all right, that will do it for me this hour. i'm phillip mena. thanks for joining me. it is time for "weekends with alex witt." >> if only people could have been eavesdropping with our conversation during the commercial, all super bowl. >> i know. it was like, rams, patriots, rams, patriots. >> you know who i'm for. >> you want to see the patriots' reign end today. >> i do, because i love the rams, they're my hometown guys. it's going to be a good game. >> todd gurley's got to play, though. >> thee, phillip. good morning to you from msnbc world headquarters. it is 7:00 in the east. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." >> resign! [ crowd chanting ] outrage in virginia and across the country after governor ralph northam refuses

to step down over a racist photo. >> i am not either of the people in that photo. >> of course he should resign. it's just raw racism. >> it is disgusting. it is offensive. it is racist. >> the governor needs to resign. 2020 dreams. the democratic field just got bigger and more progressive. how far is too far left? and from healing old wounds to choosing greatness, expectations for what president trump will say at tuesday's state of the union address. but new details this morning on the controversy over virginia governor ralph northam. he is refusing to step down, despite mounting pressure from nearly the entire democratic establishment. northam insisting yesterday it was not him in this racist photograph from his 1984 yearbook page. that is a stunning about-face. he initially said friday that it was him in the photo featuring a person in blackface next to another dressed as a member of

the ku klux klan. but yesterday, he revealed that on another occasion in 1984, he did darken his face to impersonate michael jackson. >> i used just a little bit of shoe polish to put on my cheeks, and the reason i used a very little bit is because i don't know if anybody's ever tried that, but you cannot get shoe polish off. i do believe that both of them are wrong, but there's a contrast that's seen between the blackface and someone standing there in a ku klux klan outfit and me dressed up in a michael jackson costume for a dance contest. >> now for that press conference, virginia's three most senior democrats called for his resignation, saying they no longer believe northam can effectively serve as governor. president trump also weighed in yesterday criticizing northam's stand on abortion. if northam resigns, virginia's lieutenant governor, justin fairfax, will become the nation's fifth african-american governor ever and the second from the state of virginia.

fairfax has not called for northam to resign but says that as the descendants of slaves, "this episode strikes particularly close to home." >> believe that the images were, you know, really vial and abhorrent and really disturbing, and i think it disturbed a lot of people not just in the commonwealth of virginia but around the country. and we're at this very important flection moment in the history of virginia and the nation and we need leaders and leadership that can unite us and help us rise to the better angels of our nature is what i've always been focused on in my life in public service. >> joining us, mike viqueira's in richmond, virginia, kelly o'donnell covering the president in florida, in washington, ateama o'mara, a democratic national committee member from virginia, julia manchester from the hill and john sullivan from the "washington post." let's get to it, guys. we start with you, mike viqueira. you've been in richmond throughout this whole controversy, so we know the governor is not stepping down. this he said at his 2:30 p.m.

news conference yesterday. so where do we go from here? >> reporter: well, good morning to you, alex. among the sort of strange and odd moments, at least unusual moments from that press conference that you outlined at the top of the show there came this line -- "the reason i so vividly don't remember is because it didn't happen," ralph northam reversing course from just a day before where he quite exquisitely said it did happen and he was one of those individuals in that photograph. the school, the eastern virginia school of medicine now releasing a statement 35 years after the fact saying they're going to start to review their yearbook policies and also the culture on campus at that norfolk, virginia, school. in the meantime, those top officials in virginia keep calling, continue to call for the resignation of ralph northam. top democratic allies, including two former governors who are now sitting u.s. senators, tim kaine and mark warner. in addition, the governor's top attorney general -- the attorney general here in the commonwealth of virginia, mark herring, has

called for his resignation. the one individual everybody's got their eye on right now is the lieutenant governor of virginia. his name is justin fairfax. he's an african-american. his great, great, great grandfather was a slave. he carries around what's called the manumission papers releasing him from his servitude from way back in the 18th century. he's released a statement. he is walking right up to calling for northam to resign. you'll remember in that press conference yesterday, ralph northam had high praise for justin fairfax and said that justin fairfax supported him. but he released a statement late yesterday that says in part, "now more than ever we must make decisions in the best interests of the people of the commonwealth of virginia." he also said "the ability to unite and help us rise to the better angels of our nature is essential." and so, this individual would stand to walk into the governor's mansion, if, in fact, ralph northam, just behind me here, chooses to resign. so far, he's showing no sign of

doing so, even though the calls from democrats and, of course, republicans are virtually unanimous for him to step down. alex? >> yeah, pretty much across the nation, in fact. mike viqueira, thank you so much, from richmond for that. let's go to kelly now, in west palm beach, florida, for the latest reaction from the president. kelly, with a good morning to you, what is the president saying? >> reporter: well, it's notable, alex, that the president sort of held off and watched democrats make their points about ralph northam and the chorus of calls for him to resign. the president waited until later in the day after the virginia governor's news conference, and he put out two tweets. and notably, one of them is focused on the republican who ran against northam in 2017, little more than a year ago, ed gillespie, a longtime republican operative and former bush official and head of the party. the president's tweet goes at ed gillespie, saying that, he, of course, was running against him, and said he must now be thinking malpractice and dereliction of

duty with regard to the opposition research team. if they find that terrible photo before the election, he wins by 20 points. he's referring to during the gillespie campaign against northam, why was the research team employed by the republican candidate not able to find a published yearbook that should have been readily available for those doing the digging to expose this at a time when it might have had a difference in the election? also, typically, candidates themselves run research on themselves, notably, the democrats didn't find it either. it takes all this extra time before it comes to the surface. the president also then commented on the apparent flip in governor northam's acknowledgement about his role in all of this, saying democratic governor ralph northam of virginia stated, "i believe that i am not either of the people in that photo." this was 24 hours after apologizing for appearing in the picture and after making the most horrible statement on, in quotes, super late-term abortion.

unforgivable. northam had already been getting criticism from the conservative side of the political spectrum unrelated to this photo event because of a debate on late-term abortion in virginia. so, he was already on the kind of radar screen. and in fact, that may be part of how this photo surfaced after all, when additional research was done on northam. so, the president commenting in these two ways -- not calling for the resignation explicitly, noting how northam has changed his story, and then criticizing republicans and ed gillespie, of course, tried to distance himself from trump during the election. that's kpraernlt of the backdrop in this, saying that he should have been able to find it during the campaign. so, in some ways very predictable trump-style tweets and also the president not yet putting a finger on the scale whether he thinks northam should step down. it would not change democratic politics, because as mike and you have acknowledged, justin fairfax is also a democrat, if

he were to become governor of virginia. >> kelly o. from west palm beach. thank you. joining me, atima o'mara, elected member of the democratic national committee from virginia. you're the perfect person to talk about this. you have virginia all over your resume. >> yes, i do. >> let's get into this. first and most notably, you were involved with ralph northam's campaign for governor. so this racist photo, was it a surprise for you, and do you feel betrayed in any way? >> well, yes. i mean, to start off, what happened i think just to kind of take you back a little bit, what sort of happened friday night when this news sort of broke, was you know, i'm very, very glad, one, for having unlimited text messaging and phone call services. >> wow, yes. >> because everybody in virginia, especially involved in politics, especially black virginians involved in politics were calling each other, trying to figure out what happened. like many folks, i had not been paid staff, but i had been a surrogate on the campaign. i hosted a fund-raiser, which he came up for. i had a good relationship with

him because i had been president of the young democrats of america, the first actually from virginia for the organization. so you know, both him and then governor terry mcauliffe, because ralph northam was lieutenant governor at that time, had called to congratulate me and send me e-mails. so i had some sort of existing relationship with him, as many did. and so, it was just shock initially, you know. how can this person that we know, who's traveled around to black churches, who has attended a black church himself, who has elevated so many young, black leaders in politics in the state, mentored them, supported them, championed so many african-americans who run for office, you know, have this in his past, right? so, we were trying to figure thit thi out. was it something we missed? how did it not come up during the campaign? and so, when we quickly came to realize, for us as people who are working in politics, that this could become a bigger issue, right? and you know, we hoped in the morning hours when they said there was going to be a press conference, we said okay, well, he's going to step aside for the

good of the commonwealth. he's acknowledged that he's in this photo. and then you know, basically 12 hours later, i'm not in the photo. i've talked to elected officials who got that call from him who said i'm not in the photo. well, then it's on your yearbook page. what's happening here, right? then you get to the 2:30 conference, and he's like, it was misplaced in my yearbook. i don't know how it ended up there. >> but he also said he had never even seen it there. >> right, right. >> come on, now. >> right. and i know lots of individuals. i've never got every yearbook that i ever had, but i've seen images myself in other people's yearbooks and i've looked through them and whatever. not everybody wants to buy their yearbook. and this is like the first time you've seen your yearbook. there's many people who had it. somebody commented who was the wife of one of the graduates who said i've seen it for ten years and wondered why the entire time he was running statewide, it just never came up, right? so, you know, sort of separately aside from that, the problem then he added to in this press

conference was that you realize that he was very quiet on friday night because there was an awkward two, three hours where there was no comment from the governor's mansion, where he couldn't answer the question about whether he had been in blackface ever or not because he realized he had. that was the problem, because then you find out that he put on a little shoe polish and was in blackface in another situation in 1984, and -- >> atima, is he trying to spin this, if you will, that wait a minute, i had a recollection of being in blackface, it was a different situation, so if i admit to that but say this particular photo isn't the one, what i knew instinctively i had been in blackface in a photo -- i mean, is this plausible? and do you think that is what the dynamic was by those advising him, saying admit to the one, say this one isn't the one? and if that's the case, can he be effective? >> yeah, and that's the problem.

i think at the end of the day, a lot of folks -- i appreciate sort of a lot of the hot takes from folks who nationally who are talking about politics in virginia who aren't from here. everybody that i've talked to, certainly, who are african-americans, who are political leaders in state, be they elected officials in the party, run for office, whatever, no one believes that at the heart of who he is that he is a racist. what we do believe is that like many folks, specifically of his generation, but certainly even in my generation as a millennial, an older millennial, but that you are affected by sort of the remnants of jim crow, of lingering white supremacy, certainly in the '80s. and he admitted that himself in the press conference. there were things that were said and done that would not be appropriate today. i think he realized that he had done this thing, and rather than at that time when he realized it, as he had this conversation with the campaign aide, as he admitted in that same press conference, he just, like, didn't talk about it. he could have used it. he could have come forward and talked about it as a learning

experience, how he evolved, but he never admitted to it and he just made the situation worse. >> atima, here's what's interesting. looking at the president's tweet regarding ed gillespie's campaign -- look, he may be absolutely right, that had that photo surfaced during the campaign, gillespie would have won. hindsight's 20/20 and this is all speculative. we have no idea. that said, how is it that photo never surfaced before now? >> i'm just definitely going to say that there are probably some opposition research firms not only for the republican party of virginia, gillespie's campaign, and, you know, he primaried twice for lieutenant governor and governor, who are probably never going to be hired in virginia politics again, because -- >> so soe you're saying this was incompetence. yesterday there was speculating on my broadcast that they had this and chose not to use it. and i was like, really? why would you not use it? >> right. >> what would be the back-firing of not using it? >> right, and i can't answer for

that because i certainly wasn't staff. i heard, i've seen there may have been some conservatives who had it and said, quote/unquote, they couldn't verify it. all it took for that photo to be found was a reporter driving down to the library and pulling it out and checking. it's literally not someone's actual copy. it was going down to a library and finding it. >> atima omara, what a time. and i'm awfully glad for your insights. your recollection of this 24-hour period is quite remarkable. >> i haven't had much sleep, but -- >> i'll bet, but you look great, so that's good. >> thank you. >> atima omara, thank you very much. i'll talk to you again, no doubt. more fired workers at trump golf courses. i'll talk with a congressman who's met with some of them. and president trump's attacks on national intelligence are raising worries about national security. should there be alarm? worries a national security. should there be alarm? on car insurance? did the little piggy cry wee wee wee all the way home? weeeeeee, weeeeeee weeeeeee weeeee weeeeeeee.

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we have to make sure that we are clear that it is the allegation that the trump corporation knew that they were undocumented at the time. >> that's what they're saying, it was an open secret. these people weren't hired yesterday. they've been working there for 15 years. one gentleman was working there for 18 years. and the story is the same. in some cases, they say that management helped them get the documents. >> the attorney representing many of the undocumented staffers fired by the trump organization there, who says the organization knew these workers were undocumented all along, and in some cases even helped get

them fake paperwork. this as "the new york times" reports this weekend that even more undocumented staffers have been let go from a third trump golf club in southern new jersey. joining me now, congressman tom malinowski, representing the district in new jersey where trump's bedminster club is located. a beautiful district, i might add. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> some of these fired employees i know were invited to speak with senator bob menendez and you were invited to speak as well. what are their concerns and what can you do to help them? >> well, they're concerned that they're going to be punished for coming forward. and so, we're asking for two simple things. number one, this should be investigated, as it would be with any normal employer, by the fbi, by dhs. and number two, the workers who brought forward these complaints should not be deported while this is going on. and under the law, that's what should happen. there's actually a visa category for people who are material witnesses to a crime, as i believe these people are. >> mm-hmm.

so, again, you believe that there ought to be an investigation of the trump organization. what, their hiring practices? >> yes, because the allegation consistently among many of these workers is that the trump organization arranged their papers. a couple of these people told me they actually took their photo for their fake green card on the trump property. and there's a bigger issue here, you know. americans are divided on immigration policy. we're not divided on hypocrisy. the trump organization, by all accounts, was completely involved in the part of our economy that draws undocumented people to the united states. and yet, the guy runs for president stoking fear of these people, calling them murderers, calling them rapists. he shut down the government for 35 days over a problem that he is 100% complicit in. i think that's wrong. >> i'm going to suggest this is somewhat even personal to you, the issue of immigration.

i know that you fled communist poland with your mother when you were a child. you came here. and so, when you think about immigration issues, what do you think the answer is? what can you do to help fix the problem? and do you think a wall is a solution? >> well, of course not. a wall is not a solution. a wall is -- i mean, even president trump doesn't believe in a wall. this is something that he has used to stoke fear and hatred to get elected. i think we all see that. republicans in the congress see that, many of them, even though they don't talk about it. >> he's doing a pretty good job of believing in the wall, of putting out that image. you don't think he even believes it himself? >> we've learned it was a memory device to get him to talk about immigration on the campaign trail. but look, here's what does sadden me. right now in the united states congress and on shows like this, the debate we're having is between dumb border security and smart border security. some people say build a wall.

democrats rightly say we have to secure the border but in smarter ways, with technology and with people. but here's what we're not talking about. we're not talking about immigration reform. we're not talking about how to deal with this population of people who are living amongst us who are hired by businesses like trump every single day. we're not talking about the fact that we're not admitting refugees to america anymore because the trump administration has shut it down. we're not talking about the dreamers. we're not talking about how to have a humane and lawful asylum policy on the border. we barely even talk about the kids who are separated at the border. and this is what the congress, republicans and democrats, need to be coming together to address. >> we must say, though, this is what the trump organization, vice president eric trump, here's what he has said on behalf of the organization, that the property will institute the e-verify system and that "we have tens of thousands of

employees across our properties," we have "very strict hiring practices. if any employee submitted false documentation in an attempt to circumvent the law, they will be terminated immediately. we take this issue very seriously. this is one of the reasons why my father is fighting so hard for immigration reform. the system is broken." so, they're denying that they're giving any documentation that has been alleged by those who, you said, took a picture in front of a green screen on trump golf course property. >> well, this is why it needs to be investigated. you have consistent allegatios t from these employees who are taking a big risk coming forward, by the way, and then you have this denial. and it's not just a denial. basically, the trump organization is blaming the victims. it's claiming that they somehow deceived the trump organization into giving them these jobs. i don't think that's the case, but let's investigate it, see what the truth is, and if somebody needs to be held accountable, we should treat this business as if it's any other business in the united states. >> as you know, two of the fired employees are going to be attending the state of the union

address. it is an extraordinary time because the president will be speaking about unity. that has been communicated to us by his communications staff. is unity possible in this nation right now? >> yes. >> it seems so divided! >> actually, unity is present in this nation. you know, there was unity about the government shutdown. people disagreed about the wall, but most americans and most members of congress agreed it's wrong to shut down the u.s. government if you can't get your way from the congress. there's unity about actually border security in the congress. we're going to have a reasonable compromise on that. there is unity on national security. there is unity on decency. there is unity on the need to have universe health care for people. there is unity on universe background checks for gun purchases. 90%-plus americans agree on those things. there is unity about getting dark money out of politics. almost every republican i speak to agrees on those things. so, we can build on that if

we're not distracted by this nuttiness from the president of the united states every day. >> i have to say, i like that spirit and the positive tone of that, because you don't hear that often, that there is a level of unity right now. we hear about divisiveness. let me ask you quickly about the president disagreeing with his own intel chiefs and coming back and forth on that and saying that they agree and that they're all on the same page. what does that do for our national security and for our foreign policy, to have, you know, warring factions right at the top of intelligence? >> well, what does it mean when the president of the united states believes putin and kim jong-un over the brave, courageous, competent men and women of our intelligence community who risk their lives to bring him good information? what does that say about the competence and responsibility of the commander in chief of the united states? look, i spent my career in foreign policy and national security. the rest of the world, our

allies, are beside themselves right now. they don't understand what's happening. but there is unity in the united states congress. i just sponsored a bill this last week on our policy towards korea and our policy towards syria. we had the same number of republican and democratic co-sponsors. so, there is something that we can build on if we can separate ourselves from this nonsense and come together as americans around protecting our country based on facts. >> amen to that, congressman tom malinowski of new jersey. thank you, sir, for your time. >> thank you. on this super bowl sunday, there are a number of security concerns, including some that are airborne. nbc's tom costello reports on the fbi's watchful eye. >> reporter: fbi agents at the super bowl say they're growing increasingly frustrated. the problem, unauthorized drones flying around the mercedes-benz stadium. >> it's taking up a lot of time for our agents and law enforcement officers to be targeting these drones when they could be working on other

security measures. >> reporter: with 70,000 people expected, the concern is that a drone could crash, injuring fans or players on the ground or a terrorist could use a drone as a weapon. the faa has declared a no-drone zone within a 30-mile radius of the stadium. drones must stay a mile away and up to 1,000 feet. the ban comes after drones shut down air traffic at london's gatwick airport in december and at newark's airport last month. >> drones are a concern. that's something that's come up on our radar in the last couple years with the popularity of them and the cheap economic cost of operating them. >> bring your lucky jersey. >> reporter: now the faa is telling drone hobbyists to stay away. >> but leave your drone at home. >> reporter: anyone violating the no-drone zone faces a fine of $20,000 or more. tom costello, nbc news, washington. 12 days before another potential border wall deadline. is the president now more likely to declare a national emergency? y to declare a national emergency?

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i believed then and now that i am not either of the people in that photo. there is no way that i have ever been in a kkk uniform. i am not the person in that

uniform, and i am not the person to the right. >> virginia governor ralph northam yesterday retracting an earlier admission for being the person in the photo. joining me now, sean sullivan with the "washington post." good to see you both. sean, let's say that northam does not resign. are there any greater political implications if this drags on? >> well, i think this would be something that would worry democrats, not just in virginia, but nationally across the country. they're trying to draw a contrast right now with the republican party, with president trump when it comes to issues of race and racial matters, and having somebody in their own ranks that has something controversial in their past to explain makes that a more challenging task, potentially complicates that, so the longer this drags on, the more potentially politically problematic this could become for democrats across the country

as they seek to draw this contrast with the republicans and trump. >> julia, how concerned do you think democrats are all the way around if this does not end soon, and how long do you think it could last? >> i think they're very concerned at this point because the optics of this are so bad right now. i mean, think about it. you know, ralph northam with this yearbook scandal is effectively on the first week of black history month blocking the black lieutenant governor of virginia from stepping up in the wake of all this. you know, this would be kind of the most ideal end to this very awful situation. but yes, i do think democrats are worried, especially with 2020 coming up. to sean's point, they are trying to draw a contrast between themselves and republicans as the party of diversity. and you know, i don't know how long this will last. i think northam has lost the respect and the support of many virginia democrats as well as democrats on the national level, so it's hard to see where that

ends. but he seems to really want to hold on to this. but for 2020, it's going to be an issue for them. because remember, virginia is a super tuesday state, and the 2020 democratic candidates are not going to want to campaign in that state and appear next to him. >> right. >> so, that will be so unprecedented. >> yeah, absolutely. okay, let's get to the state uft union, and i'll start with you, sean, on that, because there is a headline that donald trump is to call for unity in the state of the union to the democratic house. first off on that one, i know it's a work in progress, but do you know talking points he's expected to make? and also, do republicans look to him? do democrats look to him as a voice of unity? >> well, it's not yet clear what exactly he's going to say or lay out specifically, but the question is if he's going to be trying to lay out a unifying vision, it comes at a time of real acrimony right now between the two parties, between democrats and the white house, and in some cases, between republicans and republicans. we've seen over the past few

weeks this debate over border security, the government shutdown that recently concluded, the threat of another government shutdown later this month. this has caused a lot of friction between republicans and democrats right now. and so, it's not a very unified moment on capitol hill. so, the question is, if the president does try to strike a note of harmony, how is this going to be received? are democrats going to say, you know, i'll meet you halfway on this, or are they going to say, no, we resist all of your calls on the wall, we oppose your agenda? and are they going to continue to do that? and for republicans, they've seen the president's polling numbers drop in the past few weeks. are they going to stand by him or continue to try to distance themselves more? so, regardless of what the president says, we might see a pretty negative reception to his speech potentially on both sides of the aisle. >> well, what's interesting, too, julia, is in the build-up to all of this, in that "usa today" piece, it points out there was an e-mail to

supporters looking for the state of the union ideas, and trump is quoted saying nancy and chuck don't want me to speak, mainstream media outlets don't want me to speak and hollywood elites don't want me to speak. clearly, julia, he's talking to two different audiences here. can he walk that line? can he still project unity? >> well, to be honest, and looking back at his past state of the union addresses, he can. i think we're going to see what many of us call teleprompter trump come out. and that's not, i don't think, the true donald trump. i think president trump feels most like himself when he's in front of his supporters at a campaign rally or on twitter, on his phone. >> look, most like himself. don't you think he's most effective when he is most like himself, as you're calling it? >> most effective to his supporters, absolutely. but in that chamber with democrats and republicans trying to preach that message of unity, you know, it's hard for me to see how democrats are going to take that at face value and actually believe him after this

35-day-long shutdown. i mean, he's been issuing threats this week about, you know, if the committee comes back, if the congressional committee on the wall comes -- on border security comes back with no funding for a wall, he's just not going to accept it. so it's hard for me to see how republicans and democrats can look at the state of the union and actually think that's actually trump speaking. >> before i let you guys go, sean, i want to look at your latest piece in the "washington post" where you write that mcconnell privately cautions trump about emergency declaration on the wall. any idea on the president's reaction to that and will it do anything to the possibility of declaring that national emergency? >> well, if you look at his public statements, the president is talking this up as a possibility, but this is something that republicans in the senate are increasingly concerned about. they believe that if the president were to take this step, this is something that could be tied up in court for a long time, and they're worried about the precedent this would set. they're worried that this would embolden future democratic presidents, potentially, to use their executive powers in a way

that concerns congress. so, there is growing concern among republicans on capitol hill about the prospect of doing this, but we haven't seen any signs, at least publicly yet, that the president is receiving this information and it's affecting his thinking, because he continues to talk about a national emergency as a possibility. and look, as we see this working group, this conference committee on capitol hill continue to try to form some sort of deal, there's really no sign yet that something's going to come out of that. and so, it looks more and more likely that the president is going to face a decision point. does he want to do this and potentially alienate his own party on capitol hill? so, it's a significant decision he might face in the coming weeks. >> sean sullivan and julia manchester, good to see you both. thank you. 2020 buzz. who does the president think might give him the toughest time? president think might give him the toughest meti one-millionth order. millionth order. ♪ there goes our first big order. ♪ 44, 45, 46... how many of these did they order? ooh, that's hot.

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[ inaudible question ] i think it's unification. we have had some incredible report and we've had incredible republican support. the problem is the democrats. i really think it's going to be a speech that's going to cover a lot of territory, but part of it's going to be unity. >> the president there on plans for his state of the union address. the white house says the theme will be choosing greatness and that it will cover immigration, trade, foreign policy, health care, and infrastructure. let's bring in republican strategist brian darling with liberty government affairs and bishop garrison, executive

director of the truman project. brian, we'll begin with you, despite the fact that you're wearing a patriots tie, but that's okay. >> go patriots! >> listen, i -- well, we've got to get into what we've got to get into, but we can talk later. anyway, how can the president cover all of these topics while promote i promoti promoting unity? aren't most of the topics just likely to further political divisions? >> in some sense, yes. i think there will be, but also elements of unity. think back to last year where the president led on criminal justice reform, a bipartisan issue, had strong support from republicans and democrats. going into this year, are there places where we can get together and agree? yes. look at infrastructure. republicans like nothing better than to spend money. i think they will want to hold hands and do an infrastructure bill. and on foreign policy, i think the american people agree with the president and i think many on the democratic side,

including elizabeth warren, has supported pulling troops out of afghanistan, drawing down in syria and a much less interventionist foreign policy. >> okay. democrats for their part, bishop, are starting to announce their guests. so far, we've learned they'll include the fired trump golf club employees. a student whose pay was withheld during the government shutdown. what does this message tell you about what democrats want to say here? >> thank you for having me, alex. the biggest thing is you can't advocate for unity when you've done nothing but continue to isolate and divide our country. this is a president that continues to advocate for an antiquated border wall, a president whose administration continues to literally take babies, infants, out of the hands of their mothers, their fathers, their parents, and put them in cages. this is a president that continues to turn his back on our allies, when you talk about removing ourselves from the paris agreement, from inf, from all of these treaties in which

we have been global leaders, a president who advocated that there were people on both sides in terms of the charlottesville tragedy and that some neo nazis were certainly some good people within that group. this is a president that is absolutely incapable of having the empathy and integrity necessary to bring about unity within this country. and i think in the what the members in congress and their invitees to the state of the union, you're reflecting how angry the electorate is around what this president has said in his rhetoric. >> brian, i'm going to let you respond to that. >> well, i think that the president can be a unifier. he is somebody who has unified on a number of different issues. yes, there are obviously differences between the democratic and republican party when you look in on the wall issue. the democrats have taken the position that walls are immoral. maybe we should tear down all of the walls we have on the southern border.

the president's taken the other position where he wants to build new walls. but i mean, we are a country that's a lot bigger than the president. we're a country that's a lot bigger than these party divisions that we have right now, and the purpose of the state of the union is for the president to some of that, the greatest of america and to rise above that. i'm confident he can do that. i am confident there will be red meat in the speech, but there will also be unifying factors. >> all right, guys -- >> can i just say, luckily, it's a good thing that we are larger than the president because he just because he just spent the longest shutdown within the history of the country tearing families apart in terms of how they were going to make ends meet. 800,000 federal workers had to live through this. >> they sure did. i want to get to 2020 and the race is heating up. bishop, we have eight democrats now with senator cory booker the latest addition to the field. people still debating whether joe biden would be the president's strongest opponent, given his political sway with

rust belt supporters in particular. what do you make of the will he won't he about biden? do you think it's warranted? do you think he's in? >> as someone who served in the obama administration, i can't say enough good things about the vice president. i think he's been a tremendous advocate for those in lower socioeconomic stances, for women, for people, for people of color across nearly the entirety of his career. what i will say is that with this field you have tremendous talent across the board. when you look at people who have been vocal advocates, such as senator castro, warren, senator booker, senator gillibrand. we can't go wrong. these are all adults who have dedicated their lives to service. and any one of them could be a tremendous advocate and leader of this country. >> can i quickly ask you about kamala harris? because the president said i think she's had the best rollout, looks strong so far.

he's undercut others, but what are your thoughts on harris going up against the president, brian? >> i mean, she's had a great personal story, but her rollout didn't go all that well. she did come out and claim that she wanted to abolish all private health care insurance, and that was a fumble. i don't think even members who support medicare for all, most of them believe it to be a public option where people would have a choice to do so, so i think this was a problem. but this is a party that's gone too far to the left. it may be too liberal or even socialist for joe biden. when you have howard schultz who can't run as a democrat, is pro gun control, pro immigration reform, he's very concerned about climate change. basically, he's a democrat who can't run as a democrat because the party's gone so far to the left. >> all right, listen, guys, unfortunately, i'm going to have to wrap that up to get to super bowl coverage. thank you both. good to see you. >> sure. >> thank you. >> see you again. let's go to the super bowl and a live look at atlanta ahead of super bowl liii, the new

england patriots and the los angeles rams. they're certainly locking horns just after 6:30 p.m. eastern time today. let's go to nbc's jay gray. he's outside that stadium, what, tailgating already? i mean, is that what you're doing, jay? talk tailgating, is that what you're doing? of course you're tailgating. >> alex, it's never too early to tailgate. of course we are. we have some bacon, sausage, eggs and english muffins just to make sure we're prepared for this game, that we have a good base before game time here. it's been quite a week. they say close to a million people have been in atlanta in the last 7 to 10 days. i think most people were downtown last night enjoying the night before the big game. close to 80,000 will be inside once game time starts. we've had some showers this morning, a little bit of rain. that's supposed to clear away. the nfl wanted to open the roof on the stadium. i don't think that will be the case this evening. i think with any hint of rain

they'll just keep it closed, alex. >> talk about security. are you seeing the efforts of fbi and secret service and anybody else who might be on scene? >> reporter: yeah, 50 agencies on the ground here, and you can't walk even five feet without seeing officers on the ground. it's been really interesting to see, and more security than i've seen in past super bowls. you see a lot of canine units, a lot of tactical units. i talked to fans about it. they say they feel very safe here. there's no credible threat to the games, so that's great news, but yeah, there's been a strong security presence. >> jay gray, thank you very much. enjoy your tailgating breakfast. i am officially envious. >> thank you. medicare for all. that is no longer a fringe issue. that is next on "up." "up. wake up. grab a bite.

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that's a wrap for me on this hour of "weekends with alex

witt." i'll see you all at noon eastern. stay tuned. it's time for "up with david gura." good morning, this is "up." i'm david gura. virginian ralph northam saying he's not going anywhere, denying he's the man in this photo from his 1984 yearbook. >> i believe then and now that i am not either of the people in that photo. >> president trump joining the ranks of those calling for northam's resignation as he gets ready to deliver the state of the union on tuesday night. >> i really think it's going to be a speech that's going to cover a lot of territory. >> the title of the speech, according to the white house is "choosing greatness." democrat stacey abrams will deliver the democrats' response. it's become a rallying cry for 20