j.d. balart@msnbc. andrea mitchell picks up with more news right now. and right now on "and dreea mitchell reports" president biden welcoming south korea's president for a state visit, including an oval office meeting. they are scheduled to hold a joint press conference this hour with south korea's leader facing an escalating nuclear threat from north korea and the u.s. breakdown in communications with china. also this hour, debt ceiling drama, as speaker mccarthy makes 11th hour concessions on budget cuts to try to secure votes from his own caucus as leverage in his showdown with president biden. and e. jean carroll has taken the stand in her civil rape and defamation trial against president trump as the president's new social media posts create problems for his attorneys in court

good day, everyone, i'm andrea mitchell in washington where the biden administration is bolstering support for close ally south korea in response of course to kim jong-un's nuclear threat, a growing threat for the first time in four decades, u.s. nuclear armed submarines will dock in south korea for what national security officials are calling official visits, but no american nukes will be deployed onto the peninsula as part of the new agreement. and the u.s. has agreed that south korea will have a role in any u.s. use of nuclear weapons in a conflict with the north joining me now, nbc white house correspondent and "today" co-host, kristen welker. also jen psaki and victor cha, senior vice president for asia and korea chair at the center for international studies. the biden strategy on north korea is nothing more than love

letters from president trump and kim jong-un. >> that's absolutely right what we're seeing today is effectively this show of force, pomp and pageantry that got under way on the south lawn earlier today when the president welcomed the president of south korea. by the way, this is the first official state visit since president biden welcomed the president of france last year. so this is significant it is aimed at marking the 70-year alliance between these two nations and reaffirming the united states' commitment to south korea, to its security as you said, andrea, the president is poised to announce that the u.s. will be sending those submarines to the region in basically a show of force and deterrence against north korea of course it comes about growing concerns about north korea but also about china as well as the war in ukraine

so all of those top ics are goin to be front and center south korea has provided and slapped sanctions on russia but has not provided any artillery that is among the things that's expected to be under discussion here today as well as we learned about earlier today, that call between president zelenskyy and president xi i spoke to john kirby about that call and he said, look, we are encouraged by the fact there were conversations at the same time, they're not ready to get ahead of any significance that that call may have had in terms of bringing the two sides, russia and ukraine, to the table for peace talks, andrea. >> victor cha, how is the decision to dock nuclear submarines in south korea as well as this agreement with south korea on any deployment of nukes in a conflict with the north, how is that going to be received in pyongyang and beijing?

>> well, i'm sure the north koreans are not going to like it and will find some way to respond to it but it was important for the biden administration to do in terms of capabilities, the united states has all the capabilities it needs to deter north korea from using nuclear weapons but there's the reassurance with regard to the south korean public as north korea begins flying these missiles nearly on a daily basis all around the region. so this redeployment of assets whether by sea or air are important steps that the administration is taking that will reassure the allies and it will be a show of force with regard to both north korea and china. >> jen, you had so much experience at the white house and at the state department and in this region in particular so this administration, president biden, this is onaryia where they really have had to restore normal deterrent

behavior after president trump went from rocket man and deriding kim jong-un to many bracing him and then he went so far as to cancel routine military exercises without telling his defense secretary so it depends on how you handle the summit. >> remember, as you know, because you've covered this for so many years, the threat of north korea and the threat of that to the united states and other countries in the region, in asia, has predated trump. and when president obama met with incoming president trump, this was one of the issues they talked about because it has been so front and center for u.s. presidents for decades as you just said, there was some cleanup that needed to happen. that's probably a diplomatic way of saying rebuilding confidence and trust that our military assets, our military assistance would be there supporting south korea. also to announce this at the same time as the state visit i mean a state visit is so significant because it is sending a message to the world, this is a key partner, we are

going to be there with them. we are marching forward with them and that's important for south korea as well. so yes, there's a lot of cleanup that president biden and his team needed to do and they're trying to rebuild that trust and also the military power and might in the region that was kind of rolled back. >> i'm glad you're mentioning the state visit because we take it for granted we see the pomp and the circumstance but it's particularly important to asia but important to all allies. to be singled out for a state visit means this relationship matters. the president is investing time. the first lady and whole white house becomes engaged in a very big way. >> absolutely. even the consideration as president that you have a state visit with, it always has meaning and purpose. it's sending a message to the world that the relationship with south korea is vital, it's important. we're going to celebrate not just their culture but this partnership. always you typically announce

some sort of policy announcement with it if applicable so clearly that was on their minds too. but you're right, it's sending a message to asia, to the world, certainly to south koreans that there is an important partnership under the biden administration. >> kristen welker, there are so many levels to these relationships. one level is to the embarrassment and upset inside the administration just before this visit, among the leaks, the many leaks that have come out and we've just learned that those leaks went back a year earlier than anyone in the administration even knew, than anyone knew and were much more voluminous, were leaks that the u.s. was spying on top south korean officials on whether or not they were going to give lethal aid to ukraine, for instance, so that had to be cleaned up lester holt asked about it the south korean president said that would not hurt the relationship also today talk to me about president xi in china who is choosing today, the day of the state visit to arguably

overshadow this in some regards by finally calling president zelenskyy and putting on the table that china wants to mediate a peace deal in ukraine. >> reporter: andrea, you're right. i think there's no coincidence there. part of this state visit is not just sending a message to south korea and the world as jen was just talking about but a message to china as well the u.s. is aiming to be a counterweight in that region we have these developments that president zelenskyy and president xi spoke for the first time since russia's war in ukraine began. john kirby told me, we'll have to let these two leaders speak to the details of their conversation, but as we have long said we believe it is important for president xi to avail himself of president zelenskyy's perspective on russia's illegal invasion of ukraine. there has been plenty of skepticism to go around about whether china can be an honest broker or mediator in peace talks.

one official saying it's way too soon after just getting word of this call to speculate about that but again, that call overshadowing this visit it will undoubtedly be among the topics they discuss today, andrea, when theyhold the critical talks they're going to have and i wouldn't be surprised if it comes up at the joint press conference they have later this hour. >> victor cha, looking back several decades, it wasn't that long ago, i guess it was a while ago when you think about it when, president clinton was in office, we were talking about six-party talks and china was the key to the growing north korean threat of kim jong-un's father at the time and russia was involved so the whole region was involved in trying to contain north korea from getting the bomb. of course now he has between 30 andfes f50 warheads. >> yes, things have changed a

great deal i worked on those talks. when north korea took some sort of action, china and russia would join us in the u.n. security council to condemn north korea and to put sanctions on them. the world has changed with ukraine and with the taiwan strait such that now both china and russia see north korean provocations as something to their advantage, as something that distracts us and is to their advantage. so the dynamic really has changed with regard to the north korea and the interaction with china and russia, unfortunately. >> and in that time, as jim was just saying, there were u.n. sanctions, as you were saying, but all of these missile tests that he has done on almost a daily basis, they're all against u.n. sanctions, u.n. resolutions so basically internationally illegal. >> that's right. they're all against u.n. sanctions. i don't think of their testing any more, this is missile

exercising you're carrying out exercises. they have developed a lot of capability -- they developed a lot of it during the trump administration, and these capabilities are very threatening not just to the united states and japan and south korea, but countries they might sell these capabilities to, so it's a very difficult and challenging situation for sure >> they now have long-range missiles, intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach the continental u.s., not just guam and our territory and hawaii one more question i had about the significance of the submarines basing there. where have they gone you've been tracking all of the commercial satellite imagery of them developing potentially a satellite -- rather a submarine that can launch some of these really dangerous missiles. >> yeah, so they're doing a number of things one is that they look like they're preparing to launch a spy satellite.

kim jong-un has talked about that and then they have been working for a long time on a sea-launched ballistic missile capability which could be the second leg of the triad. i don't think they'll get to the third leg. the sea launch capability is what they're after so these again are very concerning things. >> victor cha, thanks so much. kristen welker, we'll talk to you later. and jen psaki, thank you and make sure to watch "inside with jen psaki" sundays at noon here on msnbc. she had a great interview with john kerry which is online. we'll bring you the president's comments when it begins. and asa hutchinson has officially announced he's running for the republican nomination he's one of the few who are openly criticizing donald trump. but first her turn e. jean carroll taking the stand in her civil rape lawsuit

against former president trump today. how strong is her case, which involves alleged defamation? what does it mean for trump's legal troubles and what has he been saying online this morning? that's next. 'll be right back in just 60 seconds. stay with us right here on msnbc. g the services you want in the clouds of your choice. with flexible multi-cloud services that enable digital innovation and enterprise control, vmware helps you innovate and grow. your shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. 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 from prom dresses to workouts matching your job description. and new adventures you hope the more you give the less they'll miss. but even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past they may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. although uncommon,

up to 1 in 5 survivors of meningitis will have long term consequences. now as you're thinking about all the vaccines your teen might need make sure you ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. we have breaking news from the rape -- the civil rape and defamation trial against former president donald trump in new york where the accuser, e. jean carroll, has taken the witness stand. in this civil case writer e. jean carroll alleging trump raped her in a new york city department store dressing room back in the 1990s. the former president says the claim is a lie he calls the allegations a con job, a hoax and a complete scam joining me now is nbc's ron allen whoes outside federal court in manhattan and former u.s. attorney paul chong what are we expecting that she's going to say as she continues on the stand today?

>> reporter: right now, andrea, she is describing the moment when she claims that donald trump raped her. she described how they met at the department store, bergdorf goodman, and she is now talking about being in the dressing room about how he allegedly o overpowered her and raped her and how painful it was, how strong he was and how terrified she was of what was going on so this is perhaps the most significant moment in this trial because it is her word largely that the jury is going to have to be persuaded by if she is to prevail in this case against mr. trump. as you pointed out, he has said that this never happened, that he doesn't know her, that the whole thing is a complete hoax and a witch hunt her earlier testimony tried to establish that they in fact knew each other and that in fact they were at bergdorf goodman's she showed -- her attorneys showed the jury a picture of an event where trump and carroll

were together with a number of other people she also went through a very detailed description of what the layout was like at bergdorf because, again, she has not been able to tell the jury or tell anyone for that matter the exact day and month when this happened she has said that she thinks it happened in the spring of 1996 because she can remember the weather, she can remember what she was wearing, she can remember a couple of other things but can't pin down the exact time that this happened, which is something that the defense is obviously going to try and go after when they get to cross examine her they certainly went after that in their opening statement so again, we expect to hear more from carroll as this goes on there will be other witnesses who will try to buttress her story. two women, two friends of hers who she says she told about this incident when it happened. two other women who are going to make similar allegations against

mr. trump that he allegedly groped and molested them one case as far back as 1979 that the judge will let the jury hear so that's the crux of the case and we're right into it right now with her on the stand, andrea. >> and paul, take a step back. we have to explain, of course, this is a civil case it happened so many decades ago, but there is a new york state law which permits this to be resurrected because of the defamation that she says is still ongoing and was ongoing today. he was tweeting -- well, not tweeting but he was on truth social, his social media platform, against her. so she's suing the former president she says because, quote, she wants to get her life back trump's attorney, joe tacopina told the jury, quote, the case comes down to do you believe the unbelievable how are these two diametrically opposed positions going to play do you think before the jury >> well, it's interesting, andrea, because it is common

it is common that those who are victims of sexual assault do not report the assault immediately after that event takes place i've prosecuted a number of those cases and sometimes those reportings take place years later. so that aspect of this case isn't in and of itself unusual, but you are correct to point out that this is a civil case. so miss carroll's lawyers will have a much lower burden of proof than a prosecutor. what they have done is put together a good case with lots of corroboration, other witnesses with whom she spoke soon after the event, other witnesses who say they had similar events take place and, andrea, as you just pointed out, there are a number of statements that former president trump has made in an attempt to distance himself from these events but sound very much like a confession for example, to say that she's not my type is the kind of statement that we can expect miss carroll's lawyers to stand in front of a jury and say what

former president trump is saying is that were she his type, this is the kind of woman he wolf license or permission to assault in some fashion. and then today there is his social truth or truth social statement in which he talks about a dress. that evidence and dna evidence related to that dress was specifically excluded from the ed and judge kaplan made it very clear that he was unhappy with president trump and his lawyers for that statement having taken place and quietly hinted, suggested that former president trump may be in bigger trouble for having made that statement as well. >> i'm sure that if joe tacopina and the other attorneys had any control at all over what their client would be posting it would be very helpful to them, at least since this is a defamation case paul charlton, ron allen, thank you both so much. at any moment, president biden is scheduled to speak at

the white house after meeting with south korea's president in the oval office. their comments live coming up. first, on the other end of pennsylvania avenue there's a lot going on the house speaker is working to get the votes he needs to try to pass a debt ceiling bill that's loaded with budget cuts. and there's some indication he might be getting close to having the 218 he needs stand by for that. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. jaycee tried gain flings for the first time the other day... and forgot where she was. [buzz] you can always spot a first timer. 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 (music throughout) less sugar. get the royal treatment. join the millions playing royal match today. download now. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. with the money we saved, we tried electric unicycles. i think i've got it!

doggy-paddle! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ (seth) hi, cecily. i just switched my whole family to verizon. on(cecily)or what you need. oh, it's america's most reliable 5g network. (seth) and it's only $35 a line. (cecily) not that you're bragging. (vo) with verizon unlimited for $35 a line, your family now gets disney+, hulu, and espn+. all three included. verizon

house speaker kevin mccarthy is trying to secure the 218 votes he needs to win a floor vote on his widely contested bill to tie debt ceiling approval to major spending cuts on nondefense programs the plan finally made it out of the powerful rules committee overnight after a late-night deal to increase snap work requirements and kill sections that would have reduced biofuel tax credits. even if mccarthy can find the votes he needs, chuck schumer says the bill is dead on arrival but does give him leverage with the white house. president biden said he will veto anything other than a clean bill, just raising the debt ceiling to cover the expenses the government has already spent. mccarthy hopes the house passage will pressure the white house to start talks. for more, let's bring in nbc news capitol hill reporter ryan nobles and ryan buck

he wouldn't go to the floor if he doesn't have the votes. he's somehow made enough concessions and brought his caucus together. he can only lose four republican votes if he wants to do this without any democrats. >> reporter: to be clear, he has yet to bring the actual piece of legislation to the floor at this point the house is just debating the rule on this piece of legislation depending on how the vote on the rule goes will give us some skbi kindication or his conference lies. there is very little margin for error for kevin mccarthy here and at this point it is not a sure thing that he has the necessary votes to get this over the finish line. one of the pitches he's making is you may not like every aspect of this bill but this is likely never going to become the actual law, this is just the first step in what they hope will be a negotiation with the white house and senate democrats to be clear, there is no way that house republicans will be

able to hold on to any leverage if they can't pass this legislation through the house because it will signal that rips are not all on the same page when it comes to these negotiations so mccarthy is just hoping to get over this hump his leadership team has shown a level of confidence that they'll ultimately be able to get the necessary votes. there are two republicans in particular, nancy mace of south korea and tim burchett of tennessee. that means there's only two more votes that he could lose there's eight republicans who have yet to indicate which way they will vote this is still very much an open question today as to where this vote will go this afternoon. >> in is matt gaetz on it? he was holding out on the very end on those 15 different roll calls on whether or not he was going to be the speaker. >> gaetz was really concerned about the work requirements in the bill that was one of the changes that

was made overnight they made those work requirements tougher he's not definitively said that he will support the bill but he does appear to be coming around. that's not someone that at this point leadership seems to be concerned about. >> brandon, you were working with then speaker boehner in 2011 when it came its closest ever to defaulting how much pressure are house republicans feeling from big business and wall street to avoid what would potentially be a global economic disaster >> well, i think this is a whole new republican party i don't think those types of private sector pressures really matter a whole lot look, if kevin mccarthy can pull this off, he deserves enormous credit this is the type of thing that we tried to do many times over the years, a republican-only debt limit bill. set down a marker and say this was what we would do we were never able to do it because there are so many r republicans that would ever vote

for a debt limit increase. the fact that he's got this many to vote yes is notable at the end of the day, this doesn't change a whole lot and i don't think it provides a lot of leverage what it does is bring joe biden to the negotiating table this whole effort is joe biden basically stiff arming kevin mccarthy from the very beginning of this. i'm not going to talk to you or engage with you on this concept. now joe biden will have to i think joe biden was always going to have to but the president will have to sit down with kevin mccarthy and say what can we do here, whether it's in one bill or two bills or whatever it is he's forcing joe biden to say, look, we are taking you seri seriously. now i need you to do it. whatever we ending up with in a final bill will not look like what the house does. it will be very difficult for kevin mccarthy to get it through the house when it does come. >> the president was saying show us yours and i'll do mean.

mccarthy has shown he can do something on the budget and it's a big change from the way he's leading the caucus from the way he started rienl ryan nobles, brandon buck, thank you. and the former governor asa hutchinson announcing he's going to take on donald trump. plus president biden about to speak in the rose garden along size south korea's president. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. that's why you choose vmware. with flexible multi-cloud services that enable digital innovation and enterprise control, vmware helps you keep your cloud options open. ♪ ♪ [ cat purrs ] and[ phone vibrates ]l, introducing astepro allergy. steroid-free allergy relief that starts working in 30 minutes, while other allergy sprays take hours. now with astepro fast allergy relief, [ spray, spray ] you can astepro and go. (vo) at viking, we are proud to have been named the world's number one for both rivers and oceans by travel and leisure,

as well as condé nast traveler. but it is now time for us to work even harder, searching for meaningful experiences and new adventures for you to embark upon. they say when you reach the top, there's only one way to go. we say, that way is onwards. viking. exploring the world in comfort. knowing where you came from, it gives you a sense of “this is who i am”. oh my goodness... wow, look at all those! you get hungry for more and then you're just like, “wow, i'm learning about my family.” yeah, yep. which one, what'd you find? lorraine banks, look, county of macomb, michigan? look at grandma... hey grandma! unbelievable. everybody deserves to know who they are and where they came from. ohhh...cool. this whole journey has been such a huge gift for our family. - this is our premium platinum coverage map and this is consumer cellular's map. see the difference?

- no... i don't see the difference, do you? - well, that one's purple. - exactly! that's our premium. - what does that mean? - i think it means it costs more. - for the same coverage? - that's what makes it premium! - that doesn't make sense, does it? - no... but it is premium! - i'd just go with consumer cellular. - thank you! - (whispering) they're the same. - [announcer] get the exact same coverage as the nation's leading carrier. starting at $20. consumer cellular. pedro was born with a cleft lip and palate that threatened his future and impaired his speech, but his cleft condition didn't define him. he's playful, smart, loving. pedro is like any child you know and love. children like pedro need your help. thousands of children are born with cleft conditions and have no access to surgery. with your support, operation smile can heal them. scan or go online to give a new smile to a child like pedro, a child like yours. 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. [bones cracking] ♪(tense music)♪ one aleve works all day so i can keep working my magic. just one aleve. 12 hours of uninterrupted arthritis pain relief. aleve. who do you take it for?

just moments ago, former two-term arkansas governor asa hutchinson officially lauchlglad his presidential bid he's one of the few republicans who's criticized former president trump directly he's saying he should step aside from the 2024 race hutchinson is polling up 3% in the nbc poll joining me now is nbc correspondent vaughn hillyard with hutchinson in bentonville, arkansas john kasich, former presidential candidate john kasich as well and former democratic congresswoman donna edwards. vaughn, tell us about the launch he was term limited. he's a two-term governor what things was he stressing did he mention donald trump in his announcement >> reporter: he did not mention donald trump by name, andrea, but he did say, quote, america's democracy's light house. we must not lit the light be

dimmed i will bring out america's best. i know you've interviewed him. i talked with him just a little over a week ago and he said he is going to take donald trump head on. if you're going to be in this republican race, you've got to tell republican voters how you contrast with him on policy. but also he said donald trump is simply running for president in his words for vengeance and to take down political opponents of him. that's why you saw him focus not only on his bentonville roots but also on policy take a listen to a little bit of him addressing this crowd here in bentonville >> every hard working american family gets a double hit from the biden economy. their paycheck doesn't go as far and they're paying more on car loans and credit card debt because of the high interest rates. it hurts them in buying grocery tess store that is not acceptable when the biden administration conducted its disastrous

withdrawal from afghanistan, we left our friends abandoned and our allies confused. >> reporter: andrea, i have not heard from anybody in republican politics or voters who question asa hutchinson's conservative credentials. he served in congress, served in the bush administration, served two terms as governor here in arkansas but when he's running for president, there's nobody from the congressional delegation here by him. neither of two arkansas' republican senators were here nor was current governor sarah huckabee sanders this is going to be a lonely road for asa hutchinson. but he told me he is not naive to the uphill battle he said he wants to get on the debate stage he said it is important to provide republican voters an alternative, one who has convictions and is able to lay out contrast with the democratic administration of joe biden. that is why he said today he was focusing on the future here in his address to the few hundred folks who came out in

bentonville. he said that is exactly what he will do when he hits the road in iowa is making his case, introducing himself and his record he is 72 years old he has been in republican politics for decades now and he's going to make that sale to the republican electorate and plans to take on donald trump directly. >> governor kasich, so what is his lane as you look at what is shaping up to be -- you've got declared nikki haley, almost in tim scott also from south carolina the possibility of sununu, the possibility of chris christie. but so far -- and mike pence of course. >> youngkin. look, i think the key lane, andrea, is the lane of being an optimist not a donald trump or donald trump look-alike where we are engaged in culture wars and where fear seems to be the issue that gravitates or motivates republican members of the party. there's nothing to fear but fear

itself people in the party are so afraid of so many things the coming demographic change, the cultural issues, all the things that are swirling around. the introduction of ai they live in fear that somehow they need to control this. that's like thinking you can control the waves on the ocean you cannot the party has got to get with it, and they have to have alternatives to the negativism that you see from trump and trump look-alikes. so does that mean the party will embrace hutchinson who's a really good guy? i can't say that but i can tell you if we keep giving the patient the same medicine, the patient is not going to get well. i think the republican party is stuck. at some point we need a dramatic change from pessimism and fear to optimism and hope that's what i think. >> of course the issue that democrats think really favors them because of all the polling that indicates that not only do a majority believe that abortion

should be legal but people believe -- it's 58% to 38%, we've got the numbers up there but the large number of people believe that it should be legal without even any conditions at all. donna, the democrats are going to lean way in on abortion against any of these opponents >> well, of course they are. i mean they're where the majority of the american people are. republicans are tying themselves into a pretzel around the issue of abortion. you can hear that in yesterday's speech with nikki haley. her dramatic speech that wasn't so dramatic. not proposing policy proposals i think that democrats are in exactly the right place. you will have, and you saw yesterday as well, kamala harris beginning on the campaign trail really leaning into abortion rights and talking about it in a way that people can understand

and want to protect their rights and freedom. so you will see that from the top of the ticket with biden/harris all the way down the ballot with democrats leaning heavily into the threats to freedom and to women's freedom and making choices about their own bodies >> and what about ron desantis he's doing this world tour right now, governor kasich not in tallahassee where the legislative session is still going on. >> yeah. >> also he's raised concerns apparently among some mega donors, like ken griffith, apparently met with him the last couple of weeks over some of his positions, like cracking down on disney >> or culture wars look, i think his biggest problem, andrea, is he's got one foot in and one foot out either you're running for president or you're not. you know, in my case, i probably declared too late, but i needed to get through my election for him, he's through his

election he ought to decide, okay, i'm in and then people can make a decision when you're not in and you're not out, it's like -- it's just not -- there's no excitement behind it. in addition to that, i think he's trying to pivot to the right to be like a substitute for trump. the fact is if you want to be a substitute for rump, maybe you just go for trump. so i don't think that message is a message that will work frankly, i think the democrats are vulnerable they're vulnerable on inflation, on crime, on the border, but the republicans seem to have no answer to those things you know, it's still very, very early. as i said the other day, you know, presidential elections like the nba, it all gets decided in the last three minutes, and rea. >> and what an nba it's been so far this year. >> you're right. >> thank you so much vaughn hillyard, john kasich and donna edwards, as always. and donald trump's army,

that's what prosecutors call five members of the proud boys involved in the january 6th riot in court we're awaiting a federal jury's decision the jury is deliberating on their role in the capitol attack the latest coming from the courtroom on "andrea mitchell reports" right here on msnbc reliable 5g network. (seth) and it's only $35 a line. (cecily) not that you're bragging. (vo) with verizon unlimited for $35 a line, your family now gets disney+, hulu, and espn+. all three included. verizon ♪ gillette presents... the gillettelabs with exfoliating bar. the bar in the handle removes unseen dirt and debris that gets in the way of the blades. for effortless shaving in one efficient stroke. all with a lifetime warranty. and if you want to keep the beard, use king c. gillette. a lineup of products designed to cleanse, soften, trim, and style- for your best beard. gillette. the best a man can get. i have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

now, there's skyrizi. with skyrizi 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months, after just 2 doses. 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. ♪♪ ♪ it's my moment so i just gotta say ♪ ♪ nothing is everything ♪ talk to your dermatologist about skyrizi. learn how abbvie could help you save. so diabetes, this changes things, huh? hey, a lot of people in your corner including walgreens. but do i have to give up sweets? if you work out a diet plan, nothing is off limits. you dropped it! i don't know if i can afford all these prescriptions. we've got discount programs, you've got options. i'm just glad i have you to talk to about this. that's what i'm here for. the cgm, still getting used to it. let's take a look. when you need to talk diabetes, our pharmacists are here. you need to deliver new apps fast

using the services you want in the clouds of your choice. with flexible multi-cloud services that enable digital innovation and enterprise control, vmware helps you innovate and grow. ♪♪ the only thing i regret about my life is that i did what everyone else did at the time. i hired local talent. if i knew about upwork, i would have hired actually talented people from all over the world. instead of talentless people from all over my house. -grandpa... -shh.. shh.. shh.. -but... -shh.. shh... shh... -but... -oh... ♪ this is how we work now ♪ from big cities, to small towns, and on main streets across the us, you'll find pnc bank. helping businesses both large and small, communities and the people who live and work there grow and thrive. we're proud to call these places home too.

they're where we put down roots, and where together, we work to help move everyone's financial goals forward. pnc bank. we have breaking news. the walt disney company has sued florida governor ron desantis slamming what he calls his relentless campaign to weaponize government power let's bring in "washington post" deputy national editor phil rucker, co-author of "a very stable genius" and "i alone can fix it." so disney is alleging a campaign of retaliation is it good miss business to go after the biggest business in your state or is it good politics even? >> the disney company, their main theme park, disney world, is in orlando, florida

it employs 75,000 people there this has been a long running feud between the company and the governor desantis signed into law last year that education bill known as don't say gay which disney opposed because of pressure from its employees and customers. things escalated from there. and so desantis and republicans in the state legislature of florida have tried to chip away at disney's special status in the state, their control of some land there, their tax status this has been an ongoing source of tension between the company and the governor just now we've learned that the company is in fact suing the governor of florida. >> and part of this is because they restructured the commission or the entity that gave special tax status or continued special tax status to disney, and disney

did an end run and managed to hold a vote before that change took place, to enable a new development. now they're saying they spent a lot of money on the plans for this development that they can't recoup if they're not allowed to do it, right >> that's exactly right. and disney for years has had a special status in the state of florida and operated with a lot of autonomy over the land of the theme park in orlando and that surrounding jurisdiction so desantis has tried to take that autonomy away, to lessen the power of disney, the control of the land that it develops and its tax status you know, disney is alleging that this is all part of a concerted political push by desantis and in fact desantis has used his feud with disney as a rallying cry for conservatives around the country, for social conservative voters who form a huge part of the republican base who, of course, are going to be

helping select the next republican presidential nominee. desantis is very likely to enter that field soon and become a candidate himself. >> phil runger -- rucker thanks for all of the context. a federal grand jury is deliberating charges against the proud boys and its former president. the prosecution painted the proud boys as, quote, donald trump's army who were, quote, thirsting for violence in their plot to violently stop the transfer of power to joe biden the defense claims that their clients are scapegoats for donald trump joining me now is justice reporter ryan riley who's been covering the trial ryan, this is an incredibly important case for the jury. it's a big case for the justice department seditious conspiracy is rarely used prosecutors made the point it did not need to be a verbal agreement, it could be unspoken, a wink, a nod.

so where does this take us as the jury is deliberating >> i think one of the most interesting cases here will be with enrique tarrio. remember, he was not at the capitol on january 6th he was actually at a hotel in baltimore a couple of days before january 6th he was arrested on separate charges. he was released and told to get out of d.c., get out of the city so he ended up going to a hotel in baltimore i think that's the real challenge for prosecutors here which would have implications on other cases, that someone who wasn't on site was a part of this conspiracy. what prosecutors have pointed to is messages from enrique tarrio saying make it a spectacle and plenty of celebrations saying we did this afterwards. they had those sort of communications from him. but it's a little bit more difficult to suggest that he was pulling the strings or pushing people in a certain direction while he was at that hotel in baltimore. there's plenty of evidence he was celebrating afterwards and he's talked about making it a

spectacle beforehand but they haven't provided a ton of evidence there was an explicit plan to go into the capitol. the defendants who testified say there wasn't a plan to go in the capitol, that this was sort of all spontaneous. >> one reason he wasn't in the capitol is that he from a previous case was not permitted back into the capitol because of what had happened during a protest of the george floyd, the black lives matter protests, a previous court case. >> that's right. he was arrested for those activities that took place a few weeks earlier and also on a gun charge they had had some of his -- he had brought materials that were not allowed as sort of a gun part into the district that was actually branded with the proud boys' name, so he was on the phone with a reporter when he was actually picked up just before the january 6th attack, and you know, what his defense has said is that he essentially had a plan for what he was going to do on january 6th, that he was supposed to speak at this event for latinos for trump and that, you know, this wasn't -- he didn't actually plan to storm

the capitol is what the defense is saying. he's a scapegoat for donald trump here. >> ryan reilly, thanks very much. and israel in conflict as the country marks its 75th anniversary. it's now more divided than ever, raising questions about the nation's future as a democracy you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. that's next. ♪ what is it about the first warm breeze of the season that makes you feel lighter than air?

♪ no matter where you are... when it crosses your path... you'll feel compelled to take to the road and see where it leads. ♪ the first step begins at the lincoln spring sales event. going on now, for a limited time. every piece of land has a story - written by those who work it. like the caggianos, who are brewing their own legacy. or the wrens, with their drama free plot - tranquil and serene. the upshaws? they diy, all the time. while the nelson's play lead in their own adventure, 150 years in the making. there's a story in every piece of land. run with us and start telling yours. if you wake up thinking about the market and want to make the right moves fast... get decision tech from fidelity.

[ cellphone vibrates ] you'll get proactive alerts for market events before they happen... and insights on every buy and sell decision. with zero-commission online u.s. stock and etf trades. for smarter trading decisions, get decision tech from fidelity. the mosquitoes are just all over the backyard. quiet please. (okay.) wow there, that's good. [bulb breaks] okay. got that one. [glass breaks] whoa! (what's going on?) [mosquitoes buzzing] what? i said get a pro. i did get a pro! an orkin pro. [mosquitoes buzzing] i got you. got mosquitoes? don't call any pro, call the orkin pro. with over 120 years of experience, nobody's better. orkin. the best in pests. thanks for wasting my time. ♪♪ allergies don't have to be scary. (screaming) defeat allergy headaches fast with new flonase headache and allergy relief!

two pills relieve allergy headache pain? and the congestion that causes it! flonase headache and allergy relief. psst! psst! all good! (seth) hi, cecily. i just switched my whole family to verizon. (cecily)ase headache oh, it's america's most reliable 5g network. (seth) and it's only $35 a line. (cecily) not that you're bragging. (vo) with verizon unlimited for $35 a line, your family now gets disney+, hulu, and espn+. all three included. verizon

as israel marks its 75th independence day today, it is enduring the fallout from prime minister netanyahu's plan to overhaul the judiciary along with massive demographic changes as josh lederman reports >> the new government headed by david van gurian is installed in tel aviv. >> the birth of israel in 1948, for jews a jubilantreturn to the homeland, for the palestinians, catastrophe, a homeland destroyed

75 years later, israel is at a crossroads, more divided than ever this time about the country's democratic future. the current government's sharp shift to the right and consolidation of power raising painful questions about what israel will look like at 100 >> we are fighting for our democracy. we don't call it illiberal democracy, we call it de facto dictatorship. >> reporter: for much of israel's history the question of democracy centered on whether the growing palestinian population would become the majority, ruled by a jewish minority along the way, things shifted, now it's the ultra orthodox population growing faster than any other. the average ultra orthodox woman in israel has 6.6 children, secular women, just two. >> the ultra orthodox population is growing at such a fast pace that the population is doubling every generation, every 25 years. >> reporter: some economists say that's unsustainable because

many ultra orthodox don't work or serve in the military, pursuing a life of religious study, leaving a shrinking share of the population shoring up israel's economy and security. >> they are our brother, they are jews, but of course we should find a way to send them into the labor force >> reporter: chaim goldberg is a photographer whose work centers on his own community, the orthodox he says orthodox people do a lot for israel that secular people often won't, like first aid, charity, and recovering bodies after terror attacks he doubts israel really wants all the orthodox to serve in the army, one more fault line in a society showing cracks this barrier was built more than two decades ago to wall off the occupied west bank, but it has become a reminder that while many people share this land, the divisions here are deeply entrenched >> it's one of the most hard things to be living without an identity >> reporter: ahed is a

palestinian born in jerusalem but who makes his art in the west bank. he says the current far right government actually makes him hopeful that it will force the world to see israel for what it is >> i think this is the beginning of the end of israel, if this government will stay in charge >> is that a good thing or a bad thing? >> it's a good thing for palestinians, definitely. >> back in sljerusalem chaim ha discovered something new of late coming into the focus of his lens he says until now if i'd pass a torn flag, i'd think nothing of it, just throw it away but today it has a different meaning about how israel's society is completely torn apart. >> and josh joins us now from jerusalem. josh, a tough issue is how much will this fracture and especially the recent violence at the al-aqsa mosque interfere with the ability of saudi arabia to recognize israel as it was moving towards and as the

administration was hoping? >> reporter: that's a great question, andrea there have been so many seismic shifts in the politics and the tensions in this region, both with saudi arabia moving closer to its arch enemy iran, which had been seen as israel's arch enemy as well helping to potentially bring israel closer to some of those sunni arab states, like the united arab emirate s, bringing other countries like bahrain, morocco along in that direction. but suddenly we're seeing these other realignments, such as that move to get closer, relaunch relations between saudi arabia and iran potentially making that more difficult, and in the meantime, these issues at the al-aqsa mosque, these tensions with palestinians making it more difficult for some of these arab nations to get closer to israel as well. andrea. >> that's really great reporting, josh, thanks so much for being there.

that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." follow the show online on sfab a facebook and twitter @mitchell reports and that news conference with the south korean president coming up probably now, at 1:30, they pushed it back. chris jansing will have all of that for you coming up ♪ good day, i am chris jansing live at msnbc headquarters in new york city. we learned just an hour ago that e gene e. jean carroll the woman suing donald trump for defamation is taking the stand in new york in her words, quote, i'm here because trump raped me the case, though, is about trump calling her a liar, something he did again this morning just minutes before today's proceedings got underway plus, a slow motion natural disaster happening right now along the mississippi river, melting snow has already pushed water levels above flood stage in several states and the worst is yet