began. both sides are so dug in. there's such a mass of troops. this is not a highly mobile, effective army. but it is, quantity at some point can make up for lack of quality. i think that's what we're seeing on the russian side. and the real question is what is mr. putin's war aids if he continues to hold a lot of this part of ukraine. >> richard haass, we hope you'll come back on "way too early" soon. thanks for all of you for getting up with us on this wednesday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. well, biden was speaking about the economy, he really tried to express to americans that he feels their pain when it comes to inflation. i'm not sure about his choice of words. watch this. >> look, i know you're frustrated. i know. i can taste it. [ laughter ]

>> wow. americans heard and responded with a resounding ew. >> bizarre. >> president biden -- >> whew. >> on defense. over high consumer prices. >> there you go, inflation in the morning. >> he says inflation is a top domestic priority. and, again, takes aim at maga republicans. we're going to play for you his new comments and have the new inflation report when it crosses later this morning. plus, a mixed night for trump-backed candidates, with a win in west virginia, but a loss in nebraska. >> boy, that nebraska loss, statewide, it may show again, it may be easier for donald trump to win in smaller congressional races, much harder, statewide, in states like nebraska. maybe pennsylvania, we'll see. >> we'll discuss what this says about the former president's hold on the republican party. and ukraine reports new

gains in kharkiv, saying it has managed to recapture villages. and is pushing back russian forces. we'll have the latest on the counteroffensive in a region that has come under constant attack. >> you know, willie, kharkiv, this battle has been raging since almost the beginning of the war. we have seen, every morning, we go to clint, he goes to the maps. and he just shows us all the russian goals. and kharkiv's one of them that the ukrainians, you see the blue, the counteroffenses, expanding by the day. and this news out of kharkiv, if confirmed, very good news for the ukrainians. >> yeah. it's extraordinary news. i mean, russia's make something progress in the donbas. but if you look at the broader goal as you said of what vladimir putin set out before he changed the goalpost a few weeks ago. set tout to roll across ukraine, and the map tells the story

right there. he's getting some of what he wants, although not all of what he wants in donbas. in terms of major cities, kharkiv say northeastern city, he thought he was going to be well into and have a hold of by now. >> yeah. >> let alone going into places like kyiv. he has failed that the. zelenskyy has succeeded on that side. and the ukrainian military has done its job. but the fight rages on in the east. >> it really does. and by the way, mika, as we set this up for everybody, there's conflicting reports about what's going on in donbas. the pentagon doesn't see a lot of progress in russia. the russians say they're doing quite well there. so, we will let our viewers decide whether they believe the pentagon, or whether they believe the russians. >> yeah. >> if you believe the russians, well, there are other channels for you, both here sand abroad. >> okay. with us we have u.s. special correspondent for bbc news katty kay. and associate editor for the

russian post, david ignatius is with us this morning. and host of "way too early" and white house coordinator, jonathan lemire. we will begin with ukrainian forces they have recaptured key areas. president zelenskyy said they took tack three areas. they got it back. he also says ukrainian forces were gradually pushing the russians away from the city which has seen constant bombardment since the war began. officials say the counterattack near kharkiv could signal a new phase, with ukraine now going on the offensive. ukraine says its forces are also engaged on a fierce fight on snake island to drive out the russians. the island located in the black sea about 80 miles off the coast of the city of odesa is a

strategic prize for the kremlin. the ukrainian military says it is using drones and fighter jets, in an attempt, to drive out russian forces. the military released this video over the weekend of what it said was a strike on a russian helicopter. according to the british military, ukraine's assault on the island is helping disrupt moscow's attempts to expand its influence. during the early days of the invasion, ukrainian soldiers stationed on the island used an expletive to rebuff a demand by the now sunk russian warship "moscav" to surrender. >> you know, david ignatius, you can't help but hear, whether it's coming from the russians, whether it's coming from the ukrainians or even if it's coming from british or american

intelligence, you still -- it's almost like you have -- almost like you can disregard a lot of the russian information. we're still sorting through this right now, earlier on "way too early," richard haass talked about a stalemate in eastern russia. is that how you put it right now, based on all the information you have? >> yeah, joe, i think we're in a period of prolonged slugging it out on the ground. the ukrainians are taking -- taking some territory back. the russians continue a relentless slow push west in donbas region. i think the hardest contest will be along the black sea coast, really quite horrific rough attacks on odesa are a sign of that. the point, i think, that u.s. analysts have been trying to make is that in this period of russian difficulty, not much progress, sometimes mixed martial arts analysts talk about

ground and pound, as the strategy that fighters use. and that's what we're seeing. ground and pound. tough tactics day to day. in that period, the russians may grow frustrated. and they may seek to escalate this conflict in ways that would be dangerous to united states and nato. i think that's the message we're hearing from u.s. official, and officials, avril haines yesterday in her testimony. on the ground, i think we're seeing small changes in position. but not fundamental victories, kharkiv is a sign that ukraine is able to fight back but we shouldn't see a strategic meaning in that. >> there is a back and forth, of course, katy, you had for years, the russians trying to take control of the donbas. according to director haines,

this is going to be a long hard slog. and yet, you do have the ukrainian foreign minister saying that ukraine's victory is ever evolving. we said in the beginning, they were talking about the survival of kyiv and the regime. now, they're talking about driving off the russian navy, reopening those black seaports, taking control of all of donbas. it does look like the two sides are going further apart, instead of coming closer together for a negotiated settlement? >> yeah, nobody i speak, to either from europe or here in the u.s., joe, at the moment thinks of any chance of negotiation for exactly the reasons that you point out. the ukrainians or the russians don't want it. they're prepared to carry on this big fight for as long as it takes, potentially. and the ukrainians feel they're making victories and now saying we could actually push the russians right out of the donbas. as richard haass said earlier on "way too early," actually, the russians are in a better position territorially, than

they were before this war began. they're not winning by any means, as the intelligence chief said up on capitol hill yesterday. at the moment, it's not clear that either side can really call this a victory. what this means for ukraine, i think, they have to carry on, really trying to make sure the rest of the world doesn't lose interest. you see them doing that. you see them saying the fact that the odesa port is not working means there will be food shortages around the world. in other words, this is the world's war, the united states war. not just ukraine's war. one thing that ukrainian officials are worried that we lose interest. and there will be less pressure on western governments to carry on the aid supplies and military supplies that are helping ukraine. they know they need us. which is why you're seeing this kind of push by zelenskyy to wake the world up, saying, look, you are going to suffer from the fact that the russians are bombing odesa as well, as

ukrainians are suffering. >> for now, the west has engaged, the house of representatives passed last night, actually, $40 billion worth of aid that moves to the senate now. as joe mentioned, russia's claiming its forces have made significant gains in eastern ukraine, three weeks after moscow launched its offensive there. the russian defense ministry yesterday said its troops have advanced to the border between donetsk and luhansk, the two russian-speaking provinces together known as the donbas. the kremlin's statement comes just a day after a pentagon assessment revealed russians had not made any progress on the ground. as david ignatius just said, the director of national intelligence told the senate armed services committee even if russia does capture the donbas region, the war is likely to continue. >> the next month or two of fighting will be significant, as the russians attempt to

reinvigorate their efforts. if successful, we're not confident that the fight in the donbas will effectively end the war. we assess that president putin is preparing for a long conflict in ukraine which he aims to achieve goals beyond the donbas. suggesting he regards the decision in late march to focus on the donbas is only a temporary shift to regain the initiative after the failure to capture kyiv. >> director avril haines there saying putin has greater ability in endurance and probably counting on the u.s. resolve to weaken as food shortages and in gets worse. jonathan, a couple of competing narratives. the russian foreign ministry, it should be viewed as great skepticism, saying ukraine is the aggressor in this war to begin with but what is the

pentagon, what is the white house view of this? vladimir putin can have all of these goals, he's shown no ability to execute them. in fact, he's been pushed back in the other direction but director haines made it clear there that ukraine and united states should be prepared to go on for some time. >> yeah, a kremlin fact-checker would be pretty busy, willie. but, no, you're right. there is an area of agreement on this, both u.s. and russia say, the center is the donbas. and both sides seem to be preparing for a long slog. officials i spoke to yesterday in the wake of that testimony say this will go months, if not a year or more. and they do feel putin does have natural advantages. supply lines much shorter there from russia into the donbas region. they've been in that territory for a while. to be clear, so have the ukrainians. that's their home and they've also been able to reinforce. it was noted to me by a senior official last night, though

putin did not use the victory day, that may 9th moment, to call for, you know, a mass mobilization, a full-scale deployment of troops, or official declaration of war, they still have a significant advantage in manpower. whether putin chooses to use that or not remains to be seen. but putin, of course, does not have the domestic political considerations that president biden does or other western leaders. yes, of course, he is mindful of public opinion. he knows that at a certain point, though this war has broad support in the sense that it's thin and he doesn't want people to turn against him there. we know how paranoid he is about his own power. but he doesn't have midterm elections to worry about this november. we heard from president biden yesterday, we heard from other european leaders as well express worry about things like inflation and costs. that's putin's bet. that at a certain point, western resolve will fade. as the story moves farther back in the newspaper, headlines

become less dire we settle into a slog. that eventually, western leaders will not necessarily lose interest but be able to commit less to the cause. that's when putin thinks he can take advantage. >> well, you know, we've been hearing that for some time. and i certainly, from people the people i'm talking to on the hill, i certainly am not hearing it. it seems that there's a contest on who can flex their muscles more and say glory to ukraine. republicans or democrats. so, it's not happening there. i do fear that maybe leaders like macron who go sideways and once again have dreams of a new security compact in europe led by the french but that ain't happening. the day that -- yesterday, let's go back to director haines and her testimony -- by the way, just a side note, she had to answer some of the stupidest questions. dumbest questions i've ever heard on capitol hill before. they were so dumb, they made my teeth hurt.

watching, to even talk about it, i felt sorry for her. that she had to go and answer some of those questions. my god. but enough of that. the headlines there, though, david, and what i took note of, i know you did, too. she talked about a war that could become more unpredictable, and escalatory. and i'm curious, your thoughts there. we haven't talked since may 9th, since putin's speech. and just wondering what your general read is of vladimir putin right now. and whether he may -- may follow through on many of the threats? or whether he is just going to put his head down and grind this out, remembering, as i said yesterday, what johann croy said if you can't win, for god's sake, don't lose. >> putin is a grinder, the

russian people are good at protracted difficult contests, we've seen that in wars for centuries. i felt the most important thing that director avril haines was saying was that the hopes that many have expressed that the russians, in focusing on the donbas, focusing on the northeast in ukraine might be playing for a tie, in effect. might be playing for a smaller stake that they would seize. a smaller territory, then have a cease-fire line. and they would occupy that southern area, southeastern area of ukraine. and avril haines as i understood, no, putin's goals remain fundamentally the same. he's still in the water trying to protect kyiv, deflect the course of ukraine, pull it away

from its alliance with the west. she was saying that mismatch with that continuing ambition, he still wants to be a big player in the center of the europe. and his capabilities which are now limited. she said he couldn't achieve the things he wants to do. he couldn't seize the whole southern coast along the black sea. that mismatch could lead to a frustrating situation for him, in which he might be tempted to escalate. i thought that was the heart of the message she was trying to convey. his goals are larger than his abilities. and in that situation, people sometimes take higher risks. and watch carefully and prepare ourselves, prepare nato for that possibility. >> mika, as we look at these pictures of vladimir putin on victory day. >> yeah. >> it was a far more subdued putin than i think i've ever seen over the past 20 years in public events. >> yeah. >> and the contrast between what

he was celebrating, this glorious defense of the homeland. 25 million russians dying. and then driving hitler's nazi armies out of the soviet union, to save the country. and as a boy in st. petersburg, growing up in st. petersburg, his family profoundly shaped by the siege. and he had dreams his entire life of returning russia to its old glory. and you almost sensed yesterday, or the day before was the first time it really started to sink in as he was shaking hands with these war heroes, these war vets that he just doesn't live in a country that is capable of rising up to meet the demands

that his dreams are foisting upon him. that's because of the missteps, that's because of the mistakes, that's because of the automatic autocratic moves. >> they thought this was quick and easy and anything but for his military. still ahead on "morning joe," could donald trump have his twitter account back before the midterm elections? >> democrats should hope the answer to that is yes. >> we'll play for you elon musk's comments about the ban for the former president. >> a better way to put that, republicans are praying he doesn't. plus, abortion rights supporters make a direct appeal to senator susan collins. we'll show you the messages that are leaving near her door step. >> and why she called the police. and we'll dive into the contentious back and forth between president biden and republican senator of florida. you're watching "morning joe." we will be right back.

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rick scott a little while ago in your remarks. earlier today, anticipating your remarks he said, and i'm just quoting here, the most effective thing joe biden can do to solve the inflation crisis he created is resign. he's the problem. >> resign -- >> the senator added later, joe biden is unwell. he's unfit for office. he's incoherent, incapacitated and not fit for office. his words. how do you respond? >> i think the man has a problem. >> yeah. >> rick scott. >> my god.

>> i love these trumpers, jonathan lemire, that defended a guy that was proud of the fact that he could like spot a water buffalo, dog, cat, cow, woman, camera, or whatever it was. trump still going around bragging that he doesn't have dementia, according to this test. and the things that he said, he just is lost when he talks so often. and the fact that trumpers go after joe biden, unbelievable. hey, joe's not shakespeare, okay? nobody ever said he was. >> not even close. >> joe wasn't shakespeare 40 years ago, right? but, again, seriously, you're a trumper, and you're criticizing joe biden because he's not articulate? that's kind of crazy. but, it got personal awful fast.

but jonathan lemire, it's almost like rick scott understands he really stepped in it, not only for himself but the republican party. because at this time, this economic time of hardship for working class and middle class americans, he says that they're deadbeats on taxes. there are deadbeats that need to pay higher taxes. rick scott, the republican super-maga plan says that middle class and working class americans are deadbeats, he says, those deadbeats, rick scott says, and the maga republicans say aren't paying their fair share of taxes. poor elon musk -- i mean, poor bill gates, how do these guys go to sleep at night knowing that rick scott has identified the problem for republicans? they think the working class are deadbeats that aren't paying enough taxes? >> first, we go to side, i was part of the air force one

maybe years ago when president trump started talking about that cognitive test and doctors said no one had ever done that before, successfully achieved those five words. and years later, he's still doing it from the rally stage. but i think the thing about rick scott here, the tell here is how other republicans have run away from him. and runaway from his plans. mitch mcconnell shoots death stares at rick scott every time he sees them. republicans go into this november's election, strategists say, keep your head down. the environment looks good for republicans. the party in power tends to lose seats. we know inflation, we'll get a report later today is really bad right now. they feel like it's heading their direction. they don't want to commit unforced errors and the rick scott thing is an unforced

error. and attacking president biden for alleged cognitive issues, i mean, it's absurd. does president biden make mistakes. yes. yes, yesterday, he made a mistake saying scott was from wisconsin. certainly, he's never humiliated himself on the public stage like president trump did while in office repeatedly. >> not even close. you start talking about policy, and you have joe biden talking about policy in press conferences. he actually could talk about policy. donald trump never could. but, willie, again, if rick scott were just a back-bencher in the senate, that would be one thing. he runs the republican senate campaign campaign arm, he's the guy giving them information on how to run their campaigns. and he believes that working class americans and middle class americans are deadbeats. and that these billionaires with

rocket ships are paying too much in taxes. he believes that working class americans and middle class americans should be paying more taxes. so, that's -- if you are running for senate, that's what your guy is telling you to say. >> yeah. i mean, this was, as jonathan just said, republicans, not democrats, republicans are running in the other direction from this plan that rick scott put out that is bad business and has given the democratic party, including the president some red meat to use they hope going into the midterms this fall. this is the president yesterday calling out specifically rick scott's plan which the white house says as you just pointed out would raise taxes on working class americans. >> i want every american to know that i'm taking inflation of course seriously. and it's my top domestic priority. 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 profit, raise prices and reprofits at record amounts. really, ask yourself, how well are we going to sleep at night knowing that every five years, maga republicans, if they're still republican, as i said, this is not your father's republican party, if we're going to have to vote on whether you'll have social security? medicare/medicaid, and what amounts you'll have in each of those programs? >> so, democrats obviously, joe, have a tough fight coming up in the fall, if they want to hold on to the house which seems unlikely and even the senate. but to your larger point, this

idea of president biden sort of being out there and losing his cognitive ability, it's not just an off hand remark, it's sort of the thrust of criticism in many corridors from the conservative party from many networks and podcasts and everything else. >> yeah. >> this is it. and as you point out, donald trump who is their almighty in many cases is bragging. and still is bragging in past weeks that he passed the test where you have to identify, a lion, a camel and other animals you may have seen around the zoo. >> it's so complicated. i don't know how he does it. and he's still bragging about it -- lion -- i mean, way to go, don! way to go. by the way, we'll be showing clips later on. alex, just pull up -- "the daily show" had a collection of clips that people need to be reminded, you bring it up, we'll bring it

up, i guarantee you it's not mutually shared destruction, because donald trump looks far more incompetent than anybody that's ever been in that office. katty kay, it's remarkable, what rick scott said, what michael kensy defined as a gap in washington, d.c. where you accidentally tell the truth. you accidentally let people know what you think. and republicans have long believed and rush limbaugh always talked about, "the wall street journal" editorial page always talks about the poor, beleaguered billionaires, they pay so much in taxes. of course, it's ridiculous. amazon paid zero in taxes over the past couple of years, occidental petroleum, nike, other multinational corporations paying less in taxes than ever before. billionaires paying less in

taxes than ever before. the richest of the rich, paying less in taxes than ever before. and in this environment, rick scott says, what every republican believes we really -- we need to tax working class americans so they'll have buy-in to the system. so they'll have buy-in. i can't tell you how many times i've heard that said by republicans behind closed doors. working class americans scrapping to get by, they're deadbeats because it's the billionaires with the rocket ships to mars that are paying too much in taxes. >> yeah, the irony of this is the timing, after two years of global pandemic. who's the only group in the world that's actually done well after the last two years? the ultra wealthy. they got richer and richer during the course of the last two years because the stock market has boomed so much. they're not exactly the most -- most americans would believe are deserving of government help at the moment. they are doing just fine. for the republicans, this is

kind of an odd play which is why i want to talk about rick scott's plan because they're trying to encroach on the traditional democratic field of more working class americans. americans who don't have college degrees, they think that they have room there to try and pick up those votes. that's the area they want to appeal to. the big divide in america is going to be increasingly between educated and uneducated in terms of college degrees. that's where republicans think they can do well. so, why put out a plan that doesn't appeal to those people and appeals to the ultra wealthy who are probably going to vote for you anyway. >> it's just ridiculous. you want to tax working class americans, middle class americans. republicans have aggressively gone against medicaid funding for rural hospitals, for rural health care centers. for rural nursing homes. it's just -- it is -- rural america that is disproportionately paid the price for so many of these

republican cuts. and then, rick scott, again, comes out and says a quiet part out loud for the republicans who have longed believe that poor billionaires get the short end of the stick. but, david ignatius, it goes to a bigger issue. and the bigger issue is, and i know you've seen it through the years, income disparity. it continues to explode. it's not just because of obvious -- it's not because of just the tax system. in the united states. a lot of it has to do, of course, with the information age, you know, elon musk is, you know -- has said before, pretty soon, i'll be able to just hiro bots who can do the job of human beings, far more efficiently. and i know musk believes that and a lot of other people believe that. but we do have a great challenge in this country. regarding income disparity. that's another reason why this

republican plan that attacks middle class and working class workers even more seems so counterintuitive right now. >> joe, i think you're absolutely right. the fundamental growing inequality of the u.s. economy in the time that i've been alive is a striking fact, the rewards to financial capitalism on wall street, compared to rewards for honest work in a steel mill, auto plant, you name it, just those -- the gap gets wider and wider. and i think it's part of what's killing this country. it's part of what gave rise to donald trump. you tour the rust belt, and you see parts of the country that look like they were defeated in war. and somehow, the democrats have got to become the voice of those people who feel dispossessed again. that's the reason that they shouldn't be strong voices.

especially against republican party. that talks about caring for the average man and woman. but still defends the prerogatives of the richest. i'm going to be watching the ohio senate race carefully where tim ryan, pushing from the youngstown rust belt, steel mill area is going to be running against j.d. vance. i think that's going to be a really interesting test. >> yeah. >> of whether democrats can find language to speak to the average working class voter to say your future is better protected with us and here's why. but the fundamental point you make, joe, that really, our country is getting more unfair. everybody sees it. people are angry about it. and sensible democrats have to address it now. i think you're exactly right. >> the democrats should be lined up, mika, with working class americans, with middle class americans, economically. certainly not culturally. they just -- they are as

disconnected culturally from rural americans who should be voting 80% democratic every year, based on economic principles. but democrats have been writing since 2004, books like "what's the matter with kansas"? right? i've always told this story when the afl-cio was going after a lot of my republican classmates. >> uh-huh. >> and just bashing them. and so i started bashing the union bosses in all of my speeches. and a guy comes in, fix my telephone, telephones on the wall, people would fix the temperatures, a guy very quiet. he goes congressman, i said, yes, sir? he said you need to shut up. he goes we're all voting for you. every union member i know is

voting for you, you need to stop bashing the unions. i thought, you know what, i'm slow, but i'm not dumb and i took that to heart. but there you had, again, people -- people who were so culturally divided from the democrat you can party would never consider voting for a democrat. and that's the challenge for democrats right now. economically -- >> yeah. >>, woulding class americans, middle class americans, they line up with democrats economically. they should. and tim ryan, i think, is a perfect candidate to reach out to working class and middle class voters. we'll see how that goes. >> absolutely. and coming up, are the peaceful protests outside the homes of supreme court justices worse than what happened on january 6th? >> i don't see any cops getting beaten up there? do you see cops getting beaten up there. >> i don't see blood or feces.

>> there are any -- no, they're talking about -- >> okay, senator ted cruz does think so. we'll play his had you comments. my god. plus, a night of mixed results for trump-backed candidates in state primaries. but the results in nebraska and west virginia spell for the rest of the primary season. and tom brady has a lucrative retirement gig in place. >> whoever saw this coming. >> for when he calls it quits from the nfl. "morning joe" is back in just a moment. the unknown is not empty. it's a storm that crashes, and consumes,

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it is 6:44 in the morning. a beautiful live picture of the united states capitol. last night, two more trump-backed candidates were on the primary ballot. and for the first time, this election season one of them lost. jim pillen won nebraska's republican primary for governor. he defeated charles herbster who was supported by former president donald trump. trump campaigned for herbster last week. even after eight women accused herbster of inappropriately touching or kissing them against their will. herbster has denied allegations. and in a rare matchup of trump incumbent, trump-backed alex mooney defeated david mckinley in the second congressional district. the new districting combined the lawmakers' districts. trump supported mooney after he voted for the bipartisan

infrastructure and for supporting a commission to investigate the attack on the united states cacapitol. let's bring in editor for politico sam stein. sam, he had the powerful backing of the rickets family. tom osborne supported him as well. he talked about schools, farms did a lot of small events. his opponent, mr. herbster had the backing of trump and latched himself to donald trump, hoping he would carry him over the finish line. it didn't work. at least statewide in nebraska what do you see in this result? >> well, two basic lessons for me, one is that a trump-backed candidate can be toppled if the state party institutions all rally behind someone else. that if you have an infrastructure that says no, we don't want this person, we want that person endorsed by trump it

can work. it might take a bit of a miracle but it can work. the second thing this might be a bit more occam's razor when eight women accuse you of sexually assaulting them. it's despicable on a personal level, but problematic on a political level. this guy, charles herbster, he denied it. he said these are all women trying to -- out to get him. he put himself in the vein of trump himself. for voters this is increasingly problematic. it's a thing can i get behind -- and maybe it works for trump in some context, but it doesn't work here. >> it does. >> yeah, it did work for trump, obviously. but you look at the people that he endorsed, sam, there's quite a few. let's start with herschel walker. >> yeah. >> if republicans actually have standards when it comes to those type of charges, then a lot of

people that donald trump supported are in trouble. i will tell you what's also so interesting here is, one republican heavyweight after another republican heavyweight, one republican standard-bearer after another have seemed to go up against donald trump since 2015 and lost. ricketts and the ricketts family. >> right. >> went up against donald trump and wiped the floor with him. i was fascinated that, you know, governor ricketts and the ricketts family had absolutely no fear of donald trump. and by the way, what kind of message does that send that a guy with a future in republican politics is like, eh, i don't care who trump's for, i'm going all in. and man, the ricketts went all in and hmiliated donald trump in nebraska. >> yeah, look, you can't say trump's influence is anything,

pretty powerful in republican ranks that we've seen in a couple of races. but i don't think it's as powerful as depicted in certain media accounts. obviously, he won last night in west virginia. he helped elevate j.d. vance in the ohio primary. it pays to have his endorsement in the context of a republican primary but it's not insurmountable. nebraska had a fairly robust electing apparatus, they've been elected in the state for a long time. the ricketts family has a ton of money and cache in the state. if you get behind a good candidate and a troubled opponent it can work. and i think you're absolutely right, he said, you know what, i'm going to stand up for this candidate. i'm not going to bow down to trump, i'm going to roll the dice and he came out. >> everybody, sam stein, he's very, very important -- >> why? >> he's just got a busy schedule.

>> alex just got in my ear, he said mr. stein can answer one more question. so mr. stein, i don't know what you have going but obviously -- >> you just need this studio. you need to get someone else in this place for me. that's how unfortunate i am. >> oh, you know what, can i just say the southerner in me loves the false humility. >> yeah. it's true. >> you're an honorary southerner. politico's sam stein, thank you so much. >> get out of the chair. >> following up with what happened in nebraska, of course, donald trump does still have power with the party. but vance, you know, not only had trump, he had peter till's $10 million that got pumped into j.d. vance's campaign. how fast that the ricketts basically tell trump to get lost in nebraska and humiliating there. and i think what is so new this year, what we're seeing, katty,

is the fear that everybody in the party used to have for trump, top to bottom. that fear's going away. desantis hasn't fledged for months, when they keep wanting to hear him say that he won't run if donald trump runs, pompeo won't say it, chris christie won't say it. a lot of republicans, they just don't fear donald trump anymore. and that fear, i mean, that's what -- that's how he maintained power for so long in the party. >> yeah. i mean, there are two kind of parallel narratives. you've got the candidates who have been flying down to mar-a-lago and asking trump for his endorsement. even that kind of bizarre scene from pennsylvania where they flew down shouting about each other and criticizing in front of donald trump like a scene from "the apprentice" playing

out in american politics. you've got candidates as in nebraska prepared to go up against donald trump. i think the more interesting story, perhaps, out of ohio, for democrats, something that democrats need to watch carefully was the turnout in the republican senate primary was twice that than the democratic senate primary. that might be because they had two candidates on the democratic side. when it points to enthusiasm, that is something that democrats have got to watch carefully. it's being described as an alarm bell in ohio. they need to know they need to get that enthusiasm up on their side by november. still ahead, newly released recordings of senator lindsey graham praising president biden and criticizing former president trump. lindsey, lindsey got all teary-eyed talking about what a great man joe biden is. remember that? >> this is right after the

january 6th insurrection. >> and then he changed his mind again, i, i -- okay, i'm back on. >> joe. >> senate democrats give a surprise order in today's vote on abortion rights. we'll get into why putting lawmakers on the record could actually back fire ahead of the midterms. "morning joe" is coming right back. ready to style in just one step? introducing new tresemme one step stylers. five professional benefits. one simple step. totally effortless. styling has never been easier. tresemme. do it with style.

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♪♪ live look at chicago this morning. a few minutes before the top of the hour. time now for a look at the morning papers. in maine, the "morning sentinel" reports senator susan collins' husband called police on saturday upon discovering a pro-abortion message written in chalk. >> well, of course, you know, you call the police, willie,

obviously, if somebody writes on a sidewalk, a public sidewalk with chalk, my god. i mean, what -- >> or just wait till it rains. . >> what's next? what are they going it do next? play hacky sack out in front of you? this is something you must call police about. >> whenever there's little girls playing chalk and double hop scotch in front of the house, i call police. >> i've seen, willie, talking about otb, he will run out, he's in his robe. with his pipe and going -- >> yeah. >> so, yeah, we understand -- no, can you imagine, like we're all public figures here, just between us. can you imagine calling the police if somebody's like writing in chalk?

on a public sidewalk. i mean, why would you waste the police's time. >> yeah, i mean, if it's threatening, if there's some direct threat, you might let law enforcement know. but compared to what we're seeing across the country outside of some other homes, the chalk seems like small potatoes. >> well, and also, compared some people pointed out yesterday, mika, compared to what women and teenage girls have had to endure going into clinics over the past two decades. >> yeah. >> i mean, come on, seriously, snowflake? give me a break. >> well, police reported to the senator's home, but determined, as you all have very colorfully -- >> it was colorful chalk. >> -- yeah, the message did not constitute a crime. you there go, chalk art, not a crime. all right. since then the bangor news reports that more abortion rights chalk messages have

appeared outside of the senator's home. this is how you get more chalk art. collins said she will vote against the abortion rights bill. >> of course, she will. >> she claims it does not provide an exemption for health care providers who don't want to perform abortions because of religious objections. it's always something. >> it's always something. i will say, what would be wonderful for the democratic leader of the united states senate to put on the floor, willie, and i don't know, maybe he won't do it, but if he just put a clean roe v. wade bill on the floor. then susan collins, lisa murkowski and joe manchin would be hard-pressed to vote against it. in fact, i think if they put that clean roe v. wade bill on the floor that would be the real test here. put it on the floor. >> yeah.

>> uphold roe v. wade as is now written and interpreted by the court today. and see what collins, murkowski and manchin do. >> yeah, i mean, if you look at the public polling on the idea of pulling back or keeping in place roe v. wade, it's pretty clear that americans support it. you might get republican support, you might in this climate, who knows. but the bill that's being put forth by democrats is purely symbolic, and to this point, they're putting a signal to the base that we're fighting if the supreme court rules that it's going away, roe v. wade is going away. here we are sticking up for you to elect more democrats in the fall to get supreme court justices, et cetera. it will fail, this bill, but they're sending a signal. >> interesting. it is the top of the hour. president biden says inflation is a top domestic priority and goes hard at republicans saying their policies will make things worse. we're going to have his remarks

and we'll bring you the new inflation numbers when they cross later this morning. we're also keeping a close eye on the markets after another volatile trading session with tech giants losing more than a trillion dollars in value over the past three days. and the latest from ukraine, president volodymyr zelenskyy says his troops are pushing back russian forces from the country's second largest city kharkiv. even recapturing several villages. we'll have that new reporting and the remarks from the top u.s. spy chief that vladimir putin believes he can stay in the fight long enough to wear down the west. jonathan lemire, katty kay and david ignatius are still with us. and joining the conversation, msnbc contributor mike barnicle this morning. >> david ignatius, why don't you set the table for us at the top of the 7:00 hour for viewers

just tuning in right now. where do you see the russian/ukrainian war at this moment? >> joe, i think this war is heading toward a bloody stalemate. the russians continue to want a version of what they set out to get which is essentially political control over ukraine. they don't have the forces to achieve that, so we're getting a brutal battle on the ground. i read president putin's relatively restrained remarks monday on victory day in moscow, as a sign that he is not going to take big risks. calling up the russian armies, mobilizing what amounts to a draft in russia would raise the stakes for him. i think he's more now in a mind to play it safe, to move forward, slowly and carefully, to let russia's overwhelming force of weapons and troops carry the day. and i think we just have to in our minds recognize this is a long fight.

continue to stick with the ukrainians, recognize their bravery. but when i see the pictures coming out of mariupol or kharkiv, or any of these cities and realize that the determination that their fighters and civilians have shown, it just makes you want to do everything we can as a country to help them stay in the fight, help them resist what will be a long, tough russian battle to suppress them. and we just hope that the sanctions, joe, that are in place. >> yep. >> -- in place months from now, will begin to wear down that russian war machine so that putin will finally conclude this is not worth the cost for me or my country. but for now -- >> and mike barnicle -- >> for now, it's going to go forward. >> go forward. mike barnicle, you have known, obviously, the president of the united states for four decades. you know how he thinks.

you obviously have great contacts inside the white house. where is the president of the united states right now and how far is he willing to go to help the ukrainians in their fight for freedom? does he think the country is going too far? does he think the united states is getting into dangerous ground here by sending more and more weapons or is he all in, in for a penny, in for a pound? >> well, i'm today, joe that the feeling within the white house, not just with the president of the united states, but the feeling within the white house about this war is that they are all in to the extent that the signing of the rekindled win lease act the other day is part of the fact that they're all in. but they're very, very weary, and it's been reported on this that the president was livid about the intelligence leaks, with the intense of bragging about what our intelligence has done in ukraine. you know, outlining the fact that soviet generals have been killed, russian generals have

been killed, because of our intelligence assistance, they were not happy with that. but there's another element that's been introduced into this after the speech the other day by vladimir putin. and i'm told that one of the tells in that speech is vladimir putin actually mentioning the war's dead in russia. and that gave, i think, intelligence officials here some sense of hmm, he is not stupid. he is not going to give up. but he is aware of the impact of the tremendous casualties the russian army has taken thus far. and this is like two fighter, both up against the ropes. but vladimir putin, i think, now understands something that we learned in vietnam. that no matter how much territory he captures in the donbas or wherever, in the east of ukraine, he is never going to be able to capture the hearts and minds of the ukrainian people. again, harkening back to our

experience in vietnam, this is their country. it's not putin's country. it's the country that belongs to the hearts and minds of ukrainian citizens and that is something that cannot and will not be defeated. >> he can't own that property. he can only lend it. he can take it, but he's going to be giving it back. let's go to the bbc's katty kay, katty, we've seen the eu and u.s. stand shoulder to shoulder in ways that many have found extraordinary. that i found extraordinary. it looks like we are going to have finland and sweden moving into nato sometime in the near future. i'm curious, what's the reaction been, not only in britain, but across the continent, to macron's bizarre statements the other day that undercut the eu president. saying that it might be years before ukraine is admitted into the eu, that by letting them --

and now it might, i'm using his words here, shockingly enough, lower the standards of the eu. what in the world's going on there? and do you suspect that ukraine will still be fast-tracked as a membership? >> that's of the mind and gave him zelenskyy the envelope here is what you fill in for admission into the european union there was perhaps an over optimistic sense this was going to happen quickly. those were only the first forms. it's very clear from my reading from european officials it was going to take quite a lot of time before ukraine got admitted. it wasn't just going to be a few weeks. there is a process that has to be gone through but macron coming out yesterday and throwing cold water almost on the whole notion of ukraine joining, is odd, particularly from him, who wants to play this role of making the european union strong. and you've got so many members

of the european union at the moment who would like to -- particularly central european ones -- who would like ukraine to be admitted quickly. macron is kind of a wildcard in european politics. and with angela merkel at the scene as a domineering political figure in the eu anyway, he has his own agenda. i don't think anyone really thought it was going to happen within weeks. it's going to take time for the ukrainians to get there. what ukraine needs is for the west to carry on being united in a way, joe, you're right, that it's been remarkable. and the conservative that i've hearing, perhaps as we head into autumn and fall and the weather gets colder and the food is not being harvested in ukraine. the grain isn't being harvested in ukraine. and there are, you know, food price hikes across europe, then you might see some kind of strain inside the alliance and inside the western alliance and european union. >> let's look at where we are

right now. ukrainian forces say they have recaptured key territories near the country's second largest city kharkiv. president volodymyr zelenskyy says troops retook four villages forth of the city. he also said ukrainian successes were gradually pushing the russians away from the city which has been under constant bombardment since the war began. officials say the counterattack near kharkiv could signal a new phase, with ukraine now going on the offensive. willie. >> meanwhile, ukrainian fighters still inside that steel plant in mariupol are making another plea for help, urging the international community to evacuate their wounded. in an interview with nbc news yesterday, one of the fighters from ukraine's far-right group the azov regiment, saidle soldiers are in critical conditions and living in unsanitary conditions. he urged the world to evacuate

them so they could get the necessary medical aid. he also shared these photos of his injured fighters. many with amputated limbs, this as the group said russian shelling continues unabated. adding it doesn't stop, quote, not even for a moment. the governor of the donetsk region says over 100 civilians still remain trapped inside the battered plant. even after a series of evacuation missions. over the weekend, ukrainian officials said all civilians from the mill have been evacuated. meanwhile, a ukrainian man who survived unthinkable conditions in mariupol wants the world to see what he saw. sharing photos of his city before and after the russian invasion. nbc news' erin mclack mclocklin

has story. >> how beautiful. >> reporter: until the russian troops arrived in mariupol nothing was left unscathed by the russian assault. >> the best school of mariupol. >> reporter: the school where his children studied. the supermarkets where he shopped. the basement where his neighbors sheltered, all gone. people were in the basement and when the bomb exploded they were rush, he says. nobody could get them out. they're still there. images tell a haunting story of tragedy, but also of hope. a people pulling together, despite having little food, no running water or electricity, and yet, still finding a reason to smile as the weeks pressed on, the horror hit closer and closer. until a shell exploded when he was desperately searching for his wife inside his mother-in-law's home. i was covered by the ruins of the building, he says. i could not hear at all. i had a concussion. but i was alive. following a separate attack, his nephew's son, an 8-year-old boy

and his family all sheltered together in a basement. where the little boy kept a diary. a page from that diary reads, my grandfather died. i have a wound on my back. torn skin. my sister has a head injury. my mother has a hole in her leg. and henne readings the final words of the boy's entry out loud. >> my farewell to mariupol has died. a small boy, his city has died. that's all. >> reporter: a chilling portrait of innocence lost to war. a city destroyed and a man who says they'll never be the same. >> erin mclaughlin reporting for us from the ground in ukraine. jonathan lemire, ukraine still needs support. it needs aid, both military and humanitarian as we can see on the streets of mariupol there and across the country. $40 billion worth of it passed through the house last night.

it now moves to the senate. an overwhelming bipartisan vote in the house. what does it look like in the senate? and what has president biden done in that body to help push this through? >> willie, first on mariupol, some conflicting reports a day or so ago, we've been told that all the civilians out of that steel plant. now, that of that azov far right group said this is 100 or owe still there. we're watching that carefully. as far as the aid package goes. first of all, it was increased. the house voted for $40 billion the white house proposal was originally 33. and it now goes to the senate and the president of the united states just this week in a significant move said he would be in favor of decoupling the ukraine aid from the covid funding. now, we can talk about that another time. about how it doesn't make sense to dlal covid funding as we see cases rise throughout the country. and the white house jut warned us on monday, they think there could be 100 million new

infections by the fall. they're setting that aside to get the aid through. that's where president biden and the senior staff have been on the phone with lawmakers saying, look, this meets as the priority. we have to get this done. we heard from the ukrainian foreign minister instead saying they're running out of weapons in conflicts in the east and they need this as quickly as possible. there's some hope that the senate will get this done in the near future. and that the steady flow of weapons and equipment can keep going to ukraine as their need increases with his largest set-piece battle beginning in the donbas. >> yeah, as you said, mitch mcconnell requested that those two be decoupled. the covid relief from ukraine. look like he's got that now. we should see it move through the senate. we'll come back to ukraine in a moment, but let's stay in the united states senate, republican ted cruz of texas told fox news the protests outside the homes of supreme court justices are worse than what happened on january 6th. here's what he said. >> what we're seeing, these

images, are the latest manifestation of just how extreme how radical the democratic party is getting. today's democrat party believes in violence. they believe in mob rule, they believe in sbim dax. these thugs have no business at the private homes of any government officials. these supreme court justices or anyone else. on january 6 of 2021, you had tens of thousands of people peacefully protesting and yet the corporate media and democrats slander them with the madeup term insurrectionists. and yet in this instance, they are not willing to call off their goons. >> peacefully protesting on january 6, says senator cruz. for context, monday night dozens of people did march to the home of justice samuel alito who authored the leaked draft of the majority opinion that would overturn roe v. wade. that demonstration came after marches over the weekend of

brett kavanaugh and chief justice john roberts. mike barnicle, you don't even want to humor it by discussing it, the comparison of what we're seeing outside of the homes of the supreme court justices which many people do not support, by the way, protesting outside the private homes of those justices, but comparing that to what we obviously the violent attacks on police officers and everything else that happened on january 6 is outrageous. but ted cruz wants to us say it's outrageous. >> yeah, well, it's ted cruz. but i mean, that's like a wowser, listening him equate january 6th to peaceful protests outside the supreme court justices' homes. what makes it more of a wowzer. he clearly had to think what he was going to say. it was contrived and aimed at a specific case of this political party, the nut case wing of his

political party. it's outrageous for him. a united states senator, one of only 100 people elected to represent the country in the united states senate to speak like is that, so so twist and distort the truth, the visual truth, of what everyone in america saw and compare that to a peaceful protest outside of the supreme 0 court justices' homes. it's got to make you wonder, actually at some level about his sanity. >> set ago side the political wisdom. the two events are not cobbled. the word is "peaceful" as you said. there's no violence whatsoever. we're seeing people marching in the streets their chanting. there are no hockey sticks. no trump flags being used to attack police officers or chase lawmakers down the hallways fearing for their lives. let's remember that ted cruz himself in the immediate aftermath of january 6 called those protests, engaged in violence, called them terrorists. and he had to gravel and look

for an apology from tucker carlson because tucker carlson is probably the most influential voice in the republican party behind donald trump took offense to that. nd that has set the template now for the vast majority of republicans, ted cruz, one of the senators who voted to overturn the election results, to decertify the election results. and the republican committee, the official policy of the republican party claiming what happened on january 6 was legitimate political discourse. and we are still seeing that now. mika. >> another example of republican senators changing their tune, the two "the new york times" reporters who wrote the new book about the 2020 election and its aftermath are reece looking more audio of republicans reacting to the january 6 attack on the capitol. jonathan martin interviewed senator lindsey graham on january 6, after the capitol attack. in which graham praises joe

biden. and then criticizes donald trump's behavior during the insuction. >> wheel actually come out of this thing stronger. moments like this reset. people will calm down. people will say i don't want to be associated with that. this is a group within a group. what this does, there will be a rally effect for a while. the country says we're better than this. >> and biden will help that, right? >> totally. he'll be maybe the best person to have, right. i mean, how mad can you get at joe biden? he's a misjudged the passion. he plays the tv game and he went too far. that rally didn't help talking about primarying liz. he created a sense of revenge. >> willie, willie --

>> wow. >> it is just -- it is -- >> these guys. >> how can things be so predictable and yet so stunning at the same time? i mean, predictable, because they've all done it before, stunning that any man would do that, would go out, or any woman would do that, would go out and say -- the quote here is joe biden, yeah, the best person to have, because who can be mad at joe biden, right? he said, we're better than this. that's what he said on january 6th, and then as we reported here on "morning joe," three people and the hound dog chased lindsey at national airport. and he got so scared that -- well, i don't know what he did immediately. but i know after he changed his tune completely. instead of going i'm off this train forever! >> joe -- the imitations.

>> people came up to him and he completely changed his tune. i just want to make sure i have the quote right here. alex, is this quote right? did lindsey say -- do you have that tape again, t.j., that joe biden is the best person to have, who can get mad at him? do we have that tape? because i don't -- i want to make sure i got this right. because i know, we got a retiree in south florida that watches us. and i want -- yeah. you can run that, please, i want to hear this again. >> we'll actually come out of this thing stronger. moments like this reset. people will calm down. people will say, i don't want to be associated with that. this is a group within a group. what is this does, there will be a rallying effect for a while, the country says we're better than this. >> and biden will help that, right? >> totally. he'll be maybe the best person

to have, right. i mean, how mad you can get at joe biden? >> oh, my gosh. >> joe, the chronology is on the night of january 6, remember, lindsey graham on the senate floor said, quote, count me out. enough is enough. >> right. >> this is a bridge too far. we cannot do this, in this country. two days later, january 8th, two days, 48 hours, less than 48 hours, walking through reagan national airport. a group of trump supporters confront him. call him a traitor, saying the election was rigged. very quickly thereafter, he saw the political winds blowing. decided he better hop back on that train that he said he was off. but those tapes as ever are so revealing. lindsey graham likes joe biden. they've known each other forever. he cried about him, remember, famously, a few years ago, in the back seat, talking about his life experience, and it was very moving. a democrat and republican

getting along in washington. we're getting a glimpse of who these people are based on what they say. publicly and privately, in the line that jumped out at me, after january 6th, lindsey graham saying no one is going to want to be associated with it. but they felt they had to be because to cross donald trump is going to cost their power and political seats. >> and then he said, we're better than this. and he proved that he and kevin mccarthy and a lot of other people, not better than this. and how fascinating, liz cheney, how fascinating. he brings up liz cheney. right? and then you got kevin mccarthy on the phone with liz cheney talking about the 25th amendment. talking about going to talk to trump. getting him out thereof. this is a funny thing with trumpers, why do you change? why do you want -- you know, i heard it from republicans in general for years, why have you changed?

you know, the party's gotten crazy as hell. and the party changed. but here you have liz cheney, i'm like, liz -- the same, same as it ever was. talking. same as it ever was. same as it ever was. you've got kevin going like this. he's all over the place -- oh, i love donald. i hate donald. this is donald trump's fault! yeah, liz, let's figure out how -- i'm going to go talk to donald and tell him to resign to get out. you know, and liz is saying, okay. and liz stays the same. and these poor, feckless, weak, cowardly guys go down and shine donald trump's shoes. it's just -- it's unbelievable. people are -- liz hasn't changed.

lindsey's changed. and kevin's changed. and the republican party has changed. since january 6th. but i will say, mika, the one thing that is constant that, willie you and i have said, for five, six years now, is republicans say one thing about donald trump on the air. and off the air, even people who have worked with him trash him. they can't stand him. and that's why earlier this morning, we talked about the ricketts said to hell with donald trump, we're going to run him over politically. the fact that the ricketts aren't scared of donald trump, and they humiliated donald trump in nebraska sends a message -- sends a message to a lot of other republicans that you can take this guy on, and you can beat him. well, still ahead on "morning joe," we're going to continue our coverage on the war in ukraine with military analysis from a pair of retired u.s. army generals. also, ahead, the u.s.

futures board looks good right now. but a key inflation report could swing the markets the other way. we'll have the numbers as soon as they come out. and insight from cnbc's andrew ross sorkin. we'll be right back. i would just say to my republican colleagues can we move forward without president trump? the answer is no. i've always liked liz cheney, but she's made a determination that the republican party can't -- can't grow with president trump. i've determined we can't grow without him. my asthma felt anything but normal. ♪♪ it was time for a nunormal with nucala.

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it's 31 past the hour. elon musk says if his purchase of twitter goes through, he's going to restore former president trump's account. musk said that yesterday during a virtual appearance at the "financial times" future of the car conference. >> are you planning to let donald trump back on? >> i think this -- the general question of should twitter have limited bans? and, you know, i talked to jack dorsey about this, and he and i are of the same mind which is that prohibitive bans should be extremely rare and reserved for people who are -- for accounts

that are bots or spam/scam accounts where's there no legitimacy to be accountable. i do think that it was not correct to ban donald trump. i think that was a mistake. because it -- it alienated a lot of the country and did not ultimately result in donald trump not having a voice. i think it was a morally bad decision and foolish in the extreme. >> oh, okay. well, this is very interesting insight, willie. so if he brings him back, donald trump will have his voice again for more defamation and other things that he puts out there that aren't true. you know, twitter made a decision to take him off. and there were reasons for it. it's just interesting that elon musk did not address those.

because that's one of the big problems that we're confronting not just with twitter but other platforms. where people's character can be defamed. where slurs can fly. unchecked. and so here he goes, bringing it back. might be, politically, though, a win for democrats. maybe people need to see him again. >> yeah, i mean, you'll get to see his thoughts in realtime, i understand what he's saying. but as you point out it also gives him the opportunity to spew the raw sewage of conspiracy that he's prone to spew there. we'll see if the guard rails and checks are stronger than they were previously. let's turn to msnbc political analyst peter beinart. peter, it's good to see you. we were talk about a nuclear attack, some nuclear attack from russia. but you've got a piece in "the new york times" about the iran nuclear deal titled biden could make the world safer but he's too afraid of the politics.

peter writes, president biden has the chance to avert a nuclear crisis that could push the united states to the brink of war and threaten the coalition he's built to counter russia but he's not seizing it. no president can carry out everything in his party's platform, of course. but mr. biden won't even repeal policies imposed by the president he defeated and reinstate those of the president he served. in the case of iran, that unwillingness is both absurd and dangerous. if mr. biden thinks the midterm campaign looks bleak now, imagine the effect on democratic fortunes. or if it punks united states into other middle eastern war. by avoiding a political headache mr. biden is courting an even greater one down the road. mr. biden wants to play it safe. it can't. peter, before we dig into the argument, let's take a step back with everyone immersed in covid

and ukraine, and everything else happening what is the stake in the iran deal? >> as you rememberer donald trump pulled united states out of the iran deal that barack obama had signed and since then, iran has moved much closer to building a nuclear weapon. so close that by the end of the year, they could be just days away from having the capacity to build a nuclear weapon. if the united states restores the iran deal, it's not perfect, but it will stop that, it will keep them at least a few weeks away, rather than getting to this crisis point. but as i argue in my piece, that would require doing something which is very politically controversial. removing the terrorism designation for the iranian revolutionary guard corps. and biden doesn't want to pick that fight. even though his own secretary of state admits it's actually meaningless because we have so many other sanctions on that same group. >> so, walk us through. we know how president and the white house very encouraged by

the state of their alliance, in terms of battling russia. but what's the relationship here with european partners in the united states in terms of this deal with iran? >> well, if you remember, this was a huge conflict between united states and its european allies, france, britain, germany, when trump pulled out of the iran deals. one of the reasons people talked about the entire western alliance fracturing. so you can imagine the negative impact on those relationships if it becomes clear that the iran deal is not coming back. and we go to the brink of war. or israel goes to the brink of war, since if iran is within days of being able to build a nuclear weapon, even if the biden administration -- the biden administration said it will not allow iran to get a nuclear weapon. it's really between a rock and a hard place. and israel has made it even more emphatically clear they would take action. this would be a bomb set off inside the coalition that is now so united against russia on ukraine. >> peter, what's more lethal,

what's more likely, that iran quickly gets a nuclear weapon or that israel takes them out? >> i think both are incredibly dangerous. i think if israel attacked probably hezbollah iran's ally in lebanon would launch a war against israel. and we would -- hamas would get -- we would have a regional war what the biden administration really does not need. it might be that the iranians if we're lucky stop just short of turning the key on a nuclear weapon. but even that would be much worse than where we have been over the last few years. and it would increase the likelihood that countries like saudi arabia, turkey, the united arab emirates also move to getting a nuclear weapon. again, none of this is what the world or biden administration needs right now. >> peter, this is david ignatius in washington. i just want to ask you about this question about the foreign terrorist designation for the

irgc -- revolutionary guard corps. you describe it as just politics, and i'm sure there are political issues, but it's an important piece of symbolism. so many americans have been killed, not to mention israelis, lebanese by the irgc's actions. why should they be taken off this list as the price of getting the nuclear deal, like you, i think it would be a good thing for security, but why make that concession? why does that make sense? >> because we have lots of sanctions on them already. and it's not worth, for something that, as you said, and the biden administration has said, and even many hawks have admitted, it's pure symbolism to torpedo the iran nuclear deal and put us on the brink of war with iran just meres days away. yes, the iranian revolutionary corps has done some really, really terrible things, no question about it. but we are not going to be going

soft on them if we lift this terrorist division. how many other sanctions against the same entity do we need to have. >> peter bierart. alga zeeria said a journalist was fatal any shot. its security forces, quote, conducted counterterrorism activity to apprehend terrorist suspects. in the refugee camp. and allegedly came under fire from palestinian gunmen. the defense forces has also announced it would be investigating, quote, the possibility that journalists were hit by the palestinian

gunman. al jazeera's chief said there have been no kills by the gunman. and tweeted that israel offered the palestinians a joint pathological investigation into the killing. we'll see what happens. coming up donald trump's dysfunctional relationship with the media affected how the u.s. dealt with covid-19 and climate change. as well as social unrest over race. and efforts to overturn the 2020 election. a conversation about the adversarial relationship between presidents and journalists during periods of national crisis. that's next on "morning joe."

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45 past the hour. we all know the relationship

former president donald trump had with members of the media. and we don't need to replay the sound bites. it's exhausting, quite frankly. our next guest, though, is taking a look at the adversarial relationship between the press and other past presidents. associate professor at the nettle school of journalist media and marketing communications at northwestern university, john marshall joins us now. he is author of the book "clash: presidents and the press in times of crisis." so, let's start right there. why are times of crisis really the key time to look at the relationship with the media? and what do you deduce in your book? >> so, the reason i focus on times of crisis is because there's always some kind of tense relationship between presidents and the press because their premises are different. when we have a crisis in this country, that is really when the

forces that are coming into play really make themselves are the fiercest. and when we start to get precedent for what the ship is in emergency room its of relationships between the president and the press. >> so, i'm curious what you think has happened to that relationship since the trump presidency. would you contend that there has been damage done to the relationship between the presidency and the press? and can that damage be fixed because the damage i'm talking about, i think, we're still dealing with. and that is, that we're arguing over the truth versus different opinions on issues. there was such an assault on the truth and such a fire hose of falsehoods and conspiracy theorys that came out of this white house, that the relationship became very different.

do you agree? >> mika, you're absolutely right. i think what was different about the trump presidency, other presidents before him, complained right about their press coverage. but trump made criticizing the press and conspiracy theorys and talking violently about the press at the centerpiece of his presidency. and made discrediting the meia one of his main focuses. other presidents before him would pay lip service to members of the media and free press, no matter how they felt about it, discussed its value. trump was the opposite. consistently talked disparagingly about the press. and it allows conspiracy theorys to rise up. it makes that much harder to

counter disinformation being expressed by people with bad intentions. >> reading some from the book, quote, nixon -- president nixon's relationship with the press was fundamentally different from that of his predecessors. nixon made assault the media and casting journalists as enemies of the american people a central strategy of his administration. he and his top aides entered the white house determined to curb the influence of the washington press corps. nixon's strategy of casting the press as an enemy didn't die with the end of his presidency. conservative leaders and groups nourished the belief that the press is a powerful and dangerous institution that can't be trusted. just as agnew said it was. however, his war against the press outlived him, spreading through american politics and reaching new heights during trump's presidency. trump demonizeded people who delivered the bad news about

covid-19. the fake news media is doing everything possible to make us look bad, he tweeted. sat. he was angry because journalists were chronicling the white house's disorganized response to the pandemic. what i think is marshal, is that if there were tapes like the nixon tapes during the trump years, oh, wait, there were many. there were many tapes. but now we have a party that will play a video and say that's just peaceful protests. they'll take it to a whole new he feel in terms of trying to describe the truth. >> right. so as you said, nixon cast the press as an enemy, but he pretty much would send his underlings out to disparage the press. nixon would still, by and large,

when he talked about the role of the media, would say so positively in public. not behind closed doors but in public. it's that trump would do just the opposite and very publicly go out and cast the media as the enemy and talk even in violent terms about it. that really set the stage, i think, for the january 6th riots. because trump talked for a year claiming that the election was going to be stolen from him. and in this fractured media environment we live in today, where people have their own personalized media bubbles that they live in, trump spread that message to his audience over and over again to the point that people thought that the election had been stolen from him. and trump and his allies

encouraged violence. there's people on talkradio, like glenn beck, saying we need to claw and rake and there needs to be blood. we need to go to war. that message was carried on talkradio and social media inside these right wing bubbles. that's what led us to an attempt to violently overthrow congress and change the results of the 2020 election. >> john, talk a little bit about mistrust of the media and how polls have repeatedly shown that the american public doesn't trust the press anymore. specifically this idea of the press being part of some elite. it's a refrain that populists have used around the world, donald trump used it as well, that it's the elites and people are being misserved by this group of press that don't represent them. but from your book, that's not that new. i thought it was something that had been around for 20, 30

years. but you suggest it goes back beyond that. >> there's always been this sort of anti-elitist strain in american politics. back to nixon again, he gave his famous silent majority speech in 1969 where he was saying the real americans, almost sounded like sarah palin there, but real americans support him. you know, the irony is that our friends on fox news, on talkradio are just as much as part of this supposed elite as any of the people on your show are. but yet these -- their elites are claiming that they're the real americans, even though they're the ones who are trying to overthrow the results of a democratic election. >> new book is "clash,

presidents and the press in times of crisis." john marshall, thank you very much for coming on the show. up next, the latest developments out of eastern europe, including a dire warning from the mayor of mariupol. plus, a night of mixed results for trump-backed candidates in state primaries. what these elections could tell us about the rest of the primary season. and an emergency situation like something you might see in the movies. we'll hoe you the moment a passenger safely landed a plane. "morning joe" is coming right back. entresto is the number one heart failure brand prescribed by cardiologists and has helped over one million people. it was proven superior at helping people stay alive and out of the hospital. 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.

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unbeatable internet from xfinity. made to do anything so you can do anything. whoa. all right. let's take another quick look at some of the stories making front pages across the country. the new jersey paper writes that current proposals to expand new york's penn station are missing key details, lacking many

important details, including cost, revenues, and financing. the report -- >> other than that, it's airtight. >> and other entities involved need to be more transparent how they would help pay for the cost. north carolina, the free press has a story on the world closing in on the warming threshold that international agreements are trying to prevent. experts predict there is a 50-50 chance the earth will hit that temperature mark within the next five years. they also say there is more than a 90% chance the world will set a word for the hottest year by 2026. and in illinois, the u.s. military expects future wars will not always be on earth. the paper explains how the growth of the u.s. space force represents a significant shift where the military expects to see conflicts. and still ahead, we break

down vladamir putin's military strategy, as u.s. intelligence points to a prolonged conflict in ukraine. plus, president biden calls inflation a top priority, on the same day gas prices hit a new high. but has inflation reached its peak? and breaking news out of london regarding a new security pact. we'll tell you about it when "morning joe" returns in one minute. if your moderate to severe crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms are stopping you in your tracks... choose stelara® from the start... and move toward relief after the first dose... with injections every two months. stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine.

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report is due out this hour, and economists expect it will show inflation has already peaked. we'll see when the report crosses in just a few moments. plus, a mixed night for trump-backed candidates in last night's primaries. a congressional win in west virginia, but a state-wide loss in nebraska. we'll explain what this says about trump's sway on the republican party. a remarkable story you need to hear. i think you need to hear this. passenger landing a plane on his own after the pilot suffered a medical energy. we'll show you how the passenger, with no experience, was able to do it. >> yeah, you know, i haven't done microsoft flight simulator enough to feel comfortable doing that quite yet. so we'll take a pass. let's photo breaking news. johnson pledges uk support of

sweden if attacked. he signed a security declaration with sweden and expected to make the same commitment to finland later. you'll remember a week or so ago, you had swedish lawmakers saying, yes, we'll consider joining nato, but we need to have guarantees. security guarantees in between the time we make that commitment and the time we get into nato. here we go, right? >> yeah, this is interesting. i'm just reading it as you are. this is just coming out. there has been a sort of process during the ukraine war to think what are the alternative security guarantees that we can have in parallel to existing security operations like nato or structures like nato, that perhaps don't seem to be working to protect certain countries. so it's interesting that boris johnson is now thinking he could drive, spearhead remember after

brexit, he's keen to have relationships with other european countries, that he could spearhead this setup of sweden and finland, as well. and the uk. you asked me earlier in the program about macron, who said it would take a long time for ukraine to join the european union. at the same time, macron is saying maybe there is a parallel structure to the european union. countries like ukraine and perhaps even the uk could join. so there's a lot of creative thinking going on in europe at the moment about how do we make sure we don't get into another ukraine position. if we can't have all of these countries joining nato fast like ukraine or joining the european union like ukraine, how do we set up the structures alongside the existing structures that might do better, giving us better security on the continent? i think this is what boris johnson is doing, and it's an interesting post-brexit move,

because he's saying to two other countries, let's make our own security alliance. >> we just heard a week or two ago, you had leaders from sweden and findland saying yes, we will get into nato, but we have to have security assurances from the united states, from the west, that if we are attacked for making application to nato, that you'll have a security arrangement with us. boris johnson has done that today. i expect the united states will follow. it shows, again, europe going in -- it's just a remarkable direction, considering where it was ten weeks ago. if you look at finland being a member of nato, that's just unbelievable. sweden becoming a member of nato? we talked about germany increasing their military budge tote the degree that they're going to have a larger military budget than russia by the end of

this. >> joe, this is russia, and specifically president putin's nightmare. when he launched this attack on ukraine, he wanted to rebalance the european security framework in russia's favor. talked about how unfair the west had been and wasn't taking russia's security prerogative seriously. look at the consequences three months later. finland and sweden are strong military powers. they occupy crucial strategic landscape in terms of russia's security. they are moving toward nato. boris johnson, i think you're right, the united states will say in any transmission to nato admission, we have your back if russia threatens you. nato unity as a whole, which putin repeatedly expressed skepticism about, has stayed solid. the germans most of all, the biggest surprise in some ways

these three months has been german commitment to doing the things that put pressure on russia. so it's a startling set of developments. a nato that has finland and sweden in it, i have to say is going to be a significantly stronger military force. >> the praise of american military leaders here as well, it would be a welcome addition to nato. the mayor of mariupol is calling for a complete evacuation of his city, as russian warplanes continue to pound that steel plant where ukrainian fighters have been holed up underground for the last two months. meanwhile to the north, new reports this morning ukrainian forces have retaken several towns surrounding the city of kharkiv. and that russian forces there have begun to pull back now. nbc news correspondent erin mclaughlin has details from kyiv. >> reporter: as putin's war

rages on, costing ordinary ukrainians their lives and livelihoods, late tuesday, the u.s. house overwhelmingly passing a $40 billion aid package. ukraine says it urgently needs to win. >> time is of the essence. >> reporter: this, as the u.s. director of national intelligence warns of a potentially unpredictable and protracted war. inside the old steel plant, the last ukrainian strong hold in the devastated port city of mariupol fighting is raging on. this video was sent describing the dire conditions. he said inside a field hospital in the plant, a frequent target for air strikes, all of the critical surgical equipment has been destroyed. he says the russians are now in control of some parts of the factory. when the war broke out, this

family gathered into the city center. but there were no opportunities to leave, as their building caught fire from the shelling, her husband and son ran outside to see the damage. "my husband returned shouting that our son was killed." "my husband approached his body and in front of my eyes, he was will the shot dead by a russian sniper. i too wanted to run out, but my daughter-in-law yelled, please don't leave me alone." her husband and son's bodies were left on the street outside their home for seven days. the two women were forced to escape through russia, where they say they were interrogated at one of the notorious filtration centers. what did it feel like to arrive in russia, given everything they did to your family? >> translator: i could not look at them, because every one of them is guilty for what hand.

even civilians for their sirens. >> reporter: two months after the war began, they left russia for western europe. it was the first moment they felt safe, she says. safe at last, but so much lost. >> one of the millions of horrifying accounts from inside ukraine. joining us now, retired general seth twitty. and national security expert and contributing writer at the atlantic, tom nickels is with us, as well. good morning to you both. general, i'll begin with you. let's just talk about mariupol, given that gut wrenching report we just heard from erin on the ground there. what more can be done to get those civilians, to get that plant empty, to get people out and to get humanitarian aid into that city? obviously, this is a city that vladamir putin has been focused on strategically. he wants it, he's intent on capturing it, despite his failings in other parts of the country. how do you get civilians out of

that city right now? >> yeah, i think unfortunately, there's very little that can be done at this point. you know, the russians pretty much control the outside of the plant, so the majority of mariupol. so if there's not a cease-fire, unless you take it forcefully, either from land and very little assets from the sea, obviously, because ukraine has a very small navy, and most of that navy has been destroyed at this point. so i think what we're going to find is, these soldiers are going to fight until their last breath. but let's do not underestimate the significance that these soldiers have had on the battlefield. there are 12 battalion tactical groups from the russians around mariupol. putin intended to use those battalion tactical groups to attack and link up with forces that are coming down from the

north. that is not happening. so that attack has stalled as a result of the that nasty and bravery of these soldiers. >> tom, we opened the show talking about the conflicting reports about the status of the donbas region. let me just ask you this, if the russians are going to move on the donbas, how do they do it? how can they overcome the limitations they face through every other stage during this campaign? >> well, they're going to do it the way the russians do it when every other plan fails, they're going to try to do it through sheer force, through numbers and brutality and just leveling what is in their way. they're not really interested in taking anything at this point. they're not really interested in

taking anything in tact. at this point, the humiliation is such they have to take that area, plant a flag on it and hold it, because as the general just pointed out, their plans everywhere else, like dominos, keep failing because they get tied up in these strong points. my guess is, they will use that traditional and elegant russian strategy of just steam rolling and flattening and bombing everything in front of them, because they really don't have any other -- there's no plan b here for them. so it's going to get worse if they decide they're really going to push on this. >> and you talk about them putting a nag on there and just holding it. but just holding it is the problem that we talked about from the beginning of the war. that if they had even just held kyiv for a month, they would have lost kyiv. you talk to any general, there's

no way they could have ever he would onto that. you look at what's happening right now across the eastern front, you look what's happening along the black sea, you know, the russians just holding that, whatever gains they make, would be like the russians just holding afghanistan or us just holding afghanistan or iraq or vietnam. i mean, they haven't even gotten to the hardest part of this. if they ever do occupy parts of this country, the ukrainians have shown they're not going to let them hold it. >> you know, joe, that was one of the reasons a lot of us were skeptical that putin would try this. because the country is too big. there's too many -- it's a country of 40 million people. it's the largest country within your. the idea that they could just hold it was laughable at the outset. i think the plan, as we keep

saying, the plan here was that they wouldn't have to hold it. that they would come in, strike kyiv, and this the government and the people and the army would shatter like delicate-spun crystal. then the whole country would fall into their hands, they would be greeted as liberators. then they could go home while a friendly government took over the army and the capital. now they're faced with this problem of trying to hold territory, and i've been taying throughout this war, every time there's a news report that says the russians are holding a particular area, i always correct people saying no, the russians happen to be standing in that area at that moment, which is the only thing that counts now is for the russians as holding an area. and so i think what you're seeing going back to mariupol, they've decided the only way they can stay within any

territory is to destroy everything and kill everyone in it, because it's the only way they can stay there. and that will probably be what they're going to do with these renewed offensives elsewhere. everything went to hell. they didn't count on this happening and had no backup plan other than to smash and kill everything in their way. >> general, on that matter of the russian army, for two months we've been watching and listening and hearing about half stef forward, half step back from the russian army. given your military experience, at one point in your career you were a platoon leader. could you speak to the fluidity, the fear, and the unpredictability of combat lessened by the fact that american armies, and the ukrainian army as well, has sergeants and corporals and lieutenants in the field with the troops.

>> that's a great question. we call our non-commissioned officers the backbone of the army. they truly are. without them, we cannot meet our tactical objectives. our soldiers would not be well trained. the connection between noncommissioned officers and soldiers is extremely special, because they're with the soldiers 24/7. they understand not just from a professional stand point, but they get to know their families, they get to be very personal with these soldiers. and they realized that they're going to be the leaders that are going to lead these soldiers into combat and be successful for our nation. so there is a special relationship. the russians do not have that structure, that special noncommissioned officer structure that we have. you know, then you have the officer corps. you mentioned platoon leader.

yes, i was a platoon leader back in 1985. although you have the platoon leader there, that platoon leader cannot even come close to that noncommissioned officer, that point of the spear noncommissioned officer that makes things happen on the battleground. so that officer is there to ensure that guidance and direction is being met, but it's that noncommissioned officer, those corporals up to sergeants, that are really the one that is moving the battle, really making things happen on the battlefield. it's a special relationship. >> tom nichols, i'm curious your reaction to director hanes' testimony yesterday not only about russia but the possible threat that china still poses to taiwan and a possible coming invasion. >> i hope the chinese have taken some kind of lesson from this,

that not only is taking over a well-armed and resolute people difficult, but that the world cares about this. i think one of the things that putin was really surprised by, and that maybe is now realizing, is that putin was really counting on the world saying, hmm, ukraine, things happen. but business must go on. the oil must flow. payments must be made. you know, the world started turning out the lights on the russian economy within 72 to 96 hours. and i think that really surprised putin and some of the people around them. they had gotten used to the idea that the world simply didn't care about things like this. this goes back to the report and the conversation you were just having about finland and sweden

and the uk. all of this has taken putin and the russian high command, at least some people in the high command, by surprise. i'm hoping the chinese have looked at this and said, you know, this isn't -- either militarily or diplomatically, this kind of operation is not something that's easy to do and the world still cares about this stuff. and that -- it would go very badly for everybody involved. >> all right. thank you to both of you for being on tomorrow. the pro-trump, one american news network has walked back its claims of voter fraud in georgia. it comes after two atlantic poll workers settled their defamation lawsuit against the network. here's how the walk back played out on air earlier this week.

>> we now provide you with this updated report from georgia officials. take a listen. >> georgia officials have concluded that there was no widespread voter fraud by election workers who counted ballots at the state farm arena in november 2020. the results of this investigation indicate that ruby freeman and shea moss did not engage in criminal misconduct while working at state farm arena on election night. a legal matter with this network and the two election workers has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties, through a fair and reasonable settlement. >> a person familiar with the matter says that oan was required to air the segment as part of the terms of the settlement with the poll workers, whose names were dragged through the mud. >> you know, willie, when you have these conspiracy theorys that people read on chinese

religious cult websites, it's one thing if you're talking about jewish space lasers or talking about the italian dude with the satellite dish, i guess on top of his mobile home or something, who rigged elections, to bamboo inside arizona ballots supposedly, that the ninja turds, or whatever the name is, are -- wait, what's the name is >> cyber ninjas, joe. please. have some respect. >> so any way, it's one ring if you have these general crazy theories. but the same people spreading those lies, they started spreading lies about actual poll workers in georgia, saying oh, they took out ballots. you know, they accused these women of committing a felony, it wasn't just these stupid networks. you actually had people connected with the president,

close to the president, spreading the same lies. and they're the same lies that were spreading around the election. i heard it from trump supporters that i knew. i'm sure you heard that stupid conspiracy theory as well. we talked about it as well. we're shocked that people with advanced degrees are believing these lies from chinese religious cults and cyber turds and these lunatics. but they went after these two women, and these two women said enough. >> yeah. i mean, there is -- there are some consequences it turns out. everyone got wrapped up and frothed up by donald trump and went out and said and did things that are coming home to roost. there are prosecutions of january 6th. one fwi one, they're finding the people who did violence at the capitol. one was convicted last week. there will be consequences. there will be a price to pay for all that came up around the 2020

election, including the lies, and if you're a television network, making things up that rile the country to the point where people attack the united states capitol. and it's very telling when the rubber does meet the road, these people back off very quickly. when rudy giuliani was asked to go into court in pennsylvania to make the case the 2020 election was rigged, he said, well, i don't have any evidence of that. i say it on tv, but when you have to present the evidence, when you have to make a cherent case, they never can do it. >> remember that great moment when mr. pilla was on and started spreading his conspiracy theorys. and one was, i'm out of here. you don't want mr. pillow getting you sued, too. but if you hang out with mr. pillow while he's spreading lies, he's going to get you

sued. i heard those pillows are really lousy, by the way. the most uncomfortable pillows. >> now that i know too much, i couldn't use one. i would just think of him. >> have you ever tried mr. pillow's pillows, willie? >> never tried one. never been tempted, no. >> how can you not think of him? >> well, mr. pillow, i know. he's still out there lying, i guess. still ahead on "morning joe," joe biden says republican senator rick scott, i think the man has a problem. we'll show you what prompted that comment from him. >> we should put him on our prayer list. supporters of abortion rights are making their voices heard in the neighborhoods of supreme court justices. but one gop senator says these demonstrations, the one you see right there, he says that's worse than the january 6th capitol attack. we'll tell you who and show you what he said.

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you called out rick scott in your remarks. earlier today, anticipating your remarks, he said, and i'm just quoting here, that the best thing -- the most effective thing joe biden can go to solve the inflation crisis he created is resign. he's the problem. >> that's an idea. >> the senator added later, joe biden is unwell, he's incoherent, incapacitated and confused. how do you respond to that? >> i think the man has a problem. >> yeah, rick scott -- >> god!

>> i love these trumpers, jonathan, that -- that -- that defended a guy that was proud of the fact that he could, like, spot a water buffalo, dog, cat, cow, woman, camera, or whatever it was. till going around bragging that he doesn't have dementia according to this test. a and the things that he said, he just is lost when he talks so often. and the fact that trumpers go after joe biden, unbelievable. hey, joe's not shakespeare, okay? nobody ever said he was. >> not even joe. >> joe wasn't shakespeare 40 years ago, right? but serious hi, you're a trumper and you're criticizing joe biden because he's not articulate? that's kind of crazy. but it got personal awful fast.

but jonathan, it's almost like rick scott understands that he really stepped in it not only for himself but the republican party. at this economic time for hardship for working class and middle class americans, he says that they're dead beats on taxes, they're dead beats that need to pay higher taxes. rick scott and the republican super maga plan says that middle class and working class americans are dead beats, he says, because those dead beats, rick scott says, and the maga republicans say, aren't paying their fair share of taxes. poor elon musk. i mean, poor -- i mean, poor bill gates. how do these guys go to sleep at night knowing that rick scott has identified the problem for republicans? they think the working class are dead beats that aren't paying enough taxes. >> first, i was part of the

press pool on air force one when president trump blaged that doctors told him no one had successfully achieved those five words before. and now years later, he's still doing it from the rally stage. but i think the thing about rick scott here, the tell here is how other republicans have run away from him. and run away from him plans. mitch mcconnell shoots death stares at rick scott every time he sees him. republicans go into this november election, just keep your head down here. the environment looks good for republicans. the party in power tends to lose seats. we know inflation, and we'll get a report on it later, is really bad right now. they feel like trends are heading that direction. whether that is true remains to be seen. but they feel like the rick scott thing is an unforced error. the ypocrisy here of attacking joe biden for, you know, his

cognitive issues, it's absurd. yes, does joe biden occasionally make mistakes? yes. yesterday he said rick scott was from wisconsin rather than florida. but he's made gaffes his entire career. that comes with the joe biden package. and certainly he has never humiliated himself on the public stage like president trump did when he was in office repeatedly. >> we'll dig deeper into the state of play on capitol hill when jake sherman of punch bowl news joins the conversation. plus, new developments on a just-passed bill in the house to fund ukraine's war effort with billions of dollars. also ahead -- why the treasury secretary is weighing in, in the fight over abortion rights. and linsey graham recently said he can't envision a republican party without donald trump. that sure wasn't what he was saying on january 6th as the capitol was stormed.

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last night two more backed candidates were on the primary ballot and for the first time one lost. jim pillen won nebraska's primary for governor, defeating charles herbster, who was supported by former president trump. trump campaigned for herbster last week, even after eight women, including a republican state senator, accused herbster for inappropriately touching or kissing them. herbster denied the allegations. and trump-backed alex mooney defeated david mckinley in west

virginia for the second congressional district. new redirecting combined the lawmaker's districts. trump supported mooney after mckinley voted for the bipartisan infrastructure package and supported creating a commission to investigate the attack on the united states capitol. let's bring into the conversation white house editor sam stein. good to see you. let's start in nebraska. mr. pillen, who won the republican primary, he had the backing of the powerful ricketts family, including the sitting governor, a former nebraska football player, former nebraska coach tom osbourne supported him. he talked about schools and farms. his opponent, mr. herbster, had the backing of donald trump, hoping that would carry him over the finish line. that didn't work in nebraska. what do you see in this result? >> two basic lessons for me. one is that a trump-backed

candidate can be toppled if the state party institutions all rally behind someone else. that if you have an infrastructure, gop infrastructure that says no, we don't want this person, we want that person, it can work. the second thing, this does not benefit you to run for office when eight women credibly accuse you of sexually harassing or assaulting them. it's just -- it's the -- it's despicable on a personal level but problematic on a political level. i think in this case, look, this guy, charles herbster, he denied it. he said these were all women trying to get him. he put himself in sort of the vein of trump himself. but for vote es, this is problematic. you know, maybe it works for jump in some context, but it

didn't work here. >> it does. >> it did work for trump obviously. but you look at the people he endorsed, quite a few. herschel walker, let's start with him. if republicans actually have standards when it comes to those type of charges, then a lot of people that donald trump supported are in trouble. i will tell you what's also so interesting here is one republican heavyweight after another republican heavyweight, one republican standard bearer after another, have -- seemed to go up against donald trump since 2015 and lost. ricketts and the ricketts family went up against donald trump and wiped the floor with him. i was fascinated that governor ricketts and the ricketts family had absolutely no fear of donald trump. by the way, what kind of message does that send that a guy with a future in republican politics is

like, i don't care who trump's for, i'm going all-in, and man, the ricketts went all in and humiliated donald trump in nebraska. >> right. look, you can't say that trump's influence is anything but pretty powerful in the republican ranks. we've seen it in other races. but i don't think it's as powerful as it's depicted in certain media accounts. obviously, he's won in -- he won last night in west virginia. he helped elevate jd vance in the ohio gop primary. it pays to have his endorsement. but it's not insurmountable. in this case, nebraska had a fairly robust republican party apparatus. they've been electing republicans for a long time. and the ricketts family has a ton of money and political pull in the state. if you get behind a candidate and you have a problematic opponent, it can work. he said, you know what?

i'm going to stand up for this candidate, not going to bow down to trump. i'm going to roll the rice and it came up well for him. >> sam stein, thanks so much. coming up next, ted cruz has a new take on the protests springing up outside the homes of supreme court justices. he says they are worse than what happened on january 6th. you have to hear it to believe it, next on "morning joe." my asthma felt anything but normal. ♪ ♪ it was time for a nunormal with nucala. nucala reduces asthma attacks it's a once-monthly add-on treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face,

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republican ted cruz of texas told fox news the protests outside the homes of supreme court justices are worse than what happened on january 6th. here's what he said. >> what we're seeing, these images are the latest manifestation of how extreme, just how radical the democratic

party is getting. today's democrat party believes in violence, they believe in mob rule, they believe in intimidation. these thugs have no business at the private homes of any government official. these supreme court justices or anyone else. on january 6th of 2021, you had tens of thousands of people peacefully protesting. and yet, the corporate media and democrats slandered them with the made-up term insurrectionist. but we are not willing to call after their goons. >> for context, dozens marched to the home of justice samuel alito, who authored the leaked draft of the opinion that would overturn roe v. wade. there were also marches in front of the residence of brett kavanaugh and chief justice john roberts.

the comparison of what we're seeing outside the homes oh of the supreme court justices, which many people do not support bhi the way, protesting outside the private homes of those justices. but comparing that to the violence, the attacks on police officers and everything else that happened police officers on january 6th is outrageous. ted cruz wants us to say it's outrageous. >> well, it's ted cruz. that's a wowser listening to him equate january 6th with peaceful protests outside supreme court justices' homes. what makes it a wowser is that he clearly had to think about what he was going to say. it was contrived and aimed at one specific base of his political party, the nutcase wing of his political party. but it's outrageous for him, a united states senator, to speak

like that. to so twist and distort the truth, the visual truth of what everyone in america saw and compare that to a peaceful protest outside of a supreme court justice's home. it's got to make you wonder about his sanity. >> setting aside political wisdom of having a protest outside a house, the two events are not comparable. the word was peaceful. there was no violence there whatsoever. these are people holding signs, chanting. there are no trump flags being used to attack police officers or chase lawmakers down hallways fearing for their lives. let's remember ted cruz himself in the immediate aftermath of january 6th called those protesters terrorists. and he had to grovel and look for an apology from tucker carlson days later, because tucker carlson, who is probably the second most influential

voice in the republican party, took objection to that and defended their behavior. ted cruz one of the senators who voted to overturn the election results. the republican national committee, its official policy of the republican party claimed what happened on january 6th was legitimate political discourse. and we are still seeing that now, mika. >> another example of republican senators changing their tune, the two "new york times" reporters who wrote the new book at the 2020 election and its aftermath are releasing more audio of republicans reacting to the january 6th attack on the capitol. jonathan martin interviewed senator lindsey graham on january 6th after the capitol attack, in which graham praises joe biden and then criticizes donald trump's behavior during

the insurrection. >> actually come out of this thing stronger. moments like this reset. people will calm down. people will say, i don't want to be associated with that. this is a group within a group. what this does, there will be a rallying effect for a while. the country says, we're better than this. >> biden will help with that, right? >> totally. he'll be maybe the best person to have, right. i mean, how mad can you get at joe biden? >> he's misjudged the passion. he plays the tv game and he went too far here. that rally didn't help. talking about primarying liz. he created a sense of revenge. >> willie, it is absolutely --

>> these guys. >> how can things be so predictable and so stunning at the same time. predictable because they've all done it before, stunning that any man would do that, would go out or any woman would go out and say -- the quote here, joe biden is the best person to have, because who can be mad at joe biden, right. he said we're better than this. that's what he said on january 6th. and as we reported, three people and a hound dog chased lindsey at national airport and he got so scared that, well, i don't know what he did immediately, but i know after he changed his tune completely. instead of going i'm off this train forever -- >> joe. the imitations. >> people came up to him and he completely changed his tune. i just want to make sure i have

this quote right. alex, is this quote right? did lindsey say -- do you have that tape again that joe biden is the best person to have, who can get mad at him. do we have that tape? i want to make sure i got this right, because i know we got a retiree in south florida that watches us. can you run that please? >> we'll actually come out of this thing stronger. moments like this reset. people will calm down. people will say, i don't want to be associated with that. this is a group within a group. what this does, there will be a rallying effect for a while, the country says, we're better than this. >> and biden will help that, right? >> totally. he'll be maybe the best person to have, right. i mean, how mad can you get at joe biden?

>> oh my god. >> the chronology is on the night of january 6th, remember, lindsey graham on the senate floor said, quote, count me out, enough is enough. this is a bridge too far. >> he's done. >> you cannot do this in this country. two days later, january 8th, less than 48 hours walking through reagan national airport, a group of trump supporters confront him, call him a traitor, say the election was rigged. and very quickly he saw the political winds blowing and decided he better hop back on that train he said he was off. lindsey graham likes joe biden. they've known each other forever. he cried, remember famously a few years ago, in the back seat talking about his life experience and the man he is. it was very moving. a republican and democrat who get along in old washington. but we're getting a glimpse into who these people really are.

the line that really jumped out at me, right after january 6th, lindsey graham on tape saying nobody's going to want to be associated with this. but they felt they had to be associated with it because to cross donald trump would cost them their power and political seats. i've got a serious situation here. >> a passenger was forced to make an emergency landing yesterday after the pilot suffered a medical emergency. that incredible story is just ahead on ""morning joe"." on ""m. ♪♪morning joe". m" ♪♪ ♪♪

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joe." a live look at los angeles and the fourth hour of "morning joe" starts right now. it's 9:00 a.m. in the east and 6:00 a.m. out west. we've got a lot to get to this hour. the latest from the war in ukraine as russia claims gains in the east while ukraine reports advances in kharkiv. retired u.s. army brigadier general peter swak and richard hus will join us. plus how trump backed candidated fairs and the former president's grip on the gop. we'll go live to west virginia for that. we start with the latest inflation report. >> breaking news just now, the april consumer price index shows consumer prices jumped 8.3% compared to this time last year. not quite as high as the 8.5% spike in march, but we still