>> we will certainly be watching for that, although the committee could look different. liz cheney could still be on it, but there is a chance that between now and then she might have lost her republican primary in wyoming. so there are political implications to what she is doing indeed. as always, have a great weekend, and thanks to all of you for getting up way too early with us on this friday morning. it is time for morning joe. starts right now. look, i have been coming down here a long time, and i am used to the lies, and i'm used to the deception, and i am used to the callousness, and i am use to the hypocrisy. what i am not used to is the casual cruelty. all these folks here that have been working for a decade or more to help veterans who are sick and dying finally have an xl moment, finally get to breathe easy for a moment, that is what they pulled out from them.

jon stewart sounding off on senate republicans after they blocked a bipartisan bill aimed at expanding health benefits to veterans exposed to toxins in war zones. the question is, why did 25 republicans who supported a previous version of the bill change their vote to know? stuart, an outspoken advocate for military veterans will join us later this morning. we are following new developments with the january 6th committee. top aides to former president donald trump testifying between closed doors, including one official who resigned the day of the attack. we will tell you who that is. and more text messages from the time of the attack disappear. first from the secret service, now the washington post reporting texts between members of trumps homeland security team are missing as well. good morning, welcome to morning joe. we have the host of way too early and the author of the big

lie , jonathan lemaire. gentlemen, good morning. let's start with the texts that have been deleted. according to the washington post, the texts are from acting homeland security secretary ken wolf and -- they said that wolf and cuccinelli's texts were not preserved. that is according to the four people briefed on the watchdog's actions.

they also failed to alert congress to the potential destruction of government records. this comes after we learned that secret service deleted text from the day of and the day before the insurrection. so jonathan lemaire, the more we hear the worse it gets. it is not just the secret service. it is not just a few guys at homeland security. it is the leadership of homeland security who conveniently, much like the secret service, went through some kind of an upgrade that apparently deleted the texts that are maybe now lost to time. >> nothing suspicious about this at all, willie. no, it adds to the growing belief that there is a cover-up in government, whether it is the secret service, homeland security about what happened around january 6th. these text messages would of course provide really useful information to investigators, not just the january 6th committee, but the justice department as they piece together exactly what happened that day, exactly what the former president's response was that day. was there any coordination to get military or law enforcement there? we learned just this week that

trump, despite his lies, did not send the national guard there. it was the vice president having to do so. it just looks bad that this government is seemingly trying to cover its tracks for what happened that day. you worked in government. you are supposed to preserve records. even on normal records. even on boring days. certainly on january 6th. >> the government is not protective of its communications. when you leave government, everything you have gets filed come assent. most people in government are not involved in legal investigations, but this is a historical record, and you owe it to history and to your successors. but this is obviously different. people were put on notice. this is not an ordinary january 6th. so the idea that things were

casually lost is preposterous. it simply doesn't pass. >> you know, willie, it is also a metaphor for the entire administration that is off and out of office now, the trump administration, that they cared not a whit. all the text messages are gone, the head of homeland security, his assistant, there text messages are gone. richard used to work in the state department and the state department was gutted substantially during the four years. other departments were gutted. the functions of government were destroyed. so it is a disturbing metaphor for what happened during the course of four years, but especially the week of january 6th. >> it is interesting to note that chad wolf left. he resigned five days after the attack on the capital, the head

of dhs, and was critical of trump around that time, in january, right when donald trump was leaving washington. so it would be interesting to know what was going on on his phone in those days around january 6th. we are going to talk to carol of the washington post who wrote the story coming up a little bit here on morning joe. meanwhile the saudi-led liv golf tour is kicking off at donald trump's golf course in bedminster, new jersey. donald trump responded to the families of 9/11 first responders who encouraged people to boycott the event. donald trump casted doubt on saudi arabia having any

involvement in the attacks. >> i have known saudi arabia for a long time. nobody has gotten to the bottom of 9/11, as they should have. nobody has really been there, but i can tell you that there are a lot of really great people that are out here today, and we are going to have a lot of fun, and we are going to celebrate. >> nobody has gotten to the bottom of 9/11, says the former president of the united states. we do know that 15 of the 19 hijackers on september 11th were saudi nationals. richard, just listening to that, it is what donald trump does. let me cast some doubt where it benefits me in some way. let me plant the seeds or at least allude to conspiracy theories of some kind, even about 9/11. what were your thoughts as you heard that yesterday? >> oh, a lot of thoughts when i heard that yesterday. to the 9/11 families, they are angry about the liv golf golf

tournament being played out there because they have questions. osama bin laden. we know what happened out of afghanistan. last i checked, we had a war where we removed the government of afghanistan because they were providing support for people who carried out this attack. yes, a preponderance of whom were saudi nationals, but we know what the president is trying to do is justify the fact that he has gotten into bed with this golf tour that is funded by the sovereign wealth fund of saudi arabia. so this is a self-serving thing about his relationship with saudi arabia. but if i were the 9/11 families, i would not have -- >> we know the former president, never critical of anybody who supports him, and we know that him and the saudis are very tight. we know that after 9/11, his initial reaction was to note that his building was now the

tallest in lower manhattan after the twin towers fell. we know that he lied that day about seeing what he claimed were a group of muslims celebrating in new jersey for the towers falling. we do know what happened on september 11th, but even if there had been any doubts, he was present for four years. he could've looked into it. he chose not to. this is clearly just another example of him not caring about who he hurts, including the families who were there protesting that tournament, as long as he can try to deflect any sort of blame. >> you know, jonathan, to willie's question posed to richard, what were you thinking when you just heard that, that clip that you just played? i thought immediately, not for the first time, we were lucky to survive four years of him in the white house. we were lucky to be where we are today, and we are not in great shape today. thank god for joe biden for beating him. but this man, on the verge of perhaps again running for the presidency of the united states

, people should really stop and think about this. think about him. think about exactly what you just said. everything is about him. everything he says, even today is about him. about how he has been attacked. he has been vilified. the most vilified person in the history of the united states of america. everything revolves around him. >> that oval -shaped office, he thought he was bigger than the office. everybody else had the knowledge that they were custodians of a sacred historic democratic trust. he was the one outlier. >> and yet always the victim, even to this day as he watches the january 6th committee do its work. we will come back to the story and just a bit. the liv golf tournament gets underway in a few hours at trumps bedminster course in new jersey. back on capitol hill, senate democrats are back on track to pass that white had been ranging spending bill

through reconciliation, with just a week to go before congress leaves for a month- long recess. in short, chuck schumer called on his caucus to stick together during a closed-door meeting yesterday. the majority leader says he plans to bring the inflation reduction act of 2022 package to the senate floor for a vote next week. despite the timeline, democrats are expressing some conscious optimism about the chances moving forward. that includes president biden, who had this to say at the white house yesterday. >> i know i can sometimes seem like nothing gets done in washington. i know it never crossed any of your minds, but the work of the government can be slow and frustrating and sometimes even infuriating. then the hard work of hours and days and months where people refuse to give up pays off. history is made. lives are changed. with this legislation, we are facing up to some of our biggest problems, and we are taking a giant step forward as a nation. my message to congress is this.

this is the strongest bill you could pass to lower inflation, cut the deficit, reduce healthcare costs, tackle the energy security. >> the bill, as we told you yesterday, facing criticism already from republicans. senator john barrasso of wyoming called the bill nothing less than an attack on the american family. senator chuck grassley had this to say. >> it is not the time to feed the fires of inflation, and this administration has terrible economic policy. >> senator susan collins of maine, meanwhile, believes that the bill may compromise efforts in the push together support in the republican party to codify same-sex marriage. let's bring in heather mcgee. she is a political strategist and board chair at the nonprofit civil rights advocacy group color of change. she also is the author of the

best-selling book some of us semicolon what racism costs everyone. and she is out with a new podcast. heather, it is great to see you. congratulations on the podcast. let's talk about this reconciliation bill that surprised a lot of people a couple days ago when the news broke that chuck schumer and joe manchin had been sort of huddling together for a few weeks to get this done. what is inside it that you like, and do you have any concerns that it will get through even with reconciliation? >> thank you. it's great to be with you. this is really something to celebrate for all of the american community to celebrate, because we are dealing with some of the greatest threats of our time. we are dealing with inflation, we are dealing with rising healthcare costs, and the fact that we can't right now use the government's power to negotiate, to drive a bargain

on prescription drug prices is going to be great for seniors. most importantly, this is what the next few generations need to buy some time on global climate change. we are already seeing the worst impacts at our front doorstep. if we didn't act in this administration with a trifecta of democratic support in congress, it would be a stain on the party and on this generation of leaders. so i am glad to see joe manchin come to his senses to recognize that, you know, we have got flooding and wildfires and record temperatures. our infrastructure is not ready for climate change, and this is the biggest congressional act on climate that we have ever seen. it is not as big as the original build back better, the american jobs, the american families plan. there is a lot that's not in their, but we are going to try

to go into midterms as democrats without anything done on these big threats, on the economy, on healthcare and on climate? it would not have been pretty. >> manchin on board. i was now on senator kyrsten sinema. the white house is cautiously optimistic that she will come on board, and less she seems to pride herself on being an enigma and has yet to comment on this point. but heather, to your point, this certainly gives democrats a real boost heading into the midterms. but it also may change how we all view, to this point, the presidency of joe biden. >> i always thought that the president who inherited the mass as democrats do did an extraordinary amount. we often don't talk about the fact that the u.s. rate hit the lowest level on record in the first year of the biden administration, in large part

due to the funds from the american rescue plan which did not have any republican support, which lowered child poverty to the lowest level on record. provided millions of american families with relief on housing, on student debt. for healthcare, the biggest cost in american lives were tackled by the administration efforts come up in the problem of inflation, which is a problem that is driven by a mix of corporate greed and supply- chain issues and what is going on globally, you know, caught up. this here now is going to be a way for us to finally make the wealthiest americans and the biggest corporations that have been profiting off all of americans' investments, all of our workers and people and customers without giving anything back to the nation that makes their success possible say, you know what? you are in this country, too.

with a minimum tax on corporations. making some of the wealthiest traders pay more in taxes than they do now, more than their janitors and gardeners. so this is more of a democratic articulation of what the democratic party stands for, whose side they are on, and who they are willing to make pay to be a part of the american community. >> john, let me turn my question, heather, back to you, your new piece in politico, you say that joe biden is back in the game. he is on the brink of turning this around. obviously his approval numbers are still low. his party faces big headwinds going into the midterms this fall. just this week, these two pieces of legislation, if the reconciliation bill does go through and make its way to his desk for his signature, these would be landmark for him and his administration in these first two years. >> yeah, it was just about a year ago, willie, the things started to go south for the

biden administration. the withdraw from afghanistan and the delta variant surge through them off their game. they have struggled to regain their footing since beyond the bipartisan infrastructure deal, which we should notice certainly a significant achievement. there are still decisions on the horizon. the president has to figure out what he is going to do about student loans. the president and his team have come under immense pressure to try to expand abortion rights in the aftermath of the roe v. wade overturn. we know that inflation remains high, and he has got foreign- policy challenges as well. but the white house that i spoke to yesterday is cautiously optimistic that things are about to turn around. they feel like this could give his presidency and also party some real momentum before november, and also revealing some strategy. to this point, they have been pretty hands-off. they let manchin and sinema broker this deal. but they know that the president looms if needed, if it is kyrsten sinema or some

other concern that arises at the 11th hour. certainly joe biden, no stranger to the senate, can step in and act as closer. >> you know, jonathan, this is something you have written about in politico today. there is one job in this country that is 24 hours, seven days a week, and it is the presidency of the united states of america. joe biden does the job. sometimes, to know a claim, sometimes to very little notice. this is one of those situations. he knew, i assume, i'm told, that the manchin-schumer negotiations were going on. he knew about them all along. he knows every day when he gets up that there is going to be something on the desk having to do either with china or something that happened in indiana. there is something every single day. he doesn't get a lot of publicity for it, nor does he speak a lot of publicity for it. that is part of the problem may be with the medications in this ministration. but the nature of the job -- you have been close to the presidency.

the nature of the job is so all- consuming, but i think eventually he must accept the hips that you take every day with regards to the economy, and you say how come i didn't get credit for helping with the manchin-schumer stuff, which he did. >> that is the presidency. you get blamed for stuff you don't deserve, you also get credit for things you don't deserve. but i think that all things being equal, this is probably the best stretch for the biden administration. you are beginning to see some domestic political victories. it is also a pretty good stretch for american politics, in addition to what i think is the message of the january 6th committee. we are also seeing a degree of bipartisanship. we are seeing some legislation passed, amazingly enough. foreign-policy, we have got bipartisan support for the policy towards russia and ukraine, which is really impressive. it is significant, i believe so far, for our policy accounts

must revisit ministration. again, it is a couple week stretch, couple months, but all things being equal, i think this is the best face for this president and this administration. >> heather, before we let you go, i want to ask you about the podcast that some of us have seen debut this week on spotify, same title as your book. you went out on the road. i did notice you got the endorsement of a former president of the united states, barack obama, who likes your podcast. what did you find when you went out on the road? i think most people's experiences, the conversation out in america, when you actually sit and talk with people and listen to them and hear about their lives, unlike what you see on twitter for example, or other places, is that people are living their lives with each other and trying in good faith to figure it all out. >> i laid the ground for this podcast, this incredible piece because i needed a shot of hope, right? after writing the book about the cost of racism to everyone,

i ended it on a hopeful note, that if we come together across lines of race, we can actually gain the power we need to take on powerful interest and when -- that was my idea. i had a few examples. but in my book that was the number one question people asked me, was how can we attain that solitary dividend, which is what i call it, and how can you still have hope? so i said you know what? let me get back on the road again. this series is a documentary series. it is all new stories. it is one that actually overlaps with the book. it is stories of people in unlikely places crossing cultural, political, racial and ethnic divides in order to win in their communities on big issues! clean air and water, abortion rights, housing, healthcare. the things that really, really matter to american families. it is not always leading the news, and these are heroes that

you don't usually hear about in politics, but they are rolling up their sleeves, linking up arms, and getting stuff done for their neighbors. it is a truly helpful series, and i hope everybody likes it. >> people are really going to enjoy it. the first two episodes of the podcast are available now streaming on spotify. heather mickey, always great to have you on the show. as for being with us this morning. we appreciate it. i am used all of it, but i am still not used to the cruelty. they lived up to their oath, and yesterday they spit on it! in abject cruelty! these people thought they could finally breathe. you think their struggles and because the p.a.c.t. act passes? that means they just don't have to decide between their cancer

drugs and their house. their struggle continues. >> jon stewart will be our guest this morning after his blistering takedown of senate republicans after they blocked a bill that would help veterans who have been exposed to toxins. plus a warning given by president xi jinping to president biden ahead of nancy pelosi's visit to taiwan. we will talk more about that when morning joe comes back. and. i like your bag! when your digital solutions work, the world works. that's why the world works with servicenow. the unknown is not empty. it's a storm that crashes,

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president biden spoke with chinese president xi in a call that lasted several hours. the two discussed taiwan, a topic which has recently strained relationship between the two countries. president biden said that the united states strongly opposes any effort to change the status

quo or undermine peace and stability across chart taiwan. china took a tougher stance in a statement released after the call. the chinese minister xi jinping made it clear that china opposes statements by external forces. those who play with fire will perish by it. it is hoped the u.s. will be clear-i'd buy this. it is also said that biden and xi are discussing a future meeting. so richard, we don't know a lot about what happened in this call. the question of taiwan at the center of this and the potential for a visit by an answer nancy pelosi is obviously inflaming things a bit. >> if there is any inflaming, it is coming fromchinese side. there is nothing new in our policy. the president said it yesterday. we stand by the one china

policy. we do not favor taiwanese independence. the speaker of the house has made it clear she is not going to taiwan to fan independence. polls on taiwan show there is no big push for independence. let's get real here. xi jinping has all kinds of economic problems. he wants an unprecedented third term to be greenlighted this fall when the party meets. he wants to distract attention away from the chinese economy. maybe he thinks we are distracted by ukraine. i don't know how to say wag the dog in mandarin, really, but that's what this is about. this is self-generated for political consumption crisis, and we can debate the wisdom of the speaker going. she is not the first speaker to go to china. newt gingrich went. cabinet officials go all the time. again, this is taking place within the context of existing policy. so i really think this is much more about chinese domestic politics than it is about american foreign policy. >> so spell that out internally in china. what are his specific issues he

is dealing with on an everyday basis? >> first of all he wants an unprecedented third term. that would change the chinese constitutional and political position. he has problems with covid. he still hasn't come up with a formula -- because china doesn't have a vaccine that works -- >> why not? >> they won't use anybody's vaccine but their own because of chinese nationalist pride. how can they depend on western vaccines given the superiority of the chinese system? the problem is the chinese vaccine is not affected. so you have these lockdowns which are causing tremendous hardship. the chinese economy. look, for years and years and years the chinese communist party derived its legitimacy from one thing. double digit economic growth. the official numbers are five, the real numbers are probably three. china has massive youth unemployment. they have all sorts of demographic problems stemming from the one child policy. long environmental problems.

china faces all sorts of difficulties. they have various financial bubbles, terrible real estate investments. what do they have left? so i think they are playing the nationalist card. that's what this is about. >> you suggest that a xi-biden meeting, if it were to happen in indonesia, that is plenty of time to get a lot of topics. we know that one thing that president biden wanted to push xi jinping on was china's ongoing refusal to condemn what russia is doing in ukraine. we haven't talked much about the story line lately. give us an update about what soft support beijing is still supplying moscow. >> well, they are still buying russian oil, as are the indians. from what we can tell, even though they are giving diplomatic and economic support, what we don't seem to

see his direct military support. the chinese understand that. they understand that if they get caught providing direct military support, that would open them up to sanctions, and the last thing that china needs right now given their economic difficulties is to make themselves vulnerable to secondary american sanctions. but they are not going to back off supporting russia. this goes back to mike's question. xi jinping, remember, they issued the no limits communiqui with russia the day before russia invaded ukraine. xi jinping cast his vote with vladimir putin. he now can't say i made a mistake. xi jinping clearly wrong about how this war would play out, but china is a little bit stuck in that relationship. all that said, i had him glad they had their conversation yesterday. these are the two most important countries in the world. so this relationship will go, so will important parts of the

century. we need an important conversation with china about ukraine. about climate change. about global health issues. china never opened up totally about covid-19. nuclear weapons. we got a long, long list. north korea. i could go on and on. it is important that the united states and china stop these fiery public exchanges and actually have a serious private conversation. >> it remains to be seen if speaker pelosi will actually go to taiwan. we will find out very soon if she will be "playing with fire." still to come, the governor of kentucky talks about one of the worst floods in state history. we have more to report from the state that got more rain overnight. plus, a major bipartisan victory on capitol hill after the house passes a bill to bolster u.s. domestic manufacturing and to boost u.s. competitiveness with china. and as the u.s. economy in a recession or not? steve ratner brings charts to

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chairman powell, many of the significant banking personnel and economists say we are not in a recession. let me give you what the facts are in terms of the state of the economy. number one. we have a record job market, record unemployment of 3.6% today. we have created 9 million new jobs so far. businesses are investing in america at record rates. that doesn't sound like a recession to me. president biden reacting to yesterday's economic news that the economy shrank for the

second quarter in a row. let's bring in former treasury official and morning joe economic analyst steve rattner. steve, before we dive into your charts, just your assessment of somebody who has lived and worked in this stuff for his entire life, about what two consecutive quarters of economic contraction mean. people are using this is the definition of recession, obviously politicians want to use it as a blunt instrument. but is this economy in a recession or not? >> almost certainly not, willie, and we will get into this with some data in the charts. but this two quarters of negative gdp thing is a common layman's definition. what happens in the real world is that a nonpartisan institution called the economic bureau of research comes in and decides when a recession begins and ends, and it won't do so for a while because he considers all the data.

as the president pointed out, what is going on in the jobs market, what is going on with consumers, what is going on with investment. after all that is said and done, usually months, maybe even a year later, they come in and tell us whether we were in a recession or not. so it is a very technical issue. this two quarters thing is just shorthand. >> let's take a look at the charts. you talk about the u.s. economy contracting again, but you take a little closer look at what that means. >> sure. so first, let's just grab a little bit of history. the solid red line is how the gdp overall has been performing for the last 18 months. as you can see, for the last year, since 2021 we have had very significant growth. we have actually had 5.7% growth. as the president has pointed out on many occasions, that is an exceptionally high rate of growth. it obviously had to do with coming out of the pandemic event. then you can see the red line dip below zero, and those are our two quarters of negative growth. all those colored bars are basically the different pieces of gdp. things above the horizontal

black line are things that add to gdp. things below it are things that attract it. you can see that the overall decline was small, so there is a must as much stuff above the bar and line is below it. what's going on here are some technical factors that i'm going to spare you, but inventory and foreign trade and so on, things to note are the turquoise line, which is how much services consumers are buying. this is the famous airline situation, hotels, doctors, lawyers, all that stuff has stayed substantially positive through this period. they are buying fewer goods at the moment. that is the dark blue square just below the line. but that is fairly normal after what has gone on in the pandemic. i think the other important things to note are that housing has begun to decline. you had a 14% decline in housing last quarter. that is to be expected when you raise interest rates and mortgage rates as you know have

doubled over the past several months, it hasn't affected housing. the last thing i would note on this chart is the red line to the right. that is the consensus projection of economists for what could happen in the next two quarters, which is slightly positive gdp, i.e. not a contraction. i still think there is a very substantial chance, probably more than 50%, that we have some kind of recession at some point to get inflation under control, but it is not where we are today. >> so as we move to your second chart, steve, one of the points that people like jerome powell and janet yellen have been making, is if you look at the unemployment picture, it is not an economy in recession. we have twice as many jobs as people looking for them. it just doesn't square with the argument that this is a recession. do you agree with them on that? >> this chart shows exactly what you just said. this goes back through every recession from the mid-1950s on, with the exception of the pandemic, because unemployment

was literally off this chart. you can see that in every recession since 1957, you have had a material increase in on employment. all those black bars going up are essentially the amount by which unemployment went up in percentage points, as you can see on the left. then you look over on the right, and you see our little turquoise bar, which actually shows unemployment going down over the last two quarters. completely contrary to a recession. as you can see, 3.6 percent unemployment rate. just last month we created 372,000 new jobs, 2.8 million new jobs this year. this is not a recession that i have ever seen, and therefore i don't really think, and nobody really thinks this is actually a real recession. on your last chart, the last side of this, what makes it feel like it is technically a recession or not, is the cost of things. it is too expensive to go out, and you are seeing that in consumer confidence.

>> yes. look, the economy is no doubt weakening, and that is part of the plan. we have to bring down this inflation. the only way known to man and economists is to reduce demand for which could eventually lead to some unemployment, but just get people to spend less. inflation unfortunately has been taking that tall. so the chart on the left, this is interesting numbers that just came out in the last day or two. we have seen a lot of consumer confidence numbers over the month. they are pretty terrible, quite frankly. this particular index isn't even as bad as some of the other ones that are out there, but you can see that we have had a fairly steady decline in consumer confidence for several months. what makes this chart a bit new and interesting, perhaps, to the viewers, is that on the right, this chart actually, or this index is based on five different sub- indices that have all been aggregated. one of the things they do is bring a question to consumers of how you feel now about the job market, and how do you think in the future?

what you can see on the red line is that at the moment, consumers for obvious reasons feel pretty darn good about the job market. they feel that there are plenty of jobs out there. when you look at the blue line, they are very pessimistic about the future. as we all know, elections are about the future. we are facing an election. this kind of a spread is not great for democrats going into the election, and we really obviously need to help the jobs continue to come and strong, and we get some kind of a reversal of that blue line, people's expectations about the future being quite negative at the moment. >> steve, a couple questions about the lived economy. what is going to happen to interest rates on car loans, credit cards, and where do you suppose all the workers are? >> well, on the first question, mike, they are going to go up. we have to be realistic about what's going to be required to bring down that 9.1% inflation. we have 75 basis points, three

quarters of a percentage point in layman's terms increase this week. the market is expecting more increases before it finally tops out. mortgage rates have gone roughly from 2 3/4% to 5 1/2% for a 30 year mortgage. as i said, that has already had an effect on the housing market. you will see other interest rates follow suit. this is sort of economics 101. higher interest rates mean people borrow less, which means they spend less. it is painful. it is not fun for anybody, but unfortunately it is the price we pay for having been a little bit too exuberant with our stimulus, both from the fed and from the central government over the course of the pandemic and during the recovery. the question is, can we land this plane? not supported by history. history would tell you that we are not sophisticated enough to land the plane. it would be a bit like an

airline pilot like me trying to land on an aircraft carrier. you might get lucky, but more than likely you are probably going to have a bit of an unpleasant experience, and i think we have to prepare ourselves for that possibility. >> steve, i have faith in your piloting abilities. there is going to be more legislation coming. democrats believe they can get this reconciliation package, anti-inflation is right in the name. but from what you know of it and what it plans to do, what sort of impact will it actually have? >> first, the mansion-schumer package, whatever you would like to call it, i think is an extraordinary achievement. i think to have pulled back from the jaws of defeat, but to produce a package that actually reduces the deficit in a meaningful way for the first time in 11 years, and therefore presumably have some positive impact on inflation as well as getting corporate taxes privately sorted out as well as prescription drugs -- all that stuff is quite amazing. but we have to be realistic that these are all small things relative to the size of the inflation problem. there are other small things

the president could do that so far he hasn't done relative to the size of the inflation but they are small relative to the size of the inflation problem. we have a very significant inflation hold, if you will. but every little bit of digging out is helpful, and we should continue to try to dig ourselves out. every little bit we can dig ourselves out by policies like these takes some pressure off the fed. means interest rates don't have to go up quite as much. but i don't want to hold out false hope that you are going to suddenly see a meaningful drop in inflation simply because they pass this reconciliation bill. >> excellent explanation of everything going on right now. steve is being humble. he was actually the technical coordinator on top gun: maverick, and wisely cut himself in on the back end of that one $.2 billion film. steve rattner can drop a dime on an aircraft carrier any day of the week. great to see you, steve. thanks so much.

still ahead, the unexpected reversal by republican senators on a bill to help veterans affected by toxic fumes that has john stored outside the capital and not happy. we will break down what happened and speak with jon stewart, head on

let's take a break for some baseball. the new york yankees needed just one swing from the man himself, aaron judge to beat the kansas city royals. judge's solo home run. his league leading of the season third walkoff of the year. yankees beat the royals 1-0. only had two over them. over in baltimore, what might have been a memorable final plate member for long-time member of the orioles, trey mancini. >> to right. loh will drift back. loh doesn't see it.

loh lobs the ball. trey is going to go to third. trey is going to be waved home. here comes mancini. he is safe! safe! safe! >> mancini sneaks in with an inside-the-park home run at right field play from the boston red sox. >> that hurts actually. >> oh, my gosh. >> still, mike barnicle, we talk about trey mancini leaving perhaps after a long treer career there. who else are you looking at? trade deadline is coming up in a couple of days. who do you think makes the big move. >> who are the contenders who need things. >> in the yankees need something. they'll probably make not a major move. i think the dodgers will end up with juan soto. if soto is, indeed, moved. they have all the material, all the personnel to make a move like that, or the cardinals. they're in it as well. the catcher for the chicago

cubs. he'll be moved. almost guaranteed. the cubs' final sendoff to the world series team. there will be a bunch of moves made. trading deadline is always fun to watch and hang on to. but last night's yankees games. i gotta hand it to you. two hits and one of them was pretty big, we just showed you, the aaron judge. but the yankees, they're 33 games above 500. >> yeah. >> 34 now. >> they are well positioned to lose the astros. >> oh. >> let's talk about this offset. first, though, we'll note the red sox did win last night. we think will more likely be sellers than buyers in the coming weeks. let's forget about them. they're only at 500 aaron judge, who is having no doubt about it, mvp season.

he bet on himself. judge and the yankees could not come to an agreement on the contract extension. this is his last year before being a free agent. he also raised eyebrows, where he was like, reassure your yankees fan you'll play. he said, you can root for me on every team. >> the rattner conversation. inflation. this is at least $100 million of extra stimulus to the u.s. economy that aaron judge is going to cost to the yankees or somebody. but the market is open. but after this season, very, very hard for the yankees to lose him. very hard. essentially, they can't. if they win the series, he's the hero. and if they lose, how can you get rid of your best player after disappointing again. so i think the yankees made a $100 million decision.

unfortunately, it went the wrong way. but good for him. >> aaron judge's contract is going up. >> he bet on himself and won. >> no way the yankees let him walk. he's going to get whatever he asks for. and luckily, they have the money to do it. >> red sox won last night. >> huge. >> i noticed that. did they crawl out of the cellar. good for everyone. that's fantastic. coming up, new numbers on the census. and russia launches missiles at kyiv as they begin counter offenses to break a major hold on the southern city. the chairman of the armed services committee, who just returned from a trip to the region will be our guest. region will be our guest.

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tonight ari melber takes a look at a special report. he'll trace president trump's actions as they unfolded in realtime. and delve into whether the president may have crossed a legal line. >> 187 minutes that went as this insurrection raised. >> went as this insurrection raised. >>

welcome back to "morning joe." it is friday, july 29th. right at the top of the hour. as you look at the beautiful live picture jonathan lemire, mike barnicle with us. joining us u.s. correspondent katty kay. eugene robinson, chief correspondent for the "new york times," peter baker. and political analyst, susan del percio. good morning to you all. a lot to get to, veterans group who were originally on capitol hill, to celebrate the pack act. instead, we're left in shock. after republicans unexpectedly blocked that bill. the pack dak would aid those exposed to toxic burn pits overseas and in war. >> every minute of delay is a

minute that a veteran who fought for this country, and their families and caregivers suffer and die. how are these people human? where is any sense of decency from any of them. 42 republican senators. >> today was supposed to be a celebration, right? we see so many in d.c. >> yeah. it just makes the gut bunch that much more devastating. these people came down here, so they could finally tell the men and -- their constituents are dying. and they're going to get it done in recess? you know? tell their cancer to stay home and go visit their families. this is a disgrace. if this is america first. america is [ bleep ] >> jon stewart will join us

about an hour from now. the bill just last month, with a vote of 84-14. only was brought up to fix a technical issue the way it was written. the more than two dozen republicans then switched their votes and the bill did not pass. it was 55-42. every democrat was in favor. but bill needs 62 to filibuster. retaliation recently announced spending bill. republicans say that's patently not true. they point to a budgetary policy dispute, between the two parties and how often this is paid for. john tester of montana spoke to nbc news. >> i hope they're not connected. i really do hope they're not connected. because that's really bad. if you want to find a reason to vote against a gill and it's another bill. that's your reason to tank it? i think that's a sad state of

affairs. if the senate doesn't act and get this bill to the president's desk, we have done this country a big, big disservice. and for those folks out there who areclaiming their patriots, it, back it up. >> the senate will vote on the bill monday before the senate leaves town for that month-long recess. so, mike barnicle, this is an issue that we talked to people like paul ricov. he's an iraq veteran who has been beating the drum. many men and women who served overseas are getting sick. from breathing all the toxic gasoline in the air. this seems like a layup. in fact, it was not long ago. and republicans like senator pat toomey of pennsylvania say they're putting a hold on it,

until they fix the way it's financed. but as the people waiting on this care don't have time for them to wait and fix it. >> the definition of not long ago, as you just referenced, was exactly 48 hours ago. and in the city, politics, where hipocracy almost always dominates the day. this is the ultimate, ultimate definition of hypocrisy. the group in the united states senate and now even the house of representatives, voting against a bill that is absolutely vital to the health and welfare of many veterans in this country. voting against it because of a fit of peak, because they were outfoxed by joe manchin and chuck schumer. not the first time, certainly that mitch mcconnell is used to outfoxing people, he got outfoxed. but the bottom line is that most of the people who will now

vote against it, presumably, the republicans, they fill themselves up and try to fill their audiences back up in their districts and their states, with their gratitude for what veterans have done for this country. we are grateful for every veteran. we are grateful for what they did for this country. then they go to work in washington and behind the backs of veterans, veterans' families veterans' healthcare officials, they vote against veterans. that's a fact. >> some aides perhaps recognized how bad this looked. spreadinged word, we think we'll get this done next week. but they couldn't promise it. is this out of spite? >> it would seem, the republicans being angry.

they did, as mike said, get outfoxed. but they're taking it out on the people who need it most. men and women serve this country, honored their country, served overseas, went out and get sick and no now not getting the help. >> and those people are going to be in the position like jon stewart said, dying. do you think it's going to get done monday? probably not. these veterans deserve the funding. they deserve this being passed. to me , if i was putting this down, i would put unfit for office. and put every republican who voted against it on it. because make no mistake about it. republicans voted against veterans yesterday. and they deserve to be called out because it shows that no way should they be put back in leadership, if they can't even support the veterans. >> and a lot of these senators,

jon says, say don't worry, it's going to pass. but the veterans need it now. meanwhile, senators are working a wide-ranging spending bill through points of reconciliation. just about a week to go before congress leaves town. majority leader schumer said he plans to bring it to the senate floor for a vote next week. so we have it on the screen. taxes on the corporation, wealthy. bringing the prescription price down. many other things, climate change initiatives as well. is there any question that all 50 democrats will get on board here? >> we still haven't heard yet. and obviously the management of a 50-vote caucus is still precarious, when some of them are still coming down with covid. that's a problem, of course, when you have a split senate. but broadly speaking, no, i think there's an expectation that all 50 senators on the democratic side will support

this and manage to get it through. it's a big win in a sense for president biden and the democrats and being able to salvage something out of nothing. it's a far cry from what they originally set out to accomplish. but it's better than zero. >> and had the house pass it in the fall. had something to argue to the voters to be able to accomplish, even if they didn't get everything they accomplished. >> to this point we noy noted if we looked at this six to 10 months ago. but in the sense, once you have been through defeat, something can look like victory. in practical terms, how much does this do to address democrats' top priorities? >> it actually does a lot. this would be a very important piece of legislation. it extends the affordable care act subsidies.

it -- the climate change provisions. it's $369 billion. it's the largest investment our government has ever made, our congress has ever made, certainly, in the fight against climate change. and it's very important. it's going to sort of pave the way for all the electric cars that are being rolled out. it's going to make it much easier and affordable for people to use cleaner energy in their homes and solar panels. it's going to sort of goose the industries of the clean energy future that are developing these technologies and these products that are going to allow us to have a future. and it -- according to the senate democrats, it would

reduce our carbon emissions by 40% by 2030. now, that is huge. and while climate scientists say, yeah, we need to move a bit ster than that, the fact is, this puts us in the ball game in a way that we simply were not before. and that alone is enormously important. and would be a huge achievement, i think, not just for the biden administration. but for the future of this planet, really. >> and democrats, while they pulled together votes on that reconciliation package, visit yesterday, we told you about a package yesterday, to boost u.s. computer chip production, staying competitive with china. now, the house has passed that as well. nearly 24 joined with all democrats in supporting the chips plus act. democratic tim ryan who is the democratic nominee for the senate race. had this to say on the house

floor, about republicans who voted against that chips plus legislation. >> this is the first step towards an industrial policy in the united states of america. and it is time for us to quit the politics, stop trying to score political points, stop putting party over country. lay down our arms. my god, if we can't agree on this, what in the hell are we going to agree on? rebuilding the manufacturing base, good-paying jobs, union construction, outcompeting china, national security. come on. let's do this. let's do it together. but we have a small group of people, who have hijacked the republican party. and the leadership in this house on the republican side, is more concerned with defeating democrats than doing something that is best for the united states of america. we just saw it in the senate,

with the burn pits' legislation. we're seeing it here with the chips legislation. party over country. >> so jonathan lemire, this is the bill we talked about yesterday, where you had some senators, republican senators, who had voted for the chips plus bill, once the reconciliation news broke, they felt slighted, they felt they got worked over. and they voted against the chips plus bill. something they had just supported hours earlier. tim ryan, obviously is in a hot senate race in the state of ohio, where he's doing well against the republican j.d. vance. but clearly, this is a bill as many republicans have said, not me. that this is a bill good for america. this term its of jobs for the u.s. and protecting us. >> this bill addresses a major need. and had broad bipartisan support. it was a slam dunk in the senate. and enjoyed support from the house republicans as well.

which is why the gop that was in the house was forced to take such a difficult vote. those that did decide to change what they thought about this. because they were asked to go against what they supported two days prior. and also frankly, to a bill that was meant to compete against china. and you don't really want to be tied to beijing if you're running for congress. susan, obviously an impassioned speech. and says yeah, he's running for senate. then you also have, well, yeah, he's running for senate. and that's probably a good issue for him in ohio. >> it's a great issue. i could see that clip running all morning today on local tv and in ohio. it's going to be very powerful. let's not forget, the person he's running against, jd vance, is a loony tune. he is becoming everything he claimed he was. and tim ryan is ohio. and that's what's so important. we see it with john fedderman

in pennsylvania. seeing tim ryan in ohio, see being him be ohio for ohioan its. that is an important message. republicans yesterday went against the economy and veterans, for the sake of being a republican. >> peter baker, the tim ryan clip that we just played, seems to have the added benefit of being truthful. and he points out that the republicans have been caught in a position of voting for their party over their country. my question to you is, how is it that mitch mcconnell, the shrewd, historically shrewd fox, who is running the senate and runs the senate, even when he's minority leader, really, he's that powerful. how did he find himself getting put in this position? >> you're right. that's a good question. because he's one of the canniest players we've probably seen on capitol hill in many, many years. we'll see what happens. as they go on monday or leave on recess, that it may not be

that big of an impact in the long term. republicans will be able to vote on it and say, see, i did support it in the end. if they go into the recess having not fixed the problem, that leaves themselves to angry constituents and bad press back home at a time when some of them are running for re- election. remember, the house, obviously, is looking like it's going to trend republican. but the democrats are doing well in some of these key senate races that susan just mentioned. i think for the senate in particular, if you have a hope of getting a majority back, which is what mitch mcconnelldesperately wants to do, this is kind of a head- scratching strategy. >> to that point we have new numbers out of the state of pennsylvania. new fox poll shows democrat john fetterman leading

republican mehmet oz now 42-36. in the same poll, josh shapiro leading republican senator doug mastriano, by 10 points, 50-40. so mastriano and dr. oz both. dr. oz has been underperforming to say the least. he's been in europe on vacation. questions whether he lives in pennsylvania. he lived in new jersey for a very long time. this gets to the larger question that peter was just talking about. candidate selection in the republican party. >> exactly. republicans are trying very hard to defeat from the jaws of victory in the senate. and they're succeeding. dr. oz. if you want to win a senate seat in pennsylvania, don't nominate a dual turkish

american citizen, who lives in new jersey. because he's probably not going to win. if you want to win the governorship there, don't nominate a far right loony tune. and georgia, hershel walker is a terrible candidate. and reverend warnock, senator warnock is leading that race in what is still a pretty red state. it's just, it's incredible, the way, well, first of all, the way donald trump has helped democrats in all of these races, by supporting these farout candidates. jd vance in ohio, which ought to be an easy slam dunk for a sensible republican candidate. and jd vance is locked in a very, very tight race against tim ryan. and is also a pretty bad

candidate, and in my opinion, seems likely to blow that race as well. so i think if the democrats are feeling pretty good about their chances in the senate right now, and candidate selection is really the biggest factor. >> ka tty, eugene uttered that cliche. don't nominate a celebrity doctor who has dual citizenship how many times have you heard it. but there does seem to be real momentum here for democrats in the senate and coming out of the white house now. and we know the deal is not done yet. all eyes on senator of tares. not just giving something to run on these midterms, helping the candidates but revising this presidency. which has had a bit of a

moment. how do they take advantage? >> fun fact, by the way, on dr. oz. i once beat him on celebrity jeopardy. >> give us more details. >> i did "celebrity jeopardy." it was chris wallace, me and dr. oz. and chris leaned over to me and said, no offense, ka tty, i'm not worried about you. i'm worried about dr. oz. and i beat him. ouch. remarkably, 10 points ahead. who is kind of representing him. because he's not even outcampaigning yet. he's still recovering from that stroke that he had back in the spring. and hasn't been on the campaign trail. if he's 10 points ahead. he comes from braddock, pittsburgh, born and bred in pennsylvania, there's no candidate like john fetterman. born and bred in pennsylvania,

very different from dr. oz. but to your point, how fortunes can change in the space of a few days. the democrats here in washington seem to have put wind in the sails of their democrats' agenda, which could help democrats across the country give them something potentially to run on. november is still a long way away, and people's memories are short. and this is going to dominate. but it does give them something to talk about that is a bit more positive. the real problem, i think, though, is that republicans have just nominated candidates who are out of step with their states. and the really interesting one is going to be ohio. ohio is more conservative than pennsylvania. probably more conservative than georgia at the moment. and if jd vance can't win in ohio, appealing to republican voters, just as john fetterman, by the way, is running ads on fox news. you have two appealing to republican class workers.

but if jd vance can't run ohio, really indicates that republicans have to think about the kind of candidates they're nominating. >> what do you suspect or know as you watch these races unfold. as he looks at a poll number like that one in pennsylvania. these are states that republicans believe they can and should win. you can add georgia to that list, with hershel walker. as i mentioned, ohio. as he watches jd vance. dr. oz. hershel walker. what are you thinking? >> he's thinking i told you so. at this time republican party picked a number of candidates in various hot races that were unelectable. and now he's worried that they're repeating history. and that of course, in his mind is donald trump's fault. he has said all along that the party needs to move on. but he hasn't been willing to confront him in a direct way, since the impeachment trial of last year. and that's a consequence you're seeing through these primaries

and candidate selection processes. georgia, pennsylvania, ohio, these ought to be republican states in environment like this, with inflation being what it is, with economy being in recession, those aut to be pickups and he ought to get his 52 majority seat. and they might not. obviously in the house, republicans still doing well. kevin mccarthy still favored to win the majority there. although the odds have narrowed a little bit. but it says something about the republican party if they're not able to take house. when a president's party is facing an economic headwinds, the way they are, if they're not losing in the midterm, then that's something about the opposition party. >> we even heard reports last

night from president trump himself about the support of candidates that in some cases he hand picked to run for senate. peter baker, thank you. susan del percio good to see you. still ahead. the chairman of the committee, congressman adam smith joins us on a trip to kyiv. we'll talk to him about the latest in the war in ukraine as russia forces attack the capitol city for the first time in weeks. plus, donald trump brings the controversial saudi-backed lived golf tour back to new jersey. and the former president himself defending against criticism by making false claims about 9/11. we'll go live to bed minister as the weekend tournament tees off. the weekend tournament tes off. it's a storm that crashes, and consumes, replacing thought with worry. but one thing can calm uncertainty. an answer. uncovered through exploration, teamwork, and innovation.

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russian forces yesterday

hit thecapital city of kyiv. six missiles hit from the black city, injuring 15 people. three other buildings were damaged in the attack. joining us now, democratic representative adam smith of washington state, he's the change of the house armed services committee and just back from a trip to kyiv. mr. chairman thank you for joining us this morning. we're getting reports from the washington post, with a long piece that effectively russia has stopped its advances in ukraine. that it has run out of material and ammunition. and the continued report from the united states and the west is helping ukraine to continue to push back. is that what you saw there? >> absolutely. i would say, the russian advances have been stopped. i wouldn't say russia has stopped it. they definitely, and you've heard the rhetoric from russia, they're still determined to take as much of ukraine as

possible. the longer range access missiles are making a huge difference to stop the russian invasion ever ucrepe. >> we're looking at pictures of you, chair with president zelenskyy, who has obviously risen to prominence in the last few months. how is he holding up? what is the morale of the country? and what is he asking for. >> he's very calm and focused. that was the thing about the trip. we spent a day there. ukraine is very much a functioning country. their train system is running well, their hospital system is running well. in the midst of this, i think they are really well organized. in the way they're focused, organized and really making the country work in the face of this. that was the important thing. and they were very focused on the next few weeks and next few months. russia wants to lock in the current control they have of ukraine. ukraine knows they have to push back. ukraine knows they have to get

out of the south so they can have some access to the black sea, in order to prevent russia from locking in a frozen concept. and rest up so they can go to ukraine later. number one focus was get us as much help as you can now in the next weeks before winter comes so we can be in the position to stop russia from taking their country. >> congressman what is yowrp understanding of personnel in russia. we've had numbers as high as 75,000 russian troops lost. that would be enormous, given that sofiet forces lost 15,000 during the course of decades long war in afghanistan. how critical is it to their war effort, if there is this pause, if there is this failure on that part to make any big advances, how much is it lost to the personnel on the ground and can those troops be

replaced? >> just to be clear. it's 75,000 killed and wounded. not 75,000 killed. not the exact statistics. this has huge impact. this is the decisive factor. when you look at ukraine's ability to be successful in what they want to try to do. which is not just stop the russian advance in the east. stop it and push it back, how good, how strong is the russian force? and there's a ton of reporting about how their morale is down. they're losing troops. putin is taking untrained troops out of prison and rural poor areas, unable to tap into the upper middle class parts of russia. when you ask the question, can ukraine push back? what they're going to face is a key question. there's a number of people who are skeptical. but then, as the ukrainians pointed out to us, a number of people were skeptical about the ukraine's ability to stop the

attack to kyiv, too. that's a huge factor. how strong is the russian military. ton of indicators their morale is down and ability to advance is down. but that's not a guarantee by any stretch. >> i want to change the subject for a second to the climate provisions in the manchin- schumer deal. $369 billion, cutting emissions 40% by 2030. is that as big a deal as i think it is? and are you optimistic that this actually will get passed by both houses? >> yes and yes. it's a huge deal. and it's a testimony to the persistence of the biden administration to senator schumer and others, to get this done. as you know, a week or two ago, it was declared dead. and this was pretty close to what was being asked for on the climate provisions in the bill

that was being negotiated last, however long ago. six or eight months ago. it's a huge deal on climate. it's also a huge deal to show that the government can function. and this is kind of a point that is lost. donald trump and the maga extremists want to say that the only thing that can work is donald trump. remember, "i alone can fix it," so there's a degree to say the government doesn't work, everybody is corrupt, that just plays into their narrative, a narrative, which, by the way, is destroying democracy in our country. and also the provisions that help seniors and lower prescription drug costs and put in place, extend the aca, with healthcare. these are crucial advancements for the american people. and that the republicans are basically saying, we're going to vote against it because it was the democrats' idea. we're seeing that a lot, with the pact act, with the chips act, which they had been

advocates for. i mean, they are so invested in proving that democracy can't work, especially under president biden, that they're rejecting proposal after proposal that is making a huge difference for the american people. and we really need to drive home that point. >> congressman, ukraine, hot war, always possible that it could expand beyond the borders of ukraine. china yesterday warned the president of the united states not to play with fire, with regard to taiwan and speaker pelosi's potential visit there. on september 18, 2001, congress approved the use of, authorized use of military force that gave the president the right to engage in warfare. it has not been touched since. september 18, 2001. what's the status of that legislation? why hasn't it been redefined or whatever? >> two quick points. i'll get to that in a second. the issue of, yes, there's considerable risk, as we try to

stop russia from overtaking ukraine. and i respect that. i respect president biden for being prudent. but please understand, where ukraine is concerned, russia and putin are the only ones who don't want peace in ukraine. i mean, they're sort of running around, saying, well, we'd be open to a discussion. part of how you'd get to a more peaceful outcome, is you stop actors like putin and russia, who are the ones starting the war. let's be clear on that. as far as the authorization for the use of force is concerned, i've long supported updating it. and of course, you've got the 2001. the 2002 authorization for the use of force, which was authorized to remove saddam hussein from power, if he didn't give up his nuclear weapons, that hasn't been changed. we need to repeal a lot of authorizations for the use of force. they have been hanging on the books for a long time, they've given the president too much power. 2001, we definitely still have an isis and al qaeda problem, but it certainly should be narrowed and amended. and we have been advocating it

for a while, haven't gotten the votes, but i think it's a real issue the american people should fay attention to. >> chairman of the house armed services committee, adam smith of washington, chairman, thanks for your time this morning. we appreciate it. coming up here, president biden's approval numbers at an all-time low. and it may have some prominent democrats considering their own presidential campaigns in 2024. we'll dig into that new reporting and what the white house thinks about it. plus, there are more missing text messages tied to the january 6th attack on the capitol. this time, communications from the department of homeland security. reporter who broke that story will be our guest.

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in the race for the white house, the white house according to an nbc news report, white house officials areclosely tracking activity to

those they see as a potential challenge to president biden. it appears to be a charm offensive to those who seem to be getting a little too ambitious. but some say the strategy might not be working. in california this month, governor gavin newsom said in a private conversation that he is not interested in running for president in 2024. days later, however, newsome began appearing ads in texas, attacking governor greg abbott on abortion rights and guns. according to the allies, the keep frenemmies close approach is a sign that the white house is worried about rivals during policy. the report also notes that several white house officials insisted in interviews that the administration is not concerned with or preoccupied by a possibility of a rare interparty challenge, for an

incumbent president. jonathan, you spent all of your time at the white house. i know this idea, you keep your friends close but enemies even closer. they say they're not worried. are they actually worried? should they be are worried? and why is newsom airing ads in texas? >> newsom did the same in florida as well, advertising there, attacking governor destantis in the sunshine state. and look. the white house did the same with governor pritzker of illinois and other rumored candidate in 2024. but these are rumored candidates if joe biden doesn't run. and most white house aides i spoke to do not think there will be any real challengers to him. we know joe biden's age, current poll numbers. there is a question whether or not he'll run for a second term. so therefore, some potential candidates are going to do their due diligence. they're going to take steps in

case there say vacancy. because if the president were not to run, vice president harris certainly would. but the field would not likely clear for her. white house publicly, they say this president is planning to run again. and yes, it's true. theificial decision probably won't get made until next year. and the family won't have a say in that. right now, they're not likely to run. >> you know, jonathan, politics is such a predictable. the economy is in sort of rocky condition. inflation is hurting a lot of families. we all know that. no one knows it more so than joe biden. no one knows his age more so than joe biden. and i would imagine this picture that we're talking about right now, potential candidates running in a primary against the president of the united states. that's not going to happen. but in two weeks' time, two or three weeks' time, if the schumer manchin bill passes, this will sound ridiculous that we're talking about a potential

challenge to the existing, to the sitting president of the united states. and gene, the biggest thing that is interesting to me, probably i'm alone in this, but the idea that the biden presidency, he's going to be challenged on the left, challenged on the right, someone is going to challenge him, maybe more than one or two people will challenge him in the primary. he is not yet two years into his presidency. not even half done. >> yeah. i mean, it's ridiculous on that level. i mean, his poll numbers are really low. there are a lot of presidents who have gone through stretches with pretty low poll numbers and have been reelected. there are presidents who get creamed in the first midterm, like barack obama did and who get reelected. so don't read too much into these low poll numbers. obviously, he'd rather have him higher. but i agree with you, there's

not going to be a challenge to joe biden, once he says, i am definitely running again. i think that is a decision for him to make. and you're right. and again, you're right. he is the one who knows his age. he knows how he feels. he knows what he feels up to. he knows what he thinks would be best for the country. as of now, i think he believes what would be best for the country would be another four years of joe biden. so i take him at his word. i take his aides at their word that he's going to run again. and until we hear otherwise, i think that's what's going to happen. >> yeah. and as he has said repeatedly, he saturday only candidate, the democratic candidate, who has actually beaten donald trump so far. and he likes reminding democrats of that. still ahead. more testimony about january 6th. comes as the doj is reportedly

ready to fight claims of executive privilege in court. we'll have all of the new developments coming up for you on "morning joe." blatch 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.

in our wars, outside sweating their asses off with oxygen battling all kinds of ailments while these [ bleep ] sit in the air-conditioning walled off from any of it. i've been coming down ten, 15 years. i'm used to the hypocrisy. she will tell you from dfw, she sat in an office with mitch mcconnell and a war veteran from kentucky and he looked that man in the eyes and he said -- we'll get it done, and he lied to him because mitch mcconnell

yesterday flipped. i'm used to the lies. i'm used to the hypocrisy. senator pat toomey won't take a meeting with the veterans groups. sends out his chief executive of staff. i'm used to the cowardice. i've been here a long time. senate's where accountability goes to die. these people don't care. they're never losing their jobs. they're never losing their health care. i am used to all of it, but i'm not used to the cruelty. do you think their struggles end because the pact passes? all it means they don't have to decide between their cancer drugs and their house. their struggle continueses. they've been advocating with us. they spent their remaining time advocating so that other soldiers didn't have to face the indignities and the depravity and the desperation that they faced, and none of them will hear it and none of them care except to tweet.

boy, they'll tweet it. can't wait to see what they come up with on veterans day, on memorial day. well, this is the reality of it. you're not allowed to just leave your post when the mission isn't completed. apparently, you take an oath. you swear an oath and you can't leave, but these folks can leave because they're on senate time. go ahead, go home. spend time with their families because these people can't do it anymore. so they can't leave until this gets done because these people will not give up. they will not give in and they will not relent. this is an embarrassment to the senate, to the country, for the founders and all that they profess to hold dear, and if this is america first, then america is [ bleep ]. >> jon stewart on capitol hill yesterday after 25 senate republicans changed their votes

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♪♪ ♪♪ a couple of minutes before the top of the hour in washington. welcome back to "morning joe." it is friday july 29th. more government text messages from around the time of the capitol attack have disappeared. this time from two top leaders of donald trump's department of homeland security. we will talk to "the washington post" reporter who broke that story. jon stewart is standing by to discuss the military healthcare bill that was blocked by senate republicans and the likelihood that it gets through this week before they move on to the august recess. jonathan lemire, mike barnicle

and katty kay is still with us. we start with the texts that have been deleted. the lost messages are both from acting secretary chad wolf and acting deputy secretary ken cuccinelli. joining us now the reporter who broke the story. the pulitzer prize-winning reporter carol leonnig. let's talk about these text messages, who they come from and how they are with the secret service with the vanishing text messages around january 6th. >> first off, thank you for having me on to talk about the story and readers know what we're breaking because of you guys. we were sort of shocked at "the washington post" to learn that secret service texts were missing for a critical period in america's history, a calamitous,

chaotic incident which is now under both multiple committee investigations and a criminal investigation by the department of justice, but on top of that in the course of our reporting we learned that the department of homeland security also had deleted all of the messages of the very top leaders of the department of homeland security. keep in mind that the department of homeland security has the central responsibility for monitoring threat and protecting the homeland from that on the day of january 6th and the days leading up to it, they were responsible for monitoring chatter on white supremacist platforms and were -- [ indiscernible ] >> all right. carol, we're losing your shot just a little bit on the zoom.

we will try to get that fixed. jonathan lemire, it's worth pointing out that chad wolf was at the center of the story, the head of homeland security resigned five days after the attack on the capitol. he was one that did not dispute the results of the election. his department was planning an orderly transition to president biden's team. these are figures whose text messages quite obviously need to be looked into as we figure out what happened in the days leading up to and during the attack. >> the draconian child separation policy at the border, but to your point he was not involved with the january 6th stuff and was one of the cabinet members who resigned in the days after ward and there were several who did that. his messages have become of great note and the secret

service is under the umbrella of the department of homeland security and it used to be at the treasury. they've only increased and certainly aides, investigators are eager, disappointed that those text messages are gone and not just from any day, but of course, from those specific days and the words cover up are being bounced around the beltway on this. >> sounds like we have carol leonnig back. carol, is there applausible explanation for why not just these texts and also the secret service texts have disappeared so conveniently right around january 6th? >> there is a plausible explanation and it's not a real encouraging one about good governance. the department of homeland security leadership told a government watchdog in february, we learned from looking at records that were obtained by another independent watchdog group that shared them with us. they notified them that they had

basically reset the phones of the former acting secretary of homeland security and also the acting deputy secretary. this is chad wolf and ken cuccinelli, prominent people, the most senior leaders of the department of homeland security that as they were on their way out the door the phones were reset. if that sounds familiar to you, that's what the secret service told congress, as well. sorry, these messages from some of the most important moments in this period that's under investigation, the attack on the capitol, the walk-up to that attack, the president's effort to overturn the results of the election these texts are missing because we reset the phones. the problem with that explanation as you guys know so well is that there's a federal records act that asks the government and every public servant to take extraordinary steps to make sure they archive,

maintain and backup government records. they not only are history. they are an important part of making sure the next guy that's coming into office, the next president has a full record of what's happened, a full record of what our government has represented, said and done, and here we also have the extra imperative of invest gating what appear to be crimes. >> as you say, it's not just a good idea to preserve those records. it is a federal law. we'll see if they turn up. the washington post carol leonnig, we appreciate it. chuck schumer says the upper chamber will vote again next week to vote on a bill to extend benefits to veterans who worked in burn pits. 25 senate republicans changed

their votes there week after the house made some changes to the bill. here is how the chairman of the senate veterans affairs committee montana veteran john tester responded. >> if you have the guts to send someone to war, then you have to have the guts to take care of them when they get back home or don't send them in the first place. the american people are sick and tired of what's happening in this body. they're sick and tired of working for democrats and republicans that are not working for the american people. >> america's heroes who fought in our wars outside sweating their [ bleep ] off with oxygen battling all kinds of ailments while these [ bleep ] sit in the air-conditioning walled off from any of it. they don't have to hear it. they don't have to see it.

they haven't met a war they won't sign up for and they haven't met a veteran they won't screw over. they're on senate time. do you understand? you live around here. senate time is -- these [ bleep ] live until 200. they're tortoises. they live forever. if this is america first then america is [ bleep ]. >> jon stewart joans us now he is, of course, a longtime veterans advok at and john rykof and the founder of iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. thanks for being with us. well, jon, here you are again having to be up on capitol hill banging a podium to plead for basic health care for american heroes whether it be on 9/11 and the wars in iraq and afghanistan and beyond in vietnam, too. for people tuning into this issue because of the voice you lent it yesterday what are we talking about, exactly here?

>> the first of all, i don't approve of that language that i was using and -- i was shocked. >> we had to beep you, jon. >> i don't approve of it. it's pretty simple, willie. the pact act is a bill designed to give veterans the health care they need who have been exposed to burn pits and other toxins leading all of the way back to agent orange and their benefits have been denied because they haven't been able to be service connected so veterans were getting cancers and lung diseases and all kind of other immune logical responses and immune disorders and it wasn't being covered in their health care and benefits and they were dying and their families were going bankrupt and struggling and so this bill addresses those things and by the way, has already passed. it passed on june 16th, 84-14 in the senate and there was a

technical glitch in it that was blue slipped by the house. it was just one sentence about rural medical practices being utilized by the va so that veterans who live far away from a big facility can also access specialized care. that's the only thing that the house picked. so that's where it stands, but if i could, willy, i want to address the talking point that the republican senators, and i've started to see it bubble up, and it's just not true. they're suggesting that a budgetary gimmick was inserted into the bill at midnight by the dirty dems that somehow is a trojan horse to $400 billion of spending that has nothing to do with veterans. i'm assuming they will be spending it on pronoun commercials that they'll be running 24/7 on everybody's televisions to indoctrinate

people. it's just not true, and that's really the crucial point of this, and i want to make sure that people are able to recognize that. >> well, yeah, jon, to that point. senator toomey, we reached out to us and they directed us to a statement. he says, senator toomey of pennsylvania, it's wrong to use a veterans bill to hide a $400 billion unrelated slush fund and we can still fix it now and we can quickly amend the pact act to remove this budget gimmick without reducing spending on veterans in the underlying bill by a single penny. he says this isn't about giving money to veterans and it's about making sure they get all of the money that's in this bill. >> okay. this is nonsense, and you know ted cruz said the same thing yesterday. this is a budgetary gimmick or also known how they pay for the bill and here's how we know they're lying and god forgive me

because their mouths are moving. all of the republicans who say the budgetary gimmick and it's how the bill was paid for and it was in the bill. this is how the bill was paid for. this is how it was paid for when it came out of the senate veterans affairs committee unanimously, bipartisan on june 16th when ted cruz and josh hawley and all those other republicans voted 84-14 to pass this bill. this is how it was paid for. this was not inserted by the house. this was not inserted by democrats at the last minute. this is the provision of how the bill was paid for on june 16th when they passed it 84-14. so nothing changed. the only change that the house made was a constitutional issue. it was one sentence and i don't want this to be one of those conversations where you go, well, let's just leave it here and you know, we'll check it out. i want you to fact check that while i am sitting here.

did ted cruz and all those other republicans who voted yes on this bill and then switched their vote to no, was that the provision of how the bill was paid for when they voted yes? now toomey, on the other hand, he's been against this all along. at least he's been a consistent dick, but that's not -- this is nothing new. this is how it was paid for. the fix in the house was a tiny constitutional provision. this is the same bill that they passed, and by the way, all that nonsense that toomey says about $400 billion of a slush fund that opens the door to that possibility. you know who can close that door? the senate and the house because they have the power of appropriation. so there is no $400 billion slush fund, and if he was against slush funds maybe he wouldn't have voted for the $60 to $70 billion overseas operations contingency fund that

they vote for every year, above and beyond the defense department spending. they always have money for the war with no guardrails and no oversight, but all of a sudden they get religion on a healthcare bill for veterans. and i'll say this, the most despicable part of this whole thing is watching on the senate floor ted cruz fist bumping and then patting each other on the back when they blocked this bill. josh hawley and pat toomey celebrating their victory over veterans with cancer. way to go, guys! you finally handed it to big veteran with cancer. well done! they're lying about the provision that they're talking about. they're trying to make it sound dangerous. the whole place down there is a shell game of mandatory and

discretionary spending. it's how they move everything. they move things into different buckets whenever it suits them and they move it around. this provision was in the bill when they passed it on june 16th and it wasn't a gimmick inserted by democrats and it was the way the veterans affairs committee paid for the bill and it came out of that committee unanimously. i have no idea why they flipped their vote. rick scott's on twitter saying it's because of this gimmick. john cornyn's saying it was because they were supposed to get a vote on two amendments and they never got it. so i'll issue this challenge to pat toomey. put your amendment on the floor of the senate. give it a 60-vote threshold just like you made the veterans have a 60-vote threshold on the cloture vote and if you win it, great. you win it and that's how it's done, but if you lose it like you lost it on june 16th, pass this bill and let it done.

right now there is a vigil on the capitol steps burn pits 360 and rosie torres and tim jensen are doing a watch. they will stay on the capitol steps until this vote on monday, all day, all night. if anybody's around there, bring them a juice box because if you don't know this, washington, d.c. is a hell hole and it's 180 degrees. >> paul, you have been talking about burn pits for years. every time over the last decade at least i'd reach out to you and say what are we missing on veterans and what should we be talking about? burn pits, burn pits, burn pits. for people again that haven't been familiar on this issue. what exactly is the problem, where did it start and what are the impacts, the deadly impacts that our veterans are feeling from it. >> well, here we go again, willie. i think i came on your show to talk about this maybe 18 years ago? the military when we deploy they

take everything from military waste to plastic and put it in a giant hole and burn it and set it on fire like the image that you see on your screen. we sit around and breathe that crap in for over a decade. i was around it in kuwait and in iraq and now we're getting sick. many of our friends have already died. many of our friends are dying right now and i think jon is thankfully jumping in yet again, but we've been here before. we've had to go through this on 9/11 and i was a 9/11 first responder, if we didn't have jon blow that up it wouldn't have passed and we had the extension and jon had to blow it up and it passed and here we are in 2014 and we had the clay hunt save act for veterans facing suicide and there was one lone senator who played the same kind of nonsense games. tom coburn and it's the same

playbook and now it's senator pat toomey who is a coward. he is not a champion for fiscal responsibility. he's a jack ass and he's a power hungry duty suit who is playing with our lives and our friends are dying and he's sitting in air-conditioning in a suit playing nonsense political games and has to stop. he has to be shamed into be on liver on, and i don't have to come on with jon stewart in a couple of years to name one senator stopping maybe the one common sense legislation in washington. >> hey, jon, it's jonathan lemire, can you give us a number of veterans picked up because of these burn pits and how many people are not getting the help they need because of this republican inaction? >> well, there's tens of thousands. i mean, look, as paul will tell you, the 3.5 million veterans that were in theater in iraq and

afghanistan, and that includes agent orange. look, every bill that's going on here stands on the shoulders of the work that the vietnam veterans did to try and get their illnesses from agent orange recognized. every war that we fight there are no limits on what we will spend to prosecute that war. there are no limits on what we will spend on the weapons systems and on the toys, and in every war when the veterans come back and they have to face the consequences of that fight suddenly congress is looking through their pantses and their couches and they can't find the change. so this has been going on since this all, since we began prosecuting these wars. so there are millions of veterans who will be affected. everybody's immune system is affected and a toxic wound

something that goes off in your body five years, seven years, they've made advances on brain injury and post traumatic stress and obviously on surgeries for amputees and rehabilitation. toxic exposure is the one area that has been ignored. this bill finally addresses all of that, and again, i beg of you, please check and announce on your show that the funding provision that is the way this bill is paid for is exactly as it was when the senate passed it 84-14 on june 16th because they're lying that this is a gimmick that's been thrown in there. it's a talking point and it has to be knocked down. >> paul rykoff, this is nothing new. i mean, this is just the latest example of something going on in

washington, d.c., that covers a lot of the definitions of hypocrisy, incompetence, cruelty. this bill, the pact bill was first introduced in june of 2021. that's more than a year ago. a lot of veterans have died since then. a lot more are closer to death since then. you know better than anyone here on this particular segment that the united states government for years, if they're going to send someone to da nang, to panama, to iraq they do it in a quick second. you go. you saddle up and go, and now when they're asked, please, just help this person. think of it just as an individual person suffering from brain cancer, lung cancer, other forms of cancer, well, we have to check the budget, but on this

case, in this case, this is pure political hypocrisy. so my question to you is, i'm not going to ask you the obvious question, do you ever get tired of dealing with this. my question to you is how do we go about singling out even more so the individuals like josh hawley and like ted cruz who go and stand up in their home states at rallies and say we have to support our veterans and do this as if they're invisible? >> you know, mike, if you're not angry you're not paying attention and i've been coming on this show for almost 20 years. rieckhoff. it has to be addressed by singularly addressing the ring leaders because there are people who politically quarterbacked this. i talked about coburn who did it

in the past and rand paul and now it's senator pat toomey from pennsylvania who is leaving the senate at the end of this year. he is not give a damn, so you have to shame him into oblivion and we have to make sure that everyone in america makes him famous and everyone knows his name so when he leaves the senate he can't go into some cushy, corporate job and make a ton of money and go into a lob ney washington and come back in a year and start pushing for special interests because our friends are dying. you ask how many people are affected. one in five living veterans can receive benefits from this bill. we have jon stewart doing interviews from the jersey turnpike, sleeping at the hill overflight. this is for veterans. these are vietnam veteran, many of whom are already dead. this is about the soul of america. this is about whether government can work and this is about whether americans are willing to

step up. go to pat toomey's office, call him right now. send juice boxes to the people on the hill and get it through immediately because it may not get through before they go on summer break and then let's get to the issues because there's a whole line behind them ready to come as well. >> doing interviews from the vince lombardi service areas on the turnpike on his way home. >> i'm not ashamed to say i have a bladder. i have to pull over every now and again. >> they have a good roy rodgers there, as i recall. before i let you go, let me ask you about the future of this. we heard chuck schumer saying on monday, he'll bring it up for a vote and he believes he'll pass and republicans saying, yeah, we'll pass it and we'll get the money to go -- >> but again -- >> frankly because of the noise you made, so is it going to happen? >> again, willie, when we say we want to clear this up. what do they mean? do they mean clear up the way

that the bill is paid for that was in the bill on june 16th when they voted yes? like, what do they mean by clean up? this is not a gimmick. it's the provision by which they pay for the bill. it doesn't open up $400 billion of mysterious spending that democrats can do whatever they want with. the va secretary has to, even on a mandatory spending bill submit how that money is spent to the senate and the house and the appropriators and the senate and the house can still turn it down, if they want. that is their prerogative. they're the congress. so to pretend that there is some open door of $400 billion slush fund that could be spent on whatever anybody wants to spend it on is nonsense, and this is exactly how the bill was designed. it came out of the senate veterans affairs committee

unanimously with this provision in it and they passed it. 84-14 and now all of a sudden they're saying what the hell is this? ted cruz, oh, i'm just a poor, harvard lawyer. they've snuck this in on me, i don't know what happened. it's how the bill was paid for. please, tell your viewers, that is the truth. do not let them obfuscate. >> the bill, as it went to the house, goes through the senate 84-14. fws to the house, passes there, returns to the senate and the changes to the bill in the house were described as minor so not major funding. >> it was about rural va access. that's all it was, and it was a slight constitutional question that had to be fixed. the senate tried to fix it by june 16th right after they passed it and toomey shot it down. he would not let them do a unanimous consent to fix that

one sentence. so let's just be clear about the dynamics of what happened here and how this thing has been pulled and we cannot allow them to pull the wool over on this for all these veterans that need this health care, and these benefits. it's outrageous. >> bottom line. that's the bottom line. that's not about politics and it's about getting health care to people when stepped up when our country was attacked. >> that's right. >> jon stewart, and the host of the problem on apple tv+ and reickhoff. thanks. we appreciate it. >> thank you, guys. a call from president biden and president xi about nancy pelosi's trip to taiwan. what that means for two super powers. also ahead, homes are under water in kentucky after heavy rain triggered deadly flash

flooding overnight. more of it, we'll get a live report from the devastated region where forecasters say more rain could be coming over the weekend. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. ht back. do i just focus on when things don't work, and not appreciate when they do? i love it when work actually works! i just booked this parking spot... this desk... and this conference room! i am filing status reports on an app that i made! i'm not even a coder! and it works!... i like your bag! when your digital solutions work, the world works. that's why the world works with servicenow.

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only from us... xfinity. tour is teeing off its second tournament this morning at trump national golf club in bedminster. former president donald trump responded to criticism from families of september 11th victims who are urging americans to protest the tournament. former president defended his decision to host the event by casting doubt on any connection between saudi arabia and the 9/11 attacks. >> i've known these people for a long time in saudi arabia, and they've been friends of mine for a long time. nobody's gotten to the bottom of 9/11, unfortunately, they should have as to the maniacs that did that horrible thing to our city and to our country and to the

world. so nobody's really been there, but i can tell you that there are a lot of really great people that are out here today and we will have a lot of fun and we will celebrate. >> nobody's gotten to the bottom of 9/11 says the former president of the united states. we do know, think, that 15 of the 19 hijackers on september 11th were saudi nationals. richard haas just listening to that it's what donald trump does. let me cast doubt where it benefits me and let me plant the seeds or at least allude to conspiracy theories of some kind about 9/11. what were your thoughts as you heard that yesterday? >> oh, i had a lot of thoughts when i heard that yesterday, willie. for the 9/11 families, i would think they would be outraged. they were already unhappy about the liv golf tour playing at bedminster for their reasons because they blame saudi arabia even though there's no evidence of saudi government. we had a commission the last

time, the 9/11 commission looked into this. osama bin laden. we know what happened out of afghanistan. last i checked, we had a war and we removed the government of afghanistan because they were providing territory and support to these people who carried out this attack. yes, the preponderance of whom were saudi nationals, but we know what happened and what the president is trying to do is justify the fact that he's gotten into bed with this golf tour that's funded by the sovereign wealth fund of saudi arabia and this is a self-serving thing about saudi arabia, but if i were the 9/11 families i would not be taking this. >> coming up, can the fbi steer clear of politics while investigating the attack on the capitol? why former director james comey and the 2016 presidential election loom large over the doj's probe of january 6th. one of the reporters behind that headline joins our conversation straight ahead on "morning joe." " 's is full of them.

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i'm not recommending for every future president that they take a shellacking like i did last night. >> then-president obama in 2010 after a tough midterm election for democrats. the infamous -- november. joe sat down with john heilemann to talk about it. their conversation is next on "morning joe." because flowers find a way to break through. just like we will. join the fight at alz.org/walk

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welcome back. this sunday marks 100 thais until the midterms. joe sat down with john heilemann to preview the november elections and why things are getting complicated now for republicans. >> look, i'm struck with the same thing you are, right? because we're both students of history and in a midterm election where the in-power president had his approval rating in the 30s and the main economic variable for a lot of people in their lives which is inflation even though it's getting more under control and it's way too high and people

talk about it all of the time, out here in america and in a circumstance like that you should be looking at a landslide for republicans, and i think republicans thought that's what they were looking at as recently as the spring and then a bunch of stuff happened and then i think, you know, we got a holy trinity or an unholy trinity of bad things for republicans, and the first of them being the uvalde shooting, raising the gun issue. the second being the supreme court overturning roe v. wade and the 1/6 committee hearings putting donald trump back in the spotlight and those three things have created not just a messaging opportunity for democrats who do want to knit them together and turn them into a national message about republicans being the party of extremism, but even before democrats have effectively done that, if they do that, a lot of people in the country see that and that's the power of the message is that you've seen this movement in the polls and just the timing of it is cleared up.

the republicans were leading in the congressional, generic ballot basically from may and early june and all of a sudden democrats are in a place they shouldn't be and that tells you something about how potentially extraordinary a historic year this is, if they can buck the two big factors and hold the house of representatives or even limit their losses in the house of representatives, that would be an amazing thing and they'll tell you how much republicans have screwed this up. >> it's been fascinating, john, that democrats have had -- it seems just so much bad news after biden's election, just one -- day after another. all of the news has seemed bad. over the past six months it seems to have broken in a different direction. you're right. there's been a close examination of the january 6th hearings. 20 million people watching the first hearing and they've seemed

to capture many americans' imagination. you look at the debate around just the most extreme positions republicans have taken on guns. the most extreme positions republicans are taking on abortion. so much so that you have people who are nra members who were offended by those extreme positions, 18-year-olds being able to buy weapons of war and on abortion, my gosh -- it's just a horrifying new story every day, whether it's a 10-year-old girl having to flee her home state of ohio because she fears that she's going to be forced to have her rapist's baby in a forced birth, you look at texas republicans that are trying to take protections against the mother's life in her life is in danger. i must say, i know we don't get shocked by much, but i'll admit even i'm shocked by how extreme

republicans have gotten especially on these social issues. >> it tells you something, joe, over the battle over abortion and a 50-year war on the part of the right to life movement to try to take out roe, right? i use the word great here in the neutral sense, but it's one of the great political achievements of any social movement in america. they did this thing that they worked at in an aggressive, disciplined way for 50 years and they finally got the thing that no one thought they would ever get which was to get roe v. wade off the books, right? so just as a matter of political organizing, discipline, patience, you have to basically say that's quite an achievement on the part of the movement and sitting here six months before the midterm elections when they

knew the democrats would and women across the country, would be fired up by the fact that the court had done this, instead of kind of like taking the foot off the gas and roe v. wade is gone now. we can afford not to try to ram through the most aggressive, the most radical, the most punitive policies imaginable. would that have been the politically smart thing to do? i think you would agree. take some time here. don't give the democrats this massive issue heading into the november elections, but they're so extreme on this question that they have done these things that were genuinely unthinkable and then to further magnify the problem. what was the republican reaction? the story you mentioned of this young woman, young girl in ohio. when that story was told the republicans, as a party were, like, well, that's fake news. they try to denounce the story and claim that it couldn't possibly be true which is like

every political instink this party has is self-defeating and self-destructive and i think it presents -- i know it feels like roe v. wade and it is a lucky thing and from a political standpoint it is an opportunity for the democrats and the question now is whether they'll knit this together and nationalize this election around republican extremism. if we do that, it might be one of the historical anomalies and we've seen a lot of it in the last four or five years. ? yes. we've talked about extreme issues that are out there front and center these days, but also extreme candidates and we've seen this story before, too. we think, remember todd aiken and the guy claire mccaskill beat in missouri and you couldn't get pregnant if you were raped and christine o'donnell, and richard mourdock, and there were a lot of candidates that were to the far

right. republicans lost those races. ape lot of hand wringing and they weren't going to make that mistake again. you look now and look at dr. oz in pennsylvania. you look at j.d. vance, and herschel walker and joe biden's approval rating very low in these states and republicans are behind in the polls and getting crushed in fund-raising, so it's not just the extremes when we're talking about the issues. it seems the republican base in these swing states have also selected really extreme candidates and it looks like they'll do it in the arizona senate race, as well. how much does that keep democrats in the game. >> well, this is where you have to make this distinction that we both understand between the house and the senate. the house in the midterm election like this is increasingly a nationalized

thing and you see the congressional generic ballot rise and fall on the basis of some of the things that you talk about and there are individual factors in certain house races and not that much. the senate races make their own wind and weather like gubernatorial races and the question there isn't about joe biden's approval rating and to some extent the national mood matters, but in a race where you have an incumbent in particular, and with the challenger from outside. the challenger on the republican side, if that challenger, being an incumbent is hard. mark kelly will have money. the state knows him. if you want to beat an incumbent even in a purple state like that, even in a year that favors republicans you have to put up a great challenger and it can change the bals and candidates matter a lot before candidate quality in these races matter.

how bad is doctor oz? he's getting beat right now bay a candidate who had a stroke and wasn't on the campaign trail in an active way for the last few months. how bad is herschel walker, one of the most famous people in the state of georgia and he's and quickly a laughing stock. and i always want to hear a j.d. vance impression, but i think that would be classic. >> i think butters from southpark visits j.d. vance. he wants to beloved in silicon valley and san francisco. so he talked about how great silicon valley and san francisco were. and then he decides he's going to run in ohio and suddenly he hates silicon valley. he hates san francisco. he hates venture capitalists. again, let's tie these together. you have kari lake, an

extremist, an extreme trumpist running in arizona for governor. and leading right now. she was an obama supporter, right. and then you have dr. oz. he was a big democrat. he was anthony fauci's biggest cheerleader even a couple of years ago. and then, you could go to all of these and j.d. vance, saying christians can't vote for donald trump. to with be bad for their witness and this all starts with donald trump as you and i both know -- >> yes. >> -- he just despises religious conservators. he was a pro-choice, pro-gun democrat. and it seems all of the democrats that have gone hard, hard right and gone pro-trump, they're life long democrats. >> i mean, you remember trump he

gave money to hillary clinton and nancy pelosi and chuck schumer. he was for legalizing drugs at one point and national health insurance at one point. i don't think donald trump believed anything about anything. but there is no doubt if you look at his record before he ran for president and you look back and go why is that guy running the republican party. that makes no sense. cosmopolitan and liberal. you're right. it is another way in which the republican party no longer stands for anything. each one of these races and you could mock this if you want because some people are -- but they're all a cult of personality. where is dr. oz the nominee, because trump endorsed him because he had a television show. that is what has become the party. and i do think that comes back to the big issue. we were talking about before, that the abortion guns and republican extremism, there is that one thing still looking out here, joe, which is donald trump

talking about running for president, talking about announcing his candidacy before the midterms. he is still the 800 pound gorilla in american politics and his presence on the hearings have changed the calculus for republicans anded democrats and i think if he decides to throw himself in the race, mitch mcconnell will be on suicide watch and the reality is that trump will raise his profile obviously. is will make him a magnet for attention and make it easier for republicans to cast as the party of extremism because they're the party of trump and what did the democrats last pull off a huge midterm that no one thought they would pull off. back in 2018 whether you had the blue wave. they nationalized around trump and extremism and there are a lot of democrats praying in the same way that mcconnell is praying that trump stays out of the race and some are like

please, dear god, announce and announce quickly, and as soon as possible, we would like to get you in the race. it could be the best thing that happened to us this year. >> joe's conversation with john heilemann. on sunday "morning joe" hosts 100 days to the midterms with a round table discussion about what is at stake this midterm season and what issues will shape the vote. watch "morning joe" presents 100 days to the midterm on sunday at 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. eastern. the special hour will also be streaming on peacock. still ahead here this morning, a live report from the new york stock exchange. will yesterday's rally on wall street continue today. "morning joe" is back in a moment. when moderate to severe ulcerative colitis persists... put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when uc got unpredictable,...

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just like we will. join the fight at alz.org/walk it is just before the top of the hour, a live picture of capitol hill on this friday morning. 6:00 a.m. out west. still with us for the hour, we have the host of way too early

and white house bureau chief jonathan lemire and for bbc news, katty kay. another busy morning including new reports of missing text messages surrounding the january 6 attack on the capitol. this time from top homeland security officials. this is some in negotiations to speak with the january 6 committee. and the justice department has been criticized for the deliberate pace of its investigation. but we'll explain how mistakes by the fbi in 2016 are impacting the department of justice investigation into january 6. plus, at least eight people are dead in kentucky and what the governor is calling the worst flooding in the history of the stay and more rain to come. we'll take you there. and what former president trump said at a golf tournament that has outraged not just 9/11 families but many, many americans. but let's begin with another top aide from the trump white house testifying before the january 6 committee.

former acting chief of staff mick mulvaney stat for about two and a half hours behind closed doors yesterday. he served in the white house from late 2018 until march of 2020. he then was appointed special envoy to northern island but resigned in the aftermath of the capitol attack. here is what mulvaney said to reporters before and after meeting with the committee. >> who do you plan to tell the committee today. >> the truth, how about that for a start. >> and were you asked to come in and did you volunteer to come here. >> i was asked. >> subpoena or no? >> i was just ask the to come in. >> did you have any contact in the white house from december to january of 2020. >> january of 2021, during the time period that he focus on -- the committee has been focusing on. >> haven't talked to anybody in the white house in a long time. >> mulvaney has been outspoking about the january 6 investigation and about donald um