that will do it for me this hour. i'm phillip mena. thank you for watching.

time for "weekends with alex witt." >> good morning to you. very great way to start our sunday morning. have a good one. good morning to all of you from msnbc world headquarters in new york. it's 7:00 a.m. in the east, 10:00 a.m. out west. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." countering trump. what democrats have planned when the president visits el paso. and virginia's lieutenant calling on the fbi while both accusers make a promise they say they will keep. this is the fight of our lives, fight to build an america where dreams are possible, an america that works for everyone. >> running with the pack. elizabeth warren joins the race with minnesota's amy klobuchar not far behind. how these new additions could impact the 2020 race. plus, the curious moment from the acting a.g.'s testimony on capitol hill. the congresswoman and the question that seemed to stump matthew whitaker.

happening today, the crowded field of 2020 democratic presidential hopefuls, they'll have another edition as this afternoon senator amy klobuchar from minnesota is expected to officially announce she is running for president. yesterday, senator elizabeth warren officially launched her presidential bid, framing her run as a defender of economic equality. >> it won't be enough just to undo the terrible acts of this administration. we can't afford just to tinker around the edges, a tax credit here, a regulation there. our fight is for big, structural change. [ cheers and applause ] another major story today. democratic members of congress visiting the border ahead of the president's rally in el paso, texas, tomorrow. democrats trying to counter the president's narrative that there is a national security crisis at the border. >> it's frustrating to know that

we are being painted as a dangerous place meant to be controlled. >> we also know that we need an agency that will continuously adapt to changing threats and circumstances, and that's why you have to look at them, the border, on a mile-by-mile basis. >> it is a mix of policies that will make our communities safe, our border secure. plus, some new developments in virginia's political crisis. lieutenant governor justin fairfax now facing calls for his impeachment. the two women who have accused him of sexual assault say they are willing to testify in impeachment proceedings against him. the woman who accuses him of raping her back in 2000 says she will provide two witnesses and evidence including e-mails and facebook messages. but in a new statement, fairfax again denies the allegations saying the encounters were consensual. he is refusing to step down and is now calling for an investigation, including one

from the fbi. let's go to nbc's mike viqueira in the state's capital of richmond with more on this chaos that is plaguing the old dominion state, mike. what a week it has been here. any chance we'll see resignations today? >> reporter: it doesn't look that way, alex. and we do have some late-breaking news, as you mentioned just a moment ago. doubling down is lieutenant governor justin fairfax after his clear and stark denial on friday and his aversion that he will not resign, a statement coming out late last night in the face of these two new allegations, these charges of sexual assault. he says he wants an investigation, including an investigation by the fbi. his statement coming out last night reads in part, "i say again without reservation, i did not sexually assault or rape meredith watson or vanessa tyson or anyone else. the thing i want to make abundantly clear is that in both situations, i knew at the time and i know today that the interactions were consensual."

again, calling for an investigation, calling for the fbi to be included in that investigation. he says that he heard from both dr. tyson and ms. watson in the days and years after these supposed or these alleged encounters, these alleged sexual assaults took place, and they never mentioned it to him. now these two women through their lawyers have statements of their own. and ms. watson in particular is saying that is incorrect. the only interaction that they ever had was very shortly after the alleged assault when she confronted justin fairfax about that interaction. both of these individuals, dr. tyson and ms. watson, say that they will gladly come to richmond and testify if an impeachment proceeding were actually to take place. and as we know, late on friday night, a member of the house of delegates here at the statehouse, alex, did, in fact, say that he was going to file articles of impeachment. now the question is,

procedurally, how far can this go? republicans control both chambers here by a slim margin, but it would be an unprecedented move in virginia. it's never happened before. no one's exactly sure how to proceed, if they want to proceed. >> this time last week, we were mostly talking about governor northam. so what's the situation there? i know some poll numbers have come out that suggest he could survive this. >> reporter: right. you talk about a "washington post" poll that came out late yesterday, really remarkable. first of all, you're right. we were standing here a week ago and we thought that by this time, this week that justin fairfax was going to be the governor of virginia because of that scandal surrounding that controversy surrounding governor ralph northam. he had that press conference where he reversed course from just the day before, said it was not him in that yearbook photo with blackface and a kkk hood. he, in fact, according to that poll, a majority of black virginians believe that -- do not believe that he should resign, although a majority of overall virginians believe he

should. so, there is some hope there. northam has been leading a public relations effort. there's been outreach from members of the black community in the commonwealth of virginia, reaching out to reporters and anyone who will listen to vouch for the character at the urging of governor northam and his representatives, reaching out to reporters to vouch for the character of governor northam. he's largely laid low, giving an interview to the "post" yesterday, where he says it's time to right some of the inequities in virginia culture and society, alex. >> okay, mike viqueira. thanks for the wrap on everything happening there. dave levinthal is senior political reporter at center for public integrity and jonathan allen with nbc news digital. good morning to you both. jonathan, you first here. you have fairfax coming out against these accusations, denying them one more time, asking for due process to let it all play out. is that affecting the calls for his resignation at this point? >> not at all, alex. the calls for his resignation have already come from basically

all corners in terms of the folks who matter in the political world in virginia. you've seen them come from the democratic congressional delegation in virginia, minus senator mark warner, who said he should resign if the allegations are true, but everybody else in that delegation, senator tim kaine came out with a strong statement calling for his resignation, all of the house members, the democratic house and senate caucuses in the state legislature have called on him to resign. former governor terry mcauliffe. i mean, the list has grown substantially over the last couple days, particularly on friday night after this new allegation. so, the pressure has been put on him to resign. i think what's really interesting here is that the investigation that lieutenant governor fairfax has called for, the one investigative agency that he specifically named, the fbi, is not clear to at all have any particular authority to investigate in this particular matter, given that the

allegations against him don't appear to involve federal crimes. >> hmm, interesting. okay. let's get to part of a "new york times" piece, which summarizes all the risks that are facing democrats at this point. "if democrats do not oust mr. fairfax at a time when the party has taken a zero tolerance stand on sexual misconduct in the me too era, they could anger female voters. but the specter of mr. fairfax being pushed out while two older white men remain in office despite blackface behavior that evoked some of the country's most painful racist images would deeply trouble many african-americans." so, dave, i mean, it's like it's a no-win, double edged sword situation, but which scenario is more concerning for democrats? >> jonathan laid it out. just about every democrat at any level, including presidential candidates of all sorts have said, all right, it's time for both the governor and the lieutenant governor to leave, but it's a very real scenario that they're both going to stay. so, where does that leave us at

this point? well, there are really two paths in virginia that democrats, if they want to make some noise and really take a stand, can take. number one is going to be the impeachment process. there are definitely pointers to that, that's going to happen for justin fairfax. lieutenant governor, perhaps governor northam, but not necessarily as soon. also, too, there is a strange process in virginia akin to a recall election like we've seen in recent years in wisconsin or california, but something that ultimately would have to have a petition involved by the voters of virginia, and it would go to a trial of all things. so you know, that's not something that people have been talking about a whole lot, but ultimately, if you want to kick either one or both of those elected officials out, those are really the two paths that you're going to have for you. >> is there a silver lining potential here, jonathan, with regards to governor northam? because he says that he wants to focus the rest of his term on racial equality. i'm curious what the response

has been to that. >> i think that there is -- that's the hope of governor northam, that there is silver lining potential. certainly, if he remains in office, i think a lot of virginians would like to see him make up for his past. whether or not he's able to do that effectively remains to be seen. i think one of the reasons you've seen so many calls for his resignation, one of the factors is a belief among some of his fellow elected officials that it's very difficult for him to credible y lead the state. then at the same time, you see polling information that suggests that the voters in virginia don't necessarily agree with those elected leaders that he has that credibility to lead the state problem. that split poll, 47%/47%, and of course, within the african-american community more wanting him to stay than leave. so it will be interesting to see how this plays out. he's obviously going on a pretty strong public relations campaign. you know, obviously, greater sensitivity by our political

leaders is something that i think a lot of americans would like to see right now. >> what do you make of this, dave, this "washington post" poll? jonathan's absolutely correct, it's 47%/47% split, but if you look at african-americans in this poll, very interestingly, those who say that he should stay, you know, overwhelming number there, 58% do not want him to step down as opposed to 37% who do. so interpret those numbers. what's the read there? >> well, that's down from not quite universal but pretty darn close to it support that he had from black voters in virginia going into his term and also, too, there's the specter of, well, what would happen if the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the attorney general, who is a democrat, who also has been embroiled in his own lower-level, but still fairly profound scandal involving blackface, if all of them were to leave? well, what you have is an african-american who would ostensibly take office as the governor of virginia. so, that is clearly a scenario that no democrat really wants,

especially black democrats in virginia as well. >> quickly, guys, i want to look to 2020, most notably what happened yesterday with senator warren announcing her run for the presidency. what's been the overwhelming reaction, jonathan, to her speech? >> mixed, alex. certainly a lot of her supporters think she did a great job. they're happy to see her in the race. she had sort of soft-blanched at the end of last year before new year's, but they're happy to see her more actively on the campaign trail, more out there. but there has been criticism, even in her home state, about the way that she's rolled out her campaign. i read a "boston globe" columnist yesterday saying she wasn't doing a good enough job of explaining how she would take on donald trump. james pinnedle from the "boston globe" writing about that, which is the thing democrats are most concerned about right now. but i think time's going to tell how she survives. obviously, the big thing she's continuing to deal with is this

claim of native american heritage. >> right. >> the president tweeting at her yesterday and making reference to the trail of tears in a way that seems to make him the center of attention again in a bad way for, again -- >> right, the president in his tweet today, elizabeth warren sometimes refers to me as pocahontas and goes on and on. democrats need to put forth the strongest candidate possible. is this going to be elizabeth warren, if she's not able to put all of these controversies around her native american ancestry to bed? >> well, first of all, there's going to be no fewer than 15 democratic candidates. i mean, you could be looking at almost 20 kond dates on the democratic side who have some semblance of a semi-legitimate chance here, so elizabeth warren is just going to be one in a chorus of people who, you know, i can't even imagine what the debate stage will look like when all of these candidates finally this summer or thereabouts get together and start debating each

other. but yeah, there's a concern that she is a damaged candidate. there is a concern that plenty of other of the candidates have baggage, too, whether it's joe biden, who hasn't gotten into the race yet, barry sanders, even beto o'rourke, who lost his last election. so there is a lot of concern. but it is early right now! it is february. >> absolutely. >> it will be a year before we have a primary or a caucus, and all of this is just going to be a lot of intramural activity until we get to the point where people are actually casting votes. >> and look, a crowded democratic field, but i remind everyone that there were 17 candidates on the gop side at one point in the last go-round, so we got through that, one way or another. all right, guys, good to see you both. >> and that was so pretty and smooth, alex. >> i wouldn't say that. anyway, thank you, guys. appreciate it. jared kushner. the questions over just who is paying his legal bills. what a new report is saying next. legal bills what a new report is saying next what does help for heart failure look like?

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new today, the president's re-election campaign has reportedly spent nearly $100,000 in legal fees to the law firm representing trump's son-in-law and white house adviser jared kushner. campaign finance records show the team made two payments to the firm for more than $55,000 and $42,000 apiece. joining me now, criminal defense attorney ashley merchant. ashley, with a good morning to you. >> good morning. >> let's look big picture here. kushner's net worth estimated at more than $300 million. do finance regulations permit funds from donors to be used for

legal consultations, and is there any caveat for those who are allegedly able to afford it? >> you know, there's not a caveat for that, unfortunately, but that's more of a public policy issue, whether or not they should be using this money. but the legal issue is whether or not the legal defense was related to the campaign. so it's interesting because it's a double-edged sword. campaign finance rules say that, yes, you can use campaign donor funds for legal fees. that's legal. as long as the activity you were doing that you needed the legal fees for was actually related to the campaign. so, it's interesting, because that defense, though, might come back in the end to actually harm the trump campaign, because what they're saying then is, yes, this was something that was done in furtherance of the campaign, and were they actually soliciting dollars from foreign nationals to help with the campaign? so you know, the defense in saying that, yes, we can use these campaign finance dollars, yes, that's legal, it does not violate the united states law

against this type of using of this money, well, that defense also is a double-edged sword, because on the other end, they're saying that it was related to russia and it was related to foreign nationals. and so, you know, then that can actually come back and harm them. >> i want to look big picture in terms of the amount of money the last two years. the trump campaign has spent more than $6.7 million on legal defense for any number of individuals that would include picks cory ley lewandowski, micl cohen, jared kushner as well, but these legal services, are they required because he may be a potential subject in the special counsel's investigation? >> yes! i mean, yes. the problem is, most of these donors were under $200. so it's $200 and below made up the majority of these funds. and so, these are hard-working americans who are giving what they can but can't potentially afford these great legal bills. and it's unfortunate because these individuals can all afford to pay their legal bills.

they are millionaires. they are making millions of dollars a year, and yet, they are relying on the donations of hard-working americans to pay their legal bills. whether or not it's legal, yes, it may be legal, but it's not fair and it's not right and they should be paying their own legal bills in this situation. >> okay, want to get in a question about ami and jeff bezos, of course. federal prosecutors looking into whether "the national enquirer" violated its nonprosecution deal in the michael cohen deal. ami said they believe they acted lawfully in the reporting of the story, but this conduct by definition, does this conduct fit into extortion? >> yes. yes. and if there's some proof that they can find that ami actually tried to actually extort or blackmail bezos, then they're going to be found in violation of their immunity deal. and basically, what happened was ami had a deal where they weren't going to be prosecuted as long as they didn't get in legal trouble for three years. but if they want and actually extorted jeff bezos, which it sounds like they did -- i mean, all of the evidence points to

them doing that -- then they're in violation of that deal. they can go back and be prosecuted for what they do in making payments to stormy daniels and making payments on behalf of the trump campaign, this hush money that they were initially investigated for. not only did they negate that immunity deal and allow them to actually be investigated for that and prosecuted for that, but now they could have more legal trouble when they're facing these extortion charges. >> okay. ashley, lots to talk about and we'll do so again no doubt. thank you. >> thank you. it is called the most inexplicable moment of the matthew whitaker hearing on capitol hill. matthew whitaker hearing on capitol hill

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how did you learn you got the job? >> you know, i can't remember if it was -- which preceded which, but i believe i received a call from the president of the united states asking me to be the acting attorney general. >> a moment ago, you said you had learned by tweet. did i misunderstand you? >> yeah, i think you did. >> okay, so you learned first by a phone call from the president? >> i believe so, but they were very close in time. and so, actually as i sit here right now, i can't remember which preceded which. >> matt whitaker there before

the house judiciary committee on friday appearing confused about how he learned he got the job as acting attorney general. the "washington post" declared this the most inexplicable moment of his testimony. and joining me now, the woman asking the question, congressman madeleine dean, democratic member of the judiciary and services committee. when he said you had misunderstood what he said about his tweet, i was like, no, that's what you said. so you didn't misunderstand at all anything. this whole tenor of this conversation, this q&a back and forth with him. first of all, did you believe him when he said he couldn't remember? >> well, it made no sense to me. he talked about it being the honor of his lifetime which we could imagine. if you're appointed acting attorney general, it's quite an honor. >> that's huge. >> so, it was inexplicable to me that he didn't know whether it was by tweet -- originally, he said by tweet. i said perhaps i'm confused when he said by a phone call, but you

listen to him, he was confused. he was uncertain. that makes no sense to me whatsoever. i have the job that is an honor of a lifetime. i know exactly how and when i got it. if i had a call or a tweet from the president, i'd probably remember it very, very vividly. >> so, the tenor of this entire exchange with him in front of congress there, were you surprised by the tenor, by his maneuverings here, his inability to remember or refusing to answer certain questions, pivoting? i mean, is this what you expected? >> no, it certainly wasn't. i expected forthright answers to honest questions. that's our job. we have an oversight job to do and we were there to find out, a, how did he get the job, and b, what did he do while he was in this job. so, that little moment that you just showed was one of many moments where the acting attorney general just avoided, delayed, stone-walled or was unclear himself.

>> so, with the rather lengthy list of congressional investigations into the president's actions, can you tell me what's coming up next for the judiciary committee on which you sit? >> well, the good news is that we have a robust agenda, both substantively and in oversight. this week we're going to be looking at homeland security and the issue of immigration and separation of families at the border, that inhumane policy that this administration under jeff sessions and acting attorney general whitaker put in place separating children from their parents at the border. we want to get clarity on that. how many children have taken place in that separation, how many have been reunited. i actually had the chance to speak to acting attorney general afterwards, after our hearing. i wanted to be sure to introduce myself, and i spoke with him about that policy. i didn't get clarity on whether or not we have ended the policy of family separation, and my suggestion to him was on his way out the door, why doesn't he loudly and boldly end that

policy? >> may i ask you about that conversation even beyond that, just the particulars? i mean, how did he react to you speaking with him? was he gracious? was he combative? was he defensive? i'm just curious what your takeaway was. >> i thought he was absolutely pleasant. i first spoke with one of the counsel, the woman that was sitting behind him throughout the testimony. she was gracious and pleasant. i asked her these questions and asked her to get back to me with the answers, more importantly, get back to the committee with the answers. and then when he stepped into the hallway, he, too, was gracious, and i think he was a little puzzled at my suggestion. but i said it could be a very important legacy, to recognize the inhue manet of that policy, declare it un-american, although you heard he was unsure if he even knew about the memo, as chief of staff. he was unsure if he had even seen or was aware of the memo that initiated this policy. so, time after time there were incredulous things that he testified to. in the hallway he couldn't have

been more pleasant and i hope he takes me up on my vusion. >> yeah. this begs one more question before i move on to something you're passionate about, which is speaking out about gun violence. and that is, there's been a suggestion that matt whitaker's testimony was for the audience of one, and you know of whom i'm speaking there. do you think that is possible? >> i certainly hope not. he was sworn to testify before us, a congressional committee. so i don't know what he would be auditioning for in an audience of one. as he declared, he's out the door in four or five days now, so certainly not. we have a constitutional system of government, and he was there sworn under oath to speak to us and to speak the truth to congress about his role. >> all right. very quickly because i don't want to miss this. i know you've been very outspoken about gun violence. and last week, the house held its first hearing on gun violence since 2011. we saw in that hearing florida congressman matt gaetz squaring off against parents of the parkland shooting victims. what do you hope comes out of this?

what do you think the chances are of penetrating the gun lobby, getting anything passed and signed into law? >> well, that was a particularly low moment of grand disrespect. it was, again, maybe inexplicable to me. what i hope is that we will pass hr-8, which is the universal background bill. and i have confidence we will. you saw the courage and important role that this committee, this chairman of our committee chose gun violence as one of our initial hearings. we will pass that bill and we will save lives, because alex, you know the scope of this problem. in 2017, 40,000 people died in this country of gun violence. another 80,000 were caught in the cross fire, literally wounded, caught in the cross fire. that is 300 people a day, every single day, yesterday, today, tomorrow, 100 dead a day, 200 wounded a day. we have to wrap our heads and our arms around this problem. we have to show compassion to those who have lost so

grievously, and we have to end gun violence. we have an obligation, and i think the opportunity to save lives. so, i was delighted at the hearing, delighted that we finally are able to talk about this. imagine in eight years we have not had a single hearing on gun violence. this year ends that. >> i'll tell you, big welcome to congress, congresswoman dean. thank you so much for speaking with me and i'll very much look forward to speaking with you again. >> i'm delighted for my work and thanks for having me on. >> thank you. the headline says that all the u.s. cut taxes. why will fewer folks get refunds? the rude awakening for many americans this tax season. awak americans this tax season. woman 1: i had no symptoms of hepatitis c. man 1: mine... ...caused liver damage. vo: epclusa treats all main types of chronic hep c.

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in power, politics and paychecks, given all the pornography on the internet, state lawmakers in arizona are considering a bill that would declare pornography a public health process. the largely symbolic measure would be similar to ones passed in 11 other states. my doctor and i expose xarelto. >> to help keep me protected. >> and starting next month, this will be the first tv ad for prescription drugs to include prices. johnson&johnson will eventually do so in all of its ads. the trump administration wants all ads to include such prices. and a gallup poll shows americans divided in their outlook of the economy. 41% say it's growing, but 39% say it's slowing down, and worse

yet, 17% say it's in a recession or depression. and on valentine's day, remember, it's the thought that counts, right? well, a new study finds a great disparity in valentine's spending. on average, men plan to shell out roughly $340 on their partner or spouse. women, on the other hand, say they're going to spend about 64 bucks. but like we said, it is the thought that counts. well, millions of taxpayers who are submitting their returns for the first time since the new gop tax plan went into effect will be in for bad news, because according to the government accountability office, 30 million people are expected to owe the irs this tax season, 3 million more people than if the law had not been changed. and for those who do get money back, they'll notice their refunds are smaller to the tune of an average of 8.4% less as compared with last year. here now is cnbc contributor ron insana. ron, do the math for me. how does this work out? >> well, there are a couple of things. one, the complications to the

tax code that occurred when this was immeanted meant some corporations underwithheld the amount of tax a typical employee would pay, and so that's why you might be seeing a smaller refund. in the case of some independent contractors, you might have paid estimated taxes that were too small because of some big changes that occurred to the tax code for individuals. so, corporations have gotten the benefit and individuals are effectively footing the bill. >> so wait a second, when the president touts his tax cut plan as being an improvement and a benefit for working families, is that not so? >> well, in a lot of states, it's not so. if you look at the reductions in the deduction that you get for state and local income taxes, s.a.l.t., as it's called, you can only deduct $10,000 in total, including state, local income taxes, property taxes, and you've also seen some changes for limited liability companies who may not have the same deductions as they have in the past if they're not in manufacturing and/or, not surprisingly, real estate. so, taxes could be going up for a wide variety of people, particularly in these high-tax

states like new york, new jersey, connecticut, illinois, massachusetts, and california. so, the blue states got punished on this one. and in many cases, they're going to pay higher rates of taxes. >> and part of that is because popular tax deductions have gone out the window? >> the s.a.l.t. taws, and plus, the mortgage interest deduction used to be such that if you had a $1.1 million mortgage, you could deduct the interest you're paying on that. that was reduced to $750,000. and it's had an impact in both cases, the reduction of property tax deductions and this smaller mortgage size has had an impact on real estate in a lot of states around the country where they're higher priced and higher taxed. >> okay, so it's too late to fix what happened with taxes in 2018. how about next year? what can people do to help? >> there's really no escaping this at the moment. this is the law of the land, so not much will change. what is interesting is this law

sunsets on the individual side in 2025 and reverts to 2016 levels, so those deductions we don't have today, state and local income taxes, mortgage rate deductions and the like, will go back in 2025 to the levels we saw prior to the enactment of this particular rule. so, it's going to be a while, but unless congress and the president agree to some changes, this is where we are for the moment. >> given elizabeth warren, who kicked off her presidential bid officially yesterday, and her populist message and looking for economic development and equity and the like, her financial platform includes a wealth tax on those with assets over $50 million. she's banning wells fargo from college campuses. i want you to explain that. and then also breaking up monopolies. the wells fargo component, is that because of the track record over the last couple years? >> i believe that's the case, yeah, the fact that they've run into serious regulatory issues over the last several years, fake accounts that were opened on behalf of people who were

unaware and a host of other transgressions that they've been hit with in recent years. i suspect that's what's behind it, because she's obviously not pointing to any other large u.s. bank. >> yeah. what about the reaction on wall street to her candidacy? >> oh, listen, i don't think wall street would embrace any progressive who is now talking about higher taxes in any way, shape or form. and i think, alex, the way the economy should be looked at right now is that we've spent a lot on this tax cut. the u.s. budget got a lot bigger in the last two years. we're going to be running annual deficits of $1 trillion, potentially for as far as the eye can see. so i think the progressives are going with more spending. on the one hand, it's needed in certain areas, but there will need to be some pay for somewhere, because despite the size of our debt, despite talking about modern monetary currency that you just print more dollars and pay it back with devalued currency, that's a risky proposition. so i think it's going to be an interesting two years on the

economic front. the arguments on the one hand, the president has blown the deficit and the debt up. progressives are also talking about doing the same. no one's in the middle talking about how to adjust the size of the national debt and kind of redirect resources in a way, particularly people who have been left behind who need retraining, re-education and new skills to compete in the modern workforce. that's something we're not quite hearing enough about. >> wasn't the national debt, correct me if i'm wrong, wasn't that a tent pole of republican policy? >> absolutely, until dick chebey said deficits don't matter, then that began to run away. paul ryan ran almost his entire career on reducing the size of government and getting deficits in check and entitlement reform, which has not happened either, and no one's done it. so, if you go back to the obama administration when the simpson/bowles commission was formed and that report came out, it was one of the most sensible documents we have seen in modern history. i would love to see somebody embrace that, because it took

into account all things that concern progressives, but it also took into account the unsustainability of debt and deficits and dealing with it in a much more forthright and balanced way. if only we would resurrect that. >> so often i want to call you professor ron insana. >> you know what, my degree's in film, so that would probably be inappropriate. >> make a movie, i guess, and talk about it? okay. >> associate professor, adjunct professor, that would probably be more appropriate. >> regardless, you're my guy. >> thank you. appreciate that. >> thank you so much. elizabeth warren's long-awaited presidential announcement comes just as the "boston globe" says she needs to stop the drip, drip, drip of fresh revelations. will lingering questions cripple her candidacy? first, in honor of black history month, the series "she thrives" salutes leaders benefiting their communities in profound ways. tiffany lofton is making a stance with an empowering

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i want every kid in america to have the same opportunity i had, a fighting chance to build something real. i am in this fight all the way! >> senator elizabeth warren there making her presidential bid official yesterday. she pushed a progressive platform that includes medicare support for all and new green deal. bishop worked on president obama's campaign and founder and president of liberty government

affairs. thanks, guys. thanks for joining us together. bishop, your take on elizabeth warren's campaign kickoff. is her progressive platform, is it the right call now heading into 2020? >> thank you for having me. i think it is. senator warren has continued to prove to the american people and democratic party she is a true leader interested in the types of policies that really resonate with a majority of americans. that isn't to say we don't have one of the most diverse and experienced groups of candidates right now in the democratic party, when you look at everyone from secretary castro to senators harris, gillibrand and so forth, yes, i think she's capable of doing a tremendous job and she brings the type of leadership and experience american people are hungry to see. >> let's talk about the one controversy, though, she is still under past fire for

native-american heritage. she apologized for that and said it was something the media has to let go as well. she is trying to move on. the president posting her announcement refers to her as pocohantas, still, using this native-american stereotype to mock warren. he makes no apologies for it. are these two held to different standards? >> i think she does have something to apologize for. >> which she has. >> yeah. but it's been a big mess. she has had a hard time, explaining herself, whether she believes this or not. she had a whole video rollout explaining her situation. it's detracted from her message. donald trump would love nothing more than to run against elizabeth warren for president. she has all these issues. i think it's pretty obvious she's not the most personable person in the world.

i don't think she comes off as a person who can relate to average americans. her agenda is democratic socialism. >> did you hear her background? did you hear her talking about her father being a janitor and going to like a community college and all the things she went through. you think average americans can't relate to that. >> they can definitely relate to her story. i don't feel like she's a very compelling candidate. she's not on the stump -- she's very fiery. she talked about her husband. her rollout was a mess. she doesn't relate to average americans. when she talks about her agenda, taxing the super rich and all this new spending, i don't think average americans want that. i don't think they want to see massive taxes imposed on the super rich to pay for all these new programs that she wants, like a green new deal nobody can even calculate how much it costs because it's staggering. >> with the wealth tax, i should say, if you just heard prior,

wall street won't want that. i don't know if wall street is made up by average americans. i'm curious, bishop your thought. >> i wanted to get in here on it with brian. average americans want someone that can project leadership the way she can and the way many other democratic candidates can. the argument she isn't personable, that seems to have its roots in sexism although i'm not accusing brian of anything. i would absolutely say what americans want is someone that can look vladamir putin in the face and let him know the strength and power of the american people and the american government. we want someone that can represent our interests abroad and speak with a very strong voice to both our allies and enemies alike. that's what you get in a lot of these candidates to include

elizabeth warren. >> amy klobuchar is going to announce her candidacy at 2:30 p.m. eastern time. gives you your thoughts how she distinguishes herself from the field. >> i think the senator has been very personable along time amongst her colleagues and voters. one of the issues i have is some of the things we have seen come out in the press lately. the way it's been characterized is somewhat unfair. we have to deal with these questions of open secrets discussed on the hill is something she has to address directly and really speak to. >> last word to you, quickly. >> finally, we have a democratic candidate more moderate. we saw howard schultz can't run because he is a moderate democratic. we will see if schultz adopts

green new deal, free college tuition for everybody, tax the super wealthy. if that's her agenda that means the party has been completely hijacked by left wingers and no room for nmoderates in the part. >> thank you. the new confusion on the new green deal. gr een deal so, every day, we put our latest technology and vast expertise to work. ( ♪ ) the united states postal service makes more e-commerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country. ways to lose stubborn belly fat: metal vibration therapy. ( ♪ ) (glass breaking) (gasp) not cool. freezing away fat cells with coolsculpting? now that's cool! coolsculpting safely freezes and removes fat cells with little or no downtime and no surgery. results and patient experience may vary. some common side effects include temporary numbness, discomfort, and swelling. ask your doctor if coolsculpting

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hour. see you all again at noon eastern. it's up with david gura. >> this is "up" on david gura. more pressure on virginia's lieutenant-governor to step down. two women who accused him of sexual assault now say they would testify in impeachment proceedings. today, fairfax maintains he is innocent. >> we will have our say and i am confident. >> lawrence, massachusetts, democratic senator, elizabeth warren makes it official. >> i am in this fight all the way! >> she scheduled nine campaign events in 10 days, the campaign trail getting more and more crowded. one thing the democrats are talking about is the green new deal. >> for history, it's standing up and saying, look, humanity is in crisis, america is