businesses last year. 20% more than any other year on record. as i see it, everything across the country is -- as i go across the country, our economy has gone from being on the mend to on the move. but for every worker i met who has gained a little breathing room to seek out a better paying job, for every entrepreneur who gained the confidence to pursue their small business dreams, i know the families across america are hurting because of inflation. i understand what it feels like. i come from a family where when the price of gas or food went up, we felt it. it was a discussion at the kitchen table. i want every american to know that i'm taking inflation very seriously. it's my top domestic priority. i'm here today to talk about solutions. there's going to be more we're going to have to talk about as

well. first, i want to be clear about the problem. there are two leading causes of inflation. first cause of inflation is the once in a century pandemic. not only did it shut down our global economy, it threw the supply change and demand out of whack, especially in countries where more effective recovery responses were available, those that rely on semiconductors. the supply challenges have been hampered by the onset of delta and omicron viruses. you all have seen it and all have felt it. this year we have a second cause. mr. putin's war in ukraine. you saw -- we saw in march that 60% of inflation that month was due to price increases at the pump for gasoline. putin's war has raised food

prices as well, because ukraine and russia are two of the world's major bread baskets for wheat and corn are essentially completely stalled. ukraine has 20 million tons of grain in storage in silos right now. we're trying to figure out how to get it out of the country to market which will reduce prices around the world. normally, we would have already begun to export them into the market. it hasn't because of putin's invasion. we are working with our european partners to get this food out to the world so they can bring down prices. it's difficult because, again, of putin and the russian invasion of ukraine. those two major contributors to inflation are both global in nature. that's why we are seeing historic inflation in countries all over the world. here is the good news. because of the actions we have taken, america's in the stronger position to meet this challenge

than just about any other country in the world. some of the roots of the inflation are outside of our control to state the obvious. but there are things we can do and we can address. we need to do. that starts with the federal reserve, which plays a primary role in fighting inflation in our country. i put forward a highly qualified nominee to lead that institution. i strongly urge the senate to confirm them without delay. the fed has a dual responsibility. first is achieing maximum employment and second is stable prices. while i will never interfere or tell them what they have to do -- they are independent -- i believe inflation is our top economic challenge right now. i think they do, too. we built a strong economy with a strong job market. i agree with what chairman powell said last week that the number one threat is -- the

strength we build is inflation. the fed will do its job with that in mind. as i said when i came to what congress and the president can do to fight inflation, americans have two potential paths forward. the first is my plan and democratic plan, plan put forward by congressional republicans is the second alternative. here is how each would tackle inflation. my plan is to lower everyday costs for hard working americans and lower the deficit by asking large corporations and the wealthiest americans to not engage in price gouging and to pay their fair share in taxes. republican plan is to increase taxes on the middle class families, let billionaires and large companies off the hook as they raise prices and reap profits of record amounts. it's really that simple.

let me explain why this choice is so important. let me start with the putin price hike. high gas prices and energy prices. my plan is in motion. i led the world and other countries to join with us to coordinate the largest release of oil from our stockpiles of all the countries in history. 240 million barrels to boost global supply. here at home, u.s. oil and gas production is approaching record levels. in fact, we produced more oil domestically in my first year in office than my predecessor did in his first year. to drive down prices, my administration is allowing the sale of gasoline using home-grown biofuels this summer, which wasn't allowed before. to reduce our dependence on foreign oil andautocrats, i'm

helping to build a clean energy future with congress. from tax credits for businesses who produce renewable energy to families to make their homes more energy efficient. i met with nearly a dozen ceos of the largest utility companies. they told me that -- including southern company, american electric power and ten others, they confirmed that if we pass the investments i'm talking about, we will lower families' utility bills by as much as $500 a year. that will make their home more secure in terms of heat not getting out and air conditioning not escaping because they have good insulation. what's the congressional republican plan? first of all, their plan is to give oil companies a free pass. for example, right now oil companies are sitting on 9,000 unused leases -- oil leases

which are the property of the federal government -- on the property of the federal government. under my plan, they would have to pay taxes. and if they don't use those leases to produce more oil. they can't sit on it. on the republican plan, they would be allowed to continue to sit on this land without producing while shipping record profits back to their investors. the average cost of a barrel of oil has been steady for weeks. why do gas prices keep going up so high? republicans offer plenty of blame. not a single solution to actually bring down the energy prices. we have no plan -- they have no plan to bring down energy prices today. no plan to get us to a cleaner energy independent future tomorrow. in the future, american families are no longer subject to the whims of dictators halfway around the world. next thing -- let's compare

plans when it comes to lowering everyday costs. my plan is to make concrete common sense steps to bring down the biggest expenses families are facing. let's take drug prices. my plan will let medicare negotiate prices for prescription drugs like they do with the department -- with the military as it relates to what the administration is able to negotiate for prices for military. i called for a cap on the price of insulin, which 200 million -- excuse me. 200,000 american children rely on as they have type 2 diabetes at $35 a month. it costs 10 bucks to insulin. they make a profit. instead of the average price of $640 a month. think of the difference it will

make in american families like the family i met with in virginia about three weeks ago, struggling every day, every single month to afford their son's insulin. on this and other issues, i have laid out proposals to congress to bring down the cost of everyday costs to many american families face. that's in addition to the work my administration has done to lower prices. another reason why prices are up for products people need relates to whether or not the manufacturer has access to all the materials they need to build the product. think of the materials you need to build a house. if you can't get the materials from a ship to shore, from the shore to the home, the prices are going to go up. that's why we brought labor and industry together on the west coast to improve operations at the ports, to speed up the

transfer of products from abroad to shore, from shore to the location where they will be used. those products can move more quickly and cheaply. we haven't had enough truckers to deliver goods. that's why we executed a plan to get more truckers on the job. reduces the time to move the goods quickly. another problem, we face some industries there isn't enough competition. i have said that capitalism without competition isn't capitalism. it's exploitation. we promote competition from internet services to meat processing. we basically have four meat processors in the country. they process meat that goes into the hamburgers you buy. they set the price. when there's no competition, they can set the price higher and higher. we are helping smaller companies get into the game to compete and help bring down the overall prices.

the bottom line is, easing these bottlenecks and making our supply chains more secure is a major focus of my economic strategy. so things move more quickly. prices go down, not up. some parts of my plan i have been able to get done on my own. just without congressional approval. some parts are being held up by congress. all of my plan is focused on lowering costs for the average family in america, to give them a little bit of breathing room. what's the congressional republican plan? they don't want to solve inflation by lowering your costs. they want to solve it by raising your taxes and lowering your income. i happen to think it's a good thing when american families have a little more money in their pockets at the end of the month. the republicans in congress don't seem to think so. their plan is going to make working families poorer. you don't have to take my word for it.

it's in writing. they made their intentions clear. senator rick scott of wisconsin, a member of the senate republican leadership, laid it all out in a plan. it's the ultra maga agenda. raise taxes on 75 million american families, over 95% make less than $100,000 a year total income. the average tax increase is 1,500 per family. the average billionaire has paid 8% in federal taxes. republicans have proposed increasing taxes on teachers and firefighters. 55% of the largest corporations paid net zero in federal taxes in 2020 on $40 million profit. that isn't right. that's why i proposed a minimum tax for corporations.

their plan would also raise taxes on 82% of small businessowners making less than $50,000 a year. it would do nothing to help -- to hold big corporations and compaies accountable. republicans in congress are so deeply committed to protecting big corporations and ceos that they would rather see taxes on working american families. never mind the fact that many of the companies are recording record profits as they raise prices. i'm a capitalist. i'm not out to punish anybody. i have no problem with companies getting and generating reasonable profits. but this moment of peril with the war overseas and inflation

average the world, the last thing we should be thinking about is rewarding companies for exploiting the situation. families struggle to pay bills. some corporate executives are on earnings calls with investors on wall street sharing their record profits. explain how they use this period of inflation to cover the rise in prices far beyond what they need to do to cover their costs. all this time they're not paying for a fair share of taxes in the first place. you want to bring down inflation? let's make sure the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share. my plan, ask those companies to pay their fair share in taxes. congressional republican plan, let them off scott free. if you weren't extreme enough on a republican congressional agenda, they put it in writing. it calls on congress to put special -- to put social

security, medicare and medicaid on the chopping block every five years. if i hadn't seen it in writing, i would think somebody is making this up. their proposal is every five years, all those programs would cease unless they are revoted, that congress comes along and says, we want to keep these plans, affirmatively voting for them. imagine the change that will take place. imagine all the bargaining that's going to take place. democrats want to maintain social security, you have to give up such and such. i want to give medicare the power to negotiate drug prices and make it stronger and lower your costs. republicans want to make medicare's existence up for vote over and over again. really ask yourself, how well are we going to sleep at night knowing every five years maga

republicans, if they are still republican -- this is not your father's republican party. if we're going to have to vote on whether you will have social security, medicare and medicaid and what amounts you will have in each of those programs. you know what they are likely to do? use them as hostages every five years to get their way on other things. think about it. give us another tax cut for billionaires or social security gets it. stop investing in clean energy or you are going to -- we're going to kiss medicare good-bye. it's outrageous. it's outrageous. i can't believe that the majority of republicans buy on to scott's plan. but that's the plan in writing and he's in the leadership. finally, let's do one more comparison. let's compare our two plans when it comes to the deficit. republicans love to attack me as a big spender, as if that's the reason why inflation has gone

up. let's compare the facts. under my predecessor, the deficit exploded, raising -- rising every single year under the republicans. under my plan, we are on track to cut the federal deficit by $1.5 trillion this year. let me say it again, $1.5 trillion by the end of the fiscal year. the biggest one-year decline in all of history. that's in addition to last year we cut the budget $350 billion, the deficit -- not the budget, the deficit, $350 billion. my treasury department is planning to pay down the national debt this quarter, which never happened under my predecessor. not once. not once. unlike my predecessor, the deficit has gone down both years i have been here.

that is not abstract. it matters. it matters to families, because reducing the deficit is one of the main ways we can ease inflationary pressures. look, the bottom line is this. americans have a choice right now. between to paths. reflecting two very different sets of values. my plan attacks inflation and grows the economy by lowering costs for working families, giving workers raises, reducing the deficit by historic levels and making big corporations and the wealthiest americans pay their fair share. the other path is the ultra maga plan, put forward by congressional republicans, to raise taxes on working families, lower the income of american workers, threaten the sacred programs americans count on likes is, medicare and medicaid

and give break after break to big corporations and billionaires. just like they did the last time they were in power. when their top priority was the reckless $2 trillion tax cut going the majority to the very wealthiest americans. which ballooned the deficit and not a penny of it was paid for. look, i know you gotta be frustrated. i know. i can taste it. frustrated by high prices, by gridlock in congress, by the time it takes to get anything done. believe me, i understand the frustration. but the fact is, congressional republicans -- not all of them, but the maga republicans are counting on you to be as frustrated by the pace of progress, which they -- they

have done everything they can to slow down, that you will hand power over to them so they can enact their extreme agenda. look at their agenda. we will put it up on a web page somewhere. i think i can do this. the scott plan, it's in writing. we need a government focused on what families actually need. that's why i urge all americans to think about the path i have laid forward. we're going to have to do more beyond what i laid forward. think about the republicans what they are proposing. which path is right for you and your family? quite frankly, for america. let's build on the extraordinary progress we have made instead of tearing it down. let's focus on what matters. this really matters to average americans. i want to thank you all. god bless you and may god protect our troops.

if you are going to ask me about what i spoke about -- >> why do you believe so many americans believe your administration is not doing enough to combat inflation? do you believe that you and your administration bear some measure of responsibilities for the inflation we are seeing? >> we are in power. that's first thing. you justifiably are right, we control all three branchs of government. we don't really. we have 50/50 in the senate. you need 60 to get major things done. i have been pushing the things i have been proposing here and you heard me speak to since i got in office. i need to get 60 votes to pass them, number one. number two, i think that it's -- they are not focused. they are focused on is the

problem they are facing. they get a 5.5% raise in their salary and yet inflation exceeds that. look around the world and they know that a lot of it is extremely complicated. so they are frustrated. i don't blame them. i really don't blame them. there's a lot we have to do. you know -- i shouldn't say you. i think what i have to do is explain in simple, straightforward language what's going on. reason why 30% of the inflation last year is because automobiles cost more. why? because they couldn't get computer chips to make them. people wanted to buy automobiles. they couldn't buy them because the costs went up so high because there were so few of them. the same way this year. the same way this year, the reason why prices are up. they understand but -- look,

most people -- the vast majority of americans are hoping their government takes care of their problem and they don't have to think about it in detail at the dinner table. that's understandable, no matter what their background. right now, it's confusing. there's a war in ukraine. they are scratching their heads. what the heck is russia doing? should we be helping? they think we should be helping. what impact does that have? there's thousands of grain in elevators in ukraine. ukraine is one of the biggest producers of corn and wheat. i wonder whether that's the reason prices are up. >> do you take any responsibility, your policies? >> our policies help, not hurt. think about what they say.

the vast majority of the economists think that this is going to be a tough problem to solve, but it's not because of spending. we brought down the deficit. the bottom line is, how much does america owe? how much in the hole are we going? we are reducing that. >> you have yet to ask americans to consume less. have you ever thought of asking americans to drive less, to take public transport? >> if you raised a family like mine, you don't have to tell them. they are doing everything in their power to figure out how not to show up at the gas pump. that's why, for example, one of the things that's going to help is our infrastructure bill. the truth is, they don't have that many options in terms of

transportation around the country right now. if you live in the northeast corridor, you do. if you drive back and forth between baltimore, washington, new york. but you don't have many choices. you don't have a lot of choices to deal with other aspects of transportation in terms of local transportation. what happens is -- unless they are electric, we find the cost of flying, buying a ticket on a plane costs more because of gas prices. this is a process. it's a process that i have been consistent about wanting to lower prices and shift to renewable energy so we are not as dependent. i have conversations almost every -- that's an exaggeration. at least twice a week with one of my european counterparts, heads of state, how can we help them wean off of russian oil, because they are so totally dependent. we are working like the devil to

help them transition. as long as russia is able to make money selling oil, they are going to continue to do the bad things they are doing. there's a lot. it's really complicated. i'm not suggesting the american people can't understand it. they understand it. but they have -- they are working eight, ten hours a day to put food on the table. i think what's happened is we have, in a sense -- i never expected -- let me say this carefully. i never expected the ultra maga republicans who seemed to control the republican party now, to have been able to control the republican party. i never anticipated that happening. >> mr. president, a year ago the administration was saying that inflation was transitory. that's not the case now.

how long do you think it will be until we see prices coming down? >> i'm not going to predict that. it ranges by which economist you talk to. some say it's going to increase next year. others say by the end of this year, by the calendar year. i don't know. but i know what we have to do to make sure we can bring it down. >> do you support restrictions on abortion? what limits do you believe -- >> this is about inflation. >> you called out rick scott a little while ago. earlier today, anticipating your remarks, i'm quoting, he said that the best thing, most faekive thing joe biden can do to solve the inflation crisis he created is resign. he is the problem.

>> i think the man has a problem. >> will you drop former president trump's china tariffs? >> we are discussing that right now. we are looking at the -- >> are you going to erase them? >> i didn't say that. i'm telling you, we are discussing it. no decision has been made. thank you. >> good day. this is "andrea mitchell reports" in washington. you just saw the president, you heard him answering questions. he is tackling the democrats' number one midterm problem, high inflation. in a speech largely repeating white house talking points, about a global problem, a problem no president alone can ever handle, a problem caused, as he points out, by the pandemic and the invasion by mr. putin's war in ukraine. instead, mr. biden is trying to

publicize a plan from rick scott that democrats say would raise taxes on even the poorest americans. it has been slammed by mitch mcconnell. joining me now, carol lee and jo ling kent. carol, first to you. this plan to tackle inflation, basically this is a political speech, i think everyone would agree. the white house is on defense. clearly a lot of politics this year from the president. we just saw that exchange over rick scott who called the president a lot of names. in his speech, the president referred to rick scott as being from wisconsin. clearly, he is not. he is from florida. carol, to you. >> that's right. the president -- this is the second time in the past week the president stepped out to the

podium to take on senator scott and what the president is calling this extreme maga agenda. what we heard from the president today is his midterm election message. this is -- he talked about these two paths. that's how he is framing this for the american people as they head into the november election, saying there's the president's plan, which according to the president would lower taxes for the middle class and grow the economy for the middle class while the republican agenda, according to the president, would benefit corporations and wealthier americans. he hit on several different aspects of that. taxes and energy policy and the deficit. the president making the case that his economic proposals would lower the deficit and that he has been doing that. this was a highly political speech. the president clearly wants to try to draw this contrast for americans. at one point he said americans -- that republicans are trying to use the americans'

frustrations with inflation to get them in office so they can pass these policies the president said would not benefit these voters. republicans say the president's policies are responsible for inflation. you saw the president was asked if he took responsibility, if his policies were responsible. he said, no, his policies are helping. overall, andrea, the president wanted to draw this contrast. he is going to increasingly do this. the gloves seem to be off into political season. he is trying to make the case he has done some things executively while saying that here is a number of steps that he wants congress to take and that he is going to try to take within his own executive power. it's his top priority and this is something he believes americans should back him on and

not the republicans. we will see how this goes. it's heating up. you heard the president ask there about senator scott's comments about him and he shot back there. he also said to peter alexander who asked him about these tariffs that the u.s. slapped on chinese goods, if the president was going to lift those. that's one thing some experts say could benefit the economy. the president there saying that that is something under consideration. >> also sort of sending it over also to the senate, the fact the senate failed to confirm several of his federal reserve nominees. it's the fed that has the tools -- some tools to deal with inflation. i want to go to jo ling kent. gas hitting historic highs. electric bills rising. saying nothing of childcare costs. these are the fundamental problems, kitchen table problems

the president is trying to get his arms around because of the headwinds from inflation. >> yeah. when you think about what the average consumer is thinking about right now, it's probably what president biden said at the very end, the idea is that he doesn't have a crystal ball when it's going to end. let's be exact. if you look at the data, inflation has been above 5% since last may. it has been a year. we are at 8.5%. we get new numbers today. when you look at the fuller picture, this has been hurting americans for a long time. the question really is, what can the federal reserve do next to maintain a balance here when it comes to not triggering a recession but also cooling off the amount of spending? what we are seeing is spending for those big ticket items like a mortgage, for example, starting a new mortgage, that's actually down, according to the

federal reserve bank of new york. more people are feeling that life is less affordable right now. you can see it in this new fed data. 537 million credit card accounts were opened in the first three months of this year. that's a jump of more than 31%. you see that happening when life becomes less affordable. as people are juggling these costs, what the real concern is is the cost of living here. president biden can draw this contrast, the republicans will continue to draw this contrast as well. for people who are facing their budgets, the bottom line is 5.5% wage growth and 8.5% inflation, do the math, it's simple. >> thank you. setting the stage for jason fuhrman. give us the reality check. what can the president do to tackle inflation? i guess it would help certainly if the war were to stop.

but that is not going to happen. maybe it would help on china. what do you think about the china tariffs? >> yeah, look. that's the conundrum. there's nothing the american people care more about now. they care about it with good reason, as we just heard. wages are not keeping up with inflation. they are fall agent the fastest pace in 40 years. there's not much the president can do quickly. he was right when he started out with his first point being the federal reserve. he nominated excellent people. they have some tools. their tools take time. at the same time, i do think he should be doing everything he can -- he has done a lot of good things, like releasing oil from the strategic petroleum reserve was a good idea. some of the things he has done to improve the functioning of ports have been good ideas. the biggest stone that's unturned is the one you brought up on china tariffs. i would love to see them lift

most of the tariff president trump imposed. it would increase competition and bring down prices even more. he said he was in favor of competition. i agree with that. this would be the biggest step he could take that he has not taken so far. >> of course, you could anticipate the republican attacks that he might also have as well if he were to do that. understandably, it's a balancing act. that's why you are president, to do the tough decisions. let me ask you about recession. do you think -- a soft landing is hard to engineer for the fed. they raise interest rates, there's the risk of a recession. do you see that coming soon? do you see stagflation? >> this unpredictable time, over the next year, i'm not incredibly worried. there are workers returning to

the labor force. there's extra savings people have from the last two years. there's momentum in theeconomy. when i look ate year from now, two years from now, that's where i start to get worried. it depends on whether and how the fed handles things. they are moving interest rates to normal. the bigger issues come a year from now. >> thanks to you. turning to the war in ukraine, russia fired missiles on the critical port city of odesa monday striking hotels, a shopping mall. president zelenskyy warning that a blockade of the port could threaten the world's this as president biden signed the lend-lease act. vladimir putin is showing no signs of ending the war any time

soon. >> we assess president putin as prepaing for prolonged conflict during which he intends to achieve goals beyond donbas. he regards the decision in late march to refocus russian forces on the donbas as a temporary shift to regain the initiative after the russian military's failure to capture kyiv. >> joining me now is richard haas. thank you very much for being with us. you heard what was said. president putin showing no signs of letting up. most likely wants to go beyond donbas. you see the economic impact. what more should the u.s. be doing? should we give zelenskyy enough to not just keep russia at a stalemate but actually to push him out of ukraine?

>> i think the basic analysis is right. we better gear ourselves and our policy for a long, protracted policy. i don't see vladimir putin giving up. then he would have to justify these costs against little results. it's little difficult to pursue this since he is still raking in hundreds of millions of dollars a day from his energy sales above all his gas sales. we are right not to get directly involved. the lend-lease approach makes a lot of sense. essentially, we ought to be fighting this -- i mean, helping ukraine fight this war so they don't lose. you raised the question of whether they win and push the russians back. that's complicated. that's the scenario where somebody like putin, who is under few constraints, might be tempted to use chemical or nuclear weapons. i would think before we get to that point we want to pause. right now, we want to get to that point.

we want to make sure russians can't push ukraine back, particularly in the south. >> president macron has ruled that -- has ruled out, i should say, ukraine joining the eu in the near future. saying the membership process would likely take decades. i know this is not a u.s. issue. how damaging is this? >> i'm a little surprised by that. i thought the ducks were more aligned on this. there might be some kind of informal or associate status. clearly, the europeans are wary of taking on what could be an enormous economic expense depending upon how much more damage happens, whether there are reparations that russia is forced to pay. i think you are probably seeing caution there. maybe also a political move by the french president on his part to keep open certain lines of communication with putin. he played a role before the war.

it failed. whether he wants to resurrect his role as a peacemaker, this might reflect that. >> and also his -- as you know so well, his efforts to take the leadership of europe now that merkel is gone and there's a new german chancellor and he is the longest serving european leader at this point. >> absolutely. >> thank you so much, richard. thanks for being there today. it's primary day in nebraska and west virginia. it remains to be seen how powerful an endorsement donald trump's endorsement will prove to be. stay with us. we will have politics coming up. this is "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. it's a beautiful word. neighborhoods "open". businesses "open". fields "open". who doesn't love "open"? offices. homes. stages. possibilities. your world.

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welcome back. today marks a critical test of former president trump's hold on the republican party. primaries in west virginia and nebraska. in west virginia, trump-backed

alex mooney is facing off against david mckinley who was endorsed by joe manchin. in nebraska, it's a close race between three republican candidates vying for the nomination for governor. the current governor is term limited. trump endorsed charles herbster who has been accused of groping multiple women. joining me now, chuck todd, live from luzerne county, pennsylvania. here with me at the set is nbc news senior political editor mark murray. and with us, nbc's vaughan hillyard, michael steele and kimberly adkins. chuck todd, i will come to you on the fact you are in bob casey senior and the current senator but bobby casey, something

really important happened today on a symbolic vote tomorrow on roe v. wade, which you know, codifying roe, bob casey announced he will support it for the party, in the near term that makes joe manchin the only undeclared democrat i know of. more pressure on manchin. it's a switch. there's so much family history here. you remember the other case on abortion was the casey case in '92. i was interviewing bob casey live in primetime when he was barred from speaking because he was against abortion. the pennsylvania governor, the whole delegation was up in the rafters, not on the floor with the large delegation. tell me about luzerne county. you are in the middle of it, wilkes-barre/scranton. >> this is in some ways -- could you call it casey country.

this was obviously where biden, within the neighborhood where biden grew up as well. these are the democrats that you wonder, are they still democrats? the biden/casey democrats. they are more conservative, more populist. these are the democrats that have been peeled away. what's interesting about this senate vote is that this was a strategic decision by senate leadership. they wanted a stronger bill on protecting abortion rights versus a bill that might have picked up a couple of republicans but it was weaker. the bill that attracted murkowski and collins and manchin would have upset a lot of abortion rights groups because it would have left some loopholes for states to have extraordinarily tougher restrictions. this is the political decision that they made. the question is, is this vote going to expose a fissure in the

democrat party? we see what both parties think they have to do on the abortion issue. if they can make it about bans, then advantage democrats. republicans want to make it about, they don't want any limitations at all. this is the question i have on this decision that they made to showcase the fact that they won't be the united party and it will be the republicans that are united. >> chuck, i know you have to do more interviews, prepare for your show at 1:00 from luzerne county. >> you got it. >> the great keystone state of pennsylvania. we will be watching. mark murray right here, the senior political editor, let's talk about the abortion factor but also talk about these key tests of donald trump today. west virginia, nebraska. >> let's go from bob casey country to trump country. we will get two more tests in nebraska as well as in west

virginia. in february, the former president has endorsed charles herbster. this is a three-way contrast that's a jump ball among any of the ball. the other candidates are jim pilland as well as brett lindstrom. and donald trump has tried to get his candidate, as he is trying to mold the party in his image. we see the former president taking the side of the candidate who is against the bipartisan infrastructure bill, who is against the january 6 independent commission on the vote earlier last year. in all these key issues, we are trying to see the former president donald trump say, this is my guy. as we go through these primaries and later this month, it's not a done deal. the president will have a couple of losses. >> vaughan hillyard, that's also, of course, one of the issues is that joe manchin did

cut an ad for a republican congress member, which raises all kinds of questions about what he is going to do in the future. >> right. it speaks to david m here in west virginia. he was first elected to the state legislature in west virginia in this area back in 1980 serving for more than four decades now. when you look at this new congressional district, this encompasses all of where he previously served. just about half of alex's only district is incorporated into this new district. when you look at this on paper, david mckinly should run away with this. if you take into act that alex is being investigated for misuse of thousands of dollars of campaign funds by the office of congressional ethics here, you'd think alex would be tucked away in the corner, but that's not the case. it's because donald trump

endorsed him. we were over in pennsylvania on friday night for the rally in which donald trump was supporting dr. oz, but also moony who took to the podium. this is to purge individuals who he deems as not being loyal to him. david mckinley, who he is trying to oust from this congressional district, he voted to certify the 2020 election results. he voted for that independent january 6th commission. he voted for the bipartisan infrastructure package. while he'll tell you he voted with donald trump 92% of the time, all it takes to get the ire of donald trump is a couple of those key votes and that's where had finds himself in the driver's seat as the polls are a few hours from closing. >> that brings me to michael steele. so michael, how important, we don't know yet.

>> i kind of take a different approach to all of this. i know the horse race is looking at these individuals that trump has endorsed and whether they win or lose. in the main knowing trump t doesn't matter. hen doesn't like the stain of a loss, but even a loss is a win for him. because then it allows him to fall back to his base and then it becomes a factor much more in the general election. so from trump's calculation, this is all win because we're talking about him. b, he has these candidates groveling to him. moony crosses state lines to be on the stage with donald trump in pennsylvania. c, the establishment still has no clue what to do, so they capitulate and buckle. so when does trump lose in any of this?

that is the most damning aspect of all of this political season and going forward. mitch mcconnell, like many republicans in washington who still speak in hush tones when donald trump's name comes up are frustrated about the fact that you have these candidates winning these primaries that are likely going to go down to defeat in close races in places like pennsylvania and arizona and georgia. that become much more problematic for the long-term effort of trying to get back the house and the senate. to set up 2024 a little bit better. >> good points. so what would another trump endorsement win signal to democrats going forward? >> i think it will signal something else to democrats and republicans. it's not just the trump versus the nontrump candidates. this these cases and many more

primaries to come, it's the did the election -- was the 2020 election stolen versus was it not candidates. and the more candidates who embrace this false theory that the election was stolen in order to get donald trump's nomination, the more of them that win, the bigger problem that is not just for democracy itself, but for republicans who need to try to figure out how to have a message that goes beyond really denying what we know to be true and very antidemocratic message. one reason that donald trump is endorsing the way he does is he's trying to punish the people that supported the january 6th commission. so i think that is a bigger problem that republicans will have to grapple with moving forward. >> thanks to all of you. we at least had a good conversation, would have been longer if not for the president's speech, but thanks for being here today. thanks to chuck todd for stopping off. he will be up soon from

pennsylvania. there's been a tense multistate 11-day manhunt for a murder suspect and the alabama corrections officer who helped him escape. it's finally over following the police chase that ended in a car crash and the death of corrections officer vicky white. casey white appearing video in front of a court judge. we have just been hearing from the sheriff in indiana where sam brock is. what are you hearing? >> reporter: we certainly got some brand new details here in this press conference within the last 30 minutes, including the fact that casey and vicky were here for a week according to the sheriff. they had prepaid two weeks time at a local motel. you might be thinking if you ditched a car and being spur sued by u.s. marshals, why would you stay in the same area that you have been for a week plus on end. but apparently, that's exactly what their strategy was. we also learned that ramming the car in the middle of that

pursuit yesterday likely prevented a shootout from happening. because he held up a poster of all the weapon thas found inside of their car. five including an ar-15. and in interrogation, casey told investigators he absolutely was planning on getting in a shootout and wanted to die suicide by cop to borrow a turn of phrase there. this had all the hallmarks of a very dangerous situation. we know that vicky white did take her own life. that's going to be confirmed by a coroner. but also we heard from the u.s. marshals the fact when he got out of the car, he said please help my wife, shot herself in the head. i didn't do it. you're talking about someone who is going to be facing capital murder charges in just a matter of weeks right now. it's still scheduled for june. earlier today he waived his rights for extradition meaning he's not going to hold up moving him back to alabama. those are the new developments.

also the fact that they were still found with just under $30,000 in cash as this couple presumably was on the run. they were not married. it's not clear how long this relationship had lasted, although certainly we heard from the sheriff in alabama it could have been a couple years or more in terms of the correspondence, but new details about how they were found, how close this could have been to disaster with one former decorated corrections officer apparently taking her life. >> sam brock, thank you so much. for that, that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." there's a lot of news. stay tuned to msnbc. and you can follow us online on facebook and twitter. chuck todd and "mtp daily" start right after this live from pennsylvania. e from pennsylvania you're pretty particular about keeping a healthy body. what goes on it. usually. and in it. mostly.

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if it's tuesday, it's an election year, it's a special "mtp daily." we're live from battleground pennsylvania on the banks of the mighty river. it's fun to get the music. good day. i'm chuck todd. behind me is pennsylvania where on the ground here with one week to go until some of of the most important primaries on the midterm caendar. we're talking to voters, candidates and officials in a state that could very well decide which party controls the pietsz united states senate in november and pennsylvania might be the most pivotal battleground in 2024. the senate race features primaries in both parties that are crowded, contentious and diverse. and they are very