>> we truly are stronger together. >> stronger together. >> strong aer together. >> stronger together. >> is that a 2016-2020 mind meld? donald trump seemingly borrowing from his 2016 rival's campaign slogan. "stronger together" was the democrats aven democrats' 2016 campaign theme. whatever. good morning. it tuesd it's tuesday, february 12th. joining us, mike barnicle, noah rothman and washington bureau chief for "usa today," susan page is with us. so, joe, stronger together. sort of. not really. >> and as the campaign really kicks in to gear, he's like

hillary, he's going to move from that first slogan "stronger together" to "i'm with her." it may not fit as much pore donald tru -- for donald trump. i know a lot of trump supporters have amnesia but donald trump was a huge fan of hillary clinton. not only did they go to weddings together, they went to donald and melania's wedding. he was a big contributor to hillary clinton, he was a big contributor to the dnc. he said she was a great secretary of state, she'd make a great president of the united states. donald trump loved hillary clinton but more than that he really loved hillary clinton. he started talking about birtherism, he could win the republican nomination and thought he could run, it would

be really good for his brand. of course the worst thing happened and he ended up winning and it's been devastating for his brand. who knows, maybe all of his properties will be seized by the time robert mueller's done with him. it been a hell of a ride, though, hasn't it? if you were looking at donald trump's speech last night, it had all the worst elements there, donald trump attacking press freedoms, donald trump whipping his crowd into such a frenzy that a bbc reporter got beaten up, donald trump challenging the rule of law, questioning the rule of law. you know, just it was just again the -- donald trump lying about the wall. >> woof already sta "we've already started building it along the rio grand." >> rambling on about german

shepherds, i like german shepherds, maybe i should get myself one. any democrat that thinks they're going to cake walk to beating donald trump in 2020 like everybody thought in 2016 you need to watch the last four to five minutes of his speech and understand democrats have an uphill battle here. it n it's not going to be easy. >> i think most of the candidates we've talked to understand that. i think on that long list of hits that were played yesterday at that rally, "lock her up," they were still doing the chant about hillary clinton in 2019. the president has another question to answer today, which is do you sign this bill that's apparently been agreed upon by the united states congress, which gives you less money and

less wall, not on than he wanted but that was there at the end of last your in a deal reached by the senate. they're not going to give him the wall in the way he wants it but he was saying we're going to get that wall. he heard the outline of the wall before getting on stage and said i want the wall. >> the thing is, you can really understand why people are still chanting "lock her up" for hillary clinton. after all, you go back and you look at hillary clinton's campaign and state department, the most corrupt in american history. her national security adviser, you know, pled guilty to federal charges, her campaign manager pled guilty to campaign charges, her number two in the campaign pled guilty to federal chargers, you had her -- oh, wait a second. >> yeah, i think you're getting her mixed up.

that's donald trump. >> oh, wait. about eight or nine of his associates. >> a lot of witches. >> so why are they saying lock her up when everybody around donald trump, including his longest serving political adviser also taken out of his house in handcuffs, the guy he told the "washington post" was one of his top foreign policy aides, thrown in jail, his lawyer! i'm sorry. i don't understand. who were the adults chanting "lock her up" for hillary clinton? her people didn't go to jail. all of donald trump's people have gone to jail. >> yes, yes, they have. >> that's something. >> possibly more to come. so let's go to what we know.

>> oh, there's more to come. there is more to come. >> let's go to what we do know about that border security deal. congressional negotiators announced last night they have reached an agreement in principle to prevent another shutdown at the end of the week. the deal would provide more money for bored ader security b does he not include any funds to build new walls along the southern border. so he does he not get his wall. huh. multiple sources say the dal includ -- deal includes $1.4 billion for border barrier enhancements, like steel slats. and democrats drop their demand to limit the number of people who can be detained by immigration enforcement but put a limit on the number of beds for detained immigrants. lawmakers are hoping president trump gets on board with the

deal, but a white house official told nbc news last night, quote, we have to see the offer first. but "the washington post" bob costaed -- costa posted a tweet last night saying "a person close to the president considering taking a deal it just so happens to coincide exactly with the law sean hannity cited at the top of his show last night. it's so weird. >> how interesting. >> these things are like, whoo, major coincidences, right? >> it's governing by talk show host. mike barnicle, at the end of the

hannity show, i'm told that he was negative about the bill -- about the compromise, the talk show hosts are obviously going to be negative about the compromise. the question is will donald trump be stupid enough politically to take debate agth again, listen to these talk show hosts who took his approval ratings from 45 to 33%, he listened to rush limbaugh and ann coulter and lost like 6, 7% in his approval rating by shutting down the government. will he that be stupid again to do it? because if he does he, he loses given. >> joe, any question involving president trump that begins with "with he be that stupid" has you leaning one way or another. i don't think so. i think that he will sign the bill. i think as willie pointed out

and it was just pointed out, they have found several loopholes in which they can get more money out of the federal government without going to congress to help enhance in donald trump's mind the idea of the wall. but the substance of the agreement reached last night is interesting because it was less money for border enhancement than was in the original thing he didn't sign in december. this is a crazy, crazy way to do business. >> it is a crazy way to do business. i wonder, susan page, is that why donald trump was saying last night, we already started building the wall, it's getting done across the rio grand, take a look at it. is it going to be donald trump's argument? i got trounced in negotiations but don't worry, i found this law that will allow me to take money from other parts of the government, but by the way,

we're already building the wall. is this what we're going to see? >> i feel quite certain that assuming president trump signs on to this deal, which congressional raspberry think-- republicans think he will but no one is quite sure about that, that he will argue he's had a victory here. we talk about the democrats launching their 2020 campaign. donald trump has been running his 2020 campaign since the day he was inaugurated in 2017 and we're just seeing it ramped up both with the state of the union address and with last night's rally. this is an argument he will be making for the next two years. >> how does he the president sign this bill? that's what i want to know. if he's looking into the eyes of that crowd and they chant "build that wall" and sean hannity last night the quote was "this is a garbage compromise" and donald trump rejected previously anything that didn't have a wall

because he wasn't going to back down on the promise he made in 2015 and 2016. how can he sign this bill? >> the president has to learn that he's the president, he sets the narrative and they have the right to create a reality distortion field. he could call this a victory and he has to know he's the on game in town for his base and supporters. what democrats argued in this compromise, a position they dropped, was for arbitrary caps for for i.c.e. detention. maybe we didn't get the wall, we got a lot of fencing but the other guys, they are absolutely terrifying. negative partisanship rules all of us. it was the primary motivating in 2016, it probably going to be the primary motivating factor in

2020, presuming they don't have any real accomplishments on the border to run on. so making the democratic demands the focus of this president's campaign i think would serve him pretty well. >> at the rally he said he did not want to hear what the bipartisan group had agreed to before he spoke and that it didn't matter anyway because he's fixed on getting his wall. >> i have to tell you as i was walking up to the stage, they said that progress is being made with this committee. just so you know, we're building the wall anyway. they say progress has been made with this committee. just now. i said wait a minute, i got to take care of my people from texas. i don't want to hear about it.

i don't know what they immediate progress is being made significant. now what did happen is the democrats were being hit really hard on the concept of releasing criminals into our society. that has not been playing well. so maybe progress, maybe not. but i had a choice. i could have stayed out there and listened or i could have come out to the people of el paso and texas. i chose you. >> now, you really mean finish that wall because we built a lot of it. >> it staggeri's staggering sevs

into this presidency that people are still in that field of the president. they either know he's lying or they're ignorant of basic facts they could discover on google. lets expand it out a little bit. the fact that the central motivating factor in donald trump's presidency is building a wall in a year that border crossings are at a 50-year low, a 50-year low and the fact he talks about crime when native born americans are far more likely to commit crimes than immigrants or illegal immigrants coming across the border. you could go down the list. drugs. he talked about the drugs again, oh, the drugs don't come at an

illegal port of entry, they get there and they take a right and a left and then they're in america. it's the dumbest stuff i ever heard in my life. if somebody in seventh grade for student council said something like this, they would be laughed off the stage. first he said i don't care about the details because we're going to build the wall anyway. then he went on to say the wall is already being built. the wall's not being built. i would love to know what motivates those people to cheer at one lie after another lie after another lie. this is about the truth and hoose not telling it. >> the reason he was in el paso is because he was trying to make the case there was a crisis in the border town like this one and last week you had the sheriff come down and say, no, here are the numbers, we're a

low-crime city, we were a low-crime city before the barrier and about the same since we had the barrier. the entire thrust of him being there is based on something that's not true. the president wanted $5.7 billion for the wall. in this new bill he gets $1.375 billion, which is about $200 million less than he would have gotten if he had just taken the deal in december. now he's at this point, can he sign a bill that gets $200 million less he could have gotten in december and about $4 billion less than he wanted. this all could have been done over the two years when the president and republicans owned congress, they had the white house, the house and senate. have a big rally, we're going to get this done. why didn't you get this done if it was so urgent for two years? >> joe, i know i don't have to explain this to you of all

people, but for everyone else out there, the wall is kind of a metaphor for donald trump ea's presidency. the foundation of the wall is hate, it's fear. as you build this wall over the course of his political career, you build on that wall and it becomes fear of the other and it becomes fear of brown people and fear a caravan, and fear of invasions and fear of ms-13. that's the root of trump's presidential election and that's going to be the root of his reler reelection campaign. >> and he said it. he said it yesterday. we need to keep people from latin america out of here. it's about the brown people that donald trump thinks do not belong in america. you could look at all of his immigration policies, you can look at his campaign back in early december 2015, mika, when he talked about the muslim

registry, when he talked about the muslim ban. we said at the time this sounds a lot like germany in 1933, there's a reason because in germany in 1933 there were season leaders that also focused on the other. >> it terrible. >> i know we're going to talk about the representative who made the horrific anti-semitic remarks. i just find it curious that all the republicans that were yesterday attacking her for her horrific anti-semitic remarks, witch she apologized for, i don't think i remember kevin mccarthy calling out donald trump when he called for a muslim registry in the united states of america in 2015 and 2016. i don't think i heard from any of those self-righteous

republicans, or so-called conservative commentators on the far right when donald trump talked about banning 1.5 billion people from entering the united states of america because of the god that they worshipped. it was sick. and it was everybody bit as racist and hateful as what anybody said yesterday. and, by the way, you want to check my cred on the topic of israel? seriously, don't even go there. you will lose. check my voting record out on israel. it's an absolute joke, mika. these people are hypocrites. where was kevin mccarthy when donald trump talked about the registry, talked about banning

1.5 million people coming from america because they prayed not to the wrong god, they prayed to the god of abraham, look krike mccarthy prays to the god of abraham. >> we're going to get to that story ahead. also still ahead on "morning joe," old slogans and "lock her up" chants weren't the only throwbacks last night. there was also violence aimed at the media. plus the other event in el paso last night, did we just see the first step in beto o'rourke's campaign? but first bill karin's forecast. >> what a mess, mika. snow, sleet, freezing rain. these are pictures coming out of las vegas of all places, windy conditions, 50 miles per hour and, yes, that was snow on the vegas strip.

doesn't happen that often. last time was in 2015. almost 100 million people are under winter storm warnings or advisories. overnight in chicago we went to an ice storm warning, up to a half of inch of race is coating everything, making things very difficult. . we see the impacts heading into pennsylvania, heading into baltimore this morning. notice snow accumulations, new york city southward, not expecting much. northern new england, a foot of snow to you. hartford to providence to boston, a quick two to four inches of snow and then turning to sleet. northern portions of the great lakes will also get hit. the icy spots today, chicago. outside of new york city, ice storm possible, northern jersey, poconos, catskills, interior sections of new england.

so numerous travel issues out there. of course with all the big cities and all this messy weather from chicago all the way through the northeast. new york city snow should be moving in around 9 a.m. and then over to sleet and freezing rain this afternoon. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. ♪ keep on truckin' baby truckiny making my dreams a reality

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check in from afar're with remote access, ♪ and have professional monitoring backing you up with xfinity home. demo in an xfinity store. call, or go online today. democratic congresswoman ilhan omar is apologizing for her tweet. yesterday jewish members of the democratic caucus sent a letter to house leadership.

though they did not mention their minnesota colleague by name, they said they were deeply alarm by the rhetoric that has disparaged us and called into question our loyalty to our nation. they also asked leadership to, quote, join us in calling on each member of the caulcus to unite against anti-semitism and dangerous trops and said anti-semitism must be called out and condemned. we are and will always be strong supporters of israel in congress because we understand that our support is based on shared values and strategic interests. will the criticism of israel as policies is protected by the values of free speech and democrat being ic debate that t united states and israel share but congresswoman omar's use --

remarks are deeply offewffensio. the entire congress must be fully engaged in denouncing and rejecting all forms of hatred, racism, prejudice and discrimination wherever they are encountered. the apology from congresswoman omar came soon after tweeting, quote, listening and learning but standing strong. she said anti-semitism is real and i am grateful for jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-semitic tropes and added i reaffirm the problematic role of lobbyists in our politics, whether it be the

pac, the nra or fossil fuel industry." joe, what do you think? >> well, the apology could have been a bit more unequivocal. comparing the people who defend the people of israel to exist and comparing to the nra and fossil fouel industry is not exactly an unequivocal statement. she's made statements before. that was not the type of apology that would have been helpful for not only her career but also -- or for the democratic party and for healing in this country.

because with donald trump's vicious rhetoric attacking muslim americans, it's more important than ever i would say, as someone who really wants muslim americans to prove donald trump wrong every day, this is -- this was sort of distressing to say the least. her apology was distressing. i hope she takes another swing at it and is more unequivocal in her apology. but you cannot use the word unequivocal when talking about what nancy pelosi and the house leadership did. my god, that was one of the strongest statements. britt hume called it strong medicine. i don't know that i can railremr

an entire leadership team putting out a statement that strongly condemning a member of their own caucus, republican or democrat. >> it was strong and it was desirable. unfortunately for representative omar, this is her second comment. she got an education, apologized and has since stepped on another land mine. the reason why democrats have not applied the northam standard here is because it would be much more broadly applied. the northam standard that says any act of bigotry or prejudice attributable to ignorance or bias is intolerable. it would have to be applied to

representative tlaib, that they have members, including maxine waters, who is the committee chair who have a relationship with minister louis farrakhan, who is an outright anti-semite and have disassociated from the women's march. this is a bigger problem than representative omar. the statement saying she apologized fully is an attempt to get out of a bad news cycle, not necessarily to achieve, as you say, healing a reconciliation. >> it was about as strong a statement as i've seen. i haven't seen the republicans stand united against donald trump east a

trump's ant i-muslim comments, about his moral equivocation white supremacists, donald trump's attacking a mexican judge. i've never heard the republican party once united in any of those instances. we also have seen nancy pelosi push back against some of the -- let's just say we've seen her push back time and again when people have tried to drag them too far from center. >> congresswoman omar also has expressed sympathy and support for the bds movement, which is to put economic sanctions are

israel. susan page, it's an interesting dynamic to watch nancy pelosi manage this new caucus. she's poured some cold water on the green new deal movement, tamped down talk of impeachment and now dealing with this with congresswoman omar. >> we still are in the sorting out process in terms of this interesting new generation of house freshmen who have been pretty assertive, are very self-confident. nancy pelosi has been def rngs -- deferential to them in a way, they've gotten some good committee assignments, but he is also exerting her control onn h issues like this when it comes to outrage and opposition when members have acknowledged doing

things like having worn blackface. sometimes it's hard, you know, you end up pushing back against members of the congress or the democratic party who are either important or maybe about to be important. but i think it is one effect of the trump administration that democrats feel that this is something they need to do. they need to have a really clear contrast. >> absolutely. >> it's so interesting also, i didn't hear kevin mccarthy or any republican senators or house members attacking donald trump in his campaign with his anti-semitic tropes. do you remember the star of david next to hillary clinton? do you remember that? let's keep that up for a second. let's keep that up for a second. do we have -- hey, alex, could you show us the side by side criticism of kevin mccarthy with

donald trump when he did that anti-semitic trope? >> we could but one side would be blank. >> what about paul ryan or mitch mcconnell? do we have a side by side on that? i'd love to see the attacks when donald trump made an anti-semitic attack against hillary clinton. do we have that side by side? >> not ready. we'll look to see if anybody are available. >> could you look for that? it would be really good. there are other anti-semitic tropes that donald trump did during the campaign. i don't know, mika,om cra i'm c just kind of crazy. when you preach moral equivocation between neo nazis and those opposing neo nazis, that's sort of anti-semitic,

too, isn't it? while we keep talking about ralph northam while watching this rally, there can be no moral ekwif -- equivocation between democrats and republicans. he's not leaving, okay, democrats. he's not leaving. up ne you need to kick him out of his party this week, let him govern as an independent between now and 2020. but you cannot have that man who still doesn't get it sitting as a democratic governor in a swing state. kick him out of your party this week. i know you've all condemned him. you've done all the right things. he ant leavi ain't leaving. if you can't impeach him, kick him out of the party.

in this conversation, ralph northam's name has come up two or three times. he can no longer be a democrat. he need to be kicked out of the party. >> still ahead, the president has threatened to sue a former aide who published an insider account of his time inside the trump administration. now the former aid has beaten the president to the punch. cliff sims joins us next on "morning joe." next on "morning joe." ♪ feeling unsure? what if you had some help? introducing the new 2019 ford edge with the confidence

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an editor at the bbc posted a video to social media late last night showing a different angle of a moment that the rally stopped when she says an audience member attacked her cameraman. >> hispanic americans and asian americans have reached the lowest level in the history of our country. >> [ bleep ] you! [ bleep ] the media! e media!

>> the bbc said the reporter was violently attacked by the crowd. the man was removed from the crowd. president trump could see the incident and check to see if the man was okay. this was my fear during the campaign when the crowd started chanting and going in any direction the president wanted to go because he would talk about punching people in the face and roughing people up. he thought it was funny. he doesn't understand someone could take it seriously. someone could get killed. >> when you light the fear, it's

a thin line before the crowd becomes a gang and the gang becomes a mob. i hesitate to think about what the potential is there at some point, at some rally, as we proceed through this long presidential campaign where something really horrific may happen. >> when he does he that, willie, he's like a tyrant in training. it's something you would expect from erdogan, from putin. we conservatives have understood in most of our lives that most of the people in the mainstream media have never voted for a republican candidate before and republican and conservative candidates have brought that point up but never in a way that

elicited violence. you can laugh about it, joke about it, talk about never getting a fair shake, but donald trump unnecessarily takes it to the nest level where it is so hateful, he calls them enemies of people. just like joseph stalin did. in miss of the people. and he incites hatred and violence against the press. >> they take that that people have to do something about the enemy, that the enemies are stopping their objectives. ask katie kerr what it was like and to have to have her escorted to her car by the secret service. i don't want to put it in the

unveru universe, the day is coming when something terrible is going to happen. >> we're there. if we have cameramen being attacked and removed because it could get brutal, we're there. >> the trump administration defies claims there's of cover up of the murder of jamal khashoggi to protect the crown prince. mal khashoggi to protect the crown prince i'm mildly obsessed with numbers.

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house aide cliff sims. his new book "team of vipers, my 500 extraordinary days in the trump white house." also with us, attorney general mark zad, who specializes in national security law. yesterday they filed a lawsuit in federal court against the president in his official capacity alleging that he used his campaign organization to

improperly secrecreek retributi against former employees and keep them from invoking their first amendment rights. it's the first lawsuit to assert the president is trying to circumvent standard practices about employees who use information in their books. did you sign an nda? did you make a promise you wouldn't write a book about the things you talk about? >> as i said, i don't remember, but we're operating under the assumption that i did sign the same thing that corey lewandowski, sean spicer did, all who have written books. we've got an arbitration claim against us. mark can walk through the legal stuff. i'm probably the least litigious person you can imagine. i never sued anybody in my life but i got backed into a corner.

one of the themes of my book is about how donald trump's relationship with congress, the wach w way he steam rolled weak-willed members of congress, he doesn't respond to weakness and ultimately i don't like bullies and i wasn't going to allow myself to be bully. >> mark, you're an accomplished lawyer. explain what this is. >> federal employees have a first amendment right to publish unclassified information. that's the only restriction on them, nothing classified. cliff didn't have information that was classified. it's all about his 500 days in the white house. this is a subterfuge effort by the trump white house to try to silence cliff and intimidate anyone else who might come after

him and it not going to be permitted to occur. s that why we're pursuing the lawsuit and this will include trying to depose donald trump himself in both proceedings. >> in the lawsuit you accuse the president of seeking to unlawfully penalize you. what beyond the suit has he done for retribution toward you? >> there has been an arbitration claim filed against me. >> mark, what are we talking about here? have you heard directly from the white house? has cliff been threatened here? >> it's the initiation of the arbitration claim, which the campaign leaked last week to a few select media outlets. that arbitration claim is very similar to a lawsuit the way the process works nowadays. cliff is facing possible monetary penalties of who knows

how much money, as well as being held silent. this arbitration claim demands return that cliff created as a federal employees. let that sink in. the private entity campaign is telling cliff he has to return government documents to it. this is the white house using the campaign as its tool to try and stifle and silence former federal employees. >> susan page. >> the president is a fan of nondisclosure agreements as a business executive. it's a pretty leaky place, the trump campaign and trump white house. is there important information that we're not haearing about because employees of the campaign or white house signed ndas and are afraid to talk about them? >> i'm not sure about that. my gut instinct would probably be perhaps, yeah.

but ultimately as a white house employees, i served donald trump faithfully but ultimately i work for american people. i do not lose my first amendment right because i worked in one particular white house or another. i just felt like it was important when i had an opportunity to stand up, we like to teach our kids that when you're being bullied that you need to stand up. so i just wasn't going to cowher in a corner about this. i wanted to be the one who was willing to stand up and say that this isn't right. >> the "new york times" maggie haberman says this suit gets at the heart at what the president has attempted to be simultaneously over the last two years, both a private citizen and the holder of the highest office in the land. thank you both. >> susan page, thank you as well. and coming up, lawmakers reach a deal to avert another government shutdown at the end of the week, but it not yet official. we'll talk to one of the top

negotiators, house appropriations committee chair anita lowey. and more from last night's battle in el paso ahead on "morning joe." after months of wearing only a tiger costume, we're finally going on the trip i've been promising. because with expedia, i saved when i added a hotel to our flight. ♪ so even when she outgrows her costume, we'll never outgrow the memory of our adventure together. unlock savings when you add select hotels to your existing trip. only when you book with expedia.

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i'm one f1 for 1. we had one election and we won. now we're going to be 2 for 0 and everything as perfect. >> 2 for 0. >> it's so hard. straight face. welcome back to "morning joe." it is tuesday, february 12th. 2 for 0! me mike barnicle liked that one. and noah rothman, the author of "unjust" and joining the conversation national political correspondent for nbc news and msnbc and author of "the red and the blue," steve kornacki. and also would us, white house correspondent yamiche alcindor is with us and correspondent for

the "new york times" peter baker. a lot going on, 2 for 0, and that's what he's saying for his people, we are strong are together. where did i hear that? that didn't work. organization, it goes along with "i'm with her." maybe that will be the next one. lawmakers say they have reached another agreement to avoid another shutdown. it does not include any fund to build new walls along the southern border. multiple sources tell nbc news that the deal includes nearly $1.54 billion for 55 miles of border barrier enhancements, like steel slats and other existing technologies.

dhs would receive $1.7 billion in new funding for border security. lawmakers are hoping president trump gets on board with the deal but a white house official told nbc news last night we have to see the offer first. at the rally the president said that he did not wait to hear what the bipartisan group had agreed to before he spoke and that it didn't matter anyway because he's fixed on getting his wall. he also rejected statistics that showed the crime rate in el paso fell before the border wall was built, going against the fact and what locals there, threw cluing the sheriff and the city's republican mayor know to be the truth while literally screaming murder. >> i spoke to people that have been here a long time. they said when that wall went up, it's a whole different ball game. is that a correct statement? whole different ball game.

i don't care whether a mayor is a republican or a democrat, that are full of crap when they say it hasn't mad a big difference. they said, oh, crime stayed the same. didn't stay the same. went way down. went way, way down. thanks to a powerful border wall in el paso, texas, it's one of america's safest cities now. >> listen to these numbers. 266,000 arrests of criminal ail yns, including those charged or convicted of approximately 100,000 assaults, 40,000 larcenies, 30,000 sex crimes, 25,000 burglaries, 12,000 vehicle thefts, 11,000 robberies, 4,000 kidnappings and

4,000 murders. murders. murders. killings. murders. >> i'm -- >> you know, i think ronald reagan liked to say facts are stubborn things. i know others did as well. the lies that just tumble out of his mouth are extraordinary. >> the hatred. >> again, for those who can't afford the google machine, again, native born americans comet crimes at a much higher rate than do immigrants, illegal immigrants, whatever you call legal, illegal whatever type of immigrants. incarceration rates for native born americans are much higher. you look at the stats, it's not even a close call. this is one of thing about lies, one of the racist lies that donald trump tells. but there is, peter baker, this distortion reality field all

around the president. for some reason people go to his rally put on their hats and start yetting at things that are just and lies that can be uncovered from looking at statistics and his quote is the wall is being built at a rapid pace. the rio grande, check it out yourself. is that a precursor to donald trump saying i'll take their $1.3 billion, i'm going to build the wall anyway or is he going to let his approval rate go down another ten point by listening to a couple right-wing talk show hosts? >> the deal in december would have had a.

will he be able to spin it saying i've got i don't know some sort of victory here? you already hear sean hannity saying, no, it's a tishl da because in fact there as no appetite on either side of the aisle for a government shutdown. it may lead to him declaring a national emergency to be able to shift more funds over. we don't know yet. that would obviously spark a court battle. nobody is quite sure how it would turn out. there is some reason to believe he's got a plausible claim according to some legal experts but it's uncertain. a court could throw that out. neither a white house nor congress wants a government shutdown at this point so they're looking for a way out. >> and by the way, the court overturn being donald trump's actions is probably where this is going to end and then he can

run against what's this? this was near the end of donald trump's speech that was filled with lies and race baiting. but at the end he delivers his closing argument, which i think campaign trail. take a look. >> each of us here tonight is united by the same timeless val oos in the american constitution and our great rule of law. we believe in the dignity of work and of life. woo believe hachl, not government and bureaucracy, are, the right to free speech and the

right to keep and bear arms. we believe that children should be taught to love our country, honor our incredible history and always respect our great american flag. we believe that the first duty of government is to be lobl its our national motto that we are going to keep, wheel never change this, in god we trust. these are the beliefs and principles that bind us together as citizens, as neighbors, as great patriots. >> so steve kornacki, i wanted to show that clip, that closing argument, because as i was watching the speech saying how could people be applauding that, finally he turned to that "we believe" argument and you might be thinking the same thing,

there were three who is that will pla welfare reform that will play well in iowa, that will play well in missouri, play well in louisiana, but it will a lot of the swing donald trump is way behind in but need to win. >> my way thinking about this presidency, just in terms of his political standings and in terms of his prospects for winning reelection in 2020, his presidency has really been no different than the campaign. we've seen the same cycles in like we just had for him with the government shutdown. as he he'd go to that was

generally 42, 43, 44% somewhere around there and we'd say, gee, given all of the -- we would also say still doesn't look like it going to be enough to get him over the top. what you saw on lks day in 2016, forall sorts of factors, some of the clibing in tiff part sh fear more the other side that would get elected in this person doesn't went. its in i don't even know of a

scenario where he gets the majority of the pop larp vote but is there a scenario where he replicates what he did in 2016? that's an open question. >> certainly. >> and there are those seeking to elevate the new members of congress and making them the face of the democratic party for foils of donald trump, and we're going to get rid of airplanes in tn years, to make it an extreme leftist party that president trump can run against. >> el with, republicans have always in some way been looking for a boogeyman or woman to put a face on the democratic party. at one point it was nancy pelosi and they put a lot of money running against nancy pelosi. it seeps right now nancy pelosi is roger goodell a good tykele. she looked strong in her nt actions with so they're being at

aoc, she's a rising star, the president said she has this sign, woo have, also looking at them saying these are the people i can attack and the pop who can give a face to the, u that th theyephs talking to dp democratic aides yesterday, they wering is so we have to listen really hard today when we hear how democrats are talking about this. >> mike barnicle, it's so funny. i'm glad yamiche brought this

up. a couple days ago i made the mistake after they put out their new green bill of -- and flsh i sort of put out a half joking tweet saying, well look, this is, you know, nancy pelosi's running this party. i man, this is how it works. you have people that come in and they have these bold, sweeping plans. i had bold, sweeping plans. we want to eliminate four cabinet agencies and 40 reporters came in, right? and the appropriators just stared at us like, yeah are sure you are. here's nancy pelosi going do what you do, it's good for your consistents, i'm.

>> yes, this is nancy pelosi's some people are in the roc insisting it wasn't nancy pelosi's party. nrnl is the third highest constitutional ranging officer in the land and her name is nancy pelosi. >> joe, i would not bet against the idea that a year, year and a half from now as the prime rip kprm, that much of its princi e principle, for lack of a br

phrase, to wide sprd party in the democrat being party. it a clear reflection of the united states of america, much more so than the republican party. and there are ideas on the far left, there are ideas on the right and nancy pelosi's skill and are to steer the pt unless this badly screw it up will be a within for their presidential candidate, despite donald trump's closing argument. >> mika, i'm not so sure. donald trump and the republican party. mean they doesn't be i, there as

something to be said for the fact that he has this following. steve, your point that, you know, 2020 is not a slam dunk for anyone who challenges donald trump. that is the reality right now. and it's -- it's something. so looking forward in terms of the shutdown, peter baker, what are you hearing in terms of whether or not president trump will somehow bypass all these talks to get the wall he wants and how would that play with the people, especially who suffered from the shutdown and who have worked to work out a deal? republican. >> yeah, he has said a couple times in recent weeks, including an interview about usment the declaration of a national emergency a that will interestinger a big court

battle one reason he's been objectifying a liberal on some other issues someone would not want the president to have unfettered authority about. so mitch mcconnell said the because thud there isn't an appetite for nor government shun down, it and who has no other way to moment to move forward on the wall, which is the one thing he has been absolutely determined about this year. we're already in mid february and in 2019 basically the only issue he has addressed other than setting up the north korea summit has been this wall. he has to come out of it with

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my state was flooded. it was under water. people were killed. people's houses were destroyed. their small businesses were ruined forever! and because of the senator from texas, this government was shut down for politics. then he surfed to second place finish in the iowa caucuses but were of no help to the first responders, to the teachers, to the students whose schools were closed with a federal government that was shut down because of the junior senator from texas. >> wow. that was democratic senator from colorado michael bennett calling out ted cruz over the shutdown last month. and, joe, you wrote in the

"washington post" "michael bennett could be the answer to the question every democrat is asking." reading from your piece, "over time he has quietly burnished his origins with a sparkling, diverse resumé that should appeal to a widing isment of the electorate, democrats, republicans and independents alike. bennett melds the best of the last two candidates to win the white house, bill clinton and barack obama. he as p hhas a commitment to ke there is no perspective democrat being candidate who presents as clear a contrast with trump. it's anyone's guess whether michael bennett can best the

growing field of democratic candidates vying to defeat trump and restore honor to the white house, but here's hoping the quiet colorado senator gives it a try. joe, is it possible? do you think he might jump in? >> i think he might jump in if you watch him on "meet the press." first of all, i don't know that i've ever met michael bennett so while this sounds like an endorsement of his candidacy, it's really more of an endorsement he jumps in the race. it's like if everybody player could ha-- if the red sox could have everybody player in spring training. if you followed twitter or

people who werin gaue iengaged,f the polls lately have suggested the democrats -- the majority of democrats want the party to be more moderate than more progressive. and you add to that the mcclatchy story yesterday, which certainly echos everything i've heard from democratic insiders quietly, there is a rising concern that joe biden's candidacy may be terribly flawed, if he does he in fact jump into the race. somebody like bennett could fill that center lane and, my gosh ush got a great progress of it and route there right now. but that center lane is wide open. >>ets fascinating, too. you mentioned bide i don't know and that story yesterday with all of the sort of democratic establishment types for lack of a better term trying to basically say don't do it, joe,

i'm trying to think about what his candidacy would look like. i'm torn because some days i look at it and say this a no brainer, democrats should run this guy and other days i say this would be the worst mistakes democrats could make. really the idea of electability, the idea of take a look at how donald trump got elected president, a imagimargin of 77, votes in there. the case against him is one of the reasons that joe biden looks so strong as a potential general election candidate right now is that he didn't run in the last general election. and it's hard to remember now, but if you go back about four or five years in time when clinton and biden about both on the ini'd coming off the in

secretary of state. hillary clinton got beat up by trump, beat up by conservative media, she got scrutinized by the mainstream media. by election day, she became the only person capable in the world losing an election to donald trump. i'm not sure joe biden doesn't end up in the same place. >> that's a concern. and you also look at -- we all love joe, i love joe, and i think he'd be a good president. but you look at his past performances, you look at the '88 campaign, you look at the 2000 campaign. i think the kindest thing to say it mistakes were made. how is 2020 in the age of trump going to be any better, any kinder? the reason we love joe, he kind of makes these gaffs and he goes on the late night shows, he said

this about barack obama, says that about indian americans, and we're in 2020. i don't know how that joe biden who did very well in the debates in 2008, i don't know how that joe biden survives in 2020. i just don't. >> i think it's just the idea, i think what he would like democrat being voteic voters to runs is imagine this guy standing across from trump on a stage. remember he had that debate with paul ryan, the obama a accou account -- think u the kind of character and personality traits you're talking about with biden, maybe he thinks he can spin it

to his advantage in his matchup with trump. >> maybe. . >> but, willie, the question is does he he even get to the general election. that's my concern. that he wouldn't even get to the general election because of unforced errors. >> he may not. let's bring in democratic congresswoman nita lowey of new york. she's one of the top lawmakers involved in the negotiations over border security to avoid another government shutdown. chairwoman, it's great to you have about us there is a group of republicans to avoid a government shutdown. >> the numbers are not supposed to be public, although they're everywhere. this is an agreement between democrats and republicans, house and senate, it's a compromise.

and that what woo have to do but it is a compromise between democrats and republicans house and senate. >> this the aren't is it's 1.3 miles of a barrier along the southern border. can you confirm that? >> i'm not supposed to be talking about numbers but it sounds very good to me. >> it sounds about right. what makes you think this will be agreeable and amenable to the white house, to the president of the united states who again was night was lead chants of "build that wall," promising the krout we had a leading senator, senator shelby, congresswoman granger, anita lowey put this deal together.

i am very curbsly opt mix it with support this deal. >> if oo no i mean, andperhaps allows it to go through so the gaft doesn't shut down and then finds another way to get that wall is the democrats' point of view and then that's his problem, it's out of our hands? >> well, we put together a deal we think is fair, represents our values and will do the job. if. >> peter? >> congresswoman, computing that would be allowed for detainees. wonder that ais that a financial resolution door you think that

issue will come back up again? >> you know, i think you're going to get those facts either late this afternoon tore tomorrow. i think it will represent the views of a wide strek do not shut the government down. keep it open. >> okay. yamiche has a question. >> was talking to a democratic advocate yesterday. they were saying they don't want to talk about what the materials for the wall would be. democrats say there's no funding for the wall. they're defining it as concrete. what do you say to democrats who are disappointed that $13.3 billion will go to some sort of barrier? >> well, i think the majority of people, democrat and republican don't want to shut and and we're talking about a barrier that i

think represents the val oos people american people and we want to keep the government open and do the so. >> congresswoman, want to brafl ps to the mind of a lot of people these days. we had a big kur if you feerfuf weekend and she said to read the article and i did and it wants to provide all americans with affordable health care and economic security. my question to is what does he this have to do with environmentalism and do you think that this is actually achievable or is this just really a statement of principles? >> look, first of all, i think

it's important to have principles. it's important to represent your values and if aoc is putting out a plan that does he represent the very best in america, we'll look at it carefully and legislation will certainly address the concerns. you never know if everything is going to get in a piece of legislation, but i congratulate all who are focusing on these values. >> joe. >> anita, joe scarborough. >> hi, joe! and, mika, my former consistent. >> i -- constituent. >> i'm always a constituent in my heart for you. >> okay. >> some democrat in congress made some unfortunate ant anti-semitic remarks and the house leadership spoke out strongly and were shoulder to

shoulder united against that statement. i wonder, were you pleased with the statement that the house leadership put out? and do you believe that the congresswoman has gone far enough in her apology to jewish americans? >> well, frankly, as a jewish american, as a member of congress, i issued a very strong statement. i thought that the comments were inappropriate, i look forward to working together and hopefully provide some education to the new member of congress. >> fantastic. well, nita, thank you so much for being with us. we will just say with fingers crossed that those who were so affected from the last shutdown that this still sticks and congratulations on your great work. >> thank you so much, joe and mika. it a pleasure to be with you. this was a bipartisan bill and

we worked together and i am, very optimist being we'll get it done and not shut the government done. >> thank you to steve kornacki and peter baker. thank you both as well. ? >> still ahead, prup last night that a bored are wall will help keep el paso safer but it's a lie. he keeps spitting out a lie. we're going to talk to joaquin castro about just how safe his state is without a border wall. "morning joe" will be right back. >> how ludicrous it is this government is shutdown oaf a promise the president of the united states could not keep. this idea that he was going to build a mid oof, take it from

and have the mexicans pay for it isn't true! that because he's now saying the taxpayers have to pay for it. that's not what he said during his campaign. gn one hour pickup order?

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as we continue to recognize black history month, yamiche wanted to high lie george edwin taylor, one of a dozen children born to a father who was a slave and a mother who was born a free person in the south. he worked as a journalist in iowa while becoming a prominent voice in american politics. in 1904, taylor became the first african-american candidate to run for president of the united states as a candidate of the national negro liberty party. yamiche, tell us more about his legacy. >> so his legacy is really about african-americans stepping up long before they even had the right to really vote in a way that was protected by the constitution and by laws to say i'm going to be part of this political institution because i know my worth. it's interesting that he also runs as a third-party candidate.

he doesn't pick the democrats or republicans, what he did is say african-americans should think about their own ideal and be part of the process. we talk about shirley whis om, the first a.m. woman to one well known in history but somebody who is absolutely important. we always talk about ayia being crucial to kicking off the presidential campaign. here's someone from iowa who takes his president decks campaign and he's a journalist and it always interesting matching up politics and media. not something i would do but i think he's an and tell us about william wa jr. >> well, yeah, sonny davis. he was 19 years of age when he

died. he died in july 1967 in a country called vietnam, a distant memory now. he was representative of so many young money, african-american, hispanic, whites who never went to college, never went to law school. they went into the marine corps and they went into the army and they died in vietnam. sonny was the only child of friend of mine bubba and lena davis. and they missed him forever. his death changed their lives forever. and we ought to remember sonny davis and all of the other young men from places where so much working class young money went and died in vietnam. their names are on the wall, their names are not really on the minds of a lot of people in this country today but they were there, they died and they should be remembered, too. >> mike, thank you. and speaking of the military, the acting defense secretary

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check in from afar with remote access, ♪ and have professional monitoring backing you up with xfinity home. demo in an xfinity store. call, or go online today. acting u.s. defense secretary patrick shanahan made an unannounced visit to afghanistan yesterday. he affirmed america's continued military support for afghan security forces while the u.s. holds separate talks with the taliban to end the country's 17-year war. joining us now, staff write are for "the new yorker," pulitzer prize winner of "ghost wars," and his newest book is now available in paperback.

it's great to see you as always. >> good morning. can you believe because your book starts before 9/ the unites will withdraw from that country at some point. >> the war has been stalemated for an awfully long time, 10 or 12 years on the battlefield. the lines haven't moved very much. the trump administration is trying a different tactic, negotiating with the enemy, trying to find a political settlement in the region. that's at least trying something different. but the negotiations are very different and the administration keeps sending out these mixed signals whether we're going, staying, coming and i'm sure talking to friends in the region that it is genuinely confusing. nobody is quite sure what the administration intends and there's an awareness that the president could wake up one morning and tweet and then apparently we're coming out, defense secretary went in to assure people we're staying. i'm not sure anyone believes that. >> there's experts who say the

most likely outcome is some small force of the united states military there in perpetuity. does that sound the right you. >> that's what the united states would desire. but the administration's negotiator with the taliban announceed a framework agreement with the taliban. which the taliban endorsed which the u.s. said they are coming out together. maybe the taliban doesn't want the country to collapse back into a violent civil war would agree to some sort of residual force of that type for a number of years. the taliban have not conceded what the united states insists that they must, which is that they really negotiate with the afghan government and that they accept a cease-fire which would, at least, relief afghans of the extraordinary suffering that they have been endured over the last 15 years and more. >> there are portion, large portions of "director s" that

could have been last week, last month or last night. several of those portions involve the country of partly cloudy. how do we define pakistan now after all of these years, after all the interplay between our country, average, pakistan, the taliban, are they an ally, are they friendly to the united states or just a deceptive s subterfuging relationship of the united states. >> going back to the end of second world war there were times they were allies with the united states and have worked in concert with the united states to defeat the soviet occupation during the 1980s. in the recent period since september 11th pakistanis have pursued their own interest in supporting the taliban and lying to the united states repeatedly. this has cost american lives on the battlefield. bittered many people in the

american system about pakistan. pakistan has it's own grievances about the united states as unreliable as undermining pakistan's stability. where we are today there's a cold peace, a cold acceptance that pakistan is part of a fabric of that region, that they are a large nation with 200 million or so people and 100 plus nuclear weapons. you can't wish them off the map. there's not a lot of friendship or warmth. there's a lot of attempt to find common ground end a realistic way and that involves the very thing we talked about before. is there a way out of afghanistan that doesn't leave behind another terribly violent civil war that destabilizes the region. pakistan would be the first loser in such a scenario. so we tried to draw them into a negotiation on the bay signatures of shared interests and realism but there's not a lot of illusion left in the relationship. >> so, steve, help us out. the president last night talking about how we spend $50 billion a year in afghanistan and i

actually fact checked him and shocked to find the pentagon suggested we spend last year spent about $45 billion in afghanistan per year, u.s. taxpayers, so there's no reason to believe it's not at least 50 billion this year. the we is, is there anyway to decrease our footprint so we're not spending so much money every year because that's donald trump and many progressives, i think, strongest argument to say 19 years is enough, let's bring our troops home, regardless of how much that may hurt us globally. >> yeah. i think there would be two ways to do that. one to negotiate the kind of cease-fire with the taliban, probably not a realistic goal to say let's make peace with the taliban or let's have a great treaty that will stabilize afghanistan for the future. reduce the violence and reduce the need for a u.s. military presence.

that's the goal that is being pursued. the other way is to train afghan security forces and to reach a political bargain with the taliban that allow the afghan security forces increasingly to carry out the kind of terrorist function we're there to pursue. the afghans are taking the brunt of the casualties. something like 45,000 afghan casualties just over the last few years. but they can't fight a hard war against the taliban without our assistance. so unless the political occasion -- political equation changes, they are going to need our assistance to avoid collapsing. >> steve coll thank you very good to see you. the book is "director s." now available in paper back. thanks for being on. still ahead new reporting on what the white house is thinking about the tentative deal to keep the government open. plus president trump made this prediction before heading to texas yesterday.

we're going to el paso. we have a line that is very long, already. you see what's going on. and i understand our competitor has got a line too but it's a tiny little line. they will make it sound like they have more people than we do. that's not going to happen. >> the competitor he's talking about the beto o'rourke and his prediction on crowd size was way off. what happened in el paso last night ahead on "morning joe".

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i want us to do this together. i really do believe my slogan, stronger together. >> we're only getting stronger together. >> we truly are stronger together. >> stronger together. >> stronger together. >> stronger together. >> is that a 2016/2020 mind meld. donald trump at his rally last night in el paso borrowing from his rival's campaign slogan. the republican national committee later posted the comment on social media focused on the words stronger together which former hillary clinton staffers and others quickly noted was the democrats 2016 campaign theme. hey, whatever. good morning and welcome to "morning joe". it's tuesday, february 12th. along with joe, willie and me we have msnbc contributor mike barnicle. associated editor at commentator

magazine noah rothman and washington bureau chief for "usa today" susan page is with us. so, joe, stronger together sort of. not really. >> yes. of course, as the campaign really kicks into gear he's like hillary, he'll move from that first slogan stronger together to i'm with her. it may not fit quite as well for donald trump. you say it's a mind meld. come on there are a lot of trump supporters of a amnesia but donald trump was a huge fan of hillary clinton, not only did they go to weddings together, you know, they went to donald and melania's wedding. avenues big contribute orto hillary clinton. he was a big contributor to the dnc. he said she was a great secretary of state, she would make a great president of the united states. i mean donald trump loved

hillary clinton but more than that he really loved bill clinton. then he figured out in 2011 that if he played the role of a racist and started talking about birtherism he could rin the republican nomination or at least he thought he could run, would be really good for his brand. of course, worse thing happened and he ended up winning and, of course, it's been devastating for his brand. who knows maybe all his properties will be seized by the time robert mueller is done with him. it's been a ride. last night, willie, if you're looking at some of donald trump's speech last night it had the worse elements there. it had, you know, donald trump attacking press freedoms. donald trump whipping his crowd into such a frenzy a bbc reporter got beaten up. donald trump challenging the rule of law, questioning the rule of law.

you know, it was just, again -- donald trump lying about the wall. we've already started building it all along the rio grande. check it out. just rambling on about german shepherds instead of i hate mosquito, i love german shepherds. maybe i should get one. no i'm not going get one. talking to himself. there was a close argument and whoever wrote it wrote a strong closing argument and any democratic that thinks they are going to cake walk to beating donald trump in 2020 like they thought in 2016 and like everybody in the press thought in 2016, you need to watch the last four or five minutes of the speech and understand democrats have an uphill battle here. it's not going to be easy. >> i think most of the candidates getting in that we've talked to understand that. maybe some progressives who are excited and assume trump is the worst president we've ever had believe it's easy to push him out of office but i think that's

wrong. on the long list of hits played yesterday at that rally, lock her up. they were still doing the lock her up chant about hillary clinton in 2019. the president has another question to answer today and we'll get to that in just a second. do you sign this bill that's parental been agreed upon by the united states congress which gives you less money and less wall not only than what he wanted but that was there at the end of last year in a deal reached by the senate. they are not going to give them wall but he was saying last night we'll get the wall. he heard the outlines of the deal and said no good for him i want the wall. we'll see what happens from here. >> the thing is, mika, you can really under why people are still chanting lock her up for hillary clinton because, after all, you go back and you look at hillary clinton's campaign and state department, the most corrupt in american history, her national security adviser, you know, pled guilty to federal

charges. her campaign manager pled guilty to campaign charges. her number two campaign pled guilty of federal charges. you had her -- wait a second. >> i think you're getting them mixed up. >> that was donald trump. >> wow. >> wait, that was -- about eight or nine of his associates. >> a lot of witches. so many. >> i'm confused. why are they saying lock her up. >> right? >> when everybody around donald trump including his longest serving political adviser also taken out of his house in handcuffs. the guy he told "the washington post" was one of his top foreign policy aides. thrown in jail. i mean his lawyer -- wait. i'm sorry. i don't understand.

who were the dolts chanting lock her up for hillary clinton because -- her people didn't go to jail. all of donald trump's people have gone to jail. >> yes. >> wow. >> yes. possibly more to come. let's get to what we know. >> there's more to come. there's more to come. >> let's get to what we do know about that border security deal. the committee announced they reached an agreement to prevent another shutdown. the deal provides more money for border security, but does not include any funds to build new walls along the southern border. so he does not get his wall. huh? multiple sources tell nbc news that the deal includes nearly $1.4 billion for 55 miles of border barrier enhancements, like steel slats and other existing technologies. homeland security would receive

about $1.7 billion in new funding for border security and democrats dropped their demand to limit the number of people who can be detained by immigration enforcement, but put a limit on the number of beds for detained immigrants. lawmakers are hoping president trump gets on board with the deal but a white house official told nbc news last night quote, we have to see the offer first. but, "the washington post" bob costa posted a tweet last night describing the mindset of a person close to the president. that source says the white house is considering looking at accepting the deal to avert a government shutdown but then using executive power to go further than congress. costa's source passed along a link to a portion of u.s. law that cites the federal government's authority to provide support against transnational organized crime. that just so happens to could

inexactly with the law sean hannity cited at the top of his show last night. it's so weird. these things are major coincidences, right? >> it is. it's governing by talk show host. mike barnicle, at the end of the hannity show, i'm told that he was negative about the bill, about the compromise. the talk show hosts obviously are going to be negative about the compromise. the question is will donald trump be stupid enough politically to take the bait again, listen to these right-wing talk show hosts who took his approval rating from 43% to 35%, right? i mean he listened to rush limbaugh and ann coulter and he lost like six, seven, eight points in his approval rating by shutting down the government. and the question is, will he be that stupid politically again to do it because if he does, of

course, he loses again. >> joe, any question involving president trump that begins with would he be that stupid enough, you know, has you leaning one way or another. but i don't think so. i think that he will sign the bill. and i think as willie pointed out and as just was pointed out they found several loopholes in which they can get more money out of the federal government without going to the congress to get the wall. but the substance of the agreement that was reached last night is really interesting because it was less money for border enhancement than of in the original thing that he didn't sign in december. this is a crazy, crazy way to do business. >> it is a crazy way to do business. i won susan page, is that why president trump started saying last night we started to build the wall. it's getting done across the rio gran. take a look at it.

is this donald trump's argument i got absolutely trounced in new yorkers but don't worry about it, we found this law that will allow me to take money from other parts of the government and build the wall. by the way, we're already building the wall right now which, of course, is a lie but his people cheered because they don't have the google machine at home. is this what we're going to see? >> yes. i feel quite certain assuming president trump signs on to this deal which congressional republicans think he will but nobody is 100% sure about that, that he will argue that he's had a victory here. i'm quite sure. we talk about the democrats launching their 2020 campaign, these new candidates. the fact is donald trump has been running his 2020 campaign since the day he was inaugurated in 2017 and we're seeing it ramped up with both the state of the union address and last night's rally. this is an argument he'll be making for the next two years. >> noah, how does the president

sign this bill? if he's looking in the eyes of that crowd as they chant build that wall, finish the wall behind him on a banner and sean hannity last night the quote was this is a garbage compromise, sean hannity is the voice of the base, let's say for donald trump, donald trump rejected previously anything that didn't have a wall because he wasn't going to back down on the promise he made in 2015 and 2016. how can he sign this bill? >> so the president has to learn he's the president. he sets the narrative. presidents have a capacity to create a reality distortion. he can call this a victory. he can call virtually anything a victory. he has to know he's the only game in town for his base. what the democrats argued in this compromise for a position they dropped for arbitrary caps on ice detention of illegal immigrants not at the border but in the country. the president would be sell served to lean into that to say that's what democrats want and have his base have an

opportunity to say maybe we didn't get precisely what we wanted on the wall we got fencing but the other guys, they are terrifying. negative partisanship is what really rules all of us. it was the primary motivating factor in 2016, probably going be the primary motivating factor for donald trump's base in 2020 assuming they don't have any real accomplishments to run on. making the democratic demands the focus of the president's campaign would serve him pretty well. >> still ahead on "morning joe" president trump says no matter what congress comes up with he's going to build the wall regardless. so what exactly has the last few weeks been all about? particularly for all those americans whose paychecks disappeared. that's ahead. but first bill karins with a check on the forecast. bill? >> good morning. snow is arriving and along with it a lot of freezing rain and ice in areas of the northeast. we got hit in areas of the midwest and great lakes. 97 million are one some kind of

watch or warnings or advisories and one of the worst spots overnight was chicago. airport delays are running about 90 minutes. that's because they are under an ice storm warning. half inch to quarter inch of ice every where in the city and now to the airport. these winter storm warnings are coming true in areas of the northeast. the blue shows you where the snow is. the pink is where we have sleet or freezing rain. this is the freezing line. the problem all this falling in pennsylvania went quickly from snow over to freezing rain and sleet. we had quite an ice storm today in interior sections of northeast and pennsylvania and little bit of heavy snow left over in northern areas of the great lakes. the snow forecast again not a lot of it. quick one two inches. new york city southern new england. over to ice. hartford to boston. still a chance of four to six inches of snow then over to ice for you. ice forecast, by the way, worst of it, maybe we could see power outages. northeast pennsylvania, hudson valley and interior sections of connecticut and massachusetts. that would be up to half inch of

freezing rain this afternoon. along with that, of course, a lot of travel issues. new york city still waiting for their notice flakes. about one hour from now. only an hour of snow and then quickly over to sleet and freezing rain. be a mess this afternoon. you're watching "morning joe". we'll be right back. ♪

check in from afar with remote access, and have professional monitoring backing you up with xfinity home. demo in an xfinity store. call, or go online today. so at the rally the president said that he did not want to hear what the bipartisan group had agreed to before he spoke and that it didn't matter anyway because he's fixed on getting his wall. >> i have to tell you, as i was walking up to the stage they said that progress is being made with this committee. [ cheers and applause ] just so you know. we're building the wall anyway. they say that progress has been

made. [ cheers and applause ] just now. just now. i said wait a minute i got to take care of my people from texas. i got to go. i don't even want to hear about it. [ cheers and applause ] i don't want to hear about it. so i don't know what they mean, progress is being made significant. now what did happen is the democrats were being hit really hard on the concept of releasing criminals into our society. that is not playing well. so maybe progress is made. maybe not. but i had a choice. i could have stayed out there and litened or come out to the people of el paso, texas. [ cheers and applause ] . i chose you. [ cheers and applause ] now, you really mean finish that wall, because we built a lot of

it. [ cheers and applause ] >> you know, it's really just -- it's staggering that several years into this guy's presidency that people are still in that reality distortion. i'm serious. they either know he's lying or they are ignorant of basic facts. again, basic facts they can discover on google. let's expand it out a little bit. the fact that the central motivating factor in donald trump's presidency is building a wall in a year that border crossings are at a 50 year low, a 50 year low, and the fact that he talks about crime and the facts are that native born americans are far more likely to

commit crimes than immigrants or, you know, illegal immigrants coming across the border. i mean you can go down the list. drugs. he talked about the drugs again. oh, the drugs don't come in legal port of entry. they take a right and then a left and then in america. it's the dumbest stuff i ever hear in my life. if somebody in seventh grade running for student council said stuff like this would be laughed off the stage. first he said i don't care about the details we're going build the wall anyway. then he said the wall is already being built as we saw in that rattner type chart. the wall is not being built. he's just lying through his teeth and i would love to know what motivates those people to cheer at one lie after another lie after another lie. this isn't about ideology. this is about the truth. and he's not telling it.

>> remember, joe, the reason he was in el paso to begin with he was trying to make the case there was a crisis in board towns. last week the sheriff came out and said no, mr. president, here are the numbers. we're a low crime city. we're about the same in terms of crime since we had the barrier. that's not truetter. the entire thrust of his being there is based on something that's not truetter. i want to underlie the president wants $5.7 loin for the wall. that's his number. in this new bill he gets $1.375 billion which is about $200 million less than he would have gotten if he had taken the deal in december. now eat this point, can he sign a bill that get $200 million less than he could have gotten in december and $4 billion less than he said he wanted. one more thing, joe, this all could have been done over two years that the president and

republicans owned congress, when they had the white house, the house and the senate. you have a big rally. we'll get this done. why didn't you get it done if it was so urgent for two years. >> because -- >> joe, i know i don't have to explain this to you of all people but for everyone else out there, the wall is kind of a oft that -- metaphor. it's for hate. you build on that hate and fear and it becomes fear of the other. and then it becomes fear of brown people. and it becomes fear of caravans. fear of invasions. fear of ms-13. that's the root of trump's presidential election and that's going to be the root of his re-election campaign. >> coming up on "morning joe" republicans were outraged over a fresh mapp demonstrate's tweets on israel.

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democratic congresswoman ilhand omar is now apologizing

for tweets that members of both parties have denounced as anti-semitic. she tweeted sunday that money is the reason why u.s. politicians defend israel specifically calling out the pro israel lo y lobbying group claiming its members are pro israel. yesterday jewish members of the democratic caucus sent a letter to house leadership and although they didn't mention her by name said they were deeply alarmed by the rhetoric that disparaged us and called into question our loyalty to our nation. they also asked leadership to quote join us in calling on each member of the caucus to yunite. house leadership wrote anti-semitism must be called out, confronted and condemned whenever it is encountered without exception. we are and will always be strong

supporters of israel, in congress because we understand that our support is based on shared values and strategic interests. legitimate criticism of israel's policies is protect by the values of free speech and democratic debate that the united states and israel share. but congresswoman omar's use of anti-semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about israel supporters is dearly offensive. we condemn these remarks and we call upon congresswoman omar to immediately apologize for these hurtful comments as democrats and as americans the entire congress must be fully engaged in denouncing and rejecting all forms of hatred, racism and prejudice and discrimination wherever they are encountered. the apology from congresswoman oman came soon after. tweeting listening and learning but standing stron. she linked her statement saying

in part anti-semistichl real and i'm grateful for jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-semitic tropes. she said unequivocally apologizes. adding at the same time i reaffirm the problematic role of politics. republicans are now calling on the house speaker to remove omar from the foreign affairs committee. wow. joe, what do you think? >> well, the apology could have been a bit more unequivocal. comparing people who defend the right of israel to exist. >> and the nra. >> to her stated enemies in the nra and the fossil fuel industry is not exactly what you would

call an unequivocal apology. so, you know, she's made statements before that have caused concerns. we'll see if she makes statements again. no, that have not the type of apology, unfortunately, that would have been helpful for not only her, her career but also for the career or for the democratic party. in fact, for healing in this country. because with donald trump's vicious rhetoric attacking muslim-americans, it's more important than ever, i would say, someone who really wants muslim-americans to prove donald trump wrong every day, this was sort of distressing, to say the least. her apology was distressing. i hope she takes another swing at it. and is more unequivocal in her

apology. >> up next, congressman castro of texas joins us on the showdown in his home state last night between donald trump and beto o'rourke. plus, his take on the steep cost of the last government shutdown as lawmakers work to prevent another one. "morning joe" is coming right back. "morning joe" is coming right back i hear it in the background and she's watching too, saying [indistinct conversation]

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. a young man whose got very little going for himself, except he's got a great first name, he is -- he challenged us. so we have, let's say 35,000 people tonight. and he has 200 people. 300 people. not too good. i would say that may be the end of his presidential bid. beto o'rourke had a wonderful rally. about 15 people.

>> well, the president severely under estimated the size of the crowd at beto o'rourke's counter rally last night which was held less than a quarter mile away from president trump's campaign event. nbc news reporters at the beto o'rourke rally spoke to local police who put the range of his crowd at about 8,000 people. trump also once again grossly inflated his own crowd size. what is that about? inflation of the crowd size. the el paso county coliseum holds 6,500 people but president trump told the crowd his campaign got special permission from the fire department to let 10,000 inside. but an el paso fire department spokesman told the el paso time that no special permission was given by the fire department, and the coliseum had about 6,500 people in it during the president's rally.

police estimate that the inside and over flow attendance was somewhere between 10,000 and 12,000 people. more than 20,000 fewer than the 35,000 the president and his team claimed. what is this about? joining us now -- >> it's about -- you know it's also about beto. he and beto had about the same size crowd. you got a guy that's the president of the united states -- >> and a guy who just lost a race. >> a guy who just lost a race. he lost the race. >> he lost. >> and he's getting as many -- he moves his arms all over the place. >> he wander out in the country and thinks a lot. >> he's very -- like -- i don't know. this guy. >> got a huge crowd. >> all i know is his crowd is as big as donald trump's it seems. what does it say about donald trump? >> i don't know. joining us now, a member of --

maybe he knows. member of the select committee on intelligence and chair of the hispanic congressional caucus democratic congressman joaquin castro of texas. he's also chair of his brother julio presidential campaign and also with us msnbc contributor victoria defrancesco-soto. we won't bother both of you with crowd size issues, but, joe, a lot going on in texas. and potentially with prevention of a shutdown. >> a lot going on in texas and, of course, we would never talk about crowd size but, congressman, beto's crowd size, pretty impressive. >> i give a lot of credit to beto and other elected officials in el paso and advocacy groups and immigrant community organized around this rally. but, you know, that's what donald trump likes to do. he likes to go somewhere and

create chaos, create a circus and he went to el paso and tried to do that again. i give him a lot of credit for standing up to the president for rallying around and telling the truth about their city of el paso which is a beautiful and safe city in this country. >> it's been a beautiful and safe city for a very, very long time. anybody who has been in el paso and i've drive enthrough it many, many times. it's long been a beautiful and a safe community. so, you talk about donald trump and the lies that are -- not only connected to el paso but the negotiations on this wall that donald trump is talking about building. you've heard the outlines of what nita and what senator shelby have agreed to. is this a deal you can support? >> you know that's a decision i'm going make in the next day or so when i see the details. the number for border fencing basically is not anywhere near

$5.7 billion. at the same time from what i've heard at least all of that fencing, the new 55 miles would be in my home state of texas and you all covered what's been going on down there with property owners and eminent domain so that blks problematic for texans. the other thing that's promising, money for detention beds to stop donald trump's deportation machine have been lowered to just over 40,000. bear in mine just a few years ago it was in the mid-30s now approaching 50,000 beds being used. so there's some good things in this bill but i have to take a full look as the details come out. >> victoria, you look at donald trump's rallies and you sit there and actually, if you know the facts, you just have to ask yourself what in the world is going on. of course, illegal crossings are at a 50 year low. you would have to go back to the richard nixon presidency to find a time when border crossings

were as low as they are right now and they have been low and were declining throughout the obama years. so it suggests this is about something else. did donald trump really just not tip his hand, didn't he just throw all of his cards on the table when he tweeted that we have to keep people from latin america out of our country? >> yes. the boogie man of latin america. for me one of the biggest shocks of among many when he gets on stage and says you know what i had a chance to be debriefed on this potential deal but i decided not to read it. the issue of ignorance is bliss is not the case. ignorance is not bliss for thousands upon thousands of people who will lose paychecks again if we get in a stalemate, into a government shutdown. president trump plays very fast and loose with facts and the livelihoods of folks. the other point is the reality of the border having been born

and raised on the border, living in a border state it's not this chaotic violent state that he portrays. it's a very safe place and one that's beautiful in terms of the bi cu irc bicultural over the centuries. >> there's 55 miles of barrier that's in your state of texas. is that a deal killer for you to have any form of a barrier in your state in >> it could be. i have to see exactly what is it. look the people of texas by and large just like the people of this country do not want a border wall and that includes fencing. and so i'm going to have to take a very hard and close look at it. >> even 55 miles of fence cog be a poison pill for you >> it could be. we haven't had a meeting of the congressional hispanic caucus. we haven't had a democratic caucus meeting. i'm not speaking for anybody else. just my own vote. >> congressman, the democratic

ask in these negotiations on the shutdown consisted of caps on i.c.e. detentions, managed to get a 17% reduction in beds but the ask her is essentially conceptual reframing of what i.c.e. does is not border apprehensions but inside the country overstays and what how far. do democrats risk a political liability if they are redefining the i.c.e. mission as only going after gross criminality conducted by illegal immigrants in the country and not just the misdeamnor offense ever entering the country illegally. >> this an issue we spoke about a long time. it's gotten more attention because it's part of these controversial negotiations. it's an issue we've been working on for years. i had an amendment and others have had in the past to limit the number of i.c.e. detention beds. something we've been persistent on. >> mike barnicle. >> victoria, you grew up along

the border, you're familiar with it and with the people who live along the border. looking at the crowd last night, donald trump's crowd and predictable behavior of the president. he comes out, injects into the crowd a fever pitch in their response to him. tell us a little bit about who you think those people are, what they represent, and how do you reach them with common sense? >> so, even though el paso is a very democratic city, we can't lose sight of the fact that it is in texas and texas is a very red state. i do see inklings in purple in the near future. it's a state where we know governor abbott and our state leaders are very proud to send down the texas national guard to the border using our taxpayer money here in texas to quote-unquote secure the border. compare that to new mexico or

california where the governors have taken back their state national guard and said we're not going to spend taxpayer money on this. so it is, you know, you have your austins, el paso, other democratic pockets. at the end of the day it's a republican leaning state. what's interesting as we go in 2020 because we did see inroads made by beto o'rourke and hillary clinton in 2016. so i think it's going a real big showdown state come 2020. >> thank you both so much. still ahead is widely accepted that president trump takes his cues from commentators on fox news. and if that's the case he might want to pay close attention to something that someone just said about the "national enquirer" parent company. we'll explain that next on "morning joe". "morning joe". david: "life is complicated. choosing a health care provider

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parts of me i didn't even know. i find out i'm 19% native american, specifically from the chihuahua people. what?! that's... i find that crazy. it traces their journey in the mid-1800s from central mexico to texas. learning about the risks they took for a better life... ...it gives me so much respect and gratitude. it just shed so much light in my past that i never even would've known was there. 20 million members have connected to a deeper family story. order your kit at ancestry.com. this is very troublesome for ami because they signed an agreement with the federal government in the michael cohen case. they must be as pure as caesar's wife in the next three years. otherwise, the agreement not to prosecute them is no longer in place. if they're prosecuted for being part of a michael cohen conspira conspiracy, bad news for the president. >> foxing news legal analyst judge andrew napolitano on how

the fight between jeff bezos and ami could land president trump in hot water. private investigators hired by bezos to probe who gave intimate text messages and photos to the national enquirer have reportedly determined who was behind the leak. citing ago person familiar with the matter, investigators concluded it was michael sanchez, the brother of bezo's girlfriend. a cording to the ap, investigators have not said how they thing sanchez was able to get access to the data. echoes an earlier report by the daily beast, both say that sanchez is a supporter of president trump. a constant critic of bezos. and an acquaintance of trump allies roger stone, carter page. sanchez did not respond to the ap's request for comment. we want to bring in now state attorney for palm beach county dave aaronburg and msnbc legal

analyst danny cevallos. the judge was saying this is bad for trump why, because it looks like he sent his people out to do this? >> for ami of course. again, the arrogance is pretty remarkable. let's just dive right in here. we've got the guy who is the prosecutor in the county where the national enquirer used to be established. let's start with you. what is ami's criminal exposure here? >> they've got significant criminal exposure. they signed a nonprosecution agreement. it's supposed to last at least three years. they're supposed to be choir boys for three years and they barely make it three months. all the expression and the agreement is up to a prosecutor. they're at the mercy of the prosecutor's. >> so i guess that's the next question. how concerned should ami be? >> be very concerned. this is up to the discretion of prosecutors. they could potentially serve

some criminal time in federal prison. this is more than just a federal crime. this could be a violation of state law. people who say that for example the federal law of extortion is too limited, well, it could be a violation of washington state law, which has a broader version. all discretion goes to prosecutors. >> is it normal for prosecutors to revoke these agreements? >> there's a lot of factors. whether the new offense relate tols t to the old offense. this is an alleged felony and arguably it relates to the original crime of weaponizing the national enquirer. the one thing a prosecutor hates is to be embarrassed. it's embarrassing for a prosecutor to see a subject go on to commit more crimes.

>> mika, that's a thing that just makes no sense, i could name a thousand people i would rather embarrass than the people running the southern district of new york. and david pecker and ami are rubbing their noses in it since this bezos' story ran. >> this seems so stupid. the stupidist thing on earth. is it plausible? >> criminal defense attorneys are experts in people doing stupid things. look at how many moments we have. criminal defense attorneys live in that world. prosecutors don't. they observe people doing silly things and prosecute them, but criminal defense attorneys really have a first front row seat to that kind of behavior. nonprosecution agreements are unique. they're incredibly rare.

the federal government usually requires you serve some punishment. they're unique in that they're not like a plea agreement. so the person who makes the initial determination of whether or not the agreement was breached is the prosecutor. even though the defendant is entitled to a hearing in court. >> part of what makes this interesting is the relationship between david pecker and president trump. the question that raises is was pecker being anning on behalf of president trump to embarrass "the washington post," or perhaps at the direction of someone around president trump in is there a scenario where discovery might reveal that? >> right now, there's no direct evidence. >> as we get through? >> sure this is just the beginning. i have the old adage never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.

never pick a fight with the richest guy in the world. he has the resources to investigate and uncover things in that matter. >> don't pick a fight with the richest guy in the world and at the same time don't humiliate the southern district of new york. so if you're running the southern district of new york, bezos does this deal. you see them humiliate about bezos. and you see all the -- then you see this letter which was probably fit the definition of extortion. what do you do as the lead prosecutor? >> i have a meeting the very next day and ask a number of very critical questionings.

because there's a nonprosecution agreement, the government has easy access to everything ami has. that's part of the terms of the nonprosecution agreement. cooperate, give us whatever we want. and part two is decide whether or not this fits the federal extortion def negligence. it may meet the state definition of extortion which is also part of the nonprosecution agreement. thou shall not commit federal or state crimes. >> danny, can i stop you there, because you bring up a great point. yes, so you bring up a great point. they can blow up the agreement even if this doesn't fit the definition of extortion in federal jurisdiction. that's important. >> right, that's the part that interests me. because they cannot make any state or federal crimes. it's the discretion of a new york state prosecutor or california state prosecutor to

simply charge the crime of extortion. just to give you an idea under federal law, extortion is demanding anything of value with a threat to injure reputation. i just want to put this in. if i'm the u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york, i'm sitting in my office and ask my aides if they did this and we're finding out about it because of bezos, how much else is there? if there's a lot more, we're clearly getting close to the material breach required to revoke that nonprosecution agreement. it's not just ominous for what was done in this instance it has implications for what may be an ongoing practice which would likely violate that nonprosecution agreement. >> >> again, as a prosecutor, the current prosecutor, not only where the national enquirer used to be, but also where mar-a-lago is, where it currently sits.

while you would not bring any case here, there used to be a whole lot of alarm bells rings for a prosecutor in the southern district of new york. what are some of those as a current city prosecutor, what are some questions about the saul saudis, about trump? >> the national enquirer put out a tribute to the new mbs and the new saudi regime. there are reports they sought guidance from the doj to determine whether he had to register as an foreign agent. i think that's why ami went to the unusual step of trying to get this deal with bezos through. because they are worried as to what bezos could uncover with this investigation. >> unbelievable. >> thank you both. wonder -- i just feel like somehow, some way, this is going from bezos to saudi arabia and end up back at playboy playmates and strippers.

as we wrap up the morning, a little breaking news that's developed over the last hour. retired astronaut mark kelly has announced he's running for u.s. senate in arizona. the retired navy captain will be challenging republican senator martha mcsally in 2020. kelly of course is married to former congresswoman gabby giffords who survived an assassination attempt in 2011. that does it for us this morning. stephanie rule picks up the coverage right now. >> thanks, mika. i'm stephanie ruhle. a compromise to avoid another government shutdown. coming to agreement on i.c.e. detentions and dhs funding. money for the president's wall, guess what, it's not included. funding for 55 miles of fencing that we need is. the big question still remains. will president trump sign? >> we believe our dealings, t