ip asked whether they were taking that into consideration. he said, no, we're not taking into consideration israeli domestic politics in the timing of the release of this plan. so there is a lot of expectation in the region we could see this peace plan, finally, finally, after all of this time, in the next month or so. >> welcomed by somebody like netanyahu if it shows americans are willing to accept his calls to annex the west bank and give him a push in the polls there. thank you for your reporting and to everyone over at axios. reading axios a.m. in a bit. sign up for the newsletter. sign up at axios.signup.com. >> that does it for us. i'm yasmin vossoughian alongside amy mohyeldin. next up, "morning joe." good morning. along with joe, willie and me

host of msnbc's "politics nation" al sharpton and steve rattner is with us. former chief of staff to the dccc and former director of communications for hillary clinton's campaign, adrienne elrod, an msnbc contributor and we're heading to iowa this month for the first votes of the 2020 election. tonight that state and the nation will hear directly from the leading contenders for the democratic nomination for president of the united states. six candidates will hit the stage in des moines. amon them, a pair of u.s. senators who agree on a lot but clearly not everything. elizabeth warren and bernie sanders have a very different recollection about a 2018 conversation on the prospects of a woman for president. we'll get into that, and new polling on the state of the race. and you can't talk 2020 without mentioning russia's ongoing efforts to undermine the

election. we'll break down the new reporting that russians hacked the ukrainian gas company at the center of president trump's impeachment. so a lot going on. >> we got a ton -- a ton to talk about. cory booker getting out of the race yesterday. going to talk about that. the astros. we got -- obviously, astros in trouble. cora may be in trouble. who's the mastermind behind cora's organization? they're going to take his life away from him and mike barnicle responding to this. >> that story issish did- >> what's that? >> new york yankees 2017 american league champions. vacate all the wins obviously. that's exciting. >> there's no need to, actually. no need to. and today is a huge day, of course. a lot of people, a lot of buzz, not just in the publishing world, but everywhere. like mika's new book is coming out today.

it's "comeback career," and it's a great book, but, willie, you got your gutinberg bible. >> got to be number one. >> most influential. >> yeah. >> got your hamlet. right? am i right? >> a good one. >> i don't know. >> i never could really figure out it there. >> can i finish, please? >> can i finish, please? can i finish? can i finish? >> yes, yes. >> you got loaded. your book -- willie giest loaded. >> a nice poll. right, itright, right and "come back career." >> amazing book. part of a know your value for women at 40, 50 and beyond. so many women paved the way right now. nancy pelosi impeaching a president at 79 years old. claire mccaskill starting a new career right here at nbc at 65.

ellen latham, orange theory. had a terrible time and all of a sudden re-invented herself at 54. so the path is there, but for many women it's a scary one. they feel judged. they feel too old. and we break through all of that with "comeback careers." i'm really proud of this one. it's a god book. >> and if you could have mika spread that message. >> what? i'd love that. >> if you can help, help, too, and rattner, get all of your really rich friends to buy in bulk? we want don junior action here. number one. buy in bulk. that would be great. >> a fun fact. >> yes. >> first time in at least modern history there are more women working in this country than man. >> that's right. and we're going to work longer, stronger, wiser and better, because we're staying in the game. >> boom, boom, boom, boom. >> on cold air last night. i'm so nervous. very revved up. >> there we go. see how nervous she was on

"colbert." >> i'm the one who's nervous. >> you wandered off a little there. where did you go? >> amazing. start with the band. do we have any talking here? any stuff? i mean, look. come out to me here. come here. walk around here! >> joe, i know you're tired. you need sew sit down. >> no, baby. i wanted you to hear. be an eevangelical, like, preacher forewomen g women gett in the workforce. >> we'll talk later. >> and more women working than men. this book talks a lot about the women who make tough choices early on and decide to stay at home with the kids or decide to do whatever. >> sidetracked. >> different career. they don't want to -- it's harder to come back and mika talks about how they knocked down the walls, but the main wall is their own. insecurity. their own concern about getting

back into the workforce, but this new economy that we have still allows so many women and men, if they are primary caretakers of children, are -- are elderly parents, to do work at home. i peemean, it's a revolution whs going on out there. >> certainly more opportunities for women. certainly more jobs they can do. the flip side is what's happening, some men are getting pushed out of the labor force because the jobs they did in manufacturing a story the other day about west virginia. the opioid problem, all this stuff, has basically made it harder for some men and women have taken over. in many families women have become the bread winner because the men can't work anymay for one reason or another. >> a fascinating time. the opportunities are certainly there. >> and growing up my dad got laid off from lockheed in '72, '73. master of music, church

organist. taught lessons. kept us going a year and a half while my dad way trying to get another job. it happened then. it hereally happens now. >> the whole significance of the work mika is doing, in know your value, it really does start with the mentality. what i loved about the book, know your value, i read it and act like it was written for men, too, because it was, and i'm looking forward to, you know, to "comeback careers." you have to change your mind about yourself. and that's what mika does well, like a minister. because it all starts as a person thinks, that's how they are. you could have new opportunities. it doesn't matter. if you are resigned to the fact you're finished. you're not. you kind of bring people back. >> the part of the equation you can control and there's a lot that you can control. thank you very much. i think we should do the news. >> you know who needs to read "comeback career" this morning? >> this is going really well.

>> dabo swinney. willie giest? >> oh. go tigers. down in the bayou. national champs. >> take us through it, willie. >> the game tight early on. joe burrow didn't look like himself the first few minutes of the game then figured out the clemson defense. threw for five touchdowns ran in another one. threw for almost 500 yards against clemson and lsu won the national championship 42-25 to complete an incredible 15-0 season. a great run for him with the heisman trophy, but that team going undefeated through the s.e.c., auburn, florida, georgia, beat oklahoma and clemson. one of the best seasons you'll ever see and maybe a lot of people saying the best season by a quarterback in the history of college football. >> and seen a lot of great teams over the past decade. start to finish perhaps the best college football team. certainly seen this -- this century. i mean, from -- from, you know,

over the past 20 years. you just -- from start to finish they were the best team. got a quarterback that won the heisman. incredible defense. i mean, a lot of great players. and -- >> to put up those numbers for joe burrow. he wasn't playing in like the wac conference in the '80s, with all due respect. playing in the s.e.c., the best teams in the country. put up the numbers against clemson. second best in the country. ohio state makes a claim to that. lsu, champs. and as the coach would say, go tigers. >> i need a google translator whenever ed starts talking. i can't figure out what he's saying. >> right where he belongs. from the bayou and coaching the tigers now. three weeks before the iowa caucuses a monmouth university poll has joe biden in first with 24% support. bernie sanders, pete buttigieg and elizabeth warren are

statistically tied for second, within the polls, 4.5 margin of error. sitting at 18%, 17% and 15% respectively, amy klobuchar, rounds out the top five, with 8%. >> top one second here. so, rev, one thing we see in this poll and every other poll, going to have some -- some, a little bit of variance here and there, but you got, you got, mayor pete going down and going down in every poll. elizabeth going down. been going down in every poll whether 3%, 5%, and bernie going up. the only difference is biden. biden goal up five points. well, it's november from a shorter time ago, but we're going to show other polls showing biden doing well in every state now. >> this poll come as few days after the cnn des moines register poll found bernie sanders and elizabeth warren tied for first.

did i sbrepinterrupt? >> well, usually when i say, "rev." >> my comeback career response. >> no. i think -- i think that we're seeing that there is a real, and so far immovable, bernie sanders block. i think that, i hope he doesn't begin hurting himself by getting in little side spats with elizabeth warren and all. he has a solid block that they cannot ignore, and i think it's going to come down to joe biden and bernie sanders right now. if we get a surprise in the early states in new hampshire -- iowa, new hampshire, nevada, south carolina, then we'll see a bloomberg and money weighs in with super tuesday and changes the equation. >> right. >> it's still a jump ball. i mean, i intend to be at the debate tonight in iowa and see how they behave. if they don't eat their own, could have a clear shot at a

unified candidate winning. the big question, do the democrats beat the democrats? >> willie, how much does joe biden love -- love -- bernie sanders and elizabeth warren going after each other? this is just like howard dean and dick gephardt tearing each other to shreds and john kerry sitting there going, all right. i'll take it. >> on the eve of the debate, no less. you know the first line of questioning, or a significant line of questioning will be about these claims that elizabeth warren ma they'd that bernie sanders told her in december 2018 personally, confirmed it last night, that a woman couldn't win. couldn't win donald trump. he denies that vehemently. his campaign says that's a lie or she misinterpreted what she said. joe biden, adrienne elrod has to be loving that. called him durable. still sitting where he's been for the most part. true, you wouldn't be surprised if any one of four candidates

won in iowa, but he has to like what he's seeing as the progressive wing in bernie sanders and elizabeth warren of the party fights it out. >> yeah. you're exactly right, willie. look at this monmouth poll that came out yesterday showing him at 24% combined with the fact that elizabeth warren and bernie sanders breaking their truth and going after each other. joe biden, you stand back. you hope the two have a real policy debate. a debate on the issues, because the redistinction between bernie sanders and elizabeth warren even though they have a lot in common in terms where they stand on policy is that elizabeth warren is a self-declared capitalist and bernie sanders is a self-declared socialist. we've seen a break in their bond over ish issues like a conversation can a woman, a female win as president, i think tonight you will probably see a little bit more of a policy

debate, because elizabeth warren to the point we've talked about. she has dropped significantly in the polls from where she was a couple months ago. the only way she will stay in the race chip away at some wrns br bernie sanders' supporters. >> and joe biden is in first place in this poll. biden 26% support. senator bernie sanders next with 22% followed by warren with 18%. dropping seven points since october, both statistically tied for second. pete buttigieg and michael bloomberg and tulsi gabbard statistically tied for fourth, though bloomberg won't be on the ballot in new hampshire. >> and steve, look at the trend line. elizabeth warren down in this poll as well, but biden in first place in new hampshire. this has come as a surprise that a few polls overish the past week have shown biden jumping into first place in both iowa

and new hampshire, which, of course, if he were to win iowa and new hampshire, then, you know, let's just -- let's just turn off the lights in the stadium. the game's over. he's going to sweep it all. >> well, let me say a couple of thing. >> that's a big "if." >> and the register poll showed it neck and neck a couple days ago. >> in fourth place sort of within the margin. >> within the margin of error. i would say within this sort of political world i don't know anyone who's overly confident, put it that way, about biden's chances particularly in new hampshire. they think new hampshire will be a struggle for him. if he can get out of there in a decent second they would consider that almost a victory. third and fourth, polled in other polls a few weeks earlier would be a disaster, and i think iowa is a really, really important state for biden. let me just say one thing about warren and sanders. for whatever set of reasons and some people are baffled by this, warren clung to sanders like a life preserver the whole first

part of this campaign. would allow no daylight between the two of them on any position. as you remember, whenever she was asked about medicare for all she said i'm with bernie, i'm with bernie but didn't have a plan. suddenly became the front-runner and decided the plan was ridiculous. s $20 million in taxes and so on, and that began her fall. seems to me in retrospect these two had to separate. fighting over the same voters. >> separate on issues. >> the last point i make is that if sanders becomes kind of the "fro "front-runner" again, and bernie has 20%, never get the nomination but out there. if he's perceived to be a real potential nominee, people will pick on his record and his record is way to the left of elizabeth warren's record. if exposing her record did her in, see what it does to him.

>> bernie will make no apologies for that. >> he'll make no apologies. in fact, when she backed off on medicare for all, she went back all-in. >> yeah. bring in chairman -- cecil guy. showing teflon joe continues to just keep rolling. we were on "colbert" last night. what about that tape that surfaced of joe biden in 2003 that said he supported bush and the war? what impact is that going to have? i said, none. i mean, he's teflon joe. he called somebody fat in iowa! challenge him to push-ups. he calls him jack! and nothing happens to this guy. >> because they know him. >> he is like the democratic anecdote to trump. nothing matters! he's teflon joe! i have know idea where you're going with that, guys. talk generally how fluid the field is and how anybody could win.

go. >> well, joe, the field is fluid, and anybody can win. >> guy cecil, priorities usa. thank you very much on the way out. your parting gift, rice roney, the san francisco treat, and comeback careers. mika brzezinski's new book. talk about the trend lines you've seen over the past week. that's all we can really look at. what's happened over the past five, six, seven days. >> look at the iowa polls came out. monmouth for example. the self-identified moderate candidates, biden, buttigieg, klobuchar, are at 49% of the vote. and that klobuchar number at 8% becomes really important, because if you don't hit a 15% threshold, then the second choice of those caucusgoers matter. it's hard to imagine a klobuchar voter going to anybody other than joe biden and maybe pete buttigieg. so there's no question that joe biden has had an incredibly good few weeks.

there's no question that the spat between elizabeth warren and bernie sanders is good for two people. joe biden and donald trump. and so if he can somehow manage to win even one of the first two states, it puts him in an incredibly strong position goin biden winning in the first of four states would be michael bloomberg. at that point most would rally around biden as the presumptive nominee. >> what do you think of the fight we saw in the last days between elizabeth warren and bernie sanders? it's ugly. elizabeth warren claiming bernie sanders said a woman couldn't win when they met in december of 2018. again, his campaign denies that. i heard a lot of progressives yesterday saying, guys, come on. eyes on the prize here. got to beat donald trump. can't tear each other to shreds with these interparty fights. what's the impact of them going at each other and as steve said, they needed to separate from

each other but i think a lot of progressives said i wish they wouldn't do it on this. do it on an issue. not something as serious as a claim that a woman can't win and become president in this country jrchts the first beneficiary as i said is joe biden. the second beneficiary is donald trump. i mean, we are facing a president that is putting us on the brink of war. that is separating families. that is turning his back on the middle class and working class of the country, and our primary was dominated yesterday by a private conversation in someone's living room a couple years ago. i think it is a completely counterproductive conversation, and i think it should be a worrying sign for democrats going into the last three week of this election. we cannot afford to be picking each other apart when the country is under an existential threat. so i believe a woman can win, and beat donald trump. i believe a candidate of color can win and beat donald trump. these are not the arguments to be having going into the last three weeks before iowa.

>> and tweeted yesterday, ezra, you got donald trump lying to the american people, saying that he's fighting to protect pre-existing conditions, when that's just a damn of a lie. it's ridiculous. he's working overtime to kill it. republicans, attorney generals, they're all working to take away americans protections, that they've been afforded for children with preexisting conditions. for their loved ones with pre-existing conditions. that's a huge issue every democrat should have been talking about yesterday, because that impacts americans. and they're talking about a conversation from 2018? i'm not getting on anybody's side, but do any of us really believe that bernie sanders is going to say i don't think a woman can win, elizabeth. who's going to say that? come on. >> and certainly wouldn't say it to elizabeth warren. >> what i'm saying! who's going to say that?

>> it is very doubtful, but i think you hit the real problem. the gravity of what is going on right now. where we are really seeing a challenge in the balances of power in the three branches of government. when we are seeing a president literally lie about why he ordered the killing of a general and how that affects us on a global level, and we're arguing about a living room conversation two years ago, and i hope that's not what we debate about tonight in the democratic debate. >> no. yeah. >> it's like we're missing the whole point of where we are in american history. >> adrienne elrod bhashgs , wha strategy on the part of elizabeth warren bringing this up now? >> mika, i think she realizes her campaign is in a solid three and sometimes in states a fourth place, and she needs to gain traction. i mean, i'm a little surprised -- >> again, what's the strategy, though, to -- i don't think this

is an opportunity to gain traction. i think it actually takes things in the opposite direction. >> yeah. i'm a little surprised that she put out a statement last night, because that just added more fuel to this. you know's, this fire essentially that this happening here, but i don't know what the strategy is. the only thing i can think of is that she needs to climb into second place, or needs to get some bernie sanders supporters and maybe thinks it's a good play for women to get some women on her side. certainly making waves. we're talking about it. maybe that's what she's aiming for here. i'm not quite sure of her strategy here. >> and i hope they don't ask about the minutia of, like -- like, i hope it's not another bookings institute. like discussion on health care. specifically, the subcommittee on health care regulation discussion of brookings institu institute. i hope it's not that and i hope

they talk about preexisting conditions and the president of the united states lying about the fact that he is trying to take away health care that every american has right now. instead of having democrats fighting each other how they want to move towards universal health care, it's driven me crazy this year and again, should all be talking about the president of the united states lying about taking away health care protection. so -- so, guy, "priorities usa," you guys are spending a lot of money. talking about bloomberg spending a lot of money, but you've been spending a lot of money, and you are going to be spending a lot of money. what can you tell us about your plans for the next year? >> yeah. up know, last year there was a lot of focus on donald trump's online campaign, something their campaign talks a lot about. the reality going into this year we've been outspending donald trump on line in the key battleground states of michigan, wisconsin, florida, and

pennsylvania. we announced this morning we're increasing our pre-convention budget from $100 million to $150 million. making about $70 million of television and digital reservations in the early battleground states. look, the spat yesterday only highlights one really important thing, that while this primary is going on, we need to take the fight directly to donald trump. we cannot allow him to define the contours of this race, and to your point, joe. we need to be talking about pocketbook issues, about health care, about wage it's, educatio. the country has made their decision. favorable ratings are in the tank. barely gets above 42% against any democrats in the general election polls. so we need to talk about the issues people are talking about at home, at church, at work. it is not a private conversation two years ago. so we're going to focus on making sure that we take the fight to trump and that we don't allow him as many incumbent

presidents have done over the last really three decades to take over this election. >> and impeachment is an important issue. the killing of soleimani is an important issue. >> of course. >> ukraine, what happened in ukraine. russian interference. that's an important issue, but in all of your research, and again, i say important issues we need to talk about it, but in all of your research, that's not what people are talking about around kitchen tables. is it? >> no. it's not what most of the news coverage is about. right? we'll spend more time in 24 hours talking about bernie and elizabeth's conversation. about donald trump's tweets towards mike bloomberg. we'll talk about impeachment, which is an important issue, but what is lost in all of that is that prescription drugs are still harder to get. that the cost, premiums are still skyrocketing. cost of college still rising. that people are still seeing

relatively stagnant wages, despite the fact the unemployment rate is low and the stock market's doing well. we need to be talking about these issues. i would remind you, joe, you mentioned preexisting condition issue. might remember in 2010 when republicans wanted to attack deaths on supposedly cutting medicare, every republican candidate for congress all of a sudden discovered they had a mom. they all showed up in tv ads saying i would never cut medicare. my mom is on medicare. last cycle we saw it, every republican candidate discovered they had a kid. all of these ads all of a sudden sort of talking how they would never eliminate protections for preexisting conditions because they had a child with a preexisting condition. >> again, guy, that's exactly what they're doing. what the attorney generals are doing, what the president's doing. what republicans are doing. >> of course. we've got to fight back. i agree completely. this argument over the specifics around health care and the subcommittee work, we all know that once these bills get to congress, fundamentally, whether a sanders bill, a warren bill, a

biden bill, these things are going to change, because congress is going to be closely contested between democrats and republicans. especially the senate. we should be focused every debate on the fact that this president wants to overturn obamacare and eliminate protections for preexisting conditions. it is a no-brainer. >> we'll talk about this a lot more. >> thank you, guys. you were at the last debate. was that cbs? >> a really good one. >> pbs. >> we did -- they did not go into minutia and actually asked questions that -- >> really, really good. >> -- democrats care about. a great deceit. other stories making headlines. received news overnight on the passenger jet mistakenly shot down by iran. tehran's judiciary says the arrests have been made in connection with the incident. but did not say how many individuals were detained. the spokesman also said that a black box recorder has been taken to france, the french have

not yet confirmed that. we will follow. >> wait a second. we heard, willie, actually the supreme leader was in the control room. right? remember that? in the control room while launches the missiles. are they arresting him? oh, they're not going to arrest the supreme leader. >> just, who are you going to arrest? the guy that he said -- >> the people are iran are getting very frustrated. >> i know. they're going to go out and they're going to get a couple of scapegoats, while the iranians -- i mean literally, can't shoot straight. they told us that their supreme leader was in mission control! launch. going launch -- launch. so now they're trying to blame oscar, who wandered in and pressed a button and shot down a jet. no! it's the supreme leader who's responsible. >> some sacrificial lambs put out by the iranian government, but the people in the streets of tehran today are calling for the

supreme leader not the sacrificial lamb. >> calls for the truth. "washington post" reports president trump is planning to divert an additional $7.2 billion in pentagon funds for border wall construction this year. >> that's unconstitutional. >> that's five times the amount that congress authorized him to spend on the project, according to internal planning figures obtained by the paper. the pentagon funds would be extracted for a second year in a row from military construction projects and counternarcotics funding. this additional funding would give the government enough money to complete roughly 885 miles of new fencing by the spring of 2022. >> didn't the courts already strike this down at unconstitutional? didn't the district court strike down his first -- the appeals court said, no, and i guess it's going to the supreme court? >> if the white house follows through with the plansen in total under the trump administration, $18.4 billion allocated to pay for the border wall. and experts are bracing for the

worst in the philippines as authorities warned of a hazardous explosion from the tall vol contain other just under 40 miles a away from mani. it began erupting on sunday. residents warned not to return to their homes in the danger zone. officials warned the you have c volcano could reach a level five a magna eruption within hours or days. we'll follow that. in a moment we'll gelt to the big story out of major league baseball with the houston mike barnicle will join us for that. >> he's in trouble for spring training at least. >> oh, mike. plus, from the democrats house of leadership congressman hakeem jeffries is with us. nancy pelosi's next steps in the

impeachment of president trump. before we go to break, joe has a gig tomorrow night in prohibition. show kicks off around 7:30. you want to get there early to grab a spot. "morning joe" will be right back. alexa tell me about neptune's sorrow. it's a master stroke of heartache and redemption. the lexus nx. modern utility for modern obstacles. lease the 2020 nx 300 for $359 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. quitting smoking is freaking hard.st, like quitting every monday hard. quitting feels so big. so, try making it smaller. and you'll be surprised at how easily starting small... ...can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette

i'm the only candidate in the mb: bracee way, who doesn't take a penny in contributions from anyone. no big donors, no special interests, nothing. the party rules prevent me from debating, if they change the rules, i'll be happy to join it. in the meantime, i'm traveling the country, speaking, taking your questions, and making the case that donald trump has to go. and we're gonna beat him. i'm mike bloomberg, and i approve this message. this melting pot of impacted species. everywhere is going to get touched by climate change.

wean air force veteran made of doing what's right,. not what's easy. so when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. that's how you do it right. usaa insurance is made just the way martin's family needs it - with hassle-free claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. because doing right by our members, that's what's right. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa beyond the routine checkups. beyond the not-so-routine cases. comcast business is helping doctors provide care in whole new ways. all working with a new generation of technologies powered by our gig-speed network. because beyond technology... there is human ingenuity. every day, comcast business is helping businesses go beyond the expected. to do the extraordinary. take your business beyond.

signs ♪ all right. 36 past the hour. mike barnicle is here. >> deeply concerned red sox fans here. >> what are you doing? >> oh. it's the trash can technique. perfected by the houston astros. >> are you okay? >> i'm supposed to speak. do you hear that? my turn. >> to come in. if you're confused right now, let me explain. major league baseball concluded

that the houston astros did, in fact, cheat during their 2017 world series -- >> can't we just forgive. >> get the details from nbc's miguel almaguera. >> reporter: after winning the world series in 2017 major league baseball says the champs are cheats. suspending houston astros manager a.j. hinch and general manager jack luhnow after the league says their team stole pitching signs during the historic season. the astros taking it a step further firing both. >> neither one of them started this but neither one of them did anything about it and that's how we came to the con be collusion. >> reporter: the former manager apologized saying while he didn't participate in the sign stealing he failed to stop it. the former gm says he didn't know the rules were being broken but the league's investigation reveals virtually all of the astros players had some involvement or knowledge of the scheme. using a camera in center field,

the team decoded pitching signs. the information relayed to the dugout sometimes via text message on a smartphone passed along to the hitter banging on a trash can as noted by one sports writer here. with houston also fined the league maximum $5 million and loss of top draft picks the investigation specifically notes then astros bench coach alex cora as a middleman who went on to coach the boston red sox who won the world series the very next year. and who are now also under investigation for stealing pitching signs during the regular season. the los angeles dodgers lost both world series to champions now accused of cheating. >> line this right up with pete gate. a bunch of conspiracy theories. come on. >> here come red sox fans worried about the next couple years. bottom line, mike, what exactly happened? we know the astros lost their

manager and gm. alex cora, bench coach that season, 2017 for the astros now manager of the red sox. he was involved. waiting to see what discipline he gets. he might be gone for a year or more. what happened here? how did they get caught? >> they got caught, because if you really want to go back to it. there's no sport, no professional sport in america more engaged in what they call analytics than is baseball. and there's no sport, i don't think, in professional sports in america, that has more ivy league educated young people top of the game in various clubs and they're always looking for a competitive advantage. and the marriage of electronics with analytics, they keep going and going and going. discovering something new each and every day. so they used visual components, tv monitors, to steal signs. that said, you still got to hit the ball. >> yep. >> exactly. got to hit a ball well. >> but it doesn't hurt to know what's coming from a major

league pitcher. >> you know what? much ado about nothing. hullabaloo. ask you this, mike, too. you guys know. doesn't justify anything. as long as pitchers have been pitching the ball, they've been stealing signs. bobby thompson's, probably the most famous home run in history. the shot heard around the world. >> right. >> we find out later that they had a guy in center field stealing s for bobby thompson as well. not justifying anything. just saying, this has been a part of the game for a long, long time. >> sign stealing is an art. it's an art form part of major league baseball and baseball at other levels, you're right. since the inception 6 baseball. >> it's not illegal for say the guy at second base to try to steal the sign. right? >> no. not at all. >> so where does it cross -- asking as a lawyer. >> use of electronics. >> uh-huh. >> what about the trash can? banging the trash can what? because they're seeing it on tv?

>> yeah. >> if some guy in center field -- i'm serious. being a lawyer here. some guy in center field sees a signbiknonoculars is that illegal? >> that is illegal. >> long as it's with the organization? >> you cannot use electronics. watches, tv components. you can't have, you know, buzzers in your hand, wrapped by a band-aid. can't do any of that stuff. >> to your point, had pitchers serve tongue and cheat tweeting, let's cheat the old-fashioned way. have the guy on second base steal the sign. somebody leading off second, and he can point to the hitter, catcher set up inside, outside, that gives you advantage, but this was incredibly sophisticated with the use of sell tradition cameras, signal to the dugout, bang the trash can, knew what was comes, hits one out and won the world series as a result. >> got a good friend, great baseball coach, high school

coach, a guy who we did a story on his son. >> yeah. >> told me years ago. he goes, they're cheating. he goes, they're -- especially -- goes look at him at home. they do better at home than on the road. it is so -- i don't know how they're cheating, but i know they're cheating. did they have a reputation? >> yes. there's a lot of houston hate going on today, and yesterday, because houston has long been suspected for the past couple of years of cheating consistently. both on the road and especially at home. that said, baseball unlike the other sports, you play 162 games. >> yeah. >> i mean, there's no way, know, you're going to be cheating across 162 games, and suddenly people saying, oh. take the trash can away. >> i will tell you what i think most people found offensive. they took it into the world series. into the playoffs and the world series. not that it's okay to do in the

regular season. >> this is a good thing manfred did yesterday. they're going to do it, steal signs do it the old-fashioned way. >> yes. the national action network, we should work together to talk about mercy. let's just -- you know, let's just -- let's just -- let's just leave it with the astros. let's just leave it there. all have fallen short of the glory of god. it doesn't help for us to expand this out and get on a witch-hunt. let's just let the astros pay for the since of all, and let's move on and stay away from the boston red sox. >> i think we can, but you still have to pay for your sins. >> that's right. >> thank you. >> you can be forgiven but you have to pay for your sins. >> what does that mean for brother cora? >> i think alex cora, minimum. report is devastating to him. at a minimum, he'll get a one-year suspension, if he gets longer than one year, then the red sox will have to think about making a change.

>> okay. >> managerial -- >> they'll keep talking. alex will have a sign for you and it's going to be really different. coming up -- a private security firm says burisma, the ukrainian energy company at the center of president trump's impeachment was the victim of a phishing attack by russian spies. we'll dig into that reporting. stay with us.

americans come to lendingtree.com to compare and save on loans, credit cards and more! but with the new lending tree app you can see your full financial health, monitor your credit score, see your cash flow and find out how you can cut your monthly bills. download it now to see how much you can

save. for bathroom odors that linger try febreze small spaces. just press firmly and it continuously eliminates odors in the air and on soft surfaces. for 45 days. ♪the beat goes onp for heart failure look like? it looks like emily cooking dinner for ten. ♪the beat goes on it looks like jonathan on a date with his wife. ♪la-di-la-di-di entresto is a heart failure medicine that helps your heart, so you can keep on doing what you love. entresto helped people stay alive and out of the hospital. heart failure can change the structure of your heart, so it may not work as well. entresto helps improve your heart's ability to pump blood to the body. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema,

low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ♪the beat goes on ask your doctor about entresto for heart failure. ask your doctor about entresto for heart failure yeah! entrust your heart to entresto. ♪the beat goes on

welcome back to "morning joe." it is 48 past the hour. a live look at capitol hill as the sun has yet to come up over washington. with us now, u.s. national editor at the "financial times" ed loos. his latest piece in the "financial times" entitled "why bernie sanders looks indestructible." >> i know you want to talk about american baseball all day, ed, but we're not going to let you do that. why is bernie sanders indestructible? >> i'm a nats fan. not just because they won the world series. >> really? okay. >> i am, indeed. i was punching the air when they

won a few weeks ago. although i would fail a general knowledge test on baseball. bernie's, you know, if you think about it. it's just ten weeks ago he had a heart attack and had to stents put in. that actually marked an idea of his fortunes. his polls rising since then priddy steadily, at the expense mostly of elizabeth warren, to the point where three weeks before iowa and new hampshire, some polls show him as marginally winning both of those races, some polls. so i guess it's, you know, the sort of granite hardness of his base, it's just something we should never underestimate. we shouldn't underestimate just how tone deaf elizabeth warren can sometimes be on the stump. she's great at policy, but her political touch is not as good as you might think it would be,

and i think this latest leak from somebody close to the warren campaign fairly ill-disguised fingerprints there from the warren campaign that bernie told her 13 months ago a woman couldn't win is an example of that. you know, it's clearly quite close to closing bell. three weeks to go. a fairly nefarious account of a conversation that no aides were present at. just two of them. warren and sanders in the room, comes out at this time, and then she issues a statement saying, let's move on. you know, i think that's the kind of thing that probably could end up even benefiting bernie sanders, because he's -- you know, he's seen as the, mr. authenticity, mr. integrity. many faults, but those are seen at virtues and partly explains why this extraordinary story,

this 78-year-old with two stents could be winning the first two contests in the 2020 democratic primaries. >> yeah. i thought the statement from elizabeth last night was interesting. he did it. let's move on. adrienne ed rod what lrod, whatk ing standard on the ground? bernie sanders, dismissed as a retread. a lot of people said this was bernie 2016. they forgot, you know, that four years had passed by, and he was seen as a has been before his heart attack. a lot of people believed, and the week after his heart attack, that was the end of his campaign. instead, it actually was a kick-start. why do democrats think he's had this resurgence? >> yeah. and joe, to that point, a lot of people when he got in the race said, oh, why is bernie running again? all of these candidates are in

the race. elizabeth warren can take on the progressive mantle. look, i said it many times in the show and say it again. never underestimate bernie sanders. he connects with people in a unique way. we saw it happen in 2016 and we're seeing it happen now. working-class voters, young millennials, he's leading among african-americans, people under the age of 35. he's being endorsed by some really major organizations. sunrise movement, which has really done an incredible job coalescing young progressives to fight for climate change recently, they endorsed him. you know, he has done -- he's authentic, stuck to his message and done such a great job of consolidating the progressive base. also i think, of course, right around the time he had his heart attack, aoc endorsed him giving him a significant boost. i think the race is ultimately going to come down to bernie sanders versus joe biden. bernie will represent the

progressive wi ivive wing of th. joe biden represent the moderate establishment wing of the party defending obama era policies. where this debate is going, but bernie sanders has been able to really coalesce this progressive base like nobody else has been able to do. >> so president trump went after potential 2020 presidential opponent michael bloomberg on twitter yesterday sounding off on the hundreds of millions of dollars the former mayor is spending against him. in a series of tweets the president wrote in part, "mini mike bloomberg is spending a lot of money on false advertising pea ". adding, "i will always protect the poor." >> really doesn't have the kick, does it? mini mike. >> no. not when he has so much more money. >> i mean, yeah. i mean, my gosh. >> than trump. >> so wealthy. donald trump, you don't even know if this guy has any money at all. >> yeah. >> ed loos, tries to a attack a guy that has about $60 billion

more money than him, and donald trump lies about preconditions saying he's going to protect preexisting conditions and that's just a lie. >> yeah. he has been spending, his whole administration, trying to dismantle obamacare, the affordable care act. it is just a lie. given there are a lot of low information voters out there as there are in every democracy, might be another of those lies that at least partially sticks. my puzzle about bloomberg is why he isn't getting, aiming for the donations that will get him on the debate stage? it wouldn't cost much. just give me a dollar. there's a threshold. and the reason why it's puzzling is because you don't become a nominee unless you're up there on the debate stage. it's a very odd strategy to me. he spent $150, $3 million or so since he launched his campaign. none of which are gonering the

kind the -- garnering the number hef needs to get on the debate stage. i don't see how he has a realistic shot of doing well on super tuesday. it's a real puzzle to me. this guy's a seriously brainy billionaire, know, who's made his money out of data, and analytics, and this seems to be kind of an oversight. >> mike -- >> kind of -- >> money talks obviously. tom steyer is proof of that. on the debate stage tonight having just swamped primaries with his own money, but mike bloomberg is a different case. obviously spending enormous amounts of money but has something going for him none of the other candidates seem to have going for him nap he is the one guy out there who clearly, steve, drives donald trump crazy. and he's intent on driving him even crazier. >> well, he's the one -- look, donald trump looks at him and realizes he's the real version

of a donald trump. made his money the honest way. watch his tweets. tends to go to people he actually thinks could be damaging to him and many believe mike bloomberg got the nomination, he would be trump's toughest opponent. >> leveling the playing field that you work sort of for bloomberg. >> i manage his accounts. >> what do you think he's looking for? for a brokered conventions? what he's looking for? >> no. mike is looking for a win. the number of delegates picked in the first four contests, rounding a few percent of total delegates. 30-some odd delegates picked super tuesday and the rest after. most of the candidates are not spending ate lot of time in su tuesday states. they can't. have to focus on new hampshire. he's spending most time in super tuesday states. huge numbers of money and people and where the action is. as willie sutton said, why do i rob banks? that's where the money is and why he's going there.

>> ed loos. adrienne elrod, thank you both for being on this morning. up next, the white house is concerned several republicans could join democrats in calling for witnesses at the senate impeachment trial. but would it be enough to shift the majority? kasie hunt joins us with her latest reporting ahead on "morning joe." the good news? our comfort lasts all day. the bad news? so does his energy. depend® fit-flex underwear offers your best comfort and protection guaranteed.

because, perfect or not, life's better when you're in it. be there with depend®. i wanted my hepatitis c gone. i put off treating mine. epclusa treats all main types of chronic hep c. whatever your type, epclusa could be your kind of cure. i just found out about mine. i knew for years epclusa has a 98% overall cure rate. i had no symptoms of hepatitis c mine caused liver damage.

epclusa is only one pill, once a day, taken with or without food for 12 weeks. before starting epclusa, your doctor will test if you have had hepatitis b, which may flare up, and could cause serious liver problems during and after treatment. tell your doctor if you have had hepatitis b, other liver or... ...kidney problems, hiv, or other medical conditions... ...and all medicines you take, including herbal supplements. taking amiodarone with epclusa may cause a serious slowing of your heart rate. common side effects include headache and tiredness. ask your doctor today, if epclusa is your kind of cure. ♪ do you recall, not long ago ♪ we would walk on the sidewalk ♪ ♪ all around the wind blows ♪ we would only hold on to let go ♪ ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we need someone to lean on ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we needed somebody to lean on ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ all we need is someone to lean on ♪

hey, cory gardner, ask yourself. why are you losing? why do the polls show you headed tore humiliating defeat in november? because colorado trusted you to work for us, not donald trump. >> sides have been chosen and gardner is in lock step with the party at this point. gardner's in a box. >> tough people built our great state and always fought for what's right. the only thing you'll fight for is trump. you're just another trump servant. weak, frightened, impotent. a small man terrified of a

political bully. >> goodness. >> that is -- rick wilson, harsh. >> i would say. >> rick wilson, harsh. what did i say yesterday? he's mean. he's a junkyard dog. >> well it had to be said, when you think about it. >> and republican on republican violence. that is sad! >> the lincoln project, a group of conservative critics of donald trump, tied to rick wilson and others recently launched that ad against senator cory gardner of colorado. the first republican, the group is targeting. using words like impotent. i mean, but, really, whew! that's -- >> that's tough. >> that's getting in the game, i guess. welcome back. >> rick wilson. >> welcome back to "morning joe." it is tuesday january 14th. system with joe, willie and me we have msnbc contributor mike barnicle. the host of msnbc's "politics nation" and president of the national action network reverend al sharpton and former treasury official steve rattner joining

the conversation msnbc national affairs analyst co-host of showtime's "the circus" john heilemann and nbc news capitol hill correspondent and host -- oh, good lord. of "kasie dc," kasie hunt. hello, "kasie dc." how ya holding up? everything good with mars? >> mars doing great. >> told you. going to be fine. okay. moving on. >> no, it's not. talk to me in 20 years. mike, could you give us a hot take quickly about this baseball thing? t.j., do you have a cued up? a hot take. >> alex cora in perilous condition here. >> wow. >> he could be gone. >> really? so magical. >> going to get at least a year. maybe two. he's in tough shape. >> good sound effect. >> did we not have a sound effect with that. >> come on, t.j. come on! >> there we go. what you need when coming in. >> got the hot takes flame and

everything. >> so, hold on. but, no. it's got -- it's got to make noise coming in. >> one of our best rehearsals. it's going to be great when we do it for real. >> when we go on, got to do it right. need that sound coming in as well as going out. okay? mike's hot take! all right. you know, those cans of peanut butter -- that's the sort of stuff you need to do when you do mike's hot take. i want john heilemann's hot take. >> willie. >> john, man, we got the des moines register poll comes out. of course what does everybody say about it, gold standard. and it is. it's a gold standard. but we had a couple other polls come out. in new hampshire. another one. i think in monmouth, in iowa, and showing a couple of things. showing bernie sanders surge. joe biden doing pretty darn well in everything but the des moines register poll and elizabeth warren going down. is that the feel, the state of play on the ground in iowa?

>> yeah. i think, joe, if you look at these numbers, you know, you look at -- one said the des moines register poll and monmouth poll of iowa basic lip the same. both have the top for candidates all within margin of errors. essentially a four-way tie in the polls. the thing you and i corresponded about yesterday, look at the trends over the last month or two and there's sadly not been that much polling from iowa. what we've seen there and in some other states is you do see bernie sanders and joe biden, kind of, slowly -- not dramatically but gradually getting altitude and elizabeth warren and pete buttigieg some of the air coming out of, wind coming out of the sails from those two candidates. that's how it feels on the ground in iowa a little bit. i saw elizabeth warren over the weekend. she had a packed house full of people. at an event with pete buttigieg up in ames. again, a packed house, a lot of energy. i don't think anybody here would be surprised if any of those four candidates were to win the

caucuses on caucus night, but there is a little feel, we can get into this discussion about the warren/sanders thing yesterday. truly has the chance of being a game-changing moment in these final three weeks both on the progressive side an the moderate lane because of the effects of it. a little sense now that things are kind of going a little joe biden and bernie sanders' way. >> yesterday, rev, we talked about, i think it was the "washington post" poll about registered black voters in the democratic party. 48% supporting joe biden. 2% supporting mayor pete. and -- you just -- you just wonder. again, like -- and i've heard more people say it yesterday. how much longer is the democratic party going to have its first two contests in places that are as white as north main street in nantucket? >> i think that it is very

important that democratic party come to terms with the fact that that's been outdated for so long. particularly when they are depending not only on the black vote but a big turnout by black voters. if you had a larger turnout in '16 of black voters in michigan and wisconsin and pennsylvania, hillary clinton would have been president. she got the overwhelming majority of the vote. it's the turnout. and the fact that tonight we're going to see an all-white stage and i understand the rules were already there and i understand you don't want to just make it look like you are accommodating people, but the optics do not lead towards that. so when you have a pete buttigieg who blacks don't know, who has some issues with blacks in south bend that he's been trying to explain and overcome, but does have a plan, then you have joe biden being attacked. we talk about how liz warren attacked bernie sanders. don't forget over the weekend, you had bernie sanders coming out with this aggressive

campaign attacking joe biden and black voters. you're starting to see everybody starting to come in as hard as they can and it's looking like political desperation rather than focusing on real issues that voters are concerned about. bread and butter issues on my table. not what somebody said in a living room two years or, oh, somebody did 30 years ago. they miss that they're going to underestimate donald trump because he's going to exploit it. >> and attacks final two, three weeks, better be dead-on. you're exactly right. they smell desperate, then it's you that takes the hit. your numbers that go down. i'm not so sure, kasie hunt, that a conversation that people had in 2018 is -- >> privately. >> privately -- is going to have much impact on a race with bernie sanders. a man who as willie reminded me

lost to a woman in 2016. >> fair enough. that is a very fair point. look, i think this was so sharp, because it really hits on so many of the rawest and most emotional pain points from the 2016 election among democrats and some of the pain points inside the progressive base. i mean, there were soble people wpeople -- so many people, caucusgoers, not talking about the public at large but the people engaged in this race at this point, a lot of pain left over from what happened with hillary clinton. a lot of people feel bernie's campaign was, a lot of underlying sexism going on. bernie bro mob on twitter is not a fun place to live. it's just not. what this functionally does and it makes a certain degree of sense to me that this is coming out three weeks before the caucuses as elizabeth warren seems to be sliding and bernie

sanders on the rise. you know, it's the point where you make your last-ditch moves, and where people are under the most stress and the most anger comes out and this is clearly a story that was circulating, because it had a real impact inside this community, and there is a very, very real tension in that -- in that progressive wing around this issue, and bernie sanders himself has not only shown to be the most sensitive candidate to it. he has come around when convinced by the people around him. he did finally come out and show real contrition around some of the reports that there were sexism paid disparities, harassment inside his 2016 campaign but it took him a while to get there and people haven't forgotten about that. the issue i think and the reason why this could be a problem for him, it rings true end of the day. those are the kinds of things that hurt you the most. >> according to security experts, russian military hackers successfully targeted burisma, the ukrainian gas

company at the center of the controversy surrounding former vice president joe biden's son hunter. the hack detected by a silicon valley firm which issued a report how russian hackers breached one of burisma's servers with a "phishing campaign of burisma holdings." the security report also said the hacking campaign was launched by "the main intelligence direct rorate of t general staff of the russian army or gru." "unclear exactly what they found area one stressed that our report is not noteworthy because we identified the gru phishing campaign, it is significant because burisma holdings is publicly entangled in u.s. foreign and doudomestic politic" according to the "new york times," the russian tactics are

strikingly similar to what american intelligence agencies say what's russia's hacking of emails from hillary clinton's campaign chairman and the democratic national committee during the 2016 presidential campaign. citing experts, the paper framed the cyber attack as a russian attempt to find "the same kind of information that trump wanted from ukraine." setting off a chain of events that led to his impeachment. 's in response, the biden campaign released a statement saying in part, donald trump tried to coerce ukraine into lying about joe biden. now we know that vladimir putin also sees joe biden as a threat. the russian government and burisma did not respond to the "new york times" for a comment on this story. >> so what do we know about the 2016 campaign from our intelligence agencies and from two years of a mueller investigation? that russia worked throughout the 2016 campaign to interfere in our elections specifically on behalf of donald trump. this now is what the intelligence agencies were

warning about the last couple of years. they'll be up to it again in 2020. if you think it's a coincidence that russia is targeting burisma, that they just reached into a hat and pulled out the name of a ukrainian energy company, obviously, this has been at center of the ukrainian investigation. we don't know exactly or specifically what the gru is looking for or found, but obviously, with all the stories about hunter biden and joe biden, you would point right there. >> and this time the critical difference between 2016 and this year is not what the russians and the gru unit of the russian army might do. we know what they might do. the critical component this year is, what are we going to do in terms of reporting it? in terms of talking about it? are we going to state flatly right out that this is a russian hoax, which we did not do, we didn't know, really in 2016, but what are we going to do in terms of paying attention to it as a news story? >> and john heilemann, remarkable, you actually have

republican senators from louisiana, kennedy, from texas, ted cruz, you've got republicans in the house that have been spreading russian propaganda. specifically spreading propaganda that vladimir putin was pushing out that the intel agencies warned senators not to push out, and we also have a republican party that continues to ignore what, and certainly moscow mitch, at least that's what people in kentucky call him now, moscow mitch, they're refusing to protect america from what donald trump's own hand selected intel agency heads told america and told congress, which is, the greatest threat, stay with me, everybody, the greatest threat facing american democracy

is not north korea. it's russia hacking our democracy. and yet, john, republicans are not only not doing anything about that. >> right. >> they're parroting russian propaganda instead. >> yes. and, look, joe. we commented on this show for a long time. one of the most extraordinary things of this entire trump era. a lot of extraordinary and kind of appalling and disturbing things that have happened, but the site of the people you mentioned, ted cruz, senator kennedy getting on television saying, yeah, we'll accept the notion russia meddled in the 2016 election because the evidence into controvertible but it's also possible that ukraine meddled. we're not backing down from that even though all of them who, if they're at a senior enough level had briefings, chastised about it in public. there is no evidence beyond the writing of a few op-eds there was any kind of ukrainian

interference or intervention in the 2016 election, yet they continue to peddle this line that fiona hill and others argued is a direct piece of propaganda as you started your commented. what do we make of all this? in the context of that behavior by the republican party and we're now learning from the "new york times" about the effort to hack burisma and what we know will be happening between now, january, and november of this year? the base of the election security of the country, social media, all of the stuff we saw in 2016 is going to happen over again, again and again and it's going to happen on steroids this time and we now know the republican party does not care. so what does that mean? it means, i think, that whatever the outcome of this election is, we are headed down a path, if nothing changes, are to the outcome of this election in 2020 to have more dispute around it and less fundamental basic kind of bedrock legitimacy in the public mind or at least in half

of the public's mind than ever in our lifetime. i think that's incredibly, incredibly unsettling to be able to say that ten months out and have no one in this government, in the executive branch, in the republican party say we got to deal with this because we'll have a huge problem in november if we don't make some changes. >> the stupidity the precedent is sets. absolute stupidity. i remember during impeachment in '99 going around to republicans. just -- i know it doesn't seem like a republican is ever going to get elected president again, but we really need to hold this democratic president to the same standard we would hold a republican president held to, because there's precedent. in this is kcase, here are republicans saying hear no evil, say no evil see no evil, whatever. about the greatest threat to american democracy as if china may not decide to weigh in

against republicans in 2020, or 2024. what about the iranians? the iranians have ever reason in the world now to try to hack into michigan, and i mean, they've already thought about this. you know, if we hack into wisconsin and michigan and pennsylvania and florida and north carolina, and maybe if we can just swing 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 votes, we can beat donald trump, and we can beat republicans who are hard-liners on iran. maybe it's the chinese who say, you know what? we're tired of them interfering with hong kong. tired of them interfering in our trade. the economy is trade wars. we've got smart people. why don't we just hack? the north koreans, they're able to hack. what if they decide to hack and steal 1,000, 2,000, 10,000, 20,000 votes from republican candidates? it can swing an election. not only for the white house,

but for senate races, congressional races. these republicans are sitting back acting like, 2016 -- fighting the last war. acting like, oh, we have nothing to worry about. they have everything to worry ab's we all have everything to worry about. >> absolutely. silence is consent. when you have the overwhelming evidence about russian interference, russian hacking, and it really is swaying some voters, and we begin to see absolutely no response from republican leadership and from this incumbent white house, it is really frightening, because we, in that silence you can only assume that they either are all right with it or they don't want to confront it, because it's swaying their way. but you're absolutely making the very foundations of what the democratic principles of the country was built on. whether it lived up to it or not, you're making it shake and

irreparable if we don't deal with this quickly. get into it i don't know how we turn it around. >> what do they choose to hack? ba riz burisma and joe biden and baseball all over again. >> we talked about elizabeth warren and what she did yesterday, but you had sent me a text before this segment reminding me that, you know, julie andrews sang in "the sound of music," start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start. our first pop reference and starts in 1960. i'm a little off here, but john heilemann, start at the beginning of this back and forth it was bernie that came out swinging hard not only towards elizabeth warren but also towards joe biden. explain. >> yeah. well, i mean, rev talked about it a little bit.

over this weekend when, after the register poll came out we looked up said, hey, looks like sanders has momentum. smart democratic strategists i know here were stunned by the sequence of events that happened over the weekend. first sanders going after biden on the iraq war. put out a statement on that. and then the op-ed in south carolina, by nina turner, attacked by non-race and revelation in politico that the sanders people were putting out volunteer scripts encouraging their volunteers to trash elizabeth warren, joe biden and pete buttigieg by phone when they do phone banking, and that warren script was what began the back and forth. we then saw the elizabeth warren story leaked about this 2018 conversation. so i'll just say it was interesting to a lot of people and a little confusing that sanders who had been in this non-aggression pact and not really attacking, certainly elizabeth warren, but not really attacking very many people over

the course of 2019 suddenly in the last, with three weeks to go to get momentum and see to be maybe breaking free of the pack and then to turn your guns on joe biden on one side, and elizabeth warren was a little perplexing. i think the warren, the stories we now -- i agree with you guys -- the story seems -- given there were no eyewitnesses. elizabeth warren come out and said, stood by her account that sanders said to her that a woman could not win. sanders basically calling her a liar. she's basically calling him a liar. going to be an interesting debate tonight, guys to have those two onstage essentially calling each other liars in public. this, the beginning of this whole chain reaction was when bernie decided last weekend to start firing on his, what he sees as his two main rivals, biden and warren. we're -- it's going to get negative fast here in this last three weeks, and i have no idea where it ends up but tonight will be a very, very, very interesting thing to see on this

debate stage. >> i haven't seen any evidence in 2020, the entire campaign cycle, that going negative has helped a single democrat. >> i know. really. >> i got no problem going negative in campaigns, if it works. if it's true. then fight hard, willie, but -- in 2020, man, i've just seen a lot of democrats, wait a second. donald trump's the guy we're fighting against. >> right. >> i don't want to see a democrat fighting a democrat. >> not going to quibble over. >> back to the first debate. ask kamala harris how that turned occupy. turned went after joe biden on bussing. long term. >> and 57% in the poll want to see the candidate that can beat trump even if they don't agree with them. and i don't think that the candidates are reading the polls. when i was in florida yesterday. you and i talked. marching with teachers about teachers pay. >> did you say hi to them? >> i told them you were on their side. >> told them i was on their side and i support equal pay.

>> them and food service employees. >> yes. >> you do. >> and custodians get their pay. >> preach. can i get some help off you? yes! >> he wants the bootleg reverend joe scarborough, hasn't been ordained yet, wants him to come to a sermon down there for teachers in florida. >> can i just say -- >> you got me off my text. >> boot leg with a capital b. yes, i'll do that. >> seriously. they really appreciated your support. those kind of people. talking about their pay. yeah, people, custodians making $12 an hour in florida. where donald trump just moved, and we're arguing about a conversation two years ago in a living room that may not have happened? or biden being attacked on the crime bill that bernie voted for? it's really an insult to the voters, because you are arguing about things voters are saying, wait a minute. i'm suffering. this guy's doing it. why aren't we trying to get this guy out of the white house? >> john heilemann, thank you. >> thank you, john.

>> this morning -- >> we need a graphic for john, by the way. >> no -- really? i don't think -- >> heilemann. how about that? something high with -- come on! alex, can you call phil? we have no control. >> still delay on this show? visual delay. >> chopper 5. >> this morning at 9:00 a.m., speaker nancy pelosi and house democrats are scheduled to meet to discuss the next talks in the impeachment process including the timing for a vote on impeachment management and transferring the articles to the senate. chairman of the caucus congressman hakeem jeffries joins us next. and before things went off the rail last hour we mentioned today's release of my new book about careers. i wrote it with know your value contributor guinea brzezinski. return to the workforce of women. talkeded about it yesterday on the "today" show.

amazing segment and also on the late show with steve colbert. get your copy now at knowyourvalue.com. >> what is the main thing, quickly, mika, somebody buys this book will get out of it. the biggest wall between you and your comeback is what going on in your head. got to get yourself out there so we address the psychological barriers that women put up for themselves. but we also give them the skills. so every comeback is completely helpful. >> so much help. so many women with comeback careers in their 40s, in 50s and 60s. >> and 70s. it is quite frankly, a long pathway for us. jump out there and take it. >> and nancy pelosi one of the most powerful women in the world. >> '79. impeaching a president and go from there. it's more the skills you need to get out the door and even just start small. we'll be right back. these days, we're all stressed. (honk!) i hear you sister. that's why i'm partnering with cigna

to remind you to go in for your annual check-up, and be open with your doctor about anything you feel - physically and emotionally. but now cigna has a plan that can help everyone see stress differently. just find a period of time to unwind. a location to de-stress. an activity to enjoy. or the name of someone to talk to. to create a plan that works for you, visit cigna.com/mystressplan. cigna. together, all the way. visit cigna.com/mystressplan. i'm the only candidate in the mb: bracee way, who doesn't take a penny in contributions from anyone. no big donors, no special interests, nothing. the party rules prevent me from debating, if they change the rules, i'll be happy to join it. in the meantime, i'm traveling the country, speaking, taking your questions, and making the case that donald trump has to go. and we're gonna beat him. i'm mike bloomberg, and i approve this message. my body is truly powerful. i have the power to lower

my blood sugar and a1c. because i can still make my own insulin. and trulicity activates my body to release it like it's supposed to. trulicity is for people with type 2 diabetes. it's not insulin. i take it once a week. it starts acting in my body from the first dose. trulicity isn't for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. don't take trulicity if you're allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, or severe stomach pain. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. taking trulicity with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, belly pain, and decreased appetite, which lead to dehydration and may worsen kidney problems. i have it within me to lower my a1c. ask your doctor about trulicity.

introducing a razor that works differently. the gillette skinguard has a guard between the blades that helps protect skin. the gillette skinguard.

welcome back to "morning joe" 7:30 here on the east coast. joining us congressman hakeem jeffries of new york also a member of the judiciary and budget committees. congressman, good morning. good to see you. you have a caucus meeting at 9:00 this morning. speaker pelosi is expected to lay out next steps in the impeachment process. what do you expect to hear from the speaker, and what does come next? how soon will there will be a trial and transition of the articles over to the senate? >> good morning. great to be with you. once again i think we're going to first and foremost keep the focus on the underlying behavior by the president. we know that donald trump corruptly pressured a foreign government target an american citizen for political gain, undermined security abused his power and anchored in the principal r principle in america no one is above the law and also why we believe the senate must

conduct a fair trial. some discussion of that and of course a robust discussion about next steps. when exactly should we transmit the articles of impeachment over, and a discussion led by speaker pelosi. i presume in partnership with chairman nadler as well as chairman schiff. >> even some democrats, congressman, asking you have been holding on to the articles of impeachment. by the time the senate trial starts, more than a month vinsi you's voted to impeach the president. what made you hold it back from the senate? >> most importantly the discussion about the principle that the overwhelming american people agree with, there should be a fair trial in the senate. and a fair trial would involve witnesses who are important including individuals like john bolton and mick mulvaney and include documents. given extraordinarily serious nature of the charges that resulted in the impeachment of donald trump.

and so we see additional information that has come to light including it was clear that the president withheld at his direction the $391 million in military aid to a vulnerable ukraine without justification in order to pressure the ukrainian government as part of this shakedown scheme. that's come to light. and john bolton's willingness to testify has come to light. two very important things. >> if the goal, though, to get a fair trial in the senate, have you seen any evidence in that month that majority leader mitch mcconnell has changed his posture at all? changed from his position saying we'll never going to vote to convict this president? in fact, said i'm working with the white house on a strategy. do you have any evidence? any information you can share that mitch mcconnell has changed his stance and, in fact, allowed a fair trial here? >> no reason to believe mitch mcconnell will ever change his perspective as relates to essentially running the senate

like it's a wholly owned part of the trump administration. what is important in this regard, you have seen multiple republican senators including most recently mitt romney, but also susan collins and lisa murkowski publicly indicate they want to see a fair trial, that they'd like to see witnesses, that amongst those witnesses who should be called are individuals like john bolton. so that's progress that hadn't necessarily taken place and had we immediately sent over the articles, then mitch mcconnell may have attempted to simply dismiss the case that was sent over as the president is urging his friends in the senate to do. >> congressman kasie hunt has a question for you. >> congressman, good morning. >> good morning. >> we expect, of course, the house speaker to take the next step. part of that involves naming managers. i realize perhaps most what's going on in the senate is about mitch mcconnell as you've laid out. however, look back at what

happened during the clinton impeachment and think about the process generally. managers have a significant roll to play. you all will be prosecutors and i realize probably can't tell us if speaker pelosi will put you on that list of managers. the expectation you would be in consideration for that. i wonder what is the strategy among house democrats for how to influence this process once you're on the floor of the senate? what can you do? how can you present this case to the american people that could potentially make what seems like a pre-ordained process perhaps have dramatic twists and turns? >> from the very beginning of this process, we've indicated given the nature of the extraordinary charges that were leveled and we believe proved in the house as relates to the president, that we need to be serious, solemn, sober and undertaking this moment of presidential accountability and we need to continue that as we move over to the senate. that's first and foremost. but secondarily, we also are

going to continue to follow the facts, apply the law, be guided by the constitution and simply present the truth to the american people. and as long as we continue to do that, yes, there's a case to be made to the senate, but ultimately the american people are equally significant in terms of being the decision-makers as to whether the president engaged in wrongdoing or not, and poll after poll has made clear they believe that the president did something wrong by soliciting foreign interference in a 2020 election. that's unacceptable. >> all right. congressman hakeem jeffries, thank you very much for being on the show this morning. good to have you. >> thank you. and, steve, turn to your charts now. this could have a big impact on 2020. you're looking at wage growth with the u.s. economy following friday's jobs numbers. >> yes. you heard guy cecil say earlier talking about wages as a potential issue in the dpan. >> campaign.

>> dig in, other interesting things going on and wages are of critical importance since 96% of americans who want to work are working. look what's happening at wages. look at them before adjusting for inflation you see under the trump administration there was acceleration in wage growth. peaked back in february of 2019 and rate of growth falling off. what's even more interesting is that if you look at it after inflation, which is what people obviously have in their pocket to spend, you can see that the drop-off has been even more dramatic, and in fact at the moment wages are only growing after inflation at about a half percent a year. not a lot of purchasing power going into people's pockets. break that down and say, who are getting the wage increases? you see something that will be surprising to many people. which is in fact the people at the bottom 25% of americans are actually doing better than they were. top 25% a little less well, explain in a minute, but you can see here. you can see here what's happened

to these lower 25% and that their rate of wage increases is up to about 4.5% a year, whereas for the top 25%, the rate of increase has really stagnant at a bit less than 3% a year. again, before adjusting for inflation. so after inflation hardly much at all. the policy lesson, political lesson why happening for lower income wages? a lot has to do with raising minimum wage. look at that. >> right. >> we have not raised the federal minimum wage since 2009 and it is $7.25 per hour. >> $7.25. >> happily, there are 20 to 22 states that have been raising thin minimum wages going back several years. you can see, you have a real-life example not just economic theory stuff what then happens. this chart shows what's happened to people in those states where minimum wages have gone up. their pay has gone up at about 5.75% increase.

whereas people in the states that have not increased minimum wages have gone up much slower. >> how much -- these states, you know, some companies are taking the lead on this. and bank of america has raised the minimum wage i think to $20 for all employees. but are these states raising it tos $15? what's the number they're raising it? >> average number across the country now factor in states that don't have a higher or lower one a little under $12. many states from $15 as base minimum wage. in fairness, partly because unemployment is low. need workers, have to pay more. >> you can't live on $7.25 an hour. >> interesting is that the republicans for years and years opposed minimum wage increases. they would destroy jobs. people would be unemployed. you're seeing the opposite. seeing wages go up and minimum jobs go up. so in fact a reasonable minimum wage has a positive effect for those at the bottom.

>> mika, that's $15,080. not a living wage at $7.25 an hour. >> no. >> to close with the politics. what democrats need to do is point out what's going on with wages in general. point out the benefits of higher minimum wage. point out to republicans adamantly opposed to raising minimum wage and maybe you have political fodder that is a discussion. >> what we should see the democrats debating rather than these kind of arguments and charges and countercharges. >> goodness. yeah. >> it misses the people, like i said about the people in florida yesterday. people are concerned about wages. so for trump to be able to say, unemployment is down, and not deal with the wage issue is to give him a way to escape with a false narrative. >> and that's what we've been doing so far. >> still ahead, president trump retweets an offensive and inflammatory post featuring nancy pelosi and chuck schumer wearing traditional muslim attire.

we'll show you how the white house has once again, they're coming to his defense, making it worse. "morning joe" will be right back. any comments doug? yeah. only pay for what you need with liberty mutual. only pay for what you need with liberty mutual. con liberty mutual solo pagas lo que necesitas. only pay for what you need... only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ fthe prilosec otc two-weekymore. challenge is helping people love what they love again. just one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. because life starts when heartburn stops. take the challenge at prilosecotc dot com.

did you know that every single flush fling odors onto your soft surfaces? then they get released back into the air so you smell them later. ew. right? that's why febreze created small spaces. press firmly and watch it get to work... unlike the leading cone, small spaces continuously eliminates odors in the air and on surfaces

so they don't come back for 45 days. now that's one flushin' fresh bathroom. of course i'd love to take an informal poll. i used to be a little cranky. dealing with our finances really haunted me. thankfully, i got quickbooks, and a live bookkeeper's helping customize it for our business. (live bookkeeper) you're all set up! (janine) great! hey! you got the burnt marshmallow out! (delivery man) he slimed me. (janine) tissue? (vo) get set up right with a live bookkeeper with intuit quickbooks. the easy way to a happier business.

your room, and -- and you know, i was thinking of, boy, it's been a long time since we've had a little father/son chat. >> i haven't had much of a chance to talk to you man to man, russ. >> well, i've only been a man a few days, dad. >> yeah. you're growing up so damn fast. >> this talk is very important, boys, so i need your undivided attention. it's very important that you be bored and squirm a lot. i want to tell you what happens when a boy really really like as boy. dewey, i'll try to make this really easy for you to understand. >> oh, man. i still play with -- >> that is so funny. it's an age-old struggle helping young men understand a complicated topic. in her taboo shattering "new york times" best-seller, "girls and sex" our next guest navigated to the complicated

landscape of sex and sexuality young women must negotiate. in her new book flips the scripts for boys dealing with physical and emotional inlt massey. joining us author peggy orenstein leer with her new book entitles "boys and sex: young men on hookups, love, porn, consent and navigating the new mask limit mask cue lincety" and "the miseducation of american boys." welcome to the show. great to have you on on this topic. let's start with the miseducation of boys. >> thank you for having me. >> where do we begin explaining what their getting wrong or getting taught wrong? >> well, you know, the fact is when i started doing this book i felt nobody was listening to boys. nobody was hearing what they had to say about all of these issues around sex, around intimacy,

about relationships, about masculinity so i went out to talk to over 100 guys with different backgrounds to have these real conversations with real guys about real issues and what is really a changing world. that's the thing. you know, it's a different world they live in than we lived in and with #metoo, with porn, with media, with hookup culture, we have to know what's going on inside their heads so we can best guide them. >> and what did you find with your research? what was going on inside their heads? >> well, you know, there's a lot of things, but one thing that stood out to me was the way that sexual conquest is still for a lot of guys the measure of a man. regardless of how they feel about it. hooking up with as many girls as possible. without feelings, as they say, and that is reinforced everywhere they go in media and in porn. so, like, if you think about, you know, the locker room talk we all know well from the news,

that boys engage in, do they talk? hammer, nail, pound, smash, bang, hit that, tap that. sounds more like they have -- gone to a construction site, really, that they've engaged in an act of physical intimacy. >> well said. >> you brought up pornography. talk about pornography. i read a couple studies recently that i think american conservative magazine published a few. and it talks about how one study after another has shown that pornography and the fact that our boys are exposed to it at such an early age, desensitizes them, and in many, in many cases, actually makes them less likely to want to have sex. that it actually, it distances them emotionally and is having a really substantial impact on an entire generation of young men.

>> well, yeah. if you've got a teenage boy, he's pretty much been seeing porn. you have to know that. i want to be clear about a couple of things, though. curiosity about sex, totally normal. masturbation, you know, it's a great thing to do. what's changed, and there's a lot of different kinds -- >> by the way, a lot of parents whose kids are watching the show. glad you said it. so in did not know. they don't have to say it. but, yeah. but, yeah -- continue. and we'll let you continue there. >> yeah. so -- >> tell the parents. >> but -- yes. and there's a lot of different kinds of porn. right? ethical porn, friendliness porn all different kinds of porn. what's changed a the internet and smartphone and what kids access 24/7 they can see right on their device shows sex in a really distorted way.

shows it's something men do to women, not with them. if we're not getting there in and talking to kids we don't have the luxury of silence anymore what's real and not real. they bring is real and what is not real. they bring that into the bedroom. i think one of the most poignant things that was said to me was the whole idea of our generation exploring sex without any preconceived notions of what it is has been completely destroyed by porn. >> absolutely. and access to it. mike. >> peggy, i read your piece in "the atlantic," the forerunner of the book. fascinating, interesting on several different levels. you just mentioned that you spoke to hundreds of guys. i assume in various age ranges with hundreds of guys. but i'm wondering do you have any sense or do we have any sense of reading this how many of those guys that you spoke to

come from a two parent, happily married family where the role of parenting is involved in their lives? >> well, a lot of them do. a lot of them don't. but i'll tell you, what guys would tend to hear from their parents around these issues was still kind of don't get a girl pregnant, don't get a disease, maybe make sure there's consent, but what they tended to hear mostly was respect women. and great message and, yet, what does it mean? so as one guy said to me, you know, that's kind of like telling you that you shouldn't run over any little old ladies and handing you the car keys. like you don't think you're going to run over any old ladies, but you still don't know how to drive. >> so you had mentioned teen boys seeing porn. i would argue that they see it as soon as they have access to a telephone and if they don't -- cell phone and if they don't have access to a cell phone, their friends do. there are computers everywhere. there is no keeping porn from young boys.

it's going to get to them. so -- and that's an unfortunate reality in our society. but i've seen boys, 10 and 11 having access to this and it is inevitable. you can't control it. >> yeah. >> so what is the conversation about sex, given the fact that they are just given this jo onslaught of these vivid images that can screw up your whole outlook towards the opposite sex? what is the conversation? >> well, it's about porn and certainly we have to talk to them about what is real and what is not real and what is missing from that. because, yes, that horse is out of the barn. but i think that we also get really worried about porn and mainstream media is teaching them a time of messages about male sexual entitlement and female sexual availability. so one guy said to me he felt music had a big impact on how guys treat girls because you

said, you know, you're driving around the car with your friends and you're listening to the music and i can't say on tv what they are hearing, but it's some version of let's say hit it and quit it four, five, six, ten times a day. that affects your mind-set, too. so we've done a much better job, honestly, with helping girls have media critique and a lens and knowing how media messages can be harmful to them. but we've kind of let boys grow up in this same stew and more so really at a higher temperature. and we aren't saying anything to them to help them get a better lens on what they're consuming and seeing, whether it's video games or youtube or tv or movies or porn. >> peggy, it's willie geist. good to have you on this morning. i have a 10-year-old son. the term toxic masculinity is out there everywhere in the culture. it's become a very popular term. i don't want my son thinking that he was born toxic and that he should think of himself that

way. so what is your advice? i know this isn't an advice book, but what do you say to parents as they talk to young boys as the backdrop here? >> i think i've kind of tried to move away from that word. i'm trying to say precarious masculinity. that's a little better. but i think it's really important when we're talking to our sons that it's not just about demonizing them, it's not just about telling them the things they don't do, they shouldn't do, they can't do that are wrong. we also have to keep our eye on the long game, which is how do we help our kids, both boys and girls, to have mutually gratifying, personally fulfilling relationships and how is the culture pushing them against that? so it's about also talking about the positive and what they can do and what they should do and modeling that better behavior. >> that is so important. what you just said. focussing on the positive. of course, talking about the things that need to be talked about honestly, but also

something that i've seen through the lens of my children's friends, guy friends. i've seen boys being pushed into a corner, the assumption that there's toxic masculinity, the assumption that they carry the weight of thousands of years of toxic masculinity. and the sins of harvey wieinsten and everybody before harvey weinstein and what i've seen is that pushing boys into a corner which then obviously puts them on the defensive, makes them hostile, makes them listen less, which is exactly why i told jeffrey goldberg we want to do on this show because we've got to get the boys out of the corner. 10, 11, 12-year-old boys don't need to hear about toxic masculinity. they need, like you said, they need to hear positive messages and get the warnings that you're

delivering. >> yeah. and they really -- you know, we want to bring them into the conversation. that's very true. and yet, you know, those issues are also very real. we do see on college campuses that the rates of sexual assault are very high and boys do need to know that especially when they're drunk, they tend to overperceive yes with girls, like any sign of friendliness they perceive as yes. it makes it harder for them to hear no. it makes them less likely to step in as a bystander. so we have a lot of these conversations with girls, but we really need to have conversations with boys and help them understand the dynamics that go on that can put them in that kind of position. >> without demonizing them. the book is "boys & sex," love, porn, consent and navigating the new masculinity. this is amazing.

peggy, thank you very much for coming on the show. >> thank you. and still ahead, senator elizabeth warren tries to lob a bombshell against bernie sanders ahead of tonight's final debate before the iowa caucuses. we'll discuss the state of the democratic race, next. state of e democratic race, next. vo: at 39, mike bloomberg was fired. he turned around and started his own business - now with 20,000 employees. determination - it's the way mike will get it done. mb: i'm mike bloomberg and i approve this message. this melting pot of impacted species. everywhere is going to get touched by climate change.

apps except work.rywhere... why is that? is it because people love filling out forms? maybe they like checking with their supervisor to see how much vacation time they have. or sending corporate their expense reports. i'll let you in on a little secret. they don't. by empowering employees to manage their own tasks, paycom frees you to focus on the business of business. to learn more, visit paycom.com i learned about myuse grandfather's life. on ancestry and it was a remarkable twentieth-century transformation. he did a lot of living before i knew him. bring your family history to life like never before. get started for free at ancestry.com ♪ think you need to pay prestige prices for better skin results? try olay regenerist. the rich, hydrating cream is formulated with vitamin b3 and peptides

to plump skin cells, brighten, and visibly smooth wrinkles. in fact, just 1 jar has the hydrating power of 5 jars of the prestige cream. for visible results without prestige prices, try olay regenerist with a money back guarantee. and complete your routine with the olay eye collection. brand power. helping you buy better.

too many after-parties. new neutrogena® bright boost with dullness-fighting neoglucosamine. boosts cell turnover by 10 times for instantly brighter skin. bright boost neutrogena®. have health care coveragerkers because mayor bloomberg got it done. he'll build on obamacare with universal coverage and lower the cost of prescription medicine. mike will get it done. mb: i'm mike bloomberg and i approve this message.

welcome to "morning joe." we have reverend al sharpton, steve ratner is with us, former chief of staff to the dccc for hillary clinton's presidential campaign adrian el rod, an msnbc contributor. and we're heading to iowa for the first time this month and tonight that state and the nation will hear directly from the leading contenders nor the democratic nomination for president of the united states. six candidates will hit the stage in des moines. among them, pa air of u.s. senators who agree on a lot, but clearly not everything. elizabeth warren and bernie sanders have a very different recollection about a 2018 conversation on the prospects of

a woman for president. we'll get into that. and new polling on the state of the race. we'll break down the new reporting that russians hacked the ukrainian gas company at the center of president trump's impeachment. three weeks before the iowa caucuses, joe biden is leading the democratic nomination. bernie sanders and pete buttigieg are sta.icily tied. amy klobuchar rounds out the top five. >> rev, one thing we see in this poll and every other poll, you have mayor pete going down, and

he's been going down in every poll. elizabeth going down, she's been going down in every poll, and bernie going up. only different here is biden. they have biden going up five points. well, this is from november. so a shorter time ago. we're going to show some other polls that show biden doing well in every state now. >> so this poll comes a few days after a krn register poll found bernie sanders and elizabeth warren tied for first. did i interrupt? i would never do that. i learned from the greatest. i didn't feel it coming from him, so i just jumped in to save it. >> i think we're seeing a real, immovable bernie sanders block. and i hope he doesn't hurt himself by getting into side spats with elizabeth warren and

all. he has a solid block that we cannot ignore. i think it's going to come down to joe biden and bernie sanders right now. we'll see bloomberg in money ways on tuesday when it changes the equation. so it's still a jump ball. if they don't eat their own, you could have a clearer shot at coming up with a unified candidate and winning. but the big question is, do the democrats beat the democrats? >> willie, how much does joe biden love, love bernie sanders and liz wealth warren going after each other? this is just like howard dean and dick gebhart hearing each other to shreds and john kerry going, all right, i'll take it. >> on the eve of the debate, no less. so you know a line of

questionli questioning will be about these claims that bernie sanders told her in 2018. personally, she confirmed this last night that a woman couldn't win, couldn't beat donald trump. but, yeah, joe biden has to be loving what he's seeing as he sits. we've called him durable and that's exactly what he is. if you look at all of these polls, he's still sitting right where he's been for the most part. true, you wouldn't be surprised if any one of four candidates win in iowa. but he has to be impressed with what he's seeing. >> you're exactly right, willie. you look at this monmouth poll that shows 24% combined with the fact that bernie sanders and elizabeth warren are finally breaking their truth and going after each other. so the debate stage tonight will be absolutely fascinating. i think if you're joe biden, you're going to stand back, you're going to hope that the two of them, you know, have a

real policy debate, have a debate on the issues because the real distinction between bernie sanders and elizabeth warren, even though they have a lot in common in terms of where they stand on policy, is that elizabeth warren is a self-declared capitalist and bernie sanders is a self-declared socialist. so while we've seen the break in their bond over issues like a conversation about can a female win as president, i think tonight you will probably see a bit more of a policy debate. elizabeth warren has dropped significantly in the polls and the only way she's going to stay in this race is to chip away at some on of the bernie sanders supporters. >> the latest poll out of nevada n shows joe biden in first place. biden has 26% support. senator bernie sanders is next with 22%. followed by warren with 18%.

dropping 7 points since october. both are statistically tied for second. pete buttigieg and michael bloomberg and tulsi gabbard are statistically tied for fourth. >> steve ratner, again, you look at the trend lines, elizabeth warren down in this poll, as well. but biden in first place in new hampshire. this has come as a surprise, a few polls over the past week have shown biden jumping into first place in both iowa and new hampshire. which, of course, if you were to win iowa and new hampshire, he's going to sweep it all. that's a big if. >> we had the des moines register poll before that that showed it was all neck and neck. >> within the margin. >> within the margin. i would say in this world i don't know anyone who is overly

confident, let's put it that way, about biden's chances, particularly in new hampshire. i think they think new hampshire will be a struggle for him. i think they think if he can get out of there maybe a decent second, they would consider it almost a victory. third or fourth would be a disaster. and i think iowa is a really, really important state for biden. let me just say one thing about warren and sanders. for whatever set of reasons, and some people are baffled by this, warren clung to sanders like a life preserver for the first portion of this campaign. as you remember, whenever she was asked about medicare for all, she would say i'm with bernie, but she didn't have a plan the way she had a plan for everybody. suddenly she became the front-runner and they looked at this plan and they said this plan is ridiculous. and that began her fall. it seems to me in retrospect, it was inevitable these two had to separate. they're fighting over the same

pool of voters. they can't go arm in arm to milwaukee. the last point i would make is if sanders becomes, quote, the front-runner again, and i think most people have felt bernie has 20% and he's never going to get the nomination. if he seems to be the potential nominee, people are going to start picking over his record. his record is way to the left of elizabeth warren's record. >> and bernie will make no apologies for that. >> when she backed off a little bit on medicare for all, he went back in. >> still ahead, bernie sanders and elizabeth warren mix it up. joe biden remains a front-runner in iowa. can teflon joe survey another debate night? >> he can, jack. >> yes, he can. and tomorrow, prohibitation in new york city. the show kicks off around 7:30,

but get there early to grab a spot. we have some giveaways, too. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. too. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back.

♪ do you recall, not long ago ♪ we would walk on the sidewalk ♪ ♪ all around the wind blows ♪ we would only hold on to let go ♪ ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we need someone to lean on

♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we needed somebody to lean on ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ all we need is someone to lean on ♪ here, it all starts withello! hi!... how can i help? a data plan for everyone. everyone? everyone. let's send to everyone! wifi up there? uhh. sure, why not? how'd he get out?! a camera might figure it out. that was easy! glad i could help. at xfinity, we're here to make life simple. easy. awesome. so come ask, shop, discover at your local xfinity store today.

joining us right now, cecil guy. we've had a couple of polls this week showing teflon joe will just keep rolling. we were on colbert last night and they said what about that tape that surfaced of joe biden in 2003 that he supported bush in the war? what impact is that going to have? i said none. he called somebody fat in iowa, challenged them to push-ups.

and nothing happens to this guy. >> because they know him. >> he's like the democratic antidote to trump. why don't you just talk generally about how fluid the field is and how anybody can whip. >> well, joe, the field is fluid and anybody can win. >> guy cecil, thank you very much. on the way out, your gift, rice aroni the san francisco treat. and "trend lines. no, what's happened over the past five, six, seven days? >> first of all, if you look at the iowa polls, monmouth, for example, one of the most interesting things there is the self-identified moderate candidat candidates, biden, klobuchar.

it's really important. anybody other than biden and maybe pete buttigieg. there's no question joe has had an incredible number of weeks. it puts him the biggest loser, joe biden, first states with mike bloomberg. >> elizabeth warren claiming

that bernie sanders said bernie could not win. we can't tear each other to sh rudds with these intraparty fights. >> the first is joe biden. the second beneficiary is donald trump. we are facing a president that is putting us on the brink of war, that is separating families, that is turning his back on the middle class and working class of the country and our primary was dominated yesterday by a private conversation in someone's living room a couple of years ago. i think it is a completely counterproductive conversation

and i think it should be a worrying sign for democrats going into the last three weeks of this election. we cannot afford to be picking each other apart when the country is under a threat. so i believe a woman can win and beat donald trump. i believe a candidate of color can win and beat donald trump. these are not the arguments to be having going into the last three weeks before iowa. >> and ezra tweeted yesterday that you've got donald trump lying to the american people saying that he's fight to go protect pre-existing conditions when that's just a lie. it's just -- it's ridiculous. he's working overtime. to kill it. republicans turning generals, they're all working to take away americans' protections that they've been afforded for their children with pre-existing conditions, for their loved ones with pre-existing conditions. that's a huge issue that every democrat should have been talking about yesterday because that impacts americans.

and they're talking about some private conversation from 2018. and i'm not getting in, like, on anybody's side, but do any of us really believe that bernie sanders is going to say i don't think a woman can win, elizabeth. who is going to say that? >> and you certainly wouldn't say it to elizabeth warren. >> that's what i'm saying. who is going to say that? >> it is doubtful, but i think you hit the real problem, the gravity of what is going on right now where we are seeing a challenge and the balancings of power and the three branches of government. we're arguing about a conversation two years ago. it's like we're missing the whole point of where we are in american history. >> what is the strategy here on

the part of elizabeth warren, bringing this up now? >> i think she is realizing her campaign is in a solid three and sometimes fourth place and she needs to gain some traction. >> i don't think this is an opportunity to gain traction. i think it takes things until the opposite direction. >> that just added more fuel to this, you know, this fire, essentially, this happening here. but i don't know what the strategy is. the only thing that i can think of is that she needs to climb into second place or she needs to get some bernie sanders supporters and she maybe thinks this is a good play for women, that she can get some women on her side. certainly is making some waves, we're talking about it. maybe that is what she's aiming for here. i'm not quite sure. coming up on "morning joe," tom steyer has spent a fortune

to help him land a spot on the debate stage. he's not the only billionaire dropping big bucks on the presidential race. more on mike bloomberg, straight ahead. e. more on mike bloomberg, straight ahead. hey, saved you a seat.

this round's on me. hey, can you spot me? come on in. find your place today, with silversneakers. included in most medicare advantage plans. enroll today by calling the number on your screen or visit getsilversneakers.com wean air force veteran made of doing what's right,. not what's easy. so when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. that's how you do it right. usaa insurance is made just the way martin's family needs it - with hassle-free claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. because doing right by our members, that's what's right. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa

i must admit. i had a few good tricks to help hide my bladder leak pad. like the old "tunic tug". you know it, right? but i don't have to, with always discreet. i couldn't believe the difference. it's less bulky. and it really protects. watch this. the super absorbent core turns liquid and odor to gel, and locks it away. so i have nothing to hide. always discreet. for bladder leaks.

some things are too important to do yourself. ♪ get customized security with 24/7 monitoring from xfinity home. awarded the best professionally installed system by cnet. simple. easy. awesome. call, click or visit a store today.

♪ buy, price usa, you guys are spending a lot of money. we're talking about bloomberg spending a lot of money, but you've been spending a lot of money. and you are going to be spending a lot of money. what can you tell us about your plans for the next year? >> you know, last year, there was a lot of focus on donald trump's online campaign, it's something that their campaign talks a lot about. the reality is going into this year, we've been outspending donald trump online and the key battleground states of michigan, wisconsin, florida, and pennsylvania. we announced this morning that we're increasing our preconvention budget from 100$1 to $150 million. we're making about $70 million of television and digital reservations in the early battleground states. look, the spat yesterday only highlights one really important thing, that while this primary is going on, we need to take the fight directly to donald trump.

we cannot allow him to define the contours of this race and, to your point, joe, we need to be talking about pocketbook issues, about health care, about wages, about education. the way democrats win is not just pounding. the country has made their decision. his favorable ratings are in the tank. he barely gets above 42% in the general election polls. so we need to talk about the issues that people are talking about at home, at church, at work, and it is not a private conversation two years ago. so we're going to be focused on making sure that we take the fight to trump and that we don't allow him, as many incumbent presidents have done over the last, really, three decades to define this election. >> and, guy, really quickly, just to confirm for everybody out there, impeachment is an important issue. the killing of soleimani is an important issue. >> of course. >> ukraine, what happened in ukraine, russian interference, that's an important issue.

but in all of your research -- again, i say that's important issues, we need to talk about it, but that's not what people are talking about around the kitchen terribles, is it? >> no. and it's not what most of the news coverage is about. we'll spend more time in 24 hours talking about bernie and elizabeth's conversation, about donald trump's tweets towards mike bloomberg. we'll talk about impeachment which is an important issue. but what gets lost in all of that is that prescription drugs are still harder to get, that the cost, the premiums are skyrocketing. the cost of college is still rising. that people are seeing relatively stagnant wages despite the fact that the unemployment rate is low and the stock market is doing well. we need to be talking about these issues. pre-existing conditions issue, in 2010 when republicans wanted to attack democrats on supposedly cutting medicare, every republican candidate for congress all of a sudden discovered they had a mom.

they all showed up in tv ads saying i would never cut medicare. my mom is on medicare. last cycle, we saw every republican candidate discovered they had a kid. all of these adds started talking about how they would never eliminate protections for pre-existing conditions because they had a child with the pre-existing condition. the record on this is pretty clear. >> that's exactly what they're doing. that's what the attorney generals are doing, that's what the president is doing. >> and we have to fight back on this, right? i agree with you completely. this argument over the specifics around health care and the subcommittee work, we all know that once these bills get to congress, fundamentally, whether it's a sanders bill, a warren bill, a biden bill, these things are going to change because congress is going to be closely contested between democrats and republicans, especially the senate. we should be focused every debate on the fact that this president wants to overturn obamacare and eliminate protections for pre-existing conditions. it is a no-brainer. >> we will talk about this a lot more. >> thank you, guy.

you ran the last debate. was that pbs? >> it was a really good one. >> that was a good debate. >> they did not go into the minutia. they actually asked questions that democrats cared about. that was a great debate. >> all right. coming up, what is really driving the attorney general. we're going to break down a revealing new profile of william barr next on "morning joe." searching for a way to help stop your cold sore?

only abreva can get rid of it in... ...as little as 2 1/2 days when used at the first sign. abreva starts to work immediately to block the virus and protect healthy cells. abreva acts on it. so you can too. >i spend a lot of time sin my truck.y? it's my livelihood. ♪ rock music >> man: so i'm not taking any chances when something happens to it. so when my windshield cracked... my friend recommended safelite autoglass. >> tech: hi, i'm adrian. >> man: thanks for coming. >> tech: oh, no problem. >> tech: check it out. >> man: yeah. they came right to me, with expert service where i needed it. that's service i can trust... no matter what i'm hauling. right, girl? >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ so w>>i'm searching for info on options trading, and look, it feels like i'm just wasting time. wasted time is wasted opportunity. >>exactly. that's why td ameritrade designed a first-of-its-kind, personalized education center. see, you just

>>oh, this is easy. yeah, and that's >>oh, just what i need. courses on options trading, webcasts, tutorials. yeah. their award-winning content is tailored to fit your investing goals and interests. and it learns with you, so as you become smarter, so do its recommendations. >>so it's like my streaming service. well exactly. well except now, you're binge learning. >>oh, i like that. thank you, i just came up with that. >>you're funny. learn fast with the td ameritrade education center. call 866-295-0917 or visit tdameritrade.com/learn. get started today, and for a limited time, get up to $800 when you open and fund an account. that's 866-295-0917, or tdameritrade.com/learn. ♪ this round's on me.eat. hey, can you spot me?

come on in. find your place today, with silversneakers. included in most medicare advantage plans. enroll today by calling the number on your screen or visit getsilversneakers.com

33 past the hour. president trump retweeted a fake photo that shows house speaker nancy pelosi and chuck schumer in traditional muslim attire in front of the iranian flag. the main source of the photo has not been authenticated by nbc news, but according to the associated press, the account

trump got it from has a history of tweeting about iranian issues and promoting pro trump content. white house press secretary stephanie grisham appeared on fox news yesterday to defend the president's retweet. >> i think the president is making clear that the democrats are -- having parroting iranian talking points and almost taking the side of terrorists. and those who are out to kill the americans. i think the president was making the point that the democrats seem to hate him so much that they're willing to be on the side of countries and leadership of countries who want to kill americans. >> first of all, what does it say about a president who tweets traditional muslim garb as a slur. let's start right there. >> that's right, as an insult. >> and then you have a press secretary who try toes explain it away by saying in effect all muslims are terrorists. well, he was just talking about

being against terrorists. >> we had congressman doug collins last week saying democrats loved terrorists opinion he apologized for that, thank gps. but when i hear a statement like that from the press secretary, i think, as we've thought now for three or four years, do you think there's no life after this? donald trump won't be here a year or five years from now and you have to go out and live with yourself and you went on tv and defended that disgusting tweet and actually escalated it by saying democrats love terrorists. >> people do forget that there is an after trump. era coming. i always tell the story of my friend in the bush administration. in 2005, somebody i knew very well called up screaming, yelling at me. and i stopped because i was critical of bush. i go hold on a second, you know that george bush is going to leave the white house and i'm still going to be here. now, are you my friend or not?

i didn't mean it as a threat. but i did let him know, this, too, shall pass. choose your friends wisely. and these trump people that work f for him, they don't have to wait until 2021 to see what the world looks like. they can look in their rearview mirror and see everybody that has shamed themselves in the name of donald trump has been fired and then lived to regret it. >> you know, i think that is very true, but i think also what is so troubling is the climate in which he retweeted this. we just went through a series of anti semantic attacks in this region where muslims with rabbis denouncing this. and for him to come back now and to retweet making someone that is muslim synonymous with a terrorist and his press secretary said they hate him so

much they love terrorists, it's like striking a match where you know there's also gas in the room. so you're pitting people against people and you have people that believe in him as president that will really believe. democrats love terrorists and all muslims and terrorists. it is as islam phobic as you can get to make anyone's religious beliefs synonymous with terrorism. it's an insult to anybody. and if you really believed in what he said in terms of that, that is not how you behave. you cannot be bigoted against people's religion and do stuff like that. >> joining us now are the first husband and wife to share a poll surprise for journalism. they're outline with their new book today entitled "tightrope," americans he reaching for hope in which they take a look at personal challenges for working class families.

it's great having you both back on the show. talk about your new book and who did you speak to and what challenges did you address? >> well, so we were reporting about humanitarian challenges around the world. and we would come back to my hometown in rural oregon and we saw a mu man tearan challenge unfolding. a quarter of the kids on my old school bus have died from alcohol, drugs, suicide. and this is happening across the country. and, you know, every two weeks we lose more americans from drugs, alcohol, and suicide than the country lost in 18 years of war in afghanistan and iraq. and i don't think that we in the news media, i don't think we as a country are adequately focused on that. >> what is the connective reason for it? >> we also started out with trying to ask the question why is it that these people voted for trump? what is it that led them to vote for trump?

and we realize as we were not only talking to people, but we also went to other parts of the country, as well, it's that they felt that they're voiceless, that these are the voiceless people who don't have any say. no one is listening to them. and here is something that is radically different. for each person he represents it's something different. for one person we talked to, that person said, well, no, i like my guns and i will not vote for anybody who is in favor of gun control. the orr person said, well, immigrants are taking my job so i don't like immigrants. he happened to be a little bit lazy, but he said i don't like immigrants so i'm going to vote for him. and another woman, believe it or not, said i like trump because for me, he represents family values. >> how do you explain that? >> yeah. the -- the -- we saw an interesting statistic, a fascinating statistic that -- a couple of weeks ago that in

areas that lost an auto plan, they were 86, i think, 85% more likely to have an opioid epidemic than areas that did not lose auto plants. >> that's exactly right. you know, historically, so in yam hill, which is largely lily white, there was a tendency to look at suffering black community and blaming black culture. and meanwhile, the great -- bill wilson said, you know, it's lost jobs and he was exactly right. when white communities like yam hill lost jobs, then you saw the same kind of pathologies unfolding across the country. and so it's driven by jobs. there was that study that came out and then another recent study also underscored that were there more of these depths of despair, people were more likely to vote for trump.

>> it has been going on for quite a while. a lot of it has to do with policy making. we were doing extremely well as a country up until the 1970s. the war on drugs was probably one of the most disastrous policies we have made. we decided that small time drug users could be thrown in jail. i spoke to a woman who was a small time drug user. she ended up carrying a small batch of heroine. she was thrown in jail for 199

years without parole. that's kind of ridiculous. what about the mafias. but the other issue is that if you look at other countries, not everyone who also they have lost jobs, as well, but they're not facing the same kinds of problems. we looked at autoworkers who were laid off after the financial crisis in both detroit and windsor, ontario, canada. the differences were striking because, yes, the american workers, they only have health care so that their families are protected, but also they had retraining issues. those retraining efforts kicked in as soon as the people lost their jobs. they scoured the local areas. they put together a nursing program and retrained these people. >> you know, i think you hit on something that's very true. and i hope all progressives read the book -- i'm a big -- reader of the "new york times," a big

fan. and that is that trump echos or parrots a lot of the feeling of people that they don't feel people like us even understand their reality. but when does it wear off? when do they realize he's not dealing with the opioid problems, that he's not really helping them in terms of their wages? does it wear off? do you think this is just going to be there until somebody comes along and gives them a real embrace that i understand you and we want to deal with these problems? >> so, you know, i think it will wear off if there's an economic slowdown. when we talk to trump supporters in my hometown, they say, well, the economy is doing great. but liberals have to figure out how to talk to the working class in this country. and the presidential debates, there's a lot of discussion about middle class issues. there's talk about improving college access. we don't talk about the fact that one in seven kids still doesn't graduate from high

school. >>. >> bobby den kennedy was masterful with this, talking to people without being condescending. then nixon took it -- he adopted the second strategy. he made this about race. he made this about security. he made this about values issues and then as a result a lot of working class voters voted against their interests. i would argue. and i think that is unfortunately continuing. >> a lot of it also is an education divide. frankly, a lot of, you know, his voters actually his supporters didn't necessarily go to college or some of them didn't even

graduate from high school. >> it's an educational class divide between people who are very articulate and those who aren't articulate. he went to an ivy league institution but that is never in his bio. it's never a tag line with him. it speaks, you know, unlike an educated ivy league student. >> we talk about the economic divide all the time, but let's talk about the cultural divide.

liberal elites, at times, rev calls them -- >> latte liberals. >> latte liberals, exactly. they aren't supposed to working class americans unless they come to their high rise to fix their apartment. >> and, unfortunately, i think the 2016 election compounded this because within liberal communities, there are sometimes we have a tendency to call every trump voter a racist and a bigot and it's really hard to win votes for people announcing -- >> not the best way to -- not the best way to win the undecideds. >> the new book is "tight rope," americans reaching for hope. nick, cheryl, thank you so much. good to have you both back on the show. congratulations. >> thank you. up next, russia, ukraine, now iran. bill barr comes to the president's defense yet again. our next guest describes the

attorney general as trump's sword and shield. we'll dug into that next on "morning joe." l dug into that n "morning joe." ♪ when we see you enter through our doors. we don't see who you're against, or for. whether tomorrow will be light or dark.

all we see in you, is a spark. we see your kindness and humanity. the strength of each community. the more we look the more we find the sparks that make america shine. ♪ ♪ do you recall, not long ago ♪ we would walk on the sidewalk ♪ ♪ all around the wind blows ♪ we would only hold on to let go ♪ ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we need someone to lean on ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we needed somebody to lean on ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ all we need is someone to lean on ♪

eh, not enough fiber- chocolate would be good- snacking should be sweet and simple. the delicious taste of glucerna gives you the sweetness you crave while helping you manage your blood sugar. glucerna. everyday progress while helping you manage your blood sugar. diarrhea? pepto diarrhea to the rescue. it's 3x concentrated liquid formula coats and kills bacteria to relieve diarrhea. the leading competitor only treats symptoms it does nothing to kill the bacteria. treat diarrhea at its source with pepto diarrhea. apps except work.rywhere... why is that? is it because people love filling out forms? maybe they like checking with their supervisor to see how much vacation time they have. or sending corporate their expense reports. i'll let you in on a little secret. they don't. by empowering employees to manage their own tasks, paycom frees you to focus on the business of business.

to learn more, visit paycom.com dealing with our finances really haunted me.ttle cranky. thankfully, i got quickbooks, and a live bookkeeper's helping customize it for our business. (live bookkeeper) you're all set up! (janine) great! (vo) get set up right with a live bookkeeper with intuit quickbooks. after claiming emphatically that the u.s. killed general qassem soleimani because he posed imminent threat to the u.s., president trump tweeted yesterday it doesn't really matter if the threat was imminent, quote, because of his horrible past.

attorney general bill barr is also down playing the need of imminent threat to justify the killing. >> i do believe that this concept of imminence is something of a red herring. when you're dealing with a situation where you already have attacks under way, you know there is a campaign that involves repeated attacks on american targets, i don't think there's a requirement frankly for knowing the exact time and place of the next attack, and that certainly was the position of the obama administration when it droned leaders of terrorist organizations. >> barr said the justice department was consulted before the soleimani strike and that there was no requirement for the white house to consult congress. this is just the latest in a growing list of matters for which ag barr has come to the president's defense. joining us, pulitzer prize winning journalist, david rote.

>> david, thanks for being with us. trump supporters will say eric holder did the same for barack obama. what's the difference? >> i think barr is much more political, he is attacking the president's enemies, mocked the left in a speech he gave several months ago. the idea is the attorney general should be independent, more of the janet reno, she appointed general counsel after general counsel. the justice department can't be corrupted, you can't use it to attack the president's enemies. that's a dangerous precedent. >> and yet that's what's happening. i bring up the chaos that ensued in 1993 after then clinton aide george stephanopoulos talked to somebody in the fbi about a press release, you really would

have thought the constitution, the remaining copies of the constitution had been shredded by stephanopoulos himself. we have come a long way. >> we are way past republican orthodox. there was an extraordinary moment, four of the world's largest automakers agreed to emissions deal with california, the response with trump administration, anti-trust from bill barr's department. amazon lost a multi billion dollar contract to microsoft. this is the president not unbridled, free markets, corporate america is good. there are good companies that are protum, we'll help them. you cross the president, the automakers, it was a pr stunt that embarrassed the administration, we will investigate you for antitrust violations. >> so you have a quote that in the piece that friends of barr

say that this isn't the new barr. that we should have all seen this coming. that william barr today is the same william barr when he worked for 41. >> when he went to high school in new york talked about the need for a strong presidency and he believes this. you see that in the remarks about killing of qassem soleimani, a president needs to be able to kill someone they feel is a threat to the country. when he was attorney general under george bush the father, he supported and wrote a legal opinion the u.s. could arrest man well noriega in panama. he supported preemptive attacks in the first gulf war under older president bush. so this is nothing new. to be fair, he believes in a strong president that can carry out these attacks, get in iphones, talked about that yesterday, is needed to defend the country. it is the most effective, most important branch of the government, and congress is less important. >> mike. >> david, one of the elements of

bill barr's personality that's more pronounced than ever, always been there, grant you that, but the level of certainty that he brings to his public appearances and public statements. i know in your piece, in the book you work on out in april, talking to people that work today or just left the justice department, especially the fbi, there's some fear that while trump may have altered the country, there's a certainty among some people that left the justice department and the fbi that bill barr is on the verge of altering the federal bureau of investigation. >> he is. i think essentially the president, i think bill barr's alliance to the presidency, not this president, but whatever his mind-set, it is politicizing the justice department to protect the president's friends and attack his enemies. i'm afraid about what happens if there's another term. what happens if chris wray is removed from the fbi.

there was an attempt to make john ratcliffe the director of national intelligence, you could have the fbi and cia, which are at this point obeying norms and laws but becoming politicized like the justice department. >> william barr has a view of article 2 of the constitution that brings the president absolute power. how does he view his own relationship with donald trump and his job vis-a-vis donald trump, thinking about his falling in line with whatever donald trump says. i was being spied upon in my campaign, attorney general doesn't say no, that was a fiez oh warrant. he appears to come out and defend the president, not the constitution. >> there's a general sense i got, barr didn't speak to me, from aides and republicans that liberals are overreacting to president trump. he is a little unorthodox, says these things, you're shredding constitutional norms, the left,

barr said this in a speech. and you're creating the problem. bottom line, one person said say what you want about this president, he is achieving more for the conservative agenda than any other politician. name anyone that's done more. again, i think barr believes a strong government, president, is needed to save the country. i think i and many disagree, barr doesn't think cy vans should have access to his tax returns and he is stonewalling the impeachment investigation. >> say that joe biden gets elected in 2021, and for some reason biden decides to reach out to republicans and keep barr as attorney general for a year. would barr make the same arguments? he is such a hamil tonian, that's his view of the

constitution. >> he was much quieter about the president's powers when bill clinton and barack obama were presidents. but since 9/11 the presidency has gotten stronger and stronger. legislative branch is more chaotic, frozen. we as a country need to have a conversation about our democracy. is it three co-equal branches or do we have a stronger and stronger presidency. >> david, thank you so much. we'll read your piece in the latest issue of the new yorker. he has a new book coming out in april "in deep." the fbi, the cia, and the truth about america's deep state. >> can't wait for that. that will be great. >> before we go, big debate tonight. we will all be watching. one candidate not on stage tonight or ever again in this election cycle is cory booker. reverend al, your thoughts? >> it is optically bad to have an all white debate tonight. i intend to be there.

i also think it is a challenge that we need to understand, that we've got to get behind candidates if we want to see them there, that we've got to be able to push and make sure that our presence and thoughts are on the mainstream discussion. so i think some soul searching the dnc needs to do but soul searching we need to do in our communities, make sure we are giving the best effort we can. >> quick diagnosis why cory booker didn't catch fire, a guy people like, he is positive. >> i think he is very likeable and he was very popular. it was such a wide race, there were so many candidates, and it was hard to raise the money. kamala harris was good. i think the amount of candidates and the messages couldn't break through because you had 20 messages at one time. >> there you go. we are watching the debate tonight. full coverage tomorrow on "morning joe." that does it for us this

morning. stephanie ruhle picks up the coverage now. >> thanks so much, mika. thanks, joe. i am stephanie ruhle, tuesday, january 14th. we are watching breaking news on capitol hill. house speaker nancy pelosi meeting with fellow democrats behind closed doors, getting everyone on the same page before finally sending articles of impeachment over to the senate. we thought that would happen back in december when the house approved articles. speaker pelosi has been holding them for 27 days. she says she's trying to ensure a fair trial. majority leader mitch mcconnell says this whole thing has been a pointless exercise and in his opinion a waste of time. >> speaker finally realized she never had any leverage in the first place to dictate senate procedure to senators and is giving in to bipartisan pressure to move forward. in terms of influencing senate