. we're a co-equal branch of

government. we don't believe the wall is a good policy. he believes it's good policy. we both believe we ought to make the border secure. surely reasonable people can come to an agreement on how to effect that objective without demanding of one another if you don't do something, we will shut down the government. the president said months ago, he would be, he thought a shutdown would be good for the country. he said and when he met with pelosi and schumer, i'm going to shut down government. i'm take responsibility. i'm proud to shut down the government. i'll show you. that's not the way to operate in a responsible fashion between co-equal branches of the government. we have a responsibility to the american people. we ought to get it. it's very, very frustrating when you have a president who not only seems very willful also ironically willful though he may be, he changes his mind within a 24-hour period a couple of times and as you know, the senate passed bills that the president

said he would sign before the last congress ended. when it came to the house, he said, oh, no, i will veto it. therefore the house didn't pass what the senate passed overwhelmingly. and that is very frustrating and very disappointing. i would hope the president would come to grips with leading responsibly and coming to compromise now in a different world than he came into. he came into an all republican government. he doesn't have that now. and it's in es to compromise. i will say this, his predecessors, with whom i worked, republican predecessors were able to compromise, come to an agreement there were no shutdowns under george bush. no shutdowns after 1996 with bill clinton. we went 17 years with no shutdowns. the republicans, have used this as a tactic. either because of the aca the affordable care act, the health care bill or now because of the president's wall, which he said,

of course, mexico is going to pay for. >> exactly. totally. >> we really look forward to hearing what will happen today at the white house. congressman steny hoyer, thank you so much for being on today. >> thank you so much. it's always good to be with you. >> great to have you. we're getting our first look at the december jobs report. it's a good one. we're going to dig into the numbers next. plus the president blames the historic december drop on the stockmarket on the democrats winning the house. we'll tell us his reasoning. we'll be right back. house. we'll tell us his reasoning. we'll be right back. so all... evening long. ooh, so close. yes, but also all... night through its entirety. come on, all... the time from sunset to sunrise. right. but you can trade... from, from... from darkness to light. ♪ you're not gonna say it are you?

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. breaking news now with the release of the monthly jobs report, cnbc sarah eisen has the number. sarah, this month like so many months it proves the way the federal government cal calculates the unemployment rate makes as much sense as donald trump's midnight tweets. a fantastic number and yet predi predictably the rate goes up. explain. >> let's go through the headline number, very strong jobs report. 312,000 jobs added during the month. may more than expected. it was broad, construction, all contributing. wakes were very good. they were up 3.2% from last

year, stronger than expected shows that thefive-month high. i'll tell you the explanation. more people are out there looking for jobs. because the labor force participation rate rose to 63.1%. that's the highest since september 2017. more people looking for jobs pushing the unemployment rate up. i got to say, it's a very strong number all around. that's why you shouldn't worry about that unemployment rate. i will also say, though, why is the market throwing a tantrum? we had another down 600-point day yesterday. tapping off the worst year for stocks in 2018 in ten years. because the market is looking forward. jobs numbers are notoriously lacking. if we see a slowdown, you tonight see it in the jobs numbers first. the job market is running hot hot hot. it's a very strong report.

it's something the president can tout. however if you look at more forward looking indicators like manufacturing numbers for instance, it tells a different picture. it tell alsos a picture of a gr that is slowing. look at apple. warning on its china sales. the trade war is starting to really catch up with these companies. that's why the market is so nervous about 2019. >> it's so interesting, i would -- and i know the fed does this all the time, but just anecdotal evidence for me. one of my supporters ran short-line railroads. i would always say, hey, how are things going to be in three months. he always seemed to know because he was shipping it ahead of time. so you're saying that these great jobs numbers may be a lagging indicator and we still may be having weakness in the sectors we've been reading about over the past couple months? >> absolutely. you're seeing it across stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities.

this picture of a groebl economy that is slowing, that is starting to infect the u.s. economy. to your point, joe, we talked to ceos on cnbc every single day. they say last year was great. it's about as good as it gets for now. the fiscal stimulus is slowly going to wane. the federal reserve has been raising interest rates, tightening policy. the dollar's been strengthening. so it tells a picture of really strong growth last year that cannot last. we wonder which kind of extent that is going to take place. when you have warnings like apple which can't really see that far ahead into the future in key markets like china, that's when the market starts to get worried. yes, jobs typically, you don't see that change in trend until much later. >> sara eisen, thank you. a new tweet miss ka.

>> the president tweeted a short time ago. there will be disruption to the financial markets. we won the senate. they won the house. things will settle down. they want to impeach me because they know they can't win in 2020. too much success. >> too much success. he continues. how do you impeach a president who was won perhaps the greatest election of all time, time, time. >> oh, boy. done nothing wrong. no collusion with russia. it was the dems. had the most successful first two years of any president. >> the greatest election of all time. he lost by over 3 million votes in some counts. maybe a little less than 3 million votes. he squeaked by. he's sitting at 35%, 36%. that's funny enough. but are there not many people including some in his own

administration who are concerned the government shutdown and these tariffs actually have been pretty good drag on this economy and the markets especially? >> i mean, joe, it was in a tweet so it must be correct. when the economy slows, when the market slow, they will point to votes because the democrats now control the house. like that will be the talking point. certainly we can all expect another tweet any minute touting the jobs report which just came out which obviously is very good. i suspect the president won't mention some of the indicators that suggest there could be a slowdown down the road. this is something they've been worried about for a while. they feel like that is far more of a threat to them then even mueller. then even some of these legal issues. that will be the moment where perhaps some base starts to slip away. you promised me my life will be better. if that starts to change, maybe that goes away.

there's even some around him who have become nervous about the mitt romney op-ed. taking steps to try to protect him from perhaps interparty insurgency. an e-mail from an rnc member who outlined steps pointing out that any republican incumbent challenge in the primary goes on to lose and there's some discussion but not much momentum yet to change the rules to try to protect trump from someone like a romney or flake or cassic who might try a primary. >> what a mistake that will be after many in the press and donald trump himself accused the democrats of rigging the process against bernie sanders. now the posasibilitpossibility. >> they rigged the process the last time. they didn't know they were rigging it for donald trump. you had the effort to sort of prevent that. the party front loaded the

contest in 2016. designed to make sure the front-runner would win earlier than they did in 2012. that front-runner was donald trump. he ended up benefiting from the rules changes. i suspect it will be difficult for donald trump to avoid a primary challenge only because he is such an unorthodox republican. it would be unnatural to come out and try to reverse or resort or exert some sort of influence over this party. >> right now, you know, donny deutsch, when people take polls of how many republicans seek donald trump, that is donald trump versus pelosi, donald trump versus schumer, donald trump versus the mainstream media. and wonder what those numbers look like when it's donald trump against nikki haley or donald trump against ben sasse or donald trump against mitt

romney. it will certainly be much tighter, won't it? >> it's interesting, his view of the history in afghanistan. he has a fuzzy view of history eight weeks ago. he is doubling down now on an immigration metaphor, the wall. he did a same thick with another immigration metaphor with the caravan. he lost by nine points in the popular vote. the greatest house loss since 1973. >> when does the cara vab gvan here? i'm still -- >> pitches and catches report. i think. pitches, catches and the caravan. >> so people on the rio grande are fine for now. >> february 8th. once again, you've got the caravan coming. big problem. >> and the caravan coming. mike, do you think in these days where the president has a

built-in protections that he has that this isn't going to be like mccarthy in '68. not like buchanan in '92. there isn't a republican that's going to be able to step up and challenge trump. >> no, i don't think so, joe. joe, you know, look, it's friday, it's almost 9:00, it's the end of our week. i'm sick of the tweets. i'm sick of him. i wish more people would reflect on the first line of the oath of office, to protect and defend the constitution of the united states of america. the president has done neither. he attacks the constitution of the united states on a daily basis. he is, ladies and gentlemen, sad to say, unfit for the office he holds. >> yes. >> well, i do thing, mika, there are many republicans -- i don't thing i know because they actually say it when the cameras

are turned off. there's so many republicans on capitol hill that believe the same thing. it will be fascinating to see if there's a republican that steps forward, that conservatives will be comfortable. they don't know if that is mitt romney. i don't know if that's nikki haley. if there is a conservative that steps forward that the rank and file are comfortable with, this could become a very interesting primary season. >> it is. right now, it's an incredibly interesting moment for women and for americans across the country as they watch what is going to unfold with nancy pelosi as speaker of the house. an incredible day yesterday as a record number of women were sworn in to office. she took the gavel for the second time in her career. something that hasn't happened in over 60 years. somebody taking the speakership for a second time. nancy pelosi is set to take on trump.

78 years old. a wife, a mother and a grandmother. she is breaking new ground for women on a very important level, based on experience, elegance and know how. >> what an extraordinary moment. once again making history. nancy pelosi. >> that does it for us this morning. chris jansing picks up the coverage. >> thanks, mika. i am chris jansing in for stephanie ruhle. this morning, day 14 on their first day as majority house democrats passed bills to reopen the government as the shutdown reaches its second week. the white house vows i s it's w or nothing. >> the president's made it clear, no wall, no deal. >> cracks appear in the republican resolve. two gop senators seek support for a