sought to shake the very foundations of the free world. thinking he could make it bend to his menacing ways, but he badly miscalculated. he thought he could roll into ukraine and the world would roll over. instead, he was met by a wall he never anticipated or ever imagined. he met the ukrainian people. >> that was president biden 11 months ago, delivering his second state of the union

address, days after russia's invasion of ukraine. tonight, his speech is going to be heavily focused on reminding americans what his administration has accomplished over the past two years. it comes as ukraine is now preparing for a major russian offensive. we'll have more on the mobilization of troops in putin's army. meanwhile, we are learning more about the chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down, and other incidents that went undetected by u.s. force. also ahead, the latest from turkey and syria where the death toll is rising following a massive earthquake, and rescuers continue to hold out hope of finding survivors. good morning and welcome to "morning joe. "it is tuesday, february 7th. the death toll from the earthquake in turkey and syria passed 5,000 and continues to climb. a 7.8 magnitude quake hit the region early yesterday along with multiple aftershocks,

including a 7.5 magnitude one that struck just hours later. tens of thousands have been injured. search and rescue efforts are under way to find people who may still be trapped under the rubble. more than 6,000 buildings collapsed in turkey according to a state-run news agency. the earthquake also brought new devastation to war-ravaged syria, a region already plagued by a 12-year civil war and humanitarian crisis. nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley has more on one of the deadliest disasters in years. >> reporter: in turkey, buildings still falling. as the heartbreaking death toll sadly keeps rising. the fear now, more aftershocks. this one captured on live television. the reporter starts to run. you can hear a building crashing down behind him. later, finding a family that

somehow made it out alive. that quake hitting 12 hours after the first earthquake, a magnitude 7.8, captured on security cameras. bringing down buildings in an instant. here, rescuers are combing through rubble when another building collapses nearby. rescuers racing to find survivors still trapped. my grandson is 18 months old. please help my family, she begged, saying her missing relatives had been on the 12th floor. the quake hit along the turkey-syria border. in syria, volunteer rescue workers from the white helmets were used to rescuing civilians from bombings. many of the victims were refugees who already lost their homes in war. this 18-month-old was saved, but her pregnant mother, brother and sister were killed. the ceiling had directly fallen

on them, said her uncle. one survivor in northwest syria described emergency crews' desperation. for this region afflicted by war and now an earthquake, help can't come soon enough. >> turkey has taken in 3.6 million syrian refugees, many of whom were affected by the earthquake. the united nations says 2.7 million syrians live in the northwestern part of the country near turkey's border and the quake's epicenter. the u.n. says its refugee agency is not fully operational because of damage to its offices and warehouse. now, several nations, including the u.s., are sending rescue personnel and supplies to the region. president biden called turkey's president yesterday to express his condolences and coordinate aid. teams from virginia's task force one and the los angeles county fire department will be deployed, as well as u.s.

supported humanitarian groups. we will get a live report from the devastated region ahead in our next hour of "morning joe." willie. >> yeah, we woke up to a death toll this morning over 5,000. that number expected to only go up from here, as you said. the united states among many, many nations sending rescue teams in to help. we'll come back to this story in a moment. back at home, president biden says the suspected chinese spy balloon incident will not damage diplomatic relations between washington and beijing. speaking to reporters outside the white house yesterday, the president commented on china's decision to fly a surveillance balloon over the united states and his administration's decision to shoot it down. >> will this affect u.s.-chinese relations? >> no. we made it clear to china what we're going to do. they understand our position. there is not a question of weakening or strengthening. it's just the reality.

>> the chinese government. >> a laugh from the president there. we're learning more about the balloon's design now. the commander of norad says it was 200 feet tall, that's about four times the size of the snoopy balloon at the macy's thanksgiving day parade. the debris field was 1500 meters by 1500 meters or 15 football fields by 15 football fields. it's huge. officials failed to detect surveillance balloons in the past. this is not the only first time. they only learned about it later from intelligence agencies. the commander of northern command in north american aerospace command drew contrast between the previous lapses and the suspected spy balloon spot down on saturday. he described a surveillance gap and said the u.s. is trying to figure out why the earlier flights went undetected. a general said, quote, we did

not detect those threats, and that's a domain awareness gap we have to figure out. do main awareness gap, joe, we have to start using that one. this was huge. the president decided the middle of last week he wanted to shoot it down. department of defense said, we agree, we can shoot it down, but let's wait until it's out over water. we're getting an idea of how big this was. balloon seems an understatement to describe this thing. >> it was massive. domain awareness gap, by the way, i wish i had had that in high school during my exams. sorry, ma'am, i can't complete this test. i have a domain awareness gap. >> i love that. >> as pertains to trig. >> yeah. >> you know joe biden laughed when asked why do they do it, and his answer was, the chinese did it. i always said this during all the information about the russians using misinformation,

disinformation, but also spying on us one way or the other. i sort of smiled and laughed. well, we do that, too. we do that to china, too. i mean, part of him laughing, he couldn't say it -- and, i'm sorry, i mind offend people when i say it -- but grow up. this is what superpowers have done since they've become superpowers. satellites are flying over us right now. they're flying over china right now. i thought marc polymeropoulos said it best yesterday. so, yes, this balloon is one of, like, 30 or 40 ways that the chinese spy on us. it's not even in the top 20 of what our intel agencies should be concerned about. of course, because it is floating overhead the united states, it is going to draw attention. i think there is, actually -- i think there is a legitimate concern here. this is happening -- it happened three, four times during the trump administration. probably happened before that.

they do need to figure out how to detect these things earlier. i know we never heard about it during the trump administration because they didn't talk about it, or maybe they didn't pick it up until it left the country. but, yeah, it is a serious problem. on the bigger issue, though, let's bring in host of "way too early," white house bureau chief at "politico," jonathan lemire. i called around yesterday to quite a few diplomats, and everyone said the same thing about antony blinken cancelling his trip to china. we understand why he did it, for domestic political reasons. at the same time, that didn't make the world a safer place. china and the united states need to get together. they need to talk. there was actually some pressure to reset that meeting as soon as possible because, again, we're looking at russia threatening to use nuclear weapons. china is a counterbalance to

that. you talk about global economic problems, global economic forces. us being able to coordinate with china in whatever ways we can economically, also good for the world's economy. you could talk, of course, also about climate change. you could talk one of a hundred issues. the two world superpowers need to be talking. so some people may have been caught off guard by what joe biden said yesterday. i certainly wasn't. every diplomat i talked to yesterday said, these two countries need to get together and talk. the balloon is gone. now start talking again because the world is a much more dangerous place when the united states and china are not together talking. >> yeah, there's no question that china spies on the u.s., and the u.s. spies on china. they may be spying on us on the tiktok app i know you have on your phone, joe. that is of greater concern -- >> by the way, on every phone i have, all 12 phones i have.

my tiktok accounts, i live by. no, i don't. but you are right, though. i'm glad you brought up tiktok. while everybody was bitching and moaning about this balloon, i felt like saying, look down at your telephones, please. >> yeah. >> you want to talk about china's best surveillance of the united states? look at your iphone. >> talk to it. >> not in the sky. the problem is you. they're listening to you. they're following your patterns on tiktok. everything, it's bad. >> yeah. the idea -- the problem with this balloon is it was so blatant and caught america's attention and, therefore, became this diplomatic snafu. to your point about the secretary of state's visit, in fact, i was visiting yesterday with john kirby, who made clear, this trip is not canceled. it was postponed. it will happen again, and he suggested, though no date has been set, they hope to have it sooner than later because of that long list of issues that

you, yourself, went through. that the superpowers need to talk, particularly in the light of new reporting about how china's defense ministries are still supporting, perhaps su subtly, russia's war effort. the final lot on timing, why this needs to happen soon, let's remember the furor when pelosi went to taiwan and the two countries stopped talking for a few months until presidents biden and xi met in bali. new speaker mccarthy plans to go to taiwan soon. there is a sense they want to try to warm relations even further before that happens. >> with all this as a backdrop, tonight, president biden will give the state of the union address. sources inside the white house say parts of that speech that address china are being edited after the shooting down of the chinese surveillance balloon. overall, the white house says the president wants to remind americans of the progress that has been made since he took

office, especially on the economy. the president is expected to call on congress to pass legislation on his tax plan for billionaires, as well as a universal cap for insulin prices and police reform. let's bring in the ceo of the massena group, serving as chief of staff to president obama and ran his 2012 re-election campaign. also with us, founder of the conservative website "the bulwark," charlie sykes. jim, first question in terms of the president's speech tonight and his accomplishments, what does he need to do to take ownership of the past two years? >> explain what he's done. six in ten americans don't know, not surprising. exactly what we went through on the obama re-elect. he has to set the stage. the bully pulpit of the president doesn't really exist anymore. he just has a couple very big opportunities. this is the biggest one he is going to have. this is one time where the voters actually look in and say, what's my president doing? what is he going to do to make

my life better? tonight is an absolute crucial beginning of that conversation with the american voter. >> joe, yes, and also voters will hear this, you know, huge response from republicans all over the internet. many have podcasts of their own in leadership in the senate. it is hard to get a solid message across in this current atmosphere. >> he's got the bully pulpit. i mean, to quote the line from the michael wolf book, the headline, "television is the new television." the bully pulpit is the new bully pulpit. which is to say, the more things change, the more they stay the same. charlie sykes, i was frustrated by bill clinton. he'd sit there and drone on an hour and a half. >> there were long speeches. >> i'd be like, man, i'm going

to lie down in the cloak room. wake me up near the end so i can get up and applaud. >> he went, i did this, i did -- you know what, he's put america to sleep. no, he didn't. like, his state of the union addresss, those are important. you drive home accomplishment after accomplishment. you know wisconsin politics so well. what should joe biden talk about tonight to get to wisconsin voters, to show wisconsin voters that their vote for him in 2020 made sense and to vote for him in 2024 for a good bet, as well? >> well, what he has to do is talk about his substantive record. that'll be interesting tonight, is to watch the contrast between the president talking about his substantive record and the performative house majority, how they respond to him. because, of course, they're going to be under a lot of pressure from their base to

engage in the kind of tantrums we saw last time. it'll be interesting to see how kevin mccarthy responds. what he has to do, he actually has to start using the bully pulpit. i have to admit, joe, having spent about 40 years watching these state of the unions, i am a little jaded because they're surrounded by a lot of hype, a lot of pomp and circumstance. i'm trying to remember one that actually moved the needle. but joe biden has to begin to break through to the american people, which he has not done so far. he has not really used the bully pulpit in all the ways other presidents have done. he hasn't had a lot of oval office addresses. there have not been a lot of these set pieces. he has to make the most of this moment. it'd be naive to think that this is going to be a transformative moment. this is going to be a long slog, where this white house is going to have to, you know, buckle down and realize that it has to

tell its story and tell it over and over and over and over again in the face of what is going to be a lot of smoke and mirrors coming up from the opposition. again, i don't expect the speech to be particularly riveting, but i am going to be watching the response from the republicans who, of course, again, you know, managed to make quite a spectacle of themselves a year ago. >> donald trump promised a video at the end of this, too. we'll watch for that. jonathan lemire, we know that, talking to the white house these last several months, in particular, but really the last couple of years, some of the frustration they feel about not having their accomplishments acknowledged or recognized. 62% of americans feel that president biden has accomplished very little, not very much, whatever the term was. the wrong track number in the monmouth poll yesterday was at 7 73%. they say, we came in during a

pandemic and passed $1.9 million to help families. health care is expanded, more insured than before. unemployment at 3.4%. you know the litany. how does the president break through that, number one? number two, is this, in some ways, an unofficial launch of his re-election campaign, if he does, in fact, decide to run again. >> it is being perceived as a soft launch. we won't hear him tonight declare his candidacy. that's probably not coming for at least a few weeks, if not a couple of months. but this is his biggest chance this year to talk about what his administration has done and also themes going forward. white house aides have told me, we just talked -- charlie mentioned, last year for the state of the union, lauren boebert, marjorie taylor greene, standing up and heckling the president. the white house aides hope it happens again because it draws a contrast between their radical rhetoric and behavior versus the

president's leadership. we'll also certainly hear about the debt ceiling. look, this is important to negotiate. we have to get this done. we should be above politics here. that's too important to mess with, republicans. jim massena, to charlie's point, he can talk to wisconsin voters tonight, but also tomorrow. he's going to wisconsin. i'll be part of the trip. the speech will be backwards looking, hey, here are the things we've done, because there's realization we're probably not getting a lot done the next two years because of the roadblocks they'll be putting up. voters want to hear about the future. how does the president thread that needle to want. >> it's the hardest thing. we went through this with the obama campaign, exactly right. what he has to do is first talk about what he did, why people's lives are better. then he has to look at things that haven't gotten done that are popular, child tax credits, other things, and drive straight

at it, "this is what i will do to make your life better." he has to do both, walk and chew gum. tomorrow, he's going to wisconsin, the most important state in the presidential campaign, where we've seen a manufacturing boom. go straight at it, if you like what you've seen so far, wait until we continue this progress the next two years. he has an amazing record to sell and an ability to do it. now, he has to go out, to the earlier point, and do it over and over and over again. >> let's underline that fact, too. americans, you know, if they don't think the guy has accomplished much, they just aren't paying attention. they aren't paying attention, obviously, because of all the distractions that are going on. but you look at the fact that unemployment is at a 50-year low. childhood poverty is at a 50-year low. there's been massive bipartisan infrastructure bill that's been passed. bipartisan gun safety legislation that's passed.

one thing after another over the past couple years. we've talked about it a good bit, jim. my question is, if you're writing the president's speech, are you more concerned in repeating those things? i know you said you can do both. what is your impetus, repeating those things or daring to go into the republican house and just marking the contrast by the fact that, you know, a lot of people that are running the house of representatives now were insurrectionists, weirdos and freaks? >> i'd go straight at what he has done. i'd stay very focused on the economic stuff. he was the first president to win a presidential campaign and lose the economic argument in 2020. the democrats right now trail the republicans in the economic argument. you and i have talked ad nauseam about this. democrats have to seize this moment. this is his bully pulpit moment. he needs to tell the american people what he did and what he is going to do to make their

life better. he can go at the insurrectionists better. >> i do think the midterms are won a lot because people don't like insurrections and they like democracy. >> it's true. >> he stuck to that when others were thinking, what about, this, what about that? still ahead on "morning joe," we'll be joined by the white house press secretary k a karine. also, the so-called weaponization committee. we're digging into some numbers. also this morning, one of the most prominent groups within republican politics, club for growth, has invited several potential gop presidential candidates to its annual donor retreat next month. and one big name is not on the list. and ukraine bracing for a renewed russian offensive later this month as the war nears the one-year mark. we'll take a look at where things stand overseas. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back.

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like the conservative movement, just like the republican party. they became hacks, nothing more, nothing more than hacks for donald trump. shameless. i mean, my god, i couldn't believe what i was seeing. i know that two of my close friends that were there on the ground floor who have passed away would have been so disappointed to see how they cheapened themselves so badly for a guy that was the biggest spending president in the history of the united states. why do i say this? i say this because we heard about the koch network yesterday. by the way, the koch brothers, charles koch, never made any secret of the fact they had no use for donald trump. club for growth completely different. now, club for growth, they're inviting a lot of potential

presidential candidates to its annual donor retreat next month in florida. one notable exception, donald j. trump. >> wow. >> and the group's president, a guy i know, guy i served in congress with, came in together with him in '94, david macintosh, said the republican chances of taking the white house in 2024 would be diminished if donald trump were the nominee. that is a big change. "the new york times" reports that according to mcintosh, the party should be open to another candidate, suggesting the party lost too many elections with trump as the face of the party. my god, my god, they're starting to look up and notice they lost in 2017 because of trump, 2018 because of trump, 2019 because of trump. they lost in 2020 because of trump. they lost in 2021 because of trump. they lost in 2022 because of trump. if trump is their nominee, they'll lose in 2024.

mcintosh added that trump had proved to be toxic among general election voters. adding the republicans had lost elections, there you go, on the former president's watch. the republicans invited to the retreat include ron desantis, nikki haley, mike pence, mike pompeo, tim scott, and glenn youngkin. club for growth spent $150 million over the past two election cycles. a spokesman for trump declined to comment, and instead pointed to three social media posts in which the former president weeks ago repeatedly attacked the club. charlie sykes. >> going to get me wound up. >> you know, charlie, you know, two of my first supporters, guys that supported me in 1994 when i had no chance of winning. >> yup. >> no chance at all. i was a 30-year-old guy that nobody believed in.

but these two guys said, you know what, scarborough, you're a small government conservative. we know you go up there and fight. we don't care. we don't care. we'll waste our money, take it. then they did the same with club for growth. they didn't care about republicans. they didn't care about democrats. they cared about fiscal responsibility. and to see what happened with club for growth over the past three, four, five years, it's repulsive. it's gross. it's just the worst form of hackery. but this is a big change. the fact that now they're turning on the guy they've been shamelessly defending. actually, that's even a bit more of a tipping point for me than charles koch doing it. charles never made it secret, the fact he never liked donald trump. >> i'm having flashbacks, joe. by the way, your language to describe what happened to the club is not an overstatement at all. i mean, the hackery, it burned.

i remember back in 2016, where the club for growth was, at that time, anti-trump. in wisconsin, during the wisconsin primary, they ran anti-trump ads, explaining how to block trump. then, as you described, david mcintosh and the other hackings made the bargain with trumpism and vanished and became a creature of the donor class. yes, it's good they're recognizing that perhaps this is a bad course. i'm a little skeptical about whether or not the koch network and the club for growth are really going to change the dynamics. but maybe they provide a permission structure for other donors, other conservatives to begin backing away from trump. i did a podcast the other day with rick wilson and we were remembering how donors in 2016 were all lined up against trump.

we'd have these conversations. we have to stop him. what are we going to do? one by one, each and every one of them got on board when they saw which way the wind was blowing. right now, talking a good game. the question is, if their whole critique is that he can't win, what happens if the polls start turning? what happens to their critique? each of these groups, these guys, because they have a long track record of hackery, i think are likely to get back on board. >> here's the problem for 'em, willie. i mean, we can say it right now. if trump runs, he'll probably win primary contests in the republican party. him winning the republican party is not the issue. democrats hope, democrats pray, democrats are hoping beyond hope that donald trump is nominated because he's a loser in general

elections. he'll never win the suburbs of atlanta again. he'll never win the suburbs of philly again. he'll never win the swing voters that he needs to win. so the question is whether they're stupid enough, whether these donors are stupid enough and short-sighted enough to race to donald trump the second he starts winning republican primary contests. because that's not the issue. this guy can win republican primary contests. he'll just lose them another four years in the white house. >> that's exactly the point david mcintosh, who runs the club for growth, made yesterday in "the new york times" piece, which is that it's not necessarily a principled objection to donald trump. they just said, look at the last three elections. he's lost them all. he dragged us down. the club for growth last fall in the midterm elections ran against donald trump in a lot of races and won some of them and lost some of them. they've now decided, as you say, one of those deathbed conversions, that you'll take it whenever you can get it. but here they are, coming back

off for now, anyway, the trump train. jim, to charlie's point, the money flows where the power is. if donald trump emerges again as the leader of the party, if he starts winning again and some of these people who jumped into the race don't look like someone who could beat donald trump in a primary, does the club for growth, does the koch network, do the evangelical groups who walked away from him, do they really stay away from donald trump? or do they say, well, he's the guy, we better back him? >> willie, that's exactly right. they'll go right back and support him. this is about power. this is them saying, we have to be with the guy who is the nominee. this deathbed conversion is wonderful. we're all excited about it. it doesn't matter. they'll be right there if he is the republican nominee for president. let me be clear, and i completely agree with the previous speaker, donald trump will lose to joe biden. he will absolutely lose. joe biden might mop the floor

with him in a general election. you have nothing to look at other than the pennsylvania senate race. the most predictive factor was voters' view of donald trump. not the sitting president joe biden. not fetterman, not dr. oz. it was their view of donald trump. that is proof of how donald trump is toxtoxifying the republican party. >> republicans are not walking away from donald trump because of january 6th, because of covid, because of helsinki, any of that. it is because he lost. for the first time, he is being blamed for the defeats in november, which should have been a very good republican cycle and turned out not to be. but, of course -- >> stunning. >> yeah, stunningly so. of course, you can't beat something with nothing. there's going to have to be another republican who does step to the forefront, who is able to

beat trump. most eyes on governor desantis, unproven national commodity. we'll see about that in the months ahead. and we know republicans are going to jump in. nikki haley next week will be the first. the bigger the field is a sense that it'll be better for trump. it is telling that some of the interest, powerful voices in the republican party want nothing to do with him. >> interesting. >> i think the operative word i heard was permission structure. jim, i mean, you know how the donor class is in both parties, okay? you know what i mean. i remember early on when barack obama was a young senator. this guy is never going to beat hillary clinton. there's no way. this was in 2007. the clinton machine is going to just be -- and then i saw his first financial report. i was like, whoa, okay now.

that's going to provide a permission structure to other donors to say, maybe i'll take a chance on this young guy, too. of course, they did. in this case, though, it's a little more complicated, isn't it? because people start writing checks. they want their person to immediately start winning. i don't know who the adult in the room is who can say, listen, trump is going to win some primaries if he runs. but we can't panic and run to high ground, you know, the second that happens, or else if guy is going to win the nomination again and lose for us again in the general election. >> joe, you're right. the grassroots of both parties gets decided. they fuel barack obama on the left. the grassroots fueled donald trump. his fundraising machine is still amazing at the small dollar level. that has not abated. there needs to be leadership in the republican party to pull the

party together and say, to the point, we can't have eight candidates. we have to decide who the one or two people are who can win this primary and get rid of donald trump. you don't see that happening at all. the newly elected chair of the republican party is clueless and has no ability to do that. instead, everyone is going to jump in the pool, and donald trump is going to be happy about i. he wants more candidates, not less. >> he loves chaos. >> that's how he becomes the republican nominee, if there is a chaos scenario. >> jim massena and charlie sykes, thank you for coming on this morning. we'll be watching the state of the union tonight with these thoughts in mind. coming up, while the president prepares for his speech on capitol hill tonight, one of our next guests says we won't really know the state of the union for another 21 months. we'll explain what's at stake in the next presidential election. plus, former governor asa hutchinson is weighing a

potential bid for the white house in 2024. the arkansas republican joins us straight ahead on "morning joe." we'll be right back.

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welcome back to "morning joe." 6:43 in washington, d.c. beautiful shot of the white house where the president will be delivering the state of the union. let's bring in former governor of arkansas, republican asa hutchinson. asa, governor, congressman, all these things you were, good to see you again. i'm just curious, tell me, if you were delivering the state of the union tonight, what would you be saying about the united states right now? what is our state of the union? >> one, it's great to see you, joe. >> great to see you. >> this is an incredible opportunity. if you are president, timing is

everything. you know, there's a lot of interest with the chinese spy balloon that crossed the united states. he's got an opportunity to provide some new information, some new insights. he hasn't spoken to this dramatically or directly yet, and so this is very, very important opportunity to address the u.s.-china relations. it will be newsy. it'll be of great interest and very important to the future of america. i think everybody is going to be sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting for a discussion of that relationship, most importantly. >> governor, i know people talked about you possibly running for president of the united states. i want you just for a minute, if we can -- and you've been very good about not following everybody into sort of the weeds on partisanship. i get frustrated a lot of times on this show, and i did while donald trump was president. i did when barack obama was

president before that. and i am now. everybody is so negative about america. you know, when one party is out of power, they're talking about how weak the military is or how weak this is, how weak that is. i'm just wondering, don't we need to stop war and say, our military is incredible? the men and women in the intelligence services, they aren't perfect, but you know what? they keep us safe. our economy is resilient, whether there is a democrat in the white house or a republican in the white house. like, this country is still what ronald reagan said, a city shining brightly on the hill for all the world to see. even in our worst time. >> well, america needs to be encouraged with a big spirit of optimism about our country. there's a lot of negativity out there, and that's, to me, what a president should do, is bring out the best of america and give

america hope. that's what ronald reagan did. he saw the best days ahead, and that is where america is. you think about america's leadership. this is something worth fighting for in the republican party. america needs to continue to lead. we cannot step back because then who does lead the world? you have others that want to step up, but they're not the right ones to lead a free world. and so america has its place. we need to step up. we've got the greatest military in the world. we've got the greatest rule of law in the world. that's what distinguishes our democracy. let's focus on some of those things and focus on solutions. we look at the borders. i'll be having a border solution summit down in tucson coming up. let's look at solutions and see how you can bring people together. looking at the vastness of the problem, what can we do about it in a positive way? that's what america is about.

>> governor, good to see you again. you're talking about issues and solutions to problems. it seems, for the large part, at least former president trump and other republicans are playing small ball, talking about the past, an election in 2020. the former president tweeting or truth socialing yesterday about the pulitzer prize awards given to "the washington post" many years ago, things like that. you've said that he should be disqualified for being the nominee because of his actions around january 6th. with all that in mind, with the stories we've been talking about this morning, the club for growth wanting to move on, the koch network wanting to move on from donald trump, some evangelical groups saying they want to do the same, what is the future, in your eyes, of the republican party? what should it look like if it is a post donald trump party, which, by the way, it's not yet, that's for sure. >> it is important to remember that the american people still trust the republican party when it comes to handling the economy, when it comes to handling national security issues. the big issues that they face, they still trust republican

philosophy, ideas and solutions. but we have got sidetracked, and we need to make a course correction. that sidetracked is because of donald trump and his revenge tour or wanting to get even out there with his latest person that offended him. and so we do need to talk about and get back to our ideas and solutions. to me, that's the most important thing in the next three months, a conservative message that is optimistic about the country. wherever we have leaders like that, you're going to be bringing the republican party back to the balance that it has historically had. >> governor, the republican who has the biggest stage tonight to deliver that message is your successor. you were term limited from the statehouse there in arkansas. sarah huckabee sanders, from a prominent political family, donald trump's former press secretary, will be delivering

the republican response. what would you like her message to be? >> we're proud of the fact that our governor, governor sanders, is going to be delivering the response. this is the first time in the history of arkansas, by the way, that we've gone from one republican administration, mine, to another republican administration. that's a great success story. and i think that, tonight, she focuses a little bit on her story and the fact that she is the first female governor ever elected in arkansas. the fact that she has a story of family. i expect her to be hard hitting on president biden because of policy directions that he has taken us in the wrong way. also, i hope that it is the positive solutions the republican party offers. it is a great opportunity for her. proud she's going to be conveying the message. i expect her to talk about the border. i would expect her to talk about

inflation, the prices of eggs, things that impact our families. >> former arkansas governor asa hutchinson, it's always good to have you on. thank you very much for being here. >> thank you, mika. all right. still ahead, a look at some of the stories making front page headlines across the country, including one government agency benefitting from big tech playoffs. plus, house minority whip katherine clark joins us with her guest for the state of the union, designed to highlight's democrats' fight for reproductive rights. also, white house press secretary karine jean-pierre. we'll be right back. okay everyone, our mission is complete balanced nutrition. together we support immune function. supply fuel for immune cells and sustain tissue health. ensure with twenty-five vitamins and minerals, and ensure complete with thirty grams of protein.

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the state. officials had warned the chemical could be deadly if inhaled. the release of the chloride, a flammable gas used to produce vehicle interiors and pvc piping, was completed late yesterday afternoon following evacuations of the surrounding area. two of the train cars were believed to be filled with vinyl chloride, contained 177,000 pounds of the chemical. the environmental protection agency has been on site to monitor the air and water in the affected area. initial observations from the national transportation safety board, which is leading the investigation into the derailment, include video and inspection evidence of a broken axle on one of the cars. no injuries have been reported. we'll follow that. coming up, white house press secretaries past and present. jen psaki and karine jean-pierre join us ahead of tonight's state

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beautiful shot of new york city. welcome back to "morning joe." it is tuesday, february 7th. jonathan lemire is still with us. joining the conversation, joe, look who is here. in washington -- well, actually, she's in new york. former white house -- i got my press secretaries missed up. former white house press secretary jen psaki, now msnbc host, joins us from new york along with joe, willie and me. joe. >> mika, you and me, we're going to be pretty good at this after we do it for a little while. it's all about reps. >> i know. >> like anything else. >> i want to hang with willie. >> get in the cage. >> get a couple more years of this. we'll get it down.

i was reading "vanity fair." i didn't know this happened. i don't follow the news much. in my business, i don't really have to, but this came out yesterday. the headline melania trump was in the situation room for the isis raid. told trump to talk about the dog afterwards. in a book by christopher miller, the ex-trump official writes that melania was inexplicably in the situation room during the raid that killed the then isis leader. also in the room, vice president mike pence, defense secretary mark esper, and chairman of the joint chiefs, mark milley. she just showed up, just walked in and showed up. miller writes -- i mean, everybody was shocked that she

was there and also was shocked that you could just walk into the situation room, casually sit down. then she had this input at the end. it was melania who came up with the idea about how to tell the american people about the mission. quote, you should talk about the dog. everybody loves dogs. >> i don't even know what to say. i'm -- willie? >> yeah, i mean -- >> willie, explain this for us, if you will. >> come on, willie. >> i'm reading some of the quotes from mr. miller. he says her presence was unexpected, to say the least. i wondered how it'd play in the press if word got out the first lady popped in to watch a major military operation. obviously, a massive breach of, well, security clearance, for one thing, and etiquette on the other hand, and the fact that it just speaks to no one would tell donald trump no in that administration. hey, come on in, melania. no one had the guts to say, "no,

this is inappropriate. against all the rules we've had in place for generations." >> jonathan lemire, you're the expert on all things white house. does this happen a good bit? does jill biden go into the situation room when, like, they're reviewing sensitive information or targeting an isis leader? >> no, i think she's pitched to watch the super bowl. she's an eagles fan. maybe in the situation room. no, this doesn't happen. it's breakdowns in security clearance. we know security clearance was a hot topic during the trump white house. jared kushner and melania trump got theirs over the chief of staff objections. it is a breakdown in processes. melania was right about the hero dog's role in the isis -- >> she got the dog thing right. >> it did become a pretty big story for a couple days. >> okay. >> that's the one thing she did right.

>> it is ridiculous. >> everybody loves dogs. >> who doesn't? >> i do. >> she got that right. >> she got it right. >> jen psaki, what say you? did this happen a lot in the white house when you were around? >> i'm not going to beat around the bush here, joe. i've never seen a first lady walk into the situation room. i worked for two presidents, two amazing first ladies. never. you know, the dogs, i don't know what their security clearances are. never seen a dog in the situation room either. i mean, also, this is an isis raid. i mean, what on earth was the first lady doing there? for the security clearance reasons but also to talk about the dog or anything else. that's bizarre, too. no, this is not normal. i think it is important to restate that as much as possible around trump. never seen it happen in the two white houses i've worked in. >> not normal. not end of the world. just kind of -- >> weird. >> weird, totally weird. >> i could see how the chairman

of the joint chiefs and the secretary of defense would look around and say, what is this? is this a reality tv show? >> what's going on? >> the wife is coming in, talking about a dog. so, willie, let's transition here. a smooth transition to talk about the super bowl. >> sure. >> we haven't had a chance to talk so far, but i have to tell you, this is one of the first super bowls where i'm -- i mean, i love both the teams. i grew up a kansas city chiefs fan. i remember one of those early super bowls, you know, dawson sitting on the bench, smoking a cigarette. i'm at home, 5 years old, smoking a cigarette and saying, "i want to be like my hero, number 16." i think he was number 16. also, what a great story, the philadelphia eagles are. they are just a tough -- >> that's my team. >> -- blue collar team. they do everything right. i found this amazing clip

yesterday that had all of the people saying -- people we love and respect in the sports media -- saying that jalen hurts was a horrible pick for the philadelphia eagles. he wasn't a franchise quarterback. he would never take them to the championship. one person said, why don't you just trade three picks, get russell wilson, forget about this jalen hurts thing. it is a total nightmare. and we saw how much he adds to the philadelphia eagles in the two or three games he was out near the end of the season. he went out when they were, like, 14-1, and they lost a couple games. i mean, this is a great story. >> you know, part of that, joe, was, as you know better than anybody, at alabama, the quarterback doesn't throw a ton or he's not always featured if you have a good running back. bryce young has been different. he'll be drafted high. not everybody saw it out of jalen hurts out of college.

he transferred to oklahoma. the guy across from him on sunday night, patrick mahomes. yes, a great matchup. i'm a giants fan, so it's hard for me to completely get behind the philadelphia story. but i do love a town where the city and the fans are so invested in their team. that applies to both philadelphia and kansas city. it's really a toss-up. i think the eagles right now are 1.5 point favorites. should be a great game. two great quarterbacks. jonathan lemire, you have two brothers, travis kelce on the chiefs, jason kelce on the eagles. by the way, we'll have their mother on in a couple hours here, to tell us who she is going to be rooting for on sunday. >> that's terrible. >> it'd be bold if she voiced an opinion. >> no. >> and said, yeah, i like one kid way more than the other and are rooting for the chiefs or the eagles. there's donna kelce. >> terrible. >> first time this has ever happened, that two brothers are on opposing sides. >> maybe one deserves it more. >> that's possible, mika. we'll ask her that.

>> she'll tell us. >> this should be a good game. the point spread is hovering around 1 to 1.5. two great quarterbacks facing two fierce pass rushes. that'll be interesting. both teams have a lot of really good skill players, as well. it is also the andy reid bowl. andy reid, the coach of the chiefs, of course, was a long-time head coach of the eagles. yet another subplot in what should be, i think, a competitive, good game. i just hate the super bowl by week. >> think about the mom. for you it's hard. this is a nightmare, a mother's worst night ware. we will have her on the show, as well, this morning. let's get right to the news. tonight, president biden will give the state of the union address. sources inside the white house say part of the speech that address china being edited a

little bit after the shooting down of a chinese surveillance balloon. yesterday, joe biden said the balloon incident will not damage diplomatic relations between washington and beijing. speaking to reporters outside the white house yesterday, the president commented on china china's decision to fly a balloon over the u.s. and his administration's decision to shoot it down. >> does the balloon weaken u.s.-chinese relations? >> no. we've made it clear to china what we're going to do. they understand the position. we're not going to back off. we did the right thing. there is not a question of weakening or strengthening. it's the reality. >> why did the chinese commit a brazen act, floating the balloon across the continental united states? >> they're the chinese government. >> let's bring in white house press secretary karine jean-pierre. great to have you on the set.

the president was laughing there, and i guess folks who follow washington and politics and international politics closely understand that espionage happens on all sides. having said that, will it be important to make a clear message tonight about the relationship with china? >> can i just say, i'm excited to see you guys, mika, joe, willie. >> you're back on "morning joe." >> i'm also excited to see jen. i miss her so much. hi, jen. wanted to say hi. >> hi! i'm in new york with willie. >> hi, jen, i miss you. anyway, sorry, i had to say that. >> we're going to do press secretary, former press secretary in a second, see how you do. jen on the other side. >> the other side of things now. so i just want to say, foreign policy, the president's vision for the world as it relates to foreign policy was always going to be part of the state of the union address. that is something that has -- ha that happened the last go-around. we did it for the first time, and clearly this is the second time he is doing the state of

the union. that includes, certainly includes, how we have been moving forward in dealing with managing strategic competition with china. that is something the president is going to look at. when you look at the latest news, of course we take the latest news into account as we prepare for the state of the union. none of that going to change. the president is also going to underscore america's reassertion, resetting its leadership across the world, as he's done the past two years. he'll underscore that. let's not forget what we're seeing in ukraine. the president is going to talk about the continuing that alliance, that international alliance to protect and defend ukraine. so all of this, as we look at the foreign policy pieces of the president's state of the union, is certainly going to be at the forefront. >> what about a strong message on accomplishments over the past two years? some might say that messaging has been an issue in terms of showing the legislative

accomplishments, among many other things, of the past two years. haven't had a sharp voice on that. >> look, mika, this is going to be a joe biden speech. when you hear it, that's what you're going to hear. this is a president that was a senator for 36 years, sat in the -- sat in one of those seats where he will be in front of congress speaking to, addressing the state of the union. clearly addressing the american people, as well. and he was vice president for eight years. sat to the right of the president, president obama, and listened to the state of the union that was delivered by the president then. so he takes this very seriously. he sees this as an important moment. he said yesterday, as you were showing him having interaction with reporters, that he sees this as a moment to have a conversation. yes, he'll talk about the progress of the last two years. let's not forget, we have seen record wages go up, record jobs numbers. we have seen inflation starting to moderate the last six months

because of the work that this president has done. we've seen gas prices go down, again, because of the work that this president has done. let's not forget why it went up, because of the war in russia. again, he's going to lay that out. also, really also meet people where they are, understanding that they are still, indeed, struggling. >> karine, we've heard from the president a number of times, including high-profile speeches during the campaign last year. one in philadelphia. one just days before voters went to the poll, where he warned about maga republicans, warned about extremism. he warned that they were threats to democracy. is he going to make that same message tonight? is he going to use that same sort of language tonight, when some of those he has deemed threats to democracy will be in the audience in front of him? >> i'm in the going to get too far into the speech, but the president has always been very clear about the threat to our democracy. as you mention, he's made multiple, multiple speeches on that. it's not just our democracy, it's also the extremism as you're seeing toward medicare

and social security. he'll certainly talk about that. he's going to say, i'm going to continue to fight for two important programs that americans, taxpayers pay into. we're talking about our seniors, about our veterans. he is going to say, i'm going to veto anything that comes to his desk that attacks those two important programs, which is something he's been very consistent about. so those are other extremes that we are seeing from especially the house republicans, and he'll speak to that for sure. >> jen, we know from speaking to you over the years, karine and this white house, there is a hint of frustration, perhaps, over the lack of recognition of what president biden has done. >> a hint, really. just a small hint. >> now that you're on our team. $9.1 trillion put in to save businesses and help people through the pandemic. unemployment at the lowest rate since 1969. we know the list. what can the president do to change the idea that he hasn't done much? because you look at this polling even the last couple day, and a majority of the country is

saying, i don't think he's done much. we're still on the wrong track. what should be the president's objective tonight? >> two things. one, giving a speech that, even if it is 40 million people watch it, which is less than the super bowl, but still, that's a huge number of people, it is a big opportunity for any president. it's the biggest speech of the year any president gives. what he needs to do is tell a story. joe biden is an amazing storyteller. you sit in the oval office, karine can tell you, and he can storytell for six hours. he needs to do that in the speech tonight. people aren't sitting at home and writing down data points, right? they vote and they move, they support people they feel something from. he needs to tell the story. i talked to some of karine's colleagues. my former ones and her current ones. he said he's going to speak to the people who feel invisible, the people who don't feel heard. that is so important. the other piece that is super important for him to do tonight is draw a contrast. it is not a political speech,

but he needs to draw a contrast, and i expect he will, between his agenda. give him more time. i'm still working at it, guys. and the chaos people see on the other side. those are the two things tonight, storytelling and a little contrast. >> karine, sound right to you? >> sounds exactly right. as i said earlier, it'll be a conversation. this is the president when it comes to really connecting with the american people, this is someone who can do that, right? this is -- joe biden is known for doing just that. he is the best messenger in the white house to give a speech like this, at this moment, at this time, where the american people are going to be watching and telling that story, as jen just said, telling the story of the last two years. also, let's not forget the optimism. how he sees this country moving forward. >> karine, a major elephant in the room, i guess, would be the debt ceiling. we heard from speaker mccarthy yesterday, who will be sitting behind the president now for the first time in this speech, offering a pre-buttle,

suggesting, hey, this is something we should be negotiating over. the president has been very firm to this point, that's not the case. what is his message tonight? will he address mccarthy directly about a path forward? >> i mean, we've talked about this so many times, jonathan, as you know. the president has, the white house has, the economic advisers have, when it comes to what you just laid out. i want to be very careful because i don't wan to muddy the waters here. there is the debt ceiling, right, which is something that mccarthy was laying out, which is something that is the fundamental duty of congress to work on. it's been done thee times before in the last administration. it's been done 78 times since 1962. lift the debt ceiling in a bipartisan way. we should not put the full faith and credit of the united states and use it as chicken. we should not put it in a place where we'd put it in danger. that's what we're talking. this is literally their constitutional duty to do. then there is the lowering the

deficit. that's where the president has said, okay, you know, i've been able to do it in a historic fashion. $1.7 trillion that he has been labeled to lower the deficit in the last two years. he is willing to have a conversation in good faith to continue to lower the deficit. the president was very clear last week, he said, okay, march 9th, i'm going to put forward my budget plan for fiscal year 2024. what is going to be the republicans' plan? what are they putting forward? right now, as i mentioned earlier, we're hearing about cutting social security. we're hearing about cutting medicare. but they haven't put anything on paper yet. what does that look like if we're going to have a real conversation on having fiscal responsibility? >> wow. white house press secretary karine jean-pierre, we'll be watching tonight. appreciate your coming on this morning. nice to see you. we really appreciate it. >> thank you, guys. thank you. we want to turn now to turkey, where thousands of people have perished following a pair of massive earthquakes that

struck the country and also neighboring syria. we'll bring in nbc news foreign correspondent right now, matt bradley, who is on the ground in one of the hardest hit areas of. matt, what's the latest? >> reporter: i'm in adana, right near what was the epicenter of this earthquake. these people behind me, they're among the more than 50,000 turkish search and rescue workers who have been deployed to places like this. nightmarish scenes across the country. this morning, a massive international rescue effort under way in turkey and syria in a desperate race against time to find survivors. first responders facing major challenges on the ground, incluing below freezing temperatures with snow and rain falling across the sprawling disaster zone. in turkey, dawn shining a harsh light on the destruction after rescue workers spent the night

clawing through rubble. they're calling out, asking for help, says this survivor. how can we rescue them? nobody has come since this morning. racing to recover survivors. speak up, this man yells into the rubble. help, help, comes the reply. meanwhile, in syria, a country already suffering the effects of civil war, a rare rescue for a little girl a day after an earthquake destroyed her home. the rescuers on the ground here are pleading for more help, with some warning they don't have enough resources to handle the disaster. and as the death toll keeps rising, many worry precarious buildings will keep falling. like yesterday, when structures fell hours after the initial tremors, and massive aftershocks continued throughout the day. this destruction is a daunting challenge for rescue workers. now, more than a day after the initial tremors, help from around the world is finally arriving. dozens of countries are sending

rescue teams and aid packages. the u.s. is sending two teams, including a 79-person urban rescue unit and these emergency workers from los angeles. >> these men and women and these dogs of the l.a. county fire department are really going to go place themselves in harm's way to save lives, to dig people out. >> reporter: time may be running out, but there's still miracles amidst these ruins. children like this one in turkey spared a fate that has taken so many others. and, guys, the situation across the border in syria is even more desperate. that's where they are facing a civil war that's been going on for more than a decade that has not ended. a worsening economic crisis and now one of the worst earthquakes to have ever struck this region. guys? >> as you say, the middle of a civil war in syria. 4 million syrians already displaced. a lot of them in refugee camps that have not held up well, as you can imagine, during this

earthquake. so have they any sense yet, matt, of the scope of the damage here? 5,000 dead is the number now. we've heard estimates that this could go way, way up, perhaps sh as they start to reach some of these areas. just how bad is it this morning? >> reporter: one moment, willie. willie, i'm sorry, i had to shut you up there for a second. every once and while here, the crowd is asked to stay silent because the rescue workers behind me, they're hoping to listen for cries for help from underneath the wreckage. yes, that situation in syria, it is desperate. it is continuing there. a lot of aid is being sent to syria, as well, from unlikely places, like israel. israel announced they'd be sending some, as well. that's a situation where they've been bitten twice. this civil war has been going on

ten years. people already displaced, they lost their homes once, now they've lost them again, their new homes. we're seeing double displacement in a country where it really is quite difficult, much more difficult than it is here in turkey, for people who are in desperate need to find aid and relief. willie. >> devastating scenes. nbc's matt bradley, we'll be back to you, reporting live for us from adana, turkey. matt, thank you. still ahead on "morning joe," jen psaki spoke to former presidential speechwriters ahead of tonight's state of the union address. heckling has become a recent issue. what jen learned about how presidents prepare for that. plus, a former prosecutor who left the manhattan's d.a. office over failure to charge former president trump is out with a new book about that. a look at "people versus donald trump." you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. dy, i'm 51 years old, and i'm a hospital administrator.

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all right. live look at philadelphia. is that your team, jonathan lemire, eagles? >> i'm rooting for them sunday. >> yeah. i think it's my team, too. >> philadelphia sports fans are a -- >> jack was telling me aboutonc like the fans. >> they're passionate. they care. time now for a look at the morning papers. we start in indiana, where "the star press" reports state hospitals are considering cutting services. hospitals say a combination between pandemic-related factors have strained finances. some medical centers are considering closing down. overall, indiana hospitals did not bring in as much money as they spent last year. this as they dealt with a steep increase in labor costs as well as losses in operating income. "the washington times" in d.c. has a front page feature on the national security agency using

big tech's layoffs to its benefit. nsa recruiters have been reaching out to laid off workers from employees like meta and amazon. they're in one of the largest hiring surges in the past 30 years. in wisconsin, "the journal sentinel" leads with the struggle the league of women voters is facing. the non-partisan organization has played a vital role in elections, providing voters with information on candidates and hosting forums. republican lawmakers have been refusing to attend the group's events, saying they are not non-partisan. the league has publicly supported liberal priorities such as reproductive rights and banning conversion therapy. and "the citrus county chronicle" in florida reports soda prices are on the rise. according to the u.s. labor of bureau statistics, coke, pepsi and other brands are up 45% in less than four years. the cost of a 12-pack of coke in

many stores is now close to $9. before, it was about$3 to $4. companies are blaming it on the rising cost of aluminum, employee wages and hoarding habits during the pandemic. willie, did you hoard pepsi? >> no, but 9 bucks for a 12-pack of coke? that's out of my price range. >> a lot of sugar going into the system. doesn't seem like a good deal. >> too much. jen, as we mentioned, has a special preview of the state of the union. it's streaming on peacock. jen speaks with former presidential speechwriters ahead of tonight's address. jen, i want to get to some of your interviews in a second, but let's talk broadly about the speech. a very important, annual speech, but also a very difficult one because of all the constituencies that want to be heard. >> exactly. the most important speech of the year that is the most painful to write, hands down. the reason speechwriters, the policy teams in the white house, they start

the process months in advance. this current white house said they started in november. you have about 50 pounds of policy and ideas and contrasts, trying to fit into a 1-pound bag, which is a one-hour speech. i did talk to this group of speechwriters about the process, about what the most important thing to do is. it is easy to make these into a list, which is a huge mistake. why he needs to tell a story and we talked about the crazy antics when people are trying to get their ideas into the speech. >> joe wilson infamously yelling "you lie" to the newly elected president obama, which seems quaint now. >> it was shocking at the time, like, how could this happen in this hallowed chamber? now, i think, the bet -- i would take the bet on a heckle or five or more during the speech tonight. it is going to be a part of the speech. the right and the lauren

boeberts of the world are too incentivized not to. >> they'll raise money after they shout something at the president. >> yeah. >> let's listen to jen's interview with former speechwriters about the issue of presidents getting heckled at the state of the union. >> heckling isn't what we prepared for. it was unheard of. he eventually got used to it. 2015, he said, i have no more campaigns to run. republicans started cheering. he added in, i know because i won both of them. >> then everybody cheered for good and for bad. what about you? >> i mean, it's true, speechwriters, we spend all these hours just trying to get every single word right, trying to find the right line. every single time, the lines that'd get picked up for president obama were invaiabyad >> all your work. jeff, what about you? >> first of all, maybe we won't see lauren boebert and marjorie taylor greene heckle the president. >> i'll take the other side of the bet. >> i was just saying, these days, they're heckling each other, maybe they turned the fire. but it is a reminder, you can

control for everything you can control for, and, yet, you still have to be aware. you know, the president has to be in the moment enough to recognize what's happening around him, even as he is trying to deliver a speech that's been rehearsed down to the word and the second. >> you took the smart money on the bet. >> i think i'm right. we didn't settle on the deal for the bet, so now i'll text jeff and tell him, i have some things you'll owe me. >> i noticed he wasn't anxious to put money on that bet. >> no, he put no money on it. >> does the president at this point, president biden today when he meets with karine and everybody else, will he have lines ready for the anticipated heckling? is that part of the process now? >> it has to be. because the expectation, my bet, obviously, since i think i'm betting on the right side, is that that will be a part of it. the moments that you remember from the speeches are not typically the words or the paragraphs, they are things that happen. nancy pelosi ripping up the speech.

president obama being heckled. the key for president biden, and he knows this, is that part of the theme of his speech tonight is going to be about him being basically the adult in the room. that's what one of my former colleagues described to me. if he is the adult in the room and is contrasting that with the chaos in the room, these people heckling him in the house chamber, at him having a calm response, is exactly confirming the point he is making in the speech. yes, you have to prepare for it and think about it. i certainly expect they're doing that. >> john, interesting for the first time visual tonight, speaker mccarthy standing behind president biden as he delivers the address. mccarthy had been a critic of president biden but, in his own way, participated in the attempted coup to prevent biden from sitting in that office. >> mccarthy yesterday said he wouldn't tear up the speech. he pledged to be on good behavior. we'll see. i don't think we can say the same for everyone in his caucus. i talked to white house aides,

wrote about it this weekend, some hoping that the republicans, like marjorie taylor greene and lauren boebert, heckle the president. they do think that contrast would look good in their advantage. jen, i want to ask the question i put to your successor earlier. we've heard from president biden a lot, really thundering about maga republicans, about the danger they pose to this republic. i understand tonight is not a political speech. it's a little bit different. but he's framed this as an existential threat to the nation's democracy. what would you advise him? should he talk about that tonight, about the threats of democracy, sitting there in the house chamber? >> yes. i think there's a lot of ways to do this. they've been thinking about how to strike the right tone on democracy. you've covered him closely. he's been talking about democracy versus autocracy, here in the united states and also around the world. to him, it's a larger point about values, right? i expect that we will hear

tonight a theme of democracy and who we are, who we should aspire to continue to be. he's not a person who, when he is in a room with people, he punches them all in the face. he'll pick his moment to want, but i do think he will go 10,000, 50,000 foot and make this point about our values, the fundamentals of who we want to be and should aspire to be on democracy. it is part of what is motivating him as he is thinking about running for re-election again. >> jen psaki's state of the union preview streaming now on peacock. great conversation with people who have written these speeches before. check it out on peacock. coming up, democratic congresswoman clark of massachusetts joins mika on set in washington, along with her guests for the state of the union. a doctor who worked in an abortion clinic before the state

overturned roe versus wade. "morning joe" is coming back. sue "morning joe" is coming back

41 past the hour. a live look at the capitol. busy, busy night tonight there. president biden is expected to push for the protection of reproductive rights during his state of the union address tonight. this as republican-controlled states are trying to implement stricter bans on abortion access. adding to many of the issues they're just losing on. joining us now, house minority whip democratic congresswoman katherine clark of massachusetts and her guest at tonight's state of the union address, dr. sheryl hamlin. we'll get to you in a moment, dr. hamlin. thank you so much for joining us this morning. what are you hoping to hear from the president tonight, and talk about the significance of your choice of guests. >> oh, well, good to be with you. and i want to hear from the president tonight, and i know i'm not going to be disappointed, that part of having a robust democracy is

freedom for all. what we have seen is a republican attack on women and making us second class citizens by denying the fundamentals of who gets to choose when and if to have children. and taking politicians' opinions and putting them in the place of our doctors, our faith and our families' needs. >> what are you hearing for your constituents? it seems to me that the republicans have kind of misfired on this. i mean, there are a lot of people who are not just democrats, who are not just women, that when dobbs went down and, you know, there were men and there were republicans who were like, i am used to these rights for my mother, my sister, you know, and i don't understand. i don't agree with them going away. as a result, it appears this issue is more universal. >> there is such broad support with the american people.

they understand that reproductive rights are tied to their basic freedom. that's why we saw ballot questions in kansas, montana, kentucky, fail. but it hasn't stopped house republicans. one of the first bills they put on the floor was further restrictions on women's right to reproductive justice. now that 14 states have denied abortion care, that is 18 million women who can't receive the care they need. we are seeing those effects in very real life-and-death situations. >> yeah. >> this has huge implications for women's health and for women's place in our economy. >> and they're doubling down. let me talk to dr. hamlin here, who one of those states is mississippi. you worked at jackson's women's health organization. you no longer can travel to give care to patients in mississippi

because of dobbs. >> mm-hmm. >> tell me, first of all, what your reaction was to that, what you're hearing from potential patients, and now what you're doing to try and continue your work. >> yeah, i mean, i think, you know, as she said, it is, you know, all encompassing. it's not just lack of access to legal abortion, but it's also, you know -- it affects the obstetricians and how they can provide care to their patients. it affects how you manage a miscarriage. >> exactly. >> i mean, it really affects, you know, all of women's health care. and we know that women will just go where they need to go. it clearly is impacting -- >> the women who can't afford to go where they need to go, are there situations, real-life situations now, where a miscarriage is not being -- where the mother's life is in danger because a miscarriage

cannot be handled correctly? or women who are -- and young girls who are victims of rape or for whatever reason need an abortion and cannot get one. >> absolutely. you know, at what point is a woman's life at risk? i mean, they do have an exception for the risk to the mother, but at what point is that -- you know, does it have to be 50%, a potential risk? yes, so women are getting infuriate care as a result. >> you're continuing your work. how are you doing that? >> i'm applying for a north carolina license, and i expect to get that within the month. as well as just being an advocate in massachusetts to the extent i can, as well as, you know, just spreading the word. because i think a lot of people aren't aware of the dire situation. >> appreciate the work you are doing. jen psaki has a question. jen? >> thank you so much. congresswoman clark, i wanted to ask you about, as you look

ahead, we've been talking about hecklers tonight and what we expect, frankly from the other side of the aisle. i just wanted to ask you how all of you are going to handle that in the house chamber tonight, if there are moments when republicans are heckling, only some of them, or even not standing up on moments where there are things that really the american people broadly support. frankly, like access to abortion care. >> we are going to continue to be the caucus, the members of congress that take this seriously. we are on team american people. i think you can see from the chaos that was around the speaker's race that we are going to be there. we are going to continue to fight for women, for reproductive justice, for an economy that works for everyone, and we are going to conduct ourselves with the seriousness of the challenges and opportunities facing the american people.

and we're going to let the other side do what they feel they need to do. i think you can see from the first five weeks of the majority, that we are seeing bills that are political stunts and not helping move the agenda forward. and so, tonight, with my guest, dr. hamlin, we are reminding people that this is the republican house majority that voted against codifying roe, that voted against access to birth control, that voted against the right to safely travel across state lines to receive health care. if that is isn't chilling, i don't know what is. and we are going to continue to fight for great jobs, lowering costs, and saving our planet, and maing sure that freedom isn't an abstract but applies to every single family and woman in this country. >> house minority whip

congresswoman katherine clark, thank you. we'll be watching tonight. dr. hamlin, we'll be seeing you tonight standing up for women's rights. >> thank you for having me. >> thank you for being on this morning. up next, we'll show some of the best moments from the nfl super bowl media night. and tom brady gives a timeline for the start of his next career. "morning joe" is back in a moment.

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beautiful live picture. 7:53 in the morning. looking south from the top of the building here. down into manhattan. tom brady is providing new

detail about his future following the retirement after a 23-year career as the greatest quarterback who ever played. speaking yesterday brady said he will not start his broadcasting career until the 2024 season. >> even in the future i want to be great at what i do. that takes time and growing and evolving. i have people to support me in that growth, too. i'm looking forward to and catching up on my life that need sometime and energy. >> talking on fox sports 1 yesterday. there had been some talk to come and do the super bowl on fox but saying he will wait until next season why the seven-time super bowl champ signed a deal. $375 million is the reported

price over 10 years. meanwhile players from the chiefs and eagles spoke to the media yesterday ahead of sunday's super bowl. jacob soboroff reports from glendale, arizona. >> reporter: overnight the countdown to super bowl lvii kicked off. >> go eagles! >> reporter: with the teams arriving in arizona. the next time they will all be inside the same building on sunday. a major focus is the history making matchup between patrick ma home and jalen hurts. how does it feel to make history? >> it is a problem. >> reporter: the 27-year-old and 24-year-old youngest quarterback in super bowl history. >> are you doing your own thing?

>> i talked to tom now that he is retired. we'll see. maybe he'll give me more secret advice. >> reporter: and then the brothers preparing to battle it out. they will be the first siblings to compete in the same super bowl. thousands of fans signed a petition to get their mom donna to perform the pregame coin toss. what kind of cookery i cans are there? >> chocolate chip. >> reporter: are they here? >> no. they will be my fuel for the super bowl. >> reporter: jason might need to call a post game audible. his wife is 38 weeks with the third child. what is the plan? >> i think we got to figure that out. >> reporter: there's even some history on the sidelines. andy reid is set to face the

former team in the eagles. are you talking to them before the game? >> you can't talk to them by rule. we do it through mental telepathy. >> reporter: the teams are fired up. tryinging to dominate in the desert. >> jacob soboroff from media day. we'll speak with donna kelce about the cookies. she is the proud mother of the kelce boys. >> there's some thought in the area that the bengals should be in this game on sunday. >> i am from a bengals household. >> i know. >> there was -- i would say if the refs from the afc game went to cincinnati they would not be welcomed there. but we are all moving on and cheering for the eagles in the

house. i'm also -- i want a camera on mrs. kelce. i will focus on the personal side. she is my real focus on sunday. >> you can talk to her in an hour. the future is bright for the bengals. next, chris matthews joins the conversation. before going to break, a look at this date in history. 59 years ago, the beatles arrived in new york to begin the first american tour. >> what do you think your music does for these people? >> well -- >> pleases them, i think. >> why does it excite them so much? >> we don't know really. >> if we knew we would form another group and be managers. here's a little number you'll never forget. ♪ customize and save. ♪ only pay for what you need.

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live look at the capitol. it is the top of the third hour

of "morning joe." we're going to keep on going this morning. we have a lot to talk about on this tuesday, february 7. jonathan lemire and jen psaki still with us. joining the conversation we have former msnbc anchor chris matthews. good to have you with us. joe, all eyes on capitol hill as the president delivers the state of the union and got a lot on his plate. >> he does have a lot on his plate. i can't wait to hear -- you have the smart guys there with you. >> i do. >> chris matthews, you look at the polls. i don't pay attention to them. 3.5% americans say that joe biden didding? . i'm exaggerating. the polls are so amazing. even republicans and annuity gingrich would say this.

joe biden had historic success. he accomplished great things. that message is not getting out there. that's not all on the white house. what do you do if you're joe biden to say look at what we have done and facing in the next two years with these insurrectionists to deal with? >> he has to use the audience tonight. he's been to the bridge across from ohio to kentucky, the baltimore tunnel, gateway tunnel, the new one across the hudson. putting 20,000 to 30,000 people to work. talking about working people who don't have college degrees. they said this bridge will be built by people without college degrees. trying to get back to the working class. this is a battle for union members and people that didn't go to fancy schools and trying to win them back.

he has to win the working class chunk of the vote. david garth, i don't know why trump never listened to this. he is a builder. no infrastructure program. david garth in new york, he said replace the smell of decay with the smell of construction. moving dirt. putting up buildings. the public likes this. they know the stuff is rotting. they know it has to get done. biden's doing it. i think it is a battle between building and bullying. probably him against trump. he will be a bully. i'm building stuff and you're bullying. >> it is a great mystery for democratic leaders why you have

a republican party whose the only legislative accomplishment in the trump years to pass the largest tax cut for billionaires and multinational corporations. there's tax cuts that left working class americans behind. picking up on what chris is saying, how does biden connect to the working class voter in wisconsin, in michigan, in pennsylvania that -- in iowa, in ohio! that continues to vote against their own economic well being? >> yeah. it is a real conundrum. i think biden has to say and say we are the party that is on your side. we have kept the price of insulin at $35. we did the hard infrastructure. we are getting the chip manufacturing planting back in the united states and on through

the rest of the things. it is a tragedy they couldn't do more and pass a bigger reconciliation bill but they have passed what they passed. it is significant and big and makes a difference. "the washington post" poll yesterday was confounding particularly among independents with 24-66 saying -- >> let me say this right here. john reached out to me. it is insane. if you look at the numbers in that poll the internals in that poll we're to believe that millennials broken radically for donald trump. believe on the other side that senior citizens are breaking hard for joe biden. i'm not really sure who they polled but that poll was skewed. cbs poll shows biden at 45% approval rating looks about

right. i want to pick up on a piece you wrote. chris matthews was talking about what those of us who grew up in politics talk about it. the blocking and tackling. you know? the jobs. the worrying about jobs. figuring out how to get the infrastructure projects going. to get this country moving again as far as transportation goes. but you in your piece pull out to 30,000 feet. you talk about the fact that i think americans know this and why 2022 went the way it with abortion that we have an anti-democratic insurrectionist squad in the republican party and they are running the party right now. >> i sat down to write that piece and i thought i'll write about the speech.

i thought let's write about the state of the union as i see it. what i see is that we pulled back from the anti-democracy cliff a bit last november. the maga candidates lost. that was good. still not out of the woods and the headline refers to the november 2024 election. i think the democracy is still in a perilous place until then. >> joe, the big poll over the weekend on "meet the press" who people who don't go to college with the financial advantage to go saying that the college hurts you. it is like my grandmother would talk about. the communist professors. it is the point now where people who don't go to college because they didn't feel like going and want a job and maybe get married early they now look at college as a negative force.

it is the left stuff. communist professors. the poll numbers is not that people feel disadvantaged not going to college but advantaged. it is aggressive. they don't like academia and the professors on television sometimes. we know who they are. and this is something that biden has got to fight. he has to say i'm creating jobs by the 20,000, 30,000. you guys are going to work and coming home with -- >> it is crazy! the hypocrisy is crazy! you have -- willie, we talk about this all the time. populist heroes who are stanford boys! >> podcasting. >> heroes that are harvard boys. like you look at josh hawley,

the guy went to yale and stanford. desantis went to yale and harvard. these phony populists will match up? will match up? i just lost my train of concentration. >> the point was made. >> i was thinking in alabama doing that special show and steve bannon gets up and giving a speech. i went to georgetown. joe scarborough went to the university of alabama. dude! you are in alabama. >> roll tide. >> these cosmopolitan elites like steve bannon, playing populist against a guy born in

scranton that went to university of delaware. last to not go to an ivy league university since ronald reagan. >> also, joe, i love the cornpone accent that they picked up to go on tv. >> talk about john kennedy. i don't know that dog ain't going to hunt. because they're elitists. the guy went to oxford and voted for john kerry. he said i'm for -- now it is like he puts a corn cob pipe in his mouth? >> yes. >> i'm sorry. >> many of them are. decompress for a minute while i talk to jern. >> breathe, joe, breathe. breathe. >> it is a true story.

>> it is. jen, we can put that aside unless you want to dive in. >> i'm a state school graduate and joe biden. i would hire a state school graduate over an ivy league graduate any day. >> as someone in the room as these are being written and conceived of. we talked about the complications but talk specifically about this moment. president biden has pumped infrastructure money into the economy. he has gone to the bridges and tunnels and trying to make that point. is that a theme to stay opinion tonight? >> i think the key thing is not making it a list of the bills you have passed why if there's the inflation reduction act verbiage in the speech that's a mistake because what people want to know is how it's impacting

them. one of the former colleagues said to me is that they're going to be speaking to the people who feel invisible and unheard and unseen. i think that's really important because that tells the story in a way that's authentic. he is talking about the issues the same way for decades. it is hard to get out of the white house when you are president. poor them. he goes to church back in delaware and come back and say i was talking to the people after church. that's who he's speaking to. as long as he does that and the joe biden who's a story teller he will get done what he needs to do tonight. don't make it a list of policy proposals but a story about who

you are. >> >> white house aides have previewed to me that look, this is a backwards looking speech in a nod of a divided washington. they are tout his accomplishments and need to sell them. though we know it's hard to get the legislation done with the republicans in control of the house voters want to talk about the future. how does the president see the gridlock and still talk about the future and paint a positive path forward? >> that is tough. i think he'll try to say i want to work with this republican house and the congress. i want to bipartisan and pass things. he can say that because he did pass a number of bipartisan things but it is close to impossible to get anything that

this republican house will agree with him on but he needs to use that verbiage. swing voters want to hear the president say i'll try to work with the other side. he can do things that aren't legislative to make a difference. they're tough to explain like the moves the federal trade commission made. that's not in the speech tonight but the things that he can point to in the next two years to say, look, even though there's gridlock on the hill my administration is still doing stuff with an impact on your life. >> by the way -- >> go ahead, chris. >> might be too dramatic and recommending something it won't happen but it would be great to see in the beginning of the speech we are here altogether from the left to the right. how about i ask you now as a

group, why don't we try to get together and do something good for the american people? see if there's applause to that. the notion of working together. just the idea of it and the idea of america working. i think it is hard for even most crazy republicans in this case to say i got to applaud this. this is reasonable. >> they won't. >> that will show who they are. >> i think it's a great idea. you look at one poll after another and americans want congress to work and the members to work together. that's a brilliant idea. >> nice try at least. >> i hope they start that way. as we wrap up this conversation i want to share to my friends going to ivy leagues. i'm not anti-intellectual.

some of the best workers came from ivy league schools. i applied to ivy league law schools. i got a letter that said, dear mr. scarborough, no. >> what about williams? >> on the great school. not an ivy. but amazing. >> come on. come on now. cosmopolitan elites at williams, too. me and willie s.e.c. working class guys. >> state school here. >> okay. >> community school in nashville you know well. >> exactly. >> i was thinking back through because i said that biden probably the last president that didn't go to an ivy league school. how crazy it is -- think about it. i was thinking about it.

trump went to an ivy. obama went to an ivy. bush. >> definitely went to an ivy. >> clinton went to an ivy. >> ivy ivy ivy. >> 41 went to an ivy. >> ivy. >> isn't that amazing that you had a guy that was elected in 1980 that didn't go to an ivy and a guy that was elected in 2020 that didn't go to an ivy. pretty crazy. >> back before reagan is ivy league. it is a path to leadership in this country. let's talk about the upcoming presidential election. i mean 2024. the conservative group club for growth invited several potential candidates to the donor retreat with a notable exception. donald trump didn't get the invite. the president of the group said the republican chances to retake

the white house in 2024 would be diminished if trump were the no, ma'am knee. saying the republicans lost too many elections. he adds trump is toxic among general election voters. republicans lost in 2018, 2020, 2022 on the former president's watch. trump said he is the front-runner in the republican primary field. >> i'm way ahead in the polls. ron desantis is way behind me. everyone said fox will put up a phony poll. fox will put up a fake poll. i'm way ahead in new hampshire, south carolina, iowa and in the country. >> "the washington post" reminds us the claims are not true.

polls show trump with a lead in august to down double digits to ron desantis in november. similar results. "the post" reporting quality polling in new hampshire is sparse but desantis was up by 19 points on trump. so, joe, way too early to put stock in the polls but trump is not running away with this at the moment. so many people involved with the club for growth. they tracked back. trump was elected. they went all in with donald trump. we have heard in this from the koch network. some group that is wept along for the ride with donald trump appear to be stepping off the

train. >> jonathan, you followed donald trump from the beginning on the presidential campaign. i remember back late '15 and '16 and james carville said trump can't miss. there's lines of people around the mississippi coliseum waiting to see trump. got there in the morning. a night speech in pensacola. time and time again. but you look at what's happening with the club for growth and the koch networks up here and south carolina. trump puts on 'vent he says is going to be a huge rally. enup not a lot of people there. you look at the -- graham's face-off during that speech. he could tell that the air was

going out of that balloon at that event. i'm the last one to say that donald trump can't win. i think he can but, man, there are a lot of warning signs for a guy who hates losing a lot more than he likes winning. >> yeah. the trump phenomenon is gop/elites versus the base and the base always won. you are right about the early primary states. people lined up in states like pennsylvania, michigan, wisconsin. first clues that he could win this whole thing. at least we are not seeing that right now. now is media has shifted the tone in a bit. the fox news coverage changed a little. largely supportive. is the base still with trump?

will it win again? deja vu from '16. there are warning signs. a real test comes up, what other candidates jump in? does desantis untested on the national stage jump in? if trump ramps up a campaign and will people start to show up? they haven't yet. he hasn't done much yet. people are close to the former president saying to me if he sees this as a sinking ship he'll find an excuse to get out. >> let's go back to tonight. chris matthews, what are you looking for? what do you think the president should accomplish for viewers? >> strength! he has to show strength. if you look at -- not the working class, the people that

went for the reagan democrats, they want to see physical strength. i think it's building and doing things. >> michael? >> make people feel comfortable with him. that he can handle the job. we haven't discussed the second term. he is going to seek jit it. he will. he needs to answer it in the demeanor. >> strength, warmth, confidence. >> youth. >> that will not happen. thank you all very much. we'll be watching tonight and talk about it all tomorrow. still ahead on "morning joe," what president biden is saying about state of relations with china after the decision to shoot down a surveillance balloon. next hour, we'll be joined by comedian and talk show host

amber ruffin. also ahead we have an exciting new speak ore announcement for "forbes" summit in abu dhabi. a woman who fights tirelessly for equal rights. stay tuned to find out who will be joining us. you're watching "morning joe." ooh, we're firing up the chewy app. can't say no to these prices! hmm, clumping litter? resounding yes! salmon paté? love that for me! essentials? check! ooh, we have enough to splurge on catnip toys!

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i can do better, too! see how easy it is to save hundreds a year on your wireless bill over t-mobile, verizon, and at&t. talk to our switch squad at your local xfinity store today. the death toll from that powerful earthquake in syria and turkey passed 5,000 and continues to climb. a 7.8 magnitude quake hit the

region yesterday including 7.5 aftershock that struck just hours later. tens of thousands have been injured. efforts are under way to find trapped people. more than 6,000 buildings collapsed in turkey according to a state-run news agency. the earthquake brought new devastation to syria plagued bay 12-year civil war. nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley has more on one of the deadliest disasters in years. >> reporter: in turkey buildings still falling as the heart breaking death toll sadly keeps rise jg the fear now more aftershocks. this one captured on live television. the reporter starts to run. you can hear a building crashing

down behind him. later finding a family that somehow made it out alive. that quake hitting 12 hours after the firth. 7.8 captured on video bringing down buildings in an instant. here rescuers comb through rubble when another building collapses nearby. they race to find survivors still trapped. my grandson is 18-month-old. please help. they were on the 12th floor. volunteers from the white helmets used to rescuing civilians from bombings. many refugees who lost the home in war. rescuers saved this girl's life

but her brother and sister was killed. a survivor in syria described crews desperation. >> some few people working with bare hands. >> reporter: this region afflicted by war and now an earthquake help can't come soon enough. >> turkey taken in 3.6 million syrian refugees. the united nations says 2.7 million syrians live in the northern part of the country near turkey's border and the quake epicenter. now several nations including the u.s. sending rescue personnel and supplies to the region. president biden called turkey's president yesterday to express condolences and coordinate aid. teams from virginia task force one and los angeles county fire

department will be deployed and u.s. supported humanitarian groups. another big story on the world stage, president biden's decision to shoot down a chinese spy balloon. that conversation just ahead on "morning joe." birds flyin' high , you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ breeze driftin' on... ♪ [coughing] ♪ ...by, you know how i feel. ♪ if you're tired of staring down your copd,... ♪ it's a new dawn, ♪ ♪ it's a new day... ♪ ...stop settling. ♪ ...and i'm feelin' good. ♪ start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy makes breathing easier for a full 24 hours, improves lung function, and helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed.

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president biden says the suspected chinese spy balloon incident will not damage diplomatic relations between washington and beijing. speaking to reporters yesterday the president commented on china's decision to fly a surveillance balloon over the united states and the decision to shoot it down. >> u.s.-chinese relations? >> no. we made it clear what we would do. we won't back off. it is not weakness or strength.

it is the reality. >> why the chinese commit such a brazen act floating a balloon across the united states. >> they're the chinese government. >> the laugh from the president there. we are learning more about the design. it was 200 feet tall. that's about four times the size of the snoopy balloon. >> more than that. >> pretty big. >> the debris field was 1500 meters by 15 meters or 15 football fields by 15 football fields. this is not the first time. the commander of northern command in north american aero space command did comparisons. he did describe a surveillance

gap saying the u.s. is trying to determine why the earlier flights went undetected. there's a domain awareness gap to figure out. that's a good euphemism. the fact of the matter is this is huge. the president decided to shoot it down. the department of defense said we agree. let's wait until it is over water. now we have an idea of how big this was. >> massive. domain awareness gap. i wish i had that in high school in my math exams. i'm sorry, ma'am. i can't complete this test. i have a demain awareness gap as it pertains to trig. joe biden laughed when they

asked why did they do this? i always said about with the information about the russians using misinformation, disinformation, but also, spying on us. one way or the another. i smiled and laughed because we do that, too. we do that to china, too. part of him laughing is he couldn't say it. i'm sorry. might offend people when i say it. grow up. this is what superpowers have didn't. satellites are over us right now and china right now. i thought marc polymoropolos said it right yesterday. it is not top 20 ways of the intel agencies to be concerned about. because it is floating overhead in the united states it draws attention. i think there is actually a

legitimate concern. this is happening three, four times in the trump administration. probably before that. they need to figure out how to detect the things earlier. they didn't talk about it in the trump administration. but yeah. it is a serious problem. let's bring in host of "way too early" jonathan lemire. i called around yesterday to diplomats and everybody said the same thing about antony blinken canceling the trip to china. we understand why he did it but at the same time that didn't make the world a safer place. china and the united states need to get together and talk and there was actually some talk to reset that meeting as soon as

possible because again we are looking at russia threatening to use nuclear weapons. china is a counter balance to that. us being able to coordinate with china also good for the world's economy and you could talk also about climate change, one of 11 issues. the two world superpowers need to be talking. some people may have been caught off guard by what joe biden said yesterday. i wasn't. the balloon's gone. now start talking again because the world's a much more dangerous place when the united states and china are not talk togethers. >> there's no question china spies on the u.s. the u.s. spies on china.

they may spying on us with tiktok that's on your phone. >> on every phone. all 12 phones i have. tiktok accounts i live by. i don't. i'm glad you brought up tiktok. everybody bitching and moaning about this balloon i felt like saying look down at the telephones. you want to talk about china's surveillance on the phone. they're listening to you. following the patterns on tiktok. it is bad. >> the idea -- the problem with the balloon so blatant and caught america's attention and became a snafu. i was on a call yesterday with john kirby who made clear this trip is postponed.

he suggested though no date is set sooner than later with the issues that you yourself just went through. they need to talk about. particularly in the light of new reporting about chinese industry defenses support russia's war effort. and the timing. let's remember of course the furor that erupted when speaker pelosi went to taiwan last year. new speaker mccarthy plans to go to taiwan and soon. there's a sense to warm relations further before that happens. coming up, "the people versus donald trump." the look at the attempt to prosecute former president trump. we'll talk to mark pomerantz.

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so we're just over a month away from force and know your value 30/50 summit in abu dhabi. the event brings together women from the force under 30 and 50 over 50 communities along with other world leaders across politics, finance, social entrepreneurship and more. we have hillary clinton, gloria steinem and many more. today, we have an exciting new

speaker announcement. it is someone who spent here lifetime fighting tirelessly for equal rights and equal pay. here to reveal the new speak every is humo abadeen. who is joining us with the already remarkable list of women at 30/50? >> it is certainly very exciting that we have sports icon and champion of the quality billie jean king joining us in abu dhabi. we are so thrilled. not only is she one of the greatest of all time female athlete but an activist. think about the three major anniversaries celebrating this year. 50th anniversary of the historic battle of the sexes tennis match in 1973 and won. that historic sporting event

with the passage of tight l ix led first a respect for women. as athletes. seen worldwide. that match watched by 90 million people around the world. led women and girls to be more involved in sports and women to ask for equal pay in their own workplaces and the anniversaries of the women's tennis association she founded and the 50th anniversary of women getting paid equally at the u.s. open in prize money which then led to the other major tournaments also providing equal pay to women tennis players in other parts of the world. the thing that about billie is she doesn't believe the work is done. it's about passing the mentoring and guidance to the next

generation, which is why venus williams can sit at a table and say i have a job because of billie jean king. >> that stage in abu dhabi with hillary clinton and gloria steinem, these are the legends. i want to hear about billie jean's impact that goes far beyond this country. talk about her global significance. >> that match in 1973 was watched around the world. it was an international moment that launched her. i think when she walked onto that court, she was carrying the responsibility of a gender on her shoulders. so when you see that she's been awarded these many well deserved honors, whether the presidential medal of freedom by barack

obama, the highest order of merit by the french president, the world cup of tennis is renamed the billie jean king cup. these are all testaments honoring what this one woman did for pay equity and continues to do. the initiative she and her partner alana have started shows they're committed not just to the past, but to the future. >> and mentoring, as you mentioned, is going to be such a focus of the 30/50 summit. hillary clinton was amazing at last year's summit. it was like speed mentoring. they'd come in and we'd sit one on one mentoring a young woman starting out or somebody who had a great idea. the diversity of what you're going to find when you go to this summit in terms of ideas

and concepts and things we can share with each other and different ways to lift each other up, that's what makes this event so powerful. why is the mentoring factor so important? >> the team took into consideration what we heard last year. the take-away and the most meaningful part of the summit was the mentorship summit. this year there's going to be a teach and learn day centered around mentoring. it will include additional one-on-one sessions with key panelists. mika, you at the top with our one-on-one mentoring along with hillary clinton and a few of the other speakers. i'm going to participate as well. we're also going to have

targeted networking time where women can come together and talk. people loved the app last year. we're bringing that back. audience members can sign up if there's a particular area they're interested in, whether it's the creative economy or finance. it will be a full day, a packed summit. we'll have a special day targeted towards mentoring. >> it's getting close. i'm really excited. great to have you as vice chair and chair of the 30/50 summit. i hope you will join me at what will be a remarkable global women's event. go to forbes.com or know your value dotcom. coming up, two brothers will compete against each other at the super bowl. that puts their mom into a

terrible position. "morning joe" is back in a moment. >> mom's here. she's been all over the place doing a lot of great media. just like mom, she comes bearing gifts.

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and you watches all this from the sit room? who were you with when you watched this? >> secretary esper, a few of the joint chiefs, mark milley, some generals. we had some very great military people in that room, and we had some great intelligence people, robert o'brien. >> that was then-president trump on the death of isis leader back in 2019. someone he didn't mention being in the situation room, his life melania. it was her idea for trump to promote the, quote, hero dog named conan involved in the

raid. >> our canine, i call it a dog, a beautiful dog, a talented dog was injured and brought back. we had no soldier injured. they did a lot of shooting and they did a lot of blasting, even not going through the front door. you would think you go through the door. if you're a normal person, you say knock knock, may i come in? >> i must say it is really hard even a couple years later to grasp the reality that that man was ever president of the united states. >> i know. >> just unbelievable. >> so many questions. >> i call it a dog.

go through the front door just like normal people. >> remember the bleach? there are so many incredulous moments. >> unbelievable. there it is. willie, we're finding out that the situation room, melania just wandered in, started giving advice about dogs. >> secretary miller describes the scene of melania strolling into the situation room and no one saying anything, saying here should be the narrative, talk about the dog. he led with that. there are so many questions about it, the national security implications of having the first lady in there. as jen psaki said a minute ago, she's worked for two presidents,

never seen a first lady in the situation room. >> the present first lady would never do this, but willow has free rein to go into the sit room if necessary. willow is their cat. >> it's just like meatball. meatball prepares us for the show before we go on the air. >> is meatball with you right now, joe? >> meatball is always with me in spirit, at least. >> we have a lot to get to this morning. this would be the fourth hour of "morning joe." >> meatball has produced the fourth hour of "morning joe." if you like it, please send cat treats. >> he has six toes. joe biden's second state of the union is tonight. we're going to get a preview of what to expect. plus, a former prosecutor who

left the manhattan d.a.'s office over a failure to charge former president trump, mark pomeranz joins us with a new book about the investigation. plus, a mother who just can't lose this sunday. jason and travis kelce will be the first brothers to play against each other in the super bowl. we will talk to their mom donna later this hour. we have a lot of news to cover, especially this earthquake that has struck syria and turkey. >> the death toll from that earthquake now over 5,000, continues to climb. 7.8 magnitude quake hit the region yesterday along with several aftershocks including a 7.5 magnitude aftershock that struck just hours after the original earthquake. search and rescue efforts are

still under way to find people trapped under the rubble. the quake brought new devastation to syria, already plagued by a 12-year civil war and a humanitarian crisis because of it. matt bradley is on the ground in turkey. >> reporter: last time i spoke with you i had to stay quiet for a moment because they were imposing quiet on the entire crowd out here. these workers here, every couple of minutes they tell everybody to be quiet so they can try to listen to hear if anybody's crying for help from underneath this monstrous pile of rubble behind me. we haven't seen anyone taken out alive, though we have seen some dead bodies taken out of this

rubble. these people have been here all night, working on this same effort underneath spotlights and they're here all day today. this effort is ongoing. there are more than 50,000 workers throughout turkey deployed to the same nightmare sort of situations. they're not all professional rescue workers. they're volunteers from the neighborhood. it doesn't look like they are holding out much hope that anybody is going to be found alive after all of this time and after sub zero temperatures last night. if you look around, a lot of these buildings are still completely intact. they look as though nothing has

happened. yet, here you see an entire collapsed building, a pile of rubble. there's a difference between new construction and old construction. turkey endures effort quakes all the time. this one from yesterday morning was among the most powerful ever recorded in this country since records first started being kept. again, a lot of these buildings managed to survive. a lot of the older buildings didn't, the ones that weren't earthquake ready. in china, after an earthquake, people have co combed through t rubble and found some of the materials used were sub standard or weren't really up to snuff. it's possible in the coming days or weeks we could see a lot of political recriminations around

all of this. >> in the meantime, can you give viewers a sense of the scope of the damage we're seeing? we're talking about turkey and syria, but aftershocks have been felt in lebanon as well. >> reporter: a lot of these buildings looked fully intact and a lot of them still are. we spoke with some folks around here, especially some of the older people were really afraid to go back and live in these structures, even the ones that managed to survive the war. one building, some of the authorities have told everybody to kind of get away from it. there are buildings that still look precarious as though they could still fall down.

in syria, we're seeing a devastating effect, lots of buildings collapsed, a lot of them under substandard construction, older buildings. we're seeing a country that has been twice bitten, once by more than a decade of war. a lot of people homeless now from this earthquake had to flee their homes twice, once because of the civil war and now, again, because of this horrific earthquake. we're talking about a sprawling damage that actually straddles the border over turkey and syria. >> search and rescue teams from around the world including two from the united states, one from the los angeles county fire department. matt, thank you. tonight on capitol hill, president joe biden will deliver

his second state of the union address. nbc news chief white house correspondent peter alexander sets the scene. >> reporter: president biden just hours away from his first state of the union in this new era of divided government. these photos showing his final preparations for what's likely to be his largest tv audience of the year. despite polls showing most americans are pessimistic about the direction of the country, the president is expected to say the state of our economy is strong. >> jobs are up, wages are up, inflation is down and covid no longer controls our lives. >> reporter: the president, aides say, will cast his efforts as possible in contrast to what he calls extreme and reckless republicans. also national security concerns raised by the discovery of that

chinese balloon shot down over the weekend. >> china is infiltrating our culture, our farmland and our skies, because they see us as weak. >> reporter: with president biden expected to announce a 2024 run soon, his speech is likely to give americans a glimpse of the reelection message he may run on. two-thirds of voters say they have reservations or very uncomfortable about the president running again. including a single working mother of four in charlotte who is struggling with rising prices. do you want to see president biden run again? you're pausing. >> no. i think we have the get these old guys out. >> reporter: lawyer lena lee has been impressed by the president's leadership and credits him with restoring a calmness to the country. >> i just feel very confident with how he's run the country.

he's done as much as he can with the cards he's been dealt. >> let's bring in congressional reporter for the hill michael schnell. this president is trying to find common ground with republicans. biden is all about reaching out to the other side, but these folks want to investigate him and his family and pound away at that. >> it's a really interesting dynamic, because president biden is going to be addressing a chamber filled with house republicans who have vowed to investigate him. on the other hand, it's also going to be a house republican majority that will likely not help him with any of his legislative priorities. president biden saw immense success legislatively in the past two years. he's going to have a much higher

climb for that goal with the house controlled by republicans. we're going to see this play out tonight when president biden will likely be pitching some of these legislative priorities to a chamber that's not going to take it up. >> i think that's an understatement. >> it is. that's part of the white house strategy. we're going to hear lofty themes. the president is going to be reacting to some of the crisis we've seen, mass shootings in california, the death of the young man in memphis at the hands of police officers. he's expected to pitch things he knows can't get passed. what's the calculation? >> it could force republicans to answer on the topic. tyre nichols' parents are going to be there tonight. it will force republicans to potentially talk about these issues, put them into a corner

where they have to respond. president biden has been adamant about an assault weapons ban. it's possible we could see more calls for that tonight. an interesting topic is the debt ceiling. we have about four months until extraordinary measures run out. congress and the white house have to come to some consensus or else we'll see economic catastrophe. >> it appears republicans are kind of in a bad position on this. also what about women's rights? >> i think we could very possibly see women's rights in the state of the union tonight. it will be the first time since president biden has been delivering the state of the union as president that there will not be a woman seated

behind him. >> michael sh nel, thank you so much for joining us. willie? >> there is controversy surrounding a new book out today that details one investigation into former president trump. alvin bragg says the book titled "people versus donald trump" could harm the investigation into the former president. one year ago pomeranz was a lead attorney in the manhattan district attorney's investigation into former president trump and his business practices. pomeranz had been assigned to the trump case by cy vance. in his resignation pomeranz

asserted that the new d.a. alvin brag had suspended the investigation and stated he did not want to become a passive participate in what i believe to be a grave failure of justice. between his resignation and his book's publication, the investigation has picked up steam. d.a. brag began showing a grand jury evidence and met with trump's former personal attorney michael cohen about hush money paid to adult film actress stormy daniels, who alleged a long denied affair with trump. amid all of that, pomeranz's new book hits bookstores today, giving a firsthand account of what happened inside the district attorney's office during his year there. mark joins us now.

>> thank you for having me. >> we start with some of the criticism from d.a. brag and others who have said you could be compromising an ongoing investigation by writing this book and putting all this information in the public. what do you say to that? >> i wrote the book to point out there needed to be a prosecution, that the facts warranted prosecution. the last thing i wanted to do or would do would be to interfere with the investigation or a potential prosecution. i'm confident i'm not interfering. nothing in the book compromises what the district attorney is doing now. i say that because the facts relating to the payment of hush money to stormy daniels and the reimbursement, those facts have been in the public domain for years and years. the question is, what will be made of them? but i haven't compromised those facts. the same is true with respect to the financial statement

investigation which was the main focus at the end of 2021. >> are you heartened at all by all that has happened since you put the book to bed, the conviction of alan weisselberg on the tax fraud scheme and the presentation of evidence to the grand jury in the alleged payoff of stormy daniels. do you believe it's moving faster than it was when you were there? >> i hope it is. i certainly think there needs to be a prosecution. the facts warrant a prosecution and the book details the reasons why that was and is my view. so if there is a prosecution, that's great. hopefully the district attorney will do what needs to be done. i've been asked by friends, well, is that too little too late, or is it better late than never? my response is it's all of those things. >> we briefly summarized the objections you raised in your

resignation letter. your frustration was shared by a lot of people watching this case, who thought, boy, it sure looks like you've got the former president on some of this stuff. why did attorney general brag slow walk this? >> i don't know exactly what was in the district attorney's mind. but i can surmise that what happened may have been that with stakes this high involving a potential defendant who is so practiced in the art of intimidation, human nature is such that you look for the perfect case, you look for circumstances that virtually compel you to act and you magnify whatever problems may exist in a case. the practical impact of that is to create a separate standard for somebody like donald trump, when i believe that if the same facts had been shown with

respect to somebody who was not as prominent, who did not have the political influence, who did not have the power and authority of a former president of the united states, if it was just the average joe, the average joe would have been indicted on thesefacts without any debate. >> is it fair to say they were afraid of donald trump? >> i'm not saying the district attorney was afraid of donald trump and i don't believe that. what i am saying is that it's human nature to be cautious in a matter with such high stakes, and the caution can lead to paralysis. one of the reasons i wrote the book was to explain what goes through prosecutors' minds as they approach decisions in all cases, whether it's a president, a prince or a pauper, as they

say. to me, the thought process should be the same and the standards you use to evaluate the case should be the same. >> a frustration we've heard a lot on our show over the last couple of years is the law applies to everybody or it doesn't. is there an exception to somebody because he's rich and powerful? >> exactly. i just wonder what it says about the fact that the manhattan d.a. apparently had a different standard for donald trump than for everybody else. what does it say about all these things? we saw it even, mr. pomeranz, with the mueller report. he said, well, crimes may have taken place, but we can't do anything because he's president of the united states. that was twisted and contorted by donald trump and trump supporters, just like this d.a. decision was. i mean, what does it say that prosecutors have put donald trump in a category by himself?

and our belief that everybody is accountable, nobody is above the law apparently doesn't apply to donald trump. >> you have to consider that presidents are different to an extent. the department of justice policy is you cannot indict a sitting president. i believe when cy vance looked at the hush money facts as he did in 2019 when donald trump was also the sitting president, he may have decided it's something you just can't do as a local prosecutor to indict a sitting president. but once 2021 came along, donald trump was no longer the sitting president. the investigation, in fact, related to conduct that took place before he was president of the united states and then, in my judgment, the kind of legal handcuffs that surround charging a sitting president, those legal handcuffs are removed and what

prosecutors have to do is treat him like they would anybody else and ask themselves do they believe that the potential defendant is guilty, is the evidence legally sufficient to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, is there a reasonable chance of conviction. i thought with respect to donald trump all the lights were green and by those regular criteria, we should go ahead. >> just to follow up on what you said before about how he should be held to the same standard. i knew members of congress that i served with that got indicted for a lot less than what donald trump did, paying hush money off, funneling it to somebody else a couple of days before an election. let me ask you, what was the

most compelling evidence that you had that a crime had been committed and that the ex-president should be charged? >> well, with respect to the financial statements, the evidence that they were false and that the values were overstated was just a massive amount of evidence. it's summarized in the attorney general's civil complaint that was filed in september against trump and his organization and others. with respect to trump's involvement in the preparation of the financial statement, you had to look at the whole surrounding complex of the circumstances. these were his properties that he had worked to assemble and build for a lifetime. the financial statements were used for his advantage. they were put together by people who worked for him. and he has a long history of lying and exaggerating about his assets and his net worth. so you put together the whole

pattern of circumstances and i at least came to the judgment that the case was a strong one. it was not a perfect case. few cases are. but in my judgment, it was strong enough so that we should proceed with it. and that was a judgment that the previous district attorney shared. >> you just laid out the evidence of a possible prosecution. we know the investigation has ramped up again. let's take one leap forward and say that, yes, a charge is levied against the former president. take us inside the courtroom of what that would be like, this hypothetical case of a former president of the united states before a jury where everyone in there is going to have really defined opinions one way or the other about him. >> well, it will be a proceeding, if it happens, unlike many others. even the arraignment of the trump organization and the cfo

was -- i won't say that was three-ring circus, but it was a very crowded courtroom. if indeed donald trump were to be charged and present in the courtroom to be tried, i have no doubt that security would be fine, and i also have no doubt that eventually a judge would be able to pick an impartial jury. but it will surely be something of a spectacle, but the legal system is strong enough, in my judgment, the rule of law is strong enough to handle something like that. >> we did reach out to alvin brag, the manhattan d.a. for comment about the book. he said, after closely reviewing the evidence from the investigation, i came to the same collusion as several senior prosecutors in the case. more work was needed. put another way, mr. pomeranz's

plane wasn't ready for takeoff. >> the plane in effect has taken off from a different airport. when you look at the civil complaint filed by the attorney general, it's chock full of evidence that led a state supreme court judge to say it made out the case of persistent fraud. the complaint alleges that there were criminal violations of the new york state penal law. and i think a fair reading of the evidence would establish there was enough there to go forward. >> if donald trump does stand trial in this alleged payoff case, are you convinced he could be convicted? >> yes. i've been talking about the financial statements, but the coverup of the hush money reimbursement to michael cohen involved the creation of phony documents. the reimbursement to cohen was

dressed up as payments for legal services rendered in satisfaction of monthly invoices. the fact is, there was no retainer agreement, there were no legal services rendered. those documents were falsified to cover up donald trump's involvement in the reimbursement. >> and the number on that check just happened to be the same number as the one that stormy daniels received at the other end of the deal. >> actually, cohen got a lot more than was paid to stormy daniels. the amount was grossed up for taxes. he got a bonus for his participation in trump's affairs. the amount more than covered what he laid out of his own funds for stormy daniels. and the length between the reimbursement and the at the same time to stormy daniels is something i believe the former president has acknowledged there was reimbursement. >> the new book is "people

versus donald trump" an inside account from mark pom rants. coming up next, amc is rolling out a new plan to raise revenue. it's called sight line. a little later this hour, the cowriter of the new broadway musical some like it hot. amber ruffin will be our guest. amber ruffin will be our guest e. and, if i'm not posting on social media, i don't feel seen. oh my god mom, you gotta look... nope. keeping my eyes on the road is paying off with drivewise. bo-ring. get drivewise from allstate and save for avoiding mayhem like me.

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32 past the hour. boeing expects to slash about 2,000 white collar jobs this year in finance and human resources. the seattle times reports the company plans to outsource about a third of the positions to a consulting firm in india. last month the virginia based company announced it would hire 10,000 workers in 2023.

the company has about 156,000 employees world wide. amc theaters has unveiled a new pricing initiative. which seat location would determine how much your ticket costs. the nation's largest movie theater chain announced the seats in the middle of the auditorium would cost a dollar or two more while seats in the front row would be slightly cheaper. it plans to have the plans in place by the end of the year and will apply to all show times after 4:00 p.m. and more than 50 million americans plan to bet on this year's super bowl, a new record. 1 in 5 american adults will place a bet on sunday's game, wagering a total of $16 billion, an amount more than double last year. the estimate includes legal bets and those placed with illegal bookies or casually among

friends. are you going to bet on the game? >> i'm not much of a better. i'll probably do a little pool with my boys, which i plan to win. >> i got the draftkings app last super bowl and i think i put 40 bucks in it and i still have money left in it. sure, throw one on there. >> what about jack? >> i've warned jack time and again how stupid betting is. every time i thought an nfl game was a sure thing, it was never a sure thing. it's always a sucker's bet. i don't get into wall street much. there are people that live it and know it and i'd just be an idiot throwing my money out there. it's the same thing with betting. vegas doesn't lose.

any time you see a line and it's too good to be true, it's too good to be true. >> they call them the wise men in the desert for good reason. they're usually right. coming up, it's okay to root for both teams in the super bowl. if -- donna kelce joins us straight ahead on "morning joe." joins us straight ahead on "morning joe." u rise to the challenge. u won't clock out. so u bring ubrelvy. it can quickly stop migraine in its tracks within 2 hours... ...without worrying if it's too late or where you are. unlike older medicines, ubrelvy is a pill that directly blocks a protein believed to be a cause of migraine. do not take with strong cyp3a4 inhibitors. most common side effects were nausea and tiredness.

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indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire ♪3, 4♪ ♪ matching your job description. ♪hey♪ ♪ ♪are you ready for me♪ ♪are you ready♪ ♪are you ready♪ i know mom is here. i see mom downstairs. she's been all over the place doing a lot of great media. just like mom, when she knows her boys head to a big battle, she comes bearing gifts. come on in here, mom. mom donna is joining us. mom, you're bringing in these cookies. you're probably cooking these cookies forever for these guys.

>> that moment last night in phoenix as players and coaches met the media before a big week of preparation leading to sunday's super bowl. donna kelce, the mother of chiefs' titan travis kelce and eagles' center jason kelce, delivering the cookies to her sons. they are two of the best at their respective positions. sunday is going to mark the fourth time they've played against each other professionally. donna joins us now. how exciting. i got to say, donna, first of all, we were talking about my 14-year-old son jack. one of his favorite christmas presents, number 87 for the chiefs, your son travis. i saw your boys talking on a clip earlier this week and i was so moved by how sweet travis

was explaining how everything he does is because of inspiration for jason. jason took that in and it really moved him until travis leaned over in front of the cameras and kissed him on the forehead. >> i know that a lot of younger kids look up to their older brothers and sisters for support, how to do things, street cred, whatever. travis really did look up to his big brother. it turned into some fights here and there. all in all, they're very, very close. because of the nfl and how busy they've been over the past several years, they haven't been able to see each other because the nfl is very demanding. you have a lot of outside interests and activities as well

with the teams. this year they've been able to reconnect and get really close. so it's awesome. >> travis said to his brother he wears 87 as a tribute to him. >> yeah. that was the year that jason was born. he was trying to pick a number and trying to decide what he should pick. he didn't want to pick numbers that were already linemen that were playing at the time, but he just said i've got to wear this number. i'm here because of him. i followed him. he gave me the belief that i could do it. so that's why he wears that number. >> i love that story. donna, it's willie geist. we're so happy to have you on the show. as a parent of two kids, they make one basket in a game, they make the cut on a team, you're thrilled for them. and here you are with two sons who have climbed the ladder so

high, both all pro players, the best at their positions, but now they're playing against each other in the super bowl. as a mom, what is this like? >> it's like you won the lottery. to get from middle school football to high school to get to college, to get to the pros and actually to play, to be playing for this many years, to get super bowls and then to play against each other, i mean, what are the odds of that? it's got to be astronomical. we should have been playing the lottery. i think we hit it. >> it's the first time it's ever happened, two brothers playing in the super bowl. jason is 6'3", 295, travis is 6'5", 250. what did you feed these boys? >> we couldn't keep food in the house. when i would go to a restaurant

and bring home leftovers, i would put my name on it, tape on it. it was gone the next morning. it was constant going to the grocery store. really when they left for college, i got a raise because i didn't have to feed them. >> donna, i'm curious as a parent, did you have to compel them to be involved in athletics like my mom did with my brothers, or was it natural for them? >> you know, the good thing was athletics kept them from breaking things in the house, so that was awesome. a lot of broken windows, a lot of slats in the floor that were broken. basically they would come to us and tell us what they were interested in and we would try the best that we could with the timing and the scheduling and financially to see if we could help them out. they just loved every sport there was. they would rather be outside

playing basketball, playing football, playing lacrosse, hockey. i think jason did a stint with wrestling. they tried it all. i think this is why they're so well rounded. they have been able to find things in every single sport to bring to football. i think that's helped them in the game. >> that's so impressive. so you're not choosing, are you? >> no. the good thing is they both have one under their belt. if one of them didn't, it would be very easy, i would hope the other would win. in this instance, this is pure joy. this is the first time i'm going to be able to enjoy the game. i'm going to be able to go there and scream my head off no matter who has the ball. i just hope it's a high scoring game, i really do. >> donna kelce, thank you very much for coming on the show.

good luck? i guess you don't need it. >> i'm a winner no matter what. >> you are a winner. thank you so much for being on this morning. coming up on "morning joe," the cowriter of the new broadway adaptation of some like it hot join us after a quick break. lit join us after a quick break. ask about vraylar. because you are greater than your bipolar 1, and you can help take control of your symptoms - with vraylar. some medicines only treat the lows or highs. vraylar treats depressive, acute manic, and mixed episodes of bipolar 1 in adults. proven, full-spectrum relief for all bipolar 1 symptoms. and in vraylar clinical studies, most saw no substantial impact on weight. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor about unusual changes in behavior or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. report fever, stiff muscles or confusion which may mean a life-threatening reaction,

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the american film institute called the funniest american movie of all time. the musical comedy is set in chicago during prohibition in the 1930s and follows the story of two musicians forced to flee the city after witnessing a mob hit. the mob tracking their moves, the duo joins a swing band to travel across the country. will they be able to hide in plain sight or will the mob catch up to them? joining us, the co-writer of the new broadway musical adaptation, the great amber ruffin and one of the stars of the musical, jay harrison g., who plays the character jerry, who also is daphne. good morning to you both. great to see you. >> good morning. >> i got a preview of the energy around the show as you both were dramatically singing along to the clip as we watched it. you love doing this show, i can tell. >> were you also doing that. >> it was a duet over here, yeah, yeah. amber, how did this come to be? people may know the 1959 marilyn monroe movie. it is based on that, but not

exactly. let's say updated all these years later. >> yeah, you know, we really thought that we could get a hold of this movie that every grandparent enjoys and we could make it something that every grandchild could enjoy along with them. i love to think that we did it. families can come and see the show, and have a great time. >> how do you approach that as a writer? you wrote the book, as i said. how do you take a beloved piece of material and update it without changing it too much? >> i co-wrote the book with matthew lopez, and we -- i cannot say that we didn't change the book too much. we totally super did. but, you know, we just wanted the path to the most joyous version of this story. and i think we got it. >> jay, the reviews of this are off the charts. people love it. it is so much fun. they're laughing and they can't believe how great the dancing is throughout.

tell me about your character and what you loved about jerry/daphne. >> i love the journey. the experience i get to have every night and share with audiences of freeing yourself to see yourself, like, i get to go on this arc of expanding the human being that i am, and i hope to encourage and inspire that in audience members who come to see us and have a good time and just infuse a little joy into their lives. >> are you able to feel the buzz around this show? in other words, the crowds are big, the crowds are energetic, they're singing along to some of the music now. what is that experience like for you on stage? >> it is incredible nightly to gauge the audience and how they are receiving the show. those who from the time of the show you know they're coming in hot, they're, like, we love it, we're here for it, or the nights we have to warm them up a little bit. but some like it hot and that ain't bad. >> what is it like for you, amber, to see jay and this incredible cast take the book you co-wrote and make it into this beautiful production?

>> yeah. i write on late night with seth meyers and the amber ruffin show and when you do that, you write little jokes and give them to people you've known for a thousand years and they spit them out. but to take jokes that you have written and feelings and stuff, and to hand them to actual actors is something completely different. and then those words you wrote fill up an entire broadway theater and that's quite a different feeling. >> must be amazing to sit and watch people react to the things you wrote. jay, at the core of this, for people who see this, what is this story about? let's say someone hasn't seen the 1959 movie, what is this story about to you? >> it is about freedom and authenticity. finding truth at all costs and allowing circumstances to expand you. we go on this journey together every night to save our lives and we find better humans on the other side of it. and with that we find joy with

this beautiful music that mark shayman and scott whitman wrote and this incredible direction from casey nicola that takes everyone on a journey and it is a fun arc to have every night and share with audiences. >> and people are going crazy for it. i told you, i got tickets for my mom for christmas. we're going to come see you guys in a couple of weeks. i cannot wait. >> you're going to love it, i guarantee it. >> guarantee it. from the woman whose name is on the marquis outside of our building at 30 rock. some like it hot playing on broadway at the shubert theatre. you got to see it. jay harrison g. and amber ruffin, thank you. that does it for us this morning. jose diaz-balart picks up the coverage after a quick final break. balart picks up the coverage after a quick final break.

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good morning. 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart reporting from washington, d.c. ahead of president biden's second state of the union address to the nation, where he is expected to address the challenges facing his administration, both domestically and abroad. congressman james clyburn will tell us to