americans. it's false. unemployment was booming. job growth is booming. the inflation is giving people weird feelings about settledness on the economy. we're seeing growing credit card balances surpassing $1 trillion. the real danger economically is if you're not paying your balance every week, the increasing interest rates will come down like a hammer. approaching 20% on some credit card balances. that's creating a little further economic uncertainty in the months ahead. >> nicholas johnston, good stuff as always. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> thanks to you for getting up "way too early" on this monday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. we must reach out and appeal to the patriotic and fundamental ideals of average americans who do not consider themselves movement people but will respond to the same american ideals as we do. i'm not talk about some vague notion of an abstract amophous

american mainstream. i'm talking about main street americans in their millions. they come in all sizes, shapes and colors. blue collar workers, blacks, hispanics, shoe keepers, scholars, service people, housewives and professional men and women, they're the backbone of america. we can't move america without moving their hearts and minds, as well. >> they want all electric stoves all over the country. but we don't have the electric power for that. we want electric stoves, but we also want gas stoves. it's april fools'. why do they want that? >> cpac then and now. the conservative conference has shifted in recent years to grievance politics. those two speeches 41 years apart. now, led by former president donald trump who delivered a dark speech, telling a sparse crowd at cpac, quote, i am your retribution. we'll have more of his remarks and what they mean for the 2024

presidential race just ahead. plus, we'll get a live report from springfield, ohio, where another norfolk southern train carrying hazardous material went off the tracks. the second derailment in that state in just over a month. also ahead, we'll be joined by reverend al sharpton, who was right next to president joe biden as they crossed the edmund pettis bridge in selma, alabama, marking the anniversary of bloody sunday. welcome to "morning joe." i'm will see geist. joe and mika off this morning. the host of "way too early," white house bureau chief at "politico," jonathan lemire. former aide to the george w. bush state departments, elise jordan. msnbc host jen psaki. her show "inside with jen psaki" debuted march 19th. good morning to all of you. let's start with the developments out of cpac. we'll get to that but will begin with the national transportation safety board investigating

another norfolk southern trail derailment in ohio. 28 cars came off the tracks just west of columbus in springfield. the train was carrying hazardous materials but not in any of the cars that derailed. still, residents were ordered to shelter in place for several hours as a precaution. the crash happened just over a month after a norfolk southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in east palestine along the pennsylvania border, renewing calls for rail safety. ohio senator sherrod brown wrote, ohio communities should not be forced to live in fear of another disaster. it is unacceptable. he called on congress to pass immediate legislation. nbc news correspondent jesse kirsch joins us from springfield, ohio, with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: willie, good morning. you can see this area still blocked off behind us here. this morning, we have no word on any public health threat, no reported injuries from officials.

as you mentioned, this train was carrying hazardous materials according to norfolk southern, even though those didn't derail. federal investigators will be heading to the scene. another norfolk southern derailment again in ohio. the harrowing moment captured on camera. this driver backing away from a railroad crossing as cars came off the track in springfield. the train was carrying hazardous materials, liquid propane and ethanol. those cars did not derail. >> no release of any chemical or hazardous material to the soil, to the air, to the water. >> reporter: no injuries and no public health threat, but officials asked residents within 5,000 feet of the site to shelter in place for 9 roughs overnight. some who were miles away largely unfazed. >> i assumed if it was anything important, i'd probably get,

wah-wah on my phone. >> reporter: you weren't worried because you weren't getting an alert? >> exactly. >> reporter: officials weren't aware this train had hazardous material on board before the derailment. >> we were not notified, which is not uncommon. >> reporter: this incident comes about a month of norfolk southern's toxic derailment 220 miles away in east palestine, ohio. officials say they were not aware of that train's hazardous cargo either before its derailment. what do you say to people who say you shouldn't be operating right now? >> first of all, safety is our number one priority. >> reporter: the railroad said the train had 212 cars and go two crew members with 48 of the cars previously carying an additive used in wastewater treatment. >> it is weird this is actually happening, like happening everywhere. >> reporter: this is norfolk southern's fourth derailment in ohio in less than five months.

as mentioned, sherrod brown calling this unacceptable, making another push for legislative rail safety reform. that's something we know has bipartisan support on capitol hill, where the ceo of norfolk southern is expected to testify later this week. again, willie, the investigative focus intensifying today. we expect federal authorities to be looking into this on scene today. willie. >> you can understand why residents there in ohio are spectacle of any declarations out of the box, that it was safe and there's no chemicals spills. they've been watching a month in east palestine. on the safety question, you've been covering these train derailments. in the last five months, several of them from norfolk southern. what's going on there? what is happening? is this common, for this many trains to go off the tracks? >> reporter: well, frankly, willie, we've talked about this before, and, obviously, as you mentioned, we've been watching this for over a month now, as well, derailments happen. that is a part of this business. that's something that we're

becoming more acutely aware of, i think, because of the high focus that has been placed on the aftermath of east palestine. norfolk southern yesterday, when i asked them, i pushed one of the representatives on this idea of, should they be operating right now when you see these happening time and again. the representative said that safety is their number one priority. norfolk southern representative said they investigate all these derailments. if there are safety learnings to be taken from that, they will be put into place. obviously, willie, we still do not know the official cause of the derailment in east palestine. now we're looking at investigators coming to figure out what happened in another one, again, just about a month later. >> nbc's jesse kirsch covering another train derailment in ohio. thanks so much. we appreciate it. turning to politics. the weekend saw a number of developments with the 2024 presidential field. former president donald trump, as we showed you a moment ago, returned to the stage at cpac, speaking for nearly two hours on saturday. that has one former republican

governor announced he will not run. during their annual retreat last week in baltimore, house democrats agreed they will stick with president biden for 2024. nbc news white house correspondent ali rafa is tracking all the developments. >> on this bridge, blood was given to help redeem the soul of america. >> reporter: president biden paying tribute to the heros of bloody sunday. the seminole moment in the civil rights movement that led to passage of the voting rights act nearly 60 years ago. >> the right to vote, to have your vote counted, is the threshold of democracy and liberty. with it, anything is possible. without it, without that right, nothing is possible. >> reporter: the president hoping to make good on a 2020 campaign promise his administration is trying to keep in the spotlight ahead of an expected second presidential bid. >> i won't let the filibuster obstruct the sacred right to vote. >> reporter: across the aisle. >> republicans must use every

lawful means to win. >> reporter: president biden's potential 2024 rival calling for a different kind of change. >> that means swamping the left with mail-in votes, early votes and election day votes. have to don't. we have to change our thinking. some bad things happened. >> reporter: former president donald trump laying out the framework of his campaign in a wide-ranging, nearly two-hour cpac speech to a heavily pro-maga crowd saturday night. saying he would not suspend it if indicted on any charges from the multiple investigations he's facing. the field of candidates taking shape more than 19 months out from election day. florida governor ron desantis, who still hasn't thrown his hat in the ring, touting his own leadership. >> you've seen massive gains in states like florida. >> reporter: meanwhile, former maryland governor and fierce trump critic larry hogan announcing he will not challenge mr. trump in 2024. >> having trump call me names on twitter didn't really scare me

off. >> nbc's ali rafa reporting for us there. jonathan lemire, let's step back and take the big view of this. we had donald trump at cpac speaking to really the disspill distilled down, core base of supporters. nikki haley was the only other candidate who showed up there. after her speech, she was chased by a crowd into an elevator. her aides had to get her out as they chanted "trump 2024." we know what cpac was. at the breakers in palm beach, other potential candidates and candidates were talking to donors, raising money. you did have this divide in the party. these two groups. one that want donald trump there. the other that would like to turn the page. for now, i mean, you look at the polling, this is trump's nomination to lose. what'd you see in those events over the weekend? >> you're right to point out the nifty, tidy split screen of where the republican is right now. one side is louder than the

other for sure. there is an effort in the republican party to seek alternatives to donald trump, who believe putting him at the top of the ticket will lead to another loss. at the moment, florida governor desantis, who hasn't announced his candidacy, seems to be the preferred choice. he is, by far, the leader in the field were he to jump in. even he, per most polls, is well behind donald trump. look, this was not a surprise this weekend at cpac. this was a dark grievance field, almost dangerous speech, i'd say, from the former president, with the key line being, "i am your retribution," suggesting what his next four years in office were to be like, if he were elected again. cpac attendance down. a lot of big names skipped it. but trump, to no one's surprise, put up the big number in the straw poll. but people i talked to there said, "yeah, maybe it's a portion of the base with trump, but it is a bigger portion than

anyone else has. they're not going anywhere." no matter where this field goes, trump is going to be able to count on their support. >> the big question, even if someone else managed to prevail in the republican nomination primary field, would those voters go with the new candidate and vote republican still? i don't know that they would. you look at what happened with cpac this weekend. it is just such a changed landscape. really, it's a microcosm for the republican party at large. think about 2015 and how every single candidate in the republican field went to cpac. they spoke. they were received, you know, to different levels of enthusiasm, but it wasn't what it was now. different ideologies and stripes of the republican party represented there. cpac was a trump super pac. one republican operative said cpac is the swamp on the

clearance rack. i thought it was hilarious. but it shows you, it's seen as corrupt and a pay for play event. it shows the demise of cpac as an event. >> john mentioned the line from former president trump, "i am your retribution." it was the core of his argument against grievance. here's exactly what he said at cpac. >> our enemies are desperate to stop us because they know that we are the only ones who can stop them. they're not coming after me. they're coming after you. and i'm just standing in their way. that's all i'm doing. i'm standing in their way. if you put me back in the white house, their raid is over. their reign will be over, and america will be a free nation once again. i am your warrior. i am your justice. and for those who have been wronged and betrayed, i am your retribution. i am your retribution. not going to let this happen. >> jen, it really is

extraordinary to listen to a former president of the united states, a guy who lived in the white house just over two years ago, frame himself as the outsider. send me to washington. put me in the white house. i'll be the one who can take it back for you. i'm the one who can stand in the way of they, them, whoever he is talking about there. not a surprising speech from him. >> no. >> we know that's what he says all the time. still an extraordinary lane for him to try to be in. >> mm-hmm. yeah, it certainly is. i think what i heard, willie, is it wasn't about party, it was about him. them and they could be everyone. i mean, he had some language in his speech where he said, we're not going back to the party of, and he named a number of prominent republicans from the past. i also thought one of the most interesting things he said this week, not surprising, again, was when he was asked in a gaggle about what he would do if he were indicted. what he said was, whether he

would leave, "absolutely, i wouldn't think about leaving." this isn't even about winning the republican primary. this is about him, him leading his movement and his intention, as we have all been speculating, to stay in the race no matter what happens. >> to pick up on that point, willie, this is a lot of same old, same old from trump on saturday, at great length, nearly two hours. some people in the back were leaving as he was talking. the one thing that was new, he went through all of the investigations he is currently facing. there are many. that took some time. he, of course, discredited them. but he did make that point. he is going to stay in no matter what. he's also been, not necessarily from the stage, but otherwise, his aides are putting out there, he is not going to necessarily guarantee he'll support whoever the republican nominee is if it is not him. he's setting up the groundwork. he is in this for the long haul, no matter where the race goes. almost assuring a fractured party and, therefore, defeat for the republicans in november of 2024, unless he is the nominee.

he is almost playing a little blackmail here with the gop, with all the legal peril surrounding him. >> yeah, that is the big piece of this story for him going into 2024. you heard some of the republicans, nikki haley, who is in the race, saying, are you tired of losing? it is time for a new generation. that's a swipe at donald trump, though an indirect one. wasn't well received at cpac, what is a trump-friendly crowd. then you had mike pompeo, considering a presidential run. he took aim at the trump administration's record on fiscal policy. an administration, of course, he served in. during fox news appearance on sunday, he highlighted how the trump administration spent $6 trillion more than it took in, adding to the deficit. >> would a president pompeo manage the debt and deficit better than president trump did? >> i think a president pompeo or any conservative president will do better than the trump

administration, but barack obama, george bush. the list is long, of people who come to washington with one theory and aren't ready to explain how we're going to get there. it matters to the next generation. the system is at risk if we don't get it right. we are $31 trillion in the hole. we have to begin to grow the economy, build it back with lower taxes. when we do that and grow the economy, we'll get it back right. it'll take a true conservative leader. >> was president trump not a true conservative leader? >>$6 trillion more in debt, that's never the right direction for the country. >> a couple days earlier, pompeo made this remark at cpac, viewed by some as a veiled reference to trump. >> we can't become the left. following celebrity leaders with their own brand of identity politics. those are tragic egos who refuse to acknowledge reality. this is a tough world, both abroad and here. we can't shift blame to others but must accept the

responsibility to those of us who step forward and lead. >> elise, there are veiled references to donald trump. nikki haley, as i said, made the one about, are you tired of losing, time for a new generation. mike pompeo saying, let's put grievance behind us. no one, including desantis, has been asked about donald trump. hasn't taken him on in a frontal way. he is dominating the space right now. >> willie, that's why i think that donald trump is in a strong position. you look at back when he first vied for the republican nomination in 2015, 2016. he had other republicans attacking him from all sides. you had candidates who would go up against him -- and, granted, they'd be vanquished -- but they were at least going up against him. now, you see how hesitant all these candidates are, still tiptoeing around donald trump. even after he had, you know, he

allegedly incited an insurrection, i would say. i don't know if i have to say "allegedly" for legal reasons since it is still in the courts. we all know his role in that. they're still tiptoeing around it. even mike pence, his own vice president, who was run away from the capitol and chased to the sounds of "hang mike pence." >> yeah. mike pence and others won't answer either. they say, well, we'll have better options. he's not going to be the nominee. sounds like wishful thinking to a lot of people. jen, let's take this from the democratic side. not a big stretch for you to think hypothetically about working in the white house. what is joe biden, what is his team thinking as they watch all this play out? in this moment anyway, until ron desantis makes a decision, donald trump is the guy. >> well, this feels a whole lot different if you're sitting in the white house right now with president joe biden sitting in the oval office than it was a year ago even. a year ago, remember, last summer, there was some

speculation and chatter behind the scenes of whether or not president biden should run. there were other candidates who were thinking about running. that could certainly still happened. what happened the last couple dais, you had the leader of the progressive caucus enthusiastically endorse president biden, saying she wanted him to run again. that's great if you are in the white house right now. meanwhile, on the other side, you have this complete chaos where trump has a hold on the party, as we saw at cpac. you have other candidates running who are scared to run against him. you know, that is interesting if you are in the white house. you're going to let that play out. you're going to see when somebody finally throws a punch at trump, when the next person throws a punch at trump. meanwhile, they're just going to keep building support on the democratic side. that's very, very good for them, if that lasts for the time being. >> you're right. if that meeting of democratic lawmakers really coalescing

around joe biden, those questions going away about whether or not he should run. we'll see if he makes an announcement sometime soon. ahead on "morning joe," much more from cpac, including nikki haley's veiled jab at former president trump. biden's message to democrats. getting tough on crime ahead of 2024. also ahead, reverend al sharpton will join us live from selma, alabama, on the heels of the president's visit there, commemorating bloody in "mornin" we'll be right back. (man) what if my type 2 diabetes takes over? (woman) what if all i do isn't enough? or what if i can do diabetes differently? (avo) now you can with once-weekly mounjaro. mounjaro helps your body regulate blood sugar,

and mounjaro can help decrease how much food you eat. 3 out of 4 people reached an a1c of less than 7%. plus people taking mounjaro lost up to 25 pounds. mounjaro is not for people with type 1 diabetes or children. don't take mounjaro, if you're allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop mounjaro, and call your doctor right away, if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, vision changes, or diabetic retinopathy. serious side effects may include pancreatitis and gallbladder problems. taking mounjaro with sulfonylurea or insulin raises low blood sugar risk. tell your doctor if you're nursing, pregnant, or plan to be. side effects include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea which can cause dehydration and may worsen kidney problems. (woman) i can do diabetes differently with mounjaro. (avo) ask your doctor about once-weekly mounjaro. second date, wish me luck buddy.

mouth to mission control. we have a denture problem. over. roger that. with polident cleanser and polident adhesive refresh and secure for any close encounter. if your mouth could talk it would ask for polident and poligrip. if your business kept on employees through the pandemic, getrefunds.com can see if it may qualify for a payroll tax refund of up to $26,000 per employee. all it takes is eight minutes to get started. then work with professionals to assist your business with its forms and submit the application. go to getrefunds.com to learn more. there's always a fresh deal on the subway app. like this one! 50% off?! that deal's so good we don't even need an eight-time all-star to tell you about it. wait what? get it before it's gone on the subway app!

for adults with generalized myasthenia gravis who are positive for acetylcholine receptor antibodies, it may feel like the world is moving without you. but the picture is changing, with vyvgart. in a clinical trial, participants achieved improved daily abilities with vyvgart added to their current treatment. and vyvgart helped clinical trial participants achieve reduced muscle weakness. vyvgart may increase the risk of infection. in a clinical study, the most common infections were urinary tract and respiratory tract infections. tell your doctor if you have a history of infections or if you have symptoms of an infection. vyvgart can cause allergic reactions. the most common side effects include respiratory tract infection, headache, and urinary tract infection.

picture your life in motion with vyvgart. a treatment designed using a fragment of an antibody. ask your neurologist if vyvgart could be right for you. i have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now, there's skyrizi. ♪♪ with skyrizi, most people who achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months... had lasting clearance through 1 year. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections, or a lower ability to fight them, may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. ♪nothing is everything♪ talk to your dermatologist about skyrizi. learn how abbvie could help you save. the sun is up over the white house at 6:25 in the morning. president biden traveled yesterday to selma, alabama, to

commemorate the 58th anniversary of blood si sunday. that marks the police attack on a group of black marchers who crossed the edmund pettis bridge. as president, biden marched across the bridge with several lawmakers and several rights advocates. >> in many of your faith traditions, sunday is the sabbath, the day of rest. on that sunday morning, march 7th, 1965, robinson and 600 of her fellow children of god chose different pews. on this bridge of her beloved selma, they were called to the altar of democracy. unsure of their fate but certain of the cause was righteous. so she would go on to say, quote, you can never know where you're going unless you know where you've been. we know where we have been.

my fellow americans, on this sunday of our time, we know where we've been, and we know, more importantly, where we have to go. forward, together, so let's pray but let's not rest. let's keep marching. let's keep the faith. >> the president yesterday in selma, alabama. joining us now, the host of msnbc's "politics nation" and president of the national action network, reverend al sharpton. and president and ceo of the national urban league, mark mariel. good morning. >> good morning. >> rev, we saw you side by side with the president crossing the edmund pettis bridge, hallowed ground in this country. what was it like to be there yesterday with the president? >> well, it was mixed feelings. it was a great thing, to see the president of the united states, only the second president while in office, the first being barack obama, watch cross that bridge with us. but the sadness is to really

think about how we are probably now more than ever, since 1965, threatened with different states that are changing the voting laws. we're not just commemorating, but we are trying to continue a struggle. when i was marching across that bridge next to the president, holding hands with reverend jesse jackson who is in a wheelchair, who was the generation that was beaten on that bridge, he walked as a student there. i was only 9 or 10 years old, but he was a college student and marched there. i'm looking at him and that generation of his, john lewis and others, that paid the price 58 years ago. here we are 58 years later, seeing states use gerrymandering, all kinds of schemes to stop voting. it's not just about remembering what happened, but it is saying, we can't let it go back. that's why i think president

biden's speech was right on target, and i think his presence was exactly what we needed this time. >> mark, obviously, the symbolism is always strong, crossing the edmund pettis bridge, being in selma, national urban league kicking off your policy conference this week. talking a little about what rev got to there, the actual on the ground, meat and potatoes of legislation that helps people who have been held back in this country. so what would you like to see this administration focus on? >> willie, good morning to all. good morning, rev. good morning, willie. we have 500 urban leaguers arriving in washington today. we'll be here today at the white house. tomorrow at various agencies on capitol hill. and wednesday on capitol hill. we're going to bring the message of voting rights, policy and

economic inclusion. we'll engage with the administration. yesterday was important, and i hope for president biden it is the start of a reenergized effort to pass two important bills. the john lewis bill and the freedom to vote bill. those bills would protect, would create, if you will, a fire wall against the kind of absolute insanity we're seeing at the state level. this year alone, in 2023, there have been 150 voter suppression bills introduced in 32 states. it's only the beginning of march. so the movement to undercut, undermine democracy is taking place at the state level in state legislatures. the only way to stop it is with two important federal bills. >> hey, rev, it's jonathan. certainly, president biden spoke powerfully yesterday. he has had a lot of success his first two plus years in office, passing legislation. i know that many democrats,

yourself included, were disappointed that federal voting rights law wasn't one of them. as we start thinking about 2024, and we know what a significant percentage of the democratic base is made up of black voters, there was some civil rights advocates who, in the past, said if he couldn't get this done, they wouldn't be sure they'd be with him next time around. where do you think that stands right now? if he can't get this voting registration laws done, will he be able to have their support? >> i think it's something that he does not take for granted. nor should we take him for granted. i think that the enthusiasm and the turnout will be based on the genuine ability to deliver in terms of voting and in terms of criminal justice reform and economic concerns. and showing the best of efforts. now, on the other side of that, if he cannot deliver because of

the inflexibility of the republicans to, at all costs, dig in against us, they can, in in ways, encourage and incite the turnout that the democrats and president biden needs. it's according to how it's played out. when you look at the fact, we couldn't pass the john lewis bill with every republican voting against it, well, that may help the democrats. because we were not able to overcome the filibuster because of two democrats, but all republicans. so it is according to the efforts shown, and i think that's why, on the political side, when you see president biden himself showing up and marching across that bridge as president, first time as president, when you see that ebenezer baptist church on king's birthday, i think he is not taking the black vote for

granted. and i think we've seen no outreach by the republicans, none. the best they've given us is herschel walker, and i'll leave it up to the panel to decide whether that was a plus or a minus. >> marc, i wanted to get your take on the recent reports about muriel bowser's veto of the criminal justice law in d.c. and also the report of the president planning to veto it. it's been controversial, obviously, but crime is, of course, an issue in big cities. i wanted to see what you thought about what this meant for how big city mayors would be dealing with this issue moving forward. >> well, i think the issue in that case is d.c. voting rights and d.c. independence. i'm troubled by the notion that congress or the president can override an act of the district of colombia government. part of the voting rights has been rights for the district of

columbia. they should have a senator and be afforded the status of the state. mayors are on the front lines in this fight against criminal justice, this fight against violence, reforming the criminal justice system and how do you fight violence? everyone should know that experience shows, that crackdown policing, the idea that if you just crack down, that, somehow, you can stop violence and crime with those sort of tactics is not only discredited but buys you more problems. mayors have to strike the right balance of investing in communities as well as trying to embark on a system of intelligent and effective policing. it's not just about more, it's about effective. but you've got to do all of the other things, as well. >> you know, rev, this is something we've been talking about on this show an awful lot, especially after eric adams was elected in new york city.

former new york city police officer because of quality of life issues, what voters said in poll after poll. it is crime, quality of life. lori lightfoot in chicago didn't even make the runoff for her bid in chicago, mainly because of crime, voters said. what is the message president biden should be sending to members of congress about crime? >> the balance is we must have police reform but, at the same time, we must engage in some hands-on ways of solving crime. and that is by having better training with police, but having police work and live in the communities that they're policing, at least in those cities. and engaging in having citizens involved in fighting crime. we are not pro-crime. in fact, no one suffers more disproportionately to crime than blacks and browns. but we must be involved in the

process of making our communities safe. i think that that is the balance that this administration is trying to get to, having many of us around the table. that's where we have to go. the answer is not, as we've said, that some on the far, far left have said, defund the police. the answer is define the police. let's define how we're going to police. we cannot afford to live in communities where we don't have law, but we can't have the police out of order. >> marc, i'm sure this is one of many issues that are going to come up this week, as you all at the national urban league hold that conference over the next several days there in washington. what else can we expect? >> we can expect a conversation about economic inclusion and economic participation, in the infrastructure bill, in the science and chips bill, in the climate initiatives that the administration got through congress. it's important because we are a civil rights organization that focuses on jobs and economic

inclusion, that those bills be implemented with a strong racial equity lens. we'll be in discussions on that, as well as on voting rights, on hate crimes, on police reform. we've got a full agenda over the next four days. we're excited to be here. first time in person in about four years. for many urban leaguers, it'll be their first visit to the white house. we're looking forward to that today. >> we should point out, mr. mayor, congratulations to you. 20 years as president and ceo of the national urban league. it's been quite a run for you. congratulations. >> not bad for a 25-year-old. >> you started young. started young. president and ceo of the national urban league, marc morial. great to see you. you can register and stream the legacy conference today at nul.org. reverend al sharpton, thanks for taking time out on the road to join us, as well. we always appreciate it. coming up here, we're following a developing story out

of the middle east, where israel and key gulf states are growing more concerned about russia's alliance with iran. and a live report from tel-aviv over protests over hard right reforms for israel's court system. "morning joe" is coming right back. nexium 24hr prevents heartburn acid for twice as long as pepcid. get all-day and all-night heartburn acid prevention with just one pill a day. choose acid prevention. choose nexium. okay everyone, our mission is complete balanced nutrition. together we support immune function. supply fuel for immune cells and sustain tissue health. ensure with twenty-five vitamins and minerals, and ensure complete with thirty grams of protein. people remember ads with a catchy song. so to help you remember that liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's a little number you'll never forget. ♪ customize and save. ♪

only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ - elites. only pay for what you need. now that we've made travel so expensive, we have this hotel to our...selves..? - how'd you get here? - kayak! they compared hundreds of travel sites to find a great deal on my flight, car, and hotel. - heading on a family trip?e. nah, sorry son, prices are crazy, [son deflates] awh, use priceline. they have package deals no one else has.

[son inflates] we can do it! ♪go to your happy price♪ ♪priceline♪ dove invited women who wanted their damaged hair trimmed. yes, i need a trim. i just want to be able to cut the damage. we tried dove instead. so, still need that trim? oh my gosh! i am actually shocked i don't need a haircut. don't trim daily damage. stop it with dove. the eagle has landed. i am actually shocked i don't need a haircut. that's one small step for man... hey, what's up? -one giant...

uh... houston... we have a situation. how did you get here? you're characters in our video game! video game? yeah, it's what we can do with the xfinity 10g network. basically, the greatest achievement since the moon landing. i think they're talking about us. i know. you can play from anywhere. -yeah, i'm in the basement. i'm at the dentist. check this out. it's super smooth even when everyone's online. whoa, can i try that? you're in the game! what the heck is that? those are the bad guys. -are they friendly? nope! ok, here's the plan. on the ship there's some wire cutters, some tubing and rubber bands. now with our know-how and some elbow grease and a little bit of luck, i — you're probably going to want to start running. the next generation 10g network, only from xfinity. one giant leap for mankind.

new reporting is out this morning that israel and several gulf states are lobbying russia against providing military hardware to iran. jay solomon writes, quote, arab diplomats told russian officials supplying iran with advanced weapons would not only destabilize the military balance in the persian gulf but place russia firmly on the side of iran in a potential conflict. isolating moscow from its arab partners. arab officials say they've asked russia to add least delay any weapons shipments to iran if it

won't agree to cancel them outright. jay solomon joins us now, global security editor. good morning. good to have you on with us. is there any evidence that vladimir putin, that russia is heeding any of the warnings? in other words, does he care what these other countries think? >> well, ironically, the arab states and israel still maintain relatively good relations with moscow. there is some influence there. we have seen in the past the russians, particularly on anti-missile batteries, have not sent them over. so it is kind of early to tell, but i do think there is some hope in the gulf that they can push back against russia. the relationship has really changed in the last five years. last decade between russia and iran, into a full military alliance. i think there's concern now because russia is increasingly dependent on iran in ukraine, particularly for these kamikaze drones, that this pressure and

the path that might have been successful might not be now. >> jay, which countries are we talking about here? it is important to this story but also to the ukraine story. are these countries influential enough with vladimir putin, with russia to say, back off in ukraine, as well? >> i mean, i think the saudis, saudi arabia and the united arab emirates are the arab states that probably have the most, you know, influence and most control with putin. mohammed bin salman and the leaders of saudi arabia and the uae, they're the few world leaders that met with putin in recent months. israel has what's called a decon deconfliction, a hot line to syria. israelis have been launching a lot of rare strikes against iranian interests inside syria. i would say it is predominantly these three states that might still have some direct, you

know, line to the russian leadership. as i was saying earlier, the iranian-russian relationship has gotten a lot closer the past four, five years. putin seems increasingly dependent on iran for these drones and potentially other military hardware. it's a fluid situation right now. >> what can be done about this partnership? what is the west, the united states in particula -- how can they disengage, posing a threat to those in the region and elsewhere? >> the u.s. government has had negotiations the last ten years to the nuclear program, which russia has been a central player. in the past, there had been some sort of coordination or

cooperation to try to limit iran's military capabilities, particularly nuclear weapons. the nuclear agreement in 2015, which the obama administration negotiated, that was kind of one of the key channels that the west had used to try to constrain iran's capabilities. that has been frozen. there's still talk the nuclear negotiations could be resumed, although there's skepticism. that's one channel that could be out again. you're probably see continued efforts by the u.s. to strengthen allied capabilities. the u.s. has had some pretty provocative military exercises with israel in recent weeks. not so veiled examples of the ability to strike iran if

nuclear abilities strike. it's those channels, whether the diplomacy is picked up again, and also an increasing alliance between the u.s., israel, and these gulf states against iran and russia. it is a fluid situation. >> interesting to see how far the gulf states are willing to go to restrain russia. so far in the world with ukraine, it's not very far. jay solomon, thanks so much for sharing your reporting. we appreciate it. protests broke out across israel for a ninth straight week on saturday. tens of thousands of demonstrators took peacefully to the streets to protest the government's plan to overhaul the country's court system. joining us from tel-aviv, foreign correspondent raf sanchez. good to see you. explain for our viewers in the united states what exactly is going on in the streets right now. what are the protesters upset

about? >> reporter: willie, this is starting to feel in israel like a full-blown constitutional crisis. benjamin netanyahu is showing no signs of backing down from his plan to weaken israel's supreme court. under his proposals, israel's parliament, which is dominated by netanyahu and his right-wing allies, could vote by a simple majority to simply ignore rulings of the israeli supreme court. netanyahu will tell you this is a necessary reform to curb activist judges. willie, 160,000 protesters were on the streets of tel-aviv over the weekend, protesting against it. just to give you a sense of scale, proportional to population, that is the equivalent of 5 million americans on the streets of new york city. these people are very worried that netanyahu's plan will effectively gut israel's judiciary, that it'll be a major blow to israeli democracy. willie, one of the protesters we met over the weekend was the

daughter of the late israeli prime minister who, of course, was assassinated by a far-right extremist back in 1995. she told us how painful it was to see members of the far right now sitting around benjamin netanyahu's cabinet table after he brought them into government, gave them senior government roles, and how worried she is about her country's future. take a listen. >> we are all for jewish democratic state. it is not a matter of left and right. it is a matter of those who believe and fought for those values. >> reporter: now, willie, another prominent voice speaking out against netanyahu's plans, former new york city mayor mike bloomberg, who as you know is a lifelong supporter of israel, not normally someone who weighs in on internal israeli politics. but in an opinion piece in "the

new york times," he says, in part, my love for israel, my respect for its people, and my concern about its future are now leading me to speak out against the current government's attempts to effectively abolish the nation's independent judiciary. willie, just one last illustration of how serious this is, the israeli military confirming to me that a number of reservist fighter pilots from one of israel's most elite air force squadrons are refusing to take part in training this week out of protests because of these plans. willie, these fighter pilots are some of the most respected people in israel's society. they are the ones who would be called upon to carry out an attack against iran's nuclear facilities if it came to that. and the fact that they are saying that they are prepared to enter this political debate, that they are prepared to refuse to attend training is a sign of quite how serious this situation is. willie. >> it really is. that is a rare move.

nbc's raf sanchez, great job explaining all this to us from tel-aviv. thanks so much. we appreciate it. ahead, chris rock released his stand-up special over the weekend, addressing for the first time will smith slapping him at the oscars last year. we'll show you more of what he had to say in that live netflix special. that's ahead on "morning joe." age is just a number, and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. boost® high protein. now available in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. learn more at boost.com/tv [beep... beep... beep...] i'm your glitchy wi-fi and i've decided... well, if you're on vacation, i am too. ha-ha-ha! which means your smart home isn't so smart. sprinkler on. and now i'm sending mixed signals to your garage. and, if you haven't bundled your home and auto coverage,

trying to unpack this isn't going to be too much fun. hey, check the router! so, get allstate and be better protected from mayhem while saving up to 25% when you bundle home and auto.

what causes a curve down there? is it peyronie's disease? will it get worse? how common is it? who can i talk to? can this be treated? stop typing. start talking to a specialized urologist. because it could be peyronie's disease, or pd. it's a medical condition where there is a curve in the erection, caused by a formation of scar tissue. and an estimated 1 in 10 men may have it. but pd can be treated even without surgery. say goodbye to searching online. find a specialized urologist who can diagnose pd and build a treatment plan with you. visit makeapdplan.com today. and build a treatment no matter what you're up against, we have your back. we are united way.

we are neighbors helping neighbors in communities around the when disaster strikes we get you back on your feet. we help children build brighter. we've been here for over 135 s but now our work is more . join us. join your neighbors. join united way.

welcome back to "morning joe." sleepy time in l.a., 3:54 in the morning. 6:54 on the east coast. for the first time, chris rock spoke publicly about the infamous slap at last year's oscars. rock cracking jokes about will and jada pinkett smith during a live netflix special this weekend. they were his first extended remarks about the incident almost a year ago.

nbc news has details. >> oh, wow. >> reporter: the face of the slap heard around the world wasted no time getting to the punch line. >> anybody that says words hurt has never been punched in the face. >> reporter: in his netflix special, "selective outrage," chris rock is finally tackling the infamous slap head on. >> people were like, did it hurt? it still hurts. i got summertime ringing in my ears. >> reporter: the comedian spending almost ten minutes of his special on the smack. >> will smith is significantly bigger than me. we are not the same size, okay? this guy does his movies with his shirt off. you've never seen me do a movie with my shirt off. >> reporter: the moment at lost year's oscars prompted by smith's wife, jada pinkett smith, whose bald appearance is due to alopecia.

the host suggested it was resentment to his wife. >> she hurt him way more than he hurt me, okay? >> reporter: who publicly admitted to having an affair. >> everyone knows i had nothing to do with that. i didn't have any entanglements. >> reporter: we reached out to the couple who have not commented, but smith has given multiple public apologies. >> chris, i apologize to you. i'm here whenever you're ready to talk. >> reporter: it's not clear if the two have since spoken, or if jabs make it less likely they ever will again. >> great movies. i have rooted for will smith my whole life. i root for the [ bleep ], okay? and now, as i watch "emancipation," just to see him get whooped. >> reporter: nbc news. >> chris rock unloading in that live special on saturday night. the whole thing is worth the watch. up next, an update on the

war in ukraine, including new reporting on how u.s. intelligence learned china was considering sending lethal military aid to russia. "morning joe" is back after a short break. for copd, ask your doctor about breztri. breztri gives you better breathing, symptom improvement, and helps prevent flare-ups. breztri won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. it is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it.

don't take breztri more than prescribed. breztri may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vison changes, or eye pain occur. if you have copd ask your doctor about breztri.

we'll get rid of bad and ugly buildings. i want to baby boom. you men are so lucky out there.

they want all electric stoves all over the country. but we don't have the electric power for that. the wall was sitting there waiting to be installed. easiest part. they took it away and hid it. they put it in a hiding air with a. we just investigate everybody. i was the only president in modern history with no new wars, i finished some old ones. they want windmills all over the place that ruin our ground and kill our birds. >> some of the strange lines from president trump's speech at cpac. the conference has turned into the trump show in recent years. this weekend no different. we'll have takeaways and a report from someone who was there. what it all means for 2024. a long-time critic of the former president makes a decision on a run for the white house. also ahead, we'll be joined by an adviser to ukraine's offense minister. there are conflicting reports

over how much control russian forces have in the besieged city of bakhmut. welcome back to "morning joe." monday, march 6th. jonathan lemire, elise jordan, jen psaki still with us. joining us, the founder of the bulwark, charlie sykes. correspondent vaughn hillyard and long-time campaign strategist and executive editor of "georgetown's" poitics and public service, mo. vaughan, you were at cpac yesterday, over the weekend, anyway, atmospherics of what it was like there. he won the straw poll overwhelmingly, easily, as expected. it seemed more of a maga rally than conservative conference. what was it like inside the room? >> actually, march 4th, 1965, willie, the it was the inaugural address of abraham lincoln coming off the civil war, in which he said the words, quote, finally do we hope, fervently do

we pray that this war might speedily pass away. march 4th in washington, d.c., this time around was different. donald trump made it very clear that this was his opportunity to fight back on behalf of the party that was, in his words, booted from office, as part of a rigged election here. this was a very much an effort to galvanize the hardened conservative activist base that he was able to effectively win over for eight years. i think it was telling because the conversations that i was having with my own team in the room as well as other reporters, others within the republican party that were on hand, was the extent to which person after person after person was telling us, trump 2024, trump 2024. it reminded me of, you know, for the new england patriots talking about bringing brady back. how many patriots would be on board to have tom brady give it one more go here? it was that sort of feel to

this. folks said, there may be a qb we could be look at like ron desantis, but we have time. give him another shot. that's why i put the question to donald trump when i had the chance to ask him about ron desantis. one major threat at this point. i said, why not ask him to be your vp pick? take a listen. would you consider asking ron desantis right now to be your vice presidential pick? >> i've always had a great relationship with ron. i was the one that made it possible for him to win. he was at a very low number. after i endorsed him, he went up by a lot. he asked me to do that. i've always had a good relationship with him. it is much too early to talk about. >> why should he not be the presidential candidate for republicans? >> well, he can be if he wants to be. >> he was notably not taking any public shots in front of the camera, really toward nikki haley or ron desantis, as you saw there, willie. but his speech was about retribution and making the case to conservative activists that they need him because they need to fight back against the democratic party.

that he is the one who has done it before, and that he should be the one to be given the shot to do it again. >> first of all, patriots fan jonathan lemire i can see nodding vigorously when you said, would brady be welcomed back in new england. we know the answer to that. charlie sykes, brady can still throw the deep ball. brady still wins super bowls. he still have it. the question for republicans voting in 2024 is, does donald trump still have that thing? in that room over the weekend, he sure did with that the group of people. it was a relatively small crowd in there, but a passionate one. if you look at the polling, he still leads by wide margins. anybody who is in the race or thinking about getting into the race. >> yeah, all of those things are true. look, this was a shrunken cpac, low energy cpac, but it was a maga fied cpac. it was a trump rally. big surprise there were fans there and big surprise he won the straw poll. it is easy to make fun of this

clown show and the way it becomes more and more of a circus. but i also think that we need to remember that this is a -- may be a circus, but it poses a real danger and a threat. you know, we have this debate in the country, well, who is the real republican party? is it the normies or the crazies? what we saw at cpac with the extremists, with the straw poll win for kari lake, with my pillow guy speaking, this is what you get with another trump presidency. you don't get the policy oriented, normal republican. you may not even get trump 1.0 again. this is a pure magafied trump electorate. yes, it was shrunken and low energy, but as you point out, donald trump right now is still leading in the polls and has to be considered a very strong favorite to win the nomination of the republican party again.

i hope that people are not engaging in the wish casting of thinking that you might not have that in the white house at sometime. in our closely divided country, anybody can come back. but vaughan was right to single out that one word he used, i am your retribution. this is what it is. this is what his campaign is about, and this is what his presidency would be about. >> yeah, certainly no guardrails would be in sight if there would be another trump presidency. let's be clear, mo, general elections are a different matter. there are real concerns as to whether he could win in november of 2024. but in terms of within the republican field, two months ago, there was real concerns whether trump would get this far. he wasn't campaigning. the legal pressure mounting. that's still certainly there, but suddenly, his campaign picked up. a rally coming up again, or they're scheduling it shortly. this was a statement. may been a diminished cpac, but

it was a statement. it seems this is trump's party. what possibly could change that? >> maybe nothing. but i also think it's early. right now, he is the only out there doing anything except for nikki haley. campaigns matter. so when ron desantis gets out there, when tim scott gets out there, when mike pompeo and whoever else gets out there, there is a chance to see if things get shaken up. now, they might not. one of the things that's struck me so far is how little the other candidates seem to know how to deal with donald trump. this was the problem in 2016 for all his primary opponents. he'd get out there and say crazy things, and his opponents would say, yeah, but you're not a real conservative, donald. primary voters said, i don't know what that means anymore, right? that doesn't matter. maybe he didn't do it at cpac, but he is starting to take these little shots at the others. they don't seem to know how to deal with that.

someone has got to stand up to the bully. someone has got to stand up and say, i'm going to do this differently. someone has got to be able to show that they are actually going to take the party in a different direction. so the primary electorate actually has a choice in front of them. right now, they're not getting that. they're getting a lot of other people who are saying, i'll give you what trump gives you, just less mean, just less crazy. someone has to step up and say, i'll give you something different so that there is a choice. then we'll see. that may not be enough to stop donald trump in a republican primary, but they have to try. >> vaughan, let's talk about the energy level of donald trump. was he low energy? was he high energy? what was the response in the room? still, 5,000 people were there. i'm sorry, that's a big crowd. >> sure. >> it's a very decent, respectable showing for any candidate. >> they've seen him nine years running, a lot of these activists. a lot of the go-to lines of donald trump are the same lines we have heard i don't know how

many dozens of times, yet they keep coming back here. when you compare it to nikki haley, there was a couple hundred people in the room. she took no direct shots. friendly reception, but hardly an enthusiastic reception. not markedly cold. we kept hearing from folks. it's nothing against ron desantis, mike pompeo or nikki haley, and this is the difficult part. the opposition research book hasn't been dropped on them yet. donald trump is throwing stuff out on truth social, taking put kutts on these guys, but he is not wielding an ax yet at them. the enthusiasm level, look at the emerson poll this last week. donald trump is up 30 percentage points in that poll. he went out on stage and made it very clear that he feels quite good about his position right now. the fact thousands are showing up for him, it's telling for him and his candidacy. until we see something otherwise, the camp there is feeling pretty good. >> couple other notes from inside the room, which was that

nikki haley, the only candidate who did show up at cpac, the only other candidate aside from donald trump, she took a veiled shot at trump, saying we need a new generation of leadership. are you tired of losing? she was chased into an elevator by trump supporters chanting, "trump 2024." winning the vice presidential cpac poll, kari lake, who is still claiming she won an election that she lost. donald trump also talked about ukraine and vladimir putin. here's what he had to say. >> nato wouldn't even exist if i didn't get them to pay up. they paid up $449 billion or something. it's the money they use. they're rich as hell right now. they spent it on an office building that cost $3 billion. russia wouldn't even need an airplane attack. one tank, one shot through that beautiful glass building, and it's gone. same architect i used in chicago. great architect. i got along with vladimir putin

very well. i said, don't do it. you and i are friends. don't take over any countries. i will have the disastrous war between russia and ukraine settled. it will be settled quickly. quickly. i will get the problem solved, and i will get it solved in rapid order. it will take me no longer than one day. i know exactly what to say to each of 'em. i got along very well with them. i got along with well with putin. i'm the only candidate who can make this promise, i will prevent and very easily, world war iii. very easily. and you're going to have world war iii, by the way. you're going to have world war iii if something doesn't happen fast. you're going to have world war iii. >> jen, let's remind our viewers that during the trump administration, actually, the opposite was true, which is that

his administration officials and people who work closely alongside him said he wanted to pull the united states out of nato, which effectively would make nato dissolve. >> not a nato fan. >> the opposite of what he just said is true. let's also remind our viewers, the reason, the big reason, beside the bravery of the ukrainian people and the troops there, that russia has not been able to take ukraine is because of the strength of nato and because of the united states and europe's support of that organization. >> that's right. and because of the work that president biden and the national security team, jake sullivan, tony blinken, secretary austin have all done to rebuild the frayed nato alliance. the other thing, i mean, it's very notable because he reflected this, he didn't hide his love for vladimir, as he called him by his first name, or russia. he is an admirer of the approach of putin. he is an admirer of the crackdown on freedom of speech, on freedom of the press, on the

spreading of disinformation. it is a model in some ways of how trump has continued to run for president and continues to spout lies and disinformation when he has public forums like he did at cpac. charlie, what you said earlier stuck with me, about the risk of a second term. in part, because president obama used to say this a lot during the transition. we were at that point, kind of accepting, glumly, the fact that trump was about to take office. but he would say, a second term is a different thing. there's just -- he has nothing to lose. tell us a little bit more about what is at stake and what it means, just to make it more real for people. >> yeah. thank you. i mean, there are no -- there can be no illusions about a second term. i talked to people who voted for him in 2016 and thought, okay, well, he will be more prudent and presidential. he will sense the gravity of the office. you can't have that illusion. this is a man who tried to

overthrow the u.s. government to keep power. there will be no guardrails. there will be no guidelines. his administration will not be staffed by people who will push back against him. it will not be staffed by people who will tell him no. imagine the kinds of people who would be in trump 2.0's cabinet, the kind of people who would be around him. you look back at the first trump administration, which was, you know, thoroughly deplorable, but you had a lot of grown-ups in the room. they are gone. that's why i said, look at what you're seeing at cpac. that is what a trump administration would be like. the first time around, he didn't know necessarily where all of the levers and buttons of power are. he did not necessarily know fully what he could get away with. now he does, making him fundamentally more dangerous when we comes back in. people should have no illusions about that. >> think about an administration where instead of general john

kelly, you have mr. pillow giving advice to donald trump. that could be what we're looking at. jonathan, your colleagues at "politico" have a new piece up. david ciders and meredith mcgraw about the candidates in the republican field, the potential candidates, not mentioning january 6th, which is an interesting point. this is not going to be a question in the republican primary of all the ways they could go after trump. you might think leading a coup against the united states government would be one of them. january 6th are not words that will be spoken much, at least in this primary campaign. >> certainly hasn't been so far. we'll hear about them plenty in the general election, i am sure. right now, these republican candidates, as the piece smartly points out, aren't talking about it at all. there would be real risk to do so. elise, it would seem like, if you are a republican who tried to come in even just slightly more mainstream than where trump is, saying, hey, i can give you a lot of his policies without the crazy, this might be a place

you could create daylight. look, i'm not going to lead a riot. is it because they're fearful of republican voters who maybe don't agree with the violence of the day but bought the big lie, and so many to this moment don't think president biden was legitimately elected. >> there is -- i was saying 30%. i put it more at 40% of the republican primary electorate who, supportive of january 6th and donald trump. how do you position yourself as anything but the trump lane if you want a slice of those voters? that's the conundrum for these candidates, unless they can break that away. they won't. if it is a crowded field, which it looks like it is going to be, we know how this story ends. >> yeah. mo, talk to us about january 6th, but also, to vaughan's point earlier, trump is pulling his punches right now. yeah, he bashes candidates on truth social. no one sees that.

but in the big moments, he is not going hard after his potential rivals, at least not yet, because it is to his benefit to have more of them in. his base isn't going anywhere. >> that's right. he is going to do what he always does, wait until someone feels they're a little bit of a threat, getting traction. he'll come one a funny nickname, hit them a couple times, and move on to the next person. that has worked well for him in the past because, again, no one else knows how to deal with that. no one knows how to deal with him. i think part of the challenge that some of these other candidates are going to face is that they haven't been in the spotlight before. they haven't had that glare on them yet. ron desantis has done very well in florida, and we're all talking about him every day as the big alternative. he's never stepped out onto a national stage. he is very, very untested. and so when he gets out there on

the stage and donald trump starts popping him, does he crumble? does someone else step up? january 6th is a dangerous thing within a republican primary. that's why i think you're going to see them try to dance around it a little bit. tim scott is interesting to me. because tim scott, who, by the way, if i was advising the biden campaign, i'd say he is the guy you should really be paying attention to. i don't know if he can make it out of a primary, but in a general election, he is the most interesting contrast with president biden. but can someone like a tim scott sort of recapture the conservative argument within a republican primary, without alienating maga voters? or is he going to play into the grievance politics that the others are leaning into? that desantis and nikki haley are leaning into. that's why they can't go after january 6th. because january 6th was the ultimate expression in republican grievance, and this

is a grievance party right now. >> vaughan, clearly, donald trump is looking at the opponents in a potential primary and doesn't fear any of them. the only one getting some of his attention is ron desantis who, again, isn't in the race yet. as mo says, we don't know how he'll perform if he steps outside tallahassee, florida, onto a national stage. you covered these campaigns. you've been on the ground. you've been in arizona. you spent all the time. you know the energy of the republican party. should donald trump fear any of these opponents or potential opponents? >> tim scott, interesting potential candidate. i didn't hear his name mentioned one time at cpac over the course of the weekend. it's a fundamental base, grassroots base of this republican party. any candidate is going to need it. there is one potential candidate who is already down, and that is larry hogan, announcing yesterday he, the former maryland governor, he is not going to jump into this

republican presidential race. he said he does not want another situation where there is a car pileup of candidates that allow mr. trump, in his words, to walk into the nomination. but, you know, god bless larry hogan, i didn't meet a single republican voter the last two years who said, "i'm thinking about larry hogan." god bless him. i hope everything goes well for him in choosing not to run for president, but i never heard of anyone who wanted him to run for president here. january 6th, i've just got to say, there was a great number of folks that did not agree with the physical means in which that day unfolded. but, by and large, folks agree with the justification of the cost. that is what we must remember every day, and it is also, when you're talking about nikki haley and the video campaign launch, we haven't heard 'em talk about it since, the removal of the

confederate flag from the statehouse. we're hearing things that happened in the recent history, that we covered and have lived through, won't be hearing it on the republican campaign trail unless we ask the candidates about it. do voters care? we have 11 months to see. >> vaughn hillyard, charlie sykes, mo, a great conversation this morning. thank you, all, for being here. appreciate it. a pair of ukrainian pilots are training on f-16 fighter jets. courtney kube has details for us and what that might mean for the future of u.s. aid to ukraine . plus, we'll be joined by a minister of defense amid the fact that china could provide russia with lethal aid. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. ight back. . it's the number one doctor recommended brand that is scientifically designed to help manage your blood sugar. live every moment.

glucerna. science proves quality sleep is vital to your mental, emotional, and physical health. and we know 80% of couples sleep too hot or too cold. introducing the new sleep number climate360 smart bed. the only smart bed in the world that actively cools, warms, and effortlessly responds to both of you. our smart sleepers get 28 minutes more restful sleep per night. proven quality sleep. only from sleep number.

you love closing a deal. but hate managing your business from afar. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire trying to control my asthma felt anything but normal. ♪ ♪ enough was enough. i talked to an asthma specialist and found out my severe asthma is driven by eosinophils, a type of asthma nucala can help control. now, fewer asthma attacks and less oral steroids that's my nunormal with nucala. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection 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. talk to your asthma specialist to see if once-monthly nucala may be right for you. and learn about savings at nucala.com there's more to your life than asthma. find your nunormal with nucala. known as a passionate artist. known for loving the outdoors. known for getting everyone together. no one wants to be known for cancer, but a treatment can be. keytruda is known to treat cancer. fda-approved for 16 types of cancer, including certain early-stage cancers. one of those cancers is triple-negative breast cancer. keytruda may be used with chemotherapy medicines as treatment before surgery and then continued alone after surgery when you have early-stage breast cancer and are at high risk of it coming back. keytruda can cause your immune system to attack healthy parts of your body during or after treatment. this may be severe and lead to death. see your doctor right away if you have cough,

shortness of breath, chest pain, diarrhea, severe stomach pain, severe nausea or vomiting, headache, light sensitivity, eye problems, irregular heartbeat, extreme tiredness, constipation, dizziness or fainting, changes in appetite, thirst, or urine, confusion, memory problems, muscle pain or weakness, fever, rash, itching, or flushing. there may be other side effects. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including immune system problems, if you've had or plan to have an organ or stem cell transplant, received chest radiation, or have a nervous system problem. keytruda is an immunotherapy and is also being studied in hundreds of clinical trials, exploring ways to treat even more types of cancer. it's tru. keytruda from merck. see all the types of cancer keytruda is known for at keytruda.com, and ask your doctor if keytruda could be right for you. live picture of the united

states capitol on a monday morning. we are learning more about what led the u.s. intel community to believe china is considering providing will lethal aid to russia in its war against ukraine. nbc news reports the intelligence originally was gleaned from russian government officials. that's according to one current and one former u.s. official. americans spent weeks corroborating the information before going public with their concerns. last week, national security council spokesman john kirby says the u.s. believes china has not yet taken weapons off of the table, but added no movement has yet been made. china denied the accusation, calling it, quote, disinformation. two ukrainian pilots are in the united states ready to receive training on certain aircraft, including f-16 fighter jets. those are the planes the ukrainian military has been asking for in its fight against russia. nbc news pentagon correspondent courtney kube has more. >> reporter: for the first time, ukraiian pilots are in the u.s. working with u.s. military

pilots to assess their skills and familiarize them on new equipment and aircraft like the f-16. the ukrainian pilots are at a u.s. military base in tucson, arizona, working on simulators that mimic aircraft. they are not flying actual planes. as many as ten more ukrainian pilots are expected to join them in the coming weeks. this comes as ukrainian president zelenskyy has repeatedly asked the u.s. for f-16s, but the biden administration has resisted. last week, the pentagon's top policy official told congress, f-16s could take at least 18 months to deliver and cost billions of dollars, saying pentagon leaders, instead, are focused on weapons and equipment they can deliver more immediately. >> courtney kube reporting there for us. joining us now, adviser to the minister of defense of ukraine, uri sack. mr. sack, thank you for being with us again today. good to see you. let's start with the f-16 jets. are you expecting in ukraine that the united states, though it hasn't formally made the move to offer that aid, will, at some

point in the near future perhaps, give you the planes you've been asking for? >> good morning. of course, we are expecting, and this is what we have been requesting now for some time. without f-16s, the aircraft, our air defense system will be incomplete. look, we are still a target of daily missile attacks, daily drone attacks. few days ago, a russian bomber was shot down. these are bombers which carry bombs that can be launched at ukraine from, you know, 40 miles away. so they don't even have to enter the ukrainian air space. the only way we can stop these bombers from hitting cities like they did in mariupol, for example, is if we have the fighter jets, f 16s, that would allow us to pretty much scare them away.

indeed, it's a very, very important issue for us, and we continue to advocate for it. >> we're showing some footage there, utterly decimated city of bakhmut, which has been the center of the fighting of late. the russians put out on statements, claiming they had captured most or all of the city. i know the ukraine government has disputed that. let us know right now, what is the status of the fighting there and of the people still stranded? >> let's start by saying the city of bakhmut is a city that used to have 70,000 people population. right now, it lies in ruins. it's been almost decimated and obliterate bid the russian aggressors. for the last six months, they were trying to capture this city without success. they've lost thousands, literally thousands of their soldiers. they're using them as cannon fodder in these meat grinder tactics. they have no regard for their life for their own soldiers. one of our major concerns, we defend bakhmut.

as our president said, we'll continue to do it as long as we can. if there is military necessity, we'll consider other options. for now, we are holding out. the major concern is right now, in that city, there is between 4,000 and 4,500 people still there. civilians, you know, including children. they're in the basements, hiding from thiscessantincessant, rele shelling. the situation is critical, but we are holding out. >> on that, you mentioned the russians just sending men to the front line to be basically cannon fodder. so many from this wagner prison group, this mercenary group doing that. i know there's been analysts here in the states who have expressed concern about the ukrainian military being bogged down in bakhmut with fighting those mercenaries, because, you know, it is depleing ukraine's resources. it might limit their ability to launch their own counteroffensive in the weeks and months ahead. is that factoring into the calculation here? >> well, everything is factored into the calculation.

of course, you know, our approach has been, it's a war, of course. there are losses on both sides. our approach has always been with regards to not just bakhmut but overall, is maximizing the losses of the enemy while minimizing our losses. so we are fighting a smart war. we are not using our soldiers as cannon fodder. this means, of course, while we are holding out in bakhmut, we are preparing for the counteroffensive, which is our primary objective. we need to liberate our land. this war, i mean, during the last 12 months, we have shown, first of all, we can win this war. now, we are showing and we must win this war this year. you know, we cannot allow this war to become normal. we cannot allow this war to be a protracted war. this is a tragedy for us. this is a tragedy for the continent. this is a tragedy for the whole of the rule-based world order. >> the images are just absolutely horrific. war is always hell.

specifically one russian tactic is beyond inhumane, and it is what is happening with the children who are being abducted and forcibly removed from their parents. do you have any estimates on how many ukrainian children have been removed from their parents, and what should the world be doing? what can you tell us? educate us so we know about this horror and try to stop it. >> it is emotionally difficult for me to speak about our ukrainian children because i'm the father of two children myself. let me tell you, i don't think there is one child in ukraine who was not impacted by this war. of course, the tragedy of this genocide of deportations, you know, it is thousands of ukrainian children who were taken away from their parents. this is why we've said from day one of this war, this is a genocide against our people. what they are doing, they're grabbing these children, they're taking them to russia, and they are indoctrinating them. they're trying to turn them into

good russians. they are forcing them to sing russian anthem, forcing them to watch russian news. i mean, this doesn't even seem real sometimes, but it is happening. this is another reasontrying toy ukrainian territory and destroy the ukrainian future by taking our children, making sure they are no longer ukrainians. they want to erase the ukrainian identity for eternity. we will not allow this to happen. this is why we need the western allies to stand with us. we are brave. we are determined. we will continue to fight. but we must receive all the military support we are requesting fast, because if this war becomes normal, we will have lost generations. look, let me tell you one figure from today. so it will take 70 years to de-mine the territory of ukraine. think about it. 70 years of risk that children will be, you know, playing somewhere in the woods and there will be a risk of them being

blown up. you know, let's make this year a victory all together. let's put an end to this genocidal war. bring back the ukrainian children. we must bring them back. >> jen, president biden left little doubt that he hears this passion that we're hearing this morning when he went and walked the streets of kyiv a couple weeks ago with president zelenskyy, when he gave that speech in warsaw, when he talked about the strength and the endurance of the nato alliance, when he's committed more than $10 billion of aid to ukraine. the list goes on. he's in it for the long haul. >> that's right. and you can tell that, willie, by the fact that after president biden went, he sent his treasury secretary to talk about the financial commitment over the long haul. he sent the attorney general to talk about the commitment to holding people to account who have been committing those war crimes. and so that's yet another sign that this is a war the united states is committed to. i want to just ask a question while you're here about the weather. because the weather has been --

there's been a lot of analysis about the impact, both of the impact on the loss of power and heat across ukraine, but also about the approach strategically on the battlefield. can you tell us a little bit more now that we're moving toward spring, how that impacts the fight that, you know, you will be implementing there on the ground? >> our freedom war against the russian aggression, i must say, it has not started in 2022. we have been fighting it from 2014 when russia first illegally annexed crimea. and then went on to war in eastern ukraine. we've been fighting this war for nine years now. essentially, you can imagine that we as an army, a military force, we are used to different weather conditions. for us, it's not about the weather. for us, it's about the weapon systems that we can use, you know, in whatever weather conditions. it is very good that the tank

coalition has been formed now. we are beginning to receive the western battle tanks. our soldiers are being trained to use them in different countries in europe. we hope this spring will be a decisive spring in terms of our ability to, you know, eject the enemy from our territory, liberate our land, and reinstate ukrainian territorial integrity within the international recognized borders, which, of course, includes ccrimea. >> adviser to minister of defense of ukraine, yuriy sak, thank you for visiting and taking time with us this morning. we appreciate it, sir. >> thank you. coming up, some scary moments for passengers on a southwest airlins flight. the cabin filling with smoke shortly after takeoff and forcing pilots to make an emergency landing. we'll explain what happened. one of our next guests is up for re-election in one of the key battleground states in 2024. senator jacky rosen of nevada is

standing by and joins the conversation straight ahead on "morning joe." trelegy for copd. ♪birds flyin' high, you know how i feel.♪ ♪breeze driftin' on by...♪ ♪...you know how i feel.♪ you don't have to take... [coughing] ...copd sitting down. ♪it's a new dawn,...♪ ♪...it's a new day,♪ it's time to make a stand. ♪and i'm feelin' good.♪ start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd... ...medicine has the power to treat copd... ...in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler,... ...trelegy makes breathing easier for a full 24 hours, improves lung function, and helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler... ...for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating,... ...vision changes, or eye pain occur.

take a stand, and start a new day with trelegy. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy... ...and save at trelegy.com. my active psoriatic arthritis can slow me down. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy... now, skyrizi helps me get going by treating my skin and joints. along with significantly clearer skin, skyrizi helps me move with less joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and fatigue. and skyrizi is just 4 doses a year after two starter doses. skyrizi attaches to and reduces

a source of excess inflammation that can lead to skin and joint symptoms. with skyrizi, 90% clearer skin and less joint pain is possible. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine, or plan to. with skyrizi, there's nothing like the feeling of improving my skin and joints... ...and that means everything. now's the time to talk to your doctor about how skyrizi can help treat your psoriatic arthritis- so you can get going. learn how abbvie can help you save.

in order for small businesses to thrive, they need to be smart... efficient... agile... and that's never been more important than it is right now. so for a limited time, comcast business is introducing small business savings. call now to get powerful internet for just $39 a month, with no contract, and a money back guarantee. all on the largest, fastest, reliable network. from the company that powers more businesses than anyone else. call and start saving today. comcast business. powering possibilities.

7:41 in the east. we've seen a string of recent incidents in the air where flights had to make emergency landings, including a southwest airlines plane diverting after a bird strike. tom costello has more. >> reporter: high drama on the runway at havana's airport on sunday. a southwest airlines flight departing for ft. lauderdale forced to make an emergency landing. the airline says an apparent bird strike hit the plane's engine and its nose shortly after takeoff. >> chaos, complete chaos. talking about dropping really quick. and the fumes getting filled up, nobody could breathe, and everybody was screaming. >> reporter: a separate incident of turbulence in the air turned

deadly. a private jet carrying people from virginia to new hampshire encountered severe turbulence friday. >> this is the tower with a medical emergency, runway 6. >> reporter: the pilot made an emergency landing in connecticut. the faa and ntsb confirming the extreme turbulence caused fatal injuries to a passenger on board. >> it's not rare to have serious injuries, broken bones, people being jostled about. but to have someone actually die means that something traumatic really must have happened. >> reporter: meanwhile, the ntsb is investigating the manufacturer of the jet, saying they'll fully support and provide assistance to all authorities as needed. it comes after yet another midair incident late last week. a lufthansa jumbo jet, traveling from texas to germany, landed in dulles outside of washington, d.c., due to significant turbulence that sent passengers

to the hospital. >> it was scary. >> reporter: passengers recount people screaming and a flight attendant unable to stabilize himself. >> one of the drops, he hit the ceiling and dropped down, was completely horizontal. >> reporter: on board, matthew mcconaughey and his wife. the brazilian model posted about the couple's experience, writing, everything was flying everywhere and the turbulence kept on coming. >> wow. nbc's tom costello reporting there. coming up next, a look at what is driving the day on wall street. cnbc's dom chu joins us with the latest in business news ahead on "morning joe." ♪ ♪ why are there two extra seats? are we getting a dog? a great dane? two great danes?! i know. giant uncle dane and his giant beard. maybe a dragon?

no, dragons are boring. twin sisters! and one is a robot and one is a knight. and i'll be on the side of... the octopus. rawr!!! the volkswagen atlas. more room for possibilities.

if you think you have dupuytren's contracture, there's a simple test you can take—from anywhere. try to lay your hand flat against a surface. if you can't, you may have dupuytren's contracture. talk to a hand specialist about your options, including nonsurgical treatments.

now to a conversation with the highest ranking woman in the house of representatives.

massachusetts congresswoman katherine clark serves as democratic whip, working to push through her party's priority. daniela pierre bravo sat down with the congresswoman and joins us now with the interview. good morning. >> good morning, willie. that's right. i headed to capitol hill to speak with the congresswoman on everything from her many firsts in politics, getting child care relief legislation into law this year, and the advice she's learned. take a look. i want to start by talking about your career trajectory in politics. you've had so many firsts. you were the first woman to be assistant speaker of the how. now you're the only and top woman in leadership on the democratic side. have you stopped and thought about what your role and career trajectory meant for representation and also women who want to be part of ppolitic? >> i find it a great honor and a great responsibility. my goal is the same goal that i

have in leadership as when i ran, it's to make sure women's voices, the voices of american families, are here and present in congress. but it really is about speaking up for women around this country who often feel they're not heard and not represented. and make sure that i can help bring up that next generation of women leaders. >> i know you're currently pushing for federal child care relief legislation. saying it is infrastructure. what do you see as the biggest barrier in getting this passed? >> you know, it is an old paradigm that we have to change. that child care is some sort of part of the economic infrastructure. it is often the most expensive item that parents have in the budget. more than mortgage and rent or college tuition.

>> are you optimistic to pass legislation in 2023? >> i am determined. we have to do this. whether it is this year or the next we are going to keep laying that groundwork to make sure that we get to universal preschool, a system that's accessible and affordable for every family. >> you are probably or have been the only woman in the room oftentimes. have you thought about your gender influences the room in those situations? have you felt intimidated or found strength in it? >> i get my voice and power from meeting women and families across my district and across the country. way too often here in congresswomen haven't been in the room. that's been the history. that's why nancy pelosi is such an iconic speaker and figure for

us. she is not only the first woman speaker but first woman whip and held a lot of firsts. those are high stilettos to fill but she taught us to know our power. she is someone who not only is an amazing role model but also really emphasized to know your why. >> any other pieces of advice from her that stuck with you? >> power will never be given to you. you have to take it. for many women they hear that as something too aggressive. how i interpret that is know the power of the people you represent. >> did you envision this career? did you see it after 50 in the 20s and 30s? >> i never did and never saw myself in politics or in

congress. i started in politics running for school committee because i believed we should have free all day kindergarten for every student in my local community and it grew from there. but i think that my message to women would be like don't be afraid to take a risk. don't be afraid to fail. i have lost a political campaign and it was painful but just -- just push yourself because we are here waiting for you. >> one of the most interesting parts of the conversation with the congresswoman is about vulnerability in leadership. she told me about the decision to share her own miscarriage, juggling three kids and a caretaker to her parents at once

and approaching leadership on topics like reproductive rights. >> thank you. we appreciate it. the latest from ohio where there's been another train derailment from norfolk southern. former president trump delivers a fired up speech saying to the crowd i am your retribution. the grievance campaign for 2024 and what the other spookers had to say. "morning joe" is coming right back. nexium 24hr

prevents heartburn acid before it begins. get all-day and all-night heartburn acid prevention with just one pill a day. choose acid prevention. choose nexium. introducing new sweet and savory crepes. for a limited time, buy one, get one free. with five flavors that are delicious any time of day. only from ihop. download the app and earn free food with every order. (vo) no matter who you are... ...being yourself can be tough when you have severe asthma. download the app and earn triggers can pop up out of nowhere, causing inflammation that can lead to asthma attacks. but no matter what type of severe asthma you have... ...tezspire can help. tezspire is an add-on treatment for people 12 and over...

...that proactively reduces inflammation... ...which means you could have fewer attacks, breathe better, and relieve your asthma symptoms. so you can be you, whoever you are. tezspire is not a rescue medication. don't take tezspire if you're allergic to it. allergic reactions may occur and can be serious. rash or eye allergy can happen. don't stop your asthma treatments unless your doctor tells you to. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection or your asthma worsens. sore throat, joint and back pain may occur. avoid live vaccines. by helping control your asthma, tezspire can help you be you. no matter who you are, ask your asthma specialist about tezspire today.

everything's changing so quickly. before the xfinity 10g network, we didn't have internet that let us play all at once. every device? in every room? why are you up here? when i was your age, we couldn't stream a movie when the power went out. you're only a year older than me. you have no idea how good you've got it. huh? what a time to be alive. introducing the next generation 10g network. only from xfinity. the future starts now. millions have made the switch from the big three to the best kept secret in wireless: xfinity mobile. that means millions are saving hundreds a year with the fastest mobile service. and now, get the best price for two lines of unlimited. just $30 per line.

there are millions of happy campers out there. and this is the perfect time to join them... right now, switch to xfinity mobile and save up to $800 on the new samsung galaxy s23 series. to learn more, visit your local xfinity store today. we must appeal to the patriotic and fundamental ideals of average americans who respond

to the same american ideals that we do. i'm not talking about a vague notion of an abstract american mainstream. i'm talking about main street americans in their millions. they come in all sizes, shapes and colors. housewives and professional men and women. they're the backbone of america and we can't move america without moving their hearts and minds. >> they want all electric stoves all over the country. we don't have the electric power for that. we want electric stoves but we want gas stoes. it is april fool's. why do they want that? >> cpac then and now. the conservative conference has shifted to grievance politics. now led by former president trump with a dark speech telling

a sparse crowd, quote, i am your retribution. more of his remarks and what they mean for the presidential race ahead and a lye report from ohio where another train carrying hazardous material went off the tracks. the second derailment in that state in just over a month. reverend sharpton was at the sell by bridge marking the anniversary of bloody sunday. with us is the host of "up way too early" jonathan lemire, elise jordan and former white house press secretary jen psaki. her new show debuts on sunday, march 19th. we begin with the national

transportation safety board investigating another derailment in ohio. 28 cars came off the tracks. no injuries reported why the train was carrying hazardous materials but not in the car that is derailed. residents told to shelter in place. the crash happened just over a month after a norfolk southern train derailed along the pennsylvania border. in a statement democratic ohio senator brown wrote ohio communities should not be forced to live if fear. he called on congress to pass immediate legislation. nbc news correspondent jesse kirsch joins us with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. no word on public health threat or injuries. this train was carries hazardous

materials according to norfolk southern but those cars did not derail according to the company and now the national transportation safety board said federal investigators are headed to the scene. another derailment in ohio. captured on camera. this driver backing away as cars came off the trablgs. norfolk southern said it was carrying hazardous materials. >> no release of hazardous material to the soil, to the air, to the water. >> reporter: they asked residents within 1,000 feet of the site to shelter in place for nine hours overnight. >> i assume that, you know, anything important i would get

alerts on the phone. >> reporter: you weren't worried? >> exactly. >> reporter: authorities say they weren't aware with hazardous material on board. >> we were not notified which is not uncommon. >> reporter: this is a month after the toxic derailment 220 miles away in east palestine, ohio. officials say they were not aware of the cargo before the derailment. what do you say to people saying that you shouldn't be operating. >> safety is the number one priority. >> reporter: there's 212 cars with 2 crew members. >> it is weird that like this is actually happening like everywhere. >> reporter: this is norfolk southern's fourth derailment in ohio in less than five months.

senator brown pushing for legislation rail safety reform. the ceo over norfolk southern is expected to testify this week. the focus intensifying. we expect authorities to look into this today. willie? >> you can understand why residents are skeptical of declarations. they have been watching east palestine. you have been covering the train derailment. what's going on there? what exactly is happening? is this common for this many trains to go off the tracks? >> reporter: frankly, we talked about this before. we have been watching this for over a month, as well. derailments happen. that is a part of this business. that's something that we are

becoming more aware of with the high focus placed on the aftermath of east palestine. i pushed a norfolk southern representative of should they be operating right now. the representative said that safety is the number one priority and investigate the derailments and with learnings to take they will be in put but we don't know the cause of the derailment in east palestine and now investigators figure out what happened in another one a month later. >> jesse, thank you so much. turning to politics, developments with the 2024 presidential field. former president trump as we showed you a moment ago speaking at cpac nearly two hours on saturday as at former governor

said he won't run. last week in baltimore house democrats agreed to stick with president biden for 2024. nbc news white house correspondent ali raffa is tracking the developments. >> on this bridge blood was given to help redeem the soul of america. >> reporter: president biden paying tribute to the heroes of bloody sunday in the civil rights movement that led to passage of the voting rights act. >> to have the vote counted is the threshold of democracy and liberty. with it anything's possible. without it, without that right, nothing is possible. >> reporter: the president hoping to make good on a 2020 campaign promise the administration is trying to keep in the spotlight ahead of an expected second presidential bid. >> i will not let a filibuster obstruct the right to vote. >> republicans must compete using every lawful means to win.

>> reporter: the potential 2024 ryal calling for a different change. >> swamping the left with votes. have to do it. bad things happen. >> reporter: former president trump laying out the framework of his campaign in a wide ranging nearly two-hour speech saturday night. saying he would not suspend it if indicted on charges from the multiple investigations he is facing. florida governor desantis who still hasn't thrown his hat in the ring touting his own leadership. >> you have seen massive gains in states like florida. >> reporter: former maryland governor hogan announcing he will not challenge in 2024. >> having trump call me names on twitter didn't really scare me

off. we had donald trump at cpac speaking to the core base of maga supporters. he won the straw poll as expected but nikki haley only other candidate that showed up there and chased by a crowd into an elevator. they chanted trump 2024. we know what it was. at the breaker in palm beach other potential candidates and candidates raising money with donors. these two groups, one that want donald trump there and the other to turn the page. for now you look at the polling. this is trump's nomination to lose. what did you see? >> you are right to point out the nifty, tidy split screen of the republican party. to be clear there is an effort

amongst some in the republican party to seek alternatives to donald trump. at the moment florida governor ron desantis seems like the preferred choice per polling. by far the leader in the field were he to jump in but he is well behind trump. this is not a surprise. almost dangerous speech i would say from former president trump with the key line i am your retribution suggesting the next four years. elise, cpac attendance down. big names skipped it. trump put up the big number in the straw poll and people there say, yeah, maybe a portion of the base with trump but bigger than anyone else has and not

going anywhere. not matter where this field goes trump can count on the supporter. >> if someone else prevailed in the nomination field would the voters go with the new candidate and vote republican still? i don't know that they would. you look at what happened with cpac this weekend and such a changed landscape and a microcosm for the republican party at large. think about 2015 and every single kapd in the republican field went to cpac and spoke and received to different levels of enthusiasm but not what it is now. this year cpac is essentially a trump superpac. one republican operative said it is the swamp on the clearance rack.

i thought that was hilarious and showed you seen now as something almost corrupt and a pay for play event. it shows the demise of cpac as an event. >> jon mentioned that line from former president trump i am your retribution as the core of the argument of grievance. >> our enemies are desperate to stop us because they know that we are the only ones who can stop them. they're not coming after me. they are coming after you. i am just standing in their way. that's all. if you put me back in the white house their reign is over. their reign will be over and they know it and america will be a free nation once again. i am your warrior, your justice and those wronged and betrayed i am your retribution. i am your retribution. not going to let this happen. >> jen, it is extraordinary to

listen to a former president of the united states frame himself as the outsider. send me to washington. put me in the white house and i will take it back for you and stand in the way of they, them. whoever it is there. not a surprising speech from him. we know that's what he says. >> still a -- >> an extraordinary lane to be in there. >> them and they could be everyone. also had some language in his speech saying it won't be a party of and named republicans. not surprising again is when he was asked in a gaggle if he were indicted and said, absolutely, whether to leave. i wouldn't think about leaving.

this isn't about winning the republican primary. this is about him, him leading the movement and his intention as we speculate to stay in the race whatever happens. >> this is a lot of same old same old from trump on saturday at great length. nearly two hours. some people in the back were leaving as he was talking. he went through the investigations and there are many and took time and discredited them but made that point to stay in no matter what and not necessarily from the stage but not necessarily going to guarantee to support the republican nominee is if it is not him. he is setting the groundwork that he is in this for the long haul almost assuring a fractured party and therefore defeat for the republicans in november of 2024 unless he is the nominee.

almost playing a little blackmail here with the gop with the legal peril around him. >> a big piece of the story for him going into 2024 and hearing the republicans like nikki haley in the race are you tired of losing? that's a swipe at donald trump. indirect. not well received and mike pompeo considering a presidential aim taking an aim at the fiscal conservative. he highlighted how the trump administration spent $6 trillion more than took in adding to the deficit. >> would a president pompeo do a better job to manage the debt than president trump did? >> i think a president pompeo or any conservative president will do better than the trump administration but barack obama

and george bush. it matters to the next generation. the system is at risk if we don't get it right. we are $31 trillion in the hole. we have to build the economy with lower taxes and we'll get it right. it takes a true conservative leader. >> are you saying president trump wasn't a true conservative leader? >> $6 trillion more in debt. >> pompeo made this remark in the speech at cpac viewed by some as a veiled reference to trump. >> we can't become the left. those with fragile egos refusing to acknowledge reality. this is a tough word abroad and here and we can't shift blame to others but accept the

responsibility. >> there are veiled references to donald trump. nikki haley made the one about are you tired of losing? mike pompeo talking about the deficit. put grievance behind us. no one including ron desantis not in the race yet has been asked about donald trump, not taken him on in a frontal way. no one goes after donald trump and they have to figure that out because he is dominating the space. >> that's why i think that donald trump is in a pretty strong position looking at back when he first vied for the republican nomination in 2015, 2016. he had republicans attacking him. you had candidates go up against him. and you see now how hesitant all the candidates are and still tiptoeing around donald trump

even after he allegedly incited the insurrection. i don't know if i have to say allegedly but we know the role in that and they're still tiptoeing around it. even mike pence run away from the capitol and chased to the sound of hang mike pence. >> and won't answer saying we will have better options. won't be the nominee. so, jen, take this from the democratic side. not a big stretch to think about working in the white house. what is joe biden and the team thinking watching this play out where it does in this moment until ron desantis makes a decision that donald trump is the guy? >> this feels a whole lot different sitting in the white house with president joe biden in the oval office than a year ago even because last summer there's speculation and chatter

about whether or not president biden should run. there were other candidates thinking about running. that could still happen but what happened over the course of the last couple of days is the leader of the progressive caucus endorse joe biden. that is great if you're in the white house right now and meanwhile on the other side you have this complete circus chaos where trump has a hold on the core of the party as we saw at cpac and candidates running scared to run against him. that is interesting in the white house to let that play out and going to see when somebody finally throws a punch at trump and the next person and meanwhile build support on the democratic side and very good for them if that lasts for the time being. >> the meeting of democratic

lawmakers coalescing. much more from cpac including nikki haley plus president biden's message to democrats. getting tough on crime ahead of 2024. also reverend sharpton will join us from alabama. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back.

♪ ♪ ♪♪ voltaren. the joy of movement. ♪♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ get directv with a two year price guarantee. why are 93% of sleep number sleepers very satisfied with their bed? maybe it's because you can gently raise your partner's head to help relieve snoring. ♪ so you can both stay comfortable all night save $1,200 on the sleep number 360 i10 smart bed. only for a limited time.

for adults with generalized myasthenia gravis who are positive for acetylcholine receptor antibodies, it may feel like the world is moving without you. but the picture is changing, with vyvgart. in a clinical trial, participants achieved improved daily abilities with vyvgart added to their current treatment. and vyvgart helped clinical trial participants achieve reduced muscle weakness. vyvgart may increase the risk of infection. in a clinical study, the most common infections were urinary tract and respiratory tract infections. tell your doctor if you have a history of infections or if you have symptoms of an infection. vyvgart can cause allergic reactions. the most common side effects include respiratory tract infection, headache, and urinary tract infection. picture your life in motion with vyvgart. a treatment designed using a fragment of an antibody.

ask your neurologist if vyvgart could be right for you. if you're turning 65 soon or over 65 and planning to retire... now's the time to learn more about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan from unitedhealthcare and get help protecting yourself from the out-of-pocket costs medicare doesn't pay. because the time to prepare is before you go on medicare. don't wait. get started today. call unitedhealthcare for your free decision guide.

president biden traveled to selma, alabama, yesterday to commemorate the anniversary of bloody sunday marking the police attack on marchers in 1965. this was biden's first trip to selma as president.

he marched across the bridge with lawmakers and advocates of civil rights. >> many of your faith traditions sunday is the sabbath. . a day of rest. but on that sunday morning in 1965, 600 fellow children of god chose different pews. on this bridge they were called to the altar of democracy. unsure of their fate, but certain of the cause was righteous, so she would go on to say you can never know where you are going unless you know where you've been. we know where we have been! my fellow americans, on this sunday of our time we know where we have been and where we have to go. forward, together. so let's pray but let's not

rest. let's keep marching. let's keep the faith. >> the president yesterday in selma, alabama. joining us now is president of the national action network reverend sharpton and mark muirial. >> good morning. >> good morning. we saw you with the president yesterday, al. hallowed ground in this country. what was it like to be there yesterday with the president? >> well, it was mixed feelings. great thing to see the president of the united states, only the second president in office, the first being barack obama, march across that bridge with us. but the sadness is to really think about how we are probably now more than ever since 1965 threatened with different states changing the voting laws and that we're not just

commemorating but trying to continue a struggle. when i was marching across that bridge next to the president and holding hands with reverend jackson in a wheelchair and the generation beaten on the bridge. he marched on the bridge. he was a college student and marched there and looking at him and that generation of his, john lewis and others, that paid the price and here we are 58 years later seeing states you gerrymandering and schemes to stop early voting. it is not just remembering what happened but saying we can't let it go back and i think that's why president biden's speech right on target and the presence was exactly what we need at this time. >> mark, obviously the symbolism is strong.

being in selma. but you all kicking off the legislative policy conference talking about the actual on the ground meat and potatoes of legislation that helps people who have been held back in this country. what would you like to see this administration focus on? >> we -- good morning to all and good morning, reverend and willie. we have 500 urban leaguers in washington today at the white house. tomorrow at various agencies and on capitol hill and on wednesday on capitol hill so we are going to bring the message of voting rights, democracy and economic inclusion directly to lawmakers. republicans and democrats. we'll engage with the administration. yesterday was important and i hope for president biden it is the start of a re-energized effort to pass the john lewis

bill epa the freedom to vote bill. those bills would protect, would create a firewall against the kind of absolute insanity at the state level. this year there have been 150 voter suppression bills in 32 states and only beginning of march so the movement to undercut and undermine democracy taking place at the state level in state legislatures and the only way to stop it is with two important federal bills. >> rev, it is jonathan. president biden had success the first two plus year in office passing legislation but democrats are disappointed the federal voting rights law suspect one of them. as we start to think about 2024 and we know what a significant

percentage of the democratic base is black voters. we are a long day from election day but is he able to if he can't get it done, the laws done, will he have their support? >> i think that it is something that he doesn't take for granted nor should we take him for granted. i think that the enthusiasm and the turnout based on the genuine ability to deliver in terms of voting and criminal justice reform and economic concerns. showing the best of efforts. if he cannot deliver because of the inflexibility of the republicans to at all -- against us they can in many ways encourage and incite the turnout

that the democrats and president biden needs. it is according to how it is played out. when you look at the fact we couldn't pass the john lewis bill with every republican voting against it, that may help the democrats because we couldn't overcome the filibuster because of two democrats but all republicans. it is according to effort shown. that's why on the political side when you see president biden himself marching across that bridge as president, first time as president, when you see that ebenezer baptist church and on the holiday he is not taking the black vote for granted. and i think we have seen no outreach by the republicans. none. the best is herschel walker.

the panel can decide if that's a plus or a minus. >> mark, i wanted your take on bowser's law in d.c. and the president planning to veto it. it is controversial but crime is an issue in big cities. i want to know what you think about how the big city mayors deal with the issue. >> i think the issue in that case is d.c. voting rights and independence. i'm troubled by the notion that congress or the president can override an act that the district of columbia government which is why part of the voting rights agenda for a long time is voting rights for the district of columbia. they should be afforded the status of a state. mayors are on the front lines in the fight against criminal justice and the violence trying to balance reforming the system

and how do you fight violence. i think everyone should know that experience shows that crackdown policing, the idea that if you just crack down that something you can stop violence and crime with those sort of tactics is not only discredited but buys you more problems. mayors have to strike the right balance to invest in communities and trying to embark on a system of intelligent and effective policing. it is about effective but to do the other things, as well. >> this is something we have been talking about this show a lot especially after eric adams elected in new york city. because of quality of life issues. that's what voters said in poll after poll. chicago mayor lighthouse didn't

make the runoff mainly on crime voters said. what is the balance? what's the message that president biden should be sending to members of congress about the issue of crime? >> the balance is that we must have police reform but at the same time we must engage in some hands on ways of solving crime and that is by having better training with police and police work and live in the communities that they police at least in those cities and engaging in having citizens involved in fighting crime. we are not pro crime. no one suffers more to crime than blacks and browns. but we must be involved in the process of making the communities safe and the balance that this administration is trying to get to having many of us around the table. the answer is not as we said

that some on the far, far left has said. defund the police. the answer is define the police. we cannot afford to live in communities without law and can't have the police out of order. >> mark, i'm sure this is one of many issues that will come up this week there in washington. what else can we expect? >> a conversation about economic inclusion and economic participation in the infrastructure bill, in the science and c.h.i.p.s bill and it is important because we are a civil rights organization to focus on jobs and economic inclusion that the bills implemented with a strong racial equity lens. we'll be in discussions on that and voting rights, hate crimes, police reform.

we have a full agenda over the next four days and excited to be here. first time in person for about four years and for many the first viz it to the white house. >> congratulations to you. 20 years as president and ceo of the national urban league. >> not bad for a 25-year-old. >> you started young. president and ceo of the national urban league, marc morial, good to see you. reverend sharpton, thank you for taking time to join us. we always appreciate it. following a developing story from the middle east where israel and key gulf states are concerned about russia with iran. a live report from tel aviv amid protests.

"morning joe" is coming right back. trying to control my asthma felt anything but normal. ♪ ♪ enough was enough. i talked to an asthma specialist and found out my severe asthma is driven by eosinophils, a type of asthma nucala can help control. now, fewer asthma attacks and less oral steroids that's my nunormal with nucala. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection 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. talk to your asthma specialist to see if once-monthly nucala may be right for you. and learn about savingour nl with nucala. ubrelvy helps u fight migraine attacks. u rise to the challenge. u won't clock out. so u bring ubrelvy. it can quickly stop migraine in its tracks within 2 hours... ...without worrying if it's too late or where you are. unlike older medicines, ubrelvy is a pill that directly blocks a protein believed to be a cause of migraine. do not take with strong cyp3a4 inhibitors. most common side effects were nausea and tiredness. migraine pain relief starts with u. learn how abbvie could help you save. ask about ubrelvy, the anytime, anywhere migraine medicine.

power e*trade's easy-to-use tools make complex trading less complicated custom scans help you find new trading opportunities while an earnings tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market introducing new sweet and savory crepes. for a limited time, buy one, get one free. with five flavors that are delicious any time of day. only from ihop. download the app and earn free food with every order. when it comes to reducing sugar in your family's diet, the more choices, the better. that's why america's beverage companies are working together to deliver more great tasting options with less sugar or no sugar at all. in fact, today, nearly 60% of beverages sold contain zero sugar. different sizes? check. clear calorie labels? just check. with so many options, it's easier than ever to find the balance that's right for you. more choices. less sugar. balanceus.org

the media outlet semafor is out with reporting. jay sol lo monosaid arab diplomats told russian officials supplying tehran with advanced weapons would not only destabilize the military balance in the gulf but place iran on the side of russian isolating moscow. they said they asked russia to delay weapons shipments to iran if i won't agree to cancel them outright. jay solomon is the global security editor for semafor. is there evidence that vladimir putin cares what the countries think? >> ironically the arab states and israel maintain relatively

good relations with moscow so there is some influence there. we have seen in the past the russians particularly on anti-missile batteries have not sent them over so it is early to tell but i think there is some hope in the gulf that they can push back against russia but the relationship has really changed in the last five years, last decade between russia and iran into a full military alliance and i think there's concern now because russia is dependent on iran in ukraine, particularly for the kamikaze drones. >> so, jay, which countries are we talking about? it is important to the story and the ukraine story. are these countries influential enough with vladimir putin and russia to say back off in ukraine? >> i think the saudis and united arab emirates have the most

influence, the most control with putin. the heads, the leaders of saudi arabia and uae have met with putin recently. israel has what's called a deconfliction hotline to russia. in syria. because the israelis have been launching air strikes against iranian interests inside syria. the russian air force is prominent there. i would say it's the three states that might still have direct line to the russian leadership but as i was saying earlier the iranian-russian relationship gotten closer in the last five years and putin seems dependent on iran for the drones an potentially other military hardware. it is a fluid situation.

>> jay, what can be done about this partnership? what is the west, the united states in particular, what avenues do they have to try to have these -- moscow and tehran disengage with a threat to so many in that region and elsewhere? >> it is interesting. the u.s. government has had negotiations on and off for ten years over iran's nuclear program of which russia is a central player so in the past there have been some sort of coordination or cooperation to try to limit iran's military capabilities, particularly nuclear weapons and the agreement of 2015 that the obama administration negotiated was a key channel that the west used to try to constrain iran's capabilities. that channel has kind of been

frozen but there is still some talk the nuclear negotiations could be resumed. that's one channel if that could be out again and probably see continued efforted by the u.s. to strengthen allied capabilities. the u.s. had provocative military exercises with israel in recent weeks, not so veiled examples of the capability to strike iran if the nuclear capabilities keep engaging so i guess it's those two channels. whether the diplomacy picked up again but also an increasing alliance between the u.s., israel and the gulf states against iran and russia. i think it's a very fluid situation. >> it will be interesting to see how far the gulf states go to

restrain russia. so far not very far. jay, thank you so much for the reporting. protests in israel again. they took to the streets to protest the plan to overhaul the country's court system. joining us is nbc news foreign correspondent raf sanchez. good to see you. explain what is going on in the streets right now. what are the protesters upset about? >> reporter: willie, this is starting to feel like a full-blown constitutional crisis. benjamin netanyahu is showing no planning to back down. the parliament dominated by netanyahu could vote by a simple majority to simply ignore rulings of the israeli supreme

court. netanyahu will tell you that this is a necessary reform but 160,000 protesters were on the streets over the weekend protesting it. proportional to population that is 5 million americans on the streets of new york city and the people are very worried that netanyahu's plan will gut israel's judiciary, a major blow to israeli democracy and one of the protesters we met over the weekend was the daughter of the late prime minister assassinated by a far right extremist in 1995. she told us how painful it was to see members of the far right now sitting around netanyahu's cabinet table after he brought them into government and senior government roles and how worried

she is about the country's future. >> we are all for jewish democratic state why it is not matter of left and right but those believe and fought for those values. >> reporter: another prominent voice speaking out against netanyahu's plans, former new york city mayor mike bloomberg. a lifelong supporter of israel. in an opinion piece in "the new york times" he says in part my love for israel and respect for its people and the concern about the future are now leading me to speak out against the current government's attempts to abolish the independent judiciary. just one last illustration of how serious this is. the israeli military confirming

that reservist fighter pilots refuse to take part in training this week in protest and the pilots are some of the most respected people in israel society and would be called upon to carry out an attack against iran's nuclear facilities if it came to that and the fact that they say they are prepared to enter the political debate and refuse training is a sign of how serious the situation is. >> a great job explaining this from tel aviv. thank you. chris rock released the new stand-up special over the weekend addressing will smith slapping him at the oscars last year. more of what he had to say in that lye netflix special.

that's ahead on "morning joe." my name is tonya, i am 42. as mother of nine kids, i think i waited this long to get botox® cosmetic because i take like no time for myself. my kids are sports kids. we're always running from one activity to another. i'm still tonya, and i got botox® cosmetic, and this is like the first thing i've done for me in a really, really long time. my life is still crazy, it's just as full as it was before. just with less lines. botox® cosmetic is fda approved to temporarily make frown lines, crow's feet, and forehead lines look better. the effects of botox® cosmetic may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness may be a sign of a life-threatening condition. do not receive botox® cosmetic if you have a skin infection. side effects may include allergic reactions, injection site pain, headache, eyebrow, eyelid drooping, and eyelid swelling. tell your doctor about your medical history. muscle or nerve conditions, and medications including botulinum toxins.

as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. see for yourself at botoxcosmetic.com the virus that causes shingles is sleeping... in 99% of people over 50. it's lying dormant, waiting... and could reactivate. shingles strikes as a painful, blistering rash that can last for weeks. and it could wake at any time. think you're not at risk for shingles? it's time to wake up. because shingles could wake up in you. if you're over 50, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about shingles prevention. oh booking.com, ♪ i'm going to somewhere, anywhere. ♪ ♪ a beach house, a treehouse, ♪

♪ honestly i don't care ♪ find the perfect vacation rental for you booking.com, booking. yeah.

for the first time, chris rock spoke publicly about the infamous slap at last year's oscars, rock cracking jokes about will and jada pinkett smith during a netflix special this weekend. marissa parra has details. >> oh, wow. >> reporter: the face of the slap heard around the world wasted no time getting to the punch line. >> anybody that says words hurt has never been punched in the face. >> reporter: in his new special,

"selective outrage" chris rock is tackling that infamous slap head on. >> people like did it hurt? it still hurts. i got ringing in my ears. >> reporter: the comedian spending almost ten minutes of his special on the smack. >> will smith is significantly bigger than me. we are not the same size. okay. you've never seen me do a movie with my shirt off. >> reporter: that moment at last year's oscars prompted by rock's dig at smith's wife, jada pinkett smith, whose bald appearance is due to alopecia. >> she hurt him way more than he hurt me, okay? >> reporter: who has publicly admitted to having an affair. >> everybody that really knows knows i had nothing to do with that.

i didn't have any entanglements. >> reporter: smith has given multiple public apologies. >> chris, i apologize to you. i'm here whenever you're ready to talk. >> reporter: it's not clear if the two have since spoken. >> i have rooted for will smith my whole life, i root for this [ bleep ], okay? and now i watch "emancipation" just to see him get whooped. coming up, our next guest says america faces a type of extremist violence it does not know how to stop. t does not know how to stop what causes a curve down there? is it peyronie's disease? will it get worse? how common is it? who can i talk to? can this be treated? stop typing.

start talking to a specialized urologist. because it could be peyronie's disease, or pd. it's a medical condition where there is a curve in the erection, caused by a formation of scar tissue. and an estimated 1 in 10 men may have it. but pd can be treated even without surgery. say goodbye to searching online. find a specialized urologist who can diagnose pd and build a treatment plan with you. visit makeapdplan.com today.

the house ethics committee has announced an investigation into george santos. thank god i'm not george santos, said george santos.

[ laughter ] >> welcome to the fourth hour of "morning joe." just about 6:00 in the morning in los angeles, 9:00 here in the east. jonathan lemire, elise jordan, jen psaki with us. the weekend saw a number of high profile appearances from donald trump and ron desantis on the republican side, to president biden traveling to selma, alabama. also, the latest on yet another train derailment in ohio, as the calls for congress to pass legislation grow. we begin with a weather emergency unfolding out west. some california residents are trapped inside their homes after a blizzard buried the region under several feet of snow and now another storm may be on the way. miguel almaguer has the latest. >> reporter: this morning, with california battered by more

winter weather, some communities remain cut off. up north, the sierra nevada blanketed by up to 5 feet of snow. and in southern california, emergency crews are working to plow through up to 10 feet, all falling in the past week. >> underneath that mound is my jeep wrangler, totally buried. >> reporter: thousands live in the san bernardino mountains just east of los angeles, where back-to-back storms have left roadways blocked, houses buried and people stranded for days. and now some increasingly desperate residents are running low on supplies. >> we have neighbors panicking. they're without food, power, heat, medications. >> reporter: the snow even sparking fires, possibly caused by gas leaks. >> we've had eight stricture fires in lake arrowhead, which is not typical.

>> reporter: in crestline, snow collapsed the roof of the only grocery store in town, its parking lot now a makeshift distribution center. still, many are snowed in and begging for help. >> i mean, there's 9 and 10-foot berms alongside these roads. i don't see that improving for a month. >> reporter: as those still stuck inside lean on neighbors for basic necessities. >> people like me are trying to get out that can and deliver food and hike through 6 feet of snow to these homes that can't get out, these senior citizens that can't dig themselves out. >> reporter: now with just days before another storm, it's a race to reach these communities still buried in snow. >> with more snow on the way. to presidential politics, former president trump took a victory lap winning the straw poll at cpac.

florida governor ron desantis courted conservative voters on the other side of the country. hallie jackson has the latest. >> reporter: coast-to-coast campaigning this morning from california to maryland, where donald trump promised to channel grievances in 2024. >> i am your warrior. >> reporter: after years of pushing election fraud lies and attacking early voting, he's now asking supporters to do just that, vote early and vote by mail. mr. trump insists he'll stay in the race even with indicted. >> i wouldn't even think about leaving. these are fake stories. these are horrible. >> reporter: the conservative event clearly trump territory with cpac's straw poll, unscientific but considered

symbolic, finding 62% of attendees back former president trump, 20% back ron desantis, who was not at the gathering, instead delivering a speech sunday at the reagan library outside los angeles. the side out front was vandalized before his visit reading "ron defascist." taking what could be seen as a veiled swipe at mr. trump's leadership compared to his own. >> you didn't see a lot of drama. what you saw was surgical precision. >> reporter: desantis has not announced a 2024 run yet. neither has president biden as he is in selma, alabama, commemorating bloody sunday when

civil rights activists were attacked by police. >> the right to vote is the threshold of democracy and liberty. with it, anything is possible. >> hallie jackson reporting. jonathan lemire, a fascinating weekend on the republican side as we look ahead who 2024. we have this pure, uncut distillation of make america great again for donald trump at the cpac event.ley was there ma speech as well. the governor of florida turns up at the ronald reagan library in california, not by accident. >> no, he does not. governor desantis on a book tour giving a lot of prominent speeches in new hampshire and iowa, south carolina, places early on the republican primary calendar, though he's not

anticipated to jump into the race after june. right now, the challengers that have jumped in haven't gotten much traction. cpac is trump land. nikki haley did show up. she got booed, heckled by some trump supporters there. elise jordan, there have been some in the republican party that have predicted and wished for years for the party to move on from donald trump. it still may. maybe ron desantis or somebody else will get the momentum to finally dethrone trump. the message we got this weekend, it's still trump's party. >> that's the base. they are sticking with donald trump. you see more of elite, people who tacitly accepted trump, but they dealt with it, who are pushing in another direction. i feel like it's a bit overhyped

to even say desantis is that significant of a challenger to donald trump at this point when you look at how they are in head-to-head polls and donald trump is double digits ahead of desantis. >> at least in this poll at cpac he was 40-something points ahead of him. ron desantis has sort of become a stand-in for the other, the not-donald trump. former maryland governor and a long time critic of donald trump, republican larry hogan says he will not run for president, adding he cares more about securing a future for the republican party than his own security. he cited the 2016 republican primary and how trump benefitted from a wide field and a lack of consolidation around a single anti-trump candidate. hogan said he does not want to contribute to a similar

situation in 2024, though that's already happening. nikki haley is the only one in officially, but we have all these other republicans visiting key states. it's going to be a significant field. perhaps why you haven't seen donald trump really go after any of them in a significant way outside of ron desantis. he welcomes a big field. he welcomes the split of the vote. >> of course he does, because it helps him. governor hogan was onto something there, in that the more candidates who get into the race, if it's just trump versus desantis, desantis wins in some cases or gets very close. when it is multiple candidates, it becomes more of a trump vote, because he has such a hold, as we saw at cpac, on the party. remember when nikki haley announced she was going to run and trump said, i called her and said, come on in, the water's fine, or whatever he said. he knows it helps him.

>> without question. there's also the question, as we look into 2024, of the senate map, which is a tough map for democrats. several incumbents in red states are up for reelection. that means democrats in swing states face important campaigns, including in nevada. nevada democrats over the weekend ousted a slate of democratic socialists who took over the state party two years ago, ending a troubled run marked by division and infighting. joining us is nevada's democratic senator jackie rosen. senator, thanksmorning. explain for our viewers who may not fully understand the background of what happened over the weekend with the democratic party in nevada. >> thank you for having me on this morning. it was a historic win, because

now chairman danielle monroe moreno is the first black woman to be chair of nevada dems. she won and the whole slate won in an overwhelming victory to bring the focus back to nevada, how we're investing in our state and delivering for our constituents, for our businesses, our veterans and seniors. we need to move forward. nevada is a background state. it is purple. if you were, senators catherine cortez masto won only by about 8,000 votes. it is very competitive. i'm going to have a tough race. with this new unity slate, chaired by chairman danielle monroe moreno, we will have victory, i believe. >> nothing in the state of nevada in politics comes easy. it's purple. you know that better than anybody. republicans certainly have circled your seat as a potential

flip they could make. what will this race come down to as you look ahead to the next year and a half of campaigning? >> first of all, it's about organizing. we have a lot of democrats, but we are a purple state. we are a pragmatic state. it's going to be a competitive race. my job and the job of the nevada democrats is going to be being sure that everyone in nevada understands how we've been investing in nevada with historic

it's this week and robust witho

skyrocketing labor cost. that means the fed might be less aggressive in terms of raising interest rates. recently we've seen more signs of persistent inflation especially for things like services. that's led to chatter about the fed needing to keep raising rates and holding them higher for longer. on friday, february jobs report, next week consumer price indexing data. it is a lot of focus on this fed and inflation this time around. speaking of wages, the gap between what men make in the workforce versus female counterparts is costing the world economy trillions, $7

trillion to be specific. that's the estimate out of moody's analytics. the calculation is based on how much more money women aged 25-64 in member companies would make if they got paid the same as their male counterparts. according to the world bank, gender biases and inequalities placing women in low-wage occupations did contribute to the gender wage gap. finally, tesla is in the headlines about actions it is taking to lower costs to consumers, cutting prices on its model s, prices discounted by up to 5%. for the model x, prices could be discounted by up to 10%. ceo elon musk did note demand went up last time prices were cut. this could be an effort to drive

or stoke demand for tesla's by giving that price cut. this morning the ntsb is investigating whether norfolk southern train derailment in ohio near springfield west of columbus. no injuries were reported. officials say the train was carrying hazardous materials, but not in any of the cars derailed. residents were ordered to shelter-in-place. the crash happened just a month after a norfolk southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in east palestine. senator brown wrote, ohio communities should not be forced to live in fear. it is unacceptable. he called on congress to pass legislation immediately. the texas republican party

voted over the weekend to censure congressman tony gonzalez for breaking with the caucus. the state party passed the resolution in a 57-5 vote saturday. it comes after gonzalez voted in favor of the landmark bipartisan gun legislation written in response to shootings in uvalde, which is in gonzalez's district, and the shooting in buffalo, new york. gonzalez also voted in favor of protecting same-sex marriage and was the only republican to vote against the house rules package for the current congress. gonzalez did not comment directly on the seine sure. instead, he tweeted photos from a gathering in uvalde. coming up, america faces a type of extremist violence it does not know how to stop. that conversation straight ahead on "morning joe." stop. that conversation straight ahead on "morning joe. ♪3, 4♪ ♪ ♪hey♪ ♪ ♪are you ready for me♪

♪are you ready♪ ♪are you ready♪ ooh, we're firing up the chewy app. can't say no to these prices! hmm, clumping litter? resounding yes! salmon paté? love that for me! essentials? check! ooh, we have enough to splurge on catnip toys! we did it, i feel so accomplished. pet me, please! okay that's enough. now back to me time. luv you! great prices. happy pets. chewy. your brain is an amazing thing. but as you get older, it naturally begins to change, causing a lack of sharpness, or even trouble with recall. thankfully, the breakthrough in prevagen helps your brain and actually improves memory. the secret is an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory.

prevagen. at stores everywhere without a prescription. ♪ ♪ ♪ get directv with a two year price guarantee. i'm a screen addicted tween. and, if i'm not posting on social media, i don't feel seen. hey mom. look! mom! oh my god mom. you gotta look at this. nope. keeping my eyes on the road is paying off with drivewise. post about that. bo-ring. oh! say cheese! no, thank you. unblock me! stop! [screech] that was awesome! hey what's your @? i'll tag you. get drivewise from allstate and save 40% for avoiding mayhem like me. as a business owner, your bottom line is always top of mind. get drivewise from allstate so start saving by switching to the mobile service designed for small business: comcast business mobile.

flexible data plans mean you can get unlimited data or pay by the gig. all on the most reliable 5g network. with no line activation fees or term contracts. saving you up to 60% a year. and it's only available to comcast business internet customers. so boost your bottom line by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities.

. the united states capitol, 9:21 in the morning here on the east coast. "the atlantic" takes a deep dive into the current era of new political violence in america. recent incidents include, of course, the january 6th attack of the capitol, the plot to kidnap michigan governor gretchen whitner and the intruder who broke into nancy pelosi's california home and brutally attacked her husband paul pelosi with a hammer. author adrian la france writes, "in recent years americans have contemplated a worst-case scenario in which the country's extreme and widening divisions lead to a second civil war. what the country is experiencing now and will likely continue to experience for a generation or more is something different. the form of extremism we face is a new phase of domestic terror, one characterized by radical individuals with shape-shifting ideologies willing to kill their

political enemies. unchecked, it promises an era of slow-motion anarchy. adrianne joins us now. her cover story is titled "the new anarchy." thanks for being with us to talk about this. before we think about some solutions here and how we might change this trajectory we're on, let's talk about how we got here and how bad it is. you really went into some deep reporting for this story. what did you find that troubled you? >> well, in the beginning, i wanted to sort of understand how to break the fever. very early on in my reporting, it became clear the conditions that make a society vulnerable to political violence don't go away easily or quickly. it became clear this is a generation or generations-long thing we're in.

from there, it became a question of how do we avoid, frankly, further bloodshed. there are a lot of disturbing things about this, sort of how do you endure without further bloodshed, and how do you get through to society without government overreach in some cases? in the past, there's a lot of cases of civil liberties being infringed on. those are two that come to mind. >> you wrote about some of the violence we saw in places like portland in the wake of the murder of george floyd in minneapolis, that violence, whatever side you're on, has become not an acceptable outlet, but to some, yes, i guess a way to express their anger with what's happens in the country. >> this is the normalization of

violence. i wrote about violence erupting from the far right and the far left. when you look at what's happening, it really is extremist right-wing violence that scholars are most worried about. it's not equal on all sides. there is a phenomenon that's new to this era which is very troubling. that's you had a powerful mainstream party in the republican party really inciting and endorsing, including the then-sitting president donald trump, this kind of violence. you saw that this weekend in his remarks after the cpac. the idea that a powerful party is cheering on this violence is different and dangerous. >> we heard from congresswoman marjorie taylor greene calling for a national divorce. in your piece, you suggest a second civil war, once unthinkable, is now something some people believe can't be

completely ruled out. walk us through what you found and where these acts of violence may grow more common. >> i mean, the notion of a civil war obviously looms large in the national memory and in the national imagination. i actually think that's a limited or constrained framework to understand the threats we face today. i think we're far less likely to have cleanly or geographically delineated camps fighting in the way we did in the 19th century. what may seem like random acts of violence, but in fact is a new kind of domestic terrorism we're already facing. i mention this because there is a tendency to ask how close are we to the next civil war. my worry is that by waiting for that outcome, we're not properly addressing the dangerous that is already all around us. >> in your article, you talk

about the years of the violence in italy in the 1980s. it was fuelled by a poor economy and people got sick of it. what do you foresee in america? do you think economic inequality here is contributing to the political unrest? >> absolutely. i think you see this again and again throughout history. when economic conditions are poor, people feel they like have no other option than to turn to violence or an extreme. a stronger economy and less highly visible wealth gap would be better for our country. it would be better in and of itself, but it would also help protect against this sort of violence. >> we have just scratched the surface of this deeply reported piece. it's the cover story for "the atlantic." executive editor, adrianne la france, thanks for bringing it

to us. still ahead, my conversation with michelle yeoh. michelle yeh h liberty mutual. they customize your car insurance. so you only pay for what you need! whoo! we gotta go again. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

♪ ...i'm over 45. ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ i realize i'm no spring chicken. ♪ ♪ i know what's right for me. ♪ ♪ i've got a plan to which i'm sticking. ♪ ♪ my doc wrote me the script. ♪ ♪ box came by mail. ♪ ♪ showed up on friday. ♪ ♪ i screened with cologuard and did it my way! ♪ cologuard is a one-of-a kind way to screen for colon cancer that's effective and non-invasive. it's for people 45 plus at average risk, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider for cologuard. ♪ (group) i did it my way! ♪

hey bud. wow. what's all this? hawaii was too expensive so i brought it here. you know with priceline you could actually take that trip for less than all this. i made a horrible mistake. ♪ go to your happy price ♪ ♪ priceline ♪ next on behind the series... let me tell you about the greatest roster ever assembled. the monster, the outlaw... and you can't forget about the boss. sometimes- you just want to eat your heroes. the subway series. the greatest menu of all time.

welcome back to "morning joe." just after the bottom of the hour. on sunday, michelle yeoh very well may become the first asian woman ever to win the academy award for best actress. she has won the golden globe, the sag award for her performance in "everything everywhere all at once," nominated for 11 oscars. 60-year-old yeoh getting her due after a long career. for "sunday today" i spoke with michelle in new york. ♪♪ >> you draw a crowd, michelle. [ laughter ] >> it's nice to see people. >> like the title of the movie that has her on the brink of

hollywood history, michelle yeoh right now is everything, everywhere, all at once. how are you feeling as you sit in the middle of all this? >> you can see the big grin on my face. it's been fabulous to see this little film that has such a giant heart be embraced in all these ways. >> mrs. wang, are you with us? >> i am paying attention. >> reporter: she is nominated for her performance as evelyn, a struggling laundromat owner sucked into the multiverse, and seemingly endless alternate versions of her own life. >> you know you had something unique that people hadn't seen before, but you could not have imagined -- >> to have 11 nominations? if you had told me that last year, it would be like -- [ laughter ] it's a weird, wacky, wild, wonderful movie.

>> reporter: to save her family, her character must master a wildly different skill in each universe. the role was written specifically for yeoh by the directors. i'm curious when they came to you, how was this pitched? >> it was to see they were not certifiably insane. these geniuses had the courage to write a story about very ordinary women, but they're given the opportunity to be extraordinary. >> reporter: playing ordinary is something new for an actress known previously for roles like "crouching tiger hidden dragon." i was watching some of those fight scenes thinking she knows what she's doing. is it true that the daniels asked you to turn it down a

little bit? you were too good at it. >> normally, i am the mentor. i am the one teaching the art. but in this one, the daniels came up to me, it's evelyn wong. she doesn't have a clue what she's doing. her hands know what she's doing because she's just jumped to this other universe and acquired this skill and jumped back. >> yeoh grew up in malaysia, dreaming of being a ballet dancer. as a teenager she moved to london to train at the royal academy of dance. but when an injury cut short her promising career, she turned toward drama, though reluctantly. >> boy, did i hate it. that was the first time i discovered stage fright. when i had to say lines on stage, i forget my own name. >> reporter: at 20, yeoh

returned home, where she was horrified to see that her mother secretly entered her into the miss malaysia pageant, which she promptly won. >> so then i was given an opportunity to go to hong kong to make a commercial. >> is this the watch commercial? >> that's the watch commercial. ♪♪ >> when you're doing your hair and makeup early in the morning and you see this guy. god, he looks so familiar. then i recognized the nose. oh my god, it's jackie chan. >> reporter: she was starring alongside jackie chan in hong kong action films like "super cops." an established star in asia, yeoh made the leap to hollywood, a town that at first did not seem to appreciate her resume. >> you came from a place where you could do anything and you wanted to come show that to hollywood and they weren't ready

for that. how did you work through that? >> it's not giving up. it's believing that it's possible. at that time, quite a few directors and actors were trying to make it in hollywood as well, because that is the ultimate dream. then you get here and for the first time i think i understand that i'm a minority. it was all stereotype. every script that you read, the asian has to come from chinatown. thank god, 30 years down the road it's all changed. >> reporter: now, in "everything, everywhere, all at once" yeoh finally plays her first lead in hollywood with a performance that is making history. >> this is for every little girl that looks like me. >> you've been in some incredible movies. is this a gratifying moment not just for this movie because now

people are saying, my gosh, she really is one of our best? >> it is. it's from your peers, from your fellow actors who have been through these kind of journeys, the whole wanting and not getting and desiring. it's very gratifying. >> do you feel that contrast in your career? >> it's necessary. >> reporter: next up, the academy awards with mom still offering advice. >> she just called me the other day. if you're going to the oscars, you must not wear pants. >> thanks for the tip, mom. >> when you wear pants, you look short. i love my mom. >> the dynamic never changes. >> never. >> it's emotional enough to win an academy award, but with everything you just described, how much would it mean to you holding that trophy? >> it's beyond me. just the nomination has shined a

light on a lot of people. it was obvious this asian family, people around the world were saying, look at us, give us a seat at the table. it's a gift. >> you can see if michelle wins that oscar at the academy awards on sunday night. she would make history if she does. coming up, we go from the big screen to the broadway stage. a look at the shows coming to new york this spring and the fan favorite ending its run. ♪ birds flyin' high, you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ breeze driftin' on... ♪ [coughing] ♪ ...by, you know how i feel. ♪ if you're tired of staring down your copd,... ♪ it's a new dawn, ♪ ♪ it's a new day... ♪ ...stop settling. ♪ ...and i'm feelin' good. ♪ start a new day with trelegy.

no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy makes breathing easier for a full 24 hours, improves lung function, and helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. take a stand, and start a new day with trelegy. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy, and save at trelegy.com i have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now, there's skyrizi. ♪things are getting clearer♪ ♪i feel free to bare my skin♪ ♪yeah, that's all me♪ ♪nothing and me go hand in hand♪ ♪nothing on my skin♪ ♪that's my new plan♪ ♪nothing is everything♪

achieve clearer skin with skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months. in another study, most people had 90% clearer skin, even at 4 years. and skyrizi is just 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. ♪it's my moment, so i just gotta say♪ ♪nothing is everything♪ serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. ♪nothing is everything♪ now's the time to ask your doctor about skyrizi, the number one dermatologist prescribed biologic. learn how abbvie could help you save.

♪ ♪ - why are these so bad? - if i would've used kayak to book our car, we could have saved on our trip instead of during our trip. ughh - kayak. search one and done. for adults with generalized myasthenia gravis who are positive for acetylcholine receptor antibodies, it may feel like the world is moving without you. but the picture is changing, with vyvgart. in a clinical trial, participants achieved improved daily abilities with vyvgart added to their current treatment. and vyvgart helped clinical trial participants achieve reduced muscle weakness. vyvgart may increase the risk of infection. in a clinical study, the most common infections were urinary tract and respiratory tract infections.

tell your doctor if you have a history of infections or if you have symptoms of an infection. vyvgart can cause allergic reactions. the most common side effects include respiratory tract infection, headache, and urinary tract infection. picture your life in motion with vyvgart. a treatment designed using a fragment of an antibody. ask your neurologist if vyvgart could be right for you. this is my time machine. >> a time machine? ♪♪

>> face it, you've got no future. ♪ i got to get back in time ♪ >> 1955? >> hey, mcfly, i thought i told you never to come in here. >> they won't fall in love, they won't get married and neither you nor your siblings will ever be born. >> ""back to the future" coming to broadway. phantom of the opera will leave broadway on april 16th after a 35-year run. here to take us through the changes, frank dalella. it's good to see you. my wife and i for reasons of nostalgia went and saw phantom of the opera one last time.

i believe we've seen it six or seven times during the 30 years. andrew lloyd weber said it was time to go, i guess. how significant is that for broadway to lose a show that iconic? >> it's major. it's been around for 35 years. i saw it a couple of weeks ago as well. it really holds up. if i were guessing, i think it's going to be back. they're closing the theater. that theater needs a good polish after 35 years. i think that show may be coming back. andrew lloyd weber has a brand new musical on broadway called "bad cinderella." it opens in a couple weeks. >> let's talk about some of the other new stuff coming. we just played a clip of "back to the future." when does that open? >> you're excited. >> i'm a fan. >> he sounded a lot like michael

j. fox as marty mcfly. >> that's the guy from london. we're getting a new actor casey likes. he's unbelievable. he's such a star. the show is a big hit in london, won the award for best musical. it is worth the price of admission. >> what are you most excited about personally of all of these? >> there's a lot of stuff happening. i'm a sondheim guy myself. sweeney todd is coming to broadway. thomas kale, who directed "hamilton" is behind this. it features a 26-piece

orchestra, which is something we don't always see on a broadway stage. this is widely considered steven sondheim's masterpiece. sign me up. >> sweeney todd, one of the classics coming back to broadway. another, "camelot." >> revivals are a thing this season on broadway, big orchestras too. with camelot, we're getting a 30-piece orchestra. director bartlett share, who gave us south pacific and my fair lady, these are big lush productions. we're getting that at lincoln center this spring. it's a great cast. >> seems like the secret to success on broadway either big titles or big stars. tell us the projects headlined

by jessica chastain and shawn hayes. >> we knew her from film, but she's a real theater actress. she got her training at juliard. she is back on broadway this season in "a doll's house." this is a new adaptation by this new voice amy herzog. it's stripped down. i'm excited. i'm going thursday night to the opening. >> it's oscars week. we also have another movie being transformed into a musical. "life of p." how are they going to do that? >> you can do anything. it's currently playing in london. it was at harvard at a.r.t. now it's coming to broadway.

it won five olivier awards last year. the puppets are spectacular. we get a tiger, a ship wreck, all of it. it's pretty amazing. >> "room" is also adapted. i watched that one time on a plane and i was a total mess by the time the movie whiz over. that's going to be a pretty intense play. >> we're getting adrianne warren playing the mother in "room." it's her first play of broadway. >> before you go, a britney spears musical? is that really happening? >> you can do anything on broadway. it's not her story. it's the story if ra pun zel and cinderella and snow white all got together for a book club and what happened.

according to my sources, britney was at the workshop pre-pandemic and loved it. >> i know you saw phantom six or seven times. how much times are you going to go see the britney spears musical? >> i'm in. i make no apologies. i like this new thing they're doing where it's just play pop music through these characters. i was glad to see the winks about phantom. it didn't make sense to me that they were gone forever. frank, thank you so much. great to talk to you. coming up, former president trump's comment on staying in the 2024 race even if he is indicted. is indicted ♪3, 4♪ ♪ ♪hey♪ ♪ ♪are you ready for me♪ ♪are you ready♪ ♪are you ready♪

realtor.com (in a whisper) can we even afford this house? maybe jacob can finally get a job. the house whisperer! this house says use realtor.com to see homes in your budget. you're staying in school, jacob! realtor.com. to each their home. moderate to severe eczema still disrupts my skin. despite treatment it disrupts my skin with itch. it disrupts my skin with rash. but now, i can disrupt eczema with rinvoq. rinvoq is not a steroid, topical, or injection. it's one pill, once a day. many taking rinvoq saw clear or almost-clear skin while some saw up to 100% clear skin. and, they felt dramatic and fast itch relief some as early as 2 days. that's rinvoq relief. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal, cancers including lymphoma and skin cancer, death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older with at least one heart disease

risk factor have higher risks. don't take if allergic to rinvoq, as serious reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. disrupt the itch and rash of eczema. talk to your doctor about rinvoq. learn how abbvie can help you save. in a world, where dry eye symptoms... keep... coming... back... inflammation in the eye might be to blame. feel the ache and burn! one man learns the truth... over-the-counter eye drops typically work by lubricating your eyes. they may provide temporary relief... but probably won't touch me! mwahaha! tell me there's another way... there's hope for lasting relief with xiidra! xiidra works differently targeting inflammation that can cause dry eye disease. xiidra, nooo! xiidra treats the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. don't use if allergic to xiidra. common side effects include eye irritation, discomfort or blurred vision when applied, and unusual taste sensation. why wait? ask your doctor about a 90-day prescription and pay as little as $0. xiidra. uh-oh. not today, dry eye.

so cozy. how many rooms are in there? should we go check it out? yeah. we get to stay here all weekend! when you stay at a vrbo... i call doing the door code! ...the host doesn't stay with you. it looks exactly like the picture. because without privacy in your vacation home... it's a full log cabin guys. ...it isn't really a vacation... we can snuggle up by the fire. ...is it? wow, oh my- [birds chirping]

. >> two phony impeachments and we won that. i wouldn't even think about leaving. these are fake stories. that's are horrible -- the press

is pressing them to do something, do something, and i think it's very sad for our country. >> over the last few years i've heard some who claim to be conservative excuse hypocrisy by saying something like, well, we're electing a president, not a sunday school teacher. that's true. but having taught sunday school, maybe we could get both. >> that was mike pompeo at cpac preceded by donald trump ahead of his speech on saturday. jen psaki, as we close out this morning, former president trump made a speech that electrified the crowd at cpac. he's still the guy in their eyes. he won that straw poll by a wide margin while a collection by some of the other potential rivals were gathered in california or gathered in palm beach to try to raise money. it was clear, whether republicans or democrats like it, that donald trump is still the man in the party. >> and he's here to stay, willie. he also made clear when he was

asked during a press gaggle if he was indicted would he stay in the race, and he said yes, he absolutely would. he still has a hold on the base of the party. mike pompey know, nikki haley did not light the world on fire this weekend. it's still early. as of now, trump is still the guy to beat in the primary. >> certainly it seems that nothing has changed. this is still a speech delivered full of grievance, full of anger and real darkness, reminiscent of his american carnage inaugural speech, this idea of vowing to be his followers' retribution and promising vengeance, willie, for what comes next. >> a long campaign ahead. guys, thank you all so much. great morning, great conversations. that does it for us this morning. we will be right back here tomorrow morning. lindsey reiser picks up the coverage after a quick final break. p the coverage after a quick final break.

if you have this... consider adding this. an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan from unitedhealthcare. medicare supplement plans help by paying some of what medicare doesn't... and let you see any doctor. any specialist. anywhere in the u.s. who accepts medicare patients. so if you have this... consider adding this.

call unitedhealthcare today for your free decision guide. ♪ lomita feed is 101 years old. when covid hit, we had some challenges. i heard about the payroll tax refund that allowed us to keep the people that have been here taking care of us. learn more at getrefunds.com. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. visit indeed.com/hire and get started today.

♪ ♪ it's 10:00 a.m. in new york. i'm lindsey reiser. we've got a jam-packed hour ahead of us. breaking news in atlanta, explosive police video of what