that conference against the advise of u.s. officials who warned him russia could invade in his absence. they waited a few days late every, but they certainly went in. richard, a year later, russia's military has had setback after setback. tell us what you think president biden's visit to kyiv means at this moment in the war. >> jonathan, the president's visit to kyiv is an important message. it is a message to putin, who has basically based his policy on time is on his side. maybe not. the united states, despite the fact that, for example, we got out of afghanistan in a hurried, messy way, the united states has staying power here. that's a really important message. it is also an important message to the allies. they were concerned about the midterm elections. one of the questions that kept coming up in munich was, is the united states, do we have enough bipartisan support to stay the

course? i think the president going to kyiv doesn't settle that problem once and for all. ideally, it would have been great had he shown up, you know, with senator mcconnell or somebody like that who is strongly in support of the war. again, it sends a reassuring message to ukraine about american staying power. which, jonathan, is critical for europe. europe has followed behind and with the united states for the most part. this is leading from ahead, and that is what is required in this instance. >> we are now past 6:00. welcome to "morning joe" at this morning. joe, mika and willie have the day off. i want to bring in katty kay, special u.s. correspondent for bbc news, into our live, rolling coverage of this presidents' day and president biden's surprise trip to ukraine, one meant to show a real symbol of solidarity, katty, with kyiv, as it has weathered russia's invasion now for 12 months.

>> yeah, jonathan, what a day for us to kick off presidents's day, to see these images. president biden has wanted to go to kyiv for a while, ask he had to wait for his security team to give him the okay. it is part of the vindication of the situation in kyiv that his security team felt it is okay, it is safe enough for him to visit on this monday morning, this surprise visit. there's also a lot going on, of course, in europe ahead of this anniversary. we have the munich security conference that's just wrapped up this weekend, which was effectively the americans and the europeans rallying more support for the ukrainians. richard haass, as you look at these images, yes, the symbolism very powerful for the ukrainians. this is a message of support for ukraine. it is a message of defiance to vladimir putin and against russia. what do you think it means in practice for volodymyr zelenskyy, that man just there who is shaking joe biden's hand? what does it mean for him in practice? >> well, i think what it means

in prctice is he can expect american military and economic support to continue to flow. i think he can also expect that from the europeans, though the delivery of economic help has fallen short of the promises. i think the big question will be what is the impact of it? say he gets all the tanks, say he gets the airplanes, what then? to what extent will it change the shape of the battlefield? ultimately, that's what accounts the most. sorry, there are alarms going off here. >> richard, we'll let you deal with the alarms because you have alarms, everyone has alarms everywhere. there have been alarms going off all around ukraine with the visit, as well. let's bring in former aide to george w. bush's white house and state departments, elise jordan. i was thinking, as i saw these images and got the first tweets that joe biden had landed in kyiv, the amount of organization it takes to pull something like this off in a war zone, the security people have to have, the buy-in to do this, just talk

to us a little bit about the backstory of how he would have actually got there. >> well, the closest parallel that i can remember, you know, in recent decades is probably president bush when he made the thanksgiving visit in 2003 to an american military base in iraq. that was shrouded in intense secrecy. at the end of the day, it was at a u.s. military base. that's what is so impressive and unprcedented about this trip. joe biden not just landed, he had to get on a train and take the same -- we don't know yet about the security arrangements, but it definitely is not your typical mission that the secret service goes from point a to point b and gets to -- the advanced work that goes into a trip, how many agents would go ahead of time. i just can't imagine how long they've been thinking about this and envisioning it and had a bunch of moving pieces and, yet,

they finally gave the go-ahead to say this can happen. >> president biden has wanted to do this for a while. was talked out of it by senior aides and secret service. last summer when he was in europe for nato, he might attach a visit to ukraine then. he did not. we know other world leaders have taken the 10-hour train ride to kyiv. we don't yet know how president biden made this journey. we're not going to know, u.s. officials told us, until he is safely out of the country. that may be some hours before we can report as to how this president has made his way to kyiv. let's bring in now, back to the conversation, chief international correspondent keir simmons who is in moscow. keir, give us a sense as to what this means to this moment in the war, but there in russia. a war that's gone nowhere near as they planned, though they still do own about 20% of ukraine's territory at this point and show no signs of giving up their mission to

topple kyiv. >> reporter: yeah, there's no sign at all, jonathan, of any compromise by president putin, who the kremlin says is currently working on a speech, a keynote speech that he will give tomorrow. that's his big moment, the symbolism, if you like. at the same time, he will now be, if he's got his television on, be watching these pictures as he works on his speech. russian television just began to show these images. they actually went to special report and began to show these images of president biden and president zelenskyy together in kyiv. really just reporting the facts that are being reported by u.s. media. quite extraordinarily, i think, the white house and the president of the -- the office of the ukrainian president have managed to keep this unknown even to the russians.

we know that because we hear a lot from the russians and russian journalists on, for example, the telegram channels. telegram channels are used to talk about everything going on in the conflict. there was no indication at all in the buildup to this news emerging that president bide biden is in ukraine. there was no sign at all the russians had any clue that's what was coming. i imagine it will infuriate president putin. remember, this is where he wanted to be a year ago. a year ago, we now know, he had hoped that his invasion would move very swiftly. his special military operation, as he calls it, would quickly get to the capital city of ukraine and, frankly, he would have pictured himself standing there in kyiv, just as president biden is standing next to a different leader of ukraine, and kind of wrapping up his mission, if you like, to change ukraine. instead, he hasn't been able to do that. you're right, of course, he has

managed to move forces into a large area of donbas, but that's far short of what he was hoping for. now, russia is fighting a war of attrition. it is hoping to continue to keep going and see the west lose interest or lose enthusiasm. of course, what this trip by president biden, jonathan, is designed to do is maintain the enthusiasm, the support in america and the west, for the conflict the white house describes as a defining conflict for the world, not just ukraine, not just here in russia. >> keir, russia has had some limited success in recent weeks weeks. the wagner group, mercenaries, have captured a few towns that had been fought over for a while. there were rumors president putin may call up another huge mobilization of conscripts of men, pushing them into military service. he did that in the fall.

mixed results. obviously, some domestic upheaval to that. he did face images of some russians fleeing the country to avoid that. many of these men ill equipped, ill trained, ended up in the meat grinder. that is something russia has, superior manpower. is there a sense he may look to push another mobilization as the year mark approaches and he is desperate to make more progress in ukraine? >> reporter: well, there is a fear of that, jonathan. remember, russia has managed to mobilize hundreds of thousands already with the previous mobilization. at the same time, it did shake many russians when that happened. we saw large numbers leave the country. now, president putin has an election in a year's time. actually, and this is, you know, kind of, if you like, a law of unintended consequences, actually, to have russians who don't support him in his

endeavors in ukraine, his special military operation leave the country, might actually be an electoral advantage for president putin. that being said, though, he will be -- one of his key focuses is always on the opinion of the russian opinion. polling that there is does suggest that support for him has actually increased in the last year. but he will be measuring the advantage of another mobilization, if he is considering that, against the disadvantage of how that might be received here in russia. we were talking earlier, jonathan. it is worth pointing out the light and shade of all of this. the reason we are here in russia is to try to give people as clear a view as possible of what the feeling is here. you can see behind me, the streets are full. it's the middle of the day on a monday. economically, this country is not just surviving, the prediction is that the economy will grow just a little bit this

year. so when you walk around the streets, you do see plenty of people in restaurants in moscow. it's a big country, 11 times. moscow is not all there is of russia, to say the least. but there is a sense, i think, of kind of hunkering down. people don't -- many people don't want to talk about the conflict. they are anxious about saying the wrong thing, if you like. there are many russians who also have swung into support of president putin even as it's got more difficult in ukraine. in some ways, that's increased support among some russians. so president putin, i think, tomorrow, will be uncompromising when he speaks tomorrow. uncompromising. i think he will double down. i think he will try to say, "stay with me." so far, so far, the russian people do appear to be doing that, albeit at the very top of

russian society, there are signs of -- small signs of division. that division, just to finish, really is between hardline officials and more hardline outsiders who think -- not that president putin's military operation is wrong, but they should be doing more. >> keir simmons in moscow. thank you for all of that reporting. richard, i think they fixed your alarm and the drama in london you had. glad you're back with us. you're on your way back from the munich security conference. give us a sense, there's joe biden in kyiv with zelenskyy, this big show of american support. domestic politics notwithstanding, it seems that america, even if the republicans were to say, "we really don't want to carry on funding at this rate," joe biden, as i understand, primed the pump and there are enough american weapons to last for a while. what about the european side of this equation? what was your takeaway from munich in terms of commitment but also speed of delivery of what they have already pledged?

>> let me say a few things. one, these images here, the only thing i'd add to what keir said is putin is going to use this as his narrative, that he's not only fighting ukraine but united states and the west. that's essential to his narrative. you know, i think, you know, the big questions going ahead for us, and you were getting at it in your question, is can we sustain the high rates of military delivery? we simply don't have the manufacturing base in this country. we don't have enough stores to do it. it's a big question for the united states going forward, how do we supply ukraine, maintain american readiness, not simply for the european theater but, say, for something involving taiwan and asia or something involving iran in the middle east. i think there's fundamental questions there. also, something that came up in munich is the relationship between china and russia. it was a year ago exactly, just days before the russian invasion, that russia and china

sought the so-called no limits agreement. one of the questions is now, after a year of some chinese restraint, are we about to see this no limits relationship materialize? will china start helping russia more directly with arms and ambition? secretary blinken put that on the table at munich this weekend. i think the europeans are solidly behind ukraine for now. again, taking the lead from the united states. it was a mild winter, energy stocks are high. i think what is slowly sinking in, though, is this is going to be a long war. neither side is prepared to make any compromises for peace. it's not clear to me either side can dominate the battlefield. what is slowly sinking in, and people are trying to make sense of it, what happens if this goes on for one more year, two more years, albeit probably as a lower level of intensity, but that's the uncomfortable thought europeans are trying to

internalize. they want a diplomatic breakthrough, but they're realistic to understand that none is in the offer. >> to richard's point, not only was there a tense meeting between secretary of state blinken and his chinese counterpart over the spy balloon, but, yes, the warning that china may be on the verge of increasing its assistance to russia. as president biden is in kyiv right now, chinese foreign minister is in moscow. we'll have a lot more on that angle to the story later. janis mackey frayer will join us from beijing. i want to bring in richard engel who is in eastern ukraine. give us a sense as to the state of play and the conflict right now. we've heard for a while ukrainian officials issuing urgent warnings, saying they believe russia is going to step up its offensive as the weather improves. certainly, president biden's appearance here is a sign of solidarity. what are the ukrainian fears? what are they saying they need? >> reporter: the ukrainians are running out of ammunition. that's what they're most

concerned about right now. the russians have intensified the offensive over the last ten days or so. the russians have thrown a lot of troops into battle, both troops and mercenaries, particularly around the city of bakhmut, which is not far from where i am right now. i've been to bakhmut with our team and the surrounding areas several times over the last several day. the fighting is very intense. but russia is not making significant gains, even though russia is trying to drive its front line forward. russia has been suffering heavy casualties and is losing thousands every few days in order to gain meters on the battlefield. but it is costing ukraine a tremendous amount of ammunition to keep back this russian onslaught. i spoke to a ukrainian tank commander not long ago, and he said that, right now, the tanks have so few rounds, that they can't fire at the same rates that they used to a few months

ago. they have to pick and choose every shot. they can't fire over the horizon or onto anything they can't see. they are waiting, like it used to be in the revolutionary war days, until they see the whites of their eyes. they are waiting until they have a confirmed target they can visually identify before they're firing a precious round. they're hoping it'll be corrected quickly. >> richard engel, thank you. stay safe. we appreciate it. josh lederman is in warsaw, poland. josh, warsaw is where we thought the president was heading. before he made this surprise stop in kyiv. of course, he is still planning to go there. exact arrival time tbd since, of course, there's security concerns about getting him out of ukraine. once he does arrive in warsaw,

give us a sense of what his message will be. seems to be to two specific audiences. domestically, americans at home, those in the house, as well as the european leaders who, to this point, have been rallied with ukraine. >> reporter: yeah. i'd add one more audience to the list, jonathan, which is president putin himself. we just heard keir simmons talking about that major speech we're expecting tomorrow from president putin. what a split screen day that is going to be. as president biden, assuming his schedule still holds, is here in warsaw at the royal palace garden, just a few blocks from where i'm standing right now. the same location, by the way, where president biden was almost a year ago when he came here to warsaw in march. i was here for that visit, and it was that speech where president biden was really able to lay out the stakes, not only for ukraine but for europe and for the west. to put this in the context of

that tension between democraies and autocracies that president biden has staked his whole presidency on. it was, frankly, that same speech where biden made that off the cuff remark about president putin, you know, how important it was that president putin not be able to stay in power. of course, white house officials had to walk back those remarks, but this is going to be a bookend of sorts for president biden as he comes back to this same location and tries to make the case to europe and to the west, that now is not the time to let up on the gas. now is the time to double down on support for ukraine. in addition to that speech here, he's going to have an opportunity to meet with president duda of poland, who has been probably the most hawkish european leader, really leaning forward on support for ukraine. of course, poland has taken in more refugees from ukraine than any other nation.

it was poland that was really out on its front foot, warning that russia planned to invade ukraine before it did. but then president biden will also, before he returns to washington, have a chance to sit down with the bucharest 9, a group of nato allies really on russia's doorstep. we're talking about countries like the baltics, estonia, latvia, lithuania and others, who feel, perhaps, more profoundly than anyone else the sense that if russia is able to invade its neighbor in ukraine without consequences, that it may then go on to threaten other parts of europe, including nato members, which, of course, would then bring the u.s. potentially into a direct military conflict with russia. given article 5 of native, an attack on one is an attack on all. that is something that nato members and the u.s. still are very worried about and don't want to happen. it's the reason they are so carefully calibrating their

level of military support, to avoid providing the kind of assistance that could potentially provoke putin further and make this a direct conflict between russia and the west. but it's also going to be an opportunity to for biden to remind everyone that, yes, there is an energy crisis here in europe. yes, there is a cost of living crisis. much of that attributed to the war in ukraine. yes, there are republicans and others back at home who feel like it is time to focus again on america first and not be sending billions and billions of dollars to a country halfway around the world. but that this is a matter of global security, that this is an investment that is well spent to ensure that a country like russia is not able to then go on and threaten other parts of the world. that will be the case that president biden tries to make, not only to ukrainians and your

europeans, but, of course, the audience at home, knowing president putin will also be watching the speech. >> the bucharest 9 in a european continent at war. thanksderman for his reporting in warsaw. josh used the phrase america first. that's part of putin's calculation, where he thinks he can wait this out. it is not just about republicans having control of the house, it's a looming 2024 presidential election and this bet that a republican, potentially even donald trump, will be back in power. let's remind viewers for a moment here. donald trump got impeached because he was trying to extort president zelenskyy, trying to withhold military assistance. now, we see the current president, on presidents' day no less, to kyiv pledging more aid there. trump wants this war to end right now for fear of escalation, even if that means allowing russia to keep its gains. tell us how that looming election shadows this conflict. >> look, it'll be a year and a half plus of stunning split

screens between president biden, who is for all intents and purposes right now, running for eelection, at least until he says he is not. of course, you have the republican primary that's only beginning to kick off. i spent last week in south carolina with former governor nikki haley, former ambassador to the u.n. you already see the policy schisms happening there between haley and president trump right now. the only two declared candidates, though we're going to see this field grow to mostly current and past governor. sununu, desantis, players like that. key players want more accountability behind the dollars being sent. what you're starting to see on the campaign trail, though, and the divide we're seeing between trump and haley, and she is saying, we should be sending f-16s. we should be sending actual, tangle military equipment to them, as opposed to just dollars. that's going to be the conversation on the campaign

trail. it might be partly playing into the putin calculus of just trying to wait it out and see if the political tides ebb and flow in a more republican and trumpian direction in the united states. certainly, all of that is in the calculus as you kind of play this game, zooming in and out, of domestic and foreign policies that are so closely intertwined. >> we're really going to relive the foreign policy debate of the 2016 election. >> yeah. >> as republican candidates who try to embrace maga, america first, they really are probably at their core more hawkish and old school republicans. we're seeing that play out on the hill with some senators in support of robust aid to ukraine. other republicans, newcomers usually, like marjorie taylor greene, who are saying, no, america first. we're not going to fund this. biden's trip today really is designed not just to reassure the world, reassure ukrainians and the diplomatic elements, of course, but to politically win

over americans again. you look at how support for funding ukraine and sending arms, it was at 60% back in may. it's now down to around 48% in a recent ap poll. >> president biden couldn't have been more clear, he said the u.s. will stay with kyiv for as long as it takes. still ahead here on "morning joe," we're going to continue to follow the president's surprise visit to kyiv. plus, we're going to get a live report from beijing following meeting in munich with secretary of state blinken and his chinese counterparts. also, an update on jimmy carter as he enters hospice care at his home in georgia. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back.

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your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. visit indeed.com/hire and get started today. we are also troubled that beijing has deepened its relationship with moscow since the war began. looking ahead, any steps by china to provide lethal support

to russia would only reward aggression, continue the killing, and further under mine a rules-based order. >> vice president kamala harris with that warning to china at the munich security conference on saturday. nbc news reports the u.s. believes china may be providing non-lethal military assistance to russia for use in the war in ukraine. secretary of state tony blinken has said china is, quote, strongly considering providing lethal aid, as well. blinken met face-to-face with his chinese counterpart over the weekend in munich. the two officials spoke for just over an hour, where the state department says blinken warned of the, quote, implications and consequences if china does provide that support to russia. saturday's meeting was also the first between the two sides since the u.s. shot down a suspected chinese spy balloon

off the coast of south carolina earlier this month. according to the state department, blinken told his counterpart on saturday the u.s., quote, will not stand for any violation of our sovereignty. china, for its part, continues to deny that the balloon was sent for surveillance purposes. during saturday's meeting, the state department said china made unfounded accusations against the united states. a lot going on in the chinese and u.s. relationship. joining us from beijing is foreign correspondent janis mackey frayer. good morning. thank you for joining us. look, it is clear there had been a coordinated rollout of these concerns about china providing lethal weapons to russia for the fight in ukraine over the last few days. i heard it last week from a senior senator here in washington. tony blinken saying it over the weekend. you have kamala harris talking about it, as well. what has been the reaction from beijing to these warnings from senior u.s. officials? >> reporter: well, it's no

coincidence that these warnings that come with no details on underlying intelligence that would prompt such alarm are coming to coincide with the visit of china's top diplomat to moscow. he is there to lay the groundwork for a state visit for chinese president xi jinping. that could happen within the next month. here, the reaction was -- it was not taken well. foreign ministry spokesperson saying, quote, it's the u.s. who has been continuously providing weapons to the war. the u.s. is not qualified to give orders to china. two things have happened over the last year since the russian invasion, since vladimir putin was here with that 5,000 word manifesto, declaring a friendship with no limits with xi jinping. the two things that have happened is that the u.s.-china relationship has steadily deteriorated. there is no cooperation on

anything, not even talks on climate change. there have been no phone calls. the defense officials here are not picking up the hotline from the u.s. military since this balloon incident. at the same time, there has been a deepening of ties between china and russia. there is far more trade, especially in energy. there has been russian propaganda and misinformation that has been allowed to flourish here in china's information space, about china's role in the ukraine war. and china seems to be getting on with diplomatic business with other people. last week, having a state visit with iran's president. so there is the sense that china is looking to build its ties elsewhere. right now, a relationship between the u.s. and china that was once described as fraught now simply doesn't seem to exist. there's a greater gap in understanding. there is greater mistrust on

both sides. and there doesn't appear to be any conciliation on any side to resume talks toward perhaps rescheduling secretary blinken's visit. the secretary himself confirmed after that meeting yesterday that china has made no apology for what has happened with this balloon incident. >> richard haass, the chinese -- just kind of thinking of the repercussions, potentially, to the chinese if they were to go ahead and defy the u.s. on this and start providing weapons to the russians. i mean, as janis points out, there haven't been communications on the diplomatic front the last year, and that's alarming, but a heck of a lot of trade goes on between china and the united states. america imports something like $500 billion worth of goods from china every year. there could be economic repercussions if china was to go ahead and provide these weapons. why would the chinese do this at this point?

>> i've been sitting here listening to janis, thinking about exactly that, katty. on one hand, strategically, at the risk of being cynical, the chinese might see some advantages in a long war in europe. it keeps the west and the united states tied down or reduces our military readiness for other parts of the world. they certainly don't want russia to lose. i think that's partially it. second of all, my guess is they see no possible upside in u.s. relations right now. they don't see any reason from their point of view to exercise constraint. they may also, and this gets really interesting because it gets exactly at your question, they might not see much downside. well, what does the united states have left to do to us? they've already cut off a lot of strategic trade. they've kept in place the tariffs. the united states is moving ever closer to taiwan. so i think from the chinese point of view, they probably don't see a lot of reason to

hold off helping russia. also, i jinping really cast his lot with vladimir putin. when he signed this no limits friendship agreement, he now put his own credibility on the line. i don't think he can afford to see putin do poorly. a question for janis about tony blinken, whether she has any sense from the chinese point of view, whether they're even interested now in hosting a visit or whether they think that ship has sailed for the time being and they're, essentially, prepared to live for an open-ended amount of time without high-level diplomacy with the united states. >> reporter: custom to not having to embrace relations with the u.s., certainly with the way things have been nosediving the past year. there was a high level of embarrassment that secretary blinken canceled or postponed the visit. there have been no signs that

there's been any discussion on either side to try to get the visit rescheduled. it was an embarrassment to the leadership in xi jinping. because he had been seen as being more conciliatory in his diplomacy. and there really is the sense that they are getting on with business with others. this state visit to moscow expected next month. with the trade deepening with russia. with the support deepening for russia. also, with the visit of the iranian president are last week. china was being cautious in the deals it's been doing. they are very aware of the u.s. sanctions on iran, but there really is the sense that they are trying to fortify ties with countries that are going to be more friendly than the united states has appeared to be over the past several months and, certainly, in the past several weeks with the balloon incident. >> okay. nbc's janis mackey frayer in beijing for us. janis, thank you very much.

all eye on china and what they're doing next, vis-a-vis russia and ukraine at the moment. eugene daniels, i'm assuming you were taken by surprise a little this morning. >> oh, yeah, i was, just like everyone else. >> which was the idea, right? >> the point. >> someone who covers the white house as closely as you did was not getting a tip-off this was going to happen because of the security concerns. what goes into a visit like this? what are the security concerns that has to be weighed up? how much does president biden have to overcome to do this? >> all us white house reporters, we knew president biden was going to poland. it's right there. we have seen other presidents go from poland to ukraine. so we were asking, is there a date he's going to go over there? in his schedule on tuesday, is there a possibility he will go over there? they kept saying, no, no, no. in a certain way, right? making sure they also weren't lying to the press. but at the end of the day, this

is something president biden has wanted to do for a very long time, right? he's been talking to aides about this. he knew he was going to have to continue to up the ante, as it were, for his support of ukraine, right? you have vice president harris make four trips over the last year to europe, talking about this, including two trips to the munich security conference. you had president biden and zelenskyy meeting at the white house. this was another show of support for the ukrainians. the kinds of security -- or the kinds of security is they were worried about him walking the streets. he walked right in front of the palace. they're worried about him going to the embassy, which he just did, going to the united states embassy. that's something the other leaders did not have to deal with as much, right? president biden is one of the final leaders to make that trip to ukraine and to kyiv, specifically. trying to -- >> i love that they said, here are the things we're worried about you doing, mr. president, and that's what he did. he goes ahead and does both of

them. >> aides always tell us, you don't tell president biden what to do. figuring it out at the end of the day, the secret service makes the final determinations on a lot of this. we also had only two, a small contingent of reporters with the president to keep it under wraps as this was unfolding. we're going to learn more about how the president got there. did he take the ten-hour train ride like other leaders did? at this point, there's a lot of questions, how they pulled this off. >> they'll get him safely out of the country, john, before they give us that information, i suspect, about how he got into the country. they just want to make sure that he is out of the danger zone. it was interesting, wasn't it, we heard the air-raid sirens go off. one point, the ukrainians started getting worried the russians might have gotten a tip and was scrambling some kind of jets. but it seems to have gone fine for the moment. let's get him out of there. we spent the last hour and a half covering president biden's

surprise visit to ukraine and the security implications out of there. there are now worries from north korea. is this a periodic north korean moment, that they want a little global attention? >> we'll have more on the president's visit to kyiv as we learn, as you mentioned, katty. we are cooperating with security restrictions put in place by the white house. you're right. as if there weren't enough going on, there was a significant escalation from north korea with the firing of two ballistic missiles to japan today. this two days after they fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the sea of japan off the country's west coast, landing into its exclusive economic zone. that launch prompted the u.s. to hold joint air exercises with south korea and separately with japan yesterday. the sister of north korean leader kim jong-un warned more launchers are to come unless the united states halts military drills with south korea. the south korean and u.s. militaries plan to hold a tabletop exercise this week to hone a joint response to a

potential use of nuclear weapons by north korea. richard haass, want to get your take as to what you think this is from north korea. if, indeed, a spaz of violence, bluster, but also talk about the role china plays here, as well. at a moment of tension with the united states -- and we should note secretary of state blinken, when he confronted his chinese counterpart in munich about the spy balloon, made clear there were no apologies offered from china. take the spy balloon, potentially increased aid to russia, and, now, of course, you have the role china could play with pyongyang. give us your take. >> it's the role china could play with pyongyang. china has been a major disappointment here. most of north korea's trade goes in and out of china. china subsidizes north korea. china could pressure them to show restraint in the missile program. clearly, china is not doing that. china essentially wants to keep

the korean peninsula divided. it never wants to see north korea crumble. it's worried about a united korea that could be against it. china is not a partner here, quite disappointing. i think north korea, it is their version of station identification, jonathan. i think it is only a matter of time, not just these missile tests, but also potentially a nuclear test. i think it'd be number seven. i think it is more a question of when, not if that happens. we already this morning talked about russia. we've talked about china. now, it's north korea. if we had time, we could probably talk about iran, which is getting ever closer to having nuclear weapons itself. it just shows how packed the national security, foreign policy inbox is. a lot of americans may not want to focus a lot on the world. well, the world isn't going to let us forget it. here, we have our principal

alie allies. japan would be our principal partner with north korea. they're the most capable ally we have in that part of the world. again, these things are all connected. the taiwan thing, deteriorating china-u.s. tensions. it could get worse if speaker mccarthy can't resist the temptation to visit taiwan in his first six months as speaker. this is a fasten your seat belt time. clearly, president biden is not going to have the luxury of focusing domestically. >> certainly, a lot to discuss. richard haass, thank you for joining us live from london this morning. coming up here on "morning joe," we're going to get a live report from georgia. jimmy carter, america's longest living president, is now receiving end of life care at his home. we'll be right back. 'm going to somewhere, anywhere. ♪

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former president jimmy carter is receiing hospice care at his georgia home following a series of hospital days. he's decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family instead of having additional medical intervention. the 98-year-old carter is the longest living president in american history. the carter center did not provide additional details about what conditions prompted the recent hospital visits, nor carter's decision to enter hospice case. joining us now is nbc news correspondent priscilla thompson, not far from the carter's home. what is the latest you are hearing? >> reporter: yeah, well, mr. carter is her at his home receiving that hospice care, as tributes and messages of love and support are pouring in online for the former president.

with people sharing photos and treasuried memories they've had with him over the years. of course, that including president biden, who tweeted saying that he is praying for the family, praying for former president carter and saying, quote, we admire you for the strength and humility you have shown in difficult times. may you continue your journey with grace and dignity, and god grant you peace. peace is really the mood here on the ground in plains. we had an opportunity to go to the church where mr. carter was a member, where he taught -- or teaches bible study and taught bible study for many decades. we spoke to folks there, and they talked so much about how much they will love him and how much they love him and how, when the time comes, they will certainly miss him. they are so grateful that he will no longer be in pain and that he will be going on to meet his maker. we heard a similar message from the grandson of president

carter, who said that his grandparents are at peace. as always, their home is so full of love right now. that peace is also something that former president carter has spoken about. as you mentioned, when he was in his 80s, he was diagnosed with melanoma. that was in his liver, and it spread to his brain. he defied the odds by defeating that cancer, but he spoke about it after the fact, saying that at the time, he thought he may only have a few weeks left. he said that he felt at ease about it. he'd lived an extraordinary life that had been exciting and add adventurous, and, for that, he was grateful. that's been the case. while he only served one term as president, we know he did so much in the years after he left the white house. really fighting tirelessly for peace and human rights around the world and, of course, being so active with habitat for humanity, working on more than

4,000 homes during his time doing that. after he left the white house, he returned to plains, georgia. of course, he is here now, where he intends to live out his remaining days. back to you. >> priscilla thompson, thank you very much for joining us from the plains, georgia, with that latest update. eugene daniels, the words grace, dignity, humility, we don't often associate with politicians today. i think everybody would agree there is a man, jimmy carter, who had the clearest moral compass his whole life. those are the words you'd use for him. >> there is a bipartisan love for jimmy carter and what he did post presidency, right? this is a man who, when he ran for re-election, lost by a landslide. i think 489 votes ronald reagan beat him by. what he was able to do with his post presidency is probably comparable and higher than most presidents have done during and after their presidencies. i think that is something that

is going to be his legacy. it's not just going to be that he was president. it's about how he worked to spread peace, how he was talked about bipartisanship, about love, as politics deteriorate here, while he is home in georgia. >> it is true that being president doesn't make you humble, but in the case of jimmy carter, he kept the humility with him. eugene daniels, thank you for joining me on set this morning. >> thank you. >> john, we'll be watching the carter family as they spend the last days with jimmy carter. it is rare in washington, a bipartisan outpouring of affection for the former president. >> no question there. in his post presidency, he so very much transcended party lines. you know, only spent four years in office, and historians will weigh in on -- assess his legacy while president, but afterwards, unassailable in terms of habitat for humanity. he was called in so frequently

to be an american voice on the world stage, as well. still a trusted diplomat, elise jordan. we don't know how much longer president carter will be with us. it could still be some time. the family hasn't given those details yet, but we know he is home now to spend his remaining days. what do you think his legacy will be? >> i think that, of course, there's going to be the downside, the rough years of his presidency, but, really, the human rights first focus. he really elevated to the forefront of his presidency. that continued in the years that followed. while his presidency might get mixed reviews, at least the human rights element that was so central to the presidency, he continued it in so many ways over the following decades and really set a model for what the post presidency could be in terms of not making money, almost a throwback to someone like truman and eisenhower, who lived fairly simply.

carter, perhaps, lived more simply than even eisenhower, who still went to palm springs and golfed all the time. >> ali vitali, we heard from president biden and republicans pay tribute to former president carter. >> yeah. >> talk to us about what you think carter the man, the legacy he left on washington. >> look, that'll be the important thing. as you talk about, as eugene did, this moment that transcends the partisan politics, that often completely dominate washington and our political culture right now. this is yet another callback. i mean, i think of the other people who have sort of been elevated above the parties that they came from within, people like senator john mccain and others in recent years. as they passed, it was a reminder to the country's better angels of the past. when people could work aside from party lines. i think that, when you see carter the man, someone who was so prayerful, god fearing, the fact he talked about how during the time, as priscilla mentioned, he was at ease with death. he said that he talked with god

about having a proper attitude about dying. i think that you don't see men in the public space have those kinds of reflections in the way he did. i think that's going to be such a key part of his legacy, in addition to the charity work and everything else he did. >> jimmy carter, the man from plains, georgia. ali vitali, thank you for being here and your efforts on "way too early." we greatly appreciate it. ahead on "morning joe," we'll return will live to ukraine as we follow president biden overseas this morning after he made a surprise and historic trip to kyiv. plus, the latest from east palestine, ohio, where residents are still fearing for their health in the aftermath of a toxic train derailment. we'll get a live report. "morning joe" will 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.

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a remarkable moment a short time ago, with air-raid sirens in the distance, president biden walking with his ukrainian counterpart, volodymyr zelenskyy, in kyiv. the president of the united states made a surprise visit this morning to ukraine, walking unafraid, despite the threat looming from russians. and while in kyiv, president biden promised un-waving support for ukraine in this surprise visit to kyiv, just days before the first anniversary of russia's invasion. we're going to have much more on this developing story just ahead. it comes amid more condemnation for president putin's army. vice president harris accusing russian soldiers of crimes against humanity. and we'll have the latest on a high-stakes meeting between the top diplomats from the united states and china.

welcome back to "morning joe" on this monday, february 20th. presidents' day. i'm jonathan lemire alongside u.s. special correspondent for bbc news katty kay. and we're in for joe, mika and willie. elise jordan still with us on this presidents' day. joining us now, retired master sergeant jason beardsley, decorated combat veteran and intelligence officer, as well as senior coalitions adviser for concerned veterans for america. also with us, professor of history at rice university and presidential historian doug brinkley. professor brinkley, we were just saying we picked a perfect day to have you on. it is presidents' day. of course, our thoughts are with president carter. we'll talk about him a little later. let's start with the news of this moment. this president, president biden, making this trip to kyiv. what does it say to you about where this war stands and the message this president is trying to send? >> well, any time a president goes abroad to visit troops or

world leaders, it's always a big deal. but when you have to do it in the dark of night, in secret, taking a train in from poland, being in kyiv with ir sirens go on, it rings the churchill-roosevelt bell. 1997, reminds me of when clinton went to bosnia. it is showing the biden administration is doubling and tripling down on u.s. commitment, not just to ukraine but to democracy. once again, nato and the atlantic alliance is the centerpiece for foreign policy. incredible visuals going on with biden over there. imagine you're in the ukraine and you have zelenskyy with biden. anybody there suffering from the war has to say, america is still in. they're still with us. just like countries did during world war ii. >> let's take a stock at this moment in this presidency. he's now about halfway through his first term. he's not announced a re-election bid yet, but it is widely

expected. he came to office inheriting so many domestic challenges. the covid pandemic, the aftermath of the insurrection. now, this war is such a key part of not just his agenda, but it will be his legacy. >> absolutely. he is a commander in chief of a very important wartime situation. now, we're not putting troops into the ukraine, so it's not the gulf war of '91 or something like that. on the other hand, what's at stake is so large. i mean, we are going head-to-head with a nuclear power like the soviet union. we see clearly that what vladimir putin is, a dictator and a thug. biden has had the washington wisdom to make this a flash moment, to stand up. democracy is on trial in the ukraine battle right now. i think biden is going to be seen as a large figure in history, depending that he can continue getting the funding and commitment out of the american taxpayers for the long haul in

the ukraine. >> that's the message the president has delivered in kyiv this morning. katty, we heard president zelenskyy, of course, made a secret trip to washington in december. now, we have the american president returning the favor this morning on this presidents' day. saying the u.s. and the west will stand with ukraine for as long as it takes. >> yeah, at this critical moment of the war, where the russians are already launching a new offensive, there is impetus to try to rally the europeans after the munich security council to make sure they deliver on pledge weapons and deliver them speedily. then, of course, senior american officials saying there is a chance china may get further involved by supplying weapons to the russians. a lot happening on the warfront. an important moment for president biden to go there. correspondent for "the new york times," peter baker. what have you heard from your sources behind the scenes about why the decision was made to go now and what the americans are trying to achieve by showing joe biden being there in person in

kyiv with these high-profile pictures they're putting out around the world? who are they sending messages to, and what are the messages? >> yeah, there are multiple audiences, of course, with this message, right? most important audience in some ways is president putin. he'll say what president biden is saying to him is, we're not getting up. we're not letting you off the mat, in effect. they'll have back-to-back speeches. tuesday, president biden from warsaw. president putin from russia. they'll outline their visions of this war going forward. that'll be a head-to-head competition in a way. president biden is getting the jump on him by stopping in kyiv on the way. the other audience is domestic. intended by the white house to see a president who is vital. 80-year-old president facing questions about his age, making an arduous trip into a war zone, and making the point that he is still the leader of this western coalition that's standing up to russia. i think that's important, not just for his own possible

campaign for re-election, but also to maintain that bipartisan consensus that is largely held here in washington, that the united states needs to be involved in this fight. that's something, obviously, there's skepticism about on the far right and the far left. you have these multiple audiences there. >> peter baker, we can report, the white house said, that president biden has now left kyiv, in transit out of the capital city. we don't have further on his whereabouts. his next stop was supposed to be poland. of course, this is all shrouded in secrecy. i suspect we won't get any more updates until the president is out of ukraine. you just mentioned, of course, the president rallying the west here, peter, but you also, of course, spent plenty of time in russia. you know vladimir putin and covered him extensively for a long time. what is your sense as to how this visit, so galling and daring, in broad daylight as air-raid sirens are going off, how will this be received in the kremlin?

>> not received well, obviously. it demonstrates the russians do not, a year into their invasion, have control over ukraine, basically. remember, they expected to have kyiv within days of that invasion on february 24th of last year. here we are, almost 365 days later, and they're nowhere near there. doesn't mean they're not bombarding kyiv. they are, as the air-raid sirens made clear, that they were triggered by a mig apparently flying in belarus, according to people in kyiv. the ability of an american president to show up there like that, that demonstrates something that the russians would not have expected when they started this war. i think that's the point president biden made today. they thought -- putin thought they could crack the western solidarity. over time, people would get tired. fatigue would set in, and president biden is making the case that, no, there's not going to be fatigue, at least on the part of the americans. >> jason beardsley, before we came on air, we were joking about how this couldn't be a busier presidents' day, choosing this trip. in terms of u.s. forces seeing the commander in chief fly into

a war zone like this, what impact does it have? >> veterans, service members in service, appreciate seeing the commander in chief in person or out front leading in an area like this. of course, troops aren't on the ground, so you have to measure that a little bit. it also means veterans who went through the experience of iraq or afghanistan would like to see that president take the same leadership here on the domestic front. where people are hurting here in ohio. places where american constituents really feel like we're being left behind. so i think this is a good moment, but i think he has to kind of parlay that into the domestic front, as well. >> interesting you raised the domestic front so quickly there, jason. is there a feeling amongst veterans that the president is spending too much of the country's resources on ukraine, pushing too hard to get america involved in ukraine when people are suffering back here at home? it is something, as i travel around the country, that i have

heard from both democrats and from republicans. they've raised it without me asking them about it, what is we doing, spending so much money on ukraine? is it something you still hear? >> it is a huge challenge. i was on capitol hill a couple weeks ago. you hear from senators and congressmen a cautious, how do we go forward smartly? that is about spending the american tax dollar wisely, making sure there is accountability. there is a very tough situation. in addition to that, you had a beautiful package talking about china and iran, japan, north korea. there's a lot of things to consider. americans want to make sure that our interest is forefront in the minds of our leaders. >> jonathan, you have it, immediately, we're so focused on ukraine with this visit this morning and the president, you know, trying to rally the europeans, rally international support, sending warnings to the chinese. back here at home, there are people, increasingly, particularly on the republican side, the polls are showing us,

people saying why are we doing this? why are we engaged in a war in europe, the other side of the world, that is costing the united states an awful lot of money? >> elise mentioned earlier the poll from the ap that shows support among american voters has really dropped over the last year to continue to fund ukraine and to supply them weapons. president biden has said this couldn't be more urgent, that the fate of democracy itself across the west is at stake. let's go back now to kyiv. the capital of ukraine. foreign correspondent erin mclaughlin is standing by. we just got word from the white house that the president has left town. give us the latest as to what he had been up to before departing, and what is the mood there in the city, in the aftermath of his surprise visit? >> reporter: president zelenskyy tweeting that his visit today was, quote, historic, timely and brave. i watched from a distance as the two presidents walked out of president michaels cathedral.

air-raid sirens sounding in the distance, and paid tribute to the thousands of ukrainian soldiers who lost their lives at the memorial behind me. just over that way is the wreath with the american flag. a powerful moment, a show of solidarity and support from the united states. it's being well received by ukrainians from here. we understand that president biden also paid a visit to the u.s. embassy staff before then leaving the capital. this is seen as hugely important to ukrainians as the war rages on, particularly there in the east. throughout this conflict, almost a year old, they had been heavily reliant on u.s. weapon systems. first the anti-tank javelins that were seen as critical in the fight. the battle for kyiv. then the howitzers, then the

ammunition critical of rushing the russians out. they're expecting shipments from the united states and western europe, as well. the u.s. very much taking the lead in this show of support, just days from this one-year anniversary of the conflict, on the day this country is marking the heavenly hundred, the killing of more than 100 ukrainian men and women in the square, fighting for freedom nine years ago is being welcomed by ukrainians across the country. back to you. >> erin mclaughlin in kyiv, thank you. let's go east now to be joined by chief foreign correspondent richard engel, who is in the eastern part of ukraine. richard, good to see you again. president biden has now left kyiv. this is a trip he wanted to make nor quite some time. he had been pressing his aides for months to go. he was one of the last western leaders to make the trip.

there were signs the last 24 hours or so that something was up. they pulled it off, at least his exiting kyiv. tell us, this trip was very different than what other foreign leaders did when they visited kyiv. also, i couldn't help but be struck by the contrast. president biden striding in broad daylight in downtown kyiv, while president putin largely holed up in the kremlin. >> reporter: so this was an extraordinary trip for its symbolism. the fact that it took place at all is extraordinary. yes, as you mentioned, other world leaders have come here. the british prime ministers have come here more than once. the italian prime minister is on her way. but the united states is really central to this conflict. president biden is personally central to this conflict. the united states is the main supplier of ukraine for weapons and financial support. it's running about $4 billion a month currently.

for president putin, this conflict is very personal. he personally blames president biden, personally blames the united states. when you listen to president putin's speeches, and he'll give another major one tomorrow, and i assume this will be bleakly referenced, what we will see. he talks about the united states. he talks about how russia isn't at war with ukraine, that ukraine is really just a surrogate for an american-led aggression against his country. to see the american president on a secret trip, walking openly in the middle of kyiv, must burn president putin. he wanted to conquer the capital. he wanted to conquer ukraine quickly a year ago. instead, his forces were driven back. now, he's launching a second offensive to try and do what he could not do over the last year. from as far as american presidential trips go to a war zone, this is also very different. i've covered presidential trips to iraq and afghanistan.

they came in, both of those countries had large american military presence. he also -- those foreign presidents also went to military bases where the air space was controlled. where the entire -- who came in and out of the bases was monitored and regulated. president biden was just in the center of kyiv. he was just in front of st. michael's cathedral. yes, extra security was put in, put in place, but those are areas where normal ukrainians live, where not every single apartment can be searched. you don't know exactly who you're going to run into when you go into an uncontrolled, urban environment in a war zone. so it was an exceptional step, and i'm sure the message was not lost on vladimir putin. >> richard, today we're obviously focusing on the high level and what's happening in capitals and the discussion of president bide and president zelenskyy, but you're in the east. what are you seeing on the ground a year into this war, and

what are the stakes for ukrainians who are living through this war? >> reporter: so we're almost in a new war. a year ago, when this war was launched, there was speculation it'd be a limited war. perhaps putin who had, if you'll remember, 100,000 troops, 190,000 at one stage, positioned on three sides of the ukraiian border, that it'd be a limited conflict. vladimir putin would send in the tanks and troops, and he'd take a piece of the east out here, potentially linking up eastern ukraine with the crimean peninsula. putin decided to go for the maximum option. he had air strikes, commando raids and tanks streaming across the country. it was a colossal failure. logistically, it didn't work. the supply chain wasn't there. tanks started breaking down. the soldiers were being

captured. there was low morale. eventually, ukrainian troops rallied. they got american and other western support and money and weapons, and they drove the russians all the way back to the borders. now, it seems russia, in this new offensive in the last ten days or so, is trying to accomplish what it didn't the first time, but in a very different way. that was a blitzkrieg that failed because russia didn't have the kind of, frankly, coordination. it didn't anticipate ukrainian resistance. now, a bulldozer approach. it is trying to move from the east and gradually advance the front line forward in a very destructive campaign moving from village to village, raining artillery fire and driving the front line deeper into ukrainian

territory. what we have seen so far, it haas not been terribly successful. there has been a lot of damage, but russian troops are suffering heavy losses and not taking much new territory, except around one particular city, bakhmut, which even some ukrainian officials predict might fall in the coming days. >> richard engel there for us in eastern ukraine. thank you for joining us. let's go to moscow now. we're joined by keir simmons. i was just listening to richard's cataloging of the russian missteps and disasters over the course of the last year. i think it is worth reminding ourselves that, occasionally,we're guilty of optimism by us here in the west. there is a desire on the western side for the people they're supporting, the ukrainians, to win, but there is also concern about how strong the position relatively of vladimir putin still is. he still has a lot of money in the bank.

he still has troops to draw on. he still seems to be able to find his way around export controls of things like semiconductor chips and restock his army. so talk to us a little bit about the position that he is in as he faces the prospect of another year, perhaps another two years of this war, and how solid is he even in terms of his own -- the group of people that are around him, does he face challenges from them? >> reporter: yeah, it is a truism of conflict. you can't know how the conflict plays out. you don't know what the next year in ukraine will look like. we know what the past year looks like. richard eloquently laid that out. president putin, one of the things we've been saying again and again, and it's just true, president putin will be hoping that time is one of his weapons. that he is able to outlast the west. of course, president biden's trip to ukraine is, in part, about trying to ensure that the

support of the american people remains solid. there are concerns about whether or not that support will weaken. of course, president putin will be noticing that. i will reflect, i'll just tell you that there is now -- these images now are on russian television. the kremlin says president putin is spending his day working on a major speech tomorrow, but if he has the television on, he'll be looking at these images. i suspect the speech tomorrow may be angrier than ever. there's another aspect, too, that i think the visit to ukraine by president biden really tells us. that is that, now, ukraine is a symbol. it is an international symbol. think of it symbolically in the same way that north andsymbolic west berlin. will we, in the years ahead, add east and west ukraine to that --

to those plaplaces? on their own, they were not important in the past. that is one of the challenges now. there is no question standing here in moscow, that the kremlin views this as an existential fight. it sees winning in whatever way it can portray winning as crucial to its future. even to president putin's survival. now, that's not to say that he doesn't have support here. he does. the polling that there is does suggest that the support for him has accelerated in russia in the past year. another thing just to point out, i'm standing here, and you can see behind me the busy road in moscow. the economy in russia has not suffered the way that, perhaps, it had been predicted to when those unprecedented sanctions were imposed. when you walk around moscow, you

see people busy at restaurants, people enjienjoying themselves. the thing russians are reluctant to do is talk, especially when you're from the west and working with an american tv network, one of the things they're reluctant to do is talk about ukraine. that is something that's best avoided in conversations here in russia. most people will think it. president putin is still in a very strong position. at the same time, he will be worried about what the future holds. back to my first, initial point, no one knows how this next year in ukraine going to play out. >> keir simmons in a busy moscow. it is true, we thought the economy would crumble. so far at least, it hasn't done so. jason beardsley, thank you for coming and reminding us the domestic front is important to joe biden. he'll be thinking about that. jonathan, as we look into this, heading into this year, this will be a critical year in

ukraine. having joe biden kick it off this next year of fighting, that all the strategists i speak to, and i'm sure you do, as well, say this could be the turning point year. yet, there are so many factors at play. it is important for president putin and volodymyr zelenskyy not to give an inch. no sign they're prepared to negotiate on anything serious. >> none whatsoever. both sides and the allies stretching for a war that will stretch months if not years. president biden's visit today, the next step in an escalation, though, of western condemnation of what russia has been doing. in fact, vice president kamala harris at the munich security conference a few days ago called out russian soldiers' crimes against humanity. let's take a look. >> from the starting days of this unprovoked war, we have witnessed russian forces engage in horrendous atrocities and war

crimes. their actions are an assault on our common values, an attack on our common humanity. the united states has formally determined that russia has committed crimes against humanity. and i say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes, and to their superiors who are complicit in these crimes, you will be held to account. >> secretary beardsley, glad you're still there. let's talk about the significance we heard from the vice president. up to this point, and we know there have been accusations of russian war crimes dating back from the early months of the war. we all remember what happened to

the town in bucha and the atrocities discovered there. there was a sense, though, it'd be difficult to actually bring russian soldiers or their commanders to justice. how do you expect this process to potentially play out? >> yeah, i mean, you bring up a great point. during this conflict, these can be very difficult to execute. any form of international justice which, again, sort of points towards the end or a negotiated settlement when that comes. i like that katty talked about optimism by us, and keir simmons mentioned we may be facing a situation where the east and the west are divided. whether it is about war crimes or potential war crimes and investigating those, or representing, you know, the best interests of ukraine, a lot of folks probably need to start looking. how do we get to the associated settlement so we can get through the next part of this? it is very difficult to talk about right now because people do have this express desire to see a win. listen, i represent combat

veterans and veterans across america from both stripes. we're here on presidents' day. we respect the power of the presidency. this is where it is important to lean in and look for those international diplomatic types of pressure that the united states can do. again, you talked about china, talked about iran and japan. there are more things at stake here than just ukraine. let's hope for something more positive in the next year than what we've seen. >> retired master sergeant jason beardsley, thank you so much for sharing your expertise with us this morning. peter baker, just -- there's no sense of any peace talks on the horizon. president zelenskyy has said over and over that he wants russia to abandon every inch of his nation's territory before he thinks about a negotiated settlement. we know that that likely seems not willing to fly with vladimir putin. i want to get your take on an interesting comment from secretary of state blinken. in a private call with advisers

this week, suggested that the u.s. believes that if ukraine were to try to retake crimea, and military advisers are split as to whether or not they'd be able to do that, but even trying would be a red line for putin. one that could have significant consequences. with that in mind, what's your analysis here in terms of any hope for peace talks any time soon? >> yeah, i don't think there are prospects for peace talks any time soon. you have to have a partner on the other side who wants to have talks. there's no indication vladimir putin wants to do that, would be willing to do that, would be even capable of coming to any kind of an agreement that the ukrainians could live with. president zelenskyy has a public to satisfy, as well, and they don't want him to give up territory. crimea is a special case. it was taken illegally in 2014, annexed, and has been part of russia for nine years. there is a russian majority population there.

a lot of ukrainians have left. there is a sense that, you know, that may be a bite too far in terms of the military capacity in ukraine to retake it. that also is a red line for putin that might provoke him to do something more escalatory. that is a debate inside the american government. that's properly reflected in the comment you mentioned from secretary blinken. very big disagreement about how wise it'd be to go after crimea, whether or not that needed to be settled at the negotiating table rather than on the battlefield. the rest of the territory there, at least up until the eastern part of the country, you know, president zelenskyy is not going to be willing to give up. president putin isn't going to be willing to give back. >> peter baker of "the new york times," thank you for your reporting this morning. everyone else staying with us. we're going to continue to follow any new developments out of eastern europe as president biden has now left kyiv and headed for poland. also ahead on "morning joe,"

a live report from ohio for the latest on the train derailment disaster which has stretched into its third week. we'll be back after a short break.

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is likely already inside of you. if you're 50 years or older, ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingles. welcome back to "morning joe." 7:33 a.m. here on the east coast. we'll keep you posted on our lead story today. president biden's surprise trip to ukraine. we're going to shift to news at home. fema is deploying a team to east palestine, ohio. the decision to send in fema comes just days after the state republican governor mike dewine said the agency had determined the city was not eligible for federal aid. the team will assess conditions and provide release of chemicals. a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in the town.

chemicals were released into the air in an explosion, evacuaing the surrounding area. residents were told it was safe to return, but many reported symptoms and sicknesses. wildlife have died, including thousands of fish in the nearby creeks and streams. joining us now live from east palestine is nbc news correspondent george solace. solis. thanks for joining us. what's the latest on the city so very much on edge? >> reporter: good morning. many residents here very update. the ceo came into town over the weekend and met with some local few of his own employees in town. many residents frustrated they didn't get a chance to voice their concerns, specifically health concerns. this as the ohio department of health announces they are getting ready to open a health clinic here in town tomorrow. this morning, residents of east palestine expressing their frustration. >> it's a terrible accident.

it falls on their shoulders. it's their train. >> reporter: after alan shaw, the ceo cough norfolk southern, made a visit to the town, his second since the derailment. fears over water and soil quality escalate. >> to walk out this morning, i couldn't breathe. >> reporter: mike was among a small group of business owners and community members that spoke with the ceo privately. >> he was apprehensive about coming here with angry people. i'm not afraid to say it wasn't right. there's a lot of other people that feel the same way that i feel. >> reporter: security cameras from his newly opened winery captured the fiery derailment. now that it is empty, reservations are canceled over health concerns. shaw declined to answer questions about cleanup concerns. >> we're being completely collaborative with the ohio epa on this. >> reporter: in a letter to shaw, transportation secretary

pete buttigieg called for accountability. writing, the people cannot be forgotten, nor can their pain will considered the cost of doing business. >> i made it clear, i am terribly sorry for what has happened to this community. >> reporter: norfolk southern districted $2.6 million to help residents. >> is it safe to take a shower, to even wash our dishes or anything using water? >> reporter: epa says there's still no air or water quality concerns, but many residents are still using bottled water. some relying on give aways like this one. even so, the future of this town still uncertain. >> you're still worried? >> oh, yeah. how could you not be worried? >> reporter: as you heard norfolk southern saying, they've paid out some $2.6 million to residents and business owners here. more money expected to be handed out in the coming days. again, residents here just want assurances about their drinking water. ohio senator sherrod brown saying that those still

concerned should be drinking bottled water. the ohio attorney general says his office is considering a lawsuit against the rail company as the investigation into this derailment continues. jonathan. >> nbc's george solis in east palestine, ohio, thank you very much for your reporting. douglas brinkley, you wrote "silent spring revolution." talk about the intersection of politics and the environment, particularly when it comes to a crisis like this. >> yeah. crisis triggers everything. just to tell you, 1969 in ohio, the cuyahoga river caught fire. "time" magazine ran a story about it. suddenly, the country woke up and said, what's happening in our rivers? lake erie is dying. you know, the mayor of cleveland had to make a big deal out of it.

dr. seuss said smeary lake erie. kurt vonnegut said it was human excrement and clorox bottles. then you have the birth of the environmental agency. we're dealing with jimmy carter. he created fema, who was going in to help people in ohio now. we have dump sites all over america. this has been a botched job in ohio by about everybody. the bottom line is the crisis came, people are hurting, nobody is willing to drink the water, wildlife is dying. you'll have lawsuits galore, and there's not been somebody able to come out and tell people answers. somebody's kid is sick. people with asthmatic conditions

say it's not that big a deal. it is a big deal. in the flint crisis, obama went there and drank of water. tell people if it is filtered, it is okay. we'll need a presidential or vice presidential moment there in ohio. >> douglas, so many of the major legislation that had been passed, it's bipartisan. republican presidents or a democrat president like jimmy carter certainly was a leader. what changed in the movement, in the political tenor, that made protecting the environment so politicized? >> nixon came in, and he recognized that people were demanding change. so nixon gets credit for the clean air act of 1970. he pushed the endangered species act of 1973 through. you know what the vote in the senate was for endangered species? progressive legislation to save

alligators, condors. 92-0. our country said, we aren't going to allow this to happen. we need a moment like that now where democrats and republicans come together and talk about environmental justice issues and say, we're not going to have dirty water. horrible sewage treatment, toxic debris. we're not putting the industrial waste and contaminants in poor neighborhoods, barrios or, you know, ghettos, which tends to happen in the united states. any town could have happen what just happened, and the railroads need hyper regulation. we've been deregulating them. they've been cutting jobs, and it is totally unacceptable to be releaing toxins into your kids', you know, life stream. the whole environmental movement of the '60s and '70s, there was "silent spring revolution," ddt

largely, but her insight was, your children might be getting sick in the backyard. environmentalism suspect about saving yosemite or a redwood grove. it could be public health. we're seeing in ohio an environmental disaster unfolding, and the public is unsure what to do. our hearts have to go out for the people of ohio and pennsylvania. it demands federal action because air quality and water knows no borders. it has to be federal. it can't be done by a state. the biden administration needs to step up. >> yeah, you are right. this train crash happened just over the border from pennsylvania. impacting that state, as well. certainly questions about the responses from the ohio state governor as well as the federal response. we'll have more on this in the days ahead. coming up, more of this morning's political stories, including the new leader of the gop in michigan who has former president trump's support because she is an election denier. speaking of elections,

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beautiful shot of the u.s. capitol on this presidents' day morning. a little gray, but it is still winter, folks. don't start thinking it is spring yet. we're following political developments out of the west. we'll see if democrats have a chance to take control of the senate for the first time in 15 years. the election will decide abortion access in the state of wisconsin as well as voting rights. there is a republican super

majority in state legislature, deadlocking the government. the court has become the main decision maker on those major issues. nbc news reports, though the court is technically non-partisan, conservatives on the bench hold a 4-3 majority. with conservative justice retiring, the majority hangs in the balance. there are four candidates running, two conservatives and two liberals. the top two candidates tomorrow will advance to the general election in april. the one seat would have a big difference in wisconsin politics. meanwhile, the michigan republican party will be led through the 2024 general election by a failed candidate for secretary of state who is an election denier. christina caromo lost by 14 points. she was elected to the chair of the michigan gop on saturday. she beat out a ten-candidate field, including former attorney general matthew deperno, who was endorsed by former president

donald trump after three rounds of contentious voting. she doubled down on her election denial claims during her speech. >> we have to fight to secure our elections. there is a reason i didn't concede after the 2022 election. why would i concede to a fraudulent process? conceing to a fraudulent process, i will not do. >> the convention and its leadership outcome appear to show michigan state party is committed to election denial with no interest in moving to the center. despite not endorsing her, donald trump congratulated karamo on her win. congratulations to kristina karamo, a powerful and fear else election denier, in winning the chair of the gop in michigan. if republicans and others would speak the truth about the rigged presidential election of 2020, like fox news should but

doesn't, they would be far better off. lemire, i mean, i guess no surprise, in a way, that donald trump comes out. i like the fact he now has a title for somebody. they are an election denier, and he is going to go with the title and endorse them because of that. you look at michigan politics. michigan that moved in the 2022 midterms kind of clearly to the democratic side. yet, has a republican party moving further to the right. i mean, it kind of gets to the sort of wings of both parties taking control in the midwest. it's a really interesting moment in both those states, wisconsin and michigan. >> truth social ablaze with the response to that election yesterday. i'll tell you, the white house didn't mind in whatsoever. they feel they feel like the move shows the republicans seem out of step in michigan, trending blue. douglas brinkley, setting aside the parameters of one race the big lie is not gone. yes, most of the high profile

candidates who endorsed former president trump's false claims of election fraud lost in 2022 but not everybody. there are still republicans in the house that voted to decertify joe biden's election. tell us what danger that presents. >> a gigantic danger. the deal to make with donald trump to be in his orbit. you have to say that the election was rigged and trump has a good chance of getting the republican nomination. if you have six candidates running in primaries trump could be the nominee and pick a vp candidate who firmly -- an election denier. this is -- what we are seeing in michigan is part and parcel of

the next two years. >> you have a state party out-maga. remind me of pennsylvania. barnett almost got the nomination for pennsylvania republican senate because she was super maga. i'm probably more interested in wisconsin. i think that is the state for 2024. one of the only states with a split senate ticket. it is the ultimate purple state. we have this court race coming up and the balance of power could change and have gerrymandering upended and shake up the map for 2024 presidential. >> after biden did the state of the union where did he go? wisconsin. >> the very next day. before we let you go, it is

presidents day. i want your thoughts about a former president, jimmy carter. one you know very well. he is in hospice care. obviously chosen to spend the last days at home his family says. tell us about him as president and as a man. >> well, he is somebody very tied to the land. sumpter county, georgia, he knows every nook and cranny. it is his life blood there. he is proud to be a farmer and outside of eisenhower had the second longest military career of the 20th center. he wanted to be a chief of naval operations. his children in connecticut and hawaii. part of the nuclear navy.

he is a military hero and has that military side to him. not a pound overweight. up at the crack of dawn. make my own bed and make my own furniture. married with a modern sophistication of nuclear weapon. a human rights born again christian heart. his mother miss lillian rest her soul took care of people with leprosy around the world. jimmy carter helped people in africa. the carter center's about e rad kating diseases. you will see the rising stock of carter because he is a global president. all over the world people love jimmy carter. looking at the private papers i

was stunned how many letters he wrote to places that we don't talk about to get political prisoners released from jail. this is an epic life. the presidency has the wins. recognizing people's republic of china. saving land in alaska. we could go on with the human rights side of the administration. the first president to go to africa as president. and it's an extraordinary legacy but i think the capstone is the camp david peace cords. we are all here and there's peace in a crazy world talking about russia and ukraine and dmz and korea and china. et cetera. it was the -- one of the great moments of diplomacy and carter

opens that. >> widely regarded as the most ex-president we have had. perfect day to have you on. thank you. coming up next, the latest from eastern europe. we'll have a live report from warsaw, poland, where the president is heading now. plus steph twitty joinses for insight on the state of the conflict in ukraine. "morning joe" is coming right back.

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we stand here together. mr. president, i am delighted to be able to repay your visit to our country. in washington not long ago you told the congress, quote, we have no fear, nor should anyone in the world have it. end of quote. you and all ukrainians, mr.

president, remind the world every single day what the meaning of the word courage is. from all sectors of your economy, all walks of life. it is astounding. astounding. remind us that freedom is priceless. it's worth fighting for for as long as it takes and that's how long we will be with you, mr. president. for as long as it takes. >> president joe biden sends a strong message to vladimir putin with a surprise visit to kyiv days before the one-year anniversary of the russian invasion. we'll get a live report in a moment as tensions with china reach new levels with accusations that beijing may be ready to provide lethal aid to moscow. welcome back to "morning joe" on

this monday, february 20th. presidents' jonathan lemire wit special correspondent katty kay and elise jordan. thank you for being with us just after 8:00 a.m. first time in modern history an american president entered a war zone where the united states does not have an active military stance. erin mclaughlin has more on the surprise visit. >> reporter: this morning president biden in ukraine for the first time since the invasion began. and a secret unscheduled visit. >> i'm here to show the unwaivering support for the nation's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. >> thank you for the support and thank you to congress. i think that is a historical moment for our country. >> reporter: the president meeting with zelenskyy at the

presidential palace announcing an aid package. a major show of support as the war approaches the one-year anniversary. >> putin thought ukraine was weak and the west was divide ds. he is plain wrong. plain wrong. one year later, the evidence is right here in this room. >> reporter: air raid sirens herd as they paid tribute to soldiers laying a wreath at the wall of remembrance. it comes as russia is driving ahead with the new grinding offensive despite heavy losses. this morning british intelligence said the kremlin is december pratt for a victory, even a symbolic one. the city of bakhmut is the target. villages closed off but this morning ukraine receiving a major boost with president biden's high stakes visit.

>> erin mclaughlin with that report. the president's visit here so well timed white house aides are saying this morning not just because the one-year anniversary is a few days away but real concerns about ukraine running out of ammunition. russia having just launched recently a new offensive. we'll hear from vladimir putin tomorrow suggesting the military effort will continue for the foreseeable future. >> yeah. we have been hearing how the visit has multiple audiences. joe biden speaking to vladimir putin, american and european audiences and perhaps beijing to not supply them with lethal weapons. after kyiv president biden now is set to visit neighboring poland and that's where we find correspondent josh letterman lye in warsaw for us. you are always expecting him on

the schedule to come to you. now he did the detour. do you know when he's expected to arrive? >> reporter: we don't. all we know at this point is that he has now safely left kyiv. the president is not in the ukraine capital but whether or not he is still in the country of ukraine or not we are not finding out. the white house will release more information about the backstory of how this was able to happen and safely pulled this off once it's safe to release the details. the president may be making the way out and learning new details in the last minute or so how this came together with white house deputy national security adviser saying the trip is planned meticulously over a course of months and the national security adviser

sullivan just said that the white house gave russia a heads up about the fact that president biden would be going to ukraine. that they told him a matter of hours ahead of time that biden would be in the ukrainian capital. that, of course, was an attempt to make sure if russia were planning any attacks in ukraine, we have seen missile barrages, some of which have targeted kee that they would hopefully hold off knowing the leader of the united states would be on the ground there. we'll get more information about the logistics in this dramatic and remarkable secret trip to ukraine as the president emerges and in the days to come but meanwhile white house officials preparing for the leg of the trip in poland where in addition to being able to meet with polish president duda, the

president is expected to give a major speech here in warsaw where he will have an opportunity not only to fill in the rest of the world about what he saw in kyiv, but also, to make the case why it's critical that western support not only maintain itself but increase in year two of this conflict. president biden expected to use those remarks which will take place the same day that president putin is speaking in russia to try to drive home the fact that this continued assistance is part of an effort to ensure global security. the stakes are broader than ukraine and everyone has a vital national security interest to make sure that russia is stopped in ukraine. >> so interesting to hear that they let russia know. sergeant beasley said this is

the worst day to try anything in kyiv because that would be catastrophic for russia if they were to hurt president biden in any way. the rest of the details will be interesting because a huge security headache far meeting like that. let's go to the speech. we have been hearing this morning how there's a need to rally the europeans and a need to rally americaning behind this war effort. the polls showing across the board the americans are losing support for the war in ukraine. how important is it tomorrow that president biden finds something to say to the american public to persuade them of the case that it is a global effort and that ukraines are fighting on behalf of the rest of the

world? >> reporter: on the one hand the united states feels fairly good about the way that they have been able to hold together support for ukraine for a full year. some of the predictions were it would be a matter of months into the war before americans get tired of supporting ukraine and the european countries that are taking steps to punish russia, there was a poll that just came out showing that the level of support for providing security assistance to ukraine dropped from about 60% last year to 48%. although some house republicans have started grumbling about the need to no longer give a blank check to ukraine we see republican leadership to make the case that's a minority opinion and doesn't broadly represent the party including

michael mckaul, a republican over the weekend saying it is time to increase support. there are murmurings in the west and the united states and some folks who are less supportive than they were before but by and large the u.s. government, the biden administration feels like they have been able to hold it together and get the funds they need from congress and get to ukraine the military assistance that they feel they need. president biden's speech tomorrow a major effort to make sure they continue to deliver that support and assistance as the conflict drags on. >> thank you. josh, so grateful. we both thanked you there. we have now details, elise, from the white house as to some of the logistics how this trip was

pulled off. not saying yet how the president traveled into ukraine. he is traveling out of ukraine. they said the trip planned of a period of months -- >> on friday. >> as josh just said. the president was given updates in the planning and given an option to give a no or go order and gave the go. gave moscow a heads up that he was coming. because they wanted some de-confliction purposes. don't want to risk something happening there. seems that moscow respected that although we heard air raid sirens in kyiv. i know you have experience plotting secret presidential trips. >> knock on wood he would be out soon. this trip was an incredible

visual and show of strength for president biden. by going there and showing up to an active war zone and not where there's american troops and at the safety of a u.s. military base. that is a show of strength and he i imagine this has been months of plotting behind the scenes waiting on the secret service to say it's okay. we can do this now and hit it on a symbolic date as the year of putin's invasion of russia. >> seeing the images now. the white house and kyiv wanted so desperately to create. the president with volodymyr zelensky in the surprise visit to ukraine. let's bring in the conversation now steph twitty who served multiple combat tours in iraq and afghanistan and prior to retirement was commander.

thank you for being with us this morning. >> good to be here. >> your sense of importance of this trip. why it was worth it for president biden to make this perilous journey and stand shoulder to shoulder with president zelenskyy. >> yes. this is unprecedented and gutsy. so what this trip really stands for, it stands for not only kyiv and ukraine, but it stands for democracy as a whole. you have a prt, the leader of the free world standing in kyiv saying that we will stay here and be with ukraine for the long term and means that much not only to the ukrainians and the europeans, but also, for the americans to stand with you. that's the message that i see here. >> let's get the sense as to the state of the conflict as the president now heads out of kyiv. where do things stand?

we know that both sides used the winter pause though there's fierce but smaller fighting, both sides rearming for what's widely anticipated to be a brutal spring ahead. but so much has been said about the almost world war i style block to block, inch to inch war of attrition fought right now. could there be a breakthrough? >> i don't see it changing at all. here's what i do see. you've heard talk about the russian major offensive. i see russia as incapable and incompetent of doing large-scale maneuvers. you won't see the large-scale maneuvers all over ukraine. you will see the uncoordinated, small scale attacks throughout

ukraine. simple because the russians cannot mass. they are incapable of doing that. it is important to get the ukrainians the equipment they need to be ability to counter the small scale operations, particularly the small arms and burning through so fast. on the point of whether the war is going to tip the scale, what we need is overwhelming combat power for that to happen. we need long range fighter jets, long range artillery, the equipment they need not just to have the small fights but the ability to overwhelm the russians to be able to defeat them and kick them out of their country. >> general, what difference would it make if china were to reverse the policy and start supplying the russians with lethal weapons? something that several american

officials raised as a possibility. we don't know the intelligence but it is clearly something they are concerned about. what difference would that make on the ground? >> as the ukrainians are running low on ammunition so are the russians. they are under sanctions. they get the artillery from the north koreans. drones from the iranians. now they are asking china for military equipment, as well. it shows that the sanctions are working on the russians but if china gets involved they have a massive arsenal to supply to the rurps to be able to sustain this conflict and we don't want the russians to have the ability to sustain this conflict. >> macking of course the

consultations between washington and beijing even more critical. i hate to put you in this position but if you were to game this out over the year, general, we keep hearing it is a long, slow grind. how would you character this war 12 months from now? >> i think you and i will sit here next year about the same time talking about this war. this is going to be a protracted war. unless we can tip the scale. there's two things that will end this war. number one, negotiations. so if negotiations happen on a favorable end then someone will win whether it be russia or ukrainians. no negotiations are going on at this point in time. we have a clear winner and we don't have a clear winner. russians are incapable of fights

and the ukrainians that need more equipment. they have the will and the audacity and the courage but they need the equipment to tip that scale and they don't have it at this point. >> retished u.s. army general twitty, sobering comments there. another layer to president biden's historic visit to ukraine is how it is being received by russia. >> reporter: as russia's invasion of ukraine, one long year ago, approaches the anniversary this morning no comment from the kremlin on president biden's visit to ukraine but the ambassador to the u.s. accusing u.s. of demonize russia after the comments from the vice president. >> there is no doubt. these are crimes against humanity.

>> reporter: this morning, china's top diplomat after touring europe expected in russia for talks but beijing can't be trusted the u.s. administration says saying beijing is ready to send to russia lethal arms. >> they know what will happen if they provide material support. >> reporter: china's foreign ministry spokesman saying the u.s. is in no position to point fingers. vladimir putin is expected to give a keynote speech. we traveled to belarus. there's fears in the region another invasion launched from here could be part of the offensive. that is ukraine. the ukrainians taking no chances. that's ukraine.

how tense is this border? very tense, this border guard tells me. there's no communication. they took us to see the special forces in training and chinese equipment. they are peaceful, they say, despite supporting russia. >> nbc's keir simmons with that report. next, more on the biden administration's warning to china as beijing continues to support moscow's war effort. a report from beijing. also ahead ohio where residents are fed up with the response to the train derailment disaster. plus, an up date on former president jimmy carter. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. realtor.com (in a whisper) can we even afford this house? maybe jacob can finally get a job. the house whisperer!

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we are also troubled that beijing has deepened its relationship with moscow since the war began. looking ahead, any steps by china to provide lethal support to russia would only reward aggression, continue the killing, and further undermine a rules based order. >> vice president kamala harris with that warning to china at the munich security conference on saturday. nbc news reports the u.s. believes china may be providing assistance to russia for use in the war in ukraine and secretary of state blinken said china is quote strongly considering providing lethal aid. blinken met with the chinese counter part over the weekend in munich speaking for just over an

hour where the state department said blinken warned of the implications and consequences if china provides support to russia. it was the first between the two sides since the u.s. shot down a suspected chinese spy balloon. blinken said on saturday that the u.s. quote will not stand for violation of our sovereignty. china continues to deny that the balloon was sent for surveillance purposes. the state department said china made irresponsible and unfounded accusations against the united states. a lot going on in the relationship. joining us from beijing is foreign correspondent janis mackey frayer. good morning. thank you for joining us. it is clear there's a coordinated rollout of the concerns of china providing lethal weapons to russia for the fight in ukraine over the last few days.

i heard it here last week in washington. tony blinken, kamala harris. what are the responses from beijing? >> reporter: it's no coincidence that these warnings that come with no details on underlying intelligence that would prompt such alarm are coming to coincide with wang yi to moscow there to lay the groundwork for a state visit for chinese president xi jinping. that could happen in the next month. here the reaction was not taken well. it's the u.s. who has been continuously providing weapons to the war. the u.s. is not qualified to give orders to china. two things have happened in the last year since the russian

invasion and vladimir putin was there with the 5,000-word manifesto declaring a friendship with no limits to xi jinping. the u.s.-china relationship deteriorated. there's no cooperation on anything. not even talks on climate change. there have been no phone calls. defense officials are not picking up the hotline from the u.s. military since this balloon incident. same time there has been a deepening of ties between china and russia. there's far more trade especially in energy. there's been russian propaganda and misinformation allowed to flourish in china's information space and china seems to be getting on with diplomatic business with other people. last week a state visit with iran's president so there is the sense that china is looking to

build its ties elsewhere and right now a relationship between the u.s. and china once described as fraught now doesn't seem to exist. there is misunderstanding and distrust and doesn't appear to be reconciliation. the secretary of state confirmed after the meeting yet with wang yi that china made no apology for the balloon incident. >> richard as the chinese -- just thinking of the repercussions to the chinese if they defy the u.s. on this and provide weapons to the russians. there haven't been many communications on the diplomatic front through there's still a lot of trade between china and

the united states. america imports something like $5 billion of goods from china every year. there could be economic repercussions if china provides the weapons. why would the chinese do this at this point? >> i was thinking about that. i think on one hand strategically at the risk of being cynical the chinese might see advantages in a long war in europe. it keeps the west and the united states tied down reducing the readiness. they don't want russia to lose. second of all, my guess is they see no upside in u.s. relations rite now. this gets really interesting. they may not see much downside and say what do the united

states have left to do to us? they have cut off strategic trade. kept in place the tariffs. the united states is moving closer to taiwan. i think they probably don't see a lot of reason to hold off helping russia. also xi jinping cast his lot with vladimir putin when he signed this no limits friendship agreement. he now put his own credibility on the line so i don't think he can afford to see putin do poorly. a question for janice about tony blinken, whether there's a sense from the chinese point of view if they are interested in hosting a visit or if the ship sailed for the time being and prepared to live without high level diplomacy with the quite. >> reporter: custom to not

having to embrace relations with the u.s. with the way things have been nosediving over the past year there was a high level of embarrassment that secretary blinken postponed the visit. there's been no signs that there's been any discussion on either side to try to get the visit rescheduled. it was an embarrassment to the leadership of xi jinping seen as being more conciliatory in th diplomacy and getting on with business with others. a state visit to moscow expected next month. with the trade deepening with russia. with the support deepening for russia and the visit of the iranian president. china was cautious in the deals they are doing. they are very aware of the u.s. sanctions on iran but a sense to fortify ties with countrys that

are going to be more friendly than the united states has appeared to be and certainly in the past several weeks with the balloon incident. still ahead, an update on former president carter ent everying hospice care in georgia. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. add-on injen for severe eosinophilic asthma. nucala is not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your asthma specialist about a nunormal with nucala.

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former president carter is receiving hospice care at his georgia home. carter has decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family instead of having additional medical intervention. the 98-year-old is the longest living president in american history. they did not provide details about what conditions prompted the recent hospital visits or the decision to enter hospice

care. joining us is priscilla thompson live in plains, georgia, not far from the carters' home. what is the latest? >> reporter: yeah. mr. carter is here at his home receiving that hospice care as tributes and messages of love and support pour in online for the former president. people sharing photos with him over the years, including president biden who tweeted saying that he is praying for the family, praying for former president carter saying we admire you for the strength and humility you have shown in difficult times. may you continue your journey with grace and dignity and god grant you peace. peace is the mood on the ground in plains. we had an opportunity to go to the church where mr. carter was a member and taught bible study

for many decades and we spoke to folks there and talked about so much they love him and how when the time comes they will certainly miss him and so grateful that he will no longer be in pain and going on to meet his maker. we heard a similar message from the grandson of president carter who said that his grandparents are at peace and as always their home is so full of love right now and that peace is also something that former president carter spoken about. in his 80s he was diagnosed with melanoma in the liver and spread to his brain and defied the odds by defeeting that cancer but he spoke about it after the fact saying he thought he may have a few weeks left and felt at ease

about it. that has certainly been the case. while he only served one term as president he did so much in the years after the white house, fighting tirelessly for peace and human rights around the world and of course being so active with habitat for humanity. working on 4,000 homes and returned to georgia after the white house and here now living out the remaining days. back to you. >> thank you very much from georgia with that latest update. eugene daniels, the words grace, dignity, humility we don't associate with politicians today but carter had a clear moral compass his life. >> that's right.

there's a bipartisan love for jimmy carter. this is a man that lost by a landslide for re-election and what he was able to do with the post-presidency is comparable and higher than most presidents during and after the presidencies and that will be his legacy. it is about how he worked to spread peace, he was talked about bipartisanship and love as the politics continued to deteriorate here as he is home in georgia. >> it is true that being president doesn't tend to make you humble but he kept the humility with him. thank you. >> thank you. >> we will be watching the carter family as they spend the last days with jimmy carter why it is as eugene said, a rare

thing in washington of bipartisan outpouring of affection for him. >> he transcended party lines. you know, only spent four years in office and historians will assess the presidency but afterwards unassailable. he was called in to be an american voice on the world stage. still a trusted diplomat. we don't know how much longer he could be with us. we do know he is home now to spend the remaining days. what do you think his legacy will be? >> i think that, of course, there's going to be the downside, the rough years of his presidency but the human rights first focus that he elevated to the forefront of the presidency and that continued in the years that followed so while his

presidency might get mixed reviews, he continued the human rights element over the following decades and really set a model for the post-presidency could be in terms of not making money and throwback to truman and eisenhower that lived simply. carter perhaps lived more simply than eisenhower. >> paying tribute to former president carter, talk to us about carter the man legacy he left in washington. >> that's the important thing. the moment that transcends the partisan politics that dominate washington and the culture right now. this is a call back. i think of the other people elevated above the parties they

came from within. senator john mccain and others and that when people could work aside from party lines. i think that when you see carter the man, someone so prayerful, god fearing, talked about during the time at ease with death. he talked with god about having a proper attitude about dying. i think that you don't see men in the public space have those kind of reflections the way he did. that's a key part of the legacy. still ahead, turning back to the breaking news. president biden's trip to ukraine. we'll have a live report straight ahead on "morning joe." you get advice like... try hypnosis... or, quit cold turkey. are you kidding me? instead, start small with nicorette, which will lead to something big.

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fema is deploying a team to east palestine, ohio, coming

just days after the state republican governor said the agency determined the city was not eligible for federal aid. the team will assess conditions and provide resources after the release of toxic chemicals earlier this month. a norfolk southern train derailed. officials released the chemicals into the air and evacuated the town. residents were told it was safe to return after a few days but many reported sicknesses and symptoms and wildlife died and thousands of fish in the creeks and streams nearby. joining us is nbc news correspondent george solis. thank you for being with us. what's the latest there in a city where i know so many are still on edge? >> reporter: yeah. good morning. many residents here very upset. ceo came into town over the weekend and met with some local leaders, firefighters, employees

that work here in town. many residents frustrated that did not get a chance to voice concerns specifically about the health concerns as the ohio department of health will open a health clinic in town here tomorrow. this morning, residents of east palestine expressing frustration. >> it is a terrible accident. it falls on their shoulder. it is their train. >> reporter: the ceo of norfolk southern made an unannounced trip to the town, the second since the derailment as fears in this tight-knit town escalate. >> why can't they do anything about the air? i couldn't breathe this air? >> reporter: mike mckimm was among a small group of business owners that spoke with the ceo privately. >> he was apprehensive about coming here with a bunch of angry people. i'm not afraid to say it wasn't right. there's a lot of other people that feel the same way i feel.

>> reporter: security cameras captured the nearby fiery derailment as business now sits empty. in an interview with our nbc affiliate, shaw declined to answer specific questions about cleanup concerns. >> we're being completely transparent and collaborative with the ohio epa on this. >> reporter: in a letter, pete buttigieg called for accountability writing the people cannot be forgotten nor can their pain simply be considered the cost of doing business. >> i made it very clear, i'm terribly sorry for what has happened to this community. >> reporter: norfolk southern says they distributed more than $2.6 million to help residents. >> okay. is it safe to take a shower? is it safe to wash our dishes or anything using that water? >> reporter: the epa still saying there are no air or water quality concerns but many residents are still using bottled water. many relying on giveaways like

this one. even so, the future of this town still uncertain. i guess you're still worried? >> yeah. how could you not be worried? >> reporter: as you heard norfolk southern saying they paid out $2.6 million to businesses and residents here. residents just want assurances about their drinking water. an ohio senator saying those still concerned should be drinking bottled water. the ohio attorney general is considering a lawsuit against the rail company as the investigation into this derailment continues. jonathan? >> george solis, thank you very much for your reporting. douglas, you're a renaissance man, you wrote a book "silent spring revolution." talk to us about the intersection of politics and the environment, particularly when it comes to a crisis like this. >> crisis triggers everything.

just to tell you, in 1969 in ohio, the river caught fire and "time" magazine ran a story about it. suddenly the country woke up and said what's happening to our rivers? and lake erie is dying. you know, carl stokes of cleveland had to make a big deal out of it. dr. seuss said smeary lake erie. a great novelist said about the lakes and rivers of ohio, it's human excrement and clorox bottles. it was dying. that's '69. 1970, you get the birth of the environmental protection agency. we're dealing with jimmy carter and on presidents' day it was carter who created fema who is going in now to help people in ohio. it was carter who designated super fund sites. we have toxic dump sites all over america. this has been a botched job going on in ohio by about

everybody. the bottom line is the crisis came, people are hurting. nobody is willing to drink the water. wildlife is dying. you'll have lawsuits galore against the rail companies, there's not been somebody who has been able to come out and tell people answers. when somebody has rashes and somebody's kid is sick and people have asthmatic conditions, don't say it's not that big a deal. it is a big deal. in the flint crisis, obama went there and drank some water to show people it's okay. we'll need a presidential or vice presidential moment there in ohio. still ahead on "morning joe," we'll return live to ukraine as we follow president biden overseas this morning as he made a surprise and historic trip to kyiv. "morning joe" will be right back.

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it was one year ago this week that we spoke on the telephone, mr. president. it was very late at night in washington, very early in the morning here in kyiv. russian planes were in the air and tanks were rolling across your border. that dark night one year ago, the world was literally at the time bracing for the fall of kyiv. it seems like a lot longer ago than a year, but think back to that year. perhaps even the end of ukraine. you know, one year later, kyiv stands and ukraine stands, democracy stands, the americans stand with you and the world stands with you. welcome to the fourth hour of "morning joe." it's just about 6:00 a.m. on the west coast, 9:00 a.m. on the

east, and 4:00 p.m. in kyiv where president biden made a surprise and historic visit a few hours ago. he met with ukrainian president zelenskyy visiting the palace and signing a guest book before making brief comments alongside his ukrainian counterpart. the two leaders then visited st. michael's golden-domed monastery before walking to the nearby wall of remembrance which honors those who have died in the war. before leaving for poland, president biden announced an additional $500 million in further military aid for ukraine. >> freedom is priceless. it's worth fighting for as long as it takes and that's how long we'll be with you, mr. president, for as long as it takes. nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins us now from the eastern part of ukraine. richard, good to talk to you again. so, just put into context for us

what this visit means, the surprise visit from president biden at this particular moment in the conflict just days from the one-year mark of war. so, i think that the president was just describing what's at stake here and how different things are now than they were a year ago. he talked about how the world was bracing for the fall of kyiv and perhaps the fall of ukraine, that the country wouldn't be able to hold out against russian onslaught. i remember that feeling very well. i was in this country, first out here in the east and then in kyiv in the early days of the war. it very much felt that way. it felt russia couldn't possibly lose this conflict. russia has such a bigger military, such a larger -- so much bigger population. and the ukrainian military did not perform particularly well back in 2014 when crimea and the donbas were taken over.

it seemed like the russians would have a walkover here. ukrainians didn't believe that. ukrainians were ready to defend their city with molotov cocktails, but i remember watching them load up the wine bottles with alcohol and with gasoline and preparing to defend their street corners. i thought they would be no match for an organized military assault launched by one of the largest organized military forces in the world. but it didn't happen that way. instead, i think there was an overestimation of russia's capacity. russia suffered tremendous logistical problems. they didn't have fuel for their tanks. the different divisions didn't coordinate with each other. they sent in troops without air cover. the southern command wasn't talking to the northern command. vehicles were running out of gas and being towed away by ukrainian tractors and the ukrainians stood and fought in a way that no one but themselves

had anticipated. now here we are a year later, after ukrainian troops have driven the russian troops back, uncovering tens of thousands of alleged war crimes, those happened as russian troops were driven back, the ukrainians would enter newly liberated territory and find bodies in the streets, bodies with hands tied behind their backs, and now the russians have been driven back to 15% to 20% of this country. that's the territory they still hold, including crimea and parts in the east and the south. the main offensive right now that russia is relaunching to try and do what it couldn't do a year ago is to try and take this country again but with a different approach. without spreading out russian troops so much, relying on heavy artillery. a much more slow, deliberate, destructive campaign to move

from the east all the way to the west and try and take this country piece by piece. but, so far, russia is not having a lot of success. they managed to destroy many front line villages, we've seen quite a few of them over the last several weeks, but ukrainians are still fighting back and what they say they need right now is international support. they are deeply appreciative of what president biden just did and what other world leaders have done over the last several weeks. they say they need more weapons, more ammunition and they hope this kind of attention will open the taps and keep them flowing. >> richard, on this presidents' day, our focus has been primarily on president biden. let's talk about president zelenskyy. i think it's helpful to every so often flashback at how unlikely his transformation has been. when he took office, he was a comedian, an actor. he was at the center of an impeachment scandal of another u.s. president, and now

defending democracy itself. talk to us about his impact there on the morale of the ukrainian citizens and soldiers a full year into the conflict now. >> he's been a surprising historic figure in this, he rose to the occasion. i had the opportunity to meet president zelenskyy several times during the course of this conflict, interview him at length as well. initially, many ukrainians didn't think very much of him. he was popular because he was running on an anti-corruption campaign. then, like most politicians around the world, once they get into office, the popularity starts to fade. before the war, he was considered just another ukrainian polpolitician, an act celebrity who could give a good speech but nobody took seriously. once the war began, he received many offers, including from the united states to leave, to set

up a government in exile and become sort of a charles de gaulle figure who might return to kyiv but who might not. instead, he stayed. he's showed considerable charisma giving daily televised addresses, often recorded on cell phones in the early days to show that he's still here. his government is still here. people have rallied behind him. now he's a very popular figure in this country, someone who rose to the challenge, didn't leave, and has been using his voice to rally support for ukraine around the world. he has become the spokesperson for ukraine. and i think he has emerged as perhaps not the most beloved person around the world, but certainly one of the most recognizable international leaders of our times. >> unlikely transformation but a heroic one no doubt. richard engel live for us in eastern ukraine, thank you very much for joining us. now let's bring in former u.s. ambassador to russia,

michael mcfaul director of international studies at stanford and nbc news international affairs ambassador. let's get your reaction to the images we've been playing all morning, this historic and surprise visit of president biden to kyiv. what do you think it means for this moment in the conflict? >> i think it's a brilliant move by the president. fantastic that he's there. this will be inspirational to the people of ukraine. it will also give president zelenskyy a chance to talk one-on-one, as he already has done, directly to the president to instill upon him the urgency of what they need more assistance, they need it faster, they need it now. i was in munich yesterday, i was at the munich security conference, i spent most of my day there with ukrainian officials, solders, government people that work with president

zelenskyy. the disconnect between how the western leaders speak about the war and the ukrainians is palatable. the western leaders say we'll be there as long as it takes. when ukrainians hear that, they hear this will be a long war. they're worried about a long war. they want a short war. they want weapons to launch their counter offensive now in the coming weeks and months. i think this gives zelenskyy an excellent opportunity to make that case to president biden. >> mr. ambassador, you know the man who sits in the kremlin as well as anyone in this country, he's no fan of yours, i know the feeling is mutual. we can imagine he's not happy with what he saw today. tell us about what you think we'll hear from him tomorrow as he delivers his own speech, a state of the war, if you will, to the russian people just hours before president biden does the same in warsaw. >> i think he's going to explain to his people that russia's winning this war. now, we all know that's not

true. we all know that 2022 was a year of victory for ukraine and defeat for russia. remember, when putin and his people talk about the war, they don't talk about it as a war against ukraine. they talk about a war against us. they talk about a war against nato. and he will make the case that against all odds his country, his soldiers have taken on the greatest military alliance in the world, the most powerful military in the world, the united states of america, and are defeating them on the battlefield. then he will say we need to finish the job. we need to take the territories that he declared on paper to be now part of the russian federation. you know those four regions, he had a big ceremony in the kremlin in september and a big party on red square. they're already making maps of those territories as part of the russian federation, even though he doesn't control them. i think he'll make the case that in the defense of the people of

donbas, that's how he talks about it, we're moving towards victory. >> ambassador mcfaul, the war seems to have solidified putin's power in russia. where is the middle ground -- is there a middle ground that could possibly be reached that would placate putin and end the violence that the ukrainians you spoke to are tired of the war, they have trench warfare going on. it's horrific. is there anything that can be done in terms of negotiation? >> that's a really hard question. i don't have a good answer. i'm a bit nervous to give an answer because, first and foremost, that's a decision for president zelenskyy. that's not a decision for president biden nor me. having said that, i'm not

optimistic that there is space right now. i have no doubt that putin will continue to fight until at a minimum he either takes the territories i just described or no longer can fight. i don't see a scenario by which he negotiates over those territories. conversely, when i talk to ukrainian officials, including those close to the president, they say we'll fight until we restore our 1991 borders. that includes crimea for them. so, right now, both sides have objectives that are incompatible with the other side. that's why tragically i think this war will go on for a lot longer. >> u.s. and european officials alike think we're talking months or years before this conflict comes to an end. michael mcfaul, thank you. joining us now is clint watts. he's over at the big board with

a look at how things have changed over the course of the past year. >> thanks, jonathan. let's just rewind and look at everything that's happened in the last year. this time last year we were talking about a multi-pronged assault by the russian army coming in from many different directions. most successful advance was in the south. fast forward two months. by april, end of may last year, all of this was starting to be a race for the russians. they moved back out from kyiv. they moved all the way back here towards kharkiv, and the battle takes over in the east. today, when we look at this board, major changes here. in the red is what russia claims as territory. in the light blue is what happened last winter and late fall. the ukrainian counteroffensive here in the east, taking back a lot of the ground, cutting off this axis from izyum.

this is trench warfare. it's like we rewound almost 100 years. there are trenches being built in most of these cities. key fights today happening in leman and bakhmut. in luhansk is essentially a reserve which they have not committed to yet. despite russian advances using those mobilized troops, they're not making much ground. they're hitting lots of minefields and there appear to be some artillery shortages. that brings us back to the south. the south is one of those locations where the russians were wildly successful in their

invasion. they advanced out of crimea, and got up to mykolayiv. at the end of last year, the ukrainian military advanced to the river taking back kherson. and this area is essential for the russians to defend. so essential that when we look at what they're doing and the way they're displaying their forces, we're seeing old trench warfare. this is north of crimea. the russians digging into these trench lines trying to hold on to these defensive positions. that speaks to the larger case of what we got going on now. if you look at bakhmut, you can see the artillery shells here. this is reminiscent of world war ii, world war ii europe in terms of the battlefield that's there. this doesn't speak to what we've seen inside other cities in ukraine. the battle is often about infrastructure for the

ukrainians. can they keep the infrastructure going? they need businesses and schools and to bring their country back together? can they continue to do this? anti-aircraft missiles are a key thing that we were listening to earlier with richard. that doesn't speak to some of the human toll we've seen over the last few months. this is mariupol. last summer, mariupol, the key battle around the factory. this is the cemetery a year ago. you can tell what change there's been over the last year. this doesn't even address the human toll on all the ukrainian people so far. as we look forward over the next several days, we'll discuss where things are, where they stand, what the ukrainians think they need, what the russian military is trying to do and what will the future of this war look like? >> heartbreaking images there from bakhmut to mariupol.

a year ago we thought kyiv would be under russian control. today president biden walked around in broad daylight with president zelenskyy in an act of defiance to be sure. we'll check in with you each morning this week as we mark the one year of this war. after russia invaded ukraine 12 months ago, an effort began to document the companies who pulled their business dealings from russia or announced they would. that total is now at over 1,000 brands and businesses. our next guest spearheaded that effort. jeffrey sonnenfeld, you say this leaving is six times what happened in the 1980s over apartheid. >> yes. looking at this on presidents' day, looking at the noble model of president biden right now, we have not seen a leader go into

battle since 1864 when lincoln went into fort stevens and was shot at. i think oliver wendell holmes brought him away from the gunfire. of course, president carter, there's so much talk about that legacy and president putin, i'm happy to say i didn't know. i knew the others very well. there's another form of leadership, too, outside of diplomacy and military, it's leadership in the business world. we often forget that sector. it's noble as well. these 1,000 plus firms that pulled out, we have a full page coming out tomorrow in the "wall street journal" listing all of them. this is huge. it fortifies the governmental sanctions to have private sector pullouts. bishop desmond tutu told me in 1991 that the 1988 success of the economic blockade of the

apartheid regime was heavily influenced by the fact that private sector pulled out. it wasn't just governmental sanctions where the targets of the sanctions will write it off saying it's envy of a country who wants our resources, it's when the private sector pulls out that they realize its intertwined. >> some of the world's largest companies have pulled out of russia. i'll read a couple. pepsi, starbucks, apple, ikea, ford, many others. have there been some companies that said in the early days of the war that we're pulling out but haven't yet? >> name and shame. >> we try to salute the good guys here. frankly i get a lot of nasty-grams every day coming after us. we just downgraded carlsberg overnight. they said they were pulling out. they said they would sell. the brewery.

they didn't. there are firms like huntsman chemical, it's bewildering. peter huntsman keeps them in there. jon huntsman, his brother, was ambassador to moscow, a tough anti-putin ambassador. there are other odd things. what's hard rock cafe doing there? what's tgi fridays? what's carl junior's doing there? what is match.com doing there? bumble is out. it's strange who stayed. >> the private sector has made doing business in russia a pariah's deal. those people who have stayed certainly, but so many people have exited. how that the russian economy managed to survive to the extent it has with all of this international pressure and the removal of outside dollars?

>> two ways. lying and cannibalization. the lying is an effective propaganda. putin is effective in the information war. we see a lot of journalists, sometimes younger journalists and sometimes western journalists including the international monetary fund who believe putin's false statistics. the gdp he releases is a false gdp. nobody holds him accountable. you don't know what his trade data is, you don't know the quality of financial institutions, you don't know foreign/direct investment. all the things you're supposed to report, he conceals and he wakes up and reports a gdp number and the people believe that. similarly the stock market has not crashed 100%. and the rupal, he picks a up in there, not an exchange-traded currency. a lot of it is false propaganda.

another part of it is people don't realize that this is an economy before the war that more than half of the population was already employed by the government. before the war. now it's 65%, 70%. those ibm professionals who did not flee the country, millions have left the country, but those who stay get some kind of government jobs. he's cannibalizing. he can take control of almost any industry and he can cannibalize that. it's very limited. this is a collapsing economy. storing inflation, terrible unemployment in every sector of the economy. the nonsense about energy, the world -- russia has become an economic afterthought. russia is not an economic superpower. sure, they have a lot of

thermonuclear warheads, but we don't need any of their energy. certainly nobody is using their gas. oil, the price gaps are extremely effective. grain, we had bumps up everywhere in the world. and these rare metals, we're finding them throughout africa, north america. putin doesn't have that swagger he thought he did before. >> and western officials considering further sanctions on russia. senior associate dean at yale school of management, jeffrey sonnenfeld. this thursday night, joe marks one year since the russian invasion of ukraine. the special hour features joe's sit downs with anthony blinken, defense secretary lloyd austin, mark milley and jake sullivan. this thursday at 8:00 p.m. on msnbc.

coming up, we'll dig into china's relationship with russia. and another developing story overseas. a new round of missile tests by north korea come as the sister of dictator kim jong-un issues a direct threat to the united states and south korea. ea whoa. okay. easy does it. we switched to liberty mutual and saved $652. they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. with the money we saved, we thought we'd try electric unicycles. whoa! careful, babe! saving was definitely easier. hey babe, i think i got it! it's actually... whooooa! ok, show-off! help! oh! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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welcome back. this morning, there's been a significant escalation from north korea with the firing of at least two ballistic missiles towards japan today. this just two days after north korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the sea off of japan's west coast. landing in the exclusive economic zone. that launch prompted the u.s. to

hold joint air tests with south korea. south korea and the u.s. military plan to hold a tabletop exercise this week to hone a potential response of nuclear weapons used by pyongyang. nbc news reports that the united states believes china may be providing nonlethal military assistance to russia for use in the war in ukraine. and antony blinken said china is strongly considering providing lethal aid as well. that would be crossing a red line, the u.s. has set. blinken met face-to-face this week with his chinese counterpart in munich. the two officials spoke for just over an hour where the state department says blinken warned of the "implications and consequences if china provides support to russia." saturday's meeting was the first between the two sides since the

united states shot down a suspected chinese spy balloon off the coast of south korea earlier this month. according to the state department, blinken told his counterpart on saturday that the u.s. will not stand for any violation of our sovereignty. china, for its part, continues to deny the balloon was sent for surveillance purposes. during saturday's meeting, the state department said china also made irresponsible and unfounded accusations against the u.s. also no apology for that balloon. we're learning more about the path of that suspected spy balloon. according to one current and one former u.s. official familiar with the matter, the balloon was launched from the southern part of the country. the island is an important hub for china's military housing a large submarine base and a space port. after being launched, the balloon entered u.s. airspace over alaska before eventually floating across the country

ultimately being brought down off the coast of south korea. while we're learning more about that suspected chinese spy balloon, the department of defense has called offests to off efforts to recover debris from the other unidentified objects. no debris from the objects were found with officials citing harsh weather conditions in the region. another object was shot down in canada's yukon territory. joining us now is senior fellow mark hannah. we won't ask you about ufos -- unless you have something to break this morning. >> i've got nothing on that. >> a dizzying array of headlines here with foreign policy challenges facing this

administration, particularly in asia. >> if you asked me or most viewers watching right now a year ago today whether the united states would be ramping up escalatory cold war talk with china, making, you know, sort of advances with a proxy war with russia, i think people would be in a state of disbelief. yet, here we are again with sort of supporting ukraine that has a war with russia with no end in sight. this could be another forever war with the united states with president biden visiting today. and, yeah, it's kind of a weird, strange position to be in again. the big thing i'm sort of struck by is the sort of cold war rhetoric for both conflicts. without any new vision for america's role in the world, it looks like a lot of people in washington are reaching back into the past for analogies, and understanding the geopolitical conflicts today.

unfortunately that kind of nostalgia, you know, it makes the costs of war a lot lower and sort of inflates the threats of what we actually are dealing with. the united states is terribly secure right now. and war becomes kind of -- in the minds of official washington, the solution to america's economic and political problems, not what it truly is, which is a key contributor. >> you wrote about this in a thoughtful essay in the "new york times," about how the money we spend on these wars while it might have in the past fueled the economy and helped us get out of the great depression, today, not so much. talk about that. >> yeah. the economy is not what it was. it's not fueled by industrial production, specifically the war industries the way it once was. it was true to some extent that world war ii was just this moment of tremendous civic unity. that's not the case with the wars of the past 20 years when you have wars funded by foreign

debt or, you know, passing along debt to our next generation rather than bonds or taxes. they're fought by a small core of volunteers rather than sort of, you know, we had the draft. so, the investment in these conflicts were a lot more widespread. that kind of civic unity has not materialized. we're seeing with ukraine, we're seeing with the talk on china the public is not necessarily rallying around these causes. i've done some surveying for the group i'm working with that democrats are more hawkish on ukraine, more so than republicans. so, you can easily imagine this becoming a major sort of schism or exacerbating sort of partisan polarization in this country rather than bringing people together, especially as we head into the 2024 election. >> president biden frequently says the next century will be defined by a rivalry between the

united states and china. he says it should be a competition, not a conflict. what is your take on that? do you think that is the case, if not, what can be done to prevent this? >> i don't think war has to be inevitable. the messaging around of taiwan and whether the u.s. or will not come to taiwan's defense, sending a lot of mixed signals. it's unclear what the united states interests are there. the united states, let's be clear, has important vital interests in asia. but china's retaking of what was once taiwan does not mean that it's going to go after south korea next or japan, major democracies, industrial countries, trading partners of the united states. the kind of logic is will is a

retread of this domino theory that proved to be kind of misleading in the cold war. the same with russia's invasion of ukraine. if it can't take kyiv on its own, it's not necessarily going to go into krakow and take poland. one thing we've learned is the russian military is a shambles of -- of what is supposed to be this major power. we've seen it embarrass itself. russia has been weakened. it was already weak to begin with. but the idea that putin is a ruthless soviet leader, a historical analogy that obscures more than it clarifies, has led many in washington to think we need to be sort of all in on this new sort of -- a new cold war 2.0. >> we know president xi jinping is watching the conflict carefully. the question is what lessons does he learn from it. mark hannah, thank you very much for being with us this morning.

coming up on "morning joe," a former republican governor who unsuccessfully challenged donald trump in 2016 has an optimistic take on ron desantis if the florida governor decides to seek the gop nomination for president. we'll have those comments next for you on "morning joe." r you . something's happening at ihop. something... huge. ant-man and the wasp have arrived. spend $30 on your next visit to ihop and get a fandango movie ticket to see marvel studios: ant-man and the wasp: quantumania.

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giannis to a win over lebron, 184-175. this was lebron's first loss in his six times as all-star captain. brittney griner will reportedly make her wnba return with the phoenix mercury. the 32-year-old free agent has reportedly signed a one-year contract to continue her playing career in phoenix after being freed in a prisoner swap with russia where she spent ten months in wrongful detention. griner spent each of her first nine wnba seasons with the mercury. back to politics now and in an exclusive interview with nbc news, former wisconsin governor scott walker said current florida governor ron desantis is in a better position to challenge donald trump than walker was back in 2016. you may remember, walker entered that primary to high expectations about his prospects only to fizzle out early. now walker says this, desantis is in a good position adding that the florida governor has a

strong case to make against former president trump. "basically desantis' argument should be if you want the same kind of toughness, if you want the same kind of pushback without the sharp edges, he's your guy." some have compared desantis to walker because he enters this 2024 primary polling high but largely untested on the national stage. so, this is a comparison that's been made. walker was sort of seen as the consensus choice early in the 2015/2016 process. he flamed out. desantis has for the moment coalesced the anti-trump vote in the republican field. what do you think? do you agree with governor walker? does desantis have a better path? >> i think there's some truth to what governor walker is saying. his position wasn't as strong in 2016, though he did show an early lead and early strength, it was so early and there were so many strong contenders that

year that really it was, you know, all bets are off and that's the reason that donald trump was able to flourish because everyone kept thinking that they would be the one to take him out. governor desantis does seem to have a lot of grassroots republican support. he is not going to get trump's 30% of the republican base no matter what, but he is polling very well and he has such national -- he's built national name recognition where he is in a stronger position, i think, than scott walker was. >> i think that's right. up next, jane lynch joins us to talk about the return of party down more than ten years after the comedy series was taken off the air. "morning joe" will be right back with that. with that. to be scary. (screaming) defeat allergy headaches fast with new flonase headache and allergy relief! two pills relieve allergy headache pain? and the congestion that causes it! flonase headache and allergy relief. psst! psst! all good! you love closing a deal. but hate managing your business from afar.

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reunion. >> this is a big opportunity. >> professional service! >> this is not how i envisioned my 40s. >> are you okay? >> you know, i added some silver for gravitas. >> i meant your hand. >> oh. >> that's part of the trailer for the new season of the cult comedy classic "party down," the long-awaited third season debuts this friday on stars, more than a decade after it was canceled. it centers around a group of wannabe actors working for a catering company while waking for their big break. it features a star-studded cast with many original cast members returning for the special limited run, including our next guest, the delightful jane lynch who joins us now. congratulations on the return of the show.

great to see you. tell us what this was like, the decade plus since the show went off the air, did you have hopes it could return? how happy are you that it did? >> we are thrilled that it came back. we wanted to continue doing the show, like 74 people watched it. it was canceled for the second season. we tried to do a movie, that fell apart. we tried to come back on television, that fell apart. it happened so fast. we all got an email saying are you available? it looks like we'll do six. we're like, really, do you mean it. indeed, we did six. >> tell us a bit about it. catch us up to where we are for people who watched and loved the original, but it's been over a decade. refresh them. >> they're cater waiters, they all have dreams of going on to bigger things, whether it's to be a big writer, actors, except for my character who was content being a caterer. this is ten years later, 11 years later, their dreams have not come true and they are forced to go back to "party

down." there's a theme in this one of how long is it before you let a dream die? how much do you give it? people are at the point now, all the characters are like here i am. i guess this is it for me. i'll be a cater waiter until i'm too old to be a cater waiter. >> i was surprised, you said this was the most fun you ever had. >> yes. >> you've been in so many iconic movies and shows and we were fan geeking out because we waited to question you. what was it about this show that was so much fun? >> the cast. it was lightning in a bottle. you can't plan these things when you cast a bunch of people. i didn't know any of them. some of them knew each other. when we shot the first pilot, which you never saw because it was at rob's house and it was a completely different kind of look. we did it just to see if it would be funny. indeed it was. we were thrilled when we got to do two seasons of it. it was the cast. we were friends.

starz was a baby network. they had one writer, one director, and we went from different event to different event for each episode. we all fell in love with each other. it was a beautiful thing. >> certainly important to like who you work with. i say that because mike barnicle is not here today. let's watch a clip from the new season of "party down." >> we were stuck outside. >> hi, lydia. >> come here, you. >> so good to see you. >> now it's a party down reunion. >> i love this stuff. i love seeing people from the past and seeing people from the past see other people from the past. >> why? >> this reminds me of a superhero movie that i was in, "bazoom" based on the great comic. my director, imagine a young jan michael vincent with a very

dense mustache. he was killed in an accident, smothering. never finished the film. time. treasure every moment. >> well, there you go. you're not wrong. it's absolute killer cast. talk to us about the intervening decade in terms of fans of the show. do they see you and come up to you and try to pitch for more? >> absolutely. what happened was almost no one watched it when it was running, it became a cult hit on a streaming service, and people discovered it and it became this gem that they were tweeting about. so people started watching it, and there was too big of a roar to be denied. people just loved it. what i love, it's a workplace comedy and it's very simple. we don't try to reinvent the wheel. we didn't jump the shark. we stayed within the confines of, you know, every week is a different event and you get to

know these characters really well. very few guest stars. it's basically about us. >> so six episodes. are we going to be able to binge? >> you cannot binge until you wait until they're all released. they'll be released every friday for the next six weeks. you can start watching them thursday at midnight -- it's actually friday at midnight. >> there seems to be more of a move toward that, the weekly episodes. >> i wonder if people just get blown out by binging. there's something about anticipating the next show. the appointment television that we all watched growing up. >> third season and let's hope there's more. third season of "party down" debuts this friday on starz. jane lynch, thank you. >> appreciate it. >> we'll be right back with much more of "morning joe." >> so nice to meet both of you. thank you. thank you.

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here. president biden on his way out of kyiv after hat was a show of defines walking with ukraine's president zelenskyy. >> really was a historical day and a bold move by president biden choosing to go into an active war zone without a u.s. military presence. the images that come out of this really will be something that i'm so excited to hear the tick tock of howe the visit came together. >> he did so on presidents day. he's expected to give a major speech about the war tomorrow from poland. that does it for us this morning. thank you for watching. lindsey reiser picks up the coverage in just two minutes. is

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good to be with you this monday morning.