♪ new reporting that the irs is siding with congress when it comes to president trump's tax returns an internal memo reportedly said the agency is required to turn over the documents unless the president invokes executive privilege. plus, democratic calls for impeachment are growing after former white house council don mcgahn defied a congressional subpoena. and the state department says the syria may be renewing it's use of chemical weapons citing an attack. good morning, everybody, it's

wednesday, may 22nd. i'm yasmin vossoughian. geoff bennett who has been helping us out is himself on investigation. and on the virginia governor northam medical school yearbook. he's going to have that tonight on nbc and "nightly news." we're going to start with a draft reviewing that president trump's tax returns must be given to congress unless he asserts executive privilege. the memo contradicts the justice department's justification for denying house democrats' requests for the president's tax returns. trump has refused to turn over six years of returns but not invoked executive privilege yet, and treasury secretary steven mnuchin has denied the request, arguing that legislators have no legislative purpose for demanding them. however, according to the ten-page irs memo, the

disclosure of it returns to the committee, quote is mandatory, requiring the secretary to disclose returns and return information requested by the tax-writing chairs. it also rejects the reasons mnuchin cites for holding lawmakers, replying the only basis would be the indication of the invocation of the doctrine of executive privilege. the democrats made it clear they would seek copies of trump's tax returns under the law requiring the treasury secretary to provide that to congress. however, it is unclear who wrote and reviewed the document. the agency says the memo was never forwarded to the treasury department. and the tension between house democrats and the trump administration is escalating after former white house council don mcgahn defied a congressional subpoena to testify before congress yesterday. the house judiciary committee has now subpoenaed former white house communications director

hope hicks along with andy donaldson. mcgahn had been ordered to appear but he skipped the hearing after being directed by president trump to ignore the subpoena. >> president took it upon himself to intimidate a witness who has a legal obligation to be here today. this conduct is not remotely acceptable. let me be clear, this committee will hear will mcgahn's testimony, even if we have to go to court to secure it. we will not allow the president to prevent the american people from hearing from this witness. >> and republican senator lindsey graham, the chairman of the senate judiciary committee says the courts will decide whether mcgahn will testify. >> if i were the president, i would not voluntarily participate in what i think is sort of a political witch hunt. >> so as the trump administration continues to stonewall investigation, a growing number of democrats are

pushing for impeachment. >> i believe that we have come to a time of impeachment. i think that at a certain point, this is no longer about politics, but this is about upholding the rule of law. >> over 30 of the president's associates were indicted by the m mueller probe. his campaign chairman is in prison now. don't tell me there's not enough to discuss impeachment. >> yes, if in was impeachment, i'd support it. >> president of the united states needs to be impeached. >> when do we do that, that's the question. i'm still mulling it over to myself and my colleagues when i get on the floor in a few minutes but i'm getting there. >> sort mounting pressure to impeach is underscoring divisions within the democratic party, according to the "the new york times," there's a sign that house speaker nancy pelosi has behind the strategy in the

investigations. they tell the "times" that speaker pelosi has approved a tact short of impeachment to try to turn the tables. also democrats are reportedly scrambling to secure testimony from special counsel robert mueller. both the judiciary and intelligence committees, they faltered in recent weeks. sources familiar with the talks tell politico that mueller has been reluctant to set up further reviewings until he gets clarity from justice department supervisors about the boundaries for what he can publicly discuss that goes beyond what was released in the report tlaft night. join me now, scott wong and legal analyst, danny cevallos. scott, i'll start with you, we know bob mueller is believed to be back after retirement of his investigation has wrapped up. he's not done so quite yet. how might that potentially

impact this testimony, as a government employee, compared to a private citizen? >> right. well, there seems to be some speculation on the part of democrats that the attorney general bill barr and the justice department are preventing bob mueller from returning to the private sector and releasing had imfrom employment. if he is a private citizen, democrats would have a much better shot at compelling robert mueller to come before the judiciary committee and testify about his 448-page report. and so, i talked to jackie spira, somebody who is very close to nancy pelosi. a member of the intelligence committee. she said, without much evidence, she suspects that, you know, bill barr is keeping him on the payroll. and, you know, perhaps could keep him on the payroll through the 2020 election. she suspects there's some political motivations here. but it looks like both sides,

democrats and the justice department are at an impasse as to whether this testimony would be in the public sphere or would happen behind closed doors. there's some talk that bob mueller himself is reluctant to become a sort of political football in this whole fight between democrats and the trump administration. >> so, danny, you're hearing scott talking about -- after talking to dr. spira, that possibly this is politically motivated that the attorney general is keeping mueller on the payroll so as to not be a private citizen and testify in that manner. what are the possible legal concerns for robert mueller testifying before congress? >> it all depends on whether or not he's still an executive branch employee or not. if he is an executive branch employee, then arguably issues of privilege and immunity and other claims the president can make are potential reasons for him not to testify. but it's interesting, there's such a stronger case for gone

mcgahn to have privilege or immunity applied because he was an actual adviser to the president. we don't really think of mueller as an adviser as special counsel to the president. we don't think traditionally as notions of executive privilege and the other power us of executive branch to apply, to prevent robert mueller, the special counsel, from testifying. if robert mueller leaves the employ of the doj, then there's virtually nothing the executive branch can do to prevent him from testifying if he wants to testify. that's not apparent. if that's what he wants to do. >> but the thing is, if he remains under the justice department he is, yes, confined by bill barr, per se. and by the attorney general and what they advised they could actually talk about and how far he can actually go. but as a private citizen, he can't actually talk about the redacted information in the mueller report or the information in the mueller report? >> he wouldn't talk about it because he recognizes it's not

exactly privilege, but it's part of the category of information that cannot be released because of an ongoing investigation. >> but there are restrictions as well if he were to testify as a private citizen? >> yes and no, i don't know if you're talking about confidentiality agreements. anyway, he wouldn't testify to anything related to an ongoing investigation or any of the four redacted areas. and that's likely what would happen. he may just come and essentially read from the four corners of his report. and refuse to answer anything that was blacked out in the original report. >> scott, danny brought up don mcgahn. let's talk about dmon mcgahn. what are the next steps for don mcgahn considering he didn't show up. >> right, he was a no-show, infuriating democrats on the judiciary committee and democrats as a whole. democrats don't have a lot of good steps, a lot of good options here. they are looking, perhaps,

chairman nadler said we're going to compel his testimony one way or another. one of those ways they could do it is to vote to hold don mcgahn in contempt of congress. that doesn't have a lot of teeth. you know, to enforce something like that, they could direct the sergeant at arms to go out and arrest don mcgahn to bring him and confine him in the united states capitol. somehow, that hasn't been done since the 1930s so that's probably a little bit unlikely. i think what they're trying to do is, you know, eventually, take this to the courts and have the courts decide that don mcgahn needs to testify before congress. if they hold a vote of contempt, that could demonstrate that they exhausted all of their options. and then leave it to the courts to decide. >> all right, scott wong. thank you. i'm going to talk to you in a little bit. >> danny cevallos, thank you as well. donald trump's 2020 campaign manager claims the president has never been more popular while appearing to confirm their polling showing he's losing in

states he needs to win. earlier this week, politico reported that the trump campaign recently completed a 17-state polling project that concluded the president trails joe biden in pennsylvania and wisconsin and michigan as well. and according to the "the new york times," trump's low approval levels were drag him down. in a statement, the truth is, the picture being painted is intentionally false because the information only pertains to a subject of questions asked. the media's general fixation on reporting head to head matches polled 18 months before an election pointless because the results are speculative and meaningless. the fact is that the president has experienced his high greatest climb in approval, to the highest point since he took

office and it continues to grow. president trump will win pennsylvania, michigan and wisconsin as part of the electoral landslide. and president trump is back to threatening mexico, promising big swift vague action yesterday. the renewed threat comes amid reports the president is expected to name the former attorney general ken crutuccine. "the new york times" says he's expected to be based at the dhs, and not the white house as originally thought. a longtime hard-liner, cuccinelli is appreciately defending trump. appearing on television to praise the president's immigration policy and rail against the record-breaking number of attempted border crossings. it's a long way for cuccinelli who originally supported senator ted cruz in the 2016 elections. and thee ytheatrically proteste

trump as you nomination. and what prosecutors are saying about the latest parents to become embroiled in the scam. and later what the state department is saying about the possible use of chemical weapons. those stories and more and a check on weather when we come back. ome back

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no, no, no. this way buddy. come on. no! gidget could you watch liam? it's like we're his parents. it's like you're the dad and i'm the mom and we're in a relationship. and this is our baby. [ laughing ] well... it's exactly like that! exactly! be the first to discover the secrets. at the fandango early access showing may 25th. welcome back. lawmakers and abortion rights activists gathered in cities across the country yesterday to protest the wave of state laws aimed at restricting abortion access. tens of thousands gathered at more than 400 events in state capitols. the steps of courts coast to coast, marching, chanting, waving signs against state laws designed to challenge roe v. wade. the demonstrations came as louisiana senators approved a state constitutional amendment specifically denying the

constitutional right to abortion which would if passed be up for ratification vote this fall. as democrat governor john bell edwards signalled his support for a six-week abortion ban currently working its way to the state house. and the man dubbed the american taliban captured during the envision of afghanistan is scheduled to leave prison. john walker lindt was captured in the aftermath of a 2001 prison uprising that claimed the first u.s. casualty of that war. lindh on probation has stirred up controversy on lawmakers who are still skeptical of his extremist past. last week, alabama senator and democrat maggie hassan wrote a letter what tens will be take place to make sure he's integrated into society.

two wealthy parents embroiled in the admissions scandal pleaded guilty. the owner of a napa winery and a high powered government lawyer took separate plea deal for conspiracy. he's accused of paying $50,000 of a $200,000 bribe to get his daughter into the university of southern california on a phony water polo scholarship. meanwhile, caplan spent $45,000. the two men are the sixth and seventh parents to plead guilty in the scheme. memorial day is on the horizon just a couple days away. but believed the winter would be behind them. but not in colorado where a late may snowstorm hit the rockies dumping up to a record, get this, 20 inches of snow in areas west of denver.

this was the scene yesterday morning at coors field. home of major league baseball's rockies. fortunately, the rockies were on the road in pittsburgh. where they beat them 355-0. >> it is played in late may. now, people. >> and a guarantee that ski mountains are close. >> there's plenty of snow. it's still snowing this morning. the blue on the map shows you where it's snowing. this is the storm responsible for the 50-plus tornados in the last few days. it's snowing in nebraska, south dakota, wyoming, montana, even snow in the mountains in colorado. northern portions of utah. still wintry in the higher elevations. let's talk about today. we're going to be talking about severe storms. today, we're talking about 7 million people at risk.

unfortunately, it's the same areas hit hard through tulsa, joplin, springfield. and the central portions of missouri. all of the rivers are at flooding stages right now and it won't take much to get additional flash flooding throughout this region. thursday looks like another severe winter outbreak. one for the northeast. a first for the season. then back here in the west. 47 million people, mostly because philadelphia, washington, d.c., new york city are included. here we go, thursday afternoon and evening. north texas, western oklahoma, central kansas, we could be chasing tornadoes once again in that area of the country. then in the northeast, we may get a few tornadoes in areas of pennsylvania. travel plans tuesday to thursday evening from pittsburgh to state college, the storms will be heading towards pennsylvania and pushing through the i-95 corridor. we've got really strong storms down the i-95 corridor. then it should weaken as it approaches areas like connecticut and massachusetts.

the timing of all of that mess, again, this is tomorrow into thursday. we wake up in storms indianapolis. they roll through ohio and kind of weaken. by noon on thursday, storms in central p.a. and they push north to philadelphia and d.c. for the evening rush hour. yeah, that will be a dangerous afternoon tomorrow in areas of the northeast. >> by the way, i just got word, aspen mountain is opening for memorial day weekend? >> just because they can? >> because of the record amounts of snow. history is about to be made at the u.s. military academy at west point. we're going to talk about the class photo. look at that. it's gone viral, next. viral, ne.

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or if you plan to or have recently received a vaccine. this could be your chance to leave your psoriasis symptoms behind. ask your doctor for ilumya today, for a clearer tomorrow. welcome back, everybody. so, this is historic. a major milestone being reached at west point this year. the u.s. military academy is going to graduate a record-setting number of african-american women cadets. nbc news correspondent morgan radford has this story. >> reporter: it's a class photo gone viral. 34 black female cadets, standing on the stairs of west point academy, part of the most diverse class in the school's history. how does it feel to be part of that history? >> it was just a very overwhelming feeling to see all of our sisters standing there in solidarity. >> reporter: these women have formed a sisterhood that's also a support system. with over 900 students in their

graduating class, black women make up less than 4%. >> it hasn't always been pretty. >> when you say it hasn't always been pretty, what do you mean? >> there are some moments where you think, oh, am i worthy, do i deserve to be here. >> i definitely struggled sometimes because sometimes, i'd be the only woman of color, or only woman in general in my classes. every time i step into a new class. i count and i'm just like, this is just me today. >> reporter: something their classmates also want to change. >> we need different perspectives in our army. >> that's what makes sense. better cadets will make us better leaders. >> leaders for the next generation. what do you hope other little girls watching you graduate take away from seeing you here? >> i hope those girls can see themselves in us. i want women to be soldiers. i want these little black girls to say, hey, i can do it, too. i have the strength to defy the odd which is is what we do, we defy the odds.

>> reporter: morgan radford, nbc news, west point, new york. >> they certainly do defy the odds. our thanks to them. president trump told rallygoers in pennsylvania the former vice president abandoned them. plus, a new york lawmaker is passing a bill aimed at weakening their powers. those stories and more, coming up. ♪ dealing with psoriatic arthritis pain was so frustrating. my skin... it was embarrassing. my joints... they hurt.

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the u.s. state department said that the assad regime may be renewing its use of chemical weapons on the syrian people. the department cites an incident believe to be an attack took place on sunday in the idlib area. it started a major air offensive on the city and surrounding areas back in april. reports say more than 200 civilians including self-dozen children have died in the latest attacks. the state department says the u.s. and its allies will respond, quote, swiftly and promptly for the use of chemical weapons. in a statement to nbc news, the department says we will not tolerate the use of lane u.s. weapons by anybody. and the trump administration gave classified briefings to congress on the situation with iran. t comes after escalating tensions with tehran which the

administration said was due to indications of force of threat with the forces. prior to heading to the hill, secretary of state mike pompeo appeared to confir the president's assertion tweeting that the briefings were about, quote, 40 years of unprovoked aggression from the iranian regime. pompeo and shanahan talked about the situation before and after briefing congress. >> our steps were very prudent. and we've put on hold the potential for attacks on americans? >> what do you mean you put on hold potential for attacks? do you mean potential for attack no longer exists? >> i'd say we're in a period where threat remains -- >> there haven't been any threats. it doesn't mean that the threats previously identified have gone away. >> our biggest focus at this point is to prevent iranian miscalculation.

we do not want the situation to escalate. this is about deterrence, not about war. we're not about going to war. >> we shared with both the house and the senate our strategic campaign, the effort to push back against iran's maligned activity. 40 years of terrorist activity. so, we talked to them about that. we tried to place that, or place the recent intelligence in context of that 40 years of history. >> and former vice president joe biden's 2020 presidential campaign experienced a fundraising boon after it kicked off last saturday. during the rally, biden raised $44 million per minute. the campaign's large since its launch. the president accused him of abandoning voters. biden responded yesterday with

this, yesterday, trump tried to attack me at this campaign saying i abandoned pennsylvania. i've never forgotten where i've come from. understandi adding, trump doesn't understand what it's like to worry or put food on the table. biden had to leave pennsylvania at 10 years old when his father got a job in delaware to provide for his family. and joe biden after the 2020 race heating up according to the latest quinnipiac poll. the former vice president holds a 19-point lead over the vermont senator. however, biden is down three points last month, sanders is up five points. meanwhile, according to the poll, 35% of democratic voters say they have an unfavorable opinion of mayor de blasio. sanders came in second with 22% of voters saying they have an

unfavorable view of him. and democratic candidate beto o'rourke took to the stage in iowa. breaking ranks of house democratic leadership and calling for combeimpeachment proceeding against president trump. take a listen. >> we should begin impeachment proceedings against donald trump. not something i take lightly. it is an incredibly serious, sober decision that we should make as a country. really the last resort when every other option has failed us. the consequence of the alternative is to turn a blind eye on this, and in doing so, turn our back on the future. i cannot be part of that. we're going to have to make tough decisions. new york state lawmakers have seemingly taken a direct shot at president trump with yesterday's passage of a measure that would allow prosecutors to take action against individuals who receive a pardon for a federal conviction.

the double jeopardy law would allow state prosecutors open or advance investigations into a alleged criminal whose alleged activity took place in the united states that worked to advance the campaign or transition or worked at a business controlled by the president, as well as anyone who was pardoned for the president's business. notably trump's business and campaign are both headquartered right here in new york. joining me now once again, senior staff writer for "the hill," scott wong. scott, let's talk about this measure. how might we see this bill play in the current investigation of the president from fdny. >> that's right, the state attorney general has already opened up several investigations into the trump administration, that is the president's business operations that existed well before he became president. they're looking at trump projects that have been in the works. and so, to me, i mean, this

really speaks to the frustration on the part of democrats. you know, in congress. in their inability to secure a lot of these, you know, testimony being thwarted at every turn by the trump administration. when it up cans to bringing witnesses before congress. or securing documents and other information. so, democrats are looking for other avenues where they have power and influence. and in the new york state, it is certainly one of those area where is they feel like they can continue some of these investigations and sort of pick up where the congress is leaving off. if you look again to the state of california, the state of california, the attorney general there, javier bacera has filed something like 50 lawsuits against the trump administration that has been successful in many of those, as they work through

the lower court system. so, democrats are looking for any opportunity they can to investigate the president. >> let's talk 2020 here as well, scott. i just played some sound from beto o'rourke at a town mall basically calling for the president's impeachment, really breaking ranks from the democrat eck party and calling for impeachment. we heard house speaker nancy pelosi saying the democrats need to build a case, they need to build a paper trail. the time may come, but now is not the time. could this call for impeachment from beto hurt him in his run for 2020? and does there come a point where there needs to be a unified message when it comes to impeachment both between washington democrats and those democrats on the campaign trail? >> yeah. we're not really seeing that unified message playing out right now. whether it's democrats in the congress or democratic voters across the country who are showing up at a lot of these presidential events. for beto o'rourke, you know, he

is trying to differentiate himself from the rest of the field of 25 presidential candidates. and so, this is one way he can do that. a number of other democrats also have sort of followed suit and are calling for impeachment. but this is a debate that is playing out in the democratic party as a whole. there are democrats both that congress and across the country, democratic voters, who are warning. they see this as something that will completely back fire, heading into the general election can against donald trump. and could actually activate and motivate trump voters to turn out in the general election in 2020. so, it's definitely something to keep an eye on. >> i will say it's important to note, beto o'rourke was not the first on the campaign trail to call for impeachment of the president. senator elizabeth warren actually called for his impeachment just a couple weeks or so ago. scott wong, thank you so much. >> thanks so much. let's talk mcdonald's everybody they're paving more

than two dozen complaints from current and former workers who said they were ex wasexually had on the job. four of the cases involving teenagers. the action was announced by the aclu and the times up legal defense fund which formed last year to extend the me too movement beyond hollywood. mcdonald's chief executive said his company is committed to a bias-free workplace and will be setting up a complaint hot line. still ahead, the latest in the president's trade war with china. and the impact on millions of market. hudson secretary ben carson reportedly confusing a real estate term for a cookie. we're back. secretary ben carso reportedly confusing a real estate term for a cookie. we're back. secretary ben carso reportedly confusing a real

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yesterday, republican iowa senator joni ernst said she hears from constituents about the impact every day. and, quote, our farmers are feeling the pinch while also saying that trump is, quote, doing the right thing. bloomberg reports that the trump administration is set to unveil eye another assistance package for farmers impacted by trump's trade war which could exceed $15 billion. meanwhile, kohl's says it's forcing to scale back production at nearby plants. walmart says it is increasing prices for u.s. shoppers due to the tariffs. and jcpenney, macy's and home depot all say if trump goes through with the chinese tariffs for imports which he has vowed to do it will have a major impact on their bottom lines. home depot also says that trump's tariffs have resulted in roughly $1 billion impact on its

businesses. also 170 shoe retailers including nike, under armour and adidas sent a letter to trump washing of the, quote, catastrophic effects his tariffs which could lead to a massive 100% duty on shoes. house and urban development secretary ben carson struggled to answer question about a commonly used real estate acronym while being grilled by congress reporter katie port yesterday. watch this. >> i'd also like you to get back to me to explain the disparity in reo rates -- do you know what reo is -- >> oreo -- >> no, or reya. we call it an reo.

i'd like to know why we have more foreclosures with people losing their homes and stains to their credit and disruptions to their communities and neighborhoods with fha than we are to gses. >> i'd be extremely happy to have you work with the people who do that. >> mr. carson, respectfully, that was my day job before i came to congress. >> carson tweeted, oh, reo, enjoying a post hearing snacks sending some your way. congresswoman porter will be a guest coming up on "morning joe" and will likely be asked about those oreos or reos. let's get a check with weather with nbc meteorologist bill karins. he likes a cookie or two himself. >> your show every day is fascinating. >> fascinating. >> we'll leave it at that. let me show you some pictures of

weather we've just got done with the last two days. water issues, too, you can see the rescues that have taken place here. this is broken arrow, areas just to the east there of tulsa. in the middle of the screen, can you see the rope, the rescue there, trying to pull the person to safety. it's amazing we didn't have more loss of life. or any losses of life throughout this event. let's get into the next event. today, we get into a break. late tonight, strong storms around tulsa and joplin. then on thursday, the next severe weather outbreak, we could possibly get tornadoes in areas of texas, also areas of oklahoma and kansas. then the northeast is getting into the mix. it's going to get very warm. a little humidity sneaks in. state college, hagerstown, washington, d.c., philadelphia, baltimore, and new york city could see storms. the best chance of tornados would be in eastern portions of pennsylvania. then the big story as we head towards memorial day weekend, the heat dome is setting.

you. it gets a little warm in the next two days. typical may warmth. but the untypical stuff through friday especially into the holiday weekend. look at these temperatures, yasmin. jacksonville, florida, up near 100 all weekend long. same with areas around charleston, atlanta, 95, 96. pool, beach, lake, whatever it takes. >> any body of water you can get by when you have 95 degree temperatures. >> that, or a really good air conditioner. >> thanks, bill. still ahead, everybody, as the european elections get under way there's an atmosphere of uncertainty as the power of populism is gauged. we're going live to italy. the very latest, next. here's one you guys will like.

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welcome back, across the po british prime minister theresa may offered lawmakers the chance to vote on whether the uk should hold another referendum on whether or not to stay in the european union. there is a catch. lawmakers only get that chance if they vote in favor of the brexit agreement she has negotiated with the eu, which has been voted down by historic margins three times already. the european union's top court, the court of justice, has previously ruled the uk could unilaterally cancel brexit without asking the rest of the eu first, as long as a final agreement has not been implemented. this is all coming as the european parliamentary elections are taking place this week. italy is set to play a pivotal role in all of that and continuing the trend with the far right making major moves, as

well, there. joining us is cnbc's villam mark. how is everything unfolding there so far? >> reporter: yasmin, it is a weird situation in italy. the government is between an anti-elitist party that rose from the ashes of the criminal crash and then a far right party that rose from the migrant crisis over the last few years, where we saw hundreds of thousands of immigrants arriving on shores from places like north africa and the middle east. what we've seen with these parties in government for just under a year now is, essenti essentially, they've not been able to agree on a huge amount, whether that's economics, politics, or policy. what's that meant is the far right have taken power inside that government. going into these european parliamentary elections, these

coalition partners are at each other's throats. why it matters is we're seeing, for the first time really, is these parties across europe working together for the first time. what it could mean, the leaders of the far right parties meeting in milan over the weekend, what it could mean, going into a new parliamentary session in brussels, you'll have a significant block of votes belonging to the far right and their nationalist agendas. >> willem marx, thank you. axios has a look at the one big thing. on "morning joe," there is a growing number of democrats calling for impeachment after don mcgahn failed to show up for a congressional hearing yesterday. the vice chair of the committee, mary gay scan llon, will be a guest. plus, the ira memo says

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welcome back. joining us from washington with a look at axios am, the co-founder of axios, mike allen. >> morning. >> talk about axios' one big thing today. >> the axios one big thing is democrats' 100-year flood. we're seeing predictions that the 2020 presidential turnout could be the biggest that it's been in 100 years. michael mcdonald, an expert on voter turnout at the university of florida, says turnout could be as high as 67%. that's up from 60% in the election of 2016. what's driving that? excitement on the democratic side. we saw it in the midterms. we're seeing it in the turnout and the fundraising for the 2020

field. >> excitement for what? >> so democrats are very excited. we saw it in the midterms. we're already seeing in 2020 that the turnout against trump, even when he wasn't on the ballot, trump turned people out. that's helping democrats. the other thing that's helping their math equation is president trump relies heavily on older voters. they already turn out at a higher rate. who could also turn out? people who are against trump. younger voters, people of color, lower income people. the more of those that turn out, the tougher trump's re-election race is. larry sabato from the university of virginia says it could be a giant turnout. he wonders if the election places will be able to hold the ball. and points out the adrenaline is going to be huge on both sides. >> could this have an impact on trump voters as well in 2020? >> for sure.

we've seen that trump voters, who also are turning out at great intensity, the question is whether there can be more of them. the trump campaign tells me that projecting turnouts at this point is a fool's errand. they pointed out, they said these are the same demographers that said president trump's 2016 campaign was dead on arrivarriv >> let's turn to increasing trade tensions between the u.s. and china. how could this impact with tech industry in both these countries, as we're watching this trade negotiation go back and forth? >> as this trade standoff between the u.s. and china turns into a cold war, we're seeing how dependent the two tech sectors are on each other. the more prolonged this is, there's going to be real pain on both sides of the pacific. so the u.s. needs manufacturing from china. china uses our software and chips.

overnight, one of the most significant headlines in china, president xi talking about a long march, making them think that he, like our sources in washington, are pessimistic about the trade deal that the markets, at this point, seem to be expecting. >> thank you. we'll be reading axios am in a little bit. to all our viewers, you can sign up at signup.axios.com. that does it for us. i'm yasmin vossoughian. "morning joe" starts right now. i think we're being played by the democrats right now. i think what they want me to do is say, well, we'll raise taxes, do this and this and this, then they'll have a news conference, see, trump wants to raise taxes. it's a little bit of a game. >> as the ap frames it, president trump is concerned that democrats are, quote, setting a trap for him ahoead o their face-to-face meeting with them on infrastructure today. wonder why he's worried about getting played.

>> plenty times you said, i'll shut down the government if i don't get my way. >> you want to know something? >> you said it. >> okay. if we don't get what we want, one way or the other, through you, military, through anything you want to call, i will shut down the government, absolutely. >> disagree. >> i am proud to shut down the government for border security, chuck. the people of this country don't want criminals and people that have lots of problems and drugs pouring into our country. i will take the mantle. i will be the one to shut it down. i'm not going to blame you for it. >> wow. good morning and welcome to "morning joe." it is wednesday, may 22nd. joe is off on book deadline this morning, but along with willie and me, we have msnbc contributor mike barnicle. republican strategist and msnbc analyst susan del