frank, eddie and jim. thank you so much for watching. that does it for our hour. i'm nicolle wallace. "mtp daily" starts now with chuck todd. you have a new thing? >> we do. >> new podcast. >> the good thing about podcasts are what? the conversations that happen when we go to break -- >> no doubt. >> those are the cooler conversations. >> i have john and donnie as regulars. i'd need a ten-second delay clock. >> what if you don't have to have the ten-second delay? that's what a podcast -- that's what podcasts give you. >> i can't wait to listen to yours. >> thank you. if it's wednesday, joe biden responds. good evening, i'm chuck todd here in washington. and welcome to "meet the press daily." we've got a lot to get to

tonight. none of it has to do with bullpens and national park. the judiciary committee has authorized subpoenas to obtain the full mueller report and all of its underlying evidence, no redactions. joe biden has responded to the controversy that's been surrounding his potential candidacy after more women speak out about allegations of what they say were inappropriate contacts. >> the boundaries of protecting personal space have been reset, and i get it. i get it. i hear what they're saying. i understand it. and i'll be much more mindful. that's my responsibility. my responsibility. and i'll meet it. >> now, we're going to dive into the biden thing later in the show, but we begin tonight with the president who seems to be acting as if he feels for lack of a better word, invincible, at least politically. everyone always looks for some deep meaning or strategy in the president's behavior, which is often an exercise in absurdity and/or futility. he wants to shut down the border, he's blindsided republicans on health care.

he's scapegoating the fed. he's threatening to shut down the border, regardless of the steep economic toll and now his white house staff has to figure out how to mitigate the damage if he does it or find some alternative if he doesn't. and if the economy goes south, the fed chairman is going to have to figure out how to endure the president's attacks. the president's impulses and behavior often seem inexplainable. but there may be a simple explanati explanation. there is always someone that somehow protects him and someone else is usually left holding the bag. not him. michael cohen lies for him. casino investors take the hit for his bankruptcies. the attorney general clears him of his potential obstruction. the question mr. trump might be asking himself right now is, what can't i get away with? joining me now tonight is heidi przybilla. howard fineman. and the senior fellow at the national review institute. r ramesh, i'm going to start with you on this.

because i think that we -- we sit here forever always trying to discern something out of him. it's just about whatever he can get away with. and, like, shutting down the border, eh, why not? >> so many of the things he does that people come up with these theories for just strikes me as, this is something he wanted to do and say. he's not a man that's very into impulse control. in terms of other people covering for him, the key thing is, when you have 80% of republican voters for you, that means that a lot of other people are going to be on your side. >> and they're incentivized to help you even if they don't like it, like a mitch mcconnell. >> he wants to express the grievance of his base, the fear of his base, whatever it happens to be. so, if you look at what he's talking about here, don't forget that the tea party and the freedom caucus really began in the loathing for obamacare, for the health care -- >> right. that's right. >> so, he's going back to feed that.

when he talks about shutting down the border, he's taking the emotional extreme version of his appeal to the base on xenophobia. when he goes off the fed, and jay powell and the elites who control the money -- >> yeah, yeah, right. >> he's feeding that same thing. so, these are less serious policy proposals than they are expressions of continual political discontent. and he realizes, as president, that he has to continue being the unappeased man, the unappeaseable man. and that's what he's doing and counting on everybody else to pick up the pieces. >> and heidi, that's exactly it. listen to him on health care. he admitted that he just blindsided everybody on health care last night. take a listen. >> you're going to win your elections because of health care. and a lot of people were upset with me, because i announced this like a week ago and i didn't want to waste my time by calling people, i didn't want to call the leaders. they said, i don't know anything about it. i blame myself a little bit, but

now they love it. they really like it. you're going to get elected because of it and you're going to be doing the right thing. it's a great incentive for the voters to vote for you. >> it's funny until it's not. this is the same thing that happened with the shutdown. and at first, people thought he was bluffing. >> right. >> and then it really happened. and the same thing with the border crisis now. yes, mcconnell quickly circumvented this and called his bluff on it, but it's still going to be a huge liability going into 2020. somewhere, from his grave, john mccain is smiling with his thumb down, because there still is no replacement plan, and the president is all too unstrategic to make the choice to elevate this and those words will resonate into 2020, because he's not going to get away with not having a plan to talk about. >> what i find interesting, though, is how there are all these people around him that basically save him from himself,

or at least try to. mitch mcconnell, we talked about it on health care. here's his economic team, ramesh. both kevin hassett and larry kudlow have shared papers and data with the president over the last 36 hours illustrating the way economic growth could slow even if the president shut down the border for just one day. not to mention the affeeffect oe flow on goods, raw materials and the u.s. supply chain. his own staff is trying to stop him. we've all joked, does his white house -- do people there know how to use the bully pulpit? and i'm starting to think, yeah, they do, they've decided to use it to restrain him. >> well, they also know that this is a president who says things and then doesn't necessarily follow up with them, so, it's not a traditional presidency in the sense that the aides all have to be in lock step, because you never know which of the things he says he's actually serious about. that is one of the reasons why you always have this impression of kind of chaos in this administration. >> which he likes. >> well, that seems to be the style that he's comfortable

with. >> allows him to be the key. >> his brand is that. mitch mcconnell's brand is caution. >> yeah. >> and so, he relies on mcconnell for that. and i found it fascinating that the president then, after mcconnell convinced him, no on the health care thing. that annoyed the president and he had to come out and say, no, this was my idea to back off, which is flatly not true, i mean, the mcconnell people aren't saying anything else -- >> oh, no, no, he even starts tweeting about this, i never asked mitch mcconnell about this, i never did this. >> i'll check with them an hour ago, and they're not saying anything else, but they're saying, we stand by the version we gave yesterday. >> you're talking about a strategy of chaos here, i think actually it's possibly the opposite. this -- to take a broader frame here, the president doesn't have a big idea for people to -- tax cuts are already through, his immigration wall is failing miserably. >> i think he still wants that

to be -- i still think he wants the wall to be a rally. >> he wants it to be an issue but he's not succeeding in delivering on the policy of it. so, i think he's frustrated and this is -- it's that simple. this is a manifestation, his threat to shut down the border is just a manifestation of him being frustrated. i don't see that it's organized chaos. i think he's just having a tantrum here, because he's not getting what he wants on the wall. >> his problem might be that the -- the health care issue is so big and so complex and so difficult to depict that it's hard to get ahold of sometimes. but the wall is the wall is the wall. and people are coming across or they aren't. >> i got to play -- i know you want to jump in here. i got to play -- you know, he once again denied anything, any involvement with the 2018 midterms. no blame on him. take a listen. >> they blame me. i say, what the hell did i have to do with it? they said, trump wasn't running, but you know what, we're going

to do great. i really believe it. we're going to take the house back. we are. i feel totally confident about that. we're going to watch those vote tallies. there's something going on -- you got to -- hey. you got to be a little bit more paranoid than you are, okay? look, all these beautiful peo e people, these beautiful republican congressmen and women, but we have to be a little bit careful, because i don't like the way the votes are being tallied. i don't like it. and you don't like it, either, you just don't want to say it, because you're afraid of the press. >> what the heck did that mean, raamerican. he doesn't like how the vote tallies are being counted? are we threatening rigging elections now? >> it is a classic trump statement in that he's not coming right out and saying -- >> he wants you to believe it. >> there's a clear insinuation that you can't trust elections. >> the president of the united states of america said america's election system is rigged and

we're all just laughing it up. and everybody in that room is just laughing it up. >> i think one of the other things happening here, i think there's some frustration, because the end of the mueller investigation and what was successfully presented as being at least a partial exoneration of the president has not translated into any increased approval of the president in the polls. >> what has he done? >> they wanted it, they expected it, it hasn't happened. >> what did he do to make that happen? i mean, howard, instead of, let's do health care, it's, let's get rid of obamacare. he had a moment -- maybe he's frustrated, he chose not to take advantage of a moment he had last week. >> yeah. and his need for a sense of crisis about something is fascinating. so the point at which he will even threaten fights with his own party in order to continue his -- >> just to get our attention? >> just to get a fight going somewhere. don't forget, donald trump spent

a lot of time in an around wwe -- >> i know. >> and he's got to stage a fight somewhere. if it's with mitch mcconnell, fine. think he figures out ways to cover him more than he should be covered. >> i would agree with that. 100%. >> and sadly, too many folks are taking it. >> he's learned how to do that, chuck, and this one line, i think we need to pay attention to. maybe take a little more seriously than some of the others, in that ramesh is right. he did it -- >> the minute it happened. >> he did it when he thought hillary clinton was going to win. he was very much prepared to say that this election had been rigged. and now he's starting to tee off going into 2020. this is -- this is serious. >> he is right, there was, certainly, one place where

there's a lot of suspicious activity, it was done by a republican in north carolina. >> but why should we expect anything else from him? he's gone after the legitimacy of every other institution in the town. the role of the congress, the role of members of the cabinet. of course he's going to question the legitimacy of any election that isn't favorable to him or any poll number that isn't favorable to him. that's his whole method, is to destroy the legitimacy of everybody and everything around him. >> do know why the president is obsessed with jay powell? this is "wall street journal" reporting. according to a person who directly heard the president blast the fed chairman and the president telling powell, i guess i'm stuck with you. i ask this in jest, because here was a "bloom beberg" report fro 2018. every time the fed raises rates, trump's payments on some $340

million in loans go up. since his january 2017 inauguration, the fed's steady rate hikes may have added a cumulative 5$5.1 million a year to his debt. >> presidents, frankly, the traditional posture of presidents has been to want looser money from federal reserve. >> sure. >> over the last 30 years, we've developed more of a norm where we say presidents shouldn't be publicly trashing the federal reserve because it makes it harder for the fed to actually do what it needs to do to keep the economy steady. this president, of course, doesn't care about that kind of norms. you do wonder if he's sort of -- would they have raised interest rates in december if he hadn't made it into a test of the fed's independence? >> or -- and then the shutdown, did he do the shutdown in order to prevent them from raising it, because they've decided not to raise for the rest of the year. >> i asked alan greenspan what

his advice would be to jay powell when donald trump calls, and greenspan said, hang up. that's because the fed is supposed to be independent. that's what -- we need an ultimate arbiter of the value of money and interest rates to avoid politics. that's what -- that's the trick the fed is supposed to play off. >> if you want to stay the world's reserve currency. >> and you need some scapegoats if we have a recession. >> jay powell's already been designated. >> how is that going to work, politically, to say, this is the fallout to the guy that i appointed. >> ramesh, we banned logic a long time ago. stay with us. joe biden has something to say. >> whether they're women, men, young, old, it's the way i've always been. it's the way i've tried to show i care about them and i'm listening. >> we've got more of his message ahead. plus, what's next for the former vp, as clearly, this video lets you know he's

preparing to run for president. and house democrats ramp up the pressure on the attorney general. they want the mueller report in full. and they're authorizing a subpoena to get it. ♪ add fullness to lips with juvéderm ultra xc. tell your doctor if you have a history of scarring or are taking medicines that decrease the body's immune response or that can prolong bleeding. common side effects include injection-site redness, swelling, pain, tenderness, firmness, lumps/ bumps, bruising, discoloration, or itching. as with all fillers, there is a rare risk of unintentional injection into a blood vessel, which can cause vision abnormalities, blindness, stroke, temporary scabs or scarring. juvéderm it. ♪ you better, better! we really pride ourselvesglass, on making it easy to get your windshield fixed. with safelite, you can see exactly when we'll be there. saving you time for what you love most. >> kids: whoa! >> kids vo: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace ♪ with a lot of other young couples. then we noticed something...strange.

oh, could you, uh, make me a burger? -poof -- you're a burger. [ laughter ] -everyone acts like their parents. -you have a tattoo. -yes. -fun. do you not work? -so, what kind of mower you got, seth? -i don't know. some kid comes over. we pay him to do it. -but it's not all bad. someone even showed us how we can save money by bundling home and auto with progressive. progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents. but we can protect your home and auto. progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents. now kayak and opentable let you earn travel rewards every time you dine. earn points with each restaurant reservation on opentable and redeem them for hotel discounts on kayak. get started at kayak.com/diningrewards.

welcome back. house democrats want the entire mueller report. not a redacted version from the attorney general. and they're willing to go to court to get it. the house judiciary committee voted today to authorize a subpoena for the unredacted mueller report and its underlying materials. bill barr said he will release a redacted version of the report later this month. but jerry nadler says that won't be enough. >> the constitution charges congress with holding the president accountable for alleged official misconduct. that job requires us to evaluate the evidence for ourselves, not the attorney general's summary, not a substantial little redacted synopsis, but the full

report and the underlying evidence. >> joining me now is house judiciary committee david cicilline. he voted today to authorize the subpoena, and said it's impossible to write off collusion without seeing the report. welcome, congressman. the deadline came and went, but the committee has not issued a subpoena. is this political theater? >> no, not at all. look, mr. nadler has the right to just issue the subpoena by himself, but i think this was an important moment for the judiciary committee to be fully transparent, to give the republican members of our committee another opportunity to join us in this effort. you know, hope springs eternal, we hope they will come to this oversight responsibility at some point, but you know, mr. nadler sought, you know, first sought the report by way of letter to the attorney general, formally requesting it.

when that was not provided, he asked the committee to authorize the issue answer of a subpoena, that's what we did today. and i know the chairman is going to continue to wshg wiork with attorney general, but if he does not give the report, he will issue the subpoena in short order. >> so, is the subpoena, then, sitting there, while you wait to see what the attorney general delivers? so, he's basically, look, i won't -- i won't use it until i see what you deliver and if you somehow deliver something that we find satisfactory, we don't issue the subpoena? should the attorney general view it that way? >> no, the better way to view it is, the judiciary committee has authorized the issue answer of the subpoena. mr. barr should reconsider that view and in light of what is imminent, elect, instead, to turn over the full report and the supporting documents, which, by the way, is what the jaworski

prosecution involved, the starr prosecution. they turned over the report when it was completed, it was a 455-page report by ken starr, 17 boxes of documents. the judiciary committee didn't have to ask for it. they turned it over as soon as the report was done. that's the right precedent. this is an investigation that belongs -- >> that is a good precedent? you think the ken starr report being done how it was, that that is a precedent? >> the precedent about the production of the report and the turning over of the materials was the right thing to do. congress had the responsibility in that context, just like we do here. i don't think the justification happened at all, but once it did, the report belongs to the judiciary committee. and this is much more serious. this has to do with an attack on our democracy and serious allegations against the president that relate to obstruction of justice. this is very serious. >> are there parts of the mueller report that you should read and the public shouldn't?

>> sure. i think there will be ports that involve sources and methods that, certainly, or classified material. we have experience, we get to read classify documents, we take an oath. maybe portions have to be viewed in a classified setting and may not be available to the public. but the full report should be provided to the committee immediately and all the supporting materials. and if there has to be a review because of classified materials or sources and methods, that's fine, but we should see the whole report. >> do you think bill barr should do these redactions with members of the judiciary committee in the room? if he did that, would that satisfy -- would that satisfy the committee that at least they would know what's being reda redacted? >> well, i don't think he should do them at all before he gives the documents over. if then he wants to engaj in a discussion with members of the committee of what he thinks out to be redacted and let people argue that with him, that's fine. but the initial release of the

report ought to be made available in its entirety. and then we ought to have a serious discussion about what the attorney general believes needs to be redacted before it is produced for the public. but we're the only committee that has responsibility, the congress does, responsibility to evaluate and take action for official misconduct of the president. we ought not have to rely on the president's aponte to decide what part of that report he's willing to share with congress. that's just not the way it works. >> what do you plan to do with robert mueller? do you plan to subpoena him, as well? >> well, i think the chairman has said that he expects that once we get the report, we'll make a determination as to whether or not mr. mueller should come to the committee, to walk the committee through the report. i hope the chairman does that, that makes sense to me that mr. mueller come before the committee and walk the american people through this report, through the investigation, what he found, the conclusion he is came to. the american people have a right to know the truth, nobody's above the law.

follow the facts where they take us, but the american people have a right to know what happened in this russian attack on our democracy. >> you said the words follow the facts. your chairman, jerry nadler, earlier this month, said that he already believed the president had committed obstruction of justice, said that on abc. do you think he committed, he said, yes, i do. he says he believes it's very clear. obviously the attorney general said no, he made a determination, he says, that it -- that it was not a prosecutable obstruction of justice. shouldn't -- if the chairman of the committee has already said he think as crime has taken place, should that not give pause that the attorney general thinks, well, boy, there's already a conclusion would the evidence? >> well, look, we saw evidence that was produced during the course of this investigation. i think what the chairman said, based on what we know about the president's decision to fire director comey, him yucking it up in the oval office, saying, i took care of this russia

problem, and, you know, lots of other evidence, that he thought it was sufficient to show obstruction of justice. the fact is, mr. mueller, after 22 months of investigation, said, this report does not exonerate the president of the charge of obstruction of justice. and so, it's exactly the reason we need to see the contents of that report, so we can make our determination as to whether or not we need to proceed with some action in respect to that offense. the special counsel, after 22 months of investigation, says, i cannot exonerate the president of the united states from this crime, and then the attorney general takes that report and says, oh there's no obstruction -- it gives great pause, i think, to any fair-minded person, and underscores the importance of getting the report so we can make that judgment for ourselves. >> how much time do you think the attorney general deserves, in fairness? >> you know, i think the attorney general ought to produce the report immediately for the committee. i don't think he needs any time to do that. i think if there are sections he wants us to review in a classified setting, we ought to

defer to his judgment. but the report should have been produced already. it's creating more suspicion. this is an attorney general who applied for this job by on his own writing a memo saying, the president cannot be convicted of obstruction of justice, and the president says, you're hired. there's reasonable suspicion here, and he's feeding that narrative by keeping this report secret. it would be in the best interest of the attorney general and the country if he turned it over right away. >> former providence mayor and congressman from rhode island, david cicilline. thank you for coming on. >> appreciate it. up ahead, it's the democratic fund-raising number that many in the party have been waiting for. beto o'rourke proved he could raise record amounts of cash during his last campaign. we'll tell you how he stacks up against his presidential rivals, next. nst his presidential rival, nextixed

>> kids: whoa! >> kids vo: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace ♪ gimme two minutes. and i'll tell you some important things to know about medicare. first, it doesn't pay for everything. say this pizza... is your part b medical expenses. this much - about 80 percent... medicare will pay for. what's left... this slice here... well... you have to pay for that. and that's where an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company comes in. this type of plan helps pay some of what medicare doesn't.

and these are the only plans to carry the aarp endorsement. that's because they meet their high standards of quality and service. review aarp medicare supplement plans and their rates in this free decision guide. call united healthcare insurance company or go online. visit aarpmedicaresupplement.com to request yours. even apply online... any time. oh. speaking of time... about a little over half way and there's more to tell. like, how... with this type of plan, you'll have the freedom to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. great for staying with the one you know... or finding... somebody new, like a specialist. there are no networks and no referrals needed. none. and when you travel, your plan will go with you anywhere in the country. so, if you're in another state visiting the grandkids, stay awhile...enjoy... and know that you'll still be able to see any doctor who accepts medicare patients.

learn more with this free decision guide. call or go online to request yours. tick, tick, tick, time for a wrap up. a medicare supplement plan helps pay some of what medicare doesn't. you know, the pizza slice. it allows you to choose any doctor, who accepts medicare patients... and these are the only plans of their kind endorsed by aarp. whew! call or go online and find out more. you might or joints.hing for your heart... but do you take something for your brain. with an ingredient originally discovered in jellyfish, prevagen has been shown in clinical trials to improve short-term memory. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

welcome back. tonight in 2020 vision, we got what the democrats were waiting for. beto o'rourke's first quarter fund-raising numbers are finally in. >> this is a campaign for america, for everyone in america. >> after much anticipation, beto o'rourke's campaign announced he raised $9.4 million in the first quarter. that's less than bernie sanders'

$18 million and kamala harris' $12 million. but he was only in the race for 18 days compared to sanders' 41 days and harris' 70 days. while his campaign is touting they are raising money faster than any other candidate, more than half a million per day, don't forget that beto raised more than $6 million during his first day in the race, so, that means he raised $3 million in the remaining 17 days. one of beto's biggest strengths was his proven ability to raise big money. the question is, can he keep it up? i'll tell you, some people were worried, his rivals, thought it would be a much bigger number. coming up, joe biden in his own words on the accusations that he's made women feel uncomfortable for yearsle. feel uncomfortable for yearsle. acce. yeah, that too. i don't want any trade minimums.

yeah, i totally agree, they don't have any of those. i want to know what i'm paying upfront. yes, absolutely. do you just say yes to everything? hm. well i say no to kale. mm. yeah, they say if you blanch it it's better, but that seems like a lot of work. no hidden fees. no platform fees. no trade minimums. and yes, it's all at one low price. td ameritrade. ♪ i'm a fighter. always have been. when i found out i had age-related macular degeneration, amd, i wanted to fight back. my doctor and i came up with a plan. it includes preservision. only preservision areds 2 has the exact nutrient formula recommended by the national eye institute to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd. that's why i fight. because it's my vision. preservision. try areds 2 + multivitamin. whose huh?these? these are the ladies nuts. you gotta get the other one. nut-rition believes nobody wants to get less. and we set out to prove it. her pack is 20% more than his pack.

right. so, i want more! exact same price and i get 20% less. well...i mean! i'm not allowed to actually buy that one?! right. because you're a man. i feel taken advantage of! i feel discriminated. do you think men and women should get the same thing all the time? yes! ♪ (video games have evolved.addle) why hasn't the way you bank? virtual wallet from pnc bank helps make it easier to see what you're spending, stash more into savings and stay on top of your finances in a digital world. just one way pnc is modernizing banking to help make things easier. pnc bank. make today the day.

social norms have begun to

change, they've shifted, and the boundaries of protecti ining personal space have been reset. and i get it, i get it. i hear what they're saying. i understand it. and i'll be much more mindful. that's my responsibility. >> welcome back. that was part of a two-minute video that joe biden posted this afternoon on social media. after several women spoke out to say he touched them in a way that made them feel uncomfortable. in the video, biden defends his past behavior, but also promises to be more respectful of people's personal space. you don't really need to read between the lines on this one to know that biden is still planning to get into the 2020 race. he starts the video by saying he expects to be talking about a whole lot of issues in the coming months. so, with me now is mike memili, who has been on the biden beat for longer than perhaps he wants to be, and also with us is jennifer palmieri, who, of course, worked with biden when she was the white house

communications director under president obama. and knows what it's like to end up in the barrel every now and then, as they call it in our media scrums these days. hello to you, jennifer, but mike, i want to start with you. and just sort of -- if there was one complaint coming consistently at team biden over this week was, stop with the statements, got to hear from him. it -- was this a process to get him to do this, or was this just -- this is a campaign that isn't up and running yet so they logistically didn't know how to do this? >> that's part of it. if there's one thing i heard a million times from joe biden, he would say this all the time, i'm not changing my brand, right? and one of the reasons why this was such a shock to the system, this whole narrative, is because that's his brand, is being in people's faces, grabbing them by the shoulder, and so, there was -- it was such a shock to the system and it took a few days, i think, to get around how much of an issue this is.

and in the video, you see the effort for joe biden to reclaim his brand. he says, it's just who i am, it's the way i've always been. this is how i've tried to show people i'm listening. and it's his brand of politics, right? he wants to -- politics is personal to joe biden, so, they feel like one more statement wasn't going to do it, they had to do it direct to camera. it wasn't the glossiest video we've ever seen, but that was also part of the message. this is joe biden, authentic, speaking directly. >> i was just going to say, jennifer, i -- i give team biden credit for this, i thought it was a very interesting way that he ended the video when he said, politics, to me, has always been about making connections, but i will be more mindful about respecting personal space in the future, that's my responsibility, i'll meet it. what i thought he did, if you were teaching a master class in crisis management, you would say, the good part of that was, he was explaining a positive and then dealing with a negative. >> yeah, and i felt a lot of

empathy for the biden staff today, because i know what it's like to be in that circumstance, where you have a principle that you're trying to help, who is probably -- imagine it probably took a lot of time to get to the point where he was prepared to say what he said in that script. and i bet there were things in there that he said that they didn't love and some things -- >> you think he sold it? >> i thought he did well. i mean, it was -- look, it was -- he didn't -- it was his own words, it was obvious that he wasn't reading from a teleprompter. and it was clearly very heartfelt, right? so, they did their job. the staff did the best that they could do for him, and you know, now it's up to sort of the universe and up to voters to decide how they feel about it. you know, he talked about social norms, that's a little odd, as opposed to the issue is whether or not it made women feel uncomfortable. >> right. >> so -- but he -- i think that they did -- i don't think this

puts it behind him by any means. i think what you're trying to achieve when you do something like this kind of video is, you're trying to give a place for where biden can live and where, you know, sort of democrats at large can live. those who are going to get asked about it, the vice president spoke to this, he knows he needs to do better, and they can leave it at that. but it's an open question. this is not -- it's something he's going to get asked about, for sure. >> mike, it did seem like it was designed to give him a little space, because he has a speech this week and it's sort of his base, those old school union guys, right, that's who he wants on his side, he didn't want that -- he can't have this claude if he had not addressed this, he can't do it there. >> that's right. and this is probably going to be a room full of a lot of older white men, by the way, but speaking with a biden adviser, i asked, is this something he's going to address again friday,

he said, well, we'll see how this is playing in the next 48 hours. there was a moment yesterday where it seemed like they were moving past it. i was on the hill, i heard from a number of members, we can't run joe biden out for something like this compared to what we have in the white house. we'll see how the next 48 hours go. he might have to answer questions from reporters if they feel they still need to, but for now, they feel the response has been very strong to this video and gotten a lot of great feedback. >> jen, i'm curious. you know, one of the -- one of the mantras that, frankly, any campaign that is sometimes trapped in the asela corridor will say, hey, don't get -- that's just washington and new york, out in iowa, in new hampshire, the conversation is different. is that advice biden should take or should he be heeding this warning more? >> i think he -- i don't know, i mean, i think he's heeding the warning, and i think that's good. and i think this is a real test,

right? the women who have expressed unease with their interactions with the vice president, you know, if they're uncomfortable, that's a problem, and he needs to deal with that. but it's been, you know, it's been a situation where they're just uncomfortable, it's not a situation where a woman feltly . this is a new phenomenon for us to deal with. and the question is, can joe biden be the person, no one's done it yet, but there's reason to believe he could do this, i need to listen and learn and change my behavior and go ahead and do it and voters may accept that. i think this is a real test case in the me too era about how voters are going to feel about it. i wouldn't minimize it as an issue. >> it's sort of like, that's the whole point of running a campaign. you'll find out. >> you will find out. and, you know, he's -- he was at the top of the polls and there's

lots of reasons for that, but you know, the truth is, any candidate has tough, you know, he's got a tough road ahead of them, but all of them do. anyone who is going to be the eventual nominee has a tough road ahead of them. that was always going to be the case for joe biden. i don't feel like this throws him off -- this is very expected, right? we should have all expected he was going to face these questions. >> i'll be honest, i think the expectation, mike, and you tell me, i think they knew this was coming. i think they probably thought the hunter biden and his business dealings and all of that was actually going to be the bigger problem and that could still be a bigger problem. >> and if you watch fox news in primetime, you already know it's becoming a problem. >> they want to do that. >> what's interesting about the timing of this, the biden team, they talk all the time, they happen to be gattered in person this week for a series of final, sort of planning meetings, this gave them the chance to really test drive. and posting the video, now they know what happens when they post an unexpected video. it's a little test run for --

>> very quickly, mike, has he called any of the women that have gone public? >> i do not know that yet and i will point out, one thing he left on the table, still, there was no apology in that video. i don't know if there was meant to be one, but there's another card he can still play. >> and i was wondering the personal, where suddenly you find out -- >> he talked about anita hill and still hasn't spoken to her. >> no, he hasn't. >> the apologizing is a big deal. it's like not, you know -- >> and apparently very difficult. >> do you have some experience with that, jen? >> well, there is also some legitimacy to it. where does it end? >> you can never stop. >> it was wrong because where does it ever stop. so, that's like a bigger hurdle than i think people appreciate for someone to do. >> it's the line of accountability versus overpacifying and whatever that line is to the voter. anyway. jennifer, nice to see you. you have a great backdrop. you must be in a better place

than we are. thank you, mike, thank you. up ahead, why i'm obsessed with breaking all the rules. rul. or atopic dermatitis... ...you feel like you're itching all the time. and you never know how your skin will look. because deep within your skin... ...an overly sensitive immune system... ...could be the cause. so help heal your skin from within. with dupixent. dupixent is not a steroid,... ...and it continuously treats your eczema... ...even when you can't see it. at 16 weeks, nearly four times more patients taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin compared to those not taking it. ...and patients saw a significant reduction in itch. do not use if you are allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, accountability versus accountability versus ro do not change or stop your asthma medicine without talking to your doctor.

help heal your skin from within. ask your eczema specialist about dupixent. one two parts incredible.ribs. steak & ribs starting at $14.99, with your choice of sauce or dry rub. and back again is our 3-point rib bloom, topped with cheese fries and barbecue ribs. but get here fast. these deals won't last. welcome back. tonight, i'm obsessed with what appears to be a new golden rule of politics. if you don't like the score, just change the rules. and so far, it appears to be working. some democrats don't like their electoral college results, ah, let's abolish it.

others don't like the majority of justices in the supreme court, let's pack more in. i'm not saying these ideas don't have merit. some of them actually may be very well worth discussing. but isn't it interesting how quickly politicians now embrace extreme solutions to current problems? i wonder who they're getting this from. >> i could do the wall over a longer period of time. i didn't need to do this. but i'd rather do it much faster. we're going to take a strong look at our country's libel laws so that when somebody says something that is false and defamatory about someone, that person will have meaningful recourse. electoral college is genius. never really been in favor 0 of it, but now i appreciate it. see, if you don't like the score, just change the rules. want to build a wall without dealing with the appropriations

process, go around it. don't like that shot you hooked a little to the left, ah, just kick the ball out of the rough. if you don't like the score, just change the rules, because honestly, it's so much easier than trying to win by the old ones. comes next, the only direction is forward. to learn about their medicare options before they're on medicare. come on in. you're turning 65 soon? yep. and you're retiring at 67? that's the plan! it's also a great time to learn about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. here's why...medicare part b doesn't pay for everything. this part is up to you. a medicare supplement plan helps pay for some of what medicare doesn't. call unitedhealthcare insurance company or go online for your free decision guide

about the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. selected for meeting their high standards of quality and service. this type of plan lets you say "yes" to any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. do you accept medicare patients? i sure do! to learn more call or go online today for your free decision guide. oh, and happy birthday... or retirement... in advance. today for your free decision guide. bookers book now and ask their boss later.. [do you want breakfast or no?] [definitely breakfast.] be a booker at booking.com

time not for lid. heidi, howard and ramesh. howdy, high doeidi. >> that's okay. go with it. >> it's, you know. joe biden, how did he do? what did you think? >> i thought he did okay. ill agree with jennifer palmieri, and i've covered campaigns that she was, you know, some interesting situations in, i listened carefully to what she said and i sort of agree with it. it's good as far as it goes but it probably doesn't end this story. and what the difficulty for joe biden is, and by the way, i've been on the receiving end of the shoulder squeezes and so on, as

everybody has -- >> he said and some men. he did say it wasn't just women. >> i found it endearing, but that's just me, i guess. i think that the problem he's got is that he's dealing more generally with -- that he's the older older generation guy. so this is -- to the extent that this is of a piece with and plays into that narrative, it's difficult. >> it's the narrative they fear the most. >> even if he says, i get it, and i'll pay more attention, it just stresses the fact that he's got a lot of things like that, perhaps, to reassess given his generation. >> ramesh, the thing -- think about the thing he has to guard against the most. i was thinking about this over the next six months. joking about it by accident. well, i can't do what i used to do, or something like that. that's when you'll know how much he's able to -- that's hard to change -- he's been campaigning this way for 40 years. >> it's not just joking about it, but actually doing it. >> if it's second nature, i don't mean to like -- again, like i said, 40 years, 50 years,

you know, closer to 50. that's a hard habit to change. >> look -- >> please save us from ourselves here. >> there are no claims of assault. there are no claims of harassment. as of the last poll, 73% of democratic voters were either comfortable or excited about his run. >> before the kerfuffle. >> before this. i think we're going to have another cycle of polling, it will come out next week. and if there is no measurable change and this is the extent of the accusers of grabbiness, then i think he's going to survive this. >> let's move to money. it's the early way that sometimes we at least -- everybody has been trying to figure out, how many tiers are there in the shal race, top tier, second tier. i have an idea who is in the top two tiers. i think we have an idea who we haven't heard from who is not. we have money from sanders, harris, o'rourke and.

number two, they're all impressive hauls collectively. >> i guess so. because this is the iowa before the iowa. in a way, iowa isn't even iowa any more because unlike what tip o'neal said back in the day, all politics is local, all politics, especially in the social media age, is national. and one way that you express that and measure that is with money. so i think the answer to your question is yes. >> i want to put the list back up, heidi. i think it's amazing when you think about the first quarter, if i told you a year ago, these are the top four money people. let me tell you about the candidates that are in this race -- if i had told you, you would say, sanders, i'd buy that. o'rourke. you wouldn't have budageig. you might have thought cory booker or kirsten gillibrand. i single these out first because

they had senate head starts on money. >> when did we have a democratic race this wide open? i don't know that i would have had any predictions at this point other than that senators typically have a higher national profile, national i.d., and that maybe for that reason you'd expect klobuchar or booker to be higher than they are. but we're 18 days in. just think about also the amazing amounts of money -- >> we're three months in, in fairness. beto is 18 days in. but we're three -- i mean, come on -- yeah. >> all of the money that's being logged is coming from small donors. and i think that is really notable and a change from previous cycles and a good thing. >> to me booker and gillibrand stand out because they're in the epicenter of money, new york city. >> yeah, and i do think that they have -- they've been struggling. not just money, but related to money, they've been kind of getting lost in a conversation in a way, partly that just happens.

>> they're not in the top tier. >> they're not doing anything horrible they're getting attention that way. they're like the middle class candidates. they're just going about their campaigns. >> i think it's a problem for warren as well because it follows up not a great 2018 that she had. and particularly the fumbling of the handling of the native american ancestry question, whether she exploited that. >> right. >> i think that you have to use a pop music term, you have to have a hook. you need to be hooky is the term. >> budagig has the first hook more than warner and klobuchar. >> he's the only one without infrastructure, as they call it. without infrastructure that's bringing this kind of money in. he's the one who doesn't have a lot of staff on the ground. he's the one who is at a disadvantage in that regard, and yet he's in the race. he's in the running for this because he's managed to distinguish himself purely in these -- capture these viral moments. >> by the way, i think be this is the way it works now.

don't forget barack obama was a media sensation then a facebook star before he had the organization in iowa. donald trump was a twitter star and a controversialist before he had the organization. and that's obviously the model that somebody like budagig is pursuing. >> a great new word howard gave us. he's a controversialist. that belongs on the president's wikipedia page. that's an interesting word. he would embrace that word. >> or professional wrestling. >> heidi, ramesh, and howard, the vocabulary expander here, thank you. thank you all. up ahead, just wait till you hear this. - choosing to foster a child is choosing to nurture and emotionally support children in urgent need. it's not just about opening up your home; it is also about opening up your heart. consider fostering.

uh uh, i deliver the news around here.... sources say liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. over to you, logo. liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ now kayak and opentable let you earn travel rewards every time you dine. with just one reservation on opentable, you can start saving money on hotels with kayak.

get started at kayak.com/diningrewards. b >> tech: at safelite autoglass, we really pride ourselves on making it easy to get your windshield fixed. >> teacher: let's turn in your science papers. >> tech vo: this teacher always puts her students first. >> student: i did mine on volcanoes. >> teacher: you did?! oh, i can't wait to read it. >> tech vo: so when she had auto glass damage... she chose safelite. with safelite, she could see exactly when we'd be there. >> teacher: you must be pascal. >> tech: yes ma'am. >> tech vo: saving her time... [honk, honk] >> kids: bye! >> tech vo: ...so she can save the science project. >> kids: whoa!

>> kids vo: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace ♪ all of you. how you live, what you love. that's what inspired us to create america's most advanced internet. internet that puts you in charge. that protects what's important. it handles everything, and reaches everywhere. this is beyond wifi, this is xfi. simple. easy. awesome. xfinity, the future of awesome.

well, in case you missed it, we got a brand-new podcast. calling it the chuck todd cast because bad humor is okay. do you ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes at "meet the press"? have you ever wondered what we talk about around the table during the commercial breaks? or be a fly on the wall in our morning editorial meetings? here's your chance, i swear. we wanted to give you a way to peek behind the curtain a little bit to hear the discussions we have as we try to make sense of the news every day. why do we come to the decisions that we come to? so each wednesday i'm going to sit down with two of my favorite reporters and politicians and others and we're going to let you in on the conversation. what they are hearing on their beats, what they are hearing on their constituents, what's happening on the 2020 trail, and maybe some stuff that's just not quite fit for tv. you know, there's just some

things that you might say without a tv camera in front of you in audio form. subscribe to the chuck todd cast or "meet the press." hurry up and get it. we'll be back tomorrow with more "mtp daily". the beat with ari melber starts now. ari, you were in my morning meeting. first of all, thank you on that. >> before we go to the morning meeting, i have the chuck todd cast up on -- i have it up right now. the chuck todd cast, a podcast, you can subscribe right here and hit the button. >> there it is, it's that easy. so, i had this whole idea, i said we should do a pair difficuparody and shaggy, not me. ari does that, too. i'm like, thank you, ari. it wasn't me. it's -- >> i love shaggy working with sting, and i would love shagg