good morning. it's 10:00 a.m. eastern/7:00 a.m. pacific. i'm lindsey reiser in for jose diaz-balart. we're getting a snapshot of the u.s. economy, which shrank for a second connecticut sective quarter. we'll hear from president biden in a few hours on that and we'll discuss what this means for your wallet. also on the president's agenda, a high-stakes phone call with chinese leader xi jinping where they are to discuss

critical issues like taiwan and uk. a surprise among democrats to lower drug prices and address climate change. we're going to discuss with democratic senator brian schatz from hawaii. also new this hour, a u.s. prisoner swap proposal to bring wnba brittney griner and businessman paul whelan home from russia. what moscow is saying, ahead. we begin this hour with the state of the american economy. a short time ago the government reported economic activity fell by 0.9% between april and june. that's the second straight quarter it has fallen. moments ago president biden issued a statement on the report saying, in part, it's no surprise the economy is slowing down as the federal reserve acts to bring down inflation. but even as we face historic global challenges, we are on the right path and we will come

through this transition stronger and more secure. also this morning, we learned that 256,000 people filed first-time unemployment claims last week. that's a slight decrease from the week before. this comes one day after the federal reserve raised its benchmark federal funds rate by three-quarters of a percentage point. it's the fourth rate hike this year. here's what this means for you. it is more expensive to borrow money for a mortgage, a car loan, a student loan and your credit card interest rate is about to go up. federal reserve chairman jerome powell insists the economy is not in a recession, but he says economic activity is slowing. >> growth and consumer spending has slowed significantly. in part reflecting lower real disposable income and tighter financial conditions. activity in the housing sector has weakened, in part reflecting higher mortgage rates. and after a strong increase in the first quarter, business fixed investment also looks to

have declined in the second quarter. >> joining us now to take a closer look at all of this, nbc news senior business correspondent stephanie ruhle, also host of the 11th hour here on msnbc. nbc news correspondent jake ward in san francisco. and austan goolsbee, former chair of the council of economic advisers, now a professor at the university of chicago booth's school of business. stephanie, we want to go to you first. second quarter gdp number, it could change. it's only an estimate right now. why are we seeing economic growth falling for the second straight quarter? >> because the fed raised interest rates. this is what they were trying to do. remember, months ago we were talking about how hot the economy was, right? people were coming out of covid, there was huge demand for everything. for travel, retail, events, and for homes, and the fed is trying to raise rates to slow that down and even out supply and demand. it's difficult. when you start to see things

slow, that gets in people's head saying, the economy doesn't feel so good. i can't afford things so much. that's what they're trying to do in order to get inflation down. it's counterintuitive, it doesn't feel great but it's moving in the direction the fed's aiming for. >> austin, what does this tell you about where things stand with the economy right now? >> well, we're seeing two different economies almost. you see growth slow down, you're seeing a booming job market where last month we put up almost 400,000 new jobs in a single month. so, that's why i think there's some confusion and why you saw chair powell saying, this is not a recession. we've never had a recession where jobs are booming and the unemployment claims, as you said, are going down. that said, if the fed is going to be raising rates at this kind of speed, three-quarters of a percentage point at this one meeting, following the same rise at the last meeting, we easily

could go into recession. i mean, that's as fast as rates have gone up, really, in our memory. and you're not totally in control when you're raising rates that fast. >> jake, steph talked about this is what the fed wants to do, right? they essentially want to reduce some of the demand out there right now to bring prices down. we know that home sales are down, mortgage applications have fallen. so just how pronounced is this weakening of the housing market right now? >> well, here in california, lindsey, this is an environment where we're used to just astronomical prices that just go up and up and up. and yet now we're starting to see a cooling off. i mean, here in san francisco, this outrageous housing market, a place where, you know, native sons and daughters of this city cannot afford to live here anymore, suddenly you're seeing everything change. since january you saw mortgage rates go up from a little over

3% to now over 5%. now with powell making the announcement he's made, they'll probably go higher and home sales are down 20% year over year in june and down 8.4% in the shear volume of homes being sold. the median sale price falling at that time. the housing market definitely cooling off, but as these recessionary fears increase, you're also seeing a change to the city here. i mean, this place lost 7.6% of its children under 5 since the year 2019 as it became more and more expensive. you're really seeing a combination of the -- the combination of things cooling off here while it's so tight that the life on the ground here in major cities is changing because of the numbers we're seeing this morning. >> steph, what do you say to the people who say, okay, yes, things are getting more expensive and this is the intent here to slow things down and to calm inflation, but i need to buy a house or i need to pay

down my credit card debt and i'm mad about what i'm seeing? >> i get it. but what the fed is trying to do is say, we have to take this short-term pain for a long-term solution. the bigger question, is this going to give you a long-term solution? let's talk about what is actually causing the inflation. it's the fact that we still have supply chain issues because of lockdowns in china. it's because of the war in ukraine that's caused a huge increase in gas prices, in food prices, in lumber prices. so, us raising interest rates isn't going to change those issues out there, these global issues that are causing inflation, so that could be a very problematic situation. we raise rates but raising rates isn't going to lower gas prices. >> also we're going to thatter from the president and other administration officials later today about where they think things stand, where they're going with this. what do they need to tell people who believe this economy isn't working for them? >> i mean, it's hard when you're

in a circumstance like this where the inflation rate is high. it doesn't matter what you say. there's going to be a big argument about what's the definition of recession, but it's going to be back in the spirit of the, if you're explaining, you're losing. if you're fighting about whether it was or was not a recession in the first quarter of this year and looking backward, it's not going to be a comfortable place for the administration. that divergence between message and what people are feeling and that it might not be exactly what's in the data, that's a common thing to happen to administrations, especially going into the midterm. and that's what kind of puts the pressure even higher on them. >> jake, you're out there talking to people. i was out at a -- city of nishgs are you trying to say something? >> i would just point out that while republicans are able to seize on this opportunity where people are struggling because of inflation and hammer the biden

administration, republicans have not offered any alternate solution. we know the biden administration is working on getting prescription drug prices to be lower. access to broadband, cheaper broadband. a number of things. obviously what they're trying to do with chips. and republicans have offered absolutely no other plan besides vote for us in november. voters might say, okay, we'll vote for you in november. what are you going to do about it? >> it plays into the psychology you were talking about. i was at a used car dealership in new jersey. everybody you talk to, looking for a car or working at the dealership, oh, yeah, we're going into a recession. things are bad right now. how much does the psychology of how people feel where they're at affect where we're going? >> well, it's a huge factor here. if you think about it, gdp, 60% is consumer spending. if people begin to stop spending

because they're worried about the price of borrowing money or they're worried their job might go away against all evidence, as austan has pointed out, we have this incredible jobs market, the psychology plays enormously into it. one of the reasons we should all be very careful about even using the word recession, you can't officially use that until the economic bureau declares it a recession. one reason everyone is so careful about that, if you say is it too loudly, people start to worry and that can drag us into a recession. we're in a complicated position. i think you're right, the psychology of this in addition to the raw numbers has a big affect on the american market. that's why we have to be so thoughtful about this. >> stephanie ruhle, austan goolsbee and jacob ward living out, quote, the coldest winter i ever experienced was a summer in san francisco. thank you, all of you.

just ahead at 11:00, we'll talk to jared bernstein about president biden's take on the state of the economy. that will be right here on msnbc in our next hour. still to come, though, details of the deal that the u.s. says it's ready to make with russia to release wnba star brittney griner and another high-profile american prisoner. a lawyer who advised former president trump on a scheme to overturn the 2020 election results loses his bid to keep potentially key evidence away from the justice department. what that evidence could reveal. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." t reports. a has been squeezing americans for every penny, and inflation has only added to the pain. but congress has a historic opportunity to deliver relief, by passing a bill to let medicare negotiate lower drug prices and put money back in the pockets of seniors. 87% of americans support the plan, and applaud the senators who are standing up to big pharma. let's make history.

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unbeatable internet. made to do anything so you can do anything. it is 15 past the hour. a key piece of evidence tying to the january 6th committee sitting in northern virginia right now. it is now at the department of justice's disposal. the department has obtained a search warrant to go through trump election lawyer john

eastman's phone. you'll remember, he was one of the people pushing a plan for then vice president mike pence to overturn the 2011 elections results. according to a new filing wednesday, eastman's phone was physically seized on june 22nd, but federal investigators got a second warrant on july 12th to search his home. eastman tried to stop investigators from looking through it, arguing that the initial warrant risked the disclosure of privileged information but the department says in this filing that the new warrant includes a filter protocol. hanging over all this, nbc news confirms the doj is investigating former president trump's actions as part of its criminal probe into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. joining me on this, ali rafa on capitol hill and barbara mcquaid. the january 6th committee hearings are over for now. focus has been shifting to the doj's work. what more are we learning about how john eastman fits into this

larger investigative puzzle? >> not only is john eastman credited with being really the mastermind behind the fake elector scheme and the pressure campaign on former vice president pence, he's really at the center of this whole plot to overturn the election. he was a witness to so many scenes, the january 6th committee as well as the justice department we now know to so many things they still want to know more about. we know he spoke at that rally on the ellipse on january 6th, an event the committee has really pursued more information about after pieces of cassidy hutchinson's testimony have been anonymously disputed. we also know from subpoena emails that eastman was in correspondence with supreme court justice clarence thomas' wife ginni thomas about efforts to overturn the election before january 6th. remember, ginni thomas had said initially she would be willing to answer the committee's questions and then her attorney came out and said he would need more justification, more reasoning for her to appear before the committee.

the committee now saying during this month-long break in hearings, they're contemplating whether to issue a subpoena if they doesn't voluntarily cooperate. now, this is painting this picture of how this investigation by the doj is now working in parallel as we're seeing two january 6th committee investigations where for months democrats and president biden were growing frustrated thinking the doj's investigation was working far behind the committee's. >> barbara, allie kind of set up all the different pieces playing at the same time, but going back to eastman here and his phone, how could that open up potential investigative avenues? >> well, communications records are the keys to the kingdom in any investigation because that's where people speak very candidly without the expectation that someone's going to look at them later, without a nad to shade the truth or minimize somebody's participation. we're going to learn a lot about

what john eastman is doing and thinking and saying. the other thing that can be really valuable about communications records is we know what other people were saying to him. so, people like ginni thomas or mark meadows or others, we may be able to find their communications on his devices as well. and those also can be very candid. those can also open the door to avenues of inquiry or lead you to other people. sometimes someone is speaking and talks about yet another person and then you can get those communications records. so, they really are a very important piece of any investigation. >> barbara, wednesday's court filing was signed by thomas wyndham, who's overseeing key elements of the january 6th probe. he was at the courthouse on the last day marc short testified before the grand jury. give us the big picture view here of what the doj's latest moves communicate to you about where they are in their probe at this point. >> and i know you said there was

even a couple weeks ago a lot of people were frustrated, it seemed the committee was doing all this work and doj was doing nothing, but doj does its work quietly, behind the scenes. much of the legwork that gets done first is grabbing all these communications records and documents, so you can then put people on the grand jury and confront them with their own statements or contradictions. so, we're starting to see that now, seeing marc short in the grand jury. i believe the only reason we know marc short was in the grand jury, it isn't the doj is starting to fill the courthouse, but the courthouse was full of reporters for mark ban on. i think this signals the justice department is looking beyond the physical attack at the capitol into the inner circle of donald trump, on those advising him on this plot to steal the election. i think the stakes have gotten very high for donald trump. >> barbara mcquaid, allie ra if. if. a, thank you.

the kremlin saying they haven't reached a concrete result for a potential prisoner swap agreement. the biden administration just announced they put a substantial offer on the table weeks ago. now, joining us to discuss is julia, founding partner and washington correspondent for puck and jason rising. you have to tell me that last name, with "the washington post," wrongfully imprisoned in iran in 2014. so, julia, we'll get to you first here. yesterday you said that announcing this publicly here would be a bad call. kremlin spokesperson peskov said about this offer being made publicly, such information is usually not thrown to the media. talk to us about the strategy here. why announce now? >> what i said is not that announcing it is a bad call, just all the public pressure, the free brittney griner

campaign while completely understandable and, you know, the outrage and the frustration and the fear on brittney griner's behalf about what she's experiencing in a russian prison where she sticks out physically is a very tall, black, gay american woman who doesn't speak any russian, you know, i personally am quite scared for her. but the free brittney griner campaign is not really helping her. if anything, it is raising her price and making it harder for the u.s. to make a swap for her because the kremlin can ask for more and more and more the higher her price goes. >> jason, what's your reaction there to what we just heard? >> look, i mean, i am the recipient of a long and vociferous campaign calling for my release. i agree with julia that it raises the stakes. at the same time, i'm also

surprised that the u.s. government kind of let out that information yesterday, that they have an offer on the table. usually they wouldn't do that. and it indicates to me that it's probably not moving in the right direction. >> jason, because you have been part of this, what does the return process look like? >> first of all, it's a very long process. the fact we're talking about this right now and have been talking about it in brittney griner's case for about five months now, you know, that's kind of a short period of time, all things considered. i know that's a terrible thing to think about. it took 18 months to win my release, 14 months of secret negotiations between iranian and american officials. when it finally gets to that point that you're getting on a plane and coming home, i think that the word we use usually is

surreal. that does not do the situation justice. there is a mix of feelings. obviously, tremendous relief and hope, but very quickly the reality of your new freedom sets in. and while you assume that you should be elated and happy and those feelings are there, there's also misgivings and fear. people who are wrongfully detained around the world are subjected to all sorts of psychological pressures, as julia indicated, brittney griner has been held in confinement. she's a very tall person. you know, i spent seven weeks in solitaire confinement in a cell that was 4 1/2 by 8 1/2 feet. i can tell you now, seven years later, confined places are very scary to me. >> wow. so powerful, jason.

julia, jason used the word wrongfully detained here. there's a big difference between what whelen and griner's purported crimes and those of this arms dealer and what he was convicted of. exactly who is the russian prisoner the u.s. is offering to swap? >> viktor bout is a notorious arms dealer. he was caught in a sting operation in thailand. and one of the reasons the russian government has been so adamant about his release is not so much they love viktor bout the person, although he certainly has ties to the russian government, it's that he set -- he represents something the russian government doesn't like, which is that the american agency, the dea, can trap russians in third countries. which the russian government does not do to americans. to them, it's a precedent they want overturned and they want the dea reined in to not seize

russian citizens in third countries. instead, russia's seizing american citizens inside russia and basically kidnapping them for these kinds of prisoner swaps. and it's essentially being successful because these prisoner swaps keep going through and the u.s. is put in a bind because these people are wrongfully detained. we do want them back. what do you do when you're dealing with a state, a government that kidnaps your citizens and uses them as basically negotiating chips? >> thank you both so much for joining us. the man accused of shooting and killing seven people at a fourth of july parade in illinois is facing 117 new charges. a grand jury indicted the suspect yesterday on 21 counts of first-degree murder, three counts for each victim. meantime, kimmie roberts, the

mother of cooper roberts, the 8-year-old boy paralyzed in the shooting, is speaking out for the first time. >> they fixed what could not be fixed in that little boy. there is -- it was nothing short of a miracle. they refused to give up on cooper. they were not going to let that little boy die. and how do you -- how do you say thank you for that? >> cooper's twin brother luke was also injured in the shooting, but is doing as well. coming up, we're going to go live to ukraine where ukrainian forces appear to be gaining the upper hand against the russians in the south. we're going to talk to "time" magazine's simon shuster who has done exclusive interviews with volodymyr zelenskyy and ukraine's first lady. ukraine's first lady ng] when you have technology that's easier to control... that can scale across all your clouds...

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pool floaties are like whooping cough. amusement parks are like whooping cough. even ice cream is like whooping cough, it's not just for kids. whooping cough is highly contagious for people of any age. and it can cause violent uncontrollable coughing fits. sometimes followed by vomiting and exhaustion. ask your doctor or pharmacist about whooping cough vaccination because whooping cough isn't just for kids. 31 past the hour. turning to the war in ukraine. ukrainian forces appear to be gaining momentum as they make efforts to capture the russian occupied city of kherson. the southeastern city fell to russia during the early days of the invasion, has been home to a crucial bridge used to supply russian forces in the region.

ukraine says its military damaged the bridge in a missile attack this week. overnight russia launched attacks of its own, including missile strikes in the northern kyiv and cherrer kherniv regions. simon, air raid sirens went off in kyiv. can you describe the mood after the latest strikes? >> that's right. they woke me up at 5:00 in the morning and went on for quite a while. usually people in kyiv ignore the sirens. they happen almost every day, maybe every other day. and i think the surprise was that i a few hours later, a couple of hours later the news came that there had been a missile attack. it doesn't happen every day or every week, but i think russia was trying to signal that it is expanding and intensifying these missile attacks across the

country, that nowhere is safe. it will strike even far away from the front lines in the east and in the south. but when you ask about the mood, i spent some time at the presidential compound day and saw president zelenskyy. it's business as usual. i think the leadership here certainly is very used to it. i think people are used to it. they've gotten used to living with the threat of these missile attacks almost as if it's a weather event. it can happen like lightning strikes. it can happen any time, anywhere. ukraine needs to win this war in order for that threat to evaporate. >> and today is a day of statehood in ukraine. what importance do you think having a day like this is for the people of ukraine as this war continues? >> yeah,ist an interesting question. it's a new holiday. and it's not -- there isn't a tradition of celebrating it, but i think the president was trying to use it today to establish

ukraine's claim to essentially the founding -- being the found ing nation of slavic. that's a historical dispute russia and ukraine have often had. the city of kyiv is the birthplace of both nations, russia and ukraine. i think what zelenskyy was trying to do is say, no, we're not an integral part of russia. we are an independent state. we're an independent culture. and this war has really intensified ukrainian efforts and the efforts of the. the to establish that in the minds and hearts of the ukrainian people and international community. >> president volodymyr zelenskyy and his wife are facing some online backlash right now from some -- for posing for a "vogue" magazine cover shoot amid a war. the last time you and i talked, it was when the first lady was

addressing congress and we talked about the need to keep things front and center. so, what are your thoughts on this criticism? >> i've seen a mixed reaction in ukraine. a lot of people really were quite proud to see that and happy to see it. people that i talked to, people that i read online, but there's a lot of criticism, i think, you know, specifically with president zelenskyy. he has to be very careful in what time he takes away from fighting this war. how he manages his schedule in ways that is not directly related to keeping the weapon supplies coming from abroad, making sure the soldiers have what they need on the front lines and so on. so, when he takes time to pose for a photograph with his wife, he expects that to have some criticism, but i don't think it's been that intense. i think he was in some ways helping the first lady to, you know, further strengthen her

position as an ambassador for ukraine in a very vocal proponent of ukrainian statehood and, you know, speaking to international leaders. she's constantly addressing different parliaments. other first ladies from other western countries and aren't the world. so, i think this cover -- in a sense, continued along that line in making sure that she continues to be a very strong ambassador for the country. but, yeah, it's gotten some backlash. it is a fashion magazine. and the president very rarely poses for photographs. and he really does not like to do that, i can tell you. >> simon shuster, thank you for being with us. stay safe. democratic senator joe manchin does an about face and comes to a surprise agreement on a climate and tax plan. we'll speak with one of his former top aides next. and the senator from hawaii is going to join us, brian

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start today at godaddy.com/payments welcome back. president biden will deliver remarks about the climate and tax reform plan that senate democrats have just reached. senator joe manchin, who's been a holdout on president biden's agenda before, now says he will support what's being called the inflation reduction act. according to a summary, it would reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030, allow medicare to negotiate drug prices and implement a 15% minimum corporate tax for billion dollar companies. joining us right now is jonathan cott, former communications director for senator joe manchin. jonathan, to a lot of us, this was a surprise, but you just told me in the break, not to you? >> no. i think people have a hard time

believing what politicians say, and a lot of them have double talk. joe manchin said last week, he was not walking away. i took him at his word, and i think others did and who continue to have conversations with him and his team continued to work on it. yeah, i think d.c. and the world was surprised yesterday around 5:30, but he wasn't because he kept working on it. he's a former governor. he likes to get a deal done. if he thinks they're close, he's going to keep working on it. had he been done, he would have said, i'm done, i'm walking away. i think we got an historic deal. >> we'll talk about the meat and potatoes in a second. what do you make of the process? our cap hill team said there were a ton of people surprised by this, senators that didn't know exactly what was in it, another senator was grumbling manchin is not the only member.

>> it was a surprisingly secret process. given how much time went by and how many ups and downs and other things happened in the world. look, inflation shot up. he was talking about this last year. the war in ukraine happened. we had a baby formula shortage. we have a gas increase. those are things he takes into consideration while looking at the bill. so he kept working on it. i don't know how many of his colleagues were included. it's surprising when especially the nbc news team is shocked on capitol hill and other senators are high. i think they had to do it this way so they could get the deal done, they'll announce it. they'll have plenty of time to read it and i'm hearing they'll have a vote around next week. >> what are the top lines you're reading about what it would do? >> the climate spending is historic. this is something we've never done in my lifetime. i don't think in anybody's lifetime. but he's also adding fairness back to the tax code. he's helping pay down the debt and deficit, which i don't think

is something we've ever done. i can't remember a piece of legislation that had this and then we used the money to pay down the debt and deficit. we stopped caring about that. those are historic things that are going to happen. and i think democrats need to really seize on this moment and tell this story. scream it at the top of your lungs. if this was donald trump, he would be out there having press conferences in the rose garden, all over the country. we should be doing the same thing. >> so good for you to join us. thank you. i'm joined by democratic senator brian schatz of hawaii. thank you for being with us. we heard jonathan talk about how monumental this climate action would be. what stands out most to you? >> it's the biggest climate action in american history. $370 billion for clean energy in innovation. and the north star that we used when negotiating this package was emissions reductions. lots of people have lots of ideas about how to fight climate change, but what we did was

apply some rigor to the process so that we made sure, if we're going to expend this amount of resources, we want it to work. we do believe this gets us to a 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. this isn't some far off time. this is relatively soon. we'll see an incredible transformation and lots of innovation in the united states with high-paying union jobs to do all the work. >> what do you make here, i'll give you the same question i gave jonathan. what do you make of the process of this, that it's so surprising to so many people that live and breathe all things capitol hill. >> i think a lot of people were surprised. i was texting and calling with joe over the last week. he kept saying that he was still in the game. he was still in the conversation, but certainly leader schumer and joe manchin himself deserve a lot of credit for staying engaged on the substantive level and keeping it sort of out of the reach of other members who could have screwed it up, frankly, or if

all of this negotiation had happened through the media, it could have gone side ways as well. so i said about a year ago that any effort of this magnitude would face multiple near-death experiences. and i think that's certainly true for this bill. >> this agreement is a major breakthrough after i know you were texting with the senator, but he's been publicly apprehensive to support climate change measures proposed by the biden administration. what do you make of this? >> if you listen to him carefully, he was always -- you know, he was never a climate denier. he talked about the need to decarbonize the economy. his concern was whether we were going to do this too quickly and basically turning the lights off. the more we talk, the more i realized that we had a ton in common. now, we may have a different view of exactly how quick that transition ought to happen from fossil energy to clean energy. but he understands that it needs to happen. and so we struck a compromise

and this is a very big deal climate bill. >> what's your level of confidence the democrats can get this over the finish line by august recess. >> medium high. i'm reasonably confident. i think this is going to be a broadly popular bill. it reduces the deficit and debt. it reduces the cost of prescription medicine. it calls for tax fairness among billion dollar companies that currently pay as low as zero and sometimes even in a net negative in terms of taxes. and it is the biggest climate investment in american history. so, there's lots of popular stuff. usually when you do this many popular things, there's a few stinkers. there are very few stinkers in this bill. this is a bill that should be able to get everyone in the caucus on the democratic side in the senate. and i'm reasonably confident, although not overconfident, about the house as well. >> how does covid kind of throw a wrench into things? we know your colleague senator dick durbin announced he's out

with covid. how does this influence the passage of the bill? >> we all have to stay healthy. i was a pretty reliable mask wearer for the first several years of covid and over the last six months or so, i've been less of a mask wearer in last months. in the last week or so i've put on my n-95 to make sure i don't test positive and cause a delay in action. everybody's got to stay healthy for the next wednesday, thursday, friday. >> senator schatz, thank you for joining us. we appreciate your time. up next, why survivors and families of 9/11 victims are angry with president trump over a golf tournament being played at his new jersey resort. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." -balart re. i'm a fancy exercise bike noobie. instructor: come on! a little more! and i'm taking a detour. and if you don't have the right home insurance coverage, you could be working this out yourself.

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tour, the organizers and those involved have faced a wave of controversy. joirning us is eugene scott, national political reporter for "the washington post." why is this tournament so controversial and what are these protesters calling for? >> these protesters really want this tournament canceled. there's been significant frustration among survivors and family members of 9/11 victims with the trump family and organization for continuing to host these tournaments being funded by the saudi arabian government considering recently released information from the biden administration about the saudi government's role in the 9/11 attacks. they feel as if their voices aren't being heard, that this is insensitive and it's mostly a money grab for the trump organization. >> what are these survivors and family members of those who lost their lives saying about the phenomenaler president hosting this tournament? >> well, they're saying that he is ignoring previous meetings with the group leaders where he

acknowledged saudi arabia was a problem and is a problem and was at fault, in part, for the 9/11 attacks and he would distance himself from the government, but he seems to obviously have had a change of heart and mind and has come out and actually praised the saudi arabian government for their recent financial investments in sporting events, including golf. they want him to be consistent. they believe he has flip-flopped on this issue that has mattered -- he he says matters to him. >> earlier this month we saw president biden face a wave of backla be for his fist bump with saudi crown prince mohammed bin solomon. is there any indication he'll get backlash? >> no, given his profile isn't as high as when he was in the white house or biden.

you can trust this group is going to stay on trump, considering he plans to continue hosting this tournament with the saudi arabian government. certainly probably going to come up if he decides to run for president again. >> what can you tell us also about others who are seeing controversy as a result of this? i know some golf players are really trying to distance themselves from this tour, but others are signing on. >> yes, quite a few, including stars like phil mickelson. and the family members are calling these individuals out and trying to hold them accountable. there's going to be a protest outside of the tournament as well as press conferences helping those who are planning to attend know what it is that is funding this event and hopefully the thought is that this could change the minds and hearts and maybe even some actions of these golf players and their fans. >> eugene scott, thank you so much. good to be with you.

that's it for me this hour. i'm lindsey reiser. i'll be back with more news after a quick break, including a talk with jared bernstein, a member of the white house counsel of economic advisers. we'll talk about what president biden is expected to say when he speaks at noon about the economy. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports."

good wednesday morning. i'm lindsey reiser in for another busy hour. this morning we begin with the biden administration tackling two major issues on the world stage. this morning president biden held a high-stakes call with china's leader xi jinping. it was their first phone call in four months and they were expected to discuss ukraine. looming over the call, new sparks with nancy pelosi with a trip to taiwan. we're also following critical developments concerning the detainment of americans in russia. the biden administration has proposed exchanging imprisoned arms dealer viktor bout for the release of americans brittney griner and paul whelan. but the kremlin spokesman says there has been no agreement on a deal so far. joining us right now to discuss these issues, nbc news washington correspondent and moderator of