alexi mchammond, thank you so much for being with us. a railway strike has been averted. president biden putting out a statement saying there will be no strike, averting what could have been a catastrophe for the american economy. thanks for getting up way too early on this thursday morning. "morning joe" start right now. beautiful shot of new york city, 6:00 a.m. on the east coast, good morning and welcome to "morning joe," it is thursday, september 15th. joe is off. let's start right where "way too early" ended. let's get right to the breaking news. a looming railway strike that would have been devastating to the u.s. economy now possibly averted. the white house releasing a statement from the president within the past hour saying that a tentative agreement has been reached between rail carriers

and workers. the issue was sick time. the president said the deal ensures rail workers will get quote better pay, improved working conditions and peace of mind around their health care costs. amtrak had preemptively postponed long distance routes to avoid stranding passengers if a deal wasn't reached. a strike would have had a devastating impact on the economy since 40% of goods shipped long distance in the united states use the rail system. there's been no word yet from the labor unions or railway companies involved, but we'll be watching, willie. >> let's go back to jonathan lemire, host of "way too early" and author of the best seller "the big lie," this was just announced a minute ago, this would have had massive implications for supply chains, could have impacted inflation if it carried on for some time.

how did they fix this deal? >> yeah, first of all, let's start what the possible consequences would have been. american supply chains just now, creeping back to life after the pandemic. this would have been devastating. inflation, the cost of goods, food, already up. this would have exacerbated that dramatically. so much of the agriculture industry depends on these trains. if they had stopped and food couldn't get anywhere. prices would have just continued to surge. now passenger travel would have been unaffected. boston to washington, that would have kept going. people would have a harder time getting around the country elsewhere and there would have been the political impact. this would have been, in no uncertain terms, a devastating blow. joe biden would have been in a bind. he of course very pro labor, pro worker, perhaps one of the most pro worker presidents we have had in a long time. he couldn't be seen as pushing workers to take some sort of deal they didn't want, even

though the ramifications of a strike politically, six weeks, seven weeks before the midterms would have been very difficult for democrats already worried about inflation. so overnight, we do have a deal we can report that president biden last night made a call about 9:00 p.m. in the proceedings, acting as a closer, if you will, to get this done, and we heard from him this morning saying it was a good deal for workers. we also heard from labor secretary marty walsh who said that this deal avoided the catastrophic impacts on industries, travelers and families across the country had this strike happened. still have to go for the union for a vote. there's a cooling off period, therefore there won't be a strike, even if the vote is rejected by members. both sides feel confident this can get done. a major crisis averted, it would appear, for the biden administration and the country. >> as mika reported, amtrak had begun to prepare far strike, stopping the cross country rail service, so people wouldn't get

stranded if there was a strike. that has been averted for the time being. this obviously, john, it's jes morales rocketto -- interesting. he's called himself the most pro-union president in history. how much was his hand on the negotiation. we know marty walsh, the labor secretary was at the table all week working on this. but how much did president biden get involved here? >> yeah, walsh had 20 straight hours of negotiations here in washington with the two sides. but the president played a role as well. he talked to on monday while in boston, where he also had an event that touted union workers and his ties to them. he called both sides. that was his initial entree into the negotiations. we can report he had an event this week at the white house touting the democrats' new legislative achievements, introduced by a union worker. he's not shy about touting where he sides. he needed to get this deal done.

we've seen this as a pattern where he steps into negotiations. he has some congressional legislation, and he's done it now. he steps in at the 11th hour, acting as the closer and his call last night is being per -- perceived as an important moment. significant news this morning. >> we're wait to go hear from labor, and maybe we will. we'll stay on it. as willie mentioned, president biden traveled yesterday to the swing state of michigan to promote the bipartisan infrastructure law. the president used the tour to speak with local politicians about his administration's efforts to increase electric vehicle production in the motor city. >> we're bringing back u.s.

manufacturing jobs, good paying jobs, union jobs, middle class jobs, jobs that give you a sense of dignity and a fair shot. my dad used to say i just want a little bit of breathing room, and be treated with dignity. thanks to american ingenuity, auto workers, it's changing. today if you want an electric vehicle with long range, you can buy one made in america. so folks, all told, my administration is investing more than $135 billion to advance america's electric vehicle future. our infrastructure laws are helping make it in america, and win the economic race of the 21st century. >> president biden took the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a corvette zo6. biden calls himself a car guy and joked he would drive back down to washington. okay, careful now, willie. >> that's a good looking car. good looking american-made car.

other news this morning, we have learned the house select committee investigating the january 6th capitol attack recently obtained records from the secret service. chairman bennie thompson and committee member zoe lofgren weighed in on that material yesterday. >> what kind of documents? was it radio traffic, e-mails? >> it's a combination of a number of text messages. radio traffic. >> text messages from january 5th and 6th? >> the tranchs we've received have been significant. >> there's all kinds of information, so we're going through everything that's been provided. more is coming in.

as i say, some of it is not relevant and some of it is. it's a huge slog to go through it but we are going to go through it and the members of the committee themselves have been involved in this, and we hope to have that completed, you know, soon. >> it's unclear at this point whether those text messages, the ones the committee has received are those previously believed to have been erased or are just missing, mika. these are the ones on january 5th, on january 6th that the secret service said oops, we're going through a data migration or upgrade and we lost all of them. >> that's hard to believe, that's where we're at, and maybe perhaps the other texts that they've received and so many provide some context. we're also learning more about a criminal investigation into former justice department lawyer jeffrey clark. back in june, federal agents searched his home and seized his electronics. a filing this week with the washington, d.c. bar gives more context to that search.

clark's legal team told the bar the doj is investigating whether he made false statements as well as possible conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges. clark has been a key figure in the january 6th hearings. the committee has presented evidence that he tried to use his position in the doj to push donald trump's lies about election fraud. and that he plotted with the former president to replace the acting attorney general and have himself appointed as the ag. jonathan lemire in your new reporting, you quote one formal trump administration. every day feels like something else is piling on. tell us about the fears from the former president's advisers that the doj probes are more expensive than what's known publicly. >> yeah, for most of trump's time in office and first months out of office. those around him felt like he was almost bullet proof, he

could get by any scandal here, the multiprobe, even impeachment that he emerged largely politically unscathed. that has changed and in this story, we talked to a number of people in the former president's orbit who have been down right spooked by recent developments in atlanta, d.c., the january 6th committee and the last few days, dozens of trump aides received subpoenas. some had their phones seized including mr. pillow, and there's a sense here, there's paranoia in trump world as to who might be cooperating, text chains have gone silent. there are worries about who might be talking to investigators and they worry that aides tell us they could be next, so to be clear, there's no sense of charges on the horizon. doj working quietly, but even the sight of the former president arriving in washington the other day sparked fears in his orbit that perhaps he was being called in by the department of justice. turns out he was visiting his

golf course in suburban virginia, the sense from trump world, each and every day, there's a bad headline, another shoe is set to drop, and they do worry that there's more below the surface they're not seeing it. this is the most worried the trump world has been of the possibility of legal peril. >> and every legal filing we get around the mar-a-lago documents get worse and worse for the president, and the people who helped him. >> the ties between president donald trump's 2016 campaign and russia appears to be winding down with no further charges expected, according to "the new york times." the grand jury convened by trump appointed special counsel to hear evidence in the case has now expired. the times cites three people familiar with the matter say while durham could convene another grand jury, there currently are no plans to do so. durham and his team are working to complete a final report by

the end of the year, and one of the lead prosecutors on his team is leaving for a job with a prominent law firm. the times reports over the course of the inquiry, mr. durham has developed cases against two people accused of lying to the fbi in relation to outside efforts to investigate purported trump-russia ties. he has not charged any conspiracy or put any official on trial. the move appears to dash the hopes of former president trump and his supporters that durham would uncover efforts of a vast conspiracy to properly investigate the then republican candidate over his campaign's ties to russia. joining us, one of the authors of that article, pulitzer prize winning journalist, charlie savage, and aid to the former george w. bush white house, elise jordan, an msnbc political analyst. let's go back to the beginning

of this, and how this was initiated, who john durham is, what he was looking into, and how we got to this point for a couple of years and not a lot of money spent. >> sure. so in the spring of 2019 bob mueller completes the russia investigation report and turns it in, and of course he does not charge a conspiracy between trump associates and russia over, you know, to collude, and immediately trump kicks up his complaints that the whole thing was a hoax. you know, the attorney general barr had put out that very misleading description of the report as if it was an entirely an exoneration of trump, which clearly it was not when we finally saw the report. that was the atmosphere in trump world and in trump's messaging, and against the backdrop of that, attorney general barr assigned this u.s. attorney from connecticut, john durham, to investigate the russia investigation, and he and trump

and trump world surrounded that appointment with expectations in the right wing media ecosystem that this investigation was going to prove trump's conspiracy theories that there had been a deep state conspiracy against him, that high level officials in the fbi and in the obama administration had conspired to take him down, and eventually as the 2020 election neared, attorney general barr appointed or escalated the appointment of durham into a special counsel, just like mueller had been, which entrenched him to stay in place and keep working after trump lost the election and the biden administration came in, and so john durham has been working now for three years plus longer than the mueller investigation itself trying to find people to charge with a crime and live up to the expectations that the trump world has stoked around his efforts for all of this time,

and he has not charged with any high level officials with a crime. he has developed only two cases, both of which just for making a false statement to the fbi, both of which associated with outside efforts to investigate trump-russia ties, not to the fbi's investigation that turned into the mueller investigation, and now we have learned that the grand jury he was using has closed and there's no plans to open a new one so it does not appear that there are going to be any of the indictments of the sort that a huge amount of noise was kicked up about for years. >> and an investigation, which you point out, which has lasted longer than the mueller investigation itself even lasted. elise, as charlie said, president trump and his supporters have put a lot into this durham probe. he said even just last month, the former president said the country is waiting with baited breath for the results of durham report. he said it was going to expose

everything and prove it was all a hoax. looks like that's not going to happen. it's falling flat with no indictments, it appears. >> it will be easy for president trump just to dismiss the failure of this grand jury to come up with anything as yet another conspiracy against him. charlie, is there anything, though, that he could use to become his new talking point about what was uncovered? i guess the biggest revelation was that two people were indicted for lying under oath about what was happening with the investigation. is there anything bigger than that here? >> that's not really a revelation that they were indicted for lying under oath. one of the things that's interesting about following in investigation, in those two indictments on this narrow charge of making a false statement to the fbi about something, the durham has bestooned those indictments with huge amounts of extraneous

information that insinuate that there has been a conspiracy to make people think trump was conspireing with russia, but moved from actually charging such a conspiracy, and hasten to add of the two cases, one has gone to trial, and as the jury took almost no time to acquit the person to find them not guilty, so that was also an embarrassment. durham may win a conviction on one of the false statement lists. the conspiracy has morph over time. it's moved from durham is going to find a deep state, white house conspiracy to get trump to maybe people who are associated with hillary clinton's campaign. sort of two levels of remove were conspireing to make people

think that trump was colluding with russia. that is what both of those cases are about. outside efforts, the one coming on to trial next week is about a guy who's a researcher for the steele dossier, which got a lot of attention in the media, notwithstanding trump's attempts to deflate the two. it has been discredited because of what the investigation, the original investigation found about what this researcher had said versus what was actually in the document. and so that has created new fodder for fox news, et cetera, to continue litigating the events of 2016 and stoking grievances, but it's a different kind of grievance. well, democrats said that there was something here, and mueller didn't find it, and it's because this guy exaggerated this thing or something. but it's not a deep state government conspiracy that discredits the fbi's investigation in the first place, and so to the extent they

want something to talk about on fox news, durham's investigation has provided fodder, but to the extent they were hoping jim comey was going to jail, it's not there. >> appointed may. charlie savage with important new reporting. thank you so much. still ahead on "morning joe," amid the ongoing war in ukraine, china's president, xi jinping is set to meet with vladimir putin today. we'll go live to beijing amidst speculation china could provide aid to moscow. we'll discuss how taiwan fits into all of this and what it means to us. plus, president biden's approval rating has seen a major bump. we'll dig into the new numbers and what they could mean for the midterms. also ahead, newly revealed text messages between nfl hall

of famer brett favre and mississippi's former governor are raising questions about an investigation into the misuse of government welfare funds. and a look at the morning papers, including a huge nurse's strike coming to an end, despite no deal being reached. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. hed. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... the burning, itching. the pain. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, most people saw 90% clearer skin at 16 weeks. the majority of people saw 90% clearer skin even at 5 years. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®.

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flag in the city's main square. zelenskyy said he witnessed quote shocking scenes in the area, comparing it to bucha, a suburb of kyiv where officials found widespread damage and bodies after russian troops retreated in march. zelenskyy also vowed to push russian troops out of all ukrainian territories including crimea which moscow invaded back in 2014. in his late night address, zelenskyy said his army had now liberated more than 3,000 square miles of ukrainian land from russian control. also yesterday, president zelenskyy was in a car collision in kyiv, but emerged with no serious injuries. according to a statement from the president's press secretary, a car collided with the car of the president of ukraine and escort vehicles. medics accompanying zelenskyy gave emergency aid to the car's driver and transferred him to an ambulance. willie.

>> glad the president's okay there. just hours after zelenskyy's visit, russian missiles hit central ukraine damaging critical infrastructure there. officials say as many as eight missiles hit zelenskyy's hometown near kharkiv. the deputy head of ukraine's presidential office said the missiles hit a dam, flooding parts of the city. 100 homes were flooded and eleven people had to be rescued overnight. officials say residents have been asked to leave parts of the city due to those rising water levels. again, that is zelenskyy's hometown targeted. chinese president xi jinping expected to meet today with russian leader vladimir putin in uzbekistan. their first meeting since moscow invaded ukraine. putin plans also to meet with other heads of state including those of india, pakistan, turkey and iran. according to the kremlin, his meeting with xi is of particular importance. the big question seems to be whether beijing will offer military aid to moscow.

joining us live from beijing, nbc news foreign correspondent janis mackey frayer. what more can you tell us about this meeting today? >> reporter: well, this is a significant face-to-face reunion for xi jinping and vladimir putin. you'll remember the last time they were together it was here in beijing when they declared that partnership with no limits, and then three weeks later, russia invaded ukraine. since then, china has never condemned russia for the invasion, nor has it called it a war, nor outright supported russia in its offensive in ukraine. what it has offered is rhetorical support, amplified russian propaganda here. it's backed russia at the u.n. and it's been buying up a lot of russian oil and gas. it isn't clear whether xi jinping is prepared to offer more material support to putin at this point because china is

still wanting to avoid triggering secondary sanctions that could see it suffer limitations on accessing global markets. what this is for both men is a show of solidarity. it's a confidence play. it's a show of strength at a time when they both need it. china's economy is wobbling under covid restrictions and russia is literally losing ground in ukraine, but how far she is willing to go to back putin is unknown, and consider the timing. we are just weeks away from the communist party congress that will give xi jinping an unprecedented third term in power. that he's even traveling right now is highly unusual let alone having it be his first trip abroad since the beginning of the pandemic. so he is going to do everything he can to try and shore up his foreign policy credentials and

appear the global statesman again, which is why xi and putin are probably going to stick to the script that works for them. they're going to use this platform as an opportunity to denounce the west. they will criticize nato, and feel that they're both walking away with a strengthened alliance at a time when they both need it. as well, the sub text of their messaging is likely to be a warning to the u.s. about crossing the so-called red lines here when it comes to taiwan. >> nbc's janis mackey frayer in beijing, thank you very much. and leading us perfectly to taiwan, keeping a close eye on the meeting between the world leaders today. joining from taipei, nbc news foreign correspondent, raf sanchez. i know you spoke to the former head of taiwan's military. fair to say, taiwan is looking closely and learning from ukraine's experience. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely, willie.

he said he saw a lot of parallels between taiwan and ukraine. both are smaller democracies living in the shadow of a much larger authoritarian neighbor with vastly superior military forces but admiral lee said he thought taiwan's military could learn lessons and take a lot of inspiration from ukraine, especially in terms of how they have launched asymmetric warfare against the russians. taiwan is some 23 million people, china is 1.4 billion. he said, instead, taiwan needs to focus on highly mobile, very agile military units, move quickly, strike chinese forces and get out of the way before they can respond again. he called this the muhammad ali strategy. i want you to take a listen to a little bit of what he had to say about how that would work. >> flows like a butterfly, sting

like a bee. you can't hit it because you don't see me. they cannot use the long distance strike to attack us. >> reporter: now, willie in terms of that putting that strategy in practice, he needs to wean himself off of big f 16 16s, battleships, including anti-ship, the ukrainians sunk the black sea flagship. taiwan could employ those effectively if the chinese attempted a d-day style invasion across the taiwan straits, trying to land their forces on to the beaches. he said missiles could be devastating to the chinese fleet as it draws near, willie.

>> and quoting muhammad ali, very impressive. china is watching the way the united states and the west has stepped in to back ukraine against russia. raf sanchez in taiwan. thank you so much. mika. time for a look at the morning papers at 31 past the hour. in florida, the "orlando sentinel" reports that senator marco rubio has signed on as a cosponsor to senator lindsey graham's 15 week abortion ban bill. rubio's democratic challenger, congresswoman val demings was quick to offer criticism calling the bill the next step to a total ban on abortions with no exceptions. in new york, "the times union" reports that despite governor kathy hochul's order, polio vaccines are not readily available. many health providers do not carry the shots because they assume most adults have received the vaccine.

in addition, there are concerns that insurance will not cover the rarely given adult polio vaccine. from "the pioneer press "in minnesota. 15,000 nurses should be back on the job today despite no deal being reached following a three-day strike. the minnesota nurse's association is asking for better security, more staff and a 30% salary increase. new talks are expected to take place next week. the "journal sentinel" leads with wisconsin's two biggest political races. senator ron johnson has pulled ahead by mandela barnes by 1 percentage point. that same poll also shows governor tony evers holding a 3% lead over republican tim michael's gubernatorial race.

and maine, "the portland press herald" is covering the influence of outside spending groups in the state gubernatorial race. outside groups have spent more than $3.6 million in that race. nearly 40% of that figure has been spent in the last two weeks alone. most of that money purchased a slew of tv ads. coming up, we'll take a look at some of this morning's must read opinion pages. plus, south carolina senator lindsey graham doubles down on his abortion bill that has received a lot of criticism from most members of his own party. also ahead, after weeks of back and forth, pennsylvania senate candidates will take the debate stage. we'll have the details on that deal ahead on "morning joe." n tt deal ahead on "morning joe." time. it's life's most precious commodity, especially when you have metastatic breast cancer. when your time is threatened, it's hard to invest in your future.

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a live look at the white house as the sun comes up over washington. it is 39 past the hour, and time now for the must read opinion pages. in the "washington post," columnist henry olson writes that ron desantis is the only republican who can beat trump, and he writes this, quote, it's not hard to figure out why desantis has such credibility among the trump set, his pugnacious style and responding to media criticism endears them to those who want a fighter. his willingness to talk about culture wars topics such as the critical race theory or woke corporations is music to the ears of many populists and his other positions, pro life, pro tax cut, traditional foreign policy views make party firsters like him too. republicans can surely recall the revolutionary war adage, united we stand, divided we fall. desantis's unique ability to

unite the party's warring wings points a way to end the gop civil war and take the fight home to the democrats. liz jordan, talk to me about ron desantis, though, on the national stage as opposed to his very comfortable audience in the tampa area. i think the big stage could be a little different for this potential would be candidate. also, i want to point out that he's taking a cue from some other republican governors and sending migrant workers i believe to martha's vineyard, we're going to have a live report coming up. talk about ron desantis, the potential presidential candidate. >> i'm curious how sending venezuela migrants to martha's vineyard helps him in florida with venezuela voters, but who knows. that is, though, the kind of move that ron desantis is

making, trying to get national opinion, leaking news of using florida funds to fly migrants to martha's vine yard to showcase that he is an active front lines culture warriors. it's not necessarily governing in florida, it's what's going to play on the national scene, and what's attractive to big republican donors, they see ron desantis as smart and sane and putting on an act and able to excite the populist trumpist base, and willing to enact tax policies and corporate, friendly policies that they want from a republican candidate, and so far ron desantis has been skillful on avoiding commenting on abortion in florida, or doing anything that dramatic in florida because he knows that it could come back and hurt him on the national stage. >> he's also holding out to wait and see, does donald trump run, does he not, and what does that

mean for his future. another must read comes from the editorial board of the philadelphia inquirer in a piece entitled in mastriano's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, a chilling template for future races. doug mastriano's efforts to suppress votes, amounts to a ten alarm fire for anyone who believes in a functioning democracy. if elected governor, mastriano boasted about how he plans to interfere with election results. he would get to a point the secretary of state who's delegated from me the power to make the corrections to elections and voting laws and everything. he added quote i could de-certify every machine in the state with a stroke of the pen. pennsylvania does not need election denying conspiracy theorists, jon that lemire,

mastriano is the republican candidate for governor in the state of pennsylvania. not a casual election denier, a proud one. one who was at the capitol on january 6th 2021, though he didn't go into the building, still running a primary campaign to the frustration of many people across the state of pennsylvania. many republicans, he's not looking to grow his pace. he's sticking to the line about denying the election. there's not going to be a need to have a select committee probe into doug mastriano's election. he spelled it out for you. he's an enthusiastic election denier, and there's two things about this. on one hand, yes, this is worrisome, frankly for republicans because mastriano, as you noted, seems to be running a hard right primary campaign, making no effort to pivot to the center as we see in general election, and right now, polls have him trailing in the race for governor of pennsylvania. we're seeing similar from the republican candidates out in arizona. others who have suggested that

they would try to, a, overturn the 2020 results, b, have claimed that there's fraudulent activity in this year's election with no proofer, and talk about installing people who would do the bidding, including the state secretary of state for the 2024 election, which, again, those candidates losing the polls because they seem out of step with most voters. the other part is how worrisome this is. this is an increasing, infestation in the republican party. the big lie is everywhere. there are very few republicans in dissent to it, and some don't believe it, but others, at least whether they believe it in their hearts or not, are acting on it, and it is a dangerous place and american's faith in their democracy being undermined by stuff like this. americans are going to have a harder time believing they'll have the ability to vote and their vote will be counted correctly and the real winner will be installed in power

because of big lie republicans like these. >> jonathan, that's why the stakes are so high in a state like pennsylvania. when it comes to 2024 and the next presidential election. whoever wins in pennsylvania essentially is going to play a huge role. and what happens in pennsylvania's election laws and if the elections are free and fair, and so that's why that race is a race that is not just critical for the stakes for women in pennsylvania because doug mastriano said he immediately will ban all abortion, but also for american democracy, this is on the front lines. >> and elise, we know you're working on some focus groups out of pennsylvania and we cannot wait to see those. we really look forward to it. coming up at the top of the hour, national security counsel coordinator john kirby joins us to talk about the major developments out of ukraine and the high stakes meeting today between russia and china. also ahead, three reasons why republicans are defeating

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ten minutes before the top of the hour, welcome back to "morning joe." a portrait of the late congressman elijah cummings was unveiled at the capitol. elect to the house in 1996 he rose to chair of the powerful oversight and reform committee at the time of his death. cummings died in 2019 during his 13th term in congress at the age of 68. the baltimore artist jarrell gibbs painted the portrait of cummings which will hang in the

oversight and reform committee hearing room. so fitting. the son of a sharecropper, cummings was born in baltimore and graduated from howard university and received his law degree from the university of maryland. before serving in congress, the lifelong democrat spent 13 years in maryland's state house of delegates. the room where the portrait was unveiled was the same location where the january 6th house select committee was holding its public hearings. as oversight chairman, cummings led multiple investigations of the trump white house, when donald trump's former attorney michael cohen testified before the committee about an array of claims against the former president, cummings closed out those hearings with a fiery speech that struck a more compassionate cord than other of the committee medical examiner. -- members. after a long day of heated disagreements, elijah cummings

closed that hearing with a possible message, in a period of heightened political vitriol. >> i know that it's painful going to prison. i know it's got to be painful being called a rat, and let me explain, a lot of people don't know the significance of that. but i live in the inner city of baltimore. all right. and when you call somebody a rat, that's one of the worst things you can call them because when they go to prison, that means a snitch. i'm just saying. and so the president called you a rat. we're better than that. we really are. and i'm hoping that all of us can get back to this democracy that we want and that we should be passing on to our children so they can do better than what we did. and so you wonder whether people believe you, i don't know.

i don't know whether they believe you. but the fact is that you come, you have your head down, and this has got to be one of the hardest things that you could do. let me tell you the picture that really, really pained me, you were leaving the prison. you were leaving the courthouse. and i guess your daughter had braces or something on, man, that thing hurt me. as a father of two daughters it hurt me. and i can imagine how it must feel for you. but i'm just saying to you, i want to first of all, thank you. i know that this has been hard. i know that you face a lot. i know that you are worried about your family. but this is a part of your

destiny. and hopefully this portion of your destiny will lead to a better, a better, a better michael cohen, a better donald trump, a better united states of america and a better world. and i mean that from the depths of my heart. when we're dancing with the angels, the question will be asked in 2019, what do we do to make sure we kept our democracy in tact. >> that's the question. i'll never forget his words and also the words of love and reconciliation that elijah shared at our wedding. we were so hoping to be there for the unveiling of his portrait, but our schedule didn't allow it. our deepest apologies to maya. but a moment on his portrait,

his legacy and his memory. we chose elijah to marry us, because not only was he one of the kindest, most compassionate, joyous men, but his steadfast commitment to bipartisanship and democracy. elijah married us at the national archives in washington, d.c. you've heard a lot about the national archives lately. the location and the man had so much meaning to us, the national archives being the place where our country's most precious documents are held. in fact, in two days it's constitution day at the national archives where they're going to commemorate the signing of the u.s. constitution on september 17th, 1787. it's the place where history is preserved and elijah, this important figure in our history, well, it was just our honor to have him there for us.

and anyone who needs a reason to understand our democracy and why it is so precious, pull up his speeches. we were so lucky to know him. we'll be right back. to know him we'll be right back. ♪♪ subway's drafting 12 new subs for the all-new subway series menu the new monster has juicy steak and crispy bacon. but what about the new boss? it looks so good it makes me hangry! settle down there, big guy the new subway series. what's your pick? my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... the tightness, stinging... the pain. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, most people saw 90% clearer skin at 16 weeks. the majority of people saw 90% clearer skin even at 5 years. serious allergic reactions may occur.

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remember, when the middle class grows, the middle class grows, everybody does well, the poor have a way up and the wealthy do very well, and by the way, don't forget, middle class built america and unions built the middle class. >> president biden at the detroit auto show yesterday talking about the importance of labor unions, and this morning, we are following breaking news on that topic. the white house announcing this morning that it has struck a tentative deal with railway companies and workers to avoid a strike that would have been devastating to the economy. we'll have the latest in just a moment. plus, also a high stakes meeting

today between the presidents of russia and china. a lot of questions there with russian forces now back on their heels in ukraine. the question is whether beijing will step in to help russia? john kirby from the white house national security council is standing by for that. welcome back to "morning joe." it is thursday, september 15th. jonathan lemire and elise jordan are still with us, and joe is off today, but willie, let's get right to that breaking news about a deal reached between railway carriers and workers. this is great news to start the morning. the issue was over sick time, among other things. the president said the deal ensures that the two sides rail workers will get quote better pay, improved working conditions and peace of mind around their health care costs. amtrak already was preparing for a strike, suspending service on most long distance passenger routes. u.s. labor secretary marty walsh

says the impact on the economy would have been catastrophic, disrupted supply chains, depleted store shelves and put more pressure on prices when inflation, of course, is already much too high. there has been no word from the labor unions or the railway companies involved. so jonathan lemire, let's talk a little bit more around this breaking news about how it came together, announced just a couple of hours ago. >> it's another significant win for the biden administration, willie, the president himself acting as a closer. he got involved on monday, spoke to both sides while he was in boston for events we should note featured union workers, and both sides came to washington yesterday, 20 straight hours of negotiations led by secretary of labor marty walsh. the president calling in at 9:00 p.m., acting as the closer to try and get things done. expressing the need for workers to be able to get some of those timeoff requests that they have put at the center of these negotiations. this president, of course, associates himself with labor,

with workers, in a bit of a political bind here, you know, wanted to side with those workers but yet obviously very aware of the economic consequences had there been a strike, one that would have put strain on the supply chain, exacerbated inflation, particularly on food, since so much of the agriculture industry depending on rail. we're learning more as the morning goes on about this deal, there was real concern that it wouldn't come together in time. it has and it's been averted. good news for americans, but also democrats, just a month and a half before the midterms. >> the economy, we're still waiting to their from labor, and we'll be monitoring that. we're also learning more about ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy's surprise trip to the newly liberated areas in the northeastern part of the country yesterday. he toured the recently recaptured city of izyum and assessed the damage on the ground raising the ukrainian flag in the city's main square.

incredible. zelenskyy said he witnessed quote shocking scenes in the area comparing it to bucha, a suburb of kyiv where officials found widespread damage after bodies and other crimes, after russian troops retreated in march. zelenskyy also vowed to push russian troops out of all ukrainian territories including crimea, which moscow invaded back in 2014. now, just hours after zelenskyy's visit, russian missiles hit central ukraine damaging critical infrastructure. official says as many as eight missiles hit zelenskyy's hometown near kharkiv. the deputy head of ukraine's office said the missiles hit a dam, flooding parts of the city. he said more than 100 houses were flooded and eleven people had to be rescued overnight. officials say residents have been asked to leave parts of the city, due to rising water

levels. willie. meanwhile, chinese president xi jinping is expected to meet today with russian leader vladimir putin in uzbekistan. their first meeting since moscow invaded ukraine. the summit meant to signal the strength of the relationship between the two countries. putin plans to meet with other heads of state including those of india, pakistan, turkey and iran. according to the kremlin, the meeting with xi is quote of particular importance. joining us now, national security council coordinator for strategic communications at the white house, retired rear admiral john kirby. admiral kirby, thanks for being with us this morning. what are you all reading into this meeting between putin and xi in uzbekistan at a time when russia is frankly on the run a bit in ukraine, being pushed back by the counter offensive. >> i think the way you kind of introed this willie, was interesting and spot on, the russians and kremlin certainly making a lot more about this meeting than you're going to hear from beijing. for president xi, this is a

multilateral meeting, not just a meeting with vladimir putin. these are two countries that have a shaky partnership, if you will. neither one of them completely trusts the other. but on the same token, we haven't seen them, you know, move to violate the sanctions that are in place. so we'll be watching this closely, be interesting to see how they both characterize this. but china has a choice, and we obviously continue to hope that they'll make a choice to not do any business as usual with russia, to not side with russia. certainly as they continue to prosecute the war in ukraine. >> in some ways, admiral is making a choice by having xi stand next to vladimir putin at a time when you said, as you say, the russian government has committed atrocities and war crimes for the last seven months. just as a strategic question, why would president xi want to appear with putin at this moment

in history. >> i won't speak to president xi or what his motivations are. clearly russia and china are aligned on certain issues, such as violating norms or the rules-based international order and trying to align themselves against what they believe are the west's interest in preserving that order, particularly the united states, and they both have been very public and open about their dislike of american leadership around the world, so i think part of this could be that he wants the optic that he's a strong man, and he's willing to stand up against what american national security interests represent around the world for our allies and partners. again, we've said this before, china has a choice to make and we obviously don't believe this is the time to be doing business as usual with russia, to be standing next to mr. putin, to be even tacitly supporting his war in ukraine. >> i want to talk more about the

meeting, admiral, but i'm curious in terms of the war in ukraine as it drags on, these gains being made on the part of ukrainians. how extraordinary is it that ukraine is regaining territory, is crimea in the cards, will they have what they need? >> it's difficult to know where this is going next. we want to be careful we're not getting ahead of operations on the battlefield. i think president zelenskyy made clear in comments yesterday what his war aims and strategic goals are. we'll let him speak to that. it is note worthy without question that the momentum is shifting there in the donbas as the ukrainians continue their push to the east here, and they got izyum, again, is not a small thing. izyum, once the russians took it, they used it as a key logistics hub. not insignificant that they took

izyum. there's counter offensive going on down south, and that has made some incremental gains, nothing as dramatic as what we saw there east of kharkiv. again, these operations have been planned for weeks. and of course the united states and western support in terms of security assistance, the weapons, the capabilities, the tools that have been given to ukraine have played a major role, a major hand in helping the ukrainians chief this level of success. >> admiral kirby, jonathan lemire. back in the white house brief room, i asked what you were seeing in terms of russia's response, hoping you can provide an update, and in particular, give us the latest state of play around the nuclear power plant that has been so concerning for western officials in terms of the fire fight going on there. give us a sense, how much danger you're seeing. >> we're worried about the zaporizhzhia power plant. they have apparently shut down one of the last operating

reactors. as you know, jonathan, we were calling for that more than a week ago, for a controlled shut down. that's the safest way to make sure there's not going to be radio active leaks or damage that could harm thousands of people. there's sporadic fighting going on around the plant, not the place for military operations. we have made that clear as well. the iaea director, grossi, he has called for a demilitarized zone around the plant. we support that. that's also a safe course of action. obviously we continue to call for a lack of fighting there. now, look, in terms of your question about reaction, i think mika led into this quite well talking about the civilian infrastructure just in the last 48 hours or so. that seems to be the russian reaction to what the ukrainians are able to do in the donbas east of kharkiv. they're going after what they believe are nodes that are supporting ukrainian military movements, whether that's electrical power or supply and

logistics hubs, that kind of thing. they're certainly trying to punish the ukrainian people, no question about that, and that is in keeping with the way they have been prosecuting the war, but they're also trying to hit sites that they think will affect the ukrainian's ability to move supply and reinforce their forces. >> admiral, elise jordan has the next question. >> admiral, the united states has given $13 billion at this stage in the game to help the ukrainians with their defense. and reuters has reported that there's more aid going to be released in coming days. what kind of package can we anticipate next that the united states is going to give for ukrainian defense. >> that's right, elise. i do think that in very short order here, you're going to see yet another package coming from the united states of security assistance. it will be our 21st presidential draw down authority package. we'll have more details in the very near future, and i don't want to get ahead of what's going to be in it before it gets

announced. i think what you'll see is a measure of consistency with what we have been doing in the past, and that is giving them the kinds of weapons and capabilities that they need so desperately in this fight, both in the east and quite frankly in the south. what are some of those things. obviously artillery. obviously advanced rocket systems that will help them strike behind russian defensive lines, and oh, by the way, that's what the russians are doing particularly in the south, they are forming defensive lines as they are in the east. they're kind of falling back because the ukrainians are on the offense. and so these kinds of capabilities are allowing the ukrainians not only to maintain the sense of momentum but to continue to put the russians on back feet. >> national security coordinator, retired rear admiral john kirby thank you as always for coming on the show this morning. we want to turn to domestic politics. republican senator lindsey graham of south carolina is defending his controversial new abortion bill even as more gop

lawmakers push back against it want nothing to do with it. speaking to reporters yesterday, two more of graham's senate colleagues threw cold water on his plan announced earlier in the week to ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks. >> i'm not for that. you know, roe v. wade was shot down by the supreme court. didn't do away with abortion. just said, hey, send it back to the states and let the people vote for it. that's what i'm for. >> i do believe it should be left to the states. that was a point of the supreme court decision. and texas, i believe, will craft a law that texans will represent texans' views. >> and just minutes after those comments, reporters also caught up with graham himself who insisted he could get the american people to support a national abortion ban.

>> i don't mind talking about pro life issues, but i think the extreme view on abortion is being pushed by the democratic party that would literally allow abortion up to the moment of birth, and i think my proposal over time will be supported by the public as large. >> i'm not sure what qualifies him to know this on so many levels but i'm just going to keep it right there, elise. as a republican woman, how do you feel about what lindsey graham is saying about what he thinks america wants on the issue of abortion. >> i think that lindsey graham, mika, is proceeding with this bill just like he did with his failed quest for the 2016 presidential nomination, which, you might remember, was not the most politically astute run and no one supported lindsey graham. you know so many republican leaders right now are just

shaking their heads and want to scream, why, lindsey graham, are you bringing up this issue that polls terribly and is going to hurt us in the suburbs and is going to hurt us with women. it's going to simply hurt us with american voters who overall do not want draconian abortion laws in this country. >> and mitch mcconnell, again, the sub text of his comments are lindsey, please, you're killing us. let's bring in eddie glaude jr., and good morning to you both. ed, you've got a piece in the "financial times" titled the republicans are trying hard to defeat themselves. writing in part, until a few weeks ago it was taken for granted republicans would win a clean sweep in november. three things have changed, democratic voters are energized, triggered by overrage at the

overturning roe v. wade. an actual blow to tens of millions of women. the second thing is trump keeps hijacking the narrative, great for maga republicans but bad for the party. finally, republican selection has been abysmal, talking about some of those candidates out there. ed, i would add to bolster your argument this morning just a few minutes ago the associated press is out with a new poll showing president biden at 45% approval, 53% disapproval still, but that 45 number is up 9 points just since july with, as you say, democrats coming home to joe biden energized by what they have seen in the last several weeks. >> yeah, and the speed with which that is happening, 36 to 45 in a midterm in a first presidency is i think without precedent. i don't think we've seen anything quite like this. there have been a number of things driving it. i cannot help emphasizing just the degree of republican self

harm going on. i'm as an opinionated person, quite glad to see. it the candidate quality, even mitch mcconnell has been complaining about. the candidate quality is probably going to prevent them from regaining the senate. i'm not talking just obvious people like herschel walker and dr. oz. look at blake masters, they need to defeat mark kelly to regain the senate. he's trailing, mark kelly, because he's sort of full blown, let's not just move fast and break things in terms of the software and start up but let's do that to democracy. he's a move fast and break democracy kind of republican, and then we have of course new hampshire, all of whom are 2020 election deniers.

with this kind of candidate quality or lack of quality, the senate is not going to be mcconnell's again. i'm not a great sympathizer with mcconnell, but i think he's rational. i think he sees the writing on the wall here. it's very difficult material to work with. i take your point entirely that, you know, there is some positive reasons why democratic prospects are looking up and one of which is biden's improving approval ratings. you know, eddie, we've talked to so many candidates on our show, and pollsters even as recently as yesterday on the show who have said the abortion ruling at the supreme court represented in the words of one pollster, a sea change. we heard from democratic candidates like elissa slotkin running in michigan in a tight race, saying this has energized her supporters and swung some moderates or independents to her

side. we have seen that in polling. we have seen that amongst suburban women. we have seen this abortion ruling be a boon to democratic candidates. what else do you sort of see in the stew, the political stew that we have going into the midterms that has raised at least the prospects for many democrats? well, i think, one, i think, you know, this particular aspect of the culture war as you rightly note has activated the democratic base. i think that's really important. i think, two, the craziness as ed has noted of the candidates, there is this viable and concrete and imminent threat to democracy as such. there are these people who are running for office who don't believe in the basic enormous and principles of democracy, and that threat is palpable i think across the country. and i think that is really important as the civil war within the republican party plays itself out. we have to understand that that

defunction is the democrats' advantage but the threat to democracy itself, willie, and the values that are evident in that threat, and the defense of democracy, i think it's really motivating the base and every day ordinary folk, and independents and republicans that are not maga republicans. i think this is important to seeing the shift in the numbers. >> so, ed, we just went through a couple of major things republicans don't want to talk about. mainstream republicans, they don't want to talk about election deniers. they don't want to talk about lindsey graham asset new abortion proposal knowing this has animated those on the left so far. what they want to talk about is the economy, and they did seem to get, you know, a weapon for their arsenal with the inflation numbers, but yet, gas prices remain low. inflation though up doesn't seem to be the top of mind for a lot

of americans right now. they don't have an economic argument. what can they sell? >> i think you're going to see a strong emphasis on crime. you're going to see a strong attempt to whip up fear about rising crimes numbers in the cities. and that defund the police even though that's been perched, you know, very much from the fringe democratic agenda, and there are, in fact, bills before the house or being prepared before the house to strengthen the police while strengthening measures to deal with bad actors within the police. that will still be a big part of the republican election agenda this fall, but again, there is some republican self-harm going on here because, you know, the number of candidates now, you can run clips of saying defund or tweets from saying defund the fbi, you know, i think way exceeds any of the elected

democrats saying on twitter or on clips defund the police. and those are two years out of date anyway so that, i think, is going to neutralize their case. they are going to go on about woke liberalism. as i argue in the piece, you kindly highlighted, there is a woke constituency in america, and that is women. and they are righteously woke, i think, after the roe v. wade ruling and not just the roe v. wade ruling but the quality of the opinion that drove the overturning of roe v. wade. and many of these women are independents and republicans, just look at kansas. look at the voter registration numbers. and how women dominate them. the rise in voter registration, in states like pennsylvania, where you have two republican candidates, doug mastriano, and dr. oz who are against abortion. mastriano wants to criminalize

all abortion. this is why lindsey graham is the most unpopular republican in the senate this week. that's the last thing mitch mcconnell wants people talking about. u.s. national editor and columnist at the financial times, ed loose thank you very much for being on this morning. >> and still ahead on "morning joe," president biden is hitting the campaign trail hard following some important legislative wins. we'll have more ahead on the new approval rating that just crossed. plus, critical race theory has been a top issue for some republicans for more than a year now, and several gop-led legislatures have worked to ban it. we'll dig into how crt is influencing voters ahead of the midterms. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back.

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[ applause ]. >> that was the conclusion of fdr's state of the union address to congress in 1941. also known as his for freedom speech in which fdr made the case for four freedoms all people should have. the freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want and the freedom from fear. our next guest has a new book out on president roosevelt's life and legacy and his ability to persevere. it is entitled "becoming fdr" the personal crisis that made the president. congratulations on the book. fdr known for motivating americans through depression and war. and i'm wondering in looking back and putting together the book, what lessons can be drawn from his leadership that might

apply to today's politics. >> that's actually why i set about writing this book. i thought i was going to do a book about the roosevelt presidency and it was going to be looking at that question of how a president in sort of difficult times can form a bond with the country and inspire hope, and i didn't think i was going to write about his experience with polio or focus on it very much. but when i really dug into that question of how did fdr do this, i found the polio story was essential to understanding him. he had a whole career in politics before he got polio at the age of 39, and he was sort of charming and charismatic, but he was quite self-centered and lacked depth. it's only when he gets polio at age 39 and his sort of plans for the future are thrown up the in air and his life is up ended that he has to in eleanor roosevelt's worlds think about the fundamentals of living for

the first time, and from that experience he gains these new powers, empathy, and strategic thinking and the ability to inspire hope, and all of those things are going to be the things that he uses in the depression and world war ii, and for me, you know, it was really enlightening to look at how influential other people with polio were in helping him to develop all of that. i spent some time looking at his correspondence with other polio patients. in the days after his diagnosis was first announced in 1921, other polio patients wrote him letters offering him advice. there was one man who had had polio for seven years, and he talked about his experience and he said, mr. roosevelt, whatever you do, don't worry. it won't help any, and when i read those words, i could see a direct line to the line, the

only thing we have to fear is fear itself. >> john, i absolutely love this book. you were generous enough to give me an early copy, and it's so beautifully written, and historically significant. and you can learn so much just as a person from fdr's personal struggle and what he went through and his personal growth. aside from the history, just the story of how he never became bitter is so amazing. what do you make of the partnership he had with eleanor, and how did it survive this struggle when their marriage was already on the rocks and they know what their partnership would eventually grow into. >> that's a great questions. as you know, the eleanor story is for me some of the most interesting and enriching part of this story. i love working on it. her transportation is more dramatic than her husband's. when the book starts out in the

years before polio, eleanor is 35 years old and afraid of the world. her marriage is in a bad place, and she doesn't really have a sense of purpose, and she's, you know, at one point, a reporter comes to her and says what do you think about the issue of women's suffrage, which is the big issue of the day in 1920, and she says i don't really have a strong opinion about that either way. personally i'm content with my husband and my children. you know, eleanor roosevelt saying that. it's quite remarkable. until the space of only a few years she's going to become someone who not only has an opinion about women's suffrage, one of the most influential women in american politics, with a political organization that's all her own, totally independent of her husband, and out there arguing that women need to be ruthless about alerting themselves and demanding that men take them seriously, and all of that comes about in a large part because of franklin's polio. when he is focusing on his

convalescence and rehabilitation, there's need for someone to be the representative of the roosevelt family in the public sphere, and eleanor steps into that void and finds that the sort of big world of ideas and of action is the place that she was always meant to be. and she also, i think, you know, reinvents her partnership with franklin, and it's this sort of complex, and rich story of two people who have to sort of form a new union, and they do it because they both have this ability to remake themselves in the middle of life. >> we are talking with author jonathan darmon on his new book, and professor eddie glaude has the next question, eddie. >> congratulations on the book. this sounds so fascinating. i can't wait to read it. i want to ask this question around character formation. you're making the claim that his experience with polio gave him a sense of depth, a sense of the

gravitas of the moment as it were. how does it evidence itself in the face of the crises he confronted as president? right? how does he emerge, how does his polio shape the way he imagines himself as a statesman in the face of hitler's march, in the face of the stock market crash, racial animus. i want to hear more. talk about that. >> polio is the first time in his life he ever really needs hope, and he has to figure out how it is you find it, and how it is you inspire if, and how it is you sustain it. and that's what the country needs in the depression. you know, i was working on this book during the pandemic, during the 2020 election and during its after math, and there are days frankly, where i would look to fdr's story and words seeking consolation of my own. in the 1932 campaign when he was running for president in the

darkest days of the depression, there's a line that he said, he said out of every crisis mankind rises with some share of higher knowledge, of greater decency, and of purer purpose. and, you know, on certain days like january 6th, i would read those words and think, gosh, i hope that's true. it can be hard to find that pure purpose and higher decency now. i think what fdr's story shows, he was saying that in 1932, in a lot of moments where the republic was facing greater peril than what we face today, and people believed him, and they believed him because he believed it, and he believed it because he had lived it in his own life. >> the new book is entitled "becoming fdr, the personal crisis that made a president," thank you very much,

congratulations on the book . coming up, nbc's trymaine lee joins us live from houston with a look at how the anticritical race theory laws are taking hold in texas and across the country. and they could have an impact on the november midterms. plus, the ceo of the antidefamation league joins us ahead of today's white house summit on the threat of domestic extremism in the united states. "morning joe" will be right back. in the united states "morning joe" will be right back when moderate to severe ulcerative colitis persists... put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when uc got unpredictable,... i got rapid symptom relief with rinvoq. check. when uc held me back... i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when uc got the upper hand... rinvoq helped visibly repair the colon lining. check. rapid symptom relief. lasting, steroid-free remission. and a chance to visibly repair the colon lining.

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switch to xfinity mobile today. it is 7:41 in the morning, and a beautiful live picture of the white house. we reported a little bit earlier on the new polling out just this morning that shows a major boost in approval for president biden. according to the latest associated press norc center poll, 45% of americans now give

biden a positive grade for his job performance. that's up 9% from july, though he is still under water at 45 approval, 53% disapproval. the president's numbers are up, though with virtually every group. his support has risen the most among black americans in recent months. 75% say they approve of president biden's job performance, up from 46% in july. wow, that number had been at 67% one month earlier in june. nbc's trymaine lee joins us now from houston. he hosted a town hall with students and educators at texas southern university of what is at stake in this election, and a wave of public resentment and critical race theory plays a part. the town hall special "into america" will begin streaming on peacock on friday. what did you hear in this town hall, and i'm curious what you make of this huge jump in numbers among black voters for

president biden? >> i'll tell you what, we talk about black voters and young black voters as if they're out in the either somehow. we wanted to come to texas university, and engage with educators and change makers about what it's like to experience essentially what is the most gerrymandered states in the country, and ground zero, about how race and history, in the case of texas are not being taught in this state. students are organizing around these ideas that they don't see a difference between those who are pushing and implementing anti-crt laws, those attacking reproductive rights, those who are stripping the franchise from black folks in texas and across the country. these are galvanizing forces, and we wanted to come down here again and talk with them directly and have honest conversations about what it means to be a black person in the country but a black voter in it country. >> with that as the backdrop, let's watch the town hall.

talking about how young voters see the fight in critical race theory. >> one thing i hear over and again, especially from the political analyst types that, you know, black voters are apathetic, young black in particular aren't plugged in. how do you think all of that will shape how people on this campus, and young black people, is it shaping how you think about the midterms coming up? >> i think so. and documentaries like the south lake project, even reading 1619 project, i think it puts it into perspective why it's so important. and why they are really stripping this history. >> eddie glaude, obviously this is something you have studied closely, something you attach at princeton university. what do you make what you have heard some of the clips from the town hall and also more broadly what about what will be central to black voters come november?

>> first of all, congratulations. it seems to me very clear, it is very clear that in a moment where the nation feels as if the cultural and demographic shifts are changing the very nature of the country that there would be an assault on the story we tell ourselves. there's a sense, at least among a certain demographic, white republican evangelical men more than likely, they feel they are losing their footing, so it makes sense that they would challenge any challenge to the story that we tell ourselves about the country. so i wanted to ask, as you talk with the students at texas southern, a wonderful institution, by the way, with an extraordinary president, how do they -- how have they responded, not only to the attack on critical race theory, whatever that means, but also the kind of hesitancy around defending voting rights, the failure to pass the george floyd policing act, how do you square that with the increasing number or support of president biden at this

moment among black voters? >> the one thing i heard, eddie, and it's good to see you, the one thing i heard time and again is this kind of frustration, that they expect us to show up. they expect us to organize, and still give us crumbs. get out the vote, that's the only place the money never goes in the 9th inning. there is great frustration, that in this moment, it is time for the administration if they want their vote to really lean in. not to kind of be mealy mouthed and kind of defaulting to that center. in the time when they feel they are being assaulted on all fronts, it's time for the administration to step up. with that said, they are pragmatic and practical voters, they are still pro joe, but they want more in this moment, especially not lost on them. these are students who are not only engaged, but talking to their families and the folks in the communities. they are a force, and it's a matter of whether democrats will tap into the force, show up not just 9th inning but addressing some of their needs and concerns. >> this is a political taste of

what you'll see in the town hall, into america, the power of the black vote. it begins streaming tomorrow on peacock. a critical conversation as we look to election day, less than two months away. nbc's trymaine lee in houston this morning. thank you so much for bringing it to us and we'll be watching on peacock. coming up this morning, we'll go live to the white house on the heels of president biden announcing a tentative deal to avert a massive rail strike. also ahead on "morning joe." here's the crazy thing about central park, they get about 90% of their money from the park league, which basically is nice rich people who got together in the '70s to turn this place around. it used to look like this. >> no, i won't cut my hair dad. >> now it looks like this, you knew already because of pictures and postcards of central park. >> i know that voice. that's a clip from central park on apple tv plus, and it's that man right there, the cocreator and executive producer, josh gad. we're so excited to see josh and talk to him. look at that beautiful mug,

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you're lucky you're coming, you'll get to witness my prank. the guys got me so good last year. this year i'm giving it back to them big time. >> what did they do? >> we all agreed to get out early for a beer. this week i will show up with week-old cupcakes. >> those cupcakes have been sitting in our house for a week? >> yeah. pretty stale. >> you monster. >> it's the mayor. >> may i have your attention,

please? i was talking to the park commissioner about your i heart the park program? she's intrigued. >> that's great. >> she thought it would be important to get approval from the park executive committee. >> that shouldn't be a problem. i'm seeing them today. >> i have to find some tape. got to go. >> that was a sneak peek of the new episode of "central park" out tomorrow on apple tv plus. joining us now, the show's co-creator and executive producer, josh gadd. it's good to see you. it's been a long time. >> so good to see you. it took me coming to australia and zooming at 10:00 at night to finally see you again. i'm happy that i was able to. >> that will do it. you are behind one of my worst

parenting moments and there are so many. but you in the book of mormon, i brought my little girls to the book of mormon. they were really -- oh. it was bad. >> by the way, that's on you. that's not on me. there were reviews that would have told you not to take your child to the book of mormon. though i made the same mistake. we took -- at the time, my 8-year-old niece. i just remember my mother covering sydney's ears. and my wife covering her eyes. >> we were in the front row. my girls were like, what? yeah. thanks for that. "central park" for those who have not seen it, tell us about it. >> "central park" is the culmination of everything that i

love in this world. you mentioned "book of mormon" between that and "beauty and the beast" and "frozen" i'm clearly obsessed with musicals and musical theater. i wanted to marry the musical form to an animated sitcom. i pitched this idea about this family that lives in central park. we came up with this show that features what i call the avengers of musical theater. it that leslie odom jr. from hamilton, others from hamilton, you're seeing a trend here, i imagine. and then it's got kristin belle, stanley tucci and many others. it's just such a joy. it's -- everybody who watches it says the same thing, which is what we were hoping for, which is it brings a smile to your

face. in a time when there's so much cynicism, it's a pure rush of adrenaline in your life. >> josh, great to see you, since it's 10:00 where you are, i hope there's something good in that mug. >> yeah. yeah. no, this is -- this is not morning joe. this is -- this is -- yes. this is also not appropriate for little 8-year-old girls. that's all i can say about that. no -- >> i note it's empty. >> yeah. >> i note it's empty, which is important. you're ready. properly ready for the interview. >> yeah, i am. >> josh, this show is such a blast for people who have not seen it. they have to check it out. that clip we showed earlier of bertie busking at that part of central park, your character is great, hilarious, funny.

this cast is unbelievable. you mentioned all the names. you have done a bunch of voice work. is it fun to do -- don't get me wrong, we love seeing your actual face, but is it fun for you to do these animated projects where you get into a room with a bunch of friends and crack each other up? >> it is. it is. i always liken it to being a kid in a sandbox. you're getting to basically do all the work with your voice and you marry it to your imagination and, you know, the possibilities are endless. only limited by the imagination of the animator that brings it to life. in the case of this show, i had wanted to work with all of these people for a long time and being an executive producer, i was fortunate enough to be the one who could call them all up and be like, hey, you want to play with us? you know, including the aforementioned people like catherine han, who i'm obsessed

with, and sam richardson. so we have really collected some of the finest people not only behind the scenes in animation but also musical theater. week to week, we have five songs. so it's like -- on top of getting to do an animated voice, this season i'm getting to sing songs like a meatloaf inspired song. it's everything i love doing in this world. >> obviously in some ways it's been a tough couple of years for new york city, hit so hard and early by the pandemic. this appears like it could be a valentine to that city. tell us about the themes of new york city and "central park." >> central park in particular has always been a special place for me. i think it sort of is a melting pot. it's the one place -- i call it

the great equalizer. it's the one place where the haves and have-nots can always walk around and be on an equal playing field. that's always been significant to me. i remember when i was young, i was applying to colleges. i had a really bad audition for juilliard. i thought my dreams were over. i'll never forget walking through the entrance of central park and as i crossed that threshold, it started snowing. it had this almost magical, mystical feeling to it. and new york as we've seen over the last three years has a resilience that is really, really inspiring and admirable. we've tried to boil that down to the tillerman family, this central family at the core of the show. they have that same resilience. >> nice. >> this show is great. new episodes of "central park" premiere every friday on apple

tv plus. josh who has corrupted so many children with his performances on broadway -- >> little girls. >> -- you changed a lot of lives. not always for the better. thanks for being here. great to see you. >> to "morning joe." >> cheers. >> okay. all right. it's the top of the hour. we begin with breaking news overnight. the white house helping strike a deal between rail companies and workers avoiding a strike that would have devastated the economy. president biden releasing a statement saying in part these rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs. all hard earned. amtrak, which had preemptively suspended most long-distance routes says it is now working to restore canceled trains. a strike would have impacted supply chains and prices at a time when inflation is already

high. there has been no word yet from the labor unions or the railway companies involved. so we're waiting on that still. for more on this, let's bring in white house reporter for "politico" and "morning joe" senior contributor, eugene daniels. tell us exactly what we know about how this went down. >> we know marty walsh, the labor secretary, who is a member of a union himself up until this day was meeting with these groups trying to help facilitate this deal because what's important for this white house, one, president biden is still seen as union joe, looking out for the little guys as often put to me by a lot of officials here and the president when he goes out on the road. and they want to be seen as people who can bring others to the table and help facilitate

that. it was possibly as the economy is starting to chug along and maybe get better, it was going to, like you said, affect the supply chain, which would have been a nightmare and also affect possibly travel around the country. that's something they did not want to see happen. i will say, just so folks know, this is a tentative deal. it's not a done deal. there will be weeks of cooling off so the unions can go back to their membership, have the votes. in the meantime, it looks like there won't be any kind of shutdown because as they're working through this process, even if there's one union says no, they'll be able to have the deal go through. more importantly, you will hear that this is something they wanted to do. this is something the president was leading on. unions, the little guy, that's what this white house wants to be seen as fighting for. >> yeah. we're getting new polls out showing president biden's approval rating going up.

also want to talk about today's summit at the white house, which comes after the anti-defamation league called on president biden to talk action earlier this year following the mass shooting at a grocery store in western new york. set the scene for us on the summit. >> you will have civil rights leaders -- when i was walking into the white house just a little bit ago, a bunch of folks, clergy, people waiting to get into the white house for today. because this is going to be bipartisan. this is what the white house hopes will be bipartisan. it's civil rights groups, gun safety groups. advocates from the religious community coming together to have a conversation about unity. like you said, this has been a months-long push from these groups to say we need someone to help facilitate a conversation about what's happening in this country. folks understand that it's really hard to legislate

anti-hate, it's really hard to legislate and change peoples hearts using the power of the pen. so they're hoping by having this conversation, but most importantly aides tell me keep the politics out of it. this is not about the midterms or the president being seen as opposite or contrasting against any other party or any other political leader. this is about trying to figure out this conversation. even when aides were talking to us yesterday, they kept talking and making specific about this is hate-fueled violence, not about every single type of violence. we'll see what happens. there's going to be some announcements to make it easier for folks to report and have these conversations across the country. an initiative that will be run by citizens. not by the white house or the government. people will know it's not just the white house saying hey, be nice to each other. it's coming from the ground up.

that's how they hope to make us like each other more and most importantly stop some of this violence we're seeing across the country. >> "morning joe" senior contributor eugene daniels. thank you very much. >> for more on this summit, let's bring in jonathan greenblat and the mayor of oklahoma city, david holt. what kind of extremism will be targeted by this summit? >> i think today is really important. it's the first time in decades that a white house has said we are putting hate at the top of the agenda and we need to fight it. it couldn't come at a more important time. last year we saw 29 people killed in hate-related violence. 19 of which were by right-wing extremists, anti-semitism

reached an all-time high based on adl's count in 2021. the fbi tracks that hate crimes against all groups were up in 2020, a 12-year high. the president today, the vice president, susan rice, who has really organized this from the west wing and shown a lot of leadership are bringing together groups like adl, the national urban league and many other community activists, clergy members, civil rights groups, business leaders and importantly mayors. ultimately hate is not fought from washington. it's won on the ground every day in classrooms, in workplaces, that's why i'm so excited that mayor holt is here with us. >> mayor holt, what are you seeing in oklahoma city that put this near the top of your list of priorities? why did you want to participate in the summit? >> for a couple reasons. first of all, i feel as if i'm representing our nation's mayors, 150 of which signed a letter that we -- or a pact that

we partnered with the adl on to combat hate and extremism. i also think that i have a unique perspective as the mayor of oklahoma city. we have a scar in our downtown that should be a reminder of what happens when you take this extremism out to the conclusion. i speak every year on the anniversary of the bombing in 1995. this type of dehumanization in political discourse only has one conclusion, it's what happened in 1995 in oklahoma city and i don't want to see that happen anywhere else any time again. >> jonathan greenblatt, in terms of action items, we talk a lot on this show about the threats of extremism and how it pervades our politics, and obviously the

danger that it poses. what are the action items you would like to see come out of this? what are things people can do and leaders can do? >> it's a great question. i think there's a couple things. number one, i'm glad again the president is shining his spotlight and using his bully pulpit. we hope dhs will increase the funding, i hope the doj will continue to take these issues seriously. we want to see the department of education investigate all forms of hate when they happen on college campuses. ultimately, as mayor holt said, we ourselves have to solve this problem. that's why the adl announced the mayor's compact. we have 150 mayors, republicans and democrats coming together to commit to fight hate in their communities and the adl is launching with the national urban league a solidarity and safety coalition that brings together the largest religious denominations in the country to

work with us, to help them fight domestic extremism and hate, to secure their institutions, to fight hate offline and online, to provide training. i think it's really important that, again, faith-based institutions, ethnic groups all come together to fight hate. >> so you mentioned college campuses. let's go to professor at princeton university, eddie glaude jr. he has the next question for the mayor. >> mayor holt listening to what jonathan said in terms of the deliverables. how do every-day, ordinary people respond to the ideology of great replacement theory, and we see that folks are being radicalized in -- not in terms of groups joining the oath keepers or organizations like the proud boys, but radicalized

in the dark corners of the internet, in their own homes, in their own basements. how does this summit respond to that? we know that's at the heart of el paso. it's at the heart of buffalo and the like. >> i think you see with this summit, you certainly see mayors, and we'll have bipartisan mayors there today along with the 150 who signed this compact, leading by example and being assertive respectfully and politely. we have to keep civility. but at the same time we cannot continue to look the other way when all these things are happening that you were just referencing, when this rhetoric is entering the mainstream of american politics. so our goal here is to lead by example and inspire every american in their own little way, in their own little corner of the universe that we each control to stand for love, to stand against bigotry, hatred, dehumanization, against

conspiracy theories, apocalyptic political rhetoric and start treating each other like humans again and working together and finding common ground. in oklahoma city we started a program at the oklahoma city memorial called better conversations where we bring in people from different perspectives and just talk to each other. i think that's what we're trying to spark today. >> david holt and jonathan greenblatt, thank you very much. a new poll crossed just this morning showing a big boost in approval for president biden. according to the latest associated press norc center poll, 45% of americans approve of the president's job performance. that's up 9% from july. that's a massive bump in that poll. jonathan lemire, he's still under water but given the rising gas prices, inflation that made for a brutal summer for this president, with the passage of some legislation, with gas prices coming down, it appears

if you look inside these numbers, many democrats are energized and coming back home to this president. >> white house aide just texted me a dark brandon rises meme. you could say the west wing is pleased with these numbers. they sort of saw this coming. without question, the president is on a winning streak here that started mid summer when they passed a bunch of legislation, the chips act, the pact act, on guns, capping off with both a strike that killed the leader of al qaeda and then the huge democratic bill that they celebrated earlier this week meant to bring down inflation. it's not all good news. we know the inflation numbers this week were not great and certainly as you noted the president is still under water. but this is a significant jump. it was just a few months ago when president biden's numbers were 10, 12 points down. there was speculation whether democrats wanted him to run

again and even appear with him in 2022 ahead of the midterms. a lot of that has quieted now. they feel the party is coming home, the party has energy behind it because of his wins and the supreme court decision on abortion and they do seem like they're rallying around this president right now and feeling pretty confident about november and going forward. >> yeah. the contrast with republicans, my gosh, between obviously, which you mentioned, the abortion decision, on guns. republicans seem out of step with where most americans are and democrats have a lot of wins and now president biden's growing approval rating to brag on. it's significant, those numbers that just came out. queen elizabeth ii is making one final appearance before her subjects. mourners and well-wishers will be able to view the queen's coffin around-the-clock until her state funeral on monday. president biden spoke with king

charles yesterday to offer his condolences. the white house told reporters the president stressed his fondness for the queen and her kindness when she hosted the first family last june. president biden will travel to london next week to attend the queen's funeral. president biden plans to nominate lynn tracy as his next ambassador to russia. if confirmed, she would succeed john sullivan who stepped down earlier this month. tracy serves as the u.s. ambassador to armenia and was the number two diplomat in moscow from 2014 to 2017. if appointed, she would be the first female to serve in the role. the timing of her arrival and official nomination will depend on russia agreeing to accept her as ambassador at a time of huge tension between washington and

moscow as the war in ukraine rages on. we'll be following that. a man who wore a trump 2020 hat as he beat officers at the capitol on january 6th has pleaded guilty admitting he told officers "you're going to die tonight." jack witton said he hit one officer with a crutch, dragged one down the stairs and kicked another officer. other rioters beat the officer with a flagpole and baton. he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers with a dangerous weapon which carries a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. all for what and for who? and a pair of moderate lawmakers have introduced a bill designed to strengthen election security. democratic congressman josh gottheimer from new jersey and republican congressman fred

upton of michigan are introducing the legislation now. in an effort to boost a similar bill in the senate being spearheaded by west virginia's joe manchin and maine's susan collins. both bills seek to clarify the limited role of the vice president in counting electoral college votes to raise the threshold for members of congress to object to states presidential electors and to enhance laws around certifying elections for the rightful winner and promoting an orderly presidential transition. the bill is unrelated to the other election security legislation being prepared in the house by january 6th committee members liz cheney of wyoming. that bill is expected to be unveiled this week. a lot going on with our elections. still ahead on "morning joe," the investigation that donald trump and his supporters said would prove a deep-state

conspiracy against the former president appears to be coming to an end after three years and almost no evidence. it comes as trump's inner circle is becoming more concerned about his various legal issues. we'll have new reporting on that. plus about 50 migrants arrived in martha's vineyard, massachusetts yesterday on a flight originating in texas and paid for by florida governor ron desantis. kerry sanders joins us live to explain why. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. ack. my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... the tightness, stinging... the pain. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, most people saw 90% clearer skin at 16 weeks. the majority of people saw 90% clearer skin even at 5 years. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms

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chairman bennie thompson weighed in on that material yesterday. >> what kind of documents? was it radio traffic, e-mails? >> it's a combination of a number of text messages. radio traffic. that kind of things. it's thousands of documents. >> text messages from january 5th and 6th? >> the tranches we've received have been significant. >> there's all kinds of information, so we're going through everything that's been provided. more is coming in. as i say, some of it is not relevant and some of it is. it's a huge slog to go through it, but we are going to go through it and the members of

the committee themselves have been involved in this, and we hope to have that completed, you know, soon. >> it's unclear at this point whether those text messages, the ones the committee has received are those previously believed to have been erased or are just missing, mika. these are the ones on january 5th, on january 6th that the secret service said oops, we're going through a data migration or upgrade and we lost all of them. >> that's hard to believe, but that's where we're at. and maybe perhaps the other texts that they've received, and so many provide some context. we're also learning more about a criminal investigation into former justice department lawyer jeffrey clark. back in june, federal agents searched his home and seized his electronics. a filing this week with the washington, d.c. bar gives more context to that search. clark's legal team told the bar the doj is investigating whether he made false statements as well

as possible conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges. clark has been a key figure in the january 6th hearings. the committee has presented evidence that he tried to use his position in the doj to push donald trump's lies about election fraud. and that he plotted with the former president to replace the acting attorney general and have himself appointed as the ag. jonathan lemire, in your new reporting, you quote one formal trump official saying every day feels like something else is piling on. >> for most of trump's time in office and even his first months out of office, those around him felt like he was almost bullet proof, he could get by any scandal here, the mueller problem, even impeachment, that he emerged largely politically unscathed. that has changed and in this story, we talked to a number of people in the former president's orbit who have been down right spooked by recent developments in atlanta, d.c., the january

6th committee and the last few days, dozens of trump aides received subpoenas. some had their phones seized including mr. pillow, and there's a sense here, there's paranoia in trump world as to who might be cooperating, text chains have gone silent. there are worries about who might be talking to investigators, and they worry that aides tell us they could be next. so, to be clear, there's no sense of charges on the horizon. doj working quietly, but even the sight of the former president arriving in washington the other day sparked fears in his orbit that perhaps he was being called in by the department of justice. turns out he was visiting his golf course in suburban virginia. but the sense from trump world, each and every day, there's a bad headline, another shoe is set to drop, and they do worry that there's more below the surface they're not seeing yet. and this is the most worried, i would say, the trump world has ever been in about the possibility of legal peril for the former president.

>> and every legal filing we get around the mar-a-lago documents get worse and worse for the president, and the people who helped him. the special council probe into the origins into the investigation of ties between former president trump's 2016 campaign and russia appears to be winding down now with no further charges expected. that's according to the "new york times." the grand jury convened by trump appointed special counsel john durham to hear evidence in the case has now expired. the times cites three people familiar with the matter say while durham could convene another grand jury, there currently are no plans to do so. the paper reports that durham and his team are working to complete a final report by the end of the year, and one of the lead prosecutors on his team is leaving for a job with a prominent law firm. the times reports over the course of the inquiry, mr. durham has developed cases against two people accused of lying to the fbi in relation to outside efforts to investigate purported trump-russia ties. he has not charged any

conspiracy or put any high-level official on trial. the move appears to dash the hopes of former president trump and his supporters that durham would uncover efforts of a vast conspiracy to improperly investigate the then republican candidate over his campaign's ties to russia. coming up, president putin looks for a lifeline from chinese president xi jinping. the two leaders are set to meet today as the kremlin's invasion of ukraine continues to falter. we'll have the latest from beijing straight ahead on "morning joe."

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we are learning more about volodymyr zelenskyy's prize trip to the newly liberated areas in

the northeastern part of the country. he toured the recently recaptured city of izyum and assessed the damage on the ground, raising the ukrainian flag in the city's main square. zelenskyy said he witnessed shocking scenes in the area comparing it to bucha, a suburb of kyiv where officials found widespread damage and bodies after russian troops retreated in march. zelenskyy also vowed to push russian troops out of all ukrainian territories including crimea, which moscow invaded back in 2014. in his late-night address, zelenskyy said his army had now liberated more than 3,000 square miles of ukrainian land from russian control. also yesterday, president zelenskyy was in a car collision in kyiv but emerged with no serious injuries. according to a statement from the president's press secretary, a car collided with the car of the president of ukraine and

escort vehicles. medics accompanying zelenskyy gave emergency aid to the car's driver and transferred him to an ambulance. just hours after zelenskyy's visit, russian missiles hit central ukraine damaging critical infrastructure there. as many as eight missiles hit zelenskyy's hometown near kharkiv. the missiles also hit a dam flooding parts of the city. he said more than 100 homes were flooded and 11 people had to be rescued overnight. officials say residents have been asked to leave parts of the city due to the rising water levels. that's zelenskyy's hometown targeted. chinese president xi jinping expected to meet today with russian leader vladimir putin in uzbekistan. the summit is meant to signal the strength of the relationship between the two world leaders. putin plans to meet with other heads of state including those of india, pakistan, turkey and

iran. according to the kremlin, his meeting with xi is of particular importance. the big question seems to be whether beijing will offer military aid to moscow. joining us now from beijing, janis mackey frayer. what more can you tell us about this meeting today? >> reporter: this is a significant face-to-face reunion for xi jinping and vladimir putin. you'll remember the last time they were together it was here in beijing when they declared that partnership with no limits and then three weeks later russia invaded ukraine. since then, china has never condemned russia for the invasion, nor has it called it a war, nor has it outright supported russia in its offensive in ukraine. what it has offered is rhetorical support. it's amplified russian propaganda here. it backed russia at the u.n. and it has been buying up a lot of

russian oil and gas. it's not clear whether xi jinping is prepared to offer more material support to putin at this point because china is still wanting to avoid secondary sanctions that could see it suffer limitations on accessing global markets. what this is for both men is a show of solidarity. it's a confidence play. it's a show of strength at a time when they both need it. china's economy is wobbling under covid restrictions and russia is literally losing ground in ukraine. but how far xi is willing to go to back putin is unknown. and consider the timing. we are just weeks away from the communist party congress that will give xi jinping an unprecedented third term in power. that he's even traveling right now is highly unusual let alone having it be his first trip abroad since the beginning of

the pandemic. so, he is going to do everything he can to try and shore up his foreign policy credentials and appear the global statesman again, which is why xi and putin are probably going to stick to the script that works for them. they're going to use this platform as an opportunity to denounce the west. they will criticize nato and feel that they're both walking away with a strengthened alliance at a time when they both need it. as well, the subtext of their messaging is likely to be a warning to the u.s. about crossing the so-called red lines here when it comes to taiwan. >> janis mackey frayer in beijing, thank you very much. janis leads us to taiwan which is keeping a close eye on the meeting between those two world leaders today. joining us from taipei is raf sanchez. it's good to see you. i know you spoke to the former head of taiwan's military.

fair to say taiwan looking closely and learning from ukraine's experience? >> yeah, absolutely. he said he saw a lot of parallels between taiwan and ukraine. both are smaller democracies living in the shadow of a much larger authoritarian neighbor with vastly superior military forces. but admiral lee said he thought taiwan's military could learn some lessons and take a lot of inspiration from ukraine, especially in terms of how they waged asymmetric warfare against the russians. so, taiwan is never going to be able to outfight china a conventional war. taiwan is some 23 million people. china is 1.4 billion. he said instead taiwan needs to focus on highly mobile, very agile military units, move quickly, strike chinese forces and then get out of the way before they can respond again. he called this the mohammed ali strategy. listen to what he had to say

about how that would work. >> frozen like a butterfly, sting like a bee, you can't hit me because you can't see me. that's the capability that should be all over the island. they cannot use the long-distance strike capability to attack us. >> now, in terms of putting that asymmetric strategy into practice, he said taiwan needs to wean itself off of big-ticket american military hardware, like f-16s, like tanks, like battleships, and instead focus on the kinds of weapons the ukrainians have used so effectively including the anti-ship missiles which you and i talked about back when the ukrainian sunk the russian tank

ship. he said missiles like that could be devastating to the chinese fleet as it draws near. >> quoting ali while doing it. impressive. on the other side, china is watching the way the united states and the west has stepped in to back ukraine against russia. raf sanchez in taiwan, thank you very much. coming up, a new piece in the "washington post" argues there's only one republican who can beat donald trump. so who is it? we'll talk about that next on "morning joe."

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time for the must-read opinion pages. in the "washington post," columnist henry alston writes ron desantis is the only republican who can beat trump.

and he writes this, it's not hard to figure out why desantis has such credibility among the trumpy set. his pugnacious style and responding to media criticism endears him to those who want a fighter. his willingness to talk about culture war topics such as the critical race theory or woke corporations is music to the ears of many populists, and his other positions, pro-life, pro-tax cut, traditional foreign policy views make party firsters like him, too. republicans can surely recall the revolutionary war adage -- united we stand, divided we fall. desantis's unique ability to unite the party's warring wings points a way to end the gop's civil war and take the fight home to the democrats. elise jordan, talk to me about ron desantis on the national stage as opposed to his very

comfortable audience in the tampa area. i think the big stage could be a little different for this potential would-be candidate. also want to point out that he's taking a cue from some other republican governors and sending migrant workers, i believe, to martha's vineyard. we'll have a live report on that coming up. talk to me about ron desantis, the potential presidential candidate. >> you know, mika, i'm curious how sending venezuelan migrants to martha's vineyard necessarily helps him in florida with venezuelan voters. who knows, that's the kind of move that ron desantis is making, trying to get national opinion, leaking news of using florida funds to fly migrants to martha's vineyard to showcase that he is an active front-lines culture warrior. it's not necessarily governing

in florida, it's what's going to play on the national scene. what's attractive to so many big republican donors is that they see ron desantis as smart and sane and putting on an act and able to excite the populous trumpian base but willing to enact the tax policies and corporate friendly policies that they want from a republican candidate. so far ron desantis has been pretty skillful in avoiding commenting on abortion in florida or doing anything that dramatic on abortion in florida because he knows it could come back and hurt him on the national stage. >> he's also holding out to wait and see will donald trump run, will he not? what does that mean for his future. another must-read comes from the editorial board of "the philadelphia inquirer." in a piece titled in mastriano's efforts to overturn the 2022 election.

doug mastriano's relentlessests to thwart the results of the 2020 presidential election spread donald trump's election lies and suppress votes in future elections. if elected governor, mastriano boasted about how he plans to interfere with election outcomes if he doesn't get the results he want. mastriano said he would get to appoint a secretary of state who is delegated from me, the power to make corrections to elections and voting laws and everything. he added, i could de-certify every machine in the state with the, you know, with the stroke of a pen. pennsylvania does not need election denying conspiracy theorists, the paper writes, deciding the outcomes of elections with the stroke of a pen. mastriano, as everyone knows now is the republican candidate for governor in the state of pennsylvania. not a casual election denier, a proud one. someone who was at the capitol on january 6, 2021. he didn't go into the building. still running effectively a primary campaign to the

frustration of many people across the state of pennsylvania, many republicans, he's not looking to grow his base, he's sticking to the line about denying the election. >> there's not going to be a need to have a select committee probe into doug mastriano's efforts because he just spelled it out for you there. he's an enthusiastic election denier. and there's two things about this. on one hand, yes, this is worrisome for republicans because mastriano, as you just noted, seems to be still running a hard-right primary campaign making no effort to pivot to the center as we usually do see in a general election and polls have him trailing in the race for governor for pennsylvania. we're seeing similar from the republican candidates out in arizona. others who have suggested that they would try to, "a," overturn the 2020 results. "b," have claimed that there's fraudulent activity in this year's election with no proof. "c," talk about installing people who would do their bidding in terms of state officials including the state secretary of state for the 2024

election. which, again, those candidates all losing the polls because they seem out of step with most voters. the other part of this is how worrisome this is. this is an increasing infestation in the republican party. the big lie is everywhere. there's very few republicans in dissent to it. some don't really believe it. others, at least whether they believe it in their hearts or not, are acting on it. it's a dangerous place with americans faith in their democracy being undermined by stuff like this. americans will have a harder time believing their vote will be counted correctly and the real winner will be installed in power. there are new developments this morning in mississippi's welfare scandal including never before seen text messaging focusing on the state's former governor and retired quarterback brett favre. we'll talk to one of the reporters leading the coverage of that story straight ahead on "morning joe." head on "morning joe."

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hispanic heritage month begins today, and the population is now more crucial to american life and american politics than ever. but new data shows what it means to be hispanic, latino, or latin x has changed dramatically in the last ten years. joining us, nbc news correspondent morgan radford. you're looking at those changes and you point out this is something that goes beyond the demographics. >> absolutely, mika. great to see you. we already know that people who identified as hispanic or latino made up more than half of the nation's population growth in just the last decade and that latinos are nearly now 20% of the u.s. total population. even while that growth was happening there were bigger changes in how latinos see themselves, changes that could shape the country for years to come.

here at latino fia in manhattan's upper west side, owner richard lamb lives in two worlds. richard, what do we have here? what dish is this? >> this is pork fried rice. >> reporter: his father, a chinese immigrant, started this restaurant in the 1980s after living in south america, where he met richard's mother, a native peruvian. what does it mean to be latino? >> everything. it's my life, my heritage. a lot of people still get surprised when they hear me speak spanish, but there are so many interracial, you know -- everywhere, especially here in new york city, right? >> i'm latina and proud to be. >> it's not just here. based on the latest census, the latino community has grown dramatically and is now more diverse than ever. nationwide, the number of hispanics or latinos reporting more than one race has skyrocketed in the last ten years from 3 million to over 20

million. while the number who identify as only white has dropped by nearly half. for journalist andidentity, it' change she's seen first hand. >> over the last ten, five years there' been a greater focus on the language we use, latino, latina, a more more crucial conversation. >> so what's changed? first social media, where younger people are sharing their journey along the way. >> i look asian but i'm mexican. you have to deal with it. >> secondly, language. the share of u.s.-born hispanics who speak spanish at home has declined by nearly ten percentage points in the last four decades with second and

third generations less likely to encourage their children to speak the language. a trend comedian john gonzalez, who's half white and half hispanic, has seen in his own life. >> my family, they would speak spanglish, so my dad always told me he was going to teach me spanish when i was growing up. he never did. he would tell me things and i would catch up on it. i think that it's starting to become more of a normal thing. ♪♪ >> reporter: but whether it's latino, hispanic, or latinx, the flavor of the culture is reaching everyone. this is a chicken. >> to die for. >> it shouldn't be surprising to anyone anymore. everyone is interracial. everyone is mixed. >> some people caught on. >> it's time people caught on. >> all right. so interesting. morgan, let's talk about the politics of this, political campaigns that are trying to reach out to latino voters ahead of the midterms. is there anything they can take

away from these changes, anything they're missing big time? >> yeah, mika. a great question. there were two other fascinating data points that may be useful. one is our digital team reached out to companies like 23andme to get a sense of how people are digging into their own heritage. they found the percentage of new customers who are of latino descent rose by over 50%. number two, there are an estimated million people who do not identify as hispanic or latino. the you're trying to reach out to latino voters, you have to speak to them in a way they describe themselves. bottom line, if you're a politician, you may have to do more listening before you can speak. >> you can meet people actually where they are. morgan radford, thank you very much for your reporting. great piece. appreciate it. we'll roll into the fourth hour of "morning joe." it's 6:00 a.m. on the west coast and 9 a.m. on the east. we've got a lot to get to this

hour. president joe biden's announcement early this morning a tentative railway labor agreement has been reached, averting what could have been a devastating strike, threatening the nation's economy. we'll go live to the white house for the latest. also ahead, newly revealed text messages between nfl hall of famer brett favre and mississippi's former governor are raising questions about an investigation into the misuse of government welfare funds. we'll be joined by one of the reporters leading that coverage. and the latest on the two planes full of migrants flown to martha's vineyard by florida governor ron desantis, escalating a tactic by republican governors to draw attention to what they consider to be the biden administration's failed border policies. willie? >> yeah. let's start this hour, mika, with the deal president joe biden says has been reached between railway carriers and workers. the president said the deal

ensures rail workers will get what he calls better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs. the issue partly had been over sick time. a source familiar with the negotiations tells nbc news the tentative deal was reached early this morning with a basic handshake at 2:30 a.m. and approval by the teamsters board at 4:30 a.m. amtrak, which previously had preemptively suspended most long-distance routes says it is working to restore canceled trains to accommodate impacted customers. for more, let's bring in nbc news chief white house correspondent peter alexander live at the white house. peter, good morning. obviously, this would have had big implications if this had gone on for to several days or weeks on supply chain issues and support to ukraine. how did this deal come together? >> reporter: this was an all-nighter for marty walsh.